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A first year is a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who is new to Hogwarts and in their first year of magical education. On average, there are around 144 new first years attending Hogwarts each academic year.
Beginning the magical career
Travelling to Hogwarts
First years are typically eleven to twelve years of age, and begin the year by boarding the Hogwarts Express at exactly 11 a.m. from King's Cross Station on which they travel to Hogwarts. If they are a wizarding family and live in Hogsmeade, they do not need to catch the train. From there, first year students are accompanied by the Keeper of Keys and Grounds, or another suitable teacher if they are absent, to a shady path that leads to a fleet of small boats, which magically sail themselves across the Black Lake to arrive at a small landing stage near the castle of Hogwarts; next, they await their turn to get Sorted into their houses. A teacher takes them to a small room where they await the Sorting ceremony. The older students ride up to the castle in carriages pulled by creatures called Thestrals, winged horse-like creatures that are invisible to anyone who have not personally witnessed someone's death.
The Welcoming Feast
Just before the Welcoming Feast begins, there is a Sorting ceremony, where the students are Sorted into one of four houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin) by the Sorting Hat. When the sorting hat is placed on your head it looks inside your mind. It looks for qualities that are unique to each of the houses and then places you appropriately. After the sorting, the Headmaster says a few words and the Welcoming Feast begins. After the meals have been eaten, the headmaster says a few more words; then the headmaster directs the school song at the end of the start-of-term feast if he feels in a particularly festive mood, such as when Harry Potter came to Hogwarts. The headmaster directs the song with his wand. He flicks out a ribbon that floats in the air, creating the words for the students to sing along with, each singing to the tune of their choice. The rest of the staff does not appear to have any delight in this little ritual, but for example, Albus Dumbledore conducts the singing with gusto and even gets a bit misty at the end of:
Hoggy Warty Hogwarts
Teach us something, please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.
During the first year
In Astronomy, students observe the sky with their telescopes, learning the names of the stars and the movements of the planets; they also learn about the moons of Jupiter. Charms students learn the Levitation Charm, the softening spell, the fire charm, and, as the exam requires them to make a pineapple dance across a desk, presumably the dancing charm. Defence Against the Dark Arts classes learn about the spell to give people runny noses, the spell to blast people away, and different ways to treat werewolf bites. First years also learn the basic commands one must give their ride; they learn fundamental tricks and tips for riding. Herbology students study various plants and fungi, such as a healing herb and a plant that likes strangling people; it is in this class that they first learn the fire charm. In History of Magic, they learn various names and dates, including a really evil guy, a crazy dude, the Warlock's Convention of 1709, various goblin rebellions, the inventor of the self-stirring cauldron, and the uprise of Elfric the Eager. Transfiguration students made complex notes, and then had to learn the spell to turn a match into a needle, the mouse into snuffbox spell, and the Switching Spell. Lastly, potions students learned the potion to cure boils, and the potion to make people forget things.
|Second||Defence Against the Dark Arts||Hisory of Magic||Herbology||Transfiguration(unknown)||Potions|
First year restrictions
First years cannot go to Hogsmeade with the students in the third year or above, and they are not permitted to have their own broomstick inside the school grounds, an exception being Harry Potter, who was given a Nimbus 2000 in his first year. They also cannot take the classes Divination, Muggle Studies, Study of Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy until the third yearand up.
Harry's first year (1991)
- Professor McGonagall, who tells them they will soon be sorted into their houses. All Hogwarts students live in one of four residences: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Each house has its own team for Quidditch. The houses are in a yearlong competition with one another to acquire the most points, which are earned by success in Quidditch games, answering questions correctly in class and other things during school which teachers feel they deserve points. Points are lost for student infractions. The new students are greeted at the castle door by
The Sorting ceremony and the Welcoming feast
As the students enter Hogwarts, ghosts appear in the hallway. The students are led to the Great Hall, where the entire school waits for them. They see a pointy hat on a stool. When the students try on the Sorting Hat, it announces the house in which they are placed. Harry becomes very nervous. He has learned that he does not care for Slytherin house, as the students in it (i.e. Draco Malfoy) are unpleasant and Voldemort once belonged to Slytherin. Finally, it's Harry’s turn to wear the hat. After a brief mental discussion with the hat in which it tries to suggest Slytherin to him, the hat places Harry in Gryffindor. Harry is pleased to find that he is joined in Gryffindor with Ron and Hermione. Draco Malfoy is placed in Slytherin.
Everyone sits down to a grand feast to begin the year. Harry is overwhelmed by the variety of luscious food served. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the resident ghost of Gryffindor (popularly known as "Nearly Headless Nick" because of a botched decapitation), introduces himself to the first-year students and tells them he hopes they will win the house championship this year. Over dessert, the discussion turns to the children’s upbringings. A student named Neville Longbottom tells how his family thought he was a Muggle (or later referred as a Squib) until he survived a fall from a window. Harry glances around the room and notices a few of the teachers talking to one another. One stares malevolently at Harry, who immediately feels a sharp pain in his scar. Harry finds out that this man is Professor Severus Snape, the head of Slytherin House who teaches Potions. After dessert, Dumbledore gets up to make his welcome speech. He adds a few warnings about staying away from the Forbidden Forest and avoiding the third-floor corridor on the right side of the school before sending everyone off to their beds.
Harry finds life at Hogwarts unfamiliar and strange. Everyone talks about him, and an adult always seems to be around when he is doing something wrong. Harry finds all the classes interesting, with the exception of the History of Magic. In the first Transfiguration class, only Hermione is able to make any progress at turning a match into a needle. Harry is relieved to see that others are just as lost as he is.
First years lessons/classes
During breakfast the first Friday, Hedwig arrives with a tea invitation from Hagrid. Later, in his Potions class, Harry discovers that Professor Snape hates him, mocking Harry as "our new celebrity" and then humiliating Harry for his ignorance of herbs before teaching the class how to make a Boil-Cure Potion. Harry brings Ron with him to Hagrid’s shack for tea. Harry and Ron are disconcerted by Hagrid's huge and fierce-looking dog, Fang, but discover that he is gentle. Hagrid tells Harry that he is overreacting to Snape’s treatment, asserting that Snape would have no reason to hate him. Harry happens to notice an article from the wizard newspaper, The Daily Prophet, detailing a break-in that occurred at Gringotts bank in a vault that had been emptied earlier in the day. He realises that it happened on his birthday, the day he and Hagrid went to Gringotts. Furthermore, he remembers that Hagrid emptied vault 713, taking a small package with him as he left. Harry leaves Hagrid’s, his mind filled with questions.
Harry is upset by news that the Gryffindors will have flying lessons with the Slytherins, because he does not want to spend more time with Draco Malfoy. Madam Hooch leads the class, gently sending the new fliers off the ground. Neville has an accident and breaks his wrist. Madam Hooch takes him to the hospital wing, telling everyone to stay on the ground while she is away. Malfoy notices a Remembrall belonging to Neville, picks it up, and begins to fly around with it. Harry goes after Malfoy, who throws the ball in the air. Harry catches it spectacularly and lands safely back on ground. Just then, Professor McGonagall arrives, reprimanding Harry and ordering him to follow her. But instead of punishing him, McGonagall introduces him to Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, explaining that Harry will make an excellent Quidditch player.
At dinner, Harry excitedly tells Ron about joining the Quidditch team but tells him that Oliver Wood wants to keep it a secret. Malfoy comes over with his cronies Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle and teases Harry about getting in trouble earlier. The tension grows and Malfoy challenges Harry to a wizard’s duel. Harry accepts, in spite of Hermione’s attempt to dissuade them from breaking the school rules. As Harry and Ron sneak out later that night, Hermione tries to stop them but gets locked out of the dorm and must tag along. Neville also joins them. They arrive at the trophy room, the site of the duel, but Malfoy is nowhere to be found. Suddenly, they hear Argus Filch and his cat, Mrs. Norris, enter the room. They begin to hide and then run away. Not sure where they are going, they accidentally end up in the forbidden area on the third floor, staring at a large and scary three-headed dog. The children manage to get back to their dorm safely, though they are terrified. Hermione reprimands Harry, but stirs his curiosity by pointing out that the dog was standing on a trapdoor.
The next morning, Harry and Ron are discussing what the dog could be guarding when the mail arrives. Harry receives a Nimbus 2000, and with a note from Professor McGonagall summoning him to Quidditch practice. Malfoy tells Harry that first-year students are not allowed broomsticks. When he tries to report Harry to Professor Flitwick, Flitwick just expresses admiration for Harry]’s talent. Harry later meets Oliver Wood to learn the basics of Quidditch.
On Halloween, Prof. Flitwick begins teaching his students how to make things fly. Only Hermione succeeds; Ron, offended by her air of superiority, makes a nasty comment that Hermione overhears. Harry notices her running off in tears. Harry and Ron arrive at the Halloween feast, then heard Professor Quirrell, the teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, give a terrifying announcement about a twelve-foot troll in the building. As the prefects lead the students back to their dorms, Harry realises that Hermione doesn't know about the troll. They head off to warn her and come upon the troll. Unwittingly, they lock it in the girls’ bathroom, only to realise that Hermione is trapped in there with the troll. Using teamwork and magic, the three of them manage to knock the troll out. Professor McGonagall finds them and begins to scold the boys. Hermione interjects that Harry and Ron were looking for her. She then lies, saying that she went to face the troll herself and that Harry and Ron had been trying to save her from it. At this point, Hermione becomes their friend.
The Quidditch season begins, and Harry is about to play in his first match against Slytherin. To prepare, Harry borrows a book entitled Quidditch Through the Ages from Hermione. Professor Snape discovers Harry, Ron, and Hermione out with the book one evening and confiscates it from Harry on the feeble pretext that library books may not be taken outside. Harry’s suspicions of Snape continue to grow. Harry notices that Snape is limping. Going off to retrieve the book from Snape, Harry overhears Snape talking to Argus Filch about the three-headed dog, which makes Harry even more suspicious.
The next morning, the Quidditch match begins. Harry plays the position of Seeker, which means he must capture a little object called the Golden Snitch. He spots it and is flying toward it when the Slytherin Seeker pushes him out of the way and is penalised. Later in the game, Harry’s broom begins moving uncontrollably. Hagrid comments that only dark magic could make a broomstick so hard to manage. Hermione notices that Snape is staring at Harry and muttering to himself. As the Weasley twins try to rescue their team-mate Harry, Hermione rushes over to Snape, sneaks behind him, and sets his robe on fire. Suddenly, the spell on Harry’s broom is broken and Harry is once again in control. He starts speeding toward the ground and lands, catching the Golden Snitch in his mouth.
Hagrid takes Harry back to his hut with Hermione and Ron, who tells Harry that Snape was putting a curse on his broomstick. Hagrid does not believe this charge, asking why Snape would try to kill Harry. Harry tells Hagrid about Snape getting injured by the dog in the third-floor corridor. Hagrid involuntarily reveals that the three-headed dog, Fluffy, is his, and that what the dog is guarding is a secret known only to Albus Dumbledore and a man named Nicolas Flamel.
Christmas is approaching. Malfoy teases Harry about having to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday as he doesn't have parents. Harry, however, is looking forward to spending Christmas away from the Dursleys, especially because Ron is also staying at Hogwarts. The day the before the end of term, Hermione tears Harry and Ron away from a conversation with Hagrid to look in the library for more information about Nicolas Flamel. The librarian catches Harry prowling around the restricted-books section of the library and kicks him out.
The Christmas season
On Christmas day, Harry and Ron awaken to presents, though Harry’s are fewer. Harry receives a flute from Hagrid, a fifty pence coin from the Dursleys, some fudge and Chocolate Frogs from Hermione and a knitted sweater from Ron's mother. He also receives an Invisibility Cloak accompanied only by an anonymous note telling him that the cloak once belonged to Harry’s father. That night, after a satisfying Christmas dinner and after Ron has fallen asleep, Harry tries on his Invisibility cloak. Unseen, he is able to go to the library’s restricted-books section. But one of the books starts screaming when he opens it, so he quickly leaves. He passes Argus Filch and hides in an old classroom marked with an inscription that includes the word "Erised." Inside stands an old mirror. Harry looks in the mirror and sees many people standing behind him, but when he turns around in the room, he sees no one. Suddenly, he recognises that two of the people in the mirror are his dead mother and father. He tries to speak to them, but they can only communicate by waving. Harry lingers there a while but eventually returns to his room.
The next night, Harry brings Ron with him to the mirror room. Ron doesn't see Harry’s parents in the mirror, but instead sees himself holding a Quidditch Cup. Mrs. Norris, Filch’s prowling cat, notices them. On the third night, Ron is afraid of being caught and does not want to go back, so Harry returns alone. There he finds Albus Dumbledore, who explains to Harry that the mirror, which is known as the Mirror of Erised, displays the deepest desire of whoever looks into it. Harry is relieved to find that Dumbledore is not angry. However, he warns Harry that men have wasted away and been driven mad before the mirror and informs Harry that the mirror will be moved to a new location. When Harry asks what Dumbledore sees in the mirror, the answer is "socks".
Harry finds it hard to forget the image of his parents. Quidditch practice continues on, and it is revealed that Snape will referee the next match. Malfoy performs a leg-locker curse on Neville. Harry tells him he's "worth twelve of Malfoy". Harry suddenly remembers that he read the name Nicolas Flamel on a chocolate frog card and the team discover that he was a famous alchemist who is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone; its powers include turning any metal to gold and producing the Elixir of Life.
The Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match arrives and Snape is predictably biased. Harry catches the Snitch and wins the match. Harry follows Snape into the Forbidden Forest, where he meets Quirrell and they speak of the Philosopher's Stone. Harry comes to believe that Snape is trying to figure out a way to the stone.
Harry, Ron and Hermione meet with Hagrid, who confirms the Stone is being kept in Hogwarts. Hermione charms him into talking about the enchantments used to guard it: Fluffy, the three headed dog, is Hagrid's, along with enchantments from Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell, and Severus Snape. After this, Harry complains about the high temperature in Hagrid's hut, only to discover he has a dragon, which he names Norbert. Draco Malfoy discovers the dragon. To solve the problem, they convince Hagrid to send the dragon off to Ron's brother Charlie. Ron's hand is bitten by the dragon, and he is sent off to Madam Pomfrey. Harry and Hermione smuggle Norbert in a crate up to the tallest tower under Harry's Invisibility cloak and on the way they witness Professor McGonagall hauling Malfoy away. They pass the crate off to Charlie's friends, and head back down the stairs, where they meet up with Argus Filch, realising too late they had left the Cloak behind.
Filch takes them to McGonagall's office, where they meet Neville. Minerva McGonagall, very disappointed, takes fifty points each from the three of them and gives them detention, which they will serve with Malfoy. Their popularity with the other students suffers because of this. A week or so before exams, Harry hears Professor Quirrell, sounding as if he was being threatened. He then runs from a classroom ahead, straightening his turban. Harry heads to the library to tell Ron and Hermione. They are convinced Snape was threatening Quirrell, and means to steal the Stone soon. Hermione suggests they go to Dumbledore. Harry refuses, saying there is no proof.
Harry, Hermione, and Neville receive notes from Professor McGonagall telling them their detention would begin at eleven that night. Argus Filch takes them out to the Forbidden Forest, where Hagrid waited, to take them in to do a bit of investigating he needs to do. Hagrid shows them unicorn blood, and says they needed to find the unicorn. They split up, with Hagrid taking Harry and Hermione, and Neville and Malfoy going with Fang. Hagrid encounters a few centaurs, but gets no useful information from them. Hagrid sees red sparks in the air, signalling the other party is in trouble. He runs for them and returns, scolding Malfoy for teasing Neville. He switches Harry and Neville, sending Harry off with Malfoy. They eventually find the dead unicorn, and see something drinking its blood. Malfoy screams and runs away with Fang, leaving Harry, who is saved from the figure by a centaur. The centaur, Firenze, tells Harry that the unicorn blood can keep you alive but curses you in the process. He also asks Harry if he would know anyone who would want to drink the blood, or get the Stone, and Harry realises that the mysterious figure was Voldemort.
The Philosopher's Stone
- Dumbledore: "Harry, do you know why...Prof. Quirrell couldn't bear to have you touch him? It was because of your mother. She sacrificed herself for you. And that kind of act leaves a mark.. No, no. This kind of mark cannot be seen. It lives in your very skin."
- Harry: "What is it?"
- Dumbledore: "Love, Harry. Love."
- — Albus Dumbledore to Harry[src]
After finishing their exams, Harry realises the irony in Hagrid wanting a dragon more than anything else, only to meet a stranger who had one to give him. He, Ron and Hermione run to ask him about the man who gave Norbert to him, and he says he never saw his face, and was dressed in a cloak. Hagrid also mentions that they talked about Hogwarts and the stranger giving him drinks while getting information out of him. Hagrid lets slip how to get past Fluffy, which sends Harry, Ron, and Hermione off. They head for Dumbledore's office, only to see McGonagall, who tells them he has left for London. McGonagall insists no one could steal the Stone, but they decide to head out that night to try to get it themselves.
After cursing Neville for refusing to allow them to leave, they head up to the third floor room, finding the door ajar, and a harp on the floor. Harry plays the flute Hagrid gave him for Christmas, and Fluffy goes back to sleep. They head down through the trapdoor. They land in Professor Sprout's room, Devil's Snare, which almost smothers them before Hermione lights a fire, which drives it off. The next room, Professor Flitwick's, holds a bunch of flying keys and some broomsticks. Harry finds one that is different from the others and catches it, unlocking the next door with it. The next room is Professor McGonagall's, and has a large chessboard, for a game of Wizard's Chess which Ron helps them win, at the cost of him getting knocked out. Harry and Hermione continue to the next room, Professor Quirrell's, which has an unconscious troll. Lastly, they enter Professor Snape's room, and find seven potions in bottles along with a roll of paper giving clues on which one to drink to continue. Hermione solves the puzzle, and at Harry's instruction, drinks the one that will allow her to head back, while Harry drinks the one to head into the final room, where he is surprised at who he sees.
It is Quirrell in the room, not Snape. Harry, astonished, hears Quirrell tell him that next to Snape, no one would expect him to try to steal the Stone. Harry notices the Mirror of Erised, and Quirrell stops to examine it, saying it was the key to get the Stone. To distract him from the Mirror, Harry questions Quirrell, who said that he was serving Lord Voldemort, and although Snape hated Harry, he never wanted him dead. Quirrell asked for help from his master to get the Stone, and a voice tells him to use the boy. Harry is told to look into the Mirror. He sees his reflection pull the Stone out of his pocket and put it back in, and he feels it drop into his own pocket. He lies to Quirrell about what he sees, and Quirrell takes his turban off to show Harry what lies on the back of his head. Voldemort demands Harry give him the Stone, and when Harry refuses, he runs, and Quirrell seizes him, but the contact with Harry's skin burns him. Harry grabs Quirrell's face, then his arm, and holds on, with pain in his head building until he feels the arm wrenched away before he blacks out.
He woke in the hospital wing with Albus Dumbledore there, telling him Quirrell did not succeed at getting the Stone, and indeed the Stone has been destroyed. Dumbledore explained the reason why Quirrell could not touch him was that because Harry's mother had died to save him, protecting him with her love. Hagrid showed up later and gave Harry a book of photos of his parents.
At the end of term feast, Dumbledore awards Ron and Hermione fifty points, Harry sixty points, and Neville ten, which allows them to win the House Cup. Harry, Ron and Hermione all said their goodbyes before heading home.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
Notes and references
|First - Second - Third - Fourth - Fifth - Sixth - Seventh| | <urn:uuid:db1dfaa4-5d60-4cd8-9399-0485f7ee4057> | {
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It is impossible for the information in DNA to have emerged through coincidences and natural processes.
The theory of evolution, which accounts for the origin of life in terms of chance, cannot provide a coherent explanation for even the existence of the most basic molecules in the cell. Advances in genetic science and the discovery of the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, represented still further impasses for the theory. In 1955, research by two scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, brought to light the DNA’s unbelievably complex structure and design.
The molecule known as DNA, found in every one of the 100 trillion cells in the human body, contains a flawless structural blueprint for the body as a whole. Information regarding all a person’s characteristics, from external appearance to the structures of the internal organs, is recorded in the DNA through a special coding system, via the arrangement of four special molecules that constitute the DNA spiral. These molecules, known as nucleotides, are referred to by their initial letters: A, T, G and C.
All the structural differences between human beings stem from these letters being arranged differently from one another. The arrangement of these molecules in DNA determines a person’s structure, down to the minutest detail. In addition to features such as height and the color of the eyes, hair and skin, the blueprints concerning the body’s 206 bones, 600 muscles, 100 billion nerve cells and 100 trillion cells are all contained in the DNA in any single cell. If you were to put down all the information in DNA on paper, you would need to a library of 900 volumes of 500 pages each. Yet this unimaginable amount of information is coded in the components of the DNA known as genes.
Any error arising in the arrangement of the nucleotides making up a gene will make that gene totally functionless. Bear in mind that there are 40,000 genes in the human body, and it seems absolutely impossible for the millions of nucleotides comprising these genes to have assumed their correct order by chance.
A medium protein might include about 300 amino acids. The DNA gene controlling this would have about 1,000 nucleotidase in its chain. Since there are four kinds of nucleotidase in a DNA chain, one consisting of 1,000 links could exist in 41000 or 10600. Ten multiplied by itself 600 times gives the figure 1 followed by 600 zeros! Imagine how many universes it would take to accommodate 10600 DNA chains! 130
Following a small logarithmic calculation, in 41000 is equivalent to a probability of 1 in 10600. That number is 1 followed by 600 zeros. Since 1 followed by 11 zeros equals 1 trillion, it is absolutely impossible to conceive of the number represented by 1 and 600 zeros. The impossibility of nucleotides coming together by chance to constitute DNA and RNA is expressed by the French evolutionist scientist Paul Auger:
We have to sharply distinguish the two stages in the chance formation of complex molecules such as nucleotides by chemical events. The production of nucleotides one by one—which is possible—and the combination of these within very special sequences. The second is absolutely impossible.131
The chances of a protein and nucleic acid (DNA-RNA) forming are far beyond what is estimated. In fact, the odds of a specific protein chain coming about are astronomically small. 132
The theory of evolution has not proven any of the evolutionary formations alleged to have taken place at the molecular level. As science progresses, far from producing answers to these questions, it actually makes those questions more complex and unanswerable, and thus confirms creation by default.
However, evolutionists have conditioned themselves to deny creation and are thus left with no alternative than to believe in the impossible. In his book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, the well-known Australian molecular biologist Michael Denton describes the situation:
To the skeptic, the proposition that the genetic programmes of higher organisms, consisting of something close to a thousand million bits of information, equivalent to the sequence of letters in a small library of 1,000 volumes, containing in encoded form countless thousands of intricate algorithms controlling, specifying, and ordering the growth and development of billions and billions of cells into the form of a complex organism, were composed by a purely random process is simply an affront to reason. But to the Darwinist, the idea is accepted without a ripple of doubt— the paradigm takes precedence!133
130 Frank B. Salisbury, “Doubts about the Modern Synthetic Theory of Evolution.” American Biology Teacher, September 1971, p. 336.
131 Paul Auger, De La Physique Theorique a la Biologie, 1970, p. 118.
132 Ali Demirsoy, KalF5tF5m ve Evrim, Ankara: Meteksan YayF5nlarF5, 1984, p. 39.
133 Michael Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. London: Burnett Books, 1985, p. 351. | <urn:uuid:85283061-c578-425c-b4ed-1216ae6278a1> | {
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Blame the advertising man who misnamed it in the 1930s, but athlete's foot has nothing to do with athletes. It's a fungal infection of the feet. Also known as tinea pedis, or "ringworm of the feet," it has nothing to do with worms either. The Trichophyton fungus that causes the redness, itching, cracking, and scaling of athlete's foot can also infect the scalp, where it causes hair loss and scaly patches; the body, where it causes round, red, scaly patches that itch; and the groin, where the so-called "jock itch" causes itching and thickening of the skin. So what causes athlete's foot?
- Athlete's foot is the most common fungal infection of the skin. It affects more men than women, probably because men typically wear heavy, often airtight shoes, and the fungus loves hot, dark, moist environments.
- Contrary to popular myth, athlete's foot fungus isn't just found in locker rooms, although the moist locker-room environment is perfect for fungal growth. In fact, most people harbor the fungus on their skin, but it's kept in check by bacteria that also normally live on the skin.
- Skin that is irritated, weakened, or continuously moist is primed for an athlete's foot infection. And certain medications, including antibiotics, corticosteroids, birth control pills, and drugs that suppress immune function, can make you more susceptible. People who are obese and those who have diabetes mellitus or a weakened immune system, such as those with AIDS, also are at increased risk. Although anyone can get athlete's foot, teenage and adult males are at the top of the fungus-foot list.
Most cases of athlete's foot cause only bothersome redness, itching, flaking, and scaling on the soles of the feet and between the toes. In severe cases, however, blisters form on the soles of the feet; fissures, or cracks, that weep fluid can also open between the toes. These fissures can cause a stinging pain and are vulnerable to secondary infection. When the infection involves the toenails, it can cause the nails to become discolored and thick. Also, if left untreated, athlete's foot can infect other parts of the body.
Doctors don't agree on exactly how athlete's foot is spread, but most believe it's passed by direct contact with an infected person or with a contaminated surface, such as the floor of a shower stall. But the real determinants of whether or not you'll get the infection are how susceptible you are and how dry you keep your feet.
If you have contracted athlete's foot, don't despair. You can try a number of home remedies to give your athlete's foot the boot. See the next page to get started.
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider. | <urn:uuid:bfed4657-06a8-4942-926c-35db9169a864> | {
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What to Expect During Radiation Therapy for Oral Cancer
External radiation therapy
External beam radiation therapy is the most common type of radiation given for oral cancer.
Radiation from a source outside the body is usually directed at the tumor site. You may also receive radiation to your neck. This type of radiation may come from a machine called a linear accelerator.
Preparing for your first treatment
Before you start radiation, you'll need a dental exam. If your teeth are in poor condition, the dentist will remove them. If all your teeth need to be removed, your dentist can create dentures for you to wear after the treatment is finished and any swelling has gone down. Removing teeth in bad condition helps prevent radiation damage to your jawbone, called osteoradionecrosis.
Before your first appointment to get radiation, you will have an appointment to learn exactly where on your body the radiation beam needs to be directed, in a process called simulation. The appointment may take up to two hours. Here's what you can expect to happen during the simulation process:
You'll lie still on a table while a radiation therapist uses a machine to identify your treatment field, which may also be called your port. The field is the exact area on your body where the radiation will be aimed. You may have more than one treatment field if you have cancer in more than one place. The therapist will mark your skin with tiny dots of colored permanent ink or tattoos. In this way, the therapist can aim the radiation at the same place each time.
You may also have imaging scans, such as CT scans, to help doctors know the exact location of your tumor to better determine the treatment area.
You may also have a face mask or other body molds made. Molds are used to help keep you from moving during the treatments.
You can get radiation as an outpatient at a hospital or clinic. That means you don't need to stay the night. You'll receive a schedule for radiation therapy. The schedule usually is for five days a week for six to seven weeks. Spreading out the radiation dose helps protect your healthy tissue. Some patients can be treated with newer techniques that are given twice daily on some or all of the treatment days. They receive better tumor control, but may have more side effects.
On the days you receive radiation treatment, you'll lie on a table while the machine is placed over you. Some radiation centers use a face mask to limit your movement while the radiation is being given. You may have to wear a hospital gown. A radiation therapist may place blocks or special shields to protect parts of your body that don't need to be exposed to radiation. To protect you, the therapist also lines up the machine exactly with your marked treatment fields, located during the earlier simulation. The experience is much like that of getting an X-ray, only it lasts longer (about 15 to 30 minutes for the whole process, with about one to five minutes of that spent getting the radiation).
The radiation therapist will leave the room to turn on the machine, but you will be able to talk to the therapist over an intercom. You can't feel radiation so it will be painless. You may hear whirring or clicking noises. You will not be radioactive afterward.
Brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy)
Brachytherapy usually comes from an implant placed in or near the cancerous area. The radiation material may be in flexible tubes called catheters or metal rods.
You may need to stay in the hospital for a few days while the treatment is done. And you may need to limit the time that people visit you. You may have pain and nausea as side effects. These should go away when the treatment is done.
When doctors remove the implant, your body will no longer be radioactive. In the past, doctors sometimes implanted radioactive pellets that would stay in the body permanently. This treatment is no longer popular for oral cancer. | <urn:uuid:7d4961a6-b972-42d5-843d-f61482087057> | {
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|ROSAT Home Page||ROSAT
The time variability of X-ray emission can be studied with the HRI since each detected photon has its time of arrival recorded by the detector. The accuracy of this time is limited by the electronic resolution of the HRI processor which is 61 sec relative to the ROSAT spacecraft clock. The relative arrival times of photons during a single observation is accurate to this value. The absolute accuracy of the ROSAT spacecraft clock, and its conversion to UT, is expected to be a few milliseconds.
The HRI has a processing dead time during which events may not be counted which varies between 0.36 and 1.35 msec per event. The variation is discussed in section 188.8.131.52 and depends on the fine position of the event. Thus there is a dead time correction that needs to be made for calculating the true event rate from a source. A mean dead time of = 0.81 msec can be used for this purpose, and the true rate is then given by: , where n is the observed rate.
Due to the telescope wobble and the small variations in the QE of the HRI on spatial scales of a few arc minutes (see Fig. 5.13), the count rate of a source can vary by 5% between the extremities of a wobble. This can produce a low amplitude source variability on a time scale of approximately 100-400 seconds in some sources.
As for the PSPC, the HRI observations are typically interrupted once per orbit, and sometimes as much a three times per orbit. Typical continuous viewing times for a source will be about 2000 seconds, with some cases lasting up to 4000 seconds. Long term monitoring of sources on time scales of weeks of more will be limited by the solar view constraints of the satellite. This limits source accessibility to about one month every six months for a source in the elliptic plane, with greater access time for sources closer to the ecliptic poles. | <urn:uuid:32e7c4e9-4f66-4a50-825f-0e4d7779c26b> | {
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In a country of nearly 310,000,000, the burdens placed on hospitals are both enormous and complex as they attempt to provide first rate health care to an ever-increasing population while adhering to strict and sometimes contradictory regulations from several different sources. To understand the scope of issues a hospital may face on any given day, it is important to become familiar with the building blocks that make up today’s health care hierarchy.
Who is responsible for oversight? At the top of the health care pyramid is the nation’s President, Barack Obama. Underneath the President lies a complex organization of individuals and agencies at both the federal and state level, who make up the gargantuan structure commonly referred to as health care. The President directly oversees the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The following is the Organizational Chart for HHS:
Leading the HHS is the Acting Secretary, who is responsible for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services to those in need. The Acting Secretary also serves as the Assistant Secretary for Budget, Technology, and Finance. Next, the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) serves the Secretary as the primary link between the HHS and state, local, and tribal governments. After the IGA is the Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS).
The OPHS is comprised of 12 core public health offices and the Commissioned Corps, a uniformed service of more than 6,000 health professionals who serve at HHS and other federal agencies. The Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) oversees the OPHS and stands as the primary advisor to the Secretary of the HHS on matters involving the nation’s public health. The Surgeon General, head of the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), is responsible for overseeing all OPHS operations. Thereafter, the agencies below OPHS include:
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (ASAM);
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Resources and Technology (ASRT);
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE);
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR);
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislation (ASL);
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA);
- Office of the General Counsel (OGC);
- Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA);
- Office for Civil Rights (OCR);
- Office of Inspector General (OIG);
- Office of Global Health Affairs (OGHA);
- Departmental Appeals Board (DAB);
- Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC); and
- Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI).
The key operating divisions under OPHS jurisdiction include:
- Administration for Children and Families (ACF);
- Administration on Aging (AoA);
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ);
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR);
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC);
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS);
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA);
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA);
- Indian Health Service (IHS);
- National Institutes of Health (NIH); and
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Each of the agencies and divisions under the OPHS serves a critical role in the delivery of health care nationwide, though some have a more prominent place in the public spotlight due to the nature of their jurisdiction. For example, one such division is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Among its many roles, CMS is responsible for overseeing the certification of hospitals so that they can qualify for state and/or federal funding. Hospital clinical laboratories must be approved by a division of CMS, commonly known as CLIA (the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments). Covering approximately 200,000 laboratory programs, CLIA regulates all laboratory testing (except research) performed on humans in the United States.
Another important agency under HHS is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Protecting and promoting public health, the FDA consists of nine centers/offices, including:
- Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER);
- Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH);
- Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER);
- Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN);
- Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM);
- National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR);
- Office of Chief Counsel;
- Office of the Commissioner (OC); and
- Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA).
Though itself a regulatory agency, even within the FDA there exist many additional levels of oversight. Inside the OC, for example, at least 18 different entities are tasked with implementing the FDA’s mission efficiently and effectively. These programs and offices include:
- Ethics Program;
- Good Clinical Practice Program;
- History Office;
- Office of Chief Counsel;
- Office of Combination Products;
- Office of Crisis Management;
- Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management;
- Office of Financial Management;
- Office of International Programs;
- Office of the Ombudsman;
- Office of Orphan Products Development;
- Office of Pediatric Therapeutics;
- Office of Planning;
- Office of Policy;
- Office of Public Affairs;
- Office of Special Health Issues;
- Office of Women’s Health; and
- Small Business Program.
Accreditation and Certification
Due to the sensitive nature of their services, hospitals must exist in a heavily regulated industry. Notwithstanding the seemingly endless number of agencies within agencies within HHS, the Federal government is only part of the overall health care regulatory equation. Accreditation, certification and periodic review come from a variety of both public and private sources, though the goal is generally consistent: develop uniform standards to ensure that hospitals in the United States all operate at an acceptable safety level and deliver quality patient care in an appropriate and effective manner.
Any one healthcare institution can be subject to accreditation review at any time from entities such as the Joint Commission, Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP, formerly the American Osteopathic Association), Community Health Accreditation Program, Accreditation Commission for Health Care, The Compliance Team, or Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA).
Each program or department is governed by its own set of rules. For example, Joint Commission surveys hospitals by following more than 276 standards, reviewing 1,612 elements of performance. HFAP does largely the same thing, pursuant to its 1,100 or more individual standards. Focusing on durable medical equipment (DME), HQAA has developed its own review process, and “vows to continuously strive to set standards of the highest quality on behalf of the DME industry and business owners.” Indeed, HQAA “listen[s] . . . act[s] . . . [and] stand[s] together and in unison to bring the whole of DME service and provision to the next level.”
There are numerous other entities participating in the certification/accreditation process, and virtually every facet of the health care system is governed and reviewed by multiple organizations. Take the American Hospital Association, which designs and administers Certification Programs to recognize mastery of well-defined bodies of knowledge within health care management disciplines. The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology is a recognized certification body for electronic health records and their networks. Even educational programs, general education or specialty education (such as podiatric medicine) must receive proper accreditation in a hospital setting.
In addition to the list above, every hospital is subject to special regulations from its own state. Health care facilities in California are licensed, regulated, inspected, and/or certified by a number of public and private agencies at both the state and federal level, including the California Department of Public Health (CDPH, previously called the California Department of Health Services).
State and federal agencies have separate jurisdictions, but there is overlap. For example, CDPH’s License and Certification Division (“L&C”) is responsible for ensuring that hospitals comply with state law, but it also cooperates with CMS to verify that facilities accepting Medicare and Medi-Cal (Medi-Cal is California’s version of Medicaid) payments meet federal requirements. California’s Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) regulates hospital construction and administers programs which endeavor to implement the vision of “Equitable Healthcare Accessibility for California.”
These two examples serve to emphasize as well as outline the complexities of state regulations that often accompany their federal counterparts. CDPH is divided into eight separate programs, including:
- Office of the Director, or State Public Health Officer;
- External Affairs;
- Policy and Programs;
- Center for Chronic Disease and Health Promotion;
- Center for Environmental Health;
- Center for Family Health;
- Center for Health Care Quality; and
- Center for Infectious Disease.
Like CDPH, OSHPD is part of California’s Health and Human Services Agency.
Made up of six separate boards and commissions, OSHPD’s mission is “to promote healthcare accessibility through leadership in analyzing California’s healthcare infrastructure, promoting a diverse and competent healthcare workforce, providing information about healthcare outcomes, assuring the safety of buildings used in providing healthcare, insuring loans to encourage the development of healthcare facilities, and facilitating development of sustained capacity for communities to address local healthcare issues.”
Under OSHPD’s jurisdiction is the Hospital Building Safety Board (HBSB), which oversees seismic safety standards for hospitals in California. HBSB is made up of sixteen board members appointed by the Director of OSHPD from nominations submitted by professional associations. Six additional members, representing state agencies that interact with the hospital design and construction program, also have seats on the Board. The Director has the authority to appoint three additional members as desired. Appointed Board members serve 4-year terms with a two term limit. This board is particularly important, as California hospitals will spend approximately $120 billion before 2013 in order to meet state seismic safety standards. | <urn:uuid:3a71bd16-8c19-4ba6-9b99-5b1377f23668> | {
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State Rank for US Production (1996):
19th in nation
Percent Total US Production (1996):
Dollar Value of Production (1,000s):
Cattle ranching came to Idaho early because range cattle were able to travel long distances to the mines and other markets. Cattle could roam over thousands of acres of grasslands and were relatively easy to drive from Oregon, Washington, and Idaho across the Camas Prairie to Cheyenne for shipment by railroads to the eastern states.
Today the majority of Idaho beef cattle (the major livestock raised in the state) graze on public rangelands across the state.
Dairy cattle are more typically raised in the southern regions, usually on private ranches.
Idaho Department of | <urn:uuid:c462a44b-7af8-4c0f-975a-ab877773987e> | {
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Most food items contain toxins like mercury, pesticides and acrylamide that can affect children in the long run
Even healthy food like fruit, vegetables, meat and fish might be putting children’s health at risk. These food items also contain toxins like mercury, pesticides and acrylamide that can, over a long time, make children vulnerable to cancer and affect their nervous and reproductive systems. This is the finding of a study on effects of 11 such food-borne toxins on people of different age groups in the US, carried out by researchers from the University of California, Davis, and University of California, Los Angeles. Irva Hertz-Picciotto, professor and chief of the division of environmental and occupational health at University of California, Davis, says toxins in food affect children the most as their brains and other organs are still developing. | <urn:uuid:b7a384c7-9a93-4c00-96a0-df429e19aa30> | {
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Symposium takes a look at the history, education, literature, art, and civil rights struggles of Latinos in the Midwest
By Kelli Andresen for Iowa Now
While food, culture, and music are the most visible manifestations of Latinos’ presence in the Midwest, their influence in the region is more widespread but less known. Latino workers have harvested the region’s crops, manufactured its industrial goods, and processed its livestock. Moreover, Latino business owners have rejuvenated abandoned downtowns, while students have increased enrollments and diversified schools.
The contributions of Latinos to the nation’s heartland are the focus of The Latino Midwest , the 2012-13 University of Iowa Obermann-International Programs Humanities symposium. This interdisciplinary conference will examine the history, education, literature, art, and civil rights struggles of Latinos in light of the demographic changes experienced by Midwestern states with growing Latino populations.
“People often think of Latinos as recent immigrants to the Midwest,” says Omar Valerio-Jiménez, associate professor of history and symposium co-director, “but Latinos have been in the region since the late nineteenth century. The symposium will showcase Latinos’ long history in the Midwest and highlight their dramatic population growth, increasing political clout, and crucial economic contributions.”
The main symposium takes place Oct. 11-13 and will include panels, lectures, performances, and literary readings. The Latino Midwest is organized by three faculty members in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Claire Fox, associate professor of English and Spanish and Portuguese, whose teaching and research interests include the literature and arts of the Americas; Valerio-Jiménez, who is currently working on a study of Latinos in early 20th-century Iowa that explores acculturation, labor, and gender relations; and Santiago Vaquera-Vásquez, assistant professor of Spanish and Portuguese, a Chicano writer, and member of the creative writing section in Spanish whose current research focuses on literature and art from the U.S./Mexico borderlands.
Related events extend beyond the main symposium. All of the events, with the exception of the Lila Downs concert, are free and open to the public.
For a list of related events and more information, visit Iowa Now . | <urn:uuid:0f99585c-ae1d-43cd-8b34-70f11f2d336a> | {
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Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve "Mura-Drava-Danube"
Under the auspices of the RAMSAR COP11, representatives of the governments of Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia, IUCN, ICPDR, Ramsar Secretariat, Wetlands International, WWF, other NGOs and participants at the conference gathered to celebrate the new achievements on the way to designate the pentalateral UNESCO Biosphere Reserve “Mura-Drava-Danube”.
WWF’s introduction to the initiative to conserve the unique natural values of the three rivers Mura, Drava and the Danube, and their floodplains, was followed by statements of the five countries (Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia) highlighting their commitment to achieve the final designation of the area as a Biosphere Reserve. The efforts made up to date by all parties involved were rewarded by the announcement of the first nomination of a significant part of the area (80%, about 630.000 ha) shared by Croatia and Hungary, as a Biosphere Reserve.
The importance of the initiative for nature conservation but at the same time as a framework for increased cooperation between the countries to commonly address upcoming threats from unsustainable development (especially navigation) was emphasized by IUCN, ICPDR, Ramsar and Wetlands International representatives. From a global perspective, the “Mura–Drava– Danube” transboundary Biosphere Reserve would also serve as a leading example of international cooperation to save one of the last remaining natural wetland areas in Europe.
Read more here. | <urn:uuid:27bb3da3-b1b2-4e0b-97d7-a18299a225c7> | {
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Key tools for tackling invasive species
31 May 2011 | News story
Prevention, eradication and early detection system are key tools for tackling invasive species. This was the conclusion of the conference “The Challenge of Invasive Species and Destructive Insects” organised on the 24 May 2011 in the European Parliament. The event highlighted disastrous consequences of the proliferation of invasive species and shaped the necessary tools for putting an end to this plague.
“Invasive alien species should be regarded as one of the most important environmental topics in Europe. To stop their spread in Europe it is critical to act, and to act quickly,” argued MEP Gaston Franco, Chair of the conference “The Challenge of Invasive Species and Destructive Insects”.
One out of every ten introduced species becomes invasive due to their ability to compete with indigenous species. This worrying problem has a major impact not only on environment but also on the economy and health. As recalled by Pia Bucella, Director in DG Environment, 12 billion euros are lost every year due to invasive alien species while at the Global level it amounts to 1.4 trillion per year.
Surprisingly, there is no EU comprehensive instrument to tackle this problem. Local solutions are therefore implemented such as the ambitious strategy in the city of Nice (France) to cope with the devastating red palm weevil or the program to stop the invasion of grey squirrels in some parts of the UK.
Everybody agreed that prevention through communication, education and full involvement of the public combined with eradication and early detection system are powerful tools. Piero Genovesi from IUCN called for an Early Warning Rapid Response system enabling to share information globally and rapidly. Whatever the solution, both animal welfare and human ethics should be taken into account, according to Prof. Dirk Lips from the KUL University.
Organized by the Secretariat of the European Parliament Intergroup “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development”, run jointly by the European Bureau for Conservation and Development (EBCD) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the conferencebrought together high level International, European, national and regional experts.
For more information, please contact Mélanie Lamaison from EBCD. | <urn:uuid:e286e30b-8b8b-46e5-b5e6-e7fb053913d1> | {
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May be of interest to some of my readers.
1. Data protection challenge of the future: what is Big Data?
The three V’s - Volume, Velocity, and Variety – are the essential characteristics of “Big Data”. While data protection and privacy laws are still busy catching up with technologies of yesterday, Big Data is growing at a lightning speed on a daily basis. How can companies deal with the data protection challenges brought about by Big Data in order to truly benefit from the opportunities introduced by Big Data? First, one must truly grasp what is Big Data. We interview Jeff Jonas, Chief Scientist at IBM Entity Analytics, to obtain his perspectives and definition of Big Data, and his experience handling Big Data.
2. When did data become big?
Big Data did not become big overnight. What I think happened is data started getting generated faster than organizations could get their hands around it. Then one day you simply wake up and feel like you are drowning in data. On that day, data felt big.
3. Please explain and elaborate on the characteristics of Big Data?
Big Data means different things to different people.
Personally, my favorite definition is: “something magical happens when very large corpuses of data come together.” Some example of this can be seen at Google, for example Google flu trends and Google translate. In my own work, I witnessed this first in 2006. In this particular system, the system started getting higher quality predictions and faster as it ingested more data. This is so counter intuitive. The easiest way to explain this though is to consider the familiar process of putting a puzzle together at home. Why is it do you think the last few pieces are as easy as the first few – even though you have more data in front of you then ever before? Same thing really that is happening in my systems these days. It’s rather exciting to tell you the truth.
To elaborate briefly on the new physics of Big Data, I pinpointed the three phenomena of Big Data physics in my blog entry - Big Data. New Physics – drawing from my personal experience of 14 years of designing and deploying a number of multi-billion row context accumulating systems:
1. Better Prediction. Simultaneously lower false positives and lower false negatives
2. Bad data good. More specifically, natural variability in data including spelling errors, transposition errors, and even professionally fabricated lies – all helpful.
3. More data faster. Less compute effort as the database gets bigger.
Another definition of Big Data is related to the ability for organizations to harness data sets previously believed to be “too large to handle.” Historically, Big Data means too many rows, too much storage and too much cost for organizations who lack the tools and ability to really handle data of such quantity. Today, we are seeing ways to explore and iterate cheaply over Big Data.
4. When did data become big for you? What is your “Big Data” processing experience?
As previously mentioned, for me, Big Data is about the magical things that happen when a critical mass is reached. To be honest, Big Data does not feel big to me unless it is hard to process and make sense of. A few billion rows here and a few billion rows there – such volumes once seemed a lot of data to me. Then helping organizations think about dealing volumes of 100 million or more records a day seemed like a lot. Today, when I think about the volumes at Google and Facebook, I think: “Now that really is Big Data!”
My personal interest and primary focus on Big Data these days is: how to make sense of data in real time, that is fast enough to do something about the transaction while the transaction is still happening. While you swipe that credit card, there is only a few seconds to decide if that is you or maybe someone pretending to be you. If an unauthorized user is inside your network, and data starts getting pumped out, an organization needs sub-second “sense and respond” capabilities. End of day batch processes producing great answers is simply late!
5. What are the technologies currently adopted to process Big Data?
The availability of Big Data technologies seems to be growing by leaps and bounds and on many fronts. We are seeing a large corporate investments resulting in commercial products – at IBM two examples would be IBM InfoSphere Streams for Big Data in motion and IBM InfoSphere Big Insights for pattern discovery over data at rest. There are also many Big Data open source efforts under way for example HADOOP, Cassandra and Lucene. If one were to divide these into types one would find some well suited for streaming analytics and others for batch analytics. Some help organizations harness structured data while others are ideal for unstructured data. One thing is for sure – there are many options, and there will be many more choices to come as Big Data continues to get investment.
6. How can companies benefit from the use of Big Data?
I’d like to think consumers benefit too, just to be clear. To illustrate my point, I find it very helpful when Google responds to my search with “did you mean ______”. To pull this very smart stunt, Google must remember the typographical errors of the world, and that I do believe would qualify as Big Data. Moreover, I think health care is benefiting from Big Data, or let’s hope so. Organizations like financial institutions and insurance companies are benefitting from Big Data also by using these insights to run more efficient operations and mitigate risks.
We, you and I, are responsible in part for generating so much Big Data. These social media platforms we use to speak our mind and stay connected are responsible for massive volumes of data. Companies know this and are paying attention. For example, my friend’s wife complained on Twitter about a specific company’s service. Not long thereafter they reached out to her because they too were listening. They fixed the problem and she was as happy as ever. How did the company benefit? They kept a customer.
7. What is the trend of processing Big Data?
I think a lot of Big Data systems are running as periodic batch processes, for example, once a week or once a month. My suspicion is as these systems begin to generate more and more relevant insight, it will not be long before the users say: “Why did I have to wait until the end of the week to learn that? They already left the web site.”; or, “I already denied their loan when it is now clear I should have granted them that loan.”
8. What are the complications dealing with the privacy implications brought about by Big Data compare to average sized data?
There are lots of privacy complications that come along with Big Data. Consumers, for example, often want to know what data an organization collects and the purpose of the collection. Something that further complicates this: I think many consumers would be surprised to know what is computationally possible with Big Data. For example, where you are going to be next Thursday at 5:35pm or your three best friends, and which two of them are not on Facebook. Big Data is making it harder to have secrets. To illustrate using lines from my blog entry - Using Transparency As A Mask – ‘Unlike two decades ago, humans are now creating huge volumes of extraordinarily useful data as they self-annotate their relationships and yours, their photographs and yours, their thoughts and their thoughts about you … and more. With more data, comes better understanding and prediction. The convergence of data might reveal your “discreet” rendezvous or the fact you are no longer on speaking terms your best friend. No longer secret is your visit to the porn store and the subsequent change in your home’s late night energy profile, another telling story about who you are … again out of the bag, and little you can do about it. Pity … you thought that all of this information was secret.’
9. What are the privacy concerns & threats Big Data might bring about - to companies and to individuals whose data are contained in 'Big Data'?
My number one recommendation to organizations is “Avoid Consumer Surprise.”
10. How are companies currently applying privacy protection principles before/after Big Data has been processed?
I think there are many best practices being adopted. One of my favorites involves letting consumers opt-in instead of opting them in automatically and then requiring them to opt-out. One new thing I would like to see become a new best practice is: a place on the web site, for example my bank, where I can see a list of third parties whom my bank has shared my data with. I think this transparency would be good and certainly would make consumers more aware.
11. What is “Big Data”, according to Jeff Jonas?
Big Data is a pile of data so big - and harnessed so well - that it becomes possible to make substantially better predictions, for example, what web page would be the absolute best web page to place first on your results, just for you. | <urn:uuid:37f87d6b-0d8b-4a3a-836b-16cfd3af3e2c> | {
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Department of Energy
- Land is essential for all types of economic activity - every business has a footprint.
- At the height of the 2006 real estate boom, land in the US is estimated to have been worth more than $17 trillion.
- Research presented by @AEI’s Stephen Oliner suggests that land is indeed a high-risk investment.
Land is essential for all types of economic activity. Every business — whether it’s General Motors or the corner grocery store — has a footprint. The same is true for the homes and apartments in which people live.
Land also constitutes a major part of wealth. At the height of the real estate boom in 2006, land in the United States (excluding farmland and land held by the government) is estimated to have been worth more than $17 trillion. This figure represents about 40 percent of the value of commercial real estate and housing in the United States.1 Of course, much of that wealth dissolved over the next few years as real estate markets crashed. The new research presented in this Letter documents the huge swing in land value over the recent cycle, showing that land is indeed a high-risk investment.
Read the full text of the letter here. | <urn:uuid:5eced0c3-44a6-4e08-a4ef-0b5c98f45549> | {
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Thyroid cancer is cancer of the thyroid gland. This gland makes thyroid hormone, and it is found in the front of the neck. Thyroid gland tumors often appear as bumps in the neck, called nodules. In most cases, thyroid nodules are not cancerous. However, those that are cancerous have the potential to spread throughout the body.
There are several types of thyroid cancer, including:
- Papillary carcinoma (most common type)—It usually grows very slowly and often spreads to lymph nodes in the neck. If caught early, this type of thyroid cancer is often curable.
- Follicular carcinoma (second most common type)—It usually stays in the thyroid gland, but can spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs and bones. It does not usually spread to the lymph nodes. If caught early, this type of thyroid cancer is often curable.
- Anaplastic carcinoma (rare form of thyroid cancer)—It quickly invades the neck and other parts of the body and is often fatal.
Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC)—This cancer develops from cells in the thyroid gland called C-cells.
MTC often spreads to the lymph nodes, lungs, or liver before a thyroid nodule has been discovered. There are two types of MTC:
- Sporadic MTC
- Familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC)
- Thyroid lymphoma (rare type of thyroid cancer)—Many cases occur in people who have a disease called Hashimoto's thyroiditis .
Factors that may increase the risk of thyroid cancer include:
- Diet low in iodine
- History of radiation to the head, neck, or chest, especially in infancy or childhood
- Family history of thyroid cancer
- Sex: female
- Age: 30 and over
- Exposure to radioactive fallout (eg, exposed to radiation from nuclear accidents or exposed to nuclear testing area during childhood)
Symptoms may include:
- A lump in the neck
- Neck pain (sometimes going up to the ears)
- Difficulty swallowing
- Difficulty breathing
- Persistent cough
- Enlarged lymph glands in the neck
The doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will also be done. This may include a careful examination of your neck to look for lumps or abnormalities.
Your doctor may order tests, such as:
Once thyroid cancer is found, staging tests are done to find out if the cancer has spread. Treatment depends on the stage of the cancer. Examples of treatment options include:
- Thyroidectomy —This is the removal of all or part of the thyroid gland.
- Radioactive iodine therapy —This uses large doses of radioactive iodine to destroy the thyroid gland and thyroid cancer without affecting the rest of the body.
- External radiation therapy —This is the use of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation is directed at the tumor from a source outside the body.
If you are diagnosed with thyroid cancer, follow your doctor's instructions .
Because the exact cause of thyroid cancer is unknown, finding it early and treating it is the best way to prevent dying from the disease. Your doctor may recommend screening tests for you, for example:
- Have a thyroid exam every three years if you are aged 20-39 years old
- Have a thyroid exam every year if you are aged 40 years or older
Since exposure to radiation is a major risk factor for thyroid cancer, you should:
- Avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation.
- If you have been exposed to radiation of the head, neck, or chest, have frequent checks for thyroid cancer.
- Reviewer: Igor Puzanov, MD
- Review Date: 10/2012 -
- Update Date: 10/31/2012 - | <urn:uuid:cc5fc7a8-4526-4a77-87e3-924b348bfb2a> | {
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After kids or teens are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the next step is to create a diabetes management plan to help them manage the condition and stay healthy and active.
Treatment plans for type 2 diabetes are based on each child's needs and the suggestions of the diabetes health care team.
Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Basics
The blood glucose level is the amount of glucose in the blood. Glucose is the main source of energy for the body's cells and is carried to each cell through the bloodstream. The hormone insulin allows the glucose to get into the cells. In type 2 diabetes, the body doesn't respond normally to insulin, so glucose is less able to enter the cells. This causes the blood glucose level to rise.
Treatment goals for kids with diabetes are to control the condition in a way that minimizes symptoms, prevents short- and long-term health problems, and helps them to have normal physical, mental, emotional, and social growth and development. To do this, parents and kids should aim for the goal of keeping blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible.
It is also important to treat other conditions that can be associated with type 2 diabetes, like obesity, high blood pressure, or abnormal blood lipid (fat) levels.
In general, kids with type 2 diabetes need to:
eat a healthy, balanced diet and follow a meal plan
get regular exercise
take medications as prescribed
monitor blood sugar levels regularly
Helping kids with type 2 diabetes switch to healthier habits is a key part of treatment. Because most kids are overweight when they're diagnosed, it's important to promote healthy eating and physical activity to prevent further weight gain or to encourage weight loss while making sure they grow and develop properly.
Weight gain occurs when someone eats more calories, or energy, than is used up through physical activity. The body stores those extra calories as fat. Over time, excessive weight gain can lead to obesity and diseases related to obesity like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Kids with type 2 diabetes who are trying to manage their weight still need energy to develop normally. To get it, they'll need enough calories to grow without gaining too much fat. The best way is to eat nutritious foods and exercise.
Many parents worry about what to feed their kids with type 2 diabetes. The key is a balanced, healthy diet. Kids with diabetes benefit from the same kind of diet as those without diabetes — one that includes a variety of nutritious foods that help the body grow and function properly.
The three main types of nutrients found in foods are carbohydrates (carbs), proteins, and fats, which provide energy in the form of calories. Foods containing carbs cause blood sugar levels to go up the most. Foods that are mostly protein and/or fat don't affect blood sugar levels nearly as much.
Our bodies need many nutrients — in different amounts — to function normally. So when you and the diabetes health care team create a diabetes meal plan to help keep your child's blood sugar within the target range, it will include a variety of nutrients.
Meal plans usually consist of breakfast, lunch, and dinner with small, scheduled between-meal snacks. The plan won't restrict your child to eating specific foods, but will guide you in selecting from the basic food groups to achieve a healthy balance.
Meal plans are based on a child's age, activity level, schedule, and food likes and dislikes, and should be flexible enough to accommodate special situations like parties and holidays. The meal plan should make it easier to keep your child's blood sugar within his or her goal range.
The meal plan also might recommend limiting extra fat and "empty" calories (foods that contain lots of calories but few nutrients). Everyone should limit these foods anyway because eating too much of them can lead to excess weight gain or long-term health problems like heart disease, for which people with diabetes are already at risk.
Portion control — even of healthy foods — is important for kids with type 2 diabetes because they generally weigh more than kids who don't have the disease. As you're following your child's meal plan, be wary of special foods marketed to people with diabetes. Sugar-free and fat-free foods are not always calorie-free or even low-calorie foods.
A registered dietitian (RD) can help you choose and cook healthier foods, read food labels, and learn how much food your child should be eating in a day. The RD also can adjust meal plans depending on how your child is doing regarding meeting weight management goals. If you don't have a dietitian on the diabetes health care team, ask your doctor for a referral to see one.
Getting Regular Exercise
Exercise is good for everyone — adults and kids, with or without diabetes. Getting regular physical activity is also an important part of diabetes treatment. Overweight kids and teens with type 2 diabetes tend to be less active, so exercise is a very important part of the treatment plan.
Exercise helps improve the body's response to insulin, which helps to control blood sugar levels. It also helps the body burn more calories, which can reduce excess body fat. And it's healthier for growing kids who are overweight to burn more calories through exercise than to severely restrict the food they eat.
Regular physical activity also can help reduce the risk of other chronic illnesses, like cancer. In addition to all of these benefits, exercise can help kids with diabetes:
get and keep their heart, lungs, and blood vessels in good shape
feel more normal by doing things that kids without diabetes can do
Kids don't have to be athletic to reap the benefits of physical activity. Things like walking the dog, helping around the house, and playing outside with friends are great — anything that gets them moving regularly can go a long way toward helping control diabetes.
To help avoid problems during exercise, kids with type 2 diabetes may need to:
have an extra snack prior to activity
carry snacks, water, and supplies with them when they exercise
check their blood sugar levels before, during, and after exercise
make sure their coaches know about their diabetes and what to do if problems occur
Make sure your child wears a medical identification bracelet (this should always be worn, but it's even more important during exercise, sports, and and fitness activities).
The diabetes health care team will make suggestions to help your child get ready for exercise or join a sport. They'll also provide instructions to help you and your child respond to any diabetes problems that could occur during exercise, like hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
Taking Medications as Prescribed
Sometimes, a combination of diet and exercise are enough to control blood sugar levels in kids with type 2 diabetes. Other times, pills that help insulin work better also need to be taken. These pills are not a form of insulin.
Sometimes pills for diabetes — even when combined with diet and exercise — still aren't enough to keep blood sugar levels under control, and a child with type 2 diabetes must take insulin. The acids and digestive juices in the stomach and intestines would break down and destroy insulin if it was swallowed, so it can't be taken in a pill. The only way to get insulin into the body is with an injection or an insulin pump.
There is no-one-size-fits-all insulin schedule — the types of insulin used and number of daily injections a child needs will depend on the diabetes management plan. Usually, kids inject a combination of different types of insulin to handle the sugar that circulates in the blood after eating and between meals. Also, you can't turn off the action of insulin once it's been injected, so insulin doses need to be adjusted to handle the rise in blood sugar that occurs with meals and provide the amounts of insulin the body needs between meals and overnight.
Eating meals at regular times generally makes this easier. Although eating on schedule may work well for younger kids, sticking to a routine can be a challenge for older kids, whose school, sleep, and social schedules might not be as routine. The diabetes health care team can help you work through any problems your child might have with scheduling meals and insulin injections.
The promising news about type 2 diabetes is that by following a balanced diet, getting regular physical activity, and achieving a healthy weight, blood sugar levels can improve significantly. In some kids, following the treatment plan for type 2 diabetes can even eliminate the need for medication altogether.
Treating type 2 diabetes also involves checking blood sugar levels regularly and responding to the results. Controlling blood sugar levels helps kids with diabetes feel well, grow and develop normally, and also reduces the risk of long-term diabetes complications.
The diabetes treatment plan will recommend how many times a day to check blood sugar levels, which is the only way to monitor the effectiveness of your child's day-to-day blood sugar control.
The diabetes health care team also will let you know what your child's target blood sugar levels are. In general, kids with type 2 diabetes should test their blood sugar levels with a blood glucose meter at least twice a day, but might need to test more frequently if they're taking insulin, have just been diagnosed, or are having problems with blood sugar control.
A blood glucose meter measures the blood sugar level at the moment of testing. Another blood sugar test, the glycosylated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1c or HbA1c) test, indicates what blood sugar levels have been over the past few months.
Putting it All Together
Treating and managing diabetes can seem overwhelming at times. But the diabetes health care team is there for you. Your child's diabetes management plan should be easy to understand, detailed, and written down for easy reference. You also should have the names and phone numbers of the health care team members in case of emergencies or if you have questions about how to take care of your child's diabetes.
Besides the standard diabetes treatments, you also might hear of alternative or complementary treatments, such as herbal remedies and vitamin or mineral supplements. Although research continues into their possible benefits, studies thus far haven't proved their effectiveness. Aside from being potentially ineffective, they could even be dangerous for kids and teens with type 2 diabetes, especially if used to replace medically recommended treatments. Talk to the diabetes health care team if you have questions.
Each day, researchers all over the world are working to find a cure for diabetes, and many treatment advances have made treatment easier and more effective. Insulin might soon be available in pill, patch, and spray forms, and scientists continue efforts to improve results of pancreas or islet cell transplants. Versions of an artificial pancreas — a device that senses blood sugar and gives insulin — also are being tested.
These new developments are exciting, but they still need extensive testing — especially for use in kids — before they become available. | <urn:uuid:8d30ff10-8bca-45bf-8fcb-51c6f268bf12> | {
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Adenoids and tonsils are often talked about together. You can see your tonsils in the back of your throat, but where are your adenoids? For that matter, what are your adenoids? Let's find out.
What Are Adenoids?
The adenoids (say: add-eh-noids) are lumpy clusters of spongy tissue that help protect kids from getting sick. They sit in the back of the nasal cavity and are above the roof of the mouth.
Although you can easily see your tonsils by standing in front of a mirror and opening your mouth wide, you can't see your adenoids this way. A doctor has to use a special telescope to get a peek at your adenoids. The doctor can also get an idea of the size of the adenoids by getting an X-ray of your head.
Like tonsils, adenoids help keep your body healthy by trapping harmful bacteria and viruses that you breathe in or swallow. Adenoids also contain cells that make antibodies to help your body fight infections.
Adenoids do important work as infection fighters for babies and little kids. But they become less important once a kid gets older and the body develops other ways to fight germs.
Adenoids usually shrink after about age 5, and by the teenage years they often practically disappear.
When Adenoids Swell
Because adenoids trap germs that enter the body, adenoid tissue sometimes temporarily swells (gets puffier) as it tries to fight off an infection. The swelling might go away on its own, but sometimes medical treatment is necessary. Adenoids can get so walloped by a bacterial invasion that they become infected themselves.
Swollen or enlarged adenoids are common. When this happens, the tonsils may also get swollen, too. Swollen or infected adenoids can make it tough to breathe and cause these problems:
a very stuffy nose, so a kid can breathe only through his or her mouth
snoring and trouble getting a good night's sleep
sore throat and trouble swallowing
swollen glands in the neck
Tell a grownup if you have any of these problems, so he or she can take you to the doctor.
At the doctor's office, the doctor will ask you how things feel in your ears, nose, and throat, and then take a look at these parts. Your doctor will also feel your neck near your jaw.
Your doctor may use a flexible telescope to look at your adenoids, and might also send you for an X-ray. If it looks your adenoids are infected, the doctor may give you an antibiotic (a germ-fighting medicine) to take.
When Adenoids Come Out
Sometimes doctors recommend removing the adenoids if medicine doesn't help or if they're making a kid sick a lot. This means going into the hospital and having surgery.
Sometimes, a kid's tonsils and adenoids are removed at the same time. That's called a tonsillectomy (say: tahn-suh-lek-tuh-me) and adenoidectomy (say: add-eh-noid-ek-tuh-me). Both are common surgeries for kids to have.
During these surgeries, kids get special medicine that makes them fall asleep and ensures that they don't feel any pain while the operation is being done. Usually, neither operation requires stitches. The cut areas will heal on their own. It takes a little time, though. After surgery, a kid will have a sore throat and will need to eat soft foods for a while.
Most kids are feeling back to normal in less than a week. And do they miss their adenoids? Not one bit! | <urn:uuid:702be76a-c31c-4f47-a913-25f91cb03bb5> | {
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Do Allergies Cause Asthma?
Do allergies cause asthma? The answer to this question is: yes and no. People who have certain kinds of allergies are more likely to have asthma. Which kind of allergies? Usually, the type of allergies that affect your nose and eyes, causing problems like a runny nose or red, itchy eyes.
Whatever causes an allergic reaction, such as pollen or dust mites, can also trigger asthma symptoms. But not everyone who has allergies develops asthma. And not all cases of asthma are related to allergies.
About 23 million people in the United States have asthma. Of these, about 70% have an allergy to something. Many of these people find their asthma symptoms get worse when they're exposed to certain allergens (things that can cause allergic reactions). Common allergens include dust mites, mold, pollen, and animal dander. Parents who have allergies or asthma often pass along the tendency to have these conditions to their kids.
If you have allergies, your immune system reacts to these allergens as if the allergens were invading the body. To fight the allergen, your immune system produces an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE).
When the IgE combines with the allergen, a process is set in motion that results in the release of certain substances in the body. One of the substances released is histamine, which causes allergic symptoms that can affect the eyes, nose, throat, skin, gastrointestinal tract, or lungs. When the airways in the lungs are affected, symptoms of asthma (such as coughing, wheezing, or difficulty breathing) can occur.
The body remembers this reaction, so each time the allergen comes into contact with the body, the same thing can happen. Because of that, allergies can make it difficult for some people to keep their asthma under control.
If you have asthma, it's a good idea to look at whether allergies may be triggering your symptoms. Talk with your doctor about how to identify possible triggers. Your doctor might also recommend a visit to an allergist to help you find out if you're allergic to anything. But even if you are allergic to something — or a whole list of things — it doesn't mean that those allergies are causing your asthma symptoms. It does allow you and your doctor to start investigating the connection, though.
Limiting your exposure to possible allergens may be a big help in controlling your asthma. If you can't completely limit your exposure to something, and you have been shown to be allergic to it, your doctor may recommend allergy shots.
Reviewed by: Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD
Date reviewed: October 2010
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Note: All information on TeensHealth® is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995- The Nemours Foundation. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:210a5f48-11a2-4713-a06e-61cb757b3a27> | {
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New Research Reveals That Obesity Can Actually Drive You Crazy
Most of us are fully aware that obesity causes all sorts of health problems including diabetes and high blood pressure, but now shocking new research shows that being overweight can actually lead to insanity.
A research team consisting of staff from INSERM, the French research institute in Paris and University College London in England, discovered that people suffering from metabolically abnormal obesity were more at risk for experiencing a rapid decline in mental function than those individuals with a healthy weight.
Researchers say that the term “metabolically abnormal” is one they use to classify individuals who are taking medication for diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and lower good cholesterol levels.
The study consisted of more than 6,000 people of all shapes and sizes well into their 50’s at the time the study began. Their initial BMI and risk factors for disease were then documented prior to undergoing cognitive tests three times a week over the course of the next decade.
What researchers found was that out of the 582 obese participants, 350, or roughly 60 percent, could be classified as metabolically abnormal, and those individuals experienced a decline in mental ability that was nearly 23 percent faster than participants with a normal weight.
While study experts say more research is needed to look closely at the effects of genetic factors and the duration of a person’s obesity and metabolic risk factors, they hope that this study will assist in better understanding the link between obesity and cognitive function, such as thinking, reasoning and memory. | <urn:uuid:e789b45f-b4ee-4c87-b46b-614f04be918e> | {
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Japanese-style rooms are
covered with tatami mats.
Tatami is made of straw and rush.
The filling is made of hard-packed straw,
and the smooth facing is made of woven rushes.
The long sides of tatami have a cloth edging.
Tatami is a very good material for floors
because it's so humid in Japan.
Tatami is derived from a verb tatamu which means to fold or to pile.
It shows us that the original tatami was used in different way.
The oldest description is seen in Kojiki,
the oldest history book in Japan written in 712.
In the Heian period (794 - 1191) it has been used only by high status people.
When you see the pictures of "hyakunin isshu "(Japanese traditional cards),
you will find emperors or nobles sitting on tatami
which was placed on the wooden floor as isolated pieces.
In the Muromachi period they began to cover the whole floor with tatami.
Tatami are arranged by the following rules:
1: The corners of four tatami mats should not meet at one point
2: There should not be a line that bisects the tatami layout
either vertically or horizontally
(a line like this resembles an image of harakiri )
3: Only one half size tatami should be used per room. | <urn:uuid:708acaa3-3c10-4704-ae00-5e3144c37cf1> | {
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Forty years ago, killer whales were widely feared and largely misunderstood. Fisherman and mariners often shot at them on sight due to the misconception that these animals posed a threat to their livelihoods and were a danger to humans. With the introduction of killer whales into aquariums and oceanariums in the 1960’s and 70’s public perception began to change rapidly. They were no longer thought of as ferocious beasts but rather as intelligent, sensitive and inquisitive creatures. This new perception helped stimulate research on wild killer whales and led to the species’ protection from shooting and deliberate harassment. Today, however, we are threatening killer whales in new ways. Over-fishing, pollution, increased boat traffic and other human activities all pose a threat to whales and their fragile environment.
Click here to learn more about threats facing killer whales and what you can do to help. | <urn:uuid:df71aef3-14d2-43e9-853b-07098597ea45> | {
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Superstorm Sandy: Before, During And Beyond
Tue November 20, 2012
Thousands Of Trees Gone, Ripped Out By Sandy
Originally published on Tue November 20, 2012 5:14 pm
New York City lost almost 10,000 trees from the winds of Superstorm Sandy and the nor'easter that followed. That's far more trees lost in the city than in any other storm for which tree damage was recorded.
Walking through Central Park, Ken Chaya peers past a stone arch, observing the damage and uprooting of about 800 trees. He knows more about the park's trees than just about anybody else; he created a map that charts every single one of the roughly 20,000 trees.
"Looking over Glen Span, I can count 1-2-3-4-5 — at least five — fresh cuts of mature trees," he says, also noting the number of tree crews.
The city's Parks and Recreation Department, which looks out for street trees as well as those in parks, went on alert way before Sandy arrived. Five days before the storm, the department was already making arrangements with tree crews from around the country.
For several years, the department has noticed dramatic changes in weather. Bram Gunther, chief of forestry, horticulture and natural resources for the department, notes the unprecedented string of natural disasters in the last two years: two tornadoes, a freak storm that took down 500 Central Park trees, an unusual early winter storm and Tropical Storm Irene.
"When that happened, that really opened our eyes, and it opened our eyes to the power of these storms which we had not experienced directly in New York City, at least since I was a child," Gunther says.
Irene took down about 3,400 trees throughout the city, while Sandy claimed three times that amount. Many of those trees were old, beloved and as large as 6 feet in diameter.
"The bigger the tree, the more carbon it captures, the more particulate matter it filters, the more storm water it captures," Gunther says, "so it's a huge number in terms of environmental benefits and what it does for a community."
A study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that the city's more than 5 million trees remove 42,000 tons of carbon and about 2,000 tons of air pollution per year. They also have a whopping monetary value of $5.2 billion.
Twenty-four hours after the storm, the department sent people walking, riding and bicycling all 33,000 blocks of New York City with handheld computers, reviewing damage and putting in work orders.
"We do every single one to assess and evaluate the damage of the trees and the safety of that particular block," explains Gunther, who monitored all the computers from his mobile command center.
In Central Park, Chaya points to a 75-year-old black locust. "Its trunk was just yanked out of the ground by the wind," he says.
Nearby, a downed tree has pulled up a huge rock — a piece of Manhattan schist, the 450-million-year-old bedrock that lies beneath Manhattan. Chaya says there is only a little layer of soil over the bedrock and trees can't sink a deep tap root, so they branch out horizontally. In a storm, many of the trees just topple over.
The city is already ahead of schedule in its commitment to plant 1 million trees by 2017. Because newly planted trees are small, Chaya says, it'll be years before the city can truly be what he calls an urban forest.
"Our urban forest, it's fading, we're losing it," he says. | <urn:uuid:801e66de-66c5-463f-8ff9-587224a16b66> | {
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Midwest Energy News: “Can airports be green? With solar farm, Chicago argues they can.”
Aviation is a carbon intensive industry, with air travel and transport contributing two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
But airports around the world are making significant efforts to reduce their carbon footprints, and Chicago O’Hare International Airport is among the leaders.
In addition to other environmental measures, O’Hare is planning a new solar farm, slated for completion in 2016, that could provide five to 10 percent of the airport’s electricity needs, according to Chicago Department of Aviation spokesperson Karen E. Pride.
Since 2007 Chicago has hosted an annual international “Airports Going Green” conference which began as a one-day seminar and “has become more than just a conference – it’s a movement,” in Pride’s words.
Seriously? A solar power project supplying maybe 5 to 10 percent of the airport’s electricity constitutes going green? How much in carbon emissions are avoided by a solar power project, and at what cost, and how much would be avoided by, for example, some ground control improvements that shaved 1 minute off the time each plane idles before taking off.
The article does observe that airports are the source of about 5 percent of the industry’s carbon emission, so 5 to 10 percent of that amounts to a 0.25 to 0.5 percent shift if every airport made a similar investment. And, again, at what cost this small step? The article does also point out that larger potential environmental effects can come from air traffic systems changes, but notes those actions are more the responsibility of the federal government and airlines.
But on-the-ground organization, airfield layout, and at least some takeoff and landing matters are dictated by airport management, and making improvements in these areas could reduce airplane emissions on the ground. The article highlights the easy-to-promote idea of solar PV over what are likely to be more effective actions elsewhere.
One “feels good” and the other would make people better off. Guess one gets the press? | <urn:uuid:9a8b1d7e-0273-406b-8e67-0673b3a2b259> | {
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Shots - Health News Blog
FDA Approves First Drug To Prevent Preterm Births
The biggest reason why the United States has higher infant mortality than other developed countries is that American women are more likely to deliver prematurely – before 37 weeks. And, for unknown reasons, the US rate of preterm delivery has been going up in recent years.
That's why it's a pretty big deal that the Food and Drug Administration has okayed a drug, called 17-HP, that experts say could make a dent in the preemie problem.
Not a huge dent, but a significant one. The March of Dimes calculates that if all the women eligible to get the newly approved drug actually did, there would be 10,000 fewer preemies a year – out of more than half-a-million born that way.
"Although that may seem like a small percent, it's really a very extraordinary ability to impact on what is really a major public health problem," Dr. Alan Fleischman, the March of Dimes medical director, told Shots.
According to the best research, the drug reduces the risk of premature birth by one-third among women who are at high risk because they had a previous preterm birth.
The drug is not for women whose prior premature births were of twins or other multiple births, or who are carrying more than one fetus in their current pregnancy. Nor is it for women who have other conditions that raise their risk of preterm birth, such as high blood pressure or infection.
And even for the 30,000 or so women who are eligible, 17-HP, which will be marketed as Makena, isn't a magic bullet. The study showed that 37 percent of women who got weekly injections of it delivered prematurely, compared to 55 percent of women who got injections of a placebo.
Interestingly, the drug is not new — it's just taken a long and circuitous route to approval.
In 1956, the FDA approved 17-HP for the treatment of certain cancers and other hormonal disorders, under the brand name Delalutin. But its manufacturer withdrew it from the market in 2000 "for reasons unrelated to safety," as the FDA puts it.
In fact, as a Federal Register posting last year chronicled, there have been questions raised about whether 17-HP caused birth defects of various kinds. In the 1970s, the FDA required warnings on drugs containing progesterone, as 17-HP does, because of an increased risk of birth defects. They later revoked them.
The FDA is apparently satisfied that 17-HP is safe, but it's requiring its sponsors KV Pharmaceuticals and TherRx to conduct further studies of women who have taken it and children exposed during pregnancy.
Everyone in this field is mindful of the long-running tragedy of vaginal and other cancers and male urinary disorders that resulted from the last drug thought to prevent premature birth – a synthetic estrogen called diethylstilbesterol, or DES. In 1971 researchers realized children exposed to DES in utero had a higher incidence of vaginal and breast cancers, and males were subsequently found to have urinary-tract problems.
Fleischman, the March of Dimes official, says there's no such risk from 17-HP, partly because it's not used before the 16th week of pregnancy, when fetal organs have already formed.
"We have been very aggressively tracking all the data," Fleischman says, "and we have no reason to believe that this drug will increase birth defects." Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. | <urn:uuid:314ada7c-f3b7-4f1e-8470-2884f3f9633a> | {
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At a Glance
Why Get Tested?
To determine lithium levels in the blood in order to maintain a therapeutic level or to detect lithium toxicity
When to Get Tested?
When beginning treatment with lithium as the dose is adjusted to achieve therapeutic blood levels; at regular intervals to monitor lithium levels; as needed to detect low or toxic concentrations
A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm
Test Preparation Needed?
The Test Sample
What is being tested?
This test measures the amount of lithium in the blood. Lithium is one of the most well-established and widely-used drugs prescribed in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a mental condition that is characterized by alternating periods of depression and mania. These periods may be as short as a few days or weeks or may be months or years long. During a depressive episode, those affected may feel sad, hopeless, worthless, and lose interest in daily activities. They may be fatigued but have trouble sleeping, experience weight loss or gain, have difficulty concentrating, and have thoughts of suicide. During a manic episode, those affected may be euphoric, irritable, have high energy and grandiose ideas, use poor judgment, and participate in risky behaviors. Sometimes affected people will have mixed episodes with aspects of both mania and depression. Bipolar disorder can affect both adults and children.
Lithium is prescribed to even out the moods of a person with bipolar disorder; it is often called a "mood stabilizer" and is sometimes prescribed for people with depression who are not responding well to other medications. It is a relatively slow-acting drug and it may take several weeks to months for lithium to affect a person's mood. Dosages of the drug are adjusted until a steady concentration in the blood that is within therapeutic range is reached. The actual amount of drug that it will take to reach this steady state will vary from person to person and may be affected by a person's age, general state of health, and other medications that they are taking.
Lithium levels are monitored on a regular basis because blood levels must be maintained within a narrow therapeutic range. Too little and the medication will not be effective; too much and symptoms associated with lithium toxicity may develop, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, and tremors. Extremely high levels can lead to stupor, seizures, and can be fatal.
How is the sample collected for testing?
A blood sample is obtained by inserting a needle into a vein in the arm.
NOTE: If undergoing medical tests makes you or someone you care for anxious, embarrassed, or even difficult to manage, you might consider reading one or more of the following articles: Coping with Test Pain, Discomfort, and Anxiety, Tips on Blood Testing, Tips to Help Children through Their Medical Tests, and Tips to Help the Elderly through Their Medical Tests.
Another article, Follow That Sample, provides a glimpse at the collection and processing of a blood sample and throat culture.
Is any test preparation needed to ensure the quality of the sample?
No test preparation is needed. However, timing of the sample collection may affect results. Generally, lithium blood levels are performed 12-18 hours after the last dose (also known as a "trough" level). Tell the laboratorian who is drawing your blood when you took your last dose so that the results can be interpreted correctly.
Ask a Laboratory Scientist
This form enables you to ask specific questions about your tests. Your questions will be answered by a laboratory scientist as part of a voluntary service provided by one of our partners, American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science. If your questions are not related to your lab tests, please submit them via our Contact Us form. Thank you.
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NOTE: This article is based on research that utilizes the sources cited here as well as the collective experience of the Lab Tests Online Editorial Review Board. This article is periodically reviewed by the Editorial Board and may be updated as a result of the review. Any new sources cited will be added to the list and distinguished from the original sources used.
Sources Used in Current Review
Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics. Burtis CA, Ashwood ER and Bruns DE, eds. 4th ed. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Saunders; 2006, Pp 1271-1272.
Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 16th ed. Kasper D, Braunwald E, Fauci A, Hauser S, Longo D, Jameson JL, eds. McGraw-Hill, 2005 Pg 2557.
(Updated March 24, 2009) Lee D, Gupta M. Toxicity, Lithium from Medscape. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/815523-overview through http://emedicine.medscape.com. Accessed September 2009.
(January 15, 2009) MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Bipolar Disorder. Available online at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000926.htm. Accessed September 2009.
(January 4, 2009) Mayo Clinic. Bipolar Disorder. Available online at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bipolar-disorder/DS00356 through http://www.mayoclinic.com. Accessed September 2009.
National Alliance on Mental Illness. Medications, Lithium. Available online through http://www.nami.org. Accessed September 2009.
(Jan 14, 2009) Lloyd A. Netdoctor: Lithium. Available online at http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/depression/lithium_000290.htm through http://www.netdoctor.co.uk. Accessed September 2009.
Sources Used in Previous Reviews
Thomas, Clayton L., Editor (1997). Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company, Philadelphia, PA [18th Edition]. Pp 1121.
Spearing, M. Updated (2006 February 17,Updated). Bipolar Disorder. NIMH [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bipolar.cfm#bp6 through http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
Goldberg, J. and Citrome, L. (2005 February). Latest therapies for bipolar disorder, Looking beyond lithium. Postgraduate Medicine online v 117 (2) [On-line journal]. Available online at http://www.postgradmed.com/issues/2005/02_05/goldberg.htm through http://www.postgradmed.com.
Geddes, J. et. al. (2004 February). Long-Term Lithium Therapy for Bipolar Disorder: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Psychiatry 161:217-222 [On-line journal]. Available online at http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/161/2/217 through http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org.
Newport, D. J. et. al. (2005 November). Lithium Placental Passage and Obstetrical Outcome: Implications for Clinical Management During Late Pregnancy. American Journal of Psychiatry 162:2162-2170 [on-line abstract]. Available online at http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/162/11/2162 through http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org.
Schapiro, N. (2005). Bipolar Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Medscape from J Pediatr Health Care. 2005; 19 (3): 131-141 [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/504584_1 through http://www.medscape.com.
Menon, L. (2005 August, Updated). Lithium. National Alliance for the Mentally Ill [On-line information]. Available online through http://www.nami.org.
Walling, A. (2005 January 1). Evidence-Based Guidelines for Bipolar Disorder Therapy. American Family Physician [On-line journal]. Available online at http://www.aafp.org/afp/20050101/tips/19.html through http://www.aafp.org. | <urn:uuid:63074de8-ea20-4fda-befd-69f7c6c9e2e0> | {
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For millennia, teachers and students have loved and hated one another. The excitement of kindergartners eager to tell their teacher what happened at home last night and the teenager with head down on desk waiting to hear the buzzer end 54-minutes of listening to the teacher–all are part of the relationship between students and teachers. The classroom was (and is) a place where students watched the second-hand of the clock move ever so slowly, a room where adults and children eagerly learned from each other, and, yes, a site for humor. Here is another collection of cartoons showing the funny side of teachers and students interacting.
For readers interested in looking at the monthly posts of cartoons in this blog, see: “Digital Kids in School,” “Testing,” “Blaming Is So American,” “Accountability in Action,” “Charter Schools,” and “Age-graded Schools,” Students and Teachers, Parent-Teacher Conferences, Digital Teachers, Addiction to Electronic Devices, Testing, Testing, and Testing, Business and Schools, Common Core Standards, Problems and Dilemmas, Digital Natives (2), and Online Courses. | <urn:uuid:28727a8e-0f82-49d7-81e6-d9e77667928a> | {
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Today is the 145th anniversary of the ending of the American Civil War. Here’s the description from Answers.com:
Apr 9, 1865. At 1:30 pm General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, commander in chief of the Union Army, ending four years of civil war. The meeting took place in the house of Wilmer McLean at the village of Appomattox Court House, VA. Confederate soldiers were permitted to keep their horses and go free to their homes, while Confederate officers were allowed to retain their swords and sidearms as well. Grant wrote the terms of surrender.
I thought this might be a good opportunity for another “The Best…” list.
You might also be interested in:
The Best Resources About President’s Day (to explore the resources on Abraham Lincoln)
Here are my choices for The Best Sites For Learning About the American Civil War (and are accessible to English Language Learners):
To start-off with, I’m going to direct you to my United States History Classes blog. You can find my entire year’s curriculum there, though here are links to the lessons specifically about the Civil War:
In addition to the multiple activities and links in those posts, here are a few more resources:
The Best Civil War Photos from LIFE.
How Stuff Works has countless short online videos about the Civil War.
The History Channel has a similar video collection.
Here are a number of online activities for English Language Learners that are related to the War.
The Story of the Monitor is an interactive exhibition on the ironclad that fought for the Union during the Civil War. Key parts, but not all, of the interactive provides audio support for the text. There are also excellent images.
These are two school-oriented websites with a variety of accessible info on the Civil War:
Slave Narratives from The Museum of The African Diaspora.
EL Civics on The Civil War.
“The Price Of Freedom: Americans At War” is a Smithsonian multimedia interactive on each war in United States’ history. Videos (with transcript), images and text are included.
In pictures: Faces of US Civil War is a slideshow from the BBC. The BBC says:
Virginia collector Tom Liljenquist has donated nearly 700 photographs from the US Civil War to the Library of Congress. Library curators say the photos are an invaluable depiction of the ordinary men who fought the war.
Thinkfinity has a number of useful lessons on the Civil War.
A Civil War Interactive Timeline from The New York Times
150 years later: Civil War anniversary stirs controversy is an interactive from The Associated Press
The Civil War is from Mr. Nussbaum
Civil War: 150th Anniversary is from The History Channel
Faces of The Civil War is a Washington Post slideshow
Decisive Battles of the Civil War is a U.S. News interactive
How Stuff Works has many Civil War related videos
African-Americans And The Civil War is a slideshow from NPR.
Faces From The Civil War is a slideshow from TIME Magazine.
Civil War 150 is from the History Channel.
Who Am I? is an interactive from the Smithsonian.
The Civil War is from Shmoop.
The Top 10 Civil War Innovations is a slideshow from Discovery.
The Kids Guide to The Civil War is a student-created site.
The Civil War comes from Parade Magazine.
On War: The 150th Anniversary of the Civil War are photographs from The Denver Post.
Here’s a video from MSNBC showing newly discovered photos from the Civil War:
Hundreds of Civil War photos unearthed comes from MSNBC.
150 years on, 3-D Civil War photos unveiled also comes from MSNBC.
Civil War Photography is a slideshow from Discovery.
Of Course the Civil War Was About Slavery is from Miller-McCune.
Photo Essay: The Civil War: Between the Battles is from the PBS News Hour.
Here are several Civil War-related slideshows from LIFE.
Resources | Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War comes from The New York Times Learning Network.
Then and now: Civil War battlefields is from CNN.
Blogging History: Interpreting Civil War-Era Primary Sources is from The New York Times Learning Network.
Battles and Casualties of the Civil War is an interactive from The Washington Post.
Civil War Timeline: Fury Unleashed is another interactive from The Post.
Five myths about why the South seceded is from The Washington Post.
3-D ‘Motion Pictures’ From The Civil War is a series of really cool “animated” photos from the Civil War. You really should check them out.
Russel Tarr, who has created a ton of great online learning activities, has just unveiled another one — an interactive simulation of the American Civil War. It seems quite engaging, and I’ll try using it in my U.S. History class this year. Russel has also created an entire unit on the war.
To My Old Master is an amazing letter written by a former slave to his “owner.”
The Atlantic recently published three collections of Civil War photographs:
The Civil War is quite an impressive interactive infographic on…the Civil War. It shows casualties, stories, and a whole lot more. And it’s a college student’s project.
Disunion: The Civil War is a multimedia collection from The New York Times.
Civil War 2013: Photographs From the Grisly American Conflict is a video and article from The New York Times:
Feedback and suggestions are welcome!
If you found this post useful, you might want to consider subscribing to this blog for free.
You might also want to explore the 400 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled. | <urn:uuid:c37dd91c-fb8f-45de-aeb5-fd881fae9f6f> | {
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Rare clouded leopard cubs born at Nashville Zoo
Back in March, the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center announced the birth of two clouded leopard cubs. The cubs' birth was big news, in part because clouded leopards are severely endangered and in part because the species presents unique problems to those attempting to breed it in captivity. (Male clouded leopards are prone to behavior so aggressive that they often wind up killing their potential mates. Females are known for, whether intentionally or accidentally, killing their cubs shortly after they're born.)
The National Zoo's cubs represented the first successful breeding of clouded leopards in any North American zoo in six years. Their parents, Hannibal and Jao Chu, were one of two breeding pairs imported from Thailand last year. The other breeding pair went to the Nashville Zoo, where three cubs were born May 30!
The cubs -- two males and one female -- are in good health, as are their parents, Jing Jai and Arun. Like the National Zoo's clouded leopard cubs, they are being hand-raised by keepers rather than by their parents. Hand-raising the cubs is, in part, for their own protection. It's also expected to make things simpler down the line, when the cubs reach maturity and become part of the breeding program designed to save their species from extinction.
"We've learned how to reduce fatal attacks by hand-raising cubs and introducing males to mates at a young age," Nashville Zoo President Rick Schwartz explained.
Plans are already underway to introduce the Nashville Zoo's female cub to one of those born at the National Zoo (both of those are males) when she's about 6 months old.
-- Lindsay Barnett
Photo credit: Jim Bartoo / Associated Press | <urn:uuid:cc236861-3a4a-4c11-a059-e93b97a6b2ca> | {
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By Hilarie Meyers, Development and Communications Intern
Over the past year, numerous positive advancements have been made in the realm of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, such as the development of various microbicides, the empirical success of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pills, and even the Pope’s recent statements regarding the role of condoms in HIV prevention efforts. Yet, there is still work to be done.
In honor of World AIDS Day, which is held annually on December 1st, consider diving into the world of AIDS activism, if you haven’t already. Click here for a list of ways to contribute to the fight against AIDS. While an annual day of activism is a great way to get people involved, it’s even better if people begin to incorporate such activism into their daily lives. My recommendation on where to get started: get tested!
The 2010 edition of the UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic estimates that there are 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS, with an estimated 54,000 new infections in the US alone during the year 2009. Women account for one-half of all people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and more than a quarter of those in the US.
Latinas and African American women are particularly affected by HIV/AIDS. Although Latinas and African Americans make up only 25% of the US’s female population, they make up over 80% of (or 4 out of 5) females living with HIV/AIDS in the US.
According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Latinas account for 16% of new HIV infections among women in the US. Furthermore, the rate of new HIV infections for Latinas is nearly 4 times that of white women. AIDS is also the fourth-leading cause of death for Latinas between the ages of 35 and 44.
An individual’s personal reasons for getting tested may have little to do with whether or not the medical community considers him or her to be “at risk” for HIV infection. While undoubtedly such categories can be useful when designing campaigns or allocating resources, they also can be misleading and stigmatizing. In fact, labeling certain people and behaviors according to their level of “risk” can actually inhibit treatment and prevention efforts, particularly when it comes to testing. In “Women and HIV/AIDS: An Overview,” Elinor Nauen and Bonnie Goldman explain:
Women Alive [a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization created by, and for, women living with HIV/AIDS] found that the concept of “sexual risk” tripped up the very people who were supposed to improve women’s access to HIV testing. The testers refused services to many women because they didn’t fit into traditional high-risk groups…When Los Angeles County looked at the data relating to women, ‘They discovered that 40% to 60% of African-American women and Latinas testing positive did not fit in those risk groups.’
The Center for Disease Control recommends that all adults between the ages of 13 and 64 be tested for HIV “as a routine part of their medical care.”
Because early diagnosis is a crucial component in both prevention and treatment efforts, testing for HIV needs to be emphasized as a priority for everyone. The Well Project explains:
If you test positive, you can take [steps] to prevent passing the virus on to others, including during pregnancy. And while there is no cure yet, many HIV+ women are living longer and stronger lives thanks to effective care and treatment.
Once diagnosed, individuals can take the actions necessary to preserve their own health and well-being, as well as the health and well-being of the people around them. Research shows that people who are diagnosed with HIV sooner rather than later have a lower risk of developing AIDS and thus typically have better health outcomes. However, approximately 27% of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS are unaware of their status. Women in particular tend to be “late-testers”, and are often only diagnosed after developing symptoms or during pregnancy.
Despite the overwhelming benefits of HIV testing and early diagnosis, data from the CDC shows that only about 45% of US adults reported ever being tested for HIV. A number of complex factors influence a person’s decision to get tested. However, both stigma and fear play a large role in deterring people from HIV testing. As a fact sheet from the Latino Commission on AIDS explains, “the stigma that is attached to female sexuality often prevents…women from accessing reproductive and sexual health services, screening, and information.”
As long as HIV is associated with “deviant” and “risky” behaviors, these stigmas will prevent people from getting tested, thereby limiting the effectiveness of treatment and prevention efforts.
While individuals may do their part by getting tested, institutions, such as health clinics, schools, and hospitals, must also play an important role by offering information about and access to testing. According to Naina Khanna, in her article “Women and HIV: A Nuanced Epidemic”:
Many women are never offered an HIV test. The National Women and AIDS Collective has documented numerous instances of women being discouraged from taking, or being flat-out denied, an HIV test. This is true even when HIV testing was medically indicated.
Such actions are ultimately detrimental to the health of individuals and our society as a whole.
In honor of World AIDS Day, take action to help promote HIV testing as a key component of everyone’s medical routine, rather than a reflection on one’s behavior or character. Get tested today.
To find a testing site near you, send a text message with your zip code to “KNOWIT” (566948) or click here.
By Hilarie Meyers, Development and Communications Intern | <urn:uuid:e6ea6da3-897f-499b-a591-e3b8ad8db9a7> | {
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This work presents a myth-busting account of how class conflict and economic development, and not only interstate rivalry, led to the emergence of the modern state system.
Inspired by the groundbreaking historical work of Robert Brenner, Teschke argues that property relations provide the key to unlocking the changing meaning of 'international' across the medieval, early modern and modern periods. Challenging the reification of the Treaty of Westphalia, Teschke shows that international politics remained under the control of dynastic and absolutist political elites that were rooted in feudal property regimes.
The book rejects a commonplace of European history: that the treaties of Westphalia not only closed the Thirty Years’ War but also inaugurated a new international order driven by the interaction of territorial sovereign states. Benno Teschke, through this thorough and incisive critique, argues that this is not the case. Domestic ‘social property relations’ shaped international relations in continental Europe down to 1789 and even beyond.
The dynastic monarchies that ruled during this time differed from their medieval predecessors in degree and form of personalization, but not in underlying dynamic. 1648, therefore, is a false caesura in the history of international relations. For real change we must wait until relatively recent times and the development of modern states and true capitalism. In effect, it’s not until governments are run impersonally, with no function other than the exercise of its monopoly on violence, that modern international relations are born.
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Probable Repeal of Eighteenth Amendment on December 5
Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment will take place, it may now be predicted with virtual certainty, on December 5, nine months and one-half following submission to the states of the Twenty-first, or repeal, amendment on February 20, 1933. Virginia became on October 3 the 32nd state to vote in unbroken succession for repeal of federal prohibition. Florida is expected to take similar action on October 10. On November 7 the voters of six more states—Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Utah—will go to the polls to record their verdict on the question, making 39 states in all that will have acted by that date. Ratification conventions will be held in four states—-Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Utah—on December 5. Since this formal action will have been taken before that date in all but three of the necessary number of states, one of these four will in all probability be the 36th state to ratify, thus completing the process of taking prohibition out of the Constitution.
The repeal amendment becomes effective immediately upon ratification. Since the authority under which Congress legislated against the manufacture, transportation, and sale of liquor in the states will thereby be withdrawn, the regulatory sections of the Volstead act will automatically expire so far as they apply in the states, though they may remain in force, pending further congressional action, in the District of Columbia, the Panama Canal Zone, and the Virgin Islands. In Alaska and Hawaii local prohibition acts will probably still be effective, while prohibition may be, continued by the naval authorities in Guam and Samoa. Puerto Rico's prohibition law has been repealed, and that territory will be wet. The Philippine Islands have never been subject to American prohibition laws.
While there is a possibility that Congress will be summoned to Washington in advance of the regular January session, in order to revise taxes and tariffs on wines and liquors, the President has not yet indicated any intention of calling a special session. Certain emergency taxes imposed by the National Recovery Act will, under the terms of that law, be removed on January 1 by reason of previous repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, liquor taxes being counted upon to yield an equivalent or greater revenue. Since the revised imposts on liquor sales and imports will presumably be higher than those fixed by existing laws, the federal government will lose potential revenue until Congress has an opportunity to act upon new rates. The interim period between the prospective date of repeal and the time when a new law can be enacted in the normal course of events is so short, however, that the administration may be guided largely by political considerations in deciding whether or not to call a special session. | <urn:uuid:a83d02d0-52d1-4e97-b70f-5ac5998dfacf> | {
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Natural Mind and Memory Boosters
- Choline and DMAE building blocks of acetylcholine.
- Pyroglutamate, phosphatidylserine, and omega-3 fats receptor enhancers.
- Ginkgo (ginkgo biloba) and vinpocetine circulation improvers.
- Acetyl-L-carnitine and glutamine fuel for brain cells.
- Specific supporting vitamins and minerals.
Choline: The Building Block Of Memory
The key brain chemical for memory is acetylcholine. A deficiency in this chemical is probably the single most common cause for declining memory. Acetylcholine is derived from the nutrient choline. Fish, especially sardines, are rich in it, hence the old wives' tale of fish being good for the brain. Eggs are also a major source of choline, followed by liver, soy beans, peanuts, and other nuts. Ever since egg phobia set in, the average intake of choline from the diet has dropped dramatically. From the point of view of memory enhancement, it is certainly worth eating more eggs. But just eating choline-rich foods won't do it. You also need vitamins B5 (pantothenic acid), B1, B12, and C to form acetylcholine in your body.
Supplementing choline has some truly remarkable effects. Recent research at Duke University Medical Center demonstrated that giving choline to pregnant female rats created the equivalent of "superbrains" in the offspring. The researchers fed pregnant rats choline halfway through their pregnancy. The infant rats of mothers who received choline had vastly superior brains with more neuronal connections and, consequently, improved learning ability and better memory recall, all of which persisted into old age. This research showed that giving choline helps restructure the brain for improved performance. Based on this and numerous other studies that support the brain-enhancing properties of choline, and the fact that choline has no known toxicity, supplementing with choline during pregnancy is likely to enhance an infant's brain development.
High doses of choline has also been proven to boost memory in adults. For example, Florence Safford of Florida International University gave forty-one people, ages fifty to eighty, 500 mg doses of choline every day for five weeks. The subjects reported having only half the number of incidents of memory lapses such as forgetting names or losing things as before. If you combine choline with other smart nutrients, such as pyroglutamate, you can achieve the same memory-boosting effect at lower doses.
In addition to making the memory neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, choline is also a vital raw material for building nerve cells and receptor sites for neurotransmitters. According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Dr. Richard Wurtman, piracetam and other nootropic drugs that stimulate the release of acetylcholine should always be taken with choline. Otherwise, if choline levels are depleted, your body will divert the choline needed to build vital nerve cells into the production of more acetylcholine.
Some forms of choline cross more easily from the blood into the brain, referred to as "crossing the blood-brain barrier." These forms include phosphatidyl choline and a precursor for choline called DMAE (short for dimethylaminoethanol), which we'll investigate below. Phosphatidyl choline, or PC for short, is also found in lecithin, a supplement widely available in granules or capsules. Pure choline imparts a fishy smell, so you may prefer to use lecithin or PC.
A form of choline called citicholine has been used as a precursor to acetylcholine. It also boosts levels of dopamine and other neurotransmitters. It has even been used to treat victims of head injuries and strokes, since it protects brain cells from ischemia (decreased blood flow). It has also been shown to improve memory and learning in the elderly.
Recently a more potent form of choline, derived from soy lecithin, has become available in the United States. Alpha-GPC (L-alpha-glyceryl-phosphorylcholine, or choline alfoscerate) has a long history of use in Europe. Research on more than 3,000 patients and volunteers has shown Alpha-GPC to be more effective than citicholine, and with very few side effects (fifteen reported cases of diarrhea, dizziness, insomnia, or restlessness that resolved when the product was stopped). Besides possessing all the positive effects of citicholine, Alpha-GPC has also been shown to enhance the release of human growth hormone, the master antiaging hormone. Research with athletes has shown that it improves coordination, balance, and endurance. A limiting factor in its use has been its unavailability. However, we have discovered a source, which is listed in the Resources. Their Web site carries further product information (www.futurefoods.com). The recommended dose is 500-1,500 mg daily.
More on: Alternative Health Care
From NATURAL HIGHS: Supplements, Nutrition, and Mind/Body Techniques to Help You Feel Good by Hyla Cass and Patrick Holford. Copyright © Hyla Cass, M.D., and Patrick Holford. Used by arrangement with Avery, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book visit www.penguin.com. Get a 15% discount with the coupon code FENPARENT. | <urn:uuid:4cd5f8e8-9940-4024-ba2c-7903fb8c8122> | {
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Curiosity is on its 37th Martian day, and it's almost ready to head out on its first scientific expedition.
The 2,000-pound wonder-rover is about to complete its (or "her," if you're fond of spacecraft) final day of checkouts.
Scientists have been testing many of the instruments and components of the rover and updating software. Curiosity has performed "almost flawlessly" in all aspects, Jennifer Trosper, Curiosity's mission manager, said at a news briefing Wednesday hosted by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"Starting on Friday evening, the plan is to drive, drive, drive," Trosper said. The rover will stop when Curiosity finds a rock that scientists deem appropriate for conducting contact science observations.
But first, on Wednesday, the rover will point a camera at the sun to capture the transit of the Martian moon Phobos.
Mission specialists also revealed a few more fun facts about the rover:
• What's up with the holes in the wheels? "That’s Morse code for 'JPL,' and it makes that imprint on the ground," said Joy Crisp, a deputy project scientist with the mission.
But that's for more than vanity: NASA scientists know what the exact spacing between those marks should be, so if there's wheel slippage, the distance between the marks will be different.
• Curiosity has a 1909 penny on board that the MAHLI camera recently photographed for the purposes of calibration. Abraham Lincoln was first featured on the American one-cent coin in 1909. Grains of Martian sand are visible on the penny.
• Mars rover scientists are living on Mars time; a day on Mars is about 40 minutes longer than on Earth. But by the rover's 90th day on Mars, the transition back to seven-day Earth time can begin, Trosper said.
They'll probably still need to cover all hours except from midnight to 5 a.m.; shifts will need to be adjusted accordingly, depending on when the data come down, Trosper said.
"Probably a few months after that, we'll get to the point where we don't have to adjust the shifts every day, because we'll get much more efficient in our ability to build the commands and look at the data and do the assessment."
Curiosity will be headed for Glenelg, a site that has three types of terrain, including layered bedrock. This could be a good place for Curiosity to drill.
Then the rover will go to Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-high mountain formed from rock layers that built up over time. Curiosity will climb part of this mountain, testing the different layers. The goal is to look for signs that life could have once existed on the Red Planet. | <urn:uuid:c496fd1d-96be-4127-b236-c283440a5489> | {
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Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a rallying point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building which forms the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years.
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the seat of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the heart of the London borough of the City of Westminster, close to the historic Westminster Abbey and the government buildings of Whitehall and Downing Street.
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It is the oldest building used by the British government.
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London; it has not been lived in by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames. It was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King, who enlarged it.
Woodstock Palace was a royal residence in the English town of Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The title of "palace" was first used to refer to it during the twelfth century, when it was favoured by King Henry I of England. In about 1120, he created a zoo in the grounds. His grandson, Henry II was also fond of Woodstock, and spent time here with his mistress, Rosamund Clifford.
The Savoy Palace was considered the grandest nobleman's residence of medieval London, until it was destroyed in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. It fronted Strand, on the site of the present Savoy Theatre and the Savoy Hotel that memorialise its name. In its area the rule of law was different from the rest of London.
Richmond is a suburban town in southwest London, England and part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) west-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of thirty five major centres identified in the London Plan. The formation and naming of the town is due to the building of Richmond Palace in the 16th century and the development of Richmond as a London suburb began with the opening of the railway station in 1846.
Marlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient". Christopher Wren, both father and son, designed a brick building with rusticated stone quoins that was completed in 1711. For over a century it served as the London residence of the Dukes of Marlborough.
The Palace of Beaulieu also known as New Hall was located in Essex, England, north of Chelmsford. The estate on which it was built - the manor of Walhfare in Boreham - was granted to the Canons of Waltham Abbey in 1062. Charter S 1036 After various changes of possession it was granted by the Crown to the Earl of Ormond in 1491. By this time it had a house called New Hall. In 1516 New Hall was sold by Thomas Boleyn to Henry VIII of England for £1,000 (£42,000 in today's money).
Walmer Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1539–1540 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from Catholic France and Spain. It was part of his programme to create a chain of coastal defences along England's coast known as the Device Forts or as Henrician Castles. It was one of three forts constructed to defend the Downs, an area of safe anchorage protected by the Goodwin Sands, in Kent, south east England. The other forts were at Deal and Sandown.
The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire. Before the fire it had grown to be the largest palace in Europe, with over 1,500 rooms, overtaking the Vatican and Versailles.
The Queen's House, Greenwich, is a former royal residence built between 1614-1617 in Greenwich, then a few miles downriver from London, and now a district of the city. Its architect was Inigo Jones, for whom it was a crucial early commission, for Anne of Denmark, the queen of King James I of England. It was altered and completed by Jones, in a second campaign about 1635 for Henrietta Maria, queen of King Charles I.
The Palace of Placentia was an English Royal Palace built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in 1447, in Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames, downstream from London. The Palace was demolished in the seventeenth century and replaced with the Greenwich Hospital in the late seventeenth century.
St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK. For this reason it gives its name to the Royal Court.
Clarence House is a royal home in London, situated on The Mall. It is attached to St. James's Palace and shares the palace's garden. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 to 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, but is now the official residence of The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, and the Princes William and Harry. It is open to visitors for approximately two months each summer. The house was built between 1825 and 1827 to a design by John Nash.
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century. Today it is the official residence of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke and Duchess of Kent; and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Prince Harry, as well as his cousin Zara Phillips.
This is a list of residences occupied by the British Royal family, noting the seasons of the year they are traditionally occupied. Members of the British Royal Family inhabit a range of residences around the United Kingdom. Some are royal palaces, owned by the state and held in trust by the monarch; others are privately owned. Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House have been inherited as private property for several generations. Other royal palaces are no longer residences.
Bridewell Palace, London, originally a residence of Henry VIII, later became a poorhouse and prison. Its name has come to be synonymous with police stations and detention facilities in England and Ireland. It was built on the site of the medieval St Bride's Inn at a cost of £39,000 for Henry VIII, who lived there between 1515–1523. Standing on the banks of the River Fleet, it was named after a nearby well dedicated to St Bride.
Sandringham House is a country house on 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England. The house is privately owned by the British Royal Family and is located on the royal Sandringham Estate, which lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Claremont is an 18th-century Palladian mansion situated less than a mile south of Esher in Surrey, England. The buildings are now occupied by Claremont Fan Court School, and its landscaped gardens are owned and managed by the National Trust.
Kew Palace is a British Royal Palace in Kew Gardens, Kew on the banks of the Thames up river from London. There have been at least four Palaces at Kew, and three have been known as Kew Palace, the first building may not have been known as Kew as no records survive other than the words of another courtier. One survives and is open to visitors. It is cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown.
Carlton House was a mansion in London, best known as the town residence of the Prince Regent for several decades from 1783. It faced the south side of Pall Mall, and its gardens abutted St. James's Park in the St James's district of London. | <urn:uuid:3ebf5a30-5897-4c8c-b816-872db6a5b034> | {
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William H. Herndon
William H. Herndon joined Abraham Lincoln in a new law practice in 1844. In this practice Lincoln tried a variety of cases, ranging from criminal defense to wills to railroad law. With Herndon as his partner Lincoln successfully ran for Congress, then returned to Springfield to resume his practice. Working with the antislavery Herndon, Lincoln returned to the political arena with the emergence of Stephen Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska Act as a major political issue in the 1850s. | <urn:uuid:9da63025-a544-4c5e-a2e0-204fcfa96a72> | {
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Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe – Virgins, Kids and Indigenous Costumes
Every 12th of December in Guatemala on the Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe children throughout the country dress up in colorful, traditional indigenous costumes and carry an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in local processions. Usually marimba and hordes of traditional food stalls go with the festivities.
Originating in Mexico after the Spanish conquest, when the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to an indigenous peasant, the custom continues throughout the Americas.
In Antigua the celebrations take place in front of the beautiful baroque church of La Merced. Rustic mini-scenes backed by painted images of the Virgin are set up in front of the church and parents pose their children for photographers. Tiny replicas of adults, the boys have mustaches painted on their faces and the girls little baskets tied to their heads. Each scene has a variety of typical Guatemalan everyday items for the children to use as props including miniature marimba, tortillas on a comal, model horses and a strange collection of live chickens and toy tigers.
Colorful images of the Virgin.
Children dressed up in traditional indigenous costumes. | <urn:uuid:c2dc5dac-1783-4579-8771-164932a85737> | {
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Microrover Mission Milestones
Rover Telecom Lessons Learned
What is Sojourner doing now?
What happened to the Rover Telecom System on Sol 1 & 2?
How do the radio modem telecom protocols work?
How does the lander telecom system communicate with Earth?
How far is the communications range of the rover?
What is the communications delay between Earth and Mars?
Why are the rover batteries not rechargeable?
How long can the rover keep functioning on Mars?
Can I get schematics and engineering drawings of the Microrover?
Where can I download Rover and Lander Images?
Does the Lander or Rover have a microphone for recording sounds?
Will the Rover be coming back to Earth?
Will the Rover collect soil samples?
What kind of computer is in the Rover and Lander?
Where can I get a pair of 3D glasses?
To get to the Live From Mars Frequently Asked Questions site click HERE. This site has dozens of answers to FAQ's about Mars and Mars missions. Also, to hear the daily report on the Mars Pathfinder Mission from North America call 1-800-391-6654 and press 3. Other mission reports are also available at that number.
For those of you who like trivia and factoids, here is a table listing some of the Sojourner microrover's accomplishments. Yes, there is some relative uncertainty in a few of these values. In particular, the odometry values have some statistical error due to gyro drift, accelerometer noise and rover driver heading and position corrections.
When the lander problems began, the rover was at a rock named Chimp, where it had performed an APXS measurement on Sol 81 and 82. Chimp is about 9.3 meters radially from the center of the lander. The drive back to the lander could have taken several different paths. One possibility is that the rover drove in an arcing turn toward the lander as shown HERE. Note, the forward ramp is inside the 3 meter stayout zone. In another possibility, the rover would have executed a left turn and made a beeline to the lander. This path would have possibly taken it between the rocks named Hassock and Wedge. However, the rover uses its hazard avoidance to drive around rocks, so if it encountered any nearer rocks, particularly Ender, first it would have tried to drive to either side of them depending on its assessment of the hazards. If it got past those obstacles (located about 4.5 meters from the lander) without any severe driving (articulation) errors it could have arrived at the lander in the vicinity of either the forward ramp or near Torres rock. If it made it to the 3 meter virtual wall, it would have stopped and then tried to drive around the wall like any other hazard. But since it's onboard software won't let it go beyond the 3 meters, the rover will begin to drive around the lander following an arcing circular path. Since the rover has inherent drift in its gyros and somewhat noisy accelerometers, its autonomous driving may incur heading errors. Depending on how long the rover is driving, the accumulated heading errors may cause it to spiral toward or away from the lander, possibly getting it into trouble. In it's driving around the Lander, Sojourner could have accidently driven up onto a rock and received a traverse error that would have stopped it. If that has happened then the rover will be parked in that one spot, never to move again on her own. Without any hard data, these scenarios are mere speculation based on how we know the rover operates. In reality we just don't know and may never know where Sojourner is and what she's doing right now.
Sol 1 Rover Telecom Scenario:
The rover woke up via lander reed relay at 06:59:13 TLST as expected and immediately produced erroneous level 2 health check telemetry caused by a known +12V regulator (A/D converter) problem not related to the radio modem. The first level 2 health check data was unusable and a subsequent commanded level 3 health check (cmd 1034) was performed (291 bytes) at 07:35 TLST. Telemetry from the rover health check indicated that the telecom system was working nominally with a modem operating temperature of -4.0 degree C. At approximately 7:40 TLST the lander LGA downlink session had ended. It was noticed from 7:38 to 9:21 TLST that the LMRE (Lander Mounted Rover Equipment) link quality, which is a measure of how well it is receiving good data frames (1 complete frame = 6 byte ACK + 250 bytes of data) from the rover, dropped to 44% and continued to degrade to 14%. After that point no more good data was received from the rover for the remainder of the sequence. A large number of garbled frames (ones containing CRC errors), however, continued to be received by the LMRE modem which indicated that the rover modem was still transmitting, and had not completely failed. During this period when rover communications degraded, the lander switched from the low gain antenna to the high gain antenna after doing a sun-search with the IMP camera. Also, the lander +Y petal was elevated to 45°, an air-bag retraction sequence was run, and the petal was returned to a horizontal position. All during this time the rover was in the stowed configuration on the petal with its antenna down. Lastly, it was decided not to deploy both rover ramps that day and wait until Sol 2 to perform the rover release, standup and egress down the rear ramp.
Sol 1 Considerations:
The following have been considered and discounted as communications problems:
The following are the most likely contributors to the communication degradation problem:
The protocol at the data-link layer used on the UHF link between Sojourner and the Pathfinder lander is of the acknowledge/negative-acknowledge (ACK/NAK) type. There is no forward error correction channel coding whatsoever. The response of ACK or NAK is dictated by a cyclic redundancy character (CRC) check computed over the contents of each transmission frame. A frame generating a NAK can be retried up to three times before the software errors-out and skips to the next frame in the transmission queue. ACK/NAK protocols are very simple to implement and permit confidence in the fidelity of the data transfer when signaled by the ACK confirmation, but they are extremely fragile data-link layer implementations: that is, the throughput of the link can collapse catastrophically for small incremental changes in the bit error rate (BER) of the physical layer. Click on this graph to see how quickly the probability of receiving different size data frames can change with just a small change in BER performance.
The maximum frame size used on the UHF link between the Sojourner rover and the Pathfinder lander is 256 bytes, and examination of the graph shows a rapid collapse of communications throughput for bit error rates exceeding approximately 10-4. Note also that short frames (those of length less than 256 bytes) can get through with high probability even when those of maximal length are likely to fail. It was this phenomenon that was frequently observed on Sol 1 and 2: short frames got across; fully stuffed frames did not. Clearly the communications problem was not one of hardware failure or even of hardware intermittency, it was mainly an increase in bit error rate that was coupled with an extremely unforgiving data-link layer protocol.
Sol 2 Rover Telecom Scenario:
During the night of Sol 1 the lander experienced a software reset which, it was concluded, did not affect the quality of the lander to rover UHF link. Also, it has been concluded that switching between both LMRE modem DC-DC converters had no corrective effect. It is likely that because of configuration differences with the location of the HGA and IMP that scattering/multipath conditions at the beginning of Sol 2 had changed. The changes may have made the communications environment favorable enough to allow reception to occur.
The rover woke up nominally via alarm clock on Sol 2 at 07:01:53 TLST with no A/D problems. The small packet size command sequences for Sol 2 were received normally by the rover. This indicated that the rover was able to receive data without any problems and it then began transmitting data to the lander. Its first level 2 health check showed that its modem temperature was at -30C, much colder than the day before because no modem heating was performed. The rover was still stowed on the petal with its antenna down. Data was apparently buffered on the rover overnight when comm with the lander was lost. A total of 31,491 bytes of sequence data were received. This coincides with the amount of EEPROM available for buffering data (32K). All indications are that the rover continued to perform runout or commanded sequence but had no place to buffer the additional data. The rover UNSTOW (cmd 2520) command executed nominally at 11:47:55 TLST. At that time the rover UHF antenna was deployed and a co-polarization condition existed between the rover and lander antennas. LMRE Link quality was marginal, and remained at about 40% until rover egress. During the second downlink pass no rover data was received because a mistake in the lander sequence turned off the LMRE radio from 8:01 and 11:29 TLST. This was reflected in the rover telemetry as an increase in timeout errors as the rover attempted to communicate with the lander which was not receiving. In downlink session 3 the rover was executing the remainder of its final Sol 2 sequence which included the petal egress move down the rear ramp.
The traverse down the rear ramp is executed with two 1000mm MOVE commands. After confirmation of the first MOVE command, which would have placed the rover half way down the ramp at 14:40 TLST, communication with the rover ceased. Rover telemetry at that moment showed the modem temperature to be +30C. Lander data indicates that the rover continued trying to communicate with the lander for another 16 minutes (trying every 10 seconds to send the second 3628 byte MOVE command and other commands) until the rover executed a SHUTDOWN command at which point the lander no longer heard from the rover. Lander data also indicates that at that time the LMRE link quality had degraded to 27%. With 100% link quality, it should have taken just 12 seconds to receive the second move command. At a lower link quality it would have taken significantly longer to receive. Being unable to send the MOVE command data, the rover buffered that data to memory. From examination of the rover sequence (50250V), after the rover performed the second MOVE command, it was commanded to HOLD_COMM and deploy the APXS onto the soil. After that was done, HOLD_COMM was removed. Note, it is a requirement that rover communication be suspended during APXS activities because a +9V DC converter is switched from the modem to the APXS (both can't operate at the same time). With 6 wheels on soil and in a slightly different location after the final MOVE, the rover then successfully transmitted some of its buffered telemetry data to the lander, including a rover image taken of the front ramp. The rover performed an auto shutdown at 19:08 TLST and remained silent (no communication) for approximately 18 hours and took two APXS spectra of the soil.
Sol 2 Considerations:
The following have been considered and discounted as communications problems:
The following are the most likely contributors to the communication degradation problem:
Again, based on these two key factors listed above and the sensitivity of the rover protocol layer to BER we feel that it was an individual factor or combination of these factors which resulted in the degradation and unexpected loss of radio communication during the remainder of the Sol 2 sequence.
Sol 3 Rover Telecom Scenario:
The rover woke up nominally on Sol 3 using solar power at 05:27 TLST. The command sequence for Sol 3 was queued on time and sent to the rover. The rover radio modem was much warmer (-15C) at wake up on Sol 3 than Sol 2 because of the execution of a modem heating command. The two overnight Sol 2 APXS spectra were received by the rover, as well as the remainder of the final Sol 2 telemetry. The Sol 3 sequence performed very well , with the rover positioning its APXS on the rock named 'Barnacle Bill' for the night. LMRE Link quality steadily improved throughout the day and into the night, with the improvement in link quality being related to the rover moving out of the region of scattering/multipath by the lander, and its modem operating temperature being above +25C. The only problem relating to telecom was 15 lost packets of rear image data with all other data successfully sent.
Conclusions and Operational Recommendations for the Mission:
Initially, all rover telecom problems were caused by a combination of environmental and configuration conditions. At no time were there any electrical, mechanical or software interface failures with either the LMRE radio modem or Rover radio modem. LMRE modem UART interface resets occur periodically, and are a normal part of operation on that side of the interface. Rover modem resets occur when the rover performs a SHUTDOWN or any APXS related activities in its sequence, which requires a HOLD_COMM command. Note, the only factor which has not been conclusively ruled out is the possibility of the loss of hermeticity in one of the four crystal local oscillator cans used in the modems. The crystals utilize a solder perform hermetic seal between the base and body of the can, in a 1 atmosphere inert gas. A failure of the hermetic seal would definitely shift the crystal's frequency (on Mars) because of the change in pressure inside the can. According to the manufacturer, a 5 PPM change in the resonant frequency of the crystal equates to about a 2 KHz frequency shift of the output frequency. But, based on the recent operation of the telecom system, and a comparison of pre-delivery thermal test data performed at JPL and thermal data from Mars, the probability of loss of hermeticity is low. If it has occurred, the consensus is that the LMRE receive LO crystal may be the culprit. To thoroughly understand how a loss of hermeticity would shift the operating frequencies of the radios, an experiment could be performed on a group of modems at different pressure levels, and with the loss of hermeticity invoked in combinations of the crystals. This experiment would be time consuming to perform and give insight into only one problem associated with the function of the radio modems.
It should be noted that the aging process of the LO crystal has been examined carefully. Pre-launch lab measurements of three spare radio units showed that the aging rate is consistent with expectation for that design, namely a negative drift in the output frequency that is logarithmic in time; linear on a log-scale of time.
For present and future Sojourner rover telecommunications activities, here are the recommendations for hardware usage and when planning operations sequences:
Most of the these recommendations have already been communicated to the Mars Pathfinder project and implemented as part of rover operations. They have proved to work leading to significant improvements in the functioning of the Sojourner telecommunications subsystem.
These radio modems use the standard RTS/CTS handshake method, similar to modems used in personal computers. The standard interface on these radios is RS232, however, the RS232 converter chip on the digital board has been replaced with jumpers so that 0-5 v TTL levels could be used with the rover and lander computers. The radios are hardwired for 9600 bps asynchronous communication with 8 data bits and 1 stop bit.
The atmospheric pressure on Mars is between 6 and 10 Torr (units of Torr are mm Hg @ 0C and 1 Torr = 1.33X10-3 bar), compared to 735.56 Torr (at sea level) for atmospheric pressure on Earth. Here are two equations that are frequently used to calculate sound levels. The first equation is for acoustic pressure levels and is equal to 20 log10 (P/Pref) in decibels, where P is the pressure in the medium and is a function of the density of that medium, and Pref = 2X10-10 bar is the equilibrium pressure. The equation for sound intensity levels is 10 log10 (I/I0) also in decibels, where I0 = 10-16 watt per square centimeter. Pref and I0 are reference pressure and intensity values which both correspond to near absolute silence (no pressure changes). Both equations are logarithmic and this is convenient because the sensitivity of the human ear is roughly logarithmic. One thing to note is that on Earth, the pressure changes that create sounds are very small compared to the overall atmospheric pressure.
Here are the A-weighted RMS (root-mean-square) pressure levels of a few common sounds:
Even the thin atmosphere on Mars supports the propagation of sound waves. But because of the lower pressure, the same sounds would have to be more intense (displace more atmosphere) for a typical microphone or human ear to hear them at the same level as here on Earth. For instance, given the same distance between the sound source and destination (say 10 feet), the reduction of pressure by a factor of 10 would reduce the sound pressure level by 20 dB. The reduction of pressure by a factor of 100 would reduce the sound pressure level by 40 dB. The pressure on Mars (at ground level) is approximately 100 times less than the atmospheric pressure on Earth (at sea level).
Using the same reference pressure level of 2X10-10 bar, here are the equivalent Martian sound levels for the same common sounds on Earth:
As you can see, for the same given distance, the sound of an electric table saw on Mars would be perceived as loud as a normal conversation here on Earth. The design of a dynamic microphone or some sort of acoustic sensor to function in the harsh Martian environment could definitely be accomplished, as could the design of an audio frequency amplifier with 40 dB more sensitivity to the lower sound levels. So it is entirely possible to measure and record sound on Mars, but the scientific return is probably not high enough to justify flying the extra equipment weight.
The lander computer on the other hand has much more computing horsepower. Its 32-bit RISC CPU and architecture is the derviative of a commercially available IBM 6000 computer. It executes at about 20 MIPS. The lander also does not have a hard disk, but has a rather large 128 MB of DRAM where data and images can be buffered for transmission back to Earth. Like the rover, it also uses radiation hardened components on its computer board. | <urn:uuid:84b0624a-e771-4439-a952-a443544635b3> | {
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Ibrahim Haddad and David Gordon
in an O'Reilly article.
"Securing DNS is important in order to deal with the various threats originating from the Internet, threats that the original DNS design did not anticipate. One technique for securing DNS is through DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC), a set of extensions to DNS that provide authenticity and integrity. In this article, we will provide an overview of DNS and DNSSEC and a step-by-step tutorial that gives you the needed instructions to secure your own DNS servers with DNSSEC.
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How to Build a Better Bike Lane (and Get More People Out on Bikes)
Martha Roskowski has been a bicycle advocate in the United States for some 20 years. It hasn’t always been easy. These days, though, things are starting to feel different.
"In the past few years, we have seen a sea change," says Roskowski, who is heading up a two-year effort called the Green Lane Project (GLP) for the national advocacy group Bikes Belong. "Top city officials are now seeing bicycling as a really practical, rational part of the mobility picture." In other words, it’s not just a bunch of "bike nuts" who see the benefits of building better bike lanes. Urban transportation officials, facing growing populations, automobile congestion, and strained transit systems, are increasingly looking to bicycles as part of an overall solution. "Cities are really leading this, even when the feds aren’t," says Roskowski.
The GLP aims to foster this evolving mindset by helping six target cities to adopt high-quality bicycle infrastructure – bike lanes where people can ride with at least some protection from car traffic in the form of bollards, parked cars, raised pavement, or other separation. Often they are painted – that’s right – green. GLP is educating city officials through travel and the exchange of information with peers around the world; identifying obstacles to implementation of better bike infrastructure; and gathering data to quantify the effect such lanes have on riding patterns and demographics. It will make its findings available to the general public as the project progresses.
Protected, separated bike lanes on urban streets are not an entirely new phenomenon in the United States. One of the oldest can be found in New York City on Ocean Parkway, where a dedicated bicycle facility was opened in 1894 in a ceremony attended by the members of some 60 "wheelman clubs."
But for the most part, such lanes are an innovation in the U.S., regarded with some skepticism by some longtime urban cyclists as well as the general public. By partnering with officials in Austin, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Chicago, Memphis, and Washington, D.C. – New York is serving as an advising city -- the GLP hopes to educate municipal planners and engineers, increase the visibility of such lanes, and make them part of a mainstream approach to designing urban streets.
The idea, says Roskowski, is to get cities to start building bike networks that provide a comfortable place to ride not just for what she calls "the 1 percent" – the fearless, physically fit, expert bike handlers who are willing to jockey for space with cars, trucks, and pedestrians. Green lanes are meant to serve a more cautious group, people who might want to ride to work, to socialize, or to do errands, but who are intimidated by pedaling through hectic urban traffic.
The GLP was envisioned as a relatively low-cost way to support cities that already “get it” to build more protected bike lanes, learn best practices from around the world, and quantify their progress. City transportation officials have traveled to the Netherlands, for instance, where the network of protected lanes is vast and people of all ages – 8 to 80 is the goal – are able to ride with a full expectation of comfort and safety.
Market Street, San Francisco. Image courtesy of Mark Dreger
Seeing that ideal in practice can be a little daunting, says Roskowski. She recalls how Chicago’s transportation commissioner, Gabe Klein, reacted to his Dutch experience, at first feeling euphoric when he saw how great city biking can be, then plunging into depression when he remembered how many obstacles there are to bike networks in the U.S., and finally stabilizing somewhere in between.
Most participants are feeling energized by the challenge, says Roskowski. As part of the two-year program, the GLP is gathering data on how many new lanes are built in each city and how many people are out riding them. “I just went to give a talk in San Francisco and they wanted to know how their city is measuring up," says Roskowski. "Who is making the most progress? There is a real sense of competitiveness. They all want to be the best."
So far, New York added 11.3 miles of new green lanes in 2012, with Chicago installing 9.4 and San Francisco logging 5.5. That may have put S.F. in third place by one measure, but Roskowski reassured the Bay Area officials that they were doing great when you looked at their total roadway miles compared to the other cities.
Opening up bicycling to a larger population, Roskowski says, will mean a culture shift away from the often contentious identity politics that have characterized bicycle advocacy and policy for a generation. This isn’t about messengers and Lycra-clad road riders anymore, says Roskowski.
"It’s not that those cultures are going to go away," she says. "But how do you speed this progression from ‘cyclist’ being a weird subset of the population to having riding a bike being something you just do to get around?"
Roskowski admits that "green lanes" as they exist in the U.S. today are imperfect and incomplete. But she says that they represent an important step in the evolution of American streets as a place for all users. One Dutch official, she says, looked at a picture of an American green lane and told her, "That’s what Amsterdam looked like in the 1970s."*
Maybe the biggest change, Roskowski says, is psychological. Now, when they look at streets, city planners in the U.S. are increasingly seeing something new, and the public is beginning to see it, too. "We’re getting away from the assumption, ‘That’s car space and can’t be used for anything else," she says. "It’s space for people – in cars, on bikes, on transit, and on foot. It’s public space."
* Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the decade. | <urn:uuid:f8153b39-54ff-4040-9f9a-67882dfe8b93> | {
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e shield. The head is rounded and immovable of its own volition. The abdominal part is in rings that can be turned and twisted; on the tip are two tiny, needlesharp points, and on each of three rings of the abdominal shield there are in many cases a pair of tiny hooks, very slight projections, yet enough to be of use. Some lepidopterists think the pupa works head first to the surface, pushing with the abdomen. To me this seems impossible. The more one forced the blunt head against the earth the closer it would pack, and the delicate tongue shield surely would break. There is no projection on the head that would loosen or lift the earth.
One prominent lepidopterist I know, believes the moth emerges underground, and works its way to the surface as it fights to escape a cocoon. I consider this an utter impossibility. Remember the earth-encrusted cicada cases you have seen clinging to the trunks of trees, after the insect has reached the surface and abandoned them. Think what would happen | <urn:uuid:0bf6a9ec-0383-4778-829e-564095475cd0> | {
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New research shows that dolphins can stay awake for at least 15 days in a row without experiencing fatigue, or other negative side effects.
To put this in perspective, human research subjects have been able to stay awake for only eight to 10 days, and all experienced progressive deterioration in concentration, motivation, perception and other mental processes as the period of sleep deprivation increased.
Dolphins can stay awake for this long because they sleep with only half of their brain at a time. This process, called unihemispheric sleep, was thought to have evolved as a way to allow dolphins to continue breathing at the surface while resting.
Brian Branstetter from the National Marine Mammal Foundation and colleagues studied two bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), one male and one female, and found that they could use echolocation with “near-perfect accuracy” for up to 15 days. Both dolphins showed no signs of fatigue for five days, and the female continued other tasks for 10 additional days.
“These majestic beasts are true unwavering sentinels of the sea. The demands of ocean life on air breathing dolphins have led to incredible capabilities, one of which is the ability to continuously, perhaps indefinitely, maintain vigilant behavior through echolocation” said Branstetter.
The research was published in the journal PLoS ONE on October 17: Dolphins Can Maintain Vigilant Behavior through Echolocation for 15 Days without Interruption or Cognitive Impairment.
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The sky's the limit for 3D printing. Two students at the University of Virginia 3D-printed and assembled a plane. When it successfully took off, their unmanned plane became just the third 3D-printed drone to ever fly.
3D printing is a revolutionary technology, which some speculate could have an impact similar to that of the personal computer. In fact, new potential applications for 3D printers seem to be appearing every week.
Steven Easter and Jonathan Turman, two third-year engineering students at University of Virginia for the MITRE Corporation, a federally funded research and development center, designed and assembled the plane this summer. The result of their work is a 6.5-foot wingspan drone, entirely built with 3D-printed parts.
The students proved that 3D printing can bring manufacturing cost down and still deliver a quality product. "To make a plastic turbofan engine to scale five years ago would have taken two years, at a cost of about $250,000," David Sheffler, a U.Va. Engineering School alumnus and 20-year veteran of the aerospace industry who helped the two students, told UVAToday. "But with 3D printing, we designed and built it in four months for about $2,000."
What do you think of this exciting project? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
Image courtesy of University of Virginia. | <urn:uuid:35a2e525-f430-496e-96e8-008a1de914d6> | {
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One of my favourite stories is about slow elevators. As it is told, there was a co-op building in New York where tenants were complaining about slow elevators. Management considered all sorts of solutions including installing additional elevators or speeding up the existing ones until one day someone came up with the idea of putting mirrors beside the elevators so people would have something to do when waiting and then wouldn’t notice the slow service. Great lateral thinking.
Lateral thinking as defined by Wikipedia is “solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. The term was coined in 1967 by Edward de Bono.”
One of the best ways to innovate is using lateral thinking, so in order to get your innovative juices flowing I want you to solve the following puzzle. I’ll post the answer tomorrow in a reply to the blog in case you don’t get it.
A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so? | <urn:uuid:d9eee3fb-fe71-4c14-a9e9-7897e33a4a39> | {
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Search Loci: Convergence:
The Reader may here observe the Force of Numbers, which can be successfully applied, even to those things, which one would imagine are subject to no Rules. There are very few things which we know, which are not capable of being reduc'd to a Mathematical Reasoning; and when they cannot it's a sign our knowledge of them is very small and confus'd; and when a Mathematical Reasoning can be had it's as great a folly to make use of any other, as to grope for a thing in the dark, when you have a Candle standing by you.
Of the Laws of Chance (1692)
Georg Cantor at the Dawn of Point-Set Topology
A first course in point-set topology can be challenging for the student because of the abstract level of the material. In an attempt to mitigate this problem, we use the history of point-set topology to obtain natural motivation for the study of some key concepts. In this article, we study an 1872 paper by Georg Cantor. We will look at the problem Cantor was attempting to solve and see how the now familiar concepts of a point-set and derived set are natural answers to his question. We emphasize ways to utilize Cantor's methods in order to introduce point-set topology to students.
In his introduction to his book Introduction to Phenomenology , Msgr. Robert Sokolowski writes
As a philosopher, Msgr. Sokolowski is accustomed to the traditional methods of teaching philosophy to undergraduates – start with Plato, Aristotle and the other ancients, continue with developments through the Scholastic and Enlightenment eras, and then show how modern philosophy builds upon all that has gone before. He must be puzzled, then, by the lack of attention to the historical development of ideas that generally attends to the teaching of mathematics. He perceives that something important is missing, and he is correct.
In recent years, interest has grown considerably in developing an historical approach to the teaching of mathematics. Victor Katz has edited an anthology of articles giving different perspectives on the development of mathematics in general from an historical point of view . Some authors, such as Klyve, Stemkoski, and Tou, focus on one particular historical figure – in their case, Euler – important to the development of mathematics . There is also interest in the historical development of certain areas of mathematics commonly included in the undergraduate curriculum. Brian Hopkins has written a textbook introducing discrete mathematics from an historical point of view ; David Bressoud has written two textbooks that present analysis from an historical perspective (, ); and Adam Parker has compiled an original sources bibliography for ordinary differential equations instructors that contains many of the original papers in ODEs.
This is the first paper in a planned series that will outline ways to introduce point-set topology concepts motivated by their place in history. To borrow a phrase from David Bressoud, it is an "attempt to let history inform pedagogy" [2, p. vii]. A growing collection of the historic papers that are important to the development of point-set topology may be found on the author's web site.
This paper focuses on the seminal work of Georg Cantor (1845-1918), a German mathematician well-known for his contributions to the foundations of set theory, but whose contributions to point-set topology are not very well known. Cantor’s works are collected in . For complete biographical information, see Dauben’s definitive work .
Table Of Contents
Scoville, Nicholas, "Georg Cantor at the Dawn of Point-Set Topology," Loci (March 2012), DOI: 10.4169/loci003861 | <urn:uuid:1133c1bd-455a-4f42-be03-ecffa85e1482> | {
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Unitary Method Problem
Date: 02/01/99 at 19:13:36 From: Tamara Subject: A Unitary Method Problem Runts come in a carton. There are 8 packages in one carton. There are 3 boxes in each package. If there are 170 runts in one box, how many runts are there in 6 cartons?
Date: 03/01/99 at 17:48:36 From: Doctor Swiss Subject: Re: A Unitary Method Problem This can be a difficult question to take in all at once. The best way to approach it is to break it down into steps. The first step is to notice how runts, boxes, packages, and cartons are related. It might help to draw a diagram, like this one: 170 runts/box --> 3 boxes/package --> 8 packages/carton --> 6 cartons Just so you know, by runt/box, we mean runts in a box. Now you can see how everything is related, and you can also see the steps that you have to take. Now to find out the number of runts in 6 cartons, it would help us to see how many packages are in 6 cartons. Why? Well, once we know the number of packages in 6 cartons, we can find out the number of boxes in 6 cartons, and finally the number of runts in 6 cartons. So now we are trying to find the number of packages in 6 cartons. We know the number of packages on 1 carton is 8. What if we had 2 cartons? Then we would have 8 cartons from the first package and 8 from the second, for a total of 8 + 8 = 16. Note that this is also 8 * 2 = 16 cartons. Try this for 3 cartons. I hope you can see the jump and figure out that there are 8 * 6 packages in 6 cartons. You can repeat this process to find that there are 3 * 8 * 6 boxes in 6 cartons. You need one more step to find the number of runts in 6 cartons. It turns out that this problem is just one big multiplication problem. Please write back if you need more help or have any more questions. Good luck, - Doctors Swiss, Teeple, and Stacey, The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Search the Dr. Math Library:
Ask Dr. MathTM
© 1994-2013 The Math Forum | <urn:uuid:62fdfc79-523b-416e-907b-66a7613df15b> | {
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Tanzanian health care facilities offer all basic services, but shortage of commodities and poor infection control are major challenges
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. More than 70 percent of all health facilities in Tanzania offer a full range of basic health services. Curative care for sick children is almost universally available, and three in four services provide antenatal care and childbirth. At the same time, lack of running water and shortage of some types of medicines compromise the quality of care offered to children and adults. These problems are found nationwide, in both governmental and non-governmental facilities, and in all types of facilities, according to a new survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
While many critical gaps exist, the new study shows important strengths in Tanzania’s health care system. More than 70 percent of all health facilities in Tanzania offer a full range of basic health services, including child care, family planning, and treatment for infectious diseases. Curative care for sick children and for sexually transmitted infections is almost universally available in Tanzanian health facilities. Most hospitals and three-fourths of health centres offer 24-hour delivery services for pregnant women. Antenatal care (ANC) services are available in 4 out of 5 facilities, including almost all government facilities. And, nearly 60 percent of health facilities offer the full range of client comfort amenities: a protected waiting area; a basic level of cleanliness; and a functioning client latrine.
HIV services are available throughout Tanzania. About one in four health care facilities have an HIV counseling and testing system, and one in eight provides prevention of mother-to-child transmission services. Antiretroviral treatment is far less available, however, Nationwide, however, only 4 percent of all health facilities prescribe antiretroviral therapy.
Problems with infrastructure and infection control plague Tanzanian health care services. Only 33 percent of health care facilities in Tanzania, including half of all hospitals, have running water. Other items needed for infection control are also in short supply: one-third of facilities do not have soap; only half of facilities have latex gloves; and less than one-third has adequate systems for disposing of needles and infectious waste. These conditions endanger both staff and patients.
Stock outs of medicines and poor storage systems also affect patient care. While more than 90 percent of health facilities say they offer immunization services, only 74 percent had vaccines available at the time of the survey. Among these facilities, less than half have the necessary equipment for correct temperature monitoring, and about a third do not maintain the cold chain at all. Improper storage destroys the effectiveness of some vaccines, making them useless for disease prevention. Medicines to cure tuberculosis (TB) are available in only 60 percent of facilities following the national DOTS strategy (directly observed treatment short-course). Patients who do not take their TB drugs regularly run the risk of developing drug resistant and hard-to-cure strains of TB.
Insufficient counseling, not lack of drugs, is a problem in some services. For example, most facilities providing antenatal care had the antimalarial medicine for intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for pregnant women. However, less than one third of pregnant women were given the first IPT dose in the facility under the supervision of a provider, and less than 10 percent were advised to get the second dose. Similarly, only half of pregnant women were given a voucher for insecticide treated bed nets (ITN) and told about the importance of using ITNs regularly. Other critical issues were neglected in antenatal care (ANC) services. During more than 1,000 observed counseling sessions in ANC clinics, providers described the risk symptoms of pregnancy in only one-fourth of sessions and discussed nutrition in less than 20 percent.
The 2006 Tanzania Service Provision Assessment Survey (TSPA) was carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the United Republic of Tanzania. Macro International Inc. provided technical assistance through the worldwide MEASURE DHS project. The TSPA collected data from a nationally representative sample of 611 health facilities in Tanzania, covering all levels of facilities, from dispensaries to hospitals.
Funding for technical assistance was provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Local costs of the survey were financed entirely by the pooled fund of the Poverty Eradication Division (PED) in the Ministry of Planning, Economy and Empowerment.
Additional information about the 2006 TSPA may be obtained from the Macro International Inc. at 301-572-0931 or [email protected]. You may also contact the headquarters of the National Bureau of Statistics, Kivukoni Front, P.O. Box 796, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Telephone: (255) 22 212-2722/3, Fax: (255) 22 213-0852, e-mail: [email protected]. Information may also be obtained from http://www.nbs.go.tz/ | <urn:uuid:3f13605a-cb21-474a-a7b2-afc9facb291e> | {
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Seasonal Affective Disorder
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Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, winter blues, summer depression, summer blues, or seasonal depression, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or summer, spring or autumn year after year. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), SAD is not a unique mood disorder, but is "a specifier of major depression".
Although experts were initially skeptical, this condition is now recognized as a common disorder, with its prevalence in the U.S. ranging from 1.4 percent in Florida to 9.7 percent in New Hampshire.
The U.S. National Library of Medicine notes that "some people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change. They may sleep too much, have little energy, and may also feel depressed. Though symptoms can be severe, they usually clear up." The condition in the summer is often referred to as reverse seasonal affective disorder, and can also include heightened anxiety.
SAD was formally described and named in 1984 by Norman E. Rosenthal and colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health.
There are many different treatments for classic hormones (winter-based) seasonal affective disorder, including light therapy with sunlight or bright lights, antidepressant medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy, ionized-air administration, and carefully timed supplementation of the hormone melatonin.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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As the more accessible methods for micro energy (microwatt-hour to watt-hour) harvesting and storage become commercialized, the research community will focus on extremes in efficiency and cost breakthroughs and exploration of entirely new methods and applications. Make no mistake; there is plenty of exciting new ground to be covered! We will in this session profile the space of current and anticipated micro energy harvesting needs and approaches suitable for sensing, computing, and communications.
The Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center will conduct this afternoon- through- evening conference and reception at the Leeds Certified Green David Brower Center on the edge of the beautiful UC Berkeley campus on Wednesday March 9th.
Applications Drivers: Energy Consumption in Communicating Sensor Networks
Will radical reductions in power requirements of wireless radios and integrated sensors and processors make energy “harvesting” ubiquitous, or unnecessary? Application requirements, hardware trends, and protocol efficiency will be discussed in the context of energy harvesting solutions.
Advanced Sensing Technology for Harsh Environments
Present and future research directions for harsh environment telemetry will be discussed in this presentation. Using the application of sensors in geothermal power plants as a focus, a comprehensive research program will be described for the development of sensors, telemetry, energy harvesting, materials, packaging and bonding. Aluminum Nitride and Silicon Carbide material technologies (as well as other related material technologies) will be described.
Energy Harvesting and Sensing for the Power Grid
BSAC work on energy harvesting and wireless sensors for the Smart Grid will be discussed. The current situation of sparse deployment of expensive sensors for even basic electrical parameters and without ability to quickly locate faults, and with no way of predicting future faults will be addressed by these technologies. As renewable but rapidly fluctuating wind and solar power sources are connected, the sensing and actuation situation will become critical.
Small, hermetically sealed, meso-scale and MEMS-based lightweight sensors and scavengers with the goal of increase in the granularity of sensing and the controllability of our power grids. Some of these devices involve piezo-magnetic harvesting, MEMS-on-glass manufacture and packaging, and scavengers that draw the small amount of energy they need from the power lines themselves. They will include new methods for extending the usable life of piezoelectric members.
Cost Effective and Efficient Microphotovoltaics
Solar energy presents a viable candidate for fossil fuel replacement. In this regard, developing technologies for $1/W installed PV system is needed. The choice of materials and cell architecture, the cost and abundance of the raw materials, the component manufacturing costs, the cell design and framework, the capital cost, and the installation costs are all important contributing factors to the final cost. Although there is considerable current focus on the absorber materials and the required deposition processes, the rest of the cell, including transparent conductors, texturing, optical coatings, etc., and reliability are equally important. All of these are fundamentally materials related problems and progress requires an interdisciplinary approach drawing on materials science, chemistry, applied physics, mechanical and electrical engineering, however, significant challenges exist in developing efficient and low cost systems that are scalable to small formats and small capacities (micropower) as well as to commercial scale (kilowatts to megawatts).
Micro Energy Storage
Micro energy storage is indispensable for energy harvester systems. Energy generation from various resources is required to be stored and released when the power is needed. Two systems are commonly known in the macroscale systems: battery and supercapacitors. This talk will provide efforts in micro energy storage systems including high power density supercapacitors with high energy storage capability and nanostructure-based micro batteries.
Biologically-Inspired Scavenging Technologies
Recent developments focusing on two very different bio-inspired energy harvesting Microsystems will be discussed. The first, in collaboration with CFD Corporation, is a miniaturized electrochemical system for harvesting energy from an insect’s reactions with the sugar trehalose. The system is being designed to produce 100′s of uW’s in a compact footprint, suitable for powering instrumentation on a cyborg insect. A similar system is being studied for mammalian implants. The second topic will briefly discuss developments in the scavenging of power from evaporation and low pressure head flows, including our work on microscale boundary-layer turbines (so-called Tesla turbines), a topic which has applications beyond scavenging.
Panel and Mixing Reception
The topics are certain to generate interest if not some controversy among the audience and speakers. An extended reception and mixing event will allow continuation of the discussions and renewal of prior and establishment of new connections among practitioners, students, and investors of impacted applications.
Agenda and registration can be found here: http://bsac.berkeley.edu/events/8706520851/ | <urn:uuid:8f8d1471-a399-474c-8d92-8809bcb7cc82> | {
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A tree, usually growing in moist land, and belonging to the genus Alnus. The wood is used by turners, etc.; the bark by dyers and tanners. In the U. S. the species of alder are usually shrubs or small trees.
This wood is very durable in water and not so durable in dry conditions. Historically it was used a lot in pumps, piles and sluices.
Durable wood native to northern Europe which polishes to a flesh-colour, knotty finish. It is an easy wood to turn, and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for country furniture, occasionally for the turned members of Windsor chairs.
Hard, strong wood that seasons easily, works well, is easily stained to imitate walnut and mahogany. It has a maple-like figure
Leppä Al Alnus
(Alnus glutinosa) Orangey brown, turns and finishes well.
A druid sacred tree. A whistle made of Alder is the basis for the old superstition of whistling up the wind.
wood of any of various alder trees; resistant to underwater rot; used for bridges etc
north temperate shrubs or trees having toothed leaves and conelike fruit; bark is used in tanning and dyeing and the rot-resistant wood
a tree or a shrub, depending on which part of the world it's growing in
A hard strong wood resembling maple, easily stained to imitate darker woods.
Alnus Katsuratree Cercidiphyllum
a deciduous shrub or tree of the birch family, with toothed leaves, growing in a cool climate
Any shrub or small tree of the genus Alumnus, of the oak family.
a wood sometimes used in making chairs of common variety; it grows in England on swampy ground and is of orange yellow colour. The bark is used for dyeing.
Strong hard, wood similar to maple, readily accepts stains imitating darker woods.
Any of several species of large rough shrubs belonging to the genus Alnus. Two of the most common of North Woods shrubs are Green Alder ( Alnus crispa) and Speckled Alder ( Alnus incana). From the Old English alor,aler. Wadôp in the Ojibwe.
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants (Alnus) belonging to the birch family (Family Betulaceae). The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate zone, and in the New World also along the Andes southwards to Chile. The leaves are deciduous (not evergreen), alternate, simple, and serrated. | <urn:uuid:7697ac96-71d5-4019-aee5-1ce5e1b18258> | {
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The Hizen region of Kyūshū was the center of early porcelain production in Japan. Although many designs and wares made in Kyūshū were intended for export, works of Hizen ware known as the Nabeshima type were commissioned by the Nabeshima clan and produced at an exclusive kiln. A dish like this example would have been part of a dining service. These sets were frequently sent to the shogun in Edo (Tokyo) as an annual tribute. The cheerful design of jars on this dish features the bold, luminous colors and exacting standards characteristic of the high-quality porcelains produced at the Nabeshima kiln. | <urn:uuid:b4206ca6-ec07-45b3-bcf4-af89e2221f55> | {
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To the untrained ear, monkeys of a certain species may all sound the same, but Japanese researchers have found that, like human beings, they actually have an accent depending on where they live.
The finding, the first of its kind, will appear in the December edition of a German scientific journal, Ethology, to be published on December 5, the primate researchers said on Tuesday.
“Differences between chattering by monkeys are like dialects of human beings,” said Nobuo Masataka, professor of ethology at Kyoto University’s Primate Research Institute.
The research team analysed voice tones of two groups of the same species of primates, the Japanese Yakushima macaque—also known as Macaca fuscata yakui—between 1990 and 2000.
One group was formed by 23 monkeys living on the southern Japanese island of Yakushima, and the other group comprised 30 descendants from the same tribe moved from the island to Mount Ohira, central Japan, in 1956.
The result showed that the island group had a tone about 110 hertz higher on average than the one taken to central Japan.
Monkeys on Yakushima Island have an accent with a higher tone because tall trees on the island tend to block their voices, Masataka said.
“On the other hand, monkeys on Mount Ohira do not have to gibber with a high tone as trees there are low,” he said. “Each group adopted their own accent depending upon their environment.”
This suggests differences in voice tones are not caused by genes, Masataka said, adding the results “may lead to a clue to the origin of human language”.—Sapa-AFP. | <urn:uuid:6e3262b3-caff-4003-aa01-074966e946a6> | {
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After participating in this activity, students will be able to:
- Describe the difference between herbivores, carnivores, and producers.
- Answer questions about the interdependence of herbivores, carnivores, and producers as members of a food chain.
- Answer questions about how pollution affects food chains.
All living organisms depend on one another for food. By reviewing the relationships of organisms that feed on one another, students begin to see how all organisms—including humans—are linked. If students understand the relationships in a simple food chain, they will better understand the importance and sensitivity of these connections, and why changes to one part of the food chain almost always impact another.
A food chain is a simplified way to show the relationship of organisms that feed on each other. It’s helpful to classify animals in a simple food chain by what they eat, or where they get their energy.
Green plants, called producers, form the basis of the aquatic food chain. They get their energy from the sun and make their own food through photosynthesis. In the Great Lakes, producers can be microscopic phytoplankton (plant plankton), algae, aquatic plants like Elodea, or plants like cattails that emerge from the water’s surface.
Herbivores, such as ducks, small fish, and many species of zooplankton (animal plankton), eat plants. Carnivores (meat eaters) eat other animals and can be small (i.e, frog) or large (i.e, lake trout). Omnivores are animals (including humans) that eat both plants and animals. Each is an important part of the food chain.
In reality, food chains overlap at many points—because animals often feed on multiple species—forming complex food webs. Food web diagrams depict all feeding interactions among species in real communities. These complex diagrams often appear as intricate spider webs connecting the species. See: Unit 1, Lesson 2
This lesson demonstrates that changes in one part of a food chain or web may affect other parts, resulting in impacts on carnivores, herbivores, and eventually on producers. An example of this might be the harmful effects of pollution.
The point that should be made is that when something disrupts a food web, humans should try to understand and minimize the disturbance. Students should also come to recognize that humans, too, are part of this complex web of life. | <urn:uuid:f1baaba0-3e9a-4eb0-b405-df100ad85365> | {
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It's normal for some female monarchs to develop eggs in the winter along the Gulf coast,
south Atlantic coast and California coast even in locations where there is no milkweed. These females desperately want to find milkweed to lay their eggs on. Intentionally depriving them of milkweed (via cutting the milkweed down to the ground) will cause them alot of stress and they will end up dying without breeding. Providing these females with milkweed (any kind of milkweed) will give their offspring a chance to survive and contribute to the growth of future generations of monarchs.
Paradoxically, some of the same people who think its cruel for commercial butterfly breeders to ship monarchs to the northern states in the early Spring because there is no milkweed for them that early in the year, think its beneficial for home gardeners along the gulf coast to cut tropical milkweed to the ground in the late fall and winter even though the consequences are just as cruel: the females will frantically look for milkweed and die without breeding. Another irony is that far from harming the migratory instincts of the monarchs, the monarch migrations in Australia and New Zealand are actually 100% dependent on a evergreen tropical milkweed (Asclepias fruticosa) because that's the only kind of milkweed that grows at temperate zone latitudes in those countries. So monarch conservationists in those countries would never dream of cutting tropical milkweed down to the ground in the late fall and winter. | <urn:uuid:7cfa320e-a9c8-4f2e-bda0-09616f6e988c> | {
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A few months ago I read about a very simple but fun probability puzzle. Someone tells you:Try to solve it yourself. John Baez mentions that you would think or he would think that the information about Tuesday is irrelevant because the days of the week are independent of the sex and we only care about the latter.
“I have two children. At least one is a boy born on a Tuesday. [And if it were not the case, I would have told you.] What is the probability I have two boys?”
So you would think that there are 4 equally represented groups of 2-kid families, namely boy-boy, boy-girl, girl-boy, and girl-girl families where the two hyphenated words refer to the younger and older kid, respectively. Only the girl-girl families are eliminated, and 1 of the remaining 3 groups is a two-boy family, so the conditional probability is 1/3.
However, that's a wrong result. The information about the Tuesday actually does matter. Here's why:
In all families with exactly 2 children, one may label the children as the "younger" and "older" one, even if the difference is just in seconds.
Each kid may be born on any day and have any sex, so there are 14 equally likely possibilities for each child. The two children are independent (forget that the phenomenon of twins tends to increase the same-day pairs), so there are 14 x 14 possibilities for two kids. Each of these 14 x 14 possibilities is equally likely. So 1/196 of the world's families with exactly 2 kids fits each condition.
Among the 196 types of the families, how many of them contain at least one Tuesday son? Well, in 14 of them, the younger kid is a Tuesday son (the older one may be anything chosen from the 14 possibilities). In 14 other of them (the younger can be anything), the older one is a Tuesday son. However, I have counted the families with two Tuesday sons twice. So there are 14+14-1 = 27 possibilities among the 196 for which the condition "at least one kid is a Tuesday son" is satisfied.
This is the assumption which is a part of the calculation of the conditional probability. We need the other part, too. Among these 27/196 of the families, 13/196 of all families have two boys, by pure counting, so the result is
P = 13/27as the fraction of the families that satisfied the condition. Note that it is just slightly less than 1/2 = 13.5/27 i.e. much more than 1/3. I had to highlight the result because almost no one reads the full article and almost no one notices that the right results is neither 1/3 nor 1/2.
Indeed, the large difference of the right result from 1/3 appears because one de facto identifies one of the sons by mentioning that it is the kid from Tuesday. If you assumed there were infinitely many days in a week and you would take any family with at least one Tuesday kid, the "Tuesday" information would identify this kid completely (two Tuesday kids would be infinitesimally unlikely), and the question what is the probability of 2 sons would be reduced to the question what is the probability that the other, equally specific kid - the non-Tuesday kid - is male - which is of course 1/2.
I will discuss this "identification" and reasons why the result is close to 1/2 at the very end.
Indistinguishable kids' bound states
With kids that would satisfy the Bose or Fermi statistics, the counting would be different but equally straightforward. Instead of 14 x 14 = 196 possibilities, one has 14 x 15 / 2 = 105 for bosons (the symmetric triangle) and 14 x 13 / 2 = 91 (the antisymmetric triangle) for fermions. Among the 105 or 91 options, how many of them contain at least one Tuesday son? Well, in these two cases, we can't say which of them is older and younger: they're identical.
So if there is at least 1 Tuesday son, the number of states with at least 1 Tuesday son is 14 for the bosons - we can just create the other particle into the 1-particle state - or 13 for the fermions - we can also add the second creation operator, but with another Tuesday son, the state will vanish because of Pauli's exclusion principle.
Among these 14 or 13 states respectively, for bosons and fermions, 7 or 6 are two-son states, respectively. So the odds are 7/14 = 1/2 for the bosons and 6/13 for the fermions. Note that the bosons literally saturate the 1/2 bound while the fermions are just slightly below it.
Why not one third?
Finally, I want to comment on "why the information about Tuesday matters". If we sum up the probabilities for the problems where the son is born on Sunday, Monday... and up to Saturday, shouldn't we get the same result? And by symmetry, the result must be equal for all 7 days, so doesn't each term have to be 1/3?
The answer is that we can't add the probabilities in this way because the "at least one Monday son" etc. are assumptions, not propositions conditioned by these assumptions, and they're not disjoint. At any rate, the calculation is nonlinear because the conditional probabilities have the probability of the assumption in the denominator rather than the numerator, so you can't simply add the possibilities in any way.
The word term in the previous paragraph is therefore incorrect.
How and why 1/3 gets enhanced to nearly 1/2
If you were only told that "one of the kids is a boy", the mixed families would be overrepresented over the two-boy families by the 2-to-1 ratio because boy-girl and girl-boy families are as likely as boy-boy families; again, the kids notation is younger-older.
However, if you're told that "one of the kids is a Tuesday boy", this overrepresentation almost disappears. Why? Because 1/7 of the boy-girl and girl-boy families have a Tuesday boy. But (approximately) 2/7 of the boy-boy families have at least one Tuesday boy because each of these two boys has a chance to be born on Tuesday.
In this way, the boy-boy families (nearly) compensate the factor of two by which they were underrepresented relatively to the mixed families.
Bonus: this puzzle and crackpot Sean Carroll's misunderstanding of logic
This logical puzzle is actually a very precise pedagogical example showing what's wrong with the thinking of various people about the arrow of time. Some people - those who say that the information about Tuesday doesn't matter and who typically end up with the result 1/3 - think that
Prob(cond,any_day) = Prob(cond,Monday) + ... + Prob(cond,Sunday)where "cond" is an extra condition. So if we make a statement about a specific object and if this statement doesn't prefer any day of the week, then adding the information about "its" day of the week doesn't matter. It only reduces the probability by a factor of 7 if the probability is day-blind.
That's right for "conclusions" or "outcomes". However, the error that these people are making is that they think that this "additive" counting of the probabilities also holds for the probabilities of assumptions, i.e. probabilities of conditions in the conditional probability. But no such a linearity exists over there. Conditions (and initial states) don't follow the same maths as the outcomes (and final states)!
There is no condition-outcome or past-future symmetry in mathematical logic! That's why it matters for the probabilities whether the information about Tuesday is specified even though there is nothing special about Tuesday. | <urn:uuid:f41a2762-3903-4c42-a292-d7c0d70bff3d> | {
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Here are a few interesting facts I found while doing some health psychology study during the past week:
Men who understand others well which means being able to read their emotions are likely to be more socially successful and compete more successfully for females. Thus males may have pressures both to feel and not to feel...
Men inhibit expressions of fear and sadness more often whereas women are more likely to inhibit expressions of anger. How much gender differences in regulation of anger are not entirely clear though. Recent research has found that women express as much anger as men but only if the target of their anger is not present.
Females are more cognitively complex (the reason behind their attitudes are more logical and specific) than males but men and women in close relationships have similar cognitive complexity. We are drawn to people who are at the same level of cognitive complexity to us.
Research consistently finds that when people feel and act attractive, others are more likely to see them that way.
- From Psychology : Australian and New Zealand edition by Drew Westen, Lorelle Burton, Robin Kowalski | <urn:uuid:33a0f45c-21db-4685-9a83-d59ce490924c> | {
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Stop Saying This Is a Nation of Immigrants!
by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A nation of immigrants: This is a convenient myth developed as a response to the 1960s movements against colonialism, neocolonialism, and white supremacy. The ruling class and its brain trust offered multiculturalism, diversity, and affirmative action in response to demands for decolonization, justice, reparations, social equality, an end of imperialism, and the rewriting of history -- not to be "inclusive" -- but to be accurate. What emerged to replace the liberal melting pot idea and the nationalist triumphal interpretation of the "greatest country on earth and in history," was the "nation of immigrants" story.
By the 1980s, the "waves of immigrants" story even included the indigenous peoples who were so brutally displaced and murdered by settlers and armies, accepting the flawed "Bering Straits" theory of indigenous immigration some 12,000 years ago. Even at that time, the date was known to be wrong, there was evidence of indigenous presence in the Americas as far back as 50,000 years ago, and probably much longer, and entrance by many means across the Pacific and the Atlantic -- perhaps, as Vine Deloria jr. put it, footsteps by indigenous Americans to other continents will one day be acknowledged. But, the new official history texts claimed, the indigenous peoples were the "first immigrants." They were followed, it was said, by immigrants from England and Africans, then by Irish, and then by Chinese, Eastern and Southern Europeans, Russians, Japanese, and Mexicans. There were some objections from African Americans to referring to enslaved Africans hauled across the ocean in chains as "immigrants," but that has not deterred the "nation of immigrants" chorus.
Misrepresenting the process of European colonization of North America, making everyone an immigrant, serves to preserve the "official story" of a mostly benign and benevolent USA, and to mask the fact that the pre-US independence settlers, were, well, settlers, colonial setters, just as they were in Africa and India, or the Spanish in Central and South America. The United States was founded as a settler state, and an imperialistic one from its inception ("manifest destiny," of course). The settlers were English, Welsh, Scots, Scots-Irish, and German, not including the huge number of Africans who were not settlers. Another group of Europeans who arrived in the colonies also were not settlers or immigrants: the poor, indentured, convicted, criminalized, kidnapped from the working class (vagabonds and unemployed artificers), as Peter Linebaugh puts it, many of who opted to join indigenous communities.
Only beginning in the 1840s, with the influx of millions of Irish Catholics pushed out of Ireland by British policies, did what might be called "immigration" begin. The Irish were discriminated against cheap labor, not settlers. They were followed by the influx of other workers from Scandinavia, Eastern and Southern Europe, always more Irish, plus Chinese and Japanese, although Asian immigration was soon barred. Immigration laws were not even enacted until 1875 when the US Supreme Court declared the regulation of immigration a federal responsibility. The Immigration Service was established in 1891.
Buried beneath the tons of propaganda -- from the landing of the English "pilgrims" (fanatic Protestant Christian evangelicals) to James Fennimore Cooper's phenomenally popular "Last of the Mohicans" claiming "natural rights" to not only the indigenous peoples territories but also to the territories claimed by other European powers -- is the fact that the founding of the United States was a division of the Anglo empire, with the US becoming a parallel empire to Great Britain. From day one, as was specified in the Northwest Ordinance that preceded the US Constitution, the new republic for empire (as Jefferson called the US) envisioned the future shape of what is now the lower 48 states of the US. They drew up rough maps, specifying the first territory to conquer as the "Northwest Territory," ergo the title of the ordinance. That territory was the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes region, which was filled with indigenous farming communities.
Once the conquest of the "Northwest Territory" was accomplished through a combination of genocidal military campaigns and bringing in European settlers from the east, and the indigenous peoples moved south and north for protection into other indigenous territories, the republic for empire annexed Spanish Florida where runaway enslaved Africans and remnants of the indigenous communities that had escaped the Ohio carnage fought back during three major wars (Seminole wars) over two decades. In 1828, President Andrew Jackson (who had been a general leading the Seminole wars) pushed through the Indian Removal Act to force all the agricultural indigenous nations of the Southeast, from Georgia to the Mississippi River, to transfer to Oklahoma territory that had been gained through the "Louisiana Purchase" from France. Anglo settlers with enslaved Africans seized the indigenous agricultural lands for plantation agriculture in the Southern region. Many moved on into the Mexican province of Texas -- then came the US military invasion of Mexico in 1846, seizing Mexico City and forcing Mexico to give up its northern half through the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Texas were then opened to "legal" Anglo settlement, also legalizing those who had already settled illegally, and in Texas by force. The indigenous and the poor Mexican communities in the seized territory, such as the Apache, Navajo, and Comanche, resisted colonization, as they had resisted the Spanish empire, often by force of arms, for the next 40 years. The small class of Hispanic elites welcomed and collaborated with US occupation.
Are "immigrants" the appropriate designation for the indigenous peoples of North America? No.
Are "immigrants" the appropriate designation for enslaved Africans? No.
Are "immigrants" the appropriate designation for the original European settlers? No.
Are "immigrants" the appropriate designation for Mexicans who migrate for work to the United States? No. They are migrant workers crossing a border created by US military force. Many crossing that border now are also from Central America, from the small countries that were ravaged by US military intervention in the 1980s and who also have the right to make demands on the United States.
So, let's stop saying "this is a nation of immigrants."
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a long-time activist, university professor, and writer. In addition to numerous scholarly books and articles, she has written three historical memoirs, Red Dirt: Growing Up Okie (Verso, 1997), Outlaw Woman: Memoir of the War Years, 1960–1975 (City Lights, 2002), and Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra War (South End Press, 2005) about the 1980s contra war against the Sandinistas. | <urn:uuid:2e0b2022-f322-4028-ae56-009a3118dd1f> | {
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Rural/Urban Counties in North Carolina
Rural: The Rural Center serves 85 of the state's counties. Of these, 80 have an average population density of 250 per square mile or less, as of the 2010 Census. Five rural transitional counties have higher population densities but still retain significant rural characteristics.
Click on the image to enlarge. | <urn:uuid:e370c09b-376f-4486-90a2-18a3571b1649> | {
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Mathematician and physicist; b. at Perugia, Italy, 1577; d. at Rome, 1644. He was destined by his parents for the service of the Church and entered the Order of St. Benedict, at Monte Cassino. There he became abbot, and in 1640 he was transferred to the Abbey of San Benedetto Aloysio. He was specially interested in the mathematical sciences and their application to hydraulics. Galileo, his teacher, and Toricelli, one of his pupils, speak very highly of his scientific attainments, and both of them frequently asked his advice. In 1623 Urban VIII invited him to Rome and later appointed him chief mathematician to the pope and public professor of mathematics in the University of Rome. In 1625 he was sent with Monsignore Corsini to study the disorders occasioned by the waters of the Romagna, and to propose a remedy. Here he completed his important work on the "Mensuration of Running Water", in which he developed the important relations, that the speed of a current varies inversely as the area of its cross section, and that the discharge from a vessel depends on the depth of the tap below the free surface of the water. He was often consulted in other provinces of Italy in connexion with drainage, water-supply, prevention of floods, and the like.
His chief work is "Della misura dell'acqua corrente" (Rome, 1628; 3rd ed., 1660), translated into English by Salusbury (London, 1661), and into French by Saporta (1664), reprinted (Bologna, 1823) in Cardinali's collection "d'autori italiani che trattano del moto dell'acqua". Another work is "Risposta alle oppositioni del Sig. Lodvico, &c., contro al trattato del Sig. Galileo, Delle cose che stanno sopra acqua" (Bologna, 1655). According to Poggendorf, the invention of the helioscope is ascribed to him.
SALUSBURY, Math. Collections and Translations (London, 1661); La Grande Encycl., s.v.
APA citation. (1908). Benedetto Castelli. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03408d.htm
MLA citation. "Benedetto Castelli." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03408d.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas J. Bress.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads. | <urn:uuid:27cab94f-569e-4379-bfce-de02e7254a9d> | {
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5:30 pm to 6:30 pm
The paper examines how California Indians resisted the pull of assimilation to non-Indian culture and undermined the homogeneity of federal Indian citizenship policy in the early twentieth century. Prior to 1924, Indians wishing to become United States citizens had to first demonstrate their assimilation to American culture through the ownership and appropriate use of land. In this way, the Indian Office hoped to align the individual, functional relationship with the state to an affective sympathy with the collective national culture. But this paper provides two case studies of how Indians navigated the crosscurrents of federal Indian policy, leveraging citizenship and off-reservation employment to strengthen Indian communities.
AIS seminar papers are pre-circulated electronically two weeks prior to the seminar date. Email [email protected] to request a copy of the paper. Please do not request a paper unless you plan to attend. | <urn:uuid:d1904218-6f70-46af-b9d0-1393d5560f6e> | {
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By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News
The populations of the world's common birds are declining as a result of continued habitat loss, a global assessment has warned.
The survey by BirdLife International found that 45% of Europe's common birds had seen numbers fall, as had more than 80% of Australia's wading species.
The study's authors said governments were failing to fund their promises to halt biodiversity loss by 2010.
The findings will be presented at the group's World Conference in Argentina.
The State of the World's Birds 2008 report, the first update since 2004, found that common species - ones considered to be familiar in people's everyday lives - were declining in all parts of the world.
In Europe, an analysis of 124 species over a 26-year period revealed that 56 species had declined in 20 countries.
Farmland birds were worst affected, with the number of European turtle-doves (Streptopelia turtur) falling by 79%.
In Africa, birds of prey were experiencing "widespread decline" outside of protected areas. While in Asia, 62% of the continent's migratory water bird species were "declining or already extinct".
"For decades, people have been focusing their efforts on threatened birds," explained lead editor Ali Stattersfield, BirdLife International's head of science.
"But alongside this, we have been working to try to get a better understanding of what is going on in the countryside as a whole."
By consolidating data from various surveys, the team of researchers were able to identify trends affecting species around the world.
"It tells us that environmental degradation is having a huge impact - not just for birds, but for biodiversity as well," she told BBC News.
While well-known reasons, such as land-use changes and the intensive farming, were causes, Ms Stattersfield said that it was difficult to point the finger of blame at just one activity.
"The reasons are very complex," she explained. "For example, there have been reported declines of migratory species - particularly those on long-distance migrations between Europe and Africa.
"It is not just about understanding what is happening at breeding grounds, but also what is happening at the birds' wintering sites."
She said the findings highlighted the need to tackle conservation in a number of different ways.
"It is not enough to be looking at individual species or individual sites; we need to be looking at some of the policies and practices that affect our wider landscapes."
The global assessment also showed that rare birds were also continuing to be at risk.
One-in-eight of the world's birds - 1,226 species - was listed as being Threatened. Of these, 190 faced an imminent risk of extinction.
The white-rumped vulture, a once common sight in India, has seen its population crash by 99.9% in recent years.
An anti-inflammatory drug for cattle, called diclofenac, has been blamed for poisoning the birds, which eat the carcasses of the dead livestock.
"That has been a really shocking story," Ms Stattersfield said.
The world is failing in its 2010 pledge to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biodiversity
Dr Mike Rand,
BirdLife International's CEO
"Four years ago, we were not even sure what was responsible for the dramatic declines. It happened so suddenly, people were not prepared for it.
"Since then, the basis for the decline is well understood and measures are being taken to remove diclofenac from veterinary use in India.
"However, it is still available for sale and there still needs to be a lot more work to communicate the problem at a local level.
"But it demonstrates that we can get to the bottom of the reasons behind declines."
The plight of albatrosses becoming entangled in long-line fishing tackle has also been the subject of sustained campaigning, attracting high-profile supporters such as Prince Charles and yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur.
About 100,000 of the slow-breeding birds are estimated to drown each year as a result of being caught on the lines' fish hooks.
But fisheries in a growing number of regions are now introducing measures to minimise the risk to albatrosses.
Ms Stattersfield said these examples showed that concerted effort could investigate and identify what was adversely affecting bird populations.
But she quickly added that prevention was always better than finding a cure.
"We don't want to have to react to problems that come about from bad practice.
"What we are trying to do with this report is to be as clear as possible about what are the underlying causes, and then present a range of conservation measures that can preserve birds and biodiversity."
BirdLife International will use the report, which is being published at its week-long World Conference in Buenos Aires and on the group's website, to call for governments to make more funds available for global conservation.
"Effective biodiversity conservation is easily affordable, requiring relatively trivial sums at the scale of the global economy," said Dr Mike Rands, BirdLife's chief executive.
He estimated that safeguarding 90% of Africa's biodiversity would cost less than US $1bn (£500m) a year.
"The world is failing in its 2010 pledge to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biodiversity," he warned.
"The challenge is to harness international biodiversity commitments and that concrete actions are taken now." | <urn:uuid:73f989c0-8fdf-4b9b-88c7-3308c8965da8> | {
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Despite their collective efficiency and order, beehives are often plagued by scourges that would rival a medieval city. Varroa mites, deformed wing virus, and intestinal fungi are just a few of the worst. Now researchers have identified a new enemy that ought to strike fear in the hearts of honey bees: A tiny fly that lays its eggs in the bee abdomen, giving rise to maggots that wiggle out near the victim's head. So far, the infection rate does not appear to be high enough to cause problems for hives, but experts are casting a wary eye on the fly. "It's certainly worth a lot more attention," says Dennis vanEngelsdorp of the University of Maryland, College Park.
The parasitism was discovered by accident. In 2008, John Hafernik, an entomologist at San Francisco State University in California, was looking for insects to feed to praying mantises he had collected for a class. He scooped up some dead honey bees that were lying under a light outside his building on campus and left several of the corpses in a vial on his desk. About a week later, Hafernik noticed maggots in the vial. "I knew there was something strange going on," he recalls. After the maggots matured into flies, entomologist Brian Brown from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in California identified the insects as Apocephalus borealis, a kind of scuttle fly. The flies are native to North America and were known to parasitize bumble bees, but they had not been seen afflicting honey bees.
When Hafernik and his students collected more dead bees under the light outside the building, they found that the vast majority had been parasitized by the scuttle fly. In a clear plastic box in the lab, they observed the flies chasing live honey bees and laying eggs in them. After a week, up to a dozen larvae squirmed out near the bee's head. In the wild, as the larvae grow inside them, infected bees abandon the hive at night, head for bright lights, and then die stumbling on the ground.
The problem was not unique to the campus; the researchers found fly-parasitized bees in three out of four honey bee hives sampled in the San Francisco Bay Area, they report online today in PLoS ONE. The good news is that when Hafernik's group examined a hive that had been set up near the entomology building a few years ago, only about 5% to 15% of the forager bees were infected—not a level that would threaten the hive. For individual bees, of course, being parasitized is bad news. "It's a death sentence," Hafernik says. "We don't find bees that are surviving." In addition, the flies appear to be able to transmit deformed wing virus, which is fatal, and the deadly fungus Nosema ceranae, which causes bee diarrhea.
It's not clear when or how the fly might have jumped from bumble bees to honey bees. Because the fly is present across the continent, the next step is to figure out where it is parasitizing honey bees. DNA analysis of commercial hive samples suggests that the flies are present in South Dakota and the Central Valley of California. (Honey bees are trucked between these two locations.) The distribution of the flies in Europe or Asia is unknown. "Extensive surveys are now needed on the distribution of the flies in the global honey bee population," says bee pathologist Elke Genersch of the Institute for Bee Research in Hohen Neuendorf, Germany, who was not involved in the study.
The parasites conceivably might play a role in colony collapse disorder (CCD), the sudden abandonment that has been resulting in the loss of 7% of hives a year in the United States. "Anything that further stresses the bee population and increases bee losses can contribute to CCD," says Eric Mussen of the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study. But given the infection rate observed in the San Francisco State University hive, the parasite "does not appear to be a dominant factor," he says. The situation could change if the flies are able to reproduce within bee hives and thus easily parasitize many bees, Genersch says. "Such a high host density might allow the fly population to explode." | <urn:uuid:b3b1b38c-5c83-4b55-ba48-24971aa87ed5> | {
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Will The Earth Stop Rotating?
Date: 1999 - 2000
Will the earth stop rotating?
Yes, but not for a long long long time. (If I remember correctly, it is
currently slowing down by about half a second per century.) As the
earth rotates it gets stretched and squeezed by tidal forces. The
energy required to do this work comes from the earth's rotation.
The simple answer to this is No.
It is believed that the Earth's day will be twice as long as it is now, in
about 5 thousand million years time, but there is too much momentum in the
Earth to stop it from rotating.
By the way, at the moment the Earth is rotating its fastest since the late
1920s, having lost approximately 0.63 milliseconds per day in the last 12
months (to June 28, 2001) against atomic time, based on preliminary
International Earth Rotation Service data; compared with 3.13 milliseconds
per day in 1972, and 3.89 milliseconds per day in 1912. The Earth GAINED on
atomic time in 1929 by 0.35 ms/day.
Because of tidal friction.... yes it will. In fact, it is slowing as
we ride on it now. Actually, it will not stop, but rather the period of
rotation will equal its period of revolution. I do not have the number
at hand, but I seem to recall that each (solar) year is .00024 seconds
slower than the year one century earlier. The number may not be
correct, but the concept is. In the same way that the moon has rotates
around the earth, the earth will eventually rotate around the sun... if
the sun does not supernova first!
There is a small tidal drag on the earth caused by the gravitational
forces of the moon and sun which have a small effect on the earth's
rotation, but the effect, while measurable, is exceedingly small. On the
other hand, the reason the moon always presents the same face to the earth
it is believed was caused by tidal drag of the earth on the moon, which is
much greater because the mass of the moon is so much smaller than that of
Click here to return to the Astronomy Archives
Update: June 2012 | <urn:uuid:04155edf-d0d0-4ea6-b914-a10ba3c95a22> | {
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POTSDAM – Clarkson University's Egon Matijevic, the Victor K. LaMer Professor of Colloid and Surface Science, and Evgeny Katz, the Milton Kerker Chair in Colloid Science, are listed in the H-index of living scientists.
The H-index attempts to measure both the scientific productivity and the apparent scientific impact of a scientist. The index is based on the set of the scientist's most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other people's publications.
At ranking #218, Matijevic, with an H of 69, has published 69 papers (among total 575 papers), which have each received at least 69 citations.
At ranking #380, Katz, with an H of 60, has published 60 papers (among more than 300 papers), which have each received at least 60 citations.
It should be noted that this listed of the most-cited chemists totals only 587 worldwide with the two Clarkson's professors among them.
The index was suggested by physicist Jorge E. Hirsch as a tool for determining quality of scientific publications of a person and is sometimes called the Hirsch index or Hirsch number.
The purpose of this index is similar to the popular impact factor, which is used to rank the quality of scientific journals, but it is applied to a person. The definition of the H-index and the explanations of its importance can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-index .
The latest list, compiled by Henry Schaefer of the University of Georgia, together with colleague Amy Peterson, was updated in November 2010 and can be found at http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/news/2007/april/23040701.asp . | <urn:uuid:6b516f10-5fba-48e2-becb-5f22679422f5> | {
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Formatting marks in a Word document.
Imagine that you have typed a few paragraphs. The paragraphs seem very far apart, and the second paragraph starts farther to the right than the first paragraph.
You can see what's going on in your document by looking at the formatting marks that Word automatically inserts as you type. These marks are always in documents, but they are invisible to you until you display them.
For example, a dot appears every time you press the SPACEBAR, such as between words. One dot is one space; two dots are two spaces, and so on. Normally there should be one space between each word.
Word inserts a paragraph mark ( ) each time you press ENTER to start a new paragraph. In the picture, there are two paragraph marks between the two paragraphs, which means that ENTER was pressed twice. This creates extra space between paragraphs.
One arrow ( ) appears each time TAB is pressed. In the picture there is one arrow before the first paragraph and two arrows before the second paragraph, so TAB was pressed twice in the second paragraph.
To see formatting marks, go to the ribbon, at the top of the window. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Show/Hide button ( ). Click the button again to hide formatting marks.
Note: These marks are just for show. They won't be on printed pages, even when you see them on the screen. | <urn:uuid:19ad7cec-3621-445b-88be-076ef3743391> | {
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From Ohio History Central
The Progressive Movement was a widespread reform effort to cure the many social and political ills in America after the advent of the Industrial Revolution.
During the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, the United States of America underwent tremendous change. One of the principal changes was the shift from a predominantly agricultural economy to a much more industrialized one. This change also brought stark social changes to the United States. Now millions of Americans relied on other people -- business owners -- for their livelihood. Oftentimes, the employers reinvested profits back into the company, rather than paying workers a fair wage. These business owners also had tremendous power within the federal government. Many Americans believed that the business owners had undue influence over the government and that the employers had no desire to relinquish any power to middle and working-class Americans.
By the 1890s, a group of reformers, known as the Progressives, emerged to combat some of the ill effects of these changes. Most Progressives came from middle-class backgrounds. Many of them were college educated. Progressives generally believed that industrialization was good for the United States, but they also contended that human greed had overcome industrialization's more positive effects. They hoped to instill in Americans moral values based upon Protestant religious beliefs. The Progressives wanted employers to treat their workers as the bosses wanted to be treated. They also hoped that, if working conditions improved, Americans would not engage in immoral activities, like drinking and gambling, to forget the difficulties that they faced.
Progressives sought better pay, safer working conditions, shorter hours, and increased benefits for workers. Believing that only education would allow Americans to lead successful lives, Progressives opposed child labor, wanting children to attend school rather than working in mines and factories. They supported Prohibition and succeeded in enacting a ban on the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol with the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1919. Progressives also sought to reclaim government from the business owners and corrupt politicians partly by supporting the direct election by the people of United States Senators. The Progressives succeeded in attaining this reform with the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1913. Other reforms included Initiative, which allowed voters to pass legislation on their own, Referendum, which allowed voters to repeal laws that they did not support, and Recall, which allowed voters to remove elected officials from office. Many Progressives supported women's suffrage, helping women secure the right to vote through the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1919. Progressives also battled against city bosses, including Cincinnati, Ohio's George Cox, by hiring city managers.
While Progressives enacted numerous positive reforms, some of their goals were questionable. They did seek to make the United States government more democratic and to protect American workers, but they also sought to force their social and political beliefs on others. Progressives opposed immigration and enacted several immigration restrictions during the 1920s. Progressives also tried to force immigrants to adopt Progressive moral beliefs. One way they tried to accomplish this was through settlement houses. Settlement houses existed in most major cities during the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. They were places where immigrants could go to receive free food, clothing, job training, and educational classes. While all of these items greatly helped immigrants, Progressives also used the settlement houses to convince immigrants to adopt "American" or Progressive beliefs, causing the foreigners to forsake their own culture. During the 1920s, many Progressives also joined the Ku Klux Klan, a self-proclaimed religious group that was to enforce morality -- based on Progressive beliefs -- on other people. Due to such the Progressives' participation in Prohibition, the Ku Klux Klan, and immigration restrictions, many Americans stopped supporting the Progressive Movement. While aspects of its beliefs remain today, as a functioning and clearly identifiable group, the Progressive Movement began to weaken by the late 1920s and the early 1930s. | <urn:uuid:e9660ef2-5da1-41fd-903e-62e73e7d71ca> | {
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What is OPEC?
OPEC is an acronym for Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC was formed in 1960 in Baghdad, Iraq with five founding member countries. Currently OPEC is a cartel composed of 11
oil producing countries. Current member countries include: Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC's stated purpose is said to serve three main functions:
- Help stabilize world oil prices
- Ensure oil producers achieve a reasonable rate of return on production
- Ensure a stable supply of crude oil for consumer use. OPEC has a current goal of $27 US per barrel of oil.
How much crude oil do the OPEC countries produce?
Collectively these countries hold approximately 77% of known world crude oil reserves.
In terms of daily crude oil production OPEC countries currently produce about 41% (24.2 million barrels per day) of the world's crude oil. The oil exported by the OPEC countries accounts for 55% of all oil traded internationally. OPEC countries also represent about 15% of
total world natural gas production.
How does OPEC set oil prices?
OPEC does not "set" oil prices. OPEC manipulates the free market price of crude oil by setting caps on the oil production of its member countries. Twice each year, ministers from each OPEC country meet
in Vienna, Austria to review the status of the international oil market and to forecast the future oil demands in order to agree upon an appropriate crude oil production level. | <urn:uuid:59656bb5-8c00-49fc-a789-775c1d020d7c> | {
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Exposure to violent video games. A failure to take medication to treat mental illness or a development disorder. Access to assault weapons. And is it time to profile White males?
These issues and questions have been raised in the aftermath of one of the worst mass shootings in modern American history. A week ago, 20-year-old Adam Lanza went on a shooting rampage, killing 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where he lived with his mother, Nancy, whom he also killed. He pumped several bullets in her head before heading out of the door and turning the gun on himself at the school after the shootings.
While it’s difficult to know Lanza’s mental state and what steps his mother took to seek treatment for him, experts are weighing in based on what they know from news reports of interviews with neighbors and people in the community who say he was in need of mental health treatment.
“Most children who play violent video games do not commit crimes or violent acts,” Jeff Gardere, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of behavioral medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, told NewsOne. “But some youth can be at risk for violence if there is mental illness and an oversaturation of violent video gaming, according to some studies. There have been studies showing a link between violent gaming and acting out because these kids become desensitized. The answer is about parents finding the proper balance and not allowing the child to isolate.”
Law enforcement authorities are still trying to piece together what led to the horrific crime in which Lanza, known as withdrawn and anti-social, used high-powered weapons obtained from his mother. She reportedly took him to shooting ranges and the three weapons, including a Bushmaster rifle, used in the attack were all legal. The shooting prompted President Barack Obama to appoint Vice President Joe Biden to push to strengthen gun laws.
Lanza was reportedly isolated and spent hours in a windowless basement den, playing violent video games, which has caused speculation about the desensitization to violence. And some reports have emerged that Nancy Lanza was preparing to commit her son to a psychiatric facility for treatment of Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, and unspecified mental health issues.
Experts say she took the right steps, but his problems reportedly went on for a while. Mental health experts suggest that parents seek help immediately if a teen or young adult shows signs of trouble, including antisocial behavior, chronic defiance, harms self or destroys property of others, and engages in criminal behavior, according to a report on Yahoo.
“This is not just about mental health,” Gardere said. “It’s certainly not just about gun control, but I think a combination of both those things. We’re going to have to reform gun laws, but we also have to look at the fact that we have a serious hole in the mental health procedures and entitlement parities as they stand today.”
Overall, the nation faces a treatment problem for young males, who are at the onset of severe mental illness, including schizophrenia, paranoid schizophrenia, extreme rage and severe personality disorders, including schizoid or schizotypal or even some sort of conduct disorder that may turn into something pathological, Gardere said. | <urn:uuid:86a7ee5f-0dbf-4ccd-8d23-06f05bbbd795> | {
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By JOE COCHRANE
A 19th-century warehouse that lies off the main square of Jakarta's Dutch Batavia quarter once held supplies for the needs of traders, seamen, colonial civil servants and foreign adventurers.
Today, inside the terra-cotta colored building, giant trees stretch more than 20 meters into the air through a caved-in roof. What were once wooden floors in the 400-square-meter dwelling are now uneven hills of dirt and debris that has fallen into the gutted-out structure for more than half a century.
The shop house's owner is Ella Ubaidi, leader of a local conservation group. She bought the building several years ago and has plans to restore it to its former glory. But Ms. Ubaidi, an Indonesian who has a Dutch grandmother, says she won't act until a comprehensive revitalization program for the Batavia quarter gets underway.
Also known as "Kota Tua" or the Old Town, Batavia is an 87-hectare neighborhood of centuries-old colonial buildings that are abandoned and steadily decaying into ruins.
"Twenty-five years ago, Amsterdam was crumbling. So a Dutch company bought the [old] buildings, developed them and rented them out," Ms. Ubaidi says. "We need that model here."
The first Dutch sailing fleet arrived in Jakarta in 1607, and in the ensuing decades the Dutch built a trading post in the city. During its economic peak in the 1650s, Batavia was where the Dutch East India Company, or Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, ran its spice trade of cloves, pepper and nutmeg and administered one of Europe's most-envied colonial possessions. Surrounded by Batavia's high walls that kept out hostile local tribes and invading Central Javanese armies, traders, merchants, bankers, civil servants, engineers, soldiers, plantation operators and tax collectors worked here through the 17th and into the 18th centuries. Around the main square, known as Taman Fatahillah, there were packed warehouses, busy trading houses, Dutch administrative offices, a church, and ale houses that served warm beer amid the tropical heat.
Batavia was in decline in the mid-1700s and by the 1770s was nearly a ghost town. The city had become overcrowded, its rivers packed with garbage, and diseases such as dysentery and dengue fever were rife. By the 20th century, it was a shadow of its former self. Today, Central Jakarta lies several miles inland, surrounded by high-rise office buildings and outlandish upscale shopping malls, while the capital's main port lies eight kilometers to the east of the old Dutch quarter.
The fact that Batavia lies in an area where demand for commercial property is low may have saved it from the wrecking ball, unlike colonial Asian buildings in Hong Kong, Singapore, Hanoi and Shanghai. In today's Batavia, there are preserved buildings with original stain-glass windows, and arched bridges over Dutch-built canals and waterways. But aside from one restaurant and a few museums—a karaoke bar and pool hall recently closed—the area is neglected.
Jakarta Gov. Fauzi Bowo, who as a boy played in Batavia's dusty streets, is trying to become the first city leader since the 1970s to make economic use of its past. In 2008, his office drafted a new revitalization master plan for Batavia — the ninth since 1991. Taman Fatahillah square and its surrounding area were closed to traffic, and jackhammers tore up the old pavement. New cobblestones, a new drainage system and ground lighting were installed at a cost of $5 million.
The square buzzes with life during daylight hours, hosting weekend music concerts, cultural exhibits and historic walking and bicycle tours. Foreign and local tourists roll off of buses to walk through the dungeons of the old city hall, which was built in 1710 and is now a museum. The square is also a favorite spot for young couples to do pre-wedding photo shoots. Café Batavia, which opened in 1993 inside a 19th-century restored warehouse, has become a must for new Jakarta expatriates and foreign visitors.
But beyond the main square, nearly all of the 59 colonial-era buildings surrounding it remain empty and unused. Some are occupied by squatters while others are literally falling apart, like the Jasindo Building, built in 1912, which in March saw two-thirds of its roof collapse. When the sun goes down, affluent city residents scurry home, and squatters, beggars and garbage scavengers come out and occupy the streets and the main square.
"The city did what they could do, but it didn't bring any change because there is no economic activity," Ms. Ubaidi says. "Starbucks could consider opening an outlet if it gets traffic. But if people hanging out at night only spend 10,000 rupiah ($1.17), who will invest?"
The main obstacle to revitalizing Batavia, according to local officials and conservationists, is that about half of the historic buildings surrounding Taman Fatahillah are owned by the Indonesian government. Current state regulations restrict them being leased for commercial use. With so many other problems to be solved, there's not much appetite among some locals for tackling this heritage issue.
"Conservation is still the idea of the elites, not the general public," says Mohammad Danisworo, chairman of the Center for Urban Design Studies in Bandung, West Java, and an adviser to five Jakarta governors. "Batavia is not their history. It's the Dutch history."
The Jakarta Governor's Office and national Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises have a vague agreement on leasing out the buildings for private commercial use as well as public use, including restoring a building for a satellite campus of the Jakarta Arts Institute. Gatut Dwihastoro, the new head of a city government redevelopment unit for Batavia, said he remains hopeful that the Jakarta city administration and national government will finally implement their agreement so the buildings can be saved and turned into privately run shops, restaurants, galleries, and wine bars.
"I will not give up," he said.
Ms. Ubaidi, meanwhile, is considering renovating the front porch of her 19th-century warehouse to turn it into a hangout lounge with free Wi-Fi and soft drinks."I'm curious to see what happens, what the impact is," she says. "Somebody has to start to think about how to take those abandoned buildings and make the area alive." | <urn:uuid:8eb1845f-171f-46c2-a195-833d20b72495> | {
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A rollover is a type of vehicle accident, where a vehicle turns over on its side or roof. Such accidents have a tendency to badly injure the occupants of the vehicle, car, bus or truck involved and those around the vehicle. While many auto accidents occur because of human error, many also can be caused or worsened by defective products or inadequate safety mechanisms. Among these problems are vehicles that are prone to rollovers, especially increasingly popular sport utility vehicles, or SUVs. A number of vehicles have also been found to have roofs that cannot withstand rollover accidents, with drivers and passengers injured and killed. People who are injured in rollover accidents may be compensated for their injury, lost income, and pain and suffering. | <urn:uuid:f6915fc3-4a10-4734-98a4-f7ddb55f95b1> | {
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Using OpenMP - The Book and Examples
Use this forum to discuss the book: Using OpenMP- Portable Shared Memory Parallel Programming
by Barbara Chapman, Gabriele Jost and Ruud van der Pashttp://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11387
The sources are available as a free download under the BSD license. Each source comes with a copy of the license. Please do not remove this.
You are encouraged to try out these examples and perhaps use them as a starting point to better understand and perhaps further explore OpenMP.
Each source file constitutes a full working program. Other than a compiler and run time environment to support OpenMP, nothing else is needed.
With the exception of one example, there are no source code comments. Not only are these examples very straightforward, they are also discussed in the above mentioned book.
As a courtesy, each source directory has a make file called "Makefile". This file can be used to build and run the examples in the specific directory.
Before you do so, you need to activate the appropriate include line in file Makefile. There are include files for several compilers and Unix based Operating Systems (Linux, Solaris and Mac OS to precise). These files have been put together on a best effort basis.
The User's Guide that is bundled with the examples explains this in more detail.
Please post your feedback about the book and/or these examples to this forum. | <urn:uuid:cdc62d61-188b-4a3a-9317-ec4f7188eca6> | {
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- Proton Transfer Networks and the Mechanism of Long Range Proton Transfer in Proteins (2010)
- The main energy providing reaction systems in living cells, for example the photosynthesis or the respiratory chain, are based on long range proton transfer (LRPT) reactions. Even since these LRPT reactions have been heavily investigated in the last decades, the mechanism of these reactions is still not completely understood. The reaction kinetics of the LRPT are under heavy discussion and it is not clear, whether the reorientation of the hydrogen bond network (HBN)or the electrostatic barrier for the charge transfer is rate limiting. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the dynamics of chemical reactions inside of proteins, focused on long range proton transfer reactions. Electron transfer reactions, rotations of water molecules or conformational changes of the protein are also considered. The developed sequential dynamical Monte Carlo (SDMC) method is applicable to almost all kinds of chemical reactions. For all proton transfer reactions, the HBN of a protein plays a major role. Protons are transferred along such hydrogen bonds. Therefore, knowledge about the hydrogen bond network of a protein is crucial for the simulation of LRPT systems. The HBN can be calculated from the protein structure and the rotational state of the amino acid side chains. The reaction rate can be calculated from the electrostatic energies of the participating proton donor and acceptor groups. These two criteria are combined for the decision if a proton transfer between two molecules is possible and how fast this transfer would happen. While the calculation of electrostatic energies of protonatable amino acid side chains or relevant cofactors in proteins (among them also water molecules) is already solved - implemented in various programs - the remaining tasks - calculating the hydrogen bond network followed by calculating the reaction rates - were solved during this work. Before the hydrogen bond network and the electrostatic energies could be calculated, the lack of water positions in many available crystallographically resolved protein structures made it necessary to develop an algorithm to detect internal cavities in proteins and fill these cavities with water molecules. The derived water positions could be included in the electrostatic calculations as well as in the calculation of the HBN. The simulation of the LRPT in Gramicidin A (gA) compared to experimental data of the proton transfer in this polypeptide showed the possibilities of the simulation of the LRPT by the SDMC algorithm. The promising results encouraged us to investigate the mechanism of the LRPT, especially, if the reorientation of the HBN or the electrostatic energy barrier of the charge transfer is rate limiting for the LRPT. The results indicate, that both effects influence the LRPT and none of them is exclusively responsible for the LRPT rate. Further analysis of the hydrogen bond network topology showed that graph algorithms can be used to analyze these networks. Hydrogen bond networks can be clustered into regions which are close connected to each other. On the other hand, residues connecting two or more of these densely connected regions might play an important role for proton transfer pathways since a loss of such residues cuts a proton transfer pathway. A comparison of an analysis of the HBN topology of the photosynthetic reaction center with mutation studies of the same system showed, that residues identified as important for proton transfer by the mutation studies are identified as connection points between clusters by the network analysis. The developed algorithms together with the introduction of a new method for the simulation of the LRPT process (SDMC) improved the picture of the proton transfer processes in proteins. Starting from the protein structure, the developed algorithms cover all steps from the detection of protein cavities, the placement of water molecules in these cavities, the calculation and analysis of the hydrogen bond network, the simulation of the LRPT and the investigation of the reaction kinetics. The analysis of the HBN by graph theoretical methods gives further insight into the HBN topology and identifies residues important for proton transfer pathways and therefore important for the protein activity. | <urn:uuid:cbeab5a9-e536-47d2-b7fd-955b6995c01d> | {
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An Analysis of the Classic Arctic Outbreak Event of Late December 2008-Early January 2009
By Christian M. Cassell
Stratospheric Role |
The 2008-2009 winter was characterized by colder than normal temperatures and above normal snowfall for each month from October through March. While there was no one significant snow event that overshadowed any other this past winter, a bitterly cold Arctic outbreak that persisted for more than two weeks brought the coldest temperatures in a decade to the Anchorage area, and grabbed headlines around the world for extreme cold in interior parts of the state. This analysis will show how the outbreak developed and how it was able to persist for a prolonged period of time.
*-Indicates a record low value for that particular date.
1. Summary of temperatures and records from the outbreak
The following chart is a breakdown of temperatures and extremes at Anchorage during the two week Arctic outbreak.
**-Indicates tying or setting of the lowest temperature of this decade (2000-2009).
Though it is arbitrary as to when the outbreak began and ended based on the numbers, the temperature at Anchorage dropped below zero degrees during the evening hours of December 29th, and remained below zero until January 8th except for a one-hour period during the afternoon of January 5th when the temperature managed to make it to 0.4 degrees briefly during the mid afternoon hours. This represented the longest streak of sub-zero days since 30 January . 5 February 1999.
Additionally, the eleven-day streak (29 Dec . 8 Jan) with the minimum temperature falling to
-10 degrees or lower from the official reporting station at the National Weather Service office on Sand Lake Road was the longest such streak since 17-29 December 1961. Therefore, while there were no record low minimum temperature values set at the official temperature station in Anchorage, the duration of the cold in terms of minimum temperatures at or below -10 degrees was the longest such stretch in 47 years.
Go to next page
Stratospheric Role | | <urn:uuid:9aae393d-86f4-4331-b269-7344c5e77b24> | {
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Quebec City is divided into six arrondissements or boroughs. These boroughs are the result of several waves of amalgamation and reorganization of the political boundaries of Quebec City. Most of the land area of the current city From 2002 to 2009 there were eight boroughs. Prior to the 197s
The six boroughs are further divided into 36 quartiers ("neighbourhoods"), which are numbered instead of named.
Until October 31, 2009, the city had eight boroughs: La Cité, Les Rivières, Sainte-Foy—Sillery, Charlesbourg, Beauport, Limoilou, La Haute-Saint-Charles and Laurentien. The boroughs of La Cité and Limoilou were merged on November 1, while the borough of Laurentien was dissolved and divided between Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge and La Haute-Saint-Charles. | <urn:uuid:1f96f659-cb85-4443-a6b1-e87411a7358d> | {
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The history and tradition of Patna go back to the earliest dawn of civilization. The original name of Patna was Pataliputra or Patalipattan and its history makes a start from the century 600 B.C. The name Patna has undergone many changes at its earliest stages like Pataligram, Kusumpur,Patliputra, Azimabad etc., ultimately terminating to the present one. Chandragupta Maurya made it his capital in the 4th century A.D. Thereafter the city lost its importance until Sherkhan Suri rose into power in the early 16th century A.D. Another version that comes to focus is that there existed a village named Pattan or Patthan, which later turned into Patna.It has been said that Pataliputra was founded by Ajatashatru. Patna, therefore, has become inextricably bound up with the ancient Pataliputra. The ancient village was named ‘Patali’ and the word ‘Pattan’ was added to it. Greek history mentions ‘Palibothra’ which perhaps is Pataliputra itself.
Ajatashatru had to adopt certain security measures in order to protect Patna from the repeated Lichchavi invasions. He had got a natural riverine fort protected by three rivers. Ajatashatru’s son had moved his capital from Rajagriha to Pataliputra and this status was maintained during the reign of the Mauryas and the Guptas. Ashoka the Great, administered his empire from here. Chandragupta Maurya and Samudragupta, valliant warriors, they took Pataliputra as their capital. It was from here Chahandragupta sent forth his army to fight the Greeks of the western frontier and Chandragupta Vikramaditya repelled the Shakas and the Huns from here. It was there that the Greek ambassador Megasthenes stayed during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. The famous traveler Fa-Hien in the 3rd century and Hiuen-Tsang in the 7th century inspected the city. Many noted scholars like Kautilya stayed here and works like ‘Arthashastra’ were written from this place. This city was the fountainhead of the spring of knowledge and wisdom in ancient times. | <urn:uuid:041ab45a-c6f0-41a9-b149-cf589c747e04> | {
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RE: Plant-based fats question
Posted Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 9:18 AM
It depends on your goals - weight loss? disease prevention? cancer survival? general health and well being?
Here's our general advice with high-fat plant foods:
A low-fat diet is not a no-fat diet. There are traces of natural oils in vegetables, beans, and fruits, and these fats are important for health. Some people add additional sources of healthful omega-3 (“good”) fats, such as walnuts, flaxseeds or flax oil, or soy products. And some researchers have found health benefits to having a small serving of nuts each day, despite the fact that nuts are very fatty. The idea is that nuts are heart-healthy and may even prevent arrhythmias—disorders of the heartbeat.
PCRM’s advice is to be cautious with these foods. They can easily impart enough fat to bring your weight loss to a halt. Rather than using nuts and seeds as snack foods (where it is so easy to go overboard), use them as condiments or in sauces, limiting them to about an ounce or so (about one modest handful) each day.
Susan Levin, MS, RD
PCRM Director of Nutrition Education | <urn:uuid:d1074449-0b9d-47bf-bc09-773fc9f5219b> | {
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Although it’s what many people on the Kenai Peninsula associate it with, Memorial Day weekend isn’t just about fishing and barbecues. It’s a time to remember those who have died in battle for this country.
Originally called Decoration Day, the holiday was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers.
In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, N.Y., the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo — which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866 — because the town made Memorial Day an annual, communitywide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave.
Also, it is customary for the president or vice president to give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Communities across the country, including those on the Kenai Peninsula, take part in annual events to commemorate the day.
Memorial Day observances, will be held in Kenaiand Soldotna this year.
In Kenai, the Avenue of Flags begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Kenai City Cemetery and a memorial service will take place at Leif Hansen Memorial Park at 1 p.m.
In Soldotna, a memorial is planned for 1 p.m. at the Soldotna Community Memorial Park on West Redoubt.
Our fallen soldiers have fought for so much throughout the years, and their dedication has given us the freedoms we enjoy today. We encourage you to take a moment to remember them and the reason for this holiday. | <urn:uuid:a9783a10-0424-4a68-bf65-e872bcbb67ca> | {
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INDIAN PERANAKANS : THE CHITTY MELAKA
The Melaka Chitty community, also known as the Malacca Straits-born Hindus or Indian Peranakans has been in Malacca, Malaysia since the reign of the Malacca Sultanate in the early 15th. century. Years before Parameswara the founder of Malacca in 1401 became the first sultan, Hindu traders had already come to Malacca. Trading between the West and East had long been established before then. Due to the distance and weather conditions, traders had to make several stops along their trading route the Straits of Malacca and Malacca was seen as the best location. It was exactly the ideal choice for these traders as it was stragically located and food supplies were easily available. As Malacca gained its popularity, more and more traders including the Hindus from the Corromandel Coast, Southern India thronged its port.
Inter-marriages between the Hindu traders and the Malays, Chinese, Javanese and Bataks were then unavoidable. Through the process of assimilation, these traders had gradually adapted themselves to a new lifestyle. Thus the term 'Melaka Chitty' was born. As staunch believers of the Hindu faith, the Melaka Chitty community still uphold their religious ceremonies and beliefs but with a unique blend. In Malacca, one can easily notice this unique community in Kampung Chitty, Gajah Berang which is situated about 2.5 kilometres from the city centre. It consists of a few castes namely; Pandaram, Pillay, Neiker, Raja, Pathair, Chitty and Padaichi.
They strongly resemble the Malays and Baba Nyonyas the Malacca Straits-born Chinese in terms of clothing, spoken language, food and appearance. No doubt they are inarticulate in Tamil but they still maintain their Hindu names and customs. As of material importance, need to assert that the Melaka Chitty community is different than the other Hindus, especially the Chettiars the Hindu money-lenders, in many ways. They had lost all forms of relation with their descendants in India a long time ago. Today, they pledge their loyalty to the Ruler of Malaysia. Most of them are wage earners and lead a simple life. Some have ventured into other types of occupations. A handful of them are living in other parts of the country and some can be found in Singapore too. During festive seasons, most of them would return to Kampung Chitty and they will have lots to talk about.
"PLEASE don't confuse us with the Chettiars. They are moneylenders and we are the traders who came here in the 14th Century like the Babas & Nonyas." So pleads Chitty village elder V. Ramasamy Pillai. "After all these years, more than 600 years to be precise, Malaysians are still unable to differentiate between Chittys and Chettiars," he says smiling and shaking his head. History books and Ramasamy, 83, will tell you that the Chittys are actually Indian traders who came to the Malacca in the early 1400s from the southern part of India, namely Kalinga in the Corromendal Coast, during the days of the spice trade. Many married local Malay women like the Chinese Peranakans & adopted the cultures and languages of the region while retaining their own religion – Hinduism.Seafaring Chitty traders went on to become farmers and settled down in many parts of Malacca, eventually moving to Kampung Tujung in Gajah Behrang. You will notice from the below picture that the Indian Peranakan Wedding Ceremonies and styles of dressing abd wedding garments are very similar to that of the Chinese Peranakans. Also notice the "Ranjang Kemanten" in the background on the picture of the right to that of a Peranakan Chinese "Ranjang Kemanten".
It is in Kampung Tujung where many of the Chittys now live. There are 19 homes amidst three temples and a newly constructed museum that awaits its official opening. When many of the Chittys married and settled in Malacca, they didn't keep in touch with their families in India, thus making it virtually impossible for their predecessors to trace relatives in Kalinga.While their Indian relatives might be a permanently closed chapter, the Chittys in Malacca are a fascinating group. Daily but more so on weekends, scores of visitors come to Chitty village. "Most Chittys look like Indians while others have fair skin like the Chinese Peranakans and have made Bahasa Malaysia their official language. Many here only speak Tamil haltingly as Baba Malay is the language spoken by the community," says K. Nadarajan Raja, who is secretary of the Cultural Society of Chitty Malacca.
"What we wear differs from our counterparts in India. The Chitty woman usually wears the kebaya panjang or kebaya pendek, depending on her marital status, with a sarong, like the Nonyas. The handkerchief or binpoh is usually worn on the shoulder like a shawl," he informs. The men are normally dressed in a dhoti and shirt for religious functions while for traditional events, it is usually the sarong or kain pelekat with the lose Nehru jacket and cap. A piece of colourful cloth is often draped on the left shoulder. As for festivals, the Chittys celebrate all three days of ponggol, the harvest festival in January, and Deepavali on a grand scale. Temple festivals are also celebrated by following a strict vegetarian diet for 10 days during which the Chittys living elsewhere in the country, congregate in Malacca for the celebrations. One festival celebrated with much ado is the Bhogi Parachu, usually falling in January. Chittys make offerings to ancestors on this day. Chitty delicacies such as pulut tekan/nasi lemak, ginggang and other homemade specials are served then.
On this occasion, nasi lemak is patted down onto banana leaves and salted eggs are embedded in the centre along with raddish. Some 13 other dishes such as friend mutton and chicken, soup and sweets are also placed on the banana leaves. "This is one festival celebrated in every household in the village. Ancestral worship is very important to us because we want the blessings of our forefathers," says Nadarajan. "It is also a time when everyone in the village visits one another." The practce of Ancestor Worship is alien in other Indian communities. This shows us that the Indian Peranakan community has adopted many Chinese Peranakan customs and traditions through intermarriage as intermarriage with Indian Peranakans were common in the past. The below photo shows you how similar the Indians Peranakans are to the Chinese Peranakans.
INDIAN CHITTY PERANAKAN CUISINE
Chitty cuisine, a blend of Malay local influences, Nonya and the Indian art of blending spices, is little-known. There is no Chitty restaurant, not even in Malacca, and hence their food can only be sampled in the community's enclave in Kampung Tujuh Gajah Berang. "The Chittys' most famous food is nasi lemak. We serve it as offerings during prayers,'' says G. Meenachi, 70. Unlike the other Indian groups who usually offer rice with vegetarian dishes during prayers, the Chittys serve nasi lemak or plain rice with a variety of fish and meat accompaniments.
"Chitty nasi lemak is usually steamed. First, we steam the rice for about 20 minutes before it is left to cool. In the meantime, we will boil thick and thin coconut milk separately over a low fire. The pandanus leaf is boiled with the coconut milk so that it'll be fragrant. "Stir the coconut milk into the steamed rice. Leave the rice for a few hours or until all the coconut milk has been absorbed by the rice. Then steam the rice again for 10-15 minutes,'' Meenachi's daughter, Amuthavathi, narrates the painstaking preparation of nasi lemak, as taught by her mother.A good nasi lemak must be fragrant, and the grains fluffy and separate, and must even have a shiny sheen. The secret to getting the shiny sheen, says Chitty S. Kathai, is by adding on some lemon juice to the rice during the steaming process. Unlike the Northerners, ginger is not added to their nasi lemak.
"Nasi lemak is only cooked in a rice cooker when there are unexpected guests. We call this nasi lemak terkejut (surprise nasi lemak).'' Offerings to Ancestors a Chinese Peranakan trsdition such as rice accompanied by 13 dishes are served by the Chittys to honour their ancestors. Traditional Chitty cooks such as Meenachi suffer no shortcuts or half measures in their kitchen, holding firm to elaborate details that give their food a delicious edge.
When she makes chillied fried fish, she wraps the fish with turmeric leaf which lends the dish a subtle aroma. For pulut tekan (glutinous rice cake steamed with coconut milk), Meenachi uses leaf only from the pisang batu or pisang nipah tree ... "leaves from other banana species would darken the white pulut.''Spices are not blended in electric blenders, but are ground on the batu giling (a granite pestle and mortar slab). Meenachi's youngest daughter, S. Amuthavathi, recalls handling the heavy granite roller from young as her mother was adamant that her children learn to cook well.
"My mother called this morning to instruct that I pound the shallots, ginger and garlic, and not use an electric blender,'' says Amuthavathi who cooked one of the Chittys' signature dish for us, armed with her mother's detailed instructions and secret tips. One of the Chitty's more unusual dish is nasi kembuli. Not many Chittys still know how to cook it although it was once served to brides three days after the wedding, and as offerings during prayers. "The ingredients in nasi kembuli are Indian such as ghee, cumin and coriander. However, one of the most important accompaniments, pineapple pachedi, is Malay in origin,'' says Amuthavathi.
A popular Chitty everyday dish is lauk pindang which bears strong Malay influences. "Lauk pindang is fish cooked with a blend of shallots, garlic and turmeric, in a tamarind and thin coconut milk gravy,'' describes Amuthavathi. The best time to sample Chitty delicacies is during festivals such as Ponggal or Bhogi. Bhogi, which falls on the eve of Ponggal, is the day that Chittys hold ancestral rites and honour deceased family members. "On that day, we lay out seven banana leaves of offerings for our ancestors. In my family, there will be three leaves of nasi lemak, three leaves of nasi kembuli and a leaf of white rice. There will be 13 accompaniments to the rice, a salted egg, and coffee,'' says Meenachi.
The accompaniments include sambal ludang (fish roe and prawns cooked with belimbing (sour starfruits), lemon grass, ginger, shallots, chilli, turmeric and coconut milk), dry chicken and mutton curry, pineapple pachedi, spiced fried chicken, brinjal pachedi, udang goreng asam garam (prawns fried with tamarind and salt), cucumber relish, lauk pindang and krill sambal. Other festive Chitty food is putu, which is Indian in origin. Putu is traditionally served during the Sadanggu, a ceremony for young girls who have reached puberty. "Only women are invited for this ceremony, and they must finish all the food prepared to ensure that no man eats the food. It's considered bad luck if food for the Sadanggu is eaten by a man. Notice the Sembayang Dato or Offering to the Ancestors Ceremony in the middle picture below. Notice the two red candles used. This is a Peranakan Chinese tradition, not an Indian Tradition as only the Peranakan Chinese use Red Candles for offering and prayers to the Ancestors.
"It is also best to serve tea with sugar and pandanus leaf to go with the putu, which is made from scraped coconut, palm sugar syrup, fried green beans, cardamom and rice flour,'' says Meenachi. Although many Chitty dishes are still prepared, there are fears that some recipes may be forgotten as the young marry out of the close-knit but small community. Meenachi's four daughters hope to document the Chitty recipes their illiterate mother remembers so vividly.
Meenachi does not only list down ingredients and cooking methods when passing recipes, but also the little details that matter.For certain dishes, use only the pink shallots. A pinch of salt must be added when pounding sambal belacan to mute the chillies' rawness. Boil salted mustard for itik tim in a brass wok, and it won't turn yellow but remain green. Recipes aside, Chitty Baba Malay terms used to describe cooking methods are also interesting. Some of these terms include masak atas darat which means to fry spices in hot oil away from the fire, and kare which is to use a chopstick to gently separate the rice grains without breaking them. It is estimated that there around 50,000 Indian Peranakans in the whole of Peninsular Malaysia and another 5,000 in Singapore alone. The overwhelming majority of Peranakans however are the Chinese Peranakans. | <urn:uuid:9b5c1ef9-0ba1-4a5d-944c-fde8cadc49b5> | {
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Jerusalem, The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore
February 2, 2012 by Bob Livingston
The fact that Jerusalem is the center of the spiritual world for so many people seems to make politics there frighteningly complex and deadly. Consequently, if you have any interest in understanding why the area in and around Jerusalem is such a contentious piece of real estate, Jerusalem explicates, in exquisite historical detail, the thousands of years of fighting over a piece of ground that so many people want to possess. Sometimes, the details supplied by Montefiore are a bit overwhelming. But the historical tidbits, footnotes, archeological gossip and descriptions of what we know or think we know about what historical figures did to each other in this part of the planet are never less than fascinating and illuminating.
Near the beginning of the book, Montefiore describes a time when Jerusalem was ruled by a confederation of tribes who were challenged by the Philistines, “part of the Sea Peoples, who originated in the Aegean (Sea).” The Israelites led first by Saul and then by David beat them back. As king, David established his stronghold at Jerusalem because it was a demilitarized zone between the northern and southern tribes.
Later on, though, rulers of the various kingdoms in and around Jerusalem would periodically invade and kill many of the local inhabitants, making off with gold from the city’s temple. And then, in between invasions and sieges, members of the ruling class would battle with each other for power, brothers killing each other in order to take control, children killing parents, in-laws plotting each other’s doom and generals using assassinations and bloodbaths to establish their own dynasties.
At the same time, the ruling Jewish kings twice built magnificent temples in Jerusalem (each eventually destroyed), filling them with golden treasures (all eventually looted) and established the city as a living, holy shrine.
But the battles never stopped.
In one typical period, as the Assyrians invaded, Israel’s King Ahab joined with Judah and Syria to repel the would-be conquerors. But soon, the three anti-Assyrian partners began to war with each other, civil wars broke out and King Ahab was killed by his own troops. In the power vacuum, a general named Jehu decided it was time to do away with the rest of the royal family. He stacked the heads of Ahab’s 70 sons in a gruesome pile at the one of the city’s gates, killed the new king who was trying to succeed Ahab and, for good measure, murdered the visiting king of Judah. Ahab’s wife, Queen Jezebel, was unceremoniously thrown out of a palace window, “pulverized” by chariots and fed to the dogs. But Ahab’s family was soon in control again. One of Jezebel’s daughters, Athalia, took power, killing every prince she could get her hands on (all of whom were her own grandchildren). She made Baal the state religion and set up idols in the Temple. Athalia, though, was eventually murdered, as were her priests.
This kind of back-and-forth killing was typical. Eventually, the Assyrians came back for more booty, and the Egyptians took a turn invading the area. When those empires backed off, the Babylonians arrived for their share. A couple of hundred years later, the Persians took out the Babylonians, followed by the Greeks and later the Romans.
Destruction And Conflict
Soon after Jesus was crucified, relations between Rome and the Jewish rulers of Jerusalem reached a tipping point. Roman legions marched into the city, looted it, burned it to the ground and slaughtered most its residents, hauling many of the survivors back to Rome as slaves and unwilling participants in bloody shows at the Coliseum. For a time, the city was a camp for Roman soldiers.
Later, when the Romans eventually left, the city settled down into relative obscurity, lapsing into low level anarchy before being invaded by European Crusaders.
Today, of course, Jerusalem is in the center of the controversy between Palestinians and Israelis, each group claiming that they should control the area. After reading Jerusalem, you won’t wonder that the city and the area around it is a continual source of conflict. You may wonder why it isn’t worse. Montefiore warns, “… there have always been two Jerusalems, the temporal and the celestial, both ruled more by faith and emotion than by reason and facts.” | <urn:uuid:a84c7c31-de2f-41dc-a218-44d84a739fb0> | {
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Closing in on the Planck constant
Sep 25, 1998
Physicists in the US have made the most accurate measurements ever of the Planck constant, h. Edwin Williams and colleagues at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, measured h by comparing the voltage needed to control the velocity of a coil moving vertically in an magnetic field, with the current that has to be passed through the coil to balance gravity in the same magnetic field. The measurement could lead to a new reference stand for the kilogram (Phys. Rev. Lett. 81 2404).
The kilogram is currently defined by a platinum-iridium alloy maintained at the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) in Paris and six official copies. However, the official mass of the standard kilogram has been known to vary with time, hence the interest in defining the kilogram is terms of fundamental constants like h.
The highly stable magnetic field needed for the experiment is generated by a superconducting magnet that has been cooled to 4 Kelvin. The experiment also uses two induction coils: the lower coil is fixed to the support structure of the experiment, while the upper coil can move. This upper coil is also attached to a wheel balance above the experiment. In the first stage of the measurement, the mass balance is empty and a small force is applied to the upper coil, forcing it to move at 2mm/s. The researchers found that this generated a voltage of 1.018 ± 0.001 V across the moving coil. In the second stage of the experiment, a 500 g countermass is balanced by a - 10.18 mA current in the induction coil. Both stages were repeated over many months to obtain a value of 6.62606891(58) x 10-34 Joule seconds for the Planck constant.
This result - which corresponds to an accuracy of 9 parts in 108 - is a factor of 15 better than previous measurements. The team hope to improve on this result by another factor of 10 by modifying their experiment. | <urn:uuid:cd89c0d8-ef60-4435-b4e8-e79d00dd783c> | {
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Ultrafast electron microscope makes movies
Dec 8, 2006
Physicists have created a new form of electron microscopy that can make "movies" of atoms as they undergo ultra-rapid chemical or structural transitions. Ahmed Zewail and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology in the US have used coincident electron and laser pulses to follow vanadium and oxygen atoms as they rearranged themselves on a vanadium oxide surface over the course of several picoseconds. The researchers say that the technique could also be used to study a wide range of ultrafast biological and physical phenomena. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 103 18427)).
Electron microscopes have better resolution than optical microscopes because high-energy electrons have a much shorter wavelength than light. The resolution can be further improved by using coherent electron wavepackets, which can contain as few as one electron. The wavelengths of these packets are much smaller than the space between individual atoms and can be brought to a very sharp focus, allowing objects to be imaged with atomic-scale resolution. The packets are of extremely short duration and this can be exploited to take “snapshots” of atoms as they undergo structural or chemical transitions.
In 2005, Zewail and colleagues used coherent electron packets to take single snapshots of a number of materials and biological samples. Now the researchers have further refined their technique to take a time sequence of images that allowed them to watch vanadium and oxygen atoms rearrange themselves in a process that can take as little as 100 femtoseconds ( 10-13 seconds).
The timing sequence is generated by femtosecond laser pulses as illustrated in the figure "Ultrafast microscope". Each pulse is split into two pulses – one is used by the microscope to create the electron pulse and the other is used to heat the sample. According to Zewail, the crucial and most difficult part of the technique is coordinating the arrivals of the laser and electron pulses at the sample with an accuracy of just a few femtoseconds. This is particularly difficult because the laser pulse travels at the speed of light, while the electron pulse lags behind at about two thirds the speed of light.
The coincident laser pulse is used to heat the sample and drive a transition from a low-temperature crystal structure to a high-temperature structure. By changing the delay between the laser and electron pulses in regular time steps, the researchers were able to take snapshots of the atoms at different sample temperatures.
Zewail and colleagues found that vanadium oxide undergoes a “first-order” phase transition from a low-temperature “monoclinic” phase to a high-temperature tetragonal “rutile” phase at around 67°C. This result is a breakthrough in itself because the precise nature of this transition has been a mystery since the material was discovered almost a century ago.
The team now plans to try their technique on other materials; “the scope is very wide from semiconductors and metals to organics and biological assemblies,” says Zewail. | <urn:uuid:2f1970f4-49fa-40b8-b5c8-2587723cbf65> | {
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Dodgers' progress plan not only about Robinson
Campanella, Newcombe got their shots in Class A ball
LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers were front and center in breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, but the early movement involved more than Jackie Robinson.
When Robinson was signed by Dodgers president Branch Rickey and owner Walter O'Malley out of the Negro Leagues to be the first African-American to play at Triple-A Montreal in 1946, as part of his grand integration plan Rickey also signed Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella to be the first African-Americans to play Class A ball.
Newcombe grew up poor in Elizabeth, N.J., his father a chauffeur. There were no dreams of hitting it rich in the big leagues, but his neighbor, John Grier, saw him throwing rocks and envisioned a pitcher in the making.
"John Grier was like my second father, he took a liking to me, and he taught me to wind up, taught me everything I knew about baseball," Newcombe said. "I began to learn and began to like it. I was only 14 and I was already big and I could throw hard. He taught me to control it. But aspirations of the Major Leagues? Black kids had none of that."
At 17, Newcombe was signed for $175 a month by the Newark Eagles, owned by Abe Manley and run by his wife, Effa. He played with and against the likes of Cool Papa Bell, Monte Irvin, Ray Dandridge and Willie Wells. Two seasons into his career at age 19, Newcombe was a newlywed and life was about to change dramatically.
"My wife and I came out of a movie and saw a headline in the New York Post, I'll never forget it, and it said that Montreal had signed Jackie Robinson," said Newcombe, now 85 and a special advisor to Dodgers chairman Frank McCourt. "I knew this was the beginning of change. I said to my wife, maybe this is a chance for me and Roy."
Former Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi wrote in his autobiography that if Newcombe hadn't been 19 years old at the time, Rickey might have chosen him over Robinson (who was 28) to be the first African-American Major Leaguer. Newcombe appreciated the mention, but believes the Dodgers got the right man for the job.
"The only man I ever knew that I thought could do what Jackie did was Jackie," Newcombe said. "I couldn't have accepted that kind of responsibility. Jackie brought more to the table. He served in the military. He went to UCLA. He was the man to do the job, not me. I don't know if Roy could have or Monte Irvin could have, but I do know that Jackie could do it. He far surpassed anyone I've ever known."
Newcombe can recall details of a 60-year anecdote as if it happened yesterday. He noted the irony in that a few months before signing, he had pitched in an Ebbets Field All-Star Game between Negro League stars and Major League stars. Newcombe pitched three innings of a Sunday game, went into the clubhouse, took off his uniform and was met by a slender man he had never seen before that turned out to be Dodgers scout Clyde Sukeforth, who would also sign Robinson.
"He asked me if I had ever heard of Branch Rickey," Newcombe said. "He told me this Mr. Rickey wanted to see me. I asked what he wanted. Sukeforth said I needed to come to the office and find out."
The meeting led to Newcombe's signing with the Dodgers for a $1,000 bonus.
"I gave $500 to my mother," said Newcombe, who had to borrow money from his mother for the subway fare from his home in New Jersey to Brooklyn for the meeting.
Newcombe and Campanella were originally signed to play at Danville in the Class A Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League, but the league president threatened to shut down rather than let African-Americans in. So the pair was redirected to Nashua of the New England League.
"Me and Roy talked about it," Newcombe said. "I told Roy I'd do whatever he thought. He said, 'We've got to start somewhere, Don.' The president of the New England League said he didn't care what color we were if we could play. So we went."
Nashua became the first racially integrated team in the United States. Walter Alston, who would go on to be a Hall of Fame manager with the Dodgers, was the Nashua player/manager.
"Alston called a meeting with the team when we joined to work out. And Alston -- God bless him -- asked this question to the team: 'If I get sent out of a game, and I name this man manager, will you play for him or quit? Because If I'm not managing, I want Roy Campanella to manage. Does anybody have a problem with that?'
"To a man, everyone said no problem, and that's the way it was. And lo and behold, in a game in Massachusetts, Alston was put out of the game. We were losing 2-1 and it was the top of the eighth and Campanella came over to me on the bench and said I was going to pinch-hit, and my eyes just about popped out of my head. And I hit a home run to center field and we won the game. So, Roy became the first Black in organized baseball history to win a game as manager."
Rickey's talent evaluation was right on point. Robinson was a rookie of the year, an MVP, a six-time All-Star and Hall of Famer. Campanella won three MVP awards and was an eight-time All-Star before his career was cut short by a paralyzing accident. He also is in the Hall of Fame.
Newcombe became the only player to win a Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP award until Justin Verlander completed that trifecta last season. Verlander invited Newcombe to the New York Baseball Writers Dinner this month to present the MVP Award.
"I had that honor for 55 years, it was about time someone else did it," Newcombe said. "It's good to have a partner. I hope he carries on."
Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. | <urn:uuid:80a1ff94-5645-4eb8-9b01-46ec4403278e> | {
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In 2009, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) was formed to promote and protect the human rights of people in the region and was tasked to formulate the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, which aimed to standardize all human rights of all people in the Southeast region of Asia.
•Five member countries have laws that target and criminalize transgender women for ‘cross dressing’: Brunei, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
•Six member countries of ASEAN have laws criminalizing same sex activities between mutually consenting adults: Brunei, Burma, Malaysia and Singapore, Philippines (in Marawi City), Indonesia (in South Sumatera province).
•None of the 10 member countries of ASEAN have national anti-discrimination laws to protect people of diverse sexual orientation or gender identity or other minorities and vulnerable groups.
"The only glimpse the public and civil society groups have had of the proposed declaration was by way of a leaked document" Jakarta PostThe ASEAN Human Rights Declaration does not include or recognize the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) persons.
"Civil society groups gathered in Phnom Penh last week argued that time was running out to rid the proposed draft of clauses that would restrict peoples’ rights rather than protecting and enhancing them."Since it’s conception, LGBT groups have been demanding the inclusion of human rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration but our demands have fallen on deaf ears. This is a clear sign by the member countries of ASEAN that they do not recognize the existence of LGBTIQ persons and have no interest in protecting and promoting the human rights of LGBTIQ persons in this region.
Take Action! Stand in Solidarity with the ASEAN LGBT Caucus and IGLHRC in demanding the inclusion of LGBT Rights in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration! | <urn:uuid:57b347cd-245f-4b6f-a719-a45339c7c22c> | {
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Puzzle pageIssue 37
Mystery Christmas theft
Where's that missing coin?
As a last treat before the start of the busiest period of the year, Santa Claus and Rudolph the Reindeer decide to go out for a meal. The Easter Bunny comes along for company. They feast on scrumptious food and mulled wine, which makes Rudolph's nose glow redder than ever. At the end of the night the bill totals 30 North Pole Pounds, and the three decide to share it evenly, each paying 10 Pounds. The waiter takes the money and walks over to the til, where he meets the proprietress of the restaurant. She tells him that for these very distinguished guests the last bottle of mulled wine is on the house. That bottle was 5 Pounds, so now the bill only comes to 25 Pounds. She gives the waiter 5 Pound coins in change. But the waiter, not being a very honest sort and still holding a grudge about an undelivered present, slips two Pounds into his pocket and only returns 3 Pounds, 1 Pound to each of the three guests.
Now each has paid 9 Pounds, making 27 in total. The waiter stole 2 Pounds, making 29. But Santa, Rudolph and the Easter Bunny paid 30 Pounds in total! What happened to the missing Pound? | <urn:uuid:a82a53ed-a18b-4a46-b4b3-3c440e480c50> | {
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A recent report by the World Economic Forum on the future of the gas markets has highlighted the revolution that is currently happening in this sector.
The report started by saying: “What a difference a few years can make in one of the world’s major energy markets. Advances in the production of unconventional gas – shale gas, tight gas and coal bed methane (CBM) – coupled with growing LNG capacity have changed longstanding assumptions about natural gas markets around the world.”
Whilst the shale gas revolution is well under way in North America, it is in its infancy in Europe and Asia. The one country that stands to benefit from the shale gas bonanza the most in Europe is Poland.
The report acknowledges: “Poland has the largest potential for unconventional gas production in Europe,” and argues that “Poland could become a significant gas exporter and transform gas supply throughout Central Europe”.
The country, which has historically relied on dirty coal and gas from Russia to power itself, could even become a gas exporter.
So for many countries like Poland or Ukraine, they see shale gas as the technology that will rid them from years of dependency on Russian gas, with its threats and price hikes.
Earlier this week, the Financial Times picked up on this theme, interviewing one Polish farmer who said: “I hear about people who don’t want these kinds of things, but it gives us a chance to free ourselves from Russia,” she says. “We aren’t worried at all.”
A British company, called 3 Legs Resources, is currently drilling on the woman’s land. Elsewhere in the country the big giants such as ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Chevron, are all joining in Poland’s dash for shale gas.
The FT even trumpets that “Gas could also help with Poland’s pollution problem. Currently, about 85 per cent of Polish electricity is generated by coal, which will become increasingly untenable thanks to EU restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.”
But herein lies the rub. It would be madness for the Poles, in their desire to rid themselves from Russia and dirty coal, to exploit a technology that has known risks to drinking water, through the controversial technique called fracking.
Already in the US, where the film Gasland, has been a hit, there are consistent and widespread reports of water contamination. In France, the technique is currently banned due to pollution concerns.
Yesterday, a long awaited report by a panel of experts in the US delivered a warning to the shale gas drilling industry that they need to clean up their act.
“Overall, the impact on the environment has to go down,” said John Deutch, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who led the panel, set up by President Obama. “If the public is not comfortable that these environmental issues are not being rigorously managed by regulators and industry, there is a threat to production.”
“An industry response that hydraulic fracturing has been performed safely for decades, rather than engaging the range of issues concerning the public, will not succeed,” the report concluded.
It also added that the effectiveness of current regulations “is far from clear.”
What this shows that despite the boom in America, many issues remain unresolved. So before it is too late, Poland and its neighbours should heed the warnings and learn from America’s mistakes. | <urn:uuid:567b06f5-9493-47ce-849b-286b5d7ab8bf> | {
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Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
- For a non-technical introduction to the topic, please see Introduction to genetics.
Genetics (from Ancient Greek γενετικός genetikos, “genitive” and that from γένεσις genesis, “origin”), a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the process of inheritance, only began with the work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-nineteenth century. Although he did not know the physical basis for heredity, Mendel observed that organisms inherit traits in a discrete manner—these basic units of inheritance are now called genes.
Genes correspond to regions within DNA, a molecule composed of a chain of four different types of nucleotides—the sequence of these nucleotides is the genetic information organisms inherit. DNA naturally occurs in a double stranded form, with nucleotides on each strand complementary to each other. Each strand can act as a template for creating a new partner strand—this is the physical method for making copies of genes that can be inherited.
The sequence of nucleotides in a gene is translated by cells to produce a chain of amino acids, creating proteins—the order of amino acids in a protein corresponds to the order of nucleotides in the gene. This is known as the genetic code. The amino acids in a protein determine how it folds into a three-dimensional shape; this structure is, in turn, responsible for the protein's function. Proteins carry out almost all the functions needed for cells to live. A change to the DNA in a gene can change a protein's amino acids, changing its shape and function: this can have a dramatic effect in the cell and on the organism as a whole.
Although genetics plays a large role in the appearance and behavior of organisms, it is the combination of genetics with what an organism experiences that determines the ultimate outcome. For example, while genes play a role in determining a person's height, the nutrition and health that person experiences in childhood also have a large effect.
- Main article: History of genetics
Although the science of genetics began with the applied and theoretical work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-1800s, other theories of inheritance preceded Mendel. A popular theory during Mendel's time was the concept of blending inheritance: the idea that individuals inherit a smooth blend of traits from their parents. Mendel's work disproved this, showing that traits are composed of combinations of distinct genes rather than a continuous blend. Another theory that had some support at that time was the inheritance of acquired characteristics: the belief that individuals inherit traits strengthened by their parents. This theory (commonly associated with Jean-Baptiste Lamarck) is now known to be wrong—the experiences of individuals do not affect the genes they pass to their children. Other theories included the pangenesis of Charles Darwin (which had both acquired and inherited aspects) and Francis Galton's reformulation of pangenesis as both particulate and inherited.
Mendelian and classical geneticsEdit
The modern science of genetics traces its roots to Gregor Johann Mendel, a German-Czech Augustinian monk and scientist who studied the nature of inheritance in plants. In his paper "Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden" ("Experiments on Plant Hybridization"), presented in 1865 to the Naturforschender Verein (Society for Research in Nature) in Brünn, Mendel traced the inheritance patterns of certain traits in pea plants and described them mathematically. Although this pattern of inheritance could only be observed for a few traits, Mendel's work suggested that heredity was particulate, not acquired, and that the inheritance patterns of many traits could be explained through simple rules and ratios.
The importance of Mendel's work did not gain wide understanding until the 1890s, after his death, when other scientists working on similar problems re-discovered his research. William Bateson, a proponent of Mendel's work, coined the word genetics in 1905. (The adjective genetic, derived from the Greek word genesis - γένεσις, "origin" and that from the word genno - γεννώ, "to give birth", predates the noun and was first used in a biological sense in 1860.) Bateson popularized the usage of the word genetics to describe the study of inheritance in his inaugural address to the Third International Conference on Plant Hybridization in London, England, in 1906.
After the rediscovery of Mendel's work, scientists tried to determine which molecules in the cell were responsible for inheritance. In 1910, Thomas Hunt Morgan argued that genes are on chromosomes, based on observations of a sex-linked white eye mutation in fruit flies. In 1913, his student Alfred Sturtevant used the phenomenon of genetic linkage to show that genes are arranged linearly on the chromosome.
<span id="molecular" />
Although genes were known to exist on chromosomes, chromosomes are composed of both protein and DNA—scientists did not know which of these was responsible for inheritance. In 1928, Frederick Griffith discovered the phenomenon of transformation (see Griffith's experiment): dead bacteria could transfer genetic material to "transform" other still-living bacteria. Sixteen years later, in 1944, Oswald Theodore Avery, Colin McLeod and Maclyn McCarty identified the molecule responsible for transformation as DNA. The Hershey-Chase experiment in 1952 also showed that DNA (rather than protein) was the genetic material of the viruses that infect bacteria, providing further evidence that DNA was the molecule responsible for inheritance.
James D. Watson and Francis Crick determined the structure of DNA in 1953, using the X-ray crystallography work of Rosalind Franklin that indicated DNA had a helical structure (i.e., shaped like a corkscrew). Their double-helix model had two strands of DNA with the nucleotides pointing inward, each matching a complementary nucleotide on the other strand to form what looks like rungs on a twisted ladder. This structure showed that genetic information exists in the sequence of nucleotides on each strand of DNA. The structure also suggested a simple method for duplication: if the strands are separated, new partner strands can be reconstructed for each based on the sequence of the old strand.
Although the structure of DNA showed how inheritance worked, it was still not known how DNA influenced the behavior of cells. In the following years, scientists tried to understand how DNA controls the process of protein production. It was discovered that the cell uses DNA as a template to create matching messenger RNA (a molecule with nucleotides, very similar to DNA). The nucleotide sequence of a messenger RNA is used to create an amino acid sequence in protein; this translation between nucleotide and amino acid sequences is known as the genetic code.
With this molecular understanding of inheritance, an explosion of research became possible. One important development was chain-termination DNA sequencing in 1977 by Frederick Sanger: this technology allows scientists to read the nucleotide sequence of a DNA molecule. In 1983, Kary Banks Mullis developed the polymerase chain reaction, providing a quick way to isolate and amplify a specific section of a DNA from a mixture. Through the pooled efforts of the Human Genome Project and the parallel private effort by Celera Genomics, these and other techniques culminated in the sequencing of the human genome in 2003.
Features of inheritanceEdit
Discrete inheritance and Mendel's lawsEdit
- Main article: Mendelian inheritance
At its most fundamental level, inheritance in organisms occurs by means of discrete traits, called genes. This property was first observed by Gregor Mendel, who studied the segregation of heritable traits in pea plants. In his experiments studying the trait for flower color, Mendel observed that the flowers of each pea plant were either purple or white - and never an intermediate between the two colors. These different, discrete versions of the same gene are called alleles.
In the case of pea plants, each organism has two alleles of each gene, and the plants inherit one allele from each parent. Many organisms, including humans, have this pattern of inheritance. Organisms with two copies of the same allele are called homozygous, while organisms with two different alleles are heterozygous.
The set of alleles for a given organism is called its genotype, while the observable trait the organism has is called its phenotype. When organisms are heterozygous, often one allele is called dominant as its qualities dominate the phenotype of the organism, while the other allele is called recessive as its qualities recede and are not observed. Some alleles do not have complete dominance and instead have incomplete dominance by expressing an intermediate phenotype, or codominance by expressing both alleles at once.
When a pair of organisms reproduce sexually, their offspring randomly inherit one of the two alleles from each parent. These observations of discrete inheritance and the segregation of alleles are collectively known as Mendel's first law or the Law of Segregation.
Notation and diagramsEdit
Geneticists use diagrams and symbols to describe inheritance. A gene is represented by a letter (or letters)—the capitalized letter represents the dominant allele and the recessive is represented by lowercase. Often a "+" symbol is used to mark the usual, non-mutant allele for a gene.
In fertilization and breeding experiments (and especially when discussing Mendel's laws) the parents are referred to as the "P" generation and the offspring as the "F1" (first filial) generation. When the F1 offspring mate with each other, the offspring are called the "F2" (second filial) generation. One of the common diagrams used to predict the result of cross-breeding is the Punnett square.
Interactions of multiple genesEdit
Organisms have thousands of genes, and in sexually reproducing organisms assortment of these genes are generally independent of each other. This means that the inheritance of an allele for yellow or green pea color is unrelated to the inheritance of alleles for white or purple flowers. This phenomenon, known as "Mendel's second law" or the "Law of independent assortment", means that the alleles of different genes get shuffled between parents to form offspring with many different combinations.(Some genes do not assort independently, demonstrating genetic linkage, a topic discussed later in this article.)
Often different genes can interact in a way that influences the same trait. In the Blue-eyed Mary (Omphalodes verna), for example, there exists a gene with alleles that determine the color of flowers: blue or magenta. Another gene, however, controls whether the flowers have color at all: color or white. When a plant has two copies of this white allele, its flowers are white - regardless of whether the first gene has blue or magenta alleles. This interaction between genes is called epistasis, with the second gene epistatic to the first.
Many traits are not discrete features (eg. purple or white flowers) but are instead continuous features (eg. human height and skin color). These complex traits are the product of many genes. The influence of these genes is mediated, to varying degrees, by the environment an organism has experienced. The degree to which an organism's genes contribute to a complex trait is called heritability. Measurement of the heritability of a trait is relative - in a more variable environment, the environment has a bigger influence on the total variation of the trait. For example, human height is a complex trait with a heritability of 89% in the United States. In Nigeria, however, where people experience a more variable access to good nutrition and health care, height has a heritability of only 62%.
Molecular basis for inheritanceEdit
DNA and chromosomesEdit
- Main article: DNA
The molecular basis for genes is deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA is composed of a chain of nucleotides, of which there are four types: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). Genetic information exists in the sequence of these nucleotides, and genes exist as stretches of sequence along the DNA chain. Viruses are the only exception to this rule—sometimes viruses use the very similar molecule RNA instead of DNA as their genetic material.
DNA normally exists as a double-stranded molecule, coiled into the shape of a double-helix. Each nucleotide in DNA preferentially pairs with its partner nucleotide on the opposite strand: A pairs with T, and C pairs with G. Thus, in its two-stranded form, each strand effectively contains all necessary information, redundant with its partner strand. This structure of DNA is the physical basis for inheritance: DNA replication duplicates the genetic information by splitting the strands and using each strand as a template for synthesis of a new partner strand.
Genes are arranged linearly along long chains of DNA sequence, called chromosomes. In bacteria, each cell has a single circular chromosome, while eukaryotic organisms (which includes plants and animals) have their DNA arranged in multiple linear chromosomes. These DNA strands are often extremely long; the largest human chromosome, for example, is about 247 million base pairs in length. The DNA of a chromosome is associated with structural proteins that organize, compact, and control access to the DNA, forming a material called chromatin; in eukaryotes, chromatin is usually composed of nucleosomes, repeating units of DNA wound around a core of histone proteins. The full set of hereditary material in an organism (usually the combined DNA sequences of all chromosomes) is called the genome.
While haploid organisms have only one copy of each chromosome, most animals and many plants are diploid, containing two of each chromosome and thus two copies of every gene. The two alleles for a gene are located on identical loci of sister chromatids, each allele inherited from a different parent.
An exception exists in the sex chromosomes, specialized chromosomes many animals have evolved that play a role in determining the sex of an organism. In humans and other mammals, the Y chromosome has very few genes and triggers the development of male sexual characteristics, while the X chromosome is similar to the other chromosomes and contains many genes unrelated to sex determination. Females have two copies of the X chromosome, but males have one Y and only one X chromosome - this difference in X chromosome copy numbers leads to the unusual inheritance patterns of sex-linked disorders.
- Main article: Asexual reproduction
When cells divide, their full genome is copied and each daughter cell inherits one copy. This process, called mitosis, is the simplest form of reproduction and is the basis for asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction can also occur in multicellular organisms, producing offspring that inherit their genome from a single parent. Offspring that are genetically identical to their parents are called clones.
Eukaryotic organisms often use sexual reproduction to generate offspring that contain a mixture of genetic material inherited from two different parents. The process of sexual reproduction alternates between forms that contain single copies of the genome (haploid) and double copies (diploid). Haploid cells fuse and combine genetic material to create a diploid cell with paired chromosomes. Diploid organisms form haploids by dividing, without replicating their DNA, to create daughter cells that randomly inherit one of each pair of chromosomes. Most animals and many plants are diploid for most of their lifespan, with the haploid form reduced to single cell gametes.
Although they do not use the haploid/diploid method of sexual reproduction, bacteria have many methods of acquiring new genetic information. Some bacteria can undergo conjugation, transferring a small circular piece of DNA to another bacterium. Bacteria can also take up raw DNA fragments found in the environment and integrate them into their genome, a phenomenon known as transformation. These processes result in horizontal gene transfer, transmitting fragments of genetic information between organisms that would be otherwise unrelated.
- Main article: Chromosomal crossover
The diploid nature of chromosomes allows for genes on different chromosomes to assort independently during sexual reproduction, recombining to form new combinations of genes. Genes on the same chromosome would theoretically never recombine, however, were it not for the process of chromosomal crossover. During crossover, chromosomes exchange stretches of DNA, effectively shuffling the gene alleles between the chromosomes. This process of chromosomal crossover generally occurs during meiosis, a series of cell divisions that creates haploid cells.
The probability of chromosomal crossover occurring between two given points on the chromosome is related to the distance between them. For an arbitrarily long distance, the probability of crossover is high enough that the inheritance of the genes is effectively uncorrelated. For genes that are closer together, however, the lower probability of crossover means that the genes demonstrate genetic linkage - alleles for the two genes tend to be inherited together. The amounts of linkage between a series of genes can be combined to form a linear linkage map that roughly describes the arrangement of the genes along the chromosome.
- Main article: Genetic code
Genes generally express their functional effect through the production of proteins, which are complex molecules responsible for most functions in the cell. Proteins are chains of amino acids, and the DNA sequence of a gene (through RNA intermediate) is used to produce a specific protein sequence. This process begins with the production of an RNA molecule with a sequence matching the gene's DNA sequence, a process called transcription.
This messenger RNA molecule is then used to produce a corresponding amino acid sequence through a process called translation. Each group of three nucleotides in the sequence, called a codon, corresponds to one of the twenty possible amino acids in protein - this correspondence is called the genetic code. The flow of information is unidirectional: information is transferred from nucleotide sequences into the amino acid sequence of proteins, but it never transfers from protein back into the sequence of DNA—a phenomenon Francis Crick called the central dogma of molecular biology.
The specific sequence of amino acids results in a unique three-dimensional structure for that protein, and the three-dimensional structures of protein are related to their function. Some are simple structural molecules, like the fibers formed by the protein collagen. Proteins can bind to other proteins and simple molecules, sometimes acting as enzymes by facilitating chemical reactions within the bound molecules (without changing the structure of the protein itself). Protein structure is dynamic; the protein hemoglobin bends into slightly different forms as it facilitates the capture, transport, and release of oxygen molecules within mammalian blood.
A single nucleotide difference within DNA can cause a single change in the amino acid sequence of a protein. Because protein structures are the result of their amino acid sequences, some changes can dramatically change the properties of a protein by destabilizing the structure or changing the surface of the protein in a way that changes its interaction with other proteins and molecules. For example, sickle-cell anemia is a human genetic disease that results from a single base difference within the coding region for the β-globin section of hemoglobin, causing a single amino acid change that changes hemoglobin's physical properties. Sickle-cell versions of hemoglobin stick to themselves, stacking to form fibers that distort the shape of red blood cells carrying the protein. These sickle-shaped cells no longer flow smoothly through blood vessels, having a tendency to clog or degrade, causing the medical problems associated with this disease.
Some genes are transcribed into RNA but are not translated into protein products - these are called non-coding RNA molecules. In some cases, these products fold into structures which are involved in critical cell functions (eg. ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA). RNA can also have regulatory effect through hybridization interactions with other RNA molecules (eg. microRNA).
Nature versus nurtureEdit
Although genes contain all the information an organism uses to function, the environment plays an important role in determining the ultimate phenotype—a dichotomy often referred to as "nature vs. nurture." The phenotype of an organism depends on the interaction of genetics with the environment. One example of this is the case of temperature-sensitive mutations. Often, a single amino acid change within the sequence of a protein does not change its behavior and interactions with other molecules, but it does destabilize the structure. In a high temperature environment, where molecules are moving more quickly and hitting each other, this results in the protein losing its structure and failing to function. In a low temperature environment, however, the protein's structure is stable and functions normally. This type of mutation is visible in the coat coloration of Siamese cats, where a mutation in an enzyme responsible for pigment production causes it to destabilize and lose function at high temperatures. The protein remains functional in areas of skin that are colder—legs, ears, tail, and face—and so the cat has dark fur at its extremities.
Environment also plays a dramatic role in effects of the human genetic disease phenylketonuria. The mutation that causes phenylketonuria disrupts the ability of the body to break down the amino acid phenylalanine, causing a toxic build-up of an intermediate molecule that, in turn, causes severe symptoms of progressive mental retardation and seizures. If someone with the phenylketonuria mutation follows a strict diet that avoids this amino acid, however, they remain normal and healthy.
- Main article: Regulation of gene expression
The genome of a given organism contains thousands of genes, but not all these genes need to be active at any given moment. A gene is expressed when it is being transcribed into mRNA (and translated into protein), and there exist many cellular methods of controlling the expression of genes such that proteins are produced only when needed by the cell. Transcription factors are regulatory proteins that bind to the start of genes, either promoting or inhibiting the transcription of the gene. Within the genome of Escherichia coli bacteria, for example, there exists a series of genes necessary for the synthesis of the amino acid tryptophan. However, when tryptophan is already available to the cell, these genes for tryptophan synthesis are no longer needed. The presence of tryptophan directly affects the activity of the genes—tryptophan molecules bind to the tryptophan repressor (a transcription factor), changing the repressor's structure such that the repressor binds to the genes. The tryptophan repressor blocks the transcription and expression of the genes, thereby creating negative feedback regulation of the tryptophan synthesis process.
Differences in gene expression are especially clear within multicellular organisms, where cells all contain the same genome but have very different structures and behaviors due to the expression of different sets of genes. All the cells in a multicellular organism derive from a single cell, differentiating into variant cell types in response to external and intercellular signals and gradually establishing different patterns of gene expression to create different behaviors. As no single gene is responsible for the development of structures within multicellular organisms, these patterns arise from the complex interactions between many cells.
Within eukaryotes there exist structural features of chromatin that influence the transcription of genes, often in the form of modifications to DNA and chromatin that are stably inherited by daughter cells. These features are called "epigenetic" because they exist "on top" of the DNA sequence and retain inheritance from one cell generation to the next. Because of epigenetic features, different cell types grown within the same medium can retain very different properties. Although epigenetic features are generally dynamic over the course of development, some, like the phenomenon of paramutation, have multigenerational inheritance and exist as rare exceptions to the general rule of DNA as the basis for inheritance.
- Main article: Mutation
During the process of DNA replication, errors occasionally occur in the polymerization of the second strand. These errors, called mutations, can have an impact on the phenotype of an organism, especially if they occur within the protein coding sequence of a gene. Error rates are usually very low—1 error in every 10–100 million bases—due to the "proofreading" ability of DNA polymerases. (Without proofreading error rates are a thousand-fold higher; because many viruses rely on DNA and RNA polymerases that lack proofreading ability, they experience higher mutation rates.) Processes that increase the rate of changes in DNA are called mutagenic: mutagenic chemicals promote errors in DNA replication, often by interfering with the structure of base-pairing, while UV radiation induces mutations by causing damage to the DNA structure. Chemical damage to DNA occurs naturally as well, and cells use DNA repair mechanisms to repair mismatches and breaks in DNA—nevertheless, the repair sometimes fails to return the DNA to its original sequence.
In organisms that use chromosomal crossover to exchange DNA and recombine genes, errors in alignment during meiosis can also cause mutations. Errors in crossover are especially likely when similar sequences cause partner chromosomes to adopt a mistaken alignment; this makes some regions in genomes more prone to mutating in this way. These errors create large structural changes in DNA sequence—duplications, inversions or deletions of entire regions, or the accidental exchanging of whole parts between different chromosomes (called translocation).
Natural selection and evolutionEdit
- Main article: Evolution
Mutations produce organisms with different genotypes, and those differences can result in different phenotypes. Many mutations have little effect on an organism's phenotype, health, and reproductive fitness. Mutations that do have an effect are often deleterious, but occasionally mutations are beneficial. Studies in the fly Drosophila melanogaster suggest that if a mutation changes a protein produced by a gene, this will probably be harmful, with about 70 percent of these mutations having damaging effects, and the remainder being either neutral or weakly beneficial.
Population genetics research studies the distributions of these genetic differences within populations and how the distributions change over time. Changes in the frequency of an allele in a population can be influenced by natural selection, where a given allele's higher rate of survival and reproduction causes it to become more frequent in the population over time. Genetic drift can also occur, where chance events lead to random changes in allele frequency.
Over many generations, the genomes of organisms can change, resulting in the phenomenon of evolution. Mutations and the selection for beneficial mutations can cause a species to evolve into forms that better survive their environment, a process called adaptation. New species are formed through the process of speciation, a process often caused by geographical separations that allow different populations to genetically diverge. The application of genetic principles to the study of population biology and evolution is referred to as the modern synthesis.
As sequences diverge and change during the process of evolution, these differences between sequences can be used as a molecular clock to calculate the evolutionary distance between them. Genetic comparisons are generally considered the most accurate method of characterizing the relatedness between species, an improvement over the sometimes deceptive comparison of phenotypic characteristics. The evolutionary distances between species can be combined to form evolutionary trees - these trees represent the common descent and divergence of species over time, although they cannot represent the transfer of genetic material between unrelated species (known as horizontal gene transfer and most common in bacteria).
Research and technologyEdit
Model organisms and geneticsEdit
Although geneticists originally studied inheritance in a wide range of organisms, researchers began to specialize in studying the genetics of a particular subset of organisms. The fact that significant research already existed for a given organism would encourage new researchers to choose it for further study, and so eventually a few model organisms became the basis for most genetics research. Common research topics in model organism genetics include the study of gene regulation and the involvement of genes in development and cancer.
Organisms were chosen, in part, for convenience—short generation times and easy genetic manipulation made some organisms popular genetics research tools. Widely used model organisms include the gut bacterium Escherichia coli, the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), and the common house mouse (Mus musculus).
Medical genetics researchEdit
Medical genetics seeks to understand how genetic variation relates to human health and disease. When searching for an unknown gene that may be involved in a disease, researchers commonly use genetic linkage and genetic pedigree charts to find the location on the genome associated with the disease. At the population level, researchers take advantage of Mendelian randomization to look for locations in the genome that are associated with diseases, a technique especially useful for multigenic traits not clearly defined by a single gene. Once a candidate gene is found, further research is often done on the same gene (called an orthologous gene) in model organisms. In addition to studying genetic diseases, the increased availability of genotyping techniques has led to the field of pharmacogenetics—studying how genotype can affect drug responses.
Although it is not an inherited disease, cancer is also considered a genetic disease. The process of cancer development in the body is a combination of events. Mutations occasionally occur within cells in the body as they divide. While these mutations will not be inherited by any offspring, they can affect the behavior of cells, sometimes causing them to grow and divide more frequently. There are biological mechanisms that attempt to stop this process; signals are given to inappropriately dividing cells that should trigger cell death, but sometimes additional mutations occur that cause cells to ignore these messages. An internal process of natural selection occurs within the body and eventually mutations accumulate within cells to promote their own growth, creating a cancerous tumor that grows and invades various tissues of the body.
DNA can be manipulated in the laboratory. Restriction enzymes are a commonly used enzyme that cuts DNA at specific sequences, producing predictable fragments of DNA. The use of ligation enzymes allows these fragments to be reconnected, and by ligating fragments of DNA together from different sources, researchers can create recombinant DNA. Often associated with genetically modified organisms, recombinant DNA is commonly used in the context of plasmids - short circular DNA fragments with a few genes on them. By inserting plasmids into bacteria and growing those bacteria on plates of agar (to isolate clones of bacteria cells), researchers can clonally amplify the inserted fragment of DNA (a process known as molecular cloning). (Cloning can also refer to the creation of clonal organisms, through various techniques.)
DNA can also be amplified using a procedure called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). By using specific short sequences of DNA, PCR can isolate and exponentially amplify a targeted region of DNA. Because it can amplify from extremely small amounts of DNA, PCR is also often used to detect the presence of specific DNA sequences.
DNA sequencing and genomicsEdit
One of the most fundamental technologies developed to study genetics, DNA sequencing allows researchers to determine the sequence of nucleotides in DNA fragments. Developed in 1977 by Frederick Sanger and coworkers, chain-termination sequencing is now routinely used to sequence DNA fragments. With this technology, researchers have been able to study the molecular sequences associated with many human diseases.
As sequencing has become less expensive and with the aid of computational tools, researchers have sequenced the genomes of many organisms by stitching together the sequences of many different fragments (a process called genome assembly). These technologies were used to sequence the human genome, leading to the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. New high-throughput sequencing technologies are dramatically lowering the cost of DNA sequencing, with many researchers hoping to bring the cost of resequencing a human genome down to a thousand dollars.
The large amount of sequences available has created the field of genomics, research that uses computational tools to search for and analyze patterns in the full genomes of organisms. Genomics can also be considered a subfield of bioinformatics, which uses computational approaches to analyze large sets of biological data.
- Animal breeding
- Animal mate selection
- Animal strain differences
- Assortive mating
- Behavioural genetics
- Blood groups
- Family resemblance
- Genetic counselling
- Population genetics
- Genetic disorders
- Genetic engineering
- Human accelerated regions
- Hybrids (biology)
- Instinctive behaviour
- Reproductive technology
- Selective breeding
- Sexual reproduction
- Species differences
- Translocation (chromosomes)
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- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mendel, GJ (1866). Versuche über Pflanzen-Hybriden. Verhandlungen des naturforschenden Vereins Brünn 4: 3–47. (in English in 1901, J. R. Hortic. Soc. 26: 1–32) English translation available online
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- ↑ Bateson, W (1907). "The Progress of Genetic Research". Wilks, W (editor) Report of the Third 1906 International Conference on Genetics: Hybridization (the cross-breeding of genera or species), the cross-breeding of varieties, and general plant breeding, London: Royal Horticultural Society.
- Initially titled the "International Conference on Hybridisation and Plant Breeding", Wilks changed the title for publication as a result of Bateson's speech.
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- ↑ Sturtevant AH (1913). The linear arrangement of six sex-linked factors in Drosophila, as shown by their mode of association. Journal of Experimental Biology 14: 43–59. PDF from Electronic Scholarly Publishing
- ↑ Avery OT, MacLeod CM, and McCarty M (1944). Studies on the Chemical Nature of the Substance Inducing Transformation of Pneumococcal Types: Induction of Transformation by a Desoxyribonucleic Acid Fraction Isolated from Pneumococcus Type III. Journal of Experimental Medicine 79 (1): 137–158.35th anniversary reprint available
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- ↑ Watson JD, Crick FHC (1953). Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. Nature 171 (4356): 737–738.
- ↑ Watson JD, Crick FHC (1953). Genetical Implications of the Structure of Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Nature 171 (4361): 964–967.
- ↑ Sanger F, Nicklen S, and Coulson AR (1977). DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Nature 74 (12): 5463–5467.
- ↑ Saiki RK, Scharf S, Faloona F, Mullis KB, Horn GT, Erlich HA, Arnheim N (1985). Enzymatic Amplification of β-Globin Genomic Sequences and Restriction Site Analysis for Diagnosis of Sickle Cell Anemia. Science 230 (4732): 1350–1354.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Human Genome Project Information. Human Genome Project. URL accessed on 2008-03-15.
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 2 (Patterns of Inheritance): Introduction
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 2 (Patterns of Inheritance): Mendel's experiments
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 3 (Chromosomal Basis of Heredity): Mendelian genetics in eukaryotic life cycles
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 4 (Gene Interaction): Interactions between the alleles of one gene
- ↑ Richard W. Cheney. Genetic Notation. URL accessed on 2008-03-18.
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 2 (Patterns of Inheritance): Human Genetics
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 4 (Gene Interaction): Gene interaction and modified dihybrid ratios
- ↑ Mayeux R (2005). Mapping the new frontier: complex genetic disorders. The Journal of Clinical Investigation 115 (6): 1404–1407.
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 25 (Quantitative Genetics): Quantifying heritability
- ↑ Luke A, Guo X, Adeyemo AA, Wilks R, Forrester T, Lowe W Jr, Comuzzie AG, Martin LJ, Zhu X, Rotimi CN, Cooper RS (2001). Heritability of obesity-related traits among Nigerians, Jamaicans and US black people. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 25 (7): 1034–1041. Abstract from NCBI
- ↑ Pearson H (2006). Genetics: what is a gene?. Nature 441 (7092): 398–401.
- ↑ Prescott, L (1993). Microbiology, Wm. C. Brown Publishers.
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 8 (The Structure and Replication of DNA): Mechanism of DNA Replication
- ↑ Gregory SG et al. (2006). The DNA sequence and biological annotation of human chromosome 1. Nature 441: 315–321. free full text available
- ↑ Alberts et al. (2002), II.4. DNA and chromosomes: Chromosomal DNA and Its Packaging in the Chromatin Fiber
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 2 (Patterns of Inheritance): Sex chromosomes and sex-linked inheritance
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 7 (Gene Transfer in Bacteria and Their Viruses): Bacterial conjugation
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 7 (Gene Transfer in Bacteria and Their Viruses): Bacterial transformation
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 5 (Basic Eukaryotic Chromosome Mapping): Nature of crossing-over
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 5 (Basic Eukaryotic Chromosome Mapping): Linkage maps
- ↑ Berg JM, Tymoczko JL, Stryer L, Clarke ND (2002). Biochemistry, 5th edition, New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. I. 5. DNA, RNA, and the Flow of Genetic Information: Amino Acids Are Encoded by Groups of Three Bases Starting from a Fixed Point
- ↑ Crick, F (1970): Central Dogma of Molecular Biology (PDF). Nature 227, 561–563. PMID 4913914
- ↑ Alberts et al. (2002), I.3. Proteins: The Shape and Structure of Proteins
- ↑ Alberts et al. (2002), I.3. Proteins: Protein Function
- ↑ How Does Sickle Cell Cause Disease?. Brigham and Women's Hospital: Information Center for Sickle Cell and Thalassemic Disorders. URL accessed on 2007-07-23.
- ↑ Imes DL, Geary LA, Grahn RA, Lyons LA (2006). Albinism in the domestic cat (Felis catus) is associated with a tyrosinase (TYR) mutation. Animal Genetics 37 (2): 175.
- ↑ MedlinePlus: Phenylketonuria. NIH: National Library of Medicine. URL accessed on 2008-03-15.
- ↑ Brivanlou AH, Darnell JE Jr (2002). Signal transduction and the control of gene expression. Science 295 (5556): 813–818.
- ↑ Alberts et al. (2002), II.3. Control of Gene Expression – The Tryptophan Repressor Is a Simple Switch That Turns Genes On and Off in Bacteria
- ↑ Jaenisch R, Bird A. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression: how the genome integrates intrinsic and environmental signals. Nature Genetics 33 (3s): 245–254.
- ↑ Chandler VL (2007). Paramutation: From Maize to Mice. Cell 128: 641–645.
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 16 (Mechanisms of Gene Mutation): Spontaneous mutations
- ↑ Kunkel TA (2004). DNA Replication Fidelity. Journal of Biological Chemistry 279 (17): 16895–16898.
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 16 (Mechanisms of Gene Mutation): Induced mutations
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 17 (Chromosome Mutation I: Changes in Chromosome Structure): Introduction
- ↑ Sawyer SA, Parsch J, Zhang Z, Hartl DL (2007). Prevalence of positive selection among nearly neutral amino acid replacements in Drosophila. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104 (16): 6504–10.
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 24 (Population Genetics): Variation and its modulation
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 24 (Population Genetics): Selection
- ↑ Griffiths et al. (2000), Chapter 24 (Population Genetics): Random events
- ↑ Darwin, Charles (1859). On the Origin of Species, 1st, 1, John Murray.. Related earlier ideas were acknowledged in Darwin, Charles (1861). On the Origin of Species, 3rd, xiii, John Murray.
- ↑ Gavrilets S (2003). Perspective: models of speciation: what have we learned in 40 years?. Evolution 57 (10): 2197–2215.
- ↑ Wolf YI, Rogozin IB, Grishin NV, Koonin EV (2002). Genome trees and the tree of life. Trends Genet. 18 (9): 472–479.
- ↑ The Use of Model Organisms in Instruction. University of Wisconsin: Wisconsin Outreach Research Modules. URL accessed on 2008-03-15.
- ↑ NCBI: Genes and Disease. NIH: National Center for Biotechnology Information. URL accessed on 2008-03-15.
- ↑ Davey Smith, G, Ebrahim, S (2003). ‘Mendelian randomization’: can genetic epidemiology contribute to understanding environmental determinants of disease?. International Journal of Epidemiology 32: 1–22.
- ↑ Pharmacogenetics Fact Sheet. NIH: National Institute of General Medical Sciences. URL accessed on 2008-03-15.
- ↑ Strachan T, Read AP (1999). Human Molecular Genetics 2, second edition, John Wiley & Sons Inc..Chapter 18: Cancer Genetics
- ↑ Lodish et al. (2000), Chapter 7: 7.1. DNA Cloning with Plasmid Vectors
- ↑ Lodish et al. (2000), Chapter 7: 7.7. Polymerase Chain Reaction: An Alternative to Cloning
- ↑ Brown TA (2002). Genomes 2, 2nd edition.Section 2, Chapter 6: 6.1. The Methodology for DNA Sequencing
- ↑ Brown (2002), Section 2, Chapter 6: 6.2. Assembly of a Contiguous DNA Sequence
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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) describes a continuum of permanent birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy, which includes, but is not limited to Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).
Over time, as it became apparent through research and clinical experience that a range of effects (including physical, behavioral, and cognitive) could arise from prenatal alcohol exposure, the term Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, or FASD, was developed to include Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) as well as other conditions resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure. There are a number of other subtypes with evolving nomenclature and definitions based on partial expressions of FAS, including Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (PFAS), Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND), Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD), and Fetal Alcohol Effect (FAE).
The term Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders is not in itself a clinical diagnosis but describes the full range of disabilities that may result from prenatal alcohol exposure. Currently, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is the only expression of prenatal alcohol exposure that is defined by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems and assigned ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnoses.
Since the original syndrome of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) was reported in 1973, four FASD diagnostic systems that diagnose FAS and other FASD conditions have been developed in North America:
- The Institute of Medicine's guidelines for FAS, the first system to standardize diagnoses of individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure,
- The University of Washington's "The 4-Digit Diagnostic Code," which ranks the four key features of FASD on a Likert scale of one to four and yields 256 descriptive codes that can be categorized into 22 distinct clinical categories, ranging from FAS to no findings,
- The Centers for Disease Control's "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Guidelines for Referral and Diagnosis," which established general consensus on the diagnosis FAS in the U.S. but deferred addressing other FASD conditions, and
- Canadian guidelines for FASD diagnoses, which established criteria for diagnosing FASD in Canada and harmonized most differences between the IOM and University of Washington's systems.
Each diagnostic system requires that a complete FASD evaluation include assessment of the four key features of FASD, described below. A positive finding on all four features is required for a diagnosis of FAS, the first diagnosable condition of FASD that was discovered. However, prenatal alcohol exposure and central nervous system damage are the critical elements of the spectrum of FASD, and a positive finding in these two features is sufficient for an FASD diagnosis that is not "full-blown FAS." Diagnoses are described in a following section.
Key features of FASDEdit
Each of the key features of FASD can vary widely within one individual exposed to prenatal alcohol. While consensus exists for the definition and diagnosis of FAS across diagnostic systems, minor variations among the systems lead to differences in definitions and diagnostic cut-off criteria for other disgnoses across the FASD continuum. (The central nervous system (CNS) damage criteria particularly lack clear consensus.) A working knowledge of the key features is helpful in understanding FASD diagnoses and conditions, and each are reviewed with attention to similarities and differences across the four diagnostic systems.
In terms of FASD, growth deficiency is defined as significantly below average height, weight or both due to prenatal alcohol exposure, and can be assessed at any point in the lifespan. Growth measurements must be adjusted for parental height, gestational age (for a premature infant), and other postnatal insults (e.g., poor nutrition), although birth height and weight are the preferred measurements. Deficiencies are documented when height or weight falls at or below the 10th percentile of standardized growth charts appropriate to the patient's population.
Criteria for FASD are least specific in the IOM diagnostic system ("low birth weight..., decelerating weight not due to nutrition..., [or] disproportional low weight to height" p.4 of executive summary), while the CDC and Canadian guidelines use the 10th percentile as a cut-off to determine growth deficiency. The "4-Digit Diagnostic Code" allows for mid-range gradations in growth deficiency (between the 3rd and 10th percentiles) and severe growth deficiency at or below the 3rd percentile. Growth deficiency (at severe, moderate, or mild levels) contributes to diagnoses of FAS and PFAS, but not ARND or static encephalopathy.
Growth deficiency is ranked as follows by the "4-Digit Diagnostic Code:"
- Severe - Height and weight at or below the 3rd percentile.
- Moderate - Either height or weight at or below the 3rd percentile, but not both.
- Mild - Either height or weight or both between the 3rd and 10th percentiles.
- None - Height and weight both above the 10th percentile.
In the initial studies that discovered FAS, growth deficiency was a requirement for inclusion in the studies; thus, all the original patients with FAS had growth deficiency as an artifact of sampling characteristics used to establish criteria for the syndrome.[How to reference and link to summary or text] That is, growth deficiency is a key feature of FASD because growth deficiency was a criterion for inclusion in the original study that determined the definition of FAS. This reinforces assertions that growth deficiency and FAS facial features are less critical for understanding the disability of FASD than the neurobehavioral sequelae to the brain damage.
FAS facial featuresEdit
Refinements in diagnostic criteria since 1975 have yielded three distinctive and diagnostically significant facial features known to result from prenatal alcohol exposure and distinguishes FAS from other disorders with partially overlapping characteristics. The three FAS facial features are:
- A smooth philtrum - The divot or groove between the nose and upper lip flattens with increased prenatal alcohol exposure.
- Thin vermilion - The upper lip thins with increased prenatal alcohol exposure.
- Small palpebral fissures - Eye width shortens with increased prenatal alcohol exposure.
Measurement of FAS facial features uses criteria developed by the University of Washington. The lip and philtrum are measured by a trained physician with the Lip-Philtrum Guide, a 5-point Likert Scale with representative photographs of lip and philtrum combinations ranging from normal (ranked 1) to severe (ranked 5). Palpebral fissure length (PFL) is measured in millimeters with either calipers or a clear ruler and then compared to a PFL growth chart, also developed by the University of Washington.
All four diagnostic systems have agreed upon this method for determining FAS facial feature severity rankings. Ranking FAS facial features is complicated because the three separate facial features can be affected independently by prenatal alcohol.
Central nervous system damage Edit
Central nervous system (CNS) damage is the primary key feature of any FASD diagnosis. Prenatal alcohol exposure, a teratogen, can damage the brain across a continuum of gross to subtle impairments, depending on the amount, timing, and frequency of the exposure as well as genetic predispositions of the fetus and mother. While functional abnormalities are the behavioral and cognitive expressions of the FASD disability, CNS damage can be assessed in three areas: structural, neurological, and functional impairments.
All four diagnostic systems allow for assessment of CNS damage in these areas, but criteria vary. The IOM system requires structural or neurological impairment for a diagnosis of FAS, but also allows a "complex pattern" of functional anomalies for diagnosing PFAS and ARND. The "4-Digit Diagnostic Code" and CDC guidelines allow for a positive CNS finding in any of the three areas for any FASD diagnosis, but functional anomalies must measure at two standard deviations or worse in three or more functional domains for a diagnoses of FAS, PFAS, and ARND. The "4-Digit Diagnostic Code" also allows for an FASD diagnosis when only two functional domains are measured at two standard deviations or worse. The "4-Digit Diagnostic Code" further elaborates the degree of CNS damage according to four ranks:
- Definite - Structural impairments or neurological impairments for FAS or static encephalopathy.
- Probable - Significant dysfunction of two standard deviations or worse in three or more functional domains.
- Possible - Mild to moderate dysfunction of two standard deviations or worse in one or two functional domains or by judgment of the clinical evaluation team that CNS damage cannot be dismissed.
- Unlikely - No evidence of CNS damage.
Structural abnormalities of the brain are observable, physical damage to the brain or brain structures caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Structural impairments may include microcephaly (small head size) of two or more standard deviations below the average, or other abnormalities in brain structure (e.g., agenesis of the corpus callosum, cerebellar hypoplasia).
Microcephaly is determined by comparing head circumference (often called occipitofrontal circumference, or OFC) to appropriate OFC growth charts. Other structural impairments must be observed through medical imaging techniques by a trained physician. Because imaging procedures are expensive and relatively inaccessible to most patients, diagnosis of FASD is not frequently made via structural impairments except for microcephaly.
When structural impairments are not observable or do not exist, neurological impairments are assessed. In the context of FASD, neurological impairments are caused by prenatal alcohol exposure which causes general neurological damage to the central nervous system (CNS), the peripheral nervous system, or the autonomic nervous system. A determination of a neurological problem must be made by a trained physician, and must not be due to a postnatal insult, such as a high fever, concussion, traumatic brain injury, etc.
All four diagnostic systems show virtual agreement on their criteria for CNS damage at the neurological level, and evidence of a CNS neurological impairment due to prenatal alcohol exposure will result in a diagnosis of FAS or PFAS, and functional impairments are highly likely.
Neurological problems are expressed as either hard signs, or diagnosable disorders, such as epilepsy or other seizure disorders, or soft signs. Soft signs are broader, nonspecific neurological impairments, or symptoms, such as impaired fine motor skills, neurosensory hearing loss, poor gait, clumsiness, poor eye-hand coordination, or sensory integration dysfunction. Many soft signs have norm-referenced criteria, while others are determined through clinical judgment.
When structural or neurological impairments are not observed, all four diagnostic systems allow CNS damage due to prenatal alcohol exposure to be assessed in terms of functional impairments. Functional impairments are deficits, problems, delays, or abnormalities due to prenatal alcohol exposure (rather than hereditary causes or postnatal insults) in observable and measurable domains related to daily functioning, often referred to as developmental disabilities. There is no consensus on a specific pattern of functional impairments due to prenatal alcohol exposure and only CDC guidelines label developmental delays as such, so criteria (and FASD diagnoses) vary somewhat across diagnostic systems.
The four diagnostic systems list various CNS domains that can qualify for functional impairment that can determine an FASD diagnosis:
- Evidence of a complex pattern of behavior or cognitive abnormalities inconsistent with developmental level in the following CNS domains - Sufficient for a PFAS or ARND diagnosis using IOM guidelines
- Performance at two or more standard deviations on standardized testing in three or more of the following CNS domains - Sufficient for an FAS, PFAS or static encephalopathy diagnosis using 4-Digit Diagnostic Code
- General cognitive deficits (e.g., IQ) at or below the 3rd percentile on standardized testing - Sufficient for an FAS diagnosis using CDC guidelines
- Performance at or below the 16th percentile on standardized testing in three or more of the following CNS domains - Sufficient for an FAS diagnosis using CDC guidelines
- Performance at two or more standard deviations on standardized testing in three or more of the following CNS domains - Sufficient for an FAS diagnosis using Canadian guidelines
Ten Brain DomainsEdit
A recent effort to standardize assessment of functional CNS damage has been suggested by an experienced FASD diagnostic team in Minnesota. The proposed framework attempts to harmonize IOM, 4-Digit Diagnostic Code, CDC, and Canadian guidelines for measuring CNS damage viz-a-viz FASD evaluations and diagnosis. The standardized approach is referred to as the Ten Brain Domains and encompasses aspects of all four diagnostic systems' recommendations for assessing CNS damage due to prenatal alcohol exposure. The framework provides clear definitions of brain dysfunction, specifies empirical data needed for accurate diagnosis, and defines intervention considerations that address the complex nature of FASD with the intention to avoid common secondary disabilities.
The proposed Ten Brain Domains include:
- Achievement, adaptive behavior, attention, cognition, executive functioning, language, memory, motor skills, sensory integration or soft neurological problems, social communication
The Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Program (FADP) uses unpublished Minnesota state criteria of performance at 1.5 or more standard deviations on standardized testing in three or more of the Ten Brain Domains to determine CNS damage. However, the Ten Brain Domains are easily incorporated into any of the four diagnostic systems' CNS damage criteria, as the framework only proposes the domains, rather than the cut-off criteria for FASD.
Prenatal alcohol exposureEdit
Prenatal alcohol exposure is determined by interview of the biological mother or other family members knowledgeable of the mother's alcohol use during the pregnancy (if available), prenatal health records (if available), and review of available birth records, court records (if applicable), chemical dependency treatment records (if applicable), or other reliable sources.
Exposure level is assessed as Confirmed Exposure, Unknown Exposure, and Confirmed Absence of Exposure by the IOM, CDC and Canadian diagnostic systems. The "4-Digit Diagnostic Code" further distinguishes confirmed exposure as High Risk and Some Risk:
- High Risk - Confirmed use of alcohol during pregnancy known to be at high blood alcohol levels (100mg/dL or greater) delivered at least weekly in early pregnancy.
- Some Risk - Confirmed use of alcohol during pregnancy with use less than High Risk or unknown usage patterns.
- Unknown Risk - Unknown use of alcohol during pregnancy.
- No Risk - Confirmed absence of prenatal alcohol exposure.
Amount, frequency, and timing of prenatal alcohol use can dramatically impact the other three key features of FASD. While consensus exists that alcohol is a teratogen, there is no clear consensus as to what level of exposure is toxic. The CDC guidelines are silent on these elements diagnostically. The IOM and Canadian guidelines explore this further, acknowledging the importance of significant alcohol exposure from regular or heavy episodic alcohol consumption in determining, but offer no standard for diagnosis. Canadian guidelines discuss this lack of clarity and parenthetically point out that "heavy alcohol use" is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as five or more drinks per episode on five or more days during a 30 day period.
"The 4-Digit Diagnostic Code" ranking system distinguishes between levels of prenatal alcohol exposure as High Risk and Some Risk. It operationalizes high risk exposure as a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) greater than 100mg/dL delivered at least weekly in early pregnancy. This BAC level is typically reached by a 55kg female drinking six to eight beers in one sitting.
For many adopted or adult patients and children in foster care, records or other reliable sources may not be available for review. Reporting alcohol use during pregnancy can also be stigmatizing to birth mothers, especially if alcohol use is ongoing. In these cases, all diagnostic systems use an unknown prenatal alcohol exposure designation. A diagnosis of FAS is still possible with an unknown exposure level if other key features of FASD are present at clinical levels.
Confirmed absence of exposureEdit
Confirmed absence of exposure would apply to planned pregnancies in which no alcohol was used or pregnancies of women who do not use alcohol or report no use during the pregnancy. This designation is relatively rare, as most patients presenting for an FASD evaluation are at least suspected to have had a prenatal alcohol exposure due to presence of other key features of FASD.
While the four diagnostic systems essentially agree on criteria for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), there are still differences when full criteria for FAS are not met. This has resulted in differing and evolving nomenclature for other conditions across the spectrum of FASD, which may account for such a wide variety of terminology. Most individuals with deficits resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure do not express all features of FAS and fall into other FASD conditions. The Canadian guidelines recommend the assessment and descriptive approach of the "4-Digit Diagnostic Code" for each key feature of FASD and the terminology of the IOM in diagnostic categories, excepting ARBD.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or FAS is the only expression of FASD that has garnered consensus among experts to become an official ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnosis. To make this diagnosis or determine any FASD condition, a multi-disciplinary evaluation is necessary to assess each of the four key features for assessment. Generally, a trained physician will determine growth deficiency and FAS facial features. While a qualified physician may also assess central nervous system structural abnormalities and/or neurological problems, usually central nervous system damage is determined through psychological, speech-language, and occupational therapy assessments to ascertain clinically significant impairments in three or more of the Ten Brain Domains. Prenatal alcohol exposure risk may be assessed by a qualified physician, psychologist, social worker, or chemical health counselor. These professionals work together as a team to assess and interpret data of each key feature for assessment and develop an integrative, multi-disciplinary report to diagnose FAS (or other FASD conditions) in an individual.
Other FASD diagnosesEdit
Other FASD conditions are partial expressions of FAS, and here the terminology shows less consensus across diagnostic systems, which has led to some confusion for clinicians and patients. A key point to remember is that other FASD conditions may create disabilities similar to FAS if the key area of central nervous system damage shows clinical deficits in two or more of the Ten Brain Domains. Essentially, growth deficiency and/or FAS facial features may be mild or nonexistent in other FASD conditions, but clinically significant brain damage of the central nervous system is present. In these other FASD conditions, an individual may be at greater risk for adverse outcomes because brain damage is present without associated visual cues of poor growth or the "FAS face" that might ordinarily trigger an FASD evaluation. Such individuals may be misdiagnosed with primary mental health disorders such as ADHD or Oppositional Defiance Disorder without appreciation that brain damage is the underlying cause of these disorders, which requires a different treatment paradigm than typical mental health disorders. While other FASD conditions may not yet be included as an ICD or DSM-IV-TR diagnosis, they nonetheless pose significant impairment in functional behavior because of underlying brain damage.
Partial FAS (PFAS)Edit
Previously known as Atypical FAS in the 1997 edition of the "4-Digit Diagnostic Code," patients with Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome have a confirmed history of prenatal alcohol exposure, but may lack growth deficiency or the complete facial stigmata. Central nervous system damage is present at the same level as FAS. These individuals have the same functional disabilities but "look" less like FAS.
- Growth deficiency - Growth or height may range from normal to deficient
- FAS facial features - Two or three FAS facial features present
- Central nervous system damage - Clinically significant structural, neurological, or functional impairment in three or more of the Ten Brain Domains
- Prenatal alcohol exposure - Confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure
Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND)Edit
Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND) was initially suggested by the Institute of Medicine to replace the term FAE and focus on central nervous system damage, rather than growth deficiency or FAS facial features. The Canadian guidelines also use this diagnosis and the same criteria. While the "4-Digit Diagnostic Code" includes these criteria for three of its diagnostic categories, it refers to this condition as static encephalopathy. The behavioral effects of ARND are not necessarily unique to alcohol however, so use of the term must be within the context of confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure. ARND may be gaining acceptance over the terms FAE and ARBD to describe FASD conditions with central nervous system abnormalities or behavioral or cognitive abnormalities or both due to prenatal alcohol exposure without regard to growth deficiency or FAS facial features.
- Growth deficiency - Growth or height may range from normal to minimally deficient
- FAS facial features - Minimal or no FAS facial features present
- Central nervous system damage - Clinically significant structural, neurological, or functional impairment in three or more of the Ten Brain Domains
- Prenatal alcohol exposure - Confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure
Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE)Edit
This term was initially used in research studies to describe humans and animals in whom teratogenic effects were seen after confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure (or unknown exposure for humans), but without obvious physical anomalies. Smith (1981) described FAE as an "extremely important concept" to highlight the debilitating effects of brain damage, regardless of the growth or facial features. This term has fallen out of favor with clinicians because it was often regarded by the public as a less severe disability than FAS, when in fact its effects can be just as detrimental.
Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD)Edit
Formerly known as Possible Fetal Alcohol Effect (PFAE), Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD) was a term proposed as an alternative to FAE and PFAE The IOM presents ARBD as a list of congenital anomalies that are linked to maternal alcohol use but have no key features of FASD. PFAE and ARBD have fallen out of favor because these anomalies are not necessarily specific to maternal alcohol consumption and are not criteria for diagnosis of FASD. The Canadian guidelines recommend that ARBD should not be used as an umbrella term or diagnostic category for FASD.
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Astley, S.J. (2004). Diagnostic Guide for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: The 4-Digit Diagnostic Code. Seattle: University of Washington. PDF available at FAS Diagnostic and Prevention Network. Retrieved on 2007-04-11
- ↑ Ratey, J.J. (2001). A User's Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-375-70107-9.
- ↑ Clarren, S.K. (2005). A thirty year journey from tragedy to hope. Foreword to Buxton, B. (2005). Damaged Angels: An Adoptive Mother Discovers the Tragic Toll of Alcohol in Pregnancy. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-1550-2.
- ↑ Jones, K.L., Smith, D.W, Ulleland, C.N., Streissguth, A.P. (1973). Pattern of malformation in offspring of chronic alcoholic mothers. Lancet, 1, 1267-1271. PMID 4126070
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Clarren, S.K., & Smith, D.W. (1978). Fetal alcohol syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine, 298, 1063-1067. PMID 347295
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 Institute of Medicine (IOM), Stratton, K.R., Howe, C.J., & Battaglia, F.C. (1996). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. ISBN 0309052920
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Guidelines for Referral and Diagnosis (PDF). CDC (July 2004). Retrieved on 2007-04-11
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Chudley A, Conry J, Cook J, et al (2005). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Canadian guidelines for diagnosis. CMAJ 172 (5 Suppl): S1–S21.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Clinical growth charts. National Center for Growth Statistics. Retrieved on 2007-04-10
- ↑ Jones, K.L., & Smith D.W. (1975). The fetal alcohol syndrome. Teratology, 12(1), 1-10.
- ↑ Astley, S.J., & Clarren, S.K. (1996). A case definition and photographic screening tool for the facial phenotype of fetal alcohol syndrome. Journal of Pediatrics, 129(1), 33-41.
- ↑ Astley, S.J., Stachowiak, J., Clarren, S.K., & Clausen, C. (2002). Application of the fetal alcohol syndrome facial photographic screening tool in a foster care population. Journal of Pediatrics, 141(5), 712-717.
- ↑ Lip-philtrum guides. FAS Diagnostic and Prevention Network, University of Washington. Retrieved on 2007-04-10
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 FAS facial features. FAS Diagnostic and Prevention Network, University of Washington. Retrieved on 2007-04-10
- ↑ Astley, Susan. Backside of Lip-Philtrum Guides (2004) (PDF). University of Washington, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Diagnostic and Prevention Network. Retrieved on [[2007-04-11]
- ↑ West, J.R. (Ed.) (1986). Alcohol and Brain Development. New York: Oxford University Press.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 FADP - Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Program
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 Lang, J. (2006). Ten Brain Domains: A Proposal for Functional Central Nervous System Parameters for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis and Follow-up. Journal of the FAS Institute, 4, 1-11. Can be downloaded at http://www.motherisk.org/JFAS_documents/JFAS_5012_Final_e12_6.28.6.pdf
- ↑ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Tenth special report to the U.S> Congress on alcohol and health: Highlights frfom current research. Washington, DC: The Institute.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Streissguth, A. (1997). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: A Guide for Families and Communities. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing. ISBN 1-55766-283-5.
- ↑ Malbin, D. (2002). Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Trying Differently Rather Than Harder. Portland, OR: FASCETS, Inc. ISBN 0-9729532-0-5.
- ↑ Smith, D.W. (1981). Fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects. Neurobehavioral Toxicology and Teratology, 3, 127.
- ↑ Aase, J.M., Jones, K.L., & Clarren, S.K. (1995). Do we need the term FAE? Pediatrics, 95(3), 428-430.
- ↑ Sokol, R.J., & Clarren, S.K. (1989). Guidelines for use of terminology describing the impact of prenatal alcohol on the offspring. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 13(4), 597-598.
- SAMHSA Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Center of Excellence
- U.S. Congressional Caucus on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- NOFAS-UK
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Linguistik-Klassifikation: Grammatikforschung / Grammar research
Grammatical relations typology
- Traditionally, the term "grammatical relation" (GR) refers to the morphosyntactic properties that relate an argument to a clause, as, for example, its subject or its object. Alternative terms are "syntactic function" or "syntactic role", and they highlight the fact that GRs are defined by the way in which arguments are integrated syntactically into a clause, i.e. by functioning as subject, object etc. Whatever terminology one prefers, what is crucial about the traditional notion of GRs is (a) that they are identified by syntactic properties, and (b) that they relate an argument to the clause. | <urn:uuid:d92b8ef6-0907-4308-b00d-17482d557e65> | {
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asa - interpret carriage-control characters
asa [file ...]
The asa utility will write its input files to standard output, mapping carriage-control characters from the text files to line-printer control sequences in an implementation-dependent manner.
The first character of every line will be removed from the input, and the following actions will be performed:
If the character removed is:
- The rest of the line will be output without change.
- A newline character will be output, then the rest of the input line.
- One or more implementation-dependent characters that causes an advance to the next page will be output, followed by the rest of the input line.
- The newline character of the previous line will be replaced with one or more implementation-dependent characters that causes printing to return to column position 1, followed by the rest of the input line. If the "+" is the first character in the input, it will have the same effect as the space character.
The action of the asa utility is unspecified upon encountering any character other than those listed above as the first character in a line.
- A pathname of a text file used for input. If no file operands are specified, the standard input will be used.
The standard input will be used only if no file operands are specified. See the INPUT FILES section.
The input files must be text files.
The following environment variables affect the execution of asa:
- Provide a default value for the internationalisation variables that are unset or null. If LANG is unset or null, the corresponding value from the implementation-dependent default locale will be used. If any of the internationalisation variables contains an invalid setting, the utility will behave as if none of the variables had been defined.
- If set to a non-empty string value, override the values of all the other internationalisation variables.
- Determine the locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data as characters (for example, single- as opposed to multi-byte characters in arguments and input files).
- Determine the locale that should be used to affect the format and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error.
- Determine the location of message catalogues for the processing of LC_MESSAGES .
The standard output will be the text from the input file modified as described in the DESCRIPTION section.
The following exit values are returned:
- All input files were output successfully.
- An error occurred.
The following command:permits the viewing of file (created by a program using FORTRAN-style carriage control characters) on a terminal.
The following command:formats the FORTRAN output of a.out and directs it to the printer.
a.out | asa | lp | <urn:uuid:39dc8a23-d763-42eb-b902-60770b8e40d0> | {
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The CPSC and the FDA came together yesterday to issue a warning to parents and caregivers to stop using infant sleep positioners immediately as two recent deaths underscore concerns about suffocation.
You may remember the recent recall of the Nap Nanny. Well, now the CPSC is issuing a general warning with regard to sleep positioners after reviewing reports of 12 known infant deaths associated with the products which have occurred over the past 13 years. Most of the infants suffocated after rolling from a side to a stomach position. In addition to the 12 reported deaths, the CPSC has received dozens of reports of infants who were placed on their backs or sides in sleep positioners, only to be found later in potentially hazardous positions within or next to the sleep positioners.
The most common types of sleep positioners are:
- sleeping bolsters, usually a flat or inclined mat with round or triangular cushions on each side of a baby (see Figure 1) and
- wedge-style positioners, which elevate a baby’s head higher than its body, sometimes by placing the infant in an attached, diaper-like sling (see Figure 2).
With bolster-style positioners, if a baby is placed on its stomach or if a baby rolls from its side to its stomach, his or her mouth and nose can become pressed against a bolster or other parts of the device. Even if placed on its back, a baby may move upward or downward in the positioner, entrapping its face against a bolster or becoming trapped between the positioner and the crib side or bassinet.
A baby placed on a wedge-style positioner can scoot upward so that its head falls off and hangs over the high edge of the positioner, or the baby may scoot or roll down the wedge so that its mouth and nose are pressed into the positioner. The baby’s movement may also cause the positioner to flip on top of the baby, trapping the baby underneath the positioner or between the positioner and the side of the crib.
Many of these devices have been marketed with medical claims that they reduce the risk of SIDS by keeping a child on their back, help with food digestion and reflux (GERD), ease colic, and/or prevent flat head syndrome. However, the FDA and the CPSC have stated that there is currently no scientific evidence supporting these claims and they believe that any benefit from using these devices is outweighed by the risk of suffocation.
The FDA, which has jurisdiction over products making medical claims, is now contacting all manufacturers of infant sleep positioners, including those it had previously cleared with medical claims, and requesting that they stop marketing them until they submit scientific data showing that the benefits of their products outweigh the risk of suffocation or other serious harm. The FDA has also indicated it will be contacting retailers to ask them to stop selling the devices.
The FDA and CPSC warn parents, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to take this warning seriously and follow these recommendations:
(1) STOP using infant sleep positioners. Using a device to hold an infant in a particular position is dangerous and unnecessary.
(2) NEVER put pillows, infant sleep positioners, comforters, or quilts under the baby or in the crib.
(3) ALWAYS place an infant to sleep on his/her back, and not their sides, at night and during nap time.
FDA pediatric expert Susan Cummins, M.D., M.P.H., says, “The safest crib is a bare crib,” and summarizes the above recommendations with the “ABCs of safe sleep—Alone on the Back in a Bare Crib.”
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Other recent recalls:
Similac Baby Formula Recalled
Nap Nanny® Recall: What you Should Know
CPSC Vote to Issue Safety Standards that will Eliminate Drop-Side Cribs
Massive Crib Recall Announced: What You Should Know
Double Check your Children’s Medicine
To subscribe to recall announcements and product safety alerts from the CPSC, click here. | <urn:uuid:ec808387-cd20-4f8b-8cff-dfbd8c01036d> | {
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The Kaveri River also spelled Cauvery in English, is one of the major rivers of India, which is considered sacred by Hindus. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu district in the Western Ghats in the state of Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the southeastern lowlands, emptying into the Bay of Bengal through two principal mouths.
The river is considered to rise at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri hills in Kodagu, though there is not a flow at this point all year round. The river Kaveri – one of the seven sacred rivers (sapta sindhu) of India – is one of the most important rivers in south India.
Just as the monsoon was breaking, we visited Anandadhama Retreat near Sangama on the banks of river Cauvery, amidst virgin Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and in the vicinity of renowned Shantidhama -- a unique gurukul (an ancient way to schooling).
The monsoon skies and the moods of the river are to be seen to be believed! | <urn:uuid:758a4ee8-80d4-40bd-986a-3b92e83881ee> | {
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Mexico - Messico
Photo by Eddie Adams
"Anger is energy, it’s a force. If an act of injustice doesn’t provoke anger in me, it could be seen as indifference, passivity. It’s injustice that motivates us to do something, to take risks, knowing that if we don’t, things will remain the same."
One of the foremost human rights attorneys in Mexico, Digna Ochoa was also a nun. As defense attorney at PRODH (Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez, known as Centro Pro, or "the Pro"), Ochoa took on some of Mexico’s most politically charged cases, including the defense of alleged members of the Zapatista insurgency in Chiapas. She won acquittals in several highly publicized cases. In many cases, Ochoa’s clients were subjected to torture and due process violations. Ochoa herself was threatened with death, abducted, and subjected to extensive harassment. Just a few weeks after she was interviewed for the book, Speak Truth to Power, two men assaulted her in her own apartment. They blindfolded her, tied her up, interrogated her, threatened her, and pressured her to sign a statement. They cut her phone line, and opened a gas valve in a closed room.
Miraculously, she survived. Her attackers left stolen files during an attack a few months earlier, while the next day PRODH staff found their offices had been broken into and ransacked. Nevertheless, Ochoa went right back to work at the Pro. In recent years human rights advocates, government investigators, and opposition leaders have been murdered in Mexico. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has required the Mexican government to take steps to assure the safety of PRODH staff in the wake of this pattern of persecution against the organization. On October 19, 2001, however, Digna Ochoa was found shot dead at her office in Mexico City. Her killers also left a death threat against other members of PRODH. Mexican Special Prosecutor Margarita Guerra, who led an inquiry into the violent death of internationally recognized advocate then stunned the human rights community in 2003 by disparaging the activist’s human rights work, discounting any motive for her to have been targeted for murder, and concluding that her death was probably a suicide. This troubling pronouncement further emphasized the deplorable state of the Mexican justice system that Ms. Ochoa worked so tirelessly to reform. Digna Ochoa was killed because of her human rights work. She and other members of the PRODH have worked on cases of torture and other serious human rights violations in which Mexican officials have been implicated. As a result, these defenders of human rights have been the target of many threats and attacks
Digna Ochoa was posthumously bestowed with the Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize in 2003.
Centro de Derechos Humanos “Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez”
I am a nun, who started life as a lawyer. I sought a religious community with a social commitment, and the protection of human rights is one of the things that my particular community focuses on. They have permitted me to work with an organization that fights for human rights, called Centro Pro, supporting me economically, morally, and spiritually. This has been a process of building a life project, from a social commitment to a spiritual one with a mystical aspect.
My father was a union leader in Veracruz, Mexico. In the sugar factory where he worked, he was involved in the struggles for potable water, roads, and securing land certificates. I studied law because I was always hearing that my father and his friends needed more lawyers. And all the lawyers charged so much. My father was unjustly jailed for one year and fifteen days. He then disappeared and was tortured—the charges against him were fabricated. This led to my determination to do something for those suffering injustice, because I saw it in my father's flesh.
When I first studied law, I intended to begin practicing in the attorney general’s office, then become a judge, then a magistrate. I thought someone from those positions could help people. After I got my degree, I became a prosecutor. I remember a very clear issue of injustice. My boss, who was responsible for all of the prosecutions within the attorney general’s office, wanted me to charge someone whom I knew to be innocent. There was no evidence, but my boss tried to make me prosecute him. I refused, and he prosecuted the case himself.
Up until that time, I was doing well. The job was considered a good one, because it was in a coffee-producing area and the people there had lots of money. But I realized that I was doing the same thing that everyone did, serving a system that I myself criticized and against which I had wanted to fight. I decided to quit and with several other lawyers opened an office. I had no litigation experience whatsoever. But I was energized by leaving the attorney general’s office and being on the other side, the side of the defense.
The first case I worked on was against judicial police officers who had been involved in the illegal detention and torture of several peasants. We wanted to feel like lawyers, so we threw ourselves into it. Our mistake was to take on the case without any institutional support. I had managed to obtain substantial evidence against the police, so they started to harass me incessantly, until I was detained. First, they sent telephone messages telling me to drop the case. Then by mail came threats that if I didn’t drop it I would die, or members of my family would be killed. I kept working and we even publicly reported what was happening. The intimidation made me so angry that I was motivated to work even harder. I was frightened, too, but felt I couldn’t show it. I always had to appear—at least publicly—as if I was sure of myself, fearless. If I showed fear they would know how to dominate me. It was a defense mechanism.
Then, I was kidnapped and held incommunicado for eight days by the police. They wanted me to give them all the evidence against them. I had hidden the case file well, not in my office, not in my house, and not where the victims lived, because I was afraid that the police would steal it. Now, I felt in the flesh what my father had felt, what other people had suffered. The police told me that they were holding members of my family, and named them. The worst was when they said they were holding my father. I knew what my father had suffered, and I didn’t want him to relive that. The strongest torture is psychological. Though they also gave me electric shocks and put mineral water up my nose, nothing compared to the psychological torture.
There was a month of torture. I managed to escape from where they were holding me. I hid for a month after that, unable to communicate with my family. It was a month of anguish and torture, of not knowing what to do. I was afraid of everything.
I eventually got in touch with my family. Students at the university, with whom I had always gotten along very well, had mobilized on my behalf. After I "appeared" with the help of my family and human rights groups in Jalapa, Veracruz, I was supported by lawyers, most of whom were women. The fact that I was in Veracruz caused my family anguish. At first I wanted to stay, because I knew we could find the police who detained me. We filed a criminal complaint. We asked for the police registries. I could clearly identify some of the officers. But there was a lot of pressure about what I should do: continue or not with the case? My life was at risk, and so were the lives of members of my family. After a month of anguish, my family, principally my sisters, asked me to leave Jalapa for a while. For me, but also for my parents.
I came to Mexico City. The idea was to take a three-month human rights course for which I had received a scholarship. I met someone at the human rights course who worked at Centro Pro, one of the human rights groups involved on my behalf. One day he said, "Look, we’re just setting up the center and we need a lawyer. Work with us." I had never dreamed of living in Mexico City, and I didn’t want to. But I accepted, because the conditions in Jalapa were such that I couldn’t go back. Two really good women lawyers in Jalapa with a lot of organizational support took up the defense case I had been working on. This comforted me, because I knew the case would not be dropped—I had learned the importance of having organizational backup. So I started to work with Centro Pro in December 1988. Since I began working with the organization, I’ve handled a lot of cases of people like my father and people like me. That generates anger, and that anger becomes the strength to try to do something about the problem. At work, even though I give the appearance of seriousness and resolve, I’m trembling inside. Sometimes I want to cry, but I know that I can’t, because that makes me vulnerable, disarms me.
At this time, because of what happened to me, I needed the help of a psychoanalyst, but I wasn’t ready to accept it. The director of Centro Pro prepared me to accept that support. He was a Jesuit and psychologist. For six months, I didn’t know he was a therapist. When I found out, I asked him why he hadn’t told me. "You never asked," he said. We became very close. He was my friend, my confessor, my boss, and my psychologist, too, although I also had my psychoanalyst.
The idea of a confessor came slowly to me. In Jalapa, I had been supported by some priests. When I first "appeared," the first place I was taken was a church. I felt secure there, though as a kid, I had never had much to do with priests, besides attending church. To me they were people who accepted donations, delivered sacraments, and were power brokers. It made an impression on me to see priests committed to social organizations, supporting people.
Since I’ve been at Centro Pro, we’ve gone through some tough times, like the two years of threats we received beginning in 1995. Once again it was me who was being threatened. My first reaction was to feel cold shivers. I went to the kitchen with a faxed copy of the threat and said to one of the sisters in the congregation, "Luz, we’ve received a threat, and they’re directed at me, too." And Luz responded, "Digna, this is not a death threat. This is a threat of resurrection." That gave me great sustenance. Later that day another of my lawyer colleagues, Pilar, called me to ask what security measures I was taking. She was—rightfully—worried. I told her what Luz had said and Pilar responded, "Digna, the difference is that you’re a religious person." And I realized that being a person of faith and having a community, that having a base in faith, is a source of support that others don’t have.
Now, some people said to me that my reaction was courageous. But I’ve always felt anger at the suffering of others. For me, anger is energy, it’s a force. You channel energy positively or negatively. Being sensitive to situations of injustice and the necessity of confronting difficult situations like those we see every day, we have to get angry to provoke energy and react. If an act of injustice doesn’t provoke anger in me, it could be seen as indifference, passivity. It’s injustice that motivates us to do something, to take risks, knowing that if we don’t, things will remain the same. Anger has made us confront police and soldiers. Something that I discovered is that the police and soldiers are used to their superiors shouting at them, and they’re used to being mistreated. So when they run into a woman, otherwise insignificant to them, who demands things of them and shouts at them in an authoritarian way, they are paralyzed. And we get results. I consider myself an aggressive person, and it has been difficult for me to manage that within the context of my religious education. But it does disarm authorities. I normally dress this way, in a way that my friends call monklike. That’s fine. It keeps people off guard. I give a certain mild image, but then I can, more efficiently, demand things, shout.
For example, one time there was a guy who disappeared for twenty days. We knew he was in the military hospital, and we filed habeas corpus petitions on his behalf. But the authorities simply denied having him in custody. One night we were informed that he was being held at a particular state hospital. We went the next day. They denied us access. I spent the whole morning studying the comings and goings at the hospital to see how I could get in. During a change in shifts, I slipped by the guards. When I got to the room where this person was, the nurse at the door told me I could not go in. "We are not even allowed in," she said. I told her that I would take care of myself; all I asked of her was that she take note of what I was going to do and that if they did something to me, she should call a certain number. I gave her my card. I took a deep breath, opened the door violently and yelled at the federal judicial police officers inside. I told them they had to leave, immediately, because I was the person’s lawyer and needed to speak with him. They didn’t know how to react, so they left. I had two minutes, but it was enough to explain who I was, that I had been in touch with his wife, and to get him to sign a paper proving he was in the hospital. He signed. By then the police came back, with the fierceness that usually characterizes their behavior. Their first reaction was to try to grab me. They didn’t expect me to assume an attack position—the only karate position I know, from movies, I suppose. Of course, I don’t really know karate, but they definitely thought I was going to attack. Trembling inside, I said sternly that if they laid a hand on me they’d see what would happen. And they drew back, saying, "You’re threatening us." And I replied, "Take it any way you want."
After some discussion, I left, surrounded by fifteen police officers. Meanwhile I had managed to record some interesting conversations. They referred to "the guy who was incommunicado," a term that was very important. I took the tape out and hid the cassette where I could. The police called for hospital security to come, using the argument that it wasn’t permitted to have tape recorders inside the hospital. I handed over the recorder. Then they let me go. I was afraid that they would kidnap me outside the hospital. I was alone. I took several taxis, getting out, changing, taking another, because I didn’t know if they were following me. When I arrived at Centro Pro, I could finally breathe. I could share all of my fear. If the police knew that I was terrified when they were surrounding me, they would have been able to do anything to me.
Sometimes, without planning and without being conscious of it, there is a kind of group therapy among the colleagues at Centro Pro. We show what we really feel, our fear. We cry. There’s a group of us who have suffered physically. On the other hand, my religious community has helped me manage my fear. At times of great danger, group prayer and study of the Bible and religious texts helps me. Praying is very important. Faith in God. That has been a great source of strength. And I’m not alone anymore. As a Christian, as a religious person, I call myself a follower of Christ who died on the cross for denouncing the injustices of his time. And if He had to suffer what he suffered, what then can we expect?
For years after my father was tortured, I wanted revenge. Then, when I was the torture victim, the truth is that the last thing I wanted was revenge, because I feared that it would be an unending revenge. I saw it as a chain. Three years after coming to Mexico City I remember that a person came to tell me that they had found two of the judicial police officers who tortured me. The person asked if I wanted him to get them and give them their due. At first, I did have a moment when I thought yes. But I thought about it and realized that I would simply be doing what they did. I would have no right to speak about them as I am talking about them now. I would have been one of them.
I rarely share my own experience of torture. But I remember talking to a torture victim who was very, very angry, for whom the desire for revenge was becoming destructive. I shared my own experience, and that made an impression on him. But if we don’t forgive and get over the desire for revenge, we become one of them. You can’t forget torture, but you have to learn to assimilate it. To assimilate it you need to find forgiveness. It’s a long-term, difficult, and very necessary undertaking.
If you don’t step up to those challenges, what are you doing? What meaning does your life have? It is survival. When I began to work, when I took that case in which they made me leave Jalapa, I was committed to doing something against injustice. But there was something else that motivated me, and I have to recognize it, even though it causes me shame. What motivated me as well as the commitment was the desire to win prestige as a lawyer. Thanks to the very difficult situation that I lived through, I realized what was wrong. What a shame that I had to go through that in order to discover my real commitment, the meaning of my life, the reason I’m here. In this sense, I’ve found something positive in what was a very painful experience. If I hadn’t suffered, I wouldn’t have been able to discover injustice in such depth. Maybe I wouldn’t be working in Centro Pro. Maybe I wouldn’t have entered the congregation. Maybe I wouldn’t have learned that the world is a lot bigger than the very small world that I had constructed. Thanks to a very difficult, painful experience for me and my family and my friends, my horizons were broadened. Sometimes I say to myself, "What a way for God to make you see things." But sometimes without that we aren’t capable of seeing.
Speak Truth To Power (Umbrage, 2000) | <urn:uuid:b991aaed-f5b7-4af6-9f6a-f49b9ed8cf61> | {
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Training to Compete
Develop the Engine
The Player - SPECIALIZES
The players in this stage are generally around 16 - 19 years old for boys and around 15 - 18 years old for girls
Players are more likely to have committed themselves to rugby as their chief sport. They are more willing to invest a significant amount of time and energy to become successful. They are driven and are fiercely competitive with a greater capacity for all game related competencies. Players pay more attention to developing themselves as positional specialists in order to undertake their functional roles.
Players at this stage are capable of independent thinking and of taking greater responsibility while also contributing more toward problem solving.
The Coach - FACILITATES
Since players have the capacity for greater input, the role of the coach shifts towards facilitation. Allowing opportunity for opinions and problem solving is critical if players are to develop confidence and relative autonomy.
The coach will still need to employ teaching, challenging and guiding skills where appropriate. The emphasis should be on developing players’ ability to navigate rather than replicate.
The Game - OUTCOMES
The game becomes fiercely competitive with positional specialists influencing games, mini units and units well are synchronized and team play concentrates on reducing errors and maximizing success. The focus is on achieving desired outcomes with respect to attacking and defensive goals (team, unit, mini-unit). | <urn:uuid:eb442f73-8329-4682-924f-a179fcff1554> | {
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Save the Clean Air Act to Fight Global Warming
Scientific consensus is clear: We must reduce the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million (ppm) or below to avoid global catastrophe. Unfortunately, pending climate legislation isn't going to get us to 350 ppm -- but the Clean Air Act could.
To reach 350 ppm, carbon pollution from the United States and other developed countries must be reduced by 45 percent or more below 1990 levels by 2020. But the Senate climate bill would reduce emissions by just 4 percent below those levels. (The House bill sets even weaker targets.) Clearly, the road map to 350 ppm won't be found in pending legislation.
Rather, the path to achieving 350 ppm must utilize the Clean Air Act, which provides indispensable tools for reducing pollution from smokestacks and other big polluters, and also requires the Environmental Protection Agency to set a science-based national pollution limit for greenhouse gases.
- Under the Act, the EPA is required to set a limit on the amount of carbon pollution that different sources, such as coal-fired power plants, oil refineries, and cement factories, may emit.
- The Act requires each new or modified source of carbon pollution to show that the proposed facility will use the best available carbon control technology before it can be built.
- Finally, the Act requires the EPA to use the best available science and set a national limit -- such as 350 ppm -- on the total amount of carbon pollution that may exist in the ambient air. EPA has not yet set that limit, and will be prevented from ever doing so if the current climate bill becomes law.
The Clean Air Act is a comprehensive system of pollution control with a proven track record of saving the public money and protecting our planet's health. It can work immediately to curb carbon pollution, either by itself or in conjunction with new climate legislation. Now, more than ever, is the time to enforce the Clean Air Act -- not to gut it. We need you to stand with us to save the Clean Air Act today.
- If you haven't yet written to your senators urging them to save the Clean Air Act, click here to send them a message now.
- Please call your senators and urge them to save the Clean Air Act -- the entire Clean Air Act. Personal calls from constituents make a big difference. Call (202) 224-3121 and ask for your senators' office, or visit https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/getLocal.jsp to look up your senators' contact information.
- Visit your senators' district office. If you live in California, Oregon, Vermont, Nevada, or New Mexico, please join Center for Biological Diversity staff in meeting with your senators’ district office staff to save the Clean Air Act. Space is limited; to reserve a spot or get more information, contact Climate Campaign Coordinator Rose Braz at [email protected] or (415) 436-9682 x 319. And if you don't live in these areas, contact us for talking points to set up and conduct a meeting yourself.
Coal plant photo by J.C. Willett, USGS. | <urn:uuid:bb7fe6cb-4b57-4493-9085-28f2b20863b4> | {
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Emergency & Security
Medications, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Hepatitis
Medication in School
School personnel may assist a student to manage prescription and non-prescription medication only under the directions of a physician. Prescription medication will be accepted only in the container properly labeled by the pharmacist. This label will serve as the physician’s written instructions. The parent must fill out medication consent forms, available in the front office. Students may carry a 1-day supply of non-prescription medication with them, as long as they also carry a note from the parent specifying the name of the medication and dose to be taken. All medication requested to be administered by school personnel must be checked in with school personnel and kept in a locked cupboard. The student may carry emergency medication/inhalers with parent and physician written instruction. School personnel will accept changes in medication dosages only with the new properly labeled pharmacy container reflecting the dosage and/or time changes. Parents are responsible for transportation of medication to and from school. Parents are responsible for refilling the school’s supply of medication and keeping track of that supply. Parents are responsible for the preparation of all tablets (e.g., halving tablets). Parents are responsible for picking up all unused medication at the end of the school year.
ADHD / ADD and Medications
An increasing number of students are being diagnosed as having an attention deficit disorder and are being placed on medication by their physicians. There is still much to learn about attention disorders, and controversy about the appropriateness of prescribing medication. Our role as educators is to provide instruction, make reasonable accommodations, observe behavior and provide feedback to parents and physicians when asked. We have the responsibility of cooperating with a physician and parent when a child is placed on medication following the procedures outline in School Board Policy 5665, Administering Medication in School (see Appendix A). We do not have the training or authority to prescribe medication. Consult with district nurses, psychologists, or social workers if you have questions about ADHD / ADD.
Due to the continuing high local incidence rate of Hepatitis B, we will again follow the recommendations of the Lane County Health Department in restricting the use of home prepared foods for use at school sponsored events. Food prepared by the cafeteria staff, pre-packaged or “store bought” items, and food cleaned and cooked at school under staff supervision are acceptable to share at school. This restriction applies specifically to all school functions that include students, parents, or other members of the community. While the restrictions do not apply to events that are organized by the staff for each other, it is advisable to consider applying the same rules. Please continue to insist that students wash their hands before eating or handling food, especially after using the restroom. | <urn:uuid:5b2892de-7757-4250-9f7d-974a2eb403c6> | {
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Louis XV and science: the most beautiful instruments
Authors: Engineer: Claude-Siméon Passemant (1702-1769); Clockmaker: Louis Dauthiau (1730-1809); Sculptors and bronze artists: Jean-Jacques and Philippe Caffiéri (1725-1772)
Date: Presented to the Royal Academy of Science on 23 August 1749, presented to the king in 1750. Mechanism: 1749; bronze: 1753
Characteristics/Origins: Gilt bronze, enamel, steel, copper and glass. Versailles, musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon © château de Versailles, Christian Milet
The extraordinary astronomical clock was added to the clock cabinet in January 1754. Engineer Claude-Siméon Passemant designed the timepiece, clockmaker Louis Dauthiau crafted the mechanism and sculptors and bronze artists Jacques and Philippe II Caffiéri made the case. It shows the date, real time, average time, phases of the moon and movements of the planets according to Copernicus. A moving sphere crowns the exceptional rocaille work, which measures over two metres tall. A bronze globe features all the countries engraved with the main cities. It is amidst rocks and waterfalls serving as the universal horizon.
The Academy of Science examined and approved the clock in August 1749 before the Duc de Chaulnes presented it to Louis XV at Choisy on 7 September 1750. The king acquired it that year. It was put in the clock cabinet, attesting to Louis XV's interest in the mechanical arts and clocks; the room actually got its name because of the large astronomical clock dials in the wainscoting showing the sunrises and moonrises every day. The king's scientific interests led him to amplify that daily experience by having the Passemant clock installed in this room.
Video in French | <urn:uuid:a364cb69-cecd-43d5-b165-d5404cf0491e> | {
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For one AES is built for three key sizes
128, 192 or 256 bits.
Currently, brute-forcing 128 bits is not even close to feasible. Hypothetically, if an AES Key had 129 bits, it would take twice as long to brute-force a 129 bit key than a 128 bit key. This means larger keys of 192 bits and 256 bits would take much much much longer to attack. It would take so incredibly long to brute-force one of these keys that the sun would stop burning before the key was realized.
That's a big freaking number. That's how many possibly keys there are. Assuming the key is random, if you divide that by 2 then you have how many keys it will take on average to brute-force AES-256
In a sense we do have the really big cipher keys you are talking of. The whole point of a symmetric key is to make it unfeasible to brute-force. In the future, if attacking a 256bit key becomes possible then keysizes will surely increase, but that is quite a ways down the road.
The reason RSA keys are much larger than AES keys is because they are two completely different types of encryption. This means a person would not attack a RSA key the same as they would attack an AES Key.
Attacking symmetric keys is easy.
- Start with a bitstring
- Decrypt ciphertext with that bitstring.
- If you can read it, you succeeded.
- If you cannot read it then increment the bitstring
Attacking an RSA key is different...because RSA encryption/decryption works with big semi-prime numbers...the process is mathy. With RSA, you don't have to try every possible bit string. You try far fewer than
2^2048 bitstrings...but it's still not possible to bruteforce. This is why RSA and AES keys differ in size.
To sum up everything and answer your question in 1 sentence. We don't need ridiculously big symmetric keys because we already have ridiculously big symmetric keys. 256 bit encryption sounds wimpy compared to something like a 2048 bit RSA Key, but the algorithms are different and can't really be compared 'bit to bit' like that. In the future if there is a need to longer keys then there will be new algorithms developed to handle larger keys. And if we ever wanted to go bigger on current hardware, it's simply a time tradeoff. Bigger key means longer decryption time means slower communication. This is especially important for a cipher since your internet browser will establish and then use a symmetric key to send information. | <urn:uuid:066ec567-48e5-40d2-93b0-abe64693ee0d> | {
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Winsor McCay, pioneering animator and comic strip artist, was a native of Spring Lake, Michigan. Spring Lake is also where he began his career in art. His father, Robert McCay, and mother Janet ran a grocery store in the village. While it is probable that Winsor was born in 1867 during a visit to his mother’s family in Ontario, McCay stated that he was born September 26, 1871, in Spring Lake, Michigan. He always considered Spring Lake his hometown.
In 1880, the Goodrich steamship Alpena, en route from nearby Grand Haven to Chicago, was wrecked in a terrible storm and sank to the bottom, carrying with it nearly one hundred passengers. At the age of thirteen, young Winsor drew a picture of the wreck on the blackboard of Union School, which he attended on Exchange Street. The illustration was photographed and copies were sold as postcards.
A panel from the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland (1905-1914)
McCay’s comic strips included Little Nemo in Slumberland and Dream of the Rarebit Fiend. McCay created the very first animated cartoon in America with the release of Little Nemo in 1911 (See video link below).
Many in the animation world hail McCay today as the “Father of Animation.” As a tribute, the highest award that an animator can receive is an “Annie,” which is the Winsor McCay Award for Lifetime Achievement in Animation. When Disneyland first opened in 1955, so the story goes, Walt Disney took Robert McCay, son of Spring Lake native Winsor McCay, on a guided tour. He stopped near the end and said, “You know, this should really belong to your father.” | <urn:uuid:ed72594b-fe7f-4d9c-9f0b-79f9f63aca50> | {
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Spring in the Mountains 2008 / Spring in the Mountains trek pix-13
May 2–4, 2008
The Smokies are home to many species of land snails. Identification is possible (with practice) by examining features such as the shell spiral, overall size, and whether the opening is toothed or not. Snails are important part of the leaf litter and some species are an important source of calcium for many other animals. | <urn:uuid:179847a2-d9a5-4826-ba93-b6eb7de8e6e8> | {
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The coral is at the mercy of natural circumstances like water quality and starfish population, but can be aided by human intervention. The first step to take will be decreasing population and CO2 emissions.
Coral cover in the Great Barrier Reef has dropped by more than half over the last 27 years, according to scientists, a result of increased storms, bleaching and predation by population explosions of a starfish which sucks away the coral’s nutrients.
At present rates of decline, the coral cover will halve again within a decade, though scientists said the reef could recover if the crown-of-thorns starfish can be brought under control and, longer term, global carbon dioxide emissions are reduced.
“This latest study provides compelling evidence that the cumulative impacts of storms, crown-of-thorns starfish (Cots) and two bleaching events have had a devastating effect on the reef over the last three decades,” said John Gunn, chief executive of the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Coral reefs are an important part of the marine ecosystem as sources of food and as protection for young fish. They are under threat around the world from the effects of bleaching, due to rising ocean temperatures, and increasing acidification of the oceans, which reduces the corals’ ability to build their calcium carbonate structures.
The Great Barrier Reef is the most iconic coral reef in the world, listed as a Unesco world heritage site and the source of $A5bn (£3.2bn) a year to the Australian economy through tourism. The observations of its decline are based on more than 2,000 surveys of 214 reefs between 1985 and 2012. The results showed a decline in coral cover from 28% to 13.8% – an average of 0.53% a year and a total loss of 50.7% over the 27-year period. The study was published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal (subscription).
Two-thirds of the coral loss has occurred since 1998 and the rate of decline has increased in recent years, averaging around 1.45% a year since 2006. “If the trend continued, coral cover could halve again by 2022,” said Peter Doherty, a research fellow at the institute.
Tropical cyclones, predation by Cots, and bleaching accounted for 48%, 42%,and 10% of the respective estimated losses. In the past seven years the reef has been affected by six major cyclones. Cyclone Hamish, for example, ran along the reef, parallel to the coast for almost 930 miles (1,500km), leaving a trail of destruction much greater than the average cyclone, which usually crosses the reef on a path perpendicular to the coast.
The starfish problem was first recorded in 1962 at Green Island off Cairns. “When we say outbreaks, we mean explosions of Cots populations to a level where the numbers are so large that they end up eating upwards of 90% of a reef’s coral,” Gunn said. “Since 1962 there have been major outbreaks every 13-14 years.”
The evidence suggests that outbreaks of Cots start two or three years after major floods in northern rivers.
In September, scientists at the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced that Caribbean coral reefs are on the verge of collapse, with less than 10% of the reef area showing live coral cover. The collapse was due to environmental issues, including over-exploitation, pollution and climate change.
David Curnick, marine and freshwater programme co-ordinator at the Zoological Society of London, said many of the most endangered coral species around the world were also under severe pressure from the aquarium trade.
“Corals are notoriously hard to propagate in captivity and therefore the trade is still heavily dependent on harvesting from the wild.”.”
He said the results of the Great Barrier Reef survey were not surprising and the challenge for conservationists was to limit the localised threats to give reefs a chance to recover and develop resilience against the effects of climate change. “This is challenging but entirely achievable and there are many community-led projects around the world demonstrating this.”
Corals can recover if given the chance. But this is slow – in the absence of cyclones, Cots and bleaching, the Great Barrier Reef can regrow at a rate of 2.85% a year, the scientists wrote. Removing the Cots problem alone would allow coral cover to increase at 0.89% a year.
Reducing Cots means improving water quality around the rivers at the northern end of the reef to reduce agricultural run-off – high levels of nutrients flowing off the land feed and allow high survival of Cots larvae. Another option is some form of biological control of populations – Gunn said there were promising results from research on naturally occurring pathogens that could keep Cots in check, but it was not ready to be applied in the field.
He said the future of the Reef lay partly in human hands. “We can achieve better water quality, we can tackle the challenge of crown-of-thorns, and we can continue to work to ensure the resilience of the reef to climate change is enhanced. However, its future also lies with the global response to reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The coral decline revealed by this study – shocking as it is – has happened before the most severe impacts of ocean warming and acidification associated with climate change have kicked in, so we undoubtedly have more challenges ahead.” | <urn:uuid:abe92949-5b38-4785-8ba0-6474ec1a9938> | {
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Knowledge Under Threat in War-Torn Mali
29 Aug 12
The destruction of mausoleums and shrines in Timbuktu by Islamic militias caused international outrage and drew attention to a war that has destroyed not only monuments but also many human lives. Mali’s cultural heritage is under threat, and so is its heritage of traditional knowledge linked to agriculture and food.
Before the conflict exploded, Slow Food was working with the FAO and the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Italian Development Cooperation) to promote traditional products from the country, and from Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone and Senegal. This project led to the creation of the Timbuktu and Gao Katta Pasta Presidium. The towns of Timbuktu and Gao are in the northern Azawad region, where the Tuareg and the MNLA (Mouvement National pour la Liberation de l'Azawad) are demanding independence.
Katta pasta is shaped by women from a dough made with local wheat flour, and recalls the shape of Italian trofie. Dried and toasted, it is usually eaten cooked in a sauce of dried fish, tomato, meat and spices.
Almahdi Al Ansari, the Presidium coordinator, reports: “Currently in Timbuktu the women cannot go out unless they are accompanied by a man from their family and completely veiled. The government army units were concentrated here and so the ‘pale-skinned’ population fled, fearing retribution because they were believed to support independence. Some of the Presidium’s women are now among the refugees in camps in Mauritania and Burkina Faso. The economy has stalled, agriculture has been destroyed, and no-one is sowing or harvesting.”
Almahdi does have some positive news: “A few of the darker-skinned women have remained. They are still making katta pasta, and production has increased, maybe even doubled, because the people have had to stop eating rice, which came from the south. Instead there is an abundance of flour from Algeria.”
Find out more:
Download the publications produced by Slow Food as part of the project with the FAO.
Discover the Presidium at the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, in Turin from October 25 to 29, 2012.
Photo: Timbuktu and Gao Katta Pasta Presidium by Paola Viesi
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Tell Us Your Story
And experience the stories of others
Storytelling has been passed down from generation to generation as a way of keeping history alive. We all have our favorite stories that we enjoy hearing when friends and family gather together. What if we could continue listening to these stories anytime we wanted with a simple click? With digital storytelling, this is possible. Digital storytelling provides the technology to interview and record historical moments that may have otherwise been lost. Solano County Library has been given the opportunity to participate in a project called California of the Past. This project will ensure that the storytellers and pieces of California’s history will never be forgotten.
California of the Past is supported in whole or in part by a California State Library grant supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum & Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian with services provided by Media Arts Center San Diego. For more information go to Digital Story Station - www.DigitalStoryStation.com. | <urn:uuid:9d43afaf-a632-4e9a-9968-57e4962e8d1e> | {
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