Split (1)

train · 64k rows

content stringlengths 275 370k
Brooks, F.E. 2002. Brown root rot. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-I-2002-0923-01Updated 2013. DISEASE: Brown root rot PATHOGEN: Phellinus noxius HOSTS: Broad host range including many tropical forest, plantation and landscape trees, and woody shrubs. AuthorFred BrooksUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa; formerly of the American Samoa Community College Land Grant Program Mycelial crust of Phellinus noxius growing on a multi-stemmed tree in the rainforest. (Courtesy F. Brooks) Symptoms of brown root rot disease are similar to those caused by many root rot pathogens: slow plant growth, yellowing and wilting of leaves, branch dieback, and plant death (Figure 2). Tree decline may be fast or slow, possibly depending on the number of roots affected or the location of the decay. The aboveground symptoms are caused by a root and butt rot that hinders uptake and transport of water and nutrients from the soil. Fallen trees with visible root rot are another general indication of the disease (Figure 3). Although dead wood is initially discolored reddish brown, it later becomes white, dry, and crumbly (Figure 4). Signs of the pathogen, unlike the symptoms, are distinctive for this disease. Phellinus noxius forms a thick, medium brown to black crust of mycelium around infected roots and, under humid conditions, around lower stems (Figure 5), Encrusted roots, often with soil and stones stuck to them, gave the disease its name. The leading edge of the crust is often creamy white, glistens with drops of clear, brownish exudate, and is usually noticeable even in the dark understory of the rainforest (Figure 6). Patches of white mycelium are present between the bark and sapwood (Figure 7). As colonization progresses, the white, soft, crumbly wood becomes laced with reddish strands of fungal hyphae that turn black with age (Figure 8). The sterile upper surface of sporocarps, or fruiting bodies, is first a velvety light brown, then a hard, uneven, dark reddish brown to black (Figure 9), The fertile pore surface is yellowish brown to gray brown (Figure 10). Phellinus noxius, in the class Basidiomycetes, is a facultative parasite that gets its nutrients from dead and dying plant tissue. In contrast, obligate parasites like rust or powdery mildew fungi, need living hosts for their nutrient supply. The mycelium of this tropical plant pathogen grows best at 25 to 30°C (77 to 86°F); it does not grow at temperatures below 4°C (39°F) or above 40°C (104°F). Colonies of P. noxius grown in the laboratory have distinctive raised brown and white plaques. The mycelium of P. noxius produces enzymes that break down the middle lamella and cell walls of the plant. This process supplies nutrients to the mycelium and allows it to grow deeper into the wood. It is sometimes called a white rot fungus (Figure 4) because it degrades lignin, a complex molecule that gives wood much of its strength and brown color. Brown rot fungi cannot dissolve lignin and the wood retains its brown color. Like brown rot fungi, P. noxius can also break down colorless polysaccharides, but not as quickly or as efficiently. The mycelium of P. noxius also forms arthrospores, trichocysts, microhyphae, and hyphae with extracellular sheaths. These structures are found where wood is being decomposed but their exact function is not yet known. Basidiospores of P. noxius contain one nucleus (monokaryotic) and are haploid. When haploid hyphae (n) of different mating types touch each other, they can fuse (plasmogamy) to create a dikaryotic mycelium with cells containing two haploid nuclei (n + n). The dikaryotic mycelium is the most common form of this fungus in nature. The hyphae can be modified—swelling, thickening, or sticking together—to produce a mycelial crust or sporocarps. The latter often start as small round patches on stems of dead trees (Figure 11). Patches may continue to grow flat against the wood (effused, Figure 12), grow out into a shelf-like conk (reflexed, Figure 13), or a combination of both (effused-reflexed, Figure 14). The upper surface of reflexed and effused-reflexed sporocarps is sterile. The lower surface, covered with small pores, is fertile. The pores are lined with basidia, whose two nuclei fuse (karyogamy) and undergo meiosis, producing four haploid basidiospores (Figure 15). During wet weather basidiospores are released and spread by the wind. Phellinus noxius sporocarps are sometimes confused with those of other Phellinus species. Some of these species have short, reddish-brown, cone-shaped cells called hymenial setae growing into their pores (Figure 16), but Phellinus noxius does not (Figure 17). Phellinus noxius is present in native tropical forests and plantations on infected roots and stumps and in woody debris. It does not form survival structures, such as sclerotia or resting spores, but may persist in dead roots and colonized wood for many years. Centers of disease radiate outward as roots of healthy trees come in contact with roots of diseased trees. Plants of all ages are susceptible. A mycelial crust forms around infected roots, secreting wood-rotting enzymes as it moves up the roots to the stem. Crusts 0.5 to 1.0 cm (0.2 to 0.4 in.) thick usually extend 1 to 2 m (3 to 6 ft) up the stem, though crusts almost 5 m (15 ft) high have been measured (Figure 18). If the tree does not die from severe root rot, it is killed when the crust surrounds the stem and the underlying mycelium destroys the living sapwood. Sporocarps occasionally develop on standing dead trees, stumps, or trees blown down following severe root decay. Infection of freshly cut stumps or wounds by windborne basidiospores has been demonstrated experimentally. Though basidiospores may be responsible for some long distance dispersal, the most important means of disease spread is root-to-root contact. Tropical forests to be cleared for planting must be carefully surveyed for signs or symptoms of brown root rot. Planting in or near infected areas should be avoided, if possible. Partial success in managing affected areas has been obtained by pushing diseased trees and stumps into piles with a tractor and burning them. Some infected roots and debris will still remain in the soil, however, so newly planted trees that develop symptoms should be removed, roots and all, as quickly as possible. Leaving land fallow for several years or planting annual crops with vigorous root systems to break down remaining debris may offer the best approach. These methods are seldom practiced, however, due to economic considerations. Decreasing root contact reduces spread of the fungus. This is especially important in monocultures (see Dutch elm disease lesson), as soilborne pathogens usually spread faster in single-species plantings than in mixed-species plantings. Trees should be planted close enough together for acceptable yield but far enough apart to minimize root contact. Removing large diameter trees may reduce disease spread by stopping the growth of their extensive root systems. Chemical control is not economical on a large scale and tree varieties of important crop species resistant to Phellinus noxius have not been developed. Future solutions may be found in genetic engineering or classic biological control methods. The spread of root diseases in native rainforests is usually restrained by differences in local conditions, such as soil type, plant density and diversity, and the balance of microorganisms in the soil. Clearing forests upsets these natural restraints. When E. J. Corner described Fomes noxius (now Phellinus noxius) as a new species in 1932, he said it was usually found in cleared or disturbed areas. Recent surveys tend to support this. Since the beginning of the 20th century, many plantations of rubber, tea, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, and mahogany established on cleared forests sites have been damaged or destroyed by P. noxius. As growing human populations in tropical countries convert agricultural land to other uses, remaining native forests are cleared for plantations, large-scale farms, and subsistence agriculture (Figure 19). Tropical soils are quickly depleted of nutrients, however, and may be lost to erosion during heavy monsoon rains. Further, the presence of fungal pathogens such as P. noxius can destroy even the most carefully managed project. Some scientists are also concerned with loss of genetic diversity, both by the direct killing of endangered species and by destruction of their habitats. An estimated 50 to 70 percent of the world's species live in tropical forests and these forests are being cleared at the rate of about 2 percent per year (Figure 20). Adaskaveg, J. E. and J. M. Ogawa. 1990. Wood decay pathology of fruit and nut trees in California. Plant Disease 74: 341-352. Ann, P-J, T-T. Chang, and W-H. Ko. 2002. Phellinus noxius brown root rot of fruit and ornamental trees in Taiwan. Plant Disease 86:820-826. Bloomberg, W. J. 1990. Effect of stand conditions on advance of Phellinus weirii in Douglas-fir plantations. Phytopathology 80: 553-559. Bolland, L. 1984. Phellinus noxius: cause of a significant root-rot in Queensland hoop pine plantations. Australian Forestry 47: 2-10. Brooks, F. E. 2002. Brown root rot disease in American Samoa's tropical rain forests. Pacific Science 56: 377-387. Chang, T. T. 1996. Survival of Phellinus noxius in soil and in the roots of dead host plants. Phytopathology 86: 272-276. Chang, T. T. and W. W. Yang. 1998. Phellinus noxius in Taiwan: distribution, host plants and the pH and texture of the rhizosphere soils of infected hosts. Mycological Research 102: 1085-1088. Corner, E. J. H. 1932. The identification of the brown-root fungus. The Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements, Vol. V, No. 12: 317-350. Nandris, D., M. Nicole, and J. P. Geiger, 1987. Root rot disease of rubber trees. Plant Disease 71: 298-306. Pegler, D. N. and J. M. Waterston. 1968. Phellinus noxius, C. M. I. Descriptions of Pathogenic Fungi and Bacteria, No. 195. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew, U. K.
Although normal body temperatures can vary throughout the day (lower in the morning and higher in the afternoon), the average adult normal body temperature when taken by mouth with a thermometer is 37°C (98.6°F). The normal rectal temperature is approximately 0.5°C (1°F) higher than the oral (mouth) temperature, while the temperature under the armpit (axillary) may be slightly lower than the oral temperature. Temperature readings taken rectally are considered more reliable than oral readings, particularly in the case of children and adults who are mouth-breathers. Ear temperature measurements are not accurate in small children and are not recommended for children less than 2 years of age. Recommendations for temperature measuring techniques vary according to age. For infants and children up to 2 years old, rectal temperatures give the most accurate reading. A thermometer at the armpit can help identify whether or not a fever is present. For children 2 to 5 years old, rectal temperatures again give the most accurate reading; ;ear or armpit temperatures are acceptable to screen if there is a fever, but not to give a definitive temperature. For children older than 5, oral temperatures are the main method, while ear and armpit are acceptable for screening. Fever strips are not recommended because those temperature readings have not been found to be as accurate as other methods. Forehead thermometers may not provide as accurate temperature measurements as rectal temperatures. When someone has a fever, the body raises the normal body temperature (as measured orally) above 37.5°C (99.5°F). A rectal temperature above 38°C (100.4°F) or an underarm temperature above 37.2°C (99°F) is also considered a fever. Fever is actually the body's natural way of defending itself from invaders like viruses and bacteria, because many of them can't survive in the body with the high temperature caused by a fever. High body temperatures also signal infection-fighting cells of the immune system such as phagocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes to defend the body and help fight off infections. The degree of temperature increase doesn't necessarily correspond to the severity of the illness. The fever response tends to be greater in children and less in the elderly than in adults. Fever can be caused by factors outside or inside the body. Microorganisms, including bacteria and parasites, can produce chemical poisons. Both the microorganism and the poisons cause the white blood cells to produce substances called pyrogens. It's the pyrogens that actually cause the fever. The body also produces pyrogens in response to viral infection, inflammation, cancer, or an allergy. Illnesses in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues (called an autoimmune disease), such as rheumatoid arthritis, can also cause fever. Too much exercise in hot weather, overexposure to sunlight, hormonal problems, or some medications can cause a fever too. Symptoms and Complications When the body is fighting an injury or infection, the hypothalamus (a part of the brain) sets the body temperature at a higher level. The body responds by moving blood away from the skin so the amount of heat lost through the skin is reduced. The muscles might repeatedly contract to keep the body warm, which causes shivering. When the blood that is warmed up to the new temperature reaches the hypothalamus, these symptoms usually stop, and just the fever remains. When the body's thermostat is set back to its normal temperature, it moves the blood back to the skin and excess heat is lost through sweating. Sometimes chills occur when this happens. The body's temperature may go up and then either return to normal or stay up. Seniors, very young people, and people addicted to alcohol may lose body heat when they're fighting a major infection, so they don't have the same increase in body temperature. About 2% to 5% of all children between 3 months and 5 years of age will have a febrile seizure (seizures caused by fever). About one-third of children who have previously had febrile seizures will have at least another febrile seizure. However, these seizures do not appear to cause long-term effects. Making the Diagnosis In most cases, fever can be managed without seeing a doctor. When deciding whether to call the doctor or not, it's better to look at all of the symptoms, because the degree of fever doesn't tell you how sick someone is. If there are symptoms other than fever that are bothersome, a health care professional should be contacted. Consult a doctor or get immediate medical attention if: - a child below the age of 6 months has a fever - anyone over 6 months that has a fever of greater than 40.5°C (or 104.9°F) - a child or adult with a history of cancer, AIDS, or other serious illness such as heart disease or diabetes has a fever - the fever has not gone away in 3 days - a child or adult has a fever after returning from international travel - fever is accompanied by: - behaviour changes - excessive fussiness or irritability - fast heart rate or fast breathing - headache, stiff neck, confusion - localized pain, redness, or swelling - low blood pressure or dizziness (especially when standing) - persistent vomiting or diarrhea - skin rash - shaking chills, burning or pain with urination - shortness of breath, wheeze, or cough - difficulty to rouse, or delirious - unresponsiveness or limpness If you see your doctor about a fever, they will take a medical history – asking about symptoms, prior diseases, medications, and recent travels. Usually, it's easy to find a specific cause for a fever. If a specific cause can't be identified, additional tests may be performed. Your doctor may want to know the following about a fever: - how long the fever has lasted - if the fever is worsening or getting better - if there are chills - if the fever is going up and down - if it came on suddenly - what other additional symptoms you may be experiencing - if you have started any new medications recently - if you have traveled to an area where serious infectious diseases are common After asking detailed questions, your doctor will also perform a physical examination to look for an infection or signs of a disease. Your doctor may check the blood for elevated white blood cells, and may check the urine or sputum to help determine the cause of the infection. Other tests that may be done include X-rays, cultures of the blood, and ultrasound. Treatment and Prevention Here are a few things to do for relief until the fever breaks: - Drink plenty of fluids (e.g., water, juices, broth or oral hydration solution) to compensate for fluid loss from sweating, vomiting or diarrhea. - Get plenty of rest. - Remove extra blankets and clothing so heat can leave the body and help lower the body temperature (but don't take off all the clothes, as that can lead to shivering and make body temperature rise again). - Keep the room temperature around 20°C to 21°C. Sponge baths with lukewarm water or alcohol are not recommended because they can cause additional shivering and alcohol can be absorbed through the skin. Since fever protects the body from injury or infection, doctors generally only treat fevers above 102°F (38.9°C) in children, and above 101.3°F (38.5°C) in adults. However, fevers in children less than 6 months old should be reported to a doctor immediately. Up to about 8 weeks of age, a fever can be a sign of a serious underlying disease, since newborns don't have other symptoms when they have an infection. They also can't fight infections as well as older children, so their infections are more likely to spread to other parts of their body. Children's fevers are higher and more frequent than those of adults. When deciding whether to call the doctor or not, it's better to look at all of a child's symptoms, because the degree of fever doesn't tell you how sick the child is. If a child has a fever and no other symptoms, the fever is not considered dangerously high unless it is higher than 104°F (40°C). Even a fever this high won't damage the child's brain or cause any permanent health problems. But very high fevers in children can cause seizures. A fever causes the body to use more oxygen. Thus, people who have difficulty getting more oxygen into their blood, such as heart and lung patients, should be treated for a fever as soon as one develops. Antipyretics, which are medications that fight fever, are used to lower body temperature. Acetaminophen* and ibuprofen are frequently used. Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is given only to adults because it can cause Reye's syndrome, a disease that causes liver and brain damage in children. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen is generally given to children who are uncomfortable for fever reduction. These are considered very safe and effective when used as recommended. Since fever is part of the body's natural defense against infection, the goal of using these medications is to improve overall comfort, not to reach a "normal" body temperature. When using these medications, the dose should be based on the child's weight rather than age. To ensure an accurate dose is given, use a medication cup or oral syringe to give the liquid forms of the medication. Keep all medication out of the reach of children. If a bacterial infection is the suspected cause of a fever, your doctor will likely prescribe antibiotics. If a medication is causing the fever, the medication will be stopped and other treatments may be used as well. If heat exhaustion is causing a fever, immediate medical attention is necessary, as the body temperature needs to be reduced quickly and medications typically used to reduce fever are not effective. *All medications have both common (generic) and brand names. The brand name is what a specific manufacturer calls the product (e.g., Tylenol®). The common name is the medical name for the medication (e.g., acetaminophen). A medication may have many brand names, but only one common name. This article lists medications by their common names. For information on a given medication, check our Drug Information database. For more information on brand names, speak with your doctor or pharmacist. All material copyright MediResource Inc. 1996 – 2019. Terms and conditions of use. The contents herein are for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Source: www.medbroadcast.com/condition/getcondition/Fever
One hundred twenty feet above sea level is not the first place you’d expect to find signs of sea life, but that’s where highway workers found whale skeletons. According to a Feb. 25 report from the Washington Post, highway workers in northern Chile found the first skeletons while working. After discovering those, they contacted a nearby museum. Scientists then discovered 40 whale skeletons in four separate areas. The report says this indicates four ‘mass strandings”. Most animals— an extinct species of sperm whale, a walrus-like toothed whale, an aquatic sloth and severe other species of whale were found—were found laying belly up, which suggests they died at sea or after washing ashore. Nick Pyenson, the author of the paper describing the phenomenon, said the strandings were mostly likely caused by algal blooms known as the red tide. The rock formation where the skeletons were found is estimated to be around 6-9 million years ago, and the bones were dated in that time period as well. The presence of whales isn’t unusual or even unexpected. It’s been known for years that whales once inhabited this part of the desert and it was thusly named “Cerro Ballena” or Whale Hill. But Pyseson says these whales are unique because the bones are all intact and there are no signs of scavenging before the bones became fossilized. Paleontologist Richard Norris explains that whale fossils are not a common find and finding a large number of whales at different ages is “vanishingly rare.”
This GCSE Geography quiz will test you on wind generation. The wind is a free and renewable energy source. Wind generation refers to the generation of electricity using wind turbines. There are many designs of wind turbine, the most common is the propeller style. They began appearing in the landscape in the late twentieth century and have continued to increase in numbers since then. It used to be rare to see them but now, when you travel, they are a common sight. Some European countries have been keen to install wind turbines, for example, Germany, Spain and the UK had the greatest growth rates of wind power during the first decade or so of the twenty-first century. Denmark is the world leader in wind generation technology and supplies about half of the world's wind turbines. Air moves from high pressure areas to low pressure areas, which creates the wind. If the isobars on a weather map are closer together, the wind will be stronger as the air mass moves faster. The differences in pressure are created by the Sun heating different parts of the Earth's surface by different amounts. As it blows, the wind can be used to turn the propellors on wind turbines. These turn generators (through a system of gears) which generate the electricity. The electricity is then fed into the National Grid. Your GCSE syllabus requires that you know the pros and cons for the different types of renewable energy resource. It is classed as being renewable rather than sustainable because it does not require human management to ensure that the supply will not run out. The advantages of wind generation are that there are no fuel costs, there are no polluting gases given off and it will be available for as long as wind blows on the planet. The negative points are very much the same as other renewable energy resources - they don't produce electricity continuously and they don't produce very much electricity when compared to conventional power stations. In order to replace a single oil, coal or nuclear powered electricity generation system, hundreds of the largest wind turbines would be needed. This makes wind generation systems (wind farms) costly to develop. The turbines need installing over a large area and so new infrastructure (roads and cables to carry as well as the turbines) has to be built. Since the most suitable sites for wind generation are often remote windy places with harsh climates, these are often places where wildlife is vulnerable. Building the construction and maintenance roads can destroy habitat and disturb the wildlife. It is also reported that birds are killed as they collide with the propellors. Some people don't like the swooshing noise that wind turbines make and some believe that it frightens wildlife, driving it away from the area. Not everybody likes to see wind turbines and claim that they spoil the view in the countryside. One way of getting round this objection is to site the turbines in shallow water areas. These are called off-shore wind farms. This doesn't please everyone, some still think that they don't look good and others believe that it could be harming the sea bed ecosystems too.
Guadalupe Fur Seal About the Species Guadalupe fur seals are members of the “eared seal” family, Otariidae. Their breeding grounds are almost entirely on Guadalupe Island, off the Pacific coast of Mexico, with recent re-colonization off the San Benito Archipelago. A small number of Guadalupe fur seals have also been reported on the northern Channel Islands off California. Commercial sealers heavily hunted Guadalupe fur seals in the 1700s to the 1800s until they were thought to be extinct in the early 1900s. Dr. Hubbs and Dr. Bartholomew from the University of California rediscovered them breeding in a cave on Guadalupe Island in 1954. The Guadalupe fur seal population has continued to increase from the small remnant group on Guadalupe Island due to protection by the Mexican Government. Guadalupe fur seals are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NOAA Fisheries and its partners (including researchers and conservation managers in Mexico) are dedicated to conserving and promoting the recovery of the Guadalupe fur seal population. Researchers use innovative techniques to study and protect this species. For example, they use satellite telemetry to assess movement patterns and foraging activities, interactions between Guadalupe fur seals and fisheries, and their vulnerability to oil spills. This work helps reduce harm from human activities (e.g. fishing) through management based on sound science, public input, and outreach and education. The Guadalupe fur seal population has been growing at approximately 10 percent between 1955 and and 2010. Based on surveys conducted between 2008 and 2010 was estimated at approximately 20,000 animals, thanks to protection under Mexican and U.S. laws. - Throughout Its Range - Throughout Its Range - Throughout Its Range Guadalupe fur seals have narrow, flat heads with pointed, narrow, long snouts. Their fore-flippers are broad, with some hair, reaching past their wrists and forming a "V" on the foreflipper. Their coloration is dark brown. Adult males have tan or yellow hairs on the back of the mane. Adult males are considerably longer and larger-bodied than adult females. Behavior and Diet Guadalupe fur seals are generally solitary, are thought to be non-social animals when at sea. They primarily feed at night on coastal and pelagic squid, and small pelagic fish (e.g., mackerel,sardine, and lanternfish) by diving to average depths of 65 feet with maximum depths of about 250 feet. They rest in the water with their heads below water and their hind-flippers jutting out. Where They Live Guadalupe fur seals live in the waters off southern California and the Pacific coast of Mexico. During the breeding season, they are found in coastal rocky habitats and caves. Little is known about their whereabouts during the non-breeding season. Guadalupe fur seals generally do not migrate, although they have been documented traveling great distances from their breeding grounds. Their breeding grounds are almost entirely on Guadalupe Island, Mexico, although there are small populations off Baja California on San Benito Archipelago and off southern California at San Miguel Island. It is the only species of the Arctocephalus genus that occurs north of the equator. Guadalupe fur seals are not common along the West Coast of the United States, but immature animals commonly strand on beaches as far north as Washington State. Over the last several years, a few pups have been born on San Miguel Island in the Channel Islands off southern California. From archeological findings Guadalupe fur seals were historically found as far north as the northwest Washington coast. Lifespan & Reproduction Guadalupe fur seals' breeding season extends from June through August. Adult males return to the colonies during early June. They set up territories that they defend through aggression and vocalizations when challenged or threatened by other males. Breeding Guadalupe males are polygamous and may mate with up to 12 females during a single breeding season. Adult females arrive to the colonies in early June, giving birth a few days later. Pups are born from early June through early July, with a peak in late. Pups are born from early June through early July, with a peak in late June. An adult female will mate about a week after giving birth to her pup. Weaning occurs around 9 months. We have very limited data on the incidental bycatch of Guadalupe fur seals in fishing gear, although some pups and juvenile seals have been documented as entangled, through strandings or fisheries observations. If a fur seal becomes entangled in fishing gear, the animal risks either swimming off with the gear attached or becoming anchored. Once entangled, Guadalupe fur seals may drag and swim with gear attached for long distances, ultimately resulting in fatigue, compromised feeding ability, or severe injury, which may lead to reduced reproductive success and death. Guadalupe fur seals are affected by military activities off the U.S. west coast, including readiness training for personnel and their associated fleets and battalions, and construction and maintenance of land-based and island-based facilities. Some of the military training exercises include the use of mid-frequency active sonar for submarine detection, placement and detection of small explosives in coastal waters, open-ocean target practice using high powered guns, ship-shock tests, and other more small-scale exercises. These activities threatened Guadalupe fur seals through increased ocean noise and vessel strikes. Fur seals rely on their thick layer of fur to insulate their bodies from the cold marine environment. Oil spills pose a threat to this species by affecting the ability of their fur to keep them warm. Guadalupe fur seals rarely strand in southern California, and only recently have we received reports of stranded yearlings, with most of them emaciated or dead. Based on a review of our stranding reports over the last 30 years, there have been no reports of Guadalupe fur seals that have ingested oil or have an oiled pelage. Noise associated with coastal development (e.g., pile driving, dredging, and vessels transporting personnel) could disturb Guadalupe fur seals and cause them to avoid areas temporarily, and may even cause temporary or permanent hearing loss. The Guadalupe fur seal was listed as threatened throughout its range in December 1985, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. It is also protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended, which also designates the species as strategic and depleted, due to their listing as threatened under the ESA. In 1928, the government of Mexico declared Guadalupe Island a pinniped sanctuary and in 1967 banned the hunting of Guadalupe fur seals. Overseeing Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response We work with volunteer networks in all coastal states to respond to marine mammal strandings. When stranded animals are found alive, NOAA Fisheries and our partners assess the animal’s health. When stranded animals are found dead, our scientists work to understand and investigate the cause of death. Although the cause often remains unknown, scientists can sometimes identify strandings due to disease, harmful algal blooms, vessel strikes, fishing gear entanglements, pollution exposure, and underwater noise. Some strandings can serve as indicators of ocean health, giving insight into larger environmental issues that may also have implications for human health and welfare. Reducing Interactions with Fishing Gear Guadalupe fur seals can become incidentally entangled in fishing gear, which may cause injury and possibly death. NOAA Fisheries is working to better understand and characterize the frequency, geographic extent, and magnitude of these interactions. We are also working with scientists to research potential solutions to safely and effectively reduce these interactions. Educating the Public NOAA Fisheries aims to increase public awareness and support for Guadalupe fur seal conservation through education, outreach, and public participation. We regularly share information with the public about the status of fur seals, as well as our research and efforts to promote their recovery. The Guadalupe fur seal was listed as threatened throughout its range in December 1985, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; it is also protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended. In 1975, the government of Mexico declared Guadalupe Island a pinniped sanctuary. NOAA Fisheries has classified the U.S. Guadalupe fur seal stock as a “strategic” stock. Regulatory Actions & Documents NOAA Fisheries researches the biology, behavior, and ecology of the Guadalupe fur seal. We use the results to inform management decisions and recovery efforts for this threatened species. Determining the number of Guadalupe fur seals in their population—and whether a stock is increasing or declining over time—helps resource managers assess the success of conservation measures. Our scientists collect information and present these data in annual stock assessment reports. Unusual Mortality Events To understand the health of Guadalupe fur seal populations, scientists study unusual mortality events (UMEs). Marine mammal UMEs are important because they can serve as indicators of ocean health, giving insight into larger environmental issues that may also have implications for human health and welfare. Since 2015, an elevated number of strandings of Guadalupe fur seals have occurred along the entire coast of California. Strandings in January 2015 were eight times higher than the historical average. They have remained well above the average through 2017. This ongoing event was declared a UME in 2015.
Chapter 5: Getting More from Mates In This Chapter Learning efficient mating strategies Performing degrees-of-freedom analysis Using Advanced and Mechanical mate types Editing and troubleshooting assembly mates Choosing mate options Examining mate best practices Mating for success tutorial In SolidWorks assemblies, mates are the basic units that make everything work together. When properly handled, mates enable your assembly to react predictably to changes in parts in exactly the same way that sketch relations drive changes in part features. As a result, mates and sketch relations often have the same function and even the same weaknesses to watch out for. This chapter goes one step further with mates, by not just simply putting parts together with Coincident and Concentric mates, but also mating parts when tolerances, gaps, and symmetry become issues. You will also learn about the more advanced mate types that may be useful for special situations. One of the assumptions made in this chapter is that assembly mates are not just used for positioning parts, but also for motion. Making motion work takes a little more than just establishing the right spatial relationship between parts; it usually also involves analyzing the open degrees of freedom. Some users take a static approach to putting parts together into assemblies, by simply placing parts at the correct X- and Y- coordinates without assigning any relationships to the parts around them. This defeats most of the purpose of creating ...
Scientists classify life into three groups, called domains. They are: Eukarya (which includes the plants and animals we usually think of), Bacteria, and Archaea. Eukarya is made up entirely of eukaryotes. It includes unicellular organisms like diatoms, as well as multicellular organisms like sponges, crabs, and turtles. Bacteria and Archaea are prokaryotes. You can learn about the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells here. So what types of life does the domain Archaea encompass? Archaea are tiny prokaryotic organisms that can live in extreme environments. They can be found in deep sea vents and hot springs. They thrive in extremely salty, acidic and hot environments, and anaerobic (without oxygen) environments. They can even be found inside of humans! Archaea for the most part cannot be classified into species because they are very hard to identify with a microscope. Most scientists sort them into groups based on function and/or structure. The classification of archaea is a relatively new field with a lot of contention, but the two main groups are: Euryarchaeota- This includes halophiles (archaea that can only survive in very high salt concentrations), thermophiles (archaea that thrive at high temperatures), acidophiles that survive in extreme acid environments, and methanogens that produce methane and aid in human digestion. Crenarchaeota- A smaller group than Euryarchaeota, made up of organisms that thrive in very hot environments (volcanoes, deep sea vents) and very cold environments (the Antarctic). How do they get energy? There are three types of archaea with different metabolism types. - Phototrophs get energy from sunlight and organic compounds. - Lithotrophs get energy from inorganic compounds and organic compounds or carbon fixation. - Organotrophs get energy from organic compounds and sometimes carbon fixation. Some archaea are autotrophs, which means they produce their own energy. Photoautotrophs produce energy from sunlight, and chemoautotrophs produce energy from organic or inorganic molecules. The counterparts to autotrophs are heterotrophs; they consume energy produced by autotrophs. Pushing the limits of life Here are some of the incredibly extreme environments archaea are known to survive in: - Geysers, hydrothermal vents, hot springs above 212 F/100 C. Some can reproduce in temperatures as high as 252 F/122 C. - Habitats with salinities (salt concentrations) as high as 20 to 25% (for comparison: the ocean has a salinity of 3.5%!) - Acidic habitats with a pH as low as 0 (pH of some battery acid or hydrochloric acid).
Amnesia, is a neurogenerative disease and its common symptom is memory loss. Diagnosis of amnesia may involve a range of blood tests and scans but its treatment does not require hospitalization. Prognosis of amnesia depends on the underlying cause. Amnesia, in ordinary terms, means profound memory loss. It can be caused by a physical injury inflicted on the brain, by brain damage caused by a traumatic or an emotional experience or by an infection. In many cases, amnesia is associated with neurodegenerative diseases in which the primary symptom is memory loss. In most cases the amnesiacs are quite aware of their memory loss problem. There are several types of amnesia, the main symptoms include an inability to recall old memories or an inability to remember new ones. Diagnosis ranges from physical examination and blood tests to MRI brain scans. The treatment for amnesia depends on the cause but in the vast majority of cases hospitalization is generally not required. The prognosis of this condition varies with the underlying cause, for instance, curbing alcohol intake in a person can revive his memory in a very short period, if that is the original cause of his memory loss. However, in case of severe brain injury, without permanent damage, it may take up to months or even years , before the person recovers. In some unfortunate cases amnesia is life long as it never goes away. have always sought the help of amnesiacs to determine the memory-processing function of the brain. Contrary to what was believed earlier that memory is a single entity, recent research reveals that the brain has multiple systems for storing, processing and drawing on one’s memory.
Classification and Range Rabbits belong to the order Lagomorpha, which is divided into two families: Ochotonidae (pikas) and Leporidae (hares and rabbits). Leporidae has 11 genera, including the genus Oryctolagus, with just one species: O. cuniculus. This species is the wild European rabbit, from which all domestic rabbits descended. Wild and domestic rabbits live on every continent except Asia and Antarctica. Wild rabbits live in mostly dry areas near sea level with soft, sandy soil for burrowing. If they need areas of cover, they live in grassy fields or forests. Domestic rabbits vary tremendously in length, fur type, coloration and general appearance. For wild rabbits, the coat is gray, with black, brown or red scattered throughout. The underside is light gray, and the bottom of the tail is white. Domestic rabbits range in size from 2-20 pounds (.9-9 kg). Wild rabbits weigh 3-5 pounds (1.5-2.5 kg). Males are usually heavier and taller than females. Up to 12 years in captivity, but 6-8 years is more common. In the wild, life span is shorter due to predation. In the wild:An opportunistic and omnivorous diet, which includes mostly fungi, plants, roots, tree bark, fruit, snails and worms. At the zoo: 4 ounces (113 g) of hay and 2 cups of fruits and vegetables. Females reach maturity at 6 months, and can breed up to 6 years of age. Breeding occurs mostly from February to September. Mating in rabbits is normally promiscuous, though males try to choose certain females. Unlike most mammals, rabbits do not come into estrus. Instead, males induce females to breed, as copulation triggers release of the egg. The doe makes an underground nest with straw, vegetation and fur plucked from her underside. After a gestation of 28-34 days, the doe gives birth to a litter of four to eight young. Baby rabbits, called kits, are totally blind and have little hair at birth. A doe spends little time with her young, feeding them once or twice in a 24-hour period. This prevents detection of the kits by various predators. Young rabbits develop rapidly, their eyes opening after 12-14 days. Within three weeks, they may leave the nest, and can eat solid food and drink water. At about 6 weeks of age, they no longer nurse from the mother. Rabbits spend their days underground, foraging from evening until morning. They are constantly alert during their waking hours, prepared to run from predators if necessary. Rabbits are sociable and live in colonies with other rabbits in large, complex burrow systems (warrens). A typical colony consists of six to 10 adults of both sexes. In large groups of rabbits, there is a hierarchical structure; the strongest dominant male and dominant female preside over the colony. The entire colony protects the warren or territory from intruders, and this includes other invading rabbits. Hare or Rabbit? Originally classified as rodents, scientists determined that lagomorphs should have their own separate order. Although they belong to the same family, rabbits and hares are not the same animal. Rabbits and hares are physically different, starting with birth. Hare gestation lasts longer, about six weeks, and litter size rarely exceeds more than six. Doe hares do not make nests or dig burrows, instead they scrape out shallow holes in the ground. Hares give birth to newborns called "leverets" who are fully furred, have open eyes and ears, and can run within minutes of birth. Leverets weigh five times the weight of newborn rabbits. Leverets nurse for as long as eight to 12 weeks, grow at a much faster rate than kits, and reach 90% of adult size at only 12 weeks old. Once full grown, hares tend to be solitary. Breeds of Bunnies People first domesticated rabbits in Spain (Stone Age paintings in caves depict pictures of rabbits), and then Romans bred rabbits as a source of food. By the 14th century, French monks selectively bred them to produce desirable genetic traits. There are at least 45 distinct breeds of domestic rabbits. In the U.S., the largest rabbit organization is the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA). Location at the Zoo Woodland Park Zoo's rabbits live in the Family Farm, across from the sheep, pig and goat barn. The Family Farm has a Contact Area where children can touch sheep, goats and other domesticated animals. The Farm incorporates many common agricultural facilities and features an apple orchard, and gardening and composting areas. Currently, no domestic breeds of rabbit are endangered. However, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists at least 13 species of rabbits and hares as endangered, threatened or vulnerable. Unfortunately, rabbit breeding has negative consequences. Sea-going explorers left rabbits on islands as a food source for later voyages, with frequent devastating effects. In the mid-1800s, rabbits escaped from a rabbitry, and more than 20 million rabbits spread throughout Australia. They destroyed native plants, ate farm produce and damaged grazing lands. People try to control, confine or exterminate rabbits in countries all over the world. However, rabbits provide benefits to some native species. Their burrowing loosens soil, helping new plants take root, and unused burrows provide shelter for other animals. A wide variety of carnivores eat rabbits for food. Also, rabbit droppings make good fertilizer. How You Can Help! The effort to save African mammals requires cooperation and support at the regional, national and international levels. You can help in this cause. Join and become active in a conservation organization of your choice. Don't buy products made from wild animal parts. Contact your elected representatives and express your views about conservation of endangered species and wild habitats. Contact Woodland Park Zoo at [email protected] to find out about ways you can support conservation programs at the zoo. Learn other ways you can help conserve wildlife and the habitats they require for survival by visiting our How You Can Help page. Sources and Suggested Reading Myerovich, Marcy. 1994. Rabbits Look-and-Learn. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ. 64 p.Thompson, Harry V., Ed. and Carolyn M., Ed. King. 1994. The European Rabbit: The History and Biology of a Successful Colonizer. Oxford University Press, New York, NY. Paradise, Paul. 1988. Rabbits. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ. 128 p
We're asked to convert pi radians and negative pi/3 radians to degrees. And the first question I'll ask you: If you do one revolution, You have an angle that went all the way around once. How many radians is that? Well we know that it is 2 pi radians. Now that exact same angle if we were to measure it in degrees, How many degrees is that? Well if you were doing degrees, it would be one full revolution. That is equal to 360 degrees Now, can we simplify this? Thats a bore to write this little, superscript cirsle That's literally the units of the question. Sometimes it doesn't look like a unit but it is a unit. You could literally write degrees instead of that little symbol. Now can we simplify this? Well sure, Both two pi and 360 are divisible by two so lets divide things by two, and if we do that, what do we get? Or what are pi radians equal to? Well on the left side here we're just left with pi radians, and on the righthand side here, 360 divided by two is 180. And we have still the units which are degrees. So we get pi radians are equal to 180 degrees. Which actually answers the first part of our question. We wanted to convert pi radians, well we just figured out! Pi radians are equal to 180 degrees. If you want to think about it, pi radians are halfway around the circle Halfway around the circle like that, and it is the same thing as 180 degrees. So now lets think about the second part. We want to convertnegative pi over three radians. --Switch to a new color-- so negative pi over three, so how do we convert that? So what do we get based on this information right over here. Well, to figure this out we need to know how many degrees there are per radian. We need to multiply this by degrees -- I'm going to write the word out instead of the circle here -- It would be really hard to visualize that, degrees per radian So how many degrees are there per radian? well we know that for 180 degrees we have pi radians. Or you can say there are 180 over pi degrees per radian. This is going to work out: We have however manyradians we have times the number of degrees per radian. So of course the units are going to work out. The radians cancel out, the pi also cancels. And you are left with 180 divided by 3, leaving us with what is that? Negative 60, and we don't want to forget the units We could write them out, the only unit left is degrees. WE could write out the word degrees or just put that symbol there.
Passover Food is especially prepared during the commemoration of the Jewish festival called ‘Passover.’ This festival is celebrated to mark the liberation of Israelites from Egyptian slavery and is considered as the most sacred day in Jewish culture. The Passover falls on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which is during March or April in Gregorian Calender. This festival lasts for seven to eight days. Although this was originally celebrated by the ancient Israelites, it is commemorated even today by Jewish families. The Passover is marked by various traditional activities and feasts. The Passover Meal Although the Passover is meant to be celebrated, the Jews follow strict dietary prohibitions during the week. Only unleavened bread, known as matzo, is to be eaten on all eight days to symbolize the suffering of the Israelites during Egyptian bondage. The Passover festival is commenced with a special family meal on the 15th of Nissan. This special meal is called the Passover Seder. The typical Passover meal contains six traditional dishes. The following is the significance of these six items: Charoset – Nuts, apples, and spices are ground together and mixed with wine. This dish symbolizes the mortar which the Hebrews used to build Egyptian storehouses. Maror – Bitter herbs, such as lettuce or horseradish. These signify the bitterness or harsh behavior of Egyptians towards the Israelites. Karpas – A vegetable, such as parsley, is dipped in salt water. The salt water denotes the tears shed by the Hebrew slaves. Beitzah – This is a roasted egg. Egg is a symbol of mourning in the Jewish culture. It could also be meant to mourn the destruction of Jewish temple in 70 AD. Zeroa – The shank bone of a lamb. This signifies the paschal lamb offered as a sacrifice on ancient Passover celebrations during biblical times. The sixth item, Matzo or unleavened bread, is placed in the middle of the table covered with a napkin. Breaking of matzo is also a tradition. The seder meal also consists of four glasses of wine to symbolize the joy of freedom from the slavery. Customary Way of Serving Passover Food Seder table is traditionally set up to serve the Passover food. This is usually arranged on the 15th day of the Nisan month and attended by whole family or group of families. An overview of how the passover meal is served: · The head of the family initiates the ceremony. He takes the karpas, dips it in salt water, and passes it over to other family members. · This is followed by removing the shank bone and the egg from the seder plate. · After this, the youngest child asks four questions about the Passover, to which answers are recited · Now, the unleavened bread and bitter herbs are consumed. · A meal comprising of dishes made with matzah and boiled eggs is eaten. Desserts including ice cream and flourless cakes are also consumed. · Wine is also drunk at particular intervals during the Seder meal. · Prayers are recited and songs are sung at the conclusion of the Passover meal.
Parsing Other Strings in the .NET Framework The static parse method associated with the Char data type is useful for converting a string that contains a single character into its Unicode value. The following code example parses a string into a Unicode character. The Boolean data type contains a Parse method that you can use to convert a string that represents a Boolean value into an actual Boolean type. This method is not case-sensitive and can successfully parse a string containing "True" or "False." The Parse method associated with the Boolean type can also parse strings that are surrounded by white spaces. If any other string is passed, a FormatException is thrown. The following code example uses the Parse method to convert a string into a Boolean value. You can use the static Parse method to initialize an enumeration type to the value of a string. This method accepts the enumeration type you are parsing, the string to parse, and an optional Boolean flag indicating whether or not the parse is case-sensitive. The string you are parsing can contain several values separated by commas, which can be preceded or followed by one or more empty spaces (also called white spaces). When the string contains multiple values, the value of the returned object is the value of all specified values combined with a bitwise OR operation. The following example uses the Parse method to convert a string representation into an enumeration value. The DayOfWeek enumeration is initialized to Thursday from a string.
A negative externality is a cost that is suffered by a third party as a result of an economic transaction. In a transaction, the producer and consumer are the first and second parties, and third parties include any individual, organisation, property owner, or resource that is indirectly affected. Externalities are also referred to as spill over effects, and a negative externality is also referred to as an external cost. Some externalities, like waste, arise from consumption while other externalities, like carbon emissions from factories, arise from production. Externalities commonly occur in situations where property rights over assets or resources have not been allocated, or are uncertain. For example, no one owns the oceans and they are not the private property of anyone, so ships may pollute the sea without fear of being taken to court. The importance of establishing property rights is central to the ideas of influential Peruvian economist, Hernando De Soto, who has widely argued that successful market economies need a widespread allocation of property rights to enable economies to fully develop. An external cost, such as the cost of pollution from industrial production, makes the marginal social cost (MSC) curve higher than the private marginal cost (MPC). The socially efficient output is where MSC = MSB, at Q1, which is a lower output than the market equilibrium output, at Q. Net welfare loss can exist in two situations. Firstly, it exists when the marginal cost to society of a particular economic activity, such as manufacturing 200,000 computers, is greater than the marginal benefit to society. Secondly, it can exist when the marginal benefit of a given economic activity, such as producing 50,000m computers, is greater than the marginal cost. The first situation can occur when the market produces 'too much', and the second when it produces 'too little'. For example, If we consider a manufacturer of computers which emits pollutants into the atmosphere, the free market equilibrium will occur when marginal private benefit = marginal private costs, at output Q and price P. At Q marginal social costs (at C) are greater than marginal social benefits (at A) so there is a net loss. For example, if the marginal social benefit at A is £5m, and the marginal social cost at C is £10m, then the net welfare loss of this output is £10m - £5m = £5m. In fact, any output between Q1 and Q creates a net welfare loss, and the area for all the welfare loss is the area ABC. Therefore, in terms of welfare, markets over-produce goods Market-based solutions try to manipulate market forces to reduce the externality, by exploiting the price mechanism. One such market-based solution is to extend property rights so that third parties can negotiate with those individuals or organisations that cause the externality. British economist and Nobel Prize winner, Ronald Coase argued that the establishment of property rights would provide an efficient solution to the problem of externalities. As long as one party can establish a property right, there will be a bargaining process leading to an agreement in which externalities are taken into account. If property rights cannot be established, such as with the air, sea, or roads, then the only two options are: learn to live with externalities , or: Government intervenes on our behalf through taxes or direct controls and regulations , such as: , such as: Taxing polluters, such as carbon taxes, or taxes on plastic bags. Subsidising households or firms to be non-polluters, such as giving grants for home insulation improvements. Selling permits to pollute, which may become traded by the polluters. Forcing polluters to pay compensation to those who suffer, such as making noise polluting airports pay for double-glazing. Road pricing schemes, such as the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system in Singapore, which is a pay-as-you-go, card-based, road-pricing scheme. Providing more information to consumers and producers, such as requiring that tickets to travel on polluting forms of transport, especially air travel, should contain information on how much CO2 pollution will be created from each journey. Negative consumption externalities When certain goods are consumed, such as demerit goods, negative effects can arise on third parties. Common example include cigarette smoking, which can create passive smoking, drinking excessive alcohol, which can spoil a night out for others, and noise pollution. Common example include cigarette smoking, which can create passive smoking, drinking excessive alcohol, which can spoil a night out for others, and noise pollution. For example, if an individual plays very loud music in their house they are likely to reduce the benefit to their neighbours of owning the house and living in it. Another important example of a negative consumption externality if that of road congestion. As individuals 'consume' road-space they reduce available road-space and deny this space to Another important example of a negative consumption externality if that of road congestion. As individuals 'consume' road-space they reduce available road-space and deny this space to others. See: demerit goods See: demerit goods
40 years ago, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wiltschko was the first to prove that migrating robins use the Earth’s magnetic field to direct themselves during migration. Their magnetic sensor showed them the course of the field lines of the Earth’s magnetic field. This produces an inclination compass that reacts to the inclination of the Earth’s magnetic field to the surface of the Earth, thus distinguishing between “pole-wards” (the side on which the field lines incline downwards) and “equator-wards” (the side on which they incline upwards). The inbuilt compass is additionally finely tuned to the field strength of the Earth’s local magnetic field, but can also be flexibly adapted to other field strengths that the birds encounter in the course of migration. Since that time a compass of this kind has been found in more than 20 species of birds, the majority of them being those songbirds that undertake annual migration. An international working group under the direction of Wolfgang und Roswitha Wiltschko of Frankfurt University has now succeeded in demonstrating the presence of a magnetic sense of direction in domestic chickens as well. For this purpose, newly hatched chicks were imprinted on a red ball which they from then on regarded as their ‘mother’. The researchers then hid the ball behind one of four screens, and taught the chickens by intensive training that the mother was always behind the screen that was in the northerly direction. To demonstrate that the chicken senses this compass point by means of its magnetic sense of direction, the researchers set up an artificial magnetic field in an easterly direction – and the chickens did actually seek their mother behind the screen that lay to the east. Further experiments showed that the chickens’ magnetic sensor functions very similarly to that of the robin. It also reacts to the inclination and the local field strength of the Earth’s magnetic field. The magnetic sensor is probably situated in the eye, since the birds need short-wave light (such as blue light) to orientate themselves. In long-wave light above the yellow level this ability is lost in all the birds that have so far been tested. From these similarities the research group has deduced that a magnetic sense of direction could be an ability common to all birds. Since one has to go back very far in evolutionary history to find a common ancestor for chickens and robins, this ability must have developed before the birds began to migrate. Accordingly it seems that the magnetic sense of direction was already used by primitive bird-forms to move efficiently in their environment between their nests, sleeping places, and sources of food and water. W. Wiltschko et al. (2007): The magnetic compass of domestic chickens, Gallus gallus. Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 2300-2310. AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The Geographic Position of the Peninsula the arabian peninsula has the shape of an irregular rectangle. on the north it is bounded by palestine and the syrian desert; on the east by the kingdom of al hirah, the euphrates and tigris and the persian gulf; on the south by the indian ocean and the gulf of `adan; and to the west by the red sea. the natural isolation of the peninsula combined with its size to protect it against invasion. the peninsula is over a thousand kilometers long and as wide. moreover, this vast expanse is utterly uncultivable. it does not have a single river nor a dependable rainy season around which any agriculture could be organized. with the exception of fertile and rainy yaman in the southwest, the peninsula consists of plateaus, valleys and deserts devoid of vegetation and an atmosphere so inclement that no civilization could prosper therein. the arabian peninsula allows only desert life; and desert life demands continuous movement, adoption of the camel as means of transportation, and the pursuit of thin pasture which is no sooner discovered than it is exhausted and another movement becomes imperative. these well sought-after pastures grow around springs whose waters have collected from rainfall on the surrounding rocky terrain, allowing a scarce vegetation to grow in the immediate vicinity.
The Modi script was used from the 17th century until the 1950s for writing Marathi, the state language of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The script developed from a cursive form of Devanagari, so shares a number of features with, and is visually similar to, that script. Modi is an abugida written using thirty-three consonant letters, each bearing the inherent vowel /a/. This vowel can be changed by appending one of seven vowel diacritics to the consonant, or silenced by appending a virama below the consonant. Vowels which are not preceded by a consonant are written with one of eight independent vowel letters. Modi is considered by many to be extinct, having been replaced by Devanagari after the 1950s, although Daniels and Bright (1996) report limited use for personal correspondence. Efforts are underway to preserve knowledge of the script before the last generation of frequent users dies.
-Write the number sentences that go with the penny drops. For example, 5 + 1 = 6. -Read "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear?" by Bill Martin and Eric Carle. After each animal, make several sounds like the animal and have the child count the number of sounds. For example, for the lion you can say ""roar, roar, roar"" and have the child tell you the lion roared three times. Adjust for an older child Add more than one penny to the jar. For example, add five pennies to the jar, then add three more. Adjust for a younger child Allow the child to see you add the pennies to the jar. What is being taught through this activity Foundational Literacy/Math Skills: Number and Operations
Plant tissues differ dramatically in their nutrient content. Leaves rich in proteins, minerals, and vitamins are favored food of many caterpillars and beetles. Phloem sap transports the products of photosynthesis from one cell to the next and is a rich source of sugars and amino acids. Sucking insects like mealybugs, whiteflies, soft scales, and aphids tap into phloem for their daily nutrition. Among the most nutrient poor plant tissues is xylem sap, the lifeblood of a plant that transports water from the soil, up the stem, and into the leaves to power the magical process of photosynthesis. Dissolved in xylem sap are minerals, amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, and other organic acids essential for life. The powerful negative pressure created by transpiration, the loss of water from leaves, draws xylem fluid from the roots to the top of the tallest trees. Some insects like cicadas, spittlebugs, and froghoppers we visited in previous episodes evolved to use xylem sap as their source of food. To obtain sufficient nutrients from this nutrient-poor xylem, large quantities of xylem fluid must be imbibed. One fascinating report suggests that some xylem feeders process the equivalent of a human drinking 400 gallons of water a day – yikes! What goes in must come out and the obvious outcome of xylem feeding is the production of large quantities of excess fluid waste expelled from the rear end of the insect. Among these xylem feeders are some of the most interesting and beautiful of all insects, the sharpshooters. Sharpshooters are a part of the leafhopper clan. The origin of their name is shrouded in mystery. Some early entomologists described the appearance of their feeding injury as if caused by “minute bullets.” Another allegory holds that the “rapid and forcible ejection of minute drops of fluid” from their anus is reminiscent of gunfire of a sharpshooter. Check out the videos that accompany this episode and see if you agree. Watch as a lovely Oncometopia sharpshooter shoots a liquid bullet from its rear end almost every second. Sharpshooters can be found on many herbaceous and woody plants throughout the land. On the front range of the Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado gorgeous Cuerna sharpshooters busily process xylem sap from the stems of thistles. This week on a scorching summer day a towering cup plant in my flower bed served as a liquid feast for a beautiful Oncometopia sharpshooter. While these sharpshooters cause no real harm to my plants, some sharpshooters carry serious disease agents including viruses and bacteria. For example, the glassy winged sharpshooter is the vector of a bacterium called Xylella, the causative agent of bacterial leaf scorch in trees and Pierce’s disease of grapes. Nonetheless, if you happen to spy one of these beauties on a plant, take a moment to observe glistening drops of fluid shot by these tiny riflemen. On a hot summer’s day a gaggle of Cuerna sharpshooter adults and one nymph extract xylem fluid from a thistle stem and eject a steady stream of liquid. Bug of the Week thanks Dr. Shrewsbury for providing the inspiration for this episode. The information rich Featured Creature “Common name: sharpshooters, leafhoppers, scientific name: Cicadellidae (Insecta: Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae)” by Chris Tipping and Russell F. Mizell III was used to prepare this episode.
In signal processing, undersampling or bandpass sampling is a technique where one samples a bandpass-filtered signal at a sample rate below its Nyquist rate (twice the upper cut-off frequency), but is still able to reconstruct the signal. When one undersamples a bandpass signal, the samples are indistinguishable from the samples of a low-frequency alias of the high-frequency signal. Such sampling is also known as bandpass sampling, harmonic sampling, IF sampling, and direct IF-to-digital conversion. The Fourier transforms of real-valued functions are symmetrical around the 0 Hz axis. After sampling, only a periodic summation of the Fourier transform (called discrete-time Fourier transform) is still available. The individual, frequency-shifted copies of the original transform are called aliases. The frequency offset between adjacent aliases is the sampling-rate, denoted by fs. When the aliases are mutually exclusive (spectrally), the original transform and the original continuous function, or a frequency-shifted version of it (if desired), can be recovered from the samples. The first and third graphs of Figure 1 depict a baseband spectrum before and after being sampled at a rate that completely separates the aliases. The second graph of Figure 1 depicts the frequency profile of a bandpass function occupying the band (A, A+B) (shaded blue) and its mirror image (shaded beige). The condition for a non-destructive sample rate is that the aliases of both bands do not overlap when shifted by all integer multiples of fs. The fourth graph depicts the spectral result of sampling at the same rate as the baseband function. The rate was chosen by finding the lowest rate that is an integer sub-multiple of A and also satisfies the baseband Nyquist criterion: fs > 2B. Consequently, the bandpass function has effectively been converted to baseband. All the other rates that avoid overlap are given by these more general criteria, where A and A+B are replaced by fL and fH, respectively: - , for any integer n satisfying: The highest n for which the condition is satisfied leads to the lowest possible sampling rates. Important signals of this sort include a radio's intermediate-frequency (IF), radio-frequency (RF) signal, and the individual channels of a filter bank. If n > 1, then the conditions result in what is sometimes referred to as undersampling, bandpass sampling, or using a sampling rate less than the Nyquist rate (2fH). For the case of a given sampling frequency, simpler formulae for the constraints on the signal's spectral band are given below. - Example: Consider FM radio to illustrate the idea of undersampling. - In the US, FM radio operates on the frequency band from fL = 88 MHz to fH = 108 MHz. The bandwidth is given by - The sampling conditions are satisfied for - Therefore, n can be 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. - The value n = 5 gives the lowest sampling frequencies interval and this is a scenario of undersampling. In this case, the signal spectrum fits between 2 and 2.5 times the sampling rate (higher than 86.4–88 MHz but lower than 108–110 MHz). - A lower value of n will also lead to a useful sampling rate. For example, using n = 4, the FM band spectrum fits easily between 1.5 and 2.0 times the sampling rate, for a sampling rate near 56 MHz (multiples of the Nyquist frequency being 28, 56, 84, 112, etc.). See the illustrations at the right. - When undersampling a real-world signal, the sampling circuit must be fast enough to capture the highest signal frequency of interest. Theoretically, each sample should be taken during an infinitesimally short interval, but this is not practically feasible. Instead, the sampling of the signal should be made in a short enough interval that it can represent the instantaneous value of the signal with the highest frequency. This means that in the FM radio example above, the sampling circuit must be able to capture a signal with a frequency of 108 MHz, not 43.2 MHz. Thus, the sampling frequency may be only a little bit greater than 43.2 MHz, but the input bandwidth of the system must be at least 108 MHz. Similarly, the accuracy of the sampling timing, or aperture uncertainty of the sampler, frequently the analog-to-digital converter, must be appropriate for the frequencies being sampled 108MHz, not the lower sample rate. - If the sampling theorem is interpreted as requiring twice the highest frequency, then the required sampling rate would be assumed to be greater than the Nyquist rate 216 MHz. While this does satisfy the last condition on the sampling rate, it is grossly oversampled. - Note that if a band is sampled with n > 1, then a band-pass filter is required for the anti-aliasing filter, instead of a lowpass filter. As we have seen, the normal baseband condition for reversible sampling is that X(f) = 0 outside the interval: and the reconstructive interpolation function, or lowpass filter impulse response, is To accommodate undersampling, the bandpass condition is that X(f) = 0 outside the union of open positive and negative frequency bands - for some positive integer . - which includes the normal baseband condition as case n = 1 (except that where the intervals come together at 0 frequency, they can be closed). The corresponding interpolation function is the bandpass filter given by this difference of lowpass impulse responses: On the other hand, reconstruction is not usually the goal with sampled IF or RF signals. Rather, the sample sequence can be treated as ordinary samples of the signal frequency-shifted to near baseband, and digital demodulation can proceed on that basis, recognizing the spectrum mirroring when n is even. Further generalizations of undersampling for the case of signals with multiple bands are possible, and signals over multidimensional domains (space or space-time) and have been worked out in detail by Igor Kluvánek.
Definition of: report writer Software that prints a report based on a description of its layout. As a stand-alone program or part of a file or database management system, it can sort selected records into a new sequence for printing. It may also support the printing of mailing labels. Once created, the report description is stored in a file for future use. Reports Are Defined A report is created by defining which data fields are placed into which print columns and entering text for the page headers. Key fields and numeric fields are selected for subtotals and totals. Whenever there is a change of data in the key field, a subtotal of the numeric data is printed, and a total is printed at the end of the report. Although there is no real programming required, mathematical expressions are often used; for example COLUMN 1 = FIELD A + FIELD B. Developed in the early 1970s, report writers, also called "report generators," were the precursor to query languages. They were the first programs to generate computer output without having to be programmed.
All the chewy goodness of proper hermeneutics in new fun-sized bites! A word study is essentially as it sounds, studying the meaning of certain words in order to grasp the meaning of an entire verse, passage, chapter, etc. Authors J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays reassure us that, “Even if you don’t know the original biblical languages, Hebrew and Greek, you can still learn to use interpretive tools to do a word study properly…” They list three important steps with regard to this enterprise: - Choose Your Words Carefully: You actually don’t need to study every single word in the Bible. Most words are plain as day to the average reader. Duvall and Hays offer four particular types of words to look for when doing a word study. - Words that are crucial to the passage. These particular words might be “loaded with historical or theological significance.” They might often be “key nouns and/or verbs.” - Repeated words. Usually the author of the book/epistle will “signal theme words by repeating them…” - Figures of speech. For example, when Jesus says He is the “gate” in John 10:9 or the “light of the world” in John 8:12 these are figures of speech to signify something that may or may not be automatically obvious. - Words that are unclear, puzzling, or difficult. A good approach to take is to regard those particular words that give you interpretive trouble as the most important. - Determine What the Word Could Mean: “[M]ost words can mean several different things (e.g., spring), but will usually carry only one of those meanings in a particular context.” Our goal is to locate the point of overlap between the word’s range of meaning in its original language and its range of meaning in English. Duvall and Hays remind us that, “The one rule in doing word studies that overrules all other rules is this: Context determines word meaning.” - Decide What the Word Means in Context: Once you have identified what the word could mean within the overlap between both ranges, you must decide what the word means given the context. “Context includes everything that surrounds your word, such as the paragraph containing the word, the subject matter, the author’s argument or flow of thought, as well as external factors such as the historical situation of the author and the original audience.” Never lose focus of the goal of word studies: “to understand as precisely as possible what the author meant when he used a certain word in a specific context.” Check back next week for Chapter 10: Who Controls the Meaning? We’ve barely scratched the surface with Grasping God’s Word! We highly recommend you purchase this excellent book here. J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 163. Ibid, 169. Ibid, 170. Ibid, 174. Ibid, 177. Ibid, 178-179.
Azaleas are shade-tolerant shrubs that are often found living beneath, or close to, trees. They bloom in the spring and flower in a verity of different colors. There are both evergreen (subgenus: Tsutsusi) and deciduous (subgenus: Pentanthera) species of azalea. Azalea can be found in several Asian countries as well as North America. All species of azalea native to North American are deciduous with flower colors spanning white, purple, red, pink, orange, and yellow. Azalea blooms can be more than one color at once and sometimes have stripes or speckles. The leaf and flower shape of azaleas is quite variable, leaf size ranges from 1/4 or an inch to 6 inches, the evergreens usually smaller while the deciduous varieties often sport larger leaves. Leaves are generally dark green, with the exception of some species with variegated leaves. Azalea leaves are described as "foot-ball" shaped though there are a few species with thinner leaves. There are 17 species of azalea native to North America, however, 15 of the 17 are native to the southeastern portion of the country. Rhododendron occidentale, Western Azalea, is native to the Pacific Northwest and Rhododendron canadense, Rhodora, is native to Southeastern Canada and Northeastern United States. R. occidentale has white to pink flowers with a yellow stripe or blotch. The flowers are fragrant and grow in clusters. Its leaves are bright yellow green rounded ovals. Western Azaleas grow in riparian areas and wetlands and are tolerant of the serpentine soil found in the Klamath-Siskiyou region.
Nucleic acids are important cell constituents of high molecular weight. They are formed out of units known as nucleotides. Nucleic acids regulate the metabolism, growth, reproduction, and eventual destiny of the cell. They are constituents of the chromosomes which are the carriers of the units of heredity called the genes. Each nucleotide consists of a purine or pyrimidine base linked to a pentose sugar which in turn is esterifies with phosphoric acid to form a structure: base-sugar-phosphate. The pentose sugars found in nucleotides are ribose and 2-deoxyribose. The pyrimidine bases are all derivatives of the parent compound pyrimidine. The pyrimidine derivatives commonly found in nucleotides and in nucleic acids are cytosine, uracil and thymine. Purine bases are derivatives of the parent compound purine. The most important purine bases are adenine and guanine. When a purine or a pyrimidine base condenses with a sugar a nucleoside is formed. When the sugar unit of the nucleoside is esterified with phosphoric acid a nucleotide is formed. Nuclotides containing ribose sugar are ribo-nucleotides and those containing deoxyribose are called deoxyribo-nucleotides. Two types of nucleic acids occur in the cells (i) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and (ii) ribonucleic acid (RNA). They are large polymeric molecules, the monomeric units of which are mononucleotides; nucleic acids are also referred to as polynucleotides. In DNA, the individual nucleotide units are deoxyribonucleotides and the chief nitrogen bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). In RNA, the monomers are ribonucleotides and the chief bases are adenine, guanine, cytosine and uracil (U) instead of thymine. The constituent nucleotides in the nucleic acids are linked together by ester linkages between the phosphate group on carbon-5' of the sugar of one nucleotide and 3-hydroxyl group of the sugar of the next nucleotide in the sequence. In other words, the polynucleotide chains are composed of monomer units of nucleotides linked by 3', 5'-phosphodiester bonds. The arrangement of nucleotides in nucleic acids shows a definite pattern which is very important for their function. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA consists of two polynucleotide chains arranged in a double helix. The helical structure for DNA was proposed by James Watson and Francis Crick, hence it is known as the Watson-Crick model of DNA double helix. The two strands of DNA are twisted around each other in the form of a double helix, something like a double spiral staircase. Fig.2.3.6 Watson-Crick Model of DNA Double Helix RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) Like DNA, RNA is a long-chain molecule made of repeating nucleotide units linked by phosphate diester bonds. There are two differences in the building units of RNA and DNA: (i) the sugar composed of RNA is not deoxyribose but ribose; (ii) although three out of four of the bases, adenine, guanine, and cytosine, are the same in RNA as in DNA, the fourth base, thymine, is replaced in RNA by uracil. Unlike DNA, which is associated with the chromosomes in the cell nucleus, RNA is found in the nucleus as well as in the cytoplasm of the cell. There are various types of RNA found in the cell. These are: Ribosomal RNA (rRNA): This is found mainly in the cytoplasm in the minute ribonucleoprotein particles called ribosomes. This type of RNA accounts for up to 80 per cent of the total RNA found in the cell. The rRNA is intimately associated with ribosomal structure. Transfer RNA (tRNA) :This contains 75 to 80 nucleotides and has a molecular weight of about 25,000. Several unusual bases are found in the transfer RNA molecules. Transfer RNA molecules function as carriers of activated amino acids during protein synthesis. Messenger RNA (mRNA): This class of RNA is of high molecular weight and accounts for only about 1 per cent of the total RNA of the cell. Its function is to convey genetic information from the cell nucleus to the protein-synthesising centres in the cell, where, in association with ribosomes and transfer RNA, it engages in the complex process of protein synthesis. All types of RNA are single-stranded. Functions of Nucleic Acids The nucleic acids RNA and DNA are components of the most important structures in the cell, namely the chromosomes. Chromosomes are the carriers of the hereditary units called genes. It has been proved beyond doubt, that the hereditary material or the gene is DNA which regulates all activities of the cell and the organism. DNA regulates cell metabolism by controlling the synthesis of proteins (enzymes) through the messenger RNA. The most important feature of living organisms is their ability of self-duplication. Every organism achieves this by cell division. When a cell divides, the two daughter cells are genetically identical. The precise manner in which the DNA molecule undergoes replication ensures that the hereditary material is duplicated in such a way that the daughter cells are genetically identical. The role of various RNAs is to assist in the process of protein synthesis. On the whole the nucleic acids are probably the most important chemical constituents of cells; without them cells cannot survive. ATP is a nucleotide containing adenine, ribose and three phosphates, and is the energy molecule of the cell. It belongs to a category of high-energy compounds that release energy when the bond between the second and the third PO4 is broken. The presence of these high energy bonds makes it possible for ATP to store and release energy for cellular chemical reactions. Hydrolytic cleavage of the third phosphate not only releases energy to do cellular work but also generates adenosine diphosphate (ADP). ADP can be converted back to ATP when the third phosphate is restored, thereby serving as an energy depot or energy currency.
The Limit of a Sequence Lesson 12 of 18 Objective: SWBAT find the limit of a sequence. The purpose of today's lesson is to formalize students' thinking about limits and the value that a sequence approaches. Limits have important implications in calculus, so this is a good time to introduce students to vocabulary and notation associated with the concept. To begin the lesson, I ask students to think about questions #1 and #2 on the worksheet with their table. I give them 3-4 minutes to consider these questions and I will elicit responses after that time. Students have a lot of intuitive sense about limits. It is not surprising that the sequence listed in question #1 is approaching zero, so when I ask students for the answer that is usually their first response. As I was walking around I heard one student say to another student: "The limit is going to be zero, just like in the gummy bear problem." It doesn't get any better than this - hearing a student bring up a past context to make sense of a new, abstract problem! Then I ask if the sequence approaches -1. I'll play devil's advocate and they will agree with me that each term is getting closer and closer to -1. When I ask them why 0 is the limit and not -1, it is difficult for students to put it into words. This frames the lesson and presents the need for us to find a mathematical definition for a limit. Next, I tell my students that we are going to be working on finding a formal definition for a limit. To do this, we are going to be using open intervals centered at certain values to investigate the concept of a limit. I review what an open interval is and have students work on question #3 from the worksheet with their table groups. If students are having difficulty thinking about how many terms are outside of the interval, I tell them to sketch a number line so they have a visual representation of the interval. After students have sufficient time to work on #3, we will go through the answers together. Part d is challenging, so they may need a little nudge to come to the conclusion that there will always be a finite number of terms outside of the open interval when it is centered at the limit. In the video below, I discuss how I move from the investigation with intervals to a formal definition of a limit. Here is a link with some information about the limit properties that I add to the worksheet with students. Summarize and Extend After the lesson, I will explain to students that limits are an important concept in calculus and that they will help us solve problems in the near future. They may seem simple and unimportant to students right now, but I hope they will understand the power of a limit once we look at some applications in later lessons. For homework, students will complete questions #1-14 from the Notes - Limits worksheet.
Scientists have found the spectral imprints of water vapor in starlight filtered through the atmosphere of a giant gas planet outside our solar system. Combined with a study announced earlier this year, the new finding provides strong evidence that extrasolar planets are as rich in water as the worlds in our solar system, scientists say. The finding is detailed in the July 11 issue of the journal Nature. First solid evidence Called HD 189733b, the planet belongs to a class of gas giants called “hot Jupiters,” which orbit their stars from a distance closer than Mercury is to our sun. The fiery world is about 15 percent bigger than Jupiter and orbits a sun-like star located 64 light-years away in the constellation of Vulpecula, the Fox. It has an average temperature of 1,340 degrees Fahrenheit (727 degrees Celsius) and zips around its star in just two days. “We’re thrilled to have identified clear signs of water on a planet that is trillions of miles away,” said study leader Giovanna Tinetti of the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris in France. Heather Knutson, an astronomer at Harvard University, called the results “solid evidence” that hot Jupiters contain water. “The detection comes as a relief for theorists who had predicted that water vapor should be a significant component of the atmospheres of hot Jupiters,” Knutson wrote in a related Nature article. In April, astronomer Travis Barman of Lowell Observatory announced he had found evidence of water vapor in the atmosphere of another hot Jupiter using the Hubble Space Telescope and a technique similar to the one used by Tinetti’s team via the Spitzer Space Telescope. However, Barman’s results were such that they might have been caused by instrument noise, causing some scientists to be skeptical. “Spitzer confirms [the Hubble results] by using an entirely different observatory and an entirely different wavelength,” said study team member Sean Carey of NASA’s Spitzer Science Center at Caltech. “The two in combination are much stronger,” Carey told SPACE.com. A second look Scientists had previously looked for signs of water on HD 189733b but failed to find any. At the time, they suspected the water might be hidden beneath a thick layer of silicate clouds. Tinetti and her team offer a different explanation. They hypothesize that unlike Earth, where the atmospheric temperature cools with altitude, the temperature of HD 189733b’s atmosphere is uniform over a range of altitudes. In that previous study, the scientists looked for spectral absorption lines created by radiation traveling up from the interior of the planet and passing through layers of cool gas that selectively absorb certain wavelengths of light. Without a temperature difference, no absorption occurs. In the new study, the researchers observed HD 189733b as it passed in front of, or “transited,” its parent star. Using Spitzer’s infrared camera, the team analyzed light that was emitted from the interior of the parent star and which passed through the planet’s atmosphere on its way to Earth. In this case, absorption occurs because of the temperature difference that exists between the star’s atmosphere and that of the planet. The researchers found that the planet absorbed starlight in such a way that could only be explained by the presence of water vapor in its atmosphere. Although water is an essential ingredient for life on Earth, HD 189733b and other hot Jupiters are unlikely to harbor any creatures due to their close proximity to their stars. But the new finding does make it more likely that other types of extrasolar planets also contain water, suggest the scientists. “Finding water on this planet implies that planets in the universe, possibly rocky ones, could also have water,” Carey said. - Top 10 Most Intriguing Extrasolar Planets - Hopes Dashed for Life on Distant Planet - VIDEO: A World in the Habitable Zone
Harmful Substances and Hazardous Waste Harmful substances and hazardous waste is one of UNEP’s six priority thematic areas of work, promoting international activities related to the sound management of chemicals, chemical safety and providing countries with access to information on toxic chemicals. UNEP Chemicals Branch UNEP Chemicals works to protect humans and the environment from adverse effects caused by chemicals throughout their lifecycle, and hazardous waste. It is the focal point of UNEP activities on chemicals issues and the main catalytic force in the UN system for concerted global action on the environmentallysound management of hazardous chemicals. Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) SAICM is a policy framework to foster the sound management of chemicals. It supports the achievement of the goal agreed at the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development of ensuring that, by the year 2020, chemicals are produced and used in ways that minimize significant adverse impacts on the environment and human health. Chemical Information Exchange Network This a network that helps communication and collaboration among various stakeholders responsible for the environmentally sound management of chemicals, and a framework that helps access to and exchange of chemical information that supports national decision-making and the implementation of multi-lateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Reducing Risk from Mercury This site has information on UNEP’s Mercury Programme, which has been working to address mercury issues since 2003. The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA) The GPA is designed to be a source of conceptual and practical guidance for national and/or regional authorities for devising and implementing sustained action to prevent, reduce, control or eliminate marine degradation from landbased activities. Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) POPs are chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate through the food chain, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) Ensuring environmentally-sound management of chemicals and reducing pollution, are, among other things, key objectives of UNEP DTIE.
“Tolerance is what keeps humanity together, I believe.” —Anne Willem Meijer, Member of the Dutch Resistance Resistance and Hanukkah During the Holocaust, many courageous individuals fought back against the Nazis, taking up arms or sabotaging Nazi plans. Acts of resistance took place in Nazi ghettos and camps and by partisan members of national and political resistance movements across German-occupied Europe. Those who resisted acted despite extremely difficult and dangerous conditions; the armed power of the Nazis was so great that the possibilities of success were narrow for civilians who had limited access to weapons. Moreover, the German tactic of “collective responsibility” was a major deterrent to acts of resistance. This retaliation tactic held entire families and communities responsible for individual acts of armed and unarmed resistance. The fact that thousands did fight back is remarkable. Resistance in the Holocaust took on many formsâ€”armed and unarmed, physical and spiritual. Those who resisted spiritually continued to make their own choices in a world that allowed for no choice. They acted with perseverance and resolve, and refused to allow the Nazis to rob them of their own personal identities. Some resisted spiritually by continuing religious traditions or preserving cultural institutions even after they were outlawed. Even a small act, like choosing to read a book in a ghetto environment that consisted of only work, sleep, and meager rations was a form of spiritual resistance. Some resisted the Nazis’ efforts to break their spirits by writing; gathering evidence about what was happening reflected a conscious effort to undermine Nazi efforts to hide the truth about the Holocaust. The Oneg Shabbat archive, a collection of reports, diaries, and documents about ghetto life, represents resistance through writing in the Warsaw Ghetto. Helga Weissova, a young girl imprisoned in Terezin, refused to allow the Nazis to break her creative spirit. Her first drawing in Terezin was fanciful: two children building a snowman. She showed the picture to her father, and his advice to her was: “Draw what you see.” After that, for three years in Terezin, Helga drew 100 pictures of what she saw. Although the Nazis forbade photographs, they could not stop Helga from drawing. In ghettos around Europe, Jewish youth groups continued to operate despite hunger, cold, and disease. These groups helped their members obtain food and medication. At group meetings, members discussed Israel and Jewish culture, and learned Hebrew. These meetings offered intellectual stimulation for young people who could no longer attend school. Youth groups were one of the only ways for young people to hold onto ideals, maintain social and cultural activities, and escape the immediate reality. Esther Dublin, a survivor from Lodz, discusses her involvement in the Hashomer Hatzair youth group: “We would meet twice a week (after work hours), sing songs in Hebrew, prepare for aliya to Israel, learn about the land, communications, and first aid. The older members taught us about Chaim Nahman Bialik. We sang techezakna, and shouted ‘We will build the Galil!’ We organized evenings dedicated to authors and holidays, and arranged mutual aid organizations. We felt that this was our resistance against the Germans.” (Testimony courtesy of Yad Vashem Archives) The many different acts of resistance during the Holocaust, physical and spiritual, have a powerful legacy today. They represent the wide variety of ways to stand up for righteousness and truth in our own lives. If we allow those who resisted during the Holocaust to be our role models, then their choices from the past should inform and inspire our choices today. Jewish resistance is a particularly pertinent theme during Hanukkah. Hanukkah is not only about commemorating miracles from the ancient past, nor is it exclusively about victories in battle between the years 167-164 B.C.E. Hanukkah reminds us of the kind of courageous faith that showed itself in the Maccabean revolt long ago. We encourage you to identify with the courage and faith of the Maccabees by sharing some of the remarkable stories of resistance from this 10 Minutes of Torah with your family this Hanukkah. We conclude with the words of Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg in The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays. Here, Rabbi Greenberg discusses some of the ways that Hanukkah can continue to inspire action, and resistance, among modern Jews: “The battle of Hanukkah is being fought again, not in military engagements but through creating family ties, competing educationally, communicating values and messages, holding and deepening loyalties. It can only be won by partial solutions, visionary persistence, and realistic dreams… Pessimists and assimilationists have more than once informed Jews that there is no more oil left to burn. As long as Hanukkah is studied and remembered, Jews will not surrender to the night. The proper response, as Hanukkah teaches, is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle.” (pp. 281-282)
The influenza vaccine is still the most important way to either avoid influenza altogether, or to reduce its severity. Vaccines commonly used are produced from a killed virus. Most vaccines are made from highly purified, egg-grown viruses that have been made non-infectious. It is important to remember that flu vaccines do not prevent the common cold. Significant advances in the production of flu vaccines: - First generation (1958) whole virus vaccines produced a satisfactory immune response but with a higher risk of side-effects. - Second generation (1968) "split" virion vaccines contain the fragmented and purified particles from the virus, including the two surface proteins and the other viral constituents. - Third generation "subunit" vaccines (eg Influvac, Vaxigrip) contain only the surface antigens (hemagluttinin and neuraminidase) and are devoid of other viral constituents thus reducing the protein load in the vaccine. This makes sub-unit vaccines less likely to cause side effects. - Split and subunit vaccines are recommended for children since they have reduced side effects. - The latest vaccine - from live viruses - is still in an experimental phase, but shows huge promise. Administered in the form of nasal drops, and with few side-effects, it might be ideal for children. Who should be vaccinated against flu?
Physical Activity Tips for Youth (12-17 years) Tips to Get Active For readers interested in the PDF version it is available for downloading or viewing: Tips to Get Active (PDF Document - 352 KB - 2 pages) Be active - at home, at school, at play - inside or outside-with family and friends. You'll have more energy, feel healthy and strong, and good about yourself! - Every step counts. Try to do an hour every day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity. Choose vigorous activities at least three days a week. - Get stronger by doing activities that build muscles and bones at least three days a week. - Combining aerobic and strengthening activities will improve your health and well-being. Tips to help you get active What activities you choose to do is up to you: - Walk, run or bike instead of getting a ride - Do something you enjoy - run, jump, swim, skateboard, snowboard, ski, skate, toboggan - Check out yoga, hip-hop, or aerobics classes - Try indoor rock climbing, play soccer, ride a bike - Take the dog for a walk - Dance to your favourite music - Rake the leaves, shovel snow, carry the groceries home - Join a team at your school - Choose activities you like or be creative and try something new - Set physical activity goals with your friends and family - Reduce screen time Be more active after school. Every step counts! - Meet new friends - Do better at school - Increase your concentration - Improve your self-esteem - Build stronger bones and muscles - Improve your mental health - Improve your fitness - Improve your posture and balance - Reduce your stress - Have a strong heart - Helps with healthy growth and development Adding more physical activity to your day improves your health, and it's fun. What is moderate aerobic activity? Moderate-intensity aerobic activity makes you breathe harder and your heart beat faster. You should be able to talk, but not sing. - Examples of moderate-intensity physical activity include walking quickly, skating, bike riding and skateboarding. What is vigorous aerobic activity? With vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, your heart rate will increase even more and you will not be able to say more than a few words without catching a breath. - Examples of vigorous activity include running, basketball, soccer and cross-country skiing. What are strengthening activities? Muscle-strengthening activities build up your muscles. With bone-strengthening activities, your muscles push and pull against your bones, helping make your bones stronger. - Examples of muscle-strengthening activities include doing push-ups and sit-ups, lifting weights, climbing stairs and riding a bike. - Examples of bone-strengthening activities include running, walking, yoga and jumping rope. Combine aerobic and strengthening activities To achieve health benefits, children need to do both aerobic and strengthening activities. Aerobic activities result in faster breathing, a warmer feeling and an increased heart rate. Strengthening activities build muscles and bones. Get them active after school After school is a great time to be physically active. Sign up for active programs, and if possible find active ways to get home from school. Make time to be active every day. Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines were developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. - Active Transportation - Physical Activity - Benefits of physical activity - Physical activity guidelines - Tips to get active - Canada's physical activity news bulletin - Learn more - take the Be Active! quiz Report a problem or mistake on this page - Date modified:
One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained. - another term for squint (sense 3 of the noun) - ‘The squints, or hagioscopes, were originally angled but were unfortunately straightened by the Victorians.’ - ‘On either side of the chancel arch is a hagioscope or squint, the south one being slightly larger than the north one, to allow for a view of the altar from the side pews.’ - ‘Up to 60 years ago there was only one central arch with window or hagioscope on either side.’ - ‘At the time when the north aisle was added, a hagioscope was made in the pier beside the chancel arch.’ - ‘They could not enter churches, but were allowed to look through hagioscopes or ‘squint windows’.’ Top tips for CV writingRead more In this article we explore how to impress employers with a spot-on CV.
AP Human Geography Exam The following vocabulary items can be found in your review book and class handouts. These identifications and concepts do not necessarily constitute all that will be covered on the exam. Nature & Perspectives Environmental & Medical Early urbanization: emerging from the First Agricultural Revolution -Egalitarian society: civilization in which all people are equal; typical of most hunter-gatherer societies. -Stratified society: civilization in which people exist in different classes; the development of farming and early cities began this process. -Formative era: time where the major urban hearths came into exist stance (e.g., for the Fertile Crescent this occurred between 7,000 – 5,000 BCE (Before Common Era – same as BC (Before Christ)). -Urban elite: group of socially, politically, or economically dominant figures in a society. -Theocratic center: focus of religious activity or importance. Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome (see reading guide) Little Ice Age (16th - period of global cooling after the Medieval Warm Period (~9th c. to 14th c.); greatly affected the northern empires of Rome and China (e.g., encouraged the migration of people to the cities in England due to shrinking farmlands providing factories with an abundant supply of cheap -Folk-preliterate: earliest cities, predating written languages. -Feudal: arose during the Middle Ages which actually stagnated urban growth in Europe; fostered a dependent relationship between wealthy landowners and peasants – provided few alternative economic alternatives. -Preindustrial: found in societies without sophisticated machine , where human and animal labor form the basis for economic production (no city moved past this stage until the Industrial Revolution). -Urban-industrial: predominate in the modernized nations of Western Europe, America, Japan (and to a lesser extent where their cultures have globalized) where productivity through machines, and energy sources from fossil fuels and atomic power phenomenally expand economic productivity. urbanized zone that spread from India and the Far East (China & Japan) across the Islamic Empires, and into Europe; followed mostly along the silk and spice Mercantile city: Atlantic maritime trade disrupted old trade routes & centers of power starting in the 1500s (from interior to coastal ports); central square became focus (“downtown”), these cities became nodes of a network of trade; brought huge riches to Europe (e.g. Lisbon, Amsterdam, London, …). Manufacturing city: grew out of the Industrial Revolution and the “Little Ice Age”; associated w/ mushrooming population, factories, tenement buildings, railroads, …; poor living & health conditions; cities improved w/ government intervention, city planning, and zoning, … Modern city: (modern little attention is spent on building aesthetics or ornate designs; improved transportation & road systems has allowed greater complexity, multiple CBDs, and dispersal into the suburbs; the hallmark of American life. Deglomeration: process of industrial deconcentration in response to technological advances and/or increasing costs due to congestion and competition. Urban hierarchy: ranking of settlements according to their size and economic functions. -Hamlet: lowest level of settlements (often not urban); offers few if any services. -Village: clustered human settlement larger than a hamlet and generally offering several services. -Town: clustered human settlement larger than a village; may range from a few to thousands of inhabitants (even hundreds of thousands); generally many goods and services are available. -City: clustered conglomeration of people and buildings together serving as a center of politics, culture, and economics; a town may have outskirts, but virtually all cities have suburbs (hinterlands). -Metropolis: usually contains several urbanized areas and suburbs that act together as a coherent economic whole. Hinterland: literally “country behind”; refers to the surrounding area served by an urban center (the heartland). conurbation such as Bosnywash, SanSan, ChiPitts,…) occur predominantly in MDCs; large coalescing supercities that were originally separate but have expanded and joined together. -CBD (central business district): location of skyscrapers and companies (would always be the center of the 3 urban models, many people commute, few actually live there) -Central city: urban area that is not suburban; generally the older or original city surrounded by the newer suburbs. -Inner city: urban area around the CBD; typically poorer and more run down in the US and other long-developed states; typically more rich upscale in less-developed states. -Ghetto: inner cities that become dilapidated centers of poverty, as affluent whites move out of the suburbs (white flight) and immigrants and poorer people vie for scarce jobs and resources. -Node: geographical centers of activity; large cities have numerous nodes. -Suburb: residential communities, located outside of city centers; usually homogeneous in terms of population and ethnicity. -Exurb: ring of prosperous communities beyond the suburbs that are commuter towns for an urban area; began to emerge in the 1970s when rampant crime and urban decay (when part of a city falls into disrepair - due to deindustrialization, depopulation, high unemployment, ...) in U.S. cities were the primary push factors; more recently since house prices have skyrocketed, middle-class people who want a large yard or farm are pushed beyond suburban counties and into “exurbs”. Urban sprawl: process of expansive suburban development over large areas; the automobile provides the primary source of transportation. New Urbanism: urban design originating in the US during the 1980s to work against sprawl; characterized by organized urban planning, suburban infill (filling in unused space), and are designed to be walkable (Celebration, Florida) Central place theory (Walter Christaller): seeks to explain the number, size and location of human settlements in an urban system; settlements simply function as 'central places' providing services to surrounding areas; organized by hexagons to eliminate unserved or overlapping market areas. -Central goods and services: provided only at a central place, or city (available to consumers in a surrounding region). -Range of sale (breaking point): maximum distance people will travel for a good or service (economic reach). -Threshold: the minimum number of customers needed to keep the business running -Complementary region: the market area; an exclusive hinterland w/ a monopoly on a certain good or service. -John Borchert's model: (1967); recognized four epochs in the evolution of the American metropolis based on the impact of transportation & communication: • 1) Sail-Wagon Epoch (1790-1830) – associated with low technology • 2) Iron Horse Epoch (1830-70); steam-powered locomotive & spreading rails • 3) Steel-Rail Epoch (1870-1920); full impact of Ind. Rev. (steel), hinterlands expand • 4) Auto-Air-Amenity Epoch (1920-70); gas-powered internal combustion engine • High Technology Epoch (1970-today ); expansion of service & information industries (not part of Borchert’s model) -Concentric zone (1920s; based on his studies of Chicago: 1) CBD, 2) Zone of transition (residential deterioration & light industry), 3) Blue-collar workers, -Sector: (1939; Homer Hoyt) urban growth creates a pie-shaped urban structure due, in part, to the advancement of transportation like the electric trolley (e.g. low-income areas could extend from the CBD to the outer edge (3)); the same is true w/ high-rent, transportation, and industry. -Multiple nuclei: (1945; Chauncy Harris & Edward Ullman) claimed the CBD was losing its dominant position as the nucleus of the urban area; separate nuclei become specialized and differentiated, not located in relation to any distance attribute (urban regions have their subsidiary, yet competing, “nuclei”). -Urban realms: parts of giant conurbations; self-sufficient suburban sectors (focused on their own independent CBD). residential development characterized by extreme poverty; usually exists on land just outside of cities that is neither owned nor rented. - After WWII in the US: 1950s & 60s = suburbanization; 1970s & 80s = "malling" (shopping malls); 1990s & 2000s = edge cities & "big box" superstores (e.g., Wal-mart, Costco, Super Target,...) a country’s largest city; most expressive of the national culture and usually the capital city as well (e.g., Paris, France; Lagos, Nigeria; Mexico City, Mexico; Dhaka, Bangladesh, Karachi, Pakistan …). Nonbasic sector: work responsible for the functioning of the city itself (e.g., government, street cleaning, …). Economic base (basic vs. nonbasic sectors, a.k.a. employment structure) ratio of basic to nonbasic workers (nonbasic is always larger). -Revitalization: city planners have redesigned their central cities to make them more amenable to people moving in, especially higher income residents. -Commercialization: transforming of an area of a city into spaces of consumption - areas attractive to residents and tourists alike in terms of economic activity. -Gentrification: trend of mid to high-income Americans moving into city centers and rehabilitating much of the architecture, but also replacing low-income population – changing the social character of certain neighborhoods. Tear-downs: houses that new owners bought with the intention of tearing them down and building a larger home (sometimes called McMansions due to their super size and similar look); like gentrification in the city, it increases housing values and tax revenues, and average income; however, unlike gentrification, the houses are destroyed (not preserved), and this occurs in the wealthy suburbs (like Greenwich Connecticut, or the intercoastal in South Florida) not the central city. Modern city models (foreign)- most residences tend to decrease in quality and value as the distance from the CBD increases: -Latin-American: owe much of their structure to colonialism, industrialization, and massive population growth; sector development radiates out from the CBD (which often contain a central plaza), where most industrial and financial activity occurs; also contain barrios (ethnic neighborhoods) which can often be associated with poorer sectors of the city. -Southeast Asian: consist of sectors and zones radiating from the port zone; influenced by colonialism and are often still focused on exporting goods. -Sub-Saharan African: consist of sectors and zones, but possess a great deal of centrality around the CBD (may contain multiple CBDs); typically have strong ethnic neighborhoods and squatter settlements on the outskirts. tend to be more centralized and less suburbanized that US cities; b/c of this their inner cities tends to be much less dilapidated due to fewer wealthy people leaving found in the Muslim regions; owe their structure to their religious beliefs; contain mosques, open-air markets, courtyards surrounded by walls, limiting foot traffic in -Racial steering: the practice in which real estate brokers guide prospective home buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race. -Redlining: illegal discriminatory practice in the US where minorities are prevented from obtaining loans to buy homes or property in predominantly white or affluent areas. -Blockbusting: the process of white families selling their homes because of fears that blacks would move in and lower the property value (explains the white flight of the 1950’s from almost every major US city (e.g., Detroit and Cleveland), and the growth of suburbs) legal restrictions on land use; residential, commercial, or industrial. Census tract: these are govt. designated areas in cities that each have ~5,000 people, they often times correspond to neighborhoods (data in census tracts is used to analyze urban patterns such as gentrification or white flight) Concerns of urbanization- 1) Sprawl – outlying areas more susceptible to landslides, floods, storms, earthquakes, … 2) Loss of soil – farmland lost (US = 1 million acres/yr.; China = 3x as much) 3) Land use – natural landscape becomes cultural (pavement, buildings,…); less rainfall, more pollutants 4) Pollution – growing volumes of contaminants (in air, water, and soil); Mexico City, Delhi, Bangkok are most smog-ridden; riverfront cities create pollution as well 5) Waste – many lack of sewer facilities (>3 million w/o in Mexico City); burning garbage heaps 6) Consumption habits – urban dwellers use more energy, change diets (meat), dress, and recreation habits World city: (global city) centers of economic, culture, and political activity that are strongly interconnected and together control the global systems of finance and commerce (e.g. NYC, London, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Sydney, ...) Entrepôt: (French for "warehouse") a trading post (e.g., port) where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit (e.g., Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, …). Gateway city: because of their geographic location, they act as ports of entry and distribution centers for large geographic areas (e.g., NYC, San Francisco, …).
Sulfuric acid (alternative spelling sulphuric acid), represented by the molecular formula H2SO4, is one of the most important acids in chemistry and the most important chemical to industries in the world. It is the strongest easily available acid, with a pKa of -3. - H2SO4 + H2O → H3O + HSO4− The second dissociation forms sulfate and another hydronium ion from a hydrogen sulfate ion. It has a pKa of 1.99, indicative of a weak acid, and occurs like this: - HSO4− + H2O ⇌ H3O+ + SO42- Concentrated sulfuric acid also has a strong oxidizing effect, converting nonmetals such as carbon and sulfur to carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, respectively, reducing sulfuric acid into sulfur dioxide and water in the process. This property is useful for producing large amounts of sulfur dioxide for use as a reducing agent if water is continually removed. In organic chemistry, sulfuric acid is the most practical acid in most cases where a source of H3O+ ions are needed as it introduces the least amount of water. Organic compounds are often easily attacked by the nucleophiles left behind by the dissociation of acids such as HCl which leaves Cl- ions behind which can easily attack many organic compounds. However, the sulfate ions left behind by the dissociation of sulfuric acid are far less reactive than the ions left behind by most acids, it allows to protonate the reaction mixture without causing undesired side reactions in most cases. When concentrated, it is strongly hygroscopic and has strong dehydrating properties. It can break down most organic molecules containing OH- groups to use them to form water, leaving only the carbon behind. This property is exploited in the famous "black snake" demonstration, where sulfuric acid dehydrates sucrose (table sugar), forming water with the hydrogen and oxygen atoms and leaving amorphous carbon behind. Sulfuric acid is a oily liquid at room temperature. It is colorless, but often has a very light yellow color when slightly contaminated with iron ions. Even very small amounts of dissolved organic matter can change the color of concentrated sulfuric acid to pale yellow or pink, red, brown, and even black. It is commonly sold diluted at around 35% w/w with water as car battery acid and concentrated between 95% and 98% w/w as drain cleaner. Sulfuric acid's boiling point raises with the concentration as described in this figure to the right. An azeotrope forms at 98% w/w. Sources, production, and concentrationEdit Sulfuric acid is a commonly used chemical for lead-acid batteries and drain cleaning. Battery acid can often be found at an auto store or a department store, and is approximately 35% sulfuric acid by weight. This is sufficient for most amateur chemists. If more concentrated sulfuric acid is desired, one can look in hardware stores for drain cleaner, which can be over 90% sulfuric acid by weight. For safety purposes, this concentration of sulfuric acid may have a dye in it. Other forms of sulfuric acid may be contaminated and will appear ye For some amateurs, it can be hard to find concentrated sulfuric acid, with acid drain cleaners being banned(as a result of acid throwing or illicit drug manufacture) or very contaminated in some countries. Some brand of battery acids however are quite pure and easy to find almost anywhere. To concentrate it from 35 to 98%, one can boil it down to evaporate the water. It is advised to use glassware with anti-splash adapters, as sulfuric acid tends to bump a lot while it boils. The sulfuric acid will be quite concentrated when the temperature reaches around 300°C. The maximum reachable is 98.3% w/w, a point at which the boiling point will be 327°C. Extreme care must be taken when boiling sulfuric acid. The hazards and safety tips section must be read. Near the end, the acid will decompose into various sulfur oxides. It is possible to further concentrate sulfuric acid by adding sulfur trioxide, which reacts with the remaining water to form pure sulfuric acid. Sulfur trioxide can continue to be added to the solution to form oleum, which fumes in air to form sulfuric acid droplets. When an equimolar concentration of sulfuric acid and sulfur trioxide are added, it forms pyrosulfuric acid, which is a solid at room temperature. - Producing metal sulfates - Producing nitro compounds through nitration - The dehydration of sucrose to produce elemental carbon - Esterifications that require a dehydrating agent, such as that of methyl salicylate - Making simple rayon fibers with Schweizer's reagent and cellulose - Producing other concentrated acids by reaction of sulfuric acid with an anhydrous salt, such as in the production of fuming nitric acid and glacial acetic acid SafetyEditWhile low concentration sulfuric acid is relatively safe to work with (under 40% w/w)), concentrated sulfuric acid (over 90% w/w) is extremely corrosive and dangerous. It does not only causes chemical burns, it also causes burns by dehydration of organic materials (like skin), destroying the molecules to form water with the -OH groups in them. Safety measures should be taken and all skin should be covered when working with concentrated sulfuric acid. When heating sulfuric acid, it is important to DO NOT OVERFILL THE FLASK. Concentrated sulfuric acid's volume increases by nearly 16% between 0 and 330°C, an overfilled flask will spill its content. Also, sulfuric acid, even diluted, tends to bump when it boils, accumulating heat to release a violent burst of steam from time to time. The use of boiling chips reduces this phenomena, but there is no way to stop it completely. It is advised to take measures to prevent spills, an anti-splash adapter with ground glass joint being a very convenient option. Hot concentrated sulfuric acid may decompose to form sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide, which are toxic and corrosive, respectively. Sulfuric acid should be stored in closed bottles.
Fast radio bursts have mystified scientists for a very long time -- but they may have cracked the code. Bizarre radio flashes from deep space have been puzzling scientists for a long time, appearing for just a split second and shining brighter than the sun. Astrophysicists have had difficulty explaining this phenomenon, which can be seen thousands of times each day for just a millisecond as radio waves seem to rattle throughout the universe, but new studies indicate that these bursts are coming from youthful stellar outbursts in galaxies far, far away, according to a Scientific American report. They’re called fast radio bursts (FRBs), and they were first discovered in 2007 by scientists at West Virginia University using the Parkes radio telescope in Australia. They found that radio signals were “smeared out” due to arriving a fraction of a second before low-frequenecy signals, indicating that it has passed through plasma deep in space. The researchers were able to make an estimate of how far away the FRBs could have come from, and arrived at a few billion light-years away. If this is true, FRBs could be a fascinating chance for astronomers to measure huge cosmological distances and allow scientists to look even deeper into space. So since then, astronomers have been looking into this phenomenon, and have found that FRBs are far beyond our own Milky Way galaxy and are the result of an energy release that represents and hour or even a year’s worth of the Sun’s total energy output, appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye. But what was mystifying scientists was what was actually causing these strange events. Theories abounded, but answers were few. However, scientists are now settling on an explanation that appears to make the most sense: in a paper published in the journal Nature, scientists at the University of British Columbia are guessing that these FRBs would be surrounded by a region with a magnetic field and dense gas, similar to what you would find in a supernova remnant or a star-forming nebula, or the center of a galaxy itself. So what we could be seeing is the emissions of incredible stellar events long, long ago and far, far away.
1. Examine how through cell division, cells can become specialized for specific functions 2.Describe growth and development in terms of increase of cell number and/or cell size. L.OL.07.31 / L.OL.07.32 Today in Class: 1. We reviewed and discussed the First Trimester Assessment 2. Students use “Hamburger Frame” reading strategy to read about Cell Division and Cell Growth (pp. 56-63) 3. Students re- evaluate processes they are taking to reach their goals in science Homework: No HW today in Science…
The Argument for Perennial Biomass Crops. Many major agricultural crops today are annual plants propagated from seed or cuttings at the beginning of each growing season. By contrast, crops developed and grown specifically for biofuel production are expected to be based on perennial species grown from roots or rhizomes that remain in the soil after harvesting the above-ground biomass. Perennial species are considered advantageous for several reasons. First, input costs are lower than for annuals because costs of tillage are eliminated once a perennial crop is established. Additionally, long-lived roots of perennials may establish beneficial interactions with root symbionts that facilitate acquisition of mineral nutrients, thereby decreasing the amount of fertilizer needed. Some perennials also withdraw a substantial fraction of mineral nutrients from above-ground portions of the plant at the end of the season but before harvest. Perennial plants in temperate zones also may have significantly higher total biomass yield per unit of land area than comparable annual species. Perennials establish a photosynthetically active canopy more quickly in the spring and may persist longer in the fall (see next figure in set). Thus, their annual solar-energy conversion efficiency is higher than that of annual plants with similar capabilities. Perennial species have much lower fertilizer runoff than do annuals. For instance, comparing the native perennial switchgrass with corn indicates that switchgrass has about one-eighth the nitrogen runoff and one-hundredth the soil erosion. Perennial grasses harvested for biomass exhibit increased soil-carbon levels and provide habitat for up to five times as many species of birds. Finally, in contrast to annual row crops that typically are monocultures, increasing habitat diversity by growing several intermixed species of perennials may prove more feasible. Credit or Source: S. Long, University of Illinois U.S. DOE. 2006. Breaking the Biological Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol: A Joint Research Agenda, DOE/SC/EE-0095, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. (p. 59) (website)
Body paragraphs: moving from general to specific information and it shows that the information in the paragraph is related to your thesis and helps defend it. Thesis + body paragraph focus essay topic reminder how does gould attempt to shake our belief in the credibility of what we see or remember seeing. Summary: the body paragraphs are where you present your paper’s main points your body paragraphs should contain ample textual evidence, be correctly formatted, and. Body paragraphs are the part of an essay, report, or speech that explains and develops the main idea (or thesis. Learn how to write a paragraph and help your child write good paragraphs in every grade with the essential elements of paragraph writing. Thesis body introduction links write the body paragraphs in the body of the you will have three or four body paragraphs each body paragraph will have the. Explaining your thesis: writing body paragraphs the body of the essay will include three paragraphs in a five-paragraph essay format, each limited to one main idea. What is the best way to support the thesis in each body paragraph there is a main idea in each body paragraph and the thesis is restated start each body paragraph. How to write an essay/parts in the example introductory paragraph on dogs, the thesis each body paragraph is something like a miniature essay in. In this lesson, you'll learn what a body paragraph is, and how body paragraphs function to make your writing clearer and more interesting take a. Writing a three-paragraph essay and it can drive home the point made in the thesis statement and body paragraph as with most conclusion paragraphs,. A body paragraph is a component of an essay you have your introduction with a thesis (a sentence outline for the rest of the essays topics), your body.Prepare for standardized tests by mastering essay writing the five paragraph essay is the most common structure for writing essays. The five-paragraph essay is a simple and effective formula to use explained, or clarified or shown in the body of the paper the thesis statement,. Body paragraphs each body paragraph will have basic structure body paragraphs are the middle paragraphs that lie between the introduction and conclusion. Introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions for an expository/persuasive and it shows that the information in the paragraph is related to your thesis and. Concluding paragraph tutorial essay organization – overview the topic sentence is usually found at the beginning of each body paragraph and, like a thesis,. Post your working draft of your character analysis thesis statement go here to find the youtube video about thesis statements:under it, post your first body. Writing body paragraphs body paragraphs support the thesis statement or main idea of an essay, and effective body paragraphs have four features. Instructional materials for craig white's and style, creating expectations that the first body paragraph will test your thesis and the body. An opinion essay exists to prove your main point – your thesis develop your argument in the body of your essay each paragraph should contain a single,. The five-paragraph essay is a format of essay having five paragraphs: one introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs with support and development, and one. Writing the five paragraph essay the introductory paragraph shall also include the thesis statement which is paragraph of the body of the paper. A classic format for compositions is the five-paragraph essay paragraph should also include the thesis the reader to the first paragraph of the body of.
The brilliant orange contrasted by jet black accents are the unmistakable flashes of color showcased by the monarch butterfly. Grace and elegance are words that come to mind when thinking of this wonderful species floating about in a garden. But there is more to the story than simply the sheer beauty of this fascinating creature. Every year this delicate, little butterfly undergoes a miraculous journey, where it migrates, primarily, from central Mexico to all across North America. It takes the average monarch about two months to complete the trek to its breeding grounds. Weighing in at less than a gram it will travel nearly 5,000 kilometers to reach its furthermost destinations in Canada. A truly amazing feat of nature that sometimes goes overlooked based upon its remarkable beauty. How To Help After making this long trek from Mexico to faraway places, like southern Ontario, the monarch is in search of one thing: Milkweed. This is the only plant that monarch caterpillars can feed upon. Without milkweed in the area the long trip up north could be futile. A single monarch will lay about 100 eggs on the underside of the milkweed plant’s leaves. Once the eggs hatch, the young caterpillars will eat away at the leaves of the milkweed for (1-2) weeks. Which will then lead to the metamorphosis stage where the plump caterpillar will make a beautiful cocoon and emerge the gorgeous orange-and-black winged adult butterfly. But in order for this process to be completed there must be milkweed host plants. The monarch is known as a specialist species. This means that it will only target milkweed plants for its offspring. An abundance of milkweed is vitally important for efforts to increase and sustain a healthy population of this magnificent butterfly. What types of milkweed? There are 14 types of milkweed in Canada that can play host to monarch butterfly. Let’s look at four of the best choices for a native milkweed species to attract monarch butterflies. Willing to survive in poor, dry soil this is a tough plant. Fragrant flowers grow on domed umbels with a slightly pinkish-purple complexion. Flowers eventually give way to seed pods that eventually split open letting loose silky tailed seeds that are spread by wind. A warning to gardeners is that it will spread (when in ideal conditions) and needs to be maintained. It is ideal for naturalized areas (meadows, ditches, prairies and large garden) Height: 2-3 feet Spread: 1 foot Sun: Full Sun Moisture: Dry to medium Bloom: June to August This milkweed variety has brilliant orange-domed umbels that are perfect landing pads for equally colorful monarchs. It is drought tolerant and can survive in wide variety of soils. Sun: Full Sun Water: Dry to medium Bloom: June to August This milkweed species is known for its ability to thrive in swampy areas and wet meadows. Despite its love of wet soils, due to its long taproot, it can tolerate average well-drained soils with ease. Pink and white duo-tone flowers are displayed throughout the summer months. Height: 4-5 feet Spread: 2-3 feet Water: Medium to wet Another great choice is whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) as its white flowers and skinny leaves provide an aesthetic difference to standard milkweed appearance. Milkweed is versatile Not only do milkweed plants act as a host for the monarch butterfly but they provide nectar for other pollinators. Don’t be surprised to find it a favorite destination for other butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. This resilient family (Asclepias) of flowers is like a Swiss army knife for a gardener aiming to support local pollinators. Why is it so important? Monarchs have been listed under the special concern classification for species in Canada. The population numbers have been declining. Some numbers indicate that the population is down 80% from 20 years ago in Canada. This in part due to a lack of available milkweed, the use of herbicides and pesticides and the deforestation of their winter habitat in Mexico. - Pesticide free approach to weed control - Incorporating milkweed species in gardens and landscapes where possible - Avoiding the trimming of naturalized areas (ditches, swales, etc.) where milkweed is naturally growing Let’s get planting Add some milkweed to your garden palette or naturalized area to support this magnificent species. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing your garden is not only beautiful but functional for species desperately in need of a helping hand like the monarch butterfly. After you have added milkweed to your garden design, don’t be surprised if you find the leaves of your milkweed to virtually disappear overnight. But relax, because a natural process is taking place that has for generations before. Chances are a monarch caterpillar is “packing on the pounds” so it can transform into a magnificent butterfly itself. Milkweed is tough and will bounce back. Nature at its best. Take a moment to observe and enjoy the show. And don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for saving the planet one native plant at a time. How to tell the difference between a monarch and viceroy butterfly click here
congenital hip dysplasia Congenital Hip Dysplasia A condition of abnormal development of the hip, resulting in hip joint instability and potential dislocation of the thigh bone from the socket in the pelvis. This condition has been more recently termed developmental hip dysplasia, as it often develops over the first few weeks, months, or years of life. Congenital hip dysplasia is a disorder in children that is either present at birth or shortly thereafter. During gestation, the infant's hip should be developing with the head of the thigh bone (femur) sitting perfectly centered in its shallow socket (acetabulum). The acetabulum should cover the head of the femur as if it were a ball sitting inside of a cup. In the event of congenital hip dysplasia, the development of the acetabulum in an infant allows the femoral head to ride upward out of the joint socket, especially when weight bearing begins. Causes and symptoms Clinical studies show a familial tendency toward hip dysplasia, with more females affected than males. This disorder is found in many cultures around the world. However, statistics show that the Native American population has a high incidence of hip dislocation. This has been documented to be due to the common practice of swaddling and using cradleboards for restraining the infants. This places the infant's hips into extreme adduction (brought together). The incidence of congenital hip dysplasia is also higher in infants born by caesarian and breech position births. Evidence also shows a greater chance of this hip abnormality in the first born compared to the second or third child. Hormonal changes within the mother during pregnancy, resulting in increased ligament laxity, is thought to possibly cross over to the placenta and cause the baby to have lax ligaments while still in the womb. Other symptoms of complete dislocation include a shortening of the leg and limited ability to abduct the leg. Because the abnormalities of this hip problem often vary, a thorough physical examination is necessary for an accurate diagnosis of congenital hip dysplasia. The hip disorder can be diagnosed by moving the hip to determine if the head of the femur is moving in and out of the hip joint. One specific method, called the Ortolani test, begins with each of the examiner's hands around the infant's knees, with the second and third fingers pointing down the child's thigh. With the legs abducted (moved apart), the examiner may be able to discern a distinct clicking sound with motion. If symptoms are present with a noted increase in abduction, the test is considered positive for hip joint instability. It is important to note this test is only valid a few weeks after birth. The Barlow method is another test performed with the infant's hip brought together with knees in full bent position. The examiner's middle finger is placed over the outside of the hipbone while the thumb is placed on the inner side of the knee. The hip is abducted to where it can be felt if the hip is sliding out and then back in the joint. In older babies, if there is a lack of range of motion in one hip or even both hips, it is possible that the movement is blocked because the hip has dislocated and the muscles have contracted in that position. Also in older infants, hip dislocation is evident if one leg looks shorter than the other. X-ray films can be helpful in detecting abnormal findings of the hip joint. X rays may also be helpful in finding the proper positioning of the hip joint for treatments of casting. Ultrasound has been noted as a safe and effective tool for the diagnosis of congenital hip dysplasia. Ultrasound has advantages over x rays, as several positions are noted during the ultrasound procedure. This is in contrast to only one position observed during the x ray. The objective of treatment is to replace the head of the femur into the acetabulum and, by applying constant pressure, to enlarge and deepen the socket. In the past, stabilization was achieved by placing rolled cotton diapers or a pillow between the thighs, thereby keeping the knees in a frog like position. More recently, the Pavlik harness and von Rosen splint are commonly used in infants up to the age of six months. A stiff shell cast may be used, which achieves the same purpose, spreading the legs apart and forcing the head of the femur into the acetabulum. In some cases, in older children between six to 18 months, surgery may be necessary to reposition the joint. Also at this age, the use of closed manipulation may be applied successfully, by moving the leg around manually to replace joint. Operations are not only performed to reduce the dislocation of the hip, but also to repair a defect in the acetabulum. A cast is applied after the operation to hold the head of the femur in the correct position. The use of a home traction program is now more common. However, after the age of eight years, surgical procedures are primarily done for pain reduction measures only. Total hip surgeries may be inevitable later in adulthood. Nonsurgical treatments include exercise programs, orthosis (a force system, often involving braces), and medications. A physical therapist may develop a program that includes strengthening, range-of-motion exercises, pain control, and functional activities. Chiropractic medicine may be helpful, especially the procedures of closed manipulations, to reduce the dislocated hip joint. Acetabulum — The large cup-shaped cavity at the junction of pelvis and femur or thigh bone. Orthosis — A force system designed to control or correct or compensate for a bone deformity, deforming forces, or forces absent from the body. Unless corrected soon after birth, abnormal stresses cause malformation of the developing femur, with a characteristic limp or waddling gait. If cases of congenital hip dysplasia go untreated, the child will have difficulty walking, which could result in life-long pain. In addition, if this condition goes untreated, the abnormal hip positioning will force the acetabulum to locate to another position to accommodate the displaced femur. Prevention includes proper prenatal care to determine the position of the baby in the womb. This may be helpful in preparing for possible breech births associated with hip problems. Avoiding excessive and prolonged infant hip adduction may help prevent strain on the hip joints. Early diagnosis remains an important part of prevention of congenital hip dysplasia. March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. 1275 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY 10605. (914) 428-7100. [email protected]. http://www.modimes.org. developmental hip dysplasia a developmental abnormality in which a neonate's hips easily become dislocated; etiology is complex, with birthing presentation and mechanical, familial, and hormonal factors all contributing; female predominance is 6:1. Synonym(s): congenital hip dysplasia con·gen·i·tal hip dys·pla·si·a(kŏn-jen'i-tăl hip dis-plā'zē-ă) A developmental abnormality in which a neonate's hips easily become dislocated; etiology is complex, with mechanical, familial, hormonal, and obstetric factors all contributing; female predominance is 9:1. Synonym(s): developmental hip dysplasia. Synonym(s): developmental hip dysplasia.
U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 002-97 Revised March 2008 \|Volcanoes give rise to numerous geologic and hydrologic hazards. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are assessing hazards at many of the almost 70 active and potentially active volcanoes in the United States. They are closely monitoring activity at the most dangerous of these volcanoes and are prepared to issue warnings of impending eruptions or other hazardous events.\| More than 50 volcanoes in the United States have erupted one or more times in the past 200 years. The most volcanically active regions of the Nation are in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington. Volcanoes produce a wide variety of hazards that can kill people and destroy property. Large explosive eruptions can endanger people and property hundreds of miles away and even affect global climate. Some of the volcano hazards described below, such as landslides, can occur even when a volcano is not erupting. Volcanoes produce a wide variety of natural hazards that can kill people and destroy property. This simplified sketch shows a volcano typical of those found in the Western United States and Alaska, but many of these hazards also pose risks at other volcanoes, such as those in Hawaii. Some hazards, such as lahars and landslides, can occur even when a volcano is not erupting. (Hazards and terms in this diagram are highlighted in bold where they are discussed in the text below.) An explosive eruption blasts solid and molten rock fragments (tephra) and volcanic gases into the air with tremendous force. The largest rock fragments (bombs) usually fall back to the ground within 2 miles of the vent. Small fragments (less than about 0.1 inch across) of volcanic glass, minerals, and rock (ash) rise high into the air, forming a huge, billowing eruption column. Eruption columns can grow rapidly and reach more than 12 miles above a volcano in less than 30 minutes, forming an eruption cloud. The volcanic ash in the cloud can pose a serious hazard to aviation. During the past 15 years, about 80 commercial jets have been damaged by inadvertently flying into ash clouds, and several have nearly crashed because of engine failure. Large eruption clouds can extend hundreds of miles downwind, resulting in ash fall over enormous areas; the wind carries the smallest ash particles the farthest. Ash from the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, fell over an area of 22,000 square miles in the Western United States. Heavy ash fall can collapse buildings, and even minor ash fall can damage crops, electronics, and machinery. Volcanoes emit gases during eruptions. Even when a volcano is not erupting, cracks in the ground allow gases to reach the surface through small openings called fumaroles. More than 90% of all gas emitted by volcanoes is water vapor (steam), most of which is heated ground water (underground water from rainfall and streams). Other common volcanic gases are carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, and fluorine. Sulfur dioxide gas can react with water droplets in the atmosphere to create acid rain, which causes corrosion and harms vegetation. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and can be trapped in low areas in concentrations that are deadly to people and animals. Fluorine, which in high concentrations is toxic, can be adsorbed onto volcanic ash particles that later fall to the ground. The fluorine on the particles can poison livestock grazing on ash-coated grass and also contaminate domestic water supplies. Cataclysmic eruptions, such as the June 15, 1991, eruption of Mount Pinatubo (Philippines), inject huge amounts of sulfur dioxide gas into the stratosphere, where it combines with water to form an aerosol (mist) of sulfuric acid. By reflecting solar radiation, such aerosols can lower the Earth’s average surface temperature for extended periods of time by several degrees Fahrenheit (°F). These sulfuric acid aerosols also contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer by altering chlorine and nitrogen Molten rock (magma) that pours or oozes onto the Earth’s surface is called lava and forms lava flows. The higher a lava’s content of silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2), the less easily it flows. For example, low-silica basalt lava can form fast-moving (10 to 30 miles per hour) streams or can spread out in broad thin sheets as much as several miles wide. Since 1983, Kilauea Volcano on the Island of Hawaii has erupted basalt lava flows that have destroyed nearly 200 houses and severed the nearby coastal highway. In contrast, flows of higher-silica andesite and dacite lava tend to be thick and sluggish, traveling only short distances from a vent. Dacite and rhyolite lavas often squeeze out of a vent to form irregular mounds called lava domes. Between 1980 and 1986, a dacite lava dome at Mount St. Helens grew to about 1,000 feet high and 3,500 feet across. High-speed avalanches of hot ash, rock fragments, and gas can move down the sides of a volcano during explosive eruptions or when the steep side of a growing lava dome collapses and breaks apart. These pyroclastic flows can be as hot as 1,500°F and move at speeds of 100 to 150 miles per hour. Such flows tend to follow valleys and are capable of knocking down and burning everything in their paths. Lower-density pyroclastic flows, called pyroclastic surges, can easily overflow ridges hundreds of feet high. The climactic eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, generated a series of explosions that formed a huge pyroclastic surge. This so-called “lateral blast” destroyed an area of 230 square miles. Trees 6 feet in diameter were mowed down like blades of grass as far as 15 miles from the volcano. A landslide or debris avalanche is a rapid downhill movement of rocky material, snow, and (or) ice. Volcano landslides range in size from small movements of loose debris on the surface of a volcano to massive collapses of the entire summit or sides of a volcano. Steep volcanoes are susceptible to landslides because they are built up partly of layers of loose volcanic rock fragments. Some rocks on volcanoes have also been altered to soft, slippery clay minerals by circulating hot, acidic ground water. Landslides on volcano slopes are triggered when eruptions, heavy rainfall, or large earthquakes cause these materials to break free and move downhill. At least five large landslides have swept down the slopes of Mount Rainier, Washington, during the past 6,000 years. The largest volcano landslide in historical time occurred at the start of the May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens eruption. The town of Weed, California, nestled below 14,162-foot-high Mount Shasta, is built on a huge debris avalanche that roared down the slopes of this volcano about 300,000 years ago. This ancient landslide (brown on inset map; arrows indicate flow directions) traveled more than 30 miles from the volcano’s peak, inundating an area of about 260 square miles. The upper part of Mount Shasta volcano (above 6,000 feet) is shown in dark green on the map. Mudflows or debris flows composed mostly of volcanic materials on the flanks of a volcano are called lahars. These flows of mud, rock, and water can rush down valleys and stream channels at speeds of 20 to 40 miles per hour and can travel more than 50 miles. Some lahars contain so much rock debris (60 to 90% by weight) that they look like fast-moving rivers of wet concrete. Close to their source, these flows are powerful enough to rip up and carry trees, houses, and huge boulders miles downstream. Farther downstream they entomb everything in their path in mud. Historically, lahars have been one of the deadliest volcano hazards. They can occur both during an eruption and when a volcano is quiet. The water that creates lahars can come from melting snow and ice (especially water from a glacier melted by a pyroclastic flow or surge), intense rainfall, or the breakout of a summit crater lake. Large lahars are a potential hazard to many communities downstream from glacier-clad volcanoes, such as Mount Rainier. To help protect lives and property, scientists of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program maintain a close watch on the volcanic regions of the United States, including the Pacific Coast States, Wyoming, Hawaii, and Alaska. This ongoing work enables the USGS to detect the early signs of volcano unrest and to warn the public of impending eruptions and associated hazards. Bobbie Myers, Steven R. Brantley, Peter Stauffer, and James W. Hendley II Graphics by Bobbie Myers, Sara Boore, and Susan Mayfield Web design and layout by Carolyn Donlin and Michael Diggles Alaska Div. of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Federal Aviation Administration National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Park Service National Weather Service U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service University of Alaska University of Hawaii University of Utah University of Washington Related Fact Sheets Volcanic Ash-- A "Hard Rain" of Abrasive Particles (USGS Fact Sheet 027-00) Gas Killing Trees at Mammoth Mountain, California (USGS Fact Sheet 172-96) Volcanic Air Pollution--A Hazard in Hawai`i (USGS Fact Sheet 169-97) See a list of other volcano-related fact sheets published by the U.S. Geological Survey PDF version of this fact sheet Disponible también en Español: USGS Fact Sheet 144-00 (ese documento es PDF) U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEYREDUCING THE RISK FROM VOLCANO HAZARDS Learn more about volcanoes and the hazards they pose at the USGS Volcano Hazards Program website
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. August 3, 2005 NASA's Spitzer Finds Hidden, Hungry Black Holes Most of the biggest black holes in the universe have been eating cosmic meals behind closed doors – until now. With its sharp infrared eyes, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) peered through walls of galactic dust to uncover what may be the long-sought missing population of hungry black holes known as quasars. "From past studies using X-rays, we expected there were a lot of hidden quasars, but we couldn't find them," said Alejo Martínez-Sansigre of the University of Oxford, England. He is lead author of a paper about the research in this week's Nature. "We had to wait for Spitzer to find an entire population of these dust-obscured objects," he said. Quasars are super-massive black holes that are circled by a giant ring of gas and dust. They live at the heart of distant galaxies and can annually consume up to the equivalent mass of one thousand stars. As their black holes suck in material from their dusty rings, the material lights up brilliantly, making quasars the brightest objects in the universe. This bright light comes in many forms, including X-rays, visible and infrared light. Astronomers have puzzled for years over the question of how many of these cosmic behemoths are out there. One standard method for estimating the number is to measure the cosmic X-ray background. Quasars outshine everything else in the universe in X-rays. By counting the background buzz of X-rays, it is possible to predict the approximate total number of quasars. But this estimate has not matched previous X-ray and visible-light observations of actual quasars, which number far fewer than expected. Astronomers thought this might be because most quasars are blocked from our view by gas and dust. They proposed that some quasars are positioned in such a way their dusty rings hide their light, while others are buried in dust-drenched galaxies. Spitzer appears to have found both types of missing quasars by looking in infrared light. Unlike X-rays and visible light, infrared light can travel through gas and dust. Researchers found 21 examples of these quasars in a small patch of sky. All the objects were confirmed as quasars by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array radio telescope in New Mexico and by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council's William Herschel Telescope in Spain. "If you extrapolate our 21 quasars out to the rest of the sky, you get a whole lot of quasars," said Dr. Mark Lacy of the Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, Calif., a co-author of the Nature paper. "This means that, as suspected, most super-massive black hole growth is hidden by dust." The discovery will allow astronomers to put together a more complete picture of how and where quasars form in our universe. Of the 21 quasars uncovered by Spitzer, 10 are believed to be inside fairly mature, giant elliptical galaxies. The rest are thought to be encased in thick, dusty galaxies that are still forming stars. A team of researchers based at the University of Arizona, Tucson, found similar quasars using Spitzer. Their research is described at: Other authors of the Nature paper include Drs. Steve Rawlings and Matt Jarvis of the University of Oxford; Drs. Dario Fadda and Francine Marleau, Spitzer Science Center; Dr. Chris Simpson, University of Durham, England; and Dr. Chris Willott, National Research Council Canada, Victoria. JPL, a division of Caltech, manages the SST mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech. A Spitzer false-colored picture of one of the new found quasars is available on the Web at: For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: - end - text-only version of this release NASA press releases and other information are available automatically by sending a blank e-mail message to To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a blank e-mail message to Back to NASA Newsroom \| Back to NASA Homepage
A gregarious species (2) (7), the avocet breeds from April to August in large colonies of between 10 and 70 pairs (5). Sexual maturity is reached at two years old, when the avocet will find a breeding ground, often different to where it was reared. This breeding ground is where the avocet will return each year to breed (7). The nest of the avocet consists of a scrape made in sand, mud or short vegetation on the ground (5), into which three or four eggs are laid (8). The nests within the colony are usually only one metre away from each other (2), with some recorded only 20 to 30 centimetres apart (5). The male and female avocet stay together for the breeding season (7), sharing responsibility for incubating the eggs for between 23 and 25 days (8). The chicks fledge the nest after 35 to 42 days (8). The pair bond between the male and female is only sustained for one breeding season, after which they separate and join a flock to begin migration (7). The migration of northern populations begins between August and October, with the avocets heading south in a flock, stopping in certain areas in great numbers (5). Several thousand individuals may roost together and groups of between 5 and 30 forage collectively (5). The diet of the avocet is primarily composed of aquatic invertebrates, such as insects, crustaceans, worms and molluscs, as well as small fish and plants (5). It usually takes food from exposed mud or from water (2), using a characteristic foraging technique that involves a sweeping motion of the beak, and it also upends in deep water to reach prey (2) (3). A highly territorial bird, the avocet will chase away any unwelcome visitors while breeding, lunging towards them with a lowered head and neck, and may even drive away much larger birds such as the common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) (2).
• Special seams can enclose a seam allowance or create a decorative effect. • Tucks and pleats control fullness or add design interest. • Interfacings and linings help shape and support the outer fabric. • The four basic collars are flat, rolled, shirt, and standing. • The three basic sleeves are set in, raglan, and kimono. They can be finished with a hem, facing, casing, or cuff. • Three popular pocket styles are in-seam, patch, and front hip. • A waistline can be finished with a waist band, facing, or casing. • Some garments are trimmed with bias binding. Others are decorated with ruffles or trims. RECALLING SOME FACTS: 1. Why might you use a flat-felled seam instead of a French seam? 2. Why are seams sometimes topstitched? 3. What is the difference between tucks and pleats? 4. What should you do before applying fusible interfacing to garment sections? 5. What should you consider when choosing lining fabric? 6. Describe four basic collars. 7. To which side of a collar is interfacing usually applied? 8. How can you make crisp, sharp points on a collar? 9. Describe three basic sleeves. 10. Why is a kimono sleeve easy to sew? 11. Describe three basic cuffs. 12. Why is a placket added to a sleeve? 13. How do you miter the corners on a pocket? 14. How is the direction of a waistband over lap determined? 15. What are bias bindings? 16. What is the difference between piping and tubing? 17. How do straight and circular ruffles differ? 18. Describe the three methods used to apply trims. APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDG: 1. Construction features. Look at actual garments or photos from magazines and catalogs. Identify such construction features as tucks; pleats; waistbands; and varied styles of collars, sleeves, plackets, cuffs, pockets, and bias bindings. 2. Decorative trims. Using fashion magazines and catalogs, collect photos that show decorative trims used on garments or home decorating items. Describe the construction method used to apply each trim. 3. Samples. Sew samples of the following: self-finished seams, decorative seams, tucks, pleats, bias bindings, tubing, and trims. Make mini-samples of a flat or rolled collar, set-in sleeve, cuff, in-seam pocket, patch pocket, waistband, and ruffle. How might you improve your samples? 4. Project. Construct a garment that has a collar, sleeves, and pockets. Evaluate each of the special sewing techniques used in the project. 5. Serging. If a serger is available, use it to stitch a sample collar, sleeve, pocket, or waistband. 1. Art. Draw illustrations of a home decorating project, such as a pillow, place mat, or table runner. Use your creativity to add various trims or appliqués to each of your designs. 2. The Internet. Investigate ways to use your sewing skills for a charitable cause. For example, the Home Sewing Association offers project ideas for charitable sewing. What other Web sites offer free patterns or guidelines on how to sew for charity? What sewing skills are required for these projects? How do they relate to the sewing skills you have learned? If possible, plan and carry out a charitable sewing project with your classmates. \|PREV: Adding Trims\|\|NEXT: Friday, 2012-10-12 17:07
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important : Prelims level : Sun’s Rotation Mains level : Not Much Scientists at Kodaikanal Solar Observatory have estimated how the Sun has rotated over a century from data extracted from old films and photographs that have been digitized. Try this PYQ: Q.Consider the following phenomena: - Size of the sun at dusk - Colour of the sun at dawn - Moon being visible at dawn - Twinkle of stars in the sky - Polestar being visible in the sky Which of the above are optical illusions? (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 3, 4 and 5 (c) 1, 2 and 4 (d) 2, 3 and 5 - The Sun rotates around an axis that is roughly perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic; the Sun’s rotational axis is tilted by 7.25° from perpendicular to the ecliptic. - It rotates in the counterclockwise direction (when viewed from the north), the same direction that the planets rotate (and orbit around the Sun). - The Sun’s rotation period varies with latitude on the Sun since it is made of gas. - Equatorial regions rotate faster than Polar Regions. - The equatorial regions (latitude = 0 degrees) rotate in about 25.6 days. The regions at 60 degrees latitude rotate in about 30.9 days. Polar Regions rotate in about 36 days. Key observations of the study - The Sun rotates more quickly at its equator than at its poles. - Over time, the Sun’s differential rotation rates cause its magnetic field to become twisted and tangled. - The tangles in the magnetic field lines can produce strong localized magnetic fields. - When the Sun’s magnetic field gets twisted, there are lots of sunspots. - The sunspots which form at the surface with an 11-year periodicity are the only route to probe the solar dynamo or solar magnetism inside the Sun and hence measure the variation in solar rotation. - This estimation would help study the magnetic field generated in the interior of the Sun, which causes sunspots and results in extreme situations like the historical mini-ice age on Earth (absence of sunspots). - It could also help predict solar cycles and their variations in the future.
What is Vitamin D (S-25-hydroxy)? Vitamin D S-25-hydroxy is a form of vitamin D that is a marker of total body levels of vitamin D. It is a measure of how much vitamin D has formed in the skin and is important in assessing whether a person has adequate levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for bone health and for the immune system to function properly. It is important for maintaining strong bones and teeth, as well as for the function of the immune system and muscle strength. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a number of health problems, including osteoporosis, rickets and an increased risk of infections. How is vitamin D formed? Vitamin D is produced in the skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from the sun. When UVB radiation hits the skin, it triggers the synthesis of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D3 is then converted to calcifediol in the liver and calcifediol is converted to calcitriol in the kidneys. Calcitriol is the active form of vitamin D which is responsible for its effects in the body. People with dark skin have more melanin, which can make it harder for the skin to produce vitamin D from sunlight. Vitamin D can also be obtained from certain foods, such as fatty fish, beef liver and egg yolks, and from dietary supplements. The recommended daily intake of vitamin D varies according to age, gender and stage of life, but most adults need between 10 and 20 micrograms per day. Why is vitamin D analyzed? Vitamin D levels are often checked as part of a routine blood test or when a person has symptoms that may be related to a vitamin D deficiency. Some of the reasons to check your vitamin D levels are: - To control vitamin D deficiency – vitamin D deficiency can cause a number of health problems, including osteoporosis, rickets and an increased risk of infections. - To monitor the effectiveness of vitamin D treatment – if a person is taking vitamin D supplements or has been prescribed vitamin D for a deficiency, levels can be checked to ensure that the treatment is effective. - To assess bone health – vitamin D plays a key role in bone health, and low levels of vitamin D have been linked to osteoporosis and other bone problems. - To investigate the cause of certain symptoms – vitamin D deficiency can cause a range of symptoms, including muscle weakness, bone pain and fatigue. Checking vitamin D levels can help identify the cause of these symptoms. - Monitoring certain medical conditions – certain medical conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease and liver disease, can interfere with the body's ability to absorb vitamin D. Checking vitamin D levels can help monitor the status of these conditions. What can elevated levels of vitamin D be due to?A high level of vitamin D can occur when taking vitamin D supplements or other dietary supplements that contain vitamin D. A high level of vitamin D in the body can be a sign of a medical condition, if you are concerned about your vitamin D levels you should contact your health center for help in determining the cause and help with possible treatment if necessary. What can low levels of vitamin D cause? A low level of vitamin D can be due to a lack of sun exposure if you spend too little time outside, or for people who live in areas with little sunlight as it can be difficult to get enough vitamin D from sunlight alone. Or because of the season like during the winter months when there is less sunlight. People with dark skin have more melanin, which can make it harder for the skin to produce vitamin D from sunlight. And the skin of older people is less efficient at producing vitamin D. Certain medical conditions, such as Crohn's disease, celiac disease and cystic fibrosis, can make it difficult for the body to absorb vitamin D. Vitamin D is stored in fat cells, so people who are overweight or obese may have lower levels of vitamin D. It is important to note that everyone's vitamin D needs are different and can be affected by a variety of factors. About vitamin D deficiency Vitamin D deficiency can cause various health problems, such as for example:Weak bones and osteoporosis: Vitamin D is important for bone health, and low levels of vitamin D have been linked to osteoporosis, a condition that causes weak and brittle bones.Rickets: Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets, a condition that causes softening and weakening of the bones in children.Increased risk of infections: Vitamin D plays a role in immune system function, and low levels of vitamin D have been linked to an increased risk of infections.Muscle weakness: Vitamin D is important for muscle strength, and low levels of vitamin D can cause muscle weakness.Fatigue: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to fatigue and brain fatigue.Depression: Some research suggests that low levels of vitamin D may be linked to an increased risk of depression.Cognitive impairment: Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to cognitive impairment in older adults. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency Vitamin D deficiency manifests itself with many non-specific symptoms: - tiredness, fatigue, brain fatigue, exhaustion - bad mood, irritability - concentration difficulties - sleep disorders - pain in head and neck - muscle weakness - increased susceptibility to infections Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency may not be obvious, and many people with low levels of vitamin D experience no symptoms. It is important to get enough vitamin D to maintain good health, while it is important not to get too much vitamin D, which can be harmful if consumed in excess. Too much vitamin D can be harmful According to the Swedish Food Agency, large amounts of vitamin D are toxic and can cause excessive levels of calcium in the blood and thus also calcium deposits in the kidneys and kidney failure. If you only eat regular food, there is no risk of overconsumption of vitamin D in harmful amounts, but through dietary supplements containing vitamin D, you can get too much. According to the European Food Safety Authority, Efsa, an upper limit for vitamin D intake is 100 micrograms per day for adults. Risk groups for vitamin D deficiency Risk groups with 10 micrograms recommended supplementation of vitamin D per day are: - all children under 2 years - children and adults who do not eat fish - children and adults who do not eat fortified foods - children and adults who do not eat fish or fortified foods - children and adults with covering clothing over the face, arms and legs or who do not stay in the sun during the summer. Risk groups with 20 micrograms of recommended supplementation of vitamin D per day are: - everyone over the age of 75 - children and adults with covering clothing over the face, arms and legs or who do not stay in the sun during the summer and also do not eat fish and vitamin D-enriched foods. Source for recommended intake per day for risk groups: Swedish Food Agency "Livsmedelsverket".
The AODA does not yet have an education standard. Two committees are making recommendations about what an education standard should include. One issue that an education standard should address is access to information. For instance, under the Information and Communications Standards, educational institutions must make information available to students using communication supports. This mandate should mean an accessible education for all students. However, there is an important service gap which an education standard should fill. Sign Language interpretation helps students who sign succeed in school and in later life, but there is a shortage of professional Sign Language interpreters. As a result, educators cannot communicate with some of their students. More Sign Language interpreters in schools would give more students the education they need to succeed as adults. Sign Language Interpreters in Schools Students who are deaf may use a variety of communication supports. These supports include: - Sign Language interpretation - Real-Time Captioning (RTC) - Computerized Note-Taking Many English-Canadians who are deaf communicate using American Sign Language (ASL). Similarly, many French-Canadian students who are deaf communicate using Langue des signes Québécoise (LSQ). When students who Sign in ASL or LSQ have access to professional Sign Language interpreters in class, they can understand the speech of their teachers and peers. However, there are not enough professional interpreters, so some students need to find a different way to communicate. Some schools try to fill this gap by employing interpreters with partial training, such as educational assistants who know some Sign language. However, non-professionals usually cannot interpret all the concepts and vocabulary students need to learn. As a result, a signing student might not learn everything their hearing peers do. Students who rely on non-professional interpreters may have on-going trouble in school. For instance, a student could have trouble answering questions on tests if a partially-trained interpreter makes mistakes or cannot interpret a key concept. Likewise, a student could have trouble giving presentations if an interpreter cannot fully or correctly interpret the student’s signs to the teacher. Moreover, if students do not have accurate lesson interpretation in early grades, they will not have the knowledge they need to do well in later grades. In addition, students and teachers will have more and more communication difficulties as lesson topics become more complex. In Part 2 of this article, we will explore how an education standard can help to place more Sign language interpreters in schools.
A reminder of Gender definitions Here we have a teacher guide to gender definitions. We now live in a society that embraces individuality, rather than generalisations according to the mainstream. A person is encouraged to have a sense of self due to how they feel, rather than according to their body parts. If you have not been affected by gender issues and have grown up without this new way of thinking, it can be difficult to understand. Time needs to be taken to understand the issues and terminology. This teacher guide is a good back-to-basics reminder of some gender definitions. Remember, it’s a sensitive area and using an incorrect term or making an assumption, can damage someone’s wellbeing. However, if this happens, apologise and move on. In addition, please be aware that these terms may change over time and will vary amongst different cultures. Gender related definitions Some obvious terms worth a reminder: - Sex: biological status assigned at birth, can be categorised as male, female, or intersex. - Gender: usually categorised as male, female or nonbinary but can vary amongst different cultures and time. - Gender identity: not outwardly visible to others, it is a sense of self and gender, an inward feeling. A refresh of some newer terms: - Gender expression: how someone chooses to present their gender to the outside world, can be via clothing, make-up, hair, behaviour, speech and voice or other perceived characteristics. - Cisgender/cis: someone whose gender identity is the same as their sex assigned at birth. - Transgender/trans: a term used to describe someone whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. - Non-binary: a term someone uses to describe themselves or their gender which neither fits into the categories of male or female. - Pansexual: describes when a person has the potential for emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to people of any gender, sometimes used with bisexual. - Gender-fluid: when a person does not identify with a single fixed gender. - Demigender: a collective term used for non-binary identities, e.g., a demiboy is both male and genderless. - Agender: a term that describes when someone does not identify as any gender. - Polygender: when a person has several gender identities either at the same time, or switching between them at different times. - Gender-expansive: describes someone with a flexible gender perception and identity than a typical gender binary. This can change with time as the person explores what it means gender means for them. - Gender transition: is a process someone undertakes to bring themselves into alignment with their gender identity. It’s not just one step. May involve informing people, a name and pronoun change, updating legal documents and medical treatment/surgery. - Gender dysphoria: a medical diagnosis concerning the damaging psychological distress resulting from the persons sex assigned at birth and their gender identity. - LGBTQ+ : the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. - Queer: people avoided using this word for a while as it deemed derogatory for a few decades. However, it has now been re-embraced and is used to generalise a range of identities and orientations that are to some people not mainstream. Want to learn more about gender related terms? If you wan to read beyond our teacher guide to gender definitions, here are some interesting sources to read to gain further understanding. The above list is just a start and there is much more to learn. The Gender Research and Identity Society has further information about these issues, please click here to learn about further terminology. The Proud Trust, based in Manchester is an excellent resource to gain more understanding. In addition, it offers online courses and other training especially for teachers and schools. To learn more about teacher training in this area, please click here.
Describe about Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol TCP/IP full form is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, which is a set of rules for communication or data transmission between nodes on the internet or any other digital network. TCP/IP was designed to unify diverse networks, and to do so has a flat model rather than the hierarchical model of previous protocols. TCP/IP is the protocol that most computer networks use to communicate with each other because it routes data regardless of the type of underlying media. It’s also used by application programs, and enables end-to-end communication from one device to another over an interconnected set of networks. How does it work? TCP/IP treats every packet of data as an independent unit. It’s a set of rules that determine what action to take with each individual packet, and how they are to be handled. Individual computers are identified by their local IP addresses; the packets are addressed by their respective ports, which relate to the physical interface. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol provides a connection-oriented service that sends a packet from source to destination. It ensures reliable delivery of the data packets by controlling the rendering of them undamaged. So it can re-transmit them when encountered any problem during transmission. What are the Four Layers of TCP/IP? TCP/IP full form is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, it is composed of four layers: the physical layer, the data link layer, the network layer, and the transport layer. It is this layering that gives TCP/IP its flexibility and ease of extensibility. The physical layer is concerned with transmitting bits over the network at the lowest possible level.The data link network layer handles issues such as transmission errors, priority handling and flow control for messages moving through different nodes. The transport layer provides mechanisms for segments to be split into packets and reassembled into mail messages before being transmitted in an efficient manner.
What are Joint Distribution, Moment, and Variation? Joint distribution is based on joint probability, which can be simply defined as the probability of two events (variables) happening together. These two events are usually coined event A and event B, and can formally be written as: p(A and B) Joint distribution, or joint probability distribution, shows the probability distribution for two or more random variables. Hence: f(x,y) = P(X = x, Y = y) The reason we use joint distribution is to look for a relationship between two of our random variables. Here, we look at two coins that both have roughly a 50/50 chance of landing on either heads (X) or tails (Y). You can use the chart to determine the probability of a certain event happening by looking at where the two events intersect. Here's another example of a joint distribution table: Application in Machine Learning The design of learning algorithms is such that they often depend on probabilistic assumption of the data. Uncertainty is a key concept in pattern recognition, which is in turn essential in machine learning. Being able to make optimal predictions from an incomplete data set by using the data a machine does have is essential in the framework of “smarter” and faster AI.
In statistics, a moving average is used to analyze data by calculating average of different subsets of a dataset. It is also called a moving mean or rolling mean and is a type of finite impulse response filter.\| Displayed moving averages are calculated by using chart's default moving average algorithm. Vertical Scale (Linear / Log): Determines if y-axis is shown in linear or log. When set to linear, the graph is plotted against actual values. When set to Log, the graph shows its log scale. Any values less than or equal to zero are not displayed. Log scale values close to zero or less than zero will not be viewed in the graph. Range Selector (Visible / Hidden): This shows or hides the range selector control. The range selector enables the users to select the horizontal axis to narrow down (and later expand) the analysis horizon (zoom-in and out). Although the range selector appears on the x-axis only, a user can also select the range on the y-axis by clicking the left-mouse-button and selecting his desired range by dragging the mouse. To reset, double click anywhere in the chart. Fill Graph (Yes / No): This option enables the user to fill the area under the curve. Step Plot (Yes / No): If set to yes, the graph is displayed as a step plot instead of a line plot.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction Throughout history greening of outside walls and roofs of buildings has taken place. Reasons for doing so were the increase of insulation (keep cool in summer and keep cold out in winter), improved aesthetics, improved indoor and outdoor climate, reduce the greenhouse gases such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) as well as increasing ecological values by creating habitats for birds and insects. Throughout the years, replacement of vegetated surfaces with paved and impervious surfaces in the urban area have caused the temperature in the area to increase comparing to the surrounding rural area. This is because the paved surfaces absorbs, retain, and reradiate more solar energy than grasses and trees. The ambient temperature in urban area can be as much as 6ºC warmer than the air in rural areas. Vegetation can make positive contributions to energy efficiency through a variety of means. Simple shading by trees, climbing plants or a green roof can help stop a building from over-heating and can so reduce cooling loads by up to 30%, though always in climates warmer than the UK. The main benefit of shading is in reducing solar gain through windows, rather than through walls. Conversely, a layer of vegetation can also reduce heat loss from buildings, and it has been found that protecting a house from wind reduced the ‘wind chill factor’ by 75% and reduced the heating demand by 25% (Facer,2007). Malaysia is experiencing rapid economic growth especially in the last 2 or 3 decades (Ahmad Fuad Embi,2002). Developments on urban areas have changed the surface profile of our cities. The skyline of a city are now complimented with tall buildings, condominiums, skyscrapers and the surface area are covered with paved, roads and long stretch of highways which absorb, contain and reradiate more heat comparing to the past years. With these rapid developments and change of of our surface profile, along come the environmental problems such as, drought, flash floods, pollutions and landslides. 1.2 Problem statement Malaysia is experiencing rapid economic growth these past few decades. Along with the development, alteration of land surface profile and land clearing is inevitable, to make way for building of tall skyscrapers for new residential areas, elevated highways and more buildings in the urban areas. Thus causing increment of impervious surface that absorb more heat and causing temperature in the urban area to rise. Thus, causing the urban heat island effect. Environmental problems also increases where flash floods, air and water pollutions make headlines every year. 1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study The objective of the study is to determine the potential of green walls technology in surface temperature reduction on buildings and to determine the degree of air pollution that can be reduced by green walls through analysing amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) filtered by the plants. 1.4 Scope of Study The study area is at Johor Bahru which is experiencing rapid growth and urbanization in Malaysia. Sutera Mall in Taman Sutera, Johor Bahru has been choosen as the case study as it has green wall technology installed at the façade of the building. The parameters considered for this study are based on two major categories, which are; thermal aspect which include temperature (°C) and relative humidity (RH) and air quality which consist of reading of Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). 1.5 Significance of Study Developing countries like Malaysia are aware of the impact of rapid construction of ‘concrete jungle’ to our environment. A guideline has been done on a better way of designing and constructing buildings which is through the environmental friendly, the Green Building (Faridah Shafii, 2008). Green building refers to the quality and characteristics of the actual structure created using the principles and methodologies of sustainable construction (Charles J. Kibert, 2008). It is approved by many researchers to reduce the effect of urban heat island and the global warming for instance. Incorporating nature into the design is one of the elements in the Green Building. Thus, the use of green walls can be one of the major parts in the green building system. Green walls help to reduce the environmental impact of development through reduction of heat radiated from the surface of the building and help to create a sustainable community. When trees planted at the surrounding area of the building help in reducing the ambient temperature, with limited land and spaces, fewer or no trees can be planted. With the green walls technology, space is not an issue, where greenery can be extended on the surface of the buildings. Nevertheless, the benefits of this technology have not been thoroughly studied yet by the Malaysian researchers particularly on how much thermal and pollution can be reduced by implementing green walls technology. This is the primary reason why sampling, measurement and analysis were needed to be carried out.
Runners can lose significant quantities of sodium through sweat. The higher the sweat rate the higher the sodium concentration. This is especially a problem for runners who restrict their salt intake. While there is little direct evidence about what happens when we start to become sodium deficient, it appears that there are two stages. - Sodium deficient dehydration. If there is insufficient sodium, the body will compensate by reducing the blood volume (hypovolemia) so that the blood sodium concentration remains at the correct level. Thirst will be high, but drinking would just produce urine output without hydration. Often there will be a craving for salt or salty foods. - Hyponatremia. Under some conditions sodium deficiency can produce Hyponatremia, which is where the blood sodium concentration is too low. There are other causes of Hyponatremia, the main one being excessive drinking.
In January of 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the outbreak of Covid-19 had reached pandemic proportions. Previously, the spread of the virus had been mostly restricted to the Wuhan(China), from where it was initially reported. Although, the origin of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, remains a point of conjecture, we know that the disease mostly spreads from human to human through respiratory droplets, via coughing and sneezing. As many countries around the world witness a rapid rise in infections, hospitalisation and in certain instances, death of Covid patients, questions regarding the general health and mental well-being of the population, are also an area of growing concern. Particularly vulnerable are that subset of the general population who suffer from co-morbidities or have chronic disease. Diabetic patients fall within that cohort. In India alone, sixty million Indians have diabetes. Diabetic foot affects a subset of diabetic patients. It can develop a propensity to develop foot ulcers, sores and lesions. This is due to the diabetic neuropathy and/or peripheral vascular disease witnessed in this illness. Diabetic neuropathy can very quickly result in blisters, sores and ulcers that are unable to heal quickly. This can cause numbness and loss of foot sensation. A medical pedicure is highly recommended under these conditions. Daily foot checks are also advisable. One way to prevent transmission of Covid-19 is by following rigorous practices of cleaning and hygiene as we know that disinfectants, such as soap and water destroy the virus. Although the hands are a primary area of contact, one should extend the same precautions to cleanse the rest of the body, particularly the feet. Maintaining good hygiene of the feet is also desirable. Wash the feet twice daily with an antibacterial cleanser, taking care to clean between the toes. One can perform the cleaning of the feet with a foot hygiene product like Hibiscrub, and anti-bacterial soap. Leave the soap on for a few minutes and then wash with water. One must dry the feet make properly. Apply surgical spirit with surgical cotton, in between the toes if necessary. Trim toenails regularly and check for cuts and sores on the soles of the feet. Changing socks regularly and also alternately wearing two pairs of shoes – will help to keep the feet fresh. Regular exercise is advisable during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure good health. With access to gyms and swimming pools is limited in India, during the majority of lockdown, physical exercise has had to be practiced at home or in the neighborhood while maintaining social distancing protocols and taking precautions. One should wear proper shoes with insoles to prevent foot trauma, and help cushion and protect the feet. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a tiring and testing time. These measures can help to prevent foot-related issues and promote care of the feet.
A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, melōidía, "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term can include successions of other musical elements such as tonal color. It may be considered the foreground to the background accompaniment. A line or part need not be a foreground melody. Melodies often consist of one or more musical phrases or motifs, and are usually repeated throughout a composition in various forms. Melodies may also be described by their melodic motion or the pitches or the intervals between pitches (predominantly conjunct or disjunct or with further restrictions), pitch range, tension and release, continuity and coherence, cadence, and shape. The true goal of music—its proper enterprise—is melody. All the parts of harmony have as their ultimate purpose only beautiful melody. Therefore, the question of which is the more significant, melody or harmony, is futile. Beyond doubt, the means is subordinate to the end. Given the many and varied elements and styles of melody "many extant explanations [of melody] confine us to specific stylistic models, and they are too exclusive." Paul Narveson claimed in 1984 that more than three-quarters of melodic topics had not been explored thoroughly. The melodies existing in most European music written before the 20th century, and popular music throughout the 20th century, featured "fixed and easily discernible frequency patterns", recurring "events, often periodic, at all structural levels" and "recurrence of durations and patterns of durations". Melodies in the 20th century "utilized a greater variety of pitch resources than ha[d] been the custom in any other historical period of Western music." While the diatonic scale was still used, the chromatic scale became "widely employed." Composers also allotted a structural role to "the qualitative dimensions" that previously had been "almost exclusively reserved for pitch and rhythm". Kliewer states, "The essential elements of any melody are duration, pitch, and quality (timbre), texture, and loudness. Though the same melody may be recognizable when played with a wide variety of timbres and dynamics, the latter may still be an "element of linear ordering." Different musical styles use melody in different ways. For example: - Jazz musicians use the term "lead" or "head" to refer to the main melody, which is used as a starting point for improvisation. - Rock music, and other forms of popular music and folk music tend to pick one or two melodies (verse and chorus, sometimes with a third, contrasting melody known as a bridge or middle eight) and stick with them; much variety may occur in the phrasing and lyrics. - Indian classical music relies heavily on melody and rhythm, and not so much on harmony, as the music contains no chord changes. - Balinese gamelan music often uses complicated variations and alterations of a single melody played simultaneously, called heterophony. - In western classical music, composers often introduce an initial melody, or theme, and then create variations. Classical music often has several melodic layers, called polyphony, such as those in a fugue, a type of counterpoint. Often, melodies are constructed from motifs or short melodic fragments, such as the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Richard Wagner popularized the concept of a leitmotif: a motif or melody associated with a certain idea, person or place. - While in both most popular music and classical music of the common practice period pitch and duration are of primary importance in melodies, the contemporary music of the 20th and 21st centuries pitch and duration have lessened in importance and quality has gained importance, often primary. Examples include musique concrète, klangfarbenmelodie, Elliott Carter's Eight Etudes and a Fantasy (which contains a movement with only one note), the third movement of Ruth Crawford-Seeger's String Quartet 1931 (later re-orchestrated as Andante for string orchestra), which creates the melody from an unchanging set of pitches through "dissonant dynamics" alone, and György Ligeti's Aventures, in which recurring phonetics create the linear form. - μελῳδία. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project. - Forte, Allen (1979). Tonal Harmony in Concept & Practice, p. 203. ISBN 0-03-020756-8. - Kliewer, Vernon (1975). "Melody: Linear Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music", Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music, pp. 270–301. Wittlich, Gary (ed.). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-049346-5. - Narveson, Paul (1984). Theory of Melody. ISBN 0-8191-3834-7. - Marquis, G. Weston (1964). Twentieth Century Music Idioms, p. 2. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Inglewood Cliffs, New Jersey. - Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed., pp. 517–19. - Edwards, Arthur C. The Art of Melody, pp. xix–xxx. - Holst, Imogen(1962/2008). Tune, Faber and Faber, London. ISBN 0-571-24198-0. - Smits van Waesberghe, Joseph (1955). A Textbook of Melody: A course in functional melodic analysis, American Institute of Musicology. - Szabolcsi, Bence (1965). A History of Melody, Barrie and Rockliff, London. - Trippett, David (2013). Wagner's Melodies. Cambridge University Press. \|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melody.\| - The dictionary definition of melody at Wiktionary - Quotations related to Melody at Wikiquote - Carry A Tune Week, list of tunes - Creating and orchestrating a coherent and balanced melody
The optical distance measurement is based on the triangulation principle. With this geometric method, the distance to the target object is measured by accurately measuring angles within triangles. The power beam emits a light beam to the target object; the object reflects this light beam back. The reflected laser beam is then recaptured by a light-sensitive receiver in the sensor, the multi-pixel array. Depending on the distance between the sensor and the object, the reflected light hits different positions on the multi-pixel array: If the target object is close, there is a large change in angle. If it is further away, there is a smaller change in angle. By observing the angular relationship and finding the position of the light spot on the receiver, the precise distance of the scanned object to the sensor is determined. This calculation is made with the help of an built-in microprocessor and corresponding software algorithms. Using the laser light sensor, objects can be detected two-dimensionally. Instead of a light spot, a line of light is used to make contact with the object. This line of light is reflected and projected onto the two-dimensional spatially resolving detector in the form of a light intersection. In this case, a flat CMOS chip is used as the detector. The combination of the triangulation principle and conventional measurement function enables the distance, height, and width information of objects to be measured.
East Africa’s elephants face few threats in their savanna home, aside from humans and lions. But the behemoths are terrified of African bees, and with good reason. An angry swarm can sting elephants around their eyes and inside their trunks and pierce the skin of young calves. Now, a new study shows that the pachyderms utter a distinctive rumble in response to the sound of bees, the first time an alarm call has been identified in elephants. “It’s an important finding,” says Karen McComb a behavioral ecologist at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. “It not only provides the first demonstration that elephants use alarm calls but also shows that these may have very specific meanings.” Indeed, the study suggests that this alarm call isn’t just a generalized vocalization but means specifically, “Bees!” says Lucy King, a postgraduate zoologist at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and the study’s lead author. Several other species, including primates and birds, make calls that warn others of danger. Because elephants also have an extensive repertoire of vocalizations, researchers have long suspected that certain calls have specific meanings. But it’s not easy for researchers to link the pachyderms’ calls—many of which are beyond the range of human hearing—to particular events. A few years ago, however, King and colleagues documented the fear elephants have of bees via a series of playback experiments: When they hear buzzing bees, the pachyderms turn and run away, shaking their heads while making a call that King terms the “bee rumble." To find out if the bee rumble is an alarm call, King's team played the vocalization to 10 elephant families. Six of the herds fled, even though they had neither seen nor heard bees. In contrast, only two families moved away when the scientists played another rumble that lacked a key acoustical feature that they had identified in the bee rumbles, the team reports today in PLoS One. It may be that elephants can subtly alter a call, simply by changing the position of their lips and tongues, just as humans do to produce different vowels, King says. If so, then elephants may also have warning calls to alert their fellows to humans and lions—much like Diana monkeys in West Africa can call out a leopard alarm or eagle alarm, depending on which predator they spot. It will take further experiments to show that the bee rumble means bees to other elephants and is not a more general alarm call, says Robert Seyfarth, a biological anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, he says, “the paper adds significantly to our knowledge of animal communication” because it adds elephants to a growing list of animals whose vocalizations are slowly being deciphered.
Published at Tuesday, September 08th 2020. by Searlait Thibault in Math Homework. Homeschool worksheets are a vital part of the student has homeschool experience. They allow the child to test his or her knowledge, and they offer them a practical application for their learning. Worksheets also, when used properly, provide both the students and parent / tutor immediate feedback as to the child has progress. This means they can be used to point out areas where the student needs further reinforcement. Homeschool worksheets fortunately will not over-tax your budget. There are many places where you can get them at extremely low costs. In fact, several websites offer printable worksheets for free. Home schooling your own children can seem overwhelming with everything that you will be required to teach them. But if you take the time to make a plan you will have everything covered easily and teaching them what they need to know in life. One of the most basic things that you will have to teach your children is how to count money. This can be done when they are just starting out in school. There are some easy ways to teach them and they will learn quickly. To practice mathematics, math workbooks are the good source. You learn a concept in a workbook, then in the same booklet there are more problems on the same concept for practice. Another good method to practice mathematical concepts is using math worksheets and you can print math worksheets free of charge from the web. Finally, choice is yours. You can choose the jumping method to reach your math destination or you can use right and proven path to reach your math destination. The right and proven path to math destination has the following steps: Start learning math as soon as you start your kindergarten, Focus in your math classes and listen to your teacher, Ask your teacher lots of question until you are not clear about the concept you are learning. When you are teaching your student to write, there are a whole host of worksheets online that you can use. Many of these include clip-art that will help the students learn the sounds of letters and letter combinations. There are other sheets that help the student learn to write his or her numbers. It is helpful having printable worksheets for something like this, because parents often go through quite a few of these before the child masters writing the numbers or letters correctly. Even the youngest students--kindergartens--will benefit from printable worksheets. They will help your little one learn and master basic concepts in way that will capture and hold their attention. Remember that small kids enjoy doing things rather than simply reading or listening. For this reason, attractive, well-illustrated worksheets with something to do will make learning fun for them. What is more, completing your worksheet will give the child a tremendous sense of fulfillment. Two of the best options are Omega Math and ALEKS Math. Both of these programs are well-developed online math programs. Omega Math covers Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and II, as well as Geometry, and ALEKS is a full program for grades Kindergarten through High School, including Trigonometry, Statistics, and Accounting. There are some differences in presentation style, but both programs cover the material thoroughly, and all that a student needs to do is log in, have their pencil and paper nearby, and begin their study. Omega Math tends to be better equipped for students who catch on to math skills fairly easily and are motivated to streamline their work. Students log in to their course, view a PowerPoint lesson, and work through homework problems on their own. Feedback is given and students can also complete worksheets for extra practice. Chapter tests are provided, scored immediately, and parents can track the progress throughout the course by viewing simple charts and grade books making it very parent-friendly. Income Tracking Worksheet - It is important to know where you are financially. So, filling out a income tracking worksheet will do just that. This is a worksheet where you place all of your income. If you are married or have a partner that contributes to your monthly finances be sure to include their income as well. Only put regularly occurring income on this worksheet such as regular paychecks, child support and alimony. Do not include bonuses or other irregular income. If your third grader needs help with math, there are many useful tools that can downloaded directly from the computer. Math is a subject that is best taught with visual aids, making the lessons more tangible for students. Third grade can be particularly challenging when it comes to math, as this is the year that students are learning about fractions, measuring and weighing objects, graphing and counting money. Most importantly, third graders should be comfortable with the basics of math such as adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. If your child is not comfortable with these basic components, it is almost inevitable that he or she will struggle with future math lessons. Any content, trademark’s, or other material that might be found on the Sakaleducon website that is not Sakaleducon’s property remains the copyright of its respective owner/s. In no way does Sakaleducon claim ownership or responsibility for such items, and you should seek legal consent for any use of such materials from its owner. Copyright © 2020 Sakaleducon. All Rights Reserved.
Reactions in which the hydroxyl group of a carboxylic acid is replaced by another nucleophilic group are important for preparing functional derivatives of carboxylic acids. The alcohols provide a useful reference chemistry against which this class of transformations may be evaluated. In general, the hydroxyl group proved to be a poor leaving group, and virtually all alcohol reactions in which it was lost involved a prior conversion of –OH to a better leaving group. This has proven to be true for the carboxylic acids as well. Four examples of these hydroxyl substitution reactions are presented by the following equations. In each example, the new bond to the carbonyl group is colored magenta and the nucleophilic atom that has replaced the hydroxyl oxygen is colored green. The hydroxyl moiety is often lost as water, but in reaction #1 the hydrogen is lost as HCl and the oxygen as SO2. This reaction parallels a similar transformation of alcohols to alkyl chlorides, although its mechanism is different. Other reagents that produce a similar conversion to acyl halides are PCl5 and SOBr2. The amide and anhydride formations shown in equations #2 & 3 require strong heating, and milder procedures that accomplish these transformations will be described in the next chapter. Reaction #4 is called esterification, since it is commonly used to convert carboxylic acids to their ester derivatives. Esters may be prepared in many different ways; indeed, equations #1 and #4 in the previous diagram illustrate the formation of tert-butyl and methyl esters respectively. The acid-catalyzed formation of ethyl acetate from acetic acid and ethanol shown here is reversible, with an equilibrium constant near 2. The reaction can be forced to completion by removing the water as it is formed. This type of esterification is often referred to as Fischer esterification. As expected, the reverse reaction, acid-catalyzed ester hydrolysis, can be carried out by adding excess water. A thoughtful examination of this reaction (#4) leads one to question why it is classified as a hydroxyl substitution rather than a hydrogen substitution. The following equations, in which the hydroxyl oxygen atom of the carboxylic acid is colored red and that of the alcohol is colored blue, illustrate this distinction (note that the starting compounds are in the center). H2O + CH3CO-OCH2CH3 \|H-substitution \|\| \| \|HO-substitution \|\| \| CH3CO-OCH2CH3 + H2O In order to classify this reaction correctly and establish a plausible mechanism, the oxygen atom of the alcohol was isotopically labeled as 18O (colored blue in our equation). Since this oxygen is found in the ester product and not the water, the hydroxyl group of the acid must have been replaced in the substitution. A mechanism for this general esterification reaction will be displayed on clicking the "Esterification Mechanism" button; also, once the mechanism diagram is displayed, a reaction coordinate for it can be seen by clicking the head of the green "energy diagram" arrow. Addition-elimination mechanisms of this kind proceed by way of tetrahedral intermediates (such as A and B in the mechanism diagram) and are common in acyl substitution reactions. Acid catalysis is necessary to increase the electrophilic character of the carboxyl carbon atom, so it will bond more rapidly to the nucleophilic oxygen of the alcohol. Base catalysis is not useful because base converts the acid to its carboxylate anion conjugate base, a species in which the electrophilic character of the carbon is reduced. Since a tetrahedral intermediate occupies more space than a planar carbonyl group, we would expect the rate of this reaction to be retarded when bulky reactants are used. To test this prediction the esterification of acetic acid was compared with that of 2,2-dimethylpropanoic acid, (CH3)3CO2H. Here the relatively small methyl group of acetic acid is replaced by a larger tert-butyl group, and the bulkier acid reacted fifty times slower than acetic acid. Increasing the bulk of the alcohol reactant results in a similar rate reduction.
This is historical material, "frozen in time." The web site is no longer updated and links to external web sites and some internal pages will not work. A Severe National Threat [USGS] Although earthquakes are inevitable natural hazards, they need not be inevitable disasters. Through prudent actions our nation can reduce losses of life, casualties, property losses, and social and economic disruptions from future earthquakes. A SEVERE NATIONAL THREAT It is likely that one or more severely damaging earthquakes, which equal or exceed the 1994 Northridge earthquake in magnitude, will strike the United States within the next decade. Repeats of the 1906 San Francisco and the 1964 Alaska earthquakes loom somewhere in the future for California and Alaska. Although most people associate them with the nation's West Coast, earthquakes pose a significant risk in at least 39 states. The New Madrid, Missouri, earthquake of 1811 was as powerful as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and was felt across the entire eastern United States. The National Research Council has estimated that a repeat of the 1811 New Madrid earthquake could result in hundreds to thousands of lives lost and over $100 billion dollars of damage in a 26-state area. In areas such as the Midwest that experience earthquakes infrequently, the earthquake hazard awareness, vulnerability, and risk sensitivity of the residents is low. Even in areas that have frequent earthquakes, preparedness is often highly variable. Earthquakes release the strain built up in the earth's crust by the ongoing action of geologic deformation. Potentially damaging earthquakes are caused by sudden movements along faults. Earthquakes may result in offsets of up to thirty feet which extend up to hundreds of miles along the length of the faults. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1964 Alaska earthquake were of this scale. Lesser earthquakes, like the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake are intermediate in magnitude but were still felt over thousands of square miles. Even in relatively well-studied areas surprises can occur. The 1994 Northridge earthquake, which occurred along an unrecognized, buried fault, is a prime example. In the Central and Eastern United States, where earthquakes are less frequent than in the West, there are potentially more surprises; because the risk is less well understood, mitigation practices are less commonly implemented and the potential for damage, should an earthquake occur, is much greater. Earthquake effects include violent ground shaking and earthquake-induced ground failure such as liquefaction (the sudden conversion of soil to a liquid mass due to shaking as occurred in the 1995 Kobe earthquake), landslide, or ground surface rupture. Submarine earthquakes can induce damaging tsunami (seismic sea waves or "tidal" waves), which can travel undiminished thousands of miles before bringing destruction to coastal areas. Earthquakes may also cause permanent changes in sea-level elevation through local ground subsidence or uplift. The principal threat from earthquakes is shaking damage and the collapse of buildings and other structures that have been inadequately designed or constructed to resist seismic forces. Major earthquakes can severely interrupt regional or national economic activity by damaging lifelines such as roads, railways, water, power, and communication lines. Seismic damage interrupts the flow to users of vital resources and services, thereby increasing the risk to life safety and impeding economic growth. Ground failure hazards such as subsidence, landslides, liquefaction, and settlement also cause damage to structures and lifelines, and are a major threat to dams, waterfront structures, highway facilities, and buried lifelines. Although much remains to be learned about the most effective and economical techniques for enhancing the seismic safety of structures, many proven cost-effective measures are already being applied in the United States. Considering that little to no strong earthquake ground motion data was collected prior to the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, there have been great accomplishments in the design and construction of earthquake-resistant structures. Because of improved building codes, land use planning, and preparedness, the losses in the San Francisco Bay area from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and in the Los Angeles area from the 1994 Northridge earthquake were much lower than would have occurred in a less well-prepared region . The current legal requirements for constructing buildings, highways, bridges, and other lifelines in earthquake-prone regions vary greatly from one region to another, or even from one local jurisdiction to another, despite the fact that seismic safety can often be incorporated in new buildings and lifelines at little or no extra cost for design, construction, or operation. Local action to provide earthquake mitigation measures depends largely upon the awareness and education of public officials, engineers, planners, the business community, and the general populace. While the United States has lost comparatively few lives in earthquakes in recent years, the number can be reduced further. The cost of earthquake damage is still unacceptably high. All regions that are prone to earthquakes must begin to undertake mitigation measures to reduce future human and property losses. While earthquakes are inevitable natural hazards, they need not be inevitable disasters. Our nation can reduce losses of life, casualties, property losses, and social and economic disruptions from future earthquakes through prudent actions.
Children acquire natural languages. How they are capable of doing so is mysterious. A child appears to go from learning a few words and sentences to knowing how to construct infinite sentences in her learned language. Such a mystery provoked a long-lasting debate between empiricists and nativists. Empiricists about language acquisition hold that there is no innate knowledge ‘in the mind’ of a language learner without which the learner could not acquire a natural language. Nativists, by contrast, hold that there must be some innate feature of human minds (beyond the mere dispositional power to learn) that makes language acquisition possible for human beings In order to explain the phenomena of human language acquisition, one must show how a theory can answer a number of questions. Here are four: (i) How is it that human beings acquire knowledge from a limited set of experiences? If it turns out that the set of experiences are insufficient to explain the resultant knowledge, then one must look beyond experience. But to what should one turn? If only experiences are sufficient, then what are we to ‘say’ about entities we do not experience (theoretical entities, abstract objects etc.) (ii) How does one’s theory explain the normativity of a linguistic theory? Grammars of natural languages assume some sort of rule-based, objective feature of an underlying linguistic theory. But, on naturalism, what is the explanation for normativity itself and, more importantly, the universal human ability to recognize it? (iii) How is it that human beings can acquire concepts from utterances and inscriptions? Do concepts come with the package or must they already be in the mind? If they are already in the mind, how did they get there and what makes us think we can trust them? (iv) If beliefs or concepts are innate in the human mind, what justifies our beliefs that they are true? Just because we can’t help believing something, this does not entail that it is a justified belief (at least, if naturalism is assumed). Moreover, if naturalism is true, then how do we explain the apparent similarity of concepts between minds? If one holds to naturalism, one must provide an explanation solely in terms of a naturalistic scientific theory. But naturalism fails on all counts. If one takes an empiricist position, the main problem is with meanings of words and justification of beliefs in entities that evade direct experience. An argument of this kind might run along the following lines: (1) Language can produce infinite sentences and we can understand them (generative thesis) (2) Either language is innate or there is some basic vocabulary from which all the rest of language is built up. (3) If empiricism is true, then language is not innate. (4) Therefore, there is a finite stock of basic words which together with rules of composition enable us to produce and understand an infinite number of sentences. (5) The basic stock is the set of names of sensory experiences and names for everyday objects. (6) If the basic stock is the set of names of sensory experiences and names for everyday objects, then “every word with a meaning in our language must ultimately have a definition in terms of words that name sensory properties and everyday objects.” (Rosenburg, 144). (7) However, not every word with meaning in our language can ultimately have a definition in terms of words that name sensory properties and everyday objects. (a. Theoretical Terms; b. Moral Facts; c. Mental entities; d. Abstract Entities/Concepts; e. Spiritual Beings (God, angels)) (8) Therefore, Empiricism is false Empiricists generally either embrace a form of reductive scientism whereby operational definitions are provided for every theoretical term (an acid is what makes blue litmus paper turn red), or they propose a form of anti-realism. If one takes a nativist position, one must show that if we can acquire languages, then we must already know something. For example, Jerry Fodor argues that language presupposes language: “you cannot learn a language whose terms express semantic properties not expressed by the terms of some language you are already able to use.” (Jerry Fodor, The Language of Thought, 62). Here is Fodor’s argument: “Learning a language (including, of course, a first language) involves learning what the predicates of the language mean. Learning what the predicates of a language mean involves learning a determination of the extension of these predicates. Learning a determination of the extension of the predicates involves learning that they fall under certain rules (i.e., truth rules). But one cannot learn that P falls under R unless one has a language in which P and R can be represented. So one cannot learn a language unless one has a language.”(Fodor, 64). Roughly, his argument can be stated as follows: (1) If S learns a language, L, then S must learn a rule, R, for L (2) If S learns a rule for L, then S can represent R (3) If S can represent R, then S already knows a language (4) Therefore, If S learns a language, S already knows a language Fodor’s solution is to posit a language of thought, an innate mentalese. If what is required for thinking is a symbolic system that can capture semantic properties and a mechanistic physical base, then we have a powerful option for a naturalist understanding of the mind and language. However, the account fails to show how sentences in the language of thought can carry any semantic content. Furthermore, Plantinga argues that what we believe—propositions—cannot be concrete and that if they are not concrete, then they are not in languages of thought, at least not in languages of thought that are physically realized. Both naturalistic empirical and nativist accounts of language fail to account for language acquisition. Theism can explain language acquisition in the first humans. Linguist, Marla Bevin, argues that human beings have language capabilities in virtue of being made in the image of God: “That language precedes creation is an important point: Language was not created and did not evolve from animal grunts or mews. God eternally has language as part of His rationality. Human beings have language because it is part of the image of God. Thus, God’s use of language is an exemplar for human use of language, and it can be used to provide information about human language” (Marla Perkins Bevin, “Linguistics and the Bible” The Trinity Review No 262). If one is a nativist, then one ought to embrace theism. On theism, sentences express propositions either because objects of thought are abstract objects or concepts in the mind of God. If one is an empiricist, then one also ought to embrace theism. On theism, God communicates to human beings enabling them to gain concepts of God, angels, moral facts.
The loss of ozone may have caused the extinction many millions of years ago of most life on Earth, scientists believe. LONDON, 21 February, 2018 – Californian scientists have found a new way to account for extinction and to explain mass murder on a planetary scale. Seven out of 10 land animals perished at the end of the Permian, 252 million years ago. So did 95% of marine species. And the deadly factor at work may have been the destruction of atmospheric ozone, the protective screen in the stratosphere that eliminates harmful ultraviolet light. Jeffrey Benca of the University of California Berkeley and colleagues report in the journal Science Advances that they irradiated a series of dwarf pines with doses of ultraviolet-B radiation up to 13 times stronger than any on Earth today. They used 60 pines of the species Pinus mugo, irradiated them for 56 days, and then spent three years examining 57,000 pollen grains produced over that period. UV-B wavelengths are associated with mutations in DNA, the inheritance mechanism of all life on Earth. The dose chosen was the one to which creatures might have been exposed at the close of the Permian period, an episode characterised by immense volcanic eruptions that would have damaged the upper atmosphere. Exposed to sterility And, the researchers found, after two months exposure, the trees survived, but at a cost: they had become sterile. Their cones shrivelled within days of emerging. Once restored to present day, open air conditions, the pines all recovered. Plants underwrite all animal life: repeated bouts of forest sterility could, researchers think, have played a role in the collapse of the planet’s biosphere. Research like this is at the heart of climate science: it is a tenet of earth sciences that the present is key to the past. So it follows that what happened in the past could be relevant to the present. And since biologists have argued that the double punch of habitat destruction and climate change could be precipitating a sixth great extinction, there has always been intense interest in the triggers of the previous five. So far, no other bout of extinction has been on the scale that occurred at the end of the Permian. “The slowly unfolding extinction on land over maybe tens or hundreds of thousands of years may have been caused by reproductive troubles at the base of the food chain” That doesn’t mean the latest study has identified the smoking gun: it does, however, add immediacy to new concerns about the present state of the ozone layer. Even before the first evidence that global warming had already begun, British and US scientists confirmed that human action – in the release of a suite of industrially-important gases called chlorofluorocarbons – had begun to erode the invisible shield of stratospheric ozone that has always sheltered life on Earth. In a prompt response 30 years ago, the world’s nations banned the use of such gases. Concerted action on the other contemporary alarm, about global warming, has been more difficult to achieve. Ozone however is not the only suspect in the search for the Permian mass murder mechanisms. Other researchers have already suggested that high atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, driven by enormous, slow volcanic eruptions, could have turned the oceans increasingly acidic. Dependent on plants Biologists may never arrive at clinching evidence from the scene of a crime that happened even before the first dinosaurs colonised the planet. And, since the Permian extinction took place over a 500,000-year period, there may be no single murder weapon. Such studies, once again, illuminate the intricate dependence of all animals on plant life, and all plant life on atmospheric conditions. The research has potent lessons for those already concerned about worldwide forest loss, so far largely due to human action. “Paleontologists have come up with various kill scenarios for mass extinctions, but plant life may not be affected by dying suddenly as much as through interrupting one part of the life cycle, such as reproduction, over a long period of time, causing the population to dwindle and potentially disappear,” said Cindy Looy, an integrative biologist at Berkeley, and a co-author. And a third author, Ivo Duijnstee, from the same research team, said: “Jeff, who used his plant growth chambers as a time machine to test the potential of a hypothesis about what may have happened 252 million years ago, provides an excellent example illustrating how the slowly unfolding extinction on land over maybe tens or hundreds of thousands of years may have been caused by reproductive troubles at the base of the food chain.” – Climate News Network Our daily service Climate News Network is a free and objective service publishing a daily news story on climate and energy issues. Sign up here to get our latest articles sent straight to your Inbox.
When a table is created, it contains no data. The first thing to do before a database can be of much use is to insert data. Data is conceptually inserted one row at a time. Of course you can also insert more than one row, but there is no way to insert less than one row. Even if you know only some column values, a complete row must be created. CREATE TABLE products ( product_no integer, name text, price numeric ); An example command to insert a row would be: INSERT INTO products VALUES (1, 'Cheese', 9.99); The data values are listed in the order in which the columns appear in the table, separated by commas. Usually, the data values will be literals (constants), but scalar expressions are also allowed. The above syntax has the drawback that you need to know the order of the columns in the table. To avoid this you can also list the columns explicitly. For example, both of the following commands have the same effect as the one above: INSERT INTO products (product_no, name, price) VALUES (1, 'Cheese', 9.99); INSERT INTO products (name, price, product_no) VALUES ('Cheese', 9.99, 1); Many users consider it good practice to always list the column names. If you don't have values for all the columns, you can omit some of them. In that case, the columns will be filled with their default values. For example: INSERT INTO products (product_no, name) VALUES (1, 'Cheese'); INSERT INTO products VALUES (1, 'Cheese'); The second form is a PostgreSQL extension. It fills the columns from the left with as many values as are given, and the rest will be defaulted. For clarity, you can also request default values explicitly, for individual columns or for the entire row: INSERT INTO products (product_no, name, price) VALUES (1, 'Cheese', DEFAULT); INSERT INTO products DEFAULT VALUES; You can insert multiple rows in a single command: INSERT INTO products (product_no, name, price) VALUES (1, 'Cheese', 9.99), (2, 'Bread', 1.99), (3, 'Milk', 2.99);
Why can't single cells grow very large? Or Big organisms like human beings are multi- cellular? Why can't single cells grow very large? Or Big organisms like human beings are multi- cellular? Why can't such big organisms be a single large cell? Answer: Cell is the fundamental unit of life. All metabolic activities (necessary for life) takes place inside the cell. All raw materials required for these metabolic activities enter through the cell surface via cell membrane. Greater the surface are, large amount of raw material can enter (this is the case of uni-cellular micro-organisms). As the size of cell grows larger, the Surface Area to Volume (SA/V) ratio decreases, it means raw material required for the cell to survive will not be sufficient. Thus, SA/V ratio limits the size of the cell. Therefore big organisms like human beings are mulch-cellular.
HM - Nov. 2016 - McSweeney The Faces and Voices of the Refugee Crisis by Instructor McSweeney Middle or High School World Geography or World History This lesson, designed to take two 50-minute classes, will help students see refugees as individuals and humans instead of as statistics and a group. Students will analyze the stories of individuals to gain a more complete and empathetic understanding of the experiences of the refugees we see in the news. Students will create a visual representation of refugees and write tweets that share the experiences. Who is a refugee? State and NCHE Habits of Mind Oklahoma Academic Standards for the Social Studies: Content Standard 4- The student will analyze the world’s peoples and cultures in the context of the human systems in the Eastern Hemisphere. NCHE Habits of Mind: Shared Humanity Students will be able to read stories of refugees and synthesize the information to show that refugees come with individual stories and experiences that shape them and the refugee community. Assessment: Students will write a response to question, “How have these stories of refugees changed your understanding of who a refugee is?” and also write a tweet using #likeme Key Concepts / Vocabulary Migration: Movement from one place to another Refugee: A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. Voluntary Migrant: Those who choose to leave their home for various reasons including economic reasons, family reunification, education, etc. Internally Displaced Person (IDP): someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders See http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/who-we-help.html for more information about terms - Three large pieces of paper or white boards - Students will write tweets on sticky notes and place them on these to organize them - Sticky notes - Blank paper - Colored pencils/crayons for drawing - Printed copies of refugee stories - Tweet synthesis and assessment sheet - This will be used on day 2 as students analyze and synthesize the tweets they wrote on day 1 - Refugee Story Notes - This will be used as students read about their refugee on day 1 - PowerPoint Guide - Provides definitions and prompts to guide the lesson and the students Mohammed and Amal- http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/11/growing-refugee-childhood-syria-lebanon-151119152052205.html Mohammed (from Eritrea)- http://www.refugee-action.org.uk/refugee_voices/1689_mohammed Um Nawwaf (at end of article)- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/12/3-real-stories-from-refugees/ 1. Place students into groups of three. There are enough sources for 10 groups. Provide each group with a piece of blank paper and drawing tools. 3 minutes 2. Ask each group to draw what they think a refugee looks like. Instruct students to be respectful and appropriate and to caption their picture. 5 minutes 3. Place pictures throughout the room. Have students do a gallery walk around the room looking at the pictures. Ask each group to come up with three similarities that they see amongst the pictures drawn by the class. 5 minutes 4. Discuss what students observed and provide a definition of refugees and other terms. These are found in the presentation 10 minutes 5. Distribute refugee stories to each group. Groups should complete the “Refugee Story Notes” sheet while they read. 10 minutes 6. Once finished reading, the group will draw a picture of the refugee they just learned about. This picture should include at least three interests or attributes that are important to the individual. Students should consider: qualities, characteristics, background, talents, abilities, dreams, etc. Have students caption their picture so it is not all up to interpretation. Hang these pictures by the originals so students can compare and contrast. 10 minutes 7. Students will now write three tweets in the voice of the refugee they just read about. Tweets are no more than 140 characters and should include and be about the hashtag. The three topics should be #homesick (tweets about their home), #newhome (tweets about living in the country they are in now), and #thejourney (tweets about their journey to their new home). Tweets can be either positive or negative. Have students write the tweet on sticky notes. 10 minutes 8. Title each of your three big pieces of paper with one of the hashtags and place these around the room. Have the groups place their tweets on the appropriate piece of paper. During the next class the students will be put in six different groups so they can analyze the tweets and share the stories of the refugee stories they read. In their journals, or on a piece of paper or note card, students will write another tweet. This time they will use #likeme to identify similarities between themselves and the refugee the read about. 3 minutes 9. Create six groups. Students should not be in the same group as anyone who was in their group the day before. Once in groups, have students share their bell-work while they wait for further instruction. 5 minutes a. Group 1 should be at the #homesick table b. Group 2 will be sharing the refugee story they read yesterday c. Group 3 should be at the #newhome table d. Group 4 will be sharing the refugee story they read yesterday e. Group 5 Should be at the #TheJourney table f. Group 6 will be sharing the refugee story they read yesterday 10. Groups at a hashtag table will be reading the tweets on the poster and synthesizing them, creating conclusions about refugees based on this information. They should use the tweet synthesis sheet to organize their information. They will write a 2-3 sentence summary of what they find. Meanwhile, the other three groups will be sharing the stories they read the day before. After 10-15 minutes switch Group 1 with 2, group 3 with 4, and group 5 with 6 and repeat the process. Students will only complete one hashtag summary 25-30 minutes 11. Debrief by sharing summaries and discussing how groups got to that conclusion. Students can fill out the other boxes as the other groups present. Discussion questions could include: 10 minutes a. What surprised you about these refugees? b. How did reading these stories make you feel? 12. For an assessment, students should answer the question at the bottom of the Tweet synthesis sheet. Have students turn these in. If there is still time, discuss what students learned and their answer to this question 5 minutes 1. Write a short story about the refugee story you chose 2. Create a graphic novel about the refugee story you chose 3. Research local organizations that help refugees in your community
The History of Women's Mental Illness Throughout history, women, as the "weaker" sex, have been considered to be more susceptible to mental illness or emotional breakdowns than men. Many feel that existing stereotypes as well as our patriarchal society have contributed to the belief that women are more fragile and somehow mentally weaker. Prior to the middle 1800's, women who suffered from depression or mental illness were believed to have a disease in their soul-in other words a form of evil for which there was no help or solution. These women were committed to insane asylums, and often treated worse than animals, being kept in cages and kept in filth, given limited amounts of food, and often had little or no human contact. Finally, reform came and beliefs very slowly began to change regarding the mentally ill. Those who suffered from severe depression or other forms of mental illness were no longer believed to suffer simply because God ordered it, but because of a diseased brain-which could often be cured or at least treated. Once this shift began, women who had formerly been confined to a cage in a mental asylum, treated worse than animals, started being well-fed, given shoes and clothing, and finally, removed from their chains. The mid-nineteenth century saw a rush of doctors studying mental health issues, and experimenting on mentally ill patients. Since there was little formal training available for these doctors, many randomly followed their own beliefs regarding mental illness and tested their theories-no matter how wild or weird-on mentally ill patients in asylums. One example of one of these bizarre experiments was dubbed the Rotary Chair-the patient was strapped in a suspended chair, then spun around rapidly at a high rate of speed, causing them extreme fright and obvious discomfort in an attempt to "reset" their brain. Doctors of this era believed women were more likely to develop mental illness, most especially if she attempted to improve her station by seeking education or engaging in "too many activities." Should a woman, during the Victorian era, have an outburst, due to repression or sheer unhappiness or discontent, she was labeled "mad." Women who showed any type of opinion which fell outside the normal role of women at the time were believed to have hysteria, and were put on bed rest, seclusion, a diet of bland food, and were ordered to refrain from mental activities such as reading. This solitary confinement often pushed the woman who was merely aggravated to a state that truly could be considered mentally ill. In short, the "mental illness" of women during this era was essentially an empowerment of men who feared the intellectual woman. Woman were constantly forced to fit the stereotypical mold of the passive housewife, or risk be labeled hysteric or mad, and sent to an asylum. Today's society often sees women who suffer from depression due to a focus on the overall meaning of their lives, and their importance in the world. Although nearly twice as many women as men will be diagnosed with depression, it is generally to be considered a by-product of low social status, the legal and economic discrimination of women, and traditional role expectations. Thank goodness the treatments have come a long way through the years, and women's depression in particular is both more widely understood and more widely accepted.
Some links on this site are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission to keep this site running at no cost to you. See Disclaimer and Disclosure policy for full details Emotion regulation refers to our ability to control our feelings and not let them get the best of us. Kids who are able to use effective emotion regulation skills tend to have less meltdowns and tantrums. At the end of the day, fewer meltdowns is a win for both kids and caregivers. Therefore, it makes sense that we teach kids how to identify their feelings at an early age. So how do we teach kids emotion regulation skills you ask? Well, it starts by teaching them how to identify and express their feelings. I’ve included some fun feelings identification activities below that are perfect for most preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten-aged kids. These feelings identification activities give kids a chance to practice feelings identification by using emoji feeling faces. People’s body language tells a lot about how they are feeling. For instance, when some people are mad, they cross their arms and squint their eyes. Teaching kids how to ‘read’ body language will help them tune in to how other people are feeling. It will also help them tune in to their own body language which can give them a sense of self control . This will go a long way in helping them to practice emotion regulation when faced with big emotions. In this feelings charades game, have kids pick a card from the deck of feeling faces and act out the feeling written on the card. Others must try and guess what emotion they are acting out. This is recommended for two or more players. Feelings Matching Game The feelings matching game is played like the classic Memory game. You’ll need to print out two sets of feeling faces cards so that you have pairs of all the feeling faces. Shuffle the feeling cards and then lay them face down. Players will take turns flipping over two cards per turn until they find a match. In order to keep the match, players must share what makes them feel the emotion written on the card. Players get to go again when they find a match. The player with the most matches win. This is recommended for one or more players. Feelings Go Fish Print out two sets of feelings cards. Like the classic Go Fish game, kids get 5 cards and fish for pairs by asking other players if they have the match they need to make a pair. If the other player doesn’t have the card asked for, they say “Go Fish.” If the player gets a match, they lay the pair down and take another turn. The first player to get rid of all the cards in their hand wins. This is perfect for two or more players Feelings Slap Game Lay all the feeling faces cards face up. As you call out a feeling, the player must slap the card that has the feeling face you called. You can use a fly swatter for this game, but kids will have just as much fun using their hands or a pointer. Kids can play this alone oe with one other player. When playing with two players, the player who slaps the feeling card first gets to keep it. Tape the Feeling Faces Mats to the floor with painters tape or duct tape. For kids who are just learning about feelings, it helps to only tape a few feelings on the ground so as not to overwhelm them. The fun starts when you call out a feeling and kids must hop or jump to the feeling you called out. They must then say how their bodies feel when they experience the emotion they hopped to. Feelings Bean Bag Toss Set up the Feelings Mats on the floor using painters tape or duct tape to keep the mats in place. Call out a feeling. The child then tosses the bean bag to the feeling you called out. Another option is to have the child toss the bean bag on a random feeling and then have them tell about a time they experienced that emotion or give examples of things or situations that makes them feel the emotion the bean bag lands on. You can find all the materials needed to complete this activity in my Feelings Identification Activities resource pack. If you like this post, you may also like these resources: Thanks for stopping by! Please come back often for new ideas!
Oxygen is essential to all aquatic animal life. Without it respiration is impossible. Because the distribution of oxygen throughout a body of water can vary widely, it is important to find the specific areas which hold optimal amounts to support fish life. Oxygen concentration is a prime factor in locating where specific fish species are found. It’s self-evident that air includes an abundance of oxygen; however, water holds a much smaller amount. For example, one liter of air contains about 210 cubic centimeters of oxygen while one liter of water has only about 9 cubic centimeters. In air the lack of oxygen is rarely a problem, but in water its effect is more apparent. Water harbors a tenuous margin of safety because its oxygen content is small and varies widely. Insufficient oxygen supplies will result in animal death. Two physical factors affecting water’s oxygen content are altitude (atmospheric pressure) and temperature. Oxygen solubility in water increases with decreases in both temperature and altitude. Conversely, oxygen solubility decreases with rises in temperature and altitude. Atmospheric pressure is inversely proportional to altitude. That is, a rise in altitude lowers the atmospheric pressure, and a decrease in altitude raises the atmospheric pressure. On the other hand, atmospheric pressure is directly proportional to oxygen water solubility. That is, a rise in atmospheric pressure increases the water’s oxygen content while a decrease in atmospheric pressure lowers the water’s oxygen content. Oxygen diffusion occurs at the water’s surface, and its mixing throughout happens during a lake’s spring and fall turnover times. The oxygen diffusion process is very slow. Both wind and wave actions mix oxygen at the surface, while plant photosynthesis generates oxygen when plants are present. In deep water, where light cannot penetrate, oxygen cannot be produced by plants. Hence, a lake’s hypolimnion only receives its limited oxygen by spring and fall mixing turnovers. This is why a lake’s greatest depths can become so oxygen poor. The stratification of water layers seals the hypolimnion from the surface air supply and this seal is only interrupted at spring and fall. An increase in water temperature lowers the amount of oxygen it can contain. During hot conditions a lake’s shallows may become too warm to hold sufficient oxygen, and the animal life forms must migrate to cooler regions which have more oxygen. Inlet streams and underwater springs can supply the needed oxygenated water. The deeper shaded areas just above the thermocline can be cool enough to hold sufficient oxygen. Fish concentrate in these limited areas when such conditions prevail. Since a lake depends upon wave action, photosynthesis, and currents to mix and produce its oxygen, areas of adequate and inadequate oxygenated water exist simultaneously. This results in areas where fish can and cannot live. It is a precarious balancing act which includes oxygen content, temperature, light intensity, protective cover, and available food supply that dictates just where fish can be found. The altitude’s influence on an alpine lake can be dramatic. For example, in my youth I spent considerable time fishing alpine lakes above ten thousand feet in altitude. During the dog days of summer my success dramatically fell. I was puzzled because these alpine lakes contained colder water than their valley counterparts. The alpine lakes’ depths were void of fish, and my success was limited to the lakes’ shallows. Earlier in the season the angling was good in the alpine lakes’ depths. Now in midsummer the fishing was poor. The valley lakes fished best in their depths while the alpine lakes fished best in their shallows. I neglected to take into account the difference in altitude and atmospheric pressure between the alpine and valley lakes. The high altitude lakes’ oxygen was less because there was less oxygen available when the spring and fall turnovers occurred. This limited oxygen supply was quickly depleted in the alpine lakes’ depths, making it so fish couldn’t live there. The lower elevation lakes took in higher oxygen content during the spring and fall turnover times. This confined the alpine lakes’ fish to the shallows while the valley lakes’ fish were in the lakes’ depths. I once thought that all big fish lived in the depths and only small ones were in the shallows. This notion is untrue. The current in a river mixes oxygen much better than limited currents and waves in a lake. Also, this thorough mixing causes little variation in both, oxygen and temperature differences. During high temperature times, the whitewater river sections mix higher oxygen content. In times of hot spells fish may migrate to the rapids for survival. Look for them in the pocket areas downstream from rapids. Also areas close to adjacent inlet streams and underwater springs can harbor more favorable conditions. For example, in warm thermal rivers such as Yellowstone Park’s Firehole River, fish migrate to the mouths of cooler tributary streams during warm seasons. In conclusion, the oxygen content of water is a prime factor in determining the location of fish. An adequate oxygen supply is essential to sustain fish life. Fly Fishing - The Lifetime Sport Copyright 2016 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright 2016 Perigee Learning LLC. All rights reserved. lovetheoutdoors.com is owned and operated by Advameg, Inc. Copyright 2016 Advameg, Inc.
Most people have an awareness that thyroid disorders exist, or maybe even have an understanding that goitre (enlargement in the throat/neck area) is characteristic of a thyroid disorder. But ask the average person what their thyroid actually does and you’re likely to be met with a blank stare. So, what does the thyroid do? Put simply, the thyroid is responsible for regulating the rate and rhythm of all cells in the body. The thyroid is like the spark plug that gives energy to the body. It controls a person’s metabolic rate via the hormones it produces and influences body temperature. With a hyperthyroid (overactive) the body runs essentially “too hot” or “too fast”, whereas in contrast, a hypothyroid (underactive) causes the body to run “too cold” or “too slow”. Body temperature, ideally taken first thing in the morning on waking, can be a barometer of thyroid health. It is believed that for each degree of temperature loss, the body’s metabolic rate decreases by approximately 6%. You can imagine then, the impact of a two to four degree temperature drop - it would mean a 12-24% decrease in metabolic function, which is why those with hypothyroid can feel fatigued, unmotivated and depressed, leading to challenges with weight. How common is hypothyroidism? In Australia, the incidence of thyroid disorders is likely under-reported. Statistics claim it affects around 2% of the population. However, evidence suggests, if more screening took place this number would climb. For instance in one WA study of 2115 adults, it was found that there was a 12.4% incidence of thyroid antibodies amongst subjects without a previous history of thyroid disease. Thyroid disease is typically more common in women than men. What causes hypothyroid? Iodine deficiency is considered the most common cause of hypothyroidism worldwide, and autoimmune chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis is the most common aetiology in iodine replete countries such as Australia. Australia is considered a “replete” nation of iodine, because we have a high consumption of seafood and our food supply is heavily fortified with iodine. However, despite these measures, iodine deficiency is still common. One potential cause of compromised iodine status, is the effect of antagonistic elements we are exposed to in our environment, lifestyle or food supply. Examples such as heavy metals (e.g. lead, mercury and cadmium), and in particular chlorine and fluoride as these mineral elements compete with iodine in the body, rendering it unavailable for the production of thyroid hormones. Where do we come into contact with these elements, you might ask? Look no further than the water supply, fresh produce (washed), cleaning products, toothpaste, exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke, to name a few. Another barrier to the body having optimal access to iodine is the consumption of goitrogens. These can be derived from certain drugs a well as food. Certain foods, if over-consumed or improperly prepared, can impair iodine uptake and affect metabolism. These foods include those which are in fact very healthy and nutritious such as: kale, flax seed, spinach, soybeans and the brassica family of vegetables (cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower). Care needs to be taken with an underactive thyroid to prepare these foods properly, or keep them to a minimum, in order to optimise the uptake of iodine. What are the signs and symptoms of a thyroid disorder? The most common symptoms to be on the look out for are brittle, dull or lack lustre hair, skin and nails. People with hypothyroid also tend to feel the cold more easily and they’re often quite fatigued, even by normal activities. Other characteristic features may also include a foggy mind or memory, anxiety and heart palpitations. Another very simple way to self-investigate the thyroid is to take the basal body temperature. This is performed with a mercury thermometer popped into the armpit for five minutes before getting out of bed to start the day. It is important to take it before rising, because movement influences body temperature and you want to get an indication of what the thyroid is doing at rest after eight hours sleep. Ideally a consecutive week of temperatures is needed to get a clear picture of the average basal temp (*menstruating women are best to do this from around day 2 of their period, as mid-cycle ovulation gives body temperature a temporary boost). If the average temperature is less than 36.4ºC and this is combined with other thyroid symptoms (refer to table) then it’s worthwhile having a healthcare practitioner run some tests. Symptoms, signs and additional investigation findings in hypothyroidism What are the tests for thyroid disorders? The standard medical test is to check thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). However this is only one marker of thyroid activity and does not give you the whole picture of what is happening. Ideally, we need to be checking for TPO antibodies (thyroid antibodies) as well as the thyroid hormones themselves: T4, free T3 and reverse T3. It is quite common for people to be told their thyroid function is normal as their TSH levels return in the healthy reference range, yet they experience virtually all of the clinical symptoms of hypothyroid. The true state of the thyroid health is often only revealed with these deeper investigations. What about treatment? Medically, the classic treatment is to be prescribed thyroxine. This is an artificial version of the thyroid hormone T4 and is aimed at boosting levels to “charge up” the thyroid. Many people report feeling better fairly quickly, whilst others do not. This is a classic example of the biological differences of each person and there are many factors to consider. Much of the conversion of the thyroid hormones occurs in the liver. So diet and lifestyle choices that may impact or impair the liver’s function may be an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming increasingly common as society over consumes carbohydrates and sugar-laden foods and beverages. Sugar that cannot be adequately burned by the body is readily stored as fat and the liver takes on much of this burden, which in-turn reduces its efficiency. Medication can not undo the woes of a poor diet. If the thyroid is responsible for the energy the human body produces then there is no point fuelling it with rubbish. The diet needs to be massaged to swing in the favour of plant-based food forming the bulk of the diet, supported by good fats and lean (preferably organic) meats. The body also needs to be adequately hydrated to help circulate the nutrients from the food around the body, so reaching for water, particularly in place of the sugary or energy drink choices as a crutch to the ongoing fatigue, is a must. Though thyroxine is the first-line medical treatment for thyroid, there is in fact many other modifiable factors. A doctor with an integrative or functional approach or a naturopath, nutritionist or herbalist have a lot of expertise on the lifestyle, dietary, nutritional and herbal interventions for optimising thyroid function. Bottom line, there are likely thousands of people suffering needlessly with the effects of poor thyroid function. Your health is your best personal asset, so listen to your body, take a look at the symptoms you’re currently living with and ask yourself whether your thyroid might be part of the problem. Checking basal temperature and noting any symptoms might be the first step you need to opening up this conversation with your healthcare professional. - Schubert, A. Side effects of mild hypothermia. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol 1995;7(2). [Full Text] - Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Year Book Australia, 2012. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra: 24 May 2012. [Link] - O’Leary PC, Feddema PH, Michelangeli VP, et al. Investigations of thyroid hormones and antibodies based on a community health survey: the Busselton thyroid study. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2006;64(1):97-104. [Abstract] - So M, MacIssac R, Grossman M. Hypothyroidism: investigation and management. Austr Fam Phys 2012;41(8):556-562. [Full Text]
The Bat Squad! is excited to share with you what makes amazing bats! From tiny echolocating bats to big fruit eating flying foxes, these fascinating creatures can be found all around the world and even in your own backyard! Get Batty in the Classroom There are many reasons for students to care about bats. They are fascinating and beautiful animals. In this activity, students will use math skills to learn about the ecological and economic impacts of bats. Students will also use communication skills to convey the importance of bats to our economy and natural world and the potential effects of White-Nose Syndrome. Calculate the Value of Bats – Download
On 10 December 2018, it will be seventy years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Thanks to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and States’ commitments to its principles, the dignity of millions has been uplifted, untold human suffering prevented and the foundations for a most just world have been laid. To celebrate the 70th Anniversary UN Human Rights is launching a year-long campaign on 10 December. Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948. The Universal Declaration was adopted in the aftermath of the horrors and suffering of the Second World War and has been the cornerstone of the development of a global project committed to the protection of human rights, a project which the Preamble to the Universal Declaration declares to be ‘the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world’. The Universal Declaration was the first time that countries agreed on a comprehensive statement of inalienable human rights. It declares that human rights are universal – to be enjoyed by all people, no matter who they are or where they live. The Universal Declaration includes civil and political rights, like the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy. It also includes economic, social and cultural rights, like the right to social security, health and education. The Universal Declaration is not a treaty, so it does not directly create legal obligations for countries. However, it is an expression of the fundamental values which are shared by all members of the international community. And it has had a profound influence on the development of international human rights law. Some argue that because countries have consistently invoked the Declaration for more than sixty years, it has become binding as a part of customary international law. Further, the Universal Declaration has given rise to a range of other international agreements which are legally binding on the countries that ratify them. These include: - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and - the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights . Other binding agreements which expand on the rights contained in the Universal Declaration include: - the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1965; - the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 1979; - the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1984; - the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989; - the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006. 70th Anniversary and Campaign According to the UN Human Rights, the 70th anniversary is a chance for the world to celebrate the gift of the Universal Declaration and to highlight and reaffirm the importance of its enduring human rights principles and standards worldwide. The UN Human Rights campaign has three core objectives: to promote, engage and reflect. The aim is to engage a broad base of audiences the world over, to help promote understanding of how the Universal Declaration empowers us all, and encourage further reflection on the ways that each of us can stand up for rights, every day. Choix de bibliothécaire A selection of relevant publications from the Peace Palace Library collection - Genugten van, W., The Universalization of Human Rights in Hoogstraten, van, S. New challenges to international law : a view from The Hague, Leiden, Boston, Brill Nijhoff, pp 100-114, 2018. - Brown, G., The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the 21st century: a living document in a changing world : a report, Cambridge, Open Book Publishers, New York, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study, 2016. - Lindkvist, L., Religious freedom and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Cambridge, United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, 2017. - McDougal, M.S. and G. BebrHuman, Rights in the United Nations, in Shelton, D., International protection of human rights, Leiden, Boston, Brill Nijhoff, pp. 589-634, 2017. - Schabas, W.A., The Universal Declaration of Human Rights : the "travaux pre´paratoires", Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013. - Eide, A. and T. Swinehart, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights : a Commentary, Oslo, Scandinavian University Press, 1992. More publications in the Peace Palace catalogue about the Universal Decalaration of Human Rights.
On the 3rd of Feb 1840, Hobson with the help of Busby put together a draft Treaty. It was up to the missionary Henry Williams and his son Edward who both spoke and new the Maori language, to translate the drafted document. They received the document on the 4th February and it was needed for the meeting of the chiefs the following day. This meant that they were rushed. "Henry Williams realised that his role was critical. Like many others, he thought that Maori would be better off under British sovereignty. He knew that the chiefs would not agree if a treaty took too much power from them. The translation was key to getting Maori agreement. This may be why the words used in the translation had certain emphases and were not a mirror of the English but a particular type of missionary Maori language that would be familiar to the chiefs."
1. Title: The Consumer Revolution of the Eighteenth Century and America¿s Relationship with Britain Note: This lesson overview is similar to that for "The Consumer Revolution of the Eighteenth Century and American identity" lesson; it uses different sources and background essay materials to guide students to address different essential questions. Teacher-author: This lesson was created by Dave Neumann, Long Beach Unified School District. This lesson takes an important colonial topic, the New England economy, and places it in the context of a transatlantic consumer economy. It addresses key issues, like the roles of average people "including women, consumers, and shopkeepers" in the development of this economy. This lesson involves students in examining and evaluating primary documents to construct an answer to a significant historical question. It should take one to two traditional periods, depending on the pace of the class. Besides access to the Elizabeth Murray website, the only required material is the class textbook. 3. Historical background and bibliography: Over the course of the 1700s, the wealth of average Americans increased steadily. As it did, their ability to purchase finely crafted goods increased. Over time, Americans began to think of those things increasingly as necessities, not luxuries. Desire for these goods reached across the social spectrum of Americans. The value of such goods was in part a form of "conspicuous consumption," a way of announcing prosperity, status, and the manners commensurate with such achievements. People learned to judge each other by the standard of their mastery of the products and behaviors associated with "refinement." Peers who failed to perform properly were often harshly criticized. To accommodate the growing demand for consumer goods, a number of shops sprang up in the colonies, especially in large port cities like Boston. The trade in consumer goods aided the overall prosperity of these cities. To stimulate demand for goods and to lure customers to one's own shop, shopkeepers advertised aggressively. To keep goods flowing, shopkeepers often deferred payment in full for six months to a year. In many places in the colonies, 80 to 90 percent of all goods were sold on credit. Occasionally this practice created problems for shopkeepers, who were owed money by a great number of customers who were slow to pay up. Colonists desired credit because their prosperity was not increasing as fast as their desire for goods. T.H. Breen,"'Baubles of Britain': The American and Consumer Revolutions of the Eighteenth Century," Past and Present [Great Britain] 1998 (119); T. H. Breen, The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence(New York, 2004); Richard L. Bushman, The Refinement of America: Persons, Houses, Cities (New York, 1992). 4. Guiding question: How did consumer products affect Americans' connection to Britain, did it draw them closer, or did it drive the two farther apart? 5. Learning objectives: Students will analyze the experiences of ordinary day people within the context of the era in which they lived. Students will analyze primary documents, using them to understand life in the eighteenth century. Input and Guided Practice: The overview essay is the starting point of this lesson. Teachers may assign students to read the essay before class, in class, or may choose to lecture from it. Please note that the teacher version has additional detail and commentary. Once students are familiar with the background of the "consumer revolution," they are ready to examine the documents (both secondary excerpts and primary sources). This activity can be done in groups, pairs, or individually. It might be a good idea, however, to begin by modeling or discussing the first document together. Students can use the suggestions for interpreting documents as a guideline. After examining the documents, students should be able to discuss their responses to the question: What role did consumer products play in American culture in the 1700s? Ideally, they should be able to point to various social and economic roles that consumer products played in the colonies, including provoking debates about the possible dangers of overindulgence. The lesson could conclude by sharing out verbally, with brief quickwrites, or with longer and more formally-structured essays.
In this novel everybody is shown to be oppressed by the inherent loneliness that is an essential part of living. This is shown most clearly during Clarissa's shopping expedition to Picadilly, when, even though she is surrounded by the heaving tumult of so many people rushing around, she is struck by how lonely she feels: She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day. The image of the sea is an important symbol of the way in which this loneliness can threaten to drown those who are not strong enough to withstand it, such as Septimus and Lady Bradshaw. One of the essential truths of the human condition therefore in this novel is the oppression of loneliness and how it acts upon humans and threatens us. Repression is shown through the way in which many, if not all of the characters are struggling with a sense of sadness that they battle against expressing. Clarissa, in the following quote, links this sadness to the aftermath of the Great War that has just been endured: This late age of the world’s experience had bred in them all, all men and women, a well of tears. Tears and sorrows; courage and endurance; a perfectly upright and stoical bearing. The reference to "Tears and sorrows" is particularly important in this text, for many characters are shown to cry as a result of unsuccessfully repressing their sorrow. Male and female characters alike, such as Septimus, Clarissa, Rezia and Peter Walsh, all break into tears during the course of the novel because of the great sorrow that lies within them that they have only tried to repress.
Task: Students will research the life and contributions of Pablo Picasso and create a clay animation that teaches others about one of his periods such as the Blue period, Rose period, or Cubism Pablo Picasso The Tragedy, 1903 Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.196 Rose Period Pablo Picasso Family of Saltimbanques, 1905 Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.190 Blue Period House in a Garden Picasso, Pablo. Oil on canvas. 73.6x60.5 cm France. 1908 Source of Entry: State Museum of New Western Art, Moscow. 1930 Cubism National Standards for Arts Education - National Art Education Association (NAEA)Students should have an informed acquaintance with exemplary works of art from a variety of cultures and historical periods, and a basic understanding of historical development in the arts disciplines, across the arts as a whole, and within cultures. Standard 1: Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts. Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the visual arts and participates in various roles in the arts. This will be evident when the students create a clay animation and sets up the storyboard. Standard 2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources. Students will be knowledgeable about the make use of the materials and resources available for participation in the arts in various roles. This will be evident when the students use molding clay, tools and any other supplies to construct their characters. NYS Visual Arts Learning Standards (continued) Standard 3: Responding and Analyzing Works of Arts. Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual work to other works and to other aspects of human endeavor and thought. This will be evident when the students research and compare the life and history of Pablo Picasso and the different periods of his life to create their short clay animation. Standard 4: Understanding the Cultural Contributions of the Arts. Students will develop and understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society. This will be evident when the students create their characters in the form of the different periods of Pablo Picasso ’s life. NETS 3-5 Performance Standards: 1. Use keyboards and other common input and output devices (including adaptive devices when necessary) efficiently and effectively. (1) 5. Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, Web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4) 7. Use telecommunications and online resources (e.g., e-mail, online discussions, Web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities for the purpose of developing solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)
What is Fat? Understanding of what is fat What is fat? Fat is a particular water insoluble substance from plant and animal source. Fat is solid at room temperature and becomes liquefied at heating. What is fat chemically? Fat is composed of glyceride esters formed by 3 molecules of fatty acids and 1 molecule of glycerol. Fats and oils are important components of foods. All living cells contain fatty compounds. Fat is natural energy store and contains 2 times more energy than carbohydrate or protein. Dietary fat has natural origin and is gained from plants and animals. Large amounts of fat are found in avocados and olives. What is fat application in practice? People have used natural fats from time immemorial as food and for other purposes. For example, in the 19th century the French chemist Hippolyte Mege-Mouries produced margarine from plant oil used as a good butter alternative. Nowadays, numerous chemical reactions with fats and fatty acids are used in the quickly developing industry of fatty compounds. What is fat metabolism? Fats appear in plant seeds and fruits at the final stages of ripening. Sugars and starches in fruits and seeds are transformed by enzyme reactions into fatty acids and glycerol with subsequent glyceride formation. Fats in the human and animal tissues have dietary origin or are formed due to enzymatic synthesis. In the digestive tracts, the food fats undergo emulsification and digestion with the enzyme called lipase that decomposes the glycerides. The glycerol and fatty acids are afterward absorbed through the intestine. The fatty droplets are subsequently transported by the bloodstream to areas of fat usage or storage. What is fat from the standpoint of biochemistry and physiology? Fats play numerous physiological roles in the living cells: - Fat is efficient reserve of energy. - Subcutaneous fat insulate against cold due to low rate of heat transmission. - Fat contains the essential fatty acids such as linoleic, arachidonic, and linolenic acids. Essential fatty acids must be obtained from diet because the body is unable to synthesize them. Deficiency of essential fatty acids is manifested by skin affection, scales appearance, hair problems, and reduced growth. - Hormonal substances known as the prostaglandins are derivatives of arachidonic acid. Very small amounts of these active compounds take part in muscle contraction, lipid metabolism, nervous function, regulation of heart rate, blood pressure control, steroid activity, and nervous function. - Fats also include small amounts of phospholipids, sterols, vitamins, and carotenoids. These substances are important emulsifiers and growth factors. They also prevent fat destruction in plant seeds. Fats are dietary carriers of these substances.
What is noise? There are four common characteristics of sound, any or all of which determine listener response and the subsequent definition of the sound as ‘noise’. These characteristics are: The basic unit of sound is the decibel. The A weighted sound level—or dBA—is a good measure of sound detectable by the human ear. A busy office generates a sound level of about 60dBA. An increase of three dBA would be just noticeable, an increase of five dBA would be clearly noticeable and an increase of 10 dBA would appear twice as loud because the decibel scale is logarithmic. Human response to noise Response to noise is determined by a variety of factors such as: - time of day and year - personal factors. Research suggests that approximately 10% of people will find any noise not of their own making objectionable. By comparison, approximately 25% of the population have a high tolerance for noise. The aim is to establish appropriate noise levels which are acceptable to the majority of the community. What influences noise levels? Noise levels are affected by a number of factors: - steady, light to moderate winds produce higher noise levels downwind and lower noise levels upwind from a given source - winds of higher velocity increase background noise levels due to turbulence or movement of trees and obscure other noise sources - temperature inversions, particularly during winter - low cloud cover is sometimes reported to ‘reflect’ sound waves thereby increasing their intensity on the ground - background noise from such sources as traffic, cicadas, birds, cattle, flowing water and wind can also have a cumulative effect on noise levels. In Waihi baseline noise monitoring began prior to the commencement of the mining operation in 1987. A substantial database has been produced and monitoring is on-going. Monitoring sites have varied as mining activities have moved so that the measurement stations fairly represent the most exposed private residences. Monitoring continues throughout mining operations. A network of monitoring sites established around the operations provides results which are submitted to the Hauraki District Council on a regular basis. Independent monitoring is also carried out by the District Council. The conditions of consent require that sound monitoring is carried out in accordance with the relevant New Zealand standards for noise, and that representative samples are recorded. Because wind affects noise measurements, the New Zealand standards require that for all outdoor measurements an approved wind shield is used. Similarly the standards acknowledge that representative measurements cannot normally be made if the wind speed exceeds five metres per second. Conditions relating to hours of work and noise are specified in the Mining Licence and the Hauraki District Council Land Use Consents. While the conditions vary depending upon what work is being carried out, and the time of day that the activity is taking place, the permitted conditions (abridged) relating to hours of work and noise are: \|Monday – Friday\|\|0700 – 2100\|\|50 dB LAeq\| \|Saturday\|\|0700 – 1200\|\|50 dB LAeq\| \|All other times\|\|40 dB LAeq\| \|Monday – Sunday\|\|2100 – 0700\|\|70 dB Laf max\| For construction activities, of a limited duration, higher noise limits apply (see consent conditions for details). Work can only be carried out between 1900 and 2100 hours if it is of an urgent nature and necessary for the effective carrying out of mining operations, and the noise conditions are met. L 10 is the noise level which is equalled or exceeded for 10% of the measurement time. L 95 is the noise level which is equalled or exceeded 95% of the measurement time. L max is the maximum noise level. L min is the minimum noise level. We make every reasonable endeavour to control noise and the effects of noise, employing measures such as: - equipment selection and maintenance - construction and planting of noise bunds - cladding to reduce conveyor noise - limiting the height of stockpiles - acoustic cladding around potentially noisy machinery - closed board fencing - acoustic noise wall on some sections of perimeter noise bund.
In the seventeenth century, John Locke suggested that a child’s mind was ‘tabula rasa’- a blank slate, and that children needed to be socialised and educated into their social role. This replaced the early modern model where social position was determined by God, the self was marked by original sin, and that child-rearing was a process of disciplining body and soul to restrain that sin and make a person useful to society. The ‘blank slate’ model of the mind transformed how we thought about self, leading to an emphasis on education as the basis for social order and in the creation of identity. As Jean-Jacques Rousseau commented ‘if the timidity, chasteness and modesty which are proper to [women] are social inventions, it is in society’s interest that women acquire these qualities; they must be cultivated in women.’ So, what determined social position if the mind was an open potential, able to be shaped to be anything at all? Increasingly in the eighteenth century, the body became the determining factor in social position. Sexual difference, race, and physical features became the outward markers that determined the appropriate education that should be given to the mind that the body housed. If it was important that women played a particular social role and so received a particular education, then we could decide who ‘women’ were based on their genitals. In this sense, the mind was shaped to the body- and the mind who didn’t realise it was female just needed more discipline or education. This theory developed in two, not necessarily compatible ways, in the nineteenth century. First, there was the rise of psychology where people’s whose minds did not behave appropriately to their allocated social role could be studied, and ideally re-educated to match their biological characteristics and social expectation. Therefore, for example, someone who felt that their allocated gender did not match their sense of identity, or who was attracted to someone of the same sex, could be labelled ‘mentally ill’, and retrained. And, if the mind was a blank slate- an open potential, then why not? (This model continues into the present, although increasingly we put limits on when the mind stops being adaptable (age, 2, 3 ,7, 26 never).) Second, the emphasis on the body as determining factor in shaping identity meant that physical characteristics became increasingly seen to determine a person’s potential. This led to the rise in pseudo-sciences like phrenology, where the shape of a person’s head could be used to determine their personality- or physical profiling, where criminality and deviance could be determined by measuring the body or the distance between the eyes. Far from opening up potential then, the move to the biological began to root social characteristics in the body, limiting the potential of the mind to be educated in particular ways. Women's bodies then could be endangered by too much education, with university education leading to an inability to conceive children. And, in many ways, the legacy between these two competing ways of thinking about self remain with us today. As feminists, we (mostly) reject biological determinism and argue that gender is about education and the social construction of identity. Yet, this leads to the niggling problem of sexuality- how did you end up gay if you weren’t socialised into it? Was it just bad parenting?! Similarly, those who suffer body dysmorphic disorder- which is currently mainly associated with transgendered people, but includes a variety of people, from those who suffer from anorexia to people who feel a need to correct their body with cosmetic surgery- rightly resist the implication that this is simply a case of poor mental health. In a 21st century context, the static nature of the mind starts to loom larger in the nurture/ nature debate, and increasingly, instead of ‘fixing’ the mind when we experience problems with our bodily appearance or identity, we shape the body. If we sense that our genitals look wrong, our breasts are too small, our stomach too lumpy, many of us no longer sit through hours of therapy trying to come to accept our bodies, but instead go the gym, on a diet or under the knife. We encourage this approach in our increasing obsession with obesity, body sculpting, and fitness, and also how we think about food. Whereas dieting used to be about training your mind, we now think about hormones, sugar levels, foods that release energy all day and keep you feeling full. We think about ways to satiate the body while remaining healthy. It is no longer the recalcitrant mind, but the recalcitrant body that must be re-educated and kept well. We make significantly more links between mind and body, so that poor mental health, like depression, is about hormones, not (just) emotions. In a sense then, rather than the mind being a tabula rasa, it is the body (at least as much as the mind) which is the empty canvass in the modern world, waiting to be educated or trained into shape. Yet at the same time, we retain a sense of 'biological determinism', but one that focuses on the centrality of the mind, rather than body, to self. And, what are the implications of these new ways of thinking for modern feminism? What happens to the traditional critique of cosmetic surgery- where ‘big boobs’ were viewed as conformity to patriarchal standards- when cosmetic surgery is also what gives people a sense of unity between mind and body? When we become less sure about adapting the mind (where we would have traditionally suggested retraining women to love their small breasts), and give more emphasis to ‘fixing’ the body to meet mental expectations of self. Where is the line between acceptable and unacceptable bodily adaptations, between poor mental health and the recalcitrant body? Where is the place of disability and race politics in this discussion- where bodily perfection has a dangerous tendency to lean towards conformity to particular forms of beauty and body shape, towards sameness and not diversity? And, what does it mean that technology can allow some people to adapt their bodies, but not others?
National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix Search Lesson Plans & Companion Resources A Seedy Fruit Challenge This activity teaches students to identify different types of fruits and categorize them into two main groups based on whether they are dry or fleshy. Students will follow a worksheet and complete a lab assignment where they dissect various fruits. For the teacher demonstration: - Seeded orange - Apple or pear - Peach, plum, apricot or other stone fruit For the class: (Three of each or adjust to what is available) - Seeded orange - Bell pepper - Pea pod - One paper plate for each piece of fruit - Scales for weighing fruit For each partnership: - An assortment of three different fruits, such as: seeded orange, apple, bell pepper, and a peanut - Paper towels - Sharp plastic knife - One paper plate for each fruit given For each student: - A Seedy Fruit Challenge student lab worksheets - Facilitate a discussion with students about different fresh foods they eat that have seeds. Make a list of these foods on the board. Ask them if the foods are fruits or vegetables (botanically, fruits have seeds; vegetables come from another part of the plant and don’t contain seeds). - Tell students that they will dissect fruits to observe and record where the seeds are located, how many seeds they have, and the size, color, texture, and shape of the seeds in each fruit. - Distribute student lab, A Seedy Fruit Challenge to each student. Explain what is expected of the students with the lab worksheet. Demonstrate how to make a bar graph. - Divide students into groups of three or four. Distribute newspaper, paper plates, plastic knife, paper towels, and three to five pieces of fruit to each group. - Instruct students to weigh each piece of fruit before cutting into it. - Instruct students to place each piece of fruit on a paper plate and carefully dissect it with a plastic knife being careful to keep the fruit’s juices on the plate. - Upon completion, discuss the results as a class. File, Map, or Graphic This lesson was originally developed in 1993 through a partnership between the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Farm Bureau Federation, Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board, Fertilizer Research and Education Program and the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. It was updated in 2013 with funding from the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom and a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program. Original Author: Pamela Emery Executive Director: Judy Culbertson Illustrator: Erik Davison Layout and Design: Nina Danner Mandi Bottoms, Shaney Emerson, and Robin Satnick California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom Lessons Associated with this Resource - Esperanza Rising - FoodMASTER: Fruits - Give Me Five! - Making Half MyPlate Fruits and Vegetables - My Life as a Fruit or Vegetable - Nutritional Value of Fresh Produce
To rate this resource, click a star: This news brief from April 2009 describes how synthetic biologists are using the process of directed evolution to improve the efficiency of biofuel production. UC Museum of Paleontology Use this resource to relate evolutionary concepts to the topic of biotechnology (or get more suggestions for incorporating evolution throughout your biology syllabus). This article includes a video podcast, a set of discussion and extension questions for use in class, and hints about related lessons that might be used in conjunction with this one. Get more tips for using Evo in the News articles in your classroom. Correspondence to the Next Generation Science Standards is indicated in parentheses after each relevant concept. See our conceptual framework for details. - There is a fit between organisms and their environments, though not always a perfect fit. - Artificial selection provides a model for natural selection. - Evolution results from natural selection acting upon genetic variation within a population. - Inherited characteristics affect the likelihood of an organism's survival and reproduction. - Depending on environmental conditions, inherited characteristics may be advantageous, neutral, or detrimental. - Scientific knowledge is open to question and revision as we come up with new ideas and discover new evidence. - As with other scientific disciplines, evolutionary biology has applications that factor into everyday life, for example in agriculture, biodiversity and conservation biology, and medicine and health.
4. The esophagus is best described as: a. A continuation of the rear of the mouth region which is just anterior to the b. A structure with tubular muscular walls that has villi on the inner surfaces which moves the food through an action called peristalsis. A mass of lymphoid tissue that is located just anterior to the stomach. d. A muscular, tubular structure that serves as a passageway for the food from the pharynx to the stomach. Which of the statements below best describes the digestion of fats? a. Fats are emulsified by bile and bile salts in the small intestine and absorbed as fatty acids in the large intestine. b. Fats are emulsified in the stomach and then broken down to fatty acids, monoglycerides, and glycerol which are absorbed in the small intestine. Fats are emulsified by bile and bile salts in the large intestine and are then absorbed as fatty acids and glucose through the intestinal mucosa. d. Fats are emulsified in the stomach and are absorbed as fatty acids, monoglycerides, and glycerol through the intestinal mucosa. What is the major function of the liver (as far as digestion is concerned)? a. The production of insulin. b. The production of bile. The production of fatty acids and monoglycerides. d. The production of Vitamins A and B12.
Cuts and scratches are areas of damage on the surface of the skin. A cut is a line of damage that can go through the skin and into the muscle tissues below, whereas a scratch is surface damage that does not penetrate the lower tissues. Cuts and scratches may bleed or turn red, become infected, and leave scars. The symptoms of cuts and scratches include: - redness or swelling around the wound - pain or irritation at the skin surface Cuts and scratches can happen to anyone. People are more likely to get cuts if they are in a combative situation or if they handle sharp objects. Scratches are usually accidental. Children are more susceptible to cuts and scratches than adults, because they are more active and have less control over their growing bodies. A cut is usually the result of an encounter with a sharp object, such as a knife or razor blade. Objects with thin edges, like a piece of paper or a thin cardboard box, can also create cuts if not handled carefully. A scratch may be caused by an encounter with an abrasive surface, such as sandpaper, unfinished wood, or concrete. Wounds inflicted by animals, such as those caused by cats’ claws, are often classified as scratches. A cut or scratch can usually be diagnosed through visual inspection. Some small cuts, like paper cuts, require sharp eyes or magnifying glasses to see. There are several ways to treat cuts and scratches, depending on their severity. If the skin is kept clean, many cuts and scratches heal on their own. To accelerate that healing process, patients can choose from the following methods: Over-the-counter and prescription medications are available for wound care: antibiotic ointment can prevent infection of a cut or scratch; pain relievers may reduce irritation and control inflammation around the wound; and some topical creams may be prescribed to prevent swelling. If a cut results in a large, open wound, it may require stitches in order to heal. If the cut becomes infected beyond repair, the area of infection may have to be removed. Applying pressure to the cut or scratch can stop the bleeding. Covering the wound with a bandage will keep it clean and allow for direct application of antibiotic ointment. The bandage will also absorb any blood that remains as the wound heals. Before the bandage is applied, the wound should be cleaned with water, ethyl alcohol, or hydrogen peroxide. A tetanus booster shot is sometimes recommended after a cut. Most cuts and scratches go away over time, but some lead to scars and infections. If a wound becomes infected, it must be treated in order to avoid serious damage. A severely infected wound may require amputation. In rare cases, an infected wound can be fatal. To prevent cuts and scratches, avoid dangerous activities and interactions with sharp or coarse surfaces. Wear clothing to protect your arms, legs, and core, and be aware of your environment. If you do get a cut or scratch, clean and treat it immediately to prevent infection. Cuts and scratches are a part of everyday life, especially for children. Usually, minor cuts heal on their own as long as you clean them well and treat them immediately. Serious cuts often require medical attention from your doctor or the emergency room. To prevent cuts and scratches, avoid dangerous activities, and wear sufficient clothing to protect yourself. If you or your child does get a cut or scratch, be sure to clean it and treat it quickly to prevent infection.
By: Allan M. Siegel A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Concussions are particularly concerning injuries because they are often unpredictable in nature and can have such a profound impact on the lives of victims. The fact that concussions are difficult to diagnose has also created many problems for doctors and patients. A new study being conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia, however, is hoping to find ways to better Why Current Methods for Diagnosing Concussions Fall Short Current methods and tools for diagnosing concussions have been said to fall short. CT andMRI scans, for instance, are not able to see most of the changes in the brain after a concussion. These imaging tests may be able to identify bruising and tears, but they are unable to identify changes in the brain at a cellular and molecular level. Patients with a concussion will almost always have negative CT and MRI scans. As a result, doctors are forced to rely on what patients have to say about their symptoms. When an athlete fears that he or she may be removed from their sport for accurately describing adverse sym ptoms, they often minimize them or decline to speak truthfully about what they are experiencing. Identifying Traumatic Brain Injuries at the Microscopic Level University of Virginia researchers are exploring a new method to identify TBI. Using a tactic commonly used to diagnose lung infections, researchers are finding that TBI can potentially be diagnosed – more accurately than with current methods – by using positron emission tomography (PET) scans to chart the body's immune response to a brain injury. The study – which is being funded by the U.S. Defense Health Program – addresses the fact that current imaging tests are unable to view the brain at a microscopic level, where molecular and cellular changes can potentially alert a physician to TBI. In order to see these changes, researchers use compounds attached to white blood cells to monitor the body's immune response to injury. When this compound – which functions like a tracer – travels to the injured area of the brain, it may be an indication that the body's immune system is attempting to repair damages. Physicians will be able to see the tracers and can potentially identify TBI on a PET scan. The results of the study have been reassuring and will hopefully lead to new, effective methods for diagnosing TBI. For more information about traumatic brain injuries and concussions, or to discuss your brain injury case, contact a Northern Virginia brain injury lawyer from Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C.
Queen Elizabeth I of England and Mary Queen of Scots had red hair and spoke five languages. They were cousin and female leaders in a male world. But the lives of these two women were very different. Elizabeth’s early years were hard. When she was born in 1533, her father, Henry VIII, was angry because his new child was a daughter, he wanted a son so he executed Elizabeth’s mother and married again. In 1533, Elizabeth’s Catholic half-sister, Mary Tudor, became queen. She put Elizabeth in prison because she was a Protestant. When Mary died in 1558, Elizabeth became Queen of England. People wanted her to marry and have children. She was secretly in love with a man called Robert Dudley but she never became his wife and she never married. She was an intelligent woman and she lend the country for over forty-five years. England became rich and strong. It was a very exciting period of discovery and a ‘Golden Age’ in English history for painting, music, architecture and literature. Shakespeare wrote great plays in this period. Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotland in 1542 when she was six days old. When she was a girl of five, Mary went to live in France. She married the King of France’s son, Francis, when she was fifteen and became Queen of France the next year. When she was eighteen, Francis died and in 1561 Mary Stuart sailed back to Scotland. Mary was not a successful leader. She married her cousin, Lord Darnley, and had a son, James, but Darnley was violent and jealous. He murdered Mary’s Italian secretary Rizzio. After Darnley died, Mary fell in love with and married the Earl of Bothwell. Then the Protestant nobles of Scotland rebelled against Mary and put her in prison. Mary was a Catholic and they did not like her husbands. In 1568, Mary escaped to England. She asked her cousin, Elizabeth, for help but Elizabeth put Mary in prison because she was dangerous for her. Some people wanted the Catholic Mary to be Queen of England. In 1587, Elizabeth ordered the execution of her cousin, Mary.
Difference Between Length and Height Length vs Height Determining the length and height of an object may be a little confusing for some who did not have a clear grasp of the concept of geometry. Length, by custom, is referred to as the longest line or side of an object. For a parallelogram, an object with parallel sides (i.e. a rectangle), the length is its longest line. It describes how long an object is. This description, though, may become confusing when you change the position of the rectangle such as when you make it lie on the horizontal surface using its longest side. In this sense, the original height became its length while its original length became its height. In the case of a square, the length is any of its sides because no side is longer or smaller than another. It is also convenient to say that length is the lateral side of an object which is parallel to the surface or ground or the X plane in geometric graphical representations. By contrast, height is a different measure because it is the vertical side of an object. It is, therefore, not parallel to the surface. Rather, it is parallel to the Y plane in the geometric graph. Being parallel to this plane enables the height to be perpendicular with the horizontal plane forming right angles. By its colloquial interpretation, this still holds true because the height is normally referred to as the floor-to-ceiling measurement of something. This, therefore, describes how tall an object is. In a practical application, describing how tall trees and buildings are requires you to know their respective heights. Height can also refer, not only to how tall something is, but how high it is from the standard ground level. In the sky, for example, the plane’s height is usually interpreted as its altitude. If one will say that it is 1,000 meters above sea level, then the plane is 1,000 meters from the ground or from the level of the sea. In another context, height and length differ because the height sort of measures the linear distance of an entire object or creature from its lowest point to its highest point while the length just measures one of its parts. A good example is when one would describe the length of the giraffe’s legs as opposed to its overall height. One can never describe it in terms of the height of its legs and the length of the zebra, which is more or less inappropriate. Length and height are similar in the sense that they are all linear-type measurements. Hence, they almost have the same type of measuring units used no matter what system of measurement. For example, height and length can both be expressed in terms of feet, inches, meters, and many other more. 1.Height refers to how tall an object is while length is how long. 2.Height can also refer to how high up an object is with respect to the ground level. 3.Length is customarily considered as the longest side or line of an object particularly among rectangle-shaped objects. 4.Length is parallel to the X plane while height is parallel to the Y plane. 5.Among squares, the length is any of its sides. Search DifferenceBetween.net : Email This Post : If you like this article or our site. Please spread the word. Share it with your friends/family. Leave a Response
About Preventive Care What About Preventive Care? Tooth decay and children no longer have to go hand-in-hand. At our office, we are most concerned with all aspects of preventive care. We use the latest in sealant technology to protect your child’s teeth. Sealants are space-age plastics that are bonded to the chewing surfaces of decay prone back teeth. This is just one of the ways we will set the foundation for your child’s lifetime of good oral health. Most of the time cavities are due to a diet high in sugary foods and a lack of brushing. Limiting sugar intake and brushing regularly, of course, can help. The longer it takes your child to chew their foods the longer the residue stays on their teeth, the greater the chances of getting cavities. Every time someone eats, an acid reaction occurs inside their mouth as the bacteria digests the sugars. This reaction lasts approximately 20 minutes. During this time the acid environment can destroy the tooth structure, eventually leading to cavities. Consistency of a person’s saliva also makes a difference. Thinner saliva breaks up and washes away food more quickly. When a person eats diets high in carbohydrates and sugars, they tend to have thicker saliva that allows more acid-producing bacteria that can cause cavities. Tips For Cavity Prevention - Limit frequency of meals and snacks. - Encourage brushing, flossing, and rinsing. - Watch what you drink. - Avoid sticky foods. - Make treats part of meals. - Choose nutritious snacks. The first baby teeth that come into the mouth are the two bottom front teeth. You will notice this when your baby is about six to eight months old. Next to follow will be the four upper front teeth and the remainder of your baby’s teeth will appear periodically. They will usually appear in pairs along the sides of the jaw until the child is about 2-1/2 years old. At around 2-1/2 years old, your child should have all 20 teeth. Between the ages of five and six, the first permanent teeth will begin to erupt. Some of the permanent teeth replace baby teeth and some don’t. Don’t worry if some teeth are a few months early or late. All children are different. Baby teeth are important as they not only hold space for permanent teeth, but they are important to chewing, biting, speech, and appearance. For this reason it is important to maintain a healthy diet and daily hygiene. We recommend seeing children when their first tooth erupts. At this appointment we like to talk to the parents about the decay process, brushing, flossing and fluoride. We recommend a once annual application. Parents should consult with their childs pediatrician regarding the application of fluoride varnish. If they offer this service, you may want to have the varnish applied when they receive their annual well baby check.
In the first portion of this experiment, fractional distillation was used to separate two volatile substances from a mixture. To isolated and determine the two liquids that composed the unknown mixture distributed by the Teaching Assistant, I referred to the distinct and known boiling points of the possible solvents. The products separated by fractional distillation were then analyzed using gas chromatography in the second portion of the experiment. This method allowed me to determine the purity of the previously separated liquids on the basis of polarity. Although simple distillation and fractional distillation are both methods used to isolate pure liquids from a mixture, the technique of fractional distillation is used in this experiment for various reasons. The most obvious difference between these two types of distillation is the length of the columns located between the stillpot and the stillhead. In simple distillation the column is shorter than that used during fractional distillation. The longer fractional distillation column gives the compounds more room, thus allotting them the necessary space and surface area to fully separate. Therefore the method of fractional distillation will yield products with a higher purity than the products of simple distillation. Another reason fractional distillation was used instead of simple distillation is the factor of time. When dealing with a mixture of two liquids with a difference in boiling points that is less than 40-50O C (such as the liquids in the unknown of this experiment), multiple simple distillations must be done. Each simple distillation will yield a higher concentration of purified liquid with a lower boiling point. Although this method will yield products with the same purity as that of fractional distillation, it is very time consuming. In situations as such, fractional distillation should be used to save time. This method is more efficient for separating liquids with only slight differences in... Please join StudyMode to read the full document
Culture is what people think, value, and do to ensure their existence. As each generation inherits a culture, modifications will be made, with basic features left untouched such as language, religious, practices and government systems. Like a river, culture has many sources (Mosterin, 1992). There are at least five tributaries that merge to make us who we are. We are first influenced by our biology. Our genders, sexual preferences and socialization processes produce several combinations of behaviour, which cut across national and possibly international boundaries. Human beings however will naturally seek to adjust their behaviours to „fit‟ with the dictates of the world in which we inhabit. Our culture is influenced by our ecology. The various environments existing worldwide will be hot or cold, tropical or temperate, mountainous or flat. Understandably, persons living in Iceland will develop a different way of life to those living in Hawaii. Our national grouping will influence specific culture. Generally, inhabitants of countries will share common language, style of government, mode of dress etc., which may be vastly different from the variable in another country. For example, the language and mode of dress in India is significantly different from that of Spain. Within a country there may be differences between regions, which may contribute significantly to the national culture. For example, in the United States of America, people living in California and Texas long the Mexican border present cultural characteristics that are unique to that part of the country (Vontress, 2001). Similarly, certain parts of Canada have French as their first language eg. Quebec, while other parts have English as the first language, eg. Ontario. 2 In certain countries of the world, the racio-ethnic group into which individuals are born and socialized plays a tremendous role in influencing culture. In the USA, many African-Americans manifest a culture quite different from the Caucasian-Americans. In Trinidad, the Indian and the Negro population exhibit vastly differing beliefs, dress and traditions. Although culture is a complex construct, it undoubtedly affects our entire existence. Anthropologists often describe culture as a system of shared meanings. Because there are a variety of ways to define a cultural group (e.g., by ethnicity, religion, geographic region, age group, sexual orientation, or profession) so consequently, some persons consider themselves as having multiple cultural identities. Culture and society play critical roles in mental health, mental illness, and mental health services. Understanding the wide-ranging roles of culture and society enables the mental health professional to design and deliver services that are more responsive to the needs of racial and ethnic minorities. Psychologically speaking, major perceived cultural differences between people can cause initial uncertainty, misunderstanding and fear. Culture is 3 relevant, however, even in matches of very similar cultures, as in situations where there is a good therapeutic fit or where the therapist over identifies with the patient and makes unwarranted cultural assumptions (Moffic et al., 1988). With a seemingly endless range of cultural subgroups and individual variations, culture is important because it bears upon what all people bring to the therapeutic setting. It can account for variations in how clients communicate their symptoms and which ones they report. More often than...
1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data Two bodies "P" and "Q" are on a frictionless horizontal surface are connected by a light cord. The mass of "P" is greater than that of "Q." A horizontal force "F" is applied to "Q" as shown below, acceleration the bodies to the right. The magnitude of the force "F" exerted by the connecting cord on body "P" will be: A. Greater than F B. Zero C. Less than F but not zero D. Equal to F 2. Relevant equations F = ma? I drew a picture. 3. The attempt at a solution I thought the answer was "A" because the force has to account for mass "P" AND mass "Q."
Protein is an essential macronutrient, along with carbohydrates and fat. Protein is not usually used as an energy source by your body; instead, it’s metabolized into smaller units that are used as “building blocks.” Complete protein contains all 22 amino acids, the building blocks that your body uses in various combinations. Protein sources derived from animals are always complete, whereas plant sources usually are incomplete because they lack certain amino acids. Soon after you eat protein, your pancreas secretes enzymes into the small intestine in order to metabolize the protein into much smaller amino acids, which help to construct a variety of structures such as muscle fiber, skin and connective tissue. Some amino acids are used directly to build tissue and biochemical compounds, while others are recycled into completely different amino acids before the body can use them. The amino acids your body cannot manufacture are called essential amino acids -- you must obtain them from your diet. Types of Amino Acids As your body develops from childhood to adulthood, it’s able to make more amino acids. For example, 12 of the 22 amino acids are considered essential when you are a young child because your biochemical abilities are somewhat limited until your early teenage years. These 12 amino acids are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, cysteine, tyrosine, histidine and arginine. Once you become a teenager, the number of essential amino acids is reduced to eight because your body now can synthesize cysteine, tyrosine, histidine and arginine. The remaining 14 amino acids are referred to as non-essential amino acids. Protein from animal sources, such as beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, shellfish, milk and cheese, contains all the 22 amino acids humans need. Because Americans consume a lot of meat and dairy products, protein deficiency is fairly rare in the United States, according to the “American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide." Strict vegetarians and homeless people are most at risk of protein deficiency, which manifests as stunted growth, poor muscle development, dull looking skin and hair, unusual fatigue and reduced immune response. Most protein sources from plants are incomplete, typically missing one or two amino acids. However, a few widely available sources are complete, including soybeans, quinoa and hemp seeds. Vegetarians can combine a variety of incomplete plant-based protein sources to obtain all the essential amino acids. - Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition; Benjamin Caballero, et al. - American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide; American Dietetic Association - Public Health Nutrition: From Principles to Practice; Mark Lawrence, et al. - Meat image by Svetlana Kashkina from Fotolia.com
Here you have 5 plus days of explicit Reading instruction. These lessons follow the workshop model. The lessons are detailed for each day and ready to be put into your planbook! They include the standard (s), Learning Targets, easy to understand teaching instructions, guided practice, independent practice, and reflection. Some days involve group or partner work. All resources are in the document except the read aloud, The Old Woman Who Named Things, but that can be found on Youtube or your school library may have it. These lessons are for the Common Core Standard RL.3.1, but cover additional standards also. There is also a rubric for an assessment you will have the students complete. Here is everything you need for a week of RL.3.1, Asking and Answering Questions.
Why allowing kids to play online games may boost learning I was watching my daughter play an educational game on the iPad with one her friends who is also 3 years old. They were laughing, talking and taking turns. It occurred to me that kids learn by playing games. Before starting school, kids are constantly learning almost entirely through play. Then, so often, once they go to school, the games stop and - for some kids - so does the learning. Many students may learn more effectively when given a choice in how they learn. Research shows that boys often test as reading a couple of grade levels behind in school. However, research done by Dr. Steinkuehler, former senior policy analyst at the White House office of Science and Technology Policy, found that these same boys could read texts above their grade level if they are necessary to playing an online game. When presented with a real life situation, which requires them to read in order to solve a puzzle, they are able to do it. Playing games also teaches kids to stick with it if they are not successful on the first try. Learning to try again when you fail is one of the best predictors of success in school and in life. This quality is easily taught through games and is not as easy to teach or to measure in the traditional classroom. Playing games also teaches kids to stick with it if they are not successful on the first try. While traditional learning sometimes stifles attributes like teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, persistence, and risk-taking, gaming encourages these qualities. Many games are quite difficult and involve critical thinking skills, as well as working with others as part of a network or team. Games allow kids to use collective intelligence and learn skills, like patience and discipline, which experts say are a better predictor of future success than IQ score. Using games to teach your kids, or as an extension of their learning, does not mean that what they learn has to be dumbed down. In fact, educational games could provide an innovative and interesting way to challenge and engage them in learning something new. Nina lives in Spotsylvania with her husband and daughter. She owns Parrish Learning Zone, a K-12 tutoring service.
Although we tend to think of the Earth as an amazingly hospitable planet, at several times in the past it seems to have done its best to kill us all—or at least all of our ancestors. Several of the Earth's mass extinctions occurred around the time of elevated volcanic activity, but the timing has been notoriously difficult to work out; the fossil beds that track the extinction rarely preserve the evidence of volcanic activity and vice-versa. A study that will appear in today's issue of Science provides a new window into the end-Triassic mass extinction, the event that ushered in the start of the era of the dinosaurs. The study provides a precise timing of events of the extinction through a combination of new dating work and a link to the Earth's orbital cycles preserved in rocks near Newark, New Jersey (because when you think end-Triassic, you think New Jersey, right?). The timing of events shows that the extinction occurred at the very onset of the volcanic activity that signaled the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea, but that life began to recover even as the later eruptions were taking place. Volcanic activity takes place all the time, and while it can be devastating for the local environment (and you can use a very large definition of "local" for supervolcanoes), this isn't enough to set off a global extinction. For that, you need what are termed "flood basalt eruptions." These events are just what the name implies: molten rock comes flooding out of a rift and covers thousands of square kilometers in rock, often at depths of hundreds of meters. Then, before the Earth recovers, you do it all over again. The largest of these eruptions, which formed the Siberian Traps, has had the total volume of rock that erupted estimated at above a million cubic kilometers. Events like these tend to kill stuff, and not just locally, where everything ends up buried under tons of rock. The eruptions send a lot of sulfur compounds into the atmosphere, which form a haze that reflects sunlight back to space. The result can create a sharp, temporary cooling in climate (think the Year Without a Summer on steroids). Once that clears out, the massive amounts of carbon dioxide that were also released kick in, swinging the temperatures up to new highs. The oceans don't get off lightly, either, as the same carbon dioxide causes a rapid ocean acidification, which makes it extremely difficult for any shelled creatures to survive. Given that combination, it's no real surprise that the Siberian Traps eruptions set off the biggest mass extinction we know about, the end-Permian, which is commonly known as the Great Dying. Other large scale eruptions have also been associated with mass extinctions, including the one that killed the dinosaurs—that one produced India's Deccan Traps. As noted above, getting the timing of everything down well enough to assign definitive blame is not easy; the role of the Deccan Traps eruptions in killing off the dinosaurs was only settled by finding something else to blame. But we now have a very good picture that ties eruptions nicely to the end-Triassic extinction, which wiped out some of the dinosaurs' competitors, allowing them to assume ascendancy. Getting the timing right The eruption that may have triggered the end-Triassic extinction was caused by the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea, and took place along the rift that would eventually form the Atlantic ocean. It left behind the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), which is now spread across four continents, from France and Spain through to West Africa on one side of the Atlantic, and along the US' East Coast and down into Brazil on the other. The CAMP was built from a series of eruptions that left behind giant layers of basaltic rock; residents of New York City can see one by looking across the Hudson at the Palisades of New Jersey. Certainly, the eruptions were big enough to bring about global devastation. But did they? It has been hard to tell. Basalts don't typically include the sorts of minerals that allow us to do highly accurate dating through radioactive decay. And the basalts themselves contain no fossils, making it difficult to figure out how the timing of various events fit together. The key to piecing things together came from an area in New Jersey called the Newark basin. Deposits in the basin contain a number of layers that turned out to be incredibly informative. To begin with, these included several distinctive layers of basalts caused by individual eruptions that contributed to the CAMP. These were interspersed with sedimentary deposits, some of which contained signs of life that allowed the process of extinction and recovery to be tracked. The sediments, however, also contained periodic changes that appear to line up with the Earth's orbital cycles (the same ones that drive the modern glacial cycles). Scientists hypothesized that these came about as local currents changed, altering the deposit of sediments, but there was no way to confirm that. The new work involved drilling in to eight sites around the CAMP, a number of which yielded zircons associated with individual eruptions. These crystals, which are rarely associated with magmas, can be used for highly accurate uranium-lead dating. That gave them the timing of the individual eruptions, which could then be traced back to the Newark basin deposits. These confirmed that the dates predicted by orbital cycles lined up with those from the uranium-lead dates. With all this information in hand, it was possible to put together a chronology of both the extinction and the eruptions. (The authors refer to having a combination of geochronology and astrochronology.) The data now suggests that it didn't take repeated heating-cooling cycles to start the extinction; the very first flood basalt eruption apparent in the CAMP seems to have started eliminating species. Three other major eruptions occurred over a 600,000 year period, but the first did the most damage. In fact, there are some indications that species were starting to recover even as the final eruptions were taking place. Oddly, the CAMP may eventually play a role in reversing problems similar to the ones its formation caused. The rapid increase in CO2 we're currently creating is raising fears of a rapid ocean acidification that could lead to widespread extinctions as well. The rocks of the CAMP will react chemically with carbon dioxide and are being considered as a potential site of carbon sequestration.
Marek’s disease virus (MDV) is a highly contagious viral infection that predominantly affects chickens but can also affect pheasants, quail, gamefowl and turkeys. The disease is one of the most common diseases affecting poultry flocks worldwide. Although clinical disease is not always apparent in infected flocks, a subclinical decrease in growth rate and egg production may be economically important. Mortality rates can be very high in susceptible birds. Marek’s disease (MD) results in enlarged nerves and in tumour formation in nerve, organ, muscle and epithelial (cells that line the internal and external surfaces of the body) tissue. Clinical signs include paralysis of legs, wings and neck; loss of weight; grey iris or irregular pupil; vision impairment; and the skin around feather follicles can be raised and roughened. Affected birds are more susceptible to other infectious diseases. MD can look similar to the diseases of lymphoid leucosis and reticuloendotheliosis. The rareness of bursal tumours with MD helps distinguish this disease from lymphoid leukosis. Also, MD can develop in chickens as young as 3 wk of age, whereas lymphoid leukosis typically is seen in chickens >14 wk of age. Reticuloendotheliosis, although rare, can easily be confused with MD because both diseases feature enlarged nerves and T-cell lymphomas (a type of tumour involving white blood cells called T-cells, which are part of the active acquired immunity system) in visceral (soft internal) organs. MD is caused by a highly cell-associated (virus particles that remain attached to or within the host cell after replication) but readily transmitted herpesvirus. The route of infection is usually respiratory. There are three serotypes of MD virus. Virulent (disease causing) chicken isolates fall into serotype 1. Avirulent (not disease causing) chicken isolates fall into serotype 2. Serotype 3 designates the related avirulent virus that is commonly found in turkeys. Serotypes are identified by reaction with serotype-specific monoclonal (clones from a single cell) antibodies or by biological characteristics such as host range, pathogenicity (severity of disease), growth rate, and plaque morphology (the physical appearance of laboratory grown viral cultures). Currently, virulent serotype 1 strains are further divided into pathotypes (classification based on the severity of disease caused by that particular strain of virus), which are often referred to as mild (m), virulent (v), very virulent (vv), and very virulent plus (vv+) MD virus strains. The virus matures into a fully infective, enveloped form in the cells lining the feather follicle and is released into the environment in dander (small scales from feathers which flake off and can become airborne). The virus may also be present in faeces and saliva. When cell-associated, the virus may survive for months in poultry house litter or dust and is resistant to some disinfectants. Infected birds carry virus in their blood for life and are a source of infection to susceptible birds. A recent Poultry CRC epidemiological study has revealed that MDV is less prevalent in the environment than previously thought. However, it is long lasting and remains infective in dust despite wide variations in atmospheric temperature. There is no treatment for MD. Vaccination is the central strategy for the prevention and control of MD. While vaccination will prevent clinical disease and reduce shedding of infective virus it will not prevent infection. Cell-associated vaccines are generally more effective than cell-free vaccines because they are neutralised less by maternal antibodies. Over time, increasingly virulent strains of MD virus have emerged, resulting in an ongoing need to develop new vaccines and vaccination programs to combat the disease. It was found that better protection from MD was obtained when certain combinations of serotypes were used together in a vaccine rather than one serotype alone (protective synergism). This phenomena, which is unique to MD and is strongly serotype specific, has led to the development of polyvalent vaccines (vaccines containing more than one vaccine strain).The efficacy of vaccines can be improved by strict sanitation to reduce or delay exposure and by breeding poultry for genetic resistance to MD. Vertical transmission (from parents to offspring) is not considered to be important. Vaccines administered at hatching require 1-2 weeks to produce an effective immunity, therefore exposure of chickens vaccinated at hatching to virus should be minimised during the first few days after hatching. Vaccines are also effective when administered to embryos at the 18th day of incubation. In ovo vaccination (vaccination of the embryo prior to hatching) is now performed by automated technology and is widely used for vaccination of commercial broiler chickens, mainly because of reduced labour costs and greater precision of vaccine administration. In the early 1970’s, the success of vaccination against MD became apparent in other countries but Australian quarantine restrictions prevented the importation of any such vaccine. This necessitated the development of a local vaccine. In 1974, field trials began using an Australian isolate of herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT). This serotype 3 vaccine was shown to be safe and gave an overall protection of 85.2%, which compared favourably with results reported in other countries. Vaccination with this strain was very effective and controlled MD in Australia until about 1980. HVT is generally produced as a cell-associated form of vaccine. A cell-free form also exists but is less protective than its cell-associated counterpart. Despite the availability of serotype 1 and 2 vaccines in other countries, HVT was the most commonly used vaccine throughout the world until the late 1970’s when MD outbreaks of increasing severity were reported in vaccinated chickens. Viruses isolated at this time were classified as very virulent Marek’s disease viruses (vvMDV). The discovery of protective synergism (better protection when combinations of serotypes were used together in a vaccine rather than each serotype alone) between Marek’s disease vaccines prompted the use of bivalent vaccines (a mixture of two vaccine strains) containing serotypes 2 and 3. MD continued to be widespread in Australia, with disease outbreaks despite vaccination programs during the 1980’s. Consequently, an Australian cell-associated serotype 2 vaccine “Maravac”, which was licensed for sale in 1977, was used alternatively with HVT or in combination. In the early 1990’s, despite the use of Maravac, polyvalent vaccines and increased doses of HVT, an increase in the prevalence of MD was once again observed. During this time, imported breeds of chickens became available in Australia. The influx of imported pullets into Australia coincided with increases in MD mortality to over 50%, which had never been seen previously in Australia. Field and breed comparison trials demonstrated that imported breeds were responding poorly to Australian-derived MD vaccines. The incidence of MD in imported breeds appeared to be higher than in existing Australian strains of birds. In view of this situation, and the emergence of strains of increased virulence, changes in vaccination strategies included the vaccination of broiler chickens, previously not routine practice in Australia. Due to concern from the Australian poultry industry over the apparent failure of Australian vaccines, a meeting was convened by the vaccine manufacturer Websters and the Australian Veterinary Poultry Association (AVPA) in 1993, where the industry reported to the government and vaccine manufacturers the full extent of MD in Australia. Websters proposed that a serotype 1 vaccine be imported from overseas. This option was unpopular with the majority of the poultry industry and instead, the industry decided to increase its funding of MD research, particularly at providing evidence that a serotype 1 vaccine would give better protection than existing Australian vaccines and to develop an Australian serotype 1 vaccine. An Australian serotype 1 vaccines was developed by RMIT with industry funding, however prior to the commercialisation of the vaccine approval was given for the importation of the Rispen’s serotype 1 vaccine. The Rispen’s vaccine is derived from a mildly virulent serotype 1 MDV isolate which was further attenuated (weakened) by 20 cell culture passages. Rispen’s vaccine has been used extensively for protection against MDV strains of very high virulence. It has been shown to be mildly virulent for highly susceptible lines of chickens and maintains its ability to spread by contact. Bioproperties now has an important role in importing Rispens vaccine. The introduction of the Rispen’s vaccine to the Australian chicken industry has lessened the need for an Australian serotype 1 MD vaccine. Nevertheless, the RMIT vaccine seed has been stored as it may be useful if further change occurs in the evolution of MDVs. Since the RMIT vaccine virus is derived from a recent Australian isolate, it may share more antigens with recent strains. The Rispen’s vaccine was derived from a mildly virulent serotype 1 MDV isolated in the 1970s in The Netherlands and, as such, may not possess antigens common to recent Australian strains. Trivalent combinations of all three serotypes were introduced in 1990. As at 2004, trivalent vaccines were available in the USA, recommended only for high risk flocks. As at 2004, trivalent vaccines were not available in Australia. Using fowlpox virus and herpesvirus of turkeys as vectors (an organism that does not cause disease itself but which spreads infection by conveying pathogens from one host to another), experimental recombinant (genetically engineered to contain DNA from different organisms) vaccines have been shown to be effective against challenge with virulent Marek’s disease virus. As at 2004, recombinant vaccines were not commercially available. For an existing farm, other than providing clothing for visitors (disposable overalls) and using hard fibre based litter materials (wood shavings), you can reduce the risk by being aware that there is a higher seasonal incidence in Summer/Autumn, which peaks in March. This being so, if you have MDV on your farm, it is important to vaccinate broiler flocks that will mature at the end of Autumn, not just those grown for the Christmas market. Cleaning vehicles between farms, while good biosecurity practice, makes no difference to the spread of MDV. It is far better to spend the money on the disposable overalls than worry about cleaning trucks. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (a core partner in the Australian Poultry CRC) is investing in a new project to develop a DNA based test to quickly differentiate between wild-type MDV and MDV from the Rispens vaccine, commonly used to vaccinate broiler-breeders and layers. Armed with this test, it will be possible to ascertain if MDV on farms is caused by spread of the vaccine amongst the progeny of broiler-breeders or if it is a potentially dangerous wild-type. Meanwhile the Poultry CRC will also look into the possibility of arranging a comparison between the international reference strains of MDV with the known Australian strains to establish, once and for all, just how virulent the Australian strains are. This knowledge will help in the development of new vaccines against MDV. Given that this work involves moving highly pathogenic virus between countries, it will be carried out at either an Australian or overseas laboratory with the highest possible levels of biosecurity. This unique presentation shows the fundamental structure and anatomy of the chicken Now released in the App Store. Developed by the Poultry CRC. Have fun while learning about what makes a good egg. Download for free in Australia These lists contain organisations and individuals associated with the Australian poultry industry
Independence Day Countdown until July 4th, 2018 Independence Day Facts and History Independence Day is a federal holiday observed every year in the United States. The holiday celebrates the history of the U.S., making it a secular holiday rather than a religious one. Specifically, Independence Day celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the First Continental Congress, which took place on July 4, 1776. This document declared the 13 American colonies to be an independent nation rather than under British rule and was what led to the Revolutionary War that allowed the United States to be formally established. When Is Independence Day? Independence Day is officially held on July 4, which is why the holiday is sometimes referred to as the Fourth of July or July Fourth. In observance of the holiday, federal, state and local government offices are closed, and many private employers give their employees the day off as well. When the Fourth of July falls on a Saturday or Sunday, government offices usually close the Monday after the holiday; however, Independence Day celebrations are usually still held on the official date of the holiday. History of Independence Day In 1777, the signing of the Declaration of Independence was commemorated with a thirteen-gun salute and festivals were held throughout America. Although the date was not an official holiday, historians consider this to be the first Independence Day celebration in the U.S. Annual events to remember the signing of the Declaration of Independence continued in the years that followed 1777. In 1781, Massachusetts became the first state legislature to name July 4th as a holiday. It wasn’t until 1870 that the U.S. Congress passed a law to establish the holiday nationwide at the federal level. In 1938, the law was amended to make Independence Day a paid federal holiday for employees. Independence Day Traditions There are a number of traditions that Americans follow on Independence Day, including: - Fireworks. Communities and cities across the United States hold fireworks displays on the evening of Independence Day. The traditions seems to have grown out of the practice of firing guns to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. - Cookouts and Picnics. Many American families have picnics or cook outdoors on a grill for Independence Day. Every year Americans eat more than 150 million hot dogs during Independence Day celebrations and more than 190 million pounds of beef and 700 million pounds of chicken are consumed. - Parades and Festivals. Communities may hold large parades with floats and bands in honor of Independence Day. Some also have festivals and carnivals to celebrate the day. - Travel. Because many people have Independence Day off from work, the weekend closest to the holiday has become the busiest time for travel in the United States. Each year, more than 40 million people travel at least 50 miles over Independence Day weekend. - Flying Flags. Business and homeowners will often fly a flag in front of their homes on Independence Day. It’s customary to take the flag down at dusk unless it is illuminated by a light. - Wearing Red, White and Blue. As a symbol of patriotism, many Americans wear the colors of the American flag on Independence Day.
Cataracts are a common health problem among senior canines, but pups can develop them. too. Juvenile cataracts are considered a serious risk by professional breeders and veterinarians. While all cataracts in dogs younger than 5 years are considered juvenile, the term usually describes those that emerge during the first year. Dogs may develop juvenile cataracts when they inherit certain genes from their parents or if something interferes with the mother's gestation process: Puppies can be born with cataracts and other serious health issues if their mother became sick, was physically injured or did not receive sufficient nutrition during pregnancy. Hereditary juvenile cataracts are much more problematic, because even excellent prenatal care doesn't help prevent them. Veterinary scientists have identified certain genes that are associated with the development of cataracts in puppies and adolescent dogs. Risk and Prevalence The genetic trait associated with the development of juvenile cataracts is recessive, so both parents must have at least one copy of it in their chromosomes for their puppies to actually develop cataracts. If two adult carriers mate, the probable result is that 25 percent of their litter will not have the gene at all, 50 percent will be carriers and the remaining 25 percent will have two copies. Puppies with two copies of the gene will develop juvenile cataracts. The hereditary form of the disease occurs in roughly two dozen species, including the Siberian husky, standard poodle, West Highland white terrier and american cocker spaniel, according to the Westie Foundation of America. Knowing the symptoms of juvenile cataracts aids you in identifying the condition before you buy or adopt a pup from a breeder. The most obvious visible sign of juvenile cataracts is the presence of an opaque film or "cloudiness" in the puppy's eyes, according to Siberian Husky Club of America. The cataract itself is a lesion on the lens inside your dog's eye. The lesion deforms the fragile lens, which distorts vision by preventing light from passing through the eye. A cataract near the center of the lens causes severe or complete vision loss, while a lesion around the edge may only cause slight visual distortion. The condition may appear in one eye initially, but lesions eventually appear in both eyes in all cases of juvenile cataracts. Juvenile cataracts are not curable, but surgery and veterinary care can reduce vision loss and make a pup more comfortable. The surgeon may be able to remove the lesion from the lens, but the feasibility of the operation depends on the cataracts' size and the dog's overall health. An operation to completely remove the lens and replace it with an artificial one is also an option for some canines. Every case is different, though, so talk to your vet about what treatment option is best for your dog. Some dogs with juvenile cataracts are not treated at all because the vision impairment is minor, so it does not significantly reduce your pet's quality of life. Prevent nonhereditary juvenile cataracts by keeping pregnant dogs healthy, safe and well-fed. Take the mother dog to the vet within the first few weeks of pregnancy and bring her back for followup appointments as instructed. Follow his recommendations for prenatal care and make sure the mom always has access to food and water. The only way to prevent hereditary cataracts is to stop carrier dogs from reproducing. Never breed parents who have previously produced pups with juvenile cataracts. Dogs with one copy of the trait tend to develop cataracts when they are around 6 to 8 years old, so avoid breeding mothers and sires who suffer from adult-onset cataracts, according to the Boston Terrier Club of America. - Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
I Know Opposites The concept of opposites is a crucial one at the early elementary level. Learning opposites opens up a reader’s vocabulary and ability to communicate. This colorful volume is a helpful aid for teaching and reviewing opposites, displaying opposite pairs visually next to the accompanying accessible text. Readers are encouraged to identify opposites in their own world, reinforcing these essential ideas in their daily lives.
When waters are murky, how do seals find fish? They don't have a sonar apparatus like whales, and yet they somehow hunt successfully in the dark. It turns out that the seals follow fish trails by sensing very subtle water pressure changes with their whiskers. In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, investigators trained harbor seals to give a visual signal indicating the direction of a "swimming" rubber fin that mimicked a fish. They then blindfolded and placed headphones on the seals to test their ability to hunt without sight or sound cues. Not only were the seals able to detect the "fish's" movements, their whiskers may be able to distinguish even more precise information than just their prey's whereabouts. Senior author Wolf Hanke of the Marine Science Centre at the University of Rostock, Germany, told BBC News, "They seem to be able to discriminate between different shapes, which might even mean they discriminate between different species of fish."1 The authors found evidence that the seals track the direction that a fish swims by sensing its underwater wakes, or trails of slightly disturbed water, that linger for up to 35 seconds. To do this, seals detect and interpret "the structure and spatial arrangement of the vortices" that spin off from a fish's underwater trail.2 Not only can seals detect the vortices, but they can sense the "high water velocities" behind a swimming fish even after the fish is long gone.2 Water that trails a fish flows just a little faster than the surrounding waters. Somehow, the seal must automatically subtract the resistance caused by its own motion through the water in order calculate the exact location of its moving dinner. This explains observations of seals in the dark underneath Antarctic ice swimming in curved paths just before taking a fish. Those seals were following the ephemeral underwater trails behind the fish, twisting and turning in the same patterns as the fish. The discovery of this remarkable new aspect of seal senses added to a 2001 breakthrough study in the journal Science in which Hanke also participated. Although at the time scientists suspected that seals could detect trails left by fish that were 180 meters away, this new study brought the distance down to 100 meters. When these seal whisker skills were first verified, Science summarized a dilemma that the first seal-like mammalian ancestors supposedly faced when they entered the water from land: When mammals began to colonize the ocean some 50 million years ago, they immediately faced a huge challenge: hunting under water. The sharp vision their ancestors had evolved on land to take advantage of the transparency of air was of little use in the ocean's murky darkness.3 However, those supposed first ocean-going mammals would have faced even more serious issues, since their postulated evolutionary ancestor supposedly resembled a cow. Its attempts to swim would have been highly ineffective due to its hoofed feet and bulky body.4 How could it have caught fish at all without possessing the full suite of traits necessary for swimming and prey detection? The ease with which evolutionary stories like this can be concocted stands in stark contrast with the difficulties known to exist when engineers seriously attempt to replicate the finely tuned equipment exhibited by marine life, such as sonar or super-sensory seal whiskers. The best explanation for the origin of these complex creatures remains the one presented in Genesis--that on the fifth day of creation, God said, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life," and it was so.5 - Gill, V. Seal whiskers sense faraway fish. BBC News. Posted on news.bbc.co.uk June 11, 2010, accessed June 14, 2010. - Wieskotten, S. et al. 2010. Hydrodynamic determination of the moving direction of an artificial fin by a harbour seal (Phoca vitulina). Journal of Experimental Biology. 213: 2194-2200. - Zimmer, C. 2001. By a Whisker, Harbor Seals Catch Their Prey. Science. 293 (5527): 29-31. - Gish, D. 1980. The Origin of Mammals. Acts & Facts. 9 (9). - Genesis 1:20. Image credit: NOAA * Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research. Article posted on June 22, 2010.
Volcanic lightning is caused by the friction of particles inside the ash plume that is ejected by the volcano when it erupts. A bolt is seen when charges separate. Imagine a booming roar of thunder against the backdrop of a violet sky. The lightning cuts through the air with its tendrils creeping in all directions. All of this begins to happen just after an active volcano erupts and spews out lava, as though it is a chain reaction! This sounds like a scene from a movie with an apocalypse on the horizon, but it can happen in real life too! The question is… are lightning and volcanic eruptions related? If so, how? Lightning often follows a volcanic eruption due to the friction between particles of the dense ash clouds that are formed as a result of the eruption. When the particles rub together, the charges inside the ash clouds begin to separate. The resulting charge buildup generates lightning strikes, which look like something straight out of a nightmare. Sometimes ice and freezing temperatures can also contribute to volcanic lightning. What are the constituents of volcanic ash? Throughout this text, you will keep reading about ‘material that gets ejected from the volcano’, but what exactly is this material that contributes to lightning? In simple terms, the rocks that are melted inside the volcano—due to extreme pressure and very high temperatures—get ejected when the volcano erupts. These molten rocks are commonly referred to as magma. Magma not only contains liquid rocks, but it also contains crystals and some dissolved gas expelled from the earth’s interior when the volcano erupts. These gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, and minor amounts of chlorine, sulfur, and fluorine. When the magma comes out of the volcano, it quickly cools down and forms ash. Given that the amount of magma is so great, the amount of ash that forms is also massive. This results in the formation of a cloud solely made of ash, better known as the ash plume. The collision of particles in these ash plumes results in charge separation. When the charges take their positions in their respective areas in the cloud, a bolt occurs. How does lightning occur? To understand this phenomenon, let’s brush up on a few high-school concepts. To begin with, have you ever noticed the formation of sparks when you take off your sweater in the winter? This surprising phenomenon is because of static electricity. Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material. Another famous example is that of a ruler; when you rub it on your hair, it becomes capable of attracting bits of paper! Something similar happens when lightning strikes, but on a much bigger scale. When the ground is hot, the air above it also gets heated, and this warm air rises upwards. As the hot air rises further, the water vapor cools and forms a cloud. If the air continues to rise, the size of this cloud continues to grow. As such, the top region of the cloud may be below freezing temperature, which makes the water vapor convert to ice. Lots of tiny bits of ice rub against each other and accumulate charges. When the entire cloud is filled up with charges, they begin to separate. The positively charged lighter particles rise upwards, while the negatively charged and more massive particles sink downwards. As the common saying goes, ‘negative and positive charges attract’. Therefore, the negative charges from the cloud tend to move towards the positive charges of the earth. In most circumstances, the insulating capacity of the air stops the formation of a lightning bolt, but when the charge buildup overcomes this insulating capacity, we see a lightning strike! How do volcanic eruptions cause lightning? Now, let’s get back to our original question! Lightning is a common occurrence in the rainy season, but what makes it appear when a massive volcano decides to erupt? Well, it’s actually the ash clouds that cause this phenomenon. According to scientists, the material that eventually gets charged to produce lightning comes from the volcano itself. Moreover, the friction between the particles in the ash cloud also contribute to this charge buildup. The entire process of volcanic lightning takes place in two phases. The first phase is known as the eruption phase, which is initiated soon after the volcano erupts. The volcanos throw out positively charged particles that cause this lightning. The next phase is the plume phase. This occurs when particles rub against each other inside the ash plume formed in the atmosphere. As such, we can say that two factors cause volcanic lightning—the materials ejected from the volcano and the particles inside the ash cloud. Did you know that the temperature of a lightning bolt is roughly five times the temperature of the sun’s surface? Shocking, I know… it seems like everything about the everyday phenomenon of lightning is incredibly exciting! The only thing that you need to remember is that lightning, anywhere on the planet, occurs due to the collision of particles, which results in charge separation. In storm clouds, the collision is between ice particles. On the other hand, in the case of volcanic eruptions, the collisions take place between the particles bouncing around in the rising ash plume!
An esophagram test is an inspection of the esophagus. The test is conducted as a part of a series of tests carried out on the upper and the middle regions of the GI tract. This test is performed using fluoroscopy, barium, and x-rays. Since barium is a contrast material, it is used as a marker. The patient is asked to swallow the barium and as the barium travels down the esophageal passage, the path is mapped. The esophagram test is also known as a barium swallow x-ray test or barium esophagram test. This is because it is conducted with the use of a contrast material known as barium. Contrast materials are used in a number of different medical imaging tests. These materials are used so that they mark out the lining of various hollow organs or tubes in the body. When the lining is clearly marked, it becomes easier for the doctor to see any abnormalities which may appear as bumps or depressions in the wall of the organ that is being scanned. The esophagram test involves the use of this type of contrast followed by an imaging scan that is conducted of this area. This imaging scan is often an x-ray, although CT scans may also be used. The test is usually performed when a person displays specific symptoms such as difficulty in swallowing, incessant vomiting, pain in the esophagus and regurgitation. This test can also help detect tumors, ulcers, and other abnormalities in the esophageal tract. The esophagus is a highly motile organ which helps in the swallowing of food. However, if the motility of the organ is affected due to a disease or any other abnormality, there may be problems in swallowing food and keeping it down. In some cases, a few gas producing crystals are added to the barium before the patient is made to swallow it. As the barium moves, it is tracked through the body. Though this entire procedure is used to examine the health of the upper portion of the gastrointestinal tract, the esophagram consists of only an examination of the mouth, throat and the esophagus. No preparation is needed. Browse our expert physicians and providers to find the best and most convenient doctor or specialist for you.Physician Directory With hundreds of locations throughout Western and Central New York, find a Rochester Regional Health location for the services closest to your home.Find a Location
Most people go to bed and sleep through the night until morning. Though the amount of sleep you get may vary from one night to the next, your sleep habits most likely fall into some kind of pattern. For people with irregular sleep-wake rhythm, there is no predictable pattern. Instead of sleeping through the night for a period of 6 to 8 hours, people with this disorder sleep in several shorter sessions over the course of a 24-hour period. While they may not get all of their sleep all at once, these periodic sleep sessions generally add up to a healthy amount of sleep. Though irregular sleep-wake rhythm is an uncommon condition, it can have a significant impact on your daily functioning and quality of life. In this article, we’ll explore the topic of irregular sleep-wake rhythm, providing an overview of this condition including its symptoms, causes, and treatment options. What is Irregular Sleep-Wake Rhythm? Irregular sleep-wake rhythm is often considered a sleep disorder, but it is more accurately described as a circadian rhythm disorder. Your circadian rhythm is also known as your internal or body clock, and it dictates your sleep-wake cycle. This cycle regulates the periods of tiredness and wakefulness you experience on a daily basis, and it generally coincides with the 24-hour cycle of night and day. There are two categories of circadian rhythm disorders: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic disorders are those in which the patient’s internal clock is significantly different from normal. This person may go to bed and wake up much later or earlier than usual, or their sleep may be fragmented. Extrinsic disorders are those in which the internal clock is in sync with typical day/night patterns, but school, travel, or work demands a change in sleep schedule. Irregular sleep-wake rhythm is a condition where the patient has a sleep-wake cycle that is not defined by any regular pattern of sleep. Instead of sleeping for an extended period of time all at once, their sleep occurs in several shorter naps throughout a 24-hour period that adds up to a total of 7 to 9 hours. The timing and duration of these naps may vary from day to day. This circadian rhythm disorder is challenging in a number of ways. Many people who have it are thought to have insomnia because they have difficulty sleeping during regular nighttime hours, but they may also complain of excessive daytime sleepiness because they feel compelled to nap during the day. This combination of symptoms makes irregular sleep-wake rhythm a challenge to diagnose, added to the fact that it is a fairly uncommon disorder. What Are the Symptoms of Irregular Sleep-Wake Rhythm? The defining characteristic of irregular sleep-wake rhythm is the absence of a typical circadian rhythm. This condition is very uncommon – so much so that the exact prevalence is unknown. It seems to be most common in older adults, especially those living in nursing homes, hospitals, and other institutions. Limited exposure to daylight and the concurrence of neurodegenerative disorders like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease may also increase your risk. The most common symptoms of irregular sleep-wake rhythm include the following: - Difficulty falling asleep at night (insomnia) - Trouble staying asleep after falling asleep - Excessive daytime sleepiness - Strong urge or need to nap during the day - Short, fragmented periods of nighttime sleep - Several sleep periods lasting 1 to 4 hours each 24-hour period Though people who have irregular sleep-wake rhythm don’t follow any kind of predictable sleep pattern, the disorder creates a cycle of its own. Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep at night leads to excessive daytime sleepiness and a strong need to nap during the day. One thing affects another and, over time, the cycle of fragmented sleep leads to chronic fatigue and decreased quality of life. People with irregular sleep-wake rhythm typically sleep for 1 to 4 hours at a time and generally achieve 7 to 9 total hours of sleep during a 24-hour period. Though there is relatively little research on the topic, one study from 2009 revealed that the longest period of continuous sleep typically occurs between the hours of 2am and 6am. Daytime sleep usually consists of multiple naps. The results of the aforementioned study also suggest that aging plays a role in the changes in circadian rhythm that contribute to irregular sleep-wake rhythm. In addition to limited exposure to natural daylight, decreased social and physical activity during the day may also be a factor. What Causes Irregular Sleep-Wake Rhythm? Though people with irregular sleep-wake rhythm typically get the proper amount of sleep for their age, the fact that it is so fragmented can have a negative impact on quality of life. Needing to take multiple naps during the day can make it difficult to hold a steady job or to succeed in school – it can also affect your relationships. Many people who have irregular sleep-wake rhythm become homebound which can make the problem worse. The underlying cause of irregular sleep-wake rhythm is the absence of a typical circadian rhythm. What causes this rhythm to be disrupted or absent, however, is unclear. There are a number of things which are thought to affect the circadian rhythm which, if neglected, could potentially lead to the development of irregular sleep-wake rhythm. Some of these things are: - The absence of a regular schedule for social interaction, exercise, and meals. - Limited exposure to natural daylight during daytime hours. - Genetic predisposition to variance in sleep and sleep deterioration. Irregular sleep-wake rhythm seems to be more common in older adults, but age itself is not considered an independent risk factor. More likely, it is the age-associated increase in neurological, psychiatric, and medical disorders that contributes most significantly to the development of irregular sleep-wake rhythm. This condition is most common in institutionalized older adults, particularly patients with traumatic brain injury, mental retardation, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease. Again, there is limited research available on irregular sleep-wake rhythm which means that the underlying cause is poorly understood. Current research is being conducted at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital to help better understand the disorder itself as well as potential causes, risk factors, and methods for diagnosis and treatment. Testing is being conducted to determine whether measuring body temperature or melatonin levels is of clinical use in diagnosing irregular sleep-wake rhythm. How is Irregular Sleep-Wake Rhythm Diagnosed? Diagnosing irregular sleep-wake rhythm can be tricky for several reasons. First and foremost, it is a very uncommon disorder, so many people are unfamiliar with it. Second, the symptoms overlap with several other sleep disorders. For example, difficulty falling or staying asleep at night is characteristic of insomnia while excessive daytime sleepiness is a symptom of several sleep disorders. When this condition occurs in people whose work or school obligations prevents them from following a typical sleep-wake pattern, diagnosis becomes even more of a challenge. The primary clinical feature of irregular sleep-wake rhythm is the lack of a clearly defined circadian sleep-wake rhythm. People with this disorder exhibit at least three short bouts of sleep lasting 1 to 4 hours during a given 24-hour period. Because the amount of sleep obtained over a 24-hour period is generally normal for the age of the patient, people who have irregular sleep-wake rhythm are technically not sleep deprived. Diagnosis of irregular sleep-wake rhythm is made through a combination of clinical history of symptoms and a sleep diary. Doctors look for symptoms such as a history of fragmented sleep paired with complaints of insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness. Your doctor may also ask you to keep a 7-day sleep diary to track period of sleep and wakefulness over several 24-hour periods. You may also be asked to wear an actigraph which tracks your sleep-wake patterns. In addition to a clinical history and sleep diary, your doctor may order other tests may to measure your body temperature and melatonin levels. In most cases, an overnight sleep study is not required to make a diagnosis. Also known as a polysomnogram, a sleep study measures your brain waves, heart rate, muscle activity, and breathing as you sleep – it is commonly used to diagnose sleep disorders. Because a person with irregular sleep-wake rhythm experiences fragmented sleep over 24 hours rather than one long sleep overnight, polysomnography generally isn’t helpful unless your doctor is trying to determine your risk for another sleep disorder. What Are the Treatment Options for Irregular Sleep-Wake Rhythm? The goal of treatment for irregular sleep-wake rhythm is to correct and reset the internal clock with the hope of achieving one long period of sleep at night and one long period of wakefulness during the day. Unfortunately, there are no simple methods of treatment. In many cases, the most effective treatment is a combination of lifestyle changes, light treatment, and other therapies such as educational and behavioral counseling. Here are some of the lifestyle changes and therapies that might help with the treatment of irregular sleep-wake rhythm: - Increased exposure to light during the day. You should be exposed to both natural sunlight and blue light during the day while limiting exposure to blue light at night. - Supplementation with melatonin. Melatonin is a natural substance produced in the body which increases in the evening to make you tired and decreases in the morning to wake you up. - Following a more structured daily pattern. Including scheduled exercise and social activities in your daily pattern can help correct your circadian rhythm. - Improve your sleep hygiene at night. Keeping your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet can help you fall asleep and stay asleep as can minimizing the noise in your sleep environment. - Keeping to a schedule for sleep and meals. Going to bed and waking up at the same times each day along with regularly scheduled meals may help. Sleep is essential but, for people with irregular sleep-wake rhythm, it doesn’t always come easily. Though you may get an adequate amount of sleep over the course of a 24-hour period, the fragmented nature of that sleep can significantly impact your quality of life. If you think you might have irregular sleep-wake rhythm, talk to your doctor as soon as possible. Disclaimer: The information on this website is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, clinical diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your personal physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Early in 1995, the kennel population of more than 100 dogs at the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association's Midlands Regional Centre in Leamington Spa was hit by an unusually severe outbreak of diarrhoea. The cause turned out to be an infection of the intestine by a commonly-occuring, single celled organism - or protozan known as Giardia. A combined treatment and disinfection strategy was then introduced that brought the infection under control. Maggie Fisher, a veterinary surgeon with a special interest in parasitology, was called in to help deal with the Giardia outbreak, and in the following paper she describes the infection and how it can be treated and controlled Maggie Fisher, a veterinary surgeon with a special interest in parasitology, was called in to help deal with the Giardia outbreak, and in the following paper she describes the infection and how it can be treated and controlled The division of Giardia into groups according to species is still somewhat confused; the organisms that infect mammals look very similar but it remains unclear to what extent they form one or a number of species. It is for this reason that, while Giardia infection in some mammals, including dogs, is suspected of being infectious to man (ie: a zoonosis), it has not been conclusively shown that the species in, for example, dogs and man is the same. The Giardia trophozoite (Figure 1) - which is the active stage of the organism - inhabits the small intestine of the dog. It attaches to the cells of the intestine with its adhesive disc and rapidly divides to produce a whole population of trophozoites. As they detach they may be swept down the intestine. If intestinal flow is fast then they may appear in the faeces. However, if they have time, they will develop into the inactive, more durable, cyst form of the organism and these will be passed in the faeces. The cyst (Figure 2) is more able to survive in the environment than the trophozoite, which is very fragile. The cysts are infective as soon as they are passed, unlike other parasites where a lag period is necessary before the organism is infective. The most common route of infection is faeco-oral. For example, dogs may accidentaly eat cysts as they lick around theenvironment or lick other dogs' coats (particularly if the other dog has diarrhoea). Another major source of infection in human cases is drinking contaminated water. Once eaten, the cyst breaks open in the animals' intestine and releases two new trophozoites to initiate infection. If a dog is left in a dirty environment it may act as its own source of further infectionas it eats cysts passed in its own faeces. The elisa technique requires a kit and some method of reading a colour change or production of flourescence. Studies examining the reliability of some immunoflourescent kits have found them to be over 90% accurate, with relatively few false negatives or false postives. However, the tests are costly and probably only wothwhile where there are alarge number of samples to be processed and a technician who is familiar with carrying out elisas. Treatments for Giardias in dogs \|Drug Name\|\|Trade Name\|\|Dose Rate\|\|Duration of\| \|Metronidazole\|\|Flagyl\|\|25-30 mg/kg bid*\|\|7 days\| \|Furazolidone\|\|Neftin\|\|4 mg/kg bid\|\|10 days\| \|Tinadazole\|\|-\|\|44 mg/kg once daily\|\|7 days\| \|Fenbendazole\|\|Panacur **\|\|50 mg/kg once daily\|\|3 days\| \|Albendazole\|\|Valbazen\|\|25 mg/kg bid\|\|2 days\| \|\|\|Maximum daily dose 200 mg\| \|\|\|Contra-indicated in pregnancy\| \|\|\|Licenced for the treatment of worm infections in dogs\| Option 1 is only practical where a few dogs in a discrete area have been identified as being infected and where complet isolation is feasible, either within their own block or in a specific isolation block. Such isolation includes segregation of exercise areas and thes animals should be fed and cleaned after all others on the premises, preferably using separate cleaning and feeding equipment and separate staff if possible. Treatment of all dogs should commence on the same day when option 2 is adopted. Thorough cleaning of all kennel area where infected dogs have access is essential. Once organic debris has been removed, thorough disinfection will help to further reduce the level of environmental contamination and reduce the risk of dogs becoming re-infected after the completion of treatment. Disinfectants containing quaternary ammonium compounds have been found to kill Giardia cysts at the manufacturers' recommended dilutions (dilutions of one disinfectant upto 1:704 were found to be effective at both low and high environmental temperatures). Efficacy of killing is increased by prolonged contact time, therfore disinfectant solution should be left for 20 minutes to half an hour before being rinsed off kennel or run surfaces. Since disinfection of grass runs is impossible, such area should be regarded as contaminated for atleast a month after infected dogs last had access. Introduction of new dogs into the infected area should be avoided until the period of treatment and faecal samle checking has been completed. It should not be overlooked that some of thoe infected dogs may continue to excrete low numbers of cysts even after all treatments and examinations have been completed. It is therefore important that rigorous disinfection is maintained and a careful check is kept on the condition of all treated and introduced animals. Dogs should be prevented from access to foul water that may contain large numbers of cysts (eg: river-flooded paddocks).Small numbers of cysts may occasionally be present in the potable water supply but the risk of this being a major source of infection is small. Return to Vet On-Line Professionals All pages copyright ©Priory Lodge Education Ltd 1994-2000.

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.