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What is an S corporation?
An S corporation is a regular corporation that lets you enjoy the limited liability of a corporate shareholder but pay income taxes on the same basis as a sole proprietor or a partner.
In a regular corporation (also known as a C corporation), the company itself is taxed on business profits. The owners pay individual income tax only on money that they draw from the corporation as salary, bonuses or dividends. By contrast, in an S corporation, all business profits “pass through” to the owners, who report them on their personal tax returns (as in sole proprietorships, partnerships and LLCs). The S corporation itself does not pay any income tax, although a co-owned S corporation must file an informational tax return like a partnership or LLC — to tell the IRS what each shareholder’s portion of the corporate income is.
Most states follow the federal pattern when taxing S corporations: They don’t impose a corporate tax, choosing instead to tax the business’s profits on the shareholders’ personal tax returns. About half a dozen states, however, do tax an S corporation like a regular corporation. The tax division of your state treasury department can tell you how S corporations are taxed in your state.
Should you elect S corporation status?
If your corporation meets certain criteria, such as having only shareholders who are U.S. citizens or residents, you can elect to do business as an S corporation. Operating as an S corporation rather than a regular corporation may be wise for several reasons:
- An S corporation generally allows you to pass business losses through to your personal income tax return, using it to offset any income that you (and your spouse, if you’re married) have from other sources.
- When you sell your S corporation, your taxable gain on the sale of the business can be less than if you operated the business as a regular corporation.
But aside from the benefits, S corporations impose strict requirements. Here are the main rules:
- Each S corporation shareholder must be a U.S. citizen or resident.
- S corporation profits and losses may be allocated only in proportion to each shareholder’s interest in the business.
- An S corporation shareholder may not deduct corporate losses that exceed their “basis” in their stock — which equals the amount of their investment in the company plus or minus a few adjustments.
- S corporations may not deduct the cost of fringe benefits provided to employee-shareholders who own more than 2% of the corporation.
Fortunately, your decision to elect to be an S corporation isn’t permanent. If you later find there are tax advantages to being a regular corporation, you can drop your S corporation status after a certain amount of time.
How to elect S corporation status
To be treated as an S corporation, all shareholders must sign and file IRS Form 2553. Shareholders then pay income tax on their share of the corporation’s income whether or not they actually receive the money. If the corporation suffers a loss, shareholders can claim their share of that loss.
S corporation alternatives
You can accomplish the simultaneous goals of limited liability and pass-through taxation by creating a limited liability company (LLC). Because an LLC offers its owners the significant advantage of greater flexibility in allocating profits and losses, and because LLCs aren’t subject to the many restrictions of S corporations, forming an LLC is often the better choice. (To learn more about limited liability companies, see “LLC Basics.”)
Consult an expert
Choosing an ownership structure for your business can be complicated. To find out whether an S corporation, a C corporation or an LLC is the best fit for your company, consult a tax lawyer or an experienced accountant who is knowledgeable about the tax advantages and disadvantages of the various types of ownership structures. | <urn:uuid:9a694619-86fd-432b-b80b-180c75182435> | {
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African pink jacaranda (Jesse Durko, courtesy )
This monthly feature spotlights a plant well-suited for South Florida gardens.
Stereospermum kunthianum, the African pink jacaranda, produces lots of pink trumpet-shaped blooms from February to April. The bright blooms cover the tree particularly heavily after extended drought periods. They are carried in large pendulous panicles and appear before the new foliage emerges. Individual blooms are 1 1/4 to 2 inches wide and 1 1/4 inches long. The lower corolla lip is streaked with red markings, standing out against the overall pink coloration.
The foliage is pinnate with an average of four pairs of leaflets and terminal leaflet. The overall leaf averages 10 inches in length with leaflets about 3 1/4 inches long and 1 1/4 inches wide. Leaves are green above and yellow-green below with prominent veins.
The pink jacaranda varies considerably in size depending on where it grows. Trees growing in moist locations can attain 40 feet in height, whereas trees in very dry rocky areas may only reach 10-15 feet. The dark gray bark sometimes peels like a sycamore, which is ornamental. Sandy well-drained soil and sun are preferred for best growth.
Sources: Jesse Durko's Nursery, 5151 SW 70th Ave. (Viele Road), Davie, 954-792-2297; Wonder Gardens at Sears, University Drive and Broward Boulevard, Plantation, 954-7370-2872; Dynaserv Nursery, 990 S. Flamingo Road, Davie, 954-472-4422; Delray Garden Center, 3827 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, 561-243-6869.
African pink jacaranda
Scientific name: Stereospermum kunthianum
Origin: Mozambique, Zimbabwe
Growth rate: moderate
Nutritional requirements: low
Soil requirements: sandy, well-drained
Salt tolerance: Low-medium
Drought tolerance: high
Light requirements: full sun
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Padraic Colum (18811972). The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived before Achilles. 1921.
Part II. The Return to Greece
Chapter V. Medea Comes to Circe
THEY sailed up the River Ister until they came to the Eridanus, that river across which no bird can fly. Leaving the Eridanus they entered the Rhodanus, a river that rises in the extreme north, where Night herself has her habitation. And voyaging up this river they came to the Stormy Lakes. A mist lay upon the lakes night and day; voyaging through them the Argonauts at last brought out their ship upon the Sea of Ausonia.
It was Zetes and Calais, the sons of the North Wind, who brought the Argo safely along this dangerous course. And to Zetes and Calais Iris, the messenger of the gods, appeared and revealed to them where Circes island lay.
Deep blue water was all around that island, and on its height a marble house was to be seen. But a strange haze covered everything as with a veil. As the Argonauts came near they saw what looked to them like great dragonflies; they came down to the shore, and then the heroes saw that they were maidens in gleaming dresses.
The Argonauts would have drawn the ship close and would have sprung upon the island only that Medea cried out to them. She showed them the beasts that whimpered around the maidens, and then, as the Argonauts looked upon them, they saw that these were not beasts of the wild. There was something strange and fearful about them; the heroes gazed upon them with troubled eyes. They brought the ship near, but they stayed upon their benches, holding the oars in their hands.
Medea sprang to the island; she spoke to the maidens so that they shrank away; then the beasts came and whimpered around her. Forbear to land here, O Argonauts, Medea cried, for this is the island where men are changed into beasts. She called to Jason to come; only Jason would she have come upon the island.
They went swiftly toward the marble house, and the beasts followed them, looking up at Jason and Medea with pitiful human eyes. They went into the marble house of Circe, and as suppliants they seated themselves at the hearth.
Circe stood at her loom, weaving her many-colored threads. Swiftly she turned to the suppliants; she looked for something strange in them, for just before they came the walls of her house dripped with blood and the flame ran over and into her pot, burning up all the magic herbs she was brewing. She went toward where they sat, Medea with her face hidden by her hands, and Jason, with his head bent, holding with its point in the ground the sword with which he had slain the son of Æetes.
When Medea took her hands away from before her face, Circe knew that, like herself, this maiden was of the race of Helios. Medea spoke to her, telling her first of the voyage of the heroes and of their toils; telling her then of how she had given help to Jason against the will of Æetes, her father; telling her then, fearfully, of the slaying of Apsyrtus. She covered her face with her robe as she spoke of it. And then she told Circe she had come, warned by the judgment of Zeus, to ask of Circe, the daughter of Helios, to purify her from the stain of her brothers blood.
Like all the children of Helios, Circe had eyes that were wide and full of life, but she had stony lipslips that were heavy and moveless. Bright golden hair hung smoothly along each of her sides. First she held a cup to them that was filled with pure water, and Jason and Medea drank from that cup.
Then Circe stayed by the hearth; she burnt cakes in the flame, and all the while she prayed to Zeus to be gentle with these suppliants. She brought both to the seashore. There she washed Medeas body and her garments with the spray of the sea.
Medea pleaded with Circe to tell her of the life she foresaw for her, but Circe would not speak of it. She told Medea that one day she would meet a woman who knew nothing about enchantments but who had much human wisdom. She was to ask of her what she was to do in her life or what she was to leave undone. And whatever this woman out of her wisdom told her, that Medea was to regard. Once more Circe offered them the cup filled with clear water, and when they had drunken of it she left them upon the seashore. As she went toward her marble house the strange beasts followed Circe, whimpering as they went. Jason and Medea went aboard the Argo, and the heroes drew away from Circes island. | <urn:uuid:2a02233d-f4bd-4b92-ba50-cbfec86ef2d3> | {
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Storytelling in the Classroom
Storytelling is not the same as reading aloud because it requires greater interaction between the teller and the listener. Therefore, storytelling is a great tool for improving children's communication skills, as well as developing language skills, comprehension, and self-awareness. (Reading and Communication Skills)
To help students use storytelling to foster creativity and to develop social skills and language skills—speaking, listening, and comprehension
Print out selected Building Blocks Character Cards, Know-Kit Cards, character bios, and ABC Coloring Book pages.
If you're going to use the Optional Activity for Older Students, gather a variety of at least 10 to 12 everyday items (pencil, spoon, umbrella, pair of shoes, tape, etc.).
- Gather the students in a large group. Choose a Building Blocks character picture and introduce him or her as a new student in the class. Tell the students some important things to know about their new friend based on the character cards and biography. We will use Ali Rabbit for our example.
Ali Rabbit is 5 years old. He lives with his mom, dad, grandparents, and great grandpa. He has six brothers and sisters. The oldest is aged 17 and the youngest is 5. His favorite sport is soccer. He likes to play on the computer and make music. His good friend is Thurgood Turtle.
- Now, start a story about Ali Rabbit's first day in your classroom. Include specific places and people in the story—the bus driver, the media specialist, etc. Model good storytelling practices for the students to remind them to speak clearly and loudly and to express feelings as they tell the story. Is Ali excited, frightened, or shy about his first day at a new school?
- Then, pass the picture of Ali to a student and have him or her add to the story. Continue passing the picture around the class until Ali's first day at school is complete. You may need to ask questions to prompt the children’s imaginations.
- Next, divide the class into small groups. Select several Know-Kit Cards and/or ABC Coloring Book pages that show Ali Rabbit. For example: Ali asleep on the soccer field, Ali playing the keyboard, Ali crying when someone took away his keyboard, Ali eating peanut butter and apples, Ali at his fifth birthday party, or Ali with his friends.
- Let the group talk about the pictures as they put them into a sequence and begin to make up a story that goes with the pictures. Depending on the age of your students, you may have to help them decide on the sequence of the pictures they will use.
- Have each group come to the front of the class with their pictures and share their story. Have others in the class participate by asking questions about the story or the characters.
- Finally, mix up all the pictures and distribute them around the class. Start a story based on the picture you hold. Then, call on a child to add to your story, using the character in the picture he or she holds. Go around the room and call on students to add to the class story.
- Have the students talk about the different stories and tell what they liked best. Was it more fun to have planned a story with their small group or to mix and match stories as a whole group? Why?
Optional: For Older Students
Place all the everyday items you’ve gathered into a big box. Be sure not to let the students see what's in the box. Then, tell the students that they're going to tell a story using the props in the box. Pass out one prop to the first student and have him or her start the story. Then, in the middle of the story, pass out another prop to a different student, which is the cue to jump into the story. Continue this until all the props are given out. The stories should make everyone laugh with the mismatched items and complicated storyline.
You can start again using the same props, but in a different order. Or, you can have students find their own props to tell an add-on group story.
Please note—to view documents in PDF format, you must have Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader software. If you do not already have this software installed on your computer, please download it from Adobe's Web site. | <urn:uuid:16cca657-1e65-4040-9db7-6bc51ce437c3> | {
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As a sleep researcher for Select Comfort, I often witness poor sleep strategies that result in a diminished quality of life. Insufficient or in adequate sleep not only affects how we look and feel, it also has far more dire consequences. Research firmly links poor sleep with many cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity. It’s linked to accidents in the workplace, on the road and at home, and negatively impacts our memory, problem-solving capacity and mood.
As a former high school math teacher (and father of two extremely active daughters in the third and sixth grades), I deeply appreciate the teaching profession and its influence on our children. Not many lines of work are more demanding than those in education, and quality sleep plays a critical role in virtually every function of a teacher’s day. Deficiencies in sleep can show up in many places:
Lack of stamina. Sleep has many functions, but fundamentally it’s designed to provide us with about sixteen hours of sustained, alert wakefulness. From the second we wake in the morning “pressure” begins to build to go back to sleep. If you didn’t start the day with a good 7.5 to 8 hours of quality sleep, you begin the day with a sleep debt that will reveal itself early in the afternoon. That insuppressible urge to yawn or feeling of nodding off right after lunch is a tell-tale sign of inadequate sleep. Many suppress it with caffeine—but that introduces a classic vicious circle. Caffeine has a half-life of up to seven hours. Half the caffeine you consume mid-afternoon will still be affecting you at bed time, diminishing the quality of your sleep creating even more sleep debt as you begin the next day.
Diminished immunity. Excellent research clearly shows that the amount and quality of your sleep directly affects your susceptibility to respiratory illnesses, including the common cold. A study at Carnegie Mellon revealed that those sleeping less than 7 hours per night were nearly three times more likely to catch the cold when exposed to the common cold virus than those sleeping eight hours a night. Furthermore, poor sleepers—defined as those actually in bed for eight hours but awake for 38 minutes or more (due to trouble falling asleep, tossing and turning, getting up during the night, etc.) — were five and a half times more likely to catch the cold compared to sound sleepers. Another study at the University of Chicago found that the effectiveness of the flu vaccination is delayed if you are inoculated when sleep deprived.
Accidents. Safety in our schools and outside our schools depends on lots of high-quality sleep. Our physical reaction times and speed of thought are dulled when sleep deprived, similar to the effects of alcohol. In fact a well-publicized study found that when we are awake for about 17 – 19 consecutive hours, our impairment is equivalent to having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .07 (almost legally drunk in most states.) Several consecutive nights of insufficient sleep can produce the same effects. Countless times during the day we rely on a high level of vigilance and reaction speed to prevent accidents from happening.
Inefficiency. Great teachers are creative, solve problems on the fly, can handle multiple tasks simultaneously and exude a caring attitude towards the students; but only if they are well-rested. The areas of the brain responsible for these cognitive roles all require generous amounts of high-quality sleep to function properly. When we are even slightly sleep deprived, our ability to multi-task takes a hit, as does our creativity, problem solving and mood. The later segments of a good night’s sleep are dominated by rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. As it turns out, that stage of sleep is critical for our higher order mental functioning. Trying to “get by” on six hours of sleep wreaks havoc on the amount of REM sleep we typically get—so don’t skimp!
Weight gain. Sixty percent of our nation is overweight with nearly 30 percent being obese—and it affects health care costs, productivity and overall well-being. More than a dozen studies have confirmed that our nation’s weight problem is tied to insufficient sleep. When we’re sleepy, we aren’t as active during the day and we tend to put off our exercise regimen. There also is evidence that we simply burn fewer calories during the day when sleep deprived. On the metabolic level, the hormones that regulate our appetite are disrupted when we sleep less than we should. The signal for hunger is artificially higher than normal and the signal for satiety is lower—we’re always hungry and never satisfied. When we’re tired, our brains compensate by consuming unnecessary calories that quickly turn into unwanted pounds. Research also confirms that when sleep deprived, we tend to abandon our dietary choices, gravitating from healthier foods to those with more sugars and starches.
Many of your students are sleep deprived and may not understand or appreciate its importance. We talk a lot about diet and the role of exercise with our children, but often overlook sleep. As teachers and parents, we can start by setting a good example! In fact, Select Comfort, the maker of the Sleep Number bed, is helping teachers get a better night’s sleep. Please read Sleep Number Helps Teachers Make the Grade.
Evelyn, a grade-school teacher in Omaha, NE, understands the importance of sleep as it relates to her students and said, “As teacher of a lively group of 10 year-olds, my day can only be described as hectic and demanding! A quality night’s sleep is a must, and I find the Sleep Number Bed to be the perfect solution to getting a good night’s rest. It enables me to function at my best and give my students the education they deserve. Their energy level is high and so is mine!” | <urn:uuid:7298b960-0c03-4044-8715-0816d05e7ad2> | {
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- Dysbarism is a collective term for all illnesses resulting from changes in ambient pressure that occur at a rate exceeding the capacity of the person to adapt safely. Conditions such as decompression sickness (the bends), arterial gas embolism (AGE), and barotrauma may result.
- Decompression illness is a term that refers to both decompression sickness and AGE.
- Diagnosis of dysbarism can usually be made on history and examination alone.
- Gas coming out of solution and forming bubbles is the prime cause of decompression sickness, whereas gas contraction and expansion causes barotrauma.
- Any body tissue can be affected, resulting in a wide variety of clinical presentations. Any new symptom with a close temporal relation to diving should be presumed due to dysbarism until shown to be otherwise.
- The unpredictability of ultimate outcome at the onset of any decompression illness requires each case to be managed as a medical emergency.
- Recompression is the mainstay of treatment for decompression illness. Early administration improves outcome.
- Oxygen administration plays a key role in all cases of decompression illness, both as emergency treatment and during recompression.
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Actualizado por última vez: oct 23, 2012 | <urn:uuid:1e8dc9b4-ae25-45c5-88b3-0d74661c911e> | {
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What's the Latest Development?
Using location data gathered by personal mobile phones, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have created the first map that tracks the spread of malaria by examining movement patterns among Kenya's population. Between 2008 and 2009, researchers followed the movement of 15 millions Kenyans, out of a total population of close to 40 million. Then they combined the data with "maps of population distribution and malaria prevalence over the same period to create, for the first time, a map that correlates large-scale trends in movement to the spread of the disease."
What's the Big Idea?
Because of how malaria spreads, the disease is particularly sensitive to the movement of affected populations. "Malaria is usually associated with the bite of infected female mosquitoes. But once humans contract the disease, they can act as a vector if they are bitten by uninfected insects, which then spread the parasite to other people." Tom Scott of the Mosquito Research Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, said the research will be essential in finding and targeting the human transmission routes of the parasites that cause malaria.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com | <urn:uuid:8bee974a-a16f-4213-9552-52fa20c4d393> | {
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Using Energy2D to simulate Trombe wallsFebruary 26th, 2013 by Charles Xie
A Trombe wall is a sun-facing wall separated from the outdoors by glass and an air space. It consists a solar absorber (such as a dark surface) and two vents for air in the house to circulate through the space and carry the solar heat to warm the house up. In a way, a Trombe wall is like a machine that uses air as a convey belt of thermal energy harvested from the sun. Trombe walls are very simple and easy to make and are sometimes used in passive solar green buildings.
Hiding sophisticated power of computational fluid dynamics behind a simple graphical user interface, our Energy2D software can easily simulate how a Trombe wall works. The two images in this blog post show screenshots of a Trombe wall simulation and its closeup version. You can play the simulation on this page and download the models there. If you open the models using Energy2D, you should be able to see how easy it is to tweak the models and create realistic heat flow simulations.
Solar chimneys operate based on similar principles. Energy2D should be able to simulate solar chimneys as well. Perhaps this would be a good challenge to you. (I will post a solar chimney simulation later if I figure out how to do it.) | <urn:uuid:7952d206-7f8f-4e5e-af31-07bba74ec3ee> | {
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For the past several years, it’s not been an uncommon sight in Anytown, USA, to drive down the street and see home after home for sale after going through foreclosure. They are the still-lingering hangover from the housing crash that began in 2007. Though the true cause of what burst America’s housing bubble is still debated, two of the culprits — housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are still going strong even though both essentially failed in 2008 and are under government control. Economists and politicians alike are now pondering whether we need Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at all and what would happen if they were eliminated altogether.
For several years prior to 2007, home prices went through the roof, but then they crashed through the basement. Since then, more than 2.3 million homeowners have faced foreclosure — an 81 percent increase over 2007. This all, of course, contributed to the Great Recession we’re still rebuilding from today. “Easy credit” is pointed to as the corrosive acid that ate away at the housing market’s foundation, and federal government-sponsored mortgage finance giants — the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) — were there to supply it and help other lenders to do so.
Consistent with policies dating back to the Carter and Clinton Administrations, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made it easier for low and moderate income Americans to obtain mortgages and purchase homes. In a new paper from The Heritage Foundation, A Housing Market Without Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Effect on Home Prices, Nahid Anaraki reports that this “fueled an excessive expansion of credit in the housing sector, shifted the demand for real estate to the right, and caused home prices to overshoot their underlying market equilibriums.” In other words, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s intervention in the housing market helped to fuel the boom-to-bust housing bubble by subsidizing interest rates and enabling reduced down payment requirements on single-family homes, thus unnaturally boosting demand and causing prices to go up.
The trouble with all this, Heritage reports, is that though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made it easier for a family to buy a home, in the long run their actions have a detrimental effect on the economy, as America has witnessed.
So what would happen if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were phased out? Would the absence of their ability to offer lower interest loans and smaller down payments impact the cost of homes in America? Anaraki’s analysis shows that it would not. In fact, interest rates and changes in down payment requirements have little influence on housing prices. Instead, fundamentals–such as household assets, personal income, the S&P Index, and the effective tax rate–play substantial roles in shaping home prices. As such, she advises, it’s time for Washington to get out of the business altogether:
The federal government should avoid offering any subsidy in the form of lower interest rates or lower down payments because it adversely affects both the housing market and the economy over the long term. Although such a policy may boost the demand side in the short term, it risks inflating another housing bubble in the medium or long term.
Eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in fact, will help more Americans afford homeownership. Since these institutions increase demand — thereby increasing home prices — it becomes increasingly difficult for lower-income Americans to afford to purchase homes without subsidized interest rates. If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are eliminated, interest rates may slightly go up initially, but Anaraki finds that “higher interest rates will lead to lower median home prices, which in turn will increase the ability of low-income groups to purchase a house.” What’s more, competition among housing lenders would increase, leading to lower interest rates in the medium to long term.
Owning your own home is the American Dream, but suffering a foreclosure and winding up on the streets is the American Nightmare. In pursuit of encouraging the former, the federal government helped produce the latter. Government intervention by way of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may have given more Americans the keys to their own homes, but they bought homes they could not afford and in a marketplace that could not be sustained. As Heritage showed in an earlier paper, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can be phased out without disrupting the housing recovery. A better way forward is to phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and let the home market find a healthy and sustainable equilibrium.
- One in seven Americans — 45 million people — received food stamps in 2011, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That’s a 70% increase from 2007 that is only expected to grow.
- The House last night voted in favor of a $46 billion tax cut for small businesses with fewer than 500 employees. The White House has vowed to veto the bill, and it is expected to fail in the Senate.
- An increasing number of Democrats in Congress are expressing concerns and regrets over Obamacare. But meanwhile, unions are targeting Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire (PA) in his primary election because he voted against the legislation.
- How well do you think you know the Constitution? If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about it, now is your chance. Heritage just launched ConstitutionOnline – a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of every single clause in the Constitution.
- Lunchtime Web Chat: Want to learn more about the Constitution? Do you have questions about how it applies to America today? Then join us for our lunchtime web chat today from 12 to 1 pm ET. Click here to participate on The Foundry. | <urn:uuid:e0d91386-3ef7-4243-84a5-0f25811facea> | {
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As oil reaches a new record of $143 per barrel today, I think it’s safe to say that energy – and possible alternatives to fossil fuels – are topics on everyone’s mind. Before the development of fossil-fuel based energy technology, wind-power wasn’t an alternate form of energy – it was just the way things were done.
Julian Lamborn, Master Docent for the Wiess Energy Hall, has been kind enough to share the history of wind technology as well as share his case for developing wind energy today, in this two-part post.
Shakespeare had it right when he penned: “Blow, blow thou winter wind, thou art not so unkind.”
The winds of the world today bring with them the promise of low cost, renewable and sustainable electricity which will help feed the world’s insatiable demand for energy. One perk of using wind energy is it has a low atmospheric pollution potential.
In 2007, the globally installed capacity of electricity generation from wind increased by some 26.6% over 2006.
|photo credit: JoshMcConnell|
The global capacity of wind-generated electricity is currently equivalent to some 1.3% of the world’s electricity needs with Germany producing the most wind power. In fact, Germany has 22,247 megawatts of installed wind generating capacity which meets between 5% and 7% of the country’s electricity needs.
Here in the USA (which, at 16,818 MW, is second only to Germany in installed, wind-generating capacity) about 1% of our electricity needs are met by wind generation and in Texas particularly, this number rises to 3%. Texas is also the state that uses the most wind energy.
|photo credit: .Martin.|
It’s all very well talking about a megawatt of wind generated power, but what can it actually do for you in your home? In very round numbers, one megawatt of wind generating capacity typically will satisfy the electricity needs of 350 households in an industrial society, or roughly 1,000 people per year. Although wind generators are placed in windy areas and designed to run optimally at wind speeds between 25 and 35 mph, wind does not blow all the time. In the USA wind generators work at about 30.5% of their capacity.
But, of course, this is the modern story.
| photo credit:
Wouter de Bruijn
The first windmills were developed to automate the tasks of grain-grinding and water-pumping. The earliest-known design is the vertical axis system developed in Persia about 500-900 C.E. (although there is some suggestion that King Hammurabi of Babylon in c 1760 B.C.E used wind driven scoops to move water for irrigation). The first known documented design of a Persian windmill is one with vertical sails made of bundles of reeds or wood which were attached to the central vertical shaft by horizontal struts.
Windmills as we know them today from paintings by the Dutch Masters first appeared in the late Middle Ages, although it took another 500 or so years for the highly efficient mills of the Dutch to be fully developed.
However, by the late 19th century, all the technology was in place to allow the design of the first power-generating wind-mill. This first use of a large windmill to generate electricity was a system built in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1888, by Charles F. Brush. Compared to today’s behemoths producing up to 3.6 MW or more, Bush’s machine was a lightweight producing just 12 KW!
The modern wind powered generating devices, such as those near Abilene, typically each produce 1.5 to 2 MW of power at around the same 4.5 cent cost per kilowatt-hour as electricity from coal but without the co-production of greenhouse gases. | <urn:uuid:2b23f76d-332c-4a6b-9fe0-fa8ab006d6f2> | {
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When the father of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas was dying, it inspired Thomas to write one of his most famous works, “Do not go gentle into that good night.” The poem encourages Thomas’s father, and its readers, to fight for their lives when they approach death. The constant refrain in the poem is “Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” meaning that one should defy death as much as possible. Similarly, in the opening stanza, Thomas states, “Old age should burn and rave at close of day” (2), continuing his theme of staying strong, as well as the metaphor of nighttime as death.
Thomas isn’t necessarily negative in his attitude toward death. He writes, “…wise men at their end know dark is right” (4). By this he means that smart people realize that death is the next logical step, and they acknowledge that it must happen. The rest of the poem offers examples of people who come to realize their misconceptions about life, and how this makes them reluctant to die. One of these instances is, “Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight/Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,/Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (13-15). “Grave,” or sad, men, that are dying are finally able to see with astounding clarity (“blinding sight”) how even people in unfortunate situations are capable of being happy. Even people with “blind eyes” can “be gay.” In these stanzas Thomas conveys the notion that our regrets in life tend to make us feel that we are not ready for death.
The last stanza of the poem is a direct plea from Thomas to his father: “And you, my father, there on the sad height,/Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears…” (16-17). Thomas refers to his father’s near-death state as “the sad height”; it is an achievement to have made it through to the end of our lives, but it is obviously bittersweet. Dylan Thomas’s appeals to his father to “curse” and “bless” him with his “fierce tears,” mean that although Thomas will be saddened by his father’s death, he wants his father to make him appreciate life. The tears have to be “fierce” in order to display how passionate his father was about life. The poet then entreats his father to follow the commands he’s been making throughout the piece: “…I pray,/Do not go gentle into that good night./Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (17-19). These instructions are made more powerful by the fact that Thomas includes the phrase, “I pray.” He is begging his father to do what he asks. Above all else, Thomas wants his father to fight for his life, rather than just give up, because Thomas sees the value in his father’s, and all, life. | <urn:uuid:c88156f9-ddd3-4294-acec-f696f9a3e7a4> | {
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NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has had virtually unbroken coverage of the sun’s rise toward solar maximum, the peak of solar activity in its regular 11-year cycle. This video shows those three years of the sun at a pace of two images per day.
These noteworthy events appear at the following times in the video:
00:30;24 Partial eclipse by the moon
00:31;16 Roll maneuver
01:11;02 August 9, 2011 X6.9 Flare, currently the largest of this solar cycle
Video description: The Sun unleashed a medium-sized solar flare that is visually spectacular. The large cloud of particles mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area of almost half the solar surface.
Two NASA spacecrafts observed this event from three different view-points.
Image description: At the end of August, a filament from the sun suddenly erupted into space. The filament had been held up for days by the Sun’s ever changing magnetic field and the timing of the eruption was unexpected. Learn more about the eruption.
Image from the Solar Dynamics Observatory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Image description: Should you put sunscreen on infants? Not usually. The best approach is to keep infants under 6 months out of the sun, especially between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
But when you are outside together, here are some of the most important ways to protect your infant from the harmful rays of the sun: an umbrella and brimmed hat for shade, a cooler for liquids, a bottle for hydration, and clothing for covering the skin.
Image description: These images show a solar flare as observed on January 23. You can see the sun’s surface brighten as gas was superheated and magnetically supercharged. In the far right image, there is a stream of solar material flowing into space, likely solar protons and a coronal mass ejection.
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are not a danger to humans on Earth. The planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere deflect and absorb the energy. Sun storms can pose some risks to astronauts, and upset science, military, and communications satellites. | <urn:uuid:520aab0d-fde8-4b8b-abbf-fde142a3feea> | {
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In July 2006, Andy Carvin, host of the PBS blog learning.now, examined the attitude of teachers toward using Wikipedia in the classroom. He asked: “Are educators hostile to Wikipedia?”. The answers ranged from one high school teacher who told Andy “Most colleagues had never seen Wikipedia, never intended to go there, and some had already warned their students that they were not to use Wikipedia for class projects” to another teacher who objected “I use Wikipedia all the time as a quick way to get a first pass on a subject I’m not familiar with, and I don’t see any reason why students shouldn’t be taught to use it the same way.” Most of the participants were arguing about whether their students should use Wikipedia as a source of information, not whether the students should contribute to it.
Carvin had already pointed out in 2005 that asking students to actively contribute to Wikipedia might be a model worth exploring . Now, he stated: “It may be just a matter of time before we see highly organized educational activities, with teams of students from around the world working together to improve the quality of content on Wikipedia.”
- The past year
The past year has shown that those educational activities that Andy Carvin was envisioning in 2005 can be an effective means of improving Wikipedia’s quality. Building on the experiences of teachers like Jon Beasley-Murray (Was introducing Wikipedia to the classroom an act of madness leading only to mayhem if not murder?) and others, the Wikimedia Foundation started an experimental pilot project (the Public Policy Initiative) to explore the challenges and opportunities of student-based Wikipedia-editing on a larger scale. More than 800 students from 22 U.S. universities contributed about 5,600 pages of high quality content to the English Wikipedia. Articles written by those students improved by an average of 140 percent. Moreover, our pilot project sparked a high level of interest from media and teachers around the world.
Over the initial 12 months of the pilot project, we have built a strong knowledge base about running a class-based program as well as the tools needed to implement it (training handbooks, brochures on how to start editing, how-to videos, sample syllabi, etc.) We have also recruited and trained Wikipedia Ambassadors, whose role is to teach students about the basics of Wikipedia and to support them with their first edits. We are now at a point to make these investments pay off.
- The Global Education Program and the year ahead
Beginning in 2011, we will expand Wikipedia editing in university classrooms to institutions around the world. That’s what we call the “Global Education Program”. It will support the Wikimedia Foundation’s strategic goal to grow, strengthen, and increase the Wikipedia editor community. It will also improve Wikipedia’s quality and increase Wikipedia’s credibility within academia.
Our priorities for expansion in year one will be India and Brazil, and we will also start activities in a couple of other countries. Whereas the Public Policy Initiative had a narrow topical focus, the new Global Education Program will encourage teachers from all disciplines to engage their students in Wikipedia editing.
What are the big challenges we are going to tackle in year one?
- Scalability. Based on the current growth, we are planning to have more than 10,000 students enrolled in our program by 2013. That means that we will need a much larger number of Wikipedia Campus and Online Ambassadors to support teachers and students. Therefore, we are planning to move the Ambassador training online and explore new models of letting volunteers take ownership of the program.
- Standards and guidelines. For a global volunteer-driven program like ours, it will be important that all participants have a shared understanding of what the goals are and how we are planning to achieve these goals. That’s where standards and guidelines come into play. The education systems and the culture of education varies from country to country, and we aim at being as flexible as possible in the implementation of our model. At the same time, we need to make sure that the quality of our support for teachers and students meets the same standards globally.
- Communication. At the Wikipedia in Higher Education Summit last month, we have seen how powerful it can be when participants of our program share their experiences and learnings with each other. Our goal for the next year will be to give volunteers a stronger voice in storytelling and also to develop tools that enable participants to share their materials and best practices more effectively.
For me, the year ahead is the next step toward the vision that Andy Carvin outlined in 2005. Wikipedia belongs in Higher Education. And it’s not a matter of time anymore that students from around the world will work together to improve the quality of content on Wikipedia. The future of Wikipedia in Education is now.
Global Education Program Director | <urn:uuid:380d8140-8301-41af-87d6-53269fb073df> | {
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Over 4 billion years ago the young and barren Earth was being buffeted by meteor strikes, and that violent bombardment could have created the first amino acids that then gave rise to the origin of life on the planet, a new study suggests. The hellish temperatures and pressures generated when an extraterrestrial object strikes Earth at speeds of several kilometers per second are enough to shatter and vaporize rock…. Yet part of such an immense burst of energy can trigger chemical reactions that generate complex organic substances from basic inorganic ingredients, says Takeshi Kakegawa [Science News].
Previously, researchers have suggested that organic molecules may have been created elsewhere in the universe and were brought to Earth by meteors. But the new study, in which researchers simulated the impact of meteorites in the primordial ocean, argues that the organic molecules could have been synthesized from the inorganic molecules already present on the planet when the meteorites crashed into the ocean. Other researchers have suggested similar processes for the creation of organic molecules on Earth, including lightning strikes or chemical reactions surrounding hot, volcanic vents in the deep sea.
In the study, published in Nature Geoscience [subscription required], the researchers fired meteorite-like balls of iron and carbon into a mixture of water and ammonia, meant to resemble the oceans billions of years ago. In the experiment, the researchers found that the iron and carbon were heated by the impact and reacted with hydrogen and nitrogen to form biomolecules, including fatty acids, amines and the amino acid glycine [Cosmos Online]. Amines are the building blocks for more complex amino acids, and fatty acids are found in cell membranes.
While experts describe the results as plausible, the research hasn’t won over everyone. “It’s neat to show that you could harness the energy of impacts to create organic bonds,” says Jennifer Blank, an astrobiologist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. But she fears that theories of life’s origin may never move beyond the hypothetical. “As someone in the general field, one of the frustrations, of course, is that we’re never going to know the answer,” she says. “But as another mechanism for contributing to the inventory of organic compounds, this is cool” [Scientific American].
80beats: New Results from a 1953 Experiment Offer Hints to the Origin of Life
80beats: The Earth’s Oldest Diamonds May Show Evidence of Earliest Life
DISCOVER: Life’s Fifth Element Came From Meteors | <urn:uuid:5bf43055-b25f-4836-87bd-ac23a3404a0b> | {
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HIV Becomes a Chronic Disease
Chronic disease often calls up bad images for people because it means living with the disease for a long time. But… there was a time when cancer wasn’t chronic disease because people got sick and died pretty quickly. The same goes for HIV. When it was first discovered in the early 80s people quickly transitioned to AIDS and died shortly after diagnosis. Now science and medicine have advanced so far, that HIV and AIDS are both more like chronic diseases. They’ve even come close to what could be considered a vaccine – a discovery so important researchers released it before the rest of the study was finished. The CDC celebrated World HIV day this week by releasing a new issue of Vital Signs.
We’re also keeping up with the times and changing how we handle HIV & AIDS. The folks who work in HIV/AIDS prevention are moving into our Bureau of Tobacco and Chronic Disease. This makes so much sense – a lot of the messaging is the same. People need to learn to control the symptoms, reduce the stressors (like tobacco use or high blood pressure), exercise, eat well and get regular health screenings. We’ll continue with our surveillance efforts in our Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Control.
Leave a Reply
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Mosque (in Spanish “mosque” in Arabic مسجد “Masjid”) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cordoba, Spain. It was originally designed as a warehouse / temple / lighthouse. Later, he became the second largest mosque in the world.
Construction of the mosque began in about the sixth century after Christ as Christian church Visigoths. Later, Mezquita (Mosque originally Aljama) was more than two centuries to restore the mosque in 784 AD, under the leadership of the first Muslim Emir Abd ar-Rahman I, which uses it as a supplement to his palace and named in honor of his wife . Land was purchased the Amir of the previous owners. It is anticipated that the Visigoths site includes the Cathedral of San Vicente. If the forces of Tariq ibn Ziyad first occupied Cordoba in the year 711, Christian cathedral was suppressed.
Several explanations have been proposed to explain the unorthodox indication of the mosque. Some believe that Mihrab faces south, because the foundation of the mosque, were from the ancient Romans and Visigoths building. Others argue that Abd al-Rahman Mihrab sent to the south, as if he was still in the Ummayyad capital of Damascus, not in exile. | <urn:uuid:1ccaf6fc-36d6-4781-b460-d447f1113ad2> | {
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Douglass Jacobs, an associate professor of forestry and natural resources, found that American chestnuts grow much faster and larger than other hardwood species, allowing them to sequester more carbon than other trees over the same period. And since American chestnut trees are more often used for high-quality hardwood products such as furniture, they hold the carbon longer than wood used for paper or other low-grade materials.
"Maintaining or increasing forest cover has been identified as an important way to slow climate change," said Jacobs, whose paper was published in the June issue of the journal Forest Ecology and Management. "The American chestnut is an incredibly fast-growing tree. Generally the faster a tree grows, the more carbon it is able to sequester. And when these trees are harvested and processed, the carbon can be stored in the hardwood products for decades, maybe longer."
At the beginning of the last century, the chestnut blight, caused by a fungus, rapidly spread throughout the American chestnut's natural range, which extended from southern New England and New York southwest to Alabama. About 50 years ago, the species was nearly gone.
New efforts to hybridize remaining American chestnuts with blight-resistant Chinese chestnuts have resulted in a species that is about 94 percent American chestnut with the protection found in the Chinese species. Jacobs said those new trees could be ready to plant in the next decade, either in existing forests or former agricultural fields that are being returned to forested land.
"We're really quite close to having a blight-resistant hybrid that can be reintroduced into eastern forests," Jacobs said. "But because American chestnut has been absent from our forests for so long now, we really don't know much about the species at all."…
Douglass Jacobs examines a young hybrid of the American chestnut. He expects the trees could be reintroduced in the next decade. (Purdue University file photo/Nicole Jacobs) | <urn:uuid:ade2c38d-a45b-4987-9c84-8d2fc184da53> | {
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int WidthInInches(int feet);
// Initialize variables by calling functions.
int feet = WidthInFeet();
int wd = WidthInInches(feet);
// Display results.
std::cout << "Width in inches = " << wd;
std::cout << "Enter width in feet: ";
std::cin >> feet;
int WidthInInches(int feet)
return feet * 12;
I'm a new to C++ and I understand that it reads up to down. However, I don't understand how the last part could return a number and then that number is returned to the out line in the main function. Can someone please explain this? | <urn:uuid:a1a9e390-3568-45d2-be7e-695120f07aa9> | {
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This is the day that … Lyman Beecher was born in Connecticut, in 1775.
He has been described as “the father of more brains than any other man in America”, a reference to his 13 children. These included the famous preacher, Henry Ward Beecher, and the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe. As a matter of fact, “all his sons were well known as preachers” (Concise Universal Biography, page 222).
But Rev. Lyman Beecher was a giant among giants himself. He was educated at Yale in the days when it was barely above a secondary school in its facilities. The students were of dubious character at times.
Beecher was appalled by the example of his peers, but found his ideal in Timothy Dwight, the new President of Yale. It was Dwight who stirred Yale into a religious fervor that led to many revivals in the next twenty-five years. Lyman graduated in 1797 and spent the next year in Yale Divinity School under the tutelage of Dwight as his mentor.
Ordained to the Presbyterian ministry in 1797, he pastored three large churches (Litchfield, Connecticut; Boston; and Cincinatti), was well known as a revivalist, an educator and a social reformer. He brought revival but also controversy. His preaching on temperance was just one of the themes that offended his parishioners at times.
He was one of the founders of the American Bible Society and President of Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinatti.
Initially he opposed Charles Finney’s new revival techniques and theology, but a few years later he admitted his worth and even invited Finney to hold meetings in Boston. Lyman Beecher found himself in ‘hot water’ with his Presbyterian brethren who had little time for the famous revivalist. After all, Finney taught “man was able to repent in response to God’s grace” (Dictionary of American Biography, page 38).
As a result Beecher was actually tried for heresy … but acquitted.
He was already one of America’s best known preachers by the age of 50, when he moved to Boston, seeking better payment for his skills and status.
His next move, to Cincinatti, was motivated by his concern to sure up protestant preaching where the Catholics and Unitarians had already made inroads. His years there were controversial. He used his Presidency of Lane Theological Seminary to train ministers to win the West for Protestantism.
An inveterate opponent of Roman Catholicism and Unitarianism, it is said that one of his fiery sermons apparently helped incite a mob “that resulted in the burning of a convent”.
During those years he was charged with acts of heresy, slander and hypocrisy by opposing religious factions. He resigned from Lane in 1850 and went to live with his son, Henry Ward Beecher, in Brooklyn, where he died on 10 January, 1863, after a long and stormy ministry.
This post is based on the work of my late friend Donald Prout whose love for books and Christian history led him to collate a daily Christian calendar. I continue to work with Don’s wife, Barbara, to share his life work with the world. I have updated some of these historical posts and will hopefully draw from Don’s huge files of clippings to continue this series beyond Don’s original work. More of Don’s work can be found at www.donaldprout.com. I am indebted to Don for awakening in me an interest in Church History, which I previously considered to be a little stuffy and of little practical value. I find in the process of updating Don’s Christian Diary that I am being constantly refreshed, illuminated or challenged by the lives of those who have gone before. | <urn:uuid:3ed46a6e-27cd-4a23-8430-47ae06612086> | {
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Chapter 5 takes place an estimated 9 years after Nebuchadnezzar’s death and about 36 years after the previous chapter. Belshazzar was Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson who took control of the kingdom as his father was on extended leave fighting the Persians. It appears that Daniel had retired from his high place in government. He would have been pretty old at this point, though he also could have lost his position when Nebuchadnezzar died.
The walls of Babylon were 87 feet thick and 100 feet high
It was fairly common for the kings to dine with such large numbers of people as you can see in Esther 1. In this case though, the invading armies are right outside the city walls. This would seem to be incredible arrogance similar to his grandfather, but Herodotus tells us that Babylon had two walls surrounding the city with a moat in between. The walls were 87 feet thick and 100 feet high, so conquering Babylon was not something that happened easily. At the end of the chapter we find out that this would be the night it was captured. Herodotus corroborates the Bible and mentions a festival was going on the night the city was conquered.
Regardless of the city’s security, it was a bad decision to get drunk in front of your lords with an invading army outside. Even worse to taunt a god by desecrating sacred items collected from a temple. Maybe he was doing this to instill a sense of pride to his lords reminding them of past victories, though Daniel seems be very specific about his lack of sobriety.
The handwriting on the wall has always stood out to me as a bizarre miracle by God (bizarre by miracle standards that is). This seems like something you would see in a horror movie. The best interpretation I found of the Aramaic writing said it literally translated to “numbered, numbered, weighed, divided.”
Belshazzar was not given a message of repentance but rather a proclamation of impending judgement. It is evident to us that although the king is just informed of his doom, God had been moving the Medes and Persians in place to execute his plan for some time.
Extra-biblical writings tell us that the Persians blocked the flow of the Euphrates and walked on the riverbed to an unguarded portion of the wall where they climbed up without opposition. Since so many were gathered at the festival, the Babylonians were defeated with relative ease.
Numbered, numbered, weighed, divided
Darius the Mede is not found anywhere else in extra-biblical writings and is a serious point of contention for Bible critics. Cyrus was definitely the king of Persia, so Darius could either be a Babylonian nickname or title similar to Caesar or Pharoah. It also could be referring to the local ruler that Cyrus put in charge of that area. There is no evidence to identify Darius the Mede, but there is also no hard evidence contradicting it. | <urn:uuid:ef4017af-49a6-44b3-89ec-059a1f6c3964> | {
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Warsaw museum to celebrate Jewish life in Poland
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The box-like glass building rises from soil marked by tragedy in the heart of Warsaw's former Jewish district. At certain angles, its luminous facade reflects the outlines of a dark memorial to those who fought and died in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the Nazis.
Yet despite reminders of Jewish suffering all around, the modern building will soon open as a key remembrance site of a mostly upbeat Jewish story, becoming home to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, a major new museum dedicated to the 1,000 years of Jewish existence in Polish lands.
"It is a museum of life," said Sigmund Rolat, a Polish-born Holocaust survivor and American benefactor who has helped bring the museum to life. "We are showing 1,000 years of a magnificent history."
Construction of the building is nearly finished and the museum is scheduled to open in 2013 after nearly 20 years of planning. It will be a celebratory moment for those who have struggled to build a home for this story, among them Polish-born Holocaust survivors with a deep affection for their land of birth: Men like Rolat, 82, and Tad Taube, 81, a Krakow-born entrepreneur who leads two California-based philanthropies that have given $16 million to the project.
The museum fulfills a dream of Jews from around the world to preserve the rich legacy of their ancestors by creating what will be the first-ever museum of Polish Jewish history. Meanwhile, the Polish government, a major partner, also seeks to celebrate both the country's Jewish past and its own past eras of cultural tolerance and diversity. In doing so, the young democracy hopes to burnish its Western credentials and shed a reputation for anti-Semitism that has hung over it in recent decades.
Jewish history was largely ignored in the communist era, and the fact that the museum has risen with the help of the Polish government makes it a monument to a new consciousness and wealth.
"No doubt it is thanks to democracy in Poland that this museum could be created," said Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz.
The project has faced a number of delays, some caused by the global financial crisis that for a time discouraged donations needed to complete the more than $100 million project. A public-private initiative that relies heavily on private funding, the museum has also struggled at times to persuade Jews abroad to help a project "in a country which they feel has not been particularly friendly to Jews," Taube said.
"This was not a slam dunk," Taube said. "But it got easier as the project rose from the ground. Doubts began to be erased."
Museum officials say it will open in stages, with educational and cultural programs starting in April to mark the 70th anniversary of the doomed Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Then in December the heart of the museum is scheduled to open: a core exhibition of eight interactive multimedia galleries organized chronologically. Using diaries, memoirs, film footage and other original sources, the story will unfold in the voices of those living in the historical moment.
With its opening, the museum is expected to join the ranks of world-class Jewish history museums like Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
What will set it apart will be its focus not on tragedy, but on creation, achievement and life. In keeping with that theme, the Warsaw museum will devote just one of the eight galleries to the Holocaust. Visitors, in fact, will not be able to access the Holocaust gallery without passing first through at least one other gallery, a reminder of the life that came long before and which still exists today in Poland's small but growing Jewish community.
The museum will show that the Holocaust — carried out by Adolf Hitler's Germany — was never the inevitable result of relations between Poland's Jews and Christians, despite periods of conflict. Still, museum creators say they will not shy away from showing ugly episodes of Polish anti-Semitism that led to economic boycotts, persecution and even massacres in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The complex message can be expected to challenge stereotypes held by some Poles and some Jews.
Poles, many of whom view their nation exclusively as a land of heroism that resisted the Nazi occupation, have reacted with defensive outrage in past years when acts of anti-Semitic violence during and after the war came to light. It's easy to imagine new controversies erupting when the museum opens and the Polish public is again confronted with oppression of Jews.
Meanwhile, many Jews across the world carry an image of Poland that ignores some nuances. Some view Poland exclusively as a land of suffering for their people, and remembrance trips to Poland tend to consist mostly of visits to Auschwitz, Treblinka, the Warsaw Ghetto memorial and other memorials to tragedy. In many cases their forefathers left Poland in the worst possible moments, with memories of suffering lingering in families. They will be asked to see that Poland, over 1,000 years of history, was for long eras a land that welcomed Jews and where they thrived.
"You don't live in a place for a thousand years and create a great civilization if it's one unmitigated disaster, which of course is one of the perceptions of the history of Polish Jews," said Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, the program director of the core exhibition. "It's a perception that was largely created by the cataclysmic events of the Holocaust. But we don't start with the Holocaust, and we don't end with the Holocaust."
There is much to commemorate. The uninterrupted existence of Jews in Poland over a millennium brought great achievements to Hebrew and Yiddish culture, to science and the arts. Polish Jews also contributed in significant ways to the larger Polish culture, with poets like Julian Tuwim still loved today, studied in schools and remembered in streets names across Poland.
On the eve of World War II, the country was home to Europe's largest Jewish community, with 3.3 million people, or 10 percent of the entire Polish population. Most were killed in the Holocaust.
"This museum honors those who died by remembering how they lived — and how they lived for a thousand years," Kirshenblatt-Gimblett said.
The flourishing of Jewish culture and learning had an influence that reached far beyond Poland, and the museum will celebrate this legacy too. Israel's early leaders included Polish-born Jews like David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin. Poland was also the homeland of many who contributed to American and global culture: Albert Sabin, who developed a vaccine for polio; Isaac Bashevis Singer, the Nobel-winning writer whose books powerfully evoke the lost Yiddish world of his youth; Hollywood pioneers Harry Warner and Samuel Goldwyn; pianist Arthur Rubinstein and entrepreneurs like Max Factor and Helena Rubinstein.
The museum's central story of long life interrupted by tragedy is also carried in the striking architecture of the building, designed by Finnish architect Rainer Mahlamaki. On the outside, it is a square box of glass panels and perforated copper that emits a sea-green hue across a vast park-like square. Its lines are simple, sharp. On the inside, visitors enter a soaring hall with undulating sand-colored walls rising in curves. The chasm shape stands as a metaphor for both the parting of the Red Sea — a reference to the Jewish Biblical past — and the rupture in history created by the Holocaust.
To reach the core exhibition, visitors descend a staircase and enter an installation of sounds, light and graphics that evoke a poetic forest, a reference to the primeval forests of Poland that the first traveling Jewish merchants would have encountered 1,000 years ago. They will hear the word "Po-lin," which is the Hebrew word for "Poland" and also means "rest here," a reminder of how Poland became a land where Jews did indeed find rest after persecutions and expulsions from Spain and the German lands.
Visitors then leave the space of legend to enter a history that began in the 11th century, passing through periods that held both good and bad. | <urn:uuid:e6f9ae1f-c9aa-4492-b85b-33d7487e838a> | {
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Pruning apple trees can be confusing, but not with the Complete Garden plant advice pruning guide encyclopaedia CD-ROM.
Each garden plant on the interactive CD-ROM is accompanied illustrated pruning advice and written explanation to help you.
There are over 20 pruning ilustrations for pruning apple trees alone. The CD is the what, when and how to prune resource.
The interactive plant database CD-ROM is not only a pruning advice resource. The CD-ROM also helps you plan an attractive garden with seasonal colour by suggesting the right plants for your garden conditions.
Interactive means that you can select to see plants and advice to answer your questions quickly and easily.
For example you might be looking for plants to line your path that won’t grow too tall. Simply select a height, the month you want it to be in leaf or flower, a colour, and if the areas is in shade, partial shade or full sun. Click search and the plants to suit your requirements are displayed within seconds.
To be creative you can then find other plants to match your colour scheme and to ensure seasonal change and interest.
Each plant is accompanied with photographs to help with identification plus in-depth planting tips, pests and diseases, and garden styles to inspire your creative ideas. | <urn:uuid:53cf9d53-f0eb-416a-86db-a12d3031e130> | {
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A wage is an amount of money to be paid for a job. There is usually a correlation between the wage paid and the experience of the person to do the job and the level of skill necessary for the job.
Like all market forces, wages are payed based on interactions between the supply curve (how much workers are willing to supply a particular type of labor at a certain wage) and a demand curve (how many workers of a particular type a firm is willing to hire at a particular wage). Wages are typically set at equilibrium. If a minimum wage is imposed that is above this equilibrium, it leads to structural unemployment. If a minimum wage is set below the equilibrium point, it is unlikely to affect that jobs wage unless a complement or substitute job's equilibrium wage is less than the minimum wage (causing ripple effects throughout the related markets). | <urn:uuid:42547fb6-2255-4a71-964e-a07b00076d41> | {
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Though the ultimate reason for the Air France A330 crash in the South Atlantic will likely never be known for sure, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recently issued an urgent Airworthiness Directive to replace certain Thales-manufactured pitot tubes on A330/A340 airplanes. A pitot tube problem is one of the possible explanations for that Air France crash.
For those who don’t know, a pitot tube is a goofy little thing that sticks out from the aircraft into the air. You can see a great example of one at left. These little guys use pressure measurement to determine airspeed. One of the theories regarding the Air France accident is that the pitot tube incorrectly measured airspeed and that triggered all kinds of problems that ultimately led to the accident.
Now, EASA is saying that any A330/A340 aircraft with the Thales pitot tubes need to be changed (and the FAA has followed as well). There are apparently two different types of Thales pitot tubes. The “AA” version must be replaced no matter what. The “BA” version is ok in one place, but the other two places must have Goodrich ones involved.
So what exactly is the problem? According to EASA:
Occurrences have been reported on the A330/A340 family aeroplanes of airspeed indication discrepancies while flying at high altitudes in inclement weather conditions.
The Thales AA pitots have “a greater susceptibility to adverse environmental conditions” than the Goodrich ones. The Thales BA pitots are better, but “it has not yet demonstrated the same level of robustness to withstand high-altitude ice crystals as the Goodrich . . . probe.”
While they say that they haven’t actually found any safety issue and that this is a precautionary measure, the fact that these all need to be replaced within 4 months certainly makes it seem somewhat rushed.
By the way, Air France had Thales pitot tubes, but they’ve already made these changes. Delta has also already made the changes to their A330s. Both US Airways and Lufthansa have always had Goodrich. | <urn:uuid:97f7d485-d459-4ca7-bee5-b2c6773a94dd> | {
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Presidential Timeline of the Twentieth Century
|Collection homeCompact list of all itemsSearch this collection's 32 items|
|Title:||Presidential timeline of the twentieth century|
"The Presidential Timeline was designed and developed by the Learning Technology Center in the University of Texas at Austin College of Education, in conjunction with the Presidential Libraries and Terra Incognita Productions. The Presidential Timeline project was made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities with additional support from The Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation and The University of Texas Libraries." -- About the Project page.
An interactive timeline of Presidential history, presenting materials drawn from the Presidential Libraries. The Presidential Timeline provides a single point of access to an ever-growing selection of digitized assets from the collections of the twelve Presidential Libraries of the National Archives. These assets include document, photographs, audio recordings and video relating to the events of the president' lives. Civil rights materials cover the integration of Central High School in Little Rock and President Johnson's activities related to civil rights.
The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata.
|Types:||Instructional materials | Timelines (chronologies) | Photographs | Government records|
|Subjects:||Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964 | Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 | Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 | Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969 | Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 | Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973 | Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994 | Ford, Gerald R., 1913-2006 | Carter, Jimmy, 1924- | Reagan, Ronald | Bush, George, 1924- | Clinton, Bill, 1946- | Presidents--United States | Presidents--United States--Archives | Presidential libraries--United States | Civil rights movements--United States | African Americans--Civil rights | School integration--Arkansas--Little Rock | Segregation in education--United States | United States | Little Rock (Ark.) | Pulaski County (Ark.)|
|Institution:||Lyndon Baines Johnson Library|
|Contributors:||Lyndon Baines Johnson Library | Terra Incognita Productions | University of Texas Libraries | National Endowment for the Humanities|
|Online Publisher:||Austin, Tex. : The University of Texas at Austin, Learning Technology Center|
|Persistent Link to Item:||http://www.presidentialtimeline.org| | <urn:uuid:8532c8ae-f8ce-4734-a9e5-50257fd01282> | {
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Many Portsmouth men served in the Parachute Regiment during the Second World War.
The Parachute Regiment was formed during the Second World War, after the Germans had used Airborne forces to great effect in the invasion of Holland and Belgium in 1940. Although initially Britian’s Airborne forces operated as small raiding parties, by the time it came to invade Europe in June 1944 the Airborne forces had expanded into 2 full Divisions, each of over 10,000 men. Each contained 2 Brigades of Parachute troops, and there was also an independent Parachute Battalion in the Mediterranean. The Parachute Regiment had expanded enormously to more than 10 Battalions.
During the war men could only volunteer for the Para’s from another unit, not directly from civilian life. They underwent strenuous physical training, and in addition had to complete a number of parachute jumps to obtain their parachute wings and additional pay. Naturally, they soon earned a reputation as among Britain’s toughest troops. The Germans nicknamed them ‘Der Roten Tefuel’ – the Red Devils. Field Marshal Montgomery paid the paras perhaps their most timeless tribute when he described them thus:
‘They are in fact, men apart. Every man an Emperor’
More Pompey paras are bound to emerge from the records as I carry on analysing the list of war dead, but here are some names and stories from among the first 600 names I have researched.
Private John Byng, 21, was killed in action in Tunisia on 11 March 1943, during the invasion of French North Africa. He was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, and had originally been a member of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. After serving in North Africa the Paras then went on to Italy, where Private George Bayton, 34 and from Southsea, was killed on 8 December 1943, fighting with the 4th Battalion. He joined the Paras from the East Surrey Regiment.
The Regiment suffered heavy losses on D-Day and in the subsequent battle of Normandy. Private Ronald Kent, 24, and from the 8th Battalion, was killed on D-Day. He had originally joined the Royal Artillery. In the heavy fighting after D-Day the 6th Airborne Division was in action right through until August 1944. Sergeant Frank Kempster, 30, was killed on 19 August 1944. He had previously been a member of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.
The famous battle at Arnhem also saw heavy losses. Corporal Thomas Bedford, age 22 and from Paulsgrove, was killed on 18 September 1944, the day that the 11th Battalion landed at Ginkel Heath. Bedford had previously been in the Royal Artillery. He was serving in the same battalion as my Grandad, Private Henry Miller, also from Portsmouth, who interestingly lived in Paulsgrove for almost 50 years after the war.
Finally, the 6th Airborne Division later saw service in action supporting the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945 and subsequently on until VE Day. Sergeant Sidney Cornell, 31, was killed on 7 April 1945, just over a month before the end of the war. He is buried at Becklingen in Germany, not far from the site where the Germans surrendered to Field Marshal Montgomery at Luneberg Heath. Although we do not know what unit he had served in prior to the Paras, he had been called up after September 1943, and thus was very new to the Army.
Sergeant Cornell was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for bravery in action during the Battle of Normandy, when he was a Private and serving as his company runner in the 7th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment. The DCM was second only to the Victoria Cross for bravery shown by non-officers. The recommendation for his DCM is available to download from the National Archives website, and I’ll quote from it here:
‘This soldier was one of the parachutists to land behind the German lines in Normandy on the night 5/6 June 1944. During the next five weeks he was in almost continuous action of a most trying and difficult nature. Cornell was a Company runner and has repeatedly carried messages through the most heavy and accurate enemy mortar and Machine Gun fire. Four times wounded in action this soldier has never been evacuated and carries on with his job cheerfully and efficiently. Very many acts of gallantry have been performed by members of the Battalion but for sustained courage nothing surpasses Cornell’s effort. His courage and many wounds have made him a well known and admired character throughout not only his own Battalion but the whole Brigade. Space does not permit a record of all his feats as he distinguished himself in practically every action and fighting took place daily. On 18th June 1944 his company carried out a raid on a strong enemy position in the Bois de Bavent area. The position was stronger than expected and the company was hard pressed and the wireless set destroyed. Cornell was sent back with a verbal message, he was wounded during the journey but carried on and delivered his message correctly and set off with the reply. He was wounded a second time on the return journey but again carried on and again delivered the message correctly. During the remained of this raid, and despite his two wounds, he was outstanding for his courage and dash. The courage and devotion to duty displayed by Cornell on this occasion was an inspiration to all who witnessed it. He has performed similar runs on countless occasions and, as has been pointed out before, has been wounded twice more but is still the runner for his company and is as cheerful as before. On 10 July 1944 his company again carried out a raid on the same area and again, as usual, Cornell’s complete disregard for his own safety became the chief topic of conversation amongst his fellow soldiers. He has never failed to deliver a message correctly despite the fact that he has carried through a perfect hail of enemy mortar bombs and shells and very frequently aimed Machine Gun fire as well. He is a truly magnificent parachutist and I cannot recommend him too highly for a decoration’. | <urn:uuid:fb0e0f8f-2ef9-4511-9d10-f043a4736bd8> | {
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Here’s sobering news: any one of us, anywhere on the planet, lugs hundreds of industrial chemicals around in our bodies – and they are up to no good.
If you want to know what industrial chemical compounds Michael Lerner or his wife Sharyle Patton carry around in their bodies, just go to this Environmental Working Group website. Lerner and Patton are both active in environmental health, the field that studies how the chemical byproducts of industry and commerce impact the human body.
Lerner, it seems, lugs around relatively high levels of methylmercury, inorganic arsenic, and polycholorinated biphenols (better-known as PCBs). These are but a few of the 102 industrial chemicals (of the 214 assayed by measuring metabolites) in his blood and urine.
Patton’s body, in addition to these, also has relatively high levels of chlorinated dioxins and organochlorine pesticide residues, plus a generous helping of others that did not show up in her husband’s tests.
Medical databases link (at various levels of certainty), each of these compounds with a distinct set of illnesses. Environmental Working Group has done several body burden studies of its own and shown that babies come into the world contaminated with a complex mixture of chemicals, many of them known to be toxins or carcinogens.
For instance, inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen. BPA, found in plastics, dental sealants and the linings of tin cans, is a chemical suspected in certain birth defects and developmental delays in children, some cancers, and disturbances in endocrine and hormone function.
Both chlorinated dioxins and PCBs come to us mainly in fatty meats, dairy products and fish. Like BPA, they may link to defects and delays in children and to cancers, as well as to malfunctions of the nervous and immune systems.
The pesticide residues enter our bodies via the foods they are used on, as well as in drinking water; they are associated with a similar roll call of disorders.
Stepping back and looking at the entire list of 214 industrial chemicals this assay finds in our bodies creates the creepy feeling that nothing is safe: toxins waft our way in house dust or thin air, in water and soil, or off-gas from a long litany of objects — from paint and carpeting to computer consoles and furniture.
The body is an ecosystem of sorts, an exquisitely coordinated mass of disparate units functioning within a whole. And like any ecosystem, the body can be invaded by foreign substances that muck up the works. Quantifying how many such invaders our bodies harbor has been the quest of studies on bio-accumulation such as the one Lerner and Patton participated in to assay this biological build-up over a lifetime.
Bio-accumulation has become its own corner of medical science, with studies suggesting that virtually everyone alive on this planet harbors a stew of toxic substances. This shift from measuring pollutants in our water, air or soil to studying what has melded into our biology has led to related shifts in thinking about medical etiology and chemical risk.
One medical model for these chemical invasions holds that ill effects can emerge slowly, over decades, from cumulative chemical exposures at doses so low they are measured in parts per million. For instance, an emerging consensus in oncology holds that a person’s lifetime exposure to many tiny amounts of cancer-causing agents can be just as toxic as a few big doses of carcinogens.
This model of causation rejects seeking a single smoking gun – some substance that in itself fosters cancer – but rather looks to a person’s lifetime, cumulative exposure to a wide range of chemicals that trigger cell mutation. This continual barrage of mutagens can finally overwhelm the immune system’s ability to kill off mutant cells, and so resist cancer. Our risk of cancer, in this view, reflects the sum total of day-to-day doses of carcinogenic molecules shed into our air, food and water.
Dr. Martha Herbert, a pediatric neurologist at Harvard Medical School, points to the tens of thousands of manufactured compounds that now pepper the nature world in some three billion potential combinations, and the fact that no one knows all the ways these chemical concoctions might impact us. One of the greatest human dangers from this slew of molecules, Dr. Herbert reasons, comes when a child’s fast-growing organs, budding central nervous system and hummingbird-like rapid metabolism gets exposed to – and voraciously incorporates — small amounts of foreign molecules, doing biological damage that may not surface for years.
The brain has a special vulnerability to interference from invading chemicals because of all organs, it utilizes the widest variety of molecules to transmit the chemical messages that coordinate our mental life and biological functions. This very design means there are that many more ways molecules from outside the body can disrupt these processes if they happen to interact with any of countless chemical reactions in the brain.
That’s why little doses can matter a lot.
Adapted from Ecological Intelligence: The Hidden Impacts of What We Buy. Originally posted at ewg.org | <urn:uuid:08ae381e-7f49-4f9a-83f3-781fd0b5c5c6> | {
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A search for the term "climate change" shows Copenhagen Sumit
A search for the term "famine"
News Globe lets you search the BBC News & Sport website and see the results mapped to the geographic location of the story on an animated globe which can be rotated to enable navigation of the results. It uses a customised RSS feed from BBC News.
This geo-visualization, connects you in a very immediate way to the location of the news story by providing further contextual information about it. For example, if we search for “FIFA World Cup” we find the majority of the BBC news stories originating in Europe or South Africa and very few in North America. So not only has News Globe produced a range of different news topics for us to read, it has also given us an indication of the level of interest in the topic across different cultures.
How to use it
News Globe is available immediately for use, either dive straight in, follow the instructions below, or watch the accompanying video that gives an overview of its different functions. You must have Adobe Flash player installed to use the project, it can be downloaded here.
If you would like to comment or feed back on this visualisation please do so on the blog entry
Launch News Globe //
Video walkthrough //
This video was created with screen capture software and shows the application being used.
How it was built //
The search results are returned in the form of an RSS feed from BBC News.
The contents of the Title tags in the rss xml are then sent off to Yahoo's geocoding API
If any place names are recognised by Yahoo it sends back the longitude and latitude co-ordinates. (It often gets confused and you'll find lots of mistakes, usually placed in North America). We originally tried to create this app using Atom feeds from BBC iPlayer but there were too few place names and Yahoo was making some really bad guesses with the data.
Meanwhile a rotating globe with moon (please don't complain that the moon's position is wrong, it's only there for effect) was created using the Alpha version of Papervision 3D 2 (Great White).
An algorithm converts the Cartesian co-ordinates returned by Yahoo and converts them into spherical co-ordinates and it's then easy to use papervision to plot a marker on the correct spot on the map.
Rolling over the markers give you some information about the news article plotted.
Clicking on the markers will take you to the news article on bbc.co.uk.
While this all looks pretty cool lots of the work was done by other people:
Most notably Mark Waters and his excellent article on Geocoding in Flash. The majority of the Papervision code was taken from his Flex source files.
Credit should also go to the programmers who created Papervision 3d, the authors of the tweener class, the authors of the AS3 tool tips component, the AS3 preloader class written by Marco Di Giuseppe, and http://planetpixelemporium.com who created the earth texture map.
What we like about this project is the fact that is uses so many resources from the web (mostly in the form of AS3 classes) and shows how visualisations can be created in a modular way with code from all over the place.
Example XML returned by Yahoo Geocoding API //
This is the XML returned from Yahoo when a sentence containing the word London was was parsed through it.
<ResultSet xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="urn:yahoo:maps" xsi:schemaLocation="urn:yahoo:maps http://api.local.yahoo.com/MapsService/V1/GeocodeResponse.xsd">
<!-- ws04.ydn.ac4.yahoo.com compressed/chunked Mon Dec 21 10:58:36 PST 2009 --> | <urn:uuid:1c897197-151e-49e0-998d-287287040219> | {
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Data Use Agreement
The goals and principles of making biodiversity data openly and universally available have been defined in the Memorandum of Understanding on GBIF, paragraph 8 (see the relevant excerpts in the attached Annex).
The Participants who have signed the MoU have expressed their willingness to make biodiversity data available through their nodes to foster scientific research development internationally and to support the public use of these data.
GBIF data sharing should take place within a framework of due attribution.
Therefore, using data available through the GBIF network requires agreeing with the following:
1. Data Use Agreements
- The quality and completeness of data cannot be guaranteed. Users employ these data at their own risk.
- Users shall respect restrictions of access to sensitive data.
- In order to make attribution of use for owners of the data possible, the identifier of ownership of data must be retained with every data record.
- Users must publicly acknowledge, in conjunction with the use of the data, the data publishers whose biodiversity data they have used. Data publishers may require additional attribution of specific collections within their institution.
- Users must comply with additional terms and conditions of use set by the data publisher. Where these exist they will be available through the metadata associated with the data.
2. Citing Data
Use the following format to cite data retrieved from the GBIF network:
Biodiversity occurrence data published by: (Accessed through GBIF Data Portal, data.gbif.org, YYYY-MM-DD)
Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Field Museum of Natural History, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of Washington Burke Museum, and University of Turku (Accessed through GBIF Data Portal, data.gbif.org, 2007-02-22)
- GBIF Participant: Signatory of the GBIF-establishing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
- GBIF Secretariat: Legal entity empowered by the GBIF Participants to enter into contracts, execute the Work Programme, and maintain the central services for the GBIF network.
- GBIF network: The infrastructure consisting of the central services of the GBIF Secretariat, Participant Nodes and data publishers. Making data available through GBIF network means registering and advertising the pertinent services via the GBIF central services.
- Node: A data publisher designated by a GBIF Participant that maintains a stable computer gateway that makes data available through the GBIF network.
- Participant node: An organisational unit designated by the GBIF Participant to coordinate activities in its domain. It may also provide data.
- Biodiversity data: Primary data on specimens, observations, names, taxonomic concepts, and sites, and other related data on biological diversity.
- Metadata: Data describing the attributes and combinations of biodiversity data.
- Data: Biodiversity data and metadata.
- Data publisher: A custodian of data making it technically available. This may or may not be the data owner. If not they will have declared to GBIF that they have permission to make the data available.
- Data sharing: The process of and agreements for making data freely and universally available on the Internet.
- User: Anyone who uses the Internet to access data through the GBIF network.
- Owner of data: The legal entity possessing the right resulting from the act of creating a digital record. The record may be a product derived from another, possibly non-digital product, which may affect the right.
- Sensitive data: Any data that the Node does not want to make available, e.g. precise localities of endangered species.
Also see the GBIF Data Sharing Agreement for the data publishers.
Depending on your browser settings, a cookie may be stored to acknowledge your acceptance of these terms. | <urn:uuid:6d39c07d-0c71-46dc-837c-18c5d3686c7d> | {
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Our genes are like a recipe for a human. It's a very complicated recipe, determining how much of this protein and how much of that enzyme need to be added into the mix in order for us to function properly, but our genes are pretty good at getting it right. Although we are still learning how the recipe works, what ingredients (gene products) are involved, and when are they are produced, our knowledge is growing fast.
For example, a master regulator gene has been identified that tells an embryonic cell whether or not to become a pancreas cell. Dr. James Wells and his team at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have determined that a gene called Sox17 acts like a toggle switch in mouse embryonic development. "In normal embryonic development, when you have an undecided cell, if Sox17 goes one way the cell becomes part of the biliary system. If it goes the other way, the cell becomes part of the pancreas," said Dr. Wells in a press release from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The results of Dr. Wells' study were published in the July 21 issue of Developmental Cell.
Dr. Wells and his colleagues are hoping that because Sox17 can tell undecided embryonic cells whether or not to become pancreatic tissue, it might also be able to tell stem cells (cells that can become almost anything in the body) to become pancreatic beta cells. If we could induce a cell to become an insulin-producing beta cell, we would be one step closer to treating and possibly curing type 1 diabetes. When the immune system attacks the beta cells in type 1 diabetes, it is often the case that most beta cells are destroyed before the disease has even been diagnosed. So creating new beta cells, possibly in a laboratory dish, and implanting them in patients is one possibility for treatment.
Preventing beta cell destruction in the first place is another avenue of research that is underway, and genes that are involved in protecting beta cells from the immune system are being studied as well.
0 comments - Aug 28, 2009
Diabetes Health is the essential resource for people living with diabetes- both newly diagnosed and experienced as well as the professionals who care for them. We provide balanced expert news and information on living healthfully with diabetes. Each issue includes cutting-edge editorial coverage of new products, research, treatment options, and meaningful lifestyle issues. | <urn:uuid:7ac56411-4581-400d-99a6-a45bbca150b6> | {
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Word Origin & History
1605, the "East Goths," who conquered Italy late 5c. and established, under Theodric, a kingdom there that lasted from 493 to 555 C.E., from L.L. Ostrogothæ, lit. "eastern Goths" from P.Gmc. *aust(a)r- "east" (for second element, see Goth, also Visigoth), but according to some this is a folk corruption
of an earlier Austrogoti, from a Gmc. compound, the first element of which means "shining" or "splendid," from P.Gmc. *austr-, from PIE *ausr- (see aurora
), which is also, via "sunrise," the root of the L. word for "east." | <urn:uuid:946be36b-3bb2-4dbc-90c6-1c9a1e59dea8> | {
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"All Alone." by Mary Darby Robinson (1758-1800)
Ah! wherefore by the church-yard side,
Poor little lorn one. dost thou stray?
Thy wavy locks but thinly hide
The tears that dim thy blue-eye's ray;
And wherefore dost thou sigh, and moan,
And weep, that thou art left alone?
Thou art not left alone, poor boy,
The traveller stops to hear thy tale;
No heart, so hard, would thee annoy!
For though thy mother's cheek is pale,
And withers under yon grave stone,
Thou art not, urchin, left alone.
I know thee well! thy yellow hair
In silky waves I oft have seen:
Thy dimpled face so fresh and fair,
Thy roguish smile, thy playful mien,
Were all to me, poor orphan, known,
Ere Fate had left thee–all alone!
Thy russet coat is scant, and torn,
Thy cheek is now grown deathly pale!
Thy eyes are dim, thy looks forlorn,
And bare thy bosom meets the gale;
And oft I hear thee deeply groan,
That thou, poor boy, art left alone.
Thy naked feet are wounded sore
With thorns, that cross thy daily road;
The winter winds around thee roar,
The church-yard is thy bleak abode;
Thy pillow now a cold grave stone–
And there thou lov'st to grieve–alone!
The rain has drench'd thee, all night long;
The nipping frost thy bosom froze;
And still, the yew-tree shades among,
I heard thee sigh thy artless woes;
I heard thee, till the day-star shone
In darkness weep–and weep alone!
Oft have I seen thee, little boy,
Upon thy lovely mother's knee;
For when she lived, thou wert her joy,
Though now a mourner thou must be!
For she lies low, where yon grave stone
Proclaims that thou art left alone.
Weep, weep no more; on yonder hill
The village bells are ringing, gay;
The merry reed, and brawling rill
Call thee to rustic sports away.
Then wherefore weep, and sigh, and moan,
A truant from the throng–alone?
"I cannot the green hill ascend,
I cannot pace the upland mead;
I cannot in the vale attend
To hear the merry-sounding reed:
For all is still beneath yon stone,
Where my poor mother's left alone!
"I cannot gather gaudy flowers
To dress the scene of revels loud–
I cannot pass the evening hours
Among the noisy village crowd;
For all in darkness, and alone
My mother sleeps, beneath yon stone.
"See how the stars begin to gleam,
The sheep-dog barks–'tis time to go;
The night-fly hums, the moonlight beam
Peeps through the yew-trees' shadowy row:
It falls upon the white grave-stone,
Where my dear mother sleeps alone.
"O stay me not, for I must go,
The upland path in haste to tread;
For there the pale primroses grow,
They grow to dress my mother's bed.
They must ere peep of day, be strown,
Where she lies mouldering all alone.
"My father o'er the stormy sea
To distant lands was borne away,
And still my mother stay'd with me,
And wept by night and toil'd by day.
And shall I ever quit the stone
Where she is left to sleep alone.
"My father died, and still I found
My mother fond and kind to me;
I felt her breast with rapture bound
When first I prattled on her knee–
And then she blest my infant tone,
And little thought of yon grave-stone.
"No more her gentle voice I hear,
No more her smile of fondness see;
Then wonder not I shed the tear,
She would have died to follow me!
And yet she sleeps beneath yon stone,
And I still live–to weep alone.
"Thy playful kid, she loved so well,
From yon high clift was seen to fall;
I heard afar his tinkling bell,
Which seem'd in vain for aid to call–
I heard the harmless sufferer moan,
And grieved that he was left alone.
"Our faithful dog grew mad, and died,
The lightning smote our cottage low–
We had no resting-place beside,
And knew not whither we should go:
For we were poor–and hearts of stone
Will never throb at misery's groan.
"My mother still survived for me,
She led me to the mountain's brow,
She watch'd me, while at yonder tree
I sat, and wove the ozier bough;
And oft she cried, "fear not, mine own!
Thou shalt not, boy, be left alone."
"The blast blew strong, the torrent rose
And bore our shatter'd cot away:
And where the clear brook swiftly flows,
Upon the turf, at dawn of day,
When bright the sun's full lustre shone,
I wander'd, friendless–and alone!"
Thou art not, boy, for I have seen
Thy tiny footsteps print the dew,
And while the morning sky serene
Spread o'er the hill a yellow hue,
I heard thy sad and plaintive moan,
Beside the cold sepulchral stone.
And when the summer noontide hours
With scorching rays the landscape spread,
I mark'd thee, weaving fragrant flowers
To deck thy mother's silent bed!
Nor at the church-yard's simple stone
Wert thou, poor Urchin, left alone.
I follow'd thee along the dale,
And up the woodland's shad'wy way:
I heard thee tell thy mournful tale
As slowly sunk the star of day:
Nor when its twinkling light had flown
Wert thou a wanderer all alone.
"O! yes, I was! and still shall be
A wanderer, mourning and forlorn;
For what is all the world to me–
What are the dews and buds of morn?
Since she who left me sad, alone
In darkness sleeps, beneath yon stone!
''No brother's tear shall fall for me,
For I no brother ever knew;
No friend shall weep my destiny,
For friends are scarce, and tears are few;
None do I see, save on this stone,
Where I will stay and weep alone.
"My father never will return,
He rests beneath the sea-green wave
I have no kindred left to mourn
When I am hid in yonder grave:
Not one to dress with flowers the stone!
Then–surely, I am left alone!" | <urn:uuid:2085081e-0800-4923-9086-66b9972a7360> | {
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|Oracle® OLAP DML Reference
11g Release 2 (11.2)
Part Number E17122-05
Tip:The current object definition is the definition of the object that has been most recently defined or considered during the current session. To make an object definition the current definition, use a CONSIDER statement.
The text of the description you want to assign to the definition. When text is omitted, any existing description for the current definition is deleted.
You can create a multiline description by using a hyphen as a continuation character. However, you cannot create a description with an initial blank line with an LD statement.
Example 10-13 Adding a Description to the Definition of a Variable
This example changes the description associated with the variable
units. First, execute the CONSIDER statement to make
units the current definition. Then use a LD statement to assign a new description. The
units variable has the following definition.
DEFINE units VARIABLE INTEGER <month product district> LD Actual Unit Shipments
CONSIDER units ld Actual Unit Shipments for Each Division DESCRIBE units
produce the following definition for
DEFINE units VARIABLE INTEGER <month product district> LD Actual Unit Shipments for Each Division | <urn:uuid:83f9d08f-6175-48ee-827f-047e04099b61> | {
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|Previous Contents Index DocHome Next|
|iPlanet Directory Server 5.1 Deployment Guide|
Chapter 1 Introduction to Directory Server
iPlanet Directory Server provides a centralized directory service for your intranet, network, and extranet information. Directory Server integrates with existing systems and acts as a centralized repository for the consolidation of employee, customer, supplier, and partner information. You can extend Directory Server to manage user profiles and preferences, as well as extranet user authentication.
This chapter describes the basic ideas you need to understand before designing your directory. It includes the following sections:
What is a Directory Service?
What is a Directory Service?
The term directory service means the collection of software, hardware, and processes that store information about your enterprise, subscribers, or both and make that information available to users. A directory service consists of at least one instance of Directory Server and one or more directory client programs. Client programs can access names, phone numbers, addresses, and other data stored in the directory.
One common directory service is a Domain Name System (DNS) server. A DNS server maps a computer host name to an IP address. Thus, all of the computing resources (hosts) become clients of the DNS server. The mapping of host names allows users of your computing resources to easily locate computers on your network by remembering host names rather than numerical IP addresses.
However, the DNS server stores only two types of information: names and IP addresses. A true directory service stores virtually unlimited types of information.
iPlanet Directory Server stores all of your information in a single, network-accessible repository. The following are a few examples of the kinds of information you might store in a directory:
Physical device information, such as data about the printers in your organization (where they reside, whether they are color or black and white, their manufacturer, date of purchase, and serial number) iPlanet Directory Server serves the needs of a wide variety of applications. It also provides a standard protocol and application programming interfaces (APIs) to access the information it contains.
The following sections describe global directory services and the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
About Global Directory Services
iPlanet Directory Server provides global directory services, meaning it provides information to a wide variety of applications. Until recently, many applications came bundled with their own proprietary databases. While a proprietary database can be convenient if you use only one application, multiple databases become an administrative burden if the databases manage the same information.
For example, suppose your network supports three different proprietary email systems, each system with its own proprietary directory service. If users change their passwords in one directory, the changes are not automatically replicated in the others. Managing multiple instances of the same information results in increased hardware and personnel costs, a problem referred to as the n + 1 directory problem.
A global directory service solves the n+1 directory problem by providing a single, centralized repository of directory information that any application can access. However, giving a wide variety of applications access to the directory requires a network-based means of communicating between the applications and the directory. iPlanet Directory Server uses LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) to give applications access to its global directory service.
LDAP provides a common language that client applications and servers use to communicate with one another. LDAP is a "lightweight" version of the Directory Access Protocol (DAP) used by the ISO X.500 standard. DAP gives any application access to the directory via an extensible and robust information framework, but at an expensive administrative cost. DAP uses a communications layer that is not the Internet standard TCP/IP protocol and has complicated directory-naming conventions.
LDAP preserves the best features of DAP while reducing administrative costs. LDAP uses an open directory access protocol running over TCP/IP and uses simplified encoding methods. It retains the X.500 standard data model and can support millions of entries for a modest investment in hardware and network infrastructure.
Introduction to iPlanet Directory Server
iPlanet Directory Server includes the directory itself, the server-side software that implements the LDAP protocol, and a graphical user interface that allows end-users to search and change entries in the directory. Other LDAP clients are also available, including the directory managers in the iPlanet Console and the Address Book feature in Netscape Communicator 4.x. In addition, you can purchase other LDAP client programs or write your own using the LDAP client SDK included with the iPlanet Directory Server product.
Without adding other LDAP client programs, Directory Server can provide the foundation for your intranet or extranet. Every iPlanet server uses the directory as a central repository for shared server information, such as employee, customer, supplier, and partner data.
You can use Directory Server to manage extranet user-authentication, create access control, set up user preferences, and centralize user management. In hosted environments, partners, customers, and suppliers can manage their own portions of the directory, reducing administrative costs.
When you install Directory Server, the following components are installed on your machine:
An LDAP server (Directory Server) with a plug-in interface
iPlanet Administration Server
For more information about the Administration Server, go to http://iplanet.com/products/iplanet_application/.
iPlanet Console to manage the servers
For more information about the iPlanet Console, see the Console documentation at http://docs.iplanet.com/docs/manuals/console.html.
Command-line tools for starting and stopping the server, importing and exporting data in the database, database reindexing, account inactivation and deactivation, LDIF merges, and kernel tuning
For more information about the command-line tools, refer to the iPlanet Directory Server Configuration, Command, and File Reference.
An SNMP monitor
For more information about SNMP monitoring, refer to the iPlanet Directory Server Administrator's Guide.
This guide talks about the core Directory Server and the plug-ins it uses for doing its work. The next sections describe Directory Server in more detail. The topics discussed are:
Overview of Directory Server Architecture
At installation, Directory Server contains the following:
A server front-end responsible for network communications The following sections describe each component of the directory in more detail.
Overview of the Server Front-End
The server front-end of Directory Server manages communications with directory client programs. Directory Server functions as a daemon. Multiple client programs can speak to the server in LDAP. They can communicate using LDAP over TCP/IP. The connection can also be protected with SSL/TLS, depending on whether the client negotiates the use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) for the connection.
When communication takes place with TLS, the communication is usually encrypted. In the future, when DNS security is present, TLS used in conjunction with secured DNS will provide confirmation to client applications that they are binding to the correct server. If clients have been issued certificates, TLS can be used by iPlanet Directory Server to confirm that the client has the right to access the server. TLS and its predecessor SSL are used throughout iPlanet Directory Server products to perform other security activities such as message integrity checks, digital signatures, and mutual authentication between servers.
Multiple clients can bind to the server at the same time over the same network because the Directory Server is a multi-threaded application. As directory services grow to include larger numbers of entries or larger numbers of clients spread out geographically, they also include multiple Directory Servers placed in strategic places around the network.
Server Plug-ins Overview
Directory Server relies on plug-ins. A plug-in is a way to add functionality to the core server. For example, a database is a plug-in.
A plug-in can be disabled. When disabled, the plug-in's configuration information remains in the directory but its function is not used by the server. Depending upon what you want your directory to do, you can choose to enable any of the plug-ins provided with Directory Server.
iPlanet Professional Services can write custom plug-ins for your Directory Server deployment. Contact iPlanet Professional Services for more information.
Overview of the Basic Directory Tree
The directory tree, also known as a directory information tree or DIT, mirrors the tree model used by most file systems, with the tree's root, or first entry, appearing at the top of the hierarchy. At installation, Directory Server creates a default directory tree.
The default directory tree appears as follows:
The root of the tree is called the root suffix. For information about naming the root suffix, refer to "Choosing a Suffix".
At installation, the directory contains up to four subtrees under your root suffix:
This subtree contains the configuration information of other iPlanet servers, such as iPlanet Administration Server. The Administration Server takes care of authentication and all actions that cannot be performed through LDAP (such as starting or stopping).
During installation, a user database is created by default. Its default name is o=userRoot.
Note When you install another instance of Directory Server, you can specify that it does not contain the o=NetscapeRoot information, that it uses the configuration directory (or the o=NetscapeRoot subtree) present on another server.
You can build on the default directory tree to add any data relevant to your directory installation. An example of a directory tree for siroe.com Corporation follows:
For more information about directory trees, refer to Chapter 4 "Designing the Directory Tree."
Directory Server Data Storage
Your directory data is stored in an LDBM database. The LDBM database is implemented as a plug-in that is automatically installed with the directory and is enabled by default.
The database is the basic unit of storage, performance, replication, and indexing. You can do operations like importing, exporting, backing up, restoring, and indexing on the database.
By default, Directory Server uses a single database to contain the directory tree. This database can manage millions of entries. The default database supports advanced methods of backing up and restoring your data, so that your data is not at risk.
You can choose to use multiple databases to support your Directory Server. You can distribute your data across the databases, allowing the server to hold more data than can be stored in a single database.
The following sections describe how a directory database stores data.
About Directory Entries
LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format) is a standard text-based format for describing directory entries. An entry is a group of lines in the LDIF file that contains information about an object, such as a person in your organization or a printer on your network. Information about the entry is represented in the LDIF file by a set of attributes and their values. Each entry has an object class attribute that specifies the kind of object the entry describes and defines the set of additional attributes it contains. Each attribute describes a particular trait of an entry.
For example, an entry might have the object class organizationalPerson, indicating that the entry represents a person within a particular organization. This object class allows the givenname and telephoneNumber attributes. The values assigned to these attributes give the name and phone number of the person represented by the entry.
iPlanet Directory Server also uses read-only attributes that are calculated by the server. These attributes are called operational attributes. There are also some operational attributes that can be set by the administrator, for access control and other server functions.
Entries are stored in a hierarchical structure in the directory tree. In LDAP, you can query an entry and request all entries below it in the directory tree. This subtree is called the base distinguished name, or base DN. For example, if you make an LDAP search request specifying a base DN of ou=people, dc=siroe,dc=com, then the search operation examines only the ou=people subtree in the dc=siroe,dc=com directory tree.
However, all entries are not automatically returned in response to an LDAP search. Entries of the ldapsubentry object class are not returned in response to normal search requests. An ldapsubentry entry represents an administrative object, for example the entries that are used internally by Directory Server to define a role or a class of service. To receive these entries, clients need to search specifically for entries of the ldapsubentry object class.
For more information about roles, see "Managed, Filtered, and Nested Roles". For more information about class of service, see "Class of Service".
Distributing Directory Data
When you store various parts of your tree in separate databases, your directory can process client requests in parallel, improving performance. You can also store your databases on different machines, to further improve performance.
To connect your distributed data, you can create a special entry in a subtree of your directory. All LDAP operations attempted below this entry are sent to a remote machine where the entry is actually stored. This method is called chaining.
Chaining is implemented in the server as a plug-in. The plug-in is enabled by default. Using this plug-in, you create database links, special entries that point to data stored remotely. When a client application requests data from a database link, the database link retrieves the data from the remote database and returns it to the client.
Directory Design Overview
The previous sections described directory services in general and the iPlanet Directory Server in particular. Now it is time to consider the design of your own directory service.
Planning your directory service before actual deployment is the most important task to ensure the success of your directory. During your directory design you will gather data about your directory requirements, such as environment and data sources, your users, and the applications that will use your directory. With this data, you can design a directory service that meets your needs.
However, keep in mind that the flexibility of iPlanet Directory Server allows you to rework your design to meet unexpected or changing requirements, even after you deploy Directory Server.
Design Process Outline
The remainder of this guide divides the design process into six steps:
How to Plan Your Directory Data.
Your directory will contain data, such as user names, telephone numbers, and group details. Chapter 2 "How to Plan Your Directory Data," helps you analyze the various sources of data in your organization and understand their relationship with one another. It describes the types of data you might store in your directory, and other tasks you need to perform to design the contents of your Directory Server.
How to Design the Schema.
Your directory is designed to support one or more directory-enabled applications. These applications have requirements of the data you store in your directory, such as format requirements. Your directory schema determines the characteristics of the data stored in your directory. Chapter 3 "How to Design the Schema," introduces the standard schema shipped with iPlanet Directory Server, describes how to customize the schema, and provides tips for maintaining consistent schema.
Designing the Directory Tree.
Once you decide what data your directory contains, you need to organize and reference that data. This is the purpose of the directory tree. In Chapter 4 "Designing the Directory Tree," the directory tree is introduced and you are guided through the design of your data hierarchy. Sample directory tree designs are also provided.
Designing the Directory Topology.
Topology design involves determining how you divide your directory tree among multiple physical Directory Servers and how these servers communicate with one another. Chapter 5 "Designing the Directory Topology," describes the general principles behind topology design, discusses using multiple databases, describes the mechanisms available for linking your distributed data together, and explains how the directory itself keeps track of distributed data.
Designing the Replication Process.
With replication, multiple Directory Servers maintain the same directory data to increase performance and provide fault tolerance. Chapter 6 "Designing the Replication Process," describes how replication works, what kinds of data you can replicate, common replication scenarios, and tips for building a highly available directory service.
Designing a Secure Directory.
Finally, you need to plan how to protect the data in the directory and design the other aspects of your service to meet the security requirements of your users and applications. Chapter 7 "Designing a Secure Directory," describes common security threats, provides an overview of security methods, discusses the steps in analyzing your security needs, and provides tips for designing access controls and protecting the integrity of your directory data.
Deploying Your Directory
After you have designed your directory service, you start the deployment phase. The deployment phase consists of the following steps:
Piloting Your Directory
The first step of the deployment phase is installing a server instance as a pilot and testing whether your service can handle your user load. If the service is not adequate as it is, adjust your design and pilot it again. Adjust your pilot design until you have a robust service you can confidently introduce to your enterprise.
For a comprehensive overview of creating and implementing a directory pilot, refer to Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services (T. Howes, M. Smith, G. Good, Macmillan Technical Publishing, 1999).
Putting Your Directory Into Production
Once you have piloted and tuned the service, you need to develop and execute a plan for taking the directory service from a pilot to production. Create a production plan that includes the following:
An estimate of the resources you need For information on administering and maintaining your directory, refer to the iPlanet Directory Server Administrator's Guide.
Other General Directory Resources
For more information about directories, LDAP, and LDIF, take a look at the following:
RFC 2849: The LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) Technical Specification
RFC 2251: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (v3)
Previous Contents Index DocHome Next
Copyright © 2002 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Some preexisting portions Copyright © 2001 Netscape Communications Corp. All rights reserved.
Last Updated February 26, 2002 | <urn:uuid:8338f931-fc1d-413e-98e9-f6016d7c1492> | {
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Racial component of white-black relationships
Here, Miller explains that while black people for many years were forced to get along with whites, whites were never forced to accommodate to the needs of blacks. White teachers, he recalls, were sometimes uncomfortable in formerly black schools, but one white teacher did teach Miller a lesson about racial difference. In reflecting on racism, Miller remembers chasing down some students who were skipping class at Carmel Junior High School when he suddenly realized the significance of the image of a black man pursuing a white girl. The story is somewhat unclear, but it seems like a white man rammed his car in retaliation.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Leroy Miller, June 8, 1998. Interview K-0174. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
PG: Violence, yeah. Do you think at that time there were principals who were afraid to discipline in schools?
LM: Well, the thing about it, if you’re a black person you had to know how to get along with a white person. Blacks have always had to get along with whites since slavery. But it wasn’t true of whites. The only blacks that some of the white principals had ever associated with were maybe their gardener or cook or somebody like that. They’d never had to associate with any blacks. I can recall when Dr. Garinger was the superintendent. We attempted to integrate the faculties when you had the freedom of choice. When I first came to Charlotte the superintendents used to meet with the blacks on one Saturday morning and the whites on another Saturday morning. Then they started having one meeting, and instead of having a black English group and a white one it was all English teachers and all industrial arts teachers. You’d be surprised. That was something that was hard to come by.
PG: The white teachers didn’t want to meet with the black teachers?
LM: No. They were resentful. I think it was just both of them. They were just resentful. You had some that didn’t matter. I know the first two white teachers we had at West Charlotte, had one in Social Studies by the name of Ann Fiber and another white teacher in English Anna Wiles, that was the freedom of choice. Ann Fiber she finished the University of Mississippi, and she came to West Charlotte when they said you had to integrate schools and sixty percent of your teachers had to be white and forty percent had to be black. I think it hurt Ann worse than anybody else. It was funny. When she was there by herself she was a little white princess, so to speak. But when other whites came there it sort of stole her thunder. I learned, now this is the God’s truth. One was a blond and the other one was a brunette. I remember I used to hand deliver the checks to the teachers on pay day. I’d go to Ann Fiber and I’d give her Miss Wiles’ check. She said, “Oh, this is Ann Fiber.” Until that time I’d never looked at a white woman, period. I guess about the second or third month Miss Fiber stopped me. She said, “Mr. Miller, if I can take the time to know that there’s a difference between blacks, seemingly you can do likewise. Look, I’m a blond. Anna Wiles is a brunette. Her hair is almost as black as your hair.” I said, “Thank you,” and I moved on out. I started looking at hair then. I said you can tell them by the hair. You can tell them by the eyes, but I’d never paid that much attention to white, period.
LM: No. I can recall Miss Ledford, she was my curriculum coordinator. Back when they had the gas shortage we had a curriculum meeting over at Garinger High School. I went out to get in my car and she was out there. I said, “No, you aren’t going to ride with me.” She said, “I don’t have any gas. I don’t have gas enough to get home.” I didn’t want a rider, not in my car. I didn’t want to ride no white. When I was at West Charlotte I used to police the campus, to look, because kids would sneak off from school. The same thing was true when I went to Carmel. I remember that first year down at Carmel I had some girls and boys that had sneaked off the campus. They were going down Carmel Road. I went down there chasing them. These cars that were coming up from South Carolina, I was chasing little white girls running, them cars slowing down. I happened to think, “Man, some of these fools out here there’s no telling what they’d do.” So I came back to the campus and I got Mayor Brown and Sue. I said, “Listen, let’s go get them.” I made sure that I was going to protect myself. I remember Barbara. She said, “Mr. Miller, everybody knows that you’re the principal and I’m the curriculum coordinator. So she got in. I had a little old Mustang. She got in the car and we went over to Garinger High School from East Mecklenburg. On the way back I said, “Miss Ledford, I wish you would sit up straight in your seat.” She was turned sideways, and she was talking. I said, “Just sit straight.” There was one of those BFI trucks behind us. I saw the fellow when he passed us. As he passed us he was white and he decided he was going to slow down and see what that white woman was doing in that car with that black man. So he let us pass him. Then he got right behind us. When we go to Independence and Hawthorne there was an ambulance going down Hawthorne Lane. The red light was on, and I was in front of that BFI truck. I had to stop even though I had the light. It was on green, and when I stopped that BFI truck ran right into the back of me. It knocked me over on the corner. I got on the corner, and the ambulance stopped to see if we were hurt, and then proceeded. The police came. That old fellow that was driving the ambulance told the police, “That nigger had that white woman over there.” I’d gone over on the corner. I heard him. He said, “That nigger over there he had that little white woman over there.” The policeman sat there. He said, “That’s Mr. Miller. He’s principal at East Mecklenburg.” It just so happened that the officers that came out there had been one that worked at some of our games. He came over. I said, “I stopped for the ambulance. He ran into the back of me and knocked me over there.” The driver was over there telling George Powell. George was in charge of PE for the school system. He had been at the same meeting we had been at. He was telling George, “That man over there had that white woman.” George said, “We’ve got to take care of that pink half-wit.” Made a joke out of it. I said to Barbara after, “I told you. My mamma always told me white women were bad luck.” She was the first one that ever rode in a car with me. She was a nice young lady. I knew her mother and her husband, Buster. They were nice. She was just like a daughter of mine. Smart young lady. | <urn:uuid:c2d10d7a-9659-420b-ac3a-aec3b417dd2a> | {
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Epilepsy: Surgical Options for Epilepsy
What Is Epilepsy Surgery?
Medication can control seizures in most people with epilepsy, but for about 30% of patients, they aren't effective or are intolerable. In some cases, brain surgery may be an option.
Epilepsy surgery is an operation on the brain to control seizures and improve the person's quality of life. There are two main types of epilepsy surgery:
- Surgery to remove the area of the brain producing seizures
- Surgery to interrupt the nerve pathways through which seizure impulses spread within the brain
Surgery is considered only if the area of the brain where the seizures start, called the seizure focus, can be clearly identified, and if the area to be removed is not responsible for any critical functions, such as language, sensation and movement. Extensive evaluation and testing are necessary to determine if surgery is appropriate.
Who Is a Candidate for Epilepsy Surgery?
Surgery may be an option for people with epilepsy whose seizures are disabling and/or are not controlled by medication, or when the side effects of medication are severe and greatly affect the person's quality of life. Patients with other serious medical problems, such as cancer or heart disease, usually are not considered for epilepsy surgery. | <urn:uuid:358c83d3-8a6a-4b41-bf3a-3de0165e42c8> | {
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During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945 and the second on August 9, 1945.
For six months, the United States had made use of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities. Together with the United Kingdom, and the Republic of China the United States called for a surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration. The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum. By executive order of President Harry S. Truman, the U.S. dropped the nuclear weapon “Little Boy” on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed by the detonation of “Fat Man” over Nagasaki on August 9. These two events are the only active deployments of nuclear weapons in war.The target of Hiroshima was a city of considerable military importance, containing Japan’s Second Army Headquarters, as well as being a communications center and storage depot.
Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day. The Hiroshima prefectural health department estimates that, of the people who died on the day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other causes. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness. In a US estimate of the total immediate and short term cause of death, 15–20% died from radiation sickness, 20–30% from flash burns, and 50–60% from other injuries, compounded by illness. In both cities, most of the dead were civilians.
Six days after the detonation over Nagasaki, on August 15, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, officially ending the Pacific War and therefore World War II. Germany had signed its Instrument of Surrender on May 7, ending the war in Europe. The bombings led, in part, to post-war Japan’s adopting Three Non-Nuclear Principles, forbidding the nation from nuclear armament. The role of the bombings in Japan’s surrender and the U.S.’s ethical justification for them, as well as their strategical importance, is still debated. | <urn:uuid:bc5e9d61-3b14-4a0c-a396-7bb0426c60fe> | {
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Cholera outbreaks in Caribbean, Africa spark alerts
Jul 22, 2011 (CIDRAP News) – European Union (EU) health officials today warned travelers about a risk of contracting cholera in the Dominican Republic, a magnet for tourists, while the World Health Organization (WHO) said cholera outbreaks along Africa's Congo River have killed 271 people.
In a report released today but dated June 2011, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said cholera is becoming endemic in the Dominican Republic. The country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, which has been battling a large cholera epidemic since October 2010.
Cholera first spread from Haiti to the Dominican Republic last November, and the latter had had 5,367 suspected cases with 46 deaths by mid-June, the ECDC reported. It said 1,727 cases were confirmed.
"Despite intense efforts by the Ministries of Health in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and by humanitarian workers involved in the response to the epidemic, cholera is becoming endemic in both countries," the report says. "It is anticipated that further epidemic peaks will occur, particularly during the rainy season" (April to June and October-November).
Two European tourists, a 69-year-old English woman and a 60-year-old German woman, contracted cholera while staying at resorts in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in May, the report says. Theirs were the first Dominican-linked cases reported by EU member states since the epidemic began. The sources of their infections were not pinpointed and could have been either water or food.
More than a million European tourists visit the Dominican Republic annually, according to the report. It said Haiti receives far fewer European visitors, with just 23,000 in 2007.
Because of the size of the Dominican epidemic, occasional travel-related cases can be expected and may increase during the country's rainy seasons, the ECDC says. Overall, though, the risk of cholera in visitors to the country should be considered low.
The ECDC says visitors to cholera-endemic countries should drink only bottled or chlorinated water, carefully wash all fruits and vegetables with potable water, regularly wash their hands, and eat seafood only if it is thoroughly cooked. In the EU, cholera vaccination is not routinely recommended for travelers, but it might be considered for people who work in refugee camps and certain other groups.
Meanwhile, the WHO today said cholera outbreaks along the Congo River have caused more than 4,000 cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo.
The outbreak in the DRC was first reported in March and has intensified in the past 3 to 4 weeks, the WHO said. As of Jul 20, authorities had reported 3,896 cases and 265 deaths, with a case-fatality rate (CFR) of 7%. The affected provinces are Bandundu, Equateur, Kinshasa, and P Orientale.
In the Republic of Congo, 181 suspected cases including six deaths were reported between Jun 14 and Jul 20 in four provinces (Brazzaville, Cuvette, Likouala, and Plateaux), with a CFR of 3%, the WHO said. Four cases have been laboratory-confirmed.
"There is high risk of the epidemic further spreading along the Congo River," the agency said. "The outbreak has been reported to have spread to new locations, particularly in Kinshasa, where there are large population groups with inadequate safe water."
The governments of the two countries, along with international organizations, have set up cholera treatment centers and taken other steps to respond to the outbreaks, the WHO said. The agency said it is conducting a rapid risk assessment in the DRC to identify urgent needs and has sent four specialists to Kinshasa to support the response operations.
ECDC warning on cholera risk in the Dominican Republic
Cholera Epidemic Rising Higher in Dominican Republic
Cholera epidemic is spreading speedily as the Dominican Republic's death toll has now risen to 87. Spreading from Haiti, it is suspected that the epidemic has affected more than 13,000 people till date.
The concerned authorities also said on Friday that the epidemic has killed more than 5,500 people in Haiti and as the country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, people here need to be more cautious and must adopt all the possible preventive measures.
According to the reports released from the Dominican health ministry, the death toll has risen big since July 8 as the new affected figures are 87 now. Since beginning, total 13,200 cases have been reported till date out of which past week recorded total 773 new cases.
In context to same, US Centers for Disease Control also published an epidemiological study in which they highlighted that UN troops from Nepal are the main cause for the epidemic.
Report from ECDC on epidemic said, "Despite intense efforts by the Ministries of Health in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and by humanitarian workers involved in the response to the epidemic, cholera is becoming endemic in both countries. It is anticipated that further epidemic peaks will occur, particularly during the rainy season (April to June and October-November).”
Here is the Russian warning about Cholera in Dom Rep: | <urn:uuid:30efd8d3-a6ed-4bf2-89d0-143ccc60d030> | {
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There is a lot you can do and there isn’t much you can do—about fluoride in your water. For one it isn’t fluoride per se that is put into your water but three other chemicals that are put into public drinking water supplies contaminate drinking water with fluoride.
For another, we have polluted the waters with fluoride agents for so long, over such a long time and in so many locations, that the waters have become polluted. While those who serve to lord (lower case) it over us try to convince us “there is a lot of background fluoride in water occurring ‘naturally,’” it is because we have polluted the waters globally. Fluoride is so rampant most water contains it to a certain extent.
However, the biggest problem is fluoride molecules are so small they can not be filtered out easily.
In fact, if you are buying bottled water in order to avoid fluoride, you are probably wasting your money while still being fluoridated.
Fluoride chemicals pass right through most water filtration systems. Even H²O Concepts whole house water filtration systems are unable to remove fluoride.
But reverse osmosis and distillation can remove fluoride contamination. Those are the only two means known that reliably clear the water of fluorine contaminants.
That said the most important thing we could do is probably the area in which we are powerless—practically—politically.
If we could stop governments from “treating” our water (and us) with fluoride that would solve the problem.
Do all you can to get word out about the dangers of systemic fluoridation of our drinking water. Inform everyone you know about the dangers of fluoridation of our drinking water and systemic fluoridation. Review the six short videos embedded here within my blog and educate yourself.
Perhaps we might hit a critical mass after which we might get the government to stop fluoridating our water. Maybe when we are flat broke and no longer afford the costs to fluoridate our drinking water this insanity might stop. | <urn:uuid:d610c5a2-2ef5-43b2-8734-5ac179428b39> | {
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Review: self report of hearing loss and the whispered voice test are useful for screening for hearing impairment
Q Are simple screening tests useful for diagnosing hearing impairment?
Medline, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica (1966 to April 2005), bibliographies of relevant articles and a clinical skills textbook, and experts.
Study selection and assessment:
English language studies that evaluated the accuracy or precision of bedside screening questions or physical examination manoeuvres for hearing impairment in symptomatic and asymptomatic people ⩾16 years of age. 24 studies (n = 12 645) met the selection criteria. The tests evaluated included a self reported screening question (eg, “Do you feel you have a hearing loss?”); Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly, screening version (HHIE-S), a 10 item self administered questionnaire measuring the social and emotional effects of hearing problems (range of scores 0–40); Weber and Rinne tuning fork tests; whispered voice … | <urn:uuid:dfac302e-2a85-4fdd-944b-3f55f44d013c> | {
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Troubleshooting Your VFDs
Aug 1, 2000 12:00 PM, By Stan Turkel
Find more articles on: Variable Frequency Drives
Variable-frequency drives (VFDs), also known as adjustable-speed drives (ASDs) have become the preferred method of controlling speed to meet load requirements. The most common drives use a pulse width modulation (PWM) design, which is affordable, reliable, and cost effective for most applications.
While simple in their design, they can give you problems when it comes to taking operational and troubleshooting measurements. Knowing what measurements to take will save you time and money. You'll need this type of testing for troubleshooting and diagnosing a defective unit as well as when performing routine maintenance.
Where do you start taking measurements? The four main aspects for testing a drive system are the building's power supply, the drive unit itself, the motor, and the load. Each item in a drive system works together and becomes the entire drive application. This creates a potential problem: Any one item can shut down the drive. Knowing what measurements to take at each section is critical for the troubleshooting and maintenance of the drive.
The facility's power supply. In today's power-hungry society, it's getting hard to obtain a good source of clean non-distorted power. Over and under voltage conditions greater than plus-or-minus 10% will trip most drives. A voltage unbalance between phases of 3% to 5% can cause tripping of the drive's overload fault protection device.
With the drive in operation and carrying a load, measure the incoming line voltage at the input side of the drive itself. Using safety precautions, measure the incoming line voltage between A-B Phase, B-C Phase, C-A Phase. Sometimes, you may want to also measure A, B, and C, to ground. What you want to look for is over and under voltage conditions as well as unbalance between the phases. It's important to take the above readings during peak loads on the drive as well as during off-hours to see if you're experiencing voltage swings as a result of the dynamics of your facility. Then, take a current reading of each of the three phases on the line side of the drive. Again, look for any unbalance between phases.
The following formula will help you calculate the percentage of unbalance between phases.
Percent Voltage Unbalance = Maximum deviation from the average voltage x 100 / Average voltage
Taking readings in the VFD. There are several measurements you should take at the drive that involve getting into close quarters while the drive is in operation. Use caution when testing a powered drive unit. Remember to adhere to all safety procedures while taking these measurements.
PWM type drives take incoming AC line voltage and rectify this to a constant DC voltage that is then supplied to the switching, or inverter section, to create an adjustable alternating frequency and variable-voltage source to the motor. Measure DC bus voltage in the drive for over and under voltage conditions, which can be generated by line power changes or load regenerative conditions.
There are two important DC bus voltage measurements you should take. The first is the actual DC bus voltage, which should be equal to the line-side peak voltage (rms voltage x 1.41). Once the capacitors are charged, the reading should remain constant. On a 480V system, the DC bus voltage will be about 676VDC. You should take the second DC bus voltage measurement to determine the amount of AC ripple found on the DC bus. This reading helps pinpoint capacitor breakdown and reduced filtering of the DC bus, which can cause current trips.
DC bus voltage measurements. With the drive in operation and carrying a load, take a voltage reading at the DC bus. You take this measurement at the connections to the drive capacitor or capacitor bank. (See drive manual for exact location). Set the meter on DC volts and measure the positive and negative sides of the DC bus. This should be equal to the line voltage x 1.41.
Now, remove the meter from the circuit and set it on AC volts and take the same measurement. The meter should show very low AC voltage ripple, as this is a filtered DC source. You should discuss readings above 5VAC with the drive manufacturer, as this may indicate a possible breakdown of the capacitor filtering.
All drives maintain a constant volts-per-Hertz ratio to the motor. This ratio is kept constant, regardless at what speed the drive operates. Thus, as the frequency (Hz) changes the motor speed, so does the voltage. The only exception to this rule comes with flux vector drives. These types of drives may change the ratio, depending on special torque requirements. One of the most effective ways of troubleshooting a drive is to verify that the volts-per-Hertz ratio is being maintained at different speed settings.
Drive output volts-per-Hertz ratio measurement. Using safety precautions, set the analog meter for the maximum AC volts. With the drive running at full speed (60 Hz), measure the voltage to the motor at the drive motor terminals. For example, a 460V motor operating at 60 Hz should have a ratio of 7.6V applied to the motor for every Hertz applied. The voltage should be equal to the nameplate voltage for the motor.
Now, set the drive to 50% speed (30 Hz), and take the same motor terminal voltage reading. It should now be half of the last reading, or 230V for a 460V motor. Then, adjust the drive to 25% speed (15 Hz), and the motor voltage should now be 25% of the full voltage reading, or 115V.
What about leakage current? Drive problems can also appear if the leakage current from the drive's power transistors is excessive. A transistor does not actually open up like a mechanical switch when it turns off, it just reduces the amount of current it lets through. Sometimes a transistor that starts to become defective will show signs of excessive leakage current when turned off.
Transistor leakage current measurement. With the drive energized and a run command given, set the drive to zero speed (0 Hz) and measure the voltage to the motor between phases. In this state, the drive should not be firing any of the transistors, and there should be 40V or less leakage, depending on the manufacturer. You should discuss voltages above 60V with the manufacturer. This higher reading may indicate a pending transistor failure.
The motor. Even though you took the voltage and current readings at the motor terminals in the drive itself, you will also want to take the same measurements at the motor. Your meter should be the same as used at the drive. The analog meter gives you smoothed readings and should match the expected volts-per-Hertz ratio.
Essentially, the voltage and current values should be the same. A voltage drop or poor connections may be cause for concern. Also check for any unusual vibrations (vibration is usually a sign of excess bearing wear).
Taking temperature readings. We all know many electrical failures are the result of excessive heat, which breaks down insulation of conductors and windings. Temperature readings of motors, conductors, and heatsinks of electronic components are valuable diagnostic measurements, and you should consider them part of a yearly maintenance program. The key is to be consistent in the location of the readings, and to take them under similar loading conditions. There is much information available from the vendors of temperature probes and meters.
The load. If it turns, then it must be okay, right? Depending on your application, there are still a couple of things you may consider measuring. If you're concerned about speed regulation for a process, then a tachometer reading at full load conditions is in order. Always verify rotation direction. I have uncovered instances where equipment was simply operating backward; and unknown to those using the equipment.
The torque stresses the shaft and drive train components. Having started up hundreds of drive applications over the years, I still can't understand why folks need to ramp up these large loads in 10 sec or faster. It just makes sense to adjust the ramp speed of a load to as long as possible to reduce all kinds of stresses; both mechanical and electrical.
There are two important areas not included in this article: harmonics and overvoltage reflections at the motor windings. Although harmonics is a concern, it's not normally associated with the tripping of drives and shutdowns. You can usually control overvoltage reflections at the motor windings by keeping the motor leads as short as possible. Several motor manufacturers can provide special windings to withstand such overvoltage conditions.
Turkel is a senior instructor, ATMS Technical Training Co., Owings Mills, Md.
Sidebar: What Type of Testing Meter Should You Use?
You can use any clamp-on true digital multimeter (DMM) Cat. 3 rated for testing motor drives. The best recommendation is a clamp-on 1000V Cat. 3 unit. A true rms clamp-on DMM, or an AC-only clamp-on attachment for a DMM will work. If your meter is not rated Cat. 3, then don't use it.
Sidebar: Use an Analog Meter to Test the Load Side Output of the Drive
You would expect to use a true rms DMM to test the load side output of the drive. But for this measurement, the DMM might give you an incorrect reading. Why?
The output of a VFD is a series of very high transmittal oscillating positive and negative voltages. Using IGBT transistors, the oscillations approach 20 kHz, which vary in base frequency and duration (width of pulse, hence the name pulse width modulated drives). A digital multimeter takes many samples per second and converts this analog information into digital information for display. Using a digital meter for output readings causes a problem: It will attempt to follow the high-frequency switching of the IGBT transistors, giving false information. The analog meter has a smoothing effect and ends up reading a voltage equal to what the motor actually sees. | <urn:uuid:d541e4b3-2463-4f5e-80a5-10ff6084929e> | {
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Special & General Relativity Questions and Answers
If a photon travels at the speed of light, why isn't its mass infinite?
Because the photon is one of those handful of particles ( photon, graviton, gluon) which has 'zero rest mass'. The special relativistic formula that shows mass increasing with speed only applies to particles with non-zero rest mass such as neutrinos, electrons, quarks and so on.
Return to the Special & General Relativity Questions and Answers page.
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Figure 3-29.Block diagram of a flip-flop with a toggle input.
Figure 3-30.Flip-flop with three inputs (block diagram).
Remember, a SET input will SET the flip-flop if it is in the CLEAR state, otherwise, it will not do
anything; a trigger at the CLEAR input can only CLEAR the circuit if it is SET; and a trigger applied to
the TOGGLE input will cause the bistable multivibrator to change states regardless of what state it is in.
Q7. In a bistable multivibrator, how many trigger pulses are needed to produce one complete cycle in
Q8. How many stable states are there for a flip-flop?
Q9. If a voltage (positive or negative) is measured on the "1" output of a flip-flop, what state is it in?
The BLOCKING OSCILLATOR is a special type of wave generator used to produce a narrow pulse,
or trigger. Blocking oscillators have many uses, most of which are concerned with the timing of some
other circuit. They can be used as frequency dividers or counter circuits and for switching other circuits
on and off at specific times.
In a blocking oscillator the pulse width (pw), pulse repetition time (prt), and pulse repetition rate
(prr) are all controlled by the size of certain capacitors and resistors and by the operating characteristics of
the transformer. The transformer primary determines the duration and shape of the output. Because of
their importance in the circuit, transformer action and series RL circuits will be discussed briefly. You
may want to review transformer action in NEETS, Module 2, Introduction to Alternating Current and
Transformers before going to the next section.
Figure 3-31, view (A), shows a transformer with resistance in both the primary and secondary
circuits. If S1 is closed, current will flow through R1 and L1. As the current increases in L1, it induces a
voltage into L2 and causes current flow through R2. The voltage induced into L2 depends on the ratio of
turns between L1 and L2 as well as the current flow through L1. | <urn:uuid:b71c11cc-706a-40b0-80db-c5da83a265b8> | {
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Portraying Ottoman Society
European artists who came to Istanbul as members of diplomatic entourages depicted scenes from different parts of the Ottoman capital, distinctive costumes worn by the different classes of people in the empire, and portraits of foreign ambassadors, interpreters, and increasingly of Ottoman dignitaries. Vanmour, for example, in addition to several audience scenes and pictures of Istanbul, painted various state officials in their typical costume, and these were published in Marquis de Ferriol's Recueil de cent estampes représentant différentes nations du Levant in 1714. A number of paintings of similar size in various collections and museums are thought to belong to this series of oil paintings by Vanmour.
One of the most notable of the European artists who worked in Istanbul in the 18th century was a knight of Malta Antoine de Favray, who arrived in Istanbul in 1762 and was employed by the French ambassadors Comte de Vergennes and Comte de St. Priest until 1771. His portraits of Vergennes and his wife show the couple not only dressed in Turkish costume but even seated in oriental style.
This tradition of painting, particularly portraiture, introduced by western artists, gradually spread from court and diplomatic circles to broader sectors of society; first to high-ranking state officials and then to leading Ottoman families, whose members increasingly commissioned portraits of themselves. Even more importantly, this tradition of oil painting influence local artists, one of the most renowned being Osman Hamdi Bey, who despite his oriental birth, did many works that place him among the artists of the orientalist movement. | <urn:uuid:b3940918-a67c-4484-854b-8e7a164d3cbf> | {
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Introduction to Physical Science/Energy
Many Forms of Energy
By 9th grade (U.S. system) some students can identify potential energy (energy stored in objects due to their position - snow on a steep slope) and kinetic energy (displayed by snow when it breaks loose and an avalanche falls down the steep slope.) Some students recognize the heat is a form of energy as well. In fact, depending on the context of the discussion, students may identify many forms of energy, such as: Potential, Kinetic, Thermal, Chemical, Electrical, Magnetic, Sound, Nuclear and so on. | <urn:uuid:0da88be6-9328-444a-9744-daffe374e829> | {
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In computer science and logic, a dependent type is a type that depends on a value. Dependent types play a central role in intuitionistic type theory and in the design of functional programming languages like ATS, Agda and Epigram.
An example is the type of n-tuples of real numbers. This is a dependent type because the type depends on the value n.
Deciding equality of dependent types in a program may require computations. If arbitrary values are allowed in dependent types, then deciding type equality may involve deciding whether two arbitrary programs produce the same result; hence type checking may become undecidable.
The Curry–Howard correspondence implies that types can be constructed that express arbitrarily complex mathematical properties. If the user can supply a constructive proof that a type is inhabited (i.e., that a value of that type exists) then a compiler can check the proof and convert it into executable computer code that computes the value by carrying out the construction. The proof checking feature makes dependently typed languages closely related to proof assistants. The code-generation aspect provides a powerful approach to formal program verification and proof-carrying code, since the code is derived directly from a mechanically verified mathematical proof.
Systems of the lambda cube
Henk Barendregt developed the lambda cube as a means of classifying type systems along three axes. The eight corners of the resulting cube-shaped diagram each correspond to a type system, with simply typed lambda calculus in the least expressive corner, and calculus of constructions in the most expressive. The three axes of the cube correspond to three different augmentations of the simply typed lambda calculus: the addition of dependent types, the addition of polymorphism, and the addition of higher kinded type constructors (functions from types to types, for example). The lambda cube is generalized further by pure type systems.
First order dependent type theory
The system of pure first order dependent types, corresponding to the logical framework LF, is obtained by generalising the function space type of the simply typed lambda calculus to the dependent product type.
Writing for -tuples of real numbers, as above, stands for the type of functions which given a natural number n returns a tuple of real numbers of size n. The usual function space arises as a special case when the range type does not actually depend on the input, e.g. is the type of functions from natural numbers to the real numbers, written as in the simply typed lambda calculus.
Second order dependent type theory
The system of second order dependent types is obtained from by allowing quantification over type constructors. In this theory the dependent product operator subsumes both the operator of simply typed lambda calculus and the binder of System F.
Higher order dependently typed polymorphic lambda calculus
The higher order system extends to all four forms of abstraction from the lambda cube: functions from terms to terms, types to types, terms to types and types to terms. The system corresponds to the Calculus of constructions whose derivative, the calculus of inductive constructions is the underlying system of the Coq proof assistant.
Object-oriented programming
|Language||Actively developed||Paradigm[fn 1]||Tactics||Proof terms||Termination checking||Types can depend on[fn 2]||Universes||Proof irrelevance||Program extraction||Extraction erases irrelevant terms|
|ATS||Yes||Functional / imperative||No||Yes||Yes||?||?||?||Yes||?|
|Cayenne||No||Purely functional||No||Yes||No||Any term||No||No||?||?|
|Coq||Yes||Purely functional||Yes||Yes||Yes||Any term||Yes[fn 5]||No||Haskell, Scheme and OCaml||Yes|
|Dependent ML||No[fn 6]||?||?||Yes||?||Natural numbers||?||?||?||?|
|Epigram 2||Yes||Purely functional||No||Coming soon[dated info]||By construction||Any term||Coming soon[dated info]||Coming soon[dated info]||Coming soon[dated info]||Coming soon[dated info]|
|Guru||No||Purely functional||hypjoin||Yes||Yes||Any term||No||Yes||Carraway||Yes|
|Idris||Yes||Purely functional||Yes||Yes||Yes (optional)||Any term||No||No||Yes||Yes, aggressively|
|Matita||Yes||Purely functional||Yes||Yes||Yes||Any term||Yes||?||OCaml||?|
|NuPRL||No||Purely functional||Yes||Yes||Yes||Any term||Yes||?||Yes||?|
|Twelf||Yes||Logic programming||?||Yes||Yes (optional)||Any (LF) term||No||No||?||?|
See also
- This refers to the core language, not to any tactic or code generation sublanguage.
- Subject to semantic constraints, such as universe constraints
- Ring solver
- Optional universes, optional universe polymorphism, and optional explicitly specified universes
- Universes, automatically inferred universe constraints (not the same as Agda's universe polymorphism) and optional explicit printing of universe constraints
- Has been superseded by ATS
- Anton Setzer (2007). "Object-oriented programming in dependent type theory". In Henrik Nilsson. Trends in Functional Programming, vol. 7. Intellect. pp. 91–108.
- "Agda download page".
- "Agda Ring Solver".
- "Announce: Agda 2.2.8".
- "ATS Changelog".
- "email from ATS inventor Hongwei Xi".
- "Coq CHANGES in Subversion repository".
- "Epigram homepage".
- "Guru SVN".
- Aaron Stump (6 April 2009). "Verified Programming in Guru". Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- Adam Petcher (1 April 2008). "Deciding Joinability Modulo Ground Equations in Operational Type Theory". Retrieved 14 October 2010.
- "Idris git repository".
- "Idris, a language with dependent types - extended abstract".
- Edwin Brady. "How does Idris compare to other dependently-typed programming languages?".
- "Matita SVN".
- "Xanadu home page".
Further reading
- Martin-Löf, Per (1984). Intuitionistic Type Theory. Bibliopolis.
- Nordström, Bengt; Petersson, Kent; Smith, Jan M. (1990). Programming in Martin-Löf's Type Theory: An Introduction. Oxford University Press.
- Barendregt, Henk (1992). "Lambda calculi with types". In S. Abramsky, D. Gabbay and T. Maibaum. Handbook of Logic in Computer Science. Oxford Science Publications.
- McBride, Conor; McKinna, James (January 2004). "The view from the left". Journal of Functional Programming 14 (1): 69–111.
- Altenkirch, Thorsten; McBride, Conor; McKinna, James (April 2005). Why dependent types matter.
- Norell, Ulf. Towards a practical programming language based on dependent type theory. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden, September 2007.
- Oury, Nicolas and Swierstra, Wouter (2008). "The Power of Pi". Accepted for presentation at ICFP, 2008.
- Norell, Ulf (2008). Dependently Typed Programming in Agda. | <urn:uuid:49bd6b86-3a40-480a-8870-ee3bed0d0e0b> | {
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|29th Emperor of the Roman Empire|
Denarius featuring Gordian II
|Reign||22 March – 12 April 238 (with Gordian, and in revolt against Maximinus Thrax)|
|Full name||Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus (from birth to accession);
Caesar Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus Augustus (as emperor)
|Died||12 April 238 (aged 46)|
|Place of death||Carthage, Africa Proconsularis|
|Successor||Pupienus and Balbinus|
|Mother||Unknown, possibly Fabia Orestilla|
|Part of a series on Roman imperial dynasties|
|Year of the Six Emperors|
Gordian II (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus Augustus; c. 192 – April 12, 238), was Roman Emperor for one month with his father Gordian I in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Seeking to overthrow the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he died in battle outside of Carthage.
Early life
Born c. 192, Gordian II was the only known son of Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus the Elder. His family were of Equestrian rank, who were modest and very wealthy. Gordian was said to be related to prominent senators. His praenomen and nomen Marcus Antonius suggest that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under the Triumvir Mark Antony, or one of his daughters, during the late Roman Republic. Gordian’s cognomen ‘Gordianus’ suggests that his family origins were from Anatolia, especially Galatia and Cappadocia.
According to the notoriously unreliable Historia Augusta, his mother was a Roman woman called Fabia Orestilla, born circa 165, who the Augustan History claims was a descendant of Roman Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius through her father Fulvus Antoninus. Modern historians have dismissed this name and her information as false. There is some evidence to suggest that Gordian's mother may have been the granddaughter of Greek Sophist, consul and tutor Herodes Atticus. His younger sister was Antonia Gordiana, who was the mother of Emperor Gordian III.
Although the memory of the Gordians would have been cherished by the Senate and thus appear sympathetic in any Senatorial documentation of the period, the only account of Gordian's early career that has survived is contained within the Historia Augusta, and it cannot be taken as an accurate or reliable description of his life story prior to his elevation to the purple in 238. According to this source, Gordian served as quaestor in Elagabalus' reign and as praetor and consul suffect with Emperor Alexander Severus. In 237, Gordian went to the Africa Proconsularis as a legatus under his father's command as a proconsular governor.
Revolt against Maximinus Thrax
Early in 235, Emperor Alexander Severus and his mother Julia Avita Mamaea were assassinated by mutinous troops at Moguntiacum in Germania Inferior. The leader of the rebellion, Maximinus Thrax, became Emperor, despite his low-born background and the disapproval of the Roman Senate. Confronted by a local elite that had just killed Maximinus's procurator, Gordian's father was forced to participate in a full scale revolt against Maximinus in 238 and became Augustus on March 22. Due to Gordian I's advanced age, the younger Gordian was attached to the imperial throne and acclaimed Augustus too. Like his father, he too was awarded the cognomen Africanus.
Opposition would come from the neighbouring province of Numidia. Capelianus, governor of Numidia, a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax, and who held a grudge against Gordian, renewed his allegiance to the reigning emperor and invaded Africa province with the only legion stationing in the region, III Augusta, and other veteran units. Gordian II, at the head of a militia army of untrained soldiers, lost the Battle of Carthage and was killed. According to the Historia Augusta, his body was never recovered. Hearing the news, his father took his own life. This first rebellion against Maximinus Thrax was unsuccessful but, by the end of 238, Gordian II's nephew would be recognised emperor by the whole Roman world as Gordian III .
See also
Primary sources
- Herodian, Roman History, Book 7
- Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians
- Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus
- Joannes Zonaras, Compendium of History extract: Zonaras: Alexander Severus to Diocletian: 222–284
- Zosimus, Historia Nova
Secondary sources
- Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, Routledge, 2001
- Syme, Ronald, Emperors and Biography, Oxford University Press, 1971
- Potter, David Stone, The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180-395, Routledge, 2004
- Birley, Anthony (2005), The Roman Government in Britain, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-925237-4
- Canduci, Alexander (2010), Triumph & Tragedy: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Immortal Emperors, Pier 9, ISBN 978-1-74196-598-8
- Meckler, Michael L., Gordian II (238 A.D.), De Imperatoribus Romanis (2001)
- Gibbon. Edward Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire (1888)
- Southern, pg. 66
- Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 17:4
- In Classical Latin, Gordian's name would be inscribed as MARCVS ANTONIVS GORDIANVS SEMPRONIANVS ROMANVS AFRICANVS AVGVSTVS.
- Canduci, pg. 63
- Birley, pg. 340
- Peuch, Bernadette, "Orateurs et sophistes grecs dans les inscriptions d'époque impériale", (2002), pg. 128
- Syme, pp.100-101
- Meckler, Gordian II
- Syme, pp. 1-16
- Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 18:4
- Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 18:5
- Birley, pg. 341. An inscription confirming this fact has been found at Caesarea in Palestine.
- Potter, pg. 167
- Southern, pg. 64
- Herodian, 7:7:2
- Potter, pg. 170
- Southern, pg. 67
- Herodian, 7:9:3
- Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 16:1
- Southern, pg. 68
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gordianus II|
Served alongside: Gordian I
Pupienus and Balbinus | <urn:uuid:685f3e84-9523-4c54-af2f-f548af072182> | {
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Interferon type I
Human type I interferons comprise a vast and growing group of IFN proteins.
Mammalian types
The IFN-α proteins are produced by leukocytes. They are mainly involved in innate immune response against viral infection. They come in 13 subtypes that are called IFNA1, IFNA2, IFNA4, IFNA5, IFNA6, IFNA7, IFNA8, IFNA10, IFNA13, IFNA14, IFNA16, IFNA17, IFNA21. These genes for these IFN-α molecules are found together in a cluster on chromosome 9.
IFN-α is also made synthetically as medication. Types are:
The IFN-β proteins are produced in large quantities by fibroblasts. They have antiviral activity which is mainly involved in innate immune response. Two types of IFN-β have been described, IFN-β1 (IFNB1) and IFN-β3 (IFNB3) (a gene designated IFN-β2 is actually IL-6). IFN-β1 is used as a treatment for multiple sclerosis as it reduces the relapse rate.
IFN-ε, –κ, -τ, -δ, and –ζ
IFN-ε, –κ, -τ, and –ζ appear, at this time, to come in a single isoform in humans, IFNK. Only ruminants encode IFN-τ, a variant of IFN-ω. So far, IFN-ζ is found only in mice, while a structural homolog, IFN-δ is found in a diverse array of non-primate and non-rodent placental mammals. Most but not all placental mammals encode functional IFN-ε and IFN-κ genes.
IFN-ω, although having only one functional form described to date (IFNW1), has several pseudogenes: IFNWP2, IFNWP4, IFNWP5, IFNWP9, IFNWP15, IFNWP18, and IFNWP19 in humans. Many non-primate placental mammals express multiple IFN-ω subtypes
This subtype of Type I IFN was recently described as a pseudogene in human, but potentially functional in the domestic cat genome. In all other genomes of non-feline placental mammals, IFN-ν is a pseudogene; in some species, the pseudogene is well preserved, while in others, it is badly mutilated or is undetectable. Moreover, in the cat genome, the IFN-ν promoter is deleteriously mutated. It is likely that the IFN-ν gene family was rendered useless prior to mammalian diversification. Its presence on the edge of the Type I IFN locus in mammals may have shielded it from obliteration, allowing its detection.
Sources and functions
IFN-α and IFN-β are secreted by many cell types including lymphocytes (NK cells, B-cells and T-cells), macrophages, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, osteoblasts and others. They stimulate both macrophages and NK cells to elicit an anti-viral response, and are also active against tumors. Recently, plasmacytoid dendritic cells have been identified as being the most potent producers of type I IFNs in response to antigen, and have thus been coined natural IFN producing cells.
IFN-ω is released by leukocytes at the site of viral infection or tumors.
IFN-α acts as a pyrogenic factor by altering the activity of thermosensitive neurons in the hypothalamus thus causing fever. It does this by binding to opioid receptors and eliciting the release of prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2).
Non-mammalian types
Avian Type I IFNs have been characterized and preliminarily assigned to subtypes (IFN I, IFN II, and IFN III), but their classification into subtypes should await a more extensive characterization of avian genomes.
Functional lizard Type I IFNs can be found in lizard genome databases.
Turtle Type I IFNs have been purified (references from 1970s needed). They resemble mammalian homologs.
The existence of amphibian Type I IFNs have been inferred by the discovery of the genes encoding their receptor chains. They have not yet been purified, or their genes cloned.
Piscine (bony fish) Type I IFN has been cloned in several teleost species. With few exceptions, and in stark contrast to avian and especially mammalian IFNs, they are present as single genes (multiple genes are however seen in polyploid fish genomes, possibly arising from whole-genome duplication). Unlike amniote IFN genes, piscine Type I IFN genes contain introns, in similar positions as do their orthologs, certain interleukins.
- Schultz et al., The interferon system of non-mammalian vertebrates. Developmental and Comparative Immunology, Volume 28, pages 499-508.
- Samarajiwa et al., Type I interferons: genetics and structure. The Interferons: Characterization and Application, 2006 Wiley-VCH, pages 3-34.
- Oritani and Tomiyama, Interferon-ζ/limitin: Novel type I Interferon that displays a narrow range of biological activity. International journal of hematology, 2004, Volume 80, pages 325-331 .
- Hardy et al., Characterization of the type I interferon locus and identification of novel genes. Genomics, 2004, Volume 84 pages 331-345.
- Todd and Naylor, New chromosomal mapping assignments for argininosuccinate synthetase pseudogene 1, interferon-beta 3 gene, and the diazepam binding inhibitor gene. Somat. Cell. Mol. Genet. 1992 Volume 18, pages 381-5.
- Wang et al., Fever of recombinant human interferon-alpha is mediated by opioid domain interaction with opioid receptor inducing prostaglandin E2. J Neuroimmunol. 2004 Nov;156(1-2):107-12. | <urn:uuid:4c5bcdff-1f9c-4574-9c72-31bc7ba5e853> | {
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Pausanias (Greek: Παυσανίας) (died c. 470 BC) was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC. He was a scion of the royal house of the Agiads but not in the direct line of succession himself: the son of Cleombrotus and nephew of Leonidas I, serving as regent after the latter's death, since Leonidas' son Pleistarchus was still under-age. Pausanias was also the father of Pleistoanax, who later became king, and Cleomenes. Pausanias was responsible for the Greek victory over Mardonius and the Persians at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC, and was the leader of the Hellenic League created to resist Persian aggression during the Greco-Persian Wars.
After the Greek victories at Plataea and the Battle of Mycale, the Spartans lost interest in liberating the Greek cities of Asia Minor. However, when it became clear that Athens would dominate the Hellenic League in Sparta's absence, Sparta sent Pausanias back to command the League's military.
In 478 BC Pausanias was suspected of conspiring with the Persians and was recalled to Sparta, however he was acquitted and then left Sparta of his own accord, taking a trireme from the town of Hermione. After capturing Byzantium Pausanias was alleged to have released some of the prisoners of war who were friends and relations of the king of Persia. However, Pausanias argued that the prisoners had escaped. He sent a letter via Gongylus of Eretria to King Xerxes (son of Darius), saying that he wished to help him and bring Sparta and the rest of Greece under Persian control. In return, he wished to marry the king’s daughter. After receiving a letter back from Xerxes in which Xerxes agreed to his plans, Pausanias started to dress like a Persian aristocrat and he started to adopt Persian customs.
Many Spartan allies joined the Athenian side because of Pausanias’ arrogance and high-handedness. The Spartans recalled him once again, and Pausanias fled to Kolonai in the Troad before returning to Sparta because he didn’t wish to be suspected of Persian sympathies. On his arrival in Sparta, the ephors had him imprisoned but he was later released. Nobody had enough evidence to convict him of disloyalty; even though some helots gave evidence that he had offered certain helots their freedom if they joined him in revolt. One of the messengers that Xerxes and Pausanias had been using to communicate provided written evidence to the Spartan ephors that they needed to formally prosecute Pausanias.
The ephors planned to arrest Pausanias in the street but he was warned of their plans and escaped to the temple of Athena of the Brazen House. The ephors walled up the doors, put sentries outside and proceeded to starve him out. When Pausanias was on the brink of death they carried him out, and he died shortly thereafter. This chain of events prevented Pausanias's death from taking place within the sanctuary of the temple, which would have been an act of ritual pollution.
See also
- Thucydides I,133 s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 1#Second Congress at Lacedaemon - Preparations for War and Diplomatic Skirmishes - Cylon - Pausanias - Themistocles | <urn:uuid:ca234f7e-e1d6-4e66-a4ff-990416df442a> | {
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Théodore Simon was born on July 10, 1872 in Dijon, Burgundy, France. During much of his early life, he was fascinated by Alfred Binet's work and constantly read his books. His interest in psychology continually increased, especially as the need for clinical experience in the field decreased.
In 1899, he became an intern at the asylum in Perray-Vaucluse where he began his famous work on abnormal children. This drew Binet's attention, who was at the time studying the correlation between physical growth and intellectual development. Binet came to the asylum and continued his work there with Simon. This research led to Simon's medical thesis on the topic in 1900.
From 1901-1905, Simon worked in various hospitals, from Sainte-Anne to Dury-les-Amiens. 1905 is the year during which Simon and Binet made public their famous Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale, the first intelligence measuring device ever devised. It premiered in L'Année psychologique, a journal founded by Binet in 1895.
Throughout his life after this point, Simon always remained critical of immoderate and improper use of the scale. He believed that its over-use and inappropriate use prevented other psychologists from achieving Binet's ultimate goal: understanding human beings, their nature, and their development.
The scale was revised in 1908 and again in 1911, but Simon kept it the same after Binet's death in respect for one of history's greatest psychologists and Simon's true idol.
After 1905 until 1920, Simon worked as the head psychiatrist at St. Yon hospital. In 1920, he returned as medical director at Perray-Vaucluse until 1930. From there, he moved to act as medical director until late 1936, when he retired. Throughout his life (starting in 1912 until 1960) he was also an editor for Bulletin of Société Alfred Binet. He died of natural causes in 1961.
Wolf, T. H. (1961). American Psychologist, 16: 245-248.
|This article about a psychologist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.| | <urn:uuid:298577ed-54d5-448b-8e64-b0712bfd8598> | {
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was a Dadaist
and writer. He was born on April 6
and died on February 1
, near Locarno[?]
. One of the founders of the Dada movement, he was active in Zurich
, Switzerland from 1916 to 1920. He moved to the United States in 1940 and became an American citizen.
Richter was also the author of a first-hand account of the Dada movement titled Dada: Art and Anti-Art.
Hans Richter was also the name of a well known German conductor (1843-1916). He is noted as one of Richard Wagner's greatest champions.
All Wikipedia text
is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License | <urn:uuid:9bf991b1-2a35-4493-8dc7-9cc0ee669114> | {
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WikipediaRead full entry
The shells are long, narrow, and parallel-sided. This shape resembles a closed, old-fashioned straight razor (a cut-throat razor), or a closed jackknife (pocket knife) and sometimes these clams are known as razor shells or jackknives. The shells in these species are fragile and can easily be damaged when digging for these clams.
Ensis species live in clean sand on exposed beaches. They are capable of digging very rapidly; see the description under the Atlantic jackknife clam. Some clammers catch jackknives by pouring salt on the characteristic keyhole-shaped breathing holes. The clam then tries to escape the salt by coming up out of its hole, and at this point it is possible to gently grab the shell and pull it out of the ground.
Thirteen species are currently recognised:
- Ensis arcuatus (Jeffreys, 1865) – razor shell
- Ensis californicus Dall, 1899
- Ensis directus (Conrad, 1843) – Atlantic jackknife clam
- Ensis ensis (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Ensis goreensis (Clessin, 1888)
- Ensis macha (Molina, 1782)
- Ensis magnus Schumacher, 1817
- Ensis megistus Pilsbry & McGinty, 1943
- Ensis minor (Chenu, 1843) – jackknife clam
- Ensis myrae Berry, 1954
- Ensis nitidus (Clessin, 1888)
- Ensis siliqua (Linnaeus, 1758) – pod razor
- Ensis tropicalis Hertlein & Strong, 1955
- S. Gofas (2010). "Ensis Schumacher, 1817". In P. Bouchet, S. Gofas & G. Rosenberg. World Marine Mollusca database. World Register of Marine Species. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138333. Retrieved April 26, 2010. | <urn:uuid:5ce4881b-9ea6-4d44-9513-68835caa14e2> | {
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Sivaram, C and Sinha, KP and Lord, Eric A (1974) f Gravity and gravitational singularities. In: Nature, 249 (5458). pp. 640-641.Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)
TRAUTMAN has postulated1 that the usual space−time singularity occurring in classical cosmological models and in the gravitational collapse of massive objects could be averted if intrinsic spin effects are incorporated into general relativity by adding torsion terms to the usual Einstein field equations, that is through the Einstein−Cartan theory. Invoking a primordial magnetic field for aligning all the individual nuclear spins he shows that his universe consisting of 1080 aligned neutrons collapses to a minimum radius of the order of 1 cm with a corresponding matter density of 1055 g cm-3.
|Item Type:||Journal Article|
|Additional Information:||Copyright of this article belongs Nature Publishing Group.|
|Department/Centre:||Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics|
|Date Deposited:||17 Dec 2009 11:27|
|Last Modified:||17 Dec 2009 11:27|
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Broken Song which is ostensibly about the anthropologist T.G.H. Strehlow and his translation of the spiritual songs of the aboriginal people of central Australia. At the end of the book, one has some insight into the importance of these songs to the Aborigines and their belief system, but along the way we have an exciting examination of Strehlow’s human motivations: growing up trilingual, parental influence, ethnicity, Lutheranism, Australian identity, racism, aboriginal politics, academic jealousies, the pitfalls of translation, personal passions, adultery, possessiveness, and even his involvement with an unsolved child murder case.
"Sensing belief systems: review of Broken Song: T.G.H. Strehlow and Aboriginal Possession by Barry Hill,"
Culture Mandala: The Bulletin of the Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies:
2, Article 8.
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- Year Published: 1851
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States of America
- Source: Melville H. (1851). Moby Dick.London, England: Richard Bently.
- Flesch–Kincaid Level: 9.8
- Word Count: 910
Melville, H. (1851). Chapter 70: The Sphynx. Moby Dick (Lit2Go Edition). Retrieved May 18, 2013, from
Melville, Herman. "Chapter 70: The Sphynx." Moby Dick. Lit2Go Edition. 1851. Web. <>. May 18, 2013.
Herman Melville, "Chapter 70: The Sphynx," Moby Dick, Lit2Go Edition, (1851), accessed May 18, 2013,.
It should not have been omitted that previous to completely stripping the body of the leviathan, he was beheaded. Now, the beheading of the Sperm Whale is a scientific anatomical feat, upon which experienced whale surgeons very much pride themselves: and not without reason.
Consider that the whale has nothing that can properly be called a neck; on the contrary, where his head and body seem to join, there, in that very place, is the thickest part of him. Remember, also, that the surgeon must operate from above, some eight or ten feet intervening between him and his subject, and that subject almost hidden in a discolored, rolling, and oftentimes tumultuous and bursting sea. Bear in mind, too, that under these untoward circumstances he has to cut many feet deep in the flesh; and in that subterraneous manner, without so much as getting one single peep into the ever-contracting gash thus made, he must skillfully steer clear of all adjacent, interdicted parts, and exactly divide the spine at a critical point hard by its insertion into the skull. Do you not marvel, then, at Stubb’s boast, that he demanded but ten minutes to behead a sperm whale?
When first severed, the head is dropped astern and held there by a cable till the body is stripped. That done, if it belong to a small whale it is hoisted on deck to be deliberately disposed of. But, with a full grown leviathan this is impossible; for the sperm whale’s head embraces nearly one third of his entire bulk, and completely to suspend such a burden as that, even by the immense tackles of a whaler, this were as vain a thing as to attempt weighing a Dutch barn in jewellers’ scales.
The Pequod’s whale being decapitated and the body stripped, the head was hoisted against the ship’s side- about half way out of the sea, so that it might yet in great part be buoyed up by its native element. And there with the strained craft steeply leaning over it, by reason of the enormous downward drag from the lower mast-head, and every yard-arm on that side projecting like a crane over the waves; there, that blood-dripping head hung to the Pequod’s waist like the giant Holofernes’s from the girdle of Judith.
When this last task was accomplished it was noon, and the seamen went below to their dinner. Silence reigned over the before tumultuous but now deserted deck. An intense copper calm, like a universal yellow lotus, was more and more unfolding its noiseless measureless leaves upon the sea.
A short space elapsed, and up into this noiselessness came Ahab alone from his cabin. Taking a few turns on the quarter-deck, he paused to gaze over the side, then slowly getting into the main-chains he took Stubb’s long spade still remaining there after the whale’s decapitation and striking it into the lower part of the half-suspended mass, placed its other end crutchwise under one arm, and so stood leaning over with eyes attentively fixed on this head.
It was a black and hooded head; and hanging there in the midst of so intense a calm, it seemed the Sphynx’s in the desert. “Speak, thou vast and venerable head,” muttered Ahab, “which, though ungarnished with a beard, yet here and there lookest hoary with mosses; speak, mighty head, and tell us the secret thing that is in thee. Of all divers, thou hast dived the deepest. That head upon which the upper sun now gleams, has moved amid this world’s foundations. Where unrecorded names and navies rust, and untold hopes and anchors rot; where in her murderous hold this frigate earth is ballasted with bones of millions of the drowned; there, in that awful water-land, there was thy most familiar home. Thou hast been where bell or diver never went; hast slept by many a sailor’s side, where sleepless mothers would give their lives to lay them down. Thou saw’st the locked lovers when leaping from their flaming ship; heart to heart they sank beneath the exulting wave; true to each other, when heaven seemed false to them. Thou saw’st the murdered mate when tossed by pirates from the midnight deck; for hours he fell into the deeper midnight of the insatiate maw; and his murderers still sailed on unharmed- while swift lightnings shivered the neighboring ship that would have borne a righteous husband to outstretched, longing arms. O head! thou has seen enough to split the planets and make an infidel of Abraham, and not one syllable is thine!”
“Sail ho!” cried a triumphant voice from the main-mast-head.
“Aye? Well, now, that’s cheering,” cried Ahab, suddenly erecting himself, while whole thunder-clouds swept aside from his brow. “That lively cry upon this deadly calm might almost convert a better man.- Where away?”
“Three points on the starboard bow, sir, and bringing down her breeze to us!
“Better and better, man. Would now St. Paul would come along that way, and to my breezelessness bring his breeze! O Nature, and O soul of man! how far beyond all utterance are your linked analogies; not the smallest atom stirs or lives on matter, but has its cunning duplicate in mind.” | <urn:uuid:f12c77cc-9eab-4af8-a05d-6a08a54282d8> | {
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- capital (adj.)
- early 13c., "of or pertaining to the head," from Old French capital, from Latin capitalis "of the head," hence "capital, chief, first," from caput (genitive capitis) "head" (see capitulum).
Meaning "principal" is early 15c. Of letters, "upper case," from late 14c. A capital crime (1520s) is one that affects the life or "head;" capital had a sense of "deadly, mortal" from late 14c. in English, a sense also found in Latin. The felt connection between "head" and "life, mortality" also existed in Old English: e.g. heafodgilt "deadly sin, capital offense," heafdes þolian "to forfeit life." Capital punishment was in Blackstone (1765) and classical Latin capitis poena.
Capital gain is recorded from 1921. Capital goods is recorded from 1899. Of ships, "first-rate, of the line," attested from 1650s. Related: Capitally.
- capital (n.1)
- early 15c., "a capital letter," from capital (adj.). The meaning "capital city" is first recorded 1660s (the Old English word was heafodstol). The financial sense is from 1610s (Middle English had chief money "principal fund," mid-14c.), from Medieval Latin capitale "stock, property," noun use of neuter of capitalis "capital, chief, first." (The noun use of this adjective in classical Latin was for "a capital crime.")
[The term capital] made its first appearance in medieval Latin as an adjective capitalis (from caput, head) modifying the word pars, to designate the principal sum of a money loan. The principal part of a loan was contrasted with the "usury"--later called interest--the payment made to the lender in addition to the return of the sum lent. This usage, unknown to classical Latin, had become common by the thirteenth century and possibly had begun as early as 1100 A.D., in the first chartered towns of Europe. [Frank A. Fetter, "Reformulation of the Concepts of Capital and Income in Economics and Accounting," 1937, in "Capital, Interest, & Rent," 1977]
Also see cattle, and cf. sense development of fee, pecuniary.
- capital (n.2)
- "head of a column or pillar," late 13c., from Anglo-French capitel, Old French chapitel, or directly from Latin capitellum "little head," diminutive of caput (see capitulum). | <urn:uuid:8fb2110f-f11e-47bc-8d30-7f35baa56ea2> | {
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Corn yields throughout the Corn Belt were spectacular in 2009. Was it environment or genetics?
You need the right environment to fully express genes. How could a late planting season and a cool, wet summer contribute to tremendous yields?
Genetics is made up of base genetics, comprising more than 99% of total genetics, plus traits. Environment is everything that isn’t genetics. It includes soil type, organic matter, fertilizers, diseases, planting date, population and row width.
We have no control over weather —one of the most important factors. Corn likes cool, wet summers. Cool temperatures also reduce leaf disease. Plants live longer and keep adding dry matter, improving yields. However, wet, cool conditions late can cause diplodia and gibberella ear rot. Use disease-tolerant, faster-drying hybrids with open husks that tip ears over at physiological maturity to help reduce ear diseases.
Two years ago I met an Iowa farmer who consistently gets high yields, even in tough years. His average yields for the past three years were 185, 232 and 243 bushels per acre with conventional hybrids on about 500 acres. Many of the 30 tips that follow relate to his operation. Some relate to what I’ve learned in more than 40 years as a plant breeder, and as a consultant for Farm Progress Companies on the Corn Illustrated project.
1. Overall condition. Your equipment doesn’t have to be new, just ready to go.
2. Planter checkup. Check over your planter annually with a dealer-provided checklist, or have your dealer do it.
3. Upgrades. If you have an older planter, upgrade planting units if possible.
4. Fleet checkup. Don’t lose planting time because a dealer must repair the tractor, and no other tractors will pull the planter.
5. Consider field guidance. Auto-steering can make planting more relaxing.
6. Utilize fall tillage. That can help stalks break down in conventional systems. Don’t overdo tillage.
7. Apply P and K. Fertilize in the fall where applicable. Apply before tillage.
8. Use manure where feasible. Manure contains micro-nutrients along with
9. Know manure analysis. The Iowa farmer applies 10 to 12 tons of cattle manure per acre after soybeans in a corn-soybean rotation. That supplies 60 to 70 pounds of N per acre.
10. Seek guidance. Work with a local agronomist who understands your soils.
11. Use N-Serve. This farmer applies 90 to 100 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in the fall when possible, with N-Serve.
12. Take N credit. If you apply, say, 15 gallons of 28% N, about 45 pounds of N per acre, with herbicide, take credit toward total N. Remember soybeans add 30 to 40 pounds of N.
13. Starter fertilizer. The Iowa farmer uses 3 gallons of 3-18-18 as starter. He’s seen a 10-bushel-per-acre advantage for starter.
14. Plant early. Be ready to go when the soil is ready. This farmer starts in April if soils are right.
15. Run your own test plot. Replicate the hybrids two or three times. Use the company’s newest and best, and compare to the best hybrids of the previous year. If newer hybrids are 5% to 10% better, it’s time to move on.
16. Consider conventional seed. This farmer planted most of his acres to conventional seed. He figures you need 10 to 15 bushels per acre more at $3.50- to $4-per-bushel corn to pay for traits. He hasn’t seen that increase.
17. Understand traits. Remember that traits protect yield, they don’t increase yield.
18. Conventional herbicides.They’re required if you raise non-GMO corn — it can be a good thing!
19. Identify worst weeds. For this farmer, it’s wooly cupgrass. He’ll try Balance Flex this year on two-leaf corn.
20. Double-check rates. For example, Balance Flex contains a safener. It can affect rates.
21. Control perennials. Applying glyphosate in Roundup-Ready soybeans every other year helps.
22. Watch timeliness. Be timely on herbicide applications. Even small weeds compete.
23. Conventional approach. Use the best granular insecticide available. Soil-applied insecticides also help control secondary pests.
24. Secondary insect control. With triple- or quad-stacks, Cruiser or Poncho 250 seed treatments are included. Highest rates of these products are suggested for rootworm larval control on conventional corn. Control in heavy rootworm areas may still not match other methods.
25. Monitor insecticide applied. A Smartbox system simplifies monitoring. From 5% to 20% of acres will need to be in refuge anyway. Take the same care of those acres as if you planted traited corn.
26. Calibrate carefully. Have your Smartbox system calibrated yearly.
27. Scout regularly. Most Extension Services offer a weekly pest and crop newsletter during the season over the Internet.
28. Get ready! Make sure all harvest equipment is ready to go before harvest.
29. Read the manuals. Set aside time to read your combine manual so you can set your machine to match conditions.
30. Speed kills! Don’t drive the combine so fast that you leave corn behind.
Nanda writes from Indianapolis. E-mail [email protected], or call 317-501-9017. | <urn:uuid:b6fd35c9-eb57-484d-a142-e7a1c1800747> | {
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SEATTLE — May 16, 2002 — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists report a finding in the common fruit fly that may open new paths for understanding some of the key genetic missteps that lead to cancer in humans. The discovery also could offer a better testing ground for anti-cancer drugs.
Susan Parkhurst, Ph.D., and Miriam Rosenberg, both of Fred Hutchinson's Basic Sciences Division, describe in the May 17 issue of Cell how a gene called Sir2, long studied in yeast and worms, has a counterpart in fruit flies that plays a dynamic role in the genetic regulation of early development.
"Because of the important role of the Sir2 gene to basic life functioning, this gene has been the focus of laboratories worldwide," said Parkhurst, a member of Fred Hutchinson's Basic Sciences Division.
"This finding represents a major step in understanding what the Sir2 gene does in a complex, multi-cellular system and further establishes the fruit fly as an important animal model for the study of cancer genetics in humans," she said.
Cancer is a disease of genetic mistakes. Errors in the DNA blueprint that cause single genes or entire chromosomal regions to switch off at the wrong time or turn on inappropriately can result in uncontrolled cell growth and malignancy.
Understanding the mechanisms that turn genes on and off during normal development is crucial for decoding — and ultimately correcting — any flawed and potentially fatal operating instructions within cells that may lead to cancer and developmental defects.
Until now, the Sir2 gene, short for "silent information regulator No. 2," has been known to act as a silencer, quieting large regions of the genome for extended periods to shut down the production of proteins that are no longer needed in the course of early development.
For the first time, Parkhurst and colleagues report that in Drosophila, or fruit flies, Sir2 appears to play a dual role. It also acts as a repressor gene, turning off the short-term expression of specific gene products throughout the complex cellular choreography of normal growth.
"These results support the idea that in higher organisms, the mechanisms of silencing and dynamic gene regulation — once believed to be separate functions governed by separate genes — in fact represent two sides of the same coin," said Parkhurst, a developmental biologist.
While Sir2 has been studied extensively in yeast, analogous versions of the gene exist in many higher life forms as well. Human cells, for example, have seven such silencing genes.
Because some of the key genetic components of Sir2's gene-silencing pathway in lower organisms are identical to those in humans, scientists can exploit the power of yeast and fruit fly genetics to study complex human processes, from early development to cancer growth.
"It appears that Sir2 in higher organisms, including humans, can get the right gene to shut on or off at the right time. This is crucial for maintaining the integrity and normal functioning of cells," said Parkhurst, also an affiliate associate professor of zoology at the University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences.
Mutations, or defects, in Sir2 result in disastrous effects. In lower organisms, for example, such genetic errors have been associated with a shortened life span.
In the Parkhurst lab, Sir2 mutations have been linked to drastic developmental defects and foiled gender assignment, taking a significant toll on equality of the sexes, at least as far as the fruit fly population is concerned.
"We noticed that flies with Sir2 mutations weren't too happy," said Rosenberg, a graduate student in the Parkhurst lab. "There were far too few males in the fly stocks."
"In the absence of Sir2, there's the wrong kind of gene expression for the sex chromosomes present. A female can express as if she's a male, and vice versa. That can lead to all kinds of problems. In flies, it leads to death," Parkhurst said.
In humans, inappropriate gene silencing is thought to account for various sex-linked genetic disorders, in which the affected genes are located on the X chromosome. Such developmental abnormalities, which nearly always affect males, include xeroderma pigmentosum (a rare, inherited skin disease that causes extreme sensitivity to sunlight and increased risk of skin cancer), color blindness and hemophilia.
Malfunctions in gene silencing also have been implicated in several human cancers, including acute myelogenous leukemia, colon cancer and several forms of breast cancer.
Sir2 is an attractive drug target because it has been found to modulate the function of p53, an important tumor-suppressor protein which, when defective, can increase cancer risk in humans.
One drug under investigation at Fred Hutchinson, called Splitomicin, is a potent inhibitor of gene silencing. It works by interfering with Sir2's ability to cloak the chromosome in proteins that shield it from factors needed for activation.
The compound is highly specific, halting the function of Sir2. Such precision is an attractive feature in drug design because it increases a drug's effectiveness and decreases its side effects. Fred Hutchinson researchers scientifically reported the drug's discovery last December and the center has filed patent protection for it.
In the Cell paper, Parkhurst and Rosenberg report that the drug, which already has been shown to reverse global gene silencing in yeast, also works in fruit flies.
"With fruit flies, we now have a multi-cellular model system that is more complex than yeast that will allow us to study all of the functional components of the pathway that are required for the drug to work," Parkhurst said. "Now that we know the drug works on fruit fly Sir2, this opens up all kinds of possibilities that we wouldn't have thought to try before." For example, this finding now hints at the drug's potential for treating diseases that result from the faulty regulation of a single protein, such as certain forms of leukemia.
Fred Hutchinson researchers also have found the compound to be effective in sensitizing human cells to DNA-damaging agents, a finding that could be exploited to increase the effectiveness of cancer chemotherapy, since many anti-cancer drugs inflict DNA damage. Another potential clinical application may be activating silent tumor-suppressor genes, such as p53, to fight cancer growth.
In addition to treating certain cancers, silencing inhibitors such as Splitomicin may be effective against sickle-cell anemia, which arises from defects in the gene for the adult form of hemoglobin. Sufferers do, however, possess a normal version of the fetal hemoglobin gene, which gets silenced early in life as part of normal development. Reversing the silencing of fetal hemoglobin could potentially compensate for the lack of functioning hemoglobin in those with the disease. Likewise, Parkhurst envisions using Sir2 inhibitors to compensate genetically for various certain sex-linked conditions.
The Splitomicin used in Parkhurst's laboratory was developed by Fred Hutchinson researchers Antonio Bedalov, M.D., Ph.D., a research associate the Clinical Research and Human Biology divisions; Dan Gottschling, Ph.D., a member of the Basic Sciences Division; and Julian Simon, Ph.D., a member of the Clinical Research Division.
Grants from the National Institutes of Health supported this work.
To obtain a copy of the Cell paper "Drosophila Sir2 Is Required for Heterochromatic Silencing and by Euchromatic hairy/E(Spl) bHLH Repressors in Segmentation and Sex Determination," contact Kristen Woodward in Fred Hutchinson Media Relations, (206) 667-5095.
# # #
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home of two Nobel Prize laureates, is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the development and advancement of biomedical technology to eliminate cancer and other potentially fatal diseases. Fred Hutchinson receives more funding from the National Institutes of Health than any other independent U.S. research center. Recognized internationally for its pioneering work in bone-marrow transplantation, the center's four scientific divisions collaborate to form a unique environment for conducting basic and applied science. Fred Hutchinson, in collaboration with its clinical and research partners, the University of Washington Academic Medical Center and Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the Pacific Northwest and is one of 38 nationwide. For more information, visit the center's Web site at www.fhcrc.org. | <urn:uuid:f9c14551-41b2-4a06-b86b-7e02940c3b04> | {
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Discussion about a core curriculum brings to light some fundamental differences in thinking about education and learning.
A core curriculum is a set of educational goals that focuses on making sure that all students using it will learn set material tied to age/grade level. The design of the curricula are based on things that do not have much relevance to a homeschooler: grade levels, learning divided into discrete subjects (math, science, history, etc), testing goals and classroom management needs. Recently the idea of a national core curriculum has been receiving a lot of attention. The Core Knowledge Sequence/ Common Core State Standards is a national initiative to create a standard path of education across the states, in part to make sure that students across states have similar academic skills, in part to simplify the production of text books and in part to create a “level” playing field for future job prospects. A recent periodical (American Educator, Winter, 2010-2011) calls the core curriculum an idea whose time has come. The article subtitle reads ” How a core curriculum could make our education system run like clockwork.”
The article goes on to state:
A curriculum sets forth that body of knowledge and skill our children need to grow into economically productive and socially responsible citizens. A common curriculum—meaning one that is shared by all schools—is what binds all the different actors together; instead of going off in radically different directions and inadvertently undermining each other, teachers, administrators, parents, textbook writers, assessment developers, professors of education, and policymakers all work in concert. A common core curriculum—meaning one that fills roughly two-thirds of instructional time—leaves teachers ample room to build on students’ interests and address local priorities.
In countries with a common core curriculum, the benefits are many:
- Teachers need not guess what will be on assessments; if they teach the curriculum, their students will be prepared.
- Students who change schools are not lost, so time is not wasted on review and remediation. Their new teachers may have different lesson plans and projects, but the core content and skills to be mastered in each grade are the same.
- Textbooks are slim, containing just the material to be learned in a given year (not hundreds of incoherent pages trying to “align” to different states’ vague standards and different notions of proficiency).
- Teacher preparation programs ensure that candidates have mastered the curriculum, and ways to teach it, before they become teachers.
- Teachers across the hall, across town, and (thanks to the Internet) across the country are able to collaborate on developing and refining lesson plans and other instructional materials.
In other words, a core curriculum is there to help teachers, schools, test companies, textbook manufacturers create an infrastructure for traditional, school based education. The idea of a core curriculum in the presented format doesn’t make sense for homeschooling.
One of the benefits of homeschooling is that the learning process can be tailored to the learner. A curriculum guide uses a variety of sources to create a philosophical framework for education. The choices for what get taught and when are based on sociology, politics, educational theory, developmental psychology and the needs of a large institutional system. What has gotten lost along the way is developing a system of learning that benefits the individual. Instead of tying learning to a chart, you can personalize your child’s learning. A curriculum is a terrific place to find ideas and to help organize your thoughts and plans for learning, but don’t let it define your family’s homeschooling.
Look at two different aspects of education: the learning process & the materials/opportunities.
- Let ability and comprehension determine the pace of the subject material
- Assist the learner with taking control of the learning process
- Spend as much or more time on understanding logic, critical thinking, problem solving, etc as on fact acquisition
- learn to examine and evaluate the structure creating the information base being used for learning
- Teach how to evaluate learning as it is in progress so that the learning process is continually developed
- Build learning experiences so that the learner can apply previous knowledge and processes to current learning.
- Don’t limit learning to the contents of a textbook or syllabus. Let the learner follow the ideas and information.
- Expand the resource base- wider variety of materials, different formats, different interpretations, different sources, different foci.
- Build learning communities that challenge ideas and create opportunities to talk about ideas & learning
- Make the most of the community learning opportunities
Let me start by saying that I agree there is a set of foundation knowledge that makes learning easier. However, people have taken a very large step from the idea of basic skills, ideas and facts to a K-12 guide detailing what should get taught when.
For example, the folks at the Core Curriculum site have stated:
The more you know, the more you are able to learn.
In one sense, this is a truism. In another, it’s just wrong. This is a misinterpretation of how learning works. Yes, the larger your knowledge base, the more information you have for processing new experiences and ideas. However, a knowledge base is much more than facts. The most critical part of the knowledge base is the ability to process and integrate information in a way that gives you a framework to evaluate new information. Programs that focus on facts first, thinking later takes away one of the most valuable learning skills- the ability to put information in context.
Many educational program will focus on a parts to whole style of instruction. First we’ll teach the basic components, then we’ll show how it all goes together and makes sense. Others insist that whole to parts is the only way to go. We have to show the ideas as larger concepts, and then we will take it apart and look at what went into it. The assumption in the whole/parts debate is that one method is significantly better than the other. The decision about how to approach a topic and where to start shouldn’t be set in stone. How much experience does the learner have with the subject? If the ideas are completely new, it is worth taking some time to help the learner get an idea about the larger picture. Does the learner have previous understanding of a similar situation which will make decoding this one more straightforward? Does the learner see the link between the two situations. Instead of worrying about parts and whole, we can focus on finding ways for the learner to determine which learning approach will be best for this situation. The approach will differ from person to person based on learning styles, experience and the materials available.
One complaint about asking kids to think critically is that we are really asking them to guess how to figure things out. Wouldn’t it be much simpler to just give them the steps and the facts and go from there? Yes, it would– if your goal is the ability to recall and return a set of preprocessed information. However if your goal is for a student to be able to assess unfamiliar ideas and information and to determine a structure to think about it, then no. The advantage to building critical thinking skills early on is that the learner is learning how information is gathered, how it is analyzed and how to develop ideas and theories. With these skills, a learner in a totally unknown situation can figure out what’s happening & develop an approach to solving a problem or putting together the facts for a larger picture. Rather than fuss over parts to whole/whole to parts, the structure of introducing the information and learning structure should reflect the learner’s prior knowledge and experience both with the subject and the learning skills needed. | <urn:uuid:6d288153-790b-4105-85dc-b1ebf1a42e01> | {
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|Graphing Random Walk|
I am trying a produce a random walk for a distance n and my task is to
find how many times along the walk the difference between the two values
produced is 0. The walk gives a binary output and is linked to two
selective groups. I feel I have successfully completed this bit, but am
having difficulty plotting a graph to show this. The plot should be the x
value against the natural numbers, thus a visual description of how many
times the graph goes through the x-axis, to prove the Y value produced.
What function should I use to plot this graph?
Does the function need to be done within the "For" function?
If anyone has any ideas or clues as to how I can overcome this problem,
please be in touch.
Attachment: RandomWalk.nb, URL: , | <urn:uuid:ba405fca-7a87-437c-bc01-cb88a605d0a3> | {
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Group 14 - Fuji Quick Snap Camera
- This page is dedicated entirely to the Fuji Film Quick Snap Outdoor camera. This camera, which was first introduced in 1986, was a bench mark for other companies. Competition and environmental needs lead to the development of the modern Quick Snap Outdoor Camera. Our objective was to gain intrinsic knowledge on the inner workings of the Quick Snap camera. How was it manufactured? Why was it done this way? How does it work? Does the camera seem recyclable? In order to meet this objective, we initially observed our product and made some basic speculations as to the number of components and their function.
- After that, we completely disassembled our camera. The disassembly was fairly smooth, and no tools were needed. The snap fits on the camera allowed us to just pry the camera apart. The rest of the inner pieces were pretty easy to remove. Keep in mind this is a disposable camera and these parts were not made to endure much. Once the camera was completely disassembled, we could evaluate each piece to see how it was made, what it was made from, and what each part’s function was. This is all listed below.
- We then proceeded to put our camera back together with the goal of having it be functional again. However, whether or not our camera truly works properly will be unknown since we had to use all of the film in order to get it into the film cartridge. Without doing this, the film would have proved to be an obstruction.
- To conclude the project, we took what we learned to make a few suggestions and deductions on our product. These are listed in the After Assembly section. Overall we found our product to be well made. It was apparent that Fuji made this design with their budget and the environment in mind. On the back of the outer casing of our camera was a warning for electric shock. After opening our camera we realized that there was no power source, and concluded that Fuji used this casing for various styles of camera. This is smart since it saves them money; they have fewer molds to make. Also, Fuji is working to perfect the “inverse manufacturing” process which means that they either re-use or recycle all of their parts. The camera, although simple, had a lot of thought behind it.
The Fuji QuickSnap Camera Outdoor is the most basic Fuji model consumers can buy. This camera has no flash, no special lens, but only the latest in technology for film, the ISO 800. Obviously technology has advanced since then, but this camera was the first of its kind. This camera was built for people that don’t want to pay for extra features they don't need. This lightweight simple to use camera comes with 4 easy steps right on the cardboard cover.
- Buono, Christa - Technical Researcher, After Assembly
- Harrison, Cassandra - CAD Drawings
- Heiermann, Adam - Presentor, Disassembly, Assembly
- Robinson, Alex - Group Leader, Presentor
- Wells, Michele - Technical Researcher
Before Disassembly Section
- The purpose of this product is for the consumer to easily capture images. The consumer takes their 27 shots, then brings it to a place that develops photos, and in as little as an hour they have their pictures! This product was designed to be simple and easy to use. Along with function ability, the disposable camera was made so that it could be sold at an inexpensive price. This way it targets most consumers. These features allow the disposable camera to compete with the digital world. Consumers who are concerned about breaking their digital cameras, or who can't afford one can easily turn to the disposables.
- Since this camera is so inexpensive we have to believe that all of the energy conversions are mechanical. Also, since there is no flash feature there is no need for electrical energy. When the consumer advances the film, they transfer their energy to the wheel which in turn mechanically transfers its energy to another device in the camera. However, since we have yet to disassemble the camera, it is hard to know for sure what exactly happens.
- We received a completely brand new camera and it worked perfectly. To use the camera, all we had to do was advance the film wheel, point and shoot. When you advance the wheel it makes a clicking sound. When you push down on the button to take the picture it makes a click sound. It was simple and easy to use and appeared to have no issues.
- By knowing the basics of how a camera works, we can make an assumption on how many components make up the camera. We know there must be the advancement wheel, the film, the two outer casings which make the camera, a track for the film to follow, the lens, a shutter, the button, a device that transfers the kinetic energy from the wheel to the film, and a device from the button to the shutter. Overall we can approximate about 14 components. This is making the assumption that each of the inner "devices" are composed of at least 2 parts each.
- By looking at this product we can tell that it is mostly made out of plastic. The basis of the camera is made of a thick black plastic while the lens and the view finder appear to be made of a clear plastic. Also, there is a cheap cardboard cover over the camera that serves the purpose of aesthetics, advertisement, and liability protection.
Before beginning, check to ensure the film count reads "0". This will guarantee the film is enclosed in the canister and will not interfere with the disassembly.
- Note: Only human hands were used as tools for this disassembly. There was no need for anything else.
Disassembly Procedure Table
|Step Number||Process||Level of Difficulty||Image|
|1||Pry open the film canister housing and remove the canister.||Easy, this is the only action a film processor has to perform.|
|2||Unsnap the outer cover from the inner shell.||Medium, you must unsnap four snaps at the proper timing or it will reseat itself.|
|3||Remove the lens.||Easy, with the outer cover removed, there is nothing holding the lens in place.|
|4||Slide out outer viewfinder lens.||Easy, with the outer cover removed, this is also not secured.|
|5||Remove the viewfinder casing.||Easy, it slides off.|
|6||Slide out the inner viewfinder lens.||Medium, even with the covering removed there is an obstruction.|
|7||Slide off the counter wheel.||Easy, this is not restrained.|
|8||Slide off the advance lock.||Easy, this is also not restrained now.|
|9||Slide off the shutter trigger.||Medium, as you remove this the torsional spring will be removed as well.|
|10||Push out the film advance wheel.||Medium, this is restrained by the rear casing.|
|11||Pry the rear housing open.||Hard, this has a factory adhesive and is not supposed to be opened in this manner.|
|12||Slide out the spindle.||Easy, with the back open, this is not restrained.|
|13||Pop the lens holder off.||Medium, this require a light pressure and confidence to not break it.|
|14||Slide the shutter and shutter spring off.||Medium, this is tough to get at, once you find the angle it comes quite easily.|
- The marking on the plastic casing indicates that the product is made of Polystyrene. This is plausible since PS is naturally colorless by nature and can be used in molds of fine detail. However, we found sustainabilty report from Fuji saying that Polyethylene was a material that they used. This too is possible since this is commonly used and is very similar to PS. This is why we listed Thermoplastics for all of our plastic parts.
|Part Number||Part Name||Quantity||Function of Part||Part Material||Manufacturing Process||Image of Part|
|1||Outer Cover||1||Protection||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|3||Lens||1||Focus the Image||Thermoplastic||Investment Casting|
|4||Lens Holder||1||Hold and Protect the Lens||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|5||Shutter||1||Controls Exposure||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|6||Shutter Spring||1||Close the Shutter After Exposure||Music Wire||Extruded and then Machined|
|7||Outer Viewfinder Lens||1||Along with the inner lens, provides the user a view of what they are capturing||Thermoplastic||Investment Casting|
|8||Inner Viewfinder Lens||1||Along with the outer lens, provides the user a view of what they are capturing||Thermoplastic||Investment Casting|
|9||Viewfinder Caseing||1||Support Viewfinder and Magnify Counter Wheel||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|10||Counter Wheel||1||Supply Remaining Picture Count||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|11||Spindle||1||Connects Counter Wheel to Film Advance System||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|12||Film Advance Wheel||1||Allow the User to Advance the Film||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|13||Torsional Spring||1||Provides a potential energy source||Music Wire||Wire Drawing then Machining|
|14||Shutter Trigger||1||Snap the shutter open when the button is pressed||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|15||Advance Lock||1||Prevent the film from moving once it has been advanced||Thermoplastic||Injection Molding|
|16||Film Canister||1||Protect the Exposed (Used) Film||Aluminum||Extruded then Ultrasonically welded|
- CAD file for selected parts
The assembly took one person approximatly 40 minutes.
- Note: No tools aside from human hands were used during this assembly.
Assembly Procedure Table
|Step Number||Process||Level of Difficulty|
|1||Slide the shutter onto its pegs.||Easy.|
|2||Reattatch the shutter spring.||Medium, the spring must be stretched and aligned.|
|3||Attach the lens holder.||Easy, just line up and push.|
|4||Place the spindle back in.||Easy, just slide into hole.|
|5||Place the shutter trigger back in.||Medium, it has to be adjusted to fit the tension spring back in.|
|6||Reinsert the tension spring.||Hard, this is the hardest part of either the disassembly or assembly.|
|7||Slide the advance lock back into position.||Medium, this requires some alignment of the torsion spring.|
|8||Reinsert the inner and outer viewfinder lenses.||Easy, they just slide in.|
|9||Place the counter wheel back on its peg.||Easy, just set it on.|
|10||Reattach the viewfinder housing.||Medium, you have to properly align the components then slip it on.|
|11||Place the film advance wheel back into position and snap the rear casing back into position.||Easy, just line everything up and snap.|
|12||Place the lens back into position and snap the outer cover back in place.||Easy, snap snap and the camera is reassembled.|
|12a||Reinsert the film canister.||Easy, just push into place and close.|
- The only major modification to the disassembly steps was to wait until the end to resecure the back casing. This provided additional working room while performing the other steps.
- After completely dissassembling the Fugi Quick Snap Camera and evaluating each piece we now have a clearer view as to how this camera works. First, the consumer has to advance the wheel so that the film will be in its proper place. When you spin the wheel, the gear design embedded in the bottom part aligns with the gear pattern in the film cartridge. Spinning the wheel advances the film into the cartridge. Not only does this gear
- The product works first by the user looking through the focus lens and centering the object that they wish to take the picture of. Pressing the button releases the spring loaded shutter allowing the film to be exposed to the image for a short period of time. After the user has taken the picture, to prepare the next piece of the film they need to turn the winder which in turn, winds gears that move through the holes along the top of the film. This places the next piece of film ready for exposure. While turning the film advance wheel the gear it connects to turns another gear which will then turn the counter to keep track of the amount of exposures that are left.
- Analysis could be used to design and test the product in many fields such as stress, material, force, and ergonomic. Stress is a very important component to test for this product since it will be carried to many different places by the user. It will be handle frequently as well as put in backpacks, purses, and suitcases during travel. The housing must be able to support the film inside and protect the pictures taken by the user. The material is must also be tested for its ability to with stand alot of handling and rubbing from other objects. The material must be able to with stand a varity of temperatures given it will be taken mostly on trips which involve climate changes. The force analysis will test the cameras abiliie to withstand froces being placed on various places of the frame.
- They are reverse of one another. We still used the same set of tools. We were not able to put the product back together because the back of the camera was broken off since, when the film is developed it is released from a small hole in the bottom, therefore the store never needs to open it up to take out the film. The back of the camera was snapped off during the disassembly process so the group would be able to view the inside parts.
Fujifilm USA The manufacturer of our product.
Wikimedia International Organization responsible for Wikipedia and other projects.
MediaWiki The software that Drexel uses to host this Wiki.
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This problem has many valid solutions. One of them works a little like your description, but instead of slicing the polygons at "random" locations you can do it purposefully in a way designed to minimize the amount of computation.
Here is the basic algorithm. Its input consists of any plane sweep direction, a polygon P of nonzero area, a target area a between zero and the polygon's area, and a nonnegative threshold t (in units of area). Its purpose is to split P with a line perpendicular to the sweep direction into two parts, one to the right of the line and the other to the left of the line, such that the difference between the righthand area and the target area a is no greater than t.
Let L be any oriented line perpendicular to the sweep direction. Define f(L) to be the area of P found at the right of L, minus a. In these terms the task is to find a zero of f. Because f is unlikely to be differentiable, but is continuous, use either a bisection method, the secant method, or--my favorite--Brent's method. All are simple and guaranteed to converge. Use t for the convergence tolerance for the argument.
That's it. Let's consider what goes into coding this. The root finding is routine--you can use a generic chunk of code for it--so the GIS work comes down to coding f. Doing so requires
1. Splitting the polygon by a line.
2. Computing the area of the piece(s) to the right of the line.
Both operations are implemented in almost any vector-based GIS. If not, you can replace the line by a very large rectangle representing the half-plane to the right of the line. Step 1 becomes
1'. Clip the polygon to the rectangle.
That is a really basic operation.
To get started with root finding, you need to find an interval in which the zero of f is guaranteed to lie. This is easy: project the polygon's envelope ("bounding box") into the direction of the line sweep. The projection is the interval you want.
This question has a long history. I implemented this algorithm for ArcView 3.x long ago and described it many times in the old ESRI user forums. Google
huber split polygon site:forums.esri.com
for discussions, links to code, enhancements and variations (such as splitting polygons into parts of desired sizes which are as compact as possible) and algorithms for raster data.
Here is what the continental US states look like (in an equal area projection) with the bottom third of each state shaded. Evidently the sweep direction was vertical. | <urn:uuid:3a2d83d0-7c6a-42c4-b66b-7f1ff253fa94> | {
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1) A small rodent with long hind feet and a long furry tail.
2) Born in rural Tennessee, this historical figure later went on to be a US Representative. At age 49, he was among the 189 defenders who died defending the Alamo.
3) A natural body of water, surrounded by land, with no currents or waves. Because of this lack of regular movement, water temperature remains fairly consistent throughout.
4) Light yellow and flecked with black, ice cream named by this flavor is actually a custard loaded with egg yolks.
5) The essence of a living thing that supposedly crosses over to the afterlife.
6) A person, usually homeless, who travels and looks for work.
7) Eggs from chickens with reddish-brown feathers. This variety of egg tends to be more expensive than others.
8) A fully mechanical device that may or may not resemble a human being.
9) An aquatic mammal with a hooked dorsal fin, a friendly demeanor and a squeal that humans can hear.
10) The phrase formally recognized by the National Weather Service to describe conditions that are a combination of sun and clouds.
11) What you drive on in a city.
12) An outdated term for a product that is no longer in use.
Let me see the answers -- I must know more!
Let me try the other quiz | <urn:uuid:8b4a449a-410f-4927-8e27-f4b168b25811> | {
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Very efficient algorithms exist to draw cubic Bezier curves. In fact, these algorithms are so efficient that other types of curves are often converted to Bezier curves. For example, it is possible to approximate a 90 degree circular arc with a Bezier curve.
Recall that a cubic Bezier curve has four control points. Derive the coordinates of the four control points of a Bezier curve that approximates this circular arc. This approximation should touch and be tangent to the arc at both endpoints as well as the midpoint. Hint: Find control points such that the midpoint of the Bezier curve (t=1/2) lies on the midpoint of the circular arc.
Let P0, P1, P2 and P3 be the four control points of the Bezier curve.
P0 and P3 must be coincident with the endpoints. Thus, P0 = (0,1) and P3 = (1,0).
P1 and P2 must be chosen so that the curve is tangent to the arc. The tangent to the arc at (0,1) is (1,0); thus, P1 must have the same y coordinate as P0. Similarly, the tangent at (1,0) is (0,1), and thus P2 must have the same x coordinate as P3. Since the arc is symmetric, the best approximating Bezier curve should also be symmetric. Thus, P1 = (a,1) and P2 = (1,a).
The final unknown a can be found by requiring the midpoint of the Bezier curve to like at the midpoint of the arc, (sqrt(2)/2,sqrt(2)/2). Using the midpoint subdivision rule, we arrive at the following:
P0 P1 P2 P3 (0,1) (a,1) (1,a) (1,0) 1/2(a,2) 1/2(1+a,1+a) 1/2(2,a) 1/4(1+2a,3+a) 1/4(3+a,1+2a) 1/8(4+3a,4+3a)
Seting 1/4(4+3a)=sqrt(2)/2 and solving for a we get a = 4(sqrt(2)-1)/3 = .552.
+6 points for getting the endpoints right.
+6 points for getting the tangent contraints right.
+4 points for noticing the symmetric and reducing the problem to a single unknown.
+4 points for knowing the correct subdivision rules, for being able to evaulate the Bezier curve at the midpoint.
Certain errors resulted in the following deductions:
-2 for formulating the problem correctly but making a math error in the final answer.
There were lots of answers that we almost right. Most of these received 14 points. They were wrong in that they did not satisfy the constraints that the curve should go through the endpoints and touch the midpoint.
One common solution was to compute the intersection of a 45 degree downward sloping line with the y=1 and x=1 lines and setting P1 and P2 to the points of intersections.
Several bisected the 45 degree angle and computed the intersection of a line through the origin at 22.5 with the x=1 and y=1 lines, and used those intersection points as the control points.
Another common error was to use a quadratic Bezier curve; or to use subdivision rules that reduced to the quadratic case.
Another approach was to reduce the problem to Hermite interpolation by setting the endpoint and tangent conditions. This can be made to work, but you must find a way to constrain the curve to go through the midpoint.
A clever approach was to try to set the tangent of the Bezier curve at the midpoint to have a slope of -1 and try to find separate Bezier curves for top and bottom part of the arc. | <urn:uuid:dc5379c9-1407-483e-a99f-e7147c141790> | {
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The Canadian Lynx
The Canadian Lynx stands about 30-40 cms tall, and ranges in length from about 90-110 cms. They weigh anywhere between 10-20 kgs. The lynx has characteristics that stand out, such as its amazing triangular shaped ears with black tufts at the end. The lynx usually has thick light brown or grayish colored fur which helps to keep it warm during cold winters. They have large paws which assist them in moving fast through the snow.
The Canadian Lynx inhabits Canada, and also the northern United States and Alaska.
|These cats are too small to hunt people, but will hunt domesticated cats and birds, etc. The lynx is a carnivorous animal, meaning that it only feeds on meat. The lynx feeds on the snowshoe hare wherever possible, and will feed solely on these if given the opportunity. Their sharp claws and teeth aid them in their hunt, and they can bring down animals as large as a deer. The lynx is also known to store food for later consumption, and they do this by covering the carrion (dead animal) with snow.
They are agile creatures, and can climb trees with ease. They will use their position in a tree as a vantage point, spotting potential prey. Once spotted, they can leap from the branch and pounce on their prey.
After the lynx has bought down its prey, and ready to feast it may be interrupted by animals such as the wolverine. The wolverine will growl and snare at the lynx, and the lynx will not contest with the wolverine, leaving its fresh kill for the other animal.
Amazing Fact: The Canadian lynx will cover its prey with snow for later feeding.
Further Information on the Canadian Lynx:
E-mail [email protected] to add your Canadian Lynx related website. | <urn:uuid:7e860397-46ef-4f36-81f0-b906e33eec6e> | {
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Invite people to consider events and possibilities from the vantage point of either the past or the future, in order to change assumptions about what is possible in the present.
People have a tendency to believe that however things are now is how they will always be, and perhaps how they have always been. Many of their assumptions maintain the status quo, blocking possibilities of doing things differently. For example, there is a phrase among Quakers when faced with a stick-in-the-mud member: "There won't be a change on that until there's been a few good Quaker funerals." This belief itself can prevent change from taking place. People may respond by aiming deliberately low for what they see as achievable instead of what they really want, by questioning the value of collaboration, or being generally pessimistic. Time Shifting is one way of opening up new possibilities.
Occasionally Time Shifting may also be helpful in confronting unwarranted optimism, e.g. "If we build it they will come." By envisioning the future and how to get from here to there, that assumption too may be unpacked, to be replaced with realistic preparation.
Instructions & Variations:
Time Shift methods may engage the whole group together, or invite individual contemplation and/or research (see Subgroup and Whole Group), that then affects the whole group field and the individuals. There is also a spectrum of structure from telling stories, to providing incomplete stories and inviting people to complete them, to asking people open-ended questions.
A more structured method such as Scenario Planning requires significant research to create credible possibilities distinct from the assumptions people have in the present. The company that is currently the leading practioner of this method is Global Business Network. Their method involves identifying driving forces, then constructing stories about how these forces could interact to produce different outcomes. For example, Michael Raynor worked with the Canadian Institute for Chartered Accountants to come up with four scenarios, based on positive and negative predictions of two factors (market volatility and key economic metrics such as housing and oil prices).
If you provide incomplete stories about the future or past, you can then invite people to respond by stepping into the gap between what is known and what might or might not happen. For example, you can explain a situation, and then offer several possible outcomes, asking people at each item whether or not they think that particular outcome will happen. In working with incomplete stories people become invested in learning more and exploring possibilities that expand existing horizons.
If you ask a personal, future-looking question, like "How do you think your job life will change?" many people cannot leap directly to a novel or useful answer. In contrast, asking "What happened in the last five years that was surprising?" primes people to realize that quite dramatic changes have happened in the past and helps them have more expansive ideas about the future. This principle is the basis of Appreciative Inquiry, which deliberately investigates the best experiences of the past in order to create the most desirable future.
Time Shifting is quite commonly used for groups working on their vision. "Imagine it's 5 years from now and all your dreams for this organization have come true. What's happening? Look around and tell us what you see." A classic version during the early stages of a forming intentional community is to have people imagine that they've already moved in and are welcoming a visit from a grandchild or close friend, showing them around; or that they are writing a letter describing the community to their cousin who's never visited. While use of this pattern for visioning is appropriate, it can often be applied productively on other occasions too.
Joanna Macy and other practitioners of the The Work that Reconnects have developed many fine exercises based on explorations in what they call Deep Time, which takes a view of experience encompassing generations (sometimes across thousands of years, as when they work on nuclear issues). For example, in their exercise Double Circle (see Coming Back to Life, p. 146), participants sit in two concentric circles (inner circle faces out, outer circle faces in, forming pairs). One circle imagines they are seven generations in the future, having survived the crises of the past era, while the other "younger" circle continues to think from a present-day perspective. The younger circle interviews their distant elders, asking questions such as:
- "What has your experience been?"
- "How did you meet the challenges?"
- "What helped you keep your resilience through so much loss, chaos and change?"
- "What did people learn from living through all that?"
As Tom Atlee describes, "Imagineering embraces any use of imaginative narrative to realize, create, or catalyze in real life the potentials we are imagining." He lists a bunch of examples drawn from books, movies, and other media.
Early on in a Future Search, a group timeline is created elaborating the history of the issue or organization. Anyone can add anything to the timeline and no arguments are permitted, so this approach allows for historical ambiguity. In the middle section, present trends and concerns are discussed. Later in the process, future ideas for action are considered.
World Game opens with a multimedia timeline from early in Earth's existence, through the development of life, and eventually the participants (representing the world human population) coming onto the map, slowly as individuals, then in small groups, then a rush at the end as we cover the continents, and may not even fit on land in some of the densely populated parts of the map. A visceral sense of the pace at which that we're saturating the planet.
Coming Back to Life by Macy and Brown, Chapter 9. | <urn:uuid:e583bf00-967a-4c89-b13b-614d58b03546> | {
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In the average healthy human being alcohol is metabolized by the liver at the rate of about one standard drink
(0.6 oz ethanol) per hour. In people who frequently engage in heavy drinking alcohol tolerance
develops. Changes occur in the brain and the liver which work to adapt them to the steady presence of alcohol. When alcohol tolerance
develops people need to drink much more alcohol to get the same effect as they used to.
Reverse Tolerance occurs when a heavy drinker develops liver damage and the liver no longer produces as great a quantity of the enzymes needed to break down alcohol in the body as it did before. Since people with a lot of alcoholic liver damage can no longer metabolize alcohol very well, these people can get very intoxicated on small quantities of alcohol--much smaller quantities than are needed to affect the person who rarely drinks. This phenomenon is known as Reverse Tolerance. The way that Reverse Tolerance can develop over a lifetime is illustrated by the curve in Figure 1.
As we can see from Figure 1, tolerance in an adult who has never had a drink of alcohol in his/her life remains steady. Once a person begins to drink alcohol on a regular basis the dose response goes down--in other words the same dose of alcohol produces less intoxication than it used to. Saying that the dose response to alcohol goes down is exactly the same as saying that alcohol tolerance goes up--and vice versa. Dose response and tolerance are mirror images of each other. As long as a steady consumption of alcohol is maintained, tolerance will tend to increase and dose response will tend to drop. If liver damage begins to occur, however, tolerance will begin to drop once again and dose response will tend to increase. When there is sufficient damage to the liver there will be considerably less tolerance and considerably greater dose response to alcohol than there was before the person ever took their first drink.
It is important to note that most heavy drinkers do NOT develop liver damage or Reverse Tolerance. The majority of heavy drinkers will not suffer liver damage and hence will not develop Reverse Tolerance.
One should be very careful not to confuse Reverse Tolerance with the Healthy Tolerance Reversal which occurs when a heavy drinker does a period of abstinence from alcohol or a period of moderate drinking. When the amount of alcohol to which the liver is exposed on a daily basis is greatly decreased, liver enzymes begin to return to normal levels and alcohol tolerance (as well as dose response) tends to return to levels similar to those before the subject began drinking heavily.
The essential difference between Reverse Tolerance and Healthy Tolerance Reversal is that Reverse Tolerance is caused by damage to the liver which is often irreversible. In Healthy Tolerance Reversal the liver is actually becoming more healthy than it was during the period of heavy drinking--and the reason why the tolerance is dropping is that the excessive and unhealthy levels of liver enzymes associated with heavy drinking are now returning to normal and healthy levels. In Reverse Tolerance many of the cells needed to produce these enzymes have died and that is the reason why less of the enzymes are produced. In Healthy Tolerance Reversal the liver cells are going back to producing normal levels of these enzymes rather than the excessive levels which they produced during the heavy drinking period--no cells die when Healthy Tolerance Reversal takes place.
A period of abstinence may not necessarily return tolerance to the same levels as before the person ever took a drink of alcohol, however, an abstinence period
significantly reduces tolerance from the levels it was at during the time of heavy drinking. Figure 2 illustrates the course of Healthy Tolerance Reversal in a typical individual.
How much time is needed for Healthy Tolerance Reversal to take place? There is not an exact answer to this. Tolerance will start dropping as soon as heavy drinking ceases, but experts say that it takes a month or two for the full effect of Healthy Tolerance Reversal to take place.
For more information about alcohol tolerance please visit our web page What Is Alcohol Tolerance? | <urn:uuid:22a3b157-b1b9-4694-97a1-21ccbeb22744> | {
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Bad Ideas Never Die.
The automobile was invented by Karl Benz in 1885 and the airplane by the Wright brothers in 1903.
Just three years later the first flying car story appeared. And in the 98 years since then, flying cars have received copious coverage in the nation's media.
In 1945, Ted Hall introduced his flying car, a development that was received by a wildly enthusiastic public. Roads would become obsolete, traffic jams a thing of the past. Every major aircraft manufacturer hoped to cash in on Hall's invention. The lucky buyer was Convair. In July of 1946, Convair introduced Hall's flight of fancy as the Convair Model 118 ConvAirCar. Company management confidently predicted minimum sales of 160,000 units a year. In spite of the hype, only two ConvAirCars were ever built.
In 1949, Moulton Taylor introduced the Aerocar, a sporty runabout with detachable wings and tail. The Aerocar received a tremendous amount of publicity at the time. The Ford Motor Company considered mass-producing it, figuring they could sell 25,000 a year.
Bad ideas never really die. In its November 9, 1998 issue, Fortune devoted a two-page spread to the Aerocar. "People dream of this," said the Aerocar's current owner. "They want to get off the highway and get lost in the clouds."
As recently as August 2, 2002, The New York Times carried a major story (nearly a full page) on the Taylor Aerocar. "A car with wings," said the Times "is many a flyboy's dream machine."
Then there's Paul Moller who has spent four decades developing the M400 Skycar. Today, $200 million, 43 patents and three wives later, his dream has still not taken off, although it has received extensive coverage in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Investor's Business Daily and two big stories in USA Today, including one just last month.
Convergence captures the imagination, but divergence captures the market. Today we have many types of airplanes (jet planes, prop planes, helicopters) and many types of automobiles (sedans, convertibles, station wagons, minivans, sport-utility vehicles.)
No flying cars though.
Why divergence and not convergence? Because convergence requires compromise and divergence satisfies the evolving needs of different market segments.
An automobile needs to be heavy enough to stay on the highway; an airplane needs to be light enough to take off from a runway. No flying car will ever be as drivable as an automobile or as flyable as an airplane.
The autoboat, another convergence concept that has been floating around for decades, suffers from the same disease. "Drives like a boat, floats like a car," is the consumer's verdict. Convergence has become an obsession in the high-tech and consumer electronic industries, especially at Microsoft. "Has William H. Gates become the Captain Ahab of the information age?" asked The New York Times. "Mr. Gates' white whale remains an elusive digital set-top cable box that his company, the Microsoft Corporation, is hoping will re-create the personal computer industry by blending the PC, the Internet and the television set into a leviathan living-room entertainment and information machine."
In 1999, Microsoft pumped $5 billion into AT&T and secured a contract to install its TV software in as many as 10 million AT&T set-top boxes. Not a single box made it to the top of a television set serviced by an AT&T cable system and since AT&T is now out of the cable business, the contract is just another convergence dead end.
Irreconcilable differences will always doom such convergence concepts. Television is a "passive" medium; the Internet is an "active" medium. A couch potato will never put up with the complexities of interactive TV and an Internet junkie will never surf the Net with an awkward box designed for another purpose. Like automobiles, different market segments demand different products.
Yet the press, the pundits and virtually the entire high-tech community is solidly behind the convergence concept. Who could possibly doubt that one day it will all happen?
Any student of history, that's who. "Those who cannot remember the past," wrote George Santayana, "are condemned to repeat it."
Divergence is more than a theoretical concept; it's a law of nature. In his book The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin credits divergence for the millions of species that now populate the earth, like the many branches of a tree that diverge from a single trunk. "The great tree of life" was his metaphor for the creation of species.
Darwin's genius was in recognizing that species like cats and dogs might have a common ancestor, but that they had "branched off" or diverged in response to environmental changes. Over time, the differences between each species becomes exaggerated. In Darwin's terms, "nature favors the extremes."
The computer might have had a common ancestor (the mainframe), but today we also have midrange computers, network computers, personal computers, laptop computers, tablet computers and handheld computers. The computer didn't converge with another technology. It diverged in response to consumer demands.
Television might have had a common ancestor (broadcast TV), but today we also have cable TV, satellite TV and pay-per-view TV. Also analog and digital TV. Regular and high-definition TV. Standard (4/3) and widescreen (16/9) formats. Television didn't converge with another medium. It diverged in response to consumer demands.
The telephone might have had a common ancestor, but today we also have cordless phones, headset phones, cellphones and satellite phones. Also analog and digital phones. The telephone didn't converge with another technology. It diverged in response to consumer demands.
Companies today are pouring billions of dollars into such convergence concepts as smart phones, smart gas pumps, smart homes, smart watches, smart clothing, smart refrigerators, smart toilets and smart appliances. This is a tragic waste of time and money. Companies would be more innovative, more profitable and more successful if they would focus on the opposite idea: divergence.
But don't count on it. As you can see, bad ideas never die. | <urn:uuid:59d088c9-bee4-4e84-a3d1-573545461767> | {
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Bringing Design to Software
© Addison-Wesley, 1996
Profile 10. HyperCard, Director, and Visual Basic
Profile Author: Terry Winograd
When Donald Schön (Chapter 9) speaks of an artist, such as a sculptor, who is engaged in a conversation with the medium, we can imagine the picture clearly. The sculptor molds clay or chips stone, and then she looks at and feels the sculpture to see what it has become. Creative designing lies in the interplay between intention and the surprise at what emerges. Everyone who has written interactive software has experienced the same interplay. The programmer writes some code, runs it, and sees how it behaves and feels. The results are partially expected, partially surprising, and they feed into the next cycle of design. The ability to shape and reshape software requires a capacity for rapid prototyping-for turning an unarticulated idea into a working prototype quickly enough to be able to change it, to listen to it, even to throw it out and to go on to another. In this activity, the nature of the programming language and environment can make a large difference-perhaps as large as the difference between modeling in clay and sculpting in stone.
The goals and possibilities are varied, and they are reflected in prototyping tools that are suitable for different prototyping cultures, as described by Michael Schrage (Chapter 10). In the organizational process of design, it matters whether the prototypes are done as a program or as cardboard or video mockups. Some prototyping purposes are effectively achieved with highly refined pixel graphics; others are better served by scanned-in pencil sketches. Sometimes, functionality is a key issue in the prototype; at other times, the prototype needs only to be a facade that demonstrates a look and feel.
Current software design-practice relies heavily on software systems that were created to enable rapid prototyping. Hundreds of such systems are available on dozens of platforms, each with its own features and problems. Some are called authoring tools, others prototyping languages, and others development platforms. What they share in common is a focus on making it easy for designers to build, and then to experience, interfaces and the programs that lie behind them. Three of these systems are profiled here, to illustrate Schrage's points about how prototyping tools affect both the activity and results of prototyping.
Bill Atkinson and his team developed HyperCard at Apple Computer in 1987, as the next step in the path that Apple had proclaimed in the slogan for the Macintosh: the computer for the rest of us. HyperCard ushered in a new capacity of programming for the rest of us, promising to enable every Macintosh user to become an application designer. Since HyperCard was given away free with every Macintosh system, it quickly became a widespread standard (an example followed by later products, such as Mosaic, as described in Profile 5). HyperCard's card-stack metaphor was appropriate for many new applications, and led to a proliferation creative programs that exploited its novel interface techniques. HyperCard's primary place in software design, however, is due to its utility as a general scriptable interface builder, providing direct-manipulation creation of interfaces that are based on standard graphical user-interface elements, such as icons, buttons, text fields, and scrolling windows.
The writers of HyperCard applications range from sophisticated interaction designers to schoolchildren. In fact, HyperCard is now one of the most popular and widespread programming environments for students from elementary school through college. HyperCard's programming language, HyperTalk, differs from conventional programming languages in using Englishlike constructions, such as "put the number of this card into card field XYZ." This format makes HyperTalk more approachable for novices, but is awkward for experienced programmers.
The stacks (as programs are called) that have been built in HyperCard range from juvenile exercises to sophisticated exploration games, such as Spelunx (Cyan, 1991) and Earthquest (Earthquest, 1991). It is impossible to show a typical HyperCard screen, since HyperCard's facilities to draw artwork onto cards have been used to produce every look imaginable. Figure 10.4 shows a demonstration stack that comes with the HyperCard application, and is typical of one widespread style of HyperCard use.
>>>>>>INSERT FIGURE 10.4 ABOUT HERE<<<<<< Figure 10.4 HyperCard Appointment Book This simple application demonstrates several of HyperCard's commonly used facilities for prototyping, such as text fields, buttons, icons, and the ability to create cards with a graphic look that mimics print conventions. (Source: By permission, Apple Computer.)
The HyperCard culture emphasizes ease of use, and encourages simple, playful designs. Although some HyperCard prototypes have a high degree of sophistication and polish, many are immediately recognizable as HyperCard by their use of common icons, buttons, clip art, and other standard visual elements. HyperCard's limitations, such as slow execution and limited support for use of color, have been ameliorated in later versions and successors, such as SuperCard, but the overall niche remains the same. For applications requiring complex computation, portability to different environments, and efficient performance, the HyperCard prototype is discarded after testing, and the final code is written in another programming environment.
Macromedia's Director represents a point at the opposite end of the user spectrum from HyperCard. Director was designed for use by sophisticated multimedia developers, and rather than being bundled free, it costs several hundred dollars. Its appeal lies not in its ease of use, but rather in the sophisticated results that can be produced by users who are willing to learn complex mechanisms. In particular, it can be used for animations that are well beyond the capabilities of most other software-development languages.
The metaphor of Director (as its name suggests) is that of the stage or of an animated film. A Director application is built around a score, which represents a carefully coordinated and timed sequence of activities by a cast of characters. The basic programming structures offers frame-by-frame animation of the kind used in producing movie cartoons. By using Director's scripting language, Lingo, the designer can synchronize sound and motion in sophisticated ways. In contrast to HyperCard's aim to be usable on even the smallest Macintosh, Director emphasizes high-quality graphics, animation, sound, and video, and hence requires relatively high-end hardware. Although Director does provide support for standard Macintosh interface elements, such as buttons and text fields, it encourages designers to produce more open-ended and graphically original interfaces, making use of high resolution graphics, video, and animation (Figure 10.5).
>>>>>>INSERT FIGURE 10.5 ABOUT HERE<<<<<<
Figure 10.5 Director Prototype This interface for exploring a music collection was designed by students in the program in Interaction Design at the Utrecht School of the Arts. It includes many active elements, such as the icons and menu items, and also the 3-dimensional data display, which can be rotated and modified by direct manipulation. (Source: Courtesy of the Utrecht School of the Arts.)
For specialized applications, such as a multimedia information kiosk, Director is suitable for a final product. In many other cases designers use it to give a polished demonstration of what an application might look like, concentrating on the interface without trying to implement all of the functionality. Since Lingo was developed as a supporting language for animation, rather than as a regular programming language, it is not well suited to performing sophisticated computation behind the interface.
Visual Basic was developed for Microsoft's Windows operating system, which positioned it for a market different from the HyperCard users on the Macintosh. Instead of aiming for every schoolchild and home-recipe-book creator, Visual Basic was designed for professional system developers, who are competent programmers but are not user-interface wizards. Visual Basic is designed to enable a programmer to create interfaces using the facilities of the Windows environment with relative ease. Visual Basic is built around a simple, conventional programming language (a variant of Basic), in conjunction with a direct-manipulation interface builder. The designer can create and place standard interface elements, set and modify their properties, and associate them with programs that operate when they are invoked by a user of the interface.
A typical Visual Basic application does not have the flash and originality of many HyperCard stacks or Director prototypes, but instead operates within the normal interface conventions for Windows applications (Figure 10.6). The programming environment makes it easy for the designer to convert a Visual Basic project into an executable file that can be distributed and run by users who do not have the Visual Basic system, on any computer that runs Windows.
>>>>>>INSERT FIGURE 10.6 ABOUT HERE<<<<<<
Figure 10.6 Application Built in Visual Basic This prototype for a workflow system makes use of standard Windows visual elements, such as a toolbar, buttons, tables, and checklists. (Source: Courtesy of Action Technologies.)
The Visual Basic culture emphasizes software engineering and programming values: efficiency of execution, straightforward logical design, and minimal use of machine resources, such as memory. The focus is not on making it beautiful, but rather on making it work. The integration of Visual Basic into the Windows system makes it possible to deliver end-applications that use Visual Basic interfaces and perform sophisticated computation, without incurring high computational costs. In this sense, we might think of Visual Basic as less of a prototyping language and more of a development language-many of the interfaces built with it are intended directly as products, rather than as footholds in the software design process (see Chapter 11).
Robert Arnson, Daniel Rosen, Mitchell Waite, and Jonathan Zuck. Waite Group's Microsoft Visual Basic How-To. Publishers Group West, 1990 (Second edition in press).
Danny Goodman. The Complete HyperCard 2.2 Handbook (Fourth edition). New York: Random House, 1993.
Jason Roberts. Drector Demystified. Berkeley, CA: Peach Pit Press, 1995.
Terry Winograd. Environments for software design. Communications of the ACM, 38:6 (June 1995), 65-74. | <urn:uuid:1ed99faa-4bb5-4c22-858c-d3a6bcd76173> | {
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This past week (September 29 - October 6) was Banned Books Week. This annual event is sponsored by the American Library Association and other organizations concerned with protecting the freedom to read. This observation began 30 years ago to call attention to the books that have been banned or challenged from school or public libraries around the United States.
For the past several years, the Children's Department of Freeman Library has observed this week with a display of books that have been banned or challenged somewhere in the United States, The book covers are covered over with brown paper, but if you lift the yellow flap you will find out why the book was banned or challenged.
The display of banned books will be up through the end of October. Please stop by the display to see what books have been banned or challenged. If you would like to read any of the books, just ask the librarians at the Kids Information Desk to help you find them. | <urn:uuid:1688f53a-a3a2-4539-ad28-96cf298489f8> | {
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Schools' Chemical Hygiene Officers
There have been several state-funded chemical clean-outs for high schools. Schools with chemicals on the state banned-chemicals list should have them properly disposed of as soon as possible. For private chemical disposal services, there are several companies certified to transport hazardous waste. For information on specific companies, consult the SAFECHEMRI listserv to find out who other Chemical Hygiene Officers have used in the past. You may want to call several companies to compare costs.
Common mistakes made in the utilization of acid storage cabinets
- Incompatible storage of concentrated nitric acid (oxidizer) with glacial acetic acid (a
- Incompatible storage of concentrated nitric acid (oxidizer) with ethyl alcohol or
acetone (flammable, but not acids).
- Storage of multiple bottles of the same reagent (EPA regulations allow storage of no
more than one year’s supply of any one hazardous chemical).
- Storage of acids in bottles with glass stoppers instead of vapor-proof screw-on plastic
- Storage of bases in acid cabinets (mixing concentrated acids and bases results in an
extremely exothermic reaction).
- Storage of concentrated acids with concentrated ammonia (also a base). Acid and
ammonia vapors mix and form a white coating of ammonium chloride on everything
in the cabinet.
- Storage of acid bottles without appropriate secondary containment such as plastic
- Use of a metal cabinet to store acids. Corrosive acid vapors are best contained by a
cabinet made out of coated wood or plastic laminate | <urn:uuid:7732f080-85c8-4f61-87ff-dafaa34133dc> | {
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The goal of the HIV Prevention Program is to stop the spread of HIV. The Family Planning, STD and HIV Programs contract with agencies such as District Health Departments and community-based organizations to provide HIV prevention activities -some even provide free HIV testing.
The CDC just released new information about HIV in older adults.
National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS)
“The United States will become a place where new HIV infections are rare and when they do occur, every person, regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or socio-economic circumstance, will have unfettered access to high quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination."
For more information on how to prevent HIV & AIDS call the CDC National STD/HIV/AIDS Hotline - (800)CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636). | <urn:uuid:2f191b4c-6d65-4387-8449-d88d713b73a9> | {
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A Rational Diet for Bodybuilders
In the 1970s, weight lifters — now called bodybuilders — bragged about eating a dozen egg whites every morning to help them get enough protein to build muscles. On TV, you would see them devour slabs of meat, stacks of toast, and giant milkshakes in preparation for the first workout of the day in late morning.
In the 1980s and early '90s, protein supplements in the form of powders, gels, and pills skyrocketed in popularity.
Things have changed.
Many of the next generation of musclemen are now told flatly by nutritionists and bodybuilding experts that well-balanced meals will offer enough protein for all but the most intense exercisers. Unfortunately, few are listening.
What is protein?
Proteins are complex organic compounds that are the main component of the body's muscles, tendons, ligaments, and organs. Proteins are made up of amino acids. The human body needs about 20 amino acids to make its proteins. Of these 20, the body can make only 13; the remainder, the essential amino acids, must come from food. Foods that supply all the amino acids needed by the body are called complete proteins. These foods include meats, poultry, milk, eggs, and fish. Amino acids are also found in plants, but plant proteins are not complete. No plant proteins offer all the essential amino acids our bodies need. If a person's diet has more protein than the body needs, the excess protein is used for energy or stored as fat. The amount of protein required each day depends on a person's age, health, and diet. Two to three servings of protein-rich food will meet the daily needs of most adults.
It is true that those who exercise need more protein to maintain or build muscles, but just modestly increasing portions of meat, poultry, pork, fish, and certain vegetables will provide virtually all athletes with enough amino acids.
About 15 percent of your daily calories should come from protein; 12 percent if you are an older adult. Bodybuilders need 20 percent of their calories from protein. Fat intake should be no more than 30 percent of your daily calories and no more than half of that should be from saturated fat.
Egg whites and milk lead the way in having high-quality, biologically available protein, followed by meat, fish, and poultry.
Red meat is not the bugaboo it once was — partly because grocery stores and other specialty shops now offer extremely lean products (30 percent fat). In fact, most nutritionists — and even the American Heart Association (AHA) — say that lean red meat is an acceptable part of most diets. Be aware that some "lean" meats, such as mutton, are fatter than other meats, such as beef. Many restaurants do not use lean meat, so experts suggest asking questions before ordering.
The lean cuts of meat include flank steak, London broil, and extra-lean ground beef. In addition to containing large amounts of protein, lean red meat is an excellent source of iron and zinc.
For poultry, take the skin off and don't fry it. Removing the skin removes most of the fat.
Fish is not only high in protein, but also very low in saturated fat (the "bad" fat). If you eat locally caught fish, however, check with your department of health to see if any kinds should be avoided because of toxic pollutants.
Go for variety
Try different ethnic recipes, which offer a wide variety of ways to cook meat, chicken, fish, and vegetables. Here are some suggestions: burritos with lean meat; beans and rice; pasta salad with low-fat dressing; and vegetable lasagna made with low-fat cheese.
Whole grains, legumes, vegetables, seeds, and nuts all contain both essential and non-essential amino acids, too. And, according to the AHA, you do not need to consciously combine these foods as "complementary proteins" within a given meal.
Overall, nutrition experts say that a varied and balanced diet of meats, vegetables, dairy, and grains is best. | <urn:uuid:b09f1fc7-f3b3-434c-938f-1ac9a60b67c2> | {
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An Attitude of Gratitude On Thanksgiving Day
Posted by Paul Cacciatore on November 24, 2011
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” — Melody Beattie
Today, many of us will celebrate a national day of Thanksgiving with family and friends. You know the drill — eating turkey, mash potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin or apple pie; watching football (your pick of Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins vs. Dallas Cowboys, or San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens); and napping, after which the whole cycle begins anew.
Why Be Grateful?
Within this traditional celebration, it is all too easy for us to lose sight of the real meaning of the holiday; that is, to give thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon us in our daily lives. Yesterday, I overheard two adults speaking about Thanksgiving in a grocery store line. One individual said to the second in a serious tone: “What do I have to be thankful for?” At first blush, it seems like a fair question when you consider the following:
- The U.S. is currently engaged in two major armed conflicts. As of November 22, the total number of Americans killed in Afghanistan and Iraq is 4,984, and the number of wounded is over 47,000. The conflict in Afghanistan hit the 10-year mark in October. In contrast, the U.S. forced the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and the Imperial Empire of Japan in 3 years and 8 months, thereby ending World War II in August 1945.
- The U.S. is experiencing the worst economic downturn since “The Great Depression” of the 20th century.
- The bipartisan U.S. Congressional “Super Committee” failed to reach agreement on $1.2 trillion of federal budget spending cuts over the next ten years, as part of Congress’ ongoing theater of the absurd in which its utter and total failure is “spun” as success.
- The U.S. Congress’ approval rating, based upon a recent New York Times poll, sits at an all-time low of 9 percent. By comparison, former President Richard Nixon’s final approval rating after the Watergate Scandal and upon his resignation was 23%.
- The U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) continues to fight for increased federal funding for cancer research in a time when 50% of men and 33% of women woman will experience cancer at some point during their lifetimes.
- It is estimated that 15,460 U.S. women will die from ovarian cancer in 2011, which represents the death of one woman every 37 minutes. The annual U.S. ovarian cancer death toll is equal to the number of passenger deaths that would result from 30 Boeing 747 airplane crashes every year.
- According to a recently published U.K. report, the median survival of women with ovarian cancer only increased from 8 months to 3 years over the past 40 years.
There is little doubt that the current state of U.S. affairs as described above is indeed daunting. The unsettling situation in the U.S., however, pales in comparison to the average life experience of those living in extreme poverty around the world (including the U.S.).
- In 2005, the World Bank reported that 1.4 billion people in the developing world (one in four) were living on less than US$1.25 per day, of which 162 million live on less than $0.50 per day. The latter category of individuals are referred to as the “ultra poor” by the International Food Policy Research Institute.
- Number of children in the world: 2.2 billion. Number of children living in poverty: 1 billion.
- According to the World Health Organization, there are approximately 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS today, with 2 million AIDS-related deaths anticipated each year. It is estimated that 76% of those deaths will occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
- The United Nations estimates that 34,000 children and 16,000 adults die each day from hunger or preventable diseases with poverty-related causes. The annual death total is 18 million per year, which is nearly two times greater than the total number of deaths that occurred throughout “The Holocaust” between 1933 and 1945.
- Approximately 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to clean water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Approximately 12 percent of the world’s population uses 85 percent of its water, and the individuals represented by the 12 percent do not live in the Third World.
- In 1997, it was estimated that less than 1 percent of annual world weapons expenditures was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000.
- Nearly one billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
- 1.6 billion people live without electricity.
- The U.S. has the widest gap between rich and poor of any industrialized nation.
- In 2008, 7.6 million people died of cancer or 13% of all deaths worldwide. About 70% of all cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
In light of the above-mentioned global poverty statistics, it should be possible for even the most pessimistic U.S. citizen to be grateful on Thanksgiving Day. For the women and families who are dealing with ovarian cancer in their lives, we also believe that gratitude and hope is not only possible; it is essential.
- While cancers (including ovarian) constitute an incredibly diverse and bewilderingly complex set of diseases, we have at hand the methods to identify essentially all of the genetic changes in a cell and to use that knowledge to rework the landscape of cancer research and cancer care, from basic science to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
- With this better understanding of cancer and recent technological advances in many fields, such as genomics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and computational sciences, progress has been made on many fronts, and a portrait is beginning to emerge for several cancers including ovarian.
- It has been established that there are at least four major subtypes of epithelial ovarian cancer which should be treated as separate and distinct diseases.
- In The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) study findings recently published with respect to the most common form of epithelial ovarian cancer, the investigators reported that a class of drugs known as “PARP inhibitors” may benefit up to 50% of high-grade, serous ovarian cancer (HGS-OvCa) survivors. In that same study, the investigators identified 22 genomic targets that occur in 10% or more of these cases, along with nearly 100 preclinical, clinical and FDA-approved drugs which are capable of “hitting” those targets.
- The TCGA study of HGS-OvCa is arguably the world’s largest genomic study of any form of cancer to date.
- Never before in human history has so much healthcare information been so readily available to the general public, thereby allowing cancer survivors and their families to proactively participate with their doctors in decisions relating to cancer diagnoses, treatments, and survivorship.
- Given the rapid technological and pharmacological developments described above, it is important to “live to fight another day.”
- Studies suggest that gratitude may improve overall health by leading to (i) better diet, (ii) increased amounts of exercise, (iii) reduced stress, and (iv) a stronger immune system. In other words, if you want to promote health, try giving thanks.
Thanksgiving In Times of Adversity & Plenty
“… As we gather in our communities and in our homes, around the table or near the hearth, we give thanks to each other and to God for the many kindnesses and comforts that grace our lives. Let us pause to recount the simple gifts that sustain us, and resolve to pay them forward in the year to come. …” — President Barack Obama
On November 16, 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation for Thanksgiving Day 2011. The proclamation is befitting of the true meaning underlying this traditional holiday. Although the origins of the modern U.S. Thanksgiving holiday can be traced back to the early 17th century, it is worth noting that the first Thanksgiving to be celebrated by all U.S. states on the same day (i.e., the final Thursday of November, which was not enacted into law by Congress until December 1941) was first proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln on October 3, 1863. The year 1863 was arguably one of the darkest time periods in U.S. history because it occurred in the midst of the Civil War; a conflict that pitted brother against brother, and resulted in more American deaths than all subsequent U.S. conflicts combined. Despite that fact, President Lincoln believed strongly that we should give thanks for our daily blessings even in times of great adversity.
The main text of President Obama’s proclamation, which is provided below, echoes the sentiments of Lincoln and reminds all Americans that in good times and bad times, “… we have lifted our hearts by giving humble thanks for the blessings we have received and for those who bring meaning to our lives.”
“One of our Nation’s oldest and most cherished traditions, Thanksgiving Day brings us closer to our loved ones and invites us to reflect on the blessings that enrich our lives. The observance recalls the celebration of an autumn harvest centuries ago, when the Wampanoag tribe joined the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony to share in the fruits of a bountiful season. The feast honored the Wampanoag for generously extending their knowledge of local game and agriculture to the Pilgrims, and today we renew our gratitude to all American Indians and Alaska Natives. We take this time to remember the ways that the First Americans have enriched our Nation’s heritage, from their generosity centuries ago to the everyday contributions they make to all facets of American life. As we come together with friends, family, and neighbors to celebrate, let us set aside our daily concerns and give thanks for the providence bestowed upon us.
Though our traditions have evolved, the spirit of grace and humility at the heart of Thanksgiving has persisted through every chapter of our story. When President George Washington proclaimed our country’s first Thanksgiving, he praised a generous and knowing God for shepherding our young Republic through its uncertain beginnings. Decades later, President Abraham Lincoln looked to the divine to protect those who had known the worst of civil war, and to restore the Nation “to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.”
In times of adversity and times of plenty, we have lifted our hearts by giving humble thanks for the blessings we have received and for those who bring meaning to our lives. Today, let us offer gratitude to our men and women in uniform for their many sacrifices, and keep in our thoughts the families who save an empty seat at the table for a loved one stationed in harm’s way. And as members of our American family make do with less, let us rededicate ourselves to our friends and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand.
As we gather in our communities and in our homes, around the table or near the hearth, we give thanks to each other and to God for the many kindnesses and comforts that grace our lives. Let us pause to recount the simple gifts that sustain us, and resolve to pay them forward in the year to come. …” — Barack Obama’s Presidential Proclamation — Thanksgiving Day, 2011
If All Else Fails – Try Humor
If you are still having trouble cultivating an attitude of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day, it is always helpful to enjoy the humor created by a child’s perspective. Thanksgiving is a time for food, family and fun, and we all know that children and grandchildren are a big part of the fun. Save Mart Supermarkets dared to create a video which captures a child’s perspective on the traditional Thanksgiving experience. We should warn you that a broad smile is a common side effect of watching this video. Enjoy!
What Are We Thankful For?
Our Thanksgiving Day gratitude list includes the following:
- Ovarian cancer survivors and their families, who teach us every day about the importance of hope, perseverance, courage, compassion, love, and acceptance.
- The compassion of medical clinicians who treat ovarian cancer patients every day.
- The intelligence and dedication of U.S. and international medical and scientific researchers, who doggedly pursue methods to control, and ultimately conquer, ovarian cancer.
- The generous assistance provided to us by the Women’s Oncology Research & Dialogue (WORD) gynecological cancer awareness organization. Dr. Kelly Manahan (WORD Co-Founder), Dr. John Geisler (WORD Co-Founder), Nate Manahan (WORD Executive Director) and Chad Braham (WORD Director of Media Productions) provide Libby’s H*O*P*E* with invaluable substantive and technical assistance throughout the year, including the newest joint collaboration called “WORD of HOPE Ovarian Cancer Podcast.”
- The substantive assistance provided to us by the Ovarian Cancer Research Program of British Columbia, the British Columbia Cancer Agency, and the BC Cancer Foundation.
- The ongoing generosity, encouragement and hope provided by Douglas and Diana Gray through the Gray Family Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma Research Resource, a multi-year research project dedicated to understanding, and ultimately defeating, one of the most lethal subtypes of epithelial ovarian cancer. The Talmud says: “And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.” Doug and Diana Gray are passionate about pioneering ovarian cancer research aimed at saving women’s lives.
- Our families who provide seemingly endless support and understanding, while we advocate on behalf of ovarian cancer survivors and their families.
- The inspiration provided by Libby’s eternal spirit.
- The ovarian cancer advocacy communities represented on Facebook, Twitter, Inspire.com, etc., who demonstrate on a daily basis that there is patient empowerment, joy, kindness, compassion, and synergy created by a large number of passionate and dedicated survivors and advocates who band together in cyberspace.
- The dedicated service of our U.S. military personnel (and their families), who allow us to rise and sleep under the blanket of freedom which they provide each day through blood, sweat, and tears.
- The roofs over our heads, the food on our tables, the clean water from our faucets, the freedom of speech and religious practice upon which our country was founded, the ability to vote in fair elections, and the simple acts of kindness that we are able to provide to and receive from others.
From our family to yours, let us take this opportunity to wish you a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. | <urn:uuid:569c305d-b9e4-45dc-b82e-bab35d302278> | {
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Nine ways to Get Fresh Food
Nearly all fresh fruits and vegetables start to loose their nutritive value and taste the moment they are plucked.
Always try and buy the fresh produce grown near your place of residence if you can not grow them. Ten percent of Vitamins are lost during transit and specially Vitamin C.
Hereunder are given nine points to Get Fresh Food:
1) Fresh squeezed juices get oxidized from end of third hour and should be consumed as soon as possible. It would be better to add some pulp in the juice as it has fibre. Fiber is good for the stomach and easy to digest.
2) Consume meat, poultry and fish with in two days of purchase as high fatty acids portions start disappearing soon after the catch. It is much wiser to place the meats lowest in the fridge or in the chiller tray. This will prevent juices to drip on fruits and vegetables and likely to change their taste, shape and may contaminate.
3) It is a good practice to cook vegetables just prior to eating, otherwise they loose their vitamins if stored and later on when heated to make them palatable. Unused vegetable should be placed in air tight container to retain freshness
4) Take care and handle with much care both fruit and vegetable as they loose their originality very soon if handled harshly.
5) Always eat seasonal fruits and vegetables as they are cheaper than preserved or refrigerated.
6) Always buy fruits and vegetables in small quantities as you can get the best nutrition when they are fresh. It is better to make purchases oftener to consume fresh Food as much as possible.
7) Regular water spray on vegetables will keep your raw vegetables more fresh.
8. Fruit ripening should take place at room temperature. It may be noted that fridge will stifle the ripening process and subsequently make the vitamins disappear.
9. It is a good to plan in advance to purchase various fresh fruits and vegetables. Once purchased, consume those items which decay faster than others. | <urn:uuid:d812f0dc-8a8e-4cd8-8978-ff32b038928f> | {
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Knife, Fork, and Plate from Libby Prison
Grade Range: 5-12
Resource Type(s): Primary Source, Artifacts
Date Posted: 12/28/2010
During the Civil War, Libby Prison held over 125,000 men, mostly Union officers. This knife, fork, and plate was issued to prisoner of war Colonel John S. Crocker, 93rd Infantry Regiment, New York Volunteers, by the commandant of Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, and used by him at Libby and Salisbury prisons, 1862.
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades 5-12)
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12) | <urn:uuid:a1f56987-9319-4c2c-acba-b3f68f8666bc> | {
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You can download the memo here
Israel’s accession to OECD: encouraging impunity, rewarding war crimes
- OECD’s fundamental values include respect for human rights, commitment to democracy and adherence to the purposes of the United Nation.
- In the “Road Map for the accession of Israel to the OECD Convention” the Council noted that in order for Israel to accede to the OECD it must demonstrate its commitment to “fundamental values” shared by all OECD members and meet related benchmarks.
- Israel is not in compliance with OECD standards and benchmarks.
- Israel exerts its sovereignty and effective control over four million Palestinians living under an occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Under the Geneva Conventions Israel is fully responsible for the economic wellbeing of Palestinians. Israel is also responsible for at least three million Palestinian refugees living in exile outside Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, whom it has expelled and made stateless in violation of international law. Israel’s denial of durable solutions and reparations keeps millions of Palestinian refugees in a legal limbo (statelessness), undermining their economic wellbeing for decades.
- Israeli economist Shir Hever said: “The OECD is treating Israel as though it has seven million citizens when, in reality, it has 11 million subjects, of whom four million are Palestinians living under occupation. If they were included in the figures submitted to the OECD, Israel would have to be refused accession because of the enormous disparities in wealth.”
- Israel is not in compliance with its obligations under international law.
- Israel has yet to comply with the recommendations of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict and investigate and prosecute where needed those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- Israel has yet to lift its illegal blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip which has brought to the brink of starvation almost 1.5 million Palestinians.
- Israel has yet to dismantle its illegal Wall in the occupied Palestinian West Bank in accordance with the 2004 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion.
10. The High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention have the legal responsibility to ensure Israel’s compliance with the Convention. The UN General Assembly Resolution endorsing the 2004 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Wall affirms that member states should not render aid and assistance to the unlawful situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories.
11. In its assessment of the Israeli social and economic situation, the OECD said that Israeli politics are defined by “policy agendas rooted in ethnicity and religion. ” Israel has over 30 laws that privilege Jews over non-Jews thus It cannot be considered a “pluralist democracy”, a key requirement for membership. OECD did not condition Israel’s accession on the annulment of these racist laws, therefore legitimizing them. As a result, half of Israel’s Arab citizens are living below the poverty line, a rate three times higher than among Israeli Jews, and that on average Arab citizens earn salaries that are one-third less than Jews.
12. OECD members should be committed to “free market” principles. The economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territories is part and parcel of the Israeli economy. A recent World Bank report states that “restrictions on the movement of goods have crippled [Palestinian] private sector activity”. Israel maintains over 500 checkpoints that restrict freedom of movement of Palestinians. Israel has blocked the implementation of the EFTA-PLO agreement on the promotion of trade. Palestinians in Gaza cannot export their produce due to the Israeli imposed siege. Israel is an obstacle to “free market” and uses its economic hegemony to punish Palestinians.
13. Israel has breached one of the organization’s key requirements on providing accurate and transparent data on its economic activity. Data submitted by Israel to the OECD include illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. By including the settlements, the OECD will be giving it a seal of approval. By excluding the settlements, the OECD will be ignoring the reality of occupation. Either way, the OECD treats as “non-existent” the millions of Palestinians under Israeli sovereignty.
14. Israel does not abide by the core principles of environmental policy demanded for Israel’s accession. The policy reforms implemented by Israel do not apply to all territories under Israel’s sovereignty, namely the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel dumps waste and pollutants into the land and sea of Gaza and the West Bank; contaminating Gaza’s drinking water and reducing the territory to the point where Amnesty International has declared 95% of its drinking water unfit for human consumption; destroying acre after acre of arable farm land to build the illegal separation wall and illegal settlements; and setting ablaze and uprooting olive groves and other orchards.
15. OECD maintains stringent rules for member countries in regards to chemical management and safety. Israel violates the spirit of these rules by maintaining a large stockpile of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. These are not independently supervised or regulated and are recklessly used against Palestinians e.g. depleted uranium, white phosphorous.
16. While Israel approved legislation making bribery of foreign officials illegal, Israel’s Defense Ministry has the power to censor the results of any investigation of bribes paid by Israeli companies to foreign officials on the ground that the publicity could harm Israel’s national interests. The censor can bar publication and is under no obligation to tell the authorities about the investigations. Bribery mainly takes place in Israel’s multi-million dollar defense industry. Israel ranks 32nd on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index
17. Considering the above, rewarding Israel with OECD membership will be seen by people of conscience around the world as a decisive and far-reaching act of complicity in rewarding and perpetuating Israel’s occupation, colonization and apartheid against the Palestinian people. Furthermore, it will irreparably undermine the rule of law and further entrench the culture of impunity that has enabled Israel to escalate its commission of war crimes and what is described by some leading international law experts as a prelude to genocide against Palestinians in the illegally besieged and occupied Gaza Strip.
- Add to the agenda of the upcoming council meeting discussion about the suitability and desirability of Israel’s membership to OECD, namely the extent to which it represents key values of the organization (international law, human rights, democracy, rule of law and open markets)
- Condition Israel’s membership on the fulfillment of its obligations towards Palestinians under international law
- Reconsider economic data submitted by Israel to reflect the full picture of Israel’s economy, including economic figures for non-citizen Palestinians under Israel’s sovereignty. This will uncover massive discrepancies in income and standards of living that disqualifies Israel from membership
- Overall recommendation: delay Israel’s accession until it abides by international law and respects human rights, allows for Palestinian self-determination, ends discrimination against its non-Jewish citizens, provides durable solutions and reparations to Palestinian refugees and allows for unhindered economic development of Palestinians
Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1960)
Road Map for the accession of Israel to the OECD Convention (2007)
OECD, 2010a, OECD Economic Surveys: Israel, Volume 2009/21-January 2010, Supplement No. 3, OECD Publishing
World Bank (2010) Checkpoints and Barriers: Searching for Livelihood in the West Bank and Gaza. | <urn:uuid:7d7669eb-7e30-417e-b150-f36044c05cba> | {
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SECOND-LANGUAGE LEARNING: A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE
1978 survey reprinted in V. Kinsella (1982) Surveys 1, CILTR
the early 1960s we were satisfied that we knew all about how people learnt a
second language. Then the impact of Chomsky's ideas exposed the extent of our
ignorance. Some people's reactions were that we should stop interfering with the
learner, since nature knew best (Newmark & Reibel, 1968). Others admitted
the error of their ways in principle but in practice continued to use the same
teaching techniques; by and large the changes in
the content of language teaching from 'structures' to 'functions' were not
accompanied by any changes in teaching methods. However, in the past few years
the question of second-language learning has been reopened; this review attempts
to give a critical account of some directions that research in this field is
taking. Our ignorance is not quite as boundless as it once was; before long we
may be able to base language teaching at last on a solid foundation of knowledge
about second-language learning itself.
The learner's development in a second language
starting point is the language that the learner produces and understands.
Inevitably this involves several methodological problems. One is the
relationship of the learner's language to time; to show how learning takes place
we need to see development in time: we need pictures of 'before' and 'after'.
One way of achieving this is to describe the longitudinal language development
of a group of learners or a single learner, as in Hakuta (1975). Another is to
relate different points of time in different learners, as in Padilla
and Lindholm (1976). Yet another is to relate the learner's language to the
final point in time, the language of the native speaker, the approach often used
in 'error analysis'. A second methodological problem is deciding what we count
as evidence of the learner's language. The most common approach is to gather
more or less natural samples of the learner's language; this has the
disadvantage common to corpus-based descriptions of making it hard to know when
generalisations can be made to the
learner's language system as a whole. Kellerman (1974) has suggested
supplementing it with 'lateralisation', that is to say, eliciting further
information from the learner about specific points. There are also dangers in
relying solely on the analysis of errors since this provides partial information
about the learner's language; to describe it adequately we need to know more
about it than its differences from the target language (Corder, 1971). An
alternative approach consists of designing particular techniques that tap only
the part of the learner's language that we are interested in. Also, compared to
first-language acquisition, the second-language learner is more aware of
learning a language and can be asked direct questions about what he knows.
in the previous paragraph it was accepted implicitly that the learner has a
language system of his own; though this system is related to both his first and
second languages, it has its own distinctive characteristics. This implicit
assumption has been called, with slightly different emphases, ' interlanguage'
(Selinker, 1972), 'transitional competence' (Corder, 1967), 'approximative
system' (Nemser, 1971), and 'language learner's system' (Sampson & Richards,
1973). It parallels the common assumption that a child acquiring a first
language has a systematic language that is not simply a defective version of the
adult's. In itself the assumption tells one nothing about the system or how it
develops except that it is
For the description of learning, an important characteristic of the learner's
language system is that it is changing rather than static: Corder (1977) calls
it a 'dynamic goal-oriented language system of increasing complexity'. However,
one should not forget the effect of 'fossilisation', in which some aspects of
the learner's language system remain fixed and do not develop (Selinker, 1972).
aspect of the learner's development that has interested many people is the order
in which particular grammatical points are acquired. A common approach starts
from part of Roger Brown's work on first-language acquisition. Brown (1973)
discovered that the chronological order in which children start to use
grammatical morphemes such as the
fairly constant: the child first uses -ing,
the plural -s
so on. Dulay and Burt (1973) first tried this approach on second-language
learning, using the Bilingual Syntax Measure (BSM) to elicit samples of language
from children at one moment of time: they scored the accuracy for grammatical
morphemes and established an order of difficulty; though they found a common
order among the children, this order had certain differences from Brown's order.
This method was extended to show that children with different native languages
share the same order (Dulay & Burt, 1974); that adults have a similar order
to children (Bailey, Madden & Krashen, 1974; Krashen, Sferlazza, Feldman
& Fathman, 1976); that the order varies according to the task involved
(Larsen-Freeman, 1975); and that the order is not much affected by one month's
classroom teaching (Perkins & Larsen-Freeman, 1975). At first glance, then,
this research suggests that second-language learners share a common order of
acquisition for grammatical morphemes in English. At closer inspection, the
connections between the learner's language and time seem slightly dubious. The
criteria used in Brown (1973), in which points of acquisition are arranged into
a chronological order, are replaced by criteria of relative success at one point
of time: Brown was talking about a 'codebreaking' order, the second-language
research about aa 'decoding' order, to borrow two terms from
cryptography. Rosansky (1976) argues that it is necessary to show that order of
difficulty is the same as order of acquisition, if these results are to mean
anything in terms of development, furthermore, comparison with Brown's results
is obscured by the different methods
collecting data, on the one hand elicitation techniques such as the BSM, on the
other natural recordings; indeed, native children tested with the BSM do not
show Brown's order (Porter, 1977). A naturalistic study has
fact shown similarity between chronological order of acquisition in young
bilingual children and Brown's order, but less similarity in older children
(Padilla, to appear). So order of difficulty for grammatical morphemes is at
present hard to interpret; it certainly does not in itself justify any
statements about chronological order of acquisition or about differences from
of syntactic development
aspects of syntactic development have been investigated in less controversial
ways. Much of the research has dealt with English and has been concerned with
children. Many results show a fair amount of variation between learners (Cancino,
Rosansky & Schumann, 1975; Bertkua, 1974). Even within the
of one learner there is
variation; Dickerson (1975) has suggested employing variable rules such as
for the variation from one situation to
Out of the plethora of studies one can mention
representative handful concerned with different points of English syntax:
negation (Milon, 1974); pluralisation (Natalico & Natalico, 1971);
auxiliaries (Cancino et
pronouns (Katz, 1976); possessives (Padilla & Lindholm, 1976); eager/easy
to please (Cook,
1973; d'Anglejean & Tucker, 1975). Other languages have been studied to
lesser degree: French relative clauses and indirect objects (Chun, 1976);
Spanish verb and noun phrases (Dato, 1975); Swedish negation (Hyltenstem, 1977).
Mostly the writers have concluded that there are general similarities between
the order of acquisition of foreign
learners and native children, though there are some differences; for example a
stage has been described in
learning of English negation by Germans in which a negative element occurs
immediately after the verb, unlike any stage in first language acquisition
wealth of information about the learning of English syntax should not blind us
to the paucity of research in other areas of development; semantic development
has hardly been touched upon, apart from Young (1973); phonological
development is equally under-researched, with some exceptions (Dickerson,
1975;Tarone, 1976; Wode, 1976 a). This bias towards syntax leaves the study of
learner's language in a curiously isolated position. On the one hand, it is cut
off from recent ideas in first-language acquisition which are more concerned
with semantic, cognitive and social development than with syntax. On the other
hand, it is cut off from recent work in applied linguistics which stresses
communicative functions rather than grammatical form. While the grammatical data
that have been unearthed are interesting in themselves, one may question where
they lead. Ultimately, so far as learning is concerned, the learner's language
and the order in which he acquires various items are only interesting as
evidence for underlying processes at work: the question to be answered is why
his language takes the form that it does. So, rather than attempt to summarise
the vast mass of descriptive studies of learner's language that are now
available, a task resembling Hercules' in the Augean stables, the rest of this
survey looks at some of the underlying causes of the learner's language system.
2. The learner's contribution to second language learning
and production strategies
with a new language the learner applies certain strategies both conscious and
unconscious to what he hears, which partly determine his language system
(Selinker, 1972; Richards, 1971). The positive effects of the learner's
conscious awareness that he is learning a new language have been described in
terms of the strategies that the good language learner adopts (Rubin, 1975;
Stern, 1975; Naiman, Frohlich & Stern, 1975). Broadly speaking, the profile
of the good learner shows that he is actively involved in the learning process:
he listens carefully and checks what he says himself; he is eager to participate
and to communicate with others; he practices the language of his own accord.
Though these strategies necessarily appear 'obvious', any model of
second-language learning has to take them into account; if, for instance, adult
learners feel that second-language learning is chiefly a matter of vocabulary
(Hatch, 1976), this clearly has an effect on their learning, regardless of
whether they are right or wrong. At the opposite pole from these conscious
strategies are those revealed in an experiment, where, after 27 minutes of
exposure to an unknown language, people were able to distinguish pauses located
at grammatical boundaries from those that were not: somehow they had employed
a strategy that yielded quite accurate information about the grammatical
structure of the language (Wakefield, Doughtie & Yom, 1974). The learner
then, consciously or unconsciously, absorbs or extracts information from what he
hears. One strategy is to impose the structure of his first language: he
transfers rules or items to his learner-language system from his first language
and shows signs of 'interference' (Selinker, 1972). Another strategy is to
attempt to guess the system of the target language, resulting in '
overgeneralisation'; his use of this strategy increases as he learns more of the
language (Taylor, 1975). The learner also pays great attention to word order
(Chun, 1976; Lattey, 1975). He may appear to 'simplify' the second language; his
sentences have a simpler grammar and use reduced forms, similar in many ways to
a pidgin language (Schumann, 1975a).
Schumann claims this similarity is no coincidence: pidgins and learner languages
are both produced under the pressure of a need to communicate with people from
another culture. There are nevertheless difficulties in accepting either that
the pressures on an individual and on a community are the same, or that the
similarities between pidgins are necessarily due to a general communication
strategy rather than common source languages. A slightly different explanation
for simplification is that it represents an attempt to return to an earlier,
more basic form of the language (Corder, 1977), resembling the view that early
language is closest to deep structure (McNeill, 1965). There are, however,
dangers in the over-literal use of the term 'simplification ' since this
suggests that in some way the learner is aware of the whole grammar of the
language rather than extracting a ' simple' system from what he hears. Finally
there are the production strategies that the learner uses in a speech situation.
One of these is' avoidance'; Schachter (1974) pointed out that learners often do
not make the predicted mistakes because they can avoid producing a form that
they are likely to get wrong. The idea of avoidance has been extended to include
various types of lexical avoidance (Blum & Levenston, 1977). In general, the
conscious and unconscious strategies that the learner employs are of vital
importance and we need to know more about them, not only in linguistic terms but
also in the cognitive and social terms that are starting to be studied (Chun,
1975; Fillmore, 1976).
ways in which a learner learns a second language are also affected by his
attitudes and psychological motivations. The two main types of motivation that
have been described are the 'integrative', in which the learner wants to
communicate actively with the speakers of the other language, and the 'instrumental',
in which he wants to use the language for some utilitarian purpose; of these two
the integrative now seems more important (Gardner, Smythe, Clement &
Glicksman, 1976). A way in to the large body of literature on this subject can
be found in the annotated bibliography compiled by Desrochers, Smythe &
Gardner (1975). The causes of motivation are attitudes; success in
second-language learning depends on the attitudes towards the foreign culture,
towards learning a foreign language, and towards the classroom situation
1976). One's native language is an important factor in one's sense of identity
as an individual and as a member of a group: learning a new language means
adopting a new identity. Lambert (1974) distinguishes 'additive' bilingualism,
in which the learner loses nothing by learning a second language, from '
subtractive' bilingualism, in which he is forced to give something up; Clarke
(1976) talks of a clash between the level of 'modernity' in the two cultures;
Schumann (1976) draws attention to the 'social distance' separating the learner
from the target culture. While these concepts have obvious relevance to contact
or immigrant situations, they are less important to language teaching in
schools. However, one idea of equal importance to both is the loss of personal
identity in learning a second language: culture-shock is like the alienated
state of a schizophrenic unable to make sense of his surroundings (Clarke, 1976)
and this is supported by similarities between the language of schizophrenics and
second-language learners (Meara, 1977). Guiora, Brannon & Dull (1972)
postulate a 'language ego' that is threatened by the new language; Green (1977)
claims that students regress to an earlier Freudian stage in a foreign language
and express ideas that are more childish than their level of thinking in their
and memory processes
and producing speech involves psychological processes that are only now starting
to be understood. In second-language learning their nature is even more obscure.
One issue is whether these processes are substantially the same in all
languages; some semantic processes involved in verifying the truth of sentences
have in fact been found to be similar in different languages (Just &
Carpenter, 1975). Another issue is whether these processes can be transferred to
a second language; in terms of syntax it has been shown that foreign adults do
not benefit from knowing embedding in a first language but fall back on the same
processes as the young native child (Cook, 1975). The work on grammatical
morphemes can also be interpreted as showing some of the processing limitations
common to learners. At least some speech processes then have to be relearnt in a
second language. Indeed some of them may never be so efficient in a second
language: even skilled bilinguals are worse at a cloze test in their second
language (d'Anglejean & Tucker, 1973); advanced learners cannot summarise
texts as well as natives (Long & Harding-Esch, 1977).
now to memory processes, it is convenient to distinguish short-term from
long-term memory. The characteristics of short-term memory are that information
is stored for only a few seconds, capacity for information is small, and the
information is stored in the form of sounds. Nothing is known about the duration
of short-term memory in a second language but some research has looked at
capacity. Glicksberg (1963) found adult learners of English remembered 6-4
digits at a time compared with 7-1 in their first language, improving to 6-7
during five weeks of an intensive course; Cook (1977) found a capacity of 5-9 in
beginners and 6-7 in advanced learners. So far as the form of storage is
concerned, capacity has been related to syntactic complexity (Harris, 1970) and
to phonological encoding (Cook, 1977); Henning (1973) traced a development
from phonological to semantic storage. So short-term memory seems to work in a
similar fashion in a second language; we can store slightly less information
than in our first language but we store it in similar ways. Long-term memory has
also been studied. Lambert (1956) tested word associations and concluded that,
while advanced learners were more like native speakers in such aspects as number
and range of associations, they were still unlike them in type of associations;
the clustering effect in which adults normally remember words from the same
semantic category together was not found to any great extent with advanced
foreign learners nor was there much difference between advanced learners and
beginners (Cook, 1977). Ultimately this line of research leads to the issue of
how the two language systems are related in the mind of the bilingual: is there
a distinct memory system for each language or are they linked in some way? The
evidence is inconclusive: in the same kind of task where bilinguals had to
switch languages, Taylor (1971) found the languages were stored separately,
while Neufeld (1976) found they were stored together; a task involving naming
colours, on the other hand, produced evidence for close links between the
languages (Lambert & Preston, 1967).
answer to the question about transfer to a second language is then complex. The
conclusion arrived at in Cook (1977) was that memory processes are transferred
more easily the less they depend on language. This has affinities with the claim
that 'capacity increases with processing depth since we can make greater use of
learned rules at deeper levels of analysis' (Craik, 1973), if language is
equated with learned rules. Indeed some recent experiments can be taken to
support this claim by showing little difference between beginners, advanced
learners, and bilinguals in a deductive reasoning task in their second language
(d'Anglejean, Gagnon, Tucker & Winsberg, 1977). A related issue is the
extent to which these memory processes can be employed in learning a second
language, as opposed to using it, in codebreaking rather than decoding. Some
attempts have been made to apply conscious mnemonic techniques to the learning
of vocabulary: Atkinson (1975) describes a 'keyword' technique and Paivio (1976)
a 'pegword' technique, both of which involve forming mental images. However, as
Rivers and Melvin (1977) point out, 'a word learnt out of context is for the
most part a useless bauble': mnemonic techniques are only useful if the
vocabulary learnt with them is available to the speaker for normal language use.
A general application of memory research is discussed in Melvin and Rivers
(1976), who describe an information processing model which emphasises that
procedures for speaking and learning are learnt through meaningful use of
language rather than memorisation. A two-stage model of memory has also been
proposed in which an initial memory fills up with formulas, and a second-stage
memory creates rules to account for the overflow (Gallagher, 1976); this
connects with the discovery of 'prefabricated utterances' in a young Japanese
learner of English (Hakuta, 1974).
people take it for granted that an important factor in second-language learning
is the learner's age; most discussions assume that children are better than
adults and then go on to suggest explanations for this. It is useful to consider
the evidence that might support this assumption. Some Canadian research indeed
showed that children who arrived there under the age of seven fared better at
learning English than those who arrived at an older age (Ramsay & Wright,
1974). But on the other hand there is a mass of evidence that adults are either
superior to, or the same as, children: adults are better than children at
understanding spoken Russian by the total physical response method (Asher &
Price, 1967); teenagers are better at learning grammar than younger children
whether in English (Fathman, 1975) or Dutch (Snow & Hoefnagel-Hohle, 1975);
nine-year-olds learn French morphology and syntax faster than four-year-olds
(Ervin-Tripp, 1974); Israeli census returns show that the age of immigration
makes no difference to the pattern of acquisition, in terms of reported use, and
that, while there is decline with age, the main watershed is at the age of 30
(Smith & Braine, n.d.). Nevertheless, some people might say, the superiority
of children is at learning pronunciation rather than grammar. Again some
evidence confirms this belief: older learners either retain more foreign accent
(Oyama, 1976; Asher & Garcia, 1969) or report they retain it (Seliger,
Krashen & Ladefoged, 1975); the younger children tested in Fathman (1975)
were better at pronunciation than the teenagers. But, on the other hand, adults
learn German sounds better than children in the same teaching situation (Olson
& Samuels, 1973); adults have an initial advantage at pronouncing and
imitating Dutch (Snow& Hoefnagel-Hohle, n.d.); older children up to ten make
fewer mistakes with unfamiliar phonological structure (Kuusinen & Salin,
1971). So far from showing the superiority of children, most of the hard
evidence warrants the opposite conclusion: adults are better than children at
learning a second language when the tests are conducted under controlled
lack of evidence has not prevented many ingenious explanations being offered for
children's alleged superiority at second-language learning. The most general is
that there is a critical period for language learning; after we have left this
period we can learn language only with difficulty. The reasons for this critical
period may be ' lateralisation', that is to say, the tendency for brain
functions to become specialised to one side or the other in the early teens (Scovel,
1969). The evidence for locating lateralisation in the early teens is, however,
debatable (Krashen, 1975), and the causal connection between lateralisation and
language learning necessarily rests on evidence from pathological cases. A
second explanation distinguishes 'acquisition', the normal process through which
children learn a first language, from 'learning', an alternative process that
can be used by adults because of their greater maturity (Krashen, 1976). This
distinction has been enlarged into the 'monitor model' (Krashen, 1977), which
claims that the distinctive feature of adult 'learning' is that adults can
monitor what they are producing; thus tasks which show similarities between
adults and children test 'acquisition' and do not provide sufficient time for
the adult to monitor what he is doing. Obviously independent evidence of this
monitor needs to be supplied; advanced learners, for example, have not been
found to be better at correcting their own mistakes than beginners, as might
have been expected (White, 1977). A third type of explanation is cognitive
development: Rosansky (1975) suggests that the crucial point is the transition
to the Piagetian stage of formal operations in the early teens; Tremaine (1975)
correlates the transition to the earlier Piagetian stage of concrete operations
at about seven with the syntactic development of bilingual children.
as these explanations are, it is not clear they are needed. What differences
there are between children and adults can be explained without recourse to some
unique feature of language learning that changes with age. One simple cause is
differences in situation: Macnamara (1973) distinguishes succinctly between the
demands of the street and of the classroom; often the adult meets the classroom,
the child the street. The types of social interaction also vary; the language
play described in Peck (to appear) is rarely allowed to adults; children talk
about different topics from adults (Hatch, to appear); the peer-group pressures
on children are considerably different from those on adults (Macnamara, 1976)
and the motivations and attitudes of the learner vary according to age
(Schumann, 1975 b).
common factor to the research cited above that found no disadvantage to adults
was precisely that the situation of children and adults was kept the same (Asher
& Price, 1967; Olson & Samuels, 1973). Another factor that the research
on accents does not take into account is historical changes in the status of
immigrants: age of arrival confounds moment of arrival. While it is certainly
possible to explain some of the differences in terms of cognitive maturity, this
does not necessarily involve linking them to the acquisition of formal
operations or to some special process such as monitoring without further
evidence. Given all the factors that distinguish adults from children, it would
be strange if we found no differences between them but it is not necessary to
invoke some peculiar property of language learning to explain them. While one
does not wish to deny the strong impression that many people have that some
adult immigrants speak their new language poorly, this may be ascribed not so
much to an intrinsic defect in the adult's mind as to differences in situation,
in motivation, in willingness to surrender part of one's identity, and so on,
that separate children from adults.
The learner’s situation
language the learner hears
important element in the learner's situation is the language he hears. Ferguson
(1975) described 'foreigner talk', that is to say, the language variety
addressed to foreigners, typified by its 'simpler' grammar and by certain
vocabulary items. In a natural setting the learner may well encounter this
variety; indeed it is not entirely unknown in the classroom (Hatch, 1978). While
there are resemblances between 'simple' foreigner talk addressed to learners and
'simple' pidgin-like language produced by learners, there is no evidence that
foreigner talk assists second-language learning any more than there is proof
that babytalk helps the native child. Both these simple varieties reflect partly
the adult's intuition about what learners find easy to understand, partly the
language used by learners themselves, partly the sociolinguistic convention of
what is appropriate for learners. Aside from foreigner talk, some work has
linked the learner's language to what he hears and the types of interaction in
which he takes part (Larsen-Freeman, 1976; Hatch, 1976). This link between input
and learning is vital to language teaching. A feature of most teaching methods
is that they control the language the learner hears in several dimensions -
situationally, functionally, grammatically, notionally, and in other ways. Yet
evidence for the effects of input hardly exists. Only Valdman (1975) has shown
the possibility of basing the sequence of presentation of grammatical items on
learner's errors. Though a central feature of most classrooms is the structuring
and sequencing of input, we still have no solid evidence to challenge the
assertion that a natural unstructured input is as effective (Newmark &
learner's social interactions
second-language learning, Evelyn Hatch has pioneered the study of conversational
interactions between learners and native speakers (Hatch, to appear; Hatch,
1976). The central feature of interaction she sees as the need to find something
to talk about: adults interpret children's utterances as naming a topic for
discussion; foreign adults struggle hard to establish a topic of conversation.
Adults in particular need 'repairs' to be able to check that they and the native
are talking about the same thing (Hatch, 1976). The order of natural
second-language acquisition is derived primarily from the learner's
communicative needs rather than from grammatical complexity or frequency: the
learner's language is a consequence of his interactions (Hatch, 1978). Some of
the strategies for interaction among children have also been described in
Fillmore (1976). As yet these interaction studies offer interesting insights
into the learner's behaviour rather than a coherent theory; nevertheless they
complement the ideas of integrative motivation and production strategies.
language learners, however, do not engage in social interactions with native
speakers; they sit in a classroom facing a teacher. This contrast is often put
in terms of 'informal' learning which takes place in a natural setting and
'formal' learning which takes place inside a classroom. Macnamara (1976),
however, denies that language teaching is strictly speaking formal, since the
teacher cannot provide formal rules that are linguistically and psychologically
valid. Krashen (1976) sees aspects of both formal and informal learning in the
classroom, defining 'formal' as teaching one rule at a time and having feedback;
he suggests that an adult may benefit from formal teaching since this exploits
his adult capacity to 'learn' rather than 'acquire' language. But we still have
little idea of what goes on in a classroom in terms of interaction; certainly it
is very different from the conversation strategies that Hatch describes. We do
have some ideas about correction of errors (Cohen, 1975; Holley & King,
1971) but more information is needed about all the other aspects of classroom
behaviour by students and teachers.
obvious conclusion from this research is the complexity of second-language
learning; any model has to account not just for grammatical development but also
for the contributions made by the learner and by the learner's environment, not
to mention the individual differences between learners, and the effects of
learning a second language on the learner, a field too vast to include here. If
nothing more, we can rule out simple accounts of second-language learning. A
further general issue is whether a second language can be learnt in the same way
as a first. An adequate discussion of this can only take place if we settle in
advance which model of first-language acquisition we are comparing to
second-language learning: it is hardly satisfactory to try to prove or disprove
the similarity between the processes by choosing select examples from either
field. At present this issue can only be discussed in fairly limited terms
because the research in second-language learning is restricted in scope.
Nevertheless there have been several discussions of this issue (Cook, 1969;
Ervin-Tripp, 1975; Macnamara, 1976; McLaughlin, 1977; Spolsky, 1977). The
general tenor of these emphasises the broad similarities between first- and
second-language learning but draws attention to some specific differences. Much
of the grammatical evidence has already been mentioned in section 1.3 above. In
addition, one can mention an analysis of learner's errors that found most could
be explained in terms of first-language acquisition rather than interference
(Dulay & Burt, 1972) and the results of an experiment in which foreign
adults and native children repeat sentences in similar ways (Cook, 1973).
firm conclusion, as in any research survey, is that more research is needed; in
some areas we have barely started to scratch the surface. Nevertheless, since
the interest of this research for many people lies in its potential application
to language teaching, it seems fair to risk some tentative conclusions.
Obviously any teaching syllabus or materials will be more effective if they pay
attention to what is known about the developmental sequence the learner goes
through, the comprehension and production strategies he uses, his attitudes and
motivations, the interactions he wants to take part in, and so on. But what can
the teacher do who is unable to change the syllabus or course that he uses ?
Above all, the teacher has to recognise the active contribution made by the
learner; regardless of what the teacher wants him to do, the learner adopts
certain learning and production strategies; success in learning is a product of
many different factors in the learner, most of them out of the teacher's
control. In particular, the successful learner wants to communicate actively
through the language. The teacher's recognition of the learner's contribution,
in particular of the integrative motivation, will lead him not only to stress
the ultimate aim of interacting with native speakers but also to encourage the
students to interact with each other and with him in meaningful ways in the
classroom; this probably means providing a variety of interaction patterns, not
just the one in which all communication is channelled through the teacher. The
teacher's awareness of the learner's contribution will also make him more
conscious of the extent to which he can call upon the maturer cognitive
processes of the second-language learner in activities where language is less
involved. In terms of teaching techniques, it leads to activities that encourage
the students to communicate and interact through the new language about things
that vitally concern them, here and now in the classroom, rather than with a
native speaker on some far-off occasion in the future; thus the teacher will
rely heavily on role-play, communication games, and the like. This new emphasis
brings us to a point where the goals of language teaching are no longer defined
simply by the language syllabus the student is expected to know, or by the
usefulness of the language to some conjectured function in the student's later
life, but by their contribution to the social and psychological development of
the individual; it may restore a central educational role to language teaching
in addition to its academic and utilitarian roles.
the original publication of this article, a large amount has been published,
too much to summarise here as a postscript. The following, however, represent
the essential reading in book form that has become available.
F. & Hastings, A. J. (eds.) (1977). Studies
in first and second language acquisition. Rowley,
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P. A. (ed.) (1977). Bilingualism.
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language acquisition and foreign language teaching. Arlington,
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language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford:
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S. H. (1981). Psychology
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B. (1978). Second-language
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D. (ed.) (1980). Studies
in language acquisition*. Heidelberg:
Julius Groos. New York Academy of Sciences (to appear). Proceedings
of the Conference on First and Second Language Learning; January 1981.
A. & Begg, I. (1981). Psychology
of language. Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
W. G. (ed.) (1978). Second
language acquisition research. New
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Learning; ML/, Modern Language Journal.
A., Gagnon, N., Tucker, G. R. & Winsberg, S. (1977). Solving problems in
deductive reasoning: the performance of adult second language learners. Paper
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by adult learners. LL, 25,
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response: some age differences. Child
R. C. (1975). Mnemotechnics in second-language learning. American
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adult second language learning? LL,
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S. & Levenston, E. (1977). Strategies of communications, through lexical
avoidance in the speech and writing of second-language teachers and learners
and in translation. Mimeo.
R. W. (1973). A
first language: the early stages. Harvard
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English auxiliary by native Spanish speakers. TESOL
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to the Fourth AI LA Congress, Stuttgart.
J. (1976). Word order in second language acquisition. I n G. Drachman (ed.), Proceedings
of the First Salzburg Colloquium on Children's Language. Tubingen:
Verlag Gunter Narr.
M. A. (1976). Second language acquisition as a clash of consciousness. LL, 26,
V. J. (1969). The analogy between first and second language learning. IRAL,
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foreign adults. IRAL,
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and Speech, 18,
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A. C. (1975). Error correction and the training of language teachers. MLJ,
S. P. (1967). The significance of learners' errors. IRAL,
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S. P. (1971). Idiosyncratic dialects and error analysis. IRAL,
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Corder & E. Roulet (eds.), The
notions of simplification, interlanguages and pidgins and their relation to
second language pedagogy. Geneva:
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and affect. New
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Spanish. In D. P. Dato (ed.), Developmental
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social psychology of second language acquisition and bilinguality: an
annotated bibliography. Research
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language learning strategies. LL,
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ability. LL, 25,
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acquisition. In. J. E. Fanselow & R. H. Crymes (eds.), On
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learning: a social psychological perspective. Canadian
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English as a foreign language. University of Michigan, PhD thesis.
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language acquisition. LL,
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child learn? In D. P. Dato (ed.), Developmental
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language acquisition research. Proceedings of the NWAVE-V Conference,
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language acquisition. Rowley,
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in Progress, 10,
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M. A. & Carpenter, P. A. (1975). Comparative studies of comprehension: an
investigation of Chinese, Norwegian and English. Memory
and Cognition, 3,
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acquisition. Paper delivered at
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evidence. In D. P. Dato (ed.), Developmental
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performance on the SLOPE test: more evidence for a natural sequence in adult
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languages. In K. Salzinger & S. Salzinger (eds.), Research
in verbal behaviour and some neurophysiological implications, 115-21.
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language learners. LL,
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Molony, H. Zobl & W. Stolting (eds.), German
in contact with other languages. Monographs
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P. M. (1977). French L2 learners: what they're talking about. Paper presented
at the first annual Second Language Acquisition Research Forum, University of
California, Los Angeles.
J. & Harding-Esch, E. (1977). Summary and recall of text in first and
second languages; some factors contributing to performance differences. In H.
W. Sinaiko and D. Gerver (eds.), Proceedings
of NATO Symposium on Language, Interpretation and Communication. New
York; London: Plenum Press.
Second language learning in children. Psychological
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J. (1976). Comparison between first and second language learning. Die
Neuren Sprachen, 75,
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P. (1977). Schizophrenic symptoms in foreign-language learners. Paper
presented to BAAL Annual Conference, Colchester.
B. S. & Rivers, W. M. (1976). In one ear and out the other: implications
of memory studies for language learning. In J. E. Fanselow & R. Crymes
J. P. (1974). The development of negation in English by a second-language
N., Frohlich, M. & Stern, H. H. (1975). The
good language learner. Toronto:
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
D. S. & Natalico, L. F. S. (1971). A comparative study of English
pluralisation by native and non-native English speakers. Child
W. (1971). Approximative systems of foreign-language learners. IRAL,
115-23. Reprinted in Richards (1974).
G. G. (1976). The bilingual's lexical store. IRAL,
L. & Reibel, D. A. (1968). Necessity and sufficiency in language learning.
L. L. & Samuels, S. J. (1973). The relationship between age and accuracy
of foreign-language pronunciation. Journal
of Educational Research, 66,
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of Psycholinguistic Research, 5,
A. M. (to appear). Acquisition of 14 grammatical morphemes in the speech of
A. M. & Lindholm, K.J. (1976). Development of interrogative, negative and
possessive forms in the speech of young Spanish/English bilinguals. Bilingual
A. (1976). On exploring visual knowledge. Paper presented at the Iowa
Invitational Conference on Visual Learning, Thinking and Communication.
University of Iowa.
S. (to appear). Language play in second language acquisition. In C. Henning
of the First Annual Los Angeles Second Language Research Forum.
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on the order of morpheme acquisition. LL, 25,
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language learning. LL, 27,
C. A. & Wright, E. N. (1974). Age and second language learning. Journal
of Social Psychology, 94,
J. C. (1971). Error analysis and second language strategies. Language
J. C. (ed.) (1974). Error
W. M. & Melvin, B. S. (1977). Memory and memorization in comprehension and
production: contributions of I P theory. Canadian
Modern Language Review, 33,
E. J. (1975). The critical period for the acquisition of language; some
cognitive developmental considerations. Working
Papers in Bilingualism, 6,
E. J. (1976). Methods and morphemes in second language acquisition research.
J. (1975). What the 'good language learner' can teach us. TESOL
G. P. & Richards, J. C. (1973). Learner language systems. Language
Reprinted in Richards (1974).
J. (1974). An error in error analysis. LL, 24,
J. H. (1975a). Implications of pidginization and creolization for the study of
adult second language acquisition. In J. H. Schumann & N. Stenson (eds.), New
frontiers in second language learning. Rowley,
Mass.: Newbury House.
J. H. (1975 6). Affective factors and the problem of age in second language
acquisition. LL, 25,
J. H. (1976). Social distance as a factor in second language acquisition. LL, 26,
T. (1969). Foreign accents, language acquisition, and cerebral dominance. LL, 19,
H. W., Krashen, S. D. & Ladefoged, P. (1975). Maturational constraints in
the acquisition of second language accent. Language
L. (1972). Interlanguage. IRAL,
209-31. Reprinted in Richards (1974).
K. H. & Braine, M. D-. S. (no date). Miniature languages and the problem
of language acquisition. Mimeo.
C. E. & Hoefnagel-Hohle, M. (1975). Age differences in second language
acquisition. Paper read to Fourth AILA Congress, Stuttgart.
C. E. & Hoefnagel-Hohle, M. (no date). Age differences in the
pronunciation of foreign sounds. Mimeo, University of Amsterdam.
B. (1977). The comparative study of first and second language acquisition. Paper
read at Sixth Annual University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Linguistics Symposium on
H. H. (1975). What can we learn from the good language learner ? Canadian
Modern Language Review, 31,
E. (1976). Some influences on interlanguage phonology. Working
Papers in Bilingualism, 8,
B. P. (1975). The use of overgeneralization and transfer learning strategies by
elementary and intermediate students of ESL. LL, 25,
I. (1971). How are words from two languages organized in a bilingual's memory ? Canadian
Journal of Psychology, 23,
R. V. (1975). Piagetian equilibration processes in syntax learning. In D. P.
Dato (ed.), Developmental
psycholinguistics: theory and application. Georgetown
University Press. (Georgetown University Round Table.)
A. (1975). Error analysis and pedagogical ordering and the determination of
pedagogically motivated sequences. In S. P. Corder & E. Roulet (eds.), Some
implications of linguistic theory for applied linguistics. Brussels:
J. A., Doughtie, E. G. & Lee Yom, B. H. (1974). The identification of
structural components of an unknown language. Journal
of Psycholinguistic Research, 3,
L. (1977). Error analysis and error correction in adult learners of English as a
Second Language, Working
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H. (1976a). Redding-> [wedin]: the acquisition of L2 /r/. Arbeitspapiere
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H. (19766). Developmental sequences in naturalistic L2 acquisition. Working
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Young, R. W. (1973). The development of semantic categories in Spanish-English and Navajo-English bilingual children. In P. T. Turner (ed.), Bilingualism in the South West. Tucson: University of Arizona Press | <urn:uuid:435f9c21-8c01-499d-a9e3-04efec0f5278> | {
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National Coming Out Day
An internationally observed civil awareness day celebrating individuals who publicly identify as bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender. Observed annually on October 11, the anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
Queer Community Reception
The other Homecoming dance where all are always welcome.
Trans Week of Remembrance
A week memorializing those who have been killed as a result of transphobia, or the hatred or fear of transgender and gender non-conforming people.
KINK on Campus
National Day of Silence
The Day of Silence is a national event that brings attention to bullying and harassment in schools. Students from middle school to college take a vow of silence in an effort to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT.
Night of Noise
After the Day of Silence, the Night of Noise is the time to break the silence, release tension, and celebrate. | <urn:uuid:3abf0b93-bd2a-42e8-b6ba-e25c870052b1> | {
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Directional control valves are the most widely used . . . and the least understood . . . valves in fluid power circuits. Many people are confused by the schematic symbol representations, and have difficulty understanding the terms ways, positions, and operators. Learning to read schematic drawings is similar to learning a foreign language. To the trained eye, a symbol speaks volumes even when no words are present. This chapter attempts to take away some of the confusion and apparent magic of fluid power schematic drawings, and thus help make designing and maintaining fluid power systems easier.
Directional control valves can only perform three functions:
- stop or block fluid flow
- allow fluid flow, and
- change direction of fluid flow.
At first glance, the valve type shown in Figure 10-1 does not appear to be a directional control valve. However, check valves do allow flow in one direction and block flow the opposite direction. Use a check valve in any line where back flow cannot be tolerated. Also pilot-operated check valves (discussed in the next section) can be shifted by an external source to allow reverse flow or stop free flow.
The cross-sectional views show the standard poppet design used in most check valves. As in most early designs, the symbol still pictures a ball on a seat. Ball check valves work well until they are disassembled for repair or when troubleshooting. As these valves operate, they wear a groove where the ball contacts the seat. If this wear groove is not reinstalled exactly where it was, the valve is no longer leak free. On the other hand, a guided poppet always goes back in the same relationship to the seat and seals easily after reassembly.
It is easy to understand the function of a check valve. Fluid entering opposite a spring pushes against the poppet and spring to move it out of the way. The inline valve has holes around the angled seat face above the body seat to allow flow to pass. The right-angle design pushes the poppet out of the way and fluid flows by with little restriction.
Check valves are almost trouble-free devices. Seldom is one the cause of a problem. Potential problems can be minimized further if the check valves are: right-angle types, screw-in cartridges, or subplate mounted. Note that an inline check valve’s plumbing must be disassembled before the valve can be checked.
Check valves also can control pressure. Almost all check valves use a spring to return the poppet. In most valves, this spring has very light force, because any spring force results in an energy loss and heat. The light springs from most suppliers require about 5 psi to move the poppet against them (some go as low as 1 psi). Some large check valves, when they are mounted vertically, may require no spring because the weight of the poppet causes it to fall onto its seat.
Strong springs give extra resistance to flow so a check valve could replace a relief valve when low-pressure bypass is required. Many manufacturers have check valves with springs that require as much as 125 psi to push their poppets back. These valves work for low-pressure circuits such as a bypass around a low-pressure filter or heat exchanger, or to maintain minimum pilot pressure for pilot-operated directional control valves. When the spring functions as a backpressure or relief valve, the symbol usually shows the spring as part of the symbol.
Another lesser-known use for check valves is as a fixed-orifice flow-control function. Figure 10-2 shows an inline check valve with an orifice drilled through the poppet. The orifice allows free flow in one direction and measured flow the opposite way. The orifice is non-adjustable, so this component is tamper proof. The only way to change actuator speed is to physically change the orifice size. This orificed check valve could protect an actuator that might run away if a line broke or a valve malfunctioned. It will not affect speed in the opposite direction. For this application it should be flange fitted or hard piped directly to the actuator port.
Pilot-operated check valves
The check valves in Figure 10-3 operate like standard check valves, but can permit reverse flow when required. They are called pilot-to-open check valves because they are normally closed but can be opened for reverse flow by a signal from an external pilot supply.
The first cutaway view of a pilot-to-open check valve in Figure 10-3 is a standard design using a pilot piston with a stem to unseat the check valve poppet for reverse flow. The pilot piston has an area three to four times that of the poppet seat. This produces enough force to open the poppet against backpressure. Some pilot-operated check valves have area ratios up to 100:1, allowing a very low pilot pressure to open the valve against high backpressure.
The second valve in Figure 10-3 shows a pilot-to-open with decompression function. It has a small, inner decompression poppet that allows low pilot pressure to open a small flow passage to reduce backpressure. After releasing high backpressure, the pilot piston can easily open the main poppet for full flow to tank. (This arrangement does not work when the high backpressure is load-induced or generated by other continuous forces.)
The third valve, pilot-operated with external drain, isolates the stem side of the pilot piston from the in free-flow port backpressure that would resist pilot pressure trying to open the poppet. Notice that in the other two cutaway views, any pressure in the in free-flow port pushes against the pilot piston stem side and resists pilot pressure’s attempt to open the poppet. Backpressure could be from a downstream flow control or counterbalance valve in some circuits.
The external-drain port also can be used to make the pilot piston return when using the valve for a pilot-operated 2-way function.
The circuit in Figure 10-4 shows a typical application for pilot-operated check valves. Spool-type directional control valves cannot keep a cylinder from moving from a mid-stroke position for any length of time. All spool valves allow some bypass, so a cylinder with an outside force working against it slowly moves out of position when stopped. Installing pilot-operated check valves in the cylinder lines and connecting the directional valve’s A and B ports to tank in center position assures that the cylinder will stay where it stops (unless the piston seals leak).
The circuit in Figure 10-5 shows a pilot-operated check valve holding a load on the rod end of a vertically mounted cylinder. Pilot-operated check valves can hold potential runaway loads in place without creep, but this circuit usually has problems on the extend stroke. This is because a pilot-operated check valve opens the rod end of the cylinder to tank, letting it run away. When the cylinder moves faster than the pump can fill it, pressure in the cap end and pilot pressure to the pilot-operated check valve’s pilot port drops and the valve closes quickly. This can generate high-pressure spikes that may cause pipe and part damage. Almost immediately, pressure to the pilot-operated check valve’s pilot port builds again and the runaway/stop scenario repeats until the cylinder meets resistance or something fails. The best valve to control runaway loads is the counterbalance valve explained in Chapter 14.
Figure 10-6 illustrates another problem with using a pilot-operated check valve to hold back a runaway load: a pilot-operated check valve may not open when signaled to let a cylinder with an oversize rod and heavy load extend. When the directional valve shifts to extend the cylinder, load-induced pressure can hold the pilot-operated check valve poppet closed. It may take 300 to 400 psi to force the poppet open, even with its 3:1 or 4:1 area difference. Pressure builds at the pilot port, but at the same time it increases in the cylinder cap end. With a 2:1 rod-differential cylinder, it can add 600 to 800 psi to the load-induced pressure. The additional downward force causes pilot pressure to increase, which causes more downward force, which causes more pilot pressure -- until the circuit reaches maximum pressure. At that point, the relief valve bypasses or the pump compensator kicks in to stop flow. The cylinder simply cannot start to extend . . . and even if it could, the action would be erratic, as in Figure 10-5.
Pilot-to-close check valves
There is also a pilot-to-close check valve, but it is seldom used. It is rarely necessary to have a valve that always stops flow in one direction and also is capable of stopping it the opposite direction.
Notice in the cutaway view in Figure 10-7 that the spring-loaded poppet does not have communicating holes through it to the spring chamber. Flow passes freely from inlet to outlet until a pilot signal is fed to the pilot port. Because the pilot port side of the main-flow poppet has more area than the inlet side, this valve can be closed against free flow.Part 2 | <urn:uuid:ac3fb97a-e471-4e2b-a3f1-e368b0e4ed9e> | {
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Dossi, Dosso (Giovanni Luteri) (c.1490?-1542). The outstanding painter of the Ferrarese School in the 16th century.
His early life and training are obscure, but Vasari's assertion that he was born around 1474 is now thought unlikely. He is first recorded in 1512 at Mantua (the name `Dosso' probably comes from a place near Mantua--he is not called `Dosso Dossi' until the 18th century). By 1514 he was in Ferrara, where he spent most of the rest of his career, combining with the poet Ariosto in devising court entertainments, triumphs, tapestries, etc. Dosso painted various kinds of pictures--mythological and religious works, portraits, and decorative frescos--and is perhaps most important for the part played in his work by landscape, in which he continues the romantic pastoral vein of Giorgione and Titian. The influence from these two artists is indeed so strong that it is thought he must have been in Venice early in his career. Dosso's work, however, has a personal quality of fantasy and an opulent sense of color and texture that gives it an individual stamp (Melissa, Borghese Galleria, Rome, c.1523). His brother Battista Dossi (c.1497-1548) often collaborated with him, but there is insufficient evidence to know whether he made an individual contribution.
Photographs by Carol Gerten-Jackson. | <urn:uuid:edca70c3-130a-4403-bb60-6a8906c86782> | {
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However, wetlands along desert rivers are incredibly important for wildlife: for water, for fresh forage, for a place to escape the often harsh weather on canyon rims.
On the 45 Ranch, set deep in one of the most remote corners of the Owyhee Canyonlands of southwestern Idaho, a new restoration project is returning wetlands to wildlife.
Conservation buyers Charles Conn and Dennis Fitzpatrick bought the ranch from The Nature Conservancy in 2005, with the goal of funding conservation and restoration work on the ranch.
“The owners had a vision to return the river bottom on their ranch to wetlands,” says Art Talsma, the Conservancy’s director of stewardship. “It’s one of the largest river bottoms along the Owyhee River, so it’s difficult to overstate how important it is to wildlife.”
The owners and the Conservancy worked with GeoEngineers, a Boise firm specializing in river restoration, to restore 26 acres of wetlands and 45 acres of native grasses to the river bottom. Royce Construction handled the on-the-ground developments. The project has already garnered awards for its engineering, including recognition by the American Council of Engineering Companies and the Owyhee Conservation District.
For the river (pictured above), it means the opportunity to behave more like a wild river—including moving from its channel and periodically flooding.
For bighorn sheep, mule deer and sage grouse, it means a place to rest, to feed, to hide and to take cover from harsh weather.
For waterfowl and other birds, the wetlands mean a place to rest in the middle of the harsh desert on a long migration.
For rafters, it means a quieter float. Previously, the agricultural field was irrigated with a diesel generator, which also generated unwelcome noise for rafters on one of the country’s most remote rivers. The wetlands project is watered solely through gravity and now saves energy, too. | <urn:uuid:ed1deee9-8e92-47d4-88bb-80503463d755> | {
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MIT’s Technology Review featured Professor Catherine Klapperich’s SNAP device, co-developed as an IIH project, to purify DNA in the field. SNAP (System for Nucleic Acid Preparation) is able to purify DNA from field samples such as blood and saliva without any electricity or specialized training. This allows samples to be collected in the field, and stabilized without expensive refrigeration. By isolating DNA from the sample, the resulting material remains stable at room temperature for long periods of time.
“Instead of taking blood samples and keeping them cold, with our technology, they would be able to prepare all the samples at the point of care,” says Klapperich, an assistant professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at Boston University. “They would also have a longer period of time to get a much more preserved sample to a central lab someplace else.”
A standard bicycle pump is all that’s required to power a DNA purifying kit, designed by Catherine Klapperich and her students at Boston University. The thermos-size device, dubbed SNAP (System for Nucleic Acid Preparation), extracts genetic material from blood and other bodily fluids by pumping fluid through a polymer-lined straw designed to trap DNA. A user can then pop the straw out and mail it to the nearest lab, where the preserved DNA can be analyzed for suspicious bacteria, viruses, and genetic diseases.
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Photo: elaine faith (Flickr)
If your hair drier shrunk your head to the size of a grapefruit, you’d be astounded. If your wool pants shrank in the drier, you’d be angry but not amazed. How can clothing disobey the laws of common sense, and shrink in the laundry?
What Happens In The Laundry?
To understand why this happens, we need to take a closer look at the microscopic structure of natural fibers like wool.
Each thready strand you can see is composed of millions of long, tangled molecules called “polymer chains.”
Microscopically, these start out coiled like miniature, tangled springs, something like a mass of tangled telephone cords. These curly molecules are stretched and straightened as the wool is carded and spun.
In your pants, the straightened polymer chains have a natural tendency to spring back to their original, tightly-coiled state. Fortunately for clothing manufacturers, it’s not exactly easy for the natural fibers to do this.
In order to curl back up, they need a certain amount of energy. It’s hard to picture this, because we’re used to springs bouncing back to their original shape as soon as we take the tension off them.
These microscopic springs don’t work that way though–they stay stretched out until they get a boost of energy to help them scrunch back up.
Hot Drier Or Hot Water
Running your pants through a hot drier, or washing them with hot water, can give them the energy they need to spring back. When this microscopic scrunching up happens all over the fabric, your pants shrink. | <urn:uuid:9125f577-a057-4f54-b16e-9d3b849accbe> | {
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Ramshackle barns exhorting passers-by to “treat [themselves] to the best” have become a familiar element of road-trip vernacular. Those wandering down Indiana’s scenic routes, or browsing around the courthouse square in certain county seats are sure to encounter the fading call to action–“Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco”. Soon after the product’s birth in Wheeling, West Virginia around 1900, its makers launched a national advertising campaign that focused on rural areas in the Midwest.
Chewing tobacco was especially convenient for the large number of farmers in the Hoosier State whose daily routine limited their opportunities to smoke. Indiana farmers were targeted not only as Mail Pouch customers, but partners in what became a century-long marketing campaign. In exchange for a small sum (usually under ten dollars), a yearlong supply of tobacco, or a magazine subscription, a farmer would agree to have the company’s slogan painted on his barn. Having at least one side of a barn painted for free provided additional incentive. Regionally-contracted two-man painting crews knocked out two to three barns a day, working for commissions that compensated them by the square foot.
Other signs were painted on the brick walls of corner buildings visible from the state’s county courthouses. Each advertisement was signed and dated. A common set of initials—H..E.W.—indicates that the sign was the work of Harley Warrick, an Ohio native who painted around twenty thousand barns in twenty states for the Mail Pouch firm, never utilizing stencils or modern scaffolding. “Name an Indiana town of any size,” Warrick claimed, “and I’ve been there.”
The Federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965, prohibiting highway signage closer than 660 feet from the roadway, resulted in many of the Mail Pouch barns to be painted over. The advertising campaign was further weakened as the burgeoning interstate highway system reduced traffic on the state roads from which the barns were visible. Mail Pouch signs all but went the way of Burma Shave by 1969.
In 1974, however, Congress made an exception for commercial signs of historic significance, and Warrick, the firm’s only remaining sign painter, went about restoring Mail Pouch signs around the country—completing major projects in the Indiana towns of Redkey and Lanesville. With increasing societal consciousness of the health hazards of tobacco, Mail Pouch ended its legendary ad campaign upon Warrick’s retirement, in 1996. Some landowners who have Mail Pouch barns on their property choose to maintain them, while other long-gone signs return as ghost images when a barn’s more recent paint jobs give way to the indelible lead-based letters underneath. Although many have been razed, some Mail Pouch barns have been dismantled to be reassembled for long-term preservation in such settings as Cincinnati’s American Sign Museum. | <urn:uuid:f260f1eb-74f8-4633-a67b-41de6698f2e2> | {
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The pocket gophers are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. These are the “true” gophers, though several ground squirrels of the family Sciuridae are often called gophers as well. The name “pocket gopher” on its own may be used to refer to any of a number of subspecies of the family.
Pocket gophers are widely distributed in North America, extending into Central America.
Gophers are heavily built, and most are 12 to 30 cm (4.7 to 12 in) long, weighing a few hundred grams. A few species reach weights approaching 1 kg (2.2 lb). Within any species, the males are larger than the females and can be nearly double their weight.
Most gophers have brown fur that often closely matches the color of the soil in which they live. Their most characteristic features are their large cheek pouches, from which the word “pocket” in their name derives.
These pouches are fur-lined, and can be turned inside out. They extend from the side of the mouth well back onto the shoulders. They have small eyes and a short, hairy tail, which they use to feel around tunnels when they walk backwards.
All pocket gophers are burrowers. They are larder hoarders, and their cheek pouches are used for transporting food back to their burrows. Gophers can collect large hoards. Their presence is unambiguously announced by the appearance of mounds of fresh dirt about 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter.
These mounds will often appear in vegetable gardens, lawns, or farms, as gophers like moist soil (see Soil biomantle). They also enjoy feeding on vegetables. For this reason, some species are considered agricultural pests. They may also damage trees in forests.
Although they will attempt to flee when threatened, they may attack other animals, including cats and humans, and can inflict serious bites with their long, sharp teeth. Pocket gophers are solitary outside of the breeding season, aggressively maintaining territories that vary in size depending on the resources available.
Males and females may share some burrows and nesting chambers if their territories border each other, but in general, each pocket gopher inhabits its own individual tunnel system.
Depending on the species and local conditions, pocket gophers may have a specific annual breeding season, or may breed repeatedly through the year. Each litter typically consists of two to five young, although this may be much higher in some species.
The young are born blind and helpless, and are weaned at around forty days.
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Our work in room 7 concentrated on the conservation and removal of the large piece of plaster that was found in early 1980s. One of the biggest surprises was that we found a great number of schist slabs and pieces of limestone under the plaster. It is obvious that these stones made up the paved floor of the second story, which was preserved to a great extent some centimeters above the ground floor. The plaster we discovered on top of these stones likely once covered the paved floor.
The excavation of room 8 had started in 2006. This year, we uncovered three pieces of limestone and two schist slabs, among them a complete handle-less conical cup. Across the east wall, we collected several pieces of white plaster with traces of black and red color. Also, we found some burnt wood, bones, and sherds, as well as a few crumbs of bronze. We continued to excavate at a lower level, where we uncovered a one-handled hemispherical cup, jug, open vessel, and some pieces of plaster. As usual, we found carbonized wood and bones. In addition, we uncovered a course of upright limestone across the western part of the south wall of the room. We are certain that these stones were intentionally positioned here in order to form a structure, which, however, we cannot yet identify. Across the rest of the south wall were several pieces of limestone that had fallen vertically. It seems that they came from some kind of structure, such as shelves on the same wall, or they may have fallen from the upper story. A socket at the southern part of the west wall may have facilitated the positioning of a wooden beam. We collected more pieces of white plaster, some of which had red paint. It is probable that these courses of stones, found across the south wall, are somehow related. As the excavation extended into the other parts of the room, we collected more pieces of white plaster and charcoal.
The excavation of room 15 had started in the 1980s, and continued during 2006 with the removal of the upper fill. This year, we removed the lower fill and uncovered numerous pieces of limestone and schist slabs. The fallen masonry was mainly concentrated in the western part of the room, whereas the eastern part was distinguished by a large, complete pithos and part of the floor of the upper story. The latter was well preserved on the top of the pithos.
The excavation gradually revealed the lower part of the inner walls. Two small rectangular gaps in the masonry may indicate the existence of niches. One larger gap on the west wall was most probably a window, similar to the one we found on the west wall of room 14. We uncovered a large amount of stones, among them some bones, plaster, and charcoal. At the southwest part of this fill, four miniature handle-less conical cups came to light. It is exactly the same place that we unearthed a complete amphora the previous year. At the same level, we also found some charcoal, bones, and two fragments of white plaster. In total, we documented 67 slabs from the story’s paved floor. The small and irregular size of the stones may explain why they needed to be covered with clay, which was burnt (and is why it was preserved to such a great extent). On the surface of the clay, there was a great quantity of carbonized wood, some sherds, and a handle-less conical cup. The pithos we found took up a substantial part of the southeast and central parts of the room. It is 1.15 meters high (3.7 feet), and has two rows of handles below the rim and at the lower part of its body. At the center of the room, and in contact with pithos’ rims, we found two thin pieces of limestone that do not resemble the stones fallen from the story. This probably means that they were used to cover the pithos. At the southeast corner of the room, we found a one-handled cup and a bell-shaped cup. At the northwest side, we revealed two more handle-less conical cups. The latter had most likely fallen from a shelf on the wall. We removed the rest of the southeast fill and uncovered four more vessels: two incense burners, a lamp, and a miniature handle-less conical cup.
At the opening of the door, we found fragments of white plaster, burnt wood, bones, and a great amount of fallen stones from the east wall. At the north-central part of the room, we discovered two miniature conical cups, a milk jug, some bones, burnt wood, three fragments of plaster, and two handle-less cups. The excavation continued at a lower level, revealing four jugs, a bridge-spouted cup, the lower part of a stirrup jar, and a conical cup. Below these finds, we uncovered some limestone and schist slabs, which probably means that they came from a stone structure, maybe a bench. At the southern part of this fill, we found four more vessels, mainly cups, as well as some fragments of plaster, burnt wood, and some bones. At the southwest part of the room, an accumulation of four more vessels came to light. Among them were a cooking pot and a shallow angular bowl. The excavation continued mainly across the south and east walls, where we unearthed a great number of finds, including a lid, a tray, a cooking pot, two handle-less conical cups, a milk jug, and a miniature conical cup. The accumulation continued in the northern part of the east wall where we found a tray, two conical cups, a jug, and a quartz crystal. As usual, we also collected many bones and pieces of burnt wood.
Lastly, two more dense accumulations of artifacts came to light beneath the lower part of the pithos and the northeast part of the room, including an amphoriskos, an incense burner, two handle-less cups, a cooking pot, a shallow bowl, and many sherds coming from a medium-size vessel. We also found bones and carbonized wood.
The excavation of room 17 had started in 2005. The research up to now was mainly concentrated on the central and western parts of the room, while the eastern part remained unexcavated. This year, the excavation continued in the lower fill of the southwest part of the room. In addition, we removed the upper fill of the eastern part. The single most important find was a pithos, which we uncovered in front of the west doorjamb. At the same level, in the southwest corner of the room, we discovered big sherds that belonged to the rim and the body of another large pithos. At the floor level, we uncovered four vessels: a jug, a beaked jug, and two conical cups. In addition, we found numerous bones and pieces of charcoal.
We began to excavate the room’s eastern part this year. The upper fill was full of medium and large pieces of limestone and a few schist slabs. Despite the masonry’s bad state of preservation at the southeast corner, it seemed that there was one more opening at the southern part of the east wall. The door is 0.80 centimeters (0.31 inches) wide and blocked by fallen stones. The disruption in this fill was confirmed by the pottery, since we found a lot of sherds from later periods. Among the various finds were numerous bones and pieces of carbonized wood. Lastly, at the lower part of this fill, there were a few more finds: a sherd of a tray, a handle of a cooking pot, a miniature cup, white plaster, and a probable stone tool.
This year, we continued the excavation of passageway 16 at its southern end. We uncovered a great amount of fallen stones, which came from the upper parts of the east wall of room 15. In this fill, we found numerous sherds, bones, and pieces of burnt wood. Also, we discovered two greenish pebbles, a small black stone with reddish inclusions, and two pieces of white plaster. At the lowest level of this fill, we unearthed two handle-less cups and sherds from a large pithos. In addition, we found many pieces of charcoal, three incomplete vessels (a handle-less cup, hemispherical cup, and shallow bowl), a quartz crystal, and a fragment of white plaster.
In order to better understand the area occupied by the Central Building and to complete its ground plan, we conducted a geomagnetic prospection to trace any structures, mainly walls, that remain covered to date. | <urn:uuid:7fed7448-b86c-44c5-8193-56378cee36b2> | {
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Was this an Iron Furnace?
Yes, it was. Welcome to archaeological mystery! The author is William D. Conner, avocational archaeologist of Columbus, Ohio. My archaeological odyssey begins August, 1963, as I pose (middle) with amateur archaeologist Arlington H. Mallery, and a neighborhood youngster. We sit in the remains of the bowl of the Overly furnace near the village of Austin, Ross County, Ohio. This furnace and others like it in South Central Ohio, excavated 1949-1992 by amateur investigators, represent an Old World technology 2,000 years old. How did it come to exist in Ohio?
Iron Age America before Columbus
Preface: The Legendary Azgens
1. Norsemen Among The Indians?
2. Spruce Hill
3. Mallery Finds Norse Traces In Newfoundland
4. Spruce Hill Furnaces Lure Mallery To Ohio
5. Mallery vs. Solecki
6. Are Virginia’s Mysterious Furnaces All Gone?
7. Investigators Keeler and Kelley
8. Glacial Kame Furnace Uncovered, July 1990
9. Archaeologist Urges Us To Dig
10. The Hoover Reservoir Site Furnace
11. America’s Large Copper Artifacts
12. Investigator Ellis Neiburger
13. New Light Shed On Furnaces And Maps
14. Used By Columbus?
15. Proof Of Ancient Astronauts?
16. The Newark ‘Holy Stones’ Debate At Roscoe
17. The Bent Artifacts
18. The Farfarers
19. Period Of Unrest’ Caused By Invasion Of Iron Age Celts
20. America and Ohio: Just Before Columbus?
21. Forging Links With Pre-Columbians
Appendix A: Arlington Mallery’s Investigation Chronology
Appendix B: Ohio Archaeo-Pyrogenic Sites Database
Appendix C: The Solecki Report
Appendix D: Rebuttal To Solecki’s Report By Mallery
Appendix E: Supplement To Mallery’s Rebuttal
Appendix F: Sterling’s Reply To Mallery’s Rebuttal Of Solecki’s Report
Appendix G: Spruce Hill Investigations, 1992
Appendix H: Report To The Ohio Archaeological Council
Appendix I: Triangulation: Recording Excavation Site Data Points
Appendix J: Arledge TL Test Yields 1740 AD Results
Appendix K: Mallery Not The First
Appendix L: The Georgetown Forum
Appendix M: The Legendary Lost City Of Paint Valley
Appendix N: Carved Stone Buried 15 feet Below Chillicothe?
Appendix O: Found With Metal Detector
Appendix P: Was Ohio Prehistoric Furnace Iron
Appendix Q: Reported At Symposium In 1973
Appendix R: The Thordsen Map
Iron Age America before Columbus / William D. Conner
‘Crushing’ Evidence of Antiquity
Centuries before history began, someone left behind furnaces of ancient Old World Iron Age design buried deep inside “Indian mounds,” hillsides and the banks of creeks in and around the land that would become Ross County, Ohio. Prehistoric Iron Age people from the Old World built the furnaces to smelt bog iron ore into wrought iron, the metal blacksmiths shaped into tools and weapons. I will provide conclusive proof that all attempts to fit Ohio’s pit iron furnaces into the 18th century -- before American settlers claimed the land -- are unworkable. Instead, evidence indicates that these furnaces were constructed and used about a thousand years ago.
I was a teenage boy at Chillicothe High in Ross County when first I met Arlington H. Mallery in 1949. Scorned by professional archaeologists, Mallery, a bridge-building engineer, knew Iron Age furnaces when he found them, even if they occurred in Ohio, where they were not supposed to exist. He dug up several furnaces of ancient design along Ross County’s Deer Creek in 1949-50.
I have developed compelling evidence these furnaces are in fact prehistoric and this new evidence will be uncovered in my new book, Iron Age America Before Columbus.
Text and photos © 1997-2009 by William D. Conner
“Iron Age America before Columbus” is now Available!
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The ancient Egyptians encountered magical bricks on the way into life and on the way out.
On the way in, these were four bricks, stacked in pairs, that served to elevate a birthing mother so that when her child emerged beneath her, the baby could easily be caught in the hands of the midwife. (According to midwives even today, a squatting or sitting posture is preferable to the supine position in which most modern Western women give birth, generally resulting in a faster, easier delivery.)
On the way out, these were the four talismanic bricks that were placed in niches in the four quarters of a royal burial chamber. These bricks were decorated with amuletic figures: in the east, the Anubis jackel; in the south, a flame; in the west, the djed pillar of Osiris; and in the north, a mummiform male figure. All of them protected the deceased.
Doubtless, the talismanic bricks that surrounded the body of the deceased in the tomb were meant to assist in her or his rebirth into the next life, just as the birthing bricks assisted in a child’s birth into physical life.
The Goddess most closely associated with the birthing bricks is Meskhenet, Protectress of the Birthing Place. The bricks were called meskhenut (pl.) after Her. Meskhenet is depicted either as a woman-headed birthing brick or as a woman with a distinctive curling headdress that has been identified as a stylized cow’s uterus. She protects mother and child during the dangerous process of birth, She foretells the child’s destiny as the baby is born, and She is among the Deities of rebirth Who witness the judgment of the deceased in the Otherworld.
With Isis’ own connection to both birth and rebirth, you will probably not be surprised to learn that Isis is closely associated with Meskhenet. At Osiris’ temple complex at Abydos, four Meskhenets serve as assistants to Isis in the great work of rebirth done there. At Hathor’s temple complex at Denderah, a combined form of Isis and Meskhenet (Meskhenet Nofert Iset or Isis, Meskhenet the Beautiful) is one of the four Birth Goddesses of Denderah. And in the famous story of the birth of three kings found in the Westcar papyrus, both Isis and Meskhenet are among the four Goddesses Who assist in the kings’ births.
Both tomb bricks and birthing bricks were protective. An inscription from the temple at Esna, Khnum, the God Who forms the child’s body and ka on His Divine potter’s wheel, places four Meskhenet Goddesses around each of His various forms “to repel the designs of evil by incantations.” We even have a few spells that were used to charge the birthing bricks. These spells are supposed to repel the attacks of enemies to the north and south of Egypt and may indicate that the birthing bricks, like the tomb bricks, were connected with the directions.
And here’s another tidbit showing parallels between the magical tomb bricks and birthing bricks. In an Egypt Exploration Society article by Ann Macy Roth and Catherine H. Roehrig, the authors point out an interesting gender-balanced aspect of these magical bricks.
You may recall that four Sons of Horus are the Gods Who protect the four canopic jars that contain the internal organs of the mummy. These four Gods are, in turn, guarded by four Goddesses. In Tutankhamun’s tomb, the Goddesses are Isis, Nephthys, Selket, and Neith. We may be able to explain the amuletic figures associated with the tomb bricks in a similar, though opposite, manner. If the four meskhenets are personified as four Goddesses Who protect the birthing place, perhaps the four figures on the tomb bricks—the God Anubis, a mummiform male, a Divine pillar associated with Osiris, and a flame, the hieroglyph for which is rather phallic—may be considered Divine Males Who protect the four Meskhenet Goddesses, just as four Goddesses protect the four Sons of Horus.
It is worth noting that these magical bricks were made in the same way as were the traditional mud bricks of Egypt. They were fashioned from the fertile Nile mud, which may be associated with Isis as Lady of the Fertile Earth, then they were dried in the brilliant heat of Isis-Re, the Radiant Sun Goddess.
I haven’t tried this yet, but it would be interesting to create four miniature mud bricks, magically charge them by naming them Isis-Meskhenet the Beautiful, then placing them in the four quarters of the temple, or even outside, one on each side of the house. I suspect they would provide very fine magical protection. | <urn:uuid:a3a63166-0f2a-4b05-b603-61e35d4a4a4e> | {
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JAPA: A PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT
Q. What is the starting point of japa from the linguistic - point of view? What are the halting places in this joumey? And how does the power of japa become comprehensive form the point of view of physiology or of the science of incantation?
Ans. Japa, the repetition of the name of the deity, and jalpa, meaning sophistry, come from the root words japa and jalpa. The root word jalpa connotes plain, explicit speaking; whereas the root word japa has two connotations--explicit speech and mental talk. Thus, the semantic journey of japa begins from loud note' to mantra-articulation' and, mental repetition' thereof. Of course, japa is always done aloud, but from the point of view of articulation, it has been divided into two classes-voiced and mental. From the viewpoint of the science of incantation, japa is of three kinds-japa, antarjalpa, and mental jalpa. In the language of the science of incantation, these are known as voiced, low-voiced, and silent (i.e. mental). All these three kinds of japa can prove useful supports for ones progress in meditation.
Basically, the whole process constitutes an effort to migrate from the gross to the subtle, from the visible to the invisible world. Gross sound produces gross vibrations and subtle sound produces subtle vibrations. Subtle vibrations are far more powerful than the gross ones Nevertheless, in the initial stages of bringing about a change, gross vibrations have a role to play. But in the higher stages it is necessary to move towards subtle vibrations, because the state of meditation can be attained only through these. Loud japa is gross; low-toned japa is an advance upon the former; at the level of mental japa, the distance between knowledge and. the. word disappears. Here language and thought get very near to each other. In gross vibrations, language and thought function separately.
Subtle vibrations awaken the psychic centres situated in the human body. Although the entire system of the body is affected by these, some centres of consciousness are specially activated. For example-the Centre of Energy, the Centre of Bio-electricity, the Centre of Purity, the Centre of Intuition and the Centre of Wisdom
In the system of preksha meditation,, psychic centres are associated with the endocrine glands as under:
Psychic Centres Endocrine Glands Location
1.Centre of Energy Gonads Bottom end of the spinal cord
2.Centre of Health Gonads Lower abdomen
3.Centre of Bio-electricity Adrenal, Pancreas. Navel Islets of Langerhans
4.Centre of Bliss Thymus Near the heart
5.Centre of Purity Thyroid,Parathyroid Adams apple-throat
6.Centre of Celibacy Sense organ of Taste Tongue (Tip)
7.Centre of Vital Energy Sense organ of Smell Nose (Tip)
8. Centre of Vision Sense of sight Eyes
9. Centre of Vigilance Sense of Hearing Ear
10.Centre of Intuituion Pituitary Middle of the eyebrows
11.Centre of Enlightenment Pineal Centre of the forehead
12.Centre of Peace Hypothalamus Front part of the head
13.Centre of Wisdom Cerebral Cortex Top of the head
Through japa, a transformation takes place at all levels- physical, mental and emotional. In the ancient texts, while mentioning the results of japa it has been said :
By reciting spells, one can conquer decay, aversion, loss of appetite (dyspepsia), leprosy, disorders of the stomach, cough, asthma, etc. Like most distinguished persons, the doer of japa earns great merit, and in his next birth attains salvation which is the portion of the noblest beings.
Q. Has the assertion in the ancient texts of diseases being cured by japa, been proved by experiments? If not, how do we establish its authenticity?
Ans. In the context of diseases, japa is one remedy. It is not an imaginary concept, but has a scientific basis. just as the atoms of medicine are capable of destroying the atoms of disease, in the same way the atoms of the mind attracted by japa pull out the disease-atoms in the body and collect healthy atoms. Thus, there is little room for doubting that the disease will be eradicated.
In ancient times, the mantra-therapy was used along with the Ayurved system of medicine. It was a kind of psychological treatment. The mantra-therapy formed an independent discipline within the Ayurvedic system. Accordingly, only he who had mastered the science of mantras, could be a full-fledged Ayurved Acharya. Experimentation was done in respect of various mantras in the laboratory of the mantra-specialists. Even today, the mantra-therapy is prevalent in some form. Though only to a slight degree, modern people are scientifically reviving the mantra-therapy. If this work goes ahead, there is room for a great deal of research and new discoveries.
Sound-therapy is also a part of the mantra-therapy. The rhythmic vibrations of sound can create virbrations in both the inner and the outer environment. They affect not only man, but also the whole world of living beings. The impact of sound vibrations on the vegetable kingdom is even greater than upon human beings. In this connection, new experiments are being performed in America and other countries. They are also experimenting with the effects of music on vegetation. Although music has no shape or appearance of a mantra, it certainly is a component vital to its incantatory effect. Plants exposed to music develop early, the grass grows apace, the petals are larger and smoother, the fruit more abundant and delicious. Sound-induced sweetness imparts to the vegetation all-round a sense of being loved and cared for and a feeling of joy at being so loved. During the period of experimentation, those plants which were deprived of the atmosphere of music, in contrast with their more happy brethren, showed the effect of such deprivation on their growth, leafing, flowering and fruition. Experiments have also been conducted on the effect of music on animals. Cows exposed to music yielded more milk. In view of the fact that waves of music exercise such a powerful influence on vegetation and animals, the effect of vibrations produced by a mantra can no longer be disputed. The working of a mantra is even more subtle, so its effect is visible on a subtle level. Combined with faith, self-confidence and passion, a mantra's power of doing good is increased a hundred fold.
Q. You have talked about the scientific nature of spell-craft and the system of mantra-therapy. But it has been observed that those resorting to japa and mantras for years together, are not satisfied with the results. Some even talk of giving up mantra-japa altogether. Is that the right approach?
Ans. The words of a mantra are in themselves charged with electricity. The user of a spell also experiences its electric effect. How effective it proves, depends upon the disposition of the experimenter. "Sweetness depends upon the amount of sugar put in," is a traditional saying. Similarly, the greater the devotion, the greater the power of japa. Japa always yields some definite result, more or less. It seems to me that in order to advance in the field of sadhana, to remove obstructions in the path of spiritual progress, and to enter the inner world, the first thing to be done is japa. The doubt about the effectiveness of japa is now being replaced by a new faith in its power.
In the Jain tradition, the recitation of namaskar mahamantra' (obeisance-spell), of seed-letters, of a spell word or the name of one's personal deity, is still very much prevalent. The question arises if it produces the desired results. Some people get good results, whereas others draw a complete blank. But the talk of giving up. japa-sadhana in the absence of any visible results, is not right. Because the reason behind the absence of results is not any lack of virtue in the mantra, but the practitioner's ignorance of the proper technique of recitation. The water has the power of slaking one's thirst. If because of some reason, the water is rendered unclean or it gets tepid as in the hot season and cannot slake one's thirst, it cannot be said that the water has lost its virtue. If the same water is cleaned and cooled, it becomes fit for use.
Similarly, people who undertake japa unsystematically, recite the mantra too quickly, or too lethargically, or sit down to practise it when their mind is restless and wandering-these are the defects of performance. If these defects are removed, japa can establish itself in the form of a powerful tool for bringing about physical, mental and spiritual change. The fundamental basis of change is the purity of the life-current. Total concentration of the mind on the mantra does not in any way obstruct the flow of vital energy. The flow of vital energy means the flow of strength and vigour in the body. The purer the flow, the stronger the vital energy. Unless combined with the vital energy, the mantra loses its virtue. In order to achieve the desired result from the practice of mantra recitation, it is necessary to blend it with the flow of vital energy. | <urn:uuid:b649c990-8e32-4ac6-9e3b-42d415914963> | {
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- Yes, this is a good time to plant native grass seed in the ground. You may have to supplement with irrigation if the rains stop before the seeds have germinated and made good root growth.
- Which grasses should I plant? The wonderful thing about California is that we have so many different ecosystems; the challenging thing about California is that we have so many different ecosystems. It’s impossible for us to know definitively which particular bunchgrasses used to grow or may still grow at your particular site, but to make the best guesses possible, we recommend the following:
- Bestcase scenario is to have bunchgrasses already on the site that you can augment through proper mowing or grazing techniques.
- Next best is to have a nearby site with native bunchgrasses and similar elevation, aspect, and soils, that you can use as a model.
- After that, go to sources such as our pamphlet Distribution of Native Grasses of California, by Alan Beetle, $7.50.
- Also reference local floras of your area, available through the California Native Plant Society.
Container growing: We grow seedlings in pots throughout the season, but ideal planning for growing your own plants in pots is to sow six months before you want to put them in the ground. Though restorationists frequently use plugs and liners (long narrow containers), and they may be required for large areas, we prefer growing them the horticultural way: first in flats, then transplanting into 4" pots, and when they are sturdy little plants, into the ground. Our thinking is that since they are not tap-rooted but fibrous-rooted (one of their main advantages as far as deep erosion control is concerned) square 4" pots suit them, and so far our experiences have borne this out.
In future newsletters, we will be reporting on the experiences and opinions of Marin ranchers Peggy Rathmann and John Wick, who are working with UC Berkeley researcher Wendy Silver on a study of carbon sequestration and bunchgrasses. So far, it’s very promising. But more on that later. For now, I’ll end with a quote from Peggy, who grows, eats, nurtures, lives, and sleeps bunchgrasses, for the health of their land and the benefit of their cows.
“It takes a while. But it’s so worth it.” | <urn:uuid:c183066d-32a9-42eb-91b6-191fdb0980c2> | {
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Garrett had a hard time waking up for school during his sophomore year. At first he thought it was because he'd been going to bed late over summer vacation and then sleeping in the next day. He assumed he'd adjust to his school schedule after a couple of weeks. But as the school year progressed, Garrett found himself lying awake in bed until 2 or 3 in the morning, even though he got up at 6:30 AM every day. He began falling asleep in class and his grades started to suffer.
Most teens don't get enough sleep, but that's usually because they're overloaded and tend to skimp on sleep. But sleep problems can keep some teens awake at night even when they want to sleep.
Over time, those nights of missed sleep (whether they're caused by a sleep disorder or simply not scheduling enough time for the necessary ZZZs) can build into a sleep deficit. People with a sleep deficit are unable to concentrate, study, and work effectively. They can also experience emotional problems, like depression.
What Happens During Sleep?
You don't notice it, of course, but while you're asleep, your brain is still active. As people sleep, their brains pass through five stages of sleep. Together, stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep make up a sleep cycle. One complete sleep cycle lasts about 90 to 100 minutes. So during an average night's sleep, a person will experience about four or five cycles of sleep.
Stages 1 and 2 are periods of light sleep from which a person can easily be awakened. During these stages, eye movements slow down and eventually stop, heart and breathing rates slow down, and body temperature decreases. Stages 3 and 4 are deep sleep stages. It's more difficult to awaken someone during these stages, and when awakened, a person will often feel groggy and disoriented for a few minutes. Stages 3 and 4 are the most refreshing of the sleep stages — it is this type of sleep that we crave when we are very tired.
The final stage of the sleep cycle is known as REM sleep because of the rapid eye movements that occur during this stage. During REM sleep, other physical changes take place — breathing becomes rapid, the heart beats faster, and the limb muscles don't move. This is the stage of sleep when a person has the most vivid dreams.
Research shows that teens need 8½ to more than 9 hours of sleep a night. You don't need to be a math whiz to figure out that if you wake up for school at 6:00 AM, you'd have to go to bed at 9:00 PM to reach the 9-hour mark. Studies have found that many teens have trouble falling asleep that early, though. It's not because they don't want to sleep. It's because their brains naturally work on later schedules and aren't ready for bed.
During adolescence, the body's rhythm (sort of like an internal biological clock) is reset, telling a teen to fall asleep later at night and wake up later in the morning. This change in the circadian rhythm seems to be due to the fact that the brain hormone is produced later at night in teens than it is for kids and adults, making it harder for teens to fall asleep. Sometimes this delay in the sleep-wake cycle is so severe that it affects a person's daily functioning. In those cases it's called delayed sleep phase syndrome.
Changes in the body clock aren't the only reason teens lose sleep, though. Lots of people have insomnia — trouble falling or staying asleep. The most common cause of insomnia is stress. But all sorts of things can lead to insomnia, including physical discomfort (the stuffy nose of a cold or the pain of a headache, for example), emotional troubles (like family problems or relationship difficulties), and even an uncomfortable sleeping environment (a room that's too hot, cold, or noisy).
It's common for everyone to have insomnia from time to time. But if insomnia lasts for a month or longer with no relief, then doctors consider it chronic. Chronic insomnia can be caused by a number of different problems, including medical conditions, mental-health problems, medication side effects, or substance abuse. People with chronic insomnia can often get help for their condition from a doctor, therapist, or other counselor.
For some people, insomnia can be made worse by worrying about the insomnia itself. A brief period of insomnia can build into something longer lasting when a person becomes anxious about not sleeping or worried about feeling tired the next day. Doctors call this psychophysiologic insomnia.
Periodic Limb Movement Disorder and Restless Legs Syndrome
People with these conditions find their sleep is disrupted by leg (or, less frequently, arm) movements, leaving them tired or irritable from lack of sleep. In the case of periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), these movements are involuntary twitches or jerks: They're called involuntary because the person isn't consciously controlling them and is often unaware of the movement.
People with restless legs syndrome (RLS) actually feel physical sensations in their limbs, such as tingling, itching, cramping, or burning. The only way they can relieve these feelings is by moving their legs or arms to get rid of the discomfort.
Doctors can treat PLMD and RLS. For some people, treating an iron deficiency can make them go away; other people may need to take other types of medication.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
A person with this sleep disorder temporarily stops breathing during sleep because the airway becomes narrowed or blocked. One common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is enlarged tonsils or adenoids (tissues located in the passage that connects the nose and throat). Being overweight or obese can also lead a person to develop obstructive sleep apnea.
People with obstructive sleep apnea may snore, have difficulty breathing, and even sweat heavily during sleep. Because it disrupts sleep, someone with sleep apnea may feel extremely sleepy or irritable during the day. People who show signs of obstructive sleep apnea, such as loud snoring or excessive daytime sleepiness, should be evaluated by a doctor.
If someone has gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), stomach acid moves backward up into the esophagus, producing the uncomfortable, burning sensation known as heartburn. GERD symptoms can be worse when someone is lying down. Even if someone doesn't notice the feelings of heartburn during sleep, the discomfort it causes can still interfere with the sleep cycle.
Most teens have nightmares on occasion. But frequent nightmares can disrupt sleep patterns by waking someone during the night. Some things can trigger more frequent nightmares, including certain medications, drugs, or alcohol. Ironically, sleep deprivation can also be a cause.
The most common triggers for more frequent nightmares are emotional, such as stress or anxiety. If nightmares are interfering with your sleep, it's a good idea to talk to a parent, doctor, or counselor.
People with narcolepsy are often very sleepy during the day and have sleep "attacks" that may make them suddenly fall asleep, lose muscle control, or see vivid dreamlike images while dozing off or waking up. Someone's nighttime sleep may be disrupted, with frequent awakenings throughout the night.
Narcolepsy can be disturbing because people fall asleep without warning, making it hazardous to do things like drive. A person's schooling, work, or social life can be affected by the unusual sleep patterns.
Narcolepsy is not that commonly diagnosed in teens, although many cases go unrecognized. People usually first begin to have symptoms between the ages of 10 and 25, but may not be properly diagnosed until 10-15 years later. Doctors usually treat narcolepsy with medications and lifestyle changes.
It's rare for teens to walk in their sleep; most sleepwalkers are children. Sleepwalking may run in families. It tends to happen most often when a person is sick, has a fever, is not getting enough sleep, or is feeling stress.
Because most sleepwalkers don't sleepwalk often, it's not usually a serious problem. Sleepwalkers tend to go back to bed on their own and don't usually remember sleepwalking. (Sleepwalking often happens during the deeper sleep that takes place during stages 3 and 4 of the sleep cycle.)
Sometimes, though, a sleepwalker will need help moving around obstacles and getting back to bed. It's also true that waking sleepwalkers can startle them (but it isn't harmful), so try to guide a sleepwalker back to bed gently.
What Should I Do?
If you think you're getting enough rest at night and you're still feeling tired during the day, it's a good idea to visit your doctor. Excessive tiredness can be caused by all sorts of health problems, not just difficulties with sleep.
If a sleep problem is suspected, your doctor will look at your overall health and sleep habits. In addition to doing a physical examination, the doctor will take your medical history by asking you about any concerns and symptoms you have, your past health, your family's health, any medications you're taking, any allergies you may have, and other issues. The doctor also might do tests to find out whether any conditions — such as obstructive sleep apnea — might be interfering with your sleep.
Different sleep problems are treated differently. Some can be treated with medications, whereas others can be helped by special techniques like light therapy (where someone sits in front of a lightbox for a certain amount of time each day) or other practices that can help reset a person's body clock.
Doctors also encourage teens to make lifestyle changes that promote good sleeping habits. You probably know that caffeine can keep you awake, but many teens don't realize that playing video games or watching TV before sleeping can do the same thing. | <urn:uuid:74561f21-310b-4ba0-ab22-417674fb3c14> | {
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The keys to reaching or staying at a healthy weight are regular exercise and good eating habits. Some people think exercise and good eating require lots of effort or planning. But that's not true. In fact, the best way to work them into our lives is by making small changes that gradually become part of our routine.
We've all succeeded in making changes that are now ingrained in our lifestyles — learning to brush our teeth, for example. Here's the information you need to make these other healthy habits just as easy.
Teens should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity a day. Note the word "activity": As long as you're getting your body moving, it doesn't have to mean doing complicated exercises or hitting the gym every day. All that matters is that each week you get the right balance of activity, including aerobic, strength building, and flexibility exercise. Make exercise a habit by scheduling some every day.
On days when you have soccer practice or an aerobics class, you may have no trouble exercising for an hour or more. But most of us are busy, and 60 minutes a day of activity seems like a lot of time. The good news is that it's OK to divide it into shorter "exercise breaks" throughout the day.
Just as you might have a healthy snack to stop yourself getting hungry, exercise snacks can keep energy levels high. So get up 15 minutes early and do some yoga or other stretching activity. Fast walk or jog for 15 minutes at lunch. Do the same thing after school — or walk or bike home. Add to that taking the stairs, gym class, and walking between classes during the day, and you've probably reached your 60 minutes.
Here are 10 simple ways to make an exercise lifestyle change:
Start today. Go outside for a walk.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Instead of driving, walk or bike to places like school or a friend's house.
If you have to drive, park farther away than you need to and walk the extra distance, if it's safe to do so.
Vacuum your room, wash the car, or mow the lawn. It's not a chore — it's an exercise opportunity!
Limit your time watching TV, using the computer, or playing video games — and when you do play, try interactive games that get you moving. Try to keep screen time to no more than 2 hours a day, not including time spent doing homework.
Dance. Even in the privacy of your room, letting loose to your favorite tunes could help you burn more than 300 calories an hour!
Figure out what type of exercise interests you, then give it a try! Take it slow if you've never done it before. And if you're nervous at first, find an exercise buddy to join you. It's usually easier to stay motivated about exercise if you do something you're interested in.
If you get bored or lose interest easily, alternate the kinds of activities you do so they always feel fresh.
Be sure to include some activity that gets your heart beating faster, quickens your breathing, and makes you sweat.
Eating well doesn't mean dieting over and over again. In fact, studies have shown that dieting often doesn't work — and diets may have the reverse effect, with dieters gaining back more weight than before they started.
One reason diets don't work is because they can encourage people to think of foods as "good" or "bad," when the truth is everything is OK in moderation. Diets also encourage people to "give up" certain foods, which can make us feel more deprived. And not only do we feel deprived, diets often deplete our bodies of important nutrients. Teens should eat a variety of foods, and there's nothing wrong with the occasional treat. A candy bar somehow tastes more special if we treat ourselves once in a while instead of every day.
The best way to stay at a healthy weight (or lose weight if you need to) is to make healthy food choices daily. For some of us, that means changing our mindset about food. Instead of thinking of food emotionally (for example, as a reward for doing well on a test or as a way to deal with stress), see it for what it is — a practical way to fuel our bodies.
Here are 10 tips for making healthy eating a part of your life:
Replace soft drinks, fruit juices, and sports drinks that are loaded with sugar with water, low-fat milk, or sugar-free drinks.
Eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. The fiber will fill you up and you'll get the nutrients and flavors to keep your body satisfied.
Choose foods from all the different food groups. In addition to getting your fruits and veggies, include whole grains and lean protein at each meal.
Make healthier fast-food choices. Pick a small, single-patty burger instead of a large one and a side salad instead of fries. Stick to regular servings — don't supersize! Better yet, avoid fast-food places whenever you can.
Keep healthy foods on hand. If your kitchen is stocked with healthy choices like celery, raisins, and peanut butter you can make ants on a log instead of dipping into the cookie jar (you may need to teach your parents a thing or two about food to be sure they buy you the good stuff!).
Take your own good-for-you snacks and food on the road so you can avoid the vending machine or convenience store. Try carrot sticks, a piece of fruit, or your own homemade trail mix instead of cookies, chips, or processed foods that tend to be loaded with fat and calories.
Eat when you're hungry. If you're tempted to eat because you're bored, that's your mind telling you to find something else to do.
Eat a healthy breakfast every day.
Don't eat meals or snacks while watching TV because you'll probably end up eating more than you intend to.
Pay attention to portion sizes. If a portion is large, cut it in half and put half aside for later — or split it with a friend.
Use your creativity to come up with ways to fit exercise and healthy eating into your life in a way that works for you. We're all different. Your best friend might prefer to schedule some gym time while you'd rather take your Frisbee-playing dog to the park. Knowing what's right for you will make it a lot easier to do! | <urn:uuid:17d39546-775d-488a-9415-4a181238c156> | {
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There's a reason why baseball has been called our national pastime for decades. It's as American as hot dogs and apple pie. It's been a summer tradition in big cities and little towns across the U.S.A. for generations. It's a great team sport, and it's fun.
Why Is Baseball Safety Important?
Baseball is by no means a dangerous sport. But it can present a very real risk of injuries from things like wild pitches, batted balls, and collisions in the field.
At the high-school level, some pitchers can throw fastballs that reach 80-plus miles per hour, speedy enough to cause painful welts, broken bones, even concussions. Excessive pitching and improper throwing mechanics can lead to major league arm problems, and base runners and fielders frequently collide while running at top speed.
As with all sports, wearing and using the right gear can go a long way toward preventing injuries. The amount of equipment required for baseball isn't on a par with football or hockey, but it is every bit as important. Players need to be sure they always have all the gear required by their league.
Most leagues will insist on the following:
Batting helmets must be worn whenever a player is at bat, waiting to bat, or running the bases. Some leagues may even require pitchers to wear them. Helmets should always fit properly and be worn correctly. If the helmet has a chin strap, make sure it is fastened, and if the helmet has an eye shield or other faceguard, this should be in good condition, securely attached to the helmet.
A catcher should always be wearing a helmet, facemask, throat guard, full-length chest protector, athletic supporter with a cup, shin guards, and a catcher's mitt whenever they are catching pitches, whether it's in the game, in the bullpen, or during warm-ups.
Baseball spikes should have molded plastic cleats rather than metal ones. Most youth leagues don't allow spikes with metal cleats.
It's possible that your league could have guidelines dictating what kind of bat you can use. Some aluminum bats may be banned for hitting batted balls too hard. Be sure to check your league's policy before choosing a bat.
All players should wear athletic supporters; most, particularly pitchers and infielders, should wear protective cups. Rules regarding which players must wear cups vary from league to league.
Additional gear that some players like includes sliding pants, which are meant to go under your baseball pants to protect against scrapes and cuts; batting gloves, which can keep your hands from getting sore while hitting; shin and foot guards, which are designed to protect against balls fouled straight down; and mouthguards.
Base paths are one of the most common places injuries happen. This is especially true when you slide into a traditional stationary base, which puts a rigid obstacle in your path as you slide. Sliding into a fixed base can result in foot, ankle, and lower-leg injuries.
As a result, doctors have started recommending that leagues install breakaway bases in all of their playing fields. These bases, which snap onto grommets on an anchored rubber mat, can be dislodged when a runner slides into one, lessening the chances that a base runner will get injured. During the course of normal base-running, the base is stable and does not detach.
Before You Start the Game
Ideally, you should get plenty of exercise before the season begins and be in the best shape possible before you swing a bat for the first time. This will not only lower your risk of injury, it will also make you a better ballplayer. Be sure to warm up and stretch before a baseball game as you would for any other sport, but remember that in baseball, you have to pay particular attention to your throwing arm. Most arms require plenty of warm-up before they can safely attempt a long, hard throw.
Different people have different preferences when it comes to warming up their arms. Some like to make short throws, while others prefer to start with long, easy tosses. Regardless of how you choose to warm up your arm, the idea is to start with soft throws meant to stretch your muscles and loosen up your joints. As your arm warms up, gradually increase the intensity of your throws until you are throwing as you would during a game situation.
Make sure that all bats, balls, and other equipment used during warm-ups are safely put away before play begins, and always inspect the playing field for holes and debris, especially broken glass.
When you're out in the field, you're going to want to go full speed after every ball hit your way. The problem is that so will your teammates. With your attention focused on the ball, it's easy to lose track of where people are, and painful collisions can and do occur.
Make sure that if there is any doubt as to who should field a ball, one player calls for it as loudly as he or she can to let other players know to back away. Practice doing this with your teammates so you get used to listening for each other's voices.
When you're batting, it's important to stand confidently in the batter's box and not be afraid of the ball. That being said, baseballs are hard objects. Getting hit with a pitch hurts. You'll get a free base if you get plunked, but it probably won't be worth the pain. Know how to safely get out of the way if a pitch is headed toward you. The best way to do this is to duck and turn away from the pitcher, exposing your back and rear end to the pitch instead of your face and midsection.
On the base paths, practice running the bases with your head up, looking out for other players and batted balls, and know how to slide correctly. Many leagues make it illegal for kids to slide headfirst, as this can lead to head injuries and facial cuts.
Pitching, particularly for adolescent arms that are still growing, puts an enormous amount of strain on joints and tendons. Injuries to wrists, elbows, rotator cuffs, ligaments, and tendons can result from excessive pitching but can be largely avoided if players and coaches follow a few simple guidelines:
Make sure you adhere to your league's rules regarding the maximum number of innings a pitcher is allowed to throw. This will generally range from four to 10 innings per week. If you play for more than one team, include all innings pitched each week, not just the ones for each team.
Most leagues follow rules regarding the number of pitches you can throw in a game. Keep in mind that even major league pitchers have strict pitch counts to keep their arms healthy. Here are the pitch count limits for teens recommended by U.S.A. Little League and the American Sports Medicine Institute:
13-16 years old; 95 pitches a day
17-18 years old; 105 pitches a day
Pitchers under 14 should limit total pitches to less than 1,000 per season and 3,000 per year.
All players should take at least 3 months off per year from overhead sports; in other words, sports that involve a lot of overhead arm movements like baseball or volleyball.
If pitchers feel persistent pain in their throwing arm, they should not be allowed to pitch again until the pain goes away.
A Few Other Reminders
Make sure a responsible adult is on hand any time you play a baseball game, whether it's a parent, coach, or umpire. In the event someone gets seriously hurt, you'll want an adult around to take an injured player to the emergency room.
Make sure first aid is readily available at the fields where you play.
Steroids or human growth hormones aren't just illegal — they're harmful to your health.
These tips should help you have a great time playing America's pastime. Picture yourself under the lights at Yankee stadium, hitting a home run to win game 7 of the World Series. | <urn:uuid:78b6c53a-ff85-4037-8327-66464386c5c0> | {
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Iron is a necessary mineral for body function and good health. Every red blood cell in the body contains iron in its , the pigment that carries oxygen to the tissues from the lungs. But a lack of iron in the blood can lead to iron-deficiency anemia, which is a very common nutritional deficiency in children.
About Iron-Deficiency Anemia
The body needs iron to make hemoglobin. If there isn't enough iron available, hemoglobin production is limited, which in turns affects the production of red blood cells (RBCs). A decreased amount of hemoglobin and RBCs in the bloodstream is known as anemia. Because RBCs are needed to carry oxygen throughout the body, anemia results in less oxygen reaching the cells and tissues, affecting their function.
Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), often caused by insufficient iron intake, is the major cause of anemia in childhood. It has become much less common in the United States over the past 30 years, primarily due to iron-fortified infant formulas and cereals.
Iron-deficiency anemia doesn't develop immediately. Instead, a person progresses through stages of iron deficiency, beginning with iron depletion, in which the amount of iron in the body is reduced while the iron in RBCs remains constant. If iron depletion isn't corrected, it progresses to iron deficiency, eventually leading to IDA.
Causes of IDA
Iron-deficiency anemia can be the consequence of several factors, including:
insufficient iron in the diet
poor absorption of iron by the body
ongoing blood loss, most commonly from menstruation or from gradual blood loss in the intestinal tract
periods of rapid growth
A diet low in iron is most often behind IDA in infants, toddlers, and teens. Kids who don't eat enough or who eat foods that are poor sources of iron are at risk for developing the condition. Poverty is a contributing factor to IDA because families living at or below the poverty level may not be getting enough iron-rich foods.
Iron deficiency can also cause the body to absorb more lead, which increases the risk of lead poisoning in kids, especially those living in older homes. The combination of IDA and lead poisoning can make kids very ill and can put them at risk for learning and behavioral problems.
During infancy and adolescence, the body demands more iron. Kids are at higher risk for IDA through these periods of rapid growth because they may not be getting enough iron in their diet to make up for the increased needs.
In infants, discontinuing iron-fortified formula and introducing cow's milk before 12 months can lead to IDA. Cow's milk is low in the iron necessary for infant growth and development and it often replaces the consumption of iron-rich foods. Milk decreases the absorption of iron and can also irritate the lining of the intestine, causing small amounts of bleeding. This slow, gradual loss of blood in the stool — combined with low iron intake — may eventually result in iron deficiency and anemia.
Prematurity and low birth weight are other factors that put an infant at risk for IDA. Before birth, full-term, normal-weight babies have developed iron stores that can last them 4 to 6 months. Because preemies don't spend as much time in the uterus getting nutrients from the mother's diet, their iron stores are not as great and are often depleted in just 2 months.
Kids between 1 and 3 years old are at risk of iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia, even though it isn't a period of exceptional growth. Most toddlers are no longer consuming iron-fortified formula and infant cereal, and they aren't eating enough iron-rich foods to make up the difference. Toddlers also tend to drink a lot of cow's milk, often more than 24 ounces a day, an amount that injures the lining of the stomach causing chronic blood loss leading to iron deficiency.
During the first stages of puberty, when a lot of growth occurs, boys are at risk of iron deficiency anemia. But adolescent girls are at higher risk than boys for IDA because of smaller iron stores and the iron lost in the blood in their monthly menstrual flow. Many girls also tend to consume a diet low in iron.
Many kids with iron deficiency don't show any symptoms because the body's iron stores are depleted slowly. As the anemia progresses, you may recognize some of the following symptoms in your child:
fatigue and weakness
pale skin and mucous membranes
rapid heartbeat or a new heart murmur (detected in an exam by your child's doctor)
dizziness or a feeling of being lightheaded
Rarely, a person with IDA may experience pica, a craving to eat nonfood items such as paint chips, chalk, or dirt. Pica may be caused by a lack of iron in the diet.
Iron-deficiency anemia is often first noticed during a routine exam. Because IDA symptoms, such as fatigue and decreased appetite, are common to many conditions, the doctor will need more information to make a diagnosis. If IDA is suspected, the doctor will probably ask questions about your family's diet.
To diagnose iron deficiency, one of these blood tests will probably be done:
A complete blood count (CBC) may reveal low hemoglobin levels and low hematocrit (the percentage of the blood made up of RBCs). The CBC also gives information about the size of the RBCs; those with low hemoglobin tend to be smaller and each cell contains less hemoglobin.
The reticulocyte count measures how fast these immature RBCs are produced. In IDA, they're made too slowly in the bone marrow to reach a normal level.
Serum iron directly measures the amount of iron in the blood, but may not accurately reflect how much iron is concentrated in the body's cells.
Serum ferritin reflects total body iron stores. It's one of the earliest indicators of depleted iron levels, especially when used in conjunction with other tests, such as a CBC.
The doctor may also do a stool test because IDA can be caused by gradual loss of small amounts of blood through the gastrointestinal tract. Since the blood may not be visible, a stool sample is placed on a special paper card and a drop of testing solution is applied. A color change indicates the presence of blood.
Even though most cases of IDA are the result of poor dietary iron intake, diet changes alone usually aren't enough to replenish depleted iron stores. Likewise, multivitamins with iron aren't adequate for kids with IDA who have such low iron stores, so a separate daily iron supplement may be required.
It's extremely important to remember that your child should not be given potent iron supplements without first consulting a doctor. Taking too much iron is a major cause of serious poisoning in children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Iron is best absorbed on an empty stomach, because it can occasionally cause stomach upset. Kids who experience stomach problems when taking iron supplements may need to take them with a small amount of food. Iron should not, however, be given with milk or caffeinated beverages, which will interfere with absorption. Vitamin C enhances iron absorption, so try to include plenty of sources of vitamin C in your child's diet.
After the first month on iron supplements, your doctor may want to repeat the blood tests to check that hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are improving. If there's a good response, the doctor will probably continue the iron supplement for several more months. Once corrected, iron stores can be maintained with an iron-rich diet. About 6 months after discontinuing iron therapy, the doctor may want to recheck your child's hemoglobin.
Rarely, IDA is so severe and possibly life-threatening that hospitalization and a blood transfusion may be required.
The effects of IDA will depend on the duration and severity of the anemia. If left untreated, it may lead to behavioral or learning problems. These may not be reversible, even with later iron supplementation.
But in most cases, IDA is preventable by following some basic recommendations:
Infants younger than 1 year old should drink only breast milk or an infant formula supplemented with iron. It is important for breastfed infants to receive iron-fortified solid foods starting at about 6 months of age.
Kids under 2 years old should have no more than 24 ounces of cow's milk a day. As noted earlier, milk can inhibit absorption of iron, and drinking too much milk can dampen a child's appetite for other iron-rich foods. In addition, too much cow's milk has been shown to irritate the gastrointestinal tract, which may cause intestinal bleeding — a cause of iron loss.
Iron-fortified products such as cereal can be a great way to get kids — especially those under 2 years old — to get more iron.
A variety of foods can provide great sources of iron: lean meats; egg yolks; broccoli, spinach, and other green leafy vegetables; dried peas and beans; blackstrap molasses; raisins; and whole-grain bread.
Make sure kids or teens on a vegetarian diet get enough iron. Because iron from meat sources is more easily absorbed than iron from plant sources, you may need to add iron-fortified foods to their diet.
Proper nutrition, which includes a diet rich in iron, is important for all kids. Establishing good eating habits early in life will help to prevent iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia. | <urn:uuid:f96dfc9f-67be-4c8a-b55e-f5c4f25d8bbb> | {
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A recent report suggests that senior citizens will not be retiring anytime soon. Americans in lower-income brackets will need to work as old as 85-years old to survive financially, according to a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
The Huffington Post Reports:
Only by retiring at 75-years old would a majority of those in the lowest income quartile — defined as earning below $11,700 annually — have half a chance of not running out of money during retirement, the study finds. Working until 85 years old doesn’t completely secure Americans, either. Indeed, a majority of workers that age making less than $31,000 annually still have a roughly 20 percent change of running out of funds, the report finds.
This economic change is mainly a result of the rise in life expectancy. Only 9 million Americans were 65-years old or older in 1940. Today that number has nearly doubled to over 34.9 million , and is expected to climb. | <urn:uuid:dd893655-1ada-449d-9db8-a02e95e9c906> | {
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Scientists have discovered a gene that interferes with the clearance of hepatitis C virus infection. They also identified an inherited variant within this gene, Interferon Lambda 4 (IFNL4), that predicts how people respond to treatment for hepatitis C infection. The results of this study, by investigators at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the NIH, and their collaborators at NIH and other institutions, were published online in Nature Genetics earlier this month.
Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus is a cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Up to 80 percent of people who are acutely infected with hepatitis C fail to clear the virus and develop chronic hepatitis C infection, and of these, approximately 5 percent develop liver cancer. Individuals of African ancestry do not respond as well to current treatments of hepatitis C infection compared to patients of European or Asian ancestry.
Previously, results from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified common inherited genetic markers that were associated with response to hepatitis C virus treatment and spontaneous clearance of the infection. Those markers are located on chromosome 19 near a known interferon gene, IFNL3 (IL28B). However, molecular investigations into IFNL3 did not explain the GWAS association with spontaneous virus clearance or treatment response. To find the new gene, the investigators used a technology involving RNA sequencing on human liver cells treated to mimic hepatitis C virus infection.
"By using RNA sequencing we looked outside the box to search for something beyond what was already known in this region. We hit the jackpot with the discovery of a new gene. It is possible that other important genes may be discovered using this approach," said co-lead investigator Ludmila Prokunina-Olsson, Ph.D., of the Laboratory of Translational Genomics in NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG).
The researchers found that the IFNL4 region harbors a variant that is found in two alternative forms. One form, called deltaG, results in a deletion in one of the four bases that comprise DNA. The change creates an alteration known as a frameshift, which produces the IFNL4 protein, while the form without the deletion does not produce IFNL4. By analyzing data from hepatitis C-infected African-Americans and European-Americans participating in clinical studies, the authors found that the presence of the IFNL4 protein is associated with poorer clearance and response to treatment than the form that does not produce IFNL4. The deletion variant is more common in people of African ancestry, which helps partially explain why African-Americans have a lower response to current hepatitis C treatments than patients of Asian and European ancestry.
"Our work fulfills several promises of the genomic era," said NCI's Thomas R. O'Brien, M.D., Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, DCEG. "One, a better understanding of biology; two, personalized medicine; and three, new potential treatments. We deliver immediately on the first two. We've identified a new gene that may help us better understand response to viral infection and the new genetic marker may transition to clinical practice because it predicts treatment outcome for African-American patients better than the current genetic test. For the third, the INFL4 protein may be used as a novel therapeutic target for hepatitis C virus infection, and possibly other diseases."
The new gene belongs to what is now a family of four interferon-lambda protein-encoding genes, three of which were discovered more than ten years ago (IFNL1, IFNL2 and IFNL3) The mechanism by which the IFNL 4 protein impairs hepatitis C virus clearance remains unknown. Further studies will explore molecular function of this novel protein in normal and disease conditions.
This study was conducted collaboratively with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at NIH, as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and a number of universities and research institutions. Funding was provided by NCI grant Z01 CP005782. | <urn:uuid:8fd342f1-9bbe-40b4-a878-60a4ada65fb8> | {
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hese peeled trees are at Indian Tree Campground in the Bitterroot National Forest, very near the route the Corps of Discovery may have followed on September 5, 1805, as they descended from the ridge now known as Lost Trail Pass, which separates the Salmon and Bitterroot River drainages. Photo: Bitterroot National Forest
alking overland west of the Gates of the Mountains on July 19, 1805, Clark "saw where the natives had pealed the bark off the pine trees about this same season." This, Lewis reported, "the indian woman with us informs that they do to obtain the sap and soft part of the wood and bark for food." And on September 12, the second day of their toilsome journey over the Bitterroot Range from Travelers' Rest to Weippe Prairie, Clark wrote, "On this road, & particularly on this creek," — today's Lolo Creek — "the indians have peeled a number of Pine for the under bark, which they eate at certain Seasons of the year, I am told in the Spring." The species that was favored was Pinus ponderosa, ponderosa pine. Trees could be peeled early in May, after the bitterroot was judged ready for harvest, and never before. The process was steeped in ceremony; the result was literally the first sweet taste of spring.
It was women's work. Hard work. They used sharpened juniper sticks or rib bones of elk or bison to pry heavy slabs of thick bark from each tree. Then, with slicing tools made from the horns of mountain sheep, they carefully scraped off the nutritious inner bark and ate it immediately. The treat had a brief shelf-life, because it was unpalatable after it dried out.1
It is often said that Indians ate the cambium, but that is incidental and irrelevant, for the cambium itself is functionally just one cell thick; its components divide to produce a cambial zone, which is only a few cells thick. Although it is a key to a tree's life, it has no value as human food.
On its inner surface, the cambial zone generates the water-conducting cells, or xylem (ZY-lem), which, as the tree grows, expand the dead, woody center of the stem, or tree-trunk. On its other side the cambium merges into the phloem (pronounced FLO-um), or bast. About one-eighth to one quarter of an inch thick in a mature ponderosa pine, the phloem carries food between the tree's crown and its roots. In spring, at the onset of the tree's new growing season, it is rich in proteins and carbohydrates, and that is why it was once valued as food. As the outer cells of the phloem deteriorate, they become the corky interior surface of the outer bark.2
Peeled trees also served as trail signs. En route back across the Bitterroot Mountains, on June 17, 1806, over deep snowbanks that hid the ground, Clark noted: "I was in front and Could only pursue the derection of the road by the trees which had been peeled by the nativs for the iner bark of which they Scrape and eate."
The peeling of ponderosa pine trees was discouraged and finally prohibited as settlers moved onto reservation lands, because it was considered injurious to trees that were valuable to them as sources of lumber for building. But since cuts such as that illustrated in the photo above did not sever the cambial zone around the whole circumference of the tree, they did no harm. In fact, a layer of cambium soon formed within the callus tissues to help heal the wound.
--Joseph Mussulman, with help from Mark Behan
1. Jeff Hart, Montana: Native Plants and Early Peoples (Helena: Montana Historical Society, 1976), 50-51.
2. Stephen H. Spurr and Burton V. Barnes, Forest Ecology (3rd ed., New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1980), 89. | <urn:uuid:0da820ab-8a5d-4bd5-95ba-de9a0f1c41bb> | {
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The eustachian tube is a small canal that connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and upper throat (nasopharynx). Its purpose is to equalize the air pressure in the middle ear with the pressure outside it.
Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) occurs when the tube fails to open during swallowing or yawning. This results in a difference between the air pressure inside and outside the middle ear. It causes discomfort in the ear and temporary hearing problems.
The ear may feel blocked if the pressure outside the ear changes, but the pressure inside the ear does not change. When this happens, the eardrum cannot vibrate normally. It often occurs during altitude changes, like flying in an airplane, driving on steep hills, or scuba diving. Swallowing, yawning, or chewing usually make the symptoms go away.
ETD occurs if the tube is blocked or swollen, trapping air and fluids in the middle ear. This causes symptoms to continue beyond a few hours. Sometimes it can lead to ear damage.
A risk factor is something that increases your chance of getting ETD. Tell your doctor if you have any of these factors:
- Activities with large, rapid altitude changes, such as flying in an airplane or scuba diving
- Allergy, cold, or other upper respiratory infection
- Ear or sinus infection
- Narrow eustachian tube
- Presence of obstructing tumors in the nasopharynx
- Children with large adenoids
- Age: Children (Their eustachian tubes are narrower.)
- Environmental allergies
Symptoms can include:
- Feeling of fullness or clogging in the ear
- Discomfort or pain in the ear
- Hearing loss
- Ringing in the ear (tinnitus)
- Symptoms cannot be relieved by swallowing, yawning, or chewing
- Pain if the blockage results in an infection
Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history, and perform a physical exam. A lighted instrument, called an otoscope, will be used to look inside your ear. The doctor will check for a slight bulge around the eardrum, fluid, and swelling. If your case is severe, your may need to see an otolaryngologist, a doctor who specializes in ear disorders.
Other possible tests include:
- Tympanogram—to measure pressure in the ear canal and movement of the eardrum
- Audiogram—to measure hearing
- Examination of the nose and the back of the nose
To deal with ear clogging, discomfort, or pain, you can try:
- Swallowing, yawning, or chewing gum to relieve the pressure
- Clearing your ears by breathing in and then gently breathing out while holding your nostrils and mouth closed
If the symptoms do not go away within a few hours or are severe, your doctor may recommend the following medications:
- Nasal or oral decongestants
- Oral antihistamines
- Nasal steroids to relieve nasal congestion and enable the eustachian tube to open
- Pain medications (eg, acetaminophen or ibuprofen)
In rare cases, a myringotomy may be necessary. The doctor makes an incision in the eardrum to allow the pressure to equalize and the fluid to drain.
To help reduce your chances of getting ETD, take the following steps:
- Avoid flying in an airplane or going scuba diving if you have allergies or a cold.
- Use decongestants or antihistamines if you have an allergy or a cold.
- Yawn or chew gum. Encourage swallowing by sucking on hard candy or drinking water.
- When taking off and landing, clear your ears by breathing in and then gently breathing out while holding your nostrils and mouth closed.
- Try special earplugs that slowly equalize the pressure in your ear. These earplugs can be found at drugstores and airports.
- Reviewer: Kari Kassir, MD
- Review Date: 09/2012 -
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The theory behind fossil fuels is actually quite simple. Burning coal, natural gas, and petroleum releases energy stored in the fuel as heat. The energy contained by the fuels is derived from the energy of the sun. For more detailed explanations of the origins of the different fossil fuels, visit the coal, natural gas, and petroleum pages.
The heat that is recovered upon combustion of the fuel can be used by us in several ways. Industrial processes that require extremely high temperatures may burn a great deal of very pure coal known as "coke" and use the energy released to directly heat a system. Some people make use of clean burning natural gas to heat their homes. Combustion of fossil fuels can also be used to generate electricity; the fuel is burned to heat water, and the steam from the boiling water spins turbines that power a generator, thereby manufacturing electricity:
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