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SILK SCREEN PRINTING
By Ronald Fuchs and Michael McCann, Ph.D., C.I.H.
UIC Health in The Arts Library
Silk screen printing is one of the most hazardous processes in
the arts and crafts. Dermatitis, narcosis (dizziness, light-
headedness, fatigue, nausea, lack of coordination and headaches),
eye irritation, adverse reproductive hazards including increased
risk of miscarriage, and serious neurological problems can all
result from the processes of screen printing.
Traditionally, silk screen printing has been performed using organic solvent-
based materials. Water-based inks containing less hazardous
ingredients provide a safer and increasingly popular alternative.
SOLVENT-BASED SILK SCREEN PRINTING
The major hazard in silk screen printing comes from
exposure to the solvents in the inks, thinners, clean-up
materials, etc. Thinners such as lacquer thinner and are a
mixture of these and other hazardous solvents. The greatest
hazard is exposure through inhalation, causing narcosis
(dizziness, headache, nausea and light-headedness) from acute
exposures, and skin, liver, kidney, reproductive and nervous
system damage with repeated exposure. Skin absorption can also
produce these effects. It is also important to note that most of
these solvents are flammable.
An industrial hygiene study of a university silk screen
printing class verified that silk screen printing without
adequate ventilation can be extremely hazardous. This study
measured the breathing zone exposure of students and teaching
assistants during printing using poster inks, and cleaning using
toluene, xylene, mineral spirits, and lacquer thinners.
Without ventilation, measured air concentrations during
printing were 100 parts per million (ppm) of toluene for 100
minutes, 600 ppm of toluene and 92 ppm of xylene for 421 minutes,
and 410 ppm of toluene for 60 minutes. During cleaning, the
following measurements were made: 670 ppm of toluene for 28
minutes; 490 ppm of toluene and 250 ppm of methyl ethyl ketone
for 8 minutes; and 1900 ppm of toluene, 95 ppm of xylene and 180
ppm of methyl ethyl ketone for 34 minutes.
With local exhasut ventilation, the exposure levels were many
times lower with most measured concentrations below 1 ppm, and
all below 50 ppm. By way of comparison, the American Conference
of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has set Threshold
Limit Values (TLVs) of 100 ppm averaged over an 8-hour day for
toluene and xylene, and 200 ppm for methyl ethyl ketone. The
ACGIH 15-minute TLVs are 150 ppm for toluene and xylene, and 300
ppm for methyl ethyl ketone. As you can see, the air sampling
carried out greatly exceeds these ACGIH recommended exposure
The hazards associated with screen preparation depend on the
materials used. For resist and blockout stencils we recommend
water-soluble glues, liquid wax and liquid frisket which contain
no toxic solvents nor require them for clean-up. They may cause
slight eye irritation if they splash in the eyes. Lacquers,
polyurethane varnishes, tusche, shellac and caustic resist
enamels are often used but contain large amounts of toxic
solvents. Turpentine, used to thin tusche, may cause skin or
respiratory allergies, and kidney damage.
For film stencils, water-soluble emulsion films are
recommended. The mixture of water and isopropyl alcohol adheres
the stencil to the screen, and while flammable, is only slightly
toxic. The adhering fluid for lacquer-type emulsions contains
acetates, ketones and alcohols, which are irritating to the skin
and are more toxic by inhalation.
The safest type of photostencils are diazo photoemulsions.
They are eye irritants by direct contact, but are otherwise not
very toxic. Ammonium dichromate, often used to sensitize
photoemulsions, can cause skin ulcers and allergies with direct
contact and inhalation of the powder can cause severe respirat-
ory irritation, ulceration of the nasal septum, and respiratory
allergies. Ammonium dichromate is also combustible. Silver
nitrate, another sensitizer, is corrosive to the skin and eyes.
Carbon arcs, sometimes used to expose photoemulsions, are highly
hazardous, giving off metal fumes, ozone and nitrogen dioxide,
which are strong lung irritants, and ultraviolet radiation which
harms the eye; carbon arcs are not recommended.
Printing and Drying
Many silk screen inks contain up to 50 percent hazardous
organic solvents. Poster inks can contain toluene and xylene,
which are highly toxic aromatic hydrocarbons, and large amounts
of mineral spirits. Other inks, e.g. vinyl inks, can contain
large amounts of other highly toxic solvents, for example,
isophorone. The bases, thinners, retarders, etc. used with
these inks also contain similarly hazardous solvents.
Direct exposure to the solvent vapors from the ink is a
serious problem during printing due to the close proximity of the
printer. Inhalation of the hazardous solvents during drying,
however, is the major source of exposure since large volumes of
solvent evaporate into the air in a short period of time.
Curing fabric inks by heating may release fumes which are
irritating to the respiratory system.
Clean-up is probably the most hazardous step in silk screen
printing because of the widespread use of highly toxic screen
washes and the practice of tossing solvent-soaked rags in open
wastepaper cans. This causes the evaporation of large amounts of
highly toxic vapors.
To reduce exposure to toxic vapors during
clean-up, substitute mineral spirits (or mineral spirits with 15%
added xylene for difficult jobs) for lacquer thinner, toluene,
xylene and other highly toxic solvents. These solvents are also
Proper safety is essential when working with all these toxic
substances. The elderly, people with chronic diseases, pregnant
women, and children are at especially high risk and should avoid
screen printing if possible. Consult your physician if you
suffer from heart trouble or a breathing ailment which can be
aggravated by toxic vapors. The following precautions will help
reduce the dangers in the processes of screen printing.
Solvents should be stored in approved, capped flammable
storage cabinets. Only a small amount of solvents should be out
for use and solvents should be purchased in the smallest
quantities practical in order to minimize fire hazards. Before
starting work, all sources of ignition should be eliminated. See
the CSA checklist on storage and use of flammable and combustible
One of the most important precautions in silk screen printing
is proper ventilation. Research conducted by the Harvard
University School of Public Health in a university silk screen
printing classroom, showed that printing without adequate
ventilation causes exposure to very hazardous levels of the
solvents used. All processes producing solvent vapors --
including printing, drying and screen washing -- should be done
with local exhaust ventilation.
During the printing process, the best type of ventilation
would be an explosion-proof slot exhaust hood located at the rear
of each printing station. The drying rack should be enclosed on
the back, sides, and top, and the solvent vapors exhausted from
the rear. For example, an explosion-proof window exhaust fan can
ventilate the drying racks, if the enclosed rack is placed right
in front of the window.
Clean-up can be done at the printing table utilizing the local
exhaust slot hood. Bleach cleaning of the photoemulsion screens
also needs local exhaust ventilation because of the chlorine gas
Air conditioners do not adequately ventilate screening
processes because they recirculate air rather than exhausting it.
(Even when air conditioners are set on "exhaust" they recirculate
about 95 per cent of the air). Likewise, open windows or doors
are not adequate ventilation for solvent-based silk screen
A National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH)-approved respirator with organic vapor cartridges can
help minimize exposure to screen printing solvent vapors if
ventilation is not adequate. Sources for respirators and rules
for selection and use of respirators are included in the Center
for Safety in the Arts (CSA) data sheet on Respirators (see CSA
To prevent eye irritation caused by splashes, wear lightweight
plastic splash goggles while pouring or working with paint
removers. Choose goggles which are approved by the American
National Standards Institute (stamped with a "Z87"). These can be
found in most chemistry supply houses and safety equipment stores
and some hardware stores. If ink or other hazardous material is
splashed in the eyes, flood the eyes with water for at least 15
minutes and call a physician. A source of clean water (e.g.
eyewash fountain) should be accessible for this purpose.
Gloves should be worn during all screen printing processes to
protect the skin from hazardous pigments, solvents and other
chemicals. Ordinary rubber dishwashing gloves or surgical gloves
will not provide adequate protection. All gloves do not provide
protection against the same materials. When using inks, gloves
that protect against aromatic solvents and petroleum distillates
should be used. Lacquer use requires wearing gloves that protect
against ketones and alcohols besides aromatics and petroleum
You should find out the type of solvents in the
products you use by consulting the specific MSDSs. (For further
information on gloves, consult the CSA "Glove Selection" data
sheet). To further decrease the risk of skin contact wear long
pants, a long sleeved shirt and an apron.
Solvent-soaked rags should be stored in approved oily waste
cans which are emptied daily. Disposal should be done in
accordance with local city and fire regulations, and an approved
waste-disposal firm may be necessary for large quantities of
solvent waste. Never pour solvents down the drain. Small
quantities of solvents can be evaporated under a fume hood or
WATER-BASED SCREEN PRINTING
Because of the extremely high cost of providing adequate local
exhaust ventilation systems in classroom situations, there has
been a switch to water-based screen printing products. In recent
years the quality of these inks has improved remarkably, and many
professional artists as well as printing studios have switched to
water-based products. Flat, opaque, hard-edged traditional
looking prints are still possible, and dye-like transparencies
and washes rivaling watercolor and lithography can also be
produced. The same wide variety of stencils can be used with
this medium as with the solvent-based inks.
The changing over to water-based inks means the incorporation
of a whole new system and requires understanding of this new
medium. It is necessary to take time and learn how to produce
After learning how to work with water-based
products, artists and instructors report that the colors are
beautiful, the inks don't dry on the screen, and paper designed
specifically for water-based screen stays flat. In addition the
overall cost of printing with water-based silk screen inks is
cheaper than with solvent-based inks because water is used for
cleanup rather than the more expensive solvents.
The inks and cleaning materials employed in water-based screen
printing use water instead of toxic organic solvents. Airborne
organic vapors, skin absorption of organic solvents and the risk
of fire are greatly reduced. Small amounts of organic solvents
may be used in water-based screen printing inks.
We recommend products with only water, propylene glycol or ethylene glycol.
Glycol ethers such as cellosolve are much more hazardous since
they can cause anemia, kidney damage, and adverse reproductive
effects such as miscarriages, birth defects, testicular atrophy
and sterility. It is necessary to get material safety data
sheets (MSDSs) on all products in order to ascertain the ink
composition, since the ingredients are not always listed on the
Use of diazo photoemulsions can completely eliminate the need
for solvents. If lacquer stencils are used, then the hazards
discussed earlier for solvents will apply, although to a lesser
extent since smaller amounts of solvents are used.
Basic personal hygiene is a must for all those working with
art materials. Water-based screen printing is no exception.
There should be no eating, drinking, smoking or make-up
application in the studio or while working.
Hazardous pigments and some toxic solvents are still used in the manufacture of
water-based inks and related materials. To avoid ingestion and
absorption of these substances through skin contact, wearing
gloves is recommended while working in this medium. For water-
based printing, a window exhaust fan should provide adequate
ventilation and costs much less than a slot exhaust hoods or
other complicated ventilation systems. If lacquer stencils are
used, then one explosion-proof slot exhaust hood would be needed
for this process.
Babin, A. and Rossol, M: "Glove Selection". Center for
Safety in the Arts, New York (1988).
Clark N, Cutter T, and McGrane J: Ventilation. Nick Lyons
Books New York (1984).
Johnson LM and Stinnett H: Water-based Inks: A Screenprinting
Manual for Studio and Classroom. Philadelphia Colleges of the
Arts Printmaking Workshop (1987).
McCann M: Artist Beware: The Hazards and Precautions in
Working with Art and Craft Materials. Watson-Guptill, New York
McCann M: "Silk Screen Printing Hazards." Art Hazards News
McCann, M: "Respirators". Center for Safety in the Arts, 1988.
SOURCES OF ADDITIONAL HELP
Written and telephoned inquiries about health hazards in the
arts will be answered by the Art Hazards Information Center of
the Center for Safety in the Arts (formerly the Center for
Occupational Hazards). Permission to reprint this data sheet may
be requested in writing from the Center. For a copy of our
publications list, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:
Center for Safety in the Arts, 5 Beekman Street, New York, NY
10038. Telephone 212/227-6220.
This data sheet was revised with the assistance of a grant
from Special Projects, Visual Arts Program of the National
Endowment for the Arts. The Center for Safety in the Arts is
partially supported with public funds from the National Endowment
for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New
York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
(c) Copyright Center for Safety in the Arts 1988
CONTRIBUTIONS: We may be able to include details of your practice, materials, or research on www.NontoxicPAINTandPRINT.info - just contact us. To ADD / EDIT / REMOVE entries: CONTACT us. The copyright of individual entries, essays and writings (dedicated, adapted or reprinted), brand names, images, and other contributions remains with the original authors and sources. We assert copyright for this web resource, our own writings, research, images, and editorial work. Submissions may be edited at our discretion. We welcome appropriate links to our resource. LISTINGS: corporate entries on our pages are listings for reference, research and illustration purposes - not commercial advertisements.RESEARCH: We are particularly keen on contributions highlighting new research and developments regarding safety of processes and methods, paints, inks, etchants, solvents, and safety related to their use and application. We also publish findings in the fields of workplace safety, toxicology and industrial hygiene. Please Note: the terms 'nontoxic' , 'safe' and 'green' are relative concepts.
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| 0.884135 | 3,583 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Author: Vannarith Chheang, University of Leeds
2015 marks 30 years in power for Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Hun Sen became prime minister in January 1985 at only 33 years old. He has consolidated his power base through charismatic leadership, paternalism, coercion and a system of patronage.
There are mixed views on Hun Sen’s leadership. It is essential to understand the national context to conduct a well-balanced assessment of Hun Sen’s achievements and shortcomings. Cambodia is a fragile country after nearly three decades of war and conflict. Social and political distrust, a potential source of political instability, remain deeply embedded in Cambodian political culture and society.
For Hun Sen, peace and security and socio-economic development occupy centre stage in Cambodia’s domestic politics, with democracy and human rights coming in second.
Hun Sen is one of the main architects of peace-building in Cambodia. His political career started with the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation which, with the support of Vietnam, toppled the Khmer Rouge regime in January 1979.
At the end of the 1980s, as similar economic reforms were being pursued in Vietnam and Laos, Hun Sen chose to follow the free-market economic model. But Cambodia took a different political reform path from that of Laos and Vietnam after the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. Cambodia adopted a liberal, multi-party political system, incorporating the principles of democracy and human rights in its 1993 constitution.
Hun Sen has steered Cambodia towards peace and development, helping overcome the most difficult period in the country’s history, which included both the civil war and subsequent factional power struggles. In the late 1990s, Hun Sen managed to dissolve the remaining Khmer Rouge forces and reintegrate them into the Cambodian Royal Armed Forces, marking the end of the civil war.
Hun Sen has contributed to Cambodia’s political stability, relatively good economic performance and poverty reduction. In the last two decades, Cambodia has enjoyed an average of 7.7 per cent GDP growth. Cambodia is classified as a ‘high growth country’ by the World Bank.
The poverty rate fell from 47.8 per cent in 2007 to 18.9 per cent in 2012. But the development gap between urban and rural areas remains wide. In 2011, 91 per cent of poor households were living in rural areas. Cambodia’s poor households are vulnerable to an array of shocks including natural disasters and water, food and energy security crises.
Hun Sen’s governance strategy revolves around three factors: political stability, development and promoting cultural identity. Hun Sen’s ambition is to transform Cambodia into a middle-income country by 2030, and a high-income country by 2050.
Still, Hun Sen’s leadership and legitimacy were critically challenged in the July 2013 general election when his Cambodian People Party (CPP) suffered a remarkable drop in popular support, losing 22 seats to the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).
One of the reasons for falling support for the CPP is the chronic and rampant corruption within the government and the party. Corruption is the root cause of social injustice, human rights violations, the culture of impunity, the mismanagement of natural and state resources, widening income inequality, and the downgrading of social ethics and values.
Acknowledging these problems, Hun Sen set a comprehensive reform agenda after the 2013 elections. But concrete outcomes have yet to be seen.
To fulfil the reform agenda, and build his own legacy, Hun Sen must make major institutional changes. He must be innovative and consistent in fighting corruption and nepotism otherwise his reform policy will fail, further challenging his legitimacy and legacy.
Transformative and adaptive political leadership, effective and efficient bureaucracy, and popular support and participation are necessary if political and economic reforms are to succeed. Hun Sen’s government must further deepen the reform agenda by focusing on these three elements.
Hun Sen has, some say, adapted his leadership style too slowly to cope with Cambodia’s fast-changing social transformation. His authoritarian leadership is not popular, especially among young people. The majority of Cambodian youth aspire to change. At the party congress in February, CPP leaders added youth leaders to the Central Committee, resulting in 70 out of 545 members being under the age of 50, in a bid to gain support from Cambodia’s youth.
Hun Sen also takes a pragmatic approach towards foreign affairs. His core foreign policy objectives are to maintain national peace and security, further economic development, reduce poverty, and raise Cambodia’s image and prestige.
Hun Sen is pushing to diversify Cambodia’s strategic and economic partners, but there is currently still a tilt towards China. Economic and cultural ties define Cambodia–China relations. China is now Cambodia’s largest source of both foreign direct investment and development assistance.
Under Hun Sen, Cambodia has also engaged in promoting global peace and stability. Cambodia has sent more than 1700 peacekeepers to different parts of the world under the UN framework and is actively involved in the global campaign to end landmines.
Cambodia is taking a leading role in promoting the ‘responsibility to protect’ in Southeast Asia, and intends to build stronger partnerships with ASEAN and the UN to build the state’s capacity to protect its population from genocide and crimes against humanity, and from their incitement.
In the 30 years Hun Sen has been in power, Cambodia has made significant progress but key challenges remain.
Vannarith Chheang is lecturer of Asia Pacific Studies at the University of Leeds.
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| 0.943813 | 1,142 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Oct 26, 2009
Dogs and cats, the world’s most popular house pets consume more energy resources in a year than driving a auto
reported by a new book.
They’re faithful, affable and furred – but under their innocuous, flossy exteriors, dogs and cats, the world’s most pop household pets, consume more energy resources in a year than driving a car, according to a new book.
In their book Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, New Zealand-based architects Robert and Brenda Vale say keeping a medium-sized dog has the same ecological impact as driving 10,000 km a year in a 4.6 liter Land Cruiser.
Calculating that the modern Fido chows through about 164 kg of meat and 95 kg of cereals a year, the Vales estimated the ecological footprint of cats and dogs, based on the amount of land needed to grow common brands of pet food.
”There are no recipes in the book,” Robert Vale said, laughingly, in a telephone interview.
”We’re not actually saying it is time to eat the dog. We’re just saying that we need to think about and know the (ecological) impact of some of the things we do and that we take for granted.”
Constructing and driving the jeep for a year requires 0.41 hectares of land, while growing and manufacturing a dog’s food takes about 0.84 hectares – or 1.1 hectares in the case of a large dog such as a German shepherd.
Meat-eating swells the eco-footprint of canines, and felines are not that much better, the Vales found.
The average cat’s eco-footprint, 0.15 hectares, weighs in at slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf.
By comparison, the ecological footprint of an average human in the developing world is 1.8 hectares, while people in the developed world take 6 hectares.
With pets’ diets under the control of owners, how can their unsustainable appetites be trimmed?
Convincing carnivorous cats and dogs to go vegetarian for the sake of the planet is a non-starter, the Vales say.
Instead they recommend keeping “greener”, smaller, and more sustainable pets, such as goldfish, chickens or rabbits.
The book’s playful title, and serious suggestion that pet animals may be usefully “recycled”, by being eaten by their owners or turned into petfood when they die, may not appeal to animal fans.
Offputting as the idea may be, the question is valid given the planet’s growing population and finite resources, Robert Vale said.
”Issues about sustainability are increasingly becoming things that are going to require us to make choices which are as difficult as eating your dog. It’s not just about changing your lightbulbs or taking a cloth bag to the supermarket,” he said.
”It’s about much more challenging and difficult issues,” he added. “Once you see where (cats and dogs) fit in your overall balance of things – you might decide to have the cat but not also to have the two cars and the three bathrooms and be a meat eater yourself.”
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| 0.949923 | 702 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Your cell phone isn't going to kill you, says the former Chief technology officer for Schaumburg-based Motorola.
"The growth in the usage of cell phones has been phenomenal, but we haven’t seen the incidence of cancers related to the brain or any part of the head go up in any way," said Dennis Roberson, who currently serves as the Vice-Provost at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
His opinion is based on his research for the past 35 years, which found no evidence that cell phones have any impact on health, and comes after the passage of a new ordinance in San Francisco.
"I think much of the American public is naïve about the harmful effects, especially long term, of using their cell phones," said Joel Moskowitz, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.
He disagrees with Roberson and suggests there is growing evidence of a link between cell-phone use and brain cancer.
Manufacturers already report radiation information to the Federal Communications Commission. It is measured by what is called the Specific Absorption Rate -- or SAR number -- which reflects how much of a transmitter’s electromagnetic energy is absorbed by human tissue.
By law, handheld phones can emit no more than 1.6 watts per kilogram.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) said he will introduce a bill for federal research into the health effects of cell phone radiation that will require warning labels for mobile phones.
Many researchers say posting SAR numbers near phones for sale will only make the already confusing process of selecting a wireless device even more difficult. Others say consumers have nothing to worry about when they use cell phones.
"They should not be concerned in the least," said Roberson.
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| 0.959318 | 355 | 2.875 | 3 |
The history behind U.S. income inequality
Re: “Income equality is just a dream for most Americans,” March 9 Perspective article.
The staggering problem of the income and livability gap between rich and poor in this country is largely due to our ignorance of history.
We began with only the rich (mostly merchants) paying taxes. Yes, they paid 100 percent (or close) of our taxes, for there was no semblance of a “middle class,” and the poor, of course, had nothing to donate to General Washington’s Army but their bodies. This “grand bargain” gave the wealthy a lot of special privileges for wholly supporting the government. Many of the wealthy, at that time, also felt and acted like it was in their interest to fight for their country.
Since then, with our ignorance and our permission, our leaders have allowed the advantages and profits of the wealthiest to skyrocket, and their (actually paid) taxes to wither.
Hence, the gap.
R. Kiefer, Arvada
This letter was published in the March 16 edition.
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| 0.980448 | 233 | 3.375 | 3 |
Cartoon strategies to fight
History Denial, Antisemitism, and
to promote Continuity.
In 2009, as a political cartoonist of long standing I was made a “visiting fellow” and “artist in residence” of Yale University’s Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism and Racism (YIISA). The word interdisciplinary in the title indicated that they were trying to examine the phenomenon of Jew-hatred from different viewpoints, Through the eyes of professionals from different disciplines and professions. Debates rage over whether a particular political cartoon is or isn’t antisemitic. It seemed only natural that someone would get around to asking a political cartoonist to take an objective view. And they had picked me.
I began by collecting as many antisemitic cartoons that I could find. Friends in Europe sent me scans of their collections. I thumbed through old ADL and Jewish Agency booklets, and of course, I Googled. I stuck the cartoons into categories and then took a closer look. In more than 500 cartoons I discovered only 32 specific image codes. And I found that I could classify them into viral “strains.”
In 2010, Yale published Kirschen’s working paper entitled “Memetics and the Viral Spread of Antisemitism through ‘Coded Images’ in Political Cartoons”. The paper identifies anti-Semitism as a behavioral virus, isolates its three viral strains, and reveals its use by totalitarian movements in their attempts to conquer the West. The “Secret Codes” are virally spread anti-Jewish libels which are codified in political cartoons as symptoms of a deeper sickness. For self-protection, democratic societies should deal with the sickness as a disease control problem.
In 2011 I built an online compendium of the secret codes available for academic or public research.
This Dry Bones academic project has its own website: secretcodeshiddenwar.com
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| 0.95704 | 413 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Research is the foundation of good science, or knowing in general. There are four methods of 1) Method of tenacity (one holds firmly to the truth, because "they know it" to be true); 2) method
of authority (the method of established belief, i.e., the Bible or the "experts" says it, it is so); 3) method of intuition (the method where a proposition agrees with reason, but not necessarily with experience); and 4) the method of science (the method of attaining knowledge which calls for self-correction). To explain Africans in ancient America, I use the scientific method which calls for hypothesis testing, not only supported by experimentation, but also that of alternative plausible hypotheses that, may place doubt on the original hypothesis.
The aim of science is theory construction (F.N. Kirlinger, Foundations of behavior research, (1986) pp.6-10; R. Braithwaite, Scientific explanation, (1955) pp.1-10). A theory is a set of interrelated constructs, propositions and definitions, that provide a systematic understanding of phenomena by outlining relations among a group of variables that explain and predict phenomena.
Scientific inquiry involves issues of theory construction, control and experimentation. Scientific knowledge must rest on testing, rather than mere induction which can be defined as inferences of laws and generalizations, derived from observation. This falsity of logical possibility is evident in the rejection of the African origin of the Olmecs hypothesis. Coe, de Montellano and others reject outright the possibility that Africans built the Olmec civilization, because they observe Amerindian speakers in areas formerly occupied by the Olmec people. Just because these people may live in the Olmec heartland today, says very little about the inhabitants of this area 3000 years ago. These writers base their theories solely on observation--nonscientific knowledge is not science.
Karl Popper in The Logic of Scientific Discovery, rejects this form of logical validity based solely on inference and conjecture (pp. 33-65). Popper maintains that confirmation in science, is arrived at through falsification.
Therefore to confirm a theory in science one test the theory through regorous attempts at falsification. In falsification the researcher uses cultural, linguistic, anthropological and historical knowledge to invalidate a proposed theory. If a theory can not be falsified through yes of the variables associated with the theory it is confirmed. It can only be disconfirmed when new generalizations associated with the original theory fail to survive attempts at falsification.
In short, science centers on conjecture and refutations. Many commentators on Afrocentricism maintain that the Olmecs weren't Africans. In support of this conjecture they maintain: 1) Africans first came to America with Columbus; 2) Amerindians live in Meso-America; 3) the Olmec look like the Maya; 4) linguistic groups found in the Olmec heartland have always lived in areas they presently inhabit. These are all logical deduction, but they are mainly nonfalsifiable and therefore unscientific.
According to the Afrocentrists Columbus was not the first person from the old world to influence the people and cultures of America. Over 2600 years before Columbus stumbled on the Americas, Africans from West Africa were already establishing the first American civilization in Meso-America (van Sertima, 1976; Wiener, 1920-1922; Winters, 1981/1982).
When the Europeans came to the Americas they discovered Africans were already well established in Latin America ( Quatrefages, 1889; Rafinesque, 1836; Wiener, 1920-1922; Winters, 1984c, 1984d; Wuthenau, 1980) . On Columbus' third voyage he noted Blacks sailing in the Caribbean. Other Africans were found in the interior of the Isthmus of Panama. And Bishop Las Casas wrote about an African king residing in the same part of Panama.
A. de Quatrefages (1889), claimed that Africans formerly lived in Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico and Panama. The American linguist C.S. Rafinesque (1836) was sure that "many nations of Brazil and Guyana are more recent and of African origin" (p.9). He also discovered that an Amerind language called Yarura was an Ashante cognate.
As early as 1700 BC the first Africans settled along the Isthmus of Tehuantepe (Winters, 1981/1982, 1984c). The precursor civilization/empire in the Americas was that of the Olmecs (Morley, 1983; Pouligny, 1988; Soustelle, 1984).
The "extreme Eurocentrists" argue that Blacks could not have been in the Americas in ancient times (D'Souza, 1995; de Montellano, 1995). To support this view these researchers point out that most Americanists do not support an African presence in ancient America, and that van Sertima misidentified the ancestors of the Olmecs (de Montellano, 1995, 139). To explain away the African features of the Olmecs, D'Souza (1995) maintains that:
[T]he Olmecs did not have a selection of skin tones
to chose from in making their monuments. The only stone available to them was black stone. The source of the stone is the Tuxtlas mountains of volcanic origin (p.374).
He continues, "The mounments get darker by thousands of years of exposure to the elements" (D'Souza, 1995, 374)
This explaination by D'Souza (1995) for the large Olmec heads depicticting Africans does not hold up under close observation. First of all, the Olmecs used various metals to depict Afro-Olmecs, besides "black stone", including Jade ( von Wuthenau, 1980). This makes the comments of D'Souza false.
A more serious attack on the African origin of the Olmecs has been mounted by de Montellano (1995, 139) who argues that the Olmecs could not have been Nubians or Kushites of the Napata-Meroe civilization, as claimed by van Sertima (1976) because the Olmec civilization preceed the civilization of the Kushites by hundreds of years.
This argument is well founded. It highlights the failure of van Sertima (1976) to critically read the sources of Africans in ancient America and study the archaeology of West Africa and the Sahara. A cursory reading of Wiener (1922) would have made it clear that the founders of the Olmec civilization were Mande/Manding speaking people.
Wiener (1922) based his identification of the Olmecs (eventhough he was unaware of this people at the time) through his identification of Manding writing on the Tuxtla statuette which was created by the Olmecs. Moreover, Wiener (1920-22) provided numerous examples of Manding substratum in Amerindian languages that should have been evaluated by van Sertima (1976) since he claims to be a linguist. It was the cognition between the Olmec and Manding writings that allowed Winters (1979) to decipher the Olmec writing.
Granted, van Sertima (1976) was wrong about the identity of the Olmecs , but he was correct in claiming that the Olmecs were of African origin. But there is no denying the fact that Africans early settled the Americas (Sitchin, 1990; Wiener, 1920-1922; von Wuthenau, 1980).
The Olmecs were accomplished artists, engineers and scientists. They invented Americas first cities, the calendar and writing systems (Soustelle, 1984). This writing system was passed on to the Maya and other people of Mexico (Morley, Brainered & Sharer, 1983; Soustelle, 1984).
The Olmecs were the precursor civilization of Meso-America. Jacques Soustelle (1984) called the Olmecs the Sumerians of the New World, due to their great contribution to American civilization. He wrote that "The Olmec heritage was perpetuated in the minds and in the art of the indigenous peoples down to the fall of Tenochlitlan, and still survives in part among the Indians, whose present is profoundly steeped in the past" (Soustelle, 1984, 194).
The Olmec civilization is typified by the huge heads with African features found on many Olmec sites in the Gulf region (van Sertima, 1976; Winters, 1981/1982). The first Olmec head was found at Hueyapan, in the region of San Andres, Tutla ,Veracruz
The name Olmec for this early culture is taken from the term Olman, which was given to the coastal area of the Gulf of Mexico where the artifacts of this culture were found and Olmeca
the name of the inhabitants of this region. The original or native name for this people was Xi (Shi), the plural form was Xiu (Shi-u).
The Olmec people spoke a Manding language (Winters, 1979; Wuthenau, 1980). The Manding people lived in ancient the Sahara (Winters, 1986), until they migrated to Mexico and founded the Olmec empire (Winters, 1979).
The Olmec civilization was developed along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the states of Tabasco and Veracruz (Morley, Brainerd & Sharer, 1983, 52; Pouligny, 1988, 34). The linguistic evidence suggest that around 1200 BC a new linguistic group arrived on the Gulf region of Mexico. This non-Maya speaking group wedged itself between the Huastecs and the Maya (Swadesh, 1953). Scholars believe that the Olmecs were these new settlers of Mexico (Soustelle, 1984). Soustelle (1984) tells us that "We cannot help but think that the people that shattered the unity of the proto-Mayas was also the people that brought Olmec civilization to the region" (p.29).
Stela no.5 from Izapa (see figure 1), is an important historical document from Mexico. This monument has interesting iconographic representations that prove some of the migration traditions handed down from generation to generation by the Mexicans.
The Izapa style art is characterized by upright stone stela found at the site of Izapa, situated near Tapachula, Chiapas. Izapa is located on the Pacific coastal plain in an area known as Soconusco. This area in middle Preclassic times was a center of Olmec civilization (Morley, Brainerd & Sharer, 1983).
The research of the New World Archaeological Foundation indicate that this site has been continuously occupied since 1500 B.C. (Norman, 1973). Much of what we know about the art from Izapa comes from the work of Virginia Smith' Izapa Relief Carving , Garth Norman's Izapa Sculpture and Jacinto Quirarte's Izapan-Style Art .
V. Garth Norman (1973) of the New World Archaeological Foundation has published many of the stone stalae and altars found at Izapa and discussed much of their probable religious significance. Most researchers including Norman (1973) believe that the Izapans were "Olmecoid". Smith (1984) disagrees with this hypothesis, but Michael D. Coe (1965:773-774, 1968:121), and Ignacio Bernal (1969:172) support an Olmec origin for the Izapan style art. Quirarte recognized obvious Olmec cultural traits in the Izapa iconography (Quirarte, 1973, 32-33).
The Stela no.5 from Izapa records many glyphic elements common to other Preclassic artifacts including the jaguar, falling water, mountain, bird, dragon tree, serpent and fish motifs (Smith, 1984, 28-29). The pictures on this stelae indicate that the Izapans were related to the Olmec or Xiu people.
This stela also provides many elements that relate to Mexican and Maya traditions as accurately analyzed by Norman (1973). Some ideological factors not fully discussed by Norman (1973) in regards to this stelae is its evidence of elements of the Olmec religion, and the migration traditions of the Mexicans.
The Maya were not the first to occupy the Yucatan and Gulf regions of Mexico. It is evident from Maya traditions and the artifacts recovered from many ancient Mexican sites that a different race lived in Mayaland before the Mayan speakers settled this region (Soustelle, 1984).
M. Swadesh (1953) has presented evidence that at least 3200 years ago a non- Maya speaking group wedged itself between the Huastecs and the Maya . Soustelle (1984, 29) tells us that the Olmec brought civilization to the region.
Traditions mentioned by Sahagun, record the settlement of Mayaland by a different race from the present Amerindian population. Sahagun (1946) says that these eastern settlers of Mexico landed at Panotha, on the Mexican Gulf. Here they remained for a time until they moved south in search of mountains. Other migration to Mexico stories are mention in the Popol Vuh, the ancient religious and historical text compiled by the Quiche Mayan Indians.
Diehl and Coe (1995, 12) of Harvard University have made it clear that until a skeleton of an African is found on an Olmec site he will not accept the art evidence that the were Africans among the Olmecs. This is rather surprising because Constance Irwin and Dr. Wiercinski (1972) have both reported that skeletal remains of Africans have been found in Mexico. Constance Irwin, in Fair Gods and Stone Faces, says that anthropologist see "distinct signs of Negroid ancestry in many a New World skull...."
This new race come from Africa. Sertima in They Came Before Columbus, and Weiner in Africa and the Discovery of America believed that some of these foreign people may have come from West Africa. Dr. Wiercinski (1972) claims that some of the Olmecs were of African origin. He supports this claim with skeletal evidence from several Olmec sites where he found skeletons that were analogous to the West African type black. Wiercinski discovered that 13.5 percent of the skeletons from Tlatilco and 4.5 percent of the skeletons from Cerro de las Mesas were Africoid (Rensberger, 1988) .
Many Olmec skulls show cranial deformations (Pailles, 1980). Marquez (1956, 179-80) made it clear that a common trait of the African skulls found in Mexico include marked prognathousness , prominent cheek bones are also mentioned. Fronto-occipital deformation among the Olmec is not surprising because cranial deformations was common among the Mande speaking people until fairly recently (Desplanges, 1906).
Friar Diego de Landa , in Yucatan Before and After the Conquest, wrote that "some old men of Yucatan say that they have heard from their ancestors that this country was peopled by a certain race who came from the East, whom God delivered by opening for them twelve roads through the sea" (de Landa, 1978, 8, 28).
This tradition is most interesting because it probably refers to the twelve migrations of the Olmec people. This view is supported by the stone reliefs from Izapa, Chiapas , Mexico published by the New World Foundation (see figure 1). In Stela 5, from Izapa we see a group of men on a boat riding the waves and a large tree in the middle of the stela (Norman, 1976).
It is clear that Stelae No.5, from Izapa not only indicates the tree of life, it also confirms the tradition recorded by Friar Diego de Landa (1978) that the Olmec people made twelve migrations to the New World. This stela also confirms the tradition recorded by the famous Mayan historian Ixtlixochitl, that the Olmec came to Mexico in "ships of barks " and landed at Pontochan, which they commenced to populate .
In the center of the boat on Stelae No.5, we find a large tree. This tree has seven branches and twelve roots. The seven branches probably represent the seven major clans of the Olmec people. The twelve roots of the tree extending into the water from the boat probably signifies the "twelve roads through the sea", mentioned by Friar Diego de Landa (1978, 8, 28).
The migration traditions and Stelae No.5, probably relates to a segment of the Olmec, who landed in boats in Panotha or Pantla (the Huasteca) and moved along the coast as far as Guatemala.
This landing in Panotha would correspond to the non-Maya speaking group detected by Swadesh (1953) that separated the Maya and Huasteca speakers over 2000 years ago.
Bernardino de Sahagun (1946) a famous authority on Mexico also supports the extra-American origin of the Olmecs when he wrote that "Eastern settlers of Mexico landed at Panotla on the Mexican Gulf. Here they remained for a time until they moved south in search of mountains".
Sahagun (1946) claimed that the Olmec were not native to the Gulf coats region where archaeologist discovered the Olmec civilization. He called these people that civilized the Mexicans: Olmecs. Chimalpahin the chronicler of Chalco Amaquemecan , commenting on the Olmecs wrote that "And the truth is that those who for the first time came to settle, who made merits for the land were great men, very experienced, they were learned men, they were skilled at everything. And because they were skilled learned men, everything they did they always affirmed it" (Portilla, n.d., 193).
Traditions mentioned by Sahagun, record the settlement of Mexico by a different race from the present Amerindian population, these foreign people he called Olmecs. Sahagun said
"Here is the account that the elders used to pronounce
:at a time which no one can speak of any more, that
today no one can remember, those who came here to sow the grandfathers, the grandmothers, these, it is said , arrived, came, followed the road, those that came to
sweep it...came to rule here in this land....They came in many groups in their boats on the and there arrived at the edge of the water, on the northern coast, and there where their boats remained is called Panutla, which means
where one passes over the water, today is called Pantla
(Panuco). Subsequently they followed the shoreline, they
went in search of the mountains...." (Portilla, n.d.,
Not only did these ancient settlers of the Olmec heartland settle in Mexico, they also helped spread civilization. Sahagun wrote that:
"So they [Olmecs] invented the reckoning of the destinies,
the annals, and the reckoning of the years, the book of dreams, they put it in the order in which it has been kept...."(Portilla, n.d., 186).
These passages from Sahagun makes it clear that the Olmec people came to Mexico by sea in boats.
It would appear that there was not a single settlement of migrants from across the sea because ,Sahagun claims that "they came in many groups". This may be a possible allusion to the twelve migrations mentioned by de Landa (1978), and recorded on Stelae No.5. It also agrees with the migration story mentioned in the Popol Vuh.
THE STELAE NUMBER 5 AND OLMEC RELIGION
The Olmec people had their own writing. This writing system was deciphered by Winters (Winters, 1979, 80; Wuthenau, 1980, Appendix B). This decipherment of the Olmec writing allows us to discover much about the Olmec people and their culture.
We know that the Olmec invited the writing system which was later used by the Maya because the Mayan name for writing is of Manding/Olmec writing. Kaufman (1976) has suggested that *c'ib' or *c'ihb' is part of the proto-Mayan lexicon for write. Brown (1991, 491-492) argues that *c'ib' may be the ancient Mayan term for writing, but it can not be Proto-Mayan because writing did not appear among the Maya until 600 B.C. This was 1500 years before the break up of Proto-Mayan. The Manding term for writing is *sèbè. This term corresponds to the Mayan term *c'ib' and probably was the ancestral name for writing in ancient America introduced by the Olmec people.
Brown's (1991) view that the writing did not exist among the Maya is supported by Mayan tradition that they got writing from the "Tutul Xiu" who lived in Zuiva. As mentioned earlier the name Xiu is the name of the Manding speaking people.
Kaufman (1976) has suggested that The Olmecs had two different religious associations (ga-fa):the jaguar-man or humano-feline cult (see figure 2) and the humano-bird cult (see figure 3). The humano-feline cult was called the nama-tigi by the Olmecs, while the humano-feline cult was called the kuno-tigi.
The leader of the Olmec cult was called the tigi or amatigi "head of the faith". The Tigi of the Xiu or Olmec secret societies and cults exerted considerable influence over both the when he was dead and alive. Alive the Tigi could contact the spirits of the deceased, and serve as intermediary between the gods and mankind. Upon his death his grave became a talisman bestowing good to all who visited his tomb.
Sertima (1976) and Wiener (Wiener, 1920-1922) have both commented on the possible relationship between the amanteca of ancient Mexico and the amantigi of Africa and the Olmecs. It is interesting to note that according to Dr. Wiener tec / tecqui means "master, chief" in a number of Mexican languages including Nahuatl .
Many Meso-Americanists have suggested that the Maya inherited many aspects of their civilization, especially religion from the Olmec. This is interesting because in the Maya Book of Chumayel, the three main cult associations which are suppose to have existed in ancient times were (1) the stone (cutters) cult, (2) the jaguar cult and (3) the bird cult. In lines 4-6 of the Book of Chumayel , we read : "Those with their sign in the bird, those with their sign in the stone, flat worked stone, those with their sign in the Jaguar-three emblems".
The Book of Chumayel, corresponds to the gylphs depicted on Monument 13 at La Venta (Bernal, 1969). On Monument 13, at La Venta a personages in profile, has a headdress on his head and wears a breechcloth, jewels and sandals, along with four glyphs listed one above the other. The glyphs included the stone, the jaguar, and the bird emblems.
Monument 13, at La Venta also has a fourth sign to the left of the personage a foot gylphs. This monument has been described as an altar or a low column (Bernal, 1969).
The foot in Olmec is called se, this symbol means to "lead or advance toward knowledge, or success". The se (foot) sign of the komow (cults) represents the beginning of the Olmec initiates pursuit of knowledge.
The meaning of Monument 13, reading from top to bottom, are a circle kulu/ kaba (the stone), nama (jaguar) and the kuno (bird). The interpretation of this column reading from left to right is "The advance toward success--power--for the initiate is obedience to the stone cutters cult, jaguar cult and the bird cult".
The Jaguar mask association dominated the Olmec Gulf region. In the central and southern Olmec regions we find the bird mask association (cult) predominate as typified by the Xoc bas relief of Chiapas, and the Bas Relief No.2, of Chalcatzingo. Another bird mask cult association was located in the state of Guerrero as evidenced by the humano-bird figure of the Stelae from San Miguel Amuco.
The iconographic representation of the Olmec priest-kings, found at Chalchapa, La Venta, Xoc and Chalcatzingo indicate that usually the Olmec priest wore a wide belt and girdle. He was usually clean shaven, with an elongated bold head often topped by a round helmet or elaborate composite mask. During religious ceremonies the Olmec religious leader, depending on his cult would wear the sacred jaguar or sacred bird mask. Often as illustrated by the glyphs on the shoulders and knees of the babe-in-arms figurine of Las Limas element the mask would include a combination of the associated with the bird, jaguar and serpent.
The cult leaders of the bird mask cult usually wore claws on their feet. The jaguar cult leaders usually wore the jaguar mask. Stelae No.5 also discusses in detail the two major Olmec religions: the nama (jaguar) komo (cult) and the kuno (bird) komo. At the top of Stelae No.5 , we recognize two lines of Olmec writing across the top of the artifact. On the first line we read from right to left :I ba i. Lu tu lu. I ba i, which means "Thou art powerful Now! Hold Upright (those) obedient to the[ir] Order. Thou art Powerful Now!" On the second line we read the following: I lu be. I lu , which means "Thou hold upright Unity. Thou hold [it] upright".
The religious orders spoken of in this stela are the Bird and Jaguar cults. These Olmec cults were Nama or the Humano-Jaguar cult; and Kuno or Bird cult. The leader of the Nama cult was called the Nama-tigi (Nama chief) , or Amatigi (head of the faith). The leader of the Kuno cult was the Kuno-tigi (Kuno chief). These cult leaders initiated the Olmec into the mysteries of the cult.
On the Stelae No. 5, we see both the Kuno-tigi (fig.2) and Nama-tigi (fig.3) instructing youth in the mysteries of their respective cults.
On Stelae No.5, we see two priests and members of each cult society sitting in a boat with a tree in the center (Sitchin, 1990, 178). On the right hand side of the boat we see the Nama-tigi, and on the left hand side we see the Kuno-tigi.
The personage on the right side of the boat under a ceremonial umbrella is the Nama-tigi. In Mexico, this umbrella was a symbol of princely status. Above his head is a jaguar glyph which, according to Dr. Alexander von Wuthenau (1980) indicates that he was an Olmec. This personage has an African style hairdo and a writing stylus in his left hand. This indicates the knowledge of writing among the Olmecs which is also evident in the other Olmec inscriptions deciphered by Winters .
On the sides of the boat we see two Olmec signs : they read: "In the company of Purity". This statement signifies that the Olmec believed that worship of the Kuno or Nama cults led to spiritual purity among the believers.
On the left hand side of the boat we see a number of birds. Here we also find a priest wearing a conical hat instructing another youth, in the mysteries of the Kuno cult around a flame. Among the Olmecs this flame signified the luminous character of knowledge.
The Kuno priest wears a conical hat. The evidence of the conical hat on the Kuno priest is important evidence of the Manding in ancient America. The conical hat in Meso-America is associated with Amerindian priesthood and as a symbol of political and religious authority . Leo Wiener wrote that:
"That the kingly and priestly cap of the Magi
should have been preserved in America in the iden
-tical form, with the identical decoration, and
should, besides, have kept the name current for it
among the Mandingo [Malinke-Bambara/Manding] people
, makes it impossible to admit any other solution
than the one that the Mandingoes established the
royal offices in Mexico" (author's emphasis)
(Wiener, Vol.2 1922, 321).
Stelae no.21 , from Izapa also record the decline of the Olmec nama and kuno religions and probable raise of the Maya speakers and the sa (serpent) cult which called for human sacrifice (Smith, 1984; Norman, 1973). On Stelae no.21, we see a decapitated individual lieing on the ground. An elite carries the decapitated head. This elite may be an early Maya personage because he wears a new style headdress which resembles the Maya style headdresses and not the style of the Olmecs.
In the background we see an elite personage being borne in an elaborate sedan chair. Above this chair we see the serpent . This depiction of a serpent as a background but dominate figure in Olmec religion/rule corresponds to Monument 19 of La Venta. On Monument 19, from La Venta we see an Olmec personage which has a serpent behind his back and above his head (Bernal, 1969). This serpent indicates hidden knowledge or powers from the serpent that the cult leader used to lead the followers of their cult.
The Olmecs constructed complex pyramids and large sculptured
monuments weighing tons. The Maya during the Pre-Classic period
built pyramids over the Olmec pyramids to disguise the Olmec origin of these pyramids.
After 100 BC the Olmecs went into a period of decline. They did not disappear from Mexican history. They were frequently depicted in Mayan text as gods and merchants, especially the Maya god Ek Chuah (Winters 1981/1982,1984a,1984b,1984c). The African god Quetzacoatl was worshipped by the Aztecs (Wiener, 1922; Winters, 1981/1982).
African Influence on Amerindian Languages
The Mande/Manding speaking Olmecs had a great influence on the cultural and linguistic realities of the Americas. As a result we find that many Amerindian languages show affinity to the Manding languages.
The Taino and Manding languages share many points of phonology and morphology. Taino was spoken in the Caribbean when Europeans first arrived in the New World. Taino is presently extinct.
Taino and Manding are agglutinative languages. The joining of two or more words is commonly used to form new words. For example, Manding words are formed by adding an affix to a radical e.g., ji 'water': ji-ma 'watery and ba 'finish': to-ba 'to complete'/'to achieve'. In Taino, we have a 'water': a-ma
'great water'; and ca 'soil': ca-za-bi 'bread'.
The Taino and Manding languages share lexical items from the basic vocabulary e.g., mother Manding (M.) bi, Taino (T.) ba;
dwelling: M. bo, T. ba; ocean: M. ba, T. bali; son: M. le, T. el;
and god: M. jo(/gyo), T. io. Taino and Manding have similar syntax e.g., Taino teitoca 'thou be quiet'; and Manding i-te-to-
ka 'thou be at ease'.
The Otomi people of Mexico are often believed to have been of African origin (Quatrefages, 1889). This is proven by a comparison of the Manding and Olmec languages. The Mezquital Otomi pronominal system shows some analogy to that of Manding, but Neve y Molina's Otomi pronouns show full agreement e.g., Otomi ma/i,e,/a, and Manding n',m' /i,e /a. They also share many cognates from the basic vocabulary including son/daughter: Otomi (O.) t?i or ti, Manding (M.) de/di; eyes: O. da, M. do ; brother: ku, M. koro ; sister: O. nkhu, M. ben-k ; lip: O. sine, M. sine; mouth O. ne, M. ne; and man: O. ta/ye, M. tye/kye.
The Otomi and Manding languages also have similar syntax, e.g., Otomi ho ka ra 'ngu 'he makes the houses', Manding
a k nu 'he makes the family habitation (houses)'.
There are many Maya and Manding cognates, e.g., Maya (My.)
naal 'parent ,mother', Manding (M.) na id.; father: My. ba,
M. pa; lord: My. ba, M. ba; maize: My. kan, M. ka.
It is interesting to note that in the Amerind languages
are characterized by first person /n/, and second person /m/.
But in the case of the Otomi and Maya languages we find first person /n/, second e/i , third person /a/, the same pronoun pattern found in the Manding group.
In summary , we tested four variables relating to the African origin of the Olmecs : : 1) Africans first came to America with Columbus; 2) Amerindians live in Meso-America; 3) the Olmec look like the Maya; 4) linguistic groups found in the Olmec heartland have always lived in areas they presently inhabit. Granted, we do recognize that Zoquean/Soquean and Maya speakers in Olmecland today. But the linguistic evidence of Swadesh indicate that they were not in this area 3000 years ago when a new linguistic group appears to have entered the area.
Secondly, any comparison of Mayans depicted in Mayan art, and the Olmec people depicted in Olmec art especially the giant heads, indicate that these people did not look alike (see http://geocities.com/Athens/Academy/8919/heads.htm). Moreover, just because Africans may have come to America with Columbus, does not prove that they were not here before Columbus. Yet, subscription to these theories is logical, but logical assurance alone, is not good science.
Logically we could say that because Amerindians live in the Olmec heartland today, they may have lived in these areas 3000 years ago. But,the evidence found by Swadesh, an expert on the Mayan languages, of a new linguistic group invading the Olmec heartland 3000 years ago; and the lack of congruence between Olmec and Mayan art completely falsifies the conjectures of the Amerindian origin of the Olmec theorists. The opposite theory, an African origin for the Olmecs is confirmed.
I have presented here and on my numerous WebPages a theory for the African origin of the Olmec people ( http://homepages.luc.edu/~cwinter ; and http://geocities.com/Athens/Academy/8919 ). Within the various WebPages I have enumerated the following variables: 1) African scripts found during archaeological excavation; 2) the Malinke-Bambara origin of the Mayan term for writing; 3) cognate iconographic representations of African and Olmec personages; 4) the influence of Malinke-Bambara cultural and linguistic features on historic Meso-American populations; and 5) the presence of African skeletal material excavated from Olmec graves in addition to many other variables. The relation between these five variables, or a combination of these variables explains the African origin of the Olmecs.
For example, the linguistic evidence of Swadesh indicates that the Huastec and Mayan speakers were separated around 1200 BC by a new linguistic group. This implies that if my hypothesis for African settlers of Mexico wedged in between this group 3000 years ago, we can predict that linguistic evidence would exist in these languages to support this phenomena among contemporary Meso-American languages.
To test this hypothesis, above I compared lexical items from the Malinke-Bambara languages, and Mayan , Otomi and Taino languages (see : http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/8919/yquiche.htm).
This comparison confirmed cognition between these languages, and suggests a former period of bilingualism among speakers of these languages in ancient times.
In other words, in the case of the linguistic and skeletal variables alone, the proposition of my African origin theory, matches the observed natural phenomena. The predicting power of this theory, confirmed by cognate lexical items in Malinke-Bambara, the Mayan, Otomi and Taino languages, and the discovery of African skeletal material during controlled archaeological excavation indicates that the African origin of the Olmec theory is confirmed. Moreover, the ability to reliably predict a linguistic relationship between Malinke-Bambara and MesoAmerican languages, is confirmation of the theory, because the linguistic connections were deducible from prediction.
We controlled this theory by comparing Malinke-Bambara and Meso-American terms. This theory was first identified by Leo Wiener who noted the presence of many Malinke-Bambara terms in the cultural, especially religious lexicon of the Aztec and Maya speakers. Since we have predicted reliably this variable of the African origin of the Olmec theory, this variable must be disconfirmed, to "defeat" my hypothesis. Failure to disconfirm this theorem, implies validity of the prediction.
In this introduction I have discussed the major evidence or variables of the African origin of the Olmec theory, to demonstrate the difference between science and conjecture. My ability to predict successfully, a linguistic relationship between Malinke-Bambara and MesoAmerican languages, makes it unnecessary to search for a different underlying explanation for the Olmec heads, which look like Africans, because Africans were the models for these heads. Moreover, the fact that the Taino words , were collected when the early Explorers arrived in America, long before any African slaves were deposited on these shores make it clear that any cognition between Taino and Mande terms have to pre-date the coming of Columbus.
This confirmation of variables in the African origin of Olmec theory indicates the systematic controlled , critical and empirical investigation of the question of African origins of the Olmec. This is validation of the Malinke-Bambara theory first proposed by Leo Wiener, in Africa and the Discovery of America, which presumed relations among the Olmec and Black Africans.
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People who find it difficult to use a computer keyboard and mouse, can turn to other devices to navigate the internet, but if the site has not been designed with accessibility in mind, using the web can prove to be a frustrating experience.
What does web accessibility mean to you?
Accessible sites can benefit everyone using the internet
Probably not a lot. But to some it is the key to actually being able to use the internet.
For a lot more of us though, it might mean a quicker, simpler and easier web experience.
In 2004, the UK's Disability Rights Commission investigated 1,000 websites. It found that 800 of those sites failed to meet minimum accessibility standards set by the web's regulatory body, the World Wide Web Consortium.
It also discovered that if a site is accessible by a disabled user it is also a third quicker for an able-bodied person to complete tasks too.
Emma Tracey is blind, and she is a journalist from the BBC's Ouch magazine.
We set her the task of buying a book from the Amazon online shop, and she found it extremely difficult.
Emma says: "I was at my computer for 20 minutes.
"To find the book I wanted I had to go through an absolute sea of links, and then when I did find what I needed to buy, and added it to my shopping basket, I couldn't move forward from there because the 'continue' button wasn't marked in such a way that I could find it."
Amazon would not comment directly, but referred us to IMRG, a lobby group of online retailers.
It told us its members take accessibility very seriously, but, it added, changes cannot happen overnight.
Web browsing can be a tricky business for many of us: for the elderly, hard of hearing and those with dyslexia.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling recently launched the first site to use a new form of Flash, which is often used to add interactivity and animation to a site
Changing settings like the font size and colour, or increasing the contrast of the background, can provide a better experience.
Website designer, Leonie Watson says: "There's a technology called Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) that allows you to control the way a page is displayed, such as the colour of the text and background.
"So if that's the way a page has been built, then you can control that from within the browser or OS.
"However, that's quite a new technology, it's only been around a couple of years, and a lot of designers are still very wary of using it. They actually hard code the colours into the web page itself, which means that they can't be overridden by your browser, or OS."
There is hope, however.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling recently launched the first site to use a new form of Flash, which is often used to add interactivity and animation to a website.
Two years ago, Adobe updated this technology so designers using Flash could build in accessibility features.
Leonie Watson says: "Flash is a very interesting topic in terms of web accessibility. It's actually capable of being very accessible indeed.
"It has means for building in captioning for people who are hearing impaired; it allows soundtracks to be imported very easily so that audio description can be provided for people with visual impairments; it has a lot of very easy ways to build in accessibility, providing the developer sets out to do that from the beginning."
There are numerous ways of making the web easier to use for everyone, but will companies see the benefits to building a fully accessible site and actually go about implementing it?
If not, in the future they might be forced to.
US store Target brings low prices to millions of people.
But one blind student thinks its online service is very wide of the mark.
Backed by the National Federation of the Blind in what could be a landmark trial, he is taking the company to court on the grounds of discrimination.
In the UK, recent developments give web designers pause for thought.
Some basic legislation exists to try to ensure websites which provide services, education or employment opportunities meet minimum requirements.
And The British Standards Institution recently published new guidelines called Publicly Available Specification 78, which recommends ways of making all websites accessible. It is hoped it will become a legal requirement in the future.
Those calling for easier access say it should not take the heavy hand of the law to make it better, it should be plain common sense.
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by Steve Miller
Scientists are studying remarkable materials from nature to discover ways to make them even better.
In a dark corner of your basement you may find one of nature's strongest materials. But you'll have to look closely because it's easy to overlook this barely visible, threadlike substance until you've bumped into it. Yes, you guessed it—it's spider silk!
The fine thread from which a spider frames its web and hangs in mid-air, called dragline silk, is stronger and far more elastic than a steel wire of the same diameter. If we had enough of this fiber we could make better parachutes, better artificial ligaments, and even better cables for suspension bridges. A rope of spider silk the diameter of a pencil might replace the 3-centimeter-diameter steel cable that is now used on an aircraft carrier to snag a hook on the underside of airplanes and help them land on the ship's short runway. As Randolph Lewis, a materials researcher at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, points out, “That's exactly what a spider's web is used for—to catch [an object, in this case] a fly moving at full speed.”
Scientists are trying to determine how a spider uses proteins similar to those in our fingernails to make a silk with exceptional strength and elasticity. Biophysicist Lynn Jelinski of Cornell University studies golden orbweaving spiders, Nephila clavipes, because they are large, easy to handle, and produce strong dragline silk. In order to prevent fights between the spiders, each has its own cage in Jelinski's lab. Her research team collects the silk the spiders spin and analyzes it to determine its chemical composition and structure. The researchers have found that the silk polymer consists of three types of protein segments, connected to each other. About one-third of the silk polymer is made up of two types of sub-microscopic crystals, which give the silk its strength. These crystals are connected to each other by extremely flexible strands, which give the silk its elasticity. The two characteristics combine to make silk that is both superstrong and stretchable.
Because this desirable spider silk cannot be obtained in large quantities like silkworm silk, scientists are working on ways to manufacture it in their labs. One way they have come up with is to implant spider silk genes into bacteria and yeast to produce proteins similar to those used by the spider. The silk protein solution is then forced through a small opening resembling a spider spinneret to make silk. Although the resulting silk thread is not exactly like the spider's, it does have similar properties.
The spider silk project is just one example of biomimetics, the study of biological materials, processes, and structures in order to imitate or improve them. Modern analytical instruments and bioengineering techniques are expanding our ability to duplicate nature. The hinge of a fly's wing has to be very flexible and springy in order to move back and forth hundreds of times each second. It is made of a material called resilin, which has been described as the most perfect rubber ever found. Barnacles attach themselves to ships and whales with a glue so strong they are almost impossible to remove. Determining the chemical composition and structure of fly resilin and barnacle glue may make it possible for us to produce better rubber and adhesives.
In addition to studying the chemical structure and composition of natural materials, biomimeticists study how nature puts those materials together. A spider's web is a remarkable engineering achievement. Using a very small amount of material, the spider makes a large, durable structure. The trunks and limbs of trees are designed to hold very heavy loads while remaining flexible enough to survive strong winds and ice storms. To accomplish this, a tree uses one of nature's most common design elements—the linked hexagons of bees' honeycombs. Almost 90 percent of wood cells are arranged in this pattern to attain maximum strength with a minimum of weight. Engineers apply the honeycomb pattern to the internal structure of products that need to be both strong and lightweight, such as skis, airplane wings, and telescope mirrors.
By properly aligning flexible but strong fibers inside a hard polymer like epoxy, materials scientists have mimicked wood structure to make composite materials using fibers made of glass, graphite (carbon), or KevlarTM, a very strong type of nylon used to make bullet-resistant vests. Not surprisingly, the resulting composites are extremely strong, yet lightweight, which makes them useful in the construction of airplanes, boats, and sports equipment including rackets, skis, and snowboards. Pole-vault poles made of composite materials have allowed athletes to improve their vaulting height by almost 2 meters.
Researchers at the U.S. Air Force are studying other lightweight, strong natural materials to find ways to improve airplane and rocket components. The abalone, a type of shellfish, makes its shell by mixing calcium carbonate and proteins and layering the mixture to form a material as strong as the most advanced human-made composites. Studying the exoskeletons of insects may provide information on still another durable but light material that could be copied from nature.
Take a look around you. Mother Nature has some important lessons for us to learn. Who said copying wasn't allowed?
Spin, Spider, Spin!
by Steve Miller
A spider makes silk by combining protein molecules into long chains. A solution of proteins in water is produced in the spider's special glands and transferred to its spinneret through a narrow duct. While the molecules are in the duct they start to combine to form a polymer.
The spinneret has two parts, a valve and a spigot. The valve controls the thickness of the thread, which ranges in thickness from 0.1 to 8 micrometers. (A human hair is about 1 micrometer thick.) The spigot puts the silk where the spider wants it. The wet thread dries to form a strong, stretchy fiber. Some of the strands are thick, and they form the framework for the web. Others are thin and sticky, to trap food.
After the spider is finished with its web it frequently eats it to provide material for a new web.
- Made up of parts from different sources.
- A heat setting resin capable of forming tight cross-linked polymer structures characterized by toughness, strong adhesion, and low shrinkage, used especially in surface coatings and adhesives.
- A chain-like molecule made up of repeated units.
- What is the solute that a spider uses to create silk?
- How does the spider use this solute to create silk?
- What is the name for the field of science that studies biological materials, processes, and structures in order to recreate and use these materials?
- Think of a use, not mentioned in this article, for artificially created spider silk. Explain what the silk would be used to do and why this use would be beneficial. Write a few sentences to explain your answer.
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1. In the high-pressure, deep, dark depths of the ocean's abyssal plains lives an organism called a viper fish. These fish resemble transparent eels with overlarge heads and very long, pointy teeth. Because of where they live, very little is know about these fish but for the sake of this problem, we shall assume that some of them can produce biochemical lights along the length of their bodies and some cannot. Also, some have very large eyes while some have almost no eye at all. Further, we shall assume that these two traits are each controlled by single locus genes with the production of lights (L) and large eyes (E) being the dominant alleles for each. Lastly, assume that these genes are linked. It is very difficult in the vast expanses of the deep ocean for two viper fish to find each other, but suppose that a female heterozygous for both traits (the two dominant alleles are on one chromosome and the two recessive are on its homolog in this individual) happens to meet a male that is homozygous dominant for lights and homozygous recessive for eyes. What are the possible genotypes of their offspring (choose all that are correct)?
What are the possible phenotypes of the F1 generation (again, choose all that are correct)?
2. Snow leopards live in the high reaches of the Himalayas and have several adaptations to deal with living most of the time in snow. They have wide paws with hair between the toes to allow them to run on top of the snow crust. Assume that wide paws (W) and hair between the toes (T) are both dominant traits and are on the same chromosome. Suppose that two snow leopards, heterozygous for both traits, mate. Suppose further that in the female, the two dominant alleles are on the same chromosome of the homologous pair, while in the male, each chromosome of the pair has one dominant and one recessive allele. What percentage of each of the following genotypes will be produced?
How many of the offspring (assume 4 cubs) will have narrow paws with hair between the toes?
3. Suppose you have a bunch of white mice, some that are only white and some with black spots. There are also some of your mice with black eyes and some with pink eyes. Assume that the genes for hair color and eye color are linked and that plain white (W) is dominant to black spots and that black eyes (B) are dominant to pink. You decide to cross a female that is homozygous dominant for hair color (you just happen to know the genotype of each mouse) and heterozygous for eye color with a male that is heterozygous for both traits. In the male, each homologous chromosome contains a dominant and recessive allele from the two genes. What genotypic ratio do you expect in the F1 generation (assume 16 pups)?
What percentage of the offspring will have black spots and pink eyes?
4. A group of spiders known as orb weavers often construct patterns with threads visible in the ultraviolet spectrum into the centers of their webs. These patterns mimic the centers of flowers and provide a lure for unwary flying insects that can see in the ultraviolet range. Suppose that in a particular species of orb weavers, the gene controlling the type of pattern placed in the center of the web is linked to a gene controlling whether the spider has green spots. In this case, the allele for a solid circle (P) of UV pattern is dominant to the allele for concentric rings forming a target pattern and the allele for green spots (G) is dominant to no spots. Suppose a female heterozygous for both traits and with the dominant alleles of the two traits on one homologous chromosome and the recessive alleles on the other homolog mates with a male that is homozygous recessive for pattern type and heterozygous for spots. How many of each phenotype will be found in the F1 generation (assume 4 offspring)?
Assuming 16 offspring in this brood, how many will have the PpGg genotype?
How many will have the ppgg genotype?
5. A farmer who wants to get into the milk business has bought a small beginning herd of 12 cows all of which produce high quantities of milk (M, dominant over low quantities) and have high fertility (F, also dominant over low fertility). However, she knows that all of her cows are heterozygous for both these traits and that the genes are linked. In her cows, one homolog of the pair contains the dominant alleles for each trait and one contains the recessive allele of each of the traits. Two of the farmer's nearby neighbors own bulls that are also heterozygous for these traits. The first neighbor's bull has the same alleles linked as her cows but the second neighbor's bull has one dominant and one recessive allele from each trait on each homolog. Baring in mind that the farmer would like to obtain the maximum number of calves with high milk production and high fertility, which of the two available bulls should she choose to introduce her cows to?
Return to the beginning:
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| 0.958569 | 1,072 | 3.5625 | 4 |
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Those yellow school buses go green
Retrofitting to trap particulates, burn cleaner fuel means less noxious exhaust.
One ride to school, hold the exhaust.
School bus emissions have gotten cleaner, through a recently completed retrofit of some Bainbridge Island School District vehicles using cleaner-burning fuel.
You dont see the black stuff (in the exhaust), Bainbridge school bus driver Bill Mr. Bill Ehrhardt said. Just mostly transparent, and it doesnt smell as bad. Its like walking behind a regular car smells better than unleaded gas.
Thanks to the states Clean School Bus Program, 10 Bainbridge Island School District buses and 12 Bremerton School District buses have been retrofitted to emit fewer fine particles in their exhaust, emissions that studies show contribute to asthma attacks and other health issues in children.
The fleet also started running on an ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel last September, ahead of the EPA requirement to use such fuel by 2006.
Although ultra-low-sulfur diesel costs 10 cents more per gallon than regular diesel, the school district opted to adopt the fuel early.
We have a community that cares about the environment, and supports us caring for the environment when given the opportunity to choose to do so, said Camilla Dombkowski, transportation manager for the district.
Fine particle emissions from retrofitted buses will drop as much as 50 percent, while the cleaner fuel reduces carbon monoxide by 40 percent and hydrocarbons by 50 percent.
The opening of a facility in Tacoma brought down the price of the ultra-low-sulfur fuel, and the Clean Bus Program allowed the Bainbridge district to retrofit its 10 oldest and most heavily polluting buses.
The relatively cheaper diesel oxidation catalyst retrofit targets older buses. Newer buses will receive the more expensive diesel particulate filter which can capture 90-95 percent of harmful fine particles.
Eleven Bainbridge buses will be fitted with the diesel particulate filter next school year under the program.
A federal Environmental Protection Agency mandate will require the manufacture of low-polluting buses by 2007, but since school districts such as Bainbridge keep buses for 20-25 years, retrofits will provide a cleaner ride now, rather than years down the road.
For district-operated mini-buses not covered by the Clean Bus Program, Dombkowski says the district is looking at less expensive particulate filters. They normally run $7,500 each.
Diesel exhaust is a serious health matter. A 2002 report by the non-profit outfit Environment and Human Health, commissioned by Connecticut public schools, found that of the 500 million pounds of particles released by motor vehicles each year, about 60 percent is emitted by diesel engines.
Such emissions also have a higher concentration of very fine particles, which penetrate most deeply into the lungs of children, who have small airways.
The study estimated that children in school buses are exposed to particulate concentrations sometimes 5-15 times higher than normal background levels.
The Puget Sound Air Toxics Evaluation, released by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency in 2003, found that up to 70 percent of cancer risk from air toxics in Puget Sound come from diesel exhaust.
On Bainbridge Island, 1,900 children ride buses each school day; the 31 buses covered 307,000 miles in 2001. Ehrhardt says that although the cleaner fuel is expensive, hes happy the school district made the switch.
I think its a good thing for all and the environment, he said.
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How Does the Stock Market Work?
When You Own
When you invest your money in a company, or in real estate, or in stamps, or Beanie Babies, you're buying a piece of something that you hope will increase in value and be profitable. While most people think mainly of the stock market in relation to investing, it's not the only investment opportunity.
Stocks are merely investments that represent a piece of ownership in a company. The more shares of stock in one company that you have, the bigger a piece of the company you own. Owning stock makes you a shareholder in the company. The word stock is commonly used interchangeably with the phrase common stock. There are different kinds of stocks, such as blue-chip stock, which refers to stock of well-established companies like General Motors and Exxon, and growth stock, which is that of companies on their way up.
All corporations have stock, but not all corporate shares are sold to the public. A company may sell stock, or little pieces of itself, to raise money. When it sells stock through an initial public offering (IPO), it goes public. When a company goes public, it no longer controls who can purchase its stock.
Show Me the Money
When a company goes public, it offers its common stock for sale to the public. The first time it does so it's known as an initial public offering. After that, it's no longer a privately held company.
Shares of stocks are usually sold in round lots, which are groups of 100. Groups of less than 100 shares are called odd lots.
If you buy stock in the Disney Corporation, for example, you're buying a tiny, tiny piece of a huge company. Shares of stock usually are sold in groups of 100, which are called round lots. Groups of less than 100 shares are called odd lots. If you buy 100 shares of stock from a company that has a million shares of stock outstanding, you can figure that you own one thousandth of the company. Regardless of whether you buy 10 Disney shares or 10,000, you're still a shareholder in the company. As long as the company makes a profit, you're entitled, as a shareholder, to share and benefit from it.
Stocks can make money in two ways. As a shareholder, you may get annual dividends. Hopefully, the price of the stock will also increase so that if you wanted to, you could sell your stock for more than what you bought it for and make a profit. The amount of dividends a corporation pays out is a reflection of the type of company it is. The stock of a growing company will not pay out the dividends that, say, an electric company does. It's important to remember this difference if you're planning to buy shares of a company. Will you receive a good annual income from your stocks, or are you banking on profits that will occur a few years or more down the road?
What happens, though, if somebody comes up with something even more exciting than Mickey and Disney World that captures the collective imagination of the whole world? All of a sudden, people stop visiting Disney parks, watching and buying Disney movies and shows, and purchasing scads of Disney toys, clothes, and other merchandise. If that happens, your Disney stock will take a nosedive. The value will plummet faster than you can watch it fall, and you'll be left alone, wearing your Mickey ears and holding your stock certificates.
Stocks aren't the only type of investment that you can own. Many people buy investment real estate, which they rent out to receive an income or resell for a profit. Or, you can decide to invest in something else that you hope will increase in value, such as baseball cards or McDonald's Happy Meal collectibles. These are called “commodities.”
Those are some of the opportunities you have to own your investments. Now, let's look at the type of investment in which you loan your money.
Show Me the Money
A lending investment is when you loan your money with the understanding that you'll get it back—with interest—after a specified time. Think of a bond as an IOU. When you buy a bond, you're lending your money to the company or government for a specified period of time.
When You Loan
Ownership investments aren't the only option. You also can participate in a lending investment. A lending investment is when you loan your money with the understanding that you'll get it back—with interest—after a specified time.
We most commonly think of bonds as lending investments, and they are the most widely used. There are many flavors of bonds, including municipal bonds, general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, corporate bonds, high-yield bonds, savings bonds, and government agency bonds. But there are other lending investments as well. Some other examples are certificates of deposit, Treasury bills, and notes.
An important thing to remember about bonds is that when interest rates go up, the value of your bond goes down. When interest rates go down, the value of your bond goes up. When your bond matures, you get your money back.
These are all investments in which you give your money to a particular entity with the understanding that you'll get it back at a certain time, with an agreed-upon amount of interest added. The entity borrowing your money varies from a bank, which generally administers certificates of deposits, to the U.S. government, which offers bonds. Bonds are also offered by corporations. They borrow funds from you, in the form of a bond, giving you interest, which generates income for you.
The conditions, such as the length of time the money will be invested, the amount of interest paid, and so forth, are different for each of these types of lending investments. In most cases, bonds offer a fixed interest rate. That is, the rate remains steady throughout the life of the loan.
If you're holding a bond that pays 5 percent interest and the interest rate jumps to 7 percent, you lose on the value of your bond if you sell it. But if you're earning 7 percent interest on your bond and the interest rate drops to 5 percent, you're still entitled to 7 percent, the agreed-upon rate. In that case, your bond would have increased in value (known as a premium bond) compared to new bonds being issued. Either way, you'll get your initial investment back when the investment matures. Always make sure the bonds you buy have a clear maturity date so that you'll know exactly when you can get your money back.
More on: Family Finances
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in your 20s and 30s © 2005 by Susan Shelly and Sarah Young Fisher. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book visit the Idiot's Guide web site or call 1-800-253-6476.
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Few Ideas for the class projects:
(1) GWAS -- WTCCC Study: See the URL:
(2) Mendelian Diseases: See the URL:
(3) Indian Population: See the URL:
(4) Mutation Rates in Humans: See URL:
(5) Quartet Analysis: See URL:
The course focuses on statistically determining the relations between genotypes and phenotypes. We now know that human genome contains millions of SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms), and thousands more variations in the number of copies of large and small segments of the genome (CNVs: copy number variation), which may either directly cause changes in phenotype (e.g., TAS) or which tag nearby mutations containing the key differences that influence individual variation (e.g., TASPs) and susceptibility to disease.
GWA (Genome-Wide Association) studies allow one to sample large number of SNPs from many patients, thus, capturing variation uniformly across the genome. Recently, there has been an enormous interest in such studies as they have succeeded in identifying risk and protective factors for asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental illness and other human differences. For instance, in 2005, it was learned through a small scale GWAS that age-related macular degeneration is associated with variation in the gene for complement factor H, which produces a protein that regulates inflammation. One expects the GWAS to play a significant role in drug discovery and personalized medicine, and will be important in the modern models of health-care (e.g., evidence-based medicine). For instance, it was found that the genetic variants have different responses to various anti-hepatitis C virus treatments: for genotype 1 hepatitis C, treated with Pegasys combined with ribavirin, genetic polymorphisms near the human IL28B gene are associated strongly with responses to the treatment. One expects to find and catalogue many such facts.
This course will focus on the algorithmic, statistical and genetic aspects of this problem. Thus, we will develop specialized methods for Machine Learning (supervised and unsupervised), Classification, Model Selection, Multiple Hypotheses Testing and Experiment Design (pooling and group-testing).Text Books
(2) Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Genetic Analysis; Author: Kenneth Lange; Publisher/Edition (Yr. or No.): Springer; 2nd edition (June 3, 2003).
(3) Statistical Genetics of Quantitative Traits: Linkage, Maps and QTL; Authors: Rongling Wu, Changxing Ma, George Casella; Publisher/Edition (Yr. or No.): Springer; 1 edition (July 31, 2007).
(4) Essentials of Genomic and Personalized Medicine; Authors: Geoffrey S. Ginsburg and Huntington Ph.D Willard; Publisher/Edition (Yr. or No.): Academic Press; 1 edition (October 8, 2009).
(5) Genetics: Analysis of Genes and Genomes; Authors: Daniel Hartl and Elizabeth Jones; Publisher/Edition (Yr. or No.): Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 7 edition (August 1, 2008).
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Art Image Publications Lesson Plan
Places and Spaces in Art, a Program of Activities on Architecture and Landscape Design
Kindergarten – Grade 1 – Grade 2
Teacher’s Guide by: Joanne K. Guilfoil
We have seen cave drawings and made a pastel drawing. Now we will go outside and explore roofs on buildings.
Focus on the art reproduction: This is a picture of buildings, villagers, and the beautiful Quebec countryside in winter. The brightly colored houses of the Baie Saint-Paul region inspired the artist, Clarence Gagnon, to paint them. Gagnon had trained as an artist in Montreal then worked as a painter and illustrator in Paris, France. However, he returned to the Baie Saint-Paul region of Quebec to paint the people, hills, and villages there. Can you see them in this painting?
Left: ART REPRODUCTION: Gagnon, Clarence, Near Baie Saint-Paul ( Catalog #1.10)
Evening on the North Shore – 1924 (similar work) http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/ More works by Clarence Gagnon can be found online
Clarence Gagnon used large rough brush strokes and brilliant colors. He ground his paint himself. In this painting he wanted us to see clearly the pink house with icicles and the yellow house with clothes hung out to dry. Can you imagine having a pink house? How about a yellow house? If you could paint a house, what color would it be? Ask them to look at the yellow house again. Can you see how the water and icicles drip from the slant of the gable roof ? Notice the triangle shape of the gable, and the snow still on the gable roof. Gagnon also wanted us to see the other houses in the background and the snow in the hills, and to notice the children playing. What are they doing? Do they look cold? Clarence Gagnon is well known for his paintings of this region of French Canada, and its early buildings. Can you find the clothes hanging on the line and the horse in front of the sleigh standing beside the building? Artists who plan the shapes of buildings are called architects.
Have you seen houses like this in our community? Where?
The student will:
Explore and describe the houses of Baie Saint-Paul, and other buildings (from photographs) using words for shapes and colors
Identify the shapes of a gable roof in the painting and photographs
Create a drawing of a house with a gable roof
Look for architectural elements in their own community
Guide students in discussion about the buildings depicted in Gagnon’s painting. Ask who they see in this painting and what the children are doing. The buildings are houses where people live. How can you tell? Help them recognize the time of year shown here and the type of weather conditions. Explain that the gable roof is designed to shed water, snow, and melting ice. Help them to see the gray sky, blue mountains, and yellow and pink houses. Ask the students to find the triangles, rectangles, and squares in the building exteriors. How many can they find? Ask them to find the many shades of orange, yellow, and blue. What are the shapes and colors of the houses? Help them to see the yellow and blue rectangles and triangles. Show them the largest triangle. It makes the gable in the gable roof.
Create a drawing of a house with a gable roof. Find objects in the classroom that have triangle shapes. Ask students to look again at the art reproduction and trace over the gable roof with their fingers, then draw a triangle in the air. Distribute the materials. Tell students that they will draw a house with a gable roof. Show them photographs of houses and help them identify gable roofs. Some students may need to trace the pre-cut shapes (square on the bottom of the page, triangle above) on their paper using the markers. While they are drawing, remind them that they are placing the triangle above the square to make a house with a gable roof! Ask them to imagine the time of year and include details such as icicles, rain, sun, trees, and flowers in their drawings. If they add another house or a tree, it will be beside the house, or to the right or left of the house. Time permitting, encourage students to incorporate other buildings and people to complete the pictures.
Display the drawings at eye level. Ask students to trace over with their fingers the gable in the gable roof in their drawing. Help them compare and contrast the drawings in a way that celebrates the variety (of windows, doors, chimneys) in the buildings. Help them see the drawings as exteriors of buildings.
The student should have:
Identified geometric shapes (triangle, rectangle) in the gable roof of the yellow house (in the painting)
Made a drawing of a gable roof on a house
The extent to which each student:
Describes gable roofs, triangles, rectangles, squares, and bright colors in houses in the painting and in own artwork.
Manipulates drawing materials to show lines and shapes in a gable roof and some spatial relationships (above/below, left/right).
Be a Gable Roof Detective:
Help students search house, family, or architectural design magazines for photographs of a variety of roofs. Have students cut out and arrange the roofs by shape (triangles, rectangles, other combinations). Help them glue these gable roofs on Drawing Paper and complete their details with wax crayons to make a neighborhood or village.
Become a Builder
Show students how to fold a piece of construction paper lengthwise, in half, to form a 3-D gable roof. Using same color construction paper, help them cut two triangles to make the gable ends. Help them tape or glue the pieces together. Have students place the roof on a milk carton or box covered with paper to create a small village. Provide markers so they can draw details: windows, curtains, doors, shingles, siding. Time permitting, the students may wish to complete their village by adding 3-D trees, fences, people, and so on.
Where in the World?
Show students photographs of roofs from houses around the world. Decide on a locale. Help them make a 2-D roof for a house. To help them with this task, pre-cut or have students cut roof shapes (e.g., pagoda, tepee, yurt, condo, thatched hut) using construction paper or light-weight cardboard. Cut or ask students to cut paper strips to simulate side walls of the house. Gather other materials (e.g., foil, cloth, leaves, grass, twigs, papers, hay, Thread) to simulate roofing materials. Have students glue items of their choice on a roof shape to simulate building materials such as grass, tile, wood, metal. Help them attach the paper-strip sides to the roof shape to look like a house. Arrange the 2-D roof shapes on a wall in the hall to resemble a village, neighborhood, town, or subdivision.
Print a Roof
Have students cut Triangles and squares from potato halves or oil-base clay. Help them use water paints or Tempera Paint to print a square, then a triangle on top of it, to make a gable roof on a house. Repeat in a row making a row of houses with gable roofs.
Preview (next lesson in series)
Next we will go inside a building. We will look at a cook stove as part of a room interior and we will make a crayon-resist painting of a cook stove.
Call Rachel Ross, Art Education Consultant, at 1 800 361-2598 or write to [email protected].
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bosh takes the output of the specified command and displays it using a simple ncurses interface. Actions can be configured and run using the currently selected line of the output as part of the action. An example is to use ps as the main command and kill as an action. Then, using bosh, the ps output can be browsed to find a particular process, which is then killed.
released on 26 July 2006
|License||Verified by||Verified on||Notes|
|GPLv2orlater||Ted Teah||1 August 2006|
Leaders and contributors
Resources and communication
|Developer||VCS Repository Webview||http://bosh.cvs.sourceforge.net/bosh/bosh/|
This entry (in part or in whole) was last reviewed on 1 August 2006.
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|Home | Archives | About | Login | Submissions | Notify | Contact | Search|
Copyright © 1999 by The Resilience Alliance*
The following is the established format for referencing this article:
Nowak, M. A. 1999. The mathematical biology of human infections. Conservation Ecology 3(2): 12. [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol3/iss2/art12/
A version of this article in which text, figures, tables, and appendices are separate files may be found by following this link.
Perspective, part of Special Feature on McDonnell Centennial Essays The Mathematical Biology of Human Infections Martin A. Nowak
Institute for Advanced Study
Humans are constant victims of infectious diseases. Biomedical research during this century has led to important insights into the molecular details of immune defense. Yet, many questions relating to disease require a quantitative understanding of the complex systems that arise from the nonlinear interactions between populations of immune cells and infectious agents. Exploration of such questions has lead to a newly emerging field of mathematical biology describing the spread of infectious agents both within and between infected individuals. This essay will discuss simple and complex models of evolution, and the propagation of virus and prion infections. Such models provide new perspectives for our understanding of infectious disease and provide guidelines for interpreting experimental observation; they also define what needs to be measured to improve understanding.
KEY WORDS: CTL response, HIV, antivirals, epidemiology, immune response, infectious diseases, mathematical biology, models of evolution, prions, resistance, treatment, viruses.
Published: November 10, 1999
Infectious diseases pose a complex and global threat to human populations. The numerous species of viruses, bacteria, and higher organisms that are able to infect humans have changed the course of history. In the 14th century, one in four people in Europe died from bubonic plague, a bacterial infection. In 1520, the Aztecs lost half of their population to smallpox, a virus supplied by the Spanish during their conquest of the New World. In 1918/1919, a worldwide epidemic of influenza virus killed about 20 million people. Nowadays, about one million children die every year from malaria, caused by a unicellular organism that grows primarily in red blood cells. The recent pandemic of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has produced global concern and a greater awareness of infectious diseases in the affluent west. About 5 million people worldwide have died from AIDS so far, with an estimated 27 million infected now. In response to the high mortality associated with infectious illness, evolution has equipped humans with intricate biological defense mechanisms. The human immune system consists of about 1000 billion cells. Certain immune cells, named T cells, recognize foreign structures on the surface of other cells. They release substances that alert other immune cells or inhibit growth of infectious agents, or they kill virus-infected cells. Other immune cells, named B cells, release antibodies that bind to infectious agents and mark them for elimination. Macrophages are immune cells that digest bacteria or virus-infected cells. This century has witnessed tremendous advances in our understanding of the molecular biology of the immune system and how it fights against infections. Yet, many important processes are barely understood. For example, in the context of virus infections, there are crucial questions. What is the lifetime of a virus-infected cell in a patient? What proportions of infected cells are eliminated by the immune response before they can release new virus particles? How many virus particles are neutralized by antibodies? What governs the complex steady state among virus, uninfected cells, and various components of the antiviral immune response in persistent infections? How does virus evolution during individual infections affect disease development?
These questions have one common theme: they are of quantitative nature and they deal with the dynamics of populations of immune cells and infectious agents. In order to answer these questions, it is not sufficient to know what detailed molecular interactions exist between individual cells or molecules. One requires an understanding of the complex dynamics of infectious diseases based on precise mathematical models. In this essay, I will discuss how mathematical models, in conjunction with experimental data, can improve our understanding of infectious diseases. It will be shown how simple mathematical rules can explain complex patterns of infection dynamics. In addition, the increasing understanding of such biological systems also justifies development of more complex mathematical models designed to provide more detailed descriptions of the dynamics. The main part of this essay consists of six sections: Replication, Immunity, Evolution, Treatment, Virulence, and Prions. The text will be free of mathematical equations. Figures and figure legends will illustrate important mathematical concepts. Much emphasis will be given to HIV, because more quantitative data are available for HIV than for any other human virus infection.
Viruses infect cells; infected cells produce viruses. For example, HIV grows predominantly in certain white blood cells. The virus enters the cell by means of a specific interaction between the viral envelope protein and proteins on the surface of the cell. Virus and cell membranes fuse and the inner structure of the virus containing the virus genome enters the cell. The virus genome is only 10,000 bases long, compared to the 3 billion bases of the host cell genome. However, the virus will take over some essential functions of the host cell, manipulate it to produce more viruses, and ultimately induce the death of the cell. Following cell entry, the virus RNA genome is transcribed into DNA, which subsequently is inserted into the genome of the host cell. Using the genetic machinery of the host cell, the viral genome starts to generate virus proteins and new RNA copies of itself. Viral proteins and RNA combine to give rise to new virus particles, which are released from the cell. New virus particles then find new target cells and the process is repeated.
The basic mathematical model of virus dynamics includes three time-dependent variables: uninfected cells, infected cells, and virus particles. Virus particles invade uninfected cells and transform them into infected cells. Infected cells produce new virus particles. Uninfected cells, infected cells, and virus particles die at certain rates. Furthermore, we assume that uninfected cells are continuously being produced by the body (Fig. 1).
The number of virus particles released from one infected cell is referred to as the ''burst size.'' Viruses usually are not very efficient; a large fraction of virus particles budding from a cell may not be functional. Among those that are functional, only a subset will infect new cells. The ''basic reproductive ratio,'' R0, of a virus infection is defined as the number of secondary infected cells that arise from any one infected cell at the beginning of the infection (when most cells are uninfected). Clearly, if R0 is larger than one, then a ''chain reaction'' will lead to an explosive increase in virus abundance. The number of infected cells will grow exponentially at first (at a rate proportional to R0); after some time, the abundance of uninfected cells will decline and virus growth will slow down. Virus abundance, therefore, reaches a peak value and subsequently declines to a constant equilibrium value. If R0 is less then one, the infection cannot spread; the host is not susceptible to infection. In light of the model, the aim of any vaccine should be to boost the initial antiviral immunity in order to reduce the value of R0 below one (Fig. 2).
This basic model of virus dynamics has been used to fit data on virus load decline in HIV-infected patients receiving antiviral therapy. As a result, it has been estimated that the half-life of HIV-infected cells in patients must be about 2 days and the half-life of virus particles must be significantly shorter than this (Coffin 1995, Ho et al. 1995, Wei et al. 1995, Perelson et al. 1997). These findings came as a big surprise to most immunologists, because a prevailing view was that HIV is rather inactive during the long asymptomatic period. The numbers imply that about 30% of virus-infected cells are replaced every day. The generation time of HIV is about 2 days, which means that the virus goes through 1500 generations in a typical 10-yr incubation period. (By comparison, there have been only about 30 human generations in the last millenium.)
Nevertheless, not all HIV-infected cells in a patient are short-lived. The precise statement is that those cells that produce most plasma virus have a half-life of about 2 days. In fact, most HIV-infected cells are long-lived. Around 90% of infected cells contain nonfunctional HIV genome and live for about 100 days (which is close to the half-life of the uninfected cell). There is another subset of infected cells that harbor virus in a latent state. The half-life of these latently infected cells turns out to be around 10-40 days (Fig. 3).
Virus infections are opposed by immune responses. In HIV-infected patients, specific antibodies bind to virus particles and prevent them from infecting cells. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) recognize viral peptides on the surface of infected cells. In response to such an encounter, they become activated, start to divide, and release substances that prevent virus replication. In addition, they can directly eliminate infected cells. CTL are highly specific; they recognize only specific viral peptides that are bound to human leukocyte antigens (HLA) on the surface of cells. Such a peptide is typically 10 amino acids long. A viral protein may contain a few hundred amino acids and may have several peptides that are recognized by CTL. Peptides recognized in this way are called ''epitopes.'' Mathematical equations for immune responses can be added to the basic model of virus dynamics. For example, a CTL response is described by the following assumptions: infected cells are killed at a rate proportional to the abundance of CTL; CTL are stimulated to replicate at a rate proportional to the abundance of infected cells; in the absence of further stimulation, CTL die. The model introduces the new concept of ''CTL responsiveness,'' which is defined as the rate at which a given number of infected cells stimulates proliferation of a specific CTL response. Patients may differ in their CTL responsiveness to a virus. An interesting and counterintuitive result of the model is that patients with different CTL responsiveness may have a similar equilibrium abundance of CTL, but may differ greatly in their virus load: a good responder has a low virus load, whereas a weak responder admits a high virus load (Nowak and Bangham 1996).
A virus like HIV contains 10-30 epitopes that can be seen by a patient's CTL. Nevertheless, a common observation is that the immune response concentrates its forces against a single epitope. This phenomenon is called ''immunodominance.'' Mathematical models can explain immunodominance. In simple terms, CTL responses against different epitopes are not independent of each other, but compete for antigenic stimulation. As a particular CTL response increases in abundance, it down-regulates the virus population and therefore reduces the antigenic stimulation experienced by all CTLs. An equilibrium is reached in which the most immunogenic epitope elicits the dominant response. CTL responses to other epitopes will be absent or at low frequencies.
Both mathematical results in this section are reminiscent of well-known phenomena in ecology (May 1974, Levin et al. 1997). The analogy becomes clear if virus-infected cells are seen as prey and CTL as predators: virus replicates, CTL grow, stimulated by virus, and CTL kill virus-infected cells. In simple ecological models, a more efficient predator does not necessarily achieve a higher equilibrium abundance, but causes lower equilibrium values of prey. This is equivalent to the result that a patient with a stronger immune responsiveness may not end up with a higher abundance of CTL, but rather with a lower virus load. Furthermore, immunodominance is reminiscent of competitive exclusion. In the absence of confounding effects, only one type of predator can survive for one specific type of prey. In fact, the interaction among different types of susceptible host cells, immune cells, and virus particles has many parallels to the complexity found in ecosystems.
Infectious agents have shorter generation times than their hosts, and their reproduction is more inaccurate. Therefore, they can accumulate genetic changes at very fast rates. Such rapid genetic variation enables HIV to respond quickly to any selection pressure that it encounters during an infection. For example, HIV can generate ''antigenic variants'' that escape from specific immune responses. A single amino acid substitution can be sufficient to prevent a viral epitope from being recognized by the patient's CTL (McMichael and Phillips 1997).
The mathematical theory of antigenic variation (Nowak et al. 1991) predicts that viruses carrying the mutant epitope will increase in abundance because they have a selective advantage. As the frequency increases, the immune system may be stimulated to mount a new response that is specific for the mutated epitope. Another possibility, however, is that the immune system will not respond to the mutated epitope, but instead will shift to a completely different epitope that previously did not elicit a response. Thus, antigenic variation can cause shifting immune responses to alternative epitopes. Because, in the absence of antigenic variation, the theory predicts a dominant response against the strongest (most immunogenic epitope), the consequence of antigenic variation is to divert the immune response to weaker epitopes. Such ''shifting immunodominance'' can be accompanied by chaotic oscillations in the freuqency of virus mutants and the magnitude of the immune response to individual epitopes (Nowak et al. 1995, Nowak and McMichael 1995).
Several results of this theory have been confirmed by observations. In individual patients, there can be fluctuating CTL responses against various viral epitopes, accompanied by irregular oscillations in virus mutant frequencies. In the event of antigenic escape in one epitope, several research groups have found shifts in the overall immune response to other epitopes (Borrow et al. 1997).
On average, HIV-1 infected patients live for about 10 years following infection, but the range varies from six months to more than 20 years. An important question of HIV research is concerned with the mechanism of disease progression. Given that the daily turnover of the virus is so rapid, why does it take so many years from infection to death? Mathematical models of HIV infection have led to the idea that disease progression may be a consequence of virus evolution during individual infections. In any one infected patient, the virus undergoes continuous genetic variation that generates an increasing number of different virus variants. The immune system may find it harder and harder to mount responses against these newly emerging virus variants. This evolutionary race between the virus and the immune system can slowly tip the balance of power between the immune system and the virus in favor of the virus. Once the antigenic diversity of the virus population has increased above a threshold value, the immune system can no longer control the virus. More generally, the idea is that every single HIV infection has to be seen as an evolutionary process in which the virus population constantly changes and new virus mutants continuously emerge. Natural selection will favor virus variants that are able to escape from immune responses, or with increased rates of replication, or with the ability to infect a greater variety of cell types in the human body. The theory clearly shows that all of these evolutionary changes have the same consequence: they increase overall virus abundance in the patient. It is well known that HIV disease is related to virus abundance; therefore, virus evolution during individual infections may drive disease progression.
An important contribution of biomedical research in this century was the discovery of antibiotics, which effectively inhibit reproduction of bacteria. As a consequence, many otherwise fatal bacterial infections could be treated. Until recently, however, no potent medication was available against viral infections. (A prominent exception is acyclovir, which inhibits herpes simplex virus.) In 1989, it became clear that a drug called zidovudine, which was originally developed against cancer, was effective against HIV. Clinical trials showed that the drug increased the life expectancy of AIDS patients by about 6 months. The drug works as an inhibitor of the reverse transcriptase, which is a viral enzyme that rewrites the genetic information of HIV from the RNA into the DNA alphabet. Unfortunately, the beneficial effect of the drug is only short-lived, because the virus rapidly develops resistance: mutations in the reverse transcriptase gene can render the enzyme insensitive to inhibition by the drug. Thus, the virus can escape from drug treatment in a way that is similar to its escape from immune responses. More recently, further anti-HIV drugs have been developed. Some of the new drugs are reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and others are directed against the viral protease, an enzyme essential for the formation of infectious virus particles from infected cells. All anti-HIV drugs prevent the virus from reproducing: they do not kill virus particles or infected cells (Figs. 4 and 5).
Essentially, all of these drugs, if used as single antiviral therapy, lead to the emergence of resistant virus mutants. The pattern is often similar. Initially, there is a decay in virus abundance, but after some time, the virus resurges. The decisive treatment breakthrough was to combine several drugs at once. For about 2 years, this combination therapy has proved to be a tremendous success. In many patients, virus abundance in the blood decays below detection limit within weeks of treatment and can remain undetectable for years.
Mathematical models have been developed to describe the dynamics of resistance in order to understand the factors that determine when and if resistant virus will emerge in a patient. The mathematical theory also provides a definition of viral resistance. Earlier, I mentioned the basic reproductive ratio, R0, as a measure of the intrinsic growth potential of the virus. Let us now apply this notion to individual virus mutants and let us consider a patient who has just started on antiviral treatment. A particular virus mutant is resistant to therapy if its R0 value during therapy exceeds one. Such a mutant will not decline to zero abundance, but will persist during treatment. Therefore, resistance is not simply determined by the susceptibility of the virus mutant to inhibition by the drug, but by its intrinsic growth rate (or fitness) during antiviral therapy. An important consequence of this notion is that resistance is not only a property of the virus, but also a combined property of virus and host (Bonhoeffer et al. 1997). A particular virus mutant may be resistant in a patient with a weak immune response and may be eliminated in a patient with a strong immune response. Furthermore, test tube measurements of levels of inhibition by various drug concentrations are not sufficient to determine whether a particular virus mutant will be resistant to antiviral therapy.
Mathematical models show that the main problem of resistance is whether or not resistant virus mutants are present in a patient prior to treatment. Treatment will work if the R0 values of all virus mutants present in a patient at the time when therapy starts are below one. An interesting mathematical result is that the probability that a particular mutant will emerge during effective therapy is less than the probability that this mutant was already present before treatment. Therefore, treatment must be designed to minimize the probability that resistant variants exist in a patient at the time when treatment commences. This can be achieved by treating patients early in infection, when virus load and diversity are low and the immune system remains intact. In addition, it is essential to use many drugs at once, because a virus that is resistant to several drugs simultaneously will require many specific mutations. In fact, the more drugs are deployed, the better the chances of success. Of course, the limiting conditions will be the adverse side effects and the cost of therapy. Thus, mathematical models support the notion of ''treating hard and early.''
Combination therapy provides a first dramatic success in fighting HIV, but it is clear that it will not solve the global HIV epidemic. Most HIV infections occur in developing countries that cannot afford the expensive new antivirals. Some African countries have a health budget of one dollar (U.S.) per person per year, whereas costs of multiple-drug therapy are estimated at U.S.$10,000 per person per year. It seems unimaginable at the moment that HIV-infected patients in these countries will ever benefit from combination therapy.
Furthermore, as more patients are treated, resistant viruses will become more common. This will initiate an arms race between pharmaceutical companies searching for new drugs and the virus mutating away from them. A similar battle, it seems, is currently been lost against bacteria. Antibiotic resistance has become more and more widespread, and the pharmaceutical researchers find it harder and harder to come up with new drugs. It is likely that the next few decades will see increasing numbers of untreatable bacterial infections.
The coevolution of infectious agents and their hosts is one of the most fascinating fields of modern evolutionary theory. Mathematical models lie at the interface between evolution, ecology, and immunology. One of the most debated questions is how natural selection shapes the level of virulence of parasites. Here, ''virulence'' denotes the mortality of the host as a consequence of infection, and ''parasite'' is taken to include viruses, bacteria, and all other infectious agents. Conventional wisdom understood that well-adapted parasites should become harmless, because the parasite does not benefit by killing the host on which its own reproduction depends. However, mathematical models, developed by Robert May and Roy Anderson, have forced us to rethink this oversimplified view (Anderson and May 1991). The evolutionary success of a parasite mutant depends on its basic reproductive ratio, R0. Here, R0 denotes the intrinsic growth rate of the parasite in the population of hosts, that is, the number of secondary infected individuals that arise from any one infected individual (when almost all individuals are uninfected). If there are several parasite mutants circulating in the host population, then the mutant with the highest R0 will win. It is conceivable that, for example, a higher parasite load in an infected individual may increase the transmissibility of the parasite to other hosts, but may also cause a higher degree of virulence. In this case, natural selection may settle for a trade-off between virulence and transmissibility. Evolution will maximize R0, but will not necessarily lead to low virulence. In fact, field studies have revealed many examples of ancient host-parasite systems that have not led to avirulence.
The original May-Anderson approach does not allow for the possibility that one host individual is infected by more than one parasite mutant. Recent work in the field, however, has concentrated on exactly this question (Nowak and May 1994). It has been shown that superinfection (that is when a previously infected host is infected by another parasite mutant) or evolution of the parasite during individual infections usually leads to higher degrees of virulence, even at the expense of reducing the parasite's overall transmission potential. There are also interesting results with respect to the evolution of parasite diversity: the classical framework suggests that only one parasite strain can survive, but superinfection leads to complex dynamics and a stable coexistence of many parasite strains. In this scenario, parasite diversity accumulates roughly as a logarithmic function of time. Reducing host abundance reduces parasite diversity, with the most virulent strains dying out first. Therefore, vaccinating a subset of a host population can reduce the overall virulence of a disease. The mathematical models have interesting parallels to the general question of biodiversity and metapopulation dynamics in ecology. In fact, the same mathematical equations have been derived by David Tilman to explore complex questions in species diversity and the dynamics of habitat colonization (Tilman et al. 1994).
As the human species becomes more abundant on the globe and interactions between humans become more frequent, more infectious agents will find opportunities to cross from their host species to humans and to spread within the human population. For example, HIV is thought to have spread extensively in Africa (and from there to the rest of the world) only in the last few decades. HIV has most likely arisen from related monkey viruses, which are believed to be millions of years old. Over the last several thousand years, humans must have been exposed to these monkey viruses and individual people must have become infected. It is likely that these viruses did not grow well in humans, and infected people may have transmitted the virus only to a few other people before the chain of infection died out again. As population densities and social interactions among people increased, the virus found greater opportunities to infect humans and to spread among human hosts, which led to a rapid evolutionary adaptation of the virus to become a specific human virus.
The recent epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE (''mad cow'' disease), among British cattle and the subsequent emergence of a new form of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD) in humans is another example of an unforeseen encounter between humans and an infectious disease of another species. Both of these diseases are caused by prions, which are perhaps the most bizarre infectious agents (Prusiner 1997). Smaller than viruses, they appear to contain only protein, and no nucleic acid. They do not transmit their genetic information from one host to another; the genetic information is already present in the host. We all have the prion gene. It encodes for a protein that is present in nerve cells and cells of the immune system. Its natural function is unknown. According to the ''prion hypothesis,'' the infectious agent is a malformed configuration of this protein. The diseased form interacts with the healthy form to induce a conformational change of the healthy into the diseased form.
It is now known that the prion protein is involved in a number of human and animal diseases such as CJD and kuru of humans, scrapie of sheep, and BSE of cattle. These diseases are neurological maladies in which brain function is destroyed as neurons die and the brain tissue develops sponge-like holes. The human disease kuru, which attracted much public interest, is thought to have been transmitted from infected corpses by cannibalism. The route of transmission of scrapie, a wasting disease of sheep and goats, has never been identified. The recent epidemic of BSE in the United Kingdom has been attributed to feeding cattle with infected ruminant-derived protein. Around 170,000 infected cattle have died from BSE and up to 1 million potentially contaminated cattle have entered the human food chain. A new variant of CJD was found in the United Kingdom and is thought to be linked to BSE. About 20 human cases have been reported so far.
We have developed mathematical models of prion infection dynamics in order to understand how a protein alone can act as an infectious agent (Nowak et al. 1998). The basic idea is that prion replication and conformational change is a consequence of protein aggregation. The healthy conformation of the prion protein is called PrP-sen, which stands for protease-sensitive prion protein. The malformed conformation is called PrP-res, denoting protease-resistant prion protein. (The notation is based on the observation that PrP-res, but not PrP-sen, is resistant to digestion by certain proteases.) The mathematical models assume that PrP-sen exists as a protein monomer and is produced by the genetic machinery of the cell. PrP-res occurs as an aggregate. Infection is caused by small protein aggregates (nucleation seeds), which can grow by incorporation of new PrP-sen monomers. PrP-res aggregates break up to provide new nucleation seeds. The underlying mathematical equations represent a novel form of infection dynamics. The multiplication of PrP-res is a consequence of a continuous production of PrP-sen, which become incorporated into growing aggregates of PrP-res. Breakage of these aggregates increases their number (Fig. 6).
The model gives rise to an exponential increase in PrP-res abundance following infection with nucleation seeds. During the exponential growth phase, the PrP-sen concentration remains at its pre-infection equilibrium level and the average size of PrP-res aggregates is high. Subsequently, the PrP-sen levels start to decline as all of PrP-sen becomes incorporated into aggregates. PrP-res abundance saturates at high levels and aggregate sizes decline. The model shows which parameters determine whether a prion infection can take place and the relevant time scales.
A puzzling observation of prion biology is that different prion strains can be propagated indefinitely in the same animal host. In other words, if infectious prion particles are transferred from humans, cattle, or sheep to mice, then infection of the same group of inbred mice leads to different (but characteristic) incubation periods and to different (but characteristic) spatial distributions in the brain related to the host from which they were sampled. These ''prion strains'' are based on the same amino acid sequence, which is determined by the host, but are believed to have different conformations. Therefore, the biological characteristic of the prion strain must reside in the protein structure, not in the amino acid sequence. A given PrP-res molecule has to exist in one healthy and several (maybe 10) specific diseased conformations. Each of the diseased conformations must be able to interact with the healthy conformation in such a way as to reproduce its own conformation. According to the aggregation model of prion propagation, it is conceivable that the molecular structure of the growing PrP-res aggregates is dictated by the conformation of the infecting nucleation seeds. Thus, the same PrP-sen monomers can adopt different conformations when bound into aggregates that were initiated by different nucleation seeds; the structure of the nucleus is preserved, although the amino acid sequence of the monomers may differ.
In addition, PrP-sen molecules in different regions of the brain may have the same amino acid sequence, but may differ in their sugar residues, which are added to the protein after its production. It is known that about 20% of the molecular mass of the prion protein consists of sugar residues. It is conceivable that certain PrP-res aggregates can only react with a specific subset of the different types of PrP-sen molecules and induce their conversion into PrP-res. This model can explain why strains breed true and can also account for the specific spatial distribution in the brain of prion strains: the different types of PrP-sen may have specific spatial distributions in the brain of uninfected animals.
The new mathematical models of prion infection dynamics by protein aggregation are likely to be of wider significance than merely describing prion diseases. Protein aggregation in the central nervous system is also thought to be important for diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Down's syndrome, and for general senescence.
During this century, the application of mathematical models to infectious disease has consisted of describing their spread through human populations. This has led to the classical branch of mathematical biology called epidemiology. More recently, advances in molecular techniques have generated information on how microbes grow within infected hosts, how they change their genetic structure, and the ways in which they interact with the immune system. This wealth of biological data has led to a new kind of mathematical epidemiology that deals with the complex dynamics of infectious agents within infected individuals. A dramatic success of this new discipline has been the quantification of HIV turnover rates in infected patients, using data from antiviral therapy.
Future developments in this field will see increasing efforts to understand the population genetics of infectious agents. Models of viral evolution during single infections are discussed in this essay. A major threat to human health in the next century will be microbial drug resistance. In this field, mathematical models present clear concepts and guidelines for further collection and analysis of data. Finally, mathematical models of the complex interaction between replicating infectious agents and the immune system will allow immunologists to employ more quantitative approaches to their data, such as in the measurement of turnover rates and the exact abundances of certain immune cell types. This empirical framework will be essential when seeking to determine the precise rate of elimination of infectious agents by specific immune responses, thereby establishing the foundations for a quantitative immunology.
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Martin A. Nowak
Institute for Advanced Study
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA
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Why we should commemorate the enactment of Home Rule
Opinion: ‘I am realist enough to know that Home Rule would not have extended to more than 28 counties’
“O’Connell, Butt and Parnell had all failed to achieve what Redmond and Dillon achieved.” Above, John Redmond, along with his wife, attends a Mass held at Westminster Cathedral in London for visiting Irish Guards in March 1916. Photograph: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
Commemorating the 1916 Rising, as we do every year and are about to do on a grand scale in two years’ time, while not commemorating the enactment of Home Rule 100 years ago next month, would present an unbalanced version of history.
It would be to celebrate a violent struggle and, by omission, underplay the value of a successful peaceful parliamentary struggle. That would be a distortion of history and could be used by some to weaken belief in parliamentary methods.
Historian Ronan Fanning’s argument (aired on these pages recently) is that there should be no commemoration of Home Rule because the Home Rule Act which became law in 1914 would not have been implemented without an amending Act to provide for the possible exclusion of some Ulster counties.
But, as I said clearly at an event in the Irish Embassy in London in July, the Home Rule package did not guarantee united Ireland.
I am realist enough to know that Home Rule would not have extended to more than 28 counties. I said so in my submission to the Government seeking a commemoration next month. But, on its own merits, the enactment of Home Rule on that basis is still an Irish parliamentary achievement well worth commemorating.
When the Home Rule Bill received the royal assent on September 18th, 1914, it was the first time that a Bill granting Ireland Home rule had ever passed into law. The struggle to achieve such an outcome had gone on since the 1830s. Daniel O’Connell, Isaac Butt and Charles Stewart Parnell had all failed to achieve what John Redmond and John Dillon achieved. O’Connell did not achieve Repeal, and Parnell did not get Home Rule passed. Yet they are, rightly, commemorated.
As I said in my submission to the Government, the opposition to being under a Dublin Home Rule Parliament was so strong among unionists in Ulster that, no matter how hard the Home Rulers might have tried to persuade them, at least four Ulster counties would have stayed out of the Dublin Parliament. Under Home Rule, the exclusion might have been limited to four – instead of six, as in 1921.
‘No coercion’Redmond told the House of Commons that “no coercion shall be applied to any single county in Ireland to force them against their will to come into the Irish government”. This was a sensible policy, and the only realistic one he could adopt.
Attempts to coerce Northern Ireland into a United Ireland, whether by the attempted incursions across the Border in 1922, by the propaganda campaign in the late 1940s, or by IRA killing campaigns in the 1950s, and again from 1969 to 1998, have all failed miserably, because they were based on a faulty analysis of reality.
To win Home Rule, the Irish Party had to: get the House of Lords veto abolished; have the Home Rule Bill passed three years in a row, in the House of Commons, in accordance with the Parliament Act; and finally, have Home Rule signed into law on September 18th, 1914.
All that was done by tough parliamentary tactics. These included declining to support the 1909 budget unless there was a Parliament Act; abolishing of the House of Lords veto (a huge achievement when one considers how little House of Lords reform there has been since); and holding the threat of an election over the head of the Liberal government unless Home Rule was passed three times to meet the requirements of that Act.
Under the Home Rule arrangement, any excluded parts of Ulster would have been under direct rule from Westminster. There would have been no Stormont.
And, at least for the initial period, there would have been continuing southern Irish representation in the House of Commons. These two safeguards would have ensured that there would have been none of the discrimination that northern nationalists suffered from 1921 to 1966.
But the important consideration here is Home Rule, admittedly with the exclusion of some Ulster counties, was irreversible politically and would have come into effect at the end of the Great War if the 1916 Rising and the consequent violence and abstentionism of the 1919-1921 period had not made it impossible.
The irreversibility of Home Rule is well-illustrated by a comment, quoted by Fanning in his book Fatal Path, by one of its staunchest opponents, the Conservative leader Andrew Bonar Law. He said: “If Ulster, or rather any county, had the right to remain outside the Irish Parliament, for my part my objection would be met.”
My argument is that, at that time, instead of pursuing a policy of abstention from parliament and a guerrilla war, Sinn Féin and the IRA should have used the Home Rule Act as a peaceful stepping stone to dominion status and full independence, in the same way as the Treaty of 1921 was so used after so much blood had been shed.
I believe Irish politics under Home Rule would have evolved quickly once the Great War was over. The Irish Labour party and Sinn Féin could have gained strength in the new Dublin Parliament. Although Home Rule fell short of dominion status, there would have been incessant pressure for more powers, and Ireland, with its own parliament, would inevitably have benefited from the loosening of ties to London as Canada, Australia and the rest did. A Home Rule Parliament that pressed for dominion status and greater independence would have had the support of the British Labour party and the Asquith Liberals, both of which had, I believe, favoured dominion status for Ireland in the 1918 election.
North/South violenceIn the absence of violence, relations between Dublin and the counties in Ulster not under Home Rule would have been less fraught than North/South relations from 1922 to 1998. This is counterfactual history and unprovable. But so also is Éamon Ó Cuív’s more pessimistic view.
What is provable is that 100 years ago next month, against huge pressure and prejudice, Irish parliamentarians, a small minority in Westminster and far from home, by sheer persistence were able to force a British parliament to put Irish legislative independence on the statute book without firing a shot.
It is worth commemorating.
John Bruton is a former taoiseach
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Loading the player ...
This podcast is part of the series: animals 2 x 2
Samuel, a student in Mrs. Knight's First Grade Class
Tarrant Elementary School,
Tarrant City Schools
This podcast is part of a series of podcasts that go with the AMSTI unit, "Animals 2 x 2". My student, Samuel, chose to research kangaroos. As photographs fill the screen, Samuel describes kangaroos and tells fun facts about them.
Content Areas: Science
Alabama Course of Study Alignments and/or Professional Development Standard Alignments:
[S1] (1) 4: Describe survival traits of living things, including color, shape, size, texture, and covering.
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The seat of metropolitan jurisdiction for the northern province. It is not known when or how Christianity first reached York, but there was a bishop there from very early times, though there is a break in the historical continuity between these early prelates and the archbishops of a later date. At the Council of Arles (314) "Eborus episcopus de civitate Eboracensis" was present, and bishops of York ere also present at the Councils of Nicaea, Sardica, and Ariminum. But this early Christian community was blotted out by the pagan Saxons leaving no trace except the names of three bishops, Sampson, Pyramus, and Theodicus, handed down by legendary tradition. When St. Gregory sent St. Augustine to convert the Saxons his intention was to create two archbishoprics -- Canterbury and York -- each with twelve suffragans, but this plan was never carried into effect, and though St. Paulinus, who was consecrated as bishop of York in 625, received the pallium in 631, he never had any suffragans, nor did his successors receive the pallium until 732, when it was granted to Egbert. After the flight of Paulinus in 633 the country relapsed into Paganism, and though its conversion was once more effected by the Celtic bishops of Lindisfarne, there was no bishop of York till the consecration of St. Wilfrid in 664. His immediate successors seem to have acted simply as diocesan prelates till the time of Egbert, the brother of King Edbert of Northumbria, who received the pallium from Gregory III in 735 and established metropolitan rights in the north.
This metropolitan jurisdiction was at first vague and of varying extent. Till the Danish invasion the archbishops of Canterbury occasionally exercised authority, and it was not till the Norman Conquest that the archbishops of York asserted their complete independence. At that time they had jurisdiction over Worcester, Lindsey, and Lincoln, as well as the dioceses in the Northern Isles and Scotland. But the first three sees just mentioned were taken from York in 1072. In 1154 the sees of Man and Orkney were transferred to the Norwegian Archbishop of Drontheim, and in 1188 all the Scottish dioceses except Whithern were released from subjection to York, so that Whithern, Durham, and Carlisle remained to the archbishops as suffragan sees. Of these, Durham was practically independent, for the bishops of that see were little short of sovereigns in their own jurisdiction. During the fourteenth century Whithern was reunited to the Scottish Church, but the province of York received some compensations in the restoration of Sodor and Man. At the time of the Reformation York thus possessed three suffragan sees, Durham, Carlisle, and Sodor and Man, to which during the brief space of Mary's reign (1553-58) may be added the Diocese of Chester, schismatically founded by Henry VIII , but subsequently recognized by the pope.
The mutual relations between Canterbury and York were frequently embittered by a long struggle for precedence. In 1071 the question was argued at Rome between Archbishops Lanfranc and Thomas in the presence of Pope Alexander II, who decided in favour of Canterbury. At a subsequent synod that the future archbishops of York must be consecrated in Canterbury cathedral and swear allegiance to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and that the Humber was to be the southern limit of the metropolitan jurisdiction of York. This arrangement lasted till 1118, when Thurstan, archbishop-elect, refused to make submission, and in consequence the Archbishop of Canterbury declined to consecrate him. Thurstan thereupon successfully appealed to Calixtus II, who not only himself consecrated him, but also gave him a Bull releasing him and his successors from the supremacy of Canterbury. From time to time during the reign of Henry II and succeeding kings the quarrel broke out again, leading often to scandalous scenes of dissension, until Innocent VI (1352-62) settled it by confirming an arrangement that the Archbishop of Canterbury should take precedence with the title Primate of All England, but that the Archbishop of York should retain the style of Primate of England. Each prelate was to carry his metropolitan cross in the province of the other, and if they were together their cross-bearers should walk abreast. The Archbishop of York also undertook that each of his successors should send an image of gold to the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury .
The diocesan history of York apart from its archiepiscopal rights presents few features calling for special remark. For its early memories connected with its founders St. Paulinus and St. Edwin, who was baptized on the spot where the cathedral now stands, its canonized prelates St. Bosa, St. John of Beverley, and St. Oswald, its great scholars Archbishop Egbert and Aleuin, reference should be made to the articles dealing with those venerated names. At the Conquest it was Archbishop Ealdred who crowned William I at Westminster, but his successor, Thomas of Bayeux, the first Norman archbishop, found everything in confusion; the minster with its great school was in a ruinous condition, abandoned by almost all its clergy. The celebrated library had perished and the city itself had been devastated in the final Northumbrian rebellion against William. Thomas had to begin everything afresh. The pontificate of St. William gave another saint to York, and in 1284 his relics were solemnly enshrined there. With John de Thoresby (1352-73) a much needed period of reform began, and he began the present choir of the minster. Another popular archbishop was Richard Scrope, beheaded for his share in the rebellion of the Percys against Henry IV. After his death he was the object of extraordinary veneration by the people. Many of the archbishops besides Thoresby and Scrope -- Fitzalan, Lawrence Booth, Scot, among them -- held the office of lord chancellor and played leading parts in affairs of state. As Heylyn wrote: "This see has yielded to the Church eight saints, to the Church of Rome three cardinals, to the realm of England twelve Lord Chancellors and two Lord Treasurers, and to the north of England two Lord Presidents."
The following is the list of archbishops of York, but there is great difficulty in determining the exact dates before the Norman Conquest and there is no agreement on the subject. The dates of accession given below are based on the recent researches of Searle, but those earlier than the tenth century can only be regarded in most cases as approximate:
The diocese, which consisted of the counties of York and Nottingham, was divided into four archdeaconries -- York, Cleveland, East Riding, and Nottingham -- and contained 541 parishes. The religious houses, which were very numerous, included at the time of the Dissolution (1536-39) 28 abbeys, 26 priories, 23 convents, 30 friaries, 13 cells, 4 commanderies of Knights Hospitallers , and formerly there had been 4 commanderies of the Knights Templar.. The abbeys and priories included some of the largest and most famous in England, such as the Benedictine abbeys at York itself, Whitby, and Selby; Bolton Abbey, belonging to the Augustinians, and the Cistercian abbeys at Fountains, Rivaulx, Jervaulx, Sawley, and Kirkstall. The churches of York itself were remarkable for their beauty and size. Ripon and Beverley possessed large collegiate churches, and many of the parish churches in the diocese were noted for their size and architectural features. The arms of the see originally were:gules, a pallium argent charged with four crosses formee fitche, sable, edged and fringed or.
But subsequently another coat was used:gules, two keys in saltire argent, in chief a mitre or.
The Anglican archbishops have, fitly enough, substituted a royal crown for the mitre. The city of York itself after the Reformation became endeared to English Catholics for two reasons, one being the large number of martyrs who suffered at the local Tyburn, the other being the establishment in 1680 of the celebrated Bar Convent founded outside Micklegate Bar by the English Virgins, now the Institute of Mary (Loreto Nuns ). This community, which still carries on one of the most noted schools for girls in England, has the distinction of being the oldest convent now in England.
The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed between 1907 and 1912 in fifteen hard copy volumes.
Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.
No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.
Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912
Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online
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If your impression of social media is limited to your friends posting cat videos and teenagers glued to their iPhones – think again.
Social media possesses incredible influential power, and since the advent of the Internet it's evolved from a simple way for people to keep in touch into a massive global network connecting organizations, communities and people.Social media is the easiest, fastest and most explosive way to transmit and receive information! And best of all – absolutely anyone can take advantage of it.
Check out the infographic to learn how to embrace the ubiquity of social media and use its power to better yourself, your business, or cause, and find a host of statistics and facts that may surprise you about the influence of social media...
Albert Einstein wrote: The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. So the unknown, the mysterious, is where art and science meet.
Keeping his words in mind, educators everywhere are beginning to work art into education. Because we live in the 21st century, we have all the tools right at our fingertips, quite literally. The Internet hosts site after site devoted to integrating art into education.
Right here, you’ll find some of the best websites and some interesting ideas that are easily altered to fit various lessons. Explore 50 ways to add artistic elements to the simplest and most complex lessons.
Founded in 1943, ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing best practices and policies for the success of each learner.
Post highlighting embarrassing things raises questions of user privacy with Graph Search, which Facebook users cannot opt out of
Facebook believes its responsibility is to provide the privacy settings, while users are responsible for using them. "You control who you share your interests and likes with on Facebook," the company said Thursday in an emailed statement.
When joining Facebook, people trade their personal information for free use of the social network. Given that, security experts agree that people are responsible for controlling who sees that information.
However, some experts believe Facebook does not go far enough in educating users about the potential threats in keeping information public. Because Graph Search makes all that personal information easily searchable, education on its dangers should be a much higher priority for Facebook.
===> "Some people do not grasp the importance of Graph Search," said Bogdon Botezatu, a senior e-threat analyst for Bitdefender. "So maybe it would be better for Facebook to actually inform people that some things will change." <===
Let’s be honest, we don’t like to read big pieces of text. Text-heavy graphs are rather difficult for understanding, especially when dealing with numbers and statistics. That is why illustrations and flowcharts are often used for such kind of information.
An infographic, or a visual representation of study or data, like anything else, can be done right or wrong. How to create a successful infographic? A good idea and a good design.
Stop by the link for more on what defines an infographic, what contributes to its popularity, as well as the various types of infographics and references for tutorials and best practices.
Additional topics covered include:
The major parts of an infographic How to create an infographic Developing ideas & organizing data Research & sources Typography, graphics & color Facts & conclusions Designing & Editing
Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.
How to integrate my topics' content to my website?
Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.
Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.
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|Biographical detail : ||Fifth Ummaiyad Caliph who restored Ummaiyad power after a period of civil war.
Abd al-Malik (his full name Abdul Malik Bin Marwan)upheld the solidarity of the ummah against the local Arab chieftains, brought rebels to heel, and pursued a determined policy of centralisation.
It was during the reign of Abd al-Malik that gold and silver coins, decorated with Quranic phrases, were first introduced in Muslim countries. The credit of establishing Post Office for the first time also went to him. Under his rule and that of his son Al-Walid the Muslim empire reached its greater expansion.
In 691, in Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock, the first major Islamic monument, which proudly asserted the supremacy of Islam in the holy city, was completed under his auspices – "The Mosque of Umar." The Dome, inside of which was decorated with Quranic verses, also laid the foundations of the unique architectural and artistic style of Islam. “The dome itself, which would become so characteristic of Muslim architecture, is a towing symbol of the spiritual ascent to heaven to which all believers aspire, but it also reflects the perfect balance of tawhid. Its exterior, which reaches towards the infinity of the sky, is a perfect replica of its internal dimension. It illustrates the way in which the human and the divine, the inner and the outer worlds complement one another as two halves of a single whole. Muslims were becoming more confident and were beginning to express their own unique spiritual vision.”
Abd al-Malik adopted Arabic as the language of administration in which the peoples could communicate throughout his vast empire and as a result Greek, Aramaic and Coptic ceased to be spoken languages, only Persian survived.
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Bullying is on the rise in Wyoming schools, study shows
TheBullying is on the rise in Wyoming middle and high schools, according to a new report by the Wyoming Department of Education.
2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey allows students to anonymously share their experiences regarding a host of health risk behaviors including sex, intentional and unintentional injury, unhealthy diet and exercise, and the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs.
The biennial survey found that about 54 percent of middle school students and 24 percent of high school students say they were bullied in the last year, up slightly from the 2009 report. This is also the first year the survey asked about cyber-bullying, and more than a quarter of middle school students say they have been victims.
Megan McClellan of the Department of Education says technology is making it easier for teens to pick on one another.
“These students aren’t face-to-face communicators anymore. They’re saying a whole bunch of things that they wouldn’t necessarily say," McClellan says. "They’re saying it online or over Facebook. You know, threatening each other that way. And I think that the invisibility of it makes it that much more aggressive.”
McClellan says media attention to bullying paired with the Wyoming Legislature's 2009 mandate that schools develop anti-bullying policies have raised public awareness about the issue.
“I think that it’s getting worse, I think that it’s getting progressively more dangerous," McClellan says. "But I also think that schools and communities and parents are paying more attention.”
McClellan says survey is funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control. The results are available online at http://edu.wyoming.gov/DataInformationAndReporting/YouthRiskBehaviorSurvey.aspx.
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The Arduino is a development board with a ATMEGA microcontroller. With it, you can control lights, motors, sensors, etc. This is a very fast tutorial to put your board to work.
Putting your Arduino to work:
Step 1: Download the Arduino IDE 1.0.5 (or later) for your OS: (i.e. Windows, OS X or Linux): http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software then extract it. If you are using windows, you can also install it directly by clicking on the windows installer link;
Step 2: Plug the Arduino board to your computer via a usb cable, which comes together with the board;
Step 3: Open the IDE (click on the Arduino icon inside your installation folder). It will open Arduino's IDE:
Step 4: At the IDE, click on Tools > Board and select your board version. In this example, we are using Arduino Uno. Then, go to Tools > Serial port and select your board's serial port;
Step 5: Uploading your program to the board:
Example 1: Go to File > Examples > Basics > Blink, to open the code for this example. Click in the upload button (the play button in the toolbar). After the upload, the on-board LED will start blink.
Example 2: Now connect a button and a 10K resistor to your board like this picture:
Go to File > Examples > 2.Digital > Button, to open the code.
Upload your program like the previous step. On this example, the LED will be on when the button is pressed.
Example 3: Get a potentiometer and connect it like the picture::
Go to File > Examples > 1. Basic > AnalogReadSerial to open the following code:
Then, go to Tools > Serial Monitor, it will appear a window like that below:
Turn the potentiometer and see the changes in the analog value read:
Well done! Now you can start exploring your board. Try running these examples and changing some values in the codes. Enjoy!
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Below is an image of a chintz cutout applique quilt made in 1810. The slave of Colonel John Carson, Kadella, made the quilt as a celebration of his marriage. She created the quilt according to traditional European applique standards of displaying ornate French lace in intricate patterns. However, she also included African tradition in her quilt by cross-stitching long, vertical, strip-like lines onto the quilt.
Kadella lived in a special house that Carson built especially for her across the river from the other slave quarters. Kadella was said to have been a princess from Barbados, and thus she was kept away from difficult labor and allowed to sew and knit. Kadella was well respected and loved not only by her master but by fellow slaves as well. She was said to have been transported by fellow slaves in a rickshaw wherever she went. The photograph below is the Carson Plantation home where Kadella spent the majority of her life. Although never found, Kadella is said also to have produced one African strip-style quilt for each of her sons who were sent away because of their shameful likeness to their master John Carson
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Technic Of Bronchoscopy
Category: INTRODUCTION OF THE BRONCHOSCOPE
Source: A Manual Of Peroral Endoscopy And Laryngeal Surgery
Local anesthesia is usually employed in the adult. The patient is
placed in the Boyce position shown in Fig. 51, with head and shoulders
projecting over the edge of the table and supported by an assistant.
The glottis is exposed by left-handed laryngoscopy. The
instrument-assistant now inserts the distal end of the bronchoscope
into the lumen of the laryngoscope, the handle being directed to the
right in a horizontal position. The operator now grasps the
bronchoscope, his eye is transferred from the laryngoscope to the
bronchoscope, and the bronchoscope is advanced and so directed that a
good view of the glottis is obtained. The slanted end of the
bronchoscope should then be directed to the left, so as clearly to
expose the left cord. In this position it will be found that the tip
of the slanted end is in the center of the glottic chink and will slip
readily into the trachea. No great force should be used, because if
the bronchoscope does not go through readily, either the tube is too
large a size or it is not correctly placed (Fig. 60). Normally,
however, there is some slight resistance, which in cases of subglottic
laryngitis may be considerable. The trained laryngologist will readily
determine by sense of touch the degree of pressure necessary to
overcome it. When the bronchoscope has been inserted to about the
second or third tracheal ring, the heavy laryngoscope is removed by
rotating the handle to the left, removing the slide, and withdrawing
the instrument. Care must be taken that the bronchoscope is not
withdrawn or coughed out during the removal of the laryngoscope; this
can be avoided by allowing the ocular end to rest against the
gown-covered chest of the operator. If preferred the operator may
train his instrumental assistant to take off the laryngoscope, while
the operator devotes his attention to preventing the withdrawal of the
bronchoscope by holding the handle with his right hand. At the moment
of insertion of the bronchoscope through the glottis, an especially
strong upward lift on the beak of the spatula will facilitate the
passage. It is necessary to be certain that the axis of the
bronchoscope corresponds to the axis of the trachea, in order to avoid
injury to the subglottic tissue which might be followed by subglottic
edema (Fig. 47). If the subglottic region is already edematous and
causes resistance, slight rotation to the laryngoscope, and
bronchoscope will cause the bronchoscope to enter more easily.
[FIG. 59.--Insufflation anesthesia with Elsberg apparatus. Anesthetist
has exposed the larynx and is about to introduce the silk-woven
catheter. Note the full extension of the head on the table.]
[FIG. 60.--Schema illustrating the introduction of the bronchoscope
through the glottis, recumbent patient. The handle, H, is always
horizontally to the right. When the glottis is first seen through the
tube it should be centrally located as at K. At the next inspiration
the end B, is moved horizontally to the left as shown by the dart, M,
until the glottis shows at the right edge of the field, C. This means
that the point of the lip, B, is at the median line, and it is then
quickly (not violently) pushed through into the trachea. At this same
moment or the instant before, the hyoid bone is given a quick
additional lift with the tip of the laryngoscope.]
[FIG. 61.--Schema illustrating oral bronchoscopy. The portion of the
table here shown under the head is, in actual work, dropped all the
way down perpendicularly. It appears in these drawings as a dotted
line to emphasize the fact that the head must be above the level of
the table during introduction of the bronchoscope into the trachea. A,
Exposure of larynx; B, bronchoscope introduced; C, slide removed; D,
laryngoscope removed leaving bronchoscope alone in position.]
Next: Difficulties In The Introduction Of The Bronchoscope
Previous: Introduction Of The Bronchoscope
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| 0.891216 | 1,414 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The cold and flu season is no fun. The sniffling, sneezing and headaches add up to a big discomfort for many. While there is no cure for the common cold or flu, there is an organic way you can fight it: by drinking adequate amounts of water. Water helps to wash germs and viruses out of your immune system and keeps the body hydrated. Many in the medical field suggest drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day to boost your immune system and your overall health.
In addition to keeping your system adequately hydrated, here are 4 benefits on why water is essential for your body.
1. Water oxygenates your blood and flushes out harmful toxins from your immune system.
2. Prevention of common chronic ailments is another benefit of using water to fight off cold, flu and other illnesses.
3. Drinking adequate amounts of water will help you digest your food better.
4. Drinking water will help organs like your eyes and mouth to remain moist and repel contaminants that could cause infections.
Before you run for that glass of water however, stop to think about whether your water is filtered or not. The full benefit of water is ineffective if it contains waterborne contaminants such as bacteria, sediment, Giardia or Cryptosporidium. This is why drinking filtered water, free from contaminants, is best for your immune system.
Filtered water can come from many different sources such as point of use (filtered water pitchers and refrigerator water filters) and point of entry (such as whole home water filters). Deciding which option is best for you depends largely on preference. However, always stop and consider what your water quality is like by testing your water before deciding on any option.
Remember that water is a natural way to help your immune system fight germs associated with colds and the flu. Drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water per day will keep your body hydrated and ready to fight off harmful viruses.
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| 0.947821 | 397 | 3.125 | 3 |
Published on June 21st, 2012 | by Mary Gerush2
Portion Control: A Behavioral Psychologist’s Perspective
We know we should eat reasonably-sized portions — so why don’t we?
Matt Wallaert, a scientist and behavioral psychologist who studies why we make the food choices we do, shared some valuable tidbits recently when he was interviewed by NPR’s Renee Montagne. New York City’s plan to ban large sodas prompted the interview, but a few of Mr. Wallaert’s comments are more broadly relevant given our heightened attention to managing the volume of our food intake.
I encourage you to listen to the original interview, but if you’re short on time, these are the nuggets that magnified themselves when I first read the transcript:
- The food scarcity that affected our ancestors influences our behaviors today. Back in the day, it was difficult to find, harvest, and prepare food, so our ancestors learned to eat as much as they could when they had the opportunity, not knowing when their next meal would present itself. Apparently, we haven’t evolved much in our approach to eating: We are genetically programmed to bring in as many calories as we can when those calories are available — whether we need them or not.
- We exhibit a behavior called “unit bias” when it comes to eating. You don’t eat 3/4 of an apple — you eat the whole thing. As Mr. Wallaert states in the NPR interview: “The unit is an apple. So you eat an apple.” Apparently, you can apply the same logic to a bag of chips. A bag of chips is a bag of chips! Add 20% more, and it’s still a bag of chips, which we perceive — and are likely to consume — as a single unit.
- We’re in the market for a deal, regardless of what it means to our waistline. When a fast food restaurant offers a large sandwich for $1 more than one half its size, we tend to supersize. Frugality is baked into our DNA. Pair that with “unit bias” (which makes us eat the excess food instead of packing up leftovers), and portion control loses out to the deal of the day.
My big takeaway from this short interview isn’t surprising: We should eat more consciously! We should consider each bite, relish every taste, eat only what we want, and save the rest for tomorrow’s lunch. So why don’t we? It’s up to us to figure that out.
Read more about making better food choices:
- Ecovore Resolutions: New Food for a New Year
- Key Findings from a Year of Conscious Eating
- Story of an Egg: Farming, Marketing, and the Meaning of Words
Got tips for eating consciously? Bring ’em on, and share with our readers!
Image credit: iMaffo via flickr/CC license
Keep up with the latest sustainable food news by signing up for our free newsletter. CLICK HERE to sign up!
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| 0.954782 | 657 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Q: What is the risk for heart disease in adults with Down syndrome who do not have congenital heart problems (i.e., birth defects of the heart) and, specifically, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)?
A: Adult patients having Down syndrome but no evidence of congenital heart disease are at the same risk for eventual development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (coronary artery disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, and aortic aneurysms) as compared to individuals who do not have Down syndrome. Risk factors for the development of coronary artery disease and stroke include:
(1) family history of early heard attacks or strokes,
(6) obesity, and
(7) sedentary life style.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (Pediatrics, July, 2008, Vol 122, No 1: 198-208) recommends a screening fasting lipid panel in all children by age 10 years, and as early as 2 years of age if there is a positive family of early atherosclerotic disease. Atherosclerosis is a nutritional disease of childhood and decreasing the incidence of coronary artery disease in mid- and late-life necessitates establishing healthy habits in nutrition and lifestyle early in life. (Berenson, et al; “Atherosclerosis: A Nutritional Disease of Childhood”, American Journal of Cardiology, 1998; 82:22T-29T) The Muscatine, Iowa Study (Clarke, et al; “Changes in ponderosity and blood pressure in childhood: the Muscatine Study”; American Journal of Epidemiology, 1986; Vol 124, No 2, 124:195-206) confirmed that obese children have more significant hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Longitudinal studies indicate that obesity acquired in childhood is predictive of worsened adult obesity and the development of coronary artery disease. If children become overweight before age 8 years, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe. Overweight children and adolescents may experience other health conditions associated with increased weight, which include asthma, liver damage, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes. Obesity also puts children at long-term higher risk for other debilitating chronic conditions such as stroke; breast, colon, and kidney cancer; musculoskeletal disorders; and gall bladder disease. The fundamental cause of obesity is a greater imbalance between energy intake (overeating) and energy expenditure (lack of exercise).
We must, therefore, encourage our children with Down syndrome to exercise more and decrease caloric intake to avoid obesity as a cause of developing atherosclerotic heart disease. We need to treat the development of hypertension or hyperlipidemia aggressively. If these patients develop insulin insensitivity (type 2 diabetes), this also needs to be aggressively managed. A significant number of patients with Down syndrome may also have low thyroid levels (hypothyroidism) which may accentuate their tiring easily and obesity. Blood tests are indicated to make certain that thyroid function in maintained normal.
Randall L. Caldwell, M.D.
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| 0.912255 | 620 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The 1937 Haitian Massacre was a policy of mass murder that occurred in the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic that shares an island with Haiti. From late September to late October in 1937 approximately 9,000 to 18,000 ethnic Haitians (we will never truly know the exact number) were systematically rounded-up and killed in Dominican territory. The orders were given by the Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, seven years into his 30 year rule.
About the 1937 Haitian Massacre
courtesy of Edward Paulino, Ph.D.
As Richard Turits has written in the Foundations of Despotism, the specific motives that drove Trujillo to order mass murder remain “obscure.” Over the years, however, several hypotheses have emerged to try and explain what exactly provoked the bloodshed. One is that Trujillo aimed to reclaim more lands that lay beyond the control of the state for export crop production, therefore expanding a land colonization program taking place throughout the nation.
Another reason was revenge. Prior to the massacre a Dominican spy ring in Port-au-Prince had been discovered and dismantled by Haitian authorities—a blow to Trujillo who felt threatened by the Haitian capital’s site as a safe haven allowing Dominican exiles to reside and plot against his overthrow. According to this version, he became so irate that he responded with mass murder to get even with Haitian officials.
There is also the story that Trujillo conceived of the massacre after visiting the border region on horseback and became angered at seeing such a disproportionate number of Haitians living on the Dominican side of the border especially after definitive territorial boundaries were established in 1935. In the absence of tangible evidence pointing to a specific motive it is clear that by 1935 Trujillo was in a much stronger position to carry out a massacre, than say, in 1933. Nearly a decade after taking power and eliminating his political opponents both in-country and abroad through cooptation, arrest and murder, he had consolidated his power.
By the late 1930s he had, as Valentina Peguero has written in The Militarization of Culture in the Dominican Republic, gained absolute control of the army and police forces. Moreover, by 1937 the US had withdrawn its occupational forces from Haiti removing a well-organized counter-force at the ready on the ground, if asked, to cross the border eastward, and investigate the killings. The possibility disappeared when the US officially withdrew from Haiti in 1934—nearly a decade after its forces left the Dominican Republic.
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| 0.973506 | 517 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Wyoming State Veterinarian Jim Logan reported the first confirmed case of Equine Herpes Virus 1 in a horse in Johnson County this week, but in a follow-up interview he said there is no reason for horse owners to panic, just be aware of the situation and take some common-sense precautions to protect their animals.
The virus, he said, is common and most of the time only causes a mild upper-respiratory infection in horses, donkeys, mules, alpacas and llamas if they are exposed. It usually clears up on its own without the owner ever being aware there is an infection.
There are some instances where the virus can cause problems.
Logan said the best way to safeguard your horse is to take a few precautions. He suggested keeping distance between your horse and others, use only your equipment, tack, and water and feed buckets and don't use community watering troughs.
Also, make sure your horse is updated on all vaccinations, and practice good sanitation practices in stalls and barns.
Individuals may choose not to participate in events like rodeos or horse shows, but Logan said he did not want it to sound like he was suggesting opting out of or canceling these events.
He said precautions and common sense should protect most animals in most cases, and he doesn't expect this virus to spread unless some unforeseen problem arises.
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| 0.955777 | 284 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Italian Heather (Erica Ventricosa) Care Instructions
Native to South Africa, this showy plant prefers everything in moderation. It was popular as a potted plant during the nineteenth century in England. Flowers during May.
Size: Ht. 1 ½ ft. – 3 ½ ft. Spreads. 20” – 30”
Plant Guide: Plant outdoors in the garden in Zones 10-11 or display indoors. In climates unsuitable for planting in the garden, it can be grown in a container and moved to avoid harsh hot or cold conditions.
Light: Full Sun in moderate coastal climates. Partial sun in warmer climates.
Water: Requires excellent drainage and acid soil. Sandy soil with peat moss and compost is ideal. Heavy clay is usually fatal. No standing water on roots, and no absolute dryness.
Temperature: 55 degrees F to 80 degrees F but will tolerate down to 30 degree F. This plant is considered a perennial in moderate climates only.
Water: Excellent drainage and acid soil. Heavy clay soil is usually fatal. No standing water on roots. Avoid drying in pots.
Feeding: Give light feeding of acid plant food in early spring.
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| 0.892099 | 244 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Venezuela's rugged Llanos are one of the world´s richest tropical grasslands. This mostly flat, grassy “cowboy country,” which is shared with Colombia, is teeming with wildlife, harboring more than 100 species of mammals and over 300 species of birds.
The mighty Orinoco River, which boasts the third largest river flow on Earth, cuts through the heart of the Llanos landscape. Its waters begin in Colombia’s eastern Amazon region and then swell as the river continues north-eastward across Venezuela to the Atlantic Ocean. The Orinoco flows through a diverse landscape of dry forests, grasslands, and seasonally flooded plains before it disperses into a river delta of swamp forests and coastal mangroves as it approaches the Atlantic.
These diverse landscapes provide habitats for a wide range of species, including the giant river otter, ocelot, puma, jaguar, giant anteater, capybara, river dolphin, boa constrictor, anaconda and Terecay turtle. The Llanos also lodge giant armadillos and Orinoco crocodiles, one of the most threatened reptiles in the world.
The Orinoco River Basin is home to more than 1,000 species of fish, including the big-headed catfish and several endangered species such as the three-star pavón and the cinchado pavón. A catfish called the lau-lau, which weighs up to 330 pounds (150 kilograms) and is considered a culinary delicacy, is in severe decline.
Jabirus, American wood storks, turkey vultures, scarlet macaws, roseate spoonbills, egrets, kites and hawks are some of the larger bird species in the Llanos. The grasslands provide winter habitat for more than 130 species of neotropical migratory birds, including yellowlegs, spotted sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, dickcissels and bobolinks. In addition, huge flocks of the white-faced whistling-duck, the black-bellied whistling-duck and the fulvous whistling-duck are regular visitors of the flooded savannas.
The Llanos have huge plains covered with natural grass and esteros, which are forests that grow up along the shores of the rivers and form reservoirs of biodiversity. Its vast savannas are dotted with chaparrals, or thickets of twisted, fire-tolerant dwarf trees. Thin prairie palm, saman, carocaro and pardillo trees thrive in the lowlands, while moriche palms and coco de mono trees make up the gallery forests clinging to riverbanks. The fertile high plains of the Llanos provide prime growing conditions for deciduous trees such as mahogany, cedar and the araguaney, Venezuela’s national tree.
Why the Conservancy Works Here
The Llanos of Venezuela and Colombia are among the largest grasslands in South America. Main threats to the Llanos are extensive cattle ranching, agricultural expansion, logging, oil and gas exploration, and invasive grasses. Other impacts are less obvious but just as severe: The use of agrochemicals is leading to the decline of several species, including migratory songbirds from North America that winter in the Llanos.
What the Conservancy Is Doing
The Conservancy works with government entities and local communities and organizations to help protect Llanos biodiversity. This collaboration is done on both the local and national scale in Venezuela, as well as with partners in the Colombian Llanos. Projects include:
Ecoregional Planning: The Conservancy has signed an agreement for technical cooperation with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) of Colombia, the Alexander von Humboldt Institute of Colombia, and FUDENA (Fundación para la Defensa de La Naturaleza) of Venezuela, in order to work at a bi-national level with local partners to identify important areas for protection, identify threats, and develop long-term conservation strategies in the Orinoco River Basin of both countries. Results of this work will be provided to local and national stakeholders in order to incorporate an environmental component in development plans.
Supporting Protected Areas: The Conservancy worked with INPARQUES, the national park system of Venezuela, in protecting large expanses of land in the Llanos, including one of the largest land donations in the Conservancy´s history — an 180,000-acre tract bordering Aguaro-Guariquito National Park, which the Conservancy passed on to the Venezuelan Park Service for inclusion in the park.
Working with Farmers and Ranchers: Important conservation areas are part of the agricultural and ranching expansion landscape. The Conservancy seeks to work with national partners to propose management plans that allow for conservation, as well as maintain or even increase the productivity of these lands.
Protecting Migratory Bird Habitats: The Conservancy and WWF-Colombia, along with FUDENA, the Private Reserves Network of Venezuela (Aprinatura) and the Private Natural Reserves Association of Colombia, are working bi-nationally across the Orinoco River Basin to protect the habitats of visiting migratory birds. This work, supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, identified important stopover sites and analyzed human impacts on ecosystems with the objectives of promoting private lands conservation, supporting the implementation of sustainable development policies, and strengthening working groups in the farming and ranching sectors.
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| 0.901339 | 1,154 | 3.421875 | 3 |
To most people, the thought of inviting a few thousand bedbugs to feed on their arms and legs is cringe-worthy.
But most people aren't Harold Harlan.
"They were biting some military people at the time, and they were such an oddity that I thought I would save a bunch before pest control eliminated them so I could learn more about them," said Harlan.
Harlan recalls the small, reddish-brown parasites as being very rare back then. He collected a few hundred of them and learned how to maintain them. Over the years, his colony has grown to a few thousand bedbugs, and to keep them alive and well, he feeds them human blood -- his own.
"I have them in jars and let them feed for about a half hour. There are always a few that don't feed," said Harlan. He said he lets them out on his leg every few days.
Bedbugs were virtually eradicated back in the 1950s, so Harlan's colony was just about the only one of its kind.
Harlan quietly studied his bugs until the late 1990s, when bedbugs began to spread again, mostly in big cities. Those creepy-crawlers were creepy-crawling their way to becoming a long-term problem.
That's when pest control experts and scientists started calling him.
"Because they were so rare, it was hard to find specimens to study. After it became known that I had a population that was never exposed to chemicals, university research and private laboratories wanted some of my bedbugs to compare susceptibilitiy to pesticides," he said.
"I think I helped some of these people accommodate more quickly to what they need to know and do to help control bedbugs," said Harlan. "I pointed them to literature, I shared images and shared observations."
He said that the modern-day bedbug scourge is very different from the problem that existed decades ago.
"It's much more widespread, and there's a much wider range of people dealing with them in a wider range of settings," he said. He added that it's much more of an urban problem now, and because of the nature of apartment buildings, bedbugs are harder to eliminate.
Harlan said he's not surprised.
"We're still getting mixed signals as far as information is concerned. There's a lot of exaggeration and not-quite-correct information."
He said one of the biggest victims of the load of incorrect information has been the hospitality industry -- hotels and motels. Until information becomes mores reliable, he said he fully expects the number of infestations to grow.
"It will be several years until we reduce the overall incidence," he said. But he added that the research to find ways to get rid of the bugs is promising.
"There's a concerted effort on the part of researchers to determine how severe the resistance to a number of the chemicals used against bedbugs really is. Within a year, we should have a much clearer picture," he said.
While his bedbug army of thousands would probably send others looking frantically for something to crush them with, Harlan said he just loves his tiny guests.
"I find them fascinating."
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| 0.990262 | 664 | 3.140625 | 3 |
In the movie Johnny Mnemonic, the protagonist is a data trafficker with a hard drive device implanted right in his brain. While the implant enhances his life by allowing him to make a good living, this enhancement costs him his childhood memories, which leaves him distant and aloofin other words, not quite human.
While the story is science-fiction, the scenario it describes may soon become science fact.
Thats what renowned computer scientist Ray Kurzweil believes. In a recent interview in Hemispheres magazine, Kurzweil predicted that within our lifetimes, human-machine hybrids will become commonplace.
Within twenty years, he says, we will have nonbiological machine intelligence that is more powerful than biological intelligence.
This advance will leave us with only one choice: to merge with the technology. By 2035, Kurzweil claims, you will be hard-pressed to find a human who doesnt have substantial nonbiological thinking processes inside his body. We will combine the power of human intelligence with the strengths of computer intelligence: speed, storage, and memory, he says.
Before we all line up to get our upgrades, though, I would like to point out a few problems with Kurzweils scenario. First, he is almost certainly underestimating the difficulty of the task he describes. Ever-more sophisticated mathematical models and simulations are not the same thing as reverse engineering the human brain.
This kind of underestimation is not new. People my age grew up believing that by the twenty-first century flying cars would be commonplace. Every vision of the not-too-distant future included them. Yet, its 2007, and flying cars are nowhere in sight.
The difficulties in designing and building a flying car are childs play compared to the kind of hybrid Kurzweil describes. We know how powered flight workswe know little about the workings of the brain and even less about human consciousness.
But even if we can do it, that still leaves the question, Should we do it? Philosopher Peter Augustine Lawler has written that for many Americans, the pursuit of happiness increasingly means rejecting the bodies they have been given by nature.
Or, to be more precise, we reject the limitations associated with these bodies. In a culture where plastic surgery is commonplace, even among teenagers, it is no surprise that the idea of computer-like recall is attractive.
But, as Lawler reminds us, such enhancements come at a price. Our limitations, including our mortality, are the source of much of what is distinctly human. Art, philosophy, morality all spring from our coming to grips with our limitations. Take them away, and the result is not utopia, but perhaps a numbed dispiritedness.
In addition, the human capacity to forgetor, at least, to blur our memoriesmakes things like forgiveness and simple coping possible. Would you want to remember everything that ever happened to you with machine-like recall and speed? Would you want every bad experience to be as vivid as when it happened? I dont think I would. Yet, that is what a hybridized future would hold in store.
Happily, there is still time to raise the important questions that the techno-utopians will not or cannotbefore we all wish we were able to forget.
From BreakPoint®, February 26, 2007, Copyright 2007, Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with the permission of Prison Fellowship Ministries. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or distributed without the express written permission of Prison Fellowship Ministries. BreakPoint® and Prison Fellowship Ministries® are registered trademarks of Prison Fellowship Ministries
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| 0.95399 | 743 | 2.65625 | 3 |
The field of education, covering ethics, religion, skills and general knowledge, is a very broad and very vital one. The importance of learning in enabling the individual to put his potentials to optimal use is self-evident. Without education, the training of the human minds is incomplete. No individual is a human being in the proper sense until he has been educated.
Education makes man a right thinker and a correct decision-maker. It achieves this by bringing him knowledge from the external world, teaching him to reason, and acquainting him with past history, so that he may be a better judge of the present. Without education, man, as it were, is shut up in a windowless room. With education, he finds himself in a room with all its windows open to the outside world.
This is why Islam attaches such great importance to knowledge and education. The Qur’an, it should be noted repeatedly asks us to observe the earth and heavens. This instills in man the desire to learn natural science. When the Qur’an began to be revealed, the first word of its first verse was ‘Iqra!’ that is, ‘Read.’ Education is thus the starting point of every successful human activity.
All the books of hadith have a chapter on knowledge (ilm). In Sahih Bukhari, there is a chapter entitled, "The virtue of one who acquires ilm (learning) and imparts it to others.} In the hadith, the scholar is accorded great respect. According to one tradition, the ink of a scholar’s pen is more precious than the blood of a martyr, the reason being that while a martyr is engaged in the task of defense, an alim (scholar) builds individuals and nations along positive lines. In this way, he bestows upon the world a real life treasure.
The very great importance attached to learning in Islam is illustrated by an event in the life of the Prophet. At the battle of Badr, in which the Prophet was victorious, seventy of his enemies were taken prisoner. Now these captives were all literate people. So, in order to benefit from their erudition, the Prophet declared that if each prisoner taught ten Medinan children how to read and write, that would serve as his ransom and he would be set free. This was the first school in the history of Islam, established by the Prophet himself. It was of no matter to him that all its teachers were non-Muslims, all were prisoners of war, and all were likely to create problems again for Islam and Muslims once they were released. This Sunnah of the Prophet showed that whatever the risk involved, education was paramount.
Islam not only stresses the importance of learning, but demonstrates how all the factors necessary to progress in learning have been provided by God. An especially vital factor is the freedom to conduct research. Such freedom was encouraged right from the beginning, as is illustrated by an incident which took place after the Prophet had migrated from Mecca to Medina. There he saw some people atop the date palms pollinating them. Since dates were not grown in Mecca the Prophet had to ask what these people were doing to the trees. He thereupon forbade them to do this, and the following year date crop was very poor as compared to previous year. When the Prophet asked the reason, he was told that the yield depended on pollination. He then told the date-growers to resume this practice, admitting that they knew more about "worldly matters" than he did.
In this way, the Prophet separated practical matters from religion, thus paving the way for the free conduct of research throughout the world of nature and the adoption of conclusions based thereon. This great emphasis placed on exact knowledge resulted in the awakening of a great desire for learning among the Muslims of the first phase. This process began in Mecca, then reached Medina and Damascus, later centering on Baghdad. Ultimately it entered Spain. Spain flourished, with extraordinary progress made in various academic and scientific disciplines. This flood of scientific progress then entered Europe, ultimately ushering in the modern, scientific age.
By maulana wahiduddin khan
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Here are all the publications I found valuable in researching the legend of Hiawatha, Deganawidah, and the founding of the Iroquois League, Confederacy, or Confederation. Most links are for more info at Amazon.com, an affiliate. Please note that this is the historical Hiawatha, not the cultural travesty in Longfellow’s poem!
The Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois Confederacy, by William N. Fenton, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1998. Includes the most thorough and up-to-date overview of the League legend, its evolution, and its variants, as well as extensive material on the League itself.
The Iroquois Book of Rites, by Horatio Hale, Brinton, Philadelphia, 1883; reprinted by Iroqrafts, Ohsweken, Ontario, 1990, and others. Hale was a pioneering nineteenth-century linguist, and this book includes his version of the Hiawatha story, based on interviews with the Iroquois. It is one of the earliest recorded versions, and the one probably closest to historical fact. The section on Hiawatha is drawn almost entirely from an address of Hale’s that had been published as the booklet Hiawatha and the Iroquois Confederation: A Study in Anthropology, private printing, Salem, Massachusetts, 1881, and as “A Lawgiver of the Stone Age,” in Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vol. 30, 1882. Hale’s book includes everything important from that address and adds useful notes—but if you don’t have the book, you can read the address in a slightly abridged form on Mark Shepard’s Peace Page.
Parker on the Iroquois, by Arthur C. Parker, edited with an introduction by William N. Fenton, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York, 1968. Includes a complete reprint of Parker’s influential collection The Constitution of the Five Nations, which has several versions of the legend. As a needed balance, Fenton’s introduction points out the questionable nature of Parker’s sources.
The White Roots of Peace, by Paul A. W. Wallace, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1946. A popular but unreliable interpretation.
Wilderness Messiah: The Story of Hiawatha and the Iroquois, by Thomas Henry, Crown, New York, 1955. Especially good for background material.
Concerning the League: The Iroquois League Tradition as Dictated in Onondaga by John Arthur Gibson, edited and translated by Hanni Woodbury, Algonquian and Iroquoian Linguistics, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1992. With footnotes.
The Founders of the New York Iroquois League and Its Probable Date, by William M. Beauchamp, New York State Archeological Association, Rochester, New York, 1921.
“Legend of the Founding of the Iroquois League,” by J. N. B. Hewitt, in The American Anthropologist, Vol. 5, April 1892.
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The Learning Technologies Channel, the AIAA Foundation, the Aeronautics
Education Committee, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics,
and NASA's Center for Distance Learning present...
CONNECT is an annual series of FREE integrated mathematics, science,
and technology instructional distance learning programs for students
in grades 5-8. Each program has three components: (1) a 30-minute
television broadcast, which can be viewed live or taped for later
use; (2) an interactive web activity; and (3) a lesson guide describing
a hands-on activity. These three components - television broadcast,
web activity, and lesson guide - are designed as an integrated instructional
package. NASA CONNECT seeks to establish a "connection" between
the mathematics, science, and technology concepts taught in the
classroom and the mathematics, science, and technology used everyday
by NASA researchers. NASA CONNECT is FREE to educators. Register
on our web site, http://connect.larc.nasa.gov.
Used for viewing video files
Related URLs for more information
on this event:
To learn more about these programs, visit the program web site.
Specific Math and Science Concepts included in each program as
well as the relevant NASA Science shown are outlined here. See
the Schedule below and be sure to view one of the past events
in the archives at the bottom of the page.
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The recent vote of the UN General Assembly to admit Palestine as a nation with observer status at the UN reveals how undemocratic and corrupt the General Assembly has become. Dominated by tiny nations which represent nobody, it is a body without any legitimacy.
Start with the Lilliputians that run the organization. A voting majority of the 193 nations in the General Assembly — 96 countries (one vote per nation) — have fewer than five million people living there. In total, the countries have a population of only 241 million people, far less than the 310 million that live in the USA. Here are some of the “nations” that have a vote equal to that of the United States in the UN General Assembly:
COUNTRY / POPULATION
Nauru / 10,000
Tuvalu / 10,000
Patau / 20,000
San Marino / 32,386
Monaco / 33,000
Liechtenstein / 35,904
St Kitts & Nevis / 38,960
In all, 12 countries have fewer than 100,000 inhabitants and 40 have fewer than one million. Why should we let these countries vote on global policy? Just because a group of people decide to set up a nation, why should the UN admit it with a vote equal to the US?
(All these stats are from our book Here Come The Black Helicopters: UN Global Governance and the Loss of Freedom).
And lots of the larger nations that vote in the UN are authoritarian and un-democratic. When the delegate from Russia votes on admitting Palestine, does he vote for 140 million Russians or for one man — Vladimir Putin? And who does the Chinese delegate represent? 1.3 billion people or the dozen men on the Politburo?
Freedom House, a bi-partisan organization founded in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt and 1940 GOP nominee Wendell Wilkie, rates nations based on their degree of democracy. It reports that 57% of the world’s population lives in countries that are “not free.” Only 87 of the 193 nations in the General Assembly are “free.” So who do the others represent? Not their people, just their dictators or ruling juntas.
The premise of the UN is that it takes all comers regardless of their forms of government. That makes sense when issues of war or peace are being adjudicated. If a dictator controls a country and its military, you have to give him a seat at the peace talks otherwise you can’t negotiate. But to accord him a place and a vote when global policy is being set — as in the General Assembly — makes no sense. He only speaks for himself.
And finally, there is the corruption that pervades the UN, making nations very susceptible to oil-linked bribery. Transparency International rates the degree of integrity in each of the world’s nations. It rates only 50 of the 182 nations it studied as “honest.”
So what are we doing in a global body that is dominated by tiny, authoritarian, and corrupt nations? Why do we confer any legitimacy on them by our presence? Without the US participation, the General Assembly would be the irrelevant joke it ought to be.
View my most recent videos in case you missed them!
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This article contains a free Women of the Bible Study resource on the subject of Sarah. It provides facts, a biography and information about this famous woman of the Bible for bible study. There is also reference to where Sarah is mentioned in the Holy Bible.
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
Bible Dictionary Definition - Who was Sarah?
The definition and outline of Sarah is as follows: According to the Old Testament she was the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac.
Abraham, Sarah and Hagar Bible Story
Biography, Facts and Information about Sarah
The following info provides a concise biography with facts and information about Sarah: the wife and at the same time the half-sister of Abraham (Genesis 11:29; 20:12). This name was given to her at the time that it was announced to Abraham that she should be the mother of the promised child. Her story is from her marriage identified with that of the patriarch till the time of her death. Her death, at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years (the only instance in Scripture where the age of a woman is recorded), was the occasion of Abraham's purchasing the cave of Machpelah as a family burying-place.
We have selected Sarah as one of the most important women from the Bible and provided a biography and character outline of this famous woman. Much of the information is taken from the classic reference books including Matthew George Easton "Easton's Bible Dictionary" and Ashley S Johnson "Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia".
Sarah - A Free Christian Bible Study Resource
We hope that this Sarah article from our Women of the Bible Study section will provide useful information and ideas for those following a Bible Study plan. This article about Sarah, together with other tools, activities, aids and materials and are designed to be used by an individual or a Christian Bible study group. This biography of Sarah may prove useful as the basis for fun Sunday School lessons for Christian children and kids other topics will prove a useful asset to teens, youth or adults taking a Bible Study course or Biblical degree. All information on this Sarah page is free to be used as an educational Christian Bible Study resource.
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About the Book
Digital Tools in Urban Schools demonstrates significant ways in which high school teachers in the complex educational setting of an urban public high school in Northern California extended their own professional learning to revitalize learning in their classrooms. Through a novel research collaboration between a university and this public school, these teachers were supported and guided in developing the skills necessary to take greater advantage of new media and new information sources to increase student learning while making connections to their relevant experiences and interests. Jabari Mahiri draws on extensive qualitative data—including blogs, podcasts, and other digital media—to document, describe, and analyze how the learning of both students and teachers was dramatically transformed as they utilized digital media in their classrooms. Digital Tools in Urban Schools will interest instructional leaders and participants in teacher preparation and professional development programs, education and social science researchers and scholars, graduate and undergraduate programs and classes focused on literacy and learning, and those focused on urban education issues and conditions.
Digital Tools in Urban Schools is the second title in our Technologies of the Imagination series.
“Digital Tools in Urban Schools is a profoundly sobering but still inspiring depiction of the potential for committed educators to change the lives of urban youth, with the assistance of a new set of technical capabilities.”
—Mimi Ito, University of California, Irvine
About the Author
is Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley.
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Exploring Colonial Mexico©
With the image of the craggy ruin of the church there fresh in our minds, we headed south from Tihosuco to the busy crossroads town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
As we had been reminded in the new Museum of the Caste War in Tihosuco, Carrillo Puerto was formerly Chan Santa Cruz, the focus of a great Maya uprising in the mid-1800s and the capital of the cruzob Maya - the "People of the Cross."
In 1847 the Maya of Yucatan rose up against their oppressors and, in a bloody campaign, drove the whites and mestizos back across the peninsula as far as the gates of Merida, the old colonial capital. When the rebellion faltered, the Maya were in turn forced back deep into the forests of the southeast - now the state of Quintana Roo. There, a "Speaking Cross" arose beside a hidden cenote to give heart to the Maya and direct them during 50 more years of resistance and independence.
Although the great Maya temple of Balam-na, built by captured prisoners in the 1850s, still stands in the heart of Carrillo Puerto, we wanted to visit the original site of the Speaking Cross located, still unmarked, beside its cenote on the western outskirts of town.
The shrine was a simple stone niche, or oratorio, containing three crosses. As we walked around the area, we finally saw three plain wooden crosses set on a hillock. Below, in a sloping, walled site, we noticed the cave-like cenote entrance and above it, a simple chapel, newly thatched and whitewashed.
As we approached, an elderly Maya came out of a nearby hut to greet us.
Shaking hands, he introduced himself as Victor Chablekal, the guardian and rezador, or religious keeper of the shrine, which is still known as the cruz parlante, although the cross has long since ceased to speak. In the 1980s, we were told, a splinter group of Cruzob Maya from nearby villages renewed the ancient ceremonies here, taking turns at providing a guardia or militia for the sacred site.
Victor led us to the side door of the new chapel and, asking us to remove our shoes, ushered us inside. There, beyond an archway and now forming the gloria, or sanctuary of the chapel, was the original limestone niche. A large blue cross was painted on the rear wall and two other wooden crosses were placed in front, painted and "dressed" in huipils. An altar stood before the shrine, decorated with arches of flowers and bearing bowls for offerings.
With his wife Victor was keeping guard here and keeping the faith, chanting the traditional Maya prayers and making offerings to the cross and the ancestors several times a day.
Text and photographs ©2001 by Richard D. Perry
* Adapted from our new travel anthology EXPLORING YUCATAN
For more on Chan Santa Cruz see MAYA MISSIONS
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Guest Post: A Short History of Economic Philosophy
by Richard Heinberg
This post is one in a series from respected guest commentators while Chris is on vacation with his family and at work on his new book. The original article has been amended by the author in response to input from the CM community.
Economies are the systems by which humans create and distribute wealth. Economics is a set of philosophies, ideas, equations, and assumptions that describe how all of this does, or should, work.
The first economists were ancient Greek and Indian philosophers, among them Aristotle (382-322 BC)—who discussed the “art” of wealth acquisition and questioned whether property should best be owned privately or by government acting on behalf of the people. Little of real substance was added to the discussion during the next two thousand years.
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But the book is more than a Bayside lovefest: It’s also a reckoning with just how polluted, dredged, diked and degraded this estuary has become since the days when sea otters and blue whales still swam inside the Golden Gate.
Writer John Hart chronicles the ongoing efforts to clean up what’s left of these waters and reveals the humble beginnings of that grand experiment. If not for three faculty wives at the University of California at Berkeley in 1960, there might be little left of the bay beyond a few foul shipping channels. These women started the “Save the Bay” movement back when cities were dredging and filling its waters to make way for houses and residential streets.
Hart introduces other unexpected bay-savers, such as the duckhunters who preserved a 140 square-mile swatch of marshlands to support their bird-shooting habit. Even the military, which gobbled up prime bay-view land for forts and bases, has proven a benefactor: Much of that land is now home to public parks.
Still, this is the only large bay in the world where you can no longer buy a single aquatic critter caught in its waters. Even the Dungeness crab, once so abundant it was thought a nuisance, has been overfished and crowded out by exotic invasive species.
Mucking around with Hart in the real San Francisco Bay uncovers many of the other equally intriguing — and often unintended — ways in which people are still reshaping it.
San Francisco Bay: Portrait of an Estuary
by John Hart, photographs by David Sanger.
194 pages, hardcover $34.95.
University of California Press, 2003.
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December 1, 2009, marks President Obama’s first World AIDS Day in the White House and the first World AIDS Day for the newly elected Congress. The time is right for a frank assessment of his first year in the fight against global AIDS as President. This analysis focuses on the funding and policy decisions the Administration has made since taking office in January 2009, and assesses the human impact of those decisions.
The AIDS pandemic continues to ravage the developing world, shattering communities, undermining development, and reversing macroeconomic growth. On November 9 2009, the World Health Organization launched its first ever study on women and health, concluding that HIV is the leading cause of death worldwide for women in their reproductive years.1 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV, and 2.1 million AIDS deaths occurred in 2008 alone.
However, the AIDS response is beginning to show signs of real progress: the most recent AIDS Epidemic Update published by UNAIDS reveals that steadily increasing AIDS funding has resulted in real but fragile gains. For example, in Kenya, AIDS-related deaths have fallen 29% since 2002 and rates of HIV infection are falling in other countries as well, including the Dominican Republic and Tanzania. HIV mortality rates have decreased in sub Saharan Africa by 18% since 2004.2 In some places where community-wide HIV treatment coverage has been achieved, non-HIV related mortality rates overall are also decreasing, with maternal mortality falling, and significantly more children are surviving.
These seeds of success are in significant part due to U.S. investment by both the Bush Administration and, importantly, by the Congress, which increased investments for PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (the Global Fund) when the budget requests of the Bush Administration budget were anemic.
But President Obama’s first budget request to Congress, for fiscal year (FY) 2010, essentially froze spending for global AIDS at FY2009 levels. Initial information about his likely FY2011 budget request for global AIDS indicates the Administration plans to continue to flat-line funding for life saving programs—at the very same time those programs are beginning to show population-level impact. Without continued funding increases in the near term the positive public health gains beginning to emerge will likely evaporate. The global community could revert to little more than running in place in response to the global AIDS crisis, rather than making real progress in ending the pandemic and achieving a
sustainable global response to the greatest public health challenge of our generation.
This report card gives President Obama a “D+” for his first year as president. This assessment contrasts his one-year record to the promises he made to get elected, and takes into account the areas where some progress has been made, particularly on HIV prevention and support for integration of reproductive health and HIV prevention and treatment. It also takes into account pre-existing broad bipartisan support established during the Bush Administration for increased U.S. investment to fight AIDS. But one year is early in any Administration; President Obama still has the potential to carry forward a bold agenda on global AIDS.
President Obama could earn an “A” if he seizes this opportunity and if he
crafts a budget request for FY2011 that puts U.S. investments in global AIDS back on track—and includes prominent support for a bold HIV treatment target to be achieved by 2013. There is urgent need for course correction by U.S. leadership in fight against AIDS.
President Obama's Global AIDS Promises
As a Presidential candidate and as a Senator, President Obama made bold commitments to tackle global AIDS, and followed through on those promises with legislation passed just before the 2008 Presidential election. For example, on World AIDS Day in 2007, Senator Obama pledged to “provide $50 billion by 2013 to fight the pandemic, and contribute our fair share to the Global Fund.”
He also pledged to “at least double the number of HIV-positive people on treatment.”5 As a Senator he backed this pledge with legislation that would authorize $48 billion in spending for PEPFAR by 2013; this legislation was signed into law by President Bush in 2008, just months before Obama was elected President.
Obama’s global AIDS platform was coupled with a public commitment to double foreign assistance in order to combat poverty that increases vulnerability to HIV infection and AIDS-related death.
Since taking office, however, President Obama has failed to keep these promises—despite tremendous potential.
After one year in office we can assess in four critical areas the performance of the Administration:
1) U.S. global AIDS funding levels;
2) U.S.-supported HIV treatment scale up efforts;
3) effective HIV prevention; and
4) linkages between AIDS programs and U.S. global health programs supporting primary health care in developing countries.
US Funding for Global AIDS:
Despite repeated public commitments to expand funding for successful global AIDS programs, the first budget request to Congress prepared by President Obama, for FY2010, would essentially flat-fund U.S. global AIDS investments—this budget request would not even keep pace with the estimated rate of global medical inflation (4-10% for 2009).
Specifically, President Obama requested a slight increase in bilateral AIDS funding, but requested a cut of the same amount for the Global Fund. At the country level, flatlining in Washington is translating into actual budget cuts in many programs, sending shock waves through communities and calling into question the sincerity of the Administration’s commitment to reaching the coverage levels promised under the 2008 Lantos-Hyde Act, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was cosponsored by then-Senators Obama,
Clinton, and Biden. Administration officials have signaled that they will likely request the same in FY2011 as 2010—a roughly 2 percent increase.
These budget requests contrast starkly with the funding trajectory required to conform with the Lantos-Hyde Act spending levels President Obama promised to reach (see graph and text box in original publication).
US Commitment to Treatment Scale-Up:
Worldwide, roughly 10 million of the 33 million people who are HIV
positive face death in the next two years if they do not initiate treatment urgently. Of those 10 million, approximately 60 percent still lack treatment access. The Lantos-Hyde Act committed the U.S. to continue an ambitious scale-up of AIDS treatment through 2013, expanding access as funding increased and the cost of HIV treatment fell. As the graph below shows, the number of people living with HIV on treatment has historically tracked directly to the funding available. The impact of AIDS funding as a result of the last budget prepared by the lame duck Bush Administration, for FY2009, will be announced shortly and will likely include reaching about an addition 1 million people on AIDS treatment—or 3 million total.
Increasing resources could enable President Obama to make good on his campaign promise to double the number of people on AIDS treatment—to 6 million people by 2013.9 However, the Obama Administration’s flat-lined funding for global AIDS undermines his commitment to fund the U.S. fair share of the AIDS treatment burden.
Already, reports are emerging of clinic waiting lists rapidly expanding, and clinics being forced to turn away patients due to lack of promised funding. Dr. Peter Mugyenyi, the director of one of Uganda’s leading AIDS clinics recently stated, “Soon we fear the carnage of AIDS will once again surge and the obvious success we have seen of PEPFAR may begin to be reversed.”10 Access to life-saving therapies has revolutionized the AIDS response in developing countries, resulting in millions of lives saved.
Simultaneously, HIV prevention has been strengthened and become more accessible to vulnerable communities—decreased stigma brought about by treatment access means more people are willing to know their HIV status. In addition, epidemiologists predict that expansion of AIDS treatment will directly avert infections as people and populations
become less infectious.
Finally, the rapid scale up of chronic disease management in the most impoverished parts of the world has laid the groundwork for scaling up overall public health service delivery—creating important opportunities to strengthen reproductive health, decrease maternal, newborn and child mortality, and address other community health priorities.12 WHO’s improved adult HIV treatment guidelines—released today—endorse the use of less toxic antiretroviral therapy, and the initiation of treatment at an earlier stage of HIV infection.
Rapid implementation of these guidelines will dramatically improve the impact and durability of the treatment response—but will be impossible unless President Obama and the Congress keep their AIDS funding promises.
US Commitment to Effective, Comprehensive HIV Prevention:
As a candidate, President Obama promised to break away from the Bush Administration’s ideologically-driven HIV prevention programs that disregarded science and evidence, and that required PEPFAR recipient countries to scale up abstinence-only-until-marriage prevention programs despite evidence that they were ineffective.
Admirably, by rescinding the Global Gag Rule, President Obama ended restrictions on U.S. funding for organizations that provide family planning services and that are often the first responders for women in the fight against HIV. He also re-instated funding to the United Nations Population Fund, a UN agency that provides critical support for sexual and reproductive health care, including HIV and AIDS, throughout the world.
Access to comprehensive reproductive health care services provides life- saving information and services to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV as well as unintended pregnancy. Since taking office, the Obama Administration has clearly stated its commitment to addressing the linkages between reproductive health and HIV and AIDS in the fight to prevent sexual transmission of HIV and vertical transmission of HIV from mothers to their children—which was underscored in the newest policy guidance provided by PEPFAR headquarters to country teams.
However, PEPFAR has not produced country guidance that clearly directs countries toward funding comprehensive HIV prevention services. In
addition, countries that do not spend the majority of funding for sexual prevention activities on “abstinence-only-until-marriage” and “being faithful” programming are still required to explain those decisions. In fact, this so-called “soft earmark” is now associated with an essential PEPFAR indicator that all countries must report to PEPFAR headquarters on—the numbers of people reached with “interventions that are primarily focused on abstinence and/or being-faithful.”
In addition, President Obama has pledged to lift restrictions on funding needle exchange programs in the U.S. and overseas. However, for PEPFAR programs those restrictions would not require a change in U.S. law—only a change in PEPFAR policy guidance to countries. Nevertheless the Administration has not authorized that change.
US Committment to Expanding Global Health Investments:
President Obama pledged to expand investments in global health programs as a feature of U.S. foreign policy. Investments in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, neglected tropical diseases, and other health priorities are much needed and would bolster the health of people living with HIV around the world. In May 2009, the White House announced a “Global Health Initiative.”
The details of this six-year program remain vague, however a coalition of leading US-based global health organizations point out that the current $63 billion price tag touted by the White House will not be sufficient to reach the goals envisioned—instead an estimated $95 billion over six years would be needed.16 Lantos-Hyde Act spending for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs is pledged at $48 billion over five years; a $63 billion health initiative over six years means significant increases in other health priorities would have to come at the expense of infectious disease investments—or not at all.
With AIDS as the number one killer of women of reproductive age around the world, tackling maternal mortality and child health requires expansion of HIV treatment and prevention programs and simultaneous expansion of other women’s health priorities.
In his first year in office, President Obama has all but failed to fulfill his commitments to wage an aggressive battle against global AIDS. Signs of policy shifts toward science-based prevention are most welcome, as is the President’s progress on lifting of the ban on people living with HIV traveling or immigrating to the U.S. However, this cannot mask the failure—so far—to chart a course that fully funds the U.S. response against global AIDS and ensures policy changes that were promised, are kept. Leading up to the State of the Union and the release of the FY2011 budget in February 2010, President Obama should take the following steps in order to make the urgent course correction needed:
* Fulfill promises on funding: This means not flat-funding AIDS in FY2011 but instead increasing funding to $7.25 billion for PEPFAR and $2 billion for the Global Fund. This would put the President back on track reaching the Congressional Lantos-Hyde Act authorization of $48 billion for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria by 2013—including $39 billion for HIV. In addition to bilateral aid, the Administration should also support the establishment of a tax on currency transactions for health, a straightforward way to raise substantial new resources, and a move that was recently endorsed by several G8 country governments. Finally, the Obama Administration should help ensure that U.S. funding is truly additional, by supporting liberalization of IMF macroeconomic policies.
* Set a goal to double the number of people on treatment to 6 million by 2013: The Bush lame-duck budget will have financed an expansion to nearly 3 million people on treatment by this year. Doubling treatment coverage to 6 million is possible—and would put the U.S. on track to treat roughly one-third of those in need under new WHO guidelines announced today.
* Real support to evidence-based prevention: The Administration should launch a full review of its prevention portfolio and eliminate funding for prevention programs that are not evidence based, such as abstinence-only programs. It should immediately issue new guidance to all programs focused on science and evidence. It must also lift the policy barriers to proven health interventions such as syringe exchange.
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Prisons: Correctional Officers
PRISONS: CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS
Correctional officers (C.O.s) are "people workers" who interact with prison inmates on an intensely personal level, in an environment of close physical proximity over long periods of time, while functioning as low-level members of a complex bureaucratic organization (Lombardo, 1981). C.O.s are the primary social control agents in the prison because they are responsible for regulating inmate behavior through direct supervision and the enforcement of rules and regulations. They function within a paramilitary organizational structure that requires them to wear military-type uniforms and carry firearms and other weapons during specific types of assignments. This organizational structure is autocratic in nature and C.O.s are required to follow loyally a rigid chain of command that is organized in terms of military ranks: officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and major. These ranks form a command and control structure that has the power located at the top. Power and communication flow down the chain of command with every person in a subordinate position expected to obey without question the orders of their superior officer(s). The primary criteria for promotion in corrections is time in rank and job performance. Formal education is less of a consideration. The minimum requirement for employment as a C.O. continues to be a high school degree or a graduate equivalency diploma (GED). Therefore, most C.O.s have a limited formal education and the majority of supervisory (commissioned) officers are not college educated.
The correctional officer occupies the unique position of being both a manager and a worker. C.O.s are low-status workers, the lowest subordinates in the chain of command. However, they are also the primary managers of inmates. Because they occupy the lowest level in the correctional hierarchy C.O.s are under the constant scrutiny of commissioned officers in much the same way as inmates are under officer scrutiny. Because contraband is always a major security concern in a prison, C.O.s are subject to random searches as they enter the institution in the same way that inmates are subject to random searches as they go about their business. Officers are subject to administrative disciplinary action if they violate any of the rules and regulations contained in the code of ethics or conduct that managers use to define appropriate correctional employee behavior.
The C.O. and rule enforcement
The C.O. role of primary social control agent relies on enforcement of a multitude of rules. These rules are typically classified as major or minor. Major rules are prohibitions against violation of the crime code: murder, assault, rape, arson, escape, drug trafficking, drug use, and other felonies. Minor rules are prohibitions against the violation of institutional rules regarding horseplay, disrespect to employees, maintaining sanitary housing quarters, and not playing the radio too loud. Formal punishment of rule violations is initiated through the officer's filing of a written misconduct report that is reviewed during a semilegal proceeding that determines the inmate's guilt or innocence. If found guilty, the inmate is subject to sanctions imposed by the misconduct reviewer that may range from suspension of privileges to a recommendation that parole be denied. Increasingly, in an attempt to make decision-making impartial, this individual is a hearing examiner who is a correctional employee, but not an employee of the prison in which the misconduct has occurred. C.O.s no longer have the authority to determine guilt and sanctions.
Inmate rule violations are common. In 1986, 53 percent of the 450,000 state prison inmates received misconducts for at least one rule violation during the period of their confinement (Stephen). In 1997, state and federal C.O.s reported a total of 1,841,913 minor rule violations and 821,004 major rule violations (Camp and Camp, p. 28). However, there is evidence that the rule violations reported by C.O.s do not represent the total number of rule violations committed by inmates, or observed by C.O.s. Hewitt, Poole, and Regoli have reported that inmates engage in a much higher level of rule violation than official reports record because very few rule violations result in a misconduct report. This conclusion is supported by C.O.s reporting that they observe nearly the same number of violations claimed by inmates. C.O.s exercise a considerable amount of discretion in making the decision to report, or not report, inmate rule violations.
The ability of C.O.s to engage in discretionary rule enforcement is a matter of concern for researchers and practitioners alike because of the possibility that racial discrimination may be a source of differential rule violation reporting. For example, Carroll found that African American inmates were disproportionately reported for all levels of rule violations, especially serious violations, and were subjected to closer surveillance and control by white C.O.s than were white inmates. Held and others determined that African American inmates receive a disproportionately higher number of misconduct reports because white officers consider African American inmates to be more aggressive and dangerous than white inmates. This effect was most noticeable in minor rule violation situations in which the C.O.s had the most discretionary authority. Held and others concluded that the disproportionate number of misconduct reports written on African American inmates was the result of white officer perception of dangerousness, not inmate behavior. Poole and Regoli (1980) also reported that African American inmates were cited for more rule violations than were white inmates. Finally, in a review of fifteen studies Goetting found that seven reported higher rates of rule violation reports filed against African American inmates while seven found no significant difference in reporting rates by race.
C.O.s are a numeric minority with a high potential for violent interactions with inmates (Brown). In 1997, inmates committed 14,359 assaults against correctional staff. Four of these staff members died (Camp and Camp, pp. 40, 153). The nature of the inmate population has changed since the late 1960s and the level of physical threat has increased dramatically in response to massive prison overcrowding and an influx of younger, more violent criminals (Hepburn). Because the inmate population views correctional officers as the enemy and may respond to their authority with hostile, dangerous, and unpredictable behavior (Poole and Regoli, 1981) the officer-inmate relationship is one of "structured conflict" (Jacobs and Kraft).
"Structured conflict" provides the foundation for an organizational culture dominated by three principles of officer-inmate interaction: (1) security and control are the highest priority; (2) officer-inmate social distance should be high; and (3) officers must be tough, knowledgeable, and able to control inmates (Welch). The officers' attitude toward inmates is composed of a mixture of suspicion, fear, contempt, and hostility (Jacobs and Kraft). New officers are taught to adhere to a subcultural code of conduct organized around group solidarity and mutual support. The values of this code include: (1) always go to the aid of an officer in distress; (2) never make an officer look bad in front of inmates; (3) always support an officer in a dispute with an inmate; (4) always support another officer's sanctions against inmates; (5) show concern for fellow officers; (6) do not smuggle drugs for inmates' use; (7) do not be sympathetic to inmates; (8) maintain group solidarity against outside groups; and (9) never inform on another officer (Kauffman). This last value is central to the code of silence that prohibits C.O.s from testifying about other officers' corruption or brutality.
Changes in the correctional officer role
The organizational goals of American prisons define the role of the correctional officer (Hepburn and Albonetti). Prior to the 1960s the sole expectation for C.O.s was that they be custody-oriented. Recruitment standards were low or nonexistent. Applicants were required to have only a minimal level of education and, in many prisons, education was not a consideration in hiring. The primary incentive for prison employment was the security offered by civil service employment in a job that some found more appealing and lucrative than farming, mining, or manufacturing work. People were also forced into prison work by unfortunate circumstances, such as the unavailability of jobs (Jacobs and Retsky) or because of layoffs, injuries, or failure in their initial choice of occupation (Lombardo). As a result, the typical officer was a rural, white male possessing limited education, politically conservative, brutal, slow to accept change, who often came to corrections at a relatively late age after mixed success in civilian life or retirement from the military (Philliber).
Training was typically on the job and often involved nothing more than a new recruit being handed a set of cell block keys and being told to learn the job as quickly as possible. The custody-oriented C.O. role definition was unambiguous. They were to maintain security and control through enforcement of institutional rules. The ability to accomplish this goal was based on their unchallenged power to accuse and punish inmates for rule violations with no regard for due process or inmate rights. Inmate control methods relied on physical coercion and discipline, and C.O.s were called guards because guarding inmates was all that was expected of them. As a result there has always been a widespread public perception that C.O.s are low in intelligence, brutal, alienated, cynical, burned out, stressed, and repressors of minority individuals (Philliber).
However, beginning in the 1960s a broad range of inmate rehabilitation programs were introduced into prisons that had historically viewed custody and control as the sole organizational goal (Farmer). This new emphasis on rehabilitation also introduced the expectation that C.O.s were to move beyond the clearly defined security role and assume the much more ambiguous role of human service-oriented professionals who would assist highly educated treatment professionals in inmate rehabilitation (Jurik). The introduction of rehabilitation created an ambiguous social organization (Cressey, 1966; Brown) by introducing a set of contradictory goals. The goal of custody demands the maintenance of maximum social distance between C.O.s and inmates and the avoidance of informal relationships, affective ties, and discretionary rule enforcement (Cressey, 1965; Hepburn and Albonetti). However, the goal of treatment requires relaxed discipline, affective ties, informal relationships that minimize social distance, and the exercise of discretionary rule enforcement based on individual inmate characteristics and circumstances. Punitive control policies were subordinated to the expectation that C.O.s were to be human-oriented and flexible (Cressey, 1965).
Most correctional facilities today accept the dual roles of custody and treatment, and C.O.s are defined as agents of inmate change who are expected to use discretion to assist in the rehabilitation of inmates while simultaneously maintaining security through rule enforcement (President's Commission; Cressey, 1966; Poole and Regoli, 1981). Simultaneous performance of the dual roles of custody and treatment create role conflict characterized by uncertainty and danger because C.O.s can be disciplined for violating institutional policy even if that violation is meant to assist inmate rehabilitation (Hepburn).
The introduction of rehabilitation coincided with a series of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that provided inmates with increased civil rights and decreased the ability of correctional officers to rely on punitive control. The result was due process–oriented disciplinary hearings, restrictions on the use of isolation as a disciplinary sanction, and the creation of formal inmate grievance mechanisms. These significantly limited the power of C.O.s and provided inmates with a powerful countervailing power (Poole and Regoli, 1981). This shift in power created for correctional officers a perception of loss of control and a belief that inmates possessed more power than officers (Fox; Hepburn). The product of this perception was a strained and unhealthy atmosphere (Duffee, 1974; Patterson) characterized by a perception that managers and treatment staff possessed more respect for inmates than for C.O.s. This perception of being treated unfairly has generated deeply ingrained C.O. feelings of frustration, anger, and lack of appreciation by superiors (Jacobs and Retsky; Huckabee; Wright and Sweeney).
One of the most significant consequences of the perception that correctional managers were no longer on the side of the officers has been unionization. In the early 1970s, federal law granted C.O.s the right to unionize and they quickly joined powerful national unions such as the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) whose leadership has effectively challenged numerous management policies viewed as not being in the best interests of the rank and file. Unions have the authority to successfully influence management's allocation of resources and salaries and benefits have risen dramatically as a result. Unions have been equally successful in leveling the playing field between officers and management through their ability to legally challenge management policies that are unfair, discriminatory, or arbitrary.
Changes in C.O. workforce demographics
In the 1970s, correctional managers recognized four fundamental challenges: high staff turnover; the growing lack of white applicants in the job pool; the lack of treatment-oriented officers; and minority inmate demands that the correctional work force be diversified (Philliber). The response to these challenges was a concerted effort to increase the number of women and minorities in corrections. The presence of female correctional officers in the men's prison was desired because they were seen as bringing a "normalizing" influence into prison. This perception was based on the assumption that women would rely more extensively on listening and communication skills than male C.O.s and develop personal relationships with inmates that could be used as a "technique of control" (Pollock, p. 111). Minority officers were sought because of a belief that minority inmates would be more amenable to rehabilitation if they were supervised by minority officers who could serve as role models. Minorities were viewed as constituting a more sympathetic work force with which minority inmates could identify (Jacobs and Kraft). The result was the creation of aggressive affirmative action programs.
Prior to the early 1970s, women in corrections worked as matrons in the women's prison or as clerical staff in the men's prisons. They were not hired as C.O.s in men's prisons because of male fears that women lack physical strength; are too easily corrupted by inmates; can not provide appropriate back-up in emergency situations; have a vulnerability to assault that jeopardizes facility security; are a disruptive influence because inmates will not obey them or will fight for their attention; and violate inmate privacy by being in a position to view inmate personal hygiene activities (Hawkins and Alpert; Alpert and Crouch). Because promotional criteria favored staff with direct supervision of male inmates, employees in clerical or matron roles had little hope of professional advancement (Chapman et al.).
The passage of amendments to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in 1972 extended the prohibition of employment discrimination to government employers. Women used this amendment to file civil suits against correctional managers who would not hire them to work as officers in male prisons. As a result, women are no longer limited to supervising women inmates. In states such as Alabama where one-third of correctional officers are women, 89 percent work in men's prisons. In 1997, 14.8 percent of the Federal Bureau of Prison's new hires for the C.O. workforce were women. At the state level, 25.5 percent of the new hires, on average, were women (Camp and Camp, p. 144).
Thirty years of experience have found that male concerns about the unsuitability of women to be C.O.s in men's prisons are groundless (Walters; Wright and Saylor). Shawver and Dickover and Rowan reported that female officers are assaulted significantly less often than male officers and there is no relationship between the percentage of women officers and the number of assaults against male staff. Simon and Simon found that female C.O.s write approximately the same number of misconduct reports as male C.O.s, for the same types of violations. Jurik and Halemba found one significant difference between male and female officer perceptions of the job. The men wanted more discretion. The women wanted more structure. Both male and female C.O.s tended to believe that the majority of their work-related problems were caused by superiors, although women were more likely to express negative attitudes toward male coworkers and view them as the cause of many of their problems. Fry and Glasner (1987) found that female officers were more negative in their evaluation of inmate services.
However, male officer hostility to the hiring of female C.O.s has been a consistent problem in corrections and women are still a numeric minority in most men's prisons. Their appearance, demeanor, behavior, performance, and mistakes receive a disproportionate amount of attention (Zimmer). In addition, male supervisors often assign female C.O.s to low-risk assignments such as visiting rooms and control rooms, a practice that limits their opportunities for skills development and advancement and further antagonizes male C.O.s who resent working the dangerous jobs while women get the easy jobs (Zimmer; Jurik, 1985).
The decision to recruit minority officers through aggressive affirmative action programs was met with fierce resistance by white officers. Racism was prevalent and many white officers believed that nonwhite, urban C.O.s would be pro-inmate and less trustworthy (Irwin). The fear that minority officers would "go easy" on inmates has not been validated by research. In fact, Jacobs and Kraft found that African American C.O.s were more punitive than whites toward inmates. Klofas and Toch found that minority C.O.s expressed the need for high social distance between officer and inmate.
By the end of 1997, the percentage of minority hires in state departments of corrections was 26.9 percent of the total hired (Camp and Camp, p. 143). However, racism remains a powerful factor in corrections. Philliber notes the tendency of African American C.O.s to quit their jobs more often than whites, primarily because of conflicts with superior officers, and to express higher levels of job dissatisfaction than whites.
Correctional officer stress
A number of studies have documented that C.O.s experience higher levels of stress than most other occupational groups (Laskey, Gordon, and Strebalus; Lindquist and Whitehead; Honnold and Stinchcomb; and Wright). There are numerous stressors in the C.O.s' work environment. They live by a macho code that requires them to be rugged individualists who can be counted upon to do their duty regardless of circumstances. Both management and C.O.s expect that every officer will perform the functions of their assignment independently, and seek assistance only when it is absolutely necessary, as in the case of physical assault, escape, or riot. This macho code combined with the unpredictability of working with inmates, role ambiguity, and demographic changes in the work force create high C.O. stress levels.
In addition, C.O.s frequently complain of structural stressors associated with the traditional autocratic style of correctional management: feelings of being trapped in the job; low salaries; inadequate training; absence of standardized policies, procedures, and rules; lack of communication with managers; and little participation in decision-making (Philliber). The failure of managers to support line staff has been emphasized by Lombardo and Brodsky. There are also gender differences in stress perception. Zimmer and Jurik have found that female C.O.s report higher levels of stress than male C.O.s because of employee sexual harassment, limited supervisory support, and a lack of programs designed to integrate them into the male prison.
The consequences of stress include: powerful feelings of alienation, powerlessness, estrangement, and helplessness; physical symptoms such as high blood pressure, migraine headaches, and ulcers (Cornelius); twice the national divorce rate average; and high rates of suicide, alcoholism, and heart attacks. Cheek reports that C.O.s have an average life span of fifty-nine years compared to a national average of seventy-five years. The organizational consequences of stress include high employee turnover, reduced job productivity, high rates of absenteeism and sick leave use, and inflated health-care costs and disability payments (Patterson). Some C.O.s also respond to stress by engaging in corruption or inmate brutality.
Correctional managers have responded to these consequences by seeking to recruit and retain individuals who have the psychological resources to handle the stress of institutional life. Application selection methods rely on psychological testing, background checks, and rigorous interviews. Those applicants who are hired are required to complete a probationary period that is, on average, ten months in length and includes 232 hours of entry-level training (Camp and Camp, p. 146) before they can be assigned a permanent job within the correctional facility. This probationary period begins with standardized training in a correctional training academy whose instructors are qualified to provide oral instruction, written examination, and practical hands-on application of techniques. Training curriculums are designed to provide trainees with the knowledge necessary to become a human services–oriented professional who can assist inmates as they meet the challenges of incarceration and preparation for return to the community. The typical corrections curriculum includes instruction in such diverse areas as: the professional image; interpersonal communications; assertive techniques; development of observation skills; prison subcultures; classification of inmates; legal aspects of corrections; inmate disciplinary procedures; fire prevention; security awareness; stress awareness and management; control of aggressive inmate behavior; cultural sensitivity; emergency preparedness; HIV; report writing; suicidal inmates; mentally disturbed inmates and special behavior problems; principles of control; basic defensive tactics; standard first aid; use of the baton; firearms training; drug awareness; search procedures; use of inmate restraints; transportation of inmate procedures; and weapon cleaning and maintenance. Increasingly, academy curriculums include ethical behavior, cultural sensitivity, and awareness of diversity courses designed to help C.O.s adjust to a work environment that has become increasingly multicultured. State correctional systems now require C.O.s to annually participate in, on average, forty-two hours of in-service training designed to help them maintain high levels of professional efficiency and ethical behavior (Camp and Camp, p. 147).
In addition, correctional managers are increasingly adapting a participatory management style that emphasizes employee empowerment through shared decision-making and input solicitation, unit management, and formal mentoring programs (Cushman and Sechrest; Freeman). This management style is associated with higher levels of employee morale and job satisfaction than is the traditional autocratic management style (Duffee, 1989). As management and training philosophies become more sophisticated C.O.s will be better prepared to manage the stresses inherent in their critical role as human service professionals in an increasingly complex work environment.
Robert M. Freeman
See also Correctional Reform Associations; Deterrence; Incapacitation; Jails; Juvenile Justice: Institutions; Prisoners, Legal Rights of; Prisons: History; Prisons: Prisoners; Prisons: Prisons for Women; Prisons: Problems and Prospects; Rehabilitation; Retributivism.
Brodsky, Carroll M. "Work Stress in Correctional Institutions." Journal of Prison and Jail Health 2, no. 2 (1982): 74–102.
Camp, Camille G., and Camp, George M. The Corrections Yearbook 1998. Middletown, Connecticut: Criminal Justice Institute, Inc., 1998.
Carroll, Leo. Hacks, Blacks and Cons: Race Relations in a Maximum Security Prison. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1974.
Chapman, Jane R.; Minor, Elizabeth K.; Rieker, Patricia; Mills, Trudy L.; and Bottum, Mary. Women Employed in Corrections. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1983.
Cheek, Frances E. Stress Management for Correctional Officers and Their Families. College Park, Md.: American Correctional Association, 1984.
Cressey, Donald R. "Prison Organization." In Handbook of Organizations. Edited by J. March. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1965. Pages 1023–1070.
——. Contradictory Directives in Complex Organizations: The Case of the Prison Within Society. Edited by Lawrence E. Hazelrigg. New York: Doubleday, 1966.
Duffee, David E. "The Correctional Officer Subculture and Organizational Change." Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 11 (1974): 155–172.
——. Corrections Practice and Policy. New York: Random House, 1989.
Farmer, Richard E. "Cynicism: A Factor in Corrections Work." Journal of Criminal Justice 5 (1977): 237–246.
Fox, James G. "Organizational and Racial Conflict in Maximum Security Prisons." Boston: D. C. Heath, 1982.
Fry, Lincoln J., and Glasner, Daniel. "Gender Differences in Work Adjustment of Prison Employees." Journal of Offender Counseling, Services and Rehabilitation 12 (1987): 39–52.
Goetting, Ann. "Racism, Sexism, and Ageism in the Prison Community." Federal Probation 49, no. 3 (1985): 10–22.
Hawkins, Richard, and Alpert, Geoffrey P. American Prison Systems: Punishment and Justice. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1989.
Held, Barbara S.; Levine, David; and Swartz, Virginia D. "Interpersonal Aspects of Dangerousness." Criminal Justice and Behavior 6, no. 1 (1979): 49–58.
Hepburn, John R. "Prison Guards as Agents of Social Control." In The American Prison: Issues in Research and Policy. Edited by Lynne Goodstein and Doris Layton MacKenzie. New York: Plenum, 1989. Pages 191–206.
Hepburn, John R. and Albonetti, C. "Role Conflict in Correctional Institutions: An Empirical Examination of the Treatment-Custody Dilemma Among Correctional Staff." Criminology 17, no. 4 (1980): 445–459.
Hewitt, John D.; Poole, Eric D.; and Regoli, Robert M. "Self-reported and Observed Rule-Breaking in Prison: A Look at Disciplinary Response." Justice Quarterly 3 (1984): 437–448.
Honnold, Julie A., and Stinchcomb, Jeanne B. "Officer Stress." Corrections Today (December 1985): 46–51.
Irwin, John. "The Changing Social Structure of the Men's Correctional Prison." In Corrections and Punishment. Edited by D. Greenberg. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1977. Pages 21–40.
Jacobs, James B., and Kraft, Lawrence. "Integrating the Keepers: A Comparison of Black and White Prison Guards in Illinois." Social Problems 25 (1978): 304–318.
Jacobs, James B., and Retsky, Harold G. "Prison Guard." Urban Life 4 (April 1975): 5–29.
Jurik, Nancy C. "Individual and Organizational Determinants of Correctional Officer Attitudes Toward Inmates." Criminology 23, no. 3 (1985): 523–539.
Jurik, Nancy C., and Halemba, Gregory J. "Gender, Working Conditions and the Job Satisfaction of Women in a Non-Traditional Occupation: Female Correctional Officers in Men's Prisons." The Sociological Quarterly 25 (1984): 551–566.
Kauffman, Kelsey. Prison Officers and Their World. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988.
Klofas, John, and Toch, Hans. "The Guard Subculture Myth." Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 19, no. 2 (1982): 238–254.
Laskey, Gareth L.; Gordon, Carl B.; and Strebalus, David J. "Occupational Stressors Among Federal Correctional Officers Working in Different Security Levels." Criminal Justice Behavior 13, no. 3 (1986): 317–327.
Lindquist, Charles A., and Whitehead, John T. "Burnout, Job Stress, and Job Satisfaction Among Southern Correctional Officers: Perception and Causal Factors." Journal of Criminal Science 10, no. 4 (1986): 5–26.
Lombardo, Lucien X. Guards Imprisoned. New York: Elsevier, 1981.
Philliber, Susan. "Thy Brother's Keeper: A Review of the Literature on Correctional Officers." Justice Quarterly 4, no. 1 (1987): 9–33.
Pollock, Joycelyn M. "Women in Corrections: Custody and the 'Caring Ethic'." In Women, Law and Social Control. Edited by Alida V. Merlo and Joycelyn M. Pollock. Needham Heights, Mass.: Allyn and Bacon, 1995.
Poole, Eric D., and Regoli, Robert M. "Race, Institutional Rule Breaking and Disciplinary Response: A Study of Discretionary Decision-Making in Prison." Law and Society Review 14 (1980): 931–946.
——. "Alienation in Prison: An Examination of the Work Relations of Prison Guards." Criminology 19, no. 2 (1981): 251–270.
President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967.
Shawver, Louis, and Dickover, Robert. "Research Perspectives: Exploding a Myth." Corrections Today (August 1986): 30–34.
Simon, Rita J., and Simon, Judith D. "Female C.O.s: A Legitimate Authority." Corrections Today (August 1988): 132–134.
Stephen, James. Prison Rule Violators. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.
Welch, Michael. Corrections: A Critical Approach. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996.
Zimmer, Lynn E. Women Guarding Men. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.
FREEMAN, ROBERT M.. "Prisons: Correctional Officers." Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (July 1, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3403000201.html
FREEMAN, ROBERT M.. "Prisons: Correctional Officers." Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. 2002. Retrieved July 01, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3403000201.html
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Falconry in the 21st Century
Falconry or hawking is the art or sport involving raptors (birds of prey) to hunt or pursue game on wild quarry. There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: A falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a "true" hawk (accipiter) however, they are also called falconers. Confused? Welcome to the world of falconry! In modern falconry, buteos are now commonly used, and the words "hawking" and "hawker" have become so much used to mean petty traveling traders, so the more loosely used term "falconer" now applies to all people involved in falconry.
Falconry is the most highly regulated hunting sport in our country today. Permits and licenses are required from the US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as all states. There are rigid regulations addressing the possession, care and flying of birds for falconry. Because all raptors are protected by state, federal and international law, all potential falconers must obtain necessary permits before obtaining a hawk or practicing falconry. This can take quite a while, since it includes taking a written falconry exam and getting the appropriate signatures. If you can't keep your paperwork straight, even in quintuplet (five copies), don't consider falconry.
--Missouri Falconers Association
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Are you a night owl or an early bird? It may determine how well you drive!
Researchers from the University of Granada in Spain have shown that individual chronotype – that is, whether you are a “morning-type” or an “evening-type,” depending on the time of day when your physiological functions are more active -markedly influences driving performance.
The study found that evening-types are much worse drivers – they pay less attention – at their “non-optimal” time of day (early in the morning) compared to their optimal time (during the evening).
In the experiment morning-types were more stable drivers than evening-types and drove relatively well both in the morning and the evening.
Researchers from the Neuroergonomia research group of the University of Granada Mind, Brain and Behavior Center, analysed the circadian (biological) rhythms in a sample of 29 University of Granada students with extreme chronotypes, selected from a database sample of over 500.
Researchers used a questionnaire to determine issues such as when participants were most energetic or what their sleeping habits were, and a driving simulator.
So, both the morning- and the evening-types were made to drive at 8.00 in the morning and 8.00 in the evening. Then they compared their driving performance at their respective optimal and non-optimal times of day.
In the light of the results, the researchers suggest that businesses should test workers to determine whether they are morning- or evening-types and adapt work schedules to suit chronotypes.
“Certain professions involve performing tasks that require good attention vigilance – airline pilots, air traffic controllers, supervisors in nuclear power stations, surgeons, or lorry drivers,” said Angel Correa, principal author of the study.
“A particular time of day can be a good or a bad time to perform these tasks as a function of the chronotype of the individual involved, although there are times that are bad for everyone, like siesta time or in the early hours between 3.00 and 5.00,” Correa said.
Researchers warn that driving after more than 18 hours wakefulness – say, at 2.00 in the early morning after waking at 8.00 the previous morning, which is quite common – “entails the same level of risk as driving with the legal maximum level of blood alcohol, because our level of vigilance declines considerably.”
The study was published in Accident Analysis and Prevention.
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Revolutionary burns dressing could save young lives
Dr Toby Jenkins and his group have developed a prototype medical dressing that detects burn wound infections and could potentially save the lives of children with serious burns.
A major challenge for clinicians working with child patients is bacterial infection at the site of first and second degree burns.
Infection can lead to greater pain, increased scarring, longer hospital stays and even sudden death. The big problem for clinicians is the fast diagnosis of infection. Clinicians currently have to remove the dressing to test for infection, which may result in slower healing and potentially life-long scarring, and is very distressing for the child.
Jenkins has now developed a prototype dressing that releases dye from nanocapsules triggered by the presence of disease-causing pathogenic bacteria. The dye fluoresces under ultraviolet (UV) light, alerting healthcare professionals that the wound is infected. The nanocapsules mimic skin cells in that they only break open when toxic bacteria are present, not responding to the harmless bacteria that normally live on healthy skin.
Benefits and outcomes
As a result of the project, a clinical research team is being assembled at Frenchay Hospital to collaborate with the University of Bath team to help produce dressing prototypes and, ultimately, conduct randomised, controlled clinical trials in hospitals.
These developments involve close collaboration with industry partners, including Mölnlycke Healthcare who develop appropriate dressings. Responsive, antimicrobial dressings could revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of scalds in thousands of children in the UK annually and, ultimately, millions worldwide.
This research was part of our REF 2014 submission for Chemistry.
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| 0.938144 | 338 | 3.1875 | 3 |
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Discourse and Context: An Interdisciplinary Study of John Henry Newman
JohnHenry Newman (1801 1890) had a remarkable influence upon his age. The variety of discourse in his works reflects the many contexts in which he engaged in dialogue, ranging from secular and religious controversies to the speculative realm of philosophical thought. Despite an insular temperament and retiring personality, Newman in fact inspired radical nineteenth-century intellectual inquiry.
This collection arises from papers presented during the three-day Newman Centenary Conference at Saint Louis University. In it, the contributors enter a critical dialogue with Newman s writings from the perspectives of literature and history, rhetoric and education, and philosophy and theology to offer a scholarly appraisal of Newman s creativity and genius.
The fundamental interaction between discourse and context that pervades Newman s many works provides the thread that weaves this collection together. There are five major divisions in the book. In part 1, the essays on Newman s individuality portray the highly personal and controversial dimensions of his thought. The essays in part 2, on Newman s approach to understanding, reveal a keen sense of the historical nature of practical reason. In part 3, essays on Newman s view of education evaluate his celebration of free inquiry and sensitivity to culture. Newman s insistence upon personal commitment to apprehend historical reality, both secular and religious, spurs the essays in part 4 to assess his religious epistemology and theological method. The essays in part 5 investigate the ways in which the subsequent interpretation of Newman s thought warrants a legitimate diversity that mirrors a variety of historical contexts.
The essays contained in this volume reflect the increasing richness of literature on Newman studies while constructively expanding the boundaries of interdisciplinary scholarship. As a result, they provide diverse horizons for engaging Newman s insights through the use of contemporary scholarship. The cluster of issues they discuss portrays the enduring prominence of Newman today.
The contributors and their articles to this volume include Gerard Magill, "The Intellectual Ethos of John Henry Newman"; Edward E. Kelly, "Identity and Discourse: A Study in Newman s Individualism"; Kenneth L. Parker, "Newman s Individualistic Use of the Caroline Divines in the Via Media";Mary Katherine Tillman, "Economies of Reason: Newman and the Phronesis Tradition"; Walter Jost, "Philosophic Rhetoric: Newman and Heidegger"; Alan J.Crowley, "Theory of Discourse: Newman and Ricoeur"; James C. Livingston, "Christianity and Culture in Newman s Idea of a University"; Edward Jeremy Miller, "Newman s Idea of a University: Is It Viable Today?"; M. Jamie Ferreira, "The Grammar of the Heart: Newman on Faith and Imagination"; Gerard Magill, "The Living Mind: Newman on Assent and Dissent"; C. J.T. Talar, "Receiving Newman s Development of Christian Doctrine";Lawrence Barmann, "Theological Inquiry in an Authoritarian Church: Newman and Modernism."
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| 0.893754 | 1,073 | 2.640625 | 3 |
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The performance of high-speed semiconductor devices the genius driving digital computers, advanced electronic systems for digital signal processing, telecommunication systems, and optoelectronics is inextricably linked to the unique physical and electrical properties of gallium arsenide. Once viewed as a novel alternative to silicon, gallium arsenide has swiftly moved into the forefront of the leading high-tech industries as an irreplaceable material in component fabrication.
GaAs High-Speed Devices provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-science look at the phenomenally expansive range of engineering devices gallium arsenide has made possible as well as the fabrication methods, operating principles, device models, novel device designs, and the material properties and physics of GaAs that are so keenly integral to their success. In a clear five-part format, the book systematically examines each of these aspects of GaAs device technology, forming the first authoritative study to consider so many important aspects at once and in such detail.
Beginning with chapter 2 of part one, the book discusses such basic subjects as gallium arsenide materials and crystal properties, electron energy band structures, hole and electron transport, crystal growth of GaAs from the melt and defect density analysis. Part two describes the fabrication process of gallium arsenide devices and integrated circuits, shedding light, in chapter 3, on epitaxial growth processes, molecular beam epitaxy, and metal organic chemical vapor deposition techniques. Chapter 4 provides an introduction to wafer cleaning techniques and environment control, wet etching methods and chemicals, and dry etching systems, including reactive ion etching, focused ion beam, and laser assisted methods. Chapter 5 provides a clear overview of photolithography and nonoptical lithography techniques that include electron beam, x-ray, and ion beam lithography systems. The advances in fabrication techniques described in previous chapters necessitate an examination of low-dimension device physics, which is carried on in detail in chapter 6 of part three.
Part four includes a discussion of innovative device design and operating principles which deepens and elaborates the ideas introduced in chapter 1. Key areas such as metal-semiconductor contact systems, Schottky Barrier and ohmic contact formation and reliability studies are examined in chapter 7. A detailed discussion of metal semiconductor field-effect transistors, the fabrication technology, and models and parameter extraction for device analyses occurs in chapter 8. The fifth part of the book progresses to an up-to-date discussion of heterostructure field-effect (HEMT in chapter 9), potential-effect (HBT in chapter 10), and quantum-effect devices (chapters 11 and 12), all of which are certain to have a major impact on high-speed integrated circuits and optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) applications.
Every facet of GaAs device technology is placed firmly in a historical context, allowing readers to see instantly the significant developmental changes that have shaped it. Featuring a look at devices still under development and device structures not yet found in the literature, GaAs High-Speed Devices also provides a valuable glimpse into the newest innovations at the center of the latest GaAs technology. An essential text for electrical engineers, materials scientists, physicists, and students, GaAs High-Speed Devices offers the first comprehensive and up-to-date look at these formidable 21st century tools.
The unique physical and electrical properties of gallium arsenide has revolutionized the hardware essential to digital computers, advanced electronic systems for digital signal processing, telecommunication systems, and optoelectronics. GaAs High-Speed Devices provides the first fully comprehensive look at the enormous range of engineering devices gallium arsenide has made possible as well as the backbone of the technology ication methods, operating principles, and the materials properties and physics of GaAs device models and novel device designs. Featuring a clear, six-part format, the book covers:
GaAs materials and crystal properties
Fabrication processes of GaAs devices and integrated circuits
Electron beam, x-ray, and ion beam lithography systems
Metal-semiconductor contact systems
Heterostructure field-effect, potential-effect, and quantum-effect devices
GaAs Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuits and Digital Integrated Circuits
In addition, this comprehensive volume places every facet of the technology in an historical context and gives readers an unusual glimpse at devices still under development and device structures not yet found in the literature.
More About Using This Site and Buying Books Online:
Be Sure to Compare Book Prices Before Buy
This site was created for shoppers to compare book prices and find cheap books
and cheap college textbooks. A lot of discount books and discount text books
are put on sale by many discounted book retailers and discount bookstores everyday.
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some major bookstores for book details and book coupons. But be sure not just
jump into any bookstore site to buy. Always click "Compare Price" button to
compare prices first. You would be happy that how much you could save by doing
book price comparison.
Buy Books from Foreign Country
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Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, France, and Japan. More bookstores from other
countries will be added soon. Before buying from a foreign book store or book
shop, be sure to check the shipping options. It's not unusual that shipping
could take 2 -3 weeks and cost could be multiple of a domestic shipping charge.
Buy Used Books and Used Textbooks
Buying used books and used textbooks is becoming more and more popular among
college students for saving. Different second hand books could have different
conditions. Be sure check used book condition from the seller's description.
Also many book marketplaces put books for sale from small bookstores and individual
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If you are in a hurry to get a book or textbook for your class, you would better
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Please See Help Page for Questions
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The Science of Michael Crichton
An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science behind the Fictional Worlds of Michael Crichton
Edited by Kevin Grazier, PhD
Wherever the cutting edge of science goes, Michael Crichton is
there. From dinosaur cloning to global warming, nanotechnology to time
travel, animal behavior to human genetics, Crichton always takes us to
the cutting edge of science and then pushes the envelope.
The Science of Michael Crichton examines the amazing inventions of Crichton’s books and lifts up the hood, revealing the science underneath.
intelligent and well-thought essays, scholars and experts decide what
Crichton gets right and what he gets wrong. They examine which Crichton
imaginings are feasible and which are just plain impossible. Scenarios
examined include whether dinosaurs can be cloned, if nanotechnological
particles can evolve intelligence, and if we can go back in time.
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Glioblastoma is a complex, deadly, and hard-to-treat brain cancer, but Yale School of Medicine researchers may have found the tumor’s Achilles heel.
The researchers report in the Aug. 12 issue of the journal Science Signaling that targeting a protein crucial in the early development of the brain can block multiple signaling pathways implicated in glioblastoma growth. The approach also reduced human tumors in mouse models of the disease.
“In neurodevelopment, this protein (atyptical protein kinase or aPKC) helps regulate proliferation and migration of cells but when active in adults, can cause formation and spread of cancer,” said Sourav Ghosh, assistant professor of neurology and co-senior author of the paper.
About 13,000 people die of primary malignant brain tumors annually in the United States. Glioblastomas are particularly hard to treat because these tumors grow rapidly, spread quickly, and respond poorly to current anti-tumor therapies.
The new study shows that targeting this protein works in several ways. Inhibiting aPKC blocks a signal pathway that is the target of existing glioblastoma therapy. But it also blocks the action of some immune system cells called macrophages, which instead of attacking tumors, actively promote their growth.
“This is exciting because it ends up targeting multiple pathways involved in cancer,” said Carla Rothlin, assistant professor of immunobiology and co-senior author of the paper.
The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Yael Kusne of Arizona State University and Eugenio Carrera-Silva, of Yale are co-lead authors of the paper.
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The Fallibility of Psychological Testing
Psychological Testing has become rampant across industries, more so in the case of Information Technology, BPOs and ITES companies. These tests are used to 'throw up' personality profiles and competency descriptions that would help companies recruit the 'right' candidate. The Human Resources department in most organizations is responsible for the administering of Psychometric tests.
The International body that sets guidelines for testing is the International Test Commission ( ITC ) which stipulates guidelines for adaptation and usage of tests. ITC has issued guidelines to cover the following ?
Professional and ethical standards in testing
Rights of the test candidate and other parties involved in the testing process
Choice and evaluation of alternative tests
Test administration, scoring and interpretation
Report writing and feedback.
ITC has defined competence in test usage as, " A Competent test user will use tests appropriately, professionally and in an ethical manner, paying due regard to the needs and rights of those involved in the testing process, the reasons for testing, and the broader context in which the testing takes place."
There are many reasons why a test can be fallible ?
1. Inappropriate usage of Tests
The norms for which the tests have been designed have to be considered carefully. They cannot be administered to a population that is different from the norm population ( Norm Population for example could be, adolescents, Senior Executives; norms could be based on age, occupation, gender, economic status etc. ). That is, a test designed for adolescents cannot be administered on Senior Executives and vice versa because the results of such administration would be faulty.
2. Culture Fair Testing
Another common flaw is in the usage of tests which are not culture fair. Many psychological tests have been designed for the western population and can be used appropriately only in that culture. Unfortunately many of these tests are used on the Indian population giving rise to faulty conclusions.
3. Design of Test
The psychological test can only be designed by professionals qualified in psychometrics. Many a time lay people design tests using the help of information accessed through the internet or sometimes even from their own common sense. Such tests are not valid.
4. Validation of tests
Every test that has been designed has to be validated. The process of validation would involve administering the test on a large population over a period of time before it is certified as 'ready for use'. This cannot be done from tests that are fabricated overnight.
5. Downloaded Tests
Often tests are downloaded from the Internet and are used for purposes other than for which they have been designed. For example, a personality test being used to test the Emotional Intelligence or Team Skills of a person.
6. Wrong Customization
Sometimes the items of a test are changed to suit the user. In such instances the test cannot give valid results. For example an item ( a question / statement in the test ) would state ? " Do you usually date on weekends ?" , could be changed to " Do you socialize on weekends? " to fit the Indian scenario. The results of the test with such changed 'items'will not be not valid.
7. Test Administration
The test administration should be systematically standardized, i.e., the test should be administered under exactly the same conditions to all users. This means that the actual test environment, the instructions, the timing and the materials are the same on every test occasion. Before administering the test the user must consider the following guidelines ?
? What is the purpose of testing?
? What outcomes will be achieved through testing?
? Why are these specific tests being used?
? Why are these tests relevant to the outcomes being sought?
? What evidence is there that these tests are appropriate for the people who are to be assessed?
8. Confidentiality of Test Results
All results of tests must be maintained by the administrator in strict confidence. Revealing the results could lead to unfair discrimination in the workplace. This happens when a test used for selection is disadvantageous to certain 'groups' within the organization. In the US, the use of IQ tests in employee selection has been prohibited. This was due to the lack of confidentiality maintained by the administrators which resulted in employees being unfairly discriminated. At present any psychometric test has to be administered with utmost care and after the requisite permissions is obtained.
To ensure confidentiality, the following guidelines should be considered:
1. Ensure that test materials are kept securely
2. Ensure secure storage of and control access to test materials.
3. Respect copyright law and agreements that exist with respect to a test including any prohibitions on the copying or transmission of materials in electronic or other forms to other people, whether qualified or otherwise.
4. Protect the integrity of the test by not coaching individuals on actual test materials or other practice materials that might unfairly influence their test performance.
5. Ensure that test techniques are not described publicly in such a way that their usefulness is impaired.
9. Competence of Test Administrator and Interpreter
The personnel administering the tests have to be strict in following the instructions stipulated by the test designers. The interpretations too have to be done by qualified personnel who are psychologists.
10. Limitation of tests
The tests are 'limited' for the purposes for which they have been designed. For a holistic assessment of an individual, it is required that the test results are supplemented by information from interviews and group discussions. In addition the test results are not valid after eighteen months of its administration.
11. Test Copyrights
It is an offence to copy tests that have been copyrighted. They can only be used after the necessary permission is obtained from the designers. Otherwise this illegal copying may lead to lack of standardization in Test conditions and poor control of materials.
12. Test feedback
Often times the guidelines for feedback are not followed by the Users. The British Psychological Society has set out the following guidelines for written and oral feedback:
? Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any reports are appropriate for the level of understanding of the recipients.
? Make clear that the test data represent just one source of information and should always be considered in conjunction with other information.
? Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighted in relation to other information about the people being assessed.
? Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate to the context of the assessment.
? When appropriate, provide third parties with information on how results may be used to inform their decisions.
? Explain and support the use of test results used to classify people into categories (e.g. for diagnostic purposes or for job selection).
? Include within written reports a clear summary, and when relevant, specific recommendations.
? Present oral feedback to test takers in a constructive and supportive manner.
Tips for Building a Successful Career
1. Develop excellent work habits ? for example, meet deadlines and don't procrastinate.
5 Interviewing Tips To Get That Job!
Anyone who is a jobseeker knows that looking for a new job or career is a job in itself. Once you have completed the laborious task of writing your resume and submitting it to various companies, you now have to pass the screen test to get the job. Interviews are the gateway to landing your ideal job. These five tips will help you get own your way to making that job yours.
Working On A Farm In Kent
Being a student, a person needs to look for summer jobs, to keep up with the expenses for school and fun activities. This task is not always easy, especially when you are studying at an American branch university and you have to pay tuition as well. So getting a summer job obviously rules out getting a job in your home Eastern European country as that would pay for only a couple of beers the most.
Layoff Survival Guide - Do You Have The Career Management Horsepower It Will Take To Survive?
In a recent survey of over 662 career seekers, some disturbing trends identified that MOST career seekers don't have a clue what career management skills they have or what those skills are! As a result, it will be difficult for these career seekers to succeed.
Managing Change -- Endings Are Just Doorways to New Beginnings
Every May we celebrate Mother's Day-a time to tell mothers everywhere how much we love and honor them. In the midst of all the holiday revelry we should take some time to reflect on just what this day represents-the end of nine months of waiting and the passage through birth's doorway to a new beginning.
What Not To Include In Your Resume
Do you have a difficult time determining what does not go in your job resume? The rule of thumb is to only put enough information about your qualifications in your resume in order to get the employer interested enough to contact you about an interview.
Should You Seek Temporary Or Contractual Employment While Searching?
According to US Department of Labor statistics, the average time to find employment is roughly six months. It could take as little as four to six weeks, or as long as ten to twelve months, or longer. Several factors determine your time to placement:
Virtual Heroes: The Growth of the Virtual Assistant
Building and expanding a business is a difficult task, when the management of the business in its existing form takes up much of the time. The administrative, office-based and creative tasks behind running a business, although time-consuming and often repetitive, are vital to the continued operations of the business. With the explosion of opportunities on the Internet, and moves towards a global economy, an extensive range of businesses is finding that they can greatly benefit from the help of a Virtual Assistant.
The Hidden Agenda of Interviews
It's Not What They Ask - The Hidden Agenda of Interviews
The Surefire Way To Getting A Pay Raise
If you are working for someone else, it is important to remember this fact: No one gives you a raise, you must earn it. You've got to prove you are worth the additional money you are asking for. And, you must do this in a professional, business-like, and diplomatic way. You do this by completing salary research and having the facts straight in terms of your worth and the additional value you bring to the table. This may mean that you are not ready to ask for a raise tomorrow. But, taking the extra time, preparation, and effort necessary to ensure that you are eligible for a raise is really the only way you are going to get one. Also, when asking for a raise, it is best to stick to business, rather than personal, reasons. It is not fair to your employer to ask for a raise "because Sally needs new braces" or "because you need to pay for Billy's trip to Europe next summer." Stick to the business facts of why you deserve the raise. Following is an effective three-step process to getting the raise you deserve.
Tips For Surviving As A Corporate Refugee
In her book "Are You A Corporate Refugee", Ruth Luban associates "corporate refugees" with refugees who never intend to leave their home country. People who are uprooted from the familiar terrain, customs and native language they've known for a very long time.
Signs of a Healthy Work Environment
There's no denying that a healthy work environment is a top concern for most employees. Review any employee satisfaction survey and you're apt to find this issue among the top five concerns of your staff ? sometimes above the issue of pay.
Now, Do You Have Any Questions?
"Who is that hot babe in the picture?" isn't the type of reply an interviewer expects to hear when he or she invites you to ask questions near the end of an interview. In fact, the way you approach the Q&A session will have a direct impact on the interviewer's perception of you. Based on the questions you ask, a judgment will be made in regard to how interested you seem to be in working for the company.
The Pros and Cons of Telecommuting - As Seen Through The Eyes of a Seasoned Telecommuter
Janelle Delacorte has been happily answering calls for the Home Shopping Network and various infomercials since November 2004.
Dont Quit Your Day Job! Convincing Your Boss To Let You Telecommute, Part 1 of 2
Are you desperately trying to find a telecommute job so that you can quit your current one? Hold on! Your job just might have the potential to be done from home.
Rich Career, Poor Career
What makes for a rich career? It is more than just the salary and benefits. A rich career is one that suits your talents and provides an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution, as well as one that provides the right compensation.
Three Myths About Resume Writing
Your perspective on resumes ? what they are and how they function ? will doubtless influence how well you can write your own. To create an outstanding resume, begin by questioning and replacing some of the commonly held assumptions about resume writing.
Skilled Mechanic Wage Study Review
Well what is a good mechanic worth these days? You cannot place a value on them simply as labor units as they teach in management school, they are worth more than money. So why not treat them with respect and dignity and pay them what they are worth, we believe that the national averages are too low. There is a partial report on the Automotive and Trucking Sector from the Fed's Beige Book, June 2002.
20 Powerful Tips For Advancing Your Career
You don't want to stay in your current position forever... you want to move up! Here are 20 ways to boost your chances of getting that nice promotion:
Building a Solid Network
A client who has a fine arts degree wanted to move out of his successful career in advertising and into the real estate development business. He had already enrolled in a top notch MBA program to learn more about the field. In addition he had found work with a bank doing real estate appraisals.
Recent Job Posts
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Few things can derail a trip like coming down with a cold or the flu. Yet with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 91 different strains of flu virus in circulation during the 2012-2013 flu season, avoiding illness while on the road can be especially challenging.
It’s possible to infect others with the flu virus beginning one day before symptoms emerge to up to five to seven days after you become sick, according to the Contac Cold & Flu HQ. The number of Americans traveling increases dramatically during the holiday season, which happens to coincide every year with the height of the flu season. Travelers are exposed to more germs and viruses than folks who stay home, so if you’ll be taking a trip this winter, it pays to keep some preventive precautions and treatment options in mind.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s website, flu.gov, advises travelers to:
* Get vaccinated at least two weeks before you travel. The flu vaccine administered in the U.S. will protect you anywhere in the world.
* Wash your hands frequently, using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand cleanser. Think of all the surfaces you touch while traveling – from the steering wheel of your rental car to the door handle of the convenience store where you stop for directions. Now think of all the other people who have touched those surfaces too and left behind their germs.
* Avoid habits that can spread germs, like touching your eyes, nose or mouth, and stay away from people who are already sick. This can be difficult to do while traveling, but there’s no shame in reseating yourself away from people who are coughing in a waiting room or asking to be moved on a flight away from a traveler who is coughing or sneezing.
* Maintain healthful habits like getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, staying hydrated and eating well. Travel can be tiring under the best circumstances, so it’s important to get enough rest while on the road.
* If you do catch the flu, don’t travel. Stay home from work or school for at least 24 hours after your fever breaks.
Getting vaccinated isn’t always an option for everyone, so if you do come down with the flu, it’s important to take steps to relieve symptoms and help your body’s natural defenses fight off the virus.
Flu.gov says antiviral medications may help reduce the length of time you’re sick and even make the illness milder, but they are most effective if started in the first two days that you become sick. You’ll need to see your doctor for a prescription.
It’s also possible to treat the flu at home, using over-the-counter medications. Flu.gov says decongestants can ease stuffy noses, sinus pain, ear and chest congestion, and cough medicine or cough drops can provide temporary relief for coughing and sore throats.
If you do come down with the flu, an over-the-counter medicine like Contac Cold + Flu can help treat your symptoms.
The family of Contac Cold + Flu medicine incorporates several ingredients in a variety of products for multi-symptom relief: acetaminophen to help reduce fever and relieve sore throat and body aches; an antihistamine to help reduce runny nose and sneezing and help make you drowsy; a decongestant to help open blocked airways and relieve a stuffy nose; and a cough suppressant for coughing. You can learn more about the flu and Contac at www.Contac.com.
In addition to medication, some non-medicinal treatments may help you feel better, including:
* Getting plenty of rest.
* Staying hydrated with plenty of clear fluids such as water, broth or sports drinks.
* Sleeping with a humidifier in your bedroom to ease your breathing.
* Gargling with warm salt water to relieve a sore throat.
Keep in mind, that while the flu vaccine can help prevent you from catching the flu, it won’t prevent a cold. Frequent hand washing, avoiding others who are ill, and maintaining healthful habits are the best ways to avoid catching a cold during cold and flu season.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.bcrnews.com/articles/ara/2012/12/27/8064250405/index.xml?page=3
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en
| 0.92386 | 887 | 2.78125 | 3 |
The Net worth of an economy or a sector is defined as the difference between total assets and total liabilities. Australia's net worth at the end of June 2008 was estimated to be $6,390 billion in current prices, an increase of $426 billion (up 7.1%) since 30 June 2007. Most of this increase was due to holding gains for Non-dwelling construction (up $100 billion); Dwellings (up $76 billion); and Land (up $101 billion), offset by Holding losses in shares and other equity. Net transactions (both capital and financial) contributed $85 billion to the change, and Other volume changes contributed $38 billion.
Australia's Net international investment position as at 30 June 2008 was a Net foreign liability of $692 billion, up $66 billion (up 10%) on the position a year earlier. This result was due to Net transactions of $65 billion, with exchange rate and price changes almost offsetting each other.
Australia's real net worth rose 2.5% over the year ended 30 June 2008, from 1.7% growth for the previous year.
Percentage change in real net worth -
as at 30 June
Balance sheets are produced in current prices for each institutional sector in the economy. Of these the household sector has the highest net worth, $5,056 billion at 30 June 2008, virtually the same as the previous year's position. Holding losses on shares and other equities offset positive contributions from transactions and holding gains of non-financial assets.
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http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/5204.0Main%20Features902007-08?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=5204.0&issue=2007-08&num=&view=
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en
| 0.95346 | 309 | 2.578125 | 3 |
And to the world.
The secret policy of certain western governments is:
1. Help the super-rich to get richer.
2. Keep down the wages of the poor.
With George W Bush as president, the number of Americans living in severe poverty has increased dramatically. Nearly 16 million Americans now live on an individual income of less than $5,000 (£2,500) a year or a family income of less than $10,000 (£5,000). (news.independent.co.uk)
The number of Americans living in extreme poverty has grown by 26% since 2000.
In the USA, poverty as a whole has worsened and the number of severe poor is growing 56% faster than the overall segment of the population characterised as poor - about 37 million people. (news.independent.co.uk)
According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation ( Wealth inequality 'at 40-year high' ) :
1. Britain is becoming a segregated society.
2. The gap between rich and poor has reached its highest level for more than 40 years.
3. During the past 15 years there has been an increase in the number of households living below the poverty line.
4. Households below the poverty line now account for more than half of all families in parts of some cities.
5. In parts of some cities more than half of all households are now "breadline poor" - enough to live on but no access to opportunities enjoyed by the rest of society.
6. Households in already wealthy areas have tended to become disproportionately wealthier.
7. Many rich people now live in areas segregated from the rest of society.
In the Calton district of Glasgow, male life expectancy is 53.9 years, almost ten years fewer than in Bangladesh.
However, life in Bangladesh can be worse than in Britain.
Large western companies like Tesco like to get cheap clothing from Bangladesh.
Tesco's chief executive Terry Leahy is a special adviser to the British government on business matters.
The Guardian (High price paid for cheap UK clothes ) explained on 15 July 2007:
1. Workers at factories supplying clothes to Asda (Walmart), Tesco and Primark told the Guardian that they were paid well below the £22 a month considered by experts to be the minimum living wage.
2. Mahbubur, 20, a machine operator, earns £16 a month, but he said apprentices or helpers in his factory earn only £9. His basic hours are 8am to 8pm, six days a week, but overtime, sometimes through the night, is compulsory.
Paul Collins, of War on Want, said: "These companies are driving down prices and pushing up profits and their workers are paying the real price in terrible pay and conditions." ( Brown is urged to act over 4p-an-hour sweatshop pay )
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2007/07/bush-and-blair-have-brought-poverty.html
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en
| 0.961836 | 591 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Evolution of online attacks mirrors the history of advertising
The evolution of online attacks seems to mirror the progression advertising has taken. In the beginning, hacking was done for fun and hackers were driven by a spirit of adventure. However, some hackers soon realized the potential for personal financial gain from their hacking. Thus, the birth of trojan horses, keyloggers and malware distributed via spam messages. Much like television commercials of old, these attacks were broadly distributed; the strategy being to hit as many people as possible in the hopes a small percentage would download the malware. In general, this shotgun-type strategy was successful as unsuspecting victims would click on malicious links and have their account information, passwords or identity sent to a hacker's developing database. Black-hat hackers could focus on quickly creating simple, and oftentimes, low quality malware and, due to the sheer distribution volume, this method was profitable.
Just as we are seeing an increase in personalized targeted advertising, we are now seeing the rise of targeted attacks. In the past, this method of hacking was considered unprofitable as it took too long to create a targeted attack, thus reducing the profit margin. With the lowering cost of producing high quality malware, large customer database breaches, coupled with the surge in hacktivism, means we will begin seeing more targeted attacks in the future.
While the goals of criminal gangs and hacktivists may differ (profit vs. issues awareness), they are using similar tactics – malicious code designed for a specific targeted attack. The reason for the coming rise in targeted attacks is two-fold:
- targeting certain types of businesses has become a profitable endeavor, and
- social issues are once again spurring hackers into action.
Why is it now profitable to target specific account when it once was not considered a lucrative strategy? One reason may be the success security professionals have had with educating employees and technology users regarding online threats. It isn't that the creation of high-quality malware has become easier, it is that getting users to fall for their scams has become more difficult, making broad-based attacks less profitable. As a result, hackers are finding it more profitable to target a specific company or organization with an attack designed to steal data. These attacks are harder to defend against as they often involve rather sophisticated social engineering approaches and often are harder for common email spam scanners or content filters to detect. They depend on SQL injections and the infection of web applications or common social media sites, such as Facebook, rather than spam or malicious websites.
On the other side of the spectrum are hacktivists who are targeting a specific organization, not for profit but for social awareness. These socially minded hackers know that a high-profile security breach can damage the reputation of what they deem a socially irresponsible organization or bring down the network of a company the hacktivist believes is responsible for some injustice. It is the technological equivalent of protesting outside of the organization's office – and even more effective as it can quickly generate a global media buzz online when successful.
The number of targeted attacks will only increase in 2012 as users become more aware of broad-based threats, hacktivists become more active, and black-hat hackers create more sophisticated malware. For the general consumer and business, watching for these new approaches and taking control of your security policy enforcement should be a focus for your New Year's resolutions.
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http://www.scmagazine.com/evolution-of-online-attacks-mirrors-the-history-of-advertising/article/223417/
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| 0.964753 | 681 | 2.546875 | 3 |
It’s been quite some time since I looked at an ESPN Sport Science video. I probably shouldn’t look at all. However, it’s too late. I looked. But maybe it’s not so bad. Maybe these videos don’t just throw out random numbers anymore. Well, there’s one way to find out – with a quick physics audit.
In this post, I will look at some of the numbers used in an episode of Sport Science and see if they are plausible. I will look at the episode above that grabbed my attention – you know, because it’s D.J. Fluker.
The first thing in the video shows D.J. accelerating off the line of scrimmage. He moves (from rest) 5 yards (4.57 m) in 2.1 seconds. Does this tell us how fast he is moving? Sports Science claims it is a speed of 13 mph (5.8 m/s). I don’t have an exact measure of D.J.’s final speed, but let me assume a constant acceleration during this time. In that case, I can find the average velocity:
Actually this above calculation is true even if his acceleration is not constant. Here is the part where I assume a constant acceleration. In that case, I can also say that the average velocity is the sum of the initial and final velocity divided by two. Since I know he started from rest, I can solve for the final speed.
Ok, that is lower than their claim of 13 mph. However, D.J. probably doesn’t have a constant acceleration. Their value could be correct. I assume they used some other method to determine his final velocity. So, this part seems ok – or at least not obviously wrong (yes, I have low expectations).
Is it plausible to have an impact force of 1,848 pounds (8220 Newtons)? Here is the deal with collisions – you can essentially have ANY force during the collision. In fact, I would say that the impact force is perhaps not the best description of the collision. Let’s have a super quick collision primer. Suppose there are two masses colliding. For simplicity, I will assume that one object was moving and collided with a stationary object (just like this case). Here is a diagram during that collision.
In this case, there are two very important things to realize. First, the force that one object pushes on the other has the same magnitude as the other force on the other object. In fact, these are really the SAME FORCE. Forces are an interaction between two objects, so you have to have two forces. Second, the force on an object changes its momentum where momentum is the product of mass and velocity.
So, it comes down to the change in momentum. Since the two objects have the same magnitude force, they will have the same magnitude of the change in momentum. And here we have the momentum principle – it states:
If a force is constant, then the change in momentum for an object is just that force times the time that the force acts. What if the force isn’t constant? It that case, the change in momentum is integral of the force over time.
How about some examples? Let me model the collision between two objects using vpython. How do you model a collision? In this program (here is the code if you want to play with it) I basically have two objects. When they get closer than some determined distances, there is a spring force pushing them apart. It’s really just that simple. Yes, there is one small trick. When the objects are interacting, the time step needs to be quite small.
In this particular model, I have the two objects interacting whenever the distance between their centers is less than 20 cm and there is a spring force with a spring constant of 105 N/m. If everything works as expected, the total momentum should be the same before and after the collision. Here is a plot of the momentum of the two objects.
Ok, that looks good. So here is a plot of the force between the two players in this same collision.
This has a peak force at 10,900 Newtons (2,450 pounds). This isn’t too far from what Sports Science reports. Of course, the force doesn’t have to be a spring-like force. Any repulsive force between the two objects will work as long as the force is the same magnitude on both objects. Here are a couple of different plots.
Here the “crazy force” is just something I made up to be different. This force is the product of the “compression” and the momentum of D.J. Fluker (with a constant). It gives a little different shaped force plot.
Ok, but what about Sport Science? I guess I am going to say that there is nothing wrong with their number. The only thing I can do is to estimate the change in momentum of Fluker during that collision and see what contact time that force would correspond to. The show lists Fluker’s mass at 154 kg. Let’s say that he is moving at 5 m/s and slows down to 2 m/s due to the collision. This would be a change in momentum of 462 kg*m/s. If I set this change in momentum equal to the force of 8220 Newtons, it would be a contact time of 0.05 seconds. I don’t see any problem with that time.
But where did Sport Science get this value of 1,848 pounds? I guess there was a force or acceleration sensor on the dummy that he hit. If you know the acceleration of the dummy and the mass of the dummy, you can get a plot of force vs. time. Then they just need to grab the highest value force.
I would have liked to seen this force-time plot, but I guess they didn’t have time.
Since I haven’t really said anything bad about the show, let me just end with a few things that you shouldn’t say.
- “Generates a force.” – A force is a property of an interaction. If you say “generate” it implies that you have made this thing called a force that you could give to another object. Forces aren’t transferred. Also, if you try hit a piece of paper, you won’t be able to push on it with a force that large.
- “Absorb Momentum.” – This one isn’t quite as bad, but it’s not great. If you say momentum is transferred from one object to another, that seems to look like it works. However, when you say “absorb” it implies that momentum is transferred to Fluker but this transfer does not change his momentum. In fact, his momentum doesn’t change because there is an external force acting on him (friction from the ground).
- “Absorb Force.” – Again, a force is a property of an interaction, it isn’t transferred to be absorbed.
I think I am still annoyed at Sport Science for the many past mistakes they made. In this case, I don’t see any major problems. Carry on.Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article.
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| 0.961263 | 1,549 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Timely, accessible data is critical to effective law-enforcement. The Information Systems used by the Sheriff's Office are interdependent and relied upon by all law enforcement staff.
Computer Aided Dispatch is a system that allows 911 call-takers to route patrol cars to citizens in need. Automated Field Reporting software allows officers to enter incident information into a database. This incident data is later transferred into the Records Management and Corrections Management Systems, whose function it is to track criminal cases, warrants, and inmates once in custody. Back in the Dispatch Center, information captured by a deputy days, weeks, even years earlier can be relayed to another deputy today to prevent or solve a crime. Geographical Information Systems makes further use of the data to create visual representations used for Crime Mapping, reporting, and analysis.
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en
| 0.918879 | 162 | 2.75 | 3 |
Saemund, son of Sigfus, the reputed collector of the poems bearing his name, which is sometimes also called the Elder, and the Poetic, Edda, was of a highly distinguished family, being descended in a direct line from King Harald Hildetonn. He was born at Oddi, his paternal dwelling in the south of Iceland, between the years 1054 and 1057, or about 50 years after the establishment by law of the Christian religion in that island; hence it is easy to imagine that many heathens, or baptized favourers of the old mythic songs of heathenism, may have lived in his days and imparted to him the lays of the times of old, which his unfettered mind induced him to hand down to posterity.
The youth of Saemund was passed in travel and study, in Germany and France, and, according to some accounts, in Italy. His cousin John Ogmundson, who later became first bishop of Holum, and after his death was received among the number of saints, when on his way to Rome, fell in with his youthful kinsman, and took him back with him to Iceland, in the year 1076. Saemund afterwards became a priest at Oddi, where he instructed many young men in useful learning; but the effects of which were not improbably such as to the common people might appear as witchcraft or magic: and, indeed, Saemund’s predilection for the sagas and songs of the old heathen times (even for the magical ones) was so well known, that among his countrymen there were some who regarded him as a great sorcerer, though chiefly in what is called white or innocuous and defensive sorcery, a repute which still clings to his memory among the common people of Iceland, and will long adhere to it through the numerous and popular stories regarding him (some of them highly entertaining) that are orally transmitted from generation to generation. Saemund died at the age of 77, leaving behind him a work on the history of Norway and Iceland, which is now almost entirely lost.
The first who ascribed to Saemund the collection of poems known as the Poetic Edda, was Brynjolf Svensson, bishop of Skalholt. This prelate, who was a zealous collector of ancient manuscripts, found in the year 1643, the old vellum codex, which is the most complete of all the known manuscripts of the Edda; of this he caused a transcript to be made, which he entitled Edda Saemundi Multiscii. The transcript came into the possession of the royal historiographer Torfaeus; the original, together with other MSS., was presented to the King of Denmark, Frederick. III., and placed in the royal library at Copenhagen, where it now is. As many of the Eddaic poems appear to have been orally transmitted in an imperfect state, the collector has supplied the deficiencies by prose insertions, whereby the integrity of the subject is to a certain degree restored.
The collection called Saemund’s Edda consists of two parts, viz., the Mythological and the Heroic. It is the former of those which is now offered to the public in an English version. In the year 1797, a translation of this first part, by A.S. Cottle, was published at Bristol. This work I have never met with; nor have I seen any English version of any part of the Edda, with the exception of Gray’s spirited but free translation of the Vegtamskvida.
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http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/14726/1.html
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en
| 0.986476 | 749 | 2.9375 | 3 |
View Full Version : Chemistry Problem
05-12-2008, 08:38 PM
Ok, so i have this lab on the molar mass of butane, except im totally having a brain fart, and cant remember how to do it, like i have the PV=nRT, but once i have the number from there im stuck, any ideas?
05-12-2008, 10:36 PM
Oooh this is right up my ally. I just finished college Chemistry.
n = moles
Molar Mass = Mass of gas/N
I'm fairly certain, anyway.
If you could give me the exact problem I'm pretty sure I could do it. My best unit in Chem was the gas laws.
Is this by chance Webassign?
05-13-2008, 02:43 AM
CH3CH2CH2CH3 is butane, I forget if that helps, it's been 3 years since I took chemistry. I was under the impression that you could find the atomic mass of each atom in the substance, add them up then multiply it by Avogadro's number, 6.02214×10^23, which is how many molecules per mol there are. I'm nearly certain now that's wrong or inaccurate to anything aside from 20* Celsius at 1atm pressure because you'll have to account for the mass gain due to excess energy.
I found this while googling: http://www.chem.uiuc.edu/chem103/molar_mass/introduction.htm
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http://www.spyder.tv/forums/archive/index.php?t-16819.html
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en
| 0.932461 | 322 | 3 | 3 |
Go lake trout! Native fish overcome seemingly ‘insurmountable’ challenges in Lake Huron
A fish that was almost wiped out in the Great Lakes is making a comeback in Lake Huron.
Lake trout are suddenly doing what biologists have been trying to get them to do for more than 40 years: They’re making babies.
Lake trout used to be a mainstay of Great Lakes commercial fishing in the first half of the twentieth century. The Lakes would produce 15 million pounds of the fish every year.
Then the sea lamprey came in and sucked the life out of the lake trout populations.
Challenges to lake trout recovery
Jim Johnson never thought he’d see the day when lake trout recovered in Lake Huron. He runs the Department of Natural Resources research station in Alpena.
Johnson’s been working on the lake for 25 years and for most of that time it looked hopeless.
“I felt we were so completely stymied by one thing after another after another. The litany of challenges working against the reestablishment of a self-sustaining lake trout population seemed insurmountable,” Johnson said. “But then, with the collapse of alewives, everything changed.”
Alewives are a little feeder fish that come from the Atlantic Ocean.
When lake trout eat alewives, it causes all kinds of problems in eggs and young fish because of a vitamin deficiency.
The federal government has hatched almost 100 million lake trout since 1972 and put them in Lake Huron. But those stocked fish couldn’t reproduce, until the alewives disappeared.
That happened about ten years ago, mainly because there were too many salmon eating them. It doesn’t appear that alewives can ever recover.
Johnson says with the alewives gone, lake trout are now getting the nutrients they need, so they don’t need much more help from federal hatcheries.
A more stable ecosystem
The return of lake trout as the big predator might result in a more stable ecosystem.
In northern Lake Huron where we have so many young wild fish it seems redundant to be also stocking.
“Oh yes. The end of stocking is in sight for the main basin of Lake Huron,” Johnson said.
Lake trout arrived in the Great Lakes just after the glaciers receded and they adapted to cold and empty waters. They’re perfectly suited for the lakes.
In fact, the whole fish genus, salvelinus, is known for its adaptability.
“Even Darwin knew this group as a highly flexible group,” The University of Vermont’s Ellen Marsden said.
She says lake trout have a long lifespan and will search every corner of the lake for food. If there’s no food available they’ll just stop growing.
Marsden says there are lake trout in lakes in northern Canada that are vegetarians.
“The lake trout that we know and love, the big piscivorous and fast growing, there are also trout that are mature and could be 25 years old at half the size our lake trout are and they’re feeding on plankton,” Marsden said.
The prospect of lake trout returning to the top of the food web is an exciting one for scientists.
Lakes Michigan and Huron have been dominated by salmon from the Pacific Ocean for most of the last 50 years. They were introduced to create an exciting sport fishery.
But Jim Johnson says exotic salmon can’t adapt the way lake trout can and dramatic changes in Lake Huron’s ecosystem killed the salmon off.
“People tended to think of the Chinook (salmon) as an apex predator but they don’t meet these criteria of what an apex predator needs to do and that is to adapt to changing situations and still be there after a crisis,” Johnson said.
Johnson says native fish like lake trout and walleye are filling the void created by the salmon’s demise in Lake Huron.
He expects the lake to be a more stable ecosystem in the future, one that doesn’t need to be stocked with millions of hatchery fish every year.
Humans helping lake trout in other ways
Fishery managers aren’t stocking trout in Lake Huron, but they are still helping the fish.
Lake trout can spawn on reefs. Researchers working out of Alpena built a reef to help the lake trout reproduce naturally in Thunder Bay. The original reef was buried in kiln dust from a cement factory.
Support for the Environment Report comes in part from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://michiganradio.org/post/go-lake-trout-native-fish-overcome-seemingly-insurmountable-challenges-lake-huron
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en
| 0.951842 | 970 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Ah, method books. I sure do have fond memories of my own - when I was learning to play the piano I used the John W. Schaum Piano Course:
and the Eckstein Piano Course:
Seriously, good times. And let me tell you, whenever I come across these old books (which seem like old friends in a way!) at my parents' house, I flip through the old yellowing pages and those great black and white drawings bring back lots of memories. Songs like "Bicycle Bill," "Riding On a Mule," "At the Junior Prom" (my FIRST-ever piece with the pedal - boy was I excited!) just pop right back into my head, and I really remember the joy and excitement I felt while learning to play the piano!
Although there is, of course, a place in my heart for these old black-and-white books I learned from, the method books these days are (thankfully) a lot more interesting and fun to look at (thanks in large part to the color illustrations!). I think that is so wonderful, because they have the potential to keep many students much more interested and excited about the piano.
Choosing a good piano method to use for a student is important. I think that a good method can and should do the following:
- Help motivate the student to practice, and help keep the student interested (particularly when their books are fun and colorful and have fun pieces!)
- Help them become musically-literate (especially when the method is well-rounded and includes things such as theory, ear training, transposition, music history, technique, etc.)
Having said that, I do believe that the success of the student depends much more on the teacher than on the method book used. I always have people ask me, "What method do you use?" I do not use one particular method on every student.
For one thing, each student is unique and has different strengths and weaknesses. While I have common standards and a similar curriculum for each student in my studio, I tailor my teaching style to the individual student. One method book may work wonderfully for one student, but may be too advanced and fast-moving for another.
If you are a good enough teacher and know how to teach correct technique, then you can probably make any method book work. However, there are so many wonderful methods out there that will be a big help in producing well-rounded musicians and music lovers!
Here are some basic things to consider when choosing a method book:
- Which reading approach is used? Middle C, multi-key, intervallic, or a combination?
- Does it use a good sequence of concepts? Is it comprehensive (includes technique, sight reading, ear training, etc.)?
- Does it include all the essential theory concepts, such as intervals, chords, harmony, transposition?
- Does it make sense to the student?
- How is it designed/formatted - is it fun and colorful?
- What kind of supplementary materials are included? Does it come with supporting technology, such as CD's?
In conclusion, I would evaluate some method books and decide which one fits best with your student's strengths and weaknesses, as well as with your teaching style and studio curriculum. Hopefully the one you choose will someday become a dear old "friend" to your student, and will remind them of the joy they felt when they were learning from you
how to play the piano!
There are still a couple more days to vote on this week's poll about your favorite method book. So far Faber & Faber's Piano Adventures is definitely in the lead! We would love to have some comments about what your favorite method is, and something that you love about it - why would you vote for it as your favorite?
Visit our Helpful Resources page for links to some fabulous articles and charts about methods. I particularly like the article about evaluating new method books, found on ClavierCompanion.com in the September/October 2009 issue.And don't forget to enter our GIVEAWAY!! You can enter until this Saturday, April 17 at 11:59 pm. Click here to learn how to enter!
Labels: Jenny Boster, Method Books and Repertoire for Beginning Students
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7 steps to beat wind-driven fire
What may seem a slight breeze can dramatically alter fire behavior within a structure, and the safety of those inside
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, wind speeds as low as 10 mph will cause extreme fire conditions on the interior of a structure fire, regardless if the structure is a high-rise building or a one- or two-story family dwelling.
What is a wind-driven structure fire you ask?
It is a rapidly developing fire that results from prevailing winds entering a fire-vented location of a structure. This pressurizes the interior, creating a deadly flow path of blowtorch-effect flames and untenable temperatures when a secondary opening (vent point) is created.
Capt. William Mora, who retired from the San Antonio (Texas) Fire Department and authored the landmark study Firefighter Disorientation, estimates that between 2002 and 2010 approximately 24 firefighters were killed in structure fires where wind was a factor.
The Houston fire
In the past few months, two major fires that drew national attention were affected by the prevailing wind: the massive lightweight wood frame apartment building fire in Houston that which trapped a construction worker on a fifth floor balcony, soon followed tragically by the Beacon Street fire in Boston, which killed two firefighters.
According to a 2009 NIOSH fire investigation report two Houston firefighters were killed six minutes after making initial entry through the A side door of this 4,200-square-foot residential dwelling. Prior to entry, fire was observed coming from the C side.
Shortly after entering, crews reported hearing a loud roar and being rapidly engulfed in a large volume of fire that swept through the structure from the C side and vented from the A side door.
Here are seven steps to help you better manage the wind-driven structure fire threat:
- Understand that wind-driven structure fires pose a special hazard; failure to do so results in a lack of situational awareness and an inability to calculate and manage risk.
- Obtain a daily weather report with expected wind conditions, and communicate this your crews.
- Conduct a 360-degree size up. Consider the effects of wind. Determine if the structure is being pressurized from a fire vented location or will become pressurized if window/door/roof failure occurs. Winds that pressurized a structure fire can super-charge the fire and create "monster fire" conditions.
- When a wind-driven condition is encountered, the situation must immediately be transmitted to all companies.
- Vent points must be controlled and coordinated.
- Advancing through a downwind opening from the unburned side will create a wind trap that will place firefighters and victims in a dangerous flow path.
- Consider a transitional fire attack from the pressurized (windward) side to knockdown the main body of fire. If structurally sound, enter from the pressurized side to conduct search and rescue and final fire control operations.
It is absolutely imperative that firefighters and officers alike understand the changing dynamics of wind and ventilation at today's structure fire. Failure to do so places victims and firefighters at much greater risk.
Recommended Company Officer Development
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March 23, 2010 | By Eric Sorensen | 3 Comments »
Categories: Agriculture, veterinary medicine
Tags: bison, cell, disease, DNA, laboratory, malignant catarrhal fever, ovine herpes virus 2, Petri dish, RNA, sheep, Taus, USDA-ARS, vaccine, virus, Washington State University, WSU
In the winter of 2003, a large herd of bison in an Idaho feedlot was cut in half when a disease outbreak swept through, killing 825 animals.
Two years ago, 19 cattle, most owned by FFA students, died after being shown in Washington’s Puyallup State Fair.
In both instances, Washington State University researchers determined the animals died of malignant catarrhal fever because they had been kept near flocks of sheep, which routinely carry a disease called ovine herpes virus 2. Researchers have known of the disease for decades, but have repeatedly been frustrated in their attempts to grow it in a lab—a major step in developing a vaccine.
James Butler photo courtesy of Flickr. Click photo to view his photostream.
So they use the next best thing to a Petri dish: sheep.
USDA and WSU researchers, writing in an upcoming issue of the journal Veterinary Microbiology, say they have propagated the virus in sheep and for the first time identified specific cells where it can replicate. Their discovery opens the door for growing these cells and the virus in a laboratory setting, where they can then begin developing vaccines.
Naomi Taus, lead author and veterinary medical officer for the Pullman unit of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, says she and her colleagues collected secretions from sheep—snot, actually—and aerosolized it to expose other sheep. They then took tissue samples from the sheep and searched for infections by looking for fluorescent markers designed to bind with proteins associated with the virus and certain cell types.
It turns out the virus is entering the sheep at the deepest levels of the lungs in what’s called a type II alveolar epithelial cell—a cell related to skin cells.
Researchers now hope to culture and manipulate these cells in a laboratory setting—a real Petri dish—to develop a vaccine that can be used by the bison industry.
Taus, N.S., Schneider, D.A., Oaks, J.L., Yan, H.,Gailbreath, K.L., Knowles, D.P., Li, H., Sheep (Ovis aries) airway epithelial cells support ovine herpesvirus 2 lytic replication in vivo, Veterinary Microbiology (2008),doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2010.03.013
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Walter S. Baird
Walter S. Baird was born in Long Green, Maryland, and trained as a physicist at St. John’s College, where he was also an all-American lacrosse player. He taught electrical engineering at Harvard before completing his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University in 1936. In July 1936 he founded a scientific instrument company, Baird Associates, with John Sterner, a graduate student at MIT, and Harry Kelly, an MIT alumnus. Initially, only Baird was able to devote all his time to the new enterprise, located in a three-story building on Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kelly and Sterner kept day jobs to provide capital for the company.
Kelly was forced to quit the enterprise in 1937, a year before Baird Associates sold its first significant product (to the U.S. Bureau of Mines), a three-meter grating spectrograph suitable for the quantitative analysis of metals. Despite this sale, the fledging company merely scraped by for the remainder of the 1930s, and by 1940 the company had sold only eight spectrographs. Orders for scientific instruments picked up significantly with the advent of World War II; government contracts ensured the company’s survival. Baird Associates’ staff grew from two in 1940 to thirteen in 1942 to over sixty in 1943. By 1947, when Baird Associates was incorporated, its spectrographs were a recognized commodity in scientific research. The company was instrumental in creating a market for spectrographic analysis in an industry that had previously relied on analytical methods originated in the nineteenth century.
Baird Associates merged with Atomic Instruments, Inc., in 1956 and was renamed Baird Atomic, Inc., (so it could keep its acronym B.A., which doubled as a shorthand for “better analysis”). In 1978 the name was changed again to Baird Corporation; the term atomic was considered a liability in the late 1970s. The company was bought by IMO Industries in 1987, five years after Baird’s death. It is now part of Thermo Electron Corporation.
Baird (left) circa 1945. Courtesy of Davis Baird.
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By Nathan J. Hallanger
Graduate Theological Union
In 1931 the German philosopher and theologian Heinrich Scholz wrote an article titled, “Wie ist eine evangelische Theologie als Wissenschaft möglich?” in which he examined the criteria for scientific thinking and the possibility of theology as a science. Scholz developed six criteria by which one could judge whether a field of inquiry could be deemed properly “scientific.” Eight years later, Scholz’ colleague at Münster would criticize Scholz in the first volume of his newly published Church Dogmatics. Karl Barth assessed the applicability of Scholz’ criteria for theology, and concluded that the result would be “unacceptable” for theology. Further, Barth argues, “If theology allows itself to be called, or calls itself, a science, it cannot in so doing accept the obligation of submission to standards valid for other sciences.” If theology is to be a science, then faithfulness to the object of its inquiry is the sole criterion for scientific inquiry.
Four decades later, Wolfhart Pannenberg also critically examines Heinrich Scholz’ criteria for scientific inquiry and comes to a wholly different conclusion. Not only should theology engage in dialogue with the philosophy of science, but theology can and will prove itself to be scientific according to the criteria for other disciplines. How has Wolfhart Pannenberg come to a positive conclusion regarding the place of theology as a science among the sciences? In this paper I will examine the roots of Pannenberg’s conclusion that theology is the science of God. I will pay particular attention to Pannenberg’s argument in Theology and the Philosophy of Science and show how the scientific character has implications for dialogue with the natural sciences. While my assessment of Pannenberg’s project will be on the whole positive, I will offer two critical issues that remain if Pannenberg’s proposal itself is to be fully adopted as a basis for dialogue between the sciences and theology.Theology as the Science of God?
Wolfhart Pannenberg has issued a challenge and a call to theologians and scientists. “If the God of the Bible is the creator of the universe,” Pannenberg wrote in 1981, “then it is not possible to understand fully or even appropriately the processes of nature without any reference to God.” The converse is true for theology as well: if natural processes are shown to be understandable apart from God, then the God of the Bible is not the creator of the world. Consequently, natural processes must be considered in theological formulations if theology is to be faithful to its object, God.
With that foundation, one might ask what sort of dialogue with natural sciences Pannenberg espouses. Clearly, Pannenberg does not find Barth’s inoculation of theology from the sciences a preferable—or even possible—option. After the horrors of atomic weapons and the recognition of the environmental crisis, Pannenberg notes, scientists have admitted the inability of the natural sciences to address adequately the ethical import of its discoveries. Yet Pannenberg goes beyond the mere recognition of the ethical import of theology in scientific matters. Theology and the natural sciences describe the same reality, the reality determined by the God of creation. Importantly, the descriptions of theology and natural science are not competing claims of the one reality. Rather, theology expands and deepens what the natural sciences have to say about the cosmos.Theology and the Philosophy of Science
On what basis does Pannenberg come to such conclusions about the relationship between theology and the natural sciences? An analysis of Pannenberg’s magisterial Theology and the Philosophy of Science will aid in unearthing the foundations of Pannenberg’s commitment to dialogue with the sciences. The first part in particular is foundational for Pannenberg’s engagement with science. In what follows, I hope to show the basis for Pannenberg's contention that theology has both an internal and an external warrant for its scientific status. The process of understanding and the development of meaning will serve as a key connection point between theology and the sciences. Pannenberg bases his conclusions on the shape of the history of analytic philosophy, the so-called “human sciences,” and hermeneutics. While analytic philosophy searched for a scientific method that could apply to all disciplines, the “human sciences” sought an autonomy of method in distinction from natural science. Their distinctive methods, Pannenberg argues, can be understood as part of the broader task of hermeneutics.
As the title suggests, Theology and the Philosophy of Science is Pannenberg’s engagement with contemporary philosophy of science (contemporary for the early to mid-1970s, at any rate) in a discussion about what constitutes a discipline as wissenschaftlich, as “scientific.” This task requires mapping the complex landscape of both contemporary philosophy of science (Wissenschaftstheorie) and the implications of the philosophy of science for theology’s self-understanding. Though each part could constitute a book by itself (and a single analysis as well), Pannenberg tackles both tasks in a single volume.
Pannenberg begins by observing, “The questioning of the scientific character of theology within theology itself is paralleled in recent discussion in philosophy of science by influential tendencies which seek to deny Christian theology any claim to scientific validity.” Thus there are two facets to the question of theology as a science, internal and external. An unfortunate consequence of efforts to provide unassailable foundations for theology has been the use of such efforts as proof of theology’s non-scientific status. Re-asserting theology’s rightful place among the sciences will require an analysis of both theology’s internal structure and the philosophy of science. The wide acceptance of modern natural sciences’ “paradigmatic” role in the quest for knowledge complicates this task. Indeed, because of their wide-reaching successes the natural sciences need no longer argue for their epistemological starting point. The natural sciences are assumed to be a scientific endeavor that furthers knowledge and expands understanding, and as such have become in some sense gatekeepers to the font of knowledge. The question of how it is that we come to know seems to have a concrete answer in the method of the natural sciences.
The unquestioned epistemological basis for natural science is part of the larger problem of positivism, which Pannenberg takes up in “Part I: The Philosophy of Science.” Logical positivism’s emphasis on the verification of truth claims and the meaninglessness of metaphysical statements left theology with two options: (1) accept that theological statements do not refer to a reality named “God,” or (2) criticize positivism’s notion of verification of truth claims. Karl Popper’s work offers a means for theology to take option (2). Popper argues that meaning or meaninglessness does not rest in a statement’s verifiability; indeed psychoanalytic theories or metaphysical statements are not useless simply because they cannot be tested. Moreover, metaphysical statements aid in ordering one’s world and in providing the basis for the kinds of speculative guesses that serve scientific inquiry. In order for a scientist to test a hypothesis, the scientist must speculate about the nature of reality the hypothesis seeks to explain. Still, for Popper falsifiability is the key feature of a scientific hypothesis as opposed to a non-scientific hypothesis.
I have traced this portion of Pannenberg’s argument to this point in order to highlight an important point that he makes in his discussion of Popper, a line of reasoning with key implications for dialogue with the natural sciences. Given that Popper locates metaphysical ideas in the process of scientific inquiry (even though Popper sees such ideas as non-scientific), Pannenberg wonders what relationship might exist between such metaphysical notions and the validity of scientific statements. “It is fundamental to the semantic structure of assertions,” he argues, “that [scientific statements] claim to be true in the sense of agreeing with the state of affairs to which they relate.” Moreover, Popper’s analysis shows that theories are only “provisionally established” not ultimately verified. Pannenberg concludes that “’metaphysical’ ideas are not just among the accidental historical conditions of the growth of scientific knowledge but are constitutive of its meaning and validity. If this is so, these questions cannot be left for later consideration when the validity and truth of scientific statements are being discussed.” By implication, theology as metaphysics should not be excluded from discussions of the validity and truth of scientific claims, even if (and likely when) such scientific claims are made without explicit reference to their implicit metaphysical assumptions.
Though his description of the role of metaphysics in scientific reasoning might serve as a potential bridge between theology and science, Popper’s notion of falsification in science proves less helpful and less able to account for the ways in which scientific discovery has occurred. Falsifiability does not mean that a particular hypothesis is simply destroyed and disproved by a single fact that contradicts or undercuts that hypothesis. Rather, an accumulation of unaccounted for data in coordination with a competing hypothesis that seeks to explain such data leads to falsification. To support this analysis, Pannenberg appeals to Thomas Kuhn in suggesting that a hypothesis is not so much disproved as it is overtaken by a competing hypothesis. This is true in science as well as the analysis of history. In historical judgments, Pannenberg argues, hypotheses attempt to account for the broad sweep of facts involved in the analysis of history, not simply account for one particular portion of that history. One must simply ask for clarity in the statement of historical hypotheses so that they may be clearly distinguished from competing hypotheses, for historical knowledge arises from the conflict between competing hypothesis that strive to account for the shape of history.
Here one finds a key conclusion in Panneberg’s argument. If one takes a further step in allowing that scientific hypotheses may account for “singular events and contingent events” rather than only “general rules,” then metaphysics can no longer be excluded from the scientific disciplines. Metaphysical and philosophical hypotheses seek to explain “reality in general,” a temporal reality that is still in process and as such is always incomplete. These explanations must account for both the particular problems specific to philosophy but also provide the explanation’s basis in the whole of reality. Pannenberg believes that
philosophical interpretations of reality as a whole can be treated as hypotheses. They can be tested for coherence (freedom from contradiction), the efficiency of their interpretive components (the avoidance of unnecessary postulates), and the degree of simplicity and subtlety they achieve in their interpretations of reality. Testing for this last feature is particularly difficult with philosophical assertions because the incompleteness of experience and the nature of reality as a continuing process means not only that new individual cases may turn up—as in the case of induction—but also that they may shift the total structure of events into a new perspective. Conversely, models currently available may in different ways succeed in anticipating the still incomplete totality of reality.
Philosophical and metaphysical explanations based in the whole of reality are not only testable scientific hypotheses. They can offer a glimpse into an out-standing future wholeness.
Pannenberg concludes the first chapter with an examination of the links between the empirical sciences and philosophy, and historical sciences and philosophy. The empirical sciences, as Popper illustrates, involve a speculative element that anticipates the truth of their statements, an anticipation that the empirical sciences share with philosophy. Historical sciences and philosophy both investigate reality at the level of “semantic contexts” and both attempt explanations in relation to the whole of reality. Thus, “historical questions necessarily lead into philosophical ones.”
Pannenberg moves to discuss the relationship between the human sciences and natural sciences in the next chapter, which will lead into an investigation of hermeneutics in the third chapter that will tie together the first part. In his discussion of the human sciences, Pannenberg finds a similar situation as that of his exploration of logical positivism and critical rationalism, with Wilhelm Dilthey’s subjectivist hermeneutics balanced by the intersubjective focus of Ernst Troeltsch’s historicism. Like the empirical sciences examined in the first chapter, sociological theories are dependent on “the totality of meaning which constitutes the horizon of any given human grouping’s experience.” On this basis, if a unified foundation for the human sciences is to be developed, it must be done by incorporating history and by including the whole of human reality on which the human sciences focus.
Still, any basis for a unified theory of the human sciences has focused particularly on the distinctive methods of the human sciences. Inheritors of the Platonic dualism of matter and reason often assume that the tools appropriate for examination of nature are insufficient for the human sciences. The human sciences have sought typically to assert their independence and viability in distinction from the methods of the natural sciences, so that to be “scientific” in the human sciences has meant taking account of the totality of meaning, something usually excluded from the natural sciences.
Pannenberg reminds us once again, “Here again it is impossible to escape from the mutuality of expectations; these may be conditioned by a prior totality of meaning, but of its nature that totality can never be finally and unequivocally captured in particular form.” Here one finds Pannenberg’s characteristic notions of universal history and anticipation. There exists a complete and ultimate horizon or whole of which every historical particular is a part, yet because of the incompleteness of history, each particular cannot capture the totality it represents. As Dilthey notes, “One would have to wait for the end of a life and, in the hour of death, survey the whole and ascertain the relation between the whole and its parts. One would have to wait for the end of history to have all the material necessary to determine its meaning.” Yet the whole from which the parts gain meaning must be the most comprehensive whole possible. Otherwise, reinterpretation is continually possible. Thus, the whole of history can be understood only by the eschatological whole provided by God.
The question of meaning the relationship of the part to the whole constitutes the third part of Pannenberg’s examination of the philosophy of science. While a discussion of hermeneutics might seem unusual in a treatise on the philosophy of science, two factors make such discussion necessary for Pannenberg. First, the “sciences” Pannenberg is analyzing are the German Wissenschaften that include not only natural sciences but the social and human sciences as well, and hermeneutics has been central to the self-understanding of the social and human sciences in the past century. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the sciences rest on an implicit hermeneutical foundation, one that seeks to discover meaning within the context of larger wholes. Sometimes the process becomes explicit, but in the natural sciences, whose method has become paradigmatic for the scientific enterprise, more often than not the quest for meaning is an implicit but necessary component of the process.
Having established the manner in which scientific analysis is hermeneutical, Pannenberg assesses the degree to which the process of meaning is scientific. Critics who deny the scientific status of hermeneutics argue that its logic is circular, beginning with a pre-understanding that enables real understanding, which is then potentially applicable to one’s life situation. It would seem that the language of the hermeneutical circle has been taken to represent the logic of the process rather than as a heuristic tool for analyzing the process of meaning. Science, the critics continue, does not operate to explicate pre-understanding but to test hypotheses. However, as Pannenberg’s previous discussion has shown, meaning in the sciences as well as in hermeneutics depends upon the context of the whole, upon projecting a speculative vision of that whole and locating the particular within that whole. Further, pre-understanding of a whole is not the same as a “more clearly defined preconcept of it, which has much more the status of a hypothesis about the whole implicitly presupposed by the particulars.” The components of understanding represent a means of testing hypotheses about the meaning of the whole.
The final piece of the meaning puzzle is the question of truth. How is it, one is left to wonder, that the process of meaning by which we understand the particular in relation to the whole reaches any approximation of truth? Pannenberg’s answer involves the nature of the whole in which one’s assertion of truth is located. Assertions are located within a context of meaning, and when that context of meaning is the totality of experience, there is nothing outside that totality to refute its truthfulness. “In the all-encompassing totality of meaning, therefore, meaning and truth coincide. To this extent it is an intrinsic part of the hermeneutical consideration of the composite meanings of linguistic utterances to investigate their truth.” Even assertions with a limited horizon place themselves in the context of a complete horizon of meaning and open themselves up to the question of their truth. And as an anticipation of truth “the proposition claims to be true while at the same time laying itself open to refutation.” Pannenberg concludes his chapter on hermeneutics with a rather curious remark: “It may be assumed in advance that the situation of theology will prove to be similar.” Unclear at this point is whether the similarity between theology and philosophy of science is purely one of method or one of content. If the context of the philosophy of science is an implicit totality of meaning, is the philosophy of science asking the question of God? Or is the connection simply in the fact that both theology and the philosophy of science are based upon a hermeneutical methodology? Though a full discussion is beyond the scope of this paper, Pannenberg’s description in Part II on theology as the science of God would suggest that the unity between Part I and Part II is both one of content and one of method. Pannenberg believes that all knowing has the characteristic of “hermeneutics,” which he defines as placing particular knowledge in the widest possible context. Understanding and meaning emerge when the particular is developed in light of the whole to which it points. God is the reality that determines everything and thus the most comprehensive horizon for human meaning, so theology shares its ultimate horizon with the sciences. Still, theology differs from other sciences in its attempt to engage in “the study of the totality of the real from the point of view of the reality which ultimately determines it as a whole and it its parts.” The difference between theology and the sciences seems to lie not in method or epistemology in Pannenberg’s proposal, but rather in the comprehensive scope of theology’s hypotheses—examining the whole of reality from the point of view of the all-determining reality.Pannenberg Between Theology and the Natural Sciences
Two matters need greater clarification. First, if all scientific disciplines share this feature of hermeneutics, then can one say that in order for these disciplines to do their work, they must take account of the widest possible context for knowledge and reality, i.e. God? Scientists from disciplines outside of theology might respond that they develop knowledge by strict focus on the particulars, with no reference to any whole of which such particulars might be a part. Further, science has been enormously successful despite—and perhaps because—it reduces an object under study to its component parts as a means of understanding whole entities at any level. Placing an object under study into a context that is too broad might lead an investigation away from the explanation of key particulars.
Pannenberg would respond that even if the context of the whole appears absent, it is implicit in any attempt to understand and develop knowledge. Understanding is impossible without meaning; any scientific hypothesis speculates on its context within a greater whole, and in doing so asserts the truth of that context. And only through this process can one evaluate hypothetical claims in relation to other hypotheses that claim to better account for the data. Furthermore, certain phenomena can be understood only in relation to a wider context, for example the information-bearing capacity of DNA base pairs. Science might examine particular phenomena, but the understanding of such phenomena emerges only from the wider context in which the phenomena occur.
The second matter involves the nature of hermeneutics itself. Recall that Pannenberg has said that if nature can be shown to be intelligible without reference to God, then the God of the Bible is not the creator of the world. Currently, any number of scientists (natural, social, and otherwise) would advance this very claim: science can understand the world apart from God, so the world must not be the product of the creator God. The key question, then, is to what degree this claim falsifies Pannenberg’s competing claim that the sciences are a hermeneutical discipline in their efforts to locate particular data within the widest possible context. The broader question involves the scientific status of Pannenberg’s claim regarding hermeneutics as foundational for scientific inquiry. Clearly, he would deny that his argument falls outside the realm of rational argumentation, so he must accept that his own proposal is in some sense scientific. As such, one must regard it as open to falsification and modification by competing hypotheses that better account for the nature of reality itself. The question of whether a scientific hypothesis with God absent can provide a more cohesive understanding for the totality of reality than one with God present awaits further testing and ultimate verification (or falsification) in the eschaton.
One competing vision might split Pannenberg’s connection between meaning and truth. For Pannenberg, truth and meaning coincide with God because there is no context beyond God to contradict the reality of God. The natural sciences seem particularly prone to split this connection, separating meaning and truth in the investigation of reality while simultaneously denying the contextuality of the scientific enterprise. Indeed, hermeneutics itself can appear to be so much deferred meaning as to render interpretation practically meaningless. Here, dialogue between the sciences and theology would be one way—from science to theology—if it occurs at all. Thus, questions about the nature of the hermeneutic enterprise threaten not only the character of the dialogue but also the very possibility for dialogue.
Pannenberg might respond that these are indeed possible criticisms arising from the anticipatory character of reality itself. Meaning is ultimately deferred to the future eschaton when what is currently debatable will be shown to have been true all along. For Christians this means that God’s reality and the truth of the Christian message depend on a future act of God. And yet competing hypotheses for the meaninglessness of reality abound, threatening to falsify the Christian vision. However, Pannenberg argues that the Christian God as the all-determining reality accounts for the nature of reality with greater coherence than do competing explanations, and in fact includes the current debatability of these claims. No hypothesis to date has provided a more comprehensive account for the nature of reality that the account provided by the revelation of the God of the Bible in the person of Jesus Christ.
Despite its unavoidably contested status, the vision of theology and the sciences put forth by Pannenberg represents a key move toward true dialogue. Because theology is scientific, theology need not simply alter its own formulations apologetically, but instead can pose questions to scientists in a manner that legitimizes the theological questions as scientific. Points of contention clearly exist, but because reality is essential future, one must live with the provisionality of any claim to the truth and test such claims by their coherence with the scientific disciplines and their implications for one’s understanding of this as-yet unfinished reality.Conclusion
Theology and the Philosophy of Science serves a foundational role for Pannenberg’s two methodological commitments. First, Christian theology should attempt to confirm the explication of God’s revelation in history in relation to all of known reality. This first task is where theology especially gains its stature as a scientific discipline. In order to engage the disciplines of the university, theology must adhere to criteria by which such disciplines are judged to be scientific. As Pannenberg points out, most disciplines do not take their scientific status as a given, but rather must continually re-examine the philosophical basis for its given area of expertise. In the contemporary period, however, the natural sciences have achieved such unrivalled triumphs in advancing human knowledge that such philosophical and methodological reflection appears unnecessary. The natural sciences have become paradigmatic for what it means to be a scientific discipline. But as he shows in the first part of Theology and the Philosophy of Science, being scientific must be interpreted with greater precision when one recognizes theology and the sciences’ shared basis in hermeneutics. Both disciplines develop scientific hypotheses that attempt to explain the one reality determined by God.
Pannenberg’s second methodological focus is related to the first but focuses more on the task of theology as such. Here, Pannenberg describes the manner in which theology should use scripture and history to explicate the indirect revelation of God in history. His early Revelation as History and subsequent Jesus—God and Man are paradigmatic for this methodological task. In the second part of Theology and the Philosophy of Science, the proposal for the structure of theology as a science and the inter-relation of its various disciplines form a progressive proposal. The tools of the historical sciences should provide data for rational analysis, whether on the question of revelation or of the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection. Analysis of this portion of Pannenberg’s work, however, must be examined within the scope of a separate analysis.
In both tasks, theology is engaged in interpretation and the search for meaning. When it expands to the widest possible context, then the search for meaning coincides with the quest for truth. In anticipation of final verification in the eschaton, and with God as its ultimate horizon, theology can claim a deeper and more meaningful explanation for reality, while engaging the particular sciences in understanding God’s creation. In this task, Wolfhart Pannenberg demonstrates how and why theology must avoid isolation and engage the other disciplines that share this one reality.
Heinrich Scholz, “Wie ist eine evangelische Theologie als Wissenschaft möglich?” Zwischen den Zeiten 9 (1931): 8-53.
Perhaps Barth’s criticism had non-theological reasons as well for criticizing Scholz. Scholz had proposed marriage to Barth’s assistant Charlotte von Kirschbaum, a proposal von Kirschbaum refused. See George Hunsinger, review of Charlotte von Kirschbaum and Karl Barth: A Study in Biography and the History of Theology, by Suzanne Selinger, [review online] (accessed May 4, 2004 ); available from http://www.ptsem.edu/grow/barth/Selinger_review.htm; internet.
Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 14 vols, trans. Geoffrey Bromiley (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1975) I.1, 9.
Ibid., 10.
Wolfhart Pannenberg, “Theological Questions to Scientists,” Toward a Theology of Nature: Essays on Science and Faith, trans. Ted Peters (Nashville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993), 16.
Barth had said something similar in arguing that theology’s scientific status derived from faithfulness to its object. However, for Barth the evidentiary value of any natural knowledge was dependent not on any rational criteria but rather on the nature of the object, God, in giving itself to faith. Thus Pannenberg can argue that Barth did not fully escape Schleiermacher’s subjectivist starting point for theology of which Barth was so critical. See Theology and the Philosophy of Science, 272-273: “Barth’s unmediated starting from God and his revealing word turns out to be no more than an unfounded postulate of theological consciousness. [It] is in fact the furthest extreme of subjectivism made into a theological position.”
Wolfhart Pannenberg, Theology and the Philosophy of Science, trans. Francis McDonagh (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976), 20 (hereafter referred to as TPS).
Ibid., 26.
TPS, 41.
Ibid., 41.
Ibid., 43.
Philip Clayton expands Pannenberg’s point in terms of the need for metaphysics to serve as a ‘control’ in science-theology discourse. See “From Methodology to Metaphysics: The Problem of Control in Science-Religion Discourse,” in Beginning with the End: God, Science, and Wolfhart Pannenberg, edited by Carol Rausch Albright and Joel Haugen (Open Court: Chicago, 1998), 396-408.
TPS, 66.
Ibid., 68.
TPS, 69.
Ibid., 70.
TPS, 103.
Wilhelm Dilthey, Gesammelte Schriften, ed. Bernhard Groethuysen (Leipzig: B. B. Tuebner, 1927); translated in Dilthey: Selected Writings, ed. and trans. H. P. Rickman (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1976), 236. Quoted in TPS, 161-162.
TPS, 201.
Ibid., 220.
Ibid., 224.
Peter Hodgson, review of Theology and the Philosophy of Science, by Wolfhart Pannenberg, Religious Studies Review 3, no. 4 (October 1977): 216.
TPS, 301-303.
Pannenberg, “Theological Questions to Scientists,” 16.
TPS, 22.
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'Condensation' is the master word. This is all about turning a natural phenomenon into a predictable effective process, with noticeable yield.
All our machines operate following the same general process: The ambient air is sucked in the machine and cooled down to its dew point, causing condensation and formation of water. Then, the water is filtered and mineralized to obtain drinking water.
Such operations require energy. Our machines are suitably designed to be self-sufficient, as they generate their own renewable energy: The WMS1000 wind turbine generates and stabilizes the wind energy, thus available to operate all the system (refrigerating compressors, fans, pumps, water treatment, etc.). Our solar models (WMS30kW-SP or NERIOS.S3) generate energy through dedicated solar panels, following the MPTT curve, and convert this energy through an inverter to run each part of the device.
Obviously, energy from the grid or a generator can be used to run the machines and two models in the range have been specifically developed for such applications.
There is always a certain percentage of humidity in the air, otherwise we could not breathe. Moreover, people usually do not settle where conditions are too harsh; they may be only passing through. However, some regions across the world are particularly hot and dry. If the machines do not work efficiently in hot climate conditions with very little humidity during the day, they can produce water with a good performance during the night, when the difference between air temperature and dew point temperature is smaller.
To take advantage of the best possible conditions, at night, despite the absence of solar radiations, Eole Water has developed NERIOS.S3.NERIOS.S3 has a particular unique feature, specially intended for arid areas: it is equipped with an ice accumulator. The energy provided by solar radiations during the day is stored under the form of ice. The cold is then used at night or early morning, at the most favorable hours, to condense the air, using less energy and increasing performance of water output. In addition, this is an eco-friendly solution, with an endless charging and discharging cycle, contrary to conventional batteries.
Solar panels or wind turbines are ideal to meet water needs of isolated sites, rural or remote areas. The stand-alone generators can run few hours after installation without connection to electricity network. This technology is more eco-friendly andreduces the carbon impact of water production on the environment.
For areas already supplied with conventional energy, the grid-tied model can be a more practical and effective solution.Supplied with stable and reliable energy, the machines can operate 24 hours per day. These generators require less space compared with solar or wind turbine models and are easier to transport and to install.
The solar panels supply the electricity needed to run the device. They can be used as a backup generator for home needs but water production will be stopped during this period.
The amount of water depends on atmospheric conditions of the site where the machine is installed and may vary from day to day and even from hour to hour.
Our equipment will work best in warm humid areas but our machines start running fine from:
A table of average water output is reproduced on each of our brochures.
The average yield is progressing with each new design and we are continuing to improve the COP (Coefficient of Performance) of our machines.
Water from condensation is comparable to rainwater: it should not be considered drinkable for human. The raw water needs to be purified to become a safe and tasteful drinking water. This treatment is performed directly by the machines with a series of processing steps: filtration and ultrafiltration, mineralization and a high-performance UV treatment.
The water produced by Eole Water machines is guaranteed to be safe and healthy, free of bacteria, without sodium, nitrates, heavy metals or chemical residues.
The water from Eole Water devices has been tested by certified laboratories and meets World Health Organization (WHO) standards
Our machines are specifically designed to consume as little energy as possible and the price per liter with the grid-tied model is lower than the price of bottled water.
With the wind or solar models, electricity costs are reduced or for zero.
Compared with other systems, the air condensation process produces water without tapping into existing sources, freshwater or saltwater, without rejection of chemicals, pollutants or brine, and without costly conveyance infrastructure.
With its wind or solar models, Eole Water is the only one to propose standalone water making systems able to generate both renewable energy and water, with a remarkable production capacity at the exact location it is required.
Our manufacturing lead-times may vary depending on activity and time period but they usually range between 3 to 6 months, depending the model. The delivery times are specified on our quotes or our pro forma invoices.
For prices and information, please contact us or contact our authorized distributor in your country.
Upon request, Eole Water can provide national or international delivery services.
Our machines can be purchased directly from our offices in France or from our local partners across the world. To find an authorized dealer near you, contact us or refer to 'Our partners' Tab.
This machine is to be installed outside, on flat dense ground or a concrete slab. The air inlet side should be facing prevailing winds. It is recommended to leave a space of 2 m all the way around the machine to allow access from all sides, and allow the machine to draw in and expel air properly.
Once positioned into place, the only technical work remains to connect the machine to a dock or camping connection, to a generator, and/or to the solar PV array through the provided inverter, before switching it on.
Solar panels can be installed on rooftops, building tops or ground-mounted structures. Solar panels perform at optimum capacity placed at the most direct sun exposure. The water generator should be installed nearby to minimize electric cable lengths and potential losses of energy. The installed peak power required is specified on the brochure of our solar models.
Before considering installing the wind turbine, wind patterns and speeds must be studied. The WMS1000 wind turbine requires a minimum wind speed of 7 m/s to be efficient. Due to the size of the equipment (hub height is 24m), a building permit is required; in some circumstances, environmental study and soil survey may be requested.
Civil works are required prior installation (earthworks, concrete base, technical room, fences...). Special equipment for handling works, such as cranes, is necessary for erecting the wind turbine safely. The overall process, as well as overall costs, is not negligible; the task of managing the project should be entrusted to an appropriate company.
Eole Water will bring its expertise for putting the equipment itself into service, making any adjustments and settings on electrical parameters, human machine interface, etc.
Having carried out these steps, the WMS1000 is expected to steadily operate over at least thirty years, if well maintained.
Eole Water grants its customers a free one-year guarantee on parts and labor. Warranty extension packs (2 or 5 years) are proposed with all our devices.
The lifetime of a machine is from 20 to 25 years with very little maintenance, thanks to high-quality and reliable components.
Visual inspection and first-level maintenance for change of consumables (air filters, water filters and mineralization cartridges, UV lamps) are easy to perform, using the operation manual.
For other maintenance operations or repair works, less frequent, they are to be carried out by Eole Water or by a qualified service technician (in electricity, electro-technic, plumbing or HVAC).
A service contract can be entered into with Eole Water at the time of purchase or immediately after the first year of warranty.
In order to extend the life expectancy of your machine and assert its guaranty, Eole Water recommends the use of certified spare parts and consumable. Eole Water is at your disposal to inform you about the spare parts or accessories replacement for your machine and where they can be purchased.
We place great importance on our distributors and want to create close working relationship with them. Our distribution strategy focuses on companies committed to environmental protection, energy saving or water industry and is based on mutual trust which translate in win-win business for both parties.
If you are interested in becoming an authorized distributor and you have the following features, please contact us.
Have a certain starting capital to develop this new activity,
Know the local market, have a strong field presence, a strong network and a good commercial reputation,
Have solid technical knowledge, curiosity and ability,
Sincere cooperation intentions, with genuine effort of market development, operational skills,
Staffed with professional and technical personnel
Our company provides ongoing commercial and technical support, complete information on pending projects, tailored solutions, R&D and products to come, skill sharing, training, advisory services, etc.
Distributor acts as the Prescriber, undertakes the promotion and distribution of the products on the territory, and is the project leader on final implementation. He bills the final customer and he is highly expected to provide local servicing and maintenance, from which he receives direct recurring revenues.
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Viewpoint: Quantum computing over the rainbow
The worldwide quest to build a quantum computer is being fueled by the promise of exponentially greater computational power for particular tasks. The physical form that such a device might take is the subject of hot speculation owing to the extreme difficulty in manipulating and controlling quantum systems. Now, Nicolas C. Menicucci of Princeton University and the University of Queensland, Steven T. Flammia at the Perimeter Institute, and Olivier Pfister of the University of Virginia present in Physical Review Letters a vision for a quantum computer that encodes information in light beams that are massively entangled. They accomplish this using an optical frequency comb, made of millions of classically coherent optical modes. This “top-down” approach to generating a highly entangled cluster state holds great promise for the massive parallelism required for scaling to a useful device.
Quantum information science investigates what additional power and functionality can be realized by harnessing uniquely quantum mechanical effects, such as state superposition (wavelike behavior in quantum mechanics) and entanglement (nonclassical correlations of physically separated systems) . In addition to fundamental physical insights, this program has already resulted in commercial systems that use quantum key distribution to improve communication security . In the future, quantum metrology may enable greater measurement precision and quantum lithography aims to define features smaller than the wavelength of light . But the grand prize is a quantum computer—a device that encodes information in quantum systems and processes that information using the laws of quantum mechanics to realize unprecedented computational power.
Of the various approaches to realizing quantum technologies, photons are an ideal choice for their low-noise and high-speed transmission and have been widely used in quantum communication , quantum metrology [6, 7], and quantum lithography . The difficulty in all-optical quantum computing has been the need for a massive optical nonlinearity to realize the interaction between photons required for two-qubit logic gates (photons normally ignore each other unless they can interact via a nonlinear medium). This problem was solved with a scheme devised by Knill, Laflamme, and Milburn (KLM) , which showed that single-photon measurements could be used to realize the required nonlinearities. Although the KLM scheme required only single-photon sources, detectors, and linear optical elements (beam splitters and phase shifters), a large number of them are required because these measurement-induced nonlinearities are nondeterministic.
This large resource overhead has been dramatically reduced by another development: one-way quantum computing (OWQC) schemes. In the standard quantum circuit formulation of quantum computing, a register of qubits (discrete two-level quantum systems) is initialized, then subjected to a sequence of quantum logic gates that implement the desired algorithm, and then measured, in close analogy with the circuit model for Boolean logic used in conventional computing (regardless of the physical implementation being used). A major departure from this picture is OWQC, where computation proceeds via a sequence of single qubit measurements on a highly entangled cluster state of many qubits . Loosely, one can think of the cluster state as the hardware and the particular sequence of measurements as the software. Each measurement consumes some of the cluster state and since quantum measurements are fundamentally irreversible, the process is “one way.”
Somewhat surprisingly, optical implementations of OWQC were proposed and shown to dramatically reduce the worrisome resource overhead of KLM [11, 12, 13], as well as promising favorable fault tolerance thresholds (the error rate tolerable in a full-scale device) [14, 15]. Along with experimental demonstrations , these new schemes have seen the optical approach to quantum computing grow in stature to become a leading contender . However, the task of controlling the interactions between individual photons to build the required cluster state remains daunting.
In both quantum circuit and one-way formulations, information is typically encoded in two-dimensional qubits, although higher dimensional systems have been considered (e.g., ). Encoding in continuous variable (CV) systems (as opposed to discrete systems, such as two-level qubits) was motivated by the fact that many of the key steps in quantum information protocols could be efficiently realized [19, 20, 21]. In particular, encoding in the amplitude and phase of a light field enables important operations to be implemented deterministically with linear optics, in contrast to the single photon case. This is because the type of detection used is interference detection of the fields, which has almost perfect quantum efficiency.
Recently, Menicucci and colleagues showed that OWQC could be extended to the CV regime , and proposed an optical implementation relying on “squeezing,” where the uncertainty (or noise) in one variable is reduced at the expense of the uncertainty in another (conjugate) variable, bounded by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle: , where and are the two conjugate variables. This process requires nonlinear optical crystals to perform the squeezing—which is less demanding than in the single photon case and able to operate deterministically. Continuous variable one-way computing was dramatically simplified in a scheme that reduced the requirements for crystals to do the squeezing, and also addressed finite squeezing errors , inspiring an experimental demonstration of a four-mode cluster state [24, 25]. However, the problem remained that these schemes built the cluster state in a “bottom-up” fashion, adding one qumode (the CV analogue of a qubit) at a time, thereby leading to the need for a complex multipath optical system.
A significant breakthrough, in terms of practical implementations, came with the realization that a single optical parametric oscillator (OPO)—a nonlinear crystal that fuses or splits photons, sandwiched between the two mirrors of an optical cavity—could be used to directly generate cluster states by pumping it with several laser frequencies simultaneously, thereby removing the need for the complex multipath optics. Now Menicucci, Flammia, and Pfister have shown that a CV cluster state suitable for universal quantum computing can be efficiently generated in the quantum version of an optical frequency comb generated in a single OPO.
The spectrum (Fig. 1, left ) of an optical cavity consisting of two facing mirrors is made up of equally spaced resonant frequencies—an optical frequency comb (OFC), consisting of millions of modes with coherence properties that have found spectacular application in time and frequency metrology, as highlighted by the 2005 Nobel Prize . Each resonant frequency mode behaves like a quantum harmonic oscillator and can be considered a CV qumode. An OPO is formed when a nonlinear optical material is inserted into such an optical cavity. An OPO enables the absorption of a pump photon at frequency (supplied by an external laser) and simultaneous creation of two daughter photons at OFC frequencies and , where , as well as the reverse process where photons are combined. These interactions result in CV entanglement between the and qumodes of the OFC. By engineering the nonlinear material to enable multiple such interactions, and pumping the OPO with several different frequencies, a highly entangled state can be written onto the OFC .
The authors go on to show that an object called a toroidal supergraph, shown in the right panel of Fig. 1, can be created via such a scheme and is universal for quantum computation. This object shows graphically how the qumodes are entangled with each other. Each “macro-node” in the supergraph (left side of right-hand panel) consists of four physical nodes (right side of panel). Measuring one variable (, say) on each physical node in three of the four “layers” leaves the remaining layer in a cluster state that is universal for quantum computing.
This scheme represents a remarkably compact and efficient device for generating massive cluster states for OWQC that overcomes many of the challenges standing before the realization of useful quantum processors. The hardest part of the optical nonlinearity engineering has already been demonstrated , and the requirement to truncate the nonlinear interactions, so that exactly the right cluster state is created, looks possible. Controlling quantum states of light on an optical chip has recently been demonstrated and may find promising application to frequency comb schemes. In addition, the issue of finite squeezing and other imperfections must be considered in a full fault tolerance analysis. If these challenges can be met we may see massive entangled states being generated in the blink of an eye. In August this year Olivier Pfister presented exciting experimental progress towards these new ideas at the Conference on Quantum Communication, Measurement and Computing (QCMC) in Calgary—so stay tuned for more.
- N. C. Menicucci, S. T. Flammia, and O. Pfister, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 130501 (2008)
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SAN FRANCISCO — Volcanic activity in modern-day India, not an asteroid, may have killed the dinosaurs, according to a new study.
Tens of thousands of years of lava flow from the Deccan Traps, a volcanic region near Mumbai in present-day India, may have spewed poisonous levels of sulfur and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and caused the mass extinction through the resulting global warming and ocean acidification, the research suggests.
The findings, presented Wednesday here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, are the latest volley in an ongoing debate over whether an asteroid or volcanism killed off the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago in the mass die-off known as the K-T extinction.
"Our new information calls for a reassessment of what really caused the K-T mass extinction," said Gerta Keller, a geologist at Princeton University who conducted the study.
Science news from NBCNews.com
For several years, Keller has argued that volcanic activity killed the dinosaurs.
But proponents of the Alvarez hypothesis argue that a giant meteorite impact at Chicxulub, Mexico, around 65 million years ago released toxic amounts of dust and gas into the atmosphere, blocking out the sun to cause widespread cooling, choking the dinosaurs and poisoning sea life. The meteorite impact may also have set off volcanic activity, earthquakes and tsunamis. [ Wipe Out: History's Most Mysterious Extinctions ]
The new research "really demonstrates that we have Deccan Traps just before the mass extinction, and that may contribute partially or totally to the mass extinction," said Eric Font, a geologist at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, who was not involved in the research.
In 2009, oil companies drilling off the Eastern coast of India uncovered eons-old lava-filled sediments buried nearly 2 miles (3.3 kilometers) below the ocean surface.
Keller and her team got permission to analyze the sediments, finding they contained plentiful fossils from around the boundary between the Cretaceous-Tertiary periods, or K-T Boundary, when dinosaurs vanished.
The sediments bore layers of lava that had traveled nearly 1,000 miles (1,603 km) from the Deccan Traps. Today, the volcanic region spans an area as big as France, but was nearly the area of Europe when it was active during the late Cretaceous period, said Adatte Thierry, a geologist from the University of Lausanne in France who collaborated with Keller on the research.
Within the fossil record, plankton species got fewer, smaller and maintained less elaborate shells immediately after lava layers, which would indicate it happened in years after the eruptions. Most species gradually died off. In their wake, a hardy plankton genus with a small, nondescript exoskeleton, called Guembilitria, exploded within the fossil record.
Keller's team found similar trends in their analysis of marine sediments from Egypt, Israel, Spain, Italy and Texas. While Guembilitria species represented between 80 percent and 98 percent of the fossils, other species disappeared.
"We call it a disaster opportunist," Keller told LiveScience. "It's like a cockroach — whenever things go bad, it will be the one that survives and thrives."
Guembilitria may have come to dominance worldwide when the huge amounts of sulfur (in the form of acid rain ) released by the Deccan Traps fell into the oceans. There, it would've chemically binded with calcium, making that calcium unavailable to sea creatures that needed the element to build their shells and skeletons.
Around the same time in India, fossil evidence of land animals and plants vanished, suggesting the volcanoes caused mass extinctions on both land and in the sea there.
In past work, the team has also found evidence at Chicxulub that casts doubt on the notion of a meteorite causing the extinction.
Sediments containing iridium, the chemical signature of an asteroid, show up after the extinction occurred, contradicting the notion that it could have caused a sudden die-off, Keller said.
A meteorite impact also would not have produced enough toxic sulfur and carbon dioxide to match the levels seen in the rocks, so it may have worsened the mass extinction, but couldn't have caused it, she said.
"The meteorite is just too small to cause the extinction."
- 25 Amazing Ancient Beasts
- Countdown: History's Most Destructive Volcanoes
- Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth
© 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.
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The main advantage of working with a virtual machine is that you can quickly get a development environment up and running. A modern, complex application probably uses a number of external dependencies, like various database servers, message queue daemons and whatnot. Installing these on every developer's machine individually for a local development environment can be quite a hassle. Using a virtual machine image, you can distribute a pre-configured environment easily.
This does not mean that you set this image up once and cross your fingers that it'll never corrupt. It also doesn't mean that developers are writing their code inside the virtual machine. To create the virtual machine, you should create scripts which can set up a base OS to the desired state. Look at Ansible, Chef, Puppet, simple shell scripts and similar tools for that. These scripts can be used to set up a virtual machine, your production system, test systems etc all from the same source. Creating and distributing a complete image of a virtual machine is just a time saver, since such scripts could take a while to run. It also allows you to easily reset your environment to a known good state if you have messed things up. The VM image is not your one and only source though; if it corrupts it doesn't matter, since it doesn't hold any data or code and since you can simply recreate it.
Secondly, vagrant maps paths inside the virtual machine to paths on the host machine. Your developers can simply write their code as usual on their regular machine and just execute it inside the VM. Since the paths are shared this can happen immediately without needing to copy any files back and forth.
- Maybe vagrant can be useful to you, if your app requires a complex setup.
- Not really, since nothing much changes.
- See above.
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Here, of course, one has to be precise. I remember from school days learning from the Catechism – in the days when we did that sort of thing - and still recall distinctly the definition of a "lie". It was not only the act of uttering an untruth but also included "default and omission". That ethos survives in the oaths given in court where one is required to tell "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth".
In the main, this document (or its authors) lies through omission. It is not what it does state but what it leaves out. But there is also the lie direct. Some of the statements are downright lies.
To give a flavour of this mendacity, read page 4 on "How did the EU start". Says the document:
Fifty years ago, the countries of Western Europe wanted to make sure they would never again fight each other, as they had in two World Wars. They also wanted to boost their economic recovery. Six of them (Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) joined together in 1958 to create the European Economic Community (EEC), which later became the European Union.This is a parody. From reading this, one gets the impression that "fifty years ago" an idea suddenly popped into the heads of "the countries of Western Europe" who wanted to make sure they would never again fight each other.
Apart from peace and stability, the main goal was to make it easier for member countries to trade with each other. This remains one of the main purposes today. But over the years, the member countries of the EU have decided to work together in more areas. For example, through the EU, Europe’s nations now work together to combat environmental pollution, organised crime and world poverty.
The truth, of course, is that the EEC was the third attempt post-war to achieve political union, and attempt by a very small group of politically motivated men, without the knowledge of understanding of most of their fellow countrymen (and women).
As for economic recovery, this was happening anyway – not least through the Marshall Plan – and was never on the agenda of the EEC. The same applies to "trade with each other". The EEC was a customs union, a Colbertian, protectionist construction designed mainly to promote political union. And it is "political union" which has always been the primary objective of the construct. Remember the first preamble to the 1957 treaty?
Determined to lay the foundation of an ever closer union among the peoples of EuropeBut this the document conveniently ignores. What we get is that, after all these countries suddenly decided to work together, they suddenly "decided to work together in more areas," – like the environment. Nothing of engrenage, the steady process of accumulating powers all directed towards the one objective "ever closer union".
We will continue to deconstruct this document but we can say with confidence, even at this stage, it is a thoroughly dishonest document.
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NANTICOKE POST NO. 6
In 1926 a group of local World War I veterans held a meeting in Burton’s Hardware Store for the purpose of organizing an American Legion Post in Seaford. The initial effort was unsuccessful, but later that year plans were revived and Nanticoke Post No. 6 received its charter. In 1934 members constructed the present Post home here on the former site of St. John’s Methodist Episcopal Church. Church trustees had obtained the property in 1818 to serve as the site for “Bochim’s Meeting House”. Worship services were held here until the congregation relocated in 1898.
Nanticoke Post No. 6 was built in log cabin style with lumber hauled here by teams of horses. The fireplace was built of stone taken from the site of the 18th century Cape Henlopen Lighthouse. The Post was formally dedicated on June 6, 1953.
In 1934, Post Commander Harry Truitt and Raymond E. Lloyd, Sr., obtained a 4.7” cannon from the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Grounds for display at the Post. This 1908 model howitzer was one of 55 that were manufactured for training purposes prior to World War I. In 1952 an older artillery piece of unknown origin was donated for display. Its appearance is typical of British long guns that were used extensively in the last half of the 18th century.
Enter your address for driving directions to this marker
The Delaware Public Archives operates a historical markers program as part of its mandate. Markers are placed at historically significant locations and sites across the state. For more information on this program, please contact Kevin Barni at (302) 744-5015
LOCATION: Seaford - West side of Front Street between Poplar Street & Third Street.
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NASA says: "Perchlorates are found naturally on Earth at such places as Chile's hyper-arid Atacama Desert. The compounds are quite stable and do not destroy organic material under normal circumstances. Some microorganisms on Earth are fueled by processes that involve perchlorates, and some plants concentrate the substance. Perchlorates are also used in rocket fuel and fireworks."
So, if we're following this correctly*, there could possibly be Martian animals with perchlorate-fuelled metabolisms, living off perchlorate-concentrating plants. Though there would be a significant risk of these creatures catching fire or exploding if upset - not unlike Terry Pratchett's Discworld dragons, in fact.
* SCIENCE QUALITY WARNING: The chance that we are following this correctly is roughly equivalent to that of a man with no arms throwing a handful of jelly through a falling doughnut at fifty yards without touching the sides.
Balna Watya: I think the climate is a reflection of the divine balance of power. [...] When the ice god is resurgent and his people (the wights and white walkers) are awake, the cold stretches across the entire continent and you get 100 foot snow falls. In more normal times, when the moderate faith of the Seven and the maesters rules, you get relatively moderate and normal winters. This explains the title of the book, A Song of Ice and Fire.
« Older Introducing Nap Time! | Asthma Through the Ages Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
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Overwrites _layout_for in the context object so it supports the case a block is passed to a partial. Returns the contents that are yielded to a layout, given a name or a block.
You can think of a layout as a method that is called with a block. If the user calls yield :some_name, the block, by default, returns content_for(:some_name). If the user calls simply yield, the default block returns content_for(:layout).
The user can override this default by passing a block to the layout:
# The template <%= render :layout => "my_layout" do %> Content <% end %> # The layout <html> <%= yield %> </html>
In this case, instead of the default block, which would return content_for(:layout), this method returns the block that was passed in to render :layout, and the response would be
<html> Content </html>
Finally, the block can take block arguments, which can be passed in by yield:
# The template <%= render :layout => "my_layout" do |customer| %> Hello <%= customer.name %> <% end %> # The layout <html> <%= yield Struct.new(:name).new("David") %> </html>
In this case, the layout would receive the block passed into render :layout, and the struct specified would be passed into the block as an argument. The result would be
<html> Hello David </html>
# File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/rendering_helper.rb, line 79 def _layout_for(*args, &block) name = args.first if block && !name.is_a?(Symbol) capture(*args, &block) else super end end
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| 0.738433 | 396 | 2.65625 | 3 |
The history of the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows in Starkenburg, Missouri, begins in 1887 when Fr. George Hoehn was appointed pastor to St. Martin's Catholic Church. The church was situated on Missour River bottom land called Rhineland or Loutre Island [loutre is French for otter], a settled area without a specific name. During the 38 years Fr. Hoehn spent here he became the Shrine's most zealous publicist.
He was born in Heppenheim in 1856 in the southwest part of Germany. He lost both his parents at age three. He came to the United States at age 16, worked odd jobs, even opened a religious goods store near SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri. He studied for the priesthood at St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and finished his formation at the University of Louvain in Belgium. He was ordained at age 30 (1886). Nine priests credited their priesthood to his example–seven from Germany and two from Missouri.
The town name of "Starkenburg" came from Fr. Hoehn. In 1891, he applied for a post office box because of the amount of mail coming into the area and was required to give a name to complete the forms. Looking at the surrounding hills and the St. Martin's parish church rising high above them, its 125-foot steeple piercing the sky over the river valley, he thought of the likeness to his birthplace in Heppenheim and the hill rising up from it to the fortress called "Starkenburg," a name meaning "strong fort" in German. The Starkenburg fortress had been built in 1025 by monks of the monastery of Lorsch as protection for the abbey against the political and ecclesiastical machinations of Adalbert, Archbishop of Hamburg-Mainz. After 1232, Starkenburg became a kind of military headquarters for guarding the lands of the Chancellor of the Roman Empire and the Archbishop of Mainz. It was seized in 1620 by the Counts of the Palatinate, a German state which had apostatized from the Faith in the protestant revolution which had overwhelmed northern Germany. After its long resistance–for justice within the Church herself and then in opposition to the protestant revolt attacking her–the Starkenburg fortress was taken over by the German state of Hessen in 1803.
Fr. Hoehn died in 1943 and was buried in the convent cemetery of the Precious Blood Sisters at O'Fallon, Missouri. Before he died, he built a small chapel at the base of the Starkenburg hill in Heppenheim. He dedicated it to "Our Lady of Starkenburg, Missouri" and had carved for its altar a copy of the White Lady of Starkenburg (about whom we will now learn).
In 1852 the parish church of St. Martin (in what would be finally called Starkenburg) was only a humble log building. It possessed a plain white statue of the Mother of God for whom the German immigrant Catholics of the bottom lands had great devotion. This statue became known as the "White Lady" because of the white veil which adorned it. Our Lady has been known under this name ever since.
In 1873, the original log church of St. Martin's was replaced by one of stone and soon after a larger statue replaced the White Lady. In 1888, the old faded White Lady was discovered in the rectory attic by August Mitsch, the young nephew of Fr. Hoehn who brought him from Heppenheim to enter religious life in America. He put the image on a small altar he built under a canopy of dogwood. He started his daily May devotions and was soon joined by children and neighbors. Old timers recognized the White Lady and devotion to her was rekindled in the parishioners. May passed, but instead of returning the image to storage, Mitsch and two seminarians built a small log hut for its protection. Many of the faithful frequented the woodland shrine, and the hut was replaced by the small chapel shrine. This chapel shrine still stands.
In November, 1888, August Mitsch left for the Marianist Novitiate in Dayton, Ohio, the first such vocation from Missouri. On March 31, 1889, following a retreat, he made the promises of the novitiate, but suddenly became seriously ill and was forced to return to Starkenburg to recover. His first walk took him to the Lady Chapel in the woods. A month later 19-year-old August died. It was June 20, the anniversary of the death of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Patron of Youth, whom he had chosen as his model. He passed away at Alexian Brothers hospital in St. Louis and was laid to rest in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery there. His uncle, Fr. Hoehn, insisted he be buried at Starkenburg. In 1916, his remains were brought back by train from St. Louis, and by horse and wagon from nearby Rhineland, Missouri. His grave is marked with a headstone (circled, see p. 22) near the log Lady Chapel he built.
The Lady Chapel shrine in the woods was visited often by area Catholics and its fame spread. In the 1890's, the newly-laid Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad [a.k.a. the MKT Railroad and nicknamed the KATY Railroad–Ed.] brought pilgrims west from St. Louis and east from the American Southwest. Pilgrims began to come from all directions.
In 1889, on the Feast of Seven Sorrows of Our Lady (Sept. 15), the first Way of the Cross was erected with the approval of St. Louis Archbishop Peter Kenrick in the woods near the Lady Chapel. These original stations were placed under glass in simple wooden cases raised on posts. The woodland received a special blessing and no cattle or vehicles were permitted to cross the premises. In 1901, a native of Westphalia, Kansas, having received great consolation while visiting Starkenburg, offered to buy a more durable series of Stations, but they too succumbed to deterioration and were replaced in 1950 by the Stations of reinforced concrete that pilgrims see today. At this time, between the first and last Stations, an underground sepulcher was built where an image of the dead Christ lies with a Calvary grouping erected atop it.
Over the years the image of the White Lady had begun to look weather-beaten. In 1890, Catholics from St. Louis donated an image of the Pieta (circled in picture on this page) from Dusseldorf, Germany, to the Shrine. It was made in Dusseldorf, Germany. It was used in processions and is now enshrined on a side altar of the 1910 church. The White Lady was once again retired to storage.
In 1891, six weeks of rain halted the building of a tower and addition to the old St. Martin's parish church and threatened to destroy the harvest. Fr. Hoehn invited the parish to join him in vowing to sponsor an annual pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows if the imminent danger were averted. And it was. The rains subsided and a bumper wheat crop was harvested. In the same year, the parish gave thanks for three days ending with a solemn procession to the log Lady Chapel in the woods. While numerous private pilgrimages had been made already by parishioners, this was the first public pilgrimage observed in Starkenburg. A year later, 40 Catholics from Hermann, Missouri, were the first non-parishioners to make the pilgrimage as part of a mission conducted by two Redemptorist priests.
A drought threatened the corn crop in 1894 and again the parishioners gathered at the shrine where they spent the whole day in prayer. The object inspiring their veneration was the Pieta, the Sorrowful Mother veiled by a mantle of fine material. During the night, a fire started from an unknown cause, consumed the altar linens and burned deep holes into the altar, but the Pieta which stood in the center of the flames was not touched. The next day, the drought broke and the corn crop was saved. From that time, public pilgrimages increased every year.
On July 27, 1897, Pope Leo XIII officially granted plenary indulgences, at certain times and under the usual conditions of a good Confession, reception of Holy Communion, and prayers before the holy image of the Pieta, to pilgrims who visited the Shrine. This further encouraged pilgrimages to Starkenburg.
Early pilgrims found lodging in the homes of farmers. The St. Martin's schoolhouse was used as a dormitory for women. Men and boys often slept in haylofts. By 1899, the men of St. Martin's had built a Pilgrim House to accommodate 100. Parish women took over furnishing bedding. In the basement, they set up kitchen facilities. Even with the Pilgrim House, the parish schoolhouse, rectory, and convent often had to be opened to pilgrims. Over the years, these buildings have succumbed to age and fire and have been razed. In 1964, the existing cafeteria hall was constructed.
Blessing of the Scrip
Serious pilgrimages are identified by an item characteristic of the saint(s) in whose memory and for whose intercession that pilgrimage is made.This item is called the "scrip." For instance, for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella (St. James) it is a shell for reason that much of the Camino Real is along Spain's northern seashore.The scrip for the pilgrimage to St. Olaf's in Norway is an axe head, the instrument of his martyrdom. Pilgrims to Jerusalem wear a cross. They are blessed by the priest before departure:
Let it be suggested that the official scrip of the Starkenburg Pilgrimage be a white handkerchief, pinned to the arm or knotted about the neck, in honor of the veiled "White Lady," Our Lady of Sorrows.
At the foot of the hill upon which the shrine churches are built lies the Grotto of Lourdes. Early on, parishioners placed a picture of the Immaculate Conception in a stone enclosure they made for its protection. Later a replica of the Lourdes Grotto was constructed. Up to now, some maintained that Starkenburg was not a genuine place of pilgrimage, much less a place of grace. Fr. Hoehn prayed that some sign of authenticity might be granted from Heaven. There was no water at the Grotto and he prayed to the Blessed Mother for a fountain of fresh water. Against the protests of area farmers who disbelieved water would be found here, a well was dug at the site. After three days digging, on September 3, 1900, the Feast of Mary, Comfortress of the Afflicted, a spring was struck. The next year, a drought came upon the area, cisterns and creeks went dry, but not the Lourdes Well (circled above). Shortly after the well had been dug, Fr. Hoehn went to France. To affiliate the Starkenburg well with that of Lourdes, he brought back from Lourdes a large container of its water which he poured into the Starkenburg well.
No official claims have ever been made for healing power either by drinking or touching the water of the Starkenburg Lourdes Well, but there are reports of cures. A notable case is that of Sr. Vera, a Loretto sister teaching at Webster College, Kansas City, who visited the Grotto in 1940 suffering from a large cyst in the throat which was to require a serious operation. She drank the water of the Starkenburg well. Upon presenting herself for the operation, no trace of the cyst could be found. In 1970, Sr. Vera signed a statement testifying that no sign of the cyst had returned.
Also in 1940, a crowd from St. Stephen's of St. Louis, Missouri, honored the statue of the Sorrowful Mother with a gold crown in thanksgiving for an apparently miraculous cure of a crippled girl of the parish during a pilgrimage in 1939.
In 1934, the Grotto was rebuilt by Bro. Michael Brown, an Oblate of Mary. He was called to serve in World War II (1942), was later reported missing, and eventually declared dead somewhere in the Pacific theater.
In 1895, Archbishop John Kain of St. Louis came to Starkenburg to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation. His grace preached on the greatness of Mary and concluded by saying: "May the pilgrims come from far and near to this place to gaze at the face of our Sorrowful Mother and find therein consolation and peace for their aching hearts." In 1906, on the same spot where Archbishop Kain uttered these words, the friends of Our Lady of Sorrows began to erect a handsome Romanesque chapel built of native stone. Funds were raised through Fr. Hoehn's monthly magazine, Der Pilger (The Pilgrim), and plans came from a contractor in Mainz, Germany. Neighboring farmers donated rocks for the foundation. During the winter when trees are barren, one can still see the rocky hillsides to the east from which these rocks came. Men dug the foundation trench six feet deep and eight feet wide–the walls of the shrine church are eight feet thick–and saw Fr. Hoehn set the first stone in the trench on the Feast of the Holy Redeemer (Oct. 23, 1906). On May 24, Feast of Mary Help of Christians, the foundation had been built up to ground level and the church cornerstone was laid. The document placed in the cornerstone reads:
The cornerstone was laid in honor of Christ, the Eternal King, and in honor of His most amiable Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Help of Christians, on the 24th day of May, 1908, on the 5th Sunday after Easter during the reign of Pope Pius X whilst John Joseph Glennon was Archbishop of St. Louis, and George Hoehn, Pastor of St. Martin's Parish....
Since the new shrine church was to be on the site of the dogwood bush where the original devotion to Our Lady was begun, the log chapel had to be moved on skids a short ways to where it now stands. As it was moved, its small bell squeaked so terribly that the carpenters searched for some oil. Finding none, some butter was procured from the rectory housekeeper with which to grease the bell bracket. The job done, the bell tower was inscribed in German, "This bell for the Holy Mother has now been greased with butter."
On July 16, 1910, the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, a cross measuring seven feet high was raised and placed on the steeple. The bell in the 67-foot tower was donated by the same Kansas pilgrim who had donated the second series of Stations. The bell was blessed on the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary (Sept. 12) and solemnly dedicated to the Holy Archangel Gabriel.
On September 14, the White Lady, rescued from storage and painted, was enthroned under the marble baldacchino of the main altar where it is today. The next day, Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, Archbishop Glennon arrived for a day of dedication ceremonies attended by many priests, three Starkenburg seminarians, and hundreds of pilgrims.
In 1912, Fr. Hoehn brought from Germany a small stone of the old Starkenburg fortress which was mortared into the east wall of the shrine church. A plaque designates this stone.
Crutches, braces, and marble plaques line the walls of the side chapel of the Pieta, bearing testimony to the faith and gratitude of the pilgrims who obtained consolation and relief through the intercession of Our Lady. One of the plaques containing "Danke"–Thank you–was placed there in 1908 by a young student (circled, see pp. 20, 21) with a growth which suddenly appeared on his hand. With prayer and use of the holy water from the Starkenburg Lourdes Well it disappeared and never returned. The student was Martin Hellriegel, one of the three St. Martin's seminarians who escorted Archbishop Glennon into the shrine church on the day of its dedication. He was later ordained, celebrated his first Mass in the Starkenburg shrine church (1914), and served as pastor at St. Martin's. He went on to become pastor for 40 years at Holy Cross Catholic Church in St. Louis, making of it a model of liturgical practice for Gregorian chant and service of the altar. Before his death in 1981, he partially repudiated his support of the Novus Ordo. He is the composer of the hymn, "Jesus Christ, Our Sovereign King." He is responsible for the conversion of Ernest Beck, a protestant minister ordained a Catholic priest, who celebrated exclusively the Latin Mass for 40-50 people in Wilmington, North Carolina, until his death.
In 1925, Fr. Hoehn sought the help of a religious order to entrust care of the Shrine. An invitation was accepted by the Oblates of Mary who had a Minor Seminary in nearby Belleville, Illinois, and who knew the Shrine well. The Oblates were charged to care for the Shrine for 35 years. Remarkable among the Oblates who did this was Fr. Aloysius Rosenthal, who was responsible for the Shrine from 1934-43. These years saw a heavy influx of pilgrims. A special KATY Railroad train was run on the two big pilgrimage days, the third Sunday in May and the second Sunday in September. As many as 3,000 people attended these annual pilgrimages regularly.
With the start of World War II, however, the rationing of gas and tires and the inability to get trains took its toll on pilgrimage attendance. Starkenburg was cut from the St. Louis diocese and put into the new Jefferson City, Missouri, diocese. This created a shortage of priests to care for the Shrine site. In 1960, the duties of St. Martin's parish and nearby St. Joseph's of Rhineland were assigned to a single priest. The Oblates of Mary reluctantly gave up care of the Shrine. The numbers of pilgrims and pilgrimages declined drastically. In 1970, a lay organization was established to care for the Shrine. One of the first necessities was to raise funds for repairs, maintenance, improvements, and exposure. A museum was opened in 1970. It is located in the sacristy behind the main altar of the old St. Martin's parish church. The lay organization is now independent of the founding parish, St. Martin's, which has since been renamed Risen Savior Church. The Shrine is open year-round. It is located 75 miles west of St. Louis, or 170 miles east of Kansas City on I-70; then take Hwy. 19 south for 7 miles to Big Spring; then Hwy. K west 6 miles to Hwy. P. and travel south for 4 miles to Starkenburg.
Since 1999, the Society of Saint Pius X has sponsored each fall the Starkenburg Pilgrimage for various intentions. The route is 12 miles long starting in Portland, Missouri, and follows the rails-to-trails gravel path of the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (known as the KATY Trail) along the Missouri River.
The 2004 Starkenburg Pilgrimage will be Saturday, October 23. Regional chapels will be sent information packets in advance; otherwise call or write Mrs. Frances Bullock, 3110 Flora Ave., Kansas City, MO, 64109. Tel. 816-923-6411.
Photographs taken by Fr. Kenneth Novak, Miss Caroline Awerkamp, and Mr. David Kleinsmith.
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Slide 1: Transportation in Plants What is transportation and why is it required? : What is transportation and why is it required? Transportation is a process which involves movement substances from the source to the sink and vice versa.
As plants are living they have to transfer certain materials to meet their requirements. What do they transport? : What do they transport? Food prepared by the leaves
Some metabolic products
Minerals How do they transport materials? : How do they transport materials? Transportation in plants is carried out by 2 specialized vascular tissues.
These tissues specifically carry out the transportation of food and water.
Transportation o food takes place through Phloem
Transportation of water takes place through Xylem Vascular Tissue : Vascular Tissue Transportation of Water and Minerals : Transportation of Water and Minerals Water and minerals are transported by Xylem.
Xylem consists of two kinds of elements called tracheids and vessels.
Tracheids and vessels of roots, stem and leaves are interconnected.
They form a water conducting channel. Mechanism involved : Mechanism involved Water is lost from the external surfaces of the mesophyll cells of the leaves by evaporation.
The loss of water from a mesophyll cell makes the cell hypertonic to an adjacent cell.
Water from the adjacent cell diffuses into the mesophyll cell by osmosis and this in turn draws water from another adjacent cell into this cell.
Water continues to diffuse from neighboring cells into the adjacent cells.
Finally, water is drawn from the xylem vessels in the veins.
A pulling force is created to pull water up the xylem vessels as a result of the evaporation of water vapour and this is known as Transpirational pull.
Root Force is used for transportation at night as transpiration does not take place. Transportation of Food : Transportation of Food The movement of food from leaves to other parts of the plant is called Translocation.
In plants, phloem Translocates the food and other substances.
Movement of food can take place in both directions depending upon the need with the help of sieve tubes and companion cells. Slide 11: Flow of substances Tissue of a leaf How is Translocation achieved? : How is Translocation achieved? Translocation in the phloem takes place by utilizing energy.
Sucrose is transported using ATP.
With increase in osmotic pressure water moves in.
The pressure moves material from phloem to the required tissue.
So the phloem sap with food will move from leaves to required parts.
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Latin name: Camelopardus
Other names: Camelopardalis, Camelus pardalis, Nabun
A beast that looks like a camel but has the spots of a leopard
|Sources (chronological order)|
Pliny the Elder [1st century CE] (Natural History, Book 8, 1-13): The Ethiopians give the name nabun to a beast that has the neck of a horse, feet and legs like an ox, and the head of a camel. It is a reddish color and has white spots, so it is also called camelopard. It was first seen in Rome in the Circus put on by Caesar.
Isidore of Seville [7th century CE] (Etymologies, Book 12, 2:19): The camelopardus is so called because it has the head of a camel and the spots of a pard. Its neck is like that of a horse, and its feet like those of cattle. It is from Ethiopia.
Sir John Mandeville [14th century CE] (Travels, chapter 31): There also be many beasts, that be clept orafles. In Arabia, they be clept gerfaunts. That is a beast, pomely or spotted, that is but a little more high than is a steed, but he hath the neck a twenty cubits long; and his croup and his tail is as of an hart; and he may look over a great high house. ( Macmillan edition of 1900)
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THE GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY: (England)
Meaning of Political Democracy:
Principle: That government is created by, derives it powers from, and exists to serve the people.
FEATURES: Modern Democratic Systems
1. Governmental powers are limited by a written constitution or by a unwritten constitution (a group of documents and basic laws).
2. People protected by constitutional guarantees of basic civil liberties.
a. Freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly.
b. Right to bail, impartial trial, and equal treatment under the law.
c. Minority groups have the right to full and free participation in society and government.
d. Officials chosen by secret ballots in free elections.
e. Legislature conducts free and open debate on issues and passes laws by majority vote.
f. More than one political party exists, each free to present its views.
POLITICAL DEMOCRACY IN HISTORY:
1. Appeared first in Ancient Greek city states and in the Roman Republic.
2. Replaced by autocracy: rulers of the Roman Empire, feudal lords of the Middle Ages and Absolute Monarches.
3. Reappeared as a result of the 17th Century English Revolution and the 18th Century American and French Revolutions.
ORIGIN OF DEMOCRATIC GROWTH: ENGLAND
1. Jury System: Henry II (1154-1189)
a. Royal Courts replaced feudal justice.
b. Establishment of the Grand Jury.
Purpose: to strengthen royal authority - however, it evolved into the modern jury system.
2. The Magna Carta (1215) King John - forced upon him by feudal nobles to protect their rights.
a. The King (monarch) subject to the law.
b. All persons guaranteed trial by jury.
c. Great Council alone could ley taxes.
3. Model Parliament (1295) Edward I
a. Expanded the Great Council's membership to include the Middle Class.
b. Purpose: to place taxes upon and ensure the loyalty of the wealthy middle class.
4. English Common Law: by the 13th Century
a. Judges basing decisions on similar cases decided before.
b. Common Law held that life, liberty, and property could not be taken away by illegal or arbitrary action.
5. Parliamentary Lawmaking (14th Century)
* By threatening to withhold tax legislation, Parliament forced English monarches to accept its legislation on all matters.
* Laws - required the consent of both houses of Parliament and the approval of the monarch.
PARLIAMENT AND THE TUDORS:
1. Followed a popular foreign policy by opposing Catholic Spain.
2. Aided the middle class by providing law and order, encouraging trade, and furthering overseas expansion.
3. Outwardly appeared to consult Parliament but actually dominated it.
4. Under Henry VIII, Parliament ratified nearly every expression of royal will.
5. By Elizabeth's death, a law passed in Parliament had virtually replaced other forms of legislation (such as the royal writ) as the law of the land.
* Elizabeth recognized the freedom of parliamentary debate by acknowledging that members of Parliament should not be punished for anything said inside Parliament.
JAMES I (1603-25) AND THE STUART DYNASTY
1. Elizabeth left the throne to her 3rd cousin, James VI of Scotland ---- becoming James I of England.
2. Tudor - Stuart Family Connection:
a. Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, married James IV of Scotland.
b. Mary Queen of Scots was the granddaughter of Margaret - and mother of James VI.
3. Mary Queen of Scots
a. Betrothed and married to Francis (II) of France who died in 1560 -- she was raised in Catholic France.
b. She returned to Scotland and married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.
c. Elizabeth imprisoned her.
1.) Question of Henry VIII's divorce to Catherine of Aragon.
2.) Most European monarches recognized Mary as the rightful ruler of England at the death of Mary Tudor.
3.) She became the object of Catholic conspiracies -- eventually she was executed by Elizabeth in 1587.
4. James I - believed in the Divine Right of Kings.
a. He rejected the Calvinist (Puritan) belief that the king, like any other man, was subject to God's law and to His Church.
b. James: There was no reason why his royal power and perogatives should be questioned in England -- he declared to Parliament the right of the king to make or dispense with laws.
5. Parliament: was self confident in its position during the 16th Century.
a. English lawyers believed in the inviolability of Common Law.
b. Radical Protestants or Puritans wanted the Church of England reformed.
c. Others - who were simply hostile to the status quo.
6. Parliamentary Opposition
a. Parliament had opposed Elizabeth on many occasions, but it was confined to specific issues and not the position of the monarch.
b. Under James - different groups united in their opposition to the king for the defense of its own constitutional position.
c. The House of Commons - ,believed the king and his ministers were indifferent or even hostile to common law which they regarded as the cornerstone of English liberty.
7. Sir Edward Coke and the "Country Party"
a. As Chief Justice of the King's Bench, Coke developed a constitutional doctrine based on the rule of law - he believed it was the highest authority.
ie. the law.
b. Dismissed from the bench, he became a member of Parliament and headed the opposition to the king.
* He was especially opposed to royal use of the Star Chamber and the Court of High Commission and summary punishments handed down to those who opposed the king.
8. Finances - need for money (Stuart conception of monarchy and rewards to court favorites).
a. James was forced to go to Parliament more frequently than Elizabeth ----- otherwise, he ignored Parliament.
b. James made no attempt to form or lead a king's party in the House of Commons to counterbalance the country party.
c. Parliament insisted on discussing Parliamentary "liberties" before granting funds to the king.
The King (angered) dismissed Parliament and raised money by:
9. Failure of James I: unlike Elizabeth, he did not appreciate the importance of Parliament nor the need to exert royal leadership through the House of Commons.
* Significance: The King James Bible.
CHARLES I AND REVOLUTION: (1625-49)
1. Incompetent, weak, and stubborn to deal with the problems that faced him.
* Repression - was his normal reaction.
2. 1628: Sir Edward Coke pushed through Parliament the Petition of Right.
* Charles was forced to agree to several specific limitations on royal power.
a. Taxation without the consent of Parliament was prohibited.
b. Billeting of soldiers in private homes was prohibited.
c. Imprisonment without a specific charge was prohibited.
d. Establishment of martial law in peace time was prohibited.
* Importance: confirmed the Englishman's right to due process of law against arbitrary royal power.
3. Debate: King and Parliament
a. Treasonable statements were common place in the pamphlet war.
b. 1629: John Eliot, a leader in the House of Commons, was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his stand against royal policies -- he died there two years later.
4. No Parliament was called from 1629 until 1640:
ie. the refusal of Parliament to grant the king funds.
5. By the 1630's: The Crown was in desperate financial straits.
a. 1635 - the King imposed "ship money" over the whole country -- opposed especially by the Gentry.
* It had originally been intended to finance coastal defenses and was only levied on coastal communities.
b. Charles made several attempts to levy taxes of various kinds without the consent of Parliament.
6. Protestant Opposition to Charles' Foreign Policy (Puritan Fear).
a. Of Spain, of the Hapsburg Counter Reformation - the possibility of an English Inquisition.
b. Parliament wanted active participation in the Thirty Years' War against the Hapsburgs.
7. Charles and Archbishop Laud (Canterbury):
a. Insisted on a rigid Anglo-Catholic Liturgy in the Church of England.
b. Laud used the Court of High Commission to get around the common law courts to inquire into religious questions.
c. 1637 - Laud attempted to impose the Anglican Prayer Book on the Scottish Presbyterian Church.
d. Riots and rebellion in the North -- led the king in 1640 to call Parliament into session.
8. 1640 - (53) 60: The Long Parliament
a. Under the leadership of John Pym - the Star Chamber and the Court of High Commission were abolished.
b. The king's chief ministers were impeached.
(Laud and Strafford - were eventually executed).
c. It abolished ship money and other illegal taxes (feudal dues).
* A law was also passed that required Parliament to be called into session at least once every three years.
d. 1641: Ireland rebelled resulting from a royal policy of seizing land and giving it to English and Scottish settlers.
e. 1642: Parliament asserted its authority over county militias claiming the supreme authority of the king - in - parliament.
* Importance: The King's constitutional authority could be exercised only with and through Parliament.
f. Parliament attempted to do away with bishops in the Anglican Church.
g. As a result of this action, an attempt was made to arrest opposition leaders in Parliament - it failed, they had fled.
h. The King withdrew to Oxford to raise an army and Parliament raised an army against the king.
THE PURITAN REVOLUTION OR THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR
1. The King's supporters, Royalists or Cavaliers: Anglicans, Roman Catholics and the Nobility.
2. Parliament's Supporters: Roundheads
Calvinists: Puritans, Presbyterians, and Separatists
* Puritans wanted to stay in the Anglican Church, keeping its organization under bishops but "purifying" its ceremonies and doctrines by removing "popish" elements.
* Presbyterians wanted an established church without bishops. Similar to the church established by John Knox in Scotland.
* Separatists also known as Independents or Congregationalists did not want any established Church wanting each congregation completely independent from the other (ie. pilgrims).
a. Original Aim: was a negotiated peace with the king ------ to define the place of the king in the constitution and assure the supremacy of Parliament and the reformation.
b. Distrusting the king the Parliamentary Party, headed by Oliver Cromwell, decided to fight for total victory.
c. After suffering two defeats, Charles I surrendered in 1646.
3. The Rump Parliament and Pride's Purge
a. A power struggle for control of the government developed among the Calvinist groups.
b. Colonel Thomas Pride's troops kept all Anglicans and Presbyterian members from entering the House of Commons.
1.) This action left only 60 members, all Separatists in Parliament.
2.) They abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords.
3.) England was proclaimed to be a Commonwealth (Republic) and a special court was set up to try Charles I for treason.
4.) On January 4, 1649, Charles I was executed.
* Charles' family fled and lived in exile in France and Holland at different times.
1. The country was governed by a Council of State chosen by Parliament.
a. It was composed of 41 members.
b. The Judiciary: its primary purpose was to maintain common law (this was seen as essential for the new regime).
1.) Protection of private property was also seen as a primary concern.
2.) Yet, there were elements within the army who wanted more radical redistribution of land (especially land seized from the nobility).
2. Cromwell was made commander of the Army for a war in Ireland.
1649: brutal repression by Cromwell (ie. Catholics and Royalists).
a. The Scottish Estates proclaimed the king's son, King Charles II of Britain, France, and Ireland.
b. Presbyterian Demand: to do away with Bishops in the Church. He agreed at least for the time being (need for political support).
c. Cardinal Mazarin in France and Prince William of Orange in Holland lent their support to Scotland.
d. The Council of State made Cromwell Commander - in - Chief of the army.
1.) The Royalist forces were defeated.
2. A One Thousand pounds reward was placed on Charles II and eventually he escaped from England.
* After six weeks of hiding, Charles was able to return to Europe. It was the last time he attempted military force to regain power.
4. Real power was in the hands of the military - Cromwell was a virtual military dictator.
5. Domestic Policy: to benefit the Middle Class.
Navigation Act - 1651: purpose was to restore trade with the colonies to English merchants which had been taken over by the Dutch during the Civil War.
1652-54: Commercial War was fought with the Dutch.
6. Lord Protector - The Protectorate: 1653-58
a. Created by the Instrument of Government: Cromwell took more and more power into his own hands until he had established an efficient military dictatorship.
b. English counties were placed under the authority of "major generals".
7. Basis of Power:
a. Support of a strong disciplined army - Cromwell's enemies had no organized opposition.
b. Purpose: to create a godly society - he purged Parliament ---- Parliament was elected by landowners.
c. The Middle Class that had supported the Civil War were denied political participation.
d. Cromwell closed all theaters and most forms of public entertainment.
* He allowed no political or religious opposition. Cromwell viewed their struggle as a religious revolution and he did not want it to become a Democratic Revolution.
8. Trouble With Parliament: ie. unpopularity of the Protectorate.
a. Separatists were in the minority, but they held control of the government.
b. Catholics and Anglicans could not practice their religions.
c. Puritans and Presbyterians wanted an Established Church.
* Cromwell could not develop a consensus for political support after the fall of the old order.
1. 1658: Cromwell's Death (Monk leader of the army).
a. Richard Cromwell attempted to rule as Lord Protector.
b. He did not have the full support of the army.
ie. the unpopularity of the Protectorate.
2. 1660: Parliament asked Charles II who had been in exile in France and then in Holland to return to England as their king.
a. The Gentry who had opposed the early Stuarts on legal and constitutional grounds provided strong support for the monarchy.
* A desire to recapture the peace and security they had lost over the last two decades.
b. The gentry no longer wanted to reform the Anglican Church ----- they feared the political implications of Radical Protestantism.
3. Charles II removed Calvinist restrictions -- he believed in Divine Right, but he was careful in his relationship with Parliament.
4. Continuation of Mercantilist Policies
a. The war with the Dutch.
b. Took New Amsterdam in North America and renamed it New York.
c. Charles signed several alliances with Louis XIV, but was forced to withdraw from them (150 years of rivalry for sea and colonial empire followed).
5. 1666: The Great Fire of London was followed by the plague.
Christopher Wren: built Saint Paul's Cathedral, London became a city of stone and brick.
6. Parliament and Charles II
a. He attempted to lift some restrictions on Catholics but failed.
b. 1679: Habeas Corpus Act (within twenty days) was passed by Parliament.
c. Development of Political Parties.
1.) Tories: supported a strong hereditary king (upper class and Anglicans).
2.) Whigs: supported the idea of a weak king and a strong Parliament (middle class and non Anglican Protestants.
d. Fear of a Catholic Restoration
1.) In the late 1670's: The Earl of Shaftesbury unsuccessfully attempted to exclude James, Charles' younger brother, from the throne.
2.) He was later exiled when he attempted to win the throne for the Duke of Monmouth (an illegitimate Protestant son of Charles II - 1685).
JAMES II AND THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION
1. Charles II died in 1685, and his brother James succeeded to the throne.
2. James antagonized both Whigs and Tories in Parliament.
a. Statements about royal perogatives - he lacked Charles' willingness to work with Parliament.
* He was very young during the Civil War.
b. Interference with the courts and common law (ie. attitudes of earlier Stuarts).
3. Problem: succession to the throne.
a. James II had two Protestant daughters.
Mary who was married to William of Orange, ruler of the Dutch Netherlands.
Anne who was married to a Danish Prince.
b. James had remarried a Catholic and their son was baptized a Catholic in 1688.
* The situation worsened when James prosecuted the Archbishop of Canterbury and six other bishops for seditious libel.
4. Tories and Whigs agreed that James II must abdicate.
a. William of Orange of the Netherlands who was married to James' daughter, Mary -- invaded England in 1688 at the invitation of powerful members of Parliament.
b. When the Commander of the English Army declared for the invader. James fled with his family to safety in France.
c. William III and Mary were established as joint rulers of England.
1.) William's chief goal was to form a Protestant alliance against Louis XIV.
2.) He was not interested in English Constitutional Questions -- he gave Parliament an opportunity to place legal limitations upon the monarchy.
The Glorious Revolution (1688-89): Constitutional questions settled with a minimal amount of bloodshed.
Importance: It established without question the ultimate sovereignty of the king - in - Parliament and of parliamentary statute law.
Roman Catholics were forever excluded from the succession to the English throne.
PARLIAMENT AND CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
1. Bill of Rights: agreed to by William and Mary ------- became law in 1689.
a. The king was chosen by Parliament and subject to its laws.
b. The king could not proclaim or suspend any law, levy taxes or maintain a standing army in peace time without the consent of Parliament.
c. Elections would be held without the interference of the king, and free speech was guaranteed.
d. Right of Petition to the government was guaranteed.
e. No excessive bail or cruel or unusual punishment.
2. Act of Toleration: 1689
a. Freedom of religion for non-Anglican Protestants.
b. Heavy restrictions remained for Catholics.
c. The Test Act: non-Anglican Protestants could not hold public office.
3. Act of Settlement: 1701
a. If William would die with no heir, the throne would go to Anne.
b. If Anne had no heirs, the throne would go to the granddaughter of James I, Princess Sophia of Hanover.
c. Purpose: to prevent the Catholic descendants of James II from succeeding to the throne.
a. Conservative settlement founded on property and civil rights - landowners saw no need for further reform.
b. Common Law and Parliamentary rule prevented governmental tyranny and absolutism.
c. The Law: favored the rich (it was slow and expensive). Parliamentary Rule ----- by the wealthy, propertied classes.
5. Parliament's Power:
a. Cabinet System: ministers of governmental departments began under Charles II.
1.) Chosen from leaders in the House of Commons.
2.) Eventually from the Majority Party.
b. Gained the right to declare war.
c. Queen Anne (1702-1714) -- last monarch to veto an Act of Parliament.
d. Act of Union: 1707
1.) United Scotland and England into the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
2.) Scotland was given seats in both the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
e. 1714 - The Elector of Hanover became the King of England.
1.) The Hanoverian Dynasty - George I (German Speaking).
2.) Furthering to strengthen the function of government through Parliament.
6. Prime Minister
a. 1721-1742: The Whigs controlled the House of Commons.
b. Robert Walpole: was eventually recognized as the Prime Minister.
Originally: The First Lord of the Treasury.
c. The Prime Minister is the recognized leader of the majority party in the House of Commons.
1. An intellectual movement dated from 1687 to 1789: from the publication of Issac Newton's Principia to the beginning of the French Revolution.
2. Intellectual thinkers directed their attention toward one specific problem: how men should be governed.
3. This intellectual explosion first appeared in the field of science.
* Francis Bacon said that all progress must be based on the scientific method of reason, observation, and experimentation.
SCIENTIFIC CONSTRIBUTIONS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT
1. In 1687 Issac Newton published his Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (often called the Principia).
a. It synthesized (combined and related) the contributions of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo.
b. These men had proven the heliocentric theory of planetary revolution.
c. Newton explained the laws of force and motion which control planetary motion.
d. His law of universal gravitation stated that the force of gravity not only prevents objects from flying off the earth, but also holds the whole system of planets together in their orbits.
2. A German philosopher and mathematician, Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz developed calculus. A system of calculating that uses algebraic symbols.
3. A Dutch scientist, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, used the microscope to discover bacteria.
4. English Scientists
a. Robert Hooke was the first man to identify cells in living matter.
b. Robert Boyle known as the "father of modern chemistry" worked out a basic principle describing gases that is known as Boyle's Law.
c. Joseph Priestly discovered the element that was later called oxygen.
* Elements are the fundamental substances that constitute matter.
5. A Frenchman, Antoine Lavoisier, named oxygen and showed that fire was not an element.
a. He also showed that matter is indestructible and can neither be created nor destroyed, but only changes from one form into another.
b. This is known as the Law of the Conservation of Matter.
6. The American statesman and writer, Benjamin Franklin, in 1752 proved that lightning is an electrical charge (with his famous kite experiment).
RATIONALISM: Truth can be found by reason or by rational logical thinking.
17th Century: Political Philosophers
Thomas Hobbes: The Leviathan
1. Humans in their original state of nature were unhappy and miserable.
2. They entered a social contract to surrender their freedom to a ruler and granted absolute power for law and order.
3. The ruler was not part of that contract, so people have no right to complain.
John Locke: Two Treatises of Government
1. Man in his original state was happy and had the natural rights of life, liberty, and property.
2. To protect these rights, man entered into a social contract to create government, and grant limited power.
3. If government which was part of the contract failed to protect these natural rights or exceeded its authority, man has the right to alter or change it.
* An intellectual justification for the Glorious Revolution.
FRENCH PHILOSOPHERS: 18th Century
1. Intellectual revolution believing man possessed natural rights and society could be improved.
2. Human institutions should conform to logic and reason. They challenged the authority of the nobility and the Church -- the Old Regime.
1. A Baron and landed Aristocrat who wrote The Spirit of Laws.
2. To prevent Absolutism: government should be divided into three branches.
a. The Executive
b. The Legislative
c. The Judicial
Each branch checking thepower of the other!
3. Purpose: to prevent power from being concentrated in one person. ie. a king
* Separation of Powers: adopted in the United States Constitution.
1. Bourgeois family, author of literature and political studies.
2. Lived in exile in Great Britain and wrote: Letters on the English.
a. Praise of the British limited monarch and civil rights.
b. Denounced French censorship and injustice (absolutism).
c. Urged religious freedom while maintaining authority prevented human progress.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
1. From the lower class: Emile - theories on education, new for his day.
2. Social Contract: man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.
a. Man in his original state of nature was happy and possessed natural rights.
b. As inequalities arose, man entered into a social contract, agreeing to surrender rights to the community and to submit to the General Will - will of the majority.
* Popular Sovereignty
c. Man created government, as a necessary evil, to carry out the general will.
d. If government fails in this, man has the right to overthrow it and replace it.
3. This philosophy has also been used by dictators to justify totalitarianism.
Rousseau and Locke: the community as opposed to the individual.
1. Son of a skilled Artisan, received a fine education.
2. Editor of the Encyclopedia.
* Articles attacking Old Regime abuses. ie. religious intolerance, unjust taxation, and governmental abuses.
HISTORICAL ANALYSIS: Importance of Intellectuals
1. Bad conditions alone do not make a revolution -- absolutism had existed in France for centuries.
2. A stimulus was needed and it was provided by writers and orators.
3. To convince the people of how bad the conditions were ---- and to provide a course of action to improve conditions.
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| 0.951696 | 5,629 | 3.75 | 4 |
Ideograms and Phonograms
by Wayne Blank
Egyptian hieroglyphics existed as far back as the First Dynasty about 3000 BC, and apparently only began to decline by the time of the Middle Kingdom (see The Ancient Egyptians), but still remained in use for centuries afterward.
There were slightly over 600 symbols commonly used in various ways, some logically straight forward, others more complex. For example, a picture of a man represented a man, while a picture of an owl meant the sound of an "m" because the Egyptian spoken word for owl had the sound of an "m" as its dominant consonant.
The Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient inscribed stone slab from Egypt that made possible the understanding of hieroglyphics. It was discovered in 1799 near the town of Rosetta (Arabic Rashid) in northern Egypt, about 30 miles / 48 kilometers from Alexandria. Discovered by the French, it was transferred to the British in 1801, and is now in the British Museum.
The Rosetta stone is an irregularly-shaped piece of black basalt, measuring about 45 inches / 114 centimeters long, and 28 inches / 72 centimeters wide. Broken long ago, the single piece is all that has been found.
The stone's inscriptions, as written by the priests of Memphis, listed contributions of Ptolomy V Epiphanes (see The Ptolemies). It was written in the ninth year of his reign (i.e. about 196 B.C.) to mark his accession to the throne.
The Rosetta Stone's importance to history and archaeology are the consequences of its identical records having been written in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, and three alphabets - hieroglyphic, demotic (a form of Egyptian hieroglyphics) and Greek. With two already known, understanding of the third was then made possible.
The actual painstaking work of deciphering was done by Thomas Young of England and Jean-Francois Champollion of France. It was largely through their efforts that the translation of all ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing was made possible.
Fact Finder: In what part of Egypt did the Israelites live for over 4 centuries until the Exodus?
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| 0.965783 | 463 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Optimal Classification/Rypka Method/Examples/Application
Although the following example lacks an intuitive sense of optimization it serves as a good example of how optimization can reduce the number of queries. While the method of optimal classification is highly beneficial for reducing the number of queries required for manual identification, automated identification may be better served by use of a neural network.
Flag overlay grid
Designated areas (characteristics) for sampling background colors (states) of all flags (elements).The overlay is used to determine the color of each area for each flag and the color is recorded in the table as the logical state of the area. The table data is then submitted to the optimization program and processed until an optimal empirical separatory value is obtained.
FLAGS/LOC,A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I BELGIUM,BLACK,YELLOW,ORANGE,BLACK,YELLOW,ORANGE,BLACK,YELLOW,ORANGE FRANCE,BLUE,WHITE,RED,BLUE,WHITE,RED,BLUE,WHITE,RED GERMANY,BLACK,BLACK,BLACK,RED,RED,RED,YELLOW,YELLOW,YELLOW IRELAND,GREEN,WHITE,ORANGE,GREEN,WHITE,ORANGE,GREEN,WHITE,ORANGE ITALY,GREEN,WHITE,RED,GREEN,WHITE,RED,GREEN,WHITE,RED JAPAN,WHITE,WHITE,WHITE,WHITE,RED,WHITE,WHITE,WHITE,WHITE LUXEMBOURG,RED,RED,RED,WHITE,WHITE,WHITE,BABY,BABY,BABY NETHERLANDS,RED,RED,RED,WHITE,WHITE,WHITE,BLUE,BLUE,BLUE SPAIN,RED,RED,RED,YELLOW,YELLOW,YELLOW,RED,RED,RED HELIGOLAND,GREEN,GREEN,GREEN,RED,RED,RED,WHITE,WHITE,WHITE
Starting with area "A" the query begins by asking for the color in this area of the flag. Suppose we have in our possession the flag of the Netherlands. The answer to the first query in regard to area "A" is RED which would remove 2/3 of the flags from further consideration. The next query for the color in area "B" would be RED which would serve to eliminate none of the remaining flags. In fact, since the colors in columns "D", "E" and "F" are the same for each remaining flag, we would not be able to eliminate any remaining flags until column "G" where the color BLUE would provide a unique answer to the final necessary query. Here all remaining flags except the flag of the Netherlands would be eliminated from further consideration. It would therefore take a minimum of seven queries using the systematic query method to establish the identity of the flag in our possession as belonging to the Netherlands.
The results of optimization are shown above and include a listing of the theoretical and empirical percentages. The original characteristic sequence is indexed in the bottom row. Starting with area "G" the query begins by asking for the color in this area of the flag. Suppose we have in our possession the flag of Ireland. The answer to this first query would be GREEN. The next query is for the color in area "F" to which we would answer ORANGE. Since no other flags have this combination of GREEN and ORANGE in these areas our query can end here. The method has minimized the number of necessary queries required to identify the flag by optimizing the order of characteristics. (Please note that there may be more than one minimal solution.)
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| 0.866782 | 790 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Benthic Communities in Spartina alterniflora– and Phragmites australis–Dominated Salt Marshes in the Hackensack Meadowlands, New Jersey
by Catherine E. Yuhas,¹ Jean Marie Hartman,² and Judith S. Weis³
¹ New Jersey Sea Grant College Extension Program, New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program Office, 290 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10007
² Rutgers University, 93 Lipman Drive, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
³ Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, 411 Boyden Hall, Newark, NJ 07102
Phragmites australis is invasive in Atlantic coastal salt marshes and often replaces the native cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora. Our research focused on benthic communities found in natural and mitigated P. australis and S. alterniflora salt marshes at two sites, Sawmill Creek (natural sites) and Mill Creek (mitigation sites) in the Hackensack Meadowlands, New Jersey. The area sampled at the natural sites consisted of adjacent stands of P. australis (P) and S. alterniflora (S) separated by a tidal creek. At Mill Creek, samples were collected at a 12-year-old mitigation site consisting of S. alterniflora (M-12) and a newly mitigated site (M-0) where site regrading had just taken place. Benthic samples were taken at the creek bank and the edge of vegetation for all sites. Data on salinity levels and textural and structural sediment characteristics were collected at each site. Our data indicate that both the P. australis and S. alterniflora sites support diverse benthic communities, although there were differences in diversity and composition in the communities found among the different types of grasses. The average abundance of benthic invertebrates at the Sawmill Creek natural sites ranged from about 35,000 per square meter (/m²) to over 240,000/m². Taxon richness was ∼10 at P and ∼7 at S and the P. australis site had more common taxa present (1.0% of the total abundance). Average abundance of benthic invertebrates at the Mill Creek mitigation sites ranged from about 130,000/m² to 3 million/m². Taxon richness was ∼10 at M-12 and ∼7 at M-0. This study suggests that significant change has not occurred at M-12 in the low marsh since the commencement of the mitigation in 1988.
Key words: Benthic invertebrates; estuarine ecology; Hackensack Meadowlands; low marsh; Phragmites australis; salt marsh; Spartina alterniflora; tidal estuary
Spartina alterniflora (salt marsh cordgrass) dominates the low marsh zone of tidal marshes on the East Coast of the U.S. (Teal, 1962; Bertness, 1991). Spartina alterniflora provides habitat for salt marsh species, including a food source for benthic invertebrates and insects (Teal 1962; Van Dolah, 1978; Healy & Walters, 1994; Kneib, Newell, & Hermeno, 1997; Able & Hagan, 2000; Graca, Newell, & Kneib, 2000). Another salt marsh grass, Phragmites australis (common reed) is an invasive species usually found on high marshes, but it has been moving into low marshes and replacing S. alterniflora (Fell et al. 1998; Angradi, Hagan & Able, 2001; Windham & Lathrop, 1999; Weinstein & Balletto, 1999). Phragmites australis changes the marsh physically, hydrologically, and chemically (Angradi et al., 2001; Windham & Lathrop, 1999), and this can affect the utilization of the marsh by fish, birds, and other animals. Phragmites australis has been replacing native vegetation on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts since the early 1900s (Weinstein & Balletto, 1999; Fell at al., 1998; Angradi et al., 2001; Windham & Lathrop, 1999). Marsh managers have responded by trying to decrease the dominance of P. australis on salt marshes. Numerous restoration projects have been undertaken in which P. australis was removed and S. alterniflora replanted. However, there have been few direct comparisons of the relative level of function of marshes before and after restoration.
Recent studies on P. australis have found it to be an ecologically functional habitat for salt marsh inhabitants such as nekton (fishes and swimming decapod crustaceans) and benthic invertebrates (Rilling, Fell, & Warren, 1998; Meyer, Johnson, & Gill, 2001; Angradi et al., 2001; Fell et al., 1998). There have also been recent studies, using stable isotopes, which have found P. australis to be a food source for fish (Wainright, Weinstein, Able & Currin, 2000; Weinstein et al., 2000). However, other studies have found P. australis to be poor nursery habitat for the mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus (Able and Hagan 2000; Raichel, Able, & Hartman, 2003).
Benthic invertebrates are vital to a functioning salt marsh ecosystem. They are a food source for many salt marsh inhabitants (Kneib, 1988; Fell et al., 1988; Sarda, Foreman & Valiela, 1995) and important components of the estuarine food web (Ishikawa, 1989). Benthic communities may be affected by the invasion of P. australis, though studies to determine the nature of the effects have been contradictory. Fell et al. (1998) conducted research along the Connecticut River and found that P. australis salt marshes were functionally equivalent to non-P. australis salt marshes. Four high-marsh macroinvertebrates (Orchestia grillus, Philoscia vittata, Melampus bidentatus, and Succinea species)—all of them prey species for F. heteroclitus—were the focus of this study, and they were found in both marsh types. However, Angradi et al. (2001) found that a Spartina marsh had greater production of benthic infauna than a Phragmites marsh. Overall abundance of benthic invertebrates was higher, and taxon richness was significantly higher in the Spartina marsh than the Phragmites marsh at all sampling positions and dates. Dominance by the three most abundant taxa (Oligochaeta, Nematoda, and Manayunkia aestuarina) was greater in the Phragmites marsh (>85%) than the Spartina marsh at most of the sampling positions, indicating a lower benthic diversity in the Phragmites marsh (Angradi et al., 2001). Posey, Alphin, Meyer, and Johnson (2003) found only minor differences between Spartina and Phragmites marshes in the Chesapeake Bay, although most species were slightly more abundant in Spartina.
Benthic invertebrates can be used to assess whether or not salt marsh restorations are functioning normally as ecosystems. In order to create a functioning ecosystem, a salt marsh restoration should include the reintroduction of vegetation and the duplication of the nekton and benthos, along with other environmental factors of the marsh (Packard & Stiverson, 1976; Allen et al., 1994; Sacco Seneca & Wentworth, 1994). Studies comparing natural and restored marshes have found similarities and differences with regard to fauna (Minello & Webb, 1997; Minton, 1999; Craft, Broome & Sacco, 1998; Havens, Varnell & Bradshaw, 1995; LaSalle, Landin & Sims, 1991; Sacco et al., 1994; Moy & Levin 1991). However, it's uncertain how many years it takes for benthic communities in restored or created marshes to become comparable to those in natural marshes. Created marshes are inhabited by opportunistic benthic species, which develop according to the sediment, hydrodynamics, and vegetation of the marsh (Posey, Alphin & Powell, 1997). The more recently created marshes studied by Posey et al. (1997) had more polychaetes than the older created marshes, which had more oligochaetes and amphipods. Packard and Stiverson (1976) suggest that a Spartina marsh restored on dredge spoils will eventually sustain a detritus-based community, which is a major food source for benthic invertebrates.
In a few studies, restored salt marshes have been deemed to have characteristics similar to natural marshes (Posey et al., 1997). Some studies indicate that the benthic communities in natural and restored marshes are similar. For example, LaSalle et al (1991) found that benthic communities, along with fish and shellfish, of a natural marsh that developed on dredged material were similar in species composition and abundance to those of natural marshes.
Our study has two objectives. The first is a comparison of the benthic communities of a natural Spartina marsh and a Phragmites marsh. The second is a comparison of two restored marshes of different ages (> 10 years, < 1 year).
The Hackensack Meadowlands District covers 32 square miles in Bergen and Hudson counties of New Jersey (Figure 1). It is uncertain when P. australis first appeared here, but published sightings of the plant in New Jersey date back to the 1800s (Willis, 1877; Britton, 1889; Harshberger & Burns, 1919). In our study, we conducted a comparison of natural marshes dominated by S. alterniflora and P. australis at Sawmill Creek (natural sites, Figure 1) and an assessment of mitigated intertidal marshes at Mill Creek (mitigation sites, Figure 1).
Sawmill Creek Natural Sites
The study sites located at Sawmill Creek run along the southern section of the Hackensack River in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. This area is a natural salt marsh that was formed in 1950 after a tide-gate breach (Kraus & Kraus, 1988). The known salinity range at this site is 6.9 to 15.7 parts per thousand (ppt)—mesohaline—and the tidal range is approximately 1.5 meters. Phragmites australis is the dominant vegetation at the natural sites, but extensive marshes of S. alterniflora can be found as well. We sampled from microhabitats located in adjacent stands of P. australis (P) and S. alterniflora (S) separated by a tidal creek (Figure 2).
Mill Creek Mitigation Sites
The mitigated marshes were located at Mill Creek, in Secaucus, New Jersey (Figure 1), an area dominated by P. australis. One of the marshes was mitigated in 1988, 12 years before this study, while the other was undergoing mitigation at the time of the sampling. The 12-year-old site (M-12, Figure 3), located along the northern part of the Hackensack River (Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission, HMDC, 2000), covers 63 acres and was mitigated by Hartz Mountain Company. Mitigation consisted of removing P. australis, decreasing site elevation to enhance daily tidal inundation, planting S. alterniflora, and site monitoring (TAMS, 1990). This site is completely surrounded by industry, highways, and numerous forms of urbanization (TAMS, 1990; HMDC, 2000). The tidal range at M-12 is approximately 1.5 meters, and the salinity range is 0.5 to 7.0 ppt—oligohaline (Kraus & Kraus, 1988).
The newly mitigated site (M-0, Figure 4), located behind the Mill Creek Mall, in Secaucus, covers an area of 140 acres and was overseen by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (formerly the Hackensack Meadowlands Commission). Mitigation began here in 1998 and was conducted to eliminate P. australis, increase tidal inundation, and create a low marsh system (HMDC, 2000). At the time of sampling at the M-0 site, the mitigation was still under way, and all that remained was bare substrate, some P. australis, and Pluchea purpurascens, an annual salt marsh fleabane that flowers between late summer and fall (Newcomb, 1977).
Organic Matter and Particle Size
We took sediment samples to a depth of 5 centimeters (cm) in September 1999 using a PVC corer. Three replicates were made at each of the four sampling stations. Samples were kept in a cold room prior to processing. The samples were initially sieved wet through a 4.75-millimeter (mm) sieve to collect any pebbles, stones, and large pieces of organic material. We determined the following sediment characteristics: percentage organic matter and percentage silt, sand, and clay.
To determine organic content, five grams of wet sediment were placed in a ceramic crucible, weighed, and placed in a 105°C oven for 16 hours. Samples were then reweighed to determine the dry weight, placed in a hood, and put in a 440°C muffle furnace for 16 hours. Samples were then cooled in the hood and reweighed in order to determine ash dry weight. The percentage of organic matter was calculated using the following equation: (Dry Weight – Ash Weight)/Dry Weight × 100.
To determine particle size, the remaining sediment samples were air dried in a university greenhouse. Pieces greater than 3.175 mm in diameter were removed from the sediment after it was crushed with a mortar and pestle. The sediment was analyzed using the LaMotte Soil Texture Unit (code 1067, LaMotte Co., Chestertown, MD), which provides a volumetric calibration of sand, silt, and clay through sedimentation in an aqueous solution.
We collected benthic samples in the natural (S and P) and mitigation (M-0 and M-12) sites at two low-marsh microhabitats: (1) the creek bank and (2) the edge of each type of vegetation on the marsh surface. At the natural sites, the creek bank sampled was a steep area coming off the vegetated marsh surface into an emergent area in the intertidal zone. At the mitigation sites, the creek bank sampled was a gently sloping emergent area in the intertidal zone coming off the vegetated (M-12) or nonvegetated (M-0) marsh surface. At M-0, the "edge of vegetation" was estimated by examining vegetation surrounding the site.
Benthic samples were taken at all sites with a 3.9-cm-diameter PVC core sampler. The cores were taken to a depth of 5 cm at each sampling station. Cores were taken at this relatively shallow depth because it has been shown that in stressed marshes (for example, those that are contaminated or have low dissolved oxygen), the large, deep-burrowing invertebrates disappear, and the community becomes dominated by small animals that live close to the sediment surface (Warwick, 1993). Weis, Skurnick, and Weis (2004) have found an absence of larger, deeper-dwelling fauna in the Meadowlands.
We collected three replicates at all sampling sites. Creek-bank samples were collected once a month at low tide from June to September 1999. Edge-of- vegetation samples were collected from July to September 1999. Surface-water salinity at each site was measured with a refractometer.
Click image to enlarge
Figure 5: Mean percentage of silt (horizontal lines), sand (dotted pattern), and clay (vertical lines) at the creek bank and edge of the vegetation habitats of the Sawmill Creek natural sites. Samples were taken at Sawmill Creek—Spartina alterniflora (S) and Sawmill Creek—Phragmites australis (P) during September 1999.
Unsieved benthic samples (mud and organisms) were preserved in 20% formalin in the field. After one to two weeks, samples were transferred to 70% ethanol with rose bengal dye for staining of the benthic invertebrates. The samples were sieved in a 0.3-mm sieve, sorted, and identified in a petri dish to the lowest possible taxonomic level to determine taxa richness, overall abundance, and species composition (Weiss, 1995). The numbers of nematodes were estimated for a site when an average of ≥ 100 nematodes were found in each sample. The petri dishes utilized were counted and multiplied by the mean number of nematodes in the first two petri dishes sorted for that particular site. For this study, composition comparisons focused on those taxa that were classified common (≥ 1.0% of the total abundance) and uncommon (> 0.1% but < 1.0%) (LaSalle & Rozas, 1991).
We analyzed all the benthic samples using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) software (Version 8). Multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) and the Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) tests were used to analyze the monthly benthic samples (p < 0.05). The percentage of organic matter and the percentage of silt, sand, and clay were analyzed by running analysis of variance (ANOVA). All data were tested for normality, and any abundance data with abnormal distribution were log-base-10 transformed. A commonly used measure of diversity, the Shannon-Wiener Index, was calculated using Multivariate Statistical Package (MVSP) software (Version 3.12c).
Sawmill Creek Natural Sites
Organic Matter, Particle-Size Distribution, and Salinity
We found a significant difference between the percentage of organic matter in the creek-bank sediment samples from S (3.08%) and P (1.58%) (Table 1 and Table 2, p = 0.0003/df = 2). There was no significant difference in percentage of organic matter at the edge of the vegetation among the natural sites (Table 1 and Table 2, S: 2.18%; P: 2.28%). However, the mean percentage of organic matter was significantly different between the creek bank and the edge of the vegetation for both P. australis (p = 0.0656/df = 1) and S. alterniflora (p = 0.0251/df = 1).
We found no significant differences in percentage of silt in the creek-bank samples at the natural sites. The sediment was significantly coarser at S than P on the creek bank since S had more sand present (Table 1 and Table 2, P = 0.0038/df = 2). There were fewer fine particles (less clay content) at S than P (Figure 5, Table 2, p = 0.0128/df = 1). We found no significant difference between sites in particle-size distribution at the edge of the vegetation.
At both natural sites, the salinity was 8 ppt in June, 15 ppt in July, 20 ppt in August, and 4 ppt in September. The increase in salinity from June to August was due to a drought during the summer of 1999. The drastic salinity decrease in September was due to rainfall associated with Hurricane Floyd on September 16, 1999.
Abundance, Richness, and Composition
We found no significant differences in the total number of organisms over all months sampled on the creek bank for the natural sites (Figure 6, Table 3 and Table 4, p > 0.05/df = 1). Mean abundance at the edge of the vegetation was not significantly different for July and August (Figure 6, Table 4), but during September, P had significantly less abundance than S (p = 0.0212/df = 1). The natural sites showed no significant difference for July, August, and September between creek-bank and vegetation-edge habitat types for S or for P.
There was no significant difference in taxa between S and P at the creek bank for all months sampled. The mean taxa richness at the edge of the vegetation did show significant differences for some months (Figure 7, Table 3 and Table 4, p < 0.05/df = 1). During August, P had a significantly higher number of taxa than S at the edge of the vegetation (Table 4, p = 0.0255/df = 1). However, there was no significant difference between S and P at the creek bank for July and September. In August, the creek bank of S had significantly higher mean taxa richness (p = 0.0241/df = 1) compared to P.
Presence (+) and absence (–) of the 25 taxa found over the four months at the sites is documented in Table 5. Three types of meiofauna (Nematoda, Copedoda, and Ostracoda) and several macrofaunal taxa dominated the collections. We identified ten common taxa and eight uncommon taxa at P (Table 6). Eight common taxa were found at S, along with six uncommon taxa (Table 6). Oligochaeta (24.4%) had the highest percent composition at P, while Manayunkia aestuarina (33.0%) had the highest percent composition at S.
Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index
We found a significant difference between taxa diversity on the creek banks of the different sites for June. In this month, P was significantly more diverse than S (p = 0.0347/df = 1), but during July, August, and September, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05/df = 1) between P and S (Table 3 and Table 4). At the edge of the vegetation, P had significantly more diversity than S in August (p = 0.0371/df = 1), but not in July and September (p > 0.05/df = 1).
The taxa diversity between the two habitats at S was significantly different in July (p = 0.0218/df = 1) and August (p = 0.0189/df = 1), when the creek bank was more diverse than the edge of the vegetation (Table 4). For September, there was no significant difference between the two habitats at S. At P, there was no significant difference in July and September (p > 0.05/df = 1), but in August the creek bank was significantly more diverse than the edge of the vegetation (p = 0.0081/df = 1).
Mill Creek Mitigation Sites
Organic Matter, Particle Size Distribution and Salinity
Organic matter at the creek bank for M-0 was calculated to be 1.69% compared to 1.33% at M-12 (Table 1 and Table 2, p = 0.0027/df = 2). There was no significant difference at the edge of the vegetation among the sites (M-12: 2.02%; M-0: 2.31%). For both sites, the mean percentage of organic matter was significantly higher at the edge of the vegetation habitat than the creek bank (M-12: p = 0.0088/df = 1; M-0: p = 0.0075/df = 1).
We found no differences in silt, sand, and clay percentages (Table 1 and Table 2; Figure 8) between the creek banks of both mitigation sites. In addition, no difference was discernable at the edge of the vegetation between the sites.
Salinity at the mitigation sites (M-12) was 3 ppt in June, 10 ppt in July, 10 ppt in August, and 2 ppt in September. The mitigation sites at Mill Creek, following a pattern similar to the natural sites at Sawmill Creek, decreased in salinity in September in concurrence with the rainfall of Hurricane Floyd.
Abundance, Richness, and Composition
We found no significant difference in the total number of organisms on the creek bank of the mitigation sites for all months sampled (Table 3 and Table 4, Figure 9). The mean abundance at the edge of the vegetation was not significantly different between the sites for July (Figure 9, Table 4, p = 0.8001/df = 1). However, during August (p = 0.0133/df = 1) and September (p < 0.0001/df = 1), abundance at M-12 was significantly greater than at M-0. Abundance was greater at the marsh edge than the creek-bank habitats for July at M-12 (p = 0.035/df = 1); and it was greater at the creek bank than the marsh edge for August (p = 0.0024/df = 1) and September (P < 0.0001/df = 1) at M-0 (Figure 9, Table 4).
In August and September, the taxa richness on the creek bank at M-0 was lower than at M-12 (Table 3 and Table 4, Figure 10, August: p = 0.0004/df = 1; September: p = 0.0058/df = 1). During July, M-12 had more taxa present than M-0 at the edge of the vegetation (Table 3 and Table 4, Figure 10, p = 0.0048/df = 1). The mean taxa richness for M-12 was significantly higher at the creek bank in August (p = 0.0158/df = 1) and September (p = 0.0335/df = 1) than at the edge of the vegetation.
Refer to Table 5 for presence (+) and absence (–) of the 25 taxa found over four months at all of the sites. At M-12, four common taxa were found along with two uncommon taxa (Table 6). Four common taxa and three uncommon taxa were found at M-0 (Table 6). Nematoda were the most abundant taxa at both M-12 and M-0. The mitigation sites were heavily dominated by nematodes, which comprised approximately 77%–80% of all taxa.
Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index
In August, we found that M-12 was more diverse than M-0 at the creek bank (Table 3 and Table 4, p = 0.0464/df = 1). During June, July, and September, there was no significant difference between M-12 and M-0. At the edge of the vegetation, M-12 had less diversity than M-0 in August (p = 0.0225/df = 1) and September (p = 0.0014/df = 1), but during July, M-12 was significantly more diverse than M-0 (p = 0.0333/df = 1).
At M-12, benthic taxa diversity was not significantly different between the creek bank and the edge of the vegetation for July, August, or September. The taxa diversity between the two habitats at M-0 was significantly different in August (p = 0.0012/df = 1) and September (p = 0.0007/df = 1), when the edge of the vegetation was more diverse than the creek bank. For July, there was no significant difference between the two habitats at M-0.
Sawmill Creek Natural Sites
Angradi et al. (2001) compared the benthic communities in P. australis and Spartina marshes and found that the Spartina marsh had a greater abundance and taxa richness than P. australis marsh. However, we found no clear pattern of difference in taxa abundance and richness at P. australis and S. alterniflora marshes during our study period. As in Angradi et al.'s study, oligochaetes, nematodes, and Manayunkia aestuarina were the dominant taxa in our study. And both studies included samples from the creek bank and the edge of the vegetated marsh. However, Angradi et al. sampled from within the vegetated zone of the marsh, whereas we did not. Since our samples were collected from the creek bank and the marsh edge only, the data may not be reflective of the marsh surface.
There have been studies that have looked at marsh surface and made comparisons between P. australis and S. alterniflora marshes, including Posey et al. (2003) and Fell et al. (1998). Posey et al. found that the macrobenthic communities in paired P. australis and S. alterniflora marshes of Chesapeake Bay—an oligohaline to mesohaline environment—were affected by the vegetation type. While they noted few significant differences in the abundance of most individual taxa, they did find a significant overall community trend toward a higher rank abundance of the invertebrates in the S. alterniflora marsh compared to the P. australis marsh. Fell et al. looked at epibenthic communities in non-P. australis and P. australis marshes and found them to be equivalent.
Mill Creek Mitigation Sites
TAMS (1990) evaluated the benthic community in the open-water channels at M-12 and found it to have low diversity. Ten years after this study, our investigations showed that the low diversity still persists. TAMS also found that the benthic community at M-12 consisted of pollution-tolerant organisms, with oligochaetes and hydrobiid gastropods comprising more than 80% percent of the community. In our study, nematodes made up about 80% of the benthic community, and there were only four common taxa found at this site. We conclude that this site is still dominated by few taxa with large abundances.
Our results are similar to those of Kraus and Kraus (1988), who studied mitigation and natural sites in Sawmill Creek and sampled the mitigated (S. alterniflora) and nonmitigated (P. australis) sections of Mill Creek. Like us, they found that Sawmill Creek had a greater abundance, higher taxa richness, and higher diversity of benthic invertebrates than the Mill Creek sites, which were dominated by gastropods and nematodes. However, there are two serious obstacles to comparing the studies. First, Kraus and Kraus did not specify the precise locations sampled at Sawmill Creek. Nor did they specify exactly where the Mill Creek control sites were located or which type of vegetation was present there. Second, previous studies have shown that low salinity decreases abundance, taxa richness, and diversity of benthic communities (Levin & Talley, 2000; Boesch, 1972; West & Ambrose, 1992). Insects and oligochaetes usually dominate benthic communities in a low-salinity system, while a high-salinity system is known to favor polychaetes (Levin & Talley). There is evidence for this in our study, which shows that the high-salinity natural sites had considerably more polychaetes than the low-salinity mitigation sites, and that both site types had an abundance of oligochaetes. Oligochaetes were one of the few common taxa found at Mill Creek, while at Sawmill Creek they were one of the many common taxa.
Studies have shown that contaminants and pollutants affect benthic communities (Gray, Clarke, Warwick & Hobbs, 1990; Pocklington & Wells, 1992; Gaston & Young, 1992; Whaley, Garcia & Sy, 1989; Maltby, 1999; Flynn, Wakabara & Tararam, 1998). According to Levin and Talley (2000), a marsh exposed to sewage has a greater abundance of the oligochaete Monopylephorus rubroniveus and the amphipod Talorchestia longicornis. The mitigation sites at Mill Creek had abundant oligochaetes. A contamination source that may be affecting the benthic community at the mitigation sites is the sewage-treatment plant along Mill Creek. Kraus and Kraus (1988) reported that the water quality was better at the natural sites than at the mitigation sites. However, during the dates of our study, water quality was better at the mitigation sites than at the natural sites (Center for Information Management, Integration and Connectivity, CIMIC, 1999). But water quality on a single date is far less important than long-term sediment concentration, which would impact benthos. Contamination persists in the mitigation sites' sediments, but an experiment replacing contaminated sediments with uncontaminated ones showed no shift in community composition (Yuhas, 2001).
Overall, this study suggests that significant change has not occurred at the M-12 site at the low marsh since the commencement of the mitigation in 1988. Development of a diverse benthic community may not have occurred because of the low salinity that is representative of an oligohaline area. Changing the vegetation from P. australis to S. alterniflora may not, alone, be able to alter the environmental conditions (Packard & Stiverson, 1976; Allen et al., 1994; Sacco et al., 1994) at Mill Creek that affect the benthic community.
This study was a small pilot effort. It is consistent in several ways with some previous studies of the Hackensack marsh system. However, it also shows that a more in-depth examination of the complex interactions between salinity, vegetation, time, and contamination is needed to understand the structure and dynamics of the benthic community in the system.
We would like to acknowledge Ed Konsevick and Brett Bragin for facilitating fieldwork, and Lisa Windham for all her help in the field. We would also like to express our gratitude to all the members of the Hartman Lab Group for their assistance and advice. Inga Parker's assistance with editing transformed the manuscript and is much appreciated. We would like to thank the editors and the reviewers for their comments that improved the manuscript. This research was funded by a grant from the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission under the direction of Dr. Jean Marie Hartman and the New Jersey Agriculture Experiment Station.
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Tarzan…The King of the Jungle. Since his debut in 1912, Tarzan has become one of the most popular and enduring characters in all of fiction. Written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the famous ape man first appeared in a series of magazine short stories. That led to twenty-four Tarzan novels, spanning 1914-1965. The story follows John Clayton, the son of an English nobleman whose parents are marooned on the African coast. After the death of his parents, young Clayton is “adopted” into a band of gorillas. Renamed Tarzan, he grows up more beast than man with a special bond to his jungle kingdom.
But many fans remember Tarzan best from the movies, particularly the 1932-1968 film series. He first appeared on the screen in the silent film Tarzan of the Apes in 1918, played by Elmo Lincoln. This is considered one of the most faithful to the source material. A few other silents followed starring Lincoln and later Frank Merrill.
But the definitive movie Tarzan debuted in 1932’s Tarzan the Ape Man starring Olympic gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller. The swimming champion went on the play the character for a total of twelve films. Although produced on a modest budget (and using plenty of stock jungle footage), these movies made use of the vast resources of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer backlot. Actress Maureen O’Sullivan played Jane Porter, the daughter of a scientist who is rescued by Tarzan. The two later married (although no wedding was shown, riling censors) and set out to live in an elaborate jungle tree house.
These films were standard jungle adventures with the King of the Jungle battling assorted big game hunters, evil scientists, power hungry warlords and the occasional Nazi. Johnny Shefield joined the cast as Boy in Tarzan Finds a Son (1939). Audiences quickly took to the athletic 8-year-old. Comic relief was found in the family chimpanzee, Cheeta. By the late 1940s, and a move from MGM to RKO Pictures, the Tarzan series was beginning to run out of steam. O’Sullivan had left the series in 1942 (to be replaced by Brenda Joyce), a 16-year-old Shefield had outgrown his role and 48-year-old Weissmuller was ready to hang up his loin cloth after Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948).
Producer Sol Lesser was unwilling to give up the still lucrative franchise. Actor Lex Barker was cast due to his striking resemblance to Weissmuller and his athletic, 6’4″ frame in Tarzan’s Magic Fountain (1949). Brenda Joyce returned as Jane. The RKO budgets were smaller than at MGM, occasionally using footage shot for previous Tarzan films (including the famous “Tarzan Yell”). The Barker era lasted five films.
Bodybuilder/lifeguard Gordon Scott took over in Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle (1955). Of his six movies, two were low-budget affairs and the third a compilation of episodes of a television series that never aired. A new producer increased the budget and actually filmed on location. The resulting Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure (1959) and Tarzan the Magnificent (1960) are considered to be among the best of the series.
MGM had resumed production at this point replacing Scott with veteran stuntman Jock Mahoney for two films, beginning with Tarzan Goes to India (1962). By now the character of Jane was rarely seen and more fantastic, globe-trotting, spy-smashing plots were adopted (we had by now entered the Bond era). Football player Mike Henry assumed the role for the final three entries. With the release of Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968), the Tarzan series came to an end after 36 years and 28 movies.
The Tarzan character has been revived on occasion, both on television and the big screen. the infamous Tarzan the Ape Man (1981) starring Miles O’Keefe as Tarzan and Bo Derek as Jane. The Oscar-nominated Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (1984) starring Christopher Lambert, closely follows the origin story with the character trying to assimilate into society. The Disney-produced Tarzan (1999) was also very well received.
With such a long history, it is doubtful that we’ve heard the last from the Tarzan legend.
Most of the above films are available for check-out. Do you have a favorite movie Tarzan?
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Excerpt from The Ultimate Weapon:
The Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb by Edward T. Sullivan
Weapons of Mass Destruction pdf
"My God, what have we done?"
-Captain Robert Lewis, Enola Gay co-pilot-
A film crew surrounded Colonel Paul W. Tibbetts as he stepped from the truck onto the runway. He was warned there would be "a little publicity," but all the cameras and lights made the scene look more like an epic Hollywood production. Awed by the circus-like atmosphere, the Enola Gay B-29 bomber crew found themselves being treated like movie stars. The situation was all the more surreal given that the Enola Gay was taking part in one of best kept secrets in military history. The crew knew the mission they were flying this morning was unlike any other they had undertaken. Two days before at a briefing, Navy Captain William Parsons explained: "The bomb you are about to drop is something new in the history of warfare. It is the most destructive weapon ever produced. We think it will knock out almost everything within a three-mile area." What the Enola Gay crew did that day would forever change the nature of warfare. When the publicity shoot finished, the crew went to work prepping the bomber for takeoff.
Enola Gay and two escort planes departed from the small Pacific island of Tinian at 2:45 A.M. local time on Monday, August 6, 1945. On board the Enola Gay was "Little Boy," a uranium-fueled atomic bomb. The target was Hiroshima, a city in Japan home to approximately 320,000 people.
The weather was perfect. By 8:13 A.M., when Japan's Chugko Regional Army issued the alert that three large enemy planes were spotted heading west from Saijo, Enola Gay had a clear straight attack run of approximately four miles. At 8:15 A.M., from an altitude of 31,600 feet, Major Tom Ferebee pressed a switch to release "Little Boy" and watched it fall toward Hiroshima. Less than sixty seconds later, there was a blinding flash of light that grew into a purple fireball. Two shock waves hit the plane and a massive cloud, rolled up more than 40,000 feet high forming a giant mushroom. The two escort bombers snapped photographs as they and Enola Gay flew back to Tinian. The planes did not lose sight of the enormous atomic mushroom cloud until they were 363 miles away. Sergeant Bob Caron, Enola Gayís tail gunner, was the only crewmember looking directly at the bomb when it exploded.
A column of smoke is rising fast. It has a fiery red core. A bubbling mass, purple
gray in color with that red core. Itís all turbulent. Fires are springing up everywhere,
like flames shooting out of a huge bed of coals. I am starting to count the fires. One,
two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten . . . itís impossible. There are too
many to count. Here it comes, the mushroom shape . . . Itís coming this way. Itís
like a mass of bubbling molasses. The mushroom is spreading out. Itís maybe a
mile or two wide and a half mile high. Itís growing up and up and up. Itís nearly
level with us and climbing. Itís very black, but there is a purplish tint to the cloud.
The base of the mushroom cloud looks like a heavy undercast that is shot through
with flames. The city must be below that. The flames and smoke are billowing out,
whirling out into the foothills. The hills are disappearing under the smoke.
On the ground, a schoolboy named Shintaro Fukuhara was watching his little brother try to catch a red dragonfly when he was blinded by a flash of light. His body burned as if it had been thrown into a furnace. Blood poured from deep cuts on five shivering schoolboys. Their skin turned deep red, the color of cooked lobsters.
Colonel Tibbetts radioed Tinian: "Mission successful."
The destructive power of "Little Boy" was stunning. Everything within two square miles of ground zero was cremated. More than ninety-six percent of the buildings in Hiroshima were either destroyed or heavily damaged. The Japanese estimated that 71,000 people, the majority of them civilians, were dead or missing. Sixty-eight thousand were injured. Thousands more died a short time later from radiation poisoning.
Three days following the bombing of Hiroshima, on August 9, 1945, the United States executed an equally devastating nuclear attack city of Nagasaki. The B-29 bomber Bock's Car dropped plutonium-fueled "Fat Man" atomic bomb leaving the city in ruins and killing more than 73,000 people. Thousands more died in the years following the attack from radiation poisoning. It was the second and last time an atomic bomb, the most destructive weapons ever used, was unleashed against an enemy in warfare.
The purpose of dropping the bombs was to bring to a swift end the bloodiest and most destructive conflict of the twentieth century, World War II. The plan worked. On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced the unconditional surrender of Japan. World War II was over.
The creation of the atomic bomb was the culmination of an extraordinary three-year race against Germany involving more than 100,000 civilian and military personnel who worked seven days a week around the clock in an environment shrouded in intense secrecy and tight security. Known as the Manhattan Project, this effort paved the way for the future development of even more powerful nuclear weapons like the hydrogen bomb with the ability to completely destroy the world and everyone and everything living in it.
Hardcover, 208 pages
Home/About the Book/Excerpt/Awards and Honors/Praise/About the Author/Author Q&A/Appearances/Contact/Links
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Revision as of 19:39, 5 January 2007 by Narfil Palùrfalas
Telcontar was the name of the royal house established in the Reunited Kingdom by Aragorn Elessar after the War of the Ring. The name Telcontar is a translation into Elvish of Aragorn's common nickname in the north; 'Strider'.
[Pippin exclaimed] "'Strider! How splendid! Do you know, I guessed it was you the black ships. . . How did you do it?'
"Aragorn laughed. . . But Imrahil said to Éomer 'Is it thus that we speak to our kings? Yet maybe he will wear his crown in some other name!'
"And Aragorn hearing him, turned and said: 'Verily, for in the high tongue of old I am Elessar. . . But Strider shall be the name of my house, if that be ever established. In the high tongue it will not sound so ill, and Telcontar I will be and all the heirs of my body.'"
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| 0.959004 | 228 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Ankle Fracture (cont.)
What is a broken ankle?
Ankle injuries are among the most common of the bone and joint injuries. Often, the degree of pain, the inability to walk, or concern that a bone may be broken is what usually causes people to seek care for an ankle injury. The main concern is whether there is a broken bone
vs. an ankle sprain. Frequently it is difficult to distinguish a fracture (broken bone) over a sprain, dislocation, or tendon injury without X-rays of the ankle.
- The ankle joint is made up of three bones that fit anatomically (articulate) together, the tibia, fibula, and talus (some medical experts also include the calcaneus bone and label the joint as the subtalar joint and consider it part of the ankle):
- The tibia, the main bone of the lower leg, makes up the medial, or inside, anklebone.
- The fibula is a smaller bone that parallels the tibia in the lower leg and makes up the lateral, or outside, anklebone.
- The far ends of both the tibia and fibula are known as the malleoli (singular is malleolus). These malleoli are the lumps of bone that you can see and feel on the inside and outside of the ankle. Together they form an arch or mortise (a recess) that sits on top of the talus, one of the bones in the foot.
- A fibrous membrane called the joint capsule, lined with a smoother layer called the synovium, encases the joint architecture. The joint capsule contains the synovial fluid produced by the synovium. The synovial fluid allows for smooth movement of the joint surfaces.
- The ankle joint is stabilized by several groups of ligaments, which are fibers that hold these bones in place. They are the capsule ligament, deltoid ligament, the anterior and posterior talofibular ligaments, and the calcaneofibular ligament. Some of these ligaments may be disrupted if the ankle is fractured.
What do the bones and ligaments of the ankle look like (picture)?
Picture of the bones and ligaments of the ankle
Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 12/10/2015
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Patient Comments & Reviews
The eMedicineHealth doctors ask about Broken Ankle:
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Allied Health Professions/
Genetic counselors are health professionals with specialized graduate degrees and experience in the areas of medical genetics and counseling. Most enter the field from a variety of disciplines, including biology, genetics, nursing, psychology, public health and social work.
They provide a critical service to individuals and families considering undergoing genetic testing by helping them identify their risks for certain disorders, investigate family health history, interpret information and determine if testing is needed. The genetic counseling process helps people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease.
The genetic counseling profession is rapidly expanding and diversifying. Heightened public awareness coupled with scientific advances in reproductive technologies and knowledge about the genetics of a wide range of adult disorders, have increased the demand for genetic counselors in clinical, teaching, research, administrative, commercial, public health, public policy, private practice and consulting environments. This trend is expected to continue well into the 21st century.
About Health Care Careers
Note: The American Board of Genetic Counseling reviewed this career profile.
Save money and earn your bachelor's in health sciences or healthcare management more quickly with maximum credit transfer at Excelsior. Our low tuition makes it affordable for you to earn your degree from accredited college while you earn a living. Receive up to 32 credits for your health-related occupational license. Learn more about Excelsior College ...
Part 4: How to Attend College Without Going into Too Much Debt
Part 2: How to Attend College Without Going into Too Much Debt
Part 2: Do’s and Don’ts When Applying to College
Your Credit and Your Health Sciences Career
Part 3: Accreditation Matters
Applying for Financial Aid (Part II)
Why Diversity Matters in the Health Professions
Start Preparing for Your Health Care Career in High School
Healthcare Reform 101
Keep Past Mistakes from Limiting Your Future Health Care Career
Making a Major Decision
Top 10 Reasons to Pursue a Health Career Now
To become a certified genetic counselor, you must obtain a master’s degree in genetic counseling from a program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC). You can find a program in the United States or Canada on the ACGC website.
Coursework typically includes clinical genetics, population genetics, cytogenetics and molecular genetics coupled with psychosocial theory, ethics and counseling techniques. Clinical placement in medical genetics centers approved by the ACGC is an integral part of the degree requirements.
Search for schools that provide training for this career.
After earning a degree, genetic counselors become certified by sitting for a certification exam administered by the American Board of Genetic Counseling.
Search for funding opportunities related to this career
Search for enrichment programs related to this career
Search for academic degree and certificate programs related to this career
Allied Health Professions
Last updated: June 9, 2016
©2012 American Dental Education Association
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Most people who get measles in the U.S. have chosen not to be vaccinated, a new study finds.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, answers a question that came up during the 2014-2015 measles outbreak linked to Disneyland: Do the effects of childhood vaccines wear off over time, making people more vulnerable?
The answer: Not most of the time with measles, but some of the time for whooping cough.
Emory University's vaccine expert, Saad Omer, worked with his colleagues to dig up as much as they could on outbreaks of measles and whooping cough — known medically as pertussis — since 1977 in the U.S.
They found clear evidence that people who catch measles in the U.S. are likely to be intentionally unvaccinated.
"Of the 970 measles cases with detailed vaccination data, 574 cases were unvaccinated despite being vaccine eligible and 405 (70.6 percent) of these had nonmedical exemptions," they wrote.
Half the Disneyland-linked cases were in people who had not been vaccinated, Omer's team said, "most of whom were eligible for vaccination yet intentionally remained unvaccinated."
Measles was eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but a few imported cases come in every year. These can spread if people are not fully immunized. Globally, there are around 20 million cases and more than 145,000 children die of measles every year.
Some states have been tightening their laws on who can opt out of getting vaccines and why. States control childhood vaccinations by requiring them for admission to public schools. Several studies have shown that the more leeway a state offers parents, the more likely they are to get an exemption for their kids.
Studies also showed that Mississippi, which only allow medical exemptions for vaccines, has higher vaccination rates than states with more lenient laws, such as Colorado.
Connecticut, Illinois, South Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia have all passed legislation in the past year tightening those requirements, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
"Parents hesitant to vaccinate their children may delay routine immunizations or seek exemptions from state vaccine mandates. Recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States have drawn attention to this phenomenon," Omer's team wrote.
Children are supposed to get two doses of the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. But nearly 9 million U.S. children are not fully vaccinated against measles and risk getting infected, according to some of the latest data.
Related: Doctors Debunk Vaccine Myths
The story's a little different with whooping cough, Omer's team found.
"Although pertussis resurgence has been attributed to waning immunity and other factors, vaccine refusal was still associated with an increased risk for pertussis in some populations," they wrote.
The pertussis vaccine was reformulated in the 1990s when people started to complain about their side-effects, which included painful swelling after a shot. It now includes just part of the whooping cough bacterium.
"Although these acellular vaccines cause fewer local (pain, swelling, and redness) and systemic fever and irritability) reactions, they are less effective than whole-cell vaccines for preventing pertussis," Omer's team wrote.
"More recently, waning immunity to pertussis has been increasingly recognized as an important factor in disease resurgence."
The pertussis vaccine is combined with vaccines against diphtheria and tetanus. This triple vaccine is called Tdap or Dtap. "The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices currently recommends five DTaP doses at age 2, 4, and 6 months, at 15 to 18 months, and again at 4 to 6 years, as well as a Tdap booster in adolescence (between age 11 and 18 years) and adulthood (19 years or older)," Omer's team wrote.
The stronger vaccine, made using a whole bacterium, caused cases of whooping cough to plummet, Omer's team said. In the 1940s there were as many as 260,000 cases a year. That fell to 1,000 in 1976. But they've been inching up since then.
"For the past 10 years, more than 10,000 cases have been reported annually," the team wrote.
Nonetheless, cases cannot entirely be blamed on a poor vaccine, they said.
"In at least seven statewide pertussis epidemics and multiple more geographically restricted outbreaks a substantial proportion of pertussis cases in certain age groups were unvaccinated or undervaccinated," they wrote.
"This review has broad implications for vaccine practice and policy," they concluded.
"For instance, fundamental to the strength and legitimacy of justifications to override parental decisions to refuse a vaccine for their child is a clear demonstration that the risks and harms to the child of remaining unimmunized are substantial."
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Floating Above Bangladesh's Floods
Climate change is a serious problem pretty much everywhere, but for low-lying, heavily populated Bangladesh, rising sea levels are a mortal threat. The massive floods this week that have left nearly half a million people homeless make that fact excruciatingly clear.
It may be too late to turn back the rising tides, but one innovative group is doing the next best thing: helping Bangladeshis float on top of them. Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a nonprofit based in the country, develops and designs floating schools, libraries, and health clinics. It operates a fleet of 111 such boats, “including a new two-tiered school that has classrooms on a lower level and a playground on top,” reports FastCo.Exist. Many of the boats are equipped with solar-powered wireless Internet connections. They’re even working on a boat-borne farm where families can raise ducks. That could come in handy: The current floods have already submerged 100,000 acres of farmland, doing huge damage to crops.
The need is especially acute in Bangladesh, which analysts have rated the country most threatened by climate change. It sits at the confluence of three enormous rivers, and much of its land is barely above sea level. “Soaring global temperatures are increasing glacial melt in the Himalayan ranges, swelling the rivers that flow down from the mountains and across the Bangladeshi floodplain, the largest in the world, far beyond their capacity,” says the IRIN news service. “The expanding volume of water is also causing higher sea levels to push inland. A rise above one metre, which could be reached in this century, means Bangladesh could lose 15 percent to 18 percent of its land area, turning 30 million people into ‘environmental refugees’ by 2050.” That’s almost one-fifth of the country's population.
Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha may have the most extensive such program, but it's not the only one. A Nigerian architect is working on a similar type of floating school, and there are some in Cambodia as well. As the earth keeps warming, we may start seeing even more.
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Gluten is a protein found in many types of grains, and the
foods made out of them. All types of wheat (including farina,
graham flour, semolina and durum), barley, rye, bulgur, Kamut,
kasha, matzo meal, spelt and triticale contain gluten, as
do foods such as bread, pizza dough, cookies, pasta, crackers,
gravies, sauces, cakes and many more. Oats may also contain
For those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance,
finding gluten-free products in the grocery store can
be a challenge -- particularly because the gluten-free
label is still being defined.
For some, particularly those with celiac
disease or gluten sensitivities, eating gluten causes
an immune reaction that damages the surface of the small intestine.
As a result, their ability to absorb nutrients from food decreases,
which can lead to severe vitamin deficiencies, malnourishment
Though there is no cure for celiac disease, it can be managed
by avoiding dietary gluten. As such, a number of food products
have come out in gluten-free or low-gluten varieties to cater
to this population.
Gluten-Free Foods May Still Contain Gluten
While a gluten-free label can make life much easier for those
with celiac disease or gluten intolerance (as it is difficult
to find many foods without gluten), there is currently no
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation that defines
the term "gluten-free."
However, the FDA has allowed the "gluten-free"
label to be used anyway, provided it is "truthful and
Nonetheless, some foods with a gluten-free label will still
contain gluten. This is because many of these foods contain
a special starch that has been treated to remove the amount
of gluten, but it is impossible to remove it all, according
to the UK's Food Standards Agency.
How Much Gluten is Allowed in Gluten-Free Foods?
On a gluten-free diet? Gluten-Free
French Desserts And Baked Goods has over 100 irresistible
recipes for breads, tarts, cakes, puddings, custards,
crêpes, cookies, brownies, and bars -- all made
with gluten-free ingredients!
To date, there is no legal definition of "gluten-free,"
but there is an international standard for gluten-free products
called Codex Alimentarius. The standard allows products to
be labeled as gluten-free if there are less than 200 parts
per million (ppm) of gluten in the final product, according
to the Food Standards Agency.
In the United States, the FDA has proposed a regulation to
further limit the amount of gluten allowed in foods with the
gluten-free label. If the regulation is passed, gluten-free
foods would contain less than 20 ppm of gluten. A final regulation
must be issued by the FDA by August 2008. This standard of
less than 20 ppm is also being proposed internationally.
Meanwhile, the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, an
independent organization that's part of the Gluten Intolerance
Group, has their own Certified Gluten-Free label, which has
a standard of less than 10 ppm of gluten.
How Much Gluten is Safe?
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
by researchers from the University of Maryland Center for
Celiac Research found that in order to "treat" celiac
disease people with the condition should ingest under 50 mg/day
However, another study by the Center in conjunction with
the University of Ancona in Italy (which is expected to be
published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition),
aimed at establishing the maximum amount of gluten that could
be tolerated by people with celiac disease. They found that
10 mg/day of gluten was safe.
An Ideal Resource for Those Looking to Avoid Gluten
If you are trying to avoid gluten in your diet, it can be
challenging to find alternative sources of flour and recipes
that actually taste good ... especially for dessert-oriented
A highly recommended resource is Gluten-Free
French Desserts And Baked Goods, which provides recipes
-- over 100 in all -- for a dazzling array of quick breads,
tarts, cakes, puddings, custards, crêpes, cookies, brownies,
and bars -- all imaginatively reformulated for gluten-free
diets. (Even those who don't have to eat gluten-free will
love this book!)
Of course, those following a gluten-free diet can always
feel safe eating the following naturally gluten-free foods:
Fresh meats, fish and poultry (without breading or marinades)
Most dairy products
Gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, tapioca, potato)
Abdominal Pain, Diarrhea or Other Digestive Issues? It May
Be Celiac Disease
Top 8 Foods People Are Most Sensitive To -- Without Even Knowing
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007 Jan;85(1):160-6
University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research
FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
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The “gaze” is a term that describes how viewers engage with visual media. Originating in film theory and criticism in the 1970s, the gaze refers to how we look at visual representations. These include advertisements, television programs and cinema.
When film critics talk about the gaze, they are often referring to the “male gaze”. But what does that really mean? And is there a female equivalent?
Where did the idea of a ‘male gaze’ come from?
The “male gaze” invokes the sexual politics of the gaze and suggests a sexualised way of looking that empowers men and objectifies women. In the male gaze, woman is visually positioned as an “object” of heterosexual male desire. Her feelings, thoughts and her own sexual drives are less important than her being “framed” by male desire.
Adopting the language of psychoanalysis, Mulvey argued that traditional Hollywood films respond to a deep-seated drive known as “scopophilia”: the sexual pleasure involved in looking. Mulvey argued that most popular movies are filmed in ways that satisfy masculine scopophilia.
Although sometimes described as the “male gaze”, Mulvey’s concept is more accurately described as a heterosexual, masculine gaze.
Visual media that respond to masculine voyeurism tends to sexualise women for a male viewer. As Mulvey wrote, women are characterised by their “to-be-looked-at-ness” in cinema. Woman is “spectacle”, and man is “the bearer of the look”.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) offers a famous example of the male gaze. In the scene below, the audience is introduced to Cora Smith, the film’s lead female character. Using close-ups, the camera forces the viewer to stare at Cora’s body. It creates a mode of looking that is sexual, voyeuristic, and associated with the male protagonist’s point-of-view.
It also establishes some important plot points: that the hero desires Cora, and that Cora recognises his lust. But the strongest message is that Cora is sexy. Indeed, the viewer learns that Cora is sexy before they even learn her name. Even if a viewer isn’t attracted to women in “real life”, the scene still makes sense. A lifetime of seeing women sexualised in television, music videos and advertisements has made us very comfortable with assuming the male gaze.
Finding the male gaze
The male gaze takes many forms, but can be identified by situations where female characters are controlled by, and mostly exist in terms of what they represent to, the hero. As Budd Boetticher, who directed classic Westerns during the 1950s, put it:
What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance.
This can be see in the different ways the camera repeatedly positions us to look at women’s bodies. Think of Rear Window (1954), for a literal framing of women’s bodies, or She’s All That (1999), which revolves around a make-over. For a modern example, the Transformers film series (2006-2014) presents women as sexual objects to be desired.
Filmmakers often attempt to avoid presenting female characters as “mere” sexual objects by giving them complex back stories, strong motivations and an active role in the plot of their story. Yet the masculine gaze is still commonplace. Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) has significant personal motivations, yet she is still clearly there to be looked at.
Different ways of looking
Although written 40 years ago, Mulvey’s essay still provokes strong reactions. One common response is that both women and men are objectified in cinema.
After all, isn’t Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) as sexy as Gilda Mundson (Rita Hayworth) in Gilda (1946)?
Isn’t Fitzwilliam Darcy as beautiful as Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC teleseries of Pride and Prejudice (1995)? Surely this indicates the presence of a (heterosexual) female gaze.
Such arguments don’t consider how insistently women are presented as sexual objects.
The Hawkeye Initiative is a project that draws attention to the different ways male and female superheroes are posed in comics and movies. Take this illustration as an example, which poses the male heroes of The Avengers in the same hyper-sexualised position as the film’s sole female protagonist, Black Widow.
The illustration makes a good point about double standards. But its humour derives from the fact that it is unusual to see men sexualised in the same way as women.
Another argument is that cinema doesn’t invite women to desire men’s bodies. Rather, female viewers are positioned to identify with a heroine who is herself desired by a man. According to this logic, it is not Fitzwilliam Darcy’s wet undershirt that inflames the female viewer in Pride and Prejudice. Rather, it is Darcy’s longing for Elizabeth that truly appeals.
Is there a female gaze?
Many films that represent women’s desire do so in “non gaze”-related ways. Jane Campion’s The Piano (1993) expresses the heroine’s passionate nature through the film’s famous score.
Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides (1999) conveys female experience through sound and visual aesthetics, portraying the teenage protagonists’ inner life. This scene uses warm tones (yellow, salmon), feminine symbols (flowers, unicorns) and music to express female adolescence.
Coppola uses a similar strategy in Marie Antoinette (2006), using florid set design to communicate women’s claustrophobic life at Versailles.
The argument that women’s desire is best expressed through sensation rather than a gaze may evoke the cliché that male desire is “visual” whereas women’s is “sensory”. But men’s inner lives have always been conveyed via sound and sensation. Action films like Rambo (2008) or Casino Royale (2006), for example, bombard the senses with male anguish and aggression.
So is there a female gaze? Certainly, beautiful men abound in cinema. But I’d argue that there is no direct female equivalent of the male gaze. The male gaze creates a power imbalance. It supports a patriarchal status quo, perpetuating women’s real-life sexual objectification.
For this reason, the female gaze cannot be “like” the male gaze.
Instead, films that centre women’s experiences are deeply subversive. Think of Fish Tank (2009), a coming-of-age story about a disadvantaged girl’s vulnerability, or In the Cut (2003), a story about a woman’s sexual discovery.
Films about women’s sexuality often face censorship ways that prove their subversiveness. For instance, the makers of The Cooler (2003), Boys Don’t Cry (1999) and Blue Valentine (2010) claim that their films were rated R or NC-17 for depicting cunnilingus. Such scenes focus on female pleasure and undermine women’s “to-be-looked-at-ness”. Censorship bodies like the Motion Picture Association of America, however, seem to treat cunnilingus as “more graphic” than other forms of sex.
Films like The Piano, In The Cut or Marie Antoinette show that cinema can use music, erotic scenes and visual aesthetics to express a feminine point of view. In doing so, such films counter the gaze, depicting women as subjects rather than objects “to be looked at”. Whilst not replicating the male gaze exactly, they challenge the enduring dominance of masculine worldviews in film and media.
Janice will be on hand for an Author Q&A between 11am to noon AEDT on Thursday, January 7, 2016. Post your questions in the comments section below.
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Sundance Institute are joining forces with YouTube and filmmakers Kevin Macdonald and Ridley Scott to create the first-ever user-generated film shot in a single day. The film will document one day on earth (July 24, 2010), as seen through the eyes of people around the world.
Want to take part? Here’s what to do:
1. Visit the “Life in a Day” channel on YouTube and learn more about the project. Be sure to read through the steps you need to take to participate and the guidelines for creating your video(s). Also check out some of the sample videos for inspirational ideas.
2. On July 24, capture your day on camera.
3. Upload your footage to the “Life in a Day” channel any time before July 31.
Regardless of whether your footage makes it into the final film, your video(s) will live on on the “Life in a Day” channel as a time capsule that will tell future generations what it was like to be alive on July 24, 2010.
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MIAMI (March 15, 2014) Parasitic worms have been found in an invasive eel species that's made a home in Florida, U.S. Geological Survey officials say.
The worms were found in Asian swamp eels collected between 2010 and 2012 from Florida waters and from ethnic food markets in Orlando, Atlanta and New York City, the officials said.
The parasites could be transmitted to people who eat raw or undercooked eels, scientists warn.
Severe cases of the infection gnathostomiasis can lead to blindness, paralysis or death, scientists said.
"Consumers should be aware of the risk of contracting gnathostomiasis from Asian swamp eels if they are eating raw or undercooked eels," said Rebecca Cole, USGS scientist and lead author of the study.
Swamp eels transported live from Southeast Asia are sold in ethnic food markets nationwide and have also made their way into waters in Florida, Georgia and New Jersey.
The eels have few known predators in the U.S., can breathe air and can move across land.
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is a general term referring to the compression
of any type of multimedia
, most notably graphics, audio
, and video
Because multimedia typically derives from data sampled by a device such as a camera or a microphone, and because such data contains large amounts of random noise, traditional lossless compression algorithms tend to do a poor job compressing multimedia.
Multimedia compression algorithms, traditionally known as codecs, work in a lossy fashion:
- Transform the data according to a model designed to reduce sample-to-sample correlation, concentrating the important signal in a few data values.
- Quantize the data, most of which has become noise. Some codecs use a scalar quantizer followed by run-length encoding; others use vector quantization.
- Use entropy coding such as Huffman coding to reduce the number of bits that the most common values use.
This method is called transform coding
Multimedia compression has become the primary focus of compression research, primarily in a search for more efficient models.
It is the most important part in video coding formats.
All Wikipedia text
is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
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Did you know that the Chukar was brought from India/Pakistan to the western United States as a game bird? Birds of North America Online informs me that in 1893 five pairs were released. Between 1931 and 1970 almost a million more Chukar were released in the United States and Canada. They seem to have survived in the arid west and have established strong self-sustaining feral populations. Chukar are still hunted extensively by hunters who like the physical challenge of chasing them up their preferred steep, rocky, and over-grazed habitat which is very common in the intermountain west.
Chukar eat the seeds of cheatgrass. Although romanticized by Steinbeck in East of Eden in the lush Salinas Valley of California, cheatgrass everywhere else is an invasive and noxious weed. Dry cheatgrass is also a major concern as it is prime fuel for range fires. I guess Chukar need to be a part of firewise planning by the BLM!
|Leslie Gulch - eastern Oregon - prime Chukar country|
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Looking for a fun Earth Day project to make with your kids? Try these process art, marbled Planet Earth Paintings! My kids had so much fun creating their little planetary masterpieces, and the finished art really looks like planet Earth from outer space. The project is so simple to set up, and even little kids can create this really stunning art. If you choose, your kids can even use the leftover shaving cream paint for messy play that is actually really easy to clean-up! Art, science, and play all in one activity!
This post is part of the Wash & Learn series.
Planet Earth Paintings
Building Background Knowledge about Planet Earth
Before we began painting planet Earth, I found a video on YouTube so the kids could see what our planet looks like from Outer Space. This video is long, but you can skip around to find lots of different things to talk about — the shape, the colors, the features. We talked about the white being clouds, the blue being water, and the green/brown being land. We also talked about the shape of the Earth – a sphere!
Getting Ready to Paint
This activity can be done on a tray in your kitchen or in your classroom. The directions I am going to give show the activity being done in the bath tub because it allows the children to enjoy the sensory activity in an environment where they are able to play and experiment more since it doesn’t matter if they get messy. The bath tub is great because once the play is done, it’s easy to clean up the messy tub and the kids at the same time! If you want to control the mess or if a bath tub isn’t a feasible option, a tray will definitely work. Here’s an example of shaving cream painting on a tray that we’ve done before.
First, cut circles from blue card stock. We used a lighter blue and a darker blue card stock to see which would turn out best.
To set up the painting area, simply spray shaving cream onto the bottom of the tub and have the kids smooth it over with their hands. You want it to be fairly thick.
Next, squirt some green and white paint onto the shaving cream and gently swirl it around. Be careful not to overly mix as you don’t want a single, solid color but rather swirls of color.
Process Art: Painting Planet Earth
Have the kids take a blue circle and lay it on the shaving cream paint. Gently push it down all over.
We usually let it sit for a few seconds and then carefully lift it up…
and lay it on the edge of the tub.
Repeat for all the card stock circles you want to make.
As needed, add more shaving cream to the mix, and re-swirl a bit.
Let the shaving cream painted circles sit on the side of the bath tub for several minutes so that the color has time to stain the paper.
Use a bath squeegee or other scraper (i.e. back side of a butter knife, spatula) to carefully scrap the shaving cream paint from the paper. I use a cloth to gently blot off any excess after scraping. Set aside the paper so that it can fully dry.
Once dry, if the paper curls, you can set it under a heavy book for a few minutes to get it to flatten out.
Once the painting is done, you can let your kids play with the leftover shaving cream paint if you choose. My two used to barely entertain the thought of sticking their fingers into the shaving cream but after many experiences like this one, they now really enjoy messy play.
My two little leprechauns had a blast. First they used the sensory material as body paint. Then they found out they could make interesting patterns on the bottom of the tub by using their fingers to make swirls in the paint.
The best part is, when they are done, I simply turn on the water, give them a wash cloth, and they happily clean the tub. Sometimes I let them take a bath afterwards, and sometimes a shower, depending on their level of messiness.
We use our messy play swimsuits for projects like these. They don’t usually stain, but it is just a precaution.
Our Finished Planet Earth Paintings
In total, we made 4 planet Earth paintings.
Each one is unique, beautiful, and really amazingly Earth-like.
I was hoping the finished work would look like Planet Earth as viewed from Outer Space, and I am really pleased that they turned out even better than I expected.
This is a great Earth Day project, an art project to go along with a science unit on the study of the Earth, or just something fun to do on a rainy day.
Hope you have as much fun with these Planet Earth Paintings as we did!
See More Shaving Cream Painting Projects:
- Shaving Cream Painting
- Messy Play: Shaving Cream Easter Eggs Craft
- Zebra Shaving Cream Marbling Craft
- Egg Drop Science Experiment
- Bug Hunt
- Toddler Color Mixing Lab
- Paint by Number
- DIY Dominoes
- Pool Noodle Math
- ABC Tape Resist Art in the Shower
- Bath Tub Drawing Board
- Alphabet Goo
- Find, Write, Erase
- Weather Experiments Bath
- Submarine Science for Kids
- Bath Time Science Lab
- Experiments in the Bath Tub
- Early Learning Number Party Bath
- Math in the Bath
- Alphabet Bath Time Fun
- Letter Building Alphabet Bath
- Magnetic Alpha-Bath
- Dinosaur & Volcano Small World Play
- The Coconut Volcano Science Experiment
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Bath
- An Easy Way to Teach Shapes
- Christmas Present Alphabet Hunt
- Merry Christmas Letter Bath
- Turkey Basting Bath Time
This post may contain affiliate links.
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The city of Bethlehem - Bethlehem, a city located in Mount Hebron in the Judean Mountains, about 10 kilometer south of Jerusalem. In the past, Bethlehem was part of the State of Israel and is now in the Palestinian Authority (PA). Most of Bethlehem's population consists of Muslims. In the past, most residents were Christians, but the migration of Christians out, to Europe and the United States, and Muslims from the area in to the city, changed the demographic structure. Now Christians constitute about 20% of Bethlehem's population. City of Bethlehem, according to the New Testament, is the city where Jesus Christ was born. However, there is speculation that the Galilean Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus. In the modern city there are remains, indicate the existence of a first-century settlement and the remains of an ancient church and of a synagogue. In Bethlehem, according to tradition there were significant events both to Christianity and Judaism.
According to Jewish tradition King David, was born in Bethlehem. Church of the Nativity is located in Bethlehem, on the hill it is believed, Jesus was born. At Christmas time the city enjoys tourist stream and economic prosperity. In Bethlehem many hotels offer accommodation at cheap prices in compares to Jerusalem. Beside the Church of the Nativity and discounted accommodation, Bethlehem offers dynamic and attractive markets, authentic food and a friendly local population that meets hospitality. On the northern outskirts of the city of Bethlehem is Rachel's Tomb, is a structure identified as the burial place of Rachel, wife of Jacob and therefore sacred to Jews.
Bethlehem city was dominated by numerous conquerors throughout history and was also destroyed several times. Bethlehem is mentioned in the biblical period, to return to Zion period during the times in which Jesus lived, through the Roman - Byzantine and Arab period. The city's golden age was during the Crusader period, in 1099, When Bethlehem was conquered by them. At that time the city was fortified, and the Church of the Nativity was built. In addition, the northern monastery church was built. In 1187, Bethlehem was captured by Salah al - Din who expels its Christian population. In 1229, Bethlehem was conquered by the Crusaders again until the rise of Sultan Baybars, who destroyed the walls of the city and expelled the priests. During the Ottoman Empire period in the City of Bethlehem, there were many disputes and conflicts between the Orthodox - Greek priests and Catholic priests of the Church of the Nativity control. At the beginning of the 20th century, Bethlehem was occupied by the British during the First World War. In 1948, it was captured by the Jordanians and the in the area were established Palestinian refugee camps. In 1967, Bethlehem was captured in the Six Day War by the Israelis. In 1995 the city passed to the PA.
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- Lodging guides- Dining
guide - Nightlife - Attractions
- Shopping - Tours & day trips - Services
Parks - Services - Libraries - Events
GETTING AROUND IN THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF BOGOTA
Bogota is located in the center of the country, 2,640 meters above sea level, on a plateau of the Eastern mountain range of The Andes, latitude 3°41'24"N to 4°49'54"N and longitude 74.3°W. The city has an area of 1,587 square kilometers (612.74 sq. miles). Including the metropolitan area, its surface is 1,732 square kilometers (668.73 sq. miles). Average daily temperatures rang from 9 to 22 degrees Celsius (48.2 and 71.6°F.)
Bogota is the educational, cultural, commercial, administrative, financial, and political center of Colombia.
The capital has approximately 6,776,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has a population of 7,881,200, according to the census made by DANE in 2005.
About the name
Bogota's name comes from the Chibcha word Bacatá. Bacata was the territory of the zipa (overlord) of the Chibcha or Muisca Indian tribes that inhabited the region before the arrival of the Spaniards. Gonzalo Jimenez of Quesada was the first European to set foot in the lands of the Chibchas nation in 1538.
He founded the city of Santa Fe (today known as Bogotá D.C.) that became the center of the government of the territory called the New Kingdom of Granada, and where the Royal Court of Santa Fe was established.
Later, the city adopted the name of Santafé de Bogotá. In 1945 it became "Special District" and its official name was Bogotá D.E. With the Constitution of 1991 the city was named Santafé de Bogotá for the second time and received the status of Capital District. In the year 2000 its name changed back to Bogotá D.C.
(Calle = street, east-west direction. Carrera = street, north-south direction.)
Interesting sites to visit in
Main Shopping Centers
Some of the districts of this area are Chapinero, between calles 60 and 70 and Avenida Caracas (or carrera 14) and Carrera 7. Chapinero has an important shopping area.
Teusaquillo, Santa Teresita, Palermo and La Soledad. About 40 years ago these boroughs were some of the most exclusive districts in the city.
There are still many important places in the area such as the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Clínica de Marly, Clínica Palermo and some well known theaters.
Between the calles 53 and 63 toward the west of Bogota you will find The Nemesio Camacho El Campin Stadium, the Coliseo Cubierto El Campin and amusement parks.
Places worth visiting in this area
To visit the different regions and music of COLOMBIA click on this link
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All over the world animal welfare activists are trying to create awareness about the importance of preserving marine mammal habitats and keeping wild animals in the wild where they belong. But here in Karachi, instead of promoting ecotourism and keeping our marine waters pollution free, we prefer watching dolphins perform unnatural acts in captivity and get excited about the first company putting up a dolphin show in Pakistan.
Experience the beauty of sea life and learn through the entertaining performances of these marine mammals. For the first time in Pakistan, Dolphin International brings you a one in a lifetime experience, an incredible destination for the family as you enjoy hours of fun and frolicking with Dolphins.
Utrish Dolphinarium Inc, established in 1984, has organised dolphin shows all over the world, particularly in the USA, Australia, Canada, Egypt, Turkey, Kuwait, Dubai, Qatar, Malaysia and South Africa with 24 bottlenose dolphins, 15 walruses (sea horse), and 20 sea lions.
They have been working in Russia from last 28 years in various cities of Russia. Five performers, two handlers and a doctor will be coming to Pakistan along with four bottlenose dolphins and two sea lions for more than 208 shows in Karachi.
In 2008, the Pakistan Whale and Dolphin Society was set up in an effort to create awareness about these wonderful marine creatures and to encourage whale and dolphin watching in Pakistan. It was part of The Darwin Initiative which identified 12 species of marine dolphins and whales in Pakistani waters.
According to Dr. Mauvis Gore of the Darwin Initiative,
Many young people in Pakistan are interested in dramatic marine life like whales and dolphins, but few of them have the slightest idea that these animals live on their doorstep, some very close to Karachi! Throughout the world whales and dolphins, despite their popularity, have declined dramatically in numbers. Whales were over-exploited around the globe, including illegally by Russian whalers in Pakistani waters during the 1960s. Dolphins have been reduced in numbers as a result of being trapped, usually accidentally, in the incredibly large nets used by some modern fishing vessels. Pollution, deadly strikes by large vessels, and loss of food and habitat have further reduced numbers. “The probable very recent extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin in China shows what can so easily happen to dolphin species,” says Dr. Gore, “we want to help make sure that this doesn’t happen to similar species like the Indus and Hump-backed Dolphins, in Pakistan.”
Keeping dolphins in captivity is cruel. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) states that
To a dolphin, a pool is a cage. These fast moving animals, which form complex social groups when free, cannot behave naturally in captivity. On these grounds, WSPA campaigns for the closure of all dolphin attractions.The mortality rates and abnormal behaviours of captive dolphins prove that a lack of stimulation causes them terrible stress. Swimming listlessly in circles is just one common indictor of boredom and psychological distress.
Space is also an issue – pools are miserably small for large, far ranging animals that would swim up to 50 miles a day in the wild. The shallow waters expose dolphins’ delicate skin to painful sunburns.
By withholding food, some trainers coerce dolphins into repetitive and unnatural behaviours, performing ‘tricks’ for the public. Hunger forces the dolphins to ignore their most basic natural instincts. They are even trained to beach themselves, despite the danger of doing so.
Visitors don’t always realise that the much promoted dolphin ‘smile’ does not reflect of their emotional state. It is simply the shape of their mouths.
The more we learn about marine mammals, the more troubling it becomes to keep these complex, intelligent creatures in tanks and pens. It’s time to see the situation from the animals’ point of view and reconsider whether it’s right to confine them for our amusement. Dolphins are long-lived, wide-ranging predators who are self-aware and capable of abstract thinking. When captured from the wild for public display, they are removed violently and traumatically from their social units. Japan’s drive fishery is particularly cruel.
WSPA encourage animal lovers throughout the world to protest dolphin captivity.
Never visit a marine mammal attraction – the very act of confinement is damaging to their welfare.
Instead, look for a responsible dolphin watching boat tour and enjoy the spectacle of wild dolphins at sea, performing on their terms. A responsible tour will not endorse any interaction with the dolphins.
If you witness any kind of captive dolphin show or swim programme, report it to WSPA at [email protected]. Some attractions might seem ethical, but if you report it, we can check.
Humane Society International (HSI)
is working to educate the public about the threats posed to the conservation and welfare of marine mammals by the practice of exhibiting them for entertainment. We work with governments, media, local activists, and the general public to change the perception of captive marine mammals. You can help: Don’t swim with dolphins, and think twice before attending a marine mammal show.
Dr. Lori Marini, a neuroscientist and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology and faculty affiliate of the Center for Ethics at Emory University, when asked whether dolphins in captivity exhibit the same behaviours as those in the wild, had this to say:
I don’t need to give my opinion because there’s an abundance of evidence that shows that dolphins and whales in captivity show a lot of the same abnormal behaviors that are exhibited by other animals in captivity. These include things like stereotypies where they do repeated movements, self mutilation and just basically other behaviors associated with being psychologically disturbed. There are also several peer-reviewed studies that have shown elevated stress hormones in dolphins and whales in captivity.
So there really is no way that an artificial setting could provide an opportunity for the range of natural behaviors that dolphins enjoy in the wild, just from a physical point of view. The largest tank in the world is something like less than one ten-thousandth of one percent of the natural range of most dolphins and whales. So there’s physically no way that these animals could exhibit natural behaviors in captivity.
I know that some members of the captivity industry have made the point that in captivity these animals are fed fish and they don’t need to deal with the stress of capturing their own prey. But in fact, being fed dead fish can be a stress. In the wild, they really enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with each other and catch prey and travel with their companions, and basically work for their prey. In captivity, all of that stimulation is taken away.
So there is a lot of scientific evidence that shows that dolphins and whales — both wild-born and captive-born — exhibit a lot of psychological abnormalities in captivity.
As Fisher Steven, the producer of ‘The Cove’, the Oscar nominated documentary about the cruel dolphin trade says,
At this very moment, a dozen boats in the town of Taiji, Japan, are heading out and rounding up hundreds of dolphins in a secluded cove. The fisherman will close off the cove with nets, and with the help of employees from various dolphinariums, they will try to find the next “Flipper” among their catch. The fishermen will snatch these beautiful creatures from their natural habitats, hoist them into nets, load them onto airplanes and drop them into a cement tank in the middle of Turkey, Korea or other nearby Asian countries.
It’s time for us to step up and make a difference in these animals’ lives. Until we make marine parks obsolete, dolphins and other sea mammals will continue to be senselessly captured and slaughtered.
The Born Free Foundation is another international organisation that “works to end the exploitation of wild animals in captivity, phase out zoos and dolphinaria, and protect species in the wild.” They too have called for an end to captive whales and dolphins.
The captive dolphin industry has become big business – from the tour operators who sell the excursions, to the facilities that train and perform the animals, to the people who are still capturing wild dolphins from the wild to maintain the industry. However, concerns that these animals are exploited as commodities, with little regard for their welfare and needs, brings their use within the tourism experience at all, into question. The travel industry is therefore faced with the dolphin dilemma.
There are thought to be over 1,000 individual dolphins currently being kept in over 200 facilities worldwide mainly congregated around the tourist resorts of Southern Europe, North America, Asia, the Caribbean and increasingly the Middle East. The vast majority of these animals originated in the wild but were separated from their family pods and captured for a lifetime in captivity. Only in Europe and the USA have captive breeding efforts succeeded in maintaining the captive population in some facilities. Dolphins (mainly bottlenose) are still captured from waters off Cuba, Solomon Islands, Japan and other places to supply a non-sustainable industry marred by high mortalities, low breeding success and physiological problems. Yet, the number of facilities is on the increase and this is a direct result of the tourism industry.
Captive dolphins and whales (collectively known as ‘cetaceans’), like thousands of other wild animal species, are victims of the captive animal industry. Confined to small, cramped and featureless tanks filled with chemically-treated water, the captive environment is so different to the vast oceans from which many have been captured. Known to suffer from stress, aggression, reduced life expectancy, breeding problems and ulceration often caused by the chemicals in the water, captive cetaceans have an extremely bleak future in the hundreds of dolphinaria and marine parks around the world.
You can sign their online petition here.
We urge you to do your bit and help create awareness about the plight of dolphins in captivity. In addition to contacting international organisations, send a polite email to leading newspapers of Pakistan with a reminder for the people of Karachi as to what dolphin shows are all about. There are other ways of entertaining ourselves that do not involve captive animals. Let wild animals remain in the wild, and let us work to preserve their habitats instead.
Please forward this alert to your friends, family and colleagues.
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http://pawspakistan.org/2012/08/30/does-karachi-really-need-a-dolphin-show/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00077-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.949441 | 2,132 | 2.59375 | 3 |
TEM-based Protein Tomography
Protein Tomography, which is based on advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM), has the potential to bridge these gaps in investigative capabilities and support a more rational and, presumably, more productive approach. A TEM illuminates a thin sample with a broad beam of high energy electrons and focuses the transmitted electrons into an image. The optical path is analogous to that of a light microscope using transmitted light. In nonbiological materials, advanced TEMs have resolutions better than 0.1 nm. However, the lower beam exposure required for biological specimens reduces image contrast and limits resolution.
Protein Tomography mathematically combines a sequence of TEM images, each acquired from an incrementally different perspective, into a 3-D reconstruction of the specimen. The computation methods of tomography are well-known and used routinely in other medical imaging techniques.
The low signal-to-noise ratio of the biological images, however, requires an additional step to optimize performance. Sidec´s (www.sidec.com) Protein Tomography applies an algorithm that starts with an initial 3-D reconstruction, then iteratively maximizes the entropy of the model under the constraint of a chi squared fitting parameter, essentially producing the most featureless reconstruction that still fits the observed projection data.
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<urn:uuid:97cb8a5f-d487-496c-a723-4a2ed8075482>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/bridging-biological-systems-knowledge-gaps/1514/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.900279 | 267 | 2.625 | 3 |
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