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One of the largest active deltas in the world, The Sundarbans, which derived its label from the Sundari Mangrove trees, is spread across India and Bangladesh. It is unique for its coastal mangrove forest covering 40,000 sq. km. With over 260 species of birds and the majestic black striped Royal Bengal tiger, the forest has 102 islands with 54 among them inhabited.
Best Time to visit: September to March. The onset of autumn and gradual winter is pleasant. Summers are especially hot in the delta.
Where to stay: Gosaba is the largest and densest island with unique accommodations for tourists.
Things to do: Boat safari in the island waterways to sight tigers and dolphins though creeks and canals, bird-watching in Sajnekhale Bird Sanctuary and a visit to Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project, night safari to witness phytoplanktons.
One of the oldest forest reserves in the country, Jim Corbett National Park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park and named after Edward James Corbett, a British hunter, naturalist and a writer. With 488 species of flora, dense, moist deciduous forest covering of 73%, 50 species of mammals, 580 species of birds and 25 reptiles, the park was the first project under the Tiger Reserve Initiative.
Best Time to visit: November to February. Although one can visit Jim Corbett Park throughout the year, due to its temperate weather, it is best to visit during the mentioned months as all the zones are open then.
Things to do: Elephant Safari, Jeep Safari, Canter Safari.
The Khasi Hills are a delight to the eyes. Rightly nicknamed as the ‘Scotland of the East’, these low mountain formation on the Shillong plateau has its own culture and is inhabited by Khasi dwellers who traditionally live in chieftain-ships. They follow a unique convention of the matrilineal system. Cherrapunjee, the wettest place on Earth is located in this region.
Best Time to visit: September to March. One should visit the Khasi Hills during the onset of winter or summer and try to avoid the rainy season while visiting the wettest place on earth.
Ever wondered what was the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book? It was the very same Kanha National Park which was later established in 1955 and included as a tiger project in 1974. One remarkable achievement of Kanha was the savior of the Swamp Deer or Barasingha from extinction and making it the mascot of the national park.
Best Time to visit: Mid-October to June. The park remains closed during monsoon due to non-navigable roads.
Things to do: Jeep safari, sunset sighting, museum tours etc.
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The second largest mangrove forest in the world, Pichavaram is an off-beat forest, perfect for your peaceful weekend trip. With 50 islands, 4400 canals, 200 bird species the forest acted as a buffer zone in the 2004 tsunami to protect the inland territories, which, sadly, hindered its growth. However, this forest is a hub for smugglers due to its confusing waterways.
Area: 1,100 metres
Best Time to visit: November to February, when the weather is pleasant. Try to avoid summers as it is very hot and humid in the region.
Things to do: Bird watching, Fishing, Kayaking, Boating etc.
It is quite interesting to note that this is the only place beside Africa where lions roam freely. The forest was set up in 1965 to conserve Asiatic lions, which it has been quite successful in. From 20 lions in 1913, the population has risen to 523 in 2015 along with 300 leopards. The forest is dry deciduous with several species of deer and Chowsingha- the world’s only four horned antelope found.
Area: 1412 sq km.
Best time to visit: November-March. Winters are pleasant and summers are especially hot.
Things to do: Lion tour, jeep safari, jungle safari etc.
Nilgiri which translates into the Blue Mountains is the meeting point of Western and Eastern Ghats and a revered hotspot reserve. Featuring seasonal rainforest, tropical montane forest and moist deciduous forest towards the plains in the Eastern end, the Nilgiris have 3500 species of flowering plants, and is an excellent habitat for flora, fauna and other microbial forms. Spreading over Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it is home to a number of tribes with distinctive rituals and customs.
Best Time to visit: Throughout the year
Things to do: Visit to Silent Valley National Park, Madumalai National Park, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Nagarhole National Park, Wanayad Wildlife Sanctuary etc.
Spread over 192 acres, Mawphlang Sacred Forest is the holy abode of the local deity, Labasa who takes the form of leopard or tiger to protect the locals and preserve the society. The most important and unique rule of this forest is that nothing can be taken out of the premises. The monoliths inside depicts the local tradition of animal sacrifices. The forest has a variety of fauna with medicinal properties.
Best Time to visit: October-March. It is not advisable to visit Meghalaya during the monsoon as the roads can be non-navigable and dangerous.
Things to do: Trekking in the forest
The fourth largest national park in the country covering an area of 1985 sq. km, Namdapha is a rich bio diverse hotspot with 1000 floral and 1400 faunal species, extensive bamboo forest and evergreen rainforests in the Eastern Himalayas. ‘Nam’ means water and ‘dapha’ refers to origin. It was originally a wildlife sanctuary and later became a Tiger Reserve in 1983.
Best time to visit: October to March, but almost throughout the year.
Saranda Forest, Jharkhand: The forest was the private hunting ground of the Singh Deo royal family of Saraikela in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. With an area of 820 km sq. inhabited by Ho people, the forest is rich in iron ore, minerals, sal trees and other wild animals including leopards. The name ‘Saranda’ refers to water from rocks with its exquisite lush green forest and diverse ecosystem.
Best time to visit: Spring time
A hilly, forest area, Abujmarh has been harbouring the Maoists and Naxals and is often nicknamed as the ‘liberated zone’. It is home to many indigenous tribes including the Gond, Muria Maria etc. The Government lifted the entry of restriction to this forest in 2009 and since then, it has been a major forestry where one can understand about the region and its upheaval.
Best Time to Visit: October to March when the surrounding is lush green with pleasant climate.
While these are a few of the forests to tick off your bucket list, there are many wildlife sanctuaries and national parks that helps you connect with nature. Now, now, you can go and photograph, trek and experience nature in its unscathed form before climate change ruins all your plans in a few years! | <urn:uuid:9ba205b5-6b6c-43e9-8638-918b087fcde0> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://www.holidify.com/collections/forests-in-india | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103619185.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20220628233925-20220629023925-00121.warc.gz | en | 0.948463 | 1,535 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Advertising law is an area of the law pertaining to advertisements, including radio and television ads, print advertisements, billboards, and other forms of communication with consumers. This area of the law varies considerably by jurisdiction, and some nations have a government agency in charge of identifying violations and enforcing the law. Attorneys specializing in advertising law can assist companies with the development of new ad campaigns as well as legal defenses in the event that there is a court challenge regarding a specific advertisement.
Advertising law usually requires companies to maintain honesty and accuracy in their ads. They cannot make deceptive or false claims with the goal of manipulating consumers into making a purchase. Particularly with products pertaining to health and safety, the rules are very strict, as consumers could be put at risk by believing false claims. Companies making statements about the health benefits of a product need to back them up with supporting data such as studies verifying the efficacy of the product.
Companies are allowed to use promotional language to make their products seem more appealing, and they can directly challenge competitors as long as they do so in a way that is not unfair. A company could claim, for instance, that its lunch bags are superior to those made by a rival manufacturer, as long as it has study results to support the claim. Companies are also allowed to offer promotional rates and discounts and to use other tools to attract customers, as long as customers understand what is on offer. For example, people must know that a promotional rate will only last for a set period of time.
To evaluate advertisements, attorneys and government regulators think about the hypothetical reasonable consumer, an average person who might encounter the content. An ad that says “the best taste ever” might be deemed advertising puffery, the legal use of exaggerated language to talk up a product, as reasonable people know that this is a subjective statement. An advertisement saying “this product cures colds” would be on shakier ground, as it is making an objective health claim without supporting evidence.
The government can bring suit against companies with ads that violate the law. Other companies can do so as well, if they can show that a company's ad is hurting their business and appears to transgress the rules. Lawsuits over advertising law can be expensive, and a company that knows it is unlikely to win may be willing to settle out of court to avoid attracting attention, as consumers often react negatively when companies sue and do poorly in court. | <urn:uuid:8ff68531-96f1-4f9d-99b9-65028937805f> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-advertising-law.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038069133.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20210412175257-20210412205257-00257.warc.gz | en | 0.977083 | 490 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Black Skimmers and Least Terns, state listed species of seabirds, have returned along the coastal areas of the northern Gulf of Mexico! These colorful, dynamic birds are fun to watch, which can be done without disturbing the them.
What is the difference between a seabird and shorebird?
Among other behaviors, their foraging habits are the easiest way to distinguish between the two. The seabirds depend on the open water to forage on fish and small invertebrates. The shorebirds are the camouflaged birds that can found along the shore, using their specialized beaks to poke in the sandy areas to forage for invertebrates.
Both seabirds and shorebirds nest on our local beaches, spoil islands, and artificial habitats such as gravel rooftops. Many of these birds are listed as endangered or threatened species by state and federal agencies.
Adult black skimmers are easily identified by their long, black and orange bills, black upper body and white underside. They are most active in the early morning and evening while feeding. You can watch them swoop and skim along the water at many locations along the Gulf Coast. Watch for their tell-tale skimming as they skim the surface of the water with their beaks open, foraging for small fish and invertebrates. The lower mandible (beak) is longer than the upper mandible, this adaptation allows these birds to be efficient at catching their prey.
Adult breeding least terns are much smaller birds with a white underside and a grey-upper body. Their bill is yellow, they have a white forehead and a black stripe across their eyes. Just above the tail feathers, there are two dark primary feathers that appear to look like a black tip at the back end of the bird. Terns feed by diving down to the water to grab their prey. They also use this “dive-bombing” technique to ward off predators, pets and humans from their nests, eggs and chicks.
Both Black Skimmers and Least Terns nest in colonies, which means they nest with many other birds. Black skimmers and Least Terns nest in sandy areas along the beach. They create a “scrape” in the sand. The birds lay their eggs in the shallow depression, the eggs blend into the beach sand and are very hard to see by humans and predators. In order to avoid disturbing the birds when they are sitting on their nests, known nesting areas are temporarily roped off by Audubon and/or Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) representatives. This is done to protect the birds while they are nesting, caring for the babies and as the babies begin to learn to fly and forage for themselves.
Threats to these beautiful acrobats include loss of habitat, which means less space for the birds to rest, nest and forage. Disturbances from human caused activities such as:
- walking through nesting grounds
- allowing pets to run off-leash in nesting areas
- feral cats and other predators
- driving on the beach
- fireworks and other loud noises
Audubon and FWC rope-off nesting areas to protect the birds, their eggs and chicks. These nesting areas have signage asking visitors to stay out of nesting zones, so the chicks have a better chance of surviving. When a bird is disturbed off their nest, there is increased vulnerability to predators, heat and the parents may not return to the nest.
To observe these birds, stay a safe distance away, zoom in with a telescope, phone, camera or binoculars, you may see a fluffy little chick! Let’s all work to give the birds some space.
Special thanks to Jan Trzepacz of Pelican Lane Arts for the use of these beautiful photos.
To learn about the Audubon Shorebird program on Navarre Beach, FL check out the Relax on Navarre Beach Facebook webinar presentation by Caroline Stahala, Audubon Western Florida Panhandle Shorebird Program Coordinator:
In some areas these birds nest close to the road. These areas have temporarily reduced speed limits, please drive the speed limit to avoid hitting a chick. If you are interested in receiving a “chick magnet” for your car, to show you support bird conservation, please send an email to: [email protected], Please put “chick magnet” in the subject line. Please allow 2 weeks to receive your magnet in the mail. Limited quantities available.
- Explore Escribano Point Wildlife Management Area - November 19, 2021
- Team True Blue Provides Shark Data to increase NOAA Research on the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier - March 5, 2021
- Oyster Reef Mapping in the Pensacola Bay System, how is oyster reef mapping done? - January 22, 2021 | <urn:uuid:0e72cf8d-af34-443b-9c1a-2b77a2c2ca8e> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/nat/2020/05/01/share-the-shore-with-nesting-seabirds-and-shorebirds/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103915196.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220630213820-20220701003820-00005.warc.gz | en | 0.939749 | 1,004 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and James Clerk Maxwell are some of the most renowned physicist of their time. What high school student doesn’t know the famous equation E=mc2? Or Newton’s 3rd law of motion, "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction"? Physics is around all of us every day. Physics is a concept that students actually grasp and enjoy learning because it makes sense…they can touch it, see it, and make things happen. However, it is not a simple course to understand without question; many students love the ideas of physics but need help understanding the laws of physics, especially when it comes to the upper level math that is also required. Once a student continues into college and begins taking undergraduate and even graduate physics courses, there comes a time when the laws, theories, equations, and concepts become overwhelming. Getting the help of a tutor that is an expert in the field of physics will make getting the grade a lot easier.
A sampling of college physics courses:
- Contemporary Physics - Revolutions in Physics
- Physics in the Modern World I and II
- Fundamentals of Physics I and II
- Principles of Physics I and II
- Physics of Music
- General Physics: Mechanics and Particle Dynamics
- Introductory Physics: Mechanics
- Experimental Physics I:
Mechanics, Heat and Fields
- Experimental Physics II:
Electricity and Magnetism
- Experimental Physics III: Electromagnetic Waves, Optics and Modern
- Quantum Physics I and II
- Methods of Statistical Physics
- Methods of Mathematical Physics
- Nuclear Physics
- Atomic & Optical Physics I and II
- General Physics:
Electrodynamics, Light, Relativity and Modern Physics:
- General Physics: Vibrations, Waves, Heat, Electricity and Magnetism
If you or your student is struggling in a physics class, now is the time to call. Hire a professional tutor that can easily explain the concepts of physics that are difficult for students to grasp. Having the help of an expert tutor can make any level of physics course manageable and achievable. All of the physics tutors we provide will hold a degree in the area of study the student is learning. To preview a list of our qualified physics tutors call us or complete our request form today.
The basic learning blocks of every child's education are built in elementary school. It is here that a life long love for learning is fostered. The fundamental reading, writing, and math skills are introduced to your child for the first time in elementary school. In order to be successful, elementary students need to master basic listening and study skills. Elementary school should be a positive, nurturing environment where children are introduced to learning.
Because Jacksonville is the third most populous city on the East Coast, after New York City and Philadelphia, we have come to appreciate the needs of all the students within Duval County. Here, we provide not only our services to private individuals, but we work hand-in-hand with the local school board to provide free services to those children most in need. Jacksonville’s diverse population of graduate students, high-tech and industrial workers, retirees, and of course an abundant number of teachers provides us with an almost unlimited number of highly qualified and experienced tutors to meet the needs of all learners. We have been providing tutoring services to Jacksonville students for many, many successful years. Our reputation as a premium service is evident in the hundreds of testimonials we have received from parents, students, and schools in Jacksonville and the surrounding communities.
View Some Of Our Elementary Physics Tutor Profiles
Our Tutoring Service
We offer our clients choice when searching for a tutor, and we work with you all the way through the selection process. When you choose to work with one of our tutors, expect quality, professionalism, and experience. We will never offer you a tutor that is not qualified in the specific subject area you request. We will provide you with the degrees, credentials, and certifications each selected tutor holds so that you have the same confidence in them that we do. And for your peace of mind, we conduct a nation-wide criminal background check, sexual predator check and social security verification on every single tutor we offer you. We will find you the right tutor so that you can find success! | <urn:uuid:8d9ba55f-2026-4251-ac19-6cb8e836a2d4> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://www.advancedlearners.com/jacksonville/elementary/physics/tutor/find.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823802.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00105-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934673 | 887 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Interstitial cystitis is a painful condition involving inflammation in the bladder. The condition can cause significant pain with attacks that seem to have no specific cause. We do not know specifically of a general cause for interstitial cystitis (IC). Patients get frustrated and doctors become very puzzled in how to treat this difficult condition. Often times it is through much trial and error that the patient finds out what works and what does not. The treatments need to be different for each patient, so it is important that patients affected by interstitial cystitis know various treatment options.
IC has historically been an enigma in both cause and treatment. It is characterized by pain in the pelvis, higher frequency and increased urgency to use the restroom. Some think that frequent antibiotics for bladder infections may play a role in initiating the process. Others think the infections themselves may play a role. Females are affected 90 percent of the time and are more likely to experience recurrent bladder infections. Muscle spasms in the area of the pelvis and bladder have also been implicated in aggravating symptoms.
Like most conditions, what we eat and drink seems to affect interstitial cystitis. Clinically, many patients see improvement when they eliminate aspartame from the diet. Aspartame, or Equal, is an artificial sweetener used in place of sugar in soft drinks and many sugar-free foods. Quite frankly, one should be careful of any artificial sweetener when dealing with IC, but aspartame seems to be especially irritating and avoiding it is recommended. Some patients note that during acute attacks, avoiding other triggers such as alcohol, caffeine, coffee and tea can be helpful. Also, watching out for certain foods such as tomatoes and fruit juices may help calm symptoms down [Source: Czarapata]. Patients with frequent or daily IC symptoms are strongly encouraged to study the diet and watch for any foods that seem to consistently aggravate the bladder. For some patients, even supplemental vitamin C may aggravate symptoms.
Other treatments should try to improve the overall health of the bladder. For example, probiotics can be taken to promote the healthy bacteria in the body. Some patients have found the supplement D-mannose helpful for IC. D-mannose is predominately used to treat early signs of bladder discomfort due to a bladder infection. This does not necessarily mean that IC is caused by a bladder infection. In fact, many people feel it is not due to infection at all, but D-mannose may still benefit symptoms. It can be taken at 1500 to 3000mg a day in divided doses. One of the simplest and safest treatments to try for IC is the bioflavonoid nutrient quercetin. Quercetin is a nutrient naturally occurring in many fruits. As a supplement, 500mg twice a day of quercitin has been found to be helpful in the treatment of IC symptoms [Source: Katske]. Quercetin is well-tolerated and also can be useful for allergy symptoms. Interestingly, urologists are using DMSO in IC, dimethyl sulfoxide, a long considered a nontraditional treatment. Infusions of DMSO have been shown to help with IC symptoms [Source: Wein]. DMSO is also used to treat arthritis pain or may be used in combination with other treatments because it is very well-absorbed in the skin and will help other medications be absorbable. If muscle cramps and spasm are common, they may be aggravating the bladder symptoms. They are often treated with extra magnesium (250-500mg a day). Testosterone cream used intravaginally may also help with muscle pain in the pelvis (this is done by prescription from a physician).
Additional treatments for IC involve maintaining healthy lifestyle habits, particularly for the bladder. This means getting optimal amounts of water, 60 ounces a day or more. The bladder should be emptied regularly throughout the day and always after intercourse. Again, improving the diet seems to play a significant role in decreasing symptoms. I always question toxin exposure with IC sufferers as I have had a few patients who live near areas with higher levels of various toxins. Drinking filtered water, such as reverse osmosis filtration, is also recommended.
Interstitial cystitis can be both painful and perplexing. Its original cause is unknown, most likely because there are many causes. Lifestyle changes in diet and supplements targeting the bladder can often modify the condition to where it is no longer a regular problem. | <urn:uuid:11ce6b25-9a20-4eaa-8373-ac593911505b> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/urinary-tract-infections/interstitial-cystitis.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510270399.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011750-00076-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955346 | 911 | 2.625 | 3 |
921 words - 4 pages
In 1642 there was a hunt for witches in Salem, Massachusetts; in the 1950s there was a hunt for communists in America. Dramatist, Author Miller writes about the Salem Witch Trials in his play The Crucible. In 1692, just like in the 1950s, the congressional committees were searching for the truth, and trying to get rid of fear. Reverend John Hale was called to Salem because of his knowledge on witchcraft. Reverend John Hale was a Sensible man, who began to doubt the veracity of witnesses in the Salem Witch Trials, and became fearful in what his authority had set in motion.
Reverend John Hale was summoned to Salem because Reverend Parris wanted him to examine his daughter Betty. Reverend
1122 words - 5 pages
getting framed for witchcraft by licentious people who wanted to place blame on them due to jealousy or hatred for the sole purpose of revenge. The rumors quickly spreading through the town caused hysteria, defined by people behaving in an uncontrolled way due to fear or anger, eventually leading to nineteen righteous people being hung. Reverend Hale, a supposed expert on witchcraft was one of the main people to blame for the witch trials according to the vast majority of readers. Despite that, his probity becomes clearer and clearer when scrutinizing the text for its true meaning. After all, he was not responsible for the spread of the rumors about witchcraft, he began to realize the flaws
2316 words - 9 pages
John Hale is the minister of Beverly, which has been summoned to Salem to discover and
extinguish supposed witchcraft in the town of Salem, Mass. in the colonial period. Hale
overgoes a gradual change of character and belief as the play unfolds. As a dynamic
character? Though a gradual change it is, the change drastically changes his views and
ideas of what is God’s will and where his priorities lie.
The end of Act One exhibits the audience a zealous priest, Reverend John Hale,
looking for evidence of witchcraft, real or make believe. Most convenient for Hale the
town of Salem has more than enough evidence for him to become ecstatic about.
Although he does express that
1604 words - 6 pages
The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, gives a glimpse into the infamous witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The play opens after a group of girls has been caught dancing in the woods by the town minister, Reverend Parris. When one of the girls suddenly becomes stricken with an unusual disease, the first assumption is witchcraft and John Hale is brought in. Hale, an expert of witchcraft, is called to Salem to discover the evil behind the girl’s affliction. But the longer he remains in Salem, the more he asks himself: Where does the true evil reside in Salem?
John Hale is described as a middle-aged man with an abundance of energy, as well as an abundance of arrogance
4251 words - 17 pages
How Miller Uses Reverend Hale in The Crucible
Arthur Miller describes Reverend Hale as nearing forty, a
tight-skinned, eager-eyed intellectual. An intellectual is usually
thought of as someone with his head in the clouds, who spends so much
time thinking great thoughts that he's inept in the real world of
human emotions. There is some truth in this image of John Hale. He
knows a lot about witchcraft; but he knows almost nothing about the
people of Salem or the contention that is wracking the town. How
pompous and arrogant he must sound when he says, “Have no fear now--we
shall find [the Devil] out if he has come among us, and I mean to
crush him utterly if he has shown his face
1136 words - 5 pages
Reverend HaleIn Arthur Miller's, The Crucible, when characters are faced with adversity, they are forced to show their true morals and beliefs. The character of Reverend Hale fights a battle between what ideasl have been engraved in his mind by books and society, and what he feels in his soul is truly right. In the end his soul prevails and finds him completely changed. Because he is a character with such high moral standards regarding everything he does, he sees the flaws and falsities of the witch trials and changes from naively believing completely in witchcraft, to losing all faith in the religion of Salem and deciding that earthly life is superlative and worth lying for.At first
886 words - 4 pages
Revolution of Reverend HaleBy: J. JiImagine your mistake kills tens of innocent lives, but it's too late to alter the tragedy. This is the suffering Reverend John Hale reminisces through. In Arthur Miller's 1952 satirical play, The Crucible, this Puritan community is filled with paranoia and hysteria regarding witchcraft and the fear of correspondence with the devil. Because of this, many people were accused of witchcraft and hanged. Hale arrives in Salem as a specialist of witchcraft, and hopes rid the town of evil. However, Reverend Hale discovers corruption within the society and the death of innocence. Reverend Hale changed drastically throughout the play as he is disillusioned by power
592 words - 2 pages
The Salem witch trials were a time period in which there was mass chaos and very little reason. In, “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller, there were an elect group of people that overcame this hysteria of the trials. Among the people of reason arose, Reverend Hale, who displayed both sides of the hysteria. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character as he transforms from a character following the strict law and causing the deaths of many, to a character that understands the ridiculousness of the trials.
In the beginning of the play, Hale enters as a strict law abiding citizen enjoying his position of power and his ability to make the decisions in Salem. An example of his defense of the law is, “Man
3679 words - 15 pages
The Changes that John Proctor and Reverend Hale go Through as the Play Progresses
"The Crucible" symbolises the events in 1950's America when anyone who
was suspected of left wing views was accused of 'Un-American'
activities. "The Crucible" was Miller's inventive way to criticise the
paranoia surrounding a too conservative American government. After
appearing before the committee numerous times to defend himself of
suspected Communist activities, Miller used his pen the greatest
weapon to confront the silly attacks purposed upon him. This essay
will tell you the general background to the play? What the
similarities are between 1690's Salem witchcraft
713 words - 3 pages
The definition of crucible, or at least one of them, is a severe test or trial. This is definitely a fitting name for the Salem witch trials based play, as dealing with the hysteria and unjust courts of Salem is a severe trial in its self. However, the characters were also tested by their own ability to choose between right, wrong, or the most beneficial actions. From the main characters to all of the town’s people, they must all decide between what is best for them or everyone, living in sorrow or dying with honor. The three characters that undergo the most change throughout this play is John Proctor the farmer, Elizabeth whom is John’s wife, and Reverend Hale the supernatural expert
762 words - 3 pages
The CrucibleIn the book The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there are many dynamic characters. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character because his voice of opinion changes throughout the play. Reverend Hale changed drastically from the time that he arrived at Salem until the end of the play. The play began with Hale acting as a voice of authority and later converted to the voice of reason. Reverend Hale's time spent in Salem changed his views on witchcraft once again. After finding out more facts about the trial he became the voice of truth.Initially, Reverend Hale is seen as a voice of authority. He begins by exclaiming that the books about witchcraft, which he has brought with him, are, "weighted
1494 words - 6 pages
Today in the world there are people who tend to continue to show religious fervor. This can be more classified as the people who believe in a religion. A real life example of this is in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. As things go on the town of Salem becomes over run with accusations of witches; these witches people think are in the town that it is Devils work people have looked to religion. Arthur Miller's The Crucible presents how religion fervor fuels the chaos in the production and ultimately leads to conditions that sacrifice justice and reason; the behavior of these character Rebecca Nurse, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale best exemplify someone with religious fervor.
664 words - 3 pages
From a youthful age, people are taught to believe in a definitive dichotomy of right and wrong. Every subconscious thought is a consequence of this struggle to reach out for the truth. Among many hindrances of truth is hubris, which provides a gateway to a character’s inevitable downfall. This idea is embedded within the crux of Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, as Reverend Hale practices his craft of identifying witchcraft and unknowingly walks through the gateway of false truths. Through his struggles, Reverend Hale exhibits how real truth is not easily uncovered as he loses and redeems his conscience.
Reverend Hale strays away from his intuition as he is blinded by hubris
982 words - 4 pages
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953, which dramatizes the Salem witch trials that occurred in the late seventeenth century. In the play, many comparisons can be made between the two characters Reverend Samuel Parris and Reverend John Hale. Both introduced as intelligent men of God, the two spiritual leaders preach in towns of New England and are respected by many people in their communities. Although these two reverends share some similarities of setting the hysteria into motion and asking Judge Danforth to postpone the executions, their dissimilarity is clearer as they have different personality traits and attitudes towards the case of witchcraft in Salem.
1298 words - 5 pages
In a work of literature one particular type of character found is a dynamic character. Dynamic characters are those who change dramatically through out the course of the novel. In the play The Crucible Reverend John Hale is an example of a dynamic character because throughout the course of the play his beliefs and views differ then those at the end of the play.Reverend John Hale travels from Beverly to the Village of Salem Massachusetts to investigate the strange behavior of Betty Proctor. His job upon coming to Salem is to determine whether witchcraft is to blame for this incident. Most people including Parris and Thomas Putnam are quick to believe witchcraft as the cause of Betty's
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In The Crucible most of the characters all want power or a good reputation. One of the lesser of the power hungry characters is Reverend John Hale. Reverend Hale knows he has the power to hang witches and has done it many times before. The people of Salem know this and break under the pressure of having Reverend Hale bombard them with such leading questions in act one that they just start accusing other to save their own life. Tituba gets accused by Abigail then Tituba confesses and lies that she is working with the devil. This causes all of the young girls to take an easy way out and accuse others. Reverend Hale doesn’t just use his powerful reputation for accusing people of witchery; he
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In The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, the strict Puritan community of Salem is bombarded with the hysteria of witchcraft. It starts when five young girls of Salem are caught dancing in the forest. Instead as mere children playing, this behavior is viewed upon by the Puritans as the work of the devil. As the hysteria builds momentum, more and more accusations radiate. Reverend Hale, a well known expert on witches, is brought into Salem to 'cleanse' the town of it's evil. At the beginning of the play, Hale leads the onslaught of punishment for the accused; but by the end, he radically changes his views, denouncing the court and its proceedings.At first, Hale believes that the
526 words - 2 pages
In The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, the strict Puritan
community of Salem is bombarded with the hysteria of witchcraft. It starts when
five young girls of Salem are caught dancing in the forest. Instead as mere
children playing, this behavior is viewed upon by the Puritans as the work of
the devil. As the hysteria builds momentum, more and more accusations radiate.
Reverend Hale, a well known expert on witches, is brought into Salem to
'cleanse' the town of it's evil. At the beginning of the play, Hale leads the
onslaught of punishment for the accused; but by the end, he radically changes
his views, denouncing the court and its proceedings.
At first, Hale believes
703 words - 3 pages
Thomas Chandler Haliburton states, “Whenever there is authority, there is a natural inclination to disobedience.” There are tons of reason why people go against authority and disobey what is set in forth, one major reason is independence. When someone wants attention they disobey authority so everyone can have their full attention. Also, as humans we try to find a place within a social group and this is natural as we our sociable creatures. However, disobeying authority is sometimes the right thing to do as there is discrimination or the inclination of superiority of one's race. As illustrated in The Crucible and Montgomery Boycott people such as John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Rosa Park
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Changes in Character in The Crucible
One definition of "crucible" is "a severe test of patience and belief, or a trial". This definition pertains to Arthur Miller's four-act play, "The Crucible." The definition is suiting, because it is during this play that the wills of innocent women and men are put to the test when they are accused of things they did not do. It was the ultimate trial of determination and willpower to withstand such a wretched ordeal. Abigail Williams, Elizabeth and John Proctor, Mary Warren, Reverend Parris and even Reverend Hale had changed drastically because of what they had to go through during the course of the play. However, other
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Reverend Hale is a dynamic character in Miller's The Crucible as he is challenged by John Proctor's courage. He starts out very convincing and seems to know exactly what he wants. John Proctor is a very strong and courageous character. He influences Reverend Hale so much that Hale completely changes his mind about Salem, the court, and witches.Reverend Hale enters Salem as a very strong character that knows what he wants to do. He is very sure of himself. "They must be, they are weighted with authority" (p. 36). When he arrives in Salem, he is absolutely sure of witchcraft. "The devil is precise-the marks of his presence are as definite as stone." (p. 38), "Are you gathering souls for the
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Reverend John Hale is one of the main characters in the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller. The significant quote said by Hale towards Elizabeth Proctor to "not mistake your duty as I mistook my own" summarises Hale's changing sense of identity. Upon his arrival, Hale believes it is his duty to drive the devil out of Salem. However, as the play progresses, Hale's actions begin to conflict with Judge Danforth as Hale distances himself from the court. This transition is the result of Hale's revelation that he mistook his duty of protecting the lives of those falsely accused.Throughout Act One, Hale indulges in the honour and pride that his position as a minister grants him. When Hale
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When reading a classic novel like that of Arthur Miller, we oftentimes encounter the typical dynamic character; the lovable cocoon experiencing a most dramatic metamorphosis right before the reader’s eyes. In The Crucible, the reader is initially introduced to a reserved, confident, and scholarly Reverend Hale, who arrives in the secluded, gloomy town of Salem to investigate the mysterious behavior of the local priest’s daughter; Betty Proctor . Throughout the novel, Miller reveals Hale’s transformation from within his strict cocoon of formal studies and formulaic outlook on witchcraft diagnostics and religion to a jaded, less-than-sure of himself scholar, broken by the raw injustice and
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The Salem witch trials of 1692 caused much confusion and chaos. A total of 19 were executed for supposed witchcraft. For such a travesty to occur and to end, there must be certain people that catalyze the event and others that speak out against it. In "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, specific characters contribute to the rising hysteria of witchcraft and the disapproval of the convictions. Reverend Hale is a unique character that provides attributions to both sides. Although Reverend Hale is a catalyst to the beginning of the witch trials because he protects the authority of the court with a strict interpretation of its laws, he later realizes the falsehood of the court's accusations
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A crucible in reality is a device, not unlike a cauldron, used to separate metal from ore by heat, however Arthur Miller titled his book, The Crucible, in order to indicate how people under intense pressure to confess their sins were altered by the experience. When it was over, those who had personal integrity were revealed, like a precious metal refined in a crucible, while other characters were found to be composed of "base metal". Some characters in the play changed due to what they had to undergo during the play and some did not. In the following paragraphs, three characters are discussed: John Proctor, who changes during the course of the play, Reverend Hale, who also changes, and
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Pontius Pilate Indeed
The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, is set in Salem, Massachusetts. The hysteria begins with suspicion that a group of teenage girls found dancing in the forest are guilty of witchcraft. The reverend of Salem then calls on Reverend Hale, who hails from Beverly, to come ascertain the truth. Threatened with severe punishment girls tell lies that Satan had possessed them and falsely accuse others of working with the Devil. One of the girls has an infatuation with John Proctor, a married man, and her determination to get rid of his innocent wife, Elizabeth fuels the hysteria. Reverend Hale is a unique character because he is both a catalyst and a preventer of this
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. Moreover, his mistake caused a countless number of innocent people to be thrown in jail and hanged. With this revelation clouding his mind and breaking his heart, he became an anguished man who regretted his actions that aided the conviction of numerous so-called witches. He fought against the witch trials after that, but his actions were inadequate. The witch trials still went on. Hale ended up being a character who opposed the witch trials, but instead of going against the court as aggressively as John Proctor, he begged the accused to confess in order to save their own lives. He believed that it was better to lie and live than deny and die.
Reverend John Hale’s changes in his diction
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John Hale, from the Crucible
Dynamic, Reverend John Hale needs only this one word to describe him. That is what separates Hale from any other character in the Crucible, while most characters are entirely static, with the exception of Elizabeth. That is why I consider him to be the best, and most flushed out character in the Crucible. In this report I will describe and analyze the character of John Hale and try show why his is the best character in the Crucible.
In the first paragraph I will analyze the character of John Hale and describe what just makes him so dynamic. At the beginning of act one we only hear about John Hale and can only make judgment upon what is said about him. From
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supporting an illegitimate court procedure. When execution day arrives, Reverend Parris fears that the “rebellion in Andover” (127) over hangings will occur similarly in Salem. Reverend Parris pleads to Hathorne that “. . . it were another sort that we hanged till now . . . these people have great weight yet in the town” (127). Reverend Parris’ last attempt at preserving his image shows his utter desperation to retain his position of power. While Reverend Parris fears losing power, Abigail fears losing a love already lost.
Abigail’s fear of prosecution and of losing John Proctor causes her to cry witch. When Reverend Hale asks Abigail if she called “the Devil last night” (42), she realizes her
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In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays the two main characters, John Proctor and Reverend John Hale as "good men". The term "good men" in this play is ambiguous. Reverend John Hale was a good man in the sense of being the perfect and good citizen of Massachusetts in the 1600's. He was pious, adherent to the laws and beliefs, and a good Puritan Christian. John Proctor, on the contrary would not be considered the greatest citizen. He was not so religious, nor the perfect Christian, and was not so adherent to the Puritan's laws and beliefs. However, he was still considered a "good man", as a person rather than being an ideal Puritan citizen. He was very honest, moral, loyal to his friends and
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I have been asked to play the part of 'Reverend John Hale' in a stage production of 'The Crucible'. 'The crucible is a play based on the Salem witch trials, which took place in the sixteenth century, and is centred around the them of naming names and passing the blame. Arthur Miller wrote 'The Crucible', and I believe his purpose writing this play was to show the consequence of naming names and taking revenge as well as showing how different those times were.My character, Reverend John Hale of Beverly is said to be."...nearing forty, a tight-skinned, eager-eyed intellectual."He thinks himself to be quite the specialist on witchcraft and things of the supernatural, because of the education
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confession is the start of the mass hysteria that begins in Salem, Massachusetts. For this reason Reverend Hale, an expert on witches, is called from Beverly to investigate these suspicions. Reverend Hale is an “eager-eyed intellectual” (Miller 38), who is full of pride to have finally been called to Salem to ascertain witchcraft and purify the town of evil forces. Another character, a respected judge named Danforth, arrives from Boston and contributes to the mass hysteria seen in Salem when he relies heavily on spectral evidence presented in court to rid the town of evil. Both Reverend Hale and Danforth are allies against witchcraft trying to condemn the accused. However, as the play progresses
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In Salem, Massachusetts, witch trials begins to erupt as allegations are made on typical rivals. Arthur Miller portrays this event as a preposterous segment in our nation's history in his work called "The Crucible". In this extravagant play, Reverend Hale and Elizabeth Proctor take part in a drastic development that affects their entire role.Reverend Hale distinctively alters his perspective of the situation of the witch trials throughout the play. He first approaches the reader in the beginning as a very haughty and selfish minister by proclaiming he will "find [the Devil] out ... and mean[s] to crush him utterly if he has shown his face" (39). He speaks of himself to be distinguishably
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Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, takes place during 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The setting is important because it takes place during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The play begins with the town’s girls, led by Abigail Williams, gathering in the forest and starting to dance around a fire, chanting. Reverend Parris catches them dancing, sending the girls into a panic and causing two of the girls to go into a coma-like state. The townspeople spread rumors that there are witches lurking throughout the the town that have put the girls under their spells. This causes Reverend Parris to send for Reverend Hale, an expert in witchcraft and the devil's work, who hopes to rid
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Insight plays a large role in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Insight is defined as "the capacity to discern the true nature of a situation". Basically, it means that you are able to realize what is really going on. The word "crucible" is defined as "a severe test or trial". This is realized by the plotline as innocent citizens are cruelly punished for "supernatural" sins. John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Reverend hale all gain insight throughout this story.John learns a lot about himself and others. John Proctor is an honest farmer in the village of Salem when it is violently transformed into a slaughterhouse of saints. Elizabeth is very good to John, which causes him to think of her as
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The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory written about the Salem witch trials in 1692. It includes a number of characters who fully conform to the trials and their consequences, it also contains the opposite, those who do not conform and fight it. Of course, as in any story there are characters in the middle that are not sure which side to take. They go along with it, not willing to stand up, but in their minds they are not completely sure whether or not what they’re doing is right. Reverend Hale is the best example of outward conformity and inward questioning.
Hale does not start out as such however. In fact he is the reason the witch hunts are started. In the beginning of the play
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A crucible has two diverse meanings: a vessel used for melting substances that require a high degree of heat or a severe test or trial. The play, The Crucible, uses both definitions in unison to show the fiery atmosphere of the Salem Witch Trials and the severity of the trials. Three primary characters involved in the scorching environment of the Salem Witch Trials are Elizabeth Proctor, Reverend Hale, and John Proctor. Since The Crucible entitles that people are going to go through a test and receive knowledge from it, these three characters gain the most insight from the trials and tests that they endure.
At the beginning of The Crucible Elizabeth Proctor is characterized as a good
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Individual moral integrity and the lack thereof are illustrated by Arthur Miller in his play, The Crucible. The fear of witchcraft engulfs the Puritanical society thus creating a mob rule. The fate of the town depends upon the morals of its people. John Proctor and Reverend Hale are key players in condemning the Witch Trials; ruling the mob are Abigail, Judge Danforth, and their followers. Even though the trials were intended to end when Salem was cleansed of the alleged witchcraft, it remained the responsibility of the individual to ensure that the majority did not become completely overthrown by mass hysteria.The lack of moral integrity displayed by characters in the play causes a string
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The Crucible Many of the characters in The Crucible become changed by the end of the play.Three of the characters who change a lot are John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Mary Warren. It is shown that John Proctor changes in his willingness to have anything to do with the witch hunt and his moral decisions. Reverend Hale changes his personal outlook on and role in the witch hunt throughout the play, and he changes his general attitude towards the justness of witch hunts, the court, and the church. Mary Warren changes her mind about her role in the witch hunt several times, and she also must change her morals or ideas about sin. Each character's changes make huge impacts their lives and
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Miller uses three characters who clearly manifest this internal battle. First, Mary Warren's whole personality turns upside down when she is torn between telling the truth and surviving the trials. John Proctor is the next who is forced to contemplate a choice between the importance of his family and his own name. The third, Reverend Hale, battles with himself about whether or not to carry out his job requirements or to do what he knows is right. All three characters face difficult choices that are eating away at each one's conscience. Should they do what they believe is right, or what will help them survive the witch trials? Each character and situation is unique, beginning with Mary
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people to die.In another situation Reverend Hale is a strong man who comes to Salem looking for withes and eager to test out his practices to helping the accused. When he came to Salem Hale had never actually seen a witch but was eager to find one. "They must be, they are weighted with authority," said Hale very sure of himself (36). When he says this there is an image of superiority put out by Rev. Hale. "What are you concealing? Have you sold yourself to Lucifer?" said Rev. Hale trying to intimidate (43). Hale again shows his believed superiority by trying to intimidate Abigail into a confession. By the end of Act III and throughout Act IV Rev. Hale changes his approach and is seen as a humbler
1998 words - 8 pages
are three notable characters that express these characteristics greatly. John
Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Judge Danforth these are the three character. Throughout
the novel, questions arise, who is the hero? Should a dynamic character or a static
character berecognized as the hero? The characters stated above are the most
expressive of these characteristics and each can be seen as a hero.
A dynamic character would be Reverend Hale. Reverend Hale was introduced into
this story to help find the witch that was in salem. Reverend Hale is expressed in the
beginning as a powerful man with a reputation of being a witch catcher. In the book
Hale is caught saying his books are “heavy with authority
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Hypocracy: Examing three characters.In this novel, hypocrisy was referenced lot in this story of "The Crucible". All of the characters that had integrity also acted hypocritically, like John Proctor, Rev. Hale, and Elizabeth Proctor. For example, Reverend Hale claimed to have integrity, but at was very hypocritical. He was in Salem to see if there was any witchcraft in Salem and he had witnessed the girls confessing. However, more toward the end, he was quick to defend John Proctor when he was claiming that the girls were feuds and everyone of them are telling lies about witches. Reverend Hale had integrity because he was a man a good faith and admitted that he was wrong, but at the end he
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evil that Reverend Parris brought in Reverend Hale to eventually judge everyone in the town.
Reverend Hale’s only reason for being brought to Salem was to judge the townspeople on their supposed involvement in witchcraft. In the end he ended up judging the entire town on the practicing of their Christian faith. Reverend Hale being in Salem ended up writing “Seventy two death warrants” (Miller 99). This is concerning considering Reverend Hale was a man that “dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it” (Miller 99). What made a minister of the Lord do such a thing? The oppressive views of the townspeople of Salem. Being in the
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Crucible. Specifically, the actions and thoughts of the primary characters John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Reverend Hale throughout the act demonstrate mankind’s desire to redeem integrity, in the hopes that one is not left with the consuming weight of guilt.
Arthur Miller uses his middle-aged, father character, John Proctor, to illustrate the idea that humans desire to maintain their integrity, and will attempt to reclaim it so that they are not forced to suffer from the overshadowing pillar of guilt. Specifically, Proctor cannot bring himself to abandon his morality, despite the fact that in doing so he would be permitted to keep his life. John Proctor suffers from guilt and shame after
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, though, stands out from these people because he defends what he knows is right. John Proctor, a small farmer in Salem, stands up for what he believes in, while nearly everyone else in the village of Salem gives into the mass hysteria.In Act I of the play, the reader learns that Reverend Parris's daughter has fallen ill, and the village believes that it is an act of witchcraft. When Reverend Hale comes to the Parris's home to see if he can help, he, Giles Corey, and John Proctor begin discussing the current issue at hand. When Hale inquires Proctor on his thoughts, Giles jumps in with, "He don't believe in witches" (Miller 35). While Proctor does not agree to this statement, he does not deny
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The power of religion and fear is prominently displayed throughout The Crucible; the characters holding power of the court misuse it, and the motives of credible, honest, worthwhile characters are lost to lies and deceit. Out of all the characters in The Crucible, John Proctor and Reverend Hale are the most deserving of authority but receive very little, if any. The majority of the power is distributed between Danforth, Hathorne, Parris, and Abigail. The power and ability to decide innocence and guilt is given to those who can ask questions while evading answering any.
Danforth, Hathorne, and Parris avoid answering accusations and questions by charging the speaker with trying to undermine
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as a down to earth farmer who has had an affair with Abigail.When Reverend Hale arrives in order to use his knowledge to find out if witchcraft is indeed active within this village and looks for signs. In the book he questions Abigail in such a way to suggest that she may not be to and introduces someone for her to lay the blame on. However the screenplay shows Hale questioning all of the girls. Here one of the girls points to Abigail as being the ringleader. In both text and screenplay the outcome is the same and Tituba is blamed. In both portrayals Hale intimidates in such a way as to make the girl/girls fearful of him.Hale talks to Tituba and asks her of her involvement. This concludes
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with a good man, John Proctor, but then he denies her but she still wants him. She wants him so much that she wants his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, to die because she thinks that she can take her place next to John. She makes the whole town believe that there are witches among the town and Reverend Hale believes that it is his duty to eliminate these witches. Trials are made, and innocent people are accused for stupid reasons, excessive pride being one of them, but then, the people that are accused have the choice of dying with dignity and pride, or live by falsely confessing to witchcraft. Throughout the book The Crucible, excessive pride is written subconsciously throughout the whole book and
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witches, but it all became reality when Parris sends for Reverend John Hale.
By calling Reverend Hale, a man known for finding witches, he increases the paranoia among the townspeople. Neighbors suddenly turn on each other and accuse people they've known for years of practicing witchcraft and devil-worship because a well respected man, known for ruling out the devil, comes and falls for Abigail and the children pretense. When Abigail Williams accuses Tituba of witchcraft, noticing that people are starting to realize her lies, Tituba is whipped without any time for explanation. Both Reverend Parris and Reverend Hale forced Tituba to confess of witchcraft. Parris said,” You will confess yourself | <urn:uuid:4cbe7d4e-aa70-4f29-be43-3a67be02de2b> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://brightkite.com/essay/reverend-hale | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986684226.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20191018154409-20191018181909-00415.warc.gz | en | 0.965369 | 7,555 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The middle of this century, UN scientists have confirmed, could witness the full return of a holed-up ozone layer. Our natural UV-protection, they go on to say, is no longer disappearing.
The phasing out of nearly 100 substances once used in products like refrigerators and aerosols has stopped the ozone layer being depleted further, although it is not yet increasing, according to a new United Nations report released last week.
And it claimed that international efforts to protect the ozone layer have averted millions of cases of skin cancer worldwide.
The ozone layer outside the Polar Regions is projected to recover to pre-1980 levels by 2048, although the annual springtime ozone hole over the Antarctic is not expected to recover until 2073, reports the Daily Mail.
Ozone in the stratosphere is important because it absorbs some of the Sun's dangerous ultraviolet radiation.
The report was written and reviewed by 300 scientists and launched on the UN International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. (ANI)
The reports has been published jointly by UNEP and the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO). | <urn:uuid:125a0021-4af8-4ff5-8fd8-3adb2b882598> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | https://www.medindia.net/news/ozone-layer-is-not-disappearing-any-more-experts-predict-its-full-return-by-2048-74342-1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232256082.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20190520162024-20190520184024-00176.warc.gz | en | 0.939021 | 226 | 3.578125 | 4 |
This week it appears that the universe will be hanging together with a bit different set of rules than we’ve been lead to understand for the past 40 years may be disproven in a variety of ways thanks to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. This location has scientists in Menlo Park, California researching collisions between electrons and the antimatter that love them. What they’ve done here is to suggest that a subatomic particle (a B-bar meson) decays more often than it should according to the Standard Model.
The actual finding has these B-bar mesons, made of both antimatter and matter, breaking apart into three other particles too often. These other three particles are a D meson, an antineutrino, and a tau lepton, making this process one which gets the name “B to D-star-tau-nu.” The B-bar mesons are made specifically of a bottom quark and an antiquark, and because they’ve been observed decaying in this way so often at the lab where they’re being researched, the Standard Model does not currently compute, so to speak.
BaBar spokesperson Michael Roney of the University of Victoria in Canada sent out a statement which explained the situation in part:
“The excess over the Standard Model prediction is exciting, but before we can claim an actual discovery, other experiments have to replicate it and rule out the possibility this isn’t just an unlikely statistical fluctuation.” – Roney
This announcement was spoken on as well by BaBar physics coordinator Abner Soffer of Tel Aviv University, who noted that everyone was, for lack of a better word we’re sure, rather excited about the prospects:
“If the excess decays shown are confirmed, it will be exciting to figure out what is causing it. We hope our results will stimulate theoretical discussion about just what the data are telling us about new physics.” – Soffer
The current tests on the BeBar experiment have been in the works and being observed between 1999 and 2008 – a massive amount of time by most science experiments standards: but this is no average experiment. To move forward from this point, the project will have to be expanded to other experiments. CSMonitor suggests that the Belle project at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Tsukuba, Japan, which also produces B mesons, could be used.
We’ll be following along with this story until it breaks our basic understanding of space, and we hope it’ll happen soon! It’s always exciting to find that everything we know is wrong, wouldn’t you say?
[concept art via Greg Stewart, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory] | <urn:uuid:e1d7a49b-ecc4-43a9-9b0b-16417480840f> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | https://www.slashgear.com/standard-model-of-particle-physics-rules-on-the-line-19234739/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818687833.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20170921153438-20170921173438-00564.warc.gz | en | 0.936639 | 572 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Stress is perceived as a normal response to abnormal conditions. It is the body’s psychological and physiological reaction to events that upset the individual by disturbing the balance. The body protects you in these times through the fight or flight response. This can induce stress. Stress does not always cause harm. In fact, stress can also initiate life-saving results. This can help in challenging situations such as work tasks. Bad stress or distress is when the situation goes out of hand and damages overall well being. Stress can become negative when it goes out of control. It affects the mental and emotional well being and creates relationship and interpersonal issues. It also induces health issues such as skin rashes, digestive issues, sleep problems, heart-related complaints, depression, anxiety, and obesity as well as autoimmune disorders. It can also be painful and disorienting.
Stress varies across individuals with some having high tolerance for it and others, low. Understanding the factors that influence stress can successfully pave the way to manage the stressors. Causes of stress can range across the following.
Types of Stress
Table of Contents
Life stressors include the death of friends and loved ones, injury, illnesses, crime, abuse, divorce, sexual issues, maladjustment, physical changes, financial hurdles, relocation, environmental factors or changing responsibilities. These stressors can range across a wide gamut and impact the individual in varied ways.
General stress comes from fear and unidentified factors leading to uncertainty. Uncertainty also produces stress when we feel a lack of control in the prediction of an outcome that induces stress.
Work Related Stressors
Work stressors include demands on the job, lack of support or understanding with supervisors and co-workers, impediments in communication, the absence of feedback, clarity issues, changing organizational structures, demotion, promotion, lengthy hours or complete job dissatisfaction.
These are stressors we create. This refers to the manner in which we view and perceive situations leading to stress. This includes self-talk, unrealistic expectations, seeking perfection and wanting control.
Once the sources of stress have been identified, work can commence on the management of stress effectively. Stress varies across individuals and there are effective ways to prevent it. Exploring your options is very important. Perception plays a critical role in stress management. Choosing healthier alternatives to cope with stress is also important. This includes exercise, breathing techniques, meditation and adopting an overall healthy lifestyle. Finding out what works for you is critical.
When trying to cope with stress, or finding unhealthy ways to manage or handle it, one may benefit from talking with close friends or family members. If stress controls an individual more than the individual controls it, it’s time to see a psychiatrist or therapist to guide you through the process. Finding something that works for you and is part of your regular schedule works wonders. The aim is to counter the stress and promote overall well being.
Having situations that create stress are normal and these include deadlines, interviews or even work or personal challenges, knowing what leads to stress is the important factor here. What leads to stress is important to recognize to reduce stress. Stress refers to the body’s condition reacting to mental or emotional disruption. Traumas cause extremely adverse reactions to physiological or psychological perspectives and negative events trigger stress causing job loss, divorce, and death of friends and families. Chronic or continuing stress comes from financial concerns such as battling a disease or handling a troubled workplace relationship.
Through recognition of the physiological reaction to negative life stressors or chronic strain, steps can be taken for metabolization of the harmful generation of stress linked hormones in the body. Building resilience, coping skills and perspectives to manage stress and live a healthy life is important.
Knowledge of the Body’s Stress Reaction
When we feel stressed out, the body sends signals that trigger a physiological response. The heart ticks rapidly, one sweats as perspiration rises and digestive powers decline. What signals need to be recognized? From verbal expressions to a stress awareness journal, there are many ways to counter and trace the impact of stressors. Physical sensations such as tense muscles in the lower back or neck are also common.
How to Control Stress
Strengthening capacity and skill building are important. How quickly the crises can be countered is based on how resilient one is. Those who can manage emotions, handle thought as well as behavior, building resiliency, are likely to rebound more rapidly.
#1 Committing to the Process of Change
Change is not simple as old habits have to be changed. Initially, we may not think seriously about changes and may not seek help. Once there is awareness, cycling through pros and cons is critical and behavioral change needs to take place. Seeking the intervention is important. The means to successful coping is to handle stress and seek the help of individual therapists or group counseling. Final stages involve managing the new pattern of behavior.
#2 Cope with Uncertainty
Managing during tough and difficult times is important. Things just don’t go the way we want them to sometimes. Certain outcomes are anticipated and instead, the unexpected happens. Dealing with negative emotions is important. So is building emotional resiliency.
#3 Accept That Which is In Your Control (And What is Not!)
Accepting what is not in our control is important. The frustration or tension emerging from situations that have no relation to us and yet impact us, has a negative impact on the psychological and physiological well being. Managing strong emotional outbursts and impulses involve taking actions without losing your objectivity. Pressure should be managed and it is important to persevere keeping the focus on goals for the long term.
#4 Recognizing the Importance of Stress Management
If one is living with high-stress levels, the entire well-being is put at risk. Stress creates havoc on emotional equilibrium and physical health. This lowers the ability to think with clarity, function efficiently and enjoy life. Effective stress management helps to break the hold of stress, so one can be happier, more productive and healthy. Ultimate goals of a balanced life with time for work, fun, relaxation, and relationship is important. Stress management does not follow a one size fits all approach.
#5 Identify the Stressors
Stress management helps in identifying stress sources in life. This is not so easy to identify in the context of chronic stressors. Overlooking thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that contribute to stress are vital. To identify the true sources of stress, looking at habits, excuses and attitudes are important. Don’t explain away the stress as temporary or fail to understand it as a critical part of your home or work life. Blaming stress on people or outside events is only going to exacerbate the situation. Accepting the responsibility for the role played helps in maintaining stress levels.
#6 Starting a Stress Journal
A stress journal can identify regular stressors in life and the way they are dealt with. Keeping track of stress levels in the journal is important. See common themes and patterns before arriving at an understanding of what is causing the stress, how you feel physiologically and psychologically. How you act in response and make yourself feel better is important too.
#7 Replace Unhealthy Strategies With Healthy Ones
Thinking about the ways to manage and cope with stressors in your life is important. For this, the stress journal is an effective way. Check if your coping strategies are healthy or unhealthy, unproductive or helpful. Many people cope with stress in a manner that compounds the problem. Some of the unhealthy ways of coping include smoking, drinking excessively, using pills or drugs to relax, comfort food, zoning out, sleeping too much and taking out your stress on others. It is important to manage the stress so experiment with different methods and techniques. Focus on what induces a feeling of calmness and control.
#8 Practice The Stress Management Methods
Stress stems automatically from the nervous system, while some stressors arise at a more predictable time. This includes commuting to work, meeting the boss or family gathering. When handling such predictable stress, the change in the situation or reaction is needed. Critical to stress management methods are to avoid, adapt, alter or accept. Knowing your limits and sticking to them is important. Distinguishing between the should and the must is the test of true stress management.
#9 Avoid Stressors
If something consistently causes stressors in life, limit the amount of time spent with the person or close the relationship. Taking control of your environment and immediate surroundings is important. If traffic creates tension, opt for the less traveled route. Engage in analysis of your responsibilities, schedules and daily tasks. If you are facing too many tasks, eliminate most of these. If you cannot avoid a stressful situation, try to change it. This involves changing the manner in which one communicates and operates one everyday life. Express the feelings instead of bottling these up. Creating a balanced schedule is important because there is no recipe for a burnout this way. Finding the balance between family and work is critical. Downtime is important.
#10 Change Your Attitude
If you can’t modify the stressor, change your self. Adapt to stress filled situations and conserve your modicum of control by changing attitudes and expectations. Reframing problems are important to look at scenes from a perspective where you can cope. Rather than creating tension about a stressor, take time to stop and engage in regrouping.
#11 Study the Big Picture
Taking the right perspective can help in combating a stressful setting. Always focus on the larger picture rather than taking a narrow view of the situation.
#12 Adjusting Standards
Perfectionistic factors are to blame for stress. Demanding perfection is not a stress alleviating move. Setting ideal standards for self and others is critical. When stress grabs you, it is important to take time to study what is good in life. Accept things that cannot be changed. Sources of stressors are unavoidable. Acceptance is hard but in the long run, it is critical to know about the situations that cannot be changed. Rather than stressing out, it is important to focus on things that can be controlled such as the manner in which problems are reacted to.
#13 Looking for the Bright Side
When facing a lot of challenges, try to study the opportunities for personal growth. If poor choices have led to stressful situations, reflecting on them and learning from mistakes is critical. Sharing feelings and expressing emotions can be a positive way to let the tension out.
#14 Get The Move On
When you are stressed, the last thing you will feel like doing is getting up and exercising. Physical activity relieves stress. You don’t have to spend long hours exercising to experience benefits. Exercise releases feel good endorphins that make a person feel good and distracts them from daily worries. Building fitness levels on a gradual basis works just fine. Small activities can add up to big benefits over the day.
Any form of physical activity can limit tension and stress. But rhythmic activities work just as well. Good choices while running, walking, swimming, dancing or cycling and tai chi or aerobics can benefit you in terms of fitness levels and value.
Paying attention to emotional sensations experienced as one feels them is important. Focus on the coordination of breathing with movement or notice how air or sunlight feels on the skin. Adding the element of mindfulness can help to break out of the vicious cycle of stress.
#15 Connecting With Others
Nothing is more important than spending time in harmony with another person who makes one feel safe and understood. Face to face integration leads to a positive outcome for the body wrestling with the fight or flight response. It ensures natural stress relief and staves off depression and anxiety. Making it a point to connect regularly and get the downtime you need is important. Building resiliency to focus on dealing with life’s stressors is important.
#16 Allocate Time For Relaxation and Fun
Beyond an approach that focuses on taking charge, stress needs to be reduced by creating opportunities for downtime. Nurturing one’s self is important. It is not merely a luxury. You need to be in a better place to handle the stressors of life. Setting aside leisure time for rest and relaxation is important. If one makes time for relaxation, there is a better chance of handling stressors. Setting aside leisure time includes rest and relaxation in the daily schedule. Relaxation methods range from yoga and meditation to deep breathing. A state of restfulness is necessary to deal with the fight or flight response.
#17 Develop a Stress Alleviation Toolbox
Coming up with healthy ways to recharge and relax, it is important to set up a walk or take a long, relaxing ride or trek through nature. Alleviating stress is easy with effective management of time. Avoid scheduling items back to back or fitting too much in a single day. Avoid over committing tasks and prioritize the important things in life. Break projects into smaller parts and delegate responsibility easily.
#18 Maintain Balance
Along with exercise, other healthy lifestyle choices raise resistance to stress. Eating a healthy diet, lowering sugar and caffeine intake and avoiding alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes is the key here. Getting enough sleep is important too because adequate sleep provides nourishment for the mind as well as the body. Two different coping strategies are problem and emotion focused. Problem focused strategies focus on tackling the situation leading to stress by concentrating on the problem. Emotion focused strategies handle distress and focus on emotions.
Learning how to recognize and manage stress is important. Stress is an undeniable part of modern life because we live in a fast paced world where we do not have time for many important actions. This is why stress management and identifying the stressors in life are critical. Combating the tension through effective management is the key here. | <urn:uuid:f7910249-8fa4-4f31-8e63-b49400880d2f> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.healthresource4u.com/how-to-recognize-and-control-stress.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100499.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20231203094028-20231203124028-00141.warc.gz | en | 0.935889 | 2,825 | 3.140625 | 3 |
This exhibition is entitled ‘Mare Nostrum/Our sea’ and it is unique in many ways; for one, it is common to read "It is forbidden to touch the works” at other exhibitions but within our exhibition, we welcome you to touch all of the works. Each artwork that you view at our exhibition has been created on a mobile device only.
The smartphone is only twelve years old and so many people, throughout the world, now use them multiple times each the day. It has radically transformed the habits of many of us but also crucially, in this respect, a vast number of artists.
Using a smartphone for photography and art can be controversial, sometimes it is criticised by photographers and artists who use traditional methods to create. But today, more often than not, those same artists are also utilising the smartphone to create new art to share alongside their traditional practices.
The smartphone is the the most appreciated communication tool that exists in the modern world today. It has the ability to be used as a telephone, to listen, to write, to record, to calculate, to photograph, to exchange, to play, to geotag and now, more than ever before, it is being used by artists to create unique art.
Smartphones have broken down barriers and broadened boundaries. The art that is created with a smartphone can be transferred from wall, to altarpiece, to canvas, to the computer and is visible on a screen that is similar in size to the palm of a hand and yet, astonishingly can be stowed in the pocket of a jacket.
The smartphone does have physical limits, not unlike any tool. It is important to learn how to maximise its potential to create magnificent art. Art that you would be honoured to present, pride of place in your home. There are technical aspects of mobile photography and art that are important to learn.Subjects such as essential photography skills, including, controlling light, exposure, shutter speeds, focal lengths, aperture, depth of field, histograms, and then skills very attuned to the mobile device, the use of apps to revolutionise your images, without losing resolution. Creative techniques, editing skills for maximum dramatic effect, sharing your pictures within the device throughout social media channels and more.
Come and discover this unique art of the 21st century and take the opportunity to touch the works! We welcome you.
The mobile artistry works of twenty two talented Tumobart artist’s will be exhibited in the La Petite Galerie 35, rue de Seine Paris 75006, France between 28 October 2019 to 4 November 2019 | <urn:uuid:2ec34bb2-0deb-4a81-8912-af3fb252a9ed> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://theappwhispererprintsales.com/collections/mare-nostrum-exhibition-2019?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400244353.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20200926165308-20200926195308-00098.warc.gz | en | 0.964206 | 537 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Reduced lifespan and increased ageing driven by genetic drift in small populations
- General Reference
- author-supplied keywords
- Reduced lifespan and increased ageing driven by genetic drift in small populations
- Society for the Study of Evolution
Explaining the strong variation in lifespan among organisms remains a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Whereas previous work has concentrated mainly on differences in selection regimes and selection pressures, we hypothesize that differences in genetic drift may explain some of this variation. We develop a model to formalize this idea and show that the strong positive relationship between lifespan and genetic diversity predicted by this model indeed exists among populations of Daphnia magna, and that ageing is accelerated in small populations. Additional results suggest that this is due to increased drift in small populations rather than adaptation to environments favoring faster life histories. First, the correlation between genetic diversity and lifespan remains significant after statistical correction for potential environmental covariates. Second, no trade-offs are observed; rather, all investigated traits show clear signs of increased genetic load in the small populations. Third, hybrid vigor with respect to lifespan is observed in crosses between small but not between large populations. Together, these results suggest that the evolution of lifespan and ageing can be strongly affected by genetic drift, especially in small populations, and that variation in lifespan and ageing may often be nonadaptive, due to a strong contribution from mutation accumulation.
- Citation count From Scopus. Refreshed every 5 days.
- Page views
- doi: 10.1111/evo.12464 (Google search)
- issn: 15585646
- sgr: 84907990237
- scopus: 2-s2.0-84907990237
- pui: 600195174 | <urn:uuid:42cb1e39-a649-4128-87b7-f75f7d04b84d> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://centre.santafe.edu/complextime/Reduced_lifespan_and_increased_ageing_driven_by_genetic_drift_in_small_populations | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243991650.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20210518002309-20210518032309-00588.warc.gz | en | 0.914571 | 356 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland
|Our Lady of Sorrows of Lichen|
Queen and Patroness of Poland
|Type||Wooden icon, bejewelled|
|Holy See approval||Pope Paul VI|
|Shrine||Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows of Lichen|
Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland, Our Lady of Licheń, or Virgin of Licheń is a Roman Catholic icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by its Polish faithful dating from 1772 and is permanently enshrined within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń, in central Poland, which was built to honor it, and receives about 1.5 million pilgrims per year.
Along with the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, located in Częstochowa, southern Poland, the image is one of the two most venerated Marian images in Poland. The image was canonically crowned by Pope Paul VI on 15 August 1967.
In the central image, the Virgin Mary has a gold dress, is being crowned by two angels and is surrounded by a ring of stars. Below the image a ribbon carries the inscription: "Queen of Poland, give us days of peace." The image measures 9.5 × 15.5 cm and is on larger panel of 16 × 25 cm. There is a second crown above the image, on the larger panel.
Legend and history
The icon was painted in 1772 as a replica of the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary enshrined in Rokitno, Międzyrzecz County in Western Poland. According to legend, a Polish soldier (called Thomas Kłossowski) was wounded in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and had a vision of the Virgin Mary who saved him from death and instructed him to look for the image upon his return to Poland. Kłossowski is then said to have looked for and found the image in the woods in Grąblin as instructed.
According to oral tradition, in 1850 Kłossowski and shepherd Nicholas Sikatka witnessed several apparitions of the Virgin Mary who called for repentance and prayer. In the apparitions, the Virgin reportedly predicted war and a cholera epidemic, but also gave hope. During the cholera plague of 1852, the image became famous for performing miracles.
On 29 September 1852 the image was moved to the parish church in Licheń and remained there until 2006. Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, the Primate of the Millennium gave its Canonical Coronation towards the image with the approval of Pope Paul VI on 15 August 1967.
In 1994 the construction of the new basilica of Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen was started to house the image and accommodate the large number of pilgrims. Pope John Paul II blessed the basilica in 1999. The basilica is Poland's largest church, the seventh largest in Europe and eleventh in the world. The basilica's organ manufactured by the Zych company (157 stops, 6 manuals and pedalboard) is the largest instrument in Poland, the fourth largest in Europe and thirteenth largest in the world. On July 2, 2006 the image was placed in the main altar of the basilica.
- Moved by Mary: The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern World by Anna-Karina Hermkens, Willy Jansen, Catrien Notermans 2009 ISBN 0-7546-6789-8 page 99
- Poland by Neal Bedford 2008 ISBN 1-74104-479-0 page 401
- A new golden dress (named 'sapphire') was made in 2017 for the gratitude of the jubilee of 50 years from coronation of the icon in 1967. See the official website of the shrine (Polish).
- Vatican web site: John Paul II at Lichen
- Szostak, Michał (2017). Licheńskie organy na tle największych instrumentów Polski, Europy i świata. Licheń Stary: Zakład Gospodarczy "Dom Pielgrzyma". pp. 154–155. ISBN 9788364126147. OCLC 1005163172.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Our Lady Queen of Poland.| | <urn:uuid:07afa1ca-a798-4be1-a147-19d6b1e2004a> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Sorrows,_Queen_of_Poland | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583660529.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20190118193139-20190118215139-00617.warc.gz | en | 0.913579 | 911 | 2.515625 | 3 |
LOS ANGELES - Scientists have published a new study that may offer groundbreaking insight into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), an occurrence that has previously baffled the medical community.
SIDS is the unexplained death of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old, typically during sleep, according to the Mayo Clinic. The CDC reports SIDS accounted for 37% of infant deaths in the United States in 2019.
Now, researchers at The Children's Hospital in Westmead in Sydney, Australia, were able to confirm the cause of SIDS which typically occurs when infants suddenly die in their sleep.
The medical community had previously believed SIDS was caused by a complication in the infant’s part of the brain that controls the regulation of breathing while sleeping.
In the latest study, researchers found that infants who died from SIDS had lower levels of an enzyme known as Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE).
This enzyme is thought by scientists to help regulate pathways in the brain which drive a person’s breathing, confirming what scientists had originally hypothesized.
"We conclude that a previously unidentified cholinergic deficit, identifiable by abnormal -BChEsa, is present at birth in SIDS babies and represents a measurable, specific vulnerability prior to their death," the researchers stated.
Dr. Carmel Harrington, an honorary research fellow who led the study, said its findings were game-changing. Harrington said the study provided an explanation for SIDS and hope for prevention of deaths associated with this mysterious condition.
"An apparently healthy baby going to sleep and not waking up is every parent’s nightmare and until now there was absolutely no way of knowing which infant would succumb. But that’s not the case anymore. We have found the first marker to indicate vulnerability prior to death," Harrington said in a news release.
The researchers explained that BChE plays a vital role in the brain’s arousal pathway. They further explained that a deficiency in BChE likely suggests an arousal deficit in babies, which would reduce their abilities to wake or respond to the external environment, making them susceptible to SIDS.
"Babies have a very powerful mechanism to let us know when they are not happy. Usually, if a baby is confronted with a life-threatening situation, such as difficulty breathing during sleep because they are on their tummies, they will arouse and cry out. What this research shows is that some babies don’t have this same robust arousal response," Harrington said.
Dr. Matthew Harris, an emergency medicine pediatrician at Cohen Children’s Medical Center/ Northwell Health on Long Island, New York, was not involved with the study but told Fox News, "The findings of the study are interesting and important. While the sample size is limited, the study seems to indicate that lower levels of this enzyme are associated with a higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome. Importantly, this might present an opportunity for both earlier screening for risk factors during the perinatal period, and might offer scientists and physicians an opportunity to discover an intervention."
How parents can avoid SIDS, according to pediatricians:
- Place your baby on their back for all sleep times
- Avoid leaving any loose blankets that could smother the child
- Keeping babies in the parents' or guardians' sleeping area for at least six months, but not in the adults' beds
FOX News contributed to this story. | <urn:uuid:6bba2bd2-db79-4d18-b517-7336c35a7979> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.q13fox.com/news/researchers-find-cause-of-sudden-infant-death-syndrome | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335124.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20220928051515-20220928081515-00434.warc.gz | en | 0.972453 | 705 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Breastfeeding is a Public Health Issue.
Less than one-third of infants are exclusively breastfeeding at 3 months of age, and almost 80% of infants in the United States stop breastfeeding before the recommended minimum of one year.
"Breastfeeding is the optimal form of infant nutrition. As public health leaders, it is our responsibility to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding mothers and babies. I urge you to consider ways you can be active in promoting and supporting breastfeeding in your environment, including your workplace and your community. These efforts will support a public health movement that not only provides optimal nutrition to infants, but also lessens the occurrence of infectious and chronic diseases, thereby improving the health of our nation." - United States Surgeon General
Societal Benefits of Breastfeeding
- Total medical care costs for the nation are lower for fully breastfed infants than never-breastfed infants. This is because breastfed infants typically need fewer sick care visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations.
- Employers benefit because breastfeeding mothers do not miss as much work time caring for sick babies. Employer medical costs are also lower and employee productivity is higher.
- Breastfeeding is better for our environment because there is less waste compared to that produced by formula cans and bottle supplies.
Breastfeeding and Public Health
Shortened or absent breastfeeding has enormous public health implications for all segments of society: children and adults, male and female. Below are some statistics:
- Women who have never breastfed have 1.2-2.8 times the risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer.1 Breast cancer alone kills about 1,600 Massachusetts residents per year, striking about 4,400 people per year.2 About one-quarter of breast cancer deaths are in pre-menopausal women.3 (HIV, by comparison, killed 327 people in 2001).4
- Two years of lifetime breastfeeding can dramatically lower the risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer. If a woman has two children, and breastfeeds each for a year (the recommended guideline), her risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer is lowered by 28-61%.1 Breastfeeding can lower the risk of any type of breast cancer by 4.3% for every 12 months of breastfeeding.5
- Women who have never breastfed have 1.25 times the rate of ovarian cancer,1,6 higher rates of endometrial cancer,6,7 as well as osteoporosis and hip fractures.1,8,9 Ovarian cancer kills about 400 people per year in this state.2
- Infants who were not breastfed have 7 times as much necrotizing enterocolitis (which has a 30% mortality rate);10 twice as many cases of otitis media, higher rates of hospitalization, higher rates of lower respiratory tract illness, gastrointestinal illness, meningitis; 15-18 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)14,19-20; and abandonment by their mothers.21
- Children who were not breastfed have higher rates of type 1 diabetes mellitus,11,14,22-2411,14,25 dental caries,26 dental malocclusion.27-28 leukemia and lymphoma,
- Children and adults who were not breastfed as babies have higher rates of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis,11,14,29 and celiac disease.30
- Massachusetts spends about $27 million/year to treat excessive cases of infant diarrhea, respiratory syncitial virus, and otitis media in formula fed infants.31
- It is estimated that an average of $331-475 in extra health care costs are incurred per child in the first year of life to treat excessive cases of lower respiratory tract infection, gastrointestinal disease, and otitis media in formula fed infants, compared to infants breastfed for as little as three months.32
- Nursing mothers miss less work because their children are healthier.33
- Maternal pre-menopausal breast cancer rates1 and rates of childhood otitis media,17,18 leukemia,25 and type 1 diabetes mellitus 22,23 all go down more with increasing duration of breastfeeding.
- Although the links between breastfeeding and asthma have been controversial, there remains considerable evidence that children who were not exclusively breastfed have 1.4-2.4 times the odds of having asthma.34-37 The prevalence of asthma is 10-30% among children and adolescents.39-43 Further, many children with asthma go on to have adult asthma as well. | <urn:uuid:0b7a841a-621f-4378-a343-acdefd06b548> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://anthrodoula.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00039-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946607 | 923 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Teachers of all disciplines are encouraged to implement specific activities related to public art with their students. The following are suggested activities to be presented to students for projects in various disciplines.
Teachers may also bring students to tour the Civic Center Plaza, the Art Collection at the Community Center and the Bedia Plazas (see References/ Bibliography for background materials).
A group of Miami-Dade County school teachers joined Art in Public Places Board Advisor César Trasobares for a workshop on the
Village's Public Art on December 11, 2010. A field trip to the Monaco Pools (left) and Bedia Plazas site projects was part of the workshop.
- Visit sites and draw plazas in perspective
- Draw and/or paint details of plazas
- Design original images based on the plazas
- Paint abstract compositions based on Morris Pools
- Describe dances to be performed at sites
- Plan interpretive choreography about various fauna depicted in plazas
- Write about plazas:
- Describe the images and their possible meanings
- Describe the images and their relation to a barrier island
- Compose essays about individual plazas
- Write about the use of language in the plazas by Jose Bedia
- Compose an essay about the meaning of public art using plazas as examples
- Compose essay about the Civic Center Oval
Visit the Mashta House Album images and write about the early history of Key Biscayne, the Matheson Family and the Plantation (use Blank as reference)
- Calculate the square footage of Bedia plazas
- Calculate the volume of pools and the volume of water in the Morris pools
- Investigate the circulation of water in the Morris pools
- Explain the concept of parallax and the optical phenomenon where the lines appear slightly bent in the Morris pools
Investigate the species of fauna depicted in the Bedia plazas | <urn:uuid:f5e5f8c8-c6b1-423c-9f66-3cda0bb99783> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://keybiscayne.fl.gov/ap/index.php?submenu=APPEducation&src=gendocs&ref=APPEducation&category=Main | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320865.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170626203042-20170626223042-00244.warc.gz | en | 0.890592 | 412 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Reim and Bindu are in a line with other students, waiting to see a movie. There are at most 30 students in the line. Reim says: “There are three times as many students after me in this line than before me.” Bindu says: “There are four times as many students after me in this line than before me.” How many students are in the line?
Let there be k students in front of Reim.
So there is k students in front + 3k students behind + Reim = 4k+1 students
Let N be the number of students in front of Bindu.
So there is N students in front + 4N students behind + Bindu = 5N+1 students
So the number of students is a product of both 4 and 5 + 1 more
20 is the only such product that is less than or equal to 30
So there are 21 students in the line.
Bindu is 5th and Reim is 6th. | <urn:uuid:b87ace92-524b-47db-8608-17e48dca2aee> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://web2.0calc.com/questions/help_90677 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347439213.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20200604063532-20200604093532-00570.warc.gz | en | 0.980737 | 210 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Some words seem rarely mentioned in this highly toxic political season. We’ve heard about bombs and walls, but very little about peace. One is almost tempted, when some of the candidates are speaking, to burst into song – give peace a chance.
In this Women’s History Month, it makes sense to reflect on women and the peace movement, and especially on the African American women who have been peace activists and have played a significant role in this movement.
The Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom (WILPF) was founded in 1915 in the midst of World War I.
Its first chair, Hull House’s Jane Addams, cared deeply about world disarmament. Early on, though, there were criticisms of WILPF and the peace movement because African American were too often invisible.
In a book poignantly title, No Peace Without Freedom, Race and WILPF, Joyce Blackwell writes about tensions within the path breaking peace organization.
In a similar book, “A Band of Noble Women: Racial Politics in the Women’s Peace Movement,” Melinda Plastas writes that African American women combined the effects of race, gender and war, and “demanded a place for Black women in the international peace movement.
Mary Church Terrell was involved in WILPF almost from its outset, serving on its board for a time. The D.C. doyenne, who was one of the first African American women to earn a college degree, was involved in the civil rights and social justice movements.
A teacher by profession, she was one of the first women to serve on the Washington, D.C. Board of Education. She played founding roles in many justice organizations, including the NAACP, the International College of Women, the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Some of her dealings with WILPF were not smooth – she was not re-elected to serve a second term on the Board of the organization, to the chagrin of many of the White women who felt that Black women’s voices needed to be heard on peace matters.
Terrell was not the only woman who worked with WILPF during its early days. Addie Hunton came to activism early, working as an organizer for NACW in the early twentieth century. She worked with servicemen in France during the war.
Those war experiences perhaps influenced her to work as a peace activist during the 1920s. In 1926, she wrote a report condemning US occupation of Haiti. Bertha McNeill was another of the African American women involved in WILPF.
She led the Washington, D.C. chapter, and also served as a vice president of the organization for two terms.
These women – as do some of our non-African American sisters like Medea Benjamin and Arandhati Roy – come to mind in the middle of this raucous political season. Sane, calm voices are missing in these presidential debates.
We are also missing a future focus that takes the futility of increasing militarism into consideration. With the immigration crisis sparked by conflict in Syria, the violence maintained by ISIS, unrest in the Middle East, and tension with Russia, not to mention the number of US troops still in Afghanistan and Iraq, wouldn’t it be appropriate for us to hear about alternatives to militarism.
That brings me to California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the only person who had the courage to oppose President George W. Bush’s push for military action after September 11, 2001. She appropriately asked whether our country was rushing into war. Subsequent events suggest that we did rush – “weapons of mass destruction” were never found.
Many of us are quite familiar with Barbara Lee’s peace activism, but far fewer of us know much about Mary Church Terrell and Addie Hunton. While African American peace activists were few in the WILPF early days, their contributions were significant and, more importantly, they paved the way for activists like Barbara Lee to advocate a peace agenda and a peace budget.
Those who profit from the military industrial complex seem so welded to the notion of war that they won’t give peace a chance. And they’ll take war however they can – at home, as police departments are increasingly militarized (do we really need tanks in city streets), or abroad, where it is easy to create an enemy. Black women’s history of peace activism should be lifted up this month, especially the work of Mary Church Terrell and Barbara Lee.
Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist based in Washington, D.C. Her latest offering, “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy,” is available for purchase at www.juliannemalveaux.com
Follow her on Twitter @drjlastword. | <urn:uuid:c3a42dc1-5e03-4b35-a373-1ebdf94ae9e7> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | https://www.theskanner.com/opinion/commentary/23647-mary-church-terrell-and-black-women-in-the-peace-movement | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794870771.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20180528024807-20180528044807-00148.warc.gz | en | 0.973295 | 1,020 | 3.5625 | 4 |
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Caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, non-commensality and hereditary occupations. According to Human Rights Watch and UNICEF, caste discrimination affects an estimated 250 million people worldwide.
A paradigmatic, ethnographic example is the division of Indian society into social groups. Historically, the caste system in India has consisted of thousands of endogamous groups called Jatis or Quoms and Biradaris (among Muslims). The Nepalese caste system resembles the Indian Jāti system with numerous Jāti divisions with the theoretical Varna system superimposed for a rough equivalence. The Census operations of the British colonial Raj from 1901 on wards deliberately used the Varna categorisation of the Jatis, to reinforce and perpetuate the division of the Indian society by caste (not Jatis).
Religious, historical and sociocultural factors have also helped define the bounds of endogamy for Muslims in India and Pakistan. The Caste system in Sri Lanka is a division of society into strata, similar to the Jāti system found in India.
Yezidi society is hierarchical. In Yemen there exists a hereditary caste, the African-descended Al-Akhdam who are kept as perennial manual workers. Various sociologists have reported caste systems in Africa.
The English word "caste" derives from the Spanish and Portuguese casta, which the Oxford English Dictionary quotes John Minsheu's Spanish dictionary (1599) to mean, "race, lineage, or breed". When the Spanish colonized the New World, they used the word to mean a "clan or lineage." However, it was the Portuguese who employed casta in the primary modern sense when they applied it to the many in-marrying hereditary Indian social groups they encountered upon their arrival in India in 1498. The use of the spelling "caste," with this latter meaning, is first attested to in English in 1613.
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Historically, the caste system in India has consisted of thousands of endogamous groups called Jatis or Quoms (among Muslims). All the Jatis were grouped under the theoretical varnas categories starting with the British colonial Census of 1901. The terms varna (theoretical classification based on occupation) and jāti (caste) are two distinct concepts: while varna is the idealised four-part division envisaged by the Twice-Borns, jāti (community) refers to the thousands of actual endogamous groups prevalent across the subcontinent. A jati may be divided into exogamous groups based on same gotras. The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than the varnas; even Indologists sometimes confuse the two.
Independent India has witnessed caste-related violence. In 2005. government statistics recorded approximately 110,000 cases of reported violent acts, including rape and murder, committed against Dalits The economic significance of the caste system in India has been declining as a result of urbanization and affirmative action programs. Upon independence from the British rule, the Indian Constitution listed 1,108 castes across the country as Scheduled Castes in 1950, for affirmative action. The Untouchable communities are sometimes called Dalit or Harijan in contemporary literature. In 2001, the proportion of Dalit population was 16.2 percent of India's total population. The majority of the 15 million bonded child workers in India, are from the lowest castes.
The Nepalese caste system resembles that of the Indian Jāti system with numerous Jāti divisions with a Varna system superimposed for a rough equivalence. But since the culture and the society is different some of the things are different. Inscriptions attest the beginnings of a caste system during the Lichchhavi period. Jayasthiti Malla (1382–95) categorized Newars into 64 castes (Gellner 2001). A similar exercise was made during the reign of Mahindra Malla (1506–75). The Hindu social code was later set up in Gorkha by Ram Shah (1603–36).
Religious, historical and sociocultural factors have helped define the bounds of endogamy for Muslims in some parts of Pakistan. There is a preference for endogamous marriages based on the clan-oriented nature of the society, which values and actively seeks similarities in social group identity based on several factors, including religious, sectarian, ethnic, and tribal/clan affiliation. Religious affiliation is itself multilayered and includes religious considerations other than being Muslim, such as sectarian identity (e.g. Shia or Sunni, etc.) and religious orientation within the sect (Isnashari, Ismaili, Ahmedi, etc.).
Both ethnic affiliation (e.g. Pathan,Sindhi, Baloch, Punjabi, etc.) and membership of specific biraderis or zaat/quoms are additional integral components of social identity. Within the bounds of endogamy defined by the above parameters, close consanguineous unions are preferred due to a congruence of key features of group- and individual-level background factors as well as affinities. McKim Marriott claims a social stratification that is hierarchical, closed, endogamous and hereditary is widely prevalent, particularly in western parts of Pakistan. Frederik Barth in his review of this system of social stratification in Pakistan suggested that these are castes.
The Caste system in Sri Lanka is a division of society into strata, influenced by the textbook Varnas and Jāti system found in India. Ancient Sri Lankan texts such as the Pujavaliya, Sadharmaratnavaliya and Yogaratnakaraya and inscriptional evidence show that the above hierarchy prevailed throughout the feudal period. The repetition of the same caste hierarchy even as recently as the 18th century, in the British/Kandyan period Kadayimpoth - Boundary books as well, indicates the continuation of the tradition right up to the end of Sri Lanka's monarchy.
Balinese caste structure has been described in early 20th-century European literature to be based on three categories – triwangsa (thrice born) or the nobility, dwijati (twice born) in contrast to ekajati (once born) the low folks. Four statuses were identified in these sociological studies, spelled a bit differently from the caste categories for India:
The Brahmana caste was further subdivided by these Dutch ethnographers into two: Siwa and Buda. The Siwa caste was subdivided into five – Kemenuh, Keniten, Mas, Manuba and Petapan. This classification was to accommodate the observed marriage between higher caste Brahmana men with lower caste women. The other castes were similarly further sub-classified by these 19th-century and early-20th-century ethnographers based on numerous criteria ranging from profession, endogamy or exogamy or polygamy, and a host of other factors in a manner similar to castas in Spanish colonies such as Mexico, and caste system studies in British colonies such as India.
During the period of Yuan Dynasty, ruler Kublai Khan enforced a Four Class System, which was a legal caste system. The order of four classes of people was maintained by the information of the descending order were:-
Some scholars notes that it was a kind of psychological indication that the earlier they submitted to Mongolian people, the higher social status they would have. The 'Four Class System' and its people received different treatment in political, legal, and military affairs.
In Japan's history, social strata based on inherited position rather than personal merits, was rigid and highly formalized. At the top were the Emperor and Court nobles (kuge), together with the Shogun and daimyo. Below them the population was divided into four classes in a system known as mibunsei (身分制). These were: samurai, peasants, craftsmen and merchants. Only the samurai class was allowed to bear arms. A samurai had a right to kill any peasants and other craftsmen and merchants whom he felt were disrespectful. Craftsmen produced products, being the third, and the last merchants were thought to be as the meanest class because they did not produce any products. The castes were further sub-divided; for example, the peasant caste were labelled as furiuri, tanagari, mizunomi-byakusho amongst others. The castes and sub-classes, as in Europe, were from the same race, religion and culture.
De Vos and Wagatsuma observe that a systematic and extensive caste system was part of the Japanese society. They also discuss how alleged caste impurity and alleged racial inferiority, concepts often quickly assumed to be slightly different, are superficial terms, two faces of identical inner psychological processes, which expressed themselves in Japan and other countries of the world.
Japan had its own untouchable caste, shunned and ostracized, historically referred to by the insulting term Eta, now called Burakumin. While modern law has officially abolished the class hierarchy, there are reports of discrimination against the Buraku or Burakumin underclasses. The Burakumin are regarded as "ostracised." The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō and those of residents of Korean and Chinese descent.
The baekjeong (백정) were an “untouchable” outcaste group of Korea. The meaning today is that of butcher. They originate from the Khitan invasion of Korea in the 11th century. The defeated Khitans who had surrendered were settled in isolated communities throughout Goryeo to forestall rebellion. They were valued for their skills in hunting, herding, butchering, and making of leather, common skill sets among nomads. Over time their ethnic origin was forgotten, and they formed the bottom layer of Korean society. It was legally abolished in Korea in 1894 but remained extant in reality until 1930.
In 1392, with the foundation of Confucian Joseon dynasty, Koreans systemised its own native class system. At the top were the two official classes, the Yangban that literally means "two classes." It was composed of scholars (Munban) and warriors (Muban). Within the Yangban class, the Scholars (Munban) enjoyed a significant social advantage over the warrior (Muban) class.
Beneath the Yangban class were the Jung-in (중인-中人: literally "middle people"). They were the technicians. This class was small and specialized in fields such as medicine, accounting, translators, regional bureaucrats, etc.
Beneath the Jung-in were the Sangmin (상민-常民: literally 'commoner'). These were independent farmers working their own fields.
The opening of Korea to foreign Christian missionary activity in the late 19th century saw some improvement in the status of the baekjeong; However, everyone was not equal under the Christian congregation, and protests erupted when missionaries attempted to integrate them into worship services, with non-baekjeong finding such an attempt insensitive to traditional notions of hierarchical advantage. Also around the same time, the baekjeong began to resist the open social discrimination that existed against them. They focused on social and economic injustices affecting the baekjeong, hoping to create an egalitarian Korean society. Their efforts included attacking social discrimination by the upper class, authorities, and "commoners" and the use of degrading language against children in public schools.
With the Gabo reform of 1896, the class system of Korea was officially abolished. Following the collapse of the Gabo government the new cabinet, which became Gwangmu government after the establishment of Korean Empire, introduced systematic measures for abolishing traditional class system. One of this was the new household registration system, reflecting the goals of formal social equality, which was implemented by the loyalists’ cabinet. Whereas the old registration system signified household members according to their hierarchical social status, the new system called for an occupation.
While most Koreans by that time had surnames and even bongwan, although still substantial number of cheonmin, mostly consisted of serfs and slaves, and untouchables did not. According to the new system, they were then required to fill in the blanks for surname in order to be registered as constituting separate households. Instead of creating their own family name, some cheonmins appropriated their masters’ surname, while others simply took the most common surname and its bongwan in the local area. Along with this example, activists within and outside the Korean government had based their visions of a new relationship between the government and people through the concept of citizenship, employing the term Inmin(people) and later, Kungmin(citizen).
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea reported that "Every North Korean citizen is assigned a heredity-based class and socio-political rank over which the individual exercises no control but which determines all aspects of his or her life." Regarded as Songbun, Barbara Demick describes this "class structure" as an updating of the hereditary "caste system", combining Confucianism and Stalinism. She claims that a bad family background is called "tainted blood", and that by law this "tainted blood" lasts for three generations.
Yezidi society is hierarchical. The secular leader is a hereditary emir or prince, whereas a chief sheikh heads the religious hierarchy. The Yazidi are strictly endogamous; members of the three Yazidi castes, the murids, sheikhs and pirs, marry only within their group.
Sassanid society was immensely complex, with separate systems of social organization governing numerous different groups within the empire. Historians believe society comprised four social classes:
In Yemen there exists a hereditary caste, the African-descended Al-Akhdam who are kept as perennial manual workers. Estimates put their number at over 3.5 million residents who are discriminated, out of a total Yemeni population of around 22 million.
Various sociologists have reported caste systems in Africa. The specifics of the caste systems have varied in ethnically and culturally diverse Africa, however the following features are common - it has been a closed system of social stratification, the social status is inherited, the castes are hierarchical, certain castes are shunned while others are merely endogamous and exclusionary. In some cases, concepts of purity and impurity by birth have been prevalent in Africa. In other cases, such as the Nupe of Nigeria, the Beni Amer of East Africa, and the Tira of Sudan, the exclusionary principle has been driven by evolving social factors.
Among the Igbo of Nigeria - especially Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Edo and Delta states of the country - Obinna finds Osu caste system has been and continues to be a major social issue. The Osu caste is determined by one's birth into a particular family irrespective of the religion practised by the individual. Once born into Osu caste, this Nigerian person is an outcast, shunned and ostracized, with limited opportunities or acceptance, regardless of his or her ability or merit. Obinna discusses how this caste system-related identity and power is deployed within government, Church and indigenous communities.
The Songhai economy was based on a caste system. The most common were metalworkers, fishermen, and carpenters. Lower caste participants consisted of mostly non-farm working immigrants, who at times were provided special privileges and held high positions in society. At the top were noblemen and direct descendants of the original Songhai people, followed by freemen and traders.
In a review of social stratification systems in Africa, Richter reports that the term caste has been used by French and American scholars to many groups of West African artisans. These groups have been described as inferior, deprived of all political power, have a specific occupation, are hereditary and sometimes despised by others. Richter illustrates caste system in Cote d'lvoire, with six sub-caste categories. Unlike other parts of the world, mobility is sometimes possible within sub-castes, but not across caste lines. Farmers and artisans have been, claims Richter, distinct castes. Certain sub-castes are shunned more than others. For example, exogamy is rare for women born into families of woodcarvers.
Similarly, the Mandé societies in Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone have social stratification systems that divide society by ethnic ties. The Mande class system regards the jonow slaves as inferior. Similarly, the Wolof in Senegal is divided into three main groups, the geer (freeborn/nobles), jaam (slaves and slave descendants) and the underclass neeno. In various parts of West Africa, Fulani societies also have class divisions. Other castes include Griots, Forgerons, and Cordonniers.
Tamari has described endogamous castes of over fifteen West African peoples, including the Tukulor, Songhay, Dogon, Senufo, Minianka, Moors, Manding, Soninke, Wolof, Serer, Fulani, and Tuareg. Castes appeared among the Malinke people no later than 14th century, and was present among the Wolof and Soninke, as well as some Songhay and Fulani populations, no later than 16th century. Tamari claims that wars, such as the Sosso-Malinke war described in the Sunjata epic, led to the formation of blacksmith and bard castes among the people that ultimately became the Mali empire.
As West Africa evolved over time, sub-castes emerged that acquired secondary specializations or changed occupations. Endogamy was prevalent within a caste or among a limited number of castes, yet castes did not form demographic isolates according to Tamari. Social status according to caste was inherited by off-springs automatically; but this inheritance was paternal. That is, children of higher caste men and lower caste or slave concubines would have the caste status of the father.
Ethel M. Albert in 1960 claimed that the societies in Central Africa were caste-like social stratification systems. Similarly, in 1961, Maquet notes that the society in Rwanda and Burundi can be best described as castes. The Tutsi, noted Maquet, considered themselves as superior, with the more numerous Hutu and the least numerous Twa regarded, by birth, as respectively, second and third in the hierarchy of Rwandese society. These groups were largely endogamous, exclusionary and with limited mobility. Maquet's theories have been controversial.
In a review published in 1977, Todd reports that numerous scholars report a system of social stratification in different parts of Africa that resembles some or all aspects of caste system. Examples of such caste systems, he claims, are to be found in Ethiopia in communities such as the Gurage and Konso. He then presents the Dime of Southwestern Ethiopia, amongst whom there operates a system which Todd claims can be unequivocally labelled as caste system. The Dime have seven castes whose size varies considerably. Each broad caste level is a hierarchical order that is based on notions of purity, non-purity and impurity. It uses the concepts of defilement to limit contacts between caste categories and to preserve the purity of the upper castes. These caste categories have been exclusionary, endogamous and the social identity inherited. Alula Pankhurst has published a study of caste groups in SW Ethiopia.
Among the Kafa, there were also traditionally groups labeled as castes. "Based on research done before the Derg regime, these studies generally presume the existence of a social hierarchy similar to the caste system. At the top of this hierarchy were the Kafa, followed by occupational groups including blacksmiths (Qemmo), weavers (Shammano), bards (Shatto), potters, and tanners (Manno). In this hierarchy, the Manjo were commonly referred to as hunters, given the lowest status equal only to slaves."
The Borana Oromo of southern Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa also have a class system, wherein the Wata, an acculturated hunter-gatherer group, represent the lowest class. Though the Wata today speak the Oromo language, they have traditions of having previously spoken another language before adopting Oromo.
The traditionally nomadic Somali people are divided into clans, wherein the Rahanweyn agro-pastoral clans and the occupational clans such as the Madhiban were traditionally sometimes treated as outcasts. As Gabboye, the Madhiban along with the Yibir and Tumaal (collectively referred to as sab) have since obtained political representation within Somalia, and their general social status has improved with the expansion of urban centers.
For centuries, through the modern times, the majority regarded Cagots of western France and northern Spain as an inferior caste, the untouchables. While they had the same skin color and religion as the majority, in the churches they had to use segregated doors, drink from segregated fonts, and receive communion on the end of long wooden spoons. It was a closed social system. The socially isolated Cagots were endogamous, and chances of social mobility non-existent. | <urn:uuid:6d4457e1-dc92-4888-884c-5d8a0a2b1270> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.mashpedia.com/Caste | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303466.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00000-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953872 | 4,509 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Facebook once teamed up with scientists at Cornell to conduct a now-infamous experiment on emotional contagion. Researchers randomly assigned 700,000 users to see on their News Feeds, for one week, a slight uptick in either positive or negative language or no change at all, to determine whether exposure to certain emotions could, in turn, cause a user to express certain emotions. The answer, as revealed in a 2014 paper, was yes: The emotions we see expressed online can change the emotions that we express, albeit slightly. Conversations about emotional contagion were quickly shelved, however, as the public disclosure of the study sparked an intense backlash against what many perceived to be an unjust and underhanded manipulation of people’s feelings. Facebook would later apologize for fiddling with users’ emotions and pledge to revise its internal review practices.
Read the full article on Nautilus | <urn:uuid:a2f7d46a-ddcc-4645-85c1-2f9a5aaf3a09> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://scott-koenig.com/2019/06/26/our-aversion-to-a-b-testing-on-humans-is-dangerous-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371609067.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20200405181743-20200405212243-00081.warc.gz | en | 0.949908 | 178 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Let`s learn how to draw a Seagull.
Although this bird is called a Seagull, they thrive also in the interior of the continent. For example in our town located near a small river they feed on human handouts like pigeons all summer.
Gull is a very numerous genus that includes different species. As a rule, they are large or medium-sized birds with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head or wings. Distinguishing characteristics are a strong beak, slightly curved at the end, and well-developed swimming membranes on their feet.
Sitting Seagull drawing step by step
I wondered whether birds with webbed feet to sit on the branches. It turned out, they are able.
But first we start to draw the torso. Tail of moderate length, wings folded neatly on the back.
The neck is fairly long and agile.The head is round with a big beak and round the watchful eyes.
The legs are rather strong. Webbed fingers are bended and tightly clasp the prop.
Well,it’s a seated Seagull picture. Tomorrow we will learn how to draw a flying Seagull.
Step-by-step drawing of a flying Seagull
Well, tomorrow has come and our Seagull went in flight.
Seagull hovering in the sky its wings widely spread. We look at the bird from below.
he trunk is oval, the neck flows smoothly into a small head with pointed beak.
Wings large and rather narrow, they form a line resembling a bow. The legs are directed backwards and pressed against the tail:
In general, flying seagull drawing looks like this:
Now you have learned how to draw a Seagull.
Refer to our lessons on drawing other wading birds.
How to draw a Goose
How to draw a Pelican
Tags: how to draw birds | <urn:uuid:570805f4-35ed-42fe-bbc7-eca33a0fcb1b> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | http://drawingandcrafts.com/how-to-draw-a-seagull-tutorial.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267867055.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20180624195735-20180624215735-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.96031 | 402 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Sick Bees – Part 3: The Bee Immune System
In my previous article, I proposed a model for the in-hive positive feedback loops that may lead to colony collapse. Before I can further explain the model, we must understand more precisely how the bee immune system functions, as it appears to be that the mechanisms leading to the disappearance of bees are rooted in an immune response gone awry.
The definitive sign of colony collapse is the often sudden “disappearance” of the worker force. This disappearance appears be mainly due to an aspect of the bee colony-level immune response that normally helps to purge an infection, but that when conditions favor certain positive feedback loops, can result in excessive or complete depopulation of the hive. To better understand what happens, we need to have a firm grasp of how the bee immune system functions.
The soundbite version that we all heard when the honey bee genome was sequenced—that bees had “fewer immune genes than other insects”—was rather misleading. The honey bee colony is a complex super-organism, with physical, chemical, and behavioral defenses at various levels—at that of the individual cell, the individual bee, the full colony, and at the level of the local population. Bees have a robust and effective immune system—they just do things a bit differently than the solitary flies to which they were compared.
Behavioral Boundary Barriers
A honey bee hive is a densely crowded, moist and warm environment with many closely related individuals. In other words, the perfect setting for parasites to exploit. Since honey bees have survived for millions of years, it’s evident that they have figured out ways to keep the ever present pathogens at bay.
The first line of defense is to avoid a fight in the first place. Bees do so by not allowing parasites to gain a foothold—they are relentless in their scrubbing and scouring of the inner surfaces of the nest cavity and in the grooming of their body surfaces (watch how amazingly quickly bees clean up any “accidents” in an observation hive!). They also sterilize all surfaces with antimicrobial secretions in their saliva (such as glucose oxidase, which produces the strong disinfectant hydrogen peroxide), and by “stealing” components of the plant immune system by gathering the highly antimicrobial resins found at leaf buds and wounds, and bringing them back to the hive—at which point they are called “propolis.” Bees use propolis to form an antibiotic envelope around the colony—they put a heavy layer around the entrance, coat the inner surfaces of the cavity, seal all crevices with it, and coat the face of the combs.
The coating of propolis has been demonstrated to inhibit AFB (Antúnez 2008), fungi, and wax moth; Marla Spivak has demonstrated that propolis from some regions is effective against varroa, and is investigating its effect on viruses. Of great interest is the recent finding (Simone 2009) that the presence of propolis appears to decrease the necessary investment in immune function of bees—thus, the bee colony, by self medicating itself with antimicrobial chemicals from plants, incurs less of a metabolic cost in fighting pathogens! Perhaps we have been shooting ourselves in the foot by breeding for bees that don’t use much propolis!
In order to help prevent the spread of brood diseases, each larva is isolated into its own scrupulously-cleaned cell, which it later lines with a layer of silk cocoon, which helps to protect the pupa from contaminants in the cell wall.
The primary manner by which a pathogen can enter a colony is by hitching a ride back on or within a forager, which could pick it up from a flower contaminated by the last visiting insect, from water, or especially by robbing out a sick hive (is that stolen honey really worth it?). So the colony has “rules” to minimize the transmission of such incoming pathogens to the most critical and vulnerable parts of the hive—the queen and her broodnest.
Certain requisite forager behaviors set up “checkpoints” that serve to keep from introducing parasites or toxins into the broodnest. Foragers bring a flood of nectar back to the hive, which creates a major potential avenue for pathogen introduction. So let’s take a look at how bees process that nectar.
First, foragers that become ill after tanking up on toxic nectar (or pesticides) simply don’t return to the hive. Those that do successfully return are still not allowed to directly deposit their nectar in the combs nor feed it to the brood—they must first pass it to a mid-aged receiver bee. Both the forager and the receiver use their proventriculus (meaning “in front of the stomach”) to remove pollen grains, dust, and infective spores from the nectar. This amazing structure consists of four fringed lips that “gulp” up and expel the nectar in the crop (or “honey sac”), filtering any particles out of it, kind of like a baleen whale filtering plankton from sea water. Some lines of bees are more efficient at filtering than others (Sturtevant 1953), which may thereby help to confer resistance to AFB and nosema upon their colony.
In addition to filtering out spores, bees secrete antimicrobial enzymes into the nectar. Not only that, but they also maintain cultures of two specific “friendly” lactic acid bacteria their crop (Forsgren 2010). These beneficial bacteria inhibit the growth of yeasts and disease-causing bacteria and fungi.
Pollen foragers, on the other hand, do directly deposit their loads at the periphery of the broodnest. Painstaking work by Martha Gilliam indicated that bees inoculate pollen loads with beneficial molds and bacteria that produce antibiotics that aid in the preservation of the beebread, and that are antagonistic to pathogenic organisms. The ARS Tucson Lab is currently following up on Gilliam’s groundbreaking research. To further isolate the brood from any pathogens in raw pollen, the beebread is then eaten and digested by nurse bees and converted into royal jelly (similar to the way in which a mammal converts raw food into milk), which contains antimicrobial fatty acids and peptides.
Should a larva sicken or die, it is removed by mid-aged undertaker bees (Arathi & Spivak 2001), which no longer engage in feeding of the brood. This disease resistance mechanism was first demonstrated by Park, and was termed “hygienic behavior” by Rothenbuhler (1956). Steve Taber (1982) promoted selectively breeding for it by using a “freeze killed” brood field assay. Marla Spivak has since picked up the ball, and has encouraged a number of commercial queen producers to start selecting for this desirable trait.
There are apparently at least seven genes involved in hygienic behavior (Lapidge 2002); the critical component appears to be the ability to detect the odor of sick brood, so that it can be removed before it becomes infective (Wilson-Rich & Spivak 2009). Because of this time constraint, the authors suggest that bees be selected for what they term “rapid-hygienic” behavior. Note that such removal of dying brood can result in an irregular pattern of uneven-aged brood (“shotgun pattern” or “spotty brood”), and may be an indication of an otherwise invisible virus infection.
Evans (2006) puts the effectiveness of colony cleanliness into perspective:
A testament to this hygiene is the fact that, even when facing severe colony-level infections by bacterial pathogens such as [AFB] (for which < 10 spores are normally fatal to young larvae)…, the vast majority of larvae show no signs of exposure.
Several bee pathogens are sensitive to temperature, and the individual bee or the colony may create a “fever” to kill nosema (Martín-Hernández 2009), chalkbrood (Starks 2000), or even mites (Currie 2008). As indicated in my model for colony collapse, chilling and the lack of thermoregulation may play a major role in the multiplication of pathogens and the bee immune response to them.
Finally, bees may even sacrifice themselves or abandon their hives in order to try to get the upper hand against parasites. The natural host of varroa, Apis cerana, simply absconds should the mite population build up (Anon 1990), thereby leaving many mites behind in the brood. Both the Savannah bee (A.m. scutellata) and the Africanized honey bee are also noted for their swarming and absconding behavior. European honeybees rarely abscond, but in my experience it appears that colonies heavily parasitized by varroa or N. ceranae may swarm more readily. This may be a behavior to try to get away from parasite buildup–swarms seem to build up exceptionally well on new, fresh, pathogen-free combs.
Colonies may also “blame the queen” should they get sick, and attempt to supersede her—leaving behind a new queen with a potentially more successful mix of genes. The downside to this behavior is that the remaining colony in the hive is dependent upon a newly-emerging queen successfully mating and taking over egglaying duties. Unfortunately, in such a sick colony, there is a substantial chance that the new queen may emerge already infected (say with DWV or Black Queen Cell Virus, which is strongly associated with nosema infection). Or, the supersedure queen may simply not be able to find enough healthy drones for proper mating. In either case, the end result would be a queenless colony. The increased viral loads since the arrival of varroa (along with the associated miticide residues) may help to explain the greater degree of queenlessness that we observe in our hives compared to twenty years ago.
Colonies in temperate climates normally undergo a massive loss of older cohorts of bees in both early spring and fall. Note that these are the same periods of time in which nosema builds up. It may be that the colony uses these “cleansings” of old, infected bees to flush parasite epidemics prior to summer buildup or overwintering. I will return later to the individual behavior of sick bees removing themselves from the hive.
The bees’ first line of defense is simply to avoid, exclude, remove, or kill the bad guys before they can actually infect a bee. The bee is well protected from most pathogens by its strong, waterproof cuticle. As long as this biologically-active armor remains unbroken, viruses and bacteria are generally held at bay (I will revisit the significance of the breaching of this armor by the varroa mite). Even the trachea (breathing tubes) are lined with (a water permeable) cuticle. Should the cuticle be injured, the exposed hemolymph (the fluid filling the insect body cavity functions as both “blood” and intracellular lymph, but does not carry oxygen) quickly clots in a manner similar to that of mammals. Immune cells (hemocytes) engulf any foreign invaders at the wound site; then a chemical cascade initiating with the enzyme phenoloxidase melanizes the clot into an inert and impermeable barrier. Note that rough handling of bees breaks off their body “hairs” and exposes the haemolymph temporarily—this brief breach may allow viruses to enter the bee’s body.
The weakest chink in the bees’ armor is the gut, the place where the inside of the bee meets the myriad potential pathogens from the outside world. The gut must juggle being a barrier to invading parasites of all sorts, yet still afford permeability for the digestion of nutrients. The foregut (that portion from the mouth to the stomach) is lined with a cuticle that can slough off should pathogenic bacteria (as opposed to beneficial bacteria) attach to it. I’ve already described the action of the proventriculus, which would then filter such sloughed lining into the midgut.
Insects protect the midgut with a neat trick—they line it with a protective chitinous inner sleeve called the peritrophic membrane, which helps to protect the delicate midgut epithelium from both spiky pollen grains as well as potential invaders (nosema spores, when they germinate, must harpoon their polar bodies through the peritrophic membrane and spear an epithelial cell in order to infect the bee). The gut lumen is chemically hostile to pathogens—it is mildly acidic, and the epithelial cells produce digestive enzymes and defensive peptides and binding proteins. Nevertheless, the gut still appears to be the main avenue through which AFB, EFB, chalkbrood, and viruses infect the bee.
Individual Systemic Immune Response
The insect “innate” immune system is basically similar to that of humans (Kavanagh 2007) although insects do not exhibit as complex an “adaptive” or “acquired” immunity” (such as our formation of antibodies specific to new pathogens). Since some of the terminology may not be familiar to the reader, I will diagram it below.
The first order of individual immune response is to recognize “self” from “foreign.” The bee immune system recognizes invaders by keying in on specific proteins present on each type of pathogen (i.e., the surface proteins of bacteria are different than those of say, fungi). Bees have “constitutive” or “innate” defenses that are always present and at the ready, such as roaming hemocyte cells and enzymes in the hemolymph. The hemocytes recognize invaders and signal the enzyme phenoloxidase to start a cascade of chemical response, generally ending in either the engulfing or encapsulating of the invader, killing it with a barrage of powerful chemicals (e.g., quinines, phenols, and reactive oxygen species). The hemocytes involved may them apoptose (kill themselves) and be coated with dark melanin polymers (you can see these dark areas in white dead pupae being removed by bees).
This innate defense system works fast—Haine (2008) found that the mealworm beetle can nearly clear its system of an injection of 4 million bacteria in about 30 minutes! During this quick response (pay attention here, as we are getting to a potentially important aspect of colony collapse), the hemocytes release chemicals that penetrate the cell nuclei, and cause them to upregulate certain immune response genes, which then transcribe RNA messengers to exit the nucleus, and then move to the ribosomes to translate the genetic instructions into antimicrobial peptides. This is called the “induced” response, and takes at least 1-3 hours to get going (after 99.5% of the bacteria have already been killed), and 12-48 hours to reach peak levels. The induced response can last for weeks, and it appears that these peptides can be passed to nestmates to confer them resistance prior to being infected (something that solitary insects can’t do).
Note that the antimicrobial peptides are produced largely in the fat bodies—so there would be less of this sort of response in forager bees, which don’t maintain their fat bodies. This makes sense, since foragers aren’t expected to live for long. However, keep in mind that the bees in protein-hungry colonies are unable to develop their fat bodies fully—this one point where nutrition ties in to immunity.
Surprisingly, Jay Evans found that these genes are not upregulated in bees from CCD colonies, even though the bees are full of pathogens! There are a few potential explanations for this finding that come to mind:
- The bee hemocytes are not recognizing the pathogens as foreign (suppression of recognition systems, perhaps by viruses?).
- The colonies could be protein-starved.
- Something is suppressing the transcription of the genes, or their translation to peptides. Note that viruses can do this very thing, which I feel may be a big clue!
Haine and her collaborators suggest something very interesting:
Our experiments showed that those bacteria that survived exposure to the insect’s constitutive immune response were subsequently more resistant to it. These results imply that induced antimicrobial compounds function primarily to protect the insect against the bacteria that persist within their body, rather than to clear microbial infections.
Two arguments favor our idea that long-lasting antimicrobial activity has evolved as part of a two-stage process, preventing resistance evolution in bacteria and/or managing persistent infections. First, bacteria readily evolve resistance against individual antimicrobial peptides in isolation, and recent work [Pham 2007] suggests that phagocytic haemocytes are responsible for the immune reaction against secondary infections in insects.
This finding suggests two thoughts relevant to bee health—(1) that the lack of antimicrobial gene upregulation in CCD hives would make the bees more vulnerable to secondary pathogens (I’ll get back to this later), and (2) any bee ever bitten by a mite will need to expend energy for the rest of its life to maintain the upregulated peptides.
As bees “age,” they shift their immune response tactics from hemocytic (cellular) response more toward phenoloxidase-based immunity (Schmid 2008). The implications of this finding are not completely clear (e.g., why do bees allocate the job of cell cleaning to newly-emerged bees?) This again ties in to the best use of resources—an aged bee has little reason to ramp up a long-term metabolically-expensive immune response. However, this finding may have implications in collapsing colonies, in which younger and younger bees must take the place of foragers. Wilson-Rich (2009) make an interesting observation:
Because nurse bees are not as immunologically competent as foraging bees, they are not as well equipped to combat the increased pathogen exposure that older foragers encounter. In the absence of foragers, younger nurse bees prematurely transition to precocious foragers…This behavioral shift is likely to negatively impact colony fitness, regardless of the pathogen pressure….In this light, foraging bees may play a similar role as vaccinated individuals in a population by providing a type of herd immunity [via trophallaxis?], and in their absence the disease resistance capacity of the group is likely compromised.
This “herd immunity” concept is interesting, as Traniello (2002) found that termites (which live in a social structure similar to that of bees) appear to be able to “prime” other nestmates’ immune response to pathogens. This avenue of immunity is still speculative for bees, but I’m guessing that they still have a lot of tricks up their sleeves that we have yet to discover! O.K., I know–more than you wanted to know about the bee immune system. But the mystery of colony collapse starts to fade the more one understands bee immunity. I’m going to break here, but we’ll get into some real meat in the next article.
Update 28 January 2013
A study by Bull (2012), in which newly-emerged or forager bees were experimentally infected by a pathogenic fungus, found that young bees were more susceptible to infection than the older bees. Of interest is that the older bees did not appear to upregulate their immune response to the degree that the young bees did, suggesting that they are innately more resistant to allowing an infection to get started.
Bull JC, Ryabov EV, Prince G, Mead A, Zhang C, et al. (2012) A Strong Immune Response in Young Adult Honeybees Masks Their Increased Susceptibility to Infection Compared to Older Bees. PLoS Pathog 8(12): e1003083. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1003083
I am deeply indebted to the authors of the following reviews, which I recommend for further reading:
Evans, JD, & M Spivak (2009) Socialized medicine: Individual and communal disease barriers in honey bees. J. Invertebr. Pathol. doi:10.1016/j.jip.2009.06.019 Free download
Evans, JD, et al (2006) Immune pathways and defence mechanisms in honey bees Apis mellifera. Insect Molecular Biology 15(5): 645–656.
Siva-Jothy, MT, Y Moret,and J Rolff (2005) Insect Immunity: An Evolutionary Ecology Perspective. ADVANCES IN INSECT PHYSIOLOGY VOL. 32: 1-47. Free download, google the title
Wilson-Rich, N, M Spivak, NH Fefferman, and PT Starks (2009) Genetic, Individual, and Group Facilitation of Disease Resistance in Insect Societies. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 54:405–23. Free http://www.extension.umn.edu/honeybees/components/pdfs/annurev.ento.53.103106.093301.pdf
Schmidt-Hemple, P (1998) Parasites of Social Insects. Princeton Univ. Press
Anon (1990) Beekeeping with oriental honeybees (Apis cerana). FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 68/4
Antúnez, K., Harriet, J., Gende, L., Maggi, M., Eguaras, M., Zunino, P., 2008. Efficacy of natural propolis extract in the control of American foulbrood. Veterinary Microbiology 131, 324–331.
Arathi, HS, and M Spivak (2001) Influence of colony genotypic composition on the performance of hygienic behaviour in the honeybee, Apis mellifera L. Animal Behaviour 62: 57-66.
Berthoud, H, A Imdorf, M Haueter and J-D Charrière (2006) Colony mortality and bee viruses. Proceedings of the Second European Conference of Apidology EurBee Prague (Czech Republic) 10-16 September 2006
Chen, YP and R Siede (2007) Honey Bee Viruses. Advances in Virus Research 70: 33-80.
Currie, R (2008) Summary of Take Home Messages- CHC – AGM January 2008, Canadian Honey Council.
Evans, J.D., Armstrong, T.-N., 2006. Antagonistic interactions between honey bee bacterial symbionts and implications for disease. BMC Ecology 6.
Evans, JD and JS Pettis (2005) Colony-level impacts of immune responsiveness in honey bees, Apis mellifera. Evolution 59(10):2270-2274.
Genersch E, Ashiralieva A, Fries I (2005) Strain- and genotype-specific differences in virulence of Paenibacillus larvae subsp. larvae, a bacterial pathogen causing American foulbrood disease in honeybees. Appl Environ Microbiol. 71(11):7551-5.
Gilliam, M (1997) Identification and roles of non-pathogenic microflora associated with honey bees. FEMS Microbiology Letters 155: 1-10.
Haine, ER, Y Moret, MT Siva-Jothy, J Rolff (2008) Antimicrobial defense and persistent infection in insects. Science 322: 1257-1259.
Kavanagh, K and EP Reeves (2007) Insect and Mammalian Innate Immune Responses Are Much Alike. Microbe 2(12): 596-599.
Kralj, J, and S Fuchs (2009) Nosema sp. influences flight behavior of infected honey bee (Apis mellifera) foragers. Apidologie 41(1): 21-28.
Lapidge, KL BP Oldroyd, M Spivak (2002) Seven suggestive quantitative trait loci influence hygienic behavior of honey bees. Naturwissenschaften 89(12):565-8.
Martin, SJ, BV Ball,and NL Carreck (2010) Prevalence and persistence of deformed wing virus (DWV) in untreated or acaricide-treated Varroa destructor infested honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies. Journal of Apicultural Research 49(1): 72-79.
Martín-Hernández, R, et al. (2009) Effect of Temperature on the Biotic Potential of Honeybee Microsporidia. Appl Environ Microbiol. 75(8): 2554–2557.
Nachbaur, A (1996) SAD & BAD Bees. http://www.beesource.com/point-of-view/andy-nachbaur/sad-bad-bees/
Naug, D, and S Camazine (2002) The role of colony organization on pathogen transmission in social insects. Journal of Theoretical Biology 215: 427–439.
Park, O., Pellet, F., Paddock, F., 1937. Disease resistance and American foulbrood. Journal of Economic Entomology 30, 504–512.
Pham LN, MS Dionne, M Shirasu-Hiza, DS Schneider (2007) A specific primed immune response in Drosophila is dependent on phagocytes. PLoS Pathog. 2007 Mar;3(3):e26.
Pruijssers, A and MR Strand (2006) PTP-H2 and PTP-H3 from Microplitis demolitor Bracovirus Localize to Focal Adhesions and are Anti-Phagocytic in Insect Immune Cells. J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.02189-06
Richard, F-J, A Aubert, and CM Grozinger (2008) Modulation of social interactions by immune stimulation in honey bee, Apis mellifera, workers. BMC Biology 6:50.
Rothenbuhler, W.C., Thompson, V.C., 1956. Resistance to American foulbrood in honey bees: I. Differential survival of larvae of different genetic lines. Journal of Economic Entomology 49, 470–475.
Schmid MR, Brockmann A, Pirk CW, Stanley DW, Tautz J. Adult honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) abandon hemocytic, but not phenoloxidase-based immunity. J Insect Physiol. 2008;54:439–444.
Simone, M., J Evans, M Spivak (2009) Resin collection and social immunity in honey bees. Evolution 63-11: 3016–3022.
Snodgrass, RE (1910) The Anatomy of the honey bee. US Government Printing Office.
Starks, PT, CA Blackie, TD Seeley, (2000) Fever in honeybee colonies. Naturwissenschaften 87, 229–231.
Sturtevant AP & IL Revell (1953) Reduction of Bacillus larvae spores in liquid food of honey bees by action of the honey stopper, and its relation to the development of American foulbrood, J. Econ. Entomol. 46, 855–860.
Taber S, (1982) Breeding for disease resistance. American Bee Journal 122(3):177-179.
Traniello J, Rosengaus R, Savoie K. 2002. The development of immunity in a social insect: evidence for the group facilitation of disease. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99(10):6838–42.
Wilson-Rich, N., ST Dres, PT Starks (2008). The ontogeny of immunity: development of innate immune strength in the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Journal of Insect Physiology 54: 1392–1399. | <urn:uuid:18def557-9376-4a35-afb2-f9d7cf4836ab> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://scientificbeekeeping.com/sick-bees-part-3-the-bee-immune-system/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510274289.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011754-00337-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911621 | 5,917 | 3.375 | 3 |
Despite what newspaper front pages and television news bulletins might suggest, the world is getting more peaceful according to the latest Global Peace Index, published today by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).
Over the past year 93 countries have seen an improvement in terms of their peacefulness, according to the IEP, while 68 have got worse. The improvements have been mainly driven by lower levels of state-sponsored terror, including extra-judicial killings and torture, and the draw-down of foreign military forces in Afghanistan.
"This was the first improvement since the start of the Syrian war," said Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the IEP. "The improvement was fuelled by a number of different things, but one of the biggest was the fall in the external conflict indicator and that's mainly because of the reductions of forces which had fought in the Afghanistan war."
However, some corners of the world continue to suffer disproportionately, particularly the Middle East. Syria has been ranked the least peaceful country in the world for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan and Yemen. Those rankings help to make the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) the least peaceful region in the world.
It is not just a question of the various ongoing wars though. As well as full-blooded conflicts, the index takes into account everything from the level of government weapons purchases to homicide rates, incarceration rates, perceptions of criminality, political repression and suppression of free speech. Almost all of these factors contribute to the low scores of countries in the Middle East.
The cost of all the ongoing violence around the world remains huge. The IEP estimates the global bill totalled $14.3 trillion last year, equivalent to 12.6% of world GDP. In the 10 least peaceful countries the cost amounted to an average of 37% of their GDP. By comparison, last year the total cost was $13.6 trillion, or 13.3% of global GDP.
Populist politics have contributed to the decline in peacefulness in the US and a number of European countries – something that was most notably seen in the election of Donald Trump as US president and the Brexit vote in the UK. The US fell 11 places to 114th overall, placing it below the likes of Rwanda, Algeria and Belarus. But Trump alone is not to blame.
"The issues in the US go beyond President Trump," said Killelea. "So it's not really a comment on President Trump, it's a comment on the [political] system overall. The system has become more fractionalised over the last four or five years. The election of Trump was a manifestation of that."
The poor showing of the US contributed to North America recording the largest drop of any region in the index over the past year, although it is still the second most peaceful region overall behind Europe.
“Increasing inequality, rising perceptions of corruption and falling press freedoms have all contributed to this substantial deterioration in the US and an overall decline in peace in the North America region," added Killelea.
Other big fallers included France, where a number of terrorist atrocities have been carried out in recent years. It fell five places to 51st overall. Belgium, which has also been the victim of a number of attacks fell one place to 19th. The UK climbed by six places to 41st, although the most recent attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on 22 May is too recent to be reflected in the report.
At the happier end of the scale, the most peaceful country was Iceland, followed by New Zealand, Portugal, Austria and Denmark.
In regional terms, Europe is the most peaceful part of the world, accounting for eight of the top ten countries in the index - the others were the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland and Ireland, with Canada the only other non-European country in the top ten.
Even in the Middle East there have been some areas of improvement. Seven of the 21 countries in the MENA region saw their rankings improve over the past year and three others held their position. Morocco (up 15 places to 75th) continues to benefit from a broader degree of political and social stability and Iran improved four places to 129th following a high turnout in municipal elections in 2016 and signs of improving political stability. The re-election of President Hassan Rouhani for a second term in May could help to cement those gains over the coming year.
Qatar also improved its ranking (up five places to 30th, the highest in the MENA region), in part due to the reduction in tensions with other Gulf Arab states since the latter withdrew their ambassadors from Doha in 2014. However, in recent days a scandal over the apparent hacking of the Qatar News Agency (QNA) has seen tensions mount up once again.
The Qatar government claims a recent QNA report on a speech by Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani – in which the emir was alleged to have praised Iran and Hamas while implicitly criticising the US and Saudi Arabia – was entirely fabricated. The story was withdrawn and the QNA website remains offline at the time of writing. The denials have not prevented the Saudi and UAE media gleefully seeking to make political capital out of the event and the situation could easily escalate.
With the administration of President Donald Trump seeking to ratchet up the rhetoric against Iran and throw America’s weight firmly behind Saudi Arabia in the regional diplomatic cold war between Riyadh and Tehran, there is plenty of potential for the Middle East (and indeed the US) to fall further down the rankings in the future.
Dominic Dudley is a freelance journalist with almost two decades' experience in reporting on business, economic and political stories in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. | <urn:uuid:4f5a1ab6-df1f-448b-a7f3-db02cd4ba6d9> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2017/06/01/most-of-the-world-is-becoming-more-peaceful-but-the-u-s-and-the-middle-east-are-bucking-that-trend/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376832259.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20181219110427-20181219132427-00328.warc.gz | en | 0.964171 | 1,179 | 2.546875 | 3 |
There are sub-Saharan countries where the whole country has less medical equipment than the equipment lying idle in the corridors of hospitals such as Massachusetts General.
I see the One Laptop Per Child Children's Machine XO platform as a powerful platform that can enable telemedicine in underdeveloped areas by bringing medical diagnostics, and treatment options which may, otherwise, be inaccessible.
The OLPC XO platform is more powerful, by orders, of magnitude than computational engines used in medical devices such as patient and fetal monitors of the 80's. The video capabilities as well as mesh networking enables, with appropriate peripherals and front ends, the capacity to diagnose heart disease (EKG, Blood Pressure, Blood Oxygen) as well as monitoring of mothers during pregnancy. The video camera may be used to look different aspects of a person in order to assess gross determinations about the physical condition.
The ability to power the XO computer by mechanical means is also a powerful feature in addition to access to physicians and hospital via the mesh net. Internet Kiosks using PC platforms are being tested in countries such as India for telemedicine and eye care. Such kiosks may be located in Health Care Franchises such as in Kenya, as illustrated in "NOW" by PBS.
I realize that the primary application of the laptop is for educating children. However, this platform is still cost effective using the "buy two keep one" paradigm as described by Professor Nicholas Negroponte. | <urn:uuid:5aa46a98-0d13-4818-87c9-9dedf5cf5084> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.olpcnews.com/use_cases/community/medical_application_community.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510274987.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011754-00208-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960616 | 300 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Azores is providing a unique opportunity to create innovative science lessons by taking advantage of the unique cultural and natural heritage. Learn how you can use modern technology to take advantage of your local environment to create inspiring science lessons. This course is organised in the framework of the projects PLATON, IDiverSE and Digital Schools of Europe. It aims at engaging teachers in modern ways to motivate students to seek knowledge while providing a unique experience for the participants in terms of meeting colleagues from other countries and visiting world heritage sites and exclusive natural sites.
The main objective is to help teachers:
– Apply innovative methodologies such as Inquiry based learning
– Create the perfect teaching environment, tailored to the needs of their students
– Prepare interdisciplinary lessons using the Big Ideas of Science
– Promote international collaborative projects
– Involve students in real research experiences
– Meet colleagues from different countries
– Use modern tools such as drones, raspberry Pi and robots to design exciting science projects for students
– Use inovative tools for assessing students’ inquiry and 21st century skills
Come join us in the unique environment of Terceira Island, home of the UNESCO worldwide heritage ‘Angra do Heroismo,’ place of unique beauty for its geology, biology and its people.
The course fee for Erasmus+ applicants is 70€/day. The course fee covers:
– All materials needed for the course
– Tuition fee for lectures, seminars and workshops
The preliminary programme will be available soon. Dates are tentative.
Mon, 23/07/2018 to Fri, 27/07/2018 | <urn:uuid:bed809d6-c3dc-46b8-aa36-04189c80cd0b> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://idiverse.eu/2018/03/28/xxi-century-classroom-2018-in-azores-islands/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141187753.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126084625-20201126114625-00062.warc.gz | en | 0.880053 | 327 | 2.9375 | 3 |
(Study Outline sourced from “The System Bible Study” – “The Book of Life” [Zondervan])
34. CHRIST’S RESURRECTION, APPEARANCES AND ASCENSION (Spring of A.D. 30 or 29 in Judea and Galilee)
(1). The Women Visit The Tomb After The Sabbath Was Past
After preparing the spices and resting on the Sabbath, at dawn on Sunday the two women were on their way to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus – “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” .
(2). The Earthquake, Rolling Away Of The Stone, The Terror Of The Guards
Before the actual arrival of the women at the tomb, sometime before sunrise, “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” .
(3). The Women Arrive At The Empty Tomb, The Angels’ Message
There may seem to be somewhat of a conflict between the record of Mark and John, but we should understand that the women arrived at the tomb just before, or at, sunrise. “Very early on the first day of the week…..” , “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark….” . Having watched Joseph and Nicodemus lay the body of our Lord in the tomb, and knowing that a large stone had been used to cover the opening, “…they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’” , but to their surprise the stone had already been rolled away from the entrance. Upon entering the tomb they could see that the Lord Jesus’ body was not there. Both Mark and Matthew record that there was one angel, while Luke records that there were two, but the message was the same; “”Don’t be alarmed,” he said.”You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” , “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” , “He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'” Then they remembered his words.” .
They were also told that “’He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” ; so the women left hurriedly to tell the disciples the good news.
(4). Peter And John Visit The Empty Tomb
Returning from the tomb, the women said to the disciples “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” , telling “…all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” .
So Peter and the other disciple began running to the tomb , and the other disciplearriving first looked in and saw the linen strips lying there but did not enter. Peter arrived and entered the tomb also seeing the burial cloths lying in the place where Jesus’ body lay . “Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)” . “Then the disciples went back to their homes..” where they were staying in Jerusalem.
(5). Jesus Appears To Mary Magdalene (Sunday)
“When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene…” . The other disciples had departed for their homes but John records that Mary remained outside the tomb weeping. Looking inside the tomb she sees two angels who ask why is she crying, and after her response to them she turns and sees the Lord Jesus standing there but mistook Him for the gardener . In response to His question “”Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”” she inquires “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” . The Lord Jesus then addresses her by her name “Mary”to which she responds by referring to her Lord as “Rabboni” (or (my) teacher – NIV Study Notes).
“Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.”. There is no apparent recorded intent on Mary’s part to hold onto the Lord Jesus, so there are two possible meanings to our Lord’s statement. Firstly, it could have meant that our Lord’s ascension was still some time away. Secondly, our Lord may have been reminding her of His previous teaching that after His crucifixion he would not be present in person with her (or other believers) except through the Holy Spirit <(NIV Study Notes) see Jn.16:5-16>.
Our Lord then requests of her to go to “His brothers” and say to them “’I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Because we are members of the Family of God, God is our Father and the Father of our Lord Jesus, thus the Lord Jesus is our brother . Although Mary delivers the message, the disciples did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead .
(6). Jesus Appears To The Other Women (Sunday)
Having been given the good news that the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead, the women hurried away from the tomb to tell the disciples. “Suddenly Jesus met them.” Upon which“They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.” . There is no recorded reason why these women were allowed to hold unto Jesus’ feet while Mary Magdalene was not permitted to do so .
Our Lord then requested the women to confirm the message of the angels, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” . | <urn:uuid:c9a4bc8a-8197-4041-bd81-72e2df7d7e85> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://biblicalcontemplation.com/2018/03/14/the-4-gospels-paralleled-part-34-1-6/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496668716.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20191115222436-20191116010436-00556.warc.gz | en | 0.980376 | 1,434 | 2.625 | 3 |
Rosacea: Signs and Symptoms
Skin problems should be diagnosed and treated at the earliest possible. Skin problems could make a person look bad and unhealthy. Rosacea is one of the skin conditions that affect many people in modern days. Now let’s briefly look into Rosacea.
Rosacea is characterized by redness and flushing of the skin. This skin condition usually affects nose, chin, eyes and cheeks. Most people mistook rosacea as acne during the beginning stage and will only realize later when the condition gone severely. Rosacea not only causes changes in skin color but may also cause pain.
The exact reason for the actual cause of Rosacea is not determined scientifically. But there are so many theories that are widely believed to be the reason for the cause of rosacea directly or indirectly. Consumption of too much spicy food and hot food is believed to be one of the prime reasons for the rosacea. Another widely believed reason is the alcohol consumption. Severe weather conditions and hot water bath and sauna would also worsen the condition.
You should know that there is no definite cure for rosacea condition. However, the condition could be controlled to prevent becoming severe and could also lessen the effect. You can either visit a dermatologist or use over-the-counter topical cream to get relief. There is also oral medication available for this condition.
Of late, laser treatments are considered as the best option for rosacea. The laser treatments are quite effective as the work deep into the skin, on the blood vessels. This treatment is less painful and does not pose any serious side effects.
What is Hyperpigmentation?
The color and tone of skin plays a crucial factor in deciding our appearance. The melanocyte cells in our skin produce melanin, which gives color to our skin. When the production of melanin becomes high, then our skin color becomes very dark – a condition referred as hyperpigmentation. This condition could be experienced due to many reasons such exposure to sunlight and due to side effects of some drugs. Though hyperpigmentation is not a fatal medical condition, however, one should strive treat it properly to prevent the skin become more dark and unsightly. There are so many options to cure, treat and prevent the hyperpigmentation.
Before deciding the course of treatment, one should understand the type of hyperpigmentation. Changes in hormonal level could result in hyperpigmentation. For example, abnormalities in thyroid hormone level could increase the pigmentation.
Age spot is a type of pigmentation that is usually found among the people aged above 60. In some cases, hyperpigmentation could also occur due to injuries skin and other skin conditions and diseases. If you want effectively treat the hyperpigmentation, it is better to visit a dermatologist. A dermatologist would identify the type of hyperpigmentation through various examinations. Then he would recommend the best topical cream according to your skin condition. If the initial treatment did not work well, then the doctor would prescribe advanced treatment such as laser treatment, skin peels or acid peels.
There are so many skin care centers or clinic around the country to offer the best solution for your hyperpigmentation problem. | <urn:uuid:6c4f0d97-5ec3-4194-805c-8eabf9f370b9> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | http://intreviews.com/facts-rosacea-hyperpigmentation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676591578.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20180720100114-20180720120114-00216.warc.gz | en | 0.953215 | 660 | 2.625 | 3 |
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French fusil, rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually readily available and a gunshot to a vital organ usually kills relatively quickly. Before the introduction of firearms, bows or crossbows were often used—Saint Sebastian is usually depicted as executed by a squad of Roman auxiliary archers in around 288 AD; King Edmund the Martyr of East Anglia, by some accounts, was tied to a tree and executed by Viking archers on 20 November 869 or 870 AD.
A firing squad is normally composed of several military personnel or correctional officers. Usually, all members of the group are instructed to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by a single member and identification of the member who fired the lethal shot. To avoid the disfigurement of multiple shots to the head, the shooters are typically instructed to aim at the heart, sometimes aided by a paper target. The prisoner is typically blindfolded or hooded, as well as restrained, although in some cases prisoners have asked to be allowed to face the firing squad without their eyes covered. Executions can be carried out with the condemned either standing or sitting. There is a tradition in some jurisdictions that such executions are carried out at first light, or at sunrise, which is usually up to half an hour later. This gave rise to the phrase "shot at dawn."
Execution by firing squad is distinct from other forms of execution by firearms, such as an execution by a single firearm to the back of the head or neck. However, the single shot by the squad's officer with a pistol (coup de grâce) is sometimes incorporated in a firing squad execution, particularly if the initial volley turns out not to be immediately fatal.
- 1 Military significance
- 2 Blank cartridge
- 3 By country
- 3.1 Belgium
- 3.2 Brazil
- 3.3 Cuba
- 3.4 Finland
- 3.5 France
- 3.6 Indonesia
- 3.7 Chile
- 3.8 Ireland
- 3.9 Italy
- 3.10 Mexico
- 3.11 Netherlands
- 3.12 Nigeria
- 3.13 Norway
- 3.14 Philippines
- 3.15 Romania
- 3.16 Russia / USSR
- 3.17 South Africa
- 3.18 Saudi Arabia
- 3.19 United Arab Emirates
- 3.20 United Kingdom
- 3.21 United States
- 4 See also
- 5 Notes and references
- 6 Further reading
- 7 External links
The method is often the supreme punishment or disciplinary means employed by military courts for crimes such as cowardice, desertion, espionage, murder, mutiny, or treason. For servicemen, the firing squad is symbolic. The condemned serviceman is executed by a group of his peers indicating that he is found guilty by the entire group. Although a court-martial might be presided over and prosecuted by officers, the instruments of execution are the ordinary weapons fired by members of the group from which he is being expunged. Furthermore, in judicially approved executions, the condemned man is allowed to stand, rather than kneel; in many cultures, the ability or the will to stand in the face of adversity or danger is considered a salient feature of individual pride. Finally, the group action on one side (being the firing squad), with the condemned standing opposite, presents a visual contrast that reinforces to all witnesses that solidarity is an overriding necessity in a military unit.
If the condemned prisoner is an ex-officer who is acknowledged to have shown bravery in their past career, they may be accorded the privilege of giving the order to fire. An example of this is Marshal of France Michel Ney.
In some cases, all but one member of the firing squad may be issued a weapon containing a blank cartridge. Sometimes all but one member have live rounds. No member of the firing squad is told beforehand if he is using live ammunition. This is believed to reinforce the sense of diffusion of responsibility among the firing squad members. This diffusion of responsibility makes the execution process more reliable because the members are more likely to aim to kill if they are not entirely blamed for it, or if there is a chance they did not fire the lethal shot. It also allows each member of the firing squad to believe afterwards that he did not personally fire a fatal shot—for this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the "conscience round".
According to Pvt. W.A. Quinton, who served in the British Army during the First World War and had the experience of being in a firing squad in October 1915, he and 11 colleagues were relieved of any live ammunition and their own rifles before being issued replacement weapons. The firing squad was then given a short speech by an officer before they fired a volley at the condemned man. He said about the episode, "I had the satisfaction of knowing that as soon as I fired, the absence of any recoil, [indicated] that I had merely fired a blank cartridge".
In more recent times, such as in the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner in the American state of Utah in 2010, a rifleman may be given a "dummy" cartridge containing a wax bullet instead of a lead bullet, which provides a more realistic recoil.
During the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, three captured German spies were tried and executed by a U.S. firing squad at Henri-Chapelle on 23 December 1944. Thirteen other Germans were also tried and shot at either Henri-Chapelle or Huy. These executed spies took part in Waffen-SS commando Otto Skorzeny's Operation Greif, in which English-speaking German commandos operated behind U.S. lines, masquerading in U.S. uniforms and equipment.
The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 expressly prohibits the usage of capital punishment in peacetime, but authorizes the use of the death penalty for military crimes committed during wartime. War needs to be declared formally, in accordance with international law and article 84, item 19 of the Federal Constitution, with due authorization from the Brazilian Congress. The Brazilian Code of Military Penal Law, in its chapter dealing with wartime offences, specifies the crimes that are subject to the death penalty. The death penalty is never the only possible sentence for a crime, and the punishment must be imposed by the military courts system. Per the norms of the Brazilian Code of Military Penal Procedure, the death penalty is carried out by firing squad.
Although Brazil still permits the use of capital punishment during wartime, no convicts were actually executed during Brazil's last military conflict, the Second World War. The military personnel sentenced to death during World War II had their sentences reduced by the President of the Republic.
Cuba, as part of its penal system, still utilizes death by firing squad, although the last recorded execution was in 2003. In January 1992, a Cuban exile convicted of "terrorism, sabotage and enemy propaganda" was executed by firing squad. The Council of the State noted that the punishment served as a deterrent and stated that the death penalty "fulfills a goal of overall prevention, especially when the idea is to stop such loathsome actions from being repeated, to deter others and so to prevent innocent human lives from being endangered in the future."
The death penalty was widely used during and after the Finnish Civil War (January–May 1918); some 9,700 Finns and an unknown number of Russian volunteers on the Red side were executed during the war or in its aftermath. Most executions were carried out by firing squads after the sentences were given by illegal or semi-legal courts martial. Only some 250 persons were sentenced to death in courts acting on legal authority.
During World War II, some 500 persons were executed, half of them condemned spies. The usual causes for death penalty for Finnish citizens were treason and high treason (and to a lesser extent cowardice and disobedience, applicable for military personnel). Almost all cases of capital punishment were tried by court-martial. Usually the executions were carried out by the regimental military police platoon, or in the case of spies, by the local military police. One Finn, Toivo Koljonen, was executed for a civilian crime (six murders). Most executions occurred in 1941 and during the Soviet Summer Offensive in 1944. The last death sentences were given in 1945 for murder, but later commuted to life imprisonment.
The death penalty was abolished by Finnish law in 1949 for crimes committed during peacetime, and in 1972 for all crimes. Finland is party to the Optional protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, forbidding the use of the death penalty in all circumstances.
Pte. Thomas Highgate was the first British soldier to be convicted of desertion and executed by firing squad in September 1914 at Tournan-en-Brie during World War I. In October 1916 Pte. Harry Farr was shot for cowardice at Carnoy, which was later suspected to be acoustic shock. Highgate and Farr, along with 304 other British and Imperial troops who were executed for similar offenses, were listed at the Shot at Dawn Memorial which was erected to honor them.
On 15 October 1917 Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari was executed by a French firing squad at Château de Vincennes castle in the town of Vincennes under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.
During World War II, on 24 September 1944, Josef Wende and Stephan Kortas, two Poles drafted into the German army, crossed the Moselle Rivers behind U.S. lines in civilian clothes, posing as Polish slave laborers, to observe Allied strength and were to rejoin their own army on the same day. However, they were discovered by the Americans and captured. On 18 October 1944 they were found guilty of espionage by a U.S. military commission and sentenced to death. On 11 November 1944, they were shot in the garden of a farmhouse at Toul. The footage of Wende's execution as well as Kortas's is shown in these links.
Execution by firing squad is the capital punishment method used in Indonesia. The following persons were executed (reported by BBC World Service) by firing squad on 29 April 2015 following convictions for drug offences:
- Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan
- Ghanaian Martin Anderson
- Indonesian Zainal Abidin bin Mgs Mahmud Badarudin
- Nigerians Raheem Agbaje Salami, Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Okwudili Oyatanze
- Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte.
Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu were executed in 2006. Nigerian drug smugglers Samuel Iwachekwu Okoye and Hansen Anthoni Nwaolisa were executed in June 2008 in Nusakambangan Island. Five months later three men convicted for the 2002 Bali bombing—Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron—were executed on the same spot in Nusakambangan. In January 2013 56-year-old British woman Lindsay Sandiford was sentenced to execution by firing squad for importing a large amount of cocaine; she lost her appeal against her sentence in April 2013. While on 18 January 2015, under the new leadership of Joko Widodo, six people who were convicted of producing and smuggling drugs into Indonesia who had been sentenced to death were executed at Nusa Kambangan Penitentiary shortly after midnight.
Following the military overthrow of the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende in 1973, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet initiated a series of mock war tribunals trials against Allende supporters around the country. During the first months of the coup, hundreds of Chileans were executed by firing squad and summary executions. Under mandates from Pinochet, General Sergio Arellano Stark led an army unit that traversed Chile by helicopter in the weeks after the overthrowal of president Salvador Allende, killing Allende supporters or anyone seen as hostile to the new regime. The Pinochet regime, which reigned between 1973 and 1990, was one of Chile's most violent. According to official data, more than 40.000 people were reported as executed and disappeared and near a million people exiled during his 17-year rule, which took place after the coup and the death of President Salvador Allende.
Following the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, 15 of the 16 leaders who were executed were shot by British military authorities under martial law. The executions have often been cited as a reason for how the Rising managed to galvanise public support in Ireland after the failed rebellion.
Italy had used the firing squad as its only form of death penalty, both for civilians and military, since the unification of the country in 1861. The death penalty was abolished completely by both Italian Houses of Parliament in 1889 but revived under the Italian dictatorship of Benito Mussolini in 1926. Mussolini was himself shot after World War two.
On 1 December 1945 Anton Dostler, the first German general to be tried for war crimes, was executed by a U.S. firing squad in Aversa after being found guilty by a U.S. military tribunal for ordering the killing of 15 U.S. prisoners of war in Italy during World War II.
The last execution took place on 4 March 1947, as Francesco La Barbera, Giovanni Puleo and Giovanni D'Ignoti, sentenced to death on multiple accounts of robbery and murder, faced the firing squad at the range of Basse di Stura, near Turin. Soon after the Constitution of the newly proclaimed Republic prohibited the death penalty except for some crimes, like high treason, during wartime; no one was sentenced to death after 1947. In 2007 the Constitution was amended to ban the death penalty altogether.
During the Mexican Independence War, several Independentist generals (such as Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos) were executed by Spanish firing squads. Also, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and several of his generals were executed in the Cerro de las Campanas after the Juaristas took control of Mexico in 1867. Manet immortalized the execution in a now-famous painting, The Execution of Emperor Maximilian; he painted at least three versions.
Firing-squad execution was the most common way to carry out a death sentence in Mexico, especially during the Mexican Revolution and the Cristero War. An example of that is in the (attempted) execution of Wenseslao Moguel, shot ten times—one of them at point-blank range—and lived because he fought under Pancho Villa. After these events, the death sentence was reduced to some events in Article 22 of the Mexican Constitution; however, in 1917 capital punishment was abolished completely.
During World War II some 3,000 persons were executed by German firing squads. The victims were sometimes sentenced by a military court; in other cases they were hostages or arbitrary people passing by who were executed publicly to intimidate the population and as reprisals against the resistance movements. After the attack on high-ranking German officer Hanns Albin Rauter, about 300 persons were executed publicly as reprisal. Rauter himself was shot near Scheveningen on 12 January 1949, following his conviction for war crimes.
On 13 May 1945, five days after the capitulation of Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht, a German firing squad executed two Navy sailors on the wall of an air raid shelter near the Ford plant in Amsterdam for desertion. At the time the execution was supervised and under Canadian control in Amsterdam.
Nigeria executed criminals who committed armed robberies--such as Ishola Oyenusi, Lawrence Anini and Monday Osunbor--as well as military officers convicted of plotting coups against the government, such as Buka Suka Dimka and Major Gideon Orkar, by firing squad. It has not been used since the advent of democracy in recent years.
Vidkun Quisling, the leader of the collaborationist Nasjonal Samling Party and of Norway during the German occupation in World War II, was sentenced to death by firing squad for treason and executed on 24 October 1945 at the Akershus Fortress.
During the Marcos administration, drug trafficking was punishable by firing-squad execution, as was done to Lim Seng. Execution by firing squad was later replaced by the electric chair, then lethal injection. On 24 June 2006, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo abolished capital punishment by Republic Act 9346. Existing death row inmates, who numbered in the thousands, were eventually given life sentences or reclusion perpetua instead.
Russia / USSR
In Tsarist Russia firing squads were, undoubtedly, used in the army, for executions during combat on the orders of military tribunals.
In the Soviet Union, from the very earliest days, the bullet to the back of the head, in front of a ready-dug burial trench was by far the most common practise. It became especially widely used during the Great Purges of the late 1930s.
Australian soldiers Harry "Breaker" Morant and Peter Handcock were executed by a British firing squad in the South African Republic on 27 February 1902, for war crimes during the Second Boer War; questions have since been raised in Australia as to whether they received a fair trial.
Executions in Saudi Arabia are usually carried out by beheading; however, at times other methods have been used. Al-Beshi, a Saudi executioner, has said that he has conducted some executions by shooting.Misha'el bint Fahd bin Mohammed al Saud, a Saudi princess, was also executed in the same way; however, her partner was not so lucky.
United Arab Emirates
Execution by firing squad in the United Kingdom was limited to times of war, armed insurrection and within the military, although it is now outlawed in all circumstances, along with all other forms of capital punishment.
The Tower of London was used during both World Wars for executions: during World War I 11 captured German spies were shot between 1914-16. All spies executed on British soil during the First World War were buried in East London Cemetery, in Plaistow, London. On 15 August 1941, German Cpl. Josef Jakobs was shot for espionage during World War II, the last person to be executed at the Tower.
When the U.S. Army took over Shepton Mallet prison in Somerset in 1942, renaming it Disciplinary Training Center No.1 and housing troops convicted of offences across Europe, two men were executed by firing squad for murder--Pvt. Alexander Miranda on 30 May 1944 and Pvt. Benjamin Pigate on 28 November 1944. Locals complained about the noise, as the executions took place in the open air at 1:00 am.
Since the 1960s there has been some controversy concerning the 346 British and Imperial troops --including 25 Canadians, 22 Irish and five New Zealanders --shot for desertion, murder, cowardice and other offences during World War I, some of whom are now thought to have been suffering from combat stress reaction or post-traumatic stress disorder ("shell-shock", as it was then known). This led to organisations such as the Shot at Dawn Campaign being set up in later years to try to uncover just why these soldiers were executed. The Shot at Dawn Memorial was erected at Staffordshire to honour these soldiers.
The American Civil War saw several hundred firing squad deaths, but reliable numbers are not available.
In 1913 Andriza Mircovich became the first and only inmate in Nevada to be executed by shooting. After the warden of Nevada State Prison was unable to find five men to form a firing squad, a shooting machine was built to carry out Mircovich's execution.
John W. Deering allowed an electrocardiogram recording of the effect of gunshot wounds on his heart during his 1938 execution by firing squad, and afterwards his body was donated to the University of Utah School of Medicine, at his request.
Utah's 1960 execution of James W. Rodgers became the last execution by firing squad in the United States for nearly two decades. Since 1960 there have been three executions by firing squad, all in Utah:
- Gary Gilmore was executed in 1977.
- John Albert Taylor chose a firing squad for his 1996 execution, in the words of the New York Times, "to make a statement that Utah was sanctioning murder." However, a 2010 article for the British newspaper The Times quotes Taylor justifying his choice because he did not want to "flop around like a dying fish" during a lethal injection.
- Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad in 2010, having said he preferred this method of execution because of his "Mormon heritage." Gardner also felt that lawmakers were trying to eliminate the firing squad, in opposition to popular opinion in Utah, because of concern over the state's image in the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Execution by firing squad was banned in Utah in 2004, but as the ban was not retroactive; three inmates on Utah's death row have the firing squad set as their method of execution. Idaho banned execution by firing squad in 2009, temporarily leaving Oklahoma as the only state in the union utilizing this method of execution (and only as a secondary method).
Reluctance by drug companies to see their drugs used to kill people has led to a shortage of the commonly used lethal injection drugs. In March 2015, Utah enacted legislation allowing for execution by firing squad if the drugs they use are unavailable. Several other states are also exploring a return to the firing squad.
In Arthur v. Dunn, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued, "In addition to being near instant, death by shooting may also be comparatively painless. . . . . And historically, the firing squad has yielded significantly fewer botched executions."
- Execution by shooting
- Shot at Dawn Memorial
- Bullet fee
- Use of capital punishment by country
Notes and references
- "fusilade". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Huie, William Bradford (1954). The Execution of Private Slovik. Duell, Sloan & Pearce. p. 208. ISBN 978-1594160035.
- "Crime Library: Firing Squad". Crime Museum. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
- "Procedure for Military Executions" (PDF). Department of the Army. December 1947. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
- Carver, Field Marshal Lord Michael (1999-11-12). Britain's Army in the Twentieth Century. ISBN 978-0330372008.
- Westcott, Kathryn (June 18, 2010). "How and why Gardner was shot". BBC News.
- Pallud, p. 15
- "HD Stock Video Footage — Military police execute German spies in Belgium.".
- "Brazilian Laws — the Federal Constitution — Individual and collective rights and duties".
- "Cuban Firing Squad Executes Exile". The New York Times. 21 January 1992.
- Silvia Pedraza, Political Disaffection in Cuba's Revolution and Exodus (Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 62.
- Samuel Farber, The Origins of the Cuban Revolution Reconsidered (University of North Carolina Press: 2006), p. 96.
- María de los Angeles Torres, In the Land of Mirrors: Cuban Exile Politics in the United States (University of Michigan Press 1999: 2001 paperback ed.), p. 49: "Arrests, trials, and firing squads first used against Batista's former henchmen were now turned against anyone who was critical of Fidel."
- War Victims of Finland 1914–1922 at the Finnish National Archives
- Yliopistolehti 1995 Archived 2007-03-20 at the Wayback Machine.
- Kuolemantuomio kuolemantuomiolle at Statistics Finland (in Finnish)
- Ulkoministeriö. "FINLEX ® - Valtiosopimukset viitetietokanta: 7/1976".
- The Shot at Dawn Campaign The New Zealand government pardoned its troops in 2000; the British government in 1998 expressed sympathy for the executed, and in 2006 the Secretary of State for Defence announced a full pardon for all 306 executed soldiers from the First World War.
- The Daily Telegraph, Ben Fenton, August 16, 2006, accessed October 14, 2006
- "Mata Hari is executed — Oct 15, 1917 - HISTORY.com".
- David Kahn (June 2000). Hitler's Spies: German Military Intelligence In World War II. Da Capo Press; 1 edition. p. 363. ISBN 0-3068-0949-4.
- "HD Stock Video Footage — German spy Josef Wende is executed by U.S. Military Police firing squad in Toul, France, during World War II.".
- "HD Stock Video Footage — German spy Stephan Kortas is executed by Military Police and carried away covered in white sheet in Toul, France.".
- David Kahn (June 2000). Hitler's Spies: German Military Intelligence In World War II. Da Capo Press; 1 edition. p. 504 and 505. ISBN 0-3068-0949-4.
- "Vichy leader executed for treason — Oct 15, 1945 - HISTORY.com".
- "Pierre Laval". Archived from the original on 2013-09-03.
- Agus Maryono and Suherdjoko (June 28, 2008). "Nigerian drug smugglers buried a day after execution". The Jakarta Post.
- "Bali bomb burials stoke tensions". BBC News. November 9, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
- 11 Feb 2013 (2013-02-11). "British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford appeals Indonesia death sentence". Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- Karishma Vaswani (2013-01-22). "BBC News — Bali drugs: Death sentence for Briton Lindsay Sandiford". M.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- "'At least a bullet is quick': British grandmother on death row in Indonesia for smuggling drugs prefers firing squad". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- AFP (2015-01-18). "Fury as Indonesia executes foreigners by firing squad". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2015-01-18.
- English, R. Irish Freedom, (London, 2006), p. 264-276.
- "BBC - History - Historic Figures: Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)".
- Known history of the Mexican Revolution
- "Legislación – Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos".
- [ The Execution of German Deserters by Surrendered German Troops Under Canadian Control in Amsterdam, May 1945]
- "Dutch Nazi Executed," Amarillo Globe, May 7, 1946, p1
- Knudsen, Harald Franklin. I was Quisling's Secretary, Britons Publishing Co., 1967, p. 176
- "Philippines 'restores' death penalty". BBC News. December 21, 2003. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- Sun Star Cebu. 25 June 2006. Arroyo kills death law Archived June 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- Emma Graham-Harrison. "'I'm still nervous,' says soldier who shot Nicolae Ceausescu | World news". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
- Chapter 2, "Niyazov", in Lev Razgon, True Stories: Memoirs of a Survivor, Souvenir Press: London, 1999, pp. 21-34.
- Ahmed, Mahmoud (6 June 2003). "The work of God" – via The Guardian.
- Hubbard, Ben (18 October 2016). "Saudi Arabia Executes a Prince Convicted in a Fatal Shooting" – via NYTimes.com.
- Laube, Lydia (1 January 1991). "Behind the Veil: An Australian Nurse in Saudi Arabia". Wakefield Press – via Google Books.
- Weston, Mark (28 July 2008). "Prophets and Princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the Present". John Wiley & Sons – via Google Books.
- United Arab Emirates (UAE): Death penalty, Archived October 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Amnesty International (Urgent Action), April 3, 2002.
- "Spying during World War One".
- "Nevada State Prison Inmate Case Files: Andriza Mircovich". Nevada State Library and Archives. Archived from the original on April 6, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
- "No One To Shoot Murderer". The New York Times. August 12, 1912. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
- Cafferata, Patty (June 2010). "Capital Punishment Nevada Style". Nevada Lawyer. State Bar of Nevada. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
- Boese, Alex (2007). "Heartbeat at Death". Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 246–249. ISBN 9780156031356. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
- "Firing Squad Executes Killer". The New York Times. 1996-01-27. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- Giles Whittell (2010-04-24). "Utah death row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner elects to die by firing squad". The Times. London.
- Donaldson, Amy (1996-02-09). "Inmate threatens to sue if state won't let him die by firing squad". Deseret News. p. A1. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- "Methods of Execution". Death Penalty Information Center. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- Dobner, Jennifer (January 22, 2004). "Plan to abolish firing squad advances". Deseret News. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- "Recent Legislative Activity". Death Penalty Information Center. 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- Horne, Jennifer (2017). "Lethal Injection Drug Shortage". Council of State Governments. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- "Why the execution drug shortage won't go away". Los Angeles Times. 2015-04-13. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- Associated Press. "Firing squad gets final OK. So how does it work?" Salt Lake City Tribune (March 24, 2015).
- "The Firing Squad Is Making a Comeback in Death Penalty Cases". US News. 2017-03-03. Archived from the original on 2017-03-03. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- Arthur v. Dunn (Supreme Court of the United States 21 February 2017). Text
- Moore, William, The Thin Yellow Line, Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1974
- Putkowski and Sykes, Shot at Dawn, Leo Cooper, 2006
- Hughs-Wilson, John and Corns, Cathryn M, Blindfold and Alone: British Military Executions in the Great War, Cassell, 2005
- Johnson, David, Executed at Dawn: The British Firing Squads of the First World War, History Press, 2015
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Yemen’s fragile truce is being extended, but there is still a massive amount of work needed to bring the conflict to an end.
There has been a revival of heritage folktales and fables in the Gulf Arab states amid a growing appetite for locally written children’s literature. Regional platforms supporting this budding industry include Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat Award for Arabic children’s literature launched in 2009, Qatar’s State Award for Children’s Literature established in 2015, and Sharjah’s Children’s Book Fair inaugurated in 2018. This proactive support of local children’s authors by Gulf states is relatively new and is linked to national development and education strategies. However, the tradition of intimate oral storytelling, known as hakawati, has a long history in the region and is considered an important component of the khaleeji culture. More and more, local writers are digging into the archives to revive this heritage and preserve the Arabic language, while offering children and young adults pleasurable and culturally relevant stories.
The region’s economic boom and rapid modernization in the 1970s played a major role in educational advancement. During this period, school curriculums were largely imported from abroad. As a result, Gulf nationals have typically been raised reading children’s literature from the West or other parts of the Arab world. Printed stories from the Arabian Peninsula were limited, and the tradition of oral storytelling slowly dissolved. The new generation of Gulf nationals face two main identity challenges: declining interest in reading in Arabic and the reliance on foreign literature, which is arguably detached from local cultures. To learn more about the state of children’s literature in the Gulf, AGSIW spoke to two authors and illustrators: Halla bint Khalid, from Saudi Arabia, and Alia Al Shamsi, from the United Arab Emirates.
Halla has published 18 children’s books since 1997 and is considered a pioneer in the field of children’s literature. In asking her about what encouraged her to become a children’s author, Halla told AGSIW, “I never thought I would be a children’s author or illustrator, but when my first two children were born, I was looking for specific stories to tell them. I could not find them on the market. So, I just decided to make my own. I just wanted to print a few copies for my children and future grandchildren. You can understand my dismay when I was told I had to print a minimum of 1,000 copies. When I told my father, he encouraged me to publish them, saying: ‘Halla, it can’t be that hard.’ Neither he nor I imagined the size of the challenge I was taking on. To put it simply, it is not a luxurious or glamorous profession by any means.”
Alia, who began writing children’s books more than a decade later, is a young Emirati Italian poet and author, as well as a mother. Like Halla, her child’s birth motivated her to get involved in the art of storytelling. When asked about her background, she said, “I played with the thought of being a writer and an artist at a very young age. The way I started my career was through photography and photojournalism, which is very similar to storytelling. I also come from a household that reads a lot. In the beginning, I was telling stories that were nonfiction through the medium of photography, so using visual language. But then when I had my son, Ahmad, I started reading a lot of children’s books, specifically in English, because the illustrations were just so beautiful that it almost becomes like an art object.”
These illustrations also had a strong impact on Halla, who said, “When I traveled to Europe with my parents as a child, my nanny used to leave me in a bookshop and disappear for two to three hours. When she came back, she always found me exactly where she left me, gazing at a book. I was born in 1971, and the Arabic books at the time were printed on very poor yellow, grainy paper and in comparison to their English and French counterparts, the illustrations were mostly unattractive and sometimes scary. I did read Arabic books, but it was a chore rather than a pleasure.
Halla and Alia share similar views about the importance of creating enjoyable and playful books, moving away from education-heavy texts. However, they had very different experiences when they first entered the field of children’s literature. According to Halla, “In Saudi Arabia, I think there were only one or two prominent authors at the time. They were men, but they were not doing what I was looking to do. I did not want to write a book to teach children how to read or to teach them a specific lesson. I just wanted to make books that children would enjoy.” Alia noted, “Children like to be challenged. We shouldn’t talk down to them and over explain or feel that every story needs to have a moral. And I think that’s the problem; we still stick to the idea that it has to have a message.” About her views on the industry, Alia added, “When I decided to start writing, I was so lucky that I had this group of friends: One was just starting her publishing house, and another always wanted to illustrate a children’s book. The majority of children’s book writers today are women, and you do have more and more children’s book authors. I think there is an appetite, and I think a lot of people want to know our stories, and they want to hear them from us.”
Both authors find inspiration in day-to-day life. “It is usually events that are happening around me,” Halla observed. “I do not think in advance. My very first book, ‘Me Maymoun,’ was triggered by the masses of young people racing to plastic surgeons. We did not officially have plastic surgery in Saudi Arabia until around the late ‘80s and ‘90s, and people started to talk about it openly. There was a clinic that had opened here, and I found it horrific. So, my first story was about a giraffe that did not like the way it looked. The second one was my story, and it is about a little camel that did not think it could win a race. After that, every single book was inspired by something going on inside the house.”
For Alia, her first story, which was initially published as an e-book, was centered around the themes of identity and belonging. “My first published book was ‘Alayah,’ and it is a story about Dubai. It is very close to me because I grew up on the shores of Jumeirah. It is almost autobiographical and is all about the sense of belonging. So, my idea was always to create a story that was local, but that also touched on something that is very much universal.”
On their audience, children and young adults, Halla and Alia emphasized that they were their harshest critics, but their feedback was the most rewarding. Halla enthusiastically mentioned: “Just a few days ago, I got a message on Instagram from a young lady, who said, ‘I am 23 years old, but I owe the cleanliness of my teeth to you.’ This to me is better than a thousand awards.” She also added, “I just saw that a little boy was reviewing my book ‘Once Upon A Time,’ which is part of a series about animals in the Arabian Peninsula, and he was saying how he was amazed that there was a savannah in the empty quarters. It was really cute! These are the moments when I think, ‘Yes, Halla, keep doing this.’”
For Alia, it is mostly her outreach to small towns in the UAE that she finds heartwarming and encouraging: “I fell in love with outreach and creating workshops. I specifically wanted to work with children who lived outside the cities because you see a whole different demographic. For example, when I visited Wadi Al Helo, which is a town in the UAE that has a small population of 500 people, it was phenomenal. They honestly blew me away because they were interested in abstract art. I also went to another area called Al Dhaid. Their work was more descriptive – they want to show their environment, and they really cared about illustrating the landscape. So outreach is very important to me. It is important for my creativity because they let me into their world, and it is very playful. You have children out there that have talent, and these are the kind of children that will build the cultural and art scene of the future.”
Both Halla and Alia explore different genres of children’s literature. Their personal lives inspire some of their stories, and others are more aimed at revisiting and readapting old heritage tales. Halla published the book “Doha Ya Doha,” which was inspired by a traditional lullaby. “My father always used to sing that song to me when I was little. But I never really thought of turning it into a book until my second child came home singing a nursery rhyme with the verse ‘And here comes the chopper, that will chop off your head!’ Then someone told me that ‘Ring a Ring o’ Roses’ was about the plague. I immediately thought I had to give her a nursery rhyme that had nothing to do with chopping off people’s heads and deadly diseases. So that’s how ‘Doha Ya Doha’ came to be.” Alia also readapted a traditional local tale about an island called “Waq Waq” and explained, “I was part of a project to write a book in partnership with the UAE Board of Books for Young People, and we were 10 Emirati writers. We came together, and we wanted to pile up all the different stories from UAE folklore. We started reading books and the different versions of them, realizing that coastal stories were different from the inland bedouin stories. Having said that, I picked the story of ‘Jazeerat Al Waq Waq,’ which my father used to read to me. I started asking questions of provenance, and through research I realized that some elements of the story might have been picked up from Africa, or through the Arabs who were in Zanzibar.”
Promoting Arabic and Gulf literature, specifically connected to local culture, is increasingly a topic of discussion, and Gulf governments are expanding initiatives to address this. There remains a need to support children’s writers, especially financially, to promote and professionalize a still young industry. There was a long period of stagnation in terms of the production of Arabic literature, especially for children. But today, with a new generation of authors learning from more experienced writers, children’s literature has a promising future.
Bahrainis, Omanis, and Kuwaitis use cabinet reshuffles for different ends: to signal efforts at regime consolidation, consolidation of a new leader’s control, or a royal maneuver to counter parliament.
Through its careful examination of the forces shaping the evolution of Gulf societies and the new generation of emerging leaders, AGSIW facilitates a richer understanding of the role the countries in this key geostrategic region can be expected to play in the 21st century.Learn More | <urn:uuid:632902f7-82e2-4e11-994d-410094e3e1f0> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://agsiw.org/childrens-literature-in-the-gulf-reviving-the-art-of-local-storytelling/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103341778.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220627195131-20220627225131-00294.warc.gz | en | 0.984663 | 2,434 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Copper Rich Diet
by Sue Kira, Naturopath & Clinical Nutritionist
It’s interesting to write about the benefits of copper, as too many times in clinic I’ve needed to address copper overload and zinc deficiency for my clients (copper and zinc compete against each other). But the fact that copper is a very important mineral is often overlooked. We only need trace amounts of copper to be healthy, but there are times when a little more can help certain conditions…more to follow.
My dad used to wear a copper bracelet to help his arthritis and it used to be popular to use copper pots and pans (some chefs still do) and most of our plumbing pipes are made of copper. Newer houses have stainless steel pipes these days. With all this copper around us, a deficiency is quite rare, however it is worth knowing that a copper deficiency can harm the body in multiple ways.
Copper is important to produce the haemoglobin found in red blood cells (that’s what makes blood red) and for the proper utilization of iron and oxygen within the blood. When you look at common blood building supplements such as liquid chlorophyll, you see that it contains copper-chlorophylinate, which is the copper bound to the green pigment chlorophyll in all green vegetation.
Copper cannot be made by the body and must be obtained from our diet. Usually the body cannot store copper, so we need to eat copper containing foods daily to fill our needs. I say usually because there are certain conditions where the body does store copper. More on this later.
Copper has an important role in supporting bodily growth and repair and is necessary for many enzyme reactions and also to maintain our connective tissue health (connective tissue is what joins all our bits together). Copper is important for prevention of joint and muscle pain, which is why it is often used for arthritis.
Copper is also important to sustain energy levels, prevent premature aging, balance hormones, and much more.
Symptoms of copper deficiency
- Brittle bones
- Frequently getting sick
- Hair thinning or balding
- Joint pain
- Low body temperature, or always feeling cold
- Muscle soreness
- Skin inflammation and sores
- Stunted growth
- Unexplained weight loss
Copper plays a vital role in around 50 different metabolic enzyme reactions that take place in the body every day. These enzymatic reactions are needed for our organs to keep our metabolism running smoothly and allow nerves to communicate with each another.
Copper enzymes are most abundant in the parts of the body with the greatest metabolic activity such as the heart, brain, and liver. But copper is also important for other systems like the nervous system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, and pretty much every other part of the body because of its impact on metabolic processes.
Helps provide the body with energy
Copper is essential to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is the body’s source of energy. This is why a copper deficiency can result in sluggish metabolism, low energy, and other signs of poor metabolic health.
Involved in proper brain function
Copper impacts certain brain pathways involving conversion of dopamine into norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters are needed to keep our energy up, to maintain a happy mood, and to help with focus, memory, and attention.
Important for the immune system
Copper is very important in the immune system response to infection and for the maturation and function of T cells (part of our immune system).
Important for your vascular system
Copper plays an important role in the contraction of the heart muscle as well as the function of the small blood vessels that control blood flow, waste removal and nutrient dispersion. Copper is also involved in the synthesis of prostaglandins, which are substances that regulate functions such as heart rate, blood pressure and wound healing.
Important for a healthy Thyroid
Copper is needed for proper thyroid function because it works with other trace minerals like zinc, potassium, selenium, and calcium that are needed to balance thyroid activity and to prevent either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.
The relationships between these minerals are complex, because an elevation of one must be balanced by the others. Too much of any of these, and too little of others, can all cause problems with our thyroid gland. This can result in fatigue, poor tolerance to heat, changes in body temperature, weight gain or loss, and changes in appetite amongst other unwanted symptoms.
May help to prevent neurodegenerative diseases
Preliminary research shows that copper has positive results in helping various neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. Research has confirmed that a copper deficiency can increase the risk for impaired brain function and potentially age-related cognitive decline.
Conversely, copper toxicity can create potential brain function impairments. There is still ongoing debate about whether (or not) copper supplementation treatment is too risky to use as a potential treatment for neurodegenerative diseases.
The key is to first have a blood test with your doctor to see if there is a deficiency, and only use copper as a supplement if prescribed and if there truly is a copper deficiency, and not just because you fear or have a neurodegenerative disease.
May reduce symptoms of Arthritis
Copper has anti-inflammatory abilities that help to relieve the pain and stiffness from arthritis. It also helps with muscular strength and repair of connective tissue. Some people with arthritis choose to wear copper bracelets, copper bands, or use copper magnets because the copper can be absorbed through the skin and help decrease painful symptoms.
Supports a healthy nervous system
Copper helps to protect the myelin sheath, which is the layer surrounding the nerves, just like the plastic coating around electrical wires. Copper enables neural pathways to fully develop which positively affects creativity, decision making, memory, communication skills and other important cognitive functions that rely on a healthy nervous system and effective neurotransmitter signalling.
Important for a healthy skeletal system
Copper plays an important role in growing bones. Copper deficiency can lead to brittle bones (osteoporosis), low strength, muscle weakness, weak joints and more. Studies have shown that good levels of copper in combination with good levels of zinc, manganese and calcium may slow bone loss in menopausal women.
Prevents anaemia and releases iron for use
Copper and iron work together in haemoglobin production (the red pigment in red blood cells). According to studies, copper plays a part in the absorption of iron from the intestinal tract and facilitates iron’s release into the liver, which is where it is primarily stored to be later released as needed.
Iron from food and supplements are used to create red blood cells. When copper deficiency occurs, iron levels fall and anaemia can occur. Anaemia causes symptoms such as fatigue, muscle aches, digestive problems and impaired brain function.
Good for healthy hair, skin and eyes
Adequate copper is needed for the body to create the natural pigment and texture of the skin, hair and eyes. Copper plays a part in the development of melanin, which is responsible for giving our skin its colour, and the unique pigment of our hair and eyes. For melanin to be produced in the body, copper must be present to help create the enzyme called tyrosinase which allows melanin to develop.
Copper helps to build collagen, responsible for maintaining the skin’s youthful appearance and elasticity, as well as being involved in the production of elastin, a substance found in the connective tissue of skin that keeps skin flexible.
Copper helps to keep you looking younger as you age because of its antioxidant effect – protecting your skin, hair, and eyes from free radical damage. It’s also beneficial to keep hair from turning grey and thinning.
There are so many different sources of copper to list as just about all foods contain some copper, especially vegetarian and vegan foods. While animal products contain more zinc than copper, vegetarian foods contain more copper than zinc, so it is good to have a balance between animal and vegetable sources of foods (if possible) to get a good balance between these two vital minerals.
Here are some copper rich foods indicating the quantity of copper in milligrams:
- Beef Liver: ½ cup = 4.49 mg
- Shitake Mushrooms (cooked): 1 cup = 1.29 mg
- Cashews: 1 Tablespoon = 0.62 mg
- Chickpeas (cooked/think hummus): 1 cup = 0.58 mg
- Kale (raw chopped): 2 cups = 0.48 mg
- Cocoa Powder (unsweetened): 2 Tablespoons = 0.41 mg
- Sesame Seeds: 1 Tablespoon = 0.36 mg
- Quinoa (cooked): 1 cup = 0.36 mg
- Almonds: – 1 Tablespoon = 0.29 mg
- Lentils (cooked): 1 cup = 0.27 mg
- Chia Seeds (dry): 1 Tablespoon = 0.26 mg
- Avocado (half): ½ = 0.12 mg
- Raisins: 1 Tablespoon = 0.09 mg
You can ensure you receive plenty of copper from your diet by including nutrient-dense foods such as mushrooms, avocado, cocoa and almonds.
Recommended daily allowance (RDA) of copper
A copper deficiency is often seen in people suffering from serious digestive disorders that impair nutrient absorption, such as Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac disease and ‘leaky gut syndrome’.
The absorption of copper can be impaired by taking high supplemental doses of iron or zinc. Iron and zinc together keep the body’s copper levels in balance, but very high levels of iron and/or zinc can have a negative impact on optimum copper levels.
From the above foods rich in copper, and the following recommended daily copper allowances for various age groups etc, you can estimate what foods and quantities are required.
- Infant 0-6 months: 200 mcg/day
- Child 6 months to 14yrs: between 220-890 mcg/day depending on age
- Adolescent 14-18 years: 890 mcg/day
- Adult: 900 mcg/day
- Pregnant woman: 1,000 mcg/day
- Breast feeding woman: 1,300 mcg/day
Copper is known to be toxic in large amounts, so it’s important to not overdo copper consumption, especially with supplements, as high levels can lead to acute and temporary copper poisoning which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and even kidney damage.
It is known that an overload of copper is associated with two genetic diseases called Wilson disease (WD) and Menkes disease (MD). These diseases are rare inherited disorders where excessive amounts of copper accumulate in the livers or brains of those affected with these diseases. People with these diseases have unregulated levels of copper, causing many health issues and they need to avoid high copper foods and any supplements containing copper.
Copper is commonly found in most multivitamins and multi-mineral supplements. It is generally safer to get copper from your diet rather than from supplementation, unless specifically prescribed.
Before you commence your diet, see your medical or health care professional for qualified guidance about what foods and supplements are best for your body. While on the diet do not stop any medications or supplements previously prescribed unless advised otherwise by your medical or health care professional.
During the early stages of a new diet, you may experience symptoms such as fatigue, headaches or body aches, which may occur because your body is detoxifying. However, if you are unsure about a symptom at any time, check immediately with your medical or health care professional. | <urn:uuid:52abbf2c-76f3-4d9b-8e4b-2d2744300130> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://www.truevitality.com.au/copper-rich-diet-by-sue-kira/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585178.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20211017144318-20211017174318-00039.warc.gz | en | 0.937119 | 2,449 | 2.78125 | 3 |
A VIOLENT eruption of the Popocatépetl volcano in central Mexico 12 500 years ago trapped a herd of mammoths. While digging a cistern at the base of a mountain near Popocatépetl last year, construction workers found the skeletons in a layer of ash 1.3 metres deep.
Claus Siebe of the National Autonomous University of Mexico says the eruption engulfed areas to the north with a thick layer of ash. Rain washed the ash down the mountains in a thick slurry that Siebe says "had the consistency of wet concrete".
This week, Siebe told the Geological Society of America in Salt Lake City that the slurry must have spread over the plains where the mammoths were grazing. At least seven died in an area of just 28 square metres.
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content. | <urn:uuid:55b28004-d4cc-4aea-98aa-2511ef73be3e> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15621054.700-in-brief--mammoth-graveyard.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510274967.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011754-00426-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921905 | 190 | 3.984375 | 4 |
Researchers are to expand a clinical trial of a new malaria vaccine after promising results in a preliminary study in Burkina Faso.
The trial was designed to test safety, but researchers found that vaccinated children had high levels of protection.
Described as a "most encouraging" result, a larger study involving 800 children is now to take place in Mali.
The scientists involved say they are hopeful that the vaccine will ultimately be very cheap to produce.
Around a hundred different malaria vaccine candidates have been developed to date but the MSP3 vaccine tested in Burkina Faso is only the second one to show a substantial level of protection against the illness.
The randomised, double blind study involved 45 children. It set out to test the safety of the vaccine but this follow up study found that children who received it had an incidence of the disease three to four times lower than children who did not.
Initially the children were split into three groups, with two of them receiving the experimental malaria vaccine developed by Dr Pierre Druilhe at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
"Those two groups had very similar types of immune response, elicited by the vaccine, and the protection is almost identical, so it reinforces the confidence despite the fact that we are still dealing with a small group," he said.
The vaccine is based on the fact that some adults in Africa acquire immunity because they are constantly exposed to the disease.
Dr Druilhe and his team discovered a key protein, MSP3, which provokes the body into producing antibodies that kill the parasite.
He said the protein is unique as it does not change much between different strains of the plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. This is believed to be a critical factor in developing an efficient vaccine.
He added: "We performed a large number of epidemiological studies that confirm that there was an association between that vaccine candidate and acquired protection, so when you immunise with this molecule you indeed induce protection."
Another scientist involved with the Burkina Faso study was Dr Louis Miller, the former head of the Malaria Vaccine Branch of the US National Institutes of Health.
He said: "I was always in favour of this approach as it offered a chance in a field with few successes. I found the results of this preliminary study in Burkina Faso to be most encouraging."
Encouraged by the early results, Dr Druilhe said the trial has now been expanded to 800 children in Mali. But he remains cautious.
"There have been too many claims of effective vaccines so we have to remain very cautious. It has to be confirmed and we have started on work to do that confirmation. Essentially the trial in Mali is about 20 times larger, in extremely high transmission conditions, so it should yield very clear cut results - this will be black and white."
The other vaccine candidate that has shown success against malaria is called RTS, S. It has been funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is set to go into production with pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline.
But there are concerns that it could be expensive, especially for people in Africa and other regions affected by the disease.
Dr Druilhe says his vaccine could be a lot cheaper - perhaps half a dollar or less a bottle.
The results of the Burkina Faso trial were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. | <urn:uuid:0b94a405-4c13-49a7-b00f-9c6d9021940b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15008866 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571909.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813051311-20220813081311-00578.warc.gz | en | 0.97586 | 696 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Flag of IndonesiaIndonesia is a simple two colour flag with two equal horizontal bands, red (top) and white. Its colours are derived from the colours of the 14th century Majapahit Empire. Called Sang Saka ("lofty bicolour") Merah Putih ("red white") in Indonesian, it was first used by students and then nationalists in the early part of the 20th century under Dutch rule. Following World War II, Indonesian nationalists declared their independence on August 17 1945, at which point they hoisted and adopted the flag.
|List of national flags | Gallery of national flags|
|List of national coats of arms| | <urn:uuid:89b7d302-571c-4633-8f28-54e11cba12e5> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://fixedreference.org/en/20040424/wikipedia/Flag_of_Indonesia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427132518903.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323174158-00229-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91519 | 134 | 3.015625 | 3 |
She was sick, alone, and stranded on a beach, her head wrapped in fishing line that had cut down to the bone in some areas. Even without the injuries, she would have had a hard time taking flight from the sand. Loons are built for a water takeoff with feet far back on their bodies. This common loon (COLO) was lucky, though, that Martha noticed her and went to get help. Martha found James and Trevor, East Bay Regional Parks naturalist staff at Crown Beach, and they came to COLO’s rescue.
Throwing a jacket over her head to protect themselves and help calm her down, they were able to pick her up and prepare her for transport to the Lindsey Wildlife Museum and Hospital in Walnut Creek. She ended up at the International Bird Rescue Center in Cordelia, CA as they specialize in caring for waterbirds. The staff vets removed the monofilament and stitched up her wounds. X-rays revealed that COLO had swallowed a hook. Surgery would be required to remove that.
Common loons are migratory, spectacular, large grayish birds who winter along the East and West coasts, including San Francisco Bay, and nest in the far northern US, Canada, Alaska, and the Arctic. (Some of you may remember Henry Ford and Katherine Hepburn’s movie, “On Golden Pond,” which made the yodeling call of the loon and lifelong love forever entwined in my mind. But I digress.) Loons can dive deeply and chase their small fish prey to depths of up to 200 feet using their large feet to propel them underwater. Usually though they fish in shallow, nearshore waters.
Discarded fishing line, tackle and hooks pose threats to loons and other wildlife. One initiative to help educate fishermen about the importance of cleaning up after themselves is underway in many fishing spots along our shores. Monofilament collection bins have been installed in many areas and information is being distributed about where they can send their line to have it recycled. You can help wildlife by donating time or resources to the facilities and volunteers who do the important work in the day-to-day care for our injured wildlife. Wildcare is another important wildlife care facility operating in the Bay Area. | <urn:uuid:f3c0b502-4dd8-4c5b-9c50-7eb35ced5a95> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2013/03/15/rescuing-injured-wildlife/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718309.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00334-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976803 | 465 | 2.6875 | 3 |
If you are worried about the health of your jawbones and mouth, it can be frightening to see receding gums. If you see symptoms of gum recession, it is best to go to the dentist immediately as this can signal more problems in your oral health. Don’t downplay the condition by thinking that simple brushing and flossing could resolve the problem–these tend to be ineffective and might actually hurt your mouth further if you are not brushing properly. If you brush your teeth too excessively or you have unbalanced mouth chemistry, gum recession might be a problem to worry about.
Pellicle is a smooth, slippery and slick film that covers the gums and teeth, protecting them from damage caused by strong spices, scratchy and acidic food and drinks, as well as the hot and cold. If the pellicle is damaged by harsh products and food, the gums will recede. With the pellicle damaged, the teeth are open and exposed to sensitivity, stain and erosion.
Causes of pellicle damage. The pellicle is often damaged by acidic substances, and if combined with periods of dry mouth or poor saliva production the pellicle could become frayed. If you sleep with your mouth open, then you may be pellicle-deficient in the future as is common in the elderly. However, the younger generations are not exempt from gum recession either–the acidity from energy drinks and soda, the use of whitening products, and even allergy medications can damage the pellicle and make the teeth unprotected from damage.
Solutions to pellicle damage. Since your receding gums cannot be treated simply by brushing your teeth better, try the following:
- Every morning upon waking up, create a mixture of 1 teaspoon xylitol dissolved in a glass of water. Xylitol is known to help bring back lost nutrients to the teeth, while helping stimulate saliva production to wash away bacteria.
- Contact your dentist to see if you should alter how often you brush and floss your teeth.
- Choose dental products that are gentler on the teeth. Go for toothbrushes with softer bristles and do not use products that contain abrasive chemicals such as baking soda.
- Chew sugar free mints or gum that contains xylitol after meals.
- Use probiotics or dairy products such as yogurt to help your digestive health.
- Take immune-boosting supplements.
- Limit your juice, tea and soda intake (high-sugar or acidic drinks).
- Eat healthy meals–leafy greens can help impact whether or not you produce enough saliva.
Contact us today if you are worried about receding gums and if you need more help dealing with the loss of pellicle. We are here to help! | <urn:uuid:b0501f98-397b-421c-a587-c79163f86e1c> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://greenspointdental.com/problems-associated-with-gums/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233511717.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20231005012006-20231005042006-00000.warc.gz | en | 0.937283 | 573 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Vaccines for Indoor Pets: Is My Pet At Risk?
“Why does my pet need vaccines if she’s indoors all the time?” This is a common question asked by pet owners to their veterinarians. It may seem like a waste of money, but in reality there are some very good reasons to make sure your indoor pets are protected from infectious diseases. And keeping them indoors does not necessarily eliminate your pet’s risk of disease.
Unfortunately, many pets don’t see their veterinarian on an annual basis. A vaccination program coupled with annual wellness visits is critical to their overall health and well-being. And because some infectious diseases can be spread to humans, Maywood Veterinary Clinic is certain that vaccinating your indoor pet is the best way to not only protect them, but your entire family as well.
The Risks Are Everywhere
You may feel that your pet is safe in their indoor “bubble”, but the fact is that infectious disease is everywhere. Here are a few ways that your indoor pet could be exposed:
Your pet could accidentally get outdoors – it doesn’t take a lot for a pet to slip out the door accidentally left open by a guest, family member, or repair worker. By the time your notice your pet has escaped, they’ve been exposed to any number of infectious diseases (not to mention parasites). If a lost pet ends up in a shelter, their risk of exposure increases exponentially.
Lifestyle changes – your intention is to have your pet for life, but sometimes circumstances can cause a change in your indoor pet’s lifestyle. Divorce, death, or a move may cause your pet to become an outdoor pet, live elsewhere, or be adopted by someone else, and you would not want her to be unprotected in these situations.
Stress induced virus flare ups – most pets are exposed to certain diseases at an early age. For example, many cats are exposed to the feline herpesvirus either in utero or in a shelter or multi-cat home, since it is highly contagious. Although in this case vaccination doesn’t eliminate the virus, it can keep flare ups under control. This would spare your cat respiratory infections and eye problems from emerging if she gets sick or is stressed.
Wildlife entering your home – it’s not as uncommon as you might think! Bats can find their way inside through tiny holes or cracks, and even raccoons have been known to come indoors through pet doors, in search of food (both of these animals can carry rabies and other diseases). Don’t assume that keeping your pet indoors keeps her completely protected.
YOU – Your family can also accidentally infect your pets by stepping in an infected area and bringing germs inside on the soles of your shoes! All it takes is someone walking across the living room carpet and having your pet licking or rolling in the same area to spread infection.
It’s the law – in New Jersey, rabies vaccines are required for all cats and dogs, even those living indoors. These vaccines protect your pet from fatal disease and you from heartbreak and loss. If your unvaccinated pet bites someone, the law could mandate that they be euthanized. The alternative could be a strict quarantine, at your expense, to make sure that your pet is rabies free. Since rabies is communicable to humans, the safest route is vaccination.
Core Vaccines For Indoor Pets
A core vaccine is one that all pets receive, with few exceptions. These recommendations are usually made because a disease is either deadly to the pet, or is zoonotic. In cats, core vaccines are feline distemper and rabies. In dogs, core vaccines include canine distemper, rabies, parvovirus, adenovirus, and parainfluenza. Your veterinarian will come up with a plan for your pet that fits with her individual needs.
Zoonotic and infectious diseases are a fact of life no matter where you and your pet live. Year round protection through vaccination is an effective way to not only protect your pet, but other ets and your family, as well. Talk to us about your pet’s lifestyle. As an AAHA hospital, we can tailor a vaccination program that protects her no matter what happens in her life.
Call us with questions or concerns about vaccines for indoor pets, or schedule an appointment today. | <urn:uuid:e07c6f1a-0511-4af6-8270-1c2a541409b3> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.maywoodvet.com/blog/vaccines-for-indoor-pets-is-my-pet-at-risk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027331485.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20190826085356-20190826111356-00313.warc.gz | en | 0.95387 | 915 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Even as researchers study ways to improve detection of in-flight icing and make airframes and engines more resistant to icing conditions, they continue to struggle to understand the icing phenomenon–especially the formation of ice crystals–according to speakers at a conference on the subject organized by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in Cologne, Germany recently. Ice-prevention techniques present their own challenges, which aircraft makers, airports and ground handlers are endeavoring to solve.
Icing was the primary cause of 80 accidents in the past 10 years, resulting in 263 fatalities worldwide, according to EASA numbers. It is a contributing factor in many more events, added John Vincent, EASA deputy director for strategic safety. What’s more, “traffic is increasing in Asia, and the tropical climate there is a good place for ice crystal formation,” said representatives from engine manufacturers Rolls-Royce and Snecma.
Outdated knowledge–and the industry’s failure to update its information to reflect current conditions–presents a significant problem, said Norbert Lohl, EASA’s certification director. “Climate change has made flight envelope definitions obsolete, something we found out almost by chance,” he told AIN, and current engine specifications are thus based on 1950s knowledge, he went on. He cited the 2008 accident involving a Boeing 777 at London Heathrow Airport: investigators found that lower-than-expected temperatures at the long-legged airplane’s prolonged cruise altitude caused ice to form in the fuel tanks. Meteorologists already know that new icing phenomena and temperature distribution are a reality now, Lohl asserted.
Engineers now understand the basics of how ice crystals can create engine icing in flight, but they do not completely understand the phenomenon yet, said EASA initial airworthiness rulemaking officer Xavier Vergez.
Ice crystals bounce off freezing surfaces near the front of the engine and enter the core, explained Richard Lewis, Airbus’s certification manager for icing. He was speaking on behalf of the international coordinating council of aerospace industries associations. Then, in the compressor, ice crystals melt on vane surfaces, creating a film of water. Particles continue to impinge on the wet vane, cooling the vane to the point that it becomes cold enough for ice to form and accrete. Eventually the ice breaks off, possibly causing various engine malfunctions, including flameout.
To develop a better understanding of the physics involved, an international research team involving EASA and the FAA will convene in Darwin, Australia, for two months early next year to study clouds in both oceanic and continental convection that contain a lot of ice water . Researchers will sample three altitudes, corresponding to three different temperatures (-10 degrees C, -30 degrees C and -50 degrees C), said Fabien Dezitter, coordinator of Airbus’s icing research and technology activities.
“This will help us validate or update our new appendix P of CS-25 aircraft certification,” Vergez said. The appendix P (now at the “notice of proposed amendment” stage) addresses ice crystals and the mixed phase in which liquid droplets and ice particles coexist in a cloud. The new appendix O, at the same regulatory stage, addresses supercooled large droplets. Both appendices O and P require the aircraft to be able to safely exit or fly in such conditions without restriction.
Lewis emphasized that new rules should not stifle innovation. Rules may become complex to the point that they thwarting the priority to reduce fuel burn, he said. Several speakers cited a lack of suitable ways to test and analyze theories, such as up-to-date icing wind tunnels, computer models and so on.
Existing sensors for detecting in-flight icing have limited reliability, according to Didier Cailhol, a safety and continued airworthiness specialist with ATR, because they detect ice only on the sensor itself. It is possible, he said, for the sensor to be covered with ice while the rest of the wing remains ice free–or, worse, vice versa.
Other sensors that detect icing conditions rather than ice accretion on aircraft surfaces are quite reliable, Cailhol said. However, they cannot detect ice crystals, Airbus’s Dezitter pointed out.
Equipment manufacturer Zodiac Aerospace is developing two new in-flight icing detection systems (Fids). Scheduled to enter service in 2015, the first will detect supercooled droplets measuring less than 50 microns in diameter, a size consistent with current standards for large aircraft (CS-25 appendix C). What’s new, according to Zodiac, is that the new Fids will be reliable enough in positive temperatures (0 to 10 degrees C) to be certified as a primary system (PFids), with authority to trigger anti-icing systems based on actual ice detection. “Aircraft flight manuals usually require pilots to start icing-protection systems when flying in visible moisture at a temperature of less than 10 degrees C, which provides ample margin but consumes a lot of energy, thus affecting fuel burn,” a Zodiac engineer told AIN.
The second PFids, using laser interferometry, will be able to tell which form of ice–supercooled large droplets, crystal and so on–is threatening the aircraft. Flight-tests are slated for 2016, followed a year later by service entry.
De-icing Fluid Issues
On the ground, some basic issues remain unresolved. Runway friction measurement, for example, assesses the state of the runway, which is not exactly the information the crew needs, pointed out Jean-Louis Pirat, scientific advisor at France’s civil aviation authority (DGAC) and chairman of the ICAO aerodrome panel. A lot of other parameters, such as tire pressure and vertical loading, should be factored in for the crew to have an idea of how effective their braking action will be.
Today’s friction-measurement devices can introduce significant imprecision of up to 30 percent, and authorities are eying the expertise of friction-measurement operators as an area for improvement. Although safety records show that such measurements by even competent ground personnel may be quite reliable, the authorities deem them to be not entirely satisfactory. The EASA thus plans to evaluate a prototype of a new breed of measurement tools, said Vasileios Stefanioros, EASA airport rulemaking officer.
On-ground icing detectors would prove useful, in that they could indicate how close the aircraft is to the end of its holdover time, the point at which an application of anti-icing fluid is no longer effective. Such a tool does not currently exist for aircraft. Jussi Ekman, a Finnair pilot and representative of the European Cockpit Association, is particularly unhappy with this shortcoming. Technologies enabling on-ground detection have existed for decades, he asserted, expressing unease about the absence of any requirement for such sensors.
Anti-icing fluids appear to be the source of potential problems, sometimes serious ones. When the glycol (the fluid’s main ingredient) evaporates, it leaves a residue that can build up, for example, on control-surface hinges. This glycol-free residue can rehydrate and freeze. In fact, in 2005 such residue blocked the control surfaces on a BAe 146 in Frankfurt, causing a serious incident.
A BAe ATP taking off from Helsinki, Finland in 2010 suffered similar consequences when fluid ran into too narrow a gap between the stabilizer and the elevator.
Because operators and ground handlers in charge of de-icing do not necessarily share the same requirements or procedures, ICAO, IATA and standards organization SAE have been conducting a harmonization effort since late 2011 that aims to standardize methods, training, quality control and phraseology.
Even pilots are not always clear on what anti-icing can–or cannot–do. An icing expert at a major European carrier said he once learned that a young pilot was counting on anti-icing sprayed before takeoff still to be effective at his destination.
Runway de-icers pose another problem. They cause catalytic oxidation of carbon brakes, which can go undetected until an incident occurs. For example, the hydraulic actuator may penetratea softened carbon disk, meet a harder component, break and release hydraulic fluid onto hot parts, resulting in a brake fire. Unfortunately, those de-icers that generate the most oxidation are also those in growing use, as they comply with ever-more-stringent environmental rules. | <urn:uuid:fda9291e-9240-4fe0-bf32-8a6cb2b1b6af> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2013-12-04/icing-research-struggling-physics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218188785.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212948-00248-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930335 | 1,768 | 3.4375 | 3 |
'Ipar' is the malay word for in-laws, like the sister of your wife is your in-law (ipar). Biras goes a little bit I think (though I may be wrong). An example would be like this, your brother's wife is your sister in law (kakak ipar), but her other siblings and family is your 'biras'. This is because you're not married to that woman (your brother are), so you cannot call them YOUR in-laws, hence the term 'biras'
Other's like 'besan' is usually used (as I often heard) to describe the relationship between the parents of both husband and wife.
Ibu/Bapa Mertua (Mother/Father in law) is used when you are refering to your spouse's parents. But YOUR parents and your SPOUSE's parents refer to each other as 'besan'.
So instead of your mother saying. "I just met my daughter-in law's mother at Starbucks" it can just be "I met my 'besan' at Starbucks", although you definitely could not tell which one she met (the mother or the father of her daughter in law). A little bit confusing but hope it helps. | <urn:uuid:fd4cf1cc-7eb9-4fef-8c39-3c1c3b73286d> | CC-MAIN-2014-49 | http://malay.proboards.com/thread/39 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416931007301.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20141125155647-00226-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979842 | 259 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Focusing on gender and the family, this erudite and innovative history reconsiders the origins of Egyptian nationalism and the revolution of 1919 by linking social changes in class and household structure to the politics of engagement with British colonial rule. Lisa Pollard deftly argues that the Egyptian state's modernizing projects in the nineteenth century reinforced ideals of monogamy and bourgeois domesticity among Egypt's elite classes and connected those ideals with political and economic success. At the same time, the British used domestic and personal practices such as polygamy, the harem, and the veiling of women to claim that the ruling classes had become corrupt and therefore to legitimize an open-ended tenure for themselves in Egypt. To rid themselves of British rule, bourgeois Egyptian nationalists constructed a familial-political culture that trained new generations of nationalists and used them to demonstrate to the British that it was time for the occupation to end. That culture was put to use in the 1919 Egyptian revolution, in which the reformed, bourgeois family was exhibited as the standard for "modern" Egypt. | <urn:uuid:9907a55e-53d0-46f2-b6c9-512fd2a487a1> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | https://www.cheaptextbooks.org/9780520240230 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818689028.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20170922164513-20170922184513-00586.warc.gz | en | 0.959298 | 208 | 2.515625 | 3 |
FOSTER, COLLEY LYONS LUCAS, army and militia officer; b. 1778 in Ireland; m. first 1813 Elizabeth Kirkpatrick in Clonsilla parish (Republic of Ireland), and they had seven children; m. secondly 4 Feb. 1836 Ellen Humphreys in Toronto, and they had one son and two daughters; d. 7 May 1843 in Kingston, Upper Canada.
Colley Lyons Lucas Foster was commissioned in the English militia in 1798, and then entered the 52nd Foot when it raised a second battalion in 1799. He served in England and Ireland until 1804, much of the time as adjutant, and was promoted lieutenant in 1800 and captain in 1804. Between 1804 and 1811 Foster was in Jamaica as aide-de-camp and military secretary to the lieutenant governor, Sir Eyre Coote, and the governor, the Duke of Manchester. After returning to England he served briefly in Jersey, and then became aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-General Gordon Drummond* in Ireland.
In 1813 Foster accompanied Drummond to his new command in Upper Canada. He was soon immersed in the war on the Niagara frontier, and after the taking of Fort Niagara (near Youngstown), N.Y., in December, he was selected to convey the captured American colours to Governor Sir George Prevost*. On 7 Feb. 1814 Foster was appointed adjutant general of the Upper Canadian militia, and he took up additional administrative responsibilities as Drummond’s military secretary. He was twice mentioned in dispatches by Drummond for his efforts in the headquarters at the siege of Fort Erie that summer.
With the conclusion of the war Foster was moved to Quebec, and gave up his militia appointment to Nathaniel Coffin. In 1816 he was appointed assistant adjutant general to the regular forces in Upper Canada, a post he held until his death. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel in June 1815 and colonel in January 1837.
Like other officers who served in the War of 1812, Foster received extensive land grants and speculated in the undeveloped land. His grants, totalling 1,200 acres, chiefly in Ancaster, Clinton, Thorold, and Cartwright townships, were sold to finance both his purchase of a town-lot in Kingston and a small farm near the town and the construction of buildings on these properties.
From June 1824 until September 1827 Foster acted as deputy adjutant general to the army in the Canadas. In this position he was called upon to act frequently for Governor Lord Dalhousie [Ramsay] on ceremonial occasions, and to be his military secretary. Foster petitioned for permanent appointment as deputy adjutant general, but his hopes were dashed by the arrival of Colonel Sir Thomas Noel Hill.
With the withdrawal of nearly all regular troops from Upper Canada in 1837, Foster succeeded to the command of the remaining handful of soldiers. When William Lyon Mackenzie*’s insurgents prepared to march down Yonge Street early in December, Foster played a leading part in organizing and arming a guard from among the citizens of Toronto. On 7 December, when Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head* marched against Mackenzie with a small force, he declined Foster’s services, preferring that the issue be decided by inhabitants of the province. Once Head’s resignation became effective in January 1838, Foster, as senior officer, took command of the militia and regular forces in Upper Canada until the arrival of Major-General Sir George Arthur* in March. He had at times 15,000 militia under arms during this period, but he did not take the field personally. After the rebellion, Foster reassumed his duties as assistant adjutant general. In his last years he was concerned to sell his commission and retire, but he died while still on service.
Colley Lyons Lucas Foster had served out his life as a competent military administrator. He never commanded troops in the field beyond his subaltern service, but he soon caught the eye of senior commanders and rose through their personal staffs to responsible positions in war and peace.
AO, MS 502, ser.A, C. L. L. Foster corr.; ser.B-1, B-3, C. L. L. Foster corr.; MU 1057. PAC, RG 8, 1 (C ser.), 187: 88–91; 237: 64–65; 685: 94–100; 704: 126; 1184: 35; 1187: 11, 88, 95; 1191: 40; 1203 1/2M: 18–19; 1203 1/2P: 68; 1219: 177–78, 290–93. QUA, MC, Colley Foster papers. | <urn:uuid:ccb07c6f-b48a-4503-8ee6-d9f41f146d8a> | CC-MAIN-2016-18 | http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=3391 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-18/segments/1461860111374.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160428161511-00142-ip-10-239-7-51.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978075 | 982 | 2.578125 | 3 |
A small fleet of electric boats arrived at the meeting spot and dropped anchor. Gentle waves lapped at the boats while the land delegation waited on board. Soon enough, a fin was visible, then two. Before long, the boats were encircled by the ocean delegation.
Similar to a meeting at the United Nations, designated communicators served as interpreters between the land and ocean delegations. Once the meeting was underway, the parties began to hammer out details of the proposed International Oceanic Regulations.
The agenda for the day included locational and volumetric limits on vessel emissions. The whale delegation emphasized that the topic was of utmost importance to its members. Whales do not have the ability to smell, nor do they have sinuses with which to filter air. Accordingly, they are unable to detect, and therefore unable to avoid, engine exhaust. Instead, they regularly get blasted with thick, unhealthy sludge from ship emissions. That sludge is not only unpleasant, but it also has significant adverse impacts on whales’ health.
The land delegation considered the whales’ perspective and in turn submitted proposals that included a phased transition to zero emission high speed cargo ships. The new generation ships were expected to ameliorate time concerns and thereby open up previously disfavored routes. The new routes would avoid whale migration lanes to reduce accidental collisions, while the new technology would reduce, and eventually eliminate, harmful emissions.
Although this meeting has yet to happen, it is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Several studies have shown that whales are intelligent animals with sophisticated social learning skills. Those social learning skills allow them to pass down cultural knowledge from generation to generation. In addition, they have strong communication skills. Like other intelligent animals, they can communicate not only with one another, but can engage in inter-species communication as well.
As part of my own animal communication practice, I recently reached out to an orca in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the human impact on ocean life. During that conversation, the orca gave me a visceral experience of receiving a snootful of thick, choking ship exhaust. The exhaust was startling as it seemed to come out of nowhere and felt entirely overwhelming. After that experience, I consulted Google and learned what I stated above, namely that orcas do not have a sense of smell, nor do they have sinuses that serve as air filters. As a result, they often get choked with harmful emissions seemingly out of the blue.
In that same conversation, the orca also showed me that our clutter of ocean-going vessels disrupts sound waves and interferes with whale communication. That interference can, and does, result in whales being separated from their pods and injured or killed.
Receiving that understanding directly from the whales is far more impactful than simply reading it online. The visceral experience of direct communication is impossible to ignore.
Before the conversation concluded, the orca invited me to envision a world in which the oceans are governed not solely by humans, but instead by a coalition of intelligent life. A world where whales and other ocean life are granted some degree of autonomy over their home, and consulted on decisions that impact their home environment, their health, and their survival.
It may be difficult to imagine a world in which humans would formally recognize inter-species communication, much less a world where humans agree to a power sharing paradigm. However, we only have to look at the news, or scroll through a social media feed, to see the detrimental effects of imposing human power unilaterally on the earth.
Should we collectively open ourselves up to the idea of interspecies communication, the whales and other intelligent animals would have much to offer us in return. The very act of engaging in inter-species communication is an evolutionary act. It evolves our understanding of ourselves and our planet. And the richness that comes from a heart-to-heart connection with another sentient being cannot be measured. The whales are waiting. | <urn:uuid:5578a33c-ad6a-49ff-9650-7f86db78319e> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.edgemagazine.net/2023/08/messages-from-the-whales-we-are-waiting/?amp=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679101195.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20231210025335-20231210055335-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.967107 | 805 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Computer scientists from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam developed the first "self-replicating RFID virus." The idea is that the radio frequency identification tag acts as a "vector" to infect the RFID middleware software that companies, for example, may be running as part of a system to track inventory of products. From the Web site outlining their work:
In our research, we have discovered that if certain vulnerabilities exist in the RFID software, an RFID tag can be (intentionall) infected with a virus and this virus can infect the backend database used by the RFID software. From there it can be easily spread to other RFID tags. No one thought this possible until now. Later in this website we provide all the details on how to do this and how to defend against it in order to warn the designers of RFID systems not to deploy vulnerable systems.
While we have some hesitation in giving the "bad guys" precise information on how to infect RFID tags, it has been our experience that when talking to people in charge of RFID systems, they often dismiss security concerns as academic, unrealistic, and unworthy of spending any money on countering, as these threats are merely "theoretical." By making code for RFID "malware" publicly available, we hope to convince them that the problem is serious and had better be dealt with, and fast. It is a lot better to lock the barn door while the prize race horse is still inside than to deal with the consequences of not doing so afterwards.
UPDATE: Ben Giddings of ThingMagic, who is only speaking as an "annoyed engineer" not a ThingMagic representative, says this is all a bunch of hooey:
The "RFID Virus" is absolutely laughable.
If you read the "paper", here's what they do:
1. Construct an RFID middleware system, intentionally design it to have some really obvious security flaws, ones that even most basic web developers know to avoid, namely the two security no-nos of implicitly trusting external data, and treating data as code.
2. Knowing the exact nature of those two obvious security flaws, including the exact implementation of the flaws, send malicious data that exploits those flaws.
This is so laughably stupid, but somehow it got picked up by the news outlets because it contains buzzwords: "RFID" and "Virus".
Really, what they're doing is the equivalent of:
1. Designing a barcode system to automatically self-destruct if it ever reads a barcode of 1337 1337, for no reason other than to prove it's dangerous.
2. Broadcasting to the world that the barcode system will self-destruct if it ever reads a barcode of 1337 1337.
3. Intentionally reading a barcode of 1337 1337.
4. Claiming that barcodes are dangerous.
RFID Tags, just like barcodes are just data. Nothing more than data. If you intentionally design a system to be vulnerable to certain data, then intentionally expose the system to that data, then yup, you'll have a problem.
I'm surprised the music industry hasn't tried this with MP3s. Design a MP3 player that will format your hard drive if it sees a certain often-downloaded song, download that song, show the drive getting formatted, then claim that MP3s are dangerous because they might format your hard drive. | <urn:uuid:04b192a4-5c03-4c1d-a556-26ca50f2f916> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://boingboing.net/2006/03/16/howto-make-an-rfid-v.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100779.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20231208212357-20231209002357-00245.warc.gz | en | 0.941553 | 710 | 2.578125 | 3 |
|Hawaiian monk seaw|
|Hawaiian monk seaw range|
|Mediterranean monk seaw range|
Monk seaws are earwess seaws of de tribe Monachini. They are de onwy earwess seaws found in tropicaw cwimates. The two genera of monk seaws, Monachus and Neomonachus, comprise dree species: de Mediterranean monk seaw, Monachus monachus; de Hawaiian monk seaw, Neomonachus schauinswandi; and de Caribbean monk seaw, Neomonachus tropicawis, which became extinct in de 20f century. The two surviving species are now rare and in imminent danger of extinction, uh-hah-hah-hah. Aww dree monk seaw species were cwassified in genus Monachus untiw 2014, when de Caribbean and Hawaiian species were pwaced into a new genus, Neomonachus.
Monk seaws have a swender body and are agiwe. They have a broad, fwat snout wif nostriws on de top. Monk seaws are powygynous, and group togeder in harems. They feed mainwy on bony fish and cephawopods, but dey are opportunistic. The skin is covered in smaww hairs, which are generawwy bwack in mawes and brown or dark gray in femawes. Monk seaws are found in de Hawaiian archipewago, certain areas in de Mediterranean Sea (such as Cabo Bwanco and Gyaros iswand), and formerwy in de tropicaw areas of de west Atwantic Ocean, uh-hah-hah-hah.
Aww species experienced overhunting by seawers. The Hawaiian monk seaw experienced popuwation drops in de 19f century and during Worwd War II, and de Caribbean monk seaw was expwoited since de 1500s untiw de 1850s, when popuwations were too wow to hunt commerciawwy. The Mediterranean monk seaw has experienced commerciaw hunting since de Middwe Ages and eradication by fishermen, uh-hah-hah-hah. Monk seaws have devewoped a fear of humans, and may even abandon beaches due to human presence. Currentwy, around 1,700 monk seaws remain, uh-hah-hah-hah.
Taxonomy and evowution
|Phywogenetic rewations between monk seaws and oder earwess seaws |
Monk seaws are earwess seaws (true seaws) of de tribe Monachini. The tribe was first conceived by Victor Bwanchard Scheffer in his 1958 book Seaws, Sea Lions, and Wawruses: A Review of de Pinnipedia. The two genera of monk seaws, Monachus and Neomonachus, comprise dree species: de Mediterranean monk seaw (Monachus monachus), de Hawaiian monk seaw (Neomonachus schauinswandi), and de Caribbean monk seaw (N. tropicawis), which became extinct in de 20f century. Aww dree monk seaw species were cwassified in genus Monachus untiw 2014, when comparison of de species' mitochondriaw cytochrome b DNA seqwences wed biowogists to pwace de Caribbean and Hawaiian species in a new genus, Neomonachus.
Fossiws of de Mediterranean and Caribbean species are known from de Pweistocene. The time of divergence between de Hawaiian and Caribbean species, 3.7 miwwion years ago (Mya), corresponds to de cwosing of de Centraw American Seaway by de formation of de Isdmus of Panama. The divergence between Mediterranean seaws and de New Worwd cwade was dated to 6.3 Mya ago.
The Hawaiian monk seaw, as de name suggests, wives sowewy in de Hawaiian archipewago. Monk seaws migrated to Hawaii between 4–11 Mya drough an open-water passage between Norf and Souf America cawwed de Centraw American Seaway. The Isdmus of Panama cwosed de seaway 3 Mya. The species may have evowved in de Pacific or Atwantic, but in eider case, came to Hawaii wong before de first Powynesians. When monk seaws are not hunting or eating, dey generawwy bask on de beaches; Hawaiian monk seaws tend to bask on sandy beaches and vowcanic rock of de Nordwest Hawaiian Iswands.
The habitat of de Mediterranean monk seaw has changed over de years. Prior to de 20f century, dey had been known to congregate, give birf, and seek refuge on open beaches. Since seawing had ended, dey have weft deir former habitat and now onwy use sea caves for such behavior. More often dan not, dese caves are rader inaccessibwe to humans due to underwater entries, and because de caves are often awong remote or rugged coastwines. Scientists have confirmed dis is a recent adaptation, most wikewy due to de rapid increase in human popuwation, tourism, and industry, which have caused increased disturbance by humans and de destruction of de species' naturaw habitat. Because of dese seaws' shy nature and sensitivity to human disturbance, dey have swowwy adapted to try to avoid contact wif humans compwetewy widin de wast century, and perhaps, even earwier. The coastaw caves are, however, dangerous for newborns, and are causes of major mortawity among pups when sea storms hit de caves.
Caribbean monk seaws were found in warm temperate, subtropicaw, and tropicaw waters of de Caribbean Sea, Guwf of Mexico, and de west Atwantic Ocean, uh-hah-hah-hah. They probabwy preferred to hauw out at sites (wow sandy beaches above high tide) on isowated and secwuded atowws and iswands, but occasionawwy visited de mainwand coasts and deeper waters offshore. This species may have fed in shawwow wagoons and reefs.
Monk seaws are part of de famiwy Phocidae (earwess seaws), de members of which are characterized by deir wack of externaw ears, de inabiwity to rotate de hind fwippers under de body, and shed deir hair and de outer wayer of deir skin in an annuaw mowt. Monk seaws as a whowe vary minutewy in size, wif aww aduwts measuring on average 8 feet (2.4 m) and 500 pounds (230 kg). They exhibit sexuaw dimorphism, in dat de mawes are swightwy warger dan femawes, wif de exception of de Hawaiian monk seaw, where femawes are warger. Its white bewwy, gray coat, and swender physiqwe distinguish it from de harbor seaw (Phoca vituwina), anoder earwess seaw. Much wike ewephant seaws, dey shed deir hair and de outer wayer of deir skin in an annuaw mowt.
The Mediterranean monk seaw has a short, broad, and fwat snout, wif very pronounced, wong nostriws dat face upwards. The fwippers are rewativewy short, wif smaww, swender cwaws. The monk seaw’s physiqwe is ideawwy suited for hunting its prey: fish, octopus, wobster, and sqwid in deep-water coraw beds. The fur coats of mawes is generawwy bwack, and brown or dark gray in femawes. Pups are about 3.3 feet (1 m) wong and weigh around 33–40 pounds (15–18 kg), deir skin being covered by 0.4-to-0.6-inch (1.0 to 1.5 cm) fur, usuawwy dark brown or bwack. On deir bewwies, a white stripe occurs, which differs in cowor between de two sexes. This hair is repwaced after 6-8 weeks by de usuaw short hair aduwts carry.
The Hawaiian monk seaw (whose Hawaiian name means "de dog dat runs in rough waters") has a short, broad, and fwat snout, wif wong nostriws dat face forward. It has a rewativewy smaww, fwat head wif warge, bwack eyes, eight pairs of teef, and a short snout wif de nostriws on top of de snout and vibrissae on each side. The nostriws are smaww, verticaw swits, which cwose when de seaw dives under water. Additionawwy, deir swender, torpedo-shaped body and hind fwippers awwow dem to be very agiwe swimmers. Aduwt mawes are 300 to 400 pounds (140 to 180 kg) in weight and 7 feet (2.1 m) in wengf, whiwe aduwt femawes tend to be, typicawwy, swightwy warger, at 400 to 600 pounds (180 to 270 kg) and 8 feet (2.4 m) in wengf. When monk seaw pups are born, dey weigh 30 to 40 pounds (14 to 18 kg) and are 40 inches (1.0 m) in wengf. As dey nurse for about 6 weeks, dey grow considerabwy, eventuawwy weighing between 150 and 200 pounds (68 and 91 kg) by de time dey are weaned, whiwe de moder woses up to 300 pounds (140 kg).
Caribbean monk seaws had a rewativewy warge, wong, robust body, and couwd grow to nearwy 8 feet (2.4 m) in wengf and weighed 375 to 600 pounds (170 to 272 kg). Mawes were probabwy swightwy warger dan femawes, which is simiwar to Mediterranean monk seaws. Like oder monk seaws, dis species had a distinctive head and face. The head was rounded wif an extended, broad muzzwe. The face had rewativewy warge, wide-spaced eyes, upward-opening nostriws, and fairwy big whisker pads wif wong, wight-cowored, and smoof whiskers. When compared to de body, de animaw's forefwippers were rewativewy short wif wittwe cwaws and de hindfwippers were swender. Their coworation was brownish and/or grayish, wif de underside wighter dan de dorsaw area. Aduwts were darker dan de pawer and more yewwowish younger seaws. Caribbean monk seaws were awso known to have awgae growing on deir pewages, giving dem a swightwy greenish appearance, which is simiwar to Hawaiian monk seaws.
Diet and predation
Hawaiian monk seaws mainwy prey on reef-dwewwing bony fish, but dey awso prey on cephawopods and crustaceans. Juveniwes and subaduwts prey more on smawwer octopus species, such as Octopus weteus and O. hawaiiensis (nocturnaw octopus species), and eews dan do aduwt Hawaiian monk seaws. Aduwt seaws feed mostwy on warger octopus species such as O. cyanea. Hawaiian monk seaws have a broad and diverse diet due to foraging pwasticity, which awwows dem to be opportunistic predators dat feed on a wide variety of avaiwabwe prey. Tiger sharks, great white sharks, and Gawapagos sharks are bof predators of de Hawaiian monk seaw.
Mediterranean monk seaws are diurnaw and feed on a variety of fish and mowwusks, primariwy octopus, sqwid, and eews, up to 6.5 pounds (2.9 kg) per day. They are known to forage mostwy at depds of 150 to 230 feet (46 to 70 m), but some have been observed by NOAA submersibwes at a depf of 500 feet (150 m). They prefer hunting in wide-open spaces, enabwing dem to use deir speed more effectivewy. They are successfuw bottom-feeding hunters; some have even been observed wifting swabs of rock in search of prey. They have no naturaw predators.
Reproduction and devewopment
Very wittwe is known of de Mediterranean monk seaw's reproduction, uh-hah-hah-hah. They are dought to be powygynous, wif mawes being very territoriaw where dey mate wif femawes. Awdough no breeding season exists, since birds take pwace year round, a peak occurs in October and November. This is awso de time when caves are prone to wash out due to high surf or storm surge, which causes high mortawity rates among pups, especiawwy at de key Cabo Bwanco cowony. Pups make first contact wif de water 2 weeks after deir birf and are weaned around 18 weeks of age; femawes caring for pups go off to feed for an average of 9 hours. Most individuaws are bewieved to reach maturity at 4 years of age. The gestation period wasts cwose to a year. However, monk seaws of de Cabo Bwanco cowony may have a gestation period wasting swightwy wonger dan a year.:97 Mediterranean monk seaws generawwy wive to be 25 to 30 years owd.
Hawaiian monk seaws are powygynous. The breeding season takes pwace droughout de year, excwuding de faww, but peaks during Apriw and May. Shark attacks cause a high pup mortawity, from 19% to 39%. Pups are dought to be weaned around 6 weeks and reach sexuaw maturity at 3 years.:104–105 Their typicaw wifespan is 25 to 30 years.
Not much is known of de Caribbean monk seaw's reproduction, uh-hah-hah-hah. They wikewy bore a singwe pup every two years. Their gestation period, wactation period, and sexuaw maturity age are unknown, uh-hah-hah-hah.:102
Interactions wif humans
In de 19f century, many seaws were kiwwed by whawers and seawers for meat, oiw, and skin, uh-hah-hah-hah. U.S. miwitary forces hunted dem during Worwd War II, whiwe occupying Laysan Iswand and Midway Iswand. Human disturbances have had immense effects on de popuwations of de Hawaiian monk seaw. They tend to avoid beaches where dey are disturbed; after continuaw disturbance, de seaws may compwetewy abandon de beach, dus reducing habitat size, subseqwentwy wimiting popuwation growf. For instance, warge beach crowds and beach structures wimit de seaw’s habitat. The WWII miwitary bases in de nordwestern iswands were cwosed, but minimaw human activities can be enough to disturb de species. The current popuwation is onwy around 1,400 individuaws.
The Hawaiian monk seaw has de wowest wevew of genetic variabiwity among de 18 pinniped species, awwegedwy due to a popuwation bottweneck caused by intense hunting in de 19f century. This wimited genetic variabiwity reduces de species's abiwity to adapt to environmentaw pressures and wimits naturaw sewection, dus increasing deir risk of extinction, uh-hah-hah-hah. Given de monk seaw's smaww popuwation, de effects of disease couwd be disastrous.
Entangwement can resuwt in mortawity, because when de seaws get trapped in marine debris such as fishing nets, dey cannot maneuver or reach de surface to breade. Marine fisheries can potentiawwy interact wif monk seaws by direct and indirect rewationships. Directwy, de seaw can become snared by fishing eqwipment, entangwed in discarded debris, and even feed on fish refuse. Internationaw waw prohibits de intentionaw discarding of debris from ships at sea. Monk seaws have one of de highest documented rates of entangwement of any pinniped species.
In 1909, Theodore Roosevewt created de Hawaiian Iswands Nationaw Wiwdwife Refuge (HINWR), which is under de jurisdiction of de U.S. Fish and Wiwdwife Service. Throughout de 1980s, de Nationaw Marine Fisheries Service compweted various versions of an environmentaw impact statement dat designated de Nordwest Hawaiian Iswands as a criticaw habitat for de Hawaiian monk seaw. The designation prohibited wobster fishing in de nordwest Hawaiian Iswands and Laysan Iswand. In 2006, a Presidentiaw procwamation estabwished de Papahanaumokuakea Marine Nationaw Monument, which incorporated de Nordwestern Hawaiian Iswands Coraw Reef Ecosystem Reserve, de Midway Atoww Nationaw Wiwdwife Refuge, de HINWR, and de Battwe of Midway Nationaw Memoriaw, dus creating de wargest marine protected area in de worwd and affording de Hawaiian monk seaw furder protection, uh-hah-hah-hah.
NOAA cuwtivated a network of vowunteers to protect de seaws whiwe dey bask or bear and nurse deir young. NOAA is funding considerabwe research on seaw popuwation dynamics and heawf in conjunction wif de Marine Mammaw Center. From NOAA, severaw programs and networks were formed. Community programs such as PIRO have hewped to improve community standards for de Hawaiian monk seaw. The program awso creates networks wif de native Hawaiians on de iswand to network more peopwe in de fight for conservation of de seaws. The Marine Mammaw Response Network is partnered wif NOAA and severaw oder government agencies dat deaw wif wand and marine wiwdwife.
Severaw causes provoked a dramatic popuwation decrease over time: on one hand, commerciaw hunting (especiawwy during de Roman Empire and Middwe Ages) and during de 20f century, eradication by fishermen, who used to consider it a pest due to de damage de seaw causes to fishing nets when it preys on fish caught in dem; and on de oder hand, coastaw urbanization and powwution, uh-hah-hah-hah. Currentwy, its entire popuwation is estimated to be wess dan 600 individuaws scattered droughout a wide distribution range, which qwawifies dis species as endangered. Its current very sparse popuwation is one more serious dreat to de species, as it onwy has two key sites dat can be deemed viabwe. One is de Aegean Sea (250–300 animaws in Greece, wif de wargest concentration of animaws on Gyaros, and some 100 in Turkey); de oder important subpopuwation is de Western Saharan portion of Cabo Bwanco (around 200 individuaws which may support de smaww, but growing, nucweus in de Desertas Iswands – roughwy 20 individuaws). Some individuaws may be using coastaw areas awong oder parts of Western Sahara, such as in Cintra Bay. These two key sites are virtuawwy in de extreme opposites of de species' distribution range, which makes naturaw popuwation interchange between dem impossibwe. Aww de oder remaining subpopuwations are composed of wess dan 50 mature individuaws, many of dem being onwy woose groups of extremewy reduced size – often wess dan five individuaws. Conseqwentwy, wow genetic variabiwity exists.
Cabo Bwanco, in de Atwantic Ocean, is de wargest surviving singwe popuwation of de species, and de onwy remaining site dat stiww seems to preserve a cowony structure. In de summer of 1997, a disease kiwwed more dan 200 animaws (two-dirds of its popuwation) widin 2 monds, extremewy compromising de species' viabwe popuwation. Whiwe opinions on de precise causes of dis epidemic remain divided, de most wikewy cause is a morbiwivirus or a toxic awgae bwoom.
In de Aegean Sea, Greece has awwocated a warge area for de preservation of de Mediterranean monk seaw and its habitat. The Greek Awonissos Marine Park, dat extends around de Nordern Sporades iswands, is de main action ground of de Greek MOm organisation, uh-hah-hah-hah. MOm is greatwy invowved in raising awareness in de generaw pubwic, fundraising for de hewping of de monk seaw preservation cause, in Greece and wherever needed. Greece is currentwy investigating de possibiwity of decwaring anoder monk seaw breeding site as a nationaw park, and awso has integrated some sites in de NATURA 2000 protection scheme. The wegiswation in Greece is very strict towards seaw hunting, and in generaw, de pubwic is very much aware and supportive of de effort for de preservation of de Mediterranean monk seaw.
One of de wargest groups among de foundations concentrating deir efforts towards de preservation of de Mediterranean monk seaw is de Mediterranean Seaw Research Group (Akdeniz Fokwarını Araştırma Grubu) operating under de Underwater Research Foundation (Suawtı Araştırmawarı Derneği) in Turkey (awso known as SAD-AFAG). The group has taken initiative in joint preservation efforts togeder wif de Foça municipaw officiaws, as weww as phone, fax, and emaiw hotwines for sightings.
The extinction of de Caribbean monk seaw was mainwy triggered by overhunting in de eighteenf and nineteenf centuries to obtain de oiw hewd widin deir bwubber, fuewed by de warge demand for seaw products. As earwy as 1688, sugar pwantation owners sent out hunting parties to kiww hundreds of seaws every night for bwubber oiw to wubricate machinery. The Caribbean monk seaws’ dociwe nature and wack of an instinctive fear of humans made it an easy target, and hunting onwy ended (in de 1850s) because de popuwation was too wow for commerciaw use. Overfishing of de reefs dat sustained de Caribbean monk seaw popuwation awso contributed to deir extinction, uh-hah-hah-hah. Fish stock decwine in de Caribbean starved de remaining popuwations. Littwe was done to protect de Caribbean monk seaw; by de time it was pwaced on de endangered species wist in 1967, it was wikewy awready extinct.
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Looking at maps of the ocean on programs like Google Earth, you may think that we know all there is to know about the shape of the seafloor--it certainly looks that way from afar. But while we might have a general idea of the highs and lows of deep-sea topography, these impressive-looking maps are mostly built by a sophisticated system of "connect-the-dots." The truth is that most of the area of the seafloor has no depth data at all. Without a better understanding of the nature of the seafloor, not to mention the countless ocean processes connected to it, it will be impossible for us to make informed and responsible decisions about managing and maintaining our planet. As the oceans cover most of the Earth’s surface, seafloor mapping is a key component of ocean--and planetary--exploration.
In an effort to gather this critical knowledge in time to make use of it, the Seabed 2030 project was launched by the Nippon Foundation and GEBCO with the goal of mapping 100% of Earth’s seafloor by 2030. While this task might seem daunting, it will be possible through global collaboration and a multitude of individual efforts. The wheels are already in motion, and the data gathered during the expeditions of Ocean Exploration Trust's Nautilus while mapping in transit and over targeted areas plays an integral part in meeting these goals for our future.
This expedition will continue previous years of mapping by Nautilus to provide the foundational seafloor mapping data set of a number of priority sites of Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS) and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (CBNMS). GFNMS protects 3,295 square miles, and the CBNMS encompasses 1,286 square miles of seafloor habitat, and achieving a better understanding of habitats in these regions helps to inform conservation and management.
This mapping expedition will focus on unmapped areas of the Pacific between San Francisco and Honolulu as E/V Nautilus operations move out into the Pacific Ocean between the Hawaiian Islands and Samoa. The transit route will utilize the multibeam echosounder and sub-bottom profiler to fill in gaps in seabed mapping coverage across the Pacific, plus targeted mapping of a number of seamounts in the vicinity of the Murray Fracture zone.
The expedition will focus on mapping from Honolulu to San Francisco, as the E/V Nautilus’ operations move back east to the US West Coast, in addition to the first deep water test of a new mobile ROV system. The mapping route has been planned to utilize the multibeam echosounder and sub-bottom profiler to fill in gaps in seabed mapping coverage across the Pacific. | <urn:uuid:1bb31c21-70d8-4221-9567-bfed6466e350> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://nautiluslive.org/album/2019/07/18/filling-gaps-seafloor-mapping-transit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487636559.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20210618104405-20210618134405-00615.warc.gz | en | 0.923706 | 568 | 3.15625 | 3 |
33. Biologists Discover Why Most Clones Die
Behind every clone that makes it out of a womb alive, there are hundreds of failures. Even in species like cattle, where cloning has become routine, only 4 percent of eggs that have received a transplanted nucleus survive. In May Hans Schöler, a developmental biologist at the University of Pennsylvania, announced he and his team may have figured out one reason why—a gene called Oct4 often doesn't do what it's supposed to do.
When technicians move the nucleus of an adult cell into an egg, the clone will survive only if the egg successfully reprograms the newly installed genes to function as they would in an embryo. Schöler and his team looked at embryonic mouse clones that were just a few days old to see when and where the Oct4 gene—which helps embryonic cells decide where to go and what to do—is active. Subtle changes in the amount or location of Oct4 can drastically misdirect growth. Schöler found that Oct4 was active in the wrong place, at the wrong time, or at the wrong level in about 90 percent of embryos cloned. He also noticed another problem: In natural embryos, both copies of Oct4 are switched on at the same time; but in most cloned embryos, one or both copies of Oct 4 may be randomly inactive.
Because cloning is still an inexact technology, Schöler questions both the value and the morality of using it to create humans: "You can do reproductive cloning only if you are willing to do cloning by statistics: cloning 100 organisms to get one that is OK—or might be OK—and you forget the other 99." However, he believes that cloning embryos for the purpose of making medically useful tissues from embryonic stem cells is still a supportable strategy. Although the transferred nucleus isn't adequately reprogrammed to make an animal, it can be tested to see if it functions well enough to make a line of stem cells. — Rabiya S. Tuma
2002 The Year of Cloning
As a species, we crossed into a new dimension this year, one we will never be able to retreat from: We have developed the science and technology of cloning to the point that reproducing a human is undoubtedly already in progress. There may be dozens of laboratories around the world that now have the knowledge, the equipment, and the skill to clone you. And hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteers are lined up. This is not only the most important science story of 2002, it may be the most important science story of the century.
1. Being Brave for This New World
"There is every indication that 2002 will be the year of the clones," said Panos Zavos, boldly. A reproductive specialist from Kentucky, Zavos made the prediction this past May in a hearing before a congressional subcommittee investigating the issue of cloning humans.
By the time you read this, the prediction might have come true. A cloned human being, a near-replica of another person, may be gestating in a womb somewhere or may even have been born. Zavos himself is openly trying to produce a human clone, and he is not alone. In July, for example, a group called Clonaid said it had a surrogate mother carrying a clone in South Korea. An Italian physician made a similar claim.
These practitioners are willing to work in the public glare. Surely other researchers are trying in secret, and still others are cloning and sustaining human embryos without bringing them to term. The world doesn't want a human clone, yet the world is going to have one, whether it is outlawed or sanctioned, hidden or announced, damaged or healthy. "This genie is out of the bottle," said Zavos to Congress, "and it keeps getting bigger by the hour."
The image of the genie, sprung from a glass container and growing like an unfettered fetus, is an apt metaphor. There are three hardheaded reasons to believe that this genie is not a fantasy.
The first factor is the growing supply and demand for what are called assisted reproductive technologies. The United States has approximately 370 in vitro fertilization clinics, where egg and sperm are brought together in a dish and then implanted in women with fertility problems. To support such services, there is a market in human eggs (women are paid several thousand dollars for eggs harvested from one cycle) and in wombs rented from surrogate mothers. In 1999 about 170,000 babies owed their existence to in vitro methods; probably about 100,000 embryos remain frozen in reserve.
Practitioners of this art have managed to resist government oversight by highlighting the desperation of the couples who want babies. But the success of an in vitro procedure is far from guaranteed, especially when the mother is in her mid-thirties or older, so cloning one of the parents may be their final hope for having a child with a biological tie. Zavos says he has a waiting list of 5,000 couples who will take the plunge. An exaggeration? The point is that any fertility clinic has the paying clientele, the raw biological material, and the unregulated opportunity to produce a clone.
The second factor is the accelerating understanding of cloning within academic laboratories. Embryologists who are appalled at the idea of reproducing a human have nonetheless polished the techniques with animals.
Since 1997, seven mammals have been cloned: sheep, cow, mouse, goat, pig, and, just this year, rabbit and cat. Although Dolly, the sheep, was the first to be created from the cell of an adult mammal, years earlier scientists managed to replicate frogs and cattle at the embryonic level. The original cloning method was to split embryos, a process that mimics the way nature makes identical twins. Then scientists discovered they could transfer nuclear material (the DNA contained in chromosomes) from cells of an embryo to an egg whose own nuclear core had been sucked out. It's kind of like sucking the yolk out of a chicken egg and replacing it with a different yolk from another hen. With coaxing and luck, the egg develops into a genetically identical embryo.
The object of the transfers was not to make animals. The embryos were not for implanting in uteruses but were tools for other studies. In some laboratories, the purpose was to track how nascent organisms develop. In other cases, the goal was to establish a line of embryonic stem cells.
One of the wonders of the mammalian embryo is that when it grows to the stage of a blastocyst, about 100 to 200 cells, a portion of the cells can be collected and maintained indefinitely as stem cells. These cells in turn have the potential to develop into any tissue, which means they might eventually be harnessed to grow, say, a new heart. Moreover, if embryonic stem cells were cloned from the patient, he or she wouldn't have problems with immunological rejection of the cultured tissue. In 2001 human embryonic stem cells spawned their own political imbroglio when the federal government blocked scientists from using public funds to create new stem-cell lines.
The possibilities are mazelike. The thread to follow here is that the invention of nuclear transfer technology—the means to move genes between cells and also backward in time—started the countdown to human reproductive cloning. From embryo cloning, it has led to an adult clone of an adult animal, and then to breakthroughs with additional species. Even if there were no demand, the human knockoff would be next, thanks to the relentless pace of science.
The third factor enabling a human clone—a force stronger than the fertility clinics and university labs—is the biotechnology business. Industrial agriculture has grabbed on to cloning big-time in order to generate superior specimens of livestock. Agricultural and pharmaceutical interests are making animals carry human genes and cloning the results. We can foresee cloned herds as living factories: Cows and pigs will churn out valuable human proteins in their milk or blood, and tissues and organs for transplantation.
On the domestic front, the death of Boots or Fido will lose its sting. Already a company in Texas is preparing to clone your pet cat. Although some of these applications will be profound and others self-indulgent, the bottom line is that biotechnology is building a well-funded infrastructure that, with a few twists of the dial, can manufacture a person.
We are well down the slippery slope. The metaphor has become so common that it cuts both ways. Gregory Stock, who directs the program on medicine, technology, and society at the University of California at Los Angeles school of medicine, says in his new book, Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future: "[T]he slippery slope has been used time and again to oppose all kinds of innovations. But if biological manipulation is indeed a slippery slope, then we are already sliding down that slope now and might as well enjoy the ride." Stock prefers to imagine a slippery sidewalk. "Rather than sliding uncontrollably into some deep abyss, we more likely will take a spill or two, get up, brush ourselves off, and continue cautiously on our way."
The rough slide to a human clone will be due to the low percentages of the methodology. The majority of nuclear transfers in animals don't take, or they produce fetuses that abort at high rates, or they deliver creatures misshapen and sick. In addition, the genes of cloned mice appear to switch on and off in unique patterns, not matching those of the genetic donor. The process of cloning is both wondrously high-tech and crudely hit-or-miss. That's why many biologists believe reproductive cloning of human beings is unethical. Still, many medical researchers insist that the cloning of human embryos continue because the tissue derived from stem cells might treat diseases ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's. Some may even accept full-blown cloning if safety, health, and efficiency can be improved.
Of course, the slipperiness of the slope depends on our views about the beginning of human life and the propriety of experimenting with it. Those are social and ethical values, which a democracy can convert to legislation. However, the United States has no law against human cloning, because Congress has not agreed where the line should be drawn. Therefore the momentum toward a clone is unchecked.
As we steel ourselves, it helps to keep in mind the following:
1. A clone isn't a freak. Think of him or her as a delayed identical twin, advises Gregory Stock. In short: Cloning is new, but we can get used to it. "Vaccines, antibiotics, organ transplants, and test-tube [in vitro] babies were each initially viewed as unnatural," Stock says.
2. A clone isn't really a clone. The genetic copy is not exact, because something called mitochondrial DNA, separate from the nucleus, remains in the egg receiving the transfer. The clone and the original share only 90 percent of their total DNA, except in the unlikely instance that a mother has herself cloned using one of her own eggs. Anyway, factors other than DNA influence organisms. The cat cloned in 2002 is a different color from its genetic parent.
3. The slippery slope is a misnomer. The problem is not about increasingly harmful developments in science that are contrary to our values but about a lack of understanding of science and its applications. To focus solely on the ethics of cloning is to turn a blind eye to the economic and medical demands for the technology, which are values in their own right. When the full spectrum of our wants and needs is clear, society knows when things have gone too far. When our values are fuzzy and conflicting, we deserve to yield to the human clones. — Jeff Wheelwright
32. Natural Pacemaker In Heart?
Patients with problematic heartbeats might someday get a shot of genetically modified cells instead of a pacemaker. In September doctors at Johns Hopkins University reported they had coaxed cells in a guinea pig's heart to take on the job of regulating the heartbeat.
In healthy hearts, a few thousand cells in two key locations trigger electrical pulses that spread to the remaining cells, signaling them to contract and make the heart beat. When those pacemaker cells die or stop working, the heart won't beat unless it receives an electrical shock from a pacemaker.
Cardiologist Eduardo Marbán and his colleagues realized, however, that pacemaker cells aren't much different from other heart cells; they just have more potassium, which induces the electrical signal. If they could engineer regular heart cells to retain more potassium, they suspected the cells might set off a heart contraction.
Marbán and his colleagues knew of a genetic defect that could disrupt construction of one of the channels that discharges potassium from cells. So they inserted the defective gene into a cold virus and injected it into selected heart cells of guinea pigs. In about 40 percent of the animals, the virus changed the genetic code of the infected cells, closing the potassium channels and converting those cells into functioning pacemakers. — Jeffrey Winters
72. Count Your Genes
The pufferfish, rice, the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and the mosquito that carries it are among the organisms whose genomes were sequenced in 2002. As the list grows, a paradox emerges: The number of genes an organism has bears little relation either to the number of base pairs—the complementary chemical units within the DNA double helix—in its genome, or to its complexity, as shown below. Rice, for example, may have up to 50,000 genes—about the same number of genes as wheat or corn—but its genome is only 1/38 the length of the wheat genome. Similarly, the pufferfish, with about 31,000 genes, probably has as many as a human, but they're housed in a genome one-eighth the length of the human genome. Nobody knows what the junk DNA that lies between genes is for. The pufferfish genome may hold some clues. Biologist Sydney Brenner of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, who won a Nobel in 2002 and led the team that did the sequencing, says his next step is to compare it with the human sequence in order to identify regions that have changed little in the 450 million years since the two lineages split. These conserved sections, he says, show which genetic regions are most essential. They are "constancy in the sea of life," he says. — Rabiya S. Tuma
13. RNA Can Be Used To Stop HIV and Polio From Growing
First they sneak into cells. Then they use the cell's "copy machines" to reproduce their genetic material. That's a virus's way of life—and we haven't had much luck stopping them. However, a genetic mechanism could show us how to interrupt the sabotage. Called RNA-interference, it provokes a cell's own enzymes to effectively erase genetic information a virus needs in order to reproduce. In July labs at the University of California at San Francisco, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and MIT reported that they had used RNA-interference to arrest viral replication in cells infected with HIV and polio.
The key lies in double-stranded RNAs, a type of structure not normally found in a healthy cell. A few years ago, researchers discovered that putting double-stranded RNA into a cell prompted the cell to produce enzymes that destroyed any single-stranded RNAs that matched the sequence of the double-stranded RNA. To see if the technique could be used to interrupt viral infections, the teams introduced double-stranded RNA containing genetic sequences from a viral pathogen into a cell infected with that pathogen. The result was just what they had hoped for: The cell turned on its RNA-interference machinery and immediately destroyed the pathogen's RNA, which pretty much put a halt to the infection.
Why cells can be provoked to destroy RNA is not yet understood, and more work needs to be done before the technique can be tested in humans. Raul Andino, a virologist with the UC San Francisco team, warns that their recent experiments "are just the tip of the iceberg. Right now, we have just seen the first cases in which you can show some efficacy. But the fact that the system exists suggests that if we learn more about how it works, we might be able to find ways to use it to our benefit." — Rabiya S. Tuma
64. 'Junk' DNA Has Role
Our DNA looks like a hoarder's closet. If stretched out and strung together, strands from a human cell would span about five feet, yet less than six inches of it would contain genes. The rest consists of segments of repetitive DNA and non-coding stuff long dismissed as "junk." But now that three vertebrate genomes have been sequenced—human, mouse, and pufferfish—geneticists are re-thinking their appraisal.
"One of the basic rules of evolution is that which is functional tends to be conserved over time," says Edward Rubin, a geneticist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. A significant amount of junk DNA proves to be conserved in the genomes of mice and humans.
The function of our junk DNA remains a mystery. One hint came in August, when a team led by biochemist Ramin Shiekhattar at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia reported that a protein complex responsible for lashing the two copies of each chromosome together just before cell division binds to a repetitive element in the human genome.
Rubin says, "There are jewels in this junk that comparative genomics allows us to pick out. We just aren't sure what the jewels are there for yet." — Rabiya S. Tuma
37. Cat Copied
In February scientists at Texas A&M university reported cloning the first house pet: a gray tabby named CC.
Researchers created CC in partnership with a biotech firm called Genetics Savings & Clone, which plans to offer cloning services to pet owners within a year. After CC's birth, the company received hundreds of calls, both for and against, says spokesperson Ben Carlson. "A lot of people alarmed about cloning believe cloning pets is really the most slippery slope toward cloning humans."
After many attempts, CC was created by coaxing the nucleus of a cell from a calico cat into an enucleated egg; an electrical spark prompted the hybrid to divide, and the resulting embryo was then transferred into a surrogate mother. The team performed 188 nuclear transfers to produce 87 cloned embryos. Eight of the embryos were implanted in surrogate mothers, and one led to a live birth. The group has tried to clone dogs, but canine reproductive physiology has proved to be complex.
CC's appearance shows that clones are not exact copies. With her gray fur, CC doesn't even look like the calico cat that donated her genes. Coat color is determined by a poorly understood process that randomly inactivates certain genes in the cells of a developing embryo. The process of gene inactivation is thought to be a phenomenon of all mammals, including humans.
Genetic Savings & Clone warns that pet owners may be expecting more than cloning can deliver. Carlson says: "We have gone to great pains to emphasize that a clone is a brand-new animal, without any of the memories of the old one. It's not going to be a reincarnation of Fluffy." — Francesco Fiondella
25. Radiation Damage Lasts Generations
Even brief exposure to high radiation released from nuclear power plants or from bomb testing deranges DNA for generations to come, says Yuri Dubrova, a geneticist at the University of Leicester in England.
Dubrova and his colleagues exposed male mice to a short pulse of radiation at least 20 times the amount in an ordinary medical X ray, then mated them with unexposed females. Next, they mated the first-generation offspring with healthy animals. When they looked for mutations in the offspring's eggs or sperm, they found a three- to sixfold increase compared with controls. When the team mated the grandchildren with healthy animals, their offspring still carried a three- to sixfold excess of DNA lesions against controls.
Because the mutations were detected in the poorly understood portions of the genome called junk DNA, nobody knows for sure what the impact may be. The animals appear to be healthy and fertile, but the persistence of mutations over three generations means that radiation fundamentally altered the genome.
If the same thing happens in humans, the full effects of accidents like Chernobyl, above-ground atomic tests, and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki won't be known for generations. Dubrova's team has found elevated mutation rates not only among people affected by Chernobyl fallout but also in a population in Kazakhstan that was downwind of Soviet atomic tests. Also, a 1990 study found a higher risk of leukemia and lymphoma among children whose fathers had been exposed to radiation on the job at a nuclear power plant in West Cumbria, England. — Rabiya S. Tuma
• 15. Polio Can Be Made From Scratch
Now that polio has been nearly wiped from the face of the earth, a team at the State University of New York at Stony Brook has shown that the virus can easily be assembled from scratch in a laboratory, raising fears of bioterror possibilities.
Anyone can find the sequence of the polio genome—a mere 7,500 nucleotides—on the Internet. Eckard Wimmer, a microbiologist and chemist, used the information to patch together more than 100 smaller bits of DNA that can be easily purchased from a made-to-order-DNA company. As he joined one segment to the next, Wimmer made tiny alterations that would distinguish his virus from the real thing. "We changed the genome in order to avoid scratching our heads in the end, saying, 'Did we actually synthesize this virus or was that a laboratory contamination?'"
Wimmer was left scratching his head anyway because the genetic markers had an unintended consequence. Although the faux virus thrived in a tissue culture, it didn't do as well as a naturally occurring poliovirus when it was injected into the brains of mice. "These are mice that have been genetically engineered to be susceptible to polio," says Wimmer, "but we needed 10,000 times as many viruses to kill one mouse."
The Department of Defense funded the experiment to demonstrate the possible misuse of biotechnology, but Wimmer was surprised by the stir he created. He gave interviews from morning to night for three solid weeks and fended off comments from other scientists. "Some colleagues said it was a simple experiment not worth doing and called it a stunt—a not-so-cheap stunt." Others felt he was giving terrorists a blueprint. Wimmer agrees he has shown that others can build their own poliovirus. But, he says, "it's not something you can cook up in the basement. A well-trained virus laboratory could do it, but it would take them some time. In fact, that's what some people call the wake-up call."
Assembling the genome of a more worrisome virus like smallpox is probably out of the question for now. Polio is a small, simple virus; others are more complex. Nonetheless, "technology is advancing at a fantastic pace," Wimmer says. "In 20 to 30 years, it may be possible." — Michael Abrams
50. French Clone Four Rabbits
Rabbits are more similar to humans than laboratory rats or mice, which explains why Jean-Paul Renard, a developmental biologist at the French Agronomy Research Institute in Jouy-en-Josas, spent the better part of three years figuring out how to clone them. In March he and his team reported that they had cloned four healthy rabbits in 2001. Because many rabbit genes are similar to their human counterparts, manipulating disease genes in rabbits, like the one responsible for cystic fibrosis, may permit researchers to track the disease's onset and better understand what goes awry. Cloning makes it easier to produce genetically customized creatures because changes in the DNA are introduced into only one cell—the cell to be cloned. Cloned transgenic rabbits could also produce drugs or human hormones in their milk.
Paying close attention to the details of a particular species' reproductive biology pays off, says Renard. Tweaking steps in the cloning protocol could lead to success in other hard-to-clone animals, such as rats and monkeys. — Rabiya S. Tuma
94. New 22nd Amino Acid Made Inside Cows
Most cells use 20 different amino acids to build proteins, but some have a flair for invention. The 21st amino acid was discovered in the mid-1970s, and now the 22nd amino acid has turned up in a methane-making microbe that lives in the stomach of a cow. Both of the maverick amino acids involve an alternative reading of the genetic code.
In most cells, the three-base sequence uracil-adenine-guanine is a stop signal that shuts down protein production. But microbiologist Joe Krzycki of Ohio State University in Columbus and his colleagues noticed that the bacterium Methanosarcina barkeri was using this stop sign to make a lysine-like amino acid. Then Krzycki recalled that the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine, is also encoded by a stop signal. X-ray crystallography confirmed that he had discovered a new amino acid, which he named pyrrolysine.
So far, pyrrolysine has been detected only in M. barkeri and one other bacterium, but Krzycki expects it will be found in many different species. — Rabiya S. Tuma
36. Have a (Pig) Heart
In January the team that helped clone Dolly the sheep revealed another distortion of nature: five genetically modified cloned pigs. PPL Therapeutics is betting that hearts and other organs from pigs can be transplanted into humans. About the same time, another group at the University of Missouri reported a similar cloning of miniature swine.
Some 16 Americans die every day waiting for a transplant donor. Scientists believe pigs are the most likely candidates for xenotransplantation because their organs are biologically similar to those of humans. The biggest obstacle has been rejection by the human immune system.
In the new piglet clones, a gene that codes for a sugar on the surface of cells has been turned off. "Blocking production of this sugar has been the Holy Grail of xenotransplantation, because the molecule causes a hyperacute rejection within the first two or three minutes of putting a pig organ or cell into a human or primate," says PPL Therapeutics spokesperson David Ayares.
Knocking out one gene, however, doesn't mean the body will accept a new organ. "We need to have strategies for T-cell-mediated, or chronic, rejection," Ayares said, which usually occurs within a few days after transplantation. That will involve adding human genes to the DNA of a pig clone so its organs will look more familiar to a human immune system. And researchers still have to worry about pig viruses that could be transplanted into humans along with the organs. PPL intends to begin trials in primates in the next six to 12 months. — Francesco Fiondella
17. Gene Therapy Halted When Boy Develops Cancer
In April 2000, pediatric immunologist Alain Fischer at Necker Hospital in Paris announced that he and his team had successfully installed a gene that restores normal immune function in three baby boys with a rare genetic illness. The disease, called X-linked Severe Combined Immune Deficiency disorder, cripples a key immune cell and leads to fatal infections. Then in August 2002, one of the treated boys developed a leukemialike condition. In September that trial and three other clinical trials for related immune disorders in the United States were suspended. Subsequent tests revealed that the retrovirus used to ferry the corrective gene into the DNA of blood-making cells in the bone marrow had lodged in or near a gene that regulates T cells, possibly prompting their uncontrolled growth.
The boy was treated with chemotherapy and is reported to be responding well. Factors other than gene therapy—cancer in the boy's family history and a recent bout with chicken pox—may have helped the condition develop. Nonetheless, the result has renewed concern about the oversight of clinical trials for gene therapy. After meeting in mid-October, the FDA's advisory committee recommended that the American trials be resumed and that patients be told that the retrovirus had induced cancer in one child. The agency also asked that trial sponsors inform any patients who have received similar treatments of the adverse result.
"We've known that this was a hypothetical risk," says Donald Kohn, a pediatric immunologist at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. He leads one of four clinical trials for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency disease in the United States. "What we don't know is the frequency that we would be seeing in patients treated with this therapy." The boy in the French trial "was one out of 10 in the trial. Eight others are doing well—at least as well as with other treatments at this time." The disorder affecting the French boy can be treated only with bone-marrow transplants, and suitable donors are often unavailable. The disorder Kohn is working on can be treated with drugs costing about $300,000 a year.
Nearly 80 clinical trials have attempted to correct faulty disease-causing genes, but only treatments for inherited immune-deficiency disorders have shown any success. In light of the French report, Kohn's group is modifying the consent form for their trial so that families will know before enrolling that adverse effects are possible. They are also developing assays to detect the problem in DNA. "We don't yet know the risks and benefits of this treatment," Kohn says. "The only way to know is to cautiously proceed with other patients." — Sarah Richardson
35. Researchers Create Genetically Modified Cows that Make Human Antibodies
Could a cow save you from hepatitis, West Nile virus, or antibiotic-resistant bacteria? All three infections can be treated by transfusing a patient with plasma containing antibodies from a survivor of the illness. Thousands of patients each year receive antibody treatments for such ailments as autoimmune disorders, hepatitis, and tetanus. But antibodies are scarce, and they carry the risk of contamination by unrecognized pathogens. So researchers at Hematech in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with funding from Kirin Brewery's pharmaceutical division, are trying to make animals into antibody factories. In August they reported the birth of four cloned calves that are genetically equipped to make human antibodies.
The first step was to insert an artificial chromosome containing the cumbersome human antibody gene into the nucleus of a cow cell. Then they used the same technique, more or less, that created Dolly, the cloned sheep. James Robl, the team's leader, says that adding the genetic material before the cell is cloned is easier than trying to get that material into an egg that has already been fertilized. The problem now is perfecting the cloning procedure so it doesn't require hundreds of attempts to yield a handful of offspring. Nonetheless, Robl thinks the procedure will have tremendous payoffs. "With cows, we can immunize them with hepatitis C, Ebola vaccine, or whatever you like and be able to produce high titer responses," he says. The antibodies could then be harvested from either milk or blood.
So far, Robl has more than two dozen transgenic cloned calves making human antibodies. The next step, he says, is to knock out the cows' own antibody genes, so they will produce only human antibodies. Then researchers must make certain the antibodies are free of viruses. Robl thinks antibodies from cows could be available for use in about two years. — Rabiya S. Tuma
73. Priorities Set For Genome Sequencing
With the sequence of the human genome nearly complete, the National Human Genome Research Institute had to decide this year what other organisms merited a taxpayer-funded readout. In two rounds of reviews, the group considered 25 briefs, each arguing the merits of a particular organism. By fall the council had awarded top priority to all but two. Among the winners were:
• The chicken: important not only for agricultural research but also as a common model for embryonic development
• The chimpanzee: close relationship to humans can provide insights into diseases and cognition
• The cow: for agricultural development
• The dog: a well-established medical model
• Fifteen Fungi: useful for basic biology, evolutionary studies, and medical treatments
• The honeybee: for studies of instinctive social behavior and for agricultural research
• The sea urchin: a model for developmental biology
Trichoplax adhaerens, a member of a group of species that lies between fungi and higher animals on the evolutionary tree, and the rhesus macaque, commonly used in medical research, received lower priorities.
The most contentious decision was to give the chimpanzee higher priority than the rhesus macaque. Although the chimpanzee shares at least 95 percent of our DNA—making it our closest relative—it is not used in medical research nearly as much as the macaque, which has been the subject of thousands of behavioral and medical studies.
A high priority ranking doesn't guarantee sequencing soon. Only when major projects on the human, the mouse, and the rat are complete will the three main government-sponsored sequencing centers take on new projects. — Rabiya S. Tuma | <urn:uuid:d8777393-c80a-478f-abed-0bec94f2b509> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://discovermagazine.com/2003/jan/genetics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738661367.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173741-00274-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959675 | 6,923 | 3.359375 | 3 |
A new way to understand PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not only caused by the trauma of combat. The typical portrait of a person dealing with PTSD is a military veteran who experiences flashbacks, anxiety, depression, hypervigilance and self-destructive behavior because of the traumatic events they experienced during deployment. Though this scenario is relevant to many people’s lives, PTSD is caused by more factors than critical incident stressors such as natural disasters, assault or combat.
In Chris Adsit’s talk at the Hatfield library, the Eugene-based advocate on PTSD issues explained the many causes of the disorder. Besides combat trauma, PTSD can also be brought on by physical injury, experiencing minor traumas over one’s lifetime, witnessing but not directly experiencing traumatic events and inheriting trauma from someone else.
Sufferers of sport injuries or car accidents can experience a disorder with similar symptoms to PTSD called traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI results in similar symptoms to PTSD with additional physical disorientation because TBI is a physical rather than a psychological disorder.
PTSD can also be caused by a moral injury: doing or witnessing something that goes against your deeply-held moral beliefs. This elicits a guilt response because of what one did or did not do, while PTSD caused by a traumatic event brings on a fear response because the trauma happened to them. Cumulative stress can also bring on PTSD. Chronic exposure to stress-inducing incidents, such as abuse, poverty or illness, can potentially develop into a disorder. This is the most common cause of PTSD amongst the prison population.
Derivative stress can also cause PTSD. Traumas, such as the trauma of colonization, can be inherited. These traumas can be passed down over generations so that a descendant experiences PTSD from something they did not directly experience. Compassion fatigue can cause PTSD when the sufferer, usually someone in a helping profession, internalizes and absorbs the pain of a trauma sufferer.
Some people experience trauma but fortunately do not suffer from PTSD. In these situations, the sufferer experiences post-traumatic stress, but this is a transient stress which can disappear on its own within a day. A stressful day at work or school can fade after some evening downtime and relaxation, and the stress does not develop into a disorder. However, when someone has to stay in a high-intensity situation for some time, that post-traumatic stress can become PTSD.
With all these many causes of PTSD, this disorder affects people in our community across many professions and life circumstances. To help first responders, veterans and their families in the Eugene area heal from PTSD, husband-and-wife team Chris and Rahnella Adsit established their non-profit, Branches of Valor. Chris and Rahnella Adsit have been studying PTSD since 2005, Chris as a Christian Reverend and Rahnella as a crisis and trauma counselor.
In his talk at Willamette this spring, Chris Adsit told the story of how he and his wife came to do this work, “We immersed ourselves in that world, so we could learn how we can best be used to help them with that experience of trauma.”
Adsit’s talk centered around the many causes of PTSD and the unique approach he and Rahnella Adsit take in addressing trauma recovery. Chris Adsit explained to an audience of students and professors that there are three dimensions of PTSD: the physical, psychological and spiritual. While most trauma care only addresses the physical and psychological elements of the disorder, the Adsits incorporate spiritual healing so that PTSD sufferers can benefit from holistic healing and the empowerment it can provide. The Adsits feel that trauma care is incomplete without this spiritual element, which Chris Adsit called the “untapped healing potential” in PTSD sufferers.
The pair is also unique in that their work focuses not only on the most apparent sufferers of PTSD, but also their families. Branches of Valor works with the families of combat veterans and first responders who endure secondary trauma brought home by the PTSD sufferer.
Chris Adsit explained that at Branches of Valor, they work to destigmatize PTSD. This disorder is not a crazy reaction to trauma but instead a natural and understandable response which deserves holistic treatment.
Chris Adsit said, “PTSD is a wound that can heal. Bleeding is normal when you are cut. It would be abnormal if someone was not wounded by the chaos of life-and-death situations.” The aim of Branches of Valor is to help people move out of that stress and cope with it so they can heal and grow. | <urn:uuid:5f6f3103-f1e7-4658-b386-23011fa7a4b8> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://www.btstservices.com/single-post/2018/04/06/a-new-way-to-understand-ptsd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585215.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20211018221501-20211019011501-00259.warc.gz | en | 0.95637 | 961 | 3.40625 | 3 |
First 314 words of the document:
Psychology unit 3 aggression revision
Neural factors in aggressive behaviour- serotonin
Davidson, Putnam, Larson (inhibitory function) compared violent and non violent
criminals and found that violent criminals had significantly lower levels of
serotonin. Therefore normal serotonin levels may inhibit violence.
Supported by animal research
mice who have malfunctioning serotonin 1B receptor are more aggressive
Vervet monkeys with high amounts of serotonin showed fewer aggressive
interactions. Low levels of serotonin have higher aggressive interactions.
Comparisons of Russian tame silver foxes to wild ones show that tame foxes
have higher levels of serotonin, tryptophan hydroxylase (used to create
serotonin) and low levels of MAOA.
However, as this is research involving animals it may not be possible to generalise
to humans as humans have different ways of channelling anger.
Supported by human research- drug treatments
Bond showed that depressed people on Prozac have reduced irritability and
impulsive aggression. Prozac is a drug that reduces the amount of enzymes
that breakdown serotonin, therefore increasing serotonin levels
Tryptophan on its own or combined with Desyrel 5HTP (a drug that boosts
serotonin) has been given to juvenile delinquents or unpredictable
institutionalised patients. These reduce their aggressive behaviour.
Correlational evidence: such as prisoners and vervet monkeys. This shows there
is a link between serotonin and aggression but it can;' tell you that serotonin
causes aggression. This is a problem because the theory is deterministic and the
evidence is correlational so the evidence only partly supports the theory.
Deterministic: as the theory suggests that serotonin causes aggression and hence
not allowing for free will.
Reductionist: ignores other factors such as upbringing, deindividuation and
testosterone. Therefore this theory only gives us a limited understanding of the
causes of aggression. | <urn:uuid:d29a503e-b563-48b9-b953-2be113ffe40e> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | https://getrevising.co.uk/resources/neural_factors_in_aggressive_behaviour_serotonin | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698543315.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170903-00191-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902337 | 410 | 2.515625 | 3 |
CONNECTICUT’S CIVIL WAR
From the sixty-year war against slavery to the four years of actual fighting, Connecticut played a vital role in the United States' defining conflict.
Great abolitionists' refusals to be silenced, inventors' work on the tools of war, heroes who gave everything to save the Union–all contributed to the ultimate victory.
A yearning to end slavery
Answering the call to arms
Supplying the army
An extraordinary display of industrial might made Connecticut the envy of most other states in the threatened Union. Why was one of the nation’s smallest states able to play such a big role?
FOR FREEDOM AND PROFIT
None of the ten thouand battles of the Civil War took place in Connecticut. There were several so-called Peace Flag battles in which Confederate supporters attacked or were attacked by Union men. The three most significant took place in New Fairfield, Trumbull, and Old Saybrook, in August 1861. But the absence of battles does not mean a shortage of sites related to the Civil War. Dozens of factories that produced weapons for the Union army (and some for the Confederacy) remain standing although modern makers use modern buildings.
Dozens of textile mills survive too, standing in silent
testament to the millions of dollars made by Connecticut industry during the four years of war. Still standing too are dozens of houses owned by generals and soldiers, abolitionists and politicians, journalists and musicians. Almost all of the state’s 169 towns have at least one Civil War monument while many have several. Nearly every town honors Civil War veterans in one or more cemeteries, while dozens of museums and historic houses feature Civil War exhibitions.
Far from the front but in the center of the machinery of war | <urn:uuid:97c604b3-38b1-4f3c-8eb1-1d1897dbfdf0> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | http://ctcivilwar.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964358189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20211127133237-20211127163237-00421.warc.gz | en | 0.950571 | 380 | 3.890625 | 4 |
UOI: Learners attempted formative assessment for the 1st and 2nd LOI – Significance of rituals and tradition’ and ‘How artefacts symbolize the beliefs and values. They listened to read aloud of the book ‘The Keep Quilt” by Patricia Polacco and made the connection to the LOIs.
Math: Learners practised addition and subtraction of like and unlike fractions.
- What fraction of the total is the goldfish if there are 5 goldfish and 8 painted fish?
- Rajesh used 10 white balloons, 16 green balloons and 15 Orange balloons for the republic day party. What is the fractions white balloon? What is the fraction of green and orange balloon together?
- Dan completed 2 / 5 of Tuesday’s crossword and 8 / 9 of Wednesday’s crossword. In total, what fraction of these crosswords did Dan finish?
- Alyssa has to read 2 books for school. Alyssa read 7 / 12 of the first book on Tuesday, and 1 / 2 of the second book on Monday. What total fraction of these two books has Alyssa read?
- Sara has 1 / 2 of last week’s allowance and 8 / 9 of this week’s allowance. How much allowance in total does Sara have left?
- Sumit drove the car for 10/13 hours and Joy drove the car for 10/19 hours. Who drove the car for the longest? Sumit or Joy and by what fraction?
- Amanpreet took 2/7 beads out of a box and Pratibha took out 1/3 of the beads. What fraction of the beads were taken out from the box in total?
Language: Complete transition word worksheet for day 4.
- Revisit ‘Energy unit’ learning for tomorrow’s Google hangout session with the school from Pakistan.
- Frame the questions you would like to ask related to our current unit. | <urn:uuid:256e1773-1ffb-478c-be48-7759964f934c> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://blog.fountainheadschools.org/index.php/2018/02/06/highlights-and-homework-day-4-february-6th/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439735964.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20200805183003-20200805213003-00028.warc.gz | en | 0.944726 | 412 | 3 | 3 |
Green Innovations at RSF
Here is a brief list of energy-saving innovations designed for NREL’s Research Support Facilities.
• Transpired Solar Collectors – Outside ventilation air is passively preheated through collectors on the building’s south face before it’s delivered through an under-floor air distribution system. This is an NREL technology.
• Thermal Mass – An exterior wall assembly utilizes an insulated, precast concrete panel system to allow for nighttime cooling.
• Solar Control – Aggressive window shading addresses different orientations and positions of glazed openings, reducing heat gain during the summer while still providing daylighting.
• Natural Ventilation – Single-sided and cross-ventilation strategies to naturally ventilate the building, keeping every employee 30 ft from an operable window. All working spaces are designed for natural, passive cooling.
• Night Purging – The building’s system automatically operates specific windows at night to allow the cool summer nighttime air to cool the thermal mass of the building.
• Evaporating Cooling – Cooling for the ventilation system and building data center systems.
• Heat Recovery – Extensive heat recovery from the building data center and other waste heat streams is used to preheat air and water for other building uses. | <urn:uuid:04003694-a336-4a86-8e6d-3ad8b22eb8a6> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://www.enr.com/articles/20900-green-innovations-at-rsf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540585566.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20191214070158-20191214094158-00382.warc.gz | en | 0.860691 | 263 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Tips on Summer Camps
There are different seasons in a year. A lot of things usually accompany the different seasons of a year. Such things include changes in weather conditions and different activities. Change in weather conditions may be hot season, cold season, or moderate weather season. The hottest month of the year is January. The month of January can favor or fail some activities. Farmers have always been favored in their harvesting by hot season of the year. This reduces moisture especially in cereals. Moisture in cereals make cereals to get damaged. Moisture make cereals to decay and produce toxic chemicals. Production in animals is mostly favored by hot seasons. Animals usually an excellent birth in hot seasons.
It has been known for hot seasons to discourage farmers from planting. It has been known for seedlings to get dried on hot seasons. It is obvious for various activities to be done in different seasons on a year. For instance we do celebrate Christmas in the month of December.
Each and every person has also their time of relaxing and doing certain activities. It is obvious to be given breaks at our work places. Students are usually given a break after a certain period of learning. This strengthens the adage that says, there is time for everything. No one can escape from such seasons and times of the year.
It is obvious for students to go to the next class after qualifying from the previous class. Farmers must harvest their produce after planting their crops. Expect every season to carry its activities. When we talk about various seasons, we cannot forget about summer camps. It is in the summer camps where people go to enjoy themselves with different activities. These camps are made of temporary structures such as tents. Children after their holiday enjoy themselves in summer camps.
Summer camps have been known for places of creating new friends, fun, and doing various activities. Children take fun in music. Favorite songs are practiced by children in the summer camps. Musical instruments are mostly used in learning new songs. This becomes the source of joy to children in summer camps. Children learn several skills such as pottery and wood shop.
Campers through pottery studio learn various steps of creating pottery items. Expect children to make new friends in summer camps. There are many factors to consider when scheduling for summer camps. Budget on summer camp should be your first agenda. Expect summer camps to vary with price. It has been known for summer camps to be of high price and of low price. It is advisable to choose summer camps that can suit your pocket. You should regard activities in a summer camp.
Citation: click to investigate | <urn:uuid:d832d4db-a011-40a1-88b3-c352e9985022> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://discountpandorasale.com/news-for-this-month-resources.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128321536.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20170627185115-20170627205115-00546.warc.gz | en | 0.975794 | 528 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Do your students sometimes wonder aloud just why they have to study English?
Have you tried storytelling in class, just to find your students don’t seem to have stories to tell?
Are you teaching history in a full immersion environment where students look at you while you lecture with faces as blank as a fresh piece of paper?
In any of the above situations, as well as others, you can use world history to animate your students to make use of their present level of English.
They can then improve upon that level by actively outlining and then telling their classmates about those events in world history.
Why Combine English and World History?
English has a place in world history
English teaching and English usage have had an incredible impact on the world since the early days of British colonization. Students don’t always realize that English, despite its difficulties, didn’t just suddenly become the lingua franca of the modern world out of the blue.
It took centuries of sometimes dramatic events to lead English to surpass other languages, like Spanish or French, as the language of commerce, diplomacy and even air traffic control. World history is full of examples that you can share with your students to help them understand the importance of learning English today.
In many cases, students may resent having to learn English. It may be just the required class they have to attend twice a week, or the after-school activity their parents sign them up for. They don’t get why they have to study it.
On the other hand, they might be aware that the language dominates much of modern, day-to-day activity: from the popular music they hear on the radio to surfing on the internet. They know that English is somehow important but don’t really know how it got that way or why.
Beginning this activity by working through the world history behind English dominance can help your students understand why it became a lingua franca today, how it has shaped the modern world and why being familiar with English is important. Look at the history of how English, as a language, has developed into the modern-day “universal language.” There are tons of stories of migrations, conquests and colonies that led to the modern English language, and ESL students often find them fascinating.
World history is full of great English language lessons
Exciting or controversial moments in world history can prove to be an excellent way to distract your students from any number of linguistic goals you want them to work on and achieve. While keeping your students focused upon the exciting events, you can sneakily slip in any number of language items:
- vocabulary (century, eon, ancient)
- verb tenses (simple past, perfect modes, past continuous)
- conditional statements (if this had happened, then this would have been different)
- passive voice (this was made possible by that, this result was caused by that)
- time marking expressions (ago, since, when, during, in earlier times, after that)
Small frustrations with grammar and vocabulary are indirectly overcome while they are actively involved in researching and preparing a presentation on a significant world history event. Your job will be to observe them as they work through the activity, gently reminding them when a simple past or a specific time expression will best suit their storytelling needs.
History is particularly great for teaching the English past tenses
History is history because it took place in the past.
There is hardly a better way to get your students accustomed to using the past tenses and expressions than telling a story from world history. From verbal tenses to time expressions, to finally understanding the time-bridging characteristics of the perfect modes, telling a story from history will often indirectly bring that spark of comprehension as to when and why to use a particular tense or mode in English.
All the historical stories you share will provide excellent context for English grammar and vocabulary. By reading about history, or listening to you talk about history, they’ll gain a better perspective on how English is used to describe events.
By combining storytelling with the practice of past tenses and constructions, you end up contextualizing these structures. You can draw on each contextualization to help explain when to use the present perfect, past continuous or simple past.
You break away from simply diagramming and explaining the structures since you’ll have numerous examples from the stories being told.
History is storytelling
World history won’t just stop at why we use English everywhere, though. For thousands of years, mankind has kept track of what’s been going on in the world. That history is made up of an infinite number of stories to be told.
History has its roots in storytelling, and the vast amount of material available in world history will give your students ample resources to work with.
You can turn your students into storytellers
Always have students share what they’ve learned about the topic with their classmates in some way, using their English to tell stories. They don’t have to invent stories, they can simply tell what happened. In this way, they concentrate on both the organization and linguistic tools they’ll need to tell those stories. Plus, there are millions of ready-made stories available from the thousands of years of known history.
Storytelling is always a popular activity in the ESL class. Though it can put a student “on the spot” by having to perform alone in front of the classmates, group storytelling can become a confidence builder if handled with care and preparation.
You can employ “back door” English teaching
You may be teaching a straightforward ESL class and are looking for an alternative, distracting focus to practice specific language feats. Perhaps you’re in immersion teaching and the focus of the class is world history, with language acquisition taking an important, but necessary, back seat.
In these and other ESL teaching situations, using world history will help your students to understand events, map out linear thought while practicing the specific language needed in storytelling. The benefits are multiple, but the technique is subtly “tricky” on your part.
Backdoor teaching is a technique in which the teacher diverts students’ attention from a particular teaching objective with a larger, more general task. The teacher will thus establish two objectives: a distracting objective and a back door objective.
The distracting objective is the larger, more general objective that is meant to capture your student’s attention, excite them with the feeling that the activity that they’re concentrating upon is fun, different and entertaining. You’ll want your students to believe that this is the main objective of the activity.
The back door objective is what you, the teacher, really want them to be working on and practicing. This objective may be easily expressed in your teacher lingo, which often ends up being some combination of grammar terms and teacher-talk. This kind of objective, though important to you, can prove, at the least, boring and, at the worst, intimidating for your students.
In the case of a world history ESL lesson, as a distracting objective, you’ll inform your students that they will be preparing an oral presentation of a particular series of events in world history. You’ll want to sell this objective as something different and exciting, an excursion from the usual structure and grammar work from their textbook.
The back door objective will be the use of certain verb tenses and modes, time expressions or vocabulary. While you might outline those language items and remind your students when they’ll need to use them, you should keep the attention of your students on preparing the world history oral presentation.
So, backdoor teaching will involve, on your part:
- setting goals for the linguistic objective you want students to practice
- teaching and reinforcing the English language students should use to talk about historical events (or anything in the past)
- focusing students’ attention on the larger objective of world history (rather than focusing on drilling the grammar or vocabulary)
Though you’ll let your students know the language goals, you’ll try to keep their focus on the larger world history lesson. This makes the language instrumental, but not principle.
In this way, the language objective enters through the “back door.”
How to Create a “Back Door” ESL World History Lesson
Here, we’ve got everything you need to do for a world history lesson broken down into three easy steps. For each step, we’ll show you how it plays out in an example World History ESL lesson on the topic “English teaching in Colonial India.”
1. Set Goals
Before you jump into the class with, “Today we’re going to look at Henry the XIII’s personal relationship problems,” you’ll want to develop a game plan for yourself that you can employ in any history lesson.
Since you’ll be teaching both language structure and storytelling structure, your presentation will also need to reflect this in order to reinforce the background for your students. That template will have three main parts:
- Student objective: Students will prepare, practice and present a short explanation of a historical event.
- Language to be practiced: According to level and course work, you’ll plug in a structure or two.
- Presentation material: You’ll want to have read up on the historical event, have some pictures or graphs ready.
You’ll know best what your students already know, what challenges you need to present them with, what they need to practice, what new information you need to introduce.
Lesson: English teaching in Colonial India
- Student objective: Students will prepare, practice and present a short explanation of a historical event about the history of English teaching in colonial India.
- Language to be practiced: simple past, present perfect, past perfect and past continuous
- Presentation material: timeline of Colonial India from 1759 to 1958; pictures of English colonists and Indian citizens from the time period
2. Give a Presentation
You’ll want to present the entire activity clearly to your students. This presentation will have several parts, which you’ll have prepared when you’ve worked out the details of the section “Presentation material” in the template.
Let’s see how this plays out for the example topic, “English teaching in Colonial India.”
Give your historical event a title.
English teaching in Colonial India
Draw a timeline marking key events.
Use different colors and symbols (squares or triangles) when making your timeline to differentiate between verb tenses and modes.
1759 (bought) – 1787 (began) – 1797 (wrote) – 1813 (became) – 1830 (taught) – 1835 (introduced) – 1850 (used) – 1857 (established) – etc…
Employ your target grammar points to discuss each timeline event, as well as the relationships between those events.
Using the simple past to discuss each timeline event:
1759 — The East India Company brought English to India.
1787 — Rev. Swartz began establishing schools for the teaching of English.
1797 — John Miller wrote “The Tutor,” an English study book.
1813 — East India Company became responsible for educating Indians.
1830 — Private schools taught English to the Indian middle classes.
1835 — T.B. Macaulay introduced English teaching in South Asia.
1850 — 1947 — Indian intellectuals and freedom fighters used English as a political tool.
1857 — English universities were established in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.
Relating present events to earlier events using the present perfect:
Indians have studied English for over 250 years.
English has been taught as an administrative tool since 1904.
Relate the earlier event to another earlier event using the past perfect:
Though Gandhi had recommended native language in education, English continued to be taught.
English universities had developed years before Gandhi’s suggestion.
Discuss a past event that was happening when a later past event occurred using the continuous past:
Intellectuals were using English as a political tool when Dhaka university was founded.
Universities were teaching English when India got its independence.
Tell the story in a continuous narrative.
Finally, once you’ve gone through the entire timeline outlining, marking past tense verb forms, drawing bridges between events to illustrate each mode, you put down your chalk, sit in front of your students and tell them the entire story, showing the pictures you’ve gathered.
With your introduction, review of vocabulary and structures and the help of realia, you’ll find your students understanding much of what you’re sharing.
Use video content
You’ll find that video and film content can really help a history ESL class “come to life” before the eyes of the students. For access to tons of great history videos plus heaps of other great content, be sure to sign up for a FluentU teacher account.
3. Hand It Over
Once you’ve made your example presentation for them, you’ll want to hand the matter over to your students.
- Put students in groups. Group your students in pairs or trios so that they work together, reducing solo performance stress. You can either make these groups randomly or wisely pair stronger students with weaker students for some peer-level self-help.
- Hand each group a timeline that represents a historic event. This can be the one you’ve presented or a different event for each group.
- Students highlight verbs in the presentation. Have your students follow your example of noting verbs in the different tenses and modes while bridging events on the timeline that they’ll use in their presentation. You can include a basic “cheat sheet” of how each tense is constructed to grease the way.
- Divide the word. Have each group practice the presentation of the story, dividing the sentences up evenly among the members. For example, Sally says two sentences, then Tom says two more, then Bill says two more and then back to Sally. Their presentation should mock the one you’ve given.
- Let students practice. Set a presentation date and allow your students a couple of practice periods in the meantime to hone down their oral work. It’ll be during these subsequent practice times that you’ll take a look at their work and help them out with corrections, pronunciation and vocabulary.
- Add visual aids to the timeline. As an alternative, you can have the groups prepare posters of their timelines with cut outs from magazines or drawings. Make sure, though, that the basic timeline and the bridges are present and visible!
In a regular ESL class, you can adapt the above method for any number of language aspects and for any proficiency level. Beginners may only need to focus on using a few chosen irregular verbs to describe their timeline. Choosing a world history topic related to food production can introduce characteristic vocabulary related to food, farming, shopping and the like.
However you choose to adapt the lesson, make sure you keep in mind how much your students already know and what you want them to learn from the exercise.
If you’re teaching in an immersion program in which regular world history course work is taught only in English to non-native speakers, working with their ESL teacher can give you insights into how to combine the linguistic aspects with the historical study.
Having your students actively tell the stories aloud will help them not only remember their history lessons but will also lead them to more proficiency in English, which will only help them to improve in both ESL and course content areas.
World history offers so many rich opportunities for language practice, from understanding verb tenses to learning how to outline and tell stories. Getting the focus off of the grammar and vocabulary with this activity can give your lesson a fresh direction that can keep the dynamics of your classes motivated and upbeat.
And One More Thing...
If you're looking for creative ways to teach English, then you'll love using FluentU in your classroom!
It's got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking world actually watch regularly. There are tons of great choices there when you're looking for songs for in-class activities.
You'll find music videos, musical numbers from cinema and theater, kids' singalongs, commercial jingles and much, much more.
On FluentU, all the videos are sorted by skill level and are carefully annotated for students.
Words come with example sentences and definitions. Students will be able to add them to their own vocabulary lists, and even see how the words are used in other videos.
For example, if a student taps on the word "searching," they'll see this:
Plus, these great videos are all accompanied by interactive features and active learning tools for students, like multimedia flashcards and fun games like "fill in the blank."
It’s perfect for in-class activities, group projects and solo homework assignments. Not to mention, it's guaranteed to get your students excited about learning English!
Sign up for a free trial and bring FluentU to your classroom today.
Revel Arroway taught ESL for 30 years before retiring into Teacher Training. His blog, Interpretive ESL, offers insights into language teaching, simplifying the classroom, language class activities and general thoughts on ESL teaching.
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The Kohimarama Way is a set of values and dispositions that we believe encapsulates what it means to be 21st century learners and citizens.
What are they?
Our Learners are:
- Effective Communicators
Our Citizens are:
Why is it important?
Our children are growing up in a constantly changing world where they will encounter different types of jobs, technologies and world challenges. The Kohimarama Way underpins how we’re preparing them to succeed in this world by teaching them new ways of learning and working together to to solve problems. It supports our desire to develop positive habits and character in our children.
Ultimately, The Kohimarama Way is helping us achieve our purpose to instil a passion for life-long learning, and for making positive contributions to society.
How do we bring it to life?
The Kohimarama Way is also incorporated in teacher planning, which means the concepts are actively practiced as part of everyday learning. Each class learns for example: What is Honesty? What does it look like? How do we practice it? What are the signs of success that show we have understood the concept?
Additionally, during break times teachers are looking for pupils who are showingThe Kohimarama Way in practical situations and awarding “Caught being good” certificates.
We’re really encouraged by the way our students have embraced The Kohimarama Way and the positive impact it is having on their progress as 21st century learners and citizens. | <urn:uuid:66afc315-dbd3-4bc8-9d9f-9f7a86a32bd3> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://www.kohimarama.school.nz/about/our-values/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579251700988.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20200127143516-20200127173516-00246.warc.gz | en | 0.936316 | 306 | 3.25 | 3 |
A keyword-in-context (KWIC) or out-of-context (KWOC) index is a convenient means of organizing information. This keyword index program can be used to create either KWIC or KWOC indexes of bibliographic references or other types of information punched on. cards, typed on optical scanner sheets, or retrieved from various Department of Interior data bases using the Generalized Information Processing System (GIPSY). The index consists of a 'bibliographic' section and a keyword-section based on the permutation of. document titles, project titles, environmental impact statement titles, maps, etc. or lists of descriptors. The program can also create a back-of-the-book index to documents from a list of descriptors. By providing the user with a wide range of input and output options, the program provides the researcher, manager, or librarian with a means of-maintaining a list and index to documents in. a small library, reprint collection, or office file.
Additional publication details
USGS Numbered Series
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Bristol Blenheim Mk Is under construction at Filton in 1938. The Blenheim’s Mercury engines were fitted to mounts anchored to the front and rear spar booms at the outer ends of the wing centre section, to which the undercarriage legs were also attached.
Истребитель "Бленхейм" IF, оснащенный радиолокационной станцией
The Bristol Mercury radial piston engine powered all variants of the same company’s adaptable Blenheim, including this Mk IF nightfighter of No 54 OTU.
In contrast to the Gloster F.5/34, the Westland Lysander was a Mercury-powered type which enjoyed great success, the “Lizzie” earning its spurs as an invaluable Army Co-operation and Special Duties aircraft during the Second World War. Three production variants were built, the Mks I and III being powered by Mercury engines (XII and XX/XXX respectively), with the Mk II being fitted with a Bristol Perseus sleeve-valve engine.
Тот же самолет, что и на предыдущей фотографии, после переделки в вариант S.S.19B с обтекателями на всех трех стойках шасси и без четырех пулеметов под крылом, как у S.S.19. На серийных Gauntlet обтекатели колес не устанавливались.
Seen here fitted with a Mercury VIS.2 in a narrow-chord cowling with leading-edge exhaust collector ring, Gloster SS.19B J9125 was much tested with various Bristol powerplants and became the prototype for the Gauntlet, which itself would be developed into the Mercury-powered Gladiator.
Powered by a Mercury Mk XX or XXX, the Miles Martinet was the first aircraft to enter RAF service designed from the outset as a target-tug; it first flew in April 1942. Its specialised duties called for high continuous power output and special attention was paid to the cooling of its Mercury engine.
The sleek Bristol Type 142, named Britain First by Lord Rothermere, was powered by a pair of 650 h.p. Mercury VIs and made its first flight at Filton on April 12, 1935. From it came the development of the military Type 142M and the versatile Blenheim.
The Short-Bristow Crusader was designed and built for the 1927 Schneider Trophy Race, Fedden realising that, unless he could make a compelling case for radial engines, liquid-cooled in-line engines - like those fitted to the rival Supermarine racers - would be seen as the only option for any future fighter designs.
Built in 1927 as a private venture to demonstrate the Mercury engine, the Bristol Type 101 was initially fitted with a Jupiter VI, as seen here, but was later used as a Mercury testbed before being destroyed after structural failure in a dive in 1929. | <urn:uuid:4cd9b51b-90bf-4de5-a3ec-3abf93a5dd96> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | http://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Arts/Art7742.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039742978.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20181116045735-20181116071735-00122.warc.gz | en | 0.923368 | 816 | 2.640625 | 3 |
MOSSES OF UNUSUAL FORM
(including Atrichum, Fissidens, and Syntrichia)
I. The family Polytrichaceae. A group of mosses that is distinctive morphologically is the family Polytrichaceae, which includes several widespread and robust species. For example, the Ohio haircap moss, Polytrichum ohioense, is common on the ground in woods throughout the much of the eastern U.S.
Ohio haircap moss, Polytrichum ohioense, is a robust acrocarp.
A distinctive feature of the genus Polytrichum is its calyptra, which is covered with many (poly) hairs (trichum).
The Ohio haircap noss calyptra is covered with many hairs.
A distinctive feature of the family Polytrichaceae is the peristome, consisting not of individual teeth, bot of a ring of pores.
Mosses in the family Polytrichaceae have a distinctive peristome.
The teeth are fused to a central disk, so the spores exit through pores arranged in a ring.
Most moss leaves are one cell thick. But Polytrichum leaves are several cell layers thick, and much of the upper surface is covered by ribbon-like sheets of stacked cells running lengthwise, called “lamellae.”
Cross-section of Polytrichum leaf showing columnar sheets of cells (lamellae)
Another prominent genus in the Polytrichaceae lacks hairs on its calyptra and so is named Atrichum (“no hairs”).
Atrichum sporophytes have smooth (hairless) calyptras.
Atrichum is a genus of robust woodland ground mosses that display well the lamellae that are characteristic of the family Polytrichaceae.
Microscope views of the Atrichum leaf show the lamellae well.
MOUSEOVER the IMAGE for CROSS-SECTION of LEAF
The Atrichum leaf displays prominent lamellae.
II. FFFFissidns is fffflat. Most mosses have leaves arranged in tight spirals abound the stem. A few, however, are two-ranked, with straight rows of leaves directly across one another on the stem. Note: many creeping mosses that have leaves that are not in 2 rows nonetheless look like they do because they have their leaves folded in a manner that gives the stems and branches a flattened appearance. Do not confuse those so-called “complanate” plants with the genus shown here that is actually two-ranked.) Fissidens is a moderately large genus with a few extremely common members, and is one of the most distinctive mosses.
Fissidens leaves are inserted in two rows directly across from one another.
Fissidens is flat, and the leaves have a peculiar anatomy. Like those of irises, the leaves are “equitant,” a term pertaining to their similarity in cross-section to a horse and rider. The upper base of each leaf is split (the rider’s legs), and the base of the leaf above (the horse) fits deeply into the split.
Fissidens leaves are split along the upper surface, and clasp the base of the leaf above.
Some mosses are distinctive because they reproduce wholly or in part asexually by means of specialized “gemmae” that fall away from the plant and form new plants (clones).
Tetraphis pellucida is an acrocarp found on stumps and sandstone ledges that forms little bird’s nest-like cups at the stem tips containing tiny globular gemmae.
Tetraphis pellucida has cups with tiny globular gemmae within.
Some mosses have miniature branch-like gemmae at their stem tips and/or in the axils of their leaves.
Gemmae in the form of miniature stems
Syntrichia papillosa is a very distinctive moss that reproduces only by means of asexual gemmae. These are small globular clusters of several cells each, produced abundantly along the costa (midvein).
Syntrichia papillosa is a short acrocarp with broad leaves bearing gemmae along the costa. | <urn:uuid:da469b1c-6cd5-4a7f-b80a-54645cb9ad88> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://ohioplants.org/bryophytes-peculiar/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587908.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20211026134839-20211026164839-00454.warc.gz | en | 0.926682 | 919 | 3.453125 | 3 |
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A negative externality is a situation in which an individual or a business makes a decision but does not have to bear the full cost or outcome of that decision. Instead, at least part of the overall cost of that decision is passed on to society as a whole. When left unchecked, this type of economic phenomenon can lead to considerable social cost, and possibly undermine all or a portion of the marketplace.
One example of a negative externality has to do with the operation of a factory within a given community. As part of the costs of production, the business purchases utilities and raw materials to produce specific goods. As part of the production process, the factory may release pollutants into the air or possibly dump sewage into the local water system. Residents of the community are adversely affected by the operation of the plant, since the combination of air and water pollution is likely to create health issues that must be treated. As a whole, the community may have to engage in more aggressive efforts to purify the air and water, which leads to additional expenses to the local municipality.
In some cases, the nature of the negative externality has nothing to do with pollution, but with the production of excess goods. This has the effect of lowering the costs associated with producing each unit, which is a benefit to the company manufacturing those goods. Externally, this higher rate of production does have the potential to adversely affect the ability of competitors to sell enough of similar goods to remain in business. As a result, consumers ultimately have fewer choices in terms of brands to purchase, and the lower competition moves the marketplace closer to a monopoly situation. When this happens, consumers may eventually pay higher prices, simply because there is no other choice.
Laws that help to minimize the possibility of some forms of negative externality are common today. This is particularly true when it comes to air and water pollution within a community. Firms that operate factories within the jurisdiction are typically inspected to make sure the facility is in compliance with local and national environmental regulations. Failure to comply can lead to hefty fines that have a negative impact on the benefits the company derives from the production process. In extreme cases, some governments are empowered to shut down the facilities until changes are made that bring the operation into full compliance.
Ideally, the companies themselves take steps to minimize the amount of negative externality that takes place as a result of the production process. This can be somewhat problematic for businesses with a need to alter production processes or invest in costly equipment to limit the extent of the externality. Since these activities are likely to decrease the company’s bottom line, it is not unusual for businesses to comply with governmental regulations that do limit negative externality, but do little above and beyond what is required by those regulations. | <urn:uuid:d6457468-60f2-4aac-93fe-7641d58e843d> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-negative-externality.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300464.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00156-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965757 | 574 | 3.625 | 4 |
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Censorship and trials
chapterposted on 2023-07-26, 13:01 authored by John Gardner
That newspapers were, unlike many books, relatively free from external censorship may be attributed to the Regency trials and acquittals for seditious libel of William Hone* and Thomas Wooler* in 1817, after which the press acquired freedom from similar prosecutions. Hone had been tried three times for what was pretty much the same charge; twice for blasphemous and seditious libel, and once for blasphemous libel, for printing The Late John Wilkes’s Catechism, The Political Litany and The Sinecurist’s Creed. Symbolically Hone linked himself with Wilkes’s early radicalism. In his publications released after 1816 Hone frequently states that his shop is at ‘45 Ludgate Hill’. As Robert Southey noted in a footnote to his ‘A Vision of Judgement’, ‘45’ was a significant number for radicals. Looking back to the unrest of the 1760s, Southey quotes Dr Franklin: ‘The mob [... required] gentlemen and ladies of all ranks, as they passed in their carriages, to shout for Wilkes and liberty, marking the same words on all their coaches with chalk, and No. 45 on every door’. Wilkes edited* the counter to the Ultra-Tory Briton – the North Briton, and, in number 45 of this paper (23 April 1763) he insinuated that the king had lied in a speech from the throne. Hone allied himself with the radicalism of the second half of the eighteenth century that had ferociously attacked Bute’s government and the King. Defending himself in court, without the aid of a lawyer, Hone used the unusual defence that his parodies attacked the state, and not the word of God. His acquittal was a great victory for the radical press and is said to have led to the early death of the presiding judge, Lord Ellenborough. Thomas Wooler*, who had shared a cell with Hone, was arrested in May 1817 and charged with seditious libel for two articles published in the Black Dwarf*: ‘The right of petition’ and ‘The past – the present – and the future’. His trial before Justice Charles Abbott took place in front of two special juries on 5 June 1817. Like Hone he gave a brilliant defence. Found guilty on the first trial, he was acquitted on the second. The government did not pursue another. Afterwards John Keats wrote, ‘Wooler and Hone have done us an essential service’. However Hone’s victory in court did not please everyone: Dorothy Wordsworth wrote, ‘The acquittal of Hone is enough to make one out of love with English Juries’. The effect of these victories was that successive governments were reluctant to question the freedom of the press. The issue of press freedom was displaced onto the conflict over the 4d newspaper* stamp* duty and the ‘taxes on knowledge’*, resulting in the mass defiance of the radical unstamped press in the 1830s. This campaign resulted in the reduction of the stamp duty to 1d in 1836. The next 25 years saw the abolition of remaining taxes: newspaper advertising* (1853), the stamp duty (1855) and paper duty (1861).
Number of pages1010
Place of publicationGhent, Belgium
Title of bookDictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism
EditorsLaurel Brake, Marysa Demoor | <urn:uuid:3a737707-8f92-45ba-b58b-cf41ed0e6ec5> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://aru.figshare.com/articles/chapter/Censorship_and_trials/23772555/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233506027.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20230921105806-20230921135806-00368.warc.gz | en | 0.959891 | 801 | 2.8125 | 3 |
The ginkgo tree comes from the family Ginkgoaceae. They are hardy in USDA zones 5A through 8A. It is a deciduous conifer tree known to withstand most city conditions. Some can grow as tall as 80 feet. Ginkgo’s distinctive features include the shape of the leaves and sometimes odd growth. Interest in the ginkgo tree is also due to the fact that it is the oldest tree on earth. It has been around for 10 million years, starting in Japan. The ginkgo is commonly referred to as the maidenhair. There are several common cultivars.
Autumn Gold can grow 40 to 50 feet tall. It makes a good street tree or shade tree and has vivid autumn color. It prefers full sun with average- to medium-moist soil. It is tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions and acclimates well to most urban environments. The Autumn Gold is an all-male cultivar with a proportional, broadly spreading pattern. The leaves turn a golden yellow in autumn and continue in that color for several weeks. When the leaves finally drop, they drop quickly, forming a golden “carpet” around the tree.
Chi-Chi is a deciduous shrub growing 4 to 5 feet tall. It is used mostly as a hedge and blooms in April. It prefers full sun and medium-moist soil. It can handle a variety of situations, including both acidic and nonacidic soils, compact soils, pollution and heat. It is a hill-shaped, slow-growing shrub form, believed to have been around for millions of years.
Mariken is a smaller cultivar, growing 2 to 3 feet in height. It blooms a green flower in April. It requires full sun and moist, well-drained soil. The maidenhair has very distinguishing features, including fan-shaped leaves with nearly parallel veins. The female trees produce a fruit that surrounds the seeds at maturity. This fruit is known for its unpleasant odor when the fruit falls off the tree and breaks open on the ground.
Jade Butterflies is a tree that grows from 6 to 12 feet tall and is very similar in characteristics to the Mariken, but taller. The Jade Butterflies blooms in April and requires full sun and well-drained soil. It has the same leaf characteristics as the Mariken and is another fruit-producing variety with foul-smelling fruit that mature in the fall.
The Fastigiata is hardy in USDA zones 5A to 8A. It is a strong tree that can resist storm damage and makes a good street tree. This is a male cultivar that is narrow and good for confined overhead spaces. The crown spread is only 12 to 15 feet. It prefers moist, compact, slightly alkaline soil. It has beautiful yellow leaves in the fall that drop quickly. | <urn:uuid:5433e3e3-9c38-4316-8830-8fdcb7221c6c> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://www.gardenguides.com/126850-ginkgo-tree-varieties.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1393999668224/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305060748-00079-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960398 | 593 | 3.765625 | 4 |
NASA carbon-fiber weather gliders could save lives and cash
The National Weather Service's network of sensors may soon welcome aboard a high-flying counterpart, in the form of a NASA-developed fixed-wing glider that zips through the sky collecting data. The Weather Hazard Alert and Awareness Technology Radiation Radiosonde (WHAATRR) Glider could function as an airborne science platform according to the team that developed it, and may even play a role in atmospheric research on Mars.
The glider is based on NASA's Prandtle-m, a fixed-wing drone the agency hopes can one day carry out low-altitude reconnaissance missions on Mars. The team is still finalizing the design details of the WHAATRR glider, but says that it will have a wingspan of about three feet (91 cm) and be crafted from carbon fiber.
Packed with sensors, instruments and flight-control software, the idea is that the glider could provide the National Weather Service with more accurate and timely information on events like hurricanes, and do so a lot more cheaply. NASA says it could potentially save the National Weather Service up to US$15 million a year, and help minimize needless airline delays and save aircraft and human lives in the process.
Further to improving weather forecast models on Earth, the glider may one day play a similar role in space and even on Mars, where it could collect atmospheric information and guide exploration decisions. But there's a way to go before any of that happens. Once the design is finalized and the glider is built, researchers will put it to the test by launching it at 20,000 ft (6,000 m) from a weather balloon. Following that, the onboard sensors and instruments will be put through their paces when the glider is dropped from 100,000 ft (30,000 m) and remotely guided to a predetermined location.
"It could fill a tremendous need in the weather community," said project manager Scott Wiley. | <urn:uuid:172244f8-051d-4f4e-a3ab-a6590bfbae6c> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://newatlas.com/nasa-glider-weather-data/47740/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038921860.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20210419235235-20210420025235-00310.warc.gz | en | 0.936472 | 407 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Today, Coloma is home to a diverse population of over 14,000 residents. The top employers in the city are banking, law, education, and health ca...
Most people know that sunset is the time when the sun goes down. But did you know that the sun doesn't actually set? Instead, Earth rotates into darkness, giving us the illusion that the sun is setting. So what causes sunset?
Well, it's a combination of things. The Earth's atmosphere scatters sunlight in every direction, but blue and violet light are scattered more than other colors. This is why the sky is usually blue during the daytime. As the sun gets lower in the sky, the atmosphere becomes thicker and more dense.
This scattering of sunlight happens to a greater extent, and we see red and orange light more than blue and violet light. That's why sunset is usually a beautiful red or orange color. So next time you see sunset, remember that you're actually seeing Earth rotate into darkness!
COLOMA, California – Coloma is located 10 miles east of wine country on U.S. Route 49. Coloma is also located near the city of Angels Camp, the Feather River Canyon and the Eastern Sierra. Occupying 2,436 acres, Coloma is the fifth-largest city in Yuba County, California.
The location of Coloma offered strategic advantages to early Spanish and American settlers. The natural route of the Sacramento River flowed through the city, attracting stream and wagon men and merchants looking for a place to trade. In 1848, James Hemphill and J. B. Watt purchased Rancho Coloma from the Mexican government and named it Hemphill’s Hotel. In 1851, Coloma became the county seat of Yuba County. The city was incorporated on July 1, 1872.
Today, Coloma is home to a diverse population of over 14,000 residents. The top employers in the city are banking, law, education, and health care. Coloma is also home to the Yuba College and the Yuba County Fairgrounds. The city’s notable tourist attractions include the Coloma Americana Museum, the BLM Coloma District Office, the Museum of Mining and Industry, and the Coloma Theater.}
As the sun sets, the sky slowly grows dark. For many people, this is a time to relax and wind down for the day. But have you ever wondered exactly when it gets dark? The answer may surprise you.
Did you know that darkness actually begins long before the sun sets? As the sun gets lower in the sky, its light has to travel through more atmosphere. This filters out some of the blue light, making the sun look redder. At the same time, shadows get longer and darker. So by the time the sun finally dips below the horizon, darkness has already begun to fall.
Of course, not all places on Earth experience darkness at the same time. Near the equator, the sun sets and rises almost directly overhead. This means that there is less of a difference between daytime and nighttime. Closer to the poles, however, the sun stays low in the sky for much of the year. This leads to longer periods of darkness during wintertime. | <urn:uuid:cef42a1d-b80c-43db-a3d8-202d663e6f3a> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://whattimedoesitgetdark.com/coloma | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510284.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20230927071345-20230927101345-00008.warc.gz | en | 0.960513 | 670 | 3.390625 | 3 |
-Our first delegate from New York.
-He lived from December 17th, 1734 – August 4th, 1821.
-He was born in Brookhaven, Long Island.
-William’s ancestors came to America from Wales in 1654.
-He was born into a wealthy family and was homeschooled by his father.
-While in his teens, William took charge of managing the family estate and raising his siblings when his father died.
-He married Hannah Jones and they had three children. After Hannah’s death, he married Johanna Strong and they had five children.
-Marilyn Boyer writes,
“One of his daughters, Mary Floyd, later became the wife of Colonel Benjamin Talmadge, chief of General Washington’s Secret Service, who played an important part in uncovering the treason of Benedict Arnold.”
-William began speaking out against British taxes early on.
-He was appointed as a delegate to both the First and Second Continental Congress.
-His estate and property suffered much damage at the hands of the British during the American War for Independence.
-William served as a state senator in the New York assembly from 1777-1788.
-Author John Sanderson wrote,
“There was in his conduct, both in public and private life, a characteristic sincerity which never failed to inspire confidence; and which combined with the warmth and spirit with which he opposed the usurpations of the British government, had acquired for him an extensive popularity.”
-He was chosen to be a presidential elector in 1800, 1804, and again in 1820, but did not attend the meeting of the electoral college in 1820.
-He helped re-write the New York State constitution.
-The town of Floyd, New York was named for him as well as various institutions all across New York, including a parkway, library, school district, and school.
-Photo credit: Wikipedia public domain
–For You They Signed, Marilyn Boyer
–Biography of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence, John Sanderson | <urn:uuid:15452ccc-641a-4b27-b82e-7d9c70142377> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://youngpatriotsforliberty.com/2017/05/03/bullet-point-bio-wednesday-william-floyd/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376824115.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20181212181507-20181212203007-00558.warc.gz | en | 0.988475 | 440 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Recent years have seen a number of meaningful space anniversaries, and to some they can are increasingly somber moments of reflection on what we once could do, on what happened a long time ago. Today however, is something else. Today marks the ten year anniversary of something the we didn’t do at all, implement the path of exploration set forward in President Bush’s Vision for Space Exploration. Or did we?
A little over a year after the Columbia disaster, then President Bush introduced a new vision for space exploration, one which was arguably far more expansive than anything put forward by any other U.S. Administration, including that of John F. Kennedy. This time, rather than going to the Moon in a narrowly defined time frame, and for a limited purpose, Bush 43 put forward a proposal for what amounted to an ongoing commitment to space exploration, a permanent base on Moon, human missions to Mars, which would have seen the U.S. actually become a spacefaring nation in the full sense of the word.
Of course it didn’t happen, and a great deal of the initial fault lies with the same Administration, which never really attempted to sell the program, or followed up after a slow start. Bush the younger, finding a much more responsive NASA than his father did when introducing the similarly themed Space Exploration Initiative on the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1989, did go as far as appointing the Aldridge Commission to make recommendations for implementing the plan, and that’s where it gets a bit more interesting.
Although the Aldridge Commission’s recommendations were largely ignored (hardly unusual) what ultimately emerged as Project Constellation and the pursuit of two hyper expensive booster programs in the Ares I and Ares V, was the result of only one interpretation of the “Vision,” largely that of incoming NASA Administrator Michael Griffin in 2005. Before he came into office, the somewhat slower paced model developed by then Administrator Sean O’Keefe and Admiral Craig Steidle might have seen existing EELV boosters just entering service form the basis of a very different interpretation of the “Vision.” But then again, given what has happened in the EELV program in the intervening years, the results might have also been very much the same; another review and another change of plans.
When President Obama cancelled Project Constellation in 2010 as unfordable, the painfully accurate assessment of a different body, the Augustine Committee, a third interpretation of the “Vision” emerged, one which took one of the principle elements of the Aldridge commission, commercial crew and cargo service to LEO, already implemented under Griffin, and moved it to the forefront, a decision which saved the International Space Station from a swan dive into the Pacific in 2016. At the same time, the lack of consensus (also not surprising) and clear leadership from the Obama Administration allowed Congress to re-assert its very different vision, what many would say is more of a hallucination, in the Space Launch System and its Orion spacecraft.
So now, ten years after President Bush introduced the VSE, the American space program is attempting to implement two “visions” of human space exploration, one based on ongoing incremental research and development aboard ISS, and the other on a mega booster Apollo redux, albeit without any hardware to enter gravity wells. It seems though, that future budget levels clearly cannot support both. And thus the show goes on.
It very well may be however, that presidential leadership and a very different implementation of the vision will rule the day by the time another decade passes. Not from President of the United States mind you, (any President of the United States) but from the presidents, CEO’s, CFO’s chief engineers, chief cooks and bottle washers, often represented by the same person, who are heading up the NewSpace companies entering the marketplace in record numbers, bringing the potential to expand the role of space commerce well beyond anything envisioned by an elected official 10 years ago. Perhaps it is not a singular vision, or “enduring value proposition,” which will shape the next decades in space, but in fact that many disparate visions of NewSpace founders, employees and customers who will largely determine the next decade. If that is the case, it may be the latter, the customers, some of whom envision themselves floating in Zero-G and ironically enough looking back at Earth, which become the emerging story in the next few years.
For those looking out rather than back, here is a point worth considering. SpaceX was formed before President Bush introduced the VSE, and ten years later, it is arguably much closer to reaching Mars than the program which emerged as Project Constellation. At the same time, SpaceX would not be where it is today without NASA, and specifically the COTS, CRS and Commercial Crew programs. Neither would Orbital Sciences, which at the moment is literally attached to ISS with its Cygnus spacecraft. Significantly, it is a vehicle which much like Dragon, clearly has a role to play beyond ISS if the circumstances arise.
In the end, while the Vision for Space Exploration is ten years in the rear view mirror, it is also very much alive, different to be sure, but still alive. It may just be that ten years from now, it will be thriving. | <urn:uuid:14a447c3-50ea-4d21-870f-cfe40dd44464> | CC-MAIN-2014-52 | http://innerspace.net/mars-2/seeing-double-the-vision-for-space-exploration-ten-years-later/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802773058.130/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075253-00036-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95763 | 1,096 | 2.640625 | 3 |
In just five years, Minnesota has lost 312 square miles of valuable wetlands and the natural vegetation that surrounds them — an area about 5.7 times the size of Minneapolis — reducing a resource that provides vital habitat for waterfowl, minimizes floods and keeps agricultural chemicals out of rivers and streams.
Between 2008 and 2012, rural landowners nationwide plowed up 11,300 square miles of wetlands and highly erodible land, most likely because of the high payouts that come with federally subsidized crop insurance, according to an analysis of land use trends released Tuesday.
The loss of wetlands was by far the greatest in the Dakotas and Minnesota — a total of 1,142 square miles — according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a national watchdog group that uses data to sway federal policy.
It is the latest in a series of studies to find that record prices for corn and other commodities are driving farmers to convert natural lands like prairie and wetlands at a rate not seen since the 1930s.
But EWG also implicated federal farm policy, noting that the highest rates of land conversion closely tracked the highest insurance payouts to landowners.
“We can’t prove cause and effect, but it’s very striking,” said Craig Cox, the group’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “We think it is more evidence that oversubsidized crop insurance is facilitating the conversion of these risky lands.”
Tom Zacharias, president of National Crop Insurance Services, said in an e-mailed statement that high crop prices, not taxpayer subsidized insurance, are driving the change. “It appears that both commodity prices and world demand for food and biofuel will remain high, which will send continued market signals to farmers to expand area to meet demand,” he said.
Congress debating subsidies
The EWG report was made public at a time when Congress is writing a new farm bill and debating whether subsidized insurance should be tied to protecting native prairies, wetlands and other sensitive lands. Historically, agricultural subsidies have been provided as long as farmers agree to protect the land by using conservation practices. But that has not been true of crop insurance, which in recent years has become the most widely used agricultural subsidy program. Now, the bills pending in Congress would eliminate virtually all other agricultural subsidies, and rely solely on subsidized crop insurance to help farmers manage risk.
Conservationists argue that the historic partnership between farmers and taxpayers should be part of the new farm bill.
Without it “there is an incentive for farmers to convert those lands,” said Eric Lindstrom, regional government affairs representative for Ducks Unlimited, a wildlife advocacy group.
The current House version of the farm bill does not tie insurance support to conservation practices. The Senate version would require participating farmers to leave wetlands alone, or replace them if they are drained for cropland. Similar rules would protect highly erodible land and native prairies.
At currents rates of conversion “half of the remaining prairies will be gone in 30 years,” Lindstrom said.
EWG analysts used federal satellite images and other mapping technologies to analyze parcels converted to cropland. A comparison of 2008 to 2012 showed that 1.9 million acres of wetlands, including 500 feet of buffer vegetation surrounding each one, and 5.3 million acres of highly erodible land had been converted to crops, primarily wheat and corn.
Wetlands loss was “particularly dramatic” in South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota — the Prairie Pothole region known as the “duck factory” because it provides habitat and nesting grounds for more than half of North America’s migratory water birds. Those states accounted for 39 percent of wetland loss.
During that same period, EWG found, the average crop insurance payout nationally was $2.3 million per county. But in the 71 counties that lost more than 5,000 acres of wetlands and wetland buffers, the average payout was $10.1 million — more than four times the average.
Some cropland was converted back to its natural state, but far less than was turned into crops, Cox said.
The trends were parallel to those found in some other recent reports, including one published January in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences, that found startling rates of change on the landscape. Researchers said that in Minnesota, most of the converted land was wetlands.
And in May, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued the first in a series of wetland tracking reports in Minnesota. Using a sample of 5,000 plots, it estimated that from 2006 to 2011 the overall wetlands area had increased by 2,000 acres. But there was a troubling trend: The increases were largely ponds or wet areas on farm fields that are farmed during dry periods. While these provide some environmental benefit — habitat for migratory waterfowl and reduced soil and nutrient losses — true wetlands, with natural vegetation and buffers around them, had declined by about the same amount.
To read the EWG report, go to www.startribune.com/a2409.
Josephine Marcotty • 612-673-7394 | <urn:uuid:030d34a6-b84d-4643-89c2-1a8a98d7f5bb> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://m.startribune.com/state-wetlands-losing-out-to-farms/217691641/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463612018.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20170529053338-20170529073338-00000.warc.gz | en | 0.954209 | 1,064 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Emergency Care (Adults)
Being faced with any patient who has a breathing problem can be really daunting, even for experts. The presence of a tracheostomy can make things more complicated, or sometimes easier, if you know what to do.
We developed these emergency guidelines after researching what were the most common causes of tracheostomy and laryngectomy problems. The algorithms are paired with bedhead signs that detail critical information about the patient’s airway(s) and guide responders to check and manage the potential problems that are easiest to fix and most likely to resolve the emergency. The algorithms start off simply and require increasing levels of skill, equipment and support if problems aren’t fixed quickly.
The development of these guidelines, the first multidisciplinary tracheostomy and laryngectomy algorithms, is described in our paper, published in Anaesthesia in 2012.
The emergency approach is explained in our:
- Tracheostomy Algorithm
- Tracheostomy Bedhead
- E-learning resources
- Manuals – Emergency Care & Emergency Tracheostomy Management
- Video (below) | <urn:uuid:fc7fbfb8-f2c2-4a1f-bffe-6f3d64ee97eb> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://tracheostomy.org.uk/healthcare-staff/emergency-care/emergency-algorithm-tracheostomy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103984681.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220702040603-20220702070603-00750.warc.gz | en | 0.899277 | 236 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Anatomy paper dolls (click here to get yours!) are a great way to spend a quiet hour with your family while exploring human biology. Here are some ideas for topics to discuss and activities to try!
We've sorted the ideas according paper doll piece.
After reading the description on the page, it can be fun noticing all the places you can feel your bones! (Current students of the full curriculum, go here for lessons on these topics.)
Feel your skull and your chin bone (mandible). Where do they connect? (hint: it's right in front of your ears)
Feel your gums with your tongue or fingers...they are hard because you're feeling your skull under the pink tissue (mucosa)
Notice how your spine is both strong and flexible. There is one place (in your neck between your first and second vertebrae) where you can rotate a lot to look side to side. But the rest of your spine is made of bones that only allow a little movement at each bone. Altogether you can bend to touch your toes or twist to reach behind you!
Feel the individual bones in your fingers and hands, toes and feet. You have approximately 27 bones in each hand and 26 in each foot (some people get extras called sesamoid bones!)
Put your hand gently around your lower arm near the wrist and feel how the two bones rotate around each other when you turn your hand (like turning a doorbell).
Set your hands against your ribs and feel them expand sideways as you take a deep breath. If your shoulders are going up instead, you can get a better breath by expanding your ribs sideways instead. Try the two different ways and see for yourself!
Read the description on the page and then find the different parts of your own brain! (Current students of the full curriculum, go here for the lessons on the brain.)
Place your hand on your forehead and realize that your brain comes to just under your skull so your eyes are actually under it. This front part of your brain is called the frontal lobe.
Place your hands over the top of your head (where a headband or headset would sit). This is where your brain processes sensations and sends movement instructions.
Place yours hands at the back of your head. This is where your brain processes what you see--all the way opposite from where your eyes are!
Kidneys and Bladder
Read the description on the page and then notice these areas of your body! (Current students of the full curriculum go here for lessons about your blood.)
Your bladder is like a balloon for holding your urine. If you press gently just above your pelvis bone right in front in the middle, you're pressing on your bladder--does it make you feel like you might need to use a toilet?
Your kidneys are tucked up under your ribs in your back to keep them safe. Feel a your own or a family member's back for where the ribs are and imagine your kidneys tucked safely underneath.
Read the information on the paper doll page and then think through what each organ does for you. (Current students of the full curriculum, go here for the lessons on these organs.)
Your food takes a trip through your body in one long tube. Each stage along the way has it's own job to do. You've probably seen what each organ does.
If you've ever spit out food after chewing it and seen it in a spitty mushy blob, that's what your mouth, teeth, tongue, and saliva do. It's called a bolus and makes it easy to get the food down your esophagus
When someone vomits, you can see what your stomach does. Sometimes it will look a lot like what you just ate and sometimes it's green and chunky. It's getting ready to be digested and absorbed but isn't quite ready!
Your small intestine breaks it all down the rest of the way and absorbs all the nutrients leaving behind what you can't digest. When you have diarrhea, that's the end result of your small intestine that hasn't had enough time in your large intestine to form normal stools.
Your large intestine absorbs out extra water and bacteria in there help digest anything your own enzymes couldn't manage.
Heart and Major Vessels
Read about the heart and vessels on the page. Notice that the arrows indicate the direction of blood flow...remember that blood going away from the heart through the arteries towards the lungs is going there because it needs oxygen. (Current students to the full curriculum, go here for the lessons on the heart.)
You can feel your heart beat by putting your hand on your chest. But it doesn't stop there! Your heart is pumping your blood all over your body so you can feel it all over.
Try feeling your pulse (the blood being pumped through your blood vessels) in your neck just under your chin. This is blood going up to your brain. You can feel it on either side of your neck.
Press your hands into your belly while lying very still and relaxed. You can feel your pulse in your abdominal aorta. The aorta is the big vessel that comes out of the top of your heart and makes an arch above it before diving down behind it. It doesn't stop there...it goes down to your pelvis where it splits to go to your two legs.
You can feel your pulse in your inner thighs as well. These are the vessels that your aorta split into down in your pelvis.
You can find similar pulses in your inner upper arm from the vessels that came off the aortic arch.
These can get increasingly difficult to find so don't worry if you can't find them!
After reading the information on the paper doll page, try these activities for noticing your lungs. (Current students of the full curriculum, go here for the lessons on the lungs.)
As you do this activity, pay attention to different parts of your airway. Your nose, the back of your throat, your upper chest, your back. Take a big breath and hold it a moment and then let it out gently. Repeat this while paying attention to different parts of your body.
Place your ear against a family member's back and listen to the air entering and leaving the lungs. This is what doctors are listening to when they listen to your lungs!
What to Do Next?
If your family enjoyed these paper dolls, we have lots of coloring pages and other activities in the full curriculum. Or if you want a pre-packaged set of lessons with a workbook, you can check out our grab-and-go units. | <urn:uuid:e862a2c7-47bb-4dc9-a5a1-5c3c867790bd> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://www.docrobinschool.com/post/chat-and-color-a-relaxing-anatomy-lesson/?ref=z6n2k8j15j | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662555558.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523041156-20220523071156-00551.warc.gz | en | 0.948662 | 1,376 | 3.671875 | 4 |
What does 20/20 mean?
In the term 20/20 vision, the first number is referring to the distance between the person that is being tested and the eye chart (which is always 20 feet away). The second number represents the distance that the average person can see the eye chart. A person with 20/20 vision can read a specific "normal" size letter when it is 20 feet away.
A person that has 20/40 vision can only read letters that a person with 20/20 vision could read from 40 feet away, or would require the letters that are twice the size of the 20/20 letters on the eye chart.
Finally, someone that has 20/400 vision sees the chart the way a person that has 20/20 vision and is standing 400 feet from the chart.
What is a refractive error?
There are four types of refractive errors: myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism (uneven focusing power), and presbyopia (age-related inability to focus up close). In normal vision, light rays travel through the eye and focus on the retina in the back of the eye. As these rays pass through the eye they are "refracted" or bent. If rays coming from a distant object reach the retina in sharp focus, you will see clearly, but if they are not bent the precise amount, vision will be out of focus. In other words, a refractive error means that the shape of your eye doesn't refract the light properly, so that the image you see is blurred. Those people with long eyeballs tend to be nearsighted and those people with short eyeballs tend to be farsighted.
How are refractive errors corrected?
- Contact lenses
- Refractive surgery (Radial keratotomy, Photo-Refractive keratectomy & LASIK - the latest and most effective procedure in the field of refractive surgery)
You should discuss your refractive errors and your lifestyle with your ophthalmologist to decide on which correction will be most effective for you. | <urn:uuid:516648fe-7beb-457e-b251-fc99e022f54c> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://www.nyee.edu/patient-care/medical-information/v/vision-correction | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463613780.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170530031818-20170530051818-00489.warc.gz | en | 0.930422 | 434 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Chrysalis Day Nursery uses the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework to ensure we are meeting the individual needs of each child. This ensures we are providing a safe and secure learning environment and that children are provided with opportunities to meet these goals. There are seven areas of learning that are included in the EYFS. These are broken down into 3 prime and 4 specific areas.
- Physical Development (PD)
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
- Communication and Language Development (CLD)
- Literacy (L)
- Mathematics (M)
- Understanding The World (UTW)
- Expressive Arts and Design (EAD)
Key Worker System
When your child/children begin their nursery journey with Chrysalis they are assigned a key worker. The key worker will be your first point of contact and will be there to comfort and reassure you and your child. They will be responsible for all your child’s care and emotional needs. During the settling in sessions they will complete a care plan with you and continue to monitor the child’s progress.
Each key worker compiles a development file, which also includes a tracking file and Learning Journey which will show your child’s progress through the early years of development. This can then be taken with them when they begin Big School and will also act as a memento of their Nursery Life.
Letters And Sounds
The Letters and Sounds program is a phonics resource published by the Department for Education. It aims to build children’s speaking and listening skills in their own right as well as to prepare children for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge. Children will begin this when they enter our Pre-School and will continue to enhance this in their early years at school. Starting with phase 1, progressing onto the first initial sounds S,A,T,P,I,N.
Phase One (Nursery And Reception)
Activities are divided into seven aspects, including environmental sounds, instrumental sounds, body sounds, rhythm and rhyme, alliteration, voice and finally oral blending and segmenting.
Phase Two (Reception)
Learning 19 letters of the alphabet and one sound for each. Blending sounds together to make words. Segmenting words into their separate sounds. Beginning to read simple captions. | <urn:uuid:64eca285-083f-4c04-8882-0e8593364357> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://chrysalisdaynursery.co.uk/quality-childcare/curriculum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550249569386.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20190224003630-20190224025630-00147.warc.gz | en | 0.942646 | 486 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Residents and tourists along Florida’s world-famous Gulf Coast often enjoy catching the popular red drum, or redfish. Yet in the wake of a historic red tide bloom, anglers of all ages released tens of thousands of the fish instead.
Red tide occurs naturally during most late summers from a bloom of dinoflagellate (algae) that usually dies off in weeks. When a 2017 bloom lingered into 2019, heartbreaking losses of manatees, sea turtles, fish and other marine life resulted.
The massive redfish release effort resulted from a partnership between Duke Energy and the Coastal Conservation Association Florida (CCA). Employees at Duke Energy’s Mariculture Center in Crystal River, Florida spawned and raised 34,000 juvenile “fingerlings” and 300 adult redfish. Members of CCA Florida arranged the release events after Duke Energy received permits from Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission.
By late 2019, release events were completed within a 500-mile span between the Pan Handle’s Gulf County to Collier County on the southwest coast.
Fingerlings were released in locations lined with mangroves and other hiding places to increase their survival chances against predators. Adults, which can live for up to 40 years, were tagged and hand-released. If caught, anglers can help researchers by calling the phone number on the tag.
Will 34,300 redfish make a difference? One female redfish can spawn up to 2 million eggs per batch, making millions of new redfish a possibility. That’s encouraging news for Florida’s delicate coastal ecosystem – including those counting on its longevity to thrive. | <urn:uuid:3dea550f-8129-4e70-83e8-15ef26569ddd> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://sustainabilityreport.duke-energy.com/operations/the-power-of-partnership-in-red-tide-recovery/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347413551.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20200531151414-20200531181414-00554.warc.gz | en | 0.949337 | 339 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Simply put, the world has magic, though it would be considered "science" by the world itself. This first section is going to provide a background for how the magic works.
"Spells" can be cast via some medium (usually paper) which have the spell written on them. A spell fully describes some kind of interaction via symbols on the paper - the symbols required are exact and can be considered a "language of their own". In other words, you can't write a spell in a different cultural language such as English. "Sorcerers" are people who are capable of writing spells, but normal every-day people are capable of using them. There is no "special ability" that sorcerers have that regular people don't, other than simply the knowledge of the symbols and language used to create spells.
I think it would be clearest if I first give an example of a "fireball" spell - which shoots a flaming ball of fire towards a target. Only one chemical can be provided by a spell, and in the fireball instance this chemical would likely be some form of pitch or oil. The spell must fully describe the chemical makeup of the oil, as well as its interaction with the oxygen in the air which creates the flame. As part of that, its initial velocity relative to the medium the spell is located on also needs to be described.
When the fireball spell is cast, there is no actual oil which appears in the air. But, the effects described in the spell still take place. This means that the oxygen in the air still turns into CO2, and heat in the form of fire is still released - looking like a ball of fire is flying through the air. The spell describes the initial chemical makeup and interaction taking place, but once the "fireball" hits a target, it would continue acting as if the target had been hit with a ball of burning oil, but without the oil actually materially appearing.
If any of the created chemical is still in its initial form when the spell's interaction ends, the spell is "disspelled", and that leftover material no longer acts as though it were there. The medium which the spell is on is typically consumed at this point. There are methods to keep that from happening, defined within the spell itself, but these methods are not commonly known or used.
If a spell is not accurate, that is, if it attempts to replace more chemicals or if the interaction is not described in a way that actually works, any number of things could happen once the spell is cast, depending on the nature and severity of the mistake. "Spell Testing" is incredibly dangerous, especially for sorcerers who aren't all that great at sorcery.
As you can imagine, even just this simple fireball spell would be very difficult to create the first time, but is capable of being copied after that.
tl:dr version: spells are written on paper with specific symbols, but not all symbols are known by every sorcerer, anybody can cast them, an incorrect spell can do anything from fizzle, to kind-of-work, to explode, paper is destroyed afterwards in 99% majority of cases
The society in question is end-of medieval level, but obviously paper and writing tools are more important (and thus, more effort is spent to have them on hand) since spells can be quite valuable to have around. It can also be assumed that they have a great deal more knowledge about how chemicals interact with each other compared to what our own histories suggest. How would sorcerers attempt to prevent people (or even competing sorcerers!) from attempting to "copy" their sold one-use spells? | <urn:uuid:00f3ed7c-ad0b-45c7-a098-a66941b77284> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/31691/how-do-sorcerers-attempt-to-prevent-common-people-or-other-sorcerers-from-dupl | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575541310866.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20191215201305-20191215225305-00287.warc.gz | en | 0.972659 | 741 | 2.796875 | 3 |
This Feed Bunny Colors and Counting Adapted Book is an adapted book that focuses on colors and counting in a fun and interactive way.
In a small group, independent center or independent work station. A teacher or student reads through the book and feeds the animal or critter, the correct number and color the food on each page.
"Nibble. Nibble. Munch. Crunch.
Bunny says, "Time for Lunch!"
Feed Bunny 5 pink carrots.
Nibble. Nibble. Munch. Crunch
Bunny eats and eats a bunch!
Feed Bunny 6 blue carrots.
Nibble. Nibble. Munch. Crunch.
Bunny says, "Need more lunch."
Feed Bunny 7 yellow carrots.
If your students enjoy this book, there are many more in my collection. You can find the bundle here:
Feed Me Colors and Counting Adapted Books Bundle
And more Feed Me! Books below:
Feed Me Activities
If your students enjoy these activities, they might also enjoy similar sensory bin activities. You can find those below:
Sensory Bin Activities
For more great, hands-on Easter or spring themed activities, please follow the links here:
Hands-On Easter Activities
Hands-On Spring Activities | <urn:uuid:e85ef0f0-b396-48ca-a90b-51ebb2274455> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Feed-Bunny-Colors-and-Counting-Adapted-Book-3165559 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084893530.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20180124070239-20180124090239-00710.warc.gz | en | 0.895469 | 263 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Article 2, Section 2:
"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States. . . ."So, what do we suppose the words mean? My first thought is that the President has power which has been granted from We The People to be Commander in Chief. Second, this granted power would be called, I think, a "plenary power." That means that neither Congress, nor the Judiciary, shares any of the power of the President as Commander in Chief. It is a power that, in terms of this part of the Constitution, has no constraints on it that are written down. This is unlike the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce because this Congressional power is constrained by the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article 1, Section 8.
I look next at Article 1, Section 8 to consider the powers of Congress, and I find:
"The Congress shall have Power . . . .To declare War. . ."
Now it seems to me the language we find in the Constitution says that Congress, not the President, has the power to declare war. This power seems to me to be much like the President's power as Commander in Chief in that there are no written constraints or limits on this power. And, neither the President, nor the Supreme Court, can declare war.
If we put both these clauses together, Congress declares war, or in the more modern language of today, Congress authorizes the President to use military force. The President, on his own power, cannot authorize the use of military force, and the President cannot declare war. Likewise, Congress has no power to implement the use of military force that has been authorized, nor does Congress have the power to check or constrain the choices of the President as Commander in Chief. Further, since the Supreme Court is not mentioned in either of the Constitutional clauses, it would seem that the Supreme Court has no power to constrain Congress in the ways it authorizes the use of the country's military, nor does it have the power to constrain the President in the ways in which the Commander in Chief power is carried out.
Of course, I haven't studied Supreme Court opinions on these aspects of the Constitution. But, perhaps that isn't too relevant, since it is my belief that any of us should be able to read the words written in the Constitution and have a darn good chance of knowing what the Constitution means.
What could all of this mean for Presidential authorization of wiretaps by the National Security Agency? It seems to me that we should see the National Security Agency as falling within the realm of Commander in Chief power, especially if the National Security Agency is acting against an enemy for which Congress has authorized the use of the country's military power. Wiretaps to monitor phone calls by such an enemy, even if those phone calls include another person located within the United States (whether this person is a citizen or not), would seem to me to involve the President's use of the Commander in Chief power to wage an authorized war against the enemy. As such, it would seem that we should not think either Congress or the Supreme Court have the Constitutionally granted power to constrain the President's choices to secretly monitor the phone calls of the enemy.
Now I understand that people are talking about various statutes and various Judicial opinions as being relevant. The talk seems to be asserting that this President broke the law. But, if the relevant law attempts to constrain the President's waging war against an enemy for which force has been authorized by Congress, then it would seem to me such a law was not a law because it would be unconstitutional.
In other words, I'm thinking that my reading of the Constitution suggests that the real issue with respect to secret NSA wiretaps is whether or not: (1) the President has been authorized to wage war against an enemy, and (2) do the wiretaps involve secretly monitoring individuals who the President believes are among the members of this enemy. If the President authorized secret monitoring of the enemy, I can't imagine that such an action is inconsistent with these clauses in the Constitution. Nor, can I imagine that a large percentage of my fellow Americans would not want the President to secretly monitoring our enemy.
Do I misread the words of our Constitution? Do I misread the nature of the secret wiretaps? | <urn:uuid:453c026f-fa63-498c-a9ac-65b330b3cc83> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | http://economicsandliberty.blogspot.com/2005/12/nsa1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948513330.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20171211090353-20171211110353-00363.warc.gz | en | 0.974878 | 902 | 3.328125 | 3 |
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Researchers from the Victorian Wader Study Group, which includes Deakin University's Professor Marcel Klaassen, have just recaptured a Ruddy Turnstone which has completed a 27,000 km round trip migration for the second time.
This is the first time a wader has been tracked with a geolocator on its complete migration in successive years.
The bird had a one gram light sensor data logger (geolocator) attached to its leg. This device recorded where the bird was each morning and evening. In each year the device was attached to the bird in mid April on a beach at Flinders, Victoria, in southeast Australia.
Ruddy Turnstones are a small wader weighing less than 100 grams and spend the (austral) summer months on many of the beaches around Australia. They are one of the family of waders that migrate huge distances to Siberia in Russia to breed.
Researchers have used these data logging devices over the last two years to find out the key stopover locations which are so important for the birds to refuel on their long journey.
Other members of the study group include Dr Clive Minton, Ken Gosbell and Penny Johns.
“This is a fantastic result for our study group, which is also supported by a fantastic group of volunteers,” Dr Minton said.
“The data retrieved so far shows that the birds generally start their northward migration with an initial nonstop flight of around 7,600km in six days to Taiwan or adjacent regions.
“There they refuel on the tidal flats before moving north to the Yellow Sea and northern China. They then make a flight of over 5,000kms to the breeding grounds in northern Siberia, arriving in the first week of June.
“One of the interesting findings is that after breeding, the return journey shows considerable variation, no two birds following the same route. Some return through Asia while an amazing alternate route has been demonstrated by these new results.
“This is a trans-Pacific route where the bird moves east to the Aleutian Islands off southwest Alaska before making the huge journey across the Pacific, stopping only once or twice before reaching Australia in early December.”
Professor Klaassen, who is the Director of Deakin's Centre for Integrative Ecology, also paid tribute to the many volunteers who make this research possible..
“This is one of the great things about Australia I have found since coming here, these wonderful volunteers who spend days out in the wetlands helping us with our research,” he said.
“There are many marvelous characters among them and to me their stories are nearly as interesting as the data we get from the birds.”
The first record of the turnstone's flight was in 2009 when the bird spent nearly two months in the Aleutians before setting off southward over the Pacific Ocean and making a nonstop flight of 7,800kms to Kirabati (formerly Gilbert Islands), where it stayed for six weeks before making the 5,000km trip back to Flinders, Victoria. In 2010 the same bird undertook a similar incredible journey, this time stopping off in the Marshall Islands and Vanuatu in the Pacific before returning to Australia.
Turnstones live up to 20 years and such a bird following this 27,000 km trans-Pacific route would have flown over 500,000 kilometres in its lifetime.
Scientists from the Australasian Wader Studies Group of Birds Australia and Deakin University are still puzzling over why individual Ruddy Turnstones from the same breeding and non- breeding population should use such widely differing routes for their annual migrations. The study shows the importance of key regions within the flyway. Scientists are concerned about the ability of these and similar birds to cope with the massive habitat changes occurring as a result of large reclamation and urban development projects. | <urn:uuid:1f2424d4-f014-4ba3-b3e7-304e85bfae94> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://www.deakin.edu.au/research/stories/2011/02/02/ruddy-hell-turnstone-flies-27000km-twice | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386164120234/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204133520-00068-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94729 | 810 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Mahatma Gandhi’s full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was an Indian barrister and done his law degree in London, Anti-colonial Nationalist, and political ethician. He plays an important role to get freedom from the Britishers. He went to prison much time during these moments. He was assuming leader to the Indian National Congress in 1921.
He led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding woman’s rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability. He lives for 21 years in South Africa where he changes his political view and ethics. | <urn:uuid:86556e3b-8195-48b5-a756-c2a5b6660011> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://www.bloggbuzz.com/latest-trends/gandhi-jayanti-special/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038072180.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20210413092418-20210413122418-00029.warc.gz | en | 0.97902 | 124 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Maylin Rodriguez-Paez RNYou may really enjoy peaches in the summer, but could they also be protecting you from breast cancer?
The answer may be a resounding yes, according to the results of a new study.
Scientists at Texas A&M AgriLife Research found that peaches had the ability to prevent breast cancer cells from spreading.
This comes in light of previous research showing the cancer-killing activity of peach and plum extracts in culture.1
Interested as we are? Then keep on reading!
Peach Extracts Prevent Breast Cancer MetastasisFor this study, scientists implanted a particular aggressive strain of breast cancer cells in mice called MDA-MB-435. After several weeks, the peach extract from a strain of peaches called Rich Lady was found to inhibit the growth of tumor cells and prevent metastasis (spreading) to the lungs — and all without affecting normal cells.2
The compounds responsible for the anti-cancer effects are called polyphenols. They target enzymes called metalloproteinases, which play a role in the spreading of cancer cells.
Polyphenols are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables. They display potent antioxidant effects and prevent chronic diseases.
Eat 2–3 Peaches a Day for Breast Cancer PreventionThe results of this study are important considering that breast cancer metastasis is often more deadly than the original tumor. Additional treatments are needed to prevent breast cancer cells from spreading to the lungs, brain, and bones.
Also the results can easily be applied to people. In the study, rats were given a dose range of 0.8–1.6 mg of peach polyphenols. For humans, that translates to about two to three peaches a day, which is a reasonable amount of fruit to eat on a given day.
The study emphasizes the importance of plant-based diets for breast cancer prevention. Other research shows a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of breast cancer significantly.
These, along with exercising, keeping a healthy weight, drinking sparingly, and not smoking are additional ways to prevent the disease.
The Bottom LineAdditional studies are needed to determine if peach extracts could treat breast cancer in humans, but in the meantime it can’t hurt to eat more peaches.
With breast cancer affecting about 1 in 8 women, breast cancer prevention should be a top priority for all women.
For more info on the topic, check out the following link. It supplies lots of additional information on breast cancer prevention and treatment: Breast Cancer Protocol.
Recipe: Peach SaladHere is a peach recipe in case you’re looking for a creative way to incorporate the fruit into your diet, courtesy of Whole Foods. Enjoy!
- 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted
- 1/2 cup chopped peaches
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
- 1 head green leaf lettuce, leaves washed and torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 head red leaf lettuce, leaves washed and torn into bite-size pieces
- 2 peaches, halved, pitted and thinly sliced
- 8 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
Put all dressing ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender and puree until smooth. Add a little water if needed to thin to a pourable consistency.
Toss salad ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing, toss to coat well, and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Per Serving: 120 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 30 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate (3 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar), 4 g protein
- J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Jun 24;57(12):5219-26.
- Available at: http://www.jnutbio.com/article/PIIS0955286314000539/abstract. Accessed April 15, 2014.
Share | | | <urn:uuid:be7977c5-abc2-4bd5-97c9-9c93ddd45bb7> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | http://blog.lifeextension.com/2014/05/can-peaches-prevent-breast-cancer_13.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042988650.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002308-00231-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912096 | 840 | 3.265625 | 3 |
ERIC Number: EJ1133186
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Mar
Abstractor: As Provided
How Are Questions That Students Ask in High Level Mathematics Classes Linked to General Giftedness?
Leikin, Roza; Koichu, Boris; Berman, Avi; Dinur, Sariga
ZDM: The International Journal on Mathematics Education, v49 n1 p65-80 Mar 2017
This paper presents a part of a larger study, in which we asked "How are learning and teaching of mathematics at high level linked to students' general giftedness?" We consider asking questions, especially student-generated questions, as indicators of quality of instructional interactions. In the part of the study presented in this paper, we explore instructional interactions in two high-school classes for mathematically promising students with specific focus on questions that students ask. The first class included generally gifted students (IQ =130) who were motivated to study mathematics at a high level (hereafter, a gifted class), and the second class included students characterized by high motivation regardless of their IQs (hereafter, motivation class). We analysed questions asked by the students during algebra and geometry lessons. Two types of questions are considered: elaboration and clarification. We found that students in a gifted class mostly asked elaboration questions, whereas students in a motivation class mostly asked clarification questions. We connect the revealed inclination to ask elaboration questions with intellectual curiosity that characterizes generally gifted students. Accordingly, we suggest that in classes of students who are motivated to study mathematics at high level, students who are generally gifted may create mathematical discourse of higher quality. We also argue that the identified differences in students' questions observed in classes of different types are not only student-dependent (i.e. depend on the students' levels of general giftedness) but can also be teacher-related and content-related.
Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Academically Gifted, Teaching Methods, High School Students, Secondary School Mathematics, Student Motivation, Algebra, Geometry, Questioning Techniques, Student Characteristics
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Focus on Korean History and its Role in the World - the Department of Korean History!
The Department of Korean History at Korea University has its roots in the Department of History, which was founded on August 15, 1946, in response to the new historical phase that the nation was about to embark upon. Despite having separated from the Department of History in 1989 in order to specialize in teaching and researching Korean history, the Department of Korean History still inherits the Department of History’s tradition and accomplishments.
The Department of History and the Department of Korean History have produced a great number of excellent scholars who have made significant contributions to Korean academia in the field of history over the last fifty years. Graduates outside academia also play important roles in their own fields. | <urn:uuid:6cbdc536-e27d-41be-8bc4-aaf4c145cb87> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | http://koreahistory.korea.edu/koreahistory_en/index.do | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738735.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20200811055449-20200811085449-00352.warc.gz | en | 0.967445 | 151 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Most of us will spend our time buying groceries from our local supermarkets each week. To all intents and purposes, they are our primary sources of food and drink. Of course, that wasn’t always the story. Many generations ago, we would have to grow our food and produce our own drinks.
In some cases, we would have to trade things that we’ve grown for food made by our neighbours. These days we rely too much on third parties for our food and drink. But there is a growing community of people that want to reverse that reliance.
Some people might have a small vegetable garden at the back of their homes. They enjoy growing food as it’s organic, easy to do, and it saves them money on their grocery bills. Others folks might want to step things up a notch and be fully self-sustainable.
If that sounds like something you wish to do, and you own acres of arable land, this blog post is for you! Keep reading to learn how you can lead a greener and more self-sustainable lifestyle.
Living off the grid (sort of)
The average home consumes around 11,000 kWh of electricity each year. One of the biggest household expenses you’ll have to pay, aside from food and drink, is electricity. There’s no doubt that part of your desire to grow your own food is to save money.
One way to complement your greener lifestyle is to generate power for your home. One conventional way of doing so is to have solar PV (photovoltaic) panels fitted to your roof. There is a couple of requirements before you can do this.
First, your home needs to have 375 square foot of roof space. And, second, your roof needs to face southward. If your property fulfils these requirements, you can get some solar panels fitted! One benefit of solar power is that you can “sell” excess electricity to energy companies.
Of course, you should have plenty of suitable batteries to store electricity. Just in case of days where there is little sunlight.
Leading a vegetarian lifestyle
If you’ve made the decision to stop buying your groceries, you will have to grow them yourself! As you will know, you can’t grow animals like you would plants. At this point, some people choose to lead a vegetarian lifestyle.
Despite what your meat-eating friends say, humans don’t need to eat meat to survive! All you need to do is ensure that you have a healthy mix of fruit and vegetables in your diet. There are hundreds, if not thousands of delicious vegetarian meals you can make. All using the ingredients grown on your land!
You might be wondering what you need to grow. Let’s assume that you and three other people living in your home. For instance, let’s say you are married and have two children. On average, you will need to allocate just under two acres of land per person to fulfil their dietary needs.
What about wheat, I hear you ask? As you know, wheat is used to make whole-wheat flour. And that flour is an essential ingredient in the bread-making process. To cover each person’s daily allocation of bread (and wheat), they will need 0.25 acres of land for growing wheat.
Eggs are an important part of any diet as they provide a much-needed source of protein. As you know, eggs come from hens.
For a family of four, you will need to have around 13 hens in your backyard farm. That’s because the average hen lays between 80 to 100 eggs per year. The average person eats around four to five eggs per week. It’s also worth mentioning 13 hens need around 65 square feet of land.
Another essential ingredient in anyone’s diet is milk. Unless they are lactose intolerant, of course. You might think that having some cows on your land is a good idea. In reality, it doesn’t make sense in your case because keeping them isn’t “land efficient.”
Instead, you should consider keeping a couple of Nubian Goats on your home farm. One goat can produce around 836 litres of milk each year. Like humans, goats need companions, so I recommend buying at least two Nubian Goats.
Adding some pork into the equation
There are some people that refuse to lead a vegetarian lifestyle. If you are one of them, you can always have some pigs on your home farm.
To feed your family of four over a period of 12 months, you will need at least three pigs. And around 200 square feet of land for their pen!
What else will you need?
Using the above examples, you will probably need around two acres of land to lead a self-sustainable lifestyle. But what else will you need to get started on your greener lifestyle?
Unless you enjoy the thought of back-breaking work, growing fruit and vegetables is a task made easier with technology! Given that you have at least two acres of land to tend to, you will need farm equipment like tractors.
The good news is that you don’t have to spend six-figure sums on brand new machines! That’s because you can buy used ones through sites like http://farm.autotrader.co.uk at cheaper prices. You will also need to learn how to use such equipment.
If your knowledge of farm equipment is inadequate, consider volunteering or getting a job working for a farm to build up your skills.
Going down the self-sustainable route is an attractive option but you must put the work in to achieve your desired result. That usually means getting your family involved too. They must share your enthusiasm and drive for such an ambitious project if it is to succeed.
It might sound like a mammoth task, and one that requires a lot of time and effort. But once you start eating the fruit and vegetables that you grow, you will soon realise how much better off you are!
I hope this article has been of use to you. Good luck! | <urn:uuid:727424c1-1dda-43dd-9d0a-773bddc54341> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | http://www.inreads.com/own-acres-of-land-heres-how-to-live-off-it/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084887065.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20180118032119-20180118052119-00162.warc.gz | en | 0.961844 | 1,273 | 2.796875 | 3 |
The establishment of the State of Israel is one of the most remarkable achievements of the modern era. Never before had a people dispersed throughout the world, deprived of sovereignty for millennia, returned to its ancient homeland to build a thriving country. Who were the leaders and thinkers who helped craft a modern Jewish nationalism for a people so long deprived of self-determination? What moved them? What were their political teachings and key disagreements?
This course is a four-part exploration of the writings, legacies, and debates of Zionism’s early thinkers. We will study the teachings of Theodor Herzl, Micha Josef Berdichevsky, Ahad Ha’am, Isaac Jacob Reines, Abraham Isaac Kook, and other representatives of modern Jewish nationalist thought. In doing so, Dr. Gordis will help us see how the founding disagreements within Secular Zionism, Religious Zionism, and Ultra-Orthodoxy can shed light on the spirit of Jewish nationalism and the internal conflicts Israel still faces today.
Dr. Daniel Gordis is Senior Vice President and Koret Distinguished Fellow at Shalem College. The author of twelve books, Gordis is a regular columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Gordis’s history of Israel, Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn, received the 2016 National Jewish Book Award as “Book of the Year.” Ambassador Dennis Ross, reflecting on the book, wrote, “When I am asked ‘Is there one book to read about Israel?’ I now have an answer.” Gordis’s most recent book, We Stand Divided: The Rift Between American Jews and Israel, was published in 2019. Dr. Gordis and his wife live in Jerusalem.
Kate Havard Rozansky | <urn:uuid:11ba660c-a0db-420d-84c8-fbe90333f0aa> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://tikvahfund.org/hs/msp2020/curriculum/debating-zionism/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780057427.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20210923165408-20210923195408-00533.warc.gz | en | 0.944058 | 359 | 3.125 | 3 |
Asa Beuhler and Kyle Jensen designed, built, programmed and tested their version of lego robot on a simulated lunar landscape at the newly opened wing of the Museum of Flight as part of the 'Moonbots Challenge' sponsored by Google and Lego. The effort is meant to stimulate more interest in science, technology and math and is part of the Lunar X prize, to get a real lunar robot on the moon. CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE OR SEE THE GALLERY BELOW.
West Seattle boys built a moonbot to compete in the Mindstorms Challenge
Two West Seattle boys, age 9 made a presentation of their science and robotics skills at the newly opened wing for the Space Shuttle Trainer at the Museum of Flight on Sun. Nov. 11.
Asa Buehler, and his friend Kyle Jensen worked for the past six months on an international robotics competition called " The Mindstorms Challenge", part of an effort sponsored by Google for the Lunar X Prize, and toy company Lego.
The competition is meant to stimulate more interest in science, technology, engineering and math and aimed at future robotic missions to the moon.
The boys, formed a team they call the Penguin Men (from a previous school project) and submitted a proposal, for a "Moonbot" including a video in June in the contest for 9 to 15 year olds that saw 300 teams from around the world vying for the prize.
Thirty teams made the first cut, including The Penguin Men who were not only the youngest team in the competition but the smallest with other teams numbering five or more.
The boys received a Lego Mindstorms robotic kit and designed, built and tested a robot they dubbed "Inspiration" that can carry out several missions on a lunar landscape that they also designed and built (with a little parental help). They chose the name, (after first considering calling it 'Billy Bob') after watching the Mars lander "Curiosity."
That landscape included lunar soil (sand from the hardware store) a large lunar ridge (made from styrofoam and spray paint) and at the presentation their goal was to get their robot to, using software they programmed, head over the ridge, pick up some "ice" (a stand in object) and bring it back.
They encountered a few problems including a low battery but they learned so much in their numerous iterations of each step of development it was all worth it.
The presentation was transmitted live over the internet to judges for the competition who could award them points. The boys estimated they scored "around 100 points" . Points were awarded for design, capability, and community outreach.
While no specific prize was mentioned, in the past the winning team has won a trip.
Matt Jensen, Kyle's dad, guided and coached the boys. He gave credit to the Beuhler family too, "Asa's parents have repeatedly given up their dining room table to this sandy, billowy, messy lunar landscape for session after session. We couldn't have done it without them."
Are these boys the future of the American space program? Don't doubt it. Kyle said he wants to grow up to be a robotics engineer and Asa said his goal is to be a spaceflight engineer.
They should know by Nov. 15 who won the competition.
Photo gallery for this story | <urn:uuid:6341bddf-ac73-4880-ab5c-2a2e2b76688a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.westseattleherald.com/2012/11/11/features/west-seattle-boys-built-moonbot-compete-minds | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708143620/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124223-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97021 | 677 | 2.78125 | 3 |
FRONTLINE OBSERVATIONS FROM THE 2017 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON
This story is brought to you in part by Glenergy
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) backgrounder on the North Atlantic Hurricane Season says the "season officially runs from 1 June to 30 November, [with] the vast majority of tropical storms are typically seen during August-October (ASO)." Late summer and early autumn is the peak period for intense storm systems. Over a thirty year period from "1981 to 2010, Atlantic hurricane seasons averaged 12.1 named storms."
The 2017 season still has more than two months to run its course and it is already above average in storm activity. The storms began off-season in late April, and NOAA's data is accurate to the end of August showing only 9 named systems. Since then there have been 5 more, bringing the total to 14 named systems, 7 hurricanes, and 4 of them being major, meaning they are between Category 3 and 5.
This year's storms have left devastation in the Caribbean and United States, and reports estimate the damage to be more than $132 billion. To get a sense of what is happening on the ground we spoke with Khin-Sandi Lwin, a Representative of UNICEF in the Eastern Caribbean Area.
Lwin walked us through the situation starting with Hurricane Irma which made landfall in Barbuda on September 5. She said that when it "made landfall, it basically decimated Barbuda." Lwin added that "it levelled most of the buildings making the island uninhabitable."
The devastation touched French, Dutch, and Independent islands, UNICEF in the Eastern Caribbean is only active in the English-speaking Caribbean and Lwin could only speak to the situation in those territories. Irma also ravaged Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands areas where UNICEF is active.
The British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos are chains of islands and Lwin said that "there are differing degrees of damage," from one to the next. She added that the is "differing degrees of damage as you go from neighbourhood to the next."
The devastation in the wake of the hurricanes is impacted by the fact that people have no access to water. Lwin said "water is a basic need, [though] we can't carry it in so we provide water purification tablets, water tanks that can be filled by the relief system, and collapsible water containers."
There have been difficulties getting the relief supplies to those who need it. Lwin said that the one place where they "have been successful is in the Turks and Caicos Islands." She explained that "it has been very difficult, we had hurricane Jose right after Irma even though it went north in the Atlantic the seas were very rough." Just getting people deployed was a challenge.
This week Hurricane Maria ravaged Dominica and Lwin said that there is between "70 and 72 thousand people there so a major response is needed." She added that "some parts of the island is literally in shambles." They are deploying similar water supplies to Dominica, as well as non-water related itemsl. Lwin went down the list of items "tarpaulins, family hygiene kits, and blankets."
These items are only the first response, UNICEF is also "working with the authorities where people are in shelters," Lwin explained. She added that "usually shelters are in schools, what we are hearing from Dominica is roofs were blown off, even the shelters were affected."
"Right now it is difficult to make plans, so we are making assumptions about the percentage of the population affected and ordering the supplies accordingly." -Khin-Sandi Lwin - UNICEF, Eastern Caribbean
Yesterday, "one day after the hurricane hit, we sent in whatever [supplies] we had repositioned here in Barbados," Lwin said. The shipment included rehydration salts and tents. UNICEF was aided by the Barbados Coast Guard "who were offering free [shipping] space" Lwin said.
UNICEF is past the first response stage in Barbuda. Lwin explained that the entire population of the small island "was evacuated to Antigua." They are "working with the children of Antigua and Barbuda on what is called a Return to Happiness Program." Lwin said that the program helps children "with trauma through psycho-social support using games, songs, and art."
UNICEF is "working with the local Ministry of Education to get children back to school," she said. She added that "depending on the damage the tents that were sent could either be for schools or shelter." The plan is to get secondary students back in class first.
Lwin said that UNICEF also helps during the recovery with a "social safety net if people don't have insurance or a means of income they need financial support." UNICEF does not give money though they are "working with governments to design cash transfer programs," Lwin explained.
Being that the focus is children we asked how the children were coping in the aftermath of the hurricanes. Lwin explained that she was "in one of the most vulnerable neighbourhoods in Turks and Caicos, that's where houses have been flattened." Lwin said, "there is a lot of care and resilience, on the surface children are playing and want to go back to school, though the trauma is underneath." Children have written about the night of the storm and Lwin said it was "pretty scary."
Lwin explained that "there are people on the island that are trained in psychology," the problem is that they are living in a crisis as well.
The people in the Eastern Caribbean have been battered by what Mother Nature has thrown at them and are in the early process of recovering. They need help and support and if you do want to lend a hand Lwin explained the best way to do so is by supporting churches and organizations already on the ground financially. In many areas, the infrastructure is not there to receive large amounts of shipments. The devastation is vast and Lwin said "it will take years to rebuild".
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Potter Valley Irrigation District History
Take a drive up the Eel River Road to the turn out on John Day Hill, stop and look south over Potter Valley and you will see a patch work of green and gold fields dotted with blue ponds and framed on the east and west by oak and fir covered hills. Depending on the time of the year you might see pear orchards in full bloom that look like it snowed only on tidy squares of land, hay fields with windrows of cut hay ready to be baled, trellised vineyards with jade colored berries of white grapes or clusters of deep purple fruit that will become wines rivaling the best in the world, new lambs sleeping beside ewes in pastures of spring grass, cattle and horses grazing, old redwood barns, farm houses with fruit trees and gardens filled with flowering shrubs brought by pioneer families. You will see a vibrant farming community with everything you might expect in a rural American town--- churches, a school, a store, post office and a volunteer fire department. Generations have been raised here. Farming is still a way of life here. This small valley is successfully farmed today due to the foresight of a few who recognized the value of water and organized the Potter Valley Irrigation District in 1924.
Formation of the Potter Valley Irrigation District
Prior to the construction of the Potter Valley Project by Snow Mountain Water and Power (SMWP), and even until after the construction of Scott Dam forming Lake Pillsbury on the Eel River, the farmers in Potter Valley had little water for irrigating crops during the late summer and fall. Potter Valley, seven miles long and two miles wide, has a very small watershed with a few tributaries to the East Branch of the Russian River which runs, from north to south, through the center of the valley. On normal years of rainfall the small creeks, such as Busch, Hawn and Mewhinney stop flowing by midsummer and on dry years the creeks no longer have surface flow as early as April. At first, after the Potter Valley Project was built in 1906, water was only diverted from the Eel River through the tunnel during high winter and spring flows because the natural late spring, summer and fall flows on the Eel River drop to levels so low that it was impossible to divert water through the Potter Valley Project. Scott Dam was completed in 1922 allowing winter runoff water to be stored in the, newly-formed, Lake Pillsbury and to be released in the summer for power production. It soon became clear to the farmers of Potter Valley that there was a new source of summer water and dry farming crops could be a thing of the past.
In 1921 and 1923 two petitions to create an irrigation district were reviewed by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. The first petition was defeated because some residents of Potter Valley did not want to be included in an irrigation district. The second petition was accepted after the residents, who so desired, were excluded from the original list of properties to be included in the new irrigation district. The Potter Valley Irrigation District (PVID) was formed on April 1, 1924 after a 110 in favor and 3 in opposition vote of the residents of Potter Valley.
The first formal meeting of the PVID and election of Directors was held on April 22, 1924. In the minutes from the first meeting at the Potter Valley Grange it shows that A.F.Busch was elected as the Chairman of the Board from Division 2, Director Charles Sagehorn from Division 1, Director James Eddie from Division 3, Director J.G.Newman from Division 4 and Director E.V.Jones from Division 5. R.R. Ingels became the Secretary, C.E. Hardisty Treasurer, A.F. Whittaker Assessor and Collector and Charles Kasch was the District's first Attorney.
On June 12, 1928 the people of Potter Valley voted to bond the District for $100,000.00 for 20 years. In August of 1928 PVID took bids for the construction of the canals, lateral, flumes and gates. The main canals were dug by rotary ditchers and the laterals were dug by teams of horses with V ditchers. Construction was slowed late in 1928 because of strong winter storms, but the construction was completed May 15, 1929. The first deliveries of water by the PVID began May 23, 1929. The Bond was retired July 1, 1952 and PVID has remained free of indebtedness since that day.
Water Rights and a Contract
Originally PVID had a contract for delivery of water from the Snow Mountain Water and Power. This contract, signed on September 31, 1926, was confirmed by the California Railroad Commission on July 25, 1930. Snow Mountain Water and Power sold to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the PVID contract was transferred to PG&E on February 5, 1936, amended May 1, 1939, and is still in effect today. The contract requires PG&E to divert 50 cubic feet per second (cfs), for use by PVID, up to a total of 19,000 acre feet per year. PVID can use 16,600 acre feet of the 19,000 acre foot contracted amount during the summer. The rest of the year PVID can request water, at a rate not to exceed 50cfs, until the balance of the 19,000 acre feet is used. PVID purchases water from PG&E at a rate that can be renegotiated every five years.
PVID also has access to several perfected water rights granted by the California State Water Resources Control Board. Three of these licenses belong to PG&E. We are named as the place of use, and irrigation is listed as the specific purpose of the beneficial use in two of these licenses. These three water rights licenses are for water stored in Lake Pillsbury, or available in the Eel River (License #1424, #1199 and #5545) and form the legal basis of the water delivered to PVID by PG&E. A fourth perfected water right is held by PVID (License #5246) for water released below the Potter Valley Powerhouse into the East Branch of the Russian River. These perfected water rights, when combined, clearly state that PVID has the right to use 22,670 acre feet of water per year, at a combined rate not to exceed 100 cfs at any given time. Under our water rights we have the right to irrigate, in our net place of use, 4,905 acres and our gross place of use is 23,040 acres.
Alternative Sources of Water in Potter Valley
In January of 1954, the PVID Board of Directors requested a survey of Potter Valley by the Willits Soil Conservation District to determine if there was a possibility of building one or more storage reservoirs that could hold the amount of water PVID requires per year to irrigate crops. This study was initiated in an attempt to become less dependent upon the water that had to be purchased from the Potter Valley Project. The results of the study determined that there were six potential sites, however, none of these sites could store more than 3,700 acre feet of water (some only 1,000 to 2,200 acre feet) and the reliability of sufficient runoff to fill these small reservoirs year to year was in doubt. The six small reservoirs would have potentially held up to 14,400 acre feet and cost, on the average, $81.00 per acre foot to build. That would have been $1,169,000.00 in 1954. The concept was abandoned.
Some have suggested that PVID simply use ground water to irrigate the valley. In 1985, Ralph Scott, a geologist with the California Department of Water Resources stated that Potter Valley has a fractured aquifer, (Potter Valley is geologically referred to as a "pull apart valley" which is formed by a fault), where no ground water pool can form because of a tectonically ruptured rock base.
Today PVID provides irrigation water for 390 farmers irrigating within the PVID boundary of 6,900 acres of land. PVID delivers water to our customers via a series of gravity fed canals. The system has 16 miles of main canals and 18 miles of secondary laterals. To date, 9,700 feet of open ditch main canals and 19,520 feet of open ditch secondary laterals have been put into pipe. Potter Valley farmers have built 33 water storage ponds that can hold approximately 650 acre feet of water delivered by PVID. The main crops irrigated in Potter Valley include pastures for grazing cattle and hay production, pear orchards, wine grape vineyards, row crops, nurseries and a few sheep, horse and goat farms. On average, taking the last 20 years of water sales, we have sold 16,545 acre feet of water per year with a maximum during this time period of 21,508 acre feet and a minimum of 11,631 acre feet. The amount required varies yearly due to weather conditions.
As mentioned in the section titled History of the Potter Valley Project, PG&E diverts water from the Eel River under a hydroelectric license granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The license was reissued in 1983 with several amendments requiring studies to be completed. After 27 years the impacts of the final license amendment, completed in 2004, are still being analyzed. The flows through the Potter Valley Project have been reduced by over 33% from those allowed in 1983. Because of the protracted license amendment proceeding, to protect the water supply available for existing customers, PVID has a moratorium in place precluding new land annexations into PVID's boundaries. | <urn:uuid:533e7fd5-0445-4446-87de-27356d03dc11> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://pottervalleywater.org/pvid_history.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189242.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00046-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968009 | 1,996 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Manufacturing processes that involve bonding, coating, sealing, printing, painting, laminating or cleaning need a metric to measure the surface quality of the materials involved. Without such a metric it is impossible to predict whether the adhesion process will be successful or if it's on the path to failure. Implementing an inspection process that quantitatively evaluates what the state of the material surface is as the it moves through the production process gives manufacturers control over the adhesion process
Adhesion relies on a chemically amenable surface to be created and maintained throughout the production process. Adhesion is a chemical process and occurs at the uppermost molecular layers of the material surface. This delicate surface is affected by myriad variables that come into play at many points throughout the process and interact with the surface in distinct ways.
Every manufacturing process includes places where these variables have and opportunity alter the material surface either intentionally through established steps or unintentionally through unnoticed factors. We call these places Critical Control Points. Surface quality needs to be quantified, tracked and managed at each of these critical points. When a process is in place to do that work then there will be no surprises once it comes time do the final adhesion application.
The Critical Control Points will differ based on what the final product is (a cell phone is produced differently than a car engine) but the principles of how the inspection process helps ensure adhesion are the same.
A surface quality inspection process can be implemented either before production has begun and a new design is being prepared to scale up to the production floor or once a manufacturing process is in place. If possible, it is always preferable to have numeric specifications established before manufacturing in underway so you don't have to backtrack and re-write quality standards. This can also prevent rework, recalls and scrap before they become an issue.
First, a standardized quality specification needs to be placed on all incoming material. This baseline builds a foundation for all other operations. Insisting on consistent levels of cleanliness on incoming material and being able to validate it with a numerical value allows for supplier accountability and efficiency of cleaning processes. If cleaning and activation steps need to constantly be re-calibrated for wildly differing surface states coming into the facility then time and money is wasted making these adjustments.
Next, measure the surface quality before and after every Critical Control Point. Put a number on the surface quality before a part goes into storage and when it comes out. Put a number on it before it goes into an industrial wash bath and after. Put a number on it before it gets abraded and after. No matter what the operation is, in order to understand how much that surface is being altered it is imperative to put it on a scale and track the change.
When a surface quality inspection process is in place, manufacturers get a complete picture of exactly what is being accomplished by the steps they currently have or are planning to have.
At BTG Labs, a common conversation with some manufacturers goes something like this:
“What kind of cleaning or treatment of your material are you employing (or planning on employing)?”
“We wipe the surface with IPA (isopropyl alcohol).”
“Ah, okay, what is it that you are trying to remove from the surface with this step?”
“Well we use a silicone mold release on our molded parts that needs to be cleaned off.”
“Alright, well, silicone is not soluble in alcohol so it is most likely not having the effect you are hoping for.”
Measuring the surface before and after a step like an IPA wipe could reveal that it isn’t altering the surface as expected and may not be getting the job done.
Once surface quality is being examined at each Critical Control Point, then analysis can be done to ensure that the best cleaning and treatment steps are being implemented. A process optimization study can be done to characterize exactly what parameters need to be set at each Critical Control Point so the material surface remains as controlled as possible through the whole production process.
As illustrated above, it is important to design cleaning processes around specific contaminants and applications. In order to know what particular treatment, cleaning and preparation steps are necessary (and which ones might be superfluous) it is crucial to understand the production process as a series of steps that build on one another and are changing the material surface in measurable and identifiable ways.
Learn more about what verification can do for your manufacturing process by downloading the “Predictable Adhesion in Manufacturing Through Process Verification” eBook. Consistent and reliable adhesion is possible when the proper management processes are in place. | <urn:uuid:576cf6c5-b8bd-4058-9465-77d0d5d3185d> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://www.btglabs.com/blog/why-a-surface-quality-inspection-process-ensures-adhesion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585768.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20211023193319-20211023223319-00128.warc.gz | en | 0.947187 | 943 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Transgender Women in High School Sports
Social reform is on the rise in the U.S. and more people feel free to express their true identities every day. However, the right of transgender women to participate in high school sports is an issue at the forefront of the national stage right now. Transgender women – women who were born male but identify as female – are slowly gaining a voice. This new age, showing hope for many, has also caused a landslide of policy issues and political tension.
According to TransAthlete, currently, 16 states – including California, New York, and DC – have friendly policies regarding transgender women playing high school sports. In 14 states there are policies set where transgender women must verify their identity via invasive steps, such as medical exams and disclosures of hormone therapies. Eleven states – including Texas, Georgia, and Indiana – have discriminatory policies that create obstacles for transgender women to participate. Mississippi, for example, has completely banned transgender women from sports in schools and universities, with Governor Reeves tweeting, “I proudly signed the Mississippi Fairness Act to ensure young girls are not forced to compete against biological males.”
According to a New York Times article, many people have pushed back at this, including 500 student-athletes who wrote a letter to the NCAA asking them not to hold any championships in states which do not comply with transgender rights. In Texas, similar laws are held, with student-athletes having to present a birth certificate to compete in sports. According to Houston LGBTQ+ Family Law Attorneys, students will then be required to compete on the gender team in accordance with the sex assigned to them at birth. The other 10 states – including Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Michigan – have no policy on the matter.
Since Title IX passed in 1972, legally closing the gap between male and female equality in the U.S, there has been a steep incline in female participation in high school sports, surging from 7% in 1970 to 43% today, states The Conversation. Originally, sports teams were co-ed, but in 1979, new legislation was passed to improve equality and participation by creating separate teams for men and women in the education program. Today, as personal freedoms of expression are expanding, transgender athletes are representing a new population that some aren’t welcoming. Due to their underrepresentation in sports, they also have less of a voice compared to majority groups. According to a report from the Human Rights Campaign, transgender females make up only 12% of the 68% of students who play school sports. Title IX has been meant to increase equality, provisioning separate teams, and equal opportunities for men and women. Some, like Idaho Representative Barbara Ehardt, believe allowing transgender women in female sports would negate the 50 years of progress since Title IX, as it would damage cisgender female athletes’ chances of positions and scholarships in sports.
According to Title IX, schools must verify the gender of students in order to allow them to be protected. If a school doesn’t accept the gender of their student, the student is then susceptible to whatever rules the school has in place in terms of sex disparities, such as locker room and bathroom use, as there are no federal overarching policies that protect students everywhere.
Though transgender rights have grown enormously in recent generations, inequalities are still prevalent. “Bathroom bills," as they are called, prohibit using a bathroom that doesn’t align with one’s birth-given sex. This law stops transgender people from using the bathrooms of the gender with which they identify. One defense for this was to protect the safety and privacy of those using the bathroom, in case a sexual predator were to trespass into the opposite gender’s bathroom under the guise of being transgender. However, there has been no evidence to support this.
According to Deseret News, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) stated, “When transgender athletes compete against women, women’s sports are no longer women’s sports; they become unisex athletic events… This bill would protect the opportunity of girls throughout America to athletically compete against other girls… This is not about being transphobic or having anything against [a] transgender person. This is a simple question of fairness and physical safety.”
However, there is support for transgender women participating in school sports as well. Charlotte Clymer, an LGBTQ social rights advocate and a transgender woman herself, told The Hill, “What this is is the latest iteration of Republicans trying to figure out how to exploit the lack of information on trans people for their political benefit, political benefit of Republicans on the ballot.”
During President Trump’s term, he made no official orders regarding transgender participation in sports, though his administration did vocally back up an Idaho law, banning transgender women from participating in women’s sports back in June 2020. The Trump administration also backed up an unsuccessful lawsuit against Connecticut when they pushed to allow transgender women in sports. When President Biden entered office, he put out the Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation which said “It is the policy of my Administration to prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, and to fully enforce Title VII and other laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.”
Lee and other Republican senators refuted the President’s order, according to The Guardian, this executive order did not change any legislation, but rather pushed federal agencies to mandate provisions to secure transgender participation in sports.
A global player in this dispute is the Olympics organization. The Olympics has in recent years contended with the issue of female eligibility in sports. A notable case occurred in 2009 when Caster Semenya, a South African woman, won a gold medal in the 800-meter dash. Though both her sex and gender are female, she has been questioned due to her physical qualities appearing less feminine. Since then, the international governing agency for track and field has tried to require some female Olympic athletes to submit hormonal evaluations. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) even set standards in November 2018, with limits on the amount of testosterone allowed in an athlete’s blood to make her eligible to compete. This idea has not been enforced in any U.S. states, though it has been discussed.
States and social rights groups, such as the National Organization for Women (NOW), the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group, and the You Can Play project continue to dispute the issue, with decisions molding the country’s future one court case at a time. | <urn:uuid:c1d59ce1-9f4b-447c-9b01-27f8b84488da> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.bostonpoliticalreview.org/post/transgender-women-in-high-school-sports | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030336880.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001163826-20221001193826-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.9654 | 1,357 | 3.078125 | 3 |
They have all sorts of applications, and as the name suggests, they can be very useful when you wish to use a Markovian approach to represent some stochastic process.
In loose terms this just means we wish to represent our process as some set of states and probabilistic transitions between them.
For example if I am in state 1, there may be a 85% chance of staying in state 1, and a 15% chance of moving to state 2.
To complete this simple two state model, we would also have to define the transitions for state 2, namely what is the probability we will stay in state 2 if we are already in state 2, and what is the probability we will transition from state 2 to state 1.
But what if we don’t know this information? What if we just have a set of realizations from some process and a vague idea of the number of states that might be behind it?
Enter HMMs. Among other things, they can be used to determine the state transition probabilities that underlie some process, as well as the distributional parameters for each state.
That is, it can work out all the details that are "hidden" from an observer of a process. All we really need to do is specify how many states we think there are.
To test this out, and to get more familiar with the depmixS4 package, I made a small test program. It creates an observation series with:
a) a known number of states
b) known state transition matrices
c) known underlying distribution parameters
The aim is to use depmixS4 to estimate all this information, which should help get a grip on how to use the package, and also let us see if HMMs are actually any good.
We have two states, lets call them S1 and S2. They were setup with the following properties
Both states provide realizations from the normal distribution, in this case S1 has mean -1, standard deviation 1, and S2 has mean 1, standard deviation 1. We can also see the transition matrix between S1 and S2 in the last two columns.
A trajectory was sampled, and depmixS4 used to fit a HMM. It provided the following estimates
You can see it did a pretty good job of recovering the true values.
In the following plot, you can see the sample trajectory, the estimated state from the HMM and the actual state used to generate the sample. This example worked very well, it’s not always the case that things turn out so nicely.
Voodoo I tell you!
There is no guarantee that a fitted HMM will be of any use, and even with this simple example, the state estimates can be wildly inaccurate. You can try this for yourself by using different seed values.
This example is based on one from the book Hidden Markov Models and Dynamical Systems, which I found to be an excellent resource on the topic. It is clearly written, covers the basic theory and some actual applications, along with some very illustrative examples. Source code is provided in python.
I've read (or at least tried to read) pretty much every book on HMMs I could find, and found this one to be the most useful if you are new to HMMs and are interested in applications.
You may also find these other posts about HMMs useful as well:
Fun With R and HMMs
Getting Started with Hidden Markov Models in R
Hidden Markov Models Examples in R, part 3/4
There is also the classic paper by Rabiner.
Hopefully this has shed a bit of light on HMMs and the depmixS4 package. Code is up here. | <urn:uuid:3e06dabd-f833-49fc-9d72-34c54d5f1987> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | http://petewerner.blogspot.com.au/2014_09_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549425117.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20170725082441-20170725102441-00409.warc.gz | en | 0.946007 | 769 | 2.796875 | 3 |
There is a verse in Mahabharata: Drona Parva:
Sanskrit verse in Devnagri:
आकर्णपलितः शयामॊ वयसाशीति पञ्चकः
तवत्कृते वयचरत संख्ये स तु षॊडद वर्षवत
Sanskrit verse in IAST Transliteration:
ākarṇapalitaḥ śyāmo vayasāśīti pañcakaḥ
tvatkṛte vyacarat saṃkhye sa tu ṣoḍada varṣavat
As mentioned in this answer, K. M. Ganguli translates it as below:
Of a dark complexion, with white locks hanging down to his ears, that old man of five and eighty years of age, used, for thy sake only, to career on the field of battle with the activity of a youth of sixteen.
But Sanskrit-Hindi version by Gitapress translates it as below:
That means one translation says the age of Drona was 85 years while another says the age of Drona was 400 years.
Can anyone please clarify how others (like BORI) translated this or provide meaning after breaking words and then using Sanskrit dictionary? | <urn:uuid:31bd52f1-1920-451d-b1e7-2deb60550e54> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/30217/what-is-the-correct-translation-of-the-mahabharata-verse-mentioning-dronas-age | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578641278.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20190424114453-20190424140453-00318.warc.gz | en | 0.82972 | 359 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The Debate on Autism Screening
Could a proposal by an expert panel undermine years of progress made in the identification and intervention of autism?
Could years of monumental effort to build awareness of autism be reversed? That's the concern among many health care professionals and parents following the release of a draft proposal that concluded there isn't sufficient evidence to recommend universal autism screening of young children.
The proposal, drafted by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, is in direct contrast to current guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which urge universal screening of all children using standardized screening tools at ages 18 and 24 months.
Formed by a panel of independent experts in prevention and primary care, the proposal could have repercussions across health care, from the treatment a patient receives to insurance coverage.
Although the panel was quick to clarify that its conclusions were directed towards asymptomatic children, autism experts fear that a lack of support from the panel will undermine years of effort — both in the lab and through public awareness campaigns — that have shown that early intervention in autism may lead to greater developmental improvement.
“We know that autism is common and that the growing numbers are largely due to appropriately classifying cases that were missed in the past,” Melissa Nishawala, MD, assistant professor and Medical Director of the Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical & Research Program at NYU Langone, told Neurology Advisor. “Many of these missed cases were either milder or easily misunderstood as some other disorder. Only universal screening is likely to pick up these cases.”
The AAP quickly came to its own defense after the proposal was published. In a statement, Sandra G. Hassink, MD, president of the AAP, said:
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has a tremendous impact on families, affecting an estimated 1 in 68 children in the U.S. Because early identification and referral for appropriate intervention are critical to ensuring that children with autism have access to effective therapies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends all children be screened for ASD at ages 18 and 24 months, along with regular developmental surveillance.
The draft recommendation statement on autism screening released Aug. 3 by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force runs counter to AAP guidelines. The AAP remains committed to its recommendation for the timely screening and identification of children who would benefit from early intervention and treatment. | <urn:uuid:32938eb6-2a35-4f51-a2da-54eddcc26be5> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/autism-spectrum-disorders/autism-spectrum-disorders-diagnosis-screening-recommendation/article/432777/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891815544.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20180224092906-20180224112906-00660.warc.gz | en | 0.964112 | 485 | 2.984375 | 3 |
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In this innovative revisiting of Don Quixote and the Novelas ejemplares, Carroll B. Johnson investigates in detail the cultural and material environment in which Cervantes placed his characters.
Cervantes and the Material World reveals a recurrent preoccupation with the clash of two different economic systems: a reenergized feudalism and an incipient capitalism. Overturning the common assumption that Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and myriad other colorful characters carry out their adventures in a timeless social milieu, Johnson demonstrates how their perspectives and experiences are shaped by the events and crises of their immediate historical context.
Johnson examines how questions of the distribution of wealth, the ownership of the means of production, and membership in one or another economic order permeate Cervantes's fiction. Thoughtfully contextualizing key excerpts, he suggests how business activities, legal codes, and other materialist practices actively impinge on the lives of the characters, influencing and in some cases determining their motivations and their possibilities for action.
A major study that will change the face of Cervantes scholarship, Cervantes and the Material World is also an important resource for students of the Spanish Golden Age and Renaissance and baroque literature and culture. | <urn:uuid:758236e9-e9c1-48fc-95f7-c00024a59706> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.bibliovault.org/BV.book.epl?ISBN=9780252025488 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315222.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820045314-20190820071314-00161.warc.gz | en | 0.912156 | 258 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Globally, changing water supply and demand is inevitable; what that change will look like is far from certain. A first-of-its-kind analysis sheds new light on the issue.
Blog Posts: World Water Week
WRI’s Aqueduct project recently evaluated, mapped, and scored stresses on water supplies in the 100 river basins with the highest populations, 100 largest river basins, and 180 nations. We found that 18 river basins—flowing through countries with a collective $US 27 trillion in GDP—face “extremely high” levels of baseline water stress. This means that more than 80 percent of the water naturally available to agricultural, domestic, and industrial users is withdrawn annually—leaving businesses, farms, and communities vulnerable to scarcity.
WRI experts Betsy Otto, Charles Iceland, Tien Shiao, and Paul Reig will attend World Water Week in Stockholm next week. Among other activities, they’ll co-host a session on using satellite data to map global water risks. Here, Andrew Maddocks explores the role that satellite data can play in improving water management. Learn more about WRI’s World Water Week Activities.
The unsustainable use of water and the risks it creates is on the minds of many of the thousands of water experts from the corporate, NGO, and government worlds who convened in Stockholm this week for World Water Week. As companies increasingly view water as not just an environmental issue, but a complex driver of very real risks to their businesses, the appetite for better information on how to manage these risks and become good water stewards has grown substantially. In fact, many organizations have put tremendous effort into developing tools and methodologies and compiling the best publicly available water information so that companies can manage their water use in sustainable, efficient, and equitable ways.
This week in Stockholm, teams from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), World Resources Institute (WRI), and Water Footprint Network (WFN) convened a seminar called “Towards Sustainability: Harmonising Water Tools for Better Water Governance”. The event focused on providing an overview of each tool and highlighting areas requiring better harmonization and coordination efforts to help drive companies towards better management and stewardship of water resources. The seminar also included Ceres, DEG (a German development finance institution), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the UN CEO Water Mandate. The goal of the seminar was to explain how our organizations are striving to provide companies with a clear, easy-to- understand, and compatible set of water management tools—not a variety of competing efforts, but rather an organized and coordinated front.
Agricultural production often comes at the expense of water quality. As my colleague, Mindy Selman, noted in a recent blog post, “Agriculture is the leading source of nutrient pollution in waterways—a situation that’s expected to worsen as the global population increases and the demand for food grows.”
But food security shouldn’t come at the expense of water quality—and in fact, it doesn’t have to. This is a topic I’m discussing at a World Water Week side event, “Securing Water Quality While Providing Food Security: The Nutrient Question.” Through the use of effective tools and strategies, we have the power to uphold water quality while still feeding a population that’s expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.
This piece was co-authored by Stuart Orr, Freshwater Manager, WWF. It also appears on the WWF Freshwater Programme blog.
There is no shortage of troubling statistics to prove that water management is a global challenge. About 1.2 billion people currently face water scarcity, and a population expected to grow to 9 billion by 2050 will put increased strain on already pressured water supplies worldwide.
But while the water challenge is truly global, it also demands solutions that are tailored to local conditions. Availability, use, and quality of water vary dramatically from place to place.
This piece was co-authored by Keith Liao, Senior Engineer with the AU Optronics Corporate Sustainability and Environment Department
Companies are increasingly feeling the financial impacts of water risks like shortages and pollution. Ceres’ most recent report, Clearing the Waters, highlights the fact that companies are falling short on identifying key areas where their operations are exposed to physical water risks. Mitigating these threats, then, requires doing more to assess, disclose, and address them.
In an effort to learn more about how companies can better understand and manage water risks, the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct program recently partnered with AU Optronics (AUO) to assess water risks faced by the company’s fabrication plants around the world. Headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, AUO is a leading manufacturer of electronic screens, otherwise known as thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs). AUO makes up 17 percent of the world’s market share of TFT-LCDs and generated $12.5 billion in annual sales revenue in 2011.
Our water systems are currently being threatened by the crops we grow and food we produce. In many countries, agriculture is the leading source of nutrient pollution in waterways—a situation that’s expected to worsen as the global population increases and the demand for food grows.
WRI’s water quality team will be in Stockholm next week to discuss this very topic at a side event entitled, “Securing Water Quality While Providing Food Security: The Nutrient Question,” an event co-organized by Water Environment Federation and Environmental Defense Fund. This session, which takes place on August 29th, will build on the work WRI’s water quality team has done with its partner, Dr. Bob Diaz at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, to evaluate the scale and scope of global nutrient-related water quality challenges, including how these issues are driven by agriculture. | <urn:uuid:bf2d91df-f573-4a30-8704-8a0b6e21567d> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.wri.org//blog-tags/8659 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738661833.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173741-00105-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942939 | 1,226 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Cross Section of a Vertebrate Embryo in the Neurula Stage
A Neurula is an embryo at the early stage of development in which neurulation occurs.
Neurulation is the development of the nervous system in the vertebrates, at the thickened area above the notochord in ectoderms. The neural plate will fold to produce the neural tube which will develop into the brain. Remaining tissue will develop into the spinal cord. Neurula involves the formation of an internal neural tube from an external sheet of cells. The first signs of neurulation are flattening and thickening of the ectoderm overlying the notochord; this thickened area forms a neural plate. The edges of the neural plate that run in an anterior-posterior direction continue to thicken, forming ridges or folds. Between these neural folds, a groove forms and deepens as the fold roll over it to converge on the midline. The fold fuses, forming a cylinder--the neural tube--and a continuous overlying layer of epidermal ectoderm. The neural tube develops bulges at the anterior end, which become the major divisions of the brain. The remaining sections of the tube becomes the spinal cord.
In humans, failure of the neural tube to develop normally can result in serious birth defects. If the neural folds fail to fuse in a posterior region, the result is a condition known as spina bifida. If they fail to fuse at the anterior end of an infant can develop without a forebrain- a condition called anencephaly. There are genetic as well as dietary factors that cause neural tube defects. The incidence of neural tube defects used to be about 1 in 300 live births, but we now know that this incidence can be cut in half if pregnant women have an adequate amount of folic acid in their diets. | <urn:uuid:83d0bd57-854f-4140-9a59-47b8be2284de> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurula | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163879441/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204133119-00029-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929451 | 382 | 3.75 | 4 |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. "You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss ... " or is it?
Despite the classic lyrics of the song from the movie "Casablanca," scientist Sheril Kirshenbaum says there is a lot of science behind the popular act of kissing.
"There's a chemical basis for what happens when our bodies meet at the lips," Kirshenbaum said.
She began exploring the subject in depth, she said, after writing a scientific article on the subject in conjunction with Valentine's Day. From there, the interest of other scientists blossomed, and she decided there was enough interest for her to write a book on the subject, which resulted in "The Science of Kissing."
"There really is a chemical basis for falling in love," Kirshenbaum said. "I don't think trying to understand it takes any of the romance out of the equation."
Kirshenbaum explained her theory at a recent IdeaFestival, a four-day event designed to promote creative thinking.
Daniel Erb came to the festival from Lexington, Ky., and was intrigued by the subject of the science of kissing.
"It's fascinating," Erb said of Kirshenbaum's ideas. "It's a human behavior you see everywhere."
Knowing some of the chemical and hormonal reasons for kissing doesn't spoil the mystery, Erb said.
"It's still fun."
In her research, Kirshenbaum found literature that explores the differences between how men and women approach kissing. She pointed out that women report that a kiss is an important gauge of compatibility for them, while men often view kissing as a "means to an end."
Scientifically, Kirshenbaum said that may be connected to the limits of female reproduction, which biologically makes women want to find better mates because they cannot have an unlimited number of children.
Often a kiss can provide a window into long-term compatibility.
"A first kiss is nature's ultimate litmus test," she said.
Mindy Russo, who came from Connecticut for the festival, said she was intrigued by the idea that hormonal reactions may play a part in the longevity of a relationship, rather than simply personality compatibility.
"It didn't occur to me that that could be hormonal," Russo said. "Our bodies themselves have so much to do with our lives."
View subscription options | <urn:uuid:6b91ccf7-adaa-4018-9b59-a39d12592ef6> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/20110925kissing-science.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917118707.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031158-00523-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973975 | 494 | 2.8125 | 3 |
One of the most important things you can do at home to support your child’s progress, regard-less of their age, is to hear them read and enjoy sharing a book together each day.
This daily practice of reading and genuine interest in reading shown by a parent really does build on the reading progress children make in school and sets them up for life.
We encourage parents to play games and support practise of other key skills of mental maths skills – such as times tables practice appropriate to their age – and spellings which are set on a weekly basis.
Homework is set by class teachers for children on a weekly basis. It is appropriate for the age of the children in each class and offers a chance to practise skills a little that children have learnt in the classroom environment. We thank parents for their support in this important area. For more information, please see our Homework policy and please contact class teachers if you have any queries. | <urn:uuid:81590cae-88fe-44b3-a0a7-6d092c28e606> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.sir-robert-gefferys.cornwall.sch.uk/our-curriculum/homework/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499541.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20230128090359-20230128120359-00393.warc.gz | en | 0.96525 | 191 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Corrosion Resistance of Vinyl Ester Resin
Fiberglass reinforced polymer (FRP), or simply fiberglass, is a composite product comprising a high-strength material matrix. Tough textiles reinforced with silicate fibers are bound with a liquid polymer, such as vinyl ester resin, which imparts stiffness to the fabric while impregnating the component with distinct corrosion, thermal, and abrasion resistance properties.
The type of resin used is critical for determining the end-use properties of fiberglass components. Typical applications require general use resins such as premium or isophthalic polyester, which provide excellent corrosion resistance for various chemical environments including distilled and freshwater, alongside seawater of varying salinity. Aggressive chemical applications require a more robust binder, such as vinyl ester resin.
What is Vinyl Ester Resin?
Epoxies can be converted to vinyl ester resin through esterification with acidic catalysts, creating an intermediate product with mechanical strengths lower than that of epoxy resins but greater than polyester. It offers improved thermodynamic resistance over polyester alongside a broader range of resistance to aggressive corrosives. This is partially due to the enhanced cross-bonding of vinyl esters to the core fabric, creating a more comprehensive fiberglass composite.
Vinyl ester resin is used to saturate a continuous web of fiberglass material through pultrusion prior to forming, curing, and profiling of the net shapes. In fact, the fiberglass industry is one of the world’s largest consumers of vinyl ester resin, with composite materials manufacturing representing the material’s primary use.
Applications of Vinyl Ester Resin
At Strongwell, we routinely use both polyester and vinyl ester resins to produce fiberglass components for a range of applications, including: structural shapes; grating and decking; handrails; paneling components; and many more.
The conditions of the component’s end-use environment are vital for deciding which resin is most appropriate. This must be predicted based on a robust understanding of the application area and the corrosive agents that the composite may be exposed to throughout its service life. Walkover grating for industrial facilities, for example, may need to withstand humidity, thermal cycling, standing water, chemical cleaning agents, and various corrosives unique to the process operations.
Want to learn more about the use of resins in pultrusion? Read our previous blog post Phenolic Resin Products for the Oil and Gas Industry
DURAGRATE® molded grating reinforced with premium isophthalic polyester is generally resistant to various acids and caustic solutions at ambient temperatures, but its corrosive resistance is significantly impaired at temperatures above 100°F. By comparison, DURAGRATE® products reinforced with vinyl ester resin boast broad resistance to processing chemicals at ambient temperatures, with little to no loss of performance up to 160°F. These components have demonstrated extended performance in various industrial facilities including food and beverage processing, and fermentation facilities.
Strongwell’s FRP Products
Strongwell supplies an extensive range of fiberglass products that can be reinforced with vinyl ester resins. These offer good strength improvements over conventional materials, with significantly improved corrosion resistance over the service life of the product.
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Each year is divided into two halves (January through June
and July through December)
War Naval Chronology 1861-1865
Published 1966 by Naval History Division
, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
, Navy Department
in blue are information concerning submarine warfare derived from Mark Ragan's
- August - September - October
- November - December
1 The Western Flotilla of Flag Officer
joined the fleet of Flag Officer Farragut above Vicks-burg. Farragut wrote:
"The ironclads are curious looking things to us salt-water gentlemen; but
no doubt they are better calculated for this river than our ships. . . . They
look like great turtles.
came on board . . . . We have made the circuit (since we met at Port Royal)
around half the United States and met on the
." The meeting of the fresh-water and salt-water squadrons had considerable
psychological value throughout the North, but it did not imply control over the
river so long as the Gibraltar-like fortress of Vicksburg remained unsubdued. In
a military sense this temporary joining of the squadrons pointed up the
necessity for the arduous, year-long amphibious campaign which was necessary to
President Lincoln recommended to the Congress that Flag Officer Foote be given a
vote of thanks for his efforts on the western waters. The President knew well
the import of the defeats dealt the Confederacy by the gunboats on the upper
. He recognized that Foote's forces had cleared the
, and had succeeded in splitting the Confederacy as far as
on the Father of Waters.
Soto, Captain W. M. Walker, captured British schooner William attempting to run the blockade at
1-2 Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough's fleet covered the withdrawal of General
McClellan's army after a furious battle with Confederate forces under General
Robert E. Lee at Malvern Hill.
Dependent on the Navy for his movement to Harrison's Landing, chosen by
McClellan at Commodore J. Rodgers recommendation because it was so situated that
gunboats could protect both flanks of his army, the General acknowledged the
decisive role played by the Navy in enabling his troops to withdraw with a
minimum loss: "Commodore Rodgers placed his gunboats so as to protect our
flanks and to command the approaches from Richmond . . . During the whole battle
Commodore Rodgers added greatly to the discomfiture of the enemy by throwing
shell among his reserve and advancing columns.'' The Washington National
Intelligencer of 7 July described the gunboats' part in the action at Malvern Hill: "About five o'clock in the after-noon the
, Aroostook, and Jacob Bell opened from Turkey Island Bend, in the
, with shot and shell from their immense guns. The previous roar of field
artillery seemed as faint as the rattle of musketry in comparison with these
monsters of ordnance that literally shook the water and strained the air. . . .
They fired about three times a minute, frequently a broadside at a time, and the
immense hull of the
careened as she delivered her complement of iron and flame. The fire went on .
. . making music to the ears of our tired men. . . . Confederate] ranks seemed
slow to close up when the naval thunder had torn them apart. . . During the
engagement at White Oak Swamp, too, the Intelligencer reported, the gunboats
"are entitled to the most unbounded credit. They came into action just at
the right time, and did first rate service.'' The Navy continued to safeguard
the supply line until the Army of the Potomac was evacuated to northern
in August, bringing to a close the unsuccessful Peninsular Campaign.
2 USS Western
World, Acting Master Samuel B. Gregory, captured blockade running British
schooner Volante in
, with cargo of salt and fish.
3 USS Quaker
City, Commander Frailey, captured blockade running British brig Lilla
Commander Emmons, captured schooner Sarah
, with cargo of sugar and molasses.
4 USS Maratanza,
Lieutenant Stevens, engaged CSS Teaser,
Lieutenant Davidson, at Haxall's on the
. Teaser was abandoned and captured after a shell from Maratanza
exploded her boiler. In addition to placing mines in the river, Davidson had
gone down the river with a balloon on board for the purpose of making an aerial
reconnaissance of General McClellan's positions at City Point and
's Landing. By this time both
and Confederate forces were utilizing the balloon for gathering intelligence; Teaser
had been the Southern counterpart of USS G. W.
Parke Custis, from whose deck aerial observations had been made the preceding
year. The balloon, as well as a quantity of insulated wire and mine equipment,
were found on board Teaser. Six shells
with ''peculiar fuzes'' were also taken and sent to Captain Dahlgren at the
Washington Navy Yard for examination.
Commander J. Rodgers reported to Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough on the
stationing of the gunboats supporting the Army's position at
's Landing: "It is now too late, I hope, for the enemy to attack the army
here with any chance of success. The troops are in good spirits and everyone
seems confident." Major General McClellan advised President Lincoln that
"Captain Rodgers is doing all in his power in the kindest and most
efficient manner." General Robert E. Lee came to the same conclusion in a
letter to Confederate President Davis: ''The enemy is strongly posted in the
neck formed by Herring creek and
. . . The enemy's batteries occupy the ridge along which the Charles City road
runs, north to the creek, and his gunboats lying below the mouth of the creek
sweep the ground in front of his batteries Above his encamp-ments which lie on
the river, his gunboats also extend; where the ground is more favorable to be
searched by their cannon. As far as I can now see there is no way to attack him
to advantage; nor do I wish to expose the men to the destructive missiles of his
gunboats . . . I fear he is too secure under cover of his boats to be driven
from his position.
Island, Commander Trenchard, captured blockade running British schooner R.
O. Bryan off the coast of
The tug Fred
Kopp leaves the
and returns Alligator to Philadelphia
Navy Yard. On this same day, C.S.S. Teaser
captured by U.S.S. Maratanza on the
; the Confederate ship carries detailed schematics of the new ironclad, Virginia
II, which is nearing completion. Alligator is hastily recalled, but the civilian crew declines the
5 Act to reorganize the
Navy Department increased the number of Bureaus to eight: Yards and Docks,
Equipment and Recruiting, Navigation, Ordnance, Construction and Repair, Steam
Engineering, Provisions and Clothing, Medicine and Surgery. This act, and other
far-reaching measures were guided through Congress by Senator Grimes of
, who had an outstanding appreciation of sea power.
Commander Emmons, captured sloop
6 Commodore Wilkes ordered to command James River Flotilla as a division of the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough. Secretary
of the Navy Welles' instructions to Wilkes stated: "You will immediately
place yourself in communication with Major General McClellan, Commanding the
Army of the Potomac, near Harrison's Landing . . . It will be your special duty
to keep open the navigation of James River and afford protection to all vessels
trans-porting troops or supplies, and generally to cooperate with the army in
all military movements.
7 Commander J. Rodgers reported to Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough on the
convoying of Army transports on James River: There is to be a convoy of gunboats
each day from
's Bar to near the mouth of the Chickahominy, going and returning each day. As
there was no better reason for the time than the arrival and departure of the
mail from Old Point, it was agreed that at 9 a.m. all the transportation down
should sail, convoyed by gunboats-I had selected four for it. And at 3 p.m. all
the army transportation to this point should come up, convoyed by the same
force." Convoy and cover of supply ships by the gunboats were indispensable
to General McClellan's army.
Lieutenant John C. Howell, captured schooner Uncle Mose off Yucatan
, with cargo of cotton.
City, Commander Frailey, in company with USS
Huntsville, captured blockade running
British steamer Adela off the
Boats from USS Flag, Commander James H. Strong, and USS
Restless, Acting Lieutenant Conroy,
captured British blockade runner Emilie
in Bull's Bay, South Carolina.
President Lincoln and military party departed Washington on board USS
Arid to visit General McClellan with
the Army of the Potomac at Harrison's Landing, Virginia.
9 General Robert E. Lee wrote President Davis, advising him of the Confederate
troops' inability to move against the Union forces on the James River because of
the presence of the Navy gunboats: "After a thorough reconnaissance of the
position taken up by the enemy on
, I found him strongly posted and effectually flanked by his Gunboats. . . . I
caused field batteries to play on his forces, and on his transports, from points
on the river below. But they were too light to accomplish much, and were always
attacked with superior force by the Gunboats. .
Pen, Lieutenant FlUSSer,
Acting Master Woodward, and USS Ceres,
Acting Master John MacDiarmid, embarked on an expedition up Roanoke River and
landed a field piece and force of soldiers and sailors at
, where steamer Wilson was captured.
Acting Lieutenant Kittredge, captured schooner Reindeer with cargo of cotton near
10 Flag Officer Du Pont, learning of the action at Malvern Hill, wrote: "The
, [Army] transport passed us this morning. We boarded her and got papers to the
5th. The captain of the transport told the boarding officer that McClellan's
army would have been annihilated but for the gunboats." Continual
Confederate concern about the gunboats was noted by a British Army observer,
Colonel Garnet J. Wolseley, who wrote that he "noted with some interest the
superstitious dread of gunboats which possessed the Southern soldiers. These
vessels of war, even when they have been comparatively harmless had several
times been the means of saving northern armies.
Acting Lieutenant Kittredge, captured sloop Belle
, and schooner Monte Christo was burned
by Confederates at
, to prevent her falling into Union hands.
11 President Lincoln, demonstrating his appreciation of the role sea power had
played thus far in the Civil War, recommended to the Congress that votes of
thanks be given to Captains Lardner, Davis, and Stringham, and to Commanders
Dahlgren, D.D. Porter, and Rowan.
Congress passed an act for the relief of relatives of the officers and men who
died on board USS Cumberland and Congress
destroyed those vessels and threatened to break the blockade of
four months before.
12 USS Mercedita,
Commander Stellwagen, captured blockade running schooners Victoria and Ida off
Hole-in-the-Wall, Abaco, Bahamas, the former laden with cotton, the latter with
general cargo, including cloth, shoes, needles and salt.
13 Commodore Wilkes reported operations of the James River Flotilla to Secretary
of the Navy Welles: "The Army transports are daily convoyed up and down by
the gunboats, besides having others stationed off the principal salient points
where the rebels have come down to fire at our vessels passing. They almost
daily make some attempts to annoy these unarmed boats, but seldom venture to do
anything. I believe it is in my power to keep the river open effectually. . .
I found . . . a necessity of active and prompt measures to bring the flotilla
into operation, as the duties on the river require, and the effective protection
of the two flanks of the army. . . I would ask the Assistant Secretary's
attention to the subject of torpedoes, and also barbed rockets that will enter
wood and be the means of firing any bridges or other works of wood. If we had
some Congreve rockets, they would prove effective in driving the sharpshooters
out of the woods."
14 Congress passed an act stating that:
" . . . the spirit ration in the Navy of the United States shall forever
cease, and . . . no distilled spiritous liquors shall be admitted on board
vessels of war, except as medical stores . . . there shall be allowed and paid
to each person in the Navy now entitled to the ration, five cents per day in
commutation and lieu thereof, which shall be in addition to their present
pay." Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox and officers generally held that
it was in the Navy's best interest to abolish the spirit ration.
15 USS Carondelet,
Commander Walke, USS Tyler, Lieutenant Gwin, and ram Queen
of the West, carrying Army sharp shooters on reconnaissance of the Yazoo
River, engaged Confederate ironclad ram Arkansas,
Lieutenant Isaac N. Brown. In a severe fight as Union ships withdrew,
partially disabled Carondelet and Tyler.
ran through fire from the Union fleet to refuge under the
batteries in a heavily damaged condition and with many casualties. Farragut's
, but, as the Flag Officer reported, "it was so dark by the time we reached
the town that nothing could be seen except the flashes of the guns." In the
heavy cannonade as Farragut's ships continued down river below Vicks-burg, USS Winona, Lieutenant
Edward T. Nichols, and USS Sumter,
Lieutenant Henry Erben, were substantially damaged. The daring sortie of
emphatically underscored the need to reduce
. Major General Earl Van Dorn, CSA, said that Lieutenant Brown had
''immortalized his single vessel, himself, and the heroes under his command, by
an achievement, the most brilliant ever recorded in naval annals.'' Secretary
Mallory added: "Naval history records few deeds of greater heroism or
higher professional ability than this achievement of the
." Lieutenant Brown was promoted to Commander, and the Confederate Congress
later expressed thanks to Brown and his men "for their signal exhibition of
skill and gallantry. . . in the brilliant and successful engagement of the sloop
with the enemy's fleet."
now at the Washington Navy Yard
, is placed under the reluctant
command of Lieutenant Thomas O. Selfridge, hero of the battle between the
. Selfridge travels to the New York
Navy Yard to
recruit volunteers from the receiving ship
. Expecting no response, he is surprised when so many men volunteer that he must
choose from among them.
16 David Glasgow Farragut, in recognition of his victory at New Orleans,
promoted to Rear Admiral, the first officer to hold that rank in the history of
the U.S. Navy.
The measure passed by Congress which
created the rank of Rear Admiral also revamped the existing rank structure to
include Commodore and Lieutenant Commander and established the number of Rear
Admirals at 9; Commodores, 18; Captains, 36; Commanders, 72; and the remainder
through Ensign at 144 each. The act provided that ''The three senior rear
admirals [Farragut, L. M. Goldsborough, and Du Pont] shall wear a square blue
flag at the mainmast head; the next three at the foremast head, and all others
at the mizzen.'' Rear Admirals were to rank with Major Generals in the Army.
Congress approved a bill transferring
"the western gunboat fleet constructed by the War Department for operations
on the western waters'' to the Navy Department. Actual enactment of the measure
took place on 1 October 1862.
Commander Woodhull, USS Cimarron, reported from
's Landing: "I have placed my vessel, as directed, on the extreme right
flank of the army; so also the other gunboats under my charge, as will give us
full command of the open country beyond the line."
Acting Lieutenant William C. Rogers, seized blockade running British schooner
Agnes off Abaco with cargo of cotton and rosin.
17 Congress passed an act which established that "every officer, seaman, or
marine, disabled in the line of duty, shall be intitled to receive for life, or
during his disability, a pension from the
, according to the nature and degree of his disability, not exceeding in any
case his monthly pay."
17-18 Twenty Marines from USS Potomac
participated in an expedition up Pascagoula Rivet,
. Under First Lieutenant George W. Collier, the Marines, whose force was
augmented by an equal number of sailors, acted with USS
New London and Grey Cloud to capture or
destroy a steamer and two schooners rumored to be loading with cotton, and to
destroy telegraphic communications between
. The expedition succeeded in disrupting communications, but, pursuing the
Confederate vessels upstream, it was engaged by cavalry and infantry troops and
forced to turn back to care for the wounded.
18 Secretary of the Navy Welles notified
Flag Officers commanding squadrons of a bill authorizing the President to
appoint annually three midshipmen to the Naval Academy from the enlisted boys of
the Navy. "They must be of good moral character, able to read and write
well, writing from dictation and spelling with correctness, and to perform with
accuracy the various operations of the primary rules of arithmetic, viz,
numeration, and the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole
numbers." Each Flag Officer was requested to nominate one candidate from
his command "not over 18 years of age."
19 Naval court martial meeting in
acquitted Flag Officer Tattnall with honor for ordering the destruction of CSS
on 11 May after the evacuation of
. The court found that "the only alternative was to abandon and burn the
ship then and there, which in the judgment of the court, was deliberately and
21 U.S. steamers Clara Dolsen
and Rob Roy and tug Restless
under Commander Alexander M. Pennock, with troops embarked, arrived from Cairo
to protect Evansville, InDiana, at the
request of Governor Morton. Troops were landed and retook
, from Confederate guerrillas, several boats were burned, and the
was patrolled against attack from the
side of the river. Major General John Love wrote to Commander Pennock
expressing the "gratitude with which the citizens of
and of this locality will regard the prompt cooperation of yourself and your
officers in this emergency, which threatened their security." The mobility
which naval control of the river gave to Union forces neutralized repeated
Confederate attempts to re-establish positions in the
Confederate artillery at Argyle Landing,
, destroyed naval transport USS Sallie
Acting Lieutenant W. C. Rogers, captured steamer Reliance in Bahama Channel.
22 USS Essex,
Commander W. D. Porter, and ram Queen of
the West, Lieutenant Colonel Ellet, attacked CSS
, Commander I. N. Brown, at anchor with a disabled engine at
Although many of his officers and crew were ashore sick and wounded after the
action of 15 July, Commander Brown fought his ship gallantly. After attempting
to ram, the Essex became closely
engaged in cannon fire with
. Breaking off the engagement, Essex
steamed through a bail of shell Past the shore batteries and joined Rear Admiral
Farragut's fleet which had remained below
after passing the city on 15 July. Queen
of the West rammed
but with little effect. She rejoined Flag Officer Davis' fleet in a shattered
condition. The day after repelling the attack by Essex
and Queen of the West, Commander Brown
up and down the river under the
batteries. A member of
's crew, Dabney M. Scales, described the action in a vivid letter to his father:
"At 4 o'clock on the morning of the 22nd, I was awakened by the call to
quarters. Hurrying to our stations, with not even a full complement of men for 3
guns; our soldiers having left just the night before; we discovered the enemy
coming right down upon us. . . . We did not have men enough to heave the anchor
up and get underway, before the enemy got to us, even if we had had steam ready.
So we had to lay in to the bank, and couldn't meet him on anything like equal
terms. . . . The
came first, firing on us with her three bow guns. We replied with our two bow
guns as long as they could be brought to bear, which was not a very long time,
as our vessel being stationary, the enemy soon came too much on our broadside
for these guns, and their crews Lad to be shifted to the broadside guns. In the
ranged up alongside us, and at the distance of 20 feet poured in a broadside
which crashed against our sides like nothing that I ever heard be-fore. . . . We
were so close that our men were burnt by the powder of the enemy's guns. . . All
this time the Ram [Queen of the West]
was not idle, but came close down on the heels of his consort. . . . We welcomed
him as warmly as we could with our scanty crew. Just before he got to us, we
managed by the helm and with the aid of the starboard propeller, to turn our bow
out-stream a little, which prevented him from getting a fair lick at us. As it
was, he glanced round our side and ran aground just astern of us."
Meanwhile, the Confederate Secretary of War in a general order praised
's feats of the week before:
"Lieutenant Brown, and the officers and crew of the Confederate steamer
, by their heroic attack upon the Federal fleet before
equaled the highest recorded examples of courage and skill. They proved that
the Navy, when it regains its proper element, will be one of the chief bulwarks
of national defense and that it is entitled to a high place in the confidence
and affection of the country.
President Davis telegraphed Governor John J. Pettus of
: "Captain Brown of the
, requires boatmen, and reports himself doomed to inactivity by the inability to
get them. We have a large class of river boatmen and some ordinary seamen on our
who must now be unemployed. Can you help Captain Brown to get an adequate
23 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wrote Major General John G. Barnard:
''Part of the mortar fleet are ordered to
and should be there by the 1st proximo. There is no army to cooperate at
where we have been lying two months, and the keeping open
up to McClellan's position is the first duty of the Navy, so we ordered twelve
of the vessels there. If a fort is erected below you on the right bank of the
James (and I see no obstacle) or if offensive or defensive operations are
undertaken I think the mortar will not come amiss. . . . The iron boats are
progressing . . . We have forty underweight, and are putting others in hand as
fast as contracts for engines shall be made. The machinery for manufacturing
marine engines is limited." The Union Navy's rapid transformation from wood
to iron doomed the Confederacy's effort with ironclads and rams to break the
noose of Federal seapower.
24 Rear Admiral Farragut's fleet departed its station below Vicksburg, as the
falling water level of the river and sickness among his ships' crews
necessitated withdrawal to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Farragut's return to the
made abundantly clear the strategic significance of
for, although the Navy held the vast majority of the river, Confederate control
enabled the South to continue to get some supplies for her armies in the East
. To prevent as much of this as possible, Rear Admiral Davis and Major General
Samuel R. Curtis provided for combined Army-Navy expeditions along the banks of
. Though supplies continued to move across the river, this action prevented the
Confederates from maintaining and reinforcing batteries at strategic points, an
important factor in the following year's operations.
City, Commander Frailey, captured blockade runner Orion at Campeche Bank, south of
, captured British blockade runner Tubal
Cain east of
ran the blockade into
26 Confederates hoarded and burned schooner Louisa
Reed in the
27 USS Yankee,
Lieutenant Commander William Gibson, and USS Satellite,
Acting Master Amos Foster, captured schooner J.
W. Sturges in Chippoak Creek, Virginia.
28 USS Hatteras,
Commander Emmons, captured Confederate brig Josephine
off Ship Shoal,
, en route to
with cargo of cotton.
Bark Agrippina, Captain Alexander
McQueen, was ordered to rendezvous in the Azores with steamer Enrica
) which was to depart Liverpool pursuant to arrangements made by Commander
, for the purpose of transferring guns, ammunition, coal, and other cargo to
. Under the command of Captain Raphael Semmes, the re-nowned Confederate cruiser
ravaged the seas, dealing serious damage to Union commerce.
29 USS Mount
, Commander Glisson, and USS Mystic,
Lieutenant Commander Arnold, captured blockade running British brig Napier
reverses in the East, which he ascribed to the deception of Northern commanders
by false reports of the size of Confederate armies, Rear Admiral Farragut
stated: "The officers say I don't believe anything. I certainly believe
very little that comes in the shape of reports I mean to be whipped or to whip
my enemy, and not be scared to death."
31 USS Magnolia,
Acting Lieutenant W. Budd, captured British steamer
with large cargo of cotton and rosin. She had run the blockade out of
on 26 July.
31-1 Confederate batteries at Coggins' Point took Union forces under fire on the
James River between Harrison's Landing and
, sinking two Army transports. USS Cimarron,
Commander Woodhull, immediately opened counter fire on the battery. Praising
Gunner's Mate John Merrert who, although extremely ill and awaiting transfer to
a hospital, bravely manned his station in the main magazine, Commander Woodhull
wrote: "Merrett is an old man-of-warsman; his discipline, courage, and
patriotism would not brook inaction when his ship was in actual battle. His
conduct, I humbly think, was a great example to all lovers of the country and
its cause . . . it is the act of a fine specimen of the old Navy tar." This
mutual respect between the naval officer and the long service enlisted man
enabled the Navy to maintain its tone through-out the Civil War despite
1 USS Thomas
Freeborn, Acting Master James L. Plunkett, captured schooner Mail
, with cargo including salt.
Lieutenant Clitz, captured sloop Lizzie
, with cargo including salt.
2 William H. Aspinwall, a Union merchant
and long time booster of ironclads, wrote Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox
suggesting an innovation in weaponry to which can be traced the modern torpedo:
"I have been thinking for some time about the probability that a properly
shaped cylindrical shot fired 6 or 8 feet under water will be the next
improvement on iron clad vessels. At short range great effect could be attained
below the iron plating. . . . I have the plan for firing a gun projecting 6 or 8
or 10 feet below the water line of a vessel, which I think would work well, if
it is found that shot can be relied on to do the intended injury under water.
, Lieutenant Maffitt, about to take to sea from
, was released by the
after having been seized by H.M.S. Greyhound.
Santiago de Cuba
, Commander Ridgely, seized blockade runner
north of Abaco with cargo of arms.
4 USS Unadilla,
Lieutenant Collins, captured British steamer Lodona attempting to run the blockade at
Lieutenant Downes, seized schooner Aquilla
with cargo of turpentine.
5 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox
observed that: ''The Richmond Engineer [Enquirer] said that the first federal
[army] officer meeting a navy officer at James River after McClellan's
'strategic move' [withdrawing from Malvern
Hill to Harrison's Landing] threw his arms around his neck and said 'Oh my dear
Sir, we ought to have a gunboat in every family!'
, Lieutenant Henry Stevens temporarily in command, having become unmanageable
due to engine failure while advancing to support a Confederate attack on
, was engaged by USS Essex,
Commander W. D. Porter. Lieutenant Stevens recognized his helpless condition,
shotted his guns, and ordered
destroyed to prevent her capture. He reported: "It was beautiful to see
her, when abandoned by Commander and crew, and dedicated to sacrifice, fighting
the battle on her own hook." Without naval support and under fire from USS
Kineo, and Katahdin, the
Confederate thrust was repelled. When the wounded and ill Commander Brown had
on a brief leave, he had realized that critical repairs were necessary and that
his ship was not ready for combat. He ordered Stevens not to move her until his
return. Nevertheless, General Van Dorn, to ensure the success of his expedition,
into the fatal
been fit for battle, the Confederates might have taken
and reopened the important
supply line then under Union blockade.
Selfridge and his crew take Alligator
for their first voyage. The results of this and later trials are included in
Selfridge’s unflattering report—which ends his association with the vessel.
Selfridge is given command of U.S.S. Cairo
of the Mississippi
Squadron; his fourteen hand-picked crewmen accompany him. The biggest problem
cited by the reluctant submariner was the oar propulsion system used to move Alligator.
De Villeroi’s adoption of oars was odd, since the original submarine he sailed
used a screw propeller.
7 President Lincoln, with Secretaries Seward and Stanton, visited Captain
Dahlgren at the Washington Navy Yard for a two hour demonstration of the
"Rafael" repeating cannon. Later Dahlgren took the party on board a
steamer to cool off and rest.
and began her renowned career under Lieutenant Maffitt.
8 Confederate Secretary of the Navy Mallory wrote Commander Bulloch in
: "I am pleased to learn that the credit of my department stands well in
, and sensible of the great importance of maintaining it. I am endeavoring to
place funds to your credit, which the scarcity and very high rate of exchange
render difficult. We have just paid 200 and 210 per cent for 80,072.3.9, which
amount is now in the hands of John Fraser & Co. of
, with orders to place the same to your credit in
." The tightening blockade constantly constricted the Southern economy.
10 Rear Admiral Farragut reported to Secretary of the Navy Welles that he had
partially destroyed Donaldsonville, Louisiana, in reprisal for the firing by
guerrilla forces on steamers ''passing up and down the river.'' Farragut wrote
that he had ''sent a message to the inhabitants that if they did not discontinue
this practice, I would destroy their town. The last time I passed up to
to the support of the army, I. . . heard them firing upon the vessels coming
up, first upon the Sallie Robinson and next
. In the latter case they made a mistake, and it was so quickly returned that
they ran away. The next night they fired again upon the
. I therefore ordered them to send their women and children out of the town, as
I certainly intended to destroy it on my way down the river, and I fulfilled my
promise to a certain extent. I burned down the hotels and wharf buildings, also
the dwelling houses and other buildings of a Mr. Phillippe Landry, who is said
to be a captain of guerrillas." Though Farragut had no taste for
devastating private property, he felt justified in doing so if private citizens
endangered the lives of his men.
Acting Master James C. Tole, captured schooner S.S. Jones near the
11 Rear Admiral Farragut, having received his promotion, "hoisted my flag
at the main." His general order to the fleet on this date ascribed the
promotion to ''the gallantry of the officers and men of the fleet . . . [and]
your Admiral feels assured that you will never disappoint these high
expectations. A new field is now opening before you. To your ordinary duties is
added the contest with the elements. Let it he your pride to show the world that
danger has no greater terror for you in one form than in another; that you are
as ready to meet the enemy in the one shape as in the other, and that you, with
your wooden vessels, have never been alarmed by fire rafts, torpedoes, chain
booms, ironclad rams, ironclad gunboats, or forts. The same Great Power
preserves you in the presence of all."
12 USS Arthur,
Acting Lieutenant Kittredge, captured armed schooner Breaker at
. Confederate schooner Elma and sloop Hannah were burned at
to prevent their capture by Arthur.
13 Rear Admiral Du Pont wrote Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox on the subject
of Confederate rams and ironclads at
one, not at all the Fingal, is more
of a floating battery, doubtless with 10 inch guns (8 of them) but she has a
list, leaks, and has not power to go against stream. She may be used to cover
vessels running the blockade by putting herself between them and the Forts if
. . . . The
vessels are not yet ready and I hope are progressing slowly, one is simply an
ironclad, size of Pembina---the other
more of a ram." Because of the power which CSS
Virginia had promised and demonstrated, the Confederacy made every effort to
ready other ironclads to strike against the blockading forces. However, lack of
critical material and industrial facilities prevented the South from mounting a
truly serious threat. On the Savannah River, ironclad rams
were launched, but both were too slow and drew too much water to he fully
showed herself to Du Pont's squadron on 31 July, when she steamed down the
and returned to
. Some six months later, Master H. Beverly Littlepage, CSN, wrote Lieutenant
Catesby ap R. Jones of her: "We are still at anchor in the river between
and the first obstructions, only a few hundred yards from the
. I understand it is the intention of the commodore [Tattnall] that the Atlanta
shall he moored as near the stern of the Georgia as she can get so that by
springing her either of her broadsides may be made to bear on the obstructions
in the event of the anticipated attack. I think I can safely affirm that the
will never go outside of the obstructions again or, at least for some time. . .
. There is no ventilation below at all, and I think it will be impossible for us
to live on her in the summer. . . .I would venture to say that if a person were
blindfolded and carried below and then turned loose he would imagine himself in
a swamp, for the water is trickling in all the time and everything is so
, for want of adequate engines, was used as a floating battery. The ironclads
concerning Du Pont at
, a ram, and gunboat CSS Chicora.
's keel had been laid in January under Flag Officer Duncan N. Ingraham. Two
months later Chicora's keel was
laid-in the rear of the
post office-under the direction of James M. Eason, who built two additional
(whose keel was laid in December 1862) and CSS
, which was not completed before the fall of
. Lieutenant James H. Rochelle, who commanded
late in the war, described the vessels: ''The ironclads were . . . slow vessels
with imperfect engines, which required frequent repairing. . . . Their armor was
four inches thick, and they were all of the type of the
. . . . Each of the ironclads carried a torpedo fitted to the end of a spar some
15 or 20 feet long, projecting from the bow on a line with the keel, and so
arranged that it could be carried either triced up clear of the water or
submerged five or six feet below the surface.
Every night one or more of the ironclads anchored in the channel near Sumter for
the purpose of resisting a night attack on Sumter or a dash into the harbor by
the Federal vessels.'' Of
Rochelle wrote: ''She had a thickness of six inches of iron on her casemate,
and was otherwise superior to the other iron- clads. Unfortunately, the
was bilged in consequence of the ignorance, carelessness or treachery of her
pilot, and rendered no service whatever." For all their defects, the
Charleston vessels, particularly Palmetto
State and Chicora, did in a
measure, as naval constructor John L. Porter forecast in a 20 June 1862 letter
to Eason, ''afford great protection to the harbor of Charleston when
Acting Master Crocker, seized schooner
, with cargo of cotton.
14 USS Pocahontas,
Lieutenant George B. Balch, and steam tug Treaty, Acting Lieutenant Baxter, on
an expedition up the Black River from Georgetown, South Carolina, exchanged fire
with Confederate troops at close range along both banks of the river for a
distance of 20 miles in an unsuccessful attempt to capture steamer Nina.
The Confederate Patent Office
grants its second submarine patent to James Patton of
, for a steam-powered “submarine battery;” it is
unknown whether the boat was ever built.
15 Commodore Wilkes, commanding James River Flotilla, ordered USS
Galena, Commander J. Rodgers, USS
Port Royal, and USS
Satellite to cover the withdrawal of
the left wing of General McClellan's army from Harrison's Landing over the
Chickahominy. Rodgers was directed to "communicate with General Pleasonton
and inform him that you are to cover his cavalry force until such time as the
services of the gunboats may no longer be useful to him.''
Confederate steamer A. B. (or A.
Bee), aground at the entrance of the Nueces River near Corpus Christi, was
burned to avoid capture by USS Arthur,
Acting Lieutenant Kittredge.
16 Naval forces under Lieutenant Commander S. L. Phelps, including USS
Mound City, Benton,
and General Bragg, and rams Monarch,
Samson, Lioness, and Switzerland,
under Colonel Ellet, convoyed and covered Army troops under Colonel Charles R.
Woods in a joint expedition up the Mississippi from Helena as far as the Yazoo
River. The force was landed at various points en route, capturing steamer Fairplay above
, with large cargo of arms, and dispersing Confederate troop encampments. The
joint expedition also destroyed a newly erected Confederate battery about 20
miles up the
Confederate Secretary of the Navy Mallory wrote of the desperate need of iron
for the South's ships: "The want of iron is severely felt throughout the
Confederacy, and the means of increasing its production demand, in my judgment,
the prompt consideration of Congress. The Government has outstanding contracts
amounting to millions of dollars, but the iron is not forthcoming to meet the
increasing public wants. Scrap iron of all classes is being industriously
collected by agents of the Government, and we are now rolling railroad iron into
plates for covering ships . . . "Chronic lack of iron drastically
restricted Confederate ship construction, and eventually weighed heavily in the
final decision. As Commander Maury had written: ''Our necessities cry out for a
Navy in war; and when peace comes, it will profit us but little to be affluent
and free, if we are continually liable to be pillaged by all . . . the breadth
of our plantations and the value of our staples will be of small advantage if
the others may have the mastery in our own waters.'' Weak-ness in naval power
made the Confederate supply problems insurmountable.
16-18 Union naval force, comprising USS Sachem,
Reindeer, Belle Italia,
and yacht Corypheus, under command of
Acting Lieutenant Kittredge, bombarded
. On 18 August a landing party of sailors from Belle
Italia, supported by ships' gunfire, attempted to seize a Confederate
battery but was driven back by a cavalry force. Lieutenant Kittredge was
captured while ashore on 14 September. Confederate General H. P. Bee
characterized Kittredge as ''an honorable enemy and a "bold and energetic
leader." Lacking troop strength to occupy and hold
, Rear Admiral Farragut's ships nonetheless effectively controlled the
coast and pinned down Confederate forces which were vitally needed elsewhere.
17 Joint landing party from USS Ellis,
Master Benjamin H. Porter, and Army boats destroyed Confederate salt works,
battery, and barracks near
. This constant attack from the sea destroyed the South's resources and drained
18 Secretary of the Navy Welles wrote Commodore Wilkes: ''Our naval operations
in James River have, from the time you were placed in command of the flotilla,
depended almost entirely on army movements; and notwithstanding the army has
left your vicinity, your future action and the orders you may receive will, for
a time at least, and in a great degree, be controlled by develop-ments
Secretary of the Navy Welles, regarding the right of search, instructed squadron
and cruiser commanders: ''Some recent occurrences in the capture of vessels, and
matters pertaining to the blockade, render it necessary that there should be a
recapitulation of the instructions hereto-fore . . . given . . . It is
essential, in the remarkable contest now waging, that we should exercise great
forbearance, with great firmness, and manifest to the world that it is the
intention of our Government, while asserting and maintaining our own rights, to
respect and scrupulously regard the right of others . . . You are specially
informed that the fact that a suspicious vessel has been indicated to you . . .
does not in any way authorize you to depart from the practice of the rules of
visitation, search, and capture prescribed by the law of nations."
19 Captain John A. Winslow of USS St.
Louis reported the burning by Confederates of Union steamer Swallow,
21 Rear Admiral Farragut commented on the
intervention of foreign powers in the Civil War: "I don't believe it, and,
if it does come, you will find the
not so easy a nut to crack as they imagine. We have no dread of 'rams' or
'he-goats,' and, if our Editors had less, the country would be better off. Now
they scare everybody to death."
Commander Mullany, captured British blockade runner Eliza, bound from
22 Secretary of the Navy Welles ordered Rear Admiral L. M. Goldsborough,
commanding North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, to "assist the army, as far
as you may be able, in embarking the troops at Fortress Monroe and Newport News,
as desired by Major General Halleck." The withdrawal northward of the Army
by water transport brought to a close the Peninsular Campaign.
Rear Admiral Farragut instructed Lieutenant Commander Philip C. Johnson,
commanding USS Tennessee, that "you will stop at
] and bring Lieutenant McClain Tilton and the Marine guard, together with all
the stores you can [to the Pensacola Navy Yard]." Earlier in the year the
Marines had garrisoned the town.
State, Commander Le Roy, captured British schooner Fanny with cargo of salt,
near St. Simon's Sound,
, Captain Guert Gansevoort, ran on a reef outside Man of War Cay, Little
Bahamas, and was abandoned after efforts to save her failed.
Commander Mullany, seized British blockade runner Louisa off
S. Chambers, Acting Master D. Frank Mosman, seized schooner Corelia
off the coast of
23-24 Boat crew from USS Essex, Captain W. D. Porter, was fired upon by Confederate
guerrillas at Bayou Sara,
shelled the town.
24 Raphael Semmes took command of CSS
at sea off the
, Semmes said, "She was indeed a beautiful thing to look upon." As
Semmes finished reading his orders promoting him to Captain and appointing him
to command Alabama, the Con-federate ensign replaced the English colors at the
mast head, a gun was fired, and 'The air was rent by a deafening cheer from
officers and men. The band, at the same time, playing
." Thus, the celebrated raider was christened to begin her storied two year
N. Seymour, Acting Master Francis S. Wells, ran aground and sank in
Andrew, Lieutenant Arthur S. Gardner, wrecked after grounding during a heavy
gale 15 miles south of
and Stripes, Lieutenant McCook, captured British ship Mary Elizabeth, attempting to run the blockade into
with cargo of salt and fruit.
yacht Corypheus, tender to USS
Arthur, Acting Lieutenant Kittredge, captured schooner Water
25 Typical log entry (this of USS Benton)
describing the relentless naval operations on the western waters: "At 7
[a.m.] sent a boat ashore, which destroyed seven skiffs and one bateaux. At
11:40 came to at Bolivar Landing [
]. At 11:45 General Woods landing troops; opened fire upon the enemy. We opened
fire with our bow and starboard guns in protecting the landing of the troops . .
. fired a number of shots in direction of the rebel force.''
26 Captain Franklin Buchanan promoted to Admiral in the Confederate Navy
"for gallant and meritorious conduct in attacking the enemy's fleet in
Hampton Roads and destroying the frigate Congress, sloop of war Cumberland . . .
whilst in command of the squadron in the waters of Virginia on the 8th of March,
Confederate steamer Yorktown, running
the blockade from
, sprung a leak and foundered at sea off
with cargo of cotton.
, Commander John J. Almy, destroyed abandoned schooner Patriot,
de Cuba, Commander Ridgely, captured blockade runner Lavinia north of Abaco with cargo of turpentine.
, Lieutenant Thompson, escorted steamers White
Cloud and Iatan with Army troops embarked to
. The gunboat shelled and dispersed Confederate forces from a camp above
's Landing on the
shore. Landing the troops under cover of
's guns for reconnaissance missions en route, Lieutenant Thompson at Eunice
seized a large wharf boat, fitted out as a floating hotel. This type of
persistent patrolling of the
and tributaries by the Union Navy in support of Army operations was
instrumental in preventing the Confederates from establishing firm positions.
The James River Flotilla having carried out its mission in support of General
McClellan's army, the Navy Department ordered Commodore Wilkes to turn the ships
over to Rear Admiral L. M. Goldsborough and to proceed to
to assume command of the Potomac Flotilla.
. A newspaper reporter observed: "A fleet of monsters has been created,
volcanoes in a nutshell, breathing under water, fighting under shelter, steered
with mirrors, driven by vapor, running anywhere, retreating from nothing. These
floating carriages bear immense ordnance, perfected by new processes, and easily
worked by new and simple devices.
USS R. R.
Cuyler, Acting Master Simeon N. Freeman, captured schooner
Anne Sophia at sea east of
transport W. B. Terry, Master Leonard G. Klinck, carrying cargo of coal for Union
gunboats, ran aground at Duck River Shoals,
, and was captured by Confederate troops.
G. Anderson, Acting Master D'Oyley, seized schooner Lily off
with cargo of gun powder.
deserts the Confederacy. After the war he claims to have approached President
“secret information” regarding Southern efforts at undersea warfare, but
received no response.
, Lieutenant Maffitt, put into
after suffering a yellow fever epidemic on board which was fatal to several
Rear Admiral S.P. Lee relieved Rear Admiral L.M. Goldsborough as Commander,
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
2 USS Restless,
Acting Lieutenant Conroy, captured sloop John
with cargo of turpentine.
3 USS Essex,
Commodore W. D. Porter, in pursuit of CSS Webb,
had a landing party fired on at
, from which Union forces had withdrawn on 25 July.
bombarded the town for an hour, after which the mayor "unconditionally
surrendered" the city to Porter.
4 First session of the Naval Investigating Committee of the Confederate Congress
was held in
to examine Secretary Mallory's administration of naval affairs and the causes
of the Southern disaster at
. The final report of the committee was favorable to Mallory.
, Lieutenant Maffitt, ran the blockade into
. Many of the crew were suffering from yellow fever and Maffitt determined to
make the bold dash into
. Running past the broadside of USS Oneida,
also evaded USS Winona
and Rachel Seaman before coming to
anchor under the guns of
in a much damaged condition. This
incident brought forth orders for stricter enforcement of the blockade.
G. Anderson, Acting Master D'Oyley, captured schooner Theresa in the
Gulf of Mexico
with cargo including salt.
Knapp, Acting Lieutenant Henry S.
Eytinge, captured bark Fannie Laurie
South Edisto River
5 Rear Admiral Du Pont wrote Secretary of the Navy Welles, again expressing
concern about reports of Confederate ironclads building at Charleston: "The
ironclads or rams built at Charleston have been described to me, by intelligent
persons who have seen them, as well protected by their armor, but as not
formidable for offensive operations against our vessels, in consequence of their
deficiency in steam power, it having been intended to place in them engines
taken from old steamers belonging to South Carolina. If it be true that English
steam engines have been provided for them, as reported to me by the Department,
it becomes my duty to urge upon it the necessity of sending some ironclad
vessels of our own, to render our position off Charleston tenable. Vessels even
imperfectly covered with armor emerging from the protection of forts, and always
provided with a place of refuge, would be comparatively secure, while they might
do great harm to wooden ships, especially of the light class which forms the
chief material of this squadron. If by any possibility the blockading force off
could be destroyed, or compelled to retire, it would produce a moral impression
to our disadvantage even more disastrous than the actual loss itself. If it be
possible to send the Ironsides to take
up a position off that [
] harbor, the efforts of the enemy would be completely frustrated."
, Captain Semmes, seized and burned ship Ocmulgee near the
, the first of many Union whalers and merchant vessels to fall prey to the
feared commerce raider.
, Acting Lieutenant Richard T. Renshaw, joined with Union troops in repelling
the Confederate attack on
. Major General John G. Foster reported that
rendered most efficient aid, throwing her shells with great precision, and
clearing the streets, through which her guns had range." U.S. Army gunboat
Picket was destroyed by an accidental magazine explosion during engagement.
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned schooner Starlight
Commodore W.D. Porter, steamed down the
past Confederate batteries at Port Hudson, Louisiana.
was struck with heavy shot 14 times. Porter noted that the Port Hudson
batteries would seriously interrupt the free navigation of the
8 Commodore Wilkes ordered to command a "Flying Squadron" -including USS
Cimarron, Sonoma, Tioga,
Octorara, and Santiago de Cuba.
The squadron was originated specifically to seek out and capture commerce
. Though the squadron seized several vessels engaged in blockade running, the
two noted raiders eluded Wilkes' force.
A landing party from USS Kingfisher destroyed salt works at St. Joseph's Bay, Florida, that
could produce some 200 bushels a day. Three days later, similar works at St.
Andrew's Bay were destroyed by a landing party from USS
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned whaling ship Ocean
Rover near the
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned whaling ships Alert
and Weather Gauge near the
11 USS Patroon,
Acting Master William D. Urann, and USS Uncas,
Acting Master Crane, engaged Confederate batteries at St. John's Bluff, Florida.
Uncas suffered damage, but temporarily forced the abandonment of the
12 Rear Admiral Du Pont wrote Senator Grimes of
expressing his "warm appreciation of your tremendous labors in behalf of
the Navy during the last session. I believe this to be emphatically the opinion
of the whole service.'' Grimes had strongly backed the bill creating the rank of
Rear Admiral in the Navy. In reply the Senator stated: "I am in no wise
deserving of the kind compliments you lavish upon me. . . . you know that up to
my time [in Congress] it was supposed that all information in relation to your
branch of the public service was confined to a select
'guild' about the Atlantic cities, no one from the interior having presumed to
know anything about it. If I have been of any real service it has been in
breaking down and eradicating that idea, in assisting to nationalize the Navy–
in making the frontiersman as well as the longshoreman feel that he was
interested in it and partook of its glory."
, Captain Semmes, seized and burned whaling ship Altamaha
, Captain Semmes, seized and burned whaling ship Benjamin
Tucker near the
15 Lieutenant Commander Samuel Magaw, commander of USS
Thomas Freeborn, reported the seizure
and burning of schooner Arctic in
Great Wicomico River
16 Confederate Congress passed a resolution expressing thanks to Commander
Ebenezer Farrand, CSN, senior officer in command of the combined naval and
military forces at Drewry's Bluff on 15 May, "for the great and signal
victory achieved over the naval forces of the United States in the engagement .
. . at Drewry's Bluff;" Farrand was praised for his "gallantry,
courage, and endurance in that protracted fight. . . ." which Confederate
statesmen knew could have been so disastrous to their cause.
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned whaling ship Courser
17 Rear Admiral S.P. Lee, concerned by frequent reports as to the building by
the Confederates of "Merrimack II,"
again wrote Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox asking that an ironclad be sent
to support his forces there. "I feel the necessity," he wrote,
"of having a fast steamer convenient as to size & draft, with bow &
stern strengthened, and iron plated suitable for ramming, carrying effective
guns in broadside, & fitted so as to work two heavy rifled guns at each
end-bow & stern-capable of throwing such projectiles as will most readily
penetrate iron plating." On 22 September Fox, sympathetic to Lee's needs,
answered: "The Ironsides will
probably be with you on Wednesday [24 September]. . . . With the Ironsides you will feel no anxiety. She is fast, and has a terrible
battery, and is a match for the whole Southern navy. If the Merrimac[k]
#2 comes down I trust they will follow her up and destroy her."
USS W. G.
Anderson, Acting Master D'Oyley, seized schooner Reindeer in the
Gulf of Mexico
(27N, 93W) with cargo of cotton.
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned whaling ship
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned whaling ship Elisha
Dunbar near the
. ''The whaling season at the
being at an end," Semmes later wrote, ''. . . I resolved to change my
cruising-ground, and stretch over to the Banks of New Foundland
19 Ram Queen of the West, Medical
Cadet Charles R. Ellet, escorting two troop transports, had a sharp engagement
with Confederate infantry and artillery above Bolivar, Mississippi.
20 Answering a letter in which Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox had written,
"We must have Charleston Rear Admiral Du Pont replied: "Do not go it
half cocked about Charleston– it is a bigger job than Port Royal . . . failure
now at Charleston is ten times the failure elsewhere. . ." The same day, Du
Pont wrote Senator Grimes in Iowa: "The thorn in my flesh is Charleston,
they have been allowed seventeen months to prepare its defenses– and in no
part of the wretched Confederacy has there been more industry, energy, and
intelligent zeal, and science displayed- It is a cul de sac and resembles more a
porcupine's hide turned outside in than anything else, with no outlet- you go
into a bag no running the forts as at New Orleans. We have to do what never has
been done, take regular forts by gunboats this must be done, but it is no
ordinary work . . . One thing only oppresses us, that just in proportion to the
extent of the honor and glory of the success, and the prestige gained at home
and abroad so will be the deep mortification and moral injury if we fail at this
wicked seat of the rebellion- hence we want quiet calm preparation of plans.''
Du Pont's estimate of the stubbornness of the Con-federate defenses at
, as well as his appreciation of the probable effect on the North of a Union
failure in his particular quarter proved correct. Throughout the fall of 1862
the ironclads were being built which Du Pont would command against the symbol of
21 USS Albatross,
Commander Henry French, captured schooner Two
Sisters off the
22 Writing during a storm ("I suppose the true equinoctial gale''), Rear
Admiral Farragut noted that "these are the times that try the commander of
a squadron. I could not sleep last night, thinking of the blockaders. It is
rough work lying off a port month in and month out . . . I have 6 vessels off
Mobile, so that one can always come in for coal. They are all the time breaking
down and coming in for repairs."
Acting Master John McGowan, Jr., captured schooner Southerner on
, Lieutenant Commander William T. Truxtun, captured blockade running British
schooner Nelly off
, with cargo including drugs and salt.
25 USS Kensington,
Acting Master Crocker, USS Rachel
Seaman, Acting Master Hooper, and mortar schooner Henry
James, Acting Master Lewis Pennington,
bombarded Confederate batteries at
. The action was broken off when the defending troops evacuated the fort, having
spiked the guns. Though
surrendered to Acting Master Crocker the next day and a force under Acting
Master Hooper severed communications between
's Bayou by burning the railroad bridge and seized the mails on 27 September,
the expedition sent by Rear Admiral Farragut could not occupy the area because
there were no troops available for that purpose. As Rear Admiral Farragut noted
some three months later, "It takes too much force to hold the places for me
to take any more, or my outside fleet will be too much reduced to keep up the
blockade and keep the river open" - the two primary missions of the
Nevertheless, the attacks were a constant drain on the Confederates and imposed
widespread dispersion of strength to protect against them anytime ships hove
over the horizon.
Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Scott, captured British schooner Agnes,
attempting to run the blockade at St. Andrew's Sound,
26 USS State
of Georgia, Commander Armstrong, and USS
Mystic, Lieutenant Commander Arnold,
chased a blockade running schooner (name unknown) ashore at
, and destroyed her.
Rear Admiral Du Pont sought to extend his policy of "mobile support"
logistics by requesting an afloat fuel storage in the form of a coal hulk
capable of holding a thousand tons and fitted out with hoisting equipment. Coal
schooners from the North unloaded into this hulk and men-of-war coaled from it
as needed while on station. This practice antedated the modern use of fleet
oilers in furthering the fleet's efficiency and effectiveness. Storeships,
receiving ships, and machinery repair hulks were already being employed at this
27 USS Kittatinny,
Acting Master Lamson, captured schooner Emma
off the coast of
with cargo of cotton.
28 USS State
of Georgia, Commander Armstrong, and USS Mystic,
Lieutenant Commander Arnold, captured blockade running British steamer Sunbeam
near New Inlet, North Carolina.
30 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wrote Commodore Blake, Superintendent of
, regarding training at the Academy: "The seamanship is of the utmost
importance, in my opinion, notwithstanding steam, and ironclads. I share the old
Jack Tar feeling that a sailor can do anything, and that a man is not good for
much, who is not a thorough seaman. D. D. Porter was particularly struck at
seeing your boys scrubbing copper: he was always afraid they were getting too
scientific, too conceited, but his experience at
seems to have un-deceived him."
1 The Western Gunboat Fleet, brought into being by Commander J. Rodgers and Flag
Officer Foote, under jurisdiction of the War Department for operations on the
western waters, was transferred to the Navy Department and renamed the
Mississippi Squadron. David Dixon Porter was appointed Acting Rear Admiral and
ordered to relieve Rear Admiral Davis, who had commanded naval forces on the
western waters since 17 June. Noting that the naming of Porter, then a
Commander, would be open to criticism, Secretary of the Navy Welles observed:
''His selection will be unsatisfactory to many, but his field of operations is
peculiar, and a young and active officer is required for the duty to which he is
assigned." However, Rear Admiral Foote, 55 years old when he took command,
bold and indefatigable, had achieved miracles. No fleet commanders in the west
achieved as much as he and Farragut, who was even five years older. Audacity and
drive are born of the soul, and do not die ever in some great leaders.
2 Commodore Harwood reported the capture of sloop Thomas Reilly by USS Thomas
Freeborn, Lieutenant Commander Magaw.
3 Responding to a request for assistance in an anticipated assault on gathering
Confederate forces at
, a naval expedition under Lieutenant Commander Flusser,
comprising USS Commodore
Perry, Hunchback, and Whitehead,
engaged Confederate troops on the
for six hours. The river having been obstructed, the gunboats could not reach
and returned down stream as Confederate troops were felling trees in the river
behind the gunboats in an attempt to "blockade the river in our rear."
Enclosing the reports of the gunboat captains, Commander Davenport, Senior
Officer in the Sounds of North Carolina, wrote Rear Admiral S. P. Lee:
"While I can not praise too highly the gallantry and heroism displayed by
officers and men on the occasion, I think it extremely hazardous for our
gunboats unprotected as the men are by bulwarks or any other defenses, to go on
expeditions up these narrow and tortuous channels."
A joint expedition under Commander Steedman and Brigadier General John M.
Brannon engaged and captured a Confederate battery at
Bluff and occupied
, which had been almost entirely evacuated by Southern troops. The Union forces
had arrived at the mouth of the river on 1 October and, in operations through 12
October, the gunboats convoyed and supported the Army troops, forcing a general
withdrawal by the Confederates. Calling Steedman's action ''most hearty and
energetic,'' General Brannon reported: "The entire naval force under his
command exhibited a zeal and perseverance in every instance, whether in aiding
my forces to effect a landing, the ascent of St. John's River (230 miles), or
the assistance to one of my transports unfortunately injured in crossing the
bar, that is deserving of all praise.'' Captain Godon, temporarily commanding
the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, noted at operation's end: ''We retain
as far as
.'' Amphibious assaults continued to force Confederate defenses away from the
Captain Semmes, captured ship Brilliant,
bound from New York to Liverpool, near 400 N, 500 W. Semmes later commented that
". . . her destruction must have disappointed a good many holders of bills
of exchange drawn against her cargo . . . for the ship alone and the
freight-moneys which they lost by her destruction [came] to the amount of
$93,000. The cargo was probably even more valuable than the ship."
Naval forces under Commander William B. Renshaw in USS
, and mortar schooner Henry James,
bombarded and captured the defenses of the harbor and city of
. Six days later,
formally surrendered to Commander Renshaw. Rear Admiral Farragut reported to
Secretary of the Navy Welles: I am happy to in-form you that
and the adjacent waters are now in our possession. . . . All we want, as I have
told the Department in my last dispatches, is a few soldiers to hold the places,
and we will soon have the whole coast.'' The failure to have a sizeable
effective Marine Corps to send ashore in conjunction with fleet operations
reduced considerably the effectiveness of the Navy and may have lengthened the
Somerset, Lieutenant Commander
English, attacked Confederate salt works at Depot Key,
. The landing party from
was augmented by a strong force from USS Tahoma, Commander John C.
Howell, and the salt works were destroyed. Salt at this time was among the most
critical ''strategic materials'' in the Confederacy. This action at Depot Key
was one of innumerable such landing and raiding operations all along the
far-flung Confederate coastline which, often lacking dramatic appeal,
nonetheless exacted ceaseless activity and untiring effort, and were
instrumental in bringing the Confederacy to defeat.
Raiding party from USS Thomas Freeborn, Lieutenant Commander Magaw, entered
, and destroyed the telegraph office and wires of the line from Occoquan to
6 USS Rachel
Seaman, Acting Master Crocker, captured British schooner Dart
attempting to run the blockade at
7 William Gladstone, British Chancellor of the Exchequer, remarked at a banquet
in Newcastle, England, that "there is no doubt that Jefferson Davis and
other leaders of the South have made an army; they are making it appears a navy;
and they have made, what is more than either they have made a nation." Upon
's statement, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox observed: "It is a most
interesting piece of history".
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned bark Wave Crest and brig
Lieutenant Commander Edward P. Williams in Army transport Darlington, with sailors and troops embarked, captured steamer Governor
St. John's River
. In continuing Union operations in the river, Williams had seized the vessel-
termed by Commander Steedman "one of their best boats' '- which had been
used in transporting guns and munitions to
8 Steamer Blanche, anchored off
, was set afire to prevent seizure by USS Montgomery, Commander C. Hunter.
CSS Alabama, Captain Semmes, captured and
released on bond packet
, Lieutenant Commander Braine, captured blockade running British schooner
off Frying Pan Shoals,
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned
," Semmes wrote, "brought us a batch of late
papers. . . . I learned from them where all the enemy's gun boats were, and
what they were doing. . . . Perhaps this was the only war in which the
newspapers ever explained, before-hand, all the movements of armies and fleets,
to the enemy.
Commander Scott, was damaged by Confederate battery at
Cape Fear River
, and was forced to retire seaward.
12 Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury, on board blockade runner Herald,
to attempt to purchase vessels for the Confederacy. Midshipman James M. Morgan,
who accompanied Maury, recorded an interesting incident that demonstrated that
the "Path-finder of the Seas" had lost none of his famed abilities.
The captain of Herald, according to
Morgan, was new to deep water sail, lost his way, and "told Commander Maury
that something terrible must have happened, as he had sailed his ship directly
over the spot where the
ought to be." Maury advised him to slow down till evening when he could
shoot the stars. At that time, having obtained a fix, Maury gave the captain a
course and speed that would raise the light at Port Hamilton about 2 o'clock in
the morning. Maury and his son turned in; the rest anxiously stayed up to watch:
"four bells struck and no light was in sight. Five minutes more passed and
still not a sign of it; then grumbling commenced and the passengers generally
agreed with the man who expressed the opinion that there was too much D . . . d
science on board . . . at 10 minutes past 2 the masthead lookout called 'Light
Ho!' " Lacking funds and under close scrutiny by Union officials who
immediately protested through diplomatic channels any attempts to outfit vessels
for the Confederacy, Maury, like other Confederate agents, met with only limited
success. Nonetheless, he did purchase and arrange for the outfitting of CSS
the following spring. Maury was adamant
in his opinion that the South had to pursue a policy that would bring about the
existence of an effective Navy. Earlier he had written under the pseudonym of
Ben Bow: "We cannot, either with cotton or with all the agricultural
staples of the Confederacy put together, adopt any course which will make cotton
and trade stand us as a nation in the stead of a navy.
Acting Lieutenant Conroy, captured blockade running schooner
Elmira Cornelius off the
, Acting Master Jonathan Baker, seized schooner David
Crockett attempting to run the blockade out of
with cargo of turpentine and rosin.
, Acting Lieutenant Watmough, captured blockade running British steamer Ouachita at sea off
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned bark Lamplighter
Boat crew under command of Master's Mate Edwin Janvrin of USS
Rachel Seaman, and boat crew under
command of Second Assistant Engineer Timothy W. O'Connor of USS
Kensington, destroyed Confederate railroad bridge by fire at
Taylor's Bayou, Texas, preventing the transportation of heavy artillery to
Sabine Pass, and burned schooners Stonewall
and Lone Star and barracks. The
constant drain on the South of these unceasing attacks along her sea perimeter
and up the rivers is portrayed almost daily in similar accounts. Some were quite
unusual even for versatile sailors. In a river expedition during the month
Lieutenant Commander Ransom "captured 1,500 head of cattle en route for the
enemy, and succeeded by great perseverance in getting them down to
Boat crews from USS Fort Henry, Acting Lieutenant Edward Y. McCauley, reconnoitering
, captured sloop G.L. Brockenborough
with cargo of cotton.
20 Steamer Minho ran aground after
running the blockade out of
. Rear Admiral Du Pont reported that". . . it appears that she will perhaps
become a wreck, as there is much water in the hold, and part of the cargo [is]
floating about in the vessel. So much of the cargo, it is stated ["by the
papers''], as may be destroyed by water will be nearly a total loss."
21 USS Louisville,
Lieutenant Commander Meade, escorted steamer Meteor, whose embarked Army troops
were landed at Bledsoe's Landing and Hamblin's Landing, Arkansas. The towns were
burned in reprisal for attacks by Confederate guerrillas on mail steamer
Gladiator early in the morning, 19 October. "The people along the river
bank," Meade reported to
, "were duly informed that every outrage by the guerrillas upon packets
would be similarly dealt with.''
22 A naval battery consisting of three 12
pounder boat howitzers from USS
Wabash took part in and furnished
artillery support for Union infantry troops at the battle of
. One of the gun crew, who was seriously injured, was ordinary seaman Oscar W.
Farenholt, the first enlisted man in the Navy to reach flag rank. The battery
from Wabash took part as artillery in amphibious operations all along the
Commander Clitz, captured blockade running British brig Robert Bruce off
Lieutenant William B. Cushing reported that USS
Ellis captured and destroyed blockade
New Topsail Inlet
, with cargo of turpentine, cotton, and tobacco.
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned American bark
24 Sailors on horseback-a landing party
from USS Baron De KaIb, Captain
Winslow, debarked at
, to engage a small Confederate scouting party. Mounting horses which were
procured, as Captain Winslow reported, "by impressement," the Baron
De Kalb sailors engaged in a 9 mile running fight which ended with the
capture of the Confederate party.
25 Rear Admiral Du Pont again wrote Secretary of the Navy Welles of the reported
building of ironclads by the Confederacy in its attempt to break the blockade.
Du Pont remarked: "The idea seemed to be to open the Savannah river, then
come to Port Royal, and thence off
, and raise the blockade. . . . I submit that the Ironsides
should be dispatched at an early day."
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned schooner Crenshaw
27 Boat crews from USS Flag, Lieutenant Commander Charles C. Carpenter, captured British
steamer Anglia at Bull's Bay,
Rear Admiral S. P. Lee wrote Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox regarding the
difficulty of blockading the coast of North Carolina: "Our supremacy in the
Sounds of N[orth] C[arolina] can . . . only be maintained by ironclads adapted
to the navigation there. . . . The defense of the Sounds is a very important
28 Party led by Lieutenant John Taylor Wood, CSN, boarded, captured, and fired
ship Alleghanian at anchor in
Chesapeake Bay off the mouth of the
with cargo of guano from
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned bark Lauraetta south of
Commander C. Hunter, captured blockade running steamer Caroline near
Lieutenant Commander George A. Bigelow, captured blockade running British
Indian River Inlet
29 Landing party from USS Ellis, Lieutenant Cushing, destroyed large Confederate Salt works at
New Topsail Inlet
. Cushing reported that'' it could have furnished all
exchanged fire with Confederate troops near
; Dan shelled the town and on 30 October a party was landed under
protection of the ship's guns to burn a mill and several buildings.
Captain Semmes, seized brigantine Baron de
Castine south of Nova Scotia, "The vessel being old and of little
value," Semmes reported, "I released her on a ransom bond and
converted her into a cartel, sending some forty-five prisoners on board of
her– the crews of the three last ships burned."
30 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wrote Edward G. Flynn regarding that
man's expressed desire to attempt capture or destruction of commerce raider 290
"The [Navy] Department has published that it will give $500,000 for the
capture and delivery to it of that vessel, or $300,000 if she is destroyed; the
latter however is to be contingent upon the approval of Congress." The
's highly successful commerce raiding was attested to when Fox wrote Rear
Admiral Farragut: The raid of '290' [
] has forced us to send out a dozen vessels in pursuit."
Lieutenant Commander Milton Haxtun, captured blockade running British schooner Hermosa
off the mouth of the
Acting Master Warren, captured schooner Racer
between Stump Inlet and
New Topsail Inlet
, with cargo of salt.
Rear Admiral Du Pont issued a general order which provided that, on capture of
foreign vessels attempting to run the blockade, "the flag of the country to
which they belong must be worn until their cases are adjudicated. The American
flag will be carried at the fore to indicate that they are, for the time, under
31 During October the Confederate Congress formalized a Torpedo Bureau in
under Brigadier General Gabriel J. Rains and a Naval Submarine Battery Service
under Lieutenant Hunter Davidson. The purpose was to organize and improve
methods of torpedo (mine) warfare, in which Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury had
pioneered. The Confederacy, of necessity, developed a variety of underwater
torpedoes, for it had a long coastline with many navigable rivers to protect and
slight naval strength with which to oppose the formidable Union fleet, That the
efforts, while failing to lift the ceaseless pressure of the Northern naval
forces, were nonetheless a serious threat was attested to at war's end by
Secretary of the Navy Welles, who observed that the torpedoes were "always
formidable in harbors and internal waters, and. . . . have been more destructive
to our naval vessels than all other means combined."
Acting Master Andrew J. Frank, captured sloop Pointer at
. Although cleared through the Alexandria Custom House as being without cargo,
Pointer was found to be carrying groceries, dry goods, and whiskey.
Acting Lieutenant Conroy, captured sloop Susan
McPherson off the coast of
Landing party from USS Mahaska, Commander Foxhall A. Parker, destroyed Confederate gun
positions on Wormley's Creek and at
. The attack was continued on 1 November.
31 October– 7
Naval expedition under Commander Davenport, comprising USS
Hetzel, Commodore Perry, Hunchback,
Valley City, and Army gunboat Vidette,
opened fire on an encampment at Plymouth, North Carolina, forcing the
Confederate troops there to withdraw.
was subsequently ordered to meet General John G. Foster at Williamston on 3
November to support an Army assault on
. "It was agreed upon," Commander Davenport reported, that we would
begin our advance on
that night. At 11 a.m. [4 November], having failed as yet in receiving any
signal from the army, I made general signal 'to get underway' and proceeded up
the river. The force also included USS Seymour,
which had arrived that morning.
was evacuated by the Confederates and Union troops took possession of the town.
's gunboats "proceeded a few miles farther up the river to divert the
attention of the enemy, while the army continued its march to Tarboro";
was sent down river the next day (5 November) to destroy the works at Rainbow
Bluff. On 7 November the Union troops, failing to reach Tarboro, returned to
, and 300 sick and wounded soldiers were placed on board the gunboats to be
transported to Williamston.
First mention of Confederate
Colonel E.H. Angamar’s experiments with a “rocket-powered torpedo;”
Angamar was also working on a rocket-propelled ship.
, Lieutenant Commander Meade, captured steamer
above Island No. 36.
Freeborn, Lieutenant Commander Magaw, captured three unnamed boats at
Maryland Point, on the Potomac River; the boats were attempting to run goods
wrote Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox seeking authority over the Ellet
rams: "I am extremely anxious to get possession of Ellet's Rams; they are
the class of vessels I particularly want at this moment. The old 'Pook Turtles'
are fit only for fighting- they cannot get along against the current without a
tow. . . . Do settle the Ram business, and let me know by telegraph. The
Commander will have to be instructed, or he will not give them up. I have
notified him that I will not permit any naval organization on this River besides
Squadron. . . . Fox agreed with Porter and pressed the matter with the
President. On 7 November the Assistant Secretary convinced President Lincoln
that the Ellet rams belonged under control of the Navy. In a White House
conference with Secretary of the Navy Welles, Secretary of War Stanton, and
transferred all war vessels on the
to the Navy. The action provided for greater efficiency of operations on the
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned whaling shipLevi Starbuck near
3 CSS Cotton,
Lieutenant Edward W. Fuller, and shore batteries engaged USS
Estrella, and Diana in
. In this close and spirited action against heavy odds, Captain Fuller caused
considerable damage to the Union squadron until exhaustion of cartridges forced
Cotton to retire. Captain Fuller reported that the legs of the men's pants were
cut off for use as improvised cartridge bags to fire parting shots as he
Commander Henry K. Thatcher wrote Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox about the
Mediterranean cruise of historic USS Constellation
and his request for additional ships on this station: "I feel a
considerable degree of national pride in wishing our force here to be increased
. . . for the prevailing opinion here, evidently is, that our country is not
sufficiently strong to admit of withdrawing another vessel from the blockade.
But the paramount object is that of the efficient protection of our commerce and
citizens who are engaged in commercial pursuits and to be pre-pared, should any
rebel cruisers venture into the
Commander Clitz, destroyed blockade running British ship Pathfinder after forcing her aground off
4 The blockade continued to clench the Confederacy in an ever-tightening grip.
Rear Admiral S.P. Lee, commanding the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron,
advised Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox: "There is no doubt that a
large trade was carried on with Wilmington through Shallotte Inlet 25 miles
below, & New Topsail Inlet 15 miles above Wilmington. I have shut both
Bell, Acting Ensign George E. McConnell, captured and burned schooner Robert
Wilbur in Nomini Creek, off the
Captain Alfred T. Snell, captured pilot boat Wave and an unnamed schooner in
Acting Master Warren, and USS Mount
Vernon, Acting Lieutenant Trathen, forced blockade running British bark Sophia
aground and destroyed her near
de Lion, Acting Master Charles H, Brown, with USS
Teaser and schooner S.H.
Poole, evacuated Union families and their property from Gwynn's Island,
, Acting Lieutenant R.T. Renshaw, captured schooner Alice L. Webb at Rose Bay, North Carolina.
6 USS Teaser,
Ensign Sheridan, captured sloop Grapeshot
7 USS Potomska,
Acting Lieutenant W. Budd, escorted Army transport Darlington up
. Potomska being unable to proceed far up river because of her draft,
Budd trans-ferred to the Army vessel, which was engaged by Confederates at
, undamaged, continued up the Sapelo to Fairhope, where a landing party
destroyed salt works "and other things that might be of use to the
enemy." Taken under attack once again upon returning past Spaulding's,
put forces ashore and destroyed public property and captured arms. 'We were
greatly aided here by the Potomska,"
reported Lieutenant Colonel Oliver T. Beard, "which, from a bend below,
shelled the woods. Under the guns of the Potomska
we landed . . . I am greatly indebted to Lieutenant Budd for the success of this
Acting Master George Wiggin, and steamer Seger
burned steamers Osprey and J.P.
Smith in Bayou Cheval,
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned ship T.B.
Wales southeast of
Acting Master Tole, captured sloop Capitola
. Capitola was carrying cargo and passengers across to
in violation of the blockade.
, surrendered to joint Army-Navy landing force under Second Assistant Engineer
J. L. Lay of USS Louisiana.
10 Commander Maury, enroute to Liverpool, England, wrote his wife from Halifax,
Nova Scotia, that he had arrived after a "boisterous passage of 5 days from
Bermuda" in which he and his 12-year old son suffered from sea sickness.
"The steamer in which we came was quite equal in dirt and all
uncomfortableness to that between
. . . . This is a place of 25 or 30,000 inhabitants. They are strongly 'secesh'
here. The Confederate flag has been flying from the top of the hotel all day, in
honor, I am told 'of our arrival'." Hand organs ground out Dixie all day
under the window; Maury, world famous as "Pathfinder of the Seas,"
having run the blockade, was proceeding to
on a mission for the Confederacy.
11 USS Kensington,
Acting Master Crocker, captured schooner Corse
12 USS Kensington,
Acting Master Crocker, captured British blockade runner Maria off the
14 Rear Admiral Farragut had sailed from the Mississippi River in August to base
at Pensacola where his crews recuperated and repaired the ships preparatory to
attacking Mobile. However, reports of growing Confederate fortifications on the
river and other developments drew him back to the scene of his fame. On this
date from on board USS Hartford
at New Orleans he wrote Secretary of the Navy Welles: ''I am once more in the
Mississippi River. I deemed that my presence here would be well, as the French
admiral is here with two vessels at the city and a frigate at the bar; there is
also an English corvette off the city, and we sailors understand each other
better in many cases than landsmen. General Butler also informed me that he was
operating very largely for his forces on the
, which was an additional reason for my entering the river. I enclose herewith
Lieutenant-Commander Buchanan's report. He is commanding the naval forces
cooperating with the army in
, and has already had two fights with the enemy's steamers and land forces.
These little vessels require a sheet of boiler iron around them as a protection
against musketry, when they would be able to run up the whole length of the
river and catch all the boats in the branches. I called on General Butler for
the purpose of ascertaining when he could give me a small force to attack Fort
Gaines, and to notify him that when the Department wished it I would attack the
forts and go through Mobile Bay without his assistance, but it would embarrass
me very much not to have my communication open with the outside, and that with
1,000 men to menace Gaines in the rear I felt certain they would soon abandon
both forts, once we got inside. He promised to assist in the operation as soon
as General Weitzel returned from
, although he urges me to attack Port Hudson first, as he wishes to break up the
rendezvous before we go outside. It will take at least 5,000 men to take Port
Hudson. I am ready for anything, but desire troops to hold what we get. The
general has really not half troops enough; he requires at least 20,000 more men
to hold the places and do good service in this river and occupy
, whither he proposes to send a regiment.
15 President Lincoln, with Secretaries
Seward and Chase, drove to the
Navy Yard to view the trial of the Hyde rocket. Captain Dahlgren joined the
group for the experiment. Though a defective rocket accidentally exploded, the
President escaped injury.
16 USS T.
A. Ward, Acting Master William L. Babcock, captured sloop G.
W. Green and an unnamed seine boat at St. Jerome's Creek, Maryland,
attempting to cross to the Virginia shore with contraband.
17 USS Kanawha,
Lieutenant Commander Febiger, and USS Kennebec,
Lieutenant Commander John H. RUSSell, chased a
schooner ashore near Mobile where she was set afire and destroyed by her crew.
Union ships prevented Confederate coast guard from boarding the vessel to
extinguish the flames. Of the effectiveness of the blockade in the Gulf, Rear
Admiral Farragut noted: "Blockading is hard service, and difficult to carry
on with perfect success . . . I don't know how many [blockade runners escape,
but we certainly make a good many prizes.
Commander W. A. Parker, forced blockade running British schooner F.
W. Pindar aground at
, and sent boat crew to destroy the vessel. The boat swamped and the crew was
captured after firing the schooner.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wrote Major General Butler at New Orleans:
"I think [General] MeClernand will be down your way near the last of
December and if you and Farragut can open the Mississippi as far as Red River
and block that leaky place, we shall be able with our Mississippi squadron to
keep that big river open to commerce and New Orleans will rise from its
, Captain Semmes, arrived at
and was blockaded by USS San
Jacinto Commander William Ronckendorff. In foul weather the evening of 19
Lieutenant Commander Braine, chased blockade running British schooners Ariel
and Ann Maria ashore and
destroyed them near Shallotte Inlet with cargoes of salt, flour, sugar, and
19 USS Wissahickon,
Lieutenant Commander John L. Davis, and USS Dawn,
Acting Lieutenant John S. Barnes, engaged
. Wissahickon was hit and temporarily disabled in the exchange of
fire. Persistent and vigilant actions of this nature by the Union Navy pinned
down Confederate manpower that could have been used in land actions else-where. Wissahickon
and Dawn at this time had the mission of blockading CSS
, and preventing her from becoming another commerce raider like CSS
20 USS Seneca,
Lieutenant Commander Gibson, captured schooner Annie Dees running the blockade out of
with cargo of turpentine and rosin.
Commander C. Hunter, captured sloop William
E. Chester near
, captured boat crew from
mortar schooner Henry Janes, Acting Master Pennington. The men were ashore to
procure fresh beef for the mortar schooner.
22-24 Joint Army–Navy expedition to vicinity of
, under Lieutenant Farquhar and Acting Master's Mate Nathan W. Black of USS
Mahaska destroyed numerous salt works
together with hundreds of bushels of salt, burned three schooners and numerous
small boats, and captured 24 large canoes.
23 Landing party from USS Ellis, Lieutenant Cushing, captured arms, mail, and two schooners at
. While under attack from Confederate artillery, Ellis
grounded on 24 November. After very effort to float the ship failed, Lieutenant
Cushing ordered her set afire on 25 November to avoid capture. Cushing reported:
"I fired the Ellis in five places
and having seen that the battle flag was still flying, trained the gun on the
enemy so that the vessel might fight herself after we had left her."
24 Boat from USS Reliance, Acting Master William P. Dockray, captured longboat New
Moon, suspected of running the blockade on the Potomac River, off
Lieutenant Commander Braine, destroyed two Confederate salt works near Little
River Inlet, North Carolina.
Lieutenant Commander English, captured two British blockade runners, schooner Agnes
and sloop Ellen, in
25 USS Kittatinny,
Acting Master Lamson, captured British blockade runner Matilda, bound from
26 USS Kittatinny,
Acting Master Lamson, captured schooner Diana,
27 Rear Admiral Farragut wrote from his flagship at
: "I am still doing nothing, but waiting for the tide of events and doing
all I can to hold what I have, & blockade
. So soon as the river rises, we will have Porter down from above, who now
commands the upper squadron, and then I shall probably go outside . . . We shall
spoil unless we have a fight occasionally."
29 In late November Captain H. A. Adams
was ordered to special duty at
as coordinator of coal supply. All coal used in the U.S. Navy at that time was
anthracite and came from the eastern district of Pennsylvania, being forwarded
to Philadelphia either by rail or barge down the Schuylkill River. There it was
loaded into coal schooners and sent to the various blockading squadrons. Before
Captain Adams was ordered to this duty, squadron commanders had consider-able
difficulty in keeping their ships supplied with coal and often had to borrow
from the Army. To illustrate the amount of coal required by the squadrons, Rear
Admiral Du Pont notified the Navy Department in mid-December that the
consumption of coal in his
Blockading Squadron alone was approximately 950 tons a week.
Vernon, Acting Lieutenant Trathen, captured blockade runner Levi
, with cargo of rice.
, Captain Semmes, captured and burned bark Parker
Cook off the
Inventor Pascal Plant
demonstrates a true torpedo to interested naval officers along the banks of the
. “Torpedo” in the Civil War described what we would call “mines,” and
it was not until the 1880s that the British would develop the “automobile
torpedo.” On two occasions, Plant fired his rocket-powered missiles at a
target vessel. On the first demonstration, the torpedo missed the target—but
successfully sank the schooner Diana anchored some distance away. A
second torpedo on the same day missed the target and buried itself in the far
bank. Later, Plant launched another torpedo which ran underwater for a distance
and then porpoised above the surface and flew for over 100 yards before
exploding on the opposite shore. Although Plant was decades ahead of his time
and his device suffered only from guidance problems, the inspecting Navy
officers failed to see the potential of the “self-propelled torpedo” and
declined further interest in the weapon.
1 In his second annual report, Secretary of the Navy Welles informed President
Lincoln: "We have at this time afloat or progressing to rapid completion a
naval force consisting of 427 vessels . . armed in the aggregate with 1,577
guns, and of the capacity of 240,028 tons . . . The number of persons employed
on board our naval vessels, including receiving ships and recruits, is about
28,000; and there are not less than 12,000 mechanics and laborers employed at
the different navy yards and naval stations."
Lieutenant Maffitt, commanding CSS Florida,
wrote: "As the Alabama and Florida are the only two cruisers we have just
now, it would be a perfect absurdity to tilt against their more than three
hundred, for the Federals would gladly sacrifice fifty armed ships to extinguish
the two Confederates.''
Rear Admiral Du Pont again remarked on the Charleston defenses and his growing
forces with which to attack them in a letter to Senator Grimes: ''The rebel
defenses of Charleston are still progressing– The English officers who have
been in and the blockade runners whom we capture, smile at the idea of its being
taken, and say it is stronger than Sebastabol but they said the same of New
Orleans. . . lam very glad to learn that John Rodgers and Worden [commander of USS
Monitor during the engagement with CSS
Virginia] were with Drayton on his last trial of the Passaic,
for the more we learn of the new tools we have to use the better two rams are
completed at Charleston to add to the harbor defenses but for the strong force I
have off here [Port Royal], I think they would have attempted to raid across the
Lieutenant Commander English, captured blockade running British schooner By
, with cargo including coffee and salt.
Commander Clary, captured schooner Nonsuch
at Bahama Banks.
2 Confederate steamer Queen of the
Bay, Captain H. Willke, CSA, sounding
pass, was chased by boats under Acting Ensign Alfred H. Reynolds and Master's
Mate George C. Dolliver from USS Sachem.
Captain Willke ran Queen of the Bay
, deployed his men, and took Union boats under fire. Reynolds, seriously
wounded, was compelled to land on nearby Mustang Island and abandon his boats to
the Confederates before retreating overland 30 miles to rejoin Sachem
at Aransas Bay, Texas.
, Commander W. A. Parker, captured schooner J.
C. Roker off the coast of
with cargo of salt.
Acting Master Warren, captured British blockade runner Brilliant attempting to run cargo of salt into
Commander W. A. Parker, captured schooner Emma
4 USS Anacostia,
Coeur de Lion, Currituck, and Jacob Bell,
under Acting Master Shankland, engaged by Confederate batteries at Port Royal,
Virginia. In the exchange of fire which lasted over an hour, Jacob
Bell was damaged.
Rear Admiral Farragut stated: "My people are carrying on the war in various
parts of the coast, & it takes all my energies to keep them supplied with
provisions and coal. I have a great many irons in the fire and have to look
sharp to keep some of them from burning . . . We have either taken or destroyed
all the steamers that run from Havanna & Nassau to this coast, except the Cuba
and Alice . . . I have all the coast
except Mobile Bay, and am ready to take that the moment I can get troops.
5 Boats from USS Mahaska, Commander F. A. Parker, and USS
General Putnam, under Lieutenant
Elliot C. V. Blake of Mahaska,
captured and destroyed "several fine boats," a schooner and two sloops
in branches of Severn River, Maryland, and brought back schooners Seven Brothers
and Galena. Although the captain of
claimed to be a Union man, Commander Parker reported his belief that the
captain was endeavoring "to carry water on both shoulders."
, Captain Semmes, captured and released on bond schooner Union
Lieutenant Commander John G. Walker, USS Baron
De KaIb, reported capture of steamer Lottie
30 miles above
6 USS Diana,
Acting Master Ezra Goodwin, captured steamers Southern Methodist and Naniope
laden with molasses and sugar.
, Captain Semmes, captured
steamer Ariel off the coast of
with 700 passengers on board, including 150 Marines and Commander Louis C.
8 President Lincoln sent a recommendation of thanks to the Congress on behalf of
Commander Worden for his part as commanding officer of USS
Monitor during her Hampton Roads
engagement with CSS Virginia.
Acting Master Warren, seized sloop Coquette
New Topsail Inlet
, with cargo of whiskey, potatoes, apples, and onions.
9 Rear Admiral Bailey, on assuming command of the Eastern Gulf Blockading
Squadron, stated: "The outward pressure of our Navy, in barring the enemy's
ports, crippling the power, and exhausting the resources of the States in
rebellion; in depriving them of a market for their peculiar productions, and of
the facilities for importing many vital requisites for the use of their Army and
peoples, is slowly, surely, and unostentatiously reducing the rebellion to such
straits as must result in their unconditional submission, even though our
gallant Army does not achieve another victory."
10 USS Currituck,
Acting Master Thomas J. Linnekin, engaged Confederate battery on
Lieutenant Commander English, captured British schooner Alicia attempting to run the blockade out of
, with cargo of cotton.
Charles F. W. Behm, was disabled by a shot through the steam chest off
, while rendering close fire support to troops under attack by Confederate
11 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wrote
of the readying of ironclads for the fleet and observed: "We shall soon be
ready to try the Iron Clads against the few southern Forts yet in the hands of
12 USS Cairo,
Lieutenant Commander Thomas O. Selfridge, on an expedition up the Yazoo River to
destroy torpedoes, was sunk by one of the infernal machines" and Selfridge
reported: "The Cairo sunk in
about twelve minutes after the explosion, going totally out of sight, except the
top of her chimneys, in 6 fathoms of water."
was the first of some 40 Union vessels to be torpedoed during the war. The
torpedo which destroyed
was a large demijohn fired with a friction primer by a trigger line from
torpedo pits on the river bank.
later observed: "It was an accident liable to occur to any gallant officer
whose zeal carries him to the post of danger and who is loath to let others do
what he thinks he ought to do himself." Despite the loss of Cairo,
Porter wrote: "I gave Captain Walke orders to hold Yazoo River at all
hazards . . . We may lose three or four vessels, but will succeed in carrying
out the plan for the capture of Vicksburg."
12-16 Naval force under Commander Murray including USS
Delaware, Shawsheen, Lockwood, and Seymour
with armed transports in the Neuse River supported an Army expedition to destroy
railroad bridges and track near Goldsboro, North Carolina; low water prevented
the gunboats from advancing more than about 15 miles up the river.
15 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wrote Rear Admiral S. P. Lee, proposing
an assault on Wilmington: "Though the popular clamor centers upon
Charleston I consider Wilmington a more important point in a military and
political point of view and I do not conceal from myself that it is more
difficult of access on account of the shallowness of the bars, and more easily
defended inside by obstructions, yet it must be attacked and we have more force
than we shall possess again since the ironclads must, go South so soon as four
are ready." Nonetheless,
, guarded by the guns of
, remained a bastion of Confederate strength and one of the few havens for
blockade runners until nearly the end of the war.
16 General Banks arrived at
with additional troops to supersede General Butler and prepare for increased
operations on the river.
18 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wrote: "I believe there is no work
shop in the country capable of making steam machinery or iron plates and hulls
that is not in full blast with Naval orders. Before another year we shall be
prepared to defend ourselves with reasonable hopes of success against a foreign
enemy, and in two years we can take the offensive with vessels that will be
superior to any
is now building." Because of this extensive building program, by war's end
the U.S. Navy was the most powerful force afloat in the world.
19 Rear Admiral Farragut advised Secretary of the Navy Welles that he had
recommended "the occupation of Baton Rouge" to General Banks on his
arrival. "He ordered his transports to proceed directly to that city.''
Commander James Alden in
with 2 gunboats covered the landing. "
is only 12–15 miles from Port Hudson. I am ready to attack the latter place
and support General Banks the moment he desires to move against it.'' The
powerful combined operations that were destroying the Confederacy at its heart
gathered strength for the crushing attacks of 1863.
in his flagship USS Black Hawk joined General William T. Sherman at
, and prepared for the joint assault on
. The fleet under Admiral Porter's command for the
campaign was the largest ever placed under one officer up to that time, equal
in number to all the vessels composing the U.S. Navy at the outbreak of war.
, Acting Lieutenant W. C. Rogers, seized schooner Courier off Tortugas with cargo including salt, coffee, sugar, and
Captain Dahlgren, confidant of and advisor to the President, went to the White
House at the request of President Lincoln to observe the testing of a new type
24 USS New
Era, Acting Master Frank W. Flanner, arrived off Columbus, Kentucky, to
support the Army, which was threatened with imminent attack by a large
Confederate force. New Era had been
at the urgent request of General J. M. Tuttle, and brought a much-needed Army
howitzer, ammunition, and a Master's Mate to take charge of one of the
batteries. Confederate occupation of
would have seriously disrupted the flow of sup-plies to the fleet and Army
poised below for the
Acting Master Bruner, captured steamer Bloomer
27 Rear Admiral D. D. Porter received a request from Brigadier General Willis A.
Gorman for assistance in the forthcoming campaign in
. Though his fleet was fully employed," Porter nevertheless ordered USS
Conestoga to begin the requested
patrolling action ''between the White and
rivers as occasion may require. But,'' he added in his instructions to
Lieutenant Commander Selfridge, "
is the main point to look after. We will occupy it soon with troops."
Meanwhile, that day Porter's squadron was involved in a heated engage-ment with
Confederate batteries on the
. USS Benton,
Lieutenant Commander Gwin, continuing to carry on the removal of torpedoes after
's destruction a fortnight before, with USS Cincinnati,
, Marmora, and ram Queen of the West in company, returned the fire of the battery's
eight heavy guns at Drumgould's Bluff. As Porter "served, "The old war
, has been much cut up, and the gallant, noble Gwin, I fear, mortally wounded.''
Nonetheless, Porter was able to report that the
was cleared of torpedoes to within one-half mile of the battery and to remark
"we gave the enemy enough to occupy them to-day, and drew off a large
portion of their force." Cooperating fully with the Army during the
preparations for renewed engagements along the
, the Navy constantly harassed Confederate forces at Drumgould's Bluff, as well
as those at Haynes' Bluff and elsewhere, as the squadron's mobile fire power
kept Confederate troops off balance and dispersed.
Acting Master Charles Potter, captured British schooner Carmita northwest of Marquesas Keys,
, attempting to run the blockade.
Master John Sherrill, captured British schooner Kate attempting to run into St. Mark's River,
, with cargo of salt, coffee, copper, and liquor.
28 USS Anacostia,
Acting Master Nelson Provost, seized schooner Exchange in the
's gunboats supported General Sherman's attempt to capture Con-federate- held Chickasaw
Bluffs, a vantage point upstream from
. "Throughout these operations," Porter wrote, "the Navy did
everything that could be done to ensure the success of General Sherman's
movement." Though the Navy supplied shore bombardment from the squadron and
created diversionary movements, the Union troops, hindered by heavy rains and
faced by the timely arrival of Confederate reinforcements, were forced to
29 USS Magnolia,
Acting Master Potter, seized blockade running British sloop Flying
Fish off Tortugas.
31 USS Monitor,
Commander Bankhead, foundered and was lost off Cape Hatteras en route from
Hampton Roads to Beaufort, North Carolina. During the short career of the first
Union sea-going ironclad, she had fought CSS
in the historic engagement that ushered in a new era in warfare, had supported
General McClellan's Peninsular Campaign, and had effected for all time momentous
changes in naval tactics and ship construction.
The Confederate embargo, the capture of
, and the Union Navy's blockade combined to curtail greatly the export of the
South's major product, cotton. Meanwhile, the North's control of the seas,
threatened only by a few Confederate commerce raiders granted the Union access
to the world markets for the importation of war materials and exportation of
produce such as wheat, which was a major factor in deterring European powers
from recognizing the Confederacy. | <urn:uuid:4a895f09-8b52-4e28-8d29-a2d2b26a8922> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://usnlp.org/navychronology/1862b.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891813059.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20180220165417-20180220185417-00485.warc.gz | en | 0.938325 | 24,004 | 2.953125 | 3 |
About Space Grant
Established by Congress in 1988 and implemented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (also known as Space Grant) contributes to the nation's science enterprise by funding research, education, and public service projects through a national network of 52 university-based Space Grant consortia.
These consortia administer programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The consortia's 820 affiliates include 531 academic institutions and 80 businesses.
Other partners include state and local government agencies, other federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
Since its inception, Space Grant has awarded over 12,000 U.S. citizens with tuition assistance in science, engineering, and related fields of study.
The National Council of Space Grant Directors was formed by the Directors of each of the state based programs with the following objectives:
1. To aid in the development and the evolution of the Space Grant Program.
2. To increase the communication among the Directors of Space Grant programs (in support of the stated NASA goal of creating a network of universities involved in space- and aeronautics-related teaching, and research and development).
3. To provide a forum for mutual support of the directors in the performance of their respective responsibilities for leadership to their individual Space Grant programs.
4. To identify areas of common interests in which cooperation and collaboration among programs may prove beneficial.
5. To develop mechanisms to accomplish such cooperation.
6. To serve as a liaison between Space Grant Consortia and external national and international organizations.
It is the expectation and the intent that the National Council of Space Grant Directors serves as a vehicle for building and maintaining a dynamic relationship within the academic, research, and industrial communities for space- and aeronautics-related activities.
Further, it is expected that these collaborative efforts will facilitate interactions among Member Institutions and federal agencies, most notably NASA. Consequently, this unique relationship shall strengthen each Member's ability to develop space- and aeronautics-related activities.
- Council Charter (pdf) | <urn:uuid:217e89ea-3bbf-4ae1-aba1-6cfaecaf5c35> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://national.spacegrant.org/index.php?page=about | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535920694.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909040831-00002-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937962 | 433 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Volume 127, Issue 1 (2004) Water Resources Sustainability
Water Resources Sustainability: A Guide to This Issue
Ethan Timothy Smith and Christopher Lant
Applying the Concept of Sustainability to Water Resources Management
H. Theodore Heintz Jr.
Conceptual Foundations for the Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable
Rhonda Kranz, Stephen P. Gasteyer, H. Theodore Heintz Jr., Ronald Shafer, and Alan Steinman
The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems: A Piece of the Sustainability Puzzle
Kent Cavender-Bares and Robin O’Malley
Hydrologic Aspects of Water Sustainability and Their Relation to a National Assessment of Water Availability and Use
Paul M. Barlow, William M. Alley, and Donna N. Myers
Water Sustainability in the United States and Cooling Water Requirements for Power Generation
Sujoy B. Roy, Karen V. Summers, and Robert A. Goldstein
Sustainability of Surface and Subsurface Water Resources: Case Studies from Florida and Michigan, U.S.A.
Alan D. Steinman, Mark Luttenton, and Karl E. Havens | <urn:uuid:dcc18fa1-f712-410c-a9bb-66250e350854> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/jcwre/vol127/iss1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1414119646849.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20141024030046-00167-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.737161 | 251 | 2.609375 | 3 |
If you are thinking of applying to History at the University of Cambridge, you will likely have come across the HAA.
But what is the HAA and why do you have to sit it?
We go over everything you need to know for the HAA.
What Is The HAA?
Introduced by Cambridge in 2018 the History Admissions Assessment (HAA) helps the university assess applicants to their History courses.
If you are applying to any of the following courses at the majority of Cambridge’s colleges, you will need to sit the HAA:
If you are applying for History and English however, you will not have to sit the ELAT – just the HAA. This is also the case for History and Politics.
Early preparation is the key to a successful Cambridge History application.
Writing the perfect Personal Statement, scoring highly on the HAA and interviewing like a pro is how you get your dream Cambridge History offer.
Discover our History Programme for comprehensive admissions support by clicking the button below to enrol and triple your chances of success.
Why Do I Have To Sit The HAA?
The purpose of the HAA is to determine a candidate’s potential to achieve in an academically demanding undergraduate degree course.
The assessment is designed to be challenging in order to differentiate effectively between able applicants, including those who may have achieved the highest possible grades in school examinations.
It is important to remember that not all Cambridge colleges require you to sit the HAA, so do confirm with the college you are applying to whether or not you would have to sit the assessment.
What Is the Format of the HAA?
The HAA is essay based and lasts for one hour.
In this time your will need to analyse and compare two short extracts on a linked historical theme.
The purpose of this task is to assess your ability to handle and analyse historical sources, as well as your ability to write succinctly and argue with clarity.
These tenets are tested practically by the university to understand how well you would be suited to studying at Cambridge.
No prior knowledge is required, and candidates will not be credited for displaying this in their answer, as the purpose of the task is source criticism. Therefore, you do not need to ‘revise’ or accumulate knowledge for this task.
How To Prepare For The HAA
Though it may not be as easy as other assessments to prepare, you can find ways to prepare for the HAA.
As with many Admissions Tests making sure you have the timing nailed on is essential. You could start by not attempting it under timed conditions just to get a feel of what the sources are like and get used to doing the analysis.
From there you can move onto timed conditions.
It is important to note though that the HAA had a specification change in 2020 so any past papers from before then are different to what the test is like today. If you choose to do any of these, you just need to do Section 2.
You could also look at the Oxford HAT past papers, though the format is different the sources they use are similar so should only be used as a place for new material to practice with.
How Is The HAA Scored?
Cambridge has not said much about how the essay is marked. This is deliberate and the university stresses that this is because it wants to view candidates holistically.
It wants to take into account candidate’s educational backgrounds, their exam results to date, submitted schoolwork, and performance in both the HAA and Interview before reaching its final decision.
Given the proximity of the HAA to the Interview, it may mean that the Admissions Test and the Interview together may have a greater impact on each other than previously.
Chances are the sources, themes raised in them and your answer could even be discussion points in the Interview.
How Is The HAA Used?
The main aim is to thin the herd to ensure that only applicants with a high level of a historical aptitude and great grades and a great Personal Statement get through to the Interview phase.
Which means that not only do you have to have the correct level of aptitude but also the ability to show it.
The Admissions Tutors who mark your HAA want you to show that you can creatively and accurately analyse a source to learn a huge amount of information.
They also want you to communication it well, the better you can do that, the easier it will be for them to read, understand and mark your work.
The mark from this will be passed onto those making the application decisions and they will use it to inform their understanding of your abilities.
Unlike your A-Levels, your HAA result is situated within the context just of how applicants performed. Which means your final mark will be put into a small band which joins the rest of your application in consideration.
You should now have a better idea of what the HAA is and begin preparing for the Admissions Test.
The Cambridge application process is highly competitive, and the HAA is an effective way for the Admissions Tutors to gauge a realistic representation of you.
It is best to think of the Admissions Test as another opportunity to show the Admissions Tutors how impressive your ability to argue analytically and produce a coherent argument is, rather than as another hurdle.
Our expert tutors will guide you to Cambridge History success.
Applying to Oxbridge is immensely competitive, and you must give yourself the best chance of success. We help you craft the perfect Personal Statement, achieve a highly competitive HAA score and teach you how to Interview effectively – covering all areas of your Oxbridge application.
Discover our Cambridge History Premium Programme for comprehensive admissions support by clicking the button below to enrol and triple your chances of success. | <urn:uuid:8cdbe4ab-3592-4ab8-8276-3d06d3622eb2> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.uniadmissions.co.uk/haa/guides/the-basics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100264.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20231201021234-20231201051234-00191.warc.gz | en | 0.956766 | 1,188 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Exciting New Cholesterol and Artery Discoveries!
Coronary heart disease (CHD), the most common form of cardiovascular disease, is the leading cause of death in America today. Surprisingly, heart disease was relatively rare only a few hundred years ago. In fact, in 1900 heart attacks were almost nonexistent and medical universities even discouraged heart related specialties for graduate students! Most occurred only as the result of an infectious disease (like rheumatic fever) or congenital heart defects. However, in the last century, this once rare condition has steadily risen in frequency to become the leading cause of death in America.
The good news is that there has been some very exciting Nobel Prize winning discoveries in this field. The applications of these discoveries are greatly changing our approach to healing diseases of the arteries and heart. We are learning how to naturally…
- clear arterial plaque,
- heal the arteries and
- experience healthy cholesterol balance.
Conventional treatment has always assumed that cholesterol is the enemy. So, in order to prevent coronary heart disease, they focus on drugs to reduce cholesterol and in diet changes. Now, researchers are finding out that most cholesterol is not the great evil we once thought it was. We are realizing that high cholesterol levels are not nearly as dangerous if our arteries are healthy in the first place.
Searching for the Causes
What has caused changes in the health of our arteries? Rather than just fighting down high cholesterol, some researchers have starting asking why cholesterol builds up in the first place. We are discovering why arteries become hardened and tears happen. We now know of free radicals, oxidized fats and other irritants that cause artery damage in the first place. Neutralizing homocysteines, in particular, has become a focal point of many clinical studies.
Most important of all, we have begun to take a look at…
How the body would prefer to heal its arteries –
If it was able to do so!
This has brought us to the very heart (no pun intended) of how to have healthy arteries. Somewhat surprisingly, understanding how the body wants to heal arteries has taken us back to discoveries made decades ago. Some of these discoveries from scientific studies actually received Nobel prizes, but were mostly ignored by the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Now these discoveries are being confirmed once again.
Once the cause of arteriosclerosis is clearly understood, its prevention and cure becomes much easier. As a bonus, we are finding that, if we give the body what it needs, the liver’s production of cholesterol naturally decreases! The nutrients that are needed to help your body effectively repair the cardiovascular system are now known. This is incredibly exciting to us because…
Now there are real natural solutions possible
for people in any stage of heart disease!
Of course, we still encourage people to work with doctors as needed. However, we prefer to allow the body to heal naturally when possible. Now there are powerful natural alternatives for those who wish to avoid or simply reduce prescription drugs when possible.
We provide additional information, some general, some very detailed, in our articles. These articles explain arteries, plaque, and cholesterol. They give you our formulas and a description of the action of each nutrient ingredient – and why we include the nutrient.
The detailed information we provide may not be of interest to everyone, but we provide general articles also. There is some information overlap for the 3 products we provide, but if there is a particular interest you have, you may simply go to one of the categories in the…
A-Z Index, under Artery Plaque Reduction, especially “Steps…” and:
Cholesterol – High Cholesterol Formula – a section focused on cholesterol information and now to lower and maintain cholesterol levels.
Enjoy the articles in this section for this protocol has been very effective for a lot of people. | <urn:uuid:7ae1c2eb-b41a-45ef-bad4-56ad8b1bc0e6> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://www.ppt-health.com/artery-plaque/artery-plaque-removal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514573264.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20190918085827-20190918111827-00463.warc.gz | en | 0.950778 | 786 | 2.9375 | 3 |
“Everything is going to be connected to cloud and data… All of this will be mediated by software.”
Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO
Cloud Computing — On-Demand Computing Resources
You are probably here because you have heard the term cloud computing, or you may have heard the phrase “We’re moving our systems to the cloud” at work, and you would like to know what that means.
The following article will outline what cloud computing is and the advantages it brings for companies.
What is cloud computing?
Cloud computing is an on-demand service for computing resources. Providers over the Internet supply these on-demand computing resources.
To illustrate, let’s say that a company wants to store vast amounts of data. So it either can buy hardware and use that to store all the data it needs, or use a provider. In the latter example, the company would send data to the provider and retrieve it whenever required. Thus, data storage is a typical example of using a service of Cloud computing.
The types of cloud services provided over the Internet are usually data storage servers, databases, and network software. However, there are also many others.
We use the term “cloud” because it serves as an analogy for consuming such services outside local storage or hardware.
So essentially, cloud computing uses someone else’s infrastructure, data storage users, and network software, which means there is no longer a need to buy infrastructure.
Thus, when an IT manager declares that the company is moving to the cloud, the IT manager intends to use another company’s infrastructure, for example, their servers, based remotely.
Why would I want to use Cloud services?
The first and obvious advantage is clear, businesses can save money.
Providers offer services that allow users to store files and applications on remote servers and access data over the Internet, but at a far less cost than if a single company invested into that infrastructure by itself.
As illustrated, one of the services that such a provider offers is cloud-based storage, which makes it possible to store files in remote servers and retrieve them when needed. This is particularly advantageous to small businesses because they can keep information in the ‘cloud’ without buying or renting servers and hardware, which can be much more expensive.
Also, because the service is ‘on-demand, ‘ the business can utilise only what it needs. Before such services existed, companies were likely to overspend to buy enough resources to handle all their needs. Since setting up such resources can be expensive and maintaining such infrastructure can be just as costly.
The worst scenario for an IT manager is running out of resources that would cause a fatal crash by running out of memory or CPU. And so, IT managers would overcompensate with more resources than they thought they would need. Conversely, they would purposely underutilise resources to mitigate the risk of offline infrastructure due to a lack of computing resources required to run the applications, applications the business relied on to generate revenue. With on-demand resources available, this is no longer the case.
Using cloud services allows businesses to use just what they need by utilising a shared pool of resources, limiting waste.
These are examples of the advantages of cloud computing, but there are more. In addition, the same benefits vary depending on the type of cloud service used.
One of the most major game changers in this area was Amazon Web Services (AWS) which offered resources to host websites and infrastructure as an on-demand service. This made running online businesses much more economical, especially for small and medium enterprises, as getting just the right equipment for a local infrastructure can be cumbersome.
Cloud computing services are also helpful for businesses that need to access large amounts of data through secure online network connections. The vast network access characteristic of cloud computing means that companies can implement and add services on various devices across the globe.
A further advantage is adding additional capabilities to a company’s environment as and when needed. Companies can add a plethora of services without expensive and time-consuming negotiation resulting in inflexible contracts. As the Internet has lowered the barrier to entry for such providers, providing such services increases the supply, driving the prices down further and without stringent contracts tying customers into their services for a long time. As a result, managers now have more choice to add IT services at a lower cost.
The halo benefit is that with such infrastructure being cheap, this also lowers the barrier to entry for any other business wishing to offer both B2B and B2C services to the end-user, allowing new companies and innovation to enter the market at an exponential rate.
On-demand computing enables companies to meet another challenge in the market, which is that of predictability. Companies not only have the issue of rightsizing their computing resources for the present but also need to figure out what they will likely need in the future, which is very difficult to do.
Cloud services enable cloud hosting companies to provide their customers with access to such resources only when needed. As a result, an IT manager no longer has to spend considerable time predicting or analysing what they may or may not need a year from now. Instead, they can utilise the scalability of cloud services and dial-up when the demand for their business warrants it.
Cloud applications allow scalability
Such on-demand computing services have also gone to considerable lengths to ensure that their services are as non-technical as possible and user-friendly. As a result, companies can also reduce the need for technical expertise to utilise such services and enable application support staff to manage more applications simultaneously.
Since the cloud computing model provides on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources, even small businesses can find they can take advantage of scaling infrastructure. In some cases, this can put them on the same competitive level as companies ten times the size. For smaller companies with limited budgets, there is no need to be concerned with creating a business case for investment to the board of directors and assessing the return on investment of physical hardware any longer. The IT department of the smallest software firm can dial up the services they need by logging into an account online.
This has undoubtedly changed the world we live in, as everything from file storage to application software can be delivered over the internet right to a device.
Ultimately, cloud services mean reducing costs and lowering the need for infrastructure investment, leading to an ability to invest in other projects that would give them a competitive advantage.
Cloud services can be both public and private
Public clouds are for general use
Public clouds range from access to a virtualised infrastructure that offers little more than raw computing power and storage infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to specialised software programs that can be easily implemented with Software as a Service (SaaS). Public clouds are a type of cloud computing. A cloud services provider provides computing resources, SaaS applications, individual virtual machines (VMs), bare metal computing hardware and complete enterprise-level infrastructure and development platforms over the public Internet. If you have ever used email, then you have taken advantage of a public cloud system.
If you have stored files or photos online using services such as Kwiqflick or Dropbox, then you have benefited from a public cloud application delivered over the Internet. Facebook, Google, Microsoft Office 365 Online are all examples of public cloud application delivery.
Private clouds are for single users or entities
A private cloud is a cloud environment or infrastructure dedicated to computing resources and access to only one customer or entity. Cloud computing differs from traditional IT, which provides services to consumers (consumers) and businesses (organisations and individual users) because companies and users do not have the infrastructure needed to support the programs and applications. A private cloud combines many of the advantages of cloud computing, including elasticity, scalability, easy service delivery, access control and resource security and on-site infrastructure adaptation.
Note that the private cloud environment may still be getting the resources for running this kind of set-up from third party providers in most cases. It just means that instead of the services being available to the public, it’s available only to the private party. However, remote cloud environments can be created and operated using the companies own infrastructure set up if it deems the investment worthwhile.
Cloud applications pushed the subscription model
The infrastructure required to support the programs or applications that they use is owned and operated by third parties, and the end-user is responsible for the services they use. Cloud service providers usually use a paid billing model in which the service is delivered to the customer and calculated for the exact amount of computing resources used.
Cloud computing applications work on the same principle: They virtualise the computing power of servers with segmented, software-driven applications that offer processing and storage capabilities.
Several services have come into existence since cloud computing has enabled direct delivery over the Internet.
Different types of cloud service models
Software as a service (SAAS) is software delivered to the end-user via a subscription model. Instead of providing a single instance of the software for a single price, the supplier can charge a subscription where the end-user pays per month or year for the privilege to use.
Applications delivered through the cloud gave rise to the ‘freemium model’, the most prominent business model in software applications today. Freemium is providing the end-user with core functionality with the option to buy add-ons and additional features.
Function as a Service (FAAS) refers to cloud computing services to provide customers with a platform to develop, operate and manage applications.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) is a cloud service layer that enables an organisation to rent from a cloud provider its infrastructure (e.g. Servers, storage, networks, operating systems).
Mobile Backend Services (M-Model), also known as Backend Service (BAAS), are web apps and mobile apps that developers can use to connect their applications to other cloud services. Including cloud storage, cloud computing services and application programming interfaces (APIs) to display their applications using custom software development kits (SDKs).
The Future of Cloud computing
The network infrastructure technology only limits the future allows it to, which is rapidly improving all the time. Currently, 5G is sweeping across the world, allowing the transfer of data at vast speeds to enable users to take advantage of more complex applications that solve problems for everyday life. | <urn:uuid:70c2617c-735a-44bf-a554-0bb1c7726141> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://home.kwiqflick.com/technology-articles/what-is-cloud-computing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510516.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20230929122500-20230929152500-00394.warc.gz | en | 0.936091 | 2,464 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The sarcophagus was pieced together from 250 fragments likely broken and scattered in the pharaoh's tomb by ancient tomb robbers, reconstruction experts said.
The tomb of Ramses VI is one of the largest in the Valley of the Kings, the ancient royal burial ground for Egypt's pharaohs. Ramses VI ruled about 3,100 years ago.
The sarcophagus is carved in the shape of a mummy from a single block of green conglomerate, and is on display in the pharaoh's tomb.
The restored lid shows a face with wide-set eyes and full lips, and crossed hands holding royal scepters. Much of the lid is missing and some fragments on the sides are supported with steel rods.
Only the face is a replica. The original face is on display at the British Museum. Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said he hoped it would be returned to complete the sarcophagus.
Hawass also revealed the statues of Amenhotep III, who ruled around 1372 B.C., and his wife, Queen Tiye. The statues were partly buried in Nile silt and a pool of water near the Temple of Memnon outside Luxor, about 310 miles south of Cairo.
The 10-foot statue of Queen Tiye shows her wearing a wig and a long dress and holding a floral whisk and papyrus, which were royal symbols.
"I have never seen such a beautiful and magnificent statue," Hawass said. "It shows all the details of a strong and mighty woman."
The find highlights the "golden age of art and prosperity" under Amenhotep, he said.
Chip Vincent, director of the Egypt project at the American Research Center in Cairo, said 10 American, Canadian and Egyptian experts worked for two years on the sarcophagus reconstruction. The work was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
"In the past, visitors to the tomb would only see the broken pieces of the sarcophagus," Vincent said. "Now they have the experience to see the head and the face of the pharaoh."
Also unveiled Sunday was a 4-foot-tall white, headless hippopotamus found by German archaeologists excavating the Temple of Memnon site.
Previously, hippopotamus representations were restricted to wall scenes and small models.
Egyptian and German archaeologists also showed newly excavated sites of a mortuary temple of Seti I in Qurna, on the west bank of the Nile.
The temple, from about 1250 B.C., was dedicated to the god Amun-Re. It was built for Seti's father, Ramses I, who ruled for only two years. The temple was completed by Seti's son, Ramses II.
By Salah Nasrawi | <urn:uuid:e6f7a9f1-77fa-40d1-b445-6040379ab516> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | https://www.cbsnews.com/news/egypt-shows-golden-age-relics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948579564.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20171215192327-20171215214327-00134.warc.gz | en | 0.965496 | 579 | 2.90625 | 3 |
|Scientific name||Lampropeltis herrerae|
|English name||Isla Todos Santos Sur Mountain Kingsnake|
|Habitat||Open, rocky, sage-covered areas along the coast and also the rocky, scrubland-covered outback of the island.|
|Distribution||This species only occurs on the southern island of the Isla Todos Santos, along the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico.|
|Details||This species was previously considered a subspecies of L. zonata.
In 2002 this snake was described as a separate species by L. Grismer.
Grismer, L.L. 2002. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.
After 2002 the status of this snake has been changed a few times, but I do not have access to the scientific articles about this, so, for now, I consider this snake as a separate species…
This is a ground-dwelling snake species that leads a hidden life. They are, for the most part, coloured black and white.
Adult snakes are on average between 60 and 75 cm long. The length of new-born specimens is less than 20 cm.
I have found no data about the food in the wild until now. The same applies to data about keeping in captivity.
The habitat of this species is barely 100 square kilometres and is therefore seen as extremely vulnerable. The snake is therefore considered “seriously threatened” and the number of specimens within this small area seems to decrease.
The island is not protected formally, but access is limited because it is a military outpost. | <urn:uuid:e3d7a005-e648-427e-9e59-8baefa36f5c8> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | http://www.kingsnake.nl/lampropeltis-herrerae/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998509.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20190617143050-20190617165050-00372.warc.gz | en | 0.930577 | 369 | 2.9375 | 3 |
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