It’s no secret that GMOs are a widely debated topic. Many people oppose them without really knowing what they are, exactly. Others just aren’t sure about something so “unnatural” or how they will affect the planet. I want to discuss the pros and cons of this technology, and some examples of how GMOs are being used to improve agricultural practices and our health.
What are GMOs?
What does GMO stand for? Genetically modified organism. Simply put, a GMO is any product with modified DNA for a specific purpose. Humans have been modifying genes for thousands of years. Selective breeding allows farmers to breed plants with desirable traits to ensure they are getting the best crop. This is a slow and steady process that is often unpredictable. Grafting is another “classic” technique used throughout history.
You may have also heard the term gene editing and wondered how it differs from gene modification. Gene editing is a specific way to produce GMOs through targeted, precise gene insertion. An example is CRISPR technology..
Genetic modification can be used to help farmers avoid pests, save crops from drought or disease, and can even make food more nutritious. Through the use of genetic modification, we may also decrease our dependence on pesticides.
Which crops are GM at the grocery store?
Corn, cotton, and soybeans are the most widely sold GM foods. Most of these products available on the market have been genetically modified. Currently, there are 13 GM crops approved for sale throughout the world. New products are continually being studied.
Did you know? Insulin was the first GMO product developed for human diabetics in 1977.
- Squash – disease resistance
- Soybeans – insect resistance and herbicide tolerance
- Corn – insect resistance and herbicide tolerance
- Cotton – insect resistance and herbicide tolerance
- Papaya – disease resistance
- Canola – herbicide tolerance
- Alfalfa – herbicide tolerance
- Sugar beets – herbicide tolerance
- Potato – non-browning, decreased bruising, low acrylamide (for health), blight resistance
- Apples – non-browning
- Salmon – grow more quickly
- Eggplant (Bangladesh and India) – insect resistance
- Pink Pineapple (Costa Rica) – increased carotenoids
To label or not to label?
Some consumers have been arguing for mandatory labeling of GM products for many years. They demand consumer transparency and the right for consumers to choose what foods are right for them. Critics argue that the labels may confuse consumers and promote fear of biotechnology.
As of 2018, GM labels will be required on food packaging and you may see them as early as next year (2020). However, manufacturers are not required to list a number of GM ingredients in refined foods if no detectable levels are present. These include corn, soybean, and sugar beets. Companies must complete testing to prove no GM material is present.
Proponents of GM labeling are unhappy with the execution of the rule, stating that consumers will still have to do their own research on what’s really in their food. Knowing which GM foods are available can help when looking at ingredients lists.
“The Standard defines bioengineered foods as those that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature.”
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
Other countries such as those in the EU, Japan, and Australia already require labeling if a product contains more than 0.9%, 5%, or 1% of GM ingredients, respectively.
It can be easy to forget about food insecurity in the US. Most of us don’t depend on agriculture for our livelihood, and we have some of the lowest food costs in the world. We generally don’t have to worry about malnutrition and have our pick of the best-of-the-best organic produce.
But, remember, the rest of the world doesn’t necessarily have this luxury. Iron and Vitamin A deficiencies are all too common in developing countries. If these countries follow our lead of rejecting GMOs, they could be missing out on the opportunity to improve the health and livelihood of their citizens.
As the world population continues to increase and climate change wreaks havoc, we will have to use science to produce more food with the same amount of resources. Weeds are the biggest concern in terms of reduced yield in farming. Insects infestation can ruin entire fields and jeopardize the well-being of farmers and citizens. Genetic modification is just one tool that can help.
How can GMOs help?
Here are some examples of how genetic modification can benefit our food supply.
Saving the Hawaiin papaya crop from papaya ringspot virus is one of the best-known stories of GMO success. After initially refusing to adopt the technology, scientists were able to develop the rainbow papaya using viral DNA that acts as a sort of vaccine to the plant. The technology saved the papaya and Hawaii’s farmers.
Did you know there’s a deadly disease that is essentially decimating the banana crop in Africa? In a continent where livelihood depends primarily on farming, ignoring GMOs can lead to severe consequences. 1/3 of global banana production is from Africa and it is also a staple food in the African diet.
The disease, known as Banana
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin most known for its role in developing healthy
Rice is a staple food in much of the world because it is inexpensive. Scientists have been working to develop rice containing beta-carotene, the precursor to Vitamin A, to help those in countries such as the Philippines have access to healthy food. Unfortunately, fear of GMOs has slowed the progress of this crop. Activists have even destroyed test sites of GMO studies of golden rice, hindering research.
Research in golden rice is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the seeds are freely distributed to farmers.
Drought resistant maize
Drought is another issue facing many farmers, not only in developing countries but also in the Western US. Developing crops that could grow with less water could provide much-needed food security.
Citrus greening is a major concern in the orange crop throughout the world, and especially in the state of Florida. There is potential that GMOs could help save the crop and restore acreage in Florida.
What are the major concerns?
Despite these success stories, many people remain skeptical about the true benefits of GMOs. They are primarily concerned about potential effects on health and the environment. As more research is conducted, we have a better understanding of the impacts of GMOs.
Safety. Issues of allergens and DNA transfer concern many when it comes to GM foods. The National Academy of Science, American Medical Association, World Health Organization, and
Others also worry about the “unknown” of new proteins transcribed by modified genes. After 20 years of research, the major scientific institutions have concluded that genetic modification is no riskier than traditional methods such as selective breeding.
Environment. Concerns regarding the environment are often more difficult to measure. The impact is difficult to understand and takes more time and study. The biggest concerns in this area include gene transfer to unmodified species, insect and weed resistance, and impacts to biodiversity.
GM plants have been modified to produce proteins that are toxic to certain pests. This helps to reduce the use of pesticides in the field. Basically, the bugs eat the plant and die. The proteins are very targeted to specific pests to ensure only the harmful insects are affected, unlike pesticides.
It is true that reliance on glyphosate as the only herbicide in use has caused some resistance in weeds. This is a concern that will need to be addressed moving forward. Insects may also develop resistance to crops that have been genetically modified.
Farmer well-being. Many people believe corporations serve to gain through the use of terminator genes in their seed. This would stop farmers from reusing seeds the following year so that they would need to continually purchase seed. However, this technology is not being used today.
There is also
Some may wonder how farmers in poorer countries afford these seeds. However, in less developed countries, the seeds are freely available and distributed to farmers.
Long Road Ahead
While these concerns are certainly justified, much of the resistance to genetic engineering in food is largely due to mistrust in large biotech companies. Distrust in science and government corporate interests grew because of the lack of communication with the public.
Perception is a major hurdle facing the future of GMOs. As you saw in the Golden Rice video, destruction of GMO testing sites does happen and it slows progress. Fear, mistrust, and misunderstanding of science contribute to this perception.
Today, as more people take an interest in the food supply, scientists must work to reverse this path and responsibly report results. Companies must be open and transparent with consumers. This is why I think it’s so important to communicate science and share stories of how GMOs are helping agriculture and people.
This post only skims the surface of genetic modification. As with any technology, there are pros and cons that must be considered. Research is continually evolving and we must make changes based on data. This is an important issue to follow in the future.
This debate series is fascinating and allows you to cast your vote before and after the debate. Experts on both sides of the argument have a chance to discuss important points.
Warning! This video is almost 2 hours long. But, if you’re interested and you’ve got the time, I highly recommend! You can also read information on the debate webpage.
Food Business News. 2018. USDA Announces GMO Labeling Standard. https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/13064-usda-announces-gmo-labeling-standard
GMO Answers. Current GMO Crops.https://gmoanswers.com/current-gmo-crops
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2016. Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects. Washington, DC: The NationalAcademies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23395
Purdue University College of Agriculture. The Science of GMOs. https://ag.purdue.edu/GMOs/Pages/The-Science-of-GMOs.aspx
Ronald, Pam. 2015. (Video) The Case for Engineering our Food. TED. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ2TF8-PGQ4
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. BE Labeling and Disclosure. https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/be


As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, a day of hearts and flowers, chocolate and love, here are some fun facts about your sweet heart.
Though weighing only 11 ounces on average a healthy heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels each day.
Early Egyptians believed that the heart and other major organs had wills of their own and would move around inside the body.
The heart of an average man beats approximately 70 times a minute. The average woman has a heart rate of 78 beats per minute.
Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back.
Five percent of blood supplies the heart, 15-20% goes to the brain and central nervous system, and 22% goes to the kidneys.
The term “heartfelt” originated from Aristotle’s philosophy that the heart collected sensory input from other organs through the blood vessels. It was from those perceptions that thought and emotions arose.
Blood is actually a tissue. When the body is at rest, it takes only six seconds for the blood to go from the heart to the lungs and back, only 8 seconds for it to go to the brain and back, and only 16 seconds for it to reach the toes and travel all the way back to the heart.
Physician Erasistratus of Chios (304-250 B.C.) was the first to discover that the heart functioned as a natural pump.
French physician Rene Laennec (1781-1826) invented the stethoscope when he felt it was inappropriate to place his ear on his large-buxomed female patient’s chest.
Current and former staff members have contributed to our newsletter over the years. Now the articles are available to view here on our blog


Researchers from the University of Kansas are building a smaller, cheaper and more flexible fiber-laser microscope that could revolutionize biomedical and clinical work.
Coherent anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy already is a proven and powerful technology for peering into cells to observe lipids, proteins and DNA. But the lasers involved in CARS microscopy are complex and pricey, available only to top research institutions with deep pockets.
The KU project, headed by Carey Johnson, professor of chemistry, aims to simplify the tool and make using it faster and more economical. The goal is to bring the technology down in cost, and within reach of medical clinics and biomedical researchers.
“CARS has been around for a long time, but it’s been developed based on $300,000 laser systems that take up large optical tables,” Johnson said. “It’s not a very usable method of microscopy for everyday clinical use — it requires a very specialized lab and a system that’s not portable.”
By contrast, the simplified CARS system that Johnson is developing with Ron Hui, a fiber-optic expert and KU professor of electrical engineering and computer science, is based upon a single fiber laser and could fit inside a shoebox.
“This laser source would be much smaller, and much less expensive than the kinds of laser sources being used now for this kind of laser microscopy,” said Johnson. “We hope to make it much more accessible.”
Because every molecule vibrates at a unique frequency, CARS can identify unique molecules by reading those frequencies with laser beams.
“We pass two different wavelengths of light straight through the sample, and the CARS process creates a third wavelength, where the strength of that signal depends on the vibrations of the molecule,” Johnson said. “If the difference between frequencies of the two beams that we send into the sample match its vibrational frequency, that amplifies the signal, and we look for that amplification in the output beam.”
The collaboration could usher in low-cost CARS microscopy and put the powerful tool in the hands of more clinicians and researchers. “It’s important because we can look at the cells as they are,” said Johnson. “We don’t have to treat them with a dye, or a stain or some kind of label that would make them fluoresce. Currently, one has to go through extra steps to have cells genetically make something that fluoresces. This method avoids that.”
Funded by $156,000 from the National Institutes of Health, the instrument-making project will take three years and should result in a prototype fiber-optic laser microscope by 2014.


ADAL Tamara Zgadzaj
Tutor: Thomas Torley
This plan will examine three main long term problems affecting people with diabetes:
• heart and brain
People with diabetes should visit an eye doctor regularly, every year for an eye exam. Eye problems that can occur with diabetes include : cataracts ( a clouding of the lens ), glaucoma (increased pressure in the eyes ), retinopathy ( eye changes with the retina in the back of the eye ).
Symtoms of eye problems are : blurred vision, spots or lines in your vision, watery eyes, eye discomfort, and loss of vision.
Diabetics should check for urine problems at least once a year. Proteins in the urine are a sign of kidney ...view middle of the document...
The body loses its ability to control the level of sugar in the blood.Patients with diabetes can be taught how to control their diabetes by controlling what they eat, checking their blood sugar several times a day, and exercising.
If not controlled, diabetes can lead to serious complications such as kidney failure,blindness,amputations, and even death. It is easier to prevent diabetes than to treat it.
People can prevent or delay diabetes by; losing excess weight and belly fat if you are overweight, eating healthy, becoming more active, reducing your blood pressure if it is high, lowering your blood sugar level if you have pre-diabetes.
By adopting these lifestyle changes, people will lower their risk of developing diabetes and it's serious complications. A prevention plan can help them reduce their risk for diabetes and heart disease, whilst helping them to enjoy a healthier lifestyle.
Peyrot, M., Rubin, R. R., et al. (2005). Psychosocial problems and barriers to improved diabetes management: results of the Cross‐National Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs (DAWN) Study. Diabetic medicine, 22(10), 1379-1385.
Consultation, W. H. O. (1999). Definition, diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus and its complications (Vol. 1). Part.
American Diabetes Association. "Nutrition recommendations and principles for people with diabetes mellitus." Diabetes care 21.Supplement 1 (1998): S32-S35.
Kumanyika, S., et al. "Public Health Approaches to the Prevention of Obesity (PHAPO) Working Group of the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF)." International journal of obesity 26 (2002): 425-436.
Piette, J. D., & Kerr, E. A. (2006). The impact of comorbid chronic conditions on diabetes care. Diabetes care, 29(3), 725-731.
Zimmet, P., Shaw, J.,et al. (2003). Preventing Type 2 diabetes and the dysmetabolic syndrome in the real world: a realistic view. Diabetic medicine, 20(9), 693-702.


Technology is a way of life for kids. They use it for everything from simple communication with family and friends to entertainment to school-related tasks.
And the numbers prove it. In the course of just one minute, YouTube users upload 48 hours of new video content. Facebook users share over 680,000 pieces of content. More than 2 million Google searches occur. And over 200 million email messages are sent. And did you know teenagers send on average over 3,000 texts every month?
Many experts believe all that technology is influencing our children’s belief systems and, with it, their behaviors. Their brains are being re-wired to believe that choice is a fundamental right, instead of a privilege. Give them an instruction at home or at school, and they believe they have the right to choose between other options.
In addition, computers, videogames, and mobile devices are inhibiting their ability to invest in real relationships with real people.
All of which begs the question: How can parents help their child avoid spending too much time online?
Some parents react by swinging the pendulum in the opposite direction and pulling the plug on technology altogether. That could be an appropriate consequence if the problem grows severe enough, but I wouldn’t recommend that it be the first step. Instead, it’s usually best to help your child develop the ability to manage their own technology use.
For example, a great place to start is giving them reasonable time limits.
We also want to model proper time management ourselves. It’s hard to convince a child the importance of limiting their time online if the parent doesn’t limit theirs.
Also, consider replacing the “bad” with something “good.” In other words, the hours your child no longer spends with technology need to be replaced with a positive alternative, like books, puzzles, or activity outside.
And don’t forget the most powerful thing you can do: be actively engaged in your child’s world. Teach them how to live with balance, and they’ll learn a skill that’ll positively impact their life far beyond their use of technology.
If you’re noticing more and more screens lighting up your home, I think you’ll enjoy our discussion our program, “Managing Technology’s Impact on Your Kids.” Today we’re running part two of this helpful broadcast. Our guest is author and founder of Celebrate Kids, Inc., Dr. Kathy Koch.


Please watch the video clip below. You need only watch the first 6 minutes.
[jbox color=”white” title=”Ideas to Ponder…“]
- How could we build on the human instinct to cooperate and help in a blended classroom?
- How have we taught children in the past? Reflecting on the performance task teaching – has our teaching been effective in fostering inquiry-based learning and student-centred learning environments?
Please post your thoughts in the Lino.It. This activity is # 1. Drag the canvas to find the spot to post comments by…


Immune checkpoint inhibitors are important medications that boost the immune system’s response against various cancers, but some patients’ cancer cells are unaffected by the drugs or develop resistance during treatment.
Researchers led by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard recently identified an immune evasion gene that is turned on in some of these cells, and they found that silencing the gene enhanced the cells’ susceptibility to immunotherapy.
The gene codes for a protein called TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1), a multi-functional enzyme with an established role in coordinating innate immune responses to viruses and other invading pathogens.
In a study published in Nature led by senior authors Russell W. Jenkins, MD, Ph.D., an investigator in the Center for Cancer Research at MGH and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Member of the Broad Institute, and Robert T. Manguso, Ph.D., also an investigator in the Center for Cancer Research at MGH, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Member of the Broad Institute, found that deleting the TBK1 gene sensitizes tumors to immune attack.
Also, in mouse models of cancer, treatment with a pharmacologic inhibitor that blocks the activity of the TBK1 protein overcame tumors’ resistance to immunotherapy, without causing weight loss or other signs of systemic toxicity. This strategy also worked in novel patient-based tumor models, including what are called patient-derived organotypic tumor spheroids, or PDOTS, which are “living biopsies” that contain a patient’s own cancer cells and immune cells.
Mechanistically, the team found that blocking TBK1 augments the response to immunotherapy by sensitizing tumor cells to the effects of immune molecules including tumor necrosis factor and interferon.
“It’s counterintuitive that TBK1 loss would enhance immunotherapy, because this protein is generally thought to promote inflammation. Turning it off should make a tumor less sensitive to treatment, not more” says Manguso, who also co-leads the Tumor Immunotherapy Discovery Engine project at Broad. “However, we found that turning off TBK1 reprograms tumor cells’ response to immune signals called cytokines, causing them to die. This latter effect turns out to be critical in this context.”
“Our results demonstrate that targeting TBK1 is a novel and effective strategy to overcome resistance to cancer immunotherapy,” says Jenkins. “Our work also provides a framework to evaluate other potential immune evasion targets across multiple model systems using a combination of genetic and pharmacologic tools.”
Sun, Y. et al, Targeting TBK1 to overcome resistance to cancer immunotherapy, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-0000-0. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05704-6
Source: Read Full Article


About this item
Teaches the rules of basketball and explains why practice is important when learning a new sport.
Number of Pages: 32
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
Series Title: Start Smart: Sports
Publisher: Lerner Pub Group
Age Range: 4-8 years
Author: Aaron Derr
Street Date: January 1, 2017
Item Number (DPCI): 248-30-8034
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Some representative images related to biophysics. The first image on the left shows a simulation of DNA translocating through an artificial nanopore, a physical process that suggests a rapid inexpensive way to read out a genome. The second image shows optical manipulation of particular neurons in a rat's brain by the technique of optogenetics. The third image from the left shows an artificial oscillating dynamical system constructed out of interacting genes, which provides insights about gene regulatory networks. The last image shows a kinesin molecule transporting a vesicle along a microtubule highway (from the movie Inner Life of a Cell).
Many of the most interesting unsolved questions in biology and medicine—such as how did life arise and does life exist elsewhere in the universe, how do biomolecules such as enzymes or membrane channels accomplish their remarkable feats, how does a single zygote "decide" through biochemical computations to grow into a human with trillions of cells of different kinds, how does a brain process information and implement behavior, and what is the mechanism of cancer—involve intricate dynamical mechanisms and complicated structure that can often be usefully studied and understood by using ideas and techniques from physics. And conversely, many problems in biology and medicine raise interesting and novel questions for physicists and engineers, such as how does the extraordinary 500-atom-diameter flagellar motor of bacteria work, since it can spin at over 100 rotations per second, reverse instantly, and converts chemical to mechanical energy with an efficiency of over 98%.
Physics 174 focuses mainly on current frontiers of biophysics, and should be especially interesting to freshmen and sophomores who like biology and who like the quantitative style of physics. But the course should also be interesting to all Duke students who want to get a sense of what are some current hot scientific frontiers and who would like to hear some outstanding Duke and UNC researchers talk about their biophysics-related research. The guest speakers for this fall semester are:
The course assumes only a high-school knowledge of physics, chemistry,
biology, and math, although the more you know about these subjects,
the more you will get out of the course.


The Valgrind tool suite provides a number of debugging and profiling tools that help you make your programs faster and more correct. The most popular of these tools is called Memcheck which can detect many memory-related errors and memory leaks.
Prepare Your Program
Compile your program with -g to include debugging information so that Memcheck's error messages include exact line numbers. Using -O0 is also a good idea, if you can tolerate the slowdown. With -O1 line numbers in error messages can be inaccurate, although generally speaking running Memcheck on code compiled at -O1 works fairly well, and the speed improvement compared to running -O0 is quite significant. Use of -O2 and above is not recommended as Memcheck occasionally reports uninitialised-value errors which don't really exist.
module load valgrind
Running Serial Programs
If you normally run your program like this:
./myprog arg1 arg2
Use this command line:
valgrind --leak-check=yes ./myprog arg1 arg2
Memcheck is the default tool. The --leak-check option turns on the detailed memory leak detector.
Your program will run much slower (eg. 20 to 30 times) than normal, and use a lot more memory. Memcheck will issue messages about memory errors and leaks that it detects.
Running Parallel Programs
In your batch script, simply 1. load the module; 2. add "valgrind" in front of your command. For example, your aprun line will be replaced by the following:
module load valgrind
aprun -n 24 valgrind --leak-check=yes ./myprog arg1 arg2
When using Valgrind to debug your code, you may occasionally encounter error messages of the form:
valgrind: Unrecognised instruction at address 0x6b2f2b
accompanied by your program raising SIGILL and exiting. While this may be bug in your program (which caused it to jump to a non-code location), it may also be an instruction that is not correctly handled by Valgrind. For example, when using the Intel compilers on Edison, you may find this error is raised within the __intel_sse4_strtok() library function, which is in turn using the currently (Nov. 2014) unhandled pcmpistrm SSE4.2 instruction.
There are a couple of ways to work around issues related to unrecognized instructions. The simplest is often to make sure that the code you are debugging is compiled with the minimum level of optimization necessary in order to reproduce the bug you are investigating. This is in general good practice, and will avoid the use of more obscure (typically SIMD) instructions which are more likely to be unhandled.
If you find that this does not work, you may wish to try a different compiler - this can affect both the nature of the optimizations peformed on your code, as well as the libraries to which your code is linked. In the specific example above with __intel_sse4_strtok, switching to the GNU programming environment and recompiling the code being debugged remedied this situation.
Link to Outside Documentation
This page is based on the "Valgrind Quick Start Page". For more information about valgrind, please refer to http://valgrind.org/
For questions on using Valgrind at NERSC contact the consultants at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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The CERTT Resource Bank
The Collection of Electronic Resources in Translation Technologies (CERTT) is an electronic resource bank containing tutorials, exercises and other useful information designed for students, professors and language professionals who want to make better use of the many translation and terminology tools now available using LinguisTech.
Individual translation tools can be more or less appropriate in particular contexts; users may—and often should—make very different technological choices in different situations to meet specific needs. By providing tutorials and exercises that help identify the advantages, and inevitable challenges, of using computer tools in different contexts, CERTT aims to offer students, professors and professionals the opportunity to learn what tools can offer and how to make the best use of them. The ultimate goal: to make teaching, learning and research easier and more productive!
Computer tools can help translators in analyzing texts for terminological description, specialized translation, discourse analysis and the analysis of translation choices, among other applications. Tools currently covered in CERTT include term banks, terminology managers, term extractors, mono-/bilingual concordancers and corpus analyzers, translation memories, machine translation systems, localization tools and even general office tools.
CERTT can be used by professors, instructors, teaching assistants and students, as well as by language professionals. It is not centred purely on a single type of translation course or task. Computer tools are typically used in terminology and translation technology courses, as well as in tasks related to these subject areas. However, they can also be integrated into technical and specialized translation, comparitive stylistics, problems in English/French for translators—in most courses offered in translation programs and in most language-related work. The possibilities are endless!
As one of its main objectives, CERTT is designed to help professors, students and language professionals discover new tools and learn how to integrate them into their teaching, learning and work methods.
Updated November 17, 2011


Texas is the second largest state, by population and area, in the United States. While you’re waiting for the Galveston to Houston shuttle, learn the history behind some famous Texas sayings.
Why the Lone Star State
Texas was originally a part of Mexico. During its war of independence from Mexico, the flag of the Republic only had one star. Today, Texans are proud of their independent spirit and heritage. They consider the single star to represent their culture. The state flag and seal all contain “Lone Star State.” In 2015, the Texas legislature officially adopted this slogan as Texas’ nickname.
Why Six Flags Over Texas
Amusement parks and shopping malls utilize the slogan “Six Flags Over Texas.” The six flags refer to the six countries that have ruled over Texas during its history: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America. These six flags are flown in a manner prescribed by the Texas Historical Commission. You’ll find the flags on the back of the state seal.
Why Remember the Alamo
During the Texas Revolution, a Mexican army killed the Texans who were defending the Alamo. The Mexican general ordered the execution of all the Texan defenders who surrendered. The slogan “Remember the Alamo” honors the bravery of the Texan soldiers in the face of cruelty.
Why Don’t Mess With Texas
In 1986, the state transportation department started an anti-littering campaign to reduce the amount of trash on Texas highways. This slogan was printed on trash cans. The department has registered the slogan as a trademark. On their website, you can order shirts and hats with the slogan.
Texans are proud of their culture and their heritage. You will probably hear one of these slogans during your trip. Now you’ll understand the meaning of these slogans.


We all use calculators, spreadsheets, etc. for doing various kinds of calculations like addition, multiplication, division and subtraction. Now let us consider the operation of multiplication. When we multiply same number we are able to represent it in terms of exponents. For example:
Thus exponents naturally creep into our mathematical notations, because of their short-hand notation and convenience. Now let us consider exponents as an independent operation (like we created multiplication out of repeated addition). Thus:
Further we say that:
Now after handling negative and positive integers we can define for zero:
Here I am leaving one case, namely which has a very long and controversial history. We will come back to it after some time.
Now since we know other Number Systems let us try to generalize this exponent notation into what we call exponential function as:
Now let us consider few examples to understand this function; fix , then:
But if we play with base i.e. , it isn’t that much interesting for me, for example, set this is equivalent to
But calculators can calculate all these values easily. HOW? They have inbuilt logarithmic tables!!
Now let us return to our most weird case of generalization:
What is the value of ?
This is a very old question and many big-shots have tried to answer this question, and here I try to provide a big-picture of their attempts:
- Euler argues for since for . The controversy raged throughout the nineteenth century.
- Cauchy had listed together with other expressions like and in a table of undefined forms.
But in book Concrete Mathematics [p.162] authors remarked:
We must define for all , if the binomial theorem is to be valid when and . The theorem is too important to be arbitrarily restricted. By contrast, the function is quite unimportant.
But Alex Lopez-Ortiz firmly says:
But no, no, ten thousand times no! Anybody who wants the binomial theorem to hold for at least one non-negative integer must believe that , for we can plug in and to get 1 on the left and on the right.


Today Andy spoke to us about two Irelands. Andy’s parents immigrated from Ireland, so he sees it from a different point of view than most of the rest of us. The Ireland of parties and celebratory drinking is celebrated on March 17 in America. Historic Ireland is a land struggling to regain its freedom from the British and is celebrated on April 24. This year, April 24 is even more important. Because April 24 is the day of the Easter Uprising, which occurred exactly a century ago, April 24, 1916.
England had subdued Ireland over the course of centuries. The English had managed this partly because they had induced the Pope to give it to them. Things became even more confused after England and Scotland united into one country. Suddenly the border regions which had been in turmoil to everyone’s satisfaction, now was in turmoil to everyone’s distaste. They rounded up many of the families in the region who had been cattle rustling across the border (the border reivers) and forcibly exported them to Ireland. The exported border Scotsmen were predominantly Protestant, and Ireland was predominantly Catholic. Land was taken from the native Irish population and given to the newly arrived Scots families.
English law superseded Irish law. Irishmen were disenfranchised, not allowed to own property, firearms or a good horse. Old horses to pull carts were fine, apparently. Notably, the Irish were not allowed an education. Although the disputes were over economic equality, economic justice, and good old fashioned real justice, the primary flames starting the trouble was usually over religious differences. The newcomers were Protestant, and the natives were Catholic.
In 1649-1650 England sent an army to crush Ireland and crush it they did. The radical Protestant leader of England at the time, Oliver Cromwell, passionately hated Catholics and blamed them for all that was wrong in Europe. The Irish lost all political power in their country, and for the most part all economic power as well as their land was taken from them and given to Protestant Scots or Englishmen.
In 1916 England was in the midst of the desperate struggle in Europe we now know as WWI. The Irish decided that they had a chance at a rebellion since the English Army was busy in France. On April 24, 1916 about a thousand fighters rose up and took control of a large bit of central downtown Dublin. But the massive uprising they hoped to inspire did not occur. British forced wiped out the Irish fighters in what we now call the Easter uprising.
But it was not all fruitless. A short 6 years later England granted freedom to the Irish in the 3 southern provinces. Today, April 24 is a solemn memorial date in the Irish Nation. St Patrick’s day is the nation’s day to celebrate. Two Irelands, one heritage.


Born in Ireland, Edmund Burke (172997) immediately opposed the French Revolution, warning his countrymen against the dangerous abstractions of the French. He argued the case for tradition, continuity, and gradual reform based on practical experience.
It is no wonder therefore, that with these ideas of every thing in their constitution and government at home, either in church or state, as illegitimate and usurped, or at best as a vain mockery, they look abroad with an eager and passionate enthusiasm. Whilst they are possessed by these notions, it is vain to talk to them of the practice of their ancestors, the fundamental laws of their country, the fixed form of a constitution, whose merits are confirmed by the solid test of long experience, and an increasing public strength and national prosperity. They despise experience as the wisdom of unlettered men; and as for the rest, they have wrought under-ground a mine that will blow up at one grand explosion all examples of antiquity, all precedents, charters, and acts of parliament. They have "the rights of men." Against these there can be no prescription; against these no argument is binding: these admit no temperament, and no compromise: any thing withheld from their full demand is so much of fraud and injustice.
Against these rights of men let no government look for security in the length of its continuance, or in the justice and lenity of its administration. The objections of these speculatists, if its forms do not quadrate with their theories, are as valid against such an old and beneficent government as against the most violent tyranny or the greenest usurpation. They are always at issue with governments, not on a question of abuse, but a question of competency and a question of title. I have nothing to say to the clumsy subtilty of their political metaphysics. . . .
Far am I from denying in theory, full as far is my heart from withholding in practice (if I were of power to give or to withhold) the real rights of men. In denying their false claims of right, I do not mean to injure those which are real, and are such as their pretended rights would totally destroy. If civil society be made for the advantage of man, all the advantages for which it is made become his right. It is an institution of beneficence; and law itself is only beneficence acting by a rule. Men have a right to live by that rule; they have a right to do justice, as between their fellows, whether their fellows are in public function or in ordinary occupation. They have a right to the fruits of their industry and to the means of making their industry fruitful. They have a right to the acquisitions of their parents, to the nourishment and improvement of their offspring, to instruction in life, and to consolation in death. Whatever each man can separately do, without trespassing upon others, he has a right to do for himself; and he has a right to a fair portion of all which society, with all its combinations of skill and force, can do in his favor. In this partnership all men have equal rights, but not to equal things. He that has but five shillings in the partnership has as good a right to it as he that has five hundred pounds has to his larger proportion. But he has not a right to an equal dividend in the product of the joint stock; and as to the share of power, authority, and direction which each individual ought to have in the management of the state, that I must deny to be amongst the direct original rights of man in civil society; for I have in my contemplation the civil social man, and no other. It is a thing to be settled by convention.
If civil society be the offspring of convention, that convention must be its law. That convention must limit and modify all the descriptions of constitution which are formed under it. Every sort of legislative, judicial, or executory power are its creatures. They can have no being in any other state of things; and how can any man claim under the conventions of civil society rights which do not so much as suppose its existencerights which are absolutely repugnant to it? One of the first motives to civil society, and which becomes one of its fundamental rules, is that no man should be judge in his own cause. By this each person has at once divested himself of the first fundamental right of uncovenanted man, that is, to judge for himself and to assert his own cause. He abdicates all right to be his own governor. He inclusively, in a great measure, abandons the right of self-defense, the first law of nature. Men cannot enjoy the rights of an uncivil and of a civil state together. That he may obtain justice, he gives up his right of determining what it is in points the most essential to him. That he may secure some liberty, he makes a surrender in trust of the whole of it.
Government is not made in virtue of natural rights, which may and do exist in total independence of it, and exist in much greater clearness and in a much greater degree of abstract perfection; but their abstract perfection is their practical defect. By having a right to everything they want everything. Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. Men have a right that these wants should be provided for by this wisdom. Among these wants is to be reckoned the want, out of civil society, of a sufficient restraint upon their passions. Society requires not only that the passions of individuals should be subjected, but that even in the mass and body, as well as in the individuals, the inclinations of men should frequently be thwarted, their will controlled, and their passions brought into subjection. This can only be done by a power out of themselves, and not, in the exercise of its function, subject to that will and to those passions which it is its office to bridle and subdue. In this sense the restraints on men, as well as their liberties, are to be reckoned among their rights. But as the liberties and the restrictions vary with times and circumstances and admit to infinite modifications, they cannot be settled upon any abstract rule; and nothing is so foolish as to discuss them upon that principle.
The moment you abate anything from the full rights of men, each to govern himself, and suffer any artificial, positive limitation upon those rights, from that moment the whole organization of government becomes a consideration of convenience. This it is which makes the constitution of a state and the due distribution of its powers a matter of the most delicate and complicated skill. It requires a deep knowledge of human nature and human necessities, and of the things which facilitate or obstruct the various ends which are to be pursued by the mechanism of civil institutions. The state is to have recruits to its strength, and remedies to its distempers. What is the use of discussing a man's abstract right to food or medicine? The question is upon the method of procuring and administering them. In that deliberation I shall always advise to call in the aid of the farmer and the physician rather than the professor of metaphysics.
The science of constructing a commonwealth, or renovating it, or reforming it, is, like every other experimental science, not to be taught a priori. Nor is it a short experience that can instruct us in that practical science, because the real effects of moral causes are not always immediate . . . .
The nature of man is intricate; the objects of society are of the greatest possible complexity; and, therefore, no simple disposition or direction of power can be suitable either to man's nature or to the quality of his affairs. When I hear the simplicity of contrivance aimed at and boasted of in any new political constitutions, I am at no loss to decide that the artificers are grossly ignorant of their trade or totally negligent of their duty. . . .
The rights of men are in a sort of middle, incapable of definition, but not impossible to be discerned. . . .
But now all is to be changed. All the pleasing illusions which made power gentle and obedience liberal, which harmonized the different shades of life, and which, by a bland assimilation, incorporated into politics the sentiments which beautify and soften private society, are to be dissolved by this new conquering empire of light and reason. All the decent drapery of life is to be rudely torn off. All the super-added ideas, furnished from the wardrobe of a moral imagination, which the heart owns and the understanding ratifies as necessary to cover the defects of our naked, shivering nature, and to raise it to dignity in our own estimation, are to be exploded as a ridiculous, absurd, and antiquated fashion. . . .
But power, of some kind or other, will survive the shock in which manners and opinions perish; and it will find other and worse means for its support. The usurpation which, in order to subvert ancient institutions, has destroyed ancient principles will hold power by arts similar to those by which it has acquired it. When the old feudal and chivalrous spirit of fealty, which, by freeing kings from fear, freed both kings and subjects from the precautions of tyranny, shall be extinct in the minds of men, plots and assassinations will be anticipated by preventive murder and preventive confiscation, and that long roll of grim and bloody maxims which form the political code of all power not standing on its own honor and the honor of those who are to obey it. Kings will be tyrants from policy when subjects are rebels from principle. . . .
We are but too apt to consider things in the state in which we find them, without sufficiently adverting to the causes by which they have been produced and possibly may be upheld. Nothing is more certain than that our manners, our civilization, and all the good things which are connected with manners and with civilization have, in this European world of ours, depended for ages upon two principles and were, indeed, the result of both combined: I mean the spirit of a gentleman and the spirit of religion. The nobility and the clergy, the one by profession, the other by patronage, kept learning in existence, even in the midst of arms and confusions, and whilst governments were rather in their causes than formed. Learning paid back what it received to nobility and to priesthood, and paid it with usury, by enlarging their ideas and by furnishing their minds. Happy if they had all continued to know their indissoluble union and their proper place! Happy if learning, not debauched by ambition, had been satisfied to continue the instructor, and not aspired to be the master! Along with its natural protectors and guardians, learning will be cast into the mire and trodden down under the hoofs of a swinish multitude.
See the fate of Bailly and Condorcet, supposed to be here particularly alluded to. Compare the circumstances of the trial and execution of the former with this prediction. . . .
I wish you may not be going fast, and by the shortest cut, to that horrible and disgustful situation. Already there appears a poverty of conception, a coarseness, and a vulgarity in all the proceedings of the Assembly and of all their instructors. Their liberty is not liberal. Their science is presumptuous ignorance. Their humanity is savage and brutal.
Source: Edmund Burke, The Works of Edmund Burke, 3 vols. (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1860), 1:48183, 48891.


Do you think you and your family apply sunscreen at the appropriate times and in the appropriate amount? If you think you do, you might want to rethink your answer and make sure you have all of the facts. According to a recent survey commissioned by NO-AD of moms with children 18 or under, correct use of sunscreen isn’t as common as you would think.
The survey found that nearly two in 10 moms (17%) were unaware that, after their initial slathering of sunscreen, they needed to reapply after extended exposure. The survey also revealed that fewer than half of moms (48%) know the correct amount of sunscreen they need to apply to the face and body while at the pool, lake, or beach. More than half of moms surveyed (54%) thought that the proper time to apply sunscreen is as soon as they start feeling their skin burning (which is NOT the proper time, in case you were wondering). And nearly 2 in 10 (17%) confessed that their reason for not reapplying sunscreen was that they wanted a tan — this, despite widespread warnings about the dangers of skin cancer from unprotected exposure.
So what are the correct answers to those questions? Well to start with, apply sunscreen 15 to 20 minutes BEFORE going out in the sun and reapply every two hours or after swimming or sweating. How much should you use? A golf ball-sized amount (1 oz.), and that’s for every time you apply or reapply sunscreen. You should also use broad-spectrum, at least SPF 30 and water-resistant to help protect from UVA and UVB rays. And if you use a spray-on sunscreens it MUST be rubbed into the skin to be effective.
With all that said, why should we care? Quite simply because sun’s UV rays can cause melanoma skin cancer. Think that it’s not very likely that YOU would get it? Listen to these sobering stats from The American Academy of Dermatology.
- On average, 1 person dies from melanoma every hour.
- 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
- Research shows women are 9 times more likely than men to notice melanoma on others.
- Nearly 9,500 Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer each day.
- The five-year survival rate for melanoma when detected and treated in its early stages is 98%.
May is Melanoma Awareness Month and a good time to start prioritizing your skin and body health. I don’t know about you, but I’m sure going to do my best to make sure my family is protected through the appropriate use of sunscreen this summer.
For More Information:
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Disclaimer: I have teamed up with NO-AD in support of this campaign. We received compensation for participation in this campaign. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.


Boilermakers made boilers and were also general metal workers.
Steam engines were used to power many machines, trains and ships in the 19th Century. A boiler was an essential part of a steam engine as it was used to heat water to create steam. Boilers were made of plates of metal or tubes that were cut, bent and shaped by the Boilermakers.
Boilermakers also worked as general metal workers rolling, shearing, welding, riveting and making metal structures and machines. They built steam trains, constructed metal bridges and built iron and steel ships.
For information about boilermakers' unions, click here
Sources for family history in our collection
Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Blacksmiths, Shipbuilders and Structural Workers
The following information can be found in annual reports
|New members||Name and registration number||1872-1873, 1875-1983|
|Members expelled, black listed and in arrears||Name and registration number||1872-1873, 1975-1983|
|Deceased members and members' wives||Name, age and cause of death||1872-1973, 1976-1983|
|Accident benefit||Name, registration number and monies received||1872-1975|
|Superannuation benefit||Name, registration number and monies received||1872-1875, 1880-1973|
|Other benefits including sick pay||Name, registration number and monies received||1872-1875, 1880-1882, 1885, 1887-1917|
|Branch Secretaries||Names and addresses||1872-1873, 1875-1983|


Impact of mobile technology
As every child has the right to an education and to develop to the fullest extent, mobile devices provide an ideal platform for educational content and support. Mobile operators, can support organisations to disseminate online content that meets the learning and educational needs of children of all ages. They can also promote the use of ICT in education and help to bridge the digital divide by using e-learning to create new opportunities for children.
In addition, mobile technology can support education professionals by enabling them to connect to new tools and online networks so they can improve their teaching outcomes. Working with education partners, the mobile industry can also enable mobile money services to facilitate the payment of school fees and teachers’ salaries.
Article 28, CRC: Right to education
Article 29, CRC: Goals of education


“GOD IS NOT YET DEAD”
The pervasive presence and usages of religion in all the spheres of contemporary social life.
Arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others for thousands of years. In philosophical terms, such arguments involve primarily the disciplines of epistemology (the nature and scope of knowledge) and ontology (study of the nature of being, existence, or reality) and also the theory of value, since concepts of perfection are connected to notions of God. A wide variety of arguments exist which can be categorized as metaphysical, logical, empirical, or subjective. Does God exist? Is there a ...view middle of the document...
Atheists maintain that arguments for the existence of God provide insufficient reason to believe. Additionally, some contend that it is possible to affirmatively disprove the existence of God, or of certain characteristics traditionally attributed to God such as perfection.
Fideists acknowledge that belief in the existence of God may not be amenable to demonstration or refutation, but rests on faith alone. The Catholic Church maintains that knowledge of the existence of God is available in the "natural light of human reason" alone. Other religions, such as Buddhism, do not concern themselves with the existence of gods at all.
GOD IS NOT YET DEAD
RELIGION:Religion is often defined as a set of beliefs that explain the world and the universe; however, for individuals, religion and spirituality are more than just a way of understanding the world. There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about who God is and what attributes he possesses.
ORIGIN OF RELIGION:
Religion is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure which means- respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods, obligation, the bond between man and the gods.
In Classical theism, God is characterized as the metaphysically ultimate being (the first, timeless, absolutely simple, and sovereign being, who is devoid of any anthropomorphic qualities), in distinction to other conceptions such as Theistic Personalism, Open Theism, and Process Theism. Despite extensive writing on the nature of God, these classical theists did not believe that God could be defined. They believed that it would contradict the transcendent nature of God for mere humans to define him. Robert Barron explains by analogy that it seems impossible for a two dimensional object to conceive of three dimensional humans. By contrast, much of Eastern religious thought (chiefly pantheism) posits God as a force contained in every imaginable phenomenon. For example, Baruch Spinoza and his followers use the term God in a particular philosophical sense to mean the essential substance/principles of nature.
In modern Western societies, the concept of God typically entails a monotheistic, supreme, ultimate, and personal being, as found in the Islamic, Christian and Hebrew traditions. In monotheisms outside the Abrahamic traditions, the existence of God is discussed in similar terms.
In the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, reality is ultimately seen as a single, qualityless, changeless nirguna Brahman. Advaitin philosophy introduces the concept of saguna Brahman or Ishvara as a way of talking about Brahman to people. Ishvara, in turn, is ascribed such qualities as omniscience, omnipotence, and benevolence.
The Elements of Religion:A conventional social scientific view understands religion as a group's collective beliefs and rituals relating to the supernatural.
Religious Symbols:Religious symbols from the top nine organized faiths of...


VUME – impacting society with inclusive presentations
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- Design
Information and communication technology has revolutionised the traditional systems of knowledge sharing. Today, hundreds of digital presentations are made every day in conferences and events as well as by various organisations and educational institutions. However, the accessibility aspects of those presentations have hardly been given any consideration. According to the World Health Organisation more than one billion or 1 in every 5 people on this planet lives with some form of disability and 70 percent of those disabilities are invisible. When conducting presentations it is hard to know who in your audience might have a disability.This diploma project investigates the current challenges faced by both presenters and participants and to solve the current communication and engagement challenges of digital presentations for participants with situational limitations and permanent disabilities. The project aims to deliver an interactive, mobile accessible and web based product to provide an experience that will help improve underserved audience’s interaction and ability to consume content in multiple relevant modalities where they were not able to properly consume in the past. Also to achieve increased interactivity between the presenter and the audience using the presenter and attendee product.The development process is based upon iterative loop strategy where stakeholders were involved from the very early stage of concept development and to make sure to design and develop features in close collaboration with them.The project goal is to globally impact the way knowledge is shared through digital presentations and the vision is to make this knowledge inclusive and accessible for all.


Have you ever noticed how closely related are the words “thinking” and “thanking?” The mind is one of Nature’s loveliest creations. I remember reading somewhere that just as a meadow gives birth to wild flowers, so the mind generates thoughts and ideas. This is its nature, and it does so beautifully and without effort. It is a delight to walk along a beach, thinking, musing, imagining–all functions of the mind. I love Wordsworth’s allusion to “the inward eye, which is the bliss of solitude.” It has become fashionable, however, in some “spiritual” circles to denigrate the mind. The “left brain” is often seen as the source of all of our problems, and if we could just turn the darned thing off, life would flow more smoothly. Perhaps, however, there are perspectives in which sometimes minding our minds, and at other times not minding our minds, could make life immeasurably richer.
We use “to mind” in many ways, but in this series of essays, I would like to think about four of them: Tonight, I am going to mind the kids. Mind the gap. Mind your Mother!! I mind it when the guy at the next table is smoking.
These meanings suggest that we put the mind to work when we care about something, ranging from nurturing love to dependent attachment; when we sense danger, ranging from reasonable attention to paralyzing terror; when we are in the sway of authority, ranging from suggestions to harsh commands; and when something irritates us–ranging from mild discomfort to severe aversion. The mind itself is often the object of each of these senses of “minding:” It, too, can be irritating, or needing care, or issuing orders, or warning of danger. As I “think” about it, it seems to me that in most of the gentler meanings of “to mind” there are ways to mind the mind that are positive and helpful. As we get to the other end of the spectrum, however, the mind can become a tyrant that inhibits the creation of an artful life. During the next few days, I am going to write a series of essays on these various meanings of minding the mind.
1. Minding the kids: caring for the mind. I can think of two ways in which it is important to care for the mind. The first is obvious: use it or lose it. In my mid-seventies, I am still devoting significant time to learning languages. I just love this. Speaking a person’s language is a key to opening the hearts of oneself and others. It keeps my mind agile and attentive, and my heart filled with joy. This connection between the heart and the mind, between mental exercise and joyful engagement, is the key to caring for the mind. We all learned in school that force-feeding the mind is counter productive, to put it mildly. Plato, in fact, was against compulsory education of any kind and at any stage of life. “For the free spirit” he said, “there should be no element of slavery in learning, for forced learning takes no hold in the mind.” I will write more about healing the gap between mind and heart in the next essay in this series.
There are other ways to care for the mind. It helps to turn off the TV and read a decent book once in a while. Even planning a trip (how to get from Madrid to Seville to Malaga to Nerja) is invigorating mental exercise, with a great pay-off. For many people, meditation in one form or another has become a powerful gentling of the mind’s anxieties. And of course, writing a blog, and reading the inspiring thoughts of fellow bloggers, nurtures the mind’s vitality.
The second way we care for the mind is suggested by Thich Nhat Hahn. “Be careful,” he says, “about what you invite into the living room of your minds.” Just as with my children, I need to have a “parental filter” on my own mind. What do I read, what do I watch, what fantasies do i entertain, and what is the quality of my conversations? Am I feeding my prejudices,or opening my mind to more ample vistas? Am I paralyzing my mind with fear, or learning to create positive frames for this challenging world in which I find myself? Our minds, like our children, call for tender nurturing and healthy nutrition, and perhaps some discipline, in order to grow toward their richest possibilities.
On the negative side, we can become obsessed with the mind, and live entirely within its narrow confines. G. K. Chesterton once observed that modern people have huge heads and tiny chests, like the Grinch, whose heart was two sizes too small. Just as a parent can become overly protective of his children, so we can attempt to insulate the mind from ideas that upset our cherished opinions. It is tempting to protect the mind by building a wall around it, turning it into Plato’s cave. As Robert Frost advised, however, before I build a wall, I want to know what I am walling out and what I am walling in.
Dogen Zenji, the founder of Soto Zen, was fond of urging his students to “great faith and great doubt.” I think the trick is to honor the truth that you have crafted over a lifetime of learning, whether through reading, thinking, discussing, or even cultural conditioning–and at the same time to realize that the entire content of the mind is partial and tentative. What I think I know is always open to question and further refinement, often expansion, and sometimes outright rejection. This is what Socrates meant when he said he knew nothing true and beautiful, and that this not-knowing is the essence of wisdom. My ideas, no matter how beautiful and considered they may be, must always be open to doubt. The mind’s greatest enemies can be its cherished answers that close off further thought. It’s greatest friends are its questions. Thus, a mind lovingly cared for is one filled with wonder.


Cyber Security firm Avast said there was around 75,000 cases of the ransomware attack. It is famous with the name WannaCry and variations of it. It is spreading around the globe very quickly. There are reports of virus attacks in 99 nations, including Russia and China.
Moreover, Computer viruses are little software that spread from one PC to another and corrupt the PC operation. A computer infection may erase information from your PC. It can utilize your email program to spread itself to different PCs, or even eradicate everything on your hard disk. In any case, these viruses save as attachments of amusing pictures, welcoming cards, or sound and video records. In fact, they are covering up in unlawful programming or different files you may download. There might be different sorts of PC viruses. Ransomware is one of them.
What Is Ransomware Attack?
Ransomware prevents you from utilizing your PC. It holds your PC or records for ransom. A few variants of ransomware are called “FBI Moneypak” or the “FBI virus” since they utilize the FBI’s logos.
What Ransomware Can Do?
- Prevent you from getting access to Windows.
- Encrypt files so you can’t utilize them.
- Stop certain applications from running (like your web program).
They will request that you do something to access your PC or documents. We have seen them:
- Demand you pay cash.
- Make you finish surveys.
Cryptowall 4.0 Virus:
CryptoWall 4.0 uses latest technology to encode essential documents. It makes a request to pay the ransome in return for the uncommon decoding key. If you would prefer not to lose your cash, you should not pay it. As there are a huge number of individuals who lost everything after sending their cash to programmers. Also, this new form of CryptoWall can barely identify by anti-virus programs. It can even avoid detection by the second generation endeavor firewall solutions.
It is one of the more offensive sorts of malware that you can run over. It can truly get the anxiety levels rising if you have been sufficiently unfortunate to have succumbed to it. Likewise with so many of alternate sorts of malware, the sign is in the name with regards to seeing exactly what it is that email@example.com ransom virus can do. If you have been attacked, the program will steal your records and projects and hold them to ransom. It does this by assaulting your operating system and after that encrypting the information on your PC so that everything is rendered out of reach.
.ccc record virus:
CCC stands for Catalyst Control Center. It’s a piece of your ATI video card driver bundle. To be more particular, it’s a piece of the utilities packaged alongside the drivers, and includes highlights like modifying your display, or setting hotkeys for various display profiles. As long as the ccc.exe utility is introduced into your Program Files\ATI Technology catalog, it’s a genuine procedure that can be allowed to sit unbothered.
Crypt0L0cker is a Trojan ransomware program. It focuses on all targets of Windows including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. This attack is striking because of how it encrypts the client’s records. Moreover, It utilizes AES-265 and RSA encryption technique – keeping in mind the end goal to guarantee that the influenced client must choose the option to buy the private key. When Crypt0L0cker ransomware is first introduced on your PC it will make an irregular named executable in the %AppData% or %LocalAppData% directory. Furthermore, This executable will be launched and start to scan all the drive letters on your PC for data documents to encrypt.
Wanna Cry or Wanna Decryptor is an extraordinary ransomeware program that bolts all information on a PC and leaves the client with just two records: directions on what to do next and the Wanna Decryptor program itself. At the point when the program is opened it tells PC clients that their documents have been encryted, and gives them a couple days to pay up, warning that their records will generally be erased. It requests to pay in Bitcoin, gives guidelines on how to get it, and gives a Bitcoin address to send it to.
In fact, the “WannaCry” ransomware seems to have utilized an error in Microsoft’s program, found by the National Security Agency and spilled by programmers, to spread quickly across systems blocking documents. However, Ransomware which requests to pay after an attack, has turned into a rising trend among programmers searching for a snappy payout.
How to Avoid Ransomware:
You can find a way to get rid of ransomware by keeping your antivirus program refreshed and guaranteeing that it checks your PC regularly for any new virus attacks and malware. It is a smart thought to ensure that your antivirus program incorporates anti-spyware and anti-adware applications; nonetheless, anti-ransomware is not required. Furthermore, you ought to utilize a firewall, arrange your program security settings, utilize the latest updates, and empower your pop-up blocker. As a result, always keep a backup your documents with an external storage, for example, an outside hard drive.


January 20, 2020 by Speakers' Spotlight
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Son Still Works to Achieve His Father’s Dream
As people celebrate the birthday of American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. today, his son Martin Luther King III shares what he hopes this day of remembrance sparks across America and the world.
King spoke with USA Today:
At 62, King III is now nearly a quarter-century older than his father was when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, gunned down on a hotel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39.
King Jr.’s eldest son speaks with an eloquence and passion reminiscent of the civil rights icon, whose powerful speeches and sermons are synonymous with the nation’s nascent movement in the 1950s and ’60s. He talks of how his personal loss also was a profound one for the course of history.
“Had he lived, we would be in a dramatically different place,” King III said in an interview with USA TODAY at his home in Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead community. “We probably would have resolved racism.”
As the nation pauses Monday to honor King Jr.’s life and legacy, King III says his father’s work toward peace and equality remains unfinished. The country has yet to overcome voter suppression, disparities in housing and education, poverty, police brutality and many other injustices faced by people of color.
A poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in 2018 revealed that only 1 in 10 African Americans believed the United States had achieved all or most of the goals of the civil rights movement.
King III hopes the federal holiday sparks a renewed fight for justice.
“As our nation has become more divided, there is a resonance for a message to bring people together,” he said.
To commemorate his father’s legacy, King also put out a call to action to political leaders in a USA Today column. He argues that while partisanship is understandable, hyper-partisanship is destructive, and challenges them to remain respectful instead of issuing personal snipes.
Our leaders should certainly engage passionate advocacy of needed reforms, and equally strong criticism of policies they believe are destructive to America. But, from the school boards to the White House, let’s elect more candidates who are committed to constructive dialogue and reasonable compromises.
Toward that end, I call on all of our elected officials to declare a moratorium on personal insults, accusations and name-calling. I realize that many will ignore this challenge. But if even a few take it to heart, they can set a positive example for future leaders.
And let this challenge begin with we, the voters, as we conduct political dialogues in our communities, both in-person and on-line. Instead of just complaining about the stridency of political debates, let’s strive to make our dialogue and disagreements more mutually-respectful and constructive. In so doing, we too can help build the Beloved Community of my father’s dream.
Martin Luther King III has seized the torch lit by his parents, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King. He continues their quest for equality and justice for all.
Motivating audiences with his message of hope and responsibility for over twenty years, his dedication to ridding the world of social, political, and economic injustice has propelled him to the forefront as one of the world’s most ardent advocates for the poor, the oppressed, and the disillusioned.
Interested in learning more about King and what he can bring to your next event? Email us at firstname.lastname@example.org.


New Jersey Department of Health reported that it currently has two residents that are ill in connection to a major outbreak caused by the consumption of raw milk from a Pennsylvania farm, Family Cow Dairy.
Currently 78 people in four states have become ill with campylobacteriosis, a gastrointestinal illness, from the consumption of the raw milk contaminated with bacteria. Pennsylvania Department of Health officials said Thursday that the total number of cases continued to increase. The department has identified 68 cases in Pennsylvania, five in Maryland, two in New Jersey and three in West Virginia.
The bottled raw milk products were distributed throughout Pennsylvania, including Montgomery, Bucks, Philadelphia, and Delaware counties, which all border the Delaware River. The raw milk from this farm was purchased in Pennsylvania. The sale or distribution of raw milk is banned in New Jersey.
While the majority of illness has occurred in Pennsylvania, residents in New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia have also been affected. A 27-year-old male from Burlington County and a 3-year-old male from Gloucester County both got ill after consuming raw milk from the Family Cow Dairy in Pennsylvania.
The illness typically lasts one week. Some infected people do not have any symptoms. In those with compromised immune systems, Campylobacter occasionally spreads to the bloodstream and causes a life-threatening infection. Long-term complications may include contracting Guillain Barre Syndrome, which may result in paralysis and usually requires intensive care.
The source of this outbreak, Family Cow Dairy, has since been permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to resume bottling. It is important to note that this outbreak occurred despite the fact that Family Cow Dairy is licensed, inspected, and operating in compliance with Pennsylvania laws.
Here is a good overview on the statistics on raw milk risks – “CDC: Raw Milk Much More Likely to Cause Illness”
And, for those who think campylobacter is just a “tummy ache,” please watch this video:


If one were to look for proof of how long cannabis has existed and influenced culture, one of the oldest cannabis traditions dates as far back as 2000 B.C. and is still in use today. “Bhang,” as it is colloquially referred to, is an edible cannabis drink that is often used during traditional Hindu festivals such as Holi, Janmashtami, and Shrivratri.
The History of Bhang
Cannabis is known in the modern world for its many medicinal and therapeutic uses, so it’s not surprising that ancient cultures found many spiritual, medicinal, and therapeutic uses for the versatile plant. Bhang has become an integral part of Indian culture, having been in use for four thousand years.
In parts of rural India, bhang is believed to cure fever, dysentery, and sunstroke, as well as aiding in digestion, clearing phlegm, and even curing speech impediments. In Ayurvedic and Tibbi rituals, cannabis was given orally to treat diseases like malaria and rheumatism. Warriors would drink bhang to steel their nerves, and newlyweds would consume bhang to increase their libido.
Cannabis has a long-held reputation in India for its religious and spiritual implications, particularly in Hinduism. The Hindu god of transformation, Shiva, is believed to have used bhang to focus inward and harness his divine powers, and cannabis was deemed one of the five most sacred plants on Earth in the sacred Hindu text Atharvaveda. In certain Vedic rituals, cannabis stems were burned in the ritual fire (yagna) to overcome enemies and evil forces, as Vedas refer to cannabis as a “source of happiness,” a “joy giver,” and a “liberator.”
The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission
When the British arrived in colonial India, the use of cannabis was so widespread that they commissioned a large-scale study known as the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report of 1894. British and Indian medical experts conducted 1,193 standardized interviews across 30 cities to determine the social and moral impact of the use of cannabis. Seven volumes of data and conclusions were produced by the study, with an overwhelming consensus that prohibition would be unjustifiable and that moderate cannabis was harmless, both socially and physically. “To forbid or even seriously to restrict the use of so gracious an herb as cannabis would cause widespread suffering and annoyance,” the report concluded.
Since then, sales of bhang are government-authorized with the issuance of a permit for vendors. Particularly popular in northern India, bhang in solid form, bhang lassis, and thandai or sardai beverages are sold, usually during festivals.
If you’d like to try bhang yourself, here is a common bhang recipe:
2 cups water
- Up to 1/2 ounce of fresh cannabis leaves and flowers
- 3 cups warm milk
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground fennel
- 1/2 tsp ground anise
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp rosewater
- 1/2 cup honey or sugar
- Rose petals, mint leaves, chopped almonds or pistachios to garnish
- Heat water to a rapid boil, then remove from heat and add the cannabis plant material. Steep for about seven minutes.
- Strain cannabis leaves and flower from water using a muslin cloth. Squeeze the plant matter until all liquid has been removed. Collect the water and set it aside.
- Put the leaves and flowers into a mortar and pestle with 2 teaspoons of warm milk. Slowly but firmly grind the leaves and milk together, then squeeze the flowers to extract the milk. Continue this process until you have used about ½ cup of milk. Save the extracted milk.
- Add chopped almonds, pistachios, rose petals, mint leaves or any other garnishes to your mortar and pestle, along with more warm milk. Grind until a fine paste is formed. Collect the extract and discard any additional nut fibers or residue.
- Combine all the liquids together, and add garam masala, ginger, fennel, anise, cardamom, and rosewater. Add honey (or sugar) and the remaining warm milk.
- Mix well, chill, serve, and enjoy.
There are many variations on bhang drinks:
To make a bhang lassi, add ½ teaspoon of grenadine and a tablespoon of coconut milk. Some recipes may also call for yogurt, curds, and/or whey for a true Indian lassi.
Thandai is another popular variation on the traditional bhang beverage. Thandai uses the pre-made bhang mixture, but also adds almonds, cashews, melon seeds, dates, and black peppercorn to be ground in the mortar and pestle or hand mixer. Once the thandai paste is prepared, add to warm milk and the bhang mixture and let everything simmer for 4-5 minutes. Pour the mixture into a tall glass and let it chill. Serve the beverage with chia seeds and rose petals on top as a garnish.
Have you ever made bhang? Let us know your favorite variations and recipes!


Living Streets announced the findings of a report into street survey yesterday. The new report was to mark the 80th anniversary of the formation of Living Streets (formerly the Pedestrians Association), highlighted the changes in how streets are used.
Stating that almost half the children aged between 5-10 years old never play on their streets and that over 2/3 of the parents use the car or public transport to go to supermarkets as they were out of walking distance.
New research shows our streets are in danger of losing the social function they have had in the past, as they are shifted from social hubs for the community, into spaces considered no go areas for children.
Tony Armstrong, Chief Executive of Living Streets said:
“Overall the research published today paints a bleak picture of how our streets have changed over the past 80 years. More than a quarter of people today know less than two of their neighbours, where as the majority of older respondents remember knowing at least 5 of their neighbours well when they had a young family. In addition to this, it is becoming increasingly rare to see children playing out on the streets. We have effectively designed ourselves out of our own communities through urban planning that has failed to prioritise people.
SOURCE: Living Streets


Serious pathologic diseases appear because of the hormone deficit of the adrenal cortex. As a result of these pathologies, a human experiences a destruction of the bone tissue, hormone balance is disordered, chronic allergic and cardiovascular diseases are developed.
In order to make up the hormone deficit of the adrenal cortex and treat severe pathological diseases, patients are recommended to buy Prednisone.
What is Prednisone?
A hormone medicine Prednisone is a strong pharmacological agent which is used in the medical practice to treat many diseases. Prednisone is a synthetic analogue of the hormones which are produced by the adrenal cortex and makes up its deficit in the body.
During the high level of these hormones, metabolic processes are improved, the regeneration of the tissues and bone tissues are improved, malignant and benign tumors are reduced.
Prednisone has a wide range of the pharmacological activity. It shows antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, antishock, and immunosupressive action. This medicine provides an intense pharmacological action, and therefore the recovery of the body happens quickly.
Prednisone can be used for the treatment of the following diseases:
- Chronic hepatitis
- Inflammatory joint disease of various severity
- Connective tissue diseases
- Rheumatic diseases
- Allergic diseases
- Diseases of the kidneys and adrenal glands
A great advantage and drawback of Prednisone is a general systemic therapeutic effect. It does not act selectively in the area where the inflammatory or allergic process is. The active ingredients of Prednisone penetrate into most tissues, liquids, and organs of the human body and start acting.
As a result of the general medical effect, patients often record the appearance of the different side effects: increased level of glucose in the blood, reduction of the muscle mass, strong catabolism, increased arterial pressure, high concentration of the hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice, disorder of the water and mineral balance, and liquid retention in the body.
The side effects of Prednisone cannot be avoided but they can be reduced. Before buying Prednisone, consult your doctor. It is needed to have a complete medical examination and specify diagnosis and a cause of the disease. According to the results of the examination, the doctor will prescribe an individual course of the treatment which will include an individual dosage regimen and scheme of the treatment with Prednisone. Then, you can buy Prednisone and start the treatment.
All doctor’s recommendations should be observed during the use of Prednisone. It will help to lower the frequency and intensity of the symptoms of the side effects and avoid negative action of the hormone medicine.
Buy Prednisone Online
Buying Prednisone will help you to completely restore the broken metabolism and maintain a normal level of water balance, mineral salts, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.


Strategy for IAS Current Affairs
We advice you to read the Current Affairs section Topic-wise; and keep the following point in mind while reading Current Affairs section.
Separate the factual information from the descriptive details.
Supplement each information with its background.
Analyze the information on various dimensions, its effect on various areas.
Try to connect the available information with your optional paper and with various section of the G.S. paper.
Lets explain this by following example:
Recently Tendulkar committee has suggested that there are 37% of population living below the poverty line. Where as planning commission suggested only 27%, and on that basis all government plans and programmes are formulated. If this is the case, then:
What about the remaining 10%?
What are the criteria Tendulker committees has taken to measure the BPL?
What are the criteria of the planning commission of India to measure the same?
What is your opinion regarding the above?
What could be done to known the exact figure of the BPL population?
What would be the right criteria?
Is it these mis-matches which create hindrances to eradicate poverty from India?
In this way with single information you can analyze it on various perspectives. For this you do not have to memorise, but to think again and again on each and every topic, each and every fact and figure of this section. If you do so, I guarantee, you will qualify the P.T with ease. And you will definitely secure good marks in your GS and Second/Optional papers.
This whole process enhances your thinking capability as well as generates a multi-dimensional perspective.
This process will prepare you for both P.T. and Mains Exams simultaneously. Hence it will boost up your chances in cracking the exam.
I hope all of you who rely on this course would get maximum benefit from the process.
Best of Luck!
Go To Current Affairs Home Page


The English Lake District and Beyond
Ecological restoration and re-wilding are common practices in the management of landscapes. Both approaches aim to restore past landscapes and, in doing so, enhance biodiversity. Unfortunately, whilst we have a good understanding of what past landscapes looked like, we have little idea of what the species were that inhabited those landscapes.
Botanical surveys using modern scientific approaches did not start until around the 1960’s, prior to this data is in disparate and descriptive sources which pose many challenges for scientists to use. The lack of readily accessible data makes it difficult to make management decisions regarding how habitats should be conserved or restored.
This network brings together academics from landscape history, digital humanities, botany, and conservation to address this challenge.
Using approaches from digital humanities we can access a wide range of sources that not easily accessible to botanists. We are utilising a corpus of over 300 texts that we have already assembled.
In a series of workshops we are exploring the major challenges involved in using this data appropriately and communicating its information to academics and non-academics who are interested in the landscapes of the present and the future.
Over the course of the network we will use a range of workshops to develop and shape a series of exemplars of our techniques in action focusing on a small number of species in the Lake District.
|Link to the project page on the UKRI Gateway to Research https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT006153%2F1|


Scientists estimate that at least 80% of the world population suffers from hives at one point in their lives. Also known as urticaria, this medical condition affects the skin with red swellings and itchy bumps that give a constant burning sensation.
Hives are a form of skin allergy and a signal from your anti-immune system that it does not tolerate certain substances. Most urticaria symptoms appear when we consume foods that contain allergen ingredients. Fortunately, you can prevent the welts before they surface with a powerful treatment for burning sores like OxyHives. This homeopathic spray is your ultimate ally in the fight against itching inflammations.
How to prevent hives before they appear
Urticaria is a natural response of your body’s defensive mechanisms. As soon you get in contact with a substance that your metabolism does not accept, your skin develops this form of soring plaques. Many factors trigger this condition. However, the most common ones can be found in highly allergic foods like peanuts, eggs, and shellfish. The hives that result from the consumption of such ingredients can be cured and even avoided with OxyHives. This is a remedy composed of natural elements that effectively disperse of the itchy lumps and red rashes in just a few days of treatment.
Hives can also be a consequence of poor hygiene or toxic chemicals. If you are continuously exposed to dangerous substances at your workplace, you have a high risk of developing skin rashes. These red plaques can cover many parts of your body and resist even the most powerful treatments. Nevertheless, by using the OxyHives homeopathic spray on a regular basis, you can prevent the welts from surfacing. A daily puff under your tongue will raise your immunity against synthetic allergy triggers.
How OxyHives treats skin allergies
Bumps and skin rashes are very common for most people. Sometimes, their cause is hard to identify, and this leads to a continuous testing of allergy medications. This situation often used strategy makes it impossible for your body to improve its immunity against skin rash. More than that, it may cause an aggravation of your hives through chemical intoxication. All you need is a single use of one urticaria remedy like OxyHives. This product is highly effective against the welts triggered by various allergens due to its powerful formula of natural ingredients.
Allergic reactions like redness, itchy sores and swellings can be easily removed with the help of OxyHives. You are advised to spray this solution three times per day under your tongue for maximum efficiency. Minor hives and bumps will be eliminated in a matter of days. Advanced allergies like acute urticaria might necessitate a similar treatment but for a longer period.
Use this ally against urticaria – free of after side effects
OxyHives has been clinically tested with maximum attention to ensure that it is 100% safe for human consumption. More than that, thousands of consumer reviews and doctor endorsements have not revealed any adverse side effects. With this powerful ally against hives, you can keep your allergies under control and make urticaria a thing of the past.


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Four decades after the first case of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was reported, 38 million people are living with HIV worldwide.Over the last two decades, significant progress has been made in battling the disease. Since peaking in 1997, the number of new cases has decreased 40% worldwide and since 2004, AIDS-related deaths have declined more than 56%.In the US, just over 1 million people are living with HIV and new infections declined 11% between 2010 and 2017.The number of people living with HIV has increased since the late 1990s due to the availability of potent and better tolerated antiretrovirals (ARVs) that prolong life. People in the 50 to 54 year old age group account for the largest percentage of those living with HIV in the US.Individuals with HIV now have a similar life expectancy as the general population.However, complete viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy (ART) does not fully restore health. Deaths due to non-AIDS related complications range from 18.5% in sub-Saharan countries to 53% in high-income countries. These include cardiovascular,kidney, and liver diseases, as well as various types of cancer and neurologic disorders often linked with aging. Metabolic complications including dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes can also occur.“Premature aging” of people with HIV is believed to result from persistent viral inflammation rather than toxicity from ARV therapy. This issue reviews recommended ARVs and focuses on the initial management of HIV in treatment-naïve adults, according to guidelines provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). In addition, recommendations for ART in pregnancy are summarized and an update is included on the use of ARVs for PrEP and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), according to guidelines provided by the CDC.
This program was developed by The Rx Consultant and published by Continuing Education Network, Inc. The Rx Consultant accepts no advertising or financial support from the pharmaceutical industry and is funded solely by the purchase of programs. The Rx Consultant is dedicated to providing unbiased, balanced information to health care practitioners.
Programs developed by The Rx Consultant are written by health care providers with expertise in the topic area, peer-reviewed, extensively edited, and fact-checked. This development process was created to insure that every program presents information that is current, accurate, relevant to "real world" health care providers, and written in an easy reading, "plain English" style.
The Rx Consultant is a publication of Continuing Education Network, Inc.
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