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What’s the difference between a whitehead vs a blackhead?
Hopefully, this will help ‘clear up’ the situation.
Well, actually a better question might be “what’s the difference between whitehead vs a blackhead vs pimples, pustules, papules and cysts ?”
Acne is a skin condition that shows up as different types of bumps. The bumps on your skin can include whiteheads, blackheads, red bumps (pimples) and can turn into papules, pustules or cysts.
What causes these annoying bumps? Well, your skin is covered with tiny holes called hair follicles, or pores. Pores contain sebaceous glands (also called oil glands) that make sebum (an oil that moistens your hair and skin).
Most of the time, the glands make the right amount of sebum and the pores are fine. But sometimes a pore gets clogged up with too much sebum, dead skin cells, and germs called bacteria. This can cause acne.
If a pore gets clogged up, closes, and bulges out from the skin, that’s a whitehead. If a pore clogs up but stays open, the top surface can get dark (oxidized) and you’re left with a blackhead. Sometimes the walls of the pore are broken, allowing sebum, bacteria, and dead skin cells to get under the skin. This causes a small, red infection called a pimple. Clogged-up pores that open up deep in the skin can lead to bigger infections known as cysts.
Sometimes the pores get so irritated that their walls break. That causes bigger pimples that are called papules and pustules. Papules are hard when you touch them. … Pustules are like papules except yellowish, liquid pus fills them sort of like a blister.
Francine, our esthetician, can help you determine what’s happening to your skin and the best treatment for those whiteheads, blackheads, or other bumps. Contact us to schedule an appointment today. |
A blue and gray striped jacket from the Flossenbürg concentration camp. The letter "P" on the left front of the jacket indicates that it was worn by a Polish, non-Jewish prisoner. "P" stands for "Pole" in German. The jacket was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by the prisoner who wore it, Julian Noga.
Set of tefillin in an embroidered bag. Tefillin are ritual objects worn by religious Jews during weekday morning prayers. This set was found on the body of a death march victim, who was buried near Regensburg, Germany.
During the war the Japanese flooded Shanghai with anti-American and anti-British propaganda, including this image from a matchbox cover. It depicts a Japanese bomb landing in the United States heartland and knocking the stars off the U.S. flag. Shanghai, China, between 1943 and 1945. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
These Torah scrolls, one from a synagogue in Vienna and the other from Marburg, were desecrated during Kristallnacht (the "Night of Broken Glass"), the violent anti-Jewish pogrom of November 9 and 10, 1938. The pogrom occurred throughout Germany, which by then included both Austria and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. The scrolls pictured here were retrieved by German individuals and safeguarded until after the war.
Identification tag issued to Liesel Weil by the American Friends Service Committee for her voyage to the United States on board the Mouzinho. More than 100 children sailed to New York aboard the Mouzinho, a Portuguese liner. The transport was sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, and representatives of several Jewish organizations met the children in New York. Marseilles, France, 1941.
The Kobe Municipal Office issued an English-language tourist guide to Kobe and its environs. This illustration comes from the interior pages of the guide. Jewish refugees in Kobe used such pieces of information. Kobe, Japan, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
The Kobe Municipal Office issued an English-language tourist guide to Kobe and its environs. The tourist map of Kobe pictured here was included with the guide. Jewish refugees in Kobe used such pieces of information. Kobe, Japan, 1940-1941. [From the USHMM special exhibition Flight and Rescue.]
(Middle) In a take-off of travel posters advertising peaceful vacation spots, Beifeld draws a picture of a Hungarian military tent pitched next to a tree on which a bird is cheerfully chirping. Next to the tent the artist writes "Peaceful Surroundings" but above, a Soviet bomber releases a bomb aimed at the tent. [Photograph #58022]
(Bottom) View of fortifications built at Kalimovka to defend the advancing troops of the 4th Infantry Division of the Hungarian 2nd Army. In the lower right corner of the drawing, men prepare the grave of Jewish Labor Serviceman Nandor Klein, the first fatality of the company. The Hungarian caption reads: The death of our first hero, Nandor Klein, his grave, June 5, 1942." Klein was killed by a stray Soviet bullet on his way back to base. [Photograph #58013]
(top) "Watercolor entitled 'Partisan hotel and public house', Krassnolipia, Ukraine, until July 31, 1942"; (middle) "Drawing entitled 'The interrogation of partisans captured by our unit'"; (bottom) "Watercolor entitled 'My lodgings in Krassnolipia'" [Photograph #58040]
We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. View the list of all donors. |
To assess and be assessed: Upper secondary school students’ narratives of credibility judgements
|dc.contributor.author||Lundh, Anna Hampson|
|dc.identifier.citation||Lundh, A.H. and Francke, H. and Sundin, O. 2015. To assess and be assessed: Upper secondary school students’ narratives of credibility judgements. Journal of Documentation. 71 (1): pp. 80-95.|
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how students construct narratives of themselves as information seekers in a school context where their descriptions of their information activities are assessed and graded. Design/methodology/approach – Blog posts on credibility judgements written by 28 students at a Swedish upper secondary school were analysed through a bottom-up coding process based in the sociocultural concept of narratives of selves. Findings – Two tensions in the students’ accounts are identified. The first tension is that between the description of the individual, independent student and the description of the good group member. The second tension is between describing oneself as an independent information seeker and at the same time as someone who seeks information in ways that are sanctioned within the school setting. Research limitations/implications – The study focuses on a specific social practice and on situated activities, but also illustrates some aspects of information activities that pertain to educational contexts in general. It explores how social norms related to credibility judgements are expressed and negotiated in discursive interaction. Practical implications – The study highlights that when information activities become objects of assessment, careful consideration of what aspects are meant to be assessed is necessary. Originality/value – The study is based on the idea of information activities as socially and discursively shaped, and it illustrates some of the consequences when information activities become objects of teaching, learning, and grading.
|dc.publisher||Emerald Group Publishing Limited|
|dc.title||To assess and be assessed: Upper secondary school students’ narratives of credibility judgements|
|dcterms.source.title||Journal of Documentation|
|curtin.department||Department of Information Studies| |
The Tudor Child
The opening section provides a social history of children and babies in the sixteenth century, drawing on the latest research and primary sources such as ordinary people’s wills and household accounts. The book contains fascinating insights into the way in which Tudor children were raised, educated and of course clothed.
The book is lavishly illustrated in full colour offering a visual feast of paintings and sculpture, beautiful line drawings, and high-quality photographs of reconstructed costumes. More than 40 patterns with instructions are included for making garments for all ages and social standings: from infants to children aged 12 years, including underwear, dresses, jerkins,headwear, and knitted items |
The Franco-Prussian war resulted in two reunifications. In the run-up, French troops were withdrawn from Rome and the Papal states enabling completion of the Italian Risorgimento; a crushing Prussian victory saw the proclamation of the German Empire in the war’s aftermath. Earlier in the decade, Italy had also profited from the Prussian defeat of Austria-Hungary (1866), reclaiming Venetia from the peace negotiations. Defeat in the Crimean War (1853–56) had induced a programme of reform in Russia encompassing the Emancipation of serfs (1861). In Spain, the ‘Glorious Revolution’ (1868) would produce a brief republic before the Bourbon Restoration (1870). Denmark lost its southern province of Schleswig to Prussia (1864) in the latter’s practice conflict for its subsequent steamrollering of France and Austria. Ottoman decline was halted briefly through an internal modernization programme and when the Turks picked the victorious side in the Crimean War. To the west, ‘Britannia ruled the waves’ with its navy and, with the Industrial Revolution at its peak, dominated international trade.
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Acai berries have enjoyed plenty of positive publicity lately due to their alleged health benefits and the potential weight loss effects of the acai berry cleanse.
Can this Amazonian berry really help you achieve a healthier, leaner body?
What Is Acai?
The acai berry grows on the acai palm tree, native to the Amazon rainforest. A small, dark purple berry, it comes from the same family as blueberries and cranberries.
Unlike most other berries, however, the acai fruit consists of mostly seeds with only 15% of the fruit’s outer layer being edible.
An Ancient Food
Acai has been used for thousands of years as an essential food staple. In fact, a study of several Amazonian tribes found that the berry made up over 40% of their total food intake, and was an important part of their diet.
Health Benefits Of Acai Berries
Everyone knows the benefits of eating a rainbow of natural foods every day – all those different colors represent the various nutrients your body needs for optimum health. Acai’s purple color is due to a high concentration of anthocyanin, a pigment derived from the antioxidant flavonoids contained within the berry.
A food’s antioxidant strength is measured by its Oxygen Radical Absorbent Capacity (ORAC). Acai berries have the highest ORAC value known, at an impressive 102,700. This puts other antioxidant-high foods such as blueberries (ORAC value 4,669), raspberries (ORAC value of 5,065) and red wine (ORAC value of 4,523) to shame!
Antioxidants protect your body from free radicals that damage the cells and contribute to aging. Consuming flavonoids in particular has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illness such as cancer and Type 2 diabetes. Antioxidants are also essential for a strong immune system.
Acai berries also contain good amounts of other health boosting nutrients:
- Vitamin A, also an antioxidant, is essential for maintaining clear eyesight, beautiful skin, and strong bones.
- Iron helps transport oxygen to the cells and plays an important role in your body’s energy production.
- Calcium is important for your heart’s health, and helps maintain strong teeth and bones. It also relieves aching muscles, making acai berries a perfect post workout snack.
- Oleic acid is an essential fatty acid that has been proven to reduce levels of bad cholesterol in the blood, thereby lowering your risk of cardio vascular disease.
Acai And Weight Loss
Acai berries contain plenty of fiber, which can help you lose weight long term. Fiber slows down your digestion, which means you’ll absorb energy from food more slowly and your blood sugar levels will be more stable.
How To Take Acai
There are many acai products on the market; do you know which one is best for you?
Unfortunately, fresh acai berries are rarely found for sale outside of the area where they are grown.
Their high fatty acid content makes them prone to turning rancid very quickly, so they can’t be shipped all over the world in the same way as other fruits.
Teas And Juices
There are plenty of health drinks and herbal teas containing acai berries. However, beware that not all of these are actually healthy – many drinks in particular contain a lot of sugar, thereby cancelling any health benefit.
Check the label to see how much acai is really in the product. The most prevalent ingredient is mentioned first, so make sure acai berry is at the top of the list.
Alternately, you can make your own juices and smoothies in the comfort of your own home and knowing exactly what is going into the juice with the full benefits of acai juice.
The Acai Berry Cleanse / Acai Berry Detox
Since 2004 the alternative health industry has flooded the market with various acai products due to the berry’s increased popularity.
The Acai Berry Cleanse or Detox involves taking acai capsules according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, over a period of several days.
It’s alleged the acai cleanse rids the body of unwanted toxins that have accumulated in the bowel, resulting in fat loss and a lower weight, though these results have so far not been scientifically verified.
Unlike the acai berry cleanse products, acai supplements usually only contain 100% pure acai berry or acai berry extract, with no laxatives or bulking agents.
Where possible try to pick organic supplements, as these won’t have been contaminated by pesticides or insecticides.
Risks And Side Effects
Acai cleanse products usually contain natural laxatives such as senna leaves. These can irritate the bowel, especially if you have a sensitive digestive system.
Stimulants like caffeine are also sometimes added to increase the pills’ weight loss action. Always check the label and choose products with the purest and most natural ingredients.
No recommended daily allowance has been set for acai berries, and dosage recommendations vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Acai is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women. It’s important that you seek a doctor’s advice prior to taking any supplement or starting a cleanse or detox program.
Acai – Weight Loss Miracle Or Not?
There’s no doubt that taking acai berry supplements will increase your antioxidant intake and therefore improve your overall health.
These are not magic pills, but taken in conjunction with a healthy diet, high in fresh fruits and vegetables, pulses, nuts and seeds, they will help you to reach your weight loss goals, and gain better overall health.
Murrieta RSS, Dufour DL, Siqueira AD (1999). "Food consumption and subsistence in three Caboclo populations on Marajo Island, Amazonia, Brazil". Human Ecology 27: 455–75 |
SQL CHARINDEX Vs PATINDEX Function
The primary distinction between the
PATINDEX functions will be discussed in this article.
SQL CHARINDEX FUNCTION
CHARINDEX : It's a string function that returns the pattern's starting location.
If a character expression is found inside a second character expression, this method returns the first expression's starting point.
Example 1: To find index position of character--sql-server
SELECT CHARINDEX('the', 'the doctor uses the stethoscope') As 'Find index of the', CHARINDEX('the', 'the doctor uses the stethoscope',10) As 'Skip 10 characters and Find index of the';
SELECT LOCATE("doctor" , "the doctor uses the stethoscope") As 'Find index of doctor', LOCATE("doctor", "the doctor uses the stethoscope",2) As 'Skip 2 characters and Find index of doctor';
SELECT instr('doctor' , 'the doctor uses the stethoscope') As 'Find index of doctor';
Output: We find index of character in above query so the output is
|Find index of doctor||Skip 2 characters and Find index of doctor|
This isn't possible with PATINDEX() because the third parameter isn't accepted.
SQL PATINDEX Function
str function that returns the pattern's starting location. When looking for a pattern, we can also employ wildcard characters.
The position of the first occurrence of a pattern in a string is returned by this method.
It allows you to search another string for a
Example 1: PATINDEX function--sql-server
SELECT PATINDEX('%A%', 'RADHAKRISHNA');
Output : The output of patindex will be
Example 2: In this case, we're looking for a pattern using wildcard characters
Here's an example of something PATINDEX() can achieve that CHARINDEX can't().--sql-server
SELECT PATINDEX('%S__ver%', 'SQL Server ') position;
Output: The output of patindex with wildcard character is
In this situation, we're using percent signs (%) as wildcards to indicate that any number of characters could come before or after our search phrase.
We also employ the underscore (_), which is a wildcard character that can be used to represent any single character.
we obtained the same result as the CHARINDEX() function. I know you're probably wondering why you need to use the PATINDEX() function in the first place.
If you don't know the exact substring you're looking for, the PATINDEX() method comes in helpful. With the use of wildcard, PATINDEX will allow you to use pattern to search for expression in another expression.
SQL Difference Between CHARINDEX AND PATINDEX Function>
Here we discuss the main distinguish between charindex & patindex and points in follow below table:-
|Returns the beginning point of the supplied Expression in a Character String.||Comes back the Starting Position of the First Occurrence of a pattern in the Specified Expression, or 0 if no pattern is detected.|
|You can define the Start location in Charindex.||You can't define a beginning place in PatIndex. It will provide you the First Occurrence of a Pattern result.|
|Wildcard characters are not allowed in CHARINDEX().||PATINDEX() allows you to search for patterns using wildcard characters.|
|The third input to CHARINDEX() allows you to specify the search's start position.||The third argument is not accepted by PATINDEX().|
|When you want to define a beginning place within the string to search, use CHARINDEX().||When you need to define a pattern to look for, use PATINDEX().|
|In SQL Server, it can be used to search, control, and analyse text.||In SQL Server, it can be used to search, control, and analyse text.| |
No outdoor survival can be complete without the proper tools to get you going. Whether it is emergency medicine, a survival knife, or a sleeping bag, you’ll need some tools to allow you to endure outside the comfort of your house. Different experts have different views as to which tool is the most significant, but there are a number of basic tools that make every list that is survivalists.
Fire starters. These can be flint and blast or steel matches, but the purpose is that you just need something to assist you to start a fire in the outdoors. A fire can not only protect you from the weather it also can offer you getting and cooking water that is clean. At the most fundamental, you can have either a flint or steel. This apparatus has a simple friction established principle of starting a fire and dates back to the Stone Age.
First aid kit. Bandages and medicine can go a long way during an outdoor survival program. You never know when things FAIL and although you may not be capable of take care of the emergency medical attention, it is possible to help control the issue till the time proper medical aid can arrive. Antihistamines are extremely significant when it comes to insect bite treatments.
Survival Knife. This really is undoubtedly the most important tool of them all. Outdoor survivalists are known to carry a couple of knives, occasionally precisely the same knife for long periods of time.
The outside can be chilly and wet, which is why tents or water proof blankets are an extreme importance. In supplying heat to victims who have fallen ill or might have gone into shock blankets also can play a component in first aid. In deserts, tents are able to help you remain in temperate climates, in the shade, they can shield you from rain. Tents are also a sort of protection against insects like mosquitoes, et al.
Tracking Devices. In the great outdoors, it is always easy to get lost. That’s where compasses and maps or a simple GPS device can be of use. Advanced users can rely on compasses and maps to navigate their terrain.
Signaling devices. These can contain satellite phones or uncomplicated whistles which may attract attention to your own distress. Mirrors are also used, particularly by people marooned to attract attention. Flares and fluorescent sticks will also be used to alert by passers, either on land or sea for help.
Most of these items are offered at any hardware or camping store, though some might need certainly to be ordered in advanced. The more improved tool or the device, the steeper the investment. In the end, you never know when you might need to utilize it. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2938711 |
We can't go back in time to protect animals before they become victims of neglect and cruelty, but there is a next best thing. At the ASPCA, we call it Cruelty Intervention Advocacy (CIA), a holistic intervention approach that takes into account how the societal challenges pet owners often face - including poverty, housing restrictions, lack of transportation, and limited resources - profoundly affect the animals under their care.
As we commemorate the fifth year of our CIA program, which started in New York City, I'd like to share why this uncommon approach is so necessary to keep animals alive.
Typically - and especially in the media - we focus on homeless animals at shelters, in foster homes, or on the streets, concentrating our efforts on rescue and adoption. And that's certainly very important.
But imagine starting much sooner, when pets are still in homes but on the verge of being relinquished to shelters or abandoned to the street because their owners don't have the financial, logistical, or other personal means to take care of them. In addition to becoming homeless, these animals can end up being hoarded, neglected, or abused.
This is the moment when targeted interventions can make a big difference - talking to people in underserved communities about their pets and the barriers they face, in order to connect them to support and resources.
The next step can take many forms, including:
- Providing free or low-cost spay/neuter, vaccination, and other veterinary treatments
- Making emergency veterinary care available for pets in need
- Distributing free insulated dog houses to protect dogs who live primarily outdoors
- Intervening in hoarding situations to help individuals reduce the number of animals in their homes, and to provide necessary care to those animals.
- Connecting families to social services that may help them improve their overall conditions, which in turn helps animals.
This work is especially relevant in the midst of a sudden crisis such as a natural disaster or domestic violence. A 2014 collaboration of our CIA program and Urban Resource Institute's PALS (People and Animals Living Safely) program brought about New York City's first-ever initiative to shelter domestic violence victims with their pets, a critical service when you consider the extreme perils domestic violence creates for both humans and animals.
This owner-aware approach is also very beneficial to shelters. When more pets are kept with their families, more shelter space opens up for animals who need it most, and shelter staff can spend more time and energy adopting out each animal in their care.
Our own successes help put these interventions in perspective. Since the CIA was formed in 2010, over 1,600 ASPCA financial grants have been gone toward emergency veterinary care for low-income pet owners, nearly 2,000 animals have been spayed or neutered, and crucial services have been provided in over 200 hoarding cases.
In June 2014, the CIA program expanded to Los Angeles, where our services have prevented over 1,600 pets from entering Los Angeles County shelters. In addition, hundreds of animals have been provided with vaccines at disaster preparedness events in low-income areas of New York City.
One such beneficiary is Patty, who in 2014 moved with her husband, their two daughters, and their 5-year-old terrier, Abby, from Florida to New York City so Patty's husband could take a new job. But the position never materialized, leaving both Patty and her husband unemployed, with dwindling savings.
The family ended up at a homeless shelter, and though they tried to sneak Abby in, her barking made it impossible for them to stay. Desperate, Patty put Abby in a crate in their car. A passerby noticed and called the NYPD, who retrieved Abby and took her to the ASPCA.
This story could have ended with Abby going to a shelter, taking up precious cage space, as well as the shelter staff's time, energy, and resources. But in Abby's situation, the CIA team took over the case and met with the family. No citation was issued, and a foster home was found for Abby until the family could find longer-term housing. After several months, the family managed to find an apartment in Brooklyn, New York, and was reunited with Abby.
It's remarkable that Patty was able to stay connected to Abby during the most challenging of situations, but we hope to make that outcome less remarkable over time. There's simply no safer place for an animal than in a home with responsible owners. With the help of supporters, advocates and humane leaders, we can provide pet owners with resources that will keep families intact and stop suffering well before it starts. |
Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2023-08-11 Origin: Site
In an era driven by innovation and sustainability, the quest for efficient energy storage solutions has never been more crucial. Among the array of battery technologies available, 12V LiFePO4 batteries have emerged as a transformative force, redefining the way we power various applications. In this article, we delve into the world of 12V LiFePO4 batteries, exploring their significance, benefits, and the impact they have on shaping a more energy-efficient future.
1. The Rise of LiFePO4 Batteries: Powering Progress
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, commonly referred to as LiFePO4 batteries, represent a significant advancement in energy storage technology. They belong to the family of lithium-ion batteries, renowned for their high energy density and exceptional cycle life. What sets LiFePO4 batteries apart is their unique composition, which offers a compelling blend of safety, performance, and sustainability.
The 12V configuration of LiFePO4 batteries caters to a wide range of applications, from automotive and marine to renewable energy systems and beyond. This voltage rating aligns with the power requirements of numerous devices, making 12V LiFePO4 batteries an adaptable and versatile choice.
2. The Benefits of 12V LiFePO4 Batteries
The adoption of 12V LiFePO4 batteries brings forth an array of benefits that extend far beyond conventional lead-acid or other lithium-ion alternatives:
High Energy Density: LiFePO4 batteries boast a remarkable energy density, allowing them to store a significant amount of energy in a compact and lightweight package. This attribute is especially valuable for applications where space is a premium.
Long Cycle Life: One of the standout features of LiFePO4 batteries is their exceptional cycle life. They can withstand thousands of charge and discharge cycles without significant degradation, resulting in a longer lifespan compared to traditional batteries.
Fast Charging: 12V LiFePO4 battery support rapid charging, significantly reducing the time required to replenish energy reserves. This attribute is particularly advantageous in scenarios where downtime is minimized, and energy availability is critical.
Enhanced Safety: LiFePO4 batteries are renowned for their inherent safety characteristics. Unlike other lithium-ion chemistries, LiFePO4 batteries are resistant to thermal runaway and do not pose a risk of combustion or explosion under normal operating conditions.
Wide Temperature Range: lifepo4 battery 12v exhibit stable performance across a wide temperature range. This versatility ensures reliable operation even in extreme environmental conditions.
Reduced Weight and Size: The compact nature of LiFePO4 batteries translates to reduced weight and size, allowing for flexible installation in various applications without compromising efficiency.
Environmental Sustainability: LiFePO4 batteries are more environmentally friendly compared to lead-acid batteries, which contain hazardous materials. The reduced need for replacements and longer lifespan further contribute to a lower environmental impact.
3. Applications and Impact
The applications of battery lifepo4 12v span a diverse spectrum, each contributing to a more sustainable and efficient future:
Automotive and Marine: The automotive and marine industries have embraced 12V LiFePO4 batteries for their ability to provide reliable and consistent power to vehicles and vessels. Whether used as starting batteries or deep-cycle batteries for auxiliary systems, LiFePO4 batteries offer reliable performance and reduced maintenance.
Renewable Energy Systems: LiFePO4 batteries play a pivotal role in storing energy generated from renewable sources such as solar panels and wind turbines. Their ability to efficiently store and release energy enables homeowners and businesses to maximize the benefits of clean energy generation.
Recreational Vehicles and Camping: 12V LiFePO4 batteries are a preferred choice for powering lighting, appliances, and electronic devices in recreational vehicles and camping setups. Their lightweight design and long cycle life make them ideal for off-grid adventures.
Emergency Backup Power: In situations where a reliable power source is essential, 12V LiFePO4 batteries provide a dependable solution for emergency backup power. Their rapid charging capability ensures quick readiness when needed most.
4. Future Innovations and Sustainability
As technology continues to evolve, the future of 12V LiFePO4 batteries holds promising innovations. Research and development efforts are focused on enhancing energy density, improving charge and discharge rates, and optimizing manufacturing processes to further reduce costs and environmental impact.
Furthermore, the integration of smart technologies and energy management systems will enable more efficient utilization of 12V LiFePO4 batteries. This includes advanced battery monitoring, real-time data analysis, and predictive maintenance, ensuring optimal performance and extending battery lifespan.
5. Conclusion: Empowering Progress
The widespread adoption of 12V LiFePO4 batteries signals a shift towards a more sustainable, efficient, and reliable energy future. Their exceptional attributes, from high energy density and long cycle life to enhanced safety and environmental sustainability, make them a formidable contender in the realm of energy storage.
As industries and individuals alike recognize the potential of 12V LiFePO4 batteries, we stand on the cusp of a transformative era in energy technology. With each application, each innovation, and each step towards harnessing the power of LiFePO4 batteries, we empower progress and pave the way for a brighter and more sustainable future. |
Kansas Approves Questioning Evolution
On Tuesday, November 8, 2005 the Kansas State Board of Education voted 6-4 to approve a new set of science standards that question the veracity of evolution theory. Why is it important to challenge the veracity of evolution theory? Evolution is promoted in a way that confuses students and the public. In popular culture evolution is not just characterized by adaptation within a species, but by growth into more advanced species. A small business evolves into a large business. A timid local basketball player evolves into a national star. Evolution implies growth, as in evolving from invertebrates to vertebrates, amphibians to mammals and dinosaurs to birds.
Could natural selection produce these kinds of results? Natural selection, often stated as the “survival of the fittest”, is in fact a scientific principle that can be tested and verified in the laboratory. Microbiologists observe it as antibacterial drugs are applied to cultures of bacteria. Through studies it is observed that certain strains of bacteria survive the harsh invasion of the antibacterial substance. Since some bacteria survive and reproduce, is that real, vertical evolution or simply minor variation? Is it evolution if they survive other antibacterial drugs? Evolutionists would say this is an example of evolution in action. Certainly it is an example of natural selection in action, but do the bacteria grow into a higher-level organism? No!
Natural selection, mutations and genetic drift bring but minor change, not new information; not growth as in bacteria becoming something other than bacteria. For evolution to be demonstrated as true we need to see examples of growth such as testable examples of bacteria that evolved into multi-cellular organisms. Bacteria are single celled; they’re asexual and reproduce quickly. E. coli reproduce approximately every 20 minutes. If vertical evolution is real, it should be observed in the laboratory through the countless worldwide experiments being performed with bacteria. How is it known that evolutionary growth has never been observed? If such an incredible process was observed and could be reproduced again and again in the laboratory, it would be front-page news for a very long time!
Rather, evolutionists provide evidence for small changes in organisms but do not provide direct evidence for large-scale changes. Biological evidence for evolution is an extrapolation from minor changes in organisms. But an extrapolation is not empirical science.
Biological changes from natural selection weed out (select out) information; they reduce the genetic information of the organism. The reduction of genetic information can be illustrated through artificial selection of breeding animals. Dogs, for example, can be bred to have no hair. In order to get this result the genetic information for hair is eventually bred out. The public is led to believe that natural selection produces new information– “evolution”. It does not.
Therefore, students and the public need to be made aware that natural selection, mutations, genetic drift and other natural mechanisms merely produce changes within an organism, but the changes are the result of a reduction of genetic information. This is a huge issue and evolutionists do not teach this kind of fundamental problem with the theory of evolution. Yes, plants can become hybrids and viruses can carry genetic information from one host to another, but none of this produces novel genetic information that did not exist before. The Kansas State School Board is correct in encouraging students to discover and discuss some of the major flaws in the foundation of evolution.
Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education said, “It will be marketed by the religious right … as a huge victory for their side.” This issue is not about “the religious right”; it is about a proper scientific understanding of where we came from. Since evolution merely produces changes within organisms and with it a reduction of genetic information, where is the biological evidence in favor of cells-to-humans evolution? Other than an extrapolation from a process that reduces genetic information, it does not exist. The Kansas State Board of Education is correct to encourage their students to see the real nature of evolution. |
Extreme weather, such as heavy downpours or heatwaves, represents a challenge to society that may become bigger in a changing climate. By working on climate adaptation, society can be better prepared when extreme events occur.
The HazardSupport project involves researchers conducting in-depth studies of users’ needs in order to be able to structure information to make it more useful as decision-making support for climate adaptation. Half way into the project, they have been conducting a user dialogue based on the new material produced by the researchers. The user dialogue is taking place based on case studies into downpours, floods and heatwaves.
Provides an insight into needs
How is the user dialogue helping you in your research?
“I’m struck by the fact that you need information in very different degrees of detail at different stages. In many cases it’s enough to have information at a general level. But where you’ve identified a need for action, a detailed study is needed,” says Lena Strömbäck, Head of Air Quality Research at SMHI and project manager of HazardSupport.
“Our challenge is to make the information relevant, but without too many details, while at the same time as researchers we have to feel that we’re conveying the results we’ve produced.”
Per-Anders Bergman, Director of Technology and Real Estate at Karlstad Municipality, is one of the participants in the project. He brings a user perspective from the case study of cloudbursts and floods:
"We’ll be using the researchers’ knowledge in order to plan and build, but also to produce base data for decisions on investments and base data for communication with citizens. So it’s important to help researchers to understand the practical consequences of climate change for those of us who are planning and building communities. After all, the everyday situations we face are different from those faced by researchers."
“For us, it's important to be able to discuss how we should set different risks against one another in order to obtain base data for decisions on which risk we should address first, and to have help with explaining complicated models in a simple way, for example using map data,” says Per-Anders Bergman.
The climate is changing
Information about the future climate is needed to be able to work on climate adaptation. Research is under way in Sweden and around the world in order to be able to describe future climate change in as much detail as possible.
The rapid climate change under way in the world is largely caused by human emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The countries of the world can work together to affect climate change by limiting emissions. The more emissions are limited, the less global warming climate change will produce, which means the effects can also be limited. At the same time, communities all over the world must adapt to both current and future climate, by means of what is known as climate adaptation.
The HazardSupport project includes both SMHI and SEI (Stockholm Environment Institute), as well as participants in case studies. It is being funded by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB). |
It's such a simple operation, you'd think everyone already knows how to copy, cut, and paste. But my father has asked me how to do this several times, and chances are you probably get asked simple questions like this all the time.
To help you in your tech support role and new computer users young and old learn the basics, we'll be offering (easy-to-email) instructions each week on simple tech concepts. Today: how to copy, cut, and paste. (This one's for you, Dad!)
First, another FAQ: What's the difference between copying and cutting?
You can think of it like an actual piece of paper, for example a letter. When you photocopy the letter, it creates a duplicate and the original stays intact. Cutting a block of text out of the letter, on the other hand, removes that portion from the letter.
On your computer, when you copy a file, image, text or other item, it creates a duplicate of that item in your computer's temporary memory.
Cutting an item will remove it from the page or folder and hold it in memory, as above.
You can almost always copy (duplicate) something, like a phrase on a web page, but cutting is only possible if you have editing or administrative control of the item. For example, you can't cut phrases out of web pages you visit in your browser (imagine what the web would look like if everyone could!). There are exceptions, like editable websites like Wikipedia, but that's because you have editing control on that site.
Once you've copied or pasted something into memory, you can then paste it into another document, file, or folder. Here's how.
Highlight or Select What You Want to Copy or Cut
First, select the item you want to copy or cut:
- If it's a file in a folder that you want to copy (to duplicate) or cut (to move) into another folder, click on the file to select it. To select multiple files at once, hold down the Control (CTRL) key (on Windows) or the Command key (on older Macs, it's the Apple logo; on newer Macs, it's this curly-do: ⌘) while clicking the other files.
- For images, right-click on the image, then click on "Copy" or "Copy Image" depending on the application.
- If you want to copy some text, highlight it by clicking just before the first letter you want to copy, hold down the mouse button while dragging your mouse to the right, and then releasing after you have selected your text.
Tip: In some applications, like Thunderbird, you can select all the text and images by right-clicking and choosing "Select All".
Copying/Cutting and Pasting: The Point-and-Click Method
Next, in many applications, you'll see at the top of the application window, "Edit" right next to "File". Click Edit to reveal the drop down menu and select Copy or Cut, depending on what you want to do and if cutting is an option.
Note: Depending on your operating system and the application you might not have that Edit menu. It's there on Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac, for example, but not on Microsoft Word 2007 and up for Windows. Starting with Office 2003, the classic menu has been replaced with a ribbon bar, so in those programs, you'll see instead icons to click on for cutting (scissors), copying (two documents), and pasting (clipboard) instead. (You can get back the classic menu in Office 2007 with an add-in, if you like.)
Okay, now that we've selected the item and copied/cut it into memory, we can paste it somewhere else. In your new document or folder, go back to Edit and select Paste. Alternately, if you don't have that Edit menu (e.g., in Windows Explorer), right-click in the document or folder and select Paste.
A Faster Method: Keyboard Shortcuts
Copying, cutting and pasting with your mouse is pretty straightforward, but using keyboard shortcuts can save you a lot of time.
Select your items to copy or cut as above. To select all items on a page or folder, you can use the CTRL+A or Command + A shortcut: hold down the CTRL button (on Windows) or Command key (on Mac) then hit the A key.
Then hit these keys together to copy, cut, and paste them:
Windows: Hold down the CTRL key then click
- C to copy
- X to cut
- V to paste
Mac: Hold down the Command key (⌘). Then, as with Windows, click:
- C to copy
- X to cut
- V to paste
The Drag-and-Drop Method
You can also use your mouse to quickly drag and drop your selected text, image or file from one application to another. For example, you can have two Windows Explorer windows open side by side and drag a file from one to the other to copy it over.
- Select the item as in the first step.
- Press and hold down your mouse button to "grab" it.
- Then move your mouse to the other window and release the button.
Note: Pay attention to the icon or prompt when you hover your mouse over the new window/location: it should tell you whether the item will be copied (duplicated) or cut (moved). When dragging and dropping text, from one Word document to another, for example, this will copy the text over. When dragging and dropping files in WIndows Explorer or Mac's Finder, this will move the file.
Once you get the hang of dragging and dropping or hitting CTRL + C, CTRL + X, and CTRL + V (or the Command counterparts), you'll be copying, cutting, and pasting like a pro.
Emailable Tech Support is a tri-weekly series of easy-to-share guides for the less tech savvy people in your life. Got a beginner tech support question you constantly answer? Let us know at [email protected]. Remember, when you're just starting out computing, there's very little that's too basic to learn. |
On April 18, 1906, at 5:12 am, San Francisco experienced what would become known as the worst earthquake in U.S. history. The city was almost entirely destroyed.
1906 Earthquake Destroys San Francisco
The quake struck about 20 minutes before dawn and came in two shocks lasting a little over a minute. In that brief period of time, the quake left much of San Francisco in ruins. Police officer Jessie Cook said the quake sounded like “the roar of the sea.” Henry Powell, a police lieutenant, also thought of the ocean when he said that Valencia Street started to “roll in waves like a rough sea in a squall, but it sank in places and vomited up its car tracks and the tunnels that carried the cables. These lifted themselves out of the pavement, and bent and snapped.”According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the earthquake released the energy of several nuclear bombs. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the magnitude of the 1906 earthquake was somewhere between 7.7 and 8.3, occurred on the San Andreas Fault and was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles. |
|Specious Speciation: Response to the TalkOrigins “Speciation FAQ”
• Part 1: Specious Speciation: The Myth of Observed Large-Scale Evolutionary Change
The TalkOrigins “Observed Instances of Speciation” FAQ claims it “discusses several instances where speciation has been observed.” The most important question is whether these examples show significant biological change has occurred. But my full response to the “Speciation FAQ” shows:
- As a primary finding, none of the examples demonstrate that Darwinian evolution is capable of causing large-scale evolutionary change.
- As a secondary finding, the vast majority of the examples do not even meet the standard definition of “speciation.”
To understand why both (1) and (2) are the case, we first need to understand the implications of how evolutionary biologists typically define “species.”
Evolutionary biologists typically define “species” as a reproductively isolated population of individuals. For example, the FAQ quotes the great neo-Darwinian evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr defining a species as “groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups.” This classical definition is called the biological species concept. Under this standard definition, speciation entails the origin of such a reproductively isolated population. But does it entail anything else?
Not necessarily. Such definitions say nothing about the degree of morphological, behavioral, or genetic change that has evolved. Thus, such a definition of “species” does not necessarily imply that significant biological change has taken place between the two populations. In many cases, two populations may be termed different “species” under the biological species concept, but yet the differences between the populations are small-scale and trivial. Indeed:
- One of the papers cited by the FAQ (Dodd, 1989) clearly states that speciation is reduced to mere reproductive isolation, “According to the biological species concept, speciation is basically a problem of reproductive isolation.”1 Another paper (Shluter and Nagel, 1995) cited by the FAQ note that under this definition species are “defined by the criterion of reproductive isolation rather than morphological criteria.”2
- Yet even the notable evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky (1972) admits that under this view, “speciation may occur without rearrangement of the genetic materials in the chromosomes” and “Reproductive isolation evidently can arise with little or no morphological differentiation.”3
- Putting these quotes, claims, and definitions together, papers cited by the FAQ admit that under the biological species concept, “speciation” does require any morphological change.
As noted, the FAQ is often cited to explicitly or implicitly claim that Darwinian evolution is capable of producing significant biological change. But the FAQ’s definition of “speciation” seems contrived when used to demonstrate the grander claims of Darwinian evolution that fundamentally new biological structures, body plans, and higher taxa can evolve. Even if we do find reproductively isolated populations that document “speciation,” that might provide virtually no evidence that Darwinian processes can produce new complex biological features or large-scale change. Indeed, the primary finding of this analysis is that the examples in the FAQ do not report the kind of change which shows Darwinian processes can produce fundamentally new types of organisms, new complex biological structures, or higher taxa.
What is more, the vast majority of the examples in the FAQ don’t even document “speciation” under the biological species concept. One paper cited by the FAQ (Rice and Hostert, 1993) notes that “Once pre- and/or postzygotic isolation is complete, speciation has occurred.”4 But in the vast majority of the instances cited by the FAQ, pre or postzygotic isolation was not complete, and thus speciation did not occur. Thus, a secondary finding of this report is that only one single paper analyzed in the entire FAQ actually reported complete reproductive isolation, and thus “speciation” under the biological species concept.
This raises an irony: the title of the FAQ is “Observed Instances of Speciation,” yet the vast majority of the examples analyzed show that complete reproductive isolation was not achieved. Thus, the FAQ is overselling the evidence, not just for significant morphological change, but also for true speciation (e.g. complete reproductive isolation). If these are some of the best examples for “speciation” that evolutionists can muster, then the evidence for Darwinian evolution must be meager indeed.
Over the course a few additional articles, I will highlight some of the many examples in the FAQ where neither speciation nor large-scale biological change were observed.
For additional details, please see the full response to the TalkOrigins Speciation FAQ.
[1.] Diane M.B. Dodd, “Reproductive Isolation as a Consequence of Adaptive Divergence in Drosophila pseudoobscura,” Evolution, Vol. 43 (6): 1308-1311 (September, 1989).
[2.] Dolph Schluter and Laura M. Nagel, “Parallel Speciation by Natural Selection,” The American Naturalist, Vol. 146 (2):292-301 (August, 1995).
[3.] Theodosius Dobzhansky, “Species of Drosophila,” Science, Vol. 177 (4050):664-669 (August 25, 1972).
[4.] William R. Rice and Ellen E. Hostert, “Laboratory Experiments on Speciation: What Have We Learned in 40 Years?,” Evolution, Vol. 47 (6):1637-1653 (December, 1993). |
By tracking brain activity when an animal stops to look around its environment, neuroscientists at the Johns Hopkins University believe they can mark the birth of a memory.
Using lab rats on a circular track, James Knierim, professor of neuroscience in the Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute at Johns Hopkins, and a team of brain scientists noticed that the rats frequently paused to inspect their environment with head movements as they ran. The scientists found that this behavior activated a place cell in their brain, which helps the animal construct a cognitive map, a pattern of activity in the brain that reflects the animal’s internal representation of its environment.
In a paper recently published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the researchers state that when the rodents passed that same area of the track seconds later, place cells fired again, a neural acknowledgement that the moment has imprinted itself in the brain’s cognitive map in the hippocampus.
The hippocampus is the brain’s warehouse for long- and short-term processing of episodic memories, such as memories of a specific experience like a trip to Maine or a recent dinner. What no one knew was what happens in the hippocampus the moment an experience imprints itself as a memory.
“This is like seeing the brain form memory traces in real time,” said Knierim, senior author of the research. “Seeing for the first time the brain creating a spatial firing field tied to a specific behavioral experience suggests that the map can be updated rapidly and robustly to lay down a memory of that experience.”
A place cell is a type of neuron within the hippocampus that becomes active when an animal or human enters a particular place in its environment. The activation of the cells
helps create a spatial framework much like a map, that allows humans and animals to know where they are in any given location. Place cells can also act like neural flags that “mark” an experience on the map, like a pin that you drop on Google maps to mark the location of a restaurant.
“We believe that the spatial coordinates of the map are delivered to the hippocampus by one brain pathway, and the information about the things that populate the map, like the restaurant, are delivered by a separate pathway,” Knierim said. “When you experience a new item in the environment, the hippocampus combines these inputs to create a new spatial marker of that experience.”
In the experiments, researchers placed tiny wires in the brains of the rats to monitor when and where brain activity increased as they moved along the track in search of chocolate rewards. About every seven seconds, the rats stopped moving forward and turned their heads to the perimeter of the room as they investigated the different landmarks, behavior called “head-scanning.”
“We found that many cells that were previously silent would suddenly start firing during a specific head-scanning event,” Knierim said. “On the very next lap around the track, many of these cells had a brand new place field at that exact same location and this place field remained usually for the rest of the laps. We believe that this new place field marks the site of the head scan and allows the brain to form a memory of what it was that the rat experienced during the head scan.”
Knierim said the formation and stability of place fields and the newly activated place cells requires further study. The research is primarily intended to understand how memories are formed and retrieved under normal circumstances, but it could be applicable to learning more about people with brain trauma or hippocampal damage due to aging or Alzheimer’s.
“There are strong indications that humans and rats share the same spatial mapping functions of the hippocampus, and that these maps are intimately related to how we organize and store our memories of prior life events,” Knierim said. “Since the hippocampus and surrounding brain areas are the first parts of the brain affected in Alzheimer’s, we think that these studies may lend some insight into the severe memory loss that characterizes the early stages of this disease.” |
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune neurological disease characterized by the destruction of the myelin sheaths (nerve insulators) on neurons in the central nervous system. Its symptoms can vary, but eye pain, difficulty balancing, and numbness, tingling, and weakness in limbs are common. Attacks are “multiple” over time and/or location in the nervous system.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) falls under theAutoimmune Diseasecategory.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by what is most likely an autoimmune attack on the central nervous system. The most well-known aspect of MS (and the reason for its name) is the destruction of the myelin sheaths that insulate neurons, which results in the formation of lesions throughout the brain and spinal cord. The myelin sheath forms the insulation around axons of neurons, and allows efficient propagation of electrical impulses from one neuron to the next. Their destruction slows down or stops electrical conduction, leading to the neurological deficits associated with the condition.
The main symptoms of multiple sclerosis are optic neuritis, blurred or double vision, instability and dizziness, numbness or tingling in limbs, weakness in limbs, muscle spasticity, and incontinence. The main signs of multiple sclerosis are lesions in the central nervous system.
No single piece of information is sufficient for diagnosing MS. In order for a clinician to make an MS diagnosis, they must observe lesions in at least 2 areas of the central nervous system and find evidence that these lesions formed at different points in time. More details about the diagnosis of MS can be found here.
Drugs are the primary treatment for MS. Pharmaceuticals are used to either reduce the rate of disease progression or the rate of relapse, manage relapses by speeding recovery, or treat specific symptoms.
Vitamin D, vitamin A, biotin, and L-carnitine have all been studied in the context of multiple sclerosis. Although all of them could potentially have effects on the disease (i.e., they have plausible mechanisms through which they could improve MS), no research thus far has been tremendously compelling.
There hasn’t been much research on diet and MS, but it’s been hypothesized that hypercaloric and proinflammatory diets like the Western diet may be harmful for MS. Additionally, people who had obesity (BMI of at least 30 kg/m2) in childhood to young adulthood have about double the risk of developing MS as people who did not have obesity during this time period.
Cannabinoids can bind to receptors throughout the brain and body and play a role in motor control, inflammation, and cognition. Based on the current understanding of the research, it seems that cannabis (or synthetic cannabinoids) can slightly reduce pain and bladder dysfunction, and many people with MS report improvements, but these outcomes can’t be measured objectively. It’s not clear if cannabis improves cognitive symptoms beyond any mood-elevating properties.
The immune system is heavily involved in the development of MS, but it’s not clear what provokes this response in the first place. Genetics, viral infections, and other environmental factors have all been connected to MS in observational research. Psychological stress (e.g., parental divorce and extreme grief) may also predispose people to the disease.
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- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - R M Langford, J Mares, A Novotna, M Vachova, I Novakova, W Notcutt, S RatcliffeA double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of THC/CBD oromucosal spray in combination with the existing treatment regimen, in the relief of central neuropathic pain in patients with multiple sclerosisJ Neurol.(2013 Apr)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Derick T Wade, Petra Makela, Philip Robson, Heather House, Cynthia BatemanDo cannabis-based medicinal extracts have general or specific effects on symptoms in multiple sclerosis? A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study on 160 patientsMult Scler.(2004 Aug)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Jolana Markovà, Ute Essner, Bülent Akmaz, Marcella Marinelli, Christiane Trompke, Arnd Lentschat, Carlos VilaSativex ® as add-on therapy vs. further optimized first-line ANTispastics (SAVANT) in resistant multiple sclerosis spasticity: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised clinical trialInt J Neurosci.(2019 Feb)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - D T Wade, P M Makela, H House, C Bateman, P RobsonLong-term use of a cannabis-based medicine in the treatment of spasticity and other symptoms in multiple sclerosisMult Scler.(2006 Oct)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - P Fox, P G Bain, S Glickman, C Carroll, J ZajicekThe effect of cannabis on tremor in patients with multiple sclerosisNeurology.(2004 Apr 13)
- Neuropathic Pain Symptoms - Michael Iskedjian, Basil Bereza, Allan Gordon, Charles Piwko, Thomas R EinarsonMeta-analysis of cannabis based treatments for neuropathic and multiple sclerosis-related painCurr Med Res Opin.(2007 Jan)
- Urinary Incontinence Signs - R B C Kavia, D De Ridder, C S Constantinescu, C G Stott, C J FowlerRandomized controlled trial of Sativex to treat detrusor overactivity in multiple sclerosisMult Scler.(2010 Nov)
- Urinary Incontinence Signs - R M Freeman, O Adekanmi, M R Waterfield, A E Waterfield, D Wright, J ZajicekThe effect of cannabis on urge incontinence in patients with multiple sclerosis: a multicentre, randomised placebo-controlled trial (CAMS-LUTS)Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct.(2006 Nov)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Ghasem Mosayebi, Ali Ghazavi, Keyvan Ghasami, Yahya Jand, Parviz KokhaeiTherapeutic effect of vitamin D3 in multiple sclerosis patientsImmunol Invest.(2011)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - William Camu, Philippe Lehert, Charles Pierrot-Deseilligny, Patrick Hautecoeur, Anne Besserve, Anne-Sophie Jean Deleglise, Marianne Payet, Eric Thouvenot, Jean Claude SouberbielleCholecalciferol in relapsing-remitting MS: A randomized clinical trial (CHOLINE)Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm.(2019 Aug 6)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Raymond Hupperts, Joost Smolders, Reinhold Vieth, Trygve Holmøy, Kurt Marhardt, Myriam Schluep, Joep Killestein, Frederik Barkhof, Manolo Beelke, Luigi M E Grimaldi, SOLAR Study GroupRandomized trial of daily high-dose vitamin D 3 in patients with RRMS receiving subcutaneous interferon β-1aNeurology.(2019 Nov 12)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Vahid Shaygannejad, Mohsen Janghorbani, Fereshteh Ashtari, Hamed DehghanEffects of adjunct low-dose vitamin d on relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis progression: preliminary findings of a randomized placebo-controlled trialMult Scler Int.(2012)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Margitta T Kampman, Linn H Steffensen, Svein I Mellgren, Lone JørgensenEffect of vitamin D3 supplementation on relapses, disease progression, and measures of function in persons with multiple sclerosis: exploratory outcomes from a double-blind randomised controlled trialMult Scler.(2012 Aug)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Pierrot-Deseilligny C, Rivaud-Péchoux S, Clerson P, de Paz R, Souberbielle JCRelationship between 25-OH-D serum level and relapse rate in multiple sclerosis patients before and after vitamin D supplementationTher Adv Neurol Disord.(2012 Jul)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Lovera JF, Kim E, Heriza E, Fitzpatrick M, Hunziker J, Turner AP, Adams J, Stover T, Sangeorzan A, Sloan A, Howieson D, Wild K, Haselkorn J, Bourdette DGinkgo biloba does not improve cognitive function in MS: a randomized placebo-controlled trialNeurology.(2012 Sep 18)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Sama Bitarafan, Aliakbar Saboor-Yaraghi, Mohammad-Ali Sahraian, Danesh Soltani, Shahriar Nafissi, Mansoureh Togha, Nahid Beladi Moghadam, Tina Roostaei, Niyaz Mohammadzadeh Honarvar, Mohammad-Hossein HarirchianEffect of Vitamin A Supplementation on fatigue and depression in Multiple Sclerosis patients: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical TrialIran J Allergy Asthma Immunol.(2016 Feb)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Sanoobar M, Eghtesadi S, Azimi A, Khalili M, Khodadadi B, Jazayeri S, Gohari MR, Aryaeian NCoenzyme Q10 supplementation ameliorates inflammatory markers in patients with multiple sclerosis: a double blind, placebo, controlled randomized clinical trialNutr Neurosci.(2015 May)
- Fatigue Symptoms - Sanoobar M, Dehghan P, Khalili M, Azimi A, Seifar FCoenzyme Q10 as a treatment for fatigue and depression in multiple sclerosis patients: A double blind randomized clinical trialNutr Neurosci.(2016)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Naghashpour M, Majdinasab N, Shakerinejad G, Kouchak M, Haghighizadeh MH, Jarvandi F, Hajinajaf SRiboflavin supplementation to patients with multiple sclerosis does not improve disability status nor is riboflavin supplementation correlated to homocysteineInt J Vitam Nutr Res.(2013)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Bruce A C Cree, Gary Cutter, Jerry S Wolinsky, Mark S Freedman, Giancarlo Comi, Gavin Giovannoni, Hans-Peter Hartung, Douglas Arnold, Jens Kuhle, Valerie Block, Frederick E Munschauer, Frédéric Sedel, Fred D Lublin, SPI2 investigative teamsSafety and efficacy of MD1003 (high-dose biotin) in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (SPI2): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trialLancet Neurol.(2020 Dec)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Tourbah A, Lebrun-Frenay C, Edan G, Clanet M, Papeix C, Vukusic S, De Sèze J, Debouverie M, Gout O, Clavelou P, Defer G, Laplaud DA, Moreau T, Labauge P, Brochet B, Sedel F, Pelletier J, MD1003 (high-dose biotin) for the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.Mult Scler.(2016-11)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Sedel F, Papeix C, Bellanger A, Touitou V, Lebrun-Frenay C, Galanaud D, Gout O, Lyon-Caen O, Tourbah AHigh doses of biotin in chronic progressive multiple sclerosis: a pilot study.Mult Scler Relat Disord.(2015-Mar)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Tourbah A, Gout O, Vighetto A, Deburghgraeve V, Pelletier J, Papeix C, Lebrun-Frenay C, Labauge P, Brassat D, Toosy A, Laplaud DA, Outteryck O, Moreau T, Debouverie M, Clavelou P, Heinzlef O, De Sèze J, Defer G, Sedel F, Arndt CMD1003 (High-Dose Pharmaceutical-Grade Biotin) for the Treatment of Chronic Visual Loss Related to Optic Neuritis in Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.CNS Drugs.(2018-07)
- Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms - Tomassini V, Pozzilli C, Onesti E, Pasqualetti P, Marinelli F, Pisani A, Fieschi CComparison of the effects of acetyl L-carnitine and amantadine for the treatment of fatigue in multiple sclerosis: results of a pilot, randomised, double-blind, crossover trialJ Neurol Sci.(2004 Mar 15)
- Fatigue Symptoms - Masoud Etemadifar, Farnaz Sayahi, Seyed-Hossein Abtahi, Hamidreza Shemshaki, Gholam-Ali Dorooshi, Mohammad Goodarzi, Mojtaba Akbari, Mahboobeh Fereidan-EsfahaniGinseng in the treatment of fatigue in multiple sclerosis: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind pilot studyInt J Neurosci.(2013 Jul)
- Pain - Wade DT, Robson P, House H, Makela P, Aram JA preliminary controlled study to determine whether whole-plant cannabis extracts can improve intractable neurogenic symptomsClin Rehabil.(2003 Feb) |
Jesse Owens is the American track athlete who won the most NCAA titles during his collegiate career. Born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama, Owens achieved unparalleled success and left an indelible mark on the sport of track and field.... Owens attended The Ohio State University and competed for the Buckeyes from 1933 to 1936. During his collegiate career, he won a total of eight NCAA titles, solidifying his status as one of the most dominant athletes in NCAA history.
Owens' incredible performances at the NCAA Championships were a preview of the greatness he would achieve on the international stage. In 1935, he won four individual titles at the NCAA Championships, capturing gold medals in the 100-yard dash, 220-yard dash, long jump, and 220-yard low hurdles.
The following year, in 1936, Owens continued his dominance at the NCAA Championships. He successfully defended his titles in the 100-yard dash, 220-yard dash, and long jump events, securing three more gold medals. His remarkable accomplishments in the NCAA Championships set the stage for his historic feats at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Beyond his collegiate achievements, Owens achieved global fame at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he won four gold medals in the face of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime, countering the false notions of Aryan racial superiority.
Jesse Owens' legacy extends far beyond his NCAA titles. His triumphs on and off the track serve as a symbol of courage, resilience, and breaking down barriers. His achievements continue to inspire athletes around the world, and his impact on the sport of track and field remains unparalleled.
Photo: Pixabay (free) |
The gap between the skills people learn and the skills people need is becoming more obvious, as traditional learning falls short of equipping students with the knowledge they need to thrive, according to the World Economic Forum report New Vision for Education: Fostering Social and Emotional Learning Through Technology.
Today's job candidates must be able to collaborate, communicate and solve problems – skills developed mainly through social and emotional learning (SEL). Combined with traditional skills, this social and emotional proficiency will equip students to succeed in the evolving digital economy.
What skills will be needed most?
An analysis of 213 studies showed that students who received SEL instruction had achievement scores that averaged 11 percentile points higher than those who did not. And SEL potentially leads to long-term benefits such as higher rates of employment and educational fulfillment.
Good leadership skills as well as curiosity are also important for students to learn for their future jobs.
The report asked chief human resources and strategy officers from leading global employers what the current shifts mean, specifically for employment, skills and recruitment across industries and geographies.
Policy-makers, educators, parents, businesses, researchers, technology developers, investors and NGOs can together ensure that development of social and emotional skills becomes a shared goal and competency of education systems everywhere. |
Recently, I spent eight days tracing the steps of Martin Luther on a Reformation 500 tour. As I read, studied, and prepared for the tour over the past year, I focused on the significant events and essential facts of Luther and the Protestant Reformation. As with any trip like this, you always leave with a better understanding of history and the context in which these events unfolded.
One thing that became clear to me over this trip is Luther’s focus on discipleship. We often have the image of the monk at the Castle Church’s door with a large hammer in one hand and his Ninety-Five Theses in another hand. Perhaps you have the image of Luther burning the papal bull outside of Wittenberg in your mind. In some cases, people hear Luther’s name, and immediately they see the scene of 1521 as he gives his passionate “Here I Stand” speech before the Diet of Worms. Have you considered the Luther of knowledge and disciple-making?
Luther and Family Worship
Sometimes when you visit statues of historic figures, such as Luther, you will see important scenes depicted in art just below the feet of the person who is put on display. On several occasions this week, I noticed a very important scene of Luther playing guitar with his family gathered around. It was obviously a scene of family worship.
Before Luther helped spark the Reformation, the homes of people were filled with darkness. After Luther labored to give the people the German Bible in their own tongue—suddenly there was light in the homes of those who believed the gospel. The open Bible had replaced the relics and altars to saints that had been given to them by the Roman Catholic Church. Post tenabras lux—after darkness light!
Luther helped shape the way fathers could lead their family to know God. This was the fruit of not just the Reformation in the abstract, but the Reformation that produced the open Bible in the homes of God’s people. Luther was twenty years of age before he saw his first Bible. He wanted to make sure that wasn’t the case for God’s people in the future.
Luther and the Protestant Worship Service
Just a few blocks away from the Castle Church in Wittenberg was St. Mary’s Church—the location of the first Protestant worship service. Often called the town church, it was in St. Mary’s Church that the first true protestant worship service was held following the dark ages of the Roman Catholic Church. Not only did the open Bible in the homes lead to a more fruitful discipleship, so did the open Bible in the pulpit.
The era of the raised pulpit at the front of the auditorium symbolized not just a priority of God’s Word, but the elevated position of God’s Word in the worship of the local church. Luther once said, “The pulpit is the throne of the Word of God.” Rather than viewing the confession as the gate to God’s presence, the people now looked to the Word of God opened and proclaimed from a lofty pulpit as the gate of glory.
From the raised pulpits in church buildings, men of God would place the open Bible on the desk and proclaim the gospel to the people in their own tongue. Gone were the days where people were forced to gather in Catholic cathedrals and listen to the priest mumble through the liturgy in Latin. Suddenly disciples were made through the open preaching of God’s Word in the people’s language.
Furthermore, this led to the joyful response of God’s people in song. The darkness of the Roman Catholic Church led to a dark worship liturgy. There was no light. The people held onto a thread of hope as they mindlessly followed the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. As a result—there was no joy. With the open Bible in the church, now the people were singing and lifting their voices to God in songs of worship and praise. In many ways, our weekly worship service is directly connected to the movement of the historic Reformation.
Luther and the University
In many of the cities that Luther visited, lived, or influenced—universities of higher learning were established. Not only would students learn common education, but they would also be taught theology as well. Ministers could train for the ministry and prepare to preach the gospel. The ability to know God and to pursue formal education was something that Luther was greatly passionate about. He understood that there was a direct connection between the success of the Reformation and the knowledge of God’s people.
Luther would serve as a professor of theology in Wittenberg and often spent time writing extensively in the world of theology in order to engage the minds of people. When Jesus gave his people the command to “go and make disciples of all nations,” that command is not focused on the “professional” missionary alone. The call to make disciples is the call of God’s church. We are to engage people with truth and to help people gain a better understanding of who God is and what he has done for wretched sinners. The work of discipleship begins in the home, is solidified in the church, and today we have many institutions of higher learning where disciples can be strengthened in their faith and prepare for vocational ministry.
Luther committed to discipleship. What about you?
This article first appeared at Josh’s website and is posted here with his permission. |
A perennial that grows to about 3 feet. It has lanceolate leaves and bell-shaped purple or yellow-white flowers. It grows in moist grasslands.
Comfrey has been cultivated in Japan as a green vegetable and has been used in American herbal medicine.1 Its old name, knitbone, derives from the exter?nal use of poultices of the leaves and roots to heal burns, sprains, swelling and bruises. Comfrey has been claimed to heal gastric ulcers, hemorrhoids and to suppress bronchial congestion and inflammation.1 Its use has spanned over 2000 years.
The healing action of the poultices of the roots and leaves may be related to the presence of allantoin, an agent which promotes cell proliferation. The underground parts contain 0.6%-0.7% allantoin and 4%?6.5% tannin. The leaves are poorer in allantoin, but richer in tannin. It has been recently found that the roots contain about 100 times the alkaloid content as compared to the aerial portions. Large amounts of mucilage are found in both leaves and roots.3 Rosmarinic acid,5 lith os?permic acid5 and a pentacyclic triterpene glycoside of oleonolic acid6 have been identified in the root. The alkaloid content of S. asperum ranges from 0.14% to 0.4%.7 Numerous pyrrolizidine alkaloids have also been isolated from comfrey.
Ointments containing comfrey have been found to possess an anti-inflammatory activity, which appears to be related to the presence of allantoin and rosmarinic acid or to another hydrocolloid poly?saccharide.9 Lithospermic acid, isolated from the root, appears to have anti gonadotropic activity.
Despite its common use, the long-term ingestion of comfrey may pose a health hazard. Several members of the family Boraginaceae ( Senecio, Heliotro?pium) contain related alkaloids reported to cause liver toxicity in animals and humans. Some of these com?pounds predispose hepatic tumor development.
The carcinogenic potential of S. officinale was tested in rats fed 0.5% to 8% comfrey root or leaves for 600 days. Signs of liver toxicity were seen within 180 days and hepatocellular adenomas were induced in all grou~Urinary bladder tumors were also induced at the lowel comfrey levels. The incidence of liver tumors was hig~in groups fed a diet of roots rather than leaves.
The pyrrolizidine alkaloids symphytine, echimidine11 arlasiocarpine have been found in S. officina/e. Of thes lasiocarpine 12 and symphytine have been shown to I' carcinogenic in rats.13 In a recent experiment, rats weu given doses of 50 mg/kg of comfrey-derived Subsequent liver analysis showed vascular necrosis and hepatocyte cellular membrane damage.! This liver damage was evident and was dose depedent.
Similarly, the alkaloids of Russian comfrey cause, chronic liver damage and pancreatic islet cell tumorsafte.
2 years of use in animal models. Eight alkaloids been isolated from Symphytum + uplandicum.16 Alkaloi levels range from 0.003% to 0.115% with highest concej trations in small young leaves. Of the 7200 inhabitan~ observed, 23% had severe liver impairment. An indire( estimate of alkaloid ingestion determined the consumf tion of toxic alkaloids to be 2 mg/700 g of flour. Basedo..
this value, Roitman's calculation of 8 to 26 mg of toxi alkaloids per cup of comfrey root tea (4 to 13 times great as the episode above) suggests that comfrey ingestion poses a significant health risk. Herbal teas anI similar preparations of Symphytum contain the pyrrolizi dine alkaloid which has shown to cause blockage hepatic veins and lead to hepatonecrosis.
Venoocclu. sive disease has been reported in a woman who ingeste a comfrey-pepsin preparation for 4 months; 18 one woma died following the ingestion of large quantities of yerb mate tea (/lex paraguariensis) which also contains P?rolizidine alkaloids. A woman who consumed amounts of comfrey preparations developed ascites, caused veno-occlusive disease and four Chinese women who self-medicated with an herbal preparation that contained pyrrolizidine alkaloids from an unknow
plant source also developed the disease. One man presented portal hypertension with hepatic veno-occlu. sive disease and later died of liver failure. It was discov. ered that he used comfrey in his vegetarian diet.
Oral ingestion of pyrrolizidine-containing plants such as com. frey poses the greatest risk since the alkaloids ale converted to toxic pyrrole-like derivatives following ingestion. |
Three lab experiments used an interrogation simulation to examine the relative effectiveness of pain, coercive verbal pressure, and rapport-building for obtaining reliable information. Investigators questioned participants about information they were instructed to keep secret. We measured how many people gave reliable and unreliable information under pain (Study 1; N = 49), verbal pressure alone and in combination with pain (Study 2; N = 87), and verbal pressure and pain compared to a rapport-based interrogation (Study 3; N = 158). Results empirically support much of what field experts and scholars have previously claimed: pain and psychological coercion result in unreliable information.
- Interrogation simulation
- physical pain
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
- Safety Research |
Cardiovascular System—Anatomy of the Great Vessels
Lecture no. 3 from the course: Understanding the Human Body: An Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology, 2nd Edition
Taught by Professor Anthony A. Goodman | 45 min | Categories: The Great Courses Plus Online Science Course
This lecture examines the anatomy of the three vessel networks that circulate blood. We identify and describe the structure of the vessels that form these networks. Next, we examine the major circulatory routes for the blood: arterial and venous systemic circulation, pulmonary circulation, and hepatic portal circulation. |
The classic 14V electrical systems that have powered cars for more than 40 years will soon be seen only in museums or junk yards.
Replacing them will be 42V systems that promise up to 10% better fuel economy while enabling a host of advances to improve safety, performance, handling, and vehicle packaging. Among those advances: brake-by-wire, steer-by-wire, electromagnetic valve control, and integrated starter generators.
As early as next year, automakers such as Opel, Mercedes, and Renault could incorporate full 42V systems in some of their luxury cars. It's no coincidence that the pioneers all carry European nameplates: They hail from a continent with high gas prices and stringent pollution requirements. These 42V electrical systems may help them control those dual problems while reinforcing their reputation for supplying cars that handle well.
The trend is bound to spread. Indeed, research firm DRI-WEFA predicts that 35% of light vehicles produced in North America, Europe, and Japan will have 42V electrical systems by 2010.
But first, engineers will have to grapple with several technical issues involving durability and performance of components of 42V systems. Everything from light bulbs to integrated circuits will change. There are also the psychological issues: After all, in a business where poor quality and performance can lead to expensive recalls, no one wants to rush headlong away from technology that, like traditional 14V battery systems, has proven itself over a generation.
On the following pages, Design News editors describe the background behind the 42V movement, some of the engineering trends and issues involved, and one major fuel-efficiency and emission-reducing technology 42V could make possible. |
Families at risk of passing on devastating genetic diseases to their children should be allowed to have a ground-breaking but controversial IVF procedure involving biological material from three “parents” to prevent the illnesses, leading experts have said.
Forty scientists from 14 countries have urged the British legislature to approve laws allowing mitochondrial DNA transfer in a crucial vote in the House of Commons on Tuesday. The vote to amend the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 would allow an expert panel to consider requests from families who wanted to have the procedure.
Mitochondrial diseases are caused by genetic faults in the DNA of tiny structures that provide power for the body’s cells. The DNA is held separately to the 20,000 genes that influence a person’s identity, such as their looks and personality. Because mothers alone pass mitochondria on to children, the diseases are only passed down the maternal line.
The procedure is controversial because it replaces the affected mother’s mitochondrial DNA with healthy DNA from a female donor. As a result, the child is born with a minuscule amount, about 0.2%, of DNA from a third person.
Among the US scientists to back the law change are Professor John Gearhart, a member of the US Food and Drug Administration’s gene therapies advisory committee; Evan Snyder, the former chair of the panel; and Carlos Moraes, who has advised the FDA on mitochondrial transfer.
In a letter to the Guardian, senior US government advisers, as well as IVF specialists, bioethicists and leading academics from four continents gave overwhelming support for a change in the law that could prevent babies being born with disorders that often kill them in childhood.
“Mitochondrial diseases are devastating inherited conditions that can lead to serious disability and death,” the letter states. “The UK hosts a world-class team at Newcastle University developing this technology, which is ideally placed to be among the first to treat patients.”
The scientists praised Britain’s medical regulatory system as being among the best in the world, stating that it benefited patients, science and society. “We therefore hope that parliament will approve the government’s proposed regulations for mitochondrial donation,” they say.
“A positive vote would not only allow affected families to choose to use this new procedure under the care of the globally respected Newcastle team, with proper advice and safeguards. It would also be an international demonstration of how good regulation helps medical science to advance in step with wider society.”
On Thursday, the Church of England said it opposed any change in the law, stating that there had not been sufficient scientific study of or consultation over the safety, ethics or efficacy of the technique.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has conducted three independent reviews of published and unpublished scientific research and found no evidence that the procedure is unsafe. The Deparment of Health and the HFEA have held public consultations. A six-month ethical review by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics said it was ethical to offer the procedure if it was considered “acceptably safe and effective”.
Doug Turnbull, who has pioneered the procedure at Newcastle, said patients would lose out if the law was not changed. “This is research they support. They want to see this go forward. They are the ones who will make the decisions,” Turnbull said.
“If people are saying we cannot do something until this is 100% safe, that stops all sexual reproduction. What they don’t realise is that if we delay, it means some women will be denied the option and denied the potential to have their own healthy children. If it doesn’t go through now, it may never go through.” |
The March for Life is the largest pro-life event in the world. The theme for this year’s march is “Unique from Day One: Pro-Life is Pro-Science.” When I heard about the theme, my immediate thought was it’s about time.
Given the events of the past few years, including other public demonstrations like the March For Science and the Women’s March, there could never have been a better moment to point out the obvious: being pro-life is both pro-science and pro-woman. It is remarkable how much of the science gets lost amid the strong emotions evoked by the abortion debate. The main dividing line between pro-life and pro-choice is not which side cares more about women, families, and their basic freedoms. Rather, the main difference is how each group applies the scientific facts to determine what constitutes women’s rights.
Human Cells, Human Organisms, Human Beings
The scientific question of when the life of a human being begins is often lost or confused with the philosophical and legal questions of what constitutes a human person and which human persons deserve equal protection under the law.
Based on the biological definition of life at the cellular level, science unequivocally affirms that a newly fertilized human embryo is a living organism. The male sperm cell and the female oocyte (egg) are both human cells, and the fusion of the sperm to the egg unites the two living, human reproductive cells to form a single distinct, live, human embryo. The newly formed human embryo has the complete genetic code needed for the capacities that make it a living organism—capacities such as self-directed activity, growth, maintenance of homeostasis, and reproduction.
In other words: the developing fetus, whose origins trace back embryologically to the single-cell embryo, was never a nonliving entity. Furthermore, because the complete genomic content is present from the human embryo’s conception onward, and the genomic content contains all of the instructions for every function of the developing human across all stages of life, the embryo is equipped with the biological capacities of an organism from the very beginning.
Advancements in our scientific understanding of early human development continue to affirm this concept of the human embryo as a living organism. For instance, scientists have uncovered more about the significance of the crossing over of fetal DNA into maternal circulation, which has furthered our understanding that the developing fetus is not simply receiving from the mother, but also communicating back to her. Other recent studies have provided evidence to suggest that human embryos can direct their own early development in the absence of maternal tissue, which speaks to distinct organismal properties as well. Scientists are now eager to apply this knowledge of the early human organism to save and improve the lives of babies born very prematurely, which is a leading cause of infant mortality. The underlying assumptions for this research are twofold: that the fetus is a distinct organism from the start and that human development occurs along a continuum.
At what point, then, does the living human embryo, which starts as a single-cell organism and rapidly develops along its multicellular and increasingly complex embryonic growth trajectory, become a rights-bearing human person?
Science, Philosophy, and Law
This question is at the heart of the abortion debate, but science is not the power that ultimately determines personhood. Human embryology shows us that certain biological properties, such as the beating of a human heart and the ability to respond to stimuli, evolve at specific points in time. We now know that a baby’s heart begins to beat between the third and fourth week of embryonic life (often before a mother even realizes she’s pregnant). The development of the nervous system also begins incredibly early in life, with the formation of the neural tube beginning around day twenty-two of embryonic life. The neural tube goes on to form the brain and spinal cord, through which, among other functions, the developing human is able to respond to stimuli such as pain, temperature, and so on. Simple errors this early in gestation can lead to devastating outcomes for the developing human, including conditions such as spina bifida or anencephaly.
But neither the presence of a heartbeat nor the development of a brain and spinal cord are in and of themselves the sole property that constitutes a human being. They are properties we recognize in developing human beings, but it is futile to try to designate one of these stages of development as the moment at which the human organism transforms into a human being. The human organism is always a human being, from the moment of conception.
Thus we reach the fork in the road, where pro-life and pro-choice camps must each decide how the scientific evidence informs the philosophical definition of human personhood, which in turn must dictate the legal protections afforded to human persons.
Three Pro-Choice Approaches
On the pro-choice road, there seem to be three main ways to apply the science.
Route One is to concede the science but say it doesn’t matter. An example is Judith Jarvis Thomson’s analogy of the famous violinist, which implies that the developing pre-born human is an uninvited parasite on the mother’s bodily nutrients and ultimately on her health and well-being. Whether or not the pre-born human is a living human being (in her analogy, Thomson assumes it is), the argument is that the bigger issue is whether or not the mother must sacrifice her body for the sake of another. Scientific information about human development doesn’t matter, because abortion is justified by the mother’s will.
Route Two is to waffle about the significance of the science. In essence, Route Two is the “just a clump of cells” position. These abortion proponents concede that the human embryo is initially a living, single cell that develops into a multicellular collection, but they waver on the significance of scientific milestones like a heartbeat and a nervous system. They view the question of when to recognize and protect the human person as a morally grey area. This redirects the argument away from primary consideration of the science of the developing human organism and focuses it instead on what circumstances would justify the removal and termination of the early human fetus or experimentation on human embryonic cells. The premise is that abortion is more clearly wrong once the developing human looks like and clearly functions in a way that is similar to extrauterine human beings.
Possibly as a side-effect of Route Two abortion proponents, fetal pain legislation took off in the 1990s, once it was determined by the Supreme Court that states have a compelling interest in viable humans, which should be balanced with a woman’s “right to choose” abortion. These laws have been heavily criticized by non–Route Two abortion proponents, who argue that the laws confuse science with the philosophy of human personhood. Again, there is no scientifically identifiable developmental stage at which the fetus suddenly becomes a person.
Route Three is to concede that unborn human beings are in fact human beings, but not human persons. Route Three provides support for all abortion, and can be extended to include gender selection and infanticide, because it saves the commitment of personhood until some point after the human baby is born. It is closer in content to Route One, but differs in that its proponents believe that the status of personhood requires the capacities for self-care and self-awareness. That means that those with dementia or other severe physical or intellectual disabilities are not considered human beings. This is arguably the most extreme pro-choice position, but is also the pro-choice position that is most informed by the science of human development.
The Pro-Life Position
By contrast, the pro-life position fully acknowledges the science and embraces this information in its all-encompassing stance that both human life and human personhood begin at conception. Once the sperm and egg cease to be two separate cells and unite to form a zygote, a new human being has come into existence. This human being is also a human person because it contains, from the beginning, the root capacities of personal life (like the ability to make choices and to exhibit self-awareness). While these capacities are not yet exercisable, they exist in radical (root) form. Every human being is, and always is, a human person because every human being shares in human nature.
If human personhood is accorded because of the root capacities that are present at the formation of the distinct human embryo, then the rest of that human’s development also falls under the protections afforded to human persons. That means that disabled or injured humans are also persons worthy of dignity and respect. Humans with an extra chromosome 21 (Down Syndrome) are equal in status to humans whose brains or neural tubes do not fully develop (anencephaly, spina bifida), and equal in status to humans who develop normally before and after birth. These human persons are equal in status to humans nearing the end of life, who may have lost some of the capacities they once had—people who suffer from dementia, or can no longer feed themselves, for instance.
The Marriage of Science and Philosophy
The beauty of this marriage of science and philosophy is that it values the dignity of all human life from its natural beginning to its natural end. We show no partiality to “healthy” or “wanted” humans. We do not give preference to those who charm us with their eloquence or dazzle us with their physical beauty, nor do we discard those who cannot or will not provide material benefits to us.
Today, as we march, we march for the disabled, the elderly, the broken, and the vulnerable among us. We march for all women, and with special compassion for the women who have been violated, manipulated, raped, and abused in heart-wrenching ways. We march for the fathers in our lives and for the fathers who didn’t get a right to choose. We march for the men and women we have lost, and for the change we want to see in our world. We march with hope for the future, with love in our hearts, and with the knowledge that science helps us to understand ourselves as unique human beings from our conception on.
We march for life. |
Also referred to as cattle, cows are big domesticated ungulates. They belong to the subfamily Bovinae, which are collectively classified as Bos primigenius. They are highly important to society because they function as draft animals, particularly for pulling plows and carts. As dairy animals, people raise them for their milk, which is very important in producing different kinds of dairy products. More importantly, they are raised for their meat, which may come in the form of veal or beef. In addition to these interesting details, it is also nice to learn other things such as the world’s biggest cow.
The Biggest Cow in the World
The biggest breed of cow is the Chianina. As the largest type of cow, the males of this Italian breed grow at the average height 6 feet or 1.8 meters high. It terms of weight, these cows can weigh as much as 3,836 pounds or 1,740 kilograms. For females, the average height is 5 feet or 1.5 meters high. Meanwhile, these cows can weigh as much as 2,400 pounds or 1,088.62 kilograms. The heaviest bull ever recorded was named Donetto, which weighed 3,836 pounds or 1,740 kilograms.
Additional Facts and Other Interesting Details
The meat of Chianina is widely used in preparing a Tuscan cuisine called Bistecca alla Fiorentina, which means Florentine-style beefsteak. As the oldest cattle breed, it originated within the Chiana Valley area in Italy. Based on history books, it has been in existence since the period of the Roman Empire. It was developed originally for draught and meat purposes.
In terms of appearance, this breed is characterized by a black switch and white hair. Furthermore, these cows are known for their black skin pigmentation. In addition, they are known for their gentle disposition as well as their tolerance to heat. This particular breed is raised for three major reasons, namely its tolerance to heat, high quality meat and favorable growth rate. More so, this cow breed is tolerant to insects and diseases compared to other domesticated cattle. Because of these qualities, this cow breed is widely raised in many different places, one of which is Brazil.
Each cow has one stomach, which is subdivided into four compartments, namely the abomasum, omasum, reticulum and rumen as the biggest. In case a cow ingests metal objects, they will go straight to the smallest compartment called reticulum, where it is possible for it to develop hardware disease. These divisions are called by other names like ‘true stomach’ for the abomasum, ‘many plies’ for the omasum and ‘honeycomb’ for the reticulum. |
It is a well-established fact that after puberty male and female bodies are different and in general male bodies are larger and stronger than female bodies. In all the major physical sports we see at least a 10% performance difference between the sexes; in some sports it is as much as 30%. For this reason sport competition is separated into male and female sex categories. This is necessary to give female athletes fair and meaningful competition. The difference between male and female bodies is also acknowledged in UK equality law with special exemptions to allow the exclusion of male-born people from female competitive sports to uphold fairness and safety.
In 2015 the International Olympic Committee introduced new rules to allow male-born transgender people to compete in female sporting competitions. The new rules require the Testosterone level of the trans athlete to be at the lower end of the male range for at least 12 months prior to competition (10nM). The aim of this new rule is to go some way towards reducing the male competitive advantage that a male-born transgender athlete will inevitably have compared to their female competitors. However, although this is below the average level for males (23nM) it is still much higher than the average for females (<1nM). There is no robust scientific evidence to show that reducing Testosterone in trans athletes is, or ever can be, sufficient to fully remove all male competitive advantage. Lowering Testosterone simply cannot reverse all the impacts on the male body of having developed under the influence of this sex hormone since puberty (i.e. size and shape of the skeleton, muscle memory). For this reason, it must be presumed that allowing male-born transgender athletes to compete alongside female athletes puts trans athletes at an unfair advantage and has the potential to undermine the validity and future of female elite-level sporting competition.
Female athletes are losing their places, as sporting bodies at all levels around the world have followed the IOC. For example, Selina Soule lost the opportunity to compete for a spot in the New England regional track meet because two biological males.
UK sporting bodies have introduced similar rules and we are starting to see trans athletes eligible to compete at all levels of female competition and in most sports. This is also filtering down to the local club level meaning that any woman who wants to play competitive sport for recreation could find themselves playing against a male-born transgender person. Since hormone testing will not be feasible at local club level it is likely that inclusion policies will have to rely on self-identification by the transgender person. This has the potential to seriously undermine current efforts to get more women and girls to participate in sports. Unfair competition removes the fun and fairness of sport and the most likely consequence is that women and girls will lose motivation and simply stop playing. Self-exclusion from competitive sport means women and girls will miss out on the physical and mental health benefits of sport, and that our elite athletes of the future will be lost.
Male-born transgender weight lifter Laurel Hubbard winning gold in the heavyweight FEMALE category at 2017 Australia Weightlifting Open. Favourite to win gold at 2018 Commonwealth Games but pulled out due to injury. Expected to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Male-born transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon winning gold in FEMALE track cycling at 2018 UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships.
Male-born transgender runners Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood winning first and second place at the FEMALE 100m sprint at the 2018 CIAC State Open track and field competition.
Male-born transgender athlete Hannah Mouncey playing in the WOMEN’S Australian national handball team in the 2018 Asian Women’s Handball Championship. Mouncey played 22 games with the Australian MEN’s national handball team before identifying as a woman in 2016.
Male-born transgender athlete Fallon Fox beating Tammika Brents in just 3 mins a WOMEN’S mixed martial art fight, leaving her with a broken orbital bone & needing 7 staples in her head. |
This tutorial will explain to you how to change language in windows:
Let say you want to add a foreign language to your system, for example Greek (can be any other foreign language).
In this example your system has already 2 languages (Hebrew and English), and you want to add Greek.
Now, before adding Greek the language bar (right bottom corner) has only 2 languages:
Open Control Panel by: "START -> CONTROL PANEL".
In Control Panel window click on "Regional Setting Language" icon.
(In Windows 7 - "Clock, Language, and Region" and "Regional Setting Language")
Click "Languages Tab", Click "Details" - to see your current system languages.
(In Windows 7 - Click the "Keyboards and Languages" tab)
Click "Add" to add another foreign language.
(In Windows 7 - Under "Display language", choose a language , and click OK)
Select the foreign language (In our example Greek) and click "OK".
Now the window "Installed Services" will contain your new Greek language (in addition to Hebrew+English we have before). Click "OK" to close this window and another "OK" to close the "Regional Setting Language" window.
Your language bar (right bottom corner) should be like:
Now you can change your language using the ALT+SHIFT, and write the new foreign language (Greek in this example):
* With LangOver freeware you can change your language without using the ALT+SHIFT, but automatically - Download here. |
Take A Stand With Stanley
Get Ready for the Fall with These Tips from Stanely Steemer and AAFA
This fall could be a problem for people living with asthma and allergies, as global warming conditions boost ragweed levels and fall storms and tornadoes disperse allergens and outdoor mold. The most common outdoor allergen in the fall is ragweed, which pollinates from mid-August to early October through most of the United States. It can trigger asthma and allergy symptoms in millions of adults and kids. But, it’s not just an outdoor problem – weed pollen also makes its way indoors and families who are fighting asthma and allergies need to avoid pollen from getting in their homes, and removing it when it does get in. Visit www.aafa.org/certified to learn more about asthma, allergies and how to remove triggers like pollen from your home.
More than 45 million Americans have nasal allergies and the vast majority are allergic to ragweed. Additionally, 25 million Americans have asthma and pollen can be a trigger for them, too. Pollen from weeds is a greater problem in the fall than in the spring, and fall weeds are surprisingly more prevalent than spring gardens in major urban areas and locations with significant construction. The primary fall allergy trigger – ragweed pollen – causes itchy runny nose, nasal congestion, repeated sneezing, watery eyes, inflamed sinuses and, in severe cases, difficulty breathing. Recent studies suggest that rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels could be extending ragweed season by as much as a month or more. This is especially true in the northern states in the U.S. where there are now longer periods of warm weather than before. In various parts of the country, goldenrod, curly dock, lamb’s quarters, pigweed, sheep sorrel, and sagebrush can all cause fall allergies
Mold is more common in the air in the autumn as decaying leaves and other vegetation fall to the ground. This worsens allergy symptoms because as mold particle counts climb higher, they become increasingly irritating to people with allergies. Outdoor mold resulting from previous storms can continue to grow and could be spread further by fall weather and wind patterns.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) is quick to remind that no matter what city you live in allergies can be a problem all year long, indoors as well as outdoors. A little bit of planning and some good cleaning habits, you can keep your home as allergy-friendly as possible. AAFA offers these tips no matter where you live:
- Keep windows and doors closed to prevent pollen from blowing into the house
- Use a Certified asthma & allergy friendly™ products and services – like Stanley Steemer carpet cleaning – that has been proven through independent scientific testing to be highly effective at removing allergens from carpets in the home.
- Control dust mites on the bed. Look for Certified mattress cover and bedding, and wash sheets weekly in hot water (130-degrees F) to kill mites and their eggs.
- Change the air filter in your furnace regularly. Filters can trap lots of dust and allergens, so replace them every 30-90 days. Look for Certified asthma & allergy friendly filters.
- Reduce the presence of mold by decreasing moisture around the house, keeping indoor humidity below 50% and clearing the yard of damp firewood and leaves.
Visit www.aafa.org/certified for more tips.
TO KNOW MORE ABOUT STANLEY STEEMER, GET A FREE QUOTE FROM YOUR LOCAL STANLEY STEEMER OR BOOK AN APPOINTMENT, VISIT www.stanleysteemer.com Or call 1-800-STEEMER / 1-800-783-3637 |
About the Book
The very existence in the Maltese islands of an extensive and ancient megalithic culture has long remained an insider secret. Few people know that during the Stone Age, long before the pyramids in Egypt were built, dozens of temples were erected, all in the same style and largely according to the same unique ground plan. In the twenty or so best-preserved of these ruins the typical clover leaf pattern and orientation of their layout is clear, and six of them in particular enable us to appreciate the majestic art and architecture of this mysterious culture.
These ancient buildings pose two important questions which have never before been convincingly answered: why did the ancient people in Malta build so many temples, more than 60 of which have been recorded? And why is there a very slight difference in their orientation, so that no two of them are pointing in exactly the same direction?
Sirius, the Star of the Maltese Temples presents a compelling solution to them. It is the result of ten years of research, during which the astronomy of the temples has been the core.
The first archaeoastronomers in Malta, George Agius and Frank Ventura, were true pioneers and they did a great job in accurately establishing the orientations. They came to the conclusion that these were not random, but that some principle must be behind them.
The discovery of this principle is the centre of the book. It is called Precession, which is the perceived very slow movement of the rising and setting points of the stars along the horizon, caused by a wobble in the earth’s axis. This movement has a cycle of 26,000 years. The result of this is that if a temple had been built towards a given star, after some time this star would have moved out of the line of sight, and another temple with a slightly different orientation would have to be constructed.
The question then is: what star could have been the focus of the temple builders?
This book shows that it was Sirius, the brightest of all the stars in the night sky, towards which all the temples’ axes were orientated at some point in time. And it is the precession of Sirius which explains the slight and non-random shift in the temples’ axes.
According to the astronomical dating resulting from this, Malta’s temple culture arose during the Mesolithic, immediately after the last Ice Age. In around 9,200 BC, after having been absent from the Maltese sky for five thousand years, the star Sirius became visible again in all its splendour above the southern horizon. As shown by the precession curve of Sirius, shortly thereafter the first temple was built.
The consequences of this discovery are manifold. It restores to Malta’s megalithic temples their rightful prime place in the history of human cultural achievement. And their early dates indicate that ancient people were focused on the movements of the stars long before agriculture was invented. We were astronomers before we became farmers.
Sirius, the Star of the Maltese Temples by Lenie Reedijk. MaletBooks 2018. Foreword by Giovanni Bonello. Graph by Professor Peter Barthel. 224 p., richly illustrated, incl. 8 colour plates and fold-out graph. ISBN 978-9490216047.
Price: € 24,- incl. VAT and shipping to all countries in the world.
Available via this website and in all bookshops in Malta and Gozo. |
Need a response to the following:
Therapy guidelines for H. Pylori Treatment
H. Pylori remains to be one of the most common chronic bacterial infection affecting humans. Research shows that H. Pylori is normally acquired during childhood, with most victims being those who are socially disadvantaged and people who have migrated to North America (Chey et al., 2017). Although currently, there are no new drugs that have been developed, treatment primarily depends on a mixture of antibiotics and anti-secretory agents. H. Pylori treatment regimens are such as triple therapy, sequential therapy, quadruple treatment, and levofloxacin-based triple therapy (De Francesco et al., 2017). In selecting the best treatment regimen, it’s important to consider previous antibiotic exposure, the rate of eradication, and regional antibiotic-resistance patterns as these can affect the successful treatment of the condition (Myran & Zarbock, 2018). Additionally, it can be noted that for a treatment to be effective and successful, then host factors such as allergies and patient adherence need to be considered (Fashner & Gitu, 2015).
Recent treatment guidelines have recommended quadruple therapy, which consists of PPI and three antibiotics (metronidazole, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin), which are to be administered concurrently (Chey et al., 2017). According to Shiotani et al. (2017), the rationale for this treatment option is that it’s not evidence-based but “hope-based” because gastroenterologists do believe that the infection would be susceptible to metronidazole or clarithromycin.
Patient compliance is a key factor that would determine treatment success. To minimize cases of side effects, clinicians should talk to their patients to adhere to their treatment plans and also instruct their patients on the right time to take their doses in relation to their meal (Li et al., 2019). Patients should be informed that they should avoid taking alcohol with metronidazole, avoid cheese, soy beans, and soy sauce taken with furazolidone (Li et al., 2019). Finally, it’s important to advice the patient to maintain personal hygiene by taking clean water and avoid ingesting contaminated food.
The original work is below in case you needed:
GI Case Study:
Chief complaint: “I have recurrent H. Pylori infection”.
HPI: M.C. a 46-year-old Hispanic female presents to the GI clinic for complaint of recurrent H. Pylori infection. She was treated about 2 ½ months ago with H. Pylori triple therapy and failed treatment. She has PMH of dyspepsia, and GERD. She also indicates that she has noticed that her symptoms of dyspepsia are worsening for past 2 months. She has associated her symptoms with nausea, upset stomach with all foods. Denies associated symptoms of hematochezia, melena, hemoptysis, abdominal pain, fever, chills, pain or any other symptoms.
H. Pylori infection gastritis
Diabetes Mellitus, type 2
Vaccination History: Up-to-date
High school graduate, married and no children. He frequently eats out in restaurants. He drinks one 4-ounce glass of red wine daily. He is a former smoker that stopped 3 years ago.
Both parents are alive. Father has history of DM type 2, Tinea Pedis. Mother alive and has history of atopic dermatitis, tinea corporis and tinea pedis.
Constitutional: Negative for fever. Negative for chills.
Respiratory: No Shortness of breath. No Orthopnea.
Cardiovascular: No edema. No palpitations.
Gastrointestinal: No vomiting. +Dyspepsia. + Nausea. No constipation. No melena. No abdominal pain.
Height: 5 feet 5 inches Weight: 140 pounds BMI: 31 obesity, BP 110/70 T 98.0 po P 80 R 22, non-labored
ABDOMEN: No abdominal distention. Nontender. Bowel sounds + x 4 quadrants. No organomegaly. Normal contour; No palpable masses.
Labs day of visit:: Hgb 15.2, Hct 40%, K+ 4.0, Na+137, Serum Creatinine normal 1.0, AST/ALT normal. TSH 3.7 normal, glucose 98 normal
Primary Diagnosis: Recurrent H. Pylori infection gastritis
Secondary Diagnoses: Dyspepsia
Differential Diagnosis: Peptic Ulcer Disease
Previous medication plan: two months ago and failed. Clarithromycin 500 mg po BID for 2 weeks Omeprazole 40 mg po BID for 2 weeks and then po daily. Cipro 500 mg po BID for 2 weeks
Pt had EGD done 2 weeks ago that showed H. Pylori positive gastritis in biopsy results.
Urea breath test 8 weeks after treatment with H. Pylori medications. Pt needs to stop PPI’s 2 weeks prior to Urea Breath test.
Labs: No new labs are needed.
Referrals: may refer based on effect of medication therapy given for 2 weeks.
Follow up: return to office in 8 weeks to reevaluate symptoms.
As a future nurse practitioner, it is important that you determine the medications used for recurrent H. Pylori infection.
Please discuss new therapy guidelines for H. Pylori treatment, and provide patient education. |
I am really sweet on strawberries this year. I’ve been tucking them in practically all of my pots and enjoying the tasty rewards for over a month now. Which has led to a problem of abundance. What do I do with the one or two plants left in a six pack that I have no room for in my larger pots?
I found this basket at the dollar store. By lining it with moss and filling the basket with potting soil (and fertilizer!), it has become a great strawberry pot for less than $5. I’ve snuck in several of these small pots around my larger pots to fulfill my need for more strawberries!
Strawberries prefer a well drained soil, high in organic matter. They need full sun (at least 6 hours per day) for the best results. Fertilize with a balanced fertilizer (like 5-5-5) once at the beginning of the season, and again after each crop is produced. Don’t over fertilize, as that will cause your plants to produce too many leaves and not enough fruit. Keep plants well watered
Some things to know about Strawberries
- There are three main kinds of strawberries: June-bearing, ever-bearing, and day-neutral. June-bearing produce one large crop in early summer, ever-bearing strawberries produce three crops (one in spring, one in summer, and one in fall), while day-neutral strawberries produce fruit throughout the growing season, with the biggest crops in mid to late summer.
- June bearing strawberries are usually better suited to the warmer climates, while ever-bearing and day-neautral strawberries do well in cooler climates.
- Alpine strawberries are the only sort that are worth trying to grow from seed. They’re day-neutral and produce tiny, sweet, delicious strawberries.
- You can treat strawberries as an annual and replace them every year, or as a short lived perennial (they usually will only produce reliable crops for about three years). |
Alzheimer's or Lewy Body Dementia?
The author of The Tangled Neuron blog interviews Dr. Joseph Friedman of LBDA's Scientific Advisory Council and Angela Taylor of LBDA's Board of Directors in an effort to untagle the differencese between Lewy body dementias and Alzheimer's. (This original source of this story is The Tangled Neuron blog.)
Alzheimer's or Lewy Body Dementia? (Part 1 of 3)
When someone like Harry Lewis (featured here in another story on The Tangled Neuron) is showing signs of dementia, we assume it’s Alzheimer’s. Books, movies and multimillion dollar celebrity-supported advertising campaigns have raised awareness of Alzheimer’s, but most of us don’t know anything about Lewy body dementias (LBDs). But maybe we should pay more attention to Lewy bodies:
- 20 to 25 percent of people with dementia have dementia with Lewy bodies (Lewy Body Dementia Association estimate)
- An estimated 30 percent of people with Alzheimer’s also have Lewy bodies in their brains at autopsy (Florida Brain Bank data presented at ICAD 2008)
- Parkinson’s disease (which affects more than 4 million people worldwide) is also a Lewy body disorder. Almost everyone with Parkinson’s develops some problems with memory and thinking. Estimates of how many eventually develop full-blown “Parkinson’s Disease with Dementia” range from 33 to 78 percent.
Even though the percentage of dementia patients with Lewy bodies is high, this often goes undiagnosed.A few months later, Harry’s doctors changed his diagnosis to dementia with Lewy bodies.
These interviews continue and can be read at the links below:
Read Part 3 of this series - Lewy body dementias require specialized treatment. |
Students experience the kinds of work done by employees of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery by playing a game of “Include Me In!” After they learn the criteria that must be met in order for a portrait to be placed in the gallery, students meet to decide whether portraits of various people in history can justifiably be included in the museum’s collection. Brief historical information is provided on four individuals in history. Students are then asked to create their own portrait gallery in the classroom.
This issue also features an article on how to look at a snakeskin.
Note: This is an archival publication dating back to 1978 and any supplements or suggestions for off-site education may not be available.
Download "Art to Zoo: In or Out? Make Up Your Mind!" (PDF). |
Gold mining is a complex industry that involves extensive regulations and compliance requirements. Navigating these regulations is crucial for maintaining ethical, safe, and sustainable practices in the gold mining sector. In this article, we will explore the importance of compliance in gold mining and the consequences of non-compliance. We will also delve into the key regulatory bodies at the international and national level. A comprehensive overview of gold mining regulations, including environmental, health and safety, and social responsibility regulations, will be provided. We will discuss the challenges faced in navigating compliance, such as permitting and licensing, environmental impact assessments, labor and human rights, and community relations and engagement. Finally, we will look into the future of gold mining regulations and potential developments in this ever-evolving industry. Compliance is essential for the sustainability of gold mining operations, and understanding the regulatory landscape is vital for successful and responsible mining practices.
The Importance of Compliance in Gold Mining
The Importance of Compliance in Gold Mining is essential to ensure environmental protection, worker safety, and fair trade practices. Adhering to regulations is crucial for promoting sustainable mining practices, preventing environmental degradation, and mitigating health and safety risks for workers. Compliance also plays a significant role in ensuring transparency and ethical sourcing, which contribute to the responsible and sustainable growth of the gold mining industry. In order to maintain compliance, mining companies should regularly monitor operations, implement proper waste management systems, and provide ongoing training and education for employees. Effective communication with stakeholders and collaboration with regulatory bodies are vital for promoting trust and emphasizing the importance of compliance in gold mining.
Why Are Regulations Necessary in the Gold Mining Industry?
Regulations are necessary in the gold mining industry for several reasons. Firstly, they are crucial to ensure environmental protection, worker safety, and social responsibility. The process of gold mining involves extensive excavation, which, if not properly regulated, can result in deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution. Compliance with regulations prevents these negative impacts and promotes sustainable mining practices.
Furthermore, regulations play a vital role in safeguarding the health and safety of workers. They enforce guidelines for equipment, ventilation, and hazardous materials, ensuring that workers are adequately protected. Additionally, regulations require companies to engage with local communities, respect human rights, and contribute to their development. This helps to create a positive relationship between mining companies and the communities in which they operate.
To illustrate the importance of regulations, we can look back at the California Gold Rush in the late 1800s. At that time, the lack of regulations in the gold mining industry led to significant environmental and social damage. Mass deforestation, rivers polluted with mercury and sediment, and unfair labor practices were rampant. In response to these issues, regulatory bodies were established to bring accountability to the industry.
These regulations ensured that mining activities were conducted responsibly, minimizing the negative impacts on the environment and communities. Today, the gold mining industry continues to evolve its regulatory framework, striving for sustainable practices and responsible mining. By implementing and adhering to regulations, the industry can mitigate its environmental and social impact, ensuring a more sustainable and responsible approach to mining.
What Are the Consequences of Non-Compliance?
The consequences of non-compliance with gold mining regulations can be severe, affecting both the environment and the mining company. Failure to adhere to these regulations can result in fines, penalties, and legal actions, all of which are aimed at deterring irresponsible mining practices and safeguarding the surrounding ecosystems and communities. Non-compliance can lead to various negative impacts such as soil and water pollution, habitat destruction, and even the displacement of communities. In addition, companies may also experience reputational damage, a loss of investor confidence, and a decrease in social acceptance. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial for gold mining companies to fully understand and comply with the regulations in order to forestall these detrimental consequences.
Key Regulatory Bodies in the Gold Mining Sector
When it comes to navigating compliance in the gold mining sector, it’s crucial to understand the key regulatory bodies involved. In this section, we’ll dive into the world of gold mining regulations and explore the roles of international and national regulatory bodies. Get ready to uncover the intricate web of rules and guidelines that govern this industry, and how these regulatory bodies play pivotal roles in ensuring responsible and sustainable gold mining practices. Let’s dig deeper into the realm of gold mining regulations!
1. International Regulations
International regulations are of utmost importance in the gold mining industry to ensure sustainable practices and minimize negative impacts. These regulations are enforced by key regulatory bodies at both the global and national levels, emphasizing the need for compliance. Adhering to international regulations is essential to uphold the industry’s integrity, protect the environment, and ensure the health and safety of workers and local communities. By abiding by these regulations, mining companies can acquire permits and licenses, conduct comprehensive environmental impact assessments, safeguard labor and human rights, and promote positive community engagement. Given the continuous evolution of environmental and social concerns, it is anticipated that the future of gold mining regulations will involve even more stringent standards.
2. National Regulations
National regulations play a critical role in governing the gold mining industry. These regulations ensure that mining operations are conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. Key aspects of national regulations include:
- Licensing and permitting: Mining companies must obtain the necessary licenses and permits before commencing operations. They are required to demonstrate compliance with safety, environmental, and social responsibility standards.
- Environmental impact assessments: Mining activities can have significant environmental impacts. National regulations mandate that companies assess and mitigate these impacts to protect ecosystems and minimize pollution.
- Labor and human rights: National regulations establish guidelines for fair treatment of workers, including ensuring safe working conditions and fair wages. They also address issues such as child labor and forced labor.
- Community relations and engagement: Mining companies are expected to actively engage with local communities and address their concerns. Regulations promote transparency, consultation, and provision of social benefits to communities affected by mining operations.
To ensure compliance with national regulations, gold mining companies should invest in robust monitoring systems, prioritize worker safety and well-being, collaborate with local stakeholders, and regularly review and update their environmental management plans. By adhering to these regulations, the industry can maintain sustainable operations and contribute to the development of mining communities.
Overview of Gold Mining Regulations
Gold mining regulations can be a complex landscape to navigate, but fear not! In this overview, we’ll explore the key aspects of these regulations. From environmental concerns to health and safety standards, and even social responsibility, we’ll delve into the diverse dimensions that govern gold mining. Get ready to dive into the world of gold mining regulations and gain insights into the various factors that ensure responsible and sustainable mining practices. Let’s dig in!
1. Environmental Regulations
Environmental regulations are of utmost importance in the gold mining industry. The aim of these regulations is to reduce the adverse effects of mining on the environment. Among the crucial environmental regulations are those focused on controlling water pollution, soil erosion, and deforestation caused by mining activities. Additionally, guidelines are provided for waste management, the restoration of mined areas, and the protection of biodiversity. Compliance with these regulations is vital to uphold sustainable mining practices and minimize the environmental impact. In order to navigate environmental regulations effectively, gold mining companies must establish robust environmental management systems and consistently monitor and report their environmental performance. This approach ensures compliance and reinforces their commitment to environmental stewardship.
2. Health and Safety Regulations
Health and safety regulations have a critical role to play in the gold mining industry. Their main purpose is to ensure the well-being of workers and reduce potential hazards. Compliance with these regulations is essential to prevent accidents, injuries, and occupational illnesses. Personal protective equipment, hazard identification and risk assessment, emergency response planning, and employee training are key elements of health and safety regulations in the gold mining sector. Non-compliance can result in severe consequences, including fines, legal actions, damage to reputation, and compromised employee welfare. Mining companies need to prioritize safety, provide sufficient resources and training, and foster a culture of safety awareness to address compliance challenges. Embracing technology and innovation can further enhance health and safety practices in the industry.
3. Social Responsibility Regulations
Social responsibility regulations are of utmost importance in the gold mining industry. These regulations play a vital role in ensuring that mining companies operate in an ethical and responsible manner, while also considering the impact on local communities and the environment. Compliance with these regulations require companies to invest in community development, implement fair labor practices, and promote environmental sustainability. By adhering to these social responsibility regulations, mining companies can improve their reputation, build positive relationships with stakeholders, and contribute to the long-term social and economic well-being of the areas in which they operate. To effectively promote social responsibility, mining companies should consider establishing partnerships with local communities, implementing transparent reporting mechanisms, and making investments in sustainable development projects.
Navigating the complex world of compliance in gold mining can be quite a challenge. In this section, we will explore the various obstacles that arise when it comes to compliance in the gold mining industry. From the hurdles of securing permits and licenses to understanding the environmental impact assessments, labor and human rights issues, and fostering positive community relations, we will uncover the important aspects that gold mining companies must navigate to ensure compliance. Get ready to delve into the intricate web of regulations and responsibilities in the world of gold mining.
1. Permitting and Licensing
Permitting and licensing are crucial aspects of gold mining operations to ensure compliance with regulations and legal requirements. Here is an overview of the key components related to permitting and licensing:
|1. Permitting and Licensing Process:||Obtaining permits and licenses from relevant regulatory bodies to initiate and operate gold mining activities.|
|2. Environmental Impact Assessment:||Conducting thorough assessments to identify and mitigate potential environmental impacts of mining operations.|
|3. Compliance with Labor and Human Rights:||Ensuring fair treatment, safe working conditions, and adherence to human rights standards for miners and employees.|
|4. Community Engagement:||Establishing positive relationships with local communities, involving them in decision-making processes, and addressing their concerns.|
2. Environmental Impact Assessments
- Identify the purpose: Determine the need for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) based on the scale and potential impacts of the gold mining project.
- Conduct baseline studies: Assess the existing environmental conditions in and around the mining area, including air quality, water resources, biodiversity, and social and cultural aspects.
- Analyze potential impacts: Evaluate the potential environmental, social, and economic effects of the proposed mining activities, such as habitat destruction, water pollution, and community displacement.
- Develop mitigation measures: Formulate strategies and action plans to minimize or offset any adverse impacts through measures like waste management, reclamation of land, and community development initiatives.
- Consult stakeholders: Engage with local communities, indigenous groups, environmental organizations, and government agencies to gather their input and address their concerns throughout the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.
- Prepare an EIA report: Compile all the findings, analysis, and proposed mitigation measures into a comprehensive report that complies with regulatory requirements.
- Review and approval: Submit the EIA report to the relevant regulatory authorities for review and obtain the necessary permits or licenses before commencing mining operations.
The implementation of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) gained traction in the mid-20th century as a response to growing concerns over the ecological and social consequences of major development projects. Since then, EIAs have become an integral part of responsible and sustainable decision-making in industries like gold mining, ensuring that potential environmental risks are thoroughly evaluated and mitigated.
3. Labor and Human Rights
|The labor and human rights aspect of gold mining regulations is crucial in ensuring fair and safe working conditions for workers in the industry.||Here are key considerations:
4. Community Relations and Engagement
- Community relations and engagement are crucial aspects of gold mining operations. Here are some key considerations for fostering positive relationships with local communities:
- Open Communication: Establish transparent and regular communication channels to address community concerns and provide updates on mining activities.
- Community Development: Implement initiatives that contribute to the social and economic well-being of the local community, such as job creation, infrastructure development, and educational programs.
- Environmental Stewardship: Engage in responsible mining practices that minimize environmental impact and demonstrate a commitment to sustainability.
- Cultural Respect: Respect and preserve the cultural heritage and traditions of the local community, ensuring that mining activities do not cause harm to cultural sites or resources.
- Collaboration and Partnerships: Work collaboratively with local stakeholders, including community leaders, NGOs, and government agencies, to develop mutually beneficial agreements and ensure community input in decision-making processes.
The Future of Gold Mining Regulations
The Future of Gold Mining Regulations is of utmost importance in ensuring sustainable and responsible mining practices. As environmental concerns escalate, it is expected that governments worldwide will enhance regulations to safeguard ecosystems and communities. These regulations may involve more stringent emission controls, enhanced monitoring of waste disposal, and an increase in transparency within the industry. There will likely be a strong focus on promoting ethical and social accountability, including the protection of human rights and the implementation of fair labor practices. The future of gold mining regulations will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the environment and society as a whole, shaping the course of the industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the legal frameworks governing gold mining in the United States?
The legal frameworks governing gold mining in the United States include the Federal Mining Law of 1872, the Surface Resources Act of 1955, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). These laws outline the rights and responsibilities of miners, the regulations for mining on federal lands, and the procedures for obtaining mining permits.
How is the pace of convergence among key reporting standards affecting gold mining compliance?
The pace of convergence among key reporting standards for gold mining compliance is slow. There are inconsistencies between the metrics, data collection, and presentation formats required by different standards, making it challenging for mining companies to demonstrate compliance with multiple standards simultaneously.
What are the follow-up investigations conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for mining violations?
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conducts follow-up investigations for mining violations on federal public lands. These investigations aim to gather evidence and determine if mining activities were conducted without proper authorization, if mining fees or royalties were not paid, or if miners failed to comply with federal and state laws related to environmental protection.
Can Oberheiden P.C. provide legal defense for allegations of BLM mining violations?
Yes, Oberheiden P.C. offers legal defense for miners facing allegations of BLM mining violations. They have experienced federal defense lawyers and former prosecutors on their team who can provide legal representation and guidance throughout the enforcement proceedings.
How do regulation shifts impact sustainability reporting in gold mining?
Regulation shifts can impact sustainability reporting in gold mining. Changes in regulations may require mining companies to revise their reporting processes and ensure compliance with new standards. This can result in additional costs and challenges for collecting and reporting data from disparate mine sites around the world.
What role do innovative strategies and emerging technologies play in ensuring long-term success in gold mining?
Innovative strategies and emerging technologies play a crucial role in ensuring long-term success in gold mining. Mining companies are adopting sustainability-enhancing technologies, exploring alternative energy sources, investing in waste reduction, biodiversity preservation, and land reclamation practices to comply with environmental regulations and reduce their carbon footprints. These technological advancements contribute to the industry’s overall image improvement and environmental sustainability.
The Sunridge Gold Research Team is a group of dedicated gold and financial analysts that comb through mountains of research on every aspect of the gold industry and gold investments to bring you the best information so you can make informed decisions on gold and precious metal investments. |
2 Organize Your Work Space and Maintain It Everyday! Get OrganizedOrganize Your Work Space and Maintain It Everyday!Designate places to keep textbooks, folders and notebooks.Obtain materials and supplies for class and store them in easy to access areas.
3 Set Up a System for Keeping School Work Organized and Stick to It! Stay OrganizedSet Up a System for Keeping School Work Organized and Stick to It!ExamplesUse a color-code system with a different folder for each subject. Use your favorite color for your least favorite subject.Use a planner or monthly calendar to log all of your long term deadlines.Use an assignment book to record assignments.Take 5 to 10 minutes each day to maintain these systems, or at the very least, 15 minutes per week.
4 Set “SMART” GoalsSet Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Affirmative, Realistic, Trackable Goals (SMART Goals)SMART Goals should be both short term (achieved in the near future) and long term (those achieved over a long period of time…say from 1 to 5 years).
5 Stay Motivated Think Positively! Accept responsibility for motivating yourself!Accept the fact that success results from effort!Reward yourself after completing a goal, task, etc. I can’t emphasize this one enough…you are your own best friend or worst enemy. Don’t be too critical of yourself.
6 Lecture Notes TipsHave a specific notebook for every class (different color spiral notebooks work pretty well.Read the assignment before going to class.Sit in the front of the classroom! Makes it easier to be engaged.Write the date and title of the lecture at the top of the page.Write down the main idea of the lecture near the top of the lecture.Make an effort to organize your notes.Use abbreviations.Use your own words, except for technical vocabulary.Leave a blank if you missed something so you’ll know to go back and fill in the information.Correlate what you are hearing to what you have read and your own experience.Learn when not to write.Learn to distinguish facts from opinions.Ask questions.Only write on the front side of the paper.Reconstruct/recopy your notes as soon after class as possible. This is always a common trait for good students,
7 Effective Reading-SQ4R Survey: The material, book or chapter first, to get an idea of what parts you will need to study in detail. Scan the table of contents and see how topics are inter-connected. Make a mental note of all sub-headings or emphasized sections.Question: Yourself as to the purpose of your study, e.g. “What are the main themes, what message do I get from them, how will they be useful to me, what is the sequence of thought or paragraphs?” etc.Read: The chapter from beginning to end. At this stage, do not slow down and concentrate, but finish off the entire material in one sitting.Recall/Recite: What you have read, if necessary make brief notes of main ideas and important details. Try to recall the sequence of sections in your mind. Reciting to someone else helps you put it in your own words. (However, reading aloud does not suit everyone).Review: What you have read and test the accuracy of your memory. Then concentrate on those passages that seem to elude your memory, and read them slowly and carefully.Test: After a gap of few days, test yourself on what you had read. Give yourself mock exams of the same standard and duration as the actual annual or semester exam you are going to face.
8 Effective Listening Be interested. Ignore Speakers Faults in Delivery: Ignore the speakers mannerism, clothes, voice, and delivery. Focus on the message.Wait to Disagree or Challenge. Listen to the entire idea and get all the facts straight.Listen to the Concepts: Relate small facts to the central themes and principles.Take Brief Notes: Don’t write down everything the speaker says or make detailed outlines.Stop Distractions: Stop distractions caused by classmates by asking them to be quiet or ask the speaker to speak louder.See Difficult Material as a Challenge and Don’t Tune Out.Control Your Emotions: Focus on the literal meaning of words, Don’t let your emotions block your concentration.Use Your Spare Time: Since talking speed is slower than listening speed use that time to summarize ideas, identify central themes, and anticipate what will come next.
9 In a Nutshell Set Up a Schedule Start Studying for at least 10 – 15 Minutes at a Time and Then Build Up to Longer Periods. Set a study period goal of how many pages to read or problems to do, etc.Take BreaksReward YourselfFind a Good LocationUse the Same Place for StudyingRead and Listen Effectively
10 This information was complied by a number of contributors This information was complied by a number of contributors. You, too can be one of them.Please feel free to be creative and add comments and festive pictures of your own. |
Arthroscopy is a procedure used for both diagnosis and treatment of joint problems. It is used mainly for any of the six joints namely shoulder, knee, wrist, elbow, ankle or hip. Arthroscopy procedure for shoulder is known as shoulder arthroscopy. It is done using a pen-thick instrument called Arthroscope. Arthroscope consists of a lens, a light system and a camera. It is considered more reliable than other methods of diagnosis such as X-rays. It is used to treat disease condition and injury involving bone, cartilage, tendon, ligament and muscle of the joints.
Shoulder arthroscopy is used to treat number of shoulder disease conditions such as:
Shoulder Impingement: Shoulder impingement occurs when the tendons of the rotator cuff rub against the bony protuberance called acromion causing pain. It occurs due to bone growth at the acromion called bone spur. Arthroscopy involves removal of the front part of the acromion process and some of the underlying tissue of the bursa (the fluid filled sac between the rotator cuff and the underlying bony structure).
Rotator cuff tear occurs when the four tendons surrounding the ball and socket joint of the shoulder are torn. This may occur due to injury or lifting heavy weight with a sudden jerk or due to degeneration of the tendons as one age. Arthroscopy is recommended if the tear is large or no improvement is seen with other non-surgical methods. The torn tendons are repaired through arthroscopy.
Frozen shoulder causes pain and stiffness of the shoulder joint. It may occur due to age and is more often seen in people above 40 years. People with diabetes or heart disease are more prone to frozen shoulder. It may also occur after some shoulder surgery or injury. In frozen shoulder the capsule of supporting soft tissue surrounding the ball and socket joint contracts and becomes inflamed .Moreover formation of adhesion occurs which further restrict the movement at the joint. Surgery is recommended when other treatments do not provide relief. Through arthroscopy the adhesions are cut and the inflamed tissues are removed.
Shoulder Instability occurs when the head of the upper arm bone slips out of the socket of the shoulder blade’s glenoid cavity either due to some injury or overuse. Arthroscopy is used in shoulder instability to repair damaged or stretched ligament or torn labrum (the fibroconnective tissue surrounding the glenoid cavity) to the bone.
Bicep rupture occurs when the tendons attaching the bicep muscle to the shoulder or elbow tears. It is of two types depending on whether the rupture of tendons is at the shoulder (proximal bicep tear) or at the elbow (distal bicep tear). In proximal bicep tear usually only one out of the two bicep tendon tears and since one is still intact the shoulder and arm function are not affected much. Surgery is done only if the patient is young and leads an active life. Distal bicep rupture is more often repaired surgically through arthroscopy as the muscle is attached to the elbow by only one tendon.
On the day of surgery, patient should follow the following instructions:
Either general anesthesia is given or the regional anesthesia is given to numb the shoulder and the arm. Sedation is also given to put the patient to sleep if only regional anesthesia is given. The fluid is injected into the shoulder to expand the shoulder joint to get a clear view and working space. A button sized hole is made in the shoulder and arthroscope is inserted through the hole. Fluid flows through the arthroscope and provides the surgeon with a clear view of the inside of the shoulder joint. It also minimizes bleeding. The surgeon can see the images from the arthroscope on the monitor. If necessary surgical instruments are introduced in the joint through separate holes one or three depending on the type of repair need to be done in the joint. After surgery the incisions are closed by giving stitches or with small sterile bandage strips. One is kept in the hospital for few hours after the surgery for observation and is discharged the same day.
After the surgery small surgery wounds take few days to heal and the surgical dressing is replaced by the simple band aids. The recovery time depends on the type and extent of problem for which the procedure was done. Pain medications are given. The arm of the affected shoulder is tied in a sling for a period as recommended by the doctor. Physical therapy is advised to improve shoulder mobility and strength after the surgery.
Few precautions that need to be taken after the surgery:
The advantages of arthroscopy are less pain and complications after the procedure as compared to an open surgery. However if injury is more, open surgery is the only option for treatment. Healing time after arthroscopy depends on the amount of repair that was done using the procedure and may vary from case to case.
Risks and Complications
Complications of shoulder arthroscopy are infection, bleeding, damage to any nerve or blood vessel or delayed healing after the surgery. In certain cases stiffness of shoulder joint may occur after the surgery.
Call the doctor after the surgery if
Thus shoulder arthroscopy is a minimum invasive surgery procedure used to see into the shoulder joint and repair damaged bone, muscle, tendon or ligament of the joint. It is done as an outpatient procedure and is safer than open shoulder surgery. |
This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, (MUP), 1972
Henry Richard Hancock (1836-1919), mine superintendent, was born on 1 April 1836 at Horrabridge, Devon, England, son of George Hancock. He had a good education and much experience of assaying and surveying in local mines. At 23 he went to South Australia to manage a silver-lead mine near Strathalbyn. In 1862 he moved to Yelta in the area where copper had been found at Wallaroo in 1860 and Moonta in 1861 by shepherds of (Sir) Walter Hughes. After exploratory work by the Tipara Mining Association revealed great wealth the Moonta mine was opened in 1862 with James Warmington as captain (superintendent). Later that year he was replaced by his brother William, whose resignation was soon demanded by the miners. They won after a three months' strike, and in 1864 Hancock was appointed superintendent of the Moonta Mining Co.
Hancock's comprehensive report on the mine's various ores and his plans for expanding output soon won him repute, but his first need was more hands. The first miners at Moonta had come from Burra and Kapunda, and on his recommendation many more were brought from Cornwall and the Victorian goldfields. He also encouraged the tribute system by which independent miners could bid for their pitches and employ their own men; tributers numbered eighteen in 1862 and by 1874 represented nearly half the mine's workforce of 900. An enthusiast for machinery he introduced a steam-engine to replace hand-worked pumps, winches and ore-crushers; by 1865 tramways had reduced barrow work and by 1866 a railway replaced wagon teams for carrying ore to the smelters at Wallaroo. The mine's engineering shops were the best in the colony and enabled Hancock to experiment in replacing the slow and arduous labour of drilling holes by sledge hammer in the hard Moonta rock. He designed and patented a percussion drill driven by compressed air and capable of boring forty feet of shot-holes in an eight-hour shift. For separating sulphides from the ores he made and patented a jigger which was also used later at Broken Hill.
In 1864-73 the output of the mine trebled and gave shareholders some £840,000 in forty-four dividends, but variations in the price of copper were reflected in the miners' wages and employment. In 1873, Moonta's best year, Hancock persuaded the directors to maintain constant production and employment by assuring a minimum weekly wage of £2 for bad years. The miners were duly notified but in 1874 copper fell from £110 a ton to £87 and Hancock was ordered to reduce all wages to £1 16s. His protest to the chairman, then in Britain, was successful but meanwhile the miners downed tools and elected a strike committee. Their wives soon used brooms to 'sweep the insurgents out of the mine' and work was resumed.
In building 'Australia's little Cornwall' Hancock had personal assets. A commanding figure with a flowing beard, he wore a grey bell-topper and long black coat and spoke in cultured accents. A devout Wesleyan, he went to chapel twice each Sunday and early superintended the Sunday school. His large two-storied mansion, surrounded by native trees, was adequately staffed and connected by telephone to the stables where he had a special carriage. The mine office was equipped with speaking tubes and from a look-out on its roof he could survey the surface workings. In his own room he had a 'pulpit' desk, his papers far above the range of prying eyes. Most of his workmen lived in humpies scattered among the mallee scrub on the mining leases. When the town of Moonta was surveyed in 1865 the miners were expected to move into it but they preferred their rent-free homes, thus making themselves semi-tenants while employed on the mine. At one stage some 6000 people lived on the Moonta leases and the company found that it had assumed the functions of government with Hancock as a kind of chief justice.
However deep his concern for the welfare of his people, Hancock was a strict ruler. He compelled all employees to join the medical club at a small weekly rate, but medicines and consultations were free and sick pay was provided. He encouraged cricket, football, chess and glee clubs and many mutual improvement societies. He established a brass band, library and reading room and a compulsory night school for boys from the mine's sorting tables. He also helped to found the Point Pearce Mission for Aboriginals from the Moonta area, the local school of mines, the gas company and the Agricultural, Horticultural and Floricultural Society, serving on their boards for many years. For his varied powers Captain Hancock was held in awe. Any summons to his office was dreaded as an employee was liable to be questioned about things that had nothing to do with his work, and men who were sacked usually found no other job in the district.
After amalgamation of the Wallaroo and Moonta Mining and Smelting Co. in 1889, Hancock became its general manager and his benevolent bureaucracy brought many advantages to Wallaroo. He retired in 1898 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry Lipson, who managed the Moonta mine until it closed in 1923. In 1880 Captain Hancock had taken up Nalyappa, 30,000 acres (12,141 ha) of grazing land extending from the coast to the Maitland Road. He managed it from the mine office until it was subdivided and sold in the late 1890s. His first wife Sarah Annie had died of typhoid at Moonta on 27 June 1870, leaving two sons and a daughter. In Adelaide on 28 August 1872 he married Loveday Maria Jolly of Moonta. Hancock died at his home, Iveymeade, Burnside, on 14 January 1919. He left an estate valued at £21,000 to his wife, seven sons and three daughters.
Oswald Pryor, 'Hancock, Henry Richard (1836–1919)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hancock-henry-richard-3706/text5813, published first in hardcopy 1972, accessed online 26 August 2016.
This article was first published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, (MUP), 1972 |
Kathleen Florence Lynn was born in 1874 in Co. Mayo. She was a political activist, supporter of the women’s suffrage movement, and an accomplished doctor.
Dr. Lynn was one of the first women to graduate in medicine from the Royal University of Ireland and she was the first female resident at the Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin. Sill, these qualifications didn’t protect her from discrimination because “she was not a man.”
Dr. Lynn joined the ranks of the Citizen Army and was Chief Medical Officer during the 1916 Easter Rising. When her Commanding Officer was shot, she, as next highest-ranking officer, was promoted to Captain. She was imprisoned for her role in the uprising.
While working with Dublin’s inner city poor, she realized the need to provide adequate medical and educational care for mothers and infants. At that time 164 out of every 1000 babies born in Dublin died from preventable diseases. In 1919 Dr. Lynn helped establish Saint Ultan’s Hospital ‘for the medical treatment of infants under one year of age.’ She thumbed her nose at the hospitals who had turned her down in the past by insisting that St. Ultan’s be staffed and managed entirely by women. During her time there she pioneered use of the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis more than a decade before it went into general use in Ireland.
Dr. Lynn devoted her “spare” time to children, too. She served as Vice President of Save the German Children, an organization that found homes in Ireland for evacuated children during the Second World War. It’s impossible to say how many children’s lives she helped to save during her career. And of course, she had no children of her own.
Dr. Lynn was definitely her own woman. It is reported that she turned down the use of the hospital’s chauffeur and enormous car, preferring to make her own way through the world by bicycle.
In acknowledgement of the role she played in the 1916 Rising and the Irish War of Independence, Dr. Kathleen Lynn was buried in 1955 with full military honors |
The Space Shuttle was a partly reusable space transportation system operated by NASA on 135 missions, between 1981 and 2011, to deliver payloads into low Earth orbit.
NASA’s space shuttle fleet comprised a total of six orbital vehicle (OV) spacecraft:
- Enterprise (OV-101), in use 1976 to 2012
- Columbia (OV-102), in use 1981 to 2003
- Challenger (OV-099), in use 1983 to 1986
- Discovery (OV-103), in use 1984 to 2011
- Atlantis (OV‑104), in use 1985 to 2011
- Endeavour (OV-105), in use 1992 to 2011
Of these six vehicles, both Challenger and Columbia were tragically lost in mission accidents (on 28 January 1986 and 1 February 2003, respectively), along with their crews, totaling 14 people.
Enterprise was a test vehicle with no orbital capability, constructed in 1976, and Endeavour was built from spare components to replace Challenger, in 1991.
Launch, Landing and Recovery
The Space Shuttle was launched vertically, on the the back of an expendable external fuel tank, (containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen), which powered the shuttle’s three main integrated engines and was attached to a pair of recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs).
The shuttle’s orbital vehicle separated from the SRBs two minutes after launch, at around 46 km, before reaching orbital altitude. The external fuel tank was then jettisoned just prior to orbital insertion.
Following re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, the Shuttle would glide in to land on a conventional runway, usually at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, or Rogers Dry Lake in Edwards Air Force Base, California. In order to return the Shuttle OVs to the Kennedy Space Centre, after landing elsewhere, two Boeing 747s were converted to allow an orbiter to ride on the aircrafts’ backs.
The SRBs, which were parachuted back to Earth, were recovered from the ocean and reused – with only four ever lost, in total (two from parachute failure, and two in the Challenger disaster). The external fuel tank (which broke up before impact in the ocean, away from shipping lanes), was the only part of the Space Shuttle system that was not reused. |
Of the twelve JyotirLingas of Lord Shankara, the tenth one is known as Tryambakeshwara. Tryambak is near Nasik in Maharashtra. This great JyotirLinga on the banks of Gautami has a unique form. The Lord in this temple’s Grabhagriha is not worshipped with Abhisheka with water (Jalahari) unlike others. There is just a bottom part of the pounding stone (Ukhali), instead, like a hole.
In that hole there are three Lingas shaped like the Thumbs. Hence Tryambakeshwara. Of these three Lingas, the Linga of Mahesha has a constant shower of water from an orifice above. It is a natural source of water coming down as Abhisheka for the Lord.
Purana of Tryambakeshwar Temple
Ahalya’s husband, Gautama was doing Tapas or penance on the Dakshina Mountain. It did not rain there for a hundred years and the land was drying up and life forms disappearing. Seeing these conditions of drought, the residents, the saints, and all the birds and animals fled from there. Saint Gautam did a great Mangalik tapas through Pranayama for six long months. Varuna, the deva of rains, was pleased and appeared before Gautama, who inturn asked for water. At the behest of Varuna, Gautam dug a hole on his hand. With the help of Varuna’s miraculous power, it filled with water. Varuna said, “Due to the power of your penance, this hole would be an unending source of water “Akshya”. It will become famous by your name. It will augment all holy rituals like Yagna, Dana, Tapa, Homa Shraadha, and worship of Gods. After this water was thus acquired, the saints started making preparations for the Yagna and the production of “Breehika”.
Once when the disciples of Gautama went to fetch some water, from that waterhole, just then some of the saints wives were also there for the same purpose. They insisted on taking water first. The disciples of Gautama called Gautama’s wife. She intervened and allowed her husband’s disciples to fetch water. The wives of the Rishis felt insulted at this and complained to their husbands and while doing so added a few lies here and there. The great saints at once started the worship of Ganesha as an intial Puja in sheer scheme of vendetta. When Ganesha appeared before them and granted some boons, they asked for the power of being able to insult and chase away Gautama, as an indesirable person from there. Ganesha understood that Gautama was very helpful by nature, tried to persuade the saints from getting their way. He knew that, but for Gautama’s efforts, the saints would be craving for even a drop of water. But the saints would have none of it. Reluctantly, Ganesha had to accode to the request of the adamant Rishis, but warned them to be ready to face the consequences of angering a great saint like Gautama.
One day, when Gautama went to get some “Breehi”, he saw a thin, starving cow there. Just when he lifted a little twig to show away the cow, the cow fell dead. The other Rishis caught the opportunity and accused Gautama of slaying a cow “Gohatya”. They insulted him and said that he must leave that palce immediately in order to save it from the aftermath of Gohaty. Gautama became very sad and left feeling greatly depressed.
Gautama wanted to absolve himself of the sin of Gohatya “Cow slaughter”. He thus resorted to the method of Tapas recommended by great saints. He began the difficult task of bringing Ganga water with the power of his Tapas, take bath with that water and chant Shiva mantras a crore times and worship the Parthiva Linga. Shiva was pleased and told him that he is indeed a pure soul and a great Mahatma. A great injustice was done to him, Shiva told him that he could ask for some boons. Gautama asked for Ganga, which would be of great help to the humanity. Shiva gave Ganga to Gautama, in the form of Tatwarupa Avishishta Jal. After taking the water, Gautama requested Shiva to absolve him of the sin of cow slaughter. Shiva purified Gautama and wanted to go back to His abode after that. But he told the Lord to remain on the earth till the end of Kaliyuga. Ganga prayed to him and requested him to stay on the earth, along with his consort Parvati. For the welfare of the world, Lord Shiva granted Ganga her wish.
Ganga wanted to know from Lord Shiva, how people will know about her greatness. The Rishis said that until Brihaspati stays on the Simha Rashi (Leo), we will stay here on your banks and will take a holy dip in your waters thrice a day before taking the Darshan of Shiva. Only by doing so, would we able to war our sins. On hearing this Lord Shiva and Ganga stayed there. Ganga has also come to be known as Gautami and the Linga came to be known as Tryambaka.
The river which gave away cows as Go-Daan became Godavari. Ganga who came on the request of Gautama became Gautam Ganga. That was the auspicious time of Brahmagiri, the time in between, when the Kurmavatar was over and before the assumption of Varahavatar, the Sanghiparva. The planet Guru (Jupiter) was in the sign of Simha (Leo), Magha Shuddha Dashami, Thursday after noon, when Gautami Ganga was born. The area of Brahmagiri too looks like the Lingamurthyy. From the tip, the water of Gautami Ganga flows.
Other specialities of Tryambak zone
The spring at Brahmagiri from where Godavari comes out, is known as Gangadwar. The Ganga water flows from a rock shaped like a cow face, constantly. The temple of Godavari mata is located here. The idol looks happy and peaceful. The Varaha Teertha is close by.
After emanating from Gangadwar, the river Godavari thins down and almost disappears, only to appear again at Tahalhati. In order to prevent it from disappearing, Gautam Rishi threw Darbhas on all four sides. Because of this, Godavari flows in Kushavarti. The Kushavarti Maha Teerth is a circle of 27 meters. It is built very strong. There are steps on all four sides to facilitate going down to the waters.
At the time of Simhasta (in Leo), every 12 years, a Kumbhmela is held here. Lakhs of people take a holy dip in Kushavarta. On all the four sides of Kushavartha corridors are built. Beautiful statues are also carved here in the Brahmagiri Talhati, near Kushavarti, there is a big lake called Ganga Sagar.
On the parikrama path, there are beautiful places like Ram Teerth. Prayag Teerth and Nrisimha Teerth etc, The Peshwa kings planted trees at every 25 hand distance. During the reign of the Peshwas, criminals were asked to do the Parikrama (circumbulation) of Brahmagiri as punishment.
The Tryambakeshwar JyotirLinga is unique, great, holy and wonderful place of pilgrimage.
.Website of Trimbakeshwar temple |
Understanding Valvular Heart Disease
Valvular Heart Disease means that one (or more) of your four heart valves is not opening or closing as it should. Dr Peter Larsen explains the symptoms, causes and treatment.
What is Valvular Heart Disease?
The heart’s job is to pump oxygen-rich blood through the body. The aortic valve controls the flow of blood as it is pumped from the heart to the rest of the body. When an aortic valve becomes narrowed with age, usually due to a build-up of calcium, the valve is unable to fully open and the heart can’t pump blood like it needs to – this is known as Aortic Stenosis.
Mitral Regurgitation occurs when your mitral valve does not close properly. The blood leaks back through the heart valve. This puts more pressure on your heart as it struggles to pump the blood through the body.
What causes Valvular Heart Disease?
Some patients may have been born with a narrowed or leaking heart valve or it may have developed over time. It can also be caused by another health condition, such as an infection of the heart valve or rheumatic fever.
The symptoms of Valvular Heart Disease can include breathlessness, chest tightness, fatigue and dizziness.
While these symptoms are often mistaken for “getting older”, they should be checked out to rule out Valvular Heart Disease (or any other health condition). If you experience these symptoms, make an appointment with your GP to talk about them.
They might decide that a Cardiologist review and specialist Echocardiograph is needed to help diagnose the problem. An Echocardiograph is an ultrasound of the heart, using high frequency sound waves to create a moving picture of your heart.
How can Valvular Heart Disease be treated?
Valvular Heat Disease can be treated with medication or surgery. Some patients may need a Cardiologist to repair, widen or replace a faulty heart valve.
Two minimally invasive, “keyhole” surgical procedures that might be recommended are a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), where a new valve is inserted through the leg artery up to the heart, or the use of a MitraClip, where a small clip is used to help your valve close properly.
Author: Dr Peter Larsen, Cardiologist |
Although Helen Keller had never actually seen a sunflower, she still learned something from the amazing plants.
“Keep your face to the sunshine so you cannot see the shadows,” she wrote. “That’s what the sunflowers do.”
Mammoth sunflower buds will indeed follow the sun’s path every day like clockwork. This is an amazing demonstration of phototropism: the growth of plants in response to the sun.
Once the terminal flower bud is ready to open, the head becomes stationary.
The sunflower is such an easy plant to grow that almost every novice should give it a try.
The key is understanding the many types of sunflowers so as to choose the ideal ones for your garden, family and style.
The most well-known is the Mammoth sunflower, with its amazing tall stalks and single dinner-plate-size flower on top. It can reach 15 feet tall.
The Mammoth variety produces the largest seed and is preferred by gardeners who want to make their own snacks.
The seeds can be harvested and roasted in an oven.
The sunflower is native to the Midwest, where American Indians cultivated them on the flood plains of the Missouri and other great rivers. They also saved seeds from the best of the current crop, selecting only from flower heads with the largest kernels.
Through time, their seed strains produced larger flowers but fewer of them. When the strains were explored by early plant breeders, they were hybridized to further increase flower size. The Russians needed a short-season, oil-producing crop, so breeders developed what is now the Mammoth.
Another variety to consider is the branching sunflower, which was developed for cut flowers.
Branching sunflowers retain the size and open habit of their wild ancestors. Branching varieties produce flowers about 6 inches across with colors from dark red to orange or rusty brown.
Most seed houses offer branching sunflowers. Start with packets of mixed varieties such as Autumn Beauties to get a great range of colors for less than $3.
It’s easy to tuck seeds of branching sunflowers into your vegetable garden, flower beds and shrub borders. They don’t need staking, and the colors remain bright for a long time. They’re ideal for the back of the beds, where their blossoms rise above the shorter plants but lanky stems are screened from view.
Snipping off the flowers the moment the petals wither will stimulate new buds to form. If you cut them while in full bloom, you get the same results — with a bonus of bright flowers to display indoors. In the process, note the dense clusters of tiny flowers that make up the center of the bloom, called a disk, which is organized into an amazing spiral pattern.
Grow branching sunflowers within view of your kitchen sink for a daily show. After the petals fade, let the densely packed mass of seeds mature so it will attract songbirds. |
|This document is available in: English Castellano Deutsch Francais Nederlands Russian Turkce|
by Guido Socher
About the author:
Guido is a long time Linux fan. He likes Linux not only because of it's good technical quality but also because of the people and the community behind Linux.
This article explains how you can configure a number of
different Internet Service Providers (ISPs) under Linux and how to
easily change between them.
The concept that we use is not only valid for a configuration with one PC and one Internet connection but you can use it to give the whole family Internet access at the same time. To achieve this we configure a DNS proxy (DNS forwarding) and IP masquerading under Linux.
Internet access has recently become very easy. Most ISPs do not ask anymore for monthly fees and long term contracts. If an ISP has technical problems or provides bad service, then you just take the next one. In Germany we call this "Internet by Call" and it goes even one step further. You don't register or sign any paper. You just pay via your normal phone bill. Note, this is different from free Internet. Free Internet is usually the state of the ISP before going bankrupt and often linked to bad data throughput. In case of "Internet by Call" you do pay, sometimes quite high fees but can get good bandwidth. No matter how the details are in your country, this article will explain how to quickly change the ISP and use different dialup Internet connections at different times.
The type of Internet access we cover in this article is a dialup point-to-point (PPP) connection from your PC to your ISP. Under Linux a program called pppd is used to setup this connection. pppd is a very good software and very flexible but unfortunately the documentation that comes with pppd has only examples with rather ancient and very special cases for authentication and login to your ISP. Using those examples to set up a connection to most modern ISPs will generally fail. Most ISPs use these days
With Linux and IP
masquerading it is very easy to connect not just one computer but
a whole pool, a whole network of computers, via one PPP link to your
ISP. To do this you need at least one Linux machine and any number of
other computers. This looks then as follows:
If you use such an IP masquerading Linux gateway and you use different ISPs then you have generally 2 problems:
All of pppd's configuration files are normally in /etc/ppp and generally you need to start pppd as root. During the installation and first tests you should be logged in as user root. Later on I will show you how anybody can start and stop the pppd. It is not good if you are always logged in as root. The user root has very little restrictions and can easily destroy your configuration by mistake.
The important files for pppd are:
cd /etc mv ppp ppp_old tar zxvf ppp.tar.gzAfter unpacking you will see that there are more files included in ppp.tar.gz. Those are additional wrapper scripts to make the setup and configuration easier. Their purpose is explained further down. (Note: there are some prices mentioned in the configuration files for the example providers. They may be wrong. Check the home page of that ISP to get accurate information.)
Let's have a look at the configuration file for one ISP called arcor:
# This is /etc/ppp/peers/arcor
# Home page of the ISP arcor: http://www.arcor-online.de/
# serial device and modem speed (normally 38400 or 57600):
# modem dial-out script with phone number:
connect '/etc/ppp/scripts/ppp-on-dialer-pap 0192070'
# specific options, common options are
# read from /etc/ppp/options
# tell pppd to use this users name for PAP authentication:
# try dynamic dns:
cd /dev ln -s ttyS0 modem57600 is the modem speed and depends on your modem hardware. The line that starts with "connect" specifies a script (/etc/ppp/scripts/ppp-on-dialer-pap) to handle the communication with your modem via AT commands. Those AT commands are a ASCII based command language for modems. The parameter given to the script (0192070) is the phone number to dial.
So far we have defined the phone number (0192070, in this example) the
modem speed, the serial line to use and a few configuration options of
pppd. I will not discuss the common configuration options from
/etc/ppp/options here. You can take a look a the example file and
look them up in the man page of pppd.
Instead we will now dial into our ISP (arcor). To do this we need 2 more
things (this a working example for readers in Germany) :
login name: arcor
This information needs to be entered into the file /etc/ppp/pap-secrets and the login name goes as well into the /etc/ppp/peers/arcor file (see above). Add a line that looks as follows to /etc/ppp/pap-secrets:
# This is /etc/ppp/pap-secrets
# client server secret IP-addr
arcor * internet 0.0.0.0
That's it. Now we can test this. To dial out type:
pppd call arcorarcor is in this case the name of the configuration file in /etc/ppp/peers/
killall pppdI hope this example worked for you. It should definitely work as shown here for readers in Germany. People from other countries should of course adapt phone number, login and password to their ISP. If it did not work then have a look at the trouble shooting section at the end of this article.
Now you have 1 working ISP. To add others you need to do the following:
At this point you know roughly how the underlying mechanisms work. Next we will use a few scripts to make it easier to use. In particular we will introduce two Set-UID perl scripts which will make it possible to start and stop your Internet connection when you are logged in as any normal user (not user root).
Set-UID is a mechanism that allows a normal user to execute a specific
command and that command will act as if the owner of that command would
have executed it. Obviously this needs to be designed with care in order
to not create a security problem. The Set-UID perl scripts are already
included in the ppp.tar.gz that you have unpacked above. They should have
"s" in the file permissions and belong to user root:
> cd /etc/ppp/scripts
> ls -al ppp-on ppp-off
-rwsr-sr-x 1 root root 1258 Jan 7 13:24 ppp-off
-rwsr-sr-x 1 root root 2619 Jan 9 20:30 ppp-on
If they do not have those permissions then you can change them with the command
chmod 6755 ppp-off ppp-on.
The ppp-off ppp-on scripts are just wrapper scripts. All they do is run pppd call some-config-file or killall pppd. The advantage is that any user can now use them. The ppp-on script has as well some special handling for ISPs that do not use automatic DNS configuration. If you happen to have such an ISP then edit the file and search for "static". There are examples in there which you can modify. You use those ppp-on/ppp-off scripts as follows:
To go online: /etc/ppp/scripts/ppp-on arcor To terminate the Internet connection: /etc/ppp/scripts/ppp-offThis should now work for any user on your computer. arcor is again the name of a file in /etc/ppp/peers/. You may have given it a different name.
Finally we will use a graphical user interface to start and stop
our Internet connection. A cgi-program is a program that
generates interactive web-pages. A well designed cgi-program
works with any browser and any operating system. That's why we use
a cgi-program. It will look like this:
The pppcontrol cgi-script reads a configuration file called /etc/ppp/gpppwrap.conf this has the following syntax:
|ppponarg: <agument_to_pass_to_ppp_on> - some additional comment string|
# This is /etc/ppp/gpppwrap.conf ppponarg: arcor -- arcor.net 3pf/min ppponarg: talknet -- internet by call 3.5pf/minNote: the prices 3pf/min and 3.5pf/min may have changed and may be wrong by the time you read this.
This was perhaps a lot of new information to you but once you have it
up and running you will only need to add/delete from time to time an ISP
and that is really easy as you have seen above.
You can now conveniently select an ISP form the list on the web-page and dial out by just clicking on a button on that web-page.
To install dnrd from the sources you need to:
unapck it: tar zxvf dnrd-2.10.tar.gz cd dnrd-2.10/src/ compile it: make strip dnrd install it: cp dnrd /usr/local/sbin/ create the empty directory /etc/dnrd/ : mkdir /etc/dnrd/The DNS proxy dnrd is used as follows (18.104.22.168 and 22.214.171.124 are e.g the DNS servers of your ISP):
when the ppp-link becomes active: dnrd -s 126.96.36.199 -s 188.8.131.52 when you terminate the connection you run: dnrddnrd is started in our case from the /etc/ppp/ip-up and /etc/ppp/ip-down scripts and it is all automatic. The scripts you have downloaded above are already prepared for that and expect dnrd in the directory /usr/local/sbin/.
dnrd can do much more than that. It can even be a small DNS server
of it's own. Under Unix you can always write in the /etc/host.conf file
order hosts, bind
and then give all your machines in your small local network symbolic names in the file /etc/hosts . Unfortunately the stupid Windows machines in your network do not have that possibility. If dnrd finds a /etc/hosts file on your Linux PC then it will automatically act as a DNS server for the entries mentioned in that file. This solves the problem!
The syntax of the /etc/hosts file is as shown here:
# ip-addr hostname alias1 alias2 ...
192.168.0.1 linuxpc.mynet linuxpc
192.168.0.2 peppermint.mynet pepper mint
To use dnrd not only as a DNS proxy but also as a DNS server for the entries in /etc/hosts you should start it already at boot time. To do this you need to add the line
daemon /usr/local/sbin/dnrdat the end of the start section in the /etc/rc.d/init.d/network boot script (This syntax is for redhat, mandrake etc... your distribution may differ).
# This is /etc/resolv.conf when dnrd is running nameserver 127.0.0.1The advantage is that you are now using the internal cache of dnrd on all the hosts and not only on the ones inside your network.
>nslookup Default Server: localhost Address: 127.0.0.1 >pepper Server: localhost Address: 127.0.0.1 Non-authoritative answer: Name: peppermint.mynet Address: 192.168.0.2Terminate nslookup by typing crtl-d.
In this section I will explain how to activate debuging output for pppd. It will help you to figure out what is wrong if it does not work. Unfortunately I found out that it was not always a configuration fault on my side when it did not work.
The first thing that pppd does in our case is to open the serial port (/dev/modem, a link to e.g /dev/ttyS0) in order to run the script /etc/ppp/scripts/ppp-on-dialer-pap. This script will send AT commands to the modem. Those commands make the modem dial to your ISP. If anything goes wrong there then you can find errors in the file /etc/ppp/connect-errors. Most of the time the connect-errors file will give you enough hints to figure out what is wrong. Should this not be the case then you can type the AT commands manually. To do that you need a serial line communication program like minicom (part of most Linux distributions), or cu (usually part of a package called uucp) or kermit (get it from http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ck70.html). Use this serial line communication program to "talk" to your modem. When you type AT, then the modem should say "OK". If not, check the speed settings, the power cable etc... In case it said OK, then try the command ATDT1234 The modem should dial now 1234. If not, check the manual of your modem. The command could as well be ATD1234 (with out T) or some other setting is wrong.
After the modem has dialed to your ISP the next step is the ppp-negotiation phase. To watch what is going on there you must enable to syslog facility daemon.debug in /etc/syslog.conf. Edit the file /etc/syslog.conf and add ";daemon.debug" to the line that ends in /var/log/messages . E.g like this:
*.info;mail.none;authpriv.none;daemon.debug /var/log/messagesNext restart syslog with the command
tail -f /var/log/messagesand watch pppd debug output while connecting to your ISP.
A successful ppp connection setup would look like this:
Jan 14 17:18:11 bearix pppd: pppd 2.3.10 started by root, uid 0
Jan 14 17:18:34 bearix pppd: Serial connection established.
Jan 14 17:18:34 bearix pppd: Using interface ppp0
Jan 14 17:18:34 bearix pppd: Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/modem
Jan 14 17:18:35 bearix pppd: sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1
Jan 14 17:18:37 bearix pppd: rcvd [LCP ConfReq id=0x46
Jan 14 17:18:37 bearix pppd: sent [LCP ConfNak id=0x46
Jan 14 17:18:38 bearix pppd: rcvd [LCP ConfReq id=0x47
Jan 14 17:18:38 bearix pppd: sent [LCP ConfAck id=0x47
Jan 14 17:18:38 bearix pppd: sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1
Jan 14 17:18:38 bearix pppd: rcvd [LCP ConfAck id=0x1
Jan 14 17:18:38 bearix pppd: sent [PAP AuthReq id=0x1 user="arcor" password="internet"]
Jan 14 17:18:40 bearix pppd: rcvd [LCP ConfReq id=0x49
Jan 14 17:18:40 bearix pppd: sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x2
Jan 14 17:18:40 bearix pppd: sent [LCP ConfAck id=0x49
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: rcvd [LCP ConfAck id=0x2
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: rcvd [CHAP Challenge id=0x5 <0c7672840494152025f937ac4f5e135e>, name = "klndiinternet"]
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: sent [CHAP Response id=0x5
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: rcvd [CHAP Success id=0x5 ""]
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x1
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: sent [CCP ConfReq id=0x1
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: rcvd [IPCP ConfReq id=0x8e
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: sent [IPCP ConfAck id=0x8e
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: rcvd [IPCP ConfRej id=0x1
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x2
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: rcvd [LCP ProtRej id=0xfb 80 fd 01 01 00 0f 1a 04 78 00 18 04 78 00 15 03 2f]
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: rcvd [IPCP ConfNak id=0x2
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x3
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: rcvd [IPCP ConfAck id=0x3
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: local IP address 184.108.40.206
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: remote IP address 220.127.116.11
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: primary DNS address 18.104.22.168
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: secondary DNS address 22.214.171.124
Jan 14 17:18:41 bearix pppd: Script /etc/ppp/ip-up started (pid 723)
Jan 14 17:18:42 bearix pppd: Script /etc/ppp/ip-up finished (pid 723), status = 0x0
It is impossible to describe every error case here first of all because I don't know your setup and second because there are simply too many things that could go wrong. With a little bit of creativity and the things in mind that you have learned in this article you should be able find most faults. If you really can not get it to work and it does not look like a fault on your side then just try a different ISP. It could very well be a problem at the ISP.
Webpages maintained by the LinuxFocus Editor team
© Guido Socher, FDL
Click here to report a fault or send a comment to LinuxFocus
2001-04-27, generated by lfparser version 2.13 |
Welcome to the Mapping and GIS section of the County website. Sumter County GIS is technology that enables:
Analysis of spatial data
GIS allows for a large amount of information to be displayed at once by layering datasets (roads, property, etc.), and spatial patterns may be identified from data which may not be apparent in tabular form. The ability to make instantaneous changes to variables, as well as toggle layers of information on and off, make GIS an invaluable tool for smart decision making in County departments.
What is GIS?
GIS is a computer system for assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying data. This data contains physical locations (geographic coordinates) of features and information about those features (attribute data). GIS is not only used for data storage, maintenance, and retrieval, but it is also used as an analysis tool to answer questions that are geographic in nature.
For information related to GIS Services, please contact us via Email |
The Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery
1-55017-351-0 · $25.95 · Paperback
Why is there a “war” for salmon instead of co-operation to share in the harvesting of what should be a sustainable resource?
In his book Salmon Wars: The Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery, Dennis Brown examines and chronicles the battles for sharing the salmon catch between corporations and fishermen , the US and Canada, as well as First Nations fishermen and commercial fishermen. Brown expresses concern for the working fisherman. This progressive tendency is expected as Brown has a varied background in salmon fishing, coming from a long line of fishermen and having worked as a union representative and government advisor.
Much of his book details attempts to renegotiate a Canada-US Pacific Salmon Treaty on how to share the anadromous fish that refuse to confine themselves to national waters. The treaty negotiations were marked by strident disagreements between neighbors. Canadian fishermen are upset that US fishermen are allegedly taking Canadian salmon.
The notion of Canadian salmon versus American salmon is intriguing. From another viewpoint, the fact that people were living on the Pacific coast and harvesting the salmon before Canadians and Americans throws into doubt this notion of state-ownership of salmon.
Pacific salmon accounts for a large portion of the caloric intake of west coast Original Peoples. Brown recognizes the historical relation of Original Peoples with salmon going back 9,000 years.
Nonetheless, although the oxymoronic province of “British Columbia” (BC; How else might one regard a largely unceded expanse of land claimed as a Canadian province by the colonizers and designated British in the execrable honor of an Italian-born-and-raised Spaniard who precipitated a genocide of the Original Peoples?) usurped the right of Original Peoples to determine their own catch limits and set the scenario whereby “major abuses” might occur within an allocation system that apportions salmon for Original Peoples.
Brown contends that the leadership of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union (UFAWU) supports “native rights” without going into specifics. But “major abuses” led union rank-and-file members to pressure the union leadership to oppose the allocation program. Brown while expressing sympathy for First Nations fishermen never dealt with how settler fishermen assumed rights to any of the fishery or rights that might even supersede the rights of First Nations fishermen.
Brown’s stated aim, however, is toward an equitable sharing of the salmon.
Governmental ministries, however, were imposing a neoliberal plan to commodify the salmon fishery by culling the salmon fleet and introducing an individual transferable quota system (private ownership that entitles the holder to a percentage of the total allowable catch in a fishery). As Brown notes, this possessive individualism is antithetical to the traditional First Nations concept of communal sharing. The end result was the introduction of corporate ownership into the salmon-fishing industry.
The quota system was described as encouraging the rise of “armchair fishermen … who can sit back and collect a personal resource rent by leasing their licenses.”
Nova Scotia professor Dan MacInnes warned about the privatization of the fishing industry, drawing on the east coast debacle “rooted in fishing practices that have raped and pillaged ocean resources … government mismanagement … that controlled the rape … rooted in greed and political deal making.”
But determining allowable catch totals for the salmon resource is far from an exact science. Given the speculative state of science in accurately determining the size of salmon runs, determining equitable shared allocations was difficult. For this, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) comes in for much censure, as do the federal fisheries’ ministers.
Canada’s management of the fisheries is rather unsparkling -- the crash of the Atlantic cod fishery being a startling testament to government mismanagement amid commercial exploitation.
Despite DFO’s ineptness at calculating spawning runs, it nonetheless attributed low spawning runs to commercial fishermen although high water temperatures and an excessive number of spawners have also been identified as causal factors. Agonizingly for fishermen, some experts contended that not enough salmon had been caught. The counterintuitive implication is that if DFO had allowed a larger catch by fishermen then more salmon would successfully have spawned. This is referred to as an “overescapement” of salmon -- a curious term. It suggests that salmon are reliant upon some outside force (for example, commercial fishermen) to cull their numbers to achieve maximum spawning efficiency. Brown notes that environmentalists reject this argument.
DFO’s corporate bias includes the promotion of the salmon-farming industry that has further stressed the environment and wild salmon, impinging on the viability of the commercial fishery.
The fishermen pay the price, especially the “little guy” fisherman who is increasingly an “endangered species.”
Brown outlines the marginalization of working fishermen and the creeping corporatization of the BC fishing industry with government collusion. He describes the apparently right-wing orchestrated ouster of a social democratic BC premier, Glen Clark, over a low-cost patio deck. Clark’s error was his willingness to support the tiny political constituency of the commercial fishermen. Clark raised the ire of some people when -- in support of the commercial fishermen -- he threatened to cancel the provincial lease on the torpedo testing range used by the US military at Nanoose Bay on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Extraordinarily, the federal government stepped in and took over the base territory: “the first hostile expropriation of provincial land in Canadian history.”
Ostensibly, some large interests are involved in the play for salmon. Jack Nichol, president of the UFAWU proffered, “We believe that the fisheries are being sacrificed to other resource developments.”
To distract from other competing interests, the government set out to divide fishermen. Federal Fisheries Minister Romeo Leblanc imposed a wedge between First Nations fishermen and non-Indigenous fishermen when he spoke of using the fisheries as “a springboard for Native economic development.” UFAWU business agent Bill Procopation warned of attempts at “a fratricidal, race-oriented split in the fishing industry.”
Brown expresses astonishment at a proposal to allocate an “astounding” 43.6 percent of the total catch to First Nations fishermen. Brown sees this as based on an excessive annual consumption of salmon by First Nations. Implicit in Brown’s objection is that First Nations either shouldn’t be commercially selling their catch and/or that settler fishermen have some right to a greater percentage of the catch.
Not unexpectedly, the media has portrayed the fishermen as at fault in any stock depletion. “Conservationists” targeted fishermen although environmental destruction was primarily blamed for the drastic drop in salmon run numbers.
DFO ordered closures on the pretext of protecting the salmon runs. The closures did not always extend to the First Nations. Brown describes how “armed protestors” of the Cheam First Nation had defied DFO officers, who Brown fails to mention as armed or not.
In 2003, Cheam spokeswoman June Quipp stated, “It is racial profiling by industry organizations that see the Cheam as competition. [The commercial fishermen] take the majority of the fish and the DFO only listens to them.”
Brown writes of a “rancorous debate about the nature of the special rights held by Native people.” [italics added] Special rights? One wonders what these special rights are. Is it the right to be dispossessed of one’s territory? The right to submit to settler law and government? The right to relinquish the right of Original Peoples to harvest what had long been a sustainable resource?
Brown struggles with the question of fairness to Original Peoples’ rights throughout his book. He identifies a dilemma: “how can a democratic union defend the livelihoods of its members while embracing principles of racial equality and justice?”
Brown astutely states, “The question will not be answered so long as we uphold an economic system that promotes competition that rewards a wealthy elite, while Native and non-Native workers take turns in welfare lines.”
Brown quotes cultural anthropologist James R. McGoodwin: “Many fisheries problems are merely a small but connected part of more pervasive problems in the world political and economic order.” Brown proposes greater care of the marine environmental and legislation aimed at economic justice including settlement of First Nations land claims.
Brown’s solution is tepid. For example, he discussed a market-sharing formula to establish a price for sockeye salmon among fishermen and the companies. But why not go straight for a profit-sharing formula? Instead of fishermen being at the behest of the canneries, boat owners, license owners, etc., why do they not invest their money and gain control over the pricing and profits for themselves?
The “salmon wars” are important. Brown contemplates how best to conserve and equitably share the salmon resource. The conservation of salmon is also a concern of the First Nations. Brown also acknowledges that the Original Peoples of BC have suffered harsh injustices. Yet why should the allocation of a resource take precedence over the longstanding grievances of Original Peoples? Why should Original Peoples, in addition to territorial and cultural dispossession, be robbed of their traditional economic and nutritional rights?
Consequently, a principled view must recognize that until justice for the Original Peoples of BC is meted out, the allocation of salmon among groups of fishermen is of lower priority.
Kim Petersen is a writer living in Nova Scotia, Canada. He can be reached at: [email protected].
Even women so employed prefer the designation “fishermen” rather than the gender neutral term “fisher.” See Blair Shewchuk, “Men, Women, and Fishers,” CBC News Online
A recent report by an environmental group found, “eight core challenges appear to largely explain ineffective performance on the conservation mandate” of DFO: from “inadequate information; lack of transparency and accountability; insufficient and misallocated budget; political influence; [to] weaknesses in enforcing existing laws and regulations.” See David L. Peterson, Alan Wood, and Julia Gardner, “An Assessment of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Pacific Region’s Effectiveness in Meeting its Mandate,” David Suzuki Foundation, June 2005. N.B. Dennis Brown was among those who sat on a panel instrumental in the preparation of this report.
Although Brown refers to Nanoose Bay as “provincial land,” it is, in fact, claimed by the Nanoose First Nation.
Quoted in Robert Taylor, “British Columbia First Nation targeted by fishing industry,” Indian Country Today, 6 August.
Other Recent Articles by Kim Petersen
American Violence in Iraq: Necrophilia or Savagery? Part Five |
History class puts current events on the map
Teachers tap into student interest in news headlines, comparing the Iraqi standoff to prior instances of conflict
For seventh-graders in Michael Yell's world history class, Desert Storm might seem as ancient as the land of Mesopotamia.
They, after all, were born in the year of the conflict. But with a new confrontation brewing with Iraq, Mr. Yell says the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is drawing new interest from students at his Hudson, Wisc., middle school. So a lesson about ancient Mesopotamia begins with a discussion of modern-day Iraq.
It's just one way social-studies teachers are adjusting their classes to incorporate the Iraqi conflict. Whatever the grade level or geographic focus, current events are giving many routine history classes more relevance. As a result, just as after the Sept. 11 attacks, teachers are searching for ways to teach students without heightening their fears.
"They really want kids to understand both the immediacy of this and the long-term American interests, and how this fits in with actions other countries may take," says Merry Merryfield, a professor at The Ohio State University in Columbus, who instructs social-studies teachers.
In some courses, the conflict may be used to illustrate concepts already in the curriculum. US history classes, for example might compare President Bush's new foreign policy approach with the Monroe Doctrine. A civics-class discussion about Congress's power to declare war has a new urgency.
Students in Deborah Twyman's civics and government class in North Kansas City, Mo., compared the Iraqi standoff to prior instances of conflict, including the Cuban missile crisis and President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.
The question that recurs, says Ms. Twyman, is whether the US has the right to take preemptive military action. "One student asked, 'Isn't it like punishing me for being late tomorrow when I haven't been late yet?' " Twyman says.
Other teachers are using the situation to organize entire courses that address international conflicts.
In Raytown, Mo., for example, Lorelei Hays's course on global conflicts will culminate in a Middle East summit in which students will assume the roles of envoys from countries including the US and Iraq.
Each team of four students is researching its country's demographics, religion, and military while studying different options for ending conflicts, such as third-party resolution and appeasement.
If conflict breaks out before the summit begins, that will be incorporated into the simulation, Ms. Hays says. She notes that her situation brings even more immediacy to wartime decisionmaking for students: Her husband was sent overseas with the military for 10 months after Sept. 11.
Similarly, Sandy Crawford's world crises course at the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Massachusetts is focused on Iraq as well as the war on terror. Ms. Crawford plans to discuss Iraq's history back to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Saddam Hussein's emergence, the Iran-Iraq War, and the Gulf War. Crawford also will address the challenges of nation-building how well it's worked so far in Afghanistan and what might happen in Iraq under a new regime.
"My interest is in helping kids understand the Iraqi situation in historical and geopolitical perspective," Crawford says. "They'll have the ability to weigh our policy options in a pretty complete way."
Even in courses focused on ancient history, teachers say they are setting aside more time for current events. "It's something that seems to be forgotten," says Carl Schwaber, a social-studies teacher at Derby Academy in Hingham, Mass. "When we talk about things going on in the news, a lot of them don't have the history and basic tenets of society right close at hand," Mr. Schwaber says. In between units on Assyria or Persia, his ninth-grade ancient- civilizations students spend a few days discussing current events.
Schwaber also connects the ancient and modern Middle East by having students identify the current countries associated with lands on an ancient map of the region.
"Kids figure out and retain where those borders are today," Schwaber says.
The demands of keeping up with state-mandated curriculums make it difficult to veer off the established course for too long. And some teachers are wary about possibly increasing fear in students already shaken by the Sept. 11 attacks and the first recession by devoting whole class periods to speculation about what might happen next.
"If we dwell on what could be, it becomes a very fearful thing for our kids," says Michelle Karofil, social-studies coordinator in Raytown. Instead, Ms. Karofil says they use current events to reinforce what's already being taught.
If military action begins, many teachers say they'll devote more class time to the conflict. During the 1991 Gulf War, for example, Twyman put a human face on the conflict by having students correspond with alumni involved in the military action.
That war, in fact, may have had a lasting impact on social-studies teachers. Over the past decade, Professor Merryfield has found that teachers are better informed about the Middle East and more interested in including non-American perspectives.
And the Internet and e-mail allow for faster access to a broad range of primary sources and viewpoints. Merryfield says students in Columbus, Ohio, social-studies classes exchange e-mails with students in the Middle East and read local newspapers from Egypt and Turkey. |
How to keep New York afloat
With sea levels rising, once-a-century floods may become once-in-20-years events. One solution: huge storm-surge barriers.
Like many New Yorkers, Radley Horton often frets about tomorrow's weather. Unlike many, it's his job. A scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and coauthor of a forthcoming study on the effects of climate change in New York City, he is particularly concerned about an often-overlooked aspect of global warming: bigger, stronger storms.
"It's not a linear relationship," he says on a subway ride to Manhattan's South Ferry station, which would be mostly underwater in a Category 2 hurricane. "A little bit warmer sea surface equals the potential for a lot stronger storm." And feeding off the greater ocean warmth, full-blown hurricanes may arrive at New York City with increasing regularity.
By 2050, stronger storms and rising sea levels may make the flood that previously hit once every 100 years a once-in-20-years event, according to GISS. With a possible three-foot sea level rise by 2100, flooding could occur every four years. "Our old ideas about climate may have to change," he says. "We need to be open to all possibilities."
Even as high-profile politicians like California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Gov. George Pataki pledge to reduce their states' carbon "footprint," cities like New York and London – and entire countries like the Netherlands – are moving to adapt to long-term climate change.
With slogans like, "Why should you worry about a hurricane? It's not like you live on an island" and a tripling of storm shelters since Katrina, New York City's Office of Emergency Management has prepared for at least some of the short-term possibilities.
But even before Katrina, the city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which manages the city's freshwater supply and wastewater – 13,000 miles of pipe, total – formed a task force with GISS to look at the long-term effects of climate change.
Among other things, the DEP was concerned by the damage storm surges might inflict on a city surrounded by water. Although city officials declined to discuss concrete solutions for this article saying they were still in the "assessment" phase, scientists foresee potential fixes ranging from raising key infrastructure and building dikes, to flood gates and temporary seals over tunnel entrances. One group proposes raisable flood barriers large enough to protect all of Manhattan Island.
Sea levels have risen almost a foot in the past century, partly because of ice melt and thermal expansion (warmer water has more volume), and partly because of naturally occurring land subsidence of the Northeast. In the same period, area temperatures have risen nearly 2 degrees F. About two-thirds of that increase occurred in the past 30 years and sea-level rise has accelerated in the past decade. "The core body of knowledge has solidified" on climate change, says Cynthia Rosenzweig, the lead GISS scientist on the climate-change task force. "We're moving into a solution phase."
But possible solutions – and how to pay for them – are still "big question marks," says Gary Heath, director of bureau operations and environmental analysis at the DEP. Although antiflooding technologies are basic and well established, implementing them in a city as old and crowded as New York is no simple task.
Elevating roads, for example, sends more runoff into subway grates. Water pumped out of subway tunnels – already some 14 million gallons daily – goes into sewer systems that might be overtaxed by rainwater. "You solve one problem and you create another," says Madan Naik, chief structural engineer of New York City Transit. "It's got to be a collaborative effort, whatever we do."
Much of this city of 8 million, the largest and most densely populated major city in the US, is only 10 feet above sea level. The potential 30-foot storm surge accompanying a Category 3 hurricane would flood large swaths of south Brooklyn, parts of Queens, Staten Island, and Manhattan below Canal Street, including the World Trade Center site – 100 square miles total. As happened during a 1992 northeaster, floodwater might pour into the city's tunnels and subway system, many of whose entrances are but 10 feet above sea level, short-circuiting public transportation and stopping traffic. The city's wastewater treatment plants – all 14 of which lie at the water's edge and have outfalls at mean tide level – could back up, sending raw sewage into basements and bathrooms citywide.
Klaus Jacob, a special research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York, estimates the cost of such an event up to $100 billion. That's one-tenth of the $1 trillion gross regional product of the New York metropolitan area, embracing three states and 22 million people. (Some estimate that Katrina will cost Louisiana and Mississippi up to $150 billion.)
Rather than individually shoring up the city's many vulnerabilities, the better solution is to use the region's topography, say engineer Douglas Hill and Malcolm Bowman, head of the Storm Surge Research Group at Stony Brook University. Three barriers placed at strategic "choke points" – the Verrazano Narrows, Throgs Neck, and the Arthur Kill – would protect all of Manhattan and half the entire flood-prone area, they say.
Similar smaller barriers already protect Providence, R.I., New Bedford, Mass., and Stamford, Conn. Completed at a cost of £535 million in 1982 ($2.1 billion in today's dollars), the Thames River Barrier, about the size of the one proposed for the Arthur Kill, has been raised more than 90 times. Italy plans to finish its MOSE project, a series of inflatable pontoons to protect the Venice Lagoon, by 2011.
And then there's the Netherlands: Half the nation is below sea level. Its colossal Eastern Scheldt barrier, nearly two miles long and often called the "eighth wonder of the world," most resembles the one proposed for the mile-wide Verrazano Narrows.
Human nature being what it is, Mr. Bowman doesn't see construction beginning any time soon. Without exception, the aforementioned barriers were built after – not before – major floods. The British and Dutch barriers were built after a 1953 North Sea storm caused major loss of life in both countries. The New England barriers rose after the "Long Island Express" hurricane of 1938.
In fact, in the 1960s the Army Corps of Engineers proposed something similar to block storm surges from Lake Pontchartrain, which abuts New Orleans. Never built, the barriers "might have made enough of a difference" during hurricane Katrina, says Bruce Swiren, a mitigation specialist at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The disaster has led him to reconsider Bowman's idea. "I used to think that it was a complete pie in the sky," he says. "After Katrina, I'm starting to think maybe it's not such a crazy idea after all."
But Klaus Jacob, author of several papers on New York's vulnerability to flooding, opposes such large-scale solutions not on engineering but on philosophical grounds. They lend an "illusion of protection" that will only prove catastrophic in the end, he says. "The higher the defenses, the deeper the floods that will follow," he says.
Commonsensical preparations such as raising houses; putting electrical infrastructure in the attic, not the basement; and formulating clear contingency plans will go much further. In the end, however, Jacob sees only one viable, long-term option: Retreat from low-lying areas.
"That's the lesson learned," he says, the "price to be paid for pumping CO2 into the atmosphere." |
is confined to warmer waters (Minasian et al. 1984, Watson 1981).
prefer warm tropical waters. They may migrate to more temperate waters in the summer months. They also stay in deep waters (Watson 1981).
is a small whale averaging about 3 meters in length for both sexes. Calves are about 55 kilograms at birth. They have a swollen nose and head, which takes up about 15% of their body length. Their head is conical with a small underslung jaw that opens beneath the upper jaw in a shark-like manner. The flippers are short, broad, and far forward on the body. They have a small curved dorsal fin. is a steely grey color with a distinct pink tinge. In the water they often look purple. They are a paler grey on the belly. Between the eye and the flipper is a small white/pale grey bracket mark. This is often called a "false gill", further attributing to its resemblance to a shark. There is another similar pale spot in front of the eye. Scarring is rare. They have a short rostrum which makes their wide skull triangular. have 12-16 teeth on each side and their blowhole is slightly displaced to the left. These two traits distinguish the pygmy sperm whale, , from the dwarf sperm whale, K. simus (Minasian et al. 1984, Watson 1981).
Mating usually takes place in the summer. Gestation lasts for about 9 months and the calf is born in the spring. ( http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/kogibrev.htm., Watson 1981).
The calf stays with its mother and is nursed for about 12 months. Calves are about 1.2 meters long and about 55 kilograms at birth.
Though there are sightings of solitary individuals, most of the whales travel in small pods of 3-6. Like the great sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/kogibrev.htm., Minasian et al. 1984, Watson 1981).breaches, landing in the water tail first. Also like the great sperm whale, have spermaceti in their foreheads. This suggests that they have the ability to dive into very deep water and hover motionless at any depth to wait for prey. They have great speed and can stay under water for long periods of time, another reason to suspect very deep dives. is often found stranded. There seems to be a relation between strandings and motherhood, as most strandings are mothers with newborn calves. have been descibed as being very slow and deliberate swimmers while breathing and swimming near the surface (
eat mostly squid, shrimp, fish, and crabs with what seems to be a preference for deepwater foraging (Watson 1981).
There is little economic benefit to humans from http://swfsc.ucsd.sars.Pygmy_HI.htm, Watson 1981).. They are relatively uncommon so few are taken by the Japanese and an occasinal one is take by Indonesians (
Not much is known about this species. The infrequency of sightings is often assumed as rareness. It is vulnerable to Hawaiian fisheries and gillnets, float lines, and long lines
( http://swfsc.ucsd.sars.Pygmy_HI.htm, Watson 1981).
Barbara Lundrigan (author), Michigan State University, Allison Myers (author), Michigan State University.
the body of water between Africa, Europe, the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), and the western hemisphere. It is the second largest ocean in the world after the Pacific Ocean.
body of water between the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), Australia, Asia, and the western hemisphere. This is the world's largest ocean, covering about 28% of the world's surface.
Referring to an animal that lives on or near the bottom of a body of water. Also an aquatic biome consisting of the ocean bottom below the pelagic and coastal zones. Bottom habitats in the very deepest oceans (below 9000 m) are sometimes referred to as the abyssal zone. see also oceanic vent.
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
an animal that mainly eats meat
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
eats mollusks, members of Phylum Mollusca
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
specialized for swimming
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
breeding is confined to a particular season
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
uses touch to communicate
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
June 30, 1995. "Pygmy Sperm Whale Hawaiian Stock" (On-line). Accessed December 4, 1999 at http://swfsc.ucsd.sars.Pygmy_HI.htm.
1994. "Pygmy Sperm Whale" (On-line). Accessed December 4, 1999 at http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/kogibrev.htm.
Minasian, S., K. Balcomb, III, L. Foster. 1984. The World's Whales. U.S.: The Smithsonian Institution.
Watson, L. 1981. Sea Guide to Whales of the World. London: Hutchinson and Co.. |
Life Extension Magazine January 2012
Halt Sugar-Induced Cell Aging
by Kara Michaels
By Kara Michaels
Diabetics have long been known to age faster than healthy individuals.
The mechanism behind the accelerated destruction of cells, tissues, and organs observed in diabetics is called glycation, the dangerous binding of sugars to proteins.1 The resulting sugar-protein complex is known as an advanced glycation end product or AGE.
In the laboratory, glycation's effect on living tissues was found to be identical to the process by which meat is browned when cooked at high temperatures. Healthy proteins also turn brown in the presence of excess glucose and become functionally impaired.
Scientists have confirmed that this destructive process may also occur in healthy individuals when blood glucose levels are sustained above 85 mg/dL, a commonplace occurrence after a heavy meal is consumed.2-6
The damage inflicted by glycation is irreversible.7,8
Fortunately, a relative of vitamin B1 called benfotiamine protects cells to prevent glycation and the accelerated aging triggered by elevated sugar levels.9 Used as a prescription drug in Europe, benfotiamine is available in this country as a low-cost supplement.
Compelling new data confirms benfotiamine's power to lower risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney damage, and vision loss by neutralizing the impact of excess glucose and subsequent glycation.
Cooking Living Tissue
Chefs prize their ability to brown a piece of meat just perfectly to bring out its flavor and seal in its moisture. But that browning process, chemically known as the Maillard Reaction, involves exactly the same chemical changes that occur in your tissues when they are exposed to excess sugars.10,11
Glucose slowly "cooks" the body, thereby hastening the aging process.12,13
The Maillard browning reaction explains many age-related conditions such as cataracts of the eye, atherosclerosis, kidney disease, neurological deterioration, and stiffening of connective tissues in joints.10,13,14 Scientists have found similar damage from advanced glycation end products in kidney and arterial tissue in both young diabetics and older, non-diabetic subjects.15
The generation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) stiffens proteins in your body just as it does in cooked meat, causing them to lose their natural flexibility. It doesn't take much to imagine the devastating changes this creates throughout your body. AGEs are potent oxidizers and directly damage tissues wherever they are found. AGEs combine with receptors to trigger massive inflammation, which we now understand to be a root cause of chronic disease and even of aging itself.16 And, in a highly destructive cycle, both inflammation and oxidative stress accelerate formation of new advanced glycation end products, which further damages tissues.9
It is now well-established that the cumulative effect of glycation, along with the products of several other deleterious biochemical reactions, substantially raises risks of most chronic diseases, even if you don't have diabetes9 (See table below.)
Benfotiamine Blocks Glucose Damage
Your body has several natural mechanisms to cope with the chemical toxins produced by excess glucose. These defense systems all require vitamin B1 (thiamine) as a cofactor.17 When your system is awash with excess glucose, however, your thiamine supplies become depleted. In fact, elevated blood sugar and diabetes have been referred to as states of "relative thiamine deficiency."17
Taking additional thiamine as a supplement doesn't significantly protect against the glucose-induced tissue damage because thiamine is water-soluble and your body can't retain thiamine at levels high enough to prevent cumulative damage.18,19 A thiamine derivative called benfotiamine, however, is fat-soluble and can significantly increase thiamine levels within tissues and sustain them throughout the day.17,19,20
Raising cellular thiamine levels with benfotiamine has been found to block the effects of glucose damage to your body's tissues.21 Benfotiamine activates a vital enzyme (transketolase) which converts toxic metabolites induced by high glucose levels into harmless byproducts.17,21 Benfotiamine also inhibits activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kB), an underlying cause of deadly inflammatory reactions in the body.21,22
Through its multi-targeted mechanisms, benfotiamine helps mitigate the multiple negative effects of excess glucose on body tissues.20,21 Let's now examine the evidence for benfotiamine's beneficial effects on several of the most common causes of death and chronic illness in America.
Preventing Glucose-Induced Cardiovascular Damage
Blood vessels are lined by a thin layer of cells called the endothelium which constantly regulates blood pressure and flow. Damage to the endothelium, which occurs in response to elevated glucose levels, is an important first step in producing heart attacks, heart failure, and stroke.23
Studies now show that benfotiamine can prevent endothelial dysfunction and substantially improve blood vessel and heart muscle function, even in the face of glucose-induced tissue damage.24,25
The process of healthy endothelial cell replication is vital to maintaining healthy arteries. Excess levels of glucose can reduce endothelial cell replication.26 The addition of benfotiamine to endothelial cells grown in a high-glucose environment corrects the defective replication. Benfotiamine accomplishes this through normalization of advanced glycation end product production.26
High glucose levels also trigger early death of endothelial cells through the process called apoptosis; benfotiamine supplementation reverses increased apoptosis in cultures of endothelial cells by several mechanisms.27-29
The body produces toxic alcohol-like compounds called polyols during periods of high blood sugar. Polyols disrupt endothelial and cardiovascular cell function. Benfotiamine reduces production of polyols, accelerates the rate of glucose breakdown, and reduces free glucose levels within cells.30 All of these effects further contribute to protection of endothelial cell function.
After a heart attack, or as a result of persistently high blood pressure, heart muscle cells beat more weakly than they should, resulting in heart failure. High glucose levels and advanced glycation end products substantially contribute to this diminished heart muscle function. Studies show that benfotiamine abolishes many of the abnormalities in heart muscle cell contractility, which may "rescue" impaired heart muscle and improve its ability to pump blood effectively.25 Benfotiamine activates important cell survival signaling pathways in heart muscle cells failing under the effects of elevated glucose.31
Not all advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are produced internally in the body. Consuming a meal rich in AGEs (such as one abundant in browned meats or caramelized sugars) can increase blood levels of AGEs and impair endothelial function.32 Supplementation with benfotiamine, 1,050 mg/day for 3 days, completely prevented the changes in endothelial function and blood flow produced by such a meal in a group of human subjects.32
In addition to its effective control of AGE-related endothelial dysfunction, benfotiamine exerts powerful direct antioxidant effects. In rats with experimentally induced vascular endothelial dysfunction, benfotiamine reduced oxidative stress and enhanced favorable generation of nitric oxide, a compound that contributes to blood vessel relaxation.33,34 The result was an improvement in endothelial integrity and function.
All of these endothelium-protecting effects make benfotiamine an essential nutrient in your fight against the devastating effects of elevated blood glucose on your cardiovascular system.
Protection Against Age-Related Vision Loss
Diabetes is a major cause of blindness in the world. Even in non-diabetics, elevated blood sugar levels increase the rates of cataract and retinal damage.35,36 Tissues in the eye are especially vulnerable to glucose-related damage, because of the eye's high blood flow, constant oxidant exposure, and the high-energy environment produced by steady influx of light. The devastation of high-glucose tissue damage is constantly at work in the retina, the light-sensitive layer of nerve cells that converts optical images into vision.21
German scientists showed that benfotiamine treatment could prevent experimentally induced diabetic retinal disease by inhibiting the pathways of glucose-related damage.21 Subsequent studies by other European groups revealed that benfotiamine reduced the enzymes that produce the dangerous polyol alcohols that contribute to retinal damage, while also increasing activity of enzymes that divert glucose into harmless byproducts.30
An exciting study appeared in 2010 showing that benfotiamine supplementation not only prevented tissue accumulation of AGEs in retinal tissue, but also increased their excretion in the urine.37
Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is another consequence of elevated glucose concentrations and AGE formation in retinal tissue. Benfotiamine, applied to retinal blood vessel cells in culture, prevents apoptosis while reducing the DNA damage that further impairs cellular function.38
Another ocular result of high glucose damage is an increase in dangerous protein-dissolving enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases, or MMPs. The increase in these enzymes results in substantial damage to retinal tissue. A recent study showed that treatment with benfotiamine reduced harmful metalloproteinase production back to normal levels and increased production of specific proteins that inhibit their activity.39
As in all organs, eye tissue suffers inflammatory changes with aging, elevated blood glucose, and occasionally from infections. Inflammation of the eye, or uveitis, causes about 10% of blindness in the United States.40 In eyes afflicted with uveitis, infiltrates of white blood cells, proteins, and inflammatory cytokines occur within various structures of the eye, imposing oxidative stress and inducing further inflammation.41 Benfotiamine treatment suppresses those changes and reduces expression of inflammatory marker molecules as well.41
Like the eye, the kidney is the site of intense metabolic activity and is rich in tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that make it particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of glucose and advanced glycation end products.42 This explains why kidney failure is so common in diabetic patients and is also a known complication of "natural" aging.
Recent studies show that benfotiamine exerts important protective effects against the onslaught of glucose-induced kidney damage. Data demonstrate that benfotiamine prevents sugar-related kidney disease by reversing pathological increases in advanced glycation end products.37,43 In one report, benfotiamine activated the important enzyme transketolase, which rapidly cleared toxic glucose-related compounds from the blood before they could damage kidney tissue.43 Another study showed that benfotiamine could help reduce glucose-induced kidney damage with similar efficacy to the prescription drug fenofibrate. The two in combination demonstrated beneficial synergistic effects.44
Dialysis is a treatment of last resort for patients whose kidneys have failed and who are awaiting a kidney transplant. Hemodialysis, while lifesaving, imposes massive stresses on the body, including rapid depletion of the very thiamine so necessary for preventing further glucose-related damage. Benfotiamine, which is vastly more bioavailable than thiamine, increases blood thiamine levels more than 4 times higher than supplementation with thiamine in dialysis patients.45
Dialysis also causes substantial damage to DNA throughout the body, raising the risk of cancer. Benfotiamine, by reducing the amount of circulating advanced glycation end products, themselves threats to DNA integrity, significantly reduced DNA damage in dialysis patients.22,46,47
Peritoneal dialysis is somewhat less stressful to the body than hemodialysis, but it is associated with substantial complications related to damage to the delicate tissues lining the abdominal cavity. Glucose and AGEs are among the top culprits in producing such damage.48 Treatment with benfotiamine decreases markers of inflammation and abnormal new blood vessel formation in the abdominal cavity during peritoneal dialysis through reduction of AGEs and their receptors.48 This protects the delicate abdominal lining and prolongs its usefulness as a site for dialysis.
Diabetics age faster than healthy individuals owing in part to the process known as glycation, the pathologic binding of sugars to functional proteins in cells. Even in people with so-called "normal" glucose blood levels, deadly glycation and blood sugar–induced cell damage can occur.
A relative of vitamin B1 called benfotiamine can substantially boost your body's intracellular levels of thiamine, or vitamin B1, which is an essential co-factor in clearing the dangerous glucose metabolites that cause sugar-related tissue damage. New studies confirm that supplementation with benfotiamine restores healthy thiamine levels and contributes significantly to lowering risk of chronic sugar-related problems such as cardiovascular disease, vision impairment, and kidney damage.
If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article, please call a Life Extension® Health Advisor at 1-866-864-3027.
1. Thorpe SR, Baynes JW. Role of the Maillard reaction in diabetes mellitus and diseases of aging. Drugs Aging. 1996 Aug;9(2):69-77.
2. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/prevention/pre-diabetes/?utm_source=WWW&utm_medium=DropDownDB&utm_content=Pre-Diabetes&utm_campaign=CON. Accessed July 19, 2011.
3. Bjornholt JV, Erikssen G, Aaser E, et al. Fasting blood glucose: an underestimated risk factor for cardiovascular death. Results from a 22-year follow-up of healthy nondiabetic men. Diabetes Care. 1999 Jan;22(1):45-9.
4. McGlothin, P, Averill M. The CR Way: Using the Secrets of Calorie Restriction for a Longer, Healthier Life. NY: HarperCollins; 2008:57-78.
5. Matthews CE, Sui X, LaMonte MJ, Adams SA, Hebert JR, Blair SN. Metabolic syndrome and risk of death from cancers of the digestive system. Metabolism. 2010 Aug;59(8):1231-9.
6. Li Q, Chen AH, Song XD, et al. Analysis of glucose levels and the risk for coronary heart disease in elderly patients in Guangzhou Haizhu district. Nan Fang Yi Ke Da Xue Xue Bao. 2010 Jun;30(6):1275-8.
7. Mosquera JA. Role of the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) in inflammation. Invest Clin. 2010 Jun;51(2):257-68.
8. Mendez JD. Advanced glycosylation end products and chronic complications of diabetes mellitus. Gac Med Mex. 2003 Jan-Feb;139(1):49-55.
9. Obrenovich ME, Monnier VM. Vitamin B1 blocks damage caused by hyperglycemia. Sci Aging Knowledge Environ. 2003 Mar 12;2003(10):PE6.
10. van Boekel MA. The role of glycation in aging and diabetes mellitus. Mol Biol Rep. 1991 May;15(2):57-64.
11. Sztanke K, Pasternak K. The Maillard reaction and its consequences for a living body. Ann Univ Mariae Curie Sklodowska Med. 2003;58(2):159-62.
12. Kuki S, Imanishi T, Kobayashi K, Matsuo Y, Obana M, Akasaka T. Hyperglycemia accelerated endothelial progenitor cell senescence via the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Circ J. 2006 Aug;70(8):1076-81.
13. Vlassara H, Palace MR. Glycoxidation: the menace of diabetes and aging. Mt Sinai J Med. 2003 Sep;70(4):232-41.
14. Rosenbloom AL, Silverstein JH. Connective tissue and joint disease in diabetes mellitus. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 1996 Jun;25(2):473-83.
15. Monnier VM, Sell DR, Nagaraj RH, et al. Maillard reaction-mediated molecular damage to extracellular matrix and other tissue proteins in diabetes, aging, and uremia. Diabetes. 1992 Oct;41 Suppl 2:36-41.
16. Park S, Yoon SJ, Tae HJ, Shim CY. RAGE and cardiovascular disease. Front Biosci. 2011 Jan 1;16:486-97.
17. Beltramo E, Berrone E, Tarallo S, Porta M. Effects of thiamine and benfotiamine on intracellular glucose metabolism and relevance in the prevention of diabetic complications. Acta Diabetol. 2008 Sep;45(3):131-41.
18. Stracke H, Hammes HP, Werkmann D, et al. Efficacy of benfotiamine versus thiamine on function and glycation products of peripheral nerves in diabetic rats. Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 2001;109(6):330-6.
19. Volvert ML, Seyen S, Piette M, et al. Benfotiamine, a synthetic S-acyl thiamine derivative, has different mechanisms of action and a different pharmacological profile than lipid-soluble thiamine disulfide derivatives. BMC Pharmacol. 2008 Jun 12;8:10.
20. Balakumar P, Rohilla A, Krishan P, Solairaj P, Thangathirupathi A. The multifaceted therapeutic potential of benfotiamine. Pharmacol Res. 2010 Jun;61(6):482-8.
21. Hammes HP, Du X, Edelstein D, et al. Benfotiamine blocks three major pathways of hyperglycemic damage and prevents experimental diabetic retinopathy. Nat Med. 2003 Mar;9(3):294-9.
22. Schmid U, Stopper H, Heidland A, Schupp N. Benfotiamine exhibits direct antioxidative capacity and prevents induction of DNA damage in vitro. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2008 Jul-Aug;24(5):371-7.
23. Thomas MC, Baynes JW, Thorpe SR, Cooper ME. The role of AGEs and AGE inhibitors in diabetic cardiovascular disease. Curr Drug Targets. 2005 Jun;6(4):453-74.
24. Stirban A, Negrean M, Stratmann B, et al. Benfotiamine prevents macro- and microvascular endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress following a meal rich in advanced glycation end products in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2006 Sep;29(9):2064-71.
25. Ceylan-Isik AF, Wu S, Li Q, Li SY, Ren J. High-dose benfotiamine rescues cardiomyocyte contractile dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus. J Appl Physiol. 2006 Jan;100(1):150-6.
26. Pomero F, Molinar Min A, La Selva M, Allione A, Molinatti GM, Porta M. Benfotiamine is similar to thiamine in correcting endothelial cell defects induced by high glucose. Acta Diabetol. 2001;38(3):135-8.
27. Beltramo E, Berrone E, Buttiglieri S, Porta M. Thiamine and benfotiamine prevent increased apoptosis in endothelial cells and pericytes cultured in high glucose. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2004 Jul-Aug;20(4):330-6.
28. Beltramo E, Berrone E, Tarallo S, Porta M. Different apoptotic responses of human and bovine pericytes to fluctuating glucose levels and protective role of thiamine. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2009 Sep;25(6):566-76.
29. Du Y, Kowluru A, Kern TS. PP2A contributes to endothelial death in high glucose: inhibition by benfotiamine. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2010 Dec;299(6):R1610-7.
30. Berrone E, Beltramo E, Solimine C, Ape AU, Porta M. Regulation of intracellular glucose and polyol pathway by thiamine and benfotiamine in vascular cells cultured in high glucose. J Biol Chem. 2006 Apr 7;281(14):9307-13.
31. Katare RG, Caporali A, Oikawa A, Meloni M, Emanueli C, Madeddu P. Vitamin B1 analog benfotiamine prevents diabetes-induced diastolic dysfunction and heart failure through Akt/Pim-1-mediated survival pathway. Circ Heart Fail. 2010 Mar;3(2):294-305.
32. Stirban A, Negrean M, Stratmann B, et al. Benfotiamine prevents macro- and microvascular endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress following a meal rich in advanced glycation end products in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2006 Sep;29(9):2064-71.
33. Balakumar P, Sharma R, Singh M. Benfotiamine attenuates nicotine and uric acid-induced vascular endothelial dysfunction in the rat. Pharmacol Res. 2008 Nov-Dec;58(5-6):356-63.
34. Verma S, Reddy K, Balakumar P. The defensive effect of benfotiamine in sodium arsenite-induced experimental vascular endothelial dysfunction. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2010 Oct;137(1): 96-109.
35. Pokupec R, Kalauz M, Turk N, Turk Z. Advanced glycation endproducts in human diabetic and non-diabetic cataractous lenses. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2003 May;241(5):378-84.
36. Giusti C, Gargiulo P. Advances in biochemical mechanisms of diabetic retinopathy. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2007 May-Jun;11(3):155-63.
37. Karachalias N, Babaei-Jadidi R, Rabbani N, Thornalley PJ. Increased protein damage in renal glomeruli, retina, nerve, plasma and urine and its prevention by thiamine and benfotiamine therapy in a rat model of diabetes. Diabetologia. 2010 Jul;53(7):1506-16.
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Kenya is experiencing one of the worst droughts in recent years. Northern Kenya is particularly affected and the government has declared the drought in this region a national disaster. The poor March to May 2011 long rains, coming successively after the failed October to December 2010, have greatly undermined the food security situation in the country. Up to 3.5 million people are affected by the drought and their plight has been worsened by high food prices resulting from both local and global factors. A mid-season assessment of the March to May long rains indicated a dismal performance of the rains and it is projected that up to 3.5 million people will need food assistance from August, a 1.1 million increase from the current 2.4 million. The actual number will be determined by the July long rains assessment, the results of which are expected in August.
The number of severely malnourished children admitted to hospital has increased by 78 percent this year compared to last year. Malnutrition rates among children below the age of five years have risen dramatically with reports of up to 37 percent in some northern districts -- more than double the emergency threshold of 15 percent. The most affected districts are Turkana, Moyale, Isiolo, Wajir, Mandera and Marsabit. WFP is providing supplementary food assistance to about 80,000 children and pregnant and nursing mothers. To curb the increase in the rate of malnutrition in northern Kenya, WFP is strengthening the supplementary food assistance safety net by linking it to general food distribution to ensure that the supplementary food is used to address malnutrition among those affected. In addition, WFP plans to give blanket supplementary food assistance to all children under the age of five and pregnant and lactating mothers in the six most affected districts in northern Kenya.
Dadaab refugee camp in north-eastern Kenya continues to receive large influxes of refugees mainly from Somalia with about 30,000 new arrivals in June alone. Kenya currently has about 447,000 refugees with Dadaab hosting about 368,000 and Kakuma in north-western Kenya about 79,000. Most of the refugees arriving in Dadaab have high malnutrition rates, having walked long distances with little or no food and water. WFP is providing the new arrivals with a 15-day ration of food at reception centres as they await registration after which they are included in the regular food register for refugees. WFP also provides refugees with supplementary food assistance for malnourished children, pregnant and nursing mothers, in addition to a mid-morning meal for all primary and pre-primary school children and a take home ration for girls.
School meals remain an important safety net for many communities. WFP is providing school meals for 670,500 pre-primary and primary school children in arid and semi arid areas and in the slums in Nairobi. The Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Education is also feeding 610,000 of school children through the Home Grown School Feeding programme.
WFP is gradually scaling down short term interventions in favour of recovery activities such as food-for-assets (FFA) and Seasonal Cash for Assets (SCFA) through which WFP, in collaboration with the government, is developing appropriate skills to enable communities to improve their resilience and adaptation to climate change in addition to encouraging them to invest in their future. About 830,000 people are benefitting under these projects. In addition, WFP is providing a market for small-scale farmers under the purchase for progress (P4P) programme. WFP, working with partners, also builds the capacity of the small-scale farmers in WFP procurement modalities, warehouse management, quality assurance and record keeping.
Kenya is a low-income food-deficit country with a GDP per capita of about US$759 (2009 World Bank) and a Gross National Income (GNI) of USD 1628 (2010 UNDP). The 2010 UNDP Human Development Report ranked Kenya among the “low human development” countries of the world, placing it 128th out of 169countries.
WFP operations in Kenya support the Government's efforts in implementing all eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
As the food assistance arm of the United Nations, WFP uses its food resources to meet emergency needs as well as to support economic and social development. WFP's mission is to save lives in emergency situations, improve the nutrition and quality of life of the most vulnerable - particularly children, pregnant women and nursing mothers - and help build assets to promote self-reliance in poor communities.
As it transitions from drought relief into recovery activities, WFP is expanding its food-for-assets (FFA) and cash–for-assets (CFA) projects which are designed to promote food security. These activities focus on rainwater harvesting for human and livestock use, soil and water conservation, rehabilitation of degraded agricultural land and the production of drought-tolerant crops. The assets and the development of appropriate skills enable communities to improve their resilience in the face of climate change and encourage them to invest in a sustainable future. In 2012, some 950,000 people will benefit from these projects, about half of them through food distributions and half through cash. Read more… http://www.wfp.org/food-assets http://www.wfp.org/cash-and-vouchers.
Purchase for Progress (P4P) is a pilot programme through which WFP is using its purchasing power to promote agricultural market development and improve market access to small holder farmers. WFP is improving the capacity of smallholder farmers to engage in agricultural markets and find secure outlets for their produce. Capacity building involves post-harvest handling, market information systems and access to storage facilities. In implementing P4P, WFP works closely with the Ministry of Agriculture as well as with partners at district level to increase production and quality, and to encourage farmers to grow drought-tolerant crops. Learn more
WFP Kenya has been assisting refugees in Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps since 1991 when the first camp was set up. Currently, nearly 550,000 refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma are receiving regular food assistance from WFP. In the early months of this year, Kakuma refugee camp started receiving an increase in the number of refugees, most of them from South Sudan.
While nutrition levels have improved considerably in Kenya’s northern districts, malnutrition rates in some areas are still higher than the World Health Organisation’s 15 per cent emergency threshold. Some 20 per cent to 50 per cent of children under five years of age in these districts are at risk of malnutrition.
To prevent worsening malnutrition, WFP is providing nutrition support through targeted supplementary feeding programmes for 100,000 moderately malnourished children under the age of five years and pregnant and nursing mothers in other districts in pastoral areas of northern Kenya. Moderately malnourished children are receiving Plumpy’Sup, a nutrient-fortified, ready-to-eat food supplement while pregnant and nursing mothers receive Super Cereal, a highly nutritious blended food that is fortified with extra protein and essential micro-nutrients.
To curb malnutrition in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, WFP is providing Super Cereal plus to some 85,000 children in a blanket supplementary feeding programme. Children who are moderately malnourished are receiving Plumpy’Sup through a targeted supplementary feeding programme at health posts in the refugee camps.
In recognition of the vital role played by nutrition in the management of HIV/AIDS, WFP provides food and nutritional support for affected households which are vulnerable. Currently, 78,000 people are supported under the project in Nairobi as well as in Coast, Western, Nyanza and the Rift Valley provinces.
WFP is providing school meals to about 630,000 million school children in Kenya. These are the most vulnerable children living in arid and semi-arid lands, semi-arid coastal districts and the slums of Nairobi. WFP provides a mid-morning meal for all primary and pre-primary school children at the refugee camps and a take-home ration for girls to encourage their enrolment and attendance. In the semi-arid regions of the country, the Ministry of Education is in chage of feeding another 650,000 school children through the national Home Grown School Feeding programme. These schools previously fell under the WFP programme but have been taken over by the Government under the terms of a gradual hand-over policy. In this regard, WFP is helping build Government capacity in a number of areas such as procurement, and monitoring and evaluation, to ensure a smooth transition. |
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan:
Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin
This lesson correlates to the National History Standards.
- Era 4 -Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
- Standard 2D -Demonstrate understanding of the rapid growth of the "peculiar institution" after 1800 and the varied experience of African Americans under slavery.
This lesson correlates to the National Standards for Civics and Government.
- Standard V. B.3. -Evaluate, take and defend positions on issues regarding economic rights.
This lesson relates to the power of Congress to pass laws related to the granting of patents ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 ).
Share this exercise with your colleagues in history, government, language arts, and science.
Analyzing the Document
- Ask students to look carefully at the patent drawing of the cotton gin.
Ask them to read the following description and identify the parts of the cotton
gin mentioned in the quote:
"The cotton gin cranked cotton through rollers with teeth made of wire. The wire teeth tore the green seeds from the cotton. Iron slits let the cotton pass through, but not the seeds. A second rotating cylinder of bristles removed the seedless cotton from the wires. Through a simple arrangement of belts, the same crank turned both the cylinder with wires and another smaller one with bristles."
- Direct students to analyze Whitney's petition and complete the Written
Document Analysis Worksheet. (Students may be surprised to find that Whitney's
petition was handwritten. Remind them that the typewriter was not invented until
the 1880s.) Lead a class discussion using the following questions: Why was the
petition addressed to the Senate and the House? What is a memorialist? Why did
Whitney write this in the third person? What promise does he think was made to
him by the government in the patent acts it passed under Article I, Section 8,
Clause 8? Why does he feel the government has not fulfilled its promise to him?
Are you moved by his plight? Why or why not? Why did Whitney leave out all reference
to the growth of slavery in his petition?
- Because Whitney wrote the argument on his own behalf, the claims he made must be evaluated with caution. Whitney argued that the cotton gin proved to be of major importance to America. Elicit from students the statements Whitney made to support this claim and write them on the chalkboard. Then ask students to compare his claims to the facts presented in the Historical Background section. Ask the students whether they think he exaggerated the cotton gin's importance.
- Because slaves were forbidden by law to learn to read or write, we have few
written accounts of their lives. However, slaves did sing songs that powerfully
expressed their experiences and later became the basis for what we now call the
Blues. Direct students to compose a "Cotton Gin Blues" using the call
and response form in which the first line is "called" and repeated
in the "response" -- AAB, CCD, EEF, etc. The "Saint Louis Blues"
is a good example. Alternatively, ask students to write an interview with a slave
on a cotton plantation. Solomon Northup was a New Yorker and a freeman when he
was kidnapped and sold as a slave in 1841. His description of the time he spent
on a cotton plantation in Louisiana will help students realize the impact made
by the cotton gin on the daily lives of slaves:
"The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning, and, with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon, they are not permitted to be a moment idle until it is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they often times labor till the middle of the night. They do not dare to stop even at dinner time, nor return to the quarters, however late it be until the order to halt is given by the driver. The day's work over in the field, the baskets are "toted," or in other words, carried to the gin-house, where the cotton is weighed. No matter how fatigued and weary he may be -- no matter how much he longs for sleep and rest -- a slave never approaches the gin-house with his basket of cotton but with fear. If it falls short in weight -- if he has not performed the full task appointed of him, he knows that he must suffer. And if he has exceeded it by ten or twenty pounds, in all probability his master will measure the next day's task accordingly. So, whether he has too little or too much, his approach to the gin-house is always with fear and trembling."
- Direct students to read the relevant passages of the following charters: Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence, which contains a clause condemning the slave trade; The Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which excluded slavery from the Northwest Territory; and Article I, Section 9, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which empowers Congress to end the importation of "such persons" after the year 1808. Next, ask students to research the growth of slavery and the market value of cotton following the invention of the cotton gin. Then conduct a class debate on the following statement: Resolved, that without the invention of the cotton gin, slavery would have slowly died out in America.
- Eli Whitney did not win the right to renew his patent, but students will
learn a great deal about the patent clause in the Constitution by role-playing
his hearing in Congress. After reading the Historical Background section and
the Purpose of Patents article, divide
students into three teams: Whitney and his lawyers, Southern planters and their
lawyers, and congressmen. Set up the room with Whitney and his lawyers on one
side, the Southern planters and their lawyers on the other, and the panel of
congressmen seated in a row at the front of the room. Begin the hearing by allowing
Whitney to state his claim before the congressional panel. Next, allow the Southern
planters to state their claims. Finally, allow the members of Congress to ask
questions of both sides.
Note: Whitney and his lawyers can argue that the flouting of Whitney's rights by the planters, his legal costs, and the insufficient amounts the planters finally paid relative to how much they profited to prove that his patent should be renewed. "An invention can be so valuable as to be worthless to the inventor," wrote a bitter Whitney. Such outcomes will discourage other inventors whereas the Constitution intended to encourage them. The Southern planters and their lawyers can argue that the planters have already paid Whitney enough through the various legal suits he won and his agreement with the state legislatures. They can try to show that Whitney & Miller, in originally refusing to sell them rights to build their own gins, were trying to set up a monopoly, which would have strangled the fledgling cotton industry. Whitney had his chance to profit from his first patent; it is in the financial well-being of the whole country not to further Whitney's goal to monopolize his invention. The Constitution intended the well-being of the nation to take precedence over that of the individual inventor. Congressmen can pose questions and eventually vote for or against the renewal of Whitney's patent.
Relating the Past to the Present
- Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793 as the 18th century turned into
the 19th century. As we approach the 21st century, ask students to consider what
types of inventions will most affect their lives. The New York Times has a column
every Monday in its "Business Day" section describing recently granted
patents. Clip this column and discuss with students how some of the new patents
may affect their inventors, the companies that will try to market them, and their
own lives. Ask students which new inventions may have the potential to harm as
well as help us. (Consider inventions related to genetic engineering , nuclear
devises, and computer technology, for example.) The patents listed in this column
are identified by patent number and copies are available from the Patent
and Trademark Office, Washington, DC, 20231.
The documents included in this project are from Record Group 233, Records
of the United States House of Representatives, and Record Group 241, Records
of the Patent and Trademark Office. They are available online through the following National Archives Catalog National Archives Identifiers:
The National Archives Catalog replaces its prototypes, the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) and NARA Archival Information Locator (NAIL). You can still perform a keyword, digitized image and location search. The online catalog's advanced functionalities also allow you to search by organization, person, or topic.
The online catalog is a searchable database that contains information about a wide variety of NARA holdings across the country. You can use the online catalog to search record descriptions by keywords or topics and retrieve digital copies of selected textual documents, photographs, maps, and sound recordings related to thousands of topics.
Currently, about 80% of NARA's vast holdings have been described in the online catalog. Thousands of digital images can be searched in the online catalog. In keeping with NARA's Strategic Plan, the percentage of holdings described in the online catalog will grow continually.
This article was written by Joan Brodsky Schur, a teacher at Village Community School in New York, NY. |
The discovery of bronze enabled people to create metal objects such as tools, weapons, armor, and building materials which were harder and more durable than previously possible. Initially, bronze was made out of copper and arsenic with the earliest artifacts so far known coming from the Iranian plateau in the 5th millennium BC. It was only later that tin was used, becoming the major non-copper ingredient of bronze in the late 3rd millennium BC.
The archeological period in which bronze was the hardest metal in widespread use is known as the Bronze Age. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age starting from around 1300 BC and reaching most of Eurasia by about 500 BC, although bronze continued to be much more widely used than it is in modern times.
Bronzes are typically very ductile alloys, considerably less brittle than cast iron. It only oxidizes superficially. Once a copper oxide (eventually becoming copper carbonate) layer is formed, the underlying metal is protected from further corrosion.
Bronze is an alloy consisting mostly of copper, tin, and other metals like aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc. It machines beautifully and looks great when highly polished or when it has some patina. |
Infographics are simply the visual graphic representation of data or information. Mostly, anything can be converted into an infographic. They have been in use for many years. The first recorded infographic, was in fact, sketched out in the year 1626 by a man named Christoph Scheiner, who used infographics to demonstrate the Sun’s rotation patterns.
Research shows that the search volume for infographics has increased by a whopping 800% between 2010 and 2012. Learn more about why these types of content are so popular in the following infographic. |
The Strawberry Girls
introduction by Janet B. Friskney
A tale of two young women in "reduced circumstances" at the turn of the century
Strawberry Girls is the story of two young women in their teens--Lil and Nan Addington-- who play an essential role in their widowed mother's efforts to sustain her family on the proceeds from their small strawberry garden. Their lives are essentially happy ones, though making enough to live decently is challenging. On the cusp of womanhood, Lil is the most self-conscious about the family's reduced circumstances and the social decline it brings. Her anxiety is soon heightened by an unexpected visit from Mrs. Adelaide Sinclair, a wealthy cousin of her late father who married into the British nobility. Written in the style of the beloved novel Little Women, Strawberry Girls is a lost classic of Canadian fiction. |
You are assuming that the process will remove all the hydrogen at once. If there is a failure early in the process, all sorts of nasty is coming out.
We already have all sorts of nasty, including hydrogen sulfide gas, seeping/escaping from old oil fields. I would rather go ahead and extract useful materials from them while reducing the nasty crap that's, again, already escaping.
Old oil wells are supposed to be capped, why would they leak if they were capped? Hmm, maybe this new process will leak after being capped too.
Because people are idiots and remove the caps? And there's really old oil fields (pre-WW2) that weren't capped or their primitive caps weren't maintained, things like that.
First, the old wells are not emitting that much.
But once the wells become pressurized from injecting O2, and then From the heat generated, they will have the potential to spew tons of gasses. That is the danger.
What stops the old hydrogen wells from being uncapped by idiots?
- Technology encompasses world’s first free-standing / self-supported electrode with a cathode that has 4x the energy density of lithium-ion
- Achieves 2,000 cycles
- Cell technology expected to cost 50% less to produce than lithium-ion
- Could drive down the cost of hydrogen and double the range of battery-electric vehicles worldwide
- Nikola will share IP with all other OEM’s around the world that contribute.
PHOENIX, AZ November 19, 2019 - Nikola Corporation is excited to announce details of its new battery that has a record energy density of 1,100 watt-hours per kg on the material level and 500 watt-hours per kg on the production cell level. The Nikola prototype cell is the first battery that removes binder material and current collectors, enabling more energy storage within the cell. It is also expected to pass nail penetration standards, thus reducing potential vehicle fires.
This battery technology could increase the range of current EV passenger cars from 300 miles up to 600 miles with little or no increase to battery size and weight. The technology is also designed to operate in existing vehicle conditions. Moreover, cycling the cells over 2,000 times has shown acceptable end-of-life performance.
Nikola’s new cell technology is environmentally friendly and easy to recycle. While conventional lithium-ion cells contain elements that are toxic and expensive, the new technology will have a positive impact on the earth’s resources, landfills and recycling plants.
This month, Nikola entered into a letter of intent to acquire a world-class battery engineering team to help bring the new battery to pre-production. Through this acquisition, Nikola will add 15 PhDs and five master’s degree team members. Due to confidentiality and security reasons, additional details of the acquisition will not be disclosed until Nikola World 2020.
“This is the biggest advancement we have seen in the battery world,” said Trevor Milton, CEO, Nikola Motor Company. “We are not talking about small improvements; we are talking about doubling your cell phone battery capacity. We are talking about doubling the range of BEVs and hydrogen-electric vehicles around the world.”
“Nikola is in discussions with customers for truck orders that could fill production slots for more than ten years and propel Nikola to become the top truck manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue. Now the question is why not share it with the world?” said Milton.
Nikola will show the batteries charging and discharging in front of the crowd at Nikola World. The date of Nikola World will be announced soon but is expected to be fall of 2020.
- Nikola’s battery electric trucks could now drive 800 miles fully loaded between charges
- Nikola trucks could weigh 5,000 lbs. less than the competition if same battery size was kept
- Nikola’s hydrogen-electric fuel cell trucks could surpass 1,000 miles between stops and top off in 15 minutes
- World’s first free-standing electrode automotive battery
- Energy density up to 1,100 watt-hours per kg on a material level and 500 watt-hours per kg on a production cell level including; casing, terminals and separator -- more than double current lithium-ion battery cells
- Cycled over 2,000 times with acceptable end-of-life performance
- 40% reduction in weight compared to lithium-ion cells
- 50% material cost reduction per kWh compared to lithium-ion batteries
Due to the impact this technology will have on society and emissions, Nikola has taken an unprecedented position to share the IP with all other OEM’s, even competitors, that contribute to the Nikola IP license and new consortium.
A secretive startup backed by Bill Gates has achieved a solar breakthrough aimed at saving the planet.
Heliogen, a clean energy company that emerged from stealth mode on Tuesday, said it has discovered a way to use artificial intelligence and a field of mirrors to reflect so much sunlight that it generates extreme heat above 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Essentially, Heliogen created a solar oven — one capable of reaching temperatures that are roughly a quarter of what you'd find on the surface of the sun.
The breakthrough means that, for the first time, concentrated solar energy can be used to create the extreme heat required to make cement, steel, glass and other industrial processes. In other words, carbon-free sunlight can replace fossil fuels in a heavy carbon-emitting corner of the economy that has been untouched by the clean energy revolution.
"We are rolling out technology that can beat the price of fossil fuels and also not make the CO2 emissions," Bill Gross, Heliogen's founder and CEO, told CNN Business. "And that's really the holy grail."
Heliogen, which is also backed by billionaire Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, believes the patented technology will be able to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industry. Cement, for example, accounts for 7% of global CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
"Bill and the team have truly now harnessed the sun," Soon-Shiong, who also sits on the Heliogen board, told CNN Business. "The potential to humankind is enormous. ... The potential to business is unfathomable."
Unlike traditional solar power, which uses rooftop panels to capture the energy from the sun, Heliogen is improving on what's known as concentrated solar power. This technology, which uses mirrors to reflect the sun to a single point, is not new.
Concentrated solar has been used in the past to produce electricity and, in some limited fashion, to create heat for industry. It's even used in Oman to provide the power needed to drill for oil.
The problem is that in the past concentrated solar couldn't get temperatures hot enough to make cement and steel.
"You've ended up with technologies that can't really deliver super-heated systems," said Olav Junttila, a partner at Greentech Capital Advisors, a clean energy investment bank that has advised concentrated solar companies in the past.
Using artificial intelligence to solve the climate crisis
That means renewable energy has not yet disrupted industrial processes such as cement and steelmaking. And that's a problem because the world has an insatiable appetite for those materials. Cement, for instance, is used to make the concrete required to build homes, hospitals and schools. These industries are responsible for more than a fifth of global emissions, according to the EPA.
That's why the potential of Los Angeles-based Heliogen attracted investment from Gates, the Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder who recently surpassed Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person.
"I'm pleased to have been an early backer of Bill Gross's novel solar concentration technology," Gates said in a statement. "Its capacity to achieve the high temperatures required for these processes is a promising development in the quest to one day replace fossil fuel."
While other concentrated solar companies attacked this temperature problem by adding steel to make the technology stiffer and sturdier, Heliogen and its team of scientists and engineers turned to artificial intelligence.
Heliogen uses computer vision software, automatic edge detection and other sophisticated technology to train a field of mirrors to reflect solar beams to one single spot.
"If you take a thousand mirrors and have them align exactly to a single point, you can achieve extremely, extremely high temperatures," Gross said, who added that Heliogen made its breakthrough on the first day it turned its plant on.
Heliogen said it is generating so much heat that its technology could eventually be used to create clean hydrogen at scale. That carbon-free hydrogen could then be turned into a fuel for trucks and airplanes.
"If you can make hydrogen that's green, that's a gamechanger," said Gross. "Long term, we want to be the green hydrogen company."
For now, Heliogen is squarely focused on solar. One problem with solar is that the sun doesn't always shine, yet industrial companies like cement makers have a constant need for heat. Heliogen said it would solve that issue by relying on storage systems that can hold the solar energy for rainy days.
Now that it has made this breakthrough, Heliogen will focus on demonstrating how the technology can be used in a large-scale application, such as making cement.
"We're in a race. We just want to scale as fast as possible," said Gross.
After the large-scale application, Soon-Shiong said Heliogen would likely be ready to go public.
Nikola Corporation to Unveil Game-Changing Battery Cell Technology at Nikola World 2020
Glass buildings kill more birds a year in the US by a large margin.
I am cautiously optimistic for the battery breakthrough. We are due, but it may still have some technical hurdles to overcome.
Yes, cleaning mirrors uses water. We have discussed it before. Water can be collected and recycled.
You do know that this process can take place at night?
Even in the high desert temperatures don't go from "it's too hot, we're boiling all the water!" to "it's too cold, we're freezing all the water!" in an instant
Do you have figures on how much water is consumed, compared to other forms of electricity generation? |
The affluent but alienated 1950sThe 1950s saw the delayed impact of modernization and technology in everyday life, left over from the 1920s -- before the Great Depression. World War II brought the United States out of the Depression, and the 1950s provided most Americans with time to enjoy long-awaited material prosperity. Business, especially in the corporate world, seemed to offer the good life (usually in the suburbs), with its real and symbolic marks of success -- house, car, television, and home appliances.
Yet loneliness at the top was a dominant theme; the faceless corporate man became a cultural stereotype in Sloan Wilson's best-selling novel The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1955). Generalized American alienation came under the scrutiny of sociologist David Riesman in The Lonely Crowd (1950). Other popular, more or less scientific studies followed, ranging from Vance Packard's The Hidden Persuaders (1957) and The Status Seekers (1959) to William Whyte's The Organization Man (1956) and C. Wright Mills's more intellectual formulations -- White Collar (1951) and The Power Elite (1956). Economist and academician John Kenneth Galbraith contributed The Affluent Society (1958). Most of these works supported the 1950s' assumption that all Americans shared a common lifestyle. The studies spoke in general terms, criticizing citizens for losing frontier individualism and becoming too conformist (for example, Riesman and Mills), or advising people to become members of the "New Class" that technology and leisure time created (as seen in Galbraith's works).
The 1950s actually was a decade of subtle and pervasive stress. Novels by John O'Hara, John Cheever, and John Updike explore the stress lurking in the shadows of seeming satisfaction. Some of the best work portrays men who fail in the struggle to succeed, as in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Saul Bellow's novella Seize the Day (1956). Some writers went further by following those who dropped out, as did J.D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye (1951), Ralph Ellison in Invisible Man (1952), and Jack Kerouac in On the Road (1957). And in the waning days of the decade, Philip Roth arrived with a series of short stories reflecting his own alienation from his Jewish heritage (Goodbye, Columbus, 1959). His psychological ruminations have provided fodder for fiction, and later autobiography, into the 1990s.
The fiction of American Jewish writers Bellow, Bernard Malamud, and Isaac Bashevis Singer -- among others prominent in the 1950s and the years following -- are also worthy, compelling additions to the compendium of American literature. The output of these three authors is most noted for its humor, ethical concern, and portraits of Jewish communities in the Old and New Worlds. |
Conservators work on in-fillling small areas of damage to the "America… (Christina House, For The…)
"America Tropical" must be Los Angeles' most famous invisible artwork.
Born in drama and buried in anger, Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros' monumental mural on Olvera Street has been a cause célèbre for decades. Siqueiros was commissioned to paint the 18-by-80-foot fresco in 1932 as a decoration for a rooftop beer garden, but it disappeared behind whitewash amid a controversy over its central image: a Mexican Indian lashed to a double cross with an American eagle proudly perched above him, wings spread.
Painted on a second-story exterior wall of Italian Hall, the artwork has suffered from exposure to sun, rain and pollution, and it lost its two upper corners in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. Even after the Getty Conservation Institute stepped up to the challenge of saving the mural in 1988, the project lurched along a rocky road of engineering challenges, bureaucratic quagmires and political inertia.
FALL ARTS PREVIEW: Critic's Picks
But on Oct. 9, 80 years to the day since its first unveiling, "America Tropical" will go on public view. The long-awaited event will mark the conclusion of a $9.95-million public-private enterprise that includes a protective shelter for the mural, a viewing platform for visitors and an interpretive center that will explain the artwork's troubled history and the conservation process.
In its present state, the mural is a ghost of its original, vividly colored self, but every last inch of it has been meticulously cleaned, repaired and stabilized.
Restoration was never an option because there are no color photographs of the mural in its early days, says Timothy P. Whalen, who has directed the Conservation Institute since 1998. The artist himself didn't want the damaged artwork to be repainted, and current codes of art conservation preclude speculative re-creations.
But pale as it is, "America Tropical" is loaded with history — artistic, social and political.
"Part of the significance of this mural is not just the importance of Siqueiros, a major 20th century figure," Whalen says, "but the fact that it was censored and vandalized. That contributes to our understanding of it as much as what he originally painted."
A $6-million contribution from Los Angeles, which owns and manages El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, including the Olvera Street complex, financed seismic upgrading and much of the construction. A $3.95-million grant from the Getty Foundation helped pay for the shelter, platform and interpretive center. The Conservation Institute conserved the mural at its own expense and spent considerable time and expertise in overseeing the 24-year effort.
"Without a doubt, this is our longest standing project," Whalen says. "We never gave up on it. There were times when we thought we would have to or felt like we wanted to. But it's something that we can now give back to the city of Los Angeles. "
City support was a long time coming, but a statement from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who rallied to the cause after his election in 2005, says that conserving the Siqueiros and making it accessible is an "important investment in public art."
Chris Espinoza, Villaraigosa's former director of capital projects and now general manager of El Pueblo, calls the mural's emergence "the capstone" of a $30-million capital improvement project in the historic district.
"It's so exciting to have this finally done," he says.
FALL ARTS PREVIEW: Critic's Picks
Visitors will approach the mural through the America Tropical Interpretive Center (shortened to ATIC on signage). Housed on the ground floor of an 1887 building known as Sepulveda House and managed by El Pueblo, the center offers a lively multimedia exhibition designed by the Los Angeles firm IQ Magic. Two galleries of photographs, text panels and interactive computer stations elucidate Siqueiros' life, work and legacy, as well as the history of Olvera Street and the campaign to save the enormous painting.
Born in 1896, Siqueiros was a leading Mexican muralist, fervent communist and decorated veteran of the Mexican revolution who arrived in Los Angeles in April 1932 as a political exile. Welcomed by the art community, he taught classes, gave lectures and, with the help of local artists, painted three murals.
The first, "Street Meeting," at what was then the home of Chouinard Art Institute and is now a Korean church, depicts a communist organizer with an audience of workers. Painted over soon after its completion, the mural is still at least partly intact, but there are no plans to resurrect it.
"America Tropical," Siqueiros' second and most ambitious L.A. mural, was commissioned by F.K. Ferenz, who ran the Plaza Art Center in Italian Hall. He suggested the theme, probably hoping to enhance the romantic notion of a Mexican marketplace promoted on Olvera Street, and invited students to "learn fresco with this master" at a two-week, $30 class. |
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,
Don't you think there are just way too many tenses in the English language? You have the past tense, the perfect past, the present tense and more other tenses that I think I will ever use. Be that as it may, tenses are part and parcel of the English language therefore it is vital that a learner of the language properly understands the different tenses and their usage.
As a start, when do I use the simple past tense?
The simple past tense should be used for describing things that happened in the past.
For example, yesterday I attended my friend's wedding reception. So for verbs that we want to use to describe what happened at the reception should be used with the past tense.
I had Nasi Minyak at the wedding.
The Nasi Minyak was delicious.
Simple is it not? For things that happened in the past, we should use the past tense.
Allah knows best. |
Karedda is the second planet of the Kessel system. If not for the fact that it lies next to Kessel, this planet wouldn’t be worth remembering. The planet is covered almost completely by ice, tundra, and near-freezing water. The planet has only one temperate area on its central continent. This continent is the only location on the entire planet's surface where one could survive more than a few minutes outside. This continent’s temperatures vary between almost freezing to fifty below all year round. The only life forms on the planet can be found on the temperate continent and in the nearby water. These life forms, however, live mostly underground or in caves and come out only a few hours a day when the surface is at its warmest. Many of these creatures hibernate during the coldest parts of the year and then combat fiercely for the few food sources available in the short months between hibernations. The rest of the planet suffers from constant high-speed windstorms that arise suddenly and with such force that they pull the surface itself off as they travel. For most of its history, this planet was never considered for colonization except when Kessel was under the control of the criminals. Like all criminals, they kept a constant eye on their bottom line. Many running the spice mines found that feeding their slave miners by importing food on ships prior to exporting the spice was costing a great deal more than expected, as the food had to be imported from outside the sector. The Fallen at the time were the only suppliers of food in the sector and were not inclined to assist the owners of the spice mines to increase their profit and the Hutts lacked sufficient agricultural production to offer cheap prices. One of these organizations attempted to set-up an experimental farming community on the planet of Karedda using the older and less fit slaves from Kessel who were of little value. The experiment ended in failure during the winter months when the sub-standard heating equipment that was used to keep the costs down failed in cold temperatures and the entire population of five hundred slaves froze to death. No other organization again attempted such a venture until Mandalore assumed control of the system was able to more easily supply the system. The slaves were finally given a proper burial as the Mandalorian colonies expanded over the surface. |
Areas of the Abdomen
There are multiple anatomical areas within the abdomen, each of which contain specific contents and are bound by certain borders. The purpose of the areas of the abdomen is to compartmentalise the abdomen, or to locate various pathologies and the organ they are affecting. The main areas of the abdomen include the abdominal cavity, Calot’s triangle, the peritoneum, the inguinal canal, and Hesselbach’s triangle.
The abdominal (peritoneal) cavity is an area that normally only contains a small amount of peritoneal fluid, however can become a potential space for pathology. This area contains various subdivisions, and differs in both males and females.
Calot’s triangle is a small anatomical area within the abdomen, containing arteries and lymphatics, and this area is located where the hepatic ducts and neurovascular structures enter and exit the liver.
The peritoneum is a membrane that lines the abdominal cavity and covers the abdominal organs (the viscera), and it provides pathways for blood vessels and lymph to travel to and from the viscera.
The inguinal canal is an area located in the inferior part of the abdominal wall, and is significant as it provides a pathway through the abdomen, and is a point of potential weaknesses, making this area vulnerable to pathology such as a hernia.
Hesselbach’s triangle (the inguinal triangle) is an area in the anterior abdominal wall that represents a potential point of weakness, through which herniation of abdominal contents can occur.
In this section, learn more about the specific areas of the abdomen- the abdominal cavity, Calot’s triangle, the peritoneum, the inguinal canal and Hesselbach’s triangle. |
** Correction the Massachusetts smoke detector compliance has been extended from Jan 1st until April 5th 2010.
Whenever a home is sold in Massachusetts it is required that the home is inspected by the local fire department for properly working smoke detectors. This law has been in place for decades and is designed to save lives. A property can not change hands without a certificate issued by the fire department.
Effective April 5, 2010, a new regulation relating to the installation and maintenance of certain smoke detectors will be put in place. Staying up to speed on a change in the law like this is critical for landlords, home owners and Realtors alike.
It goes without saying that it is imperative that home owners ensure that their properties comply with these laws, both from a public safety and liability stand point. In order to know exactly how your property could be impacted it would be prudent to speak with the local fire Marshall or a lawyer that is well versed in this new amendment.
TWO TYPES OF SMOKE DETECTOR TECHNOLOGY
There are two primary detection methods used in todays smoke detectors. They can be either ionization or photoelectric.
Ionization detectors typically have a constant current running between two electrodes. When smoke hits the device, it blocks the current which causes the alarm to trip.
Ionization detectors are usually faster to go off than photoelectric detectors. The problem with ionization detectors though is that they are unable to differentiate between smoke and steam.
This makes them prone to false alarms when steam from a shower or other source interrupts the current. This is especially true when the ionization detector is placed near a kitchen or bathroom.
Photoelectric detectors send a beam of light. This beam passes in front of the detector in a straight line. When smoke crosses the path of the light beam, some light is scattered by the smoke particles causing it to trigger the alarm. Photoelectric detectors are less sensitive to false alarms from steam or cooking fumes but can take longer than ionization detectors to work.
Another major concern was that ionization detectors do not offer the best protection in smoldering fires which are some of the deadliest blazes across the country. Photoelectric smoke alarms are more sensitive to smoldering smokey fires. Most of the homes across the country have ionization detectors which are more sensitive to flames.
In 2007, WBZ News in Boston tested both types of smoke alarms. In a smoky fire the photoelectric detector sounded the warning first. While took almost 17 minutes into the fire before the ionization alarm finally went off!
The debate in Massachusetts has been whether to require property owners to replace their ionization detectors with photoelectric detectors.
Home owners have raised concerns about the cost of replacing smoke detectors that still function properly. Fire departments have suggested that the elimination of false alarms outweighs the additional expense that home owners will need to deal with.
NEW FIRE DETECTOR REGULATIONS
Since there are strengths and weaknesses of photoelectric versus ionization smoke detectors, the Board of Fire Prevention Regulation has passed a new regulation (527 CMR 32.00 et seq).
According to the new regulation, owners of certain residential buildings will be required to install and maintain both the ionization and photoelectric smoke detectors.
While the new regulation does not change the locations where smoke detectors are required, it does allow the installation of both technologies in certain locations.
Under the new regulation, an ionization dectector can not be placed within 20 feet of a kitchen or a bathroom containing a shower or a tub. In these locations only a photoelectronic detector is allowed.
All property owners should determine what type of smoke detectors they are currently have installed. In order to comply with the law you can either install two separate detectors that have both technologies or by installing one that utilizes both.
WHAT PROPERTIES ARE AFFECTED BY THE NEW REGULATION?
In order to determine if your property is affected by this change in the law it would be prudent to check with your local fire department or a local Real Estate attorney who up to speed on the changes in the law. According to to the new amendment the following types of properties are impacted by the new regulation:
Residential buildings under 70 feet tall and containing less than six dwelling units.
Residential buildings not substantially altered since January 1, 1975, and containing less than 6 residential units.
All residential buildings sold or transferred after April 5, 2010, which are less then 70 feet tall, have less than six units, or have not been substantially altered since January 1, 1975.
For all properties in these categories, compliance is mandated by April 5, 2010. It should be noted that the law does not apply to these larger buildings or those which were substantially altered since January, 1975, as these properties already were required to upgrade their fire safety systems under other existing laws.
If you are selling your home in Massachusetts one other law that you need to be aware of is what is known as Nicole's Law. As of March 2006 when a home is transferred you need to have working carbon monoxide detectors.
Carbon Monoxide detectors are required in any residence that has fossil-fuel burning equipment including, but not limited to, a furnace, boiler, water heater, fireplace or any other apparatus, appliance or device; or has enclosed parking within its structure.
Unfortunately, the law is named for 7-year-old Nicole Garofalo who died in January 2005 when a heating vent in her house was blocked by snow drifts, allowing carbon monoxide to accumulate in the home.
According to the carbon monoxide regulations, you need to have a detector on each finished level of the home. Further there must be a detector placed within ten feet of all the bedroom doors. The detectors do not need to be hard wired. A plug-in or battery operated detector meets the requirements.
The inspection for both the smoke and carbon detectors are done by the local fire department prior to closing.
About the Author: The above Real Estate information on Massachusetts smoke detector laws was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at [email protected] or by phone at 508-435-5356.
Have a home to sell in Metrowest Mass? I have a passion for Real Estate and love to share my marketing expertise!
For Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate and homes see Metrowest Mass Real Estate. Want to have MLS access to beat other buyers to your dream home? Sign up with no obligation at my MLS Property Finder Site.
I service the following towns in Metrowest Massachusetts: Hopkinton, Milford, Upton, Southboro, Westboro, Ashland, Holliston, Mendon, Hopedale, Medway, Grafton, Northbridge, Uxbridge, Franklin, Douglas, and Framingham MA.
Click here to view Bill Gassett's Real Estate profile.
Building lasting relationships by helping people move in and out of Metrowest Massachusetts for the last 24 years.
Connect with me on Google+ |
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- When to Add or Multiply Denominators? [04/02/2001]
When you multiply fractions, you multiply the numerators and then the
denominators. When you add fractions, you add the numerators but not the
denominators. Why the difference?
- Why Cancel? [02/25/2003]
Why do we have to cancel numbers?
- Why Decimal Division Works [04/24/2001]
Can you explain why (not how) the procedure of division with decimals
- Why Does Division Convert a Fraction to a Decimal? [01/04/2009]
Why do you divide the denominator into the numerator to turn a
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- Why Does OF Mean Multiply? [12/04/2001]
I wanted to know why the word "of" means multiplication.
- Why Do We Rationalize Fractions? [11/29/2005]
Why do we have to simplify fractions that have a radical in the
denominator to remove that radical and rationalize the denominator?
Why is that important?
- Why Find the LCM? [10/07/1998]
Where do you use LCMs? How do they apply to real life?
- Why Learn Fractions? [8/13/1996]
What is the point of learning fractions?
- Why Round Decimals? [11/24/1997]
I have to explain to a 5th grader why we would want to round decimals.
- Why the Decimal Point Goes Where It Does [09/21/2003]
My daughter is having trouble understanding why the first place before
the decimal point is 'ones', and the first one after is 'tenths'.
- Why the Decimal Point Moves when Multiplying by 10 [02/11/2005]
I am trying to explain why when you multiply a number by 10 you move
the decimal point over one place to the right, and one place to the
left when you divide by 10.
- Why the Fraction Division Technique Works [11/27/2004]
Why do we need to flip the second fraction when we divide fractions?
- Why We Need Decimals [10/23/1995]
Why do we need decimals?
- Why Were Fractions Invented? [11/26/2007]
An overview of the history of fractions and the purpose they serve.
- Working with Mixed Number Fractions [1/23/1996]
How do I subtract, add, or multiply a mixed number fraction?
- Writing a Percent as a Fraction and Reducing the Result [05/03/2004]
I just can't seem to figure out how to convert a percent into a
fraction, such as 20% = 20/100 = 1/5. All I know is that you put it
into a fraction like 20/100 but after that I get stuck and I just
don't know how to get the answer.
- Writing a Remainder as a Reduced Fraction [08/29/2001]
I have to solve two division problems and write the remainder as a
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Given a decimal written in words, how do you turn it into a decimal? In
other words, how do you turn the words into numbers?
- Writing Numbers with Hyphens [06/04/2003]
Why do we hyphenate one hundred-millionth, but we don't hyphenate one
- Written Form of Decimals [03/21/2001]
What is the correct way to write decimals?
- Zero Before the Decimal Point? [10/06/2000]
What is the merit of writing the zero before the decimal point in numbers
less than one, for example 0.25?
- Zero in the Denominator [8/14/1996]
What is the value of 4/0 * 0/4?
- Zeros after the Decimal Point [09/17/2001]
I have a group of students who just can't comprehend my explanation of
how 3.70 is equivalent to 3.7 or 3.700 or 3.7000.
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The inguinal canal is a short passage that extends inferiorly and medially through the inferior part of the abdominal wall. It is superior and parallel to the inguinal ligament.
The canal serves as a pathway by which structures can pass from the abdominal wall to the external genitalia. It is of clinical importance as a potential weakness in the abdominal wall, and thus a common site of herniation.
In this article, we shall look at the anatomy of the inguinal canal – its development, borders and contents.
Development of the Inguinal Canal
During development, the tissue that will become gonads (either testes or ovaries) establish in the posterior abdominal wall, and descend through the abdominal cavity. A fibrous cord of tissue called the gubernaculum attaches the inferior portion of the gonad to the future scrotum or labia, and guides them during their descent.
The inguinal canal is the pathway by which the testes (in an individual with an XY karyotype) leave the abdominal cavity and enter the scrotum. In the embryological stage, the canal is flanked by an out-pocketing of the peritoneum (processus vaginalis) and the abdominal musculature.
The processus vaginalis normally degenerates, but a failure to do so can cause an indirect inguinal hernia, a hydrocele, or interfere with the descent of the testes. The gubernaculum (once it has shortened in the process of the descent of the testes) becomes a small scrotal ligament, tethering the testes to the scrotum and limiting their movement.
Individuals with an XX karyotype also have a gubernaculum, which attaches the ovaries to the uterus and future labia majora. Because the ovaries are attached to the uterus by the gubernaculum, they are prevented from descending as far as the testes, instead moving into the pelvic cavity. The gubernaculum then becomes two structures in the adult: the ovarian ligament and round ligament of uterus
Mid-Inguinal Point and Midpoint of the Inguinal Ligament
These two terms are mentioned frequently in this article, and are often (mistakenly) used interchangeably:
- Mid-inguinal point – halfway between the pubic symphysis and the anterior superior iliac spine. The femoral pulse can be palpated here.
- Midpoint of the inguinal ligament – halfway between the pubic tubercle and the anterior superior iliac spine (the two attachments of the inguinal ligament). The opening to the inguinal canal is located just above this point.
The inguinal canal is bordered by anterior, posterior, superior (roof) and inferior (floor) walls. It has two openings – the superficial and deep rings.
- Anterior wall – aponeurosis of the external oblique, reinforced by the internal oblique muscle laterally.
- Posterior wall – transversalis fascia.
- Roof – transversalis fascia, internal oblique, and transversus abdominis.
- Floor – inguinal ligament (a ‘rolled up’ portion of the external oblique aponeurosis), thickened medially by the lacunar ligament.
During periods of increased intra-abdominal pressure, the abdominal viscera are pushed into the posterior wall of the inguinal canal. To prevent herniation of viscera into the canal, the muscles of the anterior and posterior wall contract, and ‘clamp down’ on the canal.
The two openings to the inguinal canal are known as rings.
The deep (internal) ring is found above the midpoint of the inguinal ligament. which is lateral to the epigastric vessels. The ring is created by the transversalis fascia, which invaginates to form a covering of the contents of the inguinal canal.
The superficial (external) ring marks the end of the inguinal canal, and lies just superior to the pubic tubercle. It is a triangle shaped opening, formed by the evagination of the external oblique, which forms another covering of the inguinal canal contents. This opening contains intercrural fibres, which run perpendicular to the aponeurosis of the external oblique and prevent the ring from widening.
The contents of the inguinal canal include:
- Spermatic cord (biological males only) – contains neurovascular and reproductive structures that supply and drain the testes. See here for more information.
- Round ligament (biological females only) – originates from the uterine horn and travels through the inguinal canal to attach at the labia majora.
- Ilioinguinal nerve – contributes towards the sensory innervation of the genitalia
- Note: only travels through part of the inguinal canal, exiting via the superficial inguinal ring (it does not pass through the deep inguinal ring)
- This is the nerve most at risk of damage during an inguinal hernia repair.
- Genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve – supplies the cremaster muscle and anterior scrotal skin in males, and the skin of the mons pubis and labia majora in females.
The walls of the inguinal canal are usually collapsed around their contents, preventing other structures from potentially entering the canal and becoming stuck.
Clinical Relevance: Inguinal Hernia
A hernia is defined as the protrusion of an organ or fascia through the wall of a cavity that normally contains it. Hernias involving the inguinal canal can be divided into two main categories:
- Indirect – where the peritoneal sac enters the inguinal canal through the deep inguinal ring.
- Direct – where the peritoneal sac enters the inguinal canal though the posterior wall of the inguinal canal.
Both types of inguinal hernia can present as lumps in the scrotum or labia majora.
Indirect Inguinal Hernia
Indirect inguinal hernias are the more common of the two types. They are caused by the failure of the processus vaginalis to regress.
The peritoneal sac (and potentially loops of bowel) enters the inguinal canal via the deep inguinal ring. The degree to which the sac herniates depends on the amount of processus vaginalis still present.
Large herniations are possible in which the peritoneal sac and its contents may traverse the entire inguinal canal, emerge through the superficial inguinal ring, and reach the scrotum.
Direct Inguinal Hernia
In contrast to the indirect hernia, direct inguinal hernias are acquired, usually in adulthood, due to weakening in the abdominal musculature.
The peritoneal sac bulges into the inguinal canal via the posterior wall medial to the epigastric vessels and can enter the superficial inguinal ring. The sac is not covered with the coverings of the contents of the canal. |
Of New Zealand’s more than 2,000 shipwrecks, only about 150 have been accurately located. Some have become places for recreational diving. These include the wrecks of the Mikhail Lermontov and the Rainbow Warrior, which was towed to Matauri Bay in Northland and sunk. Port Jackson in the Marlborough Sounds has the Rangitoto, lost in 1873, and the Lastingham, lost 11 years later. At Great Barrier Island the Wairarapa and the Wiltshire are dive sites.
Maritime archaeology is a relatively recent discipline in New Zealand. Under the Historic Places Act 1993 any wreck that occurred before 1900, whether in marine or fresh water, is protected. Wrecks provide clues to the past. For example, before the steamer Elingamite collided with the Three Kings Islands in 1902, its propeller jammed, not allowing the vessel to reverse out of danger. In the 1960s, divers Wade Doak and Kelly Tarlton discovered the bent propeller, supporting the crew’s account of how the ship went aground.
Maritime archaeologists have investigated the wrecks of the Endeavour (1795, Dusky Sound), HMS Buffalo (1840, Mercury Bay), the Alcmène (1851, Kaipara), and Taupo (1881, Mayor Island).
The passenger steamer Tasmania sank on 29 July 1897 off Māhia. On board was a jeweller – Isadore Jonah Rothschild, who had a suitcase full of jewels. This went to the bottom of the ocean with the ship. But in 1975 the case was recovered by Kelly Tarlton.
The Lure of the General Grant
One of the most famous New Zealand shipwrecks is the General Grant, which sank in the Auckland Islands in 1866. It was loaded with a cargo of wool and skins, 2,576 ounces of gold and 83 passengers and crew. Only 15 people survived the sinking and five died subsequently.
Since 1868 at least 15 attempts have been made to salvage the gold and artefacts, resulting in a number of deaths among the salvagers but no gold. In fact, salvagers have not been able to identify the site of the General Grant, which sank near other shipwrecks.
The most successful expedition was in 1996, when anchors, cannons, crockery, and gold and silver coins were recovered. Even so, the artefacts have not been recognised by maritime archaeologists as being from the General Grant. One of the tales surrounding the vessel is that it was carrying more gold bullion than was declared. |
Artificial Discs and Back Surgery
The FDA recently approved artificial discs and back surgery for use in patients who have degenerative disc disease in the lumbar spine. However, the FDA is now requiring a new study to assess the long-term safety and effectiveness of the artificial discs and back surgery used to insert them, including impact on other discs and on the bony structures of the spine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an artificial spinal disc for use in treating pain associated with degenerative disc disease (DDD). The device is intended to replace a diseased or damaged intervertebral disc.
The device -- the first of its kind -- is the Charité artificial disc manufactured by DePuy Spine, Inc., of Raynham, Massachusetts. It was approved for use in patients who have degenerative disc disease in at least one level in the lumbar spine (from L4-S1) and who have had no relief from low back pain after at least six months of non-surgical treatment. Currently, patients with degenerative disc disease who get no relief from pain after several weeks of non-invasive therapy may have surgery to implant a variety of devices intended to stabilize the spine, while bone grafts fuse together the two vertebrae surrounding the diseased or damaged disc. The artificial disc provides another alternative for these patients.
The Procedure for Artificial Discs and Back Surgery
The Charité artificial disc is made up of a plastic core sandwiched between two metal endplates. The device helps to restore the natural distance between the two vertebrae, which can allow movement at the level where it is implanted. However, the artificial disc may not allow movement, or the artificial disc may allow too much movement, which can overstress the device. The new system is placed in the spine through a small incision just below the belly button. The diseased or damaged disc is then removed, and the artificial disc is placed in the space. |
See also the
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Browse High School Euclidean/Plane Geometry
Stars indicate particularly interesting answers or
good places to begin browsing.
Selected answers to common questions:
Pythagorean theorem proofs.
- Trisecting a Line [01/30/1998]
How do I trisect a line using only a straightedge and compass?
- Trisecting a Line Segment [08/13/1999]
How can I measure one-third of a line of an unknown length using a
compass and a straightedge?
- Trisecting an Angle [06/15/1999]
I've come up with a method of approximately trisecting any angle. Can you
tell me how accurate it is?
- Trisecting an Angle [06/17/2000]
I believe I have a simple straightedge and compass construction that
trisects any angle except a right angle, but have not been able to write
- Trisecting an Angle [4/16/1996]
I can bisect an angle easily but I can't trisect it perfectly. Would you
please send me instructions?
- Trisecting an Angle: Proof [6/3/1996]
Is there a proof for how to trisect an angle?
- Trisecting Angles [03/10/1998]
An angle of 180/n, for n a positive integer not divisible by 3, can be
- Trisecting a Right Angle [12/16/1996]
An explanation of how to trisect a 90 degree angle, plus some
- Two Circles, Four Tangents, Collinear Midpoints [12/20/1998]
Given two circles that do not touch there are four distinct tangents
common to both circles. Prove that the midpoints of the tangents are
- Two-column Proof [5/24/1996]
Theorem: tangent segments from a point outside a circle to a circle have
- Two-Column Proof About Kites [11/09/1999]
Can you help me understand a proof about perpendicular lines and
congruent triangles in a kite?
- Two Column Proof of a Theorem [08/12/1998]
Write a two-column proof and give numbered statements with reasons....
- Two-Column Proof of Congruence [05/16/2000]
How can I complete this two-column geometry proof?
- Two-Column Proof: Parallel Tangents [03/08/2002]
Prove that tangents to a circle at the endpoints of a diameter are
- Two-column proofs [12/18/1994]
I am writing on behalf of my daughter Mel who is a sophomore in high
school. She is having a real problem with proofs. In particular two
column proofs. Can you explain the steps to prove geometric figures?
- Two Discs, One Rotating [7/5/1996]
Two circular discs have radii 8 cm and 28 cm. The larger disc is fixed
while the smaller disc rolls around the outside of the larger...
- Two Interpretations of Dimensionality in Geometric Figures [03/16/2004]
A line is 1 dimensional, a square or rectangle is 2 dimensional, and a
cube is 3 dimensional. My question is what if you throw in parabolas
or circles or the absolute value function, etc.? A circle is kind of
like a parabola, but it is very much like a square, so I am thinking
it is 2-dimensional. My conclusion is that the only 1 dimensional
object is a straight line, and a point is 0 dimensional, but I am not
confident that I am correct. Can you please clear this up for me?
- Two Problems on Tangents [07/09/1998]
How can you show that the arc and the angle formed by two tangents are
supplementary? Find the radius of circle O, given the following...
- Two Triangle Problems [6/11/1996]
One angle of a triangle is trisected... Find the shortest side.
- Unproven Fundamentals of Geometry [05/18/1999]
What are some important postulates or axioms that geometry cannot exist
without, but cannot prove, either?
- Using Relative Primes [12/07/1996]
Given a floor 105 tiles wide and 135 tiles long, how many tiles will a
diagonal drawn from one corner to the opposite corner intersect?
- Using Vectors in Geometry and Physics [07/10/1998]
How do you use vectors in problems about medians, areas, and acceleration
- Vector Proof [01/17/1999]
Prove that given P, Q, R, and S (any 4 non-collinear points), with A and
B the midpoints of PR and QS respectively, then PQ + RS = 2 AB...
- Vector Proof: Parallelogram Diagonals [01/20/1999]
Use vectors to prove that the diagonals of a parallelogram bisect each
other and the line joining the midpoints of two sides of a triangle...
- Vectors of Parallelograms and Octagons [07/28/1998]
ABCDEFGH is a regular octagon and AB = p and BC = q. Express AH in terms
of p and q...
- Vertical angles [11/15/1994]
Are vertical angles congruent in Euclidean geometry?
- Vertical Angles [10/27/1996]
What are vertical angles?
- Visualizing Skew Lines [05/16/2002]
What do you call lines that are not parallel but don't intersect?
- Voronoi Diagrams [12/12/2000]
On a Voronoi diagram, how do you know which lines and which parts of
those lines you need?
- A Way to Remember What 'm' and 'b' Mean in Slope-Intercept Form [02/01/2004]
An interesting memory trick to help you remember how to graph a linear
equation in slope-intercept form.
- What Are Proofs? [08/12/1997]
I am homeschooling and do not understand proofs. Can you help me out?
- What does Angle ABC Equal? [3/5/1995]
A triangle, ABC, is obtuse angled at C. The bisectors of the exterior
angles at A and B meet BC and AC produced at D and E respectively. If
AB=AD=BE, then what does angle ABC equal?
- What Does It Mean for Angles to be Coterminal? [09/06/2007]
Find one positive angle and one negative angle that are coterminal
with an angle having measure 11 pi over 4.
- What is a Jordan Curve? [06/07/2006]
What is a simple definition of a Jordan curve I can give my 5th graders?
- What is a point? [8/26/1996]
Define a point, please.
- What Is a Theorem and Why Are They Important? [08/15/1997]
I don't understand how theorems help us learn.
- What is Dimensional Analysis? [11/26/2001]
What is dimensional analysis and how does it work?
- What is Geometry For? [03/01/2002]
What is geometry really for?
- When Does 2D Become 3D? [01/20/2003]
Is a piece of paper a 3D object when held up in space? Or is it a 2D
object in 3D space?
- When is the expression Q.E.D. used? [02/15/1999]
More on Q.E.D. |
Hydrangeas will only thrive and form their beautiful flowers with the right amount of water. We show what you have to consider when watering hydrangeas.
In the case of the hydrangea, the name says it all. The deciduous shrub loves a good supply of water. The botanical name hydrangea is derived from Greek and means something like “water jug”.
Watering hydrangeas properly: how to proceed
Table of Contents
Hydrangeas love moist soil, but they cannot tolerate waterlogging any more than drought. Therefore, in addition to regular watering, having sufficiently permeable soil is important. When watering your hydrangeas, be sure to distribute the water at the base of the plant rather than watering it from above to keep the soil moist. This keeps flowers and leaves dry and the risk of powdery mildew can be reduced.
Since hydrangeas prefer a low pH in the soil, it is important not to use hard water for watering, as this will raise the pH in the long term. It is best to use rainwater to water hydrangeas – this is not only good for the plants but also the environment and your wallet.
Tip: On particularly hot days the hydrangea plants may position their leaves in a hanging position, which is reminiscent of wilting. However, this is not a cause for concern, but a normal protective mechanism that plants use to reduce evaporation.
When is the best time to water hydrangeas?
Hydrangea plants always want to be supplied with sufficient water. This means that as soon as the substrate feels dry, it is time to water again you need to keep the soil moist. With potted hydrangeas, in particular, it is worth checking the moisture again with your fingers, as the substrate in the tub dries out much faster. A suitable time of day for watering is the morning and/or the evening. In contrast to the middle of the day, the sun’s rays and the temperature are usually lower, so that the water supplied cannot evaporate again as quickly.
You might so like: Climbing Hydrangea Pruning: Tips in Timing And Pruning
Tip: Do not use open-pored clay pots for hydrangea plants, as they release a lot of moisture into the environment. Glazed clay pots or plastic buckets hold moisture longer and are therefore better suited.
Water hydrangeas in winter
During the winter it is important to check the soil around the plant from time to time because even in the cold season it should never be bone dry. Ground frosts that occur in the winter months are in themselves not a threat to hydrangeas as they are hardy. Unless the soil is very dry, it is better not to water the hydrangeas in winter. Otherwise, in mild winters, the buds and leaf shoots may even swell prematurely. When it gets cold again, these delicate leaves freeze to death. However, watering indoor hygrangeas in potted plants that are in frost-free winter quarters should occasionally be given a small sip of water.
How often should you water hydrangeas?
How often you should water your hydrangeas depends on many factors, such as location, rainfall, time of year, substrate, plant size, and type of hydrangea. The fact whether the plant is outdoors or in a tub also makes a difference. The watering itself is ideally done in small doses instead of letting everything rain down on the plant like a torrent. On hot summer days, it is advisable to water the hydrangea daily. If it is in the bucket, it may even be necessary to water twice a day. The watering amount is slowly reduced towards autumn. But even then, it still applies that the substrate around the hydrangea should not dry out completely.
You might so like: How To Planting Hydrangeas In Pots And Beds
In general, there are no fixed instructions for watering the hydrangeas. Instead, an empirical value is formed from the various factors and observations that you can use to find the perfect watering routine for your hydrangeas. You can also mulch your hydrangea, after all, hydrangeas love a layer of mulch on the ground, which reduces the evaporation of water from the soil.
Tip: Pot hydrangeas that are in a sun-exposed place should be watered several times on sunny summer days (2 to the max. 3 times a day), as the water in the bucket evaporates faster than in one because of the smaller soil volume and the loosest structure of the potting soil Flower bed.
Hydrangeas sag leaves: have they been watered too much?
Believe it or not, even the thirsty hydrangeas can be watered too much. Drooping, yellow-discolored leaves can indicate root rot, which is caused by waterlogging. To avoid waterlogging in a pot, the pot should have holes in the bottom so that excess water can easily drain away. You should also give the hydrangeas smaller amounts of water several times a day rather all at once.
You might so like: Panicle Hydrangea: Plants, Propagation, Cutting And The Best Varieties
As soon as you notice the first signs of root rot in a hydrangea, you need to act quickly before the roots die off completely. Dig up the hydrangea and remove the rotten parts of the roots. Then it should be planted again in fresh soil and only watered cautiously at first.
Tip: Would you like to know more about caring for your hydrangeas? Then you will find all further information in our special article. |
November 21, 2001
I thought that this topic was interesting because it highlighted the youthful and fluid nature of Oklahoma. On the East Coast, state, county and town boundaries have -- excluding the Civil War alterations -- been fairly static for a hundred years or so. In contrast, young Oklahoma is still to this day working out
what towns should live or die as well as county demarcations.
Chronicles of Oklahoma (Win. 1968). 46 (4).
County conundrums this week on the Oklahoma Audio Almanac.
Hello, I'm Steven Knoche Kite.
In the early days of Oklahoma Territory the counties were not situated as they are today. Originally,
lacking names, the first counties of Oklahoma Territory were given letter distinctions, so that you had
county A, county B, C, D and so on. The only county still maintaining their original title is Kay County
who, with statehood, changed its name from the letter K to the word Kay. The residents of early day Oklahoma
witnessed many changes to their counties, borders were altered, county seats moved and in at least one
instance a county completely disappeared.
Day County was situated on the border of Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. The Cimarron River divided
the county in half and the scenic Antelope Hills provided county residents with a break from the continuous
flatness of the landscape. For the first few years the "Hamlet of Ioland" was the county seat,
but in a confusing twist of politics the county records were loaded up and moved to Grand, and that town
became the county seat for the remainder of Day County's existence.
Grand received its name, so the legend goes, because of the clear sweet water running from a nearby
spring. All other water in the area held heavy concentrations of gypsum, but when city officials tasted
the clear spring water they exclaimed, “well that’s Grand!” , and the town had its name.
The citizens of Day County were proud of their land and towns and worked hard to promote and build
up the region. Compared with surrounding towns, Grand and Day County flourished, businesses sprang up,
several newspapers set up shop and of course saloons and other such establishments were abundant.
People of the area had real hope for their fledgling community but the state government had other plans.
It was in this week of 1906 on November 20th that politicians in Oklahoma drafted a proposal to do away
with Day County dividing it instead into two new counties. With the proclamation of statehood Roger Mills
and Ellis Counties appeared on maps and Day County was no longer. The citizens of Grand fought hard to
maintain county seat status for at least one of the new counties, but alas it was not to be. The county
seats moved elsewhere, and the once grand town of Grand was left to whither away. Only empty prairie now
stands to mark the once busy and thriving site of Grand.
Day County and the city of Grand ghosts of Oklahoma’s past this week on the Almanac.
I'm Steven Knoche Kite.
The Oklahoma Audio Almanac is a joint production of the Oklahoma State University
Library and Oklahoma's Public Radio. |
What Causes Nausea or Vomiting?
Nausea and vomiting are not diseases, but they are symptoms of many conditions such as:
- Motion sickness or seasickness
- Early stages of pregnancy (nausea occurs in approximately 50%-90% of all pregnancies; vomiting in 25%-55%)
- Medication-induced vomiting
- Intense pain
- Emotional stress (such as fear)
- Gallbladder disease
- Food poisoning
- Infections (such as the “stomach flu”)
- A reaction to certain smells or odors
- Heart attack
- Concussion or brain injury
- Brain tumor
- Some forms of cancer
- Bulimia or other psychological illnesses
- Gastroparesis or slow stomach emptying (a condition that can be seen in people with diabetes)
- Ingestion of toxins or excessive amounts of alcohol
- Bowel obstruction
Is Vomiting Harmful?
Usually, vomiting is harmless, but it can be a sign of a more serious illness. Some examples of serious conditions that may result in nausea or vomiting include concussions, meningitis (infection of the membrane linings of the brain), intestinal blockage, appendicitis, and brain tumors.
When to Call the Doctor About Nausea and Vomiting
Call a doctor about nausea and vomiting:
- If the nausea lasts for more than a few days or if there is a possibility of being pregnant
- If home treatment is not working, dehydration is present, or a known injury has occurred (such as head injury or infection) that may be causing the vomiting
- Adults should consult a doctor if vomiting occurs for more than one day, diarrhea and vomiting last more than 24 hours, or there are signs of dehydration.
- Take an infant or child under six years to the doctor if vomiting lasts more than a few hours, diarrhea is present, signs of dehydration occur, there is a fever, or if the child hasn’t urinated for 4-6 hours.
- Take a child over age six years to the doctor if vomiting lasts one day, diarrhea combined with vomiting lasts for more than 24 hours, there are any signs of dehydration, there is a fever higher than 101 degrees, or the child hasn’t urinated for six hours.
You should seek immediate medical care if any of the following situations occur with vomiting:
- There is blood in the vomit (bright red or “coffee grounds” in appearance)
- Severe headache or stiff neck
- Lethargy, confusion, or a decreased alertness
- Severe abdominal pain
- Rapid breathing or pulse
Call Or WhatsApp: 9085612000 |
In human genetics, Haplogroup I is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup.
Haplogroup I is found throughout Europe, and also in Egypt and Arabia. It is believed to have arisen somewhere in Eurasia some 30,000 years before present, and been one of the first haplogroups to move into Europe.
Its ancestral haplogroup was Haplogroup N.
Spread of Haplogroup I, from National Geographic |
An Introduction to Infrared Thermometers
Infrared thermometers are electronic professional tools used to display and measure temperatures from a distance. Compared with regular thermometers, this tool stands out because of its ability to measure at a distance and without direct contact with the objects or spaces they’re used to measure.
In this guide, you will learn what infrared thermometers are, how they work, and why they’re one of the essential tools found in paranormal investigators’ toolboxes.
How do Infrared Thermometers Work?
Infrared thermometers utilize a sensor and lens that focuses the infrared energy (IR) and light from an object onto a detector known as a thermopile. It can then convert infrared energy (heat) into electrical signals.
Three significant factors for infrared thermometer measurements are:
- Distance – The distance to target ratio.
- Emissivity – The target material’s ability to emit infrared energy.
- Surroundings – The target’s surroundings can interfere with the readings.
With this information adequately converted, the device can then display the intended targets’ temperatures at a distance, which gives it such practical advantages and has become an essential piece of equipment for paranormal investigators, amongst many other trade professions.
Infrared thermometers are easy to acquire as they are pretty affordable for those on a budget, and they’re easy to get your hands on. While there is a learning curve to operate them properly, they’re easy to start using. On top of this, they’re highly portable, fitting in coat pockets and backpacks with ease.
What Skills are Needed to Operate Infrared Thermometers?
As electronic devices come and go, the standard handheld infrared thermometers are pretty simple to operate. Understanding the factors mentioned above is the real challenge of ensuring you’re receiving accurate readings.
There are different types of infrared thermometers that each have unique features and use cases, such as:
- Handhelds Infrared Thermometers
- Pocket Infrared Thermometers
- Infrared Thermocouples (Sensors)
- Fixed Mount Infrared Thermometers
The standard handheld thermometer requires a power source, most commonly in the form of batteries, and a steady hand to point the device. Many infrared thermometers have a trigger or button on the device, that when activated, powers the device and allows it to take a temperature reading.
Paranormal investigators can and do use a variety of infrared thermometers, but the most basic method in the most basic manners; point and “shoot.”
After an infrared thermometer is pointed at an object or space, that object/space’s temperature is then displayed on a digital screen, in Fahrenheit or Celsius readings, depending on the available settings.
With this information, a paranormal investigator can measure the temperature and detect changes and shifts in the object’s temperature or space, allowing them to record and catalog this data in their evidence sheet.
A Short History of Infrared Thermometers
Sir William Herschel, a famous astronomer who discovered the planet Uranus, made another important discovery in 1800 with an experiment he ran using color filters and sunlight. In his investigation, he would pass sunlight through different color filters and measure the amount of heat that passed through.
He was passing the light emanating from each filter through a prism. The prism refracted the sunlight, allowing Herschel to measure the temperature of each color. The measurements recorded led him to conclude that another form of light existed. Herschel named a form of light invisible to the naked eye “Calorific Rays.”
These discoveries were recorded and shared in the scientific journal “Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.”
Throughout the 19th-century, scientists would turn to Herschel’s work on the subject. His theory served as the backbone for many scientific advances in infrared detection and thermography.
The first patent filed for an infrared thermometer, then referred to as a “radiation thermometer,” would occur in 1901. Then 30 years later, the first commercial infrared thermometer would debut.
Since then, infrared thermometers have become more accurate in measuring temperature from a distance while becoming significantly easier to use and more affordable.
Why do Paranormal Investigators Use Infrared Thermometers?
There are a few ways for paranormal investigators and ghost hunters to take advantage of infrared thermometers. In all use cases, they ultimately measure a change in temperatures, whether positive or negative.
Taking baseline measurements of an investigation site is vital to helping you identify what is and what isn’t “out of the normal.” For instance, sudden wind gusts can cause mysterious noises, objects to move, doors to close and open, and of course, cause the temperature to shift.
The more you know about the area when investigating a haunted location, the easier it is to debunk false positives.
These devices can assist in identifying drafts around windows, doorways, floorboards, attic doors and stairs, air conditioning vents, and other openings.
In some buildings, simple changes in air pressure can cause doors to open, close, and slam shut. This scenario can create odd situations where strange noises are heard and doors throughout mysteriously open and close, whether you’re “witnessing” it happen or not.
Detecting and Measuring Thermal Radiation
Investigators may also use infrared thermometers to measure thermal radiation before and during the session, taking baseline measurements of a location and monitoring for changes.
Detecting and Measuring Cold Spots
Another common use of infrared thermometers is gathering and recording baseline data in their investigation areas. They record this data and actively monitor it in attempts to detect anomalies over time, such as “cold spots.”
Cold spots are small pockets of air that possess a lower temperature than the surrounding space they are located within.
In paranormal activities, some people report experiencing abrupt temperature changes when entering a place with a strange energy that they qualify as supernatural. The source of these cold or hot spots can be identified with infrared thermometers.
The field of paranormal research posits that when a spirit attempts to present itself within a space, energy is drawn from the air surrounding it. Since energy is drawn from the air surrounding that space, the air becomes colder, losing its heat and, in turn, becoming a cold spot.
A paranormal investigator can measure the temperature of an object or space using an infrared thermometer. Doing so allows a paranormal investigator to find cold spots while also detecting changes in the temperature that may suggest the formation of a cold spot. The formation of a cold spot may be, as mentioned earlier, a spirit attempting to present itself.
Since handheld infrared thermometers can measure from a distance, measuring the temperature of any object/space is easier and quicker than using a regular contact thermometer. Monitoring these changes with this device type makes it possible to notice temperature shifts, allowing paranormal investigators to find cold spots with greater ease.
But beware that, again, just because you detect a cold spot does not mean you have necessarily seen a ghost, as cold spots can have all sorts of causes. You have to record baseline temperature readings throughout the area you are investigating before detecting “anomalies.”
Alternate Uses for Infrared Thermometers
People can use an infrared thermometer for a wide variety of temperature-monitoring purposes.
In the medical field, infrared thermometers are used to check the temperature of patients. Recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many transmission sites measure people’s temperatures before entering the site to make sure they are not feverish.
Outside of the stereotypical use cases, infrared thermometers are used to measure temperatures in conventional ovens, detect hot spaces in building fires, electric and mechanical devices, fast-moving objects, and more. These examples help to illustrate why there are different types of infrared thermometers on the market.
Perceived Accuracy of Infrared Thermometers
A great deal of research has been done on the accuracy of infrared thermometers, especially when compared to thermometers that rely on direct contact.
Even though internal thermometers, or direct contact thermometers, are often considered the gold standard, infrared thermometers can be just as effective in measuring temperature.
To ensure the accuracy of a temperature reading, a paranormal investigator should read their infrared thermometer’s manual and have a general understanding of what factors into an infrared reading. With a basic understanding of the technology and proper use, there’s little reason to doubt that the temperature reading will be inaccurate.
Considering Adding an Infrared Thermometer to Your Ghost Hunting Toolbox
An infrared thermometer is one of the most accessible and reliable tools a paranormal investigator can own and use.
Before purchasing an infrared thermometer, we recommend that you closely look at its technical characteristics to ensure that it meets your measurement needs as closely as possible. Keep in mind the following:
- Response time
- Device shape
- Held or Mounted
The response time from the time the measurement is taken until the reading appears on display. It would help if you also considered the shape of the infrared thermometer, whether it is portable, can be used with one hand, or is a fixed mount that must be mounted on the machinery where it is to be used. It’s also important to know if you need a backlit screen to read the outputs during nighttime investigations.
With this information, you should now have a solid understanding of the use and purpose of an infrared thermometer and can make an informed decision when looking for your first or replacement tool! |
In Writer's Workshop this week, we have been very busy! We start each day with a friend of two sharing a story orally. This is helping us to feel more comfortable speaking in front of our peers and it gives us a chance to share our great stories. We have also been focusing on drawing people when we draw and write our stories in our Drawing and Writing Journals.
Lots of times when we draw people, we make stick figures or when we draw faces, we just make circles. Mrs. Kurt and Ms. Kieltyka have been teaching us to really observe what a person looks like before we draw them. We are noticing the shapes of their heads, eyes, and even body parts and we are trying our best to sketch what a person actually looks like. Then we have been working on carrying this skill over to the stories we are drawing in our Drawing and Writing Journals.
Mrs. Kurt was our model one day. She had to sit really still!
One of the most important parts of our Writer's Workshop each day is our sharing time at the end od our class time. Some days we share in a large group. Some days we share in small groups, and some days we share our work with a partner. We feel proud of our accomplishments in Writer's Workshop and it is fun to share what we have done!
In Math, we are working hard on patterns. We have been noticing patterns everywhere…in our classroom, in our school and even on the clothes we wear. This week we have been busy building and extending patterns using our unifix cubes and workplace activities. We will be working on creating and extending more complicated patterns in the next few days, too. |
Alternative Names: Retinopathy - diabetic; Photocoagulation - retina
Diabetic retinopathy is damage to the eye's retina that occurs with long-term diabetes.
Causes of Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage to blood vessels of the retina. The retina is the layer of tissue at the back of the inner eye. It changes light and images that enter the eye into nerve signals that are sent to the brain.
There are two types, or stages of diabetic retinopathy:
- Nonproliferative develops first
- Proliferative is the more advanced and severe form of the disease
Having more severe diabetes for a longer period of time increases the chance of getting retinopathy. Retinopathy is also more likely to occur earlier and be more severe if your diabetes has been poorly controlled.
Almost everyone who has had diabetes for more than 30 years will show signs of diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetic retinopathy Symptoms
Most often, diabetic retinopathy has no symptoms until the damage to your eyes is severe.
Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include:
- Blurred vision and slow vision loss over time
- Shadows or missing areas of vision
- Trouble seeing at night
Many people with early diabetic retinopathy have no symptoms before major bleeding occurs in the eye. This is why everyone with diabetes should have regular eye exams.
Tests and Exams
The health care provider can diagnose diabetic retinopathy by dilating your pupils with eye drops and then carefully examining the retina. A retinal photography or fluorescein angiography test may also be used.
If you have nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, your health care provider may see:
- Blood vessels in the eye that are larger in certain spots (called microaneurysms)
- Blood vessels that are blocked
- Small amounts of bleeding (retinal hemorrhages) and fluid leaking into the retina
If you have proliferative retinopathy, your health care provider may see:
- New blood vessels starting to grow in the eye that are fragile and can bleed
- Small scars developing on the retina and in other parts of the eye (the vitreous)
Treatment of Diabetic retinopathy
To prevent diabetic retinopathy:
- Keep tight control of your blood sugar (glucose), blood pressure, and cholesterol levels
- Stop smoking
People with the earlier form (nonproliferative) of diabetic retinopathy may not need treatment. However, they should be closely followed by an eye doctor who is trained to treat diabetic retinopathy.
Treatment usually does not reverse damage that has already occurred. However, it can help keep the disease from getting worse. Once your eye doctor notices new blood vessels growing in your retina (neovascularization) or you develop macular edema, treatment is usually needed.
Several procedures or surgeries are the main treatment for diabetic retinopathy.
Laser eye surgery creates small burns in the retina where there are abnormal blood vessels. This process is called photocoagulation. It is used to keep vessels from leaking or to get rid of abnormal, fragile vessels.
- Focal laser photocoagulation is used to treat macular edema.
- Scatter laser treatment or panretinal photocoagulation treats a large area of your retina. Often two or more sessions are needed.
A surgical procedure called vitrectomy is used when there is bleeding (hemorrhage) into the eye. It may also be used to repair retinal detachment.
Drugs that prevent abnormal blood vessels from growing, and corticosteroids injected into the eyeball are being investigated as new treatments for diabetic retinopathy.
If you cannot see well:
- Make sure your home is safe so you do not fall
- Organize your home so that you can easily find what you need
- Get help to make sure you are taking your medicines correctly
American Diabetes Association - www.diabetes.org
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse - www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
Prevent Blindness America - www.preventblindness.org
You can improve your outcome by keeping good control of your blood sugar and blood pressure.
Treatments can reduce vision loss. They do not cure diabetic retinopathy or reverse the changes that have already occurred.
Once proliferative retinopathy occurs, there is always a risk for bleeding. You will need to be monitored regularly, and you may need more treatment.
Other problems that may develop are:
- Glaucoma -- increased pressure in the eye that can lead to blindness
- Macular edema -- if fluid leaks into the area of the retina that provides sharp vision straight in front of you, your vision becomes more blurry
- Retinal detachment -- scarring may cause part of the retina to pull away from the back of your eyeball
When to Contact a Health Professional
Call for an appointment with an eye doctor (ophthalmologist) if you have diabetes and you have not seen an ophthalmologist in the past year.
Call your doctor if any of the following symptoms are new or are becoming worse:
- You cannot see well in dim light.
- You have blind spots.
- You have double vision (you see two things when there is only one).
- Your vision is hazy or blurry and you cannot focus.
- You have pain in one of your eyes.
- You are having headaches.
- You see spots floating in your eyes.
- You cannot see things on the side of your field of vision.
- You see shadows.
Prevention of Diabetic retinopathy
Tight control of blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol is very important for preventing diabetic retinopathy.
Do not smoke. If you need help quitting, ask your doctor or nurse.
You may not know there is any damage to your eyes until the problem is very bad. Your doctor can catch problems early if you get regular exams. You will need to see an eye doctor who is trained to treat diabetic retinopathy.
Begin having eye examinations as follows by an eye doctor skilled in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy:
- Children older than 10 years who have had diabetes for 3 - 5 years or more
- Adults and adolescents with type 2 diabetes soon after diagnosis
- Adolescents and adults with type 1 diabetes within 5 years of diagnosis
- After the first exam, most patients should have a yearly eye exam.
If you are beginning a new exercise program or are planning to get pregnant, have your eyes examined. Avoid resistance or high-impact exercises, which can strain already weakened blood vessels in the eyes.
If you are at low risk, you may need follow-up exams only every 2 - 3 years. The eye exam should include dilation to check for signs of retinal disease (retinopathy).
American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes--2011. Diabetes Care. 2011 Jan;34 Suppl 1:S11-61.
O'Doherty M, Dooley I, Hickey-Dwyer M. Interventions for diabetic macular oedema: a systematic review of the literature. Br J Opthalmol. 2008;92:1581-1590.
Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net), Beck RW, Edwards AR, Aiello LP, Bressler NM, Ferris F, Glassman AR, et al. Three-year follow-up of a randomized trial comparing focal/grid photocoagulation and intravitreal triamcinolone for diabetic macular edema. Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127:245-251.
Reviewed By: Ari S. Eckman, MD, Chief, Divisiopn of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
Copyright 2011 A.D.A.M., Inc. |
Welcome to the Balance Disorders and Dizziness Clinic
What is Dizziness?
Dizziness—a broad term that includes lightheadedness, imbalance, disorientation, and vertigo (spinning)—is surprisingly common. It can range from a modest nuisance to a debilitating disorder.
More information about dizziness, balance, and hearing
How Can We Help?
New and ongoing services are available at the University of Rochester Medical Center for the evaluation and care of patients with dizziness and balance disorders. The control of balance is a crucial component of daily life. Proper function is essential for even routine tasks, such as reaching for objects, standing, and walking. Some common causes of balance disorders include:
For more information on these or other conditions, please visit our Encyclopedia search page. |
The first step to being able to make the right adjustments to your guitar, to take the right measurements , to really be able to fine tune your instrument and get the most from it; starts with gaining a better understanding of this question; how does a guitar work? What are the basic principles of physics and other types of phenomena and relationships that are interacting and taking place within the system of the guitar? This will be the subject for this section of the guitar making course – Guitar care and maintenance 101 – Guitar physics and setup for luthiers and guitar players.
The Guitar string is set in motion when it is plucked by the guitar player. This is the input to the system. It is helpful to think of the guitar like a system where the guitar body and all the other components are functioning like a type of processor. If it were a computer, they would be the processor or computer chip that will take the initial signal and do something with it. So you could say we are programming the guitar as we are designing and building it to act upon the input in a desired way when it is received.
Shaping The Tonal Envelope
The place where this begins that we will be focusing on right now is the input itself. What controls the content of that initial input? The character(content) of the input is determined in a large degree by the scale length. The scale length of the guitar is something I talk about often because I think it is so important to be considering the scale length as you are designing your guitar or maybe even choosing a guitar if you are a player.
The scale length is the distance between the nut and the saddle of the guitar. The string is stretched across that distance and it sets the vibrating length of the string. We will talk more about the scale length in upcoming sections, but for now lets just picture this scale length with the string tuned up to pitch. It is set in motion and the very first thing the string does is vibrate at what we call its fundamental mode or vibration pattern.
The Anatomy Of A Note
The fundamental of a note is when the guitar string vibrates along its whole length in one motion producing its lowest frequency for that given string length. It is a little bit similar to the root of a chord. For example, the fundamental of an E string is vibrating at an E. This gives the note its name just as the root of a chord gives the chord its name, even though in both cases there are other frequencies present.
The harmonic content present is what gives the note its character, does it sound harsh or warm or round, sweet, etc.? Much of what we are hearing as the character of the note is coming from the presence or lack of the different harmonic series that accompany the fundamental frequency.
The Effects Of Scale Length
The scale length itself is to a large degree determining what harmonic content will be present in the string as it vibrates and as a result the tonal character of the notes themselves. For example: Think of a Stratocaster guitar and the tone it has, compare this to that of a Les Paul. The Start will have a brighter, more cutting treble sound with tighter bass strings, and the Les Paul will have sweeter more rounded trebles with softer less focused bass notes. One of the main reasons for this difference, even more so than the woods and the pickups is the scale length. The Strat has a long scale length and the Les Paul has a shorter scale length. This is a nice way to get the idea in an easy to remember way regarding what the effects are when lengthening or shortening the scale length.
The longer scale will give a brighter cutting clear sound with quicker bass notes and the shorter will give sweeter rounder trebles with looser bass notes. These are important fundamental concepts to keep in mind when designing or even choosing a guitar
To recap, the guitar string is in motion, the scale length has set the parameters on the harmonic content present within the string, or the information that is contained within it, which is the input into the guitar system.
The next step is to see what happens as this information is fed into the guitar system through the bridge. You can view all 18 videos on guitar physics and setup by enrolling in the course here: Free Guitar Physics, Design, & Guitar Set-Up Video Course for luthiers and guitar players.
This material is taken from the free guitar making course: Guitar Physics, Design, & Guitar Set-Up Video Course, to see more sample videos or to enroll in the full course, click here. |
Eco-friendly fashion encompasses clothing that is sustainable, environmentally conscious, and ethically produced, making it a vital aspect of promoting a greener and more ethical fashion industry. In an era where consumer choices have a significant impact on the environment, it is crucial to understand the meaning and importance of eco-friendly fashion.
- Eco-friendly fashion refers to clothing that is sustainable, environmentally conscious, and ethically produced.
- Greenwashing is prevalent in the fashion industry, where companies deceive consumers with false environmental claims.
- Consumers should educate themselves on greenwashing tactics and look for specific descriptions of how a product is environmentally friendly.
- Certifications from credible third parties can help verify a product’s environmental claims.
- Textile waste is a significant issue in the fashion industry, with millions of tons ending up in landfills or being burned each year.
The Truth Behind Eco-friendly Fashion
While many fashion companies claim to offer environmentally friendly clothing, not all of them live up to their promises, leading to the prevalence of greenwashing in the industry. Greenwashing is a deceptive tactic employed by fashion companies to attract environmentally conscious consumers, making them believe that their products are sustainable and ethical when, in reality, they may not be. This misleading marketing strategy can make it challenging for consumers to differentiate between genuinely environmentally friendly products and those that are simply greenwashed.
To avoid falling for greenwashing, consumers need to educate themselves on the tactics used by fashion companies. Look for specific descriptions of how a product is green, rather than relying solely on buzzwords such as “eco-friendly” or “sustainable.” Pay attention to certifications from credible third parties, such as the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) or the Fair Trade Certified label, which verify a product’s environmental claims. These certifications provide assurance that the product has undergone rigorous testing and meets specific sustainability and ethical standards.
One of the significant challenges in the fashion industry is textile waste, with millions of tons ending up in landfills or being burned each year. To combat this issue, consumers can take steps to reduce textile waste. Donating clothes to charity shops instead of throwing them away can give them a second life and benefit those in need. Participating in clothing swaps is another way to extend the lifespan of clothing and reduce the demand for new garments. Additionally, recycling textiles can help minimize the need for virgin fibers and conserve valuable resources.
“The fashion industry has a responsibility to be transparent and accountable for its environmental claims. By educating ourselves and making informed choices, we can support truly eco-friendly fashion and contribute to a more sustainable future.” – Fashion Forward
Eileen Fisher is a brand that stands out as an example of eco-friendly fashion. The brand is committed to sustainability and ethical practices throughout its production process. They source high-quality, sustainable materials for their products, ensuring that their scarves, for example, are made to last. By investing in products from brands like Eileen Fisher, consumers can contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry while enjoying lasting value.
|– Greenwashing is prevalent in the fashion industry, with companies making false claims of sustainability and ethical practices.|
|– Consumers can avoid falling for greenwashing by educating themselves on the tactics used and looking for specific descriptions of a product’s green attributes.|
|– Textile waste is a significant issue, but consumers can help reduce it through clothing swaps, donations to charity shops, and recycling textiles.|
|– Brands like Eileen Fisher exemplify eco-friendly fashion by prioritizing sustainability and ethical practices in their production process.|
Battling Textile Waste in the Fashion Industry
Textile waste is a significant problem in the fashion industry, with millions of tons ending up in landfills or being burned each year, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable alternatives. As consumers, we have the power to make a difference by adopting eco-friendly practices and supporting initiatives that promote textile recycling and waste reduction.
One effective way to combat textile waste is through clothing swaps. These events allow individuals to exchange their gently used clothing items with others, giving them a new lease on life. Clothing swaps not only help to reduce textile waste but also foster a sense of community and promote a more sustainable approach to fashion. By participating in clothing swaps, we can extend the lifespan of our garments and reduce the demand for new clothing production.
Another key solution is recycling textiles. By recycling old clothes and fabrics, we can divert them from ending up in landfills. Recycling textiles can be done through specialized recycling programs or by repurposing old garments into new products. For example, companies like Patagonia offer a recycling program where customers can send back their worn-out garments to be repurposed into new materials. This closed-loop system not only reduces waste but also conserves resources and decreases the need for virgin fibers.
Benefits of Eco-Friendly Textiles
Using eco-friendly textiles in the fashion industry offers numerous benefits. These materials are typically made from sustainable fibers, such as organic cotton, hemp, or bamboo, which require fewer resources and have a lower environmental impact compared to conventional fibers. Furthermore, eco-friendly textiles often use non-toxic dyes and finishes, reducing the pollution caused by the dyeing and finishing processes.
|Key Benefits of Eco-Friendly Textiles|
|Reduced environmental impact|
|Conservation of resources|
|Less pollution from production processes|
By choosing products made from eco-friendly textiles, we can support a more sustainable fashion industry and contribute to the preservation of our planet. Together, we can make a difference and create a future where textile waste is minimized, and fashion is truly eco-friendly.
The Eileen Fisher Approach to Eco-friendly Fashion
Eileen Fisher stands out as a brand that exemplifies eco-friendly fashion through its steadfast dedication to sustainability and ethical production practices. The brand sources high-quality, sustainable materials for its products, ensuring that each item is not only stylish but also environmentally conscious. For instance, Eileen Fisher scarves are handcrafted using sustainable fibers, such as organic cotton and recycled polyester. These materials not only reduce the brand’s environmental impact but also offer customers a durable and long-lasting accessory.
But sustainability is not the only focus for Eileen Fisher. The brand also prioritizes ethical manufacturing practices, ensuring that its garments are produced in a way that respects workers’ rights and promotes fair labor conditions. By partnering with factories that adhere to strict social and environmental standards, Eileen Fisher ensures that its clothing is made with integrity and compassion.
As a result of these commitments, Eileen Fisher products may come at a higher price point compared to fast fashion alternatives. However, the brand’s emphasis on quality materials, timeless designs, and ethical manufacturing practices contributes to a more sustainable fashion industry. By investing in Eileen Fisher scarves and other eco-friendly products, consumers can not only enhance their personal style but also support a brand that prioritizes the well-being of both people and the planet.
|Use of sustainable materials||– Reduced environmental impact
– Durable and long-lasting products
|Ethical manufacturing practices||– Respect for workers’ rights
– Fair labor conditions
Embracing eco-friendly fashion is not only a step towards a greener future but also a means of supporting sustainable and ethical practices within the fashion industry. Eco-friendly fashion refers to clothing that is sustainable, environmentally conscious, and ethically produced. However, not all environmental claims made by fashion companies are truthful, which is known as greenwashing.
Greenwashing is prevalent in the fashion industry, where companies often distract consumers with a new line of environmentally friendly products, while disregarding sustainability in other areas of their production. To avoid falling for greenwashing, consumers should educate themselves on the tactics used and look for specific descriptions of how a product is green. They can also rely on certifications from credible third parties to ensure a product’s environmental claims are legitimate.
Textile waste is a significant issue in the fashion industry, with millions of tons ending up in landfills or being burned each year. To reduce textile waste, consumers can donate clothes to charity shops or participate in clothing swaps. Additionally, recycling textiles can help extend their life and reduce the need for virgin fibers.
Eileen Fisher is a brand that embodies eco-friendly fashion through its commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. The brand sources high-quality, sustainable materials for its products, including scarves that are handcrafted and made to last. The use of premium materials and ethical manufacturing practices can result in higher prices for Eileen Fisher scarves, but they offer lasting value and contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry.
Q: What is eco-friendly fashion?
A: Eco-friendly fashion refers to clothing that is sustainable, environmentally conscious, and ethically produced.
Q: What is greenwashing?
A: Greenwashing is when fashion companies make false environmental claims to distract consumers from their unsustainable practices.
Q: How can I avoid falling for greenwashing?
A: To avoid greenwashing, educate yourself on the tactics used and look for specific descriptions of how a product is environmentally friendly. You can also rely on certifications from credible third parties to ensure legitimacy.
Q: What is textile waste?
A: Textile waste refers to the millions of tons of clothing that end up in landfills or are burned each year.
Q: How can I reduce textile waste?
A: You can reduce textile waste by donating clothes to charity shops or participating in clothing swaps. Recycling textiles also helps extend their life and reduces the need for virgin fibers.
Q: What is Eileen Fisher’s approach to eco-friendly fashion?
A: Eileen Fisher is a brand that embodies eco-friendly fashion through its commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. They source high-quality, sustainable materials and employ ethical manufacturing processes. |
Have you ever imagined the state of people after the epidemic is over?
The whole society is in full swing and fully recovered, and people's spirits are lifted?
I'm not too optimistic. The problem is not the economy, but the "psychological crisis" that is spreading right now. I'm not talking about PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but "the fading light in the eye" - learned helplessness.
It cannot be seen or touched. But from a certain point of view, it is more harmful than the virus.
1. What is learned helplessness
In 1967, the famous behavioral psychologist Martin Seligman found in an experiment that dogs gave up escaping in a new environment (where they could easily escape shocks) after receiving multiple electric shocks that they could not get rid of. It's like "learning" to give up control of fate and be at the mercy of it.
Subsequent studies have found that this psychology also exists in humans.
Experienced setbacks may make us form a strange email list state of mind. Even when we can get rid of bad luck and control the situation, we are still willing to give up on ourselves.
Seligman is more concerned that the depression that accompanies learned helplessness can do more physical harm than depression itself.
Subsequent studies in behavioral medicine and health psychology have confirmed from different perspectives that "pessimistic and depressed" people have low immunity and are vulnerable to viruses.
For example, the following study found:
People under stress, minor scratches take a day or two or more to heal;
A follow-up study of 17,415 professionals showed that stress predicted an 88% increase in heart attack rates;
The Netherlands conducted a 10-year long-term follow-up for middle-aged and elderly people, and found that the mortality rate of the bottom 25% of the optimistic level was 30% higher than that of the top 25%.
Everyone knows the autumn and sees the small things. It can be determined at present that learned helplessness will lead to:
weakened immunity, susceptible to diseases;
reduced cognitive abilities;
Accelerate aging and affect appearance;
Increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancer.
Do you think you should take this issue seriously?
So why did humans evolve learned helplessness? What experiences can trigger it? Will widespread learned helplessness arise? Can action be taken to address learned helplessness? |
Contains patterns for 5 cotehardies and three hoods (sizes 36-48).
Cotehardies were worn by both sexes of all ages and classes for over 200 years, from England to Bohemia, Norway to Spain. While there were regional variations, the basic cut of the cotehardie was the same throughout Europe. Originally a version of the tunic, cotehardies differed in sleeve cut, variations, and tailor fit. Men's cotehardies, worn long or short, were initially tight to the hips, with long tight sleeves. They were worn over a shirt and hose, often with hoods. In the first half of the 14th century a major style change occurred. With the invention of curved sleeve caps, gussets under the arm became unnecessary. Puffed chests and full sleeves became fashionable on men's cotehardies by 1350.
Sleeveless tunics or surcoats (from the French "sur le cote", i.e. over the cotehardie) were worn by both sexes as early as the 12th century, but with the return of crusaders from the Holy Land the style became wildly popular. The armholes deepened to the waist, then to the hip.
Surcoats and cotehardies for both sexes could be plain and somber, or wildly colorful. Heraldic motifs were common on these garments. Both sexes began wearing houpelandes over a cotehardie after 1380. Cotehardies and surcoats as outerwear became unfashionable before 1425. Men's cotehardies evolved into the doublet. |
See also the
Dr. Math FAQ:
order of operations
Browse High School Basic Algebra
Stars indicate particularly interesting answers or
good places to begin browsing.
Selected answers to common questions:
Solving simple linear equations.
Positive/negative integer rules.
Completing the square.
Direct and indirect variation.
Inequalities and negative numbers.
- Acid Concentration, Heating Bill [7/6/1996]
1) A pharmacist has 8 liters of a 15 percent solution of acid. How much
distilled water must she add.... 2) By installing a $120 thermostat, a
family hopes to cut its annual heating bill...
- Adding and Subtracting Polynomials [12/08/1996]
How do you add and subtract polynomials?
- Algebra and Trig Equation [4/20/1996]
How can I solve this equation: 1 = sin(3x) - cos(6x) ?
- All About Functions [11/06/1996]
Could you please explain functions?
- Completing the Square [09/08/1997]
Please explain 2x^2 = x + 5 .
- Derfs and Enajs: Algebra and Venn Diagrams [03/09/2003]
All Derfs are Enajs. One-third of all Enajs are Derfs. Half of all Sivads are Enajs. One Sivad is a Derf. Eight Sivads are Enajs. The number of Enajs is 90. How many Enajs are neither Derfs nor Sivads?
- Diagonals and Tiles [11/17/2001]
Jay tiled a 15x21' rectangular ballroom with 1 ft. sq. tiles. Then he
drew diagonals connecting opposite corners of the room. How many tiles
did the diagonals pass through?
- Direct/Indirect Variation [6/12/1996]
Please explain direct and indirect variation.
- Distributive Property [04/25/2002]
What's the best and simplest way to teach pupils that a-b = -(b-a)?
- Distributive Property, Illustrated [09/28/2001]
How can I show (12*2) + (12*3) using the distributive property?
- Doubling Sequence [8/24/1996]
On Jan 1st it snowed one centimeter; on Jan 2, 2cm; on Jan 3, 4 cm...
- Equation of a Line Parallel to an Axis [06/19/2003]
How can I get the equation of a line if the line passes through a
point and is parallel to the x- or y-axis?
- Equations of a Line given Two Points [8/31/1996]
How do you find the equation of a line going through two points if you
only know the two points?
- Equations: the "Elimination" Method [11/20/1996]
Is there an easier way to solve a system of two equations than by the
- Explaining Algebra Concepts and FOIL [08/04/1998]
Some ideas for learning algebra that may help prevent frustration.
- Exp, Log, and Ln Functions Explained [7/31/1996]
What is the exp function? When is it needed? Also, how do I calculate Log
and Ln functions with basic arithmetic and logic?
- Factoring Polynomials [11/14/1996]
Is there a logic behind the factorization of polynomials?
- Factoring Polynomials [11/07/2001]
Factoring polynomials like 12x^3y^9 + 20x^5y^4.
- Factoring to Solve a Problem [7/31/1996]
I have problems understanding the solution I get when I factor an
expression to solve: x (x + 1) = 132...?
- Finding the Equation of a Line [01/08/1997]
Given either a point and a slope or two points, how do you find the
equation of a line in both point-slope and standard form?
- Geometric Objects and Properties using Algebra [06/29/1998]
Why does y = mx+b, and what does it mean?
- Graphing Coordinates [1/15/1997]
How can you tell if you have a straight line just by looking at the
- Horizontal and Vertical Asymptotes [12/5/1995]
I am confused about horizontal and vertical asymptotes. Please tell me
how to find them, and their definition.
- An Introduction to Parabolas [02/04/1999]
What is a parabola? What are some of its properties? What are some
examples of parabolas in real life?
- Linear Expressions [08/17/1999]
What are linear expressions, and how will I use them in my life?
- Linear Programming [01/30/1997]
Maximize the profit of a nutrition center given information about the
energy trail mixes they sell.
- Locus and Equations of Lines [01/10/1999]
Describe the locus of points that are 3 units from the line x = -1...
- Long Division of Polynomials [6/26/1995]
How do you use long division to solve polynomials with remainders?
- Loosening the Earth's Belt [1/18/1996]
The earth has a belt around the equator that is perfectly fit. If a
measurement of 1 foot is added to the belt, theoretically the belt will
no longer touch the earth at any point. What is the new distance between
the surface of the earth and the belt?
- Man and Train on a Bridge [2/1/1996]
When a man is 3/8 of the way across a railroad bridge that goes from
point A to point B, he hears a train approaching at 60 mph. If he runs
back he will meet the train at A, and if he runs forward the train will
overtake him at B. How fast can the man run?
- Meaning of Irrational Exponents [03/17/1997]
y^x is the product of x factors of y. Where do irrational exponents fit
in this? How can you have an irrational number of factors?
- Mixing Milk and Butterfat [09/04/2001]
Milk that has 5% butterfat is mixed with milk that has 2% butterfat. How
much of each is needed to obtain 60 gallons of milk that has 3%
- Negative Ratios and Dividing by Zero [6/8/1995]
How can 1 : -1 = -1 : 1 ? Is x divided by 0 = infinity? Are there
- No Solution, Infinite Solutions [01/03/2002]
Solve: 8(2x-3) = 4(4x-8); -3(x-3) is greater than or equal to 5-3x.
- Order of Operations Puzzle [09/22/2002]
What is _ + _ x _ - _ = 22? We're given the numbers 2, 3, 4, 8.
- The Particular and the General Case [11/06/2001]
If a+b+c=3 and a(^2)+b(^2)+c(^2)=5 and a(^3)+b(^3)+c(^3)=7 what is a(^
4)+b(^4)+c(^4)? And how is it done?
- Polynomial Inequality Problem [2/7/1996]
A student asks for help with solving algebraic inequalities.
- Proof by Induction [07/13/1997]
Prove by induction on n that |A^n|=|A|^n.
- Purpose of Algebra [10/15/1996]
What is the purpose of algebra and who came up with the idea?
- Pythagorean Theorem Proof: Four Right Triangles [10/7/1996]
I don't understand the Pythagorean Theorem. |
Named “Homo luzonensis”, the species is one of the most important finds that will be out in the coming years, scientists predict.
Researchers in the Philippines announced today they have discovered a species of ancient human previously unknown to science.
The small-bodied hominin, named Homo luzonensis, lived on the island of Luzon at least 50,000 to 67,000 years ago. The hominin—identified from a total of seven teeth and six small bones—hosts a patchwork of ancient and more advanced features. The landmark discovery, announced in Nature on Wednesday, makes Luzon the third Southeast Asian island in the last 15 years to bear signs of unexpectedly ancient human activity.
“For a long, long time, the Philippine islands [have] been more or less left [out],” says study coauthor and project leader Armand Mijares, an archaeologist at the University of the Philippines Diliman and a National Geographic grantee. But H. luzonensis flips the script, and it continues to challenge the outdated idea that the human line neatly progressed from less advanced to more advanced species.
The analysis of 13 fossil remains (teeth, phalanges of foot and hand, fragments of femur) found in the cave of Callao, led scientists to consider that it was a new unknown species.
The new species presents at the same time elements or very primitive characters similar to those of the Australopithecus and others, modern, close to those of the Homo sapiens”. Florent Détroit, paleoanthropologist
Homo luzonensis would have been small
This Homo luzonensis “was probably small, judging by the size of its teeth,” although “it is not a sufficient argument,” said paloanthropologist Florent Détroit, a researcher at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris and lead author of the study. The Homo luzonensis, which is not a direct ancestor of modern man, would be a neighboring species, contemporary of Homo sapiens, but with a number of primitive characteristics. Two of the fossils discovered were analyzed with the method of dating by uranium series and are 50 thousand years ago and 67 thousand years respectively.
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Further Mathematics AS/A Level at Helsby High School
Why should I choose Maths?
- Maths is the most popular A Level in the UK and Further Maths is growing every year.
- In 2014 34% of AS Mathematicians at Helsby High School gained grade A, 57% A—B and 83% A—D.
- 75% of AS Level Further Mathematicians gained grades A,100% A-D
- 46% of A Level Mathematicians at Helsby High School gained A*- A, 75% A*- B and 88% A*-C
- 100% of A Level Further Mathematicians gained grades A*-A
Course Overview Further Maths
- AS Further Maths: 3 modules: D1, M1, M2 and FP1 (4 examined)
- A Level Further Maths: 3 more modules—FP2, M3, DE
GCSE grade A in Maths
How to apply
If you want to apply for this course, you will need to contact Helsby High School directly.
Last updated date: 02 December 2014 |
The well respected Rockefeller Foundation is a powerful deep-rooted American philanthropic foundation, with a extensive history unlike any other.
The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission—unchanged since 1913—is to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world.
On May 14th, 1913, The Rockefeller Foundation was chartered to fulfill an unprecedented and enduring mission: to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world.
From our very first grant—to the American Red Cross more than a century ago—through to today’s vast array of initiatives, The Rockefeller Foundation has built a reputation as a trailblazer that convenes unlikely partnerships and sparks innovations for transformative change. Our list of greatest achievements is long. We founded the modern field of public health, developed vaccines to help eradicate diseases such as yellow fever and malaria, funded urban visionary Jane Jacobs, and catalyzed a Green Revolution.
Onward: Shaping the Future Together
As you know, for more than 100 years The Rockefeller Foundation has brought together unconventional actors to solve the world’s toughest problems. We were founded at a moment of transformation, as breakthroughs in science and technology created the potential for rapid progress. Since then we’ve worked in collaboration with some of the most talented and passionate people, leveraging our resources along with our partners’ to take bold risks that have delivered profound and lasting impact for millions of people around the world. |
An Unusual Snack for Cows, a Powerful Fix for Climate Change
By Tatiana Schlossberg.
One of the most powerful weapons in the fight against climate change is washing up on shorelines around the world, unnoticed by most beachgoers.
Specifically, Asparagopsis taxiformis and Asparagopsis armata — two species of a crimson submarine grass that drifts on waves and tides all around the world’s oceans.
It doesn’t seem like much, but it could practically neutralize one of the most stubborn sources of a powerful greenhouse gas: methane emissions from the digestive processes of some livestock, including the planet’s 1.5 billion cows, which emit methane in their burps.
Reducing methane from livestock, and cows in particular, has long been a goal of scientists and policymakers but is especially tricky: How do you change a fundamental fact of animal biology in an ethical way that doesn’t affect milk or meat?
In lab tests and field trials, adding a small proportion of this seaweed to a cow’s daily feed — about 0.2 of a percent of the total feed intake in a recent study — can reduce the amount of methane by 98 percent. That’s a stunning drop when most existing solutions cut methane by about 20 or 30 percent.
READ MORE at washingtonpost.com |
The material characteristics E-Modulus, G-Modulus and Poisson constant can be
measured with a single hit on a rectangular sample. Just put the sample on a piece of foam
and hit it between the torsion and bending mode zero lines. Both bending mode frequency
and torsion mode frequency will be measured, E-modulus and G-modulus calculated from
those 2 frequencies (and pre-set dimensions and mass) as well as the Poisson constant of
Speed of sound can be measured and calculated based on the longitudinal compression
mode resonance frequency. Correlation exists for fe. cement based materials between
breaking strength and Speed of Sound in the material.
Internal friction or damping is calculated for multiple resonance modes as the Width at Half
Height (WHH). With an optional GrindoSonic HT oven unit E, G and Poisson can be measured as a profile against temperature. The temperature of the system can be programmed to test different temperature profiles up to 1200°C, 1500°C or 1800°C under vacuum or inert gas atmosphere. A full spectrogram at every temperature measurement point gives valuable
information on the first order bending, torsion or longitudinal compression modes ( equivalent speed of sound ), as well as their respective first, second or even higher harmonics. The
attenuation ( damping factor ) can be calculated from each of those modes and their
respective higher harmonics, revealing important information on the distributed
mass-spring-damper system under study at different temperatures. All the spectrograms are
brought together in a waterfall plot, giving the overview of the complete visco-elastic thermal
behaviour of the material. Phase changes, recrystallisation and many other material
phenomenons can be identified.
An other import application is the evolution of materials, subject to different loads. This can
be aging cycles, thermoshocks, IR or UV radiation, frost/defrost cycles whereby after
each small step, the measurement can be repeated seen it’s non-destructive nature.
As such a graph of the evolution of the material (fe. E-modulus, attenuation or speed of
sound ) can be measured as a function of increasing load on the sample under test.
Other material characteristics that have a clear dependency on one of the distributed
mechanico-elastic paramerters can as such be measured indirectly:
- surface treatments, added layers,will change the overal stiffness and as such the
bending mode resonance frequency
- porosity of the material has a good sensitivity to longitudinal compression mode
- detection of cracks in materials: cracks cause a higher internal friction and will as
such change the damping value. Higher harmonics have a good sensitivity to smaller
- compound composition variations can be evaluated by comparing resonance
frequencies between different samples
The resolution of the GrindoSonic MK7 frequency measurement is 1 part per million (ppm).
The repeatability is up to +/- 2 ppm and the accuracy up to +/- 5 ppm.
As such the smallest phenomenon’s can be made visible, making this technique one of the
most sensitive measurement methods available to study material characteristics that have a
relation to the distributed mechanico-elastic behaviour. (mass-spring-damper system model)
All of the presented measurements are based on the impulse excitation technique, where
the main course of action consists of 2 steps: “tap” and “read”. This can be performed
manually with the basic GrindoSonic MK7 instrument, or fully automated and in-line as well
as for changing temperatures up to 1800 °C with the GrindoSonic IL and HT systems. The
principle is comparable with the manual and auditive method of “listening” to an impulse
response. However, GrindoSonic adds
● ultra-high precision: repeatability of measurements with a resolution of 1ppm
● documented measurements
● user independent operation
● compact and readable results presented in plots/graph for visual analysis
● full frequency spectrum analysis for advanced and complex cases
● Measurements at room temperature or up to as high as 1800°C. |
7th Grade Simple Machines Integrated Math & Science Unit Kicks Off: Mentor Harbor Yachting Club (MHYC) partners with Hawken Middle School in Lyndhurst, Ohio to engage youth in STEM and sailing through US Sailing’s Reach Initiative. Hawken 7th graders were introduced to simple machines through a scavenger hunt on a sailboat. Students learned all the locations of levers, pulleys, wedges, wheels & axles, screws, and inclined planes on sailboats and how these simple machines work together to power a boat through wind and water. Students also learned how the human body acts like a lever while on a sailing boat and how to tie a useful knot. Mentor Harbor Yacht Club provided the boat and experts to work with youth.
Kathy Allyn of MHYC spent the day at Hawken School’s middle school, with an MHYC Opti set up in their lobby, in order to assist their 7th grade science unit on small machines using the unit from US Sailing Reach Curriculum. The science teacher adapted their lesson to her unit, and created a scavenger hunt for small machines on the Opti. While Kathy explained the different parts of the boat, the students searched for simple machines. They learned by playing with the pulleys and such – for instance, we rigged the main sheet two different ways so they could see the benefit of multiple pulleys. Many of them experienced a close-up of a sailboat for the first time. They watched YouTube highlight videos of sailing on Optis and 420s so that they could see the boats in action, as well as human levers in action (hiking). We brought extra lines and taught them all to tie a square/reef knot as well as how to coil a line. (We hadanimatedknots.com looping the square knot technique for them to watch as they tried on their own.)
MHYC also talked up camp and high school sailing to the kids – of course!!
Overall, it was a great day and a success on many fronts! – Kathy Allyn |
How will climate change remake our world in the 21st century? Will we be able to adapt and survive? As with many things, the past is a good guide for the future. Humans have experienced climate changes in the past that have transformed their environment – studying their response could tell us something about our own fate.
Human populations and cultures died out and were replaced throughout Eurasia during the last 500,000 years. How and why one prehistoric population displaced another is unclear, but these ancient people were exposed to climate changes that changed their natural environment in turn.
We looked at the region around Lyon, France, and imagined how Stone Age hunter gatherers 30,000-50,000 years ago would have fared as the world around them changed. Here, as elsewhere in Eurasia during colder periods, the environment would have shifted towards tundra-like vegetation – vast, open habitats that may have been best suited for running down prey while hunting. When the climate warmed for a few centuries, trees would have spread – creating dense woods which favour hunting methods involving ambush.
How these changes affected a population’s hunting behaviour could have decided whether they prospered, were forced to migrate, or even died out. The ability of hunter gatherers to detect prey at different distances and in different environments would have decided who dominated and who was displaced.
Short of building a time machine, finding out how prehistoric people responded to climate change could only be possible by recreating their worlds as virtual environments. Here, researchers could control the mix and density of vegetation and enlist modern humans to explore them and see how they fared finding prey.
Surviving in the virtual Stone Age
We designed a video game environment and asked volunteers to find red deer in it. The world they explored changed to scrub and grassland as the climate cooled and thick forest as it warmed.
The participants could spot red deer at a greater distance in grassland than in woodland, when the density of vegetation was the same. As vegetation grew thicker they struggled to detect prey at greater distances in both environments, but more so in woodland. Prehistoric people would have faced similar struggles as the climate warmed, but there’s an interesting pattern that tells us something about human responses to change.
Creeping environmental change didn’t affect deer spotting performance in the experiment until a certain threshold of forest had given way to grassland, or vice-versa. Suddenly, after the landscape was more than 30% forested, participants were significantly less able to spot deer at greater distances. As an open environment became more wooded, this could have been the tipping point at which running down prey became a less viable strategy, and hunters had to switch to ambush.
This is likely the critical moment at which ancient populations were forced to change their hunting habits, relocate to areas more favourable for their existing techniques, or face local extinction. As the modern climate warms and ecosystems change, our own survival could become threatened by these sudden tipping points.
The effects of climate change on human populations may not be intuitive. Our lifestyles may seem to continue working just fine up until a certain point. But that moment of crisis, when it does arrive, will often dictate the outcome – adapt, move or die. |
As much as we would like to simplify the answer to the question ‘Can Hamsters Live Alone?’, many factors have to be considered and taken into account when housing hamsters. In order to determine if it is ideal for a hamster to live alone, we must look at their species and evaluate their nature. The three most common species of domestic hamsters are the Syrian Hamster, The Chinese Hamster and the three variations of Dwarf Hamsters.
Syrian Hamsters on the other hand are absolute loners. They really thrive alone and don’t enjoy company very much. They choose to be solitary and they stick to their nature in a very independent way. This species of hamsters usually see other fluff balls as enemies, and they will do whatever it takes to defend their territory. Because of this, they can engage in fighting quite often. Forcing Syrian Hamsters to live together can be very detrimental to their health not only because they can injure each other, but because the stress levels of having the unwanted company of other hamsters can make them develop serious health issues. Chinese Hamsters are similar to Syrian Hamsters. They often prefer living alone, although they are not nearly as aggressive as the latter, the same risk is latent when forcing them to cohabitate with other hamsters.
Dwarf Hamsters are the exception to the “living alone” rule. They can live in pairs with other dwarfs of the same species and often form a strong bond with their cage mates. Campbell’s, White Winter and Roborovski are the three different species of Dwarf Hamsters. Housing them in pairs or in groups can help build a stronger bond with each other and a more dynamic relationship between owner and pet. It is important to know that you cannot have different species of hamsters living together. They can only live together with hamsters of the same species. That being said, Campbell’s can live with Campbell’s, White Winters with their own, and Roborovskis with others of the same name.
Now, the thing with Dwarf Hamsters gets tricky. They are very social hamsters among their own, but their personalities have to match in order for them to build any kind of bond with their roommates. Much like humans, Dwarf Hamsters pick who they live with and even when pairing them in the recommended ways, there is never a guarantee that your hamsters will like each other. You should always keep an eye out for any sign of discomfort between the hamsters or even small fights breaking out. In the case that things get a bit rough, you might need to separate them.
If you want to get a group of dwarf hamsters, it is advised to never house them in odd numbers. Dwarf Hamsters have the tendency to develop pairing bonds that are exclusive, and therefore, when there is an odd one out in a group, it often becomes the target to unprovoked attacks. Although it does not always happen, it is an ever present risk when the conditions are set out to be this way. It’s better to be safe than sorry and house them in pairs. If you are willing to take the risk and you want to house them in odd numbers, please have a spare cage available in case that they become hostile and need separation.
Long story short, hamsters can live alone and some in fact have to. If this article answered your question and you want to further expand your knowledge about Hamsters, you might want to know more about Hamster Breeding.
If you enjoyed this article you might also like to read about: |
Students at Saddleback and Irvine Valley need to remember that none of us would be here today if it wasn’t for the Mexican-American War.
President James K. Polk justified the conflict, which lasted from 1846 to 1848, by claiming it was America’s Manifest Destiny to reach from coast to coast. Manifest Destiny was a term coined by Jane McMannus Storm meaning that God had ordained the United States that it was the country’s responsibility to bring America’s culture, government, and religion to the conquered areas.
Mexico had just won a bloody revolution against Spain and had a shaky government at best. Polk applied tremendous pressure on the newly formed government to sell California and New Mexico (Texas was actually its own country at the time). They threatened to attack Texas in response. This played into Polk’s hand, and he sent his army down to Mexico to defend the country from this “hostile enemy.”
Fighting broke out in April of 1846, officially starting the war. It was a joke. The highly superior American troops, with the aid of the newest battlefield technology, and fighting a country lacking the infrastructure and capital backbone of the United States, dominated on all four fronts. General Taylor defeated the Mexicans in the north, while Winfield Scott and his troops sailed into the Port of Vera Cruz and captured Mexico City in the central campaign. Colonel Kearny took New Mexico with little resistance and moved on through to mop up California.
This war was the first in which the United States of America invaded another country. It was nothing but a bully attacking a nerd for his lunch money. At the time, the U.S. was growing in both population and ego, and many young political aspires, too young to have fought in the Revolution, were waiting for a chance to become heroes. General Taylor would go on to win the presidency based on his popular public appeal from the war.
This “we want what we want, and were going to take it” attitude still drives our country today. Look at the war in Iraq. Only a fool would look at the conflict and think we are there to save the Iraqi people from Saddam and set up democracy. We’re in Iraq for one reason only: fuel. The world will soon be without this precious resource, and you’d be a damn fool to think the United States of America isn’t going to do everything in its power to protect its assets in the Middle East.
Polk said, “I want land”, and he got it. Bush said, “I want fuel,” and now we’re in the Middle East fighting for it. It must be nice to be President of the United States, and not have to worry about any consequences. After all, we are America and what we say is the absolute truth, and if you don’t agree, you can be wiped off the map.
“We white, educated Americans, not you dirty Mexicans, have the true right to live in the land out West. And because of that, we will come down there and kill your men, children, and women until you cede the lands we are after,” said Polk through his actions in 1846. Because of this we can all sit in our classrooms today and thank good old President Polk for being a true American hero and opening the lands out west for expansion. |
Understanding Dietary Restrictions
Before creating a seating chart that accommodates dietary needs and restrictions, it is important to understand the different types of dietary restrictions that may be present. Some common restrictions include vegetarianism, veganism, allergies, religious dietary laws, gluten intolerance, and lactose intolerance. When creating your seating chart, it is important to gather information regarding their dietary restrictions well in advance of your event. You can include questions about dietary restrictions when sending out invitations or ask for this information via email after receiving RSVPs.
Assigning Guests with Restrictions to the Correct Table
Once you have gathered the information regarding your guest’s dietary restrictions, create a list that will guide your seating arrangement. When creating your seating chart, start by determining which guests require special accommodations. Assign them to tables that will best meet their dietary needs and restrictions. The best approach is to allocate a separate table to these guests as this will help make it easier for your caterer to identify and meet their specific needs. Read more about the topic in this external resource we’ve handpicked for you. Examine this valuable content.
Labeling the Menu
If you have a guest with dietary restrictions, your caterer will need to know what these restrictions are. That is why it is essential to discuss these details with your caterer as soon as possible and work with them to create a menu that can accommodate all of your guests. In addition, labeling the menu cards for your guests with the meal options available can be a helpful tool to ensure that everyone knows what to expect when it comes to their meal. It is also a good idea to place a small sign on the table identifying any foods that are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, or kosher, to help guests identify the foods that they can or cannot eat.
Dual Plate Service
A dual plate service is an excellent way to ensure that guests with dietary restrictions receive their meals according to their needs. This is because the dual plate service involves two plates, each with a different meal, and is an efficient way to serve guests quickly and effectively. This also ensures that a plate with a meal that accommodates dietary restrictions is not confused with a plate that requires special accommodations. This is the best approach if you have a small group of guests with varying restrictions and can be a helpful tool in making sure that your guests are happy with their meal experience.
Creating a seating chart that accommodates dietary needs and restrictions can be a challenging task, but it is essential to ensure that all guests feel valued and included in the event. Follow these tips and take the time to understand your guests’ dietary needs and restrictions to make sure everyone has a great time. A well-organized seating plan that caters to everyone’s dietary needs is a great way to ensure your guests have a memorable dining experience. Discover additional pertinent details on the topic through the thoughtfully chosen external source. https://planning.wedding/seating-Chart, gain supplementary insights.
Want to delve deeper into the topic? Access the related posts we’ve prepared: |
Assure/ParvoThis page contains information on Assure/Parvo for veterinary use.
The information provided typically includes the following:
- Assure/Parvo Indications
- Warnings and cautions for Assure/Parvo
- Direction and dosage information for Assure/Parvo
Assure/ParvoThis treatment applies to the following species:
Canine Parvovirus Antigen Test Kit
For the Detection of Canine Parvovirus Antigen
Canine Parvovirus (CPV) is a member of the feline parvovirus subgroup. It is closely related to feline panleukopenia virus and mink enteritis virus. CPV was first recognized as a virus in dogs in 1978 in North America. It has since spread globally and is considered endemic to nearly all populations of domesticated and wild canines.
CPV causes two forms of disease: Myocarditis and enteritis. Due to maternal antibody protection the myocardial form is rare. The enteric form, however, is prevalent and can be fatal to puppies and geriatric dogs. CPV enteritis causes severe, often bloody diarrhea, vomiting, leukopenia and dehydration.
Transmission is fecal-oral and most infections occur from exposure to contaminated feces. CPV is highly contagious and stable under a variety of environmental conditions.
Rapid diagnosis of CPV allows for quarantine and prompt treatment of infected dogs. Diagnosis may be difficult in milder cases. ASSURE®/PARVO is an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) which detects all strains of Canine Parvovirus shed in the feces. Positive results with the fecal ELISA indicate the presence of canine parvovirus.
Ii. Test Principles
The bulbous ends of the plastic wands have been coated with antibody to CPV. A second antibody directed against a specific CPV antigen is conjugated to the enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The fecal sample is incubated simultaneously with both the antibody-coated wand and enzyme-labeled antibodies. If antigen is present, it is captured by the wand. The enzyme-labeled antibodies are in turn captured by the antigen bound to the wand. The unbound enzyme-labeled antibody and feces are removed during the wash step and the wand is placed into a chromogenic substrate.
The development of a distinct blue color in the solution indicates the presence of CPV antigen. In the absence of CPV, no color will develop.
III. CONTENTS OF ASSURE®/PARVO TEST KIT
Anti-CPV Antibody Coated Wands
Predispensed HRP-Monoclonal Antibody Conjugate (A Tubes)
Predispensed Substrate Buffer (B Tubes)
Bottle C-Chromogen (White Cap)
Materials required, but not provided: Marking Pen, Timer, Distilled or deionized water, Wash Bottle
1. Allow kit to come to room temperature (21°-25° C; 70°-78° F) prior to use; approximately one hour.
2. Do not expose kit to direct sunlight.
3. Do not use expired reagents or mix from different kit serials.
4. Hold reagent vial vertically for proper drop volume.
5. Vaccination with modified live CPV vaccines may cause shedding of viral particles in the feces 4-10 days post-vaccination. This can cause a weak positive result.
6. Dispose of potentially infected specimens appropriately.
7. FOR USE IN TESTING CANINE SPECIMENS ONLY.
V. Sample Information
Canine fecal material is required. Stool samples may be stored at 2°-7°C (36°-45°F) for 48 hours. If longer storage is required the samples may be stored frozen.
VI. STORAGE AND STABILITY: Store the test kit at 2°-7°C (36°-45°F). Do not freeze. Properly stored reagents are stable until the expiration date.
Assure®/parvo Test Procedure
NOTE: Use canine fecal samples.
Prior to use, allow kit components to come to room temperature (70° to 78°F; 21° to 25°C).
For each sample you will need:
Anti-CPV Antibody Coated Wand. Label with dog’s ID.
Predispensed HRP-Monoclonal Antibody Conjugate Tube A.
Predispensed Substrate Buffer Tube B. Label with dog’s ID.
Workstation with Reagent C.
Squirt Bottle with Distilled or Deionized Water.
A. SAMPLE COLLECTION
1A. Pre-wet bulbous end of Wand with deionized or distilled water for 3-5 seconds.
1B. Swirl Wand in fecal material 3-5 seconds to cover bulbous end with a thin coat of feces.
NOTE: A specimen may be obtained rectally by inserting bulbous end of wand into rectum and GENTLY swirling 3-5 seconds. Do not use a lubricant.
B. CONJUGATE INCUBATION
2. Place bulbous end of Wand in tube A.
Twirl Wand vigorously until fecal material is suspended in the liquid.
WAIT 5 MINUTES.
C. PREPARE B TUBE
3. During waiting period: Remove stopper from Tube B.
Add 3 drops Bottle C (White Cap) to Tube B.
Tap to mix.
Set tube aside for use in Step 5.
D. WASH STEP
4. Remove wand from Tube A.
Wash bulbous end and tip of wand by swirling/swishing vigorously in a cup containing at least 250 mL of deionized or distilled water for a minimum of 15 seconds.
After swirling in cup, continue to wash wand by directing a forceful stream of deionized or distilled water against bulbous end and tip of wand and work up handle. Wash until all fecal material is removed from the wand.
Shake off excess water.
Repeat washing with a forceful stream 5-7 times. This will ensure removal of unbound proteins which may contribute to non-specific color development.
Replace liquid in cup between wands.
NOTE: Bloody samples may require saline rinse.
E. COLOR DEVELOPMENT
5. Place washed Wand in Tube B.
Twirl 1-3 seconds to mix.
WAIT 5 MINUTES.
6. Observe solution against work-station window or a white background for blue color.
NOTE: Color intensity will vary with level of CPV present.
Optional Procedural Control
To verify technique and kit performance when a negative result is obtained:
Place wand back into Tube A.
Twirl to mix for 1-3 seconds.
Do not wash.
Place back into Tube B.
Blue color will develop within 1 minute indicating reagents were added correctly and kit is performing properly. If color does not develop, repeat the test. (This is a procedure and reagent check only. CPV antigen is not present.)
Good Techniques = Accurate Results
A thin coat of fecal material on the bulbous end is required. Swirl bulbous end of wand in material for 3-5 seconds.
In Step 2, feces should be removed from the Wand and suspended in the liquid.
Washing is the most important step. Wands cannot be overwashed. Underwashing will result in non-specific color development in the Tube B.
Read results at 5 minutes. If no color is seen at 5 minutes, the sample is negative.
Do not use the test kit past the expiration date and do not intermix components from different serial numbers.
Store kit at 2° to 7°C (36° to 45°F). Allow kit to come to room temperature before use.
Failure to change wash solution in step 4 can lead to false color development.
Parrish, C.R. et al: Antigenic relationships between canine parvovirus type 2, feline panleukopenia virus and mink enteritis virus using conventional antisera and monoclonal antibodies. Arch. Viral. 72:267-278; 1982.
Studdart, M.J. et al: Aspects of the diagnosis, pathogenesis and epidemiology of canine parvovirus. Aust. Vet. J. 60:197-200; 1983.
Siegl, G. et al: Characteristics and Taxonomy of Parvoviridae. Intervirology. 23:61-73; 1985.
Parrish, C.R.: Emergence and natural history of canine, mink and feline parvoviruses. Adv. Virus Res. 38:403-450; 1990.
For Technical Assistance:
SYNBIOTICS CORPORATION, 16420 Via Esprillo, San Diego, CA 92127
U.S. Veterinary License Number 312
ASSURE®/PARVO is a registered trademark of Synbiotics Corporation.
©1995 Synbiotics Corporation
NAC No.: 11150034
333 PORTAGE STREET, KALAMAZOO, MI, 49007
|Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the Assure/Parvo information published above. However, it remains the responsibility of the readers to familiarize themselves with the product information contained on the US product label or package insert.|
Copyright © 2016 North American Compendiums. Updated: 2016-01-26 |
Tony Russomanno © May 2004
What would they have done before the 1906 earthquake if they had a warning there was a 50-50 chance the Big One would hit within nine months?
What would we have done in 1989 if we had a similar nine-month warning?
In Palm Springs and throughout the Southern California desert today, there is such a warning. So what are people there doing about it? Not much.
"You can be worried, or be prepared," said Nur Bandek of Upland. "Hopefully, you'll be in an area where nothing will fall on you and you're not under a freeway."
What does the state say people should do about it? Not much.
"We recommended that no specific action be taken based upon the prediction," said Tom Jordan of the California Earthquake Potential Evaluation Council.
The prediction comes from a world-renowned 82-year-old professor of geophysics at UCLA, Vladimir Keilis-Borok. Recently, the soft-spoken Russian academic found himself given the attention of a rock star when he presented his research at a meeting of earthquake scientists in Palm Springs.
"There is a 50-50 chance that an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 or more will occur at any time between now and September 5 in the area between southeastern Mojave to Salton Sea," Keilis-Borok said.
The area of the prediction is huge -- about 12,000 square miles -- and too large for a specific warning in Palm Springs or any other desert town. Much of the area is unpopulated, reducing the potential for damage. But if people who live on the flatlands of Palm Springs and other inland communities need to be reminded of earthquakes, they only have to look literally in their backyards. The mountains that jut up suddenly from the desert floor were formed by earthquakes pushing them up. The greatest concentration of mountains generally marks the regions with the greatest concentration of significant earthquakes.
Professor Keilis-Borok's prediction technique looks for what he calls earthquake chains -- smaller quakes that occur in a pattern over a relatively short period of time. Scientists acknowledge Keilis-Borok successfully predicted both the Arroyo Grande quake last December and another one in Japan last September using his earthquake chain analysis in those regions.
California's Earthquake Potential Evaluation Council -- the state agency that determines whether any earthquake prediction is scientifically valid -- says the 2 and 0 record is legitimate, but too small a sample to show reliability.
"After, let's say, ten or so of these predictions have been made, one would begin to build up a statistical understanding of how well they're doing. So you need sort of a track record, a scorecard," said Jordan.
No one has ever come up with a method of predicting earthquakes over the short term that works any better than random chance. The USGS is predicting a 62% chance of a magnitude 6.7 or larger quake in the Bay Area within a 30-year window. Keilis-Borok's prediction of a 50% chance of a magnitude 6.4 or larger in the desert within a 9-month window significantly shortens the time frame. And that's the key. We all know there are going to be earthquakes. We just don't know when.
But for all the attention Keilis-Borok's prediction is getting, it was never supposed to be made public. Scientists were studying it privately when it leaked out. They were worried that a prediction based on an unproven theory would cause panic. But people we talked to in Palm Springs said, unproven or not, they'd rather have the information.
"We know it's going to happen, and if nothing else, it reminds us that we need to change our water out, make sure we have batteries in our flashlights, things like that," said Jodi Watkinson of Palm Springs. "We choose to live here and we know it's going to happen."
If it happens this spring or summer, earthquake prediction science will undergo a tectonic shift.
|Back to news Stories| |Back to MAAR Main Page|
All rights reserved © MAAR 2004 |
Inspiration from the Thomas Edison Center:
Menlo Park was a very sparsely populated rural area and the site of a failed residential development in the early 1870s. Edison purchased two parcels of land measuring approximately 34 acres in late 1875. Edison’s father built the main laboratory building. Edison also built other ancillary buildings including the glass house, a carpenters’ shop, a carbon shed, and a blacksmith shop. By the Spring of 1876, Edison moved his operations to Menlo Park.
Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory was the world’s first such research and development facility. While Edison was working on perfecting the telephone, he started experimenting with the idea of being able to record the sound of the human voice.
In November 1877, one of Edison’s first major inventions at Menlo Park was the phonograph, which was a basic machine that allowed a person to speak into a diaphragm that was attached to a pin that made indentations on a paper wrapped around wood. The first words Edison successfully recorded on the phonograph were “Mary had a Little Lamb”.
By 1878, this invention was known all around the world and Edison soon earned the title of “The Wizard of Menlo Park.”
Menlo Park was suddenly known worldwide and started attracting visitors to see demonstrations of the phonograph. In 1878 Edison coined the name “Invention Factory” for the Menlo Park site.
Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park
He quickly moved on to other inventions. His next big breakthrough came when he invented a bamboo filament to create a successful incandescent lightbulb. Other people had been working on the making of light bulbs in the past, but none of the earlier bulbs was ever able to work for more than a few minutes. On October 21, 1879, Edison’s light bulb burned for a continuous thirteen and a half hours. The following bulbs lasted for 40 hours and Edison and his team worked hard to light the laboratory and his home with several of the new light bulbs for Christmas. On New Year’s Eve of the same year, Christie Street became the world’s first street to be lit by incandescent light bulbs with the help of a power system designed by Edison. |
by Helen McKay
Rhyme, Rhythm and Repetition are the three great ‘R’s of storytelling.
If you want to make a great connection with your audience — whether you are telling for children or adults — get them interacting in a story that has rhyme and a strong, driving rhythm, incorporated into the body of the story. Audiences love to be involved in the storytelling.
We, humans, are naturally hard wired for rhythm and our ears are attuned for rhyming phrases. Think of the advertising jingles that stay in your memory. They work, because they incorporate rhyme, rhythm and are given frequent repetition. The advertising agencies know that.
When these techniques are repeated throughout a story, our audience is almost automatically geared with the responses. If your story does not have this special feature, build one in to it. At every place where story transitions occur, help the audience interact with a repetitive rhyming chorus. This helps create the glue to keep your audience connected.
When developing a new story, work out where the story moves on to the next phase. Make a break at that point, with a short, rhythmic, rhyming couplet, which repeats throughout the story. This will allow the audience to catch up and be ready to move on to the next stage. You may change a word or two at the end of the final chorus, so the audience is made aware the story is finished.
Before starting a story, when you are performing, spend a few moments training your audience in the responses and make sure they understand, where you want them to join in. Give them a physical cue.
Use a simple device to establish the rhythm. It could be a drum, maracas, or wooden clapping sticks – Diane Ferlatte used her staff, beating on my breadboard – wonderful sound . I sometimes use a rainstick. Then begin the story. The more the audience interact, the more they will enjoy the story experience.
Berice and I use this these techniques frequently, always with our introductory story, to make that special connection we call entrainment — the special meeting of minds. If you are doing a longish story session, sprinkle a couple more interactive stories throughout your program, to keep your audience entrained.
Seattle storyteller, Margaret Read MacDonald, offers many stories in her books, using both rhyme and rhythm: ‘The Storyteller’s Startup Book’ and ‘Twenty Tellable Tales’, to name just two of many. The stories in these books are written for storytellers to use.
Some of her books are available in Libraries, or can be borrowed in from the NSW State Library. They may also be purchased from the Internet, from Barker and Noble and Amazon Books, if you cannot get them from your usual bookseller. I recommend you read and use them.
Berice and I have used some of these stories with both adult and child audiences with equal success. They enjoy the experience of playing with words. The three R’s make those stories successful.
Those who saw Diane Ferlatte’s performances, would have experienced her use of all three techniques in her stories. She took simple stories like the Aesop’s Tales and worked with them, incorporating rhyme, rhythm and frequent repetition, into her performance. Those stories were a great listening and performing experience for her audiences. Their connection was complete and the experience dynamic!
Give these techniques a try. I believe that if you look at your stories and incorporate Rhyme, Rhythm and Repetition, as part of your storytelling and weave those stories into your portfolio, you cannot help but be successful in your storytelling.
By Helen F. McKay © |
Celebrating World Stroke Day 2018 at the Ngeme Community, Cameroon
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is cut off. Without blood, brain cells can be damaged or die. Depending on which part of the brain is affected and how quickly the person is treated, the effects of stroke on survivors can be devastating to a person’s body, mobility and speech, as well as how they think and feel. Around 80 million people living in the world today have experienced a stroke and over 50 million survivors live with some form of permanent disability as a result. While for many, life after stroke would not be quite the same, with the right care and support, living a meaningful life is still possible. This year, on World Stroke Day, HERO Cameroon saw the need to create awareness on the risk factors and preventive methods of stroke.
- To educate and empower inhabitants of Ngeme on stroke, methods of prevention and surviving with disabilities.
- To screen for risk factors of stroke (High blood pressure, Diabetes and Obesity)
The HERO Cameroon team arrived at 9am to meet with the community. Following previous negotiation meetings with the religious and traditional authorities, we mobilized a crowd of over 200 individuals. They were educated on the common signs of stroke, methods of prevention, what to do in the face of stroke and how to survive with disabilities.
The team then set out to work, and over 150 people were screened for Diabetes and Hypertension, and close to 50 people identified as high risk individuals were referred to the health facility closest to them.
The team left Ngeme at 1pm, promising to return bi-annually to ensure sustainability. |
A release is a copy of a film that is provided to a movie theater for exhibition.
In the photochemical post-production process:
- Rush prints are one-light, contact-printed copies made from an unedited roll of the original camera negative immediately after processing and screened to the cast and crew in order to ensure that the film can be used in the final film.
- Workprints , sometimes called cutting copies, are, like rush prints, copies of a negative roll. They are used for editing before the negative is conformed , or cut to match the edited workprint.
- An answer is in the form of a negative translation or an interpositive , depending on the production workflow, in order to verify that the grading (“timing” in US English) conforms to specifications, so that final adjustments can be made beforehand batch of release prints is made.
- A Showprint is a very high quality projection for the first time. It is usually printed in a negative light, with each shot being usually duplicated, it would normally be used for mass production of prints (eg Eastman 2393 for showprints, and the standard 2383 for mass-production release prints). As a showprint is at least two generations closer to the composited camera than a typical release print, the definition and saturation in the projected image is significantly higher. Showprints have been colloquially referred to as “EKs” (for Eastman Kodak), since “Showprint” is a tradename of DeLuxe, although it is not a registered trademark.
In the traditional photochemical post-production workflow, release prints are usually copies, made of a high-speed continuous contact printer, of an internalgative (sometimes referred to as a negative dupe), which in turn is a copy of an interpositive ( these were sometimes referred to as ‘lavender prints’ in the past), which in turn is a copy, optically imprinted to special features, fades, etc., from the negative camera. In short, a typical release.
The post-production of many feature films is made using a digital intermediate workflow, in which the uncut camera is scanned , editing and other post-production functions are carried out using computers, and an internalgative is burnt out to film, from which the release prints are struck in the normal way. This procedure eliminates at least one generation of analog duplication and usually results in a significant higher quality of release prints. It has the advantage that a Digital Cinema Package can be produced as a final output in addition to or instead of film prints, meaning that a single post-production workflow can produce all the required distribution media.
Release print stocks
As of March 2015, Eastman Kodak is the only remaining manufacturer of color release print stock in the world. Along with Kodak, ORWO of Germany also sells black-and-white print stock. Other manufacturers, principally DuPont of the United States, Fujifilm of Japan (the penultimate company to discontinuous color print stock ), Agfa-Gevaert of Germany, Ilford of the United Kingdom and Tasma of the Soviet Union competed with Kodak in the print market market most of the twentieth century.
The person operating the printer on which the print is struck. These include the stock manufacturer, the color temperature of the bulbs in the printer, and the various color filters which may have been introduced during the initial filming or subsequent generation of duplicates.
At the theater, release prints are projected through an aperture plate , placed between the film and the projector’s light source. The aperture plate in combination with a prime lens focal distance of the Appropriate qui determined areas of the frame are magnified and projected are masked out and qui, selon the aspect ratio in the movie qui est Intended to be projected. Sometimes a hard matte is used in the field of printing and printing. Some theaters also used aperture plates that mask away part of the frame that ispresupposed to be projected, usually where the screen is too small to accommodate a ratio and does not have a masking system in front of the screen itself. The audience may be confused when significant action appears on the masked-off edges of the picture. Director Brad Bird expressed frustration at this practice, which some theaters applied to his film The Incredibles .
Production and disposal
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Release prints are the expensive. For example, in the United States, it is not unusual for each one to cost around $ 1,500 to print and ship to theaters around the country. The cost of a release is primarily based on its length, the type of print is used and the number of prints being struck in a given run. Laser subtitling release prints of foreign language films adds to the cost per print. Due to the fear of piracy, distributors try to ensure that prints are returned and destroyed after the movie’s theatrical run is complete. However, small numbers of private collectors, usually entering this market via projectionists, who simply retain their prints at the end of the run and do not return them. A significant number of films have been preserved , via prints eventually being donated to film archives and preservation masters printed from them. The polyester film base is often recycled. [ quote needed ]
EKs (showprints) are more expensive than ever before. Perhaps only five EKs will be made of a distributed distributed feature, compared to thousands of standard prints. They are primarily for first-run and Academy- based theatrical runs in Los Angeles and New York City. This accounts for two of the typically five produced. Two EKs are usually reserved for the film’s producer. The remaining EK is usually archived by the film’s distributor.
Conventional release prints, which are made from timed internalgatives, usually contain black-and-white, and are often “punched” and “inked” for this purpose. Showprints, being made from the negative camera, which are never “punched” or “inked”, have white motor and changeover are just punched (or scribed) directly on the prints by hand, in the lab.
- Jump up^ “OrWo Positive Print Movie PF-2;” . Retrieved 2013-01-20 .
- Jump up^ “Announcement on Movie Motion Picture Business of Fujifilm;” . 2012-09-13 . Retrieved 2013-01-20 .
- Jump up^ Jan Ivarssonand Mary Carroll,Subtitling, Simrishamn, 1998, pp. 33-37.
- Jump up^ Kerry Segrave,Piracy in the Motion Picture Industry, Jefferson, NC, McFarland (2003), p. 178. |
Singing lessons for beginners is often a challenging task mainly because the person does not know what is expected of them. The person is actually nervous and afraid that he or she might make mistakes and be laughed at and so many other reasons.
However a student starting out in the singing lesson should understand that everyone
starts from somewhere and with just a little effort and determination he or she should be as good as, if not better than most students taking the lesson.
Here are a few tips to help the beginner fit in and get into the first of things:
Mistakes are normal
First of all one should not be afraid to make mistakes. This is common in singing lessons for beginners to be scared of making mistakes.
This fear of failure often impedes the success of many would be great musicians.
The student should understand that even the great musicians out there
started by making mistakes. For one to be successful it takes practice, failing, practice failing and more practice. A common lesson in singing is where a
student is expected to crock, and it is quite common for beginners to try and avoid their stage, without understanding its importance in their success of
their music journey. A common phrase is that unless one falls, one can never know how to stand.
Get a good teacher
Secondly, find a good teacher; it may sound like a cliché but most students don’t excel in their musical learning pursuit because of the teacher they have
chosen. Choosing a good teacher who understands the demand of singing lessons for beginners is important.
Some singing coaches
unfortunately are only focused on money making and not the development of student skills. The instructor should help the student find his or her own unique
identity, and should not force or strain the student into singing when the student cannot.
The student should also ensure that he or she is committed to the music lessons. Commitment both in terms of attending the lesson participating in them and
practicing what he or she has been taught during the lesson. It is a usual sight in singing lessons for beginning to shy off from
participating in activities.
Actively participate in your learning
They fail to understand that it is only through active participation that they can learn quickly. The student should ensure
that he or she keeps practicing even after the lessons are over. However the student should not practice for long duration.
A good strategy would be to
practice frequently for a few minutes. One could practice the sol-fa narration from time to time.
The student should be at ease with him or herself and should not try to sing exactly like someone else. He or she should ensure that they are having fun
and they should take it step by step, one day at a time and in no time he or she will be better. It would also be of a great help to the student if he or
she read books obtain study material which gives advice on singing lessons for beginners. |
Using buildings to tell Salford’s story
This resource will help pupils discover more about some of the historic buildings around Islington Mill and Chapel Street in Salford. Pupils will explore the local cultural, social and industrial heritage of the area.
By following this heritage trail around Chapel Street in Salford pupils will discover some of this area’s most important historic buildings and sites. At each stop on the trail, there are suggested “do now” activities to help pupils observe and consider the historical significance of the building or site.
In the classroom, pupils will use the PPT and/or the StoryMap to revisit the buildings and sites on the trail. For each building or site, there are suggested “do in the classroom” activities, to allow pupils to more closely investigate the events, people or themes uncovered in the trail. There are also suggested “do later” activities, which pupils may like to do outside of school with their families.
Learning aims and outcomes
- To know more about the built environment and how it relates to the heritage and story of a place.
- To raise awareness of Salford’s industrial and cultural heritage.
- To investigate why key historical sites in a local area are important.
- To encourage the use of local maps, plans and historical evidence to find out about an area in the past.
- No prior knowledge is required
Extended learning and useful links
- Teaching Activity: Stories in Stone - How do buildings adapt and change over time to reflect our rich and diverse heritage?
- Teaching Activity: Knowing Bradford: How can buildings tell a story?
- Teaching Activity: Sir Titus Salt and Saltaire: Discovering a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a national example of the significance of the Industrial Revolution |
10 REASONS Why You Should Visit IRAN
View In PDF Format: English
1. Unique Ancient & Historical Sites
“7000 Years of History & Civilization!
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest living civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 7000 BC. The southwestern and western part of the Iranian Plateau contributed to the traditional Ancient Near East with the Elamite Civilization, from the Early Bronze Age, and later with various other peoples’, such as the Kassites, Mannaeans and Gutians. Hegel once named the Persians as the first Historical People. The Medes unified Iran as a nation and empire in 625 BC. The Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC), founded by Cyrus the Great, was the first of the Persian empires to rule from the Balkans to North Africa and also Central Asia, spanning three continents, from their seat of power in Persis (Persepolis). It was the largest empire up to that time, and the first world empire, spanning 5.5 million square kilometers, larger than any previous empire in history. Iran has also endured invasions by the Greeks, Arabs, Turks and Mongols. Nevertheless, it has continually reasserted its national identity throughout the centuries and has developed as a distinct political and cultural entity. Iran was reunified as an independent state in 1501 by the Safavid Dynasty, which converted Iran to Shia Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Iran and also Islam.
When it comes to UNESCO-registered World Heritage Sites, Iran can boast an impressive 23 registered cultural sites. Palaces, bazaars, places of worship, ancient water systems, and remnants of the great Persian Empire dominate this list. There are a variety of tourist attractions and ancient and historical sites in Iran, such as:
Persepolis (locally known as Takht-e Jamshid): Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. The site was chosen and constructed under Cyrus the Great, Darius I, and King Xerxes. What remains of this pinnacle of Persian Civilization are massive columns and former palaces, innumerable reliefs depicting people of various nationalities that once walked through there.
Bam and its Cultural Landscape (Arg-e Bam): An overview of Bam immediately gives visitors the impression of being in a life-sized sand castle. The most recognized monument, Arg-e Bam, dates back over 2,000 years to the Parthian Empire.
Shahr-e Sukhteh (Burnt City): Or the Burnt City, is an archaeological site of a sizable Bronze Age urban settlement, associated with the Jiroft Culture. The reasons for the unexpected rise and fall of the Burnt City are still wrapped in mystery.
Tepe (Hill) Sialk Ziggurat: is a large ancient archeological site in a suburb of the city of Kashan, Isfahan Province, in central Iran. According to a joint study between Iran’s Cultural Heritage Organization, the “Louvre”, and the “Institut Francais de Recherche en Iran,” the oldest settlements in Sialk date back to 5500–6000 BC.
2. Incredible Architecture
British traveler, art critic, and author, Robert Byron:
“Rank Esfahan among those rare places, like Athens or Rome, which are the common refreshment of humanity”. Persian architecture is the architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Its history dates back to at least 5,000 BCE with characteristic examples distributed over a vast area from Turkey and Iraq to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and from the Caucasus to Zanzibar. Persian buildings vary from peasant huts to teahouses and gardens, from pavilions to “some of the most majestic structures the world has ever seen”. In addition to historical gates, palaces and mosques, the rapid growth of cities, such as the capital, Tehran, has brought about a wave of demolition and new construction. Iranian architecture features a great variety, both structurally and aesthetically, deriving from a variety of traditions and experiences. Without sudden innovations, and despite the repeated trauma of invasions and cultural shocks, it has achieved “an individuality distinct from that of other Muslim countries”.
Historian and Archaeologist Arthur Pope:
“The supreme Iranian art, in the proper meaning of the word, has always been its architecture”
The supremacy of Iranian architecture applies to both pre- and post-Islamic periods. Overall, the traditional Iranian architecture throughout the ages can be categorized into the following styles:
The Zoroastrian Style is found in monuments Such as the Chogha Zanbil temple (Ziggurat).
The Achaemenid Style is exemplified by Persepolis, Susa, Ecbatana, Tomb of Cyrus the Great.
The Parthian Style (Includes Seleucid, Parthian and Sassanid eras).
The Khorasani Style is exemplified by the Jameh Mosque of Naien and the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan.
The Razi Style has influenced the methods and designs used in subsequent eras.
The Azari Style is to be found in monuments such as the Dome of Soltaniyeh, Arg-e Alishah, the Jameh Mosque of
Varamin, and the Goharshad Mosque in Mashhad.
The Isfahani Style was prevalent throughout the Safavid, Afsharid, Zand and Qajarid eras. Examples
include Chehelsotoon and Ali Qapu.
3. Rich Museums
Boasting one of the world’s most ancient civilizations, Iran has numerous museums that offer a rich insight into thousands of years of national art and culture.
The National Museum of Iran
With more than 70 years of activity, The National Museum of Iran contains 300,000 museum objects in an area of more than 20,000 square meters. In addition to being the country’s largest museum of History and Archaeology, it ranks as one of the world’s most prestigious museums in terms of grandeur, scale, diversity and quality of its huge monuments. Here are some of the best, most-visited museums in Iran: the Reza Abassi Museum, the Iran Cinema Museum, the Glassware and Ceramic Museum, the National Jewelry Museum, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMOCA), the National Museum of Iran, the Shiraz Pars Museum and the Iran Carpet Museum.
4.The Lowest Tourism Cost in the World
For the third time, Iran has been chosen in the latest Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), as the most affordable foreign tourist destination. The biennial report surveys 136 countries in 14 categories, indicating their performance in delivering sustainable economic and social benefits through their tourism sector. The report states that in terms of price competitiveness, Iran is ranked above tourism industry heavyweights such as Egypt, Malaysia, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Spain, the US, France and Italy. It indicates how costly it is to travel or invest in countries. Costs relating to travel, such as ticket prices, fuel rates, and taxes, as well as ground costs, including accommodation and food prices, are the indicators for “price competitiveness”.
Iran Price competitiveness rating is 6.66, placing it first in the world.
5. Hospitality And Affectionate People
“Experience the real sense of hospitality which you’d never experience elsewhere”
American chef, author, and television personality, Anthony Bourdain:
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this — of all the places, of all the countries, all the years of traveling, it’s here, in Iran, that I am greeted most warmly by total strangers.”
If anything, all that Iranians can be accused of is excessive hospitality. So, when traveling to Iran, beware
of innocent looking situations, which could turn into one of your life experiences. Kind of walking into
The Twilight Zone. The Iranians are of such an affable nature as to warm your heart and make your travel more off beat.
Jouber (A French Traveler) says:
“Our hosts (Iranians) did not neglect us even for a minute during meals. The food was simply fantastic, and they were very attentive even to the guests’ smallest needs. The servants also had the utmost care in catering to our needs.’’
6. Health Tourism
Iran offers a wide range of treatment facilities through an extensive network of highly equipped hospitals (around 850 hospitals), and rehabilitation centers with reasonable costs. A costs analysis procedure shows that treatment costs in Iran are much lower in comparison to developed countries. Iran is also very cost-competitive in comparison to its regional competitors such as Jordan, Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, as well as Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and India. In 2012, 30,000 people traveled to Iran to receive medical treatment. Between 150,000 and 200,000 health tourists are estimated to have traveled to Iran in 2015, and this figure is expected to rise to 500,000 in subsequent years.
Iran has some of the most important hot spring spa centers of the world, attracting millions of visitors each year. The spas are famous for their therapeutic value. The most important Iranian spas include:
Mt. Damavand Thermal Springs and Public SPA Damavand has some thermal springs with therapeutic qualities. These mineral hot spring are mainly located on the volcano’s flanks and at the base, giving evidence of volcanic heat comparatively near the surface of the earth. The main Damavand Hot Spring is Larijan Thermal Springs or Abe Garm-e Larijan.
Sar Ein Spas
Sar Ein or Sar Ghein village, a district of Irdimousa village, is located west of the city of Ardabil nearby the town itself (6 kilometers from the Ardabil - Tabriz road). They include Gavmish Goli (buffalo pool), Ghara Sue (black water), Sari Sue hot spa (yellow water), Gazal hot water spring, and Ab Cheshmeh.
There are other spas in other Iranian cities as well.
7. Iranian Handicrafts and Handmade Art
“Art of Our Hands Will Shine in Your Eyes”
Iran has been a center of civilization for at least 7000 years, in Arts and Crafts. Iranian Art has one of the richest art heritages in world history. It encompasses many subfields, such as the following:
Calico (Ghalamkar), a type of Textile Printing; Gerehchini, like what is seen in the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque diorama, where frames of wood and panels of glass are set next to each other in mostly geometrical designs; Local musical instruments (Tar & Setar); Silverwork, for making many objects out of silver (these include trays, candle holders, fruit dishes, cups and other decorative objects); Woodcarving (like woodworking on tables and furniture); Engraving (Ghalamzani), which is a science, art, hobby, industry and trade; Inlaid work or Khatamkari, as one of the Iranian forms of marquetry wherein the surface of wooden or metallic articles is decorated with pieces of wood, bone and metal cut in a variety of shapes and designs; Miniature, a small painting, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works, tiling, stone carving, brickwork, stuccos and tile panels.
8. Iran’s Ecotourism Potentials
“Charming Nature: The Land of Red Springs, Green Summers, Yellow Falls and White Winters”
Today, Ecotourism has transformed into a new trend in the tourism industry. Iran is a country with a dazzling variety of natural attractions, including mountains, lakes, caves, forests, rare plant and animal species, mineral waters and numerous islands on its southern and northern beaches. All of these attractions have made Iran a favorite destination for sightseers. Swimming and water skiing are certainly exciting experiences not to be easily forgotten. Iran’s fauna includes some rare species, such as the Siberian Kingfisher, falcons, eagles, pelicans, etc. It also features such Mammals as the Persian Fallow Deer, Wild Cheetahs, the Asiatic Black Bear, the Persian Gazelle, and Zebras. The blue whale is a marine mammal inhabiting the Persian Gulf, the country’s largest marine habitat.
Considered as one of the world’s top five countries in terms of biodiversity, Iran is home to 519 bird species, 172 mammal species, 199 reptile species, 20 species of amphibians, 173 species of fish and 9,000 distinctive plant species. There are also 9 biosphere storages, 50 interior lakes, 548,000 km of coastal lines in the north and south, including numerous islands, 23 national parks, 35 wildlife refuges and 111 protected zones. Popular ecotourism attractions in Iran include mountain and desert treks, bird watching in coastal areas and wetlands, and diving. There are a number of natural parks and protected zones, such as the Golestan National Forest, Dasht-e Kavir, Lar, Khosh Yellagh, the Bakhtegan Lake and the Bamoo Mountain, which offer ecotourism attractions. Some of Iran’s Ecotourism capacities include the following:
The Golestan Forest (National Park), Gorgan, Dasht-e Kavir (National Park, The Dizin Ski Resort, Mountaineering and Mountain Climbing, Rock Climbing, Rafting, Scuba Diving, Trekking, Desert Safari, and The Caspian Coast.
9. Iranian food
“Tasty Foods Enshrined in the Aura of History’’
There are over 400 different kinds of food and sweets in Iran. The ingredients are generally cereals, grains, vegetables and proteins. The existence of various ethnic groups in Iran, alongside its rich culture, has made Iranian Cuisine highly diversified. Some of the most popular Iranian foods include, AabGousht (Dizi), Fesenjan (Pomegranate Walnut Stew), Bademjan (Eggplant and Tomato Stew), Baghali Polo (Rice with Dill and Fava Beans), Zereshk Polo (Rice with Barberry), Ghorme Sabzi (vegetable stew), Ash-e Reshteh (noodle and bean soup), Tahdig (Crunchy Fried Rice), Morassa Polo (Rice decorated with nuts and dried fruit), and Kebab (Barbecue, Lamb, Chicken, Lamb Liver, Ground Meat).
Both hot and cold drinks are also common in Iran. Cold drinks include Sekanjebin and various types of fragrant liquids such as rose water. Warm drinks include coffee, black tea, green tea and herbal tea (tisane). Black tea is more popular in Iran, even during summer times.
Local desserts include, Ranginak, Faloodeh Shirazi, Ghotab, Pashmak, Loze nârgil, Sohan, and Gaz.
10.Visit a Land of Four-Seasons
“Iran: A World inside a Country”
Iran is one of the few countries with four distinct seasons each year. Traveling to Iran in different seasons means encountering distinctive and divergent scenes and adventures. In summertime, the weather can be cold in some parts of the north while warm or scorching hot in others. In wintertime, major parts of the country can be blanketed in snow while others in the south and southeast hot and humid.
The North is covered with Evergreen Forests and borders a Grand Lake (Caspian Sea) supporting a moderate climate. The South is bounded by the Persian Gulf, with a hot and humid climate, dotted with enchanting and glamorous Palm Forests which calm the mind and feed the soul. The East runs through hot desert regions and a multitude of colored sand with sky nights filled with stars, versus the West, a vast land chained together with some of the highest mountains anywhere to the west of itself.
In other words, Iran enjoys the characteristics of all the seasons as the Western Iranian Plateau (Iran) straddles the crossroads of a number of geo-climatic zones. The rather large territory of the country, with great differences in altitude, is also contributory to the variation in climate and vegetation. Iran truly is a land of wonder, paradox and diversity, hence the title, “Iran: a World inside a Country”.
10 Reasons to Visit Iran in (Other Languages):
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View in PDF Format: Arabic
View in PDF Format: French |
Subsets and Splits