Properties and Benefits of Lavender Honey: Lavender (Lavanduala) is an aromatic plant in the mint family that comprises several dozens of different varieties used primarily for the production of the fragrant lavender oil, but also for ornamental purposes. However, lavender flowers are also a source of food for honey bees, their nectar being used to make lavender honey. Lavender honey is a delicate, aromatic monofloral variety of honey with multiple beneficial health effects, notably antibacterial and antiseptic action, antioxidant and digestive benefits and soothing and calming properties.
What is lavender honey made of? The variety is made primarily from nectar honey bees collect from lavender flowers. However, honey bees also collect pollen which is incidentally added to the honey. And despite the fact that pollen is one of the main allergens in honey, it is also a beneficial compound that adds to its antibacterial properties and basically makes honey what it is. Moreover, it is based on the pollen content that we can determine whether or not a honey is monofloral or polyfloral and what flower nectar it is actually made of.
Pollen is what determines what variety a honey is. For example, lavender honey should contain mostly pollen from lavender flowers (around 45% of the total pollen count in the tested honey). Pollen from other plant species can be present in varying amounts in lavender honey or other monofloral varieties, but standard regulations say it’s the predominant type of pollen that determines the variety of honey. The most common lavender species used to make honey are: Lavandula angustifolia (true lavender or common lavender), Lavandula stoechas (Spanish lavender), Lavandula latifolia and Lavandula intermedia (a hybrid variety).
What does lavender honey look like? The variety generally has a clear, very light yellow color with rich golden undertones and a viscous texture. Its appearance is reminiscent of sunrays trapped in a jar. The honey crystallizes in a matter of months. The process not only makes it solid, but also changes its color, making it turn a paler yellow-beige color. However, when a honey crystallizes, it is a good sign because it shows it hasn’t been messed with. Processing can prevent honey from crystallizing, but also takes away a lot of its beneficial properties, if not most of them.
What does lavender honey taste and smell like? Lavender honey has a delicately sweet and fragrant flavor and a warm taste with woody, floral notes and sometimes a citrus-earthy faint aftertaste. Its odour is only faintly reminiscent of lavender so if your store-bought honey has a strong lavender smell to it, it might just be infused with lavender, not real lavender honey. Because of its medium sweeteness and light, floral flavor, the variety is a wonderful taste experience.
Differences in the appearance, taste and even fragrance of lavender honey may appear depending on the plant variety the bees had access to. For example, the Spanish Grosso variety of lavender (Lavandula stoechas) yields a honey with a less delicate flavor profile. This is suggested to be a result of the species higher content of an aromatic compound called camphor which instills the honey with a sour-bitter, almondy and not so pleasant aftertaste. Different lavender varieties or hybrids may result in a particularly light honey or a medium-amber honey.
What is lavender honey good for? Lavender honey is a unique variety that derives its health effects from beneficial compounds such as antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids and others. Considering its composition, its most noteworthy properties and health benefits include:
1) Antibacterial and antiseptic action. Studies show lavender honey boasts mild antibacterial and antiseptic effects, meaning it helps not only inhibit bacterial growth, but also destroy pathogenic bacteria, hence its effectiveness in reducing wound healing time. However, because it has been found to have a less potent antibacterial effect than manuka and other honey varieties, it’s needed in higher concentrations to obtain the same effects. What gives lavender honey its antibacterial properties is it’s content of hydrogen peroxide, acidic pH and low moisture content. Hydrogen peroxide is a disinfectant and antimicrobial that occurs naturally in honey as a result of the interaction between glucose and an enzyme secreted by honey bees called glucose oxidase.
2) Useful for respiratory infections. Honey in general is a great natural remedy for cough and sore throat. Its viscous texture makes it great for a throat soreness, soothing irritation and allowing the throat lining to heal. Its antibacterial action helps reduce bacterial load, contributing to improving the evolution of respiratory tract infections such as the common cold and the flu and their symptoms. It is recommended to either add honey to tea or take it as it is. Raw, unprocessed, unfiltered honey is best because it still contains all of its beneficial components (pollen, nutrients etc).
It is also recommended to avoid heating honey because heat destroys most or all of its biologically active components. So when adding it to tea, it is important to allow the tea to cool down so its heat doesn’t alter the properties of the honey.
3) Soothing properties. Lavender honey is particularly soothing on mucous membranes, forming a sort of protective layer that prevents further irritation and allows the sensitive mucous linings to heal. It has been traditionally used for conditions such as gastritis, sore throat, sensitive skin, wounds, scars and burns. Preliminary studies recognize the effectiveness of honey for healing burns (Natural Standard Herb and Supplement Guide: An Evidence-Based Reference).
4) Helps relieve tension and pain. It would appear that lavender honey can help induce calmness, relaxation and reduce nervous tension because of its mild antispasmodic effects. These effects can be likened to those of lavender oil and lavender tea, but may be less pronounced. It has been theorized that certain biologically active compounds in various parts of the lavender plant are transferred to the honey through nectar and thus give it effects similar to those of other lavender preparations.
5) Antifungal action. Lavender honey appears to be particularly efficient against Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Cryptococcus neoformans, inhibiting the growth and spread of the fungi naturally (Antifungal effect of lavender honey against Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Cryptococcus neoformans). The honey was effective at higher concentrations (16%-30%) and the compound responsible for its antifungal properties has not been identified yet.
6) Beneficial for skin health. Like all honeys, lavender too is good for the skin. It can help reduce the frequency of acne breakouts naturally, both because it exerts a local antibacterial action and because it has a soothing effect, calming irritation and redness. Moreover, light honeys like lavender are great for dull skin, giving a natural glow and radiance to skin. They also help cleanse pores, further contributing to managing acne.
7) Nutritious and energizing. Lavender honey is a particularly good source of antioxidants, aromatic compounds and nutrients. It has been found to contain antioxidants such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids and enzymes with antioxidant activity (glucose oxidase, catalase etc.) as well as nutrients such as vitamin C and dietary minerals (Antibacterial and Antioxidant Potency of Floral Honeys from Different Botanical and Geographical Origins). Moreover, lavender honey contains important amino acids and is a source of natural sugars. All of these elements contribute to its beneficial action.
I have found honey in general is a good solution for preventing hypoglycemia. Whenever I fell extremely low on energy I take on tablespoon of honey (acacia, pine nut, orange blossom, sunflower, lavander, whatever variety I may feel like at the time) and fill up on energy for another 20 minutes, giving me enough time to eat something good.
8) Source of amino acids. Research shows lavender honey has a particular amino acid profile, providing trace amounts of arginine, histidine, lysine, phenylalanine, proline, tyrosine and valine (Free amino acid composition and botanical origin of honey). It actually contains the highest content of the amino acid tyrosine, more than eucalyptus, rosemary, thyme and orange blossom honey. Tyrosine is needed for the synthesis of thyroid hormones and neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline and is vital for the synthesis of the skin pigment melanin and Coenzyme Q10.
While lavender honey is not enough to meet the body’s demands of the amino acid (poultry, beef, eggs, cheese, nuts are the best sources), it does provide it in small amounts, which adds to its beneficial action.
Attention: Like all honeys, lavender too can cause allergic reactions. Anyone allergic to lavender flower pollen, honey bee enzymes and other secretions or various other elements from honey should avoid consumption. If you are unsure, but are already allergic to the pollen from more than one plant species or to other honeys, it is best to have a skin allergy test to know whether or not it is safe for you to eat the honey.
Conclusion. Overall, lavender honey is a wonderful variety of honey with a rich color, moderately sweet taste and delicate fragrance. It’s nutritious and energizing, great for skin care, respiratory infections and soothing on the stomach and throat. It has an impressive antibacterial and antifungal action and contributes to reducing healing time for wounds and burns. However, such properties and benefits are only present in the raw honey, unaltered by processing and heating that may deprive it of all its beneficial compounds.


This juvenile/first-basic Scandinavian Herring
Gull (Larus argentatus argentatus) was photographed
in October 1995 in Baltic Germany by Ronald Klein. Ronald comments:
"Finnish-ringed gulls (migratory) change their mantle/scaps
often very late (Febr./March). But Herring Gulls in western Baltic
(mostly non-migratory) are surely nominate and most of them moult
much earlier. It is possible that this is a result of their migration
pattern. Pure, true argenteus exist probably only on British islands
and in Northern France. The gulls between the Netherlands and
Denmark are more intermediate. Argenteus in the Baltic is a rarity.
I read the rings of birds I find at Baltic German rubbish-dumps,
and have seen only a single British and a single Dutch-ringed
Herring Gull. The number of Finnish-ringed birds is nearly 1,500!"
Note that this (presumably locally-bred) bird has already molted
most of its juvenile mantle/scap. feathers:


Some of my students and colleagues with electrical engineering background found the following explanation useful to distinguish plan-based and agile methods.
First and foremost, I think a more accurate distinction is that methods exist on a continuum from predictive to adaptive (see Boehm). In this continuum predictive methods focus on planning the future in detail, in contrast, adaptive methods empasize adapting to changes quickly. So, in the following I use the plan-based as a synonym to predictive, and agile as a synonym to adaptive approaches.
To emphasize the differences of the plan-based and agile approaches I use control theory analogy in the following. Plan-driven methods are similar to open-loop control systems: at the beginning of the process the desired output (desired product) is defined, then the controller (development coordinator) determines the necessary inputs (development plan) for the system (development team) in other to that realizes the output (product). So an open-loop control system determines the input using only the current knowledge about the desired output. It means that the system does not observe the output of the process that it is controlling. Therefore, an open-loop control system can not engage in machine learning, cannot correct any errors that it could make, and it also may not compensate the disturbances that influences the system. Open-loop control system is useful for well-defined control systems (development situations) where the relationship between input and the desired output are well known.
Unfortunately, only one thing is usually constant in software development situations: the change. The changes are emanating from different sources, for example, changes of customer requirements, business goals, and technological demands. Consequently, these software development processes should respond to these changes by adapting its execution to the changed situation. Continuing the previous analogy, we can characterize agile methods as closed-loop control systems: additionally to the open-loop control system the disturbances (changes), which affect the system, are measured by different sensors (development reviews) that are transferred to the input of the controller (developer coordinator) in other to the input of the system (development plan) can be adapted to the changed situation. In agile methods, actually, there are typically three planning levels -- therefore three feedback loops -- in the process: daily-, iteration- and release plans to adapt the development process at (roughly) daily, weekly and monthly plan-levels. The intuitive mapping of agile methods to closed-loop control system can be seen in the next figure.
Interpreting the previous mapping on the Scrum method, the method can be visualized as in the next figure (Please note, the daily loop is not shown.).


The Most Common Types of Car Crash Injuries
Despite many drivers’ best efforts to exercise caution and avoid collisions when driving, car accidents still happen at an alarming rate. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that there were 7,277,000 police-reported car accidents in the United States in 2016. Car accidents are the leading cause of injuries in the United States.
The most recent data from the NHTSA, which was published in 2018, reports that in 2016 there were 2,177,000 police-reported car accident-related injuries. This number is up from the previous year of 2016, in which there were 1,715,000 police-reported car accident injuries. The data shows that since 2007, the earliest year highlighted in the report, police-reported car accident injuries have been on the rise.
Following are some of the most common injuries related to car accidents.
One of the most common car accident-related neck injuries is whiplash. Whiplash occurs when the neck is caused to move forcefully and rapidly in a back-and-forth motion. This also can be referred to as a neck strain. Vehicle occupants often experience whiplash when they are hit from behind. Some common symptoms of whiplash include the following:
- Neck pain or stiffness
- Loss of range of motion in the neck
- Tenderness in the shoulders and upper back
- Tingling in the arms
Neck injuries should be diagnosed and treated by a doctor. More severe neck injuries can result in paralysis. Unfortunately, wearing a seat belt will not help prevent whiplash.
Head and Brain Injuries
Various head and brain injuries can occur as a result of a car crash. Traumatic brain injuries occur when the head is forced to move back and forth in a rapid motion, causing the brain to hit the skull. Some common types of traumatic brain injuries suffered in car accidents include, but are not limited to, concussions, contusions, and hemorrhaging. Some common symptoms of a traumatic brain injury include the following:
- Loss of consciousness
- Disorientation and dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Inability to sleep or sleeping more than usual
- Difficulty with speech
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Issues with memory
There are other signs of brain injury. If you have suffered a blow to the head, seek medical attention as soon as possible, as a brain injury should be diagnosed and treated by a medical professional to ensure minimal damage.
Arm and Leg Injuries
Depending on the circumstances of an accident, arms and legs can be injured in various ways, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Broken or fractured bones
- Torn ligaments and tendons
- Lacerations and scarring
Also, a limb may have to be amputated as the result of a car accident.
These types of injuries can occur due to the driver hitting the steering wheel in a collision, a seatbelt tightening around an occupant, or by striking the dashboard. Chest injuries can involve broken or bruised ribs, punctured lungs, and heart issues. Chest injuries may be accompanied by symptoms like:
- Chest pain
- Coughing up blood
- Shortness of breath
These types of injuries can occur due to impact with an object during a car accident, such as flying debris and glass. Facial injuries may include cuts and scarring and may require continual treatment.
Although any accident can cause injury, some factors that contribute to the likelihood of injury and may worsen resulting injuries can include any of the following:
- Whether the individuals involved in the accident were wearing seatbelts
- What types of vehicles were involved in the crash, that is, sedans, sports utility vehicles, crossovers, pickup trucks, or motorcycles
- How fast the vehicles were traveling when the accident occurred
- Point of impact on the vehicles
- Where in the vehicle the travelers were in relation to where the vehicle was hit
- Whether the airbags deployed
- Whether the crash in a rural area or a city
- Whether any of the drivers were under the influence of drugs or alcohol
If you have been involved in a car accident, seek medical attention for your injuries. Individuals involved in a collision may be transported to the hospital by ambulance or helicopter. Other accident victims who walk away from the scene should seek medical attention as well, even if the accident is considered minor, as some symptoms may be delayed and some issues take time to manifest.
Being in a vehicular accident is a traumatic experience. As a result of an accident, victims and their families may face many short- and long-term consequences that often require ongoing medical treatment and missed time at work. At Hankey Law Office we believe that you should not have to face the aftermath of an accident alone. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, contact the experienced and compassionate Indianapolis car accident attorneys at Hankey Law Office to learn more about your legal rights. Call us today at (317) 634-8565.


Did you know?
This page is for some lesser well known facts about West Lulworth.
Did you know that in 1789, the King and Queen of England landed at Lulworth Cove?
On 3 August 1789, the King and Queen of England, as part of the Royal tour, landed at Lulworth Cove and went from there to see East Lulworth Castle.
[Recorded under the title ‘Memorable Events -
Did you know that in the First World War, two West Lulworth men were killed in action on the same day?
Lance Corporal Bertie Whittle and Private Ernest Budden, both born in West Lulworth, were both killed in action on 21 August 1915 on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. They are both commemorated on the West Lulworth war memorial.
Did you know gliders launched from a cliff top just west of Lulworth in the 1930s?
The first Dorset Gliding Club was formed in 1929 following a demonstration of ridge soaring at Maiden Newton, close to where 'Hardy's Monument' now stands. This was done by a group of German pilots who toured the country doing demonstration flights.
The Club's first flights were done there, then later from the cliff top West of Lulworth. All launches were by bunjy, landings were usually at the bottom of the slope where the gliders had to be derigged, carried back up and rigged for the next victim.
The early gliders were German stringbags but a couple of 'Wrens' found their way into the Club in the late 1930's.
The Club was disbanded at the outbreak of war in September 1939 and the gliders stored in a garage locally but later requisitioned for flying training.
Source: Dorset Gliding Club website
Did you know that in the Second World War, two Spitfires crashed near West Lulworth?
1941: 10 September: R6639 Spitfire I 53OTU crashed at West Lulworth during forced landing
1945: 29 March: PR150 Spitfire 761Sq flew into high ground at West Lulworth
Did you know there was a proposal to build a railway through West Lulworth?
The following appeared in the London Gazette of 24 November 1899:
Light Railway Commissioners.—November, 1899. Light Railways Act, 1896.
Lulworth and Osmington Light Railway.
(Construction of Railway from the Wareham and Dorchester Branch of the London and South Western Railway near Wareham, in the county of Dorset, to Lulworth and Osmington; Land Powers; Tolls and Charges; Agreements with Landowners and others, and also with the London and South Western Railway Company, and other powers; Incorporation
and Amendment of Acts.)
NOTICE is hereby given, that application is intended to be made in the present month of November, 1899, to the Light Railway Commissioners, by Henry Weld Blundell, of White's Club, St. James's-
To authorise the promoters to make and maintain a railway in the county of Dorset, to be worked and maintained as a light railway, with all necessary and proper stations, approaches, works, buildings, sidings, and conveniences connected therewith respectively, that is to say:
Railway No. 1, commencing in the parish of Arne, in the county of Dorset, by a junction with the Wareham and Dorchester branch of the London and South Western Railway, about 1¼ miles south-
London and South Western Railway, about 410 yards south-
Railway No. 2 commencing in the parish of West Lulworth, in the county of Dorset, by a junction with the intended Railway No. 1 before described, at a point on the eastern side of the road between Burngate and West Lulworth, about 370 yards, measured along the road in a north-
Railway No. 3, commencing at or near the boundary between the parishes of Chaldon Herring and Owermoigne, by a junction with the intended Railway No. 2 before described, at a point 1,080 yards or thereabouts, measured in a northerly direction, from the north-
Which said intended railways and works will be constructed within the following parishes, or some or one of them, viz.: Arne, East Holme, East Stoke, Tyneham, East Lulworth, West Lulworth, Chaldon-
It is intended to construct the before mentioned railways on a gauge of 4 feet 8½ inches, and the motive power to be used will be steam, electrical, or other mechanical power.
The quantity of land proposed to be taken for the purposes of the before mentioned railways and works will be 120 acivs or thereabouts, chiefly consisting of pasture, down, arable, or other lands used principally for agricultural purposes.
If you have any interesting facts about West Lulworth that you wish to share, please email them to us at firstname.lastname@example.org
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Bedside robots could soon be a reality in public hospitals in the UK.
NHS, the body governing the operations of the public hospitals in the UK is considered to deliver one of the best healthcare in the world. About 243 million patients are seen each year by the NHS. According to the latest figures, NHS employs 106,430 doctors; 285,893 nurses and health visitors; 21,597 midwives; 132,673 scientific, and therapeutic and technical staff. However, a lack of funding and a severe shortage of manpower is making this task more and more difficult with each passing day.
AI in healthcare, UK
A report published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in April this year indicates that a wide adoption of AI and Robotics by the NHS can potentially free up £12.5B worth of resources annually, easing the burden on the system. It will help doctors and support attend to other patients while bedside robots take over functions like helping the patients around the ward, conducting digital triage, and even helping them with exercises and nutrition.
In addition, the use of machine learning and AI can help the NHS with the screening of diseases like Diabetic Retinopathy, certain cancers without involving a specialist. Acting on the recommendations, the secretary of state for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Hunt, has announced a review into how the current NHS staff could be trained in AI and robotics.
This is a huge news for the AI community as this signals a wider adoption by a dominant publically funded body.
AI goes beyond just treatment
With an implementation of AI in healthcare in the UK, patients would have a better access to healthcare. Even though the healthcare in the UK is quite good, patients often have to wait to see a doctor. In many cases, an experienced nurse, also known as a Nurse Practitioner sees a patient with a minor ailment. In the UK as well as the USA, NPs can see patients, make a diagnosis and prescribe a treatment.
With the help of AI, both patients, as well as the Healthcare professionals, will have a better interaction, with easier follow up, convenient prescriptions, and support beyond the clinic. When a patient chooses the services of Aimedis, say in the UK, he has an option to get an e-consultation from a doctor for less, without footing the bill of an expensive private consultation. He can choose to share his data – age, diagnosis, treatment given, outcomes, any side effects, impact on his daily activities, data from his health trackers, with researchers. This helps the researchers come up with better treatment recommendations, Pharmaceutical companies to come up with safer medicines with fewer side effects, and doctors with a feedback for their treatment.
Aimedis welcomes this news and hopes to see exciting developments in the use of AI to shape Public Policy


Researchers at NASA have been conducting an experiment with a particle collector mounted on the outside of the International Space Station, in an effort to learn more about cosmic rays, the charged particles that fill the universe.
They say that telescopes are an invaluable tool to measure photons, tiny particles of light both visible and invisible, giving us much of the knowledge we have of the universe so far. But the ‘cosmos speaks to us in languages other than light’. The particle collector, known as an ‘Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’, or AMS, makes it possible to study cosmic rays for the first time from space.
Nikola Tesla discovered cosmic rays in his experiments with high-frequency electricity in 1897, and devoted the last part of his life to developing a system to harness them. He said “This new power for the driving of the world’s machinery will be derived from the energy which operates the universe, the cosmic energy, whose central source for the earth is the sun and which is everywhere present in unlimited quantities.” (Brooklyn Eagle July 10, 1932)
This is a video about the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.


Countries of > Africa | Asia | Europe | North America | South America | Australia and Oceania
The smallest in the world continent of Australia and Oceania is surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific Oceans. It consists of the Australian mainland, such big islands as New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea (only it's eastern half), and the many thousands of petty tropical islands of the Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia regions, scattered throughout the South Pacific.
There are 14 independent countries and 11 dependent overseas territories. The largest state is Australia, occupying about 86% of the region's total area. The smallest independent country is Nauru, which is so tiny that you need less than an hour to drive around it.
The most visited tourist destinations in this part of the world are the Australian cities of Sidney and Melbourne, the famous beach resorts of the Gold Coast. The best natural attraction is the Great Barrier Reef, and the popular island holiday destinations are Fiji and Bora Bora.
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I just made ZeGreatest discovery! You know those orange spheres that are piling up in farmers’ markets and grocery stores? They’re pumpkins! Okay, you probably already knew this, but pumpkins are totally new to me. (Give me a break: I’m a zebra!)
I always figure the best way to find out about something you never knew existed is to do a little detective work. My favorite farmers, food historians and librarians were happy to help out. I even asked a couple of dogs, since if they like something, you KNOW it’s going to be cool.
I found out that pumpkins are members of the squash-and-gourd family (it’s always fun to have family, don’t you think?). Some people think pumpkins are vegetables, but they’re actually fruits. You can tell because fruits almost always have seeds on the inside (although berries like to be different and have them on the outside). If you’ve ever scooped the squishy guts out of a pumpkin, you know they have LOTS of seeds.
You might think from their bright orange color that pumpkins give you tons of energy — and you’d be right. They’re loaded with natural sweetness and awesome nutrients like beta-carotene, vitamin C, potassium and fiber. Crunchy roasted pumpkin seeds are packed with good-for-you stuff like protein, B vitamins, iron and vitamin E.
The kind of pumpkins that are best for eating are known as “sugar pumpkins” (they taste super-sweet). Farmers also grow special pumpkins that are great for carving, which are called “jack-o’-lantern pumpkins.”
Humans are pretty smart – they’ve been growing and eating pumpkins for thousands of years. They’re native to Central America, but have been grown in North America for centuries (archaeologists have found bits of pumpkin in ancient cliff dwellings in the American Southwest).
Native Americans made use of the pumpkin harvest in all sorts of cool ways – from drying pumpkin strips for weaving into mats to roasting pumpkins for food.
When the pilgrims arrived in New England in 1620, Native Americans shared their pumpkin knowledge with their new friends. They taught settlers how to make what would eventually become pumpkin pie – and a Thanksgiving favorite!
Here’s what they did: pilgrims cut the top off the pumpkin, removed the seeds and filled the hollow inside with milk, spices and honey. They put the lid back on the pumpkin and roasted it in the embers of a dying fire. This created sweet, spicy pumpkiny goodness that later became the filling for today’s pumpkin pie.
Pumpkins’ name comes from the Greek word “pepon,” which means a large melon. The English word was “pompion” until about 1640, when people decided “pumpkins” sounded like more fun.
I think so too, so I decided to learn even more about pumpkins at a super-fun festival in Half Moon Bay, California — the Pumpkin Capital of the World. My friend Farmer Mike told me that the largest pumpkin he’s carved at the festival is about the size of a Volkswagen (but you can’t drive it)!
Hungry for pumpkins? Here’s a colonial rhyme: “We have pumpkin at morning and pumpkin at noon. If it were not for pumpkin, we should be undoon!”
If you feel the same way, try the Pumpkin Power Porridge from my buddy Jennifer Wickes (recipe below).
Want it at noon? Instead of having chips with your lunch, try some roasted pumpkin seeds. You’ll find an easy recipe from Chow Bella Kids just underneath the porridge recipe.
This should give you more than enough fun fuel for a happy and healthy fall!
Recipe: Pumpkin Power Porridge
As you can see, this recipe makes enough to power up your whole family. If you just want a bit of pumpkin power for your own breakfast, a super-quick and easy option is to stir about 1/4 cup pumpkin puree and a little brown sugar and cinnamon into a bowl of cooked oatmeal.
What you need:
1 1/2 cups quinoa, cooked (ask an adult for help)
1 1/2 cups Steel Cut Oats, cooked (ask an adult for help)
3/4 cup soy milk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 cup walnuts, optional
1/2 cup dried cranberries, optional
What you do:
Mix all ingredients thoroughly together and serve.
If you like hot cereal: mix the ingredients, heat gently on the stove (ask an adult for help with this) and enjoy!
Makes 6 servings
Recipe: Yummy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
What you need:
Seeds from 1 large pumpkin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
What you do:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Scoop the seeds out of your pumpkin, then rinse off the slippery pulp.
Toss with olive oil and salt.
Spread the seeds evenly on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake until dry and crispy – about 45 minutes.


late 14c., "material, physical; secular;" c. 1400, "of or belonging to the body;" from Old French corporal (12c., Modern French corporel) "of the body, physical, strong" and directly from Latin corporalis "pertaining to the body," from corpus (genitive corporis) "body" (from PIE root *kwrep- "body, form, appearance").
Corporal punishment "punishment of the body" (as opposed to fine or loss of rank or privilege) is from 1580s. Related: Corporality.
lowest noncommissioned army officer, 1570s, from French corporal, from Italian caporale "a corporal," from capo "chief, head," from Latin caput "head," also "leader, guide, chief person" (from PIE root *kaput- "head"). So called because he was in charge of a body of troops. Perhaps influenced by Italian corpo, from Latin corps "body." Or corps may be the source and caput the influence, as OED suggests.
Earlier it meant "a communion cloth" (late 14c.), from Medieval Latin corporalis (palla).
late 14c., punishement, in law, "the assessing or inflicting of pain, suffering, loss, confinement, etc. on a person for a crime or offense," from Anglo-French punisement (late 13c.), Old French punissement, from punir (see punish).
From early 15c. as "suffering or hardship inflicted as punishment;" mid-15c. as "a penalty or sentence imposed as punishment." Gradually extended to "pain or injury inflicted" in a general sense; the meaning "rough handling" is from 1811, originally in fist-fighting.
"inflict trouble or pain on for the purpose of correction," 1520s, with -en (1) + the word it replaced, obsolete verb chaste "to correct (someone's) behavior" (Middle English chastien, c. 1200), from Old French chastiier "to punish" (see chastise). Now chiefly in reference to moral discipline, divine rather than corporal punishment. Related: Chastened; chastening.
Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [Hebrews xii.6]
"cylindrical vessel or cask, generally bulging in the middle and made of wooden staves bound by hoops," c. 1300, from Old French baril "barrel, cask, vat" (12c.), with cognates in all Romance languages (Italian barile, Spanish barril, etc.), but of unknown origin. Also a measure of capacity of varying quantity. Meaning "metal tube of a gun" is from 1640s. Barrel-roll (n.) in aeronautics is from 1920. To be over a barrel figuratively, "in a helpless or vulnerable condition," is by 1914 and might suggest corporal punishment.
1530s, from French impunité (14c.) and directly from Latin impunitatem (nominative impunitas) "freedom from punishment, omission of punishment," also "rashness, inconsideration," from impunis "unpunished, without punishment," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + poena "punishment" (see penal).
"of or pertaining to punishment by law," mid-15c., from Old French peinal (12c., Modern French pénal) and directly from Medieval Latin penalis, from Latin poenalis "pertaining to punishment," from poena "punishment," from Greek poinē "blood-money, fine, penalty, punishment," from PIE *kwoina, from root *kwei- "to pay, atone, compensate" (source also of Greek timē "price, worth, honor, esteem, respect," tinein "to pay a price, punish, take vengeance;" Sanskrit cinoti "observes, notes;" Avestan kaena "punishment, vengeance;" Old Church Slavonic cena "honor, price;" Lithuanian kaina "value, price").
Lance corporal "private soldier performing the duties of a corporal" (1786) is a folk-etymology or partial nativizing of obsolete lancepesade "officer of lowest rank" (1570s), which is an Englishing of Old Italian lancia spezzata "old soldier," literally "broken lance."
"moral fault, wickedness," c. 1300, from Old French vice "fault, failing, defect, irregularity, misdemeanor" (12c.), from Latin vitium "defect, offense, blemish, imperfection," in both physical and moral senses (in Medieval Latin also vicium; source also of Italian vezzo "usage, entertainment"), which is of uncertain origin.
Vice squad "special police unit targeting prostitution, narcotics, gambling, etc.," is attested from 1905, American English. Vice anglais "fetish for corporal punishment," literally "the English vice," is attested from 1942, from French. In Old French, the seven deadly sins were les set vices.
Horace and Aristotle have already spoken to us about the virtues of their forefathers and the vices of their own times, and through the centuries, authors have talked the same way. If all this were true, we would be bears today. [Montesquieu, "Pensées"]


Studies conducted over the past few decades came to the conclusion that ferroelectricity and magnetism tend to be mutually exclusive, and interact only weakly with each other when they do coexist. The recent discovery of multiferroic materials, in which ferroelectricity and magnetism are intimately coupled, has completely changed these established views, opened routes to new technological applications, and has forced physicists to reconsider some long-accepted ideas .
Coupling between magnetic and electric orders makes it possible to design promising devices, such as high-speed memories with magnetically and electrically addressable states, magnetically tunable tunnel-junctions, sensors, filters, transducers, etc. For instance, the control of magnetization by an applied electric field via the magnetoelectric coupling offers an opportunity to combine the respective advantages of FeRAMs (ferroelectric random access memories) and MRAMs (magnetic random access memories) in the form of non-volatile magnetic storage bits, which can be switched by an electrical field and thus combine the merits of MRAMs in terms of access time and endurance with a low writing energy .
Meanwhile, a major effort is currently underway to revisit the ferroelectric-ferromagnetic dichotomy and to understand the multiferroic properties on fundamental grounds. The multiferroic compounds are scarce, as symmetry considerations impose severe constraints. Indeed, their space group should be non-centrosymmetric, to accommodate ferroelectricity, but also compatible with a magnetic ground state. Last but not least, all multiferroic materials found to date exhibit a certain amount of magnetic frustration. This, together with a strong spin- lattice coupling, seems to be a basic physical ingredient for multiferroicity. For example, the orthorhombic RMnO3 compounds, where R is a rare-earth element (R = Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy), are archetypes of multiferroic materials. Magnetic frustration arises from competing magnetic exchange interactions, yielding an incommensurable spiral magnetique structure. As proposed in the “spin-current” model, the spin-lattice coupling is a result of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction: minimizing the corresponding term in the Hamiltonian of the system results in a relaxation of atomic positions and, in turn, in an electric polarization .
 S-W Cheong et al., Nature Materials 6, 13 (2007).
 A Barthélémy and M. Bibes, Nature Materials 460, 81 (2009).
 H. Katsura et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 027203 (2007).
A rapid survey of the literature shows that there also exist a large number of multiferroic materials with a triangular-based geometry. Much work at LLB was thus devoted to the study of delafossite-type materials, such as CuCrO2 and CuMnO2, in close collaboration with the CRISMAT in Caen (Figure 1). These studies showed that the ground state properties of these compounds can be very different, even if the required basic ingredients are present. In CuCrO2 the magnetic ground state is an incommensurate 120° magnetic structure, with spin dynamics that is close to that of a 2D Heisenberg triangular lattice; it is multiferroic in its antiferromagnetic phase, but no unambiguous structural distortion was observed so far at TN . There are, however, anomalies in the spin-wave spectrum, which can be assigned to additional in-plane interactions, and could be an indication of a magnetoelastic coupling in this material. In contrast, the collinear antiferromagnetic ordering in CuMnO2 occurs simultaneously with a symmetry-lowering structural transition, which releases the frustration inherent to the triangular lattice. Below the magnetoelastic transition, CuMnO2 is an improper ferroelastic, but is not magnetoelectric . Even though the basic ingredients of multiferroicity (magnetic frustration and spin-lattice coupling) are at play, the balance between the two is subtle and remains unknown. More studies are in progress, focusing in particular on the role of the ligand ions on the magnetic interactions.
 Spin dynamics in the geometrically frustrated multiferroic CuCrO2
M. Poienar, F. Damay, C. Martin, J. Robert, and S. Petit Phys. Rev. B 81, 104411 (2010).
 Spin-lattice coupling induced phase transition in the S=2 frustrated antiferromagnet CuMnO2
F. Damay, M. Poienar, C. Martin, A. Maignan, J. Rodriguez-Carvajal, G. André, and J. P. Doumerc, Phys. Rev. B 80, 094410, (2009).
Figure 2. Energy scans performed at the zone center Q = (0,0,6) in YMnO3, in the spin-flip (red) and non-spin-flip (blue) channels. Left and right curves correspond to temperatures above and below TN, respectively. The spin wave is in reality a hybrid mode, as evidenced by its “lattice” counterpart (bottom right).
Multiferroicity in hexagonal RMnO3 compounds
Hexagonal RMnO3 with R elements having smaller ionic radii, (R = Ho, Er, Yb, Lu, Y) form another class of triangle-based multiferroic materials, which has been widely studied at LLB in recent years, in collaboration with the Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux d'Orsay (ICMMO University of Paris-Sud 11) .The Néel order at 120° imposed by the geometric frustration is accompanied by an isostructural transition: each ion “moves” inside the unit cell when Mn moments get ordered. This effect provides evidence for a giant magnetoelastic coupling, likely connected with an increase in the ferroelectric polarization. To shed light on these materials, high-resolution neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering were carried out on four RMnO3 compounds (R = Y, Sc, Ho, Yb), with either non-magnetic (Y, Sc) or magnetic (Ho, Yb) R ions, showing (Ho, Sc) or not (Y,Yb) a spin reorientation at the temperature TSR (Figure 1.9). We have shown that the isostructural transition is a systematic feature in this series. In addition, we have established a correlation between the atomic positions, the type of magnetic structure, and the nature of the spin-waves, depending on the compound and its magnetic structure. The key parameter is the position of the Mn ions within the triangular plane, which tunes the sign of the exchange interaction. We speculate that, thanks to the magnetoelastic coupling, the atomic motion helps to release the frustration by selecting one particular magnetic structure, depending on the x value . This process recalls the spin-Peierls states stabilized in several geometrically frustrated 2D or 3D compounds.
Magnetoelectric coupling also results in mixed magnon-phonon excitations, called electromagnons. While their existence has been theoretically predicted a long time ago, their dual lattice and spin nature makes it challenging to observe them experimentally. Due to their dipole electric activity, they could first be detected by optical measurements, especially in GdMnO3, TbMnO3, Eu0.75Y0.25MnO3, DyMnO3, YMn2O5, TbMn2O5 and BiFeO3. Recent inelastic polarized neutron scattering experiments provided one of the first direct observations of a hybrid dispersive wave in the hexagonal series of RMnO3 materials: part of a spin-wave branch is found to be completely dressed by nuclear spectral weight . Again, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction could be at the origin of this hybridization.
 Spin-Phonon Coupling in Hexagonal Multiferroic YMnO3
S. Petit, F. Moussa, M. Hennion, S. Pailhès, L. Pinsard-Gaudart, and A. Ivanov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 266604 (2007).
 Magnetic order in YbMnO3 studied by neutron diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy
X. Fabrèges, I. Mirebeau, P. Bonville, S. Petit, G. Lebras-Jasmin, A. Forget, G. André, and S. Pailhès, Phys. Rev. B 78, 214422 (2008).
 Hybrid Goldstone modes in multiferroic YMnO3 studied by polarized inelastic neutron scattering
S. Pailhès, X. Fabrèges, L. P. Régnault, L. Pinsard-Godart, I. Mirebeau, F. Moussa,M. Hennion, and S. Petit, Phys. Rev. B 79, 134409 (2009).
 Spin-Lattice Coupling, Frustration, and Magnetic Order in Multiferroic RMnO3
X. Fabrèges, S. Petit, I. Mirebeau, S. Pailhès, L. Pinsard, A. Forget, M. T. Fernandez-Diaz, and F. Porcher, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 067204 (2009).


Dynamic Earth: Revealing Natures Secrets
Explore the geological process of plate tectonics through hands-on computer interactive animations. Computer games allow visitors to discover how geological processes have shaped the Earth over the millennia, creating new biomes to which plants and animals adapt. Search and uncover evidence of biological adaptations as you are immersed in unique dioramas of an African savannah, tropical rainforest and arctic tundra.
An exhibit about the planet Saturn sets the stage for discovery. From an ancient "wandering star" to a modern day celestial laboratory, Saturn tantalizes the eye, spirit and mind. This ringed wonder has been explored with telescopes, flyby probes and the orbiting Cassini spacecraft. Countless rings and dozens of moons harbor clues to the history of our solar system and help us understand our place in the universe.
This exciting interactive exhibit about renewable energy creates awareness about the benefits of advanced energy technologies and demystify the science behind generating electricity.
Look/Touch/Learn : Tibet
An interactive educational resource where individuals, families and school groups can gain valuable information on Tibetan life and culture, as well as learn about the Museum's extensive and world-renowned collection of sacred and secular Tibetan objects.
1784 Old Stone School House
Learn about the history of the building and about school days long ago from the newly installed interactive labels. See a map of the school's first site, examine a photograph of children posing proudly in front of the school a century ago, and learn about the first schoolmaster, a Princeton graduate named John Lyon who earned only $12.00 a month!
Fire Escapes: Danger & Survival is an exciting and important new initiative to teach fire safety and prevention to thousands of children and families from throughout Newark and surrounding communities. Highlights include a real modified fire truck cab that children can climb on and explore, a demonstration area with fire gear, clothing and equipment that children can try on, and a Hazard House featuring special effects and interactive devices to provide a simulated experience for locating fire dangers within the home and safely escaping without harm.
The exhibition A Cry of Fire: The New Jersey Fire Story features historic protective clothing, equipment, illustrations and memorabilia to help visitors better understand the history of fire fighting and outstanding bravery of the men who battled life threatening fires.


Types of seizures whether with a etiology or unknown:
I-Partial seizures (seizures beginning local)
1-simple partial seizures-(the person is conscious and not impaired). With motor symptoms, autonomic symptoms and even psychic symptoms.
2.)-Complex partial seizures-(the person is with impairment of consciousness)
II-Generalized seizures-(bilaterally symmetrical and without local onset).
3.) Tonic clonic seizures – Grand Mal
1-Epilepsy is sometimes referred to as a long-term condition, as people often live with it for many years, or for life. Although generally epilepsy cannot be ‘cured’, for most people, seizures can be ‘controlled’ (stopped) so that epilepsy has little or no impact on their lives. So treatment is often about managing seizures in the long-term.
Most people with epilepsy take anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) to stop their seizures from happening. However, there are other treatment options for people whose seizures are not controlled by anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs).
2-The ketogenic diet is one treatment option for children with epilepsy whose seizures are not controlled with AEDs. The diet may help to reduce the number or severity of seizures and can often have positive effects on behaviour.
3-Vagus nerve stimulation therapy is a treatment for epilepsy that involves a stimulator (or ‘pulse generator’) which is connected, inside the body, to the left vagus nerve in the neck. The stimulator send regular, mild electrical stimulations through this nerve to help calm down the irregular electrical brain activity that leads to seizures.
There are several ways to treat epilepsy. How well each treatment works varies from one person to another. Vagus nerve stimulation therapy is a form of treatment for people with epilepsy whose seizures are not controlled with medication.
4-There are different kinds of epilepsy surgery. One kind of surgery involves removing a specific area of the brain which is thought to be causing the seizures. Another kind involves separating the part of the brain that is causing seizures from the rest of the brain.
Surgery may be possible for both adults and children, and might be considered if:
- you have tried several AEDs and none of them have stopped or significantly reduced your seizures; and
- a cause for your epilepsy can be found in a specific area of your brain, and this is an area where surgery is possible.
Whether you are suitable for surgery is something that you may like to talk about with your GP or neurologist. If you meet these criteria and are considered for surgery, you will need to have further tests before you can have the surgery.
If you are referred for surgery you will probably go to a specialist centre for tests. There are many different pre-surgical tests you might have before you can be given the go-ahead for surgery. This could include further MRI scans, an EEG (electroencephalogram) and video telemetry (an EEG while also being filmed). Other types of scans may also be done, which trace a chemical injected into the body. This can show detailed information about where seizures start in the brain.
Memory and psychological tests are also used to see how your memory and lifestyle might be affected after the surgery. These types of tests also help the doctors to see how you are likely to cope with the impact of having this type of surgery.
The tests will confirm whether:
- the surgeons can reach the epileptogenic lesion during surgery and can remove it safely without causing new problems;
- other parts of your brain could be affected by the surgery, for example the parts that control your speech, sight, movement or hearing;
- you have a good chance of having your seizures stopped by the surgery; and
- you have any other medical conditions that would stop you from having this kind of surgery.
The results from the pre-surgical tests will help you and your neurologist decide whether surgery is an option for you, and what the result of the surgery might be.
your specialist will also talk with you about the possible risks and benefits of having surgery.
For many people the results show that surgery is not an option: the majority of people who are recommended for surgery, and have these tests carried out, are unable to have surgery.
Take the action and make your life one without seizures occurring putting your life on HOLD you need to TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! That is all up to you, the patient diagnosed with it or questioning if they have seizures.


© ROBERTO ALBORGHETTI – LACER/ACTIONS, Realistic and not Manipulated Images of Torn and Decomposed Publicity Posters, Cracks, Scratches and Urban Signs
In early October, oil and gas company Repsol will begin exploratory drilling in the Canary Islands in an attempt to bolster the Spanish economy. Environmentalists and locals in Spain are calling foul on this practice, as the drilling could devastate not only the tourism economy, but also the rich population of whales and dolphins who call this place their home. Tell the Spanish government to stop this oil prospecting and instead create a sanctuary to protect these wild and majestic creatures.
The waters off of the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are jeopardized by oil drilling. One-third of the world’s cetacean species call this place home, and the possibility of an oil spill, loud noises, and contamination could devastate all species. A vast majority of Spanish citizens oppose oil drilling, stating their love for the environment and wildlife, and expressing concern toward tourism. In 2011, several whales in the region were found dead from noise pollution and other factors. These deaths inspired the environmental minister to pitch the idea of making the waters a protected sanctuary—an idea that has rallied many citizens.
Unfortunately, Spain’s own Supreme Court threw out many challenges, as the country is eager to jump-start its economy. Spain relies heavily on tourists to drive the economy, and while many citizens understand this, the government doesn’t seem to. Respol is trying to calm citizens, stating that it is only looking for oil in the area. If oil is found, Respol claims it will openly discuss what is to be done with concerned citizens and government officials.
Respol is only concerned with profits, but many citizens are concerned for their economy and the lives of whales. While the company can claim that it is merely looking for oil, it will no doubt pursue drilling if oil is found. Respol does not care for the whales and dolphins in the area, and it seems like the government doesn’t either. Urge the Prime Minister of Spain to stop oil prospecting, and instead create a sanctuary for whales and dolphins.
I been in the beautiful and wild Fuerteventura. Local people and associations have raised protests. Greenpeace told that the planned oil spill – located in deep waters, at 3000 meters – would required 500 boats to act immediately in order to contain it. Fuerteventura doesn’t have the structure to be able to defend itself immediately against such a disaster…
Natalia Evora, Environment and Trasports Councillor in Fuerteventura, said to “Fuerteventura Magazine Hoy” : “First of all we must remember that in 21st Century we must speak of energies that do not pollute and we therefore think oil has become an obsolete industry… We must take into account the great damage and risks that this would create in our marine element, for biodiversity and for tourism…The Islands that are Biosphere Reserves, such as Fuerteventura, are creating another energy model and not one that is already being eliminated in many countries because of the problems it has created… An oil spill would immediately close the desalination plants that provide the water we consume”.
SIGN THE PETITION…
Dear Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy,
I urge you to stop oil prospecting in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. These waters are home to one-third of the world’s whales and dolphins, and if oil prospecting were to occur here, it would endanger their lives. Furthermore, oil drilling would hurt your nation’s economy, as it is mainly driven by tourism. If the whales and dolphins were to die because of the noise pollution and oil spills, it would no doubt cause severe harm for your nation’s economy.
Many of your citizens are against oil prospecting, and it baffles me that your Supreme Court would even consider backing this endeavor. While I understand that your economy is struggling, it does not give your government the right to harm living creatures. Consider the harm you will be doing not only to your whales and dolphins, but to the environment and your people if you pursue oil drilling.
[Your Name Here]


By: Mir M.Hosseini
In the second session of the first Majlis term, Sanioddoleh was elected head of the parliament while Vosooghoddoleh was appointed as his deputy.
Morteza Gholi Khan Sanioddoleh (c. 1857-1911) was the son of Ali Gholi Khan Mokhberoddoleh and grandson of Reza Gholi Khan Hedayat. Sanioddoleh was a Qajar politician and entrepreneur. He was graduated as Industrial engineer in Germany. He opened the first textile factory in Iran. Due to Britain’s monopoly on many industries including textile, his attempt failed and so did his project of Iron furnaces. He then tried to restart Aminoddoleh’s ailing safety matches and sugar factories.
After another failure, he entered mining business in Pasghaleh area. When he brought machinery and technicians from Germany, Constitutional Monarchy took place. Reformist Qajar era politicians such as Naserolmolk, Motamenolmolk, Mohsirolmolk and Mokhberossaltaneh urged him to accept being the head of Majlis.
The first Majlis was not chosen by public vote and well-known people chose representatives from among themselves. This way, the parliament had more an air of a teahouse as some deputies brought along their servants. They used to sit on the flower and chat with each other while drinking tea and smoking Hooka. There were also many visitors sometimes submitting complaints as this Majlis was also called the House of Justice of Mozaffaroddin Shah.
Sanioddoleh as a technical person decided to abandon his Majlis duty to Ehteshamossaltaneh and pursue his long time dream; the railroad. But on a Wednesday, on Oct, 8, 1911 he was shot dead by a Russian from Georgian origin named Ivan at Mohkberoddoleh Intersection.


After speaking with other parents of children who went to school with his son, Oscar Naval discovered that he was not alone in noticing that kids play games with computers but do not understand or appreciate what makes them work. Rather than kids just playing games, why not teach them to change the game's virtual world with programming and control devices. As a result Oscar created a STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics) learning program, originally "STEM-Learn", that teaches "Physical Computing". Physical computing means building interactive systems by the use of software and hardware that can sense and respond to the real world (e.g. using Raspberry Pi computer with electronic I/O circuits).
In the 21st century, project-based STEAM education is a requirement; it is a basic skill. Yet, the education system model we follow was designed in the 19th century. STEAM learning is analogous to the basic reading and writing skills of the past centuries.
PAST (the 19th & 20th centuries): “Why learn to write when all we need to know is how to plant crops or apply a trade?” Really, how many of us have grown up making a career as a writer? So why become fluent in reading and writing? Obviously, we all know you must learn to read and write because it is a basic skill that opens up opportunities even though we may never make a career as a professional writer.
PRESENT (the 21st century): Even if you never become a technical professional or even have a technically related career, the process of learning STEAM is now a basic skill that opens up new opportunities. Project-based STEAM learning using gizmos and gadgets helps you learn of the 4 C's (Creativity, Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration), failing and trying again (i.e. program debugging), logical process thinking, and project planning by breaking down ideas into smaller processes.
These basic skills are transferable to the fast, ever-changing job market, including non-technical careers as more and more careers are being automated. It is a requirement for all creative innovators, lean businesses and entrepreneurs of today.
Oscar started his career in the Silicon Valley in California USA working in digital electronics, EDA (Electronic Design Automation), and programmable logic devices (specifically, FPGA's or Field Programmable Gate Arrays). When he came to Australia he worked as a Science Interpreter at World of Energy in Fremantle, working with school groups facilitating science, energy conversion, alternative energy, and global warming classes. His other roles have included Quality, Health & Safety, and Environmental advisement, TAFE lecturing in IT, and as a Training Coordinator and Business Analyst for Westone Services for the Department of Training & Workforce Development (formerly known as the Department of Education & Training).


Device records smells to play back later
IMAGINE being able to record a smell and play it back later, just as you can with sounds or images. Engineersat the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan are building an odourrecorder capable of doing just that. Simply point the gadget at afreshly baked cookie, for example, and it will analyse its odour andreproduce it for you using a host of non-toxic chemicals.The device could be usedto improve online shopping by allowing you to sniff foods or fragrancesbefore you buy, to add an extra dimension to virtual realityenvironments and even to assist military doctors treating soldiersremotely by recreating bile, blood or urine odours that might help adiagnosis.The system will use 15 chemical-sensing microchips, orelectronic noses, to pick up a broad range of aromas. These are thenused to create a digital recipe from a set of 96 chemicals that can bechosen according to the purpose of each individual gadget. When youwant to replay a smell, drops from the relevant vials are mixed, heatedand vaporised. In tests so far, the system has successfully recordedand reproduced the smell of orange, lemon, apple, banana and melon.


The Science of Ceramic Glaze Color
The colors we observe from surrounding objects are fascinating phenomena of their interaction with light. When a beam of light strikes an object, a portion of the light frequencies is absorbed by the object, whereas the unabsorbed wavelengths are reflected back to our eyes. The light receptors inside our eyes convey these messages to the brain, producing our perception of a color associated with the object.1,2 Light consists of a continuum of frequencies with corresponding wavelengths and energy levels. The relationship between energy and wavelength can be explained by the equation: E=hc⁄λ, in which λ is the wavelength value, E is the energy, c is the speed of light and h is Plank’s constant.3,4,5 The frequency value is reciprocally proportional to wavelength through the equation v=c⁄λ. (Figure 1a). As frequency increases for an incidence of light, shorter wavelengths are present with greater energy (Figure 1b).


Elucidating the Neural Circuitry
Underlying Multisensory Decision-Making in Drosophila
by Alex Buhimschi
This summer, I am working in Yale’s Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology in the lab of Dr. Michael N. Nitabach. The aim of this summer research is to train fruit flies to associate visual cues (e.g. the colors green or blue) with aversive stimuli (e.g. a pulsed electric shock) and then determine whether they can retain these memories. Therefore, flies trained to associate the color green with a shock should learn to avoid green even in the absence of shock. Later, we want to test the same type of conditioning on mutant flies with subsets of their dopaminergic neurons either activated or suppressed to identify which specific neurons are involved in the multisensory decision making process.
With the help and expertise of Josh Revkin, we used the museum’s ShopBot to build a new training rig capable of both classical and operant conditioning because it allows us to deliver shocks to either half of our arena. The new design uses two parallel coils spaced closely together so that when a fly comes in contact with two adjacent rails, it completes the circuit and receives a shock. An arduino controls the frequency (pulsed or continuous) and position (right or left) of shocks as well as the colors (blue, green, or red) of the LED backlight board. So far this work has challenged me to apply skills I learned as an apprentice like engineering, electronics, and programming. I am very thankful for the exposure the museum gave me to integrating these disciplines in new and creative ways.


A rooftop photovoltaic (PV) power system is a photovoltaic system that has its electricity generating solar panels mounted on the rooftop of a residential or commercial building. These kind of power plants are also called solar roof-top power plant. The different components of such a system include photovoltaic modules, mounting systems, cables, solar inverters and other electrical accessories. Rooftop PV systems on residential buildings typically feature a capacity of about 5 to 20 kilowatts (kW), while those mounted on commercial or industrial roof often reach 100 kilowatts or more. Photovoltaic systems for industrial and commercial rooftops are the mainstay of distributed electrical energy supply. Continuous power failures as well as growing prices for grid electricity and diesel fuel to power diesel generators are a major concern for companies in Australia. They enable businesses to produce a proportion of their power requirement in a cost-effective and reliable way, which will bring down the cost of energy considerably. Solar rooftop systems for captive consumption can be integrated with the existing electricity infrastructure to off-set a major part of your energy needs. Suncliff offers complete turnkey solutions to help you offset your energy needs with solar power so that you see a return in your bottom line. Suncliff is your trusted partner for rooftop power plants.


Research efforts have translated new discoveries into better methods for preventing, detecting, diagnosing, and treating cancer, the group wrote in a statement. According to the report, the number of cancer deaths decreased by 1 million since 1990 and 1991 for men and women, respectively.
Also, the number of cancer survivors continues to grow, with nearly 14 million survivors alive at the beginning of 2012. In the past year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 11 new drugs to treat various cancers, three new uses for existing drugs, and three new imaging techniques, AACR said.
Cancer genomics research is also progressing rapidly. Almost half of the new anticancer drugs approved by the FDA in 2013 target specific genetic deficits, and anticancer immunotherapies are also yielding sustained patient responses, the organization noted.
Bad habits, population an uphill battle
Yet despite significant advances in research, more than 1.6 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and more than 580,000 will die from one of the more than 200 types of cancer, according to AACR. The prevalence of obesity and smoking continues to contribute to the problem.
In addition, 75% of cancers occur in individuals 55 years and older, and unless the U.S. commits to more research, the healthcare burden and economic costs of cancer will skyrocket in the coming years. The report predicts that global cancer incidence will increase from 12.8 million new cases in 2008 to 22.2 million in 2030.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that the overall cost of cancer in 2008 was $201.5 billion, consisting of $77.4 billion in direct medical costs and $125 billion in lost productivity due to premature death. However, the NIH budget has been shrinking for 10 years, and the losses have been compounded by a direct cut of $1.6 billion due to sequestration.
Efforts are needed to develop new tools, analytics, ways of thinking about cancer, and ways of working together to help all biomedical research stakeholders achieve the goal of removing cancer as a major health threat. Accomplishing this will require a comprehensive understanding of the biology of cancer, the group concluded.
A copy of the report is available here.


Why is it important to identify Asperger’s Syndrome in adults?
Growing up with undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome can be traumatic for many individuals. For many, the diagnosis and education that follows an assessment can be an extremely helpful and healing experience.
Proper diagnosis can help adults put their difficulties into perspective and also to understand the underlying reasons for their lifelong struggles. Adults with Asperger’s Syndrome have often
developed negative perceptions of themselves and may regard themselves as “weird”, “crazy,” or “broken.”
Correct diagnosis and effective treatment can help improve self-esteem, work performance and skills, educational attainment and social competencies.
What are the behaviors associates with AS?
Asperger’s Syndrome affects individuals uniquely. Those with moderate to mild traits are most likely to fly “under the radar”. They are most likely to have partners and children, and also are often able to hide their difficulties from people outside of the close family.
Other individuals with AS may have greater social and communication difficulties, which can even make living independently a challenge. Without support from families and guidance from professionals who are familiar with AS, these individuals are susceptible to isolation and chronic employment problems.
An individual with AS may display varying degrees of several or many of the following characteristics:
Deficiencies in social skills, such as inappropriate social approaches
Difficulty realizing when others are in trouble and need help
Difficulty recognizing the emotions, feelings and thoughts of others
An inability to consider others' viewpoints
Limited interest in friendships
Difficulty with all aspects of communication
Difficulty in comprehension of meaning and social reasoning
Difficulty with transitions and changes
Rigid resistance to novelty, and a strong need for routines
Narrow range of interests or idiosyncratic special interests
Overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells and sights
Motor coordination difficulties
Normal or above normal IQ
Difficulty managing their own negative feelings, especially anxiety, anger and depression
Adults with AS are also susceptible to having various psychological difficulties. Often these challenges are a result of the individual’s difficulty coping with their AS, as well as the stress, anger, frustration, confusion, anxiety and fear that they feel.
These additional difficulties are often misinterpreted, misdiagnosed, misunderstood and mistreated, especially if the underlying AS is undiagnosed or is not adequately understood.
Some of the most common additional difficulties include:
Anger outbursts (physical or verbal aggression, verbally threatening behavior)
Agitation and restlessness
Increase in obsessional or repetitive activities, thoughts, or speech
Low mood or depression
Apathy and inactivity
Onset of uncharacteristic, bizarre behavior or thoughts
It is also common for adults with AS to experience chronic struggles in major life activities such as family, friendships, finances, health, and the workplace. Examples of these struggles include:
Difficulty maintaining serious or romantic relationships
Partners or spouses complaining of lack of intimacy
Children feeling distant from AS parents
Friendships end due to lack of attention or invitations
Not understanding why friends or partners become frustrated
Lack of proactive attention to finances and health, resulting in dangerous neglect
Chronically being “underemployed” or unemployed
Frequent job changes due to “boredom”, lack of challenge, or interpersonal problems
It is unfortunate, but professionals who are unfamiliar with AS often focus on the surface symptoms and behaviors and thus arrive at an incorrect diagnosis. Among other, these can include:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
How should Asperger’s Syndrome be managed?
The solutions for each individual with AS are different and will depend on personality, interests, circumstances and experiences. In order to find useful approaches to difficulties, it is imperative to understand what contributes to them.
Most of the time, the challenges someone with AS faces result from a complex interaction between the individual’s internal characteristics relating to having Asperger's Syndrome, and external factors relating to life events and experiences, adulthood, independence and expectations.
The external factors which contribute to the difficulties include:
not having a diagnosis, or explanation
not having access to information about AS
not having access to others with AS
loss of routine, structure, occupation and or life plan
increase in independence
accumulation of experiences of failure
little or limited support networks
increased need for internal motivation and drive as the person gets older
increased self-awareness of limitations and differences
increased gaps between intellectual, cognitive skills and social, self-help skills.
Internal factors which make individuals with AS vulnerable to significant psychological distress and the development of additional difficulties include:
decreasing internal motivation
rigid ways of thinking
limited distractions from negative/obsessional thoughts
limited insight into own difficulties or reasons
poor coping strategies
low threshold for tolerance of stress, frustration and nger
poor self-identity, understanding and esteem.
To reduce and prevent further difficulties it is important to focus on
underlying causes which will be different for different individuals. The aim is to provide:
diagnosis and explanation
support with understanding of Asperger’s Syndrome
explanation and education of significant others (professionals, employers, etc.)
relevant daily occupation and routine
plans and goals
concrete strategies for preventing and reducing anxiety
support and advice for increasing tolerance and developing coping strategies
opportunities and experiences to increase self-esteem
Increase or encourage:
daily routine and structure
goal-planning and achieving
regular physical exercise
stimulating occupations and activity
participation in structured social group activity
In order to reduce:
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Is it possible to control your diabetes with nutritional supplements
Is It Possible To Control Your Diabetes With Nutritional Supplements?
Improper nutrition does contribute to the development of diabetes, but proper nutrition can be a powerful
treatment for this disease. (1) This disease is so closely related to diet and nutrition; scientists have studied
how nutritional supplements can effectively treat diabetes. In researching vitamin supplements, researchers
have found that many vitamins and herbs can effectively help lower blood sugar. Some of these supplements
are vitamin C, B vitamins, minerals like chromium and vanadyl sulfate, and herbs like Gymnema Sylvestre can
all help lower blood sugar. If one combines these supplements together, they can synergistically work together
to lower blood sugar. First let’s look at what diabetes is and then we can discuss how these supplements
The foods we eat are digested and broken down into simpler forms; most carbohydrates are broken down into
sugar also known as glucose. These sugars are absorbed through the intestinal tract into the bloodstream
where it is circulated through out the body to feed cells.
Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas. The pancreas is a long skinny organ that sits behind the
stomach adding enzymes into the digested food. Insulin helps deliver nutrients and sugar from the
bloodstream into cells where it is needed. The sugar supplies energy to various organs such as the heart and
lungs; for example the heart beats and lungs breathe which keep us alive as a result of sugar’s energy supply.
There are two classes of diabetes type I and type II. Type I diabetes is sometimes called insulin dependent,
juvenile or child onset diabetes. This type usually starts at a very early age and the pancreas stops producing
insulin. When the body does not make insulin, the sugar stays in the bloodstream instead of going into the
cells where it’s needed. This can be fatal, so a person with type I diabetes needs a shot of insulin every day
for his/her body to function properly (to stay alive).
Type II diabetes usually starts in adults and is the most common kind of diabetes in America. Most people
who have diabetes have type II, that’s about 90% -95% of all diabetics in America. In this type of diabetes, the
pancreas is producing enough insulin but the body doesn’t use the insulin effectively. This is called insulin
resistance, cells in the body do not respond to the insulin and so the pancreas produces more and more
insulin to over compensate this resistance. When blood sugar starts to raise in the bloodstream in this
manner, the medical doctor (MD) will diagnose type II diabetes. Most type II diabetics need a prescription drug
to lower the blood sugar because a diet change isn’t enough to control their blood sugar problem. (4)
In both cases, the blood sugar is too high in the bloodstream and will cause several problems. The first
problem is cells cannot absorb sugar for energy; they starve and start to die. Secondly an excess amount of
sugar in the blood leads to cardiovascular disease, hardening of the arteries, nerve and eye damage, and
Scientists are not exactly sure what causes type I diabetes, but they do know it has something to do with the
immune system. A healthy immune system protects us from the common cold and cancer cells (cells in the
body that go bad). The immune system can becomes confused and starts attacking good cells, in some
cases, the healthy cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, which causes diabetes. (4)
Type II diabetes has been linked to individuals who are overweight. These overweight individuals have high
blood pressure and high cholesterol as well which may also lead to this form of diabetes. Being overweight
causes the body to become insulin resistant and by dropping some excess weight one could possibly reverse
type II diabetes (rare).
If you think you have diabetes, you should look for the following symptoms. Type I diabetics usually have
frequent urination because of the high blood sugar; the kidneys are trying to balance the body’s bloodstream.
The kidneys are forced to eliminate all the unused nutrients and sugar in the blood over working the kidneys
and if left unchecked can lead to kidney damage. If you experience intense thirst, your body is trying to
replace the liquids lost from frequent urination. You may experience increased hunger but you will not gain
weight when you do eat more. This is because your body’s cells need more nutrients, but since these cells
can not absorb the insulin and nutrients the body starves.
With type II diabetes you might not notice any symptoms. Type II diabetes usually happens very gradually and
the person doesn’t know about it till diabetic complications occur, then it’s too late. (3,4)
All diabetic complications are caused from high blood sugar. The longer the blood sugar goes unchecked the
greater your chances of having complications. High blood sugar causes cardiovascular disease. The blood
vessels begin to thicken from excess fat in the bloodstream because high blood sugar elevates the fat
circulating in the blood. When the vessels thicken circulation becomes poor and with poor circulation your
ability to heal is impaired. Heart attack, heart pain, and stroke are common in diabetics because of poor
circulation and blocked arteries form all the fat buildup in the blood vessels.
Nerve damage is another complication of diabetes. Diabetics may notice numbness in their arms and legs
because of nerve damage caused from high blood sugar. These nerves can not send signals to the brain
relaying pain and touching sensations. Most diabetics will notice numbness in the feet and lower legs before
other parts of the body are effected. (3,4)
The next complication is eye damage. A more sever complication because going blind is not pleasant for
anyone. The eye has very small delicate vessels in the retina, these vessels help you see when light shines
upon them in the eye. When blood vessels are weakened, they can hemorrhage and leak fluid into the eye.
This causes swelling and blurs the vision. There is a clear gel in the eye keeping it solid and round, if blood
leaks into this gel, your vision can become blurred or completely impaired. As the eye continues to get
damaged, the eye will attempt to repair itself by growing new vessels. These new vessels are fragile and can
burst. Scar tissue can form and cause the retina to pull away from the eye, worst case causing blindness.
Blood vessels network throughout the entire body. Your kidneys are made up of vessels and can become
damaged as well. If the vessels in the kidneys become impaired, waste cannot be eliminated from the body
and a form of treatment called dialysis might be required. If blood sugar is not kept under control, damage to
the kidneys will continue to the point where a transplant might be needed or daily dialysis is required to
remove waste from the bloodstream. The good news is practically all of the complications that occur with
diabetes can be prevented when the right care is taken.
With proper diet and nutrition one can successfully prevent diabetic complications. Along with diet and
nutrition, vitamins, minerals and herbs can also help lower blood sugar and reduce the complications that may
occur. The best kind of supplement is one that combines vitamins and herbs together so that they work
together synergistically to effectively lower blood sugar. You might be wondering what vitamins, minerals and
herbs are good for blood sugar, your in luck here is a list:
Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin B-6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B-12, Biotin, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium, Copper,
Manganese, Chromium, Gymnema Sylvestre, Bitter melon, Fenugreek seed extract, Bilberry berry extract,
Bioflavonoids, and Vanadyl Sulfate. Make sure most of these ingredients are in the formula you buy. The
frequency at which you take these supplements should be listed on the bottle you buy as well. As a rule of
thumb they should be taken at least twice a day. Do not stop taking your normal multiple vitamin supplement;
diabetic formulas are a complement to what you currently take not a replacement.
Vitamin C (ascorbic Acid) – keeps diabetics blood vessels and kidneys healthy. Vitamin C works with vitamin
E to get sugar out of the blood stream and into the cells.
Vitamin E (Natural Tocopherols) – helps prevent nerve damage, helps prevent kidney damage, blindness, and
heart attack. Vitamin E works with the B vitamins to help keep the pancreas healthy.
Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine HCL) – works with folic acid to help prevent nerve damage and heart attack.
Folic Acid – works with B-12 to help prevent stroke and the loss of limbs due to diabetic complications.
Vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin) – works with B-6 and folic acid to help relieve neuropathic pain.
Biotin – helps insulin work better and helps keep the pancreas working well to lower blood sugar.
Magnesium (Krebs Cycle Chelate) – helps insulin work more effectively and relieves neuropathic pain.
Zinc (picolinate, chelate) – helps insulin work better and helps shuttle blood sugar into cells.
Selenium (aspartate) – helps prevent nerve damage and protects blood vessels against elevated blood sugar.
Selenium mimics insulin helping blood sugar into the cells.
Copper (picolinate) – helps protect the cells that produce insulin in the pancreas. Also, copper helps prevent
diabetes-related damage to blood vessels and nerves, and lowers blood sugar levels.
Manganese – helps prevent damage to nerves and blood vessels.
Chromium (picolinate) – works with biotin to help bring down blood sugar and keeps the pancreas working
Gymnema Sylvestre leaf extract – helps balance blood sugar and may protect us from gaining weight.
Bitter melon whole fruit extract – helps pathways in the liver work more efficiently; lowers blood sugar levels.
Fenugreek seed extract – helps our kidneys and liver metabolize blood sugar more efficiently.
Bilberry berry extract – helps reduce the severity of diabetic cataracts.
Mixed bioflavonoids – helps protect vitamin C and E from becoming damaged. Helps clear and sharpen vision
Vanadyl sulfate – helps muscle and liver cells use insulin more effectively.
These supplements will not lower your blood sugar too much, but help bring them down to a more normal
level. Diabetes is a disease that needs to be monitored daily several times throughout the day. When you start
taking a diabetic supplement to help equalize your blood sugar, monitor your sugar levels more often at first
so you can get a feel for where you sugar levels come down to before taking more insulin. A normal range of
blood sugar for diabetics before a meal is 70 – 150 (1,2,5) and ideally 70 – 120.
The diabetic formula you may take for lowering blood sugar is by no means a license to eat any way you want.
You still need to eat healthy and see your health practitioner on a regular basis. Diabetes might make you feel
overwhelmed, especially if you have recently been diagnosed with it. With proper exercise, diet, and vitamin
supplements you can be well on your way to a lower more manageable blood sugar level, and live a longer
1. American Diabetes Association. In the news. Available at: www.ada.yellowbrix.com/pages/ada. Accessed
on December 10, 2001.
2. Guven S, Kuenzi J. Diabetes mellitus. In: Porth CM. Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States.
5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott; 1998: 810-830.
3. Guyton AC, Hall JE. Diabetes mellitus. In: Textbook of Medical Physiology. 10th Ed. Philadelphia, Pa: W.B.
Saunders Company;2000: .
4. Grodner M, Anderson SL, DeYoung S. Diabetes mellitus. In: Foundations and Clinical Applications of
Nutrition: A Nursing Approach. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2000:540-548.
5. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Do your level best. Available at:
www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/dylb/chap1.htm#e. Accessed December 31, 2001.
Visit VitaNet Health Foods at http://vitanetonline.com/. VitaNet sells high quality vitamins and herbs
like Nature’s Plus Vitamins. Please link to this site when using this article.
Article from articlesbase.com


In the current age we live in, technology has become an important component and is also playing an increasing role in education. As technology advances, it is used to benefit students of all ages in the learning process.
At C.D. Foundation students will be helped in absorbing the material in the manner they are comfortable with. Since some pupils are visual learners, projection screens linked to computers can allow them to see their notes instead of simply listening to a teacher deliver a lecture.
Technology will be a part of all curriculums, even outside of computer and technology classes. Students would be using computers to create presentations and use the Internet to research topics for papers and essays.
Various software programs will provide study questions, activities, and even tests and quizzes for a class that can help students continue learning outside the classroom.
Laboratories are equipped with all industry standard modern equipments which would be used in developing a solid foundation of basic science concepts, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that will facilitate accelerated growth of all pupils.


It takes up to a thousand years to produce the top few centimetres of soil and its rate of formation is proportionately linked with the number of inhabiting worms - the largest contributors to soil maintenance. Capable of moving and mixing vast amounts of topsoil, these structural engineers are responsible for creating soil macro-pores which are vital for efficient oxygen and water circulation. Furthermore, earthworms shred surface residue and pull it down into the ground, making it more accessible to microbes which can then process the debris and convert it into humus.
Inversion tillage techniques and intensive use of pesticides have a detrimental effect on earthworm populations and the wider soil fauna community, disrupting the natural process of soil rejuvenation and maintenance. Small earthworm count means poorer aeration, water circulation and overall soil structure. Reducing such interference as much as possible is therefore the first step towards effective soil management.


The gradual introduction of small doses of peanuts to people with a peanut allergy could alter how their DNA reacts, according to new research from Stanford University and Packard Children’s Hospital. The research supports a growing body of evidence for oral immunotherapy (OIT) including recent positive results from the University of Cambridge. This latest study, published in the journal The Lancet, suggests that when kids slowly increase their tolerance to the allergen, OIT changes how their genes express themselves inside the body.
Scientists call this type of DNA alteration an epigenetic change, from the Latin word epi, which means above. An "epigenetic" change literally means an alteration that is "above" the genes that a person is born with.
Currently, doctors have no cure for peanut allergies, which can cause severe reactions including death. In the study, researchers examined the blood cells of a group of 20 peanut-allergic children and adults who had undergone immunotherapy for two years. That meant that doctors had these patients eat gradually increasing amounts of peanut powder every day for two years until they became desensitized to the allergen. At the start of the trial, the patients were already able to eat four grams of peanuts every day with no signs of an allergic reaction.
To test the success of the immunotherapy (and find out the mechanisms behind it) the doctors told the patients to stop eating peanuts for three months, and then gave them a small dose. Seven out of the 20 patients had no reaction to the peanuts, while 13 regained their allergy. The researchers compared the white blood cells of the patients who could now tolerate peanuts with a control group who had never had immunotherapy before. More specifically, the researchers looked at the genes within these white blood cells.
For the patients who never received immunotherapy (the control group), a large number of chemical tags called methyl groups were now affixed to their DNA. These methyl groups controlled how certain genes actively expressed themselves in the body. The large clump found on the control group’s genes had locked, or silenced, the genes that were supposed to help them fight off the allergic reactions.
In contrast, the researchers found that the seven patients who could now tolerate peanuts showed a very sparse number of methyl groups on their DNA, meaning that the genes that help them control their allergic reactions were free to actively work within their body.
"It's interesting that the change we saw is at the epigenetic level," Nadeau said in a news release. "This might help us tell people if they can safely go off of immunotherapy, or if they need to continue to eat the food every day."
Nadeau also said that examining epigenetic changes could help monitor how effective OIT is for certain people — according to Nadeau, the method is inexpensive but requires FDA approval before it can be used for a general population.
Source: Syed A, Garcia M, Lyu S, et al. Peanut oral immunotherapy results in increased antigen-induced regulatory T-cell function and hypomethylation of forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3). The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2014.


Working together as a team to help your child succeed.
Rather than parents and tutors feeling that they are helpless and unable to do anything to get their children to do their schoolwork they should consider that they are part of a tutoring team. If the Parents, Tutor and Student can work together this will help your child succeed.
1. Communication is the key to making the Tutoring Team work:
The first thing a team does is they get to know one another. Spend some quality time with your child. Talk about things that they enjoy. Encourage your child’s Tutor to also spend the time to get to know your child.
Your child may not understand why they even need to be doing their homework in the first place. Consider having a talk with your child and your child’s tutor to discuss why they need to do homework and how it will help them for the rest of their lives. Much of what we learn comes from repeated practice over time. This will help your child understand why doing homework is important.
2. Establish each member’s role in the Tutoring Team:
Each member of a team plays an important role. A Tutoring Team is no different. There is the need for supportive parents, who care about their child’s success. The student should try their best to work hard and to work with their parents and their tutor. Tutors also play a supporting role to help establish lesson plans that can be adapted to the individual student’s learning styles.
3. Setting Team goals to work toward during Tutoring Sessions:
The next thing a team does is to establish a goal. What are you trying to accomplish as a team? You all are working together so that the student can master the specific skills that they need to learn and be able to advance to the next level. Establish specific goals with specific rewards. Involving your child in this process will help them to take ownership of their schoolwork.
4. Consistency and Keeping up the Moral of the Team: Don’t set your child up to fail
It is important to find ways to help your child succeed at doing schoolwork. Try to set tutoring sessions during a time when your child is the most productive – this could be different for each child. Some children are able to do their homework as soon as they come home from school while others may need some down time to play and release some energy. Others may work better after dinner. As long as you and your tutor are consistent and help your child stick to their scheduled homework and tutoring time- you will see your child is more likely to succeed.
5. Having the Proper Practice (Tutoring) Space and Equipment:
All teams need a place to practice and the proper equipment in order to improve their skills. Make sure that your child and tutor have the space and materials they need for their tutoring sessions. Your child’s Math Tutor may need to use a whiteboard or have access to a CD player or computer. Having the Space and materials can make all the difference!
If you view yourself as part of a Tutoring Team you will be more committed and active in your child’s learning process. When the Team wins a game or when your child starts to improve at school you will feel even more proud because of the part you played to help your child accomplish their goals.


Hassan Mahamdallie, author of 'Crossing the River of Fire: The Socialism of William Morris' shares his thoughts on William Cuffay and the London Chartists, who are currently depicted in Red Saunders' reimagined photograph in front of the Gallery.
The 1832 Reform Act had extended the vote to more men with property but the working class still did not have a vote. A nationwide campaign involving men and women called for change and they became known as The Chartists, the first mass working class movement in Britain. The People’s Charter of 1838 demanded votes for all men, constituencies of
equal size, the abolition of the property qualification, annual parliaments and salaries for members of Parliament. Portrayed in Red Saunder’s photograph is a meeting of the London Chartists in Whitechapel in 1842, with William Cuffay, the son of a slave and the elected President of the London Chartists. He was transported to Tasmania for his endeavours, later pardoned, and continued to be politically active there.
A joint meeting by the Waltham Forest Radical History Workshop and the Friends of the William Morris Gallery