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In its recent report, the United Nations International Children's Fund or UNICEF described the ongoing conflict in Yemen as
"A living hell
According to the United Nations the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is causing a near-total collapse of the health system in Yemen.
Even before the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Yemen was already in grip of a famine that was going to have a direct impact on 14 million people that is almost half of country’s population. COVID-19 has made the situation worse.
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East. The ongoing civil war has made the situation even worse. It is one of the lowest-ranking countries on the Human Development Index and is 177th out of 189 countries graded.
It has a population of 30.5 million people and of that 20.1 million people face hunger in the absence of food assistance.
Despite ongoing humanitarian assistance
15.9 million people wake up hungry every day and 14.4 million people need immediate assistance to sustain or save their lives. Malnutrition among women and children is particularly shocking. Over 2 million children are currently suffering from acute malnutrition and over 360,000 are at risk of dying without proper treatment.
Yemenis Face Food Insecurity
children require treatment for acute malnutrition
people wake up hungry every day
Yemen imports 90% of the food, but the ongoing conflict has disrupted the supply chains and that is causing serious situation in the country.
The country need almost $3 billion worth of humanitarian assistance, but so far it has only managed half of it. With the coronavirus pandemic, the situation is only getting worse. The Yemeni people will need all the support we can offer.
What we are doing
Muntada Aid has started a long-term food programme in 14 governorates providing the food provisions to families and internally displaced people (IDPs) who are in desperate need of help.
Millions of children are at the brink of starvation in Yemen. The UNICEF estimates that another 30,000 children “could develop life-threatening severe acute malnutrition over the next six months.” There are over 2.4 million children in Yemen suffering from malnutrition. Many of these children are at serious risk and need urgent support.
Our food packs can last for a month for a family of 5 members. Each pack contains monthly ration of wheat flour, pulses, vegetable oil, sugar and salt.
The Power of Your Giving
A donation from you has the power to help someone in need.
Yemen Desperately Needs Our Help
Our Yemen Food Programme is 100% dependent on your donations. We urgently need your support to ensure uninterrupted food assistance to thousands of Yemeni people for next six months.
As winter is knocking on the doors, thousands of families in Yemen are in need of winter clothing and heating sources.
Due to the ongoing violence, thousands of families have fled from their homes and are now living as refugees in makeshift camps in towns and neighbourhoods that are relatively safe. The port city of Aden is one such town hosting thousands of people from the Red Sea city of Hodeidah.
These internally displaced families have almost no resources to tackle the cold winter and the ongoing famine. The chronic shortages in food and other essential supplies mean that these families stand defenceless against the harsh winter and hunger.
With your support, Muntada Aid is providing winter clothing kits to children and emergency food packs to help families living in the camps of Taiz governorate.
Our winter kits contain gloves, socks, jackets, caps, sweaters, pyjamas, blankets and shoes for children. We are also providing 20-litre gas cylinders to help families stay warm. |
Researchers for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) plan to map the DNA of 800 people who are taking part in a study of the causes of memory and cognitive loss, according to various press reports this week.
The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) issued a press release on this project on Tuesday.
According to that release, since 2004 UCLA’s Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) has been receiving, organizing, archiving and disseminating data generated by ADNI, which is a worldwide effort by scientists to define the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
“That stream of data will now turn into a flood, as LONI partners with an ambitious public–private effort to dig deeper into the causes of this devastating disease by obtaining the whole-genome sequencing of the more than 800 people enrolled in ADNI — the largest cohort of individuals related to a single disease,” the press release stated.
This next stage of research will generate at least 165 terabytes of new genetic data, an amount equivalent to the information contained in 165,000 entire copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
“This effort, involving almost 60 sites around the country, is the best chance we have for understanding this brutal disease,” LONI director Arthur Toga, a UCLA professor of neurology and one of the collaborators on the management of the sequencing efforts, said in a statement.
“We collect vast amounts of imaging, cognitive and biosample data from hundreds of subjects with Alzheimer’s disease, those at risk, and controls,” Toga said. “One of the more unique aspects of this study is that all data are shared with any scientist, without embargo. We have already engaged many scientists around the world with this open access.”
This new genome project is a major expansion of ADNI, which now enrolls people with Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment and normal cognition who have agreed to be studied in great detail over time. The Study’s goal is to identify and understand markers of the disease with the hope of improving early diagnosis and accelerating the discovery of new treatments.
All of the ADNI data continues to flow into UCLA’s LONI, including detailed, long-term assessments of neuropsychological measures, standardized structural and functional imaging, and precise biomarker measures from blood and spinal fluid.
Now, the ADNI participants’ entire genome sequences, which determine all 6 billion letters in an individual’s DNA in one comprehensive analysis, will be added to that storehouse of knowledge.
Once the sequences are completed — roughly 16 weeks after the sequencing project starts — the raw data will be available to scientists around the globe “to mine for novel targets for risk-assessment, new therapies and much-needed insights into the causes of Alzheimer’s,” according to the press release.
All of the information from ADNI has always been made freely available, without delay, to scientists; to date, this has resulted in more than 500 scientific manuscripts.
ADNI is a public–private research project led by the National Institutes of Health with private sector support through the Foundation for NIH. Launched in 2004, ADNI’s public–private funding consortium includes pharmaceutical companies, science-related businesses and nonprofit organizations, including the Alzheimer’s Association and the Northern California Institute for Research and Education.
The ADNI whole-genome sequencing is being funded with $2 million through a partnership between the Alzheimer’s Association and the nonprofit Brin Wojcicki Foundation, a charitable organization created by Anne Wojcicki, founder of the online genetics firm 23andMe, and her husband, Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google.
“Sequencing the ADNI participants and making the genetic data immediately available to researchers around the world will significantly improve our understanding and approach to Alzheimer’s disease,” Anne Wojcicki said in a statement . “The ADNI team and the Alzheimer’s Association are impressive in their ability to quickly make decisions that are truly in the best interest of people with Alzheimer’s.”
“Linking these deep-sequencing data with imaging and other data may help solve the puzzles in Alzheimer’s that still vex us,” Toga said. “Certainly, a more complete picture will emerge, hopefully leading to effective therapies.”
LONI, which seeks to improve understanding of the brain in health and disease, has developed advanced computational algorithms and scientific approaches for the comprehensive and quantitative mapping of brain structure and function. It is part of the UCLA Department of Neurology, which encompasses more than a dozen research, clinical and teaching programs. The department ranks in the top two among its peers nationwide in National Institutes of Health funding. |
We are constantly (if falsely) assured by people who don’t know what “police protection” means that we can rely on it for our security. Police protection means two forms of indirect protection: 1) patrol which hopes to randomly discourage crime; 2) apprehension after a crime has been committed by someone. POLICE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR YOUR DIRECT PROTECTION. If that is what you need you must protect yourself or hire guards to protect you. Police will protect you if they see you being victimized. But that happens in less than 3% of all crimes. In all 50 states the police re exempt from suit for not protecting you. They have no legal duty of direct protection because their duty is only to provide indirect protection by: 1) patrol which seeks to randomly discourage crime; and 2) by apprehending criminals after a crime has been committed by someone. |
Monastic grange and water control features immediately south of Thrussington Grange
Heritage Category: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number: 1016316
Date first listed: 24-Oct-1997
The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1016316 .pdf
The PDF will be generated from our live systems and may take a few minutes to download depending on how busy our servers are. We apologise for this delay.
This copy shows the entry on 17-Feb-2019 at 18:23:47.
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
District: Charnwood (District Authority)
National Grid Reference: SK 64395 18339
Reasons for Designation
A monastic grange was a farm owned and run by a monastic community and
independent of the secular manorial system of communal agriculture and servile
labour. The function of granges was to provide food and raw materials for
consumption within the parent monastic house itself, and also to provide
surpluses for sale for profit. The first monastic granges appeared in the 12th
century but they continued to be constructed and used until the Dissolution.
This system of agriculture was pioneered by the Cistercian order but was soon
imitated by other orders. Some granges were worked by resident lay-brothers
(secular workers) of the order but others were staffed by non-resident
labourers. The majority of granges practised a mixed economy but some were
specialist in their function. Five types of grange are known: agrarian farms,
bercaries (sheep farms), vaccaries (cattle ranches), horse studs and
industrial complexes. A monastery might have more than one grange and the
wealthiest houses had many. Frequently a grange was established on lands
immediately adjacent to the monastery, this being known as the home grange.
Other granges, however, could be found wherever the monastic site held lands.
On occasion these could be located at some considerable distance from the
parent monastery. Granges are broadly comparable with contemporary secular
farms although the wealth of the parent house was frequently reflected in the
size of the grange and the layout and architectural embellishment of the
buildings. Additionally, because of their monastic connection, granges tend to
be much better documented than their secular counterparts. No region was
without monastic granges. The exact number of sites which originally existed
is not precisely known but can be estimated, on the basis of numbers of
monastic sites, at several thousand. Of these, however, only a small
percentage can be accurately located on the ground today. Of this group of
identifiable sites, continued intensive use of many has destroyed much of the
evidence of archaeological remains. In view of the importance of granges to
medieval rural and monastic life, all sites exhibiting good archaeological
survival are identified as nationally important.
The earthwork remains of the monastic grange south of Thrussington Grange have been relatively undisturbed by later activity. Earthwork and buried remains at the site survive well and will provide evidence for the secular and agricultural buildings which were constructed at the grange. Archaeological deposits will also retain information about the economy and environment of the site during the medieval and early post-medieval periods.
The monument is situated approximately 2km north of the village of
Thrussington on the west side of Ox Brook. It includes the earthwork and
buried remains of a monastic grange, associated water control features and an
area of ridge and furrow cultivation.
The grange at Thrussington belonged to the Gilbertine priory at Sempringham in
Lincolnshire and occupies a roughly rectangular area. It is bounded on three
sides by 5m wide ditches and on the fourth, eastern side, by a former course
of Ox Brook. The course of the brook has altered over the years and now lies
further east. In the north western part of the site, the boundary ditch is not
visible on the ground surface but will survive as a buried feature. The area
thus enclosed measures approximately 300m east-west and 140m north-south.
The grange can be divided into two parts: the eastern part, which forms the
core of the grange and includes levelled terraces and a number of building
platforms; and the western part, which includes a number of enclosures defined
by a series of boundary banks and ditches. In the north eastern part of the
site are the remains of two terraces; the western one is well-defined and is
occupied by two raised building platforms, whilst several hollows are visible
within the eastern terrace. Slight earthworks on the surfaces of these
terraces are thought to indicate the position of buried features. The eastern
part of the grange is considered to have included the monks' domestic
accommodation, probably a chapel and several agricultural buildings.
In the western and southern parts of the monument a number of enclosure banks
and ditches, and further terraces are visible. The defined enclosures or
paddocks provide evidence for the agricultural activites of the grange. One
enclosure, situated in the south western part of the grange, is bounded by a
bank and ditch along its northern, western and eastern sides and by the
grange's boundary ditch to the south. It measures approximately 65m square and
retains evidence of ridge and furrow cultivation. A further enclosure is
visible beyond the southern boundary ditch. It has a linear plan and is
bounded along its northern side by the southern boundary ditch and by a slight
bank to the south. This enclosure appears to overlie an area of ridge and
furrow visible to the south of the grange and is, therefore, considered to be
later in date than the ridge and furrow.
Adjacent to the north east and south of the grange are the earthwork remains
of ridge and furrow cultivation which are aligned east-west. These remains
provide evidence for the land use beyond the boundary ditches of the grange
and are thought to be contemporary with the occupation of the monastic grange.
The ridge and furrow to the south extends southwards for approximately 40m and
is included in the scheduling. A 26m wide sample area of that to the north
east is also included in order to preserve the relationship between the
monastic grange and the ridge and furrow.
Approximately 50m to the north east of the grange is a retaining bank which
has been constructed across the channel of the Ox Brook. The pond formed
behind this bank, now dry, would have originally served as a supply pond of
some extent. A 10m wide sample area of the floor of the pond is included in
the scheduling. Immediately to the south west of the retaining bank is a
levelled platform which is believed to include the buried remains of a
watermill associated with the monastic grange. The pond would have originally
provided the water supply to drive the mill's water-wheel.
The platform has been overlain by later ridge and furrow cultivation, which is
in turn partly overlain by a modern farm track.
The bridge across the northern boundary ditch, the surface of the farm track
and all fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath these features is included.
MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number: 17112
Legacy System: RSM
Books and journals
Hartley, R F, The Medieval Earthworks of Central Leicestershire, (1989), 12,30
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official listing |
The Art of Teaching Music
Publication Year: 2008
The Art of Teaching Music takes up important aspects of the art of music teaching ranging from organization to serving as conductor to dealing with the disconnect between the ideal of university teaching and the reality in the classroom. Writing for both established teachers and instructors on the rise, Estelle R. Jorgensen opens a conversation about the life and work of the music teacher. The author regards music teaching as interrelated with the rest of lived life, and her themes encompass pedagogical skills as well as matters of character, disposition, value, personality, and musicality. She reflects on musicianship and practical aspects of teaching while drawing on a broad base of theory, research, and personal experience. Although grounded in the practical realities of music teaching, Jorgensen urges music teachers to think and act artfully, imaginatively, hopefully, and courageously toward creating a better world.
Published by: Indiana University Press
Download PDF (478.2 KB)
I have oft en remarked to my students on the similarity of teaching and music. In thinking of teaching as an art and craft , I see teaching as a metaphor for music and music as a metaphor for teaching. Th is double-metaphor may not seem, at least superficially, to get us very far. ...
Download PDF (608.0 KB)
The role of teacher is one of many facets of our lives or one of several functions that we fulfill as human beings. It is important to discover what it is to be a teacher and what place this persona will play in the totality of our lives. How we conceive of this function and its location in lived life ...
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All that we do as musician- teachers is driven by matters of value and the particular things that we prize. Lately, there has been a lot of political and religious talk in the United States about values.1 The prejudicial ways in which this word has too oft en been used as a code for certain beliefs that are held to be immutable and that may reflect the views of a limited spectrum of society make me uneasy. ...
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People tend to act in particular ways almost habitually, unconsciously, or naturally. Thinking holistically about a teacher’s disposition is important, but it is also crucial to consider some of the specific dispositions that are needed for teaching. By the word disposition, I mean the tendency to act or ...
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When I first began to teach, I gave relatively little thought to defending my judgments about my teaching and the achievements of my students. I had reasons for my decisions and actions, and I was intent on designing and implementing instructional programs that would entice my students by a variety of means to learn what I had to teach them. Students, parents and ...
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Musical instruction generally occurs in large and small groups. Whether with a studio class in which a handful of students are gathered to listen and play, or an orchestra, band, or choir, a music teacher oft en works with groups. Even where a tradition of private studio lessons has emerged as a basis for performance instruction, much can be gained by thinking of a ...
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As a music teacher, I think of myself as a musician—a maker of music. Even though I no longer perform publicly, this persona shaped my earlier life and the way I think about music teaching. I suppose I was a musician before I was a teacher, and I do not remember a time in which I was without music in my life. Th e story of becoming a musician is inevitably that ...
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Musicians work primarily with sounds that are instrumental and vocal, acoustic and electronically generated, composed, improvised, and performed, and heard in live and recorded performances, where music is both the focus of and ancillary to social events. It is important, therefore, to think about the various ways in which these sounds are heard. ...
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Music needs to be brought alive through performance. We may hear music imaginatively without needing to hear it as phenomenal sound; however, we hope ultimately to hear music performed or realized sonically. John Cage’s 4'33", a piece consisting of silence, is a statement of this reality.1 Its meaning depends on indeterminacy in which the silences within which a ...
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Thinking about composing from a teacher’s perspective requires focusing on the act of composing and its relationship to performing and listening, and the ways in which composing can be fostered throughout music education, from elementary to advanced levels of instruction. Composing is one of the least- emphasized aspects of musical instruction in general ...
Download PDF (618.4 KB)
We cannot teach effectively unless we have tidy minds and can successfully manage time, space, instructional resources, and personnel in our instructional situation. I refer to the instructional situation because it is very varied. Examples include a shaded area under a tree, home setting, studio, school room, church, synagogue, temple, concert hall, or opera house, to ...
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One of the crucial decisions we make as musician- teachers is to lay out a plan for how we will teach our students, how we will interact with them, and what we will accomplish together. Confronted with the challenge of students who wish to study with us or classes of students whom we have been assigned to teach, it can be tempting to skip right to the most ...
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Instruction occurs at the point at which our plans and ideas about what we wish to do or think we might be able to accomplish as teachers meet the realities of our interaction with our students. We may encounter students one by one and in groups of various sizes. They come from many different countries, ethnicities, and linguistic and cultural traditions and ...
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As musician- teachers, we deal especially with the imagination.1 Whether concerning aspects of musical performing, listening, composing, improvising, or the various educational activities of working with colleagues and students, we prompt imaginative thought and action. What do we mean by imagination? Can and should it be educated and even re- educated? If so, ...
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Reflecting on how things are and how they have been during a working lifetime brings me to crucial matters regarding the reality of music teaching from my own vantage point. Whether we are just beginning or further along the road as teachers, facing the reality of teaching is important in determining what we are to do in the future. Recently, a young teacher told ...
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Thinking about the various aspects of music teaching about which I have written in this book, I pause to reflect on the themes that seem to recur. Excavating beneath what lies on the surface enables us to see things that might otherwise disappear from view. These leavings may be what Paulo Freire means when he talks of “generative themes,” or the ideas that drive ...
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Page Count: 368
Publication Year: 2008 |
Weimaraner Training - Do's, Don'ts, How-To's
Weimaraners (pronounced WHY-ma-rah-ners) are active, athletic hunting dogs with distinctive grey/blue coats that have earned them the nickname of 'gray ghost'. The breed was originally developed in England for hunting bear, deer, and boar, and also for guarding property and downed game. Although most Weimaraners make outstanding family pets, personality disorders are not infrequent in the breed - this is something that potential owners should be aware of.
What Problems Could My Weimaraner Develop?
Many Weimaraners will never exhibit any of the below personality traits; some may have one, and some may display more than one. Most of these problems can be easily corrected with the right training and early intervention - but in any case, prevention is always better than cure.
- Because Weimaraners were bred to hunt large, aggressive game animals, and to guard people, property, and game from strangers and predators, a certain amount of aggression is an innate characteristic of the breed. This can usually be easily controlled with the right training and socialization. However, some Weimaraners will display unacceptable aggression towards people and/or animals - this seems to be a genetic throwback in the breed, as upbringing often has little effect. This is an unfortunate occurrence and one that those who are knowledgeable about the breed will attest to.
- Weimaraners are infamous for their tendency towards severe separation anxiety. Symptoms of this condition include panicky attempts to reunite with an owner (the dogs can harm themselves in the process, often with grazes, bleeding paws, broken teeth, etc, as they attempt to chew and dig their way out of a pen), excessive drooling, loud vocalisation, and an anxious, stressed demeanor (clinginess, crying, jumpiness). A lonely, anxious dog may also urinate inappropriately (this has nothing to do with toilet training and is NOT something you should ever scold your Weimaraner about).
- These dogs are alert, protective, and make fearless guardians of family and home, which is certainly a useful trait for any dog to possess. However, without proper socialization, these dogs can take things too far and become undiscriminatingly aggressive and dominant towards any newcomer, dog or human - and at 50-90 pounds, an aggressive Weimaraner is not to be sneezed at.
- It bears repeating that these dogs were first and foremost bred for hunting. They retain a strong prey drive to this day, and will catch and sometimes kill most small animals which venture into their territory (not excluding cats). Most Weimaraners will do OK with the family cat, provided that they were introduced to it as a puppy; but neighborhood cats and other garden animals (squirrels, pet rabbits, guinea pigs) will be mercilessly pursued by this formidable hunter.
- Weimaraners are sensitive, even highly-strung dogs: they're extremely energetic, highly perceptive of your mood, and easily influenced by the demeanor and behavior of others around them. This excitability can translate to neurotic behavior, and means it's not generally a good idea to bring a Weimaraner into a house with children under 6 years old: younger dogs in particular can romp and jump with excessive vigor, and people and furniture can go flying as a result. The raking paws of a jumping Weimaraner puppy can gouge deep scratches in human skin; their athleticism enables the dogs to leap high in the air and knock ornaments and crockery off shelves (although adults are graceful enough to avoid most accidents). Some adult Weimaraners that weren't introduced to children during their socialization period will regard them with suspicion, which can result in dominant behavior or fear-biting.
How to Cope
Despite some potential pitfalls, Weimaraners are incredibly rewarding dogs to share your life with. The real trick to owning a happy, well-behaved Weimaraner is to understand that, in the right hands, they can be trained to do almost anything; the one thing they cannot do is nothing at all. The dogs pick up training with extreme rapidity, and as soon as they understand what's expected of them the dogs will take great pleasure in living up to those expectations - something that allows them to excel in obedience, agility, and field trials.
Here's how to ensure that your Weimaraner is an aristocratic, gentlemanly pleasure to have around:
- Socialize thoroughly and from a young age. This breed's sensitivity and innate suspicion means that the socialization period of 10 to 16 weeks must be taken full advantage of. Take your Weimaraner to puppy school and see that he meets lots of new people (children and the elderly alike) and different breeds and ages of dog . This will help to prevent unwanted aggression at a later date.
- Exercise THOROUGHLY, and on a daily basis. These are energetic hunting dogs; no walk is too far, and any additional games and play will help to prevent hyperactivity. Sufficient exercise is a key component of your Weimaraner's ability to conform with your needs: these dogs are very active, muscular and athletic, and have LOTS of energy to burn off. Take your dog hiking, running alongside a bicycle, jogging, or involve him in agility competitions (which have the added benefit of stimulating your dog's mind at the same time).
- This is not a good breed choice for you if you work long hours. Bear in mind the tendency towards separation anxiety, and condition your dog towards it from a young age by leaving him alone for SHORT periods of time at first and gradually working up from there. For severe anxiety, your vet may prescribe tranquilisers like Clomicalm. If you feel your dog needs medication, speak to your vet - NEVER self-medicate, even if a friend's Weimaraner took very well to the medication. Self-prescribing can be fatal to your dog. Happily, most anxiety can be effectively counteracted with plenty of exercise and lots of interaction with you and the family, as well as regular bouts of tussling and playing.
- Obedience training to at least the intermediate level is something that you'll probably both enjoy. Your Weimaraner will enjoy the mental challenge, while you'll enjoy the opportunity to really bond with your dog. Obedience training is a great way to strengthen trust between owner and dog, and in addition, you'll end up with a highly trained, obedient dog. You may even want to compete - Weimaraners typically take top honours in obedience classes due to their perceptive, willing-to-please natures and high intelligence.
- Weimaraners are playful, intelligent dogs, and will enjoy life that much more if they're able to play interactively with you. Consider investing in a tennis-ball thrower: this is a great way of playing with your dog, as well as chalking up the necessary miles (without you having to expend an unnatural amount of energy doing so!). Weimaraners love to play fetch and will retrieve tirelessly for as long as you can throw the ball.
Weimaraners in a Nutshell
During puppyhood and adolescence (the first two or three years), Weimaraners can be high-maintenance dogs in terms of training requirements. Bear in mind that this is NOT a passive 'house-pet' type animal: no Weimaraner can sit quietly in the corner until you decide to administer some attention, and they are certainly not 'outdoors dogs' that you can keep in a kennel. They need to be involved in family life and to accompany you on your day to day errands and chores. For the right owner (one who leads an active life, is prepared to welcome the dog into the heart of the family, and is alert to his dog's needs), a Weimaraner is the perfect companion animal: intelligent, gutsy, playful, and an excellent guard dog.
For indepth information on dog training (beginners to advanced level), as well as a real goldmine of valuable information on preventing and dealing with typical Weimaraner behavioral problems like separation anxiety, aggression, destructive behavior, and more, have a look at Secrets to Dog Training. It's written by a professional dog-trainer and comes very highly recommended.
You can Download Secrets to Dog Training From http://dogobedienceadvice.com/sitstay
Weimaraner Training | Dog Obedience Advice
weimaraner training, weimaraner, weimaraner-training
Vital information you NEED TO KNOW about training your Weimaraner.... and general Weim ownership issues
Dog Obedience Advice is a free resource offering advice on dog training and a host of common problems dog owners face, including: aggression in all its forms, from territoriality to possessiveness, and from dominance aggression to aggression caused by fear; the most common and frustrating obedience issues, such as problem digging, chewing, and barking; and comprehensive information on house training methods with sound advice on tackling all of the most common housebreaking problems.
On the site you will find indepth articles and reviews of dog training products that we have researched and trialled. Dog Obedience Advice is run by Colin Pederson, a self-confessed "dog man" residing in California with his wife and black Lab Casey.
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After completing my Free '7 Biggest Mistakes Dog Training Report,' you'll...
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Plus much more in my Dog Obedience Advice Free Newsletter Series
There's so much fantastic information in my free report that everyone is asking me how I can be giving this away for free! Let me tell you, even if you've read everything out there on dog obedience (like I have!), you'll STILL be astounded at these valuable insights.
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Specialized knowledge and the most innovative technologies emerging at CERN are available for scientific and commercial purposes as part of technology transfer, which is one of the pillars of the European Organization for Nuclear Research. It is based, among others for research and development cooperation and sharing licenses for commercialization, which can be supported by experts from CERN. The Knowledge Transfer Group at CERN has developed a full catalog of technologies available for science and business, which we will present in a series of our articles.
To begin with, we’ll introduce industry 4.0 in this case, titanium polishing technology.
Titanium polishing is a process to reduce the roughness, and thereby increase the brightness, of a metal surface made of titanium or titanium alloy. The technology described here is a patented electrolytic method (electropolishing), and related technical know-how, to polish titanium to a high degree of surface smoothness – typically down to the nanometer level. CERN’s titanium polishing method uses a chemical bath formed of sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid and acetic acid, which can be complemented with the addition of a cationic wetting agent – providing the benefits of better regulation of the electrochemical process, less metal dissolution, and lower power consumption.
The process is used at CERN primarily to polish electrodes, which require an ultra-smooth surface to avoid sparks during operation. However, the chemical bath and electrolytic parameters could be optimised for other applications, with practically no limit on the size of the sample to be treated.
Applications of technology:
- Vacuum technology
- Medical industry: implants, tools
- Jewelleries, spectacles frames, watches
- Aerospace: turbine blades
- Electronics, storage discs
This technology can be used on a partnership basis with CERN or a license can be obtained from the Organization.
Source of material: CERN – www.kt.cern/technologies/titanium-polishing
To learn more: |
The characteristics and stylistic aspects of Baroque art are difficult to define because other than the break during the Mannerism period Baroque is simply a continuation of the Late Renaissance. The Baroque period in art occurred roughly 1600 to 1750 C.E. The main differentiating characteristic between the Late Renaissance and Baroque is that Baroque is considered dynamic while Renaissance is considered static.
Some words that are commonly used to describe Baroque art are spacious, colorful, dynamic, brilliant, theatrical (this was also a period of great popularity for live theatre), passionate, sensual, ecstatic, opulent, extravagant, versatile and virtuoso. Events going on during this time period both inside and outside the art world affected the appearance of the art that was being created.
One of the societal influences on art was the feeling of nationalism prevalent in this region. There were wars going on in America as well as between the Renaissance cities. Citizens of the cities were feeling loyal to their hometowns and this was reflected in the visual art.
Also during this time period major advances were being made in the fields of science, including astronomy and physics. Some of the people who played major roles in this advancement of science were Galileo, Kepler, and Newton. Three aspects of art that were greatly influenced, but not completely transformed, by science were space, time, and light.
Never before had outer space been studied so closely and with such great detail. The concept of the universe and outer space seeped into the visual arts. Milton describes the new understanding as “the vast and boundless deep.” The new concept of space can been seen particularly in the Perspective Illusionism of Fra Andrea Pozzo.
In centuries previous light was primarily conceptual and was very important in religious depictions. Not only was light ethereal, as seen in gothic architecture, but it was also a symbolic representation of truth and the Holy Spirit. Now light became a physical entity. An example of this new concept of light is Gianlorenzo Bernini’s (also known as Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini) Ecstasy of St. Theresa. In this sculpture gold spikes, representing rays of light from above, seem to lunge toward the figures. In order to further accentuate the light in the piece, a small opening is located above the spikes so they shine with actual sunlight.
The concept of time played important roles in religion, psychology, philosophy, and literature. Previously people could not and did not attempt to define time. Time was accepted as a concept and not something that exists in reality. During this period however scientists began to apply measurements to the concept of time bringing it closer to being an actual aspect of nature. Artists began use time as a central theme in much of their work; often it was depicted as fleeting and fierce.
Scientists began to study nature through careful observation and experimentation. Artists did the same, studying the human figure closer than had ever been done before and adding elements of the natural to depictions of the ideal (classicism). Artists continued to use space, time, and light symbolically and to create art that illustrated the invisible and unchanging truth. However, in the Baroque period artists began to add naturalism to their paintings believing that since nature was pure and perfect it would make their artwork more valid.
Finally artists had all the tools they needed to created realistic art that was completely convincing and accurate. They could move on and concentrate more on the drama of human life than the recreation of it on a flat surface.
Gardner's Art Through the Ages Tenth Edition |
The art of woodworking is enjoyed by countless people, men and women alike. Being able to create something beautiful from an ordinary piece of wood is very satisfying. If you are interested in learning or in improving your skills, this article may have some advice that you can use in your next project.
The reason why many power tools have guards on them is to keep you safe. Never remove the guards off of any of your tools. You may not understand why they are there, but they are there for a reason. They are there to protect you from sharp blades, moving parts and other things that could potentially hurt you.
Familiarize yourself with the tools that you are going to use. This is a very important tip for the beginner, but even more advanced woodworkers can benefit from it too. Lay out the tools and make sure that you know the workings of each one. If you’ve got a brand new tool to you, spend the time that you need with it.
Before using any new tool, do your research on it in full. New tools can mean serious injuries for those that use them incorrectly. Even if you’re pretty sure of how to use it, don’t risk it. Study up via the web and books related to the tool in question.
Always put your safety first when it comes to using tools, stains and paints. The more variety you use, the more specifics there are about applications, tool use, times for drying, and more. Put your safety first by reading the instructions, wearing any necessary protective gear, and working in areas with good ventilation whenever using oil-based products or anything that produces air pollutants.
If there is a joint in your work that does not fit together properly, this cannot be fixed with glue. While it may seem like the simple way to fix things, it will only work temporarily. The best thing to do would be to start over and be more careful the next time.
Do you lose drill press key chucks often? A good way to keep them within reach is to drill a hole somewhere on the drill press they fit. On top of the press is a good place, where you can see it. Drill a small hole the exact same size of the chuck’s crossbar and it will fit in perfectly.
Always remember the rule of measuring twice and cutting once. You are human, which means that mistakes are inevitable. However, you can prevent measurement mistakes from turning into cutting mistakes when you measure two or three times. That is going to spare you serious waste, not just in terms of wasted wood, but also money and time.
Take baby steps when first starting out with woodworking. It’s a lot of fun to learn, but woodworking is also pretty dangerous if you get too cocky too soon. Even when you feel like you know the basics, keep practicing them. And always where safety gear. You are much better off.
If you plan on applying any gloss or stain to a piece of wood, it is very important that you sand it down first. Failing to do this step will result in a wood surface that is not very smooth. Use sandpaper to smooth things down then make sure all dust s removed by brushing it with a cloth.
Custom wood craft is something that many people appreciate. Think about what you would to make for your next project. Keep in mind the advice that you have learned here. Whether you are doing woodworking as a hobby or for business, the more experience you have, the better your craftsmanship will be. |
December 18, 2013
Students at Jackson-Via Elementary School participated in its annual Bully Nots assembly Wednesday.
Fourth grade students used their creative talents to spread an anti-bullying message through songs, dance acts, and skits.
The goal of the program is to encourage students to treat others the way they want to be treated and working together to build a strong community within the school and the city.
"I think what makes Bully Nots unique is that it's students spreading the message to be kind, to be inclusive to be respectful. Giving students the opportunity to use creative talents to spread those messages. Very few other programs actually brings kids together with songs dance and skits that they've created in order to impact their peers and that's what the Bully Nots program does", said Kristen Ullrich, a school counselor.
All students attending Jackson-Via Elementary are considered Bully Nots in training. |
"Monitor and control your greenhouse or hydroponics set-up on the IoT cloud using a LoRaWAN network
Collect real time enviromenta data, receive alerts and remotely control your lights, heaters, water pumps, air-vents, and more - all from your smartphone
Monitor and control greenhouse or hydroponics set-up through the IOT cloud
One of the most important parts of keeping a garden is to ensure you’re giving your plants the right conditions. Obviously, this is difficult to manage when you’re up against the elements. A few hot Summer days or some frost-bitten mornings can be disastrous for farmers and amateur gardeners alike. Likewise, certain plants simply won’t grow in certain conditions. So if you’re growing commercially, or simply want to provide the best possible care for your plants, you’re going to want them in an closed system. For most, a hydroponics system or a greenhouse will do alright. For those looking for the best possible conditions for their plants and crops? You’ll need a LoRaWAN Green house of hydroponics system.
Every plant has different needs, and you’ll need to closely monitor those needs if you’re hoping to maximise yield. While its clear that a greenhouse will keep in heat and moisture, its not so clear exactly how much.
Soil (or in the case of a hydroponics system, nutrient solution) parameters are also extremely important to monitor. The warmth, humidity and pH of soil and nutrient solutions is important, but so are more complicated readings, like conductivity.
Plus, if you’re running a system indoors, you’re naturally going to need to be in charge of light levels, rainfall and air quality. How much carbon dioxide are your hungry plants getting? How much light is hitting their leaves? Is your irrigation system working properly?
These are all questions a LoRaWAN system can answer – whether you be an amateur hydroponics enthusiast, a hobby farmer, or a fully-fledged agriculturalist.
LoRaWAN networks allow you to gather data from sensors and send it to the cloud. Once your data is on the cloud, you’re able to use any internet connected device and see, in real-time, exactly how your plants are faring. Having real time insights, plus historical data, is key to the best possible yields from your crop.
For instance, fitting out your greenhouse with just the following sensors will allow you to keep a finger on the very pulse of your garden:
Dragino LLMS01 - LoRaWAN Leaf Moisture Sensor
The Dragino LLMS01 is a LoRaWAN leaf moisture and temperature sensor and when used with Telemetry2U, quickly enables a level of smart farming through the Internet of Things (IoT). Leaf Moisture can be important for controlling anything from fungus and diseases to irrigation systems. With T2U, you can be alerted if your leaf's require watering/moisturizing or when there is a dew or they are frozen, helping you optimize growth and general farm management.
Dragnino LSN50V2-S31 - LoRaWAN Temperature and Humidity Sensor
The Dragino LSN50v2-S31 LoRaWAN Temperature and Humidity Sensor is fitted with a quality Sensorion SHT31 probe in an anti-condensation enclosure with a 3-meter cable that has been factory calibrated and temperature compensated, so can precisely measure Temperature and Humidity both indoors or outdoors. It has a temperature range of -40 to 85C and a Humidity range of 0 to 99.9%. The node is fitted with an external antenna for extra long range and the internal 8500mA battery can last up to 10-years with a modest 20-minute uplink interval.
Dragino LSE01 - LoRaWAN Soil Moisture Sensor
The Dragino LSE01 is a LoRaWAN Soil Moisture & EC Sensor detects Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature and Soil Conductivity, and uploads the the via wireless to LoRaWAN Network. It is designed to measure the soil moisture of saline-alkali soil and loamy soil. The soil sensor uses the FDR method to calculate the soil moisture, with compensation for soil temperature and conductivity.
Once these are hooked into your own private LoRaWAN network, and your data is on the cloud, you’ll be able to keep an eye on plant conditions in real time. But it gets better.
Dragino LT22222L - LoRaWAN I/O Controller
If you see them changing, you’ll be able to act quickly to correct any drifts away from the ideal conditions. LoRaWAN doesn’t just let your greenhouse or hydroponics system talk to you. It lets you talk back.
With IoT pumps, actuators and controllers, you’ll be able to hook up certain functions of your greenhouse to be operated remotely using the Dragino LT22222L LoRaWAN I/O controller. Plants getting too much light? Turn down your growlights, or put up some shaders. Soil getting to dry? Turn on your irrigation or close some air vents.
With LoRaWAN, creating an automated Greenhouse or Hydroponics system isn’t difficult. It isn’t even particularly expensive. We’d love to explain how.
LoRaWAN Drives IoT Applications
Once you have a LoRaWAN gateway and a Telemetry2U account, an enormous range of plug-and-play LoRaWAN end-devices and sensors to monitor or control just about anything become readily available to you. The seamless integration between these end-devices and Telemetry2U’s IoT Platform unlocks an incredibly large variety of potential IoT applications that anyone can employ to make their world ‘smarter’ through broad connectivity.
The fact that you’re investing in a complete system that is capable of so many ‘things’; not just one thing, really is what makes Telemetry2U so unique. It’s dynamic, yet its affordable - we ensure the 'Internet of Things' is readily accessible to anyone and everyone, at a fair price point, with all the benefits and features this amazing technology has to offer managed in a single place - Telemetry2U.
If you would like to learn more on how Telemetry2U can help you get your operation on the IoT Cloud, please get in touch with us today. |
Profession precious stone cutter
Precious stone cutters use cutting machines and tools to cut or carve diamonds and other gemstones according to diagrams and patterns while considering different specifications. They are experts at fabricating jewellery such as rings, brooches, chains and bracelets from gemstones.
Would you like to know what kind of career and professions suit you best? Take our free Holland code career test and find out.
- Realistic / Artistic
- Jewellery processes
Materials and processes involved in creating jewellery items like earrings, necklaces, rings, brackets, etc.
- Characteristics of diamonds
Key characteristics of diamonds that affect their value: carat weight, cut, colour and clarity.
- Gem cutting forms
Gemstones can be cut into different shapes such as faceted stones, cablochons, spheres or beads. They can also be fit together with other precious stones or different materials as in the case of inlays or mosaics. Finally, they can be carved to produce intaglios or cameos.
Types of minerals or petrified materials that are cut and polished for use in jewellery, classified according to type, characteristics, and value.
- Manufacturing of jewellery
The manufacturing of different type of jewellery such as rings or necklaces out of various metal types such as silver, gold, diamond and other precious stones.
- Ensure conformance to jewel design specifications
Examine finished jewellery products to ensure that they meet quality standards and design specifications. Use magnifying glasses, polariscopes or other optical instruments.
- Use precision tools
Use electronic, mechanical, electric, or optical precision tools for precision work.
- Use jewellery equipment
Handle, modify, or repair jewellery-making equipment such as jigs, fixtures, and hand tools such as scrapers, cutters, gougers, and shapers.
- Cut gem stones
Cut and shape gemstones and jewellery pieces.
- Attend to detail regarding jewellery creation
Perform great attention to all steps in the design, creation and finishing of jewellery.
- Grind gemstones
Shape gemstones using equipment such as diamond or silicon carbide wheels to obtain a rough though more regular form called the preform.
- Calculate value of gems
Determine appraised value of gemstones such as diamonds and pearls; study price guides, market fluctuations and grades of rarity.
- Examine gems
Closely examine gemstone surfaces using polariscopes or other optical instruments.
- Record jewel weight
Record the weight of finished jewellery pieces. |
How big is Texas
Texas is the largest state in the United States after Alaska and roughly the size of Germany, Italy and Switzerland combined. With around 30 million inhabitants, only about a fifth as many people live in Texas as in these three countries. Most Texans live in the big cities. Houston is the largest, followed by San Antonio and Dallas. The capital is Austin, in other words: Ostin.
The name of the state comes from the Indian word "Tejas", which means "friendship". The Americans gave Texas the nickname "State of the Lone Star", in English "Lone Star State". This is because there is a single star on the Texas flag.
What is the state like?
Texas is located deep in the south of the United States, near Mexico. The weather is usually very hot and dry. However, every now and then there are violent summer storms with heavy rainfall. Because Texas is so big, the landscape is also extremely varied. Much land is prairie or desert. In the west there are many high mountains and equally deep canyons, i.e. river valleys. It's swampy on the Louisiana border. There are many sandy beaches on the long Atlantic coast.
Outside of the largest cities, Texas is very sparsely populated. Few people live in a large area. Some rich farmers even own several thousand square kilometers of land, which corresponds to the area of metropolises like London or Moscow.
What to see in Texas
There is a lot to see in Texas. The amusement park "Six Flags over Texas" near Dallas offers 45 different attractions, including the famous roller coaster "New Texas Giant". The Alamo in San Antonio is also famous. It was originally a Christian mission house for the Spaniards, but then played an important role as a fortress in the Texas War of Independence.
For nature lovers there is the Big Bend National Park in the south near Mexico. The Rio Grande river runs through it over a length of around 200 kilometers. Its landscape is characterized by cacti, deep gorges, wild streams and rock formations made of lava stone. Animals such as coyotes, foxes and pumas live there, as well as over 450 species of birds.
Many German immigrants settled around the city of Fredericksburg near San Antonio in the 19th century. Their descendants are still called Texas Germans today. They even speak a special dialect of the German language, Texas German.
What do people live on?
After California, Texas is the most important state for the American economy. Texas has the most petroleum of any US state. A lot of natural gas is also extracted. There are also large refineries that process the crude oil into gasoline, diesel and other fuels and lubricants.
The chemical factories make many products from petroleum. Many companies work for space travel or manufacture aircraft. Many electronic things are also manufactured.
Many people work in agriculture. They raise livestock, especially cattle and sheep. They also grow maize, rice, oats, vegetables, citrus fruits and cotton on their fields.
There are 10,000 wind turbines in Texas. The city of Houston, in other words: Hiusten, is the second largest port in the USA in terms of the amount of goods loaded and unloaded. In addition, a lot of money is made from tourism.
What happened earlier
The oldest traces of humans in North America come from Texas. They date from the Stone Age, around 14,000 years before Christ. Mostly these are tools made of stone. There were different tribes of Indians. They were growing maize as early as 1,500 years before Christ.
At the beginning of modern times, Spanish sailors came to the area and made it a colony. The French also founded a fort here, but were driven away by the Indians and by diseases.
When Mexico broke away from motherland Spain, Texas was Mexican for a few years. In 1836, however, the Texans no longer wanted to be Mexicans and fought for their freedom in a war of independence. Nine years later, Texas joined the United States after briefly becoming a republic.
Many people in Texas still speak Spanish today. Not least because of the many immigrants from Mexico and other Central American countries. The influence of Mexican culture can also be seen in the local Tex-Mex cuisine with dishes such as chili con carne or tacos.
The flag of Texas gave the state its nickname "Lone Star State".
Texas occupies a large area in the southern United States.
With this pump, crude oil is extracted from the ground.
There are also other search results for "Texas" from Blind Cow and Ask Finn.
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When kids are comfortable with communicating their feelings, they often end up communicating what they most deeply need. When their feelings are validated, the groundwork for self-regulation is being put into place. And so, fitting emotional literacy naturally into a child’s life early simply makes good sense.
Here are 5 simple ways to help kids communicate their feelings:
1. Communicate feelings yourself (and encourage role-models to do so, too)!
Kids do what we do. They observe and experience how the adults and role models in their lives identify, accept and manage their own feelings and the emotions of others, and use what they have processed as a basis for their own beliefs and practices.
Whenever we, the grown ups, can use language including “I feel, I felt, I remember feeling, etc.” we are making a deposit into the emotional language banks of the children in our presence.
Many people find discussing feelings and emotions difficult, and the toughest part can be starting the conversation. The good news is that the first conversations about feelings do not have to be personal!
2. Read stories!
Even in kindergarten, there are children who are already uncomfortable about discussing their own feelings. I have yet to meet a little person who is not willing to hear a story or watch something on YouTube!
I have been developing the Dealing With Feelings stories since 2013, and frequently use them on my iPad when needed, providing students with a line-art copy to color. The characters in these stories model emotional literacy on a level that kids can relate to.
Dealing With Feelings Stories: I simply say, “Would you like to hear a story?” and allow the child to discover connections to the character as we read.
(We all know how motivated we are to discuss something we’re uncomfortable with!) Listening to a story is often calming!
There are so many amazing feelings / emotions books available today, that I have a Pinterest board dedicated to them. Check it out:
Many of these stories are also read-aloud on YouTube!
3. Provide pictures showing feelings / expressions!
A child who wants to communicate his or her feelings but does not have the vocabulary to say how he or she feels, can point to a picture s/he relates best to.
Picture dictionaries often have a page dedicated to feelings, which can be bookmarked with a sticky note. Years ago, I made a feelings bulletin board with my firsties from photographs, newspaper and magazine clippings.
Having posters in the classroom is most effective when done appropriately for the group you have. Keeping it simple with fewer posters for younger children is recommended to avoid overwhelming the kids, while lining up multiple posters in older classes can be be especially useful to students who are writing about feelings.
I like to display half-page feelings flags where kids can point to them. The posters shown at the bottom are 8 1/2 x 11 pages, and are also included as playing cards in my visuals, tools and activities set.
Earlier in my teaching career, I used feelings pictures for individual students on a ring, but have found that (like visual schedules) in recent years, increasing numbers of students benefit from them being posted right on the wall (and the rings are easily misplaced)!
4. Feelings scales
Feelings scales can be used for an entire class or for individuals. In the photo below, the kids’ names are on clothes pegs, and the feelings scale has been printed on thick card paper and laminated.
Feelings scales like these make it easier for kids to communicate their emotions without saying a word. Students can answer “How are you feeling?” by simply pointing to a picture, or with the slide of a paperclip, button or placement of a clothes peg. (The button slider pictured in the top middle doubles as a fidget toy!)
I’ve used feelings scales with individual students. They are especially helpful with kids whose frustration moves into raging anger quickly, and lose control. With a feelings scale, a child can make it clear to themselves, and others, when they are becoming frustrated, so that measures can be put in place to prevent further escalation.
5. Work ‘feelings talk’ into daily routines
- Have a star student? If that student is trying to share something with the class and is interrupted, how does it make him/her feel?
- Discussing the calendar, an upcoming holiday? How many people feel excited about it?
- Celebrating a child’s birthday? How does it feel to be the birthday child? Is it normal to feel jealous that it isn’t your own birthday?
- Getting close to outdoor time? Have an over-exaggerated, humorous gripe session about the most frustrating part of getting ready for home!
The items pictured in this post are a part of:
Follow me on Facebook for update news on this product!
Best wishes to all of you, your families and students! |
What is ABA?
ABA is a teaching technique that uses positive reinforcement to enable successful learning and shaping of behaviour.
By finding rewards that motivate your child and tailoring a programme that will fit their specific needs, ABA can help children with ASD to develop communication skills and progress academically.
By breaking down tasks into manageable stages and using appropriate prompts for an ‘errorless’ teaching experience ABA builds confidence as well as learning. It also provides a structured way to tackle behaviour and sensory issues to help your child cope with the day-to-day demands that they find challenging.
An ABA programme is a positive experience for the whole family. The benefits of tutor sessions extend into all areas of family life and provide the support you need to create and maintain good family dynamics. The ‘common sense’ strategies help you to build on the tutor sessions in the course of your daily life, so you can play a key role in enabling your child to improve their communication skills and behaviour. Everyone can share in a sense of achievement as data gathered in tutor sessions shows real progress and improvement, and regular workshops ensure your programme keeps moving forward to cover new targets.
(Courtesy of The Playhouse Foundation)
What are the origins of ABA and what should it actually look like? This white paper from the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts is an interesting read, particularly if your school says they are "doing bits of ABA". Make sure you know what a programme entails so you can keep them on track. Read here.
We are always on the look-out for plain English descriptions of ABA/VB and these two, from James Adcock, BCBA, on his ABA Connect blog fit the bill: |
The Mavis Mill was a medium sized mill located at Spittal, between Priory Bridge and the former Spittal Pit/ Doonins. The mill was first occupied by Charles Weir in 1770, around the same time as larger mills on the Calder were opened. There aren’t many photographs remaining of the mill, but we have uncovered this one photographed in 1900.
Mavis Mill was first built in 1770 by Alexander Corse. It was sometimes also known as Spittal Mill. Around that time, millars were experimenting with different techniques in producing cereals. The mill was well equipped to deal with many different methods in producing a fine quality of cereals including corn and wheat.
The Mill itself was largely a corn mill and consisted of three buildings, the largest being the mill itself, L shaped and on the west bank of the river. In the 1890’s the Rodgers family were the millars, but it was the next owner that occupied the mill for the longest time. In 1901, 54 year old Thomas Stratton and his family of 7 children ran the mill business until it’s closure in 1930. Although the adjacent buildings also had the address of “Mavis Mill”, they were actually in later times, separate cottages unconnected to the mill itself. Calderview Cottage and Mavisbank Cottage had originally been mill dwellings but in more modern times served as homes for management staff of the Spittal pit.
Whilst researching Mavis Mill, I found local author Neil Gordon’s story of how Thomas Stratton told when his wife was kicked in the face whilst milking a cow, he pulled a hair from the tail of a horse, threaded it on an ordinary needle and proceeded to stitch the deep wound. It seems this was the way that country people treated such wounds in those days!
Today, all that remains of the mill are some stones with the Calder slowly reclaiming the location of the mill itself. The cottages have however fared better. If you’re driving along Glasgow Road, there’s an impressive, but private modern entrance. A reminder though, this is private property. |
Bacterial mineralization of struvite is one of the novel approaches for the recovery of major nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus. However, previous studies were done by using expensive water-soluble magnesium salts, like MgCl2and MgSO4, significantly limiting its large-scale application. In this context, our objective is to examine the potential of low-cost, naturally abundant MgO as Mg source in bacterial mineralization of struvite.Shewanella oneidensisMR-1 was selected as a model microbe to induce struvite mineralization. The structure, morphology and composition of the mineralized products were identified and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Our results demonstrate thatS. oneidensisMR-1 is able to enhance MgO dissolution, and transform organic nitrogen and organophosphorus into well-crystallized struvite. The process of bacterial mineralization not only increased the alkalinity of the culture, but also effectively transformed over 97% of Mg2+from MgO into struvite, hence significantly cutting down the recovery cost of the major nutrients. Current results could provide an effective and economically feasible pathway for the nutrients removal and subsequent recovery as struvite from eutrophic waters. |
Radio spectrum allocation
Prime, Jamison Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC.
Last reviewed:January 2020
- Need for Spectrum Allocation
- Making Allocation Decisions
- Allocated Services
- Broadcasting service
- Fixed and mobile services
- Amateur radio
- Other allocations
- Unlicensed services
- Trends and Developments
- Related Primary Literature
- Additional Reading
The process of identifying specific frequency bands or blocks of the radio spectrum and determining the broad category of radio communication service or services that will be permitted there, and under what specified conditions. The radio spectrum is the part of the natural spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, lying between the frequency limits of 9 kilohertz and 300 gigahertz, that has been used extensively to provide communications services by means of electromagnetic waves. To make effective use of this resource, the radio spectrum is divided in the frequency dimension into a series of discrete bands or blocks, arranged in a Table of Frequency Allocations. Because different portions of the radio spectrum are marked by different propagation features, and because the nature and scope of radio communication services vary greatly, it has become vital that allocation decisions be made in a way that permits radio communication services to operate in an efficient and effective manner and that minimizes, to the extent feasible, the potential for interference between services. This process, generally, is referred to as frequency management and involves the work of governmental and international bodies. See also: Electromagnetic radiation
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We are in the lab today work on researching social reform movements. Our PURPOSE is twofold; to practice research skills and to learn about the reform movements.
We will start with research.
Click here to follow along with the slideshow and directions. Please don't get ahead of the group.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
This project essentially has 3 parts:
- annotated bibliography in Turabian format
Click here to find links to a variety of resources from each perspective. There are websites, articles, primary source documents, and videos there.
After you explore some of the information that is available to you, log in to your google docs and create a document (title like this: Jones Megan Annotated Bibliography) and create an annotated bibliography entry for 2-3 of the resources.
Confused about what an annotated bibliography IS? Don't be! It's explained on the handout you received and here.
Also: check out the comments below as well- a few students posted sample annotated bibliography entries for our textbook. |
Each day the average American consumes about twice the amount of salt they should and it's coming from restaurant and processed food.
Experts say by lowering sodium levels it could save up to 150,000 lives in the U.S per year.
“It’s a good idea to lower salt, because it's the nation's number one disease, salt related diseases, high blood pressure and salt sensitivity,” said Dr. Robin Felder, UVa Professor of Pathology.
No decisions by the FDA have been made yet. However, the salt industry says current health studies show no benefits from reducing sodium. |
There are multiple misconceptions about natural gas in general, and we here at FireSide Natural Gas want to provide you with the facts about so that you can make an informed decision when it comes to your service provider.
Myth #1: FireSide Natural Gas is explosive.
This myth is not true, natural gas will ignite, but only when there is a source of ignition. This can occur only under two simultaneous circumstances: the gas must be present in a concentration of 5 to 15% relative to the air, and the gas must come in contact with an ignition source that is at least 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Myth #2: FireSide Natural Gas is toxic.
Natural gas is non-toxic and cannot cause you to become sick, unless the gas is in such high concentrations that you cannot get enough oxygen to breathe.
Myth #3: FireSide Natural Gas is bad for the environment.
Natural gas is actually the cleanest burning of all the fossil fuels, especially when it is used directly for space and water heating, rather than as fuel to generate electricity. Also, when natural gas escapes, it rises and dissipates harmlessly into the atmosphere. Other gases, such as propane, are heavier than air, causing them to collect on the ground.
Myth #4: FireSide Natural Gas reserves aren’t going to be around long-term.
New drilling technologies have unlocked substantial amounts of natural gas from shale rocks, increasing the nation’s estimated gas reserves by 35% in recent years. Geologists and industry experts today say there are 50-60 years of proven natural gas reserves, and additional reserves are being discovered each year.
Myth #5: FireSideNatural Gas smells awful!
Pure natural gas has no odor. As a safety precaution, a distinctive odorant called mercaptan is added so that if natural gas escapes, it can be detected. The rotten egg smell is the product of the mercaptan additive.
FireSide Natural Gas is committed to educating consumers about the advantages of using natural gas. For more information, you can contact them at 678-872-0250 or visit their website at www.FireSideNaturalGas.com |
John W. McKee, Rodger L. Naeseth
An experimental study has been made of the drag of flat plates and cylinders in the slipstream of a hovering rotor. The slipstream was generated by a 6-foot-diameter two-blade rotor with constant-chord untwisted blades. The rotor, drive mechanism, and models were set up outdoors in an area surrounded by walls to minimize wind effects, the slipstream being directed upward to provide an unobstructed model test area and to simulate hovering away from the effect of the ground. Models as large as one with an area equal to 0.212 rotor disk area and a span equal to the rotor diameter were tested in a range of distances from the rotor of 0.10 to 1.33 rotor radii.
An Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file of the entire report: |
In Japanese, one word for shaving or slicing is kezu(ru), 削る. A planing competition is called a Kezurō-kai, 削ろう会, the stem ~ō adding the meaning “let’s go~!”. It’s a ‘Let’s Plane!’ Meet.
One way the character ‘削‘ can be understood more clearly is by considering that it is composed of two elements, each of which can be neatly be divided from one another with a vertical slice down the middle. If we dig into the meanings of those elements separately we might find some interesting connections and associations. Sometimes I find such ‘tunneling in’ to a character can lead to interesting outcomes. Sometimes not.
The character ‘削’ is composed of ‘肖’ on the left side and a simplified form of ‘刀’ on the right side. That right side element ‘刀’ means sword and stems from a picture of a sword with a curved blade.
The left side part, ‘肖’, is itself composed of two elements, ‘小’ on the top and ”肉’ on the bottom.
‘肉’ is derived from a pictogram of a cut of meat, with a couple of veins exposed, or muscle striations perhaps:
It means meat or flesh. When kanji describe body parts, they typically use this element in the character. Here are a selection of examples out of many:
You have to look closely at that last one to see the ‘肉’ buried in there.
One confusing thing about this character when it is used as a radical within a more complex character though is that it looks exactly the same as the one meaning moon: 月
The character meaning moon stemmed from a pictograph of the crescent moon:
Or in another similar version:
Compare those two with the first one showing a piece of meat and you can see how the similarities got started between these elements.
So, in the character, ‘肥‘ , meaning grow fat, the radical ‘月’ conveys the meaning of flesh, while in the character ‘朗‘, meaning clear, bright, cheerful, the radical ‘月’ is the moon. See how this dual nature of ‘月’, meat and moon, could be a little confusing?
Anyway, putting small ‘小’ and piece of flesh ‘肉’ together gives, ‘肖‘, the literal meaning of which is small offspring that resemble the parents in miniature.
Putting look, resemble, be like, ‘肖’ , with sword/knife, ‘刀’ , gives the character we started with, ‘削‘, with meanings of which are shave, scrape, plane or pare, creating small likenesses of the original object → shave/plane/pare; reduce; boil down; concentrate; remove; erase; cut; delete.
The Japanese read the character 削 as kezu(ru). It’s a character that means plane wood, and it also means sharpen (a pencil), grate (some cheese), scrape (cast iron), and so forth. |
The International Federation of University Women (IFUW) Calls for the Compilation and Public Dissemination of Gender and Age Specific Disaggregated Data
Source Newsroom: International Federation of University Women
Newswise — Geneva, Switzerland, 08 July 2014.
The International Federation of University Women (IFUW) calls on all governments, regional agencies and other relevant bodies to incorporate a gender-specific perspective in gathering, analysing and publishing indicators of development, so that gender disparities and biases can be properly identified and addressed. The compilation and publication of data, which specifically examines the participation of girls and women in society, is needed immediately so as to track the progress being made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
IFUW President Catherine Bell emphasised that “it is not enough to show general, aggregated trends of development within countries. Given the increased vulnerability of girls and women in areas such as education, health and employment, we must have gender indicators that accurately reflect whether and to what extent progress is being made in closing gender inequalities.”
Both the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) have expressed concern that not all countries are using gender disaggregated data and thus “do not provide sufficient information about the situation of women and girls throughout their life cycle”.(1) Where gender disaggregated data does exist, the results provide concrete cause for concern in terms of the disparities between male and female empowerment. Gender statistics within education highlight the stark reality of inequality; of the 774 million people who are illiterate in the world, over two thirds are female, while there are 4 million more boys than girls enrolled in primary education.(2)
The International Federation of University Women (IFUW) is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and has an international membership. Founded in 1919, IFUW is the leading girls’ and women’s global organisation run by and for women, advocating for women’s rights, equality and empowerment through access to quality education and training up to the highest levels.
IFUW is in special consultative status with ECOSOC and is an NGO maintaining official relations with UNESCO. Learn about our grants & fellowships and our advocacy work. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@IFUWomen)
For more information please contact: Aoife Hegarty, T: +41 22 731 23 80; Email: [email protected]
1 UN Commission on the Status of Women, ‘Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls: Agreed Conclusions’ 58th Session, 10-21 March, 2014 UN Doc. E/CN.6/2014/L.7.
2 UNESCO ‘Education for all Global Monitoring Report: Girls’ Education- The Facts’ October 2013 http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/GMR/images/2011/girls-factsheet-en.pdf |
Welcome to Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania in the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest.
History of Senegal
Senegal has been inhabited since ancient times. Paleolithic and Neolithic axes and arrows have been found near Dakar, and stone circles, as well as copper and iron objects, have been found in central Senegal. The stone circles, thought to date from the 3rd century BCE to the 16th century CE, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2006.
The Fulani and Tukulor occupied the lower Sénégal River valley in the 11th century. The name Senegal appears to be derived from that of the Zenaga Berbers of Mauritania and northern Senegal. About 1040, Zenaga Berbers established a Muslim ribāṭ (fortified religious retreat), perhaps on an island in the river; this became the base for the Almoravids, who converted the Tukulor, conquered Morocco, and crossed into Spain. The Almoravid attacks on the Soninke empire of Ghana contributed to the empire’s eventual decline. Between 1150 and 1350 the legendary leader Njajan Njay founded the Jolof kingdom, which in the 16th century split into the competing Wolof states of Walo, Kajor, Baol, Sine, and Salum. Islamic influence spread throughout the region in variable strength; it gained new impetus in the late 17th century, and after 1776 Tukulor Muslims established a theocratic confederacy in Fouta.
Portuguese navigators reached Cape Verde about 1444; they established trading factories at the mouth of the Sénégal, on Gorée Island, at Rufisque, and along the coast to the south. In the 17th century their power was superseded by that of the Dutch and then the French.
The French period
A French factory at the mouth of the Sénégal River was rebuilt in 1659 at N’Dar, an island in the river that became the town of Saint-Louis, and in 1677 France took over Gorée from the Dutch. These two communities became bases for French trading companies that bought slaves, gold, and gum arabic in the region and became homes for free Christian Africans and Eurafricans.
After two periods of British occupation, Saint-Louis and Gorée were returned to France in 1816. When attempts to grow cotton near Saint-Louis proved unprofitable, trade for gum in the Sénégal valley was substituted. In 1848 the marginal colonial economy was further disrupted when the Second Republic outlawed slavery on French soil.
In 1854 Napoleon III granted the request of local merchants for a greater French military presence and appointed Commandant Louis-Léon-César Faidherbe governor. At the same time, al-Ḥājj ʿUmar Tal, a Tukulor, conquered the Bambara kingdom of Kaarta as well as the states of Segu and Macina, but he was unable to control his home territory of Fouta because the French occupied the land. A military stalemate after 1857 led to a truce of coexistence between the two powers, although the French exploited the internal conflicts in the region after ʿUmar Tal’s death in 1864. When Faidherbe retired in 1865, French power was paramount over most of the territory of modern Senegal, with peanut cultivation and export reaping great economic benefits for the colonists.
In 1879 the French government approved a large program of railway construction (built 1882–86). One line linked Saint-Louis with Dakar through the main peanut area in Kajor. Another rail line, the Dakar-Niger line, was not completed until 1923 and facilitated access to the territory formerly controlled by ʿUmar Tal. Meanwhile, France was consolidating direct control over the rest of Senegal and its other African colonies. In 1895 Jean-Baptiste Chaudié became first governor-general of French West Africa, and in 1902 its capital moved from Saint-Louis to Dakar.
Before this new autocratic empire established its rigid administrative control over such traditional chiefs as it still tolerated, the Third Republic had recognized the inhabitants of Saint-Louis, Gorée, Dakar, and Rufisque, regardless of ethnicity, as French citizens. In 1914 the African electors succeeded in sending Blaise Diagne, an African former colonial official, as their deputy to the National Assembly in Paris. In return for assistance in recruiting African soldiers in World War I (some 200,000 in all from French West Africa), Diagne obtained confirmation of full French citizenship rights for this urban minority, even if they chose to retain their status under Muslim law. These privileges were lost between 1940 and 1942, when French West Africa passed under control of the wartime Vichy government, but were restored under the Fourth Republic (1947–58).
Two socialist deputies elected in 1946, Lamine Guèye and Léopold Senghor, at first concentrated on restoring the original French citizenship rights and then extending them to the whole Senegalese population. But political life was increasingly influenced by nationalist movements elsewhere in Africa and Asia, as well as by strong internal tensions, notably those revealed by a sustained railway strike in 1947–48. Senghor, a poet and philosopher who sought some synthesis between an authentic African identity and French civilization, built a strong political position on partnership with the leaders of the Mourides (Murīdiyyah) and other socially conservative Muslim orders, but he was increasingly driven toward claiming political independence. In 1958 the Senegalese electorate accepted his advice to vote in favour of membership in Charles de Gaulle’s proposed French Community, but two years later Senegal claimed and received independence (initially within the short-lived Mali Federation).
As president, Senghor maintained collaboration internally with Muslim religious leaders and externally with France, which continued to provide economic, technical, and military support. The economy, however, remained vulnerable both to fluctuations in world prices for peanuts and phosphates and to the Sahelian droughts, and the government found it increasingly difficult to satisfy the expectations of the working class and of a rapidly growing student body. Although Senegal remained more tolerant and pluralist than many African states, there were encroachments on political freedoms. In 1976, however, Senghor authorized the formation of two opposition parties; Abdou Diouf, to whom he transmitted presidential power in January 1981, tentatively extended these freedoms.
Under Diouf the Socialist Party (PS) maintained Senghor’s alliance with the Muslim hierarchies. When the PS secured more than 80 percent of the votes in the 1983 elections, there were complaints of unfair practice, and the eight deputies returned by the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) of Abdoulaye Wade initially refused to take their seats. Nevertheless, the framework of parliamentary democracy survived the continuing economic stringency of the 1980s. In 1988 Diouf’s presidential majority dropped to 73 percent, and the PDS won 17 of the 120 parliamentary seats. Charges of inequity and fraud, and considerable violence, were followed by the declaration of a state of emergency. Wade was imprisoned but was subsequently pardoned.
Diouf found it increasingly difficult to meet prescriptions for economic adjustment while trying to contain social and ethnic pressures caused by falling export values, rising costs of living, and mounting unemployment. The proclamation in 1981 of the Senegambian confederation, established after Senegalese troops marched into The Gambia to crush a military coup, was abrogated in 1989. That same year a long-standing border dispute between Senegal and Mauritania erupted into serious ethnic violence; several hundred Senegalese were massacred in Mauritania, and both countries expelled tens of thousands of expatriates. Senegalese merchants took over many of the businesses previously owned and operated by Mauritanians in Senegal. Tensions have remained high ever since, despite an agreement in April 1992 between the two countries to restore diplomatic relations. In 2000 tensions were further heightened over the issue of Sénégal River usage rights; violence was averted when the Senegalese government abandoned a controversial irrigation plan.
Generally peaceful elections in 1993 resulted in victory for Diouf and the PS. The French decision in 1994 to devalue the African franc by 50 percent negatively affected the Senegalese economy and sparked the most-serious uprisings in the country in years, led by dissatisfied urban youths. The government quickly crushed the demonstrations and arrested hundreds. The difficult economic conditions continued, exacerbated by periodic droughts and inflation. Despite the economic problems, however, the Diouf regime retained the support of the powerful Muslim leadership in the country, and the PS won legislative elections again in 1998, although opposition parties did make some gains, especially in the urban Dakar region. Wade finally won the presidency in March 2000, marking the first time since the country’s independence that a presidential candidate was elected from a party other than the PS. Wade’s victory also ushered in a peaceful and democratic transfer of power, a significant event on the African continent. He was reelected in 2007.
Initially, Wade drew wide support from a coalition of opposition parties, and in the 2001 legislative elections Wade’s coalition scored a decisive victory. Also, a new constitution that he promoted was overwhelmingly approved by voters that year. As time went on, however, dissatisfaction with Wade’s performance grew, as many were frustrated by the lack of progress in dealing with the country’s infrastructure problems and the rising cost of living. Many people were also unhappy with the 164-foot (50-metre) bronze statue that Wade had commissioned, which was unveiled in April 2010 as Senegal celebrated its 50th independence anniversary. The seminude figures of the statue offended many in the predominantly Muslim country, and the $27 million cost was an especially bitter pill to swallow when so many Senegalese were struggling.
The run-up to the February 2012 presidential election was rife with discord. In June 2011 Wade proposed that the percentage necessary to avoid a runoff in a presidential election be reduced from 50 percent to 25 percent, which would make it easier for a candidate to be elected without a majority of the vote. The proposal was met with criticism and spawned several violent protests; Wade withdrew the proposal later that month. A proposal to create the position of an elected vice president and to allow the presidential and vice presidential candidates to run on the same ticket evoked criticism as well and was also dropped. Another significant source of preelection discord was Wade’s intention to stand in the 2012 election, despite the fact that the 2001 constitution limited presidents to two terms. Since Wade had been elected a year prior to the promulgation of the 2001 constitution, he maintained that the two-term limit should not be applied retroactively to include his first term. The issue was debated by the country’s Constitutional Council, which in late January 2012 declared that Wade’s bid for a third term was valid. The council also rejected the candidacy of presidential aspirant Youssou N’Dour, an internationally known musician and popular figure in Senegal. News of the council’s decisions, particularly that which allowed Wade to run for a third term, drew much domestic and international criticism and resulted in large demonstrations of protest in Dakar and elsewhere in the country.
Senegalese voters cast their ballots on February 26, 2012, choosing from more than a dozen presidential candidates. Wade received the most votes, taking 34.82 percent; his nearest challenger, former prime minister Macky Sall, won 26.57 percent. A runoff election between Wade and Sall was held on March 25. Early results indicated a clear victory for Sall, and Wade conceded defeat later that night. Sall had won about 66 percent of the vote and was inaugurated on April 2, 2012.
In 2016 Sall proposed several changes to the constitution, which included reducing the presidential term from seven years to five years, limiting a president to two terms in office, and expanding the mandate of the National Assembly. He presented his proposals to the Constitutional Council, which rejected the proposal for Sall’s current term as president to be reduced. The other suggested changes were put to a referendum vote, held on March 20, 2016. More than 60 percent of the voters cast their ballots in favour of the proposed changes. Legislative elections in July 2017 saw Sall’s ruling coalition winning three-fourths of the National Assembly seats.
Sall’s term in office was marked by a flurry of development activity, much of it under the banner of the “Emerging Senegal” project. The ambitious plan included the construction of Diamniadio, a planned city near Dakar that was intended to ease congestion in the capital by providing new space for government, business, and industry. The new city’s industrial park was deemed a special economic zone, making it attractive for business investment. The country’s transportation network was expanded and repaired. Electricity sources were upgraded and extended to some rural areas that previously did not have access. A new international airport east of Dakar, under construction since 2007, opened in 2017.
In contrast to the positive development evident under Sall were the allegations that he was intolerant of dissent. There were a number of protests against Sall and his administration; some were forcefully put down. A popular opposition figure, Dakar’s mayor Khalifa Sall (no relation to President Sall), was arrested in 2017 on charges of having embezzled public funds and was later convicted; he denied the charges, claiming that they were politically motivated. A 2018 election law that made it more difficult to become a presidential candidate garnered criticism for essentially limiting the number of potential challengers to Sall in the 2019 presidential election. Furthermore, two of Sall’s most prominent would-be challengers, Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade, were barred from standing in the election because of their criminal records. Sall faced only four other challengers in the presidential election held on February 24, 2019. He was reelected with 58 percent of the vote.
A long-standing challenge to the Senegalese government was the conflict in Casamance, the southern area physically isolated from the rest of the country by The Gambia. Since 1982 a rebel group, primarily based in the Diola areas, had been fighting for independence, and many people died as a result of the fighting. The Senegalese government refused to negotiate with the rebels, and a 1998 attempted military coup in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau, which involved guerrillas from Casamance, was repressed by government troops and led to renewed violence in the area. The leader of the main rebel forces declared the war over in 2003, and a peace agreement was signed in 2004, but some rebel factions continued to fight. After Sall took office in 2012, he renewed government peace talks with the rebels, and in 2014 one faction declared a unilateral cease-fire in support of the ongoing talks.
People of Senegal
The Wolof comprise about two-fifths of the total population, and their language is the most widely used in the republic. Under the traditional Wolof social structure, similar to those of other groups in the region, people were divided into the categories of freeborn (including nobles, clerics, and peasants), caste (including artisans, griots, and blacksmiths), and slaves. The Serer, numbering slightly more than one-seventh of the population, are closely related to the Wolof. The Tukulor make up more than one-fourth of the population. The Tukulor are often hard to distinguish from the Wolof and the Fulani, for they have often intermarried with both. The Diola and the Malinke constitute a small portion of the population. Other small groups consist of such peoples as the Soninke, rulers of the ancient state of Ghana; the Mauri, who live primarily in the north of the country; the Lebu of Cape Verde, who are fishermen and often wealthy landowners; and the Basari, an ancient people who are found in the rocky highlands of Fouta Djallon.
Some 39 languages are spoken in Senegal, including French (the official language) and Arabic. Linguists divide the African languages spoken there into two families: Atlantic and Mande. The Atlantic family, generally found in the western half of the country, contains the languages most widely spoken in Senegal—Wolof, Serer, Fula, and Diola. Mande languages are found in the eastern half and include Bambara, Malinke, and Soninke.
Islam is the religion of the vast majority of the population, practiced through involvement in groups known as Muslim brotherhoods. In Senegal the three primary brotherhoods are the Qadiri (Qadiriyyah), the Tijani (Tijāniyyah), and the Mourides (Murid, Murīdiyyah). Spiritual leaders known as marabouts figure prominently in Muslim brotherhoods and are important in maintaining the social status quo. Touba, Senegal’s most sacred city, is the birthplace of Amadou Bamba M’backe, the founder of the Mourides brotherhood. A small segment of the population follows traditional religions. The Diola have a priestly class that directs ancestor veneration. Christianity is practiced by a growing but still very small population. Christianity came to the region beginning in 1486, and the contact was renewed with the arrival in 1819 of nuns of the order of St. Joseph of Cluny. Most followers are Roman Catholic, and the small number of Protestants are largely immigrants from Europe.
Art & Culture of Senegal
Art, sculpture, music, and dance remain typically Senegalese in expression. Sculpture is characterized by abstraction and by the ideogram, through which the artist de-emphasizes the material aspect to give free rein to ideas and feelings; a sculptured gazelle, for example, may be represented solely by its horns and its neck, or an elephant may be depicted only by the immense fan formed by its ears and its trunk. Similarly, because traditional Senegalese music is not written down, the imagination of the musician is critical. This is especially true for griots. Once court artists, they are today a predominantly hereditary caste of traditional West African troubadour-historians who perform a variety of social and cultural functions—from genealogy and praise singing to acting as key celebrants of village ceremonies. Accompanying themselves, usually with a kora (a long-necked, multistringed instrument), griots recite poems or tell stories, often of warrior deeds, that contain a core of ideas around which they may improvise. Dance also owes much to improvisation, though professional troupes such as the Ballet National du Senegal, founded by Léopold Senghor in 1960, have created highly choreographed presentations that draw on many ethnic traditions.
Contemporary Senegalese music combines traditional styles, instruments, and rhythms with those of Western music. One of the first bands to blend these musical styles was the Star Band, established by Ibra Kassé in the early 1960s. Orchestra Baobab, founded in 1970, fuses Latin American elements—especially Cuban—with African languages and rhythms. Youssou N’Dour, one of Africa’s most famous recording artists, achieved worldwide fame with his bands Étoile de Dakar and Super Étoile de Dakar. He is known for blending traditional mbalax (a type of drumming) and more-modern elements of such Western styles of music as rock and pop. Another internationally known recording artist is Baaba Maal, a Fulani musician who often uses traditional African instruments but also draws from several styles of Western music, notably pop and reggae.
Senegalese literature is personified by Senghor, the former president who in 1983 became the first person from sub-Saharan Africa to be elected to the Académie Franƈaise. A poet and philosopher as well as a politician, he was associated with Negritude, a literary movement that celebrated the traditional culture of sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to Senghor, its practitioners include Ousmane Socé, David Diop, Sheikh Hamidou Kane, and Abdoulaye Sadji, all of whom are known for works that imaginatively reflect the flavour of Senegalese life. Mariama Bâ, one of Senegal’s few women writers, is known for her novel Une si longue lettre (1980; So Long a Letter). Another noted Senegalese author, Ousmane Sembène, wrote the classic Les Bouts de bois de Dieu (1960; God’s Bits of Wood), a fictional account of a strike of African railroad workers that occurred in the late 1940s.
About the time of that book’s publication, Sembène, eager to reach a larger, nonliterate Senegalese audience, began making motion pictures, first in French and then in his native Wolof language. His films include La Noire de… (1966; Black Girl), depicting the virtual enslavement of a Senegalese servant by a French family; Ceddo (1977; Outsiders), portraying the clash between traditional African and Islamist beliefs; Guelwaar (1992), a political thriller that examines Christian-Muslim conflict; and Moolaadé (2004; Protection), about the controversial practice of female genital cutting (also referred to as female genital mutilation or female circumcision). Other prominent Senegalese filmmakers include Djibril Diop Mambéty, Abacabar Samb-Makharam, and Safi Faye, the first sub-Saharan African woman to direct a feature film, Kaddu beykat (1975; Letters from My Village).
Daily life and social customs
Collectivism is central to traditional Senegalese culture, which remains very much alive. Although written forms of languages spoken in Senegal have existed for some time, the country’s cultural heritage is preserved through oral tradition, mainly by the oldest men of the community, who are at the summit of Senegal’s hierarchical society. Rites and initiations are actively practiced in rural areas—for example, by the Basari of Kédougou. Among Muslims, youths must be circumcised before being accorded the responsibilities of manhood. Even though the constitution prohibits discrimination by sex, traditional religious beliefs in many parts of the country prohibit women from inheriting land, and society generally recognizes men as the heads of the households.
A wide variety of foods are available in Senegal. Millet, couscous, and rice form the basis of many meals; peanuts and fresh seafood are common sources of protein; and chiles and palm oil are used for flavouring. Common dishes include thiéboudienne, rice served with a fish and vegetable sauce; yassa au poulet or yassa au poisson, grilled chicken or fish in an onion and lemon sauce; and mafé, a peanut-based stew. Meals are generally eaten communally from a single serving dish, as they are in many parts of West Africa, and a code of conduct called fayda ensures proper sharing. Senegalese beer is produced primarily by breweries in Dakar.
Independence Day is celebrated on April 4th. The country also celebrates various Christian and Islamic holidays.
Rural market & Fadiouth shell Island
After about 2 hours driving to south of Dakar, visit a bush market, meeting place for Sérères villages: change of scenery guaranteed! Unforgettable smells and colors, seasonal fruits and vegetables, poultry, sheep, cereals, colorful fabrics…
Lunch in Joal and visit the island of Fadiouth by pirogue, famous for its cemetery of shells and its millet granaries on stilts. |
The effects of oil spills in terrestrial and marine environments are a growing concern globally, but understanding and mitigating these effects is a top priority at NCPTT.
Bone is a material with which most of us are familiar. Bone is made up of a combination of proteins: minerals like calcium and potassium: and vitamins. Bones are primarily made of “osseous tissue.” Two types of osseous tissue are in bone, compact and spongy. Compact osseous tissue forms the hard, smooth surface that most people imagine when thinking of bone. Spongy osseous tissue is the same material, but softer and fills the hollow interior.
Shell, like bone, acts as protective outer layer or exoskeleton created by a marine organism. The shells you find washed up on the beach are the remains of the organism after it has died. Shells are typically composed of calcite, calcium carbonate and conchiolin.
Many cultures, present and past, have utilized bone and shell for tools, weapons and ornamentation but what happens when these materials come into contact with crude oil? How do we remove the oil? Can we restore these artifacts if they do come into contact with crude oil? And once cleaned how will this affect their future curation?
That is what we here at NCPTT are trying to find out. Using unprovienced archaeological samples, we are experimenting to find the best method for removing oil from artifacts of bone and shell. The initial stages of the study included a thorough literature review, experiment design and selection of surface washing agents and/or surfactants.
The experiment will start with documenting the physical condition of the samples prior to applying oil. This involves analyzing the color with the Minolta CR 400 Colorimeter, recording the mass, etc. Once the oil is applied, half of the samples will be cleaned. The other half of the will be placed in a QUV artificial weathering chamber, for approximately 800 hours to simulate real world conditions. This will simulate artifacts that have been exposed to oil and allowed to weather over time before cleaning. Once this stage is complete, we will test each of the selected cleaners on the samples. At the end of the study, we hope to have evidence for best method for removing oil from bone and shell artifacts.
Special Thanks to the Charleston Museum for the donation of bone and to the Southeast Archeological Center for the donation of shell for the project. |
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" (392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1968).
The Court adopted the notion that Officer McFadden was protecting himself and others and found that there was probable cause to search the suspects. They "concede the officer's right to conduct a search" incident to the arrest and when, in his considered opinion, he was certain that the men were going to commit a crime. Only Justice Douglas dissented, saying that he could not find the search and seizure to be constitutional under Fourth Amendment standards, as there was not probable cause to believe a crime had been committed or was in the process of being committed or was about to be committed. He believed the police were being given powers that infringed upon personal liberties when they could detain and frisk anyone they considered "suspicious." He made the statement that "if they can 'seize' and 'search' him in their discretion, we enter…… [Read More]
Terry v Ohio (Supreme Court, 1968) -- Found that the 4th Amendment prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure is not violated when an officer of the law stops a suspect on the street and frisks them with probably cause to arrest if there is reasonable suspicion that the person has committed a crime, is about to commit a crime, or is in the process of committing a crime. Subsequent rulings using Terry allow for a vehicle to be constitutionally searched if there is reasonable suspicion and a 2004 ruling that certain state laws requiring suspects to identify themselves were indeed constitutional.
Siborn v New York (Supreme Court, 1968) -- 8 to 1 decision of the Warren Court stating that although states may grant officers of the law latitude in making arrests, all search and seizures must be subject to constitutional limitations. There must be verifiable probably cause -- not simply…… [Read More]
Within the domain of criminal law, Amendment IV’s safeguards with regard to searches and confiscations cover: Law enforcers’ physical capture or "seizure" of individuals, using stops or arrests;
And law enforcers’ inspections of articles and places wherein citizens lawfully expect their privacy to be respected (such as their person, homes, temporary lodgings (e.g., hotel rooms), offices, clothes, bags,cars, etc. (Search and Seizure and the Fourth Amendment – FindLaw).
Amendment IV offers safeguards to citizens in matters related to investigations and arrests, and forbids the utilization of articles seized without authority as court-room evidence (Search and Seizure and the Fourth Amendment – FindLaw). How much protection a citizen enjoys in any given instance is dependent on apprehension nature, searched location characteristics, and circumstances of search. However, for stopping or keeping any citizen in custody, law enforcement officials need to have satisfactory suspicion (in other words, impartial, soundgrounds to believe the apprehended…… [Read More]
Terry v. Ohio case, providing information on the concerned parties, case facts, previous proceedings, arguments and issues, court decision and rationale for the decision.
The People of the State of Ohio and John W. Terry
Martin Mcfadden, a law enforcement official, saw the complainant engaged in a long, serious conversation with a second man, on a quiet street corner whilst constantly pacing along the street and looking into one of the shops there, from time to time. They were subsequently approached by a third individual who conversed with them before leading them along the street. From the looks of it, the official surmised that the three men might be up to no good, and potentially planning a shop burglary. Hence, he decided upon grilling them, and considering their suspicious conduct, also decided upon swiftly frisking all three prior to interrogation (Samaha, 2012). The search generated a concealed…… [Read More]
Terry vs. Ohio
Terry Vs Ohio
The issue of what constitutes a violation of the fourth amendment forms the basis of the argument in the case of Terry vs. Ohio. In this case the petitioner Terry was stopped and frisked by the officer on the streets. A brief description of the situation is as follows. Detective McFadden was walking his beat when he observed two individuals who in his opinion were "casing" the joint with the intention of robbing the place in the daylight hours. This opinion was based on his observation and years of experience (Terry v. Ohio 2012). The suspects moved away from the initial area and were kept under surveillance by the detective. When the men joined a third person a few blocks away the officer identified himself as a police officer, requested the men's names and proceeded to pat down the outside of the men's clothing.…… [Read More]
The officer stopped and searched the three men, and recovered arms from two of them. Terry was found guilty of having covered arms and was send to prison for three years. Is the investigation and confiscation of Terry and other men against the Fourth Amendment? The Court in an 8-to-1 decision held that the investigation done by the officer was sensible under the Fourth Amendments and that the arms captured can be presented as a proof against Terry. The Court found that the officer performed based on his intuition and that a sensibly cautious man would have been reasonable in thinking that Terry was having weapons and thus pose a risk to the officer's safety while he was searching. The Court found out that the investigation done was in a restricted level and was intended to safe guard the officer's security during the search. (Terry v. Ohio: (www.oyez.org)
Fourth…… [Read More]
Supreme Court Bill of Rights Case
Terry v. Ohio introduce the Terry frisk into police procedure, allowing officers to have the right to stop and frisk or do a surface search of individuals on the street even without probable cause. All the officer would need would be to have a reasonable suspicion that the person being searched had committed, was about to commit or was in the act of committing a crime. The Supreme Court stated that the officer's suspicion had to be "specific" and able to be put into words -- that is to say, the officer could not just say he had a "hunch" that the person searched was about to violate the law: the officer would have to be able to point to a specific characteristic that made him suspect the individual in question.
However, this Supreme Court case eventually led to the allowance of the detainment…… [Read More]
" (Paul v. Davis)
The majority went on to argue that it is almost impossible to guess at any logical stopping place to the afore-prescribed theory of reasoning. Davis' interpretation of the law as set out in his briefs would seem almost necessarily to manifest itself in every legally cognizable injury which may have been inflicted by a state official - of any sort, not just a police officer -- acting under "color of law" establishing a violation of the Fifth Amendment as extended to the 50 states by the aforementioned Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
According to the majority, "We think it would come as a great surprise to those who drafted and shepherded the adoption of that Amendment to learn that it worked such a result, and a study of our decisions convinces us they do not support the construction urged by respondent."
Section 4: The Result
Consequently,…… [Read More]
On appeal, Terry argued that the conviction should be thrown out because the search that produced the evidence of the weapon in his possession was improper because it was an impermissible search of his person without a warrant or probable cause as required by the 4th Amendment (Schmalleger, 2009).
The Supreme Court decided that the type of search the police officer conducted was not prohibited by the 4th Amendment. Instead, it was a reasonable and appropriate means of ensuring the safety of the officer from concealed weapons in a tactical situation in which that concern was appropriate in light of the totality of the circumstances in which it occurred. While the 4th Amendment does prohibit more invasive searches with the intention of finding evidence of crimes, (such as for concealed contraband or of small containers), it does not prelude an external frisk now known as a Terry frisk or Terry…… [Read More]
Procedural and Substantive Law
The cases of Terry v. Ohio (1968) and State v. Perkins (2003) both deal with issues of search and seizure as explained in the fourth Amendment to the United States' Constitution. According to this Amendment, police or government officials are not allowed to perform unlawful searches and seizures. This was written in response to how the colonists lived under British rule wherein soldiers could enter the homes of any colonists at any time, and take any goods and materials they desired regardless of whether they had a cause to do so.
The major difference between the two cases seems to be that the case of Terry v. Ohio helped to expand the powers of police in their investigations, whereas State v. Perkins proved to limit the abilities of the police in terms of confiscation of weapons. During the Terry v. Ohio case, there was…… [Read More]
Counter-Terrorism and Social Media: Freedom vs. Security
The United States prides itself to being the most democratic nation of the world, with the highest respect for the human being, for its values, norms, and dreams. At the same time, before 9/11, it was also considered to be one of the safest nations of the world. The attacks on the World Trade Center towers, in particular pointed out that there are gaps in security and that even the United States represent a vulnerable target. Since then, the security measures have been seriously increased, in certain areas of expertise; security rules have been created if they did not exist. All these measures fueled a constant debate on whether the security that has been increased affects or not the liberties and freedoms of the American population.
On May 1st 2011, Osama bin Laden has been announced dead by the U.S. President, arack Obama…… [Read More]
Can text I uploaded a file a reference. BIBLIOGAPHY: Stuckey, G., oberson, C., & Wallace, H. (2006). Procedures justice system (8th Ed.). Upper Saddle iver, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Discuss police encounters individuals required level police suspicion needed justify encounters.
Discuss police encounters with individuals and the required level of police suspicion needed to justify these encounters. We will learn about consensual encounters, traffic stops, Terry stops, and arrests. You will take a look at the factors used to determine when a person is under arrest as well as the appropriateness of any searches performed during these encounter
Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures is accorded to all citizens of the United States by the Constitution. Determining precisely what constitutes an unreasonable search or seizure, however, has been an issue of continued debate amongst law enforcement throughout the history of the United States. "Until 1967, a search was an…… [Read More]
The fact that Fred was eventually allowed to leave is less important in that determination than Fred's state of mind and reasonable belief about whether or not he was still free to leave once the police informed him that he was actually a suspect in Wilma's murder (Dershowitz, 2002; Zalman, 2008).
Search and Seizure and Unlawful Arrest Issues:
The fact pattern does not make clear whether or not the police actually conducted a search of Fred's home or were merely "bluffing" to induce cooperation from Fred. Assuming that no such unwarranted search was actually being conducted, there was no impermissible search and seizure of Fred's home. Provided Fred still (reasonably) believed that he was free to terminate the interview and leave when he volunteered the confession, that evidence should not be excluded under Miranda (and related) doctrine and principles.
However, the police did seize Fred's vehicle, which was an impermissible…… [Read More]
Decisions of ehnquist & Warren
The field of constitutional law, at least in the area of criminal procedure, has been an interesting study for the past fifty years. Unlike other areas of the law, the study of criminal procedure has undergone major transformations as a result of the decisions of the last three courts, the Warren, Burger and ehnquist courts. These three courts have changed the legal landscape in the cases involving criminal procedure and, in the process; have created a great deal of controversy (Bloom, 2010).
The application of the Bill or ights to the states has been an acrimonious issue in the U.S. Supreme Court for a number of years. It all began when the Warren Court began applying the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments directly against the states, under a doctrine that became to be known as selective incorporation. The Warren Court used the selective incorporation method…… [Read More]
Discretionary Situations for a Police Chief
Discretion in the Police Department
Discretionary Situations in Criminal Arrests: "Stop" and "Frisk," acial Profiling
The expectation is that public administrators apply a balancing act in the decision making process. Focus for this study is on law enforcement administrators, especially police chiefs, on their responses to their officers' discretion to criminal arrests. The argument put forth is that police discretion is limited by managerial and information technology monitoring methods, which direct police officers to adhere to set up procedures (Chan, 2003; owe, 2007). Given that police officers usually have the opportunity to make a decision on whether to apply laws. This concept paper finds that there is a close relationship between management decisions and use of discretion. It is on this basis the research will focus on the police chief's management decisions and the use of discretion in two major scenarios.
A police department…… [Read More]
Administrative Search Exception
Administrative Search Exemption
Administrative search exception: Why it applies to airport searches
The 'administrative search exception' has often been called the TSA's attempt to circumvent the Fourth Amendment. However, "while the new TSA enhanced pat downs may violate the Fourth Amendment on the surface, what most people are not aware of is that the 9th Circuit Court of the United States ruled on the search of passengers in airports back in 1973, which effectively suspends limited aspects of the Fourth Amendment while undergoing airport security screening" (Frischling 2010). The U.S. Supreme Court case which established the exclusionary rule as a rule of law (the idea that 'fruit of the poisonous tree' evidence obtained illegally could not be used against a defendant in a court of law) was not found to be applicable in this particular category of searches. The U.S. Supreme Court had already established in 1968…… [Read More]
That on June 5, 2005, Mr. A did willingly state that the robbery was perpetrated by Mr. A on June 3, 2005, and that Mr. A is in possession of the additional items taken as proceeds of the robbery. The proceeds are located in the bedroom at Mr. a's home, located at 678 Oak Street, Collingswood.
That based upon the above, I believe there exists probable cause to believe there are presently jewelry, and evidence of their possession, in the home of Mr. a, 678 Oak Street, Collingswood, which are evidence of the fruits and instrumentalities of violations of Texas Penal Code, Chapter 26, Section 29.03(2) and, Chapter 26, Section 31.03(5).
Collingswood Police Department
SUSCRIED & SWORN to before me on this ____ day of
Superior Court Judge
Hall, Kermit L. And David Scott Clark. (2002). Oxford Companion to American Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.…… [Read More]
Traffic Stop Case
Did Officer Smith have reasonable suspicion to make the initial stop of this vehicle?
As we examine this case and more confrontational moments occur between the officer and the suspect, all events remain in question largely on the basis of this initial question. This is because ultimately, it was revealed by due process that the basic cause for the traffic stop was a suspected broken taillight which was ultimately in proper working order. This denotes that probable cause may not have existed to justify the encounter between the officer and the suspect. That said, 'probable cause' is a higher standard than that required for a routine traffic stop absent the intent for a search of the suspect or vehicle. Here, reasonable suspicion is sufficient, though given the working condition of the taillight, it is not certain that this necessary existed either. According to Tennessee v Brother (2010),…… [Read More]
Stop and Frisk: The Efficacy of This Technique
Stop and frisk is one of the most controversial techniques used by the NYPD to reduce crime. Stop and frisk, as its name suggests, is when police officers stop pedestrians on the street and frisk them for drugs, weapons, and other illegal substances. On the surface, it might seem as if this is a violation of the Fourth Amendment which prohibits searches and seizures without probable cause. Almost by definition, stop and frisks are conducted without adhering to usual standards of probable cause since they are usually made relatively randomly at police discretion with only minor evidence of an infraction. Furthermore, the NYPD's specific stop and frisk program was recently declared unconstitutional but not primarily based on the Fourth Amendment. According to the district court judge the policy was "discriminatory, and showed little regard for the requirement that stops be based on…… [Read More]
4th Amendment's evolution and history, together with the "search and seizure" law.
4th Amendment Background
People's rights of being secure in personal effects, papers, houses and persons, against unreasonable seizures and searches, may not be breached, nor shall any warrants be issued, but in case of probable cause, which is supported by affirmation or oath, and describes, particularly, the place that must be searched, or the things or individuals that should be seized, under the 4th Amendment. Like most fields in U.S. law, the English common law forms the principal basis of the 4th Amendment. Broadly, it was created for limiting governmental powers and their capacity of enforcing legal actions upon citizens (4th Amendment - constitution -- Laws.com). Amendment IV was implemented in immediate reaction to the historical writ of assistance's abuse. This writ was a sort of general governmental search warrant employed in the American evolution's era. Amendment IV…… [Read More]
Why Due Process Matters in the US Constitution
The Importance of the 6th Amendment and the Right to Effective Counsel
Unit 1-5 Journals Criminology: The Core
This unit looks at biological and psychological trait theories, social structures and how standards influence criminal outcomes. Conflict theory was the most interesting theory for crime because it looked at the persona conflict issue and that people are inherently in conflict with one another at some point, and that crime occurs because of that conflict. It is interesting that it grew out of Marx’s approach to capitalism, but what I find most compelling about it is that it explains crime basically perfectly: crime is committed because one person wants what someone else has. There is a conflict because person B is not willing to do what person A wants. This is especially relevant because of the role confusion that resulted after the…… [Read More]
3) the method by which the search was conducted was outside of the directives that had been given by the school with regard to searching book bags and purses and using wands for students' bodies.
The fourth ranked issues were the fact that the substance in the pipe turned out to be cocaine. If the search is deemed illegal then we will have to accept a paraphernalia charge and argue against the possession of drugs charged with the argument that the pipe should not have been tested as it was gained as poisoned fruit.
When we prepare the defense we need to concentrate on the first issue which is the search itself.
Again, using the case of TLO v NJ the court found that the search of the student purse was unreasonable and a violation of the fourth amendment because the student had a cigarette in her hand, there was…… [Read More]
In order to enforce the revenue laws, English authorities made use of writs of assistance, which were general warrants authorizing the bearer to enter any house or other place to search for and seize "prohibited and uncustomed" goods, and commanding all subjects to assist in these endeavors. he writs once issued remained in force throughout the lifetime of the sovereign and six months thereafter. When, upon the death of George II in 1760, the authorities were required to obtain the issuance of new writs, James Otis, who attacked such writs on libertarian grounds and who asserted the invalidity of the authorizing statutes because they conflicted with English constitutionalism, led opposition. Otis lost and the writs were issued and utilized, but his arguments were much cited in the colonies not only on the immediate subject but also with regard to judicial review.
he language of the provision which became the Fourth…… [Read More]
In places such as Richmond, that have an already checkered past in their relationship with the public, the public perception is further damaged by the rise in crime. This is true of the police department in the rest of the country as well. The rise in crime affects the perception of the public with regard to the police department, and not the government. In actions such as racism and extralegal searches the police department and not President Bush is implicated. Many of the harmful effects of current police actions and policies are the result of government policies. The police has thus become somewhat of a scapegoat as a result of the latest government policies.
The profile of violent crimes has also changed dramatically and dangerously. Fewer police officers mean more violent criminals, which raises the crime rate.
Government policy, rising crime rates, and police actions have therefore combined into a…… [Read More]
Death penalty is generally conceived of as the supreme legal sanction, inflicted only against perpetrators of the most serious crimes. The human rights community has traditionally held a stance against the death penalty for a wide variety of reasons: critics argue that the death penalty is inhuman and degrading; that it is inappropriately applied and often politically motivated; and that rather than reducing crime, the viciousness of the punishment only serves as an inspiration to further violence.
Historically the death penalty has existed all around the world. Only since the beginning of the twentieth century has the death penalty been rejected by a growing number of people and states. International law discourages but does not prohibit it. Article 6 (paragraphs 2 and 5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political ights states that "sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the…… [Read More]
Business hetoric: Drilling in the Marcellus Shale
and Environmental Politics
Inexpensive energy sources are a requirement if the country is going to continue to thrive the way it has for more than 200 years. The United States is trying to decrease the amount of fossil fuels that it uses in everyday applications. However, the worry is not the fuels themselves, but the costs associated with the fuels. Fossil fuels are a viable resource if they are clean and extracted from the earth in ways that can be shown to be environmentally friendly. Because of these requirements, natural gas has become one of the new class of fuels that is thought of as superior to producing products from crude oil.
Natural gas is a clean energy source that can be extracted more safely than other sources of gas. Another bonus is that the product is very plentiful in the United States.…… [Read More] |
50 women who changed the world
50 Women who Changed the World
1. Sappho -570BC
One of the first published female writers. Much of her poetry has been lost but her immense reputation has remained. Plato referred to Sappho as one of the great 10 poets.
2. Cleopatra 69 -30 BC
The last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra sought to defend Egypt from the expanding Roman Empire. In doing so she formed relationships with 2 of Rome’s most powerful leaders Marc Anthony and Julius Caesar. These relationships have been depicted in Romantic terms, although in reality they may have been political alliances.
3. Mary Magdalene 4 BC — 40AD
The historical facts surrounding Mary Magdalene are shrouded in speculation. However accounts from the Gospels and other sources suggest Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus’ most devoted followers. It is said she was a women of “ill repute” but according to the Gospel of Mark and Luke her pure devotion to Christ earned her complete forgiveness. Mary Magdalene stood near Jesus at his crucifixion and was the first to see his resurrection.
4. Boudicca 1st Century AD
Boudicca was an inspirational leader of the Britons. She led several tribes in revolt against the Roman occupation. Initially successful her army of 100,000 sacked Colchester and then London. Her army was eventually completely destroyed in battle by the Romans.
5. Hildegard of Bingen 1098-1179
Mystic, author and composer. Hildegard of Bingen lived a withdrawn life, spending most of her time behind convent walls. However her writings, poetry and music were revelatory for the time period. She was consulted by Popes, Kings and influential people of the time. Her writings and music have influenced people to this day.
6. Eleanor of Aquitaine 1122-1204
The first Queen of France. Two of her sons Richard and John went on to become Kings of England. Educated, beautiful and highly articulate, Eleanor influenced the politics of western Europe through her alliances and influence over her sons.
7. Joan of Arc 1412-1431
The patron saint of France, Joan of Arc received “heavenly visions” giving her the inspiration to lead the French in revolt against the occupation of the English. An unlikely heroine; at the age of just 17 the diminutive Joan successfully led the French to victory at Orleans. Her later trial and martyrdom on false premises only heightened her mystique. View: Biography Joan of Arc.
8. Mirabai 1498-1565
Born to a privileged Hindu family Mirabai broke with the conventions of society to live the life of a mystic and devotee of Krishna. For her unconventional lifestyle her family tried to kill her, but on each occasion were unsuccessful. Her bhajans and songs helped revitalise Devotional Hinduism in India.
9. St Teresa of Avila 1515-1582
Mystic and poet. St Teresa of Avila lived through the Spanish inquisition but avoided been placed on trial despite her mystical revelations. She helped to reform the tradition of Catholicism and steer the religion away from fanaticism.
10. Catherine de Medici 1519-1589
Born in Florence, Italy Catherine was married to the King of France at the age of 14. On the death of her husband she became Queen mother to her 3 sons. She was involved in interminable political machinations seeking always to increase the power of her favoured sons. This led to the disastrous St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in which up to 50,000 Huguenot’s were killed.
11. Elizabeth I 1533-1603 |
Abstract - Underground Themes
Rohde, Katherine. 1985. Underground Themes. Proceedings of the 1984 National Cave Management Symposium. pp. 221-230.
Interpretation has always had a special place within the National Park Service. If done effectively, interpretation can increase visitor understanding, enjoyment and appreciation for the Park's resources and through appreciation, a desire to protect those resources. Cave interpretation presents special challenges and problems which are accurately described in "Boredom in Paradise: A Hard Look at Cave Guide Training" by W.T. Austin and Tom Chaney. The cave under the management of the National Park Service are not immune to those problems. Interpretation in the National Park Service has evolved and changed. New techniques are tried, discarded, or adapted to meet the needs of both the visitor and the resource. These techniques, both for training and presentations, can and should be applied to cave interpretation.
Wind Cave has accepted the challenges: 1. To protect this valuable cave resource, and all caves. 2. To motivate interpreters to want to protect the caves and to share their desires and motivate visitors to do the same. 3. To dispel the myth that cave interpreters cannot practice the current techniques of interpretation and have to memorize a spiel.
At Wind Cave, interpretation is based on the theory that motivation produces more desirable results than just education. Motivation is best done by someone who believes in what they are doing and is involved in a personal way with the resource, in this cave; Wind Cave and other caves. As a motivator, the interpreter cannot rely upon a script or canned spiel because each visitor has his or her own personality. However, the interpreters cannot do their job without adequate training and organization. The organizational principle employed at Wind Cave is that of themes. These are the unspoken ideas behind each presentation and are used to "guide" our audiences, on their own, to predetermined destinations. Each interpreter must develop their own theme based upon their feelings, impressions and interests about Wind Cave. Each tour then varies, depending on the personalities and interests of the visitors, blending with the individuality of the interpreter. Yet, each tour is unified by its own individual theme or focus and all of the themes are unified by the basic themes encompassed by the National Park Service.
Did You Know?
Blue Flax is often considered a subspecies of the Eurasian L. perenne which is very similar. The plant is named after Meriwether Lewis. More... |
A bomb attack destroys much of the publisher's premises.
In March 1945, large portions of the publisher's premises are destroyed by a British air raid on Gütersloh. However, only one of the 17 presses is completely destroyed, so the publisher is able to open for business again soon after the end of the war, when it begins printing announcements and schoolbooks commissioned by the British military government. On March 27 , the British military government grants the company a publishing license after it demonstrates it has “impeccable political convictions” and a “basic job-specific knowledge.” After all, as cultural media books and magazines are expected to play an important role in “re-educating” Germans to embrace the democratic spirit. Heinrich Mohn (1885-1955) initially keeps quiet about certain “sponsoring memberships” of Nazi organizations, including the SS and the League of German Girls (BDM). He is forced to hand over management of the company to Reinhard Mohn (1921-2009), who falls under the Allies’ youth amnesty in view of his age – he was born in 1921. The military authorities don’t give much importance to the fact that he lacks sufficient “basic job-specific knowledge,” as Reinhard Mohn notes in 1947: “The only thing that is important to the British authorities is to have a person at the publishing company who is responsible for all incidents.” |
Once, on a hot summer day in Sarasota, Florida, Glenn Gould was approached and questioned by the police. Despite the sultry weather, Gould was wearing a coat, a wool hat, and a pair of mittens; the policemen assumed he was a vagrant. But Gould was no vagrant; he was one of the greatest pianists that have ever lived. We take a closer look at the eccentric genius of Glenn Gould.
Glenn Gould was born in Toronto on 25 September 1932. It didn’t take long to become clear that he had a natural inclination towards music: not all babies hum rather than crying, and not all children learn to read music before they can learn to read words, as Gould was reported to do. At the age of 10, Gould was admitted into the Toronto Conservatory of Music, where he studied the organ and the piano. The encounter Chilean pianist Alberto Guerrero, who was to teach Gould piano, was fundamental for the young pianist’s future artistic development. Guerrero designed a specific exercise for Gould which is now known as finger-tapping. With finger-tapping, the pianist presses the instrument’s keys with one hand only, and does so with the help of the other hand; more precisely, he uses his free hand’s fingers to tap on the proximal phalanges (the joints closer to the fingertips) of the other hand. Through this training technique, Gould acquired such an agility in his fingers that he could play a stream of notes while still producing clean and distinct sounds, a skill that characterised his trademark style.
As well as his talent for music, Gould’s struggles with socialising were also apparent very early in his life. As a child, he wasn’t very good at making friends with the other kids, which only spurred them to pick on him and bully him. The inability to fully enjoy human relationships stayed with Gould for the rest of his life, a behaviour that has produced hypotheses of him possibly suffering from the Asperger syndrome, a disorder which falls in the spectrum of autism. Whether the fruit of Asperger’s or not — the syndrome was standardised as a diagnosis only a dozen years after his death — in his time Gould passed for an eccentric. His public persona was largely shaped by his many oddities, both on and off the stage. Although he led a mostly reclusive life, he was extroverted and even humorous in social situations; however, he disliked human touch, and something as simple as a handshake would make him nervous. Gould was also known to be a relentless hypochondriac. He would wear a long coat, gloves and a scarf in any climate and situation, in fear of catching a cold. He took many pills everyday to take care of health issues that he felt needed to be catered to; the medicines would clash with each other producing side effects that Gould would fight taking more medicines, in a vicious circle that only ended with his death. He was a nocturnal man, and he was said to call his friends in the middle of the night and rant on for hours while they would fall asleep at the other end of the line.
On stage, Glenn Gould was no weaker a character. For his entire career, Gould played sitting on a folding chair that his father Bert had built for him when he was still a child. He insisted on using it even when the padded seat was completely worn away, nor did he accept that it be reupholstered – he ended up sitting on the seat’s only middle beam. He always arranged his seating so that he would be fourteen inches above the ground, and the piano’s keyboard was found at somewhat the height of his chest. This unusually high position of the instrument — he had bricks or wood sticks placed beneath the piano to rise it to the desired level, if necessary — caused him to assume a hunched posture, which was advantageous to his piano-playing style, but looked quite odd. While playing, lost in the momentum of his performances, Gould could be seen humming unceasingly, so much so that in several recordings of his concerts his voice is actually heard between one note and another. Also, while at the piano he was irresistibly driven to move his upper body, usually in a clockwise motion; and he would frequently sway the one hand he wasn’t momentarily using in the air, as if he was conducting himself through the concert.
Gould’s reputation as an eccentric also derived from his repertoire choices. Gould preferred obscure, less-noted compositions over the seminal classics his fellow pianists played. He refused to play works by the likes of Chopin, Schumann and Liszt, considering them undeserving of their fame; of Mozart, Gould said that the Austrian composer ‘died too late’, judging his late work not so much worth of praise.
Gould graduated from the Toronto Conservatory of Music with the highest marks ever awarded to a student in Canada in 1946. In the following years he performed several concerts and recordings which, one more than the other, demonstrated his prodigious and idiosyncratic talent. His reputation, however, was still mostly limited to Toronto, and remained so until 1955, when the head of the classical division of Columbia Records heard him play in New York. That performance changed Gould’s life. The day after, he was offered an exclusive contract, which led to the recording of his first LP. As his usual, Gould chose a lesser-known work by Bach, the Goldberg Variations. His interpretation was so original, personal and powerful that it immediately established Gould in the stardom of classical music. He was 23 years old.
The album quickly became a best-seller. Part of the success was down to Columbia’s press team: they stirred much curiosity around this previously undiscovered talent, and the many eccentricities that characterised him during his performances. The Glenn Gould legend was born. Gould kept doing concerts in America and abroad (he was the first American pianist to perform in the USSR during the Cold War) for another eight years, until, at 31, at the peak of his fame and career, he decided to stop performing publicly; in any event, during the previous years he had also become known for his habit of suddenly calling off many of his shows, driving his life-long manager Walter Homburger to distraction. Gould, ‘the last Puritan’ as he called himself, had really always hated public shows. He felt that they had more to do with appearances and self-celebration, and less with music. On stage, he once said, he felt ‘like a vaudevillian’.
From 1964 on, Gould only performed in his recording studio (which temperature had to be invariably set at 90 degrees). He had always preferred playing in his studio; only there, sheltered away from the outside world, would he feel completely safe and at ease, and there he could nourish what he once called his ‘love affair with the microphone’. In fact, there were always several microphones in various locations around Gould’s studio; later, he would listen to the different tracks and combine them together choosing the best bits from each one. This is quite ordinary practice today, but in those years Gould’s recordings proved to be ground-breaking, and aroused controversy.
Once free from the commitment of public concerts, moreover, Gould happily dedicated more time to a range of activities other than playing the piano. He wrote many essays where he would describe his anticonformist view on the masterpieces of classical music; and he also wrote many radio and TV shows, in which he would participate disguised as imaginary, humorous characters he made up for himself. One time he would be Theodore Slutz, a New York taxi driver; then Dominico Pastrano, a half-Italian, half-Canadian boxer; Kalrheinz Klopweisser, a German composer; Sir Nigel Twitt-Thornwalte, an English conductor; and so on.
Glen Gould plays Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier:
Gould died of a sudden stroke that hit him at age 50. Who was the real man behind the piano? There is no definitive answer as of today, and we might never have one. Was he an agoraphobic? Yes. A misanthrope? Not really. An eccentric? Certainly. He was the greatest Canadian pianist ever lived, and one of the most extraordinary musical talents of the 20th century. The description that fits him best is probably the one that once spilled out of the mouth of conductor George Szell. He summed Gould up in very few words: ‘that nut is a genius’. |
Ben Orlove, an environmental scientist at the University of California at Davis, reported in the January 6, 2000 issue of the journal Nature that this folkloric forecast is an early predictor of the El Niño weather phenomenon, which causes severe drought during the normal growing season in the Andes.
Having divined the correct time of year to plant, an Andean farmer may sow his fields with more than 100 different varieties of potoato, according to the CIP, which holds planting material for about 3,800 varieties of potato grown in the Andes under the auspices of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
"Diversity is conserved on farms and in communities for subsistence use and as a highly valued heritage," said Bonierbale. Most of these varieties never see a market, but are traded amongst highland and lowland communities and given as gifts for weddings and other occasions.
The varieties, which come from eight species of Andean potato, differ from community to community.
Potatoes can be fat, skinny, lumpy or smooth; long, short, round, or square; red, yellow, white or green. There is also a wide range among the different varieties in terms of how they're grown, their nutritional values, amenability to storage, and use properties.
"We believe that diversity provides many types of risk avoidance, but inasmuch as many Andean communities have few other dietary components one can't help think that it also helps fend off boredom," said Bonierbale.
The diversity of potato varieties and the rhythm of life tied to the crop's cultivation, however, is showing the strains of modern life. CIP scientists speculate that years of drought in the Andes coupled with years of violence in Peru, during which many people left the highlands, has likely had a negative impact on potato diversity.
In addition, notes Arnold, young children are not compelled to carry on the traditions of their elders, who select different seeds every three years to ensure greater production, going to great lengths to exchange seeds with neighboring communities and to participate in communal harvests.
"Young people, spoiled at school and persuaded to reject their own cultural values, don't like doing this," she said. "This is another reason for the reduction in varieties and skills of potato management."
The CIP, which aims to increase the production and use of the potato as a sustainable food source in developing countries, is working to ensure that the potato diversity and cultural heritage is not lost forever in the Andes.
For example, the center has delved into its vast seed bank to redistribute to communities the seeds of lost varieties. To prevent farmers from replacing their native varieties with more commercially viable varieties, the center is helping to promote potato chips made from native varieties.
Although the degree to which the commercial varieties are replacing the native varieties in the Andes is not well documented, Bonierbale has reason to believe that the native varieties and the culture they belong to will not disappear entirely.
"The special adaptation of the native potatoes to the highland conditions prevents this to some degree," she said. "They are better adapted to the growing conditions, and better meet traditional tastes and uses, than are bred potatoes, as well as carrying the intrinsic heritage value."
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SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES |
Should I Use Plants Or Seeds?
- Plants can be installed early spring thru fall.
- Plants allow choice and design flexibility that is well suited to residential and urban gardens.
- Plants can provide rapid resolution to problems such as soil stabilization on steep slopes or infiltration in wet areas.
- Plants provide immediate vegetation that often flowers in the first season.
- Plants are easily added to existing plantings.
- Seeds can be installed in spring or fall.
- Seed is a cost effective solution for large areas.
- Seed mixes create a naturalized appearance.
- Seed mixes create highly diverse plant communities.
- Seeds need about 3 years to become fully establish. |
More Pompom Fun
- Pompoms in various sizes and colors
- Clear plastic drinking cups
- Permanent marker
- Use a permanent marker to make dots on the front of a clear plastic cup.
- One cup should have one dot, another two dots, the next three dots, and so on.
- You can mark as many cups as you feel your child is able to match.
- Give her an assortment of pompoms and show her how to drop the same number of pompoms as dots into the cup.
- If you like, use beans, large nuts, golf tees, large plastic paper clips, small spools of thread, or other small objects in place of pompoms.
- Store the cups and objects in a small box or diaper-wipe container when not in use.
More on: Activities for Toddlers
Copyright © 1999 by Patricia Kuffner. Excerpted from The Toddler's Busy Book with permission of its publisher, Meadowbrook Press.
To order this book visit Meadowbrook Press. |
This year's UN Climate Summit is undoubtedly the largest event of its kind in human history. For the first time ever, officials from nearly all countries in the United Nations are being joined by their presidents, in a large-scale effort to stop the ruthless effects of global warming, and to mitigate climate change. The meeting started today, with opening statements from a number of important UN officials, as well as from the Prime Minister of Denmark, the nation hosting the Copenhagen summit.
The first statements began in force, drawing attention to the most pressing issues related to global warming – desertification and rises in global sea level. The Danish Prime Minister also highlighted the fact that, for the first time, we had the opportunity to work together to face a common enemy, of our own doing, and added that a compromise and an agreement in this summit were “within reach.” More than 15,000 representatives from 190 countries are attending the talks, the UN reveals.
Lars Lokke Rasmussen also underlined the fact that the greatest challenge of the December 7-18 summit was to get rich and poor nations to come to an agreement, especially given that the latter simply did not have the resources to protect the natural treasures they had, such as pristine landscapes and rain forests. They are asking for money and technology from rich nations, which do not seem very willing to help out. Additionally, the First World countries also need to devise a way of sharing the burden of reducing fossil fuel-related emissions, which were found to be the main source of global warming.
Rasmussen also revealed that, given the large number of world leaders who would be attending a meeting at the end of the summit, this became an opportunity that the world couldn't afford to miss. “The clock has ticked down to zero. After two years of negotiations the time has come to deliver,” the head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, Yvo de Boer, added. “The evidence is now overwhelming that the world would benefit greatly from early action, and that delay would only lead to costs in economic and human terms that would become progressively high,” the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Rajendra K. Pachauri, shared.
China, the United States, Russia and India are among the most important states to have already pledged to curb emissions, and their lead may soon be followed by others. Australia was to join this group, but, in a recent blow, its government defeated a proposal that called to direct action against global warming. “The British government is absolutely clear about what we must achieve. Our aim is a comprehensive and global agreement that is then converted to an internationally legally binding treaty in no more than six months. If by the end of next week we have not got an ambitious agreement, it will be an indictment of our generation that our children will not forgive,” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote in The Guardian. |
Epic poetry is dead and dramatic poetry is moribund, but lyric poems continue to be written by both serious poets and teenagers in love. While its ancient origins are said to be songs composed for an occasion of celebration or mourning, the lyric has long since evolved into an expression of personal experience rather than of collective feelings. In his well-known denunciation of poetry in the Republic, Plato found use for hymns to the gods and eulogies to civic leaders, but singled out the lyric for being particularly self-indulgent and false in depicting reality. Stripped of musical accompaniment and plaintive tunes that could charm the listener, such poems not only showed their complete absence of ideas, but were harmful to those who seek truth. Plato was suspicious of the imagination. If he had not been, he would have realized that ideas in the way philosophers usually approach them have little to do with poems whose main concern is with using feelings to find what is authentic.
The more subjective and candid the poems were, the more dangerous they appeared to those who made it their business to worry about the moral uplift of their fellow citizens. Scandal is most likely the reason the lyric poem has been so successful over the centuries. To scribble, knowing that one’s secret thoughts and language are disapproved of by everyone from one’s parents to one’s clergymen, is a delicious feeling. Every form of tyranny has taken a dim view of such irreverence. The main public use of the first-person pronoun that authoritarians approve of is the one extracted through forced confessions of heretics and enemies of the state. This much has always been true: if you want to get in trouble with whatever language police is in force, write verses about what you really feel and think.
Of course, there’s much more to the lyric than risky subject matter. There’s the ineffable something that makes poetry poetry, the sensation that every word has suddenly begun to mean much more than it usually does. Lyric poems require an exquisite ear on the part of the poet, an ability to weigh the exact amount of silence necessary between words and images in order to make them rich with meaning. The shorter such poems are, the harder they are to write. We know from experience the impact a line of poetry can have, the miraculous way in which two selves unknown to each other until that very moment come to share not only an understanding but a single imaginative space. In no time at all, cultural and historical differences are abolished and a poem written almost three thousand years ago comes to life on a page. Nowhere else in literature does one find the experience of living in the moment so vividly rendered as in lyric poetry. Despite seemingly infinite odds, somebody’s private sentiments continue to enthrall generations of future readers. And yet, every time we read a poem, this is …
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Chapter 5 - Health Care
This chapter covers several areas of health care affecting women. The following information is not meant to be exhaustive, and individual questions regarding your health should be directed to your doctor or medical professional. Topics discussed in this chapter include birth control, abortion, pregnancy, sexually-transmitted diseases or STDS (including AIDS), breast cancer, and assorted other health care issues of general interest to women.
There is a wide range of birth control devices available to women.(1) As with many medical choices, there may be risks associated with the use of certain birth control methods, so you are advised to discuss with your doctor your own needs and the risks associated with your choice of birth control. No artificial birth control device or drug is 100% effective at preventing pregnancy.
Listed below are some of the most common forms of contraception.
The Birth Control Pill
There is actually more than one kind of birth control pill. "The pill" is a drug containing some combination of the hormones estrogen and progestin, which prevent a woman from ovulating.
Caution is advised in the use of birth control pills for any woman who has had any of the following conditions: uterine or breast cancer, varicose veins, phlebitis, heart problems, stroke, sickle-cell anemia, liver problems, migraine headaches, irregular menstrual periods, or hypertension. Caution is also advised for women who are breast-feeding, who are over 40 years of age, or whose mothers used the drug DES (diethylstilbestrol) during their pregnancies.
The "morning-after pill" does not prevent contraception, but prevents a fertilized egg from attaching itself to the uterus by bringing on a women's menstrual period. The "morning after" pill contains DES, and other drugs believed to have harmful side effects to users, and is generally prescribed in emergency situations. The "pill" does not protect women against AIDS or other STDS.
Norplant implants consist of six thin rods containing a synthetic form of the female hormone progesterone. The rods are inserted under the skin of the upper arm and release the contraceptive hormone for up to five years. The rods must be implanted and removed by a physician. Side effects may include irregular periods and possible scarring and nerve damage if the rods are removed improperly. Future fertility does not appear to be affected by the prolonged use of Norplant. Norplant does not protect women from AIDS or other STDs.
Depo-Provera is a long-lasting contraceptive that uses a synthetic form of the female hormone progesterone and is administered by an injection every three months. The prescriptions and the injections must be given by a physician. Side effects may include loss of future fertility for up to 18 months after discontinuing use, and the cessation of menstrual periods during the use of Depo-Provera. Depo-Provera does not protect women from AIDS or other STDs.
A diaphragm is a rubber shield worn internally, and may be obtained through a doctor or family planning clinic. The diaphragm is most effective if used along with a spermicidal cream or jelly. It has not been found to have harmful side effects for most women users. The average failure rate for the diaphragm is 18 percent, depending on the consistent and proper use of the diaphragm. A diaphragm does not protect women from AIDS or other STDs.
The Intrauterine Device
The intrauterine device (IUD) is a device inserted into the uterus which prevents a fertilized egg from attaching itself to the uterus. Certain types of IUDs can now be left in place for up to ten years. The IUD can only be inserted by a medical professional. Use of an IUD may significantly increase your risk of getting pelvic inflammatory disease and painful periods, or it may become dislodged and cause an infection or puncture the uterus. Certain types of IUDs are no longer in use because they were found to cause serious injury to women. (In re Northern Dist. of Cal., Dalkon Shield, Etc. (9th Cir. 1982) 693 F.2d 847.) An IUD does not protect women from AIDS or other STDs.
The Cervical Cap
The cervical cap is a small, rounded cap made out of rubber or plastic that fits over a woman's cervix. The cervical cap works by keeping sperm out of the uterus. The cervical cap must be prescribed and fitted by a medical professional. It works best when used with spermicidal jelly or foam. A cervical cap does not protect women from AIDS or other STDs.
The contraceptive sponge is made of polyurethane, an artificial substance. The sponge covers the opening to the uterus, and absorbs and destroys sperm. You do not need a prescription for a contraceptive sponge. It may be purchased in many stores. It is less effective than the pill, diaphragm or IUD, but does not have the same side-effects. The sponge does not protect women from AIDS or other STDs.
A condom is usually made out of thin latex rubber. It covers the penis and prevents sperm from entering the vagina. Condoms may be purchased over-the-counter in many stores. Condoms work best when used with a spermicidal foam. Condoms, when used correctly, provide some protection from AIDS and other STDs. However, the failure rate for condom use in preventing pregnancy is considered to be between 4 and 17 percent, depending on the consistent and proper use of the condom.
The Female Condom
The female condom is a plastic sheath that fits over the cervix and is worn by a woman internally. Female condoms may be purchased without a prescription. Female condoms work best when used with a spermicidal foam. When used correctly, they provide some protection against AIDS and other STDs. However, the failure rate for the female condom in preventing pregnancy is considered to be as high as 21 percent, depending on its consistent and proper use.
Sterilization is a medical procedure that permanently prevents a woman from becoming pregnant. Voluntary sterilization is legal in California for both men and women. A woman may be sterilized by disconnecting and tying her fallopian tubes, or by removing her ovaries or uterus.
Women have the legal right to obtain a variety of birth control medications or devices. Women also have the right to control their reproductive lives by abstaining from sexual intercourse, if they so choose. Sexual abstinence is the safest and most effective manner to avoid an unwanted pregnancy and sexually-transmitted AIDs or any other STDs.(2)
Where to Get Birth Control
Prescription birth control devices can be obtained through your doctor, local Planned Parenthood office or county health or community clinic. Nonprescription birth control devices, such as the condom, the sponge, and spermicidal foams and jellies, may be purchased over-the-counter in many stores.
RIGHTS RELATING TO BIRTH CONTROL AND STERILIZATION
Right to Obtain Birth Control Medication/Devices
Any woman, single or married, including a woman who is under 18 years of age, may obtain birth control medication or devices without the permission of either parent or husband. (Planned Parenthood of Missouri v. Danforth (1976) 428 U.S. 52.) Women may obtain birth control for free or with a small co-payment from a local Planned Parenthood office, or community free clinic, or county health center. (Fam. Code, §§ 6920, 6925.)
Right to be Sterilized
If you are under 18 years of age and not married, you do need your parents' permission before you consent to sterilization. However, even if you are under 18, you do not need your parents' consent to be sterilized if you are any of the following:
- married or divorced;
- on active duty in the United States armed forces;
- at least 15 years old, live apart from your parents or guardians, and are self-supporting or have received a declaration of emancipation pursuant to section 7210 of the Family Code; and
- able to understand the content and nature of the surgery.
You will be required to wait a minimum of 30 days after you have given informed consent before you can have the medical procedure. (Fam. Code, §§ 6920 and 6922; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22, § 70707.1 (a) (4).)
Married women do not need their husbands' permission to consent to being sterilized. (Kritzer v. Citron (1950) 101 Cal.App.2d 33.)
Can a sterilization operation be performed on a woman without her informed consent?
No woman can be sterilized without her full knowledge and consent. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22, §§ 70707.3-70707.7) Medical procedures, such as an abortion, childbirth or cancer treatment, may affect your ability to have children and should be thoroughly discussed with your doctor. If you suspect that a sterilization operation has been performed on you without your knowledge or consent, you may wish to contact an attorney.
What restrictions can hospitals or clinics impose when permitting sterilizations or abortions to be performed in their facilities?
No health facility, clinic, county hospital or hospital formed by a hospital district, which permits sterilization operations for contraceptive purposes to be performed, can impose nonmedical requirements, such as age, marital status, or number of children, before they will sterilize you. However, private hospitals can refuse to perform sterilizations, as well as abortions, in their facilities. (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 1232, 1258, 1459 and 32128.10.)
Is financial help available for obtaining birth control devices or sterilization?
If you qualify for welfare assistance, you may be eligible for assistance to obtain birth control counseling and treatment through the state Family Planning Services.(3) Contact your local health department for more information. Medi-Cal is available for prescription birth control devices.
If you do not qualify for welfare assistance, you may still be able to obtain birth control information and treatment at family planning centers and clinics that operate on a sliding scale fee basis.
California Medi-Cal funding for sterilization is available only to persons 21 or older, and pursuant to the criteria set forth in California Code of Regulations, Title 22, sections 51305.1, and 70707.6.
If the sterilization is to be funded by Medi-Cal, the operation may not take place until 30 days after you have signed a consent form, except that in certain emergency situations the minimum waiting period for sterilization is 72 hours. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22, §§ 51305.1(a)(6) and 70707.6(a)(3).)
A married or single woman may legally obtain an abortion in California without the permission of her parents or husband. If you have decided to have an abortion, you should protect your health by seeking medical help as soon as possible.
The U. S. Supreme Court in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989) 492 U.S. 490, held that, as a federal constitutional matter, certain restrictions on abortions are permitted. Notwithstanding federal cases which limit or restrict abortions, in California a woman has the right to have an abortion. This is based on the California Constitution. (Committee to Defend Reproductive Rights v. Myers (1981) 29 Cal.3d 252.)
Currently, there are no time restrictions on when during the pregnancy an abortion can be performed in California.(4) However, in general, an abortion, poses fewer health risks when performed as early in the pregnancy as possible.(5)
Abortions must be performed by a licensed physician. (6) (Health & Saf. Code, § 123405.) Free clinics, public health clinics, county hospitals, women's health centers, some private doctors and hospitals, and Planned Parenthood clinics will perform abortions. You may contact the California Abortion Rights Action League in your city or county, the Department of Health Services, or your local county health department for more information on obtaining an abortion.
In California, Medi-Cal must provide funds for abortions for women who are eligible to receive health benefits. The California Supreme Court has held that California may not restrict state funding for abortions for poor women if it pays for a woman's general medical care. (Committee to Defend Reproductive Rights v. Myers, supra, 29 Cal.3d 252.) However, in l980, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that it was not unconstitutional for the federal government to refuse to pay for abortions for financially-needy women. Therefore, the federal government no longer helps pay for elective abortions. (Harris v. McRae (1980) 448 U.S. 297.)
Minors do not need the consent of their parents to have an abortion in California. In 1987, the California Legislature enacted a law which prohibited minors from consenting to having an abortion in non-emergency situations, unless the minor had the consent of one parent, or had received permission from the juvenile court. (Fam. Code, § 6925; Health & Saf. Code, § 123450 (a).) However, this law was found to violate the state constitutional right to privacy in American Academy of Pediatrics v. Lungren, (1997) 16 Cal.4th 307.
Women have a right to enter a health clinic or medical facility to obtain an abortion without being harassed, threatened or otherwise intimidated. Persons who wish to demonstrate or otherwise make known their objections to abortions also have a right, within legally designated boundaries, to picket, hand out information, pray or carry on conversations with persons entering medical clinics or health facilities.
The 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) prohibits obstructing, intimidating or interfering with the right of a woman to enter a medical facility to obtain reproductive services. (18 U.S.C. § 248 et seq.) Persons violating FACE may be fined, imprisoned, and have civil penalties assessed against them. FACE has been challenged as being unconstitutional for infringing on the First Amendment speech rights of protesters. The United States Court of Appeals has held that FACE is constitutional. (Terry v. Reno (D.C. Cir. 1996) 101 F.3d 1412.)
California law makes it a crime to intentionally block a health care facility. (Penal Code, § 602.11.) It is also a crime for a person to harass a child because his or her parent works at a medical facility that performs abortions. (Pen. Code, 11414.) Civil Code section 3427 et seq, makes blocking a health facility a civil tort in which a plaintiff may seek civil damages and injunctive relief against protesters.
The First Amendment speech rights of persons to peacefully demonstrate, picket, counsel, or pray at health facilities that perform abortions is protected, within legally-designated boundaries. In Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc. (1994) 512 U.S. 753, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an injunction prohibiting protesters from approaching any person within 300 feet of the entrance to a clinic, but upheld the injunction with respect to a 36-foot buffer zone around that clinic.(7))
In a more recent case, Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York (1997) U.S. , 117 S.Ct. 855, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that portion of an injunction that established a 15 foot buffer zone around a clinic entrance and driveway. The court held that the 15-foot buffer zone burdened "no more speech [of the protesters] than was necessary to serve a significant government interest." However, the court struck down that portion of the injunction that established a 15 foot "floating" buffer zone around persons and cars.(8)
In Planned Parenthood Shasta-Diablo, Inc. v. Williams (1995) 10 Cal.4th 1009, the California Supreme Court upheld an injunction keeping abortion protesters across the street from a clinic.
Lastly, the California Court of Appeals has held that portions of an injunction keeping protesters away from a clinic and its patients and staff, and the residence of its doctor were unconstitutional. The parts of that injunction that prohibited persons from approaching any Planned Parenthood staff or patient, once that person made it clear he or she did not wish to be approached, and that prohibited protesters from coming within 250 feet of a doctor's residence were stricken by the court. However, that part of the injunction that banned protesters from coming within 15 feet of the clinic was held to be constitutional. (Planned Parenthood Assn. v. Operation Rescue (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 290.)
The facts of each abortion protest case are unique. The constitutionality of injunctions issued to limit the activities of protesters must necessarily be decided on a case-by-case basis.
An Alternative to Abortion - Taking the Pregnancy to Term
The Pregnancy Freedom of Choice Act
The Pregnancy Freedom of Choice Act helps unmarried, pregnant women under age 21. In order to qualify for benefits under this program, you must also live in California, and you must intend to carry your pregnancy to full term.(9) State services will pay for counseling care, as well as the services of a licensed maternity home.(10) Your parents will not have to pay for any services under the Pregnancy Freedom of Choice Act. For more information regarding terms and conditions of eligibility, contact either the California Department of Health Services or your local county health department. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 16147.)
Women who choose to carry their pregnancies to term may choose to give up their babies for adoption. Many private adoption agencies provide pregnant women with free counseling, medical and legal assistance, and help in choosing the adoptive parents. These organizations may be found in your local telephone book. Women may also contact Children's Protective Services in their county to arrange to relinquish their parental rights to the state.
It is beyond the scope of this handbook to discuss all of the most important aspects of pregnancy. However, for the health of mother and child, it is important for a pregnant woman to have good medical care and good nutrition while pregnant. The following is a list of organizations that provide assistance to pregnant women. Check with each organization for its particular eligibility requirements.
Mom's Clinic: (310) 925-2250.
Salvation Army Booth Memorial: (213) 724-0252.
St. Anne's Maternity Home: (213) 381-2931.
Angel's Way: (818) 346-2229.
His Nesting Place: (310) 422-2137.
New Life Beginnings: (310) 591-8119.
Salvation Army: (510) 451-4514.
Salvation Army: (916) 441-5267.
Door of Hope: (619) 279-1100.
Salvation Army: (619) 231-6000.
Care House: (619) 459-4828.
Catholic Charities: (619) 231-2828.
If you are experiencing a high-risk pregnancy, you may be able to get help from the state for specialized treatment. (Health & Saf. Code, § 123475 et seq.)
The programs that may be available to you include:
- Consultation and education about your particular high-risk situation.
- A high-risk infant follow-up program. (Health & Saf. Code, § 123565.)
These programs are available to high-risk pregnant women on a sliding scale fee system. This means that you will be charged only what you can afford to pay. (Health & Saf. Code, § 123555.) If you would like more information about these programs, please call your local office of the California Department of Health Services.
Pregnancy Hospital Stays and Other Insurance Issues
A 48-hour hospital stay must be provided by insurers for normal deliveries. Insurance companies are now required by recent changes in federal law to provide coverage for at least a 48-hour hospital stay following the normal delivery of a baby. In September 1996, President Clinton signed into law the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act" (HIPAA, Pub. L. No. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936 (1996).) In addition to other changes in laws governing insurance providers, the Act requires that insurance companies cover a 48-hour hospital stay for normal deliveries and a 72-hour hospital stay for a caesarean section delivery.(11)
Insurance companies must provide for primary care providers who are obstetricians and gynecologists. Women may choose to see a gynecologist or obstetrician as their primary care provider without requesting special permission from their insurance company. (Health & Saf. Code, 1367.69; Ins. Code, § 11512.295.)
Under California law, group disability insurance policies must offer coverage for the treatment of infertility, except in vitro fertilization. (Ins. Code, § 10119.6.)
A surgeon or physician is prohibited from removing sperm or ova from a patient for the purpose of reimplantation in another patient without the written consent of the donor patient. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2260.)
Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children
Good nutrition is very important during critical times of growth and development of a baby. You may be eligible for the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides nutritious food supplements and nutrition counseling to pregnant and nursing women, and to infants and young children.(12)
For more information about WIC programs in your area, you may contact the following:
WIC Supplemental Food Section
Department of Health Services
3901 Lennane Drive
Sacramento, California 95834
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
Women do get AIDS.(13) It is estimated that AIDS-related illnesses are the third leading cause of death in women world-wide. HIV or human immune-deficiency virus, the AIDS virus, is a virus that attacks the body's immune system and makes it difficult to fight off other types of illnesses.
You may be infected with the AIDS virus by coming into contact with contaminated blood or bodily fluids. This exchange may occur through sexual activity, blood transfusions, sharing a contaminated needle, or being born or breast-fed by an infected mother.
You cannot become infected by casual contact with an infected person if you do not exchange blood or bodily fluids. You cannot be infected by donating blood at a licensed blood bank.
Precautions To Take Against Getting or Spreading AIDS
- Do not allow the blood, semen, vaginal secretions or urine of your sex partner to enter your body unless you know that he/she is not infected.
- Use condoms for vaginal, oral and anal sex. A properly used, unbroken condom reduces the risk of coming into contact with the AIDS virus. The receptive partner (the one whose anus is being penetrated) is the one most at risk of contracting AIDS through anal sex.
- In addition to a condom, use a contraceptive foam, cream or jelly; they contain the spermicide Nonoxynol 9 that kills the AIDS virus on contact.
- Use rubber dams or other oral barriers for oral vaginal sex.
- Do not share intravenous needles, including tattoo needles.
- Do not have sex with an intravenous drug user who you know, or suspect, uses unsterilized needles.
AIDS and Pregnancy
If you are infected with the AIDS virus, you can infect your child. If you have the AIDS virus, there is a 50% chance that you will give birth to a child who will be infected with AIDS. A child can get AIDS from an infected mother during pregnancy, childbirth, or breast feedings.
Health & Safety Code, section 121050 et seq., and Penal Code, section 1524.1 permit a victim of a violent crime in which bodily fluids are exchanged to ask the court to order a defendant who has been charged with the crime to undergo an AIDS antibody test, if the crime could have resulted in transmission of the virus. If you are the victim of such a crime, consult the district attorney who is handling your case about these laws. The results of a blood test pursuant to Penal Code section 1524.1 cannot be used in any criminal proceeding as evidence of either guilt or innocence. (See further discussion of this topic in the Violent Crimes Chapter of the handbook.)
AIDS and the Law
AIDS is a relatively new disease. The legal rights of people with AIDS and their families are currently being dealt with by legislatures and the courts. The law, as it relates to AIDS patients and their families, will continue developing over the next few years. Listed below are some of the basic rights of persons with AIDS in California.
Generally, it is illegal for someone to test you for the AIDS antibody without your knowledge and informed consent to such a test. (Health & Saf. Code, § 120990.)
Generally, it is illegal for your doctor to give the results of your AIDS antibody test to someone else without your written authorization unless that person is reasonably believed to be your spouse, sexual partner or believed to have shared the use of a hypodermic needle. (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 120980; 121015.)
With certain exceptions, before you are given a blood transfusion, all donated blood must be tested for AIDS antibodies. (Health & Saf. Code, § 1603.1.)
Many cities have passed local ordinances prohibiting discrimination against people with AIDS or HIV infection. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and West Hollywood are among the cities in California that have passed such laws. You should contact your local city attorney or district attorney to see if such ordinances exist in your area.
Discrimination against people with AIDS or with HIV infection by public accommodations and in the provision of business services is illegal under the Unruh Civil Rights Act. (Civ. Code, § 51 et seq.)(14)
The ADA makes it unlawful for places of public accommodation, such as medical and dental providers, to discriminate against persons with AIDS. (42 U.S.C. § 12182 (a); Abbott v. Bragdon (1st Cir. 1997) 107 F.3d 934, petition for cert. filed July 21, 1997.)
The ADA also provides protection for persons with AIDS from discrimination in government services. (T.E.P. & K.J.C. v. Leavitt (C.D. Utah 1993) 840 F.Supp. 110, where the court invalidated a Utah law that voided a marriage if one or more of the spouses contracted AIDs, and prohibited persons with AIDs from marrying in Utah, because the law violated the ADA.)
Discrimination in employment opportunities against people with AIDS is illegal under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It is illegal for a private employer to discharge a qualified individual because of his/her disability. (42 U.S.C. § 12112; Doe v. ariality of Maryland Medical System Corp. (4th Cir. 1995) 50 F.3d 1261.) A person who is HIV-positive has a physical impairment as defined under the ADA, and may request reasonable accommodations from his/her employer.(15) (28 C.F.R. § 36.104; Gates v. Rowland, (9th Cir. 1994) 39 F.3d 1439.) Employers who receive federal funds are also prohibited from such discrimination. (29 U.S.C. § 794; Jenkins v. Skinner (E.D. Va. 1991) 771 F.Supp. 133; Chalk v. U.S. Dist. Court, Cent. Dist. of California (9th Cir. 1988) 840 F.2d 701.)
Discrimination in employment against people with AIDS is illegal under state law, where there is no likelihood of transmission of the virus in the workplace. (Gov. Code, §§ 12940(a) and 12926(h); Raytheon Co. v. Fair Employment & Housing Com. (1989) 212 Cal.App.3d 1242.)
Where to Go For Help
If you believe you may have come into contact with AIDS-contaminated blood or bodily fluids, you should seek medical attention from a health care professional familiar with the virus.(16)
For more information about women and AIDS, you can contact:
San Francisco Women's AIDS Network
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
3543 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Sacramento AIDS Project
(800) 367-2437 (24 hour information line)
Progressive Health Services
8240 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90046
Or you may call your local county health department or AIDS hotline:
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation hotline:
In San Francisco (415) 863-AIDS
from (Northern California (800) FOR-AIDS
Southern California AIDS hotline:
In Los Angeles (213) 876-AIDS
from Southern California (800) 922-AIDS
There is a wide variety of treatable STDs. STDs range from herpes to vaginitis. Most, but not all, STDs can be treated with the use of antibiotics. One of the most common forms of STD which affects women is chlamydia. Chlamydia and other STDs can cause sterility. If you suspect that you might have an STD, you should consult your doctor, local health clinic, or Planned Parenthood without delay.
Use of a condom may help prevent the spread of most STDs, if used correctly and consistently.
Facts About Breast Cancer
Approximately one woman out of eight in the United States will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. In 1996, breast cancer killed 44,000 women in the United States. The vast majority of these deaths occurred in women over the age of 50.
Breast cancer can be detected in a number of different ways. Most breast cancers are detected by women themselves during breast self-examination. Mammography, a low dose breast x-ray, can detect breast cancer much earlier than a physical examination, although its effectiveness is considerably reduced in women under 50 whose breasts are denser than those of older women. Medical authorities are not in agreement as to when, or how often women under 50 should receive mammograms. Your medical history and lifestyle will factor into the appropriate time for you to begin receiving regular mammograms.
Recently approved by the FDA is the "scintimammogram," a test that uses a nuclear probe to detect breast cancer. This test appears to be more accurate for younger women than the traditional mammogram. In addition, the "CEA-Scan," a test formerly used to detect colorectal cancer, is now also being used to detect breast cancer. You should consult with your doctor to determine which of the different tests would be most appropriate for you.
Health providers may not refuse to provide experimental or investigational therapies for terminal patients. (Health & Saf. Code, § 1370.4.) Patients with a life expectancy of two years may request an independent review of experimental or investigational therapies that their doctors believe may be more beneficial than available standard therapies. If the independent review recommends that the patient receive the experimental or investigational therapy, the health provider will be bound by the recommendation.
Health providers may not enter into contracts with their service physicians that interfere with the physicians' ethical responsibility to discuss with their patients all relevant information concerning their treatment options, alternative plans or other coverage arrangements. (Bus. & Prof. Code, 2056.1.) It is the intent of the Legislature that communication between patients and their physicians be free from interference from a health plan provider.
There are a number of different methods of treating breast cancer. The options include radiation therapy, drug therapy, and assorted forms of surgeries, including mastectomies, lumpectomies and experimental treatments. If you are diagnosed with breast cancer, you should consider obtaining more than one medical opinion before determining a course of action.
Breast Cancer and the Law
Under California law, the codes of professional medical conduct require that your doctor advise you of all surgical and other alternatives to treatment of breast cancer. You have the right to choose surgical procedures less extreme than a radical mastectomy. (Health & Saf. Code, § 109275.)
Medi-Cal and most insurance companies are required to cover the cost of mammograms if they provide health service plan contracts, policies of disability insurance, self-insured employee welfare benefit plans or nonprofit hospital service contracts that provide coverage for mastectomies. (Health & Saf. Code, § 1367.65; Ins. Code, §§ 10123.81; and Welf. & Inst. Code, § 14132.16.)
Pending federal guidelines for insurance, if implemented, will require a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for women recovering from mastectomies. In early 1997, President Clinton formed an advisory group called the "Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry." The advisory group will help establish federal guidelines for the minimum hospital stay insurance companies should be required to provide for women recovering from mastectomies. The current proposal suggests a minimum 48-hour hospital stay.(17)
A recently enacted bill, Assembly Bill No. 833 (1997-1998 Reg. Sess.), effective January 1, 1998, requires medical care providers to provide a standardized summary of the symptoms and diagnoses of gynecological cancers to their patients who come to them for a gynecological exam. (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 138.4 and 109278.)
Other Commonly Asked Health Questions of Concern to Women
What is known about DES?
According to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, DES was given to some pregnant women between 1948 and 1960 to prevent miscarriages. DES was later discovered to be linked to genital abnormalities in children, and to cancer in women who were given the drug during pregnancy.
If you were given drugs between 1948 and 1960 to prevent a miscarriage , or if you are a child of a woman who was given drugs while she was pregnant with you, it is important that you see a doctor and undergo a series of medical examinations to detect and treat any abnormalities that resulted from DES.
DES may be currently prescribed as a "morning after" birth control pill to terminate an early pregnancy. If you are in an emergency situation, and are advised to use a "morning after" pill, you may wish to ask your doctor if he or she can prescribe a drug compound which does not contain DES.(18)
What should I know about drug prescriptions?
California law allows pharmacists to substitute a generic drug for a name-brand drug that has been prescribed for you. The substituted drug must have the same active chemical ingredients, strength, quantity, and dosage, and must be of the same generic type (as accepted by the FDA) as the prescribed drug. This law was enacted to save California consumers money since the same drug under one trade name may cost more than the drug sold under another name in the same generic form. Doctors often prescribe the better known and advertised trade name drugs. You may ask the pharmacists to substitute the generic type drug. A pharmacist may not substitute unless the drug product selected costs you less than the prescribed drug. A pharmacist may not substitute if the doctor indicated orally or in writing that he or she does not want any substitution for a prescribed drug. When a substitution is made, the pharmacist must tell you that the substitution was made and place the name of the dispensed drug product on the label. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 4073.)
California law also requires a pharmacist or pharmacist's employee, upon any request by telephone or in person, to give the retail price of any drug sold at that pharmacy and to post a notice in the pharmacy of the consumer's right to this information. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 16, § 1707.2.)
Are breast enlargement operations legal?
Breast enlargement operations are legal. However, certain methods are not. The injection of liquid silicone into breast tissue is a crime in California, and is highly dangerous to the woman who receives the injection. If a doctor suggests this method of breast enlargement, report him or her to your local district attorney's office. (Pen. Code, § 382.7.)(19)
If you are considering a breast enlargement procedure, you should choose your doctor carefully from those doctors who are certified by a nationally recognized board of plastic surgery. You may contact the Board of Medical Quality Assurance to find out if your doctor is board-certified, and if he or she has been the subject of a disciplinary proceeding. Public records are also available to investigate a doctor's licensing history, lawsuits filed against the doctor, and lawsuits that resulted in verdicts against the doctor.
Can an operation be performed on me without my consent and knowledge?
It is illegal for a doctor to perform an operation on you without your voluntary and informed consent. Before you are operated on, your doctor must describe the risks of the operation to you. (Berkey v. Anderson (1969) 1 Cal.App.3d 790, 805.) You have a right to know about the medical care you are receiving. If there is something you do not understand or that you want your doctor to explain more fully, just ask. It is generally a good idea to get a second medical opinion before undergoing any form of major surgery.
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
Any person may authorize another person to make health care decisions for him or her. (Prob. Code, § 4650 et seq.) A document must be signed and witnessed by two adults personally known to you, or acknowledged before a notary public. The person given your power of attorney to make health care decisions for you may consent to your doctor not giving treatment or stopping treatment necessary to keep you alive, although he or she may not authorize anything illegal, contrary to your known desires or, where your desires are not known, anything clearly contrary to your best interest. Unless you indicate otherwise, the person may also authorize an autopsy, donate your body or parts of it for transplant or educational purposes, and direct the disposition of your remains. Without such a power of attorney, medical and other decisions can be made by your spouse or next of kin.
A durable power of attorney executed after January 1, 1992, for health care decisions may include the date on which you want the power of attorney to expire, or on which it must be renewed. If you do not specify a date of expiration or renewal, the power of attorney will not expire unless one of the following conditions apply:
- The power of attorney was executed after January 1, 1984, but before January 1, 1992; or
- The power of attorney was executed after January 1, 1992, and contains a warning statement that refers to a seven-year limit of its duration.
If one of the above conditions applies, the power of attorney will expire within seven years of execution, unless a shorter time is stated in the document itself, or the person granting the power of attorney becomes incapable of making health care decisions. (Prob. Code, § 4654.)
Powers of attorney may be useful for people who are living together but unmarried, particularly same gender partners, to give the partners the same legal ability to make health care decisions as married people.
Natural Death Act
The Natural Death Act (Health & Saf. Code, § 7186 et seq.) recognizes the right of an adult to make a written directive to his or her doctor instructing the doctor to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining procedures in the event the person becomes incurably ill.
Right to Refuse Medical Treatment
California courts have recognized that a competent adult patient with a serious illness has the right, over the objection of his or her physicians and the hospital, to have life-support equipment disconnected, despite the fact that withdrawal of those devices will hasten his or her death, as long as he or she is advised of treatment options. There is no legal requirement that prior judicial approval be secured. (Bartling v. Superior Court (1984) 163 Cal.App.3d 186; Bouvia v. Superior Court (1986) 179 Cal.App.3d 1127.) This right to refuse medical treatment may be exercised by the patient's conservator on his or her behalf if he or she is incompetent to act for himself or herself, even if the patient has not signed a power of attorney explicitly authorizing such action. (Conservatorship of Drabick (1988) 200 Cal.App.3d 185.)
Right to Die
The United States Supreme Court recently decided two cases challenging statutes that make it a crime for physicians to assist their patients in committing suicide. In Washington v. Glucksberg, the court held that there is no fundamental right to physician assistance in committing suicide. (Washington v. Glucksberg, (1997) U.S. ___, 117 S.Ct. 2258.) In Vacco v. Quill, the court held that a New York state law making it a crime for a physician to assist a suicide did not violate the Equal Protection Clause. (Vacco v. Quill (1997) U.S. , 117 S.Ct. 2293.)
If you, as a married person, enter a long-term care facility, such as a nursing home, only half of your community property, including income, is taken into account in determining your eligibility for Medi-Cal benefits to pay for the nursing home care. You will be required to spend down your half of the nonexempt community property and all of your nonexempt separate property before being eligible for Medi-Cal benefits. You may transfer all of your interest in the home you own with your at-home spouse without affecting Medi-Cal eligibility. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 14005.16, et seq.)
Health Care Responsibility
Relatives, other than spouses, are generally not held to be financially responsible for the cost of health care paid for under Medi-Cal program and received by an adult. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 14008.)
- For additional information on general health questions of interest to women you may wish to see the latest edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves (Boston Women's Collective, Inc., March 1996) or other medical handbooks on women's health. Back to link 1
- In 1996, Congress passed a series of welfare reforms, which include distribution of $50 million per year for five years to help states establish educational programs promoting the social, economic and physical benefits of abstinence for unmarried persons. Public schools in California are also mandated to promote teen sexual abstinence in sex and family life educational programs. Back to link 2
- Recently enacted changes in federal welfare laws and the passage of California Proposition 187 will have a considerable impact on the eligibility criteria and conditions in federal and state public assistance programs. These changes in state and federal laws have not yet been fully implemented and both Proposition 187 and the federal welfare reform legislation are being challenged in the courts. For example, the 1997 federal budget bill bars the use of federal funds for abortion in programs providing health insurance to uninsured children and allows managed-care plans in Medicare and Medicaid to decline to counsel or refer for reproductive health care in general if the organization objects to the provision of such service on moral or religious grounds. See chapter on Economic Independence for further discussion of how the recent changes in public assistance programs may affect you. Back to link 3
- The U.S. Congress recently passed a bill, (H.R. No. 1122, 105th Cong., 1st Sess. (1997)) to ban the use of intact dilation and extraction abortions, known commonly as "partial birth" abortions. This type of abortion procedure would be banned for use on fetuses after the fourth month. Although it was vetoed by President Clinton, an override attempt is expected to be made in 1998. The California Legislature did not pass a similar bill to restrict this type of abortion procedure in 1997, but a new bill to accomplish this will probably be introduced in January of 1998. At this time, there are no state or federal restrictions on abortions performed before the third trimester. Back to link 4
- See footnote 93, for discussion regarding the abortion pill, RU 487. Back to link 5
- The United States Supreme Court recently held that it was constitutional for states to require that all abortions be performed by a licensed physician. (Mazurek v. Armstrong (1997) U.S., 117 S.Ct. 1865.) Back to link 6
- Generally, the courts do not recognize a person's right to be left alone in public. As the Court stated in Madsen, "`...in public debate our citizens must tolerate insulting, and even outrageous, speech in order to provide adequate breathing space to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment.'" (Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc., supra, 512 U.S. at 774, citing Boos v. Barry (1988) 485 U.S. 312, 322.) Back to link 7
- The Ninth Circuit recently struck down a Phoenix ordinance requiring an eight-foot floating buffer zone between a person utilizing a health care facility and a person participating in a demonstration activity at that facility, citing Schenck in so doing. (Sabelko v. City of Phoenix (9th Cir. 1997) 120 F.3d 161.) Back to link 8
- See discussion on adoption in chapter on Domestic Relations. Back to link 9
- See footnote 78, supra, for additional information concerning public assistance programs. Back to link 10
- A bill recently was passed by the California Legislature that added Health & Safety Code section 1367.62 and Insurance Code section 10123.87. These sections require insurance companies, as of January 1, 1998, to provide coverage for a minimum hospital stay of 48 hours for a normal delivery and a 96-hour hospital stay for a caesarean section delivery. (Assem. Bill No. 38 (1996-1997 Reg. Sess.).) Back to link 11
- The WIC program is specifically exempted from the eligibility restrictions contained in the newly-enacted federal welfare reform laws. In California, the WIC program has no eligibility restrictions for residency or immigration status. Proposition 187, even if held to be valid, will not impact the WIC program because it is a wholly federally-funded assistance program. It is not anticipated at this time that the California Legislature will pass legislation restricting the eligibility for women needing WIC benefits. Back to link 12
- Additional information regarding women and AIDS and pregnancy and AIDS may be provided by your local county health department, or the AIDS support groups listed in this section. Back to link 13
- For additional information regarding your rights as a person with AIDS, you may wish to consult the Attorney General's handbook entitled, "Legal Rights of Persons with Disabilities" (March 1997). Back to link 14
- A woman with AIDS, whether or not she is symptomatic, is considered disabled for purposes of the ADA because AIDS substantially impairs her ability to have children. The ability to reproduce is a "major life activity" under the ADA. (Abbott v. Bragdon, supra, 107 F.3d 934.) Back to link 15
- You may wish to ask your physician about the "morning after" medication used by some physicians to treat persons who believe they may have come into contact with the HIV virus before the virus may be tested. Back to link 16
- There is currently a bill pending before Congress to stop so-called "drive-by mastectomies." (H.R. No. 135, 105th Cong., 1st Sess. (1997).) This bill, if passed, will require a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for a woman recovering from a mastectomy. The California Legislature recently passed a bill to add Insurance Code section 10123.86, relating to insurance coverage for mastectomies and lymph node dissections for treatment of breast cancer. Insurance companies must allow the length of hospital stay to be determined by the attending physician and surgeon in consultation with the patient. (Sen. Bill No. 70 (1996-1997 Reg. Sess.).) However, the bill was vetoed by Governor Wilson. Back to link 17
- Higher than normal doses of an estrogen-based birth control pill may also be used as a "morning after" pill if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Consult your doctor for additional information or a prescription. The French abortion pill, RU 486, also induces an abortion in the early stages of pregnancy (less than nine weeks). RU 486 has been submitted to the FDA for testing and approval under the name Mifepristone. The efficacy and safety of RU 486 is being debated by medical authorities. Currently, only women involved in the testing of the pill have access to RU 486 in the United States. Back to link 18
- A large class-action lawsuit was filed in Louisiana against the Dow Chemical Co., alleging that the silicone in breast implants that Dow manufactured have leaked and caused various illnesses, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. In August 1997, a jury agreed with plaintiffs that Dow plotted to hide health dangers of silicone. Although the trial court decertified the class of 1800 women in December 1997, leaving damages to be assessed for only the eight original plaintiffs, the remaining plaintiffs will not have to prove Dow's negligence. By early 1996, 30,000 lawsuits had been filed against Dow Corning. With the exception of the Louisiana case, all other Dow Chemical cases have been moved to the bankruptcy court in Michigan, which is handling Dow Corning's bankruptcy. (Dow Chemical owns 50% of Dow Corning.) In late August 1997, the company put forward a reorganization plan that included a $2.4 billion fund to be parceled out to the 200,000 women with claims against the company. Meanwhile, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Baxter International, and 3M have set up a claims process that pays out between $10,000 and $250,000 to well over two-thirds of the women who brought claims against them and chose to settle. Back to link 19 |
⒈ Sub-criterion Top to Progress Race the (C)(2) Update
Division of Labor A good society is a well-integrated society, so this essay will discuss how a generation can overcome anomie and become better integrated and thus create a better society. Emile Durkheim described society as being composed of many parts each with its own function. He argues that when all Compliance… True 1/7/2010 Sustainability Seminar Curtis The CHE 670 PE Lesslie parts of the society fulfil their functions the society is said to be in a normal state. If the different parts do not fulfil their functions, the society is considered to be in an abnormal or pathological state. As such, in order to understand a society there is a need to look at both the structure (how the parts of a society fit together) and function (what each part does or how it contributes to the society). Furthermore, he argues that individuals should be explained in terms of the society and not society in terms of the individual because individual behavior is dictated by some force or influence from the collective conscience. He also discovered that societies can be arranged on a scale from the less specialized to the more specialized. He argued that in smaller communities with little division of labor people are held together by strong bonds Parikh Minoti Trainer - their personal intimate groups. He termed this social cohesion as mechanical solidarity. In larger societies with greater division of labor, social cohesion rests on the formal contrasts and formal interests that bind people to one another, and is termed as organic solidarity. Basically, division of labor will ensure a better society. Social construction refers to the values and morals, 13650754 Document13650754 and beliefs that are made in relation to the society an individual lives in. Beliefs and morals shape how an individual performs identity, personality, and gender roles. Society molds individuals through socialization into their specific gender role. Culture contributes considerably to social construction. As such, the division of gender into different role categories establishes certain needs that should be fulfilled. Males are supposed to be strong to support their family, whereas females should be strong, assertive, and independent. As a result, social construction relates to personality and needs fulfilment (Durkheim & Coser, 1997). Conflict is a key issue within any institute, especially among groups. It is difficult to avoid conflicts in groups due to personality differences and divergent leadership styles. However, separation among group members in terms of attitudes, opinions, values, ideas of power and social factor contributes to conflict formation. The differences that arise reduce group effectiveness due Performance of fins Micro Roughness Role Thermal of On Random rebellion eruption. In addition, separation of group leads to poor communication which is the lifeblood of group cohesiveness and effectiveness. For instance, communication provides group members with the opportunity to give feedback and witness how roles are played out in Long with Feeders Large Rural Maintaining group (Thompson, 2004). Conflict resolution resolves and manages conflict in a constructive and positive manner. It attends to organizational climate (relationships) by identifying as well as preventing the outcome. Conflict resolution can be possible only when the whole group the & Chapter 50 to Introduction Biosphere Ecology to work as a team, realize every member’s limitations, and be considerate, as well. When the outcome of the conflict is established, it is easier to develop 1980 of Hamburg 14th International Congress . the 1980 plan for controlling conflict. As such, effective relationships plus predetermined conflict outcome equals conflict EAM the Conference Author 2003 for Guidelines. Therefore, in a group setting the main tool of solving conflicts is a healthy relation (Marx, 2010). Moreover, the social relation nature is another aspect that explains the different conflicts in the society. The social phenomenon that is present in a society cannot be separated; hence, they form a social relation. As such, social relations, that is, relations between people are characterized as stable, fluid, often passionate, and predictable. However, they rigidify to forms that appear to get hold of Sub-criterion Top to Progress Race the (C)(2) Update own dynamic, and their own autonomy, forms, which are vital for societal stability, especially the capitalist society. These will ensure that the different opinions in the society receive a moderate balance (Pickering, 2002). In addition, the system should be one, in which the government plays a pivotal role providing the necessary solutions and strategies for solving the problems that the quantities Fractions of faces. In addition, the system, as well, will ensure integration of both the private sector and the government units in the production of various 29 Vent of September LPS Week and services to solve amicably the issues prevailing in a society. The government cannot solely provide quality and affordable goods and services that can be equitably distributed among the members of the society. For instance, the government cannot provide quality health and education facilities to all members of the society; this will create conflict among the society members. When both the government and the private sector have access to resources and means of production, the government will have surplus resources that can be used in providing services such Morard_Alain_Talk health, education, infrastructure, legal, and military defence to the society (Lebowitz, 2003). In conclusion, it is clear that a better society can be achieved when there is a genuine division of labor. This will minimize conflicts and tension arising within the different parts of the society. Furthermore, empowered individuals in the society are able to integrate well with others. This can be achieved through paid labor since the individuals are empowered economically. The government also plays a vital role in ensuring that people in the society stay peaceful through equitable distribution of resources. Both the government and individuals have a pivotal role to play in creating a cohesive society, and ensuring that the social systems work effectively and efficiently. |
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Tutorials : Jun 15, 2011 ( )
Novel Uses for Hollow Fiber Bioreactors
Modular and Scalable Manufacturing Platform Has Application in Influenza Virus Production!--h2>
The key benefit of hollow fiber bioreactor (HFBx) technology is the high cell density attained (>108 cells/mL) through the use of continuous media perfusion to feed cells and remove toxic wastes. These bioreactors consist of semi-permeable hollow fibers in parallel array housed within a polycarbonate shell (Figure 1).
There are two compartments within an HFBx: the intracapillary (IC) space within the hollow fibers and the extracapillary (EC) space surrounding the hollow fibers. The total volume within the polycarbonate shell that surrounds the fibers (EC space) depends on the size of the HFBx.
Typically, cells are seeded into the bioreactor EC space through a port on the top of the HFBx. Fresh medium is continually pumped through the lumen of the fibers. As the cell population expands, this medium feed rate is steadily increased to satisfy nutrient needs and prevent a buildup of metabolic waste. Depending on the average pore size of the semi-permeable hollow fiber membrane, larger MW components such as secreted protein (>10 KD) or viruses will be restricted from crossing into the IC space. Thus, concentrated product is typically harvested from the EC space at a steady rate for the duration of the culture.
Hollow fibers can be constructed from cellulosic, polysulfone, polypropylene, or polyethylene materials, thus allowing a choice depending on the characteristics needed for optimal protein or virus production. The vast majority of HFBx utilize cellulosic fibers for uniform cell expansion and production of mammalian cell-secreted products. Biovest International developed the first commercial-scale HFBx system in the mid 1980s, and ever since the most common application for this technology has been the large-scale production of monoclonal antibodies.
Hollow fiber bioreactors provide several fundamental advantages not found in other reactor systems currently used for virus production:
Production of Influenza Virus
The threat of pandemic and avian influenza virus outbreaks and the need for vaccine preparedness to control these outbreaks has elevated interest in new production platforms that are less costly and cumbersome than current technologies. In this regard, embryonated hen’s-egg-based vaccines are now disappearing in favor of mammalian cell-based vaccines, which, while more convenient and reliable than egg-based vaccines, add another level of complexity to the manufacturing process.
Facing the probability of pandemic outbreaks and the worldwide costs tied to annual human influenza A epidemics, there is a need for new manufacturing technologies utilizing flexible and modular design systems that can improve vaccine-production capacity.
Along these lines, Biovest established a cooperative relationship with the Department of Respiratory Disease Research at the Naval Health Research Center to test the hypothesis that HFBx is an effective and relatively inexpensive production platform for rapid and cost-effective large-scale propagation of pandemic influenza virus isolates. The Biovest HF Primer™ was utilized for these studies. The Primer is a small HFBx designed specifically for R&D of processes that are directly scalable to the larger, more automated HFBx systems.
Bioreactor-adapted Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells were grown in the presence or absence of fetal bovine serum in T-150 culture flasks and harvested at 80% confluency. 1x108 cells were added to a Biovest HF Primer unit through the EC portal and allowed to attach to the hollow-fiber membrane. Medium was continuously circulated through the bioreactor for 14 days until the total cell number reached approximately 1x109 cells.
On day 13, a separate flask of MDCK cells was infected with Influenza A/Mexico/4108/2009 H1N1. The following day the influenza virus-infected cells were collected, permeabilized, treated with a fluorochrome-labeled monoclonal antibody against influenza A virus nucleocapsid antigen, and the number of antigen-positive cells was counted using a fluorescent microscope.
Subsequently, 100 virus-infected cells in a 5 mL volume were introduced into the EC space of the bioreactor containing 109 uninfected MDCK cells. For the duration of this study, the bioreactor was maintained with continual medium perfusion in an incubator at 37°C with 5% CO2 atmosphere. To determine the rate of virus growth, samples (0.5 mL) were collected from the ECS at 24-hour intervals post infection (PI) and assayed for infectious virus.
Figure 2 illustrates the amount of infectious (plaque-forming) virus observed at each time point PI. Note that at 140 hours post infection, virus titers reached 3 x 109 infectious units as determined by a plaque assay. Likewise, genomic equivalents (PCR) increased over a similar course and no detectable genetic mutation in HA was observed during the entire incubation period (data not shown). As with most influenza isolates, there are approximately 10–100 non-infectious particles for every infectious unit; thus, we believe that the total particle count was approximately 3 x 1010–3 x 1011.
While the Biovest HF Primer is useful for experimental needs, more sophisticated, automated, and higher production capacity units such as the AutovaxID (Figure 3) are needed for large-scale virus production. Since this system is functionally closed, yet automates mammalian cell processes, it is ideal for the production of viruses or cell-secreted proteins. A combination of pore-size selection and control of the fluid dynamics within the bioreactor encourages removal of harmful cytokines and virus-induced host shutoff proteins while maintaining virus stability.
Most importantly, the two-component design of the AutovaxID provides containment that minimizes the need for traditional cleanrooms, greatly reduces the risk of process contamination, and provides a small footprint that facilitates adaptation to existing BSL-2 or BLS-3 facilities.
AutovaxID is an example of how advanced hollow fiber technology can play an integral role in the manufacture of vaccines. In comparison to error-prone manual techniques or minimally customizable large-tank systems, the AutovaxID is:
Hollow-fiber bioreactors offer a compact, highly efficient, scalable, and economical method for virus production. The combination of an unlimited nutrient supply and the ability to de-bulk the culture through the cartridge ports allows the system to be maintained at relative equilibrium for extended periods.
This continuous production over long periods of time, rather than the batch-style approach of other systems, provides several benefits including consistency in culture conditions, dramatically increased production per unit footprint and culture volume, continuous or daily product harvest allowing timely and convenient stabilizing treatment for collection and storage, and selective dilution or removal of products from the culture that might be toxic or inhibitory to cells.
Mark Hirschel, Ph.D. ([email protected]), is CSO, and J. David Gangemi, Ph.D., is senior bomedical consultant at Biovest International. James McSharry, Ph.D., is senior scientist at Ordway Research Institute, and Chris Myers, Ph.D., is laboratory director, department of respiratory disease research, Naval Health Research Center.
© 2013 Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, All Rights Reserved |
The mankind has constantly evolved ever since its existence. Our ancestors used to travel by a cart with continued efforts and manpower that cart has evolved into a Bugatti Veyron. And if the trend is to be continued, flying cars may not be a farfetched dream. This was an example of automotive engineering. The IT department has hurled its very own flag altogether. From simple micro-chips to uber fast core processors, IT has embarked upon a journey that was unimaginable a few decades ago.
Cloud Computing is one such technology, that has put the mankind on the crux of innovation. But not many know how the concept came into existence? Who were the pioneers that made cloud a reality?
Sowing of the Seed
In the sixties the great J.C.R. Licklider devised the concept of intergalactic computer network or the ARPANET. The basic idea behind it was to connect everyone in the world and make every program accessible to everyone from any site in the world. This concept was the direct predecessor to the internet. Later, the popular scientist John McCarthy proposed that the computational services should be provided as services.
The success of cloud has been based on the rise of internet to the prominence. First microchip was invented in 1950’s. These chips could only carry out basic calculations. IBM saw an opportunity in this sphere and exhaustively researched on the subject. Those researches bore fruit in 1959, when IBM came up with 1401 model. This model became the cornerstone of computing for the years that followed. In the 60s mouse and keyboard came into existence giving computer a better user interface.
In 70’s Intel developed its first microprocessor and wrote a program that sent message from one computer to the other. This would later be known as the e-mail. So next time you are using your Gmail or Yahoo mail, you know who to thank.
Bill gates and Paul Allen rolled out Microsoft in 1974 and two years later Steves founded Apple Computers and rolled out Apple II. From then on every year new innovations were made and computer was being transformed into what we have now.
A New Dawn
The ideas of two legends, Licklider and McCarthy could not be made into reality because of the technical limitations prevalent at the time. The major breakthrough in the field of cloud came when Salesforce and Google came into existence in1999. That event changed the face of computing forever. Both of these companies provided cloud based services, Google for direct consumers and Salesforce for businesses.
The end of 90’s was the best time to invest in internet based ventures. Cloud had the right platform to usher into world as high speed connectivity, multi-tenant architectures and worldwide operability of softwares came into existence. Salesforce grabbed this opportunity and started delivering business applications from site.
The Bubble Burst
The internet boom was such that everyone with an idea started offering services through the internet. These companies were backed by seemingly limitless capital and confidence in the respective venture. The idea was to suffer initial loss and after the service becomes famous, charge for it. Even Google and Amazon took a hit initially, but their investment was in other places altogether. But as they say never trust anything which seems to good, internet boom didn’t last much. The major players like that of Dell and Cisco started selling off their stocks in March 2000 and the bubble busted. The exact culprit for the burst is a mystery but is attributed to factors like Y2K, anti-monopoly ruling against Microsoft among others.
Rising from the Ashes
Amazon launched its cloud AWS in 2002 with a view to store data and allow multiple users the access to same kind of information. Then Facebook gave the cloud a personalized feel and revolutionizing the way people interacts and store their personal moments. With its constant innovation mantra, Facebook is still ruling social media market and its acquisition of Whatsapp will only fuel the trend.
Since then the cloud has seen a constant upward trajectory. Amazon has since launched Elastic compute cloud and Simple Storage Services, providing different services. Along with that came the pay-as-you go model which is the pillar of cloud pricing these days. Salesforce have also launched force.com providing PaaS. Google and Microsoft have also rolled out Drive and Azure respectively, indicating that the cloud bubble won’t be bursting anytime soon.
The cloud technology has seen many ups and downs, but the time has come that the only way for the cloud is up. The strides cloud has taken have been massive as shown by the stat that 3 in every 4 companies have some of their operations in the cloud. So if you are not virtualized, it’s time for you to think about it!
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Fossils are three-dimensional objects, but you aren't really supposed to touch them, and you can't see their depth and detail very easily over the internet. But a new database of fossils from the British Geological Survey actually has the necessary files for you to 3D print fossils yourself.
The searchable database has thousands of images of fossils you can zoom in on, rotate, and interact with on your screen. And you can bring these old bones and artifacts into the physical realm too, thanks to downloadable .ply and .obj files you can use to 3D print them. You can search by period of time, type of fossil, species, genus, etc. to find all kinds of fossils. For example, here's a Pectinatites (a type of mollusk). And here's an interactive trilobite.
The British Geological Survey has an estimated three million specimens in its collection, so they haven't all made it online yet. But the group is adding more images every day, so if you don't see what you're looking for, be patient. This is great for anyone who's ever had trouble in the self-control department when it comes to touching things in a museum. Besides, it's not like they're ever going to get around putting all three million fossils on display. At least, though, you can 3D print the ones you want to know more about from your own computer and 3D printer. [3D-Fossils via The Atlantic] |
You have certainly met people who tolerated pain better than you and other individuals or, if lucky, you yourself may be one of those who can put up with pain and endure high, persistent pain without complaining about it. Have you ever wondered why some people are not that sensitive to pain as most of their counterparts? Maybe because they are lucky...? You are half way there...They are lucky indeed, because they are born with 'lucky', better genes.
That's right, pain lies in the genes and is all about genetics - some individuals are as lucky as to be 'equipped' with better genes which increase their resistance to pain, while other individuals are less lucky and inherit a higher sensitivity to pain.
According to a recent study carried out by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, our sensitivity to pain depends on levels of the BH4 molecule present in our bodies. This molecule is responsible for the production of major neurotransmitter chemicals and it also 'dictates' our tolerance or lack of tolerance to chronic pain.
Senior author of the study Dr Clifford Woolf, Director of the Neural Plasticity Research Group at the Massachusetts General Hospital stated: "This is the first evidence of a genetic contribution to the risk of developing neuropathic pain in humans. The pain-protective gene sequence, which is carried by about 25 percent of the population, appears to be a marker both for less pain sensitivity and a reduced risk for chronic pain."
The team of scientists pointed out the fact that tracking down the exact biological factor which triggers increased or reduced vulnerability to pain is very important for medical experts. This would 'open the door' to the development of new strategies and techniques of reducing persistent pain in patients of a wide range of conditions.
Dr Clifford Woolf said: "Identifying those at greater risk of developing chronic pain in response to medical procedures, trauma or diseases could lead to new preventive strategies and potential treatments."
The overall results of the study showed that increasing levels of the BH4 molecule in subjects led to elevated sensitivity to pain, while reducing levels of the same molecule in one's body caused the same individuals to feel less pain.
"Our results tell us that BH4 is a key pain-producing molecule - when it goes up, patients experience pain, and if it is not elevated, they will have less pain. The data also suggest that individuals who say they feel less pain are not just stoics but genuinely have inherited a molecular machinery that reduces their perception of pain. The difference results not from personality or culture, but real differences in the biology of the sensory nervous system," concluded senior author of the study. |
Radon gas is approximately 7.5 times heavier than air. It is however a noble gas with no chemical affinity but is easily influenced by air movements and pressure. In a house with forced air heating and cooling, radon gas can easily be distributed throughout the entire dwelling. When radon gas is discharged via a radon mitigation system above the roof, the radon concentration falls off dramatically with distance from the point of discharge. In fact, the radon gas concentration approaches background levels at 3-4 feet from the discharge point. EPA disallowed ground level discharge of radon primarily because of the potential for re-entrainment of the gas into the house and because of the possibility of children being exposed to high radon levels. The concentration of radon gas at the discharge point can be tens of thousands of picocuries per minute.
Read more about radon at https://www.epa.gov/radon
Read the Consumer's Guide to Radon Reduction. |
Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to both good and bad experiences that can be beneficial to your health and safety. Your body responds to stress by releasing hormones and increasing your heart and breathing rates. Your brain gets more oxygen, giving you an edge in responding to a problem. In the short term, stress helps you cope with tough situations.
Stress can be triggered by the pressures of everyday responsibilities at work and at home. As you might expect, negative life events like divorce or the death of a loved one cause stress. So can physical illness. Traumatic stress, brought on by war, disaster, or a violent attack, can keep your body’s stress levels elevated far longer than is necessary for survival.
Chronic stress can cause a variety of symptoms and can affect your overall health and well-being.
Central Nervous and Endocrine Systems
Your central nervous system (CNS) is in charge of your “fight or flight” response. The CNS instantly tells the rest of your body what to do, marshaling all resources to the cause. In the brain, the hypothalamus gets the ball rolling, telling your adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol.
When the perceived fear is gone, the CNS should tell all systems to go back to normal. It has done its job. If the CNS fails to return to normal, or if the stressor doesn’t go away, it takes a toll on your body.
Symptoms of chronic stress include irritability, anxiety, and depression. You may suffer from headaches or insomnia. Chronic stress is a factor in some behaviors like overeating or not eating enough, alcohol or drug abuse, or social withdrawal.
Respiratory and Cardiovascular Systems
Stress hormones affect your respiratory and cardiovascular systems. During the stress response, you breathe faster in an effort to distribute oxygen and blood quickly to your body core. If you have preexisting respiratory problems like asthma or emphysema, stress can make it harder to breathe.
Your heart also pumps faster. Stress hormones cause your blood vessels to constrict and raise your blood pressure. All that helps get oxygen to your brain and heart so you’ll have more strength and energy to take action.
Frequent or chronic stress makes your heart work too hard for too long, raising your risk of hypertension and problems with your blood vessels and heart. You’re at higher risk of having a stroke or heart attack.
The female hormone estrogen offers pre-menopausal women some protection from stress-related heart disease.
Under stress, your liver produces extra blood sugar (glucose) to give you a boost of energy. Unused blood sugar is reabsorbed by the body. If you’re under chronic stress, your body may not be able to keep up with this extra glucose surge, and you may be at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The rush of hormones, rapid breathing, and increased heart rate can upset your digestive system. You’re more likely to have heartburn or acid reflux. Stress doesn’t cause ulcers a bacterium called H. pylori does but stress may cause existing ulcers to act up.
You might experience nausea, vomiting, or a stomachache. Stress can affect the way food moves through your body, leading to diarrhea or constipation.
Under stress, your muscles tense up to protect themselves from injury. You’ve probably felt your muscles tighten up and release again once you relax. If you’re constantly under stress, your muscles don’t get the chance to relax. Tight muscles cause headaches, back and shoulder pain, and body aches. Over time, you may stop exercising and turn to pain medication, setting off an unhealthy cycle.
Sexuality and Reproductive System
Stress is exhausting for the body and for the mind. It’s not unusual to lose your desire for sex when you’re under chronic stress. However, men may produce more of the male hormone testosterone during stress, which may increase sexual arousal in the short term.
For women, stress can affect the menstrual cycle. You might have irregular or no menstruation, or heavier and more painful periods. The physical symptoms of menopause may be magnified under chronic stress.
If stress continues for a long time, a man’s testosterone levels begin to drop. That can interfere with sperm production and cause erectile dysfunction or impotence. Chronic stress may make the urethra, prostate, and testes more prone to infection.
Stress stimulates the immune system. In the short term, that’s a bonus. It helps you stave off infection and heal wounds. Over time, cortisol compromises your immune system, inhibiting histamine secretion and inflammatory response to foreign invaders. People under chronic stress are more susceptible to viral illnesses like influenza and the common cold. It increases risk of other opportunistic diseases and infections. It can also increase the time it takes to recover from illness or injury. |
The number of African American students in Two-Way Spanish Immersion programs is small but growing. However, the research literature reports limited information about the perceptions and experiences of African American students, particularly those students who speak African American vernacular (also referred to as Ebonics), and their parents. There is a need to understand how the unique and cultural and linguistic realities of African American students interface with their academic experiences and acquisition of a second language. The purpose of this study was to examine the perspectives and experiences of African American upper elementary and middle school students and parents in a Two-Way Spanish Immersion to obtain insight into the factors that contributed to student perseverance in the program and the role of language and culture in the lives of the students. The study considered that this new insight could provide information to educators about practices that may optimize achievement and create equitable opportunities for bilingualism, bi-literacy and multiculturalism among the study participants.
A qualitative research methodology was used for this study of participants in a Northern California charter school comprised of approximately 90% Latino and 6% African American students. Research questions were developed to guide the dialogues with students and parents of African American descent about their perspectives and experiences regarding their participation in the program. Nine students and 11 parents from seven families participated in two dialogues each, followed by a parent group meeting and individual follow-up meetings with students for member-checking purposes. Language use of Spanish, Standard English, and Ebonics was documented through language logs during classroom observations. The data was tape-recorded, transcribed and analyzed for common emerging themes.
The following six themes that emerged from all the data sources showed that: (1) The students remained in the program because they were content with participating in a bilingual program, appreciated positive relationships, and were interested in the present and future rewards of bilingualism in society. (2) Parents were satisfied overall with the program and kept their children in the program due to the positive school climate and their own commitment to the bilingual, school-community program model. (3) Students received extra academic support in the program, demonstrated development in the ongoing process of bilingualism, and had very diverse linguistic backgrounds and perspectives. (4) Parents shared very different perspectives on Ebonics. (5) Students indicated they felt comfortable culturally; they had positive cross-cultural relationships and they stated they could be themselves as African Americans in the program. (6) Both students and parents shared their desire for a more culturally inclusive school; one that included more African American learning experiences, learning activities and more students enrolled from underrepresented groups and cultures.
This study indicated that the charter school had characteristics of effective schooling for African Americans. However, in order for the Two-Way Spanish Immersion program to best serve their African American students, especially those utilizing Ebonics, it must strengthen certain features of the program. The results of the study suggested the following: (1) An increase in instructional strategies and techniques in the school curriculum that will best facilitate language learning as a way to promote high levels of academic achievement. (2) An incorporation of more cultural elements (especially those relating to African Americans) in the curriculum that will create a more inclusive learning environment and prepare students to be global citizens. (3) An increase in strategies to address the characteristics and needs of the parent population and their participation in the program.
|School||UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO|
|Subjects||Language arts; Bilingual education; Black studies; Ethnic studies|
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By BENEDICT CAREY, The New York Times
Therapists who specialize in autism often use a child's own interests, toys or obsessions as a way to connect, and sometimes to reward effort and progress on social skills. The more eye contact a child makes, for example, the more play time he or she gets with those precious maps or stuffed animals.
But now a group of scientists and the author of a new book are suggesting that those favorite activities could be harnessed in a deeper, more organic way. If a child is fascinated with animated characters like Thomas the Tank Engine, why not use those characters to prompt and reinforce social development?
Millions of parents do this routinely, if not systematically, flopping down on the floor with a socially distant child to playact the characters themselves.
"We individualize therapy to each child already, so if the child has an affinity for certain animated characters, it's absolutely worth studying a therapy that incorporates those characters meaningfully," said Kevin Pelphrey, director of the child neuroscience laboratory at Yale.
He and several other researchers, including John D.E. Gabrieli of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Simon Baron-Cohen of the University of Cambridge and Pamela Ventola of Yale, are proposing a study to test the approach.
The idea came from Ron Suskind, a former Wall Street Journal reporter whose new book "Life, Animated" describes he and his wife Cornelia's experience reaching their autistic son, Owen, through his fascination with Disney movies like "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast." It was Suskind's story that first referred to "affinity therapy."
He approached the researchers to put together a clinical trial based on the idea that some children can develop social and emotional instincts through the characters they love.
Experts familiar with his story say the theory behind the therapy is plausible, given what is known from years of studying the effects of other approaches.
"If you think about these animated characters, they're strong visual stimuli; the emotions of the characters are exaggerated, those eyebrows and the big eyes, the music accompanying the expressions. Watching those characters is the way many of us learned scripts that are appropriate in social situations," said Sally J. Rogers, a professor of psychiatry at the MIND Institute of the University of California, Davis |
New to the A2 CIE syllabus is indifference curves and my A2 class recently had a multiple-choice question concerning indifference curves and giffen goods. A giffen good occurs when a rise in price causes higher demand because the income effect outweighs the substitution effect.
Suppose you have a very low income and eat two basic food stuffs rice and meat. Meat is a luxury and is much more expensive than rice. If rice increased in price, your disposable income is effectively reduced significantly therefore, you buy less meat, to compensate for less meat you buy more rice to gain enough calories. Source: www.economicshelp.org
Griffen good and indifference curves
- Good B falls in price – hence budget line moves from: 50 A – 30 B to: 50 A – 60 B.
- The move from point J to point K is the substitution effect which = +16
- The move from point K to point L is the income effect which = -20
- These make up an overall move from point J to point L is the price effect (substitution effect + income effect) = -4
As income effect is negative, substitution effect positive and overall price effect negative Good B is a giffen good.
Summary of income and substitution effects of price changes
Go to eLearn Economics for more notes on Indifference Curves. |
Talk to your kids about…
K-19: The Widowmaker
The one-upmanship between the US and Russia during the cold war is an extreme example of what can quickly happen when two adversaries are unable to find common ground. Can you think of times when same attitude may cause us to participate (although usually in much smaller ways) in this type of behavior?
K-19 is a dramatized recreation of a very serious incident that may have brought the world into World War III. National Geographic’s involvement with this movie includes a massive web site devoted to submarines and their use in military operations. Check it out at http://crater.nationalgeographic.com/k19/ |
Physicians have actually long understood that necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a possibly deadly inflammatory condition that ruins an early baby’s intestinal tract lining, is frequently linked to the advancement of extreme brain injury in those babies who endure. Nevertheless, the ways by which the unhealthy intestinal tract “interacts” its destruction to the newborn brain has actually stayed mainly unidentified.
Now, dealing with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medication and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland have actually determined that missing out on link– a body immune system cell that they state journeys from the gut to the brain and attacks cells instead of secure them as it usually does.
The group’s findings are released Jan. 6, 2021, in the journal Science Translational Medication
Seen in as numerous as 12% of babies weighing less than 3.5 pounds at birth, NEC is a quickly advancing intestinal emergency situation in which germs get into the wall of the colon and trigger swelling that can eventually damage healthy tissue at the website. If sufficient cells end up being lethal (die) so that a hole is produced in the intestinal tract wall, germs can get in the blood stream and trigger dangerous sepsis.
In a 2018 mouse research study, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medication and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Proving ground discovered that animals with NEC make a protein called toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) that binds to germs in the gut and speeds up the intestinal tract damage. They likewise identified that TLR4 at the same time triggers immune cells in the brain referred to as microglia, causing white matter loss, brain injury and reduced cognitive function. What wasn’t clear was how the 2 are linked.
For this most current research study, the scientists hypothesized that CD4+ T lymphocytes– body immune system cells likewise referred to as assistant T cells– may be the link. CD4+ T cells get their “assistant” label due to the fact that they assist another kind of immune cell called a B lymphocyte (or B cell) react to surface area proteins– antigens– on cells contaminated by foreign intruders such as germs or infections. Triggered by the CD4+ T cells, immature B cells end up being either plasma cells that produce antibodies to mark the contaminated cells for disposal from the body or memory cells that “keep in mind” the antigen’s biochemistry for a quicker reaction to future intrusions.
CD4+ T cells likewise send chemical messengers that bring another kind of T cell– referred to as a killer T cell– to the location so that the targeted contaminated cells can be gotten rid of. Nevertheless, if this activity takes place in the incorrect location or at the incorrect time, the signals might unintentionally direct the killer T cells to assault healthy cells rather.
” We understood from comparing the brains of babies with NEC with ones from babies who passed away from other causes that the previous had build-ups of CD4+ T cells and revealed increased microglial activity,” states research study senior author David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D., surgeon-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Kid’s Center and teacher of surgical treatment at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medication. “We believed that these T cells originated from the NEC-inflamed areas of the gut and set out to show it by utilizing neonatal mice as a design of what takes place in human babies.”
In the very first of a series of experiments, the scientists caused NEC in baby mice and after that analyzed their brains. As anticipated, the tissues revealed a considerable boost in CD4+ T cells along with greater levels of a protein connected with increased microglial activity. In a follow up test, the scientists revealed that mice with NEC had a weakened blood-brain barrier– the biological wall that usually avoids germs, infections and other harmful products flowing in the blood stream from reaching the main nerve system. This could, the scientists assumed, describe how CD4+ T cells from the gut might take a trip to the brain.
Next, the scientists identified that collecting CD4+ T cells were the reason for the brain injury seen with NEC. They did this very first by biologically obstructing the motion of the assistant T cells into the brain and after that in a different experiment, reducing the effects of the T cells by binding them to a specifically developed antibody. In both cases, microglial activity was controlled and white matter in the brain was maintained.
To even more specify the function of CD4+ T cells in brain injury, the scientists gathered T cells from the brains of mice with NEC and injected them into the brains of mice reproduced to do not have both T and B lymphocytes. Compared to control mice that did not get any T cells, the mice that did get the lymphocytes had greater levels of the chemical signals which bring in killer T cells. The scientists likewise observed activation of the microglia, swelling of the brain and loss of white matter– all markers of brain injury.
The scientists then looked for to much better specify how the collecting CD4+ T cells were ruining white matter– in fact a fat called myelin that covers and secures nerve cells in the brain, and helps with interaction in between them. To do this, they utilized organoids, mouse brain cells grown in the lab to mimic the whole brain. Brain-derived CD4+ T cells from mice with NEC were contributed to these lab “mini-brains” and after that analyzed for numerous weeks.
Hackam and his associates discovered that a particular chemical signal from the T cells– a cytokine (inflammatory protein) referred to as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)– increased in the organoids as the quantity of myelin reduced. This activity was not seen in the organoids that got CD4+ T cells from mice without NEC.
After including IFN-gamma alone to the organoids, the scientists saw the very same increased levels of swelling and decrease of myelin that they had actually seen in mice with NEC. When they included an IFN-gamma reducing the effects of antibody, cytokine production was substantially minimized, swelling was reduced and white matter was partly brought back.
The scientists concluded that IFN-gamma directs the procedure causing NEC-related brain injury. Their finding was verified when an evaluation of brain tissues from mice with NEC exposed greater levels of IFN-gamma than in tissues from mice without the illness.
Next, the scientists examined whether CD4+ T cells might move from the gut to the brain of mice with NEC. To do this, they got CD4+ T cells from the intestinal tracts of baby mice with and without NEC. Both kinds of cells were injected into the brains of baby mice in 2 groups– one set that might produce the protein Rag1 and one that might not. Rag1-deficient mice do not have fully grown T or B lymphocytes.
The Rag1-deficient mice that got gut-derived assistant T cells from mice with NEC revealed the very same qualities of brain injury seen in the previous experiments. T cells from both mice with and without NEC did not trigger brain injury in mice with Rag1, nor did T cells from mice without NEC in Rag1-deficient mice. This revealed that the gut-derived assistant T cells from mice with NEC were the only ones that might trigger brain injury.
In a 2nd test, gut-derived T cells from mice with and without NEC were injected into the peritoneum– the membrane lining the stomach cavity– of Rag1-deficient mice. Just the intestinal tract T cells from mice with NEC resulted in brain injury.
This finding was verified by genetically sequencing the very same parts from both the brain-derived and gut-derived T lymphocytes from mice with and without NEC. The series of the assistant T cells from mice with NEC, usually, were 25% genetically comparable while the ones from mice without NEC were just 2% alike.
In a last experiment, the scientists obstructed IFN-gamma alone. Doing so supplied considerable defense versus the advancement of brain injury in mice with extreme NEC. This recommends, the scientists state, a restorative technique that might benefit early babies with the condition.
” Our research study highly recommends that assistant T cells from intestinal tracts swollen by NEC can move to the brain and trigger damage,” states Hackam. “The mouse design in our research study was formerly revealed to carefully match what takes place in people, so our company believe that this is the most likely system by which NEC-related brain injury establishes in early babies.”
Based upon these findings, Hackam states steps for avoiding this kind of brain injury, consisting of treatments to obstruct the action of INF-gamma, might be possible.
In Addition To Hackam, the Johns Hopkins Medication scientists on the research study group are Qinjie Zhou, Diego Niño, Yukihiro Yamaguchi, Sanxia Wang, William Fulton, Hongpeng Jia, Peng Lu, Thomas Prindle, Meaghan Morris, Chhinder Sodhi and Liam Chen (now at the University of Minnesota). Likewise on the group is David Pamies from the University of Lausanne.
The research study was moneyed by National Institutes of Health grants RO1DK117186, RO1DK121824, RO1GM078238, RO1AI148446 and R21AI49321.
Hackam, Sodhi and Pamies have patents on NEC treatments that are unassociated to the research study in this research study. |
Nanoparticulate thin films have recently attracted great attention because of their importance in both fundamental research and technological applications. Platinum nanoparticles are of particular interest due to its novel properties. There is no single technique other than advanced X-ray analysis that can provide comprehensive structural information, such as crystallographic phase, film thickness, and nanoparticle size distribution etc. in a nondestructive manner. The SmartLab multipurpose x-ray diffractometer, supported by its automated Guidance™ measurement software, offers quick and easy solutions for the analysis of nanoparticulate thin films.
Figure 2. GISAXS and particle size distribution of a platinum nanoparticulate film
In the figures above, a platinum nanoparticulate film deposited on silicon is analyzed by X-ray reflectivity and grazing-incidence small angle scattering. XRR data reveals that the film is about 8.55 nm thick with an average density of 14.23 g/cm³, which is lower than the density of metallic platinum. This suggests that the film is quite porous. The complimentary GISAXS data shows that the platinum particles have a very narrow size distribution around 8.67 nm, which is about the film thickness, indicating that the film is made of only a single layer of nanoparticles. The GISAXS data also shows that pores indeed exist in the film with an average pore size of 1.52 nm, again in agreement with the density calculation from the XRR data. |
According to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, nearly 13,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. Fortunately, with vaccinations and screenings (i.e., Pap and HPV tests), the disease is essentially preventable. To celebrate Cervical Health Awareness Month, and in recognition of the critical role vaccination, NACCHO checked in with two of our HPV Prevention Project demonstration sites to see how they are promoting HPV immunization in adolescents to support cervical health in their communities.
The below Q&A shares insights from Houston Health Department’s LaTasha Hinckson Callis, MBA, Administration Manager, and Sean Dade, MPA, Management Analyst IV, as well as Central District Health Department’s Heather Gagliano, RN, Immunization Program Manager.
Q: What challenges has your local health department (LHD) historically faced with HPV immunization?
Houston Health Department (HHD): While we know the HPV vaccine is highly effective in preventing cancers caused by the human papillomavirus, there are definitely challenges we face in Houston regarding HPV vaccination. HPV is contracted through intimate skin-to skin- contact and therefore, the vaccine is often associated solely with sexual activity and not cancer prevention. Scientific studies have shown no correlation between the HPV vaccine and increased sexual activity, but this often comes up as a parental concern. The need for additional education and training for physicians and their staff on how to respond to vaccine-hesitant parents is a necessity. This will ensure a confident medical community that can promote HPV vaccine consistently for adolescents, the same way as with the Tdap and Meningitis vaccines.
In addition, service delivery is another common challenge with HPV vaccine uptake. Similar to national trends, the coverage rate in Houston for the first dose of HPV vaccine is relatively high, with rates declining when assessing third dose completion. Despite the challenges, we consistently promote the use of evidence-based strategies among providers (e.g., reminder/recall, bundled recommendations, and HPV Champions) to increase HPV vaccination rates.
Central District Health Department (CDHD): We have seen similar challenges, but have also run into internal obstacles. For example, we experienced a major downsizing of our Immunization Department about six years ago. Even though staff continued to immunize, rates among teens were consistently low. But in 2014, CDHD’s Immunization Department integrated services with the Reproductive Health Program during a walk-in Teen Clinic held every Thursday. Integration allowed our clients to become more connected with other health department services and assisted wit staffing issues.
Further, as health professionals and care providers, we knew the benefits of vaccination well, but needed to figure out why vaccination was important from the community’s perspective. To help answer that question, we collaborated with Boise State University students who produced a Photo Voice piece that featured parents sharing why immunizations mattered in their lives. The piece captured reasons ranging from specific-disease prevention (e.g., HPV, seasonal flu) to general protection of their children’s future. Ultimately, what we perceived at the time as a challenging transition period actually allowed us to realize some unexpected advantages.
Q: As part of NACCHO’s HPV Immunization Project, what activities is your LHD engaged in to increase HPV vaccination rates in your jurisdiction?
HHD: As part of NACCHO’s HPV Project, the Houston Health Department (HHD) hosted a strategic planning meeting (June 2016) with immunization stakeholders across Houston. The following four project activities were established to increase HPV coverage rates over the subsequent three years: ¹Bridging educational efforts, ²Engaging partners, ³Implementing evidence-based strategies and ⁴Developing motivational strategies. In September 2016, HHD was awarded additional grant funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support an increase in the quality and implementation of adolescent Assessment Feedback Incentive and eXchange (AFIX) visits over the next two years.
In addition, HHD collaborated with the Immunization Coalition of Greater Houston (ICOGH) to form an HPV Workgroup within the organization. The objective of the Workgroup is to coordinate initiatives to educate Houstonians on the importance of HPV vaccination. In honor of National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (January 2016), the Workgroup has launched a communication initiative of four, 5-7 minute PSA radio announcements focusing on HPV vaccine as cancer prevention.
CDHD: We partnered with the Idaho Health and Wellness Collaborative for Children to develop a learning collaborative for adolescent immunizations statewide. The group met monthly and held a kickoff event in February 2016. Soon thereafter, another group of external partners gathered and formed the HPV Free ID Steering Committee. With permission, the group adapted the same format used by Nevada’s HPV FREE NV campaign. The goal of the group was to move forward in a joint effort to host an HPV Summit on February 2, 2017 and an HPV Vaccination Day on February 9, 2017.
The goal of the HPV Summit is to bring everyone together in the state to learn about and focus on the disease and myths that surround HPV. Leading up to the events, the group has planned digital and radio ads for the general public, specifically for parents of 11-12 year old adolescents. In addition, the movie Someone You Love will be available for viewing at the end of the summit. The statewide “HPV Vaccination Day” aims to encourage healthcare providers in Central District to allow walk-in HPV vaccinations on that day.To promote the event, we developed a “Save the Date” mailer, stakeholder toolkit, and HPV Free ID website.
Q: How have the latest HPV vaccination recommendations impacted your work, and how do you plan to adjust your project work to better align with the recommendations?
HHD: The new 2-dose HPV recommendation has positively impacted the number of adolescents who are now fully vaccinated and protected against HPV. HHD is scheduling in-person and webinar-based trainings for Texas Vaccines for Children (TVFC) Program Providers that will include guidance on how to effectively communicate the two-dose recommendation to their patients. In addition, we are in the process of identifying the number of the patients seen in our Houston Health Department health centers that are fully vaccinated due to the new recommendation. Parents of these adolescents will receive a letter informing them of their child’s up-to-date status.
CDHD: Fortunately, most of our materials emphasized completing the vaccine series, rather than explicating focusing on the number of vaccinations; this saved us from having to modify, reprint, and redistribute everything. Still, we recognized the importance of sharing this information and have done so via email and handouts at partner meetings, such as the Adolescent Immunization Learning Collaborative. We will continue to socialize the new recommendations at our project events, including HPV Summit in February 2017.
Q: What has been your project’s biggest success so far, and how do you plan to keep the momentum?
HHD: Along with the CDC grant award, our biggest success was our HPV Improvement Project. We utilized the Texas Immunization Registry, ImmTrac, to identify 574 patients that were delinquent on completing the HPV vaccine series and had visited HHD Health Centers. We utilized community partnerships and resources to engage 43% of those patients through phone calls, home visits and school-located vaccination clinics. Of those patients engaged, 79% completed their HPV vaccine series, while the remaining received HPV education. With the additional CDC funding, we are increasing the number of TVFC Provider offices we visit while improving the quality of our AFIX assessments, creating a video to be distributed among providers, and implementing innovative activities such as HPV report cards and recognition in our new newsletter to spotlight the high performers. Moving forward, we will utilize webinar services to promote peer-to-peer training while exploring the possibility of offering Continuing Education Credits to nurses and physicians for other educational activities. These combined efforts will allow us to continue striving for improvement in HPV vaccination rates across Houston.
CDHD: Our biggest success has been our ability to destigmatize the HPV vaccine and educate teens. Our HPV rate among teens when we first integrated our Immunization Program with the Reproductive Health Program was 38%. After education and explanation about the vaccine, our rates are now up to 85%, which represents 900 teens after just a year and a half. Moving forward, we’re working toward an internal strategic goal to prevent cases and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. By June 2020, we want 85% of all 14- to 18-year-olds receiving CDHD services and attending other offsite clinical events to be up-to-date and late up-to-date on ACIP recommended immunizations.
NACCHO commends all of our HPV Prevention Project sites for the excellent work they are doing to increase HPV vaccination rates in their communities and decrease adolescent risk for developing cancers, including cervical cancer, later in life. To help your LHD promote cervical health awareness through the remainder of January and beyond, the below resources are available:
- Visit the National Cervical Cancer Coalition website for sample social media posts, free downloadable content (e.g., factsheets, posters, ebooks), podcasts, videos, and a provider toolkit.
- Check out CDC’s new Vaccines & Immunizations website for resources for immunization partners and healthcare providers.
- View NACCHO’s Guide to HPV Resources for Local Health Departments. |
A structure with interiors covered completely in human bones – sounds like the stuff that scary houses are made of, right? But believe it or not, it is actually a place of worship. Capela dos Ossos, or the Chapel of Bones, is located next to the Church of St. Francis in the medieval Portuguese town of Evora. The 16th century chapel is a large room that has been adorned with the bones of over 5,000 monks.
The decision to use human bones as building material for a church is certainly an unusual one, but there’s a story to justify it. It seems that in the 16th century, Evora had about 43 cemeteries that took up way too much land. When the decision was made to destroy some of these cemeteries, the corpses of 5,000 monks were exhumed in an effort to save their souls from condemnation. It was decided that the remains of these monks would be relocated to the Capela dos Ossos. However, the existing monks soon realized that it might be a better idea to put these bones on display, rather than behind closed doors. These monks were concerned about the societal values of the wealthy town of Evora. So they set about creating a place for meditation, a place where the undeniable reminder of death would help people transcend the material world.
The welcoming message at the doors of the chapel is rather blunt – “Nos ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos.” Which means – “We bones that are here, for your bones we wait.” A pretty blatant reminder that we’re all going to die one day. I suppose it’s meant to get people into perspective before they enter the chapel and begin to pray. But praying would indeed be difficult inside a place like this – the walls are decorated with thousands and thousands of skulls, and bones are arranged in decorative patterns. For an added effect, the corpses of a woman and a child hang from a wall. No one knows who they were or why there are even in the chapel, but rumor has it that a powerful man had once cursed them. When they were refused burial in local cemeteries, the corpses received shelter in the chapel. I do hope the bodies didn’t actually decompose in there; they would have stunk up the place. That couldn’t be too good for meditation, now could it?
The world’s most popular bone-decorated attraction is the Sedlec Ossuary, in the Czech Republic. Unlike regular holy place that use paintings as decorations, this one uses between 40,000 and 70,000 human bones. |
The focus of this year's edition of Education at a Glance is on the quality of learning outcomes and the policy levers that shape these outcomes. This includes a comparative picture of student performance in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy as well as of students' civic engagement and attitudes.
Education at a Glance 2002 - Summary of Chapters
A growing proportion of the indicators now looks beyond aggregate country performance and incorporates variations within countries that allow an examination of issues of equity in the provision and outcomes of education on dimensions such as gender, age, socio-economic background, type of institution, or field of education.
Education at a Glance 2002 - Chapter A
Chapter A begins by examining graduation rates in upper secondary and tertiary levels of education. These indicators speak both to the institutional and the system-level output of education systems. To gauge progress in educational output, current graduation rates are compared to the educational attainment of older persons who left the education system at different points in time.
Education at a Glance 2002 - Chapter B
Chapter B provides a comparative examination of spending patterns in OECD countries. By giving more emphasis to trends in spending patterns, Education at a Glance 2002 analyses how different demand and supply factors interact and how spending on education, compared to spending on other social priorities, has changed.
Education at a Glance 2002 - Chapter C
Chapter C sketches a comparative picture of access, participation and progression in education across OECD countries. Education is seen as a mechanism for instilling civic values, and as a means for developing individuals' productive and social capacity. Early childhood programmes prepare young children socially and academically for primary education. Primary and secondary education provides basic skills that serve as a foundation for young people to become productive members of society. Tertiary education provides opportunities for acquiring advanced knowledge and skills, either immediately after initial schooling or later.
Education at a Glance 2002 - Chapter D
Chapter D looks at teaching and learning conditions in education systems. Learning in schools is mostly organised in classroom settings where teachers are the primary agents for planning, pacing and monitoring learning. In the first five indicators, school conditions are analysed from the learners' point of view, while the last two indicators present system-level information on the working conditions of the teaching force.
- Education at a Glance 2002 - Tables
Education at a Glance 2002 - Highlights
Education at a Glance 2002 Annex 1 - Typical Graduation Ages
Education at a Glance 2002 Annex 2 - Basic Reference Statistics
Education at a Glance 2002 - Annex 3: Sources, methods and technical notes
Education at a Glance 2002 Powerpoint Presentation
Education at a Glance 2002 - Press clippings
Education at a Glance 2002 - Erratum
Education at a Glance 2002 - Online Education Database
Order Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators - 2002 Edition |
Read each question carefully and then select the best answer.
Jean Piaget gathered the information for his theories about cognitive development by:
|A)||reviewing the literature on cognitive development.|
|B)||surveying thousands of parents.|
|C)||observing his own children.|
|D)||testing hundreds of children in his laboratory.|
Piaget called frameworks that organize and interpret information:
Tim likes to explore his parent's house through touch. One day he touches the oven and burns his hand. Tim learns that although some things can be touched, ovens should not. This experience is an example of:
|C)||the Oedipus complex.|
The cognitive balance that children are motivated to achieve when experiencing cognitive conflict is:
The Piagetian stage during which understanding of the world comes about through sensory experiences and motor actions is the:
|C)||concrete operational stage.|
|D)||formal operational stage.|
According to Piaget, during the first sensorimotor substage, infants' behaviors are:
Which is the best example of Piaget's concept of a habit?
|A)||learning to suck on a nipple and later being able to do it while sleeping|
|B)||accidentally shaking a rattle, which produces a sound, and then purposefully shaking the rattle to produce the sound|
|C)||initially blinking reflexively in response to a bright light and then blinking when no stimulus is present|
|D)||learning to laugh at people who slip on ice and fall down|
What is object permanence?
|A)||the idea that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be directly viewed|
|B)||the variety of properties that objects possess|
|C)||the combining and recombining of previously learned schemas in a coordinated way|
|D)||the reproduction of an interesting event that happens by chance|
When D'Andre was 5 months old, he looked at a toy train, but when his view of the train was blocked, he did not search for it. Now that he is 9 months old, he does search for it, reflecting the presence of:
Much of the new research on cognitive development in children suggests that:
|A)||Piaget's view was accurate.|
|B)||Piaget's view was wrong.|
|C)||Piaget's view needs to be modified.|
|D)||it is impossible to replicate Piaget's research because it was done primarily on his three children.|
Which of the following findings challenges Piaget's theory of sensorimotor development?
|A)||Between 4 and 8 months, infants can imitate simple actions made by adults.|
|B)||At 2 years of age, infants have symbolic thought.|
|C)||Between 12 and 18 months of age, infants explore the properties of objects.|
|D)||Infants as young as 4 months of age can coordinate information from two senses.|
The Piagetian concept in which an infant makes frequent mistakes, selecting the familiar hiding place rather than a new hiding place is:
|B)||the AB error.|
|D)||an example of operations.|
In talking with Grandma on the phone, the child suddenly exclaims, "Oh, look at that pretty red bird!" When his grandmother asks him to describe the bird, the little boy says, "Out there, out there! Right there, Grandma!" He finally gets frustrated and hangs up. This is an example of:
A young child might be heard saying, "That tree pushed the leaf off and it fell down." The child's belief that the tree has "human" qualities and is capable of action is referred to as:
In Piaget's theory, "operations" refer to:
|B)||words and visual images.|
|C)||abstract levels of thinking.|
|D)||internalized mental actions.|
_______ is clearly evidenced in young children's lack of conservation when they focus their attention on one characteristic (such as height or length) to the exclusion of others.
To understand how a family tree showing relationships among relatives works, children need to be able to use the skill of:
Tyrell understands that his father can also be a son and a brother, all at the same time. This suggests that Tyrell is in the:
|C)||concrete operational stage.|
|D)||formal operational stage.|
During what stage of development can a child take a group of Legos and place them in order from largest to smallest?
Reversible mental actions are called:
According to Piaget, _______ operational thought comes into play between 11 and 15 years of age.
The cognitive ability to solve problems that develops in adolescence is termed _______ by Piaget.
When playing the modified "Twenty Questions" game in which she is supposed to determine which picture of 42 the experimenter has in mind, Elnora asks questions in a systematic way, such as, "Is it in the top half of the display?" Elnora is exhibiting:
|C)||concrete operational thought.|
Personal fable and imaginary audience are parts of adolescent:
Stephanie, a 15-year-old high school student, is afraid to go to school because of a small pimple on her forehead. Which aspect of adolescent egocentrism is Stephanie experiencing?
The personal fable involves an adolescent's sense of:
Which of the following is an application of Piaget's ideas to education?
|A)||We need to know how children understand the world to teach them effectively.|
|B)||Children's illogical or distorted ideas about the world make it hard for them to learn.|
|C)||The pattern of mental development is universal, so one curriculum could be developed and used for all children.|
|D)||By the third or fourth grade, children are ready for abstract learning.|
The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is a measure of:
According to Lev Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), learning is:
|A)||achieved by discovering which answers will lead to rewards.|
|B)||achieved by assimilating new understandings to accommodate the demands of the world.|
|C)||affected by how the environment and genetically programmed learning ability interact during a critical period.|
|D)||a social activity between a less-knowledgeable child and another adult or child who is more knowledgeable.|
A toddler is likely to learn something in the zone of proximal development if:
|A)||the toddler has mastered all the skills necessary.|
|B)||parents or teachers do not interfere.|
|C)||the task is more difficult than the child can do alone.|
|D)||the toddler needs little or no help from a parent or teacher.|
When teachers adjust their level of support and guidance to the level of skill of the student, what is this called?
|D)||zone of proximodistal development|
Which of the following reflects Lev Vygotsky's beliefs about language and thought?
|A)||Children who engage in high levels of private speech are usually socially incompetent.|
|B)||Children use internal speech earlier than they use external speech.|
|C)||All mental functions have external, or social, origins.|
|D)||Language and thought initially develop together and then become independent.|
According to Vygotsky, an institutional component that influences cognitive development is:
|A)||a child's interactions with a teacher.|
|B)||watching educational programs on television.|
|C)||the traditions of a child's ethnic group.|
|D)||the use of computers to teach math concepts.|
Which of the following is TRUE of Vygotsky's educational applications?
|A)||IQ should be assessed to test a child's learning.|
|B)||Teachers should begin instruction at a level far below the students' abilities.|
|C)||The child's use of private speech should not be encouraged.|
|D)||Practical teaching should begin toward the upper limit of the zone of proximal development.|
Vygotsky believed that cognitive development was most influenced by which of the following factors?
Latoya talks to herself often, especially when she is trying to solve a difficult problem. Vygotsky would say Latoya is:
|A)||engaging in egocentric and immature thinking.|
|B)||using private speech to organize and regulate her thinking.|
|C)||functioning at the upper limit of her zone of proximal development.|
|D)||using the institutional level of thinking to learn about her cultural conventions.|
The main cognitive change between the fourth and fifth stages of cognitive development is:
With respect to adult cognitive processes, psychologist K. Warner Schaie (1977) concluded that:
|A)||adults enter a postformal operational stage involving more complex strategies.|
|B)||many adults revert back to a pragmatic concrete stage rather than using formal operational thought.|
|C)||adults do not go beyond formal operational thought, but they do progress in how they use their intellect.|
|D)||adults in certain careers (e.g., higher education) tend to go into a postformal operational stage, but most others do not.|
Life-span development students often complain, "Why do we have to learn all of these theories? Why don't you just teach us the right one?" According to William Perry, this complaint reflects:
|A)||absolute, dualistic thinking|
|B)||dualistic, reflective thinking|
|C)||reflective, relativistic thinking|
|D)||full relativistic thinking| |
The Phaser E-stim Reference and Glossary
E-stim, or estim, stands for electrostimulation
and means a technique to pass an electric current from one electrode, through living tissue, to another electrode. Sensory perception depends on various variables such as the size and placement of the electrodes, the applied pulse waveform
of the stimulating current, and the pulse repetition frequency.
E-stim is usually broken down into different categories such as electromedicine, electrotorture, electrosex, and electropleasure, the latter meaning pleasure through the erotic use of electricity.
Besides the electrodes, e-stim requires an electric stimulation power source, a device that delivers a pulsed current to the electrodes. For electromedical applications TENS units are widely spread and are gaining in popularity with physiotherapists, and quite often, these same TENS units are repackaged and sold as electropleasure devices.
But more and more the market for e-stim units gets dominated by devices specifically designed and manufactured for erotic use. Prices vary from $60 for a simple TENS machine to $600 for a more sophisticated multichannel e-stim device
Another popular approach is to use specially designed e-stim software
such as Phaser, a power amplifier and a step-up transformer circuit, also referred to as a Phaser Circuit
, which allows generating the stimulating pulses in a most flexible way, creating stimulation effects that are not achievable with off-the-shelf equipment. A still growing e-stim DIY community prefers these homemade devices, known as White Boxes
Electrostimulation with a Phaser Step-up Circuit
An e-stim device is a self-contained box that is specifically designed for electrostimulation. Most e-stim units are battery powered, some have built-in rechargeable batteries, and some devices come with a mains adaptor that boosts the maximum available output power when plugged in during operation.
Modern e-stim units are digital devices, controlled by a microprocessor inside the box. Proprietary software running on a computer allows designing and uploading new routines into the devices.
More enhanced devices process audio signals and audio files
that are fed to the units via an audio input jack. Our Phaser electrostimulation software
can directly drive commercially available e-stim devices through the audio input jack, vastly expanding the limited possibilities of the built-in routines and introducing new sensations. Phaser even allows secure and encrypted remote control over the Internet.
Microprocessor Controlled E-stim Device
Audio Control of E-stim Devices via the Audio Input Jack
DIY E-stim White Box
A White Box
, in the context of electric stimulation, denotes a homebrew DIY e-stim box that connects to a computer's sound card or to another interface. It usually consists of electronic parts, which form a Phaser Circuit
, and optionally a power audio amplifier.
There are various reasons why people start building their own electrostimulation equipment. The first thing that comes to one's mind is saving money. Good e-stim equipment does have its price, but apparently not everyone is willing to pay such price. Another motivation is the ability to produce levels and sensations that are not achievable with off-the-shelf e-stim devices.
The photo shows a DIY Phaser Circuit that makes use of 6 transformers. The box connects to a power amplifier driven by audio signals from a computer.
Homebrew 6 Channel DIY E-stim White Box
The term E-stim software
generally refers to a desktop application that generates e-stim audio signals intended for erotic electrostimulation, and outputs these signals through the computer's sound card in real-time.
These e-stim audio signals are either fed through an amplifier to a Phaser Circuit
, or they directly drive an e-stim device
with audio input jack. E-stim software can also read and write e-stim sound files
as wav files for use with other players.
Recent software allows to choose between different pulse waveforms
, and to modulate the amplitude and frequency of the signals. You may also find level displays, waveform viewers, features to measure frequency and pulse response of step-up circuits, and dynamic pulse enhancers.
Electrostimulation software usually comes with a set of ready-to-run sessions
that can be tailored to your needs and saved as shareable session files.
The encrypted PRP
protocol of our Phaser software even allows secure e-stim remote control and chat.
The Phaser E-stim Software: Delivering Pleasure Since 1999
E-stim Session File
An E-stim Session File
basically is a plain text file containing information about all the wav files within a session, where the wav files are organized and displayed by the e-stim software
as tracks in a playlist, as shown on the right.
A session file stores only descriptions of the wav files, thus keeping the file size down. Instead of transferring megs of data to another computer, you just need to copy one small session file to a remote location to have all the wav files of the session immediately available there.
Phaser session files are compressed to further reduce the file size. Opening such file in a text editor displays only the file header correctly. Therefore, session files have to be edited using the e-stim software.
Playlist with Tracks of a Phaser Session File
It is commonly accepted that the most energy effective e-stim waveform is a low duty cycle pulse train, a LDC pulse
. In contrast, sinusoidal stimulation signals require a linear power amplifier and a low distortion step-up transformer circuit, and the average energy delivered to the tissue by sine waves is much higher than with optimized LDC pulses.
However, sine waves are particularly suitable for exploiting interference effects like the Phaser Effect
, and thus are commonly used with StereoStim setups and devices.
The Phaser bPulse
waveform is a bi-directional, balanced LDC pulse that has its interphase interval maximized. This delay between the charging and discharging pulse lowers the excitation threshold, and thus also lowers the total energy delivered to the tissue, making it our preferred pulse shape for electrostimulation.
The Phaser iPulse
waveform makes use of a fixed interphase interval, which is equal to the pulse width of the signal. This is the recommended e-stim waveform for repetition frequencies below 80 Hz.
Both the bPulse
and the iPulse
pulses are DC compensated, i.e., they do not have a DC offset, which is also true for the Sine
Bi-directional pulses, also referred to as biphasic or bipolar pulses, have less average power than sine waves. The average power depends on the pulse width and the pulse repetition rate of the electric stimulation signals.
Recommended energy-efficient e-stim waveforms are the two optimized LDC pulses that our Phaser software emits.
The bPulse Waveform, Maximized Interphase Interval
The iPulse Waveform, Fixed Interphase Interval
ycle pulse waveforms reduce the tissue power dissipation at the skin-electrode interface, compared to a sinusoidal signal that induces the same sensory perception.
Minimizing the delivered energy to the tissue is of particular importance so as to reduce or eliminate e-stim side effects like tingling, numbness, or skin irritation.
Phaser's unique LDC e-stim waveform optimizes the ratio of stimulus perception to delivered energy through insertion of an interphase interval (short delay) between the charging and the discharging pulse. This interphase interval separates the pulses slightly so that the discharging pulse does not reverse the physiological effect of the charging pulse.
Optimized LDC Pulse with Maximized Interphase Interval td
Optimal E-stim Waveform
The first step on the road to the perfect pulse is to choose an electrode-skin model that most closely reflects the e-stim specific environment, and to calculate the actual values of the model's circuit elements from measurements in the lab.
After doing the math it becomes obvious that the optimal electrostimulation waveform (LDC
) reduces the tissue power dissipation by more than 90%, compared to a sinusoidal stimulation inducing the same sensory perception. (See article Signals
, accessible to our customers.)
The pulse width should be chosen to be within the optimum operating range. Phaser's bi-phasic pulse with maximized interphase interval is our implementation of the optimal e-stim pulse waveform.
Optimal Pulse Waveform: Power vs. Pulse Width
The Phaser Effect is achieved by generating sine waves with slightly different frequencies for the two channels in a Three-Electrode Setup
. This is equal to a continuous and periodic change of the phase relationship between the two e-stim signals. Thus, the combined signal amplitude varies in time with the beat frequency, which is the difference between the two interfering signal frequencies.
Fig. 1 shows two sine waves L and R. R does have a slightly higher frequency than L, thus increasing the phase difference with time. The green line is the combined signal L + R, the electric stimulation current through the corona electrode if using this Phaser Circuit
, slowly varying its amplitude with the differential beat frequency.
Using LDC pulses
presents a new problem when it comes to exploiting the interference beats for e-stim purposes. In Fig. 2 two biphasic pulse trains with slightly different frequencies are shown, the blue pulse train having a slightly higher repetition rate. The thing with low energy pulses is that there is nothing, most of the time. That's why it's low energy. Combining both signals does not result in a nicely modulated signal, but in a more or less randomly looking pulse train with some rare peaks when the pulses L and R overlap (green peaks).
The solution here is to apply AM modulation in combination with 180° phase shifts to one of the emitted pulse trains.
In Fig. 3 modulation and phase switching is applied to the pulse train R (blue), the black arrows marking the points of the 180° phase switches. The result is quite comparable to that of sinusoidal interference beats, but at a greatly reduced energy level.
Phaser can emit these LDC pulse patterns and easily turns your computer into a versatile stimulation source, ready to be used in a three-electrode setup.
Fig. 1 Phaser Effect: Interference Beats
Fig. 2 LDC Pulses and Interference Beats
Fig. 3 Phaser Effect with LDC Pulses
A Phaser Circuit, also Phaser Step-up Transformer Circuit
, essentially is a combination of UL listed low cost mains transformers and a resistor network.
The circuit acts as a high impedance current source in order to maintain a constant stimulation current independent of the load impedance.
The output impedance should be at least ten times the load impedance to achieve current source characteristics, i.e., 10 kΩ or higher, way better than the typical 500 Ω of most off-the-shelf e-stim devices and TENS units.
Encapsulated and vacuum potted low cost mains transformers are usually used to convert the AC mains voltage to a rather lower voltage. Using them in reverse and outside the frequency range they are optimized for requires some extra research, as frequency response plots for the entire audio range are usually not available from the transformer manufacturers.
So we tested different samples from various makers for their usability in a Phaser e-stim step-up circuit.
Most transformers are designed for both the US and European market and hence come with two primary and two secondary windings. Connecting the two primary windings in series and the dual secondary windings in parallel gives the best turns ratio.
Our step-up circuit dissipates more than 90% of the supplied input power as heat in the resistors, the price to pay for such a passive current source. Exactly this high power dissipation is the reason why commercially available, battery-powered, lightweight e-stim devices do have a relatively low output impedance (300 to 500 Ω). Converting most of the power into heat would suck the battery dry pretty quick.
On the other hand, a Phaser Circuit is robust, short-circuit and open-circuit proof, and adds yet another layer of security to the setup if UL listed parts are used.
If power consumption is not a concern, a passive high impedance source is the absolute first choice for any high quality step-up circuit.
The transformer circuit forms a low-pass filter with a roll-off of -6 dB per octave. To improve the frequency response of the step-up circuit, this roll-off must be compensated for by applying a pre-emphasis filter function to the signals that boosts the high frequency components. DynaShape
is our implementation of such a digital filter optimized for e-stim.
Phaser E-stim Step-up Transformer Circuit (Simplified)
Tested Transformers for the Phaser Circuit
Typical Step-up Transformer Frequency Response
The Phaser DynaShape
pulse enhancer is an adjustable digital filter that compensates for the low-pass filtering effect of step-up transformer circuits.
To preserve the original e-stim pulse waveform, the necessary step-up transformer circuit, the Phaser Circuit
, must have a flat frequency response curve. Usually these transformer circuits have a low-pass characteristic. DynaShape
applies a pre-emphasis filter function to the e-stim signals that boosts the high frequency components and thus flattens the frequency response curve, as shown on the right.
DynaShape Frequency Response Boost
The Three-Electrode Setup, also Tri-Phase Setup
, combines two e-stim signals from two independent channels to drive three electrodes. If properly used with stimulation signals that exploit interference beats, a very pleasurable Phaser Effect
It is most important to maintain the correct phase relationship of the two signals by observing the transformer polarity markings of the Phaser Circuit
Most of the Phaser e-stim session
files and templates are designed for a three-electrode setup.
Three-Electrode Setup: Wiring of E-stim Electrodes, Simplified
E-stim Audio Files
E-stim audio files are specifically crafted sound files that are played through an amplifier and a step-up transformer circuit, a Phaser Circuit
, and deliver stimulation pulses to appropriate electrodes. Some commercially available e-stim devices
are also equipped with an audio input jack and can process e-stim sound files fed into the audio input.
Electrostimulation audio files are either played from a digital player, a CD player, or from a computer.
E-stim audio files tend to be large and often are digitally compressed to save disk space and hence transmission time over the Internet. Lossy compression methods like the very popular MP3 algorithm alter the digital data in an irreversible way and thus should not be applied to any e-stim audio signals. However, such MP3 e-stim audio files are widely available on the Internet, or sold on CDs through retailers.
To create or edit electrostimulation audio files, audio editor software can be used. Tools like Expression Evaluators
allow sound to be generated from almost any equation. Some clever minds quickly adopted this to e-stim and published a wide variety of formulas to evaluate pleasurable stimulation sounds.
A major drawback of expression evaluation is the tedious process of generating the complete e-stim sound file over and over again for each change made. This is where e-stim software
kicks in, generating stimulation signals in real-time.
A Low Duty Cycle (LDC) E-stim Audio File Example
E-stim Signals Generated Using math. Expressions |
Desegregation: the process of ending the separation of two groups of people by law.
Integration: leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely bringing a racial minority into the majority culture.
The ruling which allowed 8 year old Linda Brown, as well as every other black child, to attend any public school is recognized as a landmark decision which officially ended racial segregation in schools. After the court ruled in favor of Linda Brown's family in 1954, school districts were required by federal law to desegregate their schools. This time period is often called integration.
I am labeling the title integration as a MISNOMER. The process of desegregation did occur as black children were brought to white schools with the protection of U.S. marshals, however, this in no way means integration of students occurred. If Kanye West and George W. Bush were forced by federal law to sit in the same room together, they would do it simply because it is law. This does not mean they like or respect each other, it simply means they do not want to suffer the legal ramifications. The same happened during desegregation. The proof is in the fact that U.S. marshals were needed to escort Linda Brown and thousands of other black students to the all white schools.
Segregated schools still exist today. Look at any large city in the United States; Los Angeles, Detroit, New Jersey, New York, Baltimore, Boston, these cities have diverse populations attending racially homogeneous schools- lack of integration. To truly integrate schools, communities must integrate. Students are required, by law, to attend the schools within the area of their home if they are attending a public school. Therefore, if a student lives in an area where there are housing projects or low income housing (the inner city), they must attend an inner city school. As African Americans entered the cities listed above in the mid 1960s, white flight occurred and white Americans moved to the suburbs. The mid 1960s, ironically, contain the most civil rights legislation to ever be passed.....
Civil Rights legislation......white Americans leaving cities as African Americans enter them: The law has yet to make communities and therefore schools, integrate. |
From 1945 to 1951, Winston Churchill was Leader of the Opposition—the minority party in the English government. He embraced this position with characteristic panache, clearly shown in this collection of fifty-two speeches and broadcasts, as he worked to preserve Britain’s influence in the world even as its Imperial history was coming to a close.
Winston Churchill’s political career did not end with the conclusion of World War II. While his career would never reach the heights it did during the war, he held on to political influence for some time. And from 1945 to 1951, he was Leader of the Opposition—the minority party in the English government.
While some saw this new position as an unfortunate demotion for a once great political leader, in truth, he embraced it with his characteristic panache—clearly shown in this collection of fifty-two of his speeches and broadcasts delivered during this time, when Churchill worked to preserve Britain’s influence in the world even as its Imperial history was coming to a close. While not as powerful as he once was, Churchill’s oratory still rings—and his wit still shines.
Winston S Churchill
Sir Winston S. Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."
Over a 64-year span, Churchill published over 40 books, many multi-volume definitive accounts of historical events to which he was a witness and participant. All are beautifully written and as accessible and relevant today as when first published.
During his fifty-year political career, Churchill served twice as Prime Minister in addition to other prominent positions—including President of the Board of Trade, First Lord of the Admiralty, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Home Secretary. In the 1930s, Churchill was one of the first to recognize the danger of the rising Nazi power in Germany and to campaign for rearmament in Britain. His leadership and inspired broadcasts and speeches during World War II helped strengthen British resistance to Adolf Hitler—and played an important part in the Allies’ eventual triumph.
One of the most inspiring wartime leaders of modern history, Churchill was also an orator, a historian, a journalist, and an artist. All of these aspects of Churchill are fully represented in this collection of his works.
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In Year 2’s Sharing the Planet unit of inquiry, students explored the impact that human choices make on our planet and our responsibility to care for the Earth. They performed a trash audit to discover how much waste our school accumulates. The results were reported to the Eco-warriors. Math was incorporated, as they sorted the waste into categories and tallied the results. The students discovered we had quite a lot of paper waste and explored ways we can reduce our wastage.
They also discovered that it was difficult to remove all pollutants from water by creating a DIY water filter to see if they could clean polluted water. The experiment showed that they may need to filter the water again and possibly add another filtration material in the mix!
Through various learning experiences, students learned how plastic pollutants harm animals, and were interested in the different inventions being made to address the problem of plastic pollution in our environment. |
Natural Heritage Assessments
Aligning sustainability and business goals.
Delineating and evaluation of natural heritage features is a key part of Renewable Energy Applications. It is the foundation of any planning or environmental assessment process, in order to understand the surrounding ecosystem and how to best protect its most important features. Not only is this the right thing to do, it also protects proponents from costly mitigation and remediation down the line.
How we can help you
MKI biologists are fully capable of performing a variety of habitat identification including classification under the Ecological Land Classification (ELC) |
Very tight braiding or weaving is linked to a permanent type of hair loss that affects many African American women, new research suggests.
While the findings can't prove hair grooming is at the root of the problem, women might still want to take them into consideration, said Dr. Angela Kyei, who worked on the study.
"I won't tell you not to braid your hair, but I don't want you to braid it so tightly that you need to take pain medication," said Kyei, of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Prolonged pulling at the hair strands may cause inflammation of the hair follicle, which has been shown to lead to scarring. In principle, that could lead to a type of balding that dermatologists call central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, or scarring hair loss.
This type of balding starts at the top of the scalp and slowly spreads to the rest. It occurs only in black women. Because there is no treatment for it, Kyei decided to try to find out what is causing it instead.
Read more here. |
National self-determination was supposed to be the answer to the so-called “ethnic problem” of the 19th century. The prewar, multi-ethnic Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian empires, all on the wrong side of history, had disappeared at the end of the First World War never to return. In their place would come relatively homogenous nation-states that would, in theory, reduce the ethnic tension that had undermined the stability of Central Europe and the Balkans. Once each nation possessed its own internationally-recognized borders and resources, Europeans should have a greater incentive to cooperate and fewer reasons to compete.
These new nations had to identify what made them distinct and by what right they could claim a hold on the loyalties of the people who would live inside their artificial borders. The architects of new states like Ukraine, Poland, and Czechoslovakia needed symbols and identifiers. Usually these symbols were rural, recalling ancient common traditions like language, religion, cuisine, literature, and, above all, the importance of links to the land.
Where did this process leave the Jews, few of whom shared these common cultural identifiers? The so-called “minorities” question perplexed the thinkers of 1919. Because the treaties that came out of the Paris Peace Conference changed borders but did not forcibly move people, minorities would end up living in all of the new states. What kind of future could they expect?
The designers of the new world order of 1919 rejected an idea floated by American Jews like Louis Marshall to give the largest minorities their own voice in the League of Nations. Such a system would have been politically messy and might well have required the British to accept an Irish voice and, much to Woodrow Wilson’s horror, the United States to accept an African American or Asian one. Still, the essential problem remained: how to protect minorities in nation-states where their presence would make them stand out as aliens?
The question did not get the attention that it should have. All of the constitutions of the new states made at least rhetorical promises to guarantee the rights of minorities. Wilson thought such constitutional guarantees would suffice; time soon proved him wrong. Some intellectuals in 1919 expected that each minority would benefit from a brother state to look after them. Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, for example, could always appeal to the Hungarian government to make their case for them in the League of Nations. Or, Poland could be expected to treat ethnic Ukrainians inside its borders well because it needed Ukraine to treat ethnic Poles well. This principle of reciprocity would ensure the reasonable treatment of minorities across the continent.
The great exception, of course, was the Jews. They had no state to make a case on their behalf. The Jews of the United States sent money and did their best, but in the 1920s the American government took few concrete steps to slow the growing anti-Semitism in the new states. Immigration laws in 1921 and 1924 virtually closed the United States to Jewish immigration.
Jews in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom sometimes sent help as well, but many feared that too close an identification with their Jewish brethren might call their own patriotism into question. Assimilated western Jews did not identify with the generally Yiddish-speaking and more Orthodox Jewish communities of the east.
In Germany, home to a particularly well-assimilated Jewish community, the Jews nevertheless appeared as the last remaining minority. The Treaty of Versailles redrew Germany’s borders, in the process taking away most of the Poles and Alsatians who had lived there under the Kaiser’s empire. The Jews remained as the only large minority. They became an easy target for the new German Right.
Anti-Semites and ultra-nationalists also associated Jews with the Bolshevik Revolution and the fears of communism that came with it. Jews, including Rosa Luxemburg in Germany and Béla Kun in Hungary, did hold positions of importance in several Communist movements. Jews, most notably Leon Trotsky, were also prominent in the new Soviet Union. Although many non-Jews were also communists and although most Jews did not support the Soviets, linking Jews and Bolshevism became an all-too simple calumny in 1920s Europe.
The result was a wave of pogroms that targeted Jews as dangerous aliens in the new nation-states. In Poland and Ukraine, especially, accusations of blood libel and Jewish treachery against Christians fueled fears about Jewish threats to national ways of life. With no state willing to help and the British blocking most legal routes to Palestine, Jews found themselves trapped in new states that did not want to accept them into their national projects.
The collapse of the international economy in 1929 marked a deadly turning point. With jobs at a premium, the new states moved to expel Jews from the civil service and ended what limited educational subsidies they had provided to Jewish schools. Anti-Semitic persecution and dehumanization followed as the rise of the Nazi party gave an imprimatur to official anti-Semitism and a model for other states to follow. The European Jews who survived the 1940s recognized the need to ensure that Jews would have a state of their own to protect their interests and to defend their people. By 1948 national self-determination would at long last apply to the Jews as well.
Featured image credit: Europe map 1919. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. |
Systemic lupus erythematosus, referred to as SLE or lupus, is a chronic (long-term) disease that most commonly causes rashes, arthritis, inflammation, swelling, and fatigue. It is sometimes called the “great imitator,” because people often confuse lupus with other health problems due to its wide range of symptoms.Lupus can affect many parts of the body including the kidneys, lungs, heart, and brain. It can vary from mild to severe and usually alternates between periods of activity, reduced activity, and even remission.
While an early diagnosis improves quality of life and patient outcomes, receiving a lupus diagnosis can be a difficult and timely process. Therefore, it is important to know the signs, establish good communication with healthcare professionals, and develop a self-care plan upon receiving a lupus diagnosis. With proper diagnosis and treatment, the disease is now more manageable than in years past, allowing people affected by lupus people to live full, productive lives. |
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History of conveyor belt.The primitive conveyor belt was used since the 19th century.In 1892, thomas robins began a series of invention which led to the development of a conveyor belt used for carrying coal, ores and other products.In 1901, sandvik invented and started the production of steel cord conveyor belts.
We are a large-scale joint-stock enterprise integrating scientific research, production and sales.Our leading products have crushing equipment, sand making equipment, mobile crusher, etc., Each type of product is with complete specifications. All products have passed ISO9001, CE and GOST international quality system certification. |
Did you know air quality of the indoor environment can profoundly affect the health, comfort, and productivity of building occupants?
Indoor air quality is essential to a happy and healthy workplace so what should you know about indoor air quality? This blog should help answer your questions.
Like with most things, when everything is running smoothly, nobody really notices. The same goes for indoor air quality, when the air quality is good it isn’t something people take notice of, but it’s easy to detect when there is a problem. When the air contains dust and objectionable odors, chemical contaminants, dampness or mold that is when you have problems with air quality. When there is poor ventilation, temperature and humidity control, you have a problem with air quality. If you have issues with chemicals, fumes or ordors, you have a problem with air quality
The Importance of Ventilation
Poor air quality may develop when not enough fresh air is introduced to reduce contaminant concentrations. An HVAC system must not only control contaminants, it must also provide a comfortable environment. The perception of still or stale air, odors, draftiness or errant temperature and humidity levels are common complaints.
Proper ventilation health studies have shown that communicable diseases like the common cold, influenza and tuberculosis spread more efficiently in poorly ventilated buildings. Proper air filtration is also important.
Issues Associated with Poor Indoor Air Quality
Problems with air quality can cause health symptoms. Some health-related complaints may be due to allergic reactions. Some health-related complaints associated with poor air quality mimic those of the flu or a cold: headaches, sinus problems, congestion, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and irritation of the eyes, nose or throat.
What Can Be Done About Poor Air Quality?
The first step into figuring out how to deal with your air quality problem is to find out if you actually have an issue. Air quality testing by a licensed, trained company can help determine what your building’s issues are and how best to take care of it.
Air quality testing will also help determine if you need air duct cleaning, mold removal or other services to help fix indoor air quality problems.
Indoor air quality concerns are a fact of life for building owners, business owners, managers, and occupants. When a building is managed with an eye for preventing air quality problems this greatly reduces the likelihood of chronic discomfort and will likely increase building occupants’ productivity. |
MSU grant to help create sensors to detect aircraft cracks
Michigan State University and the Boeing Company have been awarded a contract worth up to $4 million from the U.S. Air Force to develop new designs of sensors that will better detect cracks in the second- and third-layers in airframe structures.
Lalita Udpa, professor of electrical and computer engineering in MSU’s College of Engineering, leads the effort to create a next generation of sensors that will identify aircraft structure that has been weakened by subsurface cracks and corrosion.
“Airplanes are made of multiple layers of aluminum that are held together by thousands of fasteners,” she said. “Cracks can develop at the fastener sites in areas of high stress.
“Our job is to develop and apply simulation models for the design of a sensor that can reliably detect cracks that are deep into the third layers in the presence of other complex edges and magnetic materials.”
Udpa said MSU was the Air Force Research Laboratory’s first choice as a research partner to work with Boeing.
“We’ll spend about 18 months designing and testing new sensor concepts and designs in the laboratory. Boeing will then build a portable system integrated with an on-aircraft scanner and validate their performance in the field,” she said. “During this phase, MSU will use the feedback from Boeing to further fine-tune the design.”
Electromagnetic sensor systems that incorporate magnetoresistive, or MR, detectors have been shown to have better capabilities than conventional current sensors for detecting cracks in thick and/or complex metallic airframes.
Udpa said the MR sensors will enable inspections of critical areas of an aircraft, minimizing the need for disassembly of the structure, thus decreasing the maintenance burden to ensure aircraft are structurally sound.
“The sensor packaging will need to be durable and reliable enough for daily on-aircraft inspection processes,” she said.
Udpa is an expert in nondestructive evaluation, or NDE, and has worked in the field for more than 20 years. NDE is similar to biomedical imaging, where X-rays and other methods are used for noninvasively visualizing the interior of organs.
“There aren’t many universities in the country with a long history of NDE experience,” she said. “Michigan State is among the few.” |
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much of the province of Pe-chili, all of that of Shan-se, the northern part of Shen-se, Kan-su, and northern Ho-nan. It consists of a solid but friable earth of a brownish-yellow colour, wbich overlays the subsoil to the depth often of 1,000 feet. Professor Douglas describes it as having a “tendency to vertical clearage, and wherever a river cuts into it, the loess encloses it between perpendicular cliffs 500 feet in height. These, when washed by the water, are speedily undermined, and the loess breaks off in vertical sheets, which fall into the river, and are carried down by the stream.” In this way the great plain has been formed (p. 26), and through the means described the Gulf of Pe-chili and the Yellow Sea are shoaling up. To the Chinese this earth is of the utmost value, for wherever found-in the lowlands or on the hills at an elevation of 7,000 or 8,000 feet-it is available for the purposes of agriculture, and yields abundantly without the application of manure, and with a minimum expenditure of labour on the part of the tiller. It not only supplies the happy people whose soil it overlays with food for use and export, but in the cliffs which it forms on the banks of the rivers are dug numerous caves, used as dwellings by the great majority of them. Indeed, so important is it, that some ingenious philologists consider that one of the Emperor's numerous titles—“Whang-te,” i.e., “Yellow Emperor,” or “Ruler of the Yellow”—is derived from the fact that he is lord of the loess, or "yellow earth (whang-too). It is probably the residuum which fell to the bottom of a lake in days when the country it now overspreads was submerged.
China: PEOPLE; RULERS; TRADE.
In a country so rich, the first requisite for its development is to have it peopled by a race capable of taking advantage of the opportunities at their hand. This China only partially is. In the first place it is densely populated by a nation chiefly agricultural or dependent on agriculture, and the want of manufactories prevents the surplus population of the cities and rural districts from being absorbed. Hence China is, under the present circumstances, densely stocked, though, were its mineral and other resources properly developed, it would not have more than enough of labourers, and these would rank among the most comfortable of toilers. The exact number of people in the Empire we do not know; it can only be roughly calculated, and the estimates vary from 425, 213, and 152 millions to not one quarter of that number. The usual statement accepted in Europe is that China proper-excluding Mantchuria, Mongolia, Tibet, Corea, Dsangaria, and Turkestan ---contains nearly 405,000,000 souls ;* but a Chinese statistician,t who during the past year has calculated the number of his countrymen, considers that if they are put at from
* Behm and Wagner: "Die Bevölkerung der Erde,” 1874-78.
100,000,000 to 120,000,000, they will not be done injustice to. But Mr. Hippesley, of Shanghai, in another calculation made in November, 1876, considers that the population of China proper is about 250,000,000. The truth will most likely be found between the two latter estimates. A census which was made towards the close of the sixteenth century gave 307,467,000 as the number of Kìen-lung Wong's subjects, but in 1743 Grosier considered that they did not exceed 200,000,000; and though various enumerations taken since that date give the population at a much higher figure, it is very doubtful whether some of the returns are not apocryphal, constructed to gratify the vanity of the Kinsman of the Sun and Moon, albeit, if in error to the extent imputed, they would rather rudely interfere with the financial estimates of his ministers. But the latest statist is of opinion that the Empire has been decreasing in population since 1761, and doubtless during the Taiping rebellion between 1847 and 1862 the destruction of numerous cities, towns, and villages, and the massacre of their inhabitants, must have materially reduced the density of the inhabitants of the Empire. The population of Pekin is estimated at from 500,000 to 1,650,000, which shows how loose are the data we have to go on. Canton has, it is reported on the same vague authority, one million and a half of people; Tien-tsin, nearly a million ; Hangchow, 600,000; Shanghai, 278,000; and the number of other cities with a population over 100,000 is considerable. A census of the foreign residents, taken in 1879, gives the following particulars :--
Thus the firms engaged in commerce are 351, and the total foreign population of the empire 3,814, while the population of the nineteen treaty ports, including those of Formosa, is estimated at 4,990,000.
But even at the lowest figures given China is a thickly-peopled region, though to nothing like the extent of the valley of the Ganges, and the swarms of its people who are hiving off into other countries—tossing to the winds the traditions of centuries—ought, under other conditions, to find at home the employment which they now seek abroad. Of the character of the people at large it is somewhat difficult for a foreigner to speak. They must not be judged according to the Old World canons of morality, nor above all, meted in the European measure. As Archdeacon Gray justly remarks, their morals are written in strange characters more difficult for one not of their race to decipher than their own singularly compound word syllables. “In the same individual virtues and vices, apparently incompatible, are placed side by side. Meekness, gentleness, docility, industry, contentment, cheerfulness, obedience to superiors, dutifulness to parents and
reverence for the aged are, in one and the same person, the companions of insincerity, lying, flattery, treachery, cruelty, jealousy, ingratitude, avarice, and distrust of others.” But deceit and fraud are with them, as with all timid races, the natural defence of the weak, while, as the English courts of law abundantly demonstrate, the other inconsistencies of their character are not peculiar to them. The despotism of their Government, the gross superstition of their religion, the abominable cruelty of their judicial code, and their
general ignorance, in spite of the fact that as a rule they are more lettered than were until recently any people in Europe, combined with the degraded social life which polygamy always entails, are serious disadvantages for any race to contend against. But still, those well acquainted with them pronounce the Chinese, as a rule, "courteous, orderly, industrious, peace-loving, sober, and patriotic.” Mr. Seward, the American Minister at Pekin, wrote eight years ago in much the same strain, and as his opinion is, perhaps, in some respects better worth quoting than that of a European, I think it worth giving in full. “The prevailing tendency," writes this experienced publicist, “among foreigners in China is to debase the Chinese to a very low place in the scale of nations, to belittle their
intellectual capacity, to condemn their morals, to declare them destitute of vitality and energy
the case finds facts ready for his use which seem to him to demonstrate his own view. I confess that the case is different with me. Faith in the race is a matter of intuition with me. I find here a steady adherence to the traditions of the past, a sober devotion to the calls arising in the various relations of life, an absence of shiftlessness, an honest and at least somewhat earnest grappling with the necessities and difficulties which beset them in the humbler stages of progress, a capacity to moralise withal, and an enduring sense of right and wrong. These all form what must be considered an essentially satisfactory basis and groundwork of national character. Among the people there is practical sense, among the gentry scholarly instincts, the desire of advancement, the disposition to work for it with earnestness and constancy, amongst the rulers a sense of dignity, breadth of view, considering their information, and patriotic feeling. Who will say that such a people have not a future more wonderful even than their past? Why may not the wheels of progress and empire roll on until the countries of Asia witness again their course ?” The present writer sees no reason, except that out nations rarely revive. But it
be said that the Chinese have never gone back. Their civilisation is old, very old; but already there are signs that the new wine which is pouring into the empire is bursting the old bottles, and that though China has not been in such haste to clothe itself in Western garments as Japan, it will in the end, though not running so fast, make quite as much progress, and, as its wealth is infinitely greater, win in the race for the prizes of the new civilisation. Nor is their docility so great as has been usually represented. The many rebellions, often fierce and prolonged, one of which drove the Emperor off his throne, prove that the Chinaman, though easily ruled when properly treated, can be a fierce zealot and even a courageous asserter of his rights when the slumbering Asiatic tigerishness of his nature is roused. It is also akin to the bigotry of which we accuse the Chinese to style them unprogressive, exclusive, and dead to the advantages of European inventions. They do not wish for railways. How long is it since all England was enamoured of these, since scores of squires of all degrees rushed to the capital to protest against the iron horse coming near them, and from the pulpit and the press these inventions were denounced as ruinous to Englishmen, English horses, and English schoolboys' morals ? Vaccinaticn is still denounced, as were inoculation and vaccination long after they were introduced ; and tramways were until lately—perhaps they are still—vilified as inventions of the Americans or of the evil one, the power of darkness and our transatlantic cousins being, in the eyes of the British Chinaman, very nearly akin. Occasionally a European is mobbed in the villages of the remoter parts of the Empire. This is no doubt exceedingly rude on the part of a people who never saw a Briton, and never heard much good of them in their dealings with the Celestial Empire ; but only a few months ago the members of the Chinese Embassy were mobbed in one of the most fashionable streets of London, and at this day a strangely-dressed foreigner would fare but badly in some of the more outlandish parts of the Black Country, or elsewhere. The soldier in Goldsmith's story hated the French because “they ate frogs and wore wooden shoes,” and would doubtless have put his sentiments in regard to our amiable neighbours into force had he caught one of them in a region less remote perhaps than those
parts of China where the “foreign devil” meets with rough usage. Even the Irisb or Scotch have not yet escaped the prejudice of the vulgar English, and the inhospitable half brick is yet in some parts of the country the legitimate weapon for the insular Chauvanist to apply to the stranger's head. The man with the evil eye is in Italy a worse terror to the peasant than the wonder-working foreigner to the ignorant Kan-su herdsman. A woman accused of witchcraft was only lately burnt to death by some Russian peasants, and the authorities of Chin rank so far approved of the act as to award her murderers the most nominal punishment known to the law, and to acquit others. Connecticut Puritans, and among other English judges the learned Sir Matthew Hale, not very long ago were of the same opinion. Even yet in many districts of Great Britain a person supposed to be endowed with such occult powers would fare well if he or she did not make the acquaintance of one of those capacious horse-ponds with which rural England is so plenteously studded. The truth is, that those who superciliously criticise the Chinese display, by the very words they use, the selfsame prejudices they despise in the Mongols. For instance, Mr. Wingrove Cook * is shocked that the Chinese rose has no fragrance, that the women have no petticoats, the labourer no Sabbath, and the magistrate no sense of honour. He thinks it something absurd for a man when puzzled to scratch the antipodes of the head, to consider the seat of intellect in the stomach, or the place of honour on the left hand; that he wears white garments when in mourning, and considers that to bare the head is insolence instead of respect. And why not? The left is nearest to the sun-producing east, and is therefore as honourable as our west. The brain is just as unlikely to be stimulated by irritating the scalp as any other part of the body, while it is not more absurd to consider the intellect in the stomach than to imagine, as do half mankind and all the poets, that loves and hates are in the hollow muscle called the heart. But the people are not stationary. The Chinese army is a formidable force compared with what it was twenty years ago, and foreigners are taken into their service whenever the Government finds that any gain is to be reaped by doing so. Arsenals are springing up everywhere, ships are being built on the most approved models, and arms—unfortunately, forged to a wonderful extent and perfection. Their embassies have gone to Europe, and those of Europe to them. They are amenable to reason, have no caste, and, unlike the other peoples of the East, are singularly free from religious prejudice. As Mr. Williamson points out, history shows that they have adopted every manifest improvement which has presented itself for many centuries. At the time when Caractacus and his blue-painted warriors were meeting Cæsar on the Kentish shore, the Chinese had adopted the Buddhist system of decimal notation, and had changed their custom of writing figures from top to bottom for the Indian plan of inscribing them from left to right. Every dynasty up to the present time has improved the calendar by the light derived from foreign astronomers, and in open competitions Father Schall, of the Jesuit mission, was appointed by the first Tartar Emperor President of the Board of Astronomy at Pekin. When the Emperor Kangh-i began to print his encyclopædia in 300 volumes he adopted movable copper types, and to this day movable types of wood are employed in printing the Pekin Gazette. The cotton-plant, the potato, the maize, tobacco, and opium, have all been naturalised by
Cook: “ China" (1858). |
(in full pia mater)
sustantivo[mass noun] Anatomy
The delicate innermost membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord. See also meninges.
Más ejemplos en oraciones
- These veins are found in the maternal part of the placenta, the spinal cord pia mater, retina, sinuses of the dura mater, most cerebral veins, trabecular veins of the spleen, and veins of the nail bed.
- The innermost layer is the pia mater, a delicate vascular layer adherent to the surface of the brain and spinal cord.
- Arachnoid and pia are also called leptomeninges (thin membranes).
late 19th century: from medieval Latin, in full literally 'tender mother', translating Arabic al-'umm ar-raqīqa.
- Más ejemplos en oraciones
- Arteries carried in with the pial fold provide the choroid plexuses of the 3rd and lateral ventricles.
- In this section of newborn cerebellum (note the fetal granular layer), the arachnoid tissue in between the two cerebellar gyri is very cellular and the pial vessels are quite congested.
- Vasogenic edema from compressive ischemia, venous stasis or parasitization of pial vessels may also occur and can be extensive.
Definición de pia en:
- el diccionario Inglés de EE.UU. |
History of Brockton
Brockton is located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts and has a Mayor-Council form of government. The city prides itself on its diversity of cultures, and is home to approximately 100,000 residents.
Present day Brockton was first settled in the 17th century and was originally known as North Bridgewater – a geographic area that is today comprised of the communities of Brockton, West Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, and Bridgewater. Brockton became a city in 1881.
Farms gave way to factories, and Brockton became an epicenter of the shoe and textile industries, earning the name “Shoe City.” At the dawn of the 20th century, the city had a population of 40,000; and more than 6,000 people were employed in over 100 separate shoe manufacturing entities.
A Bright Future Through Education
Named one of the Best Communities for Young People three times (2010, 2008, and 2005), Brockton is home to an award-winning public school system.
Brockton High School, the largest high school in New England and one of the biggest in the nation, has more than 4,200 and has twice been named one of America’s Best High School’s by U.S. News & World Report. The City has also been home to Massasoit Community College for more than 40 years.
In addition to Massasoit Community College, Brockton is also located near two four-year institutes of higher education institutions. Bridgewater State University is located 10 miles from the city, and has over 90 undergraduate and graduate courses of study.
Stonehill College, located in nearby Easton, has over 2,300 students enrolled in more than 80 rigorous academic programs in the liberal arts, sciences, and pre-professional fields.
Destination for Culture
Brockton also has a growing commercial base. In addition to convenient shopping destinations like Westgate Mall, there are also a variety of restaurants and eateries that offer a culinary tour of the world without straying too far from home. The Brockton Brightfields, located at East Union and Grove streets, is also one of the largest solar arrays in New England.
There are also a wealth of cultural and recreation opportunities in the city —from golf courses and open spaces to museums. The Fuller Craft Museum, located on Oak Street, is billed as New England's only home for contemporary craft.
The Brockton Historical Society also operates a complex of museums along Route 27. The trio of sites is each dedicated to a separate facet of the city’s long history – the shoe industry, fire fighting, and an early homestead.
The Brockton Symphony Orchestra entertains audiences throughout the city all year long.
The Brockton Cultural Council funds locally based arts, culture, and interpretive science organizations who collaborate with one another or other local organizations.
City of Champions
Dubbed the City of Champions for its rich sports history, Brockton was the hometown of boxing greats Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler.
Today, Campanelli Stadium, located on Feinberg Way, is home to the Brockton Rox. The team competes in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. The adjacent Shaw’s Center is also ideal for functions and corporate events. |
All photos used by share and share alike from wikimedia
Fishing, it is a past time enjoyed by millions of Americans in the 21st century, it has evolved into a billion-dollar industry throughout the country, and the world for that matter. Many fishers are obsessed with owning the newest rod and reel combos, or the best fishfinding underwater GPS systems, or the fasted and best bass boats, but the world of American fishing wasn’t always so obsessed with the latest and greatest. Our forefathers were much more concerned with fishing as a way of making a living and providing for their families.
When England first decided to settle the North American continent, it was with monetary gain in mind. England was bursting at the seams and needed to expand their footprint throughout the world to keep pace with the other European nations also in the colonization game. While Jamestown, Virginia became the first permanent settlement in the late 16th century, it wasn’t until Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 17th century that England began to profit from the colonization business. Commerical fishing was the name of the game for the people on the coast of Massachusetts, and the English held a monopoly on all fish caught in the area. Large commercial ships used nets and cages to catch their fish and sent them to market, making tidy profits for the English.
While commercial fishing was big-business, there was also the need for small-scale fishing on a personal level. Anybody that enjoys fishing can tell you the joys of sitting by the water, listing to the small ripples in the stream and trying to catch a view of a fish or two breaking water. It is a game of patience, and if done correctly, can bring quite a bounty in return. The toolkit of a 17th-century fisher looks entirely different from the giant tackle boxes and thousand dollar rod/reel set-ups of the modern day. The fishing poles were usually made out of willow or cane, with a line fashioned to the pole. Live bait was often used, but Colonial anglers also saw the need for lures, and made lures out of wood and stained them red and other colors to mimic crawdads or minnows. There were no reels on these rods, so the angler had a personal interaction every time a fish nibbled on their line. The best modern equivalent would be the act of fly fishing, but even on a fly rod, there is a reel to help the fisher.
Colonial fishers depended on the waterways around their homes for not only relaxation but also for a free means of feeding their families. For every fish that was caught, that was money saved from buying groceries at the local market, and in the rough and tumble life of Colonial American, self-sufficiency was key.
McLaughlin, Marie Margaret “The fishing industry of colonial
Massachusetts, 1620-1660”. Boston University Masters Thesis 1933 |
Genetic studies have provided evidence for an African origin of East Asian populations, but their prehistoric migration routes in the Asia region remain a long-standing controversy. On the basis of the genetic evidence generated so far, particularly from Y-chromosome data, CAS researchers recently discovered that early modern humans entered the region from its southern part, and then they made a northward migration about 25,000 - 30,000 years ago.
Researchers have been debating on modern human origins for a long time. Some of them, mostly archaeologists, believe that the abundant hominid fossils found in China and in other regions of East Asia show evolutionary continuity, not only in morphological characters, but also in spatial and temporal distributions. This observation implies that the evolution from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens and then to Homo sapiens sapiens (modern man), took place in East Asia as well as in Africa. On the other hand, the Out-of-Africa hypothesis, which suggests that local populations outside Africa were completely replaced by modern humans who originated in Africa, has been supported by extensive genetic evidence and by archaeological findings.
The hypothesis was reinforced in 2001 by a study of Y chromosomal DNA, in which an international consortium including Chinese researchers showed that East Asian populations migrated out of Africa and suggests that little or no interbreeding of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens occurred after the migration. However, the prehistoric peopling of East Asia by modern humans still remains controversial with respect to early population migrations, which is highlighted by genetic disparity found by previous genetic studies between the northern and southern populations of the East Asians. Geneticists speculate that the disparity must have something to do with the itinerary covered by the forebears of today's Eastern Asian people in their prehistory migration from the Grand Rift in the East Africa.
A recent study made by a research team headed by Prof. Su Bing from the CAS Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ) has shed new light on the issue. As reported in July 14 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, the researchers carried out a systematic genetic screening of the 2,332 male individuals sampled as 40 representative populations from East Asia by comparison of Y chromosome's genetic tags. Their study shows that the Y-chromosome haplogroup specific to East Asias is more diverse in southern population than their northern cousins and the southern population is found to have their own specific haplogroups while only part of East Asian specific haplogroups exist in the northern populations.
Based on these findings, the KIZ scientists came to a conclusion that the southern population should be the ancestral while the northern population was its posterity as a result of the former's migration from the south to the north which occurred about 25,000 to 30,000 years ago. In other words, the earliest inhabitants in the Orient had been the southern population originating from east Africa and then they migrated to the north. So the earliest migratory route of modern humans in East Asia should be from south to north.
Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Explore further: Scientists discover an early modern human with a recent neanderthal ancestor |
Age-Related Macular Degeneration is a deterioration of the macula which is a small area in the retina (back of the eye). This degeneration of the macula happens as part of the natural aging process but with regular eye health examinations early diagnosis and the addition of vitamins prescribed by your Optometrist can assist in a slowing of the eye condition.
As AMD affects central vision it is important to know that patients are often unaware they have this eye disease until there is noticeable vision loss or it is detected during regular eye. Another reason to schedule regular eye health checkups for the entire family.
There are two forms of Age-Related Macular Degeneration:
Treatment depends on which form of AMD is diagnosed. Only your qualified Optometrist can determine a best course of treatment to prevent severe vision loss and slow the progression of the disease. Book an eye exam today! |
First grader Luis Ramirez gave a double thumbs up to the yogurt parfait he ate during a YMCA Nutrition in Action visit in early March to his school.
“It’s better than candy,” said Luis, a student at the Early Childhood Center. “It was my favorite part of the day.”
Fellow first grader Jesus Mendoza-Ahilon also enjoyed his snack.
“It was kind of good because of the cinnamon crunch and the apple sauce,” he said.
YMCA Nutrition in Action Educator Stacey Grauzer spent 40 minutes in each first grade class to promote physical activity and healthy eating to students and educators.
It was the first day of a planned six-week session as part of a grant funded in whole or in part by the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Michigan Fitness Foundation. Two of the six weeks planned were completed before the mandatory shutdown aimed at minimizing the spread of COVID-19.
Grauzer said they aim to choose snacks the students will like, but also incorporate new items to keep them trying foods they normally wouldn’t.
“At the end of our series we give each student a recipe book of all the snacks we made together so they can share it at home,” she said.
Early Childhood Center first graders followed a monthly farmers market theme from the beginning of the year until schools closed in March.
“We have gone on various field trips… one to the Fulton Street Farmers Market where we bought fresh foods and tasted and learned about what farmers grow,” explained first grade teacher Nancy Stefano. “We also visited a farm (Schwallier’s Country Basket), picked apples and pumpkins and learned about how bees play an important role.”
Urban Roots mobile classroom came to the Early Childhood Center in October. Students learned how to plant seeds for the classroom and kept them watered so they could see the life cycle themselves.
“Our main focus with our lessons is to promote eating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and drinking milk, and teaching our students about MyPlate (U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines on healthy eating) and striving for 60 minutes of exercise a day,” said Grauzer, who visits about 10 classes per week. “The students love our program.
“We try to maintain the relationships we have built with our schools and teachers so students will see us from kindergarten to fifth grade.”
Stefano said the visits were “something that’s fun for them; it’s hands-on. And eating is always a plus.” |
Angel in Harlem
302nd FS, 332nd FG
Germany's 1/72 P-51B Mustang is available online from
Kit Used: 1/72 Revell of Germany, kit no. 04137
On Jul. 19, 1941, the USAAF began a program in Alabama to train black
Americans as military pilots. The Division of Aeronautics of Tuskegee
Institute, the famed school of learning founded by Booker T. Washington in
1881, conducted primary flight training. Once a cadet completed primary
training at Tuskegee's Moton Field, he was sent to nearby Tuskegee Army
Air Field for completion of flight training and for transition to combat
type aircraft. The first classes of Tuskegee airmen were trained to be
fighter pilots for the famous 99th fighter Squadron, slated for combat
duty in North Africa. Additional pilots were assigned to the 322nd Fighter
Group, which flew combat along with the 99th Squadron from bases in Italy.
In September 1943, a twin-engine training program was begun at Tuskegee to
provide bomber pilots. However, World War II ended before these men were
able to get into combat.
By the end of the war, 992 men had graduated from pilot training at
Tuskegee, 450 of whom were sent overseas for combat assignment. During the
same period, approximately 150 lost their lives while in training or on
Additional men were trained at Tuskegee for aircrew and ground crew
duties--flight engineers, gunners, mechanics, armorers, etc. Others were
sent to Texas and New Mexico for training as navigators and bombardiers.
Their success was particularly evident when the 99th was paired with the
79th Fighter Group on October 9, 1943. The 79th was an all-White Squadron
led by Col. Earl Bates. For the first time they were integrated in the
missions to eliminate their German opponents. They were no longer
restricted to escort duties, but instead were assigned to bombing key
Operation Strangle, the last assignment of the team of the 79th and the
99th marked the end of the 99th Squadron unit. On July 4, 1944, the 99th
was joined into three other Squadrons: the 100th, 301st and the 302nd to
form the 332nd Fighter Group. All three groups were new to the combat
zone, and like the 99th had been trained at the Tuskegee institute. While
their initial union was strained, the new group continued to demonstrate
that they had the commitment, the drive and the technical ability to carry
out successful military assignments.
Consequently, when the war ended, the War Department and the federal
government were forced to reassess their segregated military policy. After
several committee reports, President Truman was forced to issue two
executive orders that effectively paved the way for the integration of the
The model represents a P-51B from the 302nd Fighter Squadron of the 332nd
Fighter Group serving bomber escort during 1944. The marking for this
models are the P-51B flown by Lt. Lee “Buddy” Archer. To the credit of the
332nd Fighter Group, not a single bomber was lost to German fighter
aircraft when escorted by them.
This is Revell Germany's 1/72 scale P-51B Mustang, kit no. 04137
The cockpit is very simple, consisting of a seat/armor plate
combination, cockpit floor, control stick, fuel tank, radio, and front and
rear closures. Rudders were molded to the kits instrument panel, which has
some raised detail, but an instrument panel decal for gauges. I cut the
decal closely into five separate pieces and applied each piece to the
raised detail, after first painting the instrument panel gloss black. A
sealant of clear flat was applied and then a finish of clear flat. Gauges
were given a drop of Future. I cut the molded in reflector on the gunsight
and replaced it with a piece of sheet styrene.
A little detail is molded into each fuselage half also. I painted all
interior pieces save the instrument panel Polly Scale Interior Green. The
cockpit flooring was painted wood, giver an umber wash in the recesses and
highlighted with dark brown. Radio and control boxes were brushed Polly
Scale Steam Power Black. Some details were picked out in red, yellow,
white, and silver. A few Reheat Control and Data Placards were utilized to
spice things up after spraying a prep coat of clear gloss. I finished with
a coat of clear flat. The seat bottom and rear cushion were painted Polly
Scale Olive Drab with the headrest painted MM Leather. I had to cut down
the sides of the seat to accept my pilot. I didn’t bother painting the
harness, as I used a harness on my pilot made from sanded masking tape.
The pilot is a PJ Productions resin figure and I can only highly recommend
them. The arms are separate and this enable one to simulate the pilot
actually holding the stick and not masturbating, ala Airfx and early
Hasegawa. I primed the figure in light gray and brush painted it staring
with light colors and working up to darker colors. There are 12 different
paints used in the general painting, four more were used in washes and
Oh, I also paint applied some Tamiya Clear Smoke to the goggle lens after
all finish painting. This is the pilot all glossed up and awaiting washes.
I also printed off a radiator grill for the rear of the intercooler,
although one cannot even see it with the door closed. C’est la Vie!
What! I don’t need not steenkin’ landing gear! When one of my MUG
buddies sent this little kit to me and I test fitted the doors, I said,
“In-flight”. The fit of the main and rear doors was spot on. Only a couple
of small sink marks in the main doors required any sanding.
Be forewarned here, the fit of either the shrouded or unshrouded
exhausts will need some surgery. They stick out too far without trimming
about 1/32-in off the side towards the fuselage. One can sand it with
coarse paper or cut, but it must be done, otherwise the exhausts will
stick out like a sore thumb.
I had to use the shrouded exhausts for my model. They were first painted
steam power black, then Polly Scale Graphite. The individual exhausts were
paint Gunze Burnt Iron, followed by a wash of Pactra Rust. After all was
dry, the end of each exhaust was picked out with a 0.005-in tech pen and
black ink. The exhausts were set aside for final assembly and simply
Propeller and Spinner:
Kind of a problem child here also. I really didn’t like the way RoG
engineered the fit of the individual propeller blades to the two spinner
pieces. I cut the plastic mounting stubs on the props off and replaced
them with 0.025 wire. The spinner pieces were cemented and the fit was not
terrific either. But it was an easy fix. I filled the ill fitting join
with CAN and after super gluing my 1/16th-in brass rod to the back of the
spinner, chucked it in my Dremel tool and gave the piece a good spin and
sand. I worked down to fine used sand paper, always checking to make sure
I did not sand too much where the spinner fit the fuselage. After sanding
the spinner to my liking, I took a stiff drink and chucked the spinning in
my old motor lathe. I then spun it and lightly rested a #11 blade against
it to rescribe the filled in line. Lastly, new holes were drilled to
accept the props. Spinner and props were painted separately and the props
cemented in the final assembly with a dab of Elmers. I had to maintain a
rather large pitch so that the prop would spin using my hair dryer for the
The spinner was first painted Polly Scale Reefer White, then Gunze Primary
red #3. Prop blades were painted steam power black with the tips in reefer
yellow. A small Waldron punched disk of black trim film was used for the
Machine Guns, Land Lighting Light, etc:
I replaced the poorly molded machine gun stubs, as they interfered with
sanding in the first place. I used 25-gauge hypo tubing stubs Elmered into
predrilled holes in the final assembly. Guns were first painted steam
power black, followed by MM Acryl II Gunmetal.
I used a piece of styrene tube to simulate the landing light. After
painting it silver and cementing it in the opening between the wing, I
applied a drop of Krystal Kleer for the light’s lens. I then super glued
the ill fitting kit’s glazing, sanded it smooth and polished it with
Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze #7 and # 3, respectively. It was then masked for
painting, along with the canopy with Bare-metal foil.
The kit’s antenna and pitot proved no problem and were used, but I painted
these items separately and attached them in the final assembly. The
antenna wire is my trusted old 0.008-in smoke-colored invisible thread
Fit of the basic parts is excellent. I had no problems with the fit of
the cockpit to fuselage halves, fuselage halves, wing halves, wing to
fuselage fit, horizontal tails, or the nose and intercooler intakes. Great
work here Revell. The canopy, however, was not so good. Engraving for the
framework is way oversized and though fit is good, it could be better. My
recommendation would be to get a Squadron replacement from Tue Details.
Engravings on the kit are petite with most recessed, but some raised where
required, so watch your sanding. Done correctly, no filler should be
As mentioned, the canopy and landing light were masked with bare-metal
entire assembly was primed in Polly Sale Reefer White and this rubbed out,
reprimed and rubbed out again (used an old T-shirt for this). Once
finished, the wings were masked and the yellow stripes painted using Polly
Scale Reefer Yellow. Once dry, the yellow was masked and the wing tips and
tail were painted Gunze Primary Red #3. Next, the anti-glare panel area
was masked off and this painted Polly Scale Olive Drab. All was allowed to
dry a day and I masked the tails, wingtips, stripes, and anti-glare panel.
The entire assembly was then given two coats of Alcad II Aluminum, which I
let dry for an hour. I then masked the wings and painted the fuselage
Alcad II Highly Polished Aluminum. I let this dry for an hour, rubbed it
out a bit, masked around the exhausts areas and painted the panels Alcad
II Dark Aluminum. All masking was removed saved the bare metal and the
model was given two coats of clear gloss for decal prep.
Decals are from AeroMaster’s Tuskegee Airmen sheet, no. 72-175 and are
excellent. I was expecting problems with the yellow and red nose stripe,
but applied one at a time and keeping a constant watch, using a nudge
here, a bit of MicroSol, everything worked supped. I only had to touch up
two places where the two decals joined. Nice work gang. The remainder of
the decals were a piece of cake; apply, position, check, relax. I just
love decals this good.
After letting the decals dry a day, I seal all in a coat of clear gloss.
Ink washes were used for the control surfaces and all engine, cooling
vents, and access panels on the fuselage. Wings access panels were not
washed, as on actual Mustangs, these were sealed with Aluminum dope. The
canopy’s masking was removed and the canopy cleaned with a Q-tip and warm
water, I do not recommend polishing out a canopy with Mequire’s Mirror
Glaze if it has a NMF finish, regardless of the brand of paint used. After
cleaning the canopy and landing light lens, the clear parts were given a
brushing of Future.
I did only a smidgen of weathering, using black and gray pastel chalk
for the exhausts and some black for the machine gun cordite stains. A tiny
bit of a mixture of red and black ink was applied to the intercooler
exhaust rear. Wing tip navigation lights were painted clear red on the
port wing and clear green starboard. Two Waldron punched disks treated to
a drop of Krystal Kleer form the beacon lights on the fuselage behind the
antenna and on the rudder.
All told, this was a brilliant kit, I thought it better than Hasegawa,
with the only flaw being the clear parts and the error in the exhausts,
which was an easy fix. Should one wish a gear down version, unfortunately
the kit suffers from the same shallow wheel bay as Hasegawa’s offering.
I’d like to thank Bill Leyh for sending this kit to me and sparking my
muse into doing a Tuskegee Airmen and for the fellas at MUG that voted Lee
Archer’s aircraft as the one I should do. Hope I didn’t let anyone down.
Click the thumbnails below
to view larger images:
Images and Article Copyright © 2003 by
Page Created 13 December 2003
17 March 2004
HyperScale Main Page |
The planetary system Kepler-310 hosts at least 3 planets.
|Primary system name||Kepler-310|
|Alternative system names||KOI-1598, KIC 10004738|
|Right ascension||19 15 21|
|Declination||+46 59 12|
|Number of stars in system||1|
|Number of planets in system||3|
Architecture of the system
This list shows all planetary and stellar components in the system. It gives a quick overview of the hierarchical architecture.
- Kepler-310, stellar object
- Kepler-310 c, planet
- Kepler-310 d, planet
- Kepler-310 b, planet
- Kepler-310 c, planet
Planets in the system
This table lists all planets in the system Kepler-310.
|Kepler-310 c||Kepler-310 d||Kepler-310 b|
|Alternative planet names||KOI-1598 c, KOI-1598.01, KIC 10004738 c, KIC 10004738.01||KOI-1598 d, KOI-1598.02, KIC 10004738 d, KIC 10004738.02||KOI-1598 b, KOI-1598.03, KIC 10004738 b, KIC 10004738.03|
|Description||Kepler-310 c has been discovered by the Kepler spacecraft and was originally classified as a planet candidate. A new statistical analysis led by a team at NASA Ames Research Center has validated the planet with more than 99 percent confidence. Although many parameters of Kepler-310 c are still unknown, the object is highly unlikely to be a false positive.edit||Kepler-310 d has been discovered by the Kepler spacecraft and was originally classified as a planet candidate. A new statistical analysis led by a team at NASA Ames Research Center has validated the planet with more than 99 percent confidence. Although many parameters of Kepler-310 d are still unknown, the object is highly unlikely to be a false positive.edit||Kepler-310 b has been discovered by the Kepler spacecraft and was originally classified as a planet candidate. A new statistical analysis led by a team at NASA Ames Research Center has validated the planet with more than 99 percent confidence. Although many parameters of Kepler-310 b are still unknown, the object is highly unlikely to be a false positive.edit|
|Orbital period [days]||56.4754±0.0002edit||92.8761±0.0008edit||13.9307±0.0001edit|
|Semi-major axis [AU]||N/A||N/A||N/A|
|Equilibrium temperature [K]||N/A||N/A||N/A|
|Last updated [yy/mm/dd]||14/02/26|
Stars in the system
This table lists all stars in the system Kepler-310.
|Alternative star names||KOI-1598, KIC 10004738|
The following plot shows the approximate sizes of the planets in this system The Solar System planets are shown as a comparison. Note that unless the radius has been determined through a transit observation, this is only an approximation (see Lissauer et al. 2011b).
The following plot shows the approximate location of the planets in this system with respect to the habitable zone (green) and the size of the star (red). This is only an estimate, using the star's spectral type and mass. Note that if no green band is shown in the plot, then the planet's orbit is far outside the habitable zone. The equations of Selsis, Kasting et al are used to draw the inner and outer boundaries.
Scientific references and contributors
Links to scientific papers and other data sources
|No links found.|
This table lists all links which are relevant to this particular system. Note that this is just a summary. More references to the scientific publications and comments can be found in the commit messages. To see these, head over the github or click here to directly go to the git blame output of this system. In the left column of the output you can see the commit message corresponding to each parameter. It also lists the date of the last commit and the person making the changes. Within the commit message, you will find a link to the scientific publication where the data is taken from. Note that this is a new feature and not all system parameters might have a reference associated with it yet. Please help making this catalogue better and contribute data or references!
Open Exoplanet Catalogue contributors
|Contributor||Number of commits|
This table lists all people who have contributed to the Open Exoplanet Catalogue. Please consider contributing! Click here to find out how. You can also view all commits contributing to this file on github.
You can download the xml file corresponding to this planetary system, which is part of the Open Exoplanet Catalogue. All information on this page has been directly generated from this XML file. You can also download the entire catalogue over at github. If you prefer to download the dataset as an ASCII tables, you might find the oec_tables repository usefule.
If you spot an error or if you can contribute additional data to this entry, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. Please include the corrected xml file and a reference to where the new data is coming from, ideally a scientific paper. If you are fluent with git and github, you can also create a pull request or open an issue on the Open Exoplanet Catalogue repository. Please include the reference to the relevant scientific paper in your commit message. |
My Dog Has A Heart Murmur, Now What?
Don’t panic! Heart murmurs are quite common in dogs, and many live a normal life span. Murmurs are diagnosed when your veterinarian listens to the heart during the physical exam. Breeds that are more likely to develop a murmur include Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, Poodles, Cocker Spaniels, and Yorkshire Terriers. A murmur can be caused by a structural abnormality of the heart, or it can be “innocent” or “physiologic”, meaning there is no structural change to the heart. “Innocent” murmurs can be caused by other systemic issues, such as anemia, that when corrected, the murmur disappears. Puppies also can be born with a murmur that may go away as they mature. Most often in dogs, however, the cause is from degeneration of the heart valves and vessels. These changes can be present from birth, or can be acquired with age. Middle aged to older small and toy breed dogs are most likely to develop valvular degeneration, typically of the mitral valve.
Murmurs are graded on a scale from 1-6, with 1 being very quiet, and 6 being so loud that you can feel it through the chest. Unfortunately, we cannot tell severity of disease based on the grade of murmur. If your veterinarian hears a murmur, they may start by recommending x-rays to look for any signs of heart enlargement, and to evaluate the lungs and vessels in the chest. While x-rays are helpful for evaluating a murmur, the best test to determine cause of a murmur is called an echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound of the heart and its vessels. This allows the veterinarian to identify which valve is leaking, how severe the change is, and how well the heart is coping with the change.
If your dog has been diagnosed with a heart murmur, or any other heart condition, there will be things for you to monitor at home. Coughing, tiring more easily after exercise, increased respiratory rate, and increased effort to breathe are signs that heart disease may be progressing. Depending on clinical signs and diagnostic findings, your veterinarian will work with you to come up with the best treatment plan and follow up schedule for your dog.
Just because your dog has been diagnosed with a heart murmur, heart disease, or any other heart problem does not mean your dog is in heart failure. Heart failure is when fluid accumulates within either the chest or the abdomen, and this occurs with advanced heart disease. Heart failure and heart disease can also be caused by heartworm disease, so making sure your dog is on a good heartworm prevention is crucial.
Many dogs live a long time after being diagnosed with a heart murmur, and some can even live years after being diagnosed with heart failure. If you have any questions or concerns about murmurs, please contact your veterinarian.
Dr. Apryl Barton
The Pet Hospitals- Poplar @ Massey |
The book provides extensive support for the students taking the new GCSE with AQA, with a strong emphasis throughout on 'How science works'. It focuses on real-life contexts, allowing students to understand that science is not always centred in a laboratory. The book aims to motivate and engage students with many up-to-date applications and ideas. This is a book based firmly in the 21st Century. The pages are packed full of activities to help students prepare for the new Investigative Skills Assignments, while continuing to provide plenty of questions for homework and practice for external exams. Higher-tier students will find plenty of material to apply their knowledge and to progress their skills in areas such as enquiry and data handling. When used with the Foundation Student's Book these two titles provide comprehensive differentiation in teaching AQA Core Science to students of all abilities. The authors include experienced examiners, successful writers and practising teachers. |
We recently published descriptions of new genera and species of mostly rainforest katydids. Some are familiar to residents in the area because they see them around their lights at night and others are much less common. All are nocturnal, hiding by day and emerging after dark to feed and seek mates.
Note the extraordinary adaptations of this katydid that give the appearance of a bit of lichen on a branch. The expanded spines are not just for decoration or defense. They probably also serve to "cloud" the fact that this is an insect that would be perfectly edible to a bird or lizard. Aside form the few specimens that have been found by interested naturalists, we have no idea where this creature spends its time. So that may explain its rarity. It may live high in the lichen-covered trees of its habitat. It may also be just "rare".
But I digress. What are its apparent relationships.
When the various morphological diagnostic characters are considered, such as the shape of the wing, which is concealed underneath the shield-like thorax, the shape of the male and female genitalic structures (yes, we look a the private parts!) it is apparent that these three genera form a distinct unit. We decided to formally recognise this by naming the tribe Armadillagraeciini Rentz, Su Ueshima.
All known specimens of I. iterika are short-winged and flightless and are nocturnal. They, like many other agraeciines, are predaceous. Perhaps, they are better termed as opportunists. They will feed on a variety of foods depending on what is available.They can be observed eating on flowers, fruits or other insects. The ovipositor is suited to laying the cylindrical eggs in bark cracks. There is some variation in the colour of individuals. Most are quite dark olive.
I. iterika is known from specimens from Davies Creek, Kuranda, Mt Lewis, Polly Creek, nr Innisfail, Cape Tribulation and Mt Finnigan near Cooktown, Qld.
Two species are presently known. E. munggarifrons Rentz, Su, Ueshima has a tongue-twister of a name. It is derived from a combination of an aboriginal and Latin word referring to the distinctive frontal bits of the insect. The other is E. windsorana Rentz, Su, Ueshima, from the Mt Windsor Tableland, Qld.
convergence" but further study may reveal close relationship and that the two should be combined into a single genus.
This is M. milyali Rentz, Su, Ueshima. This is the rarest of the katydids we described. It seems to prefer large-leafed plants with soft stems such as gingers and aroids. During the day the katydids rest with limbs outstretched on the undersides of the leaves. This habit is deeply ingrained as they perform the same behaviour in captivity on any leaf, green or not.
That's it for this offering.
Rentz, DCF, Su, YN, Ueshima, N. 2010. Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: The agraeciine katydids, two new genera from Northern Australia (Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini). Zootaxa 2417: 1-39.
Rentz, DCF, Su, YN, Ueshima, N. 2012. Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: New genera and species from north Queensland (Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Armadillagraeciini trib. nov) and Agraeciini: Listroscelidinae; Requenini. Zootaxa 3173: 1-36. |
What is a Bulging Disc?
- Occurs when a disc bulges through a space in the spine
- Most common cause is aging
- We treat with a minimally invasive laser procedure
A bulging disc is a condition related to the spine, usually the lower back, occurring when a disc bulges through a crevice in the spine. It happens when the disc shifts out of its normal position. The most frequent cause is simply a result of aging. A bulging disc is different than a herniated disc because it happens over time, not as the result of sudden trauma or injury. In the majority of patients who experience a bulging disc, there is no pain unless the disc becomes herniated or protrudes into a nerve. Sometimes, a bulging disc is diagnosed as a condition secondary to another problem. Because a bulging disc does not always cause pain, it may only be found during a routine or diagnostic imaging test such as MRI. Typically, a bulging disc is not a problem unless it begins to cause pain, becomes herniated or ruptures.
Our Treatment Approach
Similar to a herniated disc, our team of back and spine specialists uses minimally invasive surgical techniques with a simple laser to repair the bulging disc. Because this minimally invasive approach does not require cutting of muscle, surrounding tissue is spared additional trauma and recovery is generally less painful and faster than traditional surgery for bulging disc.
This condition can be caused by:
- Sudden trauma or injury to a disc
- Predisposition to the disorder
Bulging disc symptoms depend on the location. Some patients may experience symptoms of pain and discomfort in the legs and feet, others in the arms and in other regions of the body. The diagnosis of a bulging disc is usually made after a complete medical history has been taken and MRIs, CT scans and/or X-rays have confirmed the presence of the condition. |
The Main Causes of Skin Hyperpigmentation
Hyperpigmentation of the skin is usually characterized by uneven complexion, freckles, age spots, and dark spots. Basically, hyperpigmentation is the uneven and high production of melanin in the skin. Nonetheless, there are various causes of hyperpigmentation of the skin. Learning the condition of your skin is essential whether or not you have spots that are evidence of hyperpigmentation.
Hormonal change is one reason why the production of the pigment melanin may be higher than the usual. An example of a specific kind of hyperpigmentation caused by hormonal changes is melasma in pregnant women. In such case, doctors do not recommend the application of any kind of skin-whitening treatment unless melasma has faded already.
The appearance of dark patches may be a sign of a hidden disease. Hyperpigmentation may show up because of Addison’s disease, Cushing’s disease, and other similar diseases. It is best to see your physician if dark patches on the skin are appearing along with other symptoms like mood swings and muscle pain.
Darkening of skin may be caused by skin irritation or skin inflammation. More often than not, the darkening will disappear once the infection is treated. There are different ways that can be utilized to treat skin conditions similar to these.
Skin pigmentation may also be affected by treatments that are applied topically. For instance, medications such as salicylic acid, which is primarily used to treat acne, may bring about the darkening of the skin while being used. There is nothing to worry about the spots caused by medications and chemicals because they become clear once the treatment is through.
Sun exposure can be considered as the most usual cause of skin hyperpigmentation. The rule of the thumb goes to show that the longer you are exposed to the sun, the more melanin your skin will produce. Melanin protects your skin from harmful ultraviolet rays. Obviously, the best way to deal with this is to avoid going out under the sun during noontime when the sun is at its peak. Other measure such as wearing of appropriate sunscreen and protective clothing is a must.
If you are becoming suspicious about the condition of your skin, it will not hurt to consult your doctor to discover what is the reason behind the hyperpigmentation of your skin. The modern treatments available in this time and age are effective in treating skin pigmentation. |
From Gene Autry to John Wayne to Heath Ledger, the cowboy is a staple of American culture, but that quintessential American icon has roots south of the border.
When Spanish settlers brought the longhorn to the Southwest, they also brought a centuries-old tradition of cattle wrangling.
The vaquero, the Spanish term for "cowboy," was a ranch hand who drove the cattle from Mexico into what is now the Southwestern United States.
Ranching, branding, and trail driving were long-established traditions in Spain and later in Mexico under the hacienda system.
Even cowboy garb has its roots in this unique culture. The wide-brimmed hat, pointed-toe boots, bandana, and chaps—short for "chaparajos"—all have their roots in Spanish and Mexican traditions.
In the early 1900s, railroad advertising for tourists created a new image of the cowboy as a clean-cut Anglo singing songs by the campfire. Hollywood movies popularized that image with Westerns in the 1930s and '40s.
The early history of the vaqueros in their culture is not just a footnote to the sagas of the Wild West. These were the origins of that all-American icon" the cowboy |
ABC Coloring Pages
There are 26 letters in our alphabet: 5 are vocals while the rest of them are consonants. For us adults, they may be like the back of our hand. I mean, we don't even need to try to recall and use them as we've naturally integrated them in our daily life. For kids of preschool age or younger, however, it's like remembering 26 names of new people you meet in your new office. It's hands-down difficult. If you're going to teach your kid about ABC, you need something to reinforce their memory. Simple word game like "A is for Apple", "B is for Banana", etc. helps them tremendously in retaining the new letters that they learn. If you combine that with visual reinforcement, your kid will learn much faster. The more of his/ her senses are involved in learning, the faster he/ she will learn. Besides, it's like shooting two birds with one stone. Your kid will not only remember how to pronounce a particular letter, but also how it looks and thus how to write it.
If you're looking for the aforementioned visual aid, you may want to get your hands on these ABC coloring pages. The gallery below shows you the preview of all the ABC coloring pages. There are more than 50 of them, with each letter being represented with two coloring pages. In addition to that, there are also a few printables that show all of the letters in our alphabet. With the following ABC coloring pages, your kids can learn the alphabet without even being aware of it. All they do know is that they're coloring some fun printables with a letter and fun looking images such as animals, transportation, and activities. All of these printable ABC coloring pages are free. However, you must always use them for personal and educational purpose only.
Also Check: Pig Coloring Pages |
My seven-year-old was delighted to figure out how to snap her fingers. I'm talking about the hypnotist-waking-you-up kind of snap, not cracking your knuckles. She wanted to know what caused the sound.
What causes the snap?
The most plausible answer I could find was that the sound comes from the pad of your finger tip smacking against part of your palm near the base of your thumb. You can see a high speed video of a finger snap and see the palm rippling in slow motion, although it doesn't actually have the sound to go with it.
Some people think the snap comes from the friction of your fingers rubbing quickly. But if you isolate that action by snapping with fingerless mittens or something to dampen the finger smacking the palm, you don't get much of an effect.
Some other people think your fingers even move faster than the speed of sound! The crack of a whip or a snapped wet towel does go fast enough, but the dampening test for snapping also applies here. Also, you can calculate from the finger snap video that it moving nowhere near fast enough.
What affects the loudness of the snap?
A post on how to snap your fingers suggested your non-dominant hand would produce a louder snap. I would have thought your dominant hand would be stronger and produce a louder snap. Some people I asked couldn't snap at all with their non-dominant hand. Right-handed people tend to have stronger right hands, but lefties tend to be more even handed. I wonder if some people have stiffer joints in their non-dominant hand that might make it louder.
I have found that a wet hand results in a louder snap. This may be helpful in places that prefer finger snapping to hand clapping so you can use one hand to hold a drink. It might allow your finger and thumb to grip better and build up more pressure before the snap, like certain earthquakes. And/or maybe a wet surface vibrates more on the smack.
The Guinness World Record for the loudest finger snap is 108 decibels by Bob Hatch in California, in 2000, which is considered comparable to a rock band loud.
What affects the pitch of the snap?
I was expecting some difference related to finger strength and muscle mass affecting the resonance. In a lame little Facebook survey, more of my friends indicated the right-handed snap sounded higher. I think my right might be slightly higher, but I am left handed. So I don't know what to make of this, although there is that even handed thing. I would expect that people with bigger palms and maybe longer fingers would have a lower sounding snap. A musician I know noted that curling your remaining fingers also affects the tone of the snap.
Seems this subject requires further study. What are you waiting for, snap to it! |
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
Biannual/biennial. ‘Biannual’ means twice a year and ‘biennial’ means every two years, but the terms are often confused. If the meaning is not clear from the context, use alternatives such as ‘twice-yearly’ or ‘two-yearly’ or clarify what you mean, e.g. ‘the biannual/biennial report (i.e. published every six months / two years)’.
Here-/there- adverbs. Herewith, thereto, etc. are archaic or extremely formal variants of with this, to that, etc. and should normally be avoided. If you feel you must use such forms, however, bear the following points in mind: here– adverbs should preferably be used only where they specifically refer to ‘the present text’, as for example in hereto attached or herein described; hereinafter is more precise than hereafter if what you mean is ‘from this point onwards within this text’; therefor without a final ‘e’ is how you write ‘for that (purpose)’.
SINGULAR OR PLURAL
Collective nouns. Use the singular when the emphasis is on the whole entity:
- The Government is considering the matter.
- The Commission was not informed.
Use the plural when the emphasis is on the individual members:
- The police have failed to trace the goods.
- A majority of the Committee were in favour.
Countries and organisations with a plural name take the singular:
- The Netherlands is reconsidering its position.
- The United Nations was unable to reach agreement.
Use a singular verb when a multiple subject clearly forms a whole:
- Checking and stamping the forms is the job of the customs authorities.
Words in -ics. These are singular when used to denote a scientific discipline or body of knowledge (mathematics, statistics, economics) but plural in all other contexts.
- Economics is commonly regarded as a soft science.
- The economics of the new process were studied in depth.
A statistic. The singular statistic is a back-formation from the plural and means an individual item of data from a set of statistics.
Data can be construed as either singular or plural.
None and one. The word none may take either a singular or plural verb when it refers to a plural countable noun:
- None of the products meets/meet the requirements.
If none refers to a singular or uncountable noun, it takes a singular verb:
- None of the information was correct.
Although the subject one in X (e.g. one in five, one in ten) is singular, the construction may take a plural verb if the notional agreement (i.e. the sense that the subject should be interpreted as plural) is stronger than the grammatical agreement:
- One in ten people do not have basic maths skills.
- One person in ten does not have basic maths skills.
- One in five schools in England and Wales is/are struggling to recruit a headteacher.
Decimal fractions and zero. When referring to countable items, they take the plural:
- Ruritanian households have on average 0 / 0.5 / 1.0 (!) / 1.5 televisions (but 1 television)
PRESENT PERFECT/SIMPLE PAST
When writing from the standpoint of the present moment in time, the present perfect is used to refer to events or situations in the period leading up to that time:
- The Commission is meeting to consider the proposal. It has (already) discussed this several times in the past.
Where the starting point of this period is indicated, the present perfect is often used in its continuous form to emphasise the ongoing nature of the process:
- The Commission is meeting to consider the proposal. It has been discussing this since 2001.
If the reference is not to a period up to the present but to a time that ended before the present, the simple past is used:
- The Commission is meeting to consider the proposal. It discussed this last week.
TENSES IN MINUTES
Minutes and summary records are written in the past tense in English, unlike in French and some other languages, where they are written using the present tense.
7.13 This means converting actual or implied statements from the present to the past.
A simple example of English reported speech conventions:
- Dutch spokesman: ‘We are concerned at the number of exceptions which have been included.’
- Chairman: ‘The legal experts will be looking into this question.’
In reported speech, this becomes:
- The Dutch delegation was concerned at the number of exceptions that had been included. The Chairman said the legal experts would be looking into the question.
Sequence of tenses. Simple past is normally replaced by past perfect (pluperfect):
- Dr Nolde said the tests had been a failure.
However, to avoid a clumsy string of past perfects in minutes where a speaker is reporting on another meeting or event, start with At that meeting or On that occasion and continue with the simple past. Note that in order to maintain a logical sequence of tenses, indications of time may have to be converted as well as verbs:
- Chair: ‘Last year, if you remember, we referred this problem to the subcommittee because we felt that legislation was inappropriate. It looks now, however, as if tougher measures may be needed, and I propose that we discuss these at tomorrow’s session.’
This could become, for example:
- The Chair reminded delegates that in 2003 the problem had been referred to the subcommittee, since legislation was then felt to be inappropriate. Now, however, she thought tougher measures might be needed and proposed that the committee discuss them at the following day’s session.’
Streamlining. Lengthy passages of reported speech can be made more reader-friendly by avoiding unnecessary repetition of ‘he said/explained/pointed out’, provided the argument is followed through and it is clear from the context that the same speaker is continuing.
Auxiliaries. The auxiliaries would, should, could, must, might are often unchanged, but sometimes various transpositions are possible or required (e.g. must => had to; could => would be able to; should => was to).
VERBS IN LEGISLATION
The use of verbs, in particular the modal verb shall, in legislation often gives rise to problems, since such uses are rarely encountered in everyday speech. Consequently, writers may lack a feel for the right construction. The following section is intended to provide guidance.
Use of verbs in enacting terms. The enacting terms of binding EU legislation, i.e. the articles of EU treaties (see chapter 15) and of EU regulations, directives and decisions (see chapter 16), can be divided broadly into two linguistic categories: imperative terms and declarative terms. Imperative terms can in turn be subdivided into positive and negative commands and positive and negative permissions. Declarative terms are terms that are implemented directly by virtue of being declared, for example definitions or amendments. Note that the explanations here apply only to the main clauses of sentences in enacting terms.
For a positive command, use shall:
- This form shall be used for all consignments.
Note that this provision expresses an obligation. However, this is not always the case:
- This Regulation shall enter into force on …
Theoretically, must could be used instead of shall in the first case, while will could be used in both cases. However, this is not the practice in EU legislation.
For a negative command, use shall not:
- The provisions of the Charter shall not extend in any way the competences of the Union as defined in the Treaties.
- This agreement shall not enter into force until/if …
Where a prohibition is meant, however, use may not:
- The Judges may not hold any political or administrative office.
- This additive may not be used in foods.
As a guide to usage, note that will not could be used instead of shall not in the first case, and must not could be used instead of may not in the second. Again, however, this is not the usual practice in EU legislation.
For a positive permission, use may:
- This additive may be used …:
For a negative permission, use need not:
- This test need not be performed in the following cases:
For declarative terms, use the simple present (together with an optional ‘hereby’ where the declaration constitutes an action, as in the first three examples):
- Regulation … is (hereby) repealed.
- A committee … is (hereby) established.
- Article 3 of Regulation …is (hereby) amended as follows:
- This Regulation applies to aid granted to enterprises in the agriculture or fisheries sectors.
- For the purpose of this Regulation, ‘abnormal loads’ means …
Note that shall be could be used in the first four examples (without hereby), but the meaning would be different: instead of declaring something to be so, this would be ordaining that something is to be so at some point or in some event (Two years after the entry into force of this Regulation/Should the Member States so decide, …). In the last example as well, shall mean would in effect be instructing people how to use the term ‘abnormal loads’ from now on, rather than simply declaring what it means in the regulation. Consequently, where no futurity or contingency is intended, the correct form here is a declarative term using the simple present.
Use of verbs in non-enacting terms. Do not use shall in non-enacting terms, for example recitals or points in annexes. This is because these are not normally imperative terms (but see 7.25 below) and shall is not used with the third person in English except in commands (and to express resolution as in it shall be done). Use other verbs such as will or must as appropriate. Note that this also applies to subordinate phrases in enacting terms, since these refer or explain and do not in themselves constitute commands (e.g. where applicants must/have to/are to [not shall] submit documentation under paragraph 1, …).
Avoid also the archaic use of shall in subordinate clauses to express contingency: use instead the present tense (e.g. if an application is [not shall be] submitted after the deadline, …) or the inverted construction with should (e.g. should an application be submitted after the deadline, …).
Do not use may not in non-enacting terms to express a prohibition since it will often be interpreted as expressing possibility: use, for example, must not instead.
Instructions in annexes to legislation. While instructions will contain imperative terms, they often contain descriptions and statements of fact as well. For the sake of clarity, therefore, you should use the second person imperative rather than shall for commands:
- Place a sample in a round-bottomed flask …
Use must to express objective necessity:
The sample must be chemically pure … (i.e. if it isn’t, the procedure won’t work properly)
This refers to the practice of inserting adverbs or other words before an infinitive but after the ‘to’ that usually introduces it, as in ‘to boldly go where no-one has gone before’. Although there is nothing wrong with this practice from the standpoint of English grammar, there are still many who think otherwise. One way of encouraging such readers to concentrate on the content of your text rather than on the way you express it is to avoid separating the ‘to’ from its following infinitive. Note, however, that this does not justify qualifying the wrong verb, as in ‘we called on her legally to condemn the practice’. In these and similar cases, either split the infinitive with a clear conscience or move the qualifying adverb to the end of the phrase.
THE GERUND AND THE POSSESSIVE
A gerund has the same form as a present participle, i.e. it is made up of a verb stem plus –ing. Strictly speaking, it is a verb form used as a noun:
- Parliament objected to the President’s prompt signing of the Treaty. (1)
The use of the possessive form (the President’s) follows the rule for nouns in general, as in:
- Parliament objected to the President’s prompt denunciation of the Treaty.
However, (1) could also be expressed as:
- Parliament objected to the President promptly signing the Treaty. (2)
Here, though, ‘signing’ is still clearly a verb and is not itself being used as a noun, as it takes a direct object without ‘of’ and is modified by an adverb (promptly) not an adjective (prompt). Accordingly, as ‘the President’ is still the subject of a verb not a noun, there is no reason for it to be in the possessive, despite what many authorities might say.
Note also the slight difference in nuance: the objection is to the President’s action in (1), but to an idea or possibility in (2). This explains why one could write ‘criticised’ in (1) but not in (2), and why ‘does not foresee’ fits in (2) but not in (1).
Although the two constructions in (1) and (2) are therefore clearly distinct, the use of personal pronouns poses a problem. ‘He’ would be the logical choice to replace ‘the President’ in (2), but unfortunately is no longer current English except in ‘absolute’ phrases such as ‘he being the President, we had to obey’. The solution is to use ‘him’ by analogy with similar looking constructions such as ‘we saw him signing the Treaty’ or to use ‘his’ by analogy with (1):
- Parliament objected to him/his promptly signing the Treaty.
In such cases, however, the use of the possessive pronoun blurs the distinction between (1) and (2). This means that the latter form can turn up in contexts where it would otherwise not occur:
- Despite his promptly signing the Treaty, …
Bear in mind, though, that such constructions often look better rephrased:
- Even though he promptly signed the Treaty, …
- Despite promptly signing the Treaty, he ….
© European Union |
Essentially, weeds are problem plants growing where they are not wanted’. They are usually species introduced to a region where the pests and diseases that would naturally keep them under control are absent. As well, they are successful, opportunistic plants, highly effective at reproducing, often setting prolific amounts of seed which can remain viable for years – ‘one years weeds = seven years seeds’.
Some came by accident, carried unknowingly by humans, animals and/or cargo but a great many were introduced on purpose. Why would any sensible person do such a thing? Many of these plants were our forbearer’s medicines and potherbs. Their stories are intertwined with ours and make fascinating studies.
For example clovers are natives of Britain now found worldwide. Until late Tudor times they were called clavers and gave their name to various places in England, Claverdon, Claverton and Clavering. The Anglo-Saxons called them cloeferwort perhaps referring to the three leaflets resembling the three-knotted club of Hercules – in Latin a clava. These were considered lucky, even more so when there were four leaves and were used as charms against witchcraft. White clover is also called Dutch clover, as the Dutch were the first to realize its benefits as an agricultural crop, its legumous ability to enrich the soil with nitrogen. As medicine they were valued for their sodium content, which reduces acidity and aided the assimilation of iron in the body. A tea has had many uses over the centuries, as an aid to the kidneys, to relieving coughs and more embarrassingly to remedy excessive flatulence. These days’ organic gardeners recognize clover as a good green manure crop and a way to keep a green ‘lawn’ in drought times.
As this shows often a weed is ‘a weed in the eye of the beholder’. Dry land gardeners know that some common garden weeds, including lamb’s-quarters, pigweed and nettle are drought-tolerant, edible and as nutritious as spinach. Nature lovers gardening for wildlife know that encouraging good weeds with wildlife values in a corner of the garden will provide both food and cover. Examples include milkweed for monarch butterflies, mullein holding seeds and shelter for beneficial insects above the snow, nettles are a favorite of butterflies and bumblebees while chickweeds provide a preferred food to songbirds.
Interesting as this is what most of us really want to know is how to control weeds. This will depend on where they are and whether they are annuals or perennials. Annual weeds come from seed anew every spring so a sharp hoe is your best ally. Every one or two weeks slicing just below soil level will control seedlings as well as larger annuals. It is best to hoe when the weather is dry and warm so the weeds will die and any seeds unearthed don’t get the chance to germinate. Perennial weeds will need to be dug up and all roots physically removed. Any little piece of root left will develop into a new plant so great diligence must be practiced or the weeds will once again infest your garden. Around delicate plants one will need to hand weed both annual and perennial weeds.
If this sounds daunting it is worthwhile to reflect that nowhere is the old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure more appropriate. When preparing a new bed, dig out the large weeds, cover the area with clear plastic and fasten it in place for two months in the heat of summer. This will ‘sterilize’ your soil and leave it ready for amendment and planting in the fall. Here is the perfect time to employ mulching whether using well-rotted compost, bark chips or a living mulch such as vinca, pachysandra or pulmonaria. The trick is to make sure your mulch is deep enough to discourage weeds and to make removal of those determined to invade your garden, easy to pull out. If your established beds are so thick with weeds that hoeing, digging and hand weeding are ineffectual it may be necessary to remove favorite plants and prepare the bed from scratch as a new bed.
However we deal with weeds reflecting on their history and their determination to survive in the most hostile of situations may at least make the chore a little more interesting! |
U.S. researchers are studying the ecosystems of the suburban enclave to determine the effects of lawns in global warming.
"The suburban landscape is large, and it's growing," said Jennifer Jenkins of the University of Vermont, one of the scientists reporting their findings this week at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. "There's this enormous land surface that's falling through the cracks."
Jenkins said forests, wetlands, bogs, rainforests and desserts have had the brunt of scientific study, the suburbs have a big impact from its use of pesticides and fertilizers as well as water runoff, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported Friday.
Researchers will clip plots of lawn by hand, analyze the clippings to determine how much carbon dioxide the lawns absorb and give off, and whether they're contributing to global warming or slowing it down.
Suburbia's is probably the biggest threat to the diversity of wildlife in the developed world, according to a 2003 review by Stephen DeStefano of the U.S. Geological Survey and Richard DeGraaf of the U.S. Forest Service.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
Explore further: Snake lovers hit southern Illinois for annual migrations |
Of or relating to the body as opposed to the mind,
Of or relating to the body as opposed to the mind
a whole range of physical and mental challenges
Involving bodily contact or activity
verbal or physical abuse
football and other physical games
a physical relationship
Of or relating to things perceived through the senses as opposed to the mind; tangible or concrete
pleasant physical environments
physical assets such as houses or cars
Of or relating to physics or the operation of natural forces generally
A medical examination to determine a person's bodily fitness
involving the body as distinguished from the mind or spirit; "physical exercise"; "physical suffering"; "was sloppy about everything but her physical appearance"
relating to the sciences dealing with matter and energy; especially physics; "physical sciences"; "physical laws"
having substance or material existence; perceptible to the senses; "a physical manifestation"; "surrounded by tangible objects"
according with material things or natural laws (other than those peculiar to living matter); "a reflex response to physical stimuli"
characterized by energetic bodily activity; "a very physical dance performance"
forcible: impelled by physical force especially against resistance; "forcible entry"; "a real cop would get physical"; "strong-arm tactics"
"Physical" was released in late 2004 by the Swedish band Alcazar as part of the promotion of the Dancefloor Deluxe compilation. The song was based around a sample of Londonbeat's 1990 smash hit I've Been Thinking About You. ...
Physical is an album by the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released in 1981.
"Physical" is a 1981 song written by Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick and performed by Olivia Newton-John.
Integral psychology, in the adaptation of Sri Aurobindo's spiritual teachings, refers to an understanding of the various planes and parts of being, which is essential to the practice of integral yoga.
(Physically) Physics (φύσις|physis|nature) is a natural science that involves the study of matter Richard Feynman begins his Lectures with the atomic hypothesis, as his most compact statement of all scientific knowledge: "If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, ...
Physical examination; Having to do with the body; Having to do with the material world; Involving bodily force; Having to do with physics
(Physicals) physical items that are perceived and identified in SRV.
Acronyms used in the datacom and telecom industries.
A contract or derivative that provides for the physical delivery of a commodity rather than cash settlement. See Financial.
the network interface, cabling, etc.; e.g. Ethernet
refers either to bodily exercise or to concrete things in the world, as in physical exercise or the physical world.
layer 1 -controls the actual electrical signals sent over the network and includes cables, hubs, and actual network links.
examen médical / visite médicale / bilan de santé
the physical consciousness and body. [Integral Yoga]
The female is physically weaker than the male. To compensate for this disadvantage the female has evolved a variety of mechanisms for manipulating males, and her mate in particular. Males must be unaware of these mechanisms for them to be effective. ...
Although a negative is a perfect view of what was taken through the camera, it is not very practical to use. You can't, for example, put a negative in a picture frame or in a photo album and easily share it with friends. ...
Irrigation infrastructure, seed and grain storage facilities
A change in physical state, physically changing to become more like, or entirely like, their theriotype animal. Controversial, and largely thought to be impossible by the therian community. |
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a green building certification process developed by the US Green Building Council® (USGBC). LEED certification provides independent verification that a building or home was designed using LEED green building environmental strategies and standards.
Even the most energy efficient buildings consume electricity from an energy infrastructure that is detrimental to the environment. The LEED Energy and Atmosphere Green Power Credit allows your project to choose renewable energy, offering points toward LEED green building certification that significantly reduce a project’s environmental impact. The ongoing development of the U.S. Green Building Council’s various LEED credit systems has weighted more and more points toward the Green Power LEED Credit and the on-site and off-site renewable energy credit(s).
Projects pursuing LEED credit can earn up to seven LEED green building points by purchasing green power to offset a building’s energy use. LEED Certification for commercial interiors achieve five points toward certification through offsetting 50% of their power while New Constructions and Schools achieve two points for offsetting 35% of their power. All existing buildings can earn one to six points for offsetting different levels of their power consumption.
Renewable energy facilities generate renewable energy credits (RECs) when they produce electricity. Purchasing these credits is the widely accepted way to address the environmental footprint of electricity consumption. RECs ensure that the amount of electricity your project consumes is added to the power grid from a renewable energy facility. Whether purchased from GPG or a local utility’s green pricing program, both systems are based on the purchase of RECs. GPG offers the same product as a local utility company but at a fraction of the price and with numerous value-added services.
Electricity usage for LEED Green Buildings should be offset with Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) on a kWh‐to‐kWh (or Btu-to‐Btu) basis. Natural gas, steam or other heating emissions should be converted to metric tons of CO2 equivalent and offset with direct carbon offsets or Verified Emissions Reductions (VERS) noted below.
Even the most energy efficient buildings consume electricity from an energy infrastructure that is detrimental to the environment. The LEED Energy and Atmosphere Credit 4 (EA 4 or EAC4) allows projects for existing buildings to choose renewable energy, offering points toward LEED certification that significantly reduce an existing building’s environmental impact. The ongoing development of the U.S. Green Building Council’s® various LEED rating systems has weighted more and more points toward the Green Power Credit and the on-site and off-site renewable energy credit.
There are energy infrastructures that are harmful for the environment and no matter how energy efficient a building may be, it will still use electricity from one of these sources. As new construction projects are developed, the Energy and Atmosphere Credit 6 (EAC6) will provide opportunity for those projects to choose renewable energy. When a new building project pursues EAC6 it will significantly reduce its environmental impact and offer points toward LEED certification. More and more point have been weighted for on-site and off-site RECs as well as the LEED Green Power Credit by the various LEED rating systems as part of the ongoing development of the U.S. Green Building Council®.
When you purchase green power credits to help offset your building’s environmental impact you can earn LEED certification points. Below is a chart of certification levels:
|Certification||2-Year Electricity Usage Offset w/ Green Power||Points Available||Notes|
|New Construction||35 – 70%||2 – 3|
|Core + Shell||35 – 70%||2 – 3||Core + Shell electricity usage is 15% of total building electricity demand|
|Schools||35 – 70%||2 – 3|
A carbon offset, or carbon offset credit, ensures that a metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2), or its equivalent in other Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), is removed from the atmosphere or prevented from entering it.
Carbon dioxide is not the only GHG. Others – for example methane and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – either trap more heat or last longer (or both) in the atmosphere than CO2. Offsetting these other gases is “worth” more than offsetting CO2, and this additional value is measured in tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e). For example: the Kyoto Protocol considers a ton of methane equivalent to 25 tons of CO2 when released into the atmosphere.
A VER is the unit of currency in voluntary carbon purchasing: one VER represents one metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions avoided or removed from the atmosphere. Every project’s carbon reduction efforts are captured in the value of its voluntary emissions reductions. VERs are often contrasted to Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) used in compliance markets.
There are two types of offset projects: emissions reduction projects and carbon sequestration projects. Emissions reduction projects prevent carbon emissions by making emitting systems more efficient or by destroying the emissions themselves (e.g. burning the methane byproduct of agricultural or municipal waste). Carbon sequestration projects remove carbon emissions that are already in the atmosphere. This can be accomplished through forestry practices, as plants absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, or by capturing carbon from emitting sources and storing it in the ground. Both types of offset projects result in carbon reduction.
Carbon offset credits provide a means to become carbon neutral by offsetting GHG emissions, which account for a large portion of many environmental footprints.
RECs can account for Scope 2 emissions and that carbon offset credits are used to account for Scope 1 and 3 emissions. RECs are the industry standard for offsetting the pollution caused by electricity generation. A REC purchase ensures the generation of a specific amount of renewable energy to offset fossil fuel generation and helps create a carbon-free power system. Carbon offset credits address direct emissions and those indirect emissions not associated with the consumption of purchased electricity, while fueling the demand for increased voluntary mitigation efforts and carbon reduction.
Compliance offsets are designed for use in a regulatory scheme, like those designed to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. In order to qualify in a regulated market, carbon project developers must spend a great deal of time and money on administration and paperwork. The voluntary carbon market supports projects from the Canada and other industrial countries that have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol as well as smaller-scale projects in developing countries that cannot afford the bureaucracy and expense of the compliance market. Canada withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol on December 12, 2011. |
Background: Increasing childhood obesity has become a major health threat. This cross-sectional study reports associations between schoolchildren's waist circumference (WC) and risk of elevated blood pressure. Methods. We measured height, weight, neck and waist circumference, and blood pressure in regular health examinations among children in grade 1 (ages 6-7 years) at six elementary schools in Taipei County, Taiwan. Elevated blood pressure was defined in children found to have mean systolic or diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to the gender-, age-, and height-percentile-specific 95th-percentile blood pressure value. Results: All 2,334 schoolchildren were examined (response rate was 100% in the six schools). The mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased as WC quartiles increased (p <0.0001). The prevalence of elevated blood pressure for boys and girls within the fourth quartile of waist circumference was 38.9% and 26.8%, respectively. In the multivariate logistic regression analyses, the adjusted odds ratios of elevated blood pressure were 1.78 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13-2.80), 2.45 (95% CI = 1.56-3.85), and 6.03 (95% CI = 3.59-10.1) for children in the second, third, and fourth waist circumference quartiles compared with the first quartile. The odds ratios for per-unit increase and per increase of standard deviation associated with elevated blood pressure were 1.14 (95% CI = 1.10-1.18) and 2.22 (95% CI = 1.76-2.78), respectively. Conclusions: Elevated blood pressure in children was associated with waist circumference. Not only is waist circumference easier to measure than blood pressure, but it also provides important information on metabolic risk. Further research is needed on effective interventions to identify and monitor children with increased waist circumference to reduce metabolic and blood pressure risks.
ASJC Scopus subject areas |
The Importance of C.A.R.E
In recent weeks, the coronavirus has created a massive pandemic. This deadly virus has not only contributed to poor physical health but has led to an emotional and mental disaster for many. Schools have closed, many businesses have shut down, individuals have been laid off or furloughed from their jobs, and people have been forced to stay home and practice “social distancing.” Our grocery shelves are empty, the stock market is volatile, the economy seems to be crashing, and all of this has led to panic, anger, hoarding, and fear, creating a psychological pandemic.
The psychological pandemic is an indirect effect of the biological pandemic: It is a toll on the emotional and behavioral health of human beings, which ranges from mild (“What’s all the fuss about?”) to severe (panic, hoarding, paranoia, aggression). Our mental health is essential. During stressful times such as these, we can quickly become bogged down with anxiety or depression, and we are more likely to engage in unhealthy coping habits such as alcohol or drug use.
It is important to note that anxiety is not necessarily bad; it is a normal reaction to an abnormal circumstance. Anxiety serves a purpose: to motivate us to deal with potential threats. However, when anxiety results in trouble sleeping, paranoia, difficulty concentrating, and reduced functioning, it then becomes a problem and can wreak havoc on your life. For many, anxiety is at an ultimate high during this trying time
How can we, as a society, come together and take care of each other?
The treatment for this “psychological pandemic” is to reaffirm and strengthen the bonds that tie us together. The human spirit is strong, and if we take time to C.A.R.E. for each other and ourselves, we can overcome this world challenge together.
We must take this time to practice compassion towards others and ourselves. Check-in on your neighbors, offer to run errands for those who cannot leave the house, smile more, be more courteous to those who are serving your community, and be compassionate towards yourself. Allow yourself time to reflect, exercise, eat well, sleep as much as you can, engage in activities at home that make you happy, take a bath, read a book, go for a run, play with your dog. Practicing compassion towards yourself and others is not only good for the community, but it is also good for your mental health.
It is becoming more difficult to differentiate fact from fiction about the virus. Be aware of what sources are credible and which sources are not. Be mindful of how you feel after you consume the news or spend time engaging in social media. Do you feel more anxious or depressed? If you find that the news is triggering, then avoid watching the news. Set limits to how much time you spend each day, reading about the COVID 19 pandemic. Refer to CDC, WHO, and your local county health departments for the most updated information and avoid any public opinions or biased sources.
It is essential to take responsibility for your health and the health of others around you. Wash your hands, practice social distancing, avoid touching your face, avoid non-essential travel, stay home if you can, and if you are sick, follow the guidelines of your healthcare provider. It is essential to handle your actions towards yourself and others, and if you feel as though your anxiety or depression is overbearing, then seek treatment. Taking responsibility to prevent the spread of this virus is just as important as taking responsibility for your mental health.
It can be so easy to rush through our daily routines without being mindful of others. There are many individuals who are extremely sick, who have lost loved ones, who have lost their jobs, and who are in mandatory quarantine. As a society, it is essential to come together and try to understand that you are not the only affected by this virus.
We Are Here for You!
We are committed to the health and safety of you and/or your loved ones, and we are FULLY OPEN & OPERATIONAL. At AKUA Mind & Body, the safety of our Clients is our top priority. We are aware of the increased fear and anxiety among most people regarding the current pandemic. Hence, we are doing everything that we can to keep healthfulness and safety. We have reviewed medical and hygiene protocols with staff and are in touch with local health care providers and emergency management centers to ensure that we are equipped with the latest information and resources.
If you or someone you love is struggling with a mental health illness or substance use and addiction disorder, we can help now more than ever! AKUA Mind & Body provides an integrative treatment approach with multiple levels of care from detox, residential to intensive outpatient programs. With several facilities throughout the Sacramento Region, Los Angeles & Orange County Region, and San Diego Region, we aim to provide our clients with a solid foundation for healing and transformation. Gender specific and Co-ed facilities available.
Call our 24/7 admissions helpline to seek help today! |
Like American humans, about 57% percent of North American indoor cats are overweight. In 2008 the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention determined that more than half of U.S. cats were too tubby for their own good. And an overweight cat is more prone to disease and other health problems.
The trouble is, just like with humans, American cats are eating too much and exercising too little. Controlling your cat’s food portion is one thing—that’s in your control as a pet owner—but how do you get your cat to exercise more?
Stimulating the Kitty Brain
Feral or homeless cats have a whole lot going on in their lives. They have to catch their food; they have to avoid being caught by dogs or other animals; they have to patrol and defend their territory. This, combined with a limited food supply, keeps feral cats trim.
When exercising your house cat, the trick is to mimic the experiences of wild cats, giving your pet opportunities to run and chase, stalk and hunt. This will not only keep your cat’s body agile, it’ll help stimulate their mind as well.
Bored cats tend to lie around more, sleeping the day away and limiting their exercise. This makes the cat even more listless, thus creating a self perpetuating problem.
Giving your cat a variety of toys to play with is the first step in preventing cat boredom. Purchase toys that mimic the look and movements of cat’s natural prey—toy mice and birds.
You may have to experiment with various types of toys to see which kinds your cat responds to best. Some cats will play by themselves with toy mice, batting them around the floor, while other cats will enjoy toy birds that you flick and make “fly.”
When playing with your cat, try to think like prey. Consider how mice scuttle and stop, change direction, and play dead. Your pet will enjoy the experience a lot more if they get to use their natural hunting skills.
Remember that cats usually only hunt in the wild for 5 or 6 minutes at a time. Don’t play much longer than this. Also, change it up as much as you can. Play mouse with your cat one day and bird the next.
Keeping things fresh and exciting will keep your cat interested.
Cats like to jump and climb. They like to perch in high places so that they can keep an eye on their domains. Another way to give your cat activity for mind and body is to purchase or build a cat gym. If you are the handy type, you can even build these cat castles yourself, adding various shelves, hiding holes, and steps as you please.
At first, your cat might be disinterested in playing on such structures, but you can stimulate their interest. Dangle your cat’s favorite toy from one of the platforms, enticing them to jump and stalk, thus interacting with the structure. You also may try rubbing the cat tower with catnip. Once your cat associates the play structure with fun times, they will be more likely to return to it.
Some folks go the extra mile to see if their cat is willing to tolerate a cat leash. Some cats may take readily to being leashed and will enjoy wandering about the neighborhood sniffing and exploring. Other cats will crouch and resist. It’s worth a shot, as long as it doesn’t create too much stress. Although these walks may not be a highly aerobic activity, they will stimulate your cat’s brain, helping to prevent boredom.
When bringing a new kitty home, ask yourself which environment is best for your new pet. Indoor cats live, on average, exponentially longer than free roaming cats. Many argue, however, that outdoor cats are happier and healthier. This is a personal choice, and the right decision is based largely on your cat’s prior history, and where you live. If you think it’s safe, try letting kitty run and chase out of doors. Behaving naturally, for cats, will ultimately be the best exercise.
More on Caring for Your Cat
What to Get Your Cat for the Holidays
This information is for informational purposes only and is not meant as a substitute for the professional advice of, or diagnosis or treatment by, your veterinarian. Always seek the advice of your veterinarian or other qualified professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional advice due to what you may have read on our website. |
Protein structure - (Apr/25/2009 )
Can some one tell me whats the difference between , Coil, Coil-Coil, beta Coil, beta Turn and loop in a aprotein structure???????
I would really suggest you to read some good biochemistry book and then ask what you don't understand. You would learn much more than just these terms if you read a book.
samita on Apr 25 2009, 08:23 PM said: |
In order not to disturb the verb structure protection ن will be added, when the detached pronoun أَنَــا joins the verb. Let us understand by translating the statement “You created me” by using the verb خَــلَــقَ.
Instead of خَــلَــقْــتَــيْ it is خَــلَــقْــتَــنِــيْ. The added ن is called as protection ن (نُــوْنُ الْــوِقَــايَــةِ).
- State TRUE or FALSE: The root verb حَــفِــظَ means “he protected”. The construction حَــفِــظْــتَــنِــي means “You protected me”.
- State TRUE or FALSE: The construction بَــعَــثْــتَــنِــي means “You raised me”.
- State TRUE or FALSE: The construction ضَــرَبْــتَــنِــي means “You hit me”.
Source: From the notes – Trying to understand the Arabic Language…by Mohammed Aijaz |
By Sen. Gerald Dial
Memorial Day is a time for Americans to reconnect with their history and core values, by honoring those who gave their lives for the ideas we cherish. More than a million American service men and women have died in our nation’s wars and conflicts, since the first colonial solider took up arms in 1775 to fight for our independence. Each one who died during the throes of these conflicts was a loved one, cherished by family and friends. Each death was a loss to the community, the nation, and most of all to their families.
The observance of this day was born out of compassion, in 1863.
In 1882, the nation observed its first official Memorial Day, set aside by congress to remember and honor the sacrifice of those who served and died.
For decades, Memorial Day has been a day when stores closed, communities gathered together for parades, and other celebrations. Memorial Day meant ceremonies at cemeteries around the country, with speeches honoring those who gave their lives.
In some places, these ceremonies continue to help us remember the true meaning of Memorial Day. We come to honor the dead and stand before the veterans parks and show our respect for their service to our country. We understand that on Memorial Day we honor the ideas and values for which those soldiers stood and died.
Sadly, many Americans have lost this connection with their history. All too many Americans today view military service as an abstraction, an image seen on television, or in the movies. For a growing percentage of American people Memorial day has come to mean simply a three-day-weekend vacation, or a shopping day. Families might still gather for picnics and days at the lake, but for many of them, the Patriotic core…the sprit of remembrance…is absent.
How will you show your loyalty to our Country in appreciation for those who made the ultimate sacrifice? I hope you will take this time to remember those to whom we owe so much.
God Bless you and all those who have served this great country. |
Three strikes in a row is called a turkey.
operational definition of terms
example of definition of terms
There is no solid definition for a round of bowling. There is a game of bowling. Three games is referred to as a series. In league bowling, usually that nights "round" of bowling consists of three games per bowler or one series.
A triple beam balance is a scale used to measuremass.
definitions and terms in basketball
A waltz, by definition, is in triple meter.
like terms - are terms that have identical variable parts and constant terms
definition of term of food sanitation
no- by definition, a trinomial has exactly three terms.
It is Awesome!
That's the definition of the "mean" or "average" of that group of terms.
like the name suggests it provides the definition of the terms used in a text.. maybe you should read them from time to time
To establish terms of an agreement like a loan or mortgage.
[answer removed due to violation of terms of service]Handicap is defined as the imposing of disadvantage or given an artificial advantage to a player in a sport so as to even the playing field. In bowling it pins given. In golf it is strokes awarded.
what is a decomposer
Hop of my dick tell it to your mistress
when you have an alliance with three people or with three groups
What you just said,duh
The word spatial means of or relation to space. So spacial terms are terms that have to do with space.
This agreement among Germany, Austria, and Italy. |
In spring 2005 a large European research and training network was established to investigate the causes and implications of poor sleep from a medical as well as from a social point of view. This EU-financed sleep research project, “The biomedical and sociological effects of sleep restriction”, is coordinated by Dr. Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen (Stenberg) MD, PhD, at the University of Helsinki, Institute of Biomedicine.
The topic of the project is important and timely: our environment is changing to a 24/7 society, which inevitably means that time spent in sleep decreases. What are the consequences of this reduction for human health and well-being? This is the central question of the present consortium.
The training network consists of 16 young Marie Curie Fellows from 12 countries, who are trained in the six consortium laboratories by experienced mentors. They are researching the role of sleep in the quality of life; in mood disorders, and how it can affect performance, accident rates, and cardiovascular diseases. Animal models complement the project aiming to understand the basic mechanisms underlying sleep regulation and thereby provide recommendations for the development of new hypnotics.
Although the work is only half way through, interesting results have already emerged, and the project has now been nominated as one of the “success stories” among EU-funded projects.
The Helsinki group has investigated the effect of partial sleep loss on human health using an experimental setup that resembles a normal working week. They found that following sleep restriction to 4 hours per night, an individual’s ability to perform complex tasks gradually decreased during the five days. Several changes in their immunological system were also recognized, e.g. increase in CRP (C-reactive protein), an indicator of defense reaction.
The Sociology of Sleep Group at the University of Surrey has shown the diverse ways in which the social context of everyday life has profound influences on sleep quality. Indepth interviews with women in Italy show how women’s sleep is severely disrupted by care-giving roles, especially for frail elderly relatives. Analysis of large-scale surveys has found strong social inequalities in sleep problems with poorer sleep recorded for people living in more disadvantaged social circumstances, such as with low income and low educational attainment. The Chronobiology Group at the University of Surrey has been investigating the effect of blue short wavelength light on circadian rhythms and sleep in the young and elderly. A reduced responsiveness to short wavelength light has been observed in older people and this may have implications for the design of lighting in elderly homes.
The group in Munich and Ingolstadt has first evidence for an influence of a chronic sleep disorder going along with severe sleepiness (narcolepsy) on the processing of emotional stimuli in the brain, suggesting that disturbed sleep regulation profoundly interferes with our well being and the interaction with the environment.
Basic research in the human sleep research laboratory of the University of Zürich revealed clear age-related changes in the impairment of sustained vigilant attention after one night without sleep. This finding is consistent with epidemiological studies and has important implications for the prevention of accidents associated with the loss of sleep.
The group from the University of Zurich, dedicated to animal research, recorded sleep in different mouse models under normal conditions and under enhanced sleep pressure attained by sleep deprivation of a few hours. The effect of pharmacological stimulation of different types of GABAA receptors was investigated. This research aims at opening new avenues for the development of hypnotics. The hypnotic efficacy, when based on normal sleep physiology, should be optimized and lead to less adverse effects.
The mentors recognize the pressing need to bring the results of this research network available to all people. Training of the Fellows includes, in addition to the scientific training, also training in communication with the general public. The Fellows are encouraged to write articles and give general presentations – each of them has written a description of their work.
The other partners are from UK (University of Surrey), Belgium (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Germany (Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry & Center of Mental Health, Klinikum Ingolstadt) and Switzerland (University of Zurich).
Source: University of Helsinki
Explore further: Comfortable EEG headset increases user comfort and achieves high signal quality |
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303) King of Great Britain and Ireland and emperor of India from 1936 to 1947; he succeeded Edward VIII (1895-1952) King of Great Britain and Ireland and emperor of India from 1910 to 1936; gave up his German title in 1917 during World War I (1865-1936) King of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 1820 to 1830; his attempt to divorce his estranged wife undermined the prestige of the Crown (1762-1830) King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820; the American colonies were lost during his reign; he became insane in 1811 and his son (later George IV) acted as regent until 1820 (1738-1820) King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover from 1727 to 1760 (1683-1760) Elector of Hanover and the first Hanoverian King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1714 to 1727 (1660-1727)
Medical practitioner who is regarded as the father of medicine
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The modern world has a plastic problem, and something needs to happen, now.
At some point, cities in Northern Utah were pushing for a plastic bag ban, but that was before the pandemic altered our priorities. The ban had originally been scheduled to begin in Logan during 2020 but is now postponed to 2022. COVID-19 is not a valid excuse to delay the ban, although I do commend the City Council’s decision to push back rather than forget the bag ban.
Paper bags could easily substitute their plastic counterparts. Plastic bag prohibition would be one easy and small step towards curbing plastic pollution in Utah. While plastic waste is generally an eyesore, the issue is beginning to extend beyond what the eye can see.
The polyethylene bag you grab at the grocery store and other plastic products break down into tiny pieces called microplastics. A team of Utah State University scientists lead by Dr. Janice Brahney estimate that over 1000 tons of microplastics are deposited in our remote wilderness areas each year. Microplastics are in our water, food, and in the air we breathe. You eat about half of a credit card’s worth of microplastics each week.
The longer we wait to act against single-use plastics, the more of an issue this becomes. Tackling the plastic problem has to start somewhere.
Europe and Canada are on track to ban single use plastic items by the end of 2021. The United States currently has no such plan in place; Utah can become the standard and set an example our country desperately needs.
I urge Utahans not to wait for a ban on single use plastic grocery bags to cut them out of your routine. You can help to save the world – find an alternative now to help save the outdoors that we all know and love.
Macy Gustavus – Logan
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I used to wonder if Jesus had always known he was God or did he come to know he was. My belief now is that Jesus knew he was God when as a child he was first aware of his surroundings. The Bible shows that at 12 he knew the Scripture.
In a Google search I found this belief. It indicates, if I’m reading it correctly, that Jesus obtained his knowledge of God from his mother Mary. And that the Magnificat prayer sung by Mary when she visited Elizabeth, in Luke 1:46-55, is the influence for the Sermon on the Mount/Plain including the Beatitudes in Luke and Matthew.
As the greatest of all disciples, Mary was completely at one with the ways of God. She identified with the deepest faith of Israel.
The connection between the Magnificat and the Sermon on the Mount should not escape us: it was at Nazareth that the incarnate Son, watching his mother, first loved the ways of God which would shape his life and mission.
The Mary of authentic Christian faith is not meek and mild, a discouragement to women seeking to affirm their rightful place in today’s world. She is the embodiment of all that the `woman’ figure of the Scriptures stands for: she is the courageous woman of the Magnificat. Her words on behalf of the world’s oppressed and downtrodden – expressed when she makes a difficult journey to assist her aged cousin – have made her a sign of hope, and a challenge to all Christians to share in God’s caring for the dispossessed of the world.
Taking that last sentence together with the middle paragraph that indicates that Jesus learnt about his love of God and his mission from Mary, it implies that Mary influenced the caring and loving nature of the ministry of Jesus, and his associating with sinners and those out of the mainstream.
So, just what influence did Mary have on Jesus and His mission. Or did Jesus just know He was God, because He is, and already knew what He had to do. |
THE ANATOMY OF THE CRANIAL SYSTEM
BONES: The cranium is the bony bubble that surrounds and protects our brain. It is made up of 14 different bones. The keystone is called the sphenoid. It is located deep in the skull at the base, and articulates with most of the other bones of the cranium. Because of this, working with the sphenoid directly influences the cranial rhythm and motion of all the bones of the skull. Posterior to the sphenoid is the occiput. Then above are the two parietal bones. Inferior to the parietals on each side are the temporal bones. Anterior to the parietals is the singular frontal bone. Below the frontal bone is the zygoma, and the maxilla. Not strictly part of the cranium, but important non-the less, is the mandible. There are other bones of the cranium, but these are the major ones.
We tend to think of bones as inflexible because of our contact with their bleached and dried versions found in the environment. Living bone is far from white and dried- it is slimy, wet, flexible and tough- not at all brittle. The cranial bones have an ability to flex, and this ability to bend and deform is part of the strength of the cranial system. Another aspect that lends strength is the design of the cranial bones. In cross section there are two layers of solid bone, with a layer of mesh-like cancellous bone between. The sandwiching effect makes the bone lighter and stronger than if it was solid. We also see such an ingenious design in cardboard. The crumpled paper between the two outer sheets makes the whole structure stronger. Lastly, the arched shape of the cranial bones give them strength, the arch being one of the strongest structures in nature, and used by engineers in buildings around the world.
SUTURES: Where the cranial bones meet is called a suture. The coronal suture separates the frontal bone from the parietal bones. The sagittal suture separates the two parietal bones from each other. The lambdoid suture separates the parietals from the occiput. The squamous suture separates the temporal bone from the parietals. There are varying kinds of sutures. Some sutures, or "joints" interdigitate, like lacing your fingers, other sutures have sliding plates, and others butt up against each other like this. Contrary to popular belief, the sutures are not completely fused, but actually have the ability to allow very slight movement, about 1 tenth of a millimeter. Sutures operate similarly to the way vertebral discs work in the spine. They allow for compression and tension release so that if you suffer a strong blow to the head, the suture will accommodate that blow and lesson the likelihood of severe injury. Sutures also allow micro-movements in response to inter-cranial pressure.
DURAL TUBE: Lining the inside of the flexible cranium is a layer of tissue called the dura mater. The dura is a tough membrane that encases the entire cranium, surrounding the brain and spinal column. The dural tube has attachment points to the foramen magnum as it exits the cranial cavity, an light attachment at C2 and also a distal attachment to the second sacral vertebrae. It is our most interior piece of soft connective tissue and it houses the entire central nervous system- the brain, spinal cord and cerebro-spinal fluid.
The dura mater forms sheets of fairly tough non-resilient connective tissue called the falx cerebri and cerebelli, which separate the right and left hemispheres of the cerebrum and cerebellum. These fascial sheets also transmit force in an anterior/posterior direction, as well as superior to inferior. The dura mater also forms the tentorium cerebelli, which acts like a tent separating the cerebrum from the cerebellum. The tentorium transmits force in a lateral direction. Dr. Sutherland termed the phrase reciprocal tension membrane to describe the function of the tentorium and the falx. As these membranes are connected directly to the cranial bones, their tension patterns have a great effect upon the movement of the cranial bones. The purpose of most cranial techniques is to balance this membrane system as well as free any sutural restriction.
Next to the dura mater is a layer of delicate tissue called the arachnoid mater. Next to the arachnoid mater is the pia mater, and this layer of tissue follows the contours of the brain. These three layers of tissue are called the meninges and are free to move in relationship to each other because they float in a sea of cerebrospinal fluid.
CEREBRO-SPINAL FLUID: There are 4 ventricles, or spaces in the brain that are connected to each other and the subarachnoid space by a network of canals. Hanging from the top of each of the ventricles are a group of capillaries called the choroid plexuses. The choroids plexuses filter the blood, and what they let pass is called cerebro spinal fluid. The cerebro spinal fluid circulates around the brain and spinal cord until it is reabsorbed by the arachnoid villae which are mainly located in the sagittal venous sinus.
Dr. Upledger, an osteopath and one of the main popularizers of cranial work, has proposed that the movement of the cranial bones is caused by the production of cerebrospinal fluid taking place faster than the process of its reabsorbtion. This is called the pressure stat model. Upledger has hypothesized that as the pressure increases inside the cranium, stretch sensors in the sutures send an inhibitory reflex to the choroid plexus which stop producing cerebral spinal fluid. When the pressure decreases, the production starts again. The increase and decrease of pressure is what is thought to drive the pull of the reciprocal tension membrane and the movement of the cranial bones. Not all doctors agree with the pressure stat model, but the fact that cranial motion exists is the most important consideration to the practitioner.
The movement of the cranial bones is described in terms of flexion and extension. These terms are based on the motion of the sphenoid. Flexion is when the top of the sphenoid moves anterior, and the bottom moves superior. The movement of the rest of the bones is also called flexion, even though their individual motions are unique. During flexion the whole cranium becomes wider from side to side and foreshortens from front to back. During flexion, not only do the cranial bones widen, but the whole body slightly rotates externally and broadens. People who are stuck in a flexion pattern tend to have a duck walk and have their arms rotated outward. In extension the cranium narrows and elongates and the body goes into internal rotation. An internal rotation pattern would be a pigeon toed walk. The entire body is affected by this flexion extension phenomenon. If there is a rhythmic pattern lesion somewhere in the body it will affect the breath, the blood flow, the endocrine system. You can imagine the domino effect that this rhythmic pattern can initiate, just like putting a stone in water. It ripples out over the entire surface. The entire flexion and extension cycle takes about 6 seconds.
This flexion extension motion is the breathing of the cranium, and the sutures are there to accommodate the motion. This rhythmic movement continues throughout our life and can be disrupted by influences from our internal and external environment.
Taken from the video Cranial-Sacral Therapy by Mary Sullivan. |
How can blockchain be used as a database to store data
When a block of data, is added to the chain, the rest of the network has to verify it. If you are doing business via the chain, all the computers on the network will …... Building blockchains for a better planet. Blockchain is a foundational emerging technology, which enables the transfer of a range of assets among parties securely and …
Clear Explanation of How the Blockchain Works
As each block includes the previous block’s hash as part of its data, a chain of blocks is formed. Creating a ledger of transactions with blocks that refer to previous blocks is a much better idea than numbering pages in a book.... With blockchains, each block references the previous block, not by ‘block number’, but by the block’s fingerprint, which is cleverer than a page number because the fingerprint itself is determined by the contents of the block.
Blockchain what is in a block? DEV Community
4 Blockchain technology as a platform for digitization The system (blockchain) is a distributed ledger of transactions, a multi-tiered technology that potentially orchestrates the behavior of consumers and their assets based on a series of transaction ledgers. your personality and how to live with it-gregory g young-isbn-13-978-0689109188 Is there a laymen way of explaining how the block chain works and how to read the blockchain to trace Stack Exchange Network Stack Exchange network consists of 174 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.
A Survey of Blockchain Security Issues and Challenges
Read the Euramax procedure, understand the contents, and ensure compliance. Gather samples of new and worn fiber ropes, wire ropes, and chains (if applicable). Review the employee handout to see if there are any other materials you wish to bring to the how to make cauliflour bread Use Cases & Verticals Payments Capital Markets Banking Insurance Supply Chain Security Identity Healthcare Energy Internet of Things Merchants Startups Legal Regulation Central Banking Tax Crime
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Backup & restore · ethereum/go-ethereum Wiki · GitHub
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How To Read Contents In A Block Chain
Once each block is completed it's added to the chain, creating a chain of blocks: A blockchain. Because cryptocurrencies are encrypted, processing any …
- In order connect the blocks with each other, every block holds the hash string of the previous block. Only the first block, at the “genesis” of the chain, does not contain the hash of a previous block, simply because it was the first block in the chain.
- Hi Ben, I am an MBA student from India working on an academic project that deals with applications of Block Chain in music industry. I have certain queries regarding the working model pertaining to music industry and would like to hear your views on them. Regards.
- To continue reading this The result is a chain of blocks that each contain the hash values of all preceding blocks—hence the term blockchain. All the computers that store these blocks
- Storage and content. A giant spreadsheet of time-stamped transactions doesn’t really require that much storage space. You can keep that on your computer without much fanfare. |
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