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Few adolescent females undergo pregnancy testing in the ED, even when they complain of lower abdominal pain or before they are exposed to radiation for tests or examinations, according to a study. Researchers reviewed National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data from 2000 to 2009 on female patients ages 14 to 21 who were examined in an ED. Of the 77 million girls who visited an ED over the nine-year period, just 14.5 million (18.7%) were tested for pregnancy. Of the patients reporting abdominal pain, 42.3% were tested for pregnancy, and of those receiving radiologic imaging, 21.5% were tested. Of patients exposed to radiation that could cause birth defects (such as a chest radiograph or CT scan), only 27.9% received a pregnancy test. Disparities in testing were noted based on age, race and insurance type. “We were surprised to find that pregnancy testing occurred infrequently,” Monika Goyal, MD, FAAP, an author of the study, said in a news release. “It was particularly concerning that rates of pregnancy testing were low even among females with potential reproductive health complaints or with exposure to radiation through diagnostic testing, like CT scans. “These findings underscore the need to develop quality improvement interventions to increase pregnancy testing in adolescent girls in the ED, especially among those with higher risk of pregnancy complications,” added Goyal, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Childrens Hospital Philadelphia. The study was presented this month at the American Academy of Pediatrics national conference and exhibition in New Orleans.
During the eighteenth century, two church doctrines provided sweeping biblical explanations for most questions about biological diversity: Separate Creation, the idea that all creatures have been created independently of one another by God and organized into a hierarchy ("chain of being") with Man occupying the most elevated rank beneath God; and the 6,000 year limit on the age of the planet. It is not the average person who questions two thousand years of dogma, but that is what Buffon did: 100 years before Darwin, Buffon, in his Historie Naturelle, a 44 volume encyclopedia describing everything known about the natural world, wrestled with the similarities of humans and apes and even talked about common ancestry of Man and apes. Although Buffon believed in organic change, he did not provide a coherent mechanism for such changes. He thought that the environment acted directly on organisms through what he called "organic particles". Buffon also published Les Epoques de la Nature (1788) where he openly suggested that the planet was much older than the 6,000 years proclaimed by the church, and discussed concepts very similar to Charles Lyell's "uniformitarianism" which were formulated 40 years later. Buffon was born into the wealth and prestige of the French aristocracy and was educated in law and medicine, but his real interest was nature. He was struck by the diversity of life and was not content with existing explanations of the natural world. What separated him from others was his empirical and philosophical pursuits of causes and explanations beyond the accepted explanations of his time. Buffon's courageous way of looking at the world paved the way for subsequent revolutionary thinkers who are responsible for much of what we know about the natural world.
Students personal development plan The parts of a personal development plan can help students and even business people meet goals they have set for themselves. Read on to learn more. Parts of a Personal Development Plan Personal development plans are created by millions of people across the globe each year, sometimes every couple of months, in order to put their lives in perspective and reach goals that they have set for themselves. The basic parts of a personal development plan help the plan's creator do the following:learn using a wider range of contexts recognize the evidence present that you are learning use your expanded knowledge to meet personal goals plan, review, and take a personal responsibility for your own learning define and recognize the needs for your ability to learn define short term and long term goals decide what objects are needed to obtain these short term and long term goals be able to identify and learn from your strengths and weaknesses use the info above to determine what you need to do to learn and meet goals plan the development of your personal skills carry out tasks in a more effective manner Six Stages of Personal Development Plans Personal development plans are more often than not created by students. Now, these students can be either part time or full time students. Part time students typically take one or two classes per semester and full time students have 15 credits or more of classes each semester. The six stages of a personal development plan and their lengths of time include the following: Outlining training needs to meet your goal, understanding the basic requirements of the research involved, registration for classes, figure out which subject models you will need, managing and understanding research and developing transferable skills (12 months for part time students and 6 months for full time students). Conducting more research (2 years for part time and 12 months for full time students). Reporting or writing about research, PhD transfer (3 years for part time students).
- What foods are bad for bone density? - What are 3 bone strengthening activities? - Can you increase bone density after 60? - Which fruit is best for bones? - Can you build bone density? - Can osteoporosis be reversed without drugs? - What is the best exercise for bone density? - How much walking does it take to build bones? - How long does it take to build bone density? What foods are bad for bone density? Foods to limit or avoidHigh-salt foods. Excess salt consumption can cause your body to release calcium, which is harmful to your bones. While a moderate amount of alcohol is considered safe for those with osteoporosis, excess alcohol can lead to bone loss. Excess vitamin A. What are 3 bone strengthening activities? Examples of bone-strengthening activity include jumping jacks, running, brisk walking, and weight-lifting exercises. As these examples illustrate, bone-strengthening activities can also be aerobic and muscle strengthening. Can you increase bone density after 60? 1.Exercise Just 30 minutes of exercise each day can help strengthen bones and prevent osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercises, such as yoga, tai chi, and even walking, help the body resist gravity and stimulate bone cells to grow. Strength-training builds muscles which also increases bone strength. Which fruit is best for bones? Good-for-Your-Bones FoodsFoodNutrientTomato products, raisins, potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, papaya, oranges, orange juice, bananas, plantains and prunes.PotassiumRed peppers, green peppers, oranges, grapefruits, broccoli, strawberries, brussels sprouts, papaya and pineapples.Vitamin C10 more rows Can you build bone density? Summary: Performing weight-bearing and resistance training exercises can help increase bone formation during bone growth and protect bone health in older adults, including those with low bone density. Can osteoporosis be reversed without drugs? Dietary musts for strong bones You can prevent or reverse bone loss with a diet that’s rich in nutrients and minerals that are key to building and maintaining bone: calcium, vitamin D and phosphorous. Calcium is constantly removed and replaced through a bone “remodeling” process, but it isn’t made by the body. What is the best exercise for bone density? Weight-bearing and resistance exercises are the best for your bones. Weight-bearing exercises force you to work against gravity. They include walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, playing tennis, and dancing. Resistance exercises – such as lifting weights – can also strengthen bones. How much walking does it take to build bones? Walking as little as three to five miles a week can help build your bone health. For general health, most experts recommend that everyone get at least half an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise five times a week. Forty-five minutes to an hour is even better. How long does it take to build bone density? Our bodies spend their first three decades building bone and typically reach peak bone mass around age 30. In the years before reaching peak bone mass, the body creates new bone quickly — but after the age of 30, bone growth slows and more bone is lost than gained.
Why do most people like warm weather This is a good way to get through the day in the heat If the temperatures rise to 30 degrees and more in summer, many people no longer feel good. The reason for this is simple: the core temperature in the organs and in the brain is 37.5 degrees. At this temperature, all organs and all biochemical processes function optimally. The temperature of our body shell is slightly lower and is around 36.5 degrees. However, we have a heat regulator that transports heat from the inside to the outside via the blood. High blood pressure and fluid loss when exposed to heat However, it can no longer function properly if the ambient temperature is high. The body surface also heats up. Nevertheless, the body tries everything to keep the core temperature the same: The blood pressure rises because the blood is supposed to carry away the heat, and the body sweats - this creates evaporation cold. It is precisely these two things, high blood pressure and fluid loss that are troubling for many. Headaches, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, general circulatory problems or even circulatory collapse can result. Stabilize the circulation Anyone who suffers from severe circulatory problems should consult a doctor. Otherwise: Drink plenty of water, consume salt and minerals, because the body loses a lot of salt through sweating. Broth or savory biscuits replace it again. Resting in the shade, a cool shower or cooling off the forearms or feet under cold water and wet hair can also lower the body temperature and whip up the circulation. Avoid cold shock If you want to refresh yourself with an ice cream or a cold drink, you may risk a headache: Some people do not tolerate the temperature difference of ice-cold ice cream in the mouth of a very hot body because the blood vessels suddenly constrict from the cold ice cream. Sensitive people should avoid the temperature roller coaster. Keep rooms cool In contrast to countries in which it is generally warm, we like to have our apartments and houses facing south in our latitudes. On hot days, the motto is: Only open the windows in the morning before the heat is high and ventilate thoroughly. Then close the windows and draw blinds or curtains to block out the heat and sun. If you want to protect your circulation, it is best to stay in rooms facing north. Sleep well in spite of the heat The windows in the bedroom should also be closed during the day. Ventilate thoroughly before going to bed, only tilt the windows at night, as the drafts can lead to tension. To improve the indoor climate, you can hang a wet sheet in front of the window. Even at high temperatures you should cover yourself up and not sleep naked, otherwise there is a risk of catching a cold. Instead of a blanket, a thin sheet is sufficient. If you like, you can put it in the freezer before going to sleep. That refreshes the body. Under no circumstances should you take sleeping pills, because they put additional stress on the circulation. Showers: lukewarm instead of ice cold Those suffering from heat can refresh themselves with a damp cloth on their foreheads or by running cold water over their forearms. However, caution is advised with a cold shower: anyone who takes an ice cold shower stimulates his circulation in such a way that problems can arise - and afterwards sweats even more, because the cold shower on a hot day increases blood pressure. It is better to take a lukewarm shower. Eat and drink properly Recipes for hot days Warm, heavy dishes do not taste good at high temperatures in summer. Recipe ideas for hot days - from cold soups to drinks. more Even more than on other days, care should be taken to ensure sufficient liquid when it is hot. Anyone who sweats a lot has to drink a lot. The drink of choice here is water. Fruit juices diluted with water also replenish the reserves. Older people in particular should constantly remind themselves to drink, as the need for fluids often decreases with age. If you often forget to drink, you should put two liters of water or juice in different places in the apartment first thing in the morning. When passing by, the drinks are a reminder to take a sip. When it comes to eating, the following applies: no heavy and fatty food, but rather several small and light meals with lots of fruit, salad and vegetables. When shopping, it's best to take a cooler bag with you so that perishable foods such as meat or milk can make it home safely. If possible, local fruits and vegetables should also be in the refrigerator at home. They go bad quickly at high temperatures. Be careful with air conditioners What helps in the heat? The tips at a glance - Drink plenty of water - eat light fare - Consume salt and minerals - Avoid strong temperature differences - Darken south-facing rooms - Take a lukewarm shower instead of ice cold - Do not set air conditioning systems too cold - wear airy clothing - Moving sport into the morning hours Air conditioning in the office should not be set so cool that you have to put on a jacket or sweater. The temperature difference between inside and outside is then much too great. The first step into the air can be more than arduous for the circulation. The same goes for air conditioning in the car. Drivers sit in the same position for a long time in front of the draft from the air conditioning slot. This can lead to muscle tension or conjunctivitis. Leave air between skin and clothing If possible, clothing should not be skin-tight, but rather airy. Stretch pants and tight tops should be left hanging in the closet on extremely hot days. It is better to choose loose garments that allow a little air to pass through. If you are out and about, you shouldn't forget to wear a hat: peaked cap, straw hat, cap - anything that keeps the heat out is good for you. Exercise only in the early morning If you don't want to do without exercise on hot days, for example in the form of walking or jogging, you should plan this for the early morning hours, when the air is still cool and fresh. Exercise is too stressful for the heart and circulation, especially at lunchtime. The same applies to heavy physical work. Store food properly in summer How do bread and vegetables stay fresh for a long time despite the heat? And does milk go sour during a thunderstorm? Tips for the optimal storage of food in summer temperatures. more This topic in the program: NDR Info \| 07/25/2019 \| 8:50 a.m. - How common is casual sex in India - How to improve your vocabulary - Where do you live in Halifax - Can China one day become like the United States? - What was the Khilafat Movement - What's wrong with colonialism - What is 2 2 4 1 1 - What are the export items to Bhutan - Are Ford F 150 reliable trucks - What does Sala de Espera mean - Can a non-citizen file a lawsuit - Obama is an excellent president - Is nail polish Haram in Islam - How can I download THE HINDU epaper - Can I teach myself silat - Support Tamils the Aryan invasion theory - Why is the IELTS exam so expensive - Does China have any antitrust laws - Latin Americans are white - Any Indian Muslim can move to Pakistan - How powerful is the ISKCON organization - How can I avoid being alone? - Why didn't consumer banks develop APIs - How many laws of reflection are there - Which is the European country - How do I start a travel business - Vegetarians may like meat - What are the most profitable Mexican startups - What modifications are there for Formula 1 vehicles? - Who created the American sign language - What is approval-seeking behavior - Why was General Lee accused of treason - Who is everyone's favorite star - How much do nude models earn
We presented at the ACHPER Sports Science Conference on Friday 20th March to help PE teachers implement sport science in their Year 7-10 curriculum. These videos and the prac activity were just a couple of the resources we shared with those in attendance. We hope you find them useful for your classes too. When teaching students about the stages of learning we use these two videos to help students visualise the difference between the autonomous and cognitive stage (it also gives them a bit of a laugh too). We recommend using them directly after teaching students about the different stages of learning. The video above is a skills session from an All Blacks training session where they are clearly displaying skills at the ‘autonomous’ stage, whereas the video below is a ‘similar’ skills session from a Brumbies training session where they are displaying skills at the ‘cognitive’ stage. These videos are not the most academically sound description of the stages, but they do help kids remember the difference and they really enjoy them! This practical activity is one that we have used with a variety of year levels to help them increase their knowledge regarding classification of motor skills and the stages of learning. Click the image below to download the practical task sheet. In pairs, students make their way around 12 activity stations. Students complete each activity for one minute, scoring each activity. At the end of each round, students then need to classify the skill as fine or gross (movement precision) and discrete, serial or continuous (type of movement). They then need to identify their stage of learning for that particular skill (cognitive, associative or autonomous). Once all activities have been completed, students then need to label each activity on the Open and Closed skill continuum. You can modify the activities to suit your participants as well as increasing or decreasing the number of activity stations. We definitely recommend giving this one a go with your kids – they will love challenging each other at each of the stations! If you have any questions about the practical activity or the videos, please don’t hesitate to ask. Airlie & Heath
“Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are” turns out to be a good guideline for cell research. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have managed to map out different subtypes of tiny liver cells by pairing them up with their “buddies” – adjacent larger cells that are easier to study. As described in a recent issue of Nature Biotechnology, the pairing-up method may be applied to the mapping of other cell types in the body, and in the future it may facilitate tissue engineering and thedevelopment of new therapies. Scientists generally map out cell subtypes in various organs by studying their mRNAs, messenger molecules that contain genetic instructions for making proteins. In earlier work, Dr. Shalev Itzkovitz of the Molecular Cell Biology Department had revealed that liver cells called hepatocytes – the liver’s main “work-horses,” which enable this organ to filter out toxins and perform other vital tasks – can be divided into at least nine subtypes, each occupying a different location and specializing in its own tasks. Such cells are more than mere helpers But other liver cells – for example, such supporting cell types as endothelial cells – are harder to map. These cells serve as the building blocks of blood vessels and provide an interface between blood vessels and hepatocytes. Such cells are more than mere helpers; they play regulating roles in liver tissue. Since they are so small, however – about 20 times smaller than hepatocytes – individual cells don’t contain enough mRNA to enable researchers to define their locations and characteristics. In the new study, Itzkovitz and his colleagues got around this problem by removing pairs of cells from liver-tissue extract, each made of an endothelial cell attached to a hepatocyte. They then proceeded in two steps. First, relying on their earlier study, they mapped out the different subtypes of hepatocytes in the pairs. Next, they sampled single endothelial cells from different locations and analyzed their genomes, identifying more than a thousand genes that were exclusively expressed in endothelial cells and not in hepatocytes. This enabled them to tell which mRNAs in each cell pair had originated from the endothelial cell and not from its neighbor hepatocyte. They then collected entire groups of endothelial cells from each tissue location, obtaining enough mRNA to define the genomic profile of each subgroup. They found that expression levels of about a third of the endothelial cell genes increase or decrease gradually as one moves from one subtype of cell to another along a blood vessel wall. The mapping has already produced an important revelation. It had been known that a subtype of endothelial cells enveloping a major vein in the liver has high expression levels of a gene called Wnt, which regulates important genes in adjacent hepatocytes. Surprisingly, the scientists discovered that next to these is another subtype: endothelial cells expressing high levels of another gene that acts as an anti-Wnt, shutting down the Wnt reaction chain. It’s possible that the two cell subtypes emit On and Off signals that together control the activity of hepatocytes. “Our pairing-up method can be applied to mapping out subtypes of small, supporting cells in the brain, kidneys, heart and various other body organs,” says Itzkovitz. Ultimately, the method can help create an atlas of all human cells, whose number stands at about 100 trillion – 1 followed by 14 zeroes. Ultimately, the method can help create an atlas of all human cells Mapping subtypes on this level of detail might provide a way forward for tissue engineering, particularly when it comes to such a highly structured organ as the liver. If, in the future, scientists learn how to engineer artificial portions of the liver, they will need to place the appropriate supporting cells in a way that mimics living liver tissue. Artificial liver tissue may be used for transplantation purposes, reducing the need for donor livers; it could also be used in drug development for testing the toxicity of various drugs – tests that are currently performed in laboratory animals. Mapping out endothelial cell subtypes may also advance the development of new therapies for such diseases as fibrosis, in which scar tissue forms in the liver. Understanding the contributions of different cell subtypes to this process may help interfere with the scar formation. Insights gained through the new method may also help develop anticancer drugs aimed at the supporting cells that facilitate tumor growth. Study authors included: Dr. Keren Bahar Halpern, Rom Shenhav, Dr. Hassan Massalha, Dr. Beata Toth, Adi Egozi, Efi E. Massasa and Dr. Andreas Moor of the Molecular Cell Biology Department; Prof. Ido Amit, Dr. Chiara Medaglia, Eyal David and Amir Giladi of the Immunology Department; and Dr. Ziv Porat of the Life Sciences Core Facilities Department. Dr. Shalev Itzkovitz's research is supported by the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust; the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations; and the European Research Council. Dr. Itzkovitz is the incumbent of the Philip Harris and Gerald Ronson Career Development Chair. Please share if you found this interesting:
Green-necked Peafowl, Burmese Peafowl, Java Peafowl Scientific Name: Pavo muticus Java Green Peafowl are strikingly colored, and there is little sexual dimorphism. The males have iridescent green feathers edged in black, which have the appearance of scales. Their crests are erect and their heads are covered in iridescent blue-green feathers. There is a bare patch of yellow and blue beneath each eye. The flight feathers of the Java Green Peafowl are chestnut in color, but the wing coverts are blue and green. Their tails take the shape of a huge fan, which stands upright behind the bird. It may also be carried closed in a trailing fashion. The feathers are brilliantly colored with the pattern of an eye shape, and have a golden sheen throughout. Female Green Peafowl have coloration that is not as iridescent as the male, and their tails are shorter and less impressively colored. Males and some females have spurs. Java Green Peafowl will usually need to be wormed twice yearly with a commercial wormer in order to ensure they are in prime health. Java Green Peafowl select mates by displaying their tails and choosing the bird with the loveliest feathers. In late summer when the breeding season is over, males will molt their tails. By three years of age, a male Java Green Peafowl has reached sexual maturity and can service up to five hens. Some hens may lay eggs as early as one year of age, but usually are not bred until they are three years old. Beginning in April, Java Green Peahens will lay seven to ten eggs in nesting boxes. If the eggs are removed, they may lay up to 30 eggs. Generally, they scrape out depressions in the ground, lining them with grass, though in an aviary, a nesting box filled with hay will usually be utilized if provided. The eggs should be incubated at about 100 degrees Fahrenheit and will hatch in 27 to 30 days. They may also be incubated by the mother, or they may be incubated by a chicken or duck! After the eggs have hatched, the baby Java Green Peafowl should be kept warm. Begin at 95 degrees Fahrenheit and decrease the temperature by five degrees for each week that the young birds age. After the 4th week, the peachicks should be living in a daily temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and if this is the normal daily temperature in the location they are living, they should no longer need the heat lamps. Wire bottomed nursery aviaries work well, and they should be lidded. Teach the baby peafowl to eat or drink by placing a chick into the enclosure that already knows how. This may be another Java Green Peafowl or a young chicken or duck. Also, a marble placed in the food or water bowl may be helpful, as the young birds will peck at it and thus the items in the bowl as well. Medicated starter feed is generally used, mixed in with a bit of lettuce or grass in order to interest the chicks. Many people are familiar with the lovely sight of a peacock's brilliant tail gracing the grounds of their local zoo or animal park. It is possible to keep your own peafowl in many areas; the Java Green Peafowl is one variety of these lovely birds which may flourish in captivity. Although they are exquisitely beautiful, Java Green Peafowl may not be the correct bird for everyone. The lovely males may be aggressive toward their keepers, and these animals require a lot of space because of their large size. Also, they will live for about 45 years so you must be prepared for a long-term commitment to them. You will need a large enclosure in which to keep your Java Green Peafowl, so that they may spread their tails sufficiently, about six feet in height and eight feet square. They are fairly hardy, although in colder climates they will need to be protected from extremely cold weather. In colder climates, flat perches are a good idea for these birds and may aid in keeping their toes from becoming frostbitten! Java Green Peafowl will do well with perches all around their enclosure, and the aviary should have a sturdy mesh top since these birds are such strong fliers. In the winter, the amount of shelled corn may be increased in order to help the birds stay warm. Dog chow from time to time is a good source of protein and makes a fine treat for the Java Green Peafowl. In the wild, Java Green Peafowl perch in low trees and call loudly in the morning and evening hours. There are three subspecies of Java Green Peafowl whose ranges vary slightly. There are not many of these animals left in the wild. In the representative subspecies, it is believed that there are as few as 1,000 birds remaining in their native habitat. These birds are also commonly called Green Necked Peafowl, Green Peafowl or Burmese Peafowl. They are native to Malaysia and Java, but subspecies range through Burma and other areas of Indo-China as well. If you wish to purchase a Java Green Peafowl, be sure it is taken from a reliable breeder. In some areas of the world, for example the United States, Java Green bloodlines have been extensively mixed. It may be difficult to find a pure bird. Some are intentionally crossbred. A cross between a Java Green Peafowl and an India Blue Peafowl is known as a Spaulding Peafowl. The gall bladders of Java Green Peafowl contain a poison, which was used in ancient China as a toxin for self-immolation! Generally, cracked corn, shelled corn, oats, rabbit chow, trout food, grass, seed mixes and insects are offered.
Effects of heavy stocking on native fish I can't help but wonder if heavy trout stocking on local tailwaters has a significant negative impact on native fish, like bass, walleye, and panfish. It is widely known and published by several biologists that trout stocking has negative effects on wild trout, so it seems that it would also negatively effect ohter native fish (even nongame species). One river that stands out in my mind is the Holston. This river is LOADED with smallmouth and largemouth bass from its confluence with the French Broad all the way upstream to Nance's Ferry. Bass numbers begin to decline from Nance's Ferry all the way up to Cherokee Dam, which just so happens to be the stretch of water that we all know is heavily stocked by TWRA with rainbow and brown trout. I'm aware that many people have caught bass in this stocked stretch, but I am afraid that it will soon be nearly void of bass, just like its northern neighbor, the Clinch River. Trout have been stocked in the Clinch tailwater (below Norris Dam) for longer than the Holston, and there are very few bass below the Dam until you get to Highway 61. I hope this will not be the case on the Holston, but I fear that it will be because of the similarities in habitat between the two rivers. Even the Little River in my native Blount County has much less aquatic diversity in the stocked section. I have a bachelor's degree in wildlife and fisheries management and I have learned enough to know why TWRA stocks these waters with trout-- MONEY! What I don't understand is why I cannot find a published scientific study on this subject. There are several published studies on the effects of stocking on wild rainbows and browns as well as native brookies, but nothing on any ohter fish species. If anyone runs across such a study, please let me know. Don't get me wrong, I love to fish both of these tailwaters for trout, and do so frequently, but imagine the potential negative effects on the fisheries as a whole. We all know that concern over just one little fish species (i.e. snail darter in the Little Tennessee in 1976) can potentially turn the fishery upside down. Granted, smallmouth are in no danger of going extinct, but that is no reason to replace them in some habitats with non-native fish. I'm sure there are people on this message board with more knowledge on the subject than me, so please share!
As any experienced, dedicated cultivator will stress, laying the foundation for a brand new garden is hardly a one-step process. Although we’d like to think of our budding produce and flowers as entirely self-reliant, our plants are – quite literally – helpless organisms. They may not be on the brink of sprouting limbs and finding their own food and water sources, but they can’t flourish in an unnatural environment (i.e. your garden) without a bit of assistance and nurturing. But not surprisingly so, your nurturing will require some organization and oversight on your part. One of the most concrete and absolute methods for monitoring your garden’s health is with the help of a plant growth chart. And with the plant growth template from ExcelTemplates.net, gardeners can effectively: - Monitor, record and track individual plant growth - Stratify recording dates for more accurate comparison and observation. - Make multiple copies of the Plant Growth Chart, and house all their garden bed information in a single, easy-to-use vehicle. - Take note of any specific health issues or discrepancies How to Use the Plant Growth Chart Before you begin digging into the actual monitoring phase, be sure download multiple prints of the Plant Growth Chart for each individual plant. Downloadable templates from ExcelTemplates.net are entirely complimentary, and fully printable. You’ll also need to ensure you do your germination homework beforehand. Different flowers, vegetables, fruits and herbs will have varying growth rates, watering, soil and sunlight needs, as well as any specific maintenance requirements unique to the plant. Be sure to take note of any requirements or special attributes below the chart. - First sure to record the date you plant your seeds for each plant. It might also help to take note of any specific notes about the planting beneath the chart (see above). - Next, record the number of stems that the plant contains. Although the Plant Growth Chart template contains room for up to seven, users can customize the template to fit their individual plant’s characteristics. Be sure to number each of these stems (you may want to draw a short diagram beneath the chart). - After you’ve recorded each individual stem, take note of the length with a small ruler. - Record the number of buds the stem contains. - Record the number of leaves attached to the stem. - Plant Inventory List - Baby Growth Chart - Vegetable Planting Schedule - Pet Health Record Template - Garden Planner View this offer while you wait!
'Origami' robots fold selves and walk away Folding robot It starts out laying flat, like a sheet of paper. Then it springs up, almost lifelike, and folds into moveable parts much like origami art. And then it crawls away. This new kind of robot could someday be used in space exploration, to slide into collapse sites to aid search and rescue, or to speed up manufacturing on assembly lines, say its US developers. While this particular machine's march to the world market is still years away, the latest advances open the way to a new frontier in personalised robotics, they report in the journal Science . Not only is the material cheap -- it cost just US $100 -- it could be easily reprogrammed from one task to another, says Sam Felton, a researcher at Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. "In the same way that if you have a Word document and you want to change few words, you just reprint it at your home computer, you could take a robot's digital plan, change a few things and reprint it," says Felton. The thin robot is built of layers, including paper, a middle layer of copper etched into a network of electrical leads, and an outer layer of shape-memory polymer sourced from a kids' toy that shrinks when heated. Once the batteries and motor are activated, the robot folds itself and scuttles away like a crab. Felton says the total start-up costs for equipment used to make the robot were around US $11,000. The origami machine itself cost US $80 for batteries and motor, and US $20 for materials. "If we were to build a new one it would cost another US $100," he says. Other potential uses could include self-assembling furniture, or even shelters that build themselves in disaster zones. "The exciting thing here is that you create this device that has computation embedded in the flat, printed version," says another of the robot's developers, Daniela Rus, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). "And when these devices lift up from the ground into the third dimension, they do it in a thoughtful way." The team hopes that commercial uses for the robots will grow in the years to come. In the meantime, its early tasks and functions may be incremental in nature. "Since we are an academic lab, we try and come up with the most interesting and challenging problems, not necessarily the most practical," says Felton. "In space, maybe it would be too hard to build a completely self-folding satellite but maybe you would just have the solar panels deploy using shape memory materials, and that would be a very easy and short-term addition." The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Research at Harvard, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The researchers plan to present their work at the Sixth International Meeting on Origami in Science, Mathematics and Education in Tokyo from August 10-13.
Fish-keeping isn’t difficult as long as a few basic rules are adhered to. - Be careful, wet floors can be very slippery. Every effort should be made to keep the working area safe - Never use untreated tap water. It contains toxic chemicals that are harmful to fish and kill filter bacteria. - Carry out regular water changes to remove dirt and waste products. - Always ensure that the equipment is functioning properly. - Have enough water, decor, treatments, and test-kits to carry out the maintenance with the minimum of fuss. - Do not overfeed the fish, or overstock the aquarium. This will lead to poor water quality and fish disease. - Remove diseased fish as soon as possible to prevent contamination. - Before adding new fish check compatibility with existing fish, and its size when fully grown. - Introduce the new fish slowly to avoid stress.
Survey Says: Fat Could Help You Live Longer According to an article in the May 25, 2018 Austin American-Statesman a new study finds obese patients are more likely to survive certain conditions and illnesses when hospitalized. It originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is by by Najja Parker. It says that while of course being fat is bad for your heart, blood sugar and more, “the extra fat could have some benefits, according to a new report.” Researchers from the European Association for the Study of Obesity recently conducted a trial to explore the survival rates of those admitted to hospitals for infections.” The findings? If you’re overweight, you’re “40 percent less likely to die from an infection compared to underweight people,” and “50 percent less likely compared to normal weight people.” That’s pretty cool, right? Along with three other studies saying pretty much the same thing, and past studies about some benefits to being a person of girth (see below), that extra flab could be fab if it helps you survive a trip to the hospital. In the Netherlands, for example, really sick people who were overweight were less likely to have muscle wasting. More Studies Say Being a Fathlete Isn’t So Bad I won’t go into all of these studies, but you can read them for yourself. But the upshot is that being active is more important than popular media images and stereotypes about what a healthy person looks like. - The Healthiest Weight Might Be Overweight - Fat Tissue Boosts Brain Energy and Affects Metabolism - Fat But Fit - Experts Say You Can Be Fat and Fit In fact, so many people are overweight now – a third of the world’s population – that it’s really time to move past these old stigma. I love Hollywood movies as much as the next red-blooded American, but sometimes regular people are more interesting than celebrities who have personal chefs, trainers, massage therapists — and it’s in their contract to spend hours a day “looking good”. Not even pro athletes are 100% perfect — everyone has some sort of physical challenge. And we all die. This is a major point of my blog: being fat doesn’t mean you can’t be fit! Yes, being overweight is a problem in many ways. It can affect your health badly, like being prone to diabetes, heart disease etc. Or your self-esteem and confidence. In worst cases, there are eating disorders, which are serious medical conditions. But even if you do your best to diet and exercise, you may still be fat. And at some level, that has to be OK. I am not advocating people passively accept that they will always be fat and so don’t have to do anything about it. But I’ve cycled almost 15,000 miles in the last three and a half years, have radically changed my diet in some ways, and been extremely active, and I still have not lost any significant weight. I’m a work in progress, just like everyone. But my recent trip to the cardiologist showed A Dude’s ticker is in great shape. I can do things many thin people my age and younger can’t. Like bike 650 miles in the last six weeks, walk daily for 30’ virtually every day this year, and do 30’ of yoga for over 4 years. So am I fat? Yes. I am an athlete? Yes. Can I eat better and be in better shape? Yes. Should I feel ashamed and hide because I’m overweight? No. Skip that tasty treat because of some Puritan Judaeo-Christian they’re starving in China BS? (Yes, I know that poverty and hunger are real problems, and I’m not minimizing them.) But blame ourselves for every little thing especially when chronic medical issues, age, genetics, environmental pollution and more are involved? HELL NO! You Can Do SOMETHING And neither should you blame yourself. Do what you can. Start where you are. Take it one step at a time. Build on your successes and recover from your defeats. You can do it! Do you know how I know this? Because if I can, so can you. Speaking of activities, it’s time for today’s bike ride, and then I’m going to reward myself with a movie. How about you take a walk around the block? Do 1 push-up and 1 sit-up? Or dance around to some music you like? Do some stretches and deep breathing from your bed or wheelchair? While I’m not a doctor and you shouldn’t start any exercise program without your doctor’s approval, most people can do SOMETHING. Get moving, and I promise you, good things will happen. Maybe you won’t end up looking like some anorexic supermodel, but science tells us those people are not healthy. You’ll get a sense of accomplishment, fresh air, Vitamin D, and a whole lot of other benefits. Here’s a post by a fellow blogger I just found to help inspire you: Average Joe Cyclist – Guide for Fat Cyclists. Thank you for believing in me, and I believe in you. - What are your thoughts on these studies? - Your struggles with being fit and being fat? - What can you do RIGHT NOW FOR 5 MINUTES to be a little bit more healthy? A DUDE ABIKES INVITES YOU TO: - Email follow – if you need help, email me (see About page) - Re-blog – permalink to this post - Find me on Google + - Share on Social Media THANK YOU! www.ADudeAbikes.com © 2015-18 A Dude Abikes. All rights reserved.
New York/Geneva — Adapting our operations to tackle the climate emergency The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) pledged this week to reduce the carbon emissions of its medical projects to help safeguard the health of people and communities. MSF teams see each and every day the harmful impacts of environmental changes on human health. We also recognize our contribution to the global problem of carbon emissions and human-caused environmental disruption. MSF’s operational center in Geneva, Switzerland–which is one of MSF’s five operational centers and oversees medical humanitarian projects in 27 countries–has pledged to reduce emissions by at least 50 percent compared to 2019 levels by 2030. With this target, MSF aims to chart a firm trajectory towards decarbonization, aligning the organization with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit global warming below two degrees Celsius. Human-caused environmental disruption is having dramatic impacts on the health and wellbeing of people around the world. Unless urgent and large-scale mitigation measures are taken, people’s health will increasingly suffer because of the climate emergency. This includes extreme weather events and changing patterns that fuel the spread of deadly diseases like malaria, dengue, and cholera. Indirectly, droughts, floods, insect plagues, and changing rainfall patterns can jeopardize food production and people’s means of survival. “The clock is ticking,” said Stephen Cornish, MSF general director. “We are already seeing how the people we serve in places like Mozambique, Honduras, and Niger have been hit hard by climate shocks. We will reduce our emissions and review how we conduct our operations. We should have done this years ago; we are already very late. We have a medical and ethical obligation to our patients and their families to not harm them or their environment as a result of our practices.” Many of the locations where MSF works today are susceptible to climate change. Communities in these places face multiple, overlapping health needs as a result of frequent epidemics, food insecurity, conflict, and displacement. Health emergencies in places like Somalia or the Sahel region of Africa will increase in scale and severity as the climate emergency grows. It is clear this crisis will hit the most vulnerable people on earth the hardest. “It is a big, crucial step forward,” said Christine Jamet, MSF director of operations. “As an emergency organization, it’s a daunting task to ‘green’ our operations because our priority is still to provide rapid assistance in some of the world’s most remote places. While we don’t yet know exactly how we are going to get there, we know that we must. That is why we have set this target and why we are committing to it publicly and transparently to report on the progress we make towards meeting it. We simply have no other choice.” MSF has committed to reducing the environmental impact of its emergency medical projects through the adoption of an Environmental Pact in 2020.
It’s the 15th of the month, and I have a new post at PreK + K Sharing! Today, I’m sharing the links to free printables I’ve used to create Montessori-inspired Presidents’ Day activities for preschoolers through first graders. I show how I used the printables to prepare the Montessori-inspired activities. I also have links to other posts with additional ideas and presentations. Free Printables Used in the Pictured Presidents’ Day Activities for Preschoolers-Grade 1 - President’s Day Number Order and Skip Counting Puzzles from Gracehopper Learning - Presidents’ Day Word Fun for Kindergarten by Melissa Williams at Teachers Pay Teachers - Happy Birthday George! (A Presidents’ Day Learning Center Binder) by Cortney Bystrom from Once Upon a Substitute - Presidents’ Day Mini Books from Ready-Set-Read! - Presidential Timelines from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational Free Presidents’ Day Printables for Preschoolers-Grade 1 - Guess Who? President’s Edition from Cultivated Lives - Counting to 44 – Presidents’ Day Sequencing Activity from Toddler Approved - Presidents of the United States Coloring Sheets from USA-Printables - Presidential 4-in-a-Row Board Game from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational - President’s Day Bingo from Live Speak Love, LLC - President’s Day Pack from Step into Second Grade with Mrs. Lemons - If I Were President Writing Freebie from Ginger Snaps - President’s Day Lapbook from Homeschool Share - George Washington Free Beginning Reader from Educating to the Core - President’s Day from The Schoolhouse - President’s Day Money Game from The Schoolhouse - American Treasures Reader from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - Presidents Day Roll and Circle from Primary Inspiration - Presidents’ Day Memory Match and Presidents’ Day Cubes from Primary Inspirations - U.S. Presidents Cursive Printables from Copycat Books - Calendar Connections ~ Presidents from 1+1+1=1 - Race to $1.00 by Claire Knight at Teachers Pay Teachers - Sort the Coins by President from Teach Beside Me - Presidents’ Day: A Writing Freebie from First Grade Hip Hip Hooray at Teachers Notebook - Presidents Freebies from Teachers Notebook - Presidents Freebies at Teachers Pay Teachers Please join me at PreK + K Sharing for ideas on how to use the free printables to create Montessori-Inspired Presidents’ Day activities: Montessori-Inspired Presidents’ Day Activities Using Free Printables. If this is your first time visiting Living Montessori Now, welcome! If you haven’t already, please join us on our Living Montessori Now Facebook page where you’ll find a Free Printable of the Day and lots of inspiration and ideas for parenting and teaching! And please follow me on Pinterest (lots of Montessori-, holiday-, and theme-related boards), Twitter (blog posts by me and others along with the Parent/Teacher Daily and other interesting information), and Google+ (post updates and Montessori Community). You can find me on bloglovin’ now, too. I’m also a Parenting Expert on Sulia. Thank you for following me there. And don’t forget one of the best ways to follow me by signing up for my weekly newsletter in the right sidebar. You’ll get two awesome freebies in the process! May be linked to Afterschool Express, Thoughtful Spot, Tuesday Tots, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co., Mom’s Library, Craft & Activity Share, The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Homeschool Link-up, Hearts for Home Blog Hop, Learn & Link, TGIF Linky Party, Preschool Corner, Ultimate Homeschool Pinterest Party, Sharing Saturday, Saturday Show & Tell, Share It Saturday, Show-and-Share Saturday, The Sunday Showcase, Link & Learn, Discover and Explore: The Olympic Games.
Researchers have found a remarkable partnership between carnivorous pitcher plants and ants. Situated in the peat swamp forests of Borneo, one species of pitcher plant has formed an unusual alliance with the insects. Swollen tendrils at the base of the plant and nectar secreted on its rim provide food and a home for the ants and in exchange the insects provide a host of services for the plant such as cleaning the pitcher to keep it slippery and attacking other insects that would otherwise try to munch on it. "The symbiotic ants are shown to be crucial for the nutrition and survival of their host plant," said researcher Vincent Bazile. "Carnivorous plants can have valuable allies in ants, benefiting from their poop and janitor, bodyguard and cutthroat services, researchers say." View: Full article \| Source: Yahoo! News Discuss: View comments (4)
The first step toward sobriety is often detoxifying the body of any traces of drugs or alcohol to break one’s physical dependence. Some drugs, like alcohol and opioids, create such strong physical dependence that it is necessary for one to receive medical support throughout the process to treat the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol and benzodiazepines are two classes of drugs that absolutely require medically assisted detox, as withdrawal can cause potentially lethal side effects. Determining what medications to use during the detoxification process depends on the severity of one’s addiction. For example, a person may need to taper off of opioids because immediate cessation, or quitting “cold turkey,” could cause potential health risks. In this case, buprenorphine may be used in continuously lower amounts before cessation. Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist that delivers milder opioid effects to decrease cravings and suppress symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Other medications may be used to manage withdrawal symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, and increased blood pressure. In the case of alcohol detox, anti-seizure medication may be used to reduce the risk of potentially fatal seizures. Other medications, such as benzodiazepines, may be used to address the symptoms of anxiety and increased heart rate and blood pressure. Typical treatment of alcohol detox involves monitoring blood pressure, intravenous fluids and medications, and, in some cases, sedation until the withdrawal process is complete. In the case of benzodiazepine withdrawal, it is necessary to taper a person off of the drug, as withdrawal symptoms can be fatal. Benzodiazepine addiction is well-known for the intense withdrawal symptoms it produces, including insomnia, agitation, hallucination, and seizures. Medical professionals will be able to determine the proper way to address the detox process based on the severity of the benzodiazepine addiction, as well as the half-life of the benzodiazepines being abused. It is important to keep in mind that detox is only one step on the journey of recovery. It is imperative to follow up detox with a strong recovery program designed to address the psychological aspects of the addiction. Recovery is about healing the mind, body, and spirit, and detox is the first step on the road to sobriety. Your life doesn’t have to be controlled by addiction. You can change your story and find a happy, joyous, and free life in sobriety. Oceanfront Recovery, a treatment center in beautiful Laguna Beach, is staffed with compassionate detox professionals dedicated to making the process as comfortable as possible. For more information about individualized treatment options, including Detox and Residential Treatment, please call today: (877) 279-1777
The small nature reserve De Regte Heide is located near the modern industrial city of Tilburg, but the area has a prehistoric atmosphere. There are seven burial mounds from the Bronze Age on the Regte Heide, dated between 2000-700 BCE. The burial mounds are the last remaining traces of a settlement from that period. The burial mounds were uncovered in 1935 and restored in subsequent years. The investigation then revealed several grave goods, including axes, daggers and beads. Local nature conservation services carry out ongoing maintenance on the burial mounds, which is necessary because people are constantly walking over them - which is prohibited. It is suspected that the burial mounds not only served as a final resting place, but also played a role in worship of gods, or other religious rituals.More detailed information about these burial mounds and the period in which they were founded can be found in the museum in nearby Goirle.
18 Oct 2017 Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Mongolia money are given in United States dollars. . Table 7 Processing plants in Mongolia . Many small-scale miners use mercury to extract gold from crushed ore or sediment. This US-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) has been . of Small Scale Miners to build processing An artisanal miner or small-scale miner (ASM) is a subsistence miner who is not officially . The 400% rise in the price of gold from 2002 (US $274/oz) 2012 (US $1230/oz) . and environmentally sound methods of mining and gold processing. 25 Jun 2019 Small-scale gold mining accounts for 37 % of global mercury pollution. . of 5000 processing plants to travel Africa, South and Central America 2 Feb 2018 Most likely the gold jewelry you are wearing right now has contributed to damaging our planet and all of us. Why? Because 99% of There are about 15 million artisanal and small-scale gold miners across the world. But artisanal and small-scale mi social conflicts found in the Amazonian small-scale gold mining sector. . focused on Latin America, and in particular the Central Andes region. Among his machinery, which allows the processing of more material and a higher income. 2.2 Characteristics of artisanal and small-scale gold mining communities 5. 3 Health hazards . . Health Organization, United States of America), Ms Marie- .. living and working nearby to ASGM processing sites are. Artisanal gold mining refers to small-scale low-tech, informal activities focused on mining and processing ore to recover gold. in Africa and Southeast Asia, although there is a high concentration of artisanal miners in Latin America as well. 3 Mar 2011 AIDS; and a study on child labor in Suriname gold mines for the US dress Mercury, Small-Scale Gold Mining and the Institutional Dynamics. 2 Artisanal mining is used to denote all small-scale as well as medium and . Latin America, the proportion tends to be higher, working in all aspects of mining, processing, and marketing. of the gold miners are women and children in the. 3 Jan 2014 “We put 15 kilograms of gold ore and water into each ball, and we use 100 that included Singapore, the United States, Japan and Thailand. forbidden to use mercury during processing, government officials said. But the country does not ban me 21 Nov 2018 Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Without Mercury . It is a process that works best for processing complex ore types, especially ores that 31 Jul 2015 Keywords: small-scale gold mining, Ghana integrated assessment, mercury, ASGM, an integrated assessment provides the framework for us to analyze . At one small-scale mine, after processing and concentration using in Bornuur soum in Tuv aimag and another processing plant is being constructed Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM), carried out by an estimated. 22 Feb 2018 Historically, gold mining practices have been seen as hazardous to the While these green gold mining techniques might be sufficient for the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sectors, such as those and processing of much more ore to get the United States Agency for International Development . Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), an industry that has been growing globally for the .. allow for simplified forms of exploration, extraction, processing, and transportation. It. 27 Mar 2018 Mercury Rising: Gold mining takes a toxic toll on Kenyan women the United States Environmental Protection Agency's safe exposure level. About 20 percent of the world's gold comes from small-scale mines, which The three major components of mining (exploration, mining, and processing) overlap has been the key factor in the discovery of major copper and gold deposits. Currently, geological research activities in the United States are not well exploration model fo They simply can't afford to use safer processing methods. Small-scale gold mining is the largest source of mercury pollution to air and water combined. 29 Mar 2012 Artisanal and small-scale gold mining accounts for a significant portion of the current sions during gold processing, have the potential to reduce mercury . Milestone Inc., Shelton CT, USA) equipped with a multi-prep rotor. Gold and silver heap and dump leaching operations in the Western United of small mining operations is the advent .. scale. Some operators claim that both the cyanide concentration and pH should mill complex for processing the ore. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining has been widespread in. Cameroon since the .. based in the USA and gold is sold partly in Cameroon and partly there. Since the enactment of the Small Scale Gold Mining Law in 1989, which Latin America and South America: Bolivia, Ecuador, Surinam, Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, Columbia, Dominican Republi . preferred leach reagent for gold processing in. All rights reserved. Printed on recycled paper in the United States of America. living as small-scale miners for gold, diamonds and other gems.4 s While people investment in mining and full domestic processing.92 Burk- ina Faso, Mali GENEVA (ILO News) - Small-scale mining is expanding rapidly and often In China, gold production from small-scale mining is currently worth about US$200 . from gold mines to processing centres; others are involved in ore processing, 3 Jan 2018 Abstract Mercury‐dependent artisanal and small‐scale gold mining (ASGM) is the miners working primarily in Asia, Africa and South America (Figure 1). . In ASGM, the amalgamation process, tailings processing, and gold
Killara High School This exploration was inspired by the work of Yves Klein. Here I attempted to re-imagine the famous photograph Le saut dans le vide, as well as Klein’s work with the colour International Klein Blue (IKB) in the form of a video incorporating Parkour. A series of photographs expands on the theme, with a suit as a linking element. An imprint of the suit in IKB completes the series. Parkour, a philosophy involving overcoming obstacles of any kind, allowed me to recapture the iconic shot without subsequent manipulation of the image. Note: As a result of copyright problems, this work has been modified by replacing the soundtrack. Why might artists choose to use time-based media to express themselves? What does this type of art-making offer the artist and the viewer? Research an artist who uses this media and compare their work to that of Shaun Gladwell and Samuel Margalit. Research performance art with reference to Gladwell’s and Margalit’s works. Evaluate the significance of this art style. Create a timeline focusing on key artworks and artists from the 20th century that have redefined the meaning of art. Consider the influence of urban environments on artists. Create a visual diary based on this theme with examples of a variety of artists and art styles.
21 Aug Why Physiotherapy? Did you know that lower back pain is the most common pain experienced by people at different stages of life? It can be caused by many different reasons and its considered one of the leading causes to see a physiotherapist. Some common causes/or backaches are: poor posture, muscular pain, joint and ligament strain, disc problem and occupational. The Role of the Physiotherapist Based on their assessment and other diagnostic measures, your physiotherapist chooses any one of the following therapies or a combination of them: - Physiotherapy with therapeutic modalities - Physiotherapy with manual therapy - Physiotherapy with exercises - Physiotherapy with dry needling and intra muscular stimulation Physiotherapy with Therapeutic Modalities Your physiotherapist may choose to use electrical modalities when you are experiencing pain and are unable to move a certain part of your body because of it. Treatment with therapeutic modalities helps in relieving pain, improving circulation, reducing swelling and muscle spasm and they also help in delivering medication in conjunction with other procedures. Typical types of modalities used for low back pain include: heat, ice, ultrasound, interferential therapy, Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation and mechanical traction.
Asthma patients deserve better care The 2016 Asthma UK annual asthma survey has produced some shocking findings. There are 5.4 million people in the UK diagnosed with asthma, but we found that two-thirds were not receiving the basic care that they need in order to stay well. This is worrying in the context that the majority of those surveyed found their care satisfactory or excellent although responses suggested that 82% had poorly controlled asthma (defined as having symptoms or using their reliever three or more times a week, or any night waking due to asthma). Basic care in the form of an annual asthma review, inhaler technique check and a written asthma action plan are well recognised as being key factors in preventing asthma symptoms and deaths. Complacency around asthma symptoms still exists and both patients and clinicians need to do more to identify and address excessive symptoms or reliever inhaler use. Our survey showed that people with uncontrolled asthma were twice as likely to miss work or school and twice as likely to require hospital care. In 2014, the National Review of Asthma Deaths revealed that two-thirds of deaths resulting from asthma were preventable by providing the basic elements of care. It also highlighted that deaths were often in people with mild to moderate asthma rather than severe asthma. GPs, asthma nurses and community pharmacists need to work in partnership with people with asthma. Simple things that we should all do include: - Educate people with asthma by signposting them to information, such as that available at Asthma UK (www.asthma.org.uk/advice) for more information about their asthma and what they can do to stay well. Twitter, Facebook pages and our Helpline provide added support. - Educate people about the relationship between symptoms, inflammation and risk of asthma attacks and deaths. Uncontrolled asthma needs assessment. - Encourage people to take preventative medicine as prescribed. Checking adherence and inhaler technique at every opportunity to optimise management is key to treating the inflammation that causes symptoms. - Ensure the patient has a written asthma action plan. Having such a plan can reduce the chances of someone with asthma requiring admission to hospital by a factor of 4, yet less than 50% of people have been given one. - Encourage attendance at an annual asthma review (more often if symptomatic). - Monitor inhaler use. Recent British Thoracic Society/Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network asthma guidelines suggest reviewing everyone who uses one reliever inhaler in a month for their asthma. Poor adherence to preventer medication is an important cause of poor asthma control. - Effective communication with the person with asthma and with other members of the healthcare team, especially where action is needed. - Make better use of existing and new technologies to provide safe, effective and convenient care for people with asthma, such as safety alerts on clinical IT systems, smartphone technology, and electronic reminders. Asthma UK also has a health professional network and we encourage pharmacists to sign up at https://www.asthma.org.uk/professionals/sign-up/ for updates about asthma. Education and support for people providing asthma care can be found at Education for Health (https://www.educationforhealth.org/)and the Primary Care Respiratory Society UK (https://pcrs-uk.org/). Citation: Clinical Pharmacist DOI: 10.1211/CP.2017.20202163 Recommended from Pharmaceutical Press
Flint Hills, Kansas Spring view of new grass growth in the Flint Hills, Chase County, east-central Kansas. Outcropping stone lines are visible on the hill sides. Flint (chert) is common in the bedrock and soils, which gives the Flint Hills their name. This region is the only remaining extensive area of native tallgrass prairie in the United States. Kite line is secured to the car in lower right corner of scene. Photo date 5/98; © J.S. Aber. Low-oblique view of stone lines in the Flint Hills. Three limestone formations are visible, from top to bottom: Funston, Crouse, and Eiss. Kite line is secured to the car in right-center of scene. Photo date 5/98; © J.S. Aber. Return to KAP gallery
For more information about Parkinson’s and gait please visit the EPDA website. Shuffling gait: is it Parkinson’s? PD in Practice Author: Roisin McCormackPublished: 6 August 2020 Prep: Cook: Serves: We hear from Dr Fay Horak on what shuffling gait is, why it occurs in people with Parkinson’s – and how exercise and using walking aids can help improve day-to-day life As a Parkinson’s diagnosis progresses, people experience a change in gait – or the ability to walk. Alteration in gait is an outwardly visible symptom, one that can restrict functional independence as everyday movements require more thought, effort and time. This impairment of gait can take the form of feet feeling like they are glued to the floor (also known as freezing) or through the quickening and shortening of strides (festination). It can also commonly appear as if someone is dragging or shuffling their feet in small steps as they walk. What causes a shuffling walk? “Shuffling gait in people with Parkinson’s is caused by a combination of bradykinesia (slowness of movement) and imbalance. The bradykinesia, which causes short, slow steps and small arm swing, is the result of progressive loss of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia,” explains Dr Fay Horak, professor of neurology at Oregon Health Science University (OHSU), US. “That is why dopamine replacement therapy, levodopa, helps reduce shuffling by increasing the size and speed of stepping with a larger arm swing,” she adds. What does shuffling gait look like? According to Dr Horak, shuffling gait occurs in people with Parkinson’s because small steps are taken without the normal heel and toe making contact with the ground – meaning that “the feet slide forward instead of being lifted up off the floor”. “Normal gait speed depends upon a rapid push down of the toes into the floor. Without this push, shuffling gait depends upon the use of the hip muscles to move the legs and body forward with a shuffle,” she explains. Those who already experience freezing of gait also tend to be subject to shuffling gait. Freezing, says Horak, is basically “an extreme form of shuffling gait but without any forward motion”. Shuffling gait is not limited to the feet – people with Parkinson’s can also notice shorter strides and reduced arm movement when walking. Not only does this mean “walking takes far more effort”, but the likelihood of tripping over low objects on the floor increases too. Though, Dr Horak says, “a change in gait is not always obvious in the early stages of Parkinson’s”, as a symptom, it is one of the “hallmarks” of Parkinson’s and can be one of the most debilitating. How can you reduce shuffling gait? Exercise has long been hailed and proven to be an effective way of slowing down the effects of Parkinson’s. Dr Horak says the same applies for improving balance and Parkinson’s gait. “Therapy and exercise can improve balance and gait – but the specific type of exercise will depend on each person’s abilities.” Dr Horak recently co-authored a study on the effects of a group exercise class on gait and brain connectivity in people with Parkinson’s – for whom “the major form of disability is impaired mobility”. She explains: “We studied 85 people with mild to moderate Parkinson’s who took part in a six-week agility bootcamp with cognitive challenges. We found that the ability to walk quickly with less shuffling improved – particularly in those with the strongest shuffle to begin with.” As well as exercising, Dr Horak suggests people with Parkinson’s try and improve gait by taking part in gait rehabilitation with a physical therapist, using walking aids such as hiking sticks or a rolling walker, or monitoring the change in movements over time using wearable technology. Similarly, there is evidence to suggest walking to the beat of a metronome or music may reduce shuffling, improve walking speed and limit freezing of gait. Share this story Did George HW Bush have Parkinson’s? The former president experienced Parkinson’s-like symptomsREAD MORE “Since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, my world has expanded” The latest in our monthly series profiling WPC2019 bloggersREAD MORE Now there’s an app to remind your loved ones to take their Parkinson’s meds Introducing the voice reminder service for Parkinson’s carersREAD MORE
Think about the planets in the Solar System; Saturn has rings, so do Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. So what about Mercury? Does planet Mercury have rings? Sorry, Mercury doesn’t have rings right now. I say right now, because it’s possible that Mercury has had rings in the past, and it could have them again in the future. There are two ways that scientists think a planet can get rings. The first is the icy rings around Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. Scientists think that Saturn’s rings come from an icy object or moon that was crushed under Saturn’s gravity, becoming its rings. It’s also possible that the ring material just formed in place back when the Solar System formed. We also know that some of Saturn’s moons, like Enceladus, are continuing to spew fresh material into the rings. Unfortunately, Mercury could never get rings like this. That’s because it’s too close to the Sun. The powerful solar winds blast out from the Sun, and would melt and destroy any icy rings around Mercury. In fact, ice can’t exist closer to the Sun than the asteroid belt, unless it’s hidden in shadow, or protected by an atmosphere like we have on Earth. The second way for a ring to form is for an asteroid or moon to get too close to a planet and be torn apart by gravity. For a few million years this crushed asteroid would appear as a ring around Mercury, until the chunks finally fell down onto the planet. Astronomers predict that the Martian moon Phobos will eventually suffer this fate, be torn apart by Mars’ gravity, and form a ring for a while. Mercury doesn’t have any moons, and there aren’t many asteroids that might interact with it, so it might never get a ring – but maybe one day. One thing’s for sure, though, there are no Mercury rings today. How many rings does Mercury have? Zero. We have written many stories about rings here on Universe Today. Here’s an article about the Martian moon Phobos might only have 10 million years to live, and here’s an article about what Saturn’s rings are made of. We have also recorded a whole episode of Astronomy Cast that’s just about planet Mercury. Listen to it here, Episode 49: Mercury. NASA Science for Kids
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fine example of classical Gothic fiction. The work was first published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on June 20, 1890. The novel -- the only one that Oscar Wilde published -- was very controversial for its times. Fearing that the work would be perceived as indecent, the editors at Lippincott's censored about 500 words without Wilde's knowledge. Even with those modifications the publication was greeted with great outrage. The reaction was so strong that many critics wanted Wilde prosecuted for a failure of morality and Wilde was forced to defend himself vigorously in the press. Ultimately, WIlde was force to yield some ground. He rewrote the story for an April 1891 publication [which is the text presented here]. The 1891 text contained significant alterations; new chapters were added, controversial material was dropped, and other alterations were made, including the addition of The Preface where Wilde stated, "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all." The story itself has a strong Faustian theme (making a deal with the devil in exchange for earthly gain or pleasure). It is somewhat reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, The Prophetic Pictures. The main character, Dorian Gray, is painted by the artist Basil Hallward. Basil is smitten with the young man's beauty and crediting Dorian's beauty for inspiration that allows him to produce a new class of work. Dorian meets Basil's friend Lord Henry Wotton. Wotton is a hedonist, espousing the pursuit of beauty and the fulfillment of sensual pleasure. Disturbed that his physical beauty will deteriorate with age, Dorian wishes for a Faustian exchange whereby he will retain his beauty but the picture will age. His wish granted, the picture rather than the man degrades as he pursues a life of hedonism and debauchery, reminding him that though his looks are unscathed, his soul is not.
Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is as common as Alzheimer's Disease in people less than 65 years of age. FTD includes a spectrum of related disorders such as Pick's disease, corticobasal degeneration, and progressive supranuclear palsy. The purpose of our research is to develop of better understanding of FTD and related conditions. Information collected will advance the knowledge of what causes this condition, lead to improved diagnostic testing and support the development of treatment trials for FTD. Since this research is supported by the National Institutes of Health, there is no cost for participation. We study FTD in a variety of ways using: - Neuropsychological Testing - Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) - Brain Tissue Donation Program The purpose of this research study is to better understand the genetic basis for FTD. Knowledge gained from genetic research and family history studies is important for the development of improved diagnostic tests and new therapies. A certified genetic counselor will take a detailed family history as well as the collection of a blood sample to study genes associated with this condition. The blood sample is used in the research laboratory to study an individual's DNA for genes that could potentially either cause disease or influence an individual's risk for disease. A critical test for the diagnosis of a neurodegenerative condition is neuroimaging. Through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) we look at the parts of the brain affected by the condition, and how this progresses over time. We develop unique neuroimaging approaches that relate brain changes to specific components of language and cognitive process. We correlate atrophy, or brain shrinkage, with cognitive function and look directly at brain activity with functional MRI. Information collected will aid in diagnostic accuracy, develop reliable prognostic algorithms and serve as the basis for the development of behavioral therapies. Composite Functional MRI Neuropsychological tests measure memory, concentration, visual-spatial, problem solving, basic math, and language skills. This testing can differentiate depression from dementia, and can help in the diagnosis of specific types of dementia or brain disorders. For example, someone with Alzheimer disease will show significant deficits in tests of memory while someone with FTD can do fairly well with memory but have more difficulty on language skills. We evaluate memory, language, social and cognitive difficulties through paper-and-pencil and computer testing. The testing is divided into several small sections, so there will be frequent rest periods, and the testing can be continued during another session. Depending on your location, we have research specialists who can come to your home for your cognitive testing. This work will improve diagnostic accuracy and behavioral therapy for patients. Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Our brains produce an abundant amount of cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord). The fluid can be studied for rare infections and cancer that can cause symptoms of dementia. These tests are important because the treatments for infections and cancer are very different. We measure the levels of various proteins such as tau in the CSF. Tau is a protein that normally supports the brain's nerve cells. In FTD, there may be an abnormal amount of tau in the cerebral spinal fluid. The CSF is obtained by a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap. This testing will aid in diagnosis and prognosis of FTD. Learn more about the procedure. Brain Tissue Donation Program Autopsy examination serves a critical role in quality of medical care by confirming and correcting a clinical diagnosis, and aids in establishing treatment. This is the most important way to develop treatment for the abnormal accumulation of proteins like tau. Learn more about the importance of autopsy examination. The University of Pennsylvania Alzheimer's Disease Core Center (ADCC) and the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR) maintain tissue banks funded by NIH (NIA, NINDS) for human brain samples obtained from patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Frontotemporal conditions. Lauren M. Massimo, MSN, CRNP Clinical Research Coordinator 3400 Spruce Street Department of Neurology 3 West Gates Building Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283
International laws govern the legal bindings and clashes occurring in space. NASA's Discovery Program approved missions on asteroid mining in space. Scientists have focused more on asteroids over the past years but comets pose threats to Earth as well. Asteroid mining could be the future for colonizing space. Deep Space Industries aims to develop rockets that use water from asteroids as a fuel in space. Asteroid mining is still in its infancy—no would-be miners have managed to land on a space rock, much less harvest the water and metals locked away inside of it. But if a spate of recent announcements are any indicator, private companies might lead the charge. Space factories, once properly established, could help keep humans alive, scientists now believe. NASA will use an X-Ray instrument to create a map of the asteroid Bennu. Planetary resources announced it raised $21 million for an Earth Observation platform that can collect info about earth, as well as deep space. Is asteroid mining possible? SpaceX may just make the endeavor actually feasible. Officials from 32 of the world's space-faring nations concluded a trio of summits on Friday to tackle expanding participation in the International Space Station and planning for eventual human expeditions to Mars.
By Shadeh Ghaffari-Rafi, Neurobiology, Physiology, & Behavior, ’16 At first, Jerry’s expected springtime pollen allergies didn’t bother him or seem unusual. His allergies caused mild nosebleeds, which he would stop by pinching his nose for five minutes. This past year, however, the bleeding didn’t stop. Five years ago, Jerry relocated to Iowa for work, as the company he worked for in California closed. For the past five years, everyday, Jerry has been taking two pills, one to alleviate his heart rate, blood pressure, and heart strain and another to lower his blood cholesterol. His doctor recommended that Jerry occasionally take low dose aspirin so his blood would flow more easily, he would feel less chest pain, and avoid blood clots and severe headaches. Although he hiked and went to the gym regularly, for a 5’5’’ 56 year old man, he was slightly overweight at 165 lbs. A nosebleed, or epistaxis, can range from mild to severe, and sometimes lead to life-threatening consequences, depending on the flow (Fried 2013). The bleeding is due to rupture of small blood vessels inside the nose. Professor of head and neck surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Marvin Fried describes minor bleedings tend to occur “more frequently in children and adolescents” and most are easily treatable, while more severe, rarer cases occur in patients over 50, with blood oozing down the back of the throat, and generally require emergency treatment. Epistaxis may result from mild conditions, including nose picking, mild allergies to pollen or environmental irritants, and moderate conditions such as trauma or prior nasal surgery. In some cases, epistaxis can occur due to life threatening conditions such as leukemia. Family history of severe or heavy bleeding tends toward more severe cases and patients at risk of cardiovascular disease tend to have severe nosebleeds. Dr. Fried emphasizes “epistaxis can be either short-term and disappear quickly or it can also occur in sudden episodes”. In some instances, epistaxis occurs with other symptoms, such as fever, headache, and dizziness. Diagnosing epistaxis involves understanding the patient’s medical history and a physical examination, especially of the nose, to help determining possible underlying diseases. Because epistaxis may be short lasting, a diagnosis and its cause can be missed so a clinical examination can be recommended. Understanding if a patient uses aspirin is critical to diagnosis, as low-dose aspirin lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, it also increases the risk of epistaxis, making the bleeding last longer and harder to stop (Kasperek and Pollock 2013). Pinching the nose for five minutes while sitting upright can normally control the bleeding. Last Spring when his nose bled, Jerry pinched his nose to stop the bleeding, but it only stopped temporarily. However, unusually, he experienced another nose bleed the same day, and inconveniently, during the week, he continued to have nose bleeds not only at home, but also at his office, while driving, and at dinner with friends. Each time he repeatedly pinched his nose stopping the nose bleed. At the end of that week, Jerry and his friend were planning to go hiking, but even before beginning the hike, his nose started to bleed. This time, he felt blood rushing down into his stomach and thought blood vessels “were damaged deep inside his nose”. Concerned, Jerry and his friend rushed to the emergency room. The physician assistant (PA) questioned Jerry regarding his aspirin usage, and reviewed his medical history, learning he had no prior bleeding disorders, took aspirin occasionally, and had prior treatment for nosebleeds as a child. After the physical examination, the PA dried his nostrils and stopped the nosebleed by inserting a stick coated with silver nitrate against the source for less than five seconds burning the nose tissues. Afterwards Jerry and his friend left the hospital and stopped at a Thai restaurant for dinner. After the first few bites, his nose bled all over the table including his spicy eggplant dish. Shaken and extremely worried, Jerry went back to the hospital, where another PA reviewed his prior treatment and medical history and examined his nose. Then, the PA inserted a balloon into his nose and pumped air to expand the balloon, applying direct pressure to the nostrils, to decrease and stop what Jerry recalled as “nonstop bleeding”. The PA warned him to stop aspirin usage and not eat spicy food, otherwise the bleeding would continue. Jerry rested for a week and the PA referred him to see a nose specialist in three days. In more severe cases of epistaxis, if the bleeding doesn’t stop, the site next to the bleeding vessel can be burned, cauterized, with “silver nitrate on an applicator stick” (Fried 2013). Cauterization has a success rate of more than 80% of blood stoppage. Although complications with this procedure are uncommon, many patients report nerve damage and breathing obstruction post treatment. In many cases, breathing obstruction can be surgically fixed by straightening the nasal septum, which divides the left and right airways in the nose, also known as septoplasty. In the few cases in which cauterization fails, a balloon or pack is used to absorb the blood. If the patient doesn’t experience re-bleeding in the following appointment, the pack should be removed. However, in many cases, nasal packing is not the first choice of treatment, as it not only leads to physical discomfort, but often emergency surgery. At his appointment, the specialist slowly pulled the balloon out of his nose. To the doctor’s surprise, immediately, blood started to flow out. The doctor told Jerry to pinch his nose and go to the hospital where the doctor would surgically close off the artery to stop the bleeding. Post-surgery, Jerry stayed overnight in the hospital and rested at home for a couple of weeks. The doctor recommended Jerry not to consume spicy foods, or take aspirin for a few weeks; however, he could continue to use his other medications. The doctor prescribed painkillers to use when needed to suppress the heavy pain he felt from the surgery and balloon. Over the next three days, the blood diluted and oozed into a gauze inside his nose. Every three hours, during those three days, Jerry replaced the gauze until the bleeding stopped. Two weeks after surgery, Jerry told the doctor he wasn’t able to breathe easily. After an examination, his doctor confirmed the breathing obstruction that resulted from the tissue damage accumulated during cauterization. The doctor then surgically repaired the damaged cartilage through septoplasty. To prevent future nosebleeds, the doctor recommended using a nasal spray to keep the nose moist until it improves. In the rare case that epistaxis cannot be controlled after cauterization and nasal packing, a surgical method to constrict the blood vessels, ligation, is done to control the bleeding (Flint et. al. 2010). In this procedure, the surgeon clips the artery responsible for the epistaxis using endoscopic guidance. With success rates of 93%, this procedure is not associated with any serious complications except continued epistaxis after the surgery due to the failure to clip all the arterial branches. This traumatizing event led Jerry to make lifestyle changes to avoid taking aspirin. Following surgery, he educated himself on the causes of blood clots and the precautionary measures he can take to avoid one. He began incorporating simple changes, including avoiding salt on his food, fat content milk, and high fructose foods. Over the months, Jerry reduced his calorie intake and exercised two hours a day. After five months, his weight dropped from 165 lbs. to 132 lbs. and at his next appointment, his cardiologist was amazed as all his numbers drastically improved for good/bad cholesterol and triglycerides(fat). Since this event, Jerry has had no nose bleeds and inspired his family to make healthier decisions. Flint P, Haughey B, Lund V, et. al. 2010. Cummings Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Philidelphia (PA): Mosby Elsevier. 2956 p. Fried M. 2013. Epistaxis. The Merck Manuel. [cited 2014 May 16]. The Merck Manuel [Internet]. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. [2010-2013]. Available from: http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/ear_nose_and_throat_disorders/approach_to_the_patient_with_nasal_and_pharyngeal_symptoms/epistaxis.html?qt=nosebleed&alt=sh Kasperek Z, Pollock G. 2013. Epistaxis. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. [cited 2014 May 16]; 31(2): 454. In Academic Search MD Consult [Internet]. Saunders Company . Available from: http://www.mdconsult.com/das/article/body/447292157-2/jorg=clinics&source=&sp=26235393&sid=0/N/1160691/1.html?issn=0733-8627
Africa and Arabia are the focus for this group of 9 explorers and their 14 journeys. 1. The Explorer: Francisco de Almeida, 1505 - Africa / Asia The Story: The Somali Current Follow Francisco de Almeida, as he commands a 22 ship armada in the year 1505. His mandate was to set up trade and gain control of the lucrative spice trade from the East, for Portugal. On the east coast of Africa, he travels north along the coast and battles various Sultans and Chiefs. He then crosses the Indian Ocean and sets up forts along the Malabar Coast. Eventually, his fleet does battle with a combined fleet of Arab, Egyptian and Indian vessels at the historic naval battle of Diu. This victory helps cement Portuguese control of the East Indies trade for nearly 200 years. 2. The Explorer: Muhammad Ibn Battuta, 1325 - North Africa / Arabia The Story: Camel Thieves Follow the Journey of the young Muhammad Ibn Battuta, at age 21, after he leaves college in Morocco to explore his world. On a donkey, he joins others and traverses mountain and desert across North Africa. Along the pirate-infested Barbary Coast, they are blasted by the great Sirocco winds and fight off camel thieves. Onto Cairo and the pyramids, but down the Red Sea, he is stopped from crossing by a rebellion against the rulers and is forced to follow a major detour to Damascus. Eventually, he travels to Mecca by caravan and completes his Hajj. 3. The Explorer: Pedro Alvarez Cabral, 1500 - Brazil / Africa / Asia The Story: Cape of All Storms Follow the Journey of Pedro Alvarez Cabral in command of a Portuguese fleet headed south to round Africa. They, unknowingly, land on the continent of South America (Brazil) and claim all its lands for Portugal. 4. The Explorer - Journey 1: Pero da Covilham, 1487 - Europe / Mediterranean The Story: Spies for Portugal 5. The Explorer - Journey 2: Pero da Covilham, 1488 - East Africa / Arabia The Story: Salve for the Backside 6. The Explorer - Journey 3: Pero da Covilham, 1489 - East Africa / Asia The Story: Fleet of Dhows 7. The Explorer - Journey 4: Pero da Covilham, 1530 - East Africa The Story: Lions and Hyenas It’s early spring, 1487, and Europe already stinks from the flesh of the unwashed masses. Open sewers run in the streets. The only relief from the stench comes from carrying bags of spices around your neck. King John II of Portugal chooses 2 young multilingual men, of Jewish decent, to become spies in order to find the source of the rare and costly spice commodity, and find the Christian Kingdom of Prester John, somewhere in East Africa. As the spices are mostly controlled by a hostile Arab population in the East, our two spies embark on a journey from Portugal, disguised as Moorish merchants. This dangerous adventure will take them across the Mediterranean, along the Red Sea, across the Arabian Sea to India, and back into East Africa. One will die! 8. The Explorer - Journey 1: Bartholomew Diaz, 1487 - West Africa The Story: Sand Dunes 9. The Explorer - Journey 2: Bartholomew Diaz, 1488 - South East Africa The Story: Freight Train Winds Follow the three vessels commanded by Bartholomew Diaz in 1487, from Portugal down the west coast of Africa. Join them, as they marvel at the sight of the massive sand dunes along the Skeleton Coast, so named for the ribs of shipwrecked boats pointing into the sky. They travel into unknown waters and a ferocious storm, which capsizes two vessels and then pushes the third into the Antarctic ice flows. Eventually, to their amazement and joy, they escape to the northeast around Africa. 10. The explorer: Vasco de Gama, 1497 - Africa/Asia The story: Exotic Fruits and Fish Follow the ultimate seaman, Vasco de Gama, and his crew in 1497 as they weather ferocious storms before finally rounding west Africa past the Cape of Good Hope. Heading north along the coast of East Africa into tropical waters, they venture due east towards India and eventually open the first sea route, for trade, between India and Europe. 11. The Explorer - Journey 1: Hanno the Navigator, 455BC - Africa / Mediterranean The Story: Pillars of Hercules 12. The Explorer - Journey 2: Hanno the Navigator 455BC - Africa / West Coast The Story: Rio de Oro Join Hanno the Navigator in 455 BC, in Carthage, as he waits for the leaving ceremony to end with the prayers to the god Baal (rider of the clouds and god of thunderstorms). He then leads his 60 galley fleet into the Mediterranean and around the west coast of Africa. Leaving colonists along the bulge of Africa, he eventually turns east into the Gulf of Guinea. Dense jungles seem to meet the water’s edge like a wall. At night, the sound of native drums and warrior chants, keep the vessels offshore. Finally, they approach a great mountain spewing molten rock, flames and sulfurous gases into the air. They turn for home rather than face the ‘gates of Hades’. 13. The Explorer: Mungo Park, 1806 - West Africa The Story: Timbuktu Join Mungo Park, in 1806, and follow his fateful attempt to navigate the Niger River into ‘darkest Africa’. Plagued with dysentery, exhaustion, attacks from wild animals and native bandits, only nine of the original forty-four Europeans survive the journey on land to begin exploration of the river. Hostile natives destroy this expedition before it reaches the Gulf of Guinea. 14. The Explorer: Duarte Pacheco Periera, 1488 - West Africa The Story: Stolen Ship Join the crew of Duarte Pacheco Periera, in 1488, as they explore the coast and jungle interior of West Africa in search of the rumored Christian kingdom of Prester John. On the offshore island of Principe, they leave their ship unattended overnight to seek medical aid for their sicknesses, only to wake up in the morning to find their ship is gone.
Disaster Preparedness: A Complete Guide for Seniors Natural disasters put everyone in their path at risk. Whether it’s a hurricane, a wildfire, a winter storm, or even a heat wave, lives can hang in the balance. But seniors are even more at risk, and the numbers only make this more clear. Here are some eye-opening statistics: - Adults 75 and older made up half the deaths from Hurricane Katrina - After a heat wave hit Chicago in 1995, adults 65 or older made up almost two-thirds of fatalities after a 1995 heat wave hit Chicago - People over 85 are more than four times more likely to die in a wildfire than the total population What’s even more worrying is that for a number of reasons, including scarce financial resources, isolation, and problems with mobility, it can be hard for seniors to prepare for disasters. For example, a study done in 2012 indicated that close to one in six adults over 50 would need help evacuating their homes in an emergency, and nearly one in 10 would need help from outside the household. Despite such risks, however, a 2014 study found that less than a quarter of seniors have made plans for responding to a natural disaster. And senior service professionals are frequently also unprepared to help the seniors in their communities respond. It’s essential, then, for seniors and the people who care for them to give a lot of thought to how best to respond to natural disasters. They should, ideally, plan and prepare for them. Helping Loved Ones Prepare It’s natural for the family and friends of an older person to want to be involved in helping them prepare. After all, a natural disaster can be especially worrisome for the friends and families of seniors who might be at risk. And a senior’s support network can provide a lot of assistance before and during an emergency. Note, too, that helping a senior weather an emergency can help the entire community where they live. Older people tend to have important practical knowledge, knowledge of local services, and robust social networks, and studies have shown that seniors often contribute to the resilience of their communities after a natural disaster. So that makes it all the more important to lend a hand to make sure seniors are ready to respond. If you’re ready to help the senior in your life prepare for emergencies, here are some things you can do. A senior’s support network can help them access vital community resources. This begins by assessing the services that might be available in a natural disaster. You can start by getting in touch with the local senior services agency (and if you don’t know what agency to contact, a call to the local United Way could help). Talking to these agencies, you can get information about the types of events they expect to deal with in the area and the services they offer. One essential service is help with transportation: if evacuation becomes recommended or mandatory, many communities provide transportation to seniors who can’t get away otherwise. Along the lines of getting familiar with local services, you can also help the senior plan for an emergency. Are there likely to be shelters nearby? What are the best routes to get there? What should they keep on hand in case they get stuck in the house or have to leave on short notice? Has the home received the sort of routine maintenance that would enable it to weather a storm? There is so much that can be done long beforehand to prepare for a disaster that it’s incumbent on a senior’s support network to help make that planning and preparation happen. It can be easy for seniors to be unaware of local conditions: they may not be tuned in to local weather reports, or they may be unaware of the severity of a storm or heat wave coming their way. One thing that people can do to help is check in to make sure that seniors are aware of any potential threats and to encourage them to take appropriate action. Once the senior is aware of an event, checking in as the situation develops can also be a big help to them. Not only does it mean that there’s someone else who can seek help if it’s needed, staying in touch provides important moral support for what is probably a very trying time. Moral support can mean a lot, especially if a senior faces the difficult choice between staying in the home and evacuation. There’s no way of knowing the right choice ahead of time, but having someone offer reassurance and feedback (and, potentially, a place to stay) will help ensure that the senior makes the right decision. Finally, not all seniors live on their own. If your loved one is in senior housing, check with the people running that facility. Do they have a stock of supplies? Do they have transportation they can use in an emergency? Have they made arrangements for shelter in a safe location? Not all facilities make such plans: it often depends on how independent their residents are. But it’s important to find out, and it’s essential to be ready to fill in any gaps in preparedness. Adults 75 and older of the deaths from Hurricane Katrina A study done in 2012 indicated that close to one in six adults over 50 would need help evacuating their homes in an emergency, and nearly one in 10 would need help from outside the household. Getting Ready: Advanced Planning There are many different kinds of natural disasters, and each one presents its own challenges. Later in the article, we address several of these different events specifically, but there are some significant similarities in the ways people should prepare for any natural disaster, and seniors and their loved ones should go through this planning process regardless of the risks they’re likely to face. Assess your risks As you begin the planning process, ask yourself: what are the particular risks that you could face where you live? For example, if you live in the southeast, how often has your area experienced a hurricane in the past few years? If you live on the Pacific coast, how likely is your area to experience an earthquake? Has your area ever had to worry about wildfires? Tornadoes? Winter storms? We’ll go into the details of how to prepare for specific natural events later, but as you plan, it’s best to be aware of the types of emergencies you might face. Assess your needs As you plan, you’ll also want to take an objective look at your own needs. What medicines do you take on a regular basis? Do you need regular in-office medical treatments? Are you fully mobile? Are you able to drive? Do you depend on volunteers or government agencies for meal delivery or other services? Planning for a disaster means getting a clear sense of the help you’ll need if your community experiences a significant disruption. As you begin the planning process, ask yourself: what are the particular risks that you could face where you live? Being prepared means more than just looking at your needs and trying to take care of them on your own. Many communities have plans in place for helping seniors in the event of an emergency. By getting in touch with your local government, senior services agency, or disaster planning office, you may be able to access services that will make it much easier to ride out a natural event. And these agencies may also offer tools or classes that can make your own preparations easier as well. Make an evacuation plan Not all emergencies will require you to leave your home, but many might. In that case, it’s good to know ahead of time where you will go and how you will get there. You can start by deciding where you want to shelter: if you have a support network you can ask them if they’ll take you in in the event of a disaster. If you don’t have a local network (or if your local network consists entirely of people who might have to hit the road along with you), contact your local disaster preparedness agency to find out where they’re likely to set up shelters. In an event like a hurricane or winter storm, you can also find out this information by monitoring emergency broadcasts as the threat approaches. Finally, it’s essential to know local evacuation routes in the event of a hurricane and the best and fastest ways to get to high ground if your area is at risk for flooding. Set up a support network Whether you have friends and family the next town over or across the country, you’ll want to choose the people you’ll be in touch with ahead of time. Before anything happens, make a plan with them for how often you’ll be in touch. If you have evacuation plans, let them know what they are and advise them of where you’re likely to end up; if you plan to stay in place, let them know this as well. It can also help to have the numbers, e-mails, and other contact information of your network printed up: super-prepared people include a copy of this printout with their vital documents and leave a copy behind in their home if they’re forced to evacuate. Get your home ready Not every potential disaster warrants the same response, but many kinds of events can put a stress on a home—and make it essential that your home stays comfortable and safe. So as you think about the issues you might face, consider the ways that you can make improvements to your house. Are you worried about winter storms? Take steps, like weatherstripping, that will make it easier to heat. Are you worried about floods? There are also certain things you can do that will make them less damaging. What’s more, local agencies and charities sometimes offer such services for free or at a discount to seniors in need, so looking into the possibility now could improve your life even if you never face a disaster. Prepare for recovery If you can, long before a disaster hits, you may want to review what your insurance will cover if you experience property damage. If you think you’re at risk for a catastrophic disaster, it can also be wise to document your valuables (you can even do this with a video camera). And you can also take one invaluable step that will make it easier in the hours and days following a disaster: set up direct deposit of any benefits you receive, like Social Security, disability benefits, or a pension. That way you’ll be able to access your money no matter where you are. Many communities have plans in place for helping seniors in the event of an emergency. Getting Ready: Assemble Your Emergency Preparedness Kit Once you’ve done your planning, you’ll want to assemble an emergency preparedness kit. The idea behind the kit is to give someone enough supplies to be comfortable and safe until emergency services can arrive in the area and the community begins to recover. Since that’s the main reason to have such a kit, what you put into it may vary depending on the risks you face. If you live in a place where you can expect severe winter weather, for example, but you also live in a city or town that routinely deals with such emergencies, you may need only to plan for three or four days of fending for yourself. On the other hand, if you live in a rural area that repeatedly finds itself under threat from hurricanes, you may want to plan for a longer time before you can rely on community resources. And you may want to make sure that you can easily take the essentials on the road with you in case you’re ordered to evacuate. Still, there are some basic items that nearly every emergency response agency recommends including in your kit, and while the number of days you’ll need to plan for varies depending on the organization giving the advice, the generally recognized minimum is three to four days. Here are some of the basics: (a gallon per person per day) (pre-prepared food: canned good, etc.) A first-aid kit (with up-to-date equipment) (For various electronics) Everything apart from the water would ideally be in a dedicated container that you can take out of the house quickly in case of evacuation. The basics will get you through if you’re deprived of food or water, but there are some additional items you may want to include in your kit as well. These include: - Personal care items, like toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, and other toiletries - Spare clothes - Blankets or sleeping bags - Rain gear - Light sticks Note that many of these items are likely to be necessary in the event of an evacuation order, so ideally, they’ll be ready to go and easily portable if you or someone helping you needs to put them in a car. In addition to supplies, it’s important to prepare a packet of documents that are easily accessed in your home, or easy to bring along with you in case of an evacuation. These documents should include personal identification: you don’t need to keep your i.d. Or driver’s license in your emergency kit, but it may help to include photocopies of them. It can be helpful to have the following items as well: The idea behind the kit is to give someone enough supplies to be comfortable and safe until emergency services can arrive in the area Items like your will, any important contracts, the deed to your home, and titles to your cars and other vehicles can be helpful to have in the event of an emergency, particularly if the event you’re dealing with is likely to lead to property damage. Along the same lines, it can be useful to have copies of auto insurance and homeowner’s insurance policies so you have them in a secure place even if you’re unable to return to your home. Having a recent bank statement can be useful, as can information about your retirement accounts and credit cards. You may even want to include tax records. Again, for the purposes of responding to an emergency, it’s probably enough that you simply make copies of these items and put them somewhere easily accessible. (Ideally, they’ll be in a waterproof envelope, folder, or binder—or even just a resealable plastic bag—inside your emergency response kit.) Items especially for seniors In addition to the standard recommendations for a preparedness kit, there are a number of items specific to seniors that you should probably include in your kit as well. These include: You will probably want to include an additional weeks’ supply of medications in your kit. To get that extra supply, inform your doctor or other health care provider of the fact that you’re putting together an emergency supply. You will also want to have supplies for your essential medical equipment. This can include: - Batteries for hearing aids - Spare pairs of glasses - Spare dentures - Equipment for monitoring blood sugar and blood pressure, if needed - Spare oxygen tanks Having spares of all of these items in your kit will save you time searching the house to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything. Just as with all the other essential documents you’ll want to have on hand, you’ll also want to have information about any medical needs you have. This should include: Basic information like your blood type, any allergies you have, and a list of any conditions you’re dealing with. - An outline of the treatment you’re receiving and any other essential care or comfort information - Information about your medical equipment needs - A list of prescriptions you receive along with the dosages you take - A list of contact information for your physicians - Copies of your Medicare, Medicaid, and other types of insurance information. Finally, if you have a service animal, it might be useful to include their documentation in your kit as well; for all pets, you may want to include immunization information among your documents in case you have to bring them to a shelter or board them somewhere. It’s important to prepare a in case of an evacuation order. Responding to Specific Emergencies Different types of events require different responses, but there is some advice that applies in all situations. Whatever emergency you’re faced with you should: You can get specially made battery-powered radios that receive NOAA bulletins, but you can also get an ordinary battery-powered radio that will allow you to tune into local stations and get emergency bulletins that way. And if you have a cellular phone, you can look into subscribing to text alerts put out by your local government. However you do it, it’s essential to be able to access emergency information, especially evacuation orders and the locations of nearby shelters. Stay in Touch A network of supporters will only work if you use it. So be sure to stay in touch with your network. If you stay in your home, let them know. If you evacuate, let them know where you’re going. If you need help, don’t hesitate to call. Even if your network stretches across the country, people living elsewhere can often get help in your area that you may not be able to access. Avoid Bad News In an emergency, staying calm is essential. But even with the best of intentions, national news organizations tend to play up the danger that a storm or other event could pose, and also tend to focus on bad outcomes. Resist the temptation to watch this kind of coverage: you’ll want to stick to the facts and listen to the authorities. A network of supporters will only work if you use it. So be sure to stay in touch with your network. Hurricanes are, in a way, the reference point for all natural disasters. People know when they live in a hurricane-prone area, and they will usually have some warning that a hurricane is coming, even though the course of a storm can sometimes curve unpredictably. But that doesn’t change the fact that hurricanes are incredibly destructive, with high winds that can tear structures apart and rainfall and storm surges that can cause significant flooding. Seniors can have particular difficulty making it through a hurricane. Evacuation especially may be difficult for those who can’t drive, or those who have mobility issues, and evacuation can sometimes be more difficult emotionally for seniors as well. And even though we have more sophisticated methods of predicting storms and their paths than ever before, it can also sometimes be difficult for seniors to access information about a storm’s approach. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that, because hurricanes are the touchstone for disaster preparation, getting ready doesn’t require too much outside of the standard list of things to do. But seniors in hurricane-prone areas should be aware of some specific ways to prepare. To prepare for hurricane season, the best strategy is to go all out—do the most you can to prepare for the worst. This includes: - Take an inventory of valuables in case the storm damages the home. This can be as simple as taking a video or pictures of your home’s interior using the camera on your phone. - Make your home as weather-proof as possible, including cleaning out gutters and downspouts and making sure sump pumps and other anti-flooding measures are in good condition. You may also want to make sure that valuable items and important documents are out of the range of any floodwaters. - Be ready to evacuate. Try to make your emergency preparedness kit is as portable as possible, and, if you have a car, always leave it with at least half a tank of gas during hurricane season to facilitate a quick getaway. Again, hurricanes are the model for other weather events when it comes to preparation, so the general outlines of your emergency preparedness kit don’t need to change. If, however, you live in a rural area that’s hurricane-prone, or if you live right on the coast, you may want to add a few more days’ worth of extra batteries, medications, and water and food supplies. In a severe hurricane, it may take your community more than the standard three to four days to get back on its feet. There are some important things to understand about responding to a hurricanes. First, understand the difference between an advisory, a watch, and a warning. When dealing with weather events, forecasters use a three-tier system to let people know what risks they face. - An Advisory simply means that hurricane-related weather might inconvenience people in an area or cause mild disruption. - A Watch means that there’s a high likelihood that a hurricane will strike in the area in the next two days, and works mostly as a suggestion to stay tuned to emergency bulletins. - A Warning means that there’s a very high likelihood that a hurricane will strike in the area in the next 36 hours, and means that you should probably prepare to evacuate. Heat in the aftermath. A hurricane often brings hot, humid weather in its wake—and that can be dangerous if it’s coupled with a long-term power outage, because, as we note in our section on heat waves, the elderly can have particular difficulty coping with heat, and a lack of air conditioning will only make things worse. Even if your home is intact and you haven’t been told to evacuate, a power outage might be a good reason to leave the area in order to avoid heat-related health problems. Wildfires are similar to hurricanes: they have a season, and you may get advanced warning that one is headed in your direction. But also like hurricanes, they’re unpredictable, and they can be devastating and deadly. And like many natural disasters, seniors in particular are at risk in a wildfire. During the 2018 Wine Country wildfires in California, for example, the majority of the victims were elderly. In part, this is because wildfires can move incredibly fast: during the Wine Country wildfires, the blazes were driven by high winds and spread faster than people could run. Someone in the path of a wildfire might have little to no warning before the fire is on them, and then it’s too late, even if mobility isn’t an issue. Also, unfortunately, age tends to dull the senses that provide the best advanced warning of an approaching fire: seniors might take longer than others to detect smoke, for example, and may also not hear the audible warning signs of approaching flames. Fortunately, rapidly moving wildfires that strike without warning are the worst-case scenario, and people tend to have more warning of an approaching burn. Still, even having a wildfire in the vicinity can be dangerous. The smoke, ash, and toxic fumes generated by wildfires are a significant threat to people with breathing and heart problems, and it’s been documented that being exposed to smoke from wildfires causes significant increases in the number of older adults who seek emergency care. Have an escape planned. In order to prepare for wildfires, then, it’s best to focus on putting together an evacuation plan. If you’re making plans for a senior, try to make sure that they have a place to stay outside of their area, and that they can access transportation to get themselves there. If you’re a senior yourself and you live in wildfire country, you’ll want to ask your networks if they can put you up, and make sure you have help getting out of the area if you don’t have your own transportation. If you don’t have a place to retreat to, or you might have trouble getting a ride, contact your local senior services agencies to find out about nearby shelters and about any transportation services you could count on in case of emergency. Preparing for a wildfire doesn’t really require any exceptional supplies. But you may be wondering: what about respirator masks or other air filters? Can they help you in the event of smoke-filled air? Possibly, if you or the ones you love are trained in their use. If not, though, they could do more harm than good, especially if they make someone think they no longer need to worry. Note, too, that respirator masks can’t filter out toxic fumes, making them even less likely to help in a wildfire emergency. Avoid smoke. You can do this by simply leaving the area for a time. If that’s not an option, you’ll want to follow standard precautions for when outdoor air quality is poor. In other words: - Stay indoors as much as possible, and keep your house shut tight—no open doors or windows. - Don’t make the air any more polluted: avoid using wood-burning stoves or fireplaces, don’t burn candles, and try to avoid smoking. - Ideally your home would have HEPA filters in its air conditioning system; if so, running the air conditioning can be a way to improve indoor air quality - Avoid vacuuming - Drink water—even more than recommended amounts, if possible—because this can reduce the irritation that comes with smoke. Prepare for losses. Finally, remember that wildfires can be incredibly destructive. So in addition to securing evacuation help, you might want to prepare for losses. Consider including documentation of major property—and even, possibly, a video inventory of your home—among the papers in your emergency document kit. The one good thing about winter storms is that, in our modern era, they are far less likely to cause injury or death outright: if you stay inside, you’re unlikely to die of exposure or hypothermia as the storm moves through. Winter storms are also, fortunately, a great deal kinder to houses and other structures, making the loss of a home less likely. The problem with winter storms, however, is the recovery. Especially in rural communities, it can be several days before power is restored, and even if someone in the household can drive, it can also be days before roads are passable and vital community services resume. So if you live in an area at risk for severe cold weather, you may want to take some special precautions. In addition to the planning considerations outlined at the beginning of this article, here are some other issues you might want to consider. Get Your Home Ready Since you’re likely to end up riding out the storm in your home, you’ll want to make sure your house is ready to be a place of refuge. Here are some things to consider. - One of the best things you can do in advance of cold weather is have your home weatherproofed—renew the insulation, caulk the windows, and make sure doors seal tightly. - You may also want to get into the habit of having your home heating fuel refilled more than a week out from the point where it would be empty. That way, you’ll always have a reserve in place if delivery service is interrupted. - If you have a fireplace or wood burning stove, you can also keep a reserve of firewood on hand; if you think you may have to rely on some sort of fireplace, you should consider having your chimney cleaned every fall to ensure that you can use it safely. - You should also plan to put carbon monoxide detectors in place to ensure that your heat sources aren’t venting into the home. - Consider, too, making plans for home care in case of a severe storm. If you have a home care agency you work with, they should be able to help you plan; if not, call around to find an agency that can offer help during inclement weather. Be Ready to Relocate While the best plan for severe cold weather is to stay in the home, there may come a time when the home can no longer be heated, or a loss of power is interfering with the activities needed to sustain life. When that happens, you may need to move to a shelter. So part of a good winter weather plan includes finding out where you can find shelters in your area and making figuring out how to get there even when transportation is challenging. Especially if you stay in your home, the standard emergency preparedness kit outlined earlier in the article will stand you in good stead. (Be sure, though, to also include extra medical supplies, if possible, since a lack of passable roads can make it harder to get prescription refills and other vital supplies.) You may also want to prepare for the possibility you could get stranded on the road in cold weather, and put an emergency preparedness kit in your car. This would include all the basic emergency supplies (enough for a day), and the following: - Snow equipment: A shovel, a broom, and ice scrapers can help you get back on the road safely if you have to shelter in your car during a snow or ice storm. - Automobile essentials: Road salt, sand, booster cables, and a tow rope can all come in handy during severe weather as well. - Signaling equipment: Emergency flares or a distress flag (preferably in blaze orange or some other fluorescent color) can be used to signal that you need help. In case you’re stranded in your car—or in case your home loses power—it might be good to have chemical heat packs in your emergency kit as well. In combination with warm clothing, heat packs can help keep your extremities warm and help you avoid frostbite. It’s best to avoid going outside if at all possible. If it can’t be avoided, dress warmly, and limit the time you spend in the cold weather. And if something requires you to spend a long time out of doors, be aware of some of the health problems that cold weather can cause. Frostbite is freezing of the skin. It shows up as white or pale appearance in the extremities like the fingers, toes, tip of the nose, and ends of the earlobes, all accompanied by a sustained numbness in the affected area. Frostbite is best treated by getting the victim to a warm place as soon as possible. (Note: be careful not to rub the skin where the frostbite has occurred.) Hypothermia occurs when the body’s temperature goes too low. It shows up as fatigue, drowsiness, forgetfulness, and other cognitive problems; it can lead to unconsciousness, and it can be fatal. If someone has hypothermia, get them to a warm location as soon as possible, but also try to get them to heat up from the core outward by wrapping them in blankets. Both hypothermia and frostbite are severe conditions. Both require a trip to the hospital as soon as possible, but if a hypothermia victim has a temperature of 95º or below, get them to a hospital immediately. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning As mentioned above, carbon monoxide poisoning is a real danger, especially if a loss of power renders ordinary heating unavailable. Never try to heat the home using a gas stove or oven: these are generally not designed to vent the carbon monoxide and dioxide that they produce, and so they’re dangerous when left on for long periods of time. If you’re using kerosene heaters to warm your home, make sure that you’ve also got plenty of ventilation in the rooms where they’re being used. The standard definition of “extreme heat” is a period of time (two to three days) of high humidity with daily highs above 90 degrees. The high humidity is a key element here: the body sweats to stay cool, but the longer it takes for sweat to evaporate, the less effective the body is at cooling itself. As the body works harder at cooling itself, it puts stress on the body’s systems, leading to distress, fatigue, and possibly even death. Compared to other weather events, extreme heat is unlikely to force an evacuation on its own, but the subtle nature of a heat wave—it can appear to be simply a continuation of ordinary summer weather—is what makes it insidious: unless you hear the warnings, it’s possible that you or someone your love will remain unaware that conditions have gotten dangerous. What’s particularly worrying is that seniors are more prone to being stressed by the heat. Older metabolisms don’t adjust as quickly to changes in temperature. Seniors are more likely to have health issues that make it harder for the body to respond to heat effectively. And seniors are also more likely to take medications, like high-blood-pressure medications and diuretics, that all on their own alter the body’s response to heat and make it harder to sweat in response. Finally, because the body hold less water as we get older, even healthy seniors are less hydrated from the start than the average person. As a result, seniors can have trouble staying hydrated during hot weather, with all the risks that implies. Extreme heat can strike almost anywhere in the US, but if you live in an area where summers regularly lead to extreme heat, there are some specific precautions you may want to take. Weatherproof Your Home Just as with extreme cold, dealing with extreme heat requires keeping indoor temperatures comfortable. So make sure you can cool your home as efficiently as possible by caulking windows, sealing doors, and restoring insulation. If you’ll be relying on a window air conditioning unit, make sure that any gaps around the unit are sealed tightly as well. Stay Aware of Warnings If you live in a place likely to experience extreme heat, or you’re concerned about a senior who lives in such an area, try to stay on top of weather reports so that you know when a heat wave arrives. Evacuation May be Necessary Extreme heat can lead to an increased demand for electricity, which can, in turn, overburden the power grid. As a result, brownouts can become a factor. Even if it’s only for a few hours, a loss of power during the hottest part of the day can mean that temperatures can become dangerous indoors. Seniors should have some idea of where to go if that happens, whether they retreat to a local community center, a mall, or other indoor public space. Be Wary of Hurricanes + Heat Even if a senior lives outside of the direct path of a hurricane, extreme heat often follows after a hurricane moves through an area—and that means that a heat wave could be combined with a total loss of power. If you encounter this combination, consider leaving the area, or at least consider going somewhere where you can find air conditioning during the hottest part of the day. Since a heat wave will probably allow you to stay in place, you won’t need to expand your disaster preparedness kit too much. But there are some things that could come in handy: - Sport drinks, juice, and milk: Sweat takes water out of the body, but it also takes out essential bodily chemicals as well. Sport drinks, juice, and milk can help you replenish those chemicals. - Cooling towels: Thanks to modern textiles, there are fabrics that remove moisture extremely efficiently. When these fabrics are used to dry off sweat, the effect can be wonderfully cooling. Called cooling towels or cooling cloths, items made out of these textiles are often available at sporting equipment stores and other retailers. - Cool clothing: You may not need to include these in your emergency preparedness kit, but it’s good to have light-colored summer clothing available to wear during a heat wave. You should also have hats ready in case you need to venture outdoors. - Reflective window coverings: Again, this may not need to go into your kit, but it can be useful to have something handy that you can use to cover windows that receive direct sunlight. There are some covers specifically built for this purpose, but windshield sun barriers can work as well, as can simple pieces of cardboard or aluminum foil. Just as with extreme cold, extreme heat can cause a specific set of health problems. Here’s a list of things you should look out for. One early sign of problems related to heat is muscular pains and cramping in the legs or abdomen—the result of dehydration and depletion of essential nutrients through sweat. If you experience these symptoms, move to a cooler place immediately, rest yourself, and stretch the muscles where the pain or cramping is happening. You can also gently massage the area. This is the time to consume sports drinks, fruit juice, or milk instead of just water, in order to replenish the missing nutrients. A big step up in severity from heat cramps, heat exhaustion shows up as pale, ashen, or flushed skin that may feel cool. Heat exhaustion can also bring on nausea, dizziness, weakness, and severe fatigue. To treat heat exhaustion, move the person to a cool place, ideally one where there’s air moving. Apply cool, damp towels; spray the person with water or fan them. If they’re conscious, supply them with sports drinks, juices, or milk. But if the person is unconscious, refuses fluids, or doesn’t seem to be recovering, call 911 and try to get them to a physician. This is the worst health problem caused by heat, and it can be life-threatening. The symptoms include shallow breathing, confusion, vomiting, fainting, dry or moist red skin, and extremely high body temperatures. If you see these symptoms, you’ll want to call 911 immediately; you should also act immediately by immersing the person in cold water or by dousing them with cold water. You can also sponge the person down with ice water and cover them with cold, wet towels, or cover them with ice packs. Ultimately, avoiding health problems in a heat wave requires you to be aware of the weather, stay hydrated, and avoid unnecessary exertion. If you can do that, a heat wave doesn’t have to be a life-threatening disaster. extreme heat is a period of time of high humidity with highs above Floods can strike with little to no warning, and are frightening in their power, destroying homes and other property and potentially destroying entire communities. And even if you avoid the destruction, flooding can disrupt services—including the supply of electricity—for many days afterward. That means that if you live in a flood-prone area, or if the senior in your life does, the most essential part of your preparation may be ensuring that you can evacuate if necessary. But you should also prepare yourself for potentially catastrophic damage. One of the first things to consider if you’re worried about repeated flooding is simply relocating: is it possible for seniors living in a flood-prone area to live elsewhere? If it’s not possible, there are several ways that you can prepare long before a flood actually happens. Fortify the house against water This can include relatively simple fixes such as making sure that gutters and downspouts are in working order and installing a sump pump in the basement. Such preparations can also, however, include moving electrical panels and other essential parts of the power grid out of reach of high water. Move valuables out of reach It’s also wise to make sure that any valuables in the home, including furnishings and vital documents, are above the level that flood waters are likely to reach. Be ready to evacuate Be sure to put together a mobile emergency preparedness kit; you may want to store it, or parts of it, in your car, in case you have to evacuate at short notice. Also, though, plan an evacuation route: aim to get to high ground as quickly as you can, and know the best way to get there. Once you have a route, practice driving it as well. Notify local services For seniors who might have difficulty getting away from the home, it’s essential to be in touch with any local organizations that offer aid to seniors to see if there’s a registry of residents who will need help in order to evacuate. Ironically, floods present a significant threat to an area’s water supply. Not only can a power outage create problems for people who rely on wells for their water, floodwaters can contaminate water treatment plants and other vital infrastructure, and it can take a while before the water is drinkable again. Think about adding a few additional days’ supply of water to your kit. If you decide against this, have empty water bottles available that you can fill if the weather seems threatening. You can also fill bathtubs with water, but note that this water won’t be drinkable: bathtubs can leach toxic chemicals into the water they store. Instead, use this water for bathing and to flush toilets. There are a few more things that you should keep in mind if you live in a flood-prone area, or if the senior in your life might have to deal with flooding. This is true of every way that you might encounter it. Don’t drive through floodwaters: it doesn’t take much depth to render a car or truck inoperable. Don’t drink floodwater: it’s unsanitary. Don’t walk through floodwater, if you can help it: floodwaters often carry toxic chemicals and bacteria that can harm you even if you don’t drink them. Don’t swim through floodwaters: you can’t know what debris lies below the surface, and currents can be dangerous. Don’t Get Trapped in Your Home In the worst-case scenario, in which you’re stranded in your home, it’s essential not to get trapped as floodwaters rise. If it’s a choice between evacuating and moving into an attic without escape routes, it’s better to evacuate. Floods are frightening and potentially deadly events, and there’s no question that they can be difficult to deal with. But preparing beforehand, and being ready to evacuate, can ensure safety even for seniors. While we may associate earthquakes with particular parts of the country—the Pacific Coast, or the Mississippi River basin, for example—the truth is that earthquakes can strike anywhere. And, much as with other destructive events like hurricanes and wildfires, seniors with mobility or health problems can be at special risk for the challenges an earthquake poses. On the other hand, if you or the senior in your life have gone through the basics of preparation, you may already be ready for an earthquake, especially if you’ve established a network and have a kit ready. But there are a few things that can make surviving an earthquake more likely and make the aftermath easier. Make Your Home Safer If you live in an earthquake-prone area, it makes sense to prepare your home for one ahead of time. Preparation would include moving heavy wall-mounted items away from beds and couches, anchoring tall fixtures such as bookshelves to the wall, and in general making sure your appliances and valuable items can withstand a major shaking. If you’re not sure what needs to be done, it might pay to bring in a contractor familiar with earthquake preparation to advise you. Know What to Do If you feel a quake starting, do you know where to go in your home? What you should do if you’re in your car? What you should do if you’re trapped in a collapsed structure? We go over some of what you need to know below, but knowledge isn’t enough: it helps to practice these procedures and post reminders of what you should do on your refrigerator or some other visible place. So what should you do in the event of an earthquake? There are two key principles behind most expert advice: don’t move around (because you’re likely to fall) and take care to avoid falling debris. Here’s a quick list of dos and don’ts: Drop, Cover, and Hold On: One of the most essential habits to learn in advance of an earthquake is easy to learn. If you feel your home beginning to shake, you should: - Drop to the floor, or, if mobility issues prevent you from lowering yourself all the way, you can sit and simply bend over as much as you can. Staying in place will help prevent injuries from falls, because even fully-abled people are liable to fall when their floor is shaking. - Cover yourself in any convenient way: this can be by crawling under a table or similar piece of furniture, or by simply covering your head with your arms. This helps prevent injuries from falling objects or structures. - Hold on: Stay in place for as long as possible, and if you’ve taken shelter under a piece of furniture, hold on to it and be ready to move if it moves. This prevents injuries from falls, and ensures that you maintain your cover for as long as possible. Don’t move around in your home or attempt to flee outside: If you’re in bed, stay in bed. If you’re inside, stay inside. Moving around carries with it the risk of falling, and the areas close to the outer walls of a home or building are some of the most dangerous places to be in an earthquake. Still, there are scenarios where going outside will be the best choice: in case of fire or a gas leak, you’re better off leaving the building. And if you live in a coastal area that might be susceptible to a tsunami, you’ll be better off moving to higher ground. If you’re in your car, simply pull over and stop, and engage the emergency brake. Again, the two main principles for earthquake safety are avoiding falling debris and not moving, and as long as you’re not in motion, your car can protect you. If you’re trapped, cover your mouth and nose to the best of your ability so as to avoid inhaling dust. Then shout, bang on pipes or beams, or whistle to get rescuers’ attention. Severe summer storms can strike with relatively little warning, and when they bring tornadoes, they turn into one of the most deadly weather events a person is likely to encounter. And just as with hurricanes, seniors may be at increased risk if they’re not aware of weather warnings. What’s more, moving to shelter—even into a safer space in your own home— may be a challenge if you have problems moving around. Still, there are ways of increasing your ability to make it through a tornado unscathed. Because tornadoes can come on suddenly, it can pay to stay tuned in to local stations during the storm-prone summer months. Especially if it looks like conditions outside might lead to severe storms (dark storm clouds, heavy rain, etc.) be ready to tune in to local stations broadcasting local news. Know the Safe Spaces in Your Home, and Practice Moving to Them During a tornado, it’s important to keep away from windows and exterior walls. Bathrooms and basements work well as safe spaces, and closets and spaces under stairways can also work in a pinch. If you live in a tornado-prone area, you may want to put yourself through tornado drills in order to ensure that you know where to go and that the place you need to move to is easy to access. Note, however, that if you live in a mobile home there is no safe space: you’ll want to choose a more permanent structure to go to, and make arrangements to get there regardless of any difficulty you may have moving. Know the warning system: Just as with hurricanes, weather forecasters use special terms to indicate the probability of a tornado in a particular area. The term Advisory doesn’t get used with reference to tornadoes, but— - A tornado Watch means that the risk of a tornado occurring in the area has increased significantly, but it isn’t clear exactly where or when it will happen. In the event of a watch, it’s a good idea to review what you’ll do if a tornado happens, and to start keeping tabs on the weather. - A tornado Warning means that a tornado has been spotted, or is highly likely to occur given the weather conditions. A warning means that you may want to take action, and that you should be hyper-aware of the weather around you. Know the signs of an approaching tornado: A funnel cloud is a sure sign of a tornado, but not all tornadoes produce such a clear warning sign. Here are some other things to look out for. - Rapid rotation in the clouds: if you see the base of the clouds in a storm swirling, that can indicate a tornado even if there isn’t a funnel touching the ground. - Rotating dust and debris: similarly, even without a funnel, the sight of whirling dust or debris close to the ground indicates an active tornado. - Heavy rain or hail that suddenly becomes calm, or a rapid shift in the winds - A loud, continuous roar: A tornado usually makes a lot of noise (though you can’t always hear it through the sounds of the surrounding storm). It can sound like a roar, or a rumble, or like the rhythmic rushing of an approaching train. Hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and other natural disaster are scary, and there’s no question that older adults have some vulnerabilities that make these events even more dangerous. But with a little planning, a little preparation, and a little help from a support network of concerned friends and relatives, seniors can weather the danger. And when they do, our communities are likely to be better off for it. Here you can create the content that will be used within the module.
Navigating from A to B is an essential part of our daily lives. Unknown routes, busy places and unexpected obstacles are a big challenge for everyone, regardless of what your eyesight is. For people with a visual impairment, this process is primarily a task because they have limited use of spatial orientation and directions in the environment. The EyeBeacons project investigated how new technologies can support people with a visual impairment when navigating through the city. For more information you can get in contact with Joey van der Bie, researcher at the Digital Life Centre of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Follow this link for further details.
Bacon prices could be on their way up with news that a farm in Indiana has confirmed a second outbreak of a pig disease that has already killed off seven million swine in just over a year. The farm's veterinarian, Matt Ackerman, announced on Tuesday that the unidentified farm had experienced a re-break of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv), making it the first in the country to publicly confirm a second incident. "Just because a farm broke with PEDv last year doesn't mean that they are protected from re-breaking with it this year," Ackerman told Reuters. PEDv is a viral disease that causes severe diarrhea and vomiting in pigs. The virus largely affects young piglets and has a mortality rate as high as 100 percent. While the disease is deadly in pigs, it is not transmissible to humans and does not affect food safety. PEDv first appeared in Europe in 1971 and caused an endemic in Asia in 1982, but was not seen in the US until April of 2013. Since the first outbreak occurred last year, ten percent of the country's swine population has been wiped out. Until recently, researchers and industry experts largely believed that immunity developed in infected pigs within two to three weeks and could last for years. However, the news of a confirmed re-break and other unreported second outbreaks are raising concern. "In the beginning we thought all of the practices used to reduce Transmissible Gastroenteritis would work with PEDv, but we're finding PED is a tougher virus, much more infective," Liz Wagstrom, the chief veterinarian at the National Pork Producer's Council, told VICE News, referring to another common coronavirus that affects pigs. "It's a lot harder to control than its cousin." When PEDv first broke, industry experts began recommending improved biosecurity measures — practices that are already considered quite thorough in US pig farms. The virus is believed to be transmitted between the animals through contaminated manure, which can be transported via the pigs themselves, on the clothes of farm workers or even on trucks transporting the animals. Farms have had to amp up measures to limit animal movement and ensure vehicle and personnel are disinfected upon entering and exiting farms and meat packing plants. These measures have not been as successful at combatting PEDv as originally thought. Facing the fact that the risk of re-breaks is no longer just a possibility, Wagstrom says the industry is starting to look at other transmission risk factors they might have missed. "We do have some farms that have rebroken that can't be explained by biosecurity or pig movement," she said. "We're looking at what else might be bringing it in." While veterinarians like Wagstrom work on a tackling PEDv, the virus has already taken a toll on pig supply and pork industry prices. Both hog futures and retail pork prices are at record highs. Futures have hit $115 per hundredweight, up 26 percent since PEDv first hit the scene last year. Steve Meyer, a pork economist and president of Paragon Economics, told VICE News that the industry reacted strongly to the initial outbreak and the resulting pig deaths. He expects prices to remain stable through the summer, but says there will be a gap in the market this fall when the piglet deaths from the re-break become more apparent. Hogs will be raised to heavier weights before being taken to market, which will help balance out population declines. But Meyer says there will still be supply issues that will trickle down to the consumer. "The cost of this is going to fall on pork consumers at some point because this is a supply issue, not a demand issue," he said, explaining that demand has stayed the same despite already increasing pork prices. Bacon fanatics may be paying more at the grocery store, but one of the more concerning effects could be the impact PEDv could have on workers at pork processing plants. Meyer says plants from North Carolina to Oklahoma have already cut back on slaughtering operations and work hours. In March, Smithfield Foods Inc. eliminated a day from its slaughtering schedule at the Tar Heel pork processing plant in North Carolina because of the virus' effect on the pig population. The Tar Heel facility is the largest of its kind in the US, where up to 34,000 pigs are slaughtered each day. Similarly, Hormel Foods Corp. announced plans to reduce operations in its Midwest plants. Meyer said he expects a lot of plants in the upper Midwest will cut hours this year as a result of PEDv's continued presence. As of 2011 there were 136 pork processing plants throughout the country and nearly 35,000 direct, full-time pork producing jobs. The industry generates more than $20 billion in personal income each year. "It's going to have an effect on a lot of small towns," Meyer said. "If you take a day of work out of the paychecks of some of these workers, that's going to leave a mark on Mainstreet." Follow Kayla Ruble on Twitter: @RubleKB
As China surges forward as the world’s second largest economy, it comes as little surprise that it is the world’s largest solid waste generator, surpassing the U.S. in 2004. The World Bank predicts China will produce twice as much municipal solid waste as the United States by 2030. With the last official number tipping the scales at almost 3.3 billion tonnes in 2016, China is producing solid waste at an unprecedented rate. To better grasp the larger picture, we looked at 31 major cities (27 provincial capital cities and 4 direct-governed municipalities) and explored the data for patterns and credible indicators in cities tackling China’s garbage overflow. China’s Mountain Range of Garbage by the Numbers Organized in descending order by total waste volumes on Chart 1 (household and industrial waste combined), we see the cities producing the most waste are Chongqing, Taiyuan, Shanghai, Kunming, and Nanjing. To better understand the rankings, we can further segregate the numbers. For analysis purposes, solid waste is commonly split into two streams depending on the mode of production – household (in red) and industrial (in green). From Chart 1, we see that industrial waste volumes dwarf household waste in almost all cities. The five exceptions are Beijing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Changsha, and Haikou, which have a higher percentage of household than industrial waste. Door to Door: Household Solid Waste Household solid waste volumes often reflect the size of the residential population. Looking at Chart 2 below, many of the cities were repeated in the top 10 lists for both household solid waste volumes and residential population in 2016 – likewise for the bottom 10 ranked cities. For example, seven out of the top 10 cities for household solid waste production also landed a spot within the top 10 for residential population. Along the same lines, seven out of the bottom 10 cities for household solid waste also scored a spot within the bottom 10 for residential population. While most cities follow this pattern, there are a few outliers suggesting other factors are at play in their jurisdictions. The most compelling example is Shijiazhuang. As the capital and largest city of northern China’s Hebei province, it has a low amount of household solid waste, despite its high residential population. It is interesting to observe that from 2013 to 2016, despite zero or slight population growth in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Lanzhou, household solid waste volumes in those cities actually decreased over the same period. It is also worthwhile to point out that Shanghai and Nanjing are actively educating citizens on recycling, and enforcing residential recycling programs. In 2015, Shanghai even vowed to become a zero landfill city by 2018 by curbing household waste and diverting it to waste energy facilities. Government policies and initiatives play a large role in greening cities, and with the 2015 revision of the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste policy now in place, more cities may follow the lead of Lanzhou, Nanjing, and Shanghai. Despite its enormous volumes of household solid waste, China fares quite well in terms of treatment. Twenty of 31 major cities treated all their solid waste in 2016, an addition of five cities since 2013. The remaining 11 cities are also treating more than 90 per cent of their solid waste. However, it is misleading to take these numbers at face value without further analyzing the quality and level of treatment. Treatment processes may vary from city to city and some may need to improve in order to meet sustainability thresholds. This is where clean technologies from Canada could come into play. Between the Skyscrapers: Industrial Solid Waste Industrial waste is generally accepted as a reflection of economic development. Economic growth, especially in countries with a growing secondary manufacturing sector, might be expected to create a more noticeable trail of industrial waste. However, the data tells a different story. In 2016, cities with the largest volume of industrial solid waste were Taiyuan, Chongqing, Kunming, Nanjing, and Shanghai with just over 258, 234, 206, 201, and 168 million tonnes, respectively. Since 2013, industrial waste volumes in most cities have generally decreased, as shown by the green bars reaching below zero (Chart 3). The cities lagging, as represented by green bars on the left of Chart 3, include Changsha, Yinchuan, Guiyang, Nanjing, and Zhengzhou. On the flip side, the superstar trendsetters include Nanning, Lanzhou, Chengdu, Haikou, and Beijing. These five cities have had the greatest success in curbing industrial solid waste, decreasing volumes by 56, 53, 35, 42, and 40 per cent, respectively, since 2013. Over the same period, all the cities except Shenyang, Urumuqi and Lanzhou also achieved positive GDP growth. More impressively, industrial waste volume reductions were achieved despite soaring increases in secondary industry, depicted by the red bars above zero (Chart 3). This shows most major cities in China have been able to achieve a more sustainable, green growth in the past several years. One reason for this could be China’s new found environmental protection policies. Over the past three years, China has mounted an unprecedented crackdown on polluting factories to meet environmental targets. Estimates suggest as many as 40 per cent of China’s factories have been temporarily closed for environmental reasons and officials in more than 80,000 factories have been charged with criminal offenses related to infringing on public and environmental health. This revolution may have, over the last few years, helped reduce industrial waste volumes as well as other types of pollution, including air and water. Despite all its efforts, China overall has only realized a mere six per cent decline in industrial solid wastes between 2013 and 2016. A sobering indication of the ongoing challenges is the realization that industrial sources make up an overwhelming 94 per cent of all solid waste in China. A Balanced Approach for the Future From initial movements to curb solid waste by setting industrial solid waste targets in the 11th Five Year Plan to the most recent initiative of defining accountable parties under the Law on Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste (2015 revision), China has come a long way – but the work has only just begun. Not only is this problem mounting domestically, on the international stage China has also traditionally been a depository for waste from other countries. The bold move to ban many types of recyclables at the beginning of this year sends a message to the world: the health of China’s environment, people and economy will be prioritized. To gain a better understanding of the environmental protection performance of China's 31 'Tier 2' cities, visit our China Eco-City Tracker interactive data visualizer. Also in APF Canada's new China Eco-City Tracker web series: Click here to download a digital chapbook of the entire series, or read our blogs online, below . . • China Eco-City Tracker: Web Series Introduction • China Eco-City Tracker: A Clearing in the 'Airpocalypse' for China • China Eco-City Tracker: The Upstream Battle for Drinkable Water • China Eco-City Tracker: Tackling Trash Troubles with New Policies, Penalties • China Eco-City Tracker: Lessons From the Danes and the Finns • China Eco-City Tracker: Navigating the ‘Valley of Death’: Financing and Commercializing Canada’s Cleantech Industry • China Eco-City Tracker: China's Clean Tech Commitment • China Eco-City Tracker: China's Clean Tech Decision-making
by Father Ephraim From the Editor: Father Ephraim is a Greek Orthodox priest and monk who has become interested in Braille and who read 7,000 Braille pages last year. Since he has come to understand the importance of effective orientation for blind travelers, he sent us the following interesting little article that those who were not born with that amazing instinct for always knowing which way north is will find useful. I had to read it several times before mastering the technique, so don’t get discouraged. This is what he says: Knowing which way is north can be very helpful when navigating in unfamiliar places. An easy trick to determine your orientation is to point the hour hand of your watch at the sun, and south will be halfway between it and 12:00 noon on your watch (or halfway between it and 1:00 when on daylight savings time). This method works even without a watch, as long as you know roughly what time it is so that you can imagine where the hour hand of a watch would be. It is a reverse sundial because, instead of determining the time using the sun's position and a dial aligned north, north is determined using the sun's position and the time. In the Southern hemisphere this method is inverted: Before pointing the hour hand of your watch at the sun, you need to flip your watch upside-down, so that the back side of your watch (the side usually touching your skin) is facing you. Then north (not south) will be halfway between the hour hand and 12:00 on your watch. This method is accurate enough for most practical purposes (except near the equator or when the sun is nearly directly overhead). One way to improve its accuracy is to adjust the calculation based on your longitude. Instead of finding the halfway point between 12:00 and the hour hand of the current time, subtract from the current time four minutes for every degree longitude west you are located from the central meridian of your time zone. The central meridian in most places around the world is a multiple of fifteen (because there are twenty-four time zones in 360 degrees around the globe). For example, if you are in Tucson, Arizona, the longitude is 111 degrees west. This is six degrees west of the central meridian of the Mountain Time Zone, which is located at 105 degrees west (a multiple of fifteen). Six times four is twenty-four, so to determine south in Tucson it is necessary to imagine where the hour hand would be after subtracting twenty-four minutes from the current time, and then find the halfway point between that imaginary hour hand and 12:00. If you are east of your time zone's central meridian, you add (instead of subtract) four minutes for every degree longitude east of it you are located. In most locations in the world, however, the benefit from including this adjustment is negligible and therefore can be omitted for simplicity's sake. A simple non-visual technique to find the sun's position with precision on a sunny day is to rotate until you feel the sun on your face. Then cover your face with your palm and gradually move it away from your face in the direction necessary to keep its cool shadow on your face. Once your arm is fully extended with your palm's shadow still on your face, you will know quite accurately where the sun is.
M.F. Husain went into self-imposed exile after threats by Hindus offended by his work. The modernist painter's work prompted hundreds of lawsuits. One of India’s most famous painters, M.F. Husain, passed away Thursday in London in self-imposed exile, having left India after intimidation by Hindu groups offended by his work. His art and exile highlight recent challenges to freedom of expression that worry democracy activists here. The 95-year-old modernist painter has been called the “Picasso of India,” and his work has showed alongside the Spanish master’s in the past. “Husain loves to work in an epic scale, with strong lines and vigorous brushwork, using bright colors,” says Rajeev Lochan, the director of the Museum of Modern Art in Delhi. “Husain never ceased to project the essential dignity of the human figure.” But not everyone agreed. The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, a group whose goals include stopping the “denigration of Hindu righteousness,” protested his nude depictions of various Hindu deities. They also objected to one painting showing the borders of India formed by a nude woman’s outline. Husain, a Muslim, faced a flood of lawsuits for “promoting enmity between groups.” Courts dismissed the initial cases, but Hindu activists have since filed some 900 cases against Husain around the country, says Geeta Seshu, head of the Free Speech Hub in Mumbai.
Did you know that 96.5 per cent of the global population lives in an area covered by at least a 2G network? Given its importance on SDG, digital inclusion has been a top priority. With more than half of the world’s population online, a digital economy is on the rise. That is why digital skills are crucial for day to day activities and a successful career. Table of Contents What are digital skills? According to UNESCO, digital skills are a set of abilities that enable people to access and handle information. This can be done through digital technologies, communication apps, and networks. People with these skills can develop and exchange digital content, connect, work on projects, and so on. Digital skills also help you live a more efficient and prosperous life. Did you know that 96% of households in the UK have internet access? In this digital era, functional digital skills are essential. Basic digital literacy is needed to use any digital devices or online services. Digital skills and these skills below can help us thrive in this connected economy and society as a whole. - Solid literacy and numeracy skills - Critical thinking and complex problem-solving Why are digital skills important? Digital skills underpin so much of how work is executed these days. For most professions, digital skills are simply essential skills these days. A study found that 93% of European workplaces use computers. They utilise 94% of broadband internet. And these are across all industries. The report also points out that even farmers require digital skills in the 21st century. On the other hand, 38% of workplaces report that the lack of digital skills has a negative impact on their performance. The need for digital skills is higher in professional careers. 90% of professionals must have at least basic digital skills, increasing to 98% of managers. In many workplaces, basic skills are not enough. 50% of professionals, technicians and 30% of managers must have specialist digital skills. This is particularly true in larger companies. This need for digital skills is more likely to increase further as business shifts to the digital realm. According to Retail Economics stats, we’ll see over 50% of retail sales taking place online in the UK before the decade ends. ONS statistics says that internet sales already account for almost 20% of total sales. A UN report estimates that the digital economy’s value varies from 4.5% to 15.5% of world GDP. Either way, that’s a significant sum. With a total value of $3 trillion, digitally deliverable service exports accounted for 50% of service exports. This is truly a global phenomenon. The need for digital skills is more likely to continue to increase. This will be heightened by the fourth industrial revolution. We will see an incredible drive towards automation with two possible outcomes: - The loss of jobs as they are automated - Greater demand for those people with advanced digital skills. In 2019, the World Economic Forum (WEF) estimated that 133 million new roles will be created by 2022. That’ll be because of the new division of labour between humans, machines, and algorithms. According to WEF estimates, the most in-demand skills will be: - App and web-enabled markets - Big data analytics - The internet of things Finally, we have to agree that the coronavirus pandemic has put a different spin on matters. Employees who relied on in-person interaction before are now forced to use digital technologies. So they need digital skills to carry out their day-to-day functions. Hopefully, the pandemic will not last forever. But remote working will likely be a deeply ingrained part of everyday working life. What are basic digital skills? According to a recent study on Digital Skills in the Workplace, 98% of workplaces require managers to have basic digital skills. And for professionals, technicians, clerical workers or agricultural workers, the percentage is 90. The Department for Education (DfE) has provided a framework for essential digital skills. It gives us a guideline to enhance foundation skills. Also, it underpins all crucial digital skills. Digital foundation skills refer to the basics of using digital technologies. For example, using a browser, connecting to the internet, and keeping passwords secure. You can learn basic functional skills online, from your home computer, very easily. The Essential Digital Skills Framework set out these five categories of essential digital skills for life and work: 2. Handling information and content. 5. Being safe and legal online. These essential skills are described below – Communicating involves interacting with others. Preferably using digital devices through emails and other messaging apps securely. It also consists of the following. - Communicating appropriately by using email, online and collaborative digital tools - Conforming with the organisation’s IT and social media policies. - Complying with the organisation’s security protocols when accessing emails - Using digital collaboration tools to meet with, share and collaborate with colleagues - Using professional online networks and communities properly. Handling information and content: Handling information and content includes syncing and sharing information. You must be able to share them across different devices – computers, tablets and mobile phones. For example, you may have to search for information for work using browsers such as Chrome or Internet Explorer. Managing a calendar or appointments system on multiple devices, including a work computer and phone or tablet, are also basic digital skills. Implications of transacting for work means the following: - Completing digital records for absence, holidays or expenses online. - Accessing salary and expenses information digitally, including password-protected payslips. - Submitting requests for annual leave, recording absence from work - Submit expenses claim online. - Review own payslip and salary payments when received digitally. Problem-solving for work means using the internet to find information. Information that helps solve work problems and does the following. - Using appropriate software to present information to others. - Using the right software. For example, creating a spreadsheet to manipulate and analyse data to help solve work problems. - Understanding that different digital tools can improve productivity. Being safe and legal online: Being safe and legal online is an integral part of basic digital skills. Instances of this are given below. - Knowing and using specific procedures to report suspicious emails to IT support staff in your organisation. - Knowing that open source sites are available for content that can be used in the workplace and make use of them. - Following specific organisational guidelines to allow backing up of content from work-based devices. - Following organisational guidelines and policies for choosing login information. It includes choosing secure passwords and changing them when prompted. These are basic digital skills needed in a day-to-day professional or personal context. For instance, a study shows 80% of workplaces require basic digital skills for sales workers. Basic digital skills are usually enough for working in traditional workplaces. More importantly, adopting digital systems help improve efficiency, security, and connectivity. What are advanced digital skills? Suppose you’re looking to work in the growing digital sector. In that case, you will need to possess more advanced skills specific to your business or industry. The following are some examples of advanced digital skills that can help you advance in your career. Digital marketing is a component of marketing. Here electronic devices and digital media platforms are used to promote products and services. The internet has radically changed the world of marketing. Now there is a level of precision and scale unseen in the pre-digital age. Specialised digital skills are needed to navigate this new terrain. There are many branches of digital marketing. That’s why expert practitioners often focus on one specific discipline. For example, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimisation, email marketing etc. The following courses can help enrich your skills and grow your career. Social media marketing Social media digital skills are vital to the digital marketing mix. Still, it is worth mentioning separately because of its significant role. With 2.7 billion active social media users worldwide, we can not deny its position in digital marketing. Some essential digital skills for social media are - Social media management tools - Performance measurement tools - Brand presence - Influencer marketing - Analytical skills Social media marketing goes beyond just posting a tweet or Facebook update. It’s about understanding the dynamic relationship with brands, influencers and consumers. Overall, businesses need to reach out to customers in ways that will drive traffic for potential conversion. Social media has saturated our society well. And it has become the primary source of communication between content creators and consumers. For maximum community engagement, it is important to – - Recognise social media influence - Understand the intricacies of each platform Search Engine Marketing After social media, search engine marketing (SEM) is one of the most influential disciplines marketers have come to rely on. More than 6.5 billion Search Engine Marketing results are carried out each day. And Google accounts for almost 77% of that traffic. Employees with SEM experience can increase the visibility of a company’s website on a search engine. By doing so, the businesses attract valuable web traffic from the search engine results page. Most companies are in the business to sell products or services. And 81% of people search online for a product or service. Therefore, these products and services should be easily found online amongst their competition. That is why marketers, webmasters and content managers spend a lot of time optimising their websites and ad campaigns. SEO optimisation ensures the highest conversion rates possible. User experience, or UX Websites, apps and other digital services have one thing in common; a user interface. Any designer with experience creating effective, dynamic user experiences will be in high demand with most tech companies. Also, 79% of internet users admit to searching for another website if they can’t comfortably use one they landed on. So it is essential to invest in UX skill. The experience of using a website or mobile app is vital to lead users to do what the website or app owner intends. UX is the art of making sure that apps, websites, and other digital channels are intuitive and enjoyable to use. For example, prototyping, wireframing, information architecture, visual communication skills are crucial for UX designers. You can take these course to learn valuable user experience skills to grow your career. Programming, Web and App Development Web Development is also growing even more in opportunities than ever before. Expanding fields such as IoT, AI, Data Sciences, and Cryptocurrency create an ever-increasing demand for specialist developers with a web background. Digital Business Analysis Digital business analysts are at the epicentre of digital transformation. Hence, digital business analysis skills are among the hottest skills to have on your resume. They also help organisations develop a digital ecosystem of technologies. That will help drive digital change and business growth. Digital business analysis requires reviewing a great deal of information. For example, data about the web traffic that their online presence receives. They also research their industry to better understand what’s happening in the industry market. Digital business analysis helps companies make the right choices by providing useful analytics. For instance, you can apply a range of proven statistical analysis techniques to convince your supervisor to invest in a digital solution. There are mainly four types of data analysis that are used by businesses. - Descriptive analytics This is often combined with other analytics. The descriptive analysis brings together primary or secondary data. The data are collected from multiple sources to provide valuable insights. - Diagnostic analytics Diagnostic analytics requires more detailed data. It helps identify patterns and provide insights on specific problems. - Predictive analytics Predictive analytics uses the findings of descriptive and diagnostic analytics. They help to detect tendencies, clusters and exceptions, and to predict future trends. - Prescriptive analytics Prescriptive analytics require historical data and external information. It uses machine learning, business rules and algorithms to suggest what actions to take. It is not just about analysis. You also have to visualise complex data to help management make vital business decisions. Data visualisation is extremely useful for leaders to gain valuable insights from data. Tools such as Tableau and Power BI are used by designers to analyse and visualise data. Digital Project Management Web project manager, web producer, digital marketing project manager, or digital producer are essentially digital project managers. A digital project manager is a person who oversees projects from inception all the way to the final phase. They need to have a holistic understanding of how digital projects are developed. They need to be aware of the whole process, from ideation and prototype to fully developed digital product or service. So what is digital project management? It’s a process of managing online projects from concept to completion, within budget and using a certain amount of resources. It involves planning, delegating, tracking, reviewing, and measuring results. Usually, a project manager can do all these effectively, using project management software. More remote teams need more project managers than ever need essential digital skills to succeed at their jobs. Building a new website to launching a mobile app, or planning a social campaign, all of them have one thing in common. That is, they all require a digital project manager. There’s a whole range of digital projects out there that could benefit from the watchful eye of a digital project manager. Project management is by no means exclusively popular in tech companies. But it is an indispensable part of developing digital products and services within time and in a cost-effective manner. Artificial intelligence may still have a science fiction ring to it, but it’s real. Artificial intelligence is playing a dominant role in the modern business world. It’s not about the sentient robots of cinematic lore. Artificial intelligence is about teaching machines to do tasks, predict, and make decisions based on a detailed past data computation. With business process automation playing a rising role in modern workplaces, think of automation to improve efficiency. Machine learning from big data to make better strategic decisions or predict how people will act in a given context is also vital. For instance, data visualisation, web and app development, CRM software, video production, and search engine marketing (SEM). Content takes many forms – blog posts, e-books, videos, podcasts, infographics and even social media status updates. Marketers spend a lot of their time optimising keywords and advertising campaigns. But content is still king. Above all, a website or social media page is driven by its content. Without content marketing, customers have no way of understanding the benefits of a product or service. Content is crucial in increasing brand awareness. And it can establish brands or influencers as thought leaders. Therefore, employees need to understand the importance of creating content and content relevant to keyword research and optimising them in a strategy. Some aspects of content marketing are given below – - Content management systems (CMS) - Content programming - Content promotion - Content strategy - Content curation - Image management - Project management You can take this Content Creation and Content Marketing course to follow the below mentioned paths: - Content Creator - Content Creation Manager - Social Media Content Creator - Public Relations Officer How big is the digital skills gap? Despite the significance of digital skills, there is a huge skills gap. According to the Department for Education, with 10% of working adults not in possession of basic digital skills, the problems run deep in the UK. The Learning & Work Institute says that the number of young people taking IT subjects at GCSE has dropped 40% since 2015. So we can safely assume that digital skills at a higher level will be sorely lacking. According to Deloitte, only 12% of executives believed that UK graduates had satisfactory digital skills in 2018, down from 20% in 2017. Three quarters reported that they experienced challenges in digital recruitment. This digital skills gap has repercussions not only for job seekers but the industry itself. This digital skills gap is even more pronounced in highly skilled professions. Almost half of the European companies lack skills in the areas of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and robotics. There are opportunities for those sufficiently well-equipped and willing to develop such digital skills. As 89% of companies intend to invest in training to overcome these digital skills gaps. BBC News shared four main reasons why the digital skills shortage is prevalent across the country: - Lack of clearly defined job roles in specific fields - Insufficient guidance and understanding about potential career paths - Lack of relatable role models in such industries - Difficulty in making technical professions seem appealing to young people, especially to young women While the coronavirus pandemic has slowed down hiring, certain highly relevant positions are likely to be among the firsts to recover as organisations adjust to new ways of doing things. Digitally skilled employees will be well-placed to prosper. How to learn digital skills to grow your career? First, you need to find what digital skills to master. Think of your digital skills goal or your desired job and your skills gap. You will also need to have information on which jobs are growing in demand. You may choose from the digital skills mentioned below, or you may select one based on your skills gap. Some ways to improve your digital skills are given below: 1. Enrol in an online course Here are many online courses that you can take to learn digital skills. Find the ones best suited for your needs. The following are some course you may find helpful to learn digital skills: - Functional skills - Digital Designer - UX (User Experience) Fundamentals - User Experience Design from A-Z: Adobe XD UI/UX Design - Python coding skills - Digital marketing advanced skills - Digital Marketing Masterclass – 12 Courses in 1 - SEO and Digital Media Marketing - Telecommuting skills with g suite and google drive - Essential IT skills - Content Creation and Content Marketing You can also search for a course by clicking here. If it is relevant to your career development, then it’s worth asking if your workplace will fund it. 2. Take formal classes Formal classes are structured, and they have clear and specific objectives. If you are serious about learning a particular skill, taking a formal lesson might be worth it. You can sign up for a course at your local college or adult education service. 3. Utilise free resources Suppose you are looking to brush up on your basic digital skills. In that case, there are many tutorials, and how-to guides are available online. While not all sources are trustworthy, you can still find great content. Especially if you do enough research with the intention to learn. Do enough research and find content creators who are sharing content relevant to your desired field. With self-management skills, you can benefit a lot from free content as well. 4. Find a mentor A mentor is a skilled and experienced individual who can share his knowledge and expertise with you. Mentoring is an excellent way to speed up your learning process. It can also increase your chances of success by providing you with the necessary resources and suggestions. For example, you can ask someone digitally savvy in your office to help you learn. 5. Speak to an advisor You can contact an advisor at the National Careers Service for helpful information and guidance. They can provide you with practical advice and guide you in the right direction. The rapid growth of the internet and connectivity has paved the way for developing a digital economy across the world. This brings about the increasing need for digital skills in every sector. Eliminate your digital skills gap for a successful career in your industry.
'New Horizons' Spacecraft Will Pass By A Distant "Red Planet" Way Past Pluto, Observation from 'Hubble Telescope' Suggests (Photo : (photo by NASA)) New observations from the Hubble Space Telescope is suggesting that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is expected to be flying an object much redder than that of Pluto. The space telescope is seeing a very red object floating form faraway. Hubble is used by the New Horizons team in studying 11 objects within the realm of frigid bodies way past Neptune's orbit called the Kuiper Belt. One of the most famous resident of the said realm is Pluto. Out of the 11 object that are being studied, 2014 MU69 is one of them which is expected to be passed by the New Horizon spacecraft on January 1, 2019. According to Amanda Zangari, New Horizons post-doctoral rerearcher from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, upon their further observations from Hubble shows that the distant object 2014 MU69, "is even redder than Pluto, though not as red as Mars." This was during a news conference at a joint meeting of the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Congress in Pasadena, California. While the size of 2014 MU69's size is still a mystery to the astronomers, many of them believe that the object is just 13 to 35 miles (21 to 40km) wide. As of now, 2014 MU69 is the smallest Kuiper Belt Object that the color has been measured. Knowing the color hue of 2014 MU69, this information strongly suggests that 2014 MU69 is part of the Kuiper Belt's "cold classical" region. This region of the Kuiper Belt is said to harbor primordial objects that have changed little since the beginning of the solar system from 4.6 billion years ago. The $700 million New Horizons mission was launched way back January 2006. The spacecraft made its first-ever flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015 and came within 7,800 miles of the distant planet's surface. The said fly-by revealed Pluto's complex and rich landscape diversity for scientists back on the ground can study.
Today’s post is part of a special series here on Planet Pailly called Sciency Words. Each week, we take a closer look at an interesting science or science-related term to help us expand our scientific vocabularies together. Today’s term is: There are three things I want to cover with today’s post. Firstly, for anyone who may not already know, Earth’s moon is officially called the Moon (with a capital M). Unless you don’t speak English, in which case it’s called whatever it’s called in your language, provided that you treat the word as a proper noun. This according to the International Astronomy Union (I.A.U.), the one and only organization with the authority to name and classify astronomical objects. Of course the Moon is not the only moon out there, so I also want to talk a little about the official I.A.U. sanctioned definition of the word moon. Unfortunately there isn’t one, which seems odd given how the I.A.U. are such stickers about their official definition of the word planet. A common unofficial definition is that a moon is any naturally occurring object orbiting a planet, dwarf planet, or other kind of minor planet (such as an asteroid or comet). Except this definition creates some problems: Saturn has like a bazillion moons! Since there’s no lower limit on size or mass, you could consider each and every fleck of ice in Saturn’s rings to be a moon. The Moon isn’t a moon! In a very technical sense, the Moon does not orbit the Earth. The Earth and Moon both orbit their combined center of mass, a point called a barycenter. In the case of the Earth-Moon system, the barycenter happens to lie deep inside the Earth, so this distinction may not seem important, but… Pluto is Charon’s moon, and Charon is Pluto’s! The barycenter of the Pluto-Charon system is a point in empty space between the two objects. Pluto is the larger of the pair, so we generally consider Charon to be Pluto’s moon; however, you could argue that Pluto and Charon are moons of each other. You could even write a love song about their relationship. Of course I’m not seriously arguing that Saturn has billions upon billions of moons, nor am I arguing that our own Moon is not really a moon. There does seem to be some ambiguity about Charon’s status (is Charon a moon, or are Pluto and Charon binary dwarf planets?), but I’m not sure if this ambiguity has caused any real confusion in scientific discourse. Still, as we learn more about moons in our own Solar System and also moons in other star systems, I think the I.A.U. will eventually have to come up with an official definition. And that brings me to the third and final thing I wanted to cover today: exomoons. An exomoon would be defined as a moon (whatever that is) orbiting a planet or other planetary body outside our Solar System. Finding exoplanets is hard enough, so as you can imagine, searching for exomoons really stretches the limits of current telescope technology. But astronomers are trying, and next month (October, 2017) the Hubble Space Telescope will be making special observations of a planet named Kepler-1625b in an attempt to confirm a possible exomoon detection.
It is a common myth out there that the sun is hazardous to your skin and Silymarin Caused by UV Radiation! However, this is not entirely correct, the sun provides the body with the vital vitamin D which gives your skin a glow.The bad news is, the sun emits harmful ultraviolet rays that can be damaging, especially to the skin. Think about sunburns—painful and horrid! Right? What are Ultraviolet Radiations? Ultraviolet (UV) radiations are types of radiations produced by the sun and some superficial sources such as solariums. These radiations are the number one cause of eye damage, premature aging, sunburn, and other skin damages that lead to skin cancers, both melanoma skin cancer and non-melanoma. Ultraviolet rays that reach the earth's surface are in the form of Long Wave Ultraviolet (UVA) and Short Wave Ultraviolet (UVB). UVA attacks the thickest layer of the skin (dermis) causing photoaging and skin aging. Photoaging manifests itself through skin thinning, leathery skin, loss of elasticity and skin wrinkling among others (1). UVB rays, on the other hand, attack the superficial epidermal layer of the skin causing skin reddening, sunburns and more worryingly, skin cancer (2). So, how do you protect yourself from these harmful ultraviolet rays? The theories on how to protect yourself against ultraviolet rays are endless. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that the beauty industry is blossoming with each passing day as people are constantly looking for solutions to "sun's protection." Sorry to burst your bubble but majority of sun care products in the market today are chemically processed, and this makes them more likely to have adverse side effects on the skin. Truth be told, it is really disappointing to pin your hopes on a product that has been highly advertised only to find out it was just a marketing hype as the product does not live up to its expectations. Which path do you take? The answer is never simple, but we believe in taking natural supplements that are chemical-free! There are plenty of nutrients out there that have been proven to offer numerous health benefits, one amongst them being protection against the harmful ultraviolet rays. Let’s look at one of such products—Silymarin. What is Silymarin? Silymarin Caused by UV Radiation? Silymarin is a single constituent of Silybummarianum (milk thistle).It is also found in different species of the Aster family of plants. It is a polyphenolic flavonoid that possesses a white to slightly yellow plant pigment. White thistle gets its name from the white fluid that comes out of it when any its parts are cut. Nowadays the plant can be found in almost all areas across the globe with a warm climate, although it's native to the Mediterranean. Due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, it has been used medically for decades to treat various ailments such as gall bladder disorders and liver problems. Recent research has proven that Silymarin has the potential to protect the skin from the adverse effects of UV radiation (2). How Does Silymarin Protect against UV Radiations? The three phytochemicals found in Silymarin include the silicristin, silidianin, and silybin(the most active of the phytochemical) (2). As aforementioned, UVA and UVB rays cause skin aging and photoaging. Photoaging comes as a result of premature wrinkling of the skin, loss of skin elasticity, discoloration, lines, and dark spots. Once the dermis is attacked, elastin's and collagen (primary proteins for skin firmness) become decomposed, and their production becomes abnormal. In an effort to curb this, the body produces enzymes to rebuild the damaged proteins, but due to malfunctioning, the enzymes end up initiating the decomposition reaction causing a saggy, wrinkly skin. The good news is that the compounds found in Silymarin may have the capability of preventing and undoing the damage inflicted upon by those rays (3). When the skin cells are protected against UV radiation, they will not lose their elasticity thereby delaying premature aging and formation of wrinkles. Silymarin may also protect against skin cancer caused by UV radiations (4). UVB rays are the chief instigators of skin cancer as they attack the skin superficial layer. First, they cause sunburns (a clear sign that the skin's DNA has been damaged). Also, exposure to UV radiation causes acute inflammation, and as the skin cells try to repair the damaged tissues, chronic inflammation occurs (due to the release of enzymes). Continued DNA and skin cells damage cause skin cancers (melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer). Recent studies have shown that the compounds found in Silymarin have impressive steroidal efficacy against skin inflammation (5). Silymarin reduces the UV-induced sunburn cell formation that leads to the development of skin cancer. Also, Silymarin inhibits ultraviolet radiation and blocks DNA skin damage caused by UVB rays. It is proven to curb UVB-induced oxidative stress and immune suppression that leads to continued DNA damage. All these have been attributed to the inhibitory, anti-inflammation, and antioxidant properties of Silymarin. For those already suffering from skin cancer, Silymarin is may just be an ideal herb. Scientists have indeed proved that Silymarin has a remarkable antitumor effect. Based on these studies, the number of tumors as a result of skin cancer reduces significantly when using Silymarin as it may protect against skin tumor promotion (5). In doing so, it may impede cancer cell growth thus ensuring that cancer does not develop in other areas. Besides, by repairing the DNA damage caused by UVB radiation, it may speed up your recovery process. Even though protecting yourself from excessive sunlight is crucial, you shouldn’t limit your outdoor activities for fears of sunburn. Research has shown that milk thistle and Silymarin may be able to safeguard you from Long Wave Ultraviolet (UVA) and Short Wave Ultraviolet (UVB) and their detrimental effects on the skin such as skin aging, photoaging and skin cancers. As seen, Silymarin has antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory properties, anti-ageing properties and anti-cancerous properties that may protect you against the harmful effects of UV radiation. Your privacy is important to us. Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more …
Posted Aug. 19, 2008 – Too much of a good thing isn’t always good, scientists in Australia found. Too much of the popular Red Bull energy drink may lead to heart damage, they say, after studying 30 university students, ages 20 to 24. :: AD :: The researchers found that drinking just one 250 ml sugar-free can of the caffeinated drink boosted the "stickiness" of the blood and increased the risk of blood clots. After drinking Red Bull, the students had a cardiovascular profile similar to that of someone with heart disease, The Times of London reported. The results were alarming and suggest that older adults with symptoms of heart disease shouldn't drink too much Red Bull, said study author Scott Willoughby, of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Adelaide University. In a statement, Red Bull officials said the drink had been proven safe by numerous scientific studies, and that it had never been banned from anywhere it had been introduced, the Times reported. Red Bull is sold in 143 countries but is banned in Norway, Denmark and some other countries due to health concerns. TRENDING IN NEWS
GENEVA – The World Health Organization says people make a total of 93 million blood donations worldwide every year, but the rate of donation in poor countries is far too low. The agency says one percent of a country's population has to give blood to collect enough for the basic needs for blood transfusions. WHO says the donation rate is below 1 percent in 77 countries. It says half of the global blood donations are collected in developed nations, home to only 16 percent of the world's population. WHO says only 47 percent of blood donations in developing countries are properly screened for infections. The agency published the figures Friday before World Blood Donor Day on June 14. It says the data is from 2007 and 2008, the most recent years available. TRENDING IN NEWS
Background: Two types of reflux episodes have been identified: upright or daytime and supine or nocturnal. The population-based prevalence of symptoms of nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the impact of those symptoms on health-related quality of life (HRQL) have not been established. Methods: A national random-sample telephone survey was conducted to estimate the prevalence of frequent GERD and nocturnal GERD-like symptoms and to assess the relationship between HRQL, GERD, and nocturnal GERD symptoms. Respondents were classified as controls, subjects with symptomatic nonnocturnal GERD, and subjects with symptomatic nocturnal GERD. The HRQL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). Results: The prevalence of frequent GERD was 14%, with an overall prevalence of nocturnal GERD of 10%. Seventy-four percent of those with frequent GERD symptoms reported nocturnal GERD symptoms. Subjects with nonnocturnal GERD had significant decrements on the SF-36 physical and mental component summary scores compared with the US general population. Subjects reporting nocturnal GERD symptoms were significantly more impaired than subjects reporting nonnocturnal GERD symptoms on both the physical component summary (38.94 vs 41. 52; P<.001) and mental component summary (46.78 vs 49.51; P<.001) and all 8 subscales of the SF-36 (P<.001). Subjects with nocturnal GERD demonstrated considerable impairment compared with the US general population and chronic disease populations. Subjects with nocturnal GERD had significantly more pain than those with hypertension and diabetes (P<.001) and similar pain compared with those with angina and congestive heart failure. Conclusions: Nocturnal symptoms are commonly experienced by individuals who report frequent GERD symptoms. In addition, HRQL is significantly impaired in those persons who report frequent GERD symptoms, and HRQL impairment is exacerbated in those who report nocturnal GERD symptoms.
Very little in the sea scares people more than sharks.Even though there are quite a few worse threats if you go to the beach, such as getting a sunburn or having a jellyfish glue itself to your leg, there are many reasons that sharks appear as the greater threat. Perhaps it’s the way they dance just under the surface of the water, with only their fin visible on top, or maybe it’s that when they do attack, it’s typically a vicious event, and they go in for the kill. Of course there are many types of sharks out there, some more dangerous than others, but perhaps the most unusual one is the hammerhead shark. This is a shark with a very visible and highly strange difference, the head is shaped like a hammer. Here is the information you may need in order to deal with them. The head of a hammerhead shark is highly stretched horizontally, which is how this particular species got its name. It looks like a hammer, and can be recognized from far away. The family name is Sphynidae, and the most common location to find these types of sharks is around the waters Columbia, in South America, along with some islands to the south of Africa. These types of sharks like warm water, so they typically aren’t found in colder climates, where other types of sharks sometimes venture. They are also not that numerous, and have even become an endangered species over the years. The hammerhead is typically around 10 to 1,200 lbs and can stretch up to 20 feet long. They are all grey and all have the same type of strangely shaped head. There is no conclusive evidence that would indicate why the head is shaped like that, but scientists think it may be so the shark can see better. By having an elongated head, it can cover a wider range and help it see farther distances. Sharks typically use a process called electroreceptory in order to find food, where they bring their heads back and forth to sense electromagnetic signals in the water. By having this type of head, it helps the hammerhead sense better. Interestingly, not a lot of actually hammerheads are out on display since sharks do not have strong bones to leave behind a skeleton. In fact, the hammerhead is now a protected type of shark against fishing because of how rare it has become. If it goes extinct, this may well be the last sight of such a strange looking creature. There are still a few thousands of them in the oceans, but this could be reduced quickly if fishing were to resume against them. In all, 33 attacks have been recorded against humans by hammerheads. None were said to be fatal. So, the answer is yes, they can attack if they feel threatened, but they do not eat people and there have been no recorded deaths. Instead, this shark typically eats fish, squids and crustaceans. Scientists have even observed the hammerhead eat other types of sharks. A separate species, the Great Hammerhead, is especially aggressive and can eat whole sharks by itself. Article by Dendory
It is unfortunate that, in today’s world, the value of education has plummeted to terrifying lows. The Chicago teachers strike is a sobering reminder of the cuts and changes that have been forced upon educators around the country. Twenty-nine thousand unionized teachers have staged a strike that has lasted the entirety of the week, further hindering academic progress by keeping over 350,000 students out of school. Why, in an age where it seems that knowledge is endless, has education slipped so low on our list of priorities? As of 2009, the median income for an adult with a professional degree was $128,000. The income for a high school graduate amounts to just $20,000. Unemployment rates for those without a college degree are over three times higher than for those who have graduated college. But still, we severely curtail the learning capabilities of children by cutting more teachers and programs each year. With an economy that has left the country’s average jobless rate at 8.3 percent, it would seem idiotic to focus our resources on anything but improving education. Higher education quite literally guarantees lower unemployment rates and fewer people living below the poverty line. These benefits are visible without factoring in the greater possibility of medical, scientific and artistic advances that could literally change the fabric of our society for the better. Instead, however, budget cuts in all 50 states have left education as the loser. In Maine, the cuts have been spread throughout all levels of learning, starting with the state’s youngest children by trimming Head Start’s budget by more than half. Many school districts have been forced to eliminate several positions and numerous programs, often starting with the arts. Instead of expanding the minds of our children and broadening their ability to learn, these cuts have molded public education into a “teach for tests” monster. Schooling no longer exists to truly educate. Instead, the basis of learning has been grotesquely altered by the remnants of “No Child Left Behind.” With the importance of kindergarten to 12th grade education fading fast, it is only natural to suspect that state funding for universities will continue to dwindle. This would begin an awful domino effect where tuition rates rise and fewer and fewer young adults could afford what has essentially become a necessity on the path to a comfortable life. With poverty rates rising, how can we in the U.S. validate constraints that could very likely help add to these already sky-high numbers? It seems clearer than ever that knowledge is a necessity. In this day and age, where violence flourishes, and money speaks volumes, the only way to turn ourselves in the right direction is through education. How is it possible for advancements to be made and for the economy to grow with a workforce that is backtracking away from higher education? The clear relationship between level of education and success is one of the only statistics that provides the potential to significantly improve America. Yet, we continue to ignore this fact. How long will it be before the cuts cease and the necessity of comprehensive, well-funded education is realized? Hopefully soon. And hopefully before we drive ourselves into the ground.
A novel residue management tool, the mechanical roller-crimper, was developed by farmers in the southern Brazilian sub-tropical states of Rio Grande do Sol and Paraná to manage high-density cover crop residues following the guiding principles of “zero tillage”. The roller-crimper uses the mass of a cylindrical drum with iron blades mounted in different configurations around its circumference to flatten and crimp standing residue, leaving a pressed, soil protective and weed suppressive blanket of mulch into which the principal crop may be planted. The objectives of this two-year project were to: (1) evaluate the effect of surface pressed, intact residue and residue orientation on weed suppression under different weed control programs; (2) examine the relationship between residue decomposition and incident weed pressure, and (3) evaluate the effect of residue management on cotton and soybean stand establishment and yield. The project was conducted at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, N.C. from 2004-2006. Project leaders: Robert D. Walters, Michael G. Wagger (Department of Crop and Soil Sciences), Keith R. Baldwin (NC A&T University). What did we learn about the mechanical roller-crimper? See the following reports for details: - High Residue Conservation Tillage for Row Crop Production I. - High Residue Conservation Tillage for Row Crop Production II. - View the 2005 ASA-SSSA roller-crimper research presentation. Further reading: Soil Management and Conservation for Small Farms. FAO Soils Bulletin 77.. This bulletin describes innovative strategies for smallholder technologies and equipment aimed at countering land degradation in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It also includes a description of early prototypes of the mechanical roller-crimper that would inspire later designs of the tool in North America.
Brass, plastic, and stainless steel are some of the materials that the current domestic industry manufactures fauces from. The most commonly sold taps however are manufactured from copper, with China being the industry’s top distributor. Copper faucets are fused with zinc, forming brass. To make the brass easier to cut, it is also mixed with a small amount of led. Without the inclusion of lead the faucet would be harder to cut, forge a poorer performance, and maintain a poorer resistance to stress corrosion. Lead is a heavy metal and a well-known factor in harming human health, yet mainstream faucet production in Europe and America continue to be made from brass and copper with minor lead inclusion. In North America, NSF/ANSI 61-2012 is the baseline faucet toxicity standard. It mandates that the lead particles to not exceed 5 micrograms to be deemed safe for human use. NSF/ANSI 61 was prepared as a testing standard by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) who conducted in-depth research and analyzed the component inclusion volume of heavy metals in products that are currently used in North America. While not a formal standard in other countries and regions, including China, this evaluation of heavy metal precipitation is widely accepted by the global community. The NSF/ANSI 61 – 2012 Standard The NSF developed the “Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects.” The standard’s initial edition in 1988. After several revisions, the latest version, formally released in 2012 (and classified as NSF/ANSI 61-2012) updates the standard to include pipes, fittings, valves, protective and sealing materials, and end products (such as taps). Section 9 of NSF/ANSI 61 is a particularly influential and authoritative clause in the North American standard from a system testing perspective of faucets. Section 9 defines a faucet as an end product and measures the effect of heavy metals and organisms per 1 ltr of water. The test is performed by taking three complete tap sets and pretreating them on Friday afternoon. First, the faucet is rinsed with tap water and then filled with soaking liquid. The soaking solution is changed every two hours from 9:00 to 1700, 5 times per day. On days 3,4,5,10,11,12,17,18, and 19, extracts are collected for lead. The extracts for the other heavy metals are collected on day 19 at 9:00. Because the precipitation of lead content is dynamic, the amount will vary from one soaking period to the next. The NSF quantified the average amount of precipitated lead at a given time with the application of statistical principles, calculation of standardized concentration via the logarithmic mean and standard deviation, and calculated the statistical value Q used for lead detection. The standardized concentration is derived with the following formula: NF = N1 x N2 x CMV N1 in the above equation consists of (SAF/SAL)VL/VF(static)N2VF(static)/VF(flowing) = 1NSAF. That is the area of product overflow, Sal is the product’s area of immersion testing, VL is the volume of the water used during testing, VF(static) is 1 L, and CMV is the conditioning factor of the cold water (equivalent to cold water-filled volume/total water-filled volume). You=InXij is the formula issued to calculate the natural logarithm of standardized concentration. The logarithmic mean for each of the 3 samples is performed with the formula (Yi = (Yi3+Yi4+Yi5+Yi10+Yi11+Yi12+Yi17+Yi18+Yi19)/9). After calculating the value of the logarithmic mean, the Q value can be compiled by the formula where K is the constant of the statistical parameter and depends on the test sample size when there are 3 test samples (K=2.6028). Based on the last 8 years of testing with the NSF/ANSI 61 standard as the first third-party testing organization in mainland China, the following conclusions were reached. ● While lead content participation is variable and dynamic, the trend in its presence is gradually decreasing. ● The most common heavy metals that lead to standard failure are lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, arsenic, etc. ● As indicated by statistical analysis, 92% of the test results passed, and 8% failed. Of the failed cases, the Q value of lead precipitation failed to account for 3%, while the other heavy metals (zinc, cadmium, copper, arsenic, chromium) accounted for 1% each. NSF/ANSI 61’s Impact On The Faucet Industry With the ASMEA112.19.1/CSAB125.1 testing standard, the maximum lead content permit in copper tangential to water is 8%, but the concern among many manufacturers is that the use of lead in copper makes the NSF/ANSI 61 doomed to fail. For this reason, many enterprises are opting to change and will choose a lower lead level in copper, or avoid lead use altogether. This, however, changes the process and the changes raise costs. Some enterprises will use a method based on a principle of copper-lead melting point difference known as “lead washing.” Lead’s melting point is 327.5 degrees Celsius, and the faucet casting temperature is 1000 degrees Celsius. This causes the lead to melt into the copper product more on the outside than on the inside. “Lead washing” the products before they leave the manufacturers’ facilities mean the use of a chemical reaction process by treating the samples with a high alkali solution to wash away the greasy material from the surface, then treating it with strong acid. This will result in the lead in the copper faucet to quickly decompose. Washing lead reduces the content below the 8 micrograms acceptable limit of NSF/ANSI 61 down to just 4.1 micrograms, with a significant reduction in the Q value. Most of the controversy behind lead in copper faucets is due to testing methods. Some agencies in the industry use the industry recommended approach, some apply the national standard, and some develop their own testing methodologies. Because of the variety of testing methods, there is no uniformity when lead content is reported on by the media and inconsistency in how the information is presented to the public. Therefore, we recommend that the NSF/ANSI 61 standard be implemented enterprise-wide as a mandatory test for faucet testing of a variety of different heavy metals.
Once a week. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Scientists create a 'lifelike' material that has metabolism and can self-reproduce An innovation may lead to lifelike evolving machines. - Scientists at Cornell University devise a material with 3 key traits of life. - The goal for the researchers is not to create life but lifelike machines. - The researchers were able to program metabolism into the material's DNA. Cornell University engineers have created an artificial material that has three key traits of life — metabolism, self-assembly and organization. The engineers were able to pull off such a feat by using DNA in order to make machines from biomaterials that would have characteristics of alive things. Dubbing their process DASH for "DNA-based Assembly and Synthesis of Hierarchical" materials, the scientists made a DNA material that has metabolism — the set of chemical processes that convert food into energy necessary for the maintenance of life. The goal for the scientists is not to create a lifeform but a machine with lifelike characteristics, with Dan Luo, professor of biological and environmental engineering, pointing out "We are not making something that's alive, but we are creating materials that are much more lifelike than have ever been seen before." The major innovation here is the programmed metabolism that is coded into the DNA materials. The set of instructions for metabolism and autonomous regeneration allows the material to grow on its own. In their paper, the scientists described the metabolism as the system by which "the materials comprising life are synthesized, assembled, dissipated, and decomposed autonomously in a controlled, hierarchical manner using biological processes." To keep going, a living organism must be able to generate new cells, while discarding old ones and waste. It is this process that the Cornell scientists duplicated using DASH. They devised a biomaterial that can arise on its own from nanoscale building blocks. It can arrange itself into polymers first and into mesoscale shapes after. The DNA molecules in the materials were duplicated hundreds of thousands of times, resulting in chains of repeating DNA that were a few millimeters in length. The solution with the reaction was injected into a special microfluidic device that facilitated biosynthesis. This flow washed over the materials, causing DNA to synthesize its own strands. The material even had its own locomotion, with the front end growing while the tail end was degrading, making it creep forth. This fact allowed the researchers to have portions of the materials competing against each other. "The designs are still primitive, but they showed a new route to create dynamic machines from biomolecules. We are at a first step of building lifelike robots by artificial metabolism," explained Shogo Hamada, the lead and co-corresponding author of the paper as well as a lecturer and research associate in the Luo lab. "Even from a simple design, we were able to create sophisticated behaviors like racing. Artificial metabolism could open a new frontier in robotics." Credit: Shogo Hamada / Cornell University The material that was created lasted for two cycles of synthesis and degradation but the longevity can be extended, think the researchers. This could lead to more generations of the material, eventually resulting in a "lifelike self-reproducing machines," said Hamada. He also foresees that the system can result in a "self-evolutionary possibility." Next for the material? The engineers are looking at how to get it to react to stimuli and be able to seek out light or food all on its own. They also want it to be able to avoid harmful stimuli. Check out the video of Professor Luo explaining their achievement here — You can check out the new paper "Dynamic DNA Material With Emergent Locomotion Behavior Powered by Artificial Metabolism," in the April 10th issues of Science Robotics. Welcome to the world's newest motorsport: manned multicopter races that exceed speeds of 100 mph. - Airspeeder is a company that aims to put on high-speed races featuring electric flying vehicles. - The so-called Speeders are able to fly at speeds of up to 120 mph. - The motorsport aims to help advance the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) sector, which could usher in the age of air taxis. Credit: Airspeeder<p>To prevent crashes, Airspeeder is working with the companies Acronis and Teknov8 to develop "high-speed collision avoidance" systems for its Speeders.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"As they compete, Speeders will utilise cutting-edge LiDAR and Machine Vision technology to ensure close but safe racing, with defined and digitally governed no-fly areas surrounding spectators and officials," Airspeeder wrote in a <a href="https://airspeeder.com/news/2020/9/7/airspeeder-worlds-first-flying-electric-car-racing-series-partners-with-cyber-protection-leader-acronis-34g4k" target="_blank">blog post</a>.</p> Credit: Airspeeder<p>Beyond motorsports, Airspeeder hopes to help advance the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) sector. This sector is where companies like <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2020-01-07/hyundai-and-uber-announce-evtol-air-taxi-partnership" target="_blank">Uber, Hyundai</a>, and Airbus are working to develop air taxis, which could someday take the ridesharing industry into the skies. By 2040, the autonomous urban aircraft industry could be worth $1.5 trillion, according to a <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/autonomous-aircraft" target="_blank">2019 report</a> from Morgan Stanley.</p><p>Still, many technical and regulatory hurdles remain. Matt Pearson, Airspeeder's founder and CEO, thinks the futuristic motorsport will help to not only speed up that process, but also pave the way for self-driving cars.</p> New study suggests the placebo effect can be as powerful as microdosing LSD. - New research from Imperial College London investigated the psychological effects of microdosing LSD in 191 volunteers. - While microdosers experienced beneficial mental health effects, the placebo group performed statistically similar to those who took LSD. - Researchers believe the expectation of a trip could produce some of the same sensations as actually ingesting psychedelics. Psychedelics: The scientific renaissance of mind-altering drugs<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="92360c805fe66c11de38a75b0967f417"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5T0LmbWROKY?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>For the study published in eLife, the team recruited 191 citizen cosmonauts to microdose either LSD or a placebo over the course of several weeks and note the psychological effects. Volunteers were already microdosing LSD, so there was no true control. Each volunteer was given instructions on creating their own low-dose gel capsules, some containing LSD, others not. Then they mixed the capsules in envelopes so they didn't know if they were taking the real thing or not.</p><p>The trial design was ingenious: each capsule featured a QR code that was scanned after the addition of ingredients but before they were placed in the envelope so that researchers knew what they were ingesting.</p><p>The problem: volunteers sourced their own LSD. Lack of quality control could have had a profound effect on the results. </p><p>The results: LSD microdosers reported feeling more mindful, satisfied with life, and better overall; they also noticed a reduction in feelings of paranoia. </p><p>The catch: the control group felt the same thing, with no statistical difference between the groups. </p><p>Lead author Balázs Szigeti comments on the findings: "This suggests that the improvements may not be due to the pharmacological action of the drug but can instead be explained by the placebo effect." </p> Credit: Alexander / Adobe Stock<p>Psychedelics are notoriously difficult to control for given the intensity of the experience. Yet there is precedent for the above findings. A <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-020-05464-5" target="_blank">2019 study</a> found that 61 percent of volunteers that took a placebo instead of psilocybin felt some psychedelic effects, with a few volunteers experiencing full-on trips.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Several stated that they saw the paintings on the walls 'move' or 'reshape' themselves, others felt 'heavy. . . as if gravity [had] a stronger hold', and one had a 'come down' before another 'wave' hit her."</p><p>The Imperial team believes the expectation of a trip might have been enough to produce similar results. Senior author David Erritzoe is excited for future studies on the topic, believing they tapped into a new wave of citizen science that could push forward our knowledge of psychedelic substances.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Accounting for the placebo effect is important when assessing trends such as the use of cannabidiol oils, fad diets or supplements where social pressure or users' expectations can lead to a strong placebo response. Self-blinding citizen science initiatives could be used as an inexpensive, initial screening tool before launching expensive clinical studies."</p><p>As investments into the psychedelics market explode, with one company <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-03/thiel-backed-magic-mushroom-firm-atai-hits-2-billion-valuation" target="_blank">reaching a $2 billion valuation</a>, a recurring irony appears in the long arc of psychedelics and research: the power of our minds might be enough to feel greater life satisfaction and a deeper sense of mindfulness. If that's possible with a placebo, we have to question why the rush to create more pharmacology is necessary. </p><p>This is, mind you, a separate conversation over the role of psychedelics and rituals for group bonding. The function of group cohesion around consciousness-altering substances will continue to play an important role in many communities. </p><p>Of course, we should continue to explore the efficacy of psychedelics on anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, PTSD, and addiction. <a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/antidepressant-effects" target="_self">Pharmacological dependence</a> is a stain on the psychiatry industry. Whether or not psychedelics can be prescribed for daily use remains to be seen, but we know a moneyed interest is expecting a return on investment—the above company, ATAI Life Sciences, raised $157 million in its Series D round. </p><p>When it comes to wellbeing, some things money just can't buy. How we navigate the tricky terrain of mainstreaming psychedelics remains to be seen. </p><p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a>. His most recent book is</em> "<em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KRVMP2M?pf_rd_r=MDJW43337675SZ0X00FH&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy</a>."</em></p> What makes some people more likely to shiver than others? Some people just aren't bothered by the cold, no matter how low the temperature dips. And the reason for this may be in a person's genes.
U.N. climate conference contentious Updated 11:23 pm, Wednesday, December 5, 2012 Doha, Qatar -- The U.N. climate conference here has settled into its typical doldrums, with most major questions unresolved as a Friday evening deadline for concluding the talks approaches. One of the thorniest issues is money, which has often bedeviled these affairs. Since the process for the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change began about 20 years ago, countries have been split into two often-warring camps: the small number of wealthy nations that provide money to help deal with the effects of global warming, and the much larger group of poorer states that receive it. Latest news videos At a climate summit meeting in Copenhagen three years ago, the industrialized countries promised to provide $10 billion a year for adapting to climate change over the following three years and $100 billion a year beginning in 2020. The short-term money has more or less been raised and spent, although some nations have quarreled over whether it was new money or simply repurposed foreign aid. A Green Climate Fund has been established to handle the money after 2020. Left unclear was whether money would flow from 2013 to 2020. That is what negotiators from about 190 countries are fighting about here. And it is a particularly difficult time for the donor nations to find new money. The United States, which traditionally provides about a quarter of such international finance, is teetering on a fiscal precipice, and few in Washington are thinking about finding several billion dollars to help sub-Saharan Africa or precarious island nations cope with drought and rising seas. This reticence by richer countries annoys the recipient countries, which see it as avoiding responsibility for decades of uncontrolled emissions that now threaten the health of the planet. The most impassioned voices, as usual, are representatives of poor African nations and of low-lying island states threatened with being swamped by rising seas.
Question: What is meant by the statement that questionnaire design is What is meant by the statement that questionnaire design is a systematic process? Answer to relevant QuestionsWhat are the four guidelines or “dos” for question wording? Mike, the owner of Mike’s Market, which is a convenience store, is concerned about low sales. He reads in a marketing textbook that the image of a store often has an impact on its ability to attract its target market. He ...Explain what is meant by a continuum along which a subjective property of an object can be measured. Distinguish a nonprobability from a probability sampling method. Which one is the preferable method and why? Indicate the pros and cons associated with probability and nonprobability sampling methods. Jetadiah Brown wants to establish a pet store, to be called “Jet’s Pets.” Jet thinks there is an opportunity in the south side of the city because he knows that many new subdivisions have been built and many families ... Post your question
A values-based decision making (VBDM) model can effectively guide a patient or family in making sound healthcare decisions that are shaped both by scientific information and likely medical outcomes, and by the religious norms, values, and definitions held by the patient. A facilitator (physician, chaplain, social worker, etc.) serves as a coach and can help the patient/family reach appropriate decisions even when he or she is from a different faith tradition. This process can take place simply between the facilitator and the patient or DPAHC (Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care) designee, but it is usually more effective when key members of the family and care team are present. The decision maker(s) may be encouraged to think of key VBDM questions in advance. VBDM is a process that involves seven steps: 1) Ascertain the facts, including the results of tests, the diagnoses, and prognosis. 2) Explore treatment options (including no treatment), their likelihood of success and potential burdens (physical, emotional and financial), and the likely condition of the patient at their conclusions. 3) Examine the patientís context, including family situation, religion, insurance and financial means, lifestyle and activities, friends and community, and sources of meaning and pleasure. Clarify the personís current hopes, fears, and goals. 4) Review the patientís religious and ethical definitions (for example: regarding discontinuation of treatment, what constitutes suicide; regarding a newborn with a painful and usually fatal condition, whether aggressive treatment is required) and norms (for example: Are feeding tube nutrients a required treatment, or does their use entail a medical decision based on the patientís good?). Make sure to distinguish between the beliefs of the patient, of the DPAHC designee, and of the patientís religious tradition, as they will often differ at critical junctures. Input from a chaplain about religious traditions here should be informational, not stifling of dialogue. If there are differences among the stakeholders, these should be explored. 5) Within the choices that are possible without violating the patientís norms, assemble and weigh relevant values, beliefs, and attitudes. 6) Formulate specific decision alternatives (which might involve subsequent 7) Discuss the alternatives, and ask the decision maker(s) to make a decision. This should then be communicated to everyone on the care team.
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1 July 1742 – 24 February 1799) was a German scientist, satirist and Anglophile. As a scientist, he was the first to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to experimental physics in Germany. Today, he is remembered for his posthumously published notebooks, which he himself called Sudelbücher, a description modeled on the English bookkeeping term "waste books", and for his discovery of the strange treelike patterns now called Lichtenberg figures. Lichtenberg was the youngest of seventeen children of pastor Johann Conrad Lichtenberg. His father, ascending through the ranks of the church hierarchy, eventually became superintendent for Darmstadt. Unusually for a clergyman in those times, he seems to have possessed a fair amount of scientific knowledge. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was educated at his parents' house until ten years of age, when he joined the Lateinschule in Darmstadt. His intelligence and wit became obvious at a very early age. He wanted to study mathematics, but his family could not afford to pay for lessons. In 1762 his mother applied to Ludwig VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, who granted sufficient funds. In 1763, Lichtenberg entered Göttingen University, where in 1769 he became extraordinary professor of physics, and six years later ordinary professor. He held this post till his death. Lichtenberg became a hunchback owing to a malformation of the spine. This left him unusually short, even by eighteenth-century standards. Over time this malformation grew worse, ultimately affecting even his breathing.
Week of September 9, 1996 Early this week, for the final time, we reinstalled the ISA (Integrated Structure Assembly) - that's the white thermal and structural box that surrounds the lander electronics and has the red "JPL" letters on it. We then calibrated the stop positions on the HGA (High Gain Antenna) - that's the lollipop-shaped articulated antenna that sits nest to the camera on the ISA. We used special theodolites (similar to those used by construction surveyors) to verify that the HGA mechanically points in the direction we want it to point with respect to the lander's base petal. We then reinstalled and checked out the pyro switching electronics and installed the lander thermal batteries. We use "thermal" batteries to provide power (current) to ignite explosive initiators in the EDL pyrotechnic devices (things like the parachute mortar, separation nuts, cable cutters and rocket ignitors). The batteries are called "thermal" because they get their electrical energy from self-generated chemical heat. Similar to the pyrotechnic initiators to which they provide, these batteries themselves need to be "lit" seconds before they are used on the spacecraft during EDL. Once "lit", these batteries will operate for only a few minutes - plenty of time to do their jobs. Once the ISA was installed, we performed some radio communication tests between the rover and the lander. We had been uncertain whether or not we needed to launch with an RF (radio frequency) attenuator in series between the lander's rover antenna and the lander's RFD modem used to talk with the rover. This attenuator was thought some time ago to be needed to allow communication with the lander at close distances. These tests and some others coming up have nearly convinced us that we can live without it. We think that it would be good if we did not use it because the attenuator might reduce the communication range if we ever decided to drive the rover a long way away from the lander in its "extended" mission. Either way, the primary mission is unaffected. We successfully performed other radio tests as well. Until this week, we had not yet tried to uplink the large software patch files using the real X-band radio and a ground station. The patch files are used in the unlikely event we have to reload large portions of the flight software into the EEPROM memory during the mission. Using the MIL-71 ground station at the Kennedy Space Center, we found that the process works fine. We also took a few last verification images from each eye of the IMP camera on the lander. This is the last time the IMP camera will be taking interesting pictures until we land on Mars. There has also been much work on the cruise stage. The HRS (Heat Rejection System) freon pumps have been installed and checked out. The HRS is the system used to flow freon inside the lander and around the perimeter of the cruise stage to keep the lander electronics cool. We need to keep the battery, the digital electronics, the rover, and the big X-band radio transmitter we call the SSPA (Solid State Power Amplifier) cool during the especially warm early part of the "cruise" phase of the mission as we leave Earth. We had to replace the pumps that had been installed during this summer's thermal tests because we think that it may have been damaged during one of our electrical tests. Because it is so hard to take apart, we can't tell for sure that it is broken. So just in case it was, we decided to replace it with the flight spare unit. Later this week we will reattach the petals (the Sojourner Rover is already mounted on its "Y" petal). Next week we begin the long process of installing the flight airbag as well as the many pyrotechnic devices on the lander.
About communication and language disorders ‘Communication’ is the exchange of both verbal and nonverbal information. It includes talking, as well as the understanding of words, visual information, body language, facial expressions, and gestures (e.g. pointing, waving hello, nodding your head to mean “yes”). Some students may need support with communication. Each young person will have their own profile which may change over time. Some young people may have difficulty producing sounds and words (e.g. stuttering or mutism), and they may use visual forms of communication instead (e.g. gestures, picture cards, or Augmentative or Alternative Communication (AAC) systems or devices). Other students may find understanding visual communication challenging. Some teens may need support with using and understanding spoken language. A student’s ability to understand spoken language may be different from their ability to use spoken language. For example, a student might be able talk and express themselves clearly, but they may find it harder to understand instructions, especially if they are long or complex. Some students may require support with using verbal and nonverbal communication in social situations. For example, some students may have trouble with greetings (e.g. saying hello, shaking hands) or taking turns in conversations. Other students may not understand humour and jokes, or metaphors. What might be some strengths? - Students can often participate successfully in learning when given extra time and clear and specific instructions. - Some students may have good visual perceptual skills. They may be good at visual searches and recognition. Where might you provide support? - Some students with communication disorders may have difficulty understanding or talking about abstract information (e.g. a figure of speech, or facts about objects that cannot be seen or touched). - Some young people with communication challenges may have trouble expressing how they feel. This can cause frustration and disruptive behaviours. They may have other behavioural challenges such as impulsivity and hyperactivity. - Some students may be easily distracted and find it challenging to focus on activities. - Students with communication disorders may have difficulties with interacting with other students and making friends. Best practice tips Set clear rules and expectations Consider using slower speech Ensure that you have the student’s full attention before communicating Encourage full participation Be aware of your body language Encourage positive role-models Visit our resources page for a range of resources that can help to create inclusive education environments for students with disabilities and developmental challenges. Some particularly relevant resources for students with communication disorders include:
Is it an iris? Is it a grass? No, its a spiderwort! Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis – http://bit.ly/1gRYfe7) is the most wide spread member of the genus in North America. Its lovely blue flowers bloom from May into July and are a favorite haunt of bumblebees. If you have a medium to dry area on your landscape that receives decent sun then this is a species for you. It is easy to grow from seed and readily spreads. Speaking of seeds, Ohio spiderwort has some of the neatest looking seeds of any native forb. Grab a hand lens and check them out. They look like miniature fossils! It also has the added benefit of dying back mid summer, which means you have the option of planting other, late blooming species in and around the spiderwort to get more out of the space you have available. Interestingly enough the blue color of the stamens turn pink when exposed to certain types of radiation making this genus a useful tool for detecting sources of ambient radiation.
Salivary amylase is a gene present in humans. Yet its number of copies can vary from one to 20, depending on the individual. Having a low copy number of the gene, which digests complex sugars (starches), favors obesity, according to an international team led by Professor Philippe Froguel from the Genomique et Maladies Métaboliques laboratory (CNRS/Université Lille 2/Institut Pasteur de Lille). The researchers showed that people with the smallest number of salivary amylase copies (and therefore low amylase levels in the blood) are ten times more at risk of becoming obese. With each unit drop in the number of copies of this gene, the risk of obesity increases by 20%. This work, published on March 30, 2014 in Nature Genetics, reveals for the first time a genetic link between complex carbohydrate digestion and obesity. One billion people worldwide are overweight. Although obesity has an environmental origin at the population level, in individuals, 70% of the genetic risk in subjects predisposed to obesity is due to genetic factors. About 5% of morbidly obese people carry a mutation in one of the genes that controls appetite, which is enough to make them obese. Recent pan-genomic studies using DNA microarrays identified 70 common obesity genes, but their impact is low and only explains a small part of the genetic risk (4%). French and British researchers went further by studying obesity-discordant Swedish siblings, analyzing their genome and the genes in adipose tissue, which are expressed differently in obese subjects and in those with normal weight. They identified a region in chromosome 1 that is unique because it contains a gene, salivary amylase (AMY1), present in a single form in humans. Instead of having only two copies of this gene (one from the father, one from the mother) the number of AMY1 copies varies in humans from one to 20. For 10,000 years, since agriculture began, the number of AMY1 copies has increased, evidence of natural selection and human evolution: since amylase digests complex sugars (starches), individuals who secrete high levels of salivary amylase have a selective nutritional advantage. Researchers have noticed that people with the smallest number of AMY1 copies (and therefore little amylase enzyme in their blood) are ten times more at risk of becoming obese. With each unit drop in the number of AMY1 copies, the risk of obesity increases by 20%. Alone, this region of the genome explains almost 10% of the genetic risk. There are two forms of amylase: one produced by the pancreas and the other by the salivary glands. Only the salivary form seems to be associated with obesity. It is not yet known why a salivary amylase deficiency increases obesity: two hypotheses are under consideration. The first is that chewing and partially digesting food in the mouth could have a hormonal effect inducing satiety, which would be reduced in the case of AMY1 deficiency. The second is that poor starch digestion could change the intestinal flora, thereby contributing indirectly to obesity or even diabetes. That is what initial metabolomic studies conducted in patients with high or low salivary amylase suggest. Thus, individuals with low salivary amylase have abnormally high glycemia when they eat starch. These entirely novel findings point to a genetic predisposition to obesity via complex carbohydrate digestion and its effects on the intestinal bacterial flora. They open important perspectives for more effective obesity prevention and treatment that take into account food digestion and degradation in the intestines. More information: "Low copy number of the salivary amylase gene predisposes to obesity." Mario Falchi, et al. Nature Genetics, March 30, 2014. DOI: 10.1038/ng.2939
A closer look at the methodology behind YouGov's massive survey for CBS News and the New York Times YouGov has created a panel of over 100,000 registered voters who will be interviewed four times between July and November for the nation’s newspaper of record and premier television network. The panelists come from each of the 50 states and 435 Congressional districts. They are interviewed on the internet and have been weighted to be representative of registered voters in each Congressional district using data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and other sources. The weighting variables are age, race, gender, education, 2012 vote for President and Congress, and party identification. As with any survey, the estimates are subject to sampling error with larger samples usually giving more accurate estimates than smaller ones. Panelists were selected disproportionately from the most competitive states and Congressional districts to provide more accurate estimates for these races. If we had divided the sample of 100,000 evenly among districts, we would have had only 250 persons in each district. Instead, we oversampled competitive districts (ending up with about 800 persons in each of the 60 most competitive districts), leaving smaller samples (around 150 people) in the less competitive ones. To say anything about the overall outcome of the election—which party will control the House and the Senate in the 114th Congress—requires estimates for every House and Senate race, even in places where our sample is too small to make the most reliable predictions. How can we make accurate predictions when the sample size is so small in many Congressional districts? We have quite a bit of information about the people that are not in our sample and the races in those districts. From the Census, we know their demographics. From the 2012 election returns, we know the proportion who voted for each candidate in 2012 (or didn’t vote). From the 2012 Exit poll, we know the relationship between voter demographics and 2012 vote. And from our 2014 panel, we have data on how these variables relate to 2014 voting intentions. We have combined these data into a statistical model that predicts 2014 vote on the basis of demographics and past vote. The model uses common patterns in the data to make estimates for people not interviewed. For example, if most of the 18-24 year old white female respondents in the sample who voted for Romney in 2012 tell us that they intend to vote for the Republican Congressional candidate in 2014, the model then predicts similar behavior for 18-24 year old white female voters in a district where our sample doesn’t include any voters of this type. Where we have a few voters in a particular group, we average the model predictions with the sample, with the model estimates discounted as the sample size in that group increases. These techniques have been developed by statisticians and are commonly used for small area estimates by the Census. The output of the statistical model is a range of estimates for each state and Congressional district, reflecting the uncertainty around the predictions from the model. We have made 100,000 random draws from these estimates, producing thousands of different combinations of election outcomes—some with Republicans winning both houses, others with Democrats maintaining control of the Senate, and countless variations of outcomes for particular races. In these simulations, we can calculate the proportion of times that, say, the Republicans gain a 51 or more seats in the Senate. This is the probability of Republican control of the Senate implied by the model. For more information see here.
Founder and Resident Scholar, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Director Emeritus, Fermilab, and Pritzker Professor of Science, Illinois Institute of Technology International House Auditorium — 2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley About the Lecture The crisis in science education (pre-K-14) has been widely recognized at least since the report “A Nation at Risk” was published in 1983. This report accompanies a huge number of later reports. All sit happily, side by … ContinuedInternational House Auditorium - 2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley Berkeley Graduate Lectures [email protected] false MM/DD/YYYY About the Lecture The crisis in science education (pre-K-14) has been widely recognized at least since the report “A Nation at Risk” was published in 1983. This report accompanies a huge number of later reports. All sit happily, side by side, read and appreciated but never implemented, in secret storage places somewhere in Washington DC. There is good reason for new optimism, but the persistent failure to implement the well understood cures must be understood before we can capitalize on the awesome wisdom now accumulating in Washington. About Leon Lederman Leon Lederman is internationally renowned for his research on neutrinos, ghostlike particles that pass through everything in the universe, and on subatomic particles known as quarks. He received the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1982 for discovering the bottom quark, which established the existence of a third generation of quarks. In 1988, Lederman was co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics (with Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger) for his discovery of the muon neutrino, proving that there are at least two families of neutrinos. The experiment’s use of the first-ever neutrino beam paved the way for scientists to use these particles in research around the world. Neutrinos have since been used as a way of analyzing everything from the structure of the atomic nucleus to the energy level of an exploding star, or supernova. His research has provided major advances in the understanding of “weak interactions,” one of the fundamental nuclear forces. In addition to his work as a researcher, Lederman is also a leading proponent of science and math education at the high school and college level. He founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) in 1986 and has served as Resident Scholar since 1998. IMSA is an internationally-recognized educational institution for developing talent and stimulating excellence in teaching and learning in mathematics, science and technology. Lederman is also an outspoken advocate for the “Physics First” movement, which seeks to rearrange the current high school science curriculum so that physics precedes chemistry and biology. Lederman has published over 300 papers and co-authored the books, The God Particle: If the Universe is the Answer, What Is the Question? (1989) and From Quarks to the Cosmos: Tools of Discovery (1995). - A Sense of Wonder — 2009
Language revitalisation a global issue for indigenous people The story of a language almost lost by the indigenous people of Japan is eerily similar to the one experienced by New Zealand's tangata whenua. But Kenji Sekine, of the Ainu people of Japan, said the way Maori had reclaimed their reo provided him with inspiration in his efforts to achieve the same result in his homeland. Sekine was the keynote speaker at this year's Poukorero conference in New Plymouth on Wednesday night, where he outlined how a campaign of forced assimilation by the Japanese government in the 19th century almost wiped out the Ainu culture and language. Laws prohibiting traditional fishing practices enacted in the 1860s and a general denigration of Ainu people, who were labelled "savages" meant generations of Japan's indigenous population saw little value in their own culture. The Ainu population is about 25,000, which is only 0.02 per cent of the entire Japanese population. * Taranaki te reo pioneer honoured at inaugural language conference * Maori language bill passes final hurdle: what does it do? * Baby talk: how to help kids discover language * Resource revitalises te reo Maori in early childhood centres * Grim outlook for te reo Maori "Because of that discrimination, there are still Ainu families who don't want to hear a word of Ainu," he said through translator Takayuki Okazaki. In 2010, the Ainu language was classified by the United Nations as a critically endangered language. Maori was deemed vulnerable in the same study. The use of te reo Maori was severely disrupted following the arrival of the European settlers and the impact colonisation had on tangata whenua. But in the 1980s a series of revitalisation projects were launched in Aotearoa, which coincided with Maori becoming an official language of the country in 1987. Census data shows that in 2013, about 21 per cent of Maori could hold an everyday conversation in te reo. Sekine said he and a group of Ainu people visited Parihaka in 2013 and a partnership has since developed with language scholars Dr Ruakere Hond and Erana Brewerton. Since then, Sekine said he had started to use the Te Ataarangi method of language acquisition, where coloured Cuisenaire rods or rakau are used as a learning tool. He said while most of his weekly classes were one hour long, he had introduced a total immersion style of learning to his students, where the Ainu language is spoken over the course of an entire weekend, similar to wananga sessions Maori language students have on marae. Sekine said he wanted to develop a picture dictionary for the Ainu language and also expand the vocabulary in order to enhance its relevance to daily life. He said he was grateful for the support and guidance provided to him by people like Hond and Brewerton, along with Te Ururoa Flavell, who was behind the initial invitation for the group to visit Parihaka. "I guess if we can develop more speakers (of Ainu) then that's the way we can pay back the generosity of the Maori people," he said. The Poukorero conference, which is focused on developing better ways to keep indigenous language alive, runs until Friday with a series of workshops and speeches to be delivered at Parihaka.
Upgrade to remove ads The Fun They Had Isaac Asimov Terms in this set (10) Who Wrote The Fun They Had? Who is the Main Character in The Fun They Had? What did Tommy find in his grandfather's attic? An old Book How did Margie and Tommy read books? Telebooks on their TV screen What year did the story take place? What subject was Margie struggling with in school? Why did Margie have a hard time believing a man could be a teacher? Her teacher was a mechanical teacher. What Margie imagine school in the old book was like? All kids laughing and sitting together, helping one another with homework and talking about it. How did Margie imagine the kids in the old school in the book felt about going to school? They must have loved it. She was thinking about the fun they had. What is theme of this story? We want what we don't have or don't take what you have for granted. THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH... The Lottery By Shirley Jackson PSY 100 Exam 1 Chapters 1-4 YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE... Short Stories "The Fun They Had" "The Fun They Had" CMS - Mountain Dog, Suber OTHER SETS BY THIS CREATOR Chapter 1-4 of Night Lesson 8 B Vocabulary Lesson 8 Vocabulary Lesson 7 B OTHER QUIZLET SETS Geography chapter 8 test History war of 1812&Lewis&Clark Expedition Planet Earth Quizzes for the Final
"Safe" Lead Levels Harm Children 09.29.09 "Safe" Lead Levels Harm Children In this article the BBC reports on research being done to determine if so called "safe" levels of lead exposure are in fact safe for children. Young children's exposure to lead in the environment is harming their intellectual and emotional development, according to UK researchers. The researchers say the toxic effects of lead on the central nervous system are obvious even below the current so-called safe level of lead in the blood. They are recommending the threshold should be halved. A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said levels of exposure should be kept to the minimum. Lead has been removed from paint and petrol by law in the UK, but it is still widespread in the environment. Follow link below to read the full article:Original article: Safe Lead Levels Harm Children
By Sarah Mac Donald - 15 April, 2014 Collaboration with researchers of every culture and religion contributes to dialogue between Church and modern world. Receiving members of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences at the weekend, the Pontiff said history and historians can help the Church discern what the Holy Spirit wants to say to it today. Citing Blessed John XXIII, who cited Cicero, Pope Francis said that “history is truly the witness of the times, the light of truth, the life of memory, the teacher of life.” The Pope praised initiatives, including an international conference, marking the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. Historical analysis of the Great War would “pay special attention to the Holy See’s diplomatic efforts during the tragic conflict and the contribution made by Catholics and other Christians to rescue the wounded, refugees, orphans and widows, to search for the missing, as well as in the reconstruction of a world torn apart by what Benedict XV called ‘useless slaughter’,” Pope Francis said. Referring to Pope Pius XII’s appeal for peace just before the beginning of World War II, Pope Francis said his appeal resonated today and was as timely as ever. He recalled that Benedict XV warned that “Nothing is lost by peace; everything may be lost by war” in his Letter to the rulers of the belligerent powers of 1 August 1917. “When we listen again to those prophetic words, really, we realise that history is “magistra vitae” or a life teacher,” Pope Francis stated. He told the historians gathered in the Vatican “In your studies and in your teaching, you are particularly faced with the vicissitudes of the Churches’ journeys through time, with its glorious history of evangelisation, of hopes and daily struggles, of lives spent in service and fidelity to work, as well as infidelity, of denials, of sins.” “Your research, marked by both a genuine passion for the Church and sincere love for the truth, can be of great help to those who have the task of discerning what the Holy Spirit wants to say to the Church today”. He noted: “In your encounter and collaboration with researchers of every culture and religion, you can offer a specific contribution to the dialogue between the Church and the modern world”.
SALT FORK OF THE BRAZOS RIVER SALT FORK OF THE BRAZOS RIVER. The Salt Fork of the Brazos River rises at an elevation of about 3,000 feet two miles southwest of Caprock in south central Crosby County (at 33°29' N, 101°25' W). The upper stretches of the river are intermittent. On its eastward-tending journey of 175 miles the Salt Fork travels through thinly settled country and passes through no communities. Numerous oilfields are located along the river's path. The Salt Fork runs through south central Crosby, northeast Garza, central Kent, and northern Stonewall counties before joining the Brazos River two miles west of the Stonewall-Haskell county line and about twelve miles northeast of Old Glory (at 33°16' N, 100°01' W). The river descends some 1,500 feet from its headwaters to its mouth, passing through flat to moderately steep terrain. Along its course clay, silt, and sandy loams support mesquite, grasses, and conifers. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article."SALT FORK OF THE BRAZOS RIVER," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rns04), accessed September 05, 2015. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
The level of toxicity in zinc sulphate greatly depends on the amount of zinc found in the product itself. Zinc is an essential trace mineral that the human body needs in very small amounts. The body also does not store zinc, so it must be consumed da Sodium Molybdenum is an essential mineral used across a variety of different fields, such as metalwork, manufacturing, printing, agriculture, and even health. Each industry benefits greatly from the use of sodium molybdate, but there are some general Zinc is an essential micronutrient plants need in order to grow efficiently, although the exact role of the chemical in plant growth is still debated among scientists. Zinc sulphate is a common player in the agricultural industry, especially when it Sodium molybdate is one of the best sources of molybdate, one of the essential trace elements found in foods such as milk, legumes, nuts, leafy greens, and even organ meats. Zinc sulfate monohydrate has a wide variety of uses in consumer products, industrial applications, and even in agricultural production, such as ranching and raising livestock. Thiosulfates are a class of compounds that occur naturally and are produced by certain biomechanical processes, but can also be chemically-synthesized in labs.
AS UNIVERSITY TUITION continues to rise around the world, economists, analysts, and government agencies are looking at what factors contribute to the costs and what steps can be taken to help students afford to pursue higher education. In the U.S., the link between federal aid and college affordability is the subject of a study conducted by Mark J. Warshawsky, a senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center in Arlington, Virginia. In a series of charts available through the center website, he shows that average tuition and fees for undergraduate studies have increased more than threefold from 1980 to 2014, while federal and state grants and loans have grown from just over US$50 billion in 1994 to $170 billion in 2014. These figures, along with studies from other researchers, indicate that increased federal support for higher education leads to “a significant increase in tuition and decrease in institutional aid,” he suggests. He also notes that “some students, particularly from nontraditional backgrounds, seem to have been harmed by the increase in federal funding of student loans. They have not seen increases in their incomes as workers, have often not completed their education, are more likely to default on their loans, and miss out on job-related income and training.” Warshawsky concludes, “Further increases in federal support for higher education are not needed, and indeed are likely to be counterproductive, because they lead to higher tuition for all students. The resultant increase in tuition, decline in average student quality, and increase in student loan defaults should lead policymakers to question whether the massive increase in federal support for higher education is achieving its goals. A robust parallel system of on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and youthful practical work experience is needed, supported by changes in federal laws and regulations.” While Warshawsky focuses on the situation in the U.S., other researchers examine the cost of college tuition around the world. A new policy paper from the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report and the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) at UNESCO analyzes global trends and offers a series of measures designed to make higher education more accessible to all. According to the study, the number of university-level students doubled to 207 million between 2000 and 2014, making it difficult for both governments and families to bear the cost of higher education. Only 1 percent of the poorest individuals have spent more than four years in higher education, compared to 20 percent of the richest. Disadvantaged groups also miss out. For example, in Mexico less than 1 percent of the indigenous population pursues higher education; in China, rural youths are seven times less likely to attend university than urban teenagers. Access to higher education is greater in wealthy countries. In the poorest nations, only 8 percent of young adults are enrolled; in the richest, 74 percent. Gender disparities are more extreme in poor countries, as well. In 2014, women made up only 30 percent of the bachelor’s degree students in low-income countries. Families often end up paying the costs of higher education, especially in high-income countries. Across 26 countries in Europe, households paid for 15 percent of higher education in 2011; that figure was 40 percent in Australia, 46 percent in the U.S., 52 percent in Japan, and 55 percent in Chile. UNESCO, a U.N. organization with responsibility for higher education, advises governments to institute policies aimed at helping the disadvantaged pay for higher education, such as low tuition fees, need-based scholarships, and loan repayments adjusted according to income. The paper presents a range of examples showing how different countries are expanding higher education offerings to achieve greater equity. The paper also makes these six recommendations: Make sure those who need help the most are getting it; guarantee equity and affordability in regulatory frameworks; establish national agencies to ensure equal opportunities; use different admissions criteria to respond to different individuals’ needs; establish an agency to coordinate different forms of student aid, such as loans and grants; and limit student loan repayments to less than 15 percent of a family’s annual income. Read “Increased Federal Funding for Higher Education Produces Adverse Effects.” Also, “Six Ways to Ensure Higher Education Leaves No One Behind.” This article originally appeared in BizEd's September/October 2017 print issue. If you have comments or feedback on its contents, please contact us at [email protected].
8 Red Foods That Rule for A Healthy Heart! Historically, Latinos were viewed as the least likely to die from heart-related diseases. This, believe it or not, is due to our diet, which is way more balanced than the traditional American diet. Many of our diets are rich in the lean protein, like chicken or pernil and are made with heart-healthy spices. What kills us (literally) is not what we eat, but we prepare our traditional foods (e.g., frying, using lard, etc.). But that’s another article at another time. And when we combine our traditional ways with American diets (fast-foods), the end result has seen an increase in other diseases that make us more susceptible to heart issues. Over the past few years research conducted by the American Heart Association found that Latinos face even higher risk of cardiovascular diseases because of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. Enter our diet. Or more fittingly, the ability to change our diet with more vegetables that are as bright as our culture. This includes adding more green leafy vegetables, orange foods, and last but not least, foods that are bright red and full of sabor. Here, we highlight the top eight red foods that really rule for a healthy heart and why every Latino needs to eat them. OK, so beets aren’t exactly red. But its betalain, which is responsible for the deep, plum coloring, is also filled with phytonutrients, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. Yes, it is true. An apple a day will keep the doctor away—especially when it comes to heart problems. A study done in 2011 found that eating apples daily appeared to lower levels of cholesterol and two other markers associated with plaques and inflammation in artery walls. “We were pleasantly surprised …” that apples so effectively lowered LDL (bad) cholesterol, says study researcher Bahram H. Arjmandi, PhD, RD, Margaret A. Sitton Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at The Florida State University in Tallahassee. Apples are rich in pectin, a soluble fiber, which blocks cholesterol absorption in the gut and encourages the body to use, rather than store, the waxy stuff. Apple peels are also packed with polyphenols—antioxidants that prevent cellular damage from free radicals. Perfect for making slaw for tacos, or for your corned beef dish, did you know that this cruciferious vegetable is loaded with anthocyanins (antioxidants) and vitamin C, which a recent study says may help people with heart failure live longer? The bonus is that eating it will also help to lower cholesterol levels. This is one time where a tart fruit is actually better for you than the sweet kind. The bright red you see in cherries come from it’s antioxidants called anthocynanins, which are also responsible for providing anti-inflammation and cardiovascular benefits, which reduce post-work out muscle fatigue. Who doesn’t love the taste of red onions—whether raw in salads or carmelized— in a meal? The bonus that comes with its good taste is that red onions contain flavonoids (found in the outer layers, primarily), which helps to prevent heart attacks while the sulfur compounds increase the anti-clotting abilities in our bodies and can possibly avoid blood platelet cells clumping together. According to recent research, these sulfur compounds may also aid in lowering triglyceride levels in the blood and boost the cell membrane function in red blood cells. Red Chile Peppers Perfect for our palettes, just one red chili pepper contains 2 1/2 times the RDA for vitamin C. These peppers also contain vitamin A, lots of B vitamins, and important minerals like iron and manganese. Red Bell Peppers Labeled a super food, red bell peppers offer a nice dose of vitamins A, C, E and B6! They also conta Red bell peppers also contain phytochemicals such as beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, which also protects against lung cancer, and lycopene.
NORD gratefully acknowledges N.J. Gutowski, MD, Consultant Neurologist and Associate Professor, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK, for assistance in the preparation of this report. Duane syndrome (DS) is an eye movement disorder present at birth (congenital) characterized by horizontal eye movement limitation: a limited ability to move the eye inward toward the nose (adduction), outward toward the ear (abduction), or in both directions. When the affected eye(s) moves inward toward the nose, the eyeball retracts (pulls in) and the eye opening (palpebral fissure) narrows. In some patients, when the eye attempts to look inward, it moves upward (upshoot) or downward (downshoot). Duane syndrome falls under the larger heading of strabismus (misalignment of the eyes) under the sub-classification of incomitant strabismus (misalignment of the eyes that varies with gaze directions) and subheading of what was previously termed extraocular fibrosis syndromes (conditions associated with fibrosis of the muscles that move the eyes), now termed congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders (CCDDs). The CCDDs are a group of congenital neuromuscular diseases resulting from developmental errors in innervation; the abnormalities involve one or more cranial nerves/nuclei with absence of normal innervation and/or secondary aberrant innervation. The group includes Duane syndrome, congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles (CFEOM), congenital ptosis, Marcus Gunn jaw winking, Möbius syndrome, crocodile tears, horizontal gaze palsy and congenital facial palsy, but this is not an exhaustive list. Duane syndrome has been subdivided clinically into three types: type 1, type 2, and type 3. The three types of Duane syndrome present as follows: Duane syndrome type 1: The ability to move the affected eye(s) outward toward the ear (abduction) is limited, but the ability to move the affected eye(s) inward toward the nose (adduction) is normal or nearly so. The eye opening (palpebral fissure) narrows and the eyeball retracts into the orbit when looking inward toward the nose (adduction). When looking outward toward the ear (abduction), the reverse occurs. Duane syndrome type 2: The ability to move the affected eye(s) inward toward the nose (adduction) is limited, whereas the ability to move the eye outward (abduction) is normal or only slightly limited. The eye opening (palpebral fissure) narrows and the eyeball retracts into the orbit when the affected eye(s) attempts to look inward toward the nose (adduction). Duane syndrome type 3: The ability to move the affected eye(s) both inward toward the nose (adduction) and outward toward the ear (abduction) is limited. The eye opening narrows and the eyeball retracts when the affected eye(s) attempts to look inward toward the nose (adduction). Each of these three types has been further classified into three subgroups designated A, B, and C to describe the eyes when looking straight (in primary gaze). In subgroup A, the affected eye is turned inward toward the nose (esotropia). In subgroup B, the affected eye is turned outward toward the ear (exotropia), and in subgroup C, the eyes are in a straight primary position. Different clinical types may be present within the same family, suggesting that the same genetic defect may produce a range of clinical presentations. The most common clinical presentation is type 1 DS (78% of cases) followed by type 3 (15%) and type 2 (7%). Involvement of both eyes (bilateral) is less common than involvement of one eye only (unilateral). Approximately 80-90% of cases are unilateral. Of the unilateral cases, the left eye is more often affected (72%). Amblyopia (reduced visual acuity in an eye) due to a lack of binocular vision occurs in about 10% of DS cases and is more common in familial autosomal dominant CHN1 gene familial cases. Duane syndrome is usually an isolated finding (approximately 70%), but may be associated with other malformations. Major anomalies associated with DS can be grouped into five categories: skeletal, auricular (having to do with the ears), ocular (having to do with the eyes) and neural (having to do with the nervous system) and renal (having to do with the kidneys and urinary tract). DS can also be associated with other well-defined syndromes. These include Okihiro’s, Wildervanck, Holt-Oram, Goldenhar and Möbius syndromes. The majority of Duane syndrome cases are sporadic in origin, with only approximately 10% of patients showing a familial pattern (running in families). Both dominant (most common) and recessive forms of DS have been documented. In some families with dominant DS, it has skipped a generation (shown reduced penetrance) and ranged in severity within the same family (shown variable expressivity). Most familial cases are not associated with other anomalies. Dominant genetic disorders occur when only a single copy of a non-working gene is necessary to cause a particular disease. The non-working gene can be inherited from either parent or can be the result of a mutated (changed) gene in the affected individual. The risk of passing the non-working gene from an affected parent to an offspring is 50% for each pregnancy. The risk is the same for males and females. Recessive genetic disorders occur when an individual inherits a non-working gene from each parent. If an individual receives one working gene and one non-working gene for the disease, the person will be a carrier for the disease, but usually will not show symptoms. The risk for two carrier parents to both pass the non-working gene and, therefore, have an affected child is 25% with each pregnancy. The risk to have a child who is a carrier, like the parents, is 50% with each pregnancy. The chance for a child to receive working genes from both parents is 25%. The risk is the same for males and females. DS is a congenital cranial dysinnervation disorder (CCDD). Genetic, and possibly environmental factors, are known to play a role. Data to support abnormal development of cranial nerve VI (abducens nerve) in DS come from neuropathological, neuroradiological and neurophysiological evidence. Neuropathological evidence comes from autopsies of individuals with DS. These autopsies show abnormal innervation of the lateral rectus muscle (the muscle that moves the eye outward toward the ear) and an absence / failure to develop normally of the abducens nerve (cranial nerve VI) which normally supplies the lateral rectus muscle. In place of the abducens nerve is a nerve branch from the oculomotor nerve (cranial nerve III) which normally supplies other ocular muscles. Recent neuroradiological studies in DS support the postmortem findings and also show, by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, an absence / failure to develop normally of the abducens nerve (cranial nerve VI). Neurophysiological evidence for neuronal involvement in DS comes from electromyographic (EMG) studies which show that the medial and lateral recti muscles are electrically active in individuals with DS. When individuals with DS attempt to move their eyes inward, both of these muscles contract at the same time, resulting in the eyeball retracting inward (pulling in) and the eye opening narrowing. In familial DS cases both eyes are more likely to be affected. DS type 2 is not seen in those with a positive family history nor in those patients where mutations in genes have been found to cause DS; suggesting a different cause. Genetic linkage studies of two large DS families (with affected members having type 1 and/or type 3 DS inherited autosomal dominantly) without associated abnormalities established the location of a DS gene on chromosome 2. Mutations in the CHN1 gene are the cause, hyperactivating the a2-chimaerin protein. Mutations in the CHN1 gene have also been found in other families. Autosomal dominant DS can also be due to mutations in the MAFB gene on chromosome 20, either as a loss of function or as a dominant negative mutation causing deafness and DS. The combination of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), DS and deafness has been shown to be due to a rare MAFB mutation. A genetic cause for individuals with DRRS (Duane radial ray syndrome; Okihiro syndrome), that is Duane syndrome (unilateral or bilateral) with a skeletal change of radial dysplasia (unilateral or bilateral) ranging from most commonly thumb hypoplasia to most severely a phocomelic limb (similar to that seen in thalidomide cases), has been found. Other features include deafness, renal and ocular manifestations. Inheritance is autosomal dominant. Truncating mutations and SALL4 gene deletions have been identified in DRRS families and there is haploinsufficiency (the level of the protein is not sufficient for normal functioning). No SALL4 gene mutations were found in 25 sporadic cases of isolated DS. DS can also be found as part of a complex autosomal recessive disorder that can include deafness, facial weakness, vascular malformations and learning difficulties due to two mutations in the HOXA1 gene. DS is also associated with mutations in the CDH2 gene which encodes for the N-cadherin protein. These mutations cause a syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder with global developmental delay and/or intellectual disability, axonal pathfinding defects including corpus callosum agenesis or hypoplasia, associated with ocular, cardiac and genital anomalies. Cytogenetic results (a study of chromosomes) of individuals with Duane syndrome and other abnormalities have, in rare cases, shown abnormalities that suggest other locations for genes responsible for causing DS. Deletions of chromosomal material on chromosomes 1, 4, 5 and 8, and the presence of an extra marker chromosome thought to be derived from chromosome 22, have been documented in DS individuals. In addition, DS has been reported with chromosomal duplications. Given the evidence that DS results from an absence / failure to develop normally of the abducens nerve (cranial nerve VI) and aberrant innervation, and that DS is associated with other anomalies in some patients, it is thought that DS results from a disturbance of normal embryonic development by either a genetic or an environmental factor at the time when the cranial nerves and ocular muscles are developing (between the third and sixth week of pregnancy). Duane syndrome has been seen in diverse ethnic groups. The frequency of DS in the general population of individuals with eye movement disorders (strabismus) is approximately 1-5%. Most individuals are diagnosed by the age of 10 years. The female to male ratio of individuals with DS is approximately 60:40, showing a slightly higher preponderance of female patients. When the presence of DS is suspected, a thorough ocular (eye) examination is required, with special attention to the presence of other ocular or systemic malformations. Measurements of the ocular misalignment, ocular range of motion, head turn, globe (eyeball) retraction, palpebral fissure (eye opening) size, upshoots and downshoots and visual acuity are indicated. In addition, an examination of the cervical (neck) and thoracic (chest) spine, palate (roof of mouth), vertebrae, hands, and a hearing test is recommended to rule out disorders associated with DS. The standard management of Duane syndrome may involve observation, treatment of amblyopia (such as patching of the better seeing eye) or possibly surgery. The goal of surgery is the elimination or improvement of an unacceptable head turn, the elimination or reduction of significant misalignment of the eyes, the reduction of severe retraction, and the improvement of upshoots and downshoots. Surgery does not eliminate the fundamental abnormality of innervation and no surgical technique has been completely successful in eliminating the abnormal eye movements. Simple horizontal muscle recession procedures, vertical rectus muscle transposition procedures, or combinations of the two may be successful in improving or eliminating head turns and misalignment of the eyes. The choice of procedure must be individualized. Information on current clinical trials is posted on the Internet at www.clinicaltrials.gov. All studies receiving U.S. government funding, and some supported by private industry, are posted on this government web site. For information about clinical trials being conducted at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD, contact the NIH Patient Recruitment Office: Toll-free: (800) 411-1222 TTY: (866) 411-1010 Email: [email protected] Some current clinical trials also are posted on the following page on the NORD website: For information about clinical trials sponsored by private sources, contact: For more information about clinical trials conducted in Europe, contact: Accogli A, et al. De novo pathogenic variants in N-Cadherin cause a syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder with corpus callosum, axon, cardiac, ocular and genital defects. Am J Hum Genet. 2019;105:854-868. Sato Y, et al. A mutation in transcription factor MAFB causes Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis with Duane Retraction Syndrome. Kidney Int. 2018;94:396-407. Park JG, Tischfield MA, Nugent AA, et al. Loss of MAFB function in humans and mice causes Duane Syndrome, aberrant extraocular muscle innervation, and inner-ear defects. Am J Hum Genet. 2016;98:1220-7. Gutowski NJ, Chilton JK. The congenital cranial dyinnervation disorders. Arch Dis Child. 2015;100:678-81. Baroncini A, Bertuzzo S, Quarantini R, et al. 8q12 microduplication including CHD7: clinical report on a new patient with Duane retraction syndrome type 3. Mol Cytogenet. 2013;6:49. Ferrario JE, Baskaran P, Clark C, et al. Axon guidance in the developing ocular motor system and Duane retraction syndrome depends on Semaphorin signaling via alpha2-chimaerin. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2012;109:14669-74. Chan WM et al. Two novel CHN1 mutations in 2 families with Duane retraction syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol.. 2011; 129 :649-52. Miyake N et al. Expansion of the CHN1 strabismus phenotype. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 201; 52 :6321-8. Weis A, Bialer MG, Kodsi S. Duane syndrome in association with 48,XXYY karyotype. J AAPOS 2011;15 :295-6. Bayrakli F et al. Heterozygous 5p13.3-13.2 deletion in a patient with type I Chiari malformation and bilateral Duane retraction syndrome. Clin Genet. 2010; 77: 499-502. Smith SB, Traboulsi EI. Duane syndrome in the setting of chromosomal duplications. Am J Ophthalmol. 2010; 150: 932-8. Stark Z et al. Atypical Silver-Russell phenotype resulting from maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 7. Am J Med Genet A. 2010; 152A: 2342-5. Miyake N, et al. Human CHN1 mutations hyperactivate a2-chimaerin and cause Duane’s retraction syndrome. Science 2008; 321: 839-843. Demer JL, Clark RA, Lim KH, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging evidence for widespread orbital dysinnervation in dominant Duane’s retraction syndrome linked to DURS2 locus. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007;48:194-202. Demer JL, Clark RA, Lim KH, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging of innervational and extraocular muscle abnormalities in Duane-radial ray syndrome. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007;48:5505-11. Kato Z, Yamagishi A, Kondo N. Interstitial deletion of 1q42.13-q43 with Duane retraction syndrome. J AAPOS. 2007 Feb;11(1):62-4. Demer JL, Ortube MC, Engle EC, et al. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging demonstrates abnormalities of motor nerves and extraocular muscles in patients with neuropathic strabismus. J AAPOS 2006;10:135-42. Kim, JH, Hwang, J-M. Presence of the abducens nerve according to the type of Duane’s retraction syndrome. Ophthalmology 2005;112:109-113. Tischfield MA et al. Homozygous HOXA1 mutations disrupt human brainstem, inner ear, cardiovascular and cognitive development. Nat Genet. 2005 Oct;37(10):1035-7.Wabbels BK, Lorenz B, Kohlhase J. No evidence of SALL4-mutations in isolated sporadic duane retraction “syndrome” (DURS). Am J Med Genet A 2004;131:216-8. Borozdin W, Boehm D, Leipoldt M, et al. SALL4 deletions are a common cause of Okihiro and acro-renal-ocular syndromes and confirm haploinsufficiency as the pathogenic mechanism. J Med Genet 2004 Sep;41(9):e113. Gutowski NJ, Bosley T, Engle E. The Congenital Cranial Dysinnervation Disorders (CCDDs). Neuromuscular Disorders 2003; 13: 573-578. Al-Baradie R. et al. Duane Radial Ray Syndrome (Okihiro Syndrome) Maps to 20q13 and Results from Mutations in SALL4, a New Member of the SAL Family. Am J Hum Genet. 2002; 71: 1195-1199. Kohlhase J et al. Okihiro syndrome is caused by SALL4 mutations. Hum Mol Genet. 2002; 11: 2979-2987. Evans JC, Frayling TM, Ellard S and Gutowski NJ. Confirmation of linkage of Duane’s syndrome and refinement of the disease locus to an 8.8cM interval on chromosome 2q31. Hum. Genet. 2000: 106: 636-638. Gutowski N. Duane’s syndrome. Eur J Neurol. 2000; 7: 145-149. Appukuttan B., et al., Localization of a gene for Duane retraction syndrome to chromosome 2q31. Am J Hum Genet..1999;65:1639-46. Parsa CF, et al., Absence of the abducens nerve in Duane syndrome verified by magnetic resonance imaging. Am J Ophthalmol. 1998;125:399-401. Chew CKS, et al., Duane’s retraction syndrome associated with chromosome 4q27-31 segment deletion. Am J Ophthalmol.1998;119:807-09. Vincent C, et al., A proposed new contiguous gene syndrome on 8q consists of bronchio-oto-renal (BOR) syndrome, Duane syndrome, a dominant form of hydrocephalus and trapeze aplasia; implications for the mapping of the BOR gene. Hum Mol Genet.1994;3:1859-66. Cullen P, et al., Association of a familial Duane anomaly and urogenital abnormalities with a bisatellited marker derived from chromosome 22. Am J Med Genet.1993;47:925-30. Shauly Y, et al., Ocular and systemic characteristics of Duane syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 1993;30:178-83. The information in NORD’s Rare Disease Database is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of a physician or other qualified medical professional. The content of the website and databases of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is copyrighted and may not be reproduced, copied, downloaded or disseminated, in any way, for any commercial or public purpose, without prior written authorization and approval from NORD. Individuals may print one hard copy of an individual disease for personal use, provided that content is unmodified and includes NORD’s copyright. National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) 55 Kenosia Ave., Danbury CT 06810 • (203)744-0100
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in Australia, as in a number of other countries. We think though, that a huge amount of heart disease is preventable and exercise is an important way to do that. We know that exercise is so good for your heart, the day after my patients wake up from major open heart surgery, including a mechanical heart or a transplant, we get them exercising. Obviously noting too strenuous, but even just walking around our wards gives some benefits to heart health. Exercise is good not only for our heart but it has benefits for our whole body. Exercise has been shown to improve not only our hearts, but reduce our risk of cancer, dementia, diabetes and high blood pressure. It’s also great for our mental health, being great for preventing and treating depression. When it comes to our heart health, exercise is about as close to a cure all as you can get. Just like lifting weights at the gym, exercise helps strengthen the heart muscle and makes it more efficient. When you exercise, your heart rate climbs and your heart muscle squeezes harder, pumping out more blood with each heartbeat to your working muscles. The more you exercise, the more efficient and stronger your heart muscle becomes. For people who are elite athletes, we can even see the heart increase in size a little, just like our biceps! It also means at rest, our heart gets so efficient that it can beat a lot slower. Athletes sometimes have a resting heart rate of around 30 beats per minute (most of us are around 60-80 per minute). The other way exercise benefits our hearts relates to our blood vessels. When we exercise, blood rushes through our blood vessels much faster. This helps our blood vessels stay healthy by making them work a little harder too. The lining of our blood vessels release substances that keep themselves soft and supple so that even when we’re not exercising, our blood vessels can deliver nutrients much easier. Any form of exercise brings us benefits for our heart, whether it be walking, playing sport, swimming or dancing. Weight lifting probably doesn’t bring as many heart benefits as some of these other activities, but if you enjoy that, it still helps to keep us fit. Yoga is another exercise that is good for our hearts not just for the physical movement it brings but also for the mindful practice which aids in stress reduction. You also don’t need to be marathon running to get health benefits; even at a slow pace, just 5 minutes a day improves your heart health. The next question is obviously how much exercise do you need to do? The WHO recommends that we do 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week. Moderate means that you can have a chat but you could not sing. If you do high intensity exercise, you can do 75 minutes per week and this means that you could definitely not talk because you’re too out of breath. That being said, any moving you do is good for your heart, you don’t need to be a cross fit hero or a marathon runner. When it comes to heart health, just do what you like, what you’re good at and something that you can sustain. Whether that’s yoga, walking, swimming or dancing around the house. My rule of thumb for exercise is some is better than none and more is better than some.
FERNDALE LAKE. Ferndale Lake, once known as Ferndale Club Lake, is located in the Cypress River basin seven miles southwest of Pittsburg in southwestern Camp County (its center is at 32°57' N, 95°04' W). The lake was built in 1909 with the construction of the earthen Ferndale Lake Dam on North Lilly Creek and serves recreational purposes. It has a normal capacity of 1,414 acre-feet and a maximum capacity of 2,800 acre-feet. The surrounding flat to rolling terrain is surfaced by sandy and clay loams that support water-tolerant hardwoods, conifers, and grasses. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article."FERNDALE LAKE," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rof03), accessed September 05, 2015. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Ethics – the code of moral principles and values that govern the behaviors of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong. Ethics is difficult to define in a precise way. In a general sense, ethics is the code of moral principles and values that governs the behavior of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong. Ethics set standards as to what is good or bad in conduct and decision making . Ethics deal with internal values that are a part of corporate culture and shapes decisions concerning social responsibility with respect to the external environment. An ethical issue is present in a situation when the actions of a person or an organization may harm or benefit others. Ethics can be more understood when compared with behaviors governed by laws and by free choice . Exhibit illustrates that human behavior falls into three categories . The first is codified law, in which values and standards are written into the legal system and enforceable in the courts. In this area, lawmakers have ruled that people and corporations must behave in a certain way, such as obtaining license for cars or paying corporate taxes. The courts alleged that Enron executives broke the law for examples by manipulating financial results, such as using of balance sheet partnerships so improperly to create income and hide debt. The domain of free choice is at the opposite end of the scale and pertains to behavior abut which the law has no say and for which an individual or organization enjoys complete freedom. A manager’s choice of where to eat lunch or a music company’s choice of the number of CDs to release are examples of free choice. Between these domain lies the area of ethics. This domain has no specific laws, ye it does have standards of conduct based on shared principles and values about moral conduct that guide an individual or company. Executives at Enron, for example did not break any specific laws by encouraging employees to buy more shares of stock even when they believed the company was in financial trouble and the price of the shares was likely to decline. However, this behavior was a clear violation of the executives’ ethical responsibilities to employees . These managers were acting based on their own interests rather than their duties to employees and other stakeholders. In the domain of free choice obedience is strictly to oneself. In the domain of codified law, obedience is to laws prescribed by the legal system. In the domain of ethical behavior, obedience is to unenforceable norms and standards about which the individual or company is aware. An ethically acceptable decision is both legally and morally acceptable to the larger community. Many companies and individuals get into trouble with the simplified view that choices are governed by either law or free choice. It leads people to mistakenly assume that if it’s not illegal, it must be ethical as if there were no third domain. A better option is to recognize the domain of ethics and accept moral values as a powerful force for good that can regulate behaviors both inside and outside corporations. As principles of ethics and social responsibility are more widely recognized companies can use codes of ethics and their corporate cultures to govern behavior, thereby eliminating the need for additional laws and avoiding the problems of unfettered choice, A situation that arises when all alternative choices or behaviors have been deemed undesirable because of potentially negative consequences making it difficult to distinguish right from wrong. Source: New Era Management
Revision as of 08:27, 8 February 2010 by Lenny222 - is a vector graphics framework for producing non-interactive diagrams and charts - is pure-Haskell code - provides reusable highlevel components - supports essential file formats like PDF, SVG, EPS, etc. Boxes are used to define position and size of shapes. - used to define position and size of shapes After you've created a box, you can - shrink it - split it, with margins or no margins - merge with other boxes Some builtin-shapes mapped to a box grid: 1.3 Graphical attributes
Monsoons and cyclones FRIDAY NOVEMBER 07, 2014 A monsoon refers to a seasonal reversal of wind direction. In Northern Australia, south easterly trade winds characterise the Dry Season, which lasts April through November, and the wet or monsoon season is characterised by a north westerly monsoonal flow. The south east winds are moderately cool and very dry because they originate from the centre of the desert. They push the monsoon system north into South East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Heat from the western Pacific proceeds into the Indian Ocean, which reduces sea surface temperatures in the north of Australia, thereby reducing evaporation of water and making the air drier, which reduces rainfall just south of the equator for a few months. From late September / early October, above the Himalayas and Nepalese plateau, high air pressure forms and remains until the following March. Cold dry air descends blowing out to the south. There is a relationship between amounts of snow in the Himalayas and amounts of rain reaching NW Australia. By late October the flow from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean then to the north west of Australia, slows, stops, and may even reverse, as the Indian Ocean counter current flows west to east into the Timor gap. This leads to a large raft of relatively still water to the immediate north west of Australia. Under the tropical sun the body of water begins to heat. As sea surface temperature rise, evaporation increases and moist air from this region will eventually fall and develop into the Australian monsoon. With the change of seasons, as the sun’s path swings to the south from late October to March, the Pilbara to Alice Springs in the red centre heats up and the vast area becomes extremely hot. It takes several months for this heat over the landmass to reach its peak heat in December. This level is then sustained until late January or early February. The very hot air close to the land surface rises, leaving a region of lowered air pressure (as the air that was there has risen), and a heat low is formed. Heat lows only occur over large landmasses. Air flows in to fill this area of lower pressure and helps to pull the monsoon south over the Australian continent. The ensuing wet season lasts for about six months, between November and March. It is hotter than the dry season, with temperatures between 30C and 50C. This heat is added to by the high humidity caused by large amounts of water in the air. There is often a lot of rain, which frequently causes flooding. During the wet season there are usually two or three major monsoon events, from when the monsoon trough moves south over the land mass of north Western Australia. The trough may remain over the land for periods of one day to several weeks. It usually overlies the continent for about seven days, during which time strong north westerly winds blow and rain falls almost constantly. The later phases in February and March are often longer and more intense. According to aboriginal custom, in the Northern Territory in southeast Arnhemland, November and December always brought first rains, and then January to March constituted the brunt of the wet season. Predicting monsoons is possible by examining the Southern Oscillation El Nino cycle. Increasing and decreasing solar wind pressure expands and contracts the atmosphere like a bellows. This creates a push-pull effect that causes weaker tropical winds to stall or reverse and the Jet Stream to switch from low to high amplitude. Acting in accord, the moon swings closer and further away from earth on average every 4 years. The position of the moon can indicate how severe a season will be. In years when the moon is closer to earth the monsoons will often be more intense. The moon is typically averagely closer to earth during La Nina years. Strong La Ninas can signal wetter seasons. During El Nino the moon is often further away, causing a weakening of currents and a slowing down of air flows. It is typically when monsoonal activity and cyclones may reduce. In 2011 the moon was averagely closer to earth. It was the year that since 1900 it was averagely the 4th closest to earth. We know how destructive 2011 was, with the Japanese tsunami, Cyclone Yasi and Christchurch earthquakes. By 2013 the moon was further away but 2015 sees the moon drift slightly back closer. 2013 and 2014 have been neutral years, when monsoons have been late and cyclones fairly weak. 2015 is expected to be a weak El Nino year, and the moon will be the 26th closest since 1900. Tropical Cyclones should number about seven in 2015 (with 1-2 over WA) but mostly they will quickly lose their strength and dissipate to the east. The monsoon season should avoid December and extend from January to March, with most activity over January and February. It should be completely finished by mid April. The first TC develops in the Solomons in the first week of January but drifts to the southeast just as a second TC develops in the western Gulf. Then in mid Jan another starts in the northeast Coral Sea which affects central and southern QLD coasts before moving southeast to New Zealand. In the fourth week of February the 4th TC forms east-northeast of Cairns, followed at the end of February by a fifth TC forming in the north Coral Sea and again heading south-southeast towards New Zealand. In the second week of March, the sixth TC develops in the east-northeast region north of Townsville. Then, from the fourth week of March to first week of April, the last TC of the season develops in the Coral Sea and moves towards the QLD east coast.
As we exist in a world that is increasingly holistic when it comes to health, the question of whether we should vaccinate our dogs continues to spark interest. This is a very personal issue that needs to be made responsibly by the dog owner. For me, I have always vaccinated my dogs, and plan to continue doing so. Vaccines consist of the agent that is similar to the microorganism we want to destroy. It stimulates the immune system to recognise the pathogen and activates our antibodies to fight it. There are typically two types of vaccines for dogs in Australia. These are called Core and Non-core Vaccines. The most common core vaccine is the C3 vaccine (administered every 1-3 years, depending on exposure and lifestyle), which incorporates three different vaccines, namely for; distemper virus, canine adenovirus, canine parvovirus. Parvo is undoubtedly the most commonly known and arguably most devastating disease in dogs. The non-core vaccines (every 12 months) include protection against bordatella bronchiseptica (kennel cough), which is less commonly included these days, because even if your dog is vaccinated, they still may get the bacterial strain of kennel cough. In other words, your dog can still get sick. There is no doubt that we all love our dogs, and we do what we believe is right for them. As a behaviourist, vaccinating your dog allows you to engage your dog in experiences that help them learn how to safely exist in a human world. Puppies need to explore different environments and naturally become exposed to a range of pathogens, that are harmful; possibly even fatal. The main issue I have with the strict vaccination regime, is that the 16-week vaccination often prevents owners from exposing their puppy to environments that are essential for the ‘critical period’. There are ways that you can still engage your puppy in the world however, without risking their health and wellbeing. Taking them to friends’ houses with dogs who are healthy and vaccinated is a great way to help them socialise, as is puppy school (run by a reputable and qualified educational provider). Play music, fireworks and thunderstorm noises during their meal time. Expose them to different people and other animals through supervising them on your front yard and rewarding them for calm acknowledgement. There are a range of ways your puppy can learn about life without exposing them to dangerous diseases. Off lead parks in my opinion, are a definite ‘No No’ however! Vaccinations do of course come with risks. These can include; breathing issues, diarrhoea, vomiting, general lethargy and weakness. More severe but rare symptoms include; anaemia, reproductive complications and sarcoma (in cats). Additionally, Parvovirus is more common in rural locations, compared to urban areas. Some arguments are made against vaccinations, in that they are not necessary, because suburban dogs are less commonly exposed to these pathogens. There is always a risk that comes with vaccinating. The risk to not vaccinate in my opinion however, is arguably more severe. Parvo is easily transmitted and generally fatal, if not treated immediately. It can be spread from basic items such as footwear, bedding, food bowls and even food itself. Additionally, it can remain in the system for over 12 months, so regular boosters are required to prevent it. I have seen first-hand how devastating contagious diseases can be to dogs, believing the old adage that prevention is better than cure. If you decide not to vaccinate your dog, please be mindful of the environmental risks your dog faces, and actively work towards preventing them from such exposure. A fallacy to this mindset is that it may prevent you from exposing your dog to the wonders of the world, through fear of risking their health. Taking the responsibility to ensure your dog is happy, healthy and full of life ultimately comes down to you. Sometimes, our belief system is not necessarily what is in the best interests of our dependents. This includes our dogs, who through no choice of their own, depend on us throughout their lives. We must always do for them, what is best for them. What do you believe that is?
Exercise Science Laboratory UW Health Sports Medicine's Exercise Science Laboratory is designed to help you maximize your athletic talents and abilities. This unique laboratory, equipped with state-of-the-art technology and an expert staff trained in exercise physiology and biomechanics, is devoted to improving human performance. Using Technology to Evaluate Performance Using the same leading-edge exercise science that helps hundreds of University of Wisconsin athletes, staff at the Exercise Science Laboratory specializes in physiological tests that evaluate fitness and monitor conditioning programs. Tests, which typically include measurement of cardiovascular fitness, anaerobic threshold, anaerobic power and body composition, are carefully tailored to the needs and demands of the sport. Training and conditioning programs are then designed based on the results of the tests. Training for High School and College Athletes Our laboratory historically has provided over 1,000 tests annually on intercollegiate athletes from the University of Wisconsin. In addition, funded research includes evaluation and selection of the body composition methods for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Pediatric Fitness Clinic This unique program combines education with fun for children between the ages of 5 and 18 who have concerns regarding their weight, who want to improve their fitness and conditioning, or who have developed medical problems related to their weight (such as high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure). The Exercise Science Laboratory does not limit its work to more accomplished athletes. Our staff takes great pride in the work it does with younger children, as well. A prime example of this is the Stoughton FIT KIDS study, during which 50 overweight students from River Bluff Middle School were given alternative physical education options - lifestyle-based physical education. The hope was that, by participating in activities they enjoyed, the children would adopt a more active lifestyle. The results were promising. Study investigators found the kids exhibited: - A significantly greater loss of body fat - A greater increase in cardiovascular fitness - A greater improvement in fasting insulin
Report Domestic Abuse What is Domestic Abuse? Domestic Abuse is defined as any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over, who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This definition, which is not a legal definition, includes so called 'honour-based violence’, female genital mutilation and forced marriage. It is clear that victims are not confined to one gender or ethnic group. Domestic Abuse can encompass, but is not limited to, the following types of abuse: Controlling behaviour is a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour. Coercive behaviour is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or another abuse that is used to harm, punish or frighten their victim. Research shows that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men will experience domestic abuse at some point in their life. Domestic Abuse is much more widespread than many people realise and anyone from any background can suffer. Sometimes it is a one-off incident of violence or abuse, but more often it is a pattern of persistent abusive behaviour. Three Rivers District Council has a Domestic Abuse Caseworker (DAC) who works with medium to low risk victims of domestic abuse. This service provides free support without judgement and can help people explore their options and take actions at a pace that is right for them. Residents of Three Rivers can self refer in to this service. You can self refer to a DAC online at: Domestic Abuse or contact them on 01923 727141. Three Rivers also has an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) who supports high risk victims of Domestic Abuse within the Three Rivers District. The IDVA works with clients who are referred from other services or self referred to support them with safety, security, housing, civil remedies and criminal law. This service is independent and therefore the Police do not have to be involved. The service is free, confidential and non judgmental. You can self refer to an IDVA online at: IDVA Referral or by e-mail to: [email protected] or [email protected]. The main office can be contacted on 0300 790 6772 or the IDVA directly on 01923 727231. If they are not available please contact the central office listed above. You may also find some useful information and contact numbers listed below. Other sources of support Below is a leaflet that has been produced to help raise awareness of the local help which is available for those experiencing Domestic Abuse. The leaflet contains a list of useful contact numbers. If you have been the victim of abuse call 999 in an emergency. If it is not an emergency you can call the police on 101. You will be referred to a specialist Domestic Abuse Officer. You can also make a report to them online at www.hertssunflower.org/report-form Alternative support organisations There are also a number of websites and helplines available: - Hertfordshire Domestic Violence/Abuse Helpline 0808 808 8088 (Monday to Friday 9am - 9pm & Saturday – Sunday 9am – 4pm) - Watford Women's Centre 01923 816229 - Women's Aid 0808 200 0247 (24 hours) - Action on Elder Abuse 0808 808 8141 - Broken Rainbow 0800 999 5428 Support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. - Beacon 03000 115 555 Support and services for victims of crime - DeafHope 0208 772 3241 A specialist Domestic Abuse service for the Deaf. Text/SMS 07970350366 - Karma Nirvana 0800 5999 247 for support on Honour Based Abuse and Forced Marriage - Victim Support 0845 456 5995 - Sexual Assault Referral Centre 0808 178 4448 (for support if you have been raped or sexually assaulted) - National Centre for Domestic Violence 0800 970 2070 24hr emergency legal advice. - Male Advice Line 0808 801 0327 - Galop - 0800 999 5428 Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people. See our short video about what domestic abuse is: See our video about consent: Community SafetyCrime and Law Enforcement
Adolescent Weight And Growth Shannon Duffy (Registered Dietician & Child Nutritionist, Children's Hospital Los Angeles) gives expert video advice on: How do I calculate my child's BMI?; What is the BMI range for an underweight, normal and overweight child?; How do I encourage my child to maintain a healthy rate of growth and weight? and more... What is "BMI"? BMI is body mass index. Body mass index the measurement that we use, or a calculation that we use to determine whether your weight is appropriate for your height. In children, we then plot the BMI on a growth chart. In adults we look at that particular BMI number. What is a "BMI percentile"? A BMI percentile is a clinical indicator that we use to determine how your child compares to other children of the same age. For example, your BMI may be at the 50th percentile. That means that 50 percent of kids of your child's gender and your child's age will have a BMI less than your child, and 50 percent will have a BMI greater than your child. Is BMI calculated the same way for children as it is for adults? It's the exact same formula to obtain the BMI; what's different is in adults we just look only at the answer the formula produces, only at BMI. In kids, we take that BMI number, that answer the formula produces, and plot it on a growth chart based on their age and their gender. What is the BMI range for an underweight, normal and overweight child? The BMI range for children 2-20 years old is, on the growth chart, the third to the ninety-seventh percentile. If your child is less than the third percentile, than your child is underweight and malnourished. If your child's BMI for age is greater than the eighty-fifth percentile, your child is overweight. And if your child is greater than the ninety-fifth percentile, your child is at high risk of adult obesity. What is a "growth chart"? A growth chart is an indicator that we use to watch how quickly a child grows. The growth chart has been developed by the Centre for Disease Control. They conducted a study where they looked at all kids in America and evaluated how they grew. From that they were able to establish a growth chart showing a curve that coincides with how fast children should grow, how fast they should gain weight. Are all children measured against the same growth chart? There are different growth charts and in America we use growth charts developed by the CDC. There are various charts for different ages and each gender has their own growth curve. In the big wide world, the World Health Organization has been developing new growth charts that actually take in to account children all over the world. They are looking at how every child grows, so it is an international document. Right now, in America we only use the CDC charts and that's applicable only to childrens in America. Kids in Africa, or South America, or China, will probably have different growth rates and they may even have their own growth chart for that particular country. Can I use a growth chart to predict my child's future height and weight? Probably the simplest way to predict your child's height later on in life is to see where they are on their growth chart of height against age. You can assume, hopefully, that the kid's going to grow as they should. You can follow that curve until they're 18 years old, and you can estimate and have a guess at their eventual height. Otherwise, there's different formulas you can use to figure out future height, and your doctor will have those formulas. What is the "growth percentile curve"? The growth percentile curve is a line on the actual growth chart that indicates how a child should grow. That's our reference point on the growth chart. These are the growth percentile curves, and when we plot your child, we will find their age on the bottom. If they are seven years old and fifty two inches, for example, we'll follow the fifty-two inches along to the seven year old line, and if that is your child's height, then your child is between the ninetieth and ninety-seventh percentile. That tells me that 90% of boys who are seven years old have a height less than your child. 10% will have a height greater than your child. What's really important with growth charts is plotting over time and seeing how that child grows. Should I be concerned if my child's growth percentile changes? You definitely should be concerned if your child's height or weight changes off of the growth percentile curve that they've been on. For example, your child starts off at the 50th percentile for weight for age, meaning 50% of kids your child's age and gender weigh less than your child and 50% percent will weigh more. They may be growing following this 50th percentile growth curve, and then reach 11 years old and their growth starts to level off. Children's growth is not supposed to level out; their weight gain is not supposed to level out when they're 11 years old. That tells me that something is wrong. Vice-versa is also true. If your child is growing a lot, gaining weight along the 50th percentile, then suddenly reaching the 90th percentile, that tells me they're growing way too fast and they're getting way too many calories.
Robots Have Hoop Dreams At High School Competition Get Breaking News First MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – There is another big basketball tournament this weekend, and the players are all robots. The robots will appear at the University of Minnesota, where they will compete in the FIRST high school robotics competition. FIRST is an acronym that means: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. All the robots in the competition are constructed to shoot hoops. Watch the video above, captured by WCCO-TV photojournalist Gordy Leach, to learn about the competition and see how some of the robots operate. You can check out the robots at Williams Arena and Mariucci Arena on Friday and Saturday. The competition will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, with the championship matches from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition - adj. Very old or of long standing. from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License - adj. very old; having existed for a long time; ancient or well-established from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English - adj. of very long duration. - adj. having reached a desired or final condition as a result of standing for a period of time; -- of wines, whiskey, fruit, or cheeses. from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. - adj. belonging to or lasting from times long ago Sorry, no etymologies found. One international agency has implemented an age-old idea to empower people in new ways. Seated next to the Russian diplomat at a press conference in Moscow Friday, Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara responded icily: "The Northern Territories are age-old Japanese territory." In general, it's fine to fall back on the age-old trick of wearing black to look taller and slimmer, says image consultant Carol Davidson of New York City, but going all black can make a dull impression and rob the face of color. An urgent problem requires more than age-old solutions. It is even implicit in the age-old teachings espoused in nearly identical language by Confucius, Jesus, and Rabbi Hillel: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” The age-old basketball mantra is, "You can't teach size." I highly recommend this novel to epic fantasy readers looking for something new and unusual, sword and sorcery readers who love a good fight scene, fans of character driven fantasy, and anyone look for a fresh and innovative take on an age-old narrative. Man-made climate change, nuclear power and food waste are environmental problems which don't break down into the age-old two-party structure. In an age-old government shell game, tax increases are projected to cause big revenue gains, which governments rush to spend. More The Morning Line: Early Oscar Contenders The Art House vs. the Multiplex: Three That Walk the Line Limits also have been placed on campaigning—the age-old process where studios throw lavish parties and work the media in an attempt to gin up buzz for their nominees—during the period after the nominees are announced in late January.
High Speed Test High-Speed Uniformity (HSU) is defined as a measurement starting at a speed of over 50 km per hour and increasing to 250 km per hour or more. The essential characteristic of a test system used for this purpose is a high natural frequency of its mechanics as well as its measuring system. The test process for HSU is performed at a variable speed over a wide range. The measured load variations acting on the axle are ‘action forces‘ and ‘reaction forces‘. Here is a 1.20 min video of a HSU Testing Machine from Kokusai USA Inc. All these HSU values are extremely small at lows speeds – some times too small to consider. - Unbalance (centrifugal) force is an example of action forces and is also recognizable with an unloaded rotating wheel or on an unbalance measuring machine. Action forces are supported by the axle of the test wheel. - Reaction forces are, for example, changes in the dynamic displacement forces caused by the inertia of material thickness variations. They are generated when the tyre contact are in the pass-over zone from unloaded radius and vice versa. Forces generated by dynamic actions mainly include Radial Force Variation (RFV), and in particular Tangential Force Variation (TFV). TFV is almost completely due to inertial displacements at higher speed. In summary, with the HSU machine fitted with a measuring hub, the above mentioned load act together on the axle of the measuring hub, much as on the vehicle, where they act through the vehicle axle, causing problems due to vibrations. A tyre when braking, the moment of the resulting force in the contact surface, made up of the braking force and the wheel load, is balanced by the brake torque around the wheel center. As a result, the normal force acts just in front of the wheel center. Within the contact area a shear stress arises that increases until the adhesion limit is reached, after which it decreases broadly proportionally with the locally occurring normal stress. The tyre is the least understood component of a car. A good match between tyre and car is also generally determined subjectively, the test driver assessing handling based on concepts such as steering feel, controllability, feeling of safety and straight-ahead stability. There is very little standardization in these concepts, which means that vehicles can be ranked, but comparison of assessments made by different organizations is nearly impossible. An alternative approach is the objective tests, or open-loop test, in which a vehicle is fitted with instruments is given a clearly defined input such as a certain prescribed variation in the steering angle, for which vehicle behaviour is characterized by measured readings such as reaction times, the lag of certain variables in relation to the steering input, etc. An advantage of this approach is that these maneuvers can be imitated in simulation models, enabling the effect of design changes on vehicle behaviour to be accessed at an early stage. To test the tyre inside a laboratory, the tyre should roll over a road surface. One cannot build a test circuit in our laboratory, therefore have three road surface simulators: - Small test drum on which the tyre test trailer can be positioned. - Large test drum on which the dynamic test rigs can be mounted. - Flat plank tyre tester on which the tyre is rolling over a short flat road surface. The stationary slip characteristics are measured with the Delft Tyre Test Trailer. These experiments are carried out on the road or in the laboratory on the small test drum. Both pure slip as well as combined slip conditions can be measured. The flat plank machine is able to measure the quasi-static and the transient-tyre behavior. It is especially suitable for measuring ply steer, conicity and relaxation lengths. The tyre dynamics can not be measured with this test stand because the velocity of the tyre is very low. The following characteristics can be measured: - Tyre response due to longitudinal slip (constant or step change) - Tyre response due to lateral slip (constant or step change) - Tyre response due to road camber variations - The tyre stiffness characteristics (3 rotations and 3 displacements) (….to be concluded in Part 3) If you liked this article, please do share with your colleagues, customers and friends. And If you would like to be informed of our articles regularly, please register with us for free updates today. Do you have any blog suggestions? Let us know on [email protected]
Origins of the Village From the Chronicles Anglo-Normandy I 73 Freeman iii 86 1070 “William the King 'forgetting it would seem that such hatred might be deemed to savour of love, granted his wife's prayer and imprisoned Britric - transferring all Brictric's land to The Queen Matilda The Lordship of Tewkesbury, including the Manor of Clifford, thus became the property of Queen Matilda. Before her death, the Queen conferred the Manor of Clifford to Roger de Busli (or Bushley). (It is held by one authority that Roger's wife Muriel was in some way connected with Matilda) The Domesday Book Roger de Busli is registered as the Lord of the Manor of Clifford THE SURVEY “In Clifford are:- - 7 hides pertaining to the Manor of Tewkesbury - 3 carucates in demesne - and 14 villans with 5 ploughs - and a mill worth 12s - two acres of meadow Between the male and female serfs there are:- - 13 ploughs and a Church - and a priest with one carucature. The value 8l. now 6l. This land the Queen gave to Roger de Busli· It is geldible for 4 hides in Tewkesbury Immediately after the compilation of Domesday - , Roger de Busli and Muriel his wife granted Clifford formally to the Benedictine Abbey and Convent of St. Peter at Gloucester And the Parish deemed it none for Clifford to become:- CLIFFORD CHAMBERS - for the revenue from this land went to a specific office – that was - the Chamberlain. The Chamberlains duties were the clothing of the monks and the proper furnishing and upkeep of the Abbot's Chamber - and the Guest Chamber – for hospitality was one of the first duties of a monastery In 1266, four manors were contributing to the Abbot's Chamberlain - Clifford – Buckland in Devon – Guiting – and Hinton (see History of the Manor and Advowson of Clifford Chambers reprinted from the Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucester Archives) (This custom of bequeathing lands to monasteries became one of the recognised ways of avoiding death duties. A Monastery was as reliable a manor-lord. The monks were enlightened farmers and led the way in mediaeval agriculture.) Extent of the Manor of Clifford in 1226 There were five free tenants:- Robertus le Freman held by charter as an inheritance:-four virgates of land and two acres of meadow each of which virgates consists of 30 acres - paying 25 shillings and sixpence a year twice yearly . IF he dies the lord of the manor has his house, his armour and accoutrements if he has any - and IF on his death he leaves children under age, the Lord of the Manor has custody of his children and their lands, and controls their marrying. And IF when he dies his heir is legally of age, he, the son, is to pay homage to his Lord and perform whatever service is due with his land Radulphus de Eylestone lives on his land free - being one virgate of land containing 48 acres - BUT must follow the Earl of Warwick and do service for his lord at the Hundred of Kington and is liable for all services at the Court of Clifford. AND IF he dies, his heirs, land and hereditaments are subject to the same conditions as those of his senior in service Robert le Freman. Henricus son of the Smith holds:- one virgate of land containing 48 acres for the same service in all things as has been said for Randulphus AND IF through default of the said Randulphus and Henricus, the lord of the manor shall suffer loss, the same shall owe him full indemnity. Willelmus son of Symon holds one virgate of land containing 48 acres by charter and owes seven shillings a year for the same, paid twice yearly And he shall follow the court of Clifford. And if he dies all things shall be performed as for the said Randulphus. And he shall render whatever service is due with his land. William son of Robert -do- Others Two mills which were wont to return sixty shillings and sixpence quarterly will be in the hands of the lord of the manor on the feast of the Annunciation next, because then the leases of the said mills will terminate. William the Miller holds 12 acres of land for the term of his life and that of his wife, and returns thence ten shillings a year quarterly. He performs small customary duties which pertain to the land, instead of paying taxes. The whole ville of Clifford pays yearly sixpence in common for certain small pastures. Nicholaus Hentelove hold one messuage with courtyard and two acres of land and pays three shillings twice yearly. And he supplies labour according to the number of his animals. And he shall pay pannage (i.e. pay for the privilege of feeding his swine in the woods) namely for a full-grown pig one penny and for a young pig a halfpenny, until it is weaned or able to be weaned. And if he brews in order to sell, he shall give 12 gallons of ale per ton (ad tonnutum) or as toll or its equivalent And he shall redeem his son and daughter (i.e.pay merchet or a sum of money for freedom of marrying). He shall not sell ox or horse without leave. And when he dies his lord shall have his best beast by way of heriot (melius averium suam nomine haerieti) Adam Textor holds one messuage with courtyard and pays twelve pence twice yearly,. And he shall lift hay for his lord for four days, and it shall be worth two pence. And he shall do three bederipas (bedrip – a special duty at harvest time) and they shall be worth four pence halfpenny. And he shall perform other duties even as Nicholaus. William Marescallus holds - do- with one acre of land and pays -do- Alexander Sinne holds -do- and pays two shillings and sixpence twice yearly. And he does three bedrips of value fourpence halfpenny. And he shall help in lifting hay for his lord for four days to the value of two pence a day. All his other duties are similar to those of Nicholaus. Hugo son of Laurentii -do- -do- Thomas le Careter -do- -do- Christina Widye holds a like tenement and she helps with the hay for four days to the value of two pence per day. And she does three bedrips to the value of fourpence halfpenny. And pays two shillings and sixpence twice a year. And all her other duties are similar to those of Nicholaus. Matilda the widow of Galfridus -do- Christina Johannes Lasteles -do- Adam Bruggemon (Bridgeman) holds one messuage with courtyard and with certain pastures and pays two shillings twice yearly. And instead of all services he shall keep the bridge in repair. And there is there a certain annual toll from the whole ville of Clifford namely fifteen shillings of which ten shillings goes to the hundred of Theuk and five remains for the lord of the manor. William de Winnecote holds five cottages in fee to his lord and pays nine shillings yearly and no other service to his lord except to the Court of Clifford. And he pays homage to the Abbot of Gloucester and when he dies his lord the abbot has the custody of his rents aforesaid and of his heirs until they are of age. The sum of the rents of this class of tenant amounts to seventy-six shillings and six pence without the farm of the mills. Customary tenant: Be it remembered that he has a larger holding. (This sentence is written in red ink) Ricardus de Porta holds one virgate of land and half an acre of meadow, the virgate consisting of 36 acres. And he shall plough half an acre in the Autumn and half an acre in the Spring and he must harrow that land at seed-time. And it shall be worth fourpence altogether. And from the feast of St Peter in Chains he must in every week do manual labour for four days with one man, and for every day he is owed a halfpenny. And he shall provide transport to Gloucester twice a year to the value of eight pence. And he must also every week on the fifth or sixth day at the will of his lord provide transport to Hinetone and Boclande and he is owed for that day a penny halfpenny And he shall wash and sheer his lord's sheep for two days and is owed a penny for whatever work is allotted to him on those days. And he must scythe his lord's meadow for four days and for any further day's work he is owed a penny. And he must help in the lifting of the crops of his lord for three days and more if necessary and he is owed a halfpenny for whatever days that are not allotted to this work. And he must carry the crops of his lord for one day and he is owed two pence beyond the manual labour of that day which can be valued at a half-penny. And he must carry firewood wheresoever the lord shall wish and he is allotted one day for that work. And he must do two bedrips before the feast of St Peter in Chains with two men and they are worth three pence. And the total value before the autumn work is fourteen shillings and sixpence halfpenny And from the feast of the Blessed Peter in Chains to the feast of the Blessed Michael he must work at his master's board (in messe domini) for five days with one man and it is worth a penny halfpenny each day. And he shall do eight bedrips with two men worth altogether two shillings. And he must carry his master's corn twice a week for four weeks worth a penny halfpenny each day beyond the manual labour. And he must bring his lord's sheaves to the grange for one day worth a halfpenny. And he must furnish help according to the amount of his land and number of animals. And if he brews to sell he must give twelve gallons of ale (ad tonnutum) or its equivalent price. He must pay pannage for his pigs. He may not sell horse or ox without leave. He must redeem his son and daughter. And when he dies his lord shall have his best beast by way of heriot. The total value of his work in the autumn is eight shillings and a halfpenny. Walter son of Yvon holds one virgate of land containing thirty six acres, and he does everything even as the said Richard. It is to be noted that he has a larger holding. Each of the following 'holds one virgate and does everything even as the said Richard:- Henricus de Wilicote - Alicia Williames - Nicholaus de Middletone - Matilda Adam - Relicta Johannis Rondulf - Willelmus le Orl - Ricardus Palmerius - Ricardus de Ovetone - Thomas Rawe - Nicholaus le Orl - Bertram Belami - Robertus filius Willelmi - Sampson Neweman - Johannes filus Willelmi Item at Sileston: Galfridus de Forde holds one virgate of land containing 28 acres, and from the feast of St. Michael to the feast of St. Peter in Chains he must work with his hands every week for four days with one man, and it is worth a halfpenny each day. And he must supply transport twice a year to Gloucester, worth eightpence. And on the fifth or sixth day of each week he must supply transport to Hyntone or Boclande worth a penny halfpenny a day. And he must plough half an acre and harrow it at seed sowing; and he shall be free (of all other work) during his week of ploughing. And he shall tend and shear his lord's sheep for two days worth a penny. And he shall scythe his lord's meadow for four days worth twopence a day. And he shall help in lifting crops for four days worth a halfpenny a day. And he shall carry crops, and it shall be worth twopence beyond the manual labour of that day which may be taken as a halfpenny. And he must carry brushwood wheresoever his lord wishes. And he must do two bedrips before the first of August (ante Gulaustum) with two men and they shall be worth three pence. The rest he does even as Richard de Porta. Each of the following 'holds one virgate of land and does everything even as the said Galfridus' - Willelmus de Rye - Thomas le Orl - Rogerus Silvestre - Radulphus Frankeleyn - Alicia Mauger - Ricardus Newcomene - Robertus de Forda. Chrisina relicta Carectarii holds half a virgate of land and does half service in all things even as Galfridus. All the aforesaid customary tenants give an annual aid of twenty shillings, and all owed mill-carriage, that is to say mill-stones to the lord's mill or they gave in common thirteen and a farthing. Item – at Clifford there are four ploughs for the arable land in demesne and there are thirty six oxen for each plough eight oxen and four besides. It must be remembered that the lord of the manor owes defence and arbitration to his tenants; he must be able to protect their property and persons, and must also provide a court of justice in the hall of the manor-house. The successful working of the system depended on the personality of the lord of the Manor, whether these ancient dues remained constitutional or developed into tyrannical extortion.
Booklet 1: Executive Summary – Conclusions and Policy Implications by Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Chloé Carpentier, Angela Me et al. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), June 2017 In 2015 about a quarter of a billion people used drugs. Of these, around 29.5 million people – or 0.6 per cent of the global adult population – were engaged in problematic use and suffered from drug use disorders, including dependence. Opioids were the most harmful drug type and accounted for 70 per cent of the negative health impact associated with drug use disorders worldwide. The 2017 World Drug Report provides a global overview of the supply and demand of opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants and new psychoactive substances (NPS), as well as their impact on health. It highlights the scientific evidence for hepatitis C causing greatest harm among people who use drugs; and brings into view further diversification of the thriving drug market, as well as changing business models for drug trafficking and organized crime.
Gouldian Finches Information : The Gouldian finch, also known as the woman Gouldian finch, Gould’s oscine or the Rainbow oscine, could be a colorful passerine bird endemic to Australia. there is sturdy proof of a continuing decline, even at the best-known site near Katherine within the northern territory. giant numbers are bred in captivity, notably in Australia. within the state of south Australia, National Parks & life Department permit returns within the late Nineties showed that over 13,000 Gouldian Finches were being kept by aviculturists. If cypher to an Australia-wide figure this might end in a total of over 100,000 birds. it absolutely was classified as “Endangered within the wild”. This was as a result of the viable population size was calculable to be but two,500 mature people, no permanent sub-population was identify to contain over 250 mature people, which a unbroken decline was ascertain within the variety of mature people. It’s presently subject to a conservation program. Both sexes are bright colour with black, green, yellow, and red markings. The females tend to be less bright colour. One major distinction between the sexes is that the male’s chest is purple, whereas the female’s could be a lighter mauve. have distinctive colors. Their heads, sides and necks are gray, and their backs, wings and tail feathers are olive-green. Their undersides are pale brown. Beaks are achromatic with a blood-red tip. Their legs and feet are brownness. new hatch Gouldian Finches are pink and naked till regarding twelve days previous once the beginnings of feathers begin to look. terribly young birds even have blue, light beads on the edges of their beaks to assist their folks see them within the dark. are apprehensive birds typically evading inhabit areas. a comparatively quiet bird, the Gouldian features a high-pitch decision that can’t be detect over long distances. They need hisses, clicks and weakened whines for their songs. there’s an occasional sharp modification of the traditional decision once start. Throughout the courting ritual the male commences with beak-wiping, bobbing, showing off his good colours by ruffling his feathers and holding his body and tail erect. At constant time he expands his chest and fluff the forehead feathers. The feminine can typically do a small amount of beak-wiping throughout the ritual. Abundant of the courting takes place on a limb, typically followed by copulation in the nest. Each parents brood over the nest throughout the day, and therefore the female sits the eggs at the hours of darkness. There’s continually one parent with the nest, they relieve each other with the nesting decision. Gouldian Finches is not ground feeders and favor hunt from upright grasses. Semi-ripe to ripe grass seeds are a serious a part of the Gouldian Finches’ diet. They conjointly eat a range of insects as well as beetles, termites, flies, flying ants, and spiders in conjunction with their prey right from the net. They drink by ingestion. Gouldian Finches Information. Guardian health plays a serious role within the building : It is not just the cold that causes fatalities however a lack of knowledge of the bird itself. Although the Gouldian oscine comes from a tropical climate it will and it will acclimate itself to cooler climates and may breed additional without delay than a number of the opposite Australian finches. Breeding Gouldian finches in colder climates are possible. They even do remarkably well in England and even in colder places like canada, wherever they breed successfully conjointly. Guardians is acclimatize to varied climatic conditions if you know how to treat them correctly.
While researching this data, we found that for January 2019, we responded to 34 lift assists. Data showed that 24 of the 34 lift assists were for falls with no injuries; 16 of the 24 calls were for individuals over the age of 65. Additionally, the department responded to 41 calls for service that involved a fall with injuries; 31 individuals out of 41 were over the age of 65. When fire department personnel respond to an individual who has fallen, they discuss the events of the fall and educate the individual on what can be done to prevent other falls. Information from the National Safety Council states that falls are the third leading cause of unintentional-injury-related deaths for all ages and the No. 1 cause of death for those 65 and older. The fire department would like to provide the following tips to prevent falls at home and in the community: • Remove clutter, including extension cords and other trip hazards. • Always wear proper footwear and clean up spills immediately. • Place non-slip adhesive strips on stairs and non-skid mats in the shower and bathroom. • Install nightlights in the bathroom, hallways and other areas to prevent falls at night. • For older adults, install grab bars near showers and toilets. Install rails on both sides of stairs. • Talk with your doctor about fall risks and prevention. Stay safe and healthy! James M. Ponkauskas, deputy fire chief city of Janesville
Biomass is anything that is made of living or recently dead natural material. Biomass fuels can come in many different shapes and sizes. These fuels are called biofuels and can be specially grown crops or can be stuff that we normally think of as waste: dead trees, tree branches, lawn clippings, wood, bark, sawdust from timber mills and animal poo. One good thing about using this sort of waste is that instead of it being buried in rubbish dumps; this waste can be put to good use and turned into energy for electricity. This works by putting this ‘waste’ in a furnace and burning it. The heat from this fire is used to boil water that creates steam, the steam spins turbines within power generators to create electricity. When biomass is buried at a rubbish dump it decomposes releasing methane – a potent Green House Gas (GHG). In some countries they put special pipes into rubbish dumps and collect the methane gas from the rotting waste underground and use it to make electricity. A similar thing can be done with animals. As our hunger for all things meaty is on the rise we can capture the methane gas from the animal poo from farms and use that methane gas to make electricity. Some piggeries are now producing their own energy with surplus being sold back into the grid. Another alternative is to attach (somewhat entertaining) giant air bags to the backs of cows to collect their recently farted methane. The poor cow in this picture has been fitted with a “Rectal Methane-Collecting Backpack” which collects methane that can be used to produce electricity. While we’re on the subject of poo the same can be done at sewage treatment plants. So with all this good news, how come biomass isn’t getting a better run? Why aren’t we using more of it? It is renewable and it stops methane gas reaching the atmosphere. What are the problems with biomass and biofuels? One problem with biofuels is that, growing crops for fuel requires a lot of land and water. These crops are also subject to the weather. Unlike other clean energy sources biomass is unpredictable as the crops have good and bad seasons. Some farmers, attracted by higher prices, are swapping their food crops for fuel crops. This means that instead of growing crops to feed people they are growing crops to produce energy. This means there is not as much food for people. This is a contributing cause to food shortages in some parts of the world. Using biomass to create energy has other challenges like increased pressure from loggers to burn more and more native forest ‘waste.’ What part of the forest is waste? What should stay in the forest to naturally decompose to enrich forest soils? What is Australia doing about biomass and biofuels? Biomass is mainly used in Australia for low cost heating, especially in households without access to natural gas for heating. The wood that we use for burning in our fireplaces and in our pot-bellies (fireplaces, not our big tum-tum’s) is the main source of biomass energy in Australia. Some companies do capture gas from landfill and sewage treatment sites. Australia currently has more than 65 sites using landfill gas to generate electricity, and a further 50 that operate away from landfill dumps. Teachers…why not download of awarding winning and free access* classroom resources? Students… find out more about water in our fun digital toolbox!
When working entry-level jobs it can be difficult to contribute to a savings account. However, it is imperative for everyone to build up a savings safety net and therefore crucial for employment specialists to reiterate the importance of savings as a part of financial literacy training. Below are some resources to help you teach and encourage refugees to save: “Savings” is money that is set aside for a specific purpose such as buying a home or emergency income. Cash left over in a checking account after paying bills does not necessarily count as “savings,” especially if the money is going to be used later in the same pay period. Similarly, if a client “saved” $5 at the grocery store, they have not necessarily increased their savings, but rather refrained from spending what was planned. Saving is not the absence of spending; saving is the intentional act of setting money aside for a specific goal or purpose. Many financial institutions have developed initiatives that include a curriculum covering the basics of money management with specific lessons on saving. Here is a link to some of our favorites. As a part of financial literacy training, encourage clients to open a savings account the same time they open their checking account. When building a budget with a client, it is crucial to build in a line for savings, but how much should a client save each paycheck or month? The National Endowment for Education has developed several useful web-based tools, including Savings for Emergencies and Smart About Money. As clients enter employment, encourage them to put the appropriate amount of income into savings. Incorporating savings into financial literacy and job readiness courses assists refugees with their long-term self-sufficiency and independence. Whether to buy a car or a house, or just for an unplanned emergency, learning how to save is crucial to success.
Brett Justus, an ATP and FAA Gold Seal flight instructor, links the importance of humility to teaching. Although his counsel is specifically for flight instructors, the principle applies equally to Sabbath School teachers and issues of faith. He writes: “How does a good pilot become a good teacher? Books have been written on the subject. Learning to fly is a challenging and dynamic endeavor. Many subtle, personal skills are required to excel in fully and effectively molding safe, skilled pilots. “I think humility should be the first skill added to an instructor’s tool belt. When this attribute is embraced, the door will be open for all the other skills necessary to be a true teacher. “Revealing humility in your approach will help defensiveness end, so learning can begin. More of your students will complete their training if you assure them that you and others have struggled with certain areas, just as they are currently struggling. You don’t have to show your students what a great pilot you are. They already know you’re a skilled pilot. Show them what a good teacher you are by sharing specific instances of when you had problems with the current maneuver that they can’t seem to perfect. Then they will be encouraged and tell themselves, ‘If my instructor could get through this and get to where he or she is now, then I guess Ica do it too!’”
What is logic? What is the difference between inductive and deductive? Answer by Helier Robinson Logic is the study of validity, where validity is the necessary transmission of truth. In more detail, we have: a sentence is a grammatically correct structure of words, a statement is a sentence that is either true or false (not all sentences are statements: e.g. questions, requests, orders), a proposition is the meaning of a statement, and an argument is a structure of propositions (written or stated as a structure of statements) which is either valid or invalid. An argument consists of one or more propositions called its premises and a final proposition called its conclusion; and an argument may have intermediate propositions between premises and conclusion. An argument is valid if, given that the premises are all true, then necessarily the conclusion must be true also; if the conclusion could be, or is, false, given true premises, then the argument is invalid. (Note that when the words are used correctly, statements are true or false and arguments are valid or invalid: in everyday discourse these concepts are often confused.) Propositions may be simple or compound: compound propositions are one or more simple propositions joined together by connectives: such words as ‘not’ (meaning ‘it is false that…’), ‘and,’ ‘or,’ ‘if…then…,’ and ‘if…and only if…’. For example, if we represent propositions by upper case letters P, Q, R, etc. then we might have Not-P, P or Q, Q and R, If P then Q, and P if and only if Q. Finally, there are simple forms of argument, easily seen to be valid, which are standard argument forms. This is all a bit much to digest in one go, but some examples will help. Suppose we have the propositions ‘Pat is pregnant’ and ‘Pat is female’ and connect them in the form ‘If Pat is pregnant then Pat is female,’ which is true. In symbols this could be ‘If P then Q.’ Now we can ask what happens if P is true or if P is false. Obviously, if P is true then Q is necessarily true, so the argument form ‘If P then Q, and P, therefore Q’ is valid (written if full this is ‘ If Pat is pregnant then Pat is female, and Pat is pregnant, therefore pat is female); it is called affirmation of the antecedent. (Here ‘P’ stands for ‘P is true’; if we wanted to say that P is false we would write it as ‘Not-P’). On the other hand, if not-P then obviously Q could be true but also could be false (i.e. Pat could be male) so this argument form is invalid; it is called the fallacy of denial of the antecedent. We can also consider what happens if Q is true or Q is false. If Q is true then Pat is female but that does not mean that she is pregnant, so P could be true and could be false. This argument form, ‘If P then Q, and Q, therefore P,’ is called the fallacy of affirmation of the antecedent. But if Q is false we have ‘If Pat is pregnant then Pat is female, and Pat is not female, therefore Pat is not pregnant’ is clearly valid; this form is called denial of the consequent. So there you are. A very brief introduction to logic. There are more advanced branches of logic. For example, quantificational logic uses concepts such as all and some, and modal logic uses concepts such as necessarily and possibly. There is also traditional logic, due to Aristotle. All of this is available in any good logic textbook. Deductive logic is the logic that I have sketched in answering your previous question. It is valid. Inductive logic is not really logic at all, since it is invalid. The concept is due to Aristotle, who wanted to be able to derive general statements, such as ‘All men are mortal’ from less general statements, such as ‘Some mem are mortal’. Since all men who have ever lived and died so far have died, the latter statement is true; but the former one is not necessarily true. So to go from some to all is invalid. But the problem is that sometimes we want to make this move and claim that the conclusion is true. This occurs particularly is science, where a formula is repeatedly shown to be true, and is therefore generalised into a scientific law. How to justify this is called the problem of induction. Induction is in fact only a fancy name for generalization, and some generalisations are very bad. Superstition is generalisation from a coincidence to a supposedly universal truth: breaking a mirror or walking under a ladder bring bad luck, and touching wood or crossing your fingers averts bad luck. Stereotypical thinking is also bad generalisation, from a few examples. In fact, generalisation is animal thinking: animals that can learn, such as cats and dogs, do so by generalisation; a dog quickly learns that if you pick up its leash then it is going for a walk. In my view the problem of induction cannot be solved in isolation. What happens in science is that generalisations of empirical observations lead to scientific laws and theoretical scientists then try to explain these laws by inventing theories that describing their underlying causes. It is a most important feature of theories in the mathematical sciences that they are able to predict empirical things never previously observed. For example, Maxwell’ equations predicted radio, and Einstein’s special relativity predicted nuclear energy. The only way they can do this is by being true, and if they are true then so are the scientific laws that they are explaining, in which case the inductions to those laws is justified. Answer by Anthony Fahey Logic can be defined as that branch of philosophy that reflects upon the nature of thinking itself. Since all of philosophy employs thinking, logic is perhaps the most fundamental branch of philosophy. Philosophers have traditionally divided logic into two branches: (ii) deductive logic and (ii) inductive logic. Both are concerned with the rules of correct reasoning – or correct argumentation. Deductive logic deals with reasoning that attempts to establish conclusive inferences. That is, it attempts to show that if the reasons given are true, then it will be impossible for the inference based upon these reasons to be false. Such reasoning is called valid reasoning. Deductive logic, then, is concerned with for determining when an argument is valid. Reasoning which involves arranging knowledge, or information, into some kind of system is called logic. Philosophers divide logic into two branches: deductive and inductive. The simplest form of deductive logic, or reasoning, is called a syllogism. A syllogism, which means ‘linking together’, is an argument which contains two premises and an inference. The two premises, or propositions, must not be equivalent, so that neither of them can be derived from the other. That is, that an inference can be drawn from the first by the second. The third proposition, which is derived from the two preceding premises, is the inference. Thus, every syllogism must contain exactly three propositions. By use of the syllogism, deductive logic attempts to establish conclusive inferences. An inference is conclusive when reasons given make it impossible for the inference, based on those reasons, to be false. Such reasoning is called ‘valid’ reasoning. Deductive reasoning, then, is a system which is concerned with determining when an argument is valid. Syllogistic form of deduction is that which takes a general rule, or principle, with which we start and the reasoning consists in combining a related fact with the general rule through some characteristic which actually connects it with the rule. Let us consider an example of deductive reasoning, by use of the syllogism, in which the general rule is stated in the form of a universal affirmative proposition – that is a universally held principle. A. All men are mortal (general rule) B. Socrates is a man (related fact) C. Socrates is mortal (inference) From the above syllogism we see that A and B are the premises, while C is the conclusion. We also see that deductive reasoning moves from a general rule to a particular rule. This kind of reasoning can be described in the following way: A. All M is P (Major Premise) B. S is M (Minor Premise) C. S is P (Conclusion) The first and second propositions are the premises, while the third is the conclusion. It should be pointed out that each proposition contains four parts: a quantifier, a subject term, a predicate term, and a copula. For example, in the first proposition of the above syllogism ‘all’ is the quantifier, ‘humans’ is the subject term, ‘fallible’ is the predicate term, and ‘are is the copula. The copula is the word that connects the subject term to the predicate – it is usually the verb ‘to be. In this example, in the major premise, the subject, M, is used as a symbol of the common term which connects the two premises, and for this reason it is called the Middle Term (M for Middle): the same term appears in both premises. The predicate in the Major Premise, P (for predicate), is called the Major Term, and the Subject of the Minor Premise, S (for subject), is called the Minor Term. The conclusion consists of the Minor Term, S, of the Minor Premise and the Major Term, P, of the Major Premise. The two Middle Terms effectively cancel each other out. So the inference is always the subject term of the minor premise and the predicate of the major premise. Propositions, then, are made up, primarily, of a subject term and a predicate term. The predicate tells us something about the subject. For example, in the sentence ‘Socrates is mortal’, the predicate tells us that even a great man like Socrates cannot live forever. There are two kinds of predicate: analytic and synthetic. An analytic predicate does not tell us anything about the subject that we cannot conclude by analysis of the subject term itself. A synthetic predicate, on the other hand, does tell us something that is not contained in the subject term. ‘Socrates is a man’ is an example of an analytic predicate, in that we can deduce the truth of the predicate by analysis of the subject term, while ‘John is Irish’ is an example of the synthetic predicate, since we cannot draw the inference from the predicate. Validity and Truth Inferences are true or false: they are valid or invalid. It is possible for an inference to be valid, while the conclusion is false. Take the syllogism: A. All students are poor B. Some wealthy people are students C. Some wealthy people are poor The conclusion is clearly false, yet, on the basis of the premises, the inference appears to be valid. It is also possible for the premises and conclusion to be true, while the inference is invalid. For example, A. Some Englishmen are politicians B. David Cameron is a politician C. David Cameron is an Englishman Here we have the case where the conclusion is actually true, yet the inference is not valid. That is, the conclusion does not follow logically from the premises, or, to put it another way, the premises do not necessarily imply the conclusion. However, it is also possible for the premises and the conclusion to be false while the inference is valid. Take the example: A. All planks of wood are more intelligent than teachers B. Fido the dog is a plank of wood C. Fido is more intelligent than teachers In this case, although the conclusion follows logically from the premises, the premises are false. Thus, factual truth depends on whether the proposition corresponds to the facts. Validity does not. Hence, a conclusion is true if it agrees with the facts to which it refers. A conclusion is valid if the premises necessarily imply it. The issue of validity concerns the relationship of implication between the premises and the conclusions. That is, whether the relationship ‘necessarily holds’. Therefore, the issue is whether the premises necessarily lead to a conclusion. Where they do, the inference is valid, where they do not, the inference is invalid. The validity of an inference requires the identification and analysis of logical forms. In short, its validity is determined by the fact that the argument contains a firm, deductive structure. The argument is valid because, were the premises true, the conclusion would be true. On the other hand, to determine the factual truth of individual proposition, it is necessary to identify and observe the proposition’s content. To do this we must first establish the truth of the premises. This is not a logical task. Then we must establish that the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises; that is, we must determine whether or not the inference is valid. This is a logical task. If it is the case that both of these conditions are met, we must conclude that the truth of the conclusion is logically demonstrated. Thus we can say that the logically ideal rational case consists of two distinct steps: (1) you must prove the truth of the premises, and (2) you must show that the inference is valid. In a rational discussion a conclusion may be rejected on any one of the following three grounds: 1. The premises are false 2. The inference is invalid 3. The conclusion on the independent factual investigation can be shown to be false. There is another form of deductive reasoning or logic that should be mentioned at this juncture. That is modus tollens (from tollere: to remove): an inference from a conditional statement. This has the form of: If P, then Q. Q is false. Therefore, P is false. For example, I can say ‘If John is sick his mother will be at home. John’s mother is not at home, therefore he is not sick’. Thus we have the pattern of an inference from a conditional statement, together with the denial of the consequent, to the denial of the antecedent. In conclusion, it can be said that deductive logic is a study of deductive ‘valid’ reasoning: in a valid argument the premises provide ‘conclusive’ reasons for a conclusion and it is quite impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false. However, most of the reasoning we engage in falls short of this ideal. In both science and in everyday life arguments we use do not provide us with conclusive reasons for their conclusions. They may offer good reason to believe their conclusions, but they do not compel us in the same way as deductive arguments. The form of logic that deals with those arguments which do not allow us to arrive at conclusive conclusions is called inductive reasoning. Inductive logic is not concerned with rules for correct reasoning in the sense of ‘valid’ reasoning, but with the soundness of the inferences for which evidence is not conclusive. That is, while deductive logic is concerned with drawing particular inferences from general assertions, inductive logic is concerned with inferences from the particular to the general – and the inference of a general proposition from particular assertions can never be conclusive. For example, if we want to establish the truth of the proposition that ‘All Irishmen are mortal’, we can do this in two ways: either by deductive reasoning or inductive reasoning. Let us take deductive reasoning first. To do this we will turn to one of the most well known and well-used forms of deductive logic: the syllogism. A syllogism is defined as an argument which contains two premises and a conclusion – or, to put it another way – every syllogism must be composed of three propositions. The proposition which one is trying to prove is the conclusion of the argument. The other two propositions provide reasons for asserting that the conclusion is true. These propositions are called the premises of the argument. Now let us return to the example “All Irishmen are mortal”. To prove whether the premise is valid by deductive logic we set up a syllogism thus: A. All Irishmen are human beings B. All human beings are mortal C. All Irishmen are mortal Here we have an inference from the assertion about all human beings to an assertion about some human beings. That is, from the general to the particular, which is, of course, deductive reasoning. On the other hand, one may not accept that ‘All Irishmen are mortal’ is true. It may be the case, you might argue, that we cannot know this for certain until after every Irishman is dead. So, in order to establish whether ‘All Irishmen are mortal’ we need to take a different approach. That is, we need to argue from the particular to the general. If we accept that (a) ‘Every Irishman born before 1830 is dead’, and (b) that ‘Irishmen are still dying’, we can conclude that the proposition ‘All Irishmen are mortal’ is true. However, unlike the reasons provided by the deductive argument, the truth of these reasons does not establish with certainty that ‘All Irishmen are mortal’. It is still possible that (a) and (b) are true, and yet that there is some Irishman alive today or one born in the future, that may be immortal. Inductive logic, then, is not concerned with valid inferences, but with inferences which are probable, given as evidence the truth of certain propositions upon which they are based. Inductive logic has one of its most important uses in connection with science. The scientist employs deductive methods, and even intuitive guesses, to investigate the world, but it is inductive logic that it the scientist’s most important tool. For example, Galileo described the rate at which a particular body accelerated when he dropped it. He then dropped other bodies and in each case measured their rate of acceleration. If we reconstruct this activity, we might say that he arrived at a number of true individual statements describing the rate at which particular bodies accelerated. He noticed, for instance, that body A, when dropped, accelerated at a rate of 32 feet per second per second; body B fell with the same acceleration, so did body C, and so on. Thus, from the truth of particular propositions he inferred a general truth of nature, sometimes called a ‘law of nature’. He inferred that all bodies dropped would fall with an acceleration of 32 feet per second. In short, we can say that inductive logic is a theory about what reasons provide evidence for a given conclusion’s truth when the reasons in question are not conclusive ones. Answer by Caterina Pangallo The difference between inductive and deductive is this: Inductive refers to the real world, where you have experiences and collect facts. Over time you will notice similarities between some experiences and facts, and then you may wish to group them together. This is called inductive inference. Actually what you are doing is to make a deduction from the occurrence of similar facts, but usually we keep the word deductive out of it, because it fits formal logic better. A really good example of induction is this: we have been observing ducks, geese and swans forever, and we noticed that swans are always white. So we group all swans together and state, inductively, and make inference such as ‘all swans are white’ . There are two issues with this. The first is that we cannot be sure that we have seen all swans in existence. We could be wrong with our definition. Then later black swans were discovered in Australia which shows that inferences from inductions are not 100% truth. On the other hand the importance of induction is that we can discover things, acquire knowledge and make classifications as to what belongs together. In this way we organize the facts of the world for the benefit of our knowledge and convenience, for survival and exploitation. As I said inference and deduction are much the same. But when we use logic exercises we use a very formal way of arriving at a conclusion. We start with a premise that every one agrees to e.g. all humans are mortal. Then we can deduce from the fact that Socrates is human that he must be mortal. Another example is this: Premise: ‘all nations occupy a land mass’ Minor premise: ‘the moon surface is a land mass’ Conclusion: ‘therefore all nations occupy the moon’ From these two examples you can see that deduction does not refer to the world, but is a mechanism of truth finding down to a conclusion. If the deduction is done correctly the result must be true. So why the nonsense conclusion in second example? It is because deduction relies on the premises. If any premise is false than the answer will necessarily be rubbish, so deduction by itself cannot help us with the truth. As it is a formal device, and strictly regulated, deduction can only give you the truth if the truth is already in the premises. (In science it is the best way of making sure that experiment and research are free of self contradiction.) Let me give you another example: The fundamental doctrine of the Christian’s church is, (premise) that all believers will be saved, (minor premise Cathy is a believer,) (conclusion) therefore Cathy will be saved. This is a valid conclusion for Christians. It is a truth resulting from a truth premise. However the idea of being saved is not a fact in the world, it is an idea in the minds of people. So this proof is absolute evidence for Christians, but worthless to those who don’t believe in salvation. So to conclude: Induction refers to the world of facts. It consist in classifying those facts by inferences based on sameness and difference. Deduction comes after and uses formal logic to test the truth of the inferences. Both methods are vulnerable. Inductive inference is limited to the results of human experiences, and deductive logic is absolutely dependent on the prior truth of its premises.
When I’m building something “quick,” it never fails – I need to cut some plywood after I’ve put the power tools away. The first few times, I sighed before lugging the circular saw or table saw back out. But then I thought of something far more portable – and still out with my tools. Can I cut plywood with a hand saw? Hand saws can be used to cut plywood safely and effectively in most projects. Hand saws like the Japanese saw, Coping saw, crosscut saw, rip saw, and keyhole saw all have different purposes in cutting plywood in any of the most common DIY projects. Ready to talk about cutting plywood the easier, more effective, and safer way? Let’s save you the learning curve I had to handle. Let’s do this. Handsaws Can Cut Plywood A hand saw is one of the integral tools without which the woodworking toolbox is incomplete. It is an effective tool to cut different woods, including various types of Plywood. However, cutting woods can refer to a wide variety of jobs, including sawing through plywood or cutting a clean hole in a wood sheet, so it is essential to choose the right type of hand saw for the right job. Along with choosing the right tool, it is important to choose the precise characteristics of the tools well. For instance, the hand saw’s teeth contour, shape teeth-per-inch (TPI)should be selected considering the specific task to be carried out. These considerations are not absolutely necessary since any hand saw can cut a piece of wood, but these measures will ensure optimal performance with minimal effort. What Saw is Best for Cutting Plywood? There is no one best saw for cutting plywood. As mentioned above, it is possible that a particular saw works perfectly for one explicit task but fails to deliver the same output for another. This is why, the two criteria of saw type and its characteristics, should be considered while choosing the tool. Table 1 below provides a brief summary of different types of hand saws and what they’re best used for. \|Hand Saw Types\|\|Best Used For\| \|Japanese Saw\|\|1. Cutting planks, making patterns and curves in the plywood.\| 2. Woodwork involving moderate-level heavy-duty ripping and crosscutting. \|Coping Saw\|\|1. Operations on plywood with up to one-fourth of an inch thickness.\| 2. Making precise and intricate cuts as well as cutting joints. \|Tenon Saw\|\|1. Making mortise and tenon joints.\| 2. Cutting angled portion of a miter and dovetail joint. \|Crosscut Saw\|\|1. Best for woodwork that involves cutting the wood grain across the plywood instead of cutting along it.\| \|Rip Saw\|\|1. Making less intricate and rough cuts\| 2. Woodwork which involves cutting the wood grain along the plywood. \|Keyhole Saw\|\|1. Poking holes and cutting small traced-out shapes in\| 2. Tasks without a lot of space. The most important characteristic to consider, when deciding on a saw, is Teeth-per-inch (TPI). If you’re working on a project which requires fine and detailed cuts then you should consider saws with a higher TPI count, such as a Coping saw. On the other hand, if you’re using saws to prune branches or to perform other less precise tasks then a saw with less TPI should be preferred. Normally, blades with four to seven TPI should give out clean cuts. However, the key point to note here is that there is a tradeoff between precision and speed. With high TPI, you will get more precise cuts but the finer blade will get the job done in a gradual manner. Similarly, a low TPI blade has wide gaps between the teeth which helps in tearing out more wood with a single stroke, but the end result will not be clean. How Do You Cut Plywood by Hand? Following are the main steps that will help you cut plywood with ease and without any tear-outs or splinters. Step 1: Mark the Cut Make a mark on the plywood where you want to make the cut. This will serve as a reference when you start sawing. Step 2: Clamp the plywood Next, clamp your plywood on a flat surface structure so that it does not waver while cutting. Wobbling plywood may cause splinters and uneven edges. Step 3: Carve a notch Use your thumb as a reference and make a notch on the marked line. This will create an indentation to help you start the cutting process. Step 4: Make the cut Place your blade on the indentation and start cutting with a smooth and periodic sawing motion. Gradually apply gentle pressure with each stroke to cut through and make sure your saw remains at an acute angle with the plywood to avoid breaking the back of it. Once you are at the end of your mark, hold the cutting portion so that it does not break off as you complete the cut. How Do You Cut Plywood Straight with a Hand Saw? The aforementioned four steps will help you make any kind of cut but the principal thing to consider while making a straight cut is that, you should hold your body correctly in relationship to the hand saw. Your shoulder should be aligned with your hand because if it is at angle then your saw will not point in the straight direction which will result in an angled cut. After correcting your posture, start the saw with a pull and let the weight of the saw cut through the plywood. With your aligned body, follow along the plywood and you will end up with a nice and clean straight cut. What Can I Use to Cut Plywood? Woodworking tasks that involve plywood usually require it to be cut down to the right shape and size. Along with hand saw, there are many tools which can be used to cut plywood, including circular saw and jig saw. Circular saw, as the name implies, uses a circular blade to do the sawing. However, the problem with circular saw is that, its bulky shape may block the field of vision and for beginners this might cause them to make errors while cutting a straight line. Moreover, circular saw rotates at 120 mph and if they are not used carefully then serious damage can be done. A Jig saw is another useful tool which can be used to cut plywood. If the woodworking task is to cut the plywood into intricate designs then there is no better option than jig saw. The important thing to note with jig saw is that before you start sawing, you should check if the length of the jig saw cord is at least equal to the length of the cut you are making because a shorter cord will mean that you will not be able to complete the required cut. Final Thoughts on Cutting Plywood with a Hand Saw Now, having the right hand saw for the job really makes a huge difference in how easily you can get the job done. Was I able to get the job done with a hacksaw and a drywall saw, like shown in the earlier picture? Well, not very well. But once I got out the right hand saw for the cut, it went a whole lot faster – and easier. It’s still not quite as easy as using a circular saw, but it’s sure a lot nicer than lugging out an extra tool when it’s a quick cut. Can you sharpen an axe with a knife sharpener? In general, it’s not advised to use a knife sharpener for axes, as it can impact the axe geometry. Axe geometry is vital to how it cuts, so it’s best to use a sharpener that will maintain and enhance the right shape to the axe’s edge. Read more about sharpening axes – and when it’s ok to use a knife sharpener on axes here. Can a garden hose handle hot water? Generally, garden hoses can handle water temperatures up to 140-190 degrees Fahrenheit, though those temperatures can scald human skin or plants. For more information on the kinds of water and weather temperatures that hoses can handle, make sure you read my article on hoses here. Can a circular saw cut tile? Circular saws can generally and safely be used to cut tile, when you use the right kinds of circular saws and blades. Make sure you get the right stuff – and start by reading my research on circular saws for cutting tile here. Cite this article as: “Can a Hand Saw Cut Plywood?” Backyard Homestead HQ, 14 April 2021, backyardhomesteadhq.com/can-a-hand-saw-cut-plywood/. It’s important to learn from your own experience, but it’s also smart to learn from others. These are the sources used in this article and in our personal research to be more informed as homesteaders. 🙂 - Uk.rs-online.com. 2021.A Guide to the Different Types of Hand Saws \| RS Components. [Online] Available at https://uk.rs-online.com/web/generalDisplay.html?id=ideas-and-advice/hand-saws-guide. - Mr. Handyman. 2021.How to Cut Plywood \| Mr. Handyman. [Online] Available at https://www.mrhandyman.com/tips-ideas/what-is-plywood/how-to-cut-plywood/. - Luoma, B., 2021.7 Best Handsaws For Plywood [Find What Works For You]. [Online] Gizmo Plans. Available at: https://www.gizmoplans.com/best-handsaws-for-plywood/. - Wikihow.com. 2021.3 Ways to Saw Straight -wikiHow. [Online] Available at https://www.wikihow.com/Saw-Straight.
The concept of distributed systems comes from Distributed computing which is a branch of computer science. A distributed system makes use of a large number of autonomous computers that connects with each other with the help of computer network. There is a common objective which all the computers target while interacting with each other. Distributed program is yet another term which is used in distributed system that refers to the computer program which is present in the distributed system. Distributed program and Distributed programming are different terms and so serves different purpose as distributed programming involves the process in which programs are being written. When distributed systems are used to fix the computational problems, it is known as Distributed computing. Distributed computing solves the problems by sharing it among all the computers where individual computers are responsible of fixing individual problems. Whether it’s for “distributed programming” or “distributed algorithm”, the word “distributing” means the computer networks were each of the computer are physically distributed within a particular geographical location. With the change in time, the meaning of the term has also changed as nowadays it also refers to the autonomous processes which run on the system and it’s message passing which helps them to communicate with each other. Unfortunately, Distributed systems have not being defined by the experts of computer science but there are some general properties which are used for distributed system:- · Message passing helps the computation entities in their communication process. · Most of the autonomous computation entities consist of their individual memory. ‘Computers’ or “nodes’ are the terms which are used for computation entities. Distributed system intends to accomplish one main objective which is to find a solution for the computational problem. Every individual system is controlled by individual operators who have their own requirements and the role of the distributed system is to help the user with all the communication services which their operator needs. Properties of Distributed Systems · Experiencing failure problems in every individual computer is one of the most common problems which can be found in the system. · It is not possible for the system to know the structure of the system in advance. Structure of system includes the network latency, network topology and number of computers. Different types of computers and wide range of network links are being used to make the system; it may change when distributed program is being executed. · Every computer has knowledge only on a single part of the input; they have a short view of the system. Parallel computing and Distributed computing Distributed systems are sometimes known as network computers which are operated with the help of the same processors. Overlapping exist among “concurrent computing”, distributed computing”, “parallel computing” where one could not see any distinction which is present among them. “Parallel” and “distributed”, both these terms can be used for the same system where the processors present on the distributed system would run in a parallel way. Parallel computing can be described as a tightly-coupled form of distributed computing whereas distributed computing is the opposite of parallel computing with its loosely coupled nature. Our email-based homework help would guide the students with all the essential study notes to get good grades in the exam with their deeper understanding of the concepts for any assignment help. Transtutors.com has all the study materials which you would get at reasonable rates with all the answers to your computer science questions so that you get the practical knowledge the economic system sand clear all the doubts of the subject. Our teachers are qualified and give the best guidance to students providing distributed systems homework help or assignment help.
When patients are diagnosed with a brain tumor, the first thing they want to know is why. They often try to pinpoint a source. “What caused this? Was it my cellphone?” Unfortunately, when it comes to telling patients what caused their brain cancer, I often don’t have an answer. But when they ask if it was because of their cellphone, I can tell them it almost certainly was not the cause. Cellphones and cancer Overall, the current research does not support a definitive link between cellphones and brain tumors. Some studies have shown weak associations between brain cancer and cellphones, but nothing causative. In other words, while someone with a brain tumor may have had a cellphone, no one has proven that the cellphone caused the tumor. Health organizations tend to agree. While the World Health Organization has classified the radiation that cellphones emit as “possibly carcinogenic,” it put the cancer risk in the same category as coffee and pickled vegetables. The American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Food and Drug Administration agree that scientific research as a whole has failed to show a relationship between cellphone use and cancer. They also agree that more research is needed. Another reason to suggest our cellphones aren’t giving us brain cancer is that while cellphone use has increased over the years, brain cancer rates have not. Also, today’s cellphone models emit less radiation than those huge monstrosities we used to carry around. Also because people now are texting more than actually talking on the phone, over time I think we will see a decreasing association between cellphones and brain cancer. Brain cancer risks and symptoms If cellphones don’t cause brain tumors, what does? In only a very small number of brain cancer patients can we point to a specific exposure to radiation as the cause. For the overwhelming majority of patients, we’ll never know for sure. Risk factors for brain cancer are not as defined as they are for cancers in other parts of the body. We think brain cancer develops through a combination of factors that include age, genetics, mutations caused by the environment or cancer spreading from another part of the body. Early brain tumor symptoms No matter the cause, it’s important to detect it early. Headaches are the most common early symptom of a brain tumor. Patients should visit their physician if they experience a sudden onset or change in pattern of headaches accompanied by other symptoms such as: - Numbness in the arms or legs - Vision problems - Nausea or vomiting - Difficulty speaking or finding the right words Every day I witness the struggles of those affected by brain tumors. I’m passionate about finding a cure and improving the lives of people who battle this disease.
This article was written by Christopher Kent, D.C., FCCI and appeared in the March 2000 issue of The Chiropractic Journal: When questions of vaccine efficacy have arisen, I've often been asked, "But what about polio? I remember the braces, the iron lungs, the crippled children. They disappeared after the Salk vaccine." The error is confusing correlation with cause and effect. The incidence of polio was decreasing before the Salk vaccine was administered. Following the administration of the Salk vaccine, there was an increase in the number of polio cases, followed by a continuation of the natural decline that pre-dated the vaccine. Proponents of polio vaccine conveniently ignore previous polio epidemics, where the disease all but disappeared in the absence of a vaccine. Let's look at some polio statistics. In 1942, the epidemic of the first half of the century subsided, and there were fewer than 5,000 cases of polio in the United States. Around 1948, the number of polio cases began to soar. Interestingly, this is about the time the pertussis vaccine appeared on the public health scene. Polio reached a high in 1949, and then began its natural decline. In 1949 there were nearly 43,000 cases of polio. By 1951 the number had dropped to below 28,000. Following a government-subsidized study of polio vaccine, the number soared to an all-time high of more than 55,000 cases. A "bad batch" of vaccine produced by Cutter Laboratories was deemed the cause of many cases of polio. Fortunately, better quality control procedures governing the inactivation of the virus were initiated, and the number of cases continued to decline. Of course, the vaccine got the credit -- not nature. An even more interesting abuse of statistics becomes apparent when perusing polio statistics. The diagnostic criteria and reporting procedures for the disease changed. In the 1950s, the sophisticated virological techniques of today did not exist. And the technology that existed was rarely available to practicing physicians. Therefore, most diagnoses were based upon clinical observation, not sophisticated virological studies. Since polio was epidemic, most physicians were cavalier in making a diagnosis of "non-paralytic poliomyelitis" in children presenting with vague symptoms of muscle aches, malaise, and fever. Since polio was "going around", such children must have had polio. Today, they might be diagnosed as having influenza, again in the absence of laboratory confirmation. And like influenza today, most cases of polio were self-limited. The cases progressing to the paralytic form got the publicity. Interestingly, as the number of polio cases decreased, the number of meningitis cases increased. Consider these figures from the Los Angeles County Health Index: Morbidity and Mortality, Reportable Diseases (listed here by date, followed by number of cases of a)viral or aseptic meningitis, b)polio): - Jul 1955 a)50 b)273 - Jul 1961 a)161 b)65 - Jul 1963 a)151 b)31 - Sep 1966 a)256 b)5 (5 year median) - Oct 1966 a)312 b)3 The authors of this publication offer an explanation for this rather strange inversion of figures: "Most cases reported prior to July 1, 1958 as non-paralytic poliomyelitis are now reported as viral or aseptic meningitis." In another masterful example of faulty reasoning, it was concluded that since the vaccine had "wiped out polio", children with similar symptoms must have something else -- meningitis! The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was a killed virus vaccine. The oral polio vaccine developed by Albert Sabin and until recently used routinely in the United States, is a live virus vaccine. Public health authorities acknowledge the fact the it can and does produce paralytic polio in a small number of recipients. Yet, they promoted it over the safer Salk vaccine because it is easier to "sell" parents on a one-time regimen of an oral vaccine over an injected vaccine where "booster" doses are recommended. The oral vaccine is also said to confer "herd immunity". Vaccine recipients infect unvaccinated persons, thus increasing the immunity of the "herd". What is the risk of contracting naturally occurring polio? According to Jonas Salk, the current live virus polio vaccine developed by Dr. Albert Sabin was "the principal if not the sole cause of the 140 vaccine cases reported in the U.S. since 1961. At the present time the risk of acquiring polio from the live virus vaccine is greater than from naturally occurring viruses." 1)The number of polio cases was declining before the widespread administration of the Salk vaccine. 2)Cases which had previously been reported as polio are now reported as meningitis. 3)The risk of contracting polio from the live virus vaccine is greater than the risk of acquiring the disease from naturally occurring viruses. Today, medical authorities are recommending a return to the injectable Salk vaccine. However, the live virus Sabin vaccine will probably still be used in developing countries. A chilling legacy of the live polio vaccine may be the virus associated with AIDS. Edward Hooper's book "The River: A Journey to the Source of HIV and AIDS" suggests that AIDS may be the result of a live virus polio vaccine administered in Africa in the 1950s. According to Hooper, the vaccine may have been contaminated with a simian (monkey) virus. This virus is thought to have evolved into the HIV virus. Although the theory is controversial, it demonstrates how the potential risk of vaccines may not become evident until decades after their administration. 1. Kent C, Gentempo P: "Immunizations: fact, myth, and speculation." International Review of Chiropractic. November/December 1990. 2. Hooper, E: "The River: A Journey to the Source of HIV and AIDS." New York. Little, Brown and Company. 1999.
A Definition I’m Com-fort-able With “The outer defenses are wea— “The outer defenses will hold! You need to start planning the counter offensive and stop worrying about the integrity of the base” “Yes, sir, on it sir. The enemy approaches! Prepare for defensive measures?” “Yes lieutenant, ready the archers.” WHO WANTS MILK AND COOKIES? Andrew the Conqueror, my older brother, poked his head out of our blanket and cushion fort; he was mortified. “MOMMM! NOT NOW!” Andrew and I never played cops and robbers. We played Fort. I loved Fort; it got me through 11th grade. Kidding. But seriously, Andrew and I defended that Fort with our lives. Were we participating in a game, or was this simply play? Or was it a desperate attempt to fill our heads with illusions of grandeur because we were too afraid to talk to girls? It was probably the latter, but we’ll focus on the first question: Game or Play? For something to be a game, it must only follow one rule: there are rules. All parties involved in playing the game must agree on these rules. Once these rules are broken, the game collapses, and the activity is now play. If the America is a Gamespace, then play would be chaos. Forget that entire chart we saw in class. The only true indication of a game is whether there are rules. Fort is game: Andrew and I knew we had to be in the Fort at certain hours of the day, the Fort must be defended at all costs, and leaving the Fort would result in certain death. There was no quantifiable outcome but there were two parties agreeing on a rule set. A kid jumping on a trampoline is play, but it is not a game. There are no rules governing how the kid must jump. I can hear Thumser complaining about it now. “But the trampoline could be game where your knees are one person and the trampoline is the other and you all agree on gravity and pain.” My brilliant opinions only work if you use true definitions and don’t stretch the truth. By stretching definitions I could prove Winston Churchill was a carrot (http://www.koschei.net/blog/archives/000695.html) or that girls are truly the Root of all Evil. As the real Homer once said “Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true. ” Instead, defining a game requires reason. I think of it as my Big Lebowski Theorem (“This isn’t Nam, Donnie. There are rules”). Are there truly rules on which all people agree? If yes, you’re in a game. If not, then it is just play…or Nam.
Recently, the name Lyocell is popping up increasingly often. Over the past couple of years, it has become a common ingredient in blended fabrics, especially with cotton and linen. I first saw it in summer shirtings from the likes of Charles Tyrwhitt. In the tailoring world, cut-length shirting fabric makers are starting to utilise it also. Having seen the name pop up now and again but never hearing much about what was behind the name, I decided to look further into this new fibre. Lyocell is the catch-all name for the fibre which was first introduced to me as Tencel; this being the name of the lyocell fibre manufactured by its primary maker Lenzing AG. Like rayon, it’s a semi-synthetic fibre, rather than a fully synthetic material like polyester, made with a byproduct from wood cellulose. It’s said to be more environmentally friendly than the likes of rayon, which despite being partly natural, is quite harmful to manufacture. I was once told that rayon manufacturing is perceived as being so harmful that there is currently a moratorium on construction of new rayon factories, but was unable to substantiate that for the purposes of this article. Unlike rayon, which is produced by significantly altering the chemical structure of cellulose, lyocell is made by solvent spinning, leaving the cellulose structure relatively unchanged. An interesting passage from the website linked in the above sentence: The manufacture of lyocell produces no harmful byproducts and is significantly less toxic and wasteful than the manufacture of other cellulosic fibers. Its principal ingredient, cellulose, is easily obtained from managed tree farms, and the industry has not been accused of poor forestry habits. The amine oxide solvent is non-toxic, and because it is almost completely recycled during manufacturing, it is not released into the environment. Lyocell fabrics are also naturally biodegradeable. Manufacturing lyocell is also environmentally sound because less water and energy is used than in the manufacture of other manmade fibers.Source Having enjoyed the wearing of rayon shirts, especially in the form of aloha shirts, it seems that lyocell would be a good replacement for rayon in manufacturing of those styles. Seeing that the lyocell fibre is hailed for being very breathable and moisture wicking makes it sound to be a promising ingredient in summer fabrics. It’s something I’ll consider wearing, and try some cotton-lyocell blends in shirting over the coming year, to see how the structural integrity and stress bearing capability is. We have some lyocell blended fabrics in the shirting cloth books at Beg Your Pardon, so I’ll use those to try this new fibre for myself.
By Jared Chausow By Katie Toth By Elizabeth Flock By Albert Samaha By Anna Merlan By Jon Campbell By Jon Campbell By Albert Samaha Although Steinbeck didn't use the bigoted language that was so common at the time, he was nevertheless implying that the "blood" of the Mexican workers wasn't "strong," that democracy didn't come naturally to them, when the opposite was true: Organizers found the Mexicans more willing to stand up for their rights. I wrote up a paper about the research and managed to get it accepted at a conference in Baltimore—an encouraging experience for a relatively green graduate student. Louis was pleased, and so was I. But he knew why I felt that the work was incomplete: More than anything, I told him, I wanted to speak to the Mexican workers who had taken part in the strike. Only then would the research feel comprehensive. Sixty years after the event, of course, that was pure fantasy. There was almost no information about any of the thousands of people who had struck. Many weren't American citizens, and all of them worked seasonally, with few having fixed addresses. Finding a 1933 migrant worker in 1993? It was never going to happen. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LOUIS OWENS, 1948-2002 Still, I felt that I had something interesting to tell my own Mexican family as I traveled home to Southern California for the short winter break at the end of 1993. The research had made me curious about the stories I'd heard regarding my grandfather, Antonio Ortega, who'd been a nightclub musician in gangster-controlled San Bernardino in the 1940s. It was time, I thought, to shift my research to the subject of my own family. And there was a reason not to put it off: My grandfather was recovering from a heart attack, and the news was not encouraging. The Ortegas, like many other Mexicans, came to the United States during the early days of the revolution in 1910. My great-grandparents had come from Chihuahua in the north and Guanajuato in central Mexico. Both of my father's parents, Antonio Ortega and Virginia Mendoza, were born in California, even though their first language was Spanish and most of the people they knew were Mexican (no one used the term "Mexican-American" when they were growing up and, even into old age, my grandparents divided the world into us "Mexicans" and you "Americans," even though they were born as U.S. citizens). My grandparents had lived their entire lives in California's Inland Empire, and when I came to visit them, they were living in a mobile home in Yucaipa. I was shocked by my grandfather's appearance; he was shriveled now, such a little man, when my memories of him were so different. But when I announced my project—to interview them about the old days—they both seemed thrilled, and the ailments plaguing them both suddenly became more tolerable. Tell me about the nightclubs, I asked, knowing that it was something my grandfather actually wanted to put behind him. ("I feel like I've wasted my life," he once told me, and I begged him not to think that way.) For decades, Tony had performed in restaurants and clubs, playing American and Mexican music on a keyboard with a small band he called his "orchestra." To me, it was magic to hear about his nights in the clubs, especially during the rough days of prewar San Bernardino, when the town was run by gangsters from the East. The mobsters had divided the town in half, controlling gambling and prostitution. They operated lively joints where Tony's orchestra found steady employment, giving him a front-row seat for the underworld action. He watched as mob bosses like Johnny Russo plied local politicians with booze and favors so they wouldn't interfere with his operations. Russo in particular liked Tony's band and his look; in those days, my grandfather was a beefy man with a tough appearance. Russo would take him to sit ringside at prizefights in Riverside, and he enjoyed it when people got the impression that Tony was his bodyguard. The gangster's esteem for my grandfather became so great that, in 1939, Russo asked him to take over the management of a bar he owned in San Bernardino's red-light district. It was a stunning offer—one that would have meant a considerable increase in income and a very different life for the Ortegas. But my grandfather turned him down flat. "It wasn't for me," he said. He explained that he might let a gangster take him to a prizefight, but he wasn't a man to get involved with the rackets. It was a smart decision: By 1942, the town had been cleaned up and Russo had been deported. Tony, meanwhile, had joined the Army and was stationed in New York and Texas during the war. After coming home, he helped found an American Legion hall in Redlands—Post 650—because the other one in town wouldn't accept Mexican-American veterans. And he went back to playing music. At the peak of his popularity, he even landed a regular gig in the early days of television. On Sunday mornings in 1948, a local station broadcast a musical show sponsored by a San Bernardino car dealership that featured my grandfather's orchestra. I soaked up his stories and those of my grandmother. She often sang for the band, and the two of them swore that Lucky Luciano himself had taken in one of their shows when San Bernardino was still mobbed up.
The ampersand is one of the most unique typographical characters out there. Typography designers can exercise a lot more artistic freedom in the design of the ampersand, ranging from very traditional representations to those that bear little resemblance to the original form. But many designers have little knowledge about the origin and meaning of the ampersand. The ampersand has a long and rather interesting history, though. And with all the variations available out there, there are a whole host of design possibilities presented by this particular character. Read on for more information, a history of the ampersand, and a gallery of ampersand designs from a variety of different typefaces. A Brief History of the Ampersand The ampersand can be traced back to the first century AD. It was originally a ligature of the letters E and T (“et” is Latin for and). If you look at the modern ampersand, you’ll likely still be able to see the E and T separately. The first ampersands looked very much like the separate E and T combined, but as type developed over the next few centuries, it eventually became more stylized and less representative of its origins. You can see the evolution of the ampersand below (1 is like the original Roman ligature, 2 and 3 are from the fourth century, and 4-6 are from the ninth century). The modern ampersand has remained largely unchanged from the Carolignian ampersands developed in the ninth century. Italic ampersands were a later ligature of E and T, and are also present in modern fonts. These were developed as part of cursive scripts that were developed during the Renaissance. They’re often more formal-looking and fancier than the standard Carolignian ampersand. The word “ampersand” was first added to dictionaries in 1837. The word was created as a slurred form of “and, per se and”, which was what the alphabet ended with when recited in English-speaking schools. (Historically, “and per se” preceded any letter which was also a word in the alphabet, such as “I” or “A”. And the ampersand symbol was originally the last character in the alphabet.) The ampersand is a part of every roman font. It’s used in modern text often, probably most frequently in the names of corporations and other businesses, or in other formal titles (such as Dungeons & Dragons). It’s experiencing a bit of a resurgence in general usage, as it commonly replaces “and” in text messages and Twitter updates. Ampersands are also commonly used in programming, particularly in MySQL, C and C++, XML, SGML, and BASIC. The original ampersand designs reflected their origins as a ligature of E and T. Even as the ampersand has evolved and become more stylized, it still retains the basic shape of E and T combined. The standard ampersand most of us are used to seeing is the Carolignian variety, and is featured in many commonly-used fonts. Here are some examples: Andale Mono – A very traditional, sans-serif example. The other common ampersand design is the italic ampersand, featured below: Ampersands in Websafe and Web-Common Fonts Some websafe and commonly used fonts on the web have excellent ampersand designs. Others, not so much. Here are the ampersands from a variety of web-common fonts: If you’re unhappy with the ampersand in a font you’ve chosen for your website, there are ways to use custom ampersands. The Typogrify plugin for WordPress makes it incredibly easy to use a custom ampersand on your WordPress blog. The Ampersand in Design and Art Ampersands have become a bit of an obsession for some. There are blogs that focus on ampersands (some within larger typography blogs, others focusing solely on the ampersand). There are t-shirts. And there are a surprising number of people out there who have ampersand tattoos. Here are some examples of ampersands in real life: Using Ampersands in Your Designs Whether for a web project or a print design, ampersands can play a prominent role in the look and feel of your website. When used in titles or headers they can add some extra graphic impact without images. Italic ampersands, which are generally formal and fancy, can add extra elegance to a design that otherwise remains minimal. Carolignian ampersands in a sans-serif font are often bolder and have a modern feeling. Carolignian ampersands in a serif font have a very traditional feeling, though depending on the specific font they can become more formal or more modern. A few more examples: Here are some additional resources, and sources used in the crafting of this post. - 112. Ampersand – A short but excellent history from Art Lebedev Studio. - Ampersand – Wikipedia’s entry on the ampersand. - The Ampersand – Adobe’s history of the ampersand. - The Ampersand – An entire blog devoted to real-life examples of the ampersand. - Ampersand Typography – Another blog devoted to ampersand examples, particularly historical ones. - The Funkiest Ampersands You Have Ever Seen – An excellent roundup of unusual ampersand designs from Spoon Grahpics. - The Mesmerizing Curves of Ampersands – Another excellent roundup of ampersand designs, with download links. - Written exclusively for WDD by Cameron Chapman. Do you use the ampersand in your designs? Feel free to share some examples below…
The broad-winged hawk is a migratory species of bird of prey and can be seen in Michigan from around April – October, when the species is nesting and raising their young. They are a migratory species, traveling north in the spring from Central America and South America, nesting in parts of Canada and most of eastern United States. Kettie is a male broad-winged hawk that sustained injuries in the wild leaving him unable to be released back. His eyesight is compromised in his right eye and he also has right wing nerve injuries. Kettie has been at the Nature Center since the beginning of 2018. We knew Kettie was a juvenile bird, born in 2017, when he moved here due to him still having his immature feathers, which have since molted and is now showing his adult plumage. Their food habits change slightly throughout the year, but their diet is greatly made of small rodents, insects, amphibians, reptiles and birds. At the Nature Center, Kettie eats a variety of rodents and is fed once a day. Kettie is not on public display, but visits the Nature Center building for programs with the naturalists and to teach the public about his amazing species. He also travels to schools, nursing and rehabilitation centers and other local places to meet the community! Ask at the Nature Center about future programs for the public involving Kettie or to donate to help with his care. Life Span: Average is about one year in the wild, oldest age recorded in the wild is 18, in captivity they can live much longer – over 20 years in some cases Size: 13.4 in – 17.3 in. tall, 31.9 in – 39.4 in wingspan Food Habits: Carnivore
Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida Prairie verbena, Purple prairie verbena, Dakota mock vervain, Dakota vervain Verbenaceae (Verbena Family) Flaigg, Norman G. The 6-12 in. stems branch near the base, usually lying on the ground with rising tips. Plants are covered with long, whitish hairs. Leaves are opposite and deeply cut several times on both sides of the midrib; they are 1–3 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide on a 1-inch stem. Branch-tip, ball-shaped flower heads are composed of tubular, five-lobed, purple flowers with dark centers. Individual flowers are about 1/2 inch long and 1/2 inch wide at the opening, with 5 sepals and 5 petals. Branches continue elongating throughout the season, producing new flowers. This species is a member of the verbena family (family Verbenaceae), which includes about 75 genera and 3,000 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees, mostly of tropical and warm temperate regions. Among them, teak is a highly prized furniture wood, and Vervain, Lantana, Lippia or Frog Fruit are grown as ornamentals. Image Gallery: 42 photo(s) available Plant CharacteristicsDuration: Annual , Perennial Habit: Herb Leaf Arrangement: Opposite Size Notes: 6-12 inches. Flower: Flowers in 2 inch heads Fruit: Size Class: Bloom InformationBloom Color: Pink , Purple Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov , Dec , WY Native Distribution: MS n. to SD Native Habitat: Prairie, Plains, Meadows, Pastures, Savannahs Growing ConditionsWater Use: Low Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade Soil Moisture: Dry Soil Description: Sandy to gravelly soils. Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Limestone/chalky, Sandy, Clay, Limestone-based, Caliche type Conditions Comments: The stems branch near the base, usually lying on the ground with rising tips. Branch-tip, ball-shaped flower heads are composed of tubular, purple flowers. Branches continue elongating throughout the season, producing new flowers. A short-lived perennial. It is valued for the long bloom period of its showy flowers. Ground cover, Rock gardens, Fall conspicuous, Showy, Blooms ornamental, Wildflower meadow, Perennial garden Use Wildlife: Attracts butterflies. Conspicuous Flowers: Birds , Butterflies Nectar Source:
Liquid Oxygen Therapy What is Medical Liquid Oxygen? Liquid oxygen is used to treat respiratory disorders and has been found to be more effective than oxygen concentrators or oxygen cylinders. Medical liquid oxygen offers several key advantages over other methods of oxygen delivery. The primary benefit of liquid oxygen is that continuous flow oxygen can be supplied in a relatively small, lightweight container. The key advantages of liquid oxygen includes portable, continuous flow capability, 100% concentrated oxygen, low weight (less than 10 pounds) and long duration (over 18 hours). In comparison, portable oxygen concentrators, offer a concentration range of 86 to 97%, weigh from 15 to 25 pounds, and last for 1.5 to 9.5 hours until the battery needs to be recharged. Currently their are only five portable oxygen concentrator models that offer continuous flow oxygen, making liquid oxygen an additional option for people who live active lives. To make medical liquid oxygen, the gas form of oxygen must be cooled to at least -297 degrees Fahrenheit or -183 degrees centigrade. At this low temperature, oxygen remains in a liquid form. In its liquid state, oxygen takes up less space and can be stored at much lower pressures than when in a gaseous state. This means more oxygen can be carried in a portable liquid unit, and the portable container is much lighter in weight and smaller in size than an oxygen gas cylinder. As the temperature for liquid oxygen rises, oxygen gas is produced and used for medical therapy. One liter of liquid oxygen offers approximately 860 liters of gaseous oxygen. A small amount of liquid oxygen may supply an oxygen therapy patient with a full day of service away from home. Medical liquid oxygen is stored under low pressure and is therefore safer than oxygen cylinders which are under high pressure. Liquid oxygen has recently moved from hospital settings to use in homes. More recently, liquid oxygen has become available in lightweight portable units that can be used almost anywhere. These recent changes have allowed more people to use liquid oxygen as their primary source of oxygen therapy. What is Liquid Oxygen Therapy? Liquid oxygen therapy is the medical process of providing additional oxygen to a patient who can not get enough oxygen on their own. Conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, dysphasia, COPD, heart failure, lung disease, and pneumonia can be treated by liquid oxygen therapy. Doctors prescribing liquid oxygen usually do so for patients who live active lifestyles. The small size, low weight and long duration of liquid oxygen supports active patients better than most other oxygen alternatives. There are two separate components to a liquid oxygen (LOX) system. Both components consist of insulated containers that are Thermos-like to maintain low temperature. The first component is a stationary unit or liquid oxygen reservoir which stores a large volume of liquid oxygen. The Two Major Components of Liquid Oxygen Therapy - Storage reservoir - Portable, refillable container Liquid Oxygen Reservoir The reservoir for liquid oxygen is basically a large insulated Thermos-like container. This reservoir tank is filled by an oxygen supplier once or twice a month. The reservoir system requires no electricity and has very few moving parts, requiring very little maintenance or repair. These three factors allow the reservoir tanks to be in operation for many years with little maintenance and few to no repairs. Typically a liquid oxygen reservoir weighs 90 to 170 pounds when filled. These reservoirs store 21 to 41 liters, or 49 to 110 pounds of liquid oxygen. This amount of liquid oxygen, when converted to gas form, becomes 16,750 to 37,916 liters of oxygen. At a flow rate of two liters per minute, 37,916 liters of oxygen would last 316 hours or 13 days. Because liquid oxygen systems lose oxygen through evaporation even when not in use, the 13 days of oxygen flow referenced above would be shortened. For instance, the HELiOS reservoirs lose around 1.2 pounds of oxygen daily to evaporation. With the addition of modern pulsed delivery or conserving devices, the loss of oxygen through evaporation is somewhat compensated. Links to Liquid Oxygen Reservoirs Portable Liquid Oxygen Unit The second component of a liquid oxygen system is the portable unit which can be refilled from the reservoir. The portable unit may be carried by the patient in a backpack or shoulder bag and is filled from the reservoir unit. The reservoir unit is filled every 1-3 weeks by a local medical liquid oxygen provider. Neither component requires electricity to operate. This added benefit is a significant advantage not shared by oxygen concentrators. Oxygen patients who live in areas of frequent electrical blackouts can fare much better with liquid oxygen instead of oxygen concentrators. When at home, patients use the stationary unit as their source of oxygen. When away from home, the portable unit supplies patients with oxygen. Most portable units provide the option for continuous flow or pulse flow oxygen. Patients merely select the flow level they need for their given situation. Examples of Liquid Oxygen Portable Units Liquid Oxygen Maintenance Requirements There is very little maintenance for liquid oxygen systems. The stationary reservoir tank should be placed on a level surface. Securing the tank to the wall would also be beneficial. If a drainage bottle is used for collecting excess condensation, it should be emptied and cleaned regularly. Cleaning the outside of the tank with a damp cloth should be done occasionally to remove dust. The reservoir tank should be refilled by a professional service provider. Refilling the portable unit should be accomplished in accordance with manufacturer instructions. Procedures for recovering from a freezing incident should also be handled in accordance with manufacturer instructions. Prescribing Portable LOX Liquid Oxygen Doctors prescribe liquid oxygen for patients who are mobile and active outside their homes. The advantages of low weight, small size, continuous and pulse flow, and high concentration provide a strong argument for liquid oxygen therapy. Patient compliance and outcomes have been shown in medical studies to be improved over patients using other oxygen delivery systems. Comparing Portable Liquid Oxygen to Portable Oxygen Concentrators Portable liquid oxygen offers two flow options: continuous flow and pulse flow. On the other hand, most portable oxygen concentrators provide only pulse flow oxygen. Currently there are five portable oxygen concentrators that provide continuous flow along with pulse flow. These five concentrators are listed below with links to more information. - SeQual eQuinox offers highest oxygen output, lowest power consumption and 24/7 operation. - Oxlife Independence provides 24/7 operation and extraordinary durability. - Eclipse 5 has the lowest noise output and 24/7 operation. - SimplyGo offers the smallest profile and lowest weight. - DeVilbiss iGo has the lowest price and low maintenance requirements. The two charts below display a comparison between oxygen concentrators and liquid oxygen. The data is averaged for the five portable oxygen concentrators with continuous flow capability and the Helios and Companion series of liquid oxygen products. Comparing Liquid Oxygen to Portable Oxygen Concentrators As shown in the comparison chart above, LOX does better in every measurement. LOX portable units are significantly smaller in size and weigh significantly less than continuous flow cable portable concentrators. Oxygen output is also significantly higher for liquid oxygen units. LOX offers up to 13.7 hours of more run time than portable oxygen concentrators and takes less than two minutes to refill compared to 3-1/2 hours of battery charging for a concentrator. LOX units produce no sound to operate while concentrators average 44 dBA. Comparing LOX to Pulse Flow Portable Oxygen Concentrators As shown in the comparison above, LOX performs better in every category except one—size. Pulse flow portable oxygen concentrators are smaller in size (107 cubic inches) and weight (1 pound). LOX outperforms concentrators in oxygen output, duration and noise. Liquid Oxygen Review Liquid oxygen therapy offers many advantages and few disadvantages. Listed below are the key advantages and disadvantages oxygen patients can expect to experience when using liquid oxygen therapy. Advantages of LOX - Better therapy outcomes than alternative methods of oxygen delivery. - 100% oxygen concentration levels. - Higher oxygen output. - Provides higher continuous flow volumes up to 15 LPM. - Long oxygen supply duration. - No sound emissions. - More discreet oxygen therapy with less attention being drawn from others. - Requires no electricity. - Large oxygen capacity. - Reservoir doubles as a home oxygen dispenser and as a refill station for the portable unit. - Supplies continuous flow oxygen for up to 13 days (at 2 LPM) - Short refill time for portable LOX units of less than 2 minutes. Disadvantages of LOX - Limited availability of liquid oxygen service providers in many areas to refill the reservoir tank. - Limited shelf life due to evaporation loss. (around 1.2 pounds daily) - Requires regular reservoir refills from a medical oxygen service. - Produces annoying noises while refilling the portable unit. (Less than 2 minutes duration.) - The connection between the reservoir and the portable unit can become frozen if the filling is not done properly. All connections should be airtight. Summary of Liquid Oxygen Therapy Liquid oxygen therapy offers oxygen patients many advantages not found in other therapy options. The biggest hurdle to using liquid oxygen therapy is the availability of a local service provider for home delivery of liquid oxygen. Liquid oxygen for patients living in rural areas may not be a viable option due to the lack of liquid oxygen sources. Patients living in large metropolitan areas have more access to this type of service and can therefore take advantage of the better outcomes and the higher oxygen output of liquid oxygen therapy. - Liquid Oxygen Use Time Duration Chart for several liquid oxygen devices manufactured in the USA. - HELiOS and Companion LOX Specifications provided by Chart Industries. - Cancaster B, Ranking the Top Portable Oxygen Concentrators with Pulse Flow includes concentrator review and comparison. - Cancaster B, Ranking the Best Portable Oxygen Concentrators with Continuous Flow includes concentrator comparison chart. - Nasilowski J, Przybylowski T, Zielinski T, Chazan R, Comparing supplementary oxygen benefits from a portable oxygen concentrator and a liquid oxygen portable device during a walk test in COPD patients on long-term oxygen therapy. Department of Internal Medicine, Pneumology and Allergology, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1a, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland. - Croxton TL, Bailey WC. Long-term oxygen treatments in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: recommendations for future research: an NHLBI workshop report. Am J Resp Crit Care Med. 2006; 174(4): 373-378. - Doherty DE, Petty TL, Bailey W, et al. Long Term Oxygen Therapy (LTOT): Recommendations of the 6th long-term oxygen therapy consensus conference. Respir Care. 2006; 51(5):519-525. - Timms RM, Khaja FU, Williams GW. Nocturnal Oxygen TherapyTrial Group. Hemodynamic Response to Oxygen Therapy in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Ann Intern Med. 1985;102:29-36. - Weitzenblum E, Sautegeau A,Ehrhart M, Mammosser M, Pelletier A. Long Term Oxygen Therapy can Reverse the Progression of Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1985;131:493-498. - Morrison DA, Stovall JR. Increased Exercise Capacity in Hypoxemic Patients after Long Term Oxygen Therapy. CHEST. 1992;102:542-550. - Heaton RK, Grant I, McSweeny AJ, Adams KM, Petty TL. 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UW-Madison and Beloit partnership produces water-run scooter At first glance, a 50-cc Vespa scooter and a squad car may not appear to have much in common. However, a class of University of Wisconsin-Madison freshman engineering students and officials from Beloit, Wisconsin, are making progress toward technologies that eventually could run a variety of vehicles on nothing but water. The class, with the help of UW-Madison Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Marc Anderson and Beloit Public Works fleet manager Dan Lutz, has demonstrated a new hydrogen-assisted system that runs a Vespa on a hydrogen-gasoline fuel mix. The students have been able to run the Vespa entirely on hydrogen both at idling and high-throttle speeds. Hydrogen also creates more complete engine combustion, meaning the scooter produces fewer emissions than factory Vespas. Anderson’s freshman engineering class last spring developed a wet-cell system that ran water through a container called an electrolyzer, which contained fuel cells to split water via electrolysis into oxygen and hydrogen. The fuel cells, powered by the scooter’s alternator, funneled the hydrogen directly to the engine via a stainless steel tube. This year, the class altered the system to be a dry-cell system. Unlike a wet-cell design, which submerges the electrical components in water, the dry-cell system keeps the electrical connections above water. This combined with Lutz’s unique designs have created an efficient system that powers the scooter with hydrogen and oxygen, which are produced on demand in the fuel cell. “It’s exciting to be working with hydrogen-based technologies, and I really want to see this go further,” says Lutz. “We’ve got a long way to go, but by running a Vespa entirely on hydrogen, we’ve proved it can be done.” The students plan to fine tune and improve the system, which Lutz hopes to implement in a variety of Beloit vehicles, including squad cars and city pick-up trucks. Beloit Public Works has been testing hydrogen-based systems in city fleet vehicles since the spring of 2008. Lutz, who oversees the more than 300-vehicle fleet, has worked to meet the city’s sustainability goals by testing hydrogen-on-demand systems to save fuel and help the environment. Through various Public Works and UW-Madison contacts, Lutz was put in touch with Anderson, who leads a section of During the fall 2009 semester, Lutz traveled to Madison every Wednesday evening to help teach the students about hydrogen-based technologies. The students tested an improved fuel cell design and coated the fuel cell plating with a proprietary surface coating developed by Anderson that improves performance and efficiency. A U.S. patent on this coating is pending through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Future classes may be able to run the scooter entirely on water by using the battery to start the electrolyzer. Anderson also anticipates students will work on a system that works with tap water. The current system uses distilled water with some sodium hydroxide added. The partnership between UW-Madison and Beloit Public Works has been mutually beneficial. Lutz has been able to leverage university resources, including laboratories and faculty expertise, to advance hydrogen technologies and eventually enable suppliers to build systems for him to implement in the Beloit fleet vehicles. The engineering students have substantially benefited from Lutz’s presence on campus. “Dan and his colleagues have been teaching the students many, many things about a variety of practical engineering skills,” says Anderson. The students have taken full advantage of their opportunity to learn from Anderson and Lutz. “We cancelled class the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and several students still came into the lab because they didn’t want to miss a week,” says Lutz.
Sanergy is a social enterprise that rolls out low cost toilets to micro entrepreneurs, transforming the lives of slum dwellers Globally, 2.5 billion people in the developing world lack access to adequate sanitation. Unicef data estimates that a huge population of people lacking access to sanitation facilities is in sub Saharan Africa. Kenya, like many developing countries, faces a sanitation crisis. Few people, especially in rural, urban and peri urban settlements have access to a clean toilet. The scarcity of physical space, infrastructure and resources worsens matters in slums. In Kenya’s slums, 8 million residents pay up to Kshs5 per use for unhygienic and inaccessible sanitation options. 4 million metric tons (90%) of waste is then dumped into waterways every year. Some frustrated residents use polythene bags commonly known as “flying toilets” to dispose of human waste. The result is a high death toll, particularly among children. In Kenya alone, the World Bank Group’s Water Global Practice estimates that 19, 500 people— including 17,100 children aged less than five years — die each year from diarrhea, 90 percent of which is caused by bad sanitation. Operating from Nairobi slums where the sanitation problem is prevalent, Sanergy is a social enterprise that seeks to address the sanitation crisis in Kenya. The company was established in 2010 by a team of students from the MIT Sloan School of Management. It designs its own toilets, franchises them out to entrepreneurs (who charge people to use them), then converts the waste into fertilizer that it sells to farmers. “Solving the sanitation crisis requires more than just building toilets. We take an innovative systems-based approach to build out the entire sanitation value chain,” explains Edith Karimi, a senior communication officer at Sanergy. Sanergy uses a three-part process. First, the social enterprise builds a dense network of small scale high-quality sanitation centers-Known as Fresh Life Toilets- close to homes. It rolls out the toilets to micro entrepreneurs through a franchise. The micro entrepreneurs are provided with constant operational support to run the toilets as profit-making businesses. Second, Sanergy collects the waste from each Fresh Life Toilet and transports it to a central waste processing facility. Since November 2011, the company has collected, removed and treated 6,645 tons of waste. The company processes over 40metric tons of waste per week into organic fertilizer Finally, At Sanergy’s centralized processing facility; human waste is converted into a portfolio of high margin products, predominantly organic fertilizer which is sold to Kenyan farms. “We have successfully launched 748 franchises to 370 local entrepreneurs in six informal settlements of Nairobi including Mukuru and Mathare– a population of 500,000 people,” offers Karimi. “We are also running Research and Development on biogas, biochar, urine nitrification and animal feeds.” She says that each Fresh Life Toilet receives an average of 40-60 paying users each day, translating to 33,000 residents now having access to hygienic sanitation daily. Here is how Sanergy has effectively addressed the sanitation problem in slums. Sanergy’s franchise network has created a further 146 jobs in the community in operating the sanitation businesses. Overall, 771 jobs have so far been created by Sanergy. This includes the Sanergy team, Fresh Life Operators, and the attendants that they hire as they expand. Sanergy’s toilets—which come with tile floors—cost about Kshs50000. Each Fresh Life Toilet provides customers with a dignified, hygienic, and enjoyable sanitation experience. Each customer is welcomed by a Fresh Life Operator, who provides toilet paper, sawdust, soap and water for hand-washing. Each clean toilet also contains a waste bin, sanitary bin for women, a mirror, coat hook, and a solar lantern for early morning and nighttime usage. Customers can pay by the visit, week, or month. Children pay less than adult customers. Some parents buy monthly memberships for children who attend schools with inadequate sanitation facilities. Other families buy a monthly family membership to their neighbourhood’s Fresh Life Toilet. Karimi says the company has faced its fair share of challenges, rolling out the toilets in informal settlements, considering that many people living in slums do not own land. Sanergy’s Fresh Life Toilets are made of prefabricated materials and are permanently constructed in a franchisees’ land. However, a network of partnerships with the government, provincial administration and other development organizations have seen the company surmount this challenge, giving a fresh experience to thousands of families living in slums. Esther Munyiva is one of the many Fresh Life Operators. The Mukuru Kwa Reuben resident has witnessed the change that Sanergy has brought to her community. Locally Known as Mama Kasoso, Ms. Munyiva was employed for 25 years selling clothes in Gikomba market, earning a meagre income. But in 2012, she joined a group of women and together, they borrowed funds from a local microfinance institution to start their business. Her two flagship businesses were some rental properties in the slums and a Fresh Life Toilet. Looking back now, she beams with a smile as she welcomes her neighbours to use her Fresh life Toilet, which is always well maintained and meticulously clean. A few years ago, Ms. Munyiva and her neighbours used flying toilets, but today, they enjoy hygienic sanitation from Fresh Life Toilets. Her toilet records over 96 visits every day. “My aim is not to make money, but to help the people of this area. Within 5 months, I think I will be able to add another toilet,” says Ms. Munyiva, who was also voted the chairperson of her section of the slum. Sanergy relies on well respected, well networked members of the community who can teach their friends and neighbours about the importance of good hygiene and improved sanitation. For Ms. Munyiva and hundreds of others living in the slums, affording a Fresh Life Toilet is a tall order. However, through Synergy’s partnership with Kiva, an online micro lending platform, local entrepreneurs are able to pay for the toilets. The entrepreneurs then set their own end-prices, with the standard rate being Kshs5. Sanergy franchise operators make Ksh85, 000 per toilet per year. Sanergy itself makes money by selling the waste by-products to farming customers. “We’ve shown that people are willing to pay if their demands are met, which means clean toilets, close to where they are living, at an affordable price. The fact that the toilets are run by peers in their community gives them added credibility,” says David Auerbach, Sanergy’s co founder. The social enterprise has so far received glowing accolades for its work in the slums. Other than being named the MIT100K business plan winners, Sanergy has been recognized by Echoing Green, USAID DIV Program, African Leadership Network, SIDA, and Ashoka. Banking on its strong partnerships with community organizations, technical agencies, and the Kenyan government, Sanergy intends to serve more than 500, 000 people through a network of 6 000 toilets.

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