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Death is the permanent end of the life of a biological organism. Death may refer to the end of life as either an event or condition. Many factors can cause or contribute to an organism's death, including predation, disease, habitat destruction, senescence, malnutrition and accidents. The principal causes of death in developed countries are diseases related to aging. In medicine, biological details and definitions of death have become increasingly complicated as technology advances. Traditions and beliefs related to death are an important part of human culture, and central to many religions. Nearly every culture has had some belief in an afterlife, some form of continued existence after the death of the human body. While science has lacked the technology to find scientific evidence of such existence, faith and personal experience provide support and comfort for many who understand the purpose of our life to transcend our bodies. Whatever one's belief about death, as it draws near, its finality provides a perspective upon one's entire lifetime. For many people, how one dies is as important as how one lived. Hence people regard it of great importance to take care of unfinished matters and reconcile with loved ones in preparation for death. Historically, attempts to define the exact moment of death have been problematic. Death was once defined as the cessation of heartbeat (cardiac arrest) and of breathing, but the development of CPR and prompt defibrillation have rendered the previous definition inadequate because breathing and heartbeat can sometimes be restarted. This is now called "clinical death." Events which were causally linked to death in the past no longer kill in all circumstances; without a functioning heart or lungs, life can sometimes be sustained with a combination of life support devices, organ transplants, and artificial pacemakers. Today, where a definition of the moment of death is required, doctors and coroners usually turn to "brain death" or "biological death": People are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases (unlike a persistent vegetative state). It is presumed that a stoppage of electrical activity indicates the end of consciousness. However, suspension of consciousness must be permanent, and not transient, as occurs during sleep, and especially a coma. In the case of sleep, EEGs can easily reveal the difference. Identifying the moment of death is important in cases of transplantation, as organs for transplant must be harvested as quickly as possible after the death of the body. The possession of brain activity, or ability to resume brain activity, is a necessary condition to legal personhood in the United States: "It appears that once brain death has been determined … no criminal or civil liability will result from disconnecting the life-support devices." Those maintaining that only the neo-cortex of the brain is necessary for consciousness sometimes argue that only electrical activity there should be considered when defining death. Eventually it is possible that the criterion for death will be the permanent and irreversible loss of cognitive function, as evidenced by the death of the cerebral cortex. All hope of recovering human thought and personality is then gone. However, at present, in most places the more conservative definition of death—irreversible cessation of electrical activity in the whole brain, as opposed to just in the neo-cortex—has been adopted (for example the Uniform Determination Of Death Act in the United States). Even by whole-brain criteria, the determination of brain death can be complicated. EEGs can detect spurious electrical impulses, while certain drugs, hypoglycemia, hypoxia, or hypothermia can suppress or even stop brain activity on a temporary basis. Because of this, hospitals have protocols for determining brain death involving EEGs at widely separated intervals under defined conditions. Fate of dead organisms After death an organism's remains become part of the biogeochemical cycle. Animals may be consumed by a predator or scavenger. Organic material may then be further decomposed by detritivores, organisms which recycle detritus, returning it to the environment for reuse in the food chain. Examples include earthworms, woodlice and dung beetles. Microorganisms also play a vital role, raising the temperature of the decomposing material as they break it down into simpler molecules. Not all material need be decomposed fully however; for example coal is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. In animals, small movements of the limbs (for example twitching legs or wings) known as a postmortem spasm can sometimes be observed following death. Pallor mortis is a postmortem paleness which accompanies death due to a lack of capillary circulation throughout the body. Algor mortis describes the predictable decline in body temperature until ambient temperature is reached. Within a few hours of death rigor mortis is observed with a chemical change in the muscles, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff (Latin rigor) and difficult to move or manipulate. Assuming mild temperatures, full rigor occurs at about 12 hours, eventually subsiding to relaxation at about 36 hours. Decomposition is not always a slow process however—for example fire is the primary mode of decomposition in most grassland ecosystems. Some organisms have hard parts such as shells or bones which may not decompose but become fossilized. Fossils are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. Fossils vary in size from microscopic, such as single cells, to gigantic, such as dinosaurs. A fossil normally preserves only a portion of the deceased organism, usually that portion that was partially mineralized during life, such as the bones and teeth of vertebrates, or the chitinous exoskeletons of invertebrates. Preservation of soft tissues is extremely rare in the fossil record. Extinction is the cessation of existence of a species or group of taxa, reducing biodiversity. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species (although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point). Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "re-appears" (typically in the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. A typical species becomes extinct within ten million years of its first appearance, although some species, called living fossils, survive virtually unchanged for hundreds of millions of years. Only one in a thousand species that have existed remain today. Prior to the dispersion of humans across the earth, extinction generally occurred at a continuous low rate, interspersed with rare mass extinction events. Starting approximately 100,000 years ago, and coinciding with an increase in the numbers and range of humans, species extinctions have increased to a rate unprecedented since the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. This is known as the Holocene extinction event and is at least the sixth such extinction event. Some experts have estimated that up to half of presently existing species may become extinct by 2100. There are many anecdotal references to people being declared dead by physicians and then coming back to life, sometimes days later in their own coffin, or when embalming procedures are just about to begin. Owing to significant scientific advancements in the Victorian era, some people in Britain became obsessively worried about living after being declared dead. A first responder is not authorized to pronounce a patient dead. Some EMT training manuals specifically state that a person is not to be assumed dead unless there are clear and obvious indications that death has occurred. These indications include mortal decapitation, rigor mortis (rigidity of the body), livor mortis (blood pooling in the part of the body at lowest elevation), decomposition, incineration, or other bodily damage that is clearly inconsistent with life. If there is any possibility of life and in the absence of a do not resuscitate (DNR) order, emergency workers are instructed to begin rescue and not end it until a patient has been brought to a hospital to be examined by a physician. This frequently leads to situation of a patient being pronounced dead on arrival (DOA). In cases of electrocution, CPR for an hour or longer can allow stunned nerves to recover, allowing an apparently-dead person to survive. People found unconscious under icy water may survive if their faces are kept continuously cold until they arrive at an emergency room. This "diving response," in which metabolic activity and oxygen requirements are minimal, is something humans share with cetaceans called the mammalian diving reflex. As medical technologies advance, ideas about when death occurs may have to be re-evaluated in light of the ability to restore a person to vitality after longer periods of apparent death. There have been some scientific attempts to bring dead organisms back to life, but with limited success. Causes of human death Death can be caused by disease, accident, homicide, or suicide. The leading cause of death in developing countries is infectious disease. The leading causes of death in developed countries are atherosclerosis (heart disease and stroke), cancer, and other diseases related to obesity and aging. These conditions cause loss of homeostasis, leading to cardiac arrest, causing loss of oxygen and nutrient supply, causing irreversible deterioration of the brain and other tissues. With improved medical capability, dying has become a condition to be managed. Home deaths, once the norm, are now rare in the first world. In third world countries, inferior sanitary conditions and lack of access to medical technology makes death from infectious diseases more common than in developed countries. One such disease is tuberculosis, a bacterial disease which killed 1.7 million people in 2004. Many leading first world causes of death can be postponed by diet and physical activity, but the accelerating incidence of disease with age still imposes limits on human longevity. The cause of aging is, at best, only just beginning to be understood. It has been suggested that direct intervention in the aging process may now be the most effective intervention against major causes of death. An autopsy, also known as a postmortem examination or an obduction, is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a human corpse to determine the cause and manner of a person's death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present. It is usually performed by a specialized medical doctor called a pathologist. Autopsies are either performed for legal or medical purposes. A forensic autopsy is carried out when the cause of death may be a criminal matter, while a clinical or academic autopsy is performed to find the medical cause of death and is used in cases of unknown or uncertain death, or for research purposes. Autopsies can be further classified into cases where external examination suffices, and those where the body is dissected and an internal examination is conducted. Permission from next of kin may be required for internal autopsy in some cases. Once an internal autopsy is complete the body is reconstituted by sewing it back together. A necropsy is a postmortem examination performed on a non-human animal, such as a race horse or a pet. Life extension refers to an increase in maximum or average lifespan, especially in humans, by slowing down or reversing the processes of aging. Average lifespan is determined by vulnerability to accidents and age-related afflictions such as cancer or cardiovascular disease. Extension of average lifespan can be achieved by good diet, exercise, and avoidance of hazards such as smoking and excessive eating of sugar-containing foods. Maximum lifespan is determined by the rate of aging for a species inherent in its genes. Currently, the only widely recognized method of extending maximum lifespan is calorie restriction. Theoretically, extension of maximum lifespan can be achieved by reducing the rate of aging damage, by periodic replacement of damaged tissues, or by molecular repair or rejuvenation of deteriorated cells and tissues. Researchers of life extension are a subclass of biogerontologists known as "biomedical gerontologists." They seek to understand the nature of aging and they develop treatments to reverse aging processes or to at least slow them down, for the improvement of health and the maintenance of youthful vigor at every stage of life. Many biomedical gerontologists believe that future breakthroughs in tissue rejuvenation with stem cells, organs replacement (with artificial organs or xenotransplantations) and molecular repair will eliminate all aging and disease as well as allow for complete rejuvenation to a youthful condition. Some life extensionists arrange to be cryonically preserved upon legal death so that they can await the time when future medicine can eliminate disease, rejuvenate them to a lasting youthful condition, and repair damage caused by the cryonics process. Whether the maximum human lifespan should be extended is the subject of much ethical debate amongst politicians and scientists. Death in Culture Death has a unique image in global culture. It is respected and feared throughout the world. The unknown aspects of death have produced a type of fascination that many take to extreme levels. Settlement of dead bodies In most cultures, before the onset of significant decay, the body undergoes some type of ritual disposal, usually either cremation or interment in a tomb. Cremation is a very old and quite common custom. The act of cremation exemplifies the belief of the concept of "ashes to ashes." The other modes of disposal include interment in a grave, but may also be a sarcophagus, crypt, sepulchre, or ossuary, a mound or barrow, or a monumental surface structure such as a mausoleum (exemplified by the Taj Mahal) or a pyramid (as exemplified by the Great Pyramid of Giza). In Tibet, one method of corpse disposal is sky burial, which involves placing the body of the deceased on high ground (a mountain) and leaving it for birds of prey to dispose of. Sometimes this is because in certain religious views, birds of prey are carriers of the soul to the heavens. Other times this simply reflects the fact that when terrain (as in Tibet) makes the ground too hard to dig, there are few trees around to burn and the local religion (Buddhism) believes that the body after death is only an empty shell and so leaving it for animals to consume is a practical disposal method. In certain cultures, efforts are made to retard the decay processes before burial (resulting even in the retardation of decay processes after the burial), as in mummification or embalming. This happens during or after a funeral ceremony. Graves are usually grouped together in a plot of land called a cemetery or graveyard, and burials can be arranged by a funeral home, mortuary, undertaker, or by a religious body such as a church or the community's burial society, a charitable or voluntary body charged with these duties. A variety of funeral customs exist in different cultures. In some fishing or naval communities, the body is sent into the water, in what is known as burial at sea. Several mountain villages have a tradition of hanging the coffin in woods. Space burial uses a rocket to launch the cremated remains of a body into orbit. A more recent alternative is ecological burial. This is a sequence of deep-freezing, pulverization by vibration, freeze-drying, removing metals, and burying the resulting powder, which has 30 percent of the body mass. Cryonics is the process of cryopreservation of a body to liquid nitrogen temperature to stop the natural decay processes that occur after death. Those practicing cryonics hope that future technology will allow the legally deceased person to be restored to life when and if science is able to cure all disease, rejuvenate people to a youthful condition, and repair damage from the cryopreservation process itself. Whole body donations, made by the donor while living (or by a family member in some cases), are an important source of human cadavers used in medical education and similar training, and in research. Mourning is the process of and practices surrounding death-related grief. The word is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviors in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate. Customs vary between different cultures and evolve over time, though many core behaviors remain constant. Wearing dark, somber clothes is one practice followed in many countries, though other forms of dress are also seen. Those most affected by the loss of a loved one often observe a period of grieving, marked by withdrawal from social events and quiet, respectful behavior. People may also follow certain religious traditions for such occasions. Mourning may also apply to the death of, or anniversary of the passing of, an important individual like a local leader, monarch, religious figure, and so forth. State mourning may occur on such an occasion. In recent years some traditions have given way to less strict practices, though many customs and traditions continue to be followed. Bereavement, while a normal part of life for most people, carries a degree of risk when limited support is available. Severe reactions to loss may carry over into familial relations and cause trauma for children, spouses and any other family members. Many forms of what are termed 'mental illness' have loss as their root, but covered by many years and circumstances this often goes unnoticed. Issues of personal faith and beliefs may also face challenge, as bereaved persons reassess personal definitions in the face of great pain. While many who grieve are able to work through their loss independently, accessing additional support from bereavement professionals may promote the process of healing. Individual counseling, professional support groups or educational classes, and peer-lead support groups are primary resources available to the bereaved. In some regions local hospice agencies may be an important first contact for those seeking bereavement support. Philosophy, religion, and mythology Faith in some form of afterlife is an important aspect of many people's beliefs. Such beliefs are usually manifested as part of a religion, as they pertain to phenomena beyond the ordinary experience of the natural world. For example, one aspect of Hinduism involves belief in a continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth (Samsara) and the liberation from the cycle (Moksha). Other religions focus on an afterlife in Heaven with our Creator God, along with the possibility of eternal damnation in Hell for evildoers. Some believe that one's identity, personality and consciousness continue after death; others believe that the dead merge into a "cosmic consciousness" and thus lose their individuality. Though various evidence has been advanced to demonstrate the reality of an afterlife, the material or metaphysical existence of an afterlife remains a matter outside the scope of science. Parapsychology, the study of paranormal phenomena, as well as the testimonies of mediums and their clients, have given credence to these beliefs. Although sometimes tainted by fraud, genuine paranormal experiences can be very powerful and can alter a person's beliefs about the finality of death. The significance of belief in survival after death lies in the impact it can have on values among the living. If death is not the end, then dying is not something to be feared. If one's attitudes and deeds have consequences in a later existence, then one's conduct in life has greater meaning; indeed, viewed from the perspective of eternity, there are many things that are worse than death. In monotheistic religion, the one God governs both life and death. In polytheistic religions or mythologies which have a complex system of deities governing various natural phenomena and aspects of human life, it is common to have a deity who is assigned the function of presiding over death. Many traditional cultures incorporated a god of death into their mythology or folk religion. As death, along with birth, is among the major parts of human life, these deities may often be one of the most important deities of a religion. Personification of death Death has been personified as a figure or fictional character in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. Because the reality of death has had a substantial influence on the human psyche and the development of civilization as a whole, the personification of Death as a living, sentient entity is a concept that has existed in many societies since the beginning of recorded history. In western culture, death is usually shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe, and sometimes wearing a midnight black gown with a hood. Examples of death personified include: - In modern-day European-based folklore, Death is known as the "Grim Reaper" or "The grim spectre of death." This form typically wields a scythe, and is sometimes portrayed riding a white horse. - In the Middle Ages, Death was imagined as a decaying or mummified human corpse, later becoming the familiar skeleton in a robe. - Death is sometimes portrayed in fiction and occultism as Azrael, the angel of death (note that the name "Azrael" does not appear in any versions of either the Bible or the Qur'an). - The angel of death is a spirit, deity, or other being whose task is to conduct the souls of the recently dead into the afterlife. Glorification of and fascination with death Whether because of its very poetic nature or because of the great mystery it presents, or both, death is and has very often been glorified in many cultures through many different means. War, crime, revenge, martyrdom, suicide, and many other forms of violence involving death are often glorified by different media, often in modern times being glorified even in spite of the attempts at depicting death meant to be de-glorifying. For example, film maker Francis Truffaut has made the claim it is impossible to make an anti-war film, as any depiction of war ends up glorifying it. The most prevalent and permanent form of death's glorification is through artistic expression. Through song, many artists show death through poetic analogy. Events such as The Charge of the Light Brigade and The Battle of the Alamo have served as inspirations for artistic depictions of and myths regarding death. Perception of glory in death is subjective and can even differ widely from one member of a group to another. Religion plays a key role, especially in terms of expectations of an afterlife. Personal and perceptions about mode of death are also important factors. War is a prolonged state of violent, large scale conflict involving two or more groups of people, usually leading to the deaths of many. When and how war originated is a highly controversial topic. Often opposing leaders or governing bodies enlist other people to fight for them, even if those fighting have no vested interest in the issues fought over. In time it became practical for some people to have warfare as their sole occupation, either as a member of a military force or mercenary. The factors leading to war are often complicated and due to a range of issues. Where disputes arise over issues such as sovereignty, territory, resources, ideology and a peaceable resolution is not sought, fails, or is thwarted, war often results. A war may begin following an official declaration of war in the case of international war, although this has not always been observed. Civil wars and revolutions are not usually initiated by a formal declaration of war, but sometimes a statement about the purposes of the fighting is made. Such statements may be interpreted to be declarations of war, or at least a willingness to fight and die for a cause. Genocide is the attempted slaughter of an entire sect of people. Military suicide and suicide attacks A suicide attack occurs when an individual or group violently sacrifice their own lives for the benefit of their side. In the desperate final days of World War II, many Japanese pilots volunteered for kamikaze missions in an attempt to forestall defeat for the Empire. In Nazi Germany, Luftwaffe squadrons were formed to smash into American B-17s during daylight bombing missions, in order to delay the highly-probable Allied victory, although in this case, inspiration was primarily the Soviet and Polish taran ramming attacks, and death of the pilot was not a desired outcome. Suicide has been fairly common in warfare throughout history. Soldiers and civilians committed suicide to avoid capture and slavery (including the wave of German and Japanese suicides in the last days of World War II). Commanders committed suicide rather than accept defeat. Spies and officers have committed suicide to avoid revealing secrets under interrogation and/or torture. Behavior that could be seen as suicidal occurred often in battle. Japanese infantrymen usually fought to the last man, launched "banzai" suicide charges, and committed suicide during the Pacific island battles in World War II. In Saipan and Okinawa, civilians joined in the suicides. Suicidal attacks by pilots were common in the twentieth century: the attack by U.S. torpedo planes at the Battle of Midway was very similar to a kamikaze attack. A martyr is a person who is put to death or endures suffering for their beliefs, principles, or ideology. The death of a martyr or the value attributed to it is called martyrdom. In different belief systems, the criteria for being considered a martyr is different. In the Christian context, a martyr is an innocent person who, without seeking death, is murdered or put to death for his or her religious faith or convictions. An example is the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire. Christian martyrs sometimes decline to defend themselves at all, in what they see as an imitation of Jesus' willing sacrifice. Islam accepts a broader view of what constitutes a martyr, including anyone who dies in the struggle between those lands under Muslim government and those areas outside Muslim rule. Generally, some seek to include suicide bombers as a "martyr" of Islam, however, this is widely disputed in mainstream Islamic thought, which argues that a martyr may not commit suicide. Though often religious in nature, martyrdom can be applied to a secular context as well. The term is sometimes applied to those who die or are otherwise severely affected in support of a cause, such as soldiers fighting in a war, doctors fighting an epidemic, or people leading civil rights movements. Proclaiming martyrdom is a common way to draw attention to a cause and garner support. Suicide is the act of intentionally taking one's own life. Views on suicide have been influenced by cultural views on existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. Most Western and Asian religions—the Abrahamic religions, Buddhism, Hinduism—consider suicide a dishonorable act; in the West it was regarded as a serious crime and offense against God due to religious belief in the sanctity of life. An honorable exception is suicide in the midst of battle, to avoid being taken prisoner and dishonored by the enemy, as in the case of king Saul and the defenders of Masada. Japanese views on honor and religion led to seppuku being respected as a means to atone for mistakes or failure during the samurai era. In the twentieth century suicide in the form of self-immolation has been used as a form of protest. Self-sacrifice for others is not usually considered suicide. Modern medicine regards suicide as a mental health concern, associated with psychological factors such as the difficulty of coping with depression, inescapable pain or fear, or other mental disorders and pressures. Suicide is often interpreted as a "cry for help" and attention, or to express despair and the wish to escape, rather than a genuine intent to die. Most suicides (for various reasons) do not succeed on a first attempt; those who later gain a history of repetitions are significantly more at risk of eventual completion. Nearly a million people worldwide die by suicide annually. While completed suicides are higher in men, women have higher rates for suicide attempts. Elderly males have the highest suicide rate, although rates for young adults have been increasing. Euthanasia is the practice of terminating the life of a person or animal in a painless or minimally painful way in order to prevent suffering or other undesired conditions in life. This may be voluntary or involuntary, and carried out with or without a physician. In a medical environment, it is normally carried out by oral, intravenous, or intramuscular drug administration. Laws around the world vary greatly with regard to euthanasia and are subject to change as people's values shift and better palliative care or treatments become available. It is legal in some nations, while in others it may be criminalized. Due to the gravity of the issue, strict restrictions and proceedings are enforced regardless of legal status. Euthanasia is a controversial issue because of conflicting moral feelings both within a person's own beliefs and between different cultures, ethnicities, religions, and other groups. The subject is explored by the mass media, authors, film makers, and philosophers, and is the source of ongoing debate. Sacrifice ("to make sacred") includes the practice of offering the lives of animals or people to the gods, as an act of propitiation or worship. The practice of sacrifice is found in the oldest human records, and the archaeological record finds corpses, both animal and human, that show marks of having been sacrificed and have been dated to long before any records. Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. The practice has varied between different civilizations, with some like the Aztecs being notorious for their ritual killings, while others have looked down on the practice. Victims ranging from prisoners to infants to virgins were killed to please their gods, suffering such fates as burning, beheading, and being buried alive. Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as practiced by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or spiritual being, changing the course of nature or divining the future. Animal sacrifice has occurred in almost all cultures, from the Hebrews to the Greeks and Romans to the Yoruba. Over time human and animal sacrifices have become less common in the world, such that modern sacrifices are rare. Most religions condemn the practice of human sacrifices, and present day laws generally treat them as a criminal matter. Nonetheless traditional sacrifice rituals are still seen in less developed areas of the world where traditional beliefs and superstitions linger, including the sacrifice of human beings. Homicide is the illegal killing, when intentional the murder, of another person. It has various degrees of intention and stances before the law. Each of these different stances carries different penalties. Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offenses. Historically, the execution of criminals and political opponents was used by nearly all societies—both to punish crime and to suppress political dissent. In most places that practice capital punishment today, the death penalty is reserved as punishment for premeditated murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries, sexual crimes, such as adultery and sodomy, carry the death penalty, as do religious crimes such as apostasy, the formal renunciation of one's religion. Drug trafficking and human trafficking may also be considered capital offenses. In militaries around the world courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offenses such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny. Methods of capital punishment have varied from culture to culture throughout history. They have ranged from the deliberately painful and humiliating (drawing and quartering), to those designed for greater expediency (the guillotine), the standard method (hanging), to those intended to be quick and humane (electric chair, lethal injection). Aside from the physical disposition of the corpse, the estate of a person must be settled. This includes all of the person's legal rights and obligations, such as assets and debts. Depending on the jurisdiction, laws or a will may determine the final disposition of the estate. A legal process, such as probate, guides these proceedings. Preparation for death In most circumstances death is a process rather than an event. The majority of people do not die suddenly. Even though the number who have died in warfare and accidents is quite large, not all die instantaneously; many suffer fatal wounds and subsequent death. Death is universal; we all have time to prepare for it since we know it is inevitable. Before death arrives, people make many preparations. These include writing a last will and testament or giving away items of value to family and friends; setting one's affairs in order so that next of kin who may be upset by their loss have less stress; social and emotional matters like mending broken relationships, affirming love for family and friends, and so forth. There are also many things people may do to complete personal goals—travel to a place one has often dreamed of visiting, attend a special event, complete a work of art or literature, to name a few. With less warning or serious illness of course many of these activities would not be possible. For many, religious rituals are to be completed prior to death, if possible. Ultimately, however, since the time of our death is not known to us, our whole life is, in a sense, preparation for our death. Thus, the best preparation for death is to live one's life to the fullest, and so to have no regrets when the time comes to leave the physical world. Then, if there is an afterlife, we are well prepared for it. In a letter to a child with cancer, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, thanatologist and acclaimed author of On Death and Dying, wrote: When we have done all the work we were sent to Earth to do, we are allowed to shed out body, which imprisons our soul like a cocoon encloses the future butterfly. And when the time is right, we can let go of it and we will be free of pain, free of fears and worries—free as a very beautiful butterfly, returning home to God...which is a place where we are never alone, where we continue to grow and to sing and to dance, where we are with those we loved, and where we are surrounded with more love than we can ever imagine. - Death is no more than a separation of the body from the soul, which is immortal and imperishable. And at death, the guardian spirit who is allotted to each man for life, leads him to his proper dwelling place according to the life he has lived on earth. (Socrates) - Look forward without fear to that appointed hour—the last hour of the body, but not of the soul; That day which you may fear as being the end of all things, is the birthday of your eternity. (Seneca) - I am convinced that it is hygenic, if I may use the word, to discover in death a goal toward which one can strive, and that shrinking away from it is something unhealthy and abnormal, which robs the second half of life of its purpose. Only that which is psychic has direct reality. The psychic is no exception to the general rule that the universe can be established only insofar as our psychic organ permits. (Carl Jung) - This life is rather an embryo state; a preparation for living. A man is not completely born until he dies. Why, then, should we grieve that a new child is born among the immortals—a new member added to their happy society. We are all spirits. That bodies should be lent to us while they can afford us pleasure, assisting us in acquiring knowledge, or in doing good for our fellow creatures, is a kind of benevolent act of God. When the body becomes unfit for these purposes and affords us pain instead of pleasure, and instead of an aid becomes an encumbrance, and answers none of the intentions for which it was given, it is equally kind and benevolent that a way is provided by which we get rid of it. Death is that way. (Benjamin Franklin, 1756) - ↑ Dority v. Superior Court (Kottmeier) (1983) 145 Cal. App. 3d 273 [193 Cal. Rptr. 288 Retrieved March 31, 2012. - ↑ Leonard F. DeBano, Daniel G. Neary, and Peter F. Folliott, Fire’s Effects on Ecosystems (Wiley, 1998, ISBN 978-0471163565) - ↑ Jared Diamond, "Up to the Starting Line" in Guns, Germs, and Steel (New York: W. W. Norton, 1999, ISBN 0393317552), 43-44. - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mark Newman, "A Mathematical Model for Mass Extinction" Cornell University (May 20, 1994). Retrieved March 31, 2012. - ↑ David M. Raup, Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck? (New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 1991, ISBN 978-0393309270), 3-6. - ↑ World Conservation Union warning, issues "Red List", Species disappearing at an alarming rate, report says. MSNBC news. Retrieved March 31, 2012. - ↑ E. O. Wilson, The Future of Life. (New York: Vintage, 2003, ISBN 0679768114). See also: Richard Leakey, The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind (Anchor, 1996, ISBN 0385468091). - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Daniel Limmer and Michael F. O'Keefe, Emergency care (Prentice Hall, 2008, ISBN 978-0135005231). - ↑ Bill Hoffmann, Blood Swapping Reanimates Dead Dogs.New York Post (June 28, 2005). Retrieved August 27, 2007. - ↑ World Health Organization (WHO), Tuberculosis Fact sheet N°104 - Global and regional incidence. March 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2012. - ↑ S.J. Olshanksy, Daniel Perry, Richard A. Miller, and Robert N. Butler, "Longevity dividend: What should we be doing to prepare for the unprecedented aging of humanity?" The Scientist 20(2006): 28-36. Retrieved August 25, 2007. - ↑ D.J. Shaffer, The Epidemiology of Teen Suicide: An Examination of Risk Factors Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 49 (1988): 36-41. Retrieved August 25, 2007. - ↑ How can suicide be prevented? World Health Organization (August 20, 2010). Retrieved March 31, 2012. - ↑ Shot at dawn, pardoned 90 years on. BBC News (August 16, 2006). Retrieved March 31, 2012. - Baden, Michael. Unnatural Death: Confessions of a Medical Examiner. Ballantine Books, 1990. ISBN 0804105995 - Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. Free Press, 1997. ISBN 0684832402 - Cook, C. Death in Ancient China: The Tale of One Man's Journey. Brill Publishers, 2006. ISBN 9004153128 - DeBano, Leonard F., Daniel G. Neary, and Peter F. Ffolliott, Fire’s Effects on Ecosystems. Wiley, 1998. ISBN 978-0471163565 - Despelder, Lynne Ann. The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying. McGraw Hill, 2004. ISBN 0072920963 - Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1999. ISBN 0393317552 - Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. Scribner, 1997. ISBN 0684842238 - Leakey, Richard. The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind. Anchor, 1996. ISBN 0385468091 - Limmer, Daniel, and Michael F. O'Keefe. Emergency care. Prentice Hall, 2008. ISBN 978-0135005231 - Maloney, George, A., The Everlasting Now: Meditations on the mysteries of life and death as they touch us in our daily lives. Ave Maria Press, 1980. ISBN 0877932018 - Raup, David M. Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck? New York, NY:W.W. Norton and Company. 1991. ISBN 978-0393309270 - Roach, Mary. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004. ISBN 0393324826 - Wilson, E.O. The Future of Life. New York: Vintage, 2003. ISBN 0679768114 All links retrieved March 28, 2012. - Death Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - The odds of dying from... National Safety Council - Causes of Death - Causes of Death 1916 How the medical profession categorized causes of death a century ago. - George Wald: The Origin of Death A biologist explains life and death in different kinds of organisms in relation to evolution. - Death and Dying Online Informational site about death and dying. - The Great Unknown - Some Views of the Afterlife New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here: Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
This freebie features information pages about these penguin species: Emperor, King, Gentoo, Adelie, Macaroni and Little. The pages are written in an easy-to-read format making it easier for young students to study these birds and write reports. They can read the information page, record key facts on the graphic organizer and then use this information to write a research paper. This product supports the common core standards for reading informational texts and non-fiction writing. Penguin Informative Writing and Craft - This popular penguin research unit is suitable for first and second graders. Research cards, printables, and display patterns/ suggestions are all included in this unit. It is easy to use and fun for both students and teachers!. A GIVEAWAY promotion for Penguins - Research & Informational Writing from Forde's Firsties on TeachersNotebook.com (ends on 12-8-2013)
Hubble Space Telescope astronomers are finding that the old adage “what goes up must come down” even applies to an immense cloud of hydrogen gas outside our Milky Way galaxy. The invisible cloud is plummeting toward our galaxy at nearly 700,000 miles per hour. Though hundreds of enormous, high-velocity gas clouds whiz around the outskirts of our galaxy, this so-called “Smith Cloud” is unique because its trajectory is well known. New Hubble observations suggest it was launched from the outer regions of the galactic disk, around 70 million years ago. The cloud was discovered in the early 1960s by doctoral astronomy student Gail Smith, who detected the radio waves emitted by its hydrogen. The cloud is on a return collision course and is expected to plow into the Milky Way’s disk in about 30 million years. When it does, astronomers believe it will ignite a spectacular burst of star formation, perhaps providing enough gas to make 2 million suns. […]
Suppose that the two observers in the last blog take a second sighting on the 1° parallax object an hour after the first and calculate a new position for it. (To simplify the problem the Earth's rotation has been neglected.) The new position can be used to determine how much the object has moved relative to the Earth in the elapsed time. They will find that it has moved 0.8 Earth radii so its speed relative to the Earth will be 0.80 RE/hour. Once our observers have the geocentric position and velocity relative to the Earth they can make predictions about where it will be at future times and will be in a better position to track the object as it moves across the night sky. Taking into account the Earth's motion relative to the Sun the data from the observations could also be used to determine object's motion under the influence of the local gravitational field. When sighting a distant NEO our two observers could make two sets of observations exactly one Earth rotation apart so that the calculations can be done in the Earth's reference frame. A more practical approach would be to do everything in the geocentric celestial reference frame and adjust the observers positions for the Earth's rotation since photographis observations are done relative to the background stars.
Why did the Czechoslovakia issue arise? - Only half of Czechoslovakia 15 million population was Czech. Over two million of the population was Slovaks, 750,000 Hungarian, 500,000 Ruthenians and 100,000 Poles. The largest ethnic group was the 3.25 million Germans. - Most of the Germans occupied the Sudentenland and by 1938, many Sudenten Germans were demanding greater Home Rule or preferably a union with Germany. The Nazi's pressed encouraged the Sudenten Germans and launched bitter attacks on the Czech government. - Benes refused the Sudenten Germans demand. If all the ethnics groups were given self determination, then they wouldn't be a Czech state left. Therefore Benes was determined to stand firm against Hitler. Build up to the Czechoslovakia crisis March 1938: Chamberlain annouced to the Commons that Britain's vital interest was not to become involved in Czechoslovakai as Britain had no alliance with them and had no military aid to give them. On the 28th March 1938, Chiefs of Staff reported to the Cabinet that there was no way that Britian could help Czechoslovakia. However, Chamberlain believed that Czechoslovakia was an aritifical creation and had sympathy for the Sudenten Germans. Chamberlain believed that the Sudentenland could be returned to Germany through negitiation rather than war. Surprisingly, Hitler didn't have any imminent plans for Czechoslovakia. May 1938: 'May Crisis'- After false reports of German troop movement, the Czech army began to mobolise. Britain and France warned Hitler of making a move against Czechoslovakia. Hitler was outraged at the Czech mobilisation and the fact that the West had won a diplomatic victory which persuaded him towards a military confrontation with Czechoslovakia. June 1938: German pressed launched a campaign against Czechoslovakia, claiming that the Sudenten Germans were being prosecuted. Daladier and Bonnet, in the midst of economic and political crisis, who more than happy for Britain to undertake the iniative as it meant that Britain was commiting itself to Eastern Europe and meant that France was able to wiggle out of its commitment with Czechoslovakia. Build up to the Czechoslovakia crisis (Continuatio June 1938: Runciman Mission was conducted until September. Britain proposed that a neutral mediator should be sent to try and reduce the crisis. Czechoslovakia accepted and Lord Runciman led the mission in August, a veteran Liberal politician travelled to Czechoslovakia and met with the various parties. Neither the Czechs nor the Sudenten Germans were willing to compromise and the mission achieved very little. September 1938: Britain intelligent reported that Germany was planning a war on Czechoslovakia in early autumn. Britain was divided. Some, like Churchill believed in supporting Czechoslovakia. Many, like Chamberlain, favoured the idea of self determination for the Sudenten Germans and thought that war should be averted at all cost. Additionaly, the Dominions were hostile about the idea of going to war over Czechoslovkia. Chamberlain realised the problem of taking a divided country into war and empire into war. Hitler stepped up the pressure as he knew that Czechoslovakia wouldn't cede Sudetenland without German pressure. At the Nuremberg rallies, Hitler criticized the Czech government, demanded self determination for the Sudenten Germans and said that they wouldn't be defenceless nor adandon. As a result, martial law was declared in Czechoslovakia. Several Germans were killed and thousands fled to German with tales of brutal oppression. - This was Chamberlain plan to fly to Germany to meet Hitler and ask what his demands really were. However this act would commit Britain to dealing with the Czech settlement. - It was recived enthusiatically in the Commons and many Labour MP's believed to be it was stateman's like gesture. - Chamberlain wrote a brief letter to Hitler and Hitler accepted. - Hitler may have been flattered or uneasy at the course of the events as no one knew what would happen if war did occur. Meeting at Berchtesgarden (15th September 1938) - Chamberlian accepted Hitler's demand that any area within Czechoslovakia comprised with over 50% of Germans would be incorporated into Germany. - In return, Hitler promised to not attack Czechoslovakia until Chamberlain had consulted with France and the Czech. - Hitler assumed that the Czechs would never cede the Sudenten land and Britain would wash their hands of the situation which delighted Hitler. - The Cabinet and the French were won over easily. - The Czechoslovakia was angry at the situation, but without the backing of Britain and France, they had to accept the loss of the Sudentenland. - However, Chamberlain did agree to a guarantee of what remained of Czechoslovakia in the event of it being threatened in the future by Germnay. Meeting at Bad Godesberg (22nd September 1938) - When Chamberlain met with Hitler again, he had new demands as he belived the ones before were insufficent. Hitlers hadn't anticipated that the Czechoslovakia would have given in so easily. - He wanted the claims of Hungary and Poland to be dealt with. Wanted to protect the Sudenten Germans so demanded the right to occupy the Sudentenland by no later than the 1st October 1938. - Chamberlain was still in favour of accepting the terms, but the Cabinet didn't. France didn't want to give in to Hitler and wanted to honour their commitment. Czechs found it unacceptable. Chamberlain sent an personal envoy, Horace Wilson to speak to Hitler, but it failed. - Both Britian and France began to mobilise. Trenches were built in London Park as air raid precautions and 38 million gas masks were distributed as the threat of war became imminent. - 27th September 1938- British ambassador asked Mussolini to persuade Hitler to a conference. Mussolinin agreed, but he wasn't sure whether it would be effective. However, Hitler accepted Mussolinin idea of a conference between Britian, France, Germany and Italy to be held at Munich to deal with the Sudenten Question. Munich Conference (29th-30th September 1938) - Terms: The Sudenten Germans would be given self-determination. Germans would occupy the Sudentenland in five stages over 10 days rather than one day. The precise border of the new Czech state would be determined by Britain, France, Germany and Italy. Before returning to London, Hitler and Chamberlain signed a joint decleration. Things to Consider: - Benes, the Czech Prime Minister, wasn't invited to the meeting. - A joint decleration between Hitler and Chamberlain, - When the Munich Conference was annouced in the Commons, speeches of congratulations and everyone wanted to shake Chamberlain hand. Attlee and Sinclair blessed Chamberlains mission of the prospect of imminent war had been avoided and Hitler had backdown. - Only Gallagher, the single Communist MP spoke against Chamberlain going to Munich. Aftermath of the Munich Conference Criticism of Chamberlain - Chamberlain was not convicned that Munich was going to preserve peace and knew Hitler would not be content with the gains he had made. However, he was confident he could deal with the difficult decisions which laid ahead and continued to work for peace. - Churchill described it as a 'total and unmitigated disaster'/ - Labour MP's criticised Chamberlain from not getting better terms. - Some Conservative were uneasy by the fact that Hitlers bullying tactic had worked. Duff Cooper, the First Lord of Admirality resigned and 30 Conservative MP's abstained rather than support the motion by which the Commons approved of the policy. - Daily worker, Reynold News, Manchester Guardian and Daily Herald were critical. Chamberlain suffered no run of by-election disasters in 1938 as war had been adverted and peace preserved. Aftermath of the Munich Conference Improved relations with Germany - Britain still held onto the prospect of a return of some of the German colonies. There were Anglo-German talks on industry, finance and tradelinks. Britain welcomes and encouraged improvement in relations between Germany and France. - However Hitler made a number of Anti-British responses. German press made attacks on Britain. From the 9th-10th November, after a Jew killed a German diplomat in Paris, the night of Kristallnacht occured where Jewish shops and businesses were attacked throughout Germany. This appalled the British public. Improved relations with Mussolini - In November, Chamberlain proposed an Anglo-Italian agreement which was accepted by the Commons. - Jan 1939, Chamberlain and Halifax met Mussolini. Chamberlain was pleased by the reception he recieved by the Italian crowd and representing a good chance of detaching Mussolini from Hitler. Success of Munich Conference - War had been avoided. - From the position of military weakness, Britain had achieved its aim. Britain had no air defences and little radar. - Germany had legitimate grievances to deal with. - Public Opinion. Chamberlain 'Peace in Our Time'. Roosevelt 'Good Man'. - Chamberlain felt confident that he could handle what laid ahead. - British dominions would not go to war over Czechoslovakia. - Hitler had to back down and not go to war. He was annoyed that he didn't get his military triumph. He was confident that he could have beaten Czechoslovakia and regretted negiotiating at Munich. - British public was far from united in the determination to fight. - Czech army was weak and defenceless. The German and the Slovaks were more likely to fight against the Czechs rather than with. Most of the defences were with in the Sudentenland, but were not complete. Germany could have overrun them in 10 days and French at the Magniot Line couldn't help. - Russia may have not been able to help. Romania and Poland didn't want Soveit troops on their territory so hard to get direct help to Czechoslovakia. Failure of the Munich Conference - Labour MP's criticised him from not getting better terms. - Sacrificed Czechoslovakia which was a friend. - Allowed Hitler's bullying tactic to work. - Czechoslovakia was now indefensible and lost 70% of its heavy industry. - Churchill believed it was better to go to war in 1938 rather than in 1939 as Germany was less powerful as they lacked ammunition and fuel. Luftwaffe not strong enough to do air attacks. The French still had the largest army in Europe and was still well equipped. - Many German diplomats and generals were worried at the prosect of war. - Slovakia was now demanding their own independence.
This week we learned about inputting images by declaring the image data type and manipulating the image pixels by calling loadPixels. For this example I loop through all the pixels but skip every n pixels along the y- axis, I also create a sort of shimmer effect by moving the images pixels as small rectangles which move back and forth. I used two colourful pattern images which created a nice effect in the background. Another important thing we learned was calculating the 1D location from a 2D grid by knowing that the LOCATION = X + Y*WIDTH. We went over using mouse functions to load an image on top of the original image when a button is pressed, it was also useful to note that its possible to assign this function to a key on the keyboard. We also looked at drawing text to the screen in which this example was developed further using strings to not only cycle through the letters of the word ‘PROCESSING’ but to also run the correct time and date and draw it to the screen. Another feature added was if the mouse goes to the left side of the screen the text turns red. This lesson was useful to learn how I can not only create patterns using shapes and rotating them but also distorting images to create new patterns. The time feature is also good and could be used in the installation as a possible stop watch or time keeper in a bigger experiment.
Myelodysplastic syndromes: Introduction Myelodysplastic syndromes include a number of serious, chronic diseases that affect the blood and the bone marrow and result in the formation of abnormal blood cells. Types of myelodysplastic syndrome include myelodysplastic syndrome associated with an isolated del(5q) chromosome abnormality, unclassified myelodysplastic syndrome, and a variety of refractory anemias and refractory cytopenias. Myelodysplastic syndromes affect the body's process of developing and growing normal blood cells. Blood cells begin in the bone marrow, which is specialized spongy tissue found inside some bones. The bone marrow normally produces healthy blood stem cells. Blood stem cells are non-specific young cells that develop into many different types of blood cells over time. These include various types of white blood cells, which fight disease and infection, and red blood cells, which carry oxygen and other important nutrients to the cells of the body. These also include platelets, which are vital to normal clotting. In myelodysplastic anemia these blood stem cells do not develop into normal versions of mature blood cells, and they either die while still in the bone marrow or soon after release into the bloodstream. Dead cells crowd out the development of healthy blood cells in the bone marrow and eventually lead to an inadequate number of healthy blood cells. This condition is called cytopenia. This process results in various symptoms that can vary between individuals and the type of blood cells that are affected. In the early stages of myelodysplastic syndromes, there may be no symptoms. As the specific disease progresses, symptoms may include easy bruising or bleeding, shortness of breath, frequent infections, and fatigue. For more information on symptoms, refer to symptoms of myelodysplastic syndromes. Myelodysplastic syndromes can lead to serious, even life-threatening complications, such as uncontrolled hemorrhage, anemia, and recurrent infections. People with myelodysplastic syndromes also have an increased risk of developing leukemia, a kind of cancer that affects the blood cells. People who have had chemotherapy and radiation therapy are at risk for developing a myelodysplastic syndrome, because these treatments can affect the development of healthy blood cells. Other people with an increased risk for developing the disease include being male, being older than 60 years, and exposure to certain toxins, including tobacco smoke, solvents, pesticides, and heavy metals, such as mercury and lead. Making a diagnosis of a myelodysplastic syndrome begins with taking a thorough personal and family medical history, including symptoms, and completing a physical examination. It also includes performing a blood test called a complete blood count (CBC), which measures the numbers of the different types of blood cells in the body. Other diagnostic tests include a peripheral blood smear, a blood test that detects abnormal changes in blood cells. A bone marrow biopsy tales a sample of bone marrow and checks it for abnormal cells. A cytogenetic analysis looks at blood or bone marrow for chromosomal changes indicating myelodysplastic syndrome. A diagnosis of a myelodysplastic syndrome can easily be delayed because some symptoms, such as fatigue and weakness may be associated with less serious conditions, such as aging. For information on misdiagnosis, refer to misdiagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes. There is no cure for myelodysplastic syndromes, and the prognosis depends on various factors, including the specific cause and type of blood cells affected. Treatment is aimed at minimizing symptoms and preventing and treating complications. This may involve a combination of medications, blood transfusions, and a bone marrow stem cell transplant. For more information on treatment, refer to treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes. ...more » Myelodysplastic syndromes: A group of syndromes characterized by a disruption in the production of blood cells. Often the bone marrow increases production of various blood cells but because many of them are defective, they are destroyed before the reach the blood stream. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Myelodysplastic syndromes is available below. Myelodysplastic syndromes: Symptoms The symptoms of myelodysplastic syndromes result from the production of abnormal blood cells. When the body doesn't have enough normal blood cells, such processes as oxygen delivery to cells, fighting infections, and the clotting of blood are seriously affected. This process results in symptoms that can vary between individuals and the type of blood cells that ...more symptoms » Myelodysplastic syndromes: Treatments Myelodysplastic syndromes are not curable, but they can be treated in many people, allowing them to live productive lives. The goal of treatment is to reduce symptoms, such as fatigue and shortness of breath, and to prevent and promptly treat complications, such as anemia, uncontrolled hemorrhage, and serious recurrent infections. To ...more treatments » Myelodysplastic syndromes: Misdiagnosis Because there frequently are no symptoms of myelodysplastic syndromes in the early phases of the diseases, people may be unaware that something is wrong. This can result in a delay in seeking medical care and a diagnosis. In addition, symptoms, such as fatigue and weakness may be mistaken by older people as a normal part of the aging process, further delaying a diagnosis. In ...more misdiagnosis » Symptoms of Myelodysplastic syndromes See full list of 24 symptoms of Myelodysplastic syndromes Treatments for Myelodysplastic syndromes - Supportive treatments - Blood transfusion for symptomatic anaemia - Platelet transfusion for thrombocytopenia associated with bleeding - Aggressive management of infections - Erythropoietin - for anaemia - more treatments...» Read more about treatments for Myelodysplastic syndromes Home Diagnostic Testing Home medical testing related to Myelodysplastic syndromes: - Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing - Fatigue: Related Home Tests: Wrongly Diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndromes? Myelodysplastic syndromes: Related Patient Stories Myelodysplastic syndromes: Deaths Read more about Deaths and Myelodysplastic syndromes. Myelodysplastic syndromes: Complications Review possible medical complications related to Myelodysplastic syndromes: Causes of Myelodysplastic syndromes Read more about causes of Myelodysplastic syndromes. More information about causes of Myelodysplastic syndromes: Myelodysplastic syndromes: Undiagnosed Conditions Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories: Misdiagnosis and Myelodysplastic syndromes Unnecessary hysterectomies due to undiagnosed bleeding disorder in women: The bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand's disease is quite common in women, but often fails to be...read more » Spitz nevi misdiagnosed as dangerous melanoma skin cancer: One possible misdiagnosis to consider in lieu of melanoma is spitz nevi. See melanoma and spitz nevi....read more » Read more about Misdiagnosis and Myelodysplastic syndromes Myelodysplastic syndromes: Research Doctors & Specialists Research related physicians and medical specialists: Other doctor, physician and specialist research services: Hospitals & Clinics: Myelodysplastic syndromes Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Myelodysplastic syndromes: Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Myelodysplastic syndromes, on hospital performance and surgical care quality: Myelodysplastic syndromes: Rare Types Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories: Evidence Based Medicine Research for Myelodysplastic syndromes Medical research articles related to Myelodysplastic syndromes include: Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database Myelodysplastic syndromes: Animations More Myelodysplastic syndromes animations & videos Prognosis for Myelodysplastic syndromes More about prognosis of Myelodysplastic syndromes Research about Myelodysplastic syndromes Visit our research pages for current research about Myelodysplastic syndromes treatments. Clinical Trials for Myelodysplastic syndromes The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers. Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Myelodysplastic syndromes include: See full list of 1210 Clinical Trials for Myelodysplastic syndromes Statistics for Myelodysplastic syndromes Myelodysplastic syndromes: Broader Related Topics Types of Myelodysplastic syndromes Myelodysplastic syndromes Message Boards Related forums and medical stories: User Interactive Forums Read about other experiences, ask a question about Myelodysplastic syndromes, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards: Definitions of Myelodysplastic syndromes: A myelodysplastic syndrome characterized mainly by dysplasia of the erythroid series. Refractory anemia is uncommon. It is primarily a disease of older adults. The median survival exceeds 5 years. (WHO, 2001) -- 2003 - (Source - Diseases Database) Myelodysplastic syndromes is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Myelodysplastic syndromes, or a subtype of Myelodysplastic syndromes, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population. Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Myelodysplastic syndromes as a "rare disease". Source - Orphanet Contents for Myelodysplastic syndromes: User Surveys and Discussion Forums
Volatile liquids refer to those liquids that are easily vaporized. Vaporization is the process by which a liquid is converted into its gaseous form. During the conversion, the molecules of the liquid start to move faster, bouncing of each other at a higher rate with higher energies. This increases the pressure of the system as pressure is related to the force and frequency the molecules hit the container. Eventually, the pressure build up (vapor pressure) and the liquid will start to transform into a gas. Saying that a liquid is volatile means it has a higher vapor pressure such that it only needs to build up a lower pressure in order to be converted into the gaseous phase. Now, this entire process is endothermic. In order for the molecules to move faster, or kinetic energy to be higher, the temperature must first be raised -- and this is caused by the system absorbing heat from the surroundings. In general, any vaporization process is endothermic -- absorbs heat. An example of a volatile is the common hand alcohol. It feels cold when rubbed in your skin, because it absorbs heat from your body as it is being converted from the liquid phase to the gas phase.
What is Doppler Effect? The sound of a siren on an emergency vehicle changes as it passes you: it shifts from higher to lower pitch. As the vehicle moves toward you, the sound waves are pushed together. As the vehicle moves past you, the waves are spread apart. Though redshift involves light instead of sound, a similar principle operates in both situations. Expansion of the Universe After discovering that there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way, Edwin Hubble went on to measure the distance to hundreds of other galaxies. His data would eventually show how the universe is changing, and would even yield clues as to how the universe formed. If you look at a star through a prism, you will see a spectrum, or a range of colors through the rainbow. The spectrum will have specific dark bands where elements in the star absorb light of certain energies. By examining the arrangement of these dark absorption lines, astronomers can determine the composition of elements that make up a distant star. In fact, the element helium was first discovered in our Sun — not on Earth — by analyzing the absorption lines in the spectrum of the Sun. While studying the spectrum of light from distant galaxies, astronomers noticed something strange. The dark lines in the spectrum were in the patterns they expected, but they were shifted toward the red end of the spectrum, as shown in . This shift of absorption bands toward the red end of the spectrum is known as Redshift is a shift in absorption bands toward the red end of the spectrum. What could make the absorption bands of a star shift toward the red? Redshift occurs when the light source is moving away from the observer or when the space between the observer and the source is stretched. What does it mean that stars and galaxies are redshifted? When astronomers see redshift in the light from a galaxy, they know that the galaxy is moving away from Earth. If galaxies were moving randomly, would some be redshifted but others be blueshifted? Of course. Since almost every galaxy in the universe has a redshift, almost every galaxy is moving away from Earth. An animation of Doppler Effect: The Expanding Universe Edwin Hubble combined his measurements of the distances to galaxies with other astronomers’ measurements of redshift. From this data, he noticed a relationship, which is now called Hubble’s Law: the farther away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from us. What could this mean about the universe? It means that the universe is expanding. shows a simplified diagram of the expansion of the universe. One way to picture this is to imagine a balloon covered with tiny dots to represent the galaxies. When you inflate the balloon, the dots slowly move away from each other because the rubber stretches in the space between them. If you were standing on one of the dots, you would see the other dots moving away from you. Also, the dots farther away from you on the balloon would move away faster than dots nearby. In this diagram of the expansion of the universe over time, the distance between galaxies gets bigger over time, although the size of each galaxy stays the same. An inflating balloon is only a rough analogy to the expanding universe for several reasons. One important reason is that the surface of a balloon has only two dimensions, while space has three dimensions. But space itself is stretching out between galaxies, just as the rubber stretches when a balloon is inflated. This stretching of space, which increases the distance between galaxies, is what causes the expansion of the universe. An animation of an expanding universe is shown here: One other difference between the universe and a balloon involves the actual size of the galaxies. On a balloon, the dots will become larger in size as you inflate it. In the universe, the galaxies stay the same size; only the space between the galaxies increases. Almost every galaxy is moving away from us. The spectrum from stars is shifted toward the red; this is known as red-shift and is evidence that the universe is expanding. Hubble's Law states that the farther away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from us. Use this resource to answer the questions that follow. What is the advantage of a space telescope over a ground-based telescope? What does dark energy do? What is the Hubble Deep Field? What are Cephied variables? What are the Cephieds used for? What happens to light as it reaches us? What is the Doppler effect? What is red shift? What is Hubble's law? What causes red shift in galaxies moving away from us? How is red shift measured? What is the successor for the Hubble Space Telescope? What will it allow scientists to do? How did Hubble determine that the universe is expanding? How do astronomers determine the composition of distant stars? What is the significance of the idea that the universe is expanding?
Create a scatter plot using the form below. All you have to do is type your X and Y data. Optionally, you can add a title a name to the axes. - Looking for math or statistics homework help? Our friends at My Geeky Tutor can definitely help. They are one of the most reliable and most referred statistics homework help service on the net. More about scatterplots: Scatterplots are bivariate graphical devices. The term "bivariate" means that it is constructed to analyze the type of association between to two interval variables $X$ and $Y$. The data need to come in the form of ordered pairs $(X_i, Y_i)$, and those pairs are plotted in a set of cartesian axes. Typically, a scatterplot is used to assess whether or not the variables $X$ and $Y$ have a linear association, but there could be other types of non-linear associations (quadratic, exponential, etc.). The existence of a linear association is assess by establishing how tightly the data are around a straight line. Data pairs $(X_i, Y_i)$ that are loosely clustered around a straight line have a weak or non-existing linear association, whereas data pairs $(X_i, Y_i)$ that are tightly clustered around a straight line have a strong linear association. A numerical (quantitative) way of assessing the degree of linear association for a set of data pairs is by calculating the correlation coefficient. In case you have any suggestion, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Abstract Algebra/Linear Algebra The reader is expected to have some familiarity with linear algebra. For example, statements such as - Given vector spaces and with bases and and dimensions and , respectively, a linear map corresponds to a unique matrix, dependent on the particular choice of basis. should be familiar. It is impossible to give a summary of the relevant topics of linear algebra in one section, so the reader is advised to take a look at the linear algebra book. In any case, the core of linear algebra is the study of linear functions, that is, functions with the property , where greek letters are scalars and roman letters are vectors. The core of the theory of finitely generated vector spaces is the following: Every finite-dimensional vector space is isomorphic to for some field and some , called the dimension of . Specifying such an isomorphism is equivalent to choosing a basis for . Thus, any linear map between vector spaces with dimensions and and given bases and induces a unique linear map . These maps are presicely the matrices, and the matrix in question is called the matrix representation of relative to the bases . Remark: The idea of identifying a basis of a vector space with an isomorphism to may be new to the reader, but the basic principle is the same.
Today's opening exercise helps to solidify knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem and its connection to the equation of a circle. The first two problems in Old and New Knowledge of Circles involve a radius of 10, and therefore the 6-8-10 triple. In the previous lesson, students looked at a circle with radius 5, so this opening activity extends from that, and students should be able to find all 12 lattice points. In the next problem, we see that for r = 4 there are only four lattice points, because there is no triple with hypotenuse = 4. I like to list perfect squares on the board if students are having trouble understanding this. I ask them to find two perfect squares that add up to 16 (or whatever value of r2). For #4, students see that it’s possible to have lattice points on a circle without integer radius, because r2 can be the sum of two perfect squares without being a perfect square itself. Again, list the perfect squares less than r2 on the board if students need help. This circle has 8 lattice points. Slide #3 is a review slide that may or may not be necessary. I typically assign the Challenge Problem on Slide #4 as something for students to investigate on their own time. I may also post it on a wall as a problem of the week. Teacher's Note: You don’t really want me to answer this question for you, do you? Here’s a hint: there are two solutions with radius less than 10. Interactive Discussion: What is Pi? The multiple choice question on slide #5 activates student knowledge of circumference, and gives me a chance to see which students go straight for the calculator. The correct answer is 8π (choice D), and to the nearest thousandth the value of that is 25.133 (choice C). The key here is to show that choice C is not “wrong”, but it’s also not as precise as it could be. It’s best when a student asks what would happen if this question were to appear on a test. My answer is that D would be the right answer, but that I would never try to trick you like this. More specifically, if the question asked for the exact value, then D would be the right choice, but then if it says to round to a certain place, then another choice would be the right answer. This attention to wording comes up in some Delta Math modules in which students are practicing with non-integer solutions to Pythagorean Theorem problems. Slide #6 prompts students to write their current definitions for π on post-it notes, then to stick these to a poster (see definingPi). Over the next few days, students will learn more about what π is and how it was derived (see the Defining Pi Project). It’s always amazing to me how many students feel they’ve never really learned what π actually is, and how satisfied they are when they explore it and “finally get it.” Circumference and Area Notes Next, as we continue to work through the presentation I will have students copy and complete the chart on Slide 7 (radius, diameter, circumference and area). Extending from the discussion of the previous two slides, my students copy and complete this chart to review circumference and area. I say to my students, "As per our earlier discussion, you should write numbers in terms of pi and radical, rather than decimals.” I want them to recognize that while this chart is bread and butter for them, there is something knew to think about with respect to writing precise answers. Students should feel like this is simple: just take the diameter and slap a π next to it to get the circumference, and they’ll be happy to notice that the r2 value shows up in each Area, even if the radius was some unsimplified radical like √19. Formalize a Definition for pi by comparing it to the trig ratios I didn’t originally run this part of the lesson on Powerpoint slides, but I’ve created some to help guide a discussion. I prefer to run this conversation by having students suggest and draw the equilateral triangle, the square, and the circle, then to discuss the implications of each. The key idea is that the square and equilateral triangle give us a chance to review the two special right triangles, and to reiterate that some ratios are always the same. Because these two shapes are special, there are some especially “nice” trig ratios that work out. The general rectangle then extends the review and allows us to remember that for any triangle, we can know the ratios of its sides based on its angles. Here, I write out the words sine = opposite/hypotenuse next to a diagram. Then when it comes to circles, we have another shape that is “always similar.” Just like similarity in triangles leads to the trig ratios, similarity in circles gives us pi. Next to the sine example, I write π = circumference/diameter, and students are thrilled when they think of π this way. Slide #18 reiterates this connection of pi to the trig ratios. Slide #17 guides us back to the chart from slide #7, we see that this ratio holds very nicely. (Of course, this is because we use the definition of π in the circumference formula, but it’s still satisfying to see the diameter cancel out, leaving π behind. Completing the Square: An Application I bring this topic to the attention of the class by saying something like, "So now you know that by looking at an equation you can know where a circle is and its radius. And once you know the radius, you also know diameter, area, and perimeter...so let’s practice!" This sets the stage for some more examples, but rather than simply practice today’s lesson will take one more twist as we move into a review of Completing the Square! I say to students, "Now that you appreciate the standard form of a circle, we should think about what we’d do it the equation were not yet in that form." I may give them this resource as a handout, but I prefer just to project it on the screen and allow students to make the best possible notes. This Circles Check In Quiz touches on all parts of today’s lesson. It helps me to assess how students are doing with all the ideas covered today. By seeing this concise three-part prompt, students get the idea that even though today’s lesson moved quickly from idea to idea, everything is coming together.
1. Define the field of victimology. 2. In what sense is the criminal justice system “offense-focused” and “offender-driven”? 3. What is the process of “victim-blaming”? Why is this a common psychological reaction to victimization in our culture? 4. What is “secondary victimization”? Give examples where this might take place within the criminal justice system. 5. What are “victims’ rights” in the criminal justice process? Why are these important to victims? How do victims’ rights address the problem of secondary victimization? 6. How do victims’ rights differ from offenders rights for due process? Are victims’ and offenders’ rights in competition with one another? Why or why not? 7. What are the symptoms of PTSD? How can the criminal justice system respond effectively to the needs of victims with PTSD? 8. What is a “survivors mission”? Why is such a mission important for victims? 9. Define retributive justice. What are the three questions Howard Zehr believes are central to retributive justice? 10. Define restorative justice. What are the three questions Howard Zehr believes are central to restorative justice? 11. Compare the role of the victim in restorative justice and retributive justice.
Determining the Electron Structure The classical electron radius Before going further some points need to be made about something called the classical electron radius. This is a calculated radius based on an assumption that the mass-energy potential of an electron is fully contained within a certain radius . It has a value of 2.82x10-15 m. Falling through the Earth Imagine you bored a hole through the Earth straight down through its centre and out the other side. Next you dropped a stone at the entrance. The stone would fall rapidly at first, gaining in speed until it reached terminal velocity. It would then continue toward the Earths centre and past it. Once beyond the mid-point it would decelerate as it neared the other side. The stone would then oscillate several times until it came to rest at the Earths centre. Lets assume instead that there was no air and the stone was able to move all the way from one side of the Earth to the other and back again, much like a pendulum. What would be its precise motion of oscillation, and how long would it take for a full swing? Where M is mass of Earth, m is mass of an object (the stone in this case) and r is distance from the centre. Below the surface the force follows a linear function: Where R is the radius of the Earth. If we were to plot this it would show (setting, G=M=m=R = 1, and including force direction): A simple spring oscillator To understand what this means well look at a simple spring oscillator. Above we see an object with mass m attached to a spring. The spring has a stiffness of K meaning that, e.g. if K was 5 N/m then every 1 metre of stretch would require 5 Newtons of force. Assuming we are in a zero-gravity environment and the mass could move below the baseline, what function would describe the position of the object with respect to time? Where x(t) is the height of the object at any time t and x(t) is its double derivative i.e. its Where A is the initial height and we assume the object to be initially motionless. In other words, the object oscillates as a pure sine wave. The frequency of oscillation will be: And the period of oscillation will be the reciprocal: T=1/f. Inserting values for G, M and R, and taking the reciprocal we get a period of 5060 seconds, or 1 hour 24 minutes. Thus it will take just under one and a half hours for the stone to return to its starting point. Falling through an electron What does any of this have to do with electron-positron interactions? Well, gravity is a good analogy to the electric force because it varies in inverse proportion to distance. If we think of an electron as spherical and assume that its charge is uniformly distributed then its force function (exerted on a positron) would be very similar to Earths gravitational field, namely: Where k is Coulombs constant, e is an electrons charge and r is distance from centre. Inside the electron the force would follow a linear function: Where R is the electrons radius. If the positron were to oscillate only within the electron this would produce a sine-wave motion. Does it oscillate within the electron? The below chart shows a simulation of the event: In this diagram a positron (red line) falls from a height equal to 10 electron radii. As can be seen the VDCL (Velocity Dependent Coulombs Law) causes much dampening during the initial fall, causing the oscillations to lie fully within the electron (blue lines). Thus we can calculate the motion of oscillation based on the forces within the electron and ignore the force function outside it. Meaning that frequency of oscillation will be: Solving the two body problem At this point it would be tempting to plug values in and calculate a value of R that corresponded to the observed frequency. However theres something else that needs to be taken into account; namely that is we are not dealing with a stone falling through the Earth. Rather, we are dealing with two earths falling through each other, or in this case, an electron and positron oscillating through each other. Determining the force function for two spheres is going to be more complicated. As it happens, the force function will be same as the normal Coulomb force when the spheres are outside each other, i.e. not overlapping. When they are overlapping the function becomes very complex but heres what it looks like: The x-axis represents the distance from the mid-point of the two spheres because this is the point that the spheres will be mirrored on. As can be seen the force function is rounder than the single sphere situation and is not a straight line. Here is a comparison between the two functions: The blue line is the two-sphere force function, red is the single sphere situation (shown for comparison), and the green dotted line represents half the gradient of the red line. As can be seen the force function for when the spheres overlap closely approximates half the strength of the single sphere situation. Thus we can relate this back to our simple spring oscillator and find that: Meaning that frequency of oscillation will be: We know that this frequency must correspond to the one calculated from quantum mechanical and relativistic energy equations, namely: Where h is Plancks constant. Next we match these two frequencies together: Isolating the radius term we get: Substituting the standard values for e, h, k and c, we find that radius of an electron R comes to: 5.94x10-14 m. This is disappointing. We wanted a radius at least a hundred or so times smaller than a proton. Instead we calculate one fifty times larger. Its hard to believe that this number reflects the true electron radius. Is the frequency correct? The first possibility is a question of frequency. The frequency of gamma radiation arising from electron-positron annihilation is quoted as 1.24x1020 Hz. But this is not a measurement, only a calculation based on the physical constants; namely frequency = mc2/h. It is not possible to measure frequencies this high, e.g. by electronic counting, because we have no instrument that can keep up with the oscillation rate. A radio antenna comparison Some interesting analogies can be drawn between the high frequencies of gamma rays and the low frequencies of radio transmission. We know that a radio receivers antenna is most effective when its length matches half the wavelength of the transmission frequency. For example a Wi-Fi wireless computer network operating on 2.4 GHz uses antennas around 6 cm in length because the wavelength of that frequency is 12.5 Energy/frequency conversion formula When determining the gamma ray frequency, we did so from its energy using the formula E=hf; where E is energy, f is frequency and h is Plancks constant. This formula is used to calculate the energy of a photon based on frequency, especially photons created when electrons transit between atomic shells. So what is the answer? Unfortunately this lack of information regarding frequency has left us unable to determine the size of an electron. However jumping ahead to the information given in chapters on particle physics and nucleon structure it should be possible to estimate an electrons diameter based on a protons. Without giving away the story in advance, based on this I estimate the radius of an electron to be approximately 10-16 metres. The fixed-frequency radiation emitted during electron-positron annihilation indicates that an electron has a spherical structure and its charge is uniformly distributed within. Copyright © 2010 Bernard Burchell, all rights reserved.
How do I remember all this stuff? There are many ways to help yourself learn and remember material.† Some of the best include: ∑ Think of a picture in your head that includes the things you want to remember ∑ Make up a song or rhyme (thatís how you learned the alphabet) ∑ Write, draw or say aloud; use senses other than just silent reading ∑ Repeat, repeat, repeat ∑ Chunking (break up into small pieces, like telephone numbers ∑ Test yourself, or get someone to ask you questions ∑ Flash Cards! ∑ Make a PowerPoint for yourself ∑ Teach the material to someone else!
Understanding How Your Eyes Work Your eye works in a similar way as a camera. When you look at an object, light reflected from the object enters the eyes through the pupil and is focused through the optical components within the eye. The front of the eye is made of the cornea, iris, pupil and lens, and they focus the image onto the retina. The retina is the light sensitive membrane that covers the back of the eye. This membrane consists of millions of nerve cells which gather together behind the eye to form a large nerve called the optic nerve. When the light enters the eye, it is focused to a pinpoint on the macula, a small area in the center of the retina at the back of the eye. The macula is responsible for central detailed vision, allowing you to see fine detail and color, read and recognize faces. When light stimulates the nerve cells in the retina, messages are sent along the optic nerve to the brain. The optic nerves from the two eyes join inside the brain. The brain uses information from each optic nerve to combine the vision from the two eyes allowing you to see one image. To see clearly, the cornea and the lens must bend (refract) light rays so they focus on the retina. If the light rays don’t properly focus on the retina, the image you see will be blurry. When this happens, it is called a refractive error. Refractive errors are caused by an imperfectly shaped eyeball, cornea or lens — or in the case of presbyopia, a lens that can’t change shape enough to focus on close objects — and are of these basic types: - Myopia is another word for nearsightedness, where only nearby objects are clear. - Hyperopia is another word for farsightedness, where only objects far away are clear. - Astigmatism is when images are blurred, regardless of whether they are near or far. - Presbyopia is a common condition that typically develops between ages 40 and 50 and makes it more difficult to see very close. It can be corrected with bifocals or reading glasses, but usually can’t be corrected by LASIK or some other refractive surgery. Glasses, contact lenses and refractive surgery such as LASIK try to reduce these errors by making light rays focus on the retina. To learn more about how your eyes work, contact Pennachio Eye at 352-227-1999 or pennachioold.wpengine.com to schedule a vision exam.
Info for Parents and Teachers The Cool Spot was created for kids 11-13 years old by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The NIAAA is the lead U.S. agency supporting research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of alcohol problems. It is a component of the National Institutes of Health, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The content of The Cool Spot is based on a curriculum for grades 6-8 developed by the University of Michigan. The curriculum was created for the Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study (AMPS), a large-scale project supported by NIAAA. One goal of AMPS was to give young teens a clearer picture about alcohol use among their peers. Teens tend to overestimate how much kids their age really drink. When they learn more accurate information, some of the pressure to drink can subside. Other goals of AMPS were to help kids learn skills to resist pressure to drink and to give them reasons not to drink. The Cool Spot incorporates AMPS goals in these and other features: - Reality Check quizzes kids about how much drinking is really going on in the U.S. The answers, which often surprise kids and adults alike, are based on results of the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. - Deep Digging is a simple but powerful page that depicts why using alcohol as a solution to problems, or a way of trying to cope, is trouble. - Peer Pressure Bag of Tricks presents animated scenes that invite kids to identify some common peer pressure “tricks.” It also lets kids know that spotting these tricks is the first step to resisting them. - Know your No’s is an activity that introduces kids to a variety of ways to say no, and helps them learn which one is the most effective. The Cool Spot is compliant with the requirements outlined in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) which limits the collection of personal information of children under the age of 13, as well as Section 508, which requires Federal agency web sites to be accessible to people with disabilities. For more information on these requirements please visit The Cool Spot welcomes your suggestions, comments and concerns about privacy issues. Please contact us at NIAAA Webmaster or write to: The Cool Spot National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 5635 Fishers Lane, Room 3098, MSC 9304 Bethesda, MD 20892-9304
This ancient quasar may be the remains of the first-gen star that started us all Ah, so now we know who to blame for all of this Scientists taking a look at the second-most distant observed quasar believe it's actually the remnants of one of the universe's earliest stars – the so-called Population III stars that seeded the early universe with material that eventually formed life. Working with the National Science Foundation's Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, the team found evidence using a new method of estimating the various elements detected in near-infrared spectrographs. The trace gases surrounding quasar ULAS J1342+0928 have an odd magnesium-to-iron ratio, the team said, that could only be the result of one of the universe's earliest stars going supernova, according to current theory. If the methodology is correct, the team appears to have discovered a better way to search for distant first-generation stars and their remnants, as well as providing clues that could help "explain how matter in the universe evolved into what it is today, including humans," the NSF said. In the beginning, there was no heavy metal According to the Big Bang Theory of cosmology, there wasn't much around in the moments after the universe came into being – only hydrogen, helium and lithium emerged in the immediate aftermath of the origin of everything. Elements heavier than helium probably weren't created until stars formed around 100 million years after the Big Bang. Then some more waiting, as it wasn't until those stars collapsed and went supernova that the heavy elements created in their cores were ejected into the void to further complicate the universe. Thus, the earliest stars – known as Population III – were likely composed of just hydrogen and helium. And they were gigantic – some of them hundreds of times larger than our Sun. However, they also burnt out much more quickly. But Pop III stars are purely theoretical, having never been observed – their mass means they would have collapsed into black holes and quasars long ago. Quasars just like ULAS J1342. Recent advances in cosmological simulations have led to attempts to predict the observability of Pop III star remnants, and ULAS J1342 is considered a strong contender, the research team argued in their paper. - I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Black hole quasar tsunamis moving at 46 million miles per hour - I've seen things you people wouldn't believe – because we used astrometry: A Saturn-like world hugging its star - Don't beat yourself up for overeating in lockdown. This black hole scoffs equivalent of our Sun every day - It's over 9,000! Boffin-baffling microquasar has power that makes the LHC look like a kid's toy Because Pop IIIs had to create the heavy metals they eject, the gas clouds surrounding their remnants should let distinct wavelengths of light through. Based on their observations, the team believes the second-most distantly observed quasar to have been a Pop III star that once had a mass 280 times greater than the Sun, and was likely formed right around 100 million years after the Big Bang – or roughly 13.6 billion years ago. This isn't a final verdict on the existence of Pop III stars, though – the team even included the word "potential" in the paper's title. To see if the data holds up, the NSF said, a lot more observations will be required to see if similar characteristics exist in other stellar objects. Still, said paper co-author and University of Notre Dame astronomer Timothy Beers, "we now know what to look for." The team's research opens a pathway, Beers said, toward better understanding where our star stuff may have got its start. ®
What Are White Blood Cells? Your blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. Your white blood cells account for only about 1% of your blood, but their impact is big. White blood cells are also called leukocytes. They protect you against illness and disease. Think of white blood cells as your immunity cells. In a sense, they are always at war. They flow through your bloodstream to fight viruses, bacteria, and other foreign invaders that threaten your health. When your body is in distress and a particular area is under attack, white blood cells rush in to help destroy the harmful substance and prevent illness. White blood cells are made in the bone marrow. They are stored in your blood and lymph tissues. Because some white blood cells called neutrophils have a short life less than a day, your bone marrow is always making them. Types of white blood cells Among your white blood cells are: Monocytes. They have a longer lifespan than many white blood cells and help to break down bacteria. Lymphocytes. They create antibodies to fight against bacteria, viruses, and other potentially harmful invaders. Neutrophils. They kill and digest bacteria and fungi. They are the most numerous type of white blood cell and your first line of defense when infection strikes. Basophils. These small cells seem to sound an alarm when infectious agents invade your blood. They secrete chemicals such as histamine, a marker of allergic disease, that help control the body's immune response. Eosinophils. They attack and kill parasites and cancer cells, and help with allergic responses. Problems affecting white blood cells Your white blood cell count can be low for a number of reasons. This includes when something is destroying the cells more quickly than the body can replenish them. Or when the bone marrow stops making enough white blood cells to keep you healthy. When your white blood cell count is low, you are at great risk for any illness or infection, which can spiral into a serious health threat. Your healthcare provider can do a blood test to see whether your white blood cell count is normal. If your count is too low or too high, you may have a white blood cell disorder. A number of diseases and conditions may affect white blood cell levels: Weak immune system. This is often caused by illnesses such as HIV/AIDS or by cancer treatment. Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy can destroy white blood cells and leave you at risk for infection. Infection. A higher-than-normal white blood cell count usually means you have some type of infection. White blood cells are multiplying to destroy the bacteria or virus. Myelodysplastic syndrome. This condition causes abnormal production of blood cells. This includes white blood cells in the bone marrow. Cancer of the blood. Cancers including leukemia and lymphoma can cause uncontrolled growth of an abnormal type of blood cell in the bone marrow. This results in a greatly increased risk for infection or serious bleeding. Myeloproliferative disorder. This disorder refers to various conditions that trigger the excessive production of immature blood cells. This can result in an unhealthy balance of all types of blood cells in the bone marrow and too many or too few white blood cells in the blood. Medicines. Some medicines can raise or lower the body's white blood cell count. Conditions such as extreme physical stress caused by an injury or emotional stress can also trigger high white blood cell levels. So can inflammation, labor or the end of pregnancy, smoking, or even extreme exercise.
The increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to human activity will contribute to future sea-level rises, but new research has revealed that rapid ice age sea-level drops were not caused by changes in CO2 concentrations. The international study involving ANU found that the climate during the last ice age, which ended tens of thousands of years ago, could flip with smaller, more localised disruptions such as the discharge of huge masses of ice. Conversely, large disturbances such as a change in carbon dioxide levels or temperature are needed to rapidly change the present climate. Co-researcher Dr Tezer Esat from ANU said the study made the surprise finding that the sea level dropped abruptly 20,000 years ago by 20 metres, instead of rising as scientists had previously thought, to bring the sea level down to 130 metres below the present level. Scientists had already discovered another sudden 40-metre sea-level drop occurred around 31,000 years ago. "Our study is unique and completely rewrites the history of this period of rapid sea-level drops and corresponding increases in ice volumes globally that is known as the Last Glacial Maximum," said Dr Esat from the Research School of Earth Sciences and the Research School of Physics and Engineering at ANU. Dr Esat said the study found that abrupt sea-level drops during the Last Glacial Maximum were not precipitated by any concrete climate indicators, such as changes in carbon dioxide levels or temperature. "Transitions appear to have occurred spontaneously," he said. "But it is important to note that scientific evidence indicates that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to human activity is affecting the present climate and is expected to contribute to future sea-level rises." "After this period of rapid sea-level drops, the evidence indicates that the sea level rose at an average rate of 1.6mm per year over around 4,000 years and it has continued a rising trend to the present," Dr Esat said. Earth is in an interglacial period today, with warmer global average temperatures compared to the last ice age when the world was dominated by glaciers. "The expectation is that during interglacial periods, such as the present, large disturbances such as a change in carbon dioxide levels or temperature are needed to rapidly change the climate," Dr Esat said. "During the last ice age, the state of the climate could flip with relatively small disturbances. Ice discharges were of sufficient volume to suddenly change the sea level by 10 to 15 metres in a matter of decades." To conduct this new study, scientists from Australia, Japan, Britain, the United States, Germany and Spain collaborated in the analysis and dating of more than 900 coral samples from Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Dr Esat and Associate Professor Stewart Fallon from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences contributed to finding the critical timing of the sea-level changes. The coral samples came from an Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) expedition to the Great Barrier Reef that collected 34 drill cores from 17 sites around Mackay and Cairns. "The Great Barrier Reef is an ideal location because the corals that reveal these dramatic changes in sea level can be found on the east coast continental shelf edge at least 120 metres below the current sea level," Dr Esat said. As sea levels fall and rise, the redistribution of mass between the ice sheets and the oceans cause changes in Earth's topography. "As the ocean water mass increases - from melting ice sheets - the oceanic crust is depressed; islands and continents get pushed up as the mantle flows underneath," Dr Esat said. "To someone at the coast, the sea level would appear to be falling." The research is published in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0335-4
Article body copy When Vanessa Pirotta is surveying whales in the frigid water off Antarctica, the traffic-packed roads back home are far from her mind. “You see absolutely nothing out there at times,” says Pirotta, a marine biologist at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. “So when a ship eventually comes along, I think about how jarring it must be for a whale or shark.” Marine roads are invisible, but they are busier than ever. Each year, ships use these paths to ferry more than 10 billion tonnes of goods from one country to the next. Global trade relies heavily on seaborne transport, but large whales and sharks are paying the price. Ship strikes are one of the leading causes of death and injury in whales. Collisions account for more than half of all fatalities in some species, such as the North Atlantic right whale. The low rumble of cargo vessels also disrupts marine mammal communication, hindering their ability to navigate during migration and find food. According to Pirotta, these impacts likely hit the giants of the ocean the hardest, as they are more likely than smaller species to cross paths with ships. “Great whales, basking sharks, and whale sharks are more vulnerable because they spend a lot of time close to the surface,” says Pirotta. “They travel over long distances, and so do ships.” In recent research, Pirotta and her team turned to an unlikely source—land road infrastructure—to uncover new insights into how to protect marine giants from ships. Biologists managing wildlife living near busy freeways often draw on a system known as the road ecology framework to provide a snapshot of threats and potential mitigation strategies. But the “roads” in Pirotta’s study are shipping routes used to shuttle cargo across the sea. Using this framework, the researchers were able to review the current threats associated with shipping and pinpoint key steps to minimize them. To shield animals from ship strikes, the team suggests reducing speed limits in shipping lanes, and even diverting some ship lanes away from areas frequented by marine giants. In fragile areas like the Arctic, where melting ice has opened up previously inaccessible areas, they say establishing new shipping pathways should be avoided altogether. This would create quiet sanctuaries similar to no-take fishing reserves. But making changes to the marine roads themselves only tackles one side of the problem. “The roads we drive on every day have visible edges,” says Pirotta. “But in the ocean, there are no clearly defined boundaries.” This means that indirect impacts, such as sound and chemical pollution, can extend far beyond shipping lanes. With this challenge in mind, the researchers propose spacing out shipping routes, establishing buffer zones to lower the spread of noise and contamination into nearby whale habitats. These roadside boundaries could be constructed using models that estimate how far noise travels in different areas of the ocean. Designing cleaner, quieter ships will help mitigate these effects even further. Hedley Grantham, director of spatial planning at the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society, points out that implementing some of these strategies will require action from policymakers. “The marine noise issue in particular needs to be prioritized, as we are constantly learning more about how it affects marine giants,” says Grantham, who was not involved in Pirotta’s research. “We need to legislate noise-free areas to protect these animals from vessels.” Pirotta hopes that the research will spark discussions between marine scientists, policymakers, and the shipping industry about developing new ways to protect marine life from maritime transport. “It’s about working towards a common goal,” says Pirotta. “At the end of the day, marine scientists want to keep marine mammals safe from ships, and so does the shipping industry.”
John Locke (b. 1632, d. 1704) was a British philosopher, Oxford academic and medical researcher. Locke's monumental An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689) is one of the first great defenses of empiricism and concerns itself with determining the limits of human understanding in respect to a wide spectrum of topics. It thus tells us in some detail what one can legitimately claim to know and what one cannot. Locke's association with Anthony Ashley Cooper (later the First Earl of Shaftesbury) led him to become successively a government official charged with collecting information about trade and colonies, economic writer, opposition political activist, and finally a revolutionary whose cause ultimately triumphed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Among Locke's political works he is most famous for The Second Treatise of Government in which he argues that sovereignty resides in the people and explains the nature of legitimate government in terms of natural rights and the social contract. He is also famous for calling for the separation of Church and State in his Letter Concerning Toleration. Much of Locke's work is characterized by opposition to authoritarianism. This is apparent both on the level of the individual person and on the level of institutions such as government and church. For the individual, Locke wants each of us to use reason to search after truth rather than simply accept the opinion of authorities or be subject to superstition. He wants us to proportion assent to propositions to the evidence for them. On the level of institutions it becomes important to distinguish the legitimate from the illegitimate functions of institutions and to make the corresponding distinction for the uses of force by these institutions. Locke believes that using reason to try to grasp the truth, and determine the legitimate functions of institutions will optimize human flourishing for the individual and society both in respect to its material and spiritual welfare. This in turn, amounts to following natural law and the fulfillment of the divine purpose for humanity.
Justice in the Classroom & Determined: The 400-Year Struggle For Black Equality The following eight lesson plans have been designed in collaboration with the Virginia Museum of History and Culture based on their 2019-2020 ground-breaking exhibit, Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality. These eight lessons (four each for middle and high school students) explore four different time periods within the 400-year timeline covered in Determined: - 1775-1865: Slavery at High Tide, exploring the most painful paradox of American history: our nation’s foundation on both the principle of liberty and the reality of slavery - 1865-1950 Progress & Backlash, delving into the profound changes experienced in Virginia and throughout the US from the end of the Civil War through World War II - 1950 to 1968: The road from “Brown to Green” and to the demand for justice that led to the Civil Rights Act - 1968 to Today, asking the question, Has Equality been Achieved? These sections are reflected in the lesson plans of this project. Click on the icons below to view each one, and don’t forget to scroll to see all eight. This project was made possible through generous support from the Virginia Law Foundation.
Glaucoma is a leading cause of preventable vision loss and blindness in adults in the United States and Canada and the second leading cause of blindness in the World. What is Glaucoma? Glaucoma is not a single disease. It is actually a group of eye diseases that cause damage to the optic nerve due to an increase in pressure inside the eye, which is called intraocular pressure (IOP). When detected in the early stages, glaucoma can often be controlled, preventing severe vision loss and blindness. However, symptoms of noticeable vision loss often only occur once the disease has progressed. This is why glaucoma is called “the sneak thief of sight”. Unfortunately, once vision is lost from the disease, it usually can’t be restored. Treatments include medication or surgery that can regulate the IOP and slow down the progression of the disease to prevent further vision loss. The type of treatment depends on the type and the cause of glaucoma. Prevention is possible only with early detection and treatment. Since symptoms are often absent, regular eye exams which include a glaucoma screening are essential, particularly for individuals at risk of the disease. While anyone can get glaucoma, the following traits put you at a higher risk: - Age over 60 - Hispanic or Latino descent, Asian descent - African Americans over the age of 40 (glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in African Americans, 6-8 times more common than in Caucasians.) - Family history of glaucoma - People with severe nearsightedness - Certain medications (e.g. steroids) - Significant eye injury (even if it occurred in childhood) Signs and Symptoms of Glaucoma: Due to a buildup of pressure in the eye, glaucoma causes damage to the optic nerve which is responsible for transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain. How does glaucoma affect your vision? Types of Glaucoma: There are a number of types of glaucoma, some more acute than others. Learn about the common types of glaucoma and the differences between them. Diagnosis and Treatment of Glaucoma: Early detection and treatment of glaucoma are essential to stopping or slowing the disease progression and saving vision. Treatment can include medicated eye drops, pills, laser procedures and minor surgical procedures depending on the type and stage of glaucoma. Signs and Symptoms of Glaucoma The intraocular pressure caused by glaucoma can slowly damage the optic nerve, causing a gradual loss of vision. Vision loss begins with peripheral (side) vision, resulting in limited tunnel vision. Over time if left untreated, central vision will also be affected which will increase until it eventually causes total blindness. Unfortunately, any vision that is lost from the optic nerve damage cannot be restored. What are the Symptoms? Typically, glaucoma sets in without any symptoms. At the early onset of the most common type of glaucoma “open angle” glaucoma, vision remains normal and there is no pain or discomfort. This is why the disease is nicknamed the “sneak thief of sight”. An acute type of glaucoma, called angle-closure glaucoma, can present sudden symptoms such as foggy, blurred vision, halos around lights, eye pain, headache and even nausea. This is a medical emergency and should be assessed immediately as the intraocular pressure can become extremely high and cause permanent damage within hours. Types of Glaucoma The primary forms of glaucoma are open-angle and narrow-angle, with open-angle being the most common type. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) POAG gradually progresses without pain or noticeable vision loss initially affecting peripheral vision. By the time visual symptoms appear, irreparable damage has usually occurred, however, the sooner treatment starts the more vision loss can be prevented. When untreated, vision loss will eventually result in total loss of side vision (or tunnel vision) and eventually total vision loss. Normal-tension glaucoma or low-tension glaucoma This is another form of open-angle glaucoma in which the intraocular pressure remains within the normal level. The cause of this form of glaucoma is not known, but it is believed to have something to do with insufficient blood flow to the optic nerve, causing damage. Individuals of Japanese descent, women and those with a history of vascular disease or low blood pressure are at higher risk. Acute angle-closure glaucoma is marked by a sudden increase in eye pressure, which can cause severe pain, blurred vision, halos, nausea, and headaches. The pressure is caused by a blockage in the fluid at the front of the eye which is a medical emergency and should be treated immediately. Without prompt treatment to clear the blockage vision can be permanently lost. The inherited form of the disease that is present at birth. In these cases, babies are born with a defect that slows the normal drainage of fluid out of the eye; they are usually diagnosed by the time they turn one. There are typically some noticeable symptoms such as excessive tearing, cloudiness or haziness of the eyes, large or protruding eyes or light sensitivity. Surgery is usually performed, with a very high success rate, to restore full vision. Glaucoma can develop as a complication of eye surgeries, injuries or other medical conditions such as cataracts, tumors, or a condition called uveitis which causes inflammation. Uncontrolled high blood pressure or diabetes can result in another serious form called neovascular glaucoma. A rare form of glaucoma, this occurs when pigment from the iris sheds and clogs the drainage of fluid from the eye resulting in inflammation and damage to the eye and drainage system. Treatment of glaucoma is dependant upon the severity and type of glaucoma present. Glaucoma Diagnosis and Treatment During a routine comprehensive eye exam to check for glaucoma, your eye doctor will dilate your eye to examine the optic nerve for signs of glaucoma and will also measure the intraocular pressure (IOP) with an instrument called a tonometer. Tonometry involves numbing the eye with drops and then gently pressing on the surface of the eye to measure the pressure. Since your IOP can fluctuate throughout the day and glaucoma can exist without elevated IOP this is not enough to rule out the disease. If there are signs of the disease, further testing will be performed. Visual Field Test A visual field test is designed to detect any blind spots in your peripheral or side field of vision. You will be asked to place your head in front of a machine while looking ahead and indicate when you see a signal in your peripheral field of view. Your doctor may also measure the thickness of the cornea with an ultrasonic wave instrument in a test called pachymetry or use imaging techniques such as digital retina scanning or optical coherence tomography (OCT) to create an image of your optic nerve to look for glaucoma damage. Treatment for glaucoma depends on the type and severity of the disease and can include medication such as eye drops or pills or laser or traditional surgery. Medication and drops to lower IOP are often the first resort for controlling pressure-related glaucoma. These drops may have some uncomfortable side effects, but compliance with the treatment plan is essential for preserving vision and halting the progression of the disease. Surgical procedures are designed to control the flow of fluids through the eye by either decreasing the amount of fluid produced or improving the drainage. Your doctor may decide that a combination of surgery and medication will be the most effective in many cases. It cannot be stressed enough that the most effective treatment for glaucoma happens when the disease is detected and treated early before significant vision loss occurs. Any vision that is lost cannot be restored. This is why the best prevention is awareness by knowing your risks and taking responsibility by having your eyes examined on a regular basis.
What’s the idea? This is a tricky myth because differences that are believed to exist between girls and boys may have a real impact on how children and young people perceive themselves, what subjects they choose in school and their eventual career paths. It is widely believed that girls and boys show different aptitudes in key cognitive skills, with girls being better at language and boys at technical subjects like science and maths. The good news is that because this has been such a hot topic for a long time, there’s plenty of data looking at aptitude and performance, particularly in relation to school achievement. Gender differences do exist Many studies have been published over the years that focus on group differences between males and females; and consistent differences do emerge. For example, males outperform females on tests of mental rotation[i], which involve comparing pictures of 3D objects in different orientations and deciding if they are the same or different. Females outperform males on word fluency, where participants are given a minute to think of as many examples as they can of a certain category, such as animals or red things[ii]. These group differences are probably amplified in the public perception by high profile research like Simon Baron-Cohen’s. He and his team have developed the Empathy Quotient and Systemising Quotient questionnaire[iii], which tests parental perceptions of 4-11 year old children’s engagement and preference for activities, with girls showing a greater preference for person-oriented activities (empathising) and boys a preference for systems and machines (systemising). The gender similarities hypothesis However, not everyone agrees that males and females are so different; the ‘gender similarities hypothesis’ emerged in reaction to the weight of studies focusing on how the sexes differed. ‘The gender similarities hypothesis holds that males and females are similar on most, but not all, psychological variables. That is, men and women, as well as boys and girls, are more alike than they are different.’[iv] The author, Janet Hyde, gathered 46 meta-analyses, which together analysed data from around seven million people looking at gender differences across behaviours as diverse as language skills to throwing ability. She found that 78% of the studies showed gender differences to be small or negligible, even in areas classically held to robustly distinguish between males and females. This lack of difference has been mirrored with data from children. Hyde points out that the National Assessment of Educational Progress in America found less than a four point difference in science ability between 9-10 year old boys and girls on a 300 point scale. Others have found similarly negligible gender gaps when using large national data sets, with small differences in maths achievement emerging only at the very end of school[v]. Although nations do vary quite substantially in the degree to which gender gaps in maths performance can be seen, on average the gap remains small, and indeed differences tend to be larger for attitudes towards maths than for performance[vi]. Furthermore, differences in cognitive ability between men and women that do exist may result not from different aptitude per se, but from the use of different strategies. For example, when navigating women tend to use landmarks and men tend to use geometric information, but when only one of these sources of information is available to complete a navigation task men and women perform equally well[vii]. Similarly, men and women have been shown to use different strategies on word fluency tests[viii], with women being more likely to switch between categories. For example, if asked to name animals a woman might start with farm animals but then move on to zoo animals, whereas a man might try harder to stick with farm animals and so end up naming fewer animals over all. The impact of society Taking maths as an example again, despite really small differences being seen in terms of performance at school, women are poorly represented in the job market after university, with 94% of maths professors in the UK being men, according to a survey commissioned by the London Mathematical Society[ix]. So what is it that’s driving such gender inequality if not aptitude? One likely answer is societal expectation and attitude. How people think they’re perceived can have a real impact on performance, even on tests you might expect would be immune to such effects. For example, when a group of college students was given a maths test, men outperformed women when they were told that the test usually revels gender differences, but when they were told it was a gender fair test, no such difference emerged[x]. The impact of expectation seems to start early. Parents have been found to hold lower expectations for their daughters’ math success than for their sons’[xi], and parent ratings of their children’s competence in maths strongly predicts children’s own beliefs about their academic competency. By age 8-9 girls and their parents rated their maths lower than boys, even though no achievement difference was evident[xii]. On a national level, the kind of factors that best predict the size of gender gaps in different countries at school age include the female representation in parliament and gender equity in school enrollment[xiii]. One important example of the influence of perceived societal pressures on academic performance is the case of boys in the UK systematically under-performing in comparison to girls. This is true pretty much across the board, with around 10% more girls achieving 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE compared to boys (63.4% of girls and 53.8% of boys)[xiv]. A literature review from 2006[xv] suggested that this gender gap may be due to boys being led by a male peer group to conceptualise academic achievement as contrary to the prevailing view of masculinity. Addressing the gaps There are broadly two ways to think about minimising the gender gaps we’ve explored here. The first is to train boys and girls to improve on the skills that, as a group, they score less well on. Research suggests cognitive skills that show gender differences may be quite malleable. For example, a group difference on a spatial attention task was eliminated after men and women were trained for ten hours on the computer game Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault. The group as a whole showed improvement on the spatial attention task, but the female participants gained more such that the initial gender gap disappeared[xvi]. The second option is to ignore small differences in cognitive abilities or tendencies and focus on changing expectations around gender, given that expectations and societal gender equity seem to have the bigger impact on performance and life trajectories for both males and females. “We are more similar than different” (Maya Angelou) In conclusion, yes there are differences between men and women, girls and boys, but those differences are smaller than once thought, and probably due largely to either strategy differences, and/or societal expectations. Any differences that do exist are certainly not relevant to academic potential. The verdict? We’ll declare this one a neuro-myth and be part of the solution! There’s a number of really interesting, very readable, papers in this area linking academic achievement to life outcomes round the world, we particularly enjoyed: Shibley-Hyde, J. & Linn, M. C. (2006). Gender similarities in mathematics and science. Science, 314, 27. To have a go at Baron-Cohen’s Empathising/ Systemising quiz, go here. The UK Govenment has produced a comprehensive guide to gender differences in UK schools from 1950s-2006 [ii] Weiss, E. M., Ragland, J. D., Brensinger, C. M. Bilker, W. B., Deisenhammer, E. A., & Delazer, M. (2006). Sex differences in clustering and switching in verbal fluency tasks. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 12 (4), 502-509. [iii] Auyeung, B., Wheelwright, S., Allison, C., Atkinson, M., Samarawickrema, N., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2009). The Children’s Empathy Quotient and Systemizing Quotient: sex differences in typical development and in Autism Spectrum Conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39 (11), 1509-1521. doi: 10.1007/s10803-009-0772-x. [vi] Else-Quest, N. M., Shibley-Hyde, J., & Linn, M. C. (2010). Cross-national patterns of gender differences in mathematics: a meta-analysis. American Psychologist, 136 (1), 103–127. DOI: 10.1037/a0018053 [viii] Weiss, E. M., Ragland, J. D., Brensinger, C. M. Bilker, W. B., Deisenhammer, E. A., & Delazer, M. (2006). Sex differences in clustering and switching in verbal fluency tasks. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 12 (4), 502-509. [xiii] Else-Quest, N. M., Shibley-Hyde, J., & Linn, M. C. (2010). Cross-national patterns of gender differences in mathematics: a meta-analysis. American Psychologist, 136 (1), 103–127. DOI: 10.1037/a0018053
In this tutorial you will learn about the C Program to Add reversed number with Original Number and its application with practical example. In this tutorial, we will learn to create a C program that add reversed number with Original number using C programming. Before starting with this tutorial we assume that you are best aware of the following C programming topics: - loop statements. - While loop. - Basic input/output operations. C Program to Add reversed number with Original Number. In this program first of all we reverse a number and that number will be added to original number. For example, user input number 321, the reverse number will be 123.and we add 321 to 123 => 321+123 = 444. Let see the code for that. int no, rev = 0,sum=0,temp; // declaring variables printf("Enter a number to reverse\n"); scanf("%d", &no); // taking number from user. while (no != 0) // iterate till number became zero rev = rev * 10; rev = rev + no%10; //reversing the value no = no/10; printf("Reverse of the number = %d\n",rev); //printing reverse number sum=temp+rev; // adding them printf("sum of original + rev is number = %d",sum); printing original and rev number In the above program, we have first declared and initialized a set variables required in the program. - no= take number from user. - rev = it will hold reverse value. - temp= it will hold original . - sum= add original and reverse number. In the next statement user will be prompted to enter a number into variable no. In our program, we use the modulus (%)operator to obtain digits. How reversing a number is defined by the following steps: - 1: START. - 2:Take a number from user. - 3: SET temp =no, sum =0. - 4: REPEAT while (no != 0) - 5: rev = rev * 10 - 6:rev = rev + no%10 - 7:no = no/10 - 8: sum = no+ temp - 9: Print Sum - 10: END. First of all we take a number from user in variable no. and pass this number to temp variable after that in while loop we reverse the number as show in below image. After reversing a number we add the reverse and temp variable. As you can see how the number is reversing in following steps after the reversing number we add original number sum=temp+rev with reverse number to get required output and print the final value stored in sum variable.
Most Word People love morphemes, but they may not even know it. A “morpheme” is a word or a part of a word that has a meaning and that contains no smaller part that has a meaning. An example is probably the best way to explain this concept. Let’s begin with the lexical item nation and roll out the morphemes from there. So, in the above example, nation, -al, inter-, -ize, and -ation are all morphemes. By adding small units of meaning to the base form, nation, we have created four new, but closely related, lexical items. Note that these units of meaning are totally dependent on the base form and, therefore, cannot exist on their own. These fundamental units of meaning are morphemes. The examples above are called bound morphemes since they need to be added to an existing base; there are, however, many words which cannot be divided into smaller elements and these are known as free morphemes. Instances of free morphemes are: table, lion, platform, some, horror, label.
Detecting exoplanets with astrometry This animation shows the observed path across the sky, over four years, of a star that is orbited by a planet. As is the case for all stars, there are two main components to this motion: a linear path across the sky caused by the star's motion through the Galaxy, and a series of oscillations, caused by the motion of the Earth around the Sun. Each oscillation corresponds to one year. In addition, the presence a planet orbiting the star perturbs its motion, and this perturbation (shown in brown) is reflected in the star's path across the sky. ESA's Gaia mission is observing more than one billion stars over five years. For each star, scientists will eventually determine five parameters: the two-dimensional position of the star on the plane of the sky at a reference time, the two-dimensional proper motion (the projection on the sky of the star's true motion through the Galaxy), and the parallax (the annual shift of the star's apparent position due to Earth's motion around the Sun). The presence of one or more objects (other stars or planets) orbiting a star perturbs its motion, and this perturbation is reflected in the positions, which do not quite match a pure stellar motion described with parallax and proper motion. It is expected that Gaia will detect some tens of thousands of exoplanets out to 500 parsec (around 1600 light-years) from the Sun by measuring the wobble they cause in the path followed by their parent stars on the sky.
First focal plane (FFP) refers to the placement of the reticle in a rifle scope. In an FFP optic, the reticle is in the front part of the optical system, near the objective lens. The reticle’s size changes with the scope’s magnification. This allows for accurate range estimation at any setting. Let’s take a look at the history of FFP optics, who makes them now, examples of current optics, pros & cons, FFP vs SFP, and price ranges. The History of First Focal Plane Optics The history of FFP optics began in WWII. Military snipers started using telescopic sights to engage long-range targets. To improve range estimation accuracy, military optics manufacturers experimented with different reticle placements. They eventually settled on FFP design. During WWII, the use of scopes on military rifles became widespread. They allowed snipers to engage targets at longer ranges with greater accuracy. However, early telescopic sights had a challenge. The reticle remained a constant size, regardless of the magnification setting. This made it difficult to accurately estimate the range to the target. The size of the target would change with the magnification, but the size of the reticle would not. Military optics manufacturers began experimenting with different reticle placements. One solution was to place the reticle in the front part of the system, near the objective lens. This caused the reticle’s size to change with the target’s size at any magnification. Easier range estimation and better aiming accuracy were the result. Boom. First focal plane optics were born. These new optics helped snipers adjust their aim faster. The holdover points on the reticle were now more accurate. This allowed wind and bullet drop compensation at longer distances. Military snipers made the FFP design popular. It soon became the standard for long-range shooting. FFP Optics are still popular with military, tactical shooters, hunters and competitive shooters. Who Makes First Focal Plane Scopes? There are several manufacturers of first focal plane (FFP) optics, including: Many different companies design and manufacture FFP optics. These companies offer products ranging from low-cost, affordable optics to high-end, precision optics. Designing and making these optics is a difficult and skilled process. It requires expertise in a range of fields including optics, engineering, and manufacturing. FFP optics manufacturers design the housing and lens system to precise tolerances. This aligns the reticle in the optical system. Reticle designers consider reticle visibility at different magnification levels. They also consider how the reticle’s placement affects its appearance and use. A well designed reticle provides accurate and useful information to the shooter. Once the entire optic design is complete, then the manufacturing process can start. This usually includes machining, assembling, and checking the quality of the optic. Each controlled step makes sure the final product meets high standards. This process takes a long time and requires a lot of work. This is why FFP optics are often more expensive than SFP optics. Designing and making FFP optics requires skill, knowledge, and precision manufacturing. This leads to optics that provide accurate range estimation at any magnification setting. Examples of First Focal Plane Scopes Some examples of first focal plane (FFP) optics include Vortex Viper PST Gen II 5-25×50 FFP rifle scope Trijicon AccuPower 1-8×28 FFP rifle scope Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56 FFP rifle scope These are just a few examples of FFP optics available on the market. There are many other manufacturers and models of FFP optics available, each with its own unique features and capabilities. Pros & Cons of FFP Optics Pros of FFP optics: Reticle size changes with magnification, allowing accurate range estimation at any setting Holdover points on the reticle help compensate for bullet drop at longer distances Reticle stays the same size relative to the target, making it easier to make quick adjustments to aim FFP optics allow for the use of ranging reticles, which can be used to estimate the range to the target Cons of FFP optics: Reticle can appear distorted at low magnification settings, making it difficult to see or use FFP optics are often more expensive than second focal plane (SFP) optics The reticle can appear cluttered or busy at high magnification settings, making it difficult to use The reticle may be difficult to see in low light conditions, especially at low magnification settings. First Focal Plane (FFP) vs Second Focal Plane (SFP) First focal plane (FFP) optics and second focal plane (SFP) optics are two different types of rifle scopes. Each has its own unique features and capabilities. Reticle & Crosshairs Comparison One key difference between FFP and SFP optics is the placement of the reticle, or crosshairs. FFP optics place the reticle in the front part of the optical system, near the objective lens. This allows the reticle to change size with magnification, as we’ve already discussed. SFP optics place the reticle in the rear part of the optical system, near the eyepiece. Reticle size stays the same, regardless of magnification settings. Holdover Points Comparison Another difference between FFP and SFP optics is the use of holdover points on the reticle. In an FFP optic, the reticle can be designed with holdover points, which can be used to compensate for bullet drop at longer distances. Because the reticle size changes with the magnification, the holdover points will remain accurate at any magnification setting. In an SFP optic, the reticle does not change size, so holdover points are not as useful. Additionally, FFP optics are often more expensive than SFP optics, as the manufacturing process is more complex. This can be a consideration when choosing between FFP and SFP optics. What’s the price range of First Focal Plane Scopes? The price range of first focal plane (FFP) optics can vary widely, depending on the quality and features of the optic. Budget-friendly FFP optics can be found for under $100, while high-end, precision optics can cost $3,000 and up. One factor that can affect the price of FFP optics is the manufacturer. Some of the top gun scope manufacturers, such as Vortex, Trijicon, and Nightforce, offer a range of FFP optics at different price points. These companies generally produce high-quality optics, but their top-of-the-line models can be quite expensive. Another factor that can affect the price of FFP optics is the quality of the lens and housing. Higher-quality optics will typically use high-grade lenses and precision-machined housings, which can add to the cost of the optic. Additionally, features like illuminated reticles and variable magnification can also affect the price. Overall, the price range of FFP optics can vary widely, from budget-friendly options to high-end, precision optics. When shopping for an FFP optic, it is important to consider the intended use and the specific features and capabilities of the optic, as well as the price.
Existing, land-based solar farms come with several complications. They are costly, take up large swaths of land that endangers local habitat, and they do not continuously harness the sun’s energy due to changing weather conditions. Yet, solar energy remains an essential technology for helping humanity rid its reliance on burning fossil fuels, which is wreaking havoc on the earth’s environment at record breaking speed. Desperate times inspire daring innovation, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has embarked on a bold plan to play their part in solving the world’s energy needs. With serious plans and experimentation underway, JAXA is proposing to develop an orbital solar farm in space to be completed within the next 25 years. Not only will these space-based solar panels collect energy from the sun continuously, but also beam collected energy down to earth using microwave technology. Japan’s geosynchronous orbital solar farm will be a “1-gigawatt commercial system—about the same output as a typical nuclear power plant.” It will also rely on wireless power transfer based on microwaves whose wavelengths will range between 5 and 10 centimeters, perfect for transmission that will not be hindered by weather or cause damage to people or animals. Another innovative feature of JAXA’s SPS (solar power system) will be constant power generation: two, free-flying reflective mirrors will “direct light onto two photovoltaic panels 24 hours a day.” On the ground, beams directed from above will reach a receiving site where where an array of rectannas will “convert the microwave power to DC power with an efficiency greater than 80 percent.” Below is a brief summary describing the process of JAXA’s solar power system: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is working on several models for solar-collecting satellites, which would fly in geosynchronous orbit 36 000 kilometers above their receiving stations. With the basic model [top left-hand side], the photovoltaic-topped panel’s efficiency would decrease as the world turned away from the sun. The advanced model [top right-hand side]would feature two mirrors to reflect sunlight onto two photovoltaic panels. This model would be more difficult to build, but it could generate electricity continuously. In either model, the photovoltaic panels would generate DC current, which would be converted to microwaves aboard the satellite. The satellite’s many microwave-transmitting antenna panels would receive a pilot signal from the ground, allowing each transmitting panel to separately aim its piece of the microwave beam at the receiving station far below. Once the microwave beam hits the receiving station, rectifying antennas would change the microwaves back to DC current. An on-site converter would change that current to AC power, which could be fed into the grid.
Challenges for Amazonian Forest Trusts It is easier to buy forest than to preserve it. Why? Lack of roads in dense forest makes it difficult to patrol. Environmental laws are not enforced by under staffed law enforcement If perpetrators are caught it can take years and cost money to convict them. Ecuador's strong environmental laws have loopholes which make it difficult to convict local residents. Because perpetrators are often impoverished people trying to survive, convictions serves little purpose. The shrinking forest land base has created a conflict between increasing or securing local indigenous ownership on the one hand and increasing the size of nature preserves on the other. One apparent solution that has not worked well is the promoting of permaculture on small plots privately owned by indigenous subsistence farmers. People often think that because indigenous families lived off chagras in the past that it is both possible and desirable for them to continue doing so. Several reasons make this impossible now. 1) Families now need more cash than a small farm or permaculture forest can produce. 2) In the past chagras were rotated over a large area allowing forest to lie fallow for 20 years between plantings. The shrinking land base has made rotation impossible for all but tiny percentage of the indigenous population. 3) Chagras were supplemented by activities such as hunting fishing and gathering which are no longer sustainable at the required volume. This creates a situation where indigenous subsistence farmers quickly wear out their small farms leaving nowhere for their children to live or farm. The children or others invade adjacent reserves to which they claim a right based on the previous territorial boundaries of their ancestors. Local law enforcement often will not take action against incursions by indigenous families seeking to recover ancestral lands. Because of the emergency need for cash the invaded lands are often resold to settlers after titles have been established. So what is the answer? How can forest preserves combine indigenous ownership with the goals of preserving biodiversity? We suggest a strategy where a donor's purchase of forest is tied to the creation of long term indigenous employment in managing the forest. Indigenous young people are no more likely to want to live in poverty than young people anywhere. Small farms in the Amazon are no better at competing with large scale agriculture than are small farms in other parts of the world. A permaculture mixed crop small farm is more labor intensive and so more expensive to operate than a monoculture small farm because production cannot be mechanized. Fair price organic marketing is of limited success. What kinds of food will grow at each level of the canopy? The two top levels of the canopy grow fruits and nuts. Understory produces few leafy plants that can be consumed by cooking and none that can be eaten raw. Starches such as grains and tubers (corn, rice, manioc) require farming in open fields with heavy fertilizer. As commodities they are generally cheaper to buy than to grow yourself because they are produced by mechanized agribusiness using below minimum wage labor. In what quantity will they grow? Low quantity per hectare. Most wild fruits have a very thin metacarpus around a large inedible seed. Domesticated varieties with a larger edible metacarpus (bananas, papaya) require more light and fertilizer and are more prone to disease. What are the seasons of these foods? December-May. Raises the question, What will people eat May through December? How much labor is required to harvest them. Labor intensive- If a minimum wage job were available a minimum wage worker could buy more food with a day's labor than they could gather in a day's foraging. How will basic needs for healthcare, education, security, transportation and acceptable minimal connectivity be met without additional income? If the system cannot be sustained without supplementary cash what forest products could bring in this cash without moving to moving to large scale monocultural agribusiness? (The problem of commodities) Who will voluntarily live in the rural sustainable communities, local indigenous people or international progressives? "Sustainability Assessment of Smallholder Agroforestry Indigenous Farming in the Amazon:A Case Study of Ecuadorian Kichwas,"
Essential Latinwith Karen Moore In this course, veteran Latin teacher and Latin textbook author Karen Moore provides a clear and engaging introduction to the Latin language. This course is designed for teachers who want to understand the essential grammar of the Latin language, as well as for those who would like to teach introductory Latin in a school or homeschool setting. The course uses the acclaimed Latin for Children series as the touchstone texts for learning Latin grammar and discussing Latin teaching methods. Just for fun: The engraving above was made by Georg Pencz in the 16th century, and represents the study of grammar. On the bench on which the figure of personified grammar sits is an inscription in Latin–can you read it? Try reading it backward… This course follows the scope and sequence of the Latin for Teacher’s Notebook published by Classical Academic Press. As such, the video lectures and units in this course will follow the table of contents in the Latin for Teachers Notebook. You may wish to order this notebook, though we have embedded the relevant sections into each lesson page. You may also want to reference Latin for Children Primers A, B, and C, which are used as touchstone texts in the course. Reading assignments corresponding to each video lecture are listed in each session, as are questions for discussion and reflection and additional resources. - Lesson 1 (A1): Introduction to Verbs - Lesson 2 (A2): Irregular Verbs - Lesson 3 (A3): Introduction to Latin Nouns - Lesson 4 (A4): Sentence Structure - Lesson 5 (B1): Genitive Case & Personal Pronouns - Lesson 6 (B2): Numerals - Lesson 7 (B3): 3rd Declension Nouns - Lesson 8 (B4): Demonstrative Pronoun/Adjectives - Lesson 9: Review and Q&A - Lesson 10 (C1): 3rd Declension Adjectives - Lesson 11 (C2): More on verb conjugations (3rd & 4th conjugations) - Lesson 12 (C3): More on verbs (the perfect system) - Lesson 13 (C4): More on nouns (4th & 5th declensions) - Lesson 14: Review and Q &A - Lesson 15: Practical and Effective Methods of Teaching Latin Karen Moore began her study of Latin in 7th grade and added Greek to her linguistic studies during her college years. Karen earned a BA in classics from the University of Texas in 1996. Since that time she has taught Latin to students in grades 3–12 through a number of venues. Currently, she is in her thirteenth year as the Latin chair at Grace Academy of Georgetown, a classical Christian school located in the heart of Texas, where she also serves as director of curriculum and instruction. Karen teaches Latin, Greek, and ancient humanities at Grace Academy. She also serves as sponsor of Grace Academy’s Latin Club, an award-winning chapter of the National Junior Classical League. Karen is the coauthor of the Libellus de Historia History Reader series and the Latin Alive! textbook series, both published by Classical Academic Press. She also maintains a blog on the study and teaching of Latin. Karen and her husband, Bryan, have three children, who attend school at Grace Academy. Please Note: ClassicalU is currently developing a certification to accompany our course offerings. The certification credit component of this course is now active but also undergoing refinement and testing. To obtain a certification credit for this course, simply complete the quiz that follows each presentation in the course, and then also take the certification test at the end of the course. The quizzes are designed to ensure that you have understood the essential content of each presentation, and they can be taken more than once if necessary. The cumulative certification test at the end of the course is given as a pass/fail test. When you have completed the course, a certificate that you can print or email will magically appear under the “My Courses” section of this website. By taking the course for certification credit, you also will be on your way to obtaining a Level 1 certification. Join the Conversation Discuss these ideas with educators from across the country and the globe.
Ecuador has become the first country to grant constitutional rights to the natural environment. On Sept. 28, 2008, nearly 70% of voters voted for a new constitution that – among other things – gives rights to rivers, forests, plants and animals. The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, based in USA, helped draft these new protections. Their views are worth to point out: most laws define nature as someone’s property, forcing environmentalists to prove extensive damage before regulations can be put in place. A rights-based approach, it argues, reverses that burden, putting the health of ecosystems first. As Clay Risen from the NY Times mentions, the scope of nature’s rights is unclear and it remains uncertain how a country as poor as Ecuador can protect those rights; however, lawsuits against oil and gas companies are expected. Furthermore, Spain announced its support for granting legal rights to gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans, while Switzerland appointed an ethics panel for protecting plants’ “reproductive ability.” Picture: The Nature Conservancy in Ecuador
There are several weather related conditions and illnesses that are more prevalent in winter months. Here is some information to keep your family safe and reduce your sick of illness this winter. Frostbite occurs when skin is exposed to cold temperatures becoming number and causing damage. In severe cases it can also lead to amputation. Frostbite can easily be a precursor to hypothermia. Those at the highest risk includes elderly people without adequate food, clothing or heating; children who are left unattended; adults who are under the influence of alcohol; mentally ill individuals; people who remain outdoors for long periods of time including the homeless, hikers and hunters. You can prevent frostbite by dressing properly. Adults and children should bundle up by wearing hats, scarves/masks, long-sleeve shirts, gloves/mittens, water-resistant coats and shoes, and several layers of loose-fitting clothing. Remember to shield your face, hands and other body parts from cold temperatures and the wind. Frostbite symptoms include a white or grayish-yellow skin area, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy, and numbness. If someone has these symptoms, then it is important to get into a warm room if possible, but don’t put pressure on frostbitten areas or walk on frostbitten feet or toes. Immerse the affected skin in warm- not hot- water. Wrap the re-warmed areas to prevent them from refreezing and then go to the emergency room as soon as possible. It is important to not rub the frostbitten area or use a heating pad, lamp, stove, fireplace, or radiator to heat the area. These areas can be easily burned since there is numbness.
Continents that lost the most large grazing herbivores over the past 50,000 years have seen the biggest increases in grassland and savannah fires 25 November 2021 From the giant armadillo to the giant bison, many large plant eaters have been wiped out in the past 50,000 years. Now a study has found that the continents that lost the most of these grazing megafauna had the biggest increases in wildfires in grasslands and savannahs. “There’s evidence today that herbivores can limit fire by reducing fuel load,” says Allison Karp at Yale University. In fact, some advocates of rewilding argue that restoring large herbivores can help reduce wildfires. A few studies have already found that there were more fires in specific regions after the loss of megafauna during the past 50,000 years. Karp and her colleagues decided to look at the global picture by analysing two existing databases. One, called HerbiTraits, has information on all herbivores larger than 10 kilograms lived that have lived in the past 130,000 years. The other, called the Global Paleofire Database, has records of charcoal deposited in lakes from 160 sites worldwide, which reveal changes in fire activity nearby. The team found that the biggest increases in fire activity were in the continents, such as South America, that lost the most big herbivores, with lower increases where there were fewer extinctions, such as in Africa. However, Karp didn’t find a strong link between the loss of browsers – tree feeders – and fire activity in woody regions. “The relation between extinctions and changes in fire activity was only really strong if you looked at grazer extinctions, so herbivores that eat grass,” she says. Karp says her study cannot tell us anything about the effects of this increased fire activity. But other studies suggest that they were dramatic. After humans wiped out Australia’s megafauna, for instance, increased fire activity may have transformed the continent’s vegetation. The reasons for the loss of so many megafauna around the world during this period are still debated. It is clear that many were hard hit by climate changes related to the last ice age, but human hunting may have been the killer factor in most cases. Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.abj1580 More on these topics:
Populations of the workhorse of crop pollinators, the honey bee, have been declining for several years. What's the buzz about bees? Simple steps can bolster native bees and hedge our bets against honey bee declines. David L. Sperling A sustained drop in honey bee populations nationwide has farmers and orchardists making backup plans to ensure their crops are adequately pollinated. Buried among the stories about colony collapse disorder and potential causes of bee die-offs – like stress, pesticides, pathogens and parasites – is some familiar advice. Just as a key to staving off invasive species is maintaining biological diversity, so too a key to keeping crops fruitful and flowers blooming is building up native bee populations. The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a flying workhorse. Managed hives of honey bees are carted around the country to pollinate berries, vegetables, fruit trees, flowers and agricultural row crops worth roughly $20 billion annually in North America, according to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. This prodigious import was named the state insect in Wisconsin in 1977, even though it's a non-native species. However, nearly 4,000 other wild bee species are native to the continent and fully 500 species are found in Wisconsin, many of which equal or surpass the honey bee's efficiency in pollinating crops and native plants. In fact, The Xerces Society notes that research documented 51 native bee species visiting watermelon, sunflower and tomato fields in western states; more than 45 bee species pollinating berry crops in Maine and Massachusetts and 67 species of native bees pollinating blueberry crops. Bumble bees, for instance, are considered the premier pollinators of many native plants and cranberries. According to researchers at the University of Maine, on a bee-for-bee basis, bumble bee species are eight times more efficient than honey bees at pollinating some highly-valued crops like blueberries. The bumble bees are more effective because they will fly in cooler temperatures, damper conditions and lower light levels extending pollination by several hours each day. They also perform a behavior called "buzz pollination," where the female bumble grabs the flower's pollen-producing stamens in her jaws and vibrates her wings to give the stamens a good shaking – dislodging pollen grains. This behavior is extremely effective in cross-pollinating berries, tomatoes and peppers. Larger fruits and more abundant tomato crops are attributed to plants pollinated by bumble bees. They are also critical pollinators of native plants whose seeds feed songbirds and game birds. Unfortunately, some of the bumble bee species also are declining due to combined effects of diseases, altered habitat, pesticide use, invasive species, climate change and the international transport of commercially-raised bumble bees. Two such species once common to the northeastern and midwestern states, the yellow-banded bumble bee (Bombus terricola) and the rusty-patched bumble bee (B. affinis), are largely absent from their traditional range. They are excellent pollinators of wildflowers, alfalfa, berries and other crops like cucumbers and pumpkins. Other bumble bee species may also be decreasing, though it is difficult to generalize if declining populations are localized or more widespread since native bee populations are typically only monitored in a handful of locations rather than throughout their natural range. When R.P. Macfarlane, a New Zealand bumble bee researcher hired by Wisconsinís cranberry industry, surveyed bumble bee populations in northern Wisconsin in 1993, researchers reported that the yellow-banded bumble bee constituted about 93 percent of the bumble bees tallied; today they make up less than one percent of bumble bees in the region. Isolated populations of this bumble bee found in the towns of Mountain, Manitowish Waters and Two Rivers in 2007 and 2008 were the only recorded sightings of this species in the Midwest. Reasons for this decline are unclear. Bumble bee authorities believe European bee diseases were introduced to North America as European companies started to domesticate American bee species to manage crop pollination. Certainly habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and pesticide use contribute to the losses as well, says Eric Mader, National Pollinator Outreach Coordinator for The Xerces Society in Madison. To bolster our knowledge about changes in native bee populations, both the yellow-banded and rusty-patched bumble bees are the first species of ants, bees and wasps that will be tracked by field biologists conducting field work in Wisconsin. By adding these bees as Species of Special Concern, researchers will start keeping records when these species are found. Over time, this database will provide a picture of the bees' abundance and distribution on the Wisconsin landscape. While some plants are also pollinated by the wind and by mammals like bats, bee pollination from managed hives and wild native bees remains an important part of the mix, sustaining both native and cultivated plant species. In areas where agricultural fields have lost many of their natural pollinators, surrounding pastures take on added significance and provide two valuable benefits, according to agricultural and ecology researchers. First, they act as a backup source for insects that pollinate crops. Second, they act as a refuge where pollinating insects can build strength before slowly recolonizing degraded croplands. Wildlife depends on these natural pollinators both as a source of food and for enabling the fertilization of plants they rely on for fruit, seed, cover and sustenance. "By aiding in wild land food production, helping with nutrient cycling, and as direct prey, pollinators are important in wildlife food chains," say biologists who study hooded warblers in fragmented forest areas. "Many migratory songbirds require a diet of berries, fruits and seeds from insect pollinated plants" and the larvae of these insects are an important component of the diet of these young birds, noted the research team with the Nebraska Ornithologists Union. One increasingly common strategy for farmers who are hedging their bets by bolstering native bees is to increase the natural growth of grasses, shrubs and trees surrounding their fields. For instance, instead of renting honey bees, canola growers in Alberta found they got better seed set and increased profits if at least 30 percent of their land was left in natural habitat and cover rather than fencerow-to-fencerow row cropping. These buffer zones of natural vegetation provided food and shelter for more native bees and increased bee visits when their crops set flowers. Pressure from native bees also can make honey bees more efficient and effective when pollinating hybrid seed crops by causing the honey bees to move more frequently between rows of male and female plants. Though we think of bees as social insects that live in hives with highly-organized social structures, most bee species are more solitary and almost 70 percent of native bee species nest in the ground or near the ground rather than in exposed hives. The female bees either excavate nest tunnels with a series of brood chambers or use existing holes or burrows bored by insects, worms or rodents into soil or under tree bark. The females place a mix of pollen and nectar in each brood cell, lay an egg and plaster over the cell with mud or little bits of leaves. The adult female bees live only a few weeks and die after the nest area is complete. The eggs hatch, become larvae, pupate and emerge as adults either the same year or the following season depending on the species. Conserving the habitats and plants these native bee species use is an important strategy for sustaining adequate numbers of plant pollinators where honey bee populations are naturally lower, have dropped off significantly or are in short supply. For the first time, the 2008 Farm Bill (Food Conservation and Energy Act) specifically mentioned native bee protection and provided money for both bee research and bee habitat preservation. Provisions added by the House of Representatives make pollinator conservation a national priority in conservation programs administered by the federal Department of Agriculture. The Farm Bill also provided $10million a year for the next five years for grants to research honey bee and native bee biology, potential solutions for colony collapse disorder, bee health and bee ecology. An additional $7.5 million will add bee research programs to the USDA Ag Research Service, $2.75 million to inspect and monitor honey bee populations for five years, and provide insurance and disaster relief for beekeepers. Informing consumers and farmers about the value of native bees, and simple steps they can take to conserve and increase the numbers and diversity of natural pollinators are equally important. Bees collect pollen, and butterflies, birds and bees collect nectar from a range of plants from spring through the end of the fall growing season. You can create habitats where these insects can forage in backyards, rain gardens, parks, school grounds, golf courses, farms and woodlands. Here's advice from The Xerces Society on how to get going: Small patches are fine as long as you provide a diversity of plants that flower all season. Different species of pollinators are active at different times of the thawed out seasons from May through October. Use local native plants. Research shows native plants are four times more attractive to native bees and butterflies than exotics. In gardens, heirloom varieties of herbs and perennials also provide good foraging. Choose several colors of flowers of differing heights. Native bees are particularly attracted to blue, purple, violet, white and yellow blooms. Plant flowers in clumps. Clusters of flowers attract more pollinators than individual blossoms. Clumps four feet or more in diameter are particularly attractive to bees. Include flowers of different shapes. Bees have different sizes, different body shapes, different tongue lengths and consequently choose different shaped flowers. Variety will attract a greater mix of species. Talk with experienced gardeners. Groups like UW-Extension's Master Gardeners, local chapters of The Wild Ones, the Native Plant Society and native plant nurseries can provide advice on choosing native varieties that will work well given the location, moisture, soil types and light that you have available. Consider larger-scale projects. The new pollinator provisions contained in the 2008 Farm Bill provide direct financial assistance to rural landowners for conservation efforts that support bees. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program provide guidelines for cost-sharing to establish wildflowers, flowering trees and shrubs. Contact local Natural Resource Conservation Service offices and U.S. Department of Agriculture service centers. Here are some native plant genera that are good sources of pollen and nectar, but the list is by no means exhaustive. Consult wildflower guides, nurseries and local experienced gardeners for advice on particular species. Here are some garden plants that are also bee-friendly. Supplement these with native species: About 70 percent of our native bees live in the ground in old tunnels, snags or similar locations, but they will adapt to manmade structures or enhanced nesting spots if the site is a comfortable fit. Here are some simple projects you can do. Consider working on these as family projects since the designs are all simple and your children can have the satisfaction of building bee habitat. Nesting blocks – A sheltered piece of an untreated 4 x 4 or 4 x 8 can make a fine bee condo. Drill holes between 3/32" and 3/8" in diameter approximately three-quarters of an inch apart. The holes should be smooth inside and closed at one end. The height of the nest block is not critical, eight inches or more is fine, but the depth of the holes is important. Holes less than a quarter inch in diameter should be three to four inches deep. Holes a quarter-inch and larger in diameter should be five to six inches deep. You can also drill holes in tree stumps to attract bees. Follow the same advice on hole size and spacing. Also make sure the stumps are dry if drilling with electric drills to avoid the risk of shock. Mount the nest blocks as you would a bird house on a post or side of a garage, barn or shed. Keep the tunnels horizontal with the entrance holes facing out. The idea is to mimic the holes bored into a tree by beetles. Nests of this type attract a variety of very docile spring and summer nesting solitary bees. Stem or tube bundles – Reeds and other plants that have naturally hollow stems can also make good nesting tubes for tunnel-nesting bees. Cut the stems into six- to eight-inch lengths and be careful to leave one end sealed at a natural node. Tie 15-20 of these tubes together with the sealed ends toward the back. Slide the tubes into a low wooden frame, piece of PVC pipe or other container that will keep the tubes dry and protected from weather. Whether building nest boxes or tube nests, location will determine if they are used by bees. Shelter the nests from the worst of the rain and wind with the entrance holes facing east or southeast. This placement will provide some morning sun to warm up the nests more quickly and protect them a bit from midday heat. Keep the stem bundles horizontal. Nest heights can vary, but three to six feet off the ground is recommended. They can be placed against buildings, fences, and staked or anchored in trees. Fix the nests firmly so they donít shake in the wind. Ground nests – Clear the vegetation from small south-facing areas that are level or slope gently downward to drain well. Gently compact the soil surface. Creating small patches of different heights, pitches and locations will attract different bee species. You can also create an artificial pit. In a sunny, well-drained spot, dig a pit about two feet deep and fill it with a mix of light-colored, fine drained sand or loam. Planter boxes and raised beds can also serve as bee nesting sites. Bumble bee nests – These bees look for warm dry cavities of varying sizes. In nature, they would seek out mouse holes and openings under grass tussocks. Artificial nest boxes made from untreated lumber about seven inches on a side will also attract bumble bees. Drill a few small ventilation holes near the top and cover these openings with screening fine enough to keep out ants. Make a few small drainage holes in the bottom. Fill the box loosely with upholsterer's cotton or short lengths of unraveled string. Make sure the box is weather tight to keep the larvae relatively warm and dry and to deter mold and fungi growth. An entrance tunnel of three-quarter- inch plastic in a contrasting color will attract bees. Place the box in an undisturbed area on, or buried in, the ground in full or partial shade where there is no risk of flooding. Put out the box in spring when you first notice bumble bees or when willows and flowers start blooming. Donít get discouraged as bumble bees occupy only about one in four such artificial boxes. If you donít have "tenants" by late July, store the box until next spring and try a different location. David L. Sperling edits Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine. Many fact sheets, brochures and downloadable books about native bees and pollinator conservation are available free-of-charge through The Xerces Society.
A UML tool or UML modeling tool is a software application that supports some or all of the notation and semantics associated with the Unified Modeling Language (UML), which is the industry standard general purpose modeling language for software engineering. UML tool is used broadly here to include application programs which are not exclusively focused on UML, but which support some functions of the Unified Modeling Language, either as an add-on, as a component or as a part of their overall functionality. Kinds of Functionality UML tools support the following kinds of functionality: Diagramming in this context means creating and editing UML diagrams; that is diagrams that follow the graphical notation of the Unified Modeling Language. The use of UML diagrams as a means to draw diagrams of – mostly – object-oriented software is generally agreed upon by software developers. When developers draw diagrams of object-oriented software, they usually follow the UML notation. On the other hand, it is often debated whether those diagrams are needed at all, during what stages of the software development process they should be used, and how (if at all) they should be kept up to date. The primacy of software code often leads to the diagrams being deprecated. Round-trip engineering refers to the ability of a UML tool to perform code generation from models, and model generation from code (a.k.a., reverse engineering), while keeping both the model and the code semantically consistent with each other. Code generation and reverse engineering are explained in more detail below. Code generation in this context means that the user creates UML diagrams, which have some connected model data, and the UML tool derives from the diagrams part or all of the source code for the software system. In some tools the user can provide a skeleton of the program source code, in the form of a source code template, where predefined tokens are then replaced with program source code parts during the code generation process. There is some debate among software developers about how useful code generation as such is. It certainly depends on the specific problem domain and how far code generation should be applied. There are well known areas where code generation is an established practice, not limited to the field of UML. The idea of completely leaving the "code level" and starting to do "programming" directly from the UML diagram level (i.e., design level) is quite debated among developers. That is the vision for Model-driven architecture (MDA). This idea is not in such widespread use compared to other software development tools like compilers or software configuration management systems. An often cited criticism is that the UML diagrams lack the detail that is needed to contain the same information as is covered with the program source: Jack W. Reeves states that the final embodiment of the design lies in the source code. (His often quoted statement that "the Code is the design" has been misinterpreted to mean that there is no need for intermediate- and high-level software-design artifacts, such as UML diagrams or software-requirements documents: Reverse engineering in this context means, that the UML tool reads program source code as input and derives model data and corresponding graphical UML diagrams from it (as opposed to the somewhat broader meaning described in the article "Reverse engineering"). Some of the challenges of reverse engineering are: - The source code often has much more detailed information than one would want to see in design diagrams. This problem is addressed by software architecture reconstruction. - Diagram data is normally not contained with the program source, such that the UML tool, at least in the initial step, has to create some random layout of the graphical symbols of the UML notation or use some automatic layout algorithm to place the symbols in a way that the user can understand the diagram. For example, the symbols should be placed at such locations on the drawing pane that they don't overlap. Usually, the user of such a functionality of a UML tool has to manually edit those automatically generated diagrams to attain some meaningfulness. It also often doesn't make sense to draw diagrams of the whole program source, as that represents just too much detail to be of interest at the level of the UML diagrams. - There are language features of some programming languages, like class- or function templates of the C++ programming language, which are notoriously hard to convert automatically to UML diagrams in their full complexity. Model and Diagram Interchange A key concept associated with the Model-driven architecture initiative is the capacity to transform a model into another model. For example, one might want to transform a platform-independent domain model into a Java platform-specific model for implementation. It is also possible to refactor UML models to produce more concise and well-formed UML models. It is possible to generate UML models from other modeling notations, such as BPMN, which is itself a UML profile. The standard that supports this is called QVT for Queries/Views/Transformations. One example of an open-source QVT-solution is the ATL language built by INRIA. - List of Unified Modeling Language tools - Model-driven engineering - Specification and Description Language (SDL) - http://www.developerdotstar.com/mag/articles/reeves_design_main.html by Jack W. Reeves \|Wikimedia Commons has media related to UML tools.\|
Power plant boiler houses designed to burn coal or high sulfur oil are required by Federal and State pollution regulations to “scrub” (remove) sulfur dioxide from flue gasses to meet emission limits. SO2 in flue gasses is known to be harmful to the environment, as it is one contributor to the formation of acid rain. pH control is critical for the proper functioning of the scrubber system. Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) technology, is commonly referred to as a scrubber, is proved and effective method for removing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the exhaust of coal-fired power plants. The basic principle of a sulfur dioxide scrubber system is the removal of SO2 by using its chemical characteristics to combine with water. In some cases, parallel rotating rods create a series of short throat Venturi openings. A series of low pressure, large orifice spray nozzles direct the scrubbing solution into the system. “Scrubbing liquor” is introduced into the system with the flue gas stream. Depending on the design of the scrubber, the gas can flow either concurrent (with) or counter-current (against) the scrubbing liquor. The high velocity turbulence caused by the Venturi openings ensures maximum gas to liquid contact. It is here that the droplets absorb the SO2 as well as impacting and dropping particulates out of the stream. The scrubbed gas is then sent through a demister or re-heater to prevent condensation and exhausted to atmosphere. The scrubbing liquor can be bubbled through a slurry or either lime, Ca(OH)2, or limestone, CaCO3 and water. Either lime or limestone will combine with the sulfite ions from the flue gas to form gypsum, CaSO3. The SO2 that is captured in a scrubber combines with the lime or limestone to form a number of byproducts. A primary byproduct is calcium sulfate, commonly known as gypsum. Spent scrubbing liquids are sent to clarifier where the insoluble gypsum is removed and the water is returned to the scrubber system. The addition of lime or limestone to scrubbing solution is controlled by monitoring the pH of the solution. Lime slurries are generally alkaline with a control point near a pH of 12 while limestone slurries are more neutral. A pH measurement is one of the testing methods used to monitor continuous blowdown and replenishment. The SO2 within the scrubbing gases can be controlled by maintaining the level of caustic scrubbing chemicals that are commonly used. pH is a critical factor for proper operation of a scrubber. It is also difficult to measure due to 2-15% solids and tendencies towards scaling, coating and plugging. CaSO4 concentration decreases slightly as pH decreases. Furthermore, because the concentration of oxygen dissolved in the slurry is constant, the formation of sulfate depends only on the concentration of SO3. The precipitation of CaSO4 increases as pH decreases, thus CaSO4 is apt to form scale at a lower pH. Hard scale formation can be controlled by keeping the pH high. The solubility of CaSO3 increases greatly as pH decreases or conversely CaSO3 forms a precipitate as pH increases. If pH is too high, “soft pluggage” occurs. Soft pluggage is due to formation of calcium sulfite precipitates which appear as large leaf like masses. Obviously maintenance of equipment that has soft pluggage is easier than with equipment that has hard scale. In many cases where soft pluggage has occurred, it can be melted off simply by lowering the pH (increasing solubility). It is obvious that a potential dilemma exists, operation at too low pH promotes the formation of hard scale and operation at too high of a pH promotes the formation of soft pluggage. Only through experience can the proper pH range be determined. Typically limestone is added to achieve the desired level of SO2 removal based on the sulfur content of the coal, the boiler load and the monitored SO2 concentration of the flue gas, while maintaining the pH in the reaction tank at 5.5 to 6.0 pH. The pH sensor can be located in the re-circulating tank or the re-circulating line. Conductivity one of the most common testing methods used to monitor the concentration of scrubbing chemicals and by-products. As the concentration of the scrubbing chemical is depleted, its contribution to the total conductivity value will also decrease. However, occurring at the same time, the contribution to conductivity from the by-products is increasing. Therefore, a measurable decrease in conductivity is detected as the scrubbing solution is depleted. Difficulties can arise, however, when more than one gas is being scrubbed. Depending upon the relative proportions of the gases, the by-products formed will differ, leading to variations in the conductivity background. Although a conductivity measurement can be difficult or impossible, it may still provide a useful alarm point to alert the operator to check a grab sample. In scrubbers where the scrubbing chemical concentration is maintained by continual replenishment and blowdown, conductivity can be used to initiate blowdown to prevent high dissolved solids build-up. In continual replacement scrubbers, conductivity can be used to initiate blowdown to prevent high dissolved solids build up. Torodial or Inductive conductivity is the best form of measurement to use in this application and the sensor should be located where it will be exposed to a representative sample. Sourced by : http://www.ekomeri.com
The name Fluor is derived from ‘fluo’, stream. It was discovered in 1771. It is the most reactive of all the non-metallic elements and it affects every substance it comes in contact with, even metals like Platinum. There are only a few noble gases that are not affected by its aggressive action. Fluor is the main active component in enamel, the protective coating on our teeth. This enamel is hard, smooth and shiny. This same smooth hardness is the reason why it is so useful for anti-stick coatings on saucepans. We can separate Uranium isotopes out of uranium fluoride, UF6. Fluor is rather special in that it isn’t easy to potentise. If we were to dissolve it in water it would immediately react with the water to form Fluoric acid. Other solvents would give similar problems, so it won’t be easy to find a suitable medium to potentise Fluor in its pure elemental form.
The term global warming can perhaps be misleading, especially to those who don’t understand the dynamics of global warming. After spending Christmas golfing in sunny Florida, President Trump turned to twitter to write: “In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!” Although, it is true that New York recently experienced the coldest New Year’s Eve in nearly sixty years, this does not mean global warming is a “Hoax” as Trump tweeted in 2016. This created a backlash on Twitter as users, including NASA, tweeted back explaining the difference between weather and climate. Weather is the conditions in the atmosphere over a short period of time while climate is over a long period. “When we talk about climate change, we talk about changes in long-term averages of daily weather,” posted the agency online. Nonetheless, scientists claim that these extreme cold weather conditions could be a result of climate change. How Can Global Warming Influences Cold Snaps? Cold snaps are extreme cold-weather conditions, similar to the one that recently hit Eastern America and Europe, and have been occurring throughout history. However, what has been puzzling scientists are the cooling winter temperatures during the past quarter century. The cause of cold snaps are cold winds rushing south from the arctic, often influencing large areas in the US, Europe, and Russia. Studies suggest that jet streams in the arctic have been weakening in the past 4 decades due to the rising temperature of the pole which is leading to cold air dipping to the south. What Are Jet Streams & How Can They Influence Weather in the North Hemisphere? Jet streams are winds that move in a straight line from west to east around the pole. These winds act like a giant barrier keeping the cold air around the pole. Wind is caused by a gradient in temperature and as the Arctic warms, the gradient in temperature between the pole and the lower latitudes is reduced resulting in weaker winds. Dr Vihma, head of the polar meteorology and climatology group at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, explains how temperature can affect the jet streams. “Ordinarily the jet stream is straight, blowing from west to east. When it becomes weaker, Dr. Vihma said, it can become wavy, “more like a big snake around the Northern Hemisphere.” As these weak jet streams come in contact with high pressure zones, cold air begins to rush south, resulting in cold spells like the one currently affecting Eastern United States. These cold snaps could lead to more extreme weather conditions by interacting with winds traveling around the globe. The recent cold snap was traveling east when it collided with a wall of warm air from the Atlantic. The large difference in the temperature between the two bodies of air lead to a large drop in atmospheric pressure. The pressure drop is so steep it is often described as explosive by meteorologist. As the air begins to spiral around it can result in a powerful storm called a “bomb cyclone”. Bomb Cyclones often bring strong winds and large amounts of heavy snow. As it begins to move North and West, it begins to drags more cold air from the poles adding to the bitter-cold chill in the Eastern part of the US. How Can Global Warming Affect Future Cold Spells? The link between cold weather and climate change is still debated by scientists and meteorologists as there are more factors that can affect the climate including natural phenomenons. To link global warming to a single cold spell is therefore difficult but there is no doubt that the warming temperatures in the pole could have an affect on climate in lower latitudes. Clarifying the relation between climate change and extreme cold weather conditions is still an active field of research, however, one thing is important, as educated people we should not ignore the fact that the rest of the globe is warming including the Arctic. This area in particular is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe and is currently 3.5 degrees Celsius above average. We should not wait for the extinction of wildlife and disasters to occur to put environmental regulation into motion.
What is pitch in sound for kids Kids learn more about the science and physics of sound. Pitch, acoustics, and the doppler effect. How the frequency of the sound wave affects the pitch we hear. Learn interesting information about what sound is. Find out more about sound waves for kids and improve your knowledge with DK Find Out, to help you learn. The pitch of a note can be measured in a unit called Hertz. A note that is vibrating at Hz will be caused by sound waves that vibrate at what is pitch in science Every kind of sound is produced by vibration. The vibrations from the source disturb the air in such a way that sound waves are The Pitch of Sounds. The pitch of a sound is how high or low the sound is. A high sound has a high pitch and a low sound has a low pitch. A tight drum skin gives a higher pitched. Pitch And Loudness Of Sound - Read about Loudness of Sound and its proportionate A mother talking to her kid has different voice compared to that of the kid. Things that vibrate send out sound waves. Characteristics of sound include, pitch, loudness, and quality. The pitch of a sound is how high or. Pitch is created by sound waves having shorter or longer wavelengths. The longer the wavelength is the lower the pitch. The shorter the wavelength is the higher. learn about what is sound and how different musical instruments make sound. Different pitches are played by pressing keys that open or close holes in the. The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency of its wave. up to 25, Hz. Humans hear sounds only up to about 17, Hz, but children can usually hear. Sometimes sounds are pleasant to listen to, like two voices singing in harmony or the trickling of water in a brook. Other times they are unpleasant, like a loud fire. Find out how your child learns about sound, vibrations and pitch in primary- school science with our guide for parents. This science fair project idea produces varying pitches of sound. herui.me://scifiles herui.me b. What do pitch and volume mean when talking about sound waves? Further your Lesson for Kids . But, what does 'pitch' mean when it comes to sound?. Along with rhythm, pitch is a basic part of music and one that kids respond to In the context of music education, it's basically whether or not a note sounds high. But does hearing loss cause everything to sound uniformly softer or do Things got even more interesting when some kids realized they could turn which a sound wave oscillates, the higher the resulting sound's pitch you. A sound can be low or high. That's called pitch. Find out how pitch works. Sound has both volume and pitch. Volume is seen as an increase in amplitude of the sound wave. Pitch is seen as a change in the frequency of. The differences between sounds are caused by intensity, pitch, and tone. Intensity. Sound is a wave and waves have amplitude, or height. Amplitude is a.
In Embedded Learning Strategy Instruction : Story-Structure Pedagogy in Heterogenous Secondary Literature Classes , Michael Faggela-Luby Jean Schumaker , and Donald Deshler examine the problem of uneven learning structures among literature students . Their previous research found that a majority of secondary education level students were reading below the reading comprehension level appropriate for their age level This was attributed to the inability of teachers to find a structure of teaching reading comprehension and story structure in a method that would both allow LD students to comprehend narrative story structures while still challenging higher level learning students . They present a number of relevant studies done over the years that have presented different story structure learning models to different focus groups of students to examine the results . However , these results are largely inconclusive because some studies failed to produce graphs that explained their results and others did not separate LD students from other students , therefore failing to examine the experimental structures in terms of these two distinguishable groups . Their research attempted to find a reading comprehension structure that could be applied to all levels of students and be used as a universal tool towards learning comprehension and story structure for students of all learning aptitudes and levels They conducted a research experiment using 79 students to examine the effectiveness of the embedded-story structure . Some students were limited readers , while some were strong readers . Students taught in their regular classrooms with regular materials and were randomly assigned to one of two groups . One group would...
\|Figure 1. The chain of colored boxes represent the first eight amino acids in the beta chain of hemoglobin. The sixth position in the normal beta chain has glutamic acid, while sickle beta chain has valine. This is the sole difference between the two.\| The molecule, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), is the fundamental genetic material that determines the arrangement of the amino acid building blocks in all proteins. Segments of DNA that code for particular proteins are called genes. The gene that controls the production of the beta globin subunit of hemoglobin is located on one of the 46 human chromosomes (chromosome #11). People have twenty-two identical chromosome pairs (the twenty-third pair is the unlike X and Y chromosomes that determine a person's sex). One of each pair is inherited from the father, and one from the mother. Occasionally, a gene is altered in the exchange between parent and offspring. This event, called mutation, occurs extremely rarely. Therefore, the inheritance of sickle cell disease depends totally on the genes of the parents. If only one of the beta globin genes is the "sickle" gene and the other is normal, the person is a carrier for sickle cell disease. The condition is called sickle cell trait. With a few rare exceptions, people with sickle cell trait are completely normal. If both beta globin genes code for the sickle protein, the person has sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is determined at conception, when a person acquires his/her genes from the parents. Sickle cell disease cannot be caught, acquired, or otherwise transmitted. Also, sickle cell trait does not develop into sickle cell disease. Sickle cell trait partially protects people from the deadly consequences of malaria. The frequency of the sickle cell gene reached high levels in Africa and India due to the protection against malaria that occurred for people with sickle cell trait. \|Figure 2. Normal hemglobin exists as solitary units whether oxygenated or deoxygenated (upper panel). In contrast, sickle hemoglobin molecules adhere when they are deoxygenated, forming sickle hemoglobin polymers (lower panel).\| The hemoglobin molecule (made of alpha and beta globin subunits) picks up oxygen in the lungs and releases it when the red cells reach peripheral tissues, such as the muscles. Ordinarily, the hemoglobin molecules exist as single, isolated units in the red cell, whether they have oxygen bound or not. Normal red cells maintain a basic disc shape, whether they are transporting oxygen or not. The picture is different with sickle hemoglobin (Figure 2). Sickle hemoglobin exists as isolated units in the red cells when they have oxygen bound. When sickle hemoglobin releases oxygen in the peripheral tissues, however, the molecules tend to stick together and form long chains or polymers. These rigid polymers distort the cell and cause it to bend out of shape. While most distorted cells are simply shaped irregularly, a few have a cresent-like appearence under the microscope. These cresent-like or "sickle shaped" red cells gave the disorder its name. When the red cells return to the lungs and pick up oxygen again, the hemoglobin molecules resume their solitary existence (the left of the diagram). A single red cell may traverse the circulation four times in one minute. Sickle hemoglobin undergoes repeated episodes of polymerization and depolymerization. This cyclic alteration in the state of the molecules damages the hemoglobin and ultimately the red cell itself. Polymerized sickle hemoglobin does not form single strands. Instead, the molecules group in long bundles of 14 strands each that twist in a regular fashion, much like a braid (Figure 3). \|Figure 3. Polymers of deoxygenated sickle hemoglobin molecules. Each hemoglobin molecule is represented as a sphere. The spheres twist in an alpha helical bundle made of 14 sickle hemoglobin chains.\| Despite their imposing appearance, the sickle hemoglobin polymers are held together by very weak forces. The abnormal valine amino acid at position 6 in the beta globin chain interacts weakly with the beta globin chain in an adjacent sickle hemoglobin molecule. The complex twisting, 14-strand structure of the bundles produces multiple interactions and cross-interactions between molecules. The weak nature of the interaction opens one strategy to treat sickle cell disease. Some types of hemoglobin molecules, such as that found before birth (fetal hemoglobin), block the interactions between the deoxygenated hemoglobin S molecules. All people have fetal hemoglobin in their circulation before birth. Fetal hemoglobin protects the unborn child and newborns from the effects of sickle cell hemoglobin. Unfortunately, this hemoglobin disappears within the first year after birth. One approach to treating sickle cell disease is to rekindle production of fetal hemoglobin. The drug, hydroxyurea induces fetal hemoglobin production in some patients with sickle cell disease and improves the clinical condition of some people. \|Figure 4. Normal red cells maintain their shape as they pass through the capillaries and release oxygen to the peripheral tissues (upper panel). Hemoglobin polymers form in the sickle rell cells with oxygen release, causing them to deform. The deformed cells block the flow of cells and interrupt the delivery of oxygen to the tissues (lower panel).\| The damage to red cell membranes promotes many of the complications of sickle cell disease. Robert Hebbel at the University of Minnesota and colleagues were among the first workers to show that the heme component of hemoglobin tends to be released from the protein with repeated episodes of sickle hemoglobin polymerization. Some of this free heme lodges in the red cell membrane. The iron in the center of the heme molecule promotes formation of very dangerous compounds, called reactive oxygen species. These molecules damage both the lipid and protein components of the red cell membrane. Membrane stiffness is one of the consequences of this injury. Also, the damaged proteins tend to clump together to form abnormal clusters in the red cell membrane. Antibodies develop to these protein clusters, leading to even more red cell destruction (hemolysis). The anemia in sickle cell disease is caused by red cell destruction, or hemolysis. The production of red cells by the bone marrow increases dramatically, but is unable to keep pace with the destruction. Red cell production increases by five to ten-fold in most patients with sickle cell disease. The average half-life of normal red cells is about 40 days. In patients with sickle cell disease, this value can fall to as low as four days. The volume of "active" bone marrow is much greater than normal in patients with sickle cell disease due to the demand for greater red cell production. The degree of anemia varies widely between patients. In general, patients with sickle cell disease have hematocrits that are roughly half the normal value (e.g., about 25% compared to about 40-45% normally). Patients with hemoglobin SC disease (where one of the beta globin genes codes for hemoglobin S and the other for the variant, hemoglobin C) have higher hematocrits than do those with homozygous Hb SS disease. The hematocrits of patients with Hb SC disease run in low- to mid-thirties. The hematocrit is normal for people with sickle cell trait.
There is very little surface data available over the ocean. Weather and research buoys are few and far between and concentrated near coastlines. Measurements of the ocean winds from satellite scatterometers provide vital information for global weather forecast models and hurricane forecasting. Scatterometer data tells forecasters the intensity and direction of the near surface wind field. The surface wind field is very useful information for hurricane modeling and forecasting. The data from scatterometers also goes into storm surge models. Scatterometers measure the near surface winds with microwave radiation. The satellite emits microwaves and measures the reflection and scattering of the microwaves. By comparing the background microwaves and to the reflected microwaves from different angles, the near surface winds over the ocean can be calculated. The Advanced Scatterometer Instrument (ASCAT) on the MetOp satellite operated by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) provides surface wind data over a large portion of the Earth. The WINdSat instrument on the Coriolis satellite (operated by the US Department of Defense and US Navy) also provides surface wind data. Below is an example of the data collected by the QuikSCAT satellite for hurricane Ike in 2008. The Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) satellite operated until the end of 2009. Originally QuickSCAT was a stop-gap mission when a previously orbiting satellite (NSCAT) unexpectedly failed. The purpose of the QuickSCAT mission was to measure near surface wind speed and direction over the oceans. These measurements could be made in most cloud cover or weather conditions. QuickSCAT was in a polar orbit and measured near surface wind speed and direction over 90% of the Earth’s surface in one day.
B. Grossi et al/PLOS ONE 2014 It can take only a few seconds of video to make a great moment in science. A recent entry is a video that shows two chickens walking. One clucks along with a normal chicken strut, while the other has wide and heavy strides. And no wonder: He’s got what looks like a toilet plunger strapped to his tail. The video wasn’t just playing chicken. The chicken and his wooden tail tramp along in the name of science. Bruno Grossi and colleagues at the Universidad de Chile were looking to learn more about how dinosaurs may have walked. While one modern relative of dinosaurs, the crocodilians, walks on four legs, birds — feathery descendants of the Tyrannosaurus rex we know and love — walk on two. This means that birds might be a good model to study to understand how bipedal dinosaurs moved as they stomped across the Mesozoic landscape. But there’s a big difference between most modern birds and the great land-bound dinosaurs: Dinosaurs had tails. So if you want to create a model for how dinosaurs may have walked, you have to give a bird a dinosaur tail. And in a study published February 5 in PLOS ONE, that is exactly what Grossi and colleagues attempted to do. The paper is based on an earlier study by Matt Carrano, a paleontologist now at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. During his years as a graduate student, he attempted to see how a tail might change the way a bird walked. Birds do not walk like crocodilians or mammals. We mammals move our legs from the hip, and our thigh bones are vertical. But birds are configured very differently. The “knee” we can see is actually the ankle. The real knee is hidden up the feathers. And instead of a vertical thigh, birds’ thigh bones lie almost horizontal and don’t move when the birds walk. All of their movement comes from the knee down. Carrano says that scientists call it “Groucho Marx walking.” But with tails, dinosaurs would have had a shifted center of balance. Would that shift promote more movement from the hip? To study whether or not a tail would turn a bird’s knee action into thigh action, Carrano purchased a bunch of chickens from a breeder. He attached a metal rod to each chicken as a “tail,” attaching it with veterinary tape. Unfortunately, he had little success. The weight wasn’t well distributed and the chicken merely squatted down more, resulting in more knee action than before. Grossi and colleagues thought they could do better. They too started by buying some chickens. One-third of the chicks roamed wild and free. Another third had wooden tails mounted on modeling clay and attached to a Velcro jacket that fit on their hind ends. The final third had an equivalent mass strapped to the center of the back. Determining the correct tail mass was a weighty problem. Scientists are not quite sure how much an average theropod dinosaur’s tail weighed. By looking at various reconstructions and measurements from different paleontologists, the scientists came up with a conservative estimate — 15 percent of the chick’s body weight. The chicks began wearing their wooden tails or weights three days after hatching, and the tails were switched out for new ones every few days to adjust the weight. Chickens wearing tails or weights adapted quickly, moving around and interacting with other birds without a problem. But they moved very differently than the free-roaming chickens. Grossi and his colleagues observed that chickens with tails shifted their weight forward. With the weight forward, the thigh bone became more vertical, and the source of movement shifted from the knee to the thigh. Adding a tail made the chicken’s movement less birdlike, and more … dinosaur-like. Putting a tail on a chicken can’t tell us what happened in evolution to turn a dinosaur stride into a chicken strut. But it does show that scientists can re-create some of the biomechanical changes that may have taken place. They show that the tail changes the center of gravity and alters the walking gait. Carrano notes that it is “an important proof of concept.” Putting tails like these on chickens, he explains, helps scientists understand “how posture and bone shape and movement relate.” And, he adds, “it was nice to see I wasn’t the only lunatic who wanted to do this kind of thing.” Both Carrano and Grossi used chickens as their “dinosaur” of choice. José Iriarte-Díaz is a functional morphologist now at the University of Illinois in Chicago and coauthor of the paper. He explains that when it comes to birds, you can’t beat a chicken for research convenience. But he acknowledges that some chickens have been bred for certain traits (like those large chicken breasts that fill grocery store cases) that may affect how the birds react to a tail. Michael Habib, a paleontologist at the University of Southern California, notes that other bird models might help to understand “if this is what happens when you put a tail on a chicken, or if it’s all birds with tails on them.” Habib calls the experiment “deceptively simple and clever.” It not only says something about how dinosaurs may have moved, but also helps scientists understand “what contributes to the weird stance of modern birds,” he says. But of course, there are limitations. The chickens got wooden sticks with clay bases, not real tails with muscle and bone. So while the scientists could add to the mass of the tail, Habib explains, “you just can’t get the mechanical advantage of the tail. The only way you could do that is with a virtual model.” But models are only as good as the data that you put into them. To get that data, sometimes you have to put some wood tails on some chickens. It’s all the name of science.
a. Cognitive: Deciding where is the most strategic place on the court to hit the overhead B. Perceptual: Seeing what type of spin the ball has C. Motor Skills: utilizing good footwork make tiny adjustments until the overhead has been hit - Fine is more prevalent in this skill because tiny adjustments need to be made to ensure successful placement of and contact with the ball. - Discrete is more prevalent because the tennis swing has a distinct start and stop. - Tennis is external due to outside factors that could shift movement of the ball before contact with the racquet, such as wind. - Overheads are a stroke done by a single person and, thus, they are individual. D. Perceptual Motor Skills: seeing where the ball is and then moving to be in the ideal position to hit the overhead
In 1982, a group of Yucatec Mayas created the Maya Literature Workshop in Yucatan, southern Mexico. According to writer Miguel Angel May May, the Workshop’s members had “a minimal degree of high school education, were all about the same age, and were native speakers of Maya.” They shared a common desire to cultivate their mother tongue. This collective experience was the beginning of a creative search by this group to produce their own works of written literature. In 1990, two of its members, Gerardo Can Pat and Maria Luisa Pacheco Gongora, published their first literary works in Maya and in Spanish. The goals of the Maya Literature Workshop represent a more involved process among indigenous peoples in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Traditional references to indigenous cultures have focused on oral traditions, ceremonial music, textile art, or pottery. Nonetheless, since the 1980s the practices of indigenous cultural production have expanded considerably, encompassing the use of language technologies and aesthetic representation associated with Western and urban landscapes. Indigenous artists use their native languages and cultural traditions to explore a variety of media, from written literature and film, to contemporary visual arts and electronic musical instruments. Considering the issue of cultural homogenization and the alarming increase of endangered languages, the emergence of indigenous aesthetic creativity in the Americas is a significant step toward building a more linguistically and culturally diverse world. Subsequently, the promotion and strengthening of this cultural diversification constitute a key task in the realm of cultural policies, not only for nation-states but also for the private, non-governmental, and inter-governmental agencies of the international community. Indigenous Languages in World Literature(s) The linkage between indigenous rights and culture has been in the forefront of global discussions since the 1980s. In June 1989, the International Labor Organization (ILO) instituted Convention 169, whose body of articles refers to the value of indigenous cultures on several occasions. The fourth article of the document states that “special measures shall be adopted as appropriate for safeguarding the persons, institutions, property, labour, cultures and environment of the peoples concerned.” Within the United Nations, the discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples began with the Working Group on Indigenous Populations appointed in 1982 by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. After nearly three decades of discussion, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted in September 2007. One aspect that stands out in this document is the claim for the linguistic and cultural rights of indigenous peoples. With this perspective, Article 13 of the Declaration states, “Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop, and transmit […] their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems, and literatures.” In both the ILO Convention 169 and the 2007 UN Declaration, the preservation and development of indigenous cultures constitute a central concern. These global endeavors were paralleled by the empowerment of indigenous people not only in local struggles for land rights and self-determination, but also through their creativity in literary and artistic expression. This movement did not limit indigenous creativity to “oral literatures” but rather sought to use the aesthetic tools and possibilities of writing and other media. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the use of indigenous languages as literary language began to gain prominence among writers from indigenous communities, such as the Maya, Zapotec, and Nahua in Mexico; the Maya in Guatemala; Quechua speakers in Peru; and the Mapuche in Chile.. Emerging native poets and storytellers construct their own aesthetic identity by using their own language along with Spanish, or in the case of those who have lost their native language, by revitalizing their indigenous cultural identities. In Peru and Mexico, numerous contemporary indigenous writers have incorporated their languages into written literature. In Peru, the poems in Quechua by Jose Maria Arguedas and Andrés Alencastre in the 1950s and 1960s and by more recent Peruvian indigenous writers such as Dida Aguirre, Eduardo Ninamayo, and Odi Gonzalez, have given status to Quechua in the literary realm. In Mexico, writers such as Natalio Hernández (Nahua), Briceida Cuevas Cob (Yucatec Maya), and Natalia Toledo (Zapotec), who are among a prolific group of indigenous writers coming to prominence since the 1980s, have amplified the resonance of what the Maya Literature Workshop started. The awakening of or the struggle for indigenous identity runs through most of these writers’ works. Peruvian Quechua poet Dida Aguirre, here translated by Maureen Ahern, sings to a collective awakening, a process deeply rooted in the Andean space: “Let’s strike like lightning! / from the dark cavity / of Mother Earth, / because we’re people / rooted in rock.” In a similar vein, Nahua author Natalio Hernández, translated by Sylvia and Earl Shorris, expresses the indigenous struggle for identity: “Sometimes I feel that we Indians / await the coming of a man /…/ But this man who knows all / and can do all / will never come: / because he lives within us, / he is found within us / he walks with us; / he awakens; yet he sleeps.” Native authors also testify to more global issues, such as the survival of humankind in the face of apocalyptic times. For example, Yucatec Maya poet Briceida Cuevas Cob, translated by Rebecca Chase, projects her own response to this crisis through the surviving figure of an owl: “The fossils of the people / move nowhere. / The moon paints the tombs of the cemetery / which has begun to chew the weeds. / The owl / practices a song to life. / It refuses to predict its own death. The use of the metaphorical power of indigenous languages has also gained strength in less populous countries. This is the case of Chile, where in 1989 the prestigious Editorial Universitaria published a book of poetry by a Mapuche author: Se ha despertado el ave de mi corazón (The Bird of My Heart Has Awakened) by Leonel Lienlaf. This book was published in Spanish and in the Mapuche language—Mapudungun, “language of earth.” Lienlaf successfully introduced the language of his people, which has traditionally been oral, in the written literary culture. His poetry shows that Mapudungun is a language of aesthetic value, rich in metaphors and symbols. While Lienlaf uses alphabetic writing as a medium, he simultaneously stages the tensions in doing so: “My hand would not write / what wasn’t my own /../ My hand / told me the world / could not be written.” In this expressive struggle, however, Lienlaf finds a way to craft a sense of self-recognition around the Mapuche home space (ruka), as stated in these verses: “Along that trunk I walked through / hundreds of generations, / aching, laughing, / and I saw a cross that severed / my head / and saw a sword that blessed me / before I died. / Mother, I am the trunk / that burns / in the hearth of our ruka” (trans. John Bierhorst, Ül: Four Mapuche Poets, Latin American Literary Review Press, 1998). In Guatemala, the Maya Q’anjoba’l writer Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez incorporated his language into the written system of the novel. In 1992 Gonzalez published his novel La otra cara, in English, A Mayan Life, which tells the story of a Maya child who confronts cultural differences among members of his people and “ladinos” or non-indigenous Guatemalans. In 1996, he published an edition in Maya Q’anjob’al and Spanish, entitled Sb’eyb’al Jun Naq / La otra cara, which begins in his native language, here translated as “It all began when the gods inscribed their great signs on the stelae of time. It was on the day Thirteen Ajaw.” In this symbolically suggestive style, the Mayan Q’anjoba’l language acquires the status of novelistic language, in a position equal to Spanish or any other Western language. The use of native languages for literature is not unique to countries with large indigenous populations such as Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru. This literature also emerged in areas where native peoples have been “minoritized,” as is the case of Colombia or Chile. In recent years, anthologies of contemporary indigenous literatures have come out in English, demonstrating the global relevance of indigenous aesthetic empowerment in writing. The use of indigenous languages in literary terrains and the subsequent translations of these texts into Spanish, English, and other languages have helped bring recognition to the complex aesthetics of native languages. The rise of indigenous languages in world literature also compels states and international authorities to develop cultural policies that protect both the linguistic rights of indigenous peoples and provide the material resources necessary for the printing and dissemination of these literary works. In the early 2000s, a group of young Mapuche raised in Santiago, Chile, formed Wechekeche Ñi Trawün, a band that creates its music with electronic instruments like the electric guitar, drums, and a synthesizer in combination with Mapuche instruments such as the trutruka, a native wind instrument, and kultrún, a native percussion instrument. Wechekeche Ñi Trawün means “meeting of young people,” which reflects the composition of the group. With more than ten members, this band has managed to shape a musical aesthetic that mixes the sounds of kultrún and trutruka in fusion with hip hop, reggae, Argentinian rock, and ranchera music, among others. Their musical compositions, filled with abundant bilingual twists (Mapudugun and Spanish), extol the value of being Mapuche and vindicate land claims. Since the production of their first album in 2004, one of the leitmotifs running through the lyrics of Wechekeche Ñi Trawün is the rejection of national and transnational corporations and their exploitation of lands and forests in areas associated with Mapuche communities. Their songs also echo a desire that has marked the contemporary struggles of the Mapuche social and political movement in Chile and Argentina: the reconstruction of the Mapuche nation, or the Wallmapu, a collective concept that links Mapuches from both sides of the Chilean-Argentinian border. As a result of such a musical and political desire, this band of young urban Mapuches has toured cities and rural communities in both regions. In these performances, their mixture of styles and genres from contemporary pop music and native instruments resonates with the visions of the rural and urban youth, while raising awareness of the historic Mapuche struggle. In southern Argentina, another Mapuche voice is heard: Beatriz Pichi Malen. Her musical work, beginning in the early 1990s, also plays with non-indigenous rhythms and styles mixed with Mapuche music. In March 2000, Pichi Malen released “Plata” (Silver), her first album, with songs that vindicate the culture of her people in an Argentina where Mapuches have historically been marginalized. In Guatemala, under the name Bitz’ma/Sobrevivencia (Survival), a group of Maya artists have created a musical style characterized by a mix of rhythms and sounds of the tum, flute, and marimba, accompanied by electric guitars and drums. In this way, Bitz’magives life to their rock Maya. Bitz’ma was established a decade ago as the collective project of a group of Maya youth from San Ildefonso Ixtachuacán, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. In their songs, they incorporate a multilingual repertoire of Spanish and Mayan languages and musical mixtures. They tour communities within Guatemala as well as communities of the Guatemalan Maya diaspora in Mexico and southern California. The Guatemalan Maya musical group called Sin Rostro-Tujaal Rock is doing something similar, as their songs are in various Mayan languages such as Mam, Sakapulteko, K’iche’, and Kaqchikel. These Maya musicians, with more than a decade of experience, have created a musical fusion, combining Maya rhythms and sounds with reggae, ska, son, and ballads. In an interview on April 16, 2011 for a Guatemalan newspaper, drummer Miguel Felipe Tz’ikin’, one of the six members of Sin Rostro–Tujaal Rock, commenting on the name of their recent musical production, “Resurgimiento” (Revival), states: “The word then does not mean so much to ‘reappear’ because we have always been here, but rather we now return over our steps to contribute to the construction of a better humanity.” Thus, they stress the close relationship between aesthetic practice—the language of music—with a “resurgence” anchored in Maya tradition, but also in a contemporary and cosmopolitan outlook. A significant impact of these artistic groups in their communities has been their ability to sensitize indigenous youth to engage their people’s cultures and histories. Through their music, groups such as Wechekeche Ñi Trawün, Bitza/Sobrevivencia, and Sin Rostro-Tujaal Rock channel the energy and aspirations of indigenous youth into broader cultural, social, and political goals. They thereby counter the culture of individualism fostered by neoliberal societies and the increasing trends of crime or drug consumption that mark public life in contemporary urban settings. In 1985 in Mexico City, the Latin American Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples’ Film and Video (CLACPI) was founded. This group was created to link native media groups to young people from indigenous communities who exhibited a creative command of camera technology. Since the mid-eighties, CLACPI has organized 11 international festivals and numerous workshops dedicated to promoting indigenous advancement in the media arts. These festivals have taken place in countries like Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Chile. According to Amalia Córdova, the Latin American Program manager of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, “a significant innovation of indigenous cinemas” has come to the forefront with “the use of native languages in the productions, which makes the works accessible to cultural and linguistic communities where traditions are kept.” Córdova states that indigenous filmmaking “also stresses the importance of using native languages to indigenous youth, who are more likely to lose it.” One of the pioneers in indigenizing the art of the camera is Alberto Muenala, a filmmaker from the Kichwa community of Otavalo, Ecuador. His cinematic production began in the early 1990s. In short videos, Muenala incorporates the realities and languages of Kichwa communities. This is precisely what happens in the film Mashikuna / Comrades (1995, 40 minutes), which tells the story of two children as they embark on their life journeys, from the pain of dealing with racism and oppression to becoming activists in an indigenous social and political movement. The Mapuche filmmaker Jeannette Paillán represents another trajectory with the camera in a short film entitled Punalka (1995, 26 minutes) – an assemblage of powerful and poetic images, sounds, and voices. The camera pans the waters and mountains of Alto Bio-Bio in the Andean region of southern Chile, where a Mapuche community (the Pehuenches) struggles to live with their own language and traditions. While the Paillán’s camera highlights the human and natural environment, the voice of the poet Leonel Lienlaf tells, in Mapudungun, the story of Punalka—a being that, according to Mapuche traditions, is sovereign over the waters of the river. In this way, the film highlights the sacred significance of the natural environment for this community in a region where a hydroelectric plant installed in the Alto Bio-Bio in the late 1990s had a devastating impact. Paillán’s film alternates space and time in which the poetic use of Mapudungun (“language of earth”) resonates with the background of the Andean mountain range. How should one interpret these aesthetic practices led by indigenous artists in language domains that come from native traditions in Latin America? What implications do these practices have for indigenous people who seek to exercise their right, as stated in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007, “to revitalize, use, develop, and transmit” their own “languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems, and literatures?” Various indigenous aesthetics have been recorded, voiced, or envisioned in contemporary languages and forms in both urban spaces and “natural” environments in crisis. This occurs at a time when global and local powers tend to undermine indigenous claims to language, culture, territory, and political self-representation. If something is affirmed though this new wave of indigenous written literature, musical fusion, and visual arts, it is that it represents a desire for not only continuity, but also for re-invention of indigenous identities under the conditions of contemporary urban, technological, and cultural life. However, it is important to note that most of the aforementioned indigenous writers and artists forge their cultural expressions with limited material resources. Even though there are legal bodies that invoke “indigenous rights” in many Latin American countries, actual government practices dismiss indigenous artistic and cultural projects that do not benefit their own short-term political agendas. This is the case of the artists and writers I have presented in this article, whose works embody demands of self-determination and sovereignty and take a critical stance toward state and government politics. Therefore, they do not have significant support from state entities. In 1989, ILO Convention 169 urged states and governments not only to promote indigenous cultures but also to guarantee agency of indigenous peoples in the exercise of their cultural rights. Article Six of the Convention states the need to “establish means by which these peoples can freely participate, to at least the same extent as other sectors of the population, at all levels of decision-making in elective institutions and administrative and other bodies responsible for policies and programmes which concern them.” To this end, I believe that the two key challenges facing public institutions in each country as well as in the international community, are: first, to provide material resources that strengthen indigenous linguistic, aesthetic, and cultural creativity; and, second, to ensure that their cultural policies guarantee the autonomy of indigenous writers and artists, not only in the aesthetic realm but also in the political arena. The demand for indigenous autonomies is, to a large extent, an invitation to think and imagine cultural policies that foster diversity in the twenty first century world. LUIS E. CARCAMO-HUECHANTE is a scholar of Mapuche origin who grew up in Tralcao, a rural village in the River Region of Valdivia in southern Chile. He studied Philosophy and Social Sciences at the Universidad Austral de Chile, obtained his MA at the University of Oregon, and earned his PhD in Hispanic Studies at Cornell University. He taught at Harvard University between 2001 and 2009, and now teaches Latin American and indigenous literatures and cultures at The University of Texas at Austin, where he was elected a member of the Society for Teaching Excellence in Fall 2011.
Students circulate around the class asking questions of each other to find people who fit the description on the sheet. When found, students sign on the appropriate line. Daily_routine Differentiated_learning Grammar Verbs Primary Junior_Secondary Senior_Secondary Listening Speaking Students practise verbal expressions for daily activities. Daily_routine Games Grammar Time Verbs Primary Junior_Secondary Listening Speaking Students will practise numbers as they discuss the percentage of water in plants and animals. They will then brainstorm verbs relating to water use and discuss Australia’s and Japan’s use of water. Environment Integrated_curriculum Numbers Verbs Junior_Secondary Senior_Secondary Listening Reading Writing
*Listen to author Kristin Ohlson on Science Friday on Friday, August 15, to learn more about her thoughts on farming and global warming. It's tempting to think that the loss of soil carbon is a relatively modern curse, the result of surging populations in poor countries and industrial farming in rich ones. But this is not the case. As soon as humans segued from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural one, they began to alter the natural balance of carbon dioxide in the soil and the atmosphere. Settled agriculture began in the world's great river valleys--those of the Tigris, Euphrates, Indus, and Yangtze rivers--some 10,000 to 13,000 years ago. By around 5000 BC, people began to develop simple tools to plant and harvest. The earliest of these were mere digging sticks, but by 2500 BC, people were using animals to pull plows in the Indus Valley. Plowing seems so harmless and soothingly bucolic, especially when the plows are pulled by oxen or horses. But as [Rattan] Lal [director of the Ohio State University's Carbon Management and Sequestration Center] pointed out in a speech given in 2000, "nothing in nature repeatedly and regularly turns over the soil to the specified plow depth of 15 to 20 centimeters. Therefore, neither plants nor soil organisms have evolved or adapted to this drastic perturbation." Modern mechanized farming makes the problem even worse: The heavy machinery compacts the soil further, requiring deeper plowing to loosen the soil. As greater volumes of soil are churned up and exposed to the air, the soil carbon--which may have been lying in place under the soil line for hundreds or thousands of years--meets oxygen, combines with it to form CO2, and departs for the upper atmosphere. Animal husbandry also began upsetting the carbon balance. Before they were domesticated by humans, herds of ruminants roamed the great prairies, nibbling off the tops of the grasses and other plants and graciously dropping off loads of enriching manure in return. Fearful of predators, they clumped together tightly and never grazed in one place for too long. Humans affected a drastic change in the grazing patterns of these herds, though. Instead of continually drifting across the plains, the animals were either restricted to one area by fencing or they grazed freely under the protection of human herders and dogs. In fenced areas, they grazed right down to the bare ground. They often did that in spots under the watchful eye of herders, too—since they had no need to fear predators anymore, they'd loaf around in one place long enough to rip the plants' roots right out of the ground. But allowing the animals to reduce grassy plains to bare ground halted the great biological process that had created vast underground stores of carbon in the first place: photosynthesis. Plants remove carbon dioxide from the air and, combined with sunlight, convert it to carbon sugars that the plant uses for energy. Not all the carbon is consumed by the plants. Some is stored in the soil as humus—Lal points out that "humus" and "human" share the same root word—a stable network of carbon molecules that can remain in the soil for centuries. There in the soil, the carbon confers many benefits. It makes the soil more fertile. It gives the soil a cakelike texture, structured with tiny air pockets. Soils rich in carbon buffer against both drought and flood: When there is rainfall, the soil absorbs and holds water instead of letting it puddle and run off. Healthy soil is also rich with tiny organisms—an amazing 6 billion in a tablespoon—that can disarm toxins and pollutants that soak into the soil through the rain. Lal believes farmers should be compensated not just for their crops; they should also be compensated for growing healthy soil because of its many environmental benefits. No other natural process steadily removes such vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as photosynthesis, and no human scheme to remove it can do so on such a vast scale with any guarantee of safety or without great expense. Photosynthesis is the most essential natural process for life on our planet, as it regulates the steady cycling of life-giving carbon into our soil and creates that other gas on which so many of us depend: oxygen. Lal and his colleagues developed a simple if crude method of estimating the amount of carbon lost from soils in the United States and the world. When I visited him at Plot 87, he gestured at a fringe of dark forest against one side of the test fields. "That forest is my baseline," he said. "When I calculate how much carbon has been lost from the soil in this plot and nearby areas, I compare it against the soil in the forest." With funding from the EPA, the USDA, and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and working with students and postdocs around the world, he compared the carbon in forested areas with that in cultivated areas. According to his calculations, Ohio has lost 50 percent of its soil carbon in the last 200 years. But in areas of the world where cultivation has been going on for millennia, soil carbon depletion is much higher—up to 80 percent or more. Altogether, the world's soils have lost up to 80 billion tons of carbon. Not all of it heads skyward—erosion has washed some of it into our waterways—but even now, land misuse accounts for 30 percent of the carbon emissions entering the atmosphere. And the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a truly staggering level. By 2013, scientists calculated that CO2 had reached 400 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere—50 parts per million beyond the level that many experts think can reliably keep the climate stable for human life. Around the world, many clean-energy technologies are being devised and implemented to reduce the amount of CO2 our modern lifestyles emit—from fossil fuels to wind, solar, biomass, and ocean-wave energy, and even, in one wild scheme, supplementing the power grid by salvaging the power of the body heat in crowds. And there are many strategies being used to decrease the amount of energy we consume, including bumping up the fuel efficiency of gas-powered vehicles and building homes and offices that generate more energy than they use. However, none of these will actually reduce the legacy load of CO2 already in the atmosphere. There are schemes afloat for doing that, but they're expensive--consider the EPA's plan to capture and inject atmospheric carbon into deep wells at a cost of $600 to $800 per ton. Not as sexy to policy makers, but free of cost, is Mother Nature's low-tech approach: photosynthesis and the buildup of carbon in the soil that naturally follows. And therein lies our great green hope. To be sure, we must continue to cut back on fossil-fuel use and lead less energy-squandering lives. But we also have to extract excess carbon from the atmosphere by working with photosynthesis instead of against it. Farmers, ranchers, land managers, city planners, and even people with backyards have to make sure plants are growing vigorously, without large stretches of bare earth—photosynthesis can't happen on bare earth. We have to take care of the billions of microbes and fungi that interact with the plants' roots and turn carbon sugars into carbon-rich humus. And we have to protect that humus from erosion by wind, rain, unwise development, and other disturbances. Lal says it can be done. The greatest opportunities are in the parts of the world where carbon has been most depleted by thousands of years of farming, in sub-Saharan Africa, south and central Asia, and Central America. "The carbon in the soil is like a cup of water," Lal says. "We have drunk more than half of it, but we can put more water back in the cup. With good soil practices, we could reverse global warming." When good land management practices create a ton of carbon in the soil, that represents slightly more than 3 tons of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. Lal believes that 3 billion tons of carbon can be sequestered annually in the world's soils, reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 3 ppm every year. But others with whom I spoke—especially as I got further and further from academia—are far more optimistic about the potential for change. This is still a new idea, they say, and science has barely nibbled at its edges. By working with test plots around the world—in Ohio as well as Africa, India, Brazil, Costa Rica, Iceland, and Russia—Lal's center is looking for the perfect combination of land management practices in various climates and soil types that will remove carbon from the air and build it back up in the soil. He and his colleagues have figured out how to rebuild soil carbon in ecosystems across the globe, even in Nigeria, his early nemesis. They employ a variety of approaches, since the world comprises many microclimates and each has a different history of impact, human and otherwise. The one constant around the world is the importance of building political will. For various reasons, it's been hard for us to change. Lal has written hundreds of papers and several books, including The Potential of U.S. Cropland to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect, which made its way to president Bill Clinton and to America's delegation to the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol negotiations. Lal has spoken to Congress about the subject six times. In 2011 alone, seven international conferences addressed the connection between soil and climate. Still, Lal's ideas haven't sparked much follow-through among policy makers. "Soil research is not attractive to politicians," Lal says. "I tell them about 25-year sustainability plans, but they only have a four-year span of attention." But Lal's ideas and those of other land-use visionaries are sparking plenty of interest and action among those who take the long view. Today, we're experiencing an agrarian renaissance. An interest in wholesome, sustainably raised foods has caused an upsurge in demand, and the number of small farmers in the United States is growing for the first time since the Great Depression: Between 2002 and 2007, the number of small farms increased 4 percent. As these new, often college-educated farmers practice the kind of agriculture and animal husbandry approved of by their customers—reducing or eliminating the use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals, as well as letting their animals graze on grass instead of stuffing them with food they didn't evolve to eat—many are surprised to find their soil changing. It's becoming blacker and richer with carbon. Some of these farmers don't care a whit about global warming; they're influenced by the industry-connected American Farm Bureau, which claims that 70 percent of farmers don't believe in human-induced climate change. But many other farmers are thrilled to find out that their humus is helping to keep excess carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. They've become citizen scientists, testing new ways to "grow carbon," as well as entrepreneurs trying to figure out how they can get paid for this new crop. The environmental community is also taking heed of the soil's potential to address climate change. Worldwatch Institute issued a 40-page report about the connection between soil and climate in 2010. The National Wildlife Federation has targeted global warming as the single greatest threat to wildlife and issued a report in 2011 on "future-friendly farming" that can mitigate climate change. The environmental community has been leery of embracing land-use management to combat global warming, worried that doing so might soften pressure on the energy and manufacturing sectors to reduce emissions. But the growing understanding of the link between global warming and soil carbon is revolutionizing the environmental movement. It's revolutionizing me and the way I think about soil. I'm the granddaughter of farmers and the daughter of avid gardeners. I grew up against the aural backdrop of their discussions about their own and other people's gardens. There was never a car trip that didn't involve pulling to the curb to admire someone's bougainvillea or bottle brush. There was never a trip from one part of the state to another that didn't include several side trips to their favorite fruit stands (Patty's Perfect Peaches, are you still there?). No matter where they lived, my parents were never without well-tended flower beds, a large vegetable patch, and a compost pile. Even when she was in her early nineties, I saw my mother struggle up from her chair with dismay when a guest threw a tea bag in the trash. "We do it this way," she said, even though there wasn't really a "we" anymore, as my father had been dead for several years. She pulled away the tea bag string and pried out the staple, then put the tea bag in a white ceramic jug that she kept under the sink. She was still making compost for the 3-square-foot plot she kept in her senior apartment complex. When she was on her deathbed, silent for days, none of the family's attempts at engaging her in conversation worked, until my brother Dave exclaimed, "Mom, I just planted my tomatoes!" She raised up on her elbows and muttered, "Black cherry tomatoes?" It was a variety she'd become fascinated with after I'd brought a basket home from a farmers' market. That was the last thing she said. She died a few hours later. So I was raised to appreciate soil and the people who work with it. I first heard about Lal from a farmer named Abe Collins, who'd taken Lal's ideas and those of other scientists to transform his land and then became an evangelist for soil carbon. When I talk to Collins on the phone, he always sounds as if he can barely catch his breath. Part of this is purely physical; he's usually just run in from moving his cattle from one field to another or working on his fences. But part of it is excitement at the idea that he and others have stumbled upon something that really matters to the world, and that they'd better hurry up and get everyone to listen. I would love to doubt global warming—or, more accurately, global climate change, because earth's atmospheric temperature has indeed risen 0.8°C since the industrial revolution, but that doesn't mean it's warmer everywhere. Instead, the weather is wackier everywhere, with a higher incidence of extreme weather events like downpours and droughts, floods and fires. I pine to be what's called a "climate denier," but the science won't let me. Scientists began tracking the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere decades ago. The measurements ticked steadily upward, but other, even more ominous data followed as the weather got warmer and weirder around the world. As environmentalist and author Bill McKibben wrote in a sobering 2012 article for Rolling Stone magazine, May of 2012 was "the warmest May on record for the Northern Hemisphere—the 327th consecutive month in which the temperature of the entire globe exceeded the 20th-century average, the odds of which occurring by simple chance were 3.7 x 1099—a number considerably larger than the number of stars in the universe." Still, it's a miserable conviction. I cringe when I read about polar bears drowning because their icy landscape has given way, or when I hear meteorologists predict seasons of increased hurricanes and pronounce each succeeding year the hottest since people began recording such things. I take no pleasure in an unseasonably warm winter day or an unseasonably cold spring, feeling as if the progression of the seasons has been shattered. I groan when global warming turns up as a story in my favorite magazines or a plot thread in a novel or movie. Because why think about it when huge policy changes are needed and policy makers seem incapable of making brave decisions? The actions of an ordinary person seem so paltry. But for the first time since I read about global warming some 25 years ago, I feel hopeful. The soil will save us. I really believe that. Reprinted from The Soil Will Save Us by Kristin Ohlson. Copyright (c) 2014 by Kristin Ohlson. By permission of Rodale Books. Available wherever books are sold. 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Most larger air-separation plants continue to use cryogenic distillation to separate air gases. Before pure gases can be isolated from air, unwanted components such as water vapor, dust, and carbon dioxide must be removed. First, the air is filtered to remove dust and other particles. Next, the air is compressed as the first step in liquefying the air. However, as the air is compressed, the molecules begin striking each other more frequently, raising the air temperature. To offset the higher temperatures, water heat exchangers cool the air both during and after compression. As the air cools, most of its water vapor content condenses into liquid and is removed. After being compressed, the air passes through beds of adsorption beads that remove carbon dioxide, the remaining water vapor, and molecules of heavy hydrocarbons, such as acetylene, butane, and propylene. These compounds all freeze at a higher temperature than do the other air gases. They must be removed before the air is liquefied or they will freeze in the column where distillation occurs. 02 December 2010Comment
Lyme Disease Info Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks infected with a specific bacterium. It is characterized by a rash called "erythema migrans," but other symptoms are possible too. Treatment generally involves antibiotics. If you live in an area where ticks are common, preventing Lyme disease is crucial. This involves removing ticks promptly and applying insect repellant, among other things. (Click Lyme Disease for more info on this topic, including how a diagnosis is made, if you need to test any ticks you find, and additional symptoms to be aware of.)
The word dementia is a general term that refers to many different diseases. Different types of dementia are caused by different physical changes to the brain. Some dementias are reversible, meaning that they can be treated and cured. Some are irreversible, meaning that there is no cure yet. Several conditions produce symptoms similar to dementia. These can include depression, thyroid disease, infections or drug interactions. Early diagnosis is essential to make sure that people with these conditions get the right treatment. If the symptoms are caused by dementia, an early diagnosis will mean early access to support, information, and available treatment options. Regardless of the type of dementia, people who have dementia and those who care for them can get information and support from the Alzheimer Society.
EXISTS and NOT EXISTS are SQL conditions/functions that executes a subquery and return either TRUE or FALSE depending on if rows were found or not. EXISTS can only be used in the WHERE clause of a query. The subquery can refer to columns in the parent query (called a correlated subquery). Note that EXISTS will not scan all rows in the subquery, only one row is required to determine whether the outcome is TRUE or FALSE. However, NOT EXISTS must scan all rows, which may cause performance problems! The basic syntax for the EXISTS function is: SELECT columns FROM tables WHERE EXISTS ( subquery ); SELECT dname FROM dept a WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT b.deptno FROM emp b WHERE a.deptno = b.deptno)
Sponsored Link • The loading process consists of three basic activities. To load a type, the Java virtual machine must: java.lang.Classthat represents the type The Java virtual machine specification does not say how the binary data for a type must be produced. Some potential ways to produce binary data for a type are: java.lang.Class. The virtual machine must parse the binary data into implementation-dependent internal data structures. (See Chapter 5, "The Java Virtual Machine," for a discussion of potential internal data structures for storing class data.) The Classinstance, the end product of the loading step, serves as an interface between the program and the internal data structures. To access information about a type that is stored in the internal data structures, the program invokes methods on the Classinstance for that type. Together, the processes of parsing the binary data for a type into internal data structures in the method area and instantiating a Classobject on heap are called creating the type. As described in previous chapters, types are loaded either through the bootstrap class loader or through user-defined class loaders. The bootstrap class loader, a part of the virtual machine implementation, loads types (including the classes and interfaces of the Java API) in an implementation-dependent way. User- defined class loaders, instances of subclasses of classes in custom ways. The inner workings of user-defined class loaders are described in more detail later in Chapter 8, "The Linking Model." Class loaders (bootstrap or user-defined) need not wait until a type's first active use before they load the type. Class loaders are allowed to cache binary representations of types, load types early in anticipation of eventual use, or load types together in related groups. If a class loader encounters a problem during early loading, however, it must report that problem (by throwing a subclass of LinkageError) only upon the type's first active use. In other words, if a class loader encounters a missing or malformed class file during early loading, it must wait to report that error until the class's first active use by the program. If the class is never actively used by the program, the class loader will never report the error.
I'm going to keep a record here of the activities we do with each chapter. I have been using the Four Roles of the Reader to develop these activities. Feel free to use and/or modify these ideas with your students. For the complete Rowan of Rin unit (in reverse order!) click here. Chapters 1 and 2 - Summary In these chapters we meet the characters and find out that the village Rin is in trouble. The stream from the mountain has stopped running and the bukshah have no water. The bukshah provide dairy, wool and transport to the people of Rin. Without the bukshah, Rin will die. The town meets to develop a plan. It is decided that someone needs to go up the mountain to find out what is blocking the stream. Strong Jonn, Marlie and Rowan consult Sheba (the village's Wise Woman) to get advice about the best way to approach the mountain. Sheba tells them a riddle that they don't understand and throws a stick at Rowan. - Work on developing reading fluency with the first three paragraphs. - Highlight nouns in this passage. Convert singular nouns to plural eg. morning - mornings - Create a diary entry from the viewpoint of Rowan - Create a newspaper article about the first chapter. Edit and publish. Insert text into this newspaper generator to create a newspaper clipping. - Create a cause and effect diagram for the first chapter. (We used Kidspiration.) - Discuss features of a first chapter in a Narrative. It needs to create interest and capture the reader. It introduces the problem that the characters need to solve. (To aid discussion we watched snippets from The Simpsons episode 8 of 18, where Homer gets hooked into a "Harry Potter" parody). - Take a closer look at ideas about witches and debate whether Sheba is a witch or just a crabby old woman. We used the following PowerPoint slideshow to guide the discussion. Students had 2 minutes to individually brainstorm a list of adjectives to describe witches. We then made a class list on the PowerPoint presentation. After discussion about where these ideas came from, we read the scene with Sheba and considered her witchiness. Students discussed their opinion and then we did "Lay it on the Line". Students who thought Sheba was a witch stood at one end of the line. Students who thought she was just a crabby old woman stood at the opposite end. Students who thought something in the middle lined up accordingly. We then got a couple of spokespeople to share the logic behind their thinking. There were some really well formed arguments based on examples from the text. 2014 Update: Having just taught this section of the book again, I added a Padlet page for students to share their thoughts about whether or not Sheba is a witch. Feel free to have students contribute responsibly.
\|Part of racial and political series on\| Black separatism is a separatist political movement that seeks separate economic and cultural development for those of African descent in societies, particularly in the United States. Black separatism is a subcategory of black nationalism, stemming from the idea of racial solidarity, and implies that blacks should organize themselves on the basis of their common experience of oppression as a result of their blackness, culture, and African heritage. Black separatism in its purest form, as a subcategory of black nationalism, asserts that blacks and whites ideally should form two independent nations. Black separatists also often seek their original cultural homeland. Black separatists generally think that black people are hindered in their advancement in a society dominated by a white majority. Black nationalism vs. black separatism All black separatists are black nationalists but not all black nationalists are black separatists. Black separatists believe that black people should be physically separated from other races, primarily whites; black separatists would want a separate nation for black people. This is different from black nationalists who may or may not believe in a physical separation of black people. A specific example of a separatist movement is the Pan-Africanism movement. In his discussion of black nationalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the historian Wilson Jeremiah Moses observes that "black separatism, or self-containment, which in its extreme form advocated the perpetual physical separation of the races, usually referred only to a simple institutional separatism, or the desire to see black people making independent efforts to sustain themselves in a proven hostile environment." Scholars Talmadge Anderson and James Stewart further make a distinction between the "classical version of Black separatism advocated by Booker T. Washington" and "modern separatist ideology." They observe that "Washington's accommodationist advice" at the end of the nineteenth century "was for Blacks not to agitate for social, intellectual, and professional equality with Whites." By contrast, they observe, "contemporary separatists exhort Blacks not only to equal Whites but to surpass them as a tribute to and redemption of their African heritage." Anderson and Stewart add, moreover, that in general "modern black separatism is difficult to define because of its similarity to black nationalism." Indeed, black separatism's specific goals were historically in flux and varied from group to group. Martin Delany in the 19th century and Marcus Garvey in the 1920s outspokenly called for African Americans to return to Africa, by moving to Liberia. Benjamin "Pap" Singleton looked to form separatist colonies in the American West. The Nation of Islam calls for several independent black states on American soil. More mainstream views within black separatism hold that black people would be better served by schools and businesses exclusively for black people, and by local black politicians and police. - African-Centered Education - Black nationalism - List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups - White separatism - Cultural nationalism - Religious nationalism - Economic Nationalism - Malcolm X-The Ballot or the Bullet-April 4, 1964 - Malcolm X - By Any Means Necessary - Moses, Wilson Jeremiah (1988), The Golden Age of Black Nationalism, 1850-1925, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-520639-5. - Anderson, Talmadge; Stewart, James B. (2007), Introduction to African American studies: Transdisciplinary Approaches and Implications, Baltimore: Inprint, ISBN 978-1-58073-039-6. - Little, Malcolm (1964), The Ballot or the Bullet, April 4, 1964. - Hall, Raymond L. (1978), Black Separatism in the United States, University Press of New England. - Jenkins, B. L., & Phillis, S. (1976). Black separatism: a bibliography. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. - Hall, R. L. (1977). Black separatism and social reality: rhetoric and reason. New York: Pergamon Press. - Hall, R. L. (1978). Black separatism in the United States. Hanover, N.H.: Published for Dartmouth College by the University Press of New England. - Bell, H. H., Holly, J. T., & Harris, J. D. (1970). Black separatism and the Caribbean, 1860. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. - Browne, R. S., & Vernon, R. (1968). On black separatism. New York: Pathfinder Press.
Sitars are a northern Indian stringed instrument of the lute family. They are the dominant instrument in Hindustani music. They appear to have developed under Medieval Muslim influence from the tanbur, a Middle Eastern long-necked lute and from the vina, or bin, a narrow, elaborate Indian Zither. Iconographic images of instruments similar to the modern sitar appeared only around 1800. There is abundant proof that the instrument had taken on its present form by the mid-nineteenth century. Several additional innovations during the turn of the twentieth century have been made to the instrument since then, giving form to the current "standard" sitar. The word "sitar" is Persian (Iranian) in origin, meaning three strings (seh - three and tar - string). The Persian setar, similar to the Turkish saz, is a long thin-necked lute with a small wooden body. The sitar normally has five melody strings and five or six drone strings which are used to accenuate the rhythm or pulse. Beneath the convex frets in the hollow neck are 9 to 13 sympathetic strings. There is often a gourd under the pegbox end of the neck The sitar is a modal instrument - meaning that depending on the key you are playing in you may need to retune the instrument. To complicate matters, frets are moveable on a sitar, and if you are playing certain scales you will need to move certain frets to play certain notes. In its contemporary form, the sitar is constructed of wood (teak) mahogany or (tun)), gourd, metal, and bone. The wooden neck is around 35 inches long, 3.5 inches wide, and slightly troughed, terminating at one large resonating chamber made of gourd. It is not uncommon for a second resonating gourd to be attached at the other end of the neck on the dorsal side. On the neck rest about twenty scalloped, movable, metal frets tied by silk or nylon string. Sitars with fixed frets are less popular in present times. Sitar consist of two layers of strings made of steel, brass, and copper. The bottom layer of approximately 13 steel strings are referred to as taraf (Persian for excitement or joy) and rest on a small one inch long bone bridge, which is a fraction of an inch high. These strings are tuned to the notes of the raag being performed and resonate when the strings on the main (top) bridge are plucked. The top layer of seven strings, used to create the melody and drone, rest between three bridges on one end of the neck and a main bridge that rests on the gourd section. Two of these three bridges anchor two of the three chikari (drone) strings that serve to extend notes and/or punctuate the rhythm. The remaining five strings lie on a bridge that spans the width of the neck. All seven strings converge, in a parallel manner, on the main bridge that sits on the gourd section. The main bridge is about three inches long, and one inch in both height and width. The bridge's slightly curved shape contributes to the tonal quality of the instrument, including the distinctive buzzing sound. Over time, the melodic strings cut into the bridge and require it to be reshaped. Sometimes two hooks are attached to the frets to lower the height of two bass strings of the instrument so that they do not undermine the playing of jhala or other fast passages. Page 1 of 2. See also: SPECIAL NOTE - No Warranty on Strings: Whether you purchase an instrument on-line or in a neighborhood store, manufacturers recommend that you change the strings on your instrument as soon as you receive it. Your instrument has completed a long journey to your home. During this time the strings WILL oxidize and this may shorten their life expectancy and may reduce their sound quality. On occasion instruments may arrive with a broken string, therefore, it is recommended that you purchase a replacement set of strings and consider changing your strings as soon as it arrives. Learning to change strings should be the first lesson learned when embarking on the journey of playing a new instrument. Page 1 Page 2
At Mystic Aquarium, a researcher holds a small drum-like object over the blow hole of a beluga whale. The little drum is actually a petri dish wrapped in nylon mesh. On command, the whale exhales and tiny droplets of moisture from the animal’s breath are gathered on the mesh. This curious interaction is part of a new collaboration between Mystic Aquarium and UConn, where researcher Tracy Romano and her team are developing new methods to test and study the physiology of marine life, with the goal of improving conservation efforts. In assessing an animal’s overall health and physiological state, the goals is to collect samples in a manner that is minimally invasive and to draw data from as few samples as possible, to avoid causing the animal distress that could obscure the results. This is where the inhabitants of Mystic Aquarium come in. “The samples taken from beluga whales and other animals at the aquarium will serve as a baseline for comparison to animals in the wild,” says Romano, associate professor-in-residence of marine sciences at UConn. “These animals are in a controlled environment, and many are trained to give samples on cue. We want to learn as much as we can about the animals in our care.” On the opposite end of the distress spectrum, samples are also gathered from animals that are in the aquarium’s stranding rehabilitation program, which has been called to respond to more than 1,000 instances of stranded or beached animals. “Stranding is perhaps the most stressful situation for these animals to be in,” Romano says. “We are able to sample those animals throughout their rehabilitation, all the way until they are released.” This spectrum of samples from known stressed or non-stressed states can then be referenced by the researchers when they gather samples from animals in the wild. Although the work is largely with beluga whales, the team is also looking at animals such as turtles, penguins, sea lions, and other whales. “We don’t know what animals have been exposed to in the wild,” says Romano, “but all of the [data we collect] will help in the creation of that baseline for comparison.” Samples collected from animals in the wild and from those at the aquarium are analyzed in the lab at UConn Avery Point, where the team is using a variety of molecular techniques to glean information about the animals. Samples may include a skin biopsy, feces, saliva, and feathers. Molecular analysis of these tissues yields overall health and physiological clues, such as reproductive and stress hormones and immune factors, that enable the researchers to get an idea of the types of illnesses animals have been exposed to, how well their organs are functioning, and even the progress of pregnancies. “A lot of work has gone into developing this health assessment ‘tool box’,” Romano says. As the data is consolidated, researchers can get an idea of the overall health of a population of animals, and can deduce trends. A key goal of this work is to better understand the effects humans and the changing climate are having on marine wildlife. One of the team’s major projects is with different populations of beluga whales in Alaska. The beluga population in Bristol Bay is being used as a control group to study another group of belugas, an endangered group in an area called Cook Inlet, near Anchorage. “Everyone is very familiar with the many pressures the Arctic is under,” says Romano, however, “no one is quite sure why [the Cook Inlet] population is declining and isn’t recovering.” The researchers hope to help piece together the puzzle. They are working with a local Eskimo tribe called the Inupiat near Point Lay Alaska, where the local people assist the team in collecting samples from marine wildlife. The information is recorded in a database that will provide a baseline for marine species in the Arctic, even as drilling for oil increases in the region. Romano points out that there is no such baseline for areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, “but if an oil spill happens in the Arctic we will have this data.” And on a broader level, the researchers hope that the data will help clarify the true impact human and climate are having on the health of the world’s oceans, and that the knowledge gained will be used in conservation and management efforts worldwide. By: Elaina Hancock \| Story courtesy of UConn Today
#6 These micros are major Messenger RNA reads the DNA of our genes and uses that code to assemble proteins, the building blocks of all forms of life. In the mid-1990s, researchers discovered small bits of RNA, now known as microRNA, that attach to the messenger version and switch it off, so the protein doesn’t get made. Already microRNAs are playing an important role in helping cancer doctors make more accurate diagnoses and prognoses and choose more effective treatments. For example, in 2009, researchers reported that liver cancer patients whose tumors had lower levels of a particular microRNA, called miR-26, had a much worse prognosis, but also a better response to one kind of treatment. Promising results for macular degeneration and respiratory syncytial virus infection have been reported in humans, and successful treatments using microRNAs have been achieved in mice. Results of a mouse study showed that delivering miR-26 to liver cancer cells made them behave more like normal cells. Another study in mice showed that delivering a different microRNA to breast cancer cells prevented them from metastasizing. Compared to drugs, microRNAs are easy and cheap to manufacture. For cancer, they would mean treatment targeted at the root cause of the disease: mutated genes promulgating wayward proteins. And researchers have high hopes that microRNA medicine will yield pinpoint control, so only diseased cells would be affected. But there’s also reason to mix in some caution with the optimism. MicroRNA research is, after all, in the beginning stages and has a good ways to go before maturing into full clinical reality. Toxicity could be a big hurdle if therapeutic microRNA accidentally interferes with messenger RNA that shouldn’t be interfered with. (read more)
Earthquakes are a major geological phenomena. Man has been terrified of this phenomena for ages, as little has been known about the causes of earthquakes, but it leaves behind a trail of destruction. There are hundreds of small earthquakes around the world everyday. Some of them are so minor that humans cannot feel them, but seismographs and other sensitive machines can record them. Earthquakes occur when tectonic plates move and rub against each other. Sometimes, due to this movement, they snap and rebound to their original position. This might cause a large earthquakes as the tectonic plates try to settle down. This is known as the Elastic Rebound Theory. Every year, earthquakes take the lives of thousands of people , and destroy property worth billions. The 2010 Haiti Earthquake killed over 1,50,000 people and destroyed entire cities and villages. Designing Earthquake Resistant Structures is indispensable. It is imperative that structures are designed to resist earthquake forces, in order to reduce the loss of life. The science of Earthquake Engineering and Structural Design has improved tremendously, and thus, today, we can design safe structures which can safely withstand earthquakes of reasonable magnitude. Natural calamities are the phenomenon which can’t be prevented, but we can take precautions to minimize their effects. Calamities such as Floods, Cyclones, Volcanic eruptions, Tsunamis and Earthquakes can cause a lot of damage to life and property, and cause disturbance to our day-to-day life. What is an Earthquake? An earthquake is a sudden, rapid shaking of the Earth caused by the breaking and shifting of rock beneath the Earth’s surface. For hundreds of millions of years, the forces of plate tectonics have shaped the Earth as the huge plates that form the Earth’s surface move slowly over, under, and past each other. Sometimes the movement is gradual. At other times, the plates are locked together, unable to release the accumulating energy. When the accumulated energy grows strong enough, the plates break free causing the ground to shake. Most earthquakes occur at the boundaries where the plates meet; however, some earthquakes occur in the middle of plates. During fault ruptures which cause earthquakes, the sudden breakage and movement along the fault can release tremendous amount of energy. Some of this energy is used up in cracking and pulverizing the rock as the two blocks of rock separated by the fault grind past each other. Part of the energy, however, speeds through the rock as seismic waves. This waves can travel for and cause damage at great distances. Once they start, these waves continue through the earth until their energy is used up. There are two basic types of seismic waves, and they travel at different speeds through earth. The faster p waves and the slower s waves. Primary or push waves or P waves These are longitudinal in nature like sound waves. The velocity of P waves is highest about 5.4 km/s and depends on the density of the rock and resistance to compression. P waves can pass through liquids also. Earthquakes cause massive vibrations in the Earth’s crust. This can cause a number of problems in the ground, which in turn becomes a hazard to all life and property. The effect depends on the geology of soil and topography of the land. The most destructive of all earthquake hazards is caused by seismic waves reaching the ground surface at places where human-built structures, such as buildings and bridges, are located. When seismic waves reach the surface of the earth at such places, they give rise to what is known as strong ground motion. Strong ground motions cause’s buildings and other structures to move and shake in a variety of complex ways. Many buildings cannot withstand this movement and suffer damages of various kinds and degrees. Violent Ground Motion During Earthquakes The seismic waves travel for great distances before finally losing most of their energy. At some time after their generation, these seismic waves will reach the earth’s surface, and set it in motion, which we surprisingly refer to as earthquake ground motion. When this earthquake ground motion occurs beneath a building and when it is strong enough, it sets the building in motion, starting with the buildings foundation, and transfers the motion throughout the rest of building in a very complex way. These motions in turn induce forces which can produce damage. Real earthquake ground motion at a particular building site is vastly more complicated than the simple wave form. Here it’s useful to compare the surface of ground under an earthquake to the surface of a small body of water, like a pond. You can set the surface of a pond in motion – by throwing stones into it. The first few stones create a series of circular waves, which soon being to collide with one another. After a while, the collisions, which we term interference patterns, are being to predominate over the pattern of circular waves. Soon the entire surface of water is covered by ripples, and you can no longer make out the original wave forms. During an earthquake, the ground vibrates in a similar manner, as waves of different frequencies and amplitude interact with one another.
The Iowa State University Extension explains one way to differentiate between a spruce tree and a pine tree is to look at the needles. Spruce needles grow directly from a branch individually, and pine needles grow in bunches of two, three or five. Also, the bark of a spruce tree is rough rather than smooth, which sets them apart from fir trees.Continue Reading The needles of spruce trees are sharp, pointed and square. One reliable way to identify a spruce tree is to take a needle and roll it between two fingers. If the needle rolls easily between the fingers, it is a spruce tree. Fir tree needles are flat, are soft and don't roll easily between fingers. Spruce needles are attached to their branches with stalk-like projections. When the tree sheds its needles, these projections remain on the tree. The color and length of needles aren't reliable indicators for identifying spruce trees because these characteristics vary. Cones of spruce trees are long and flexible rather than rigid. The scales on spruce tree cones are thinner and less woody than those on pine trees. These cones grow to between 8 and 26 inches long, and their size varies from tree to tree.Learn more about Trees & Bushes
Cancer is a disease of cells—the building blocks of tissue in the body. Inside of cells are coded instructions, called genes, for building new cells and controlling how cells behave. Changes in genes, called mutations, can cause normal cells to become cancer cells. What causes genes in cells to change isn’t fully known. There are many types of cancer but most share three key traits. First, cancer cells grow more quickly and live longer than normal cells. Normal cells grow and then divide to form new cells when needed. They also die when old or damaged. In contrast, cancer cells make new cells that aren’t needed and don’t die quickly when old or damaged. As a result, cancer cells can replace many normal cells and cause organs to stop working. Over time, cancer cells may form into a mass called the primary tumor. If not treated, the primary tumor can grow through the outer parts of an organ or structure and into other tissue. This is called invasion. Invasion is the second key trait of many cancers. Third, cancer cells can leave the tissue in which they started and spread to other sites in the body. This process is called metastasis. Cancer cells can spread through blood or lymph. Lymph is a clear fluid that gives cells water and food. It also has white blood cells that fight germs. Cancer cells that have spread can grow and replace many normal cells in the new site. Scientists have learned a great deal about cancer. As a result, today’s treatments work much better than in the past. Also, many people with cancer have more than one treatment choice.
\|hour angle \| The angular distance, measured westward along the celestial equator, between the celestial meridian of the observer and the hour circle passing through a celestial body. A body's hour angle is measured in hours, minutes, and seconds, and corresponds to its right ascension as measured with respect to the observer's meridian (which changes with time) rather than the vernal equinox (which is fixed on the celestial equator). A celestial object that crossed the observer's meridian 3 hours and 20 minutes ago has an hour angle of +3 hours 20 minutes. An object that will not cross the meridian for another 3 hours and 20 minutes has an hour angle of -3 hours 20 minutes.
Osmotic fragility is a test to detect whether red blood cells are more likely to break down. How the test is performed: Blood is typically drawn from a vein, usually from the inside of the elbow or the back of the hand. The site is cleaned with germ-killing medicine (antiseptic). The health care provider wraps an elastic band around the upper arm to apply pressure to the area and make the vein swell with blood. Next, the health care provider gently inserts a needle into the vein. The blood collects into an airtight vial or tube attached to the needle. The elastic band is removed from your arm. Once the blood has been collected, the needle is removed, and the puncture site is covered to stop any bleeding. In infants or young children, a sharp tool called a lancet may be used to puncture the skin and make it bleed. The blood collects into a small glass tube called a pipette, or onto a slide or test strip. A bandage may be placed over the area if there is any bleeding. In the laboratory, red blood cells are tested with a solution that makes them swell, in order to determine how fragile they are. How to prepare for the test: No special preparation is necessary for this test. How the test will feel: When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel moderate pain, while others feel only a prick or stinging sensation. Afterward, there may be some throbbing. Why the test is performed: This test is performed to detect hereditary spherocytosis and thalassemia . Hereditary spherocytosis makes red blood cells more fragile than normal. Some red blood cells in patients with thalassemia are more fragile than normal, but a larger number are less fragile than normal. A negative test is normal. Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results. What abnormal results mean: - Hereditary spherocytosis What the risks are: Veins and arteries vary in size from one patient to another, and from one side of the body to the other. Obtaining a blood sample from some people may be more difficult than from others. Other risks associated with having blood drawn are slight but may include: - Excessive bleeding - Fainting or feeling light-headed - Hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin) - Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken) Golan DE. Hemolytic anemias: red cell membrane and metabolic defects. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 165. \|Review Date: 11/23/2008\| Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
Follow the steps given below : 1. Make a prose statement of the passage set in the examination. 2. Explain the development of the ideas in it ; Structure of the Poem. 3. Who is the protagonist ? 4. What is the tone ? 5. Take note of the diction—what kinds of words are used? Do they refer to some particular area of meaning? Do they create any ascendant or descendant progression ? Are they helpful in creating the musical effect ? Do the sounds match with the nature of the feelings expressed? Is the language simple or obstructs in understanding ? 6. Figures of speech. Ironical Contrasts, Simile, Metaphor. 7. Versification or Rhyming : the assonance pattern of lines—onomatopoetic effect. Rhyme Scheme. 8. Final Evaluation.
Example 4: An antenna tower is held in the vertical position with the help of three cables. The tensile force in cable AB is 2,000 lb, in AC is 2,500 lb, and in AD is 2,200 lb. Based on the geometry shown below, determine Solution: We begin the analysis by drawing the known force vectors acting through point A for clarity. Part a: We are given the magnitude of tension in each cable, but not its direction. So we begin by first calculating the unit vector associated with each force. To do this, we make use of the position vector measured from point A to each of the three base support points in xy plane. Knowing the coordinates A(0,0,100), B(-8,-30,0), C(25,40,0), and D(-35,10,0), we get Next, we divide each position vector by its magnitude to find the corresponding unit vector. With each unit vector known, we can express the tension in each cable as Now, a simple vector addition will give us the resultant force vector The magnitude of the resultant force is found as The direction of the resultant force can be defined in terms of the unit vector in the same direction. The unit vector indicates that the resultant force is very close to being completely in the -z direction. To check the validity of this result, we can go back and take a look at the individual forces found previously. When we look at the three forces, we find that not only all three have a negative z component, but that the z component in each case is much larger that the other two. Part b: To find the angle between cables AB and AC, we use the dot product between any vector along AB with any vector along AC. Recall that the dot product between two vectors can be expressed as where represents the angle between vectors and . Using the position vectors along AB and AC we find the desired angle as Modification of Antenna Tower Design: Having done the force analysis, we can determine whether the tower will be held in the vertical position as was originally intended. And if not, what modifications can be made to it to keep it vertical. A tower of this type is usually supported at its base by a ball and socket so that there is no moment at the base, and the cables can be adjusted to position the tower in the desired orientation. Therefore, to keep the tower vertical, the direction of the resultant force has to be completely vertical (in the z direction). To achieve this objective, we must adjust the support cables. Since a force vector consists of both magnitude and direction, we can either adjust the magnitude of forces in the cables, or move the base end of one or more cables to change the direction of the resultant force. Alternative 1:Let's consider the case of adjusting the tension in the cables with the help of turnbuckles. Also let us assume that a resultant force of 6,300 lb is acceptable in this case. Therefore, we can proceed as follows. The intent is to have the resultant force vector be defined as Since we are keeping the direction of each cable force the same, we can write the cable force vectors as we can write This system of linear equations can be expressed in matrix form as The solution of this matrix equation gives As can be seen, a considerable tension increase in cable AB is needed to meet this objective. If we find this change unacceptable, as the tension in cable AB may be greater than what it can handle, then we must consider moving the base point of one or more cables as discussed next. Alternative 2: In this case, we will keep the cable forces as originally stated, and consider changing the location of point B to a point in xy plane such that the direction of the resultant force will be in the z axis. We can start from the scalar equations We know the magnitude of force in each cable. We also know the unit vectors in direction of AC, AD and R. Making the proper substitutions gives In addition to the above equations we know that From the solution of these four equations we get Having found the components of the force vector in cable AB, we can express the unit vector along that cable as Recognizing the equality of corresponding terms in the right sides of the two equations and the fact that point B is in xy plane, we can write Comparing the new location of point B to that specified in the original problem, we see that it needs to be moved 1.56 ft more in the x direction but 37.12 ft more in the y direction. It is important that we always be aware of such design issues as discussed in this example, and make rational decisions in modifying the design based on proper engineering analysis.
After supercomputer modeling told the researchers they were on to something promising, they built a prototype. To create a reaction zone that doesn't contact the reactor walls, the reactor uses two colliding jets of gas -- one of them a heated carrier gas, usually hydrogen, the other a cool jet of reactant gas diluted in the carrier. Like two streams of water splashing into each other in mid-air, the two jets collide and form a "stagnation flow pattern." "At the point where they collide," explains Mountziaris, "the hot gas heats the reactant, and reactions occur in a thin zone around the stagnation point. By manipulating the flow rates, we make that reaction zone quite thin, so it's far away from the walls." By controlling the flow rates, the researchers also limit the residence time so that no secondary reactions occur. They can then measure reactant and product concentrations from fundamental one-step decomposition. With this data, they turn back to their computer model and determine rate constants that describe the reaction under varying conditions. "We can actually obtain the rate of that decomposition," says Mountziaris, "and this is one step towards solving the puzzle of the chemistry underlying the deposition process." Research with the new reactor to date has focused primarily on tertiary-butyl-arsine, a potential substitute for arsine that -- because it is liquid at room temperature -- is much safer to handle. "We have seen essentially what the model predicts," says Mountziaris, "which indicates that the technique works. We're now developing the methods to fit our observations with the computational model, which will give us the rate constants. This reactor has the potential of becoming a major research tool for chemical kinetics." Schematic of the counterflow jet reactor. The gases enter the reaction zone from the top and bottom, through two vertical tubes. They exit by flowing radially outward through a horizontal, disk-shaped region. The temperature and concentration profiles are from computer modeling of the counterflow jet reactor and show what happens in a rectangular cross-section in the center of the reactor. Red represents maximum values of temperature and concentration and blue minimum. The temperature profile shows the hot zone of the carrier gas merging with the cool jet carrying tertiary-butyl-arsine (TBA). The TBA concentration profile shows diminishing concentration as a reaction occurs in the reaction zone (blue and green area). The concentration of the reaction products is highest in the reaction zone, where they are formed. "The reaction zone is confined to the middle," explains Mountziaris, "away from the walls." Viewing the results of simulations in this format on a graphic workstation lets the researchers see how the reaction zone varies using different gas flow rates, temperature and pressure. "This allows us to produce the reaction zone exactly where we want it to be." go back to main screen
In psychology, what is a "schema?" "Schema" is usually used to mean any cohesive thought or behavioral pattern. Any collected or organized group of ideas, habits, or knowledge can be classified as a schema (Wikipedia). New knowledge is stored in existing mental structures that file and categorise it based on what is already known; this knowledge is then brought out in the mode of the structure to interpret new situations. A negative example of schema is prejudice based on pre-conceived notions; without the mechanism to think past the existing mental structure, all experiences are filtered through the negative schema, often reinforcing it. To alter the schema, one must consciously learn new patterns of thought or new knowledge that contradicts the old. Schema theory is generally accepted to have been created by psychologist Frederic Bartlett in the early 20th century; his view focused on the subjective mental experiences that make up each person's (relatively) objective reality. His work was expanded on by R.C. Anderson and Jean Piaget.
1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data The wavelength treshold for photoelectric emission from a sodium surface is 683 nm. Calculate the energy of the electrons which are ejected when a sodium surface is illuminated by light of wavelength 500 nm. If the intensity of the light is 2.0 W/m^2 and if 1 per cent of incident photons produce photoelectrons, estimate the number of electrons emitted per second from a sodium surface of area 2*10^-4 m^2 when it is illuminated by light of the wavelength 500 nm. 2. The attempt at a solution The treshold wavelength corresponds to a treshold frequency of 6E14 Hz, which in turn corresponds to a electron binding energy of 2.91E-19 J. This means that the energy of the electrons which are ejected is K = 1.1E-19J. Next, we observe that since the surface area is 2E-4 m^2, the total effect is 4E-4 W, and hence 4E-4 J of energy hit the surface each second. Since 1 per cent of this energy produces photoelectrons, the total photoelectron energy per second is 4E-6 J. Since each photoelectron has energy 1.1E-19, my estimated number of photoelectrons is 4E-6/1.1E-19 = 3.6E13 photoelectrons. My book says 1.0E13. What have I done wrong?
Student 'A' receives "Tom's Supermarket Handout 'A'." - Student 'B' receives "Tom's Supermarket Handout 'B'." Without looking at each other's handout, they should describe their supermarket ads to each other and find the EIGHT differences (in pictures, prices, and wording). With Answer Key. OPTIONAL: Follow up the activity by asking them to decide (with a partner) what they would most like to buy from 'Tom's Supermarket' with $25 ... then have them write about it (Language Focus: Present Simple Tense + Frequency Adverbs) - see attached writing handout. Finally, they can get into groups and read aloud and discuss their short paragraphs. As always, make it fun! :) Submitted by: www.esltopics.com
A polar molecule is characterized by the uneven distribution of the electrons that form the covalent bonds between each atom in the molecule, resulting in a slightly positively charged side and a slightly negatively charged side. This occurs because of the differences in electronegativity between atoms of different elements.Continue Reading Water, or H2O, is an example of a polar molecule. The oxygen atom in the water molecule has a greater electronegativity than the hydrogen atoms it is covalently bonded to, resulting in a dipole shift where the bond is negatively weighted on the oxygen end and positively weighted the hydrogen end. The shift in electrical charges within the molecule is subtle and results in an overall electrically balanced structure with a nonlinear bent shape. The shape of the molecule is just as important as the charges associated with each end when it comes to determining whether a molecule is polar or not. In the case of carbon dioxide, or CO2, the charges are unevenly distributed between the oxygen atom and the carbon atoms, but the molecule is in a linear shape, so the dipole shifts balance each other out on either end and result in a non-polar molecule. Intermolecular interactions can occur between polar molecules due to the dipole shifts and slight charges associated with each end. In the case of water, the negatively charged end of one water molecule interacts with other water molecules by weakly attracting the positively charged ends and repelling the negatively charged ends.Learn more about Atoms & Molecules
Here are a few bits -- sorry about the long quotes -- I am putting together this outline in order to prepare for teaching my 13 year old, so I took out the bits related to older and younger children. But they are in the document linked above if you are interested. First of all, this following quote is in the book for children under nine, but it sums up pithily what I want to remember, so here: Lessons on 'composition' should follow the model of that famous essay on "Snakes in Ireland"––"There are none."Now here's the long version: From School Education (talking about children in Form II, about ages 9 to 12) Children in this Form have a wider range of reading, a more fertile field of thought, and more delightful subjects for composition. They write their little essays themselves, and as for the accuracy of their knowledge and justice of their expression, why, 'still the wonder grows.' - They will describe their favourite scene from The Tempest or Woodstock. - They write or 'tell' stories from work set in Plutarch or Shakespeare or tell of the events of the day. - They narrate from English, French and General History, from the Old and the New Testament, from Stories from the History of Rome, from Bulfinch's Age of Fable, from, for example, Goldsmith's or Wordsworth's poems, from The Heroes Of Asgard: .. in fact, Composition is not an adjunct but an integral part of their education in every subject. The exercise affords very great pleasure to children, perhaps we all like to tell what we know, and in proportion as their composition is entirely artless, it is in the same degree artistic and any child is apt to produce a style to be envied for its vigour and grace. But let me again say there must be no attempt to teach composition. Our failure as teachers is that we place too little dependence on the intellectual power of our scholars, and as they are modest little souls what the teacher kindly volunteers to do for them, they feel that they cannot do for themselves. But give them a fair field and no favour and they will describe their favourite scene from the play they have read, and much besides. Now, for Forms III and IV (I guess ages 13 to 15) In these Forms as in I and II what called 'composition' is an inevitable consequence of a free yet exact use of books andSome examples of composition exercises are listed in School Education (either in exams, or in normal course work) -- here's one: - requires no special attention until the pupil is old enough to take of his own accord a critical interest in the use of words. - The measured cadences of verse are as pleasing to children as to their elders. Many children write verse as readily as prose, and the conciseness and power of bringing their subject matter to a point which this form of composition requires affords valuable mental training. One thing must be borne in mind. Exercises in scansion are as necessary in English as in Latin verse. Rhythm and accent on the other hand take care of themselves in proportion as a child is accustomed to read poetry. - In III and IV as in the earlier Forms, the matter of their reading during the term, topics of the day, and the passing of the Seasons, afford innumerable subjects for short essays or short sets of verses of a more abstract nature in IV than in III: the point to be considered is that the subject be one on which, to quote again Jane Austen's expression, the imagination of the children has been 'warmed.' - They should be asked to write upon subjects which have interested them keenly. Then when the terminal examination comes they will respond to such a question as,––"Write twelve lines (which must scan) on 'Sir Henry Lee,' or 'Cordelia,' or Pericles, or Livingstone," or, to take a question from the early days of the War, "Discuss Lord Derby's Scheme. How is it working?"; or, (IV) an essay on "The new army in the making, shewing what some of the difficulties have been and what has been achieved." Read on Thursdays and write from memory on Tuesdays (a) a passage from Ecce Homo, Ecce Rex, Part II., chapters ii. and iit, by Mrs R. Charles (S.P.C.K., 3S. 6d.); (b) Amold-Forster's History of England, chapter Ixxvii. And finally, here is a bit from School Education which talks about some of the ways a student can narrate either orally or in written form. There is much difference between intelligent reading, which the pupil should do in silence, and a mere parrot-like cramming up of contents; and it is not a bad test of education to be able to give the points of a description, the sequence of a series of incidents, the links in a chain of argument, correctly, after a single careful reading. This is a power which a barrister, a publisher, a scholar, labours to acquire; and it is a power which children can acquire with great ease, and once acquired, the gulf is bridged which divides the reading from the non-reading community. But this is only one way to use books: others are to enumerate the statements in a given paragraph or chapter; to analyse a chapter, to divide it into paragraphs under proper headings, to tabulate and classify series; to trace cause to consequence and consequence to cause; to discern character and perceive how character and circumstance interact; to get lessons of life and conduct, or the living knowledge which makes for science, out of books; all this is possible for school boys and girls, and until they have begun to use books for themselves in such ways, they can hardly be said to have begun their education. As for the teacher, Charlotte Mason thought that the main danger is OVER-teaching. She mentions in several places throughout her books that if children learn to rely on the teacher either predigesting the material for the students, or giving them point by point directions on how to write, or point by point corrections, they will learn to depend on the teacher for this. Avoiding over-teaching ISN'T, in her view a matter of standing back passively, but of avoiding being a crutch for the child's mental processes. But here are some things a teacher CAN do. The teacher's part is, in the first place, to see what is to be done, to look over the of the day in advance and see what mental discipline, as well as what vital knowledge, this and that lesson afford; and then to set such questions and such tasks as shall give full scope to his pupils' mental activity. Let marginal notes be freely made, as neatly and beautifully as may be, for books should be handled with reverence. Let numbers, letters, underlining be used to help the eye and to save the needless fag of writing abstracts. Let the pupil write for himself half a dozen questions which cover the passage studied; he need not write the answers if he be taught that the mind can know nothing but what it can produce in the form of an answer to a question put by the mind to itself.So this gives a fair cross-section of the sort of thing I will probably be trying to foster or encourage this year. It may not come across in these particular selections of CM's thoughts, but she thought that composition should be done across the curriculum, just not taught in great detail. Last year, I found this online book called The Mother Tongue III -- Elements in Composition -- which seemed to be compatible with CM's approach. But I am very much afraid I can't read a composition book, no matter how "humane" and high quality, without getting a sort of sick feeling. So all my children have sort of been "scrambled up" in the matter of writing and they've all become decent writers -- go figure.
Angola was declared polio-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in December – a public health triumph. It set the stage for a similar declaration in Nigeria, a major landmark in the global battle against this disabling disease. But while Angolan officials are rightly proud of the declaration, the recent yellow fever outbreak in the southern African country underscores the challenges governments and public health workers face as they seek to expand routine immunisation programmes that save lives. The problems and barriers to immunisation are well known – as are the solutions. But what has been lacking is the political will to devote the money and manpower needed to make it all work. These hurdles are likely to grow as both Angola and Nigeria, which only recently reaped huge oil windfalls, face drastic belt-tightening in the face of collapsing world energy prices. The yellow fever outbreak in Angola, which has killed more than 240 people, emphasizes the need to reinforce the WHO’s expanded programme on immunization, even in countries that are making sustained progress against polio. Cases of yellow fever have also been detected across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 21 people have died since January. Yellow fever and polio infections are both of viral origins and do share a common risk factor: the environment. While polio is transmitted predominantly from poorly disposed faecal waste, yellow fever is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito – most commonly Aedes aeqypti. The resurgence of yellow fever is directly attributable to a sharp drop in health funding. The government’s revised budget for health this year is about 33% lower than its allocation in 2015, making vaccines more difficult to purchase. Spending was also slashed for public sanitation and mosquito control, leaving piles of uncollected waste lying around in poorer areas – fertile conditions for viruses to breed and spread. Both polio and yellow fever can be prevented with vaccination. Angola reported its last polio case in July 2011. But public health experts warn that the country remains at risk as high numbers of children fail to receive the oral polio vaccine (OPV). And Angola has been here before: the country wiped out polio in 2001, but the disease re-emerged in 2005. Polio remains a devastating and potentially fatal infectious disease. Although there is no cure, there are safe and effective vaccines. As long as the wild polio virus, which can cause lifelong paralysis or even death, circulates anywhere on the globe, all polio-free countries risk reinfection through an “importation” of the virus. Nigeria, the last country with polio cases in Africa, was removed from the list of endemic countries in September after more than a year of zero confirmed cases of wild polio virus. Now only two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, have endemic polio. But, as yellow fever demonstrates, the endgame will be hard fought. The government needs to show its commitment by investing at least $60 per child per year as well as earmarking significant funds to support newborn and child health; as opposed to its current investment of less than 15% (2001 Abuja target) of its national annual budget to health. This investment could help to ensure that at least 90% of Angolans are fully vaccinated by their first birthday – sparing them the risk of both yellow fever and polio, among a host of other communicable diseases. Vaccines don’t just save lives – their benefits extend far beyond health. When children are vaccinated, they have fewer illnesses, which ultimately leads to reduced healthcare costs for families and the health system. Vaccinated children are more likely to stay in school, strengthening the economic outlook for themselves and their communities. Vaccines are relatively cheap and amazingly effective. We can turn this yellow fever outbreak into an opportunity by redoubling efforts to improve the overall vaccination programme. Yellow fever kills an estimated 60,000 people globally each year, and because it is carried by mosquitoes it is not a quick target for total eradication. But polio is – and vaccines are getting us there. Dr Sam Agbo is the Chief of Child Survival and Development in UNICEF Angola * Originally published in ‘The Guardian’
It’s an entrenched piece of pop-science wisdom: Overuse of antibiotics in medicine is the reason bacteria evolve into antibiotic-resistant superbugs. But deep inside four-million-year-old Lechugilla cave in southern New Mexico, a population of isolated bacteria are calling that notion into serious question. More than 1,600 feet below the earth’s surface, in the 130-mile-long cave draped with lacy gypsum “chandeliers” and fingers of delicate white stalactites, mats of bacteria cling to the passage walls. Between seven and four million years ago, deep groundwater ascended and formed the cave, without any influence from surface conditions. Since Lechugilla cave was discovered in 1986, access has been restricted to researchers, maintaining its pristine condition. Recently, scientists at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and the University of Akron in Ohio tested 93 different strains of bacteria harvested from Lechugilla by exposing them to a variety of antibiotics. The results were surprising: More than 60 percent of the Lechugilla strains were unfazed by several different classes of antibiotics, including synthetic drugs and some of the newest antibiotics only recently approved for clinical use. The outcome proves that antibiotic resistance doesn’t spring up only when doctors unleash the drugs on disease-causing bacteria. Instead, some bacteria have natural resistance to antibiotics that far predates modern medicine. The discovery is indeed a breakthrough: Bacteria from other regions isolated from modern antibiotics, such as the Galapagos Islands, have shown in previous studies to be incapable of combating garden-variety Amoxicillin. The researchers hypothesize that the Lechugilla bacteria evolved this resistance in order to compete with other bacteria in the cave. Competition for the nutrients necessary to sustain life is fierce in the isolated cave, so the bacteria there evolved sophisticated ways to give themselves a leg up. “You’re living under complete starvation when you’re in [Lechugilla],” says Hazel Barton, a microbiologist with the University of Akron who conducted the research. “So you can either be very good at scavenging, or you can cheat and make these chemical weapons that you would lob or spit at a neighboring bacteria, kill it, and then steal its resources.” Those chemical weapons include some compounds that may have cancer-fighting capabilities, Vanderbilt University chemist Brian Bachmann says. He’s working with some of the bacteria’s toxic chemical products, which have the potential to be more effective than current therapies in killing cancer cells. “They would kill the cancer cells faster than they may kill the non-cancerous cells,” Bachmann says. “That’s how most cancer chemotherapy compounds work—they just kill the cancer faster than you.” Bachmann’s next step will likely be to send samples to the National Cancer Institute, where they can face off against the wide array of cancer cells in the institute’s collection. Many current anticancer therapies are derived from products made by the cave bacteria’s distant, above-ground relatives; the possibilities for using Lechugilla bacteria are just beginning to be explored. “We don’t know why the cave organisms are producing these compounds,” Bachmann says. “Presumably, they’re using them to help survive in the hypercompetitive environment of the cave. That’s a big mystery.” The Lechugilla bacteria don’t present a threat to human health. But although the new discovery shows that human interference isn’t the sole cause of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, the findings call for more medical caution, not less. Since bacteria have the innate ability to defend themselves against antibiotics, it’s even more important to avoid overexposing them to the antibiotic arsenal. But the discovery also hints at the kinds of antibiotic resistance bacteria may develop in the future, Barton says. “We’ve seen a kind of resistance that hasn’t developed in the clinic yet…,” Barton says. “So it gives us a lead time of maybe 20 years to say, ‘Well, this is coming in the future. How can we head it off right now?’ That gives us the potential for developing drugs to outpace the bacteria so we can actually develop something in advance.”
87% of parents see major improvements in their child's ability to read within the first three weeks. Absolutely. Many studies show that eye-to-hand writing activities greatly enhance a child's ability to learn to read. The results? - Better phonics skills - Better word recognition - Better reading fluency - Better ability to capture word meanings - Better word background knowledge No learn-to-read program is complete without companion writing activities. Simply put, children learn to read faster if they write. We use the Writing Activities in conjunction with The Family Readers books to improve each student's reading comprehension. We discuss each book and reinforce its meaning with writing activities. —Hester Rippy, Liason for the Lehi, Utah Public Library Literacy Center. Because we used The Family Readers, our daughter's pre-first grade reading scores were eight times higher than average but her reading comprehensive score was average. The Writing Activities would have improved those scores drastically. —Robert Stevens, President, WriteExpress Corporation Not only did the Writing Activities help with students learning to read, it improved their spelling and language skills. —Second Grade Teacher
(Last Updated on : 02/01/2013) Geography of Madhya Pradesh is divided into several geo-structural divisions. Medium highland is found in the north of the Chambal River and Son River, which is made of the Deccan Trap, Vindhya rock group, and Granite Gneiss. Steep escarpments are found in the south and southeast, which are known as Vindhyachal, Bhander, and Kaimur range. The northern parts of these escarpments have extensive plateaus. The Satpura Mountain Range is found in the south of the Narmada-Son axis, which is made up of Granite-Gneiss, Gondwana rock group and the Deccan Trap. The eastern part is known as the Maikal range. A plateau is situated in the eastern part of both the divisions of which the northern part is known as the Baghelkhand plateau, and the southern part as Dandakaranya. The first region is made up Gondwana rock group and Pre-Cambrian granite. Madhya Pradesh is bordered by seven states of the country namely Uttar Pradesh , Andhra Pradesh . The present location of this state is the result of post independence and reorganisation of the state. The whole of Madhya Pradesh is a part of the Deccan Plateau . Alluvial flood plain of Yamuna River begins in the north boundary. In the west, just after the Chambal River , the Aravalli Mountain Ranges The Chota Nagpur plateau is in the east. Similar landforms are found in the Baghelkhand plateau. The highest elevation is found in the Satpura ranges (4339 feet). The height of the Baghelkhand plateau is 1152 metres. The maximum height of the Vindhyanchal range is 881 and 150 metres elevation is found in the valley of the Mahanadi River and the Narmada River . The middle highland is a part of the Ganga Basin. The basins of the Mahanadi and the Son River are found in the east plateau. Madhya Pradesh is located to the north of the Deccan Plateau. Chota Nagpur is situated in the east, the Aravalli range in the west, the wide valley of the Tapti River is in the south and the plateau of Maharashtra is in the southwest. Geography of Madhya Pradesh comprises three main physical divisions namely Central Highland, Satpura and Maikal Ranges and Eastern Highland. The triangular plateau between the Narmada and Son valleys and the Aravalli range is called the middle highland. It includes Vindhyan Escarpment, the Plateau of Bundelkhand , the Plateau of Central India, the Malwa Plateau and the Valley of the Narmada and the Son River. The northern boundary of the middle highland is formed by the river Yamuna . The maximum part of this plateau is the northern part of the Narmada and Son Rivers, which is a part of the Vindhyachal, Bhander and Kaimur ranges. The maximum height of the Vindhyachal hills is about 881 metres from mean average sea level. It is low towards the east. The height of the Bhander and Kaimur ranges are 752 metres and 686 metres respectively. The main rivers, which flow towards the north and join the Yamuna River, are Chambal River, Betwa River and Ken River This division of central highland also consists of Vindhyan Escarpment, Bundelkhand Plateau, Plateau of Middle India, Malwa Plateau and Narmada-Son Valley. Vindhyan Escarpment is triangular plateau region. Bhander and Kaimur escarpments are found in the south and southeast. The river Son flows in the south, in parallel with the Kaimur range. The northern boundary of the plateau is the Vindhyan escarpment. On the way to Allahabad from Rewa district , there is a downward slope. The northern escarpment is continued by the Parma range, which extends up to Sagar in the southwest. The middle land of the Vindhyan escarpment is plain plateau, where streams deposit soil. This part is composed of the plateaus of Sagar, Damoh and Rewa. There is widespread land where stony soil is found in the surface. All the soil-dominated regions are characterised by agricultural practices. While forest is found in the stony land there are some patches without forest. The main river flowing in this region is the Ken and its tributaries. Further, the northern part of the middle highland is the Bundelkhand plateau, which is composed of Chhatarpur district , the maximum part of Datia and some part of Shivpuri district and Guna district . In addition, Lalitpur district , Jhansi district , Banda district and Jalon districts are also included in this plateau. This plateau is an eroded layer of Bundelkhand Gneiss of old rocks. The Yamuna River forms its boundary and in the other parts, Vindhyachal group rocks are found. The middle Indian plateau is located in the western part of the Bundelkhand plateau. This region comprises the Vindhyan rock group. This is separated by the Aravalli ranges in the west as a frontier fault. The Chambal valley is one of the main parts of this plateau, which is formed by alluvial statement. The Deccan Trap land to the south of the Narmada River is known as the Malwa Plateau. This is the western part of the Middle highland. Sagar binds this in the east. Vindhyan rocks are seen on the surface in its western part as an effect of erosion. The Vindhyan ranges are the southern boundary of this plateau. In the north, it extends up to Guna. This plateau is formed due to the solidification of volcanic explosion. Thus, the soil is black or regur soil , which is highly fertile for agriculture. In the south, black soil layer is thicker than in the north. Narmada-Son valley has the longest part in Madhya Pradesh, which is about 300 metres elevated from mean sea level. This is a narrow valley, which extends from the west to the northeast. Most of it is formed as an escarpment to the south of the Son valley. Flat land is also found in the Narmada valley, which is composed of dark black soil. Alluvial soil is found in the vicinity of the river while in the upper belt, red and laterite soils are found. The second major division of the geography of Madhya Pradesh is the Satpura-Maikal Range. The Satpura-Maikal range is divided into three parts namely west Satpura range, east Satpura range and Maikal range and plateau. West Satpura range is narrow and steep slop land, which extends up to Gujarat and Burhanpur Pass on the western boundary. There are many hills found in this range. East Satpura range is quite broad. It starts from Burhanpur pass towards the east, and is further divided into several subdivisions. The northern part of the Satpura range is quite broad. This part is called the plateau of Maikal. The eastern boundary is a crescent, which extends towards the south and this part is known as the Maikal Range. The average height is 900 metres. The upper layer of this range is plain. This layer is covered with vegetation. The ground floor grasses are also grown in this layer. This range is the source of many streams, which flow in different directions. This range is made up of the Deccan Traps . The Narmada and Son rivers originate from the Amarkantak plateau, which is part of this range. Geography of Madhya Pradesh also includes a moderate climate. Mostly residual soils are found in the state.
\|Courtesy of www.barnesandnoble.com\| In her book, Rylant outlines the migration of the following species: locusts, whales, eels, butterflies, caribou (my favorite illustrations!), and terns. For each species, Rylant begins by describing where they live, where they migrate to, and why they must migrate. She explains how migration helps each species to survive. For example, the whales must migrate from the Arctic waters to southern waters to give birth to their calves. Caribou must migrate to have their babies because it is not safe to have them in a forest filled with wolves! While this book is filled with information, it is told with the same feeling of a story. About the butterflies, Rylant writes, "The monarchs will settle themselves thickly over the limbs of the great California evergreen trees - thousands of butterflies to a tree - and the forests will be transformed. What a wondrous sight! Here on the tall trees, the beautiful monarchs will hibernate through the winter months safely away from the freezing snow and ice of their northern homes." What a wondrous way to write non-fiction! Rylant's words are much more engaging and personable than those of a science text book; this book is quite effective in presenting the idea of migration to children through many examples and details. If I were sharing it with my students, I would share it story by story, instead of all at once. The element of this book that made it most memorable are the beautiful pictures included with each story! Each story of migration includes full-bleed illustrations that are vibrant in color and show the same details of the animals as a photograph would - perhaps even mores! On the caterpillar, for example, readers can glimpse fringed hair on the caterpillar feet. The colors are rich and engaging and immediately drew me to this book. If you are teaching migration to your students or just want to learn more about it for yourself, I highly recommend The Journey! You can check it out at your local library. To view more illustrations by Lambert Davis, visit his personal website, too.
The copyright curriculum that follows builds upon experiences that are present in students’ everyday lives. For example, key concepts such as attribution (Who made that piece of art?), permission (Who has a right to use it?), and sharing (How do I share with my friends?) are addressed. Complex topics including the First Amendment, copyright and fair use are introduced in the curriculum at appropriate grade levels. Ultimately, the goal of the curriculum is to provide tools to educators, parents and children to help them know how to take pride in, share, and protect their own digital creations, and also to understand and identify copyrighted digital materials so these works can be enjoyed in appropriate and legal ways.
As a composer, what drew me to use scales that have more, or less, notes per octave than our standard twelve-tone tuning–or xenharmonic music–was the boredom that crept up on me over the years of using the same twelve notes over and over, plus a curiosity about other possible tunings and what emotional chords they might strike. Many xenharmonic composers are driven by the artistic urge to break down arbitrary barriers of creative expression. And many who are mathematically inclined explore the vast possibilities of xenharmonic tunings because the mathematics is beautiful. In order to appreciate anyone’s desire to explore the world outside of the common twelve-tone tuning, it helps to understand where this tuning standard came from and how it is somewhat arbitrary and not even mathematically pure. This calls for a short discussion of the science of sound. To start with, there is nothing special about any particular note or “frequency” (unless a person has absolute pitch). It’s all relative. That is, the relationships between frequencies are what matters. A musical interval is the difference in frequency–the ratio–between two notes, and the way two frequencies interact has special mathematical and psychoacoustic qualities. Our twelve-tone tuning was derived from interval ratios between the first sixteen harmonics. Harmonics were not an invention but a discovery about the natural resonant vibrations of musical instruments. Our twelve-tone tuning being related to the spectra of musical instruments results in intervals and chords that sound “in tune.” The simplest and purest vibration is a single sine wave frequency. Sine waves are common in electronic music. Very low-pitched sine waves are often used as “sub bass” and high sine waves add “sparkle.” However, most sounds contain multiple sine-wave frequencies combined into a complex waveform. Think of tossing differently sized rocks into a pond and observing how the waves combine into an intricate pattern. Some waves reinforce to create larger ones, while others cancel out. Sound combines in this way, whether through air pressure waves interacting, or fluctuating voltage adding and subtracting in a digital mix. Any sound that we hear, whether “musical” or not, can theoretically be broken down into individual sine waves. But most musical instrument sounds are pitched, and this is because they naturally vibrate at whole number multiples of the main frequency, creating the harmonic series. Any sine waves that fall in-between the neat and tidy harmonics are perceived as noise elements, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The “noise” might be the scrape of a violin bow, or the hammer sound of a piano key, or the pluck of a guitar, or the grit in a synthesizer sound. As a typical illustration of the harmonic series, think about plucking a guitar string. The entire string vibrates back and forth at a certain speed (the fundamental frequency), and we perceive that vibration as the pitch of the note. At the same time, the string also vibrates in halves, thirds, fourths, fifths, and so on. This series of higher and higher frequencies, at shorter and shorter wavelengths, is the harmonic series. We don’t have to probe very deep into the harmonic series to see a fundamental relationship to our historical musical preferences. If we approximate the first dozen harmonics on a staff (Figure 2) or piano keyboard (Figure 3), we can quickly see some standard musical relationships. I say “approximate” because the harmonic series doesn’t perfectly align with the intervals in our twelve-tone tuning. If you have a piano handy, try playing these harmonics. In fact, you can do this on any instrument as long as it has a range of a few octaves. The intervals between the first several harmonics are a very solid basis for our tuning, but the series continues with smaller and smaller intervals ad infinitum. Once we get past the 18th harmonic, the intervals become microtonal, meaning smaller than half steps. If we begin with a low C (32.703 Hz) as the fundamental frequency, then an approximation of the first seven harmonics would be the notes C1, C2, G2, C3, E3, G3, Bb3. Just these first five harmonics alone when transposed into the same octave range are enough to build a Major triad–C/E/G–the most used chord in all of Western music. Using the first seven harmonics allows us to build a dominant 7th chord–C/E/G/Bb–the chord most often used for an ending cadence leading into a Major triad. It’s nontrivial that the first and second harmonics are an octave apart. An octave has the strongest psychoacoustic relationship of any musical interval. It is an extremely interesting musical phenomena that octaves sound like higher and lower versions of the same note. Our twelve-tone tuning is “framed” by this very special interval, as are most (but not all) xenharmonic tunings. This is why our standard tuning includes twelve notes “per octave.” Notice that every time the harmonics double in frequency (harmonics 1, 2, 4, 8, etc.) we have another octave. The second and third harmonics form an interval of a fifth, which is the next strongest interval to our ears after the octave. Fifths frame our triad chords, and the cadence that I mentioned earlier “resolves down a fifth,” meaning that the root notes move down a fifth interval. The third and fourth harmonics form a fourth, the next strongest interval. The peaceful “Amen” cadence resolves down a fourth, which doesn’t sound as final as resolving down a fifth, but is still a strong cadence. Fourths and fifths are a staple for rhythm guitarists who often strum those intervals as a musical pedal. The fourth and fifth harmonics form a Major 3rd, and the fifth and sixth harmonics form a minor 3rd. The sixth and seventh harmonics form a slightly smaller minor 3rd. Thirds are another very important interval in Western harmony. Stacking a Major 3rd and a minor 3rd creates a Major triad, and stacking them the other way around creates a minor triad–the second most popular chord in all of Western harmony. So there we have it–at least most of it–as the first seven harmonics provide most of our well-established intervals. The seventh and eighth harmonics vaguely approximate a Major 2nd (a “whole step”), and the same goes for the next few harmonics, although by slightly smaller intervals each time. The eleventh and twelfth harmonics vaguely approximate a minor 2nd (a “half step”), although it is quite a bit larger than the half steps we use in our twelve-tone tuning. Harmonics 17 and 18 come closest to approximating our standard half step. After that, the harmonics form smaller and smaller microtonal intervals that were simply not chosen to be part of our musical scale. So, with the first several harmonics transposed into the same octave range, we get these scale degrees: C, __, __, __, E, __, __, G, __, __, Bb, __, C. There are other interval relationships that played a part, such as harmonics 5 and 8 which form a minor 6th (E to C). If transposed down to the root note, we get C to A. Adding the A to our scale then reveals another whole step between G and A, reinforcing the idea of a whole step, and so on. It was found that chopping a whole step into a “half step” was close in pitch ratio to the 17th and 18th harmonics. This interval could somewhat neatly fill in the remaining blanks to form our twelve-tone scale of half steps–C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, Bb, B, C. Well, almost. We don’t end up with equally sized half steps if we keep the pure harmonic ratios that originally inspired the scale. By around 200 years ago, the scale intervals were adjusted and “evened out” so that every half step had the same frequency ratio of 1:1.05946–not exactly a simple or ideal ratio. This is called “equal temperament,” and it’s how our modern pianos are tuned. It is quite useful in enabling a person to play a song in any key, and to transpose chords during the course of a song without the worry of clashing intervals. If our ancestors had chosen to base our scale off of the first 36 harmonics, we may have ended up with 24-note-per-octave instruments involving “quarter tone” intervals instead of half steps. Pianos and other instruments would have been much more complicated to build. If we had used 25 or so harmonics, we could have ended up with 19-note-per-octave instruments. In fact, we could have easily ended up with any number of tunings, with plenty of ways to justify them as being the “best” decision. Twelve notes per octave was probably the best decision for the time, especially considering that it simplified instrument building, yet had plenty of notes for creating a wide variety of expressive musical styles. But just as the ears of average people have adjusted to more and more complexity and variety in musical chords, styles, timbre, and rhythm over the millennia, we can now add new tonalities to the list.
The number of plants in Mr McGregor's magic potting shed increases overnight. He'd like to put the same number of plants in each of his gardens, planting one garden each day. How can he do it? Try entering different sets of numbers in the number pyramids. How does the total at the top change? A game for two people, or play online. Given a target number, say 23, and a range of numbers to choose from, say 1-4, players take it in turns to add to the running total to hit their target. Got It game for an adult and child. How can you play so that you know you will always win? For this challenge, you'll need to play Got It! Can you explain the strategy for winning this game with any target? How could Penny, Tom and Matthew work out how many chocolates there are in different sized boxes? Think of a number, add one, double it, take away 3, add the number you first thought of, add 7, divide by 3 and take away the number you first thought of. You should now be left with 2. How do I. . . . Choose any 3 digits and make a 6 digit number by repeating the 3 digits in the same order (e.g. 594594). Explain why whatever digits you choose the number will always be divisible by 7, 11 and 13. Many numbers can be expressed as the sum of two or more consecutive integers. For example, 15=7+8 and 10=1+2+3+4. Can you say which numbers can be expressed in this way? Take a look at the multiplication square. The first eleven triangle numbers have been identified. Can you see a pattern? Does the The NRICH team are always looking for new ways to engage teachers and pupils in problem solving. Here we explain the thinking behind Delight your friends with this cunning trick! Can you explain how Four bags contain a large number of 1s, 3s, 5s and 7s. Pick any ten numbers from the bags above so that their total is 37. Imagine we have four bags containing a large number of 1s, 4s, 7s and 10s. What numbers can we make? Can you explain how this card trick works? Can you find sets of sloping lines that enclose a square? How many moves does it take to swap over some red and blue frogs? Do you have a method? A game for 2 players We can show that (x + 1)² = x² + 2x + 1 by considering the area of an (x + 1) by (x + 1) square. Show in a similar way that (x + 2)² = x² + 4x + 4 Can you find the values at the vertices when you know the values on A package contains a set of resources designed to develop pupils’ mathematical thinking. This package places a particular emphasis on “generalising” and is designed to meet the. . . . Triangle numbers can be represented by a triangular array of squares. What do you notice about the sum of identical triangle List any 3 numbers. It is always possible to find a subset of adjacent numbers that add up to a multiple of 3. Can you explain why and prove it? Do you notice anything about the solutions when you add and/or subtract consecutive negative numbers? Find some examples of pairs of numbers such that their sum is a factor of their product. eg. 4 + 12 = 16 and 4 × 12 = 48 and 16 is a factor of 48. This article for teachers describes several games, found on the site, all of which have a related structure that can be used to develop the skills of strategic planning. A three digit number abc is always divisible by 7 when 2a+3b+c is divisible by 7. Why? The aim of the game is to slide the green square from the top right hand corner to the bottom left hand corner in the least number of You can work out the number someone else is thinking of as follows. Ask a friend to think of any natural number less than 100. Then ask them to tell you the remainders when this number is divided by. . . . Square numbers can be represented as the sum of consecutive odd numbers. What is the sum of 1 + 3 + ..... + 149 + 151 + 153? What would be the smallest number of moves needed to move a Knight from a chess set from one corner to the opposite corner of a 99 by 99 square board? Imagine a large cube made from small red cubes being dropped into a pot of yellow paint. How many of the small cubes will have yellow paint on their faces? Start with two numbers. This is the start of a sequence. The next number is the average of the last two numbers. Continue the sequence. What will happen if you carry on for ever? What are the areas of these triangles? What do you notice? Can you generalise to other "families" of triangles? A little bit of algebra explains this 'magic'. Ask a friend to pick 3 consecutive numbers and to tell you a multiple of 3. Then ask them to add the four numbers and multiply by 67, and to tell you. . . . Imagine you have a large supply of 3kg and 8kg weights. How many of each weight would you need for the average (mean) of the weights to be 6kg? What other averages could you have? Rectangles are considered different if they vary in size or have different locations. How many different rectangles can be drawn on a chessboard? Some students have been working out the number of strands needed for different sizes of cable. Can you make sense of their solutions? It starts quite simple but great opportunities for number discoveries and patterns! Spotting patterns can be an important first step - explaining why it is appropriate to generalise is the next step, and often the most interesting and important. If you can copy a network without lifting your pen off the paper and without drawing any line twice, then it is traversable. Decide which of these diagrams are traversable. Charlie has moved between countries and the average income of both has increased. How can this be so? It's easy to work out the areas of most squares that we meet, but what if they were tilted? Can you tangle yourself up and reach any fraction? It would be nice to have a strategy for disentangling any tangled A collection of games on the NIM theme Start with any number of counters in any number of piles. 2 players take it in turns to remove any number of counters from a single pile. The winner is the player to take the last counter. An article for teachers and pupils that encourages you to look at the mathematical properties of similar games. Euler discussed whether or not it was possible to stroll around Koenigsberg crossing each of its seven bridges exactly once. Experiment with different numbers of islands and bridges. A 2 by 3 rectangle contains 8 squares and a 3 by 4 rectangle contains 20 squares. What size rectangle(s) contain(s) exactly 100 squares? Can you find them all?
The Himalayas formed due to the collision between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Although the original collision occurred 40 to 50 million years ago, the Indian plate is still moving further north, causing the mountains to grow at a rate of approximately one to two centimeters a year.Continue Reading When the two plates collided, the land in each began to fold and pile up on top of itself, as both plates were the same density and neither could slide underneath the other. The force of the collision resulted in the largest mountains on the planet, with the largest, Mt. Everest, rising to a height of more than 29,000 feet above sea level. Although they have only grown around nine kilometers in 50 million years, the current growth rate of the Himalayas equals an astonishing 10 kilometers for every million years. This means the Himalayas are currently growing faster than ever. The Himalaya range stretches for more than 1,500 miles across the entire northern section of the Indian landmass. Prior to the collision, this landmass began as an island off the coast of Australia after the break-up of the Pangaea supercontinent, before slowly moving towards Asia over a period of several hundred million years.Learn more about Landforms
The Philippine crocodile is the most critically endangered species of crocodile with less than 100 adults left in the wild. They are threatened by a combination of hunting and habitat loss due to extensive logging and farming in the Philippines. To aid in the recovery of the only population of this crocodile that can be protected in the wild, a small organization, the Mabuwaya foundation, started surveying the crocodile population and protecting their known habitat. They also started a nest protection program, a head-start program for hatchlings, and a habitat restoration program. Under the head-start program, hatchling crocodiles are collected and reared under protected circumstances to increase survival rates. This program has been very successful and increased the survival of hatchling crocodiles from less than 5 % to over 80 % survival. Your vote for this project will specifically help the Mabuwaya foundation continue their habitat recovery work as they plant more native trees along the river banks, create additional safe-release ponds for the young crocodiles, and track released young via radio-tagging so that researchers can better understand these wonderful creatures. Additionally, water pumps will be installed in this poverty-stricken region to provide an alternative source of water to residents of the three villages along the river that has been declared a crocodile sanctuary. The pumps will reduce human/crocodile conflict by limiting the use of the river for washing and bathing. For more information, visit www.mabuwaya.org.
The development of the periodic table of elements was made possible by the pioneering work of renowned Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev. His path to this outstanding accomplishment, though, was not without difficulties. This article examines Mendeleev's early years, going in-depth on his upbringing, education, and difficulties. Mendeleev's life is one of tenacity and scientific brilliance, from his modest beginnings to the momentous discovery that revolutionized the field of chemistry. Join us as we examine the life of a man who influenced how we perceive the universe's fundamental elements. Early Life and Education of Dmitri Mendeleev The developer of the periodic table of elements, Dmitri Mendeleev, was born in Tobolsk, Siberia, on February 8, 1834. His mother was from a family of merchants, and his father was a teacher. He came from a modest, mixed-race family. Mendeleev's parents, despite their modest means, placed a high value on education and instilled a lifelong love of learning in him. Mendeleev demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for mathematics and the sciences even as a young child. He went to the Gymnasium in Tobolsk, where his academic prowess really started to show. Tragically, his father's blindness brought about financial hardship for the family. Despite these challenges, Mendeleev managed to secure a scholarship to continue his education at the prestigious University of Moscow, where he hoped to further his studies in chemistry. Rejection from the University of Moscow: A Setback for Mendeleev Mendeleev submitted an application to the University of Moscow in 1850, eager to pursue his love of chemistry and leave his mark on the scientific world. He hoped that his outstanding grades and intense interest in the subject would help him get accepted to the university. Mendeleev received a rejection letter from the University of Moscow, which sadly crushed his dreams. Although the precise causes of his rejection are unknown, it is thought that his unconventional thinking and self-directed learning style clashed with the established academic system of the day. Mendeleev refused to let the rejection determine his future, despite the fact that it was undoubtedly discouraging. He chose a different route in his quest for knowledge because he was determined to keep learning. Mendeleev immersed himself in self-directed studies, tirelessly exploring various scientific disciplines and refining his understanding of chemistry. Journey of Mendeleev: Looking into Chemistry and Developing His Ideas Mendeleev didn't get the formal education he had hoped for, but his enthusiasm for chemistry was stronger than ever. In his improvised home laboratory, he started running experiments as he devoted his life to learning the secrets of the elements. Mendeleev began to form his own theories and hypotheses about the nature of chemical elements through his independent research. He questioned the validity of the current categorization schemes and searched for a more thorough and systematic method of classifying the elements according to their properties. Mendeleev collaborated with other scientists and participated in scholarly debates because of his insatiable desire for knowledge. He engaged in discussions with influential members of the scientific community in an effort to constantly improve and test his own theories. Mendeleev's ground-breaking work was greatly influenced by his willingness to work with others and his capacity for taking in new information. The Periodic Table: A Breakthrough in Understanding the Elements Mendeleev was acutely aware of the disorderly state of the existing knowledge about the elements as he dove deeper into his studies. He understood the urgent need for an organized framework that would arrange these basic components of matter and help scientists better understand their characteristics and interactions. Mendeleev came up with a plan to arrange the elements according to their atomic weights and recurring patterns in properties, drawing on his vast knowledge and keen insights. As a result of his discovery that some characteristics recurred periodically, the periodic table of elements as we know it today was created. Mendeleev's periodic table was extremely predictive, which was one of its most amazing features. Mendeleev boldly predicted the existence and characteristics of elements that were later discovered and confirmed by other scientists by leaving gaps in his table for yet-to-be-discovered elements. This foresight demonstrated his brilliance as a scientific thinker while also supporting the validity of his periodic table. The progression of Dmitri Mendeleev from being rejected to creating the periodic table is evidence of his unwavering resolve, independent thinking, and ingenuity. His contributions transformed the study of chemistry and gave researchers a potent tool to decipher the mysteries of the elements. And even though Mendeleev was not admitted to the Moscow University, his contributions to science have had a lasting impact. Key Features of Mendeleev's Periodic Table Mendeleev was brilliant because he could see patterns where others saw chaos. He arranged the elements into rows and columns according to their atomic weights, making comparison and analysis simple. This arrangement set the way for the current periodic table by helping scientists in making sense of the vast array of elements that were known at the time. Mendeleev's arrangement of elements with comparable properties in one group was one of its remarkable aspects. This not only improved the appearance of the table but also revealed relationships between elements that had previously been hidden. Suddenly, it became clear that elements in the same group shared similar chemical behaviors and properties, making it easier for chemists to make predictions and understand the behavior of new and undiscovered elements. Initial Reactions and Scientific Acceptance of the Periodic Table Mendeleev's periodic table was initially met with doubt and even mockery by Scientists. Some scientists dismissed it as little more than an intriguing theory with no real world application. Mendeleev, however, didn't let that discourage him. His table was continually improved, he gathered more data to back up his claims, and he gradually won over his detractors. There are always going to be disagreements with groundbreaking scientific theories. Some scientists disagreed with Mendeleev's choice to group elements solely by atomic weight, contending that additional considerations should have been made. There were also a lot of arguments about where to put certain components and where to draw the lines between various groups. But despite their ferocity, these discussions ultimately served a useful purpose and improved and strengthened the periodic table over time. Support for Mendeleev's work increased as more proof mounted and experts realized how useful his periodic table was in real-world applications. Scientists quickly realized the strength and beauty of his system. Worldwide, chemistry classrooms and laboratories quickly adopted the periodic table, and Mendeleev's name came to represent scientific brilliance.
Antarctic researchers have a new hypothesis that could solve the century-old mystery of why some icebergs are green. Icebergs are normally white or blue, but sailors and explorers to Antarctica since the early 1900s have reported sightings of lustrous jade and emerald green icebergs in parts of the Southern Ocean. Tests on ice samples collected from underneath the Amery Ice Shelf suggest that iron oxides in seawater are the likely the explanation for these rare, frozen curiosities. The research, led by Professor Steve Warren from the University of Washington, has been published in the journal JGR Oceans, and includes Australian Antarctic Division Glaciologist, Dr Mark Curran, as a co-author. Dr Curran said the study suggests that the unique colour of the icebergs is the result of yellow-tinted iron oxide in seawater combining with the crystalline blue of the ice, to produce the distinctive jade green. “I first saw one of these intriguing icebergs from the deck of the Aurora Australis in Prydz Bay in 1992, and no one could tell me what caused the colour,” Dr Curran said. “It’s a question that has intrigued many seagoing Antarctic scientists and explorers over the years, and so it was a real honour to play a part in this fascinating piece of research.” The most commonly sighted Antarctic icebergs are made from glacial ice, which is fresh water from the snow that falls on the Antarctic plateau and becomes compacted over thousands of years. Jade icebergs are formed under very different conditions, when mineral-rich seawater freezes to the underside of an ice shelf in layers, then eventually breaks off and floats away. These jade bergs contain layers of the pure blue-white ice from the glacier and greener ice below, formed from frozen seawater. Some icebergs of blue glacial ice contain green stripes of marine ice, formed by seawater freezing up into basal crevasses. A number of theories have previously been put forward about why frozen seawater turns such a remarkable shade of green, including the presence of dead phytoplankton or dissolved organic carbon. The researchers found that these materials were not present in large enough amounts to explain the colour. The scientists also believe that these mineral-rich ice blocks could play a role in promoting biological activity in the Southern Ocean, by transporting nutrients to areas where iron is in short supply. Iron is an essential trace nutrient for the growth of marine phytoplankton, which are the tiny plants at the base of the Antarctic food web. The research is based on iron measurements published in 2016 by Laura Herraiz-Borreguero of CSIRO, Professor Delphine Lannuzel of the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, and their colleagues.
Sensory processing is the way our nervous system receives messages from our senses, turning them into motor or behavioural responses. The ability to receive and process sensory information from our environment can impact attachment, speech and language, motor coordination and our day-to-day living skills. Main sensory systems Sensory information includes the five senses: - visual (sight), - auditory (hearing), - tactile (touch), - olfactory (smell) - gustatory (taste). There are also three further senses: - vestibular (balance) - proprioceptive (body awareness) - interoceptive (bodily needs such as hunger or body temperature) What types of difficulties can people have with these systems and how do they affect everyday life? Sensory processing disorder (SPD) can mean you are overly sensitive to particular senses or conversely, need more stimuli from senses. Examples of behaviour / experiences relating to being overly sensitive to sensory stimuli might include: - Visual: Experiencing overhead/ fluorescent/ lighting as too bright - Auditory: finding “normal” classroom chatter too loud - Tactile: getting irritated by clothing labels - Olfactory: feeling nauseous from some food smells - Gustatory: needing food puréed for digestion - Vestibular: having difficulty controlling movements in sport - Proprioception: finding it hard to tie shoelaces - Interoception: overeating to avoid hunger pangs Examples of behaviour / experiences relating to being under-sensitive to sensory stimuli or being ‘sensory-seeking’ might include: - Visual: seeking visual stimulation through computer games - Auditory: enjoying banging doors/making loud sounds - Tactile: being drawn to touching other people or stroking self - Olfactory: not acknowledging own body odour - Gustatory: eating rocks, earth, grass,metal (known as pica) - Vestibular: enjoying rocking, swinging - Proprioception: bumping into people - Interoception: having toileting accidents These sensory processing difficulties can have a huge impact on everyday activities in school, work or out in the community. For example, children in school who are overly sensitive may feel overwhelmed by classroom lighting or even low background noise. This could lead to feeling overwhelmed and unable to carry out smaller tasks.Children who seek sensory stimulation, may make loud noises during a quiet exam or stroke others’ hair (stimming). This could be disruptive to others and children may learn to suppress this, leading to sensory dysregulation. Sensory processing is not simply binary though,as Dr Temple Grandin explains, “One of the problems in understanding sensory issues is that sensory sensitivities are very variable, among individuals and within the same individual. A person can be hyper-sensitive to one area (like hearing) and hypo-sensitive in another (like touch)”1 What developmental conditions / mental health problems are SPD linked to? Children and adults with sensory processing difficulties often have comorbid conditions such as poor motor skills, anxiety or depression. In some cases, there is a link to autism and developmental trauma. With autism, nerve cells can be over or under connected, leaving message processing flooded by nerve cells firing or under-stimulated respectively. Messages can even be sent to the wrong processing area, leading to synaesthesia: the sound is heard but processed as a particular colour. Some children experience gestational abuse or neglect: for example, perinatal drug or alcohol abuse (foetal alcohol syndrome.) Other children are neglected or abused as young children, leading to hypervigilance, with accompanying fight, flight, freeze or fawn stress responses. This adversely harms capacities to filter out overwhelming sensory input, such as background noise- a result of desensitisation to the possibility of danger. Regulating sensory arousal becomes haphazard, some children may seek their caregivers’ attention through sensory soothing or through avoidance, if historically sensory needs hadn’t been met. What can help: Sensory integration therapy The Ayres’ sensory integration intervention assessment and therapy looks at sensory processing difficulties and suggests strategies to help. The Occupational Therapist will often use a sensory room for therapy sessions, equipped with a ball pit, weighted blankets and fidget toys to support sensory defensiveness and/or cravings. These strategies can then be used independently by the child, or supported through families and schools. Occupational therapists will suggest beginning the day with a bespoke sensory circuit: activities to energise or soothe the senses. This can help children prepare for learning at school. These can include: - energising activities such as star jumps or skipping - coordinated activities such as juggling or a wobble board - heavy muscle activities such as using weights A further sensory diet throughout the day and evening includes activities to help sustain attention, focus and regulation. These can include: - stimulating low arousal through dancing or singing - lowering arousal through listening to music or walking. These strategies at home and school can help sustain daily regulation throughout the demands of the day, helping prevent sensory overload and decrease anxiety. Insight from Temple Grandin Dr Temple Grandin is Assistant Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, specialising in designing livestock equipment and renowned speaker and author on autism. She gives worldwide talks about her experiences of autism and sensory processing. Temple wrote an extraordinary autobiography: ‘Emergence’ in 1968, which gave a compelling insight into her sensory processing as a child. She describes her infant hearing like microphones broadcasting at full, undulated volumes. She remembers violent rages, often originating from unmodulated sensory processing. Whenever she was hugged by her mother or visiting aunts, she felt like a trapped animal, leaving her desperately wanting to claw her way out. She used her own faeces rather than clay for modelling, spreading it around rooms. Eventually, she learn how to innately temper her regulatory system, through retreating into her own little world through immersive sand activities: - Sitting on the beach, enjoying the feeling of sand running through her fingertips and building sand castles. - Imagining each grain of sand under a scientific microscope - Trailing lines of sand on each finger, imagining each one a road map - Intense concentration allowed total bodily and mind immersion – oblivious to the hive of people and noise around her. Where sensory difficulties are suspected, it is important to have an accurate, thorough sensory assessment, and access to therapeutic help. The Purple House Clinic, Leicester, offers comprehensive sensory assessments and sensory integration therapy with an Occupational Therapist and Sensory Integration practitioner. The assessments take place in a fully equipped sensory room, with ball pit, play den, range of tactile objects and books. Sensory screening is also available at our Rugby and Lincoln clinics, as part of the autism and trauma care pathways. As part of the trauma care pathway, children accessing therapy at The Purple House Clinic, Lincoln, have access to a sensory room, complete with sensory tent and bubble tube to help with sensory regulation. The Rugby Clinic can also offer full, sensory assessments through an Occupational Therapist. The Glasgow clinic can offer comprehensive sensory assessments with an Occupational Therapist through home-visits, to help children feel more comfortable. 1 Temple Grandin, “The way I see it: a personal look at autism and asperger’s”: 32 (2008)
speck, specklebelly, laughing goose. Uncommon in fall and winter in Tennessee Valley and Inland Coastal Plain regions. Rare on Gulf Coast in fall and winter. Lowest Conservation Concern. Both sexes of the greater white fronted goose are brownish gray in coloration. Distinguishing characteristics include a white patch at the base of the pink or orangeish colored bill and dark brown to black blotches on the breast feathers. These irregular shaped bars or blotches are more prominent as these birds mature. Due to this feature many hunters have termed this particular species “specklebelly” or “speck”. Features such as orange legs and a white rump also help to distinguish this species from other geese. The greater white-fronted goose is circumpolar in their breeding distribution except for a gap in the northeastern Canadian Arctic. Nesting areas include the arctic coast of Russia, northern Alaska and northwest Canada. “Specks” wintering grounds on the European continent range from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black and Caspian Sea, while in North America, wintering grounds range from California to Central Mexico. Greater white-fronted geese are not common along the eastern shore of the continental United States. Their numbers generally occur along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, Texas and up the Mississippi River Basin. This species can primarily be seen in the Mississippi, Central and Pacific Flyways. These geese prefer remote tundra areas near Arctic coastal areas for breeding. Wintering areas are usually within eight to ten miles of a food source and are associated with freshwater. Like other geese they often leave the marshes to feed in nearby stubble or agricultural fields. White-fronted geese feed extensively on rice, water grass, milo and barley and will forage in shallow water by tipping up, similar to dabbling ducks. LIFE HISTORY AND ECOLOGY: Unlike other goose species, they do not nest in colonies. They tend to be solitary breeders with nesting occurring on both tidal flats and upland areas. Females select a shallow depression, building the nest from nearby plant material. Limited amounts of down are utilized in nest construction. Clutch size varies from one to eight eggs. Incubation is done by the female only. Average incubation period ranges between 27 and 28 days. Chicks are covered in down, with their eyes open. Generally speaking they will leave the nest 24 hours after hatching and will be led to water at that time. Once hatched, the male assumes the dominant role in brood rearing while the female takes a secondary role. Researchers indicate that the young grow rapidly and are capable of flight at approximately 45 days of age. Family ties in the white-fronted persist longer than in other species of geese. Yearlings remain with the parents even during the nesting season. These geese often migrate at night in large flocks. Flocks are typically composed of a number of family units. Specks can be identified by their characteristic high pitch laughing call, kow-yow, kow-yow. They are among the most vocal of the geese species. Bellrose, F.C. 1976. Ducks, Geese and Swans of North America, 2nd. Ed. Stackpole, p. 8. All about Birds/Greater White-Fronted Goose Michael E. Sievering, Supervising Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division.
1. Our Concept of Reality. Thousands of years ago we thought that our Earth was flat like a platform; with heaven above and hell underneath it. Then we realised that it was spherical and thought that it was the center of the universe. No one had any doubt, because everyone always see the Sun, the Moon and all the Stars rise from the East and set in the West. Our “reality” was that our Earth is the center of the universe. It is stationary and all the planets, the stars and the whole sky revolves around it. On closer observation, our astronomers detected that some planets are not moving smoothly together with the rest of the sky. Some times they move slower, as if they are moving backwards, and then suddenly they move faster again to catch up and even passed the others. To explain the puzzling “retrograde” movement of those planets, many Astronomers came up with many theories. In 270 BC, Aristarchus of Samos came up with a simple solution by putting the Sun at the center, while the Earth and all other planets are revolving around the Sun. Unfortunately, in those days his Heliocentric theory was beyond anyone’s reality. It sounded too absurd and no one took it seriously. The preferred theory of those days was the one suggested by Ptolemy around 100 BC. Ptolemy wrote three perplexing volumes of books “The Almagest”, which is full of complicated geometrical explanations on how the planets and stars revolve around our Earth. The days are long gone since we left the Ptolemaic system behind. But surprisingly enough, we realised that we held on to it as the truth for more than 1600 years. Ptolemy’s geocentric universe 2. The Copernican Revolution. In 1543, 1800 years after Aristarchus, Nicolaus Copernicus came up with the same theory again. He was more fortunate than Aristarchus, because the time was ripe and we were about ready to change our concept of reality. However, it didn’t happen easily. It took more than a century and many many great thinkers like Copernicus himself, Descartes, Tycho Brace, Giordano Bruno, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler etc. up until Isaac Newton to refine the Copernican theory and to work on our new concept of reality. Based on Newtonian Physics, our “reality” is that: - Time and Space are absolute. - Atoms are the smallest, indivisible basic building blocks of everything there is. - The whole universe is made from atoms, and it is functioning according to definite laws like a giant clock-work. (mechanistic) 3. The 20th Century Revolution. In the middle of the 19th century, the current scientific revolution had started with the discovery of the electromagnetic field. Michael Faraday, who had no scientific education discovered the electromagnetic field and its induction law, which was beyond any scientific conception at that time. \|Albert Einstein:\|\|It is fascinating to muse: Would Faraday have discovered the law of electromagnetic induction if he had received a regular college education?\| The Newtonian Physics, which is atomistic and mechanistic, could not accommodate the nature of fields, waves and their inductions property (known as “action at distance”). In those days, light waves were considered as travelling through a media called ether (similar to sound waves travelling through the air). In 1887, an experiment was conducted by Michelson and Morley, trying to measure the speed of light in different directions. The hypothesis was: “if the Earth is moving through the media called ether, the speed of light must measure differently in different directions due to earth’s movement.” The result of the experiment was very crucial. The speed of light was always the same in any direction. It created a lot of controversy amongst scientists, but at the end, the conclusion was that “Ether does not exist”. The Michelson Morley experiment gave the death sentence to the etheric hypothesis, and lead to the birth of Modern Physics. \|Albert Einstein:\|\|Matter is regarded as being constituted by region of space in which the field is very intense . . . . . . . . . . There is no place in this new kind of Physics both for the field and matter, for the field is the only reality. At the turn of the century, Modern Physics was born, with the Relativity Theory and Quantum Mechanics as the two major pillars supporting it. The Newtonian Physics was proved to be limited and only valid for macroscopic objects – things we can see, touch and smell. We started to realise that our mechanistic concept of reality, based on Newtonian Physics, is crumbling, but science couldn’t help us in giving us a clear new picture of reality. In the last few decades many many theories have come up, but instead of getting clearer, our picture is getting more and more “blured”. Science, especially Physics and it’s language of mathematics, becomes more and more complex beyond layman’s comprehension. On the other hand, we are confronted with more and more phenomena, which science could not explain and prefers to ignore. History tells us that we haven’t learnt from history, and probably we are now re-experiencing the days of Aristarchus and Ptolemy, before the turn of the millenia more than 2000 years ago. We rejected Aristarchus and accepted the complicated Ptolemaic system, because we strongly hold our “concept of reality” that our Earth must be the center of the universe. Anything else was simply beyond our imagination. One and a half centuries ago, Faraday introduced us to the reality of electromagnetic field and waves, which propagates at the speed of light – The reality of light. Einstein has proved that our time-space is relative, while Quantum Physics states that the whole universe is basically indivisible. \|Paul Davies:\|\|The Universe is not a collection of objects, but is an inseparable web of vibrating energy patterns in which no one component has reality independently from the entirety. Included in the entirety is the observer. (Bell’s theorem on the indivisibility of the Universe.) Unfortunately, the physical world as we know it, with physical matter in our time-space continuum, is our nowadays “reality” and we are also holding it very strongly. We have learnt that atom is no longer the smallest indivisible building block of nature. But it seems impossible for us to shed away our “atomistic” view, which has been the basic of our conceptual thought since we started to think thousands of years ago. Instead of taking on the new concept of reality, we just replaced atoms with sub-atomic particles to keep our atomistic or now “particle-istic” view intact. 4. Breaking the barrier Turning the “Frame of Reference” around. 2000 years ago, Ptolemy tried to explain the “heavenly” phenomena in a very complicated way based on the “geocentric” view. It was accepted as the “Truth” for 1600 years, only because it came “in-line” with the contemporary common “reality”. In 1543, Copernicus made the break-through, simply by turning the “reality” around and “viewed” at the whole planetary movement from the the sky down. By doing this, he came up with a very simple answer. Similar to Ptolemy, we are now trying to understand the cosmos based on our physical view, which is materialistic / atomistic and time-space confined. To break through the barrier, we shall try to turn our “reality” around and look at our physical world from the reality at the speed of light – from beyond our time-space continuum. Maybe we will find that there is a much simpler explanation. Light is free energy whereas matter/particle is confined energy. The “pattern-istic” instead of “atomistic” view. At the speed of light, there is no such thing as “matter” there are only “patterns”. Imagine the nature of light as in an optical telephone cable. There is a bundle of light travelling through the optic cable containing thousands of individual phone conversations at the same time. As a bundle of light, they are all indivisible, but each phone conversation has a certain distinct pattern, so that we don’t hear thousands of conversations at once while we are on the phone. 10 thoughts on “Introduction” I’d like to raise a challenge that will at first be difficult to address, but should lead to greater depth of insight. THERE IS NO SUCH “THING” AS ENERGY. Consider the definitions of energy in terms of mathematics. First and easiest: kinetic energy is the product of mass and the square of the velocity: E = 1/2 m v2 Now mass is manifestly real, as are motion, time and distance; that is, they are “things”, more accurately “observables”. Energy, being a product of these things, is only a concept, a relationship, a mathematical entity THAT HAS NO PHYSICAL REALITY. In other words: ENERGY IS A CONCEPT IN THE MINDS OF MEN, NOT A PHYSICAL REALITY. Perhaps the most important insight to be gained from this is just how many of our “scientific realities” are merely ideas, but are now so familiar that we have gradually come to believe that they are real. This is even more true when Einstein claims that “… the field is the only reality.” A field is a PURELY mathematical construct, and whilst electrically charged particles certainly BEHAVE as though moving within a field, every attempt to detect or explain the field itself has failed. Electric and magnetic fields are merely concepts used to model – and thereby “explain” – phenomena, but have NO PHYSICAL EXISTENCE OR REALITY. It is possible, however, to explain electromagnetic phenomena without using the field concept, but this requires a far better understanding of the nature of space and time. It is also true that when we speak of “energy” we often mean different things. “When I got up this morning I was full of energy!” Maybe; but not kinetic energy, perhaps potential energy, but not because you were perched high on a cliff, only because your psyche – your consciousness – was alive and full of beans. So our use of the word energy is often just a mode of speech. Everyone “knows” what it means to be “full of energy”, but very few can explain it. I believe that it is time for modern Physics to take a far more critical attitude to these loose habits of speech if it sincerely wishes to advance. LikeLiked by 1 person You are right indeed. Have a look at what Albert Einstein said about physical concept cited in Metascience: about Concepts, Theories and Map of Realities So if, as stated in the your-ticket-to-ride-summary, ‘there is no such thing as “matter”, but an inseparable web of vibrating energy’, and energy is not real, then … LikeLiked by 1 person then . . . . nothing is real ??? According to Vedic tradition it’s “MAYA” (our common illusion) Sorry. I prefer a philosophy that agrees with commonsense: that matter both exists and is real; because if MATTER (sc. Tamas of the Gunas) is not real, then the word “reality” has no meaning. This is why I reject all unification theories. Phenomena as disparate as the Physical, Psychic and Spiritual Realms cannot be “unified”. Each constitutes a distinct, semi-autonomous reality, with its own “laws”, perceptions and experiences. Seen from either the Psychic or the the Spiritual Realm, the Physical Realm DOES appear as an illusion, and the same is true vis-a-vis the others; but when you are incarnate in the Physical Realm, THAT IS your reality, like it or not. To deny this in preference for a half-formed philosophical notion simply renders you a victim of your own delusions. Unless, that is, you are the Supreme God of religious fiction and created them. I have no such pretensions. Physicists, on the other hand, deny the very existence of the psychic and the spiritual, and are delighted to play God for anyone foolish enough to listen to them. I do not. Men have pursued this and similar follies throughout history, and have endured the inevitable consequences. We’re most unfortunate to be living at a time when the consequences of many centuries seem doomed to appear. LikeLiked by 1 person Thank you for stating your “reality”. Further to my short answer above, “reality’ is subject dependant. It is what the subject patterns perceived from its interactions with the surroundings (the objects), based on the principle of resonance and inductions. As human beings, our five physical senses have the same resonance bandwidth, hence we all perceive our ‘newtonian’ world the same way. It is our common ‘reality’. Beyond our five physical senses, we all have different emotional and thought experiences hence different perceptions and beliefs that contribute to the makeup of our ‘map of reality’. Our contemporary / academic science limit itself to our ‘objective reality’ hence Psychic and Spiritual realms are beyond their range of observation. At the bottom of Chapter *Your ticket to ride” you’ll find “Balancing the Axis” between Exoteric><Esoteric. Understanding where our commonality stops and our differences starts is the key for our next evolution towards a harmonious cooperative coexistence. The sternest test of any philosophy is its successful application to practical ends. Following the overthrow of Western philosophy by science in 1927, Physicists adopted mathematical analogues as replacements for Physical Theory. The most stunning result of this was the atomic bomb, the groundwork for which had been laid prior to 1927. Following the Hitler War, Mathematical Physics quickly replaced Physical Theory, and promised further developments. Atomic fusion of heavy hydrogen would soon replace uranium fission as the world’s power source, providing electricity “too cheap to meter”, and would arrive within fifteen years. Today, fusion enthusiasts are still insisting that fusion power is only fifteen years away; atomic arsenals have never disappeared; further accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima are inevitable; and the whole world has been persuaded by Scientists that materialism is the only valid philosophy. Many regard these outcomes as demonstrating the success of Scientism, the pseudo-religion which Modern Western Science has become. Personally, I demur. Your last sentence proposes a way forward along a new philosophical path. Could you suggest how this can be developed into a program of practical activity? This is the million dollar question and I do not pretend to know the answer. The issue is million years old. The symbols on the Secret Doctrine we are dealing with is believed to be the 18 million years old teaching given to the Agarthan by their Guardian, The Ancient Builder Race. (According Corey Goode they are now here / in our Solar system, known as The Sphere Beings). It is basically about the Law of Nature (read: Cosmos) and the closest but less ancient teaching is Taoism (Tao = The Way = The Way Nature/Cosmos works). Taoism is actually much older than Lao Tzu. It is a link to a certain Agarthan tribe, the ancestors of the Chinese. During the Tang and Song Dynasties Chinese philosophers have combined Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism into a syncretic philosophy called Neo-Confucianism. (Taoism as their Cosmology, Buddhism as their Spirituality and Confucianism as their Ethics/Morality) This Neo-Confucianism has become the “Way of Life” for most East Asians, and the overseas Chinese. Unfortunately it was banned in mainland China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, but I think it is now being revived. So probably the spread of this ideas will generate more resonance in China and Southeast Asian countries rather than Westerns countries. I’ve always wondered about the origins of the Chinese. They differ so markedly from Westerners that I don’t find linear Darwinism (viz. an origin from the “Original African Mother” of Western academics) at all plausible. I spent a few months in China (Beijing and points north) in 2007/8, partly to investigate the reported re-emergence of Buddhism now that it’s officially accepted. What I saw was not encouraging. Many of the old temples are being refurbished, but often this is to attract tourism. Their understanding of its teachings that I encountered was superficial, dogmatic, and religious. I’ve always viewed it as a philosophy, NOT a religion, and believe that Prince Siddhartha would be horrified to find that people are worshipping him. What he would make of giant gold-plated Buddha statues and jewel-encrusted jade Buddhas I prefer not to think. LikeLiked by 1 person
Influenza (flu) is a respiratory virus which is highly contagious. Learn more about the symptoms and the influenza vaccine. Update: You can book a flu vaccination appointment at a participating CHAS GP clinic here. Those who are at risk of serious flu complications such as those 65 and older, young children under the age of 5 and people with certain chronic conditions are strongly recommended to get their yearly flu vaccinations. Flu vaccination, also commonly referred to as a "flu shot", is the best way to prevent the flu. Influenza, commonly known as the "flu", is a contagious viral disease that can affect anyone, including healthy people. It attacks the respiratory tract in humans (nose, throat, and lungs), causing inflammation of the here membranes. It can be spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks. The flu viruses are transmitted into the air through droplets, and other people can be infected when they breathe in the viruses. When these viruses enter the nose, throat, or lungs of a person, they begin to multiply, causing influenza symptoms. The viruses can also be spread indirectly when a person touches a surface with flu viruses on it (for example, a doorknob) and then touches his or her nose or mouth. Transmission can also occur when an infected person shares food with others during mealtime without a serving spoon. The disease can be deadly to some people who develop life-threatening complications like pneumonia (infection of the lungs). 8 Personal Hygiene Boo Boos You Don’t Want Make Influenza is caused by the flu virus which has 3 main types: flu A, flu B and flu C. Flu A and B are responsible for seasonal outbreaks and epidemics. Between the two types, flu A causes more severe cases and complications like pneumonia, especially in the elderly, young children (5 years and below) and those with chronic conditions. Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly, and symptoms include high fever, sore throat, coughing, headache, muscle aches, and stuffy nose. Other symptoms may include sneezing, nasal discharge, loss of appetite, fatigue, weakness, chills, and stomach symptoms. A severe case of influenza can lead to pneumonia (infection of the lungs) and other complications such as bronchitis (inflammation of the lungs), sinusitis (infection of the nasal passages), ear infection and meningitis (inflammation of the lining that covers the brain). Persons who get the flu virus may have different reactions to the illness. Some groups of people are at high risk to develop complications which could lead to death. Older people, young children, people with a weakened immune system, or those with heart and lung diseases are more likely to develop serious complications due to a flu infection. The following people are at highest risk for complications related to influenza infection. Know How To Fight Flu People who develop flu symptoms should practice good self-care. The flu virus takes time and rest to recover. It is important to stay hydrated and avoid strenuous physical activities like running and jogging when ill (until one completely recover). Do not go to work or school and avoid crowded places to minimise the transmission of the infection to others. Medications to reduce the pain and fever, such as paracetomol, can be used. For higher risk individuals, especially young children, older adults and those with other medical conditions, they should seek medical attention promptly. There are antiviral medications available to treat the flu. These medications act to decrease the ability of flu viruses to reproduce. To be effective, flu antiviral drugs should be taken within the first 2 days after the person gets sick. They may also help reduce the severity of flu symptoms and help the person with flu recover faster by a few days. It is important to remember that these flu antiviral medications are not a substitute for flu vaccination. Getting a flu vaccine yearly is still the best way to protect you from the flu. Antibiotics are ineffective against the flu because they do not work on viruses. However, sometimes people develop serious secondary infections caused by bacteria in addition to their flu virus. Secondary bacterial infections may require antibiotic treatment so it is important to have your symptoms assessed by a doctor especially if you are not recovering as expected. There are many ways to prevent the spread of flu and to protect yourself against this infection. Assess the situation you are in. Do you or your household members belong to the group at-risk of developing influenza-related complications? Are you regularly exposed to those at risk of complications from flu? An annual flu vaccine is the best protection for you against the flu. Additionally, everyone can practise healthy habits, good personal hygiene and be socially responsible. Wash your hands thoroughly and regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially before touching your eyes, nose or mouth and after going to the toilet. While soap and water is the best choice, when it is not available you can follow the same handwashing steps using an alcohol-based hand rub. Lead a healthy lifestyle Protect Yourself And Others Against The Flu A flu shot is most beneficial for those who have a higher risk of developing complications (see list above) from an influenza infection. Household members of those at risk can also do their part to protect themselves by getting an annual flu shot. It is also advisable to get a flu vaccination if you are a healthcare worker as you may regularly be exposed to patients with different flu viruses. You will also be protecting vulnerable patients by preventing the spread of the virus to them. The flu vaccination takes effect about 2 weeks after vaccination, thus it's better to get vaccinated early before flu season starts. In Singapore, the Northern Hemisphere flu season generally occurs between November and February. The Southern Hemisphere season is from May to July. Flu shots contain several strains of flu virus that are expected to be the most common for that season. Yearly vaccination is recommended as flu viruses are constantly changing, and your body's immunity to flu viruses may decline over time. Thus, getting vaccinated every year provides the best protection against influenza. Beat The Flu When You Have Diabetes Flu vaccines are offered in many locations, including CHAS GP clinics, polyclinics, hospitals, specialist clinics, nursing homes, workplaces and even schools. Some minor side effects can be associated with a flu vaccination. They are: If these problems occur, they begin soon after the shot and usually lasts 1 to 2 days. These symptoms do not mean you have the flu and unlike the flu, they are not contagious when brought on by the vaccination. On very rare occasions, flu vaccination can cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions. Consult your doctor if you have any concerns about your suitability for vaccination. *Note: This flu vaccine does not give protection against bird flu or the H7N9. Currently, there is no vaccine for this strain. Flu vaccination is highly subsidised at CHAS GP clinics and polyclinics for all Singaporeans who are in the high risk groups. Children 6 - 59 months and any child who is in the high-risk groups may get an annual flu shot at no cost Singaporean seniors age 65 and above and adults who are in the high-risk groups can get an annual flu shot at subsidised rates at CHAS GP clinics and polyclinics. (Refer to the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule and National Adult Immunisation Schedule.) Additionally, MediSave may be used up to $500/$700 per year for Influenza vaccinations for persons with a higher risk of developing influenza-related complications at both CHAS GP clinics and polyclinics. here for more information on subsidies available, other vaccine-preventable diseases and frequently asked questions. Download the HealthHub app on Google Play or Apple Store to access more health and wellness advice at your fingertips. Read these next: This article was last reviewed on Wednesday, November 22, 2023 Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Chickenpox: Symptoms and Treatment Options Haze Subsidy Scheme In partnership with
Quasi-Experimental Design Definition A quasi-experimental design is a research methodology that possesses some, but not all, of the defining characteristics of a true experiment. In most cases, such designs examine the impact of one or more independent variables on dependent variables, but without assigning participants to conditions randomly or maintaining strict control over features of the experimental situation that could influence participants’ responses. Example of a Quasi-Experimental Design Quasi-experimental designs are most often used in natural (nonlaboratory) settings over longer periods and usually include an intervention or treatment. Consider, for example, a study of the effect of a motivation intervention on class attendance and enjoyment in students. When an intact group such as a classroom is singled out for an intervention, randomly assigning each person to experimental conditions is not possible. Rather, the researcher gives one classroom the motivational intervention (intervention group) and the other classroom receives no intervention (comparison group). The researcher uses two classrooms that are as similar as possible in background (e.g., same age, racial composition) and that have comparable experiences within the class (e.g., type of class, meeting time) except for the intervention. In addition, the researcher gives participants in both conditions (comparison and motivation intervention) pretest questionnaires to assess attendance, enjoyment, and other related variables before the intervention. After the intervention is administered, the researcher measures attendance and enjoyment of the class. The researcher can then determine if students in the motivation intervention group enjoyed and attended class more than the students in the comparison group did. Interpreting Results from a Quasi-Experimental Design How should results from this hypothetical study be interpreted? Investigators, when interpreting the results of quasi-experimental designs that lacked random assignment of participants to conditions, must be cautious drawing conclusions about causality because of potential confounds in the setting. For example, the previous hypothetical example course material in the intervention group might have become more engaging whereas the comparison group started to cover a more mundane topic that led to changes in class enjoyment and attendance. However, if the intervention group and comparison group had similar pretest scores and comparable classroom experiences, then changes on posttest scores suggest that the motivation intervention influenced class attendance and enjoyment. The Pros and Cons of Using Quasi-Experimental Designs Quasi-experiments are most useful when conducting research in settings where random assignment is not possible because of ethical considerations or constraining situational factors. In consequence, such designs are more prevalent in studies conducted in natural settings, thereby increasing the real-world applicability of the findings. Such studies are not, however, true experiments, and thus the lack of control over assignment of participants to conditions renders causal conclusions suspect. - Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimental: Design and analysis issues for field settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. - Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
April Showers Bring May Floods How can we protect water quality during flood events? This story was written by the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, Apr. 18, 2021. Read the original article. Spring flooding is especially common in Kootenai, Shoshone, and Benewah Counties. According to the Idaho Office of Emergency Management, Kootenai County experienced an average of 22 “major flooding events” between 2012 and 2017, the second highest in the state. Most flooding occurs along natural stream or river channels of course. The land along a stream or river that is identified as being susceptible to flooding is called the floodway. Communities in our region are especially vulnerable to flooding of our many rivers, lakes, and creeks due to snowmelt, rain, or rain on snow events combined with steep mountain slopes. The extent of flooding depends on many factors including depth of winter snowpack, spring weather patterns, watershed and stream gradients, watershed vegetation in uplands and lowlands, and the natural and artificial floodwater storage areas. While it is well known that flooding can cause dangerous driving conditions and structural damage for property owners, floodwaters may also contain harmful bacteria, hazardous materials, and other toxins that can have disastrous impacts on public health and the environment throughout the entire watershed. A common problem during, and after a flood, is the displacement and leakage of tanks and other containers of hazardous materials (i.e., radioactive, flammable, explosive, corrosive, toxic, or allergenic). To minimize water quality contamination from these types of container leaks, follow these precautions: Store hazardous materials in areas not susceptible to rising and receding flood waters, such as fenced areas, cabinets, or storerooms. Clearly identify and label contents, especially when materials are not in original containers. Make sure containment vaults for underground storage tanks have been engineered properly to prevent tanks from floating out of the ground if contents are lighter than water. Wastewater and Septic Systems The spread of harmful bacteria and other contaminants can also occur during a flood when wastewater and septic systems become overloaded and toxins enter groundwater and drinking water wells. To minimize and prepare for water quality contamination from wastewater and septic systems, identify at what water level your system can become compromised and prepare an emergency response plan. Do not pump your tank when the drain field is flooded or oversaturated. Do not use the sewage system until water in the soil absorption field is lower than the water level around the house. Have your septic tank professionally inspected and serviced (every 3-5 years) and when you suspect damage. If the soil absorption field is clogged, a new system may have to be installed or the wastewater diverted to a replacement drain field. Floodwaters may contaminate drinking water wells and systems. If your private well is flooded, assume the water in your home is contaminated. Do not use contaminated water for any household use. Before a flood, precautionary measures to protect and prevent floodwater entry into the water system include sealing pipes, distribution lines, or other openings connected with your drinking water system. Have your well tested for bacteria and other contaminants before returning it to service. Through planning and education, community members, homeowners and businesses can help minimize the negative impacts flooding can have on human health and the environment and we can all help to reduce flood-related threats to water quality! Learn more about flood preparedness .
The structure of the materials that readers encounter and the abilities and experiences readers bring to the act of reading affect the ease with which they comprehend the text. Good readers who are not lawyers or accountants will be slowed down, if not completely perplexed, by their first law briefs or tax forms. Conversely, those students who are In 167 trouble with reading should benefit from texts whose structure and story line are obvious to them. To test this last assumption, one group of students using their basal reader and another group of students using predictable books in a reading lab for grades one, two , and three were pre- and post-tested to discern if their reading scores were affected by their respective experiences. Chandler, J., & Baghban, M. (1986). Predictable Books Guarantee Success. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 26 (3). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol26/iss3/3
How Much Tree Sunlight Is Necessary? Trees create their food by uniting carbon dioxide that they get from the air with water from the soil. This process is referred to as photosynthesis. To fuel this process, trees use the energy of sunlight. A pigment in the leaves, chlorophyll, capture the sun's energy. This is why tree sunlight is so important. Trees require sunlight to prosper and survive in any environment. Sunlight is one of the things that let trees grow in their particular ways of crafting their distinctive crown shapes that can vary from tree to tree even within the same tree type. The tree crown is made up of the branches and limbs that extend outward from the trunk of the tree. Without the right amount of access to this requirement, a tree could be less resistant to human and environmental stressors. The shape of the tree will be changed. What Do Trees Do With Sunlight? Trees use energy from the sun to make sugars through a procedure named photosynthesis. Without these sugars as a source of energy, a tree cannot survive or grow. Arborists have discovered that photosynthesis is impacted by the amount of sunlight that the leaves of a tree receive. Trees fight for sun exposure and some tree types will be shaded by others, making the shaded species to reduce photosynthesis rates because of less availability of tree sunlight. Studies have shown that photosynthetic methods have a considerable effect on what a tree crown will appear like. These studies discovered that leaves along the outer area of a tree crown receives more sun and are more significant. This distribution makes a layered effect in the tree crown making its unique shape. Having a reduction in photosynthetic methods can be hazardous to many structures of the tree causing the tree to shape change. Researchers analyzed productivity by the amount of sunlight a tree soaked up and then compared it to the size of the tree crown. As the volume and size of the crown grew, it further grew the amount of sunlight absorbed, guiding to a rise in photosynthetic methods which resulted in a stronger and healthier tree. Comments are closed. We at Syracuse Tree Service want to help you with your tree service needs, our blog is where we provide helpful tips and ideas for the health of your trees.
The Korean peninsula is divided into two nations, North Korea and South Korea, and each country has its own flag. The North Korean flag, and its coat of arms, have a red star on them that symbolizes communism. The coat of arms also has a power plant on it that symbolizes industry. The Korean name for Korea is "Hangeuk" and its people are called "Hangeuksaram". The ancient name for Korea is "Choson", which means "the land of morning calm" and comes from the Choson (or Joseon ) Dynasty (1392-1905). The name "Korea" comes from the Koryo Dynasty (935-1392), during which westerners had their first contact with Korea. By the end of the 19th century, Korea was under the influence of colonists such the Japanese, Chinese, and Russians, and it needed its own flag. According an article published on October 2, 1882 in the Tokyo daily newspaper, Emperor Go-jong designed the original flag, which was adopted in August 1882. The Emperor then ordered Young-Hyo Park to use the flag on his trip to Japan as a diplomat. Park used the flag again in 1887 on a trip to the United States. The flag has been a source of pride and inspiration for Koreans as symbol of their struggle for independence and freedom. During the Japanese occupation, 1910-1945, the Japanese outlawed the flag in public places but the people kept it hidden until Liberation Day. In 1950, after the formation of the Republic of Korea, the flag was officially adopted as the flag of South Korea. Objects depicted on the flag symbolize much of the thought and mysticism of oriental philosophy. The circle depicted on the flag, the eum-yang (shown on left), is divided equally and is in perfect balance. Its origin is based on the oriental philosophy of eum-yang (known in China as yin-yang). It was originally thought that this philosophy was developed in China by Chou Fung-i (1016-1073 AD), a metaphysical philosopher of the Sun Dynasty, who published his theory of tai-chi in 1070 AD and supposedly designed the tai-chi (yin-yang) symbol. However, a piece of stone with the eum-yang (yin-yang) symbol carved on it was discovered at the site of the Korean Buddhist temple Kam-Eun, which was built in 682 AD. This is the oldest known use of the eum-yang symbol. This discovery indicates that the symbol was in use in Korea as early as 682 AD, well before Chou Fung-i was born . The eum-yang symbol expresses the dualism of the universe, the perfect harmony and balance among opposites, and the constant movement within the sphere of infinity. An example of dualism may be expressed in the upbringing of a child. There are two opposing methods to raise a child: praise or punishment. Praise is considered good and punishment is considered bad, but both are needed for a proper upbringing. However, too much of either may cause behavior problems with the child. There must be balance and harmony between the two extremes to ensure the child is brought up properly. The white background of the flag symbolizes purity, sincerity, and the land. Eum (blue portion of the symbol) means dark, cold, or negative, while yang (red portion of the symbol) means bright, hot, or positive. A very old Chinese book called Choo-Yuk claims that all objects, through the movement of yin (eum) and yang, express events by their dualism. For example, the moon is eum, the sun is yang; the earth is eum, the sky is yang; night is eum, the day is yang; and the winter is eum, the summer is yang. Eum and yang are relative. Therefore, "A" can be eum with respect to "B" while being yang with respect to "C." For example, the spring is eum to the summer yang while also being yang to the winter eum. Eum and yang compliment each other. Neither exists of itself alone, they must exist together. To appreciate beauty, you must have ugliness. What benefit is good (yang) if evil (eum) does not exist? When looking at the two comma-shaped sections "ukwdrops" in the eum-yang symbol, the thicker part of a section indicates the beginning and the slender part indicates the end. The eum begins where the yang gradually vanishes and vice versa. The red section is always on the top half of the circle. The harmonious state of the movement of eum-yang is called tae-guk in Korean (tai- chi in Chinese). In Korea, the flag itself, is called Tae-Guk (the origin of all things in the universe) or Tae-Guk-Ki ( ki means flag). Tae-Guk is also known as the flag of "great extremes." While the circle represents dualism, the four trigrams at the corners of the flag (called "gwe" in Korean) represent the four points of the compass, the concept of opposites and balance, and the government. The book of I Ching (Book of Changes), called Yeok in Korean, illustrates 64 trigrams, but the four used on the flag represent the essence of the Dao philosophy of the complete circle of life. Western people are probably familiar with the concept of Karma, or "What goes around comes around." Both Dao and Confucianism thought the family was the center of society. The family, and ones role in the family, determine ones position and role in society. The upper left and lower right trigrams on the flag are "heaven or father" and "earth or mother" They represent the head of the family. Without them, there is no family. Without the family, there is no society. The upper right and lower left trigrams are "water or daughter" , and "fire or son." Together the four trigrams express the mysteries of the universe, and they also represent the family: father, mother, daughter, and son. Confucianism thought these four elements made the perfect family. A family with these four parts had perfect balance (eum-yang). The symbols are placed in a circle to represent the circle of life (the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth) and the continuing nature of the universe. The I Ching illustrates the same trigram layout that is depicted on the flag. It shows the eum-yang symbol in the center and trigrams on the sides, but it shows eight trigrams. The other trigrams are "mountain" and "lake", and "thunder" and "wind." Each of the trigrams have a special meaning and are either eum or yang. Heaven and lake are major yangs; water and wind are minor yangs. Earth and mountain are major eums; thunder and fire are minor eums. Originally there were only five trigrams, one for each of the five elements: water, metal, fire, wood, and earth. They were arranged like a compass, with earth in the center, metal on the left, wood on the right, water at the top, and fire at the bottom.
By Klara Keysendal, Sweden Global warming is the increase of earth’s average surface temperature due to the effect of greenhouse gases. The gases absorb heat that would otherwise escape from the planet. The temperature is rising faster than before. Global warming has become one of the biggest environmental issues in twenty years. We get additional information every year about global warming and how it affects wildlife. When the planet warms, the ocean temperature also rises. To survive on our planet, animals and humans need good temperature, fresh water, a place to live, and food. As the temperature becomes higher the ice melts and gets warmer. Some fish need cold water to survive. The water level increases and the quality worsening’s, which causing more difficulties for the animals during the winter and summer to survive because they can’t find food and the water gets more acidic. When the water level is rising it also destroy the natural habitat, more than 100 million people live close to the sea and will have to move away from their homes. According to IPCC, until the next century the water level might increase one meter. If we not do something about this huge problem it will be extremely difficult to prevent the world from collapsing from global warming. We can’t do it by ourselves; we have to do it together, for all humans, animals, nature, and for our future.
The novel (new) coronavirus first sickened people in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has now been detected in more than 50 locations internationally, including the United States. A coronavirus is named for the crownlike spikes that protrude from its surface. The coronavirus can infect both animals and people and can cause a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to more dangerous conditions like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. How is the coronavirus spread? The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person, between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. It may be possible that a person can get the coronavirus by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. Source and Spread of the New Coronavirus According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and now with this new virus” which has been named SARS-CoV-2, “and the disease it causes has been named ‘coronavirus disease 2019’ (abbreviated ‘COVID-19’).” Person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in the community is occurring in China, and has been reported outside China, including in the United States and other locations. The CDC reports that “Imported cases of COVID-19 in travelers have been detected in the U.S. Person to person spread of COVID-19 also has been reported among close contacts of returned travelers from Wuhan… At this time, this virus is NOT currently spreading in the community in the United States.” In addition, other locations appear to have apparent community spread, meaning people have been infected but they aren’t sure how or where they became infected. One such case of COVID-19 has occurred in Vacaville, California, as confirmed by the CDC on February 25. In January, Dr. Nancy Messonnier Director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) told reporters “Moving forward, we can expect to see more cases, and more cases mean the potential for more person-to-person spread.” And on February 25 “She warned Americans that the spread of the coronavirus known as covid-19 is a matter not of if, but of when.” (This comes in sharp contrast with President Trump’s media statement on February 27 that ”It’s going to disappear one day. It will be like a miracle. It will disappear.”) Worldometer, which aggregates statistics from health agencies across the world, the total number of COVID-19 cases world-wide is over 92,000. In the United States there are currently 108 cases, with 6 deaths. Is this a pandemic? According to the CDC, “The fact that this disease has caused illness, including illness resulting in death, and sustained person-to-person spread is concerning. These factors meet two of the criteria of a pandemic. As community spread is detected in more and more countries, the world moves closer toward meeting the third criteria, worldwide spread of the new virus.” How well is the United States prepared for a COVID-19 outbreak? According to Laurie Garrett, former senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Pulitzer Prize winning science writer, “Building on the Ebola experience, the Obama administration set up a permanent epidemic monitoring and command group inside the White House National Security Council (NSC) and another in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—both of which followed the scientific and public health leads of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the diplomatic advice of the State Department.” But that’s all gone now. In the spring of 2018, the White House pushed Congress to cut funding for Obama-era disease security programs, proposing to eliminate $252 million in previously committed resources for rebuilding health systems in Ebola-ravaged Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. Under fire from both sides of the aisle, President Donald Trump dropped the proposal to eliminate Ebola funds a month later. But other White House efforts included reducing $15 billion in national health spending and cutting the global disease-fighting operational budgets of the CDC, NSC, DHS, and HHS. And the government’s $30 million Complex Crises Fund was eliminated. What is my risk of contracting COVID-19? Most people have little or no immunity because they have no previous exposure to this new virus or even similar viruses. So individual risk is dependent on exposure. According to the CDC: For the general American public, who are unlikely to be exposed to this virus at this time, the immediate health risk from COVID-19 is considered low. Under current circumstances, certain people will have an increased risk of infection, for example healthcare workers caring for patients with COVID-19 and other close contacts of persons with COVID-19. “However, it’s important to note that current global circumstances suggest it is likely that this virus will cause a pandemic. In that case, the risk assessment would be different.” What are the symptoms of COVID-19? For confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death. Symptoms can include: -Shortness of breath CDC believes at this time that symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure. This is based on what has been seen previously as the incubation period of MERS-CoV-CoV viruses. Is there a vaccine for COVID-19? Currently there is neither vaccine nor treatment for COVID-19. While a number vaccines are in the development and testing phases, none will be available for 12 to 18 months, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci of the CDC. Will the flu shot protect me from the coronavirus? A flu shot will not prevent you from contracting the coronavirus, however “It is possible that the coronavirus, by injuring lung cells, can make it easier for pneumonia to take hold in people who also get the flu or bacterial pneumonia,” said Dr. Trish Perl, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/health/prepare-for-coronavirus.html So it is advised that you get both the flu and the pneumonia vaccines. How to Prevent Infection The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. However the CDC always recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including: -Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Put distance, 6 feet or more, between you and a person showing symptoms. -Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. -Stay home when you are sick. -Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. -Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe. -Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask. CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility). Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Don’t miss the backs of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty. How to Prepare for a COVID-19 Outbreak It would be sensible to have a supply of food staples and medications. “Don’t wait until the last minute to refill your prescriptions,” says Dr. Marguerite Neill, an infectious disease expert at Brown University. “You want to comfortably have at least a 30-day supply.” Make sure you have essential household supplies, too, like laundry detergent, and if you have small children, diapers, perhaps enough for a month. Bookmark the website of your local health department so you will have a reliable source of news. Parents may want to contact their child’s school to learn how plans for early dismissals or online instruction would be implemented. People with elderly parents or relatives should have a plan for caring for them if they fall ill. It is of grave concern that the White House continues to give false statements regarding COVID-19. Among these the President has said that COVID-19 is less lethal than the common flu. This is dead wrong. The mortality rate of COVID-19, which has been observed to be 2%, is not less than the seasonal influenza’s mortality rate in the U.S. of less than 0.1%. This is not a political issue. It is a public health issue. The first move of Vice President Mike Pence, after the announcement by President Trump that he would coordinate the government’s response to the public health threat, was “aimed at preventing the kind of conflicting statements that have plagued the administration’s response. The latest instance occurred Thursday evening, when the president said that the virus could get worse or better in the days and weeks ahead, but that nobody knows, contradicting Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, one of the country’s leading experts on viruses and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.” Since then “Dr. Fauci has told associates that the White House had instructed him not to say anything else without clearance.” Categories: Local News
This is the fourth post in the series Data Visualization With R. In the previous post, we learnt how to build scatter plots. In this post, we will build line graphs. To be more specific we will learn to - create line plots - add color to lines - modify line type/style - modify line width - add points to the lines - modify axis range - add additional lines to the plot Libraries, Code & Data To build a line graph, we will learn a new argument in the plot() function called type. It allows us to specify the symbol that must be used to represent the data. Let us begin by building a simple line graph. We will use the AirPassengers data set in this post. Before we begin to build the plot, let us take a quick look at the data in order to understand what we are plotting. ## 112 118 132 129 121 135 In order to build a line plot, we will set the type argument in the plot() function to l (line). There are other values which type takes but we will explore them later. data <- head(AirPassengers) plot(data, type = 'l') If you do not like plain lines, you can represent the data using lines interspersed with points by setting the type argument to b (both lines and points). plot(data, type = 'b') Another option is to have the points and lines overplotted. It can be achieved by setting the type argument to o (overplotted). plot(data, type = 'o') You can also create lines without points but with breaks instead by setting the type argument to c. plot(data, type = 'c') So now we know how to build a simple line graph. Let us now make this plot more elegant by modifying its appearance. Let us begin by adding some color to the line using the col argument in the plot(data, type = 'l', col = 'blue') If you have points along with the line, they will have the same color as well. plot(data, type = 'b', col = 'blue') The line type can be modified using the lty argument. It takes values from 1 to 6 and the default value is 1. Below is an example: plot(data, type = 'l', lty = 3) Let us look at all the line types in the below example: Instead of specifying the numbers 1:6, you can use their description as well. The width of the lines can be modified using the lwd argument in the plot() function. The default value for width is 1. plot(data, type = 'l', lwd = 2.5) In the below example, we look at the width of the lines relative to the default value. We can enhance the points in the line plot in the same way as we enhanced the points in the scatter plot in this previous post. Let us look at an example: plot(data, type = 'b', pch = 23, col = 'red', cex = 1.5) We have used the cex arguments to modify the shape, color and size of the points. One drawback of the above method is that the color of the line and the points will be the same. What if we want them to have different colors? The solution is as follows: - build the line graph using the - add the points to the above plot using the In the next example, let us first build the line plot, add points using the points() function and then specify separate colors to the line and the points. plot(data, type = 'l', col = 'red') points(data, pch = 23, col = 'blue', bg = 'green', cex = 1.5) If you want to compare variables, you would want to add additional lines to the line graph. In R, this can be achieved using the lines() function. First we create the line plot using the base variable and then we can add as many lines as we want using the Before you add additional lines, it is important to ensure that the range of both the axis are modified to accommodate the data of the additional lines. If we do not modify the axis range, some of the lines will be outside the plot. Let us now create a line plot and add an additional line using the lines() function.We will use some dummy data for this example: data1 <- c(7.2, 7.6, 6.8, 6.5, 7) data2 <- c(6.8, 7.2, 7.8, 7, 6.2) plot(data1, type = "b", col = "blue") lines(data2, type = "b", col = "red") As you can see the second line is outside the plot. Let us recreate the plot but this time we will modify the range of the axis to accommodate the second line (data2). plot(data1, type = "b", col = "blue", ylim = c(5, 9)) lines(data2, type = "b", col = "red") Putting it all together… Finally let us enhance the plot by adding a title and modifying the axis labels which we learnt in this first post of the series. plot(data1, type = "b", col = "blue", ylim = c(5, 9), main = 'Line Graph', xlab = 'Index', ylab = 'Data') lines(data2, type = "b", col = "red") In this post, we learnt how to - create line plots - modify appearance of the line - add points to the line plot - add additional lines
Ever wondered how Boxing Day got its name? Or why it takes place the day after Christmas? In today’s post, we’re looking at the history of the day. While you’re busy tucking into Christmas day leftovers and indulging in Boxing Day television, we wanted to share the history of this day. So grab your turkey sandwich and chocolates, and get comfortable. History & Significance The history of Boxing Day is slightly murky as there are several theories. Of all the theories we’ve found, here are three of our favourite ones. - During the Victorian times, wealthy households would give their servants and tradesmen a “Christmas Box” that would be full of money and gifts. Because the day after Christmas was the only day in the year that these people would have off in a year (omg can you imagine??), they would take their Christmas Box home and share it with their family. - Churches used to place boxes outside their doors after Christmas to collect money for the poor. The money would then be distributed to those less fortunate who may not have had anything for Christmas. - Sailors used to carry a box filled with money on their ships for luck. If a voyage was successful, they would then give the box of money to the church that would then use it to help the poor and underprivileged. Despite the uncertainty of its origins, there have been many traditions associated with Boxing Day. In Ireland, Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen’s Day (side note: St. Stephen was stoned to death for believing in Jesus). At one time a group of men called Wren Boys would dress up in costumes, stone birds (relating to the way St. Stephen was killed) and asking people for money. Today, Wren Boys no longer stone birds, but they still dress up and ask for money for charity. Additionally, up until 2004 when it was banned, the upper class would participate in fox hunting on Boxing Day. Today though, a new sport (and even more exciting pastime) has replaced previous traditions: SHOPPING. Shopping big sales, more specifically. London RetroÂ Catherine Before Black Friday hit the UK, Boxing Day was the day to finally get your hands on that flat screen TV, those fancy designer clothes and more. Known as the biggest sale day of the year, it wasn’t uncommon to see images on the news of shoppers wrestling over an electrical appliance or a last size 6 pair of boots. Though bigger sales may have taken over, you can still count on Boxing Day for a bargain. These days, however, instead of heading out to the shops, people are shopping sales from the comfort of their sofas. However you plan on spending your day, we hope you have a good one!
3 posts • Page 1 of 1 As you move across the period the atomic radius gets smaller and as you move down the column the radius gets bigger. So silver has a larger atomic radius than zinc. This is because when you add a proton, then the nucleus pulls the electrons in stronger, pulling the atoms cell close to the nucleus. So then the atomic radius decreases, and when you take away a proton then the atomic radius increases. Across a period the radius gets smaller while down a group it gets bigger. Since silver is lower and to the left, it is bigger than zinc in both aspects. Comparing elements like nitrogen and sulfur would be more ambiguous, however it's not likely that questions like that would be asked. Who is online Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
The Dwarf Cassowary, Casuarius bennetti, also known as the Bennett's Cassowary, Little Cassowary, Mountain Cassowary, or Mooruk, is the smallest of the three species of cassowaries. The scientific name commemorates the Australian naturalist George Bennett. He was the first scientist to examine these birds after a few were brought to Australia aboard a ship. Recognising them as representing a new species of cassowary, he sent specimens back to England where this was confirmed. On the west side of Greevink Bay, western Irian, there exist a distinctive form that may merit a split. C. papuanus is the tentative name. Finally there are no officially recognized sub-species, however, some authors believe there should be. It is a large, at between 99 to 135 centimetres (3.2"?4.4 ft) tall and 18 kilograms (40 lb), flightless bird with hard and stiff black plumage, a low triangular casque, pink cheek and red patches of skin on its blue neck. The feet are large and powerful, equipped with dagger-like claws on the inner toe. Both sexes are similar. Females have longer casques, brighter bare skin color and are larger in size. Range and habitat The Dwarf Cassowary is distributed throughout mountain forests of New Guinea, New Britain and Yapen Island, at elevations up to 3,300 m (10,800 ft). In areas without other species of cassowaries, it will live in the lowlands also. Its diet consists mainly of fallen fruits and small animals, and insects. A solitary bird, it pairs only in breeding season. Due to ongoing habitat loss, habitat degradation, being hunted for food, and often being kept in captivity, the Dwarf Cassowary is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with an occurrence range of 258,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi). - ^ a b BirdLife International (2008) - ^ a b c d e f Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003) - ^ Gotch, A. F. (1995) - ^ Avibase 2009 - ^ Brands, S. (2008) - ^ Clements, J (2007) - ^ BirdLife International (2008)(a)
What is the difference between a DC motor and an AC motor? 1. First, DC motors use DC power as the power source, but AC motors use AC power as the power source. 2. In terms of structure, the principle of a DC motor is relatively simple, but the structure is complex, which is not easy to maintain; while the principle of an AC motor is complex, but the structure is relatively simple, and it is easier to maintain than a DC motor. 3. The DC motor introduces current into the rotor armature through brushes and commutators, so that the rotor is forced to rotate in the stator magnetic field. The AC motor (using a common AC asynchronous motor as an example) passes AC power into the stator windings, which generates a rotating magnetic field in the stator and rotor air gap, and the rotating magnetic field generates an induced current in the rotor windings, which in turn makes the rotor in the stator magnetic field. Forced to rotate. 4. DC motor speed regulation is simple, but the use occasions are limited. AC motor speed regulation is relatively complicated, but it is widely used due to the use of AC power.

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