A quick heads up for those interested in using R for spatial analysis and mapping data. There are two relatively new libraries you might want to check out:
- The first one is the ggspatial library, created by Dewey Dunnington. ggspatial is a great package that makes it super simple to create maps using ggplot. It uses a single geom_spatial() for all types of spatial objects (polygons, lines, dots, etc.) and it dispenses the use fortify(), making things much faster.
- Another library some of you might find useful is sf (as in simple features), created by Edzer Pebesma. This library makes it much faster to conduct several spatial operations, like reading/writing data, intersecting spatial objects, computing shortest distance matrices etc. The sf library is integrated with ggplot2 for creating maps with geom_sf() and it also makes it easy to connect to spatial data bases. This promises to be a real game changer for spatial analysis in R.


Electrical Safety Tips and Best Practices
By Easybook Training27 July 2020
David Perecman, Founder and Lead Trial Attorney at The Perecman Firm, P.L.L.C., provides guidance on how to prevent on-the-job electrocutions.
With private companies working in construction, manufacturing and natural resources and mining industries accounting for nearly three-quarters of fatal electrical injuries, it is vital for workers in these sectors to be aware of the risks of electrical hazards and take steps to mitigate on-the-job, electrical injuries.
A key element of preserving a safe working environment is risk awareness and prevention. The most common forms of electrical injuries include electrical shock and electrical burns. Electrocution is always used to describe a fatal electrical injury.
Safety First At All Times
Although electrical safety is important for workers in many industries, it is particularly relevant for workers in the construction and electrical industries. Electrocution is one of the most common workplace injuries and is deemed one of the Occupational Health & Safety Administration’s (OSHA) ”Fatal Four” leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry. Both employers and workers must take precautions to protect themselves and others around them at all times.
Employers should take steps to prevent on-the-job electrocutions that can lead to serious injuries, including:
- Ensure that workers are knowledgeable of emergency protocols and procedures should an on-the-job electrical injury or accident occur.
- Employers should provide appropriate personal protective gear (PPE) to workers and issue frequent warnings of electric power circuits, line and hazards.
- Employers and site managers should ensure that federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to worker safety are followed at all times on job sites.
- Employers should ensure that electricians and trade professionals are fully qualified for the task at hand.
- Guard open switches and circuit-interrupting devices.
- Enforce OSHA standards for proper lockout/tagout procedures on job sites.
- Walk sites to identify potential electrical hazards and determine voltage levels.
Best practices for employees and all personnel on worksites include:
- Always use the proper tools, fuses, cords and other equipment that is appropriate for the circumstances (i.e. rated for the level of amperage or wattage).
- Regularly inspect all testing devices. Always test the circuit before workers physically touch it. Each year, many workers suffer injuries from circuits they believed were safety turned off.
- Always look up to identify potential electrical hazards overhead, such as powerlines. Prior to digging or excavation, know what’s below. Workers can call 811 or use their state’s 811 center’s website a few business days before digging to confirm no utility lines below pose danger.
- Workers should never attempt to perform any electrical job that they are unqualified or unfamiliar with. Always have electrical work completed by qualified, experienced technicians.
Legal Remedies and Steps to Take After An Electrical Injury
While the severity of electrical accidents ranges from mild to fatal, these injuries have the potential to hinder a worker’s ability to perform their job, secure their livelihood and live their life in the same manner they would prior to the accident. With education on how to identify electrical hazards in conjunction with proper safety standards, most electrical injuries can be avoided.
If an electrical accident occurs, it is crucial to contact emergency services and seek medical intervention for injuries immediately. Once the injured worker’s health condition is stable, an accident report should be filed. With most on-the-job injury cases, employees cannot sue their employer for damages they sustained during work duties. However, employees can seek to recover losses, including total and partial disability, medical costs, and lost wages, through a workers’ compensation claim. If a worker suffers a electrical-related injury due to the negligence of a third party outside of their employer, they may be able to secure remedies for damages sustained through a personal injury lawsuit. These lawsuits can provide financial compensation for losses suffered by victims due to negligence.
Electrical injuries can have deadly effects that can cause serious physical harm to victims. In an ideal world, electrical accidents would not occur. Unfortunately, these incidents are all too common, so it’s important for employers and workers to be aware of potential electrical risks and take steps to prevent accidents in the workplace. Workers who have suffered on-the-job electrical injuries can secure legal remedies for damages through a workers’ compensation claim or personal injury lawsuit if the injury was caused by a third party’s negligence.


Modern evidence has defined dinosaur mysteries.(Bakker 2001) Dinosaurs dominated vertebrate life on land for 160 million years. They did not thrive in water. They evolved from reptiles, but the biggest dinosaurs were larger than any terrestrial reptile or mammal. Dinosaurs experienced a series of partial extinctions, followed by resurgences of new and different species before they disappeared altogether. Like mammals, dinosaurs had enhanced exercise tolerance and could chase their prey, whereas reptiles have limited exercise tolerance that usually necessitates a “lie in wait” predation strategy. Like warm-blooded birds and mammals, dinosaurs grew and matured quickly and exhibited rapid evolutionary adaptation. In contrast, cold-blooded reptiles seldom produce new species, and they grow and mature slowly unless they are maintained with abundant food and warm temperatures. Some dinosaurs were bipedal (they walked on two legs), whereas reptiles are exclusively quadrupeds. Pterosaurs were dinosaurs that flew in the manner of mammalian bats (neither had feathers) but reptiles have never achieved flight. These dinosaur mysteries have inspired speculation about mass homeothermy (body heat retention due to large size), giant meteors colliding with the earth, “death stars” at million-year intervals, catastrophic volcanic activity, reduced earth gravity, and whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded, but none of these explanations are convincing.
Mammals and reptiles differ from each other almost as much as both differ from dinosaurs, and yet all three are closely related vertebrate cousins. Euthermic (warm-blooded) mammals maintain their body temperature around 100 degrees Fahrenheit regardless of environmental temperatures. This entails increased food requirements, but it somehow confers superior exercise tolerance that enhances their ability to obtain food and thrive in cold climates where reptiles cannot survive. Reptiles are poikilothermic (“cold-blooded”) animals whose bodies assume the temperature of the environment. Because they do not waste food energy maintaining their body temperature, they can survive for extended periods of time with far less food than mammals. They function best at mammalian body temperatures, but their exercise tolerance is inferior to mammals even when they are warm. They become extremely sluggish when cold. The author once witnessed this dramatic cold sensitivity on a raft trip in the Grand Canyon when guides employed cold river water to immobilize a rattlesnake that lurked near the latrine. The snake could then be safely picked up and flung into the bushes.
I hypothesize that the differences between reptiles, mammals and dinosaurs are caused by their adaptations to different climates. The focus of these adaptations is temperature-dependent lipoprotein solidification that affects blood turbulence. The pivotal role of blood turbulence in vertebrate hemodynamic physiology remains largely unappreciated. Blood turbulence inhibits atherosclerosis, increases blood flow resistance, and generates lateral forces that account for the palpable pulse and blood pressure measurement. At cool temperatures, lipoproteins exist as solid particles that exaggerate turbulence, accelerate atherosclerosis, and increase blood flow resistance, but at or above mammalian body temperatures (around 100 degrees Fahrenheit) they liquefy and these effects are neutralized.(Dintenfass 1965) Reptilian red blood cells exaggerate blood turbulence to inhibit atherosclerosis caused by solidified lipoproteins at low temperatures. Mammalian red blood cells inhibit blood turbulence to reduce flow resistance, and thereby optimize cardiac efficiency and exercise tolerance. Vertebrate adaptations to climate thus involve alterations in both body metabolism and red cell morphology. The adaptations involve “trade-offs” between exercise tolerance, food requirements, and cold sensitivity.
Temperature-dependent lipoprotein solidification can be observed in venous blood drawn from humans after a meal. As the blood samples cool, lipoproteins solidify and float to the top of the test tube, where they form a white layer. The author has observed that portal veins turn pearly white due to lipoprotein solidification when exposed intestines are cooled during surgery, but systemic vessels remain unaffected. The portal veins conduct blood from the intestines to the liver, so that blood flowing from the intestines must pass through the liver before entering the systemic circulation. This prevents harmful solidified lipoproteins as well as toxins from entering systemic circulation.
Hemodynamic Physiology and Blood Turbulence
Hemodynamic physiology in vertebrates remains stubbornly mysterious. For example, water is incompressible, so that the palpable arterial pulse should appear simultaneously and with equal force throughout the arterial tree with each heartbeat. Instead, the pulse inexplicably appears as a wave that travels proximal to distal, and its speed increases as arterial diameter decreases. Blood pressure and flow are classically attributed to variations of cardiac contractility and arteriolar vasoconstriction. However, vascular smooth muscle contraction is energy-intensive, short-lived, and followed by obligatory relaxation, so that it cannot explain prolonged elevations of blood pressure such as occur in essential hypertension. Meanwhile, the heart muscle generates a consistent force with each contraction. Its ability to increase this force is limited, and it cannot endure prolonged increases in vascular resistance and workload, which cause congestive heart failure. This consistency of cardiac contraction is reflected by the striking similarity of blood pressure measurements among most mammalian species (with exceptions such as the giraffe) regardless of temperature and activity. In contrast, reptilian blood pressure varies substantially among species and is affected by both temperature and activity. Vasoconstriction and cardiac contractility thus provide a tenuous explanation of organ regulation, essential hypertension, blood pressure, and blood flow regulation. Also, there is no satisfactory explanation of bruits and Korotkoff sounds. These and other puzzling observations are readily explained by blood turbulence.
Water, oil, and most other fluids are called “Newtonian” because they exhibit exponential increases in turbulence when they are accelerated in pipes. The turbulence causes exponential increases in flow resistance and generates lateral forces that press on the inner walls of the pipe. Belgian mechanical engineers recently photographed Newtonian pipe flow turbulence and showed that it consists of small “jet streams” that flow forward along the inner walls of the pipe and force slower-moving fluid elements to the center of the pipe, where they flow backward. This explains how turbulence inhibits forward flow in pipes, and also how it mobilizes particulates that would otherwise deposit on the walls of the pipe.(Chris Woodyard 2006; Hof et al. 2004) In contrast, mammalian blood is “non-Newtonian” because it exhibits exponential declines in turbulence and flow resistance when it is accelerated in arteries.
Vertebrate pulsatile arterial blood flow accelerates forward during systole, when the heart contracts. During diastole, when the heart relaxes, arterial flow decelerates and briefly halts. Pulsatile flow thus induces periodic bursts of arterial turbulence. Vertebrate arterial turbulence is similar to water pipe turbulence, except that blood contains red blood cells that alter turbulence in accord with their shape and size. Rotund, nucleated reptilian red cells exaggerate systolic blood turbulence to inhibit atherosclerosis. Biconcave, enucleated mammalian red cells inhibit systolic blood turbulence to enhance cardiac efficiency and exercise tolerance. This explains the presence of red blood cells in vertebrates, because hemoglobin encapsulation does not enhance oxygen delivery, and red cell mass is far greater than necessary to oxygenate tissues.
Blood turbulence inhibits atherosclerosis. Blood contains numerous particulates in addition to lipoproteins and red cells. Like sludge formation in oil pipes, blood particulates form deposits on the inner walls of arteries if blood turbulence is inadequate.(Chris Woodyard 2006) Such deposits induce an inflammatory reaction that results in the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. Athletic activity exaggerates blood turbulence that inhibits and can even reverse atherosclerosis. Anemia likewise increases blood turbulence and inhibits atherosclerosis. Polycythemia and sedentary life style reduce blood turbulence and accelerate atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a natural consequence of aging and inactivity, as cardiac vigor and blood turbulence decline. Insoluble Fibrin is generated in flowing blood by the SRM in accord with stressful forces and stressful stimuli that affect autonomic balance, and this reduces turbulent mixing in blood and thereby accelerates atherosclerosis. This explains why atherosclerosis is accelerated by disease, surgery, and emotional stress. (Coleman 2006; Coleman 2010)
Pulsatile arterial turbulence also inhibits coagulation, which explains why clot formation is rare in uninjured arteries, while thrombophlebitis is common in veins, where flow is sluggish and turbulence is minimal. Insoluble fibrin generated by the Stress Repair Mechanism (SRM) induces clot formation by reducing blood turbulence below a threshold, and then binding red blood cells into a viscoelastic clot.(Coleman 2005; Coleman 2010)
Mammals are “Euthermic” (warm-blooded). They have adapted to cold climates by adjusting their metabolism to maintain their body temperature continuously above the threshold of lipoprotein liquefaction, and by ejecting the nucleus of their red blood cells to create biconcave red cells that enhance cardiac efficiency and exercise tolerance. Maintaining elevated body temperatures substantially increases food requirements, but it prevents lipoprotein solidification and enables mammals to remain active at cold temperatures, and the enhanced exercise capacity enables them to satisfy their increased food requirements. Superior mammalian intelligence further enhances their ability to obtain food. Humans are born with immature “fetal” red blood cells that are spherical and nucleated. These are gradually replaced by mature biconcave, enucleated red blood cells during the first year of life. The fetal red cells exaggerate systolic blood turbulence to inhibit atherosclerosis during embryological development, when blood turbulence is otherwise inadequate in the quiescent developing fetus. The increased turbulent flow resistance caused by fetal red blood cells explains the limited exercise tolerance and increased risk of general anesthesia during the first year of human life.
“Newtonian” fluids such as water and oil produce exponential increases in viscosity (flow resistance) as they are accelerated in pipes. In contrast, mammalian blood is a “non-Newtonian” fluid that exhibits exponential declines in viscosity when it is accelerated in arteries. The nucleus of maturing mammal red blood cells is ejected and engulfed by immune cells, causing the rotund cell to partially collapse to create its distinctive biconcave shape. During systole, when the heart contracts and ejects blood, these biconcave red cells spontaneously form “aggregate patterns” that inhibit blood turbulence and flow resistance so that the mammalian heart expels its contents much more efficiently. The mammalian heart is thus able to accelerate arterial blood flow from 0 to 125 cm/sec in a tenth of a second with minimal effort. This enhanced cardiac efficiency confers a substantial increase in exercise capacity.
During diastole, when the mammalian heart has emptied its contents and blood flow decelerates, the aggregate formations disintegrate, causing the kinetic energy of moving blood to convert to a burst of turbulence. This manifests as a traveling pulse wave that propagates throughout the arterial tree with each cardiac cycle, halting blood flow as it travels. The turbulence generates lateral forces that press on the inner walls of arteries. These lateral forces make the pulse wave palpable and blood pressure measureable. Arterial strictures and blood pressure cuff inflation accelerate blood flow and elevate turbulent frequencies to audible levels, which explains bruits and blood pressure measurement.
Blood turbulence clarifies mammalian hemodynamic physiology. Red blood cells are nearly identical among mammalian species because their size and shape minimizes turbulence and flow resistance. Mammalian blood pressure varies little between individuals and among species because cardiac power, force and work vary little from beat to beat, and because mammalian physiology controls temperature within a narrow range, so that turbulent forces remain consistent with each heartbeat and similar among species. This produces the misleading impression that blood pressure, cardiac contractility and tissue perfusion are directly related. However, turbulent relationships are exponential in nature, and blood pressure is not linearly related to cardiac output or tissue perfusion as often presumed. For example, cardiac output remains intact in resting trained athletes. This is because aerobic conditioning stimulates capillary formation in muscles affected by exercise, and this reduces flow resistance, which increases stroke volume, so that heart rate and blood pressure are reduced at rest. This reflects enhanced cardiac efficiency in the athlete. The heart itself is little affected by exercise, and does not become “stronger” or larger. The weak cardiac force that propels blood cannot readily perfuse distant or elevated tissues, which explain why the head is usually located close to the heart. Exceptions such as the giraffe require exaggerated heart mass. In contrast to mammals, reptilian blood turbulence, and therefore blood pressure, is affected by temperature, activity and other factors, so that it varies substantially in individuals as well as among species.
Reptiles are “cold-blooded” (poikilothermic). They are adapted to warm climates. They do not waste food energy to maintain their body temperature above the level of lipoprotein liquefaction. Their food requirements are therefore modest compared to mammals. Their body temperature fluctuates in accord with environmental temperatures, so that lipoproteins in their blood solidify at cool temperatures. Lipoprotein solidification inhibits blood flow and accelerates atherosclerosis. However, unlike mammalian red blood cells, reptilian red blood cells retain their nucleus, which causes their shape to remain rotund. This rotund shape exaggerates systolic blood turbulence, which offsets the acceleration of atherosclerosis caused by lipoprotein solidification. The exaggerated systolic blood turbulence simultaneously inhibits cardiac function by increasing flow resistance. The combined effect of rotund red cells and solidified lipoproteins severely reduces cardiac efficiency and exercise tolerance at cool temperatures. This explains why reptiles become extremely sluggish at low temperatures. Reptiles typically bask in the morning sun to raise their body temperatures to mammalian levels, which is where they function best. However, even when their blood temperature is elevated above the level of lipoprotein liquefaction, their exercise tolerance remains inferior to that of mammals on account of the exaggerated turbulent systolic flow resistance caused by their rotund, nucleated red cells. Because of this, most reptiles employ a “lie in wait” style of predation that requires minimal exercise capacity. Vegetarian reptiles are rare, presumably because their limited exercise tolerance restricts their ability to obtain adequate quantities of low-energy plant food sources.
Dinosaurs were adapted to continuously hot temperatures. They thrived during the unique era when all the continents of the earth were fused together into a single land mass called “Pangaea”. This caused interior land temperatures to become continuously elevated above the level of lipoprotein liquefaction. I hypothesize that under these conditions, certain reptile species transmogrified into dinosaurs by ejecting the nucleus of their reptilian red blood cells to create biconcave red blood cells similar to those of mammals. In the presence of continuously hot temperatures, this single change in red cell structure would explain how dinosaurs added the superior hemodynamic efficiency (exercise tolerance) of mammals to the superior metabolic efficiency (modest food requirements) of reptiles to enable them to become energetic monsters that dominated terrestrial life for millions of years. The combination of metabolic and hemodynamic efficiency explains how plant-eating dinosaurs attained gigantic size despite small heads that limited their food intake. Their enhanced exercise tolerance facilitated their ability to obtain fresh plant food sources, but their additional food energy was not wasted to maintain body temperature, so that their conserved caloric intake exaggerated body size. Enhanced dinosaur exercise capacity enabled dinosaur predators to run on two legs to chase after their prey and increase their caloric intake, while their metabolic efficiency exaggerated their size and strength, so that they become the most formidable predators ever known. The enhanced exercise capacity likewise enabled Pterosaurs to fly in the manner of mammalian bats (both lacked feathers). The combination of hemodynamic and metabolic efficiency also enabled rapid growth, maturation and evolutionary diversification similar to warm-blooded mammals and birds.
Dinosaurs were not mammals, because they lacked the ability to maintain their body temperature above the level of lipoprotein liquefaction. Their adaptation to sustained high temperatures rendered them exquisitely vulnerable to cool temperatures. Because of this, they did not thrive in water, where temperatures are usually below the threshold of lipoprotein liquefaction. The fossil record reflects a series of catastrophic dinosaur extinctions followed by resurgences in which new and different dinosaur species appeared, and this is best explained by temporary declines in ambient land temperature below the level of fat liquefaction. When Pangaea disintegrated into separate continents, causing land temperatures to permanently fall below the threshold of lipoprotein liquefaction, the dinosaur life form became extinct. The final chapter in the dinosaur saga likely resembled Armageddon, as doomed dinosaurs clustered together in a desperate search for warmth. The contorted postures of their fossilized bodies may reflect their final agony as lipoprotein solidification disrupted their hemodynamic function.
This hypothesis is limited to reptiles, mammals and dinosaurs. It cannot explain the hemodynamic efficiency of birds, because the distinctive oval red blood cells of birds are nucleated. However, birds are euthermic, which suggests that lipoprotein liquefaction plays an important role in their physiology. Perhaps the distinctive oval shape of bird red cells confers the ability to control blood turbulence and enhance hemodynamic efficiency in a manner different from that of mammalian red cells.
The evolution of dinosaurs is often associated with cosmic climatic cataclysms, but the evidence suggests that the earth’s climate is remarkably temperate. It never becomes so extreme as to render either reptiles or mammals extinct. Instead, mild cyclical temperature fluctuations temporarily favor one versus the other. Dinosaurs represent a vertebrate adaptation to a period of unusually elevated land temperatures. The dinosaur evidence provides insights to vertebrate physiology, embryology and evolution. The ability to eject the nucleus of red blood cells may be retained by reptiles as well as mammals, and it may represent one of many potential adaptations hidden in the vertebrate genome. It illustrates how simple physiological adaptations to moderate environmental changes can produce diverse new life forms that disappear as suddenly as they appeared. (Kirschner and Gerhart 2005)
This hypothesis of dinosaur origin and physiology resulted from the extensive review of published medical research literature that identified the “Stress Repair Mechanism” (SRM) that maintains and repairs the vertebrate body and governs hemodynamic physiology.(Coleman 2010) Confirmation of the dinosaur hypothesis initially appeared impossible, because the shape of dinosaur red blood cells was unknown. However, Dr. Mary Schweitzer recently discovered intact dinosaur bone marrow tissue,(Fields 2006; Schweitzer et al. 2005; Schweitzer et al. 1997). Electron microscopy studies have subsequently produced evidence that dinosaurs had biconcave red blood cells.(Liangtai 2009) This evidence remains controversial. However, the ability of reptiles to transmogrify into dinosaurs could be tested by maintaining a selected group of reptiles with temperatures continuously above the threshold of lipoprotein liquefaction and abundant food. Under these conditions, dinosaurs might eventually appear spontaneously.
The secret of vertebrate hemodynamic physiology is efficiency rather than power and work. The modest force generated by cardiac muscle is consistent within a narrow range, and flow resistance readily inhibits the ability of the heart to expel its contents. Both turbulent flow resistance and capillary flow resistance are simultaneously regulated in accord with autonomic balance by the capillary gate component of the Stress Repair Mechanism (SRM).(Coleman 2010) The combined effects of turbulent flow resistance and capillary gate closure reduces cardiac output, cardiac efficiency, and exercise tolerance.(Ades et al. 1996) Capillary gate component regulation provides an improved explanation of the regulation of blood flow and organ function, because capillary blood flows, pressures and turbulence are minimal, and the combined surface area of capillaries is vastly greater than that of larger vessel, so that flow regulation by fibrinogenesis and fibrinolysis in capillaries is more efficient and effective than vasoconstriction of arterioles. Capillary gate operation also explains numerous experimental observations, such as the increase in fibrin split products after treatment with “vasoactive” pharmaceuticals.(Holemans 1965)


Carbon dioxide is the gas most discussed in relation to manmade climate change. But there are other gases responsible for the greenhouse effect that climate scientists blame for global warming.
Scientists say the presence of one of those gases, methane, can be expected to rise rapidly, should the planet continue to warm. That's bad news, since methane -- already the third most abundant greenhouse gas -- has roughly 30 times the heat-trapping potency of CO2.
Scientists have known for some time that methane is a byproduct of biological activity in the world's freshwater ecosystems. Microorganisms in freshwater lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams produce methane as they digest organic materials.
But exactly how much methane these ecosystems were emitting -- or would emit -- remained a mystery.
To get a better idea, Cristian Gudasz, a visiting postdoctoral research associate at Princeton, and a number of other researchers analyzed nearly 1,600 temperature and methane emissions measurements from 127 freshwater ecosystems all over the world. Using their data, the researchers modeled future methane emissions and determined that as the temperature moved from zero degrees Celsius up to 30, methane production increased 57 times.


Fears about pollution from a gas-extraction technique called hydraulic fracturing have landed the Upper Delaware River on the top spot in an environmental group's ranking of the 10 most endangered U.S. rivers.
The annual list is part of a media campaign by the group American Rivers aimed at focusing attention on environmental threats to waterways.
Politics -- as opposed to water-quality data -- determine the rankings. A river lands on the list based on what the group considers to be major, upcoming policy or permitting decisions, the significance of the threat and the degree to which the action would exacerbate or alleviate the stresses of climate change.
The usual culprits that push up a river's ranking include proposed dams, water diversions or management plans.
What's remarkable this year -- the ranking's 25th anniversary -- is the prominence of hydraulic fracturing, which landed two rivers in the top 10 list. It's the reason behind the No. 9 ranking for the Monongahela River, which spans Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Chalk up these dubious honors as a sign of the escalating conflict over whether hydraulic fracturing deserves federal regulatory scrutiny.
The Upper Delaware provides drinking water to 17 million people in Pennsylvania and New York. Both the Upper Delaware and the Monongahela straddle the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation, where two companies have proposed developing up to 17,000 gas wells, according to American Rivers.
"Folks have known this resource has been here for a while, but it hasn't had as much attention from the industry until now," the group's Jessie Thomas-Blate said of the gas deposits.
The Upper Delaware edged out last year's top-ranked Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, ground zero for California's water wars, which is this year's No. 2.
Unlike the obvious problems that attend oil spills, there are no conclusive studies that have directly linked hydraulic fracturing to groundwater pollution. The decades-old practice involves blasting millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to free trapped natural gas. Environmentalists fear what's not known: exact ingredients of the injected mix of chemicals.
Although there have been documented spills and other incidents, pollution problems stemming from fracturing have yet to rise to catastrophe-level and, as such, efforts in Washington to clamp down on the practice have waxed and waned.
A U.S. EPA investigation is under way, but last week Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), a persistent critic of the practice, introduced and then withdrew an amendment to water legislation that would have required full disclosure of fracturing chemicals (Greenwire, May 26).
Gas companies are nervous. Fearing that tougher water laws might impede drilling in the Marcellus Shale, Exxon Mobil Corp. inserted an out-clause into a pending $41 billion deal to purchase driller XTO Energy.
"We need to study the questions of the risk to the drinking water of 17 million people before we wind up with a Gulf-like disaster," Andrew Fahlund, American Rivers' senior vice president of conservation, said in a reference to the BP PLC oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. "A great deal of study needs to take place before citizens can be assured its safe."
Other rivers making this year's top 10: (No. 3) West Virginia's Gauley River, which faces mountaintop-mining threats; (No. 4) North Carolina's Little River for a proposed dam; (No. 5) Iowa's Cedar River, threatened by flood-management practices; (No. 6) the Upper Colorado River, for water diversions; (No. 7) Chetco River in Oregon, because of mining; (No. 8) Teton River in Idaho for a dam proposal; and (No. 10) Coosa River in Alabama, also threatened by dams.
More details are available at the American Rivers website.


We often imagine the world beneath the waves to be a silent place. In our imagination, this silence is broken at most by the doleful song of a lonesome whale or by sounds from outside, muffled by the water. A few may have heard that fish also make use of acoustic signals. However the fact that even algae contribute to the marine soundscape is new even to experts: in 2018, Lauren and Simon Freeman, two oceanographers working with the US Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Rhode Island, first noticed the phenomenon in the waters of Hawaii. They recorded a faint hiss that had long been dismissed as caused by snapping shrimp. However, they observed that the amount of sound correlated with the quantity of macroalgae covering the coral reefs. In order to verify whether the sound was caused by the algae, they set up a tank with controlled conditions and their presumption was confirmed. The sound is caused by the algae performing photosynthesis — as a byproduct, they release oxygen. When an oxygen bubble detaches from he surface of the plant, it creates a short ʻpingʼ sound. The combined pings of many algae merge to form an important part the background noise of their environment. The two oceanographers hope that this finding can open up new opportunities to evaluate and monitor ecosystems through acoustic recordings in the future.
Sources: Freeman, Simon E. et al., “Photosynthesis by marine algae produces sound, contributing to the daytime soundscape on coral reefs”, PLoS ONE, vol.13, issue. 10, 2018.


Sunday, July 6, 2014
Formative assessment is a major part of legal education reform. Three experts on legal education, Sophie Sparrow, Gerald F. Hess, and Michael Hunter Schwartz, have written a book on formative assessment, Assessment: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Law Schools, which is scheduled to appear later this year.
"This book will serve as a crucial resource for law school administrators, professors, and staff who are interested or involved in assessing their students, courses, teachers, programs, and institutions. The book will draw on current research on assessment and provide a practical approach to comprehensive assessment. The book will include concrete suggestions and examples and communicate in a straightforward accessible style. In addition to writing the majority of the text, the authors will report on effective assessment methods used currently by law schools. Individual chapters will focus on 1) purpose of assessment; 2) assessment fundamentals at all levels; 3) assessing student learning; 4) students' role in assessment; 5) assessing law school curricula and programs; 6) assessing law school teaching; 7) assessing the law school as an institution; and 8) creating a culture of assessment. In addition, the book will provide examples of assessment used by a variety of law schools and include sample forms and checklists to make assessment manageable."


Flower Stem Bee Nests – November, 2013
Before cutting back and composting the end-of-season flower stalks in your garden this month, you might consider salvaging some of that material for easy-to-make bee nests. For example, most leafcutter bees, mason bees, yellow-faced bees, and more will happily nest in the dry, hollow stems of many common garden plants. The process is simple:
- Using shears, or a fine-toothed saw, clip hollow stems into 6- to 8-inch lengths.
- Use stems with natural nodes on one end (to create a dead end that you can’t see through).
- Use a variety of stem diameters, from 1/8 inch for small solitary wasps and yellow-faced bees, to ½ inch for big carpenter bees.
- Bundle the tubes together with string or wire and hang them horizontally in a sheltered location.
Depending on where you live, lots of common native plants have perfect stems for this project, such as cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) and eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides) in the east, to gumweed (Grindelia spp.) and various sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) in the west. You can even use the dead stems of invasive weeds for the same purpose — Phragmites reed, bamboo, and teasel all work well.
Hang your nests now, and when spring arrives, pollinators will find one more reason to stick around.
To read previous months’ tips, please click here.


Creating textures for 3D models is an essential part of the 3D modeling process. Texturing gives the 3D models a realistic look and feel, and it is what makes them stand out from the rest. Without textures, 3D models would appear flat and lifeless, and they would not be as engaging or captivating.
The process of creating textures for 3D models may seem daunting at first, but with the right tools and techniques, it can be a fun and rewarding experience. There are various software programs available for creating textures, and each has its own unique features and capabilities. Some popular software programs for texturing include Blender, Substance Painter, and Photoshop. These programs offer a wide range of tools and features for creating textures, including brushes, layers, and filters, among others.
To create textures for 3D models, it is essential to have a good understanding of how to use these tools and techniques effectively. This article will provide a guide on how to create textures for 3D models, covering the basics and tips for getting started. Whether you are a seasoned 3D artist or just starting, this guide will help you create stunning textures that will make your 3D models come to life.
What are Textures?
Textures are an essential part of 3D modeling. They are the surface characteristics of a 3D model and are responsible for making it look realistic. Textures are applied to the model’s surface, wrapping around it to give it a unique appearance.
Textures can be anything from a simple color to a complex pattern or design. They can be created using various software and tools. The process of creating textures is called texturing.
Types of Textures
There are several types of textures used in 3D modeling. Each type of texture serves a different purpose and is used to achieve a specific effect. Here are some of the most common types of textures:
Color Map: A color map is a simple texture that defines the color of the model’s surface. It is the most basic type of texture and is used to give the model a solid color.
Bump Map: A bump map is used to create the illusion of depth and texture on a model’s surface. It is a grayscale image that defines the height of the model’s surface.
Normal Map: A normal map is similar to a bump map, but it uses RGB values to define the surface normal of the model. It is used to create more complex surface details.
Specular Map: A specular map is used to define the reflective properties of the model’s surface. It determines how light reflects off the surface.
Displacement Map: A displacement map is used to create more complex surface details on a model. It is a grayscale image that defines the height and depth of the surface.
Textures can also be combined to create more complex effects. For example, a color map and a bump map can be combined to create a model with a textured surface.
In conclusion, textures are an essential part of 3D modeling. They are used to create realistic surfaces and give models a unique appearance. By understanding the different types of textures, you can create more complex and detailed models.
When it comes to creating textures for 3D models, there are several techniques and tools to choose from. In this section, we will discuss some of the most common methods for creating textures, including choosing a software, texture mapping techniques, and texture painting techniques.
Choosing a Software
The first step in creating textures is choosing the right software for the job. There are several options available, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Some popular choices include:
- Photoshop: A popular choice for creating textures due to its robust set of tools and features.
- Substance Painter: A powerful 3D painting software that allows you to create high-quality textures quickly and easily.
- Blender: A free and open-source 3D modeling software that also includes texture painting tools.
When choosing a software, consider your skill level, budget, and the specific needs of your project.
Texture Mapping Techniques
Texture mapping is the process of applying a 2D image to a 3D model’s surface. There are several techniques for texture mapping, including:
- UV Mapping: A technique that involves creating a 2D map of the model’s surface and then applying the texture to that map.
- Box Mapping: A technique that involves projecting the texture onto the model’s surface from six different angles.
- Planar Mapping: A technique that involves projecting the texture onto the model’s surface from a single direction.
Each technique has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to choose the right one for your specific project.
Texture Painting Techniques
Texture painting is the process of adding details and color to a 3D model’s surface. There are several techniques for texture painting, including:
- Brush Painting: A technique that involves using digital brushes to paint directly onto the model’s surface.
- Stencil Painting: A technique that involves using stencils to apply textures and patterns to the model’s surface.
- Procedural Painting: A technique that involves using algorithms to generate textures automatically.
Each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to experiment with different techniques to find the one that works best for your project.
In conclusion, creating textures for 3D models requires careful consideration of software, texture mapping techniques, and texture painting techniques. By choosing the right tools and techniques for your specific project, you can create high-quality textures that bring your 3D models to life.
When creating textures for 3D models, it’s important to optimize them to balance quality and performance. Texture optimization involves choosing the appropriate file formats, texture resolutions, and compression techniques to meet the requirements and limitations of your project.
Choosing the right file format for your textures can have a significant impact on their quality and performance. Here are some common file formats used for 3D textures:
- JPEG: A compressed image format that is commonly used for photographs and textures with lots of detail. However, it can result in loss of quality and artifacts.
- PNG: A lossless image format that supports transparency and is commonly used for textures with simple shapes and transparency.
- TIFF: A high-quality image format that supports layers and is commonly used for textures that require a high level of detail.
- DDS: A compressed image format that is commonly used for real-time applications. It supports mipmaps, which are precomputed lower-resolution versions of the texture that are used to improve performance.
The texture resolution refers to the number of pixels in the texture image. Higher resolution textures can provide more detail, but they also require more memory and can impact performance. Here are some tips for choosing the right texture resolution:
- Consider the size of the object: Textures for small objects can have lower resolution than textures for large objects.
- Consider the distance from the camera: Textures for objects that are far away from the camera can have lower resolution than textures for objects that are close to the camera.
- Test different resolutions: Try different resolutions to find the sweet spot between quality and performance.
Compression techniques can be used to reduce the size of texture files without significantly impacting the quality. Here are some common compression techniques:
- DXT Compression: A lossy compression technique that is commonly used for real-time applications. It can reduce the size of texture files by up to 75%.
- ETC Compression: A lossy compression technique that is commonly used for mobile devices. It can reduce the size of texture files by up to 50%.
- PVRTC Compression: A lossy compression technique that is commonly used for iOS devices. It can reduce the size of texture files by up to 80%.
By optimizing your textures using the right file formats, texture resolutions, and compression techniques, you can improve the quality and performance of your 3D models.
Creating textures for 3D models can seem daunting at first, but with the right tools and techniques, it can be a rewarding and enjoyable process. In this article, we’ve covered some basics of 3D texturing, including the importance of UV mapping, creating seamless textures, and using different software tools to achieve the desired effect.
One key takeaway is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to texturing. Every model is unique, and the textures should reflect that. Experimenting with different techniques and tools can help you find the best approach for your project.
Another important consideration is the impact of lighting on your textures. Understanding how light interacts with your model can help you create more realistic textures that respond to different lighting conditions.
Finally, it’s important to remember that texturing is just one part of the 3D modeling process. It’s important to consider the overall design of your model and how the textures fit into that design. Whether you’re creating a game asset or a product visualization, the textures should enhance the overall experience for the viewer.
In conclusion, creating textures for 3D models can be a challenging but rewarding process. By following some basic principles and experimenting with different techniques, you can achieve stunning results that bring your models to life.


Study of the microbial biodiversity of Irpinian grapevines for optimizing the production of typical wines (Aglianico and Fiano).
[Tesi di dottorato]
At the industrial level, the study of microbial biodiversity of different vine cultivars of the wine industry could provide an effective way to meet the demands for greater health, quality and typicality of the wine by a consumer, without colliding with the statutory prohibition or prejudice associated with the use of genetically modified vine and yeast. This research involves the study of microbial biodiversity of two cultivars of vine which originate from Irpinia, a region possessing an established vine industry: Aglianico and Fiano. As a first step, we created a collection of yeasts isolated from grapes and grape vines and these were later identified. Analysis of their morphology and biochemical characteristics identified them as belonging to four main genera: Saccharomyces spp., Kloeckera spp., Candida spp. and Metschinikowia spp. With regards to the Aglianico, Saccharomyces yeasts were found only in the musts, whereas in Fiano they were also present on grapes. In both cases the non-Saccharomyces genera were the predominant ones on grapes. Most of the yeasts selected were resistant to high concentrations of SO2 (100 ppm and 250 ppm), including non-Saccharomyces generally considered very sensitive to this compound. Also, only a small fraction of them were able to secrete β-glucosidase, an enzyme that, in enology, catalyzes the release in the must of odorous molecules in the form of volatile terpenes. The analysis of data obtained from the selections highlighted some yeasts, and Saccharomyces spp. and non-Saccharomyces spp., which have been used in various combinations for wine production on an industrial scale: these belong to the species S. cerevisiae, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Metschnokowia pulcherrima and Hanseniaspora guilliermondii. In the case of R. mucilaginosa, it was used alongside commercial yeast in the fermentation of both types of must for the 2007 vintage, while the others have been used in various combinations with each other, and the commercial yeast in the harvest of 2008, only with musts from the vineyards of origin. S. cerevisiae strains AGYP37 and M. pulcherrima AGYP28 were used in the fermentation of Aglianico while S. cerevisiae strains FYP69 and H. guilliermondii FWL66 in that of Fiano. As for the fermentation of 2007, the strain R. mucilaginosa AGWLR12 had better results in Aglianico than in Fiano, reaching an alcohol content and total acidity levels higher than the control, without producing too much acetic acid and completing fermentation one week in advance. Aromatic analysis of wines made with this yeast shows that it has influence on the content of methanol, and yields more higher alcohols and especially terpenes. Compared to the control, the latter increased by three times in Aglianico and by almost nine times in Fiano. This increase is due to the action of a β-glucosidase of AGWLR12 which is quite active under the conditions of the must and also responsible for increasing the content of resveratrol in the Aglianico wine, through its capacity for hydrolysis of the precursor trans-piceid. Sensory analysis confirmed the positive contribution of Rhodotorula AGWLR12 to both Fiano and Aglianico, resulting in a greater intensity of almost all parameters. Furthermore, on 2008 wines, it has shown some positive differences among samples as well, with regard the colour, the aroma and taste-tactile sensation. The analysis of wine and biochemical parameters of the wines of 2008 vintage shows that selected strains of native yeasts are efficient in completing fermentation and can affect wine quality. The best results were obtained in the fermentation of Aglianico grape where, in comparison to the control, native yeasts increased the total acidity without producing excessive amounts of acetic acid, reached more or less constant values of pH and alcohol content, increased colour, increased the content of polyphenols, flavonoids and coloured anthocyanins, and increased the reducing power but not the anti-radical activity of wine, except in one case. HPLC analysis showed a significant increase of gallic acid, catechin and once of resveratrol in experimental fermentation of Aglianico. The magnitude of these changes seems to be influenced by the interaction of yeasts. During the fermentation of Fiano musts, native yeasts achieved the same alcohol content, pH, polyphenol and flavonoid content, antiradical activity and reducing power of the control, not producing excessive amounts of acetic acid. A positive feature was an increase of catechin levels. These results indicate that indigenous yeasts, at least those isolated from Aglianico, can help to confer quality and wholesomeness to wine.
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Born in Saint-Malo in the year 1491, Jacques Cartier hailed from France and was a significant explorer of his time. One of his major claims to fame was his discovery of the river St. Lawrence. He was trained in navigation from Dieppe and was known far and wide for his excellent navigation capabilities. He accompanied Verrazano to expeditions to the New World and traveled to the Newfoundland around 1500.
Jacques Cartier Route
It was the king of France who sent Cartier to complete what Cabot could not and in the year 1531, Jacques Cartier was chosen to discover the sea route to reach the Pacific Ocean from the north-western passage. It was in April that year that Cartier started from his hometown and sailed through Newfoundland within a few weeks.
It was at this time that he discovered the lands of Prince Edward and Magdalen islands. After this, he sailed through and captured Gaspe Peninsula. However, he made the mistake of thinking river St. Lawrence to be a bay and thus could not interpret the magnitude of his discovery.
His accounts of his travels made many other travelers interested in the New World and the treasures that lay in it. It was only in 1535 when Cartier went to river St. Lawrence again that he recognized what he had discovered.
How did Jacques Cartier Die
This time he continued in his journey and set base at Montreal and then arrived at a Quebecan village to take a halt. However, it was at this village that many of his men fell ill and died. He, in fact, took many of the inhabitants of the village as his prisoners in order to search for a gold mine that never really existed in reality.
He then helped establish a Canadian colony in 1541but he could not find an adequate number of his fellow countrymen who wanted to make a journey to the New World and endure the struggles that it entailed. In this project, he was together with Roberval.
Famous French Explorer: Jacques Cartier
However, after a lot of struggle when men were found and brought together by Roberval Jacques Cartier ditched his partner and ran back to France. Jacques Cartier was not successful in fulfilling the aim of finding a passage through the northwest which he had set out to accomplish. However, he was remembered for the contribution that he had made to his nation.
The accounts that he had left behind of his travels were instrumental in encouraging future explorations by the French to find newer territories in Canada. His discovery of the St. Lawrence River was also a major French achievement.


The acronym of the Public Library of Science.
A nonprofit publisher, which operates on an open-access basis.
From the Wikipedia page:
The Public Library of Science began in 2000 with an online petition initiative by Nobel Prize winner Harold Varmus, formerly director of the National Institutes of Health and at that time director of Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center; Patrick O. Brown, a biochemist at Stanford University; and Michael Eisen, a computational biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The petition called for all scientists to pledge that from September 2001 they would discontinue submission of papers to journals that did not make the full text of their papers available to all, free and unfettered, either immediately or after a delay of no more than 6 months. Although tens of thousands signed the petition, most did not act upon its terms; and in August 2001, Brown and Eisen announced they would start their own non-profit publishing operation. In December 2002, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation awarded PLOS a $9 million grant, which it followed in May 2006 with a $1 million grant to help PLOS achieve financial sustainability and launch new free-access biomedical journals


Book available here
Foreign language: Chinese and French (2009):
Newlore (Chinese), Pour La Science (French)
Space Travel node
MEDIA PUBLICITY (2008-2009):
MEDIA PUBLICITY (2005-2006):
Recent publicity (2004-2006):
Hitchhiking in Space Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal
The Interplanetary Transport Network American Scientist
Ride the celestial subway New Scientist
Tube Route Science (pdf)
Mathematics Unites the Heavens and the Atom NSF site
Math Unites the Celestial and the Atomic AMS site
Navigating Celestial Currents Science News
Math in the Media AMS website
Manifolds in the Genesis mission MAA website
See the talk by Shane Ross!
Interplanetary Transport Network (Superhighway)
Genesis | mission
Where is the Genesis spacecraft now?
Shane Ross | website
Martin Lo |
Discover Magazine Innovation award
Jerrold Marsden | website
Wang Sang Koon | website
A vast array of virtual tunnels that winds around the sun, planets and moons could slash the amount of fuel that spacecraft need to explore our solar system, according to NASA.
The so-called interplanetary superhighway (or
interplanetary transport network) would take advantage of the gravitational pull between celestial bodies. In many cases, the competing forces cancel each other out, leaving corridors where ships could travel using little or no fuel.
Image by Cici Koenig;
click on image for large version. See a movie.


What is a mammogram?
Also known as mammography, it is a process that uses low energy X-rays to conduct an examination of the breasts. Similar to typical X-ray imaging, the procedure uses low dosage of radiation to create images of the breasts which will then be analyzed for any abnormalities.
What is it used for?
To date, getting a mammogram screening is the most common method used in the detection of breast cancer. Breast cancer has been one of the leading causes of death in many female cancer patients. While doctors still recommend self-examination to detect any foreign lumps or bumps in the breasts, a mammogram scan actually reveals any growths before you can even feel them. An early detection of the tumor greatly increases the chances of recovery.
Mammogram screening is recommended for women aged 40 and above. For the best detection, you should do a mammogram screening at least once every two years. Any foreign lumps or growths that are detected will be removed for biopsy and examination. This is to make sure that the lumps are benign (non-cancerous). In the worst case scenario, an early detection boosts chances of recovery significantly.
The process for taking a mammogram is relatively fast. Before you take the scan, make sure that your chest area and underarms are clean. Avoid putting on any skin products such as lotions, deodorants, powders and anything that could affect the imaging. The operator will ask you to place you breasts onto a platform. A plate is then used to gently press down for a deeper scan of the inner tissues. The entire procedure takes several minutes.
At Sri Kota Specialist Medical Centre Klang, we offer mammogram screening at affordable rates. In our effort to combat breast cancer, we encourage all women to conduct frequent self-examinations in addition to having mammogram screenings.


Mandala Of Indic Traditions
Did You Know?
By D.P. Agrawal
A popular ayurvedic herb is blacklisted by the US media on unjustifiable grounds
The reports cite a study conducted by researchers from the University of Kansas, USA, which indicates that consumption of Gugulipid, a patented chemical derived from guggul (Commiphora mukul), is harmful because it reduces the efficacy of allopathic drugs. But instead of blaming the product, the media has condemned the herb.
Accordin to Ayurveda, the herb should be ideally used to treat arthritis. But in the West (mainly the US), it is marketed as an anti-cholesterol agent after studies conducted by the Lucknow based Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) indicated that the herb's active ingredient can effectively lower cholesterol levels. Supplements containing Gugulipid are commonly available in the US without a prescription. Such self-medication obviously results in problems, and experts assert that the Kansas study rightly highlights the risk of 'off-label' use of the medicine. The researchers found that guggulsterones (the active ingredient) triggers pregnane x receptors (PXR) at an abnormal rate, following which allopathic drugs break up too quickly in the body. PXR is a receptor that recognises the presence of drugs and signals the body to turn on the CYP 3A4 enzyme system in the liver to break down the medicines. Around 60 per cent of allopathic drugs are metabolised by the CYP 3A4 pathway, including those meant to treat AIDS, cancer and cholesterol. If PXR receptors are triggered excessively, the CYP 3A4 system is stimulated more and the drug is removed from the body much faster than required, rendering it ineffective. The findings, (Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Vol 310, No 2, August 2004), are the first comprehensive scientific evidence of how unregulated use of guggul can be harmful. A small-scale study conducted in 1994 by researchers at the Mumbai based Seth GS Medical College had indicated that a single oral dose of 1 gm of Gugulipid could affect the bioavailability of a single oral dose of propranolol (used for controlling hypertension) and diltiazem (meant for treating high blood pressure).
The latest findings highlight the need to spread awareness about the safe usage of ayurvedic medicines. This is a must, as unwarranted media reports could not only shake people's belief in this system of healing, but also affect India economically; India exports guggul products on a large-scale. The gratuitous information could lead to a blanket ban on these products in all developed nations.
The process of extracting Gugulipid is also to be blamed. Manufacturers make Gugulipid by treating guggul with various solvents. This results in a concentrated form of the medicine that only has the active ingredient. In Ayurveda, guggul is treated with herbs, milk and at times cow urine; the final product contains all chemicals present in the herb that work together to bring about the desired affect. Moreover, one mitigates the harmful effects of the other. This advantage is lost when only one compound (the active ingredient) is used. "If only a component of the herb is used, it should be tested against 'specific' disease according to modem pharmacology for its safety and efficacy," asserts Kuldeep Kohli, Director of Dabur Research Foundation, Uttar Pradesh.
"Gugulipid is safe to use in people who are not taking other medications that are metabolised by the CYP3A pathway. But more human clinical trials are needed to adequately address this issue," asserts Jeffrey Leonard Staudinger, one of the authors of the Kansas study. "Instead of saying that Ayurveda is bad, the world should stop its misuse. It is important to adhere to traditional knowledge," concludes Balendu Prakash, Director of Vaidya Chandra Prakash Cancer Research Foundation, Dehradun.
Source: Down to Earth 2005
A popular Ayurvedic herb is blacklisted by the US media on unjustifiable grounds
Posted February 17th 2006
Back to "Did
You Know?" Archive


The kingdom is currently celebrating 100 Years of Its consolidation and reconstruction. The year 1319 of Hijra Calendar marked the beginning of a new era for the Arabian Peninsula when the late Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud unified the different parts to establish the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was a great event in contemporary history, as historic as the birth of Pakistan in 1947.
For Pakistan the event of the completion of 100 years of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also of great significance. Both the nations have much in common: their religion; their culture; their history as ideological states; and their quest for a better tomorrow in the 21st century as a modern welfare Islamic state.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained extremely cordial relations and strong ties of mutual trust, cooperation and brotherhood since times immemorial. Even before Pakistan’s independence, close fraternal ties had existed between the Muslim national of the sub-continent led by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Au Jinnah and the great Founder of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
King Abdul Aziz sent a donation of Pounds Sterling 10,000 for the relief of the Muslims of Bengal during the 1943-famine. This donation was sent not to the British Administration but to the Quaid-i-Azam as President of the Muslim League and was a manifestation of the highest regards king Abdul Aziz had not just for the Muslim nation of the sub-continent but also for the leadership of the Quaid-i-Azam.
On the establishment of Pakistan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was one of those brotherly Muslim countries who accorded immediate recognition to the new Islamic State. Today, the two brotherly nations have come a long way in their close cooperation in different fields of common interest. The relationship between the two countries stands out today as a model of brotherhood, progress and stability in the region.
The two-day International Conference in Islamabad is not just an expression of solidarity with he Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also a tribute to the Saudi nation on their remarkable transformation from a desert nation into a prosperous modern state ready to enter the new millennium holding its head high.
To commemorate the occasion Pakistan Post Office is issuing a set of 2 commemorative Postage Stamps denomination of Rs 15 and Rs 2 and a Souvenir Sheet of Rs 20 on January 27, 1999. First Day of Issue covers and leaflet priced at Rs 3 and Rs 5 are also brought out.


In the autumn and winter, the incidence of colds increases sharply. Particularly unpleasant is a runny nose or cough, sometimes it's very difficult to work and do not pass. Cough happens different - dry and moist, and if dry cough cures faster and more actively, then many people do not give proper attention to moist cough, although this cough may sometimes point to the development of very serious pathologies up to pneumonia.
Cough - is a protective reaction of the organism to the introduction of pathogens and inflammation that occurs in response to the flow of impulses from the mucous membranes.
Why is a wet cough?
Usually, a wet cough occurs as a result of excessive mucus or sputum formation in the region of the upper or lower respiratory tract as a result of infectious and inflammatory processes.
Coughing, as a rule, is one of the symptoms, along with general malaise, sore throat, runny nose and fever, although it may be the only sign of the disease.
Most often, a cough occurs as a result of acute respiratory viral infections or acute or chronic rhinitis, sinusitis or adenoiditis. Usually such a cough appears in the morning after a dream, as a result of ingestion of mucus from the nasopharynx along the back wall of the pharynx.
A wet cough can be a symptom of chronic bronchitis in the stage of exacerbation with the withdrawal of mucous or purulent sputum, as well as one of the manifestations of pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs) as a result of the formation of inflammatory exudate and irritation of small bronchi.
Wet cough can be a symptom of more serious diseases - tuberculosis, lung abscess or tumor. Therefore, the persistent wet cough requires a doctor's consultation and a detailed examination.
Treatment of wet cough
Usually a wet cough is the result of the transition of dry painful cough into the productive stage when taking medications.
Wet cough more easily tolerated by patients, and should only effectively vidkashlyuvaty and rid the airways of mucus. But the transition of dry cough in the wet to let the process take its course should not - must conduct further therapeutic measures for the complete elimination of cough.
Wet cough treatment also requires that a large amount of mucus in the respiratory system and its excessive production may induce a state of "swamping" bronchi or lungs and sputum of infection - this leads to septic complications.
The correct technique for treating wet coughing will depend on the cause that caused the cough and other manifestations of the disease. Without effect on the very cause of coughing it is impossible to fully cure cough.
Thus, when the viral infection need of antiviral therapy, microbial - antibiotics to suppress microbial flora and the consequent inflammation.
In the treatment of the same cough as a symptom should facilitate the discharge of mucus that accumulates in the bronchi or lungs, and improve the overall condition of the patient, and if necessary a productive cough sputum - the use of that increase production of mucus and phlegm, which then should all fully vidkashlyaty. The best effect is achieved with a comprehensive effect on all causes of cough.
What to start treatment for wet cough
When coughing, in addition to drugs, important and common measures of influence, such as the reception of abundant alkaline drinking. This helps to make the sputum milder and helps it slip away more easily. Such drinks include degassed heat alkaline mineral water, warm milk with honey and oil, tea with raspberries or lemon, herbal teas, hipster decoction.
It is necessary to create a cool and damp air in the room - in hot dry premises there is dehydration of the mucous membranes and stimulation of coughing.
Necessary frequent ventilations, use of a humidifier or hanging of wet towels. In addition, it is important to have a full-fledged wet cleaning with the removal of dust and allergens that can provoke cough.
And at least for the time of illness it is worth abandoning smoking, including passive - tobacco smoke strongly irritates the bronchi and throat.
At the time of treatment, cough should be abandoned by a very cold, acute and irritating food.
But to lie in bed when treating a wet cough is not necessary - when wet cough is necessary to move and stimulate the flow of sputum, as a constant lying contributes to the stagnation of sputum and worse she cough. Excellent help in removing breathing exercises and singing vocal sounds.
Methods of treatment of wet cough
One of the methods of treating cough with poor thinning of thick sputum can be inhalation - use steam inhalation or nebuliser. As components of inhalation it is possible to use herbal decoctions, essential oils or soda solution, as well as medications on the advice of a doctor.
Steam inhalation should be carried out carefully, so as not to cause burns of mucous membranes and allergies (especially on essential oils).
In folk medicine, when coughing is used warming compresses on the chest, radish juice with honey or potato juice. The vibrating massage (patting and tapping on the chest cavity) and postural drainages (reception of certain provisions for sputum withdrawal) is very helpful for coughing.
But only folk medicine and general measures cough can not cure it is not always - then the drugs come from the pharmacy.
The use of medicines
In the treatment of wet cough, the use of drugs for suppressing the cough reflex (codec, sinecode) is prohibited, moreover - drugs for stimulating coughing are shown.
Drugs prescribed for wet cough have mucolytic, sputtering effect and expectorant properties.
Usually doctors are trying to prescribe cough preparations that have less side effects - herbion, licorice root, plantain, mother-and-stepmother.
Among expectorant drugs are used preparations of reflex action, which help with irritation of cough receptors - altea, licorice root, essential oils, and preparations of resorptive action - potassium iodide and sodium, sodium bicarbonate.
To make sputum easier and faster to go away, prescribe mucolytic and mucorage preparations - they normalize the viscosity and amount of sputum in the bronchi and lungs. These include carboticosin, ACCs, ambroxol and bromhexine.
When allergic cough is used antihistamines and drugs for bronchial enlargement with their spasm. Combined drugs with mucosorbital, anti-inflammatory and other effects can be used.
A specific drug will be advised by a doctor - self-medication should not be taken when coughing!


iGEM stands for International Genetically Engineered Machine, and is an annual ~9 month long science and engineering organization and competition for Undergraduates, Overgraduates and a few High School teams.
iGEM serves a dual role of promoting synthetic biology among students, as well as creating a conference for the presentation of novel technologies in the field of synthetic biology. As of 2023, iGEM consisted of over 400 teams with 7000 total participants, not including staff, sponsors and visitors, spanning 66 different countries.
Virginia iGEM has been one of these teams from 2007 to present day; we have won gold medals, multiple best-of-competition nominations and prizes, and we get better and better every year.
What is Synthetic Biology?
Synthetic Biology a the field at the intersection of engineering and genetics. Synthetic Biologists create organisms that perform specific functions, usually with the goal of solving some problem that no other technology can solve. Synthetic biology has been used in the pharmeceuticals, biomanufacturing, biofuels and bioremediation disciplines; research, companies and products born out of the iGEM competition are becoming increasingly valuable and essential to biology as a whole.


AP Physics 1 Essentials: An Interactive APlusPhysics Guide is an easy-to-read guide to the entire AP Physics 1 course, featuring more than 600 worked-out problems with solutions and deeper understanding questions. AP Physics 1 Essentials covers all major topics included in the AP Physics 1 course, including: kinematics, dynamics, momentum, impulse, gravity, uniform circular motion, rotation, work, energy, power, mechanical waves, sound, electrostatics, and circuits.
This book is designed to assist physics students in their high school AP Physics courses both as a guide throughout the course as well as a review book to guide end-of-course exam preparation. AP Physics 1 Essentials is integrated with the APlusPhysics.com website, which includes online question and answer forums, videos, animations, and supplemental problems to help you master the essential concepts of physics.
This interactive edition includes animations, interactive quizzes, videos and other features that are not found in the print or standard e-book editions.
AP, AP Physics 1, Advanced Placement Program, and College Board are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.


How does a Child Development Account (CDA), opened for an infant at the time of birth, shape that child’s trajectory as he or she grows? For 12-year-old children and their families, the CDA in SEED for Oklahoma Kids had very large positive impacts on financial outcomes and some positive impacts on nonfinancial outcomes, even though the experiment had little intervention over the past 9 years.
This report presents findings from the long-running SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment, a randomized Child Development Account experiment. Launched in 2007 with a representative sample of newborns, the experiment provided CDAs with substantial initial deposits to children in the treatment group, offering their parents savings incentives and subsidies. The experiment has continued to follow beneficiaries, who are now adolescents. Released in conjunction with a Research Summary on financial outcomes as of December 2019, this report presents results from a 2020 survey of the beneficiaries’ parents and from analyses of account data through 2019. The results continue to reveal the role of CDAs and assets in the lives of families.
Project: SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK)
Huang, J., Beverly, S. G., Clancy, M. M., Schreiner, M., & Sherraden, M. (2021). A long-term experiment on Child Development Accounts: Update and impacts of SEED for Oklahoma Kids (CSD Research Report No. 21-07). Washington University, Center for Social Development. https://doi.org/10.7936/e8mf-p262


(See also Verbs -‘Regular verbs in the simple present’)
The simple present is used:
To express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions and wishes:
- I smoke (habit);
- I work in London (unchanging situation);
- London is a large city (general truth)
To give instructions or directions:
- You walk for two hundred metres, then you turn left.
To express fixed arrangements, present or future:
- Your exam starts at 09.00
To express future time, after some conjunctions: after, when, before, as soon as, until:
- He’ll give it to you when you come next Saturday.
BE CAREFUL! It can be confusing!
The simple present is not used to express actions happening now. (See Present Continuous.)
- He drinks tea at breakfast.
- She only eats fish.
- They watch television regularly.
For repeated actions or events
- We catch the bus every morning.
- It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
- They drive to Monaco every summer.
For general truths
- Water freezes at zero degrees.
- The Earth revolves around the Sun.
- Her mother is Peruvian.
For instructions or directions
- Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
- You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford.
For fixed arrangements
- His mother arrives tomorrow.
- Our holiday starts on the 26th March
With future constructions
- She’ll see you before she leaves.
- We’ll give it to her when she arrives.
Simple present, third person singular
He, she, it: in the third person singular the verb always ends in -s:
he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.
Negative and question forms use DOES (=the third person of the auxiliary ‘DO’) + the infinitive of the verb.
- He wants. Does he want? He does not want.
Verbs ending in -y : the third person changes the -y to -ies:
- fly –> flies, cry –> cries
Exception: if there is a vowel before the –y:
- play –> plays, pray –> prays
Add -es to verbs ending in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch:
- he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes
1. Third person singular with s or -es
- He goes to school every morning.
- She understands English.
- It mixes the sand and the water.
- He tries very hard.
- She enjoys playing the piano.
2. Simple present, form
Example: to think, present simple
|I think||Do I think ?||I do not think.|
|You think||Do you think?||You don’t think.|
|he, she, it thinks||Does he, she, it think?||He, she, it doesn’t think.|
|we think||Do we think?||We don’t think.|
|you think||Do you think?||You don’t think.|


Neighborhood Segregation and African American Health
For a long time, the medical community has known that African Americans are more likely to have high blood pressure. In an effort to find associations with this glaring health disparity, studies have been performed to understand how African American’s lifestyle habits may affect blood pressure. However, there is very limited research on how the social environment may cause poor health outcomes.
On Monday, May 15th, Northwestern University released a first of its kind study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study examines the long term effects of how leaving segregated communities could affect the risk of heart disease. The study involves following more than 2,000 African-Americans between 18-30 years old that were living in highly segregated neighborhoods in Oakland, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Birmingham, AL. The researchers followed the subjects for 25 years and found associations that those who moved away from less segregated neighborhoods and stayed there during the study period had significantly low blood pressure even after accounting for other factors that could have played a role, such as changes in income and education.
The study does not explain how moving to less-segregated neighborhoods could affect blood pressure, but factors may include less stress from being exposed to less violence and discrimination and access to parks, community centers, and grocery stores with more fresh produce and pharmacies to get medication.
There are positive implications of having people move from more segregated neighborhoods to more integrated neighborhoods, like lower blood pressure. By noticing this shift and listening to the stories of these 18-30 year olds, the researchers were able to recognize and validate the health disparities that exist in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods. Consequently, this research will challenge the inappropriate care provided to African American families by recognizing the effect of their living environment.
Cultural competency (consequently, cultural humility) is a strong driver in eliminating health disparities and closing the ethnic and racial gaps in healthcare as it fosters meaningful collaboration in which patients and doctors can speak about health concerns in a way that cultural differences enhance the treatment.
Written by: Colin Hart


When writing, just write.
Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, unnecessary words, or any other creative distractions. When you write, just get your thoughts out of your brain and onto “paper” (in whatever form that paper may be: recording, computer document, napkin, or actual paper…)
After you’ve spilled your creative brilliance, it’s time to fine tune your thoughts through editing.
It’s at the editing stage where you take care of the technical part of writing and have the opportunity to reflect on what you actually wrote to be sure your idea is expressed in the best form possible.
For the conceptual side of editing, ask yourself:
- ==>Does what you wrote accurately reflect your idea?
- ==>Did you say what you wanted to say?
- ==>Will your reader understand it?
- ==>Are your thoughts presented in the best order so that you make your point?
On the technical side or editing, there are some simple editing steps to tighten up your copy.
I’ve created a quick list with some of these technical items; however, feel free to break any of these editing rules. After all, you don’t want to completely edit out your unique voice, style, and “flavor” of writing.
Here’s how it works:
When you have written your document into a computer program (like MS Word), the editing part is simplified. Use the “find” (e.g. Ctl+F) feature on your computer and then type in the word or phrase that may be on the “offender” list. Once your computer program finds that word or phrase in your document, read it in context of the sentence or paragraph and make adjustments as needed.
While there are many writing rules, many offenses fall under the following categories:
- Use Active language rather than Passive language (e.g. “The moderator gave an analysis of the court case” vs. “The moderator analyzed the court case”)
- Remove Redundancy (e.g. “free gift”, “smaller in size” “grinned happily” “shouted angrily”)
- Reduce phrases to a single word (e.g. “people who are experienced at cooking” to “experienced cooks”)
- Use adverbs as qualifiers in moderation (e.g. “I was somewhat surprised” to “I was surprised”)
- Avoid phrases that don’t add value (e.g. “in the event that” or “in the final analysis”)
- Avoid clichés (some need to be sent to the cliché retirement home such as “take it to the next level”)
- Replace a long word with a shorter word (don’t be pretentious)
- If you can omit a word, do it (make every word count…don’t just chase a word-count)
After you write your piece, skim off the first layer of unnecessary language from your writing by using your computer’s “Find” feature to do the following.
Search “that” – you will be amazed at how often you add “that” to a sentence when it doesn’t need to be there. For example: “It was well known that they went to the beach every summer…” can be updated to read “Everybody knew they went to the beach every summer…”
Search “I” – because some writing should be more about the reader, than the writer. This is especially true in business-focused writing. The reader is most concerned about how the content benefits them, not you. For example: “I believe that you should…” can be turned into “You should…”
Search “in” – this can highlight phrases which repeat the quality or reality of something. For example: “it’s smaller in size” can be “it’s smaller”; “is longer in duration” can be “it’s longer”.
Search “which” and “who” – this helps find phrases which can be condensed and made more “action-oriented” with the use of an adjective (see the examples below for “Nouns followed by descriptive phrases”).
Search “which is” and “who are” – for the same reasons as noted above, these two words can often be omitted from the sentence. For example: “We went to the Kentucky Derby, which is known as one of the most important horse races in the States” becomes “We went to the Kentucky Derby, known as one of the most important horse races in the states.”
Search “extremely” “somewhat” “very” “really” “totally” “actually” “definitely” “even” “just” “so” “truly” – these are on the list of overused adverbs. There will be times when you want to leave them in; other times you can remove them.
Search “ly” – for the same reason as above. Find the adverbs you’re using (words which describe a verb, adjective, or adverb) and decide if they stay or need to be cut from your writing.
Search “there are” and “there is” – you can improve a sentence by making it more active, especially when this phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence. For example: “There is something special about Mary that people are drawn to” can become “People are drawn to Mary by something special”
Other Editing things to check for in your Writing:
Nouns followed by descriptive phrases. To make this more active, consider taking out the descriptive phrase and replacing it with an adjective before the noun. For example:
- “The class which taught cooking” becomes “The cooking class”
- “The boat which was used to pull skiers around the lake” becomes “The ski boat”
- “The boat which is owned by the fisherman” becomes “The fisherman’s boat”
- “Students who are at the top of their class” becomes “Top students”
Phrases that don’t add value to the sentence:
- At the present time
- For all intents and purposes
- In the event that
Overused Clichés (just a few)
- Writing is on the wall
- Take it to the next level
- Amp it up
- Your true self
- Your authentic self
- Better late than never
- Think outside the box
- At the end of the day
- The bottom line
- It’s not rocket science
- Like taking candy from a baby
- Love makes the world go ‘round
- Selling like hotcakes
- In the nick of time
- Win-win situation
- Best practices
- Low-hanging fruit
- Web 2.0
- Push the envelope
- Going forward
- Bring your “A” game
- Drinking the Kool-Aid
- Manage expectations
- Step up to the plate
This list gives you a starting point for editing. Once you clean up the initial “junk”, take a break, come back to your writing, and then read through it again to make any other adjustments.
Have fun, keep writing, and tell me how you’re doing.
Oh, still need more? then click on this link and I’ll give you a PDF with this information with an easy four-step writing process, and a handy little checklist.
**Be sure to share this with all your writing friends…Unleash the closet writers!
Until next time…
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George Paris Monke
Died 1828. He was the only son of a captain in the Horse Guards.
Monke joined the navy in June 1775 aboard the Worcester 64, Captain Mark Robinson, going out to Cape Finisterre and Gibraltar in the following year. In March 1777 he was accepted aboard the Fox 28, Captain Patrick Fotheringham, which frigate on 7 June was captured by two American vessels of a similar size. Monke was imprisoned on one, the Boston, which escaped a month later when the Fox was recaptured with the other American vessel by the Rainbow 44, Captain Sir George Collier. After a further imprisonment in the city of Boston, Monke was eventually exchanged, and upon rejoining the Fox he returned to England with that vessel in early 1778.
Shortly afterwards Monke joined the Courageux 74, Captain Lord Mulgrave, in which he fought at the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, and with which he remained until appointed acting-lieutenant of the fire-ship Harpy 18, Commanders Phillip Walsh and William Cayley in September 1780. He was officially commissioned lieutenant of the Warrior 74, Captain Sir James Wallace, on 17 November 1781, in which capacity he fought at the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782. Next appointed first lieutenant of the prize ship Jason 64, Captain John Aylmer, Monke returned to England, although the Jason’s departure from Jamaica was delayed and she thus avoided the fate of Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves prize convoy that was decimated by the Central Atlantic Hurricane on 16 September 1782.
In June 1783 Monke provided testimony in support of a marine lieutenant, Charles Bourne, at his trial for libel and assault upon Captain Sir James Wallace. The dispute had arisen during their time aboard the Warrior where Bourne had formed a faction with Monke against the other officers and the captain. Monke’s testimony was by implication deplored by the judge, and Bourne was found guilty leading to a heavy sentence.
From the end of 1790 Monke commanded the cutter Speedwell 16 in the Channel, prior to entering Woolwich in the spring of 1791 in the event of her being required to join the Impress Service. She then served in the North Sea, capturing a similarly rated smuggling vessel, the Ostend-based Hell-Afloat 14, off Yorkshire on 31 May 1792 in which engagement several of the latter’s crew were killed.
With a hot press impending at the start of the French Revolutionary War in 1793 the Speedwell was sent to bring shipwrecked sailors home from Jutland, and having embarked over one hundred men Monke’s passage home was one fraught with the fear that they might overpower him in order to avoid being forced into the navy. Indeed, so traumatic was this voyage that he was obliged to resign his command through ill health in August 1793.
Monke later served aboard the Maidstone 32, Captain John Mathews, and the newly-commissioned Ville de Paris 110, Captain Walter Locke, from which ship he was promoted commander on 11 March 1797, just prior to that vessel sailing for the Mediterranean. His promotion led to a further protracted period of unemployment, during which time he produced a work entitled ‘A Vocabulary of Sea Phrases and Terms of Art used in Seamanship and Naval Architecture’, including a version in French to allow prize-masters to sail captured vessels.
In August 1808 Monke took the Centurion 50 out to Halifax as a store ship, and she remained on this station, initially as a hospital ship. He was still at Halifax in command of the sloop Driver when the frigate Statira 38 arrived from Portsmouth in November 1809, and as her captain, Charles Boys, had died at sea from the Walcheren Fever Monke assumed the command in an acting capacity. Accordingly he was posted captain on 12 January 1810, and after sailing for the Leeward Islands he was present at the capture of Guadeloupe in February before leaving her shortly afterwards.
In October 1810 he joined the Pallas 32, but having spent some time cruising off Norway his command was wrecked on returning to Leith in the Firth of Forth on 18 December. The Nymphe 36, Captain Edward Sneyd Clay was also wrecked on the same night, with both ships apparently mistaking a burning lime kiln ashore for a lighthouse.
Monke did not enjoy any further employment and he died on 14 November 1828 at Dunkirk.