Split (1)

train · 64k rows

content stringlengths 275 370k
What it will take to build a 25-mile-diameter, 5,000-foot-tall domed lunar city Domed lunar settlement illustration by Pat Rawlings, courtesy NASA. By Edward McCullough For decades, engaged participants in the space industry have been looking to the future, and within that future, to the viability of large-scale human colonies in the near and far reaches of space. Early ideas were science fiction, but engineering and ingenuity have caught up with the ambitious hopes of a spacefaring civilization. Around 2005 an illustration of a domed lunar city 25 miles in diameter and 5,000 feet tall over Shackleton Crater began circulating in briefings at aerospace conferences. At first glance, this domed community seemed structurally impossible. However, materials such as basalt fibers and S-glass, among others, could make this type of structure possible. The Big Idea The total mass of silica in the concept of this dome is approximately 1.6 x 1010 tonnes. Completion of the dome in about 15 years would require mining rates on par with helium-3 production, which involve excavation, processing, and manufacturing rates approaching 250,000 tonnes per hour. For instance, the mining capability for tar sand at a typical facility is about 28,000 tonnes per hour. Basic parameters for the dome - Size: 25 miles in diameter/5,000 feet tall - Main components: - Anchoring system - Maintenance systems - Catastrophic repair facility - All assembly is via autonomous robotics - All glass is manufactured in layers to enable thermal stress control - Basic unit is a hexagonal pentagonal surface patch of glass with a titanium frame that interlocks with similar units - Dome is anchored to bedrock - Shield glass module is two to three meters thick - Internal and external lattice work along with scaffolding for assembly Given that we are currently in the midst of a technological revolution, the lunar production rates required to construct a dome are well within reach once space manufacturing is established on the Moon. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, the magnitude of any lunar settlement project would necessitate the utilization of autonomous robotics to reduce costs, and to ensure both safety and an acceptable timeline for completion. Construction could begin in 20 years and be finished 15 years after that. Dome engineering can be performed by many architecture and engineering firms. The opportunity for innovation at engineering firms doing this kind of work could reenergize science and math education here on Earth. The original city must be created underground. The city will consist of several sections connected by a transportation system of commuter rail lines. As underground infrastructure expands, subscale domes of increasingly larger size will be built and integrated into the system. The dome itself will be a substantial structure and, when complete, will allow for the actual living, recreation, and business quarters for the first lunar settlement. Large-scale Lunar Colony The Moon provides an excellent testing ground for space settlement as well as many opportunities for scientific advancement. Because the Moon’s atmosphere is a near vacuum, it is useful for science, manufacturing, production, and ballistic transfer. It provides heat sources and sinks, an exotic atmosphere, and volatiles for resource utilization. The regolith contains comminuted basalt and anorthosite, and the terrain is covered with cliffs, valleys, and craters, which can be exploited for energy generation. In addition, the ultra dry conditions on the Moon are supportive of electrostatic effects for material handling and classification. The relatively still surface provides an excellent platform for observatories. Finally, the Moon’s face is shielded from Earth’s electromagnetic noise, providing an uncontaminated location for electromagnetic observatories. A 10,000-person settlement would require an initial 20 to 30 tons of material from Earth to be placed on the lunar surface to begin operations. It is imperative that a lunar settlement use materials already on the Moon to ramp up production capability. For each kilogram of material produced from resources already on the Moon, more than 61 million joules of energy can be saved. An additional benefit is that the lunar regolith is in fine particle form with significant surface area, thus eliminating the need for comminution, one of the most expensive costs associated with ore processing. Construction of a Domed City Producing lunar building materials involves both chemical engineering and space manufacturing. The lunar regolith lends itself to engineering and manufacturing by virtue of its major constituents: oxygen, iron, titanium, silicon, magnesium, and aluminum. Silicon can be utilized to create high-strength glass. Titanium, iron, magnesium, and aluminum are valuable components of structural materials. Oxygen can be used in the manufacture of ceramics. Chemical processes that can produce metals, ceramics, glasses, powders, and fibers have already been built and tested. One of the most promising processes is the hydrofluoric acid leach system. Once mill stock materials become available, it will be necessary to begin building more processing and upgraded manufacturing capability, as well as vehicles and construction equipment. The first vehicles built will be relatively small; however, later vehicles and machinery will include those on the scale of a mining bucket wheel. This base, which will evolve into a city, provides a safe haven during initial development and during any breach that causes depressurization of the dome. The underground base, therefore, continues to provide protection from damage to the dome structure, even after completion. To protect against catastrophic damage to the domes, apertures comprising four times the area of the largest expected breach of the dome will have the capability to port air into atmospheric cryogenic condensers at the speed of sound. This would allow for the recovery of 4/5ths of the atmosphere in the event of an irreparable breach. Maintenance and repair machines on both the inside and outside of the dome will deal with the maintenance and replacement of damaged polygons in the dome structure itself. The dome must be designed to prevent the propagation of damage from a surface patch blowout. If breached, the system must repair the blowout and limit the risk to personnel on the ground. Breaks in the dome will be sealed by exterior repair machines which stretch over and seal several cells. Additional repair equipment must be capable of using cables to bridge and patch a break larger than several cells. Major cryogenic condensers at 30 degrees Kelvin situated beneath the dome floor will be capable of condensing some or all of the atmosphere, depending on the nature of the damage and how early it is detected. Emergency personnel systems could transport colonists to the underground city or safe harbors within the dome, all of which will be able to withstand vacuum. Mobile systems will seek out and protect people caught out in the open on the surface, on the dome, or outside the habitat. Finding a Source of Nitrogen While the lunar regolith is almost 50 percent oxygen, the nitrogen composition in the lunar regolith is not enough to build this system without modifications. This issue can be mitigated by building smaller, interconnected domes or by obtaining nitrogen and other cometary gases from the lunar polar craters. Gasses may potentially be found in the regions of Kepler and Aristarchus, as evidenced by the planetary probes and Apollo, which discovered out-gassing from the lunar interior via the detection of radon-222 atoms above the surface of the Moon. Success Requires Leadership There is no question that a domed city on the Moon is technologically viable. The technology development required for this project will directly result from the technology required for large-scale space solar power satellites and helium-3 production. If these precursors are developed, this lunar dome project would be a natural next step. The only question remaining is whether a lunar domed city is politically feasible. Endeavors such as this one require sound technical leadership. Recent examples of such leadership enabling stunning technical successes include Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, General Lesley Richard Groves (Manhattan Project), Admiral Hyman George Rickover (Nuclear Navy), and General Bernard Adolph Schiever (Air Force, Ballistic missiles and derivatives). This kind of leadership will be necessary in order to implement a phased, multi-year development plan to build up the required lunar infrastructure. Once sound leadership is established, project success is merely a matter of addressing and solving material, chemical, and engineering issues. The design of large-scale human colonies on the Moon and beyond is no longer a responsibility that lies exclusively with the authors of science fiction. The question is not whether a domed Moon base is technologically viable. It is. The question now is, when will the vision be joined by sound leadership? Edward McCullough has worked in aerospace for 20 years as a technical polyglot (photonics, chemistry, geometric situational awareness, autonomy, nuclear engineering, etc.) with large-scale industrial engineering and advanced research in chemical processes for lunar applications.
- A fecal smear is a thin layer of feces that is examined under a microscope. - The smear is usually performed in combination with other tests to identify possible causes of diarrhea. - Ideally, the sample should be examined within 30 minutes of collection. - Fecal smears are generally used to identify Giardia, a protozoan parasite that causes diarrhea. - Fecal smears are used to examine fecal cytology—the cells within a fecal sample. - Identifying organisms in a fecal smear can help your veterinarian determine the most effective treatment for your pet’s diarrhea. What Is a Fecal Smear? A fecal smear (sometimes called a direct fecal smear) is a diagnostic test that helps identify possible causes of diarrhea in a cat or dog. It is generally conducted in combination with a fecal flotation test, which is used to screen for intestinal parasite eggs. With a direct fecal smear, a thin film of feces is examined under a microscope for evidence of Giardia, a protozoan parasite that can cause diarrhea. A fecal smear can also be used to identify cellular abnormalities, bacterial or fungal organisms, and in some cases, parasite eggs. How Is the Test Performed? The key to a good fecal smear is to start with as fresh a sample as possible. Since Giardia is identified by observing the organism swimming across the slide, a direct fecal smear should be examined within 30 minutes of collection, before the organisms die or disappear. If you are unable to obtain a fresh sample, your veterinarian can usually retrieve a specimen with a gloved finger or an instrument called a fecal loop. If you can’t bring your pet to the veterinarian right away, fecal samples should be stored in the refrigerator, but not frozen, until the sample can be delivered. Once a sample is obtained, a direct fecal smear is made by spreading a thin film of feces on a glass slide and adding a few drops of saline. The slide is then examined under a microscope for evidence of microscopic organisms. A fecal smear can also be used to examine fecal cytology—the cells contained in the specimen. In this case, the slide is stained with special dyes to facilitate visualization of cells, bacteria, and fungi. Clostridium and Campylobacter are two types of bacteria that often cause diarrhea. Occasionally, fungal organisms may be identified. Cell abnormalities may help detect infection, hemorrhage, and in some cases, cancer. What Are the Benefits of a Fecal Smear? A fecal smear is an important diagnostic tool that can help your veterinarian identify probable causes of diarrhea and determine the best treatment for your pet. The amount of feces used for a fecal smear is small, so it may be necessary to repeat fecal smears to increase the likelihood of finding organisms such as Giardia. In some cases, a fecal smear result may be inconclusive. Your veterinarian may recommend a commercial test that may more effectively detect Giardia by identifying its proteins.. The information obtained from fecal smears, including fecal cytology, can help your veterinarian find the best solution to resolving your pet’s intestinal problem.
The Charter of the International Military Tribunal – Annex to the Agreement for the prosecution and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis (usually referred to as the Nuremberg Charter or London Charter) was the decree issued by the European Advisory Commission on 8 August 1945 that set down the rules and procedures by which the Nuremberg trials were to be conducted. The charter stipulated that crimes of the European Axis Powers could be tried. Three categories of crimes were defined: crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Article 8 of the charter also stated that holding an official position was no defense to war crimes. Obedience to orders could only be considered in mitigation of punishment if the Tribunal determined that justice so required. The criminal procedure used by the Tribunal was closer to civil law than to common law, with a trial before a panel of judges rather than a jury trial and with wide allowance for hearsay evidence. Defendants who were found guilty could appeal the verdict to the Allied Control Council. In addition, they would be permitted to present evidence in their defense and to cross-examine witnesses. The Charter was developed by the European Advisory Commission under the authority of the Moscow Declaration: Statement on Atrocities, which was agreed at the Moscow Conference (1943). It was drawn up in London, following the surrender of Germany on VE Day. It was drafted by Robert H. Jackson, Robert Falco, and Iona Nikitchenko of the European Advisory Commission and issued on 8 August 1945. The Charter and its definition of crimes against peace was also the basis of the Finnish law, approved by the Finnish parliament on 11 September 1945, that enabled the war-responsibility trials in Finland. The Agreement for the prosecution and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis and the annexed Charter were formally signed by France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States on 8 August 1945. The Agreement and Charter were subsequently ratified by 20 other Allied states. - Cases before the International Criminal Court - Carl Schmitt - Command responsibility - Crime against humanity - Crime against peace - Geneva Conventions - International humanitarian law - International Law - Jus ad bellum - Jus in bello - List of war crimes - Nuremberg Principles - Nuremberg Trials - Peace Palace - Superior orders (Pre-Nuremberg history of "I was just following superior orders") - War crimes - War Crimes Act of 1996 - Links to the International Conference on Military Trials : London, 1945. These documents helps to shows how the Charter reached its final form: - Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. 1 Charter of the International Military Tribunal contained in the Avalon Project archive at Yale Law School - Judgement: The Law Relating to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity contained in the Avalon Project archive at Yale Law School, contains the stated expansion of customary law "the Convention Hague 1907 expressly stated that it was an attempt 'to revise the general laws and customs of war,' which it thus recognised to be then existing, but by 1939 these rules laid down in the Convention were recognised by all civilised nations, and were regarded as being declaratory of the laws and customs of war which are referred to in Article 6 (b) of the Charter." \|Wikisource has original text related to this article:\|
Age of Discovery The Carrack or Nao (meaning ship) was developed as a fusion between Mediterranean and Northern European-style ships. The Carrack or Nao (meaning ship) was developed as a fusion between Mediterranean and Northern European-style ships. The carrack first appeared, historians believe, in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The Spanish and Portuguese developed a particular type of ship to trade in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic. The hull was rounded in the stern and it carried a superstructure of an aft and forecastle. These ships carried two, three or four masts and a combination of square and lateen sails were used. The main mast always carried a square sail while the mizzenmast carried a lateen sail. The square sail was used for speed and the lateen rig allowed for maneuverability. By the 1420s, a topsail was added to the main mast (square) and the foresail on a three- or four-masted ship was also square. The carrack had a wide and deep hull that allowed for bulk cargo. The smallest would be 300 to 400 tons and the largest was 1,000 to 2,000 tons. Some of the cargo included Alum (used to fix dye) and woad (a blue dye) from Genoa to England, and raw wool and wool fabric back to Genoa. The Portuguese adopted the carrack to move goods to Africa, India, and the Spice Islands. There was a fore and aft castle on the carrack. The forecastle was always higher that the aft castle. The carrack, with its sail configuration, was cheaper to crew as a merchant vessel. These became the favorite ships of the ocean-going explorers. They were more stable on the open ocean and could carry enough men and food to be a ship of exploration.
This The History of the American School for the Deaf lesson plan also includes: To better understand the significance and history of the American School for the Deaf, hearing-impaired learners conduct research, hold discussions, and write a play. The lesson spans three class periods and allows the class to explore deaf culture and history by engaging them in several hands-on and discussion-based activities that can be completed in ASL or Standard English. - Each plan builds upon the one before to facilitate a complete understanding - Multiple intelligences and modes of communication are encouraged to promote complete and active engagement - Multiple field trip and homework ideas are included to enhance the learning experience
Before vaccines were developed, infectious diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus and meningitis were the leading cause of death and illness in the world. Vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements in history, having drastically reduced deaths and illness from infectious causes. There is a large gap between vaccination rates for funded vaccines for adults in Australia and those for infants. More than 93% of infants are vaccinated in Australia, while in adults the rates are between 53-75%. Much more needs to be done to prevent infections in adults, particularly those at risk. If you are an adult in Australia, the kinds of vaccines you need to get will depend on several factors, including whether you missed out on childhood vaccines, if you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, your occupation, how old you are and whether you intend to go travelling. For those born in Australia Children up to four years and aged 10-15 receive vaccines under the National Immunisation Schedule. These are for hepatitis B, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, haemophilus influenzae B, rotavirus, pneumococcal and meningococcal disease, chickenpox and the human papillomavirus (HPV). Immunity following vaccination varies depending on the vaccine. For example, the measles vaccine protects for a long duration, possibly a lifetime, whereas immunity wanes for pertussis (whooping cough). Boosters are given for many vaccines to improve immunity. Measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, diphtheria and tetanus People born in Australia before 1966 likely have natural immunity to measles as the viruses were circulating widely prior to the vaccination program. People born after 1965 should have received two doses of a measles vaccine. Those who haven’t, or aren’t sure, can safely receive a vaccine to avoid infection and prevent transmission to babies too young to be vaccinated. Measles vaccine can be given as MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) or MMRV, which includes varicella (chickenpox). The varicella vaccine on its own (not combined in MMRV) is advised for people aged 14 and over who have not had chickenpox, especially women of childbearing age. Booster doses of diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccines, are available free at age 10-15, and recommended at 50 years old and also at 65 years and over if not received in the previous ten years. Anyone unsure of their tetanus vaccination status who sustains a tetanus-prone wound (generally a deep puncture or wound) should get vaccinated. While tetanus is rare in Australia, most cases we see are in older adults. Pregnant women are recommended to get the diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccine in the third trimester to protect the vulnerable infant after it is born, and influenza vaccine at any stage of the pregnancy (see below under influenza). Pertussis (whooping cough) is a contagious respiratory infection dangerous for babies. One in every 200 babies who contract whooping cough will die. It is particularly important for women from 28 weeks gestation to ensure they are vaccinated, as well as the partners of these women and anyone else who is taking care of a child younger than six months old. Deaths from pertussis are also documented in elderly Australians. Pneumococcal disease and influenza The pneumococcal vaccine is funded for everyone aged 65 and over, and recommended for anyone under 65 with risk factors such as chronic lung disease. Anyone from the age of six months can get the flu (influenza) vaccine. The vaccine can be given to any adult who requests it, but is only funded if they fall into defined risk groups such as pregnant women, Indigenous Australians, peopled aged 65 and over, or those with a medical condition such as chronic lung, cardiac or kidney disease. Flu vaccine is matched every year to the anticipated circulating flu viruses and is quite effective. The vaccine covers four strains of influenza. Pregnant women are at increased risk of the flu and recommended for influenza vaccine any time during pregnancy. Health workers, childcare workers and aged-care workers are a priority for vaccination because they care for sick or vulnerable people in institutions at risk of outbreaks. Influenza is the most important vaccine for these occupational groups, and some organisations provide free staff vaccinations. Otherwise, you can ask your doctor for a vaccination. Any person whose immune system is weakened through medication or illness (such as HIV) is at increased risk of infections. However, live viral or bacterial vaccines must not be given to immunosuppressed people. They must seek medical advice on which vaccines can be safely given. Australian-born children receive four shots of the hepatitis B vaccine, but some adults are advised to get vaccinations for hepatitis A or B. Those recommended to receive the hepatitis A vaccine are: travellers to hepatitis A endemic areas; people whose jobs put them at risk of acquiring hepatitis A including childcare workers and plumbers; men who have sex with men; injecting drug users; people with developmental disabilities; those with chronic liver disease, liver organ transplant recipients or those chronically infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Those recommended to get the hepatitis B vaccine are: people who live in a household with someone infected with hepatitis B; those having sexual contact with someone infected with hepatitis B; sex workers; men who have sex with men; injecting drug users; migrants from hepatitis B endemic countries; healthcare workers; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; and some others at high risk at their workplace or due to a medical condition. Read more – Explainer: the A, B, C, D and E of hepatitis The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects against cervical, anal, head and neck cancers, as well as some others. It is available for boys and girls and delivered in high school, usually in year seven. There is benefit for older girls and women to be vaccinated, at least up to their mid-to-late 20s. With ageing comes a progressive decline in the immune system and a corresponding increase in risk of infections. Vaccination is the low-hanging fruit for healthy ageing. The elderly are advised to receive the influenza, pneumococcal and shingles vaccines. Influenza and pneumonia are major preventable causes of illness and death in older people. The flu causes deaths in children and the elderly during severe seasons. The most common cause of pneumonia is streptococcus pneumonia, which can be prevented with the pneumococcal vaccine. There are two types of pneumococcal vaccines: pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV). Both protect against invasive pneumococcal disease (such as meningitis and the blood infection referred to as septicemia), and the conjugate vaccine is proven to reduce the risk of pneumonia. The government funds influenza (annually) and pneumococcal vaccines for people aged 65 and over. Shingles is a reactivation of the chickenpox virus. It causes a high burden of disease in older people (who have had chickenpox before) and can lead to debilitating and chronic pain. The shingles vaccine is recommended for people aged 60 and over. The government funds it for people aged 70 to 79. Travel is a major vector for transmission of infections around the world, and travellers are at high risk of preventable infections. Most epidemics of measles, for example, are imported through travel. People may be under-vaccinated for measles if they missed a dose in childhood. Anyone travelling should discuss vaccines with their doctor. If unsure of measles vaccination status, vaccination is recommended. This will depend on where people are travelling, and may include vaccination for yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A or influenza. Travellers who are visiting friends and relatives overseas often fail to take precautions such as vaccination and do not perceive themselves as being at risk. In fact, they are at higher risk of preventable infections because they may be staying in traditional communities rather than hotels, and can be exposed to risks such as contaminated water, food or mosquitoes. Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders Indigenous Australians are at increased risk of infections and have access to funded vaccines against influenza (anyone over six months old) and pneumococcal disease (for infants, everyone over 50 years and those aged 15-49 with chronic diseases). They are also advised to get hepatitis B vaccine if they haven’t already received it. Unfortunately, overall vaccine coverage for these groups is low – between 13% and 50%, representing a real lost opportunity. Migrants and refugees Migrants and refugees are at risk of vaccine-preventable infections because they may be under-vaccinated and come from countries with a high incidence of infection. There is no systematic means for GPs to identify people at risk of under-vaccination, but the new Australian Immunisation Register will help if GPs can check the immunisation status of their patients. The funding of catch-up vaccination has also been a major obstacle until now. In July 2017 the government announced free catch-up vaccinations for children aged 10-19 and for all newly arrived refugees. This covers any childhood vaccine on the National Immunisation Schedule that has been missed. While this does not cover all under-vaccinated refugees, it is a welcome development. If you are not newly arrived but a migrant or refugee, check with your doctor about catch-up vaccination.
Children learn best when they are doing something they enjoy. By introducing fun activities, you’ll be helping them with key skills set by the Early Years curriculum. All of our activities can be enjoyed by extending what you are already doing at home with your child, or when you are out and about. All teaching of literacy begins with learning the shape and sound of letters. Anything you can do to reinforce these shapes and sounds will help your child. - Games such as alphabet snap and I Spy are old favourites. - Baking biscuits and making names with the letters is always fun, or you can just make the first letters of people’s names. - At Christmas your child can write the labels for gifts. - Reinforcing the alphabet can be done by sorting Christmas cards into alphabetical order, starting with any recipient’s name beginning with ‘A’. - Learning initial sounds of words is important. In the kitchen, ask your child: ‘What is the first letter of this?’ Show them a spoon, pepperpot or mug. - Teaching your children rhyme through singing or reading is a key part of literacy. Singing and reading nursery rhymes is great. Ask your child to think of words that rhyme with objects you have in the house. For example: what rhymes with ‘pan’, ‘cat’, ‘sink’? Having a target, such as the first person to think of five words, makes it more of a challenge. - If you are having visitors to stay, making a door sign for each room, using the first letter of their name only. It’s a fun way to reinforce initial sounds. When you are out and about, ask your child to look out for signs. Road signs are great for passing a car journey. In supermarkets look up at the signs above the aisles, at labels on the fruit and vegetables, fish and meat counters. How many can your child read? NUMERACY, COLOUR AND SHAPE Numeracy includes shape, sorting and categories as well as adding up and taking away. - If your child is making cards or decorations for Christmas, talk about shapes. A Christmas tree is like a triangle, a bauble is a circle, gifts are often rectangles, stars are lots of small triangles. - Baking provides multiple opportunities for number work. Ingredients can be weighed or measured. Is 200 grams more than 100 grams? Does it feel heavier in the bowl? How many eggs are needed in the recipe and how many are left in the box? Cakes can be made in round, square or rectangular tins – can your child select the right tin for you? Cup cake cases can be counted. - Shopping is a great way to practise number work. Very young children who are learning to count up to 10 can be asked to ‘Choose four apples and six bananas.’ Avoid doing this if the shop is busy because not all shoppers appreciate waiting for your child to do the maths! Older children can begin to learn about higher numerical values: ask them to choose the cheapest loaf of bread, or how much two loaves would cost. If your child has pocket money, or is buying presents for someone, teaching them to budget and work out how much change they’d get is a practical way to reinforce addition and subtraction. - On a car or bus journey suggest your child counts the number of cars they see in a certain colour –such as red or blue. - We’ve all heard the question, ‘Are we nearly there?’ on a journey. Many children find time and distance a hard concept. It can help to discuss distances: ‘The journey is 20 miles and we have gone 10 miles. How far now? How long do you think it will take to reach our destination?’ - At home you can teach your child to measure using a tape measure or a height chart. Rachel suggests that for very young children, numeracy can begin with questions such as: ‘How many steps is it from the house to the car? How many steps is it from the back door to the swing?’ Our working memory improves as we mature: an adult has more than double the memory capacity of a four-year-old. Learning to read uses our auditory and visual memories. Like most skills, the more you practise, the better you become. - Games like ‘I went to market’ are fun. Begin with ‘I went to market to buy some apples,’ then the next person buys something else as well and they say, ‘I went to market to buy some apples and eggs.’ Each person adds something extra to the list and the winner is the person who remembers all the items. A reasonable target for young children would be 10 items. - You can create variations on this by changing market for things that go in the school bag or suitcase. - Asking children to fetch items from another part of the house encourages them to use their memory. If you ask them to bring three items from upstairs to downstairs, can they remember? - Reading together can incorporate memory activities. Ask your child to tell you what has happened in the story so far. Who are the people in the story? Can they name them all? - Card games such as alphabet pairs can help memory. You can easily make two sets of alphabet letters from some card. Instead of playing snap, turn the cards letters down on the table and pick up pairs in turn. Remembering where a card is when you need it for a match is a good test of memory. FINE MOTOR SKILLS This includes writing, tracing, cutting, sticking, tying laces, sewing, drawing and painting. Good fine motor skills are essential in all areas of the curriculum. - Very young children begin by building tower blocks, which require a lot of hand control. Construction games like Lego and Meccano are popular and educational. jigsaws and any game where children have to use their fingers, or a pincer grip, are beneficial. - For Christmas or birthdays, children usually love making cards. They can draw, colour and paint, or you can make shapes they stick onto cards. Younger children need to learn to control a pencil, and it’s a good idea to encourage the correct pencil grip from the start – as a ‘fist grip’, which some children use, is much harder to change once it’s established. - Many seasonal ‘Christmassy’ activities incorporate fine motor skills: twisting pastry or biscuit mixture into alphabet shapes; icing or decorating cakes and biscuits; wrapping presents, tying ribbons, or decorating the Christmas tree. If your child enjoys making labels for presents, tracing around a template of a tree or a bauble involves using a pencil and scissors. These include sharing and communicating with others in different situations, as well as building confidence and independence. Research suggest that children who are exposed to different types of play such as pretend play are often more cooperative: they are more willing to take turns and share, display greater creativity and have larger vocabularies than children who are not so involved in play activities. - By the age of seven your child should be able to answer the phone. Teach your child what to say and how to be helpful and polite to the caller but not give information which compromises safety and security. - In shops, your child can be encouraged to take items to the tills or ask for something in the cafe. Learning how to wait, take turns and be polite in cafes or queues are valuable skills. - Inviting children to play, welcoming them and sharing toys is all a part of developing social skills. - Incorporating pretend play at home might include dressing up and acting-out, either alone or with friends. A dressing-up box with clothes from charity shops or donated by friends and family can provide endless hours of fun as children transport themselves into another world, enriching imagination.
For chemists, the most elemental building block of matter is the atom. While it is certainly true that the atom can be divided into even more elemental building blocks, it is at the level of the atom that the first distinctive "chemical" properties start appearing. There are many different types of atoms, as you can see in the periodic table of the elements, each with their own distinctive chemical properties. From these atoms molecules can be assembled. Molecules are groups of atoms held together by forces called chemical bonds. States of Matter Matter can be classified into three different states: - SOLID - has a definite volume, a definite shape, and is rigid. - LIQUID - has a definite volume but no definite shape. - GAS - has no distinct volume, no distinct shape and can be easily compressed to occupy a smaller volume. - Cl2(g), Br2(l), I2(s) - Dip Br2(l) into liquid nitrogen and make Br2(s) A substance containing only one type of atom or one type of molecule is a pure substance. Most of the matter around us, however, consists of mixtures of pure substances. Air, wood, rocks and dirt are examples of such mixtures. Mixtures can be further classified as Homogeneous and Heterogeneous. Homogeneous MixturesHomogeneous Mixtures are uniformly mixed on an atomic or molecular level. These types of mixtures are also called solutions. Below are a few examples of homogeneous mixtures. Air is a homogeneous mixture (gaseous solution) of N2, O2, H2O, and CO2 gases. In contrast, a container of each gas by itself would be a pure substance. Only when they are mixed on an molecular level are they a homogeneous mixture (or gaseous solution). Brass is a homogeneous mixture (solid solution) of copper and zinc. Again each metal by itself is a pure substance. Only when they are mixed on an atomic level are they a homogeneous mixture (or solid solution). Beer is a homogeneous mixture (liquid solution) of H2O, C2H5OH, and a few other substances. (There is no beer molecule. The molecule that gives beer its inebriating property is ethanol.) - Mix water and ethanol to make homogeneous solution - also show molar volume concept. Heterogeneous mixtures are not uniformly mixed on an atomic or molecular level. For example, Salt and pepper, chocolate chip cookies, or a Twix™ candy bar, ... are all examples of heterogeneous mixtures, where substances are not mixed on a molecular level. - Separate Iron Filings and Sulfur with a Magnet. - Separate Grape Soda into Orange and Blue Solutions using Chromatography. All mixtures, heterogeneous and homogeneous, can be separated into pure substances using physical methods, such as distillation or chromatography. Any change of matter that does not change the type of atoms and molecules within the matter is called a physical change. Water boiling is an example of a physical change. When water boils it is changing from a liquid state to a gaseous state. Chemists would represent this process as follows: H2O(l) → H2O(g) Here (l) stands for liquid and the (g) stands for gas. As this is a physical change, the H2O molecule does not change. - CO2(s) → CO2(g) - H2O2(l) → H2O2(g) Molecules, on the other hand, can split or combine together to make other types of molecules. The process where a molecule is transformed into a different molecule is called a chemical change. - C2H5OH + 2 O2(g) → 2 CO2(g) + 3 H2O2(g) 2W + 3O2 → 2WO3 To prevent this reaction from happening, all oxygen is removed from the air sealed inside the bulb. - Lightbulb with hole drilled in bulb.
COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language), imperative and procedural language is usually used in finance and administrative systems of a business house. COBOL TutorialLearn COBOL with this most complete COBOL tutorial in a quick and easy way. Useful for beginners, this tutorial explains all the basic concepts with examples that you would need to gain confidence with COBOL language programming. Who is this COBOL Tutorial designed for?This tutorial will be very useful for all beginners wanting to grow their skills in COBOL Programming. Freshers, BCA, BE, BTech, MCA, college students will also find it useful to develop notes, for exam preparation, lab exercises, assignments and viva questions. Software programmers wanting to work with COBOL will also find this tutorial very useful. What do I need to know to begin with?A basic understanding of any programming language and JCL will help you in grasping the concepts of COBOL quickly. COBOL syllabus covered in this tutorialThis tutorial covers: COBOL Basics, Data types, Basic Verbs, Data Layout, Conditional Statement, Iterative Statements, String Handling, Table, File Handling, File Handling Verbs, Subroutines, Internal Sort, Database Interface Learning all this will get you a lot of confidence to work with COBOL. So, let's begin! Introduction to COBOL - COBOL stands for COmmon Business Oriented Language. - It was developed in 1959 by a group of computer professionals known as Conference on Data System Language (CODASYL). - This language is used for writing an application program. It cannot be used to write system software. - The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) developed a standard of the language in 1968. - After being standardized in 1968, it has since been revised number of times. - Object-Oriented COBOL was released in 2002. Features of COBOL - It is a standard language which is executed and compiled on machines like personal computer, IBM etc. - For developing business applications COBOL is designed. - Because of its advanced file handling capability it can handle huge volume of data. - Logical control structure in COBOL makes it easier to read and modify. - Various debugging and testing tools are accessible in all computer platforms so it is a robust language. - It is easy to debug because it has different divisions. Advantages of COBOL - It is the first widely used high level programming language. - It is compatible with its past versions. - COBOL can handle huge data processing. - Resolution of bugs is easier because it has an effective error message. - It is used as a self documenting language. Program structure of COBOLVarious divisions in COBOL program structure are as follows: - Sections are the logical subdivision of program logic. - Section is the collection of paragraphs. - Paragraphs are the subdivision of a selection. - It is either user defined or predefined name followed by a period and it also includes zero or more sentences. - Sentences are the combination of one or more statements. - They occur only in the procedure division. - A sentence must end with a period(.). - These are the meaningful COBOL statements and they perform some processing. - These are the lowest in the hierarchy and they cannot be divided. COBOL program includes four divisions 1) Identification Division 2) Environment Division 3) Data Division 4) Procedure Division 1. Identification Division 2. Environment Division - It is the first and compulsory division of every COBOL program. - The compiler and the programmer uses this division to recognize the program. - PROGRAM-ID is the only compulsory paragraph in this division. - It identifies the program name which contain characters. It is used to identify input and output files to the program. Environment division includes two sections: a) Configuration section – It gives the information about the system on which the program is written and executed. Configuration section includes two paragraphs: i) Source computer - This system is used to compile the program. ii) Object computer - This system is used to execute the program.b) Input-Output sections It gives the information of files which are used in the program. It includes two paragraphs: i) File control – It gives the information about the external data sets used in the program. ii) I-O control – It gives information of files used in the program. 3) Data Division It is used to define the variables used in the program. It includes four sections: a) File section - It is used to define the record structure of the file. b) Working storage section - This section is used to declare the temporary variables and file structures that are used in the program. c) Local-storage section - It is similar to the local working storage section. The difference is that the variables are initialized and allocated every time when the program starts execution. d) Linkage section - It describes the data names received from the external storage. 4) Procedure Division - It is used to include the logic of the program. - It includes executable statements using variable defined in the data division. - Paragraphs and the section names are user defined in this section. - It should be at least one statement in the the procedure division. - The last statement of the program is STOP RUN(used in the calling programs) or EXIT PROGRAM. (used in the called program)
Design & Technology Our curriculum for design and technology aims to inspire and develop pupils' practical skills, creativity and imagination. Within a variety of contexts, pupils will be given the opportunity to design, make and evaluate products that solve real and relevant problems whilst acquiring a broad range of subject knowledge and drawing on wider related disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Our annual 'Marketplace' event enables all pupils to enhance and develop their skills and apply them in a practical purposeful manner. Pupils have planned, designed and sold a variety of products resulting in profit which have been spent on a variety of classroom resources of their choice. Pupils in Key Stage 2 are taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating, thus instilling a love of cooking and enabling them to develop crucial life skills. Lessons are taught using a cross-curricular approach, although some skills may be taught discretely should they not link to the cross curricular topics being taught. Pupils will be taught: - To design purposeful, functional and appealing products based on design criteria and to develop their ideas through a variety of methods, e.g. templates, mock-ups, annotated drawings and computer-aided design - To select from and use a wide range of tools, equipment, materials and components - To investigate and analyse a range of existing products and use their findings to evaluate and modify their own work - To understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world - To apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce structures - To understand and use mechanical and electrical systems in their products - To prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking skills, techniques and seasonal ingredients
MVC, or model view controller, is a technique used in software. Its fundamental purpose is to build a distinction between the way the software handles data, and the way the software interacts with the user. This distinction means that the processes can be handled, developed and checked separately, which can be more efficient. The process is based on the concept that, at the simplest level, all software carries out the same three-step function. First a user inputs data, then software processes the data, and finally the software outputs the results as a new set of data. A very basic example of this is a user typing “2+2=” into a calculator, the calculator working out the answer, and then the calculator displaying “4.” In the MVC system, the way the computer processes the data is known as the model. The output of the results is known as the view. The input of data by the user is known as the controller. It’s important to remember that the view and the controller are the sections of the program which control the input and the output. The terms don’t usually refer to physical objects such as a keyboard or monitor. The purpose of using MVC is to make it simpler to isolate different elements of a software process. By using the system, a program is effectively divided into three parts: the data processing, the input process and the output process. This means that changes to one part of the program can be made more smoothly without having to also rewrite the other parts of the program The model view controller system is widely regarded to have been pioneered in a programming language titled Smalltalk. Created in the 1970s at Xerox, Smalltalk was partially designed to teach people about the object model of computing. Put simply, that involves breaking down a computing task into separate parts and building the program around the way those parts interact. Smalltalk was also an example of dynamic programming, in which a program can be revised even while it is operating. The MVC system is often used in web-based software such as that used in dynamic, or interactive, websites. In these situations, the view is the code, such as HTML, which is generated by the software after processing a query. For example, on a search engine, the search query box would be the controller and the results page the view.
Our ability to map the seabed has been greatly enhanced by a suite of technologies. Satellite technology can detect underwater mountains and trenches by measuring bumps and dips on the ocean surface. Sonar technology determines depth by measuring the time it takes for sound to travel between a vessel and the seafloor, and back again, with the ‘strength’ of the echo providing information on whether the substrate is rock or sediment. Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) technologies, typically attached to aircraft, use infrared and blue-green pulsed laser beams pointed down towards the sea. Whilst the infrared is reflected off the surface, the blue-green is able to penetrate the water column up to a depth of 30 meters (depending on water clarity). The difference in the time it takes for the two lasers to return back to the aircraft indicates the depth. Submersibles, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) can be deployed with underwater cameras as well as designed to capture physical samples of the sea bed. Mapping marine benthic habitats is vital for many different purposes, not least for supporting marine spatial planning and ecosystem based management of the marine environment. Benthic maps also support industrial endeavours such as offshore oil and gas developments, mining, and fisheries management, ensuring safety for mariners by identifying hazards and designing safe shipping channels, for conservation purposes such as designing marine protected areas, identifying critical habitats, and of course improving our knowledge of benthic ecosystems... The full article was published in – and can be read in – The Marine Professional, a publication of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST). Image: Map of ocean floor based on earths gravity field. Credit NASA (Public Domain)
The Irish Times Science Daily supplement (which we are loving these days, keep it up guys) features two excellent articles today. The first is a look at Charles Darwin's evolution as a scientist, particularly as a geologist (click here), while the second looks at how fifteen recent scientific studies (all of which were published in Nature) are providing powerful "evolving evidence" for the theory (click here). Featured below is number one, the origin of feathers. We published a long series of posts on Darwin's bicentenary earlier this year. Click here to see. The Origin of Feathers The fossil record is one of the main pillars of evidence on which the theory of evolution stands. But critics claim the fossil record is fatally flawed because of the lack of “transitional forms” that illustrate intermediates in the transition of one major group of animals to another. The critics are wrong, and the first two cases I will cite describe examples of transitional forms. Evolutionists tell us that modern birds are descended from dinosaurs. A famous fossil that provides evidence for this was discovered in Bavaria in 1861. The fossil is called Archaeopteryx . The creature displays reptilian features, such as teeth and a long, bony tail, but it also has wings and flight feathers like a bird. It is commonly interpreted as a fossil of the earliest known bird. But has the fossil record thrown up any dinosaurs with feathers – unambiguous transitional forms? Yes. Fossils found in China in the 1980s showed a variety of dinosaurs with feathers and feathery plumage. Many of these feathered dinosaurs could not have flown, which means that feathers evolved for reasons other than flight (heat insulation, for example). Flight was an extra opportunity that was exploited by creatures already carrying feathers.
There is no single freezing temperature for gasoline. Gasoline is made out of different molecules, or hydrocarbons, and these components each have different freezing temperatures.Continue Reading Unlike many other liquids, gasoline is made up of different molecules that slow down as the temperature drops. If it gets cold enough, gas can become quite hard, and hydrocarbons can crystallize if the gas cools slowly. The alcohol components of gasoline might freeze first, whereas some hydrocarbons freeze only at extremely low temperatures, below the temperature of dry ice. Because these different elements are mixed together in gasoline, the temperature at which the liquid begins to freeze varies.Learn more about States of Matter
NO SMALL PARTS, ONLY SMALL Nina has made her friends the stars in her new play about springtime, but she insists that everything be done her way. When her cast and crew quit, she is finally able to do everything herself. Will her one-person production be a success? Idea to Grow On: Play Fair It's so important for children to realize that treating others with fairness is rewarding for everyone involved during playtime! When friends work together, everyone benefits in the end. The following activities nurture: - social and emotional skills - science and discovery skills - language and literacy skills It's a Spring Thing! Help your child explore the changes and growth that take place in spring. Discover what your child knows about spring by first discussing these questions: - What season comes before and after spring? - What things outside make up "nature?" - What signs does nature give that spring has arrived? - How is the weather different? - Does spring bring changes in how people dress and play? - How do plants and animals change? Make an episode connection by talking about how friends can enjoy one another during spring. Discuss how playing fair and treating others with kindness helps friends have more fun when they play. Read and Record Spring! - Read It's Spring! by Samantha Berger and Pamela Chanko (Scholastic Hello Reader, 2000) Take a nature walk together, taking notice of spring colors, sounds, budding plants and trees. - Create a "Seasons" book by taking pictures of your child playing and exploring nature each season. This yearlong project will give your child a unique visual record of the seasons and his/her own personal growth.
NASA’s Curiosity Rover is already doing significant scientific research on the surface of Mars even though it’s only been there a few weeks. In fact, NASA says that Curiosity is already returning more data from the surface of Mars than all other previous NASA rovers combined. NASA recently offered up some new images from Curiosity on the surface of Mars, including the telephoto image you see below. The image shows eroded knobs and gulches on the side of a mountain on the surface of Mars with geological layering exposed. The photograph was taken using the 100 mm telephoto lens and others were taken using 34 mm wide-angle lens that are both on the Mast Camera known as Mastcam. The image is one of the lower slopes of Mount Sharp. Early yesterday NASA placed Curiosity directly over a patch on the surface of Mars where one of the spacecraft landing engines blew away several inches of gravelly soil. After the soil was blown away, the underlying rock was exposed and will be tested. NASA plans to use one of Curiosity’s instruments, capable of shooting neutrons at the rock, to check for water molecules bound inside minerals in the exposed rock. NASA also recently played the first recorded human voice to travel from the Earth to another planet and back. Spoken words from NASA administrator Charles Bolden were beamed from the earth to Curiosity on Mars and back to NASA’s Deep Space Network on earth. The spoken message was congratulatory to NASA employees, commercial, and government partners on the successful landing of Curiosity. You can hear the voice playback here.
Definition - What does Blowdown mean? Blowdown is the removal of water from a boiler with the help of a blowdown valve. This valve removes the dissolved solids in the boiler water through the boiler exit port. The term blowdown is associated with fuel-fired boilers common in industry. Blowdown is also associated with heat exchangers or cooling towers in the industrial processes which use water. Corrosionpedia explains Blowdown Blowdown maintains boiler water parameters within prescribed limits to minimize corrosion, erosion, carryover and other specific problems. Blowdown helps to remove suspended solid particles from the system. Suspended particles can gather and erode the boiler pipes if they are not removed. The percentage of boiler blowdown is calculated with the formula: Percentage Blowdown = Quantity of Blowdown Water / Feed Water Quantity x 100 The range of percentage blowdown in a boiler system ranges from 1% to more than 20%, with 1% being the system working at high quality feedwater. In some manufacturing plants that use sodium zeolite softened water, the percentage blowdown is generally estimated with the help of a chloride test.
Muscle cramps are painful contractions of the muscle that happen involuntarily (i.e. without the athlete intending then to happen). Leg cramps affect most people training hard, particularly running at some point and a common site for cramps is the calf muscles. Although the exact cause of cramp has not yet been successfully determined there are thought to be a number of possible causes including: - Dehydration (not taking on enough water, especially in hot conditions). - Low potassium or sodium (salt) levels. - Low carbohydrate levels. - Very tight muscles. A bout of severe cramp may cause damage to the muscle. Fibres of the muscle may be torn due to the shear strength of the muscle contraction. If this happens the muscle will be painful for some time afterwards. It is essential the a full rehabilitation programme with sports massage treatment is undertaken to restore the muscle to it's original condition. The injury can be treated in the same way as a muscle strain. What can the athlete do? - If you are suffering from a bout of cramp, stretch the muscles involved. Hold the stretch for as long as is necessary. - Gentle massage of the muscles may also help relieve the symptoms by encouraging blood flow. - See a sports injury professional who can advise on rehabilitation. What can a therapist do? - Use sports massage techniques to improve the condition of the muscle. - Advise on a stretching and strengthening programme.
- Lower carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. - Relatively low operating costs. - Known, developed technology “ready” for market. - Large power-generating capacity. - Existing and future nuclear waste can be reduced through waste recycling and reprocessing, similar to Japan and the EU (at added cost). - High construction costs. - High subsidies needed which could be spent on other solutions (such as renewable energy systems). - High-known risks in an accident. - Unknown risks. - Long construction time. - Target for terrorism (as are all centralized power generation - Waivers are required to limit liability of companies in the event of an accident. (This means that either no one will be responsible for physical, environmental, or health damages in the case of an accident or leakage over time from waste storage, or that the government will ultimately have to cover the cost of any damages.) - Nuclear is a centralized power source requiring large infrastructure, investment, and coordination where decentralized sources (including solar and wind) can be more efficient, less costly, and more resilient. - Uranium sources are just as finite as other fuel sources, such as coal, natural gas, etc., and are expensive to mine, refine, and transport, and produce considerable environmental waste (including greenhouse gasses) during all of these processes. - The majority of known uranium around the world lies under land controlled by tribes or indigenous peoples who don’t support it being mined from the earth. - The legacy of environmental contamination and health costs for miners and mines has been catastrophic. - Waste lasts 200 – 500 thousand years. - There are no operating long-term waste storage sites in the U.S. - There are no operating “next generation” reactors. - Shipping nuclear waste internationally, particularly in less secure countries, is seen as a significant increase in risk to nuclear terrorism. Hmmm... 15 to 5. It seems the cons largely outweigh the pros. Considering this and the risk of major catastrophes like Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi, Nuclear had it's chance and failed. In the new world, money and resources spent on nuclear energy will be redirected to funding green energy. AND SO IT SHALL BE WRITTEN!
A preliminary annotated reference list is more commonly called an annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography has two purposes: it provides a reference for you when writing a paper, and it shows the person reading your paper what references you chose and why you chose them. Completing a preliminary annotated reference list is an important first step for any research paper. The key features of a preliminary annotated reference list are detailed references and annotation. For each reference you choose to include in your paper, make sure to include the name of the publication, the author, the date of publication, and, if applicable, the title of the article. This is the reference. Annotation is the information you provide about the reference. Usually this means you are summarizing the information contained within the reference. The summary is commonly followed by your reason for choosing this reference. A preliminary annotated reference list is for you and for the person evaluating your work. Often, a teacher or professor will ask for an annotated reference list before your paper is due in order to assess your research. It will tell the teacher or professor if you're on the right track, and if you aren't, it will indicate how he should help you. An annotated reference list can also help you wade through piles of research to decide what you really need in order to complete your paper. It can also help bring together all your ideas in a central location so that your thesis can start to emerge. Before writing your annotated reference list you should read from your references. Ideally, a student should read everything within the article or book she is using, but this can be very time consuming. In lieu of this, a student can read a portion of the reference. Taking information off of the book jacket or an article summary is not sufficient. If you are using a book, open to a relevant chapter and read that chapter. If you are using an article, read the whole article. Make sure you gain information relevant to your paper that you can use in your annotated reference list. There are two concerns with annotated reference lists: plagiarism and irrelevant references. Anything you write is subject to the prohibition of plagiarism. This includes an annotation for a reference. Do not copy and paste from book reviews and article summaries. If you turn direct copies of texts in to your teacher or professor you will have committed plagiarism. Even though an annotated reference list is not a paper it should still be your work and your work alone. Do not include references that you could not use in your paper. If the reference is from the wrong field or simply doesn't apply to the topic at hand, you should not include it. The temptation to "pad' your references may be there, but in the end it will only irritate your teacher or professor and cost you time.
The days are getting longer due to motion of moon around the Earth. Although this is happening at extremely slow rate but the day length is getting longer. The day length has increased by 1.7 milliseconds during the last 100 years. This seems unusual because we have never felt the elongation of day length. The day length is increasing because of the decrease in speed of rotation of Earth. The revolution of moon around the Earth is applying a pull which is trying to slow down the rotation of Earth. Let’s understand it in detail. Revolution of Moon around the Earth The moon revolves around the Earth at an average distance of 384000 km and completes on revolution in 27 days 7 hours and 43 minutes. The moon keeps the same face towards the Earth throughout its motion because the rotation period is exactly same as the period revolution of moon. The moon revolves around the Earth because of the force of gravitation between the Earth and the moon. The moon also applies force on the Earth and both revolve around their common Center of mass. As the mass of moon is 81 times smaller than the mass of Earth so the Earth does not move much but it is only the moon which appears to revolve around the Earth. Effect of gravity of moon The effect of gravity of moon can be seen in the phenomena of tides. The moon exerts gravitation pull on the surface of Earth but due to rigidity of the solid surface its effect is very less. The oceans are not rigid so they easily deform under the effect of gravitational pull. The level of water of the ocean increases on the surface of Earth which is facing moon. The water level on the back side of Earth also increases. This results in a bulge on the front and back surface of Earth. Drag between the Earth and moon The bulge is not localised to a particular place because the speed of rotation of Earth is larger than the speed of revolution of moon around the Earth. The surface below the water bulge moves with the rotation of Earth but bulge is pulled by the moon. The Earth tries to drag the bulge along the direction of rotation. Thus the bulge is not exactly along the direction of line joining the Earth and moon but bulge lies slight towards the direction of rotation of Earth. This situation results in a torque on the bulge due to moon. Since a friction force exists between the surface of Earth and the bulge in the ocean water, the torque also acts on the surface of Earth which is in the opposite direction of the motion of Earth. So this torque tries to slow down the rotation of Earth. The torque also acts on the bulge on the back surface of Earth and this torque is in the same direction of rotation of Earth. This torque on the back surface tries to increase the speed of rotation of Earth but the magnitude of torque on the back surface is less than the torque on the front surface. The net result is the torque in the opposite direction of rotation of Earth which tries to decrease the speed of rotation of Earth. Result of decrease in speed of rotation of Earth The slowing of the speed of rotation of Earth also results in the increase in speed of revolution of moon around the Earth. Due to decrease in speed of Earth the angular momentum of Earth decreases and the angular momentum of moon increases. So we can say that the angular momentum is transferring from the Earth to moon. The net angular momentum of Earth moon system remains constant and follows the law of conservation of angular momentum. The increase in speed of revolution of moon around the Earth also results in the increase in radius of orbit of moon. The moon is moving away from us at the rate of 3.78 cm per year. The Earth will keep on slowing down and moon will keep on speeding up until they reach at the common speed. Then the period of rotation of Earth and period of revolution of moon will be same. But it will take billions of years. The sun will become red giant much before that and the oceans on the Earth will be evaporated by the extreme heat of sun. So we don’t need to worry much as this process is going take very long time. If you have any idea and query, you are free to comment. If you want to know more about astronomy, you can subscribe us for email notification or follow us on facebook, google plus or twitter.
In the context of spaceflight, a launch window is a time period during which a particular vehicle (rocket, Space Shuttle, etc.) must be launched in order to reach its intended target. If the rocket is not launched within this time period, it has to wait for the next window. For trips into largely arbitrary Earth orbits, no specific launch time is required. But if the spacecraft intends to rendezvous with an object already in orbit, the launch must be carefully timed to occur around the times that the target vehicle's orbital plane intersects the launch site. Earth observation satellites are often launched into sun-synchronous orbits which are near-polar. For these orbits, the launch window occurs at the time of day when the launch site location is aligned with the plane of the required orbit. To launch at another time would require an orbital plane change maneuver which would require a large amount of propellant. For launches above low Earth orbit (LEO), the actual launch time can be somewhat flexible if a parking orbit is used, because the inclination and time the spacecraft initially spends in the parking orbit can be varied. See the launch window used by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft to the planet Mars at . To go to another planet using the simple low-energy Hohmann transfer orbit, if eccentricity of orbits is not a factor, launch windows are periodic according to the synodic period; for example, in the case of Mars, the period is 2.135 years, (780 days). In more complex cases, including the use of gravitational slingshots, launch windows are irregular. Sometimes rare opportunities arise, such as when Voyager 2 took advantage of a 175-year planetary alignment (launch window) to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. When such an opportunity is missed, another target may be selected. For example, the ESA's Rosetta mission was originally intended for comet 46P/Wirtanen, but a launcher problem delayed it and a new target had to be selected (comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko). Space Shuttle missions to the International Space Station were restricted by beta angle cutout. Beta angle () is defined as the angle between the orbit plane and the vector from the Sun. Due to the relationship between an orbiting object's beta angle (in this case, the ISS) and the percent of its orbit that is spent in sunlight, solar power generation and thermal control are affected by that beta angle. Shuttle launches to the ISS were normally only attempted when the ISS was in an orbit with a beta angle of less than 60 degrees. \|Look up window of opportunity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.\|
The book “The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South” by John Blassingame is among the first books that present the history of South slavery from the perspective of enslaved people. The book is argued to challenge conventional thinking confirming that African American slaves were not submissive, docile and morally depressed. Instead, Blassingame tends to prove that African American slaves managed not only to create their own culture, but also to exhibit a variety of personality types (beyond Sambo). Despite methodology and sources were heavily criticized, the book significantly contributes to historical studies as the author offers fresh look on well-known things. Actually, the book is the fundamental study of slavery culture in the South. Blassingame starts his narration arguing that “historians have never systematically explored the life experiences of American slaves”. (p. xi) He means that instead of concentrating on slaves, their life and culture, the majority of historians concentrated merely on the slaveowners distorting, in such a way, plantation life, distinctive culture of the enslaved, their manhood, religion, marriage and family life. Initially, slaves were described as submissive and childish Sambos, but Blassingame proves that personality types of enslaved included Jack and Nat as well. Nat. Sambo is described as faithful and superstitious combination of Uncle Tom and Jim Crow. Jack personality is described as a slave that works faithfully, but who become rebellious when facing mistreatment and oppression. Finally, Nat types is referred to slaves who are against slaveowners. Sambo and Nat are two extreme personality types. Further, the author describes African American slave culture and their cultural retention. Actually, culture was the only thing that combined all the enslaved together providing them with the hope for better future, freedom and equal rights. Blassingame believes that slavery didn’t fully remove African American culture and it was cultural retention that acted as resistance to enslavement. According to Blassingame, the key mistake of many historians is that that have paid attention to “what could be generally described as slave culture, but give little solid information on life in the quarters”. (p. 106) The author’s key argument is that slave culture developed independently in spite of the slaveowners’ influence. To prove that idea, the author writes that “Antebellum black slaves created several unique cultural forms which lightened their burden of oppression, promoted group solidarity, provided ways for verbalizing aggression, sustaining hope, building self-esteem, and often represented areas of life largely free from the control of whites”. (p. 105) Of course, religious and spiritual beliefs of the African slaves were attempted to be erased by Christian missioners and constant influences of the slaveowners, and the author underlines that “in the United States, many African religious rites were fused into one -voodoo”. (p. 127) It seems that voodoo remained rather influential in plantation life because voodoo priests promised African slaves that they would be provided with opportunity to harm their enemies, to heal sickness and insure life. Ritual dancing and funeral rituals were preserved as well. Plantation life was a rough place for living, and the enslaved were constantly prevented from playing musical instruments, ritual signing and using drums. Actually, drums have played important role as they were the signal to rebellion in 1739. Despite such restrictions, slaves still managed to develop their own musical and signing tradition. Therefore, the author sums up that due to cross-cultural exchange “acculturation in the United States involved the mutual interaction between two cultures, with Europeans and Africans borrowing from each other”. (p. 98) Special attention in the book is paid to family life of the enslaved. Blassingame writes that slave marriages were illegal and in case of disobedience married couples were separated through sale. However, Blassingame argues that slave marriages were under full control of the slaveowners who encouraged monogamy as it made it “easier to discipline their slaves. … A black man, they reasoned, who loved his wife and his children, was less likely to be rebellious or to run away than would a single slave”. (p. 151) How could the husband see his wife being raped or his children being sold? Such situations demonstrated that slaves were powerless to prevent sale of his family. Nevertheless, it gave slaves stimulus to survive and not to remain submissive and totally dependent to his master. Some slaves managed to shield their children from brutality and cruelty of the plantation life. The most painful moment was when children understood they were slaves, primarily after beating and whipping. Interestingly, Blassingame distinguishes two behavioral types displayed by fathers. The first type was acting life a man when father slave tried to defend his family from mistreatment. The second type was submissive and obedient worker. In such a way, children might realize that obedience was practically the only way to avoid punishment. The author underlines that “in family, the slave not only learned how to avoid the blows of the master, but also drew on the love and sympathy of its members to raise his spirits. The family was, in short, an important survival mechanism”. (p. 191) Summing up, in the book “The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South” John Blassingame has managed to represent not only family life, cultural values and religious beliefs of African American slaves, but also to convey they way they felt, experienced punishment and mistreatment. The book is among the first books that are told from the perspective of the slave, not the slaveowner. Blassingame concludes that despite mistreatment, assaults and oppression, African-American slaves managed to preserve their culture, their ritual dancing and singing, their family values. Moreover, the author distinguishes three main personality types of the enslaved – Sambo, Jack and Nat – in contrast to one generally accepted type of Sambo. Sambo and Nat are described as two extremes: Sambo as the most submissive personality type, and Nat as the most rebellious personality type. Bibliography Blassingame, John. M. The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.
Double-click on any word for an English definition, or translate: Lesson 14 - British - Beginner Version - Exercise 11 Click on the correct answer(s). British - English What's the difference? The British are the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . This includes the English, the Scots and the Welsh. The English are the people in England. The above map shows England in blue. A geographical note. The United Kingdom is a union of 4 countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The English live in England. The Scots and the Welsh live in Problems? You cannot record your voice or you don't hear yourself after recording? Please go to the Recording Support page. Double-click on any word for an English definition, or translate. Teachers: please note that translation is not a part of the Real English learning methodology.
How Do I Write…? Scaffolding Preschoolers' Early Writing Skills Providing young children with rich writing experiences can lay a foundation for literacy learning. This article presents a framework for individualizing early writing instruction in the preschool classroom. During free-choice time, Mrs. Jackson (all names are pseudonyms and vignettes fictional) moves around her preschool classroom. Her students are busy in centers — some engaging in dramatic play, some working in journals, and some drawing animals at the science center. Carmen looks up to Mrs. Jackson as she passes her table and asks, "How do I write snake?" Mrs. Jackson looks around the classroom at her students, who are just beginning to experiment with writing. Some students, like Carmen, know the names of all the letters and can produce most of them accurately. A lot of Carmen's classmates, however, are still learning to write their own names, and others do not yet know the difference between drawing and writing. How can Mrs. Jackson help all of her students when they are in such different places in their development? How should Mrs. Jackson respond? Should she name the letters of the word? Focus on the sounds in the word? Encourage Carmen to write down her "best guess" and praise her hard work? And how should Mrs. Jackson help the next child, and the next? Many preschool teachers recognize the importance of early writing by making writing materials available in their classrooms and providing opportunities to write during the school day (Gerde & Bingham, 2012). However, for teachers like Mrs. Jackson who want to offer explicit writing instruction to their students, the diversity of skill levels in a typical classroom presents a real challenge. Preschool teachers receive limited practical guidance about how to apply the research on early writing to help individualize instruction for children. Not surprisingly, recent research indicates that few teachers understand how to appropriately scaffold instruction to help children take the next step in their writing development (Gerde & Bingham, 2012). In this article, we offer a straightforward framework that teachers can use to easily evaluate children's writing and help children take the next step in development. We address why it is important to foster early writing skills, how writing typically develops in young children, and how teachers can actively support this development. We discuss in detail four different students who might appear in a typical preschool classroom and how teachers can use their understanding of early writing to shape instruction for these students. We also provide examples and concrete suggestions for fitting individualized writing instruction into common classroom contexts, including centers, journaling, and morning message. This article will help teachers individualize early writing support for all students and at the same time foster other important early literacy skills through writing. Early writing and why it matters Early writing, often used synonymously with the term emergent writing, encompasses the following: (a) the manual act of producing physical marks (i.e., mechanics), (b) the meanings children attribute to these markings (i.e., composition), and (c) understandings about how written language works (i.e., orthographic knowledge; Berninger, 2009). Although mechanics and composition are important features of early writing, we focus our attention on orthographic knowledge—how children's marks reflect growing understandings of the writing system. These understandings include both general conventions (e.g., print goes from left to right on a page) and understandings of specific features (e.g., speech can be represented by individual sounds, which can be written down using letters). We use the term early writing to refer to children's representations of their knowledge about the writing system (i.e., orthographic knowledge). Early writing is one of the best predictors of children's later reading success (National Early Literacy Panel [NELP], 2008). Specifically, early writing is part of a set of important foundational literacy skills that serve as necessary precursors to conventional reading (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998), including developing understandings of both print (i.e., print concept and alphabet knowledge) and sound (i.e., phonological awareness). Print knowledge includes general understandings of how print works (e.g., left-to-right directionality) and the names and sounds of the alphabet. Knowledge about sound, or phonological awareness, includes the ability to attend to and manipulate sound structure of language, progressing from awareness of larger chunks (e.g., sentences, rhyme, beginning sounds) to blending and segmenting individual units of sound (i.e., phonemic awareness), for example, understanding that the word cat is made up of /c/, /a/, and /t/. These early skills work together to lay a foundation for later reading success (NELP, 2008). As children integrate their knowledge of print and sound, they begin to grasp the alphabetic principle, a critical achievement in early literacy. The alphabetic principle is the understanding that oral language is made up of smaller sounds and that letters represent those sounds in a systematic way. Children can grow in their understanding of how print and sound work together through experimenting with writing. Writing serves as a type of laboratory, in which even very young children are actively creating and testing hypotheses about how writing works (Bissex, 1980). Children notice print in their environment and use their experiences to invent and revise ideas about the rules that govern writing, “cracking the code” of literacy one piece at a time. For example, a child might believe based on his experience with print and knowledge of the world that really big animals have really big written representations. So he might represent the word elephant with a very big and wide scribble and might represent the word bee with a very short, tiny scribble. As he begins to grasp the alphabetic principle, his hypotheses change, and he may later represent the word elephant with an L and the word bee with the letter B. How early writing develops To help young children develop as writers, teachers need to understand typical writing development and use this knowledge to identify what children already know and what they are ready to learn next. Specifically, each child's writing provides teachers with a window into what that child knows about print and sound. Children learning to write in an alphabetic language such as English typically follow a specific sequence of development (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2008; Clay, 1975; Ferreiro & Teberosky, 1982; Hildreth, 1936; Kaderavek & Justice, 2000; Lieberman, 1985; Schickedanz & Casbergue, 2009; Temple, Nathan, & Temple, 2012). Drawing on this body of work we next describe four levels of early writing development, designed to provide teachers with a straightforward framework with which to evaluate children's written efforts. Drawing and Scribbling Early in development, children's drawings are their writings, and children make no distinction between the two when asked to write. Children then begin to make separate marks representing "writing" apart from their drawings, a key developmental event indicating that children have begun to grasp the functionality of writing as separate from illustration. These early marks are often directionless scribbles. These scribbles then begin to take on features of written text children see in their environment, becoming horizontal and moving from left to right on a page. The scribbles eventually evolve into separate, distinct characters (e.g., Lieberman, 1985).Connections to other literacy skills Children who are drawing and scribbling usually do not yet understand that writing is related to speech. Similarly, when listening to a storybook being read aloud, children at this level may not understand that the text carries its own meaning, and that the words the teacher is saying to tell the story come from the text (Justice, Pullen, & Pence, 2008). Their alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness skills are at the beginning points in development. They may know a few letter names, such as the first letter in their name. They may also be working on phonological awareness skills that attend to larger units of spoken language, such as rhyme. Letters and Letter-Like Forms Next, children begin to write with letter-like forms and a few letter shapes. Although these early forms mimic letter shapes, they are at first not conventional letters. When children do begin writing conventional letters, they often produce what may appear to be random strings of letters because they do not yet connect letters to the sounds in spoken language. Children typically begin by reproducing letters found in their names. The first letter of their first names, along with other name letters, are usually seen repeatedly in children's early writing (Treiman, Kessler, & Bourassa, 2001). Children at this level may mix symbols and numbers with random letter-like forms and conventional letters.Connections to other literacy skills When children are consistently writing with seemingly random letters and letter-like forms, they understand that print carries meaning, but they still do not generally understand that letters represent the sounds in spoken words in a systematic way. Although they may be growing in phonological awareness and developing knowledge of the alphabet, including the names of some letters, they have not yet made the speech-to-print connection. Because they represent their knowledge of print in their writings without representing sounds, their messages cannot be understood by adults without children's interpretations. Salient and Beginning Sounds Children reach a critical point in writing development when they start to represent the sounds that they hear in spoken language. Relying on their growing knowledge of both print and sound, children begin to invent spellings, which means they create logical phonetic spellings based on their knowledge. They often represent salient sounds, or the sounds that are the most prominent because of the way they feel in the child's mouth (Bear et al., 2008). For example, a child might write B for the word baby, because her lips come together twice when saying the word. She might spell V for elevator, because that sound is the most distinct due to the vibration felt when saying the word. She might logically substitute F for V because the sounds feel similar on the lips. Beginning sounds in words are often the most salient ones, so children will have many beginning sounds in words represented. When writing a sentence, children may represent a letter for each salient sound they hear, for each word or for each syllable. For example, when writing the sentence, I like juice, a child may write IKJ without any spaces.Connections to other literacy skills Children who are writing with salient and beginning sounds are beginning to grasp the alphabetic principle. At this point, children combine their knowledge of print and sound for the first time. They are just beginning to understand this principle and cannot yet identify where spoken words begin and end in written text (Morris, Bloodgood, Lomax, & Perney, 2003), so they usually do not use spaces between words while writing. This understanding shows up in in children's “reading” as well. When finger-pointing to the words in memorized texts such as songs and nursery rhymes, children will most likely point to words according to stress units or syllables, getting off track on multisyllabic words (Flanigan, 2007). Beginning and Ending Sounds As children's phonemic awareness grows to the point at which they can attend to individual sounds in words, they begin to represent beginning and ending sounds of words in their writing. They also consistently write with spaces between words, indicating that they understand where word boundaries occur. When writing the simple consonant-vowel-consonant pattern word map, children at this level will write MP. Children also use a letter-name strategy when beginning to spell, using their knowledge of letter names to create spellings; for example, eight might be spelled AT. Children who are writing with beginning and ending sounds generally do not consistently represent the middle sounds in words, especially vowel sounds, until the next phase in their development (see Bear et al., 2008).Connections to other literacy skills Children's invented spellings mirror their early reading ability very closely (Morris et al., 2003). At this level, they are able to finger-point accurately to the words of a memorized rhyme and make self-corrections if they get off track. They actively use their knowledge of letter sounds and letter names to help them identify words, but often guess based on the first letter and sometimes last letter of a word, not yet attending to the vowel sounds; cat and cut would be most likely read the same way (Ehri, 2005). Over time, children's spellings become more conventional as they learn to represent all the sounds in words. Providing appropriate support for young writers This developmental writing framework provides teachers with guidance for appropriately scaffolding young children's efforts in early writing. The next sections provide classroom examples of individualizing writing support for children in each of the four developmental levels. In each example, Mrs. Jackson uses her observations of what the child already knows (as represented correctly in his or her writing) and what he or she is on the verge of learning (according to his or her level of development) to scaffold work for that child within his or her instructional range. By using the framework outlined in the Table 1, Mrs. Jackson is able to efficiently provide support to each child, moving him or her toward the next step of writing development. \|Level of development\|\|Goals for children\|\|Examples of appropriate strategies to support writing\| \|Drawing and Scribbling\|\| \|Letters and Letter-Like Forms\|\| \|Salient and Beginning Sounds\|\| \|Beginning and Ending Sounds\|\| Drawing and Scribbling: Katrina "This says castle," Katrina says, pointing to her drawing of a castle in her journal. Katrina is an imaginative young girl who, inspired by story time today, wants to build a castle in the block center. The center is already full, so Katrina must sign up for the next turn, writing her name as a single horizontal scribble. While she waits, she draws a plan for her castle in her journal. Mrs. Jackson provides time in class every day for students to write or draw in their journals and encourages their use throughout the day. At this point in her development, Katrina has had little experience with print and pays more attention to the pictures in books. Her journal pages contain only drawings, and she draws or scribbles when asked to write. She can recognize her name and about three letters that appear in her name, but she has not yet begun to learn the sounds associated with these letters and does not yet incorporate them into her writing. As indicated by Table 1, there are three important goals for Katrina's writing development. She needs to develop a distinction between pictures and text, start using individual units while writing, and develop her representation of her own name beyond the first letter. Mrs. Jackson decides to focus on the first goal today and uses the picture book from story time as an example of the difference between pictures and print. "I love your castle, Katrina! Let's look at our book again. Yes, there's a picture of a castle there too! And let me show you one other thing, over here, there is the word castle. See, the book tells the story in two ways — in the pictures and in the writing." Mrs. Jackson coaches Katrina to add some scribbles beneath her picture and praises the result — "It looks like the book now!" She then directs Katrina's attention back to the book, highlighting how each word is made up of letters. She focuses on some words that include the letter k, the letter most familiar to Katrina. Going forward, Mrs. Jackson will engage Katrina in a dialogue about her journal entries, over time encouraging her to incorporate familiar letters into her writing. Although Katrina's journal does not at all resemble conventional writing at this point, it is the first step toward making print concrete for Katrina. At this point, Katrina's writing development focuses on increasing her knowledge of print; she is not yet ready to integrate phonological awareness or her letter–sound knowledge into her writing activities. Letters and Letter-Like Forms: Marvin Marvin is playing doctor in a dramatic play center, writing and signing prescriptions for other students in his group. All of Mrs. Jackson's centers include opportunities and materials for writing. Mrs. Jackson encourages students to make signs and labels for their creations at the blocks and clay centers, draw and label animals and plants in the science center, and incorporate writing into dramatic play, for example, taking orders in a restaurant. Centers give children the chance to experiment with writing at their own level in playful, authentic contexts. Each prescription Marvin writes includes his name, which he writes as MAV, along with a few other characters that look like letters or numbers. As is often the case for young writers, Marvin's name writing is more advanced than his other writings. He remembers what his name looks like from memory rather than writing letters based on the sounds he hears; he doesn't yet understand that Marvin starts with the /m/ sound. Over the course of the week, Marvin has written several journal entries using a combination of M, A, V, and other characters that resemble letters and numbers, as is typical for children at this second level of writing development. Judging by the letter-like forms he includes in his writing, Marvin does understand that he should be writing more than three letters, but he isn't sure what to add. Because Marvin's writing does not have any connection to the sounds in the words, the goals for his instruction should push him toward making that connection and developing the alphabetic principle. As indicated by the Table, Marvin needs to make connections between print and sound and use that knowledge to begin to represent beginning or salient sounds in his writing. When Mrs. Jackson stops by the play center, she praises Marvin: "I like how you wrote your name! Let's write your friends' names on their prescriptions, too!" She then talks to Marvin about the letter M — it is the first letter in his name, and the first sound in his name is /m/. They practice saying "/m/, /m/, Marvin" together while pointing to the letter M. Then Mrs. Jackson asks Marvin which of his "patients" in the dramatic play center have names that start with /m/. With her support, Marvin identifies Maria and Meredith and writes their names down as M's combined with scribbles. With Mrs. Jackson's direction and support, Marvin is also able to identify the /s/ at the beginning of Sam and /l/ at the beginning of Liz. In each case, Mrs. Jackson identifies the letter that makes the target sound and helps Marvin write the letter on the prescription. Marvin is developing an understanding of how letters represent sounds at the beginning of words, a first step toward grasping the alphabetic principle. Going forward, Mrs. Jackson will encourage Marvin to identify beginning and salient sounds and to match those to letters in his writing in play centers and in his journal, embedding this systematic connection in his mind. Salient and Beginning Sounds: Carmen "How do I write snake?" asks Carmen. Carmen is working on a draw-and-label activity in the science center. Because centers allow each child to work at his or her own level, Carmen has labeled a picture of a tiger with T, an elephant with L, and a snake with S. Her ability to identify a salient sound in each word and match it to a letter indicates that she has begun to sound out the words she writes phonetically, and this pattern holds throughout her other class writings this week. Carmen has an initial understanding of the alphabetic principle and understands that speech is systematically connected to print in a left-to-right fashion. Like most children in this level of writing development, she often uses only one letter to represent syllables or entire words, rather than representing each individual sound. Her writing skill reflects her other literacy skills; Carmen knows all the letter names and letter sounds and has excellent awareness of the beginning sounds in words. However, when finger-pointing to a known text, such as a nursery rhyme, she often gets off track when she encounters two-syllable words. She generally cannot distinguish between written words that begin with the same sound. For example, she may identify the same word as mom or mother. As indicated by Table 1, the key goal for Carmen is beginning to hear and represent additional sounds in words in her writing, in particular identifying both initial and final sounds in words. Mrs. Jackson looks at the S on Carmen's paper. "I like the way you wrote down the first sound you heard in the word snake. S-s-s-nake. Great job! Do you hear any other sounds in snake? Let's say the word together and stretch it out." As they stretch out the word, Mrs. Jackson emphasizes the final /k/ sound, which Carmen identifies. Mrs. Jackson follows up by asking, "How do you write [the sound] /k/?" Carmen might choose the letter C, because that letter represents the /k/ at the beginning of her own name. Carmen settles on the spelling SC, and Mrs. Jackson praises her effort, because Carmen is using the letter–sound correspondences she knows to write based on the sounds she hears within words. During both center and journal time, Mrs. Jackson will encourage Carmen to listen for the final sound in the word and represent that sound in her writing as well as the initial sound. Carmen is spelling! Beginning and Ending Sounds: Jayden Jayden is working in the story-writing center, recounting and illustrating the class's recent field trip to a farm. He has written his own name and the names of his friends accurately and has begun to list some animals they saw on the trip, for example, DG for dog, GT for goat, and PG for pig. Jayden is a diligent writer of words, working very slowly and carefully sounding out words. He has memorized a few simple words that he always writes accurately, such as his friends' names. His other writings this week show that he is primarily writing with beginning and ending sounds in words. He represents most consonant sounds correctly in writing but may still exhibit some confusion with letter names, such as writing YN for when because the pronunciation of the letter-name Y ("why") makes the /w/ sound. Jayden knows virtually all letter names and letter sounds. In terms of vowels, he is most familiar with the long sounds, which match the names of those letters. For example, he writes snow as SO. He is also able to track a memorized rhyme, self-correcting as he attempts to make the speech-to-print match. He is also actively using his knowledge of letter names and letter sounds to help him sound out words, but this process is slow and labor-intensive for him. He has trouble distinguishing between similar words such as bed and bad, as he does not always attend to vowel sounds in words. When reading, he relies heavily on contextual clues and picture supports to guess the right word when he is unsure. Because Jayden is working at the fourth level of writing development, two goals are appropriate for him: consistently representing middle vowel sounds in his writing, and writing some simple, complete words. Achieving these goals will also support his reading development by helping him sound out words more accurately. Mrs. Jackson tries to draw Jayden's attention to the vowel sound in simple words. To build on Jayden's spelling of the word goat (GT), Mrs. Jackson draws a rectangle with three sections, or boxes, on a piece of paper. She writes the letters G and T in the first and last boxes, respectively. "You wrote two sounds, but there are three. G is at the beginning of goat; T is at the end of goat. What do you hear in the middle?" Mrs. Jackson emphasizes the long /o/ sound. Jayden identifies the sound and writes an O in the middle box, spelling GOT. This spelling represents a step forward in that Jayden is focusing on the medial vowel sound. Moving forward, Mrs. Jackson will support Jayden by continuing to work on both long and short vowel sounds in other simple words. Putting it all together As demonstrated by Mrs. Jackson's classroom, preschool children vary widely in their ability to write, and individual instruction is key to scaffolding each child's development. Teachers can also support children of all levels of writing ability within one activity, however, by strategically individualizing how they involve each child. The morning message is one activity Mrs. Jackson uses to engage children in the process of writing by cocreating a meaningful message for the class. Although this activity is teacher directed, Mrs. Jackson creates an interactive writing environment by modeling the writing process for all children and engaging some children each day in writing as they share the pen. Mrs. Jackson begins, "Children, we are going to write the words to our message so we can read them." This statement reminds children such as Katrina that we read the words we write. She says and writes, "This week we are studying transportation. Mrs. Jackson peddled her bicycle to school today." When she comes to the word bicycle, she asks, "Who can help me begin the word bicycle? Marvin, what sound do you hear at the beginning of b-b-bicycle?” Mrs. Jackson calls on Marvin because she knows he needs practice making connections between letters and their sounds. Marvin responds, "b-b-bicycle." "Great, Marvin, bicycle does begin with /b/. Does anyone know what letter makes the /b/ sound?" Carmen exclaims, "B!" "Yes, B!" Mrs. Jackson offers Marvin the marker so he can write the B. Next she asks the children, "How did you get to school today?" Both Katrina and Carmen rode the bus, so Mrs. Jackson brings them up together. She reads aloud as she writes, "____ and ____ rode the____." She invites Katrina and Carmen to write their names in the blanks. Katrina scribbles from left-to-right, and Carmen writes all the letters in her name. Pointing to each word, Mrs. Jackson reads, "Katrina and Carmen rode the… What word is next, Katrina? What type of transportation did you and Carmen take to school?" Katrina says, "Bus." Mrs. Jackson draws three small boxes in the last blank, one to represent each letter in the word. She says to the class, "Let's write the word bus together. Bus has three letters, 1, 2, 3 [points to the three boxes]. Let's think about the first sound in the word bus. Bus and bicycle begin with the same sound! What letter should I write? …Great, bus begins with B. Carmen, what other sounds do you hear in bus?" She emphasizes the /s/ at the end of bus. Carmen replies, "S," and Mrs. Jackson directs her to write the S in the last box. "Great you heard /b/ for B and /s/ for S. Listen closely because there is another sound in the middle of the word. Buuuuuus. Jayden, what do you hear?" Jayden says, "U" and adds the U into BUS. At the end of their writing, Mrs. Jackson reads the entire message, pointing to each word and asking children to read along with her. In this article, we have provided a framework for teachers to understand the goals and types of activities for supporting children at each level of early writing development (see Table 1). How can teachers use this framework to help children move forward in their writing development? The first step is to determine each child's current level of development through observing children's writing. A thoughtful, ongoing examination of children's early writing can provide teachers with a window into children's knowledge of print and sound that can inform productive instruction. Although writing progresses in a developmental order, it is not necessarily the case that children master one level before moving to the next. Many children move back and forth between levels of difficulty, particularly across writing tasks (e.g., name writing vs. story writing), sometimes exhibiting different levels on the same day! Because children show this flexibility in their writing, it would be helpful for teachers to evaluate three or more writing samples taken over the course of a few days across different classroom contexts. Only one of these samples should be name writing, as children tend to write their names at a more sophisticated level than they do other words (Levin, Both-de Vries, Aram, & Bus, 2005). From these writings, a teacher can identify the highest level at which children are consistently writing (apart from their name-writing representation). There is one key question to consider when determining writing level: Are children representing any sounds in their writing? The answer to this question tells teachers whether children are beginning to grasp the alphabetic principle (i.e., salient and beginning sounds; beginning and ending sounds). After determining each child's level, teachers can use Table 1 to readily identify the appropriate goals and teaching strategies for each level across common classroom writing contexts. Effectively incorporating support for children's varying writing skills provides a gateway to developing other critical literacy skills and significantly contributes to later reading achievement (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). The knowledge teachers gain from assessing children's writing samples can be used to select appropriate, individualized strategies for scaffolding and expanding children's writing efforts. Individualizing writing instruction provides meaningful and approachable writing experiences for all children, setting the stage for reading and writing success for years to come. The preparation of this article was supported in part by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through grant R305A060021 to the University of Virginia—funding the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education (NCRECE). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the U.S. Department of Education. Sonia Q. Cabell is a research scientist at the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. e-mail [email protected] Laura S. Tortorelli is a graduate student at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Hope K. Gerde is an assistant professor at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. Click the "References" link above to hide these references. Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2008). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction 4th ed.. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/ Prentice Hall. Berninger, V.W. (2009). Highlights of programmatic, interdisciplinary research on writing. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 24(2), 69–80. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5826.2009.00281.x. Bissex, G.L. (1980). Gnys at wrk: A child learns to write and read. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Clay, M.M. (1975). What did I write? Beginning writing behaviour. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Ehri, L. (2005). Learning to read: Theory, findings, and issues. Scientific Studies of Reading, 9(2), 167–188. doi:10.1207/s1532799xssr0902_4. Ferreiro, E., & Teberosky, A. (1982). Literacy before schooling. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Flanigan, K. (2007). A concept of word in text: A pivotal event in early reading acquisition. Journal of Literacy Research, 39(1), 37–70. doi:10.1080/10862960709336757. Gerde, H.K., & Bingham, G.E. (2012, July). Examining material and interaction supports for children's writing in preschool classrooms. In H.K. Gerde (Chair), Writing in early childhood: Development, variation, and contextual supports. A symposium presented at the Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Hildreth, G. (1936). Developmental sequences in name writing. Child Development, 7(4), 291–303. doi:10.2307/1125581. Justice, L.M., Pullen, P.C., & Pence, K. (2008). Influence of verbal and nonverbal references to print on preschoolers' visual attention to print during storybook reading. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 855–866. doi:10.1037/0012-16220.127.116.115. Kaderavek, J.N., & Justice, L. (2000). Children with LD as emergent readers: Bridging the gap to conventional reading. LD Online. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from www.ldonline.org/article/6278/ Levin, I., Both-de Vries, A.C., Aram, D., & Bus, A.G. (2005). Writing starts with own name writing: From scribbling to conventional spelling in Israeli and Dutch children. Applied Psycholinguistics, 26(3), 463–477. doi:10.1017/S0142716405050253. Lieberman, E. (1985). Name writing and the preschool child. Phoenix, AZ: Early Childhood Center, Phoenix College. Morris, D., Bloodgood, J.W., Lomax, R.G., & Perney, J. (2003). Developmental steps in learning to read: A longitudinal study in kindergarten and first grade. Reading Research Quarterly, 38(3), 302–328. doi:10.1598/RRQ.38.3.1. National Early Literacy Panel (2008). Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy. Schickedanz, J., & Casbergue, R. (2009). Writing in preschool: Learning to orchestrate meaning and marks 2nd ed.. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Temple, C., Nathan, R., & Temple, C. (2012). The beginnings of writing 4th ed.. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Treiman, R., Kessler, B., & Bourassa, D. (2001). Children's own names influence their spelling. Applied Psycholinguistics, 22(4), 555–570. doi:10.1017/S0142716401004040. Whitehurst, G.J., & Lonigan, C.J. (1998). Child development and emergent literacy. Child Development, 69(3), 848–872. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06247.x. Sonia Q. Cabell, Laura S. Tortorelli, and Hope K. Gerde (May 2013). How Do I Write…? Scaffolding Preschoolers' Early Writing Skills. The Reading Teacher, 66(8), pp. 650-659.
Edited by Leland Teschler The stepper motor is a well-known way of translating electrical energy into precise mechanical motion. Each electric impulse sent to the motor moves the shaft one increment corresponding to a defined angle of rotation. For example, sending 100 impulses to a 1.8° stepper motor would turn it exactly 180°. One of the attractions of stepper motors is that they generally can operate open loop, with no position feedback for correcting shaft-position errors, because the pulse count defines their shaft position. This scheme can work if a stepper motor is never overloaded or if it never operates near its resonance frequency. But there are problems in many real-world applications that are associated with these two conditions. To assure the stepper motor never overloads and loses track of its shaft position, many engineers overspecify the motor. So they may end up using a larger and more-expensive model than would be necessary to handle normal conditions. Moreover, stepper-motor resonances frequently occupy the same band needed to handle application needs, so they may be difficult to avoid in practice. At lower frequencies the resonance behavior is more pronounced; a small increase in load or a torque peak makes the motor lose steps or fall out of step and even come to a standstill. One technique for mitigating resonances is to divide step commands into smaller microsteps, but this entails use of filtering and more complicated controls. Another way of handling temporary overloads and loss of shaft position is to add a position encoder to the motor shaft in a manner analogous to that used with servomotors. The encoder reads the actual position of the shaft and sends this information back to a controller which compares it to the commanded position. The controller uses the resulting error signal to manage pulses in a manner that either accelerates or decelerates the motor shaft to position it at the right spot. Unfortunately, this position feedback scheme has no effect on issues associated with oversizing the motor and resonances. But there is a way to formulate a closed-loop stepping-motor system that eliminates difficulties around resonances and allows less-conservative motor sizing. The technique combines position feedback with a special way of controlling the current in the stepper-motor windings. It is analogous to the vector control of ac-induction motors. It orthogonally aligns currents of the field and armature (or torque component) currents such that, when torque is controlled, the field flux linkage is not affected, thus enabling dynamic torque response. However, this scheme needs no Clark transformation ordinarily used to project threephase currents into two vectors because ordinary stepper motors have only two phases. In the accompanying diagram, Id is the flux generating part of the current vector, Iq is the torque generating part. A velocity controller changes the torque-generating current vector. The flux-generating vector is only influenced by field weakening. (Because the controller tries to have the optimum 90° angle between the stator and rotor magnetic field, it always tries to keep Id at zero. Only if we are using field weakening, implying the speed is above the constant-torque range of the motor, do we need the Id component.) A point to note is that the motor- drive waveform in this case is sinusoidal rather than steps or microsteps. One advantage of this technique is that motors powered this way have no problem with temporary load peaks. Their field-oriented current regulation lets them adjust in real time, a feature ordinarily available only through use of servomotors which are more expensive. Dissecting closedloop feedback Readers are probably aware there have long been stepper-motor controls claiming to use closedloop schemes with position encoders. Such systems merely check the step position and add or subtract steps to compensate. They cannot correct step angle errors on the fly. In contrast, sinusoidal commutation coupled with fieldoriented control can indeed compensate for step-angle and load-angle errors within a full step. Vector control of the magnetic field ensures that the stator magnetic field is always perpendicular to the rotor magnetic field and the field intensity corresponds precisely to the required torque. This maximizes torque, optimizes energy efficiency and dynamics, and minimizes torque fluctuations while letting the motor operate more quietly than with ordinary open-loop control. Closed-loop stepper motors offer dynamics similar to those of servomotors up to about 2,000 rpm. At higher speeds, however, servomotors continue to dominate. The ideal range for stepper motors is below 1,500 rpm where they boast much higher torque than servomotors. They can retain good dynamics even at higher speeds. These qualities prove beneficial where there’s a need to cover small distances or make small movements during an extremely short reaction time. Applications where sine-wave-commutated, closed-loop stepper motors can replace servomotors include wafer positioning in die-bonding machines, welding-wire feeds, and nozzle control for regulating the throughput of pumps. Additionally, such stepper motors often need no gearbox, which makes them interesting for domains where drive components must be small. Finally, it should be noted that stepper motors with field-oriented control receive only as much current as they need. They run cooler and deliver the same performance as an ordinary stepper while dissipating less electric power. The advantage becomes clear when considering belt-driven applications which normally use induction motors coupled with flange-mounted gearboxes. It is not uncommon for induction motors in these situations to be replaced by closedloop steppers weighing one-third as much and which occupy about one-third the space. Tips for selecting a stepper motor To choose the right stepper motor, start with the torque the motor must deliver and the rotational speed at which this torque must be available. Consider an example where required torque Md = 10 Nm at speed n = 200 rpm. Then motor power P = Md × n × /30 = 209 W This approximation lets you practically read the power directly from the characteristic curve. The speed-torque curve for the stepper motor depicts the dynamic torque relative to the rotational speed or step frequency. The dynamic characteristic of a stepper motor also depends on factors such as the type of power driver and the amount of supply current. If the power data for a motor are known, then the equation for computation of the required torque is: Md = P / (n × ˜0.1) Again, rotational speed is in rpm, torque is in nanometers. Alternatively, Md = P × z/6.28 × f where z = steps/rotation and f = frequency, Hz The power of a stepper motor rises until it hits its breakpoint speed and remains relatively constant at higher speeds because the torque falls roughly linearly with rising speed. A stepper motor consists of a magnetic rotor and multiple offset stator windings. Current through these windings generates a magnetic field. Reversing the direction of current flow changes the polarity of the magnetic field. When windings get energized in a defined sequence, the result is a rotating stator field that the toothed permanent magnet of the rotor follows. The electrical impulses thus determine the speed of the rotating magnetic field and the rotor translates these impulses into mechanical rotation with a defined step angle. Stepper motors are widely used when the job demands a low-priced drive for positioning tasks accompanied with highly precise speed control. There are three specific variants: permanent magnet, variable reluctance, and hybrid motors. The permanentmagnet stepper motor operates on the reaction between a permanent-magnet rotor and an electromagnetic field. The rotor has a permanent magnet mounted at each end. Both the stator and rotor have teeth. The teeth on the rotor surface and the stator pole faces are offset so there will be only a limited number of rotor teeth aligning themselves with an energized stator pole. The number of teeth on the rotor and stator determine the step angle movement that will arise each time the polarity of the winding reverses. The greater the number of teeth, the smaller the step angle. The variable-reluctance stepper motor differs from the PM stepper in that it has no permanent-magnet rotor and no residual torque to hold the rotor at one position when turned off. When the stator coils energize, the rotor teeth will align with the energized stator poles. This type of motor operates on the principle of minimizing the reluctance along the path of the applied magnetic field. By alternating the windings that are energized in the stator, the stator field changes, and the rotor moves to a new position. The stator of a variable-reluctance stepper motor has a magnetic core constructed with a stack of steel laminations. The rotor is made of unmagnetized soft steel with teeth and slots. The hybrid step motor consists of two pieces of soft iron, as well as an axially magnetized, round permanent-magnet rotor. The term hybrid comes from the fact that the motor operates under the combined principles of the PM and variable-reluctance stepper motors. The stator core structure of a hybrid motor is essentially the same as its VR counterpart. The main difference is that in the VR motor, only one of the two coils of one phase is wound on one pole, while a typical hybrid motor will have coils of two different phases wound on one the same pole. Each pole of a hybrid motor is covered with uniformly spaced teeth made of soft steel. The teeth on the two sections of each pole misalign with each other by a half-tooth pitch. Torque is created in the hybrid motor by the interaction of the magnetic field of the permanent magnet and the magnetic field produced by the stator. Hybrid combines the benefits of reluctance and permanent-magnet motors. They offer high-step resolution, high-repetition accuracy, and excellent holding torque and nominal torque into high speed ranges. A correctly sized stepper motor is a reliable drive element. There is no hunting around the motor axis when the motor remains at its null position, a frequent problem with servomotors.
Photodiodes and Phototransistors Phototransistors are transistors with the base terminal exposed. Instead of sending current into the base, the photons from striking light activate the transistor. Other than that, the phototransistor behaves just like a normal transistor. Two common configurations are shown on the right. - Common-Emitter Amplifier - goes from "high" to "low" with light. - Commond-Collector Amplifier - goes from "low" to "high" with light. The phototransistor can be used in two different modes: 1) active & 2) switch. These modes are controlled by changing the value of the resistor. The equations are: Fairchild recommends a 5kohm resistor or greater to use as a switch - Switch Mode - when operating as a switch, the transistor can be switched between the cut-off ("off") and saturated ("on") states. This means that when light strikes the phototransistor, it will conduct. Otherwise, it will insulate. - Active Mode - In active mode, the output of the transistor is proportional to the intensity of the light. Photodiodes are semiconductors that produce current flow when they absorb light. In application, there are two types of photodiodes: 1) photovoltaics and 2) photoconductors. - Photovoltaics work like solar cells (in fact they are the same). When light shines on the photodiode, a voltage is created across it, causing current to flow. - Photoconductors are reverse-biased photodiodes. When light shines on the photodiode, the resistance to the reverse-bias decreases. By measuring the current through the photodiode, you can detect the intensity of light. - Frequency Response - Photodiodes are much faster than phototransistors (nanoseconds vs. microseconds) - Phototransistors have a higher gain. Photodiodes require an amplifier to use. - Temperature Response - Photodiodes vary less with temperature - Optocouplers are used in electronics-sensitive applications. For example, you may use this in a mobile robot application to separate the microcontroller circuitry (low voltage/power) from the motor driver circuitry (high voltage/power).
A Few FACTS about Wombats Small yet powerful creatures Wombats use their claws to dig burrows in open grasslands and eucalyptus forests. They live in these burrows, which can become extensive tunnel-and-chamber complexes. Common wombats are solitary and inhabit their own burrows, while other species may be more social and live together in larger burrow groups called colonies. Wombats are nocturnal and emerge to feed at night on grasses, roots, and bark. They have rodent like incisors that never stop growing and are gnawed down on some of their tougher vegetarian fare. Why they are endangered? The field and pasture damage caused by wombat burrowing can be a destructive nuisance to ranchers and farmers. Wombats have been hunted for this behaviour, as well as for their fur and simply for sport. Some species (the northern hairy-nosed wombats) are now critically endangered, while others (the common or coarse-haired wombat) are still hunted as vermin. Space for all wombats is at a premium as farm and ranch lands increasingly replace natural space. Some cool facts about wombats are as follows: The average wombat is about 1 meter (40 inches) long and weighs about 25 kg. Wombats can live from about 5 years to over 30 years. Wombats can be anything from a sandy colour to brown or black to grey. They live in large burrows up to 30 meters (100 feet) long. They eat mainly grasses and roots and are nocturnal grazers.
The aggregation of interstellar grains as a result of ballistic collisions produces loosely packed structures with much of their internal volume composed by vacuum (cavities). The molecular material present on the surfaces of the cavities gives rise to a series of reactions induced by cosmic rays, UV radiation, thermal shocks, etc., in high reducing conditions. Thus, a terrestrial type chemistry is given the possibility to evolve inside these cavities. The resulting products are different and of a wider range than those from gas-phase or surface chemistry in molecular clouds. Under conditions similar to those in the aggregate cavities, laboratory experiments have produced amino acids, sugars and other organic compounds from simple precursors. In dense star-forming regions, the molecular species inside aggregates are efficiently shielded against the local UV field. The same molecules were incorporated in the material which formed the Earth, as well as other planets, during the process of its formation and afterwards fell on the surface via comets, meteorites, interstellar dust, etc. This was the source material that can produce, under favorable circumstances, the biopolymers needed for life. The astronomical observations of organic molecules in star-forming regions and the results of analyses of meteorites and cometary dust seem to support the present hypothesis that complex prebiotic molecules form inside dust aggregates and therein survive the journey to planetary systems. The Miller experiment is revisited through innumerable repetitions inside dust grain aggregates.
The Eustachian tube is a very important area of the body because it joins the pharynx at the back of the throat. Its main function is to conduct air and sound waves to the structure located in the middle ear. It can also be the space in which mucus travels from ear to nasopharynx. This tube is necessary for ensuring air pressure inside the ear is at equilibrium. It can also protect the ear from receiving high decibel sounds. Overall, the Eustachian tube protects the middle ear. Since it has various functions, damage or blockage to the Eustachian tube can result in problems with inflammation, and inability to clear mucus from the tube. It is about 3 to 4 centimeters in adults. It is not a tube that is always open but will only open when we swallow, chew, or yawn. This is why people are encouraged to chew or yawn to stabilize the pressure in the ear at higher altitude levels. If the Eustachian tube becomes blocked, this is known as Eustachian tube dysfunction. When the blocked Eustachian tube occurs, then the functions of the Eustachian tube are impaired resulting in an increased pressure on the outside of the eardrum. This leads to reduced hearing and if the pressure builds to a high enough level, the person can experience pain, as the eardrum is turned inward and flattened. The person can also experience tinnitus or a "ringing in the ear." A blocked tube can also be felt as if water is in the ear. The inflammation can also cause dizziness. The causes of a blocked Eustachian tube include infection, allergies, or swimming.
CO2 emissions from fossil fuel have been growing steadily in the US and are projected to continue growing until 2030 and beyond if no legislation is passed to reduce emissions. The Copenhagen Diagnosis is a major climate change report released on November 24, 2009. Key findings in the report include that climate-related changes are happening faster than scientists expected only a few years ago and that the average scientific projection for sea level rise has increased sharply. Wildfires in Washington State have increased significantly in recent years, a shift that appears linked to climate change. Arctic sea ice acts like a heat shield, reflecting most of the sunÃ¢Â€Â™s energy. As the ice has melted back, it reflects less, and the planet is absorbing more heat. Present vs. projected August days over 95 degrees Fahrenheit Present vs. projected August days over 90 degrees Fahrenheit CO2 captured from coal-fired electric power plants may be injected for storage into porous layers of rock and sand deep underground. In coal-burning power plants, CO2 can be captured for transport to storage sites.
- Ask the pupils to write the name of an animal in their notebooks. Then ask one pupil to spell out his/her animal. Encourage the class to call out the animal, eg Pupil: L-I-O-N. Class: Lion! Invite some more pupils to spell out their animals. Once the class has called out a few animals, encourage them to order the animals from the smallest to the biggest (help them by writing the animals on the board), eg goldfish, mouse, snake, rabbit, dog, lion, giraffe (biggest). Encourage the pupils to discuss their answers using I think ___ are bigger than ___, eg I think mice are bigger than goldfish. Completing Spain: Endangered species Worksheet - Draw a map of Spain on the board. Encourage the pupils to help you label the map with the seas, some mountain ranges, some rivers and some cities. Write big animals and small animals on the board and encourage the pupils to name some big animals and some small animals that live in Spain. Write their answers on the board, eg Big animals: cows, bears, deer, goats. Small animals: rabbits, snakes, lizards, mice. Ask: Which are wild animals? Explain that wild animals don’t live near people. Wild animals usually live in mountains, forests, rivers, seas or national parks, eg bears, wolves, lizards. Explain that some animals can be wild or live on farms with people, eg goats, rabbits. - Show the pupils pictures of an animal that is in danger of extinction (eg lynx) and an animal that is not in danger of extinction (eg rabbit). Ask the pupils How many rabbits are there in Spain? Lots! Thousands! There are rabbits in many forests, fields and national parks. How many lynxes are there in Spain? Very few, maybe 100-150. Lynxes are in danger of extinction because there are very few of them. Ask the pupils if they know of any other wild animals in Spain that are in danger of extinction. - Read the information in Activity 1 with the class. Ask the pupils to complete the sentences in small groups. Pupils then write the names of the animals under the pictures. Highlight the main reasons why these animals are in danger of extinction: pollution, destruction of their natural habitats and hunting. Explain that it’s very important to look after the environment so that these animals can survive. Answers: 1-meat; 2-plants; 3-fur; 4-run; 5-trees; 6-sheep; 7-live; 8-south;9-pollution; a-black stork; b-brown bear; c-wolf; d-black vulture - Show the class a picture of a lynx or write lynx on the board. Write some sentences on the board and encourage the pupils to discuss whether they are true or false, eg Lynxes are bigger than leopards. (F) They usually hunt during the day. (F) They have got big ears. (T) They hunt rabbits. (T). They are not in danger of extinction. (F). Elicit answers from the class. - Ask the pupils to find the eight words in the word snake in Activity 2 and write them in the first table. Read the text with the class and encourage the pupils to call out the missing words. Once you have completed the activity orally, ask the pupils to write the words in the text. - Ask the pupils to underline the most important words in the text, eg south, nocturnal, thirteen years, sharp claws. Elicit feedback and write the pupils’ suggestions on the board. Then encourage the pupils to make sentences using the words on the board, eg South: Lynxes live in the south of Spain. Nocturnal: Lynxes are nocturnal animals. Thirteen years: Lynxes live for about thirteen years. Sharp claws: Lynxes have got sharp claws. Encourage the pupils to work in small groups, taking turns to say something about lynxes using one of the words on the board. - Pupils complete the second table in Activity 2. Answers: 1-forests; 2-night; 3-years; 4-teeth; 5-carnivores; 6-mice; 7-excellent; 8-people Write Save the animals! on the board. Arrange the pupils in small groups to do a project. Give each group some pictures of endangered species in Spain. Encourage the groups to write some sentences about the animals and ideas to save them. Encourage the pupils to present their project to the class. Do a model on the board, eg This is a black vulture. It lives in the south of Spain. Black vultures are in danger of extinction. To save the black vulture people shouldn’t throw litter in the country. People shouldn’t use poison to kill animals. People shouldn’t hunt them. People shouldn’t take their eggs.
Breathlessness and wheezing are a couple of the symptoms of asthma. These symptoms differ in severity from person to person. Some people may suffer symptoms several times a week, or in worse cases several times a day. Asthma can be at its worst during physical activity, when it's cold, or at night. An asthma attack is caused when the lining of the bronchial tubes swells up. This then causes the airways to narrow which results in a reduction of air flow into and out of the lungs. Recurrent asthma symptoms frequently cause sleeplessness, daytime fatigue, reduced activity levels and school and work absenteeism. - Asthma is a disease which affects the way we breathe. The condition is a chronic one and affects the tubes that go to and leave the lungs. - Over 200 million people suffer from the condition and it is prevalent among children. - Countries that have low to middle income are the countries that have the highest rate of asthma related deaths. - The biggest contributors to asthma are inhaled substances and particles that cause allergic reactions which lead to irritation of the airways. - Asthma can be controlled by using suitable medication. The severity of asthma can also be reduced by staying away from known asthma triggers. - People can still enjoy a good quality of life if they manage their condition appropriately. Asthma is a disease which cannot be cured. However, proper management of the disease can control it and enable you to live a good quality of life. Some symptoms can be relieved by using short term medication. However, anyone suffering from severe asthma symptoms must take long term medication on a daily basis to control exacerbation of the condition. It isn't just medication that controls asthma. You have to be vigilant at avoiding asthma triggers and anything that will cause the airways to swell. Creating a personal action plan in conjunction with your asthma nurse or GP will help you manage your asthma. It should include details about your medicine and emergency information but it could also include details of your POWERbreathe inspiratory muscle training plan. Because POWERbreathe is drug-free and has no side-effects or drug interactions, POWERbreathe inspiratory muscle training will complement your prescribed asthma medicine, but we would recommend you speak to your medical practitioner before starting any exercise training plan. Read more about exercise-induced asthma and managing your shortness of breath with breathing training.
Image Credit: NASA Early tomorrow morning, the moon will be hit by two fast-moving bits of space debris. In 2036, the Earth will almost certainly not be hit by a 250 yard-wide rock. All three of these pieces of news make me happy. First, the moon. The two bits of "space debris" are NASA's LCROSS probe and its spent Centaur booster rocket. The rocket, weighing in at about 2.5 tons, will hit first, impacting the crater Cabeus (near the moon's south pole) at 7:31 am (and 19 seconds) EDT tomorrow, while moving at a speed of 9000 kilometers per hour. This hit should gouge a crater about 20 meters wide and 5 meters deep, and may toss as much as 385 tons of lunar soil and rock into the air. NASA wants this plume of debris to be tossed up, because the LCROSS spacecraft is going to fly through the plume, taking pictures, analyzing the chemical makeup of the debris, and sending that information back to Earth before it collides with the moon itself 4 and a half minutes later. That impact will create a second plume of debris. Earth-based telescopes on the night-side of the Earth will be staring at and analyzing the impact site, too, assuming the weather is good. (The weather at the observatories in Hawaii is looking chancy). The whole point of these two collisions is to look for one specific chemical: water. Satellites have found indirect evidence of water on the moon, including a recent claim of a few-molecule-thin layer over large parts of the moon. The idea here is that the floor of the crater Cabeus never sees the sun, so if any water is brought into the moon by comets, it may freeze out and stay in these craters. Finding water on the moon has two important implications. First, there is the functional implication that if there is water on the moon, any lunar bases we humans build might be able to use it instead of bringing water from Earth. Water is heavy, and every pound of material we send to the moon costs thousands of dollars. Given that a pound of water is only about a half liter (a pint's a pound the world around), a bottle of Earth water would cost ten thousand dollars. Granted, it could (and would) be recycled, but if you thought Perrier was expensive... (Do you think a moon base vending machine would take ten-thousand-dollar bills? Do you think any astronauts would recognize Salmon Chase?) The scientific side of lunar water is also quite interesting. Many models of the early solar system claim that water should not have been able to exist where the Earth formed, yet we are positively swimming in the stuff. Other models say that we may have originally had water, but big collisions with protoplanets when the Earth formed should have dried the Earth out. Yet they didn't. Or perhaps the very early Earth was dry, and comets brought water to the Earth. By studying the detailed composition of any moon water, planetary scientists can hopefully determine where that water came from (comets? Original to the moon?). If you are interested in watching the LCROSS impact, your best bet is to tune in to NASA TV starting at 6:15am EDT (3:15am Pacific) to watch the live broadcast. NASA TV will show pictures from the LCROSS satellite as they come in, plus any pictures and video from telescopes observing the impact. If you live west of the Mississippi River, you may have a chance of seeing the impact in the pre-dawn sky, but you'll need a telescope of at least 10-inches in diameter. Universe Today has detailed instructions for anyone wanting to see it themselves. So much for the impacts that will happen. Now, onto the one that won't. In late 2004, a major stir was caused by the announcement that the 250-meter wide asteroid Apophis had a 2% chance of hitting the Earth in 2029. As astronomers gathered more data on this asteroid, we were able to better calculate its orbit and determine that it will not hit the Earth in 2029, though it will pass very close, only about 20,000 miles away. This is inside the orbit of geosynchronous satellites! There also was a chance (1-in-45,000) that, if Apophis passed through a tiny kidney-shaped region of space during its 2029 passage of Earth, it would be put on an orbit that would collide with the Earth in 2036. Yesterday, new calculations based on combining new data with the older observations of the asteroid gave a much more accurate prediction of the asteroid's path. The result lowered the chance of a collision in 2036 to a very tiny chance: 1-in-4 million. Now, that chance is still not zero, but it is so incredibly small we can breathe easy. Now, we astronomers will keep looking and recalculating its orbit. Because this asteroid comes so close to Earth, we're going to get some excellent data on it in the next twenty years. These data will tell us a lot about the asteroid, where it came from, what it is made out of, what its structure is. These data will also allow us to determine its orbit even more precisely, and to plan out a strategy should we find that the asteroid will hit Earth in the even more distant future. If you want to know more about near-Earth asteroids and the likelihood of the Earth being hit any time soon, check out the Asteroid Watch website for the most current news and science. One last note. Some news reports have said that NASA is "bombing" the Moon with LCROSS. That's wrong. I don't know who used the phrase first (I actually think I heard it from NASA), but it's misleading. There are no explosives on the satellite or the Centaur booster. Explosives wouldn't do much, and would add additional chemicals to the analysis that would be hard to take out. We're just crashing the probes into the Moon. Also, some people think we are damaging/trashing the Moon with this impact. Meteors this size routinely hit the Moon (I don't know the exact frequency, but couple-ton fireballs burn up in the Earth's atmosphere several times a year, such as over Canada a few weeks ago). We're just adding one event to a common occurrence.
The discovery of this first argon compound is credited to a group of Finnish scientists, led by Markku Räsänen. On 24 August 2000, in the journal Nature, they announced their discovery of argon fluorohydride. This chemical was synthesized by mixing argon and hydrogen fluoride on a caesium iodide surface at 8 K (−265 °C), and exposing the mixture to ultraviolet radiation. This caused the gases to combine. The infrared spectrum of the resulting gas mixture shows that it definitely contains chemical bonds, albeit very weak ones; thus, it is argon fluorohydride, and not a supermolecule or a mixture of argon and hydrogen fluoride. Its chemical bonds are stable only if the substance is kept at temperatures below 17 K (−256 °C); upon warming, it decomposes into argon and hydrogen fluoride.
In guidance for maintained schools,1 issued by the Department for Education in November 2014, a list was provided that describes the understanding and knowledge expected of pupils as a result of schools promoting fundamental British values. This is given below: - an understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process; - an appreciation that living under the rule of law protects individual citizens and is essential for their wellbeing and safety; - an understanding that there is a separation of power between the executive and the judiciary, and that while some public bodies such as the police and the army can be held to account through Parliament, others such as the courts maintain independence; - an understanding that the freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law; - an acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour; and - an understanding of the importance of identifying and combatting discrimination. St Augustine's is a Catholic school which seeks to live out the values of Jesus Christ. We promote these values by our words and deeds, and Catholic doctrine and practice therefore permeates every aspect of the school’s activity. We provide a Catholic curriculum, which is broad and balanced, recognising that every pupil is unique and is created in the image of God (Gen 1:27). Our curriculum is designed to enable every pupil to discern their vocation and to be well-equipped to follow it as active citizens in service to the world. Catholic Religious Education is the “core of the core curriculum” (Pope St John Paul II) 4 and the foundation of the entire educational process. We also provide a wide range of extra-curricular activities and strong pastoral support. We incorporate democratic principles, value the rule of law, support individual liberty and foster a community in which different faiths and beliefs are respected. To see some examples of how we promote fundamental British Values, please download the document below.
Resolution in remote sensing terms It is important to understand how a remote sensing tool operates in order to appreciate its ability to detect features - such as habitats - on the seabed (in intertidal or subtidal areas). There are many excellent texts and websites explaining all the technical aspects of remote sensing; for example Green et describe the use of satellite and airborne remote sensors for marine mapping in tropical waters The following text is based on information available on the US NASA website definitions taken from Wikipedia Remote sensors measure and record the magnitude and frequency of reflected energy from an object where the ‘energy’ is generally either electromagnetic radiation (light) or acoustic (sound). Remote sensing devices mounted on aircraft and satellites normally use imaging sensors that measure reflected energy from objects under surveillance; the mostly commonly used sensors for underwater detection use acoustic systems although the results are often presented as images. Imaging sensors fall into two general categories: active sensors and passive sensors. Passive sensors monitor only the natural solar reflected light or electromagnetic energy from an object and form the majority of the airborne and satellite based sensors in use today. Active image sensors provide their own energy which is transmitted to the object and then reflected back to the sensor. Acoustic systems, RADAR and LiDAR (based on a laser) are all active sensors. Early remote sensing devices recorded photographic images on film (taken by cameras) or traces printed onto paper rolls (sonar devices). Both routes created an image in analogue format. These images were fixed and could not be subject to very much manipulation (correction, change of contrast or colour etc); more recently, they can be converted into an electronic digital format for limited manipulation. Most modern sensors now record their information in digital format, often as digital images. A digital image is made up of numbers, which represent image attributes such as brightness, colour or radiated energy frequency wavelength, and position location for each point or picture element in the image. The smallest sized picture element on an image is called a ; a digital image is made up of pixels arranged in rows and columns commonly known as a raster . The dimensions and the information content of these pixels are both aspects of the resolution of the image. Resolution has a popular meaning but is best defined in a technical sense. We normally think of resolution as the ability to separate and distinguish adjacent objects or items in a scene, be it in a photo, an image or real life. We often specify the resolution in terms of the linear size of the smallest features we can discriminate (often expressed in meters). But, contrast influences our ability to resolve between objects: if two items are the same colour, they may be hard to separate, but if they are sharply different in colour, tone, or brightness we can identify them more easily. Remote sensors measure differences and variations of objects that are often described in terms of three main resolutions, each of which affect the accuracy and usefulness of remote sensors to habitat mapping. - Spatial resolution describes the ability of a sensor to identify the smallest size detail of a pattern on an image. In other words, the distance between distinguishable patterns or objects in an image that can be separated from each other and is often expressed in meters. - Spectral resolution is the sensitivity of a sensor to respond to a specific frequency range (mostly for satellite and airborne sensors). The frequency ranges covered often include not only visible light but also non-visible light and electromagnetic radiation. Objects on the ground can be identified by the different wavelengths reflected (interpreted as different colours) but the sensor used must be able to detect these wavelengths in order to see these features. - Radiometric resolution is often called contrast. It describes the ability of the sensor to measure the signal strength (acoustic reflectance) or brightness of objects. The more sensitive a sensor is to the reflectance of an object as compared to its surroundings, the smaller an object that can be detected and identified. When selecting a remote sensing tool for habitat mapping, it is clearly essential that you consider the capability of the tool in terms of its ability to both resolve spatial and textural differences in the habitats you wish to display on your final Links to websites
Although DNA is generally viewed as a stable molecule, many conditions can cause loss of DNA bases or strand breakage. - Depurination involves the loss of purine bases forming abasic sites - Depurination is one of the two limiting factors in chemical synthesis of long DNA oligos (the other is coupling efficiency) - DNA under physiological conditions has been estimated to depurinate at a rate of /sec at 37C and pH 7.4 - Heating DNA for 10m@100 at pH 7.0 leads to about 1 apurinic site per 1000 base pairs - The activation energy of depurination is around 29 kcal/mol - Higher temperatures lead to faster depurination - Denatured DNA depurinates at about 4 times the rate of dsDNA @ pH 7.4 - Methylated As (6-methyladenine) found in bacteria are depurinated 4 times faster than the unmethylated purine bases - Depurination decreases at higher pH (thus acidic conditions favor depurination) - Depurination proceeds more rapidly in buffers of low ionic strength - Depurination is correlated with lower transformation efficiency - Depurination is independent of sequence - Cytosine can be spontaneously deaminated to form uracil. - Abasic sites are alkali-labile. Under mildly alkaline conditions, β-elimination occurs which nicks 3' to the abasic site leaving a 5'-P on the downstream fragment - Under strong alkaline conditions, δ-elimination will occur after β-elimination which completely removes the abasic site leaving a 3'-P on the upstream fragment and a 5'-P on the downstream fragment
An image of the Cigar Galaxy, or M82, composed from data from the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, and JPL-Caltech Recent photographs of an active galaxy offer new confirmation for the idea that supernova explosions are the creators of surprisingly energetic particles called cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are protons that whiz through space at almost the speed of light. They originate far beyond the solar system, but when some make it past Earth's atmosphere they can carry such an energetic punch that they knock out electronics systems. Scientists have long been unsure of the process that ramps the particles up to such great speeds, though gathering evidence suggests that these super-fast protons originate during the death of a star When a very large star dies, it implodes into a black hole while expelling its outer layers in a powerful explosion called a supernova. Scientists think that some of the energy released during these blasts acts as a sort of supercharger, accelerating particles to extremely fast speeds and creating cosmic rays. New proof of this idea has come from recent observations of the Cigar Galaxy (M82) by the VERITAS gamma ray telescope array in Amado, Ariz. The galaxy sits about 12 million light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major (also known as the Big Dipper). It is a starburst galaxy, meaning it has exceptionally high levels of star formation. With so many stars forming in M82, there are also high numbers of massive stars and supernovas, making the galaxy a perfect testing ground for the cosmic ray explanation. If supernovas are responsible for cosmic rays, scientists figured, then a place with more of the stellar explosions will also have higher concentrations of the energetic particles. Indeed, researchers found that the density of cosmic rays in M82 was 500 times that of the Milky Way, confirming the hypothesis. "This discovery provides fundamental insight into the origin of cosmic rays," said Rene Ong, a professor of physics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the spokesperson for the VERITAS collaboration. Though the telescope couldn't image cosmic rays directly in the distant galaxy, the researchers looked for gamma rays, a very energetic form of light produced when cosmic rays interact with gas and radiation within the galaxy. They used this measurement to extrapolate how many cosmic rays lie within M82. The findings are detailed in the Nov. 1 online issue of the journal Nature. - Top 10 Strangest Things in Space - Video: Supernova: Creator/Destroyer - Image: Cosmic Ray-Forming Remnant
Three factors make native plants favorable to use in Florida Because native plants are adapted to Florida soils, temperatures, and rainfall patterns, they require less irrigation and fertilization. This claim is true if several factors are present, specifically providing the right native with the right soil type and irrigation amount. Oftentimes in development, water flow patterns change as a result of native topsoil removal. Native plants are resistant to pests, diseases and tropical storms in Florida, because they evolved under constant exposure to these organisms and conditions. Invasive plants may not have this resistance, providing an unwanted food source to pests and disease, unwanted debris after hurricanes, and competition with native plants for water and soil area. Education about Florida's ecology: Florida's increasing population should be more educated about the state's natural resources and how these resources are preserved. This education can come from seeing native trees in parks, state and national parks, and forested areas and understanding how these trees interact with their environments and provide the clean air, water, and soil that Florida residents rely on. Please contact your local native plant society and/or botanical garden to learn more about native trees.
3rd grade MAFS Study Guide is a tool to review the Mathematics Florida Standards as a Test Prep. The study guide uses examples from the FSA Test Item Specification. This study guide covers MAFS.3.OA.1.4; MAFS.3.OA.2.5; MAFS.3.MD.3.5; MAFS.3.MD.3.6; MAFS.3.MD.3.7; MAFS.3.MD.4.8. It is a 5 days review that includes problems with multiple choice, multi-response and table response. It uses repetition as an instructional strategy. Students will solve similar problems every day with the goal of mastering these standards after the 5th day. Common Core Standards: 3.OA.4. Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers. For example, determine the unknown number that makes the equation true in each of the equations 8 × ? = 48, 5 = ÷ 3, 6 × 6 = ?. 3.OA.5. Apply properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide. (Students need not use formal terms for these properties.) Examples: If 6 × 4 = 24 is known, then 4 × 6 = 24 is also known. (Commutative property of multiplication.) 3 × 5 × 2 can be found by 3 × 5 = 15, then 15 × 2 = 30, or by 5× 2 = 10, then 3 × 10 = 30. (Associative property of multiplication.) Knowing that 8 × 5 = 40 and 8 × 2 =16, one can find 8 × 7 as 8 × (5 + 2) = (8 × 5) + (8 × 2) = 40 + 16 = 56. (Distributive property.) 3.MD.5. Recognize area as an attribute of plane figures and understand concepts of area measurement. a. A square with side length 1 unit, called “a unit square,” is said to have “one square unit” of area, and can be used to measure area. b. A plane figure which can be covered without gaps or overlaps by n unit squares is said to have an area of n square units. 3.MD.6. Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in, square ft, and improvised units). 3.MD.8. Solve real world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of polygons, including finding the perimeter given the side lengths, finding an unknown side length, and exhibiting rectangles with the same perimeter and different areas or with the same area and different perimeters. 3.MD.7. Relate area to the operations of multiplication and addition. a. Find the area of a rectangle with whole-number side lengths by tiling it, and show that the area is the same as would be found by multiplying the side lengths. b. Multiply side lengths to find areas of rectangles with whole-number side lengths in the context of solving real world and mathematical problems, and represent whole-number products as rectangular areas in mathematical reasoning. c. Use tiling to show in a concrete case that the area of a rectangle with whole-number side lengths a and b + c is the sum of a × b and a × c. Use area models to represent the distributive property in mathematical reasoning. d. Recognize area as additive. Find areas of rectilinear figures by decomposing them into non-overlapping rectangles and adding the areas of the non-overlapping parts, applying this technique to solve real world problems. *For more 3rd Grade MAFS Study Guides go to http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Vicvelyn-Reyes 4th Grade MAFS Study Guides are also available. Be sure you are following the store to be the first to find out about sales, flash freebies, discounts and great new products. Click "follow me" next to the green star.
Most scientists believe that alcoholism is a genetic disease linked to differences in the way the genes in different people’s brain cells regulate the chemical pathways affected by alcohol. But they’ve had little success determining exactly which pathways and genes are critical, partly because alcohol affects so many brain functions. Now, with the help of advanced DNA microarray technology, studies of alcohol-preferring lab mice are narrowing down the possibilities. In a study led by Susan Bergeson, a neurobiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, researchers compared gene expression in the brains of two groups of mice, one averse to alcohol and the other preferring a 10 percent ethanol solution in their water bottles. Using high-throughput microarrays, which can measure the expression levels of thousands of genes at once, Bergeson’s team found 3,800 genes that seemed to be associated with how much the mice liked alcohol; 36 in that group were labeled high priority, as similar genes are found in stretches of the human genome that have been implicated in alcoholism. Future research may examine these genes using databases of DNA samples from alcoholics and their family members – work that could eventually help doctors screen patients for a genetic predisposition to alcoholism. Become an Insider to get the story behind the story — and before anyone else.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF ILLUSTRATION: POPULAR ART IN AMERICAN MAGAZINES, 1850-1925 The profusion and popularity of illustrated magazines and books in the years between 1850 and 1925 have earned this period the encomium--The Golden Age of Illustration. In this Golden Age, American periodicals contained a wealth of artwork which furnished the public with a rich source of information and entertainment. Pictures embellished fiction and non-fiction alike. Illustrative art has never before, nor since, been such a vital, popular art form in the United States. This study examines the Golden Age of Illustration from an historical perspective. It explores several factors which enabled illustration to reach this zenith and those which then led to its deterioration.^ Mass-circulation illustrated periodicals, which appeared after the mid-nineteenth century, were the product of recent advances in printing technology: the development of high-speed presses, an abundant supply of inexpensive pulp-based paper, and improvements in wood-engraving techniques. Innovations in photographic technology also made a significant contribution to the art of illustration. New photographic reproductive processes, such as line-engraving and the half-tone, liberated artists from the restraints of earlier reproductive methods and encouraged many to illustrate for popular periodicals. In addition, these labor-saving improvements allowed publishers to pay high fees for the work of first-rate artists. Photographic technology, initially a boon to illustrators, would encroach upon the illustrators' domain by the turn of the century. During the first decades of the twentieth century, photographs would ultimately replace illustrations of non-fiction.^ Popular illustration was in the mainstream of American art during the nineteenth century. Although much of Western art had traditionally been illustrative in content, in this unique era artists consciously directed their work towards a mass audience through the pages of magazines. Illustration was recognized to be a democratic art form. The dichotomy between fine art and popular art was not as sharply defined as it is today. Several artists, such as John Sloan and William Glackens, who are now recognized primarily as easel painters also illustrated popular periodicals in this era. Winslow Homer, for example, worked in two different media for separate audiences--creating easel paints for the elite and wood-engraved magazine illustrations for the middle-class readers of Harper's Weekly. Illustrators in this period were still esteemed to be fine artists. They collaborated with the finest contemporary authors and enjoyed the respect of art critics and fellow artists.^ Attitudes towards illustration changed in the early twentieth century. The development of advertising art, a field in which many illustrators began to participate, generated a negative perception of illustration. Illustrating for commerce bore a stigma which creating art for literary magazines had never possessed. In the twentieth century, the public taste for illustrated fiction dwindled. The birth of abstract art in the early twentieth century severed the illustrator, whose art was by definition representational, from the dominant modernist trend in the arts. Popular illustration would no longer be considered a fine art and a widening gulf would divorce fine art from popular art. ^ JO ANN EARLY LEVIN, "THE GOLDEN AGE OF ILLUSTRATION: POPULAR ART IN AMERICAN MAGAZINES, 1850-1925" (January 1, 1980). Dissertations available from ProQuest.
Members of society learn how to behave and interact with the world around them through socialization. Sometimes, groups of individuals are separated from the rest of society and put into what we call total institutions, where they have to go through a process of resocialization. A prison would be a good example of a total institution. Once in that environment, people have to learn a new set of norms, rules and how to take on new roles that come with their roles as prisoners, guards, and so forth. In Stanford’s Prison Experiment, Sociologists wanted to analyze how having a more powerful position could change someone’s behavior. The “guards” of the experiment had to behave according to their new role, which came with a high level of authority and no restrictions. Having that much power made these men be resocialized. Their new social roles and environment requested them to perform different norms and behaviors. Their focus was on how people respond to a cruel environment without clear rules. The biggest issue of the experiment was that it got to the point where it wasn’t just that anymore, it was the dehumanizing the human beings involved. These men ended up doing things that were considered unthinkable to society. They were constantly testing the limits of their power, seeing how far they could go. We tend to think that people who do such things are evil human beings. What the experiment proved is that regular good-hearted people can be changed by the environment they are inserted in and lead to acting in ways they never thought they would. Individuals are affected by society just as much as they affect society itself. Regardless of that fact, members of society must take responsibility for their actions. The people who tortured prisoners in Abu Ghraib were without a doubt affected by the environment they were in, but that doesn’t give them the excuse to act in such a “deshumane” manner. Leaving them unpunished would blurry the lines of what humanity’s common primary beliefs. If all members of society had the right to stay unpunished by justifying cruel behaviors with desocialization, what would the world turn into?
Foundations of Individual Behavior objective and easily obtained from personnel records. Ability, Intellect, and Intelligence AbilityAn individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. Intellectual AbilityThe capacity to do mental activities. Multiple IntelligencesIntelligence contains four subparts: cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural. Dimensions of Intellectual Ability Number aptitude – speedy and acc calculations Verbal comprehension – understand what is read or heard Perceptual speed – identify visual similarities and differences Inductive reasoning – identify logical sequence in problem and solve it Deductive reasoning – use logic and assess implications of argument Spatial visualization – to imagine how an object looks if its position is changed Memory – retain and recall past experiences The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar characteristics. Nine Physical Abilities Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience Is relatively permanent Is acquired through experience Theories of Learning A type of conditioning in which an individual responds to some stimulus that would not ordinarily produce such a response. Unconditioned stimulus (meat) Unconditioned response (salivation) Conditioned stimulus (bell) Conditioned response (salivation) Classical Conditioning example If a flavor is followed by an illness experience, we will not consume the flavor in the future CS + UCS ----------> UCR Taste Toxic event Nausea CS -----> CR Respondent Conditioning Learning Curve The more often the pairing occurs, the stronger the response Early pairings are more important than later pairings If the conditioned stimulus is no longer followed by the unconditioned stimulus, responding will gradually slow down and finally cease. The conditioned stimulus no longer signals the onset of an important event so it is ignored by the organism. Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner) A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior leads to a reward or prevents a punishment. • Behaviors are learned by making rewards contingent to behaviors. • Behavior that is rewarded (positively reinforced) is likely to be repeated. • Behavior that is punished or ignored is less likely to be repeated. Social-Learning Theory Albert Bandura (extension of operant conditioning) People can learn through observation and direct experience. • Attentional: the attractiveness or similarity of the model • Retention: how well the model can be recalled • Motor reproduction: the reproducibility of the model’s actions • Reinforcement: the rewards associated with learning the model behavior Social Learning - Beyond Reinforcement External reinforcement isn’t the only way in which behavior is acquired, maintained, or altered We can also learn by observing, reading, or hearing about others’ behavior – We develop anticipated consequences for our behaviors • Even for behaviors we’re never engaged in Our cognitive abilities give us the capability for insight and foresight – New patterns of behavior can be acquired in the absence of external reinforcement – We can pay attention to what others do, and repeat their actions • i.e., We learn through observation, rather than through direct reinforcement Systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves an individual closer to the desired response. Reinforcement - The administration of a consequence as a result of a behavior. Proper management of reinforcement can change the direction, level, and persistence of an individual’s behavior is required to change behavior. Some rewards are more effective than others. The timing of reinforcement affects learning speed and permanence. Methods of Shaping Behavior Positive reinforcement – following a response with something pleasant Negative reinforcement – following a response by termination or withdrawal Punishment- causing an unpleasant condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior Extinction – eliminating any reinforcement that is maintaining a behavior Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous reinforcement - desired behaviour is reinforced each time it is demonstrated. E.g. compliments Intermittent reinforcement - desired behaviour is reinforced often enough to make the behaviour worth repeating but not every time it is demonstrated Types of intermittent reinforcement – Rewards are spaced at uniform time intervals- salary – Rewards are distributed at random times; reinforcements are unpredictable e.g weekly pay packets – Rewards are initiated after a fixed or constant number of responses (e.g. payment for piece-rate workers) e.g piece rate pay – Rewards are varied relative to the behaviour of the individual. E.g commissioned sales Nature of reinforcement Effect on Behaviour Reward given after each desired behaviour Fast learning of new behaviour but rapid extinction Reward given at fixed time intervals Average and irregular performance with rapid extinction Reward given at variable times Moderately high and stable performance with slow extinction Reward given at fixed amounts of output High and stable performance attained quickly but also with rapid extinction Reward given at variable amounts of output. Very high performance with slow extinction. The application of reinforcement concepts to individuals in the work setting. Five Step Problem-Solving Model Identify critical behaviors Develop baseline data Identify behavioral consequences Develop and apply intervention Evaluate performance improvement Student of Rai Busiess School-New Delhi Sanjeev Kumar Singh
New investigations of lunar samples collected during the Apollo missions have revealed origins from beyond the Earth-Moon system, supporting a hypothesis of ancient cataclysmic bombardment for both worlds. Using scanning electron microscopes, researchers at the Lunar-Planetary Institute and Johnson Space Center have re-examined breccia regolith samples returned from the Moon, chemically mapping the lunar rocks to discern more compositional detail than ever before. What they discovered was that many of the rocks contain bits of material that is chondritic in origin that is, it came from asteroids, and not from elsewhere on the Moon or Earth. Chondrites are meteorites that originate from the oldest asteroids, formed during the development of the Solar System. They are composed of the initial material that made up the stellar disk, compressed into spherical chondrules. Chondrites are some of the rarest types of meteorites found on Earth today but its thought that at one time they rained down onto our planet as well as our moon. The Lunar Cataclysm Hypothesis suggests that there was a period of extremely active bombardment of the Moons surface by meteorite impacts around 3.9 billion years ago. Because very few large impact events based on melt rock samples seem to have taken place more than 3.85 billion years ago, scientists suspect such an event heated the Moons surface enough prior to that period to eradicate any older impact features a literal resurfacing of the young Moon. Theres also evidence that there was a common source for the impactors, based on composition of the chondrites. What event took place in the Solar System that sent so much material hurtling our way? Was there a massive collision between asteroids? Did a slew of comets come streaking into the inner solar system? Were we paid a brief, gravitationally-disruptive visit by some other rogue interstellar object? Whatever it was that occurred, it changed the face of our Moon forever. Curiously enough, it was at just about that time that we find the first fossil evidence of life on Earth. If theres indeed a correlation, then whatever happened to wipe out the Moons oldest craters may also have cleared the slate for life here either by removing any initial biological development that may have occurred or by delivering organic materials necessary for life in large amounts or perhaps a combination of both. The new findings from the Apollo samples provide unambiguous evidence that a large-scale impact event was taking place during this period on the Moon -- and most likely on Earth too. Since the Moon lacks atmospheric weathering or water erosion processes it serves as a sort of time capsule, recording the evidence of cosmic events that take place around the Earth-Moon neighborhood. While evidence for any such impacts would have long been erased from Earths surface, on the Moon its just a matter of locating it. In fact, due to the difference in surface area, Earth may have received up to ten times more impacts than the Moon during such a cosmic cataclysm. With over 1,700 craters over 20 km identified on the Moon dating to a period around 3.9 billion years ago, Earth should have 17,000 craters over 20 km with some ranging over 1,000 km! Of course, thats if the craters could had survived 3.9 billion years of erosion and tectonic activity, which they didnt. Still, it would have been a major event for our planet and anything that may have managed to start eking out an existence on it. We might never know if life had gained a foothold on Earth prior to such a cataclysmic bombardment, but thanks to the Moon (and the Apollo missions!) we do have some evidence of the events that took place. The LPI-JSC teams paper was submitted to the journal Science and accepted for publication on May 2. See the abstract here, and read more on the Lunar Science Institutes website here. And if you want to browse through the Apollo lunar samples you can do so in depth on the JSC Lunar Sample Compendum site. Explore further: Computer model shows moon's core surrounded by liquid and it's caused by Earth's gravity
World Biomes and Ecosystems What is an ecosystem? Each individual plant and animal could not exist by itself on planet Earth. All living organisms need millions of other living organisms to survive. How these organisms interact with the sun, soil, water, air and each other in a specific area is called an ecosystem. An ecosystem describes a specific area where the organisms work together as a unit. It could be any size from a tiny pool of water to hundreds of square miles of desert. Each ecosystem is different and each has established a balance over time that is important to every form of life within the ecosystem. What is a biome? A biome is way to describe a large group of similar ecosystems. Biomes have similar weather, rainfall, animals, and plants. There are a number of biomes on planet Earth. See the map of the world biomes below. Map of the world biomes - Click on the map to see a larger picture Click on the biomes below to learn more about each one. The Balance of the Ecosystem Ecosystems maintain important balances in order that all the organisms within the ecosystem can survive. These balances involve food, water, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon. The sun provides the energy needed by ecosystems. Plants take this energy and use photosynthesis to create sugar which they can use for energy. Nutrients in the soil, the air, and water also play a part in keeping an ecosystem thriving and in balance. Some important cycles that occur in ecosystems to help maintain proper balance include: Humans and the Ecosystem Humans have adversely affected many ecosystems and biomes throughout the world. Cutting down trees, developing land, growing crops, burning fossil fuels, overfishing, and overhunting are just some of the ways that we have upset the balance of nature. How can we help? By learning about the world's biomes and how important they are to life, you can spread the word. It will take everyone working together to try and slow our impact down. Biomes Crossword Puzzle Biomes Word Search Back to Kids Science Page
Ether is a class of chemical compounds which contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two (substituted) alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether" (ethoxyethane, CH3-CH2-O-CH2-CH3). Ether molecules cannot form hydrogen bonds among each other, resulting in a relatively low boiling point comparable to that of the analogous alcohols. However, the differences in the boiling points of the ethers and their isometric alcohols become smaller as the carbon chains become longer, as the hydrophobic nature of the carbon chain becomes more predominant over the presence of hydrogen bonding. Ethers are slightly polar as the R - C - O - C - Z bond angle in the functional group is about 110 degrees, and the C - O dipole does cancel out. Ethers are less polar than alkenes but not as polar as alcohols, esters or amides of comparable structure. However, the presence of two lone pairs of electrons on the oxygen atoms makes hydrogen bonding with water molecules possible, causing the solubility of alcohols (for instance, butan-1-ol) and ethers (ethoxyethane) to be quite dissimilar. Cyclic ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and 1,4-dioxane are totally miscible in water because of the more exposed oxygen atom for hydrogen bonding as compared to aliphatic ethers. Ethers can act as Lewis bases. For instance, diethyl ether forms a complex with boron compounds, such as boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BF3.OEt2). Ethers also coordinate to magnesium in Grignard reagents (RMgBr). In the IUPAC nomenclature system, ethers are named using the general formula "alkoxyalkane", for example CH3-CH2-O-CH3 is methoxyethane. If the ether is part of a more complex molecule, it is described as an alkoxy substituent, so -OCH3 would be considered a " methoxy-" group. The simpler alkyl radical is written in front, so CH3-O-CH2CH3 would be given as methoxy(CH3)ethane(CH2CH3). The nomenclature of describing the two alkyl groups and appending "ether", e.g. "ethyl methyl ether" in the example above, is a trivial usage. Ethers are not to be confused with the following classes of compounds with the same general structure R-O-R. - Aromatic compounds like furan where the oxygen is part of the aromatic system. - Compounds where one of the carbon atoms next to the oxygen is connected to oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur: - Esters R-C(=O)-O-R - Acetals R-CH(-O-R)-O-R - Aminals R-CH(-NH-R)-O-R - Anhydrides R-C(=O)-O-C(=O)-R Primary, secondary, and tertiary ethers The terms "primary ether", "secondary ether", and "tertiary ether" are occasionally used and refer to the carbon atom next to the ether oxygen. In a primary ether this carbon is connected to only one other carbon as in diethyl ether CH3-CH2-O-CH2-CH3. An example of a secondary ether is diisopropyl ether (CH3)2CH-O-CH(CH3)2 and that of a tertiary ether is di-tert-butyl ether (CH3)3C-O-C(CH3)3. Dimethyl ether, a primary, a secondary, and a tertiary ether. Polyethers are compounds with more than one ether group. While the term generally refers to polymers like polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, low molecular compounds such as the crown ethers may sometimes be included. Ethers can be prepared in the laboratory in several different ways. - Intermolecular Dehydration of alcohols: - R-OH + R-OH → R-O-R + H2O - This direct reaction requires drastic conditions (heating to 140 degrees Celsius and an acid catalyst, usually concentrated sulfuric acid). Effective for making symmetrical ethers, but not as useful for synthesising asymmetrical ethers because the reaction will yield a mixture of ethers, making it usually not applicable: - 3R-OH + 3R'-OH → R-O-R + R'-O-R + R'-O-R' + 3H2O - Conditions must also be controlled to avoid overheating to 170 degrees which will cause intramolecular dehydration,a reaction that yields alkenes. In addition, the alcohol must be in excess. - R-CH2-CH2(OH) → R-CH=CH2 + H2O - Such conditions can destroy the delicate structures of some functional groups. There exist several milder methods to produce ethers. - Nucleophilic displacement of alkyl halides by alkoxides - R-O- + R-X → R-O-R + X- - This reaction is called the Williamson ether synthesis. It involves treatment of a parent alcohol with a strong base to form the alkoxide anion followed by addition of an appropriate aliphatic compound bearing a suitable leaving group (R-X). Suitable leaving groups (X) include iodide, bromide, or sulfonates. This method does not work if R is aromatic like in bromobenzene (Br-C6H5), however, if the leaving group is separated by at least one carbon from the benzene, the reaction should proceed (as in Br-CH2-C6H5). Likewise, this method only gives the best yields for primary carbons, as secondary and tertiary carbons will undergo E2 elimination on exposure to the basic alkoxide anion used in the reaction due to steric hindrance from the large alkyl groups. Aryl ethers can be prepared in the Ullmann condensation. - Nucleophilic Displacement of Alkyl halides by phenoxides - The R-X cannot be used to react with the alcohol. However, phenols can be used to replace the alcohol, while maintaining the alkyl halide. Since phenols are acidic, they readily react with a strong base like sodium hydroxide to form phenoxide ions. The phenoxide ion will then substitute the -X group in the alkyl halide, forming an ether with an aryl group attached to it in a reaction with an SN2 mechanism. - HO-C6H5 + OH- → O--C6H5 - O--C6H5 + R-X → R-O-C6H5 - Electrophilic addition of alcohols to alkenes. - R2C=CR2 + R-OH → R2CH-C(-O-R)-R2 - Acid catalysis is required for this reaction. Often, Mercury trifluoroacetate (Hg(OCOCF3)2 is used as a catalyst for the reaction, creating an ether with Markovnikov regiochemistry. Tetrahydropyranyl ethers are used as protective groups for alcohols. Cyclic ethers which are also known as epoxides can be prepared: - By the oxidation of alkenes with a peroxyacid such as m-CPBA. - By the base intramolecular nuclephilic substitution of a halohydrin. Ethers in general are of very low chemical reactivity. Organic reactions are: - Ethers are hydrolyzed only under drastic conditions like heating with boron tribromide or boiling in hydrobromic acid. Lower mineral acids containing a halogen, such as hydrochloric acid will cleave ethers, but very slowly. Hydrobromic acid and hydroiodic acid are the only two that do so at an appreciable rate. Certain aryl ethers can be cleaved by aluminium chloride. - Epoxides, or cyclic ethers in three-membered rings, are highly susceptible to nucleophilic attack and are reactive in this fashion. - Peroxide formation. - Primary and secondary ethers with a CH group next to the ether oxygen easily form highly explosive organic peroxides (e.g. diethyl ether peroxide) in the presence of oxygen, light, and metal and aldehyde impurities. For this reason ethers like diethyl ether and THF are usually avoided as solvents in industrial processes \|Ethylene oxide\|\|The smallest cyclic ether.\| \|Dimethyl ether\|\|An aerosol spray propellant.\| \|Diethyl ether\|\|A common low boiling solvent (b.p. 34.6°C).\| \|Dimethoxyethane (DME)\|\|A high boiling solvent (b.p. 85°C):\| \|Dioxane\|\|A cyclic ether and high boiling solvent (b.p. 101.1°C).\| \|Tetrahydrofuran (THF)\|\|A cyclic ether, one of the most polar simple ethers that is used as a solvent.\| \|Anisole (methoxybenzene)\|\|An aryl ether and a major constituent of the essential oil of anise seed.\| \|Crown ethers\|\|Cyclic polyethers that are used as phase transfer catalysts.\| \|Polyethylene glycol (PEG)\|\|A linear polyether, e.g. used in cosmetics:\|
Blood pressure is the amount of stress exerted on the walls of the blood vessels from the circulating blood. When a health professional assesses blood pressure, he or she will measure the level of both the systolic blood pressure and the diastolic blood pressure and write the measurement as systolic over diastolic, for example 120/80. Systolic blood pressure, the top number, is the maximum amount of pressure exerted on the blood vessel walls during each beat of the heart. It occurs at the end of each cardiac cycle when the ventricles, the bottom chambers of the heart, are contracting to pump blood out of the heart into the veins. Maintaining the proper systolic blood pressure is important for keeping the blood flowing through the blood vessels so that the body'?'s cells get oxygen and nutrients delivered when needed. Normal range for systolic blood pressure is 90 mm Hg to 119 mm Hg for adults aged 18 and older. When systolic blood pressure is consistently over 140 mm Hg, patients have a condition called isolated systolic hypertension. Systolic pressure is too low if it is below 90 mm HG, a condition called hypotension. It was once thought that diastolic blood pressure was more important than systolic pressure when determining if a patient has hypertension. However, now medical experts measure pulse pressure as a sign of cardiac health. Pulse pressure is the difference between systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Systolic blood pressure changes frequently during the day due to factors such as posture, nicotine use, and level of exercise. As we age, systolic blood pressure tends to rise. Elderly patients may have systolic pressure above what is considered normal because of reduced flexibility in the blood vessel walls. If systolic blood pressure is high, the treatment to reduce the number to a normal level is the same as with other types of hypertension. Diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes, such as smoking cessation and weight loss, are attempted first. If these do not succeed, medications can be used to reduce the amount of pressure exerted on the blood vessel walls. Foods that lower your blood pressure should be on your shopping list if you've been diagnosed with hypertension. These natural remedies for high blood pressure may be able to help you avoid taking medication for your hypertension. In most cases, it comes down to making small but effective changes in your lifestyle.
To fulfill his dream to establish Belgium as an imperial power, Leopold led the first European efforts to develop the Congo River basin, founded his own private colony – the Congo Free State – in 1885 with the pretext to improve the lives of the native inhabitants, only to annex it as the Belgian Congo in 1908. Under the reign of terror instituted by Leopold, as many as 10 million Africans lost their lives to one man’s greed, exploitation and brutality that Africa and the world must not forget. Presenting himself as a philanthropist eager to open the heart of Africa to Christian missionaries, Western capitalists, and Western civilization, Leopold embarked on an ultimately successful effort to make a vast fortune from his new possession by committing widespread atrocities against his colonial subjects. He “bought” the Congo and enslaved its people, turning the entire country into his own personal slave plantation. He disguised his business transactions as “philanthropic” and “scientific” efforts under the banner of the International African Society. He used their enslaved labor to extract Congolese resources and services. His reign was enforced through work camps, body mutilations, executions, torture, and his private army. — Films For Action The photo above shows a man named Nsala Wala with his daughter’s hand and foot. Alice Harris, working as a missionary in the Congo, took the photo in May 1904, after he had come into her mission at Baringa with a small package containing the severed body parts. Leopold never set foot in “his” Congo — for all the 23 years — but his “rubber terror” and barbarity knew no bounds. Since the Congo economy was largely operated by forced labour, the effects were devastating. 10 million Congolese were either murdered or worked to death by Leopold’s private army. Women were starved and systematically raped, worker’s hands were cut off and hundreds and thousands of indigenous people endured kidnapping, looting and village burnings. Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost, writes: “Some were beaten or whipped to death for failing to meet the rigid production quotas for ivory and rubber harvests, imposed by Leopold’s agents. Some were worked to death, forced to labor in slave like conditions as porters, rubber gatherers or miners for little or no pay. Some died of the diseases introduced to (and spread throughout) the Congo by Europeans. And still others died from the increasingly frequent famines that swept the Congo basin as Leopold’s army rampaged through the countryside, appropriating food and crops for its own use while destroying villages and fields. “Hostage-taking and the grisly severing of hands (from corpses or from living human beings) were part of the government’s deliberate policy — a means of terrorizing others into submission. As the “rubber terror” spread through the Congolese rain forest, entire villages were wiped out: Hundreds of dead bodies were dumped in rivers and lakes, while baskets of severed hands were routinely presented to white officers as evidence of how many people had been killed.” The Curious Case of World Ignorance Ever wondered why the world and the media don’t remember Leopold and why his name doesn’t produce fear, hatred, and sorrow? Leopold ensured that his crimes would never make it into the history books. Shortly after the turnover of the colony, Hochschild writes, the furnaces near Leopold’s palace burned for eight days, turning most of the Congo state records to ash and smoke. Is there a hidden agenda to not talk about genocides in Africa perpetrated by European capitalist monarchs? There’s a Wikipedia page called “Genocides in History” but the Congolese Genocide isn’t included in the list despite the fact that attempting to eliminate a portion of the population is enough to qualify as genocide under the UN convention. Wonder why? He’s part of a long history of colonialism, imperialism, slavery and genocide in Africa that would clash with the social construction of the white supremacist narrative in our schools. It doesn’t fit neatly into a capitalist curriculum. Stories which support the white supremacist narrative about the subhumanness of people in Africa are allowed to be entered into the records of history. The white guy who turned the Congo into his own personal part-plantation, part-concentration camp, part-Christian ministry and killed 10 to 15 million Congolese people in the process doesn’t make the cut. — Liam O’Ceallaigh
In Winston Churchill class it is expected that your child reads at least 5 times a week. They must record all their reading in their diary (in the weekly sections). At the end of the week it must be signed by a parent/guardian and will be checked on a Monday by Miss Clarke. In KS2 children are split into groups for spelling lessons where they will be given spellings to learn at home each week and will be tested weekly. Each week the children have five English lessons; a reading comprehension lesson, a grammar lesson and three independent writing lessons where they will study a range of writing genres. Children will also have R2L (read to learn) sessions everyday where they study a specific text and develop reading skills and comprehension skills. Our first text for R2L is George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl. In English we have studied letters from WWI as well as the conditions that soldiers would have faced during their time in the trenches. The children then used this knowledge to write their own letters. Some children wrote as if thy were soldiers and others wrote as if they were writing to a soldier in the trenches. Some children wanted to write a thank you letter to all soldiers past and present to thank them for their courage, dedication and for their service to our country. The children have worked hard to include emotive and figurative language in their letters and produced some outstanding pieces. All About Me! We have been looking at the features of a non chronological report and used them to write our own! We have some brilliant examples that show the use of paragraphs, subtitles, pictures and descriptions! Have a look at some extracts below!
Bilirubin direct and bilirubin total are measured in this test. What is jaundice? Jaundice (icterus) is not a disease in itself, but a symptom of various disorders of the liver and gallbladder. Jaundice is caused by excessive levels of the substance bilirubin in your blood. Bilirubin is a waste product that is produced when a protein is broken down from your red blood cells. It has an intense yellow color, which means that with an increased concentration of this substance in your blood you will literally see yellow. The following symptoms can occur with jaundice: - Yellowish discolouration of your mucous membranes (whites of the eyes, gums) - Yellowish discoloration of your skin - Dark brown colored urine - Pale stools Cause of jaundice Normally, the substance bilirubin is processed by the liver and ends up in the bile fluid. It is then worked out of your body through your stool. This process can be disrupted by various causes. The most common causes are: Increased breakdown of red blood cells. This is the case, for example, after heavy bleeding. The liver can no longer cope with the supply of bilirubin and therefore too much bilirubin remains in the blood. Disorders of liver function. Several conditions can lead to a disturbance in liver function. Examples of disorders are: cirrhosis of the liver, excessive alcohol consumption and metabolic disorders. The bilirubin can then not be processed and excreted in the right way, leaving an increased concentration of the substance in your blood. Blockage in the drainage of bile fluid. If the bile ducts are blocked by such things as gallstones, tumors or inflammation, the bile fluid formed in the liver can no longer be drained. This causes pressure to build up and the bilirubin to re-enter your blood. There are also a number of specific situations in which jaundice can occur: - Disease of Weil - Side effect of certain medications - In newborn babies In almost 80 percent of all babies, the skin has a yellowish color between the 3rd and 5th day after birth. Usually this form of jaundice disappears on its own within a week or two. If it is expected that the jaundice in the baby will increase significantly, light therapy can be used. The child is then placed under white and blue fluorescent tubes for several days. The excess amount of bilirubin is then broken down. What is the difference between Billirubin Direct and Bilirubin Total? There are two types of bilirubin: - indirect or non-conjugated bilirubin (for transformation in the liver) - direct or conjugated bilirubin (after transformation in the liver) Together, these two are called total bilirubin. An increase in direct bilirubin indicates a blockage in the bile ducts or liver damage. An increase in indirect bilirubin is an indication that too many red blood cells are being broken down, such as in hemolytic anemia. together, these two values form the Bilirubin Total. Bilirubin concentrations in serum are age- and sex-dependent.
A century ago, on Nov. 11, 1918, World War I came to an end. For four years prior, the horrific struggle between the Allies and the Central Powers had thundered on. In all more than 30 million people were killed and wounded, primarily by artillery and rifle fire, whose endless sound characterized the battlefield as much as the sight of soldiers on the European frontlines hunkered in their trenches. The “monstrous anger of the guns,” English poet Wilfred Owen called it. But at the agreed-upon time—the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month—the war abruptly halted, and suddenly it became so quiet you could hear a watch ticking (paywall). Though no actual recording of the moment exists, you can still hear what it would have sounded like, courtesy of a London acoustics firm called Coda to Coda. Have a listen here. As Deutsche Welle explains, among the artifacts in the collection of Britain’s Imperial War Museum were graphic records labeled “The end of the war.” They weren’t audio recordings. The Allies created them using a technique called “sound ranging” that essentially recorded noise intensity onto photographic film, similar to the way a seismograph works. Scientists devised it as a way to let soldiers in the field pinpoint the locations of enemy artillery, which could be exceedingly difficult. The visual record of the war’s end allowed Coda to Coda to turn the moment into audio again, so that 100 years later, we can hear what it may have been like for the soldiers on the frontline.
Stands for "Cascading Style Sheet." Cascading style sheets are used to format the layout of Web pages. They can be used to define text styles, table sizes, and other aspects of Web pages that previously could only be defined in a page's HTML. CSS helps Web developers create a uniform look across several pages of a Web site. Instead of defining the style of each table and each block of text within a page's HTML, commonly used styles need to be defined only once in a CSS document. Once the style is defined in cascading style sheet, it can be used by any page that references the CSS file. Plus, CSS makes it easy to change styles across several pages at once. For example, a Web developer may want to increase the default text size from 10pt to 12pt for fifty pages of a Web site. If the pages all reference the same style sheet, the text size only needs to be changed on the style sheet and all the pages will show the larger text. While CSS is great for creating text styles, it is helpful for formatting other aspects of Web page layout as well. For example, CSS can be used to define the cell padding of table cells, the style, thickness, and color of a table's border, and the padding around images or other objects. CSS gives Web developers more exact control over how Web pages will look than HTML does. This is why most Web pages today incorporate cascading style sheets.
The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features a set of primary documents designed for groups of students with a range of reading skills. This curriculum teaches students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading. Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on historical issues and learn to make historical claims backed by documentary evidence. To learn more about how to use Reading Like a Historian lessons, watch these videos about how teachers use these materials in their classrooms.
Bigfork Elementary School Speech & Language What is Speech-Language Therapy? Speech-language therapy is the treatment for kids with speech and/or language disorders. A speech disorder refers to a problem with the actual production of sounds, whereas a language disorder refers to a difficulty understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas. More Information on Speech and Language Disorders Speech Disorders include the following problems, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): Articulation disorders include difficulties producing sounds in syllables or saying words incorrectly to the point that other people can’t understand what’s being said. Fluency disorders include problems such as stuttering, the condition in which the flow of speech is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, repetitions (st-st-stuttering), or prolonging sounds and syllables (ssssstuttering). Resonance or voice disorders include problems with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice that distract listeners from what’s being said. These types of disorders may also cause pain or discomfort for the child when speaking. Dysphagia/oral feeding disorders include difficulties with eating and swallowing. Language is considered to be a system of communicating with other people for using sounds, symbols, and words in expressing a meaning, idea, or thought. Language can be in many forms, including oral and written communications and expressions through body language. Language can be broken down into three parts: Pragmatics (Social Language) Expressive Language: is the ability to express oneself. This usually refers to language expression through speech, but it also includes gestures, sign language, use of a communication board, written language, and other forms of expression used to communicate with others. An individual with an expressive language deficit may: Have limited vocabulary skills Have deficits in expressive grammar Have difficulty forming clear thought and complete sentences Receptive Language: is the ability to comprehend information both through spoken and written form. It may include understanding of vocabulary, concepts and oral directions as well as an individual’s ability to listen to and recall information, sequence information, and recall information from text. An individual with a receptive language deficit may: Have difficulty following directions Have decreased comprehension of questions Have limited understanding of vocabulary Have poor understanding of grammatical markers Pragmatic Language: refers to the rules of social language that encompasses using appropriate language, changing language to meet the needs of the listeners and following rules for conversation. An individual with a pragmatic language deficit may: Demonstrate poor turn taking in conversation Not know how to initiate play/conversation with peers and/or adults Not use politeness markers *Have difficulty expressing emotion Specialists in Speech-Language Therapy Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), often informally known as speech therapists, are professionals educated in the study of human communication, its development, and its disorders. They hold at least a master’s degree and state certification/licensure in the field, as well as a certificate of clinical competency from ASHA. By assessing the speech, language, cognitive-communication, and swallowing skills of children, speech-language pathologists can identify types of communication problems and the best way to treat them. SLPs treat problems in the areas of articulation; dysfluency; oral-motor, speech, and voice; and receptive and expressive language disorders. In speech-language therapy, an SLP will work with a child one-to-one, in a small group, or directly in a classroom to overcome difficulties involved with a specific disorder. Therapists use a variety of strategies, including: Language intervention activities: In these exercises an SLP will interact with a child by playing and talking. The therapist may use pictures, books, objects, or ongoing events to stimulate language development. The therapist may also model correct pronunciation and use repetition exercises to build speech and language skills. Articulation therapy: Articulation, or sound production, exercises involve having the therapist model correct sounds and syllables for a child, often during play activities. The level of play is age-appropriate and related to the child’s specific needs. The SLP will physically show the child how to make certain sounds, such as the “r” sound, and may demonstrate how to move the tongue to produce specific sounds. Oral motor/feeding therapy: The SLP will use a variety of oral exercises, including facial massage and various tongue, lip, and jaw exercises, to strengthen the muscles of the mouth. The SLP may also work with different food textures and temperatures to increase a child’s oral awareness during eating and swallowing.
Objective: The student will be able to view and draw an object from an unusual perspective. Resources: Teacher: opaque projector, flat three-dimensional objects to fit projector, white paper. Students: paper, pencil. Teacher Preparation: Locate projector and objects to draw, particularly single color objects like wrenches or kitchen utensils. Know where to project on wall so entire class can view. 1. Procedure: Place white paper on projector tray. 2. Put object for drawing on white paper, and project on wall in sharp focus. 3. Instruct students to draw the object, older grades can work on shading as well as defining the shape. Allow 5 minutes for the drawing. 4. Adjust focus, throwing object sightly out of focus. 5. Instruct students to draw object again. 6. Younger grades can display pictures side-by-side. Variations/Options: Older grades, especially high school drawing classes, can draw progressively fuzzier images as exercise for visualizing and drawing gray tones with pencil.
All About Cavities What's In Your Mouth? To understand what happens when your teeth decay, it's helpful to know what's in your mouth naturally. Here are a few of the elements: Saliva: Your mouth and teeth are constantly bathed in saliva. Although we never give much thought to our spit, this simple fluid is remarkable for what it does to help protect our oral health. Saliva keeps teeth and other oral tissues moist and lubricated, washes away some of the food particles left behind after we eat, keeps acid levels in the mouth low, and protects against some viruses and bacteria. Plaque: Plaque appears as a soft, gooey substance that sticks to the teeth a bit like jam sticks to a spoon. It is, in fact, colonies of bacteria, protozoa, mycoplasmas, yeasts and viruses clumping together in a gel-like organic material. Also in the mix are bacteria byproducts, white blood cells, food debris and body tissue. Plaque grows when bacteria attach to the tooth and begin multiplying. Plaque starts forming immediately after a tooth is cleaned; it takes about an hour for plaque to build up to measurable levels. As time goes on, different types of microorganisms appear, and the plaque thickens. Calculus: If left alone long enough, plaque begins to mineralize and harden into calculus or tartar because the plaque absorbs calcium, phosphorus and other minerals from saliva. These minerals form crystals and harden the plaque structure. New plaque forms on top of existing calculus, and this new layer can also become calcified. Bacteria: We have many different strains of bacteria in our mouths. Some bacteria are good; they help control destructive bacteria. When it comes to decay, Streptococcus mutans is the bacterial strain that does the most damage. It attaches easily to teeth and produces acid. How Your Teeth Decay You need food, particularly sweet and sticky food, for the bacteria in your mouth to produce acids that will attack the tooth enamel (outer surface of the tooth). Sugars, especially sucrose, react with bacteria to produce acid. The acid from the bacteria can decay your teeth. It's not just candy and ice cream we're talking about. All carbohydrate foods, as they are digested, eventually break down into simple sugars, such as glucose and fructose. Some of this digestion begins in the mouth. Foods that break down into simple sugars in the mouth are called fermentable carbohydrates. These include the obvious sugary foods, such as cookies, cakes, soft drinks and candy, but also pretzels, crackers, bananas, potato chips and breakfast cereals. The sugars in these foods combine with the bacteria normally in the mouth to form acids. These acids cause the mineral crystals inside the teeth to begin to dissolve. The dental caries lesion forms when these acids start to dissolve a tooth's outer protective layer, the enamel. A cavity forms when the tooth decay breaks through the enamel to the underlying layers of the tooth. You can reverse a caries lesion (before it becomes a cavity) by using a variety of fluoride products. These include fluoridated water, fluoride rinses for use at home, and, of course, any commonly used fluoridated toothpaste. Every time you eat, the bacteria in your mouth produce acid. Therefore, the more times you eat the more times your teeth are exposed to an acid attack. Types and Stages of Decay Dental decay, also known as dental caries, begins first inside the tooth. A white spot appears on the enamel where the tooth has started to weaken inside. At this stage, the tooth can repair the weakened area with the help of fluoride and minerals in saliva. But if the decay continues and breaks through the surface of the enamel, the damage is permanent. The decay must be cleaned out and the cavity filled by a dentist. Left untreated, the decay will worsen and destroy a tooth all the way through the outer enamel layer, through the inside dentin layer and down to the pulp or nerve of the tooth. In young children, teeth that have recently emerged have weak enamel and are highly susceptible to acid decay. A type of decay called baby bottle tooth decay or early childhood caries destroys enamel quickly and is common in children. This type of decay can eat through enamel and leave a large cavity in a matter of months. Older adults sometimes have chronic caries: cavities that don't seem to get any worse or do so at a very slow rate. Teeth with chronic caries will tend to be darker in color because the edges of the cavities become stained from normal eating and drinking. Root caries (decay in the roots of the teeth) are more common in older adults. Older adults are more likely to have gums that have receded from years of hard brushing or periodontal disease. They also are more likely to have dry mouth (xerostomia), which increases the risk of decay. Dry mouth is caused by many common medicines. Be sure to ask the doctor or pharmacist if any of your medicines cause dry mouth. Decay can form beneath fillings or other restorations, such as crowns. Sometimes, bacteria and food particles can slip into a tooth if a filling hasn't been placed properly or if the filling cracks or pulls away from the tooth, leaving a gap. Do you or your family members get cavities frequently? Dental research has identified factors that increase your risk of getting decay. Next time you visit the dental office, ask about your risk factors and discuss the best ways to reduce your risks and limit dental decay. To prevent your teeth from decaying, you can do two things — strengthen your teeth's defenses with fluoride and sealants, and reduce the number of bacteria in your mouth. Fluoride strengthens teeth by penetrating the tooth structure and replacing lost minerals to repair acid damage. Everyone should brush with a fluoride toothpaste every day. Dental offices sometimes recommend additional toothpastes, gels and mouthrinses for both children and adults. Sealants are protective coatings placed over the tops of chewing teeth — molars and premolars. They block bacteria and acids from sticking in the tiny grooves on the chewing surfaces of these teeth. Children should get sealants soon after their teeth erupt into the mouth. Although you can never get rid of all the bacteria in your mouth, you can control bacteria by brushing regularly and flossing daily, seeing your dentist and dental hygienist regularly for a thorough cleaning and check-up, and reducing the number of times each day that you consume fermentable carbohydrates. Some prescription mouthwashes (those that contain chlorhexidine) can help prevent decay by reducing the number of bacteria in the mouth. Chewing sugarless gums, especially those with xylitol, can help reduce decay and increase the flow of saliva.
“I saw the silhouette and the stereotype as linked. Of course, while the stereotype, or the emblem, can communicate with a lot of people, and a lot can understand it, the other side is that it also reduces differences, reduces diversity to that stereotype.” Kara Walker’s violent, disturbing narrative compresses time and place. She brings together references from her own life experiences and US antebellum documents and artifacts; the Greek myth of Leda and the swan, in which the god Zeus assumes the form of a swan to rape and impregnate the mortal Leda; silhouetting, a popular 18th- and 19th-century US art; Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation; the degrading humor of minstrelsy; the atrocities faced by people held as slaves in this country; and other material. In creating a new narrative mixing fact and fiction, Walker encourages us to examine our shared histories to better understand both past and present. The silhouette form makes the viewer responsible for what is seen within and beyond the crisp black and white forms. In using only two colors for the imagined people and animals, Walker challenges binaries. Are certain figures immediately deemed “black” or “white”? What role do caricature and stereotype play in defining our understandings of racial identity? From the exhibition: Beauty and Bite (July 20, 2019 – January 19, 2020)
Africa’s climate has warmed more than the global average since pre-industrial times. Similarly, sea level rise along African coastlines is quicker than the global average, contributing to increased frequency and severity of coastal flooding and erosion in low-lying communities. The increase in temperature has led to intense and frequent heat waves, extensive floods, tropical cyclones and prolonged droughts which have undermined human life, had a negative impact on food and water security and hampered socioeconomic development on the continent. Extreme weather patterns have caused significant damage to homes and infrastructure, and displaced millions of people. A recent study found that in aggregate dollar terms, the world’s 20 most climate-vulnerable economies have lost about $525 billion over the past two decades as a result of climate change and will continue to see negative effects on their GDP growth, even if global efforts to keep warming to below 1.5°C are met. These events have further fuelled requests by developing nations in Africa and the global south for a standalone “loss and damage” fund and the issue was prioritised at the United Nations Climate Conference of the Parties (COP27) held in Egypt over the past two weeks. Climate finance is generally intended to help developing countries transition to renewable energy sources and adapt to the future effects of climate change. Loss and damage funding is intended to compensate developing countries for losses they have already incurred or will inevitably incur as a result of a climate crisis they had little control over. Although loss and damage funding remains a contentious issue, recent commitments made by Germany, Ireland, Scotland and Denmark indicate progress. This should be seized upon as an opportunity to encourage further buy-in from developed nations to address some of the remaining problems surrounding a standalone “loss and damage” fund. What is loss and damage? Loss and damage refer to the adverse and often irreversible effects of climate change on people and nature beyond natural climate variability. The issue was mentioned for the first time in text during the COP13 conference in Bali in 2007, in reference to the need for more action on the issue, but no actual promises were made. Loss and damage emerged again at the climate talks in Copenhagen at COP16, but again no suggestions were made on how to develop or implement a related funding mechanism. But the issue has gained increasing traction during global climate talks and was a priority negotiation theme at COP27. As the financial consequences of the climate catastrophe worsen, several nations are calling for global finance systems based on notions of justice and solidarity and informed by the political dimension of the problem. Governments from developing nations seek answers and are now advocating for the creation of a global financial system that would provide continuing assistance to help countries recover from climate-related catastrophes. This is a critical issue for Africa. Political, technical obstacles According to the African Development Bank, seven of the 10 most susceptible countries to climate change are in Africa. Africa’s population is expected to grow substantially by 2050, housing at least 25% of the world’s population by then. Climate migration is growing in severity, as people in the continent’s poorest regions are pushed out from environments that can no longer sustain them because of extreme weather patterns. Climate-related calamities displaced about 2.6 million people people in sub-Saharan Africa in 2021, and this trend is anticipated to continue as temperatures rise. According to the World Bank, there will be up to 85.7 million climate migrants in sub-Saharan Africa by 2050. Despite these alarming trends, developed nations have been hesitant to address the loss and damage associated with climate change. Instead, Africa has been promised a three-year dialogue, “to discuss the arrangements for the funding of activities to avert, minimise and address loss and damage associated with the adverse impacts of climate change”. Financing remains a contentious issue for countries such as the United States, which are concerned that committing to a loss and damage fund will expose them to legal liability and future litigation. Some developed nations are concerned that paying for such a fund may be interpreted as admitting culpability, which may result in future legal battles. Despite US climate envoy John Kerry stating that his country is “fully supportive” of efforts to address loss and damage, the US has pushed back on or largely skirted the subject. Moreover, the US and the European Union continue to sidestep the loss and damage issue while simultaneously investing in and benefiting from African fossil fuel projects. Since signing up to limit global warming in the 2015 Paris climate accord, the US government has invested more than $9 billion in African oil and gas projects while pledging only $682 million to sustainable energy development. Over the past decade, the US has reportedly supported coal mining in South Africa, oil drilling in Nigeria and a huge gas project in Mozambique as part of a plan to “expand American exports throughout the continent”. How should loss be paid? The landmark 2015 Paris Agreement clearly acknowledges the “importance of averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change”. But there are differing opinions on what a loss and damage fund should be or contain, including whether loss and damage constitute a type of accountability and whether compensation or even reparations need to be paid. One-time payments from developed nations are unrealistic because climate consequences are projected to worsen in the future, inflicting much greater damage. A facility such as a solidarity fund is an appropriate option because it does not transfer liabilities. But it will not push wealthier nations to mobilise funds (as demonstrated by the $100 billion a year promise made by developed countries). Examples can be taken from Scotland and Denmark, which have offered specific climate financing under loss and damage with a pledge of $7.3 million and $13 million, respectively. This forms part of the Climate Justice Fund set up at COP26. Belgium has pledged $2.5 million in loss and damage funding to Mozambique while Austria and New Zealand have dedicated to funding loss and damage in the world’s most vulnerable countries. Germany and Ireland have also committed funding to the Global Shield initiative, which is committed to providing climate risk insurance and prevention support for at-risk nations. These individual pledges remain “a drop in the ocean in comparison to what is necessary”, The Conversation reported, and are far from the constant, all-encompassing systemic reaction hoped for. An international consensus is needed at the UN. This consensus should include clear guidelines on what constitutes loss and damage, how it is calculated and which countries qualify for compensation. Guidelines on how a loss and damage funding mechanism will be supported over time are also necessary, as well as a reporting framework for recipient countries to follow to ensure funds are spent correctly. It is clear that Africa has yet to adjust to damages inflicted by climate change and developed countries must increase their investment to assist African countries in doing so. The costs of recovering and rebuilding from disasters on the continent surpass governments’ financial ability, leaving nations more vulnerable to future climate effects and undermining community health and well-being. By 2030, Africa will require more than $3 trillion to adapt to the effects of climate change (and that excludes loss and damage costs). As the climate catastrophe worsens, the gap between the costs of severe consequences and nations’ abilities to pay grows wider, increasing global inequality and adding urgency to the discourse about loss and damage. This article first appeared in the Mail & Guardian. Leleti Maluleke is a Researcher for our Human Security and Climate Change programme. She completed her Bachelor of Political Science in Political Studies in 2017, and her Honours in International Relations in 2018 at the University of Pretoria. She started her career at International SOS in the Security Services department as a Political Risk and Security Intern. Socially, her countries of interests include Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
What is a Power Relay? Internship JobJan 11th, 2022 at 05:51 Engineering Baia Sprie 194 views A power relay is a switch that uses an electromagnet to open or close a circuit. The basic design of a relay utilizes an electromagnet coil, an armature, a spring and one or more contacts. If the power relay is designed to normally be open, the circuit is not completed when in the off state. Signal relays for low level current switching A signal relay is composed of coil that is secondary molded, which provides high insulation performance between the coil and the contact. Signal relays mainly have c-contact structure due to their purpose to switch current. These are compatible with reflow mounting and surface mount devices. Our signal relays are used for load switching typically under 2A and offer contact reliability, even if for a small signal load, due to their gold-plated contacts and bifurcated crossbar structures. Signal relays are commonly used in industrial devices such as machine tools, molding machines, welding machines, mounters, security devices, gaming machines, and testing and measuring devices. Why is a relay required? Apart from switching a circuit with heavy load, on & off, automotive relay is required to 1. Conserve energy 2. Prolong the life of deviceA bad car AC relay remains a common problem for many years, make and model automobiles. We have a lot of car air conditioning articles posted on the site that aim at getting your mobile cooling unit working again.A quick and dirty way to test a car air-conditioning relay is to locate it and then swap it out with the same type of relay. Often car manufacturers use the same exact part number relay in many different locations. This applies to all the vehicles mentioned above.
or...Why kids need to go beyond singing the ABC Song if we want them to be good readers All of us enjoy teaching the ABC Song to young children. We get excited when toddlers can sing the song all the way through! And it feels like the first solid step in the process of learning to read. And most children can learn the ABC Song! Most can also recite the ABCs from A to Z. But is that enough? I’m going to say no, it isn’t enough. Having been a Title 1 Director working primarily with children who had reading issues, I had my eyes opened wide to the gaps that arise for children between learning the ABCs and actually learning to read. Letters, and most importantly the sounds they represent, cause a lot of confusion for children and this confusion can persist throughout students’ years in school, hampering them in their attempts to become good readers. The gaps between singing the ABC Song and reading What I learned from my Title 1 students was that while they all could sing the ABC Song and recite the alphabet, their functional knowledge of letters and their sounds was missing. In other words, the relationship between those letters and their sounds and how they combine to make words we can decipher was missing. I was in a very special spot to learn from them, because I had a large population to study (around 75 students a week), and I had a broad array of grades I was working with every week (Kindergarten through 7th grade). I was there to learn from my students what was hard for them, what it was they didn’t know or understand, and what types of help would fill those gaps for them. My fundamental belief was that every single one of “my kids” would be successful if I could just understand what they didn’t know. I was probably far more watchful and vigilant to cues and hints from my students than most people are. I was on a mission to learn my kids and was very passionate about it. Here is some of what I learned about gaps: - One thing all kids had in common, no matter their age or grade, was that they didn’t understand that the letters in words actually “say” something. Each letter or combination of letters makes a predictable sound! I learned this when I had groups in my little room all writing words I called out on the whiteboard-covered walls. I would call out a word and notice the kids all either left out letters, or they would add a random N or a loitering L, and most often when in doubt, they would throw a spare E on the end of the word. This floored me! I could see with my own eyes that they didn’t get the relationship between letters (symbols) and their sounds. - Most of my students didn’t know short vowel sounds, so if I called out a word for them to write, the vowel might be missing and if it appeared at all, it was most often the wrong vowel. This is a huge problem because every syllable in every word contains a vowel. Not knowing vowels means screwing up most words. - My students were also very confused, some to the point of shutting down completely, over the fact that they could not for the life of them remember phonics rules. They couldn’t memorize letter sequences (such as on a spelling test) and any words they did happen to remember long enough to score +2 on their spelling test did not carry over into their reading or writing. The words they encountered looked like jumbles of black wires racing across the page. And the older the students were, the further behind they were. - I was stunned to recognize that the gaps I uncovered in Kindergartners and first graders were the same gaps that were troubling my middle schoolers. While I was dismayed, I was also encouraged because this told me that the number of gaps were probably few, and if I could identify them and correct them, the kids would not develop new gaps as they got older. It is very encouraging to understand that once we identify problem areas and address them, our students will have the tools they need to succeed! - I learned from all my students that rather than cutting their word list in half as we teachers are prone to do with struggling readers, it was most helpful to them the more words I showed them that followed the pattern of spelling we were looking at. For example, instead of teaching the students to memorize the spelling of “back” (that was a word on their spelling list and also a sight word they were supposed to learn), I would write a huge column of words that followed the same ck pattern: “lack, sack, black, stack, jack, tack, duck, truck, stuck, buck, luck, muck, lick, stick” and so many more! The more often they saw the spelling, the more friendly and familiar it looked. So, my second graders came to our group with a spelling list of 10 words from their teacher. I would expand it to 20 words that followed the same spelling pattern, and those darlings would score 100% on their spelling test. Because they could! What are the take-aways? Let’s not stop teaching babies to sing the ABC Song! Let them chant the alphabet! But one simple and very powerful thing we can do is show them a little word as we read them a story and identify the sounds the letters represent. I was reading to my granddaughter, Cookie Jo, when she was two. At the end of the book were the words “The End.” Cookie loved to say “The End!” each time a story ended. So, because I couldn't seem to help myself, I pointed to the word "the" and said, “Cookie, this word says, ‘the’. You wouldn’t believe how many times we see that word in our stories!" And we looked back through the book to locate every "the". Each time we found one, we’d point and say “the.” Then, when we reached the end of the book again, I pointed to the word "end" and said, “Cookie, this word says, 'end.'” Then I pointed to one letter at a time and said E, N, D (saying the sounds, not the letter names). The lesson was over. No need to belabor the point. But it was a tiny bridge being built between chanting the ABCs and actually using letter symbols as pictures of the sounds we hear in words. I tell students it is like seeing a friend’s school picture. The picture isn’t really them, but it is a picture of them, just like letter symbols are pictures of sounds. The power and simplicity of Alphabet Tales In the beginning I designed the alphabet and wrote the stories while scribbling on a large whiteboard so my Kindergarteners could watch as they listened. I made up each story as I went along. Today, the scribbled stories and pictures are in actual book form. And there is power in this resource. My goal in creating this book was simple. I wanted adults to be able to read children a story and have the storyline and the illustrations cement in the children’s minds the link between the symbol (the written letters) and the sounds they produced. I wanted children to learn, by listening to stories, that words are made of sounds, not letters. I wanted them to be able to enjoy a cozy experience and come away with a strong foundation for reading. And it works. Children who enjoy Alphabet Tales with their adults do remember. They encounter a letter later and can say its name and the sound because they can remember the story, and of course they remember the pictures! Best of all, they didn’t know they were learning something! The purpose of Alphabet Teaching Cards The Teaching Cards came later. I found that when I was working with upper elementary and middle school kids who didn’t know some basic sounds, reading Alphabet Tales just was not an option. But I could take out a Teaching Card of the letter/sound they didn’t know (usually vowels) and show them the picture while saying the sound. When they groaned at the babyish picture, my response always was, “I know, I know, so just take one little peek and I’ll put it away.” And it worked every time. Teaching Cards are also a good resource to have on hand to quickly remind a child of a sound they forgot for a second. The Teaching Cards are also a handy resource for the adult. On the reverse of the card is the mini-lesson, the hand motion, and the activity. While you can show your students the front of the card, you can sneak a peak at the back and remember all the stuff you wanted to say and do. If I had to summarize what I have learned from kids who struggle with reading it would be two things. One is that kids can learn. And just because they are older doesn’t mean they are incapable. It just means they still haven’t had anyone discover what they don’t know. And what they missed in Kindergarten is still missing. Two is that much of the struggles around reading have to do with not having been taught to listen to the sounds words make and then represent those sounds with the corresponding symbols. We aren’t even taught this stuff in school! The good news is that these resources (mostly Alphabet Tales to begin with) will teach for you. Just make the time to read the Tales. I would read them after recess when the kids needed to cool off and just enjoy calming down as they listened to a story. With my grandkids it was bedtime, or after lunch, or when they were supposed to be napping, or just any time at all. And when your kiddos know Alphabet Tales inside and out, you will be ready to follow up with Easy-for-Me™ Teaching Kit 1, which will guide you as you teach reading!
Background: Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces defeated in 1824. After a dozen years of military rule, Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980, but experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency. President Alberto FUJIMORI's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. Nevertheless, the president's increasing reliance on authoritarian measures and an economic slump in the late 1990s generated mounting dissatisfaction with his regime. FUJIMORI won reelection to a third term in the spring of 2000, but international pressure and corruption scandals led to his ouster by Congress in November of that year. A caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001, which ushered in Alejandro TOLEDO as the new head of government; his presidency has been hampered by allegations of corruption.
Simple optics make quantum relay Technology Research News If it weren't for repeaters, the light pulses that carry information over fiber-optic long distance lines would fade before they got much further than 100 kilometers. Quantum cryptography devices and networks, which transport photons whose properties can be used to represent the 1s and 0s of digital information, could also benefit from repeaters. Today's prototype quantum cryptography systems provide theoretically perfect security, but these systems can't carry information over long distances. Researchers from the NASA-Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found a way to make a quantum repeater using ordinary optical equipment. Practical quantum repeaters could boost the reach of quantum cryptography systems, and eventually enable quantum networks. The device would allow for an exponential improvement in the distance quantum bits can be transmitted, said Jonathan Dowling, a principal scientist at at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The challenge was finding a way to preserve entanglement. Particle properties like polarization can become entangled when two or more particles come into contact with each other or simultaneously interact with a third entity like another particle or a laser beam. Entanglement keeps properties like polarization linked, regardless of the distance between entangled particles. A photon's electric field can be polarized, or oriented, in one of four directions. Pairs of directions can represent binary numbers. Entanglement is the basic ingredient of many quantum computing, quantum cryptography and quantum communications schemes. Sharing entangled particles between locations makes theoretically perfectly secure communications possible because the traits of a series of particles can form a random string of bits that can be used to encrypt messages. It is impossible for an eavesdropper to copy or intercept the particles without disrupting the entanglement, which would reveal the security breach. Shared entanglement would also make it possible to network quantum computers. "Many quantum communication protocols rely on shared entanglement between two distant parties," said Pieter Kok, one of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory researchers who is now at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. But because photons must be in the same place when they are initially entangled, using entangled particles for communication means finding a way to transport them, he said. This is difficult because particles can't be copied without destroying their quantum information, which means ordinary repeaters, which produce copies of fading signals, can't be used for quantum communications. The researchers' linear optical quantum repeater uses optical elements like mirrors, beam splitters and photodetectors to purify and transfer entanglement among photon pairs. Entanglement purification makes two or more partially entangled states into one fully entangled state. Entanglement swapping converts entanglement: entanglements between particles A and B and particles C and D can be converted to an entanglement between A and D. Beam splitters direct photons in one of two directions based on the photons' polarization, and photodetectors at each output of a beam splitter determine a photon's polarization. The repeater is made up of a network of beam splitters and photodetectors that route photons based on whether specific photodetectors detect other photons. The combination of the right paths and detection-triggered routing is enough to carry out entanglement purification and swapping. To use the system to initiate quantum communications, a sender, Alice, would entangle photons A and B, keep A, and send B to a receiver, Bob. A repeater in the network between Alice and Bob would generate a new pair of entangled photons, C and D, and bring together B and C. This would destroy B and C and in the process leave A entangled with D. The device would then send photon D on to Bob, giving Alice and Bob a shared pair of entangled photons. Rather than copying photons, the quantum repeater transfers entanglement. In practice, there are degrees of entanglement, and in order to transmit entangled states of high enough purity, quantum communications schemes typically distill multiple entangled pairs down to a single pair of fully entangled photons. In the researchers' repeater, the purification step takes place before the entanglement swapping. The linear optical quantum repeater was inspired by the landmark theoretical demonstration of linear optical quantum computing by Emanuel Knill, Raymond Laflamme and Gerard Milburn in 2001, said Dowling. "Since a repeater is just a very simple type of quantum computer, logic dictated it would be possible, but the devil was in the details," he said. Other research teams have devised quantum repeaters that tap the interactions of photons with gas atoms. In these schemes, fading photons that enter a repeater transfer their quantum states to atoms, which can briefly store the state information until it can be transferred to fresh photons that are transmitted over the next leg of the network. Light-matter interactions are difficult to carry out, however, especially with equipment that could be used in practical communications networks. A third approach uses nonlinear optical quantum repeaters that use complicated equipment to cause photons to interact with each other; these may be harder to make than the linear design, said Dowling. The researchers' goal is to develop simple devices that prove the utility of their linear optical approach, and eventually use the approach to build a full-scale quantum computer, said Dowling. A reliable source of entangled photons is a top priority, said Kok. "It not only has to be able to make high-quality entanglement, it also needs to do this reproducibly," he said. "Two sources must produce almost indistinguishable photon pairs in order for the interference to work." Another key component that needs to be developed is quantum memory so that, for instance, Alice can hold onto her half of the original entangled photon pair. And the system eventually has to be miniaturized into a quantum optoelectronic chip, according to Dowling. Such systems could eventually be used in quantum cryptography systems, for quantum telecommunications, and for distributed quantum computing, said Dowling. It will be 20 years before the method can be used practically, Dowling and Kok 's research colleague was Colin P. Williams. The work appeared in the August 1, 2003 issue of Physical Review A. The research was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and The Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Timeline: 20 years TRN Categories: Quantum Computing and Communications; Physics; Cryptography and Security; Optical Computing, Optoelectronics and Photonics Story Type: News Related Elements: Technical paper, "Construction of a Quantum Repeater with Linear Optics," Physical Review A, August 1, 2003. February 12, 2004 Ethanol yields hydrogen Biochip makes droplet Model keeps virtual Simple optics make Hot tip boosts Nanowires spot DNA up object orientation makes liquid crystal Research News Roundup Research Watch blog View from the High Ground Q&A How It Works News \| Blog Buy an ad link
Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, is any concentration of a toxin, such as pesticides, in the tissues of tolerant organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain. This increase can occur as a result of: Biological magnification often refers to the process whereby certain substances such as pesticides or heavy metals work their way into lakes, rivers and the ocean, and then move up the food chain in progressively greater concentrations as they are incorporated into the diet of aquatic organisms such as zooplankton, which in turn are eaten perhaps by fish, which then may be eaten by bigger fish, large birds, animals, or humans. The substances become increasingly concentrated in tissues or internal organs as they move up the chain. Bioaccumulants are substances that increase in concentration in living organisms as they take in contaminated air, water, or food because the substances are very slowly metabolized or excreted. Although sometimes used interchangeably with "bioaccumulation", an important distinction is drawn between the two, and with bioconcentration. Thus, bioconcentration and bioaccumulation occur within an organism, and biomagnification occurs across trophic (food chain) levels. Biodilution is also a process that occurs to all trophic levels in an aquatic environment; it is the opposite of biomagnification, thus when a pollutant gets smaller in concentration as it progresses up a food web. Lipid (lipophilic) or fat soluble substances cannot be diluted, broken down, or excreted in urine, a water-based medium, and so accumulate in fatty tissues of an organism, if the organism lacks enzymes to degrade them. When eaten by another organism, fats are absorbed in the gut, carrying the substance, which then accumulates in the fats of the predator. Since at each level of the food chain there is a lot of energy loss, a predator must consume many prey, including all of their lipophilic substances. For example, though mercury is only present in small amounts in seawater, it is absorbed by algae (generally as methylmercury). Methylmercury is one of the most harmful mercury molecules. It is efficiently absorbed, but only very slowly excreted by organisms. Bioaccumulation and bioconcentration result in buildup in the adipose tissue of successive trophic levels: zooplankton, small nekton, larger fish, etc. Anything which eats these fish also consumes the higher level of mercury the fish have accumulated. This process explains why predatory fish such as swordfish and sharks or birds like osprey and eagles have higher concentrations of mercury in their tissue than could be accounted for by direct exposure alone. For example, herring contains mercury at approximately 0.01 parts per million (ppm) and shark contains mercury at greater than 1 ppm. DDT is thought to biomagnify and biomagnification is one of the most significant reasons it was deemed harmful to the environment by the EPA and other organizations. DDT is stored in the fat of animals and takes many years to break down, and as the fat is consumed by predators, the amounts of DDT biomagnify. DDT is now a banned substance in many parts of the world. In a review, a large number of studies, Suedel et al. concluded that although biomagnification is probably more limited in occurrence than previously thought, there is good evidence that DDT, DDE, PCBs, toxaphene, and the organic forms of mercury and arsenic do biomagnify in nature. For other contaminants, bioconcentration and bioaccumulation account for their high concentrations in organism tissues. More recently, Gray reached a similar substances remaining in the organisms and not being diluted to non-threatening concentrations. The success of top predatory-bird recovery (bald eagles, peregrine falcons) in North America following the ban on DDT use in agriculture is testament to the importance of biomagnification. There are two main groups of substances that biomagnify. Both are lipophilic and not easily degraded. Novel organic substances are not easily degraded because organisms lack previous exposure and have thus not evolved specific detoxification and excretion mechanisms, as there has been no selection pressure from them. These substances are consequently known as "persistent organic pollutants" or POPs. Metals are not degradable because they are elements. Organisms, particularly those subject to naturally high levels of exposure to metals, have mechanisms to sequester and excrete metals. Problems arise when organisms are exposed to higher concentrations than usual, which they cannot excrete rapidly enough to prevent damage. Some persistent heavy metals are especially dangerous and harmful to the organism's reproductive system. Further information: Persistent organic pollutant
Where does the money come from? Tap or hover over the chart below for more information Per pupil spending is the average amount of money a state spends on education per student. SOURCE: 2017 Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 11 Created by: Sydney Lynch Factoring in funding How public schools are funded is one of the most crucial equity elements of education. The prominent differences in a school's ability to provide appropriate resources revolve around funding gaps in school districts. With federal budgets changing every few years, the question of how public school funding can be improved is important to address, but it is also important to understand where the funding comes from and how it is spread across the United States. The general breakdown for school district funding is primarily split up three ways with some state funding formulas differing slightly. The federal government provides around 8 percent of the total funding and delegates the rest of it to the responsibility of the local and state governments. Percentage-wise, state governments provide around 47 percent while local taxes/governments supply about 45 percent. The federal government provides close to $79 billion to the National Education Fund which is then broken down to all of the states and once more divided by districts. While that initial number seems like a lot of money, broken down across 13,056 public school districts it is calculated that not a substantial amount of money is being supplied to each district. The local and state governments affect the process that creates a gap in well-funded schools and poor school districts. Ideally, the state government should supply the districts with the rest of the budget that they need, but that is not the case. State governments utilize ‘funding formulas’ that are highly controversial, except in five states. There are a couple of different variants to the formulas, the most popular model being foundation grants. The state uses the model and chooses the minimum amount that should be spent on a student, calculates the district’s ability to pay and then fills in the rest. However, if a state changes the amount of money it deems sufficient for the average cost of educating a student, this can affect schools drastically. As the minimum amount per student goes lower, the state’s contributions to poorer districts decreases as well. If a district with a smaller tax base can only pay around $1,000 per enrolled student although the minimum bar is set at $5,000, they will only receive $4,000 in support. Districts with higher property taxes will be able to far exceed that base amount and thus will be able to provide a better education to their students even without state assistance. This creates an inequitable education for students in different districts. Another model used for states in the attempt to allocate funding is the guaranteed tax base. This equalizes access to a minimum amount but also the revenue generated at a given tax rate. What this model does is essentially guarantee a district a set amount of money for their taxes. There however still lies the issue that some districts with higher property taxes, which exceed the minimum money to spend on a student, end up without state support. Each of these models have problems that come along with it. Funding for schools is one of the major contributors to issues in education equity. Written by: Dylan Ashcraft Created by: Sydney Lynch
This course introduces the basics of Python 3, including conditional execution and iteration as control structures, and strings and lists as data structures. You'll program an on-screen Turtle to draw pretty pictures. You'll also learn to draw reference diagrams as a way to reason about program executions, which will help to build up your debugging skills. The course has no prerequisites. It will cover Chapters 1-9 of the textbook "Fundamentals of Python Programming," which is the accompanying text (optional and free) for this course. The course is for you if you're a newcomer to Python programming, if you need a refresher on Python basics, or if you may have had some exposure to Python programming but want a more in-depth exposition and vocabulary for describing and reasoning about programs. This is the first of five courses in the Python 3 Programming Specialization.
The moon was blitzed by two different sets of asteroids or comets in its youth, according to new results from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft. NASA scientists have created the first-ever comprehensive catalog of large craters on the moon using results from a detailed topographic map of the moon created using LRO‘s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA). “Our new LRO LOLA dataset shows that the older highland impactor population can be clearly distinguished from the younger population in the lunar ‘maria’ – giant impact basins filled with solidified lava flows,” says James Head of Brown University. “The highlands have a greater density of large craters compared to smaller ones, implying that the earlier population of impactors had a proportionally greater number of large fragments than the population that characterized later lunar history.” Using the crater counts from the different impact basins and examining the populations making up the superposed craters, the team deduced that the transition occurred about the time of the Orientale impact basin, about 3.8 billion years ago. The results have implications for Earth, which would have been subjected to the same impacts – which seem to have disrupted the initial origin of life and later to have altered life’s evolution. But it’s difficult to reconstruct the meteorite bombardment history of Earth because impact craters are eroded by wind and water, or destroyed by the action of plate tectonics. The moon gives a much clearer picture. “The moon is thus analogous to a Rosetta stone for understanding the bombardment history of the Earth,” said Head. “Like the Rosetta stone, the lunar record can be used to translate the ‘hieroglyphics’ of the poorly preserved impact record on Earth.”
It's no secret that rotten teeth can be a major source of embarrassment, but what many people don't realize is that leaving them untreated can have serious consequences. Dentists warn that tooth decay can lead to blood poisoning, infections, and even heart disease. Poor oral hygiene and infrequent visits to the dentist are the main culprits when it comes to tooth decay, and it's important to take steps to prevent it. Nandita Lilly, one of NewMouth's in-house dentists, explains that “A tooth abscess can be a potentially life-threatening condition and it's vital to seek medical help right away.” Tooth decay not only affects the appearance of teeth, but it can also cause pain and make it difficult to eat certain foods. In addition, bacteria from decaying teeth can mix with the digestive system and blood, leading to poisoning. The good news is that there are ways to protect yourself from these risks. Practicing good oral hygiene is essential for keeping tooth decay at bay. This includes brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing regularly. Additionally, visiting the dentist every six months for a checkup is important for catching any problems early on. Finally, research suggests that maintaining healthy teeth and gums may reduce the risk of developing dementia in the future. Taking care of your teeth now can help you avoid serious health issues down the line.
Lipid storage diseases, or the lipidoses, are a group of inherited metabolic disorders in which harmful amounts of fatty materials (lipids) accumulate in various cells and tissues in the body. People with these disorders either do not produce enough of one of the enzymes needed to break down (metabolize) lipids or they produce enzymes that do not work properly. Over time, this excessive storage of fats can cause permanent cellular and tissue damage, particularly in the brain, peripheral nervous system (the nerves from the spinal cord to the rest of the body), liver, spleen, and bone marrow. What are lipids? Lipids are fat-like substances that are important parts of the membranes found within and between cells and in the myelin sheath that coats and protects the nerves. Lipids include oils, fatty acids, waxes, steroids (such as cholesterol and estrogen), and other related compounds. These fatty materials are stored naturally in the body’s cells, organs, and tissues. Tiny bodies within cells called lysosomes regularly convert, or metabolize, the lipids and proteins into smaller components to provide energy for the body. Disorders in which intracellular material that cannot be metabolized is stored in the lysosomes are called lysosomal storage diseases. In addition to lipid storage diseases, other lysosomal storage diseases include the mucolipidoses, in which excessive amounts of lipids with attached sugar molecules are stored in the cells and tissues, and the mucopolysaccharidoses, in which excessive amounts of large, complicated sugar molecules are stored. How are lipid storage diseases inherited? Lipid storage diseases are inherited from one or both parents who carry a defective gene that regulates a particular lipid-metabolizing enzyme in a class of the body’s cells. They can be inherited two ways: - Autosomal recessive inheritance occurs when both parents carry and pass on a copy of the faulty gene, but neither parent is affected by the disorder. Each child born to these parents has a 25 percent chance of inheriting both copies of the defective gene, a 50 percent chance of being a carrier like the parents, and a 25 percent chance of not inheriting either copy of the defective gene. Children of either gender can be affected by an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. - X-linked (or sex-linked) recessive inheritance occurs when the mother carries the affected gene on the X chromosome. The X and Y chromosomes are involved in gender determination. Females have two X chromosomes and males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. Sons of female carriers have a 50 percent chance of inheriting and being affected with the disorder, as the sons receive one X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the father. Daughters have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the affected X chromosome from the mother and are carriers or mildly affected. Affected men do not pass the disorder to their sons but their daughters will be carriers for the disorder. What are the types of lipid storage disease? Gaucher disease is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase. Fatty material can collect in the brain, spleen, liver, kidneys, lungs, and bone marrow. Symptoms may include brain damage, enlarged spleen and liver, liver malfunction, skeletal disorders and bone lesions that may cause pain and fractures, swelling of lymph nodes and (occasionally) adjacent joints, distended abdomen, a brownish tint to the skin, anemia, low blood platelets, and yellow spots in the eyes. Individuals affected most seriously may also be more susceptible to infection. The disease affects males and females equally. Gaucher disease has three common clinical subtypes: - Type 1 (or nonneuronopathic type) is the most common form of the disease in the U.S. and Europe. The brain is not affected, but there may be lung and, rarely, kidney impairment. Symptoms may begin early in life or in adulthood and include enlarged liver and grossly enlarged spleen, which can rupture and cause additional complications. Skeletal weakness and bone disease may be extensive. People in this group usually bruise easily due to low blood platelet count. They may also experience fatigue due to anemia. Depending on disease onset and severity, individuals with type 1 may live well into adulthood. Many affected individuals have a mild form of the disease or may not show any symptoms. Although Gaucher type 1 occurs often among persons of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, it can affect individuals of any ethnic background. - Type 2 (or acute infantile neuropathic Gaucher disease) typically begins within 3 months of birth. Symptoms include extensive and progressive brain damage, spasticity, seizures, limb rigidity, enlarged liver and spleen, abnormal eye movement, and a poor ability to suck and swallow. Affected children usually die before age 2. - Type 3 (the chronic neuronopathic form) can begin at any time in childhood or even in adulthood. It is characterized by slowly progressive but milder neurologic symptoms compared to the acute or type 2 Gaucher disease. Major symptoms include eye movement disorders, cognitive deficit, poor coordination, seizures, an enlarged spleen and/or liver, skeletal irregularities, blood disorders including anemia, and respiratory problems. Nearly everyone with type 3 Gaucher disease who receives enzyme replacement therapy will reach adulthood. For type 1 and most type 3 individuals, enzyme replacement treatment given intravenously every two weeks can dramatically decrease liver and spleen size, reduce skeletal abnormalities, and reverse other manifestations. Successful bone marrow transplantation cures the non-neurological manifestations of the disease. However, this procedure carries significant risk and is rarely performed in individuals with Gaucher disease. Surgery to remove all or part of the spleen may be required on rare occasions (if the person has very low platelet counts or when the enlarged organ severely affects the person’s comfort). Blood transfusion may benefit some anemic individuals. Others may require joint replacement surgery to improve mobility and quality of life. There is currently no effective treatment for the brain damage that may occur in people with types 2 and 3 Gaucher disease. Niemann-Pick disease is a group of autosomal recessive disorders caused by an accumulation of fat and cholesterol in cells of the liver, spleen, bone marrow, lungs, and, in some instances, brain. Neurological complications may include ataxia (lack of muscle coordination that can affect walking steadily, writing, and eating, among other functions), eye paralysis, brain degeneration, learning problems, spasticity, feeding and swallowing difficulties, slurred speech, loss of muscle tone, hypersensitivity to touch, and some clouding of the cornea due to excess buildup of materials. A characteristic cherry-red halo that can be seen by a physician using a special tool develops around the center of the retina in 50 percent of affected individuals. Niemann-Pick disease is subdivided into three categories: - Type A, the most severe form, begins in early infancy. Infants appear normal at birth but develop profound brain damage by 6 months of age, an enlarged liver and spleen, swollen lymph nodes, and nodes under the skin (xanthomas). The spleen may enlarge to as great as 10 times its normal size and can rupture, causing bleeding. These children become progressively weaker, lose motor function, may become anemic, and are susceptible to recurring infection. They rarely live beyond 18 months. This form of the disease occurs most often in Jewish families. - Type B (or juvenile onset) does not generally affect the brain but most children develop ataxia, damage to nerves exiting from the spinal cord (peripheral neuropathy), and pulmonary difficulties that progress with age. Enlargement of the liver and spleen characteristically occurs in the pre-teen years. Individuals with type B may live a comparatively long time but many require supplemental oxygen because of lung involvement. Niemann-Pick types A and B result from accumulation of the fatty substance called sphingomyelin, due to deficiency of an enzyme called sphingomyelinase. - Type C may appear early in life or develop in the teen or even adult years. Niemann-Pick disease type C is not caused by a deficiency of sphlingomyelinase but by a lack of the NPC1 or NPC2 proteins. As a result, various lipids and particularly cholesterol accumulate inside nerve cells and cause them to malfunction. Brain involvement may be extensive, leading to inability to look up and down, difficulty in walking and swallowing, progressive loss of hearing, and progressive dementia. People with type C have only moderate enlargement of their spleens and livers. Those individuals with Niemann-Pick type C who share a common ancestral background in Nova Scotia were previously referred to as type D. The life expectancies of people with type C vary considerably. Some individuals die in childhood while others who appear to be less severely affected can live into adulthood. There is currently no cure for Niemann-Pick disease. Treatment is supportive. Children usually die from infection or progressive neurological loss. Bone marrow transplantation has been attempted in a few individuals with type B with mixed results. Fabry disease, also known as alpha-galactosidase-A deficiency, causes a buildup of fatty material in the autonomic nervous system (the part of the nervous system that controls involuntary functions such as breathing and heart beat), eyes, kidneys, and cardiovascular system. Fabry disease is the only X-linked lipid storage disease. Males are primarily affected, although a milder and more variable form is common in females. Occasionally, affected females have severe manifestations similar to those seen in males with the disorder. Onset of symptoms is usually during childhood or adolescence. Neurological signs include burning pain in the arms and legs, which worsens in hot weather or following exercise, and the buildup of excess material in the clear layers of the cornea (resulting in clouding but no change in vision). Fatty storage in blood vessel walls may impair circulation, putting the person at risk for stroke or heart attack. Other symptoms include heart enlargement, progressive kidney impairment leading to renal failure, gastrointestinal difficulties, decreased sweating, and fever. Angiokeratomas (small, non-cancerous, reddish-purple elevated spots on the skin) may develop on the lower part of the trunk of the body and become more numerous with age. People with Fabry disease often die prematurely of complications from heart disease, renal failure, or stroke. Drugs such as phenytoin and carbamazepine are often prescribed to treat pain that accompanies Fabry disease but do not treat the disease. Metoclopramide or Lipisorb (a nutritional supplement) can ease gastrointestinal distress that often occurs in people with Fabry disease, and some individuals may require kidney transplant or dialysis. Enzyme replacement can reduce storage, ease pain, and preserve organ function in some people with Fabry disease. Farber’s disease, also known as Farber’s lipogranulomatosis, describes a group of rare autosomal recessive disorders that cause an accumulation of fatty material in the joints, tissues, and central nervous system. It affects both males and females. Disease onset is typically in early infancy but may occur later in life. Children who have the classic form of Farber’s disease develop neurological symptoms within the first few weeks of life that may include increased lethargy and sleepiness, and problems with swallowing. The liver, heart, and kidneys may also be affected. Other symptoms may include joint contractures (chronic shortening of muscles or tendons around joints), vomiting, arthritis, swollen lymph nodes, swollen joints, hoarseness, and nodes under the skin which thicken around joints as the disease progresses. Affected individuals with breathing difficulty may require a breathing tube. Most children with the disease die by age 2, usually from lung disease. In one of the most severe forms of the disease, an enlarged liver and spleen can be diagnosed soon after birth. Children born with this form of the disease usually die within 6 months. Farber’s disease is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme called ceramidase. Currently there is no specific treatment for Farber’s disease. Corticosteroids may be prescribed to relieve pain. Bone marrow transplants may improve granulomas (small masses of inflamed tissue) on people with little or no lung or nervous system complications. Older persons may have granulomas surgically reduced or removed. The gangliosidoses are comprised of two distinct groups of genetic diseases. Both are autosomal recessive and affect males and females equally. The GM1 gangliosidoses are caused by a deficiency of the enzyme beta-galactosidase, resulting in abnormal storage of acidic lipid materials particularly in the nerve cells in the central and peripheral nervous systems. GM1 gangliosidosis has three clinical presentations: - GM1 (the most severe subtype, with onset shortly after birth) may include neurodegeneration, seizures, liver and spleen enlargement, coarsening of facial features, skeletal irregularities, joint stiffness, distended abdomen, muscle weakness, exaggerated startle response, and problems with gait. About half of affected individuals develop cherry-red spots in the eye. Children may be deaf and blind by age 1 and often die by age 3 from either cardiac complications or pneumonia. - Late infantile GM1 gangliosidosis typically begins between ages 1 and 3 years. Neurological symptoms include ataxia, seizures, dementia, and difficulties with speech. - GM1 gangliosidosis develops between ages 3 and 30. Symptoms include decreased muscle mass (muscle atrophy), neurological complications that are less severe and progress at a slower rate than in other forms of the disorder, corneal clouding in some people, and sustained muscle contractions that cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures (dystonia). Angiokeratomas may develop on the lower part of the trunk of the body. The size of the liver and spleen in most affected individuals is normal. The GM2 gangliosidoses also cause the body to store excess acidic fatty materials in tissues and cells, most notably in nerve cells. These disorders result from a deficiency of the enzyme beta-hexosaminidase. The GM2 disorders include: - Tay-Sachs disease (also known as GM2 gangliosidosis-variant B) and its variant forms are caused by a deficiency in the enzyme hexosaminidase A. The incidence has been particularly high among Eastern European and Ashkenazi Jewish populations, as well as certain French Canadians and Louisianan Cajuns. Affected children appear to develop normally for the first few months of life. Symptoms begin by 6 months of age and include progressive loss of mental ability, dementia, decreased eye contact, increased startle response to noise, progressive loss of hearing leading to deafness, difficulty in swallowing, blindness, cherry-red spots in the retina, and some paralysis. Seizures may begin in the child’s second year. Children may eventually need a feeding tube and they often die by age 4 from recurring infection. No specific treatment is available. Anticonvulsant medications may initially control seizures. Other supportive treatment includes proper nutrition and hydration and techniques to keep the airway open. A rare form of the disorder, called late-onset Tay-Sachs disease, occurs in people in their 20s and early 30s and is characterized by unsteadiness of gait and progressive neurological deterioration. - Sandhoff disease (variant AB) is a severe form of Tay-Sachs disease. Onset usually occurs at the age of 6 months and is not limited to any ethnic group. Neurological signs may include progressive deterioration of the central nervous system, motor weakness, early blindness, marked startle response to sound, spasticity, shock-like or jerking of a muscle (myoclonus), seizures, abnormally enlarged head (macrocephaly), and cherry-red spots in the eye. Other symptoms may include frequent respiratory infections, heart murmurs, doll-like facial features, and an enlarged liver and spleen. There is no specific treatment for Sandhoff disease. As with Tay-Sachs disease, supportive treatment includes keeping the airway open and proper nutrition and hydration. Anti-seizure medications may initially control seizures. Children generally die by age 3 from respiratory infections. Krabbe disease (also known as globoid cell leukodystrophy and galactosylceramide lipidosis) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by deficiency of the enzyme galactocerebrosidase. The disease most often affects infants, with onset before age 6 months, but can occur in adolescence or adulthood. The buildup of undigested fats affects the growth of the nerve’s protective insulating sheath (myelin sheath) and causes severe deterioration of mental and motor skills. Other symptoms include muscle weakness, reduced ability of a muscle to stretch (hypertonia), muscle stiffening (spasticity), sudden shock-like or jerking of the limbs (myoclonic seizures), irritability, unexplained fever, deafness, blindness, paralysis, and difficulty when swallowing. Prolonged weight loss may also occur. The disease may be diagnosed by enzyme testing and by identification of its characteristic grouping of cells into globoid bodies in the white matter of the brain, demyelination of nerves and degeneration, and destruction of brain cells. In infants, the disease is generally fatal before age 2. Individuals with a later onset form of the disease have a milder course of the disease and live significantly longer. No specific treatment for Krabbe disease has been developed, although early bone marrow transplantation may help some people. Metachromatic leukodystrophy, or MLD, is a group of disorders marked by storage buildup in the white matter of the central nervous system and in the peripheral nerves and to some extent in the kidneys. Similar to Krabbe disease, MLD affects the myelin that covers and protects the nerves. This autosomal recessive disorder is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme arylsulfatase A. Both males and females are affected by this disorder. MLD has three characteristic forms: late infantile, juvenile, and adult. - Late infantile MLD typically begins between 12 and 20 months following birth. Infants may appear normal at first but develop difficulty in walking and a tendency to fall, followed by intermittent pain in the arms and legs, progressive loss of vision leading to blindness, developmental delays and loss of previously acquired milestones, impaired swallowing, convulsions, and dementia before age 2. Children also develop gradual muscle wasting and weakness and eventually lose the ability to walk. Most children with this form of the disorder die by age 5. - Juvenile MLD typically begins between ages 3 and 10. Symptoms include impaired school performance, mental deterioration, ataxia, seizures, and dementia. Symptoms are progressive with death occurring 10 to 20 years following onset. - Adult symptoms begin after age 16 and may include ataxia, seizures, abnormal shaking of the limbs (tremor), impaired concentration, depression, psychiatric disturbances and dementia. Death generally occurs within 6 to 14 years after onset of symptoms. There is no cure for MLD. Treatment is symptomatic and supportive. Bone marrow transplantation may delay progression of the disease in some cases. Considerable progress has been made with regard to gene therapies in animal models of MLD and in clinical trials. Wolman’s disease, also known as acid lipase deficiency, is a severe lipid storage disorder that is usually fatal by age 1. This autosomal recessive disorder is marked by accumulation of cholesteryl esters (normally a transport form of cholesterol) and triglycerides (a chemical form in which fats exist in the body) that can build up significantly and cause damage in the cells and tissues. Both males and females are affected by this disorder. Infants are normal and active at birth but quickly develop progressive mental deterioration, enlarged liver and grossly enlarged spleen, distended abdomen, gastrointestinal problems, jaundice, anemia, vomiting, and calcium deposits in the adrenal glands, causing them to harden. Another type of acid lipase deficiency is cholesteryl ester storage disease. This extremely rare disorder results from storage of cholesteryl esters and triglycerides in cells in the blood and lymph and lymphoid tissue. Children develop an enlarged liver leading to cirrhosis and chronic liver failure before adulthood. Children may also have calcium deposits in the adrenal glands and may develop jaundice late in the disorder. Enzyme replacement for both Wolman’s disease and cholesteryl ester storage disease is currently under active investigation. How are these disorders diagnosed? In some states, some of these disorders (most notably and controversially Krabbe disease) are screened for at birth. In older children, diagnosis is made through clinical examination, enzyme assays (laboratory tests that measure enzyme activity), genetic testing, biopsy, and molecular analysis of cells or tissues. In some forms of the disorder, urine analysis can identify the presence of stored material. In others, the abnormality in enzyme activity can be detected in white blood cells without tissue biopsy. Some tests can also determine if a person carries the defective gene that can be passed on to her or his children. This process is known as genotyping. Biopsy for lipid storage disease involves removing a small sample of the liver or other tissue and studying it under a microscope. In this procedure, a physician will administer a local anesthetic and then remove a small piece of tissue either surgically or by needle biopsy (a small piece of tissue is removed by inserting a thin, hollow needle through the skin). Genetic testing can help individuals who have a family history of lipid storage disease determine if they are carrying a mutated gene that causes the disorder. Other genetic tests can determine if a fetus has the disorder or is a carrier of the defective gene. Prenatal testing is usually done by chorionic villus sampling, in which a very small sample of the placenta is removed and tested during early pregnancy. The sample, which contains the same DNA as the fetus, is removed by catheter inserted through the cervix or by a fine needle inserted through the abdomen. Results are usually available within 2-4 weeks. How are these disorders treated? Currently there is no specific treatment available for most of the lipid storage disorders but highly effective enzyme replacement therapy is available for type 1 and type 3 Gaucher disease. Enzyme replacement therapy is also available for Fabry disease, although it is not as effective as for Gaucher disease. However, anti-platelet medications can help prevent strokes and medications that lower blood pressure can slow the decline of kidney function in people with Fabry disease. The U.S.Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug migalastat (Galafold) as an oral medication for adults with Fabry disease who have a certain genetic mutation. Eligustat tartrate, an oral drug approved for Gaucher treatment, works by administering small molecules that reduce the action of the enzyme that catalyzes glucose to ceramide. Medications such as gabapentin and carbamazepine may be prescribed to help treat pain (including bone pain). Restricting one’s diet does not prevent lipid buildup in cells and tissues. What research is being done? The mission of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. The NINDS is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the leading supporter of biomedical research in the world. As part of its mission, the NINDS conducts and funds research on lipid storage diseases and other inherited metabolic disorders that affect the brain and nervous system. In past research, investigators at the NINDS made significant contributions to research on lipid storage disorders and their treatment. These scientists identified the enzymes affected in people with Gaucher and Fabry diseases. NINDS scientists also discovered a gene that is mutated in the majority of individuals with Niemann-Pick disease type C. NINDS researchers developed highly effective enzyme replacement therapy for Gaucher and Fabry diseases, as well as a mouse model of Fabry disease for use in research to understand the disease and develop treatments, which has enabled ongoing and promising research to develop gene therapy for this disease. The NINDS, along with other NIH institutes, supports the Lysosomal Disease Network, a network of centers that addresses some of the major challenges in the diagnosis, management, and therapy of rare diseases, including the lipid storage diseases. The LDN is a member of the NIH Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network program, which supports collaborative consortia of rare disease researchers and disease community partners. Research on lipid storage disorders within the LDN includes longitudinal studies of the natural history and/or treatment of these disorders. Additional studies will emphasize the quantitative analysis of the central nervous system structure and function, and develop biomarkers (signs that can indicate the diagnosis or progression of a disease) for these disorders. Research funded by NINDS focuses on better understanding how neurological deficits arise in lipid storage disorders and on the development of new treatments targeting disease mechanisms, including gene therapies, cell-based therapies, and pharmacological approaches. Mutations in the gene that provides instructions for the protein glucocerebrosidase cause Gaucher disease as well as an increased risk for Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia, all of which are marked by increased buildup of the protein alpha-synuclein. Using fly and mouse models of glucocerebrosidase deficiency, scientists hope to learn how this deficiency impairs the breakdown of lysosomal proteins, including the breakdown of alpha-synuclein. Other research is looking at anomalies in metabolic pathways that may contribute to neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in aging and sporadic Parkinson’s disease. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in these diseases could lead to the development of new treatments. Krabbé disease attacks the insulating sheath (myelin) around nerve fibers (axons) that is important for neuron function and survival. Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT)—using stem cells from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow—has been shown to benefit some individuals when given early in the course of the disease. For example, a small clinical study found that treating infants at high risk for developing early-onset Krabbé disease with HSCT before they were 7 weeks old led to improved quality of life and longer lifespans compared to untreated children or children who received HSCT after 6 weeks of age. Scientists plan to test hematopoietic stem cell transplantation plus gene therapy in an animal model of Krabbé disease to study disease mechanisms and any positive effects of combined therapy. Also in an animal model, NINDS-funded scientists are testing a combined treatment approach that uses a harmless virus to increase protein production, along with blood stem cell transplantation and small molecule-based drugs, to reduce neuroinflammation, cell death, and nerve cell degeneration seen in the disease. Niemann-pick type C1 (NPC1) disease is characterized by the accumulation of cholesterol and other lipids in the brain and other organs. A barrier to the development of therapies for NPC1 disease is the lack of outcome measures for clinical trials. NINDS-funded researchers will test if a cholesterol oxidation byproduct (“oxysterol”) is a biomarker that can be used to evaluate therapies as well as screen newborns for NPC1 disease. NINDS-funded research on gangliosidosis is expanding the use of gene therapy delivered using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) to a larger area of the brain using an animal model of Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases. A related project will study the effectiveness of whole-body AAV therapy in treating the disease. NINDS-funded studies are underway to develop new and improved treatments for Farber, Tay-Sachs, Sandhoff, Fabry, and Gaucher diseases, as well as cholesterol metabolism disorders. Among NIH-funded projects, researchers hope to improve on imaging techniques to aid in newborn screening for lysosomal storage diseases, including Wolman’s disease and cholesteryl ester storage disease, and to correct cholesterol metabolism dysfunction and markedly increase the life of the animal models of cholesterol storage disease.
Lekha Sharma is a Deputy Principal at Ark Oval Primary Academy and leads on her school's curriculum design and delivery. She has been teaching for eight years and has worked in a number of schools in both inner and outer London and the Midlands. When I first started out teaching eight years ago, character development was seen as the ‘fluffy stuff’. It became very apparent to me early on in my career, particularly teaching in some of the most challenging areas in the country, that this was not the case. I instantly saw the impact exploring character had on my Year 6 pupils and the difference it made not only in their approach to their learning but to their interactions with one another outside of the classroom. Behaviour incidents were reduced, learning in the classroom felt more productive and they were generally happier kids. The Department for Education recently published it’s ‘Character Education Framework’- guidance on character education and development for pupils outside of academia. But what does character education mean in practice for school leaders and teachers and how can we foster a genuine and meaningful culture in our schools that develops character in the pupils that we serve? ‘Character is simply habits long continued’- Plato. Pupils spend a large part of their lives in school, so we as educators are uniquely placed to not only impact our pupil’s academic development but to positively impact their development as human beings. Instilling long-standing habits, as Plato postulates, helps us to shape our pupils and to ensure their behaviour and choices are rooted in qualities that will give them a strong set of core values and a sound sense of self. When we truly reflect on what character is, this pursuit seems rather high stakes but with the right school culture, we can create environments where our pupils flourish both academically and personally. Here are three things we can do as schools to achieve this feat: - Having the conversations- a PSHE curriculum that complements learning When people think of character development in schools, they often default to thinking about ‘Circle Time’ or PSHE as the main arenas for this kind of learning. These subjects are crucial in the development of character, but they become even more powerful when they are meaningfully connected to subject matter across the curriculum. Explicit conversations about character, just like explicit instruction in knowledge acquisition in any subject, is crucial for understanding. For pupils to truly appreciate empathy, for example, we need to explain to them what empathy is, the thinking required to achieve an empathetic viewpoint and the consequences of a lack of empathy. This, of course, can be achieved through a discrete PSHE lesson but can also be achieved through English Literature and through the exploration of the expeditions of Don Quixote or the trials and tribulations of Bilbo Baggins. Similarly, conversations about the importance of charity and service to others can be prompted from an RE lesson on the concept of Tzedakah- the idea of philanthropy as seen as social justice by those of the Jewish faith. A PSHE curriculum that permeates across all subjects in the curriculum can ensure these big ideas are developed in context and as part of broader schemas of understanding. - Modelling character- showing pupils how it’s done Teaching is often compared to acting in the theatre - being ‘on stage’ for extended periods and performing. The two professions do indeed have similarities. But it’s in those brief moments at the theatre when the lights go down and you see the shadows of the actors shuffling around behind the curtain that the illusion of the show disappears, and you realise it’s just an act. Just like that, during ‘downtime’ from teaching, when you’re interacting with other teachers, walking from one end of the school to the other or grabbing a bite in the canteen, that pupils see how we behave as humans. It's in these moments that we teach our pupils something - unintentionally. This goes both ways; it’s about being open when we get it right but also when we get it wrong. It’s about sharing that vulnerable, human side of us that we all have in common so that pupils can see the complexities of character and can see how the demands on us can try our patience and test our strength of character. When we discuss kindness and compassion with our pupils, we teach them a concept. When we show kindness and compassion to our pupils, we teach them the skill of employing these virtues in the real world day-to-day. And as we well know, demonstrating how something is done explicitly to our pupils repeatedly is the best way for it to embed in their long- term memory and, when it comes to character traits, their long-term habits. - Exploring great character- case studies of those who have come before Opportunities to demonstrate our values and virtues can enrich pupils’ understanding of character but isn’t always possible in our busy school day. Luckily, we have a wealth of truly great individuals to turn to straight from our history books. Exploring case studies of individuals can provide insight into how people have shown character in the most testing of times. In our school, each class is named after a noteworthy role model who is studied by the pupils when they join the class in September. Giving pupils the opportunity to look across historical eras allows them to gain a true appreciation of what connects us to these truly spectacular individuals- our capability to adopt the outlooks and mental attitude they had to overcome and to achieve. In Year 2, our pupils study Dr Martin Luther King Jr and the courage he showed during the civil rights movement. In Year 5, our pupils learn about how Emeline Pankhurst organised the suffragette movement through sheer determination and faith. They come to realise what these values meant for society and the impact one’s character can have on the world. Through this they come to see that character is timeless and can help them to not only take their place in the world but to make a real and lasting difference in it.
Learn about the myths and realities of women's lives during the 1950s. - Though the 1950s was in many ways a period of conformity with traditional gender roles, it was also a decade of change, when discontent with the status quo was emerging. - Popular culture and the mass media reinforced messages about traditional gender roles, consumer culture, and the Cold War ideal of domesticity, but the reality of women’s lives did not always reflect these ideals. - African American women faced particular difficulties in the pursuit of postwar material abundance and the “American dream.” Popular portrayals of ideal femininity and home life ignored the lives of minority women and families. Conformity and the 1950s The 1950s is often viewed as a period of conformity, when both men and women observed strict gender roles and complied with society’s expectations. After the devastation of the Great Depression and World War II, many Americans sought to build a peaceful and prosperous society. However, even though certain gender roles and norms were socially enforced, the 1950s was not as conformist as is sometimes portrayed, and discontent with the status quo bubbled just beneath the surface of the placid peacetime society. Although women were expected to identify primarily as wives and mothers and to eschew work outside of the home, women continued to make up a significant proportion of the postwar labor force. Moreover, the 1950s witnessed significant changes in patterns of sexual behavior, which would ultimately lead to the “sexual revolution” of the 1960s. Changing social trends following World War II Demobilization at the end of World War II brought a great many changes. Millions of women who had joined the workforce during the war were displaced by returning soldiers. Messages in popular culture and the mass media encouraged these women to give up their jobs and return quietly to domestic life. Most women, however, wished to keep their jobs, and thus women made up approximately one-third of the peacetime labor force. During the 1950s, marriage and homeownership rates skyrocketed, so there is no doubt that many Americans were content to pursue the “American dream.” These trends were aided by suburbanization and the mass production of automobiles. Cars allowed Americans who lived in the suburbs to commute easily into urban areas for work. Cars not only changed work and housing patterns, but also facilitated the rise of new sexual norms. They provided young couples with a place to spend time together alone, away from the prying eyes of parents and other members of the community. This, in turn, led to a rise in premarital sex and birth rates. Thus, patterns of sexual behavior were changing even as the traditional ideal continued to insist upon marriage before sex. Between 1946 and 1964, the largest generation of Americans, known as the baby boomers, was born. This demographic trend in turn reinforced women’s identities as wives and mothers. Despite societal norms that encouraged women to stay in the home and out of the workplace, approximately forty percent of women with young children, and at least half of women with older children, chose to remain in the work force. Cold War domesticity and popular culture Gender roles in the 1950s were intimately connected to the Cold War. The term nuclear family emerged to describe and encourage the stability of the family as the essential building block of a strong and healthy society. In this view, a woman played a crucial role in waging the Cold War, by keeping the family unit strong and intact. She could do this best, it was thought, by remaining at home to take care of her husband and children, and refusing to pursue a career. Thus was a link forged between traditional gender roles and national security. Moreover, because the Cold War was also a competition between two very different economic systems, the virtues of capitalism were touted as proving the superiority of the United States over the Soviet Union. Capitalism revolved around the exchange of goods and services in the marketplace, and so identifying with consumer culture became a way of waging the Cold War. Women, traditionally expected to do most of the shopping for the household, were encouraged to identify as patriotic Americans by being savvy consumers. Black-and-white photograph depicting actress Lucille Ball with husband and actor Desi Arnaz. Ball is holding a finger to her lips and opening her eyes very wide, and Arnaz is making an exaggerated pout. The photograph emphasizes their silly personalities. The norms of consumer culture and domesticity were disseminated via new and popular forms of entertainment – not just the television, which became a fixture in middle-class American households during the 1950s, but also women’s magazines, popular psychology, and cinema. Shows promoting the values of domesticity, like Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best, became especially popular. These shows portrayed the primary roles of women as wives and mothers. Lucille Ball, in I Love Lucy, inevitably met with disaster whenever she pursued job opportunities or interests that took her outside of the household. On the other hand, the fact that every episode revolved around Lucy’s attempts to pursue outside interests indicated her discontent with remaining at home. Moreover, Lucille Ball, while playing the role of a hapless housewife on TV, was in reality a highly successful actress and producer, and thus challenged society’s expectations of women. African American women in the 1950s It is important to remember that the ideal of domesticity was primarily aimed at middle-class white women. African American women, as well as women of lower socioeconomic standing, were not portrayed in popular culture as wives and mothers; in fact, these women were hardly portrayed at all. Although African Americans have been hugely influential in popular culture throughout the twentieth century, the 1950s were a very “whitewashed” decade from the standpoint of the mass media. Additionally, many African American women were forced by economic necessity to work outside of the home, and were thus excluded from the postwar ideal of domesticity. What do you think? Who benefited the most from the postwar surge in material abundance? Were there signs of discontent with the status quo of the 1950s? What were they? How did the imperatives of the Cold War shape gender roles and society’s expectations of women? Want to join the conversation? - What would widowed women do in the 1950s?(8 votes) - i believe they would continue with their lives and take on the responsibility of being a single mother and working one that is tough to do but can be done. the widowed woman may get remarried as do some in time.(8 votes) - Was it a law in that time period that all woman couldn't have a job or was it just white woman?(4 votes) - By the mid 20th century, there were few laws formally on the books that directly discriminated against women. The challenge that women faced was more at a social level. Businesses were not interested in hiring women for career positions. Lower class women worked as maids. Middle-class women worked as teachers or secretaries for a few years after school until they got married, had kids and their husbands managed to got started on their own careers. Then these women stayed home to raise the kids.(10 votes) - Has the gap between opportunity for white and black women been eliminated by now?(2 votes) - Not even close. If we use relative earnings as a proxy of general opportunity (not perfect, but not bad for a short answer), the IWPR (using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) reported the earnings of full time workers in different demographic categories as a percentage of white male (the highest paid category) earnings. White women earn about 82% of what white men make; black women earn about 68% of what white men are paid. Latinas earn about 61% of what white men make.(8 votes) - What happened to Latinos in the 50's? Were they categorized as "black?"(1 vote) - What is expected of the husband and/or father? Of the - The men of the families were the breadwinners; they were the ones with the jobs, providing for their families. Women were expected to care for the children, cook, clean, shop, all those great domestic household duties.(3 votes) - Why were women expected to comply with society's gender roles?(2 votes) - because back then it was normal for them to work or follow these gender roles. everyone followed the roles, and no one protested against it.(4 votes) - was their any other woman at the time besides the woman who played Lucy that was a famous high achiever of that time.(0 votes) - Another high achiever was Rear Admiral Grace Hopper of the United States Naval Reserves. She was a genius in the realm of mathematics and computer engineering. She helped develop a computer for the army, Mark 1. She also helped to develops UNIVAC 1, the first commercially produced computer in the United States. Her work with computer coding led to her developing the FLO-MATIC system, most of which would later be turned into COBOL, the chief coding system of the 20th century. 26 years after she died she was awarded the Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama. Many people believe that Rear Admiral Hopper was one of many woman who was a victim of the Matilda Effect. The Matilda Effect occurs when a woman’s achievements are overlooked simple because of her gender. Hope it helps!(7 votes) - What made women become so suppressed, did they know and didn't care or was it because of their social status that they couldn't? Also,why did people subject/conform to these social norms?(0 votes) - Women just weren't considered equal to men, they were lower than men, and since they weren't equal, they couldn't do anything about it. Because that had always been how things were, no one protested against it, because there was nothing to protest. That was just regular life. That happens in eastern countries too, especially China, where boys are way more valuable than girls.(5 votes) - what does whitewashed mean?(1 vote) - The use of whitewash in this case is used to explain that media was geared towards white consumers.(4 votes)
About 85% of the mass of our galaxy consists of dark matter, matter that does not emit, absorb or reflect light and therefore cannot be observed directly. While several studies have suggested or theorized about its composition, it remains one of the greatest unsolved problems in physics. Physicists around the world have been searching for dark matter or trying to come up with new methods to directly observe different dark matter candidates. A hypothetical form of dark matter that has so far eluded detection is dark photon dark matter. An intriguing possibility is that dark matter consists of dark photons, which look like photons (ie, the particles that make up visible light) but interact with charges of weak strength. These dark photons could theoretically have masses in the milli-electrovolt range, about a million times lighter than those of electrons, and thus notoriously difficult to detect. Researchers at Northwestern University, Stanford University, and Fermilab recently introduced a new method that could be used to search for meV dark photons. The validity of the method, outlined in a paper published in Physical Review Letterswas demonstrated in a short proof-of-principle process, which also helped establish new constraints on dark matter with dark photons. “The idea for our study arose from discussions between experimentalists and theorists facilitated by the DOE SQMS Center,” Gabriel Gabrielse, one of the researchers who conducted the study, told Phys.org. “At Northwestern we were looking for BSM applications for an unusual one-electron detector that had no background. We developed a new detector to measure the electric dipole moment of electrons and test the most accurate prediction of the standard model.” After learning about the work being done by Gabrielse and his colleagues at Northeastern, a team of theoretical physicists at Stanford reached out and pointed out the potential of their detector to search for meV dark photons. This sparked a series of interactions and collaborations between the two research groups, including Roni Harnik, a theorist at Fermilab. The new method introduced by the researchers is based on the use of trapped electrons as high-Q resonators for the detection of dark matter by meV dark photons. Its basic assumption is that when the rest energy of a dark photon matches the energy splitting of the two lowest cyclotron levels, the first electron cyclotron state will be excited. “If a meV dark photon enters the trap in which a single electron is suspended, then the electron can be excited from the ground state to the first excited state of the cyclotron motion,” explained Gabrielse. “There is no background and the single excitation of a single trapped electron can be unambiguously detected. The failure to see such excitations for several days allowed us to set a limit on the strength of the dark photon field that passed, based on theor. calculations of the efficiency with which a dark photon could produce such an excitation.” To demonstrate the practicality of the proposed method, Gabrielse and his colleagues used it to collect an initial measurement using a single electron. This attempt showed that their strategy was backgroundless for a search that lasted just over 7 days. The researchers were also able to set a new limit for dark photon dark matter, specifically at 148 GHz (0.6 meV). In the future, their work could pave the way for new studies to evaluate and use the proposed strategy to search for meV dark photons. “The most notable achievement of our work is the concrete demonstration of an entirely new method of searching for meV dark matter,” added Gabrielse. “We now plan to do a broad search for meV dark photons in an apparatus that is designed for this. The apparatus in which the demonstration measurement took place was optimized for measuring the magnetic moment of electrons in a narrow band, while the new apparatus and the new ideas we are developing will allow extensive searches.” Xing Fan et al., One-Electron Quantum Cyclotron as a Milli-eV Dark Photon Detector, Physical Review Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.261801 © 2023 Science X Network Citation: Study demonstrates new method to search for meV dark photons (2023, January 25) Retrieved January 26, 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2023-01-method-mev-dark-photons.html This document is subject to copyright. Except for any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.
In this lesson we are going to learn about conditional statements. Conditional statements allow us to test whether different conditions are true or false, and do something depending on the outcome! In this lesson we will have a balloon and an animal - if the balloon touches the animal the balloon will pop! To start off choose two sprites and one backdrop! Make your animal follow the Make your balloon “pop” when it touches your mouse pointer. first sprite! Step 2. Make your balloon move! Using the blocks below, make a script that will make your balloon glide to a random location on the stage continuously. Hint: Look at the move to block already on your balloon sprite for help on where to put the pick random blocks. The x axis starts at - 240 on the left, and the y axis starts at -180 at the bottom. Step 3. Add another condition! Let’s add another conditional statement, but this time on your animal sprite. Add the script below but choose your own condition! Hint: Look in the sensing blocks to find the different things that Scratch can sense! See what other things you can get your sprites to do! Here are some ideas if you are stuck: - On your last script, change the thinkblock to another action - make your sprite spin or change colour! - Right click on your balloon sprite and duplicate it so that you have number of different balloons floating around to be popped. - See if you can add a variable that counts how many balloons have been popped!
HtDP Problem Set Develop the function describe-temp, which consumes a Celsius temperature and returns 'Warm if the temperature is 25 or greater, 'Mild if the temperature is between 10 and 25, and 'Cold if the temperature is below 10. Develop a function that when given a symbol and number returns the square root of the number if the symbol is 'squareroot or the tangent of the number if the symbol is 'tangent. For all other symbols, it returns the original number. Modify check-guess from Exercise 5.1.2 (duplicated below) to add a fourth response, 'WithinTen, which is returned when the player's guess is in the range of ten above or below the target. Develop the function check-guess. It consumes two numbers, guess and target. Depending on how guess relates to target, the function produces one of the following three answers: 'TooSmall, 'Perfect, or 'TooLarge. The function implements one part of a two-player number guessing game. One player picks a random number between 0 and 99999. The other player's goal is to determine this number, called target, with the least number of guesses. To each guess, the first player responds with one of the three responses that check-guess implements. The function check-guess and the teachpack guess.ss implement the first player. The teachpack picks the random number, pops up a window in which the second player can choose digits, and hands over the guess and the target to check-guess. To play the game, set the teachpack to guess.ss using the Language\|Set teachpackoption. Then evaluate the expression(guess-with-gui check-guess)after check-guess has been thoroughly tested. Inhabitants of the island of knaves always walk around in pairs. Each will respond with 'Yes or 'No individually when asked an appropriate question. You can only be certain of having received an affirmative answer if both reply 'Yes. All other combinations imply 'No. Develop the function discern, which will accept all pairwise combinations of knaves' answers and produce 'Yes or 'No accordingly. A robot car is confined to a narrow straight track that is marked with positions 0 through 99. Develop the function move. It consumes a command (either 'Forward or 'Backward), the number of units to move, and the current position of the robot, then returns the new position of the robot. The robot cannot go off the end of the track, so once it has reached either end it will remain there. \|Jamie Raymond\|\|Matthias Felleisen\| 01 december 2003
Researchers have found ways to realise a modern version of the medieval alchemists’ dream – not turning base metals into gold, but conjuring energy from greenhouse gases, exploiting abundant pollutants to help to power the world. Korean scientists have developed a sophisticated fuel cell that consumes carbon dioxide and produces electricity and hydrogen – potentially another fuel – at the same time. Researchers based in the US and Spain have devised a nanoscale fabric that converts electromagnetic waves into electrical current. The dream is that a smartphone coated with the fabric could, without benefit of a battery, charge itself from the ambient wi-fi radiation that it exploits for texts, calls and data. German scientists have taken a leaf from nature’s book and applied it – so far in theory – to bulk cargo shipping. Salvinia molesta, a floating fern native to Brazil, isolates itself from water with a thin sheath of air. If the large carriers could adopt the Salvinia trick and incorporate a similar layer of air in the anti-fouling coating on the hull, this would reduce drag sufficiently to save 20 per cent of fuel costs. To the urals And in yet another demonstration of the ingenuity and innovative ambition on show in the world’s laboratories, another German team has looked at the large-scale climate economics of artificial photosynthesis – a system of semiconductors and oxides – that could draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and deliver stable chemical compounds. To take 10 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere each year would demand a forest that covered all Europe as far as the Urals. But to do the same job, a commercial forest of “artificial leaves” would require a land area about the size of the German federal state of Brandenburg. All these ideas are ready for further development. None is so far anywhere near the commercial market. But all are evidence that chemists, engineers, physicists and biologists have taken up the great climate challenge: how to power modern society without fuelling even faster global warming and climate change that could, ultimately, bring global economic growth to a devastating halt. And, as many researchers see it, that means not just by-passing the fossil fuels that drive climate change, but actively exploiting the ever-higher ratios of carbon dioxide now in the atmosphere, or soon to emerge from power station chimneys. Scientists at UNIST, Korea’s National Institute of Science and Technology, report in the journal iScience that in collaboration with engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US they have already developed a hybrid sodium-carbon dioxide system of electrolytes that converts dissolved carbon dioxide to sodium bicarbonate and hydrogen, with a flow of electric current. Efficiency is high – with 50 per cent of the carbon dioxide exploited – and could be higher. And their test apparatus so far has run in stable fashion for 1000 hours. The system uses a new approach to materials to exploit something in the air everywhere. And that too is exactly what researchers in the US have done: they report in the journal Nature that they have fashioned a flexible sheet of ultra-thin material that serves as what they call a “rectenna”: a radio-frequency antenna that harvests radiation, including wi-fi signals, as alternating current waveforms, and feeds them to a nanoscale semiconductor that converts it to direct current. So far, the rectenna devices have produced 40 microwatts of power: enough to fire up a light-emitting diode, or power a silicon chip. “We have come up with a new way to power the electronics systems of the future – by harvesting wi-fi energy in a way that’s easily integrated in large areas – to bring intelligence to every object around us,” said Tomás Palacios, an electrical engineer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and one of the authors. The waterweed Salvinia molesta exploits bubbles to keep itself afloat but out of the water: it literally rides in the water on a little magic carpet of air. The hydrophobic plant is regarded as an invasive pest, but the way it harnesses air to keep itself afloat and on top of things provides a lesson not just for evolutionary biologists but for engineers. Researchers from the University of Bonn have been looking at the problem of the global shipping fleet: cargo freighters burn 250 million tonnes of fuel a year and emit a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, much of it because of the sheer drag of moving a hull through the waves. So anything that reduces drag saves fuel (which accounts for half of all transport costs). The German scientists report in the Philosophical Transactions A of the Royal Society that their experiments with hull coatings based on the lessons of Salvinia could in the medium term cut fuel costs by up to 20 per cent and on a global scale reduce emissions by 130 million tonnes a year. If the same coating discouraged barnacles as well, the saving could reach 300 million tonnes – 1 per cent of global CO2 output. To keep global warming to the promised level of no more than 1.5°C, an ambition signed up to by 195 nations in Paris in 2015, global fossil fuel emissions will have to reach zero by 2050. Right now, nations are adding 42 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year. So there is pressure to find ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it. German scientists report in the journal Earth System Dynamics that they did the sums and calculated that to take 10 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere using the machinery supplied by 3 billion years of evolution would require new forest plantations that stretched over 10 million kilometres. This is about the size of continental Europe. But supposing artificial leaf systems developed in laboratories could be further developed on a massive scale? These leaves would draw down carbon dioxide and deliver it for permanent storage or for chemical conversion to plastic or building material. If so, then efficient synthetic photosynthesis installations could do the same job from an area of only 30,000 square kilometres. “These kinds of modules could be placed in non-agricultural regions – in deserts, for example. In contrast to plants, they require hardly any water to operate,” said Matthias May of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, one of the authors. It would of course come at a formidable cost – about €650 bn or US$740 bn a year. “The best thing now,” Dr May said, “would be to drastically reduce emissions immediately – that would be safer and much cheaper.” This story was published with permission from Climate News Network. Thanks for reading to the end of this story! We would be grateful if you would consider joining as a member of The EB Circle. This helps to keep our stories and resources free for all, and it also supports independent journalism dedicated to sustainable development. It only costs as little as S$5 a month, and you would be helping to make a big difference.
A recent publication by C·I·B research associates has shown that springtails (Collembola) are able to withstand (resistant) and recover (resilient) from fires in Fynbos ecosystems. Dr Charlene Janion-Scheepers and Prof Steven Chown, both from Monash University (Australia) and colleagues undertook a study to investigate how springtails respond to fires. Fire swept through Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, South Africa, during February 2009 (Photo credit: Jennifer Lee) A litter trap when removed from the field (Photo credit: Charlene Janion-Scheepers) Like many other soil organisms, springtails play an important role in soil ecosystems. Springtails add nutrients to the soil by speeding up the process of decomposition and help with the formation of soil microstructure. Despite their importance in soil ecosystems, little is known about their response to fires, a major structuring force in Fynbos ecosystems. In their study, the authors investigated the response of springtails to an unplanned fire in the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, South Africa, by monitoring species richness and abundance one year before and three years after a fire. The springtail groups in this Fynbos system showed slightly more resistance to fire than resilience after the fire, but with important differences among Erica- and Protea- dominated areas. Although the Fynbos springtail groups had not fully recovered to pre-fire abundance after three years, many species appear to be resistant to or recover rapidly after fires, at least as determined over the relatively short (four years) duration of the study. “It is likely that this response was influenced by the availability of suitable refugia within the sites sampled and by species-specific traits,” explains Charlene Janion-Scheepers, lead author of the paper published in Applied Soil Ecology. Charlene adds, “given changing fire regimes and the increasing frequency of fires due to human activities, the system will likely become more dominated by resistant springtail species that prefer nutrient rich environments and easily decomposed litter. This study not only highlights the resilience of springtails to fire in the Fynbos system, but also their use as biological Read the paper in Applied Soil Ecology Bengtsson, J., Leinaas, H.P., Deharveng, L., Chown, S.L. (2016) The response of springtails to fire in the fynbos of the Western Cape, South Africa. Applied Soil Ecology. Volume 108, December 2016, Pages 165–175. For more information, contact Charlene at [email protected] Examples of springtails (Collembola) from the Western Cape, South Africa (Photo credit: Charlene Janion-Scheepers)
March 24, 2015 Largest asteroid crater on Earth discovered in Australia A nearly 250 mile (400 km) wide impact zone recently discovered in Central Australia is being called the largest asteroid-caused crater ever discovered, according to research published earlier this month in the international earth sciences journal Tectonophysics.The impact craters were discovered hidden deep beneath the Earth’s crust by geophysicists from the Australian National University’s School of Archaeology and Anthropology, and according to Discovery News, they were caused by the most powerful asteroid impact ever discovered. Lead investigator Dr. Andrew Glikson and his colleagues believe that the craters were created by a massive asteroid that broke into two pieces just prior to making impact, and the force generated by its violent collision likely had a devastating impact on creatures living at the time. “The two asteroids must each have been over 10 kilometers across – it would have been curtains for many life species on the planet at the time,” explained Dr. Glikson, who is also affiliated with the ANU Planetary Science Institute. He added that “large impacts like these may have had a far more significant role in the Earth’s evolution than previously thought.” A bit of a mystery While the impact crater itself is long gone, buried 19 miles (30 km) beneath the surface in rock that is at least 300 million years old, its imprint on the Earth’s crust remains, the website said. It was found in the Warburton Basin in Central Australia, in a region close to the borders of South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory, the researchers noted. The asteroid believed to have caused the impact would have been far larger than the one that was responsible for the famous Chicxulub crater located beneath Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, which is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs more than 65 million years ago. The Warburton Basin impact zone is twice the size of the Chicxulub one, and was caused by two impactors, each about the same size as the six-mile (10 km) wide asteroid that caused the Mexican crater. The impacts were discovered accidentally during a geothermal research project. While drilling more than a mile into the Earth’s crust, the team found traces of rocks that had been turned into glass by the extreme temperature and pressure resulting from a major impact event. A magnetic model of the deep crust there found chemical composition corresponding to that typically found in the mantle, including high amounts of iron and magnesium, the study authors said. After the Chicxulub impact, a huge quantity of debris was shot into the atmosphere, covering the globe in a tell-tale layer of sediment. However, no such layer has been found in relation to the Warburton Basin event, Dr. Glikson said, which leads to a bit of a mystery, as he said that there is no evidence of a mass extinction event that matches the timing of the collisions. For that reason, he believes that the impact might even be even more than 300 million years old. The goal now is to uncover additional evidence for the impact to determine exactly when it happened and what impact it had on the planet.
Insects have a spatial orientation memory that helps them remember the location of their destination if they are briefly deflected from their route. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have examined how this working memory functions on the biochemical level in the case of Drosophila melanogaster. They have identified two gaseous messenger substances that play an important role in signal transmission in the nerve cells, i.e., nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide. The short-term working memory is stored with the help of the messenger substances in a small group of ring-shaped neurons in the ellipsoid body in the central brain of Drosophila. Flies form a memory of locations they are heading for. This memory is retained for approximately four seconds. This means that if a fly, for instance, deviates from its route for about a second, it can still return to its original direction of travel. "This recall function represents the key that enables us to investigate the biochemistry of working memory," said Professor Roland Strauss of JGU's Institute of Developmental Biology and Neurobiology. The researchers are particularly interested in learning how a network in an insect's brain can build such an orientation memory and how exactly the related biochemical processes function. Working on her doctoral thesis, Dr. Sara Kuntz found to her surprise that there are two gaseous neurotransmitters that are involved in information transmission. These gaseous messenger substances do not follow the normal route of signal transmission via the synaptic cleft but can diffuse directly across the membrane of neighboring nerve cells without docking to receptors. It was already known that, for the purposes of memory formation, nitric oxide (NO) is essential for the feedback of information between two nerve cells. What has now emerged is that NO also acts as a secondary messenger substance in connection with the amplification of the output signals of neurons. This function of nitric oxide can apparently also be assumed by hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Although researchers were aware that this gas plays a role in the control of blood pressure, they had no idea that it had another function in the nervous system. "It has long been assumed that hydrogen sulfide was harmful to the nervous system. But the results of our research show that it is also of importance as a secondary messenger substance," explained Strauss. "We were absolutely astonished to discover that there are two gaseous neurotransmitters that are important to memory." Biochemical signal transduction pathway for visual working memory Strauss and his colleagues postulate that both neurotransmitters together with cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) form the perfect storage media for short-term memories. They presume the process functions as follows: The fruit fly sees an orientation point and moves in its direction, at which point nitric oxide is formed. The nitric oxide stimulates an enzyme that then synthesizes cGMP. Either the nitric oxide itself or cGMP accumulate in a segment of the doughnut-shaped ellipsoid body that corresponds to the original direction taken by the fly. The ellipsoid body is located in the central complex of the insect brain and is divided into 16 segments, rather like slices of cake, each of which represents a particular spatial orientation. Given that a Drosophila fly deviates from its path because it loses sight of its initial orientation point and temporarily becomes aware of another, that fly is then able to get back on its original course because a relatively large quantity of NO or cGMP has accumulated in the corresponding ellipsoid body segment. However, all of this only functions under one condition. The memory is only called up if the fly does not see anything in the interim, the fly must also lose sight of the second orientation point. "The recall function only becomes relevant when there is nothing more to see and readily acts as an orientation aid for periods of up to four seconds," explained Dr. Sara Kuntz, primary author of the study, adding that this seemingly short time span of four seconds is perfectly adequate to enable a fly to deal with such a problem. "The ellipsoid body retains the backup copy to span any such brief interruptions." There is no point in having a working memory with a longer duration as objects that have been selected as orientation points are not necessarily anchored in place but may themselves also move.
Dragonfly Nymph Toxicity A week long experiment is set-up to show how household toxins can affect aquatic organisms. Students will get to see how parameters such as toxin dose and exposure time can affect the outcome. Dragonfly nymphs are used due to their abundance and sensitivity to toxins. 1. Set up a toxicity experiment using control groups 2. Understand how toxins move through the environment and bioaccumulate 3. Gather biological specimens Lesson Materials (view or download) point source pollution, bioaccumulation, toxicity Last updated: 3/9/2015
Green chemistry, also called sustainable chemistry, is a chemical philosophy encouraging the design of products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Whereas environmental chemistry is the chemistry of the natural environment, and of pollutant chemicals in nature, green chemistry seeks to reduce and prevent pollution at its source. In 1990 the Pollution Prevention Act was passed in the United States. This act helped create a modus operandi for dealing with pollution in an original and innovative way. It aims to avoid problems before they happen. As a chemical philosophy, green chemistry applies to organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and even physical chemistry. While green chemistry seems to focus on industrial applications, it does apply to any chemistry choice. Click chemistry is often cited as a style of chemical synthesis that is consistent with the goals of green chemistry. The focus is on minimizing the hazard and maximizing the efficiency of any chemical choice. It is distinct from environmental chemistry which focuses on chemical phenomena in the environment. In 2005 Ryoji Noyori identified three key developments in green chemistry: use of supercritical carbon dioxide as green solvent, aqueous hydrogen peroxide for clean oxidations and the use of hydrogen in asymmetric synthesis. Examples of applied green chemistry are supercritical water oxidation, on water reactions and dry media reactions. Bioengineering is also seen as a promising technique for achieving green chemistry goals. A number of important process chemicals can be synthesized in engineered organisms, such as shikimate, a Tamiflu precursor which is fermented by Roche in bacteria. There is some debate as to whether green chemistry includes a consideration of economics, but by definition, if green chemistry is not applied, it cannot accomplish the reduction in the "use or generation of hazardous substances."
A column chart is the staple of data analytics. Everyone has them. Everyone knows how to read them. But in a world of more information, can they leave a lasting data impression?What does the data above tell you? Could the X axis be items? Is the Y axis a quantitative value? Believe it or not, it is a column graph visualization of Anscombe’s Quartet. This is not the best way to visualize this data. In the previous blog post in this series, we discussed the abilities, and limitations, of our brain to retain information it has been presented. Humans have limited capacity and duration when it comes to short term memory. And even shorter attention spans. By representing data visually, we attempt to overcome these limitations and leave a lasting data impression on the users. Data Impression Concept 1: Classifications of Data Data is consumed faster when we can group like data points into something we have experienced before1. These are data classifications. There are 4 ways we classify data: Ordinal data is where the value, or rank, of the data matters, but the relationship between the values bares no meaning, such as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in a race. Interval data is where the value can be measured on a scale and the difference between data points has a numerical significant, such as 10 kph verses 5 kph. Ratio data is a measured value where one point is directly compared to another and the 0-value difference is significant, such as 10 kph is twice as fast as 5 kph. Data Impression Concept 2: Encoding of Data Now that we have defined the different types of data points, it is important to know how we best use our sensory register. Encoding1 is the practice of representing data. There are 10 different ways to encode data. These are Position, Length, Slope, Area, Volume, Shape, Color Hue, Color Saturation, Contrast, and Texture. Color Hue is providing data a color to help distinguish different data points which also indicates that the values are distinctly different.Color Saturation uses a scale of data that is colored to a color’s gradient scale that would not only indicate category, but a quantitative value as well.Contrast is a similar method to Color Saturation, however works more from a Black to White scale with a color in the middle rather than the saturation of a particular color.Texture is encoding data on a scale that goes from a dense texture (such as crosshatch), to a less dense texture of the same, or similar, pattern. To bring data types and data encoding together, we’ll examine the average High and Low Fahrenheit temperatures in November for 5 major cities in the US. The easiest way to interpret the difference between the data points is to plot them so that the position of the points can be related to each other, like a scatter chart. We represent to nominal “City” data with a label. We represent the nominal “Temperature” label as a color hue. The High and Low temperatures are depicted as intervals on a single scale, which helps us recognize that position matters. An even better way be to order these from highest to lowest average high temperature so that the nominal “City” data can be ordinal. To prove that not all visualizations are right for the data, the next 2 examples depict how visualizations can be misleading. If we were to represent these points as slope, we would still be able to discern what values are which. However, it gets harder to interpret the data because we assume the rise and fall mean something. Which in our case, the average high temperature between cities does not. If we skip to this hardest way to interpret data, we can color these individual values. The data is hard to distinguish differences between values. This is not to mention that Color Vision Deficiency (or CVD) affects almost 5% of our population, with 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women affected2. For example, the low temperature in Los Angeles verses the high temperature in New York. We consume categorized and encoded data daily whether we realize it or not. Street sign use position to help drivers understand the order of cities to come. Hills or inclines are evaluated to determine if we need to be cautious or not. We use colors to inform us whether things are safe to continue or if we need to be aware. Conclusion: Data that Leaves Impressions Now we know how our memory works, as well as how we best perceive information,. So now we can now encode data for the best end user data impression. The next installment of this blog post series discusses 2 new visualization types. Packed bubble charts verses tree maps. Plus, we identify the merits and drawbacks of each. 1. Qlik: Create Visualizations with Qlik Sense. QlikTech International AB. Published March 2016. 2. Colour Blind Awareness. Retrieved November 2018. Color Blindness. http://www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/
After Prince’s sudden death last week, we saw an outpouring of grief, memories, tributes, retrospectives, and purple, the artist’s iconic color. While nobody wore purple like Prince did, the English language has long been sporting the hue. The English purple is actually a variation on an earlier form, purpure. Those double r’s can be tricky to say, so, in a process called dissimilation, English speakers transformed the second r into l, a related sound. Purple and purpure are both found in Old English, when they first referred to purple garments. The color historically shaded towards a dark red, such as crimson, and bedecked emperors, kings, senators, and, at one point, cardinals. Purple long signaled power. But by the 15th century, purple sheds its clothes – and status – to name the color as such. English borrowed purpure both from French and directly from Latin, which had purpura. Like English’s purple, this purpura meant “purple garment” and the color “purple,” but it also signified “purple dye.” For, as the Oxford English Dictionary paints it, purple was fundamentally a pigment “obtained from the hypobranchial gland of various gastropod molluscs found in the Mediterranean.” Or sea snails. The ancient Phoenician city of Tyre made its name for the dye it famously produced: Tyrian purple. Making this dye was an expensive and laborious process, and so only the wealthiest could afford it, hence the color’s historic association with status and power. Latin’s purpura is from the Ancient Greek, πορϕύρα (porphyra), similarly naming “purple” in color, cloth, and shellfish. Etymologists suspect the Greek word is ultimately loaned from a Semitic source. Citing the use of purple to describe the sea, philologist Walter Skeat suggests purple is formed from a Greek verb meaning “to stir up,” as in the waters of a wine-dark ocean amid the purple-dark clouds of a storm. Skeat’s explanation is a bit of etymological purple prose, however; this expression for “excessively ornate writing” we can ultimately credit to the Roman poet Horace. While Skeat’s theory for purple washes right out, his reference to “wine-dark seas” in Homeric verse is still significant in the story of color words. The story is a truly fascinating one, involving the astonishingly late development of blue, that ubiquitous color of sea and sky, in language. I’ll leave its telling to the radio show and podcast, Radiolab: “Why Isn’t the Sky Blue?” The association between the artist’s name and purple’s royal past certainly suggest a reason Prince so branded himself with the color. But perhaps there are other explanations, too. As an artist, Prince blends (and bends) so many genres into his music, so many identities into his persona. Perhaps like purple, a color that blends red and blue. Or purple, whose history blends both the high and low, worn by god-like kings but worked out of the sea.
Not all science teaching leads to scientifically literate students — students who can apply their knowledge to make sense of their own lives and make a difference in the world around them. But when teaching explicitly incorporates scientific literacy, it produces motivated students with a deep understanding of science concepts. This Literacy in Science series shows just how easy it can be to make scientific literacy activities a regular, engaging part of your science programme — and to reap the rewards. The accessible resource materials have been designed for customising: you can choose the set of activities on the concept relevant to your current focus and use it to either consolidate learning or really delve into the concept and its real-life implications. As well as offering a diversity of topics within each science discipline, activities cover the full range of learning contexts from individual independent work to whole-class tasks. Ages: 12-16 years
MBARI uses several types of robots for oceanographic research, each designed with different strengths to accomplish different missions. We put cameras, sonars, and other sensors on the robots, then send them where it is too risky, too expensive, or the job is too repetitive and boring for humans. These robots are really an enabling technology because they allow our scientists to ask and answer questions that they otherwise could not. For detailed investigations over small areas and short periods, remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) are MBARI’s workhorse robots. They are powerful and flexible–carrying high-definition cameras and modular tool sleds that can be configured for a wide variety of tasks, from collecting sediment cores to sampling hydrothermal vents to scanning a larvacean with a laser. An ROV essentially gives us eyes and hands deep underwater, letting us observe the environment and interact with it to conduct our science experiments. Since it is connected to a ship by a tether, we have high-bandwidth communication for video and sensor data, and can keep a human pilot in the loop to drive the ROV and use its manipulators to achieve complex tasks. The tether connection also gives our ROVs plenty of power for light, sensors, and precise maneuvering control. But that comes at a cost–since the ROV is connected to a ship it has limited mobility, and all operations include the cost of the ship, its fuel, and its crew. For longer missions over larger areas, we use untethered robots. These Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have more mobility, but limited power and intelligence. They need to operate on their own, so they carry batteries for energy, acoustic and radio transponders for navigation, and complex software for mission execution, decision making, and fault tolerance. Without a human in the loop, the robot must react on its own. But it also is not subjected to fatigue or limited attention. These vehicles are well-suited to long, repetitive, and well-defined tasks like making a detailed bathymetric map, or yo-yoing down and back up through the water column between specified waypoints, measuring temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll fluorescence. We use large propeller-driven AUVs for day-long missions with high-power payloads (seafloor mapping) or fast missions with high-volume payloads (plankton gulper) and small buoyancy-driven gliders with low-power sensors for long-term monitoring missions lasting over a month. In the space between, we have long-range AUVs that can operate several days to weeks carrying low- and medium-power sensors, using both buoyancy engine and Some of our investigations are focused on the surface–the interface between the atmosphere above and the ocean below. Autonomous surface vehicles, like the wave-glider, are ideal for these missions because they can put sensors right at the boundary, above, and below. We can communicate with our ASVs via radio or satellite, and they can navigate using GPS, so they are easier to work with in some ways than AUVs. But they also must deal with the challenges presented by other ships, waves, and weather. We are beginning to use ASVs for many of the well-defined, repetitive tasks that ocean scientists used to need ships for. And at the same time we are developing ways to use them as communication gateways and navigation aids for submerged AUVs. Together, all of these robots are really a set of tools to help scientists study our ocean. To test a hypothesis, you need to choose the right tool for the job–and in some cases you need to make a new tool. Sometimes that means a new kind of robot, and other times it means a new method: using several robots together as a team, and leveraging the strengths of each team member. That is what we are moving toward with our robots–using gliders for long-term monitoring, bringing in LRAUVs and wave gliders for more intensive studies, and using data from those to direct short-term, targeted missions for the larger AUVs and the ROV with the ship.
- Explain the effect of surface temperature on atmospheric pressure - Evaluate the effect of latitude, altitude, cloud cover, and coastal or inland location on local surface temperature - Describe the effect of the Coriolis force on high and low atmospheric pressure systems in the Northern and Southern hemisphere - Relate the Coriolis force to the major (global) wind systems on the plane - Global Circulation - Global circulation is driven by pressure gradients in the atmosphere, the Coriolis force, and the friction of the atmosphere against the lithosphere. All of these may be summarized in a phenomenon we call ‘wind’. Wind is the horizontal movement of air in response to differences in pressure. Winds are the way that the atmosphere tries to balance the uneven distribution of pressure over the earth’s surface.
Collecting Collocations: Speak like a Native! Collocations in the English language refer to the relationship that is formed between certain words. The connection is so strong that it would sound strange to replace either word for one with the exact same meaning. For example, the term “fast food” is a generally accepted collocation. “Quick” and “fast” mean the same thing, but If you swapped the word “fast” for “quick” and instead said “quick food”, people would have no idea that you were referring to a takeaway restaurant. Similarly, if you changed the word “food” for “meal” and said “fast meal”, you might receive a strange look from whomever you are talking to. Word pairings are very important in English, and unfortunately there is no easy rule to learn; you just have to try and remember. The hardest part about collocations is that native speakers won’t necessarily know why the wrong words sound strange: the general rule is just “that’s what sounds right!” But the good news is that, once you’ve mastered collocations, you’ll sound just like a native speaker. Categorising collocations can make it easier to learn them. Strong vs weak collocations Strong collocations are those with words that don’t match to many other words. The connection is quite strong because there are very few other acceptable options to say the same thing. For example, the expression “turn on a light” is a strong collocation. Most other synonyms will sound very strange and unnatural, whether “start a light”, “activate a light”, etc. Weak collocations are the reverse of this. They include words that have many other options. The expression “very interesting” is commonly used, but the collocation is weak: “extremely interesting”, and “really interesting” are all acceptable substitutes. Collocations can also be sorted into grammatical categories. These include: Adjective + noun: - strong coffee (not “heavy coffee”) - heavy traffic (not “large traffic”) - express mail (not “quick mail”) Adverb + adjective: - partly cloudy (not “slightly cloudy”) - happily married (not “gladly married”) - highly generous (not “greatly generous”) Noun + noun: - bars of soap (not “bricks of soap”) - round of applause (not “bang of applause”) - a swarm of insects (not “a herd of insects”) Noun + verb: - prices fall (not “prices descend”) - a lion roars (not “a lion shouts”) - the wind howls (not “the wind screams”) Verb + noun: - make the bed (not “do the bed”) - do the shopping (not “make the shopping”) - put on clothes (not “place on clothes”) Verb + expression with a preposition - He comments on the painting. (not “He comments about the painting.”) - participate in a conference (not “participate at a conference”) - explain to someone (not “explain at someone”) Verb + adverb: - drive safely (not “drive securely”) - choose wisely (not “choose smartly”) - responded quickly (not “responded swiftly”) The case for collocations If you don’t learn about collocations, you will still be able to get by with the English language. However, you will find your speaking seems a lot more natural and native if you get them correct. They also make learning English slightly easier, as you are learning new chunks of words rather than trying to remember single words out of context. Reading is an excellent way to learn new collocations, as you will soon recognise the ones that are used most often. It is likely that you will pick up a few well-known collocations through speaking with English locals without even realising it. Are there any you can think of that haven’t been mentioned in this blog? Check out some more useful grammar tips:
While glaciers globally are shedding billions of tons of ice each year, the Himalayas aren’t, a study shows. A University of Colorado Boulder study shows that the Earth’s glaciers and ice caps outside Greenland and Antarctica are shedding roughly 150 billion tons of ice, and adding roughly 0.4 millimeters to sea levels, each year. Total sea level rise from all land-based ice on Earth, including Greenland and Antarctica, was roughly 1.5 millimeters per year annually or about one-half inch from 2003 to 2010. This figure includes the expansion of water due to warming. “This is the first time anyone has looked at all of the mass loss from all of Earth’s glaciers and ice caps with GRACE,” says CU-Boulder physics professor John Wahr. “The Earth is losing an incredible amount of ice to the oceans annually, and these new results will help us answer important questions in terms of both sea rise and how the planet’s cold regions are responding to global change.” The team used GRACE data to calculate that the ice loss from both Greenland and Antarctica, including their peripheral ice caps and glaciers, was roughly 385 billion tons of ice each year. The total mass ice loss from Greenland, Antarctica and all Earth’s glaciers and ice caps from 2003 to 2010 was about 1,000 cubic miles. One unexpected resultwas that the estimated ice loss from high Asia mountains – including ranges like the Himalaya, the Pamir and the Tien Shan – was only about four billion tons of ice per year – less than a tenth of some previous estimates. “The GRACE results in this region really were a surprise,” says Wahr. “One possible explanation is that previous estimates were based on measurements taken primarily from some of the lower, more accessible glaciers in Asia and were extrapolated to infer the behavior of higher glaciers. But unlike the lower glaciers, many of the high glaciers would still be too cold to lose mass even in the presence of atmospheric warming.”
The food that people eat is just as important as what kind of cars they drive when it comes to creating the greenhouse-gas emissions that many scientists have linked to global warming, according to a report accepted for publication in the April issue of the journal Earth Interactions. Both the burning of fossil fuels during food production and non-carbon dioxide emissions associated with livestock and animal waste contribute to the problem, the University of Chicago’s Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin wrote in the report. The average American diet requires the production of an extra ton and a half of carbon dioxide-equivalent, in the form of actual carbon dioxide as well as methane and other greenhouse gases compared to a strictly vegetarian diet, according to Eshel and Martin. And with Earth Day approaching on April 22, cutting down on just a few eggs or hamburgers each week is an easy way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, they said. “We neither make a value judgment nor do we make a categorical statement,” said Eshel, an Assistant Professor in Geophysical Sciences. “We say that however close you can be to a vegan diet and further from the mean American diet, the better you are for the planet. It doesn’t have to be all the way to the extreme end of vegan. If you simply cut down from two burgers a week to one, you’ve already made a substantial difference.” The average American drives 8,322 miles by car annually, emitting 1.9 to 4.7 tons of carbon dioxide, depending on the vehicle model and fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, Americans also consume an average of 3,774 calories of food each day. In 2002, energy used for food production accounted for 17 percent of all fossil fuel use in the United States. And the burning of these fossil fuels emitted three-quarters of a ton of carbon dioxide per person. That alone amounts to approximately one-third the average greenhouse-gas emissions of personal transportation. But livestock production and associated animal waste also emit greenhouse gases not associated with fossil-fuel combustion, primarily methane and nitrous oxide. “An example would be manure lagoons that are associated with large-scale pork production,” Eshel said. “Those emit a lot of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.” While methane and nitrous oxide are relatively rare compared with carbon dioxide, they are — molecule for molecule — far more powerful greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. A single pound of methane, for example, has the same greenhouse effect as approximately 50 pounds of carbon dioxide. In their study, Eshel and Martin compared the energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions that underlie five diets: average American, red meat, fish, poultry and vegetarian (including eggs and dairy), all equaling 3,774 calories per day. The vegetarian diet turned out to be the most energy-efficient, followed by poultry and the average American diet. Fish and red meat virtually tied as the least efficient. The impact of producing fish came as the study’s biggest surprise to Martin, an Assistant Professor in Geophysical Sciences. “Fish can be from one extreme to the other,” Martin said. Sardines and anchovies flourish near coastal areas and can be harvested with minimal energy expenditure. But swordfish and other large predatory species required energy-intensive long-distance voyages. Martin and Eshel’s research indicated that plant-based diets are healthier for people as well as for the planet. “The adverse effects of dietary animal fat intake on cardiovascular diseases is by now well established. Similar effects are also seen when meat, rather than fat, intake is considered,” Martin and Eshel wrote. “To our knowledge, there is currently no credible evidence that plant-based diets actually undermine health; the balance of available evidence suggests that plant-based diets are at the very least just as safe as mixed ones, and most likely safer.” In their next phase of research, Eshel and Martin will examine the energy expenditures associated with small organic farms, to see if they offer a healthier planetary alternative to large agribusiness companies. Such farms typically provide the vegetables sufficient to support 200 to 300 families on plots of five to 10 acres. “We’re starting to investigate whether you can downscale food production and be efficient that way,” Martin said.
The Cane Toad is tough and adaptable, as well as being poisonous throughout its life cycle, and has few predators in Australia. Cane Toads (Rhinella marina) are large heavily-built amphibians with dry warty skin. They have a bony head and over their eyes are bony ridges that meet above the nose. They sit upright and move in short rapid hops. Their hind feet have leathery webbing between the toes and their front feet are unwebbed. Adult Cane Toads have large swellings - the parotoid glands - on each shoulder behind the eardrum Cane Toads may be grey, yellowish, olive-brown or reddish-brown, and their bellies are pale with dark mottling. Average-sized adults are 10-15 cm long. The largest female measured in Queensland was 24 cm long and weighed 1.3 kg. Male Cane Toads are smaller and wartier than females. During the breeding season males develop dark lumps (nuptial pads) on their first two fingers; these help them cling to a female while mating. Their mating call is a long loud purring trill. Young Cane Toads have a smooth dark skin with darker blotches and bars, and lack conspicuous parotoid glands. They can be distinguished from some native Australian frogs because they sit upright and are active in the daytime in dense clusters. Cane Toad tadpoles are shiny black on top and have a plain dark belly and a short thin tail. They are smaller (less than 3.5 cm long) than most native tadpoles and often gather in huge numbers in shallow water. Cane Toad spawn is unique in Australia. It is laid in long strings of transparent jelly enclosing double rows of black eggs. The spawn tangles in dense dark masses around water plants, and hangs in ropy strands if picked up. Cane Toads are found in habitats ranging from sand dunes and coastal heath to the margins of rainforest and mangroves. They are most abundant in open clearings in urban areas, and in grassland and woodland. The natural range of Cane Toads extends from the southern United States to tropical South America. They were deliberately introduced from Hawaii to Australia in 1935, to control scarab beetles that were pests of sugar cane. In 2002, Cane Toads occur throughout the eastern and northern half of Queensland and have extended their range to the river catchments surrounding Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. In New South Wales they occur on the coast as far south as Yamba, and there is an isolated colony near Port Macquarie. Feeding and diet Cane Toads eat almost anything they can swallow, including pet food, carrion and household scraps, but most of their food is living insects. Beetles, honey bees, ants, winged termites, crickets and bugs are eaten in abundance. Marine snails, smaller toads and native frogs, small snakes, and small mammals are occasionally eaten by Cane Toads.The tadpoles of Cane Toads eat algae and other aquatic plants which they rasp off with five rows of tiny peg-like teeth. They also filter organic matter from the water. Large tadpoles sometimes eat Cane Toad eggs. Other behaviours and adaptations Adult Cane Toads are active at night during the warm months of the year. During the day and in cold or dry weather they shelter in moist crevices and hollows, sometimes excavating depressions beneath logs, rocks and debris. They can survive the loss of up to 50% of their body water, and can survive temperatures ranging from 5ºC - 40ºC. Life history cycle Predators of Cane Toad tadpoles in Australia include dragonfly nymphs, water beetles, Saw-shelled Turtles and Keelback Snakes. Keelbacks also eat young toads; laboratory tests have shown that they can tolerate low levels of toad toxins. Young or adult Cane Toads are eaten by wolf spiders, freshwater crayfish, Estuarine Crocodile, crows, White-faced Heron, kites, Bush Stone-curlew, Tawny Frogmouth, Water Rat and the Giant White-tailed Rat. Some predators eat only the toad's tongue, or attack its belly and eat only the mildly poisonous internal organs. Cane Toads can breed in most still or slow-flowing water, and tolerate salinity levels up to 15%. Male Cane Toads start calling for mates after the first summer storms (in Australia that is about September) or when water temperatures reach 25º C. The choruses peak in January and finish by March. The males congregate after dark around shallow water and mount females as they arrive at the water's edge. The male grips the female in the armpits (this is called axillary amplexus) and she releases her eggs, which are fertilised externally by the male's sperm. Females lay 8,000 to 35,000 eggs at a time and may produce two clutches a year. The eggs hatch within 24-72 hours and the tadpole stage may last from three to twenty weeks, depending on food supply and water temperature - generally a range of 25-30ºC is needed for healthy development. The tadpoles gradually change (metamorphose) into toadlets 1-1.5 cm in length that leave the water and congregate in large numbers. Toads in the tropics grow very quickly and may reach sexual maturity within one year, but in temperate southern Queensland they mature in 18 months to two years. An adult lifespan of at least five years has been recorded in wild Cane Toads; captive individuals have lived for up to 15 years. Only about 0.5% of Cane Toad individuals that hatch from eggs survive to reach sexual maturity and reproduce. It is a prolific breeder, requiring only a small pool of water of almost any nature. Cane Toads were introduced to Australia to eat French's Cane Beetle and the Greyback Cane Beetle. The 'whitegrub' larvae of these beetles eat the roots of sugar cane and kill or stunt the plants. The Australian Bureau of Sugar Experimental Stations imported about 100 toads from Hawaii to the Meringa Experimental Station near Cairns. The toads bred quickly and more than 3000 were released in the sugar cane plantations of north Queensland in July 1935. At that time, some naturalists and scientists warned of the dangers of liberating Cane Toads in Australia. The protesters included a former New South Wales Government Entomologist, W W Froggatt, and an Australian Museum Curator, Roy Kinghorn. Their protests resulted in a brief moratorium on the release of toads, but releases resumed in 1936. The Cane Toad is tough and adaptable as well as being poisonous throughout its life cycle. It has few predators in Australia, which is bad news for competing native amphibians, and it may be responsible for the population decline of the few snakes and other species that do prey on it. Cane Toads are considered a pest in Australia because they: - poison pets and injure humans with their toxins - poison many native animals whose diet includes frogs, tadpoles and frogs' eggs - eat large numbers of honey bees, creating a management problem for bee-keepers - prey on native fauna - compete for food with vertebrate insectivores such as small skinks - may carry diseases that are can be transmitted to native frogs and fishes. Scientists at the CSIRO Animal Health Laboratory in Victoria have been searching for biological controls of Cane Toads and in 2001 they began investigating gene technology as a mechanism of control. Scientists at the University of Adelaide have isolated a sex pheromone in a native Australian frog; they hope that a similar pheromone will be found in Cane Toads and that it could be used to disrupt their breeding cycle. The main controls on the spread of Cane Toads in southern Australia are quarantine checks and public awareness and response. One publicity campaign on the north coast of New South Wales resulted in 100 people collecting more than 900 Cane Toads. If you think you have seen a Cane Toad, please catch it or report your sighting to a National Parks office or your state museum. It is important to confirm the identity before disposing of a suspected toad, because two-thirds of suspects turn out to be harmless native frogs (such as the Banjo Frog) that need our protection. Danger to humans All stages of the Cane Toad's life-cycle are poisonous. The poison produced by the parotoid glands acts principally on the heart. No humans have died in Australia from Cane Toad poison but overseas, people have died after eating toads and even soup made from boiled toad eggs. Cane Toads are also poisonous to pets and in Hawaii up to 50 dogs a year have died after mouthing Cane Toads. Signs of poisoning through ingestion include profuse salivation, twitching, vomiting, shallow breathing, and collapse of the hind limbs. Death may occur by cardiac arrest within 15 minutes. Australian native fauna that have been killed by eating or mouthing Cane Toads include goannas, Freshwater Crocodile, Tiger Snake, Red-bellied Black Snake, Death Adder, Dingo and Western Quoll. A Cane Toad responds to threat by turning side-on so its parotoid glands are directed towards the attacker. The poison usually oozes out of the glands, but toads can squirt a fine spray for a short distance if they are handled roughly. The poison is absorbed through mucous membranes such as eyes, mouth and nose, and in humans may cause intense pain, temporary blindness and inflammation. First aid treatment includes irrigating (washing with a lot of water) the eyes, mouth and nose if they have been exposed to toad poison. Seek medical attention if symptoms persist. When handling any frog or toad, protect the eyes, wear gloves, and thoroughly wash hands before and after touching the animal. - Bennett, B. 1996. Preparing for battle with Bufo marinus. Ecos 89: 28-30. - Casey, K. 1996. Attracting Frogs to Your Garden. Kimberley Publications, Upper Mount Gravatt, Queensland. [pp. 46-56: The Cane Toad]. - Covacevich, J. and Archer, M. 1975. The distribution of the Cane Toad, Bufo marinus, in Australia and its effects on indigenous vertebrates. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 17(2): 305-310. - Easteal, S. 1993. Family Bufonidae. pp. 69-72 in Glasby, C J, Ross, G J B and Beesley, P L (eds) Fauna of Australia. Volume 2A. Amphibia & Reptilia. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra. - Grigg, G. 2000. Cane Toads vs native frogs. Nature Australia 26(9): 32-41. - Lewis, M. 1988. Cane toads: an unnatural history. Film Australia, Lindfield. [videorecording]. - Straughan, I.R. 1966. The natural history of the "Cane Toad" in Queensland. Australian Natural History 15(7): 230-232. - Tyler, M.J. 1999. Australian Frogs: a natural history. Reed. [pp. 104-127]
Eighth Grade Math Worksheets (Grade 8 - For Ages 13 to 14) Math in the 8th grade begins to prove more substantial as far as long range skills students will use and need. Students work towards mastery with the basic order of operations. Expressions, function tables, probability as begin to work at the core of this grade level. We also have another 30 or so "Do Now" math worksheets for grade 8 students here Need a complete step by step 8th grade math curriculum? Marsha Blake a middle school teacher from Perth Amboy, NJ described our curriculum as, "Wonderful! Better than all the textbooks we have here!" You can find it in our math Beginning of the School Year These worksheets are building off of last year's skills. They are part of the eighth grade curriculum, but they are usual learned in one shot. In our experience it is because they are very concrete skills that don't need much explanation. - Compare Exponents - Function Tables - Math Operations and Reasoning - Surface Area - Circle the Irrational Numbers - Operations with Exponents - Scientific Notation - Venn Diagrams These problems actually take more time to understand and may take two or three passes to really catch on. - Evaluate Expressions - Writing Expressions - Rewriting Fraction Equations - Order of Operations - Surface Area - Determine the Slope of a Line These are the skills that not everyone can grasp in just a few times going over it. These also happen to be the skills that many students have trouble with on standard tests. - The Truth of Inequalities - Probability as a Fraction - Solve Simultaneous Linear Equations - Monomial, Binomial, and Polynomial Operations - Graphing Linear Inequalities - Using Pythagorean Theorem - Midpoints and Equations of Straight Lines Ultimate Math Series - 20,000+ Worksheets - Ready to Go! Grade K-8 Math Series - Just Print It! - Teachers Love This!
Brianna Rupkalvis and Peter Troch Since the 1970’s, scientists have seen the potential for thermal infrared imaging to deduce soil moisture and soil evaporation. Progress in remote sensing and satellite development has applied this theory into site specific soil moisture projects, including application through the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). Global projects, like the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), rely on microwave wavelengths to measure water content in the top 5cm of soil. Currently, only aerial and satellite imagery provides a 2m to 1km resolution over their kilometer swaths, which vary in topography, land type, vegetation, and geology. The Biosphere 2, and more specifically the Landscape Evolution Observatory, offers a unique opportunity to study thermal imagery over a 0.7cm fine resolution on a homogeneous, zero order drainage basin. An ICI 9640P infrared camera will acquire 4.6m x 3.4m spectral images from 7µm - 14µm wavelengths of this bare soil hillslope. From these spectral images, spatial and temporal surface temperature variations can determine surface variations in soil moisture content and evaporation rates. This future research would provide comparison between remote sensing images and in-situ measurements, and further our understanding of the surface water budget.
Reactions can be caused by up to 170 different foods – everything from milk, eggs and peanuts, to soy, fish and tree nuts. And they can be fatal. For many, food allergies seem daunting and difficult to understand. So here we’re going to run through the basics on food allergens, which foods are most closely associated with them, and how to keep those around you safe and well. Allergy or intolerance? Firstly, it’s important to understand the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance. An allergy is an immune system response to a food protein that’s consumed or inhaled. The body’s immune system reacts by releasing histamine and other chemicals to attack the protein. These chemicals trigger allergic symptoms that can range from mild – such as a runny nose and itchy skin – to severe, like anaphylaxis, which can include swelling of the airways, difficulty breathing, a drop in blood pressure and unconsciousness. This reaction can be fatal if not treated in time. A food intolerance, on the other hand, occurs when the digestive system responds badly to a particular food. Usually this results in digestive discomfort, with stomach cramps or diarrhoea the telltale symptoms. The Common Culprits While the list of allergens is long, and you should consider a wide range of foods, the majority of reactions are caused by a manageable list of common allergens. For example, the ‘Big 8’ under United States law are eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. The European Union requires that 14 allergens are labelled, or indicated as being present, on food packaging. If you’re preparing food for someone you know has an allergy, always check your fresh ingredients, as well as the contents of any packaged food. Manufacturers are required to highlight the foods which are allergens. Check labels for phrases like “may contain...” or “made in a facility that also processes...” to alert you to allergen sources. If in doubt, it’s best to check with the person who has the allergy, who will know best which food could trigger an unwanted reaction. And if you’re feeding a young child, always check with their carer before giving them any food. When you’re cooking you can use a variety of methods (favoured by professionals) to substitute food allergens in your kitchens. Check up on allergies Just as it’s good practice to understand which foods can cause allergies and how to avoid them, it’s important to know what to do if someone does have a reaction. Since allergies can begin or worsen at any time in a person’s life, it’s possible that a dinner guest or family member could experience a reaction, even if you’ve checked your ingredients with them beforehand. If someone does exhibit allergic symptoms, ask again if they have food allergies. Many people with known food allergies carry medication. If they’re having trouble breathing, stay calm and call the emergency services immediately. Anaphylaxis can occur within seconds or minutes, can worsen quickly, and can be fatal, although most allergies can be treated effectively if help arrives quickly. Record what and how much the person ate and share the information with the emergency services. Preserve any suspect food. Let people know! Perhaps the most useful thing to remember about allergies is the importance of letting people know if you or your family members suffers from them. And if you’re feeding friends, ask them! By understanding food allergies we can all help to keep those around us fit and healthy. So spread the word – let’s talk food allergies! If you are a Chef, you can find tips for professionals at NutriPro.
DISTRIBUTION OF STRESSES 1. SCOPE. This chapter covers the analysis of stress conditions at a point, stresses beneath structures and embankments, and empirical methods for estimating loads on buried pipes, conduits, shafts, and tunnels. 2. RELATED CRITERIA. For certain criteria not covered in this publication, but concerning the design of buried pipes and conduits and other underground structures, see the following sources: Airfield Pavements ..................................... NAVFAC DM-21 Series Drainage Systems ....................................... NAVFAC DM-5.03 3. STATE OF STRESS. Stresses in earth masses are analyzed using two basic and different assumptions. One assumes elastic conditions, and the other assumes full mobilization of shear strength (plastic equilibrium). Elastic solutions apply to problems for which shear failure is unlikely. If the safety factor against shear failure exceeds about 3, stresses are roughly equal to values computed from elastic theory. Plastic equilibrium applies in problems of foundation or slope stability (see Chapter 7) and wall pressures where shear strength may be completely mobilized (see DM-7.02, Chapter 3). STRESS CONDITIONS AT A POINT 1. MOHR'S CIRCLE OF STRESS. If normal and shear stresses at one orientation on an element in an earth mass are known, stresses at all other orientations may be determined from Mohr's circle. Examples of stress transformation are given in Figure 1. a. Plastic Equilibrium. The use of Mohr's circle for plastic equilibrium is illustrated by analysis of triaxial shear test results (see Figure 5 of Chapter 3). 2. STRESSES IN SOILS. The normal stress at any orientation in a saturated soil mass equals the sum of two elements: (a) pore water pressure carried by fluid in soil spaces, and (b) effective stress carried by the grain skeleton of the soil. a. Total Stress. The total stress at any point is produced by the b. Pore Water Pressure. Pore water pressure may consist of (a) hydrostatic pressure, (b) capillary pressure, (c) seepage or (d) pressure resulting from applied loads to soils which drain slowly.
The hamlet question by ace g pilkington and olga a pilkington in 1780, ulrich braker, a swiss peasant, completed his reading of a german translation of shakespeare's plays. Hamlet questions for your custom printable tests and worksheets in a hurry browse our pre-made printable worksheets library with a variety of activities and quizzes for all k-12 levels. Act iii, scene ii hamlet recreates his father's death, but still questions claudius' reaction to the scene he wants to do right by his father, but has no concrete proof he wants to do right by his father, but has no concrete proof. Ms kizlyk - ap language semester 2 hamlet discussion questions, act 1 act i, scene 1 1) the play begins on a dark winter night outside elsinore castle in denmark as a few watchmen. Study 43 hamlet act iv study questions flashcards from kayleigh e on studyblue. Hamlet study guide (signet classics edition) act i answer the questions in complete sentences 1 act 1 scene 1: what is horatio's opinion of the ghost before and after he sees it. However, this article focuses primarily on the argumentative essay topics on hamlet argumentative essay topics on hamlet writing aspects got questions. Hamlet - answer the q by evelynoconnor on april 19, have a look at my post hamlet typical questions for the general areas i predict you need to be. At the heart of hamlet are profound questions about the nature of good and evil, and the play contains some of shakespeare's most psy-chologically complex. Hamlet questions and answers - discover the enotescom community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on hamlet. Hamlet on film the background information and activities provided in this teacher's guide the title of our guide we know ourselves through the questions he. Twelfth grade (grade 12) hamlet questions for your custom printable tests and worksheets in a hurry browse our pre-made printable worksheets library with a variety of activities and quizzes for all k-12 levels. 1 what is the significance of the following lines: o god, i could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself king of infinite space, were it not that i have bad dreams" 2 what bold proclamation does hamlet make in act v scene 1. To be, or not to be is the opening phrase of a soliloquy spoken by prince hamlet in the so-called nunnery scene of william shakespeare's play hamlet act iii, scene i act iii, scene i. Hamlet discussion questions act i you can use these to start the discussion, or you can ask your own questions or comment on other features of the play. Alas crazy hamlet, he was quite unwell (that is not any of these questions) brevity is the soul of wit to study, perchance to pass to thine own self be true back. Included in this guide to shakespeare's hamlet are act-by-act synopses, discussion questions, student activities, and writing topics your students will enjoy this tragic play of revenge and familial relationships. Study flashcards on hamlet act 1 questions and answers at cramcom quickly memorize the terms, phrases and much more cramcom makes it easy to get the grade you want. Hamlet multiple choice test questions william shakespeare this set of lesson plans consists of approximately 174 pages of tests, essay questions, lessons, and other teaching materials. English 304: shakespeare: major plays prof boyer reading questions for hamlet (keyed to the norton shakespeare) the best beginning procedure is always to familiarize yourself with the cast of characters and then to read the play (or at least an act or a scene) all the way through so that you know what's happening. 1why has claudius sent for rosencrantz and guildensternwhy are lines 7-10 particularly significant claudius sent for rosenc. Shakespeare includes characters in hamlet who are obvious foils for hamlet, including, most obviously, horatio, fortinbras, claudius, and laertes compare and contrast hamlet with each of these characters how are they alike how are they different how does each respond to the crises with which he. hamlet act 1, scene 1 and 2 questions 11 1 what happens when francisco and bernardo meet at the beginning of 11 where are we, and when why is there confusion over which one is supposed to challenge the other by asking who's there. Hamlet general questions giordano's 5 1 collect all the evidence bearing on the question of hamlet's sanity don't take hamlet's words in i,5 out of the context of his possible intention in that scene. It's a truism that no one accepts anyone else's reading of hamlet and for at least two hundred years, no generation has been comfortable with its predecessor's take on the play. Hamlet review questions content: act i 1 which characters first see the ghost (in scene i,i) what do they think the sighting means 2 what is hamlet's state of mind when we first see him. The ghost told hamlet that fortinbras is the rightful ruler, and asks hamlet to help him gain the throne d the ghost tells hamlet that he should take his mother and flee to sweden, where they will be safe.
A kindergarten (from German Kindergarten, literally “children’s garden”) is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school. His goal was that children should be taken care of and nourished in “children’s gardens” like plants in a garden.The term kindergarten is used around the world to describe a variety of different institutions that have been developed for children ranging from the ages of two to seven, depending on the country concerned. Many of the activities developed by Fröbel are also used around the world under other names. Playing, singing, practical activities, and social interaction are now widely accepted as essential aspects of developing skills and knowledge. It is well established that the most important years of learning are begun at birth. During these early years, a human being is capable of absorbing more information at a time than they will ever be able to again. The environment of the young child influences the development of cognitive skills and emotional skills due to the rapid brain growth that occurs in the early years. Studies have shown that high quality/ or any high rated preschools have a long term effect in improving the outcomes of a child, especially a disadvantaged child. Children between the age group of 4.5 – 5.5 years. In the KG2 program, the attention is on maintaining vocabulary and applying the concepts, which the children have already learnt in KG1. Kids learn to read and write, using innovative learning methods and tools designed especially for this age group. Tough subjects like Math are taught using a child-centric approach, considering individual capacities and capabilities. The attention of this section is on developing the attention span of the children with a view to accelerate their learning process and ready them for extensive studies in the years to come.
Boxwood is a genus of about 70 species of flowering shrubs that are commonly grown as small, compact bushes or hedges. The name boxwood originates from the plant's easy to maintain box-like appearance. However, the plant exhibits a sprawling behavior in the wild. Most varieties have unattractive flowers and are grown as privacy hedges or borders. The four primary types of boxwood plants are English, American, Korean and Japanese boxwood. English boxwood, B. sempervirens 'Suffruticosa,' is the most commonly grown cultivar, and it was first cultivated in the early 1700's in the United States. It can reach 3 feet in height and usually grows about 1 inch per year. English boxwood is rounded, and the overall shape of the plant is similar to a cloud. It is considered non-ornamental because the flowers are not visually appealing compared to other plants. English boxwood is an evergreen and blooms during the spring. American boxwood, also known as common boxwood, is a small tree that grows to 10 feet in height, although some older plants can grow up to 20 feet. American boxwood is an evergreen and is very tolerant of cold weather, making it a good choice for cooler, northern regions. American boxwood blooms during the spring, but produces small, pale green flowers that are commonly overlooked. American boxwood is grown primarily for its foliage, which grows to about 1½ inches in length. The leaves are waxy and dark green in color, with pale undersides. Korean boxwood is a variety that grows in an open habit, as opposed to the dense foliage common in other species of boxwood. This increases the circulation and the amount of light that reaches the inner portions of the plant, making it more disease resistant. It is winter hardy, but during periods of extremely low temperatures, the leaves may brown. However, in the spring the green will return and the plant will resume growth as usual. Korean boxwood forms oval-shaped leaves that usually only grow to about ½ inch in length. The flowers are small, unattractive and green or yellow in color. Korean boxwood grows to about 4 feet in height and blooms during spring. It is hardy in zones 4 through 9. Japanese boxwood was first grown in the United States in 1890 and is considered one of the most adaptable species of boxwood available. It can grow up to 8 feet in height with a spread of about 6 feet if grown in the proper environment. The foliage is dark green and grows to about 1 inch in length. It is evergreen, though in cooler climates the leaves may adopt a yellow or brown tinge. Japanese boxwood is commonly grown as a low hedge; it forms an excellent border when maintained. The flowers bloom in April, but are not showy. Additional blooming is usually discouraged by removing spent flowers.
During the Cold War, U.S. and international monitoring agencies could detect nuclear tests and measure their size. Today, they seek to pinpoint much smaller explosives tests. Under the sponsorship of the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D, Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have partnered to develop a 3-D model of the Earth's mantle and crust called SALSA3D (Sandia-Los Alamos 3D). The purpose of this model is to assist the U.S. Air Force and the international Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in Vienna, Austria, with more accurately locating all types of explosions. Significance of the research After an explosion, the energy travels through the Earth as waves that seismometers at U.S. and international ground stations associated with nuclear explosion monitoring organizations detect. Scientists use these signals to determine the location of the explosion. The scientists first predict the time taken for the waves to travel from their source through the Earth to each station. To calculate that, they must know the seismic velocity of the Earth's materials from the crust to the inner core. If the energy travels through material with low seismic velocity, it takes signals longer to travel from the explosion's source to the receiver. In the past 100 years, seismologists have predicted the travel time of seismic energy from source to receiver using one-dimensional models. However, these models do not do well at predicting travel time to nearby events where the waves spend most of their time in the Earth's crust or the shallowest parts of the mantle, both of which contain a larger variety of materials than the lower mantle and the Earth's core. Therefore, the largest errors occur close to the surface of the Earth where the most variability in materials exists. SALSA3D and improved predictive accuracy SALSA3D accounts for distortions of the seismic wavefronts caused by minor differences in the properties of rock and other materials. For example, waves are distorted when they move through a subduction zone, such as the one beneath the west coast of South America where one tectonic plate under the Pacific Ocean dives underneath the Andes Mountains. In recent tests, SALSA3D predicted the source of seismic events over a geological area that was 26 percent more accurate than the traditional one-dimensional model. Monitoring agencies could use SALSA3D to precompute the travel time from each station in their network to every point on Earth. LANL's role is the data accumulation from the ground-based nuclear detonation detection research database for ground-truth events (seismic events where we know the location to some specific uncertainty, called LOCDB or location database), the associated paths to various seismic stations, collaboration on the tomographic process and the validation of the 3-D model for seismic location accuracy. Los Alamos provides Sandia the data to use for the tomography model (approximately ten million ray paths from approximately 13,000 distinct seismic stations and approximately 122,000 distinct events), Sandia runs their tomography code to produce the 3-D velocity model and then LANL takes the final model and runs tests to validate how well the model performs. Explore further: 3-D Earth model more accurately pinpoints source of earthquakes, explosions
Vocabulary Through Morphemes Author: Susan M. Ebbers Suffixes, Prefixes, and Roots for Intermediate and Secondary Grades As students come to understand the connections and patterns within the English language, they become independent readers, better spellers, and more critical thinkers in all content areas. This newly revised word study resource teaches students the most common prefixes, suffixes, and roots and fosters a deeper understanding of the English language. Students enthusiastically explore the fascinating world of morphology by learning how to analyze word structure and use context clues to find meaning. Systematic, structured, explicitly taught lessons unlock the keys to the Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon origins of words and build vocabulary knowledge. Featuring 90 lessons in structural analysis (morphology), this program focuses on vocabulary and fluency development. Students learn to decode words through morphemes (suffixes, prefixes, and roots) and to understand common prefixes and roots. Students also study analogies, related word families, and synonyms and antonyms. Detailed lesson plans provide structured, systematic instruction that helps students grasp new words and their meanings with ease. - Save time—each lesson can be taught in just 20 minutes - Improve spelling skills, fluency, vocabulary, and, ultimately, comprehension - Assess students at various points in the program This Second Edition of Vocabulary through Morphemes: - Contains lessons that explicitly teach how compound words do (or do not) convey meaning, how suffixes and context influence syntax, and how prefixes influence spelling and word meaning - Includes 20 formative assessments and 7 summative assessments that track application and acquisition - Features more than a dozen new reading passages - Offers 13 Bonus Multisensory Activity Pages that feature engaging word sorts and word-building activities that make word work fun! - Provides a CD-ROM with all instructional materials (included with the Teacher's Guide) for display via interactive board (i.e., SMART Board) or LCD projector - Provides a greater emphasis on developing a rationale for studying morphology - Boosts interest in words, word origins, and word history - Fosters linguistic insight, word consciousness, and morphological awareness
Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum Historians have become more likely to describe the arrival of Europeans in the Americas as "encounters" than "discoveries." The encounters that followed the arrival of newcomers could be violent and catastrophic, although sometimes they were mutually beneficial. The intentions of those involved often shaped the encounter. Written records are often used when studying the past. By going beyond the written record and examining other sources, however, historians are able to develop a richer, deeper understanding of the past. Esteban was captured from North Africa, enslaved, and sent to Florida as part of a Spanish expedition in 1528. The surviving descriptions of this remarkable individual—who moved so ably between many cultures—are fragmentary, and none were written by him. John Webber was a young English artist when he joined the final voyage of Captain James Cook. His representations, while offering Europe a first look at indigenous life, do not reflect how the Native Americans viewed the encounters. Watkuweis was a young woman when she was kidnapped from the Nimipuu (Nez Perce). The Nez Perce’s oral tradition preserved her story and helps us to see early encounters from an indigenous point of view. The growing field of culinary history allows us to understand how food has affected our history. Jessica Harris is a food historian who uses many academic disciplines and a variety of historical sources to explore how food can describe the nature of culture and society. She traces the diffusion or distribution of food across the Atlantic Ocean and its impact on Creole culture. Read edited Hands on History interview with Jessica B. Harris.

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

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