text
stringlengths 247
520k
| nemo_id
stringlengths 29
29
|
|---|---|
MILWAUKEE – Toxins, bombs, dead bodies and more may one day be found by using a "Wasp Hound" – not a dog, but a contraption containing wasps trained to zero in on scents, according to research from the University of Georgia and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Wasps used in the study were trained to identify a specific odor in five minutes and are cheaper than trained dogs.
Using creatures other than dogs in odor detection is not new.
Rats, honeybees and even fish have all been successfully trained to detect various toxic chemicals and diseases.
Wasps caught the researchers' attention because they are similar to honeybees, which have been successfully marketed as odor detectors in the United Kingdom.
The wasps are much less expensive than trained dogs and more sensitive than some methods of chemical detection, the researchers say.
The wasps are trained to detect specific odors and are placed in a small hand-held device called a Wasp Hound, which is capable of sounding or flashing an alarm when the target odor is found.
"I think it has great potential," said Sam Wasser, a professor of biology at the University of Washington, who was not involved in the study. "We often underestimate the utility of scent information. Living organisms have spent hundreds of thousands of years evolving sophisticated ways to perfect scent detection."
These wasps are extremely dependent on their sensitive olfactory system to find food and hosts for their larvae.
The female wasp forages for caterpillars to lay her eggs, and the wasps learn about their environment as they forage, said Glen Rains of the University of Georgia, the lead researcher of the study. It was published online in the September issue of Biotechnology Progress.
In the study, the wasps were trained to identify a particular odor in five minutes.
Because a wasp's life span is just 14 days, the insects would not survive if they could not quickly learn to find odors for food and larval hosts, said Rains, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering.
The wasps are trained by associated learning. They are allowed to smell the target odor and are given food. When they smell the odor again, they think it is food or a host for their eggs, Rains said.
Because the wasps are highly sensitive to environmental fluctuations, they are placed in the cup-sized Wasp Hound, which is made of PVC pipe and has an odor inlet hole.
To monitor the wasp's behavior, a tiny camera is placed inside and connected to a laptop computer.
"When the wasps sense the odor, they walk toward the center of the hound where the odor is coming from," Rains said.
The research is intriguing and advances the idea that insects can be trained to find very low concentrations of chemicals, said Robert Jeanne, a professor of entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Wasp Hound is being used to search for a toxin that grows on corn and peanuts.
Wasps also have the potential to detect explosives. In a previous study they were trained to detect 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), a chemical used in specific explosives.
Other forensic applications could include grave-site and body detection.
Different types of vegetation or a slight depression in the soil may indicate a potential grave site, said Jerome Guerts, director of the Wisconsin Crime Laboratory in Madison.
The Wasp Hound requires a specific search area, said Rains. Therefore, if there are several potential grave sites identified, the Wasp Hound might be useful for confirmation.
If there isn't a specific search area, dogs are used because they are able to smell from a far distance and can accurately survey large areas, said Wasser, who uses search dogs in his research at the University of Washington.
But search dogs can be expensive and time-consuming – it can take six months and cost up to $15,000 to train a search dog.
Wasps can be trained in five minutes and have the same sensitivity as dogs.
The Wasp Hound device costs $125.
Researchers developed the software and are aiming to have it run on a hand-held computer.
"The hope is to have something very inexpensive," Rains said. He believes that in five to 10 years, there could be a viable commercial Wasp Hound.
The Wasp Hound will need to tested on a larger scale.
"If they come up with an effective means of searching that is inexpensive, people will use it," Wisconsin's Guerts said. "The next step will be to get the judge to accept it." | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40320000 |
Benjamin Brecknell Turner
'Worcester Cathedral, from across the Severn'
Albumen print from calotype negative
Museum no. PH.6-1982
Taken from across the River Severn, where the county cricket ground and Kings School playing field are now located, this photograph captures the west end of the Cathedral. Predating its 1860s renovation, this image shows the transept of the cathedral missing a turret. The building at the bottom left has also been subsequently demolished leaving just the medieval masonry of the former monastic reredorter (lavatories) and undercroft to the infirmary. Other buildings can still be seen today, particularly the medieval Watergate to the right. In medieval times the river was tidal and the gateway would flood twice a day, creating a small dock where boats could unload. The river bank was changed when the promenade was created in 1844. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40325000 |
How to Measure a Resting Respiratory Rate in a Dog
In this video, you will learn how to count your pet's resting respiratory rate (RRR). A normal dog's respiratory rate when resting or sleeping is quite low, less than 35 breaths in a minute. The RRR may increase when heart failure develops or with other breathing problems. You can provide useful information for your veterinarian by keeping a RRR diary and bringing it to your next appointment.
© 2013 VCA Animal Hospitals | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40329000 |
Let's look at an example:
(a) Tanya's car is the sixth one that is yellow.
(b) Tanya's car is the sixth one, which is yellow.
These have different meanings. The first tells you that we look for 6 yellow cars, and take the last of them. The second tells us that Tanya's car is the sixth in line, and that it also happens to be yellow.
In the first sentence, we use "that" because knowing the color is essential to finding her car. In sentence (b) we use "which" to introduce a clause containing some information we don't necessarily need to identify her car.
We use the word "that" when the information following it is necessary and we use "which" when the information isn't necessarily required to identify the subject in question.
Hope this helps! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40333000 |
1865 Born in Bombay, where his father was a Professor of Architectural Sculpture at the Bombay School of Art.
1870 Rudyard and his younger sister are taken to England by his parents and placed in Calvinistic foster home were he is nagged, bullied and beaten.
1876 Rudyard's mother returns to England and discovers the mistreatment that her children had endured. Rudyard is removed from the foster home and he is sent to a private school called the United Services College.
1881 Schoolboy Lyrics published.
1882 Rudyard leaves school to return to India. His father, who was then the curator of the museum at Lahore, gets him a job as assistant editor of the English paper, The Civil and Military Gazette, which was published in that city.
1886 Departmental Ditties is published.
1887 After five years as sub-editor of the Civil and Military Gazette, Rudyard is sent to Allahabad, several hundred miles to the south, to work on the much more important sister-paper, The Pioneer. The proprietors were starting a weekly edition for home, and he was given the editorship. He publishes Soldier Tales, Indian Tales, and Tales of the Opposite Sex. Among them were such powerful and grusome stories as The Mark of the Beast and The Return of Imray.
1888 Publishes Plain Tales from the Hills his first work which explores the psychological and moral problems of the Anglo-Indians and their relationship with the people they had colonized. Also published are: Soldiers Three, The Story of the Gadsbys, In Black and White, Wee Wee Willie Winkie and Turn overs from "The Civil and Military Gazette"
1889 Rudyard leaves India for England and settles down in Villiers Street, Strand.
1890 The Courting of Dinah Shadd and Other Stories and The City of Dreadful Night are published.
1891 The Light that Failed, Letters of Marque and Life's Handicap are published.
1892 Barrack-Room Ballads, Rhymed Chapter Headings and The Naulahka are published. Rudyard marries Carolyn Balestier, the sister of Wolcott Balestier, who is an American. Because of his health breaking down, Rudyard and his wife settle down in Brattleboro, Vermont where his wife's family had long been established.
1893 Many Inventions is published.
1894 The Jungle Book is published.
1895 The Second Jungle Book is published.
1896 The Seven Seas and Soldier Tales is published.
1897 After a violent arguement with his in-laws, Rudyard and his wife move back to England and settles on a country estate. Captains Courageous is published.
1898 An Almanac of Twelve Sports,The Day's Work and A Fleet in Being are published.
1899 Rudyard goes to South Africa, in the midst of the defeats of the Boer War. His eldest daughter Josephine dies of measles. Stalky and Co. and From Sea to Sea are published.
1900 The Kipling Reader is published.
1901 Kim and War's Brighter Side are published.
1902 Just So Stories is published.
1903 The Five Nations is published.
1904 Traffics and Discoveries is published.
1906 Puck of Pook's Hill is published.
1907 Collected Verse is published. Rudyard Kipling becomes the first English author to recieve the Nobel Prize for Literature.
1909 Actions and Reactions is published.
1910 Rewards and Fairies is published.
1911 A History of England is published.
1912 Collected Verse (British edition) and ,Songs from Books is published.
1914 Rudyard emerges from seclusion as the official writer-up of the new armed forces of the Crown.
1915 The New Army in Training and France in War are published. "Mary Postgate."
1916 Rudyard's son is killed with the Irish Guards. Sea Warfare is published.
1917 A Diversity of Creatures is published.
1919 The Graves of the Fallen and The Years Between are published.
1920 Horace Odes, Book V and Letters of Travel are published.
1923 Elected Lord Rector of St. Andrews University. The Irish Guards in the Great War and Land and Sea are published.
1924 Songs for Youth is published.
1926 Sea and Sussex and Debits and Credits are published.
1927 Songs of the Sea is published.
1928 A Book of Words is published.
1929 Poems, 1886-1929 is published.
1930 Thy Servant A Dog is published.
1932 Limits and Renewals is published.
1934 Collected Dog Stories is published.
1936 January 18th Rudyard Kipling dies of a perforated duodenum.
Last modified 1988 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40334000 |
While Kingsville, Texas, was officially established in 1904, when the railroad came through town, the history of this region goes back long before that time. The King Ranch, still a working cattle ranch, was founded in 1853, when Captain Richard King purchased land that was once part of the Rincon de Santa Gertrudis Mexican Land Grant.
The land was originally called the Wild Horse Desert by early settlers. Captain King and his family, with the help of an entire village of people from Mexico, cleared and fenced the land, fought off the raiding Indians, and made the area safe for settlers. These same villagers became some of Texas’ first cowboys (the Kineños), and their descendents are a vital part of the community today.
In 1913, Texas Legislators created the County of Kleberg, with Kingsville as the county seat. Shortly thereafter, various events provided the impetus to further spur the growth of Kingsville: the discovery of gas and oil and the arrivals of South Texas State Teacher’s College (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville), the U.S. Navy, and Celanese.
Kingsville still retains much of its early charm in the downtown area, which showcases the 1904 Train Depot, Flato Opera House, Sims Building, Ragland Mercantile Building, and 1930s post office and bandstand. Kingsville is a city where there is a blend of history with a look to the future. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40335000 |
Here is an example of how to make a cylinder, naming it "rod" for future reference:
The center of one end of this cylinder is at x=0, y=2, and z=1. Its axis lies along the x axis, with length 5, so that the other end of the cylinder is at (5,2,1), as shown in the accompanying diagram.
You can modify the position of the cylinder after it has been created, which has the effect of moving it immediately to the new position:
rod.pos = (15,11,9) # change position (x,y,z)
rod.x = 15 # only change pos.x
If you create an object such as a cylinder but without giving it a name such as rod, you can't refer to it later. This doesn't matter if you never intend to modify the object.
Since we didn't specify a color, the cylinder will be the current "foreground" color (see Controlling One or More Visual Display Windows). The default foreground color is white. After creating the cylinder, you can change its color:
rod.color = (0,0,1) # make rod be blue
This will make the cylinder suddenly turn blue, using the so-called RGB system for specifying colors in terms of fractions of red, green, and blue. (For details on choosing colors, see Specifying Colors.) You can set individual amounts of red, green, and blue like this:
rod.red = 0.4
rod.green = 0.7
rod.blue = 0.8
The cylinder object can be created with other, optional attributes, which can be listed in any order. Here is a full list of attributes, most of which also apply to other objects:
Position: the center of one end of the cylinder; default = (0,0,0)
A triple, in parentheses, such as (3,2,5)
axis The axis points from pos to the other end of the cylinder, default = (1,0,0)
x, y, z Essentially the same as pos.x, pos.y, pos.z, defaults are all 0
radius The radius of the cylinder, default = 1
length Length of axis;
if not specified, axis determines the length, default = 1
If length is specified, it overrides the length given by axis
color Color of object, as a red-green-blue (RGB) triple: (1,0,0) is pure red, default = (1,1,1), which is color.white
red, green, blue (can set these color attributes individually), defaults are all 1
up Which side of the cylinder is "up"; this has only a subtle effect on the 3D appearance of the cylinder, default (0,1,0)
Note that the pos attribute for cylinder, arrow, cone, and pyramid corresponds to one end of the object, whereas for a box, sphere, or ring it corresponds to the center of the object.
When you start a VPython program, for convenience Visual creates a display window and names it scene. By default, objects that you create go into that display window. See Controlling One or More Visual Display Windows later in this reference for how you can create additional display windows and place objects in them. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40342000 |
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, as astronomer Carl Sagan once said. Sagan was talking about UFOs and aliens, but his words now stand as a watchword for skepticism in science.
But how do we know when a claim is extraordinary? Say, maybe when the aliens don't arrive from space?
Consider the controversial "arseniclife", short for arsenic-based life, bacteria study. Rather than arriving on a UFO, the microbe was unveiled at NASA headquarters, announced at an "astrobiology" news briefing on Dec. 2, 2010, as "the first known microorganism on Earth able to thrive and reproduce using the toxic chemical arsenic."
Arsenic is a poison. How did the finding that the bacteria called GFAJ-1 replaced phosphorus, a basic chemical constituent of biochemistry, with arsenic even in its DNA make its way into the hallowed journalScience, and onto the stage at NASA? The idea turned out to be too good to be true, as two studies also published by Science that refuted the claim showed this summer. Both showed that the microbe, discovered in California's Mono Lake, in fact seems to need some minuscule amount of phosphorus to survive. It's just tough, not completely alien, in its biochemistry.
"Science magazine is perhaps the most important publication in the United States for communicating science to the public. Therefore, when Science publishes something funded by NASA that is likely to broadly interest the public, NASA is effectively required to hold a press conference," says chemist Steven Benner of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Fla. Benner served as the outside skeptical voice at the NASA press conference announcing the finding. "This all assumes, of course, a very high quality of peer review at Science magazine," Benner says.
And that might be the rub. A USA TODAY investigation suggests that the problems with the arseniclife story started with Science's "peer review" of the findings before it ever took the NASA stage.
Peer review is the basic process in science where anonymous outside experts eyeball a study for journal editors, acting as gatekeepers on publications. In the case of the 2010 GFAJ-1 study, three anonymous reviewers, along with Science editor Caroline Ash, asked the authors 32 questions about the study, which were answered by the authors a month ahead of the press conference. And they made a few general comments on the paper. Here are some:
"The results are exceptional," said Reviewer 1.
"It's a pleasure to get a well-received and carried-out study to review," said Reviewer 2.
"Reviewing this paper was a rare pleasure," said Reviewer 3, adding later on: "Great job!"
Most scientists don't often see such upbeat peer review comments on their papers, notes Princeton genome expert Leonid Kruglyak, an author on one of the 2012 papers refuting the arseniclife results. Kruglyak was also one of a collection of outside experts asked to review the reviews, which NASA released to USA TODAY in January after a Freedom of Information Act request. "In retrospect, what is the interesting aspect of them is there wasn't anything different, or out of the ordinary in them (compared) with how most papers are handled," Kruglyak says. "This was a par-for-the-course review."
In particular, Kruglyak notes Peer Reviewer 2 actually pointed out the problem in proving whether phosphorus was really absent from the GFAJ-1 bug's biochemistry. The concern seems muted and is not drawn as a reason to block publication, however, amid a series of other more positive comments.
Looking at the reviewer comments, roughly half were requests for added explanations or spelling fixes. Another half-dozen were questions on the chemistry or biology of the microbe. The rest involved inquiries about further experiments, which original lead study author Felisa Wolfe-Simon often suggested were "beyond the scope of the paper." Kruglyak says such requests for new experiments are not uncommon in reviews, nor is it unusual for study authors to demur, wanting to save something for a future study and leaving it up to the journal editor to adjudicate the dispute.
Peer review expert Elizabeth Wager, former chair of the Committee on Publication Ethics, says the review looked entirely typical for scientific journals. "The only thing that is surprising is how strongly positive the reviewers are," Wager says in an e-mail. "They clearly think this is an important piece of work and also comment that it is clearly presented."
"Judging from the quotes, the three reviewers were enthusiastic about the paper. Indeed, these reviews would be described by most scientists as 'glowing,' " says biologist Patricia Foster of Indiana University in Bloomington. In particular, she notes at least three striking things about the reviews lost in these glowing comments.
"First, there is little biology mentioned - the reviewers questioned only mildly the authors' assumption that there was too little phosphorus in the medium to support growth. This assumption was a major point of disagreement voiced by scientists after the paper appeared." Second, the reviewers didn't question wide variation in chemistry analysis of the medium that the bugs grew in (specifically, how much contaminating phosphorous was in it), something that later critics saw as a major shortcoming. Finally, they only commented, rather than inquiring, on the biochemistry implied by the results, the central extraordinary claim that arsenic was acting in place of phosphorus in the metabolism of the GFAJ-1 bacteria.
"In conclusion, I believe that NASA would have had no reason to doubt the results of the paper based on these reviews. In fact, NASA officials would have felt encouraged to publicize the paper," Foster says.
Foster does note that the study authors added a figure (and a few more authors) to the paper, suggesting the GFAJ-1 bug had arsenic in its DNA, as a result of the review wanting to see more evidence of arsenic inside the bacteria. The figure became another point of controversy in the debate over the study. (Wager says that adding a new figure and authors is "perfectly acceptable" during peer review and wouldn't necessarily trigger a re-review of a study.)
Basically, the reviewers took at face value the fundamental claim by the study authors that the GFAJ-1 bug was growing without any phosphorus, says microbial ecologist Norman Pace of the University of Colorado. "Once you accept that, everything else follows," Pace says. "You just have to have a certain expertise to know that is nearly impossible; removing phosphorus is just very hard."
In general, Pace says that he believes peer review improves studies and works as a "pretty strong" corrective to error in science. "There is lots of poor science out there, but important claims like this one are checked up on and proven true or false, as this (arseniclife) one was, so I think things are not actually so suspect out there in science. In essence, this was all found out in due course. My belief is the peer-review system is fundamentally sound."
Regardless, Pace says there was "poor judgment at multiple levels" in the arseniclife case, from an "overly exuberant" interpretation of the study results by the authors to the peer reviewers missing "the big crux of the results: the claim of absence of phosphorus," to NASA repeating some of the mistakes that caused the agency trouble in 1996, when it publicized results suggesting a Martian meteorite contained microscopic signs of life. Still, Pace had actually recommended the publication of that 1996 paper, he says. "I do think it is important to get noteworthy results out there."
In 2011, Science editor-in-chief Bruce Alberts echoed that comment in a statement on the arseniclife study. "We hope that the study and the subsequent exchange being published today will stimulate further experiments - whether they support or overturn this conclusion. In either case, the overall result will advance our knowledge about conditions that support life, an important outcome for science and education," Alberts says.
Worth noting is that NASA scientist Michael New and original study lead author Wolfe-Simon, now of the Lawrence Berkeley (Calif.) National Laboratory, both still supported the original 2010 study's findings this summer when the refuting studies were published.
"Science is continuously evaluating its peer-review policies and procedures with the goal of a rigorous and fair process," magazine spokeswoman Ginger Pinholster said in response to questions about whether the journal has changed its peer-review practices since 2010. This year, the journal added an additional step to the review process. Once all reviews are in on a manuscript, all the reviewers are invited to read them and comment. "This step allows the reviewers to react to the comments of the other reviewers and may help the editor to calibrate the reviewer comments," Pinholster says by e-mail.
Kruglyak cautions against looking back too harshly at the reviewers of the arseniclife study.
"In hindsight we can see what went on, but that's how hindsight works," Kruglyak says. "It was a pretty spectacular claim. In the big picture, I'm not surprised about it not working out."
Update: One other scientist asked to review the reviews, microbial ecologist James Cotner of the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, makes the point that it is up to the journal to ensure that peer reviewers are the most appropriate experts to review a study. "Part of the problem with this paper may have been that it is a very interdisciplinary topic (molecular biology, microbial ecology, physical chemistry, etc.) so it may have been hard to make sure all fields were appropriately represented," Cotner says, by email. "Without knowing who the reviewers were, it's hard to say if the editor insured that the best and most appropriate folks were reviewing it. But when there are only three reviewers, it can be very difficult."
Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: Glowing reviews on 'arseniclife' spurred NASA's embrace | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40357000 |
A rare tropical disease called Guinea worm is closer to being eradicated, according to former President Jimmy Carter and other experts.
There are now only 542 known cases of Guinea worm left worldwide, as of 2012, representing a 48% decrease from 2011, officials said Thursday at a news conference.
"We cannot rest until we get and contain the very last case," said Dr. Donald R. Hopkins, affiliated with the Carter Center in Atlanta, which has been instrumental in the effort to wipe out Guinea worm.
The World Health Organization this week said in a report that Guinea worm, also called dracunculiasis, has a global eradication target for the year 2015.
So far, only one disease has reached the status of worldwide eradication since 1980: smallpox.
In 1986, when the Carter Center began leading its international campaign against Guinea worm disease, there were 3.5 million cases in 21 countries.
South Sudan has the most known cases today, at 521, followed by Chad (10), Mali (7), and Ethiopia (4), according to the Carter Center. These are the only four countries that still have transmission of Guinea worm.
A main obstacle to eradication is that one case of Guinea worm disease, if not addressed quickly, can spread to hundreds more people, Carter said.
Communities that depend chiefly on open water sources like ponds in rural and isolated areas are especially affected, according to the World Health Organization.
The disease gets into the body when people drink contaminated water, which contains water fleas that have ingested Guinea worm larvae. The human stomach kills the water fleas, but not the larvae within. Worms can get through the intestinal wall and move around under skin tissues. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40359000 |
Shots - Health News
Fri February 22, 2013
The Whole Community Gets A Health Boost From HIV Treatment
Originally published on Fri February 22, 2013 9:51 am
Over the past few decades, one of the most perplexing questions in global health is how to stop HIV.
There have been campaigns involving condoms, abstinence and even the circumcision of all men younger than 46. But one relatively new strategy, called treatment as prevention, is causing quite a buzz.
The idea is to give all HIV-positive people antiretroviral drugs to drive down the levels of virus in their systems so they no longer pose a threat of transmitting the disease.
Sounds good in theory, but how well does it play out in the slums of Nairobi or the townships of Johannesburg?
Two studies published in the journal Science find that, in places where HIV drugs are widely available, the risk for new HIV infections drops dramatically and overall life expectancy increases by more than a decade.
In other words, treatment as prevention isn't just a buzz word floating around health conferences but a promising strategy for stopping HIV — even in a part of the world with one of the most severe AIDS epidemics.
Epidemiologists from Harvard University followed 17,000 HIV-negative South Africans for seven years in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They found that, when more than 30 percent of HIV-positive people are on powerful anti-HIV drugs, it cuts the risk of contracting the virus by about 38 percent, compared to when less than 10 percent of those infected have treatment.
"The intention of this program [the South African government's antiretroviral drug program] is not treatment as prevention," Till Barnighausen, a health economist who contributed to the study, tells Shots. "The intention of this program is treatment for treatment, to save lives."
A true treatment-as-prevention model, Barnighausen says, would offer antiretroviral therapy to everyone who is HIV positive. But the South African government is providing medications only to the sickest of the sick.
Nevertheless, Barnighausen and his colleagues saw a sharp reduction in new HIV infections when drugs were widely available to the community.
"It is a program with all the failures and challenges of a real-life, public-sector, nurse-led program in southern Africa," Barnighausen says. "And despite these challenges, we see a strong effect of HIV treatment on HIV incidence. And that's extremely encouraging."
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Myron Cohen at the University of North Carolina, who wasn't involved in this study, calls the findings "a home run."
Cohen published a landmark report in 2011 showing that HIV treatment nearly eliminates the chance that an infected person will transmit the virus to a partner.
The current study, Cohen says, demonstrates that treatment as prevention doesn't just work at the individual level but also at the community level. And thus, the findings are hugely important for public health.
"It's teaching us something," he says. "You don't have to treat everybody to see a community benefit."
In a companion article, Barnighausen and his team found that overall life expectancy in KwaZulu-Natal rose more than 11 years since the province scaled up HIV treatment in 2004.
But even when studies like these show the broad benefits of anti-HIV medications, major challenges remain in getting drugs to the millions of Africans who need them, including the issue of who pays for these costly drugs.
Questions also remain about how sustainable these programs will be, especially given that HIV-positive patients are going to need to be on those drugs for the rest of their lives. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40364000 |
What Rh factor testing screens for
The Rh factor is a protein carried by red blood cells in some people, and not in others. If you have the protein, you are Rh positive. If not, you are Rh negative. (And you are special: Only about 15 percent of the population is Rh negative.)
In blood typing, everyone is either type A, B, or O; the plus or minus sign after the letter refers to the Rh factor. Both Rh negative and Rh positive are entirely normal, healthy blood characteristics. Problems can arise, however, if an Rh-negative mom-to-be carries an Rh-positive baby. The mother's body may mistake the baby's blood cells as intruders and start making antibodies to attack them. Left unchecked, this condition (known as fetal Rh disease) can threaten the health of the baby. This almost never happens in a first pregnancy (since the baby's blood is unlikely to enter the mom's bloodstream until delivery). However, if untreated in the first pregnancy, it can threaten subsequent pregnancies. So as a preventive measure, all Rh-negative women are given injections of a substance called RhoGAM (Rh-d immune globulin, which prevents the antibodies from forming) at various times during each pregnancy — starting with the first. These injections save the lives of an estimated 10,000 babies per year in the United States alone.
Who Rh factor testing is forAll pregnant women will have their Rh factor determined. Rh-negative woman will have follow-up testing and treatment.
How Rh factor testing is doneBlood samples are taken from a vein in your arm. If you are Rh-negative, a RhoGAM injection goes into your muscle tissue in your arm or your backside. You might be given a choice; or your practitioner might favor one spot or the other. The injection is somewhat painful and the soreness can last for a couple of days. Ask your practitioner about taking a pain reliever to alleviate the discomfort.
When Rh factor testing is done
Rh testing is usually done during a woman's first blood test during pregnancy. RhoGAM injections for Rh-negative women are given at 28 or 29 weeks and again within 72 hours of delivery. The RhoGAM injection is also administered after any genetic testing that could result in mixing of maternal and fetal blood, such as CVS (chorionic villus sampling) or amniocentesis. Spotting, miscarriage, and abortion are the other situations where fetal blood can get into a pregnant woman's bloodstream, so RhoGAM is given to those who are Rh-negative after these events as well.
Risks: There is little or no risk associated with blood tests. Note: If you are Rh-negative, the risk does go up with every subsequent pregnancy (as your body builds more and more antibodies). Fortunately, thanks to the widespread use of this screening test and safe, effective treatment, fetal Rh disease is now very rare. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40382000 |
PI: Amy Bower (WHOI)
Deep ocean convection is limited to a small number of isolated regions worldwide, including the Labrador Sea, but it has a profound impact on the ocean’s thermohaline circulation and climate. While the convection process itself has been studied intensively over the last decade, the restratification of the water column after convection, which will directly impact convection during subsequent winters, is not as well-studied.
It has recently been suggested that the decay of coherent, long-lived, anticyclonic eddies shed from a surrounding warm boundary current are potentially important in restratifying convection regions. This idea is most developed in the Labrador Sea, where anticyclonic eddies containing a core of warm, salty water from the Irminger Current (a remnant of the Gulf Stream) have been observed.
The goal of the proposed research is to advance our understanding of the role of Irminger Rings in deep convection by collecting new information on their initial structure and on the evolution of their core properties as they propagate across the Labrador Sea.
To meet this goal, we plan to deploy one densely instrumented mooring in the northeastern Labrador Sea near, but offshore of the eddy formation site to document the full water column hydrographic and velocity structure of about 12 new rings where they detach from the boundary and enter the interior. The mooring will also serve as the “launch pad” for the automatic release of a profiling float each time an eddy sweeps by the mooring. Trapped within the eddies by the strong azimuthal velocities, the floats will track the eddy trajectories and measure changes in eddy core properties as they move from the formation site toward the convection region. When this research program is completed, we will have unprecedented information on the structure and heat and salt content of nascent Irminger Rings that have separated from the boundary, improved estimates of the heat and freshwater fluxes associated with rings, and new information on where and how their anomalous core properties are spread within the Labrador Sea.
OceanInsight: Irminger Rings Project Overview
Link to OceanInsight Irminger Rings Project Overview
Popular Science: Fieldwork The Unseen Currents On the Labrador Sea, the scientific crew of the research vessel Knorr hunts for underwater storms, sinks a two-mile mooring—and gathers clues to the planet’s fate. March, 2011.
Furey, H., A. Bower, and T. McKee. An Irminger Ring Mooring in the Labrador Sea, Preliminary Results. Ocean Sciences Meeting, 2010.
Bower, A. S., H. H. Furey, and T. McKee. An Irminger Ring Mooring in the Labrador Sea. Poster presented at the 2009 Spring EGU and AMOC Conferences: project overview and early results. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40384000 |
Minimum inhibitory concentration
Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), in microbiology, is the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial that will inhibit the visible growth of a microorganism after overnight incubation. Minimum inhibitory concentrations are important in diagnostic laboratories to confirm resistance of microorganisms to an antimicrobial agent and also to monitor the activity of new antimicrobial agents.
MICs can be determined by broth dilution methods usually following the guidelines of a reference body such as the CLSI, BSAC or EUCAST. Another, more modern method is the E-test method using strips of a gradient of antibiotic concentration.
Clinically, the minimum inhibitory concentrations are used not only to determine the amount of antibiotic that the patient will receive but also the type of antibiotic used, which in turn lowers the opportunity for microbial resistance to specific antimicrobial agents.
- ↑ Andrews, J. M. Determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 48 (Suppl. 1):5-16, (2001). PMID 11420333.
There is no pharmaceutical or device industry support for this site and we need your viewer supported Donations | Editorial Board | Governance | Licensing | Disclaimers | Avoid Plagiarism | Policies | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40388000 |
Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.
Search native plant database:
Menispermum canadense L.
USDA Symbol: meca3
USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.
A climbing vine with small, greenish-white flowers in small loose clusters in axils of large leaves; each leafstalk attached just inside leaf’s edge.
The poisonous fruit of this plant ripens in September and resembles whitish-powdered grapes. The fruit is highly toxic, may be fatal if eaten.
Bloom InformationBloom Color: White , Green , Brown
Bloom Time: Jun , Jul
AL , AR , CT , DC , DE , FL , GA , IA , IL , IN , KS , KY , MA , MD , MI , MN , MO , MS , NC , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NY , OH , OK , PA , SC , SD , TN , TX , VA , VT , WI , WV Canada: MB
, QC Native Habitat:
Woodland edges, thickets, and streambanks. USDA Native Status: L48(N), CAN(N)
Growing ConditionsLight Requirement: Sun , Part Shade , Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist
is highly toxic, may be fatal if eaten. Warning:
Plant poisonous. The fruit
is highly toxic, may be fatal if eaten. Conspicuous Flowers:
From the National Suppliers Directory
According to the inventory provided by Associate Suppliers, this plant is available at the following locations:
Toadshade Wildflower Farm
- Frenchtown, NJ
Recommended Species Lists
Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.
View Recommended Species page
Record Modified: 2012-07-03
Research By: TWC Staff | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40389000 |
Everyone has seen on TV where some nerdy kid constantly gets picked on by all his classmates; it’s always hilarious when they trip him and his books scatter everywhere. Unfortunately, bullying exist in real life too. The difference is when it is involving an actual human being’s life, not a skit for a paid actor. When the hazing is happening in a real situation, it’s not so funny anymore. October is anti-bully month, and when students chose to wear orange to school Tuesday, they were making a statement that they do not appreciate or tolerate bullying in their school or lives.
Often jokes are made about people being bullied, and the subject is all too often not taken seriously. I think the main reason for this is the fact that bullying is not a huge problem in our school. It does exist however, and what often hides in the shadows, is sometimes brought to light and laid out for everyone to see.
Being a bully is not okay. One of the major mistakes people make is thinking that the person being bullied “deserved it” or “got what was coming to them” This is ridiculous. No matter what poor decisions that person made in their life, no one deserves to be physically or emotionally abused. The effects of being bullied are devastating, often leaving scars that last a life time. When someone chooses to bully another, they are taking away that person’s basic right to the feeling of safety. Even if the one being bullied has made a mistake, it is not another person’s duty to “punish” them for their wrongdoing. The truth is, however, that people who are victims of bullies often did nothing wrong. This is because bullies thrive off vulnerability. They have to make someone else look and feel small in an attempt to make them look good. What they don’t realize is that it makes them look like a person without morals and compassion, not exactly traits you’d hand pick for someone.
In today’s world bullying is often occurring where everything else is taking place- the internet. With the popularity of social networking sights, bullies now have the opportunity to be bold behind a keyboard. It is a common misconception that what happens online goes unpunished. However, a cyber bully, if reported, can be in as much trouble as one who commits their acts of terror in person. In fact, the permanency of recorded messages makes it even easier to prove guilt. Everyone should be aware of the dangers of using a social media sight irresponsibly.
Although it’s great that October is a month to focus on putting an end to bullying, everyone should always be aware and report any suspicious behavior. No one should ever have to dread going to school. I hope that everyone takes this opportunity to realize that bullying is not acceptable, and make a personal binding pledge to not accept bullying in their lives or our community. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40396000 |
These is a drawing of the interior of Io.
Click on image for full size
Interior of Io
The diagram to the left shows the interior of Io.
When the Galileo spacecraft flew by Io it took measurements which showed that Io was separated into two layers, as shown in this picture.
Thus scientists think that Io has a large core, covered with a rocky material. There is no ice within Io.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our online store
on science education, ranging from evolution
, classroom research
, and the need for science and math literacy
You might also be interested in:
Differentiation is a scientific term which really means "to separate". In their earliest history, elements which made the planets would part into separate regions, if the planet were warm enough. This...more
Galileo is a spacecraft that has been orbiting Jupiter for eight years. On September 21, 2003, Galileo will crash into Jupiter. It will burn up in Jupiter's atmosphere. The crash is not an accident! The...more
Amalthea was discovered by E Barnard in 1872. Of the 17 moons it is the 3rd closest to Jupiter. Amalthea is about the size of a county or small state. Amalthea is named after the goat in Greek mythology...more
Callisto was first discovered by Galileo in 1610. It is the 2nd largest moon in the solar system, and is larger than the Earth's moon. It is about as big as the distance across the United States. Callisto...more
Measurements by the Galileo spacecraft have been shown that Callisto is the same inside from the center to the surface. This means that Callisto does not have a core at the center. This means that, unlike...more
Many different types of surface are shown in this picture. In the front is a huge crater, which goes for a long way over the surface. This crater could be compared to that of Mimas. They both show that...more
The surface of Callisto is deeply marked with craters. Craters are the little white marks in the picture. It looks like it might be the most heavily cratered body in the whole solar system. And some of...more | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40398000 |
A new look at the human genome suggests that
unappreciated variations in its fundamental architecture, rather
than point-by-point mutations, may be responsible for most genetic
difference among people.
Point-by-point mutations, called single nucleotide
polymorphisms, involve simple changes to DNA lettering. They're
the best-studied type of variation, the target of most genomic
disease hunts, and the substance of commercially available personal
More complex yet less-studied are structural variations, which
involve large-scale changes: wholesale duplications and reversals,
or unexpected additions and omissions, of long DNA sequences.
Traditional genome sequencing techniques are too fuzzy and
piecemeal to make sense of these, yet "our observations suggest
that structural variations are more specific to individuals than
single nucleotide polymorphisms are," wrote researchers led by Jun
Wang of the Beijing Genomics Institute
in a 24 July Nature Biotechnology study.
It might seem counterintuitive that big changes have been harder
to detect than small ones, but it's a consequence of how genomes
are read. Every method involves breaking long DNA sequences -- the
human genome contains three billion DNA pairs -- into pieces, then
trying to reassemble them. The methods vary according to fragment
size and reassembly technique, but as a rule it's far less
expensive and time-intensive to use small fragments.
As a result, most genomic studies, including
genome-wide association surveys, involve sequences reassembled
from small pieces. As with a jigsaw puzzle or a book, however,
larger fragments would work better. If the pieces are too small, or
the text blocks just a few letters long, it's difficult to be
certain what the final product ought to look like. It's possible to
compare two pieces, but not puzzle sections or paragraphs.
"One reason you've heard more about single nucleotide
polymorphisms, that they've come to the fore even though they're a
more minor form of variation than these structural variants, is
that they were easier to see," said Yale University
bioinformaticist Mark Gerstein, who was not involved in the
In the new study, Wang and colleagues used algorithms that
assemble long, relatively intact genome sequences from small
fragments, allowing them to see more structural variation than is
usually possible. In a high-profile earlier study, they'd used it
to sequence a giant panda genome; this time they compared
structural variations across 106 people from the 1000 Genomes
They found that individuals seem to be distinguished less by
their SNPs than their structural variations. "Defining structural
variations will be of considerable importance for future analyses
of personal genomes," they wrote.
The new study didn't attempt to link structural variation with
traits or disease, but it's possible that as-yet-unstudied
structural variations contain a portion of what geneticists call
the "missing heritability." Of common disease risk that's clearly
hereditary, only a small fraction can currently be traced to
"Structural variations are a very hot topic," said Gerstein.
"They're probably the major form of variation in humans." | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40402000 |
This teacher-submitted, secondary lesson plan appeared in the Badger History Bulletin. Please adapt it to fit your students' needs.
Author: Joni Shahrani, Sennett Middle School, Madison
Students will investigate the meaning of "change" in our society and grasp the way Wisconsin's progressive traditions have affected changes in many aspects of life. They will make the connection between Wisconsin as a progressive leader, and the inventions and legislative acts that are documented on the Wisconsin Firsts poster. Then students will choose one of the items listed on the poster to research and report on in class. This lesson plan requires two to three class periods.
Students will gain a greater understanding of how change can be viewed in society.
Students will think critically and make intelligent inferences.
Students will be able to distinguish between industrial and legislative firsts.
Students will analyze and draw conclusions about how these "firsts" reflect the Wisconsin people who made and used them.
The Wisconsin Firsts Poster has been created by The Office of School Services for students of all ages. The following lesson idea can motivate middle-level students to discuss and research the great state of Wisconsin.
- Begin the lesson by asking students these questions:
- What is change?
- Why is there change?
- Lead students to the idea that change can be anything new and innovative.
- Once students understand a good working definition of change, ask them if change will happen more easily if it benefits an individual or a large number of people? Why?
Now have students also generate a working definition for the word "progressive."
At this point, ask students to draw parallels between their working definitions of "change" and "progressive."
Enable students to understand that the state of Wisconsin is seen as a progressive state in many areas.
Display the Wisconsin Firsts poster to show the many Wisconsin Firsts. These "firsts" exhibit why Wisconsin is considered a progressive state.
Now ask students to brainstorm categories of "firsts" from the poster. Two categories that work well are "Inventions" and "Legislative Firsts." There will be a few "firsts" that will not fit into these two categories.
Direct individual or pairs of students to research the "first" of their choice. Their research should explain what the innovation was and its impact on industry and human rights, or laws.
The information from these reports can be related to middle school history curriculum such as Industrialism and Reforms in the United States.
- Help students to see that change is much easier on a society if many people benefit as opposed to a few. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40406000 |
(WKBW/ABC News) An independent group of national experts is updating its recommendations on hormone replacement therapy.
Hormone replacement therapy for post-menopausal women involves administering female hormones called estrogens, but its use is controversial.
Now the United States Preventative Task Force has updated its
recommendation for the first time since 2005 with a thumbs down.
After reviewing fifty-one studies from the last ten years, the group argues against routinely prescribing hormone therapy to post-menopausal women, citing significant risks of dementia and breast cancer.
And it recommends against giving estrogen to women who have had
hysterectomies after hitting menopause.
The finding does not apply to doctors using hormones to treat specific side effects of menopause such as hot flashes.
But, in general, the panel says the harms of hormone replacement therapy for the prevention of chronic conditions outweigh the benefits. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40411000 |
Children, especially five and under, are so eager to connect with adults. Here are some easy ways to build your little one's confidence and their knowledge, with some advice from the organization, Born Learning.
In the early months, learn what makes your baby happy. Whether it's singing, swinging or following your fingers, give your baby fun experiences.
Also, Connect language to everyday experiences - it helps your baby learn to speak and eventually read better.
Once they start speaking, turn an errand into a fun learning game that helps your child make sense of the surrounding world. If your child likes trucks, look for trucks as you drive and see who can yell "truck" first.
When they get older, and more curious, encourage your preschooler to help you cook. For example, if a recipe calls for three eggs, ask her to get three eggs from the fridge. She'll feel like she's helping, and counting will help develop her math skills.
Turning chores, like laundry, into learning activities can also help with your child's math skills. Ask him to identify colors, help you separate lights and darks, or count the number of socks.
Whether you're a parent, grandparent, or childcare professional, you have a rewarding - and at times challenging - job of molding these tender young minds.
To learn more about how to help your child Excel by 5, click here. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40413000 |
Heather Bauer, R.D., nu-train
We know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but did you know that what our kids eat for breakfast can have an effect on school performance?
Research shows that having eggs for breakfast can enhance memory function. Choline, rich in eggs and nuts, is a nutrient important in memory cell production during childhood.
So, scramble up an egg or hard boil one for the road, even if breakfast has to be quick, it can still be nutritious.
*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in or provided through this site section is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be and is not a substitute for professional advice. Use of this site section and any information contained on or provided through this site section is at your own risk and any information contained on or provided through this site section is provided on an "as is" basis without any representations or warranties. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40419000 |
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The destroyer: a name given (only in Rev. ix. 11) to the angel of the bottomless pit, answering to the Hebrew Abaddon.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The Destroyer; -- a name used (Rev. ix. 11) for the angel of the bottomless pit, answering to the Hebrew
- Ancient Greek Ἀπολλύων ("Apollyon, the destroyer"), from ἀπόλλυμι ("destroy") (Wiktionary)
“Apollyon comes from a Greek word meaning the destroyer.”
“Now, Phineas, be content; Apollyon is beaten down.”
““Have you ever heard of a company called Apollyon Associates?””
“In Revelation he is the king of hell, for says the Apostle, "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon" (Rev. 9: 1.1).”
“For what is the very name Apollyon, but an occult prophecy concerning the great conqueror of Europe! nothing can be plainer!”
“Without entering upon the thing in its reality, I shall only observe, 1st, That it is neither in his power, or of his nature, to be a saviour of men's lives; he is called Apollyon the destroyer.”
“Without entering upon the thing in its reality, I shall only observe; That it is neither in his power or of his nature to be a saviour of men's lives; he is called Apollyon the destroyer.”
“The leader of this legion of tormenting scorpions was Apollyon, meaning “the Destroyer.””
“Be warned though that it investigates the heavy sounds even more ( "Apollyon").”
“His voice is strongest on the Golden gate Bridge; if you stop and look down you can hear the whisper of Apollyon.”
‘Apollyon’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
Looking for tweets for Apollyon. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40421000 |
GNU Webster's 1913
- The calendar of the ancient Romans, from which our modern calendars are derived. It is said to have consisted originally of ten months,
Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December, having a total of 304 days. Numa added two months, Januariusat the beginning of the year, and Februariusat the end, making in all 355 days. He also ordered an intercalary month, Mercedinus, to be inserted every second year. Later the order of the months was changed so that January should come before February. Through abuse of power by the pontiffs to whose care it was committed, this calendar fell into confusion. It was replaced by the Julian calendar. In designating the days of the month, the Romans reckoned backward from three fixed points, the calends, the nones, and the ides. The calends were always the first day of the month. The ides fell on the 15th in March, May, July (Quintilis), and October, and on the 13th in other months. The nones came on the eighth day (the ninth, counting the ides) before the ides. Thus, Jan. 13 was called the ides of January, Jan. 12, the day before the ides, and Jan. 11, the thirdday before the ides (since the ides count as one), while Jan. 14 was the 19th day before the calends of February.
- n. the lunar calendar in use in ancient Rome; replaced by the Julian calendar in 46 BC
“Julius Caesar’s Julian calendar, which replaced the Roman calendar in 45 B.C., eliminated the need for extra days—and occasionally extra months.”
“The latter detail is evidently an error, for the fourth century Roman calendar of feasts says that Pope Felix was interred in the Catacomb of St. Callistus on the Via Appia ( "III Kal.”
“The absence of her name from the fourth-century Roman calendar of feasts suggests that Petronilla died at the end of the first or during the second century, since no special feasts for martyrs were celebrated during this period.”
‘Roman calendar’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
Looking for tweets for Roman calendar. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40423000 |
- idiomatic There ain't no such thing as a free lunch; something advertised as being "free" will invariably have hidden costs.
- Acronym, originating in the early 20th century, and popularized by Robert Heinlein's novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. (Wiktionary)
“The acronym TANSTAAFL was used by Robert Heinlein, the science fiction writer, in his 1966 novel,”
“Wealthy taxpayers must have gotten their gains at someone else's expense, since TANSTAAFL.”
“» Heinlein on national health care: TANSTAAFL heinleinblog heinleinblog”
“But then I think that most people who cite TANSTAAFL have never read “Mistress”, have no understanding that it applies only in a closed system, and are still looking for their own free lunches.”
“Heinlein Gets the Last Word" is Kurt Vonnegut's New York Times article on the literary importance of Heinlein and the uncut Stranger in a Strange Land (free registration required, or use our gift to you: username/password = heinlein100/TANSTAAFL).”
“The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein - the concept known as TANSTAAFL, or "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch".”
“I thought of TANSTAAFL when he said that and wonder if he every read THAT book.”
“Somebody threw Bob Heinlein at me, so let me respond with him: TANSTAAFL.”
“TANSTAAFL -- There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.”
“» Heinlein, TANSTAAFL evoked to defend gas tax heinleinblog heinleinblog”
These user-created lists contain the word ‘TANSTAAFL’.
Signs like ;-) are excluded as they wouldn't appear as Wordnik items anyway
Looking for tweets for TANSTAAFL. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40424000 |
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A sawhorse, especially one having a crossed pair of legs at each end.
- n. Slang A ten-dollar bill.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as sawhorse.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A sawhorse.
- n. a ten-dollar bill; also, double sawbuck, a twenty-dollar bill.
- n. a framework for holding wood that is being sawed
“Asking a cab driver to break a sawbuck is impossible, requiring a swing past the neighbourhood where sidewalk money-changers do their business.”
“The rest of us had to make shift as we could, and I rigged up a "sawbuck" pack-saddle, with rope loops for stirrups and a blanket across it to sit on.”
“Hyphen added to 'sawbuck' to ensure consistency with other uses”
“The Elk Scouts had under their top-packs a "sawbuck" pack-saddle, which is a pair of wooden X's; and to the horns of the X's they hung on each side a canvas case or pannier, in which were stowed cooking utensils, etc.”
“Sport Harris, who was always looking for a chance to risk something, promptly took Harry up, and each placed a "sawbuck" in the hands of”
“Unless the AP is leaving something out, the only enticement ObamaTour offers would-be visitors is the prospect of shelling out a sawbuck.”
“In Jack Spence's case the only exodus they would see in the upcoming days would be at his hand or as a result of another three sawbuck expenditure.”
“Maisie spread her legs a little and he counted the bills into her lap, feeling the back of his hand brush her warm thighs with every double sawbuck.”
““I thought maybe you could spot me another double sawbuck.””
“Bucky fronted Jake a double sawbuck until he felt up to going to the bank.”
These user-created lists contain the word ‘sawbuck’.
My Favorite Words
For stuff to simply reside.
What did i *just* say?
Slang terms (mostly American) for money.
Looking for tweets for sawbuck. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40429000 |
Given that only half of global warming is due to CO2, while another half is caused mainly by methane, world-leading scientists such as Professor of Global Environmental Health Kirk Smith and NASA’s Prof. James Hansen call for methane reduction strategies, for instance through reducing livestock, to be implemented rather than risky and untried geoengineering carbon sequestration strategies.
Dr Smith writes:
“One tonne of methane is responsible for nearly 100 times more warming over the first five years of its lifetime in the atmosphere than a tonne of CO2. Methane is removed from the atmosphere much more rapidly than CO2, with a half-life of 8.5 years compared with many decades for CO2.”
According to NASA article entitled “Global warming in the twenty-first century: An alternative scenario“, co-authored by Professor Hansen:
“Rapid warming in recent decades has been driven mainly by non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Methane (CH4), and Nitrous Oxide (N2O), not by the products of fossil fuel burning. If sources of Methane and Ozone (O3) precursors were reduced in the future, the change in climate forcing by non-CO2 GHGs in the next 50 years could be near zero.”
Source: Global warming in the twenty-first century: An alternative scenario NASA site – abbreviated version – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) – full article
Date: 25 June 2009 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40433000 |
All Hands on Deck
In the southern marshes and swamplands of Louisiana, local fishermen refer to BP as “Bayou Polluter”—and that was before the April 20 blowout of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by the oil giant. Fishermen say BP spills oil every year and they point out marshes still dead from dispersants that were sprayed there.
If President Obama has a say, BP will stand for “Better Pay” for the environmental and economic damages that will stem from the uncontrolled leak, likely at 20,000 barrels (840,000 gallons) a day, according to satellite imagery.
In the Exxon Valdez spill, people counted on the oil company to respond to and clean up the mess, and we counted on Congress and the legal system to hold the oil industry accountable for damages to the environment and local communities and economies. In hindsight, these turned out to be bad ideas—for reasons I’ve recounted in two books. Exxon dodged penalties through long court battles, systematically underestimating the scope of the spill, and leveraging the costs of clean-up to avoid fines and penalties. The company even wrote off the cost of clean-up as a business expense. Where's the deterrent in that?
Let’s not make the same mistakes again. BP’s leak from the rig blowout is so catastrophic and so out of control that the situation calls for all hands on deck—for immediate response, for dealing with the spill's long-term ramifications, and for preventing another disaster of this magnitude.
What can impacted communities, governments, and states do to monitor, cleanup, and restore marshes and beaches?
- Start up Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Teams to monitor and map the extent of surface oil on beaches and in marshes. In a best-case scenario, teams should include representatives of local nonprofit organizations along with the usual local, state, and federal government officials and industry representatives. Including citizens at this level builds public confidence and trust in the program and information.
- Start up baseline monitoring programs to map the extent of dissolved oil beneath the water's surface. This subsurface pollution threatens shellfish, fish, and other sea life. A standard way of monitoring coastal pollution is to lower caged shellfish to various depths, then periodically analyze samples in a lab. Oyster Watch programs could involve a partnership with local governments and local chapters of active nonprofits to also build goodwill and self-sufficiency.
- Adopt a position of “No More Harm” and issue emergency orders banning the use of chemical dispersants (and all products with carrier solvents) in near-shore and marsh habitats. Chemicals that dissolve and disperse crude oil typically contain solvents, which means they are inherently toxic to sea life, especially in shallow areas where the toxic impact of the chemical and the dispersed oil cannot be rapidly diluted.
- Coordinate efforts to find and use nonharmful methods such as hair mats or peat moss to recover oil from sensitive marsh and beach habitats. Establish Mycelium Response Teams in communities to help with composting natural cleanup products. These are important alternatives to synthetic booms, which need to be cleaned (with solvents) or discarded (tons of contaminated absorbent materials are stored in landfills or burned in incinerators), creating secondary pollution problems.
What can local impacted communities, governments, and states do to protect public health and worker safety?
- Establish an oil-pollution advisory system to warn recreational users of potential pollution hazards on public beaches—perhaps adopting the flag system already in place to warn people of weather or swimming hazards.
- Establish teams of doctors trained in occupational and environmental medicine to treat people with symptoms of overexposure to crude oil, including respiratory problems, dizziness, nausea, headaches, and even cold and flu-like symptoms—which symptoms from chemical-induced illnesses mimic.
- Increase protection for spill responders. Ask Congress to remove the exemption for reporting colds and flu under the OSHA regulations. This exemption effectively allows companies to bypass reporting symptoms of chemical-induced illnesses—exactly what OSHA purports to protect workers from.
- Take immediate steps to train people to facilitate Peer Listening Circles to mitigate social and individual disaster trauma.
- Establish seafood monitoring programs to ensure that commercial catch is free of contamination from oil and dispersants.
What can people do to help? Lots. The Obama Administration, Congress, and the states need to hear from all of us.
- Pressure state leaders and congressional delegates to support the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act to increase the cap on liability from $75 million to $10 billion minimum, retroactive to the BP Gulf disaster. Following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Exxon eventually paid a total of about $1.5 billion to injured parties, which boiled down to about 7 to 10 percent of actual individual losses in Prince William Sound—and the payment came 20 years too late to help people through the immediate debt and cash-flow crises caused by the spill.
- Hold President Obama to his promise to make BP pay for damages from its catastrophe. Ask Obama and Congress to withhold all future oil and gas leases—onshore and offshore—until BP negotiates a settlement with injured parties instead of litigating or relying on the Oil Liability Trust Fund. Litigants in the Exxon Valdez case know full well that the U.S. legal system is incapable of holding large corporations accountable for the full monetary damages from large-scale industrial accidents. While $10 billion is chump change for oil giants like BP, it is survival for injured fishermen, local restaurants, resorts, and local communities, among others.
- Pressure state officials and Congress to establish a Gulf Regional Citizens Advisory Council, modeled after the Prince William Sound council and mandated by the Oil Pollution Act, prior to any further oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Contact Congress and the Obama administration to demand that no more waivers or exemptions to our environmental protection laws be granted for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico—or anywhere else in the United States. Further, demand full public disclosure of a complete list of existing waivers and exemptions from our regulations and laws (including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Superfund, and Safe Drinking Water Act, among others) that have been granted to this industry. Exceptions to the rule lead to industrial accidents like mine collapse, coal ash spills, and the situation in the Gulf.
- Demand a stay on future oil and gas permitting pending a full cost accounting of our nation’s oil dependency. Failure to recognize and account for “externalities” such as the costs of poisoned drinking water, degraded air quality and public health, asthma in children, the global climate crisis, and the tremendous environmental cost of the spill in the Gulf will only lead to continued blind dependency on fossil fuels.
- Lastly, start acting like the sovereign people that we are. Insist that people rule, not property, and that the people’s voice counts more than business in deciding our future energy choices. Join Move to Amend and other groups in pushing for curbs on corporate power.
Riki Ott, PhD, wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Riki has written two books on the Exxon Valdez oil spill's impacts on people, communities, and wildlife, including the recently released Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. A marine toxicologist and former fisherma’am, she is a national spokesperson with Move To Amend, a grassroots campaign advocating constitutional amendments to restrict corporate power.
- Six Things You Can Do About the BP Gulf Disaster: Instead of sitting helplessly on the sidelines, here are six things every American can do.
- John Francis on How to Break Our Addiction to Oil: When an oil spill coated birds in San Francisco Bay 40 years ago, he quit driving. Then he quit speaking. Madeline Ostrander asked him what he learned in that process that can help us deal with the BP oil spill.
- Can We Live Without Oil?: The age of oil may well be coming to an end, and the transition will not be easy. Will we choose to do what needs to be done.
That means, we rely on support from our readers.
Independent. Nonprofit. Subscriber-supported. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40454000 |
The computer lab is designed to facilitate project-based learning to increase computer literacy and "soft" job skills. Children and teens ages 10-18 will use the computers for completing homework assignments, conducting internet searches, and bringing their own ideas to life. "Soft" job skills are developed with software that teaches youth how to design and publish their own web pages, and how to record and produce their own music and videos. Finally, the computer lab will deliver educational seminars exposing teens to various career paths and successful role models from our community.
We have a real opportunity to develop the natural competencies our youth possess by increasing their technological capacities and preparing them for real-life experiences in obtaining employment.
Our existing Teen Center will move to the new location. Programs for teens and "tweens" nurture their potential by assisting and supporting them in learning and practicing development skills in a welcoming, emotionally and physically safe environment that encourages diversity. A few of these programs are:
- Minority Achievers Program
- Teen Court
- Youth and Government
- Girls of Promise
- Youth Making a Difference (YMAD)
Other areas will provide space to support social services and healthy lifestyle classes, including:
- LIVESTRONG at the YMCA
- ACT! (Actively Changing Together) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40455000 |
The Likud is a center-right party, whose roots can be traced back to the teachings of Ze'ev Jabotinsky and Revisionist Zionism.
These teachings were the base for the formation of the Herut movement by Menachem Begin upon Israel's establishment.
With time, Herut joined forces with the Liberal movement, and in 1973 allied with other political elements present in the 1970s, such as the Free Centre, the National List and the Movement for Greater Israel, and was renamed the Likud.
In 1977, the party won 45 Knesset seats in the elections and for the first time rose to power. In 1979, Begin signed the peace treaty with Egypt. In 1982, a Likud-led government initiated the Lebanon War, eventually prompting Begin to resign and quit public life. His replacement Yitzhak Shamir formed
a national unity government with Labor.
Sahmir's leadership of the Likud was followed by the first tenure of Benjamin Netanyahu,
who was elected Israeli prime minister in 1996, following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
Netanyahu was followed by Ariel Sharon,
a prominent Likud figure since its inception. Sharon was elected prime minister in 2001, but left the Likud in 2005 to form Kadima. Netanyahu was reelected Likud chair in December 2005.
- Israel will not allow the establishment of an Arab Palestinian state west of the Jordan River. The Palestinians will be able to manage their lives freely in the framework of an autonomous regime, but not as a sovereign, independent state.
- The Jordan River will be the State of Israel's permanent border.
- Jerusalem is the Jewish people's everlasting capital; it will not be divided, nor will any negotiation to the effect be conducted. Israel will continue to push for the expansion of Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. Israel will ensure the freedom of religion and faith as well as free access to all holy places in Jerusalem, for all religions. The boosting of Jewish settlement activity in the Golan Heights will continue.
- Israel's defense, safety and security will be top priority in any political negotiation or agreement. Israel will maintain all its security assets in order to ensure its ability to defend itself in times of crisis.
- The Likud pledges to continue to strive for peace with all of it neighbors, while stressing security Israel's safety and security as a benchmark guideline to Mideast peace.
- Israel will spare no effort in ensuring the return of all its missing and captive soldiers; Israel will continue to work for the pardon of Jonathan Pollard.
- Israel will strive for a free economy while integrating into the global village, encouraging privatization and greater exposure to competition; a greater effort will be made to conserved the environment and improving infrastructure; additional government assistance will be offered in order to expand the job market and minimize unemployment; and more foreign currency, energy, tax, health and welfare reforms will be introduced.
- The Likud will work towards boosting Jewish, Zionist, and national elements at schools and the educational system both in the Jewish sector and the Arab and Druze sectors alike. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40456000 |
Online Tutorials for Students
The York University Libraries are pleased to offer these online tutorials for students. Each tutorial includes a self-test allowing students to gauge their understanding of the topic.
Any faculty member is welcome to include these tutorials in class activities. Participation can be tracked by having students print and hand in their quiz results page, or by using YQuiz Statistics & Reports, an online tracking and reporting system for the quizzes.
The Academic Integrity Tutorial
The Academic Integrity Tutorial is designed to help you learn about issues of academic integrity. It explores plagiarism and related matters with case examples and positive strategies you can use to improve your academic efforts and avoid committing an academic offense as outlined in York's Senate Policy on Academic Honesty. This tutorial takes about 30-40 minutes to complete.
The Library Research Roadmap
The Library Research Roadmap is a self-paced tutorial designed to lead you through the steps of the bibliographic research process in preparation for writing an essay in the social sciences or humanities. This tutorial takes about 20-30 minutes to complete.
The Web Research Tutorial
The Web Research Tutorial helps you to learn more about how to use publicly-accessible web sites for research, from understanding what kind of information is freely available on the web to what kinds of search tools and techniques will help you get useful results, and how to critically evaluate and properly document what you find.
The Pre-Writing Strategies online tutorial presents ideas and techniques for getting started on essay-writing assignments, including strategies for understanding your assignment, exploring your own ideas about a topic, gathering ideas from readings, organizing rough notes, and developing a thesis. Now includes an online quiz. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40457000 |
We probably all enjoy lying on a sandy tropical beach reading a book under towering coconut palms. These mighty trees seem to make a perfect location even more sublime. We might be less aware of just how useful the coconut is, especially in the kitchen.
Firstly, it should be mentioned that the coconut palm is a not a tree but rather a ‘woody plant’. Secondly the fruit from the coconut palm is not a nut. It is technically a drupe.
The first use for coconut in the kitchen is as a basic construction material. Coconuts reach maturity in just 7 years and so can be classified as a renewable resource. The timber from coconut palms is strong. It can be compressed into strand woven coconut for added strength. It makes an ideal material for flooring that is ecologically sound and that looks and performs like hardwood flooring.
The actual coconut also has a variety of uses for cooking. Coconut oil is popular throughout the tropics. Despite being high in saturated fat it is good for you. This is because the oil is composed mostly of medium chain fatty acids that are easily converted by the body into energy. In contrast many polyunsaturated fats consist of long chain fatty acids that the body cannot break down and ends up storing as body fat.
Coconut oil and coconut milk are both rich in lauric acid. Only palm oil and mother’s milk has comparable amounts of lauric acid. It is a remarkable compound that is antimicrobial and helps to protect the body from viral attacks. Coconut oil in food is a great way for both humans and dogs to stay slim and healthy.
Coconut milk is commonly used in Thai dishes such as green curry, chicken curry as well as desserts such as sticky rice and mango. It is a great food item to have in the larder. It doesn’t go off for 6 months as coconut milk contains antioxidants that prevent it going rancid. It is also lactose free and a suitable for making shakes and smoothies. Moreover, research has shown that regularly eating coconut milk helps to prevent lipid disorders.
Another great coconut food product is coconut flour. It is gluten free and ideal for baking breads and cakes. The advantage of coconut flour is that it is relatively high in protein and fiber and yet low in carbohydrates. This makes it not only useful for those with gluten intolerance but also for those who want to lose weight.
Finally, coconut water or coconut juice as it is also called is great for those who enjoy a cocktail while cooking. It is high in electrolytes and is used by athletes to rehydrate. What better mixer for alcohol is there? It also adds a pleasant coconut flavor to drinks.
So if you feel your kitchen is lacking something then perhaps you should look into ways you can introduce coconuts into your diet. Or perhaps you would like to help the environment by buying coconut flooring for the kitchen instead of hardwood flooring. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40464000 |
Field Trip - Flagstaff Middle School Pond
At the Flagstaff Middle School pond, students get their first outdoors hands-on practice at water quality testing. The students were instructed to follow protocols set by the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE). GLOBE is an international network of scientists, educators and students conducting scientific research.
Within view of the San Francisco Peaks, students listened to hydrologist, Dr Aregai Tecle, speak about the importance of hydrology. Dr Tecle covered topics ranging from our dry southwestern climate, declining water supplies in underground aquifers and the need to be conscious of our own water use. He also addressed these topics to get students to think more about a college education and careers in hydrology. With a degree in hydrology students will be able to return their communities in order to address their environmental problems.
Dr. Tecle was very excited to be working with Summer Scholars because as a hydrologist, he is concerned about the future of our water resources.
“Here, it is the scientific method they are learning…to engross their interest in academics, that way they have something to aspire for,” Tecle said.
Students used this field trip to practice the water quality protocols: temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity and dissolved oxygen (DO). | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40480000 |
The Chemicals in Your Life
On Wednesday, April 5, we will be doing a class exercise to explore the properties of acids and bases. Groups of 3-4 people will work together. Please organize your group and bring the needed supplies to class.
Suggested homework problems:
Problems have been assigned for:
Chapters 1, 2 and 3
Chapters 4,5 and 6
Chapters 7,8 and 9
Chapters 11,12 and 15
Chemistry Poems by
- ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS CHEERY IN THE LAB OF SHAKHASHIRI, here
are some experiments that can be done at home. Try them, try them, you will like them.
- Chemistry in the Modern World,
a course here at Stanislaus will teach you how to do chemistry demonstrations.
- The American Chemical Society has resources for educators.
- Project L*A*B*S,
sponsored by Rhome and Haas, has experiments for all ages of students.
CSUS Library Homepage:Ollie,
CARL/Uncover, and Library hours can be found at this site. CSUS students (with a library
bar code) can also connect to Medline via First Search.
Here are HOT new articles from the American
Science is fun in the lab of
Chemicool web site has all sorts of
information about the elements.
Check out this Periodic table ; it was created by Yinon Bentor.
Special viewing of DDT
Special viewing of DDE
CSU Stanislaus Chemistry Homepage
Thank you for NOT smoking
is a page with links to information about the ill effects of cigarette smoking. There are
links to sites with useful information: including how to quit, how to keep adolescents
from starting and how to avoid magazines that advertise tobacco products. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40481000 |
To date, it has been an unbelievably quiet flu season throughout the country. But with that being said there is still some flu and there could be more to come, this is typically the time of year that flu begins to peak.
So, what is the flu? Flu is short for influenza which is a viral infection of the nose, throat and lungs. There are many different types of influenza viruses and different viruses circulate each year. Since the flu viruses change each year a new vaccine is released every year to cover the 3 expected strains of flu for the season.
The most common symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches headaches, chills and fatigue. In younger children the flu may also cause some vomiting and diarrhea. Occasionally, some people with the flu will not have fever, but this is not common. You typically feel a lot sicker with the flu than with a cold and most people really go to bed, or at least the couch while sick with the flu. Even toddlers and children slow down!
The flu is spread by respiratory droplets which occur when a person with the flu coughs, or sneezes or talks. These viral droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby (maybe even several feet away). At the same time a person might pick up these droplets by touching something, like a door knob, telephone, or a computer that has the flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, eyes or nose. It really is very easily spread.
Did you also know that the people who may not yet be sick, or are just starting to feel "icky" may spread the virus unknowingly? The virus may be shed for a day prior to actually getting sick and up to 5 - 7 days after having the flu. Even with the best intentions it is impossible to predict when you will get sick or exactly how long you shed virus after starting to feel better. The only good prevention is to cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands frequently and try to keep from touching your hands to your own face. Easier said than done.
Because the flu is a virus, antibiotics won't help. I repeat, antibiotics don't work. The treatment of the flu is entirely symptomatic, in other words treat the fever, body aches, cough etc. Flu typically puts a person to bed for a few days and the fever is usually significant. Treat the fever with either acetaminophen or ibuprofen and NEVER use aspirin. I also prescribe throat lozenges, hot tea, popsicles for sore throats, and lots of fluids. In most cases children don't have a big appetite when they are sick, and neither will you if you get the flu, so just make sure they are drinking and hydrated. As they start feeling better their appetite will return. There are antiviral medications specifically for the flu and these drugs may be used more frequently for children under the age of 2 or for children with underlying medical conditions such as asthma or heart disease. These medications need to be started within the first 2 days of flu to be effective and will be prescribed in certain circumstances, so call your doctor to discuss this.
To prevent spreading the flu, you should keep your child home while they are sick and for 24 hours after they become fever free (and that means without using fever reducing medication!). Most people with the flu have a lingering cough and fatigue which may last another 7 - 10 days. Flu is definitely not fun and may affect the entire family.
Lastly, the best way to prevent getting the flu is by getting vaccinated. It is still not too late, (never too late unless you are already sick).
I'm Dr. Sue with The Kid's Doctor helping parents take charge | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40484000 |
We all carry between 300-500 toxins in our tissues. Many of these toxins were not in existence before 1940.
WHERE HAVE THEY ALL COME FROM?
The shortage of natural minerals during WW11 prompted the creation of synthetic chemicals such as nylon, plastics and synthetic rubbers even margarine due to shortage of butter.
THE CHEMICAL REVOLUTION CONTINUES!
Scientists don’t always consider the long-term hazardous effects that these discoveries have on our planet and our health.
WE KNOW WE LIVE ON A TOXIC PLANET
Toxins are every where. In our water, in the air, in our homes.
These toxins are carried by wind rain and weather and have even been found at the North Pole. Scientist, who drilled the polar ice cap, found “green goo” that refuses to freeze. They found DDT, DIOXIN & PCB’s as well as hundreds of other deadly chemicals.
TOXINS IN OUR HOMES
A study conducted in1998 (issue of scientist’s America) came to the conclusion that indoor toxins are 3-5 times more dangerous than outdoors. Even when we shower or do the dishes. When chlorine is heated it releases chloroform gas. Exposure can cause cancer, induce asthma, allergies and chronic fatigue.
PHARMACEUTICALS IN DRINKING WATER
Studies have indicated that over time, humans could be harmed by ingesting drinking water contaminated with tiny amounts of pharmaceuticals.
People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it is passed through and flushed down the toilet. Although the wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes and the water is cleansed again at treatment plants before being piped to consumers, most treatments do not remove all drug residue. Studies show that over time, humans could be harmed by ingesting drinking water contaminated with tiny amounts of pharmaceuticals.
Also, Simazine in swimming pools if ingested by boys and men, the chemical mimics a natural hormone that switches off progesterone so that young boys may not properly develop or may become sterile, or both, and in older men it is proven to be a precursor to Prostate Cancer.
Studies also show that levels of toxic chemicals can lead to learning deficit & infertility, from every day items such as toilet bowl cleaners and deodorisers, moth balls, dry cleaning fluid, insecticides and pesticides.
CHILDREN’S DISEASES ON THE RISE
Children spend more time on the floor than adults and are particularly susceptible to contamination on that level. They also crawl on outdoor patios, which have been treated with arsenic.
Consequently, we are seeing an appalling rise in children’s diseases, which can be traced to toxins in the system as shown from a study from Washington State. It shows that plasticising chemicals known as phthalates, the flame retardants PBDEs, the heavy metals: lead, arsenic, and mercury, perfluorinated chemicals like those used to make Teflon, pesticides, and banned, but persistent, PCBs and DDT. These toxins are all around us.
All these lead to child hood deceases, such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, autism and ADD. To name a few.
DEGENERATIVE DISEASE ON THE RISE
In spite of billions of dollars spent on Cancer research over many years, Cancer has just become the number one killer. Every one of us knows of friends, family work colleagues who are either suffering from cancer or have lost the battle.
BUT IT’S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM!
Ignorance is not an option.
We have a personal responsibility for our own and our children’s health and well being. We may not be able to stop these invisible killer toxins from invading our lives but we can do something about looking after our own health.
“Activated Liquid Zeolite” has been proven to remove heavy metals and chemicals from the cells. Because of it’s small molecular size it has the added benefit of total safety for all ages including newborn babies. Taking a heavy metal urine or hair test before and after use will assure even the most sceptical person of its efficacy.
If you would like more specific information regarding the use of this life-changing product, e-mail me [email protected] or call me on the numbers provided and most important please visit my website: www.zeolitesgerlinde.com for FREE REPORTS and answers to all your questions.
07 556 11952 or 0413 196 673.
Extracts from a report from Dr. Steve Nugent if you would like to read his full report go to http://www.zeolitesgerlinde.com/NCD/nugenttoxinreport.pdf | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40485000 |
This post was written by Paige Horton, student assistant in Special Collections and Archives.
Women and Wake Forest have quite the colorful history. In honor of Women’s History Month we here at Special Collections dug around and found something very special for you: The Deans Record Group: Dean of Women (RG4.3), and Women’s Government Association (RG4.31) Collections.
The collection itself is made up of minutes, correspondence, and subject files that feature staff, student committees, and societies. The University Archives is home to the administrative paperwork available in the finding aid, and the Women’s Government Association handbooks can be found in the library catalog. Students can get a first-hand look at the Women’s Government Association (WGA) handbooks which details all the guidelines women had to live by at Wake Forest.
The History of Wake Forest provides an interesting look into the admission of women. Women of junior and senior status were officially admitted into Wake Forest College in 1942. The College came to this decision based on the amount of students they could potentially have:
From the Baptist junior colleges, young women were graduating and were going to other institutions to complete their college work. Among them were not a few who could not find the work desired in Meredith College or in any other Baptist college for women, and on that account they were going in increasing numbers to the University of North Carolina and other institutions, where they could get the instruction they desired. With them often went their brothers and friends, who normally would attend Wake Forest. If Wake Forest College would admit them they would go there, since they desired to be in a Baptist college. Another consideration was that for the duration of the war the income from students’ fees would be materially lessened by the drafting for the armed services of those who would be regularly among the students of the College, and that this loss might be reduced by the fees of the young women from the junior colleges who would not go to Meredith College in any event.
In 1943 a board member “presented a compromise which allowed women to enter Wake Forest in any class (previously they had been admitted only at the junior and senior levels); recognized university status for Wake Forest, giving it the right to develop as it thought best and committed the convention to greater support of Wake Forest through funding of development programs.”
The admission of women to Wake Forest College, along with the end of the war, had some unforeseen complications. In spring 1946 the campus total came to 1,000 students. There wasn’t enough space to house all the students but the college and the town worked together to “provide lodgings of some kind for everyone.” Women stayed in Bostwick and Hunter dormitories, “even in the basements and attics.”
The Women’s Government Association and the Dean of Women were created in response to the acceptance of women. According to the 1964 handbook, “The WGA is you. The officers are elected by you and will represent you in all matters pertaining to the life of the women of Wake Forest College. The WGA is not merely a law-making organization, but a group created to help give a sense of unity to all the women of Wake Forest College. The WGA desires to help you, and in turn, needs your support to make your years here a success.”
The WGA created a handbook instructing coeds on how they should conduct themselves while at Wake Forest. Some of the rules include:
Coeds could not ride in cars or airplanes without the written permission of their parents. They were forbidden to enter any man’s room or apartment, and fraternity houses were strictly off limits. Women could not smoke on the streets, and they were not allowed to possess or use alcoholic beverages. Only Seniors were permitted to date every night of the week and, in that activity, were forbidden to go to the stadium, the athletic field, and certain dark areas of the grounds.
The handbooks have a variety of codes of conduct but here are some of the more interesting ones!
1953-1954: Dating in parked cars during the evening is not permitted. A date is considered being in the company of a boy more than fifteen minutes.
Blue jeans are for picnics and hikes—not to be worn on campus or in the parlors except for unusual circumstances. Permission to wear jeans on the campus may be obtained from any member of the council.
Hose are worn when going to Raleigh.
1957-1958: Bermuda shorts may be worn to the phone booths, drive-in movies, miniature golf course, through the small parlor when leaving or entering the dorm to and form a car, on picnics, swimming, in the recreation room, and to the Farmer’s Dairy Bar. These rules apply except on Sundays. Bermudas may be worn on Sundays with raincoats or skirts.
1961-1962: A student may not go to the phone or be in the parlor without wearing shoes.
During serenades girls are asked to dress adequately and to be as courteous and considerate as possible. They are also asked to refrain from making excess noise whether they attend the serenade or not.
1962-1963: Second semester freshmen may go to the library any night, but must return to the dorm by 10:30. During this time she may go to the soda shop to get something, but may not sit down to eat it.
1965-1966: It’s a College rule that participation in or inciting a riot (and this includes panty raids) is subject to penalty.
You’ll be considered on a date if you leave the dormitory with a boy after 7:30pm. However, you are permitted to go to the library or to one of the science laboratories with a boy without being considered on a date.
1969-1970: You are asked to use good taste in what you wear both on and off campus. Sweat shirts and cut offs are discouraged! Slacks and shorts are not to be worn in administrative offices in Reynolda Hall, the Chapel, classes, or the Magnolia Room. Please do not wear slacks and shorts on the upper campus before two pm on Sundays.
1970-1971: Wake Forest students are expected to recognize that marijuana, LSD, and other psychedelic drugs are illegal…The University’s physicians, counselors, and chaplains are available to students who wish to discuss confidentially matters concerning drug use, subject to the legal limitations on confidential communication.
Naturally the inclusion of women on campus led to some unforeseen consequences. “Some of the campus hijinks over the years were coeducational in nature. The admission of women to Wake Forest had initiated an automatic rivalry which was sometimes friendly and on occasion somewhat sour.”
Some of these issues were explored publicly. One girl wrote into the OG&B saying: “It seems as if one must look like Liz Taylor to get a date. Have you boys ever realized that you don’t look like Clark Gable?…I believe that if given a chance the girls that aren’t so beautiful would prove cute enough for your adorable personalities…give the Wake Forest coeds a chance.” The newspaper received several responses from the male population in varying degrees of dissatisfaction. Winston-Salem also took notice to this ‘rivalry’. In 1966 a reporter for the Winston-Salem Journal surveyed the girls at 8 colleges and universities and reported that they found Wake Forest men to be “rude, crude, and unacceptable” and “retarded mashers.” “Since admissions standards for men were lower, women tended to be more ambitious and intelligent, and they found it difficult to locate a marriageable man on the campus,” (History of Wake Forest IV, p.307-308).
Another aspect the collection provides interesting insight into is the creation and upkeep of the societies. The societies the collection offers information on includes the Fideles, Rigels, Petales, Les Soeurs, S.O.P.H., Thymes, Laurels, and Strings. “The societies themselves are primarily social in their function. They hope to offer the coed a broader scope of social living and at the same time to make some contribution to the life of the College and the community as well as to the lives of the society members.”
The Student Affairs Committee held open-hearings in order to properly evaluate how the societies were functioning- around campus and this is what they found.
It appears that the societies are most important for the girls during their freshman and sophomore years: in other words, they apparently fill a need for entering girls as they orient themselves to ready-made identity groups and make minor loyalties and friendships within the larger loyalty to Wake Forest College. According to our findings, senior girls rank them at the lower side of the list of factors most important in their collegiate career. Apparently there is already operating an unconscious phasing-out of society-identity in the lives of some students who are most mature, more self-reliant, more scholarly. Therefore, we recognize the role of societies in this maturing process of the individual student and in their contribution to the loyalty to the academic community, but we think that for those girls who tend to outgrown them, we would encourage a procedure whereby their membership could relapse into an honorary status.
Overall The Deans Record Group, Dean of Women, and Women’s Government Association Collections offer an exemplary and unique inside look at the social lives of women at Wake Forest College. To access the collection students can view the finding aid to get a brief overview or make an appointment with Special Collection to view the collections. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40486000 |
The Class of 2013 represents the first totally 21st-century educated young people in America. So what you may ask. The “so what” is that they are different than previous generations.
They grew up with Internet service at home, not just at school. By eighth grade, most carried a touchscreen smartphone with wireless Internet access. By the time they reached high school, their phones could not only access the Internet faster, but could also store an entire library of photographs and digital music files. They have literally been on the crest of the technology tidal wave.
As most of them now prepare to go off to college, many of the fields of study they will enter have been revolutionized by the same changes in technology and society that have shaped that generation. For example, math has changed in that there used to be just one way to solve problems, where now there might be four different strategies – a revolutionized education system. What is different about this generation is that information is no longer difficult to ferret out, so there is no longer the same requirement for students to retain information. The old-fashioned rote memorization style of education was based on a world where having data on instant recall was a valuable skill.
Today instant recall is not only unnecessary, it’s downright frowned upon. Why clutter one’s mind with useless facts when it can better be used to play thanks to Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines? These high school graduates retain less information because they don’t have to recall it – they can find it – but reportedly that doesn’t make them any less intelligent. Education is even shifting its focus away from the retention of information and toward the use of information, because electronically, information is retained for us.
But technology isn’t the only thing that has shaped the lives of this year’s graduates. None of them have any clear memory of a time when the United States wasn’t engaged in a war in Afghanistan — a war that began in 2002 when they were in first grade. It was always on the news, when as adolescents they would see the list of the people that died that day. Despite growing up in a time of turmoil throughout world, they seem to have developed a culture a greater tolerance and diversity than in previous generations. For example, interracial dating, which in earlier times would have ignited controversy and actually was illegal in some states, is something they hardly even notice.
Part of that is a reflection of the rapidly changing demographics of the nation. From 2000 to 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people identifying themselves as being of mixed race grew 32 percent. Reportedly there is a lot less cliquishness and separatist subgroups that don’t interact with each other in high school.
They also were educated under the No Child Left Behind mandates for education, which meant standardized tests, beginning in third grade, that meant more to teachers and schools than they meant to the students. Students were pressured to do well, and given big incentive rewards for doing well. Some have referred to the effect as Lake Woebegone where all kids are above average, but the intent was to ensure that all were at least proficient in all subjects.
Time will tell what the generational impact of their times will be, what they will accomplish, and what they will contribute to society, just as every preceding generation has been judged. The one undeniable characteristic of this Class of 2013 that is totally dependent on technology is that they will not be attracted to any library that does not appeal to their technology-based life style. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40488000 |
The California Community Colleges
Throughout the late 19th
century and early 20th century, states established public
colleges and universities, funded enrollment expansion, and launched
an experiment in social engineering. The result was a transformation
of the scope and purpose of American higher education. California
can be seen as leading this transformation. California reflected the
struggle of most other states to coordinate their respective public
institutions. Issues of governance, autonomy, funding,
and accountability gained greater importance in local and statewide
politics. As the need of higher education in American society increased,
the number of public institutions grew. The cost to taxpayers advanced
these developments, but it differed in its early development of a
coherent organizational structure for public higher education. In
the Progressive Era, California established and funded a groundbreaking,
geographically dispersed system of public colleges and a multi-campus
state university . California Progressives created a
social contract and an organizational structure that coupled the promise
of broad access to public higher education with a desire to develop
institutions of high academic quality—an influential model that John
Douglass, in his book The California Idea and American Higher Education:
1850 to the 1960 Master Plans, calls “The California Idea.”
A Pivotal Role
California played a pivotal
role in the development of community colleges and districts in America.
Legislation in California produced some of the earliest community
colleges in the country. The district college soon became the model
for most public community colleges in the nation and other states
moved quickly to pass similar legislation.
Social, political, and
economic forces shaped public higher education in California. Its
major personalities include David
Starr Jordan, Benjamin
Ide Wheeler, Hiram
Warren, and Clark
The first two-year colleges
in California began with the recognition by local townspeople that
many young high school graduates, unable to take up residence at an
often distant college or university (usually for financial reasons),
might benefit from college level studies. The founders of these institutions
tended to be modest about their aspirations. They wanted to make it
clear that they were in no sense proposing to compete with four-year
Generally, these colleges
were established by an existing high school district as just one more
service offered to the community by the democratic school system.
It was not long, however, before the "post high school experience"
grew into full-fledged junior colleges. Ultimately these institutions
became today's "comprehensive" California Community Colleges.
some debate the origins of how the junior college came to California,
evidence points to William Rainey Harper, President of the University
of Chicago. Letters authored by Harper around 1900 noted that he was
working with three California Colleges on the junior college idea.
However, it was David Starr Jordan, President of Stanford College,
who became the most important figure in the junior college movement
in California. Jordan's friendship and exchanges with Harper, as well
as his tenacious persuit of the separation from the university's lower
division, made him one of the most important figures in California's
two-year college movement.
A California law adopted
in 1907 (Upward Extension Law) allowed high schools to offer "postgraduate"
classes. Many historians have described this law as the beginning
of the California junior college system. The historical record, however,
does not support this view. Both extended high schools and two-year
colleges appear to have existed before the 1907 law. There is some
historical evidence that many California high schools were already
offering post diploma courses before the law was passed. William Rainey
Harper noted in 1900 that five California colleges were already preparing
to convert to junior colleges. These institutions may have converted
before 1907 (Witt, p 53).
The first use of the Upward
Extension Law in the state was Fresno High School around 1910. With
the assistance of universities Stanford and Berkeley, a principal
and instructors were chosen for the first junior college in California.
The school provided courses primarily to prepare persons for work
in agriculture or industry. In 1913, Bakersfield, Fullerton, and Long
Beach founded junior colleges. Between 1915-1916, Azuza, Chaffey,
Riverside, Sacramento, and Santa Ana followed suit. By the end of
the decade, California had created the most extensive junior college
system in the nation (Witt, p. 53).
The Development of
Districts in California
Another piece of California
legislation passed in 1917, the Ballard Act, which provided state
and county support for junior colleges. This Act followed the state
funding formula for high schools and provided funding to community
colleges on a per-student basis. In 1921, the District Junior College
Law amended the Ballard Act. This law allowed for the creation of
community college districts to fund and administer junior colleges
in California (Witt, p. 52-53).
With the establishment
of college district boards of education, freestanding institutions
of higher education were controlled by the electorate, not by an academic
elite. This combination of local control and public funding allowed
junior colleges to adapt rapidly to the needs of their districts.
Local control also contributed to the rise of vocational education,
adult education, evening classes, and other innovations that distinguish
today's community colleges. This new law had an immediate effect as
three junior college districts formed soon after, including Modesto
College in September 1921. Eight days later Riverside Junior College
reorganized under a district plan, and two months later Sacramento
created a college district. California had thirty-one public junior
colleges, fourteen of them districts, by 1928. The
1920's and 1930's were a period of increased growth and interest in
the community college. By 1930, approximately 150,000 students were
enrolled in the community college system (Witt, p 96-113). Most of
that growth took place in Illinois, Texas, and California.
The second world war created
a demand for vocational programs. Many junior colleges participated
in the newly approved Civilian Pilot Training Program. The greatest
concentration of these programs was in California and Texas. This
defense effort provided a boon, increase in scope, and new acceptance
for junior college vocational programs. In addition, with students
facing military draft, junior colleges began offering accelerated
degree programs. For example, San Bernardino Junior College shortened
their associate degree to three semesters (Witt, p.119). Throughout
the nation, despite the fact that the Selective Service Act of 1940
exempted college and university students from the draft, enrollments
declined and small private junior colleges closed. Conversely, California's
booming defense industry provided for an establishment of ten new
colleges during the war. By 1945, the state had fifty-seven junior
colleges (Witt, p. 125-128).
Following World War II,
colleges were given a boost with the passage of the GI Bill. Under
the GI Bill, any honorably discharged veteran who had served ninety
days or was injured in the line of duty was entitled to a free college
education. The government would pay for tuition, books, and fees at
any approved institution. After the decline in enrollments nationwide,
colleges scrambled to meet the demand. Once again, California blazed
ahead of the nation with the establishment of 18 new public junior
colleges in the first five years after the GI Bill passage (Witt,
By the end of the 1950's,
as the baby boom generation was preparing to graduate from high school,
California claimed the largest two-year college enrollment in America.
Nearly 300,000 students were part time or adult education students.
About 91,000 were enrolled in full-time or certificate programs (Witt,
The history of California
public higher education from statehood to politics and economic forces
eventually resulted in the 1960 California Master Plan for Higher
Education. This plan, formulated by a commission headed by Clark
Kerr, then president of the University of California, remains the
controversial basis of California Higher Education today. By the end
of the decade nearly half the states in the nation had adopted similar
plans. The controversial plan created a three-tiered system of higher
education and placed new restrictions on admissions to state colleges
and universities. The upper 41 percent of graduates could enter other
state colleges and universities. The remaining students would be diverted
to the state's junior colleges. Many complained that the poorest of
students were being relegated to two-year colleges. Others felt that
the two-year college provided a nurturing environment where students,
eliminated from a state university, succeeded.
During the 1970's, community
colleges nationwide faced a drop in enrollments. California's system
felt an enormous 9 percent decrease. In addition, on June 6th, 1978,
nearly two-thirds of California's voters passed Proposition 13, reducing
the property tax by about 57%. Funding control shifted to the State,
with the Legislature increasingly involved in community college operations.
A Priceless Treasure
Due in part to a national
recession, two-year colleges experienced a resurgence after nearly
four years of stagnant enrollment. In addition, between 1980 and 1990
minority groups fueled the growth in the nation and contributed to
the new wave of Americans entering colleges. Community colleges served
as the gateway to higher education for this new wave of students,which
called for the restructuring of missions and goals, shared governance,
learning styles, and faculty and staff diversity. Ironically, this
resurgence was temporarily short lived as increased military spending
and a long period of economic growth signaled another downturn in
enrollments. Community colleges looked for new ways to reach out into
untapped sections of the community (high schools, senior citizen centers,
and prisons). These efforts increased enrollments tremendously. During
the 1980's, two-year colleges gained increasing attention from the
White House, as two-year colleges served more voters and existed in
most every congressional district. During an interview with a community
college delegation, then President Ronald Reagan called community
colleges, "a priceless treasure--close to our homes and work,
providing open doors for millions of our fellow citizens...the original
higher education melting pot (Witt, p. 264)."
Tidal Wave II
In the 21st Century new
challenges face California Community Colleges. The importance, effectiveness,
and role of community college education in the competitive California
economy is growing. In March of 2000, the State of California's Little
Hoover Commission undertook a study to determine how well community
colleges were meeting state goals. The Little Hoover Commission, formally
known as the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California
State Government Organization and Economy, is an independent state
oversight agency that was created in 1962. The Commission's mission
is to investigate state government operations and, through reports,
recommendations and legislative proposals, promote efficiency, economy
and improved service. According to the commission, the Department
of Finance projects a 25 percent increase from 1996 enrollment. Access
to and effectiveness of community colleges is under greater scrutiny
due to this projected increase.
The commission focused
on two issues: first, understanding the evolving mission of the community
colleges and the roles community colleges play in post-secondary education;
second, reviewing whether community colleges successfully realize
their mission. In short, one of the more significant commission findings
was that the success of the community colleges depends on the quality
of teaching as well as true access to the educational services that
individual students need. The commission's findings and recommendations
are presented in four sections:
- Making Teaching Count:
Quality teaching is not prioritized in hiring, professional development,
or tenure decisions.
- Ensuring Access and
Benefit for All: Colleges fail to identify the potential students
they intend to serve, the barriers that prevent those populations
from benefiting from the colleges, or how resource decisions can
best serve access goals.
- Aligning Funding
with Purpose: Community college funding is baseline and enrollment
driven. Funding structures do little to encourage individual colleges
or the colleges as a system to promote efficiency, cost effectiveness
- Reinvigorating Governance:
Community college leadership is bifurcated between state and
local decision-makers, both of them bound by procedures intended
to give all parties a seat at the table. In the absence of leadership
this muddled governance mutes responsibility and accountability
for the quality and the cost-effectiveness of services offered.
William Rainey Harper's
plan to revolutionize higher education is still alive in the ever
changing California's community colleges.The associate degree has
become an accepted standard of achievement, and millions of students
who would have otherwise been unserved find an open gateway in California's
on the Community College in America. It's History, Mission, and Management.
Ed. George A. Baker III. Greenwood Press, 1994.
Sidney W., and Myron Roberts. The California Community Colleges.
Field Educational Publications Incorporated, 1973.
J.A. The California Idea and American Higher Education: 1850 to
the 1960 Master Plan. Stanford University Press, 2000.
Doors and Open Minds: Improving Access and Quality in California's
Community Colleges. State of California Little Hoover Commission,
March 2000. http://www.lhc.ca.gov/lhc.html
Allen A., James L. Wattenbarger, James F. Gollattscheck, and Joseph
E. Suppinger. America's Community Colleges: The First Century,
Community College Press, 1994. (p. 34). | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40490000 |
Community perceptions of malaria and vaccines in two districts of Mozambique
Malaria is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Mozambique, with nearly three-quarters of the country's malaria-related deaths occurring in children younger than five years. A malaria vaccine is not yet available, but planning is underway for a possible introduction, as soon as one becomes available.
In an effort to inform the planning process, this study explored sociocultural and health communications issues among individuals at the community level who are both responsible for decisions about vaccine use and who are likely to influence decisions about vaccine use.
Researchers conducted a qualitative study in two malaria-endemic districts in southern Mozambique. Using criterion-based sampling, they conducted 23 focus group discussions and 26 in-depth interviews.
Implementation was guided by the engagement of community stakeholders.
Community members recognize that malaria contributes to high death rates and affects the workforce, school attendance, and the economy. Vaccines are seen as a means to reduce the threat of childhood illnesses and to keep children and the rest of the community healthy.
Perceived constraints to accessing vaccine services include long queues, staff shortages, and a lack of resources at health care facilities. Local leaders play a significant role in motivating caregivers to have their children vaccinated.
Participants generally felt that a vaccine could help to prevent malaria, although some voiced concern that the focus was only on young children and not on older children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Probed on their understanding of vaccine efficacy, participants voiced various views, including the perception that while some vaccines did not fully prevent disease they still had important benefits.
Overall, it would be essential for local leaders to be involved in the design of specific messages for a future malaria vaccine communications strategy, and for those messages to be translated into local languages.
Acceptance of routine childhood vaccines bodes well for a future malaria vaccine. Vaccinating children is a well-established routine that is viewed favourably in Mozambique.
A communications strategy would need to build on existing immunization efforts and use trusted sources---including current government dissemination arrangements---to deliver health information.
Copyright by the authors listed above - made available via BioMedCentral (Open Access). Please
make sure to read our disclaimer prior to contacting 7thSpace Interactive. To contact our editors, visit our online helpdesk. If you wish submit your own press release, click here. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40491000 |
Blending Those Letters Together
Is your child having trouble blending letters?
Begin by teaching your child the sound represented by all the alphabet letters.
When you come to the vowels, teach just short vowel sounds at first.
Don’t worry about the long vowel sounds yet. A good systematic phonics program such as Candy 4WAY Phonics for just $9.97 will introduce plenty of practice with short vowel blending. Long vowels will be taught after your child has become proficient and fluent in blending short-vowel words.
Pronounce each letter sound correctly and have your child repeat the sound.
For example, the letter d does not say “duh.” It says “d.”
To print rhyming flashcards for all the letter sounds, go to http://www.candy4wayphonics.com/free_phonics_stuff.htm
The rhyming flashcards found at this webpage give a picture along with each letter sound to help the child associate and remember what each letter sounds like. Eventually, cover up the pictures so that the child sees only the letters.
Have your child loudly “punch” the vowels when speaking them aloud so that he can easily hear the distinction between their sounds. Hearing and speaking this distinction is vital!
After your child can accurately repeat all the letter sounds without the use of pictures, he is ready to blend a beginning consonant with a vowel.
Using what teachers call “blend ladders,”teach your child to blend two letters together in one of two ways:
1) Using a pointer, point to the beginning consonant letter, have your child say the consonant sound, and then blend that consonant sound into the vowel sound.
2) Using a pointer, point to the vowel first and have your child repeat the vowel. Then, using a pointer, take your child back to the beginning consonant sound and blend that consonant sound into the vowel sound (see illustration in blue – below)
Either way, be sure and use a pointer (the point of a pencil will work fine). Use the pointer to focus your child’s eyes where you want them to be focused.
When blending a consonant with a vowel, sweep the pointer under the consonant and then under both the consonant and the vowel at the same time your child blends the two letters together. Move your pointer slightly faster than the child pronounces the blend.
Some children pick up blending right away while others may learn gradually over an extended period of time (days, weeks, or months.), and others suddenly “get it” when you least expect it.
The key is to present that very first blending lesson every day, twice a day, calmly and patiently always presenting that very first blending lesson as if it’s the first time you’ve ever given the lesson. Your goal is to convince your child he is smart and to give him the time he needs to “catch on” to blending, no matter how long that takes. This one skill, blending, will make the difference in your child’s reading abilities for the rest of his life!
Once your child has learned to blend two letters, he will be ready to tack on a third consonant letter in order to read three-letter, short-vowel words.
After that, he will need to go through a systematic phonics program that will carry him step-by-step through plenty of practice reading short vowel words that begin with single consonants and then on to short vowel words that begin with consonant digraphs. He’ll also need that phonics program to help him through long-vowel sounds and then through all the other phonograms.
I guarantee you, the most affordable systematic, step-by-step phonics program out there is Candy 4WAY Phonics for just $9.97. Why spend $200 or $300 on a phonics curriculum, when you can spend just $9.97 and receive a COMPLETE Step-by-step, fun Phonics Curriculum that includes everything? Just look at what you’ll receive in printable format as an INSTANT DOWNLOAD that you can use as often as you like for as many children as you need:
1) An 82-page eBook entitled: How to Teach Candy’s Systematic 4WAY Phonics
2) 100 Daily, step-by-step 4WAY Phonics Lessons loaded with fun rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration
3) Candy Sequenced Story Readers interwoven into the daily lessons
4) Colored Alphabet Rhyming Phonics Charts with Multisensory Vowel Helps
5) Colored Rhyming Alphabet Flashcards
6) Colored Lifetime Rhyming Phonics Charts to give your child a lifetime of phonogram retention.
7) Continuous Daily Phonics Drill
FREE e-mail coaching
In addition, for just $10 more, you can receive this same COMPLETE Phonics Program on computer CD-Rom that includes an Audio CD where you can hear every letter and every word and every sentence read aloud for all 100 Daily Phonics Lessons.
Candy 4WAY Phonics is: Parent/friendly Affordable Printable and It Works!
Carol Kay, President
Candy 4WAY Phonics www.candy4wayphonics.com
P.S. Candy 4WAY Phonics also offers affordable, printable phonics games to further help children learn CV blends and CVC words. Did you know that 62% of the English language is made up of short vowel words and syllables (CVC words and syllables)? | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40494000 |
A 21-year-old Army private took his final breath during the early morning hours in Camp Jackson, S.C.
Two months later, an Inuit woman perished along with nearly all the other adults in her Alaskan village. During that same month, a 50-year-old woman died not long after going to the Royal London Hospital — the same hospital where, early the next year, a 25-year-old London man died two days after checking in.
The four people had little in common except that 86 years ago they all fell victim to one of the deadliest viruses in history — the 1918 Spanish flu, which killed 20-40 million people. Now scientists hope scraps of their remains could help save the world from future scourges like one that could mutate from a bird flu now spreading in Asia.
"There is always the fear that another outbreak like the Spanish Flu can certainly happen again," said Jeffrey Taubenberger of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, who co-authored one of the studies published in this week's Science. "So if we can learn about the worst virus and how it became so infectious, we can hopefully prevent it from happening again."
Finding samples of the long-ago virus proved to be a feat of medical forensics. Taubenberger found a lung sample from the soldier's remains among the dusty shelves of his own lab at the Armed Forces Institute, a program that began collecting tissue samples from fallen soldiers during the Civil War to help advance pathology.
He then requested a search at the Royal London Hospital, which had been collecting similar paraffin-contained samples from civilians for decades. The Alaskan woman's remains, meanwhile, were extracted when a medical researcher was granted permission to dig in the village's mass grave five years ago. The permafrost of the Alaskan village had preserved the woman's infection in a frozen state.
Once each sample reached his lab, Taubenberger extracted the fragile remains of the influenza virus in each and sequenced a protein that codes how the virus penetrates and infects the human cell. Then two teams of microbiologists took the genetic codes and expressed them to re-create the virus' proteins.
Then they studied the protein in three-dimensional form, looking for clues to the virus' origin and what may have made it so deadly.
They found the virus contained hallmarks of both human and bird flu viruses and certain features in this combined version somehow made the virus a killing machine. The researchers found that the virus' lethal bite might have had something to do with its bird flu-like qualities.
"It looked like an avian virus, but it has some human characteristics," said Ian Wilson, a microbiologist at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., who studied the protein's structure and published the results in this week's issue of Science. "So there had to have been some adaptation."
Steve Gamblin at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research in London found, for example, that the site where the virus binds to a cell to infect its host contains traces of the bird virus, but positions its chemical building blocks in a way that lets them interact with human hosts. This adaptation meant people suddenly became vulnerable to a virus that was once exclusive to birds and unfamiliar to their bodies' natural defenses.
The potential for this kind of adaptation has health officials now worried as they try to control a bird influenza in Asia. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40498000 |
Australian Bureau of Statistics
4725.0 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A focus on children and youth, Apr 2011
Latest ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/05/2012 Reissue
|Page tools: Print Page Print All RSS Search this Product|
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES: COMMUNITY FACILITIES
This article is part of a comprehensive series released as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A focus on children and youth.
Note: In this section 'children' refers to people aged 0–14 years. The terms 'youth' and 'young people' refer to people aged 15–24 years. Data presented are from the ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2008 (cat. no. 4714.0).
Community facilities such as public playing fields, schools and health care clinics contribute to greater community cohesiveness and are important for child and youth development and wellbeing. In the 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS), information about access to community facilities was collected, however information about the quality of the facilities was not collected.
In 2008, most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people had access to facilities such as a school (95%), outdoor playing fields or play areas (95%), supermarket/shop with fresh food (95%), community centre (85%), police station (84%), or health care clinic (81%) located in their suburb, town or community.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth living in non-remote areas were more likely than those in remote areas to have access to some key community facilities, such as a hospital (76% compared with 56%), a pharmacy or chemist (91% compared with 42%), a community hall/centre (88% compared with 73%) and a police station (86% compared with 78%).
5.1 ACCESS TO SELECTED COMMUNITY FACILITIES(a)(b) BY REMOTENESS,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 0–24 years—2008
(a) Respondents could report more than one locally available community facility.
(b) Not all community facilities are shown in this graph.
(c) Difference between non-remote and remote areas is not statistically significant.
(d) Difference between non-remote and remote areas is statistically significant.
Source: 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey
This page last updated 22 May 2012
Unless otherwise noted, content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia Licence together with any terms, conditions and exclusions as set out in the website Copyright notice. For permission to do anything beyond the scope of this licence and copyright terms contact us. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40500000 |
Description - Colorado is well known for its National Forests and Parks which include 14,000-foot mountains, world-class ski resorts, semiarid deserts, ancient Indian ruins and wide open plains.Approximately 36 percent of the state of Colorado is designated public land.
Colorado has 13 National Forests that are grouped into 6 administrative
units: Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests; Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre
and Gunnison National Forests; Medicine Bow and Routt National Forests;
Pike and San Isabel National Forests; San Juan and Rio Grande National
Forests and White River National Forest. Colorado also has 8 National Parks
and Monuments of which Rocky Mountain National Park, Mesa Verde National
Park and Great Sand Dunes National Park are the best known.
Copyright: USDA Forest Service
Maroon Bells from West Maroon Creek
- Colorado's National Forests and Parks offer and incredible array of year round recreation activities.
Recreation - Skiing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular winter activities. Colorado offers skiers the opportunity of lift service at many world class ski resorts or wilderness experience in several backcountry hut systems.
Summer activities include hiking, road biking, camping, fishing, rock climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, rafting, kayaking and mountain biking. The wide variety of geographic terrain includes deep canyons, high mountains and semiarid deserts, that offer everyone exciting recreation opportunities.
Climate - The climate in Colorado varies tremendously from hot dusty summer days on the plains and deserts to frigidly cold winter blizzards. Colorado is known for its thunderstorms which form over the rocky mountains and then head across the eastern plains, often reaching 10,000 feet or more in height. Lightning is a serious threat, particularly on mountain peaks, lakes and open fields. Summertime temperatures routinely reach 90 degrees on the plains and the 80s in the mountains. Cool weather is always possible at night or at higher elevations. It is not uncommon to need both shorts and a jacket on the same day.
The winter routinely brings severe winter driving conditions with icy roads and limited visibility. Temperatures range from the 40s and 50s on the plains to well below zero in the mountains. Proper winter clothing and food is necessary to avoid hypothermia and one should be prepared to spend an unexpected night out if traveling in the backcountry or on the highways.
The National Forests and Parks are located primarily in the western half of the state. Arapaho Roosevelt National Forests, Pike San Isabel National Forests and Rocky Mountain National Park are within easy driving distance of Denver and the major front range metropolitan areas. San Juan Rio Grande National Forests, Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park are located in the South Western part of the state. White River National Forest and Routt National Forest are located in the North Western portion of the state. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40501000 |
Vaccines with mercury can cause autism, but removing the metal is uneconomical for developing countries such as India
In the 1980s, worried parents and medical researchers in the us alleged that mercury in vaccines was responsible for the growing number of autism cases among children in the country. The issue was debated in medical circles, wheels moved in many western countries, but developing countries still don’t have a choice — because without mercury, vaccination is expensive.
There was pressure on the us government for legislation against mercury in vaccines. At the same time, a combative vaccine industry brandished studies vouching the safety of mercury in vaccines. Nonetheless, the us states of Iowa and California passed legislations in favour of mercury-free vaccines. The uproar was not restricted to the us: the Danish parliament, in 1992, banned the heavy metal from vaccines.
The uk has recently passed a similar legislation. At the root of the problem is thimerosal: this preservative with a 50 per cent mercury constituent is a key ingredient of multi-dose vaccines. These vials are about 10 times cheaper than single-dose vials, making it easier for international agencies to procure vaccines for programmes in developing countries including India. In 2000, for instance, about 80 per cent of vaccines administered globally were supplied in multi-dose vials.
But these vials require preservatives because they are used over longer periods. Thimerosal fits this requirement. So, it’s not surprising that international bodies such as the World Health Organization (who) and unicef recommend this preservative. Even those vaccine manufacturers based in developed countries who make mercury-free vaccines for domestic consumption use this heavy metal in their products for developing countries.
What are the implications?
Most vaccines used for the country’s universal immunisation programme (uip) have a thimerosal content of 25 µg per five millilitres. Half of that, 12.5 µg, is mercury. A six-week old infant in many parts of the country is administered two vaccines, dpt ( diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus ) and Hepatitis b. T his exposes the child to 25 µg of mercury. Infants getting vaccinated at a private clinic are also administered the haemophilus influenza type b vaccine, as per the Indian Academy of Paediatricians’ protocol. This results in a total exposure of 37.5 µg. According to the us Environment Protection Agency, the human body can, in a day, safely tolerate 0.1 µg of mercury for every kg of its body weight. So, an average six-week infant, weighing 7 kg, can tolerate an exposure of 0.7 µg of mercury. The child is exposed to mercury levels much higher than this recommended amount on innoculation day.
The risk of mercury is even higher for the undernourished — and underweight — Indian children. At a who meet of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety in 2003, it was pointed out that little is known of susceptibility to thimerosal in infants who weigh less than 2.5 kg. Moreover, children are less equipped to handle the toxic load because they do not produce sufficient levels of bile, needed to remove mercury from the body.
However, many experts contend that ethyl mercury used in vaccines is not as toxic as methyl mercury, commonly blamed for maladies such as the Minamata disease. But there are others who dispute this argument.
Thimerosal was developed in the 1930s by the us- based vaccine major, El Lilly and Company. For years the company has manipulated studies to demonstrate the safety of this mercury-based preservative. In fact, when thimerosal was introduced, the company did have it tested, but only on 22 patients with terminal meningitis. And quite conveniently meningitis was blamed for the death of all those injected with the preservative.
More recently, Eli Lilly used the us government’s paranoia against bio-terrorism to its advantage. Along with other vaccine companies, it persuaded the us government to introduce a clause in the Homeland Security Act — brought in response to the 9/11 attacks — stipulating that these companies can be challenged only in vaccine courts, and not in civil courts. Anxious to ensure vaccine supplies against any anthrax or smallpox attacks, the us government complied.
On vaccination day, a child’s exposure to mercury is many times more than safety levels permit. Undernourished Indian children are at greater risk
The clause substantially reduces Eli Lilly’s — and other vaccines companies’ — liability if it were to lose a thimerosal-related litigation. In such an event, the company would have to pay us $5 billion in damages, six times less than what it would be liable for if the case was fought in a civil court.
Thimerosal has other supporters as well in the us. In 2004, the us health authority, Institute of Medicine (iom), came out with a report, which claimed to have used epidemiological studies from around the world, to suggest that there were no links between the preservative and autism.
But as journalist David Kirby notes in Evidence of Harm — a compelling study on the politics of mercury in vaccines — many experts who had exonerated thimerosal had received research grants and even donations from vaccine manufacturers.
While many us experts gave a clean chit to thimerosal, cases of autism increased in the country. In the early 1980s, only one among 10,000 children in the us was autistic. By the late 1990s, one in 500 children had the disease; currently there is one autistic child per 166 newborns in the us. Experts who incriminate thimerosal for this rise point out that mercury in vaccines more than doubled between 1988 and 1992. They also cite the contrasting example of Denmark, where autism afflicts one in 13,000 children — the country banned thimerosal in vaccines in 1992.
In another study, David Geier and Mark Geier of MedCon, Inc — a us- based private research laboratory — evaluated neurodevelopment disorders reported to the country’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. They categorised the data into groups of those who had been administered dpt vaccines with thimerosal and those who received thimerosal-free vaccines between 1997 and 2001. The former demonstrated a significantly higher incidence of autism, speech disorder, mental retardation, personality disorders and thinking abnormalities. The evidence against mercury has not always been epidemiological. For example, a study by Mary Hornig of the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, published in Molecular Psychiatry in June 2004, just months after the iom report, showed that thimerosal caused autism-like damage in genetically-susceptible mice. Another study by Boyd Haley of the University of Kentucky, usa, showed that mercury reduced an essential protein in nerve cells, tubulin. The protein is important for the growth of neurons and its depletion has been linked to the Alzheimer’s disease.
Thimerosal has also been implicated in other nerve disorders. For instance in 2003, David Baskin of the department of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine demonstrated that this preservative can cause membrane and dna damage, and kill nerve cells, even when administered in small amounts.
The debate has some positive fallout in the us. W ith legislation to remove mercury from vaccines, the levels of the heavy metal in vaccines administered to infants in their first six-months has currently come down to 3 µg from 187.5 µg in the 1980s. Experts are waiting to see if this intervention reduces the incidence of autism.
The debate can, however, compound the vaccine-related predicaments of developing countries like India, especially with the increasing awareness on the link between mercury and autism. A senior-Delhi-based paediatrician sums this apprehension quite aptly: “The fear of mercury in vaccines might deter people from innoculating their children”.
But what about alternatives to thimerosal? We do have alternative preservatives like 2-phenoxyethanol. Drug manufacturers around the world are also considering the use of other preservatives like benzalkonium chloride and benzethonium chloride. But says Varaprasad Reddy, ceo of Shantha Biotechnics, a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, “We have manufactured vaccines withot thimerosal. It’s not difficult to produce them. But the who does not permit us to supply such vaccines to the unicef ” .
Besides, the use of these alternatives would require a complete change in the licensing regime. For, Indian Pharmacoepia — a document that contains guidelines on drug constituents — makes it mandatory for vaccines to have mercury.
That’s not all. Extensive safety data would be needed for licensing. In fact, in the us, 2-phenoxyethanol is used in dpt vaccines manufactured by Aventis Pasteur. But a study dating back to 2000 indicates that this preservative also has neurotoxic properties. Occupational exposure to this chemical for more than a year can lead to cognitive impairments.
There are some other alternatives as well For example, the U niject device developed by the international ngo path, obviates the need for preservative-dependant multi-dose vials. But many experts are not too sure if the device could be a viable alternative. The device is costlier than even conventional single-dose vaccines, says Reddy. The latter costs about Rs 25 per vial, while the new device costs as much as Rs 34. Apathy and concern
There is another problem far graver than costs of alternative preservatives. Many experts do not see the need to shift over to mercury-free vaccines. One of them Suresh Jadhav, executive director, Serum Institute of India Ltd, Pune, asserts, “There is no proof of the harm done by vaccines, only perceptions. Using mercury-free, single-dose vaccines is also not feasible as multi-dose vaccines are far cheaper,” he adds.
Indian Pharmacoepia is quite categorical that even single-dose vaccines contain thimerosal. Reddy agrees that this anomaly should be corrected, but is not sure that this would make much difference considering the expenses involved in manufacturing single-dose vaccines.
There are other problems. It’s not incumbent on vaccine manufacturers to put down information about the presence of thimerosal in the literature that accompanies the vaccine vials. So, some of the vaccines produced in the country such as those produced by, gsk Bharat Biotech do not mention the presence of preservative. This lack makes it difficult for parents to take the kind of action taken by their counterparts in the us.
The Union minister of health and family welfare is not totally impervious to such problems. The national technical advisory group on immunisation, a body of this ministry, is supposed to convene a meeting soon to assess the safety data related to vaccines. If needed, the group will put an alternative vaccination strategy in place. But this meeting is long overdue. “There should be policy changes. But these should be implemented quickly without creating a scare,” suggests a senior paediatrician. Other experts assert that the government should quickly develop a low cost, effective preservative that is safer than thimerosal.
Exposure to mercury in any case is quite high in India. An autistic person needs treatment for life and the cost is very high. It’s time corrective measures are taken. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40505000 |
The fight against malaria, which used to be a localised issue especially in third world countries has been featuring in international conferences such as the G8, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (I M F) as a global threat to development, growth and poverty reduction. Countries facing the malaria pandemic relies mostly on foreign Aid and grants to fund the fight against malaria.
Despite this, many citizens from these countries cannot afford the recommended drugs due to their high costs or access health facilities and have now turned to alternative medicine commonly known as herbal treatment.
Herbal cure is as old as man and has been used for cure long before modern medicine came up.
Despite its acclaimed magic in treatment of almost all diseases, herbal medicine field is now facing a crisis. The influx of “ape’ and “quack” doctors in this field have reduced the quality and effectiveness of drugs being sold, while ripping off victims their hard earned money in exchange of non –performing cure.
This unfolding scene of herbal doctors in every market and roadsides has forced most governments such as Kenya to raise its concern with a promise to rattle illegal practitioners and review the legal rules regulating the herbal sector in the country. It has promised stringent action and measures so as to lock out unqualified practitioners.
Many deaths have been witnessed especially in poverty riddled areas and majority of people have died of diseases such as malaria, typhoid and amoeba even after getting herbal treatment in roadside clinics.
Poverty levels continue to escalate especially among the poor, due to the impact of fake herbal treatment whose cost is pocket friendly to poor people. Drugs resistance in the fight against malaria is also a common problem and many governments have moved swiftly to search of long term solutions for instance in Kenya, the government shifted from the use of sulfadoxinepyrimethamine (SP) treatment to artemisin based combination therapy called coartem due to drug resistance.
Some fruits of cure are being witnessed after this shift. If our people are willing to fight poverty, diseases and under – development, then the best ways lies in making their governments responsible in ensuring there’s provision of a vibrant healthy scheme affordable to all, starting of mobile clinics where clinics and dispensaries do not exist and legalising the herbal sector to allow only qualified desirable practitioners are some of the ways forward.
Other practices such as embracing indoors residual spraying (IRS) initiative can help in rolling back and eradicating malaria.
This will protect the poor and propel poor countries to development without donor dependency.
By Kamau Nyoike
Kamau is the Organizing Secretary of Kabati Low Resource Farmers Network
Comment on this article! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40508000 |
Educational Games Not Found On A Computer
Do you think kids spend too much time looking at a computer screen these days? I do. Any game I can find my kids that doesn't involve a computer is a game I want to get them. The trick is understanding your child enough to know what he or she really likes, and then getting that thing for them. Educational Games for Younger Children Look for the classics: Ants in your Pants or Mr. Potatohead. Games with lots of activity and funny things happening always go over well, and children learn more than you think. Remember that education isn't just what you read in a book, especially for younger children; hand-eye coordination, physical coordination, and socialization all play a part in education. But don't discount the more cerebral things. If you want to vary things, read stories to your children, and then whip out the Candyland game; only let them roll the dice if they can answer questions about the story you read. Reward the best questions with a piece of candy, in honor of the game. When you're playing with games involving physical activity and board games, things that get boring after a while, look for ways to spice them up with educational twists. Educational Games for Middle Children Middle children - they're the ones from about 6 to 12, and they're hard to entertain! Turn off the television, and try some games like Clue, Scrabble, or Pictionary. Remember that if you're trying to teach things, the best way to do it is by mixing both verbal information and physical activity. Some of the best educational games to play are the Host A Mystery party games, where your guests (in this case, children) get to act out a mystery and solve it. Remember, while you play, that they are children. Let them know what the rules are, but give them input. If they want to play Scrabble and allow Sponge Bob characters to be words, go with it. If they want to play Clue upside down, let them. One of the most important things you can encourage in middle children is their creativity, which too often is stifled by both school and home. Don't let that happen; just let them go with it. Educational Games for Older Children These kids are easier, as long as you can get their minds off the opposite sex. Try anything that challenges their minds: Scrabble (more strict on the rules this time), Boggle, Host a Mystery parties for them and their friends - or really, any game that gives them an excuse to have a party. Keep them involved in sports and outdoor activities; the first thing that goes in today's teens is the physical exercise. Dungeons and Dragons or other role-playing games are also good for teens, teaching them how to think ahead, how to deal with unexpected situations, and how to tell a story. Don't let any of their games consume their minds, but let them experiment, and encourage their fun. Educational Games for Grownups. Just like teens, adults need to keep their minds active, and games are a great way to do it. Get involved in the games your kids play - play along with them. You'll learn something, and your kids will love your involvement. In addition, people who are getting older need the stimulation of new learning to keep their minds active and young; just like with muscles, if you don't use the brain, it gets stiff and out of shape. Educate yourself for your entire life, and teach your kids to do the same.
Most Popular Articles
- Real Estate
- Hot Tubs
- Home Improvement | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40510000 |
Comprehensive Condom Use Programs
I. Definition of the Prevention Area
Unprotected sex is the leading cause of HIV transmission, accounting for more than 80 percent of the total number of infections. Male and female condoms, when worn correctly, serve as an impermeable barrier to the sexual exchange of secretions that carry HIV and a number of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), providing protection against transmission.
In recent guidance on HIV prevention, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) recommends programming that combines multiple, evidence-based approaches to increase availability, accessibility, acceptability, and use of condoms in targeted groups and in the general population. Comprehensive condom programming remains an essential component of combination prevention programs.
II. Epidemiological Justification for the Prevention Area
Condoms, both male and female versions, are the most effective barrier method currently available to sexually active individuals who require protection from HIV and other STIs and from unwanted pregnancies. Male condoms reduce the risk of HIV by 80 percent or more when used correctly and consistently. Modeling studies indicate female condoms can provide the same level of protection against HIV infection, although evidence is limited.
Consistent and correct use of male latex condoms is associated with lower rates of transmission among higher-risk groups, notably sex workers, men who have sex with men, and serodiscordant couples. In countries with concentrated epidemics (e.g., Thailand), programs promoting 100 percent condom use in the commercial sex industry have lowered overall prevalence levels. While the impact of condom use is unknown at the population level in mixed and generalized epidemics, condom programming remains an important aspect of the overall prevention portfolio.
III. Core Programmatic Components
Components of comprehensive condom programs are identified by the United Nations Population Fund as well as by PEPFAR in its recent guidance on prevention:
- Create demand: Understanding the local environment and characteristics of specific client groups is necessary to target individuals at higher risk and the venues they frequent. Demand can be accelerated by promoting condoms along with treatment and prevention, particularly for serodiscordant couples and for dual protection.
- Increase supply and availability: This is important for both male and female condoms in low and middle income countries. Managing the pipeline is critical to maintaining a constant supply of condoms. Advocacy for female condoms at both the international and national levels will increase demand, reduce production costs, and increase supply.
- Ensure high quality and low cost: Making both male latex condoms and nitrile female condoms available for free or at very low cost at key distribution points frequented by men and women (e.g., marketplaces, hair salons, workplaces) can increase use.
- Address acceptability: Confront prevailing cultural myths and inaccuracies using media campaigns and behavior change strategies--education and individual training--to target specific groups and communities, as well as larger audiences. Female condoms have unique advantages for women (greater control and dual protection) and men (increased sexual pleasure). Programs can capitalize on these features.
- Conduct monitoring and evaluation.
IV. Current Status of Implementation Experience
Meta-analyses and well-designed evaluations have shown that when coupled with education and counseling, condom promotion programs can be effective in increasing male condom use among youth and among such marginalized groups as sex workers, men who have sex with men, and serodiscordant couples. Successful condom programs employ multiple strategies, such as ensuring high coverage in accessible venues, training people on how to use condoms, building negotiation skills and self-efficacy, and working within social networks.
Condom programs have been implemented using mass media campaigns, community-level initiatives, and interpersonal outreach. They have also targeted people in the general population who engage in higher-risk sex (e.g., multiple partners, concurrent partners, commercial sex) in high-prevalence settings. Although these initiatives have shown success, male condom use between longstanding sexual partners, such as married couples, does not persist over time.
Demand for condoms exceeds availability; only a quarter of the total number of male condoms needed is available. Female condoms are even less available, due primarily to high cost and policymaker bias. Greater international funding and support for both male and female condoms must be increased to reduce the current gap and meet future needs.
This study reviewed data from 14 longitudinal studies of sexually active serodiscordant heterosexual couples. In 13 of the studies, all the participants were 100 percent condom users, while the cohort in one study comprised those who never used condoms. Overall, the studies showed that consistent condom use for all acts of penetrative vaginal intercourse was associated with an 80 percent reduction in HIV seroconversion. The authors note a lack of detail in the studies (e.g., on correct use), and there were inconsistencies in terminology about condom use across the different studies. There was also a lack of information on disease-free exposure time, the review found. The results imply that condom use is less effective for HIV prevention than it is for pregnancy prevention. Recommendations for future studies include improving the way that condom use is coded to give more detailed information.
This meta-analysis concludes that structural-level condom distribution interventions are effective in preventing both HIV and sexually transmitted infections. Structural interventions improve the availability, acceptability, and accessibility of male condoms. The analysis shows that structural-level interventions are particularly effective for increased condom acquisition, carrying, and use; abstinence or delayed sexual debut in young people; and reduced incidence of sexually transmitted infections. Limitations of the meta-analysis include extreme heterogeneity in the studies, exclusion of some important studies for methodological reasons, and a cut-off point of September 2007, after which other relevant studies were published.
This synthesis with links to abstracts places research on condoms, both male and female, in the wider context of integrating family planning and HIV prevention services. Links to research papers and other documents demonstrate that the correct and consistent use of latex male condoms reduces the risk of HIV transmission by an estimated 80 to 90 percent. Other studies show that interventions targeted at both long-standing and serodiscordant couples significantly improve self-reported condom use rates; concentrated counseling can increase acceptability of condoms; and condom use has increased in high-risk groups, especially if condoms are widely available where risky sex takes place.
Condom use is among a range of HIV-related indicators in this report on 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The report illustrates great variation in use, but in all countries more men than women reported ever using a condom and using one in the previous 12 months. Similarly, condom use during high-risk sex varied widely across sub-Saharan Africa, while condom use at first intercourse among those aged 15 to 24 varied but was low overall. Detailed tables present country-level data with figures for two time points where available.
This report is based on expert interviews and an extensive literature search. It highlights the unique nature of female condoms as a means of protection from HIV that women can initiate. Female condoms are not readily available and awareness of this method of HIV prevention is low, the authors write. The way to stimulate demand for female condoms is to ensure high-quality female condom programming, including creative solutions to distribution; training for both providers and consumers; and promotion through civil society organizations that work with vulnerable population. The report makes recommendations to U.S. agencies involved in female condom programming to promote their integration into HIV prevention and family planning efforts, expand technical assistance, and scale up programming efforts. The scope of female condom promotion should be widened to the general public to avoid stigmatization of female condoms and supports the removal of hallmarked funding for abstinence-based HIV prevention programs.
Over 100 studies were reviewed to compile this summary of data on male-to-male sex, including condom use, in low- and middle-income countries. Asia accounted for the highest proportion of recent research, and there were also new studies from sub-Saharan Africa revealing epidemics of HIV among men who have sex with men. However, the authors found there is still a paucity of information from other regions, and Latin American studies were less extensive than anticipated. This newly available data should be used in the development of future interventions, but more systematic data collection would improve the evidence base for HIV prevention planning, the authors conclude.
This report stresses the importance of male and female condoms and other forms of contraception in HIV prevention and advocates scaled up access as well as integration into wider prevention strategies. Expanding access to condoms continues to face cultural and policy barriers and wide regional variations in condom use persist, the report finds. One section is dedicated to how programs address barriers to use and to improve rates of condom use among young people, those in long-term partnerships, serodiscordant couples, sex workers, and other socially marginalized groups. The section highlights specific issues such as gender-based violence as an obstacle to condom use and the experience of 100 percent condom use programs.
This is a systematic review of 28 interventions targeting female sex workers. The interventions are presented in four categories: structural interventions, behavioral interventions incorporating condom promotion, provision of vaginal microbicide, and treatment for sexually transmitted infection. The evidence supports condom promotion as a HIV risk reduction strategy when combined with other sexual risk reduction and better access to treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Condom promotion interventions targeted at sex workers and their clients can result in significant increases in condom use, according to this systematic review of 62 studies in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The evidence in support of such interventions with long-term partners who are not serodiscordant, and also with young people, is far weaker, the review finds. The findings were consistent across different countries. Relying on self-reported condom use leaves the studies open to reporting bias, and biological outcomes would be optimal. Standardized measures of condom use would also help future synthesis of condom promotion intervention evaluations, the authors note.
This systematic review of 137 articles on the female condom, including five randomized controlled trials, looked at the impact of female condoms on risk reduction and incidence of sexually transmitted infections. Among the five randomized controlled trials, two indicated notable decreases in STI incidence and all five indicated increases in the number of protected sex acts. Data from multiple studies showed that female condoms are used by women who are not as likely to use other dual protection methods. Of the studies reviewed, almost half looked at acceptability, while other studies focused on cost-effectiveness, facilitators and barriers to use, negotiation, and promotion. The authors suggest that future research should move away from the focus on acceptability to examining the effectiveness and impact on diverse settings and to more closely examine the view that female condoms empower women to negotiate safer sex.
Thailand's 100% Condom Program, which mandates enforced condom use in brothels, stands out as a significant success story in two decades of HIV prevention via condom promotion. Condom promotion among men who have sex with men and among sex workers and their clients can be successful, but there is less evidence in support of promotion to the general public, the review finds. Condom promotion strategies should be examined in conjunction with other interventions, such as partner reduction because of the potential for interaction, and interventions should truthfully represent the less than total efficacy of condoms in prevention of HIV transmission, the authors conclude.
Condom use errors are widespread globally and continue to lessen the efficacy of condoms. These results are from a systematic literature review of 50 articles on condom use representing 14 countries and a diverse set of populations (e.g., sex workers, clients at clinics for sexually transmitted infections [STIs], monogamous married couples, etc.) from 1995 to 2011. According to the authors, common errors involve incomplete use (e.g., putting on a condom after intercourse has begun or early removal of a condom followed by unprotected intercourse), not leaving space at the tip, not squeezing air from the tip prior to use, putting the condom on inside out and having to remove and replace it, not using water-based lubricants, and incorrect withdrawal. Some common problems include breakage, slippage, leakage, erection problems during condom application, erection problems during condom use, and problems with the fit or feel of a condom. The authors found that the majority of articles discussed breakage and slippage, yet argue that other problems, such as early removal of condoms and incomplete use, may be just as serious, particularly when they expose a partner to STIs. Some under-researched areas include duration of condom use during intercourse and condom-associated erection difficulties. The authors offer some guidelines on correct condom use before, at the time of, and after intercourse, and offer a Condom Use Experience model to guide future research.
This review describes the results of a meta-analysis on HIV prevention projects implemented among sex workers in low- and middle-income countries. The objectives of the review were to 1) evaluate and 2) assess the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in reducing the transmission of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among sex workers and their clients. Only randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials were included, a total of 13 studies. The outcomes of interest were STI and HIV incidence and prevalence. Secondary outcomes included changes in behavior such as condom use, sexual and drug use risk behavior, and STI treatment-seeking behavior. Two reviewers searched the gray and peer-reviewed literature from various sources, and included published data from 1980 to 2010. Primary outcomes were identified in seven studies (e.g., HIV incidence, STI incidence, and STI prevalence). It was found that a Social cognitive intervention did reduce HIV incidence among sex workers compared to standard counseling, and an intervention promoting both male and female condoms was more effective than promoting male condoms alone. Six interventions were effective in reducing STI incidence. Positive findings were also found among the secondary outcomes of successful interventions, such as an increase in condom use, reduction of drug use, and reduction of sexual partners. The authors concluded that a combination of behavioral interventions is the most effective, but not all interventions are successful in ameliorating health outcomes.
This review compiles evidence from 11 studies on social network-based condom promotion interventions. All of the studies used social networks as defined by the study participants themselves, and 10 out of 11 studies measured significant improvements in condom use. Only three of the studies (among drug users in Thailand, Roma men in Bulgaria, and high-risk women in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States) had biological outcomes, and the primary outcome of condom use varied greatly by timeframe. Eight of the nine studies with controls showed a substantial improvement in at least one condom measure among intervention groups versus controls. The authors conclude that social network-based HIV prevention interventions can increase condom use and reduce other HIV risk behaviors.
This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed 28 interventions for reported condom use and condom use intentions. It revealed that sexual behavior, whether risky or not, did not increase after sex education and condom promotion. However, only condom use by males at last sex increased, and the interventions did not result in positive changes to sexual behavior. The design of many studies was suboptimal, and the heterogeneity of studies suggests a lack of consensus on interventions and research into their efficacy.
This study compares prevalence data for HIV and sexually transmitted infections before and after the implementation of prevention campaigns targeting men who have sex with men (MSM) in Senegal, a group with high HIV prevalence and a high rate of risky sexual behaviors. Frequency of sexual practices remained unchanged, but condom use in male-to-male sexual encounters increased markedly. HIV prevalence remained the same, but prevalence of gonorrhea halved. Using the same sampling method in both surveys meant that the data could be meaningfully compared, but the authors caution that the results cannot be considered representative of the MSM population in Senegal, because the snowball sampling method likely caused selection bias.
An intervention in Taiwanese gay bathhouses to ensure availability and accessibility of condoms was successful in increasing use of condoms, according to this study. Bathhouse attendees were recruited before the intervention and were then surveyed six months later to assess whether or not greater access to condoms inside the bathhouses reduced unprotected sex and cut prevalence rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. Among attendees at bathhouses in the intervention group, self-reported consistent condom use during anal sex increased, but prevalence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections remained unchanged. It is important to ensure distribution of condoms in areas of the bathhouses where sexual encounters take place, the authors comment.
This intervention offered commercial sex workers in Guatemala biannual screening for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), condom education, and training in condom negotiation skills, and also comprised activities to reduce the criminalization of sex workers. It resulted in higher consistent usage of condoms with new and regular clients, as well as lower rates of HIV and STIs, according to this paper. The authors attribute the reduction in STIs and HIV to increased condom use. The study may be subject to bias due to the potential for greater loss to follow-up for subgroups at higher risk of HIV, as well as recall bias and misreporting.
This randomized controlled trial of 400 Californian women examined the impact of a four-session female condom skills training intervention. Women received instructions in female condom use including self-efficacy training at baseline and supplies of male and female condoms during the study period. Information on condom use was gathered using computer-assisted self-interviews at baseline and at three and six months. At follow-up, female condom use among the intervention group participants increased and the absolute difference in at least one incidence of condom usage was over 20 percent higher in the intervention group versus the control group at both time points. However, there was no difference in male condom use. The study showed that women in the intervention group exhibited safer sexual practices without reducing baseline male condom use, suggesting the intervention can be an effective supplement to other prevention strategies.
This study describes an intervention to provide Zambian HIV-positive and serodiscordant couples with male and female condoms and a variety of lubricants to assess their acceptability. It found that male condom use, already high at baseline, increased during the 6-month intervention and that the increase was sustained at 12 months. Female condom use also increased during the intervention, and men's attitudes shifted away from a cultural preference for dry sex. Use of lubricants was influenced by the need for communication between partners about sex, and interventions that encourage communication could be useful, the authors note. Gender roles pitting men as the sexual decision makers must be taken into account in such HIV prevention interventions.
This study looks at the relative effectiveness of female condoms as a HIV prevention strategy within the range of HIV prevention options. The study includes a comparative review of 14 female condom programs across 10 countries in the developing world as well as a wider literature review and interviews with stakeholders. There was also a cost-effectiveness analysis. This report found that female condoms are significantly less cost-effective than male condoms. Female condoms are not cost-effective for female sex workers due to the very high rate of substitution for male condoms; for women with regular sexual partners, they are not cost-effective because of the high cost relative to male condoms, the study found. However, the authors note that cost-effectiveness is not the sole criterion for funding decisions, that female condoms have utility in protecting women whose male sexual partners cannot or will not use a male condom, and that the benefits to women's empowerment are implied by female condom programming, but difficult to quantify.
This study looked at the impact among 1,000 sex workers in Madagascar of adding female condoms to male condom distribution. The study ran for 18 months, comprising 6 months when only male condoms were available to participants followed by 12 months when both types were available. Every two months, the women provided information on condom use and they were tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) every six months. Adding female condoms increased condom use from 78 percent of sex acts at the 6-month mark to 83 and 88 percent at 12 and 18 months, respectively. Over the same timeframe, prevalence of STIs also declined a fifth from 50 percent at month 6 to 40 percent at the 18-month mark. The authors conclude that female condom promotion has its place in the context of programs that first achieve maximum outcome from male condom programming, but that condom promotion is not sufficient on its own to control HIV and STIs.
This report describes in detail Thailand's 100% Condom Program and evaluates its success in significantly increasing consistent condom use in commercial sex settings, in turn dramatically reducing rates of sexually transmitted infections. Factors affecting the success of the program include the wide extent of implementation of all components of the program, the degree of collaboration between stakeholders, and taking account of different types of commercial sex establishments and their varying needs. This success story can be built upon by improving condom access in indirect sites of commercial sex, given that surveillance had found the number of such sites increasing in 2000 when Thailand's program was evaluated.
Condoms are a cornerstone of HIV prevention, yet the demand for and use of condoms remains low despite the high HIV and AIDS prevalence rates in certain countries. Negative rumors about condoms abound, and negative beliefs act as barriers to the intention to use condoms consistently and correctly. This study used the Negative Condom Belief Scale in Tanzania to quantitatively measure how negative beliefs affect willingness to use condoms. The cross-sectional study was conducted in the Maasai regions of Tanzania. About 360 individuals were randomly selected based on geographical and household clusters. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in the local language. The survey contained questions on socio-demographic variables, HIV risk perception, and HIV knowledge. Thirty semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted to develop the scale. Six commonly held beliefs emerged, including that new condoms contain worms, that these worms infect individuals with HIV, and that condom use can cause cancer. The dependent variable measured was "willingness to use a condom." It was found that between 35 and 53 percent of individuals in the survey agreed with the six negative condom rumors. Having a negative condom score on the Condom Beliefs Scale was a significant predictor of an individual's willingness to use a condom; other predictors were the ability to acquire a condom privately and condom self-efficacy. The results indicate a high level of negative beliefs about condom use and illustrate how those beliefs translate into reduced likelihood of actual condom use.
This August 2011 guidance from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) on prevention of sexually transmitted infections aims to support PEPFAR country teams to identify the best combination of HIV prevention strategies, based on country-specific epidemiology. It describes the overarching principles for prevention programs and then spells out the evidence base and implementation guidelines for specific interventions. The chapter on biomedical interventions includes a summary of evidence on the efficacy of male and female condoms for prevention of HIV transmission. It spells out three key factors in program implementation: condom availability must be increased; knowledge, acceptability, and demand must be stimulated; and access to antiretroviral therapy is driving increased demand and creating more opportunities for accelerated condom promotion. It also has chapters on behavioral interventions and on assembling a portfolio of interventions to optimize the PEPFAR contribution to a country's continuum of response.
This 16-page report states the rationale for condom promotion, arguing that condoms are central to HIV prevention because they are both effective in reducing HIV transmission and cost-effective. The study outlines a step-by-step strategic approach to developing a condom program, starting with establishing a national condom team, conducting situation analysis, and developing a comprehensive national condom strategy. This is followed by budget and operational plans linked to national commodity security plans, resources mobilization, capacity strengthening, and demand creation. The final steps are strengthening advocacy and media engagement as well as monitoring and evaluation.
A large-scale social marketing campaign under the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Avahan initiative resulted in condoms being more widely available in areas with a concentration of female sex workers. Improved coverage was achieved largely because of the increase in the network of non-traditional sales outlets such as bars, fuel stations, grocery stores, and restaurants. Areas were monitored to ascertain the availability and quality of condoms using lot quality sampling. The authors recommend lot quality sampling to do routine monitoring of geographic coverage because it is easy to collect data, sample sizes are small, and the data can be analyzed using simple methods.
This report presents findings from three case studies of condom promotion activities in Cambodia, Jamaica, and India. All three case studies are described in detail, and there is a summary of the sociocultural, legal, economic, and financial barriers to condom access and use. Despite the diverse nature of the three settings, they had four elements in common. They all used a peer-based model; addressed stigma and discrimination as a precursor to condom promotion; had a practical, evidence-based approach; and integrated condom advocacy with other health services related to HIV as well as wider sexual and reproductive health services.
This document is published annually by the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT and spells out the ordering procedures for use by missions to procure male and female condoms as well as other contraceptive supplies. It includes logistics forecasts to individual countries to aid calculation of delivery lead times, guidelines on the disposal of expired contraceptive products, and a product catalog and price list.
This report is aimed at a broad readership including donors, public health officials, national HIV program managers, health care workers, and other stakeholders. It describes priority interventions for HIV prevention, treatment, and care. There are also policy and technical recommendations and guidance on setting HIV program priorities. Recommendations on prevention of sexual transmission of HIV include condom promotion for the general population as well as at-risk groups such as serodiscordant couples and sex workers. There is also a list of over 230 useful resources.
This 75-minute course explains the purpose and components of a logistics system and its role in supporting contraceptive and commodity security. There are modules introducing the basics of logistics in theory and in practice, covering topics such as forecasting, finance, procurement, and delivery. There are examples from the field to show how logistics can make limited resources stretch further and make programs more successful. The course also covers the importance of a logistics management information system and guidance on forecasting, inventory control, and storage. Users can monitor their learning with frequent multiple-choice quizzes, culminating in an online exam. There is a click-through glossary for technical terms throughout the course. Go to link below and then register (free), then click "Course Catalog" and select "Logistics for Health Commodities."
Launching a new condom program or improving an existing one can be done with the seven-step process laid out in this manual. There are detailed chapters on understanding condom users and the program environment; creating an action plan; ensuring a pipeline of high-quality condoms; expanding distribution, condom promotion at distribution points, promoting condoms in the community and at district and national levels; and program monitoring and evaluation. The manual provides a checklist of key actions, examples from the field, and useful worksheets and contacts. There are also fact sheets on male and female condoms, their dual role as protection against HIV and pregnancy, and gender and condom programming.
This report provides guidance on how to ensure optimal use of condoms as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy. Steps include ensuring sufficient condom supplies, promoting their use within at-risk groups and the general population, clearly communicating their effectiveness, and addressing misconceptions. The report spells out the common features of condom promotion success stories and explains how to make condoms campaigns more effective. It gives useful but succinct information on the evidence base supporting condom promotion. Attention is given to recognizing and capitalizing on the interactions between different elements of condom promotion, such as social marketing and condom education.
Condoms for HIV Prevention
World Health Organization. (2011).
The World Health Organization's webpage on HIV and condoms provides links to general information as well as technical documents, scientific evidence, and data. There are recommended readings on a range of topics such as condom effectiveness and common myths and misperceptions associated with condom use, as well as a report on a 100 percent condom use program in China. A podcast on condoms for HIV prevention and links to condom-related information on the websites of related UN organizations are also accessible via the site.
HIV Prevention Gains Momentum: Successes in Female Condom Programming
United Nations Population Fund. (2011).
This report profiles specific country examples of successful female condom promotion programs. There are seven country profiles covering awareness-raising and behavior change to increase demand for female condoms, such as social marketing in hair salons and barbershops in Zimbabwe, and assertiveness training for women on Malawi. Programs in the Caribbean and Nigeria are cited as examples of successfully integrating female condom promotion into existing programs, while supply logistics and quality assurance are explored with examples from the Caribbean, Malawi, and Nigeria. Strengthening government capacity is also covered with four case studies from sub-Saharan countries.
View Report (PDF, 2.72 MB)
Center for Health and Gender Equity. (2011).
The publications page of the Center for Health and Gender Equity's Prevention Now website has links to a wide range of materials on female condoms and female condom programming. There are fact sheets on female condoms and the Prevention Now campaign to increase donor funding for female condoms. A report on U.S. support for female condom programming is complemented by a poster detailing five-year trends in U.S. funding. There are country profiles from Malawi, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, and many of the publications are also available in French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Condoms and STDs: Fact Sheet for Public Health Personnel
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011).
This three-page fact sheet explains how male condoms must be used correctly and consistently to reduce transmission of sexually transmitted infections, making a distinction between the degree of protection against diseases transmitted by genital secretions and genital ulcer diseases. It explains that male condoms offer a very high degree of protection from HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis, and reduced risk for transmission of genital ulcer diseases such as genital herpes, syphilis, chancroid, and human papillomavirus-related infections, i.e., genital warts and cervical cancer. For both categories of sexually transmitted infections, there are plain-language summaries of the theoretical basis for protection and the findings of laboratory and epidemiologic studies.
View Full Study (PDF, 1.4 MB)
Compendium of Evidence-Based HIV Prevention Interventions
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011).
The risk-reduction chapter of this compendium includes 74 HIV risk-reduction evidence-based interventions, identified by a thorough literature review through December 2009. Among the 43 individual- and group-level best interventions are those promoting condom use. The database can be searched according to different characteristics such as risk category, race, and gender of participants. Condom use interventions that have the most successful outcomes are those that provide education/training in condom use and are delivered to individuals or small groups using a social-cognitive theoretical approach.
Reducing Sexual Transmission
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. (2011).
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) website has a range of documents on male condoms, including a joint UNAIDS/United Nations Population Fund/World Health Organization position statement on condoms and HIV prevention and review document on condom programming.
UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2010
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. (2010).
The 2010 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) report on the global HIV epidemic draws on the latest available data from 182 countries, including incidence trend data from 60 countries, the first time such data has been included in a UNAIDS global report. Data is disaggregated by country and by demographic categories. There are chapters giving an update of the epidemic, HIV prevention, HIV treatment, human rights and gender, and HIV investments. The report can be downloaded in its entirety or chapter by chapter.
View Report (PDF, 3.9 MB)
U.S. Agency for International Development Documents
U.S. Agency for International Development (2006).
The Development Experience Clearinghouse of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is a searchable repository of documents from USAID-funded projects worldwide. There are currently more than 3,000 documents related to HIV, and the site is due to relaunch with more downloadable documents and more user-friendly search tools.
FC2 Female Condom
FC2 Female Condom. (2009).
This website provides detailed information on the FC2 second-generation female condom, which combines the same safety and efficacy of the first-generation female condom with lower cost. There is information on where to obtain female condoms from both the public sector and on the retail market in the United States. There are step-by-step instructions on how to use the female condom, also available in Spanish. Health professionals can find resources and training materials, and there are pages for quick facts, frequently asked questions, and FC2 in the news. There is also a link to a 55-page bibliography of research on the female condom. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40511000 |
There are, and have been, many theories about alcoholism. The most prevailing theory, and now most commonly accepted, is called the Disease Model.
Its basic tenets are that alcoholism is a disease with recognizable symptoms, causes, and methods of treatment. In addition, there are several stages of the disease which are often described as early, middle, late, treatment and relapse.
While it is not essential to fully define these stages, it is useful to understand them in terms of how the disease presents itself.
This series of articles describes the signs and symptoms of each stage as well as exploring treatment options.
- Early or Adaptive Stage
- Middle Stage
- Late Stage
- Treating Alcoholism
- Relapse to drinking
1 – The Early or Adaptive Stage of Alcoholism
The early or adaptive stage of alcoholism is marked by increasing tolerance to alcohol and physical adaptations in the body which are largely unseen.
This increased tolerance is marked by the alcoholic’s ability to consume greater quantities of alcohol while appearing to suffer few effects and continuing to function. This tolerance is not created simply because the alcoholic drinks too much but rather because the alcoholic is able to drink great quantities because of physical changes going on inside his or her body.
The early stage is difficult to detect. By appearances, an individual may be able to drink a great deal without becoming intoxicated, having hangovers, or suffering other apparent ill-effects from alcohol. An early stage alcoholic is often indistinguishable from a non-alcoholic who happens to be a fairly heavy drinker.
In the workplace, there is likely to be little or no obvious impact on the alcoholic’s performance or conduct at work. At this stage, the alcoholic is not likely to see any problem with his or her drinking and would scoff at any attempts to indicate that he or she might have a problem. The alcoholic is simply not aware of what is going on in his or her body. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40514000 |
This is the first in a series of articles on the root problems of most chronic illnesses: diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, autoimmune disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic fatigue, Parkinson’s disease and early aging.
Over the next few months, I will share how oxidative stress, inflammation, hormone imbalance and toxins cause chronic illness and how to prevent early aging and chronic illness.
FREE RADICALS AND TORNADOES
When we mix oxygen with food, we get energy. As our body transforms oxygen and food into energy, we make “free radicals.” Free radicals include compounds like peroxides and are like little tornadoes that spin off more little tornadoes.
These free radical tornadoes go around and damage cells. Free radicals damage the protein and fats in cell membranes, mitochondria — which are the energy factories in the cells — and even sometimes DNA, leading to cancer. It is estimated the average human cell sustains 10,000 hits per day from free radicals.
When cells are damaged by free radicals, the body reacts with inflammation. Chronic inflammation can lead to more cell damage. Free radicals lead to a toxic spiral of cell damage, inflammation and cell death.
To stay healthy, the body must maintain a healthy balance between formation of free radicals and destruction of free radicals. How does the body do this? It tries to keep the free radicals within the cells and breaks the free radicals down. It uses antioxidants like vitamin C and E to destroy the free radicals and uses natural repair mechanisms to mend damaged cells.
COMBATING OXIDATIVE STRESS
First, try to avoid toxins like cigarette smoke, pesticides, solvents, ozone and other chemicals that increase free radical production. Second, we must have adequate dietary intake and absorption of antioxidant nutrients found in fruits and vegetables.
Basically, eat more plants so your plate has a variety of colors at every meal. Americans’ poor intake of fruits and vegetables means most Americans do not have enough antioxidants to protect them from the damaging effects of free radicals.
MEASURING OXIDATIVE STRESS
We can actually measure your body’s oxidative stress levels with special lab tests, including glutathione, serum lipid peroxides, 8OhdG and enzymes that increase with oxidative stress. The best defense against oxidative stress is to listen to what your mother always told you: Eat your fruits and vegetables. This means at least five servings a day and 10 or 12 servings are better for maximum health.
Next month, we will learn more about how inflammation causes chronic disease. Hopefully, 2012 will be a year to attain better health by understanding how your body works. So dress up your plate and eat a rainbow of fresh fruits and veggies to fight off free radicals.
Dr. Steinmetz is a board-certified family medical doctor based in Alexandria who uses conventional and integrative practices. She welcomes reader questions at [email protected]. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40515000 |
Field Trips and Self-Guided Tours
At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, docent-led tours yield lively exchanges about our collections as windows on American history. The Renwick Gallery helps students glimpse through craft America's boundless creative spirit and offers them an opportunity to handle examples of contemporary objects and discuss process, material, and technique.
By focusing on a few key artworks, we help integrate your visit with students' core classwork and standards of learning. Docents use teaching techniques of inquiry, guided looking, comparison, and hands-on learning. Pre-and post-visit materials are available.
Support your visit with optional activities that emphasize experiential learning. Consult with the Smithsonian American Art Museum's education department tour scheduler when you book a tour to determine if the following activities are offered for your visit.
Learning Lab and Art à la Cart
In our Learning Lab and through the Art à la Cart program, students extend their gallery visits by exploring primary resources, hands-on activities, animated gallery games, and directed writing exercises.
Luce Foundation Center
The Luce Foundation Center for American Art is a visible storage facility that displays around 3,400 objects from the Museum's collection in glass cases and drawers. Students can explore the aisles, look up objects on the interactive kiosks, or even create a virtual collection that they can access from home.
Lunder Conservation Center
In the Lunder Conservation Center, students observe artwork being preserved. This is the first art conservation facility that allows the public permanent behind-the-scenes access to the preservation work of the museum.
With a self-guided visit, you are free to explore the collection in a way that best suits your class. In general, for students in kindergarten through second grade, we suggest that you concentrate on a few objects. For older students, we recommend one hour of focused looking and thirty minutes of discussion about the artworks. Teachers are invited to consult with the Smithsonian American Art Museum staff regarding content for self-guided tours. Contact us via telephone at (202) 633-8531 or email [email protected]. You can also submit your questions using our School/Group Registration Form.
Self-guided tours do not require reservations, though they must comply with our policies and guidelines outlined in Planning Your Visit. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40523000 |
Episodes in Australian lichenology
The first century
The first publication to mention an Australian lichen was the second volume of Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière's Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen, which appeared in 1806. Labillardière (1755-1834) had travelled with the Bruni D'Entrecasteaux expedition of 1791-1794 and had collected the specimens in question in Tasmania in 1792. In his 1806 monograph Labillardière described and illustrated a species he called Baeomyces reteporus. This is a lichen, though he classed it with the algae, and is now known by the name Cladia retipora . It was the only Australian lichen recorded by Labillardière and his specimens of this lichen are still held in Paris. Since then the species has been found in many parts of eastern Australia as well as in New Zealand and New Caledonia.
The botanist Robert Brown (1773-1858) accompanied Matthew Flinders on his 1801-1803 voyage in HMS Investigator to chart the coast of Australia and Brown remained in Australia until 1805. Between 1801 and 1805 he collected several thousand plant specimens, including a number of lichens which are now held by the Natural History Museum in London. In a botanical appendix to Matthew Flinders' A Voyage to Terra Australis, published in 1814, Brown listed 58 lichen species which he said were common to Europe and Australia but he gave no information about where in Australia he'd found them. He published nothing else about Australian lichens and his collections were forgotten for much of the century. I'll say more about them a little later.
The year 1814 also saw the publication of Synopsis methodica lichenum, a fundamental lichen monograph by Erik Acharius (1757-1819), the 'father of lichenology'. In his Synopsis Acharius included Labillardière's lichen, but with a name change to Cenomyce retipora. Acharius mentioned another lichen, Collema tremelloides, noting that it was found in "Nova Hollandia" (as well as northern America) but gave no more precise information and the collector of the specimen is unknown. There has been some speculation as to whether the specimen was collected before Labillardière collected his. Another possibility is that a non-Australian collection was mistakenly labelled as Australian. While on the subject of early, mystery collections it's the appropriate time to mention the species originally published as Delisea pseudosticta in 1824 by Antoine Laurent Apollinaire Fée in Essai sur les cryptogames des écorces exotiques officinales. Fée never visited Australia, he does not state the collector's name and there is nothing about when it was collected. As to location, Fée wrote just "Nova Hollandia, île de King" - that is, "New Holland, King Island" and King Island is in Bass Strait.
In 1817 Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (1789-1854) travelled to the South Seas with the Freycinet expedition and collected four species of lichen from Australia - two from the Sydney area in New South Wales and two from Shark Bay in Western Australia. These lichens were examined by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon who found three of the four to have been previously unknown species. Gaudichaud-Beaupré included a report about the lichens in his botanical volume within the multivolume expedition report: Voyage autour du monde, exécuté sur les corvettes l'Uranie et la Physcienne. The botanical volume was published in 1826.
Between 1817 and 1831 Allan Cunningham (1791-1839) participated in various expeditions and botanized in many parts of Australia. Amongst his numerous botanical specimens were a number of lichens including Usnea scabrida. The first description of this species was published by Thomas Taylor, in 1844, and was based on a specimen collected by Cunningham in the "interior of New South Wales". Taylor had been Professor of Botany at the Royal Cork Scientific Institute until 1830, when the government discontinued its grant to the Institute. Taylor then retired to his family estate but continued his studies of lichens and bryophytes.
The first half of the 19th century saw several botanically-inclined travellers from German-speaking Europe visit Australia as parts of more extensive journeys. Franz Sieber (1789-1844) visited New South Wales in 1823 and collected lichens while there. A paper about Sieber's lichens was published in 1827 by Johann Friedrich Laurer, who described 11 new species from Sieber's Australian specimens. Karl von Hügel (1795-1870), a German lawyer/soldier turned natural historian, visited Australia during 1833-1834. He sent his lichens to the German lichenologist August von Krempelhuber (1813-1882), who reported 28 species in a paper published in 1868. Included in von Hügel's collections were two previously unknown species. Between late 1838 and 1842 Ludwig Preiss (1811-1883) collected lichens in south-west Western Australia. Elias Fries of Sweden studied the Preiss lichens and his conclusions appeared in Volume 2 of Plantae Preissiana, edited by Christian Lehmann. Of the 23 species mentioned, two were previously unknown. Fries also reported that one of the Preiss collections was Cladonia retipora. This was Fries' name for Labillardière's Baeomyces reteporus which, as noted earlier, was the first lichen reported from Australia, though Labillardière had found it in southern Tasmania. However, later research has shown that while there are similar species on both sides of Australia the species found by Labillardière in Tasmania does not occur in Western Australia. Another piece of information given by Lehmann for the Western Australian species was its Aboriginal name: Orgeck.
William James Hooker (1785-1865) and his son Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911) were two of the major botanists of the 1800s. The elder Hooker became director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in London, in 1841 and at his death was succeeded by his son, who remained director until 1885. William established a worldwide network of correspondents and collectors, so that in the mid 1800s numerous botanical specimens flowed into the Kew gardens from all parts of the world and the younger Hooker continued this network during his own term as director. Robert William Lawrence (1807-1833) was William Hooker's first significant Tasmanian correspondent. Lawrence, a man of leisure, was a keen student of natural history and sent Hooker numerous specimens, including many lichens. Lawrence introduced another Tasmanian, Ronald Campbell Gunn (1808-1881), to Hooker and after Lawrence's early death Gunn continued the association with Kew over several decades. Amongst the lichens Gunn sent to Hooker was Cladia retipora, though Hooker knew it by the name Cenomyce retipora. He wrote a short paper about the species noting that the specimens he had received allowed him to give more details than those supplied by Labillardière. Here are two of the illustrations that accompanied Hooker's paper, courtesy of the digital library of Missouri Botanical Garden.
What Hooker saw, when he examined the specimens closely, induced him to make the sort of statement made by many when they have looked closely at the so-called 'lower' organisms such as the lichens:
Nothing in nature can exceed the elegant lace-like appearance of this plant, a structure one would little expect to meet with in the humblest and least perfect part, as it is usually considered, of the vegetable creation, the Lichens
William Hooker also established a productive, long-term association with James Drummond (1784-1863), a Scotsman who arrived in Western Australia in 1829 from Ireland where he had been curator of the Cork Botanical Gardens. He collected widely in south-western Western Australia and sent numerous specimens to the Hookers. While the bulk of Drummond's collections were of flowering plants he did send a good variety of bryophytes, lichens and other fungi. A paper published in 1846 described a new lichen genus, Thysanothecium, based on specimens that Drummond had sent to William Hooker. This is still recognized as a distinct genus today and was the first lichen genus to be described from material collected in Australia. You can read more in the THYSANOTHECIUM CASE STUDY. A little earlier on this web page I mentioned Thomas Taylor's description of the species Usnea scabrida. In that same paper Taylor noted that he had also received a specimen of that species from Drummond "from Swan River". In 1847 Taylor documented another 16 of Drummond's collections that had been sent to William Hooker. Of the 16 nine were described as new species that are still recognized as distinct species today, albeit now mostly placed in genera different to those assigned by Taylor. Here are the current names of the nine species (with Taylor's generic placements in brackets, where they differ from the modern placement): Acarospora citrina (Urceolaria), Caloplaca erythrosticta (Lecanora), Caloplaca lateritia (Lecidea), Lecidea multiflora, Paraporpidia glauca (Lecidea), Parmelina endoleuca (Parmelia), Psora crystallifera (Lecidea), Xanthoparmelia imitatrix (Parmelia) and Xanthoparmelia scabrosa (Parmelia). Some of the remaining seven collections had also been described as new species but later research has shown them to be identical to other species already known at the time.
Joseph Hooker was a member of the scientific expedition that travelled through the southern oceans on the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, under the overall command of James Clark Ross. In an 1840 letter to his father Joseph wrote that whilst on Kerguelen Island: "Many of my best little lichens were gathered by hammering at the tufts or sitting on them till they thawed". During the expedition Hooker spent a total of six weeks in Tasmania in 1840 and 1841 and visited Sydney for three in 1841. In Tasmania he undertook botanical collecting trips with Ronald Gunn. After his return to England Hooker sought the help of Thomas Taylor for a study of the lichens that had been collected during the Erebus & Terror voyage and in 1844 Hooker and Taylor published a paper about those lichens, recording 32 species from Tasmania. Amongst them was the first published description of Parmelia rutidota (now Flavoparmelia rutidota ). This species is very common on the bark of live trees and on dead wood in non-tropical Australia. In Canberra you can find this lichen on many trees within the Australian National Botanic Gardens and, elsewhere in the city, on numerous street trees and in the city's nature reserves. It may well be the commonest lichen found on dead wood in Australia and also occurs in the southern USA. In 1860 Hooker published his Flora Tasmaniae, an extensive monograph about the Tasmanian flora. This work utilised all the Tasmanian collections that Hooker had access to - collections made during the Erebus & Terror expedition as well as specimens that had been sent to Kew before and after the expedition by Gunn, Lawrence and many others. Taylor had died in 1848 and the Flora Tasmaniae's chapter about lichens was written by the Reverend Churchill Babington and William Mitten. They recorded 93 species, of which two were previously unknown. Babington was a classical scholar with wide interests (obviously including botany) and from 1865 to 1880 was a professor of archaeology at the University of Cambridge. Mitten was a pharmacist by trade but his botanical work (mostly with bryophytes) was of a high-calibre.
Ferdinand Mueller arrived in Adelaide in 1848 and was appointed Victorian Government Botanist in 1853. He was a prodigious plant collector but also built up a network of correspondents and collectors in Australia. Mueller corresponded with Kew and some of the material Mueller sent to Kew was used by Babington and Mitten in their Flora Tasmaniae chapter. Mueller also sent lichens to continental European lichenologists and the first to receive specimens from Mueller was Ernst Georg Ludwig Hampe (1795-1880) in Germany. Later Mueller sent specimens to August von Krempelhuber and Jean Müller (1828-1896) of Geneva. Over the second half of the nineteenth century the publications of those three European lichenologists added considerably to the knowledge of Australian lichens. That was particularly the case with Jean Müller who re-examined and revised much of the earlier work on Australian lichens during the latter half of the 19th century. The first of Hampe's papers reporting on the lichens he received from Mueller appeared in 1852 and in it Hampe described the new species Sticta muelleri, which Hampe named in honour of Ferdinand Mueller. The description was based on a specimen collected by Mueller in the Mount Lofty Ranges near Adelaide. Today the species is known as Heterodea muelleri and it appears on the cover of the first of the lichen volumes in the Flora of Australia series. However the bulk of Hampe's paper was taken up by 36 lichens collected in Tasmania by Charles Stuart, who had met Mueller in Adelaide and sent Mueller many botanical collections. Ferdinand Mueller received specimens from several exploring expeditions. For example, Ludwig Leichardt collected a few lichens during his 1844-45 expedition from Queensland to Port Essington and these made their way to Krempelhuber via Ferdinand Mueller. Jean Müller published a paper about the 54 lichens collected by Richard Helms during the Elder Exploring Expedition to western South Australia and Western Australia in 1891-92. Helms had sent these to Ferdinand Mueller.
Between 1858 and 1869 William Nylander documented the 77 lichens collected by the French naturalist Jules Verreaux during his visit to Australia in the 1840s. Nylander (1822-1899) grew up in Finland, became a professor of botany at the University of Helsinki but in 1863 moved to Paris and lived there until his death. He published some important studies on the subject of LICHEN CHEMISTRY. From 1857 to 1859 the Austrian navy's frigate Novara circumnavigated the world with a party of scientific researchers. The expedition had been authorized by the Austrian archduke and much of the preparatory work was done by the academy of science in Vienna. The expedition stopped in Sydney in November-December of 1858 and during that time collected six species of lichens. An account of the expedition's botanical findings was published in 1870 under the title Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857-1859 unter der Befehlen des Commodore B. von Wullerstorf-Urbair, Botanischer Theil, edited by Eduard Fenzl. The chapter about lichens was written by Krempelhuber.
The year 1867 saw the publication, in Sydney, of William Woolls' A contribution to the flora of Australia, a collection of chapters on various aspects of Australian botany, with one chapter headed Lichens. In the chapter's eleven pages Woolls, a schoolmaster with considerable interest in botany, added no new species but gave his readers descriptions of a small number of Australian lichens. Like various others before him Woolls was captivated by Cladia retipora and he thought it "the most interesting lichen I have seen in Australia". He also included a range of other observations, amongst which he noted that the genus Usnea, whatever it's utility in other respects "...there can be little doubt respecting its use to the bird stuffer, and as it is found in almost all countries, from the Arctic to the Antarctic regions, it is always available for collections of stuffed birds...". Woolls also thought that:
The Mosses, Lichens and Fungi, of Australia, though probably the vast majority of them may be cosmopolitan, have never received the attention which is necessary for attaining a correct estimate of their numbers, or for determining what species differ materially from those of the Northern Hemisphere.
The question of the relationships between the lichens of Australia and those of the rest of the world has continued to exercise the minds of lichenologists and the subject of LICHEN BIOGEOGRAPHY is still an active research area.
In 1880 the British lichenologist James Crombie published a paper about Robert Brown's long-neglected Australian lichen collection from early in the century. Crombie described these collections as "...valuable if not very extensive..." and also noted that:
As is unfortunately the case, both in the older and more recent collections of exotic lichens, no saxicole species are contained in Herb. R. Brown, though these would have very much added to its value and importance.
Crombie's paper recorded the majority of the collections as coming from Tasmania but there are some mistakes in the published locations. For example, according to the paper Robert Brown collected Parmelia australiensis (now Xanthoparmelia australiensis) and Chondropsis semiviridis (now Xanthoparmelia semiviridis) from "Table Mt.", Brown's name for Mount Wellington. Neither species has been found in Tasmania since Brown's time but both are known from the generally drier areas of mainland Australia. The Chondropsis is very widespread while the Parmelia has been found in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia and on the Nullarbor. Most likely Brown collected both species in South Australia and, at some stage between collection and publication, there was a mix-up. Crombie listed 73 species, including 12 that were new to science and the descriptions of some of these were provided by William Nylander. One of the new species described by Nylander, Ramalodium succulentum, was also the basis for a new genus. The latter half of the 20th century has seen an additional five species added to the genus Ramalodium but Ramalodium succulentum is still the only species of the genus known from Australia and, since Robert Brown's time, no additional specimens of that species have been found. Crombie noted that though Brown had published no catalogue of the lichens he'd collected, it was clear that he had intended to do so, given his notes about some of the specimens he'd collected. Indeed, such were the notes made by Brown that, for a couple of the new species in this paper, the descriptions were Brown's.
In 1881 the New Zealand surgeon Charles Knight visited Australia and collected lichens in the Sydney area. He published a paper about these in 1882 and in the introduction wrote that he "...was led to make the collections on receiving the interesting paper of the Rev. Mr. Crombie on the Australasian [sic] Lichens in Robert Brown's Herbarium". Knight's paper documented 52 species, a great many of which he described as new and illustrated both the macroscopic appearance as well as the spores and asci of all the "new or interesting" species.
Frederick Manson Bailey (1827-1915) was appointed Queensland Colonial Botanist in 1881 and remained the government botanist until his death. He undertook numerous botanical expeditions and also received botanical specimens from various correspondents. Bailey sent the lichens he collected or received to overseas lichenologists for identification - in particular Charles Knight and James Stirton (in Glasgow). Stirton was another of the very able amateur lichenologists of the 1800s. He was medically trained and in the late 1800s held appointments as lecturer in gynaecology and professor of midwifery. Stirton received specimens from people in various parts of Australia and in the 1880s and 1890s published descriptions of many Australian lichens. In 1883 Bailey published a Synopsis of the Queensland Flora in which he included the lichen species that had been reported to occur in Queensland. Three Synopsis supplements appeared in 1886, 1888 and 1890 and all reported additional lichens for the state. The first supplement included many new species with descriptions provided by Knight and two pages of Knight's black-and-white drawings that showed the features of 27 species. Bailey's Comprehensive catalogue of Queensland plants of 1909 listed the state's known lichens and the book included black-and-white illustrations of a number of species. Those illustrations were fairly simplistic and mostly adaptations of diagrams from other sources.
John Francis Shirley (1849-1922) had studied under Thomas Huxley in England and in 1878 migrated to Queensland where he spent much of his working life as an inspector of schools. He had wide interests in natural history and his travels as a school inspector (reportedly 6500-8000 kilometres annually) allowed him to indulge these interests in many parts of the state. Shirley sent lichens to Charles Knight, Jean Müller and James Stirton. Shirley did much to increase knowledge about Queensland's lichens and, from 1888, published several detailed papers about the state's lichens. His interests extended beyond Queensland and he also published some papers dealing with Tasmanian and Victorian lichens. In 1912, when Shirley was aged 63, the University of Sydney awarded Shirley the degree of Doctor of Science, based on an examination and the submission of a thesis titled The Thallus of the genus Parmelia. As far as I know this was the first higher degree on lichen work to be awarded in Australia. You can read more in the SHIRLEY'S THESIS CASE STUDY.
The Reverend Francis Robert Muter Wilson (1832-1903) was a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Victoria, first in the country at Camperdown and later, from 1877 to 1897, at Kew within Melbourne. Wilson had become quite ill by the end of 1883 and was granted nine months leave to help his recovery. During this time Wilson returned to his native Scotland and while there an unknown friend suggested that Wilson collect Victorian lichens for they had not been well studied. Wilson began his lichenological work by collecting specimens before he began his return journey to Australia and, on his return journey, also collected during a short coaling stop at the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. Wilson wrote a short account of his hour on the island and here is what he said about the lichens:
Lichens, however, are what I am after. And there they are! What a beautiful one on that tree - the colour a splendid greenish blue, the shape circular, and about 6 in. in diameter. How regularly the narrow divisions of the thallus are arranged! And the black apothecia scattered around the centre add to the beauty of the plant. It is evidently a Physcia. I select one or two smaller specimens, and, taking out my knife, cut off the lichens along with the very thick bark of the tree, and wrap them up in newspaper, with which I came plentifully supplied. I come out of the deep shade and find another, apparently the same Physcia, but it is white, doubtless from the action of the sun. However, I cannot stop to examine closely. Hah! what is it that gives such vivid colours to the stems of those cocoanut [sic] trees? - yellow and orange, rich brown and snowy white. Lichens, I see; and apparently Verrucarias. Here are some Graphidea; and there are other forms new to me. I get excited, I collect largely of each kind, pushing on through the grove of cocoanuts, but keeping my eye on the direction I am going; for I have not been a traveller in the Australian bush without learning prudence...The hour has flown by far too rapidly, and with regret I return to the ship, leaving many species of lichen ungathered...
After his return Wilson collected numerous lichen specimens from many areas of eastern Australia and also from several Pacific islands. The first person from whom Wilson had sought advice was Charles Knight and in 1890 began a correspondence with Jean Müller to whom he sent many specimens. John Shirley was another of Wilson's correspondents. Wilson had helped Shirley with some lichen identifications and the two exchanged specimens. Between 1887 and 1900 Wilson published 22 papers on the subject of Australian and non-Australian lichens. His final paper dealt with the lichens collected by Robert Hall on Kerguelen Island and lodged at the Melbourne herbarium. This was published in the French journal Memoires de l'Herbier Boissier. The herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne received a major part of the lichens Wilson had collected but he had also sold about 20,000 specimens to the New South Wales government and these are still housed at the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. By late 1907 the Melbourne herbarium's holdings of Wilson's lichen collections had been sent for study to Giocomo Albo of the University of Messina, Sicily. They were sent in two consignments, the first of which arrived safely. In a letter of 10 September 1907 to Albo, Alfred Ewart, the Victorian Government Botanist wrote:
The material already sent was accumulated by the late Rev. Wilson during his later years, and was included in the collection purchased from his Widow after his death. I am now sending you the whole of his collection, named and unnamed, so that full comparison will be possible. The material you have already received has not been worked on by anyone else, and the whole is probably the most complete collection of Australian Lichens extant, although the Sydney Herbarium has a fine set.
However, the second consignment never arrived in Sicily and nothing is known of its fate. A number of specimens that Albo had received did make their way back to Melbourne and the Sydney herbarium still has its large Wilson collection, which would have contained duplicates of many of the specimens which Melbourne had received. Nevertheless, the disappearance of that second consignment was a significant loss to Australian lichenology.
Richard Austin Bastow (1840-1920), Wilson's contemporary and, from 1888, also a resident of Melbourne, was an active natural historian. Through the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) Bastow met Wilson and the two became good friends. They made many joint field excursions and Bastow published one paper about Victoria's lichens. Before moving to Melbourne Bastow had lived in Tasmania where, along with William Anderson Weymouth (1841-1928), he had spent much time studying bryophytes and lichens, though during his Tasmanian days Bastow had published only about the Tasmanian bryophytes. In the February 1914 issue of The Victorian Naturalist (the FNCV journal) Bastow published Notes on the lichen-flora of Victoria, in which he briefly described the characteristics of the lichen genera found in Victoria. This was intended to help lichen enthusiasts recognize genera. As with Bastow, Weymouth's major contribution to Tasmanian botany was his bryological work but he did send lichens to overseas experts. One of these was the Italian Antonio Jatta (1853-1912) who, apart from botanical work, also had archaeological interests and served as a senator in the Italian parliament. Jatta devoted a 1911 paper to documenting the specimens Weymouth had sent.
In 1903 Edwin Cheel (1872-1951) published his Bibliography of Australian lichens and in 1906 supplemented that with a Bibliography of Australian, New Zealand and South Sea Island lichens. Both appeared as papers in the journal Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales and both were very useful publications. Australian lichens had been documented in such a variety of Australian and overseas journals or books that, without a good bibliography, it could be very difficult for anyone to find out what publications there were about Australian lichens.
A century of study of Australian lichens had shown that this continent possessed species quite different to those elsewhere in the world as well as species similar to or even the same as those in other parts of the world. Papers published by several European lichenologists were beginning to show how the Australian lichen flora was related to the lichen floras in other parts of the world. By the end of the century resident Australian lichenologists such as Wilson and Shirley were working assiduously and making their findings available in various Australian journals. It would have seemed likely that, on the basis of such a good foundation, work on Australian lichens would have continued fairly steadily. Yet, there was a hiatus, with little additional study of Australian lichens for several decades and the further history is continued in the SECOND CENTURY page.
History of Australian lichenology pages on this website | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40527000 |
opinion: People must remember, follow non-violent example set by Martin Luther King
University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library
As I look around with mature eyes I see torture being justified, drones killing civilians, assassinations being legalized, hatred for “those people”, massive gun violence, loyalty oaths to governments that engage in genocide, invasions and occupations, songs about bombing countries, war planes being cheered as they fly over sports stadiums, violence showcased on TV and movies and video games. All of these set examples.
In the 1960’s Dr. King asked those in the cities to stop using violence to solve problems. “They asked if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems." Dr. King concluded that, “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government”.
Yes, there are good things about America, but there are many areas of silence. Dr. King said “the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak," and “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
On the only national holiday that recognizes a person who worked for peace and justice, read “Beyond Vietnam." Dr. King studied and practiced non-violent conflict resolution. We, as a nation, need to do the same. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40531000 |
Sep '11 - Nov '11
We learn at elementary school that the morning sunlight took eight minutes to arrive. Each ray of light from the sun acts as an exiled messenger who indicates whether the star is on or off. When the sun dies, it will take eight minutes for its last message to reach the Earth.
As Stephen Hawking states in A Brief History of Time, ‘the death of the sun does not affect us immediately because we are not in its future light cone‘. Since the fastest way we can perceive distant events is through light, its direction and speed of travel limits how quickly we can experience an event. Mapped through time, the event forms a conical horizon around itself whose width is determined by the speed of light rays; if the observer is within its boundary, we can perceive the event; if outside, there is no way we can know of it. In other words, our universe is structured so that we are always looking at the past.
Throughout history, light had been the signal that bridges past, present, and future, and brings about the beginning and end of time. According to ancient Hebrew belief, life takes a linear path, beginning with the Genesis Creation myth where God said, “Let there be light!”. In the Judeo-Christian worldview, the eschaton – the end of time – was crucial in establishing the belief that linear time justified a particular system of ethics and law.
In the Myth of the Eternal Return, the mythologist and religious historian Mircea Eliade describes a worldview where the universe is cyclical and is destined to repeat itself in a self-similar form for an infinite number of times across time and space. This worldview was inherent in Indian (and later Egyptian) philosophy, and was later taken up by followers of Pythagoras as well as the Stoics. The cyclical view of time was more in keeping with pre-historical, agrarian communities in which seasons and daily cycles had more significance than the progress of civilization and history.
The linear view of time tends to dominate modern thought, and we obsess over possible environmental and apocalyptic endings to human history. However, some contemporary astrophysicsts, following Einstein, have analyzed the behaviour of light and the nature of space-time as an infinite universe, with implications similar to cyclical views of time and history.
(left) An event is visible through time, like a pebble thrown into a bond creates outward waves /// (right) An event in the present can only be perceived in a certain region of space-time.
Knowing that our time in the sun is limited, sometimes we try to capture time and light with images. Albrecht Durer’s etching, “Melancholia I” associates light with order and darkness with chaos. The composition places the products of the imagination – geometry, mathematics, tools, and architecture – within the timeframe of an hourglass running out.
In this picture, the imagination succeeds in creating a mental zone that overrides both astrophysics and religion – it holds together past, present and future with rays of perpetual sunlight – messengers of time etched in metal.
/// next week: skin, shell and skeleton part I
Nuclear Bomb Test, Bikini Atoll, 1946. The small black figures just outside the cloud are decommissioned World War II Battleships from the US Navy. // In addition to an urban investigation into the power structures of Moscow, I've been looking at ideas about the sublime and its relation to...
-- Yesterday China launched Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1), its first step towards a manned orbital space station. I remembered reading that the last Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, finished earlier this year, signalling an end to America’s utopian dream of colonizing space. As I read more...
I've just started on the Cooper Union MArch II course, and am excited to be here in New York to say the least! I'll be sharing my project work for studio, sculpture, and elsewhere over the upcoming year. For this first post I thought I'd share something I wrote for a course appropriately titled... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40538000 |
Modernism is one of most influential and independent movements in history of architecture. At the same time, it can be seen as one of most ignorant and blind minded, mainly because of its trailblazing character attacking tradition. Western Europe countries suffered even more from this believe, due to the socialist-realism interpretation of original modernistic manifestos. While in most parts of Europe modernism follows modernization, in the countries from under influence of Soviet Union, socialist-realism mutation of modernism was rather a tool in hands of the government to mentally trigger progress. Results of transformations, applied due to this spirit onto XIX century urban tissue of Warsaw, can be visible till now days. Setting up progress and modernity as an main national value, network of new transportation aortas was drown across destroyed city, with no relation what so ever to historical reminiscence and worked out across the centuries urban tissue divisions.
Presented plot is one of those places where XIX century urban block was literally cut off by new urban plan, leaving piece of vacant land between blank wall and the street (pic. 01). Six stories high blind wall is situated right in the centre of the city, between office building and Holiday In hotel, creating a part of highly eclectic and aesthetically doubtful urban elevation of Jana Pawla II Street. Twelve meter wide plot seems to be perceived as worthless by investors despite its amazing orientation. It is not only located next to shopping mall, office business centre and some historical sites of Warsaw, but it is also standing for communication node of the city (next to the grand central and planed metro station) (pic. 02). All of those attributes can be easily transformed into valuable architectural that will stood for both, rebuilding place aesthetics and generating new value for surrounding area.
In the broadest common definition, accelerator is a system or a device capable of increasing efficiency of other systems. On of the ways to achieve acceleration in physical systems is ordering and rooting flows depending on their specification, segregating, buffering and upgrading each item it the system before releasing ordered flow into the main stream. Same systematics can be applied while dealing with urban flows, their quality and efficiency. Correctly located local system can considerably affect city animation positive factor in global scale.
Presented design (pic. 03) approaches problems of the sites, offering not only new aesthetic quality for the place, but also using its specific location to accelerate transportation efficiency within the city. Proposed structure contains two main functional areas. First one, located an the bottom of the building, open and transparent, is a orange ramp-shaped bicycle parking integrated with the city bike transportation system (pic.04). Second one is stack of independent container-like units, providing cheep sleeping and shower opportunity on daily basis for the less demanding travelers. Both functionalities were partly enclosed by simplistic building skin. Historical reference was achieved by both, extruded reduced shaped on a historical building as straightforward connection and alien contradiction of main facade, designed as an partial, cross-section like division. This solution was meant to underline discontinuity and sudden ending of existing form, showing that a part of original building is missing, and what is left, is literally cut along the new urban division line. This cutting line was used in the design to reveal surprising, aesthetically, etheric and contemporary insides of the building (pic. 03).
Strict centre of Warsaw; around Palce of Culture and main railway station; is dedicated to nobody. Insufficient roads grid and not enough parking spaces makes it very problematical to communicate to, and from downtown, by car. Small number of bicycle and pedestrian paths, not enough small architecture and green areas make it uneasy and unpleasant to go by foot or drive a bicycle. As far as every architect, urbanist, and member of the city council has his own view on for whom the city centre should be, there is still no decision which way should we go, what improvements must be undertaken.
Presented proposal suggest to close the city centre for private cars as to make space and good conditions for pedestrians and cyclists - to give back the heart of Warsaw its personal look, real flow. People in cars just drive through while people walking or driving by bike must stop, need a drink, meet with friends - they are not just commuters, they are real citizens, animators of their habitat, performers of action. Accelerator makes it easier for them to use Warsaw. Because it is rather informal (to hop-in, hop-out), Accelerator can be used by more people in shorter amount of time; it reflects fast pulse of the city.
Status: School Project
Location: Warsaw, PL | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40539000 |
EPIDEMICS of poliomyelitis usually start about the time fruits and vegetables begin to ripen. This is true not only for epidemics in the north, but also for those in the south temperate zone.1
Many patients with poliomyelitis admitted to City Hospital, Cleveland, gave a history of eating fruits just prior to the onset of the disease and often spontaneously connected the eating of fruits with the disease.
One of us (Toomey) has often suggested that the virus which causes the infection could be carried into the gastrointestinal tract either in or on food. He has made numerous, but unsuccessful, attempts to initiate and to propagate the disease in animals by injecting extracts or washings from fruits and vegetables.2 Peaches are frequently implicated by the laity, and these stone fruits are often infected with viruses. It occurred to us that Prunus virus I (peach yellows), or some other virus | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40545000 |
A video and paper in Current Biology about a veined octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, that carries coconut halves to deploy as a shelter has gotten a lot of play in the popular press. The story is usually accompanied by the claim that this is the first reported case of invertebrate tool use. Maybe this is true amongst the squishies (cephalopods), but I think that arthropods accomplish much more exciting feats of tool use every day.
Coconut octopus, meet coconut crab. Earlier, I talked a little about coconut crabs, mentioning that they use mollusk shells when they are small, and eventually discard them as they grow. They also have an intermediate size behavior where they use hollowed out coconut shells as a shelter. Photos: Finn et al., 2009 and Nancy and Neil.
First a disclaimer: I think cephalopods are awesome. They are probably the second coolest animal group behind mantis shrimp. Also, this video and paper represent a really interesting finding, and any antagonism in this post is meant to be humorous. I only take exception to the tool use claim. I, of course, realize that any assessment of “tool use” is completely dependent on how you define “tool use.” However, even by the researchers own exclusive definition, arthropods still beat their motile mollusk to the punch.
Let’s see how they define tool use in order to exclude the numerous arthropod examples:
…simple behaviours, such as the use of an object (or objects) as shelter, are not generally regarded as tool use, because the shelter is effectively in use all the time, whereas a tool provides no benefit until it is used for a specific purpose. This rules out examples such as the use of gastropod shells by hermit crabs, but includes situations where there is an immediate cost, but a deferred benefit, such as dolphins carrying sponges to protect against abrasion during foraging and where an object is carried around in a non-functional form to be deployed when required.
Actually, I don’t see how this definition even negates hermit crabs from tool use. There is no benefit for the crab in dragging around a heavy shell or coconut on its back while it forages. It is only beneficial later, when the animal wants to rest or block an attack. I would say that is a fairly specific deferred purpose with an immediate cost.
Regardless, there are a bunch of other examples of arthropod tool use that I can pull off the top of my head.
- Spiders construct structurally elaborate webs as methods of defense as well as prey capture. In addition to the common trap webs, some Gladiator Spiders also make web nets that they hold in their front arms and use to pin prey to the ground.
- Gonodactyloid mantis shrimp are capable of complex masonry work, chiseling into form and stacking walls of rubble and shells around their lairs. They strongly suggest planning capacities with this behavior.
- The amphipod Phronima hollows out tunicate carcasses to live inside and drive around in the deep-sea in search of more prey.
Again, calling any of this “tool use” is extremely definition dependent. However, under the above interpretation, I think many arthropods have just as strong a claim to tool use as the octopus. Regardless, squishies and crunchies need to get along so that they can join their tool-using forces to protect us from those goddamn dolphins. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40547000 |
In Virginia we are fortunate to have among our feathered friends a bird that is considered one of the most intelligent of birds: the raven. When Edgar Allen Poe published "The Raven" he did this bird a disservice, painting it in a dreary tale of loss and loneliness. These birds have quite a lot to offer the birding enthusiast.
Ravens are about the size of a hawk and are covered from head to tail with glossy black feathers. They have a deep throaty call, sometimes referred to as a "rronk," but have been known to make a variety of musical calls as well. Perhaps one of the most impressive facts about the raven is its flight, as it is often seen soaring and wheeling in the sky in an acrobatic display. These displays are usually performed with a mate, but can also be seen demonstrated by a single individual. Biologists surmise they do this for fun. Wouldn't you?
Ravens have been found in many different habitats, including deserts, tundra and sea coasts. In Virginia, you only have to go as far as the Blue Ridge Mountains to find this bird. Don't confuse it with its cousin the crow, which can be found in many places around the state. The crow is much smaller and has a call that is a "caw." Its tail is also different, being rounded or square, not long and wedge-shaped as the raven's is.
Ravens demonstrate their intelligence in other aspects of their behavior.
* have been known to drop hard-shelled food such as snails or clams on rocks or roads to crack them open
* often work together to find and flush out food
* have pair bonds that can last for years
* will follow predators to get a free meal.
It is no wonder that Baltimore chose the Ravens as the symbol for its football team. Not only are these birds intelligent, acrobatic and organized, they are entertaining as well! As for our poet friend, when he asks if you fear to see a raven this Halloween, you can answer: nevermore! However, if you are interested in meeting a crow, venture out to the Night of the Living Museum on Oct. 21 or 22, you may just get your chance.
Susan Summers is an education associate at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News. Nature Notes is a bi-weekly column. You can access the museum's Web site at www.valivingmuseum.org. * | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40550000 |
VISAKHAPATNAM: Scores of indigenous plant species with medicinal value are vanishing from the Eastern Ghats and coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh as indiscriminate exploitation and unscientific method of extracting these plants is hampering their regeneration and resulting in escalation of costs of herbal medicines.
Biodiversity in the region is being adversely affected by untrained locals extracting medicinal plants unscientifically, without planting and seeding, at the behest of middlemen who are associated with herbal product exporters or Ayurvedic drug manufacturers, point out experts.
"Plants like Saptarangi, one of the very few herbs used in anti-diabetic medicines that is found in the marshy lands, is becoming scarce and so is Sidacordisolia that is used for arthritis and rheumatic disorders and is found in the Eastern Ghats," said ayurvedic physician K Jayakrishna.
V Susheela, an ayurvedic doctor from Sree Aurvedic Hospital, said, "Plants such as Satavari used for curing gynaecological disorders, Sariba for skin ailments, Aswagandha for curing anxiety plus neurosis and sarpagandha for treating hypertension are in need of adequate conservation. The cost of herbal medicines has risen 4 to 5 times in the last 2 to 3 years due to the limited availability of certain herbs as well as the hike in prices of gold and mercury, which are important mineral ingredients for ayurvedic preparations. Proper inspection from the AYUSH (Ayurveda Yoga Unani Sidha and Homepathy) department is required to check the indiscriminate and unscientific exploitation and trafficking of rare herbal plants."
"Deforestation and unscientific extraction are rampant in Eastern Ghats and other coastal belts of AP, which is a treasure house of medicinal plants and herbs. The local tribes are given a few bucks by the middlemen employed by Ayurvedic companies who remove all the endemic plants at the same time without enabling propagation or sowing them elsewhere. These plant collectors don't have the required knowledge of chemistry, botany and Ayurveda and hence scarcity of various species of herbs is rising due to their unscientific activities. Training of these tribals in their local language is needed for scientific extraction of herbs," said Jayakrishna.
Zoologist and plant conservationist professor M Rama Murthy also emphasised on the buy-back policy by pharma companies to encourage conservation and propagation of herbal species. While plants such as podapatri to control sugar level and pashanabedhi to remove kidney stones are almost becoming extinct due to indiscriminate exploitation, there are also other useful herbs such as multi-vitamin greens, which are available in plenty but not exploited due to lack of awareness. A scientific approach towards herb collection is the need of the hour," he said. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40558000 |
Five new names have been approved for Mars: Angustus Labyrinthus, Chronius Mons, Promethei Mons, Sisyphi Tholus, and Thyles Montes. The names Australis Patera, Angusta Patera, and Cavi Frigores have been marked as dropped in the database. New imagery has shown that the two paterae were named using the wrong descriptor term, and the area previously named Cavi Frigores has been incorporated into the adjacent Cavi Angusti.
The definition of the descriptor term labyrinthus has been expanded from "Complex of intersecting valleys" to "Complex of intersecting valleys or ridges."
See the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature for more information. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40564000 |
This is the second book wrote by Lee Lehman and presents in a very detailed manner the astrological dignities. It was published in 1989 by Whitford Press.
In Chapter 1 - Two Unsung Revolutions in Astrology the author explains how the Copernican Revolution changed the way astrologers understand dignities. At page 18 one can find a table with traditional and modern essential dignities.
Chapter 2 - Using Traditional Rulerships
Here you'll find many practical examples of charts analyzed using traditional dignities. There are presented five countries (Confederate States of America, Italy, Iran, Switzerland, USSR), five corporations (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Coca-Cola, Pepsi), five individuals (Jane Austen, Lewis Carroll, Doyle Arthur, Niccolo Machiavelli, Mark Twain) and one horary chart.
Of course, it is always nice to see how the theory applies in practice, but I was expecting from these examples to emphasize the different results which appears when analyzing the charts with traditional and modern dignities. Unfortunately, this is not happening, the charts are analyzed using only traditional dignities.
In Chapter 3 - The Origin of Rulerships: A Botanical Interlude you can find out which planer or sign rules every planet. You'll see that onion is ruled by Mars, beans by Venus, holly by Saturn etc. Also, there is a table with the medicinal uses of Jupiter- ruled plants. I didn't test these, but it may be helpful.
Chapter 4 - Modern “Rulerships”: Do They Work?
The author is trying to prove that modern rulerships aren't working well and to find arguments. She points out that:
“when modern astrologers discuss the modern rulerships the criterion appears to be: Which body (planet, asteroid or comet) has qualities which most resembles the sign in question?”
So, modern rulerships are assigned counting if a planet qualities are similar with the sign qualities and not looking at the planet strength in a sign. See another quotation:
“We haven't any evidence that the ancients thought that Pisces and Jupiter were synonymous. It was a question of the strength of Jupiter in Pisces, not the similarity of Jupiter and Pisces.”
Now, I think the idea is pretty clear. I must say that I totally agree with this point of view.
Then the charts of Marie Curie, Jeddu Krishnamurti, Adolf Hitler and Death of Dracula are analyzed. This time, Lee Lehman makes an analogy between the charts interpretations with modern and traditional rulerships. The results are pretty good and the lecture enjoyable.
Only one problem, from my point of view. It is analyzed the chart “Death of Dracula”, where Lee writes things like: “I have been fascinated by charts of people who are, so to speak, energy sucks”, “Scorpio Sun (life of the vampire)”, etc. Hei, I am from Romania and I tell you there is no vampire. Dracula is just a myth assigned to a Romanian prince, Vlad III of Wallachia. It is true that he was cruel and liked to kill people by impaling them on a sharp pole, but everything else is imagination.
Chapter 5 – The Meaning of Each of the Essential Dignities
In this chapter you'll find some general characteristics for the five essential dignities: ruler, exaltation, triplicity, term and face. At page 127 is a table with key words associated with these dignities. Starting from these key words Lee Lehman gives many descriptive explanations for dignities, but it just seems to much! There are the same things explained over and over again, it seemed pretty boring to me.
In Chapter 6 – A Statistical Interlude the author is trying to determine the influence of terms (both Chaldean and Egyptian) making a few tests. She selected a number of charts from different categories (suicide, scientist, sport champions) and counted the terms for each planet.
In the final, we can see that the planet that rules the category (for example, Mars for sport champions) obtained more points that usually, on a normal pattern. Even the results apparently validates the importance of terms I won't give to much credit to such a test. Why? Because I don't see terms so important to determine a person belong to a category or another. For example, more points in the term of Saturn won't drive you to suicide because can be many other (not even major) aspects that can change this influence.
Probably, I just don't believe terms are so important an if Lee Lehman is making those test it is clear that she also has doubts.
Chapter 7 – Detriment, Falls and Peregrines means several pages where you can find short descriptions for every planet detriment and fall.
In Chapter 8 – Conclusions there are the final words.
MY EVALUATION: 6
Conclusion. If I would have to say quickly, at my first impression, some words about this book I think would be: “too much noise for nothing”. But, then, if you think for a moment you realize that you can't say “for nothing” because dignities are a very important part in astrology and one could write a whole interesting book about this subject.
So, back to my reasoning, why this impression? Why “too much noise for nothing?”. Maybe, because this book presents shortly the five dignities associated with some main characteristics, ideas repeated in different chapters, but the rest of the book is somewhat near the subject.
You can read about history, botany, statistics, all connected with dignities, but the book doesn't seem to touch the essential points. It is a surface play. It doesn't have those clear, rational statements that gives you a better understanding of the subject.
If a medium astrologer reads this book I don't think will have much to learn and to integrate in his astrological system. Maybe I am a little too harsh, but it is my purpose here to criticize and to present a clear point of view about the astrological books I read. My evaluation is 6. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40565000 |
NEXT STOP: SATURN!
Poor Saturn is neither the largest nor the most massive. But this planet may be most eccentric— the memorable in its appearance and properties. Named after the Titan of Time, Saturn was the Roman king of the Titans and father of Jupiter. Saturn is the least dense planet, even less dense than water! How does this happen? Saturn is only 1/8 the density of Earth, but with its large volume, is over 95 times more massive than Earth. Comprising mainly of the lightest element, hydrogen, Saturn is very “light” for its size. Saturn’s mass is 95 times that of Earth, but its volume is 764 times that of Earth. Since density = mass/ volume, Saturn large volume and relatively small mass equates to a very small density (0.687). So, if you build an enormous bathtub and fill it with H2O, Saturn would bobble around on the surface like a rubber duckie! In contrast to Jupiter’s myriad of colorful bands and zones, Saturn’s upper atmosphere of mainly ammonia crystals gives the planet a bland yellow-brown coloration. Once every 30 years, Saturn exhibits ephemeral storms on its banded surface, one known as the Great White Spot. At its North Pole, Saturn has a weird hexagon-shaped storm that may be a novel aurora or a wave pattern. Underneath that banal surface, winds reach up to 1,100 mph, faster than those on Jupiter! Unlike its ever-changing gaseous layers, Saturn’s core may be solid iron, nickel, and rock. Reaching up to 11,700 °C at the core, Saturn radiates 2.5 times more energy than received from the Sun by the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism of slow gravitational compression and the “raining out” of droplets of helium in its interior. Accumulating into a helium shell surrounding the core, the helium droplets release heat by friction passing though low density hydrogen. Layers of metallic hydrogen (deep), liquid hydrogen and liquid helium (intermediate), and hydrogen gas (outer) blanket the core. Electrical currents within the metallic hydrogen caused Saturn’s weak magnetic field to form. Effective at deflecting solar wind particles, Saturn’s magnetosphere also produces aurorae. Saturn has magnificent, highly reflective ice rings, perfectly visible with a telescope. All gas giants have rings, but with nine main continuous rings, three discontinuous arcs if ice particles, rock debris, and dust, Saturn and its rings are truly inseparable. In 1655, Christiaan Huygens suggested Saturn was surrounded by a ring. Since then, astronomers have named the main rings from A to G. The Cassini Division is a large gap between rings A and B, and the Roche Division is a gap between rings A and F. Some moons, like Pan and Prometheus, are shepherd moons that prevent Saturn’s rings from expanding.
Saturn has the second most number of moons with 62. Inhabit Saturn’s rings, Saturn’s moons range from the hundreds of “moonlets” to its largest natural satellite Titan. Of its 62 known moons, Saturn has 53 with actual names, 13 with diameters larger than 50 km, 7 with hydrostatic equilibrium due to planetary mass, dense rings, and complex orbits of their own, 24 regular satellites (prograde orbits not greatly inclined) named after Titans and Titanesses, and 38 irregular satellites with farther orbits and high inclination orbits and named after Inuit, Norse, and Gallic mythological characters. There can be no objective boundary for the classification of Saturn’s moons, for Saturn’s rings contain objects from the microscopic to the largest object Titan.
The most prominent is Titan. Larger than Mercury, Titan is the only moon to retain a substantial atmosphere. Titan produces white convective clouds in cold nitrogen and methane atmosphere. Its surface is relatively young with few impact craters, dark regions of frozen hydrocarbons, flow channels, volcanoes, and sand of frozen water or hydrocarbons. The only moon with large bodies of methane/ ethane lakes, Titan, like Ganymede and Europa (Jupiter’s moons) may have a subsurface ocean of water and ammonia. The largest lake on Titan, Kraken Mare, is larger than the Caspian Sea.
BRIEF TAKES ON OTHER PROMINENT MOONS
MIMAS: smallest and least massive of inner round moons, large impact crater called Herschel, no known geologic activity
ENCELADUS: one of the smallest of Saturn’s spherical moons, smallest known body geologically active, diverse surface that includes ancient heavily crated terrain and younger smoother areas, south pole unusually warm and emits jets of water vapor and dust that replenishes material in Saturn’s E Ring and is the main source of ions in Saturn’s magnetosphere, may have liquid water under south pole, pure ice and high reflective surface
TETHYS: third largest inner moon, large impact crater called Odysseus, cast canyon system called Ithaca Chasma, composed of mainly water ice with little rock
DIONE: second largest inner moon, heavily cratered old terrain, extensive system of troughs and lineaments named “wispy terrain” indicates tectonic activity
RHEA: second largest moon, only moon that has rings, two large impact basins called Tirawa and Inktomi (“The Splat”), a young crater which has butterfly-shaped bright rays, geologically dead
HYPERION: closest moon to Titan (when Titan makes four revolutions, Hyperion makes three), very irregular shape, sponge-like tan-colored icy surface, numerous impact craters, no well-defined poles or equator (chaotic rotation) which makes its rotational behavior unpredictable
IAPETUS: third largest moon, most distant large moon, greatest orbital inclination (orbits at a greater altitude, at 14.72°), one hemisphere is pitch-black (Iapetus’s leading hemisphere collides with dust and ice particles as it rotates, darkening its surface) and the other is bright as snow
MISSIONS: Cassini-Huygens, Pioneer 11, Voyager
- Order in Solar System: #6
- Number of Moons: 62
- Orbital Period: 29.5 years
- Rotational Period: 10.5 hours
- Mass: 5.6846 x 10^26 kg (95.152 Earths)
- Volume: 8.2713 x 10 ^14 km³ (763.59 Earths)
- Radius: 60,268 km (9.4492 Earths)
- Surface Area: 4.27 x 10^10 km² (83.703 Earths)
- Density: 0.687 g/cm³ (less than water!)
- Eccentricity of Orbit: 0.056
- Surface Temperature (Average): 134 K
- Escape Velocity: 35.5 km/s
- Apparent Magnitude: +1.47 to -0.24
On December 3, 2012, the planets Mercury, Venus, and Saturn will align with the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. This will be the first planetary/pyramid alignment in 2,737 years! Now, the three Giza pyramids are also in perfect alignment with the three stars of Orion’s belt. In 1983, Robert Bauval proposed this Orion correlation theory and published this idea in Discussions in Egyptology in 1989. The Giza pyramids were built in the 3rd millennium B.C. The alignment is very curious. Could the Egyptians have built the Giza pyramids that way on purpose?
- Eccentricity of Orbit: measures the ellipticity of orbit (ranges 0-1, with 0 as spherical and 1 as very elliptical)
- Density: mass per unit volume; mass in grams and volume in cubic centimeters
- Oblateness: measures how much the middle section of the planet bulges
- Surface Gravity: the larger the surface gravity, the thicker the atmosphere as gravity pulls in more gases
- Albedo: measures the fraction of light reflected compared to the amount of light received from the Sun; the higher the albedo, the more reflective the surface
- Escape Velocity: minimum speed or velocity needed to escape the planet’s gravitational pull
- Rotation: most planets rotate in counter-clockwise direction (prograde); others rotate in the clockwise direction (retrograde)
- Rotational period is shortest for gaseous planets and longest for Venus
- Roche Limit: about two and a half times the radius of the planet; within the Roche Limit, matter cannot accretes to form moons because the tidal force of the planet tears matter apart to form rings
Giant Planets: Giant planets have lighter elements such as hydrogen and helium in their atmospheres. They have stronger gravity and are at larger distances from the Sun. Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune are stormy with great spots of lasting storms and belts and zones. However, Uranus is comparatively bland and uniform. All giant planets are home to convection, or hot gases rising and cold gases falling.
Terrestrial Planets: Terrestrial planets have heavier elements such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. Mercury is most heavily cratered while Earth is least cratered. Larger terrestrial planets have plate tectonics. Earth has a sizable magnetic fields that can protect it from solar wind particles and Van Allen Belts. Earth has the “Goldilocks phenomenon,” or the right conditions for the development of life.
“The Planets” page under “The Solar System” is now complete. The outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, have been added with brief summaries and pictures. Enjoy! See the page here. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40566000 |
California Proposition 11, Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act (1982)
Proposition 11, the Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act, would have required "every empty beer and other malt beverage, mineral water, soda water, and similar carbonated soft drink container to be redeemable for cash, as a means of encouraging consumers to return empty cans and bottles rather than discard them as litter or municipal waste."
Specifically, Proposition 11 would have:
- Required that beginning on March 1, 1984, every such beverage container sold or offered for sale in California would have had a refund value (when returned empty) of at least 5 cents.
- Required that when a consumer returned an empty container to a retailer selling that same kind, size, and brand of beverage, that retailer must pay the consumer the refund.
- Retailers or redemption centers that returned empty containers to a wholesaler or bottler of the same kind, size, and brand must be paid the refund, plus a handling fee equal to 20% of the refund.
If Proposition 11 had been approved, it would have amended Division 12.1 (commencing with Section 14500) of California's Public Resources Code, relating to beverage containers.
Proposition 11's official ballot summary said:
- "Requires that beverage containers sold, or offered for sale, on or after March 1, 1984, have a refund value, established by the distributor, of not less than 5 cents. Requires refund value be indicated on container. Requires that dealers and distributors pay the refund value on return of empty container. Provides for establishment of redemption centers. Provides for handling fees for dealers and redemption centers. Prohibits manufacturer from requiring a deposit from a distributor on a nonrefillable container. Contains definitions, specified exceptions, conditions, and other matters. Provides violation of statute is an infraction punishable by fine. Summary of Legislative Analyst's estimate of net state and local government fiscal impact: Net fiscal effect on state and local governments cannot be determined. Could result in reduced litter cleanup costs, reduced solid waste disposal costs, and an unknown increase or decrease in tax revenue collections. Variables involved are discussed in more depth in Analyst's estimate."
The fiscal estimate provided by the California Legislative Analyst's Office said:
- "This measure would have a fiscal effect on both the state and local governments. The net impact of the measure's fiscal effect, however, cannot be determined.
- Based on the experience of states with deposit laws, it appears that this measure, if approved by the voters, would result in a significant increase in the percentage of empty beverage containers recycled or refilled and, therefore, a significant decrease in the percentage of empty beverage containers that are discarded.
- The shift in the disposition of empty beverage containers would be accompanied by changes in the behavior of both businesses and individuals, which could affect (1) the amount of litter and solid waste in California, (2) beverage prices, (3) beverage sales, (4) corporate profits, (5) employment, and (6) the average wage levels of workers involved in the production and sale of beer and carbonated soft drinks. As a result, the measure could affect government costs and revenues in numerous ways. These include:
- 1. Reduced Litter Cleanup Costs. Deposit laws in other states have caused reductions of approximately 80 percent in the amount of beverage container litter. Estimates of the resulting change in total litter range from almost no change to reductions in excess of 30 percent. If this measure is approved, it is likely that governmental agencies would experience some savings in litter cleanup costs.
- 2. Reduced Solid Waste Disposal Costs. Deposit laws in other states also have resulted in an estimated 3- to 4-percent reduction in the amount of municipal solid waste that must be disposed of. Because solid waste disposal services in California are provided by government agencies, as well as by private firms, a reduction in the amount of waste to be disposed of would reduce costs to these agencies. In the short run, a reduction in the volume of waste would result in only moderate savings for government agencies that provide solid waste disposal services, because local solid waste removal systems are sized to handle the current volume of waste and a large portion of the costs of these systems is fixed. In the long term, these agencies could experience significant savings as a result of the reduction in solid wastes requiring disposal.
- 3. An Increase or Decrease in Tax Revenue Collections. This initiative could change the amount of tax revenues which state and local governments collect, although the overall magnitude of this change -- and even its direction (up or down) -- is unknown. A change in revenues can be anticipated because the initiative could affect such factors as corporate profits, beverage sales, and beverage-related employment and wage levels. This, in turn, could have an impact on revenue collections from the sales and use tax, the bank and corporation tax, the personal income tax, and the excise tax on beer. Some of these revenue effects are likely to be positive; others are likely to be negative. For example:
- Sales and use tax revenues could be reduced if the volume of beverages sold declines. These revenues could also be increased, however, to the extent that beverage prices rise. The effect of the measure on sales and use tax revenues would also depend on whether the deposit paid by consumers on nonrefillable bottles and cans is itself subject to tax. The effect of the measure on sales and use tax revenue would further depend on the way in which any increase or decrease in spending by consumers on beverages is offset by changes in their spending on other taxable and nontaxable commodities.
- Excise tax revenues from the sale of beer would decline if the volume of beer sales declines as a result of the measure.
- Bank and corporation profits tax revenues could decline if the costs incurred by bottlers and retailers increase as a result of the measure and the increase is not offset by higher prices charged to consumers.
- Personal income tax collections could decline to the extent that proprietors' incomes fall, or more lower-wage and fewer higher-wage workers are employed in the manufacturing, distribution, and retailing of beverages. Personal income tax revenues could also increase, however, if total beverage-related employment and wages paid rise significantly due to an increase in the demand for retail and beverage transportation workers.
- Experience with mandatory deposit laws in other states does not yield conclusive evidence regarding the ongoing impact of these laws on those key economic variables that affect government revenues. Therefore, it is not possible to predict with any reliability what the net effect of this measure would be on state and local government revenues in California.
Path to the ballot
As an initiated state statute, Proposition 11 earned its spot on the ballot through the collection of signatures on petitions.
- PDF of the mailed November 2, 1982 voter guide for Proposition 11
- Hastings California I&R database
- California Law Library, November 2, 1982 ballot propositions | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40575000 |
Archive for July, 2012
Making good decisions has special requirements for a Christian leader. Read Proverbs 1:1-7.
For the Christian leader making good decisions includes elements beyond accurately analyzing and processing information and temporary success or failure. To bear the name Christian along with the title leader they must also consider fairness, honesty, and morality as part of each decision. The book of Proverbs isn’t a decision-making textbook, but it was inspired by God and written by King Solomon of Israel, a leader who over the centuries has become known as the wisest man to have ever lived.
We make decisions every day, and the patterns we establish in the small decisions shape the larger ones. Read 1 Chronicles 12:32.
The background for 1 Chronicles 12:32 is that Israel’s first King, Saul, was dead. David, from the tribe of Judah had been appointed King and was ruling the nation from the city of Hebron. Many of the fighting men from each of the other 11 tribes of Israel were coming to Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to David and re-unify the nation. This simple statement, tucked away in the middle of a listing of the men who had volunteered to serve David and who supported his anointing as king over all Israel, tells us of some men from the tribe of Issachar “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40576000 |
Vitamin D a Bone Booster for People with Digestive Problems
People with digestive diseases, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, are especially susceptible to osteoporosis and bone fractures, due in part to nutrient deficiencies caused by malabsorption and medication side effects. A new study found that people with good vitamin D status early in the course of their disease had higher bone density and a greater likelihood of increasing bone density over time.
Healthy vitamin D levels predict healthy bones
The study, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, included 101 people who had recently been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Vitamin D levels in the blood and bone mineral density were measured at the beginning of the study, and bone density measurements were repeated approximately two years later.
Only 22% of the people had optimal vitamin D levels at the beginning of the study. Higher vitamin D levels were associated with higher bone density in the spine, hip, and total body. People with better vitamin D status were more likely than others to have an increase in bone mineral density over the course of the study.
The link between IBD and bone density
IBD is a group of inflammatory conditions affecting the large and small intestines. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are the most common types, both of which are believed to be autoimmune (when the immune system attacks the body’s cells) in nature. People with IBD usually experience chronic abdominal pain and diarrhea, often with bleeding and mucus.
In people with IBD, inflammation in the bowel wall and diarrhea compromise absorption and result in nutrient deficiencies. In addition, corticosteroid medicines that are used to treat IBD can interfere with calcium absorption and metabolism. Maintaining healthy bone density requires the integrated work of a number of nutrients, including calcium and vitamin D, so it is not surprising that people with IBD have high rates of low bone density (osteopenia and osteoporosis).
Improving vitamin D status
Vitamin D is made in the body through a series of chemical reactions that begins in sun-exposed skin. Modern lifestyles with limited outdoor time and widespread use of sunscreens have led to increasing rates of vitamin D deficiency in the general population, and these rates are even higher in the elderly and people with chronic disease.
“Poorer vitamin D correlates with lower baseline bone mineral density and better vitamin D status is correlated with a gain in total bone mineral density. Early optimization of vitamin D may play an important role in preventing IBD-related bone disease,” said the researchers from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Small amounts of vitamin D are found in eggs and fish, as well as fortified dairy foods and some dairy substitutes, but the authors noted that their findings suggest that adding vitamin D supplements is warranted for most people with IBD.
September 11, 2008
(Am J Gastroenterol 2008;103:1451–9)
Maureen Williams, ND, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, WA. She has a private practice in Quechee, VT, and does extensive work with traditional herbal medicine in Guatemala and Honduras. Dr. Williams is a regular contributor to Healthnotes Newswire.
Copyright © 2008 Healthnotes, Inc., dba Aisle7. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of the Aisle7 content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Aisle7. Healthnotes Newswire is for educational or informational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose or provide treatment for any condition. If you have any concerns about your own health, you should always consult with a healthcare professional. Aisle7 shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Aisle7 and the Aisle7 logo are registered trademarks of Aisle7. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40579000 |
Food and nutrients help to form strong teeth and bones, muscles and a healthy body. A balanced diet can also help to protect your child against illness. Children’s need for energy and nutrients is high, but appetites are small and children can be fussy, so it can be a challenge to get your child’s diet right especially when feeding them organic food. But there’s quite a bit at stake because healthy eating aids early learning and childhood development.
It’s useful to know that young children can usually regulate their own intake, so remember that pre-school children normally eat the amounts they want, even if it seems they’re not taking in very much. At this age, children are often good at regulating their appetite. If they’re not hungry, insisting on larger amounts of food can create a battle, which you’re likely to lose.
Base your child’s intake on the following food groups to help ensure she’s getting all the important nutrients. Make sure your child has a balanced diet, with food from each of the key food groups every day. The food pyramid helps kids to receive all the nutrients growing children need each day from the five food groups. These are:
Protein – this includes lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
Grains – this includes bread, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles
Dairy – this includes milk, yoghurt, and cheese
They, and you, will need to eat a number of serves from each group depending on their age and how active they are. Growing children need the following number of serves from each group. Let Mindful Eating be a guiding principle. This table shows the suggested number of serves per day by age:
Age in years
3 – 4
4 – 6
4 – 5
1 – 2
1 – 1.5
4 – 7
5 – 9
3 – 4
3 – 5
1 – 2
Sample serves from the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.
Young children have small appetites, so fibre-rich carbohydrates can be bulky and inhibit the absorption of some minerals. A good mindful eating tip is to gradually introduce higher fibre carbohydrate foods, such as whole wheat pasta and brown rice, so that by the time children are five, they’re eating the same fibre-rich foods as the rest of the family.
Giving your baby a pure start to life really begins nine months before birth.
It’s not so surprising really, given all that rapid and miraculous cell growth and division is fuelled by you. So what to eat when pregnant is a key issue because that truly is the real baby food!
On the other side of the coin, there are some things that are definitely not good. Alcohol, nicotine and other “recreational chemicals” need to be avoided, preferably before you conceive. Enough said on that score.
There is no “magic food” to consume. As usual the answer is simple and logical. The best things to eat when you’re pregnant are simply wholesome fresh foods. Plenty of fruits and vegetables, obviously, but choose a balanced diet from each of the five food groups. Although you’re eating for two, remember its quality not quantity that you’re after. Let Mindful Eating be a guiding principle. Just think about what’s going in your mouth and eat what you should, not what you could, and make water you’re preferred drink.
The interesting thing about this approach is that you’re likely to feel a whole lot better, be healthier and possibly even shed some unwanted fat, even though that’s not the objective. And remember it’s not good to be dieting during pregnancy without the agreement and oversight of your doctor.
Make sure too, that the foods you’re eating contain enough of the key nutrients for pregnancy. Most of us get these through a balanced diet, but you might want to check out choline, usually grouped with the B-complex vitamins. Choline isn’t technically a B vitamin, but it is often included in the B-vitamin family because it does work closely with other B vitamins, especially folic acid Vitamin B9) and cobalamin (Vitamin B12), to process fat and keep the heart and brain healthy. We’ve blogged on choline recently.Pregnancy is a time when the body’s demand for choline is highest. Choline is particularly used to support the fetus’s developing nervous system. I mention it again because studies show intake is low and feedback to our previous blog shows that women don’t know this particular “vitamin”, despite it being an essential nutrient. You can get it through eggs, by the way.
Obviously, as an organic baby food company we like to keep abreast of the latest findings on organic food. The University of Barcelona has just released a study that shows that organic tomatoes contain more polyphenolic compounds than conventionally produced tomatoes.
Phenolic compounds are organic molecules found in many vegetables and have proven human health benefits. Polyphenols are natural antioxidants and are considered to be of great nutritional interest because their consumption is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular and degenerative diseases. Most interesting is the researchers view of why this might be. Organic farming doesn’t use nitrogenous fertilizers; as a result, plants respond by activating their own defense mechanisms, increasing the levels of all antioxidants. It seems that conventionally fertilised plants “don’t have to try so hard” and as a result their production of phenolic compounds is lower. Numerous scientific investigations show that the consumption of these antioxidants has a variety of health benefits. Researchers claim that more studies of clinical evidence are still needed to be able to state that organic products are truly better for our health than conventional ones.
Pregnancy is a wonderful time in any woman’s life. A bit of a roller coaster, yes, but it’s full of new feelings and new learning. Unlike many previous generations, first time mothers now have a clearer picture of what they need to know about nutrition when they’re “eating for two”. Eating for two these days is about quality, not quantity, and new research is turning up all sorts of interesting information on some of the critical nutrients first time mothers, indeed all mums, should ensure form part of their dietary intake.
The most important nutrients to support pregnancy can be summarised as follows:
Biotin • Choline
Folate • Iodine
Iron • Vitamin A
Let’s take a quick look at choline. Choline is clearly important but it appears most pregnant women don’t ingest the recommended daily dose.
Choline is a chemical similar to the B-vitamins, and is often lumped in with them, although it is not (yet) an “official” B-vitamin. Although its entire mechanism of action, particularly how it interacts with other nutrients, is not completely understood, it seems too often work in concert with folate and an amino acid called methionine. Although the human body can make some choline it is generally recognised that it is important to get dietary choline as well.
So what does choline do? It’s long been understood that choline helps in the development of the neural tube. In the developing baby, the neural tube is the embryo’s very early central nervous system that comprises the brain and spinal cord. This really is early development because by four and a half weeks portions of the brain are already forming!
Choline also has some other very important protective roles. It seems it helps in the prevention of miscarriage and stillbirth. It has been found that mothers in the bottom 25% for choline intake have a four times greater risks of having a child with neural tube defects compared with women in the highest 25% of intake.
Along with choline’s brain development function it can also impact on your child’s lifelong learning and memory capacity. But now we’re finding out it does even more.
Researchers at Cornell University, USA, found that increased choline intake during pregnancy could reduce stress levels in the child and lower the chances of it developing hypertension and diabetes later in life. Although adults may take choline, the amount of choline that one is exposed to while still in the womb has a stronger effect over time.
What can you do?
Australian dietary guidelines recommend a minimum intake of 440mg/day of choline. Many women just don’t get that much. Choline can be found in foods like eggs, beef liver and, you won’t be surprised, breast milk!
For comparison 1 large whole egg contains about 112mg, a nice 100g serving of pan-fried calf’s liver can deliver 418mg. 100gm of tofu will give about 28mg and a serve of cauliflower about twice that.
Of course, you can take a good supplement designed for pregnant women, but be careful here. The Bellamy’s team did a little checking and there is at least one very well known brand out there selling a pregnancy supplement that does not contain any choline! In fact, the only prenatal supplement we could find that contains choline is Zycia Natal Nutrients, available from pharmacies.
Use Mindful Eating here, too, and don’t take too much. You only need what’s required. More won’t help.
If you’d like to know more about Bellamy’s Organic and the certified organic baby foods we make, click on this link.
The Cornell paper on reducing stress levels can be found at: | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40583000 |
Easton's Bible Dictionary
A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means "to cut," and hence a covenant is a "cutting," with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a covenant (Genesis 15; Jeremiah 34:18, 19).
The corresponding word in the New Testament Greek is diatheke, which is, however, rendered "testament" generally in the Authorized Version. It ought to be rendered, just as the word berith of the Old Testament, "covenant."
This word is used (1) of a covenant or compact between man and man (Genesis 21:32), or between tribes or nations (1 Samuel 11:1; Joshua 9:6, 15). In entering into a convenant, Jehovah was solemnly called on to witness the transaction (Genesis 31:50), and hence it was called a "covenant of the Lord" (1 Samuel 20:8). The marriage compact is called "the covenant of God" (Proverbs 2:17), because the marriage was made in God's name. Wicked men are spoken of as acting as if they had made a "covenant with death" not to destroy them, or with hell not to devour them (Isaiah 28:15, 18).
(2.) The word is used with reference to God's revelation of himself in the way of promise or of favour to men. Thus God's promise to Noah after the Flood is called a covenant (Genesis 9; Jeremiah 33:20, "my covenant"). We have an account of God's covernant with Abraham (Genesis 17, Comp. Leviticus 26:42), of the covenant of the priesthood (Numbers 25:12, 13; Deuteronomy 33:9; Nehemiah 13:29), and of the covenant of Sinai (Exodus 34:27, 28; Leviticus 26:15), which was afterwards renewed at different times in the history of Israel (Deuteronomy 29; Joshua 1:24; 2 Chronicles 15; 23; 29; 34; Ezra 10; Nehemiah 9). In conformity with human custom, God's covenant is said to be confirmed with an oath (Deuteronomy 4:31; Psalm 89:3), and to be accompanied by a sign (Genesis 9; 17). Hence the covenant is called God's "counsel," "oath," "promise" (Psalm 89:3, 4; 105:8-11; Hebrews 6:13-20; Luke 1:68-75). God's covenant consists wholly in the bestowal of blessing (Isaiah 59:21; Jeremiah 31:33, 34).
The term covenant is also used to designate the regular succession of day and night (Jeremiah 33:20), the Sabbath (Exodus 31:16), circumcision (Genesis 17:9, 10), and in general any ordinance of God (Jeremiah 34:13, 14).
COVENANT OF WORKS, the constitution under which Adam was placed at his creation. In this covenant,
(1.) The contracting parties were (a) God the moral Governor, and (b) Adam, a free moral agent, and representative of all his natural posterity (Romans 5:12-19).
(3.) The condition was perfect obedience to the law, the test in this case being abstaining from eating the fruit of the "tree of knowledge," etc.
(4.) The penalty was death (Genesis 2:16, 17).
This covenant is also called a covenant of nature, as made with man in his natural or unfallen state; a covenant of life, because "life" was the promise attached to obedience; and a legal covenant, because it demanded perfect obedience to the law.
The "tree of life" was the outward sign and seal of that life which was promised in the covenant, and hence it is usually called the seal of that covenant.
This covenant is abrogated under the gospel, inasmuch as Christ has fulfilled all its conditions in behalf of his people, and now offers salvation on the condition of faith. It is still in force, however, as it rests on the immutable justice of God, and is binding on all who have not fled to Christ and accepted his righteousness.
CONVENANT OF GRACE, the eternal plan of redemption entered into by the three persons of the Godhead, and carried out by them in its several parts. In it the Father represented the Godhead in its indivisible sovereignty, and the Son his people as their surety (John 17:4, 6, 9; Isaiah 42:6; Psalm 89:3).
The conditions of this covenant were,
(1.) On the part of the Father (a) all needful preparation to the Son for the accomplishment of his work (Hebrews 10:5; Isaiah 42:1-7); (b) support in the work (Luke 22:43); and (c) a glorious reward in the exaltation of Christ when his work was done (Philippians 2:6-11), his investiture with universal dominion (John 5:22; Psalm 110:1), his having the administration of the covenant committed into his hands (Matthew 28:18; John 1:12; 17:2; Acts 2:33), and in the final salvation of all his people (Isaiah 35:10; 53:10, 11; Jeremiah 31:33; Titus 1:2).
(2.) On the part of the Son the conditions were (a) his becoming incarnate (Galatians 4:4, 5); and (b) as the second Adam his representing all his people, assuming their place and undertaking all their obligations under the violated covenant of works; (c) obeying the law (Psalm 40:8; Isaiah 42:21; John 9:4, 5), and (d) suffering its penalty (Isaiah 53; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13), in their stead.
Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language
1. (n.) A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, or one of the stipulations in such an agreement.
2. (n.) An agreement made by the Scottish Parliament in 1638, and by the English Parliament in 1643, to preserve the reformed religion in Scotland, and to extirpate popery and prelacy; -- usually called the Solemn League and Covenant.
3. (n.) The promises of God as revealed in the Scriptures, conditioned on certain terms on the part of man, as obedience, repentance, faith, etc.
4. (n.) A solemn compact between members of a church to maintain its faith, discipline, etc.
5. (n.) An undertaking, on sufficient consideration, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from some act or thing; a contract; a stipulation; also, the document or writing containing the terms of agreement.
6. (n.) A form of action for the violation of a promise or contract under seal.
7. (v. i.) To agree (with); to enter into a formal agreement; to bind one's self by contract; to make a stipulation.
8. (v. t.) To grant or promise by covenant. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40586000 |
Chapter I presents general information about landfill leachate, characteristics of leachates in Vietnam and review of general leachates treatment situation in the country.
In chapter II, a careful bibliographical study on biological processes of nitrification and denitrification is done.
In chapter III, existing activated sludge models are briefly reviewed, focusing on ASM1 and ASM3. The ASM3 model then is studied in more detail with focuses on state variables, processes; kinetic and stoichiometric parameters of the model.
A careful bibliographical study on sequencing batch reactor (SBR) is done in chapter IV. Chapter V presents materials and methods that will be applied in the experiments in laboratories and modelling processes of this study.
In chapter VI, an SBR bench-scale is set up in the laboratory to study partial nitrification process.
Chapter VII presents the experimental studies on maximum nitrification and denitrification capability, then determination of kinetic and stoichiometric parameters that will be used for calibration in the next steps.
Chapter VIII presents a study on partial nitrification by applying data analysis and experimental planning method.
In chapter IX (the key part of the Thesis), the modelling of the partial nitrification and denitrification in SBR is presented.
It is hoped that, this study will contribute to the major issue of leachate treatment in Vietnam, especially in the North of the country where leachate characteristics and variations are the same as what was used during our experiments.
Partial nitrification seems to be easily achieved in an SBR bench-scale using leachate in Nam Son landfill site. Some important characteristics of the studied leachate, are high alkalinity, high pH leading to high free ammonia concentration in the system. This free ammonia is known as a growth rate inhibitor for nitrite oxidizing bacteria, thus limiting oxidation of nitrite to nitrate and accumulating nitrite during the nitrification period. DO concentration is also known as an important influencing factor in partial nitrification in many previous studies. But in our case, its influence is just significant when the nitrification process is nearly complete: no more ammonium remains in the system, alkalinity concentration is reduced leading to a lower buffer capacity, lower pH, and then nitrite is easily oxidized to nitrate. A sufficiently high DO concentration in this case, expresses its importance in bringing about the best nitrification efficiency, while saving aeration energy.
The SBR technique has demonstrated its advantages, especially the flexibility in changing the working volume, and the operating time.
Modeling of partial nitrification and denitrification processes for landfill leachate treatment using the SBR technique was the main objective of this study. The simulation software - WEST® program was very useful tool to implement this task. With this program, the available model base for activated sludge model (ASM1, ASM 2, ASM 3 etc,), presented in the Peterson matrix, the variables, kinetic, stoichiometric parameters, processes can be easily modified to another activated sludge model suitable in the scope of our study. In the present case, based on the ASM3, the ASM3_2step was developed and applied, in which nitrification and denitrification are divided into two steps with nitrite as an intermediate product. The modified ASM3_2step has shown its high accuracy during calibration process. It could be use also for the other processes/techniques using activated sludge, by adding more equations and parameters.
Calibration and validation were implemented for two cases: Partial nitrification and denitrification with and without carbon addition. Good results were obtained where the simulations fit well the experimental data. The kinetic and stoichiometric parameters found are very important for the other simulations, especially in process optimisation.
It also demonstrates that, through process optimisation, general productivity of the SBR system can be increased. Controlling DO, changing operating time cycle mechanisms can improve the total nitrogen removal efficiency, save some aeration energy for nitrification and carbon source for denitrification.
As our results are very promising, the next step could be to implement the ANAMMOX process.
Key words: Partial nitrification and denitrification, ASM3_2steps, SBR, modeling. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40588000 |
Last month, I had the opportunity to attend a sea level rise forum in Raleigh, NC organized by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Division of Coastal Management. The purpose of this forum was to discuss the latest sea level rise science, what it means for North Carolina’s coastal communities and how the state can begin to prepare for the changes to come.
The two day event boasted an impressive line-up of expert speakers from around the country. Over 200 local and state decision makers, scientists, planners, engineers and environmental advocates participated in this event that seemed to foster true collaboration between all involved. This forum was just one step in a series that the Division of Coastal Management (DCM) plans to take to understand and plan for future sea level rise.
Public Perceptions of Rising Seas
Last year the DCM issued a 10-question scoping survey to gauge public perception about rising seas. During the forum Tancred Miller, Coastal Policy Analyst with the DCM, shared with the audience their results. Interestingly, 75% of participants believe sea level rise is happening and 66% believe that the state should take action now to plan and prepare for future sea level rise.
The results of this survey will be used as a communications tool to help the DCM design public outreach opportunities and to address the gaps in the public’s understanding of this issue. This sea level rise forum was the second step in the DCM’s “sea level rise roadmap” (see diagram); their clear path forward to address this issue in the state. To read the full report and analysis click here.
“Potential Death Sentence” for North Carolina Beaches
According to Dr. Stanley Riggs, Distinguished Professor of Geology at East Carolina University, most North Carolina beaches are eroding at a long term average of 15 feet/year. This rapid rate of erosion coupled with rising seas and a limited offshore sand supply to replenish the beaches creates a “potential death sentence” for the future of the state’s barrier island communities.
“Humans are just as impactful as storms”, Dr. Riggs explained. Because we have heavily urbanized our coastlines we have essentially stopped the natural migration of barrier island ecosystems; the environments that naturally protect human development from storm surges.
Shocking Statistics from Dr. Riggs:
* Somewhere between 350 and 500 houses on NC beaches are sandbagged and/or in danger of washing away.
* Twenty-four miles of coastal highway are collapsing and 100+ miles are threatened.
Dr. Riggs made a big push for responsible coastal planning and development by ending his presentation posing the following question:
“We have a choice”, said Dr. Riggs. “Should we engineer our dynamic coastal system to keep up with the ongoing rise in sea level or should we begin adapting to these changes now to maintain a sustainable coastal system and associated economy?”
Future Sea Level Rise Estimates for North Carolina
There were more than a few scientists at this forum that addressed past, present and future sea level rise changes in North Carolina. Estimates were taken from numerous resources including Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments and various peer-reviewed studies. All of the most recent studies conclude that sea level is rising much faster than predicted.
Scientists like Dr. Gordon Hamilton, Research Professor at the University of Maine, explained that the range in estimates that are out there on sea level rise depend on how the model accounts for changes in ice sheet dynamics. Ice sheets are extremely sensitive; they can decay rapidly in non-linear ways which leads to uncertainty in sea level rise estimates.
“The general consensus since the IPCC’s latest assessment in 2007 is that we can expect at the very least, 1 meter of global sea level rise by the end of the century.”
- Dr. Gordon Hamilton
The Dialogue Continues
What will ultimately determine the fate of North Carolina’s coastal communities, ecosystems and associated economies will depend on how the state and her residents choose to mitigate and adapt to rapidly rising seas and a changing climate. The Division of Coastal Management along with all of their partners should be applauded by the dialogue that they have started and have committed to continuing in the state.
There is a lot of activity going on in North Carolina on the topic of sea level rise, adaptation and mitigation and the state is positioning itself to be a leader in our region in forward-thinking planning that accounts for global warming impacts to our treasured coastal places.
* Workshop on March 2nd and 3rd, 2010: Planning for North Carolina’s Future; Ask the Climate Question
* SACE Archive Webinar: “Planning to Protect: Helping SE Communities think about Adaptation”
* Video: “Treasured Places in Peril: The Outer Banks”
* New Resource: NOAA Climate Services
Leave a comment | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40600000 |
Mali has been engrossed in civil war since January 2012, when separatists in Mali’s northern Azawad region began demanding independence from the southern, Bamako-based government. After forcing the Malian military from the north, however, the separatist forces soon became embroiled in a conflict of their own, between the original Mouvement National pour la Libération de l’Azawad (MNLA) and extremist Islamist splinter factions closely linked with Al-Qaeda. On 11 January 2013, France responded to Mali’s urgent request for international assistance and initiated ‘Operation Serval’ to aid the recapture of Azawad and defeat the extremist group. From the 18th, West African states began reinforcing French forces with at least 3,300 extra troops.
In a BBC ’From Our Own Correspondent’ editorial, Hugh Schofield wrote of ‘la Francafrique’, or France’s considerable interests in West Africa held over from the end of formal empire. In fits and spurts, France has sought to extract itself from la Francafrique and to seek a new relationship with the continent. But in the complex world of post-colonial relationships, such a move is difficult. France retains strong economic, political, and social links with West Africa. Paris, Marseille, and Lyon are home to large expatriate African communities. Opinions at l’Elycée Palace, too, have wildly shifted over the years. Jacques Chirac, at least according to Schofield, was ‘a dyed-in-the-wool Guallist’, and an ideological successor to a young François Mitterand who, in 1954, defiantly pronounced that ‘L’Algérie, c’est la France’. Nicolas Sarkozy, on the other hand, dramatically distanced himself both from Chirac and from the la Francafrique role.
The problem is, at least in part, topographical in nature. West Africa’s geography is dangerous, vast, and difficult to subordinate. On the eve of much of West Africa’s independence from France in 1961, R J Harrison Church spoke of the so-called Dry Zone, the area running horizontally from southern Mauritania across central Mali and Niger, as the great “pioneer fringe” of the region’s civilization. David Hilling, in his 1969 Geographical Journal examination, added that by “taming” the Saharan interior, France gained an important strategic advantage over their British rivals in the early twentieth century, enjoying access to resources unavailable along the coast.
But, as A T Grove discussed in his 1978 review, “colonising” West Africa was much easier said than done, and the French left a West Africa mired in dispute, open to incursions, and still heavily reliant on the former imperial power. The French relationship with the region’s extreme geography was difficult at best; political boundaries were similar to those of the Arabian Peninsula and the Rub ‘al-Khali in particular: fluid, ill-defined, and not always recognised by local peoples. European-set political boundaries only exacerbated tensions between indigenous constituencies who had little or no say in the border demarcations.
French and African efforts to dam the Niger River, for instance, were hampered by high costs, arduous terrain, and political instability well into the 1960s. On independence, the French left what infrastructure they could, mostly in West Africa’s capital and port cities; the vast interiors were often left to their own devices. As a result of these events, France has maintained a large military, economic, and social presence in the region ever since. The difficulty is that such areas under weak political control, such as the Malian, Somalian, and Sudanese deserts, have become havens for individuals who wish to operate outside international and national law.
R J Harrison Church, 1961, ‘Problems and Development of the Dry Zone of West Africa‘, The Geographical Journal 127 187-99.
David Hilling, 1969, ‘The Evolution of the Major Ports of West Africa‘, The Geographical Journal 135 365-78.
A T Grove, 1978, ‘Geographical Introduction to the Sahel‘, The Geographical Journal 144 407-15.
Ieuan Griffiths, 1986, ‘The Scramble for Africa: Inherited Political Boundaries‘, The Geographical Journal 152 204-16.
‘Le Mali attend le renfort des troupes ouest-africaines‘, Radio France Internationale, 19 January 2013, accessed 19 January 2013.
Hugh Schofield, ‘France and Mali: An “ironic” relationship’, BBC News, 19 January 2013, accessed 19 January 2013. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40603000 |
Project Gutenberg, if you don't know, is a webpage collecting electronic books online. It was founded in 1971 (yes, long before the Internet as we know it today existed), when Hart typed the Declaration of Independency on a Xerox mainframe. Hart can be seen as the inventor of electronic books - 40 years ago.
We're still waiting for ebooks to get into mainstream. Currently, ebook reading devices are available, but their usage is not widespread yet. But I'm almost certain that ebooks will become very important within the next years. Hart had that opinion 40 years ago.
Today, Project Gutenberg has about 36.000 books. Most of them are public domain, because their copyright expired. There are other similar projects today: Wikisource is a sister project of Wikipedia and archive.org has a lot of scanned books, including most of the public domain books digitalized by Google.
Some mission statements for Project Gutenberg from Michael S. Hart (taken from Wikipedia) I find that sum up things very well:
"Encourage the Creation and Distribution of eBooks"
"Help Break Down the Bars of Ignorance and Illiteracy"
"Give As Many eBooks to As Many People As Possible" | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40605000 |
At Rhode Island College, a freshman copied and pasted from a Web site’s frequently asked questions page about homelessness — and did not think he needed to credit a source in his assignment because the page did not include author information.
At DePaul University, the tip-off to one student’s copying was the purple shade of several paragraphs he had lifted from the Web; when confronted by a writing tutor his professor had sent him to, he was not defensive — he just wanted to know how to change purple text to black.
And at the University of Maryland, a student reprimanded for copying from Wikipedia in a paper on the Great Depression said he thought its entries — unsigned and collectively written — did not need to be credited since they counted, essentially, as common knowledge.
Professors used to deal with plagiarism by admonishing students to give credit to others and to follow the style guide for citations, and pretty much left it at that.
But these cases — typical ones, according to writing tutors and officials responsible for discipline at the three schools who described the plagiarism — suggest that many students simply do not grasp that using words they did not write is a serious misdeed.
It is a disconnect that is growing in the Internet age as concepts of intellectual property, copyright and originality are under assault in the unbridled exchange of online information, say educators who study plagiarism.
Digital technology makes copying and pasting easy, of course. But that is the least of it. The Internet may also be redefining how students — who came of age with music file-sharing, Wikipedia and Web-linking — understand the concept of authorship and the singularity of any text or image.
“Now we have a whole generation of students who’ve grown up with information that just seems to be hanging out there in cyberspace and doesn’t seem to have an author,” said Teresa Fishman, director of the Center for Academic Integrity at Clemson University. “It’s possible to believe this information is just out there for anyone to take.”
Professors who have studied plagiarism do not try to excuse it — many are champions of academic honesty on their campuses — but rather try to understand why it is so widespread.
In surveys from 2006 to 2010 by Donald L. McCabe, a co-founder of the Center for Academic Integrity and a business professor at Rutgers University, about 40 percent of 14,000 undergraduates admitted to copying a few sentences in written assignments.
Perhaps more significant, the number who believed that copying from the Web constitutes “serious cheating” is declining — to 29 percent on average in recent surveys from 34 percent earlier in the decade.
Sarah Brookover, a senior at the Rutgers campus in Camden, N.J., said many of her classmates blithely cut and paste without attribution.
“This generation has always existed in a world where media and intellectual property don’t have the same gravity,” said Ms. Brookover, who at 31 is older than most undergraduates. “When you’re sitting at your computer, it’s the same machine you’ve downloaded music with, possibly illegally, the same machine you streamed videos for free that showed on HBO last night.”
Ms. Brookover, who works at the campus library, has pondered the differences between researching in the stacks and online. “Because you’re not walking into a library, you’re not physically holding the article, which takes you closer to ‘this doesn’t belong to me,’ ” she said. Online, “everything can belong to you really easily.”
A University of Notre Dame anthropologist, Susan D. Blum, disturbed by the high rates of reported plagiarism, set out to understand how students view authorship and the written word, or “texts” in Ms. Blum’s academic language.
She conducted her ethnographic research among 234 Notre Dame undergraduates. “Today’s students stand at the crossroads of a new way of conceiving texts and the people who create them and who quote them,” she wrote last year in the book “My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture,” published by Cornell University Press.
Ms. Blum argued that student writing exhibits some of the same qualities of pastiche that drive other creative endeavors today — TV shows that constantly reference other shows or rap music that samples from earlier songs.
In an interview, she said the idea of an author whose singular effort creates an original work is rooted in Enlightenment ideas of the individual. It is buttressed by the Western concept of intellectual property rights as secured by copyright law. But both traditions are being challenged.
“Our notion of authorship and originality was born, it flourished, and it may be waning,” Ms. Blum said.
She contends that undergraduates are less interested in cultivating a unique and authentic identity — as their 1960s counterparts were — than in trying on many different personas, which the Web enables with social networking.
“If you are not so worried about presenting yourself as absolutely unique, then it’s O.K. if you say other people’s words, it’s O.K. if you say things you don’t believe, it’s O.K. if you write papers you couldn’t care less about because they accomplish the task, which is turning something in and getting a grade,” Ms. Blum said, voicing student attitudes. “And it’s O.K. if you put words out there without getting any credit.”
The notion that there might be a new model young person, who freely borrows from the vortex of information to mash up a new creative work, fueled a brief brouhaha earlier this year with Helene Hegemann, a German teenager whose best-selling novel about Berlin club life turned out to include passages lifted from others.
Instead of offering an abject apology, Ms. Hegemann insisted, “There’s no such thing as originality anyway, just authenticity.” A few critics rose to her defense, and the book remained a finalist for a fiction prize (but did not win).
That theory does not wash with Sarah Wilensky, a senior at Indiana University, who said that relaxing plagiarism standards “does not foster creativity, it fosters laziness.”
“You’re not coming up with new ideas if you’re grabbing and mixing and matching,” said Ms. Wilensky, who took aim at Ms. Hegemann in a column in her student newspaper headlined “Generation Plagiarism.”
“It may be increasingly accepted, but there are still plenty of creative people — authors and artists and scholars — who are doing original work,” Ms. Wilensky said in an interview. “It’s kind of an insult that that ideal is gone, and now we’re left only to make collages of the work of previous generations.”
In the view of Ms. Wilensky, whose writing skills earned her the role of informal editor of other students’ papers in her freshman dorm, plagiarism has nothing to do with trendy academic theories.
The main reason it occurs, she said, is because students leave high school unprepared for the intellectual rigors of college writing.
“If you’re taught how to closely read sources and synthesize them into your own original argument in middle and high school, you’re not going to be tempted to plagiarize in college, and you certainly won’t do so unknowingly,” she said.
At the University of California, Davis, of the 196 plagiarism cases referred to the disciplinary office last year, a majority did not involve students ignorant of the need to credit the writing of others.
Many times, said Donald J. Dudley, who oversees the discipline office on the campus of 32,000, it was students who intentionally copied — knowing it was wrong — who were “unwilling to engage the writing process.”
“Writing is difficult, and doing it well takes time and practice,” he said.
And then there was a case that had nothing to do with a younger generation’s evolving view of authorship. A student accused of plagiarism came to Mr. Dudley’s office with her parents, and the father admitted that he was the one responsible for the plagiarism. The wife assured Mr. Dudley that it would not happen again. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40635000 |
One of the most important rules in computer security is Don't open e-mail attachments.
But recently, we've seen more malicious links in e-mail messages. These links might look genuine, but they could be forged.
Here are some tips to help you make the most of your e-mail without compromising security.
Don't trust the sender information in an e-mail messageEven if the e-mail message appears to come from a sender that you know and trust, use the same precautions that you would use with any other e-mail message.
Fraudsters can easily spoof the identity information in an e-mail message.
Read before you click
A link in an e-mail message might promise to take you to site A, but will actually take you to site B.
Most e-mail programs (such as Outlook 2007) show you the real target address, or URL, of a link when you hover the mouse over the link.
Before you click a link, make sure to read the target address. If the e-mail message appears to come from your bank, but the target address is just a meaningless series of numbers, do not click the link.
Make sure that the spelling of words in the link matches what you expect. Fraudsters often use URLs with typos in them that are easy to overlook, such as "micosoft." For more tips, see Recognize phishing scams and fraudulent e-mails.
Verify the identity of the site
Some sites feature verified identity information. When you visit a verified site using Internet Explorer 7, the browser address bar turns green and the identity information appears on the right-hand side of the address bar. This makes it easy to check the identity information and ensure that it matches the site that you expected to see.
Use an updated browserRegularly updated Web browsers like Internet Explorer 7 incorporate an ever-expanding set of features, such as the Microsoft Phishing Filter, designed to help protect you when you click links in e-mail messages.
Is it too good to be true?If a deal or offer in an e-mail message looks too good to be true, it probably is. Exercise common your common sense when you read and respond to e-mail messages.
To upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 now, visit www.microsoft.com/ie. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40640000 |
Big Data is one of the hottest topics out there. Big data is a foundational element in IT’s quartet of Next Big Things: Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud. But, as the real world keeps reminding us, it is possible to make bad predictions and decisions even if you use tons of big data to make them. The 9/11 attacks showed how even highly sophisticated intelligence agencies can fail to pick out highly relevant signals amidst the mountains of data being analyzed. Our recent financial crisis showed how even the best and brightest can fail to detect an approaching catastrophic storm. The failure of so many professional forecasters to accurately predict the 2012 presidential election shows that you can find almost any answer you want in all that big data.
Big data is indeed incredibly useful in all kinds of endeavors, but only in the hands of talented professionals who know what they are doing and are aware of its pitfalls and limitations. What are some of these limitations? In thinking about this question over the last few years, I started to notice that a number of subtle, non-intuitive concepts that I learned many years ago as a physics student seem to apply to the world of big data and information-based predictions in highly complex systems. Let me explain.
Over 300 years ago, Isaac Newton laid down the foundations of classical mechanics with the publication of his Laws of Motion. The elegant mathematical models of Newtonian physics depict a world in which objects exhibit deterministic behaviors, that is, the same objects, subject to the same forces, will always yield the same results. These models make perfect predictions within the accuracy of their human-scale measurements. Classical mechanics works exceptionally well for describing the behavior of objects that are more or less observable to the naked eye. It accurately predicts the motion of planets as well as the flight of a baseball.
But, the idea of scientific determinism, which would in principle enable us to predict the future behavior of any object in the universe, began to fall apart in the early 20th century. Classical mechanics could not explain the counter-intuitive and seemingly absurd behavior of energy and matter at atomic as well as cosmological scales. Once you start dealing with atoms, molecules, exotic subatomic particles, black holes and the Big Bang, you find yourself in a whole different world, with somewhat bizarre behaviors like the tunneling effect, which are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics and relativity. The orderly, deterministic world of classical physics gives way to a world of wave functions, probability distributions, uncertainty principles, and wave-particle dualities.
Instead of a deterministic world, we now have a world based on probabilities. You cannot predict all the future states of an object or a particle based on its present state. You can map out its behavior, but only as probability distributions of all the possible states it could be at. Moreover, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle tells you that it is impossible to know the exact state of a particle. You cannot simultaneously determine its exact position and velocity with any great degree of accuracy no matter how good your measurement tools are. The world is intrinsically unpredictable.
In addition, there is no such thing as absolute reality. In classical mechanics something either has the properties of a particle, e.g., a planet, a baseball; or of a wave, e.g, light, sound. In quantum mechanics all objects exhibit both kinds of properties. The concept of wave-particle duality explains that reality depends on what question you are asking and what experiment you perform to answer the question. The very act of observing an object will change the object being observed. Any instruments used to measure its properties will invariable alter the properties being measured.
This transition, from a world view based on scientific determinism to one based on probability distributions, uncertainty principles and subjective reality is not intuitive and difficult to get used to. Even Albert Einstein had trouble accepting it, and famously said “God does not play dice with the universe.” Stephen Hawking, one of world’s top theoretical physicists, concluded in this brilliant lecture:
“ . . .it seems Einstein was doubly wrong when he said, God does not play dice. Not only does God definitely play dice, but He sometimes confuses us by throwing them where they can’t be seen. . . The universe does not behave according to our pre-conceived ideas. It continues to surprise us.”
But, the worlds of the very small, as well as the very large, are not the only ones that exhibit counter-intuitive, seemingly magical behaviors. So is the world of highly complex systems, especially those systems whose components and interrelationships are themselves quite complex, as is the case with systems biology and evolution.
Such is also the case with organizational and sociotechnical systems whose main components are people. Even though these chaotic systems are in principle deterministic, their dynamic, non-linear nature renders them increasingly unpredictable and accounts for their emergent behavior. New terms, like long tails, Freakonomics and black swan theory, – every bit as fanciful as quarks, charm and strangeness, – have begun to enter our lexicon.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an example of a discipline that has transitioned from its original classical, deterministic approach to an approach more suitable to a highly complex, inherently unpredictable topic like intelligence.
AI was one of the hottest areas in computer sciences , in the 1960s and 1970s. Many of the AI leaders in those days were convinced that you could build a machine as intelligent as a human being based on logical deductions and the kind of step-by-step reasoning that humans use when solving puzzles or proving theorems. They obtained considerable government funding in the US, UK and Japan to implement their vision. But eventually it became clear that all these various projects had grossly underestimated the difficulties of developing any kind of AI system based on logic programming and deductive reasoning. The field went through a so-called AI winter in the 1980s.
But things started to change in the 1990s when AI switched paradigms and embraced data mining and information analytics, the precursors of today’s Big Data. Instead of trying to program computers to act intelligently, AI embraced a statistical, brute force approach based on analyzing vast amounts of information using powerful computers and sophisticated algorithms.
We discovered that such a statistical, information-based approach produced something akin to intelligence or knowledge. Moreover, unlike the earlier programming-based projects, the statistical approaches scaled very nicely. The more information you had, the more powerful the supercomputers, the more sophisticated the algorithms, the better the results. Deep Blue IBM's chess playing supercomputer, demonstrated the power of such a statistical approach by beating then reigning chess champion Gary Kasparov in a celebrated match in May of 1997.
Since that time, analyzing or searching large amounts of information has become increasingly important and commonplace in a wide variety of disciplines. Today, most of us use search engines as the primary mechanism for finding information in the World Wide Web. Researchers have been developing sophisticated question-answering systems, which can successfully analyze the nuances and context embedded in a complex, natural language question and come up with the right answer. Watson, IBM’s Question Answering computer, which in February of 2011 won the Jeopardy! Challenge against the two best human Jeopardy! players, is an example of such a system.
Economics is another discipline that has had to make the transition from a world of relatively simple mathematical models to one governed by the sophisticated analysis of real world information. During the 1960s, a number of economists, most prominently those associated with the Chicago School of Economics, based their work on what NY Times columnist David Brooks referred to as “the era of economic scientism: the period when economists based their work on a crude vision of human nature (the perfectly rational, utility-maximizing autonomous individual) and then built elaborate models based on that creature.” Paul Krugman called such models, an “idealized vision of an economy in which rational individuals interact in perfect markets . . . gussied up with fancy equations” in a 2009 NY Times Magazine article, How did Economists get it so Wrong?
The elegant, mathematic theories of economic scientism managed to convince a number of powerful government leaders that free markets could self-adjust to just about any problems, thus requiring a very limited, circumscribed role for government. Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987-2006, for example, was one of the believers in this well-behaved, self-adjusting economic order. Even when the financial system began to show signs of the coming crisis, Greenspan continued to hold on to his beliefs that derivatives and other financial instruments were extraordinarily useful in distributing risks, thus lessening the need for regulating the increasingly complex financial markets. It wasn’t until October of 2008 that, in testimony before Congress, Greenspan finally acknowledged that perhaps he may have been partially wrong and was now in “a state of shocked disbelief.”
A whole slew of new ideas is now sweeping the field of economics. The new breed of economists are creating a field that has much more in common with empirical sciences than with pure math. Following in the best tradition of physics, chemistry, biology and the social sciences, they are grounding economics on observation and experiments. Theories arise out of empirical analysis, and must reflect the realities, and therefore the inconsistencies and messiness of the real world they aim to explain. They are trying to take into account the social, cognitive and emotional factors that go into the economic decisions that people make.
In discipline after discipline, we are beginning to learn how to deal with the very messy world of big data and complex systems, and how to best apply our learning to make good decisions and good predictions. One of the hardest parts of that learning is the need to let go of our preconceived notions of scientific determinism and get used to living in a world of probabilities, uncertainties and subjective realities. God does indeed like to play games with the universe, but He leaves enough hints around so we too can play the game and keep moving forward.
Irving Wladawsky-Berger is a former vice-president of technical strategy and innovation at IBM. He is a strategic advisor to Citigroup and is a regular contributor to CIO Journal. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40650000 |
As India debates whether to query its people about caste in Census 2011, India Real Time blogged about how census authorities during the British Raj wrote about India and another sensitive topic — race — almost a century ago.
Continuing where that post left off, here are some more excerpts from then census commissioner J.H. Hutton’s remarks on the groups who came to India up to 1,500 B.C. from the chapter “Caste, Tribe and Race” of the 1931 Census report.”:
The first wave of the Mediterranean immigrants may have carried “a rudimentary knowledge of agriculture” and the later migrants from the Persian Gulf and Eastern Europe brought the knowledge of metals, excluding iron and maintained “a connection with the cities of Mesopotamia [which encompassed today's Iraq, and parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran],” according to Mr. Hutton.
The Indian government is still considering whether to quiz everyone on their caste in Census 2011, something that hasn’t been done since 1931 (although the once-a-decade survey takes stock of specific lower caste and tribal groups that are the focus of government affirmative action programs). The 1931 census, though, took a comprehensive look at India’s make-up, holding forth on complex and controversial aspects like caste, tribe and race.
It’s a tricky, sensitive matter to define people, especially when the prevailing wisdom of one time can become discredited and outmoded later. We went back to the 1931 census to look at how the officials of that time classified Indians by race. Many parts of that study might be met with a very cynical eye today, but it certainly makes for interesting reading on how the Raj authorities viewed British India and its 353 million people.
Content engaging our readers now, with additional prominence accorded if the story is rapidly gaining attention. Our WSJ algorithm comprises 30% page views, 20% Facebook, 20% Twitter, 20% email shares and 10% comments.
India Real Time offers analysis and insights into the broad range of developments in business, markets, the economy, politics, culture, sports, and entertainment that take place every single day in the world’s largest democracy. Regular posts from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires reporters around the country provide a unique take on the main stories in the news, shed light on what else mattered and why, and give global readers a snapshot of what Indians have been talking about all week. You can contact the editors at [email protected].
Check out the main contributors to the blog and their bios here. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40651000 |
In the ocean, little fish play a big role. Small fish like sardines and anchovies are some of the most important fish in the sea.
Fish such as herring, anchovies, menhaden, and sardines feed mostly on plankton all their lives. They supply calories and nourishment (food!) for many top predators including cod, tuna, salmon, and most other fishes, hundreds of species of seabirds, seals, sharks, dolphins, and whales.
Forage fish are also heavily fished by humans. These tiny fish currently make up over a third of the wild marine catch. A whopping ninety percent of this forage fish catch is processed into feeds for fish farms, poultry, and livestock as well as nutritional supplements for people. If you’re eating farmed animals—you’re eating wild ocean fish.
Trawling—dragging a net wider than a football field between two boats capable of hauling in 500,000 pounds of sea life in one tow—brings forage fishing to an industrial scale.
Leaving forage fish in the water is also worth twice as much as taking them out. They contribute over $11 billion by serving as food for other wild fish that people later catch and eat. That’s about double the $6 billion they generate as direct catch.
The good news is that in some places, like the East and West Coasts of the U.S., people are remembering the little guys such as herring, menhaden, sardines, anchovies, and others.
3 ways to help forage fish:
1. Research, get informed about the current state of forage fish in waters near you.
2. If you eat farm-raised fish, choose the fish raised on feed not made from wild forage fish. (Ask your fish monger.)
3. Avoid pet food that contains fish meal
There are many other ways to Make a Difference.
LINKS & VIDEOS
Forage Fish, Pew Herring Alliance
Summary of the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force Report – Lenfest
Forage Fish – Wikipedia
Herring in Dire Need of Protection – Cape Cod Times
Listing the Eulachon as Threatened – NOAA
Out of Balance: Industrial Fishing and Threats to Our Oceans – Pew Environment
Issues of Ecosystem-based Management of Forage Fisheries in “open” Non-stationary Ecosystems: Example of the Sardine Fishery in the Gulf of California – Mendeley
Omega-3s Suppliers Dispute Conclusions of Forage Fish Report – New Hope
Forage Fish 101 – Shore 11.org
Sharks and Gannets Feed on Sardines
One of the largest baitballs ever witnessed by our marine crew attracted all the sardine-run predators. Thousands of diving gannets attacked from the sky, while hundreds of sharks made forays into the mass of fish.
A description of changes needed in the process of fishing for Atlantic Herring.
Smaller Forage Fish Should Stay Fish Food, Say Experts
Scientists agree with Pixar and Disney: Finding Nemo is fine—but once you do, leave him in the sea. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40654000 |
The choice is ours to save the earth
In Our Choice, Al Gore concedes that solving the earth’s climate crisis is not going to be easy, but it can be done. “If people think the problem is hopeless, they will just give up,” he writes. “The danger is real, but we can still stop the worst effects of the climate crisis—if we act now.”
Adapted from Gore’s adult book of the same title, this Young Readers Edition of Our Choice is a perfect introduction to the climate crisis for children, tweens and teens. Full of bright diagrams, photos and bullet-pointed lists—and printed on 100% recycled paper—the book explains in detail exactly how we can act to save the planet. Some of the solutions are simple: the United States generates 14% of its electricity through lighting, and new light-emitting diodes (LED) bulbs could have an enormous positive impact on our carbon footprint. Other solutions are more complicated: the United States’ electricity should be powered by a “smart” grid that uses solar, wind and geothermal power sources—a major undertaking.
One of the world’s foremost environmental advocates and the recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, Gore employs hard facts and statistics to make his argument for a greener planet. For example, scientists believe that the earth’s population will eventually stabilize at 9.1 billion people. “The planet should be able to support that many people,” Gore writes, “if we change the way we live by cutting global warming pollution and by learning to consume a little less.
The recommended reader age for Our Choice is 8-14, but even older kids and parents will learn from the facts and suggestions within the book. Although some of the sections about energy and fuel sources might be too detailed for younger children to understand, main points are highlighted in colored boxes and colored fonts for easier comprehension. Readers who are inspired to action are directed to the Inconvenient Youth website (www.inconvenientyouth.org) to learn how to advocate for the environment in communities and schools.
Although Our Choice contains many grim facts about humans’ exploitation of the earth, it is ultimately a hopeful book. In his conclusion, Gore predicts that young people will lead the way in stopping the climate crisis. To do so, they must start immediately. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40659000 |
Of that kind; of the like kind; like; resembling; similar; as, we never saw such a day; -- followed by that or as introducing the word or proposition which defines the similarity, or the standard of comparison; as, the books are not such that I can recommend them, or, not such as I can recommend; these apples are not such as those we saw yesterday; give your children such precepts as tend to make them better.
Having the particular quality or character specified.
The same that; -- with as; as, this was the state of the kingdom at such time as the enemy landed.
Certain; -- representing the object as already particularized in terms which are not mentioned.
such in Afrikaans is so 'n
such in Dutch is dusdanige, dergelijke, zo'n, zulk een
such in French is tel, pareille, pareil, autant
such in German is solche, solch, derartig, solch
such in Hungarian is ilyen
such in Italian is cosiffatto
such in Latin is talis
such in Portuguese is tais
such in Spanish is tal
Share with your Friends
Everyone likes a good quote - don't forget to share. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40665000 |
These criteria used for defining green products was excerpted from "Building Materials: What Makes a Product Green?" as featured by Environmental Building News.
Aside from salvaged or recycled content, there are a number of other ways that products can contribute to the conservation of natural resources. These include products that serve a function using less material than the standard solution, products that are especially durable and therefore won't need replacement as often, products made from FSC-certified wood, and products made from rapidly renewable resources.
Products meeting this criteria may not be distinctly green on their own but are included in GreenSpec because of resource efficiency benefits that they make possible. For example, drywall clips allow the elimination of corner studs, engineered stair stringers reduce lumber waste, pier foundation systems minimize concrete use, and concrete pigments can turn concrete slabs into attractive finished floors, eliminating the need for conventional finish flooring.
These products are environmentally attractive because they need to be replaced less frequently, or their maintenance has very low impact. Sometimes, durability is a contributing factor to the green designation but not enough to distinguish the product as green on its own. This criterion is highly variable by product type. Included in this category are such products as fiber-cement siding, fiberglass windows, slate shingles, and vitrified-clay waste pipe.
Third-party forest certification, based on standards developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), is the best way to ensure that wood products come from well-managed forests. Wood products must go through a chain-of-custody certification process to carry an FSC stamp. Manufactured wood products can meet the FSC certification requirements with less than 100% certified wood content through percentage-based claims. With a few special-case exceptions, any nonsalvaged solid-wood product and most other wood products must be FSC-certified to be included in GreenSpec. A few manufactured wood products, including engineered lumber and particleboard or MDF, can be included if they have other environmental advantages, such as absence of formaldehyde binders. Engineered wood products in GreenSpec do not qualify by virtue of their resource efficiency benefits alone (for more on this, see EBN Vol. 8, No. 11).
Rapidly renewable materials are distinguished from wood by the shorter harvest rotation, typically 10 years or less. They are biodegradable, often (but not always) low in VOC emissions, and generally produced from agricultural crops. Because sunlight is generally the primary energy input (via photosynthesis), these products may be less energy-intensive to produce, though transportation and processing energy use must be considered. Examples include linoleum, form-release agents made from plant oils, natural paints, geotextile fabrics from coir and jute, cork, and such textiles as organic cotton, wool, and sisal. Note that not all rapidly renewable materials are included in GreenSpec, non-organic cotton, for example, is highly pesticide-intensive. In some cases, even though a product qualifies for GreenSpec by virtue of its natural raw materials, it may have negatives that render it inappropriate for certain uses, such as high VOC levels that cause problems for people with chemical sensitivities. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40670000 |
What is Long-Term Care?
Individuals need long-term care when a chronic condition, trauma, or illness limits their ability to carry out basic self-care tasks, called activities of daily living (ADLs), (such as bathing, dressing or eating), or instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) (such as household chores, meal preparation, or managing money). Long-term care often involves the most intimate aspects of people’s lives—what and when they eat, personal hygiene, getting dressed, using the bathroom. Other less severe long-term care needs may involve household tasks such as preparing meals or using the telephone.
A report prepared by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging (February, 2000) described long-term care as follows:
It [long-term care] differs from other types of health care in that the goal of long-term care is not to cure an illness, but to allow an individual to attain and maintain an optimal level of functioning….
Long-term care encompasses a wide array of medical, social, personal, and supportive and specialized housing services needed by individuals who have lost some capacity for self-care because of a chronic illness or disabling condition.1
Because long-term care needs and services are wide-ranging and complex, statistics may vary from study to study. Sources for the following information are cited at the conclusion of this Fact Sheet. For additional information, see the Family Caregiver Alliance Fact Sheet on Selected Caregiving Statistics.
Who Needs Long-Term Care?
- An estimated 10 million Americans needed long-term care in 2000.2
- Most but not all persons in need of long-term care are elderly. Approximately 63% are persons aged 65 and older (6.3 million); the remaining 37% are 64 years of age and younger (3.7 million).3
- The lifetime probability of becoming disabled in at least two activities of daily living or of being cognitively impaired is 68% for people age 65 and older.4
- By 2050, the number of individuals using paid long-term care services in any setting (e.g., at home, residential care such as assisted living, or skilled nursing facilities) will likely double from the 13 million using services in 2000, to 27 million people. This estimate is influenced by growth in the population of older people in need of care.5
- Of the older population with long-term care needs in the community, about 30% (1.5 million persons) have substantial long-term care needs (three or more ADL limitations). Of these, about 25% are 85 and older and 70% report they are in fair to poor health.6
40% of the older population with long-term care needs are poor or near poor (with incomes below 150% of the federal poverty level).7
- Between 1984 and 1994, the number of older persons receiving long-term care remained about the same at 5.5 million people, while the prevalence of long-term care use declined from 19.7% to 16.7% of the 65+ population. In comparison, 2.1%, or over 3.3 million, of the population aged 18–64 received long-term care in the community in 1994.8
- While there was a decline in the proportion (i.e., prevalence) of the older population receiving long-term care, the level of disability and cognitive impairment among those who received assistance with daily tasks rose sharply. The proportion receiving help with three to six ADLs increased from 35.4% to 42.9% between 1984 and 1994. The proportion of cognitive impairment among the 65+ population rose from 34% to 40%.9
- The prevalence of cognitive impairment among the older population increased over the past decade, while the prevalence of physical impairment remains unchanged.10
- In 2002, the percentage of older persons with moderate or severe memory impairment ranged from about 5% among persons aged 65–69 to about 32% among persons aged 85 or older.11
- Individuals 85 years and older, the oldest old, are one of the fastest growing segments of the population. In 2005, there are an estimated 5 million people 85+ in the United States.12 This figure is expected to increase to 19.4 million by 2050.13 This means that there could be an increase from 1.6 million to 6.2 million people age 85 or over with severe or moderate memory impairment in 2050.14
Where do People Receive Long-Term Care and from Whom?
Family and Informal Caregivers
Informal caregiver and family caregiver are terms used to refer to unpaid individuals such as family members, partners, friends and neighbors who provide care. These persons can be primary (i.e. the person who spends the most time helping) or secondary caregivers, full time or part time, and can live with the person being cared for or live separately. Formal caregivers are volunteers or paid care providers associated with a service system.15,16
Estimates vary on the number of family and informal caregivers in the U.S., depending on the definitions used for both caregiver and care recipient as well as types of care provided.
- 52 million informal and family caregivers provide care to someone aged 20+ who is ill or disabled.17
- 44.4 million caregivers (or one out of every five households ) are involved in caregiving to persons aged 18 or over.18
- 34 million caregivers provide care for someone aged 50+.19
- 27.3 million family caregivers provide personal assistance to adults (aged 15+) with a disability or chronic illness.20
- 5.8 21 to 7 22 million people (family, friends and neighbors) provide care to a person (65+) who needs assistance with everyday activities.23
- 8.9 million informal caregivers provide care to someone aged 50+ with dementia.24
By the year 2007, the number of caregiving households in the U.S. for persons aged 50+ could reach 39 million.25
- Over three-quarters (78%) of adults living in the community and in need of long-term care depend on family and friends (i.e., informal caregivers) as their only source of help; 14% receive a combination of informal and formal care (i.e., paid help); only 8% used formal care or paid help only.26
- Even among the most severely disabled older persons living in the community, about two-thirds rely solely on family members and other informal help, often resulting in great strain for the family caregivers.27
- The use of informal care as the only type of assistance by older Americans aged 65 and over increased from 57% in 1994 to 66% in 1999. The growth in reliance upon informal care between 1994 and 1999 is accompanied by a decline in the use of a combination of informal and formal care from 36% in 1994 to 26% in 1999.28
- 30% of persons caring for elderly long-term care users were themselves aged 65 or over; another 15% were between the age of 45–54.29
- For the family caregiver forced to give up work to care for a family member or friend, the cost in lost wages and benefits is estimated to be $109 per day.30
Home and Community-Based Care
- Most people—nearly 79%—who need Long-Term Care live at home or in community settings, not in institutions.31
- More than 13.2 million adults (over half younger than 65) living in the community received an average of 31.4 hours of personal assistance per week in 1995.32
- Only 16% of the total hours were paid care (about $32 billion), leaving 84% of hours to be provided (unpaid labor) by informal caregivers.33
- The trend towards community-based services as opposed to nursing home placement was formalized with the Olmstead Decision (July, 1999)—a court case in which the Supreme Court upheld the right of individuals to receive care in the community as opposed to an institution whenever possible.
- The proportion of Americans aged 65 and over with disabilities who rely entirely on formal care for their personal assistance needs has increased to 9% in 1999 from 5% in 1984.34
- Between 2000 and 2002, the number of licensed assisted living and board and care facilities increased from 32,886 to 36,399 nationally, reflecting the trend towards community-based care as opposed to nursing homes.35 Most assisted living facilities, however, are unlicensed.
- Most assisted living facilities (ALFs) discharge residents whose cognitive impairments become moderate or severe or who need help with transfers (e.g. moving from a wheelchair to a bed.) This limits the ability of these populations to find appropriate services outside of nursing homes or other institutions.36
Nursing Home Care
- The risk of nursing home placement increases with age—31% of those who are severely impaired and between the ages of 65 and 70 receive care in a nursing home compared to 61% of those age 85 and older.37
- In 2002, there were 1,458,000 people in nursing homes nationally.38
Older individuals living in nursing homes require and receive greater levels of care and assistance. In 1999, over three-quarters of individuals in nursing homes received assistance with four to six ADLs.39
- Of the population aged 65 and over in 1999, 52% of the nursing home population was aged 85 or older compared to 35% aged 75–84, and 13% aged 65–74.40
- Between 1985 and 1999 the number of adults 65 and older living in nursing homes increased from 1.3 million to 1.5 million. In 1999, almost three-quarters (1.1 million) of these older residents were women.41
Long-Term Care Expenditures
- Estimated public and private spending on long-term care services exceeded $180 billion in 2002. $37.2 billion, or 21%, was paid for out-of-pocket by individuals and families.42
- In 2002, $103.2 billion dollars were spent on nursing home care compared to $36.1 billion dollars for care in the community.43
- In 2000, the estimated economic value of informal (i.e., unpaid) caregiving is more than both community care and nursing home care combined—$257 billion.44
- Despite the trend toward community-based care as opposed to institutionalized care, only 18.2% of long-term care expenditures for the elderly are for community-based care.45
- In 2002, 16.4 billion Medicaid dollars were spent for home and community-based services within long-term care. This figure has increased at a 25% rate annually since 1990.46
- Expenditures for skilled nursing facility (SNF) care are much greater than care provided in other settings. Average expenses per older adult in a skilled nursing facility can be four times greater than average expenditures for that individual receiving paid care in the community.47
- In 2003, Medicaid paid $83.8 billion dollars for long-term care services, roughly one-third of all Medicaid spending. 27.8 billion of these dollars were spent on community-based long-term care services. Home and community-based (HCBS) waivers accounted for roughly two-thirds of community-based long-term care expenditures.48
In 2000, spending for older adults aged 65 or older accounted for 57% of Medicaid dollars, with the remaining 43% spent on those under age 65.49
- 31.9% of the annual estimated home care expenditures were paid for by Medicare in 2003, a little over 18% were paid for out-of-pocket or by private insurance, and approximately 13% were covered by Medicaid.50
- Only 7% of residents receive Medicaid coverage for assisted living.51
- Studies have shown that the delivery of home or community-based long-term care services is a cost-effective alternative to nursing homes. Care in the home or community—not nursing home care—is what most Americans would prefer.52,53
- In 2004, the average daily rate for a private room in a skilled nursing facility was $192 for a private room or $70,080 annually, and $169 or $61,685 annually for a semi-private room. The hourly rate for a home health aide was $18.12.54
- In 2000, annual cost estimates were $13,000 for adult day care and $25,300 for assisted living.55
- Over two-thirds of the current health care dollar goes to treating chronic illness; for older persons the proportion rises to almost 95%.56
- The aging of the population, especially those 85+—the most in need of long-term care—is expected to result in a tripling of long-term care expenditures, projected to climb from $115 billion in 1997 to $346 billion (adjusted for inflation) annually in 2040.57
- Research suggests that if savings rates are not increased and government programs to assist the elderly are not strengthened, many retirees will face serious problems attaining needed health and long-term care services in the future. By 2030, many retirees will not have enough income and assets to cover basic expenditures or any expenses related to a nursing home stay or services from a home health provider.58
- Shorter hospital stays and increased usage of outpatient procedures—changes that have increased the effectiveness of medical care—have shifted responsibility toward unpaid providers of care from paid providers, increasing burdens on family caregivers.59
1 Special Committee on Aging. Developments in Aging: 1997 and 1998, Volume 1, Report 106-229. Washington, DC: United States Senate, 2000.
2 Rogers, S., & H. Komisar. Who needs long-term care? Fact Sheet, Long-Term Care Financing Project. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003.
4 AARP. Beyond 50.2003: A Report to the Nation on Independent Living and Disability, 2003, <http://www.aarp.org/research/health/disabilities/aresearch-import-753.html> (11 Jan 2005).
5 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Department of Labor. The future supply of long-term care workers in relation to the aging baby boom generation: Report to Congress. Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, (2003). <http:aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/ltcwork.htm> (20 Jan 2005)
6 The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation. Long-term Care: Medicaid’s role and challenges [Publication #2172]. Washington, DC: Author, 1999.
8 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Characteristics of Long-term Care Users. Rockville: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2001.
11 Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. Older Americans 2004: Key indicators of well-being, Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004.
12 U.S. Census Bureau. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000, <http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/
04statab/pop.pdf> (11 Jan 2005)
14 The number is extrapolated by applying projected population estimates in 2050 to prevalence estimates of moderate to severe memory impairments in 2002.
15 Fradkin, L.G., and A. Heath. Caregiving of older adults. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 1992.
16 McConnell, S., J.A. Riggs. A public policy agenda: Supporting family caregiving, in M. A. Cantor (Ed.) Family Caregiving: Agenda for the Future. San Francisco: American Society on Aging, 1994.
17 Health and Human Services. Informal caregiving: Compassion in action. Washington, DC: Author, 1998. Based on data from the 1987/1988 National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), 2002.
18 National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. Caregiving in the U.S. Washington, DC: Author, 2004.
20 Arno, P. S., Well Being of Caregivers: The Economic Issues of Caregivers, in T. McRae (Chair), New Caregiver Research. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry. Orlando, FL. Data from 1987/1988 National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), 2002.
21 Spector, W. D. et al. The characteristics of long-term care users (AHRQ Publication No. 00-0049). Rockville: Agency for Healthcare Research and Policy, 2000.
22 See note 17 above.
23 Both of these reports used data from 1994 National Long-Term Care Survey. The Health and Human Services report also incorporated data from the 1982 National Long-Term Care Survey and the Informal Caregiver Supplement to the 1989 National Long-Term Care Survey.
24 Alzheimer’s Association and National Alliance for Caregiving. Families care: Alzheimer’s caregiving in the United States 2004. Washington, DC: Author, 2004.
25 National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. Family caregiving in the U.S.: Findings from a national survey. Washington, DC: Author, 1997.
26 Thompson, L. Long-term care: Support for family caregivers [Issue Brief]. Washington, DC: Georgetown University, 2004. Long-Term Care Financing Project.
27 Ibid. Data based on analysis of data from the 1994 and 1995 National Health Interview Surveys on Disability by Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University.
28 See note 11 above.
29 See note 8 above.
30 Stucki, B. R., and J. Mulver. Can aging baby boomers avoid the nursing home? Long-term care Insurance for Aging in Place. Washington, DC: American Council of Life Insurers, 2000.
31 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Long-term Care users range in age and most do not live in nursing homes: Research alert. Rockville: Author, 2000.
32 LaPlante, M.P., C. Harrington, and T. Kang. 2002. Estimating paid and unpaid hours of personal assistance services in activities of daily living provided to adults living at home. Home Services Research 327(2), 397-415.
34 See note 11 above.
35 Mollica, R. State Assisted Living Policy: 2002. Portland: National Academy for State Health Policy, 2002.
36 Hawes, R. M., & C.D. Phillips. A National Study of Assisted Living for the Frail Elderly: Results of a national survey of facilities. Beachwood: Myers Research Institute, 1999.
37 Gabrel, C. S. Characteristics of Elderly Nursing Home Current Residents and Discharges: Data from the 1997 National Nursing Home Survey [Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics; No. 312]. Hyattsville: National Center for Health Statistics, 2000.
38 National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2004. Hyattsville: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004.
39 See note 11 above.
40 National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2000. Hyattsville: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000.
41 See note 11 above.
42 Komisar, H. & L. Thompson. Who Pays for Long-Term Care? Fact Sheet, Long-Term Care Financing Project. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004.
44 See note 20 above.
45 Doty, P. Cost-effectiveness of Home and Community-based Long-term Care Services. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy, 2000.
46 O’Brian, E., and R. Elias. Medicaid and long-term care. Washington, DC: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, (2004, May) <http://www.kff.org/
PageID=36296> (10 Jan 2004)
47 U.S. General Accounting Office. 2002. Aging Baby Boom Generation Will Increase Demand and Burden on Federal and State budgets [GAO-02-544T]. <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02544t.pdf> (10 Jan 2004)
48 Burwell, B., K. Sredl, and S. Eiken. Medicaid long-term care expenditures in FY 2003[Addendum]. Cambridge: The Medstat Group, 2004.
49 See note 45 above.
50 National Association for Home Care. Basic Statistics about Home Care. Washington, DC: Author. Findings based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, MSIS, 2004.
51 See note 30 above.
52 Kassner, E. Medicaid and Long-Term Services and Supports for Older People: Fact Sheet. Washington, DC: AARP Public Policy Institute, 2005.
53 Miller, N.A., C. Harrington, E. Goldstein. 2002. Access to community-based long-term care: Medicaid’s role. Journal of Aging and Health Volume 14, No. 1: 138-59.
54 Metlife Market Survey of Nursing Home and Home Care Costs, 2004.
55 See note 30 above.
56 Hoffman, C., D. Rice and H.Y. Sung. 1996. Persons with Chronic Conditions: Their Prevalence and Costs. JAMA 276 (18), 1473-1479.
57 Niefield, M., E. O’Brien, and J. Feder. Long-term care: Medicaid’s role and challenges. Washington, DC: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, 1999.
58 VanDerhei, J., and C. Copeland. Can America Afford Tomorrow’s Retirees: Results from the EBRI-ERF retirement security projection model [Issue brief # 263]. Washington DC: Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2003.
59 O’Brian, E., and R. Elias. Medicaid and long-term care. Washington, DC: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, 2004. <http://www.kff.org/medicaid/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/
security/getfile.cfm&PageID=36296> (10 Jan 2004)
Family Caregiver Alliance
785 Market Street, Suite 750
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 434-3388 phone
(800) 445-8106 toll free
Web Site: www.caregiver.org
Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) seeks to improve the quality of life for caregivers through education, services, research and advocacy.
Through its National Center on Caregiving, FCA offers information on current social, public policy and caregiving issues and provides assistance in the development of public and private programs for caregivers.
For residents of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, FCA provides direct family support services for caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, brain injury, Parkinson’s and other debilitating cognitive disorders that strike adults.
Prepared by Family Caregiver Alliance in cooperation with California’s Caregiver Resource Centers and funded by the California Department of Mental Health. Original reviewed by Robert B. Friedland, Ph.D., Center on an Aging Society, Georgetown University. © 2001 Family Caregiver Alliance. Revised 2005. All rights reserved. FS-SLTC200506
E-mail to a Friend | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40682000 |
The Center is registered in EPA's Acid Rain Program (since 2003)
Some of the major accomplishments of the program through 2009 include:
· Power plants have decreased emissions of SO2, aprecursor to acid rain, to 5.7 million tons in 2009, a 67 percent decrease from 1980 levels and a 64 percent decrease from 1990levels.The Acid Rain Program was established under the 1990 Clean Air ActAmendments and requires significant emission reductions of SO2 andnitrogen oxides (NOx) from the electric power industry. The program sets a permanent cap on the total amount of SO2 that may be emitted by electric generating units in the United States, and includes provisions for trading and banking emission allowances. The program is phased in, with this year phasing in the final 2010 SO2 cap set at 8.95 milliontons, a level of about one-half of the emissions from the power sectorin 1980. More information on the Acid Rain Program (EPA)
· Air quality has improved; the average amount of ambientSO2 decreased 76 percent between 1980 and 2009. The largestsingle-year reduction in SO2 since the start of the Acid Rain Program occurred between 2008 and 2009.
· Reductions in fine particle levels yielded benefitsincluding about 20,000-50,000 lives saved annually.
· Many lakes and streams affected by acid rain in the eastare exhibiting signs of recovery. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40699000 |
U.S. EPA's 2008 Report on the Environment (Final Report)
EPA is announcing the final report, EPA's 2008 Report on the Environment (EPA 2008 ROE), a science-based report that answers questions about recent trends in human health and the environment.
The Environmental Protection Agency's 2008 Report on the Environment, also referred to as the EPA 2008 ROE, provides the American people with an important resource from which they can better understand trends in the condition of the air, water, land, and human health of the United States.
This report uses scientifically sound measures, called indicators, to address fundamental questions relevant to the EPA's mission to protect the environment and human health. To accomplish its mission to protect human health and the environment, EPA must pay close attention to trends in the condition of the Nation's environment. This kind of information, which is captured in EPA's 2008 ROE, can help EPA to prioritize its work and to focus on human health and ecological activities that can lead to improvements in the conditions of the Nation's environment.
For a more interactive experience, visit the ROE Dynamic Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ncea/roe.
The EPA 2008 ROE offers a unique opportunity to EPA to frame a discussion about the Agency’s strategic planning from the perspective of ultimate environmental outcomes, using the best available, most scientifically sound measurement approaches. The EPA 2008 ROE could also lead to new indicators, new monitoring strategies and new programs and policies in areas EPA determines to be highly important based on measured environmental trends.
EPA also produced a Highlights of Conditions and Trends document, which summarizes the findings of the EPA 2008 ROE in an easier to understand format.
EPA is committed to releasing periodic updates of the ROE so that information on environmental conditions and trends can be provided to interested members of the American public.
|Jun 2003||EPA published the Draft Report on the Environment (ROE) -Technical Document in 2003.|
|Jun 2005||EPA held an external peer review meeting on the proposed indicators for EPA’s 2007 ROE TD.|
|Jul 2005||EPA held a public peer review workshop on the proposed indicators.|
|Oct 2005||EPA announced a second public peer review and public comment period for additional and updated proposed indicators for EPA’s 2007 ROE - TD.|
|Feb 2006||EPA hosts an Agency review of the draft document, EPA’s 2007 ROE - TD. In Feb 2006, we release the EPA response to the peer review comments.|
|Mar 2006||EPA releases the updates to the Indicators and the External Peer Review Comments with EPA's Response to Comments.|
|Oct 2006||EPA hosts an Interagency review of the draft document, EPA's 2007 ROE - TD.|
|Apr 2006||EPA renames the report from Technical Document to Science Report.|
|May 2007||EPA released the draft EPA's 2007 ROE: Science Report for a public review and comment.|
|Jul 2007||EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) hosted a public teleconference and public meeting of the SAB Panel for the Review of EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment. The teleconference and meeting were held to conduct a peer review of the EPA's draft Report on the Environment 2007: Science Report.|
|Oct 2007||EPA hosts a public teleconference of the SAB Panel for the Review of EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment.|
|Jan 2008||EPA hosts a Report on the Environment Expert Panel Meeting in Washington, DC.|
|May 2008||EPA releases the final report, EPA's 2008 Report on the Environment (EPA 2008 ROE).|
|Sep 2008||EPA releases the finalized eROE Web site with links to the Highlights report and the ROE Database.|
- (366 pp, 30 MB, about PDF)
- (10 pp, 3 MB, about PDF)
- (12 pp, 545 KB, about PDF)
- (80 pp, 7 MB, about PDF)
- (66 pp, 5 MB, about PDF)
- (50 pp, 4 MB, about PDF)
- (72 pp, 4 MB, about PDF)
- (46 pp, 7 MB, about PDF)
- (3 pp, 1 MB, about PDF)
- (9 pp, 198 KB, about PDF)
- (3 pp, 288 KB, about PDF)
- (15 pp, 265 KB, about PDF) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40700000 |
There is a chance for some severe weather this weekend, specifically Saturday. Oklahoma is prone to severe thunderstorms and American Red Cross urges residents to take steps now to stay safer when severe weather threatens. Based on forecasts, it looks like there could be hail, damaging winds and strong rain.
“By preparing together for severe thunderstorms, we can make our families safer and our communities stronger,” said Ken Garcia, Regional Communication Director. “We can help you and your family create a disaster preparedness plan now, before our community is threatened by high winds, hail, lightning and excessive rainfall.”
As with any disaster, preparation can be the difference between life and death. The Red Cross recommends that individuals and families prepare for severe thunderstorms by:
Make a Home Disaster Plan: Pick a safe place in your home for household members to gather during a thunderstorm. This should be away from windows, skylights and glass doors that could be broken by strong winds or hail. Protect your animals by ensuring that any outside buildings that house them are protected in the same way as your home. Remove animals from vulnerable dog houses and similar small structures.
Create an Emergency Preparedness Kit: Pack a first aid kit and essential medications, canned food and can opener, bottled water, flashlights and a battery-powered radio with extra batteries.
Heed Storm Warnings: A severe storm WATCH means severe thunderstorms are possible in and near the watch area. People in a watch area should keep informed and be ready to act if a severe thunderstorm warning is issued. A severe storm WARNING means severe weather has been reported by spotters or indicated by radar. Warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be in danger from lightning. Seek shelter immediately. The National Weather Service recommends staying inside for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder clap.
Prepare for High Winds: If you have time, secure lawn furniture, outdoor decorations, trash cans, hanging plants and anything else that can be picked up by wind.
Before Lightning Strikes
Keep an eye on the sky. Look for darkening skies, flashes of light or increasing winds. Listen for the sound of thunder.
If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to the storm to be struck by lightning. Go to safe shelter immediately. The National Weather Service recommends staying inside for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder clap.
When Storm Approaches
Find shelter in a building or car. Keep car windows closed and avoid convertibles.
Telephone lines and metal pipes can conduct electricity. Unplug appliances. Avoid using the telephone or any electrical appliances. (Leaving electric lights on, however, does not increase the chances of your home being struck by lightening.)
Avoid taking a bath or shower HYPERLINK "http://" , or running water for any other purpose.
If Caught Outside
Go to low-lying, open place away from trees, poles or metal objects. Make sure the place you pick is not flooding.
Make yourself the smallest target possible. Squat low to the ground. Place you hands on you knees with your head between them.
If you are in the woods, take shelter under the shorter trees.
If you are boating or swimming, get to land and find shelter immediately.
If Someone Is Struck By Lightning
People struck by lightning carry no electrical charge and can be handled safely.
Call for help. Get someone to dial 9-1-1 or your local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) number.
Give first aid. If the heart has stopped beating, a trained person should give CPR.
For more information on severe thunderstorm preparedness, visit HYPERLINK http://www.redcross.org www.redcross.org. We urge you to share these Red Cross severe thunderstorm preparedness tips with every member of your household, because the best protection is to be prepared ahead of time. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40706000 |
Tibet Travel Guide
The Yarlung Zangbo or Yarlung River, or Yalu Zangbu River, or Yarlung Tsangpo (alternative transcription), Yarlung Zangbo Jiang (officially) originates upstream from the South Tibet Valley and Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, in Tibet. It then passes through the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India, where it is known as the Dihang. Downstream from Arunachal Pradesh the river becomes wider and at this point is called the Brahmaputra River. The Brahmaputra has not been able to meet the sea. From Assam (India) the river has entered Bangladesh at Ramnabazar point. From there till about 200 years ago it used to flow eastward and joined Megna River near Bhairavbazar. This old channel has been gradually dying now. At present the main channel of the river is called Jamuna River, which follows southward to meet Ganges known in Bangladesh as the Padma.
It flows in the world's largest and deepest canyon, Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. Further, it is the world's highest river.
The Yarlung Zangbo River is the highest major river in the world. Its longest tributary is the Nyang River. In Tibet the river flows through the South Tibet Valley, which is approximately 1200 kilometres long and 300 kilometres wide. The valley descends from 4500 metres above sea level to 3000 metres. As it descends, the surrounding vegetation changes from cold desert to arid steppe to deciduous scrub vegetation. It ultimately transitions into a conifer and rhododendron forest. The tree line is approximately 3,200 metres. Sedimentary sandstone rocks found near the Tibetan capital of Lhasa contain grains of magnetic minerals that record the Earth's alternating magnetic field current.
The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, formed by a horse-shoe bend in the river where it flows around Namcha Barwa, is the deepest, and possibly longest canyon in the world.The river has been a challenge to whitewater kayakers because of the extreme conditions of the river.
The Yarlung Zangbo River has three major waterfalls. The largest waterfall of the river, the "Hidden Falls", was not publicized in the West until 1998, when its sighting by Westerners was briefly hailed as a "discovery." They were even portrayed as the discovery of the great falls which had been the topic of stories told to early Westerners by Tibetan hunters and Buddhist monks, but which had never been found by Western explorers at the time. Chinese authorities protested, however, saying that Chinese geographers, who had explored the gorge since 1973, had already taken pictures of the falls in 1987 from a helicopter.
Since the 1990s the Yarlung Zangbo River has been the destination of a number of teams that engage in exploration and whitewater kayaking. The river has been called the “Everest of Rivers” because of the extreme conditions of the river. The first attempt to run was made in 1993 by a Japanese group who lost one member on the river.
In October 1998, a kayaking expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society attempted to navigate the Zangbo Gorge. Troubled by unanticipated high water levels, the expedition ended in tragedy when expert kayaker Doug Gordon lost his life.
In January-February, 2002, an international group consisting of Scott Lindgren, Steve Fisher, Mike Abbott, Allan Ellard, Dustin Knapp, and Johnnie and Willie Kern, completed the first descent of the upper Zangbo gorge section.
Shangri La River Expeditions has a fairly complete description of the history of first descents of the Yarlong Tsangpo and its major tribuaries. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40709000 |
Roman Children’s Sarcophagi
Why I Taught the Sources
I use images of two Roman marble sarcophagi for topics on children and childhood in undergraduate courses on ancient society, family, gender, representations, and historiography. The sarcophagi can be used to study one period of antiquity or to examine changing notions of childhood over time.
My aim in using the sarcophagi is to increase students' awareness of the rich variety of accessible material sources about Roman society—especially archaeological resources such as art, architecture, inscriptions, and topography—that can supplement traditional literary sources. A careful analysis of images from an unfamiliar society can help students already exposed to visual material in their daily lives become more discriminating in their interpretations.
Students' present-day interest in children and childhood—in daily life and in academic studies—is a good basis on which to build. But there is a danger of applying our own modern, Western attitudes and values to other societies. Studying artifacts and texts from a different society raises questions of cultural differences. One basic question is whether childhood in pre-modern societies was recognized as a separate stage of life and children were valued; this has been debated since Ariès' book of 1962. 1 Roman society of the first two or three centuries (CE) provides material to help students to enter this debate and make their own assessments.
How I Introduce the Sources
After providing a chronological background and introducing issues such as class and status, gender, urban context, and political structure earlier in the semester, I assign: Ariès, Centuries of Childhood, at least the Introduction; and Letter 4.2 of The Letters of Pliny the Younger. My aim is provide students with the evidence to challenge Ariès' claim about the "ignorance of childhood" in pre-modern ages that relied on a small range of literary sources.
In order to do so, I provide an introductory lecture on the history of childhood studies and on available sources (including the nature of the material as well as the hazards of surviving literary, legal, archaeological sources). 2 I also provide images of materials such as epitaphs, sculptures, and wall paintings related to children and Rome to stimulate thinking about the range of representations available. Students then divide into smaller groups of 10 to 15 to examine primary sources.
Reading the Sources
In these smaller groups, we analyze Pliny's apparently unsympathetic comments on the death of Regulus' son in the context of upper-class Roman male expectations of fatherhood, emotions, and Pliny's deep hostility to Regulus. Pliny's letter also shows the independent wealth of a mother and the possibility of a young male coming into independent wealth, either by the death of his father or by the legal technicality of being freed ("sold") from the power (patria potestas) of his father. 3
The comparatively large quantity of funerary commemoration of prematurely-dead children helps put Regulus' grief into perspective. Regulus' son had survived early childhood, so his death, in his early teens, was the more tragic.
I also project images of various funerary items, including the two sarcophagi, on a screen. These raise the question of parental grief and grieving in a society of high mortality, challenging the claim sometimes made of indifference to children's deaths in societies with high rates of infant mortality. Each of the sarcophagi depicts a sequence of life-stages, and each can be dated to the first half of the 2nd century CE. 4
By contrast with simple epitaphs, these are quite expensive artifacts. On the first sarcophagus, the boy's name, M. Cornelius Statius (in the dedicatory form 'M. CORNELIO M. F. PAL. STATIO'), indicates that he is a freeborn Roman citizen.
The epitaph has been dedicated by the boy's parents ('PARENTES'). The family's dress and attributes, and the quality of the artifact, suggest a well-to-do family. The scenes depict the newborn infant, the child at play, and the child with teacher. The mother appears to be breast-feeding which raises the question about whether this was normal (in a society of wet-nurses) or whether the scene was idealized.
The father's role in the nursing scene and in holding the infant often surprises the students. In well-to-do citizen families, with a household of slave retainers, the stereotype is of more distant relationships and limited contact between parents and children in the early rearing years. (Compare, for example, stereotypes of 19th century upper-class English families.)
The scroll in the boy's hand as he recites his lesson to a teacher raises questions about many aspects of education, such as the availability of "books," importance of oral performance and memory, and existence of schools and private tutors. It also sparks discussion of children's modes of play, their engagement with animals (helping put young Regulus' pets in context), and children's place in the family.
The second sarcophagus also depicts an infant (in the arms of one of the parents in the carriage ride on the right-hand side of the stone) and play (as a toddler with a wheeled pusher or scooter, and a little older with a pet goose).
But the last scene is of death, foreshadowed by the torches, often symbols of funerals, at each end of the sarcophagus. The parents again ride in a carriage, with the slightly older child between them, and they are led by a winged Cupid foreshadowing the child's soul ascending to heaven.
At some stage in the discussion, students often raise the issue of the nature of the sarcophagus as an artifact. This leads to some questions about the disposal of the dead and how frequently sarcophagi were used. Epitaphs for children lead to issues of demography. Cremation remained dominant for many centuries, so why the growing popularity of sarcophagi in the 2nd century, well before any real impact of Christianity? Students also discuss the role of fashion and the greater scope of sarcophagi for sculptural decoration.
Close examination of the sarcophagi usually increases students' ability to read art and artifacts, and thus their pleasure in viewing such material. This is partly an aesthetic experience, but also a methodological lesson. Students learn that documents can include all kinds of evidence of the past and realize that there can be more than one reading of a document. They realize the importance of assessing the author, his/her authorial intention, the intended reader or viewer, and the societal context. The importance of contextualization also emerges as students realize that a quick, impressionistic reading of any of these documents in isolation yields less understanding than a comparison and some attention to background.
Moreover, the importance of dating the documents shows the increasing interest in representations of children, women, families, and slaves, whereas most of the sources for Rome before the 2nd century CE revealed a male, upper-class, political and military focus. That realization leads students to wonder about the differences in representations and to speculate about the role of a new political regime: its emphasis on peace and stability; growing affluence and leisure (for many, but not all); and the need of ex-slaves to record their upward mobility in the record of their children.
1 Ariès, Philippe. Centuries of Childhood. New York: Vintage Books, 1962.
2 Bradley, K. Discovering the Roman Family: Studies in Roman Social History . New York: Oxford University Press, 1991; Dixon, Suzanne. The Roman Family. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, ©1992; and Rawson, Beryl. Children and Childhood in Roman Italy. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2003.
3 Sherwin-White, A. The Letters of Pliny. A Historical and Social Commentary. Oxford : Oxford University Press, ©1966.
4 Huskinson, Janet. Roman Children's Sarcophagi: Their Decoration and Its Social Significance. Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1996, illustrations 1.23 and 1.29.
How to Cite This Source
Beryl Rawson, "Roman Children’s Sarcophagi," in Children and Youth in History, Item #52, http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/case-studies/52 (accessed May 24, 2013). | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40710000 |
Richmond Food Secure organised 3 sessions of canning and preserving the bounty of summer harvest for the enjoying in the winter. The workshops will be conducted in the South Arm Community Center. Chef Karen Dar Woon will instruct participants on easy methods of canning, using excess fruit and veggies that are coming out of the garden. Each workshop costs $5. I got to know of these workshops through Arzeena, the outreach coordinator of Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project.
The theme for the first workshop was Golden Plum. It is also known as Yellowgage or Golden Drop. The Golden Plum is a small plum, with diameter around 3 to 4 cm. The skin is sourish while the flesh is sweet.
Karen shared with us the following home canning knowledge:
What is Canning:
Home canning, also known as putting up, is the process of preserving foods (in particular, fruits, vegetables, and meats) by packing them into glass jars and then heating the jars. Heating kills microorganisms and inactivates the enzymes which can cause deterioration. The heat pocess also drives the air out of the jars, creating a hermetic (airtight) seal; this prevents reentry of contaminants.
Prior to the mid 20th Century, canning was one of the most common methods of preserving food for later use. Freezers were not developed for consumer use until mid 1940s, when the Birdseye company began distributing frozen foods by rail.
A little science:
The microorganisms which cause spoilage include molds and yeasts, bacteria (salmonella, staph and botulism) and enzymes. These microorganisms are already in or on the foods in nature, but can be killed. Most molds and yeasts are destroyed at temperatures between 140-190F (60-88C). Bacteria thrive at those same temperatures, but are unable to live in high acid environments. Fruit jams and pickles are considered high acid foods (pH of 4.6 or lower), and so are considered lower risk for home canning.
The use of a pressure canner, producing temperatures of up to 240F (115C), is used for processing low acid and acid nuetral foods such as meats and vegetables.
Heating jars in the water bath processor causes expansion of the food, and pressure within the jar. Air escapes from under the lid throughout the processing time. When the produce cools, a vacuum forms and the lid conracts, creating a hermetic (airtight) seal and preveting recontamination.
Boiling water bath: Any large, heavy pot can be used, as long as it is at least 3″ taller than your jars. A rack keeps the glass away from the direct heat of the pot, and can be helpful for removing the jars later, but isn’t critical.
A folded tea towl can be used instead.
Jar lifters: specially shaped tongs which fit aroung the top of the jar.
Pressure canner: specially equipped pot which features a pressure-regulating device and a locking lid. Opten available at smaller hardware stores and some specialty cookware shops. These differ from pressure cookers in both shap and manufacture (more precise regulator). A pressure canner MUST be used for ‘plain’ vegetables, meat, poultry or fish.
Jars: Canning jars are designed to withstand the temperatures and pressures involved in home canning. Jars and rings may be reused, but ALWAYS USE NEW SEALS. The two-part sealer uses a soft compound in the lid which softens with heat and provides a cushion between the glass an dthe metal lid.
For more info, check out www.homecanning.ca (Bernardin website, and the The Art and Science of Home Food Preservation @ 2006 Jarden Corporation.
- 3-5 pounds plums
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups water
|Prepare 6 250ml jars, rings and lids. Wash in hot soapy water, and rinse well. Place lids in HOT, not boiling water, for 5 minutes before using. Do not heat rings. Heat jars in canning pot with hot water to sanitize them.|
|Prepare syrup by boiling water and sugar until the sugar dissolved.|
|Prick whole plums with a fork to break skins, or cut in half and remove pits. This is to prevent the plums from exploding when in hot water bath.|
|Pack plums snugly into jars, leaving 1/2″ at the top of the jar.|
|Ladle hot syrup over plums to cover, leaving 1/2″ at the top of the jar.|
|Remove air bubbles (with a plastic cake knife) and add more syrup if needed. Wipe jar rim to remove any stickiness.|
|The photo shows a magnetic gadget used to lift the lid from the hot water. You can use a spatula to lift the lid from the hot water.|
|Centre snap the lid on the jar.|
|Apply screw band just until resistance is met; fingertip tight. Do not overtighten.|
|Place jars in a canner.
Fill canner with hot water to cover jars by 1″. Cover canner; bring water to a boil. Boiled filled jars for 10 minutes. For larger size jars like 500ml or 1 litre jar, the boiling time should be 25 minutes. When processing time is complete, turn heat off and remove canner lid.
|When boil subsides i.e. bubbles no longer rise to surface (3 to 5 minutes), remove jars without tilting. Cool jars upright, undisturbed 24 hours. Do not retighten screw bands.
During the demo, we had a couple of jars started to leak once they were removed from the canner. Such problems can be caused by bad lid or overfiling the jars with syrup. In such case, you can refrigerate the jar after it has cooled down and consume the fruit within a week.
After cooling, check jar seals. Sealed lids should curved downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wip and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40711000 |
In a typical year, it is not uncommon for a dozen or so comets to come within range of amateur telescopes. During the month of October, 2010, a small comet will pass unusually close to Earth. On Oct. 20, Comet Hartley 2 will pass just over 11 million miles (18 million km) from Earth. That is close enough for the comet to be seen through binoculars or even, in the darkest skies, with the naked eye.
Amateur stargazers aren’t the only ones looking out for Hartley 2 this month. In September 2007, NASA woke up its hibernating DI spacecraft and, in November, sent it the maneuvering instructions to intercept Hartley 2. The spacecraft is precisely on schedule to rendezvous with the comet on November 4 as it approaches the sun.
This week’s online current events activity is a study of comets, the Hartley 2 Comet, and NASA’s attempt to study it.
Begin your investigation into comets by visiting Worldbook@NASA, which features excellent overviews on many topics related to space and astronomy, including Comets. As you read this page, look for answers to the following questions:
- What are some of the ingredients that make up a comet?
- How big are most comets?
- How does a comet tail form, and which direction does it always point?
- What is the relationship between comets and meteor showers?
- What have scientists learned about the nucleus of a comet?
More information about comets can be found at the Nine Planets site. As you read, look for answers to these questions:
- Name two examples of comet appearances in antiquity (ancient human history)
- How many comets have been cataloged?
- What are the five parts of a comet?
- How do comets “die”?
Comet Hartley 2
Now that you have some solid background information about comets in general, let’s see what we can learn about Comet Hartley 2. Start by going to the web site of Sky and Telescope magazine, and read Comet Hartley 2 At Its Best, written by Greg Bryant. This first half of the page is an ongoing blog with dated status updates, followed by the original article. As you read, just understand that you are reading backwards in time.
When you get to the October 8 update, watch the wide-field animation created by Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero. Can you see the slight movement of the comet against the stationary star field?
As you read the original article, look for answers to the following questions:
- In what year was Hartley 2 discovered?
- Why does the moon play a factor in viewing comets?
- What does the EPOXI spacecraft’s name stand for?
- How close will the spacecraft get to the comet?
- What does the number 2 mean in “Hartley 2”?
- Why was this comet beyond visual discovery until after 1982?
Learn more about the EXOXI mission by visiting the official mission web site. From the home page, click Mission on the left and read the 10 phases of the mission. What is the purpose of the Earth fly-bys? What happens during the Comet Approach Phase? What will scientists be looking for during the Encounter Phase? What data will be gathered?
Finish your online study of comets this week by Comparing Comets. This is a student activity developed by NASA in which students can make their own observations based on photos of two different comet nuclei. Print this worksheet or follow along online and record your answers separately. Follow the directions on each page. On page 2, as you are looking at the two photos of comet surfaces, listen to this audio recording of students making their own observations about the comets in a teacher-led discussion.
Comets are not easy to study. Because of their speed and orbit, it is (currently) impossible for humans to travel to comets to make firsthand observations. Instead, scientists send up remotely controllable probes to intercept comets, take photographs, and make a variety of different measurements. This practice is not limited to astronomers. For centuries humans have been creating tools used to measure, weigh, count, or in many other ways analyze things that are beyond our physical senses. In a current or recent issue of the e-edition, look for news stories that cite examples of people using tools to measure or analyze. A good example might be DNA testing for criminal evidence, but you will find many others. Based on your findings, how important have these tools become in our daily lives? Why is it becoming increasingly important to measure, collect, and analyze information? | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40713000 |
Figure 9-3. TCP Treats All the Data as Data
TCP just needs to worry about the TCP header and doing what it says. In this case, as long as TCP gets the first chunk of data to the server and the second chunk back from the server to the browser, its job is finished.
TCP calls the TCP header and the data behind it a TCP segment. Later in this chapter, in the section titled "Big Box, Small TruckWhat Do You Do?," it will be clear why the people who made up TCP chose to call it a segment.
One of the largest benefits of a layered networking model relates to how TCP behaves in Figure 9-3. The fact that TCP doesn't have to think about what HTTP is trying to do means that the TCP software does not need to know anything about how HTTP works. So, the person who writes the TCP software can keep it simple. The person who writes HTTP software and any other application protocol that intends to use TCP can keep it simple as well, relying on TCP to deliver the data.
If you're feeling a little uncomfortable about TCP at this point, it's okay. So far, this chapter has described some mechanisms that TCP uses, but it hasn't explained much about why TCP is useful to applications. In the next section, you'll learn about error recoveryone of the most important features of TCP. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40715000 |
Dershowitz is most urgently concerned to reclaim his cherished Declaration from the Christian Right, whose suggestion that America is a Christian nation inspires him to fiery sermons that consume about a third of his book. But ultimately—and he is not shy about saying so—he would reclaim the Declaration from Thomas Jefferson, himself, and from the revolutionaries of 1776. Words, as you may have read in any one of a million sacred academic texts, and as you will read again on every fourth or fifth page of Dershowitz's non-academic book, have "different meanings" for different people in different times and places. The most famous and distinctive words of the Declaration, according to Dershowitz, have fundamentally different meanings (they bear different ideas and principles) for us in "the twenty-first-century world" than they had for Jefferson and the revolutionaries who proclaimed them 200-some years ago. To explain this miracle of the lost meanings, Dershowitz invokes a hodgepodge of academic articles of faith with which every college freshman has been catechized—under threat of excommunication—for the past forty years. But he turns eventually to the highest authority of his own sect—"legal realism."
Certainly the most distinctive and well-known words of the Declaration are found in its proclamation: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights...." A few score years after 1776, these words still conveyed to Abraham Lincoln the most essential "meaning" of the American Revolution. This "abstract truth, applicable to all men and all times" was America's "philosophical cause." It was the distinctive American expression of natural right and natural law, the recognizably American way of acknowledging a moral truth, accessible to human reason and independent of human enactments, by which Americans and all other lovers of liberty might guide their political choices and destinies.
All "nonsense on stilts," according to Dershowitz (with thanks to Jeremy Bentham). "The American school of legal realism—beginning with Holmes and reaching its zenith in the mid-20th century—changed all of that." Presto-chango: "Rights" and "equality" are purely "human inventions," "legal or moral fictions." "The reality is that natural law simply does not exist." Dershowitz thinks that the gospel according to Holmes has been so successful that, "[w]ith few exceptions" today, everyone believes that "morality" and "even truth are ever-changing." These "evolve with experience," with the "views of the age." He may exaggerate the conversion rate, but he is absolutely right that this is the virtually unquestioned orthodoxy of American law schools today. Dershowitz thus faithfully reads the Declaration as practically every first-year law student, these days, is taught to read the Constitution, as "a text whose meaning may [indeed, must] differ from generation to generation with changing experiences."
Now Alan Dershowitz wants to proselytize for "equality" and "rights"—and for decency, truth, morality, the rule of law, democracy, justice, and government by consent, among other things. On page after page, he writes about these and other desiderata not as mere words, but as if they were full of "meaning"; just as he writes categorically, and as if his words had meaning, about the evils of this world: "[S]lavery is wrong," and so on. He wants others to join him in the faith, and he wants to provide them firm ground from which to wage what he thinks of as a righteous struggle. But since the principles and ideas, the meanings, of Jefferson and Lincoln have miraculously vanished, he must find a new foundation, a new rock on which to build his church of the "higher morality." "[F]or the millions of good and moral people who do not believe in God [or natural law, natural rights, unchanging truth, immutable principles of right or wrong, or human equality]...there must be other sources of morality, law, and rights," etc., than the principles and ideas of the Declaration.
"What, then, is the source of [this] higher morality," asks Dershowitz. He answers: "It is human experience! Trial and error!...[W]e recognize our past mistakes and try to build a better system of morality to avoid repetition of those mistakes!" Experience!, which is to say History!, becomes the new source of meaning, the god of the dispossessed. The exclamation points bear a heavy burden. They are (momentary) expressions of a blind faith that the god of human Experience! will somehow recognize his "mistakes!" in a universe where mistakes!, like truth and morality, are ever-changing. When he is moved by this faith, Dershowitz writes as an optimistic Progressive: Experience! is on the side of Alan Dershowitz and the "higher morality." We can be expected to have a higher morality than the Ten Commandments, for example, because "we have much more human experience on which to base our rules than did those who wrote the Bible." "Morality [God bless Darwin] evolves with experience." But Experience! turns out to be a fickle and mysterious god, and Dershowitz's faith wavers.
Sometimes Dershowitz recognizes and accepts the abject deference to convention required by his new deity. In these moments, he concludes that our meanings must be whatever the consensus of people today allegedly think. "[T]he authority to give [rights] any real meaning lies with people." In other passages he recognizes that, by the "people," he really means the powerful. The Jews in Hitler's Germany, for example, got "rights" solely because Hitler lost World War II. If Hitler had won, these Jews would not, in the eyes of Dershowitz's god, have had any rights that any man was bound to respect. This is how we must understand Dershowitz when he says, sincerely, that "slavery is wrong." He means that the slave power lost the war. Otherwise, his god would have no objection to slavery. Elsewhere, seeing the problem, he asserts his "right" to dissent from the consensus or from the latest majority; it is an assertion that can by his own reasoning have no more "meaning" than the latest consensus or the latest coup. Dershowitz does not let his argument get bogged down in consistency.
Such impasses drive Dershowitz, against some of his strongest passions and prejudices, to a final leap of faith. He grabs onto the "spirit" of the "words and ideas" of the American Revolution as if it were a lone piece of salvific drift wood in an endless ocean of meaningless experience. He is reborn, in effect, a faithful originalist, cleaving not to the original meaning or intent of his sacred text, however, but to its original and enduring spirit. Nowhere does he offer a reason why his disciples should not discard the Revolution's spirit even as he has discarded its ideas. He has no reason to offer. The "Spirit" of '76, in the hands of this evangelical legal realist, cannot help being as evanescent as the "meanings"; it becomes, transformed by his deepest faith, a spirit of the times. When the saints go marching in, Alan Dershowitz will be among the simplest believers in the most naïve, fundamentalist academic faith of his time, which would replace God, reason, nature, human nature, natural right, and abstract truths about right and wrong with the latest Zeitgeist. Until then, he is a ghost dancer in a three-piece suit. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40720000 |
posted by Dr. Amber Jenkins
Mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery. At least that’s how it goes in the technology world. Today’s researchers are developing solar-powered cells that look and behave exactly like plant leaves — they're green, they blow in the wind, and they absorb light and convert it into electrons. Straight from Mother Nature’s textbook.
Now an illuminating new design has come to the table. It’s less a case of mimicking a plant and more a case of harnessing real-life fruit — in this case, tomatoes. Yep, those acidic little yummies are being used to run an LED table lamp called “Still Light.” The lamp, which comes out of d-VISION, an Israeli internship program for Product Development and Industrial Design, hooks up tomatoes to copper and zinc electrodes. The tomatoes act as electrolytes for the current to pass through and help power the LED. Like all good things, it comes to an end — when the tomatoes eventually rot. This isn’t nature’s solution to our energy problems. But it is a cool new design and might help spur on the next generation of tomato technology. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40723000 |
Mass transit is critical to the proper functioning of any city, town or rural area. A range of transit modes offer different capacity opportunities, and therefore the potential for high or low impact on car use. Higher capacity systems cost more to put in, but offer much more potential reduction in total transport costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The social, economic and environmental costs of not having an efficient mass transit system never go away, so it is really a case of stemming these costs earlier or later.
Mass transit is a key ingredient in a sustainable, low-carbon transport future, whether in urban or rural settings, in developing or developed countries. It covers three modes of public transport: trains, light rail (or trams) and buses. Train systems include long haul trains (running at either normal or high speed), Metro (subway or elevated urban trains) and conventional suburban trains. There is also rail freight, which is discussed under the technology description 'Freight'. Buses include bus rapid transit (or BRT) with dedicated road lanes and other distinctive features, and conventional bus services that share lanes with other traffic. The technology description 'Bus Rapid Transit systems' discusses BRT systems in more detail.
A good mass transit system provides services that are frequent, fast, punctual, safe, comfortable, clean and affordable. It provides transport at the times and in the locations that people require. The system is accompanied by good walking and cycling access to and from transit stations. Town planning measures complement good transit by encouraging higher urban densities and mixed land use, particularly near stops and stations. In this way, homes, workplaces, shops, schools, health centres, services and recreation facilities are closer to transit, and more people can use it as they go about their daily lives.
Complementary and integrated modes
Good public transit is designed as a whole system. For example, trains or BRT will move larger numbers of people longer distances, and then bus services, with shorter trips and fewer passengers, will radiate out from transit stations. BRT and Light-rail may exist as an in-between mode in terms of its passenger capacity and route lengths, and local buses can complete an urban transit network, linking fast crosscity services to corridor services and local routes. As part of this integration of transit modes, timetables, ticketing and information provision will be integrated, so that a person can use two or three modes to travel from departure point to destination easily, without long delays, and on one ticket (see the technology description 'Influencing travel choices'). New technologies also assist with network planning, organisational management and integrated ticketing.
The following are some salient features of the different transport modes:
Train systems: These can carry 50,000 (perhaps even 80,000) passengers per hour in one direction on one line, and are suited to major arterial urban routes, as well as regional and long distance travel. Costs vary enormously depending on whether it is a Metro system (with a subway or overhead line), a fast rail system, or a conventional speed system at ground level (which is the least expensive). But even normal speed trains can be faster than alternative modes. Bangkok has a new train system travelling through and above its crowded streets at speeds reaching 60 kilometres per hour, averaging 25-45 kph compared with the Bangkok traffic speed of 14 kph and bus speed of 9 kph (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999). Rail lines can be built down the middle of freeways, as in Perth and Oregon. [media:image:1]
Light rail systems: These can carry 10-20,000 people per hour down one corridor, and thus they are suited to routes that have fewer travellers than train systems can carry, but more than bus systems usually can. They normally take up the equivalent of one traffic lane, a lane which, as previously noted, can only carry 2,500 car travellers an hour. Light rail is attractive to cities wanting to regenerate corridors or to provide a higher capacity system where there is space in the roadway. The latest models no longer require overhead wires, as batteries can be recharged at stops.
Bus systems: These include conventional buses, which must share lanes with other traffic, and normally only take a maximum of 5,000 passengers per hour on one route. Conventional buses are a critical part of any city’s transport system as they offer flexibility and linkage to the faster, higher capacity mass transit systems. New technology buses can provide a safer and more comfortable service and with GPS installed can enable passengers at bus stops to know exactly when they are arriving.
BRT systems: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has increasingly been used to provide a faster, higher capacity bus service (ITDP, 2007; Rogat, 2009). BRTs require dedicated lanes, off-road stops, rapid boarding and alighting, level boarding, pre-board fair collection or checking, frequent service, large capacity, clear signage and real-time information displays, clean engine technologies, signal priority, intelligent;control systems and excellent customer service. In one dedicated BRT lane 10-20,000 passengers can be carried – with some carrying over 40,000 – but at higher levels there is a risk of buses ‘bunching’ at stops. This problem can be reduced with multiple doors on the bus and well-designed stations, as occurs in Curitiba. Cities like Curitiba, Bogotá and Ottawa have examined moving to rail to solve this problem. There can also be problems with noise and emissions. BRTs can be cheaper if they take over a road lane, although this can be a difficult political issue in cities. Other cities with BRTs include Bogotá, Mexico City, Jakarta, Beijing, Kunming, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Istanbul, Ahmedabad (India), Paris, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Miami, Boston and Brisbane. (See also technology description 'Bus Rapid Transit systems' .)
To attract passengers, transit needs to be faster than cars on the same routes. This is why it helps if trains travel at high speeds and have grade-separated intersections with roads. BRT and light rail need dedicated lanes and priority traffic signals to achieve this required speed advantage (Figure 2). Moreover, there is little point in having fast travel speeds if passengers have to wait a long time for the transport to arrive. This means frequent services and integrated timetables for the different modes so that, for example, a person switching from a train to a bus has minimal waiting time. Mass transit will also have a speed advantage over private vehicles if city governments refrain from building more and faster roads. While this may increase traffic congestion in the short term, the intention is that such congestion will encourage private vehicle users to switch to the faster transit services. And making private vehicle travel more expensive – through, for example, petrol taxes, registration charges or congestion taxes – achieves two things: it recovers some of the environmental and social costs of private transport, and it is another measure to encourage people to switch from private vehicles to transit. [media:image:2] [media:image:3]
Intercity, regional and rural transit services
Modern mass transit is just as important for towns, villages and rural areas as it is for cities, and it is also vital for intercity transport. The absence of sufficient transit services outside and between cities has two major adverse effects.
Firstly, it means continued high levels of use of less sustainable modes of transport, including trucks, cars, motor-bikes and air travel. Although air pollution, such as particulates from diesel, may not have as severe an effect in the countryside as it does in the city, greenhouses gases are just as bad wherever they are emitted. And petroleum, a limited resource, is still being depleted. Moreover, traffic accidents in rural parts of the developing world are a significant cause of death and injury.
Secondly, it puts a real brake on national development, and on the ability of ordinary people, especially for the poor, to carry out normal daily activities. Most people cannot afford their own vehicle. Therefore they must rely on walking, on the existing less than adequate public transit services, on animal transport, or on various kinds of three- and four-wheeled vehicles adapted to carry passengers, vehicles that may not be available and affordable when they are needed. This means that it’s much harder and takes much longer for children to get to school, for the sick to get to health services, and for people to get to jobs. An estimated 75% of maternal deaths could be prevented through quicker access to childbirth services, facilitated by transport, and girls’ enrolment in school can more than triple with the completion of a rural road (which is, of course, a precondition for a bus service) (Sierra, 2008). Hours and even days can be wasted walking or waiting for infrequent transport services.
Thus there is a need for good train services between cities or towns, and for more bus services to radiate out from train stations and population centres into outer urban localities, villages and rural areas. If developing countries can afford rapid trains these will be more competitive with cars and air transport, but the cost, of course, is more.
Selecting and implementing the right transit modes
In choosing the most appropriate transit modes for particular localities, planners and communities need to consider a range of factors. These include cost, population density, and whether there is space to build railway lines or dedicated lanes for BRT or light rail. These factors should be considered very carefully from the outset, because experience indicates that once cities or localities select a particular transit mode they tend to stick with that and not adopt other modes later (Wright & Fjellstrom, 2005)
Mass transit systems represent a large public investment. If you are making this investment for your locality, you need to ensure that the public – who will ultimately be paying the cost – are aware of the full range of benefits mass transit provides, because greenhouse gas reduction may not be high on their list of priorities. There are many other benefits to tell them about: faster, safer, more comfortable travel; less traffic pollution, congestion and noise; fewer people killed or injured in traffic accidents; cheaper transport for nhe nation and for individuals, especially people on low incomes; a more pleasant city in which to live and move around; healthier and more connected residents; and a more efficient transport system to service a twenty-first century economy.
Given the systemic and technological complexity of modern integrated transit systems, developing the necessary capacity to plan, construct and operate such systems can be a major challenge. One solution is to form a partnership with a locality that already has such technologies and systems in place. For example, the city of Kunming in China is twinned with the Swiss city of Zurich and, as one part of this, the Swiss partners have helped to build the capacity of their Kunming counterparts in the transport area. This has seen the development of a transport master plan, and the design and implementation of a BRT system (Feiner, 2002).
Middle Eastern cities are building $80 billion of new high quality transit including the new Dubai Metro and a service to do the Haj. China and India are now prioritising mass transit as the solution to their traffic problems with 82 Metros being built in China and 14 in India. Most other cities and localities around the world recognise – or are quickly coming to recognise – the economic, social and environmental necessity of good transit systems in the twenty-first century. On the other hand, many localities in the developing world do not yet have a basic organised bus service, that is, a coordinated, quality service that systematically covers the locality (EMBARQ).
Town planning and transit oriented developments (TODs)
Transit oriented developments are areas of new development around BRT and train stations that feature higher density residential complexes and a mix of other land uses, for example, shops, workplaces, educational institutions, health facilities and other services, as well as good walking and cycling paths. TODs can reduce car use by around fifty percent, save money on infrastructure, and encourage community interaction (Newman et al, 2009).
TODs can occur where there are ‘greenfield’ (new) sites ‘brownfield’ (old industrial) sites or ‘greyfield’ sites (redeveloped old housing areas). TODs should include a range of housing types, including affordable housing for those on low-incomes. The increased value of TOD properties can be used to help fund the mass transit system, a process known as ‘value capture’ that is discussed below (and TODs are described in more detail in another section of this chapter).
Not every area can be a TOD, however. In other parts of cities the challenge is to make changes within an already established infrastructure of buildings, roads and other features. Over time, with new developments and altered building uses, higher densities and more mixed land use can be permitted and encouraged. Existing thoroughfares can be used for walking and cycling paths and dedicated transit lanes. Traffic can be restricted and calmed through a variety of measures. And available land and buildings can be used for parks and other community facilities. All of these measures complement good transit systems and make them more viable.
Raising the status of mass transit
Mass transit sometimes has an image problem. It can be seen as a second-rate form of transport, used only by those who can’t afford their own vehicles. However, this image is changing rapidly, as modern mass transit is attractive, clean, comfortable, safe, fast and frequent. The stations as well as the transit vehicles need to be of a high standard (Figure 4). Climate control can make a big difference, as can proximity of stations to shops and other attractions. Sophisticated marketing can also lift patronage. Such measures will counteract the growth in many developing world cities of very car-dependent greenfield housing estates and gated communities. [media:image:4]
Modern transit services in all parts of the world amply demonstrate that people at all levels of society will choose mass transit if the quality is good. In fact, rail-based cities in the 84 global cities sample are 40% wealthier than non-rail-based cities (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999). There has been a big growth of new transit systems in developed countries, including the United States and Australia, with railways being built, for example, in over 100 US cities. Many parts of developing world have an advantage in that cities are already dense enough to make transit very viable, and transit does have to compete with such a high level of private vehicle use.
Good quality bus systems also raise the status of mass transit, providing high quality services and infrastructure. The newer systems include well segregated bus lanes, accessible and enclosed stations with prepayment and level boarding, lower emission buses, integrated information systems for centralised control and user information, and a distinctive image.
Mass transit’s greater affordability, and its accessibility for people too young or unable to drive, makes it a form of transport that more people can use to meet their needs: to get to health and other services, to make vital social connections and, as just noted, to work, shop and learn. Thus it is a factor leading to greater equality and social inclusion (Vasconcellos, 2011). (Note that public transit in fact is often expensive and unaffordable for people on low incomes, but it is cheaper than car ownership, and the challenge for governments – as discussed above – is to make it as affordable as possible.)
Clean, efficient mass transit makes for healthier communities, because it is responsible for less pollution and fewer traffic accidents, and it encourages walking and cycling.
And communities with fewer private vehicles, an effective mass transit system and good walking and cycling routes are pleasant places to live in, with less congestion and noise, and greater levels of social interaction – all factors that have been shown to boost health and happiness.
Mass transit can move large numbers of people at less cost to the individual and society. It is much cheaper to transport a large number in one vehicle than to move one person in each of a large number of vehicles. (While cars can potentially transport four or five people, in fact they only transport 1.52 on average, based on the 84 city survey described in Chapter 2.) Thus, it is not surprising that cities and countries that have high rates of mass transit use spend much less on transport overall than do localities where larger proportions of the population use private vehicles (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999; Vasconcelos, 2010).
Mass transit also makes it easier for people who can’t afford private vehicles, or can’t drive them, to get to workplaces, shopping areas and educational institutions. This means that more people are able to be economically active as workers, buyers and sellers, and as well-educated workers of the future.
Public transit and denser cities reinforce one another through a ‘virtuous circle’. Transit moves large numbers of people in a smaller space, thus saving space and allowing greater urban density. Vuchic first set out the passenger capacity in the different modes. He suggested that a train service could carry up to 50,000 people per hour in a space that could only convey 2,500 car travellers per hour. In the same time and space light rail and BRT could both convey 10-20,000, while conventional buses could convey 5,000 (Vuchic, 1981). Since then, there have been data claims of over 40,000 passengers per hour on the Bogota BRT and over 80,000 per hour on the Hong Kong Metro and Mumbai rail system (which carries 10 million passengers a day). Such huge numbers are related to the density of these cities as only mass transit can adequately service places where space is at such a premium. In car-based cities densities are much lower. It is argued that viable transit requires densities over thirty-five people or jobs per hectare (Newman & Kenworthy, 2006). Moreover, the provision of transit, given its benefits, can further increase densities in its corridor (Bailey et al, 2008). Finally, a denser city’s infrastructure costs less per resident (Trubka et al, 2010).
As well as using less energy and emitting less greenhouse gas than private vehicles do, mass transit has many other environmental benefits. As just noted, much larger numbers of people can be transported within a given space and period of time than private vehicles can transport, and this contributes to higher densities.
In denser urban areas, less energy and other resources are required per urban resident for the provision not only of roads, but also of all the other services these residents need – footpaths, bicycle paths, electricity, gas, telecommunication lines, water, sewerage, stormwater drainage, and so on. And in denser urban areas people travel shorter distances for work, shopping, leisure and social purposes, and this leads to further energy savings.
And despite being denser, if cities have clean, efficient mass transit they will have less of the crowding, noise and pollution that cars, motor-bikes, motor-scooters and other private vehicles generate. Pollutants like particulates from diesel are major causes of asthma and other respiratory diseases. A well-designed mass transit city will also have good networks of safe walkways and cycleways to enable residents to walk or cycle for short trips, or to walk or cycle to transit stations for longer ones. These non-motorised means of travel are of course completely non-polluting and, to the extent that they replace trips using other transport modes, they help to reduce overall pollution and greenhouse gas emission levels.
Figure 5 summarizes energy efficiency data by mode in 84 cities. In some cities exceptionally low energy usage can be found, such as 0.05 MJ/pass-km in Chinese light-rail, due mainly to high loadings. When estimating greenhouse gas reduction potential from mass transit it is also necessary to consider the ‘transit leverage’ factor, i.e. the tendency for every kilometre travelled on transit to replace between 5 and 7 kilometres of total travel. [media:image:5]
Comparing the costs of various modes of mass transit is fraught with difficulty as so many local factors can make costs vary hugely for each mode. The costs of going above ground or underground are always higher than on-ground though this may just not be possible in some dense cities. The main consideration is the capacity of the system to attract patronage and the mode that is best able to do that needs to then be assessed against the costs of the cars that will be cramming the city if the system is not built. High capacity systems like fast rail (regional, Metro and suburban) are most expensive to build, but will take the highest proportion of car travel out of the urban system, and this can be demonstrated to provide higher benefits than costs (Wright & Fjellstrom, 2005). And transport that is more costly to build may also be cheaper to run (see for example AFD & MEEDDM, 2009). When assessing the benefits and costs of mass transit, many factors need to be taken into account, including predicted travel time savings, reductions in fuel, pollution and accidents, and space saved when the city builds up around the transit infrastructure (known as ‘agglomeration economies’) (see Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure and Transport)
A rapid train system costs about the same per kilometre as a freeway, whether the train or freeway are at ground level, underground or above ground. Perth’s new southern train system costs much less than a normal freeway to build ($A17 million per km) and frequently carries the equivalent of eight lanes of traffic (Newman et al, 2009).
Transit systems can be financed and managed through public-private-partnerships, with private partners building the system, operating it, or both. When the transit system in Buenos Aires switched to private operators, patronage doubled over a five year period and the budget burden of the system was reduced by nearly US$1 billion per year.
Systems can also be financed through land development, as mentioned in the TOD section. Real estate above and around transit stations can be sold by government or private developers to help finance the transit system. Such property will sell for a higher price because of its closeness both to good transit and to the many facilities clustered around transit stations. It will tend to keep its value in bad times and appreciate faster in good times. Hong Kong and Tokyo financed their rail systems in this way, and many US cities are using Tax Increment Financing based on land development to fund new rail projects. In relation to Hong Kong, see Rail and Property Development in Hong Kong: Experiences and Extensions (Cervero & Murakami, 2009).
Public funds may also be available through the World Bank, regional development banks or bilateral development cooperation arrangements. In addition, climate change funding mechanisms may fund transit projects, specifically, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Transit operating costs can of course be at least partially covered by passenger fares. Almost all modern public transit systems are subsidised by government, and each city or locality must decide the amount of subsidy it can afford to provide. Making transit affordable for all socio-economic groups should be a high priority, and one option is to offer concessional fares for specific groups, such as older people, children and those out of work or unable to work. In this way public support is being targeted at those who might not otherwise be able to afford the transit.
Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the French Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea (MEEDDM) (2009). Who pays what for good transport? Handbook of good practices, CODAU, available at http://www.codatu.org/english/studies/handbook_good_practices.pdf , viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure and Transport: www.infrastructure.gov.au , viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Bailey, L., P. L. Molchtarian & A. Little, (2008). The Broader Connection between Public Transportation, Energy Conservation and GHG Reduction, ICF International, February 2008;
Cervero R. & J. Murakami (2009). ‘Rail and Property Development in Hong Kong: Experiences and Extensions’, Urban Studies, Vol. 46, No. 10, 2009, pp. 2019-2043.
EMBARQ. Bus Karo: A Guidebook on Bus Planning and Operations, available at http://www.embarq.org/en/bus-karo-a-guidebookbus-planning-operations , viewed 23 Feb 2011.
EMBARQ (b). Modernizing Public Transportation: Lessons learnt from major bus improvements in Latin America and Asia, http://www.embarq.org/en/modernizing-publictransportation , viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Feiner. J.P. et al, (2002). ‘Priming Sustainability: The Kunming Urban Regional Development Project’, DISP 151, 2002, pp 59-67, available www.nsl.ethz.ch/index.php/de/content/download/435/2831/file , viewed 23 Feb 2011.
ITDP (2007). Bus Rapid Transit Planning Guide in English, available at http://www.itdp.org/index.php/microsite/brt_planning_guide_in_english , viewed 23 Feb 20011,
Newman, P. & J. Kenworthy (1999). Sustainability and Cities, Island Press, Washington, 1999.
Newman, P. & J. Kenworthy, (2006). ‘Urban Design to Reduce Automobile Dependence in Centers’, Opolis 2(1,2006), pp 35-52.
Newman, P., Beatley. T. & Boyer, H. (2009). Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change, Island Press, Washington DC, 2009.
Rogat, Jorge (ed) (2009). Planificación e implementación de un sistema de Bus Rapido en América Latina resumen orientado a tomadores decisions, UNEP, UNEP Riso Centre, GEF, 2009, available at http://nestlac.org/Publicaciones/Planificacion&ImplementacionBusRapidoAmericaLatina.pdf , viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Sierra, K. (2008). Foreword. In Safe, Clean and Affordable...Transport for Development, The World Bank Group’s Transport Business Strategy for 2008-2012, Washington DC, 2008.
Trubka, R., P. Newman & D. Bilsborough (2010). ‘The Costs of Urban Sprawl’, In Parts 1-3, Environmental Design Guide, April 2010.
Vasconcellos, E. (2001). Urban Transport, Environment, and Equity: The Case for Developing Countries, Earthscan Publications Ltd. November 2001.
Vasconcelos, E. (2010). ‘Análisis de la movilidad urbana Espacio, medio ambiente y equidad’, CAF, available at http://omu.caf.com/media/14683/análisis_movilidad_urbana.pdf , viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Vuchic, V R (1981). Urban Public Transportation Systems and Technology, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1981.
Wright, L. & K. Fjellstrom (2005), ‘Mass Transit Options’, In Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in Developing Cities, GIZ, www.sutp.org , viewed 21 Feb 2011.
Salter, R., S. Dhar, and P. Newman (Eds.) (2011). Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation –Transport Sector. UNEP Risø Centre, Roskilde, March 2011, available at http://tech-action.org/ | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40724000 |
API for probabilities.finite-distributions
Full namespace name: clojure.contrib.probabilities.finite-distributions
Finite probability distributions
This library defines a monad for combining finite probability
Public Variables and Functions
Usage: (certainly v)
Returns a distribution in which the single value v has probability 1.
Usage: (choose & choices)
Construct a distribution from an explicit list of probabilities
and values. They are given in the form of a vector of probability-value
pairs. In the last pair, the probability can be given by the keyword
:else, which stands for 1 minus the total of the other probabilities.
Variant of the dist monad that can handle undefined values.
Usage: (cond-prob pred dist)
Returns the conditional probability for the values in dist that satisfy
the predicate pred.
Monad describing computations on fuzzy quantities, represented by a finite
probability distribution for the possible values. A distribution is
represented by a map from values to probabilities.
Usage: (join-with f dist1 dist2)
Returns the distribution of (f x y) with x from dist1 and y from dist2.
Usage: (make-distribution coll f)
Returns the distribution in which each element x of the collection
has a probability proportional to (f x)
Usage: (normalize weights)
Convert a weight map (e.g. a map of counter values) to a distribution
by multiplying with a normalization factor. If the map has a key
:total, its value is assumed to be the sum over all the other values and
it is used for normalization. Otherwise, the sum is calculated
explicitly. The :total key is removed from the resulting distribution.
Usage: (prob pred dist)
Return the probability that the predicate pred is satisfied in the
distribution dist, i.e. the sum of the probabilities of the values
that satisfy pred.
Usage: (uniform coll)
Return a distribution in which each of the elements of coll
has the same probability.
Usage: (zipf s n)
Returns the Zipf distribution in which the numbers k=1..n have
probabilities proportional to 1/k^s. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40725000 |
Use the Archives and Special Collections finding aids to research rare books and manuscript collections. A finding aid is a descriptive tool that includes the contents and arrangement of materials in a collection. Finding aids can help you determine whether or not a collection is relevant to your research needs.
Finding aids are detailed inventories, registers, indexes, and guides to describe collections of primary source materials. They provide a comprehensive overview of a collection's scope and contents. They define the conditions under which a collection may be accessed or copied, explain its provenance, and contain histories of individuals and organizations connected with the collection.
Please cite the collection number (e.g. SPEC. 003) and the box number (e.g. Boxes 1 and 2) to request specific materials.
John Steinbeck Collections
376th Bombardment Group Archive | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40727000 |
How to Avoid Being a Victim of Identity Theft, Online Fraud
Identity theft and online fraud are two of the fastest-growing crimes in the nation. These crimes can rob you of your money, time, and peace of mind.
Typically, these crimes happen on the Internet where a criminal steals an individual's personal information like his Social Security Number or password, and uses these to commit fraud and other crimes.
These crimes are particularly harmful as the crime can be ongoing and happen over a long period of time before you actually become aware. In addition, identity thieves and online frauds may access all of your personal information, giving them the potential to wipe you out.
The best way to fight identity theft is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Keep the following three tips in mind on how to avoid being a victim of identity theft or online fraud.
1. Keep your personal records safe. While identity theft and fraud generally happen online, you may also be robbed of your identity offline. Prior to the Internet, many criminals would dumpster dive and look for your sensitive information in the garbage. This still happens. So keep your personal information secure in your home such as in a safe or locked drawer. If you must dispose of such information, you should shred it first.
2. Use a password that is unique. "Password" and "MyPassword1234" are easy to remember, but hardly unique. Other passwords to avoid are pet's names, phone numbers, birthdays, and anything else easily guessed. Also, you should avoid using the same password for all your accounts. This way, if one password is compromised, some of your accounts will be unaffected.
3. Don't give out personal information over the phone. There are many scammers that are attempting to use telephone calls to get personal information. These phone calls will often sound official, such as a department store’s credit department calling in order to get payment. Typically, legitimate businesses will not require anything too personal over the phone.
- Identity Theft (FindLaw)
- Detecting Identity Theft: Has Someone Stolen Your Identity? (FindLaw's Common Law)
- IRS Trash Puts Consumers at Risk of Identity Theft, Report Finds (FindLaw's Common Law) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40733000 |
Haumea is a dwarf planet found in the Kuiper belt, a region of the Solar System lying beyond the orbit of Neptune. It was discovered in mid-2005 and revived attention for its odd shape, looking like a "plump cigar". Huamea's diameter is approximately the same as that of the dwarf planet Pluto, but is much thinner. Jaumea rotates approximately ever four hours giving it the fastest rotation period for large objects in the solar system.
Haumea is named after the Hawaiian god of the same name. Haumea's two moons, Hiʻiaka and Namaka, were named after the Hawaiian god's daughters. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40737000 |
1- “See the women and children going to the train, Fair-you-well, my husband, if I never see you again, The engineer turned his head When he heard so many were dead; So many have lost their lives.
Isn’t it sad, isn’t it sad? Excursion left Durham going to Charlotte, North Carolina Isn’t it sad, isn’t it sad? So many have lost their lives.
2- Some of us have mothers standing at the train, Fare-well-well, my daughters, I may never see you again, And the train began to fly And some didn’t come back alive; So many have lost their lives.
3- The firemen said to the Engineer, “We are something late, We don’t want to meet up with the local freight,” The local was on the line And they could not get there on time; SO many have lost their lives.
4- When the news got to Durham, some said it was a lie, But there were some in the Hospital almost ready to die, And there poor old mothers, you know, They were running from door to door; Because so many have lost their lives.
5- Now colored people I will tell you to your face, The train that left Durham was loaded with our race, And some did not think of dying When they rode on down the line; So many have lost their lives;
6- They put the dead in coffins and sent them back to town, And then they were taken to the burying ground, You could hear the coffin sound When they let those bodies down; So many have lost their lives. By Franklin Williams and William Firkins.
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.
The images and audio files contained in the "So Mote It Ever Be: The Folksong Heritage of North Carolina's Northern Blue Ridge Mountains" collection are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used (e.g. I. G. Greer/W. Amos Abrams Manuscript Files Series, Folksong Files Subseries, W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC). Any commercial use of the materials without the written permission of Appalachian State University is strictly prohibited. Please contact the Appalachian State University W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection with specific questions or with requests for further information. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40742000 |
Autism is a genetic disorder. We've known this ever since the 1970s when studies by Susan Folstein and Michael Rutter showed that genetically identical twins are much more likely to both be autistic than non-identical twins. These findings were incredibly important at the time and fundamentally changed the way people think about autism. But they didn't tell us which genes cause autism or, perhaps more importantly, how they do it.
I've just been attending the Autism Brain Research meeting in San Diego. Much of the first day was dedicated to genetic research and animal models of autism. The gist of the talks was that, while there are some genetic variations that carry a high risk for autism, these are probably very rare and only account for a very small proportion of cases. Most 'genes for autism' will actually carry a very low risk of the person actually having autism, so identifying these genes is going to be difficult. However, a recent study, just out in Science Translational Medicine, offers a new perspective.
Ashley Scott-Van Zeeland and colleagues focused on one particular gene - CNTNAP2 - apparently referred to colloquially as the "catnap" gene. Previous studies have linked CNTNAP2 to autism, but also to specific language impairment, ADHD, Tourette syndrome, and schizophrenia. It encodes a protein, Caspr2, which is thought to be involved in the migration of cells during brain development and is expressed in frontal and temporal lobes in humans.
In the first part of the study, the authors conducted a genetic test on the saliva of 32 children, half of whom had a diagnosis of autism. Across the whole sample, they identified 9 kids who carried the allele (variant) of the CNTNAP2 gene that has been linked to autism. It's not clear how many of the 9 'at risk' kids were in the autism group, but reading between the lines it seems like a 5:4 split. Then, rather than comparing the autism group to the non-autism group, they compared the 9 children with the 'risk allele' to the remaining 23 children
fMRI was used to record brain activity while participants completed a reward-guided implicit learning task in which they were given a monetary reward for correct responses.
The first main finding was that the 'non-risk' group showed reduced activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). This might sound a bit counter-intuitive, but the MPFC is part of what is termed the 'default mode network' - a collection of brain regions that show reduced rather than increased activity during cognitive tasks. So the risk allele was associated with a reduction in normal reduction in MPFC activity. If that makes sense. Previous studies have reported abnormal patterns of MPFC activity in autism during theory of mind tasks, as well as abnormalities of the default mode network. So this finding fits nicely with the autism research, except for the fact that it's looking at the CNTNAP2 gene, irrespective of autism diagnosis.
The authors also conducted connectivity analysis on residual time series. Put simply, this involved subtracting out activity related to actually completing the task and then looking at which brain regions showed a similar pattern of changes in activity over time as the MPFC. Individuals with the risk allele showed greater connectivity between the MPFC and neighbouring right frontal cortex, but reduced connectivity with more distant regions including the medial occipital cortex and the lateral temporal cortices*. This fits in nicely with the idea that "the frontal cortex in autism might be only talking to itself". Except again this a study relating to a risk allele, not to autism per se.
Just to be sure, the authors then analysed the data from a second study, using a completely different task and a completely different group of subjects. This time none of the subjects were autistic. But the connectivity analysis showed a very similar pattern of results. Individuals with the risk allele showed stronger local connectivity and weaker long-range connectivity with the MPFC.
So really, this study isn't about autism. It's showing a link between a gene associated with autism (CNTNAP2) and individual differences in patterns of brain activity that have been associated with autism. Having this gene doesn't mean that you've got autism. It doesn't even mean there's a high risk of autism. But it may have a subtle effect on the way the brain is wired up and this may put you at an ever-so-slightly higher risk of having autism. Or schizophrenia. Or language difficulties. Presumably, all depending on a host of other genetic and environmental risk factors to which you're also exposed.
One thing I'd really like to know is whether non-autistic individuals with the 'risky' variant of the CNTNAP2 gene differ in terms of their behaviour or cognitive processes. Are there subtle differences, for example, in language or perceptual processing, or their social characteristics? Or are they only observable at the brain level? Looking at this might help us work out which particular aspects of autism might be linked to this neural/genetic pathway.
* The authors also reported that the non-risk group showed focal patterns of connectivity between the MPFC and regions in the left hemisphere classically associated with language processing, including left inferior frontal gyrus, insula, anterior temporal pole, superior temporal gyrus, and angular gyrus. In contrast, the at-risk group showed much more widespread connectivity across both left and right hemispheres. However, while tantalising, it doesn't appear that these differences were statistically significant when direct comparisons were made between the two groups.
- Virginia Hughes (as per usual) had the scoop on this research last year.
- Discover and Time also covered the study
- Lindsay at Autist's corner has recently written about the CNTNAP2 gene and has covered some other autism genetics stories here and here
Scott-Van Zeeland AA, Abrahams BS, Alvarez-Retuerto AI, Sonnenblick LI, Rudie JD, Ghahremani D, Mumford JA, Poldrack RA, Dapretto M, Geschwind DH, & Bookheimer SY (2010). Altered Functional Connectivity in Frontal Lobe Circuits Is Associated with Variation in the Autism Risk Gene CNTNAP2. Science translational medicine, 2 (56) PMID: 21048216 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40748000 |
Bessie (Lake Erie)
Lake Erie – Lake Monster
Lake Erie is located in Cleveland Ohio and there is said to be a creature roaming its waters. There have been many sightings in the waters of Lake Erie of a unknown creature that is known to many by the nickname of “Bessie”. The Lake Erie locals have themselves given this unknown cryptid a name “South Bay Bessie”. The creature has been reported as far back as the 1800′s up until many present day sightings. Most discriptions vary some but the creature is said to have a snake like frame ranging in length from 30 to 40 feet long and having a grayish color.
Sightings of Bessie have started to become a little more frequent over the last two decades. There was an attack in 1992 where 3 people were killed on the lake and the creature was reportedly linked to the tragidy. One of the people who survived the attack was said to make a quote saying “the creature that attacked him has a head the size of a car” , but this report cannot be confirmed so it is considered by many to simply be a local myth or legend.
Many main stream scientist still reject the notion that “Bessie” could be alive and well in Lake Erie. They refer to the fact that the lake does not offer a habitat capable of sustaining a creature the size of bessie alone much less anykind of breading population of the creatures. But many in the cryptozoological field say that it is possible the creature could have adapted to the lake conditions over the years and could very well be alive and well and able to sustain itself.
There is still to this day a reward offered for a humane capture of the living creature known as “Bessie”. Does this lake monster really exist in the waters of Lake Erie ? Well there is yet to be any solid proof to the existance of any cryptid among the waters , but only time will tell if this turns out to be simply a local legend.
The Search Continues – CryPtoReports | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40750000 |
Ball & Beam: System Modeling
A ball is placed on a beam, see figure below, where it is allowed to roll with 1 degree of freedom along the length of the beam. A lever arm is attached to the beam at one end and a servo gear at the other. As the servo gear turns by an angle , the lever changes the angle of the beam by . When the angle is changed from the horizontal position, gravity causes the ball to roll along the beam. A controller will be designed for this system so that the ball's position can be manipulated.
For this problem, we will assume that the ball rolls without slipping and friction between the beam and ball is negligible. The constants and variables for this example are defined as follows:
(m) mass of the ball 0.11 kg
(R) radius of the ball 0.015 m
(d) lever arm offset 0.03 m
(g) gravitational acceleration 9.8 m/s^2
(L) length of the beam 1.0 m
(J) ball's moment of inertia 9.99e-6 kg.m^2
(r) ball position coordinate
(alpha) beam angle coordinate
(theta) servo gear angle
- Settling time < 3 seconds
- Overshoot < 5%
The second derivative of the input angle actually affects the second derivative of . However, we will ignore this contribution. The Lagrangian equation of motion for the ball is then given by the following:
Linearization of this equation about the beam angle, , gives us the following linear approximation of the system:
The equation which relates the beam angle to the angle of the gear can be approximated as linear by the equation below:
Substituting this into the previous equation, we get:
1. Transfer Function
Taking the Laplace transform of the equation above, the following equation is found:
Rearranging we find the transfer function from the gear angle () to the ball position ().
It should be noted that the above plant transfer function is a double integrator. As such it is marginally stable and will provide a challenging control problem.
The transfer function can be implemented in MATLAB as follows:
m = 0.111; R = 0.015; g = -9.8; L = 1.0; d = 0.03; J = 9.99e-6; s = tf('s'); P_ball = -m*g*d/L/(J/R^2+m)/s^2
P_ball = 0.21 ---- s^2 Continuous-time transfer function.
The linearized system equations can also be represented in state-space form. This can be done by selecting the ball's position () and velocity () as the state variable and the gear angle () as the input. The state-space representation is shown below:
However, for our state-space example we will be using a slightly different model. The same equation for the ball still applies but instead of controlling the position through the gear angle, , we will control the torque of the beam. Below is the representation of this system:
Note: For this system the gear and lever arm would not be used, instead a motor at the center of the beam will apply torque to the beam, to control the ball's position.
The state-space equations can be represented in MATLAB with the following commands (these equations are for the torque control model).
H = -m*g/(J/(R^2)+m); A = [0 1 0 0 0 0 H 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0]; B = [0 0 0 1]'; C = [1 0 0 0]; D = ; ball_ss = ss(A,B,C,D)
ball_ss = a = x1 x2 x3 x4 x1 0 1 0 0 x2 0 0 7 0 x3 0 0 0 1 x4 0 0 0 0 b = u1 x1 0 x2 0 x3 0 x4 1 c = x1 x2 x3 x4 y1 1 0 0 0 d = u1 y1 0 Continuous-time state-space model. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40751000 |
Cereal yield, measured as kilograms per hectare of harvested land, includes wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains. Production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded. The FAO allocates production data to the calendar year in which the bulk of the harvest took place. Most of a crop harvested near the end of a year will be used in the following year.
Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40754000 |
Virtual Sailing Program Helps People With Disabilities
"It provides participants with a sense of purpose and hope," says Dexter Township resident Larry Courson, who is working to gauge interest in bringing the V-Sail Trainer simulator to the community.
A virtual sailing program that helps people with spinal cord injuries develop upper body strength and boost coordination skills might be implemented in Dexter.
Dexter Township resident Larry Courson is working to bring the V-Sail Trainer program to the community to help children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities.
"Right now we're just in the planning stages," Courson said. "I'm really looking for volunteers and families with special needs children to indicate whether or not there is an interest."
Similar to flight simulators, the V-Sail trainer program is a sailboat simulator operated by custom designed software. The sailor sails the simulator around virtual courses displayed on a computer screen, or overhead display, in the same way as a real sailboat on water. Electronic sensors provide real time feedback to match the movements of the virtual sailboat displayed on the screen with those of the simulator.
"For some participants, therapeutic sailing acts as a life preserver pulling them out of the depths of despair. It allows them to take control of the wheel and put aside the uncertainty that often capsizes their everyday life. By facilitating teamwork and communication," Courson said. "It provides participants with a sense of purpose and hope."
Courson said he would like to partner with local organizations to acquire the simulator, which costs roughly $40,000.
"The simulator costs too much for just one group, but if we partner together, the cost is negligible," he said.
"Ideally we could house the simulator at the Dexter Wellness Center or at a local church and allow any group to use it," Courson said. "I think it has great potential to help not only special needs children and adults in Dexter, but also cancer patients and people throughout Southeast Michigan with other rehabilitative needs, as well."
Courson said the idea came to him after participating in a recreational sailing club at the University of Michigan last year.
"I wasn't very good (at sailing), and after doing more and more research, I stumbled on this virtual sailing program," he said.
The program is currently available at John’s Hopkins University, and is endorsed by Dr. Norman Saunders, a prominent Australian neurologist, and Dave McCabe, a former NASA engineer.
"I think there is a tremendous need for a program like this in Michigan," Courson said. "There are not enough programs that cater specifically to students with special needs." | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-40765000 |
Subsets and Splits