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there is a book called "the Statistics Problem Solver" for $4 (used) on amazon. Buy it! These problem-solver books are great for math & science classes. With thousands of solved problems and the steps for solving them shown, its like having a grad student tutor at your elbow.
You have to use the book correctly, though. The wrong way is to look at your homework problem, thumb thru the book until you see a similar one, then apply it blindly to your HW. A 5th grader could do that. Instead, use the book as a way to get practice until you understand the concepts. Go to the chapter matching your current classwork, cover up the answers and start working problems. If you get it wrong, read the correct steps, cover them up, do it again. Keep working problems until you get it. When you get midterms in class you'll almost be laughing because you know you can do them all.
Keep in mind that a standard expectation for a college class is 2-3 hours outside of the class for every hour in it. Your class will meet 3x a week for an hour, which means you ought to be putting in 6-9 hours outside of class for it. Do this, and use your time effectively, you'll do well in the class. | <urn:uuid:6fc6debc-d762-461b-9c78-5e136a88fa64> | {
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Mystery Strategy for Elementary Students
Using the premise of a mystery to solve, elementary students act as history detectives as they explore a historical question and analyze carefully chosen clues to formulate and test hypotheses.
This strategy depends on our need to solve mysteries. Students are given an opportunity to be active learners as they solve a historical mystery. This strategy relates to what historians do and the process of historical inquiry. Students must work with evidence, form hypotheses, test those hypotheses, and report their findings.
The goals of the mystery strategy are to learn to:
1. gather, organize, and process information;
2. formulate and test hypotheses;
3. think creatively and analytically to solve problems; and
4. develop, defend, and present solutions to problems.
1. Choose an topic that contains a mystery such as “Why did the American beaver almost become extinct in the 1840s?” Other examples of appropriate historical mysteries include: “How did flooding in Mississippi in 1931 hinder the Civil Rights Movement?”; “Who really invented the cotton gin?”; and “Was the Boston Massacre really a massacre?”
2. Gather primary and secondary sources that will serve as clues for students such as letters, diary entries, maps, statistical tables, political cartoons, images, artifacts for students to touch (in this case beaver fur or felt), and web articles. These sources should pique students’ interest and provide them with clues that will help them generate theories. For example, if students are given a clue regarding the habitat and species characteristics of the beaver and then also told John Jacob Astor was the wealthiest man in America in 1848 it is hoped they conclude that Astor’s wealth had something to do with the beaver. Maps indicating trade routes should confirm this conclusion. Though they may be encountering names in the clues for the first time, making educated guesses is an essential ingredient to the mystery strategy. Students should not be afraid of making guesses or presenting ideas to the larger group. The learning goal is about what it takes to arrive at a hypothesis rather than ending up with a right answer.
3. Decide student grouping. If using small groups, keep individual needs in mind such as reading levels, ability to work with others, and Individual Education Plans (IEPs).
4. Decide how to present the clues to students (strips of paper within envelopes at stations, single sheets of paper for them to cut apart, etc.). See examples of clues for additional clues. Teachers should read through materials to pull clues that fit students’ needs and abilities.
1. Students read through clues and sort them according to common elements. Once the clues are sorted, students begin to work on their hypothesis.
2. As students analyze the clues and arrive at a hypothesis, use guiding questions such as, “Tell me how the two things relate” and “What’s your reason for thinking that?” to keep students focused on solving the mystery. Avoid guiding them in a direction. The goal is for students to work with the clues and arrive at their own hypothesis. Students can use the Mystery Writing Guide Worksheet to record ideas.
3. In a whole group, have small groups share their hypotheses and evaluate them. Are they logical based on the clues? Do they make sense? Write group responses on the board so students can track their findings as they move through the evidence. The goal is to test each group hypothesis and arrive at the best conclusion. For example, if one group understands there is a connection between the mountain men and the beaver yet they also think the railroads had a role in the problem, do the clues support or refute these ideas? Remind students they are like historians looking at information to form a hypothesis, test it, and arrive at a conclusion.
4. Assign each student a written reflection piece on the content learned and the process used to uncover the mystery. This is the most important part of the mystery strategy and should go beyond merely reporting content. Prompt students with questions such as: What happened in the activity? What things did you do well? Most importantly, ask, Which hypothesis best answers the mystery question? Why?
- Data should tease the student without revealing too much.
- Data should hone inference skills.
- Clues should provide information not an explanation (see Mystery Strategy Clues Worksheet).
Students are presented with the following problem: Why did the American beaver almost become extinct in 1840? Write the question on the board so it is visible throughout the activity.
Anticipatory Set: Begin by employing a student’s knowledge of science and ecosystems learned earlier. Give a short presentation about the American Beaver. This would include the fact that beavers maintain dams that create ponds. The water level in these ponds is constant, encouraging the growth of vegetation that supports many other types of animals. The dams also keep summer rains and resulting erosion in check. The presentation could end with figures about the number of beavers estimated to be in North America from European settlement to today (see links below). Students would see a significant decline in the population during exploration and settlement. This decline leads students to the essential question and they can begin working with the clues to make hypotheses.
Clues: Clues can be obtained from….
- facts on the American Beaver species – including habitat and life cycle;
- maps indicating beaver habitats and population centers in the 1840s. Scroll down through the page for a fur trading route map;
- images from fashion catalogs from the mid-1800s;
- real beaver pelt and/or beaver trap, scraps of commercial felt, or images of beaver fur and hats;
- short biographical sketches of mountain men such as Kit Carson, John Liver-Eating Johnston, and William Sublette;
- Advertisements for beaver products such as top hats and ads from trading companies seeking hunters. Scroll down through each page for the aforementioned images.
- newspaper accounts regarding skirmishes/battles between the Iroquois Confederation/other tribes in the Great Lakes region in the Beaver Wars;
- Quotes from all parties involved in the fur trade (Native American chiefs, trading company owners such as Manuel Lisa, mountain men, etc.)
- Pictures of people wearing beaver hats;
- John Jacob Astor.
Be sure to use some visuals!
Reflection: Students reflect on the original question by presenting their hypotheses in written form. Along with their response about the disappearance of the beaver, students are asked to think about the process of historical inquiry and how it relates to the steps they followed to arrive at a hypothesis.
Osborne Russell and Aubrey L. Haines, Journal of a Trapper and Maps of His Travels in the Rocky Mountains
Fred R. Gowans, Rocky Mountain Rendezvous: A History of the Fur Trade, 1825-1840
Silver, Harvey.F., et. al. Teaching styles & strategies. Trenton, NJ: The Thoughtful Education Press, 1996. | <urn:uuid:57c1bc6f-047e-437d-a905-844bd12bf6ab> | {
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Telnet Server Overview
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
Telnet is an Internet-standard utility and protocol based on Request for Comments (RFC) 854. This RFC specifies a method for transmitting and receiving unencrypted ASCII characters (plaintext) across a network. You can use a Telnet client running on one computer to connect to a command line-based session to run applications. Only character-based interfaces and applications are supported. There is no graphics capability in the Telnet environment.
The RFC documents that define Telnet can be found at the Internet Engineering Task Force Web site (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=121). On that page, click RFC Pages, and then type 854 in the RFC number text box and click Go.
Telnet consists of two components: Telnet Client and Telnet Server.
Telnet Server hosts the remote sessions for Telnet clients. When Telnet Server is running on a computer, users can connect to the server with a Telnet client from a remote computer. Telnet Server is implemented in Windows as a service that can be configured to always run, even when no one is logged on to the server.
When a Telnet client connects to a computer running Telnet Server, the remote user is asked to enter a user name and password. The user name and password combination must be one that is valid on the Telnet Server. Telnet Server on Windows supports two types of authentication: NTLM and Password (or plaintext).
Once logged on, a user is presented with a command prompt that can be used as if it had been started locally on the server console. Commands that you type at the Telnet client command prompt are sent to the Telnet Server and executed there, as though you were locally logged on to a command prompt session at the server. Output from the commands you run are sent back to the Telnet client where they are displayed for you to view.
Telnet does not support applications that require a graphical user interface. However, Telnet Server and Telnet Client understand special character sequences that provide some level of formatting and cursor positioning within the Telnet client window. Telnet Server and Telnet Client support the emulation of four types of terminals: ANSI, VT-100, VT-52, and VT-NT.
Installing Telnet Server
Telnet Server is a feature included with Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 and Windows Vista®.
On Windows Server 2008, you can install Telnet Server by using the Add Features Wizard in Server Manager. Although Server Manager opens by default when a member of the Administrators group logs on to the computer, you can also open Server Manager by using commands on the Start menu in Administrative Tools, and by opening Programs in Control Panel. On Windows Vista, you can install Telnet Server by opening Control Panel, then Programs, then Turn Windows features on or off.
For more information about installing or using Telnet Server, see the Telnet Operations Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=86992) on the Microsoft Web site. | <urn:uuid:5babaf52-0fe0-4d4a-9683-536464a1ba5f> | {
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Co-founder of the National Speleological Society Bill Stephenson once said of the stunning environment found in the Caverns of Sonora that “…its beauty cannot be exaggerated, even by Texans”. It’s a wry comment on our propensity to make everything seem bigger in Texas but in this National Natural Landmark’s case, the statement happens to be true. The Caverns of Sonora formed approximately two million years ago when underground sulfuric gases rose through faults in limestone. Water percolated into the caverns over millennia creating some of the most beautiful, known cave formations in the country. A two-mile interpretive tour takes visitors 155 feet deep into the earth through narrow passageways layered with stalagmites and stalactites of innumerable shapes and sizes. The caverns remain seventy-one degrees year-round and 95% of the formations are considered active, meaning the processes that created the formations continue to add to existing forms as well as creating new ones. The Caverns of Sonora site, located on private ranchlands, was first discovered when a dog chased a raccoon into a twenty-inch opening in the ground. The site offers group and specialty tours of the caverns as well as other activities like gemstone panning, orienteering, and rope techniques. Camping, both tent and RV, are also available…above ground, of course. | <urn:uuid:011a607c-74f2-4c1f-84d9-20250516f657> | {
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Question by Alexis: chemistry reaction problem?? about mass? please help! thanks!?
An experiment that led to the formation of the new field of organic chemistry involved the synthesis of urea, CN2H4O, by the controlled reaction of ammonia and carbon dioxide.
2 NH3(g) + CO2(g) CN2H4O(s) + H2O(l)
What is the mass of urea when ammonia is reacted with 100. g of carbon dioxide?
Answer by jreut
Use dimensional analysis and stoichiometry:
100 g CO2 x 1 mole CO2 / 44 g CO2 x 1 mol urea / 1 mole CO2 x 60 g urea / 1 mole urea =
100/44*60= 136. grams of urea produced.
The first term, 100 g CO2, is your starting amount.
The second fraction, 1 mol CO2 / 44 g CO2, is a conversion factor that equals 1, since there are 44 g CO2 in a mole of CO2.
The third fraction is the stoichiometric ratio in the chemical equation: for every one mole of CO2 consumed, 1 mol of urea is formed.
The fourth fraction is the conversion factor back to grams.
Add your own answer in the comments!
- Installing Virtue OLED Board & Laser Eyes in Dye DM9 Paintball Gun
- Bridging Digital and Physical Worlds With SixthSense
- Official Angry Birds 3 Star Walkthrough Theme 3 Levels 1-5
- HTC Schubert
- Sketching Out a Future for the Stylus | <urn:uuid:1f0694c7-c307-49e9-9302-c31b7f0251dc> | {
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CONGRESS OF THE ODD
CHARLES TRIPP – The Armless Wonder
During his time, Charles Tripp was not only the most well known armless wonder, he was also one of the most famous Canadian entertainers of his era. Born in Woodstock, Ontario on July 6, 1855 Charles Tripp owed much of his fame to his performance partner and dear friend Eli Bowen.
Charles Tripp was born without arms. But, as a young boy, he quickly adapted and became phenomenally adept at using his legs and feet as competently as a fully formed man would use their arms and hands. He was never exhibited during his youth but was well known locally for performing rather mundane daily tasks in extraordinary ways.
As a young man, Charles Tripp grew restless in his small hometown. As fortune would have it, at the age of seventeen, Charles heard of a showman in New York who exhibited special people with unusual talents. Seeing this as his opportunity for fame and fortune Charles Tripp packed his bags and headed to New York determined to meet the showman.All he had was a name, but that proved to be more than enough. The showman was P.T. Barnum.
Upon his arrival in New York, Tripp located Barnum’s office and marched in unannounced. Barefoot, he demonstrated his morning routine by combing his hair, folding his clothes and putting his socks on. Barnum hired Tripp immediately. His career would last more than fifty years.
Tripp performed many feats during his various exhibitions. Initially, most were of the daily mundane variety. His daily shave was always a crowd pleaser.But as Tripp grew into a learned and well traveled man his repertoire reflected his maturity. Eventually Tripp became well known for his elegant penmanship, woodcarving, paper crafts, painting and photography.
Charles Tripp spent the bulk of his career touring with Barnum and eventually Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey shows. Tripp was able to command as much as $200 a week during these tours, a figure supplemented by sales of his autographed cabinet cards.
It was during his partnership with Eli Bowen that Charles Tripp was truly able to attract public attention. Pairing an armless man with a legless one was surely a stroke of showman brilliance but it was a moment of jovial playfulness that would cement Tripp and Bowen into history. While the pair posed for promotional photographs one of them spotted a tandem bicycle. In no time at all the two gents not only mounted the bicycle-built-for-two, but rode off together laughing as boys would. The photographer quickly snapped the pair mid-ride and the resulting surreal photograph still draws perplexed smiles.
Tripp married late in life, in his early seventies. Following the marriage he limited his touring to North American dates. Aided by his wife, Charles Tripp toured until the day he died. In January of 1930 Tripp passed away due to asthma in Salisbury, North Carolina.
He was seventy-four years old.
image: Photo of Charles Tripp circa early 1890′s by Eisenmann. Signature on reverse.
image: Eli Bowen and Charles Tripp’s famous tandem bicycle photograph.
© 2008 – 2012, J Tithonus Pednaud. All rights reserved.
J Tithonus Pednaud has dedicated this site to highlighting the remarkable lives of those born exceedingly different. These so-called freaks and human oddities stand as uplifting testaments to human spirit and serve as inspiring examples of human tenacity. | <urn:uuid:5926e53b-c0d0-4a50-bee0-5048772e3644> | {
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The Pew Research Center has recently come out with its “Internet’s Broader Role in Campaign 2008” report. This report’s findings are based on the results of a survey the Center conducted in December 2007 amongst 1430 American adults. The data is fascinating and I wanted to share of its most intriguing findings with you.
Summary of Findings:
1) The internet is becoming one of the leading sources for news about the presidential campaign for all Americans. 24% of Americans say they regularly learn something about the campaign from the internet, almost double the percentage from respondents in the 2004 campaign (13%) and almost triple the percentage found in the 2000 campaign (9%).
2) The internet has become a leading source of campaign news for young Americans. 42% of those ages 18 to 29 say they regularly learn about the campaign from the internet. In 2004, only 20% of this demographic group said that they got such news from the internet.
An interesting side note, since young Americans find their campaign news online as opposed to older Americans who are more likely to receive their news from traditional sources, it’s definitely worth examining how these trends may affect the different age groups’ voting decisions and opinions.
3) Amongst those Americans who rely on the internet for their news, MSNBC, CNN, and Yahoo News are the most popular sites. However, it’s interesting to note that 3% turn to MySpace and 2% turn to YouTube. Roughly four-in-ten people under age 30 (41%) have watched at least one campaign video online, compared with 20% of those ages 30 and older.
4) 27% of Americans younger than age 30 – including 37% of those ages 18-24 – have said that they received campaign news from social networking sites. This fact is true only when we look at the young demographic; 4% of Americans in their 30s, and 1% of those ages 40 and older, have received information about the campaign in this manner.
TV Still #1 Information Source But Slipping
26% of Americans mention the internet either first or second as their main source of election news. Among young Americans, the internet is gaining popularity as a main source for election news while television is losing its popularity. In 2004, 75% of those ages 18 to 29 cited television and only 21% cited the internet as their main source for campaign news. Today those numbers have changed. 60% of this age group cite Television and 46% cite the internet as their primary source for election news.
Top Three Election News Sites and the Long Tail
While 54% of American users get their campaign news from MSNBC, CNN and Yahoo, there is also a very long tail of other such online sources. While only 13 individual websites were named by 1% or more of the people who get campaign news online, hundreds of individual websites were named by fewer than 1%.
29% of those Americans who get news online cite one of these smaller websites as a source of campaign information. This means that for every person getting campaign news from a site like MSNBC, there is a person getting campaign news from one of these long tail websites. Such websites may represent local newspapers, TV stations and radio stations sites. However, according to the findings, a large percentage of these sites are internet news sites – politically oriented or otherwise.
Perhaps many of these sites are political blogs written by citizens. It would be interesting to examine how the emergence of such blogs has changed the way we view politics and what kind of effect this has had on our political opinions and voting decisions.
Younger Americans cite more election information sources than older Americans. MySpace is cited by 8% of the 18-29 age group, less than 1% of those ages 30 and over, and the pattern for YouTube is almost identical.
Online Campaign Activities
As we have seen, all the candidates used the Web in order to communicate their political messages to the public.
About one-in-six Americans (16%) have sent or received emails with friends and family regarding candidates and the campaign, and 14% have received email messages from political groups or organizations about the campaign.
Most candidates also used social networks to communicate with their audiences.
Social Networking Sites
Since about one-in-five Americans (22%) (and two-thirds of Americans ages 18-29) is a member in an online social networking site such as MySpace or Facebook, candidates needed to use such networks to deliver their messages to the public. These findings emphasize the relevance and strength of such online communities.
27% of younger Americans (including 37% of those ages 18-24) say that they have received information about candidates and the campaign from them on social networking sites. Nearly one-in-ten of people under age 30 (8%) say that they have become a friend of one of the candidates on a site. The numbers are even higher for each of these activities amongst young registered voters.
Older voters have been found to be less politically active on social networks. About one-in-five Americans ages 30-39 (21%) use social networking sites, but just 4% in this age group say that they have received campaign information from those sites; 3% have become friends with a candidate.
The Strength of Online Videos
Online videos have played a huge part in this election campaign. 24% of Americans say they have seen either a speech, interview, commercial, or debate online. 41% of those under age 30 have viewed some sort of video online. The percentage goes down as the age groups get older, but even amongst those ages 65 and older, 7% have seen an election video online.
Views of Political Bias on the Web
13% of web users say there are more news websites and blogs that favor the Democrats, while 6% of users say more sites favor the Republicans. However the general view (45%) is that there about equal numbers of news and opinion websites on both sides.
Since 36% of web users didn’t even respond to the question, it seems that about 81% don’t perceive of any general political tilt on the internet. These same findings were found amongst those respondents who get most of their campaign news online.
It’s good to see that people, especially those who use the internet as their main news source, feel that they get an equal amount of information on the Web regarding both sides. This presents the Web as an increasingly relevant source of news.
Overall I think these findings show the increasing importance of the Web as a news source and the significance of social sites as a tool for politicians to deliver their messages to the public. There is incredible power vested within sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube. When making voting decisions, people will take into account how the candidates are represented on each of these platforms. To illustrate this point, the findings even tell the story of Senator George Allen who had lost the the 2006 race for the U.S. Senate seat in Virginia due to a YouTube video which circulated at the time showing him mocking an Indian-American campaign worker. Today we are able to receive more news from more sources than ever before and hopefully this should also allow us to make more calculated and intelligent voting decisions. | <urn:uuid:d02fba48-c1f5-4287-8579-243e02055532> | {
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The countries of northern Europe have agreed to build a huge network of renewables that will connect offshore wind farms in northern Scotland to solar panels in Germany to wave power and hydroelectricity in Scandinavia.
Offshore wind projects in Europe are expected to generate more than 100 gigawatts of energy, about ten percent of the continent’s demands, in coming years, roughly equivalent to a hundred large coal plants. But unpredictable weather patterns can hamper their ability to deliver reliable energy, and national power grids are too weak to overcome fluctuations in production and demand.
Nine nations, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and the UK, have joined forces to lay undersea cables beneath the North Sea in the coming decade. The grid will act as a gigantic battery, storing electricity when demand is reduced.
The North Sea grid could connect to a much larger renewable plan that was launched in Germany last year. The Desertec Industrial Initiative is a $400 billion scheme that aims to deliver 15 percent of Europe’s electricity by 2050 from southern Europe and North Africa. Concentrated solar power will be delivered by power lines that stretch across the Sahara and the Mediterranean. Scientists in the European Commission estimate that just 0.3 percent of the light falling on the deserts of the Sahara and Middle East would be enough to meet all of Europe’s energy needs. | <urn:uuid:d3f07194-57c6-4358-add0-81883f535dc1> | {
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This is the century of the economic boom. India itself has seen a growth rate of 9 per cent in the previous fiscal. There is a hurry to reap as many benefits in as little time as possible. We want our production capacity to escalate and our profits to skyrocket in the industrial sector, infrastructural sector, manufacturing sector, etc.
We want the fastest, most efficient and convenient sources of transport to facilitate our development. We want the best machines to churn out goods at the speed of sound. We require the best communication facilities, the best buildings, the best bridges. Growth, development and profit – these are the motivational forces in today’s fast paced world.
All the demands of developing and developed nations require the manipulation of natural resources. No economy can survive without coal, petroleum, electricity, wood and steel. Industries cannot run until they are fed these precious and stealthily depleting resources. It is in demanding times like the present that the world has become aware of how these resources are fast depleting. If these resources are not utilized efficiently, soon a day will come when our future generations will not even have drinking water, let alone all the other facilities we take for granted.
Fossil fuels, which satiate the hunger for resources in most economically progressing nations, are non-renewable and unsustainable. Already, their production has declined and they are moving towards exhaustion. Although fossil fuels are being generated continuously, we are using them at a rate 100,000 faster than they are renewed. Mother Nature can definitely not enhance her production capacity to meet our ever-increasing need of these elixirs of industrial era. In the twentieth century, the use of fossil fuels saw a twenty-fold increase. Countries like USA, Germany, Japan, China, Canada etc consume the maximum energy from these resources. The energy consumption of the USA is approximately 11.4Kw per person, and that of Japan and Germany is 6Kw per person, while that of a country like India is a megre 0.5Kw per person.
The world is now confronted with the challenge of optimizing the use of the currently available resources in a way to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising on the requirements of the future generation. To add to this, now it is also imperative that our fragile environment suffers the least damage possible. In more technical terms, sustainable development is the need of the hour.
Sustainable development is the only way we can keep mother nature, our growth hungry economies and our very demanding present generation and future lineage happy and smiling.
Sustainable development is defined by the Brundtland Commission as “development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The field of sustainable development is broadly categorized into the following dimensions: social, economic, environmental and institutional. The future of our planet depends on our use of the available resources. This does not mean that we stall all progress to save the resources for our future generation. This calls for efficient use of non-renewable resources. Wastage of such resources must be minimized and alternative sources should be made more feasible for even the common man. By shifting the energy burden from non-renewable to renewable resources, we can stand up to the challenges of the future.
A lot can be done using Biomass, biofuels, hydroelectric energy, tidal energy, nuclear energy, fusion power, wind power, solar power, and geothermal energy. These are welcome options to ease the burden on our over pressed fossil fuels. These very inviting options are, infact, keeping our scientists busy as they try to find out different ways in which we can use these inexhaustible powerhouses of energy to our advantage.
Hydroelectric energy serves as an alternative way of generating electricity. The gravitational descant of a river is compressed to a dam or flume. At high pressure, this is used to turn gigantic turbines which in turn produce electricity. This way we can spare some of the coal which would have otherwise been used for this very process.
Who would have thought that that stinky, disgusting garbage would be such an amazing friend to us in the time of need? Biomass involves using garbage, vegetable matter to produce electricity. On decomposing, garbage releases methane (the root cause of all the stench) which is captured in pipes and can later on be used to produce electricity. Garbage can aptly be called a blessing in disguise!
Nuclear energy is the king of all alternate sources of energy. By using nuclear fission, electricity can be generated. In fact, by using 1kg of uranium or thorium energy, equivalent to 3.5 million kg of coal can be produced. This is an area in which extensive research and development is being carried out. Since nuclear energy does not release any polluting gases like carbon dioxide or sulphur dioxide, hence no acid rain or global warming. The limiting factor, which is keeping nuclear energy from being the mother of all energy sources, is that setting up a nuclear plant which meets the safety norms requires huge capital investments. Disposing off the toxic nuclear waste is also a problem. It will still be some time before the world can confidently rely on nuclear energy.
Wind energy is also being harnessed to produce electricity. But this form also has its shortfalls. The wind is rather unpredictable. Also, a large land area is required to set up the windmills. The location and type of turbines used in this process can adversely affect bird migration patterns.
The sun god has also not stayed behind. Its power is also being used to generate electricity and on a smaller scale, to cook food, heat water etc. The development of photovoltaic and solar cells is quite an expensive operation. Yet, solar energy is being seen as a very attractive source of energy.
There are many other sources which are contributing in their own way to save us from the day of doom. In addition, many new experiments are being carried out to minimize the use of fossil fuels and save the environment from degradation. Battery powered vehicles are being created. In fact in Agra, only battery powered locomotives are allowed in the vicinity of the Tag Mahal.These vehicles use a battery which is charged from a grid when the vehicle is not in use.
Many more such innovations are under way every hour of the day. Man, the sublime being, will not give up so easily. He plans to face the threat of depleting resources which looms large by innovating, experimenting and manipulating alternative energy sources so that we don’t have to halt either our progress or compromise on that of our progeny. | <urn:uuid:768af700-a2de-4578-a33c-344f96bc0bd4> | {
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April 29, 2011 > There be fossils here
There be fossils here
By William Marshak
Yes, there really is a natural history museum in Fremont. Although it exists on the periphery of consciousness of many Tri-City area residents, each year the museum attracts thousands of visitors including children from a wide swath of Northern California school systems. The Children's Natural History Museum is a testament to the perseverance of its director, Dr. Joyce Blueford and houses the efforts of a group of "Boy Paleontologists" who helped make fossils found in the Fremont area famous. In fact, a geologic "stage" of about 1.8 million - 300,000 years BP (Before Present) is named for Irvington... the Irvingtonian North American Stage (Era).
For over a million years, fossils of mammoths, sabertooth cats, mastodons, sloths and other large mammals lay buried in the Fremont foothills. A group of "Boy Paleontologists" under the direction of a science teacher, Wesley Gordon, created a national sensation in the 1940s as they uncovered bones from the beginning of the Ice Age (Pleistocene epoch) near the community of Irvington. These "finds" eventually found their way to the museum within a few miles of their discovery.
Managed by Math/Science Nucleus, the Children's Natural History Museum has recently expanded in size and includes exhibits that display fossils, a "stardome" and "walk though time," shells, rocks and tools of early humans. And in the "Hall of Small Wonders," visitors can peek into a micro world of sea creatures. A museum shop allows visitors to expand their experience with mementos of their visit and continue exploration of the natural world through books, games, gadgets and experiments.
Leadership Fremont is a "class" formed annually by the Fremont Chamber of Commerce to learn more about their community and take an active role in its progress. Speaking for this year's group, Dr. Vera Packard noted, "It's been an amazing ride!" Each class picks a project to "engage and enhance" the community. A brainstorming discussion, moderated by Team Manager Kathy Hunt, resulted in a desire to work on something that involved children, education and created a legacy for future generations.
This year's Leadership Fremont class selected the Children's Natural History Museum as its work project, designing and supporting the construction of a patio adjacent to the museum building for lunch/snack breaks and outdoor activities. Blueford said that attendance at the museum could double if a safe and comfortable place for snacks and lunch could be found on the museum grounds. That was all that the Leadership group needed to hear; they got to work planning, organizing, fundraising and finding a construction partner. Amazed at the community's response to appeals for assistance, Packard was overwhelmed by the generosity of local companies and individuals proving the adage, "The first attitude we need in life is the attitude of gratitude."
Some of those who supported the project were acknowledged at a ribbon cutting event Wednesday, April 20. They include: Cargill Salt, Leadership members, Washington Hospital Healthcare, Fremont Police Association, Kaiser Permanente, Allied Waste of Alameda County, Advanced Micro Devices, Fremont Firefighters Association, Kevin & Ellen Woods, William Jennings, Corbin Willits Systems, Inc., Royal Ambulance, Wesley Liu and Stahl Companies. A special "Thank You" was extended to Greg Robillard of Robillard Construction for his generous assistance building the patio. Additional funds are still needed to install a floor of recycled material for the patio.
One of the Boy Paleontologists, Phil Gordon interrupted a trip to Southern California, driving all night to attend the ceremonies marking completion of the project. Blueford noted, "This is the first time I have allowed an outside group to do everything." Although hesitant at first, standing under the trellis of the new area, she concluded "I am totally convinced that the community is ready to help the Math/Science Nucleus provide even more services; I want to applaud the Leadership Fremont Class of 2011."
California Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski was present to issue a proclamation recognizing the accomplishments of the Math/Science Nucleus. Other dignitaries in attendance included Fremont Unified School District Boardmember Lara York and Superintendent Dr. Jim Morris, Chamber of Commerce CEO Cindy Bonoir and chamber representatives Nina Moore and K.K. Kaneshiro. Bonoir spoke of the commitment of the business community, especially members of Leadership Fremont classes, to reach out and help make their community successful. She summarized class efforts saying, "All individuals in Leadership Fremont make a big commitment - a nine month commitment - to this program. This year, they have put a lot of time and effort into what has created an environment where kids can learn, expand their knowledge and grow as individuals."
Members of the 2011 Leadership Fremont class include: Walt Birkedahl,
Mike Engle, Michelle Griese, Hasieb Lemar, Kathy Hunt, Toni Lyons, Chris Jung, Mike Moore and Vera Packard
Children's Natural History Museum
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The Town of Troy, like the rest of Montgomery County, was settled primarily by Scottish immigrants. In 1852, Angus McCaskill, one of the early settlers, donated a tract of 50 acres to the community to serve as the town proper. Until a legislative decree changed the name, the community was know as West's Oldfield. That same decree also located the courthouse in the new community and made Troy the business center of a thriving county.
The town takes its name from John B. Troy, a popular attorney and solicitor of the judicial district. Legend has it that the streets of Troy are paved with solid gold. When the streets were being paved, fill dirt was brought in from the gold mines in Eldorado, a once thriving mining community north of the town. Local citizens with a sharp eye found gold nuggets in the streets of the city. Even today, Troy still represents a golden opportunity for its citizens and visitors. | <urn:uuid:857bd922-f97f-4f77-abb0-9fb253662fac> | {
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|Home / Headlines / Why a Water Crisis Exists in Gaza|
Why a Water Crisis Exists in Gaza
"With current, desperate conditions and the violence that has caused severe damage to Palestinian infrastructure why should Palestinians have to pay for a natural resource that should already be available to them?"
Gaza has a water crisis. Most people in the international community do not know the details as to why it exists and the root causes of the resource deficiency.
For the more than 1.4 million Palestinians who live in Gaza water shortages and water deterioration affects their health. Moreover, the water crisis creates agricultural, economic, social, and political instabilities that have regional ramifications. Most of the existing problems are a direct and indirect result of Israeli policy.
If the resource inequalities are not rectified soon, the Middle East will be facing an irreversible human and environmental disaster.
Water Resources, Consumption and Distribution – Facts and Figures
Gaza has a sub-Aquifer, which is a part of the Coastal Aquifer (that lies along “…the Mediterranean coastline of Israel and the Gaza Strip.)” One estimate shows the people of Gaza over abstract (over-pump) between 120 – 140 million cubic meters (MCM) of water from the coastal aquifer per year, but the sustainable yield of the Gaza sub-aquifer is between 50 – 60 MCM/yr. One way to interpret sustainable yield is that it is the amount of water that can be extracted from the aquifer annually, while still maintaining ground water levels and chemical composition (quality). Scientists such as hydrographers, hydrogeologists, hydrologists, and ecologists perform volumetric and qualitative measurements of water resources to not only make scientific determinations but future projections.
Another estimate states that the water exploitation (over-pumping) is around 155 MCM/yr, but the natural (such as rainwater) and anthropogenic (agricultural return flow and waste water) replenishments total 87 MCM/yr. All of these scientific figures reveal that Gaza has a current water deficit of approximately 68 – 90 MCM/yr.
In addition, population density determines how much water is needed within a geopolitical area, even if the hydrogeological and topographical landscape does not have the natural resource capacity to satisfy the number of people living there. “The Gaza Strip is also one of the most densely populated areas in the world…” and there are approximately 3,500 people per square km.
With a growing population expected to exceed 2.3 million by mid-2010 there will be over 5,800 people per square km. As a result of population increases the water deficit will be more exacerbated if more water and resource infrastructure are not in effect within the next year.
“The present situation concerning water availability and quality in Gaza is little short of catastrophic,” Dr. Shaddad Attili explains. Attili is the Palestinian Authority’s policy advisor for water and environment. “As a result of such concerns the water situation in Gaza has been recognized for some years as a critically important issue, but the situation continues to worsen inexorably over time.”
Although the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for minimal water consumption of 100 liters per capita per day (l/c/d) for a quality level of health ; Attili shared that Palestinians average 50 -70 liters (l/c/d). Moreover, Israeli capita usage averages 400 l/d and Israel settlers in the Palestinian Occupied Territories average 800 l/c/d. Thus, Israelis average almost five times more water consumption than Palestinians.
For the 3.7 million Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank they consume approximately 260-290 MCM/yr; and this figure includes domestic, agricultural and industrial consumption. However, 6.4 million Israelis have a total water consumption of 2,129 MCM/yr.
“A large groundwater aquifer basin underlies the West Bank and supplies high quality water to both Israelis and Palestinians. It is composed of three sub aquifers: the Western, the Eastern and the North-eastern Aquifer Basins.” Since Israel controls the water, they allow Palestinians in the West Bank 114 MCM/yr only – they have to purchase another 30-40 MCM/yr for the West Bankers and 4 MCM/yr for Gazans from Mekorot, the Israeli water company.
The Palestinian Hydrology Group established the Water and Sanitation Hygiene Monitoring Project where people conducted field surveys from over 640 Palestinian communities. Their reports reveal that Mekorot “…has seriously reduced the quantities. In many cases Mekorot has completely stopped the provision of water to them altogether. Many of the surveyed Palestinian communities that still get some water from Mekorot receive insufficient quantity, and have expressed their fear that Mekorot will completely stop providing water to them.”
When these communities cannot rely on Mekorot water service, they depend on other options, such as rainfall in community water cisterns - if they are available and accessible.
In Gaza, Palestinians consume roughly 150 MCM/yr of which around 85 MCM is due to over abstraction of the Gaza Aquifer. How are Palestinians over-pumping the aquifer? Attili reports there are over 4,200 wells within Gaza. Although most of the wells are used for agricultural purposes, there are 2,400 illegal wells. Moreover, illegal welling drains the already stressed aquifer.
How is the exploitation of the water table affecting the Coastal Aquifer? It is increasing the rate at which saline ground water naturally flows from the eastern part of the Coastal Aquifer toward Gaza, which is salinizing the freshwater in the western part of the aquifer at an accelerated pace. Moreover the study concluded: “If pumping continues at these unsustainable rates, it will destroy the aquifer’s capacity to resist sea water intrusion from the west and saline ground water from the east, thereby making it totally unsuitable for human consumption or for irrigated agriculture with the next few decades.”
The exploitation of the aquifer has damaged the water’s quality already. Attili reports 70 per cent of the aquifer’s water is brackish water: saline water due to over-abstraction.
Unfortunately, as there is no alternative, Palestinians are drinking this water and they are experiencing health problems.
Water Chemical Composition and How it Impacts Human Health
WHO established international standards for salt levels of chemical compounds in water, such as nitrate and chloride. For safe and healthy human consumption of drinking water these salt compounds cannot exceed the WHO guidelines. For nitrate, the WHO standard is 50 mg/l and for chloride it is 250 mg/l. The Gaza aquifer has nitrate levels over 100 mg/l and chloride levels averaging 1000 mg/l. How are these unsafe levels affecting the health of Palestinians?
The following are some of the findings by an author who compiled health problems from numerous publications. The health problems are: 50 per cent of Gaza’s children have a parasitic infection; children and adults suffer from diarrhea; high chloride levels causes kidney disease; consumption of saline water leads to salt levels in humans that causes kidney dysfunction, heart failure, neurological symptoms, lethargy, and high blood pressure; excessive levels of fluoride are toxic, causing gastritis, ulcers, kidney failure, bone fluorisis (bone fractures and crippling), and teeth fluorsis (black lines around gums and tooth decay); and high nitrate levels causes “blue baby” syndrome, also know as methaemoglobinaemia and gastric cancer.
Since people do not have other water alternatives they consume the brackish water for daily survival. Palestinians have no other options currently and the current numerical figures show the demand for water exceeds the water supply. As long as the Middle East and the international community does not address the root causes of the water crisis and the impact it is having on the health of 1.4 M people; then the Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the people living in neighboring Arab states who share co-riparian rights to natural water resources in the region will continue experiencing escalating geopolitical instability.
When the shared aquifers can no longer meet the future needs of the Israelis and Palestinians using it, then regional civil war is inevitable.
Before exploring the expert’s solutions that could prevent future civil war a brief examination into the effects of military occupation on Palestinians’ access to water will help readers understand the obstacles Palestinians face for this vital, life need.
How Occupation Affects Palestinians Access to Water
Palestinians access water from wells, but they also have water springs, tankers, roof tanks, cisterns, and reservoirs. Unfortunately, over 70 per cent of the people in Gaza live in poverty , so most people cannot afford to replace damaged tankers, let alone have money to pay water bills. In fact, “numerous families suffer from a lack of funds to pay for wastewater evacuation tankers. The resulting pollution is having a direct negative effect on the state of sanitation and hygiene.”
How much waste water is in the aquifer? More than 30 MCM returns to the aquifer without any prior treatment, therefore polluting it. When open waste water and water containing fertilizer for irrigating crops and pesticides has not been subjected to purification it drains into the ground water. Hence, it contaminates the existing water supply.
As a sidebar to the health ailments discussed in the previous section, human consumption of water with “…pesticides can lead to paralysis, heart failure, and gradual damage to the nervous system.” These problems illustrate the importance of ground, roof and wastewater tankers to people living with an archaic water network in the Mediterranean region.
Moreover, what compounds Palestinian health problems is the violence they are subjected to by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers. For example in December 2004, The Khan Younis and Rafah Governorates experienced an Israeli incursion that resulted in: “destruction of rainwater harvesting ponds and agricultural well near Morag settlement. This includes eight green houses and 24 dunums that were damaged…” and throughout the incursion “…four wells located near Gosh Katif settlement compound were maintained with difficulties by the maintenance team….were risking their lives since the Israeli forces were prohibiting any one from reaching the area.”
This violence is not isolated to incursions because the field survey went on to explain that a municipal well in Al Naser that served two communities with a population of 13,000 had been closed for three months. As a result, “…the communities are forced to buy water from the nearby agricultural wells.” When Palestinians approached Israeli forces to arrange for access to the well “…Israeli forces forced them to go back after firing on them.”
Since Israel transferred the Israeli settlers out of Gaza and into the West Bank during the Gaza Withdrawal in August 2005 some people may think that problems with violence between Israelis and Palestinians no longer exist in Gaza. However, Palestinians still live under occupation because Israeli forces still control all entry points (checkpoints), borders and border crossings, as well as sea and air space. In essence, Israeli soldiers decide who and what flows in and out of Gaza.
The other dimension of occupation that may not come to mind immediately is the fact that 38 years of occupation left a path of destruction in Gaza. A recent survey by a well-known Palestinian political figure and doctor explains there are “…charred and uprooted palm and fruit trees, acres of fields and dozens of kilometers of roads and infrastructure bulldozed, water mains ploughed out and electric lines torn down.” In addition, the tons of sand Israelis removed before leaving the settlements will intensify the sea water intrusion of the aquifer already taking place. Therefore the Gaza Withdrawal caused considerable environmental damage that Palestinians have to take into account when rebuilding the area.
By the way, the 7.9 MCM/yr of water the former Israeli settlers of Gaza were consuming consisted of 4.1 MCM from the aquifer and another 3.8 MCM transported by Mekorot at a subsidized price. Palestinians have the opportunity to purchase the 3.8 MCM at 3 NIS (.67 U.S. cents) per cubic meter. How much is the annual cost? The Palestinian Water Authority would have to spend NIS $11.4 M or U.S. $2.6 M for the transport of Mekorot water to Gaza’s borders.
With current, desperate conditions and the violence that has caused severe damage to Palestinian infrastructure why should Palestinians have to pay for a natural resource that should already be available to them?
The next and final section will explore briefly other, viable solutions to Gaza’s water crisis.
Water Solutions from the Experts
When internecine, political entities are trying to reestablish diplomatic relations, financial compensation acknowledges committed crimes and demonstrates a commitment to peace building. The facts illustrate that Israeli policy has caused severe damage to Palestinian infrastructure and Palestinians should receive reparations for this destruction. Payment for these damages is sine qua non if there is going to be resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
With regards to equipment relating to Palestinian water networks the Israeli Government should pay the P.A. to replace what damage has been done to water sources. If an Israeli military base dumped its sewerage onto Palestinian farmland, then Israel is responsible for clean-up costs. Regardless of where they live now if settlers destroyed wells and cisterns then the Israeli Government should pay for the repairs. If an Israeli soldier fired gunshots that destroyed a Palestinian family’s water tanks, then the Israeli Government should give them compensation for damages to their personal property.
With regards to water solutions, an article published recently that I quoted earlier states that the Coastal Aquifer “…could serve as a source of environmental peacemaking” since Israel is the upstream user of this aquifer and the P.A. is the downstream user. Their proposal is that Israel continues pumping the groundwater because it will decrease the salinization in the western part of the aquifer: Gaza. Moreover, they explain that Palestinians should cease pumping the aquifer because over-pumping it causes sea water intrusion. They suggest desalination plants as alternative water sources.
According to Attili this is not the shortcut way to solve the problem. Water rights should be solved based on international standards. Gaza is not part of the moon; it is the integral portion of the Palestinian state that is composed of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Reallocation of the available resources including the Jordan River Basin is the solution.
This will enable both Israelis and Palestinians to sustainable management of these shared resources. It will then enable the Palestinians themselves to proper of water between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Attili further explained that it is inevitable that the Gaza water crisis solution on the medium term consists of transferring part of the Palestinian rightful share from the Jordan River to Gaza.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began building a regional desalination facility in Gaza costing US $70 M and the project allocated another $60 M for a future North-South carrier, which would run throughout Gaza. In 2003, the project halted because three American personnel were killed.
Yet Attili emphasizes “…they (the plant and carrier) are critically required and construction must be recommenced without delay.” He explains that the proposed water carrier for construction will address the 60 per cent network loss of water they are experiencing presently. For instance, water leakages in conduits and pipes. Moreover, the P.A.’s Ministry of Planning map, which is a summary of the Coastal Aquifer Management Program (CAMP), a project funded by the USAID, the CAMP project is proposing the construction of three wastewater treatment plants that will address water consumption for agricultural and industrial purposes. Although there are nine existing ground tanks the CAMP sees the need for an additional 16 ground tanks. The construction of the water carrier will connect all ground tanks, booster pump stations and cities throughout the Gaza Strip. However, without funding from the international donor community, construction is at a standstill. The end result is that the postponed projects prevent viable solutions from resolving a dire situation.
One major water source in the region is the Jordan River Basin. The co-riparians of the Jordan River are: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. According to Attili, Palestinians have not had access to the Jordan River since 1967 and they are the most stressed co-riparians in the region. Jordanians are not far behind. He further explained that “…Israel violates the international law by diverting the river through the national water carrier.”
Some experts agree that joint management of the water in the region will enable government leadership to meet the needs of their people. Moreover, they concluded that international law with regards to water distribution should be based on “…the equitable and reasonable allocation of share watercourses; the avoidance of significant harm; and the need of prior notification of any development plans which could affect shared watercourses.”
It is in the best interests of the riparian parties to manage water resources through a cooperative approach. If political entities work together then they can develop the most innovative, efficient and effective strategies to meet the needs of people while avoiding water exploitation and deterioration of water resources. The probability of environmental damage increases when a co-riparian user has no outside controls in place to balance its usage. Israel is an example of this real-life scenario. When co-riparians manage water together then they have shared responsibility and liability for what happens to the region’s society and environment.
By 2010, the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) predicts the demand for water in Gaza will be a minimum of 300 MCM/yr, but the sustainable yield is 50 – 60 MCM/yr. The math reveals there is a 75 per cent gap of water to be had. What will people drink? Whether the Middle East will survive this impending human and environmental disaster is up to the political entities involved and the international community who can provide the much-needed funding to rectify this water crisis.
Some people say that life problems sometimes require that we look at situations from different angles. In this case, the reality in Gaza and the people’s future is not just above ground.
by courtesy & © 2005 Sonia Nettnin
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JACKSON, Tenn. – Dec. 3, 2002– In a classroom on Union’s campus, a biology professor is teaching students on the various types of insects found in the West Tennessee region. Down the hall, another class is learning about the different forms of bacteria that exist in the area. Still another class is learning how to put it all together in the form of genetic engineering – learning how to control insect populations with various bacterial methods while conserving the resources around us. Research biologists are being born.
Science, seen and unseen, plays a huge part in how we eat, work, travel, the clothes we wear, and even the furniture we sit on. In an increasing technological age that demands our dependence on the sciences, Union University is building for the future – designing a high-tech new science building that will serve the needs of future research chemists, pharmacists, nurses, doctors and engineers for decades to come and in turn, serve the West Tennessee community and beyond.
In a recent meeting in November with the university’s newly formed Board of Regents and science building advisors, the university announced the projected design of the new building which is the final piece of the first phase of Union’s campus master plan set in motion back in 1997. The groundbreaking, which will occur Friday, Dec. 6 across from the new performing arts building, Jennings Hall, is a significant event representing two years of hard work and thought which went into the initial planning of this important building.
Made initially possible by a $2 million gift from Roy White, $500,000 from Jackson-General Hospital and an anonymous pledge of $1.4 million, the two-story science building will house biology on the first floor and chemistry on the second – with other science areas such as physics, engineering and computer science to be added later. Project completion is scheduled for 2005 with classes to begin in the new building in August of that year.
“The sciences as much as anything else we do at Union symbolize the university’s commitment to excellence,” said Union President David S. Dockery at the meeting. “We are very excited about where this process is going and we are very hopeful for the next two years.”
According to TLM Associates, who were awarded the architectural and engineering aspects of the campus master plan, a science building is one of the more difficult buildings to design due to the complexity of the laboratories and the ventilation challenges. Union science faculty and administrators have spent many hours visiting other science facilities on other university campuses, and a nationally known consultant was hired who specializes in designing science buildings.
“We want to provide a space where serious learning can take place among science majors as well as an appropriate place for Union students who are taking the required science core classes,” said Union Provost Carla Sanderson.
Barbara McMillin, dean of Union’s College of Arts and Sciences, spoke highly of the work that the science faculty in particular has done so far in planning the building to meet class and curriculum specifications
“I cannot estimate the number of hours that this faculty has invested in getting us to this point,” said McMillin.
Thinking ahead for the future has also been an important part of the process, examining what equipment will be needed both now and later.
“If it’s a piece of equipment that sits on a counter, we need to know so that we will have the counter space for later down the road when we finally obtain that particular piece of equipment,” explained McMillin, pointing out the complicated details that must each be thought through one by one.
Special features of the 42,000 square foot building include a green house for the biology area, bulk storage areas for hazardous chemicals, large state-of-the-art lecture rooms, a microbiology/immunology lab, as well as lab areas for physiology and human gross anatomy, with storage for human cadavers that are used by the human gross anatomy class in the summer. The roof also has unique features for the special ventilation needs of the chemistry labs.
“Union has always been good as an academic resource and as an important part of this community,” said Madison County Mayor Jerry Gist. “Any addition can only serve to benefit West Tennessee. The latest figures, particularly showing the university’s economic impact on this region rang loud and clear – we’re looking forward to great things.”
Sara B. Horn, | <urn:uuid:2b0dd4f2-f056-44cb-a346-9a9cb36324f1> | {
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A calf muscle strain is a partial or complete tear of the small fibers of the muscles. The calf muscles are located in the back of your lower leg.
A calf muscle strain can be caused by:
- Stretching the calf muscles beyond the amount of tension they can withstand
- Suddenly putting stress on the calf muscles when they are not ready for the stress
- Using the calf muscles too much on a certain day
- A direct blow to the calf muscles
Factors that increase your chance of developing a calf muscle strain:
- Participation in sports that require bursts of speed. This includes track sports like running, hurdles, or long jump. Other sports include basketball, soccer, football, or rugby.
- Previous strain or injury to the area.
- Muscle fatigue.
- Tight calf muscles.
Symptoms may include:
- Pain and tenderness in the calf
- Stiffness in the calf muscles
- Weakness of the calf muscles
- Pain when pushing off the foot or standing on tiptoe
- Bruising on the calf
- Popping sensation as the muscle tears
The doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done.
Muscle strains are graded according to their severity:
- Grade 1—Some stretching with micro-tearing of muscle fibers.
- Grade 2—Partial tearing of muscle fibers.
- Grade 3—Complete tearing of muscle fibers. This may also be called a rupture or avulsion.
Talk with your doctor about the best treatment plan for you. Recovery time ranges depending on the grade of your injury. Treatment steps may include:
Your muscle will need time to heal. Avoid activities that place extra stress on these muscles:
- Do not do activities that cause pain. This includes running, jumping, and weight lifting using the leg muscles.
- If normal walking hurts, shorten your stride.
- Do not play sports until your doctor has said it is safe to do so.
Apply an ice or a cold pack to the area for 15-20 minutes, four times a day, for several days after the injury. Do not apply the ice directly to your skin. Wrap the ice or cold pack in a towel.
To manage pain, your doctor may recommend:
- Over-the-counter medication, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen
- Topical pain medication—creams or patches that are applied to the skin
- Prescription pain relievers
Compression can help prevent more swelling. Your doctor may recommend an elastic compression bandage around your calf. Be careful not to wrap the bandage too tight.
Elevation can also help keep swelling down. Keep your leg higher than your heart as much as possible for the first 24 hours or so. A couple of days of elevation might be recommended for severe strains.
Use heat only when you are returning to physical activity. Heat may then be used before stretching or getting ready to play sports to help loosen the muscle.
When the acute pain is gone, start gentle stretching as recommended. Stay within pain limits. Hold each stretch for about 10 seconds and repeat six times. Stretch several times a day.
Begin strengthening exercises for your muscles as recommended.
If you are diagnosed with a calf muscle strain, follow your doctor's instructions.
To reduce the chance of calf muscle strain:
- Keep your calf muscles strong, so they can absorb the energy of sudden physical stress
- Learn the proper technique for exercise and sporting activities to decrease stress on all your muscles
- Reviewer: Kari Kassir, MD; Brian Randall, MD
- Review Date: 04/2013 -
- Update Date: 04/26/2013 - | <urn:uuid:904b92ad-d119-422f-9536-a138fb63af1c> | {
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Vortex street off Revillagigedo Archipelago, North Pacific (afternoon overpass)
Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
A braid of eddies behind the Revillagigedo Archipelago in the North Pacific have created the fanciful swirls in the clouds seen in these Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images, acquired by the Terra (morning) and Aqua (afternoon) satellites on May 13, 2004. The eddies form as air moving near the surface of the ocean is forced up and around the islands. The pattern became more distinct through the day, with the afternoon image showing a much clearer vortex street. | <urn:uuid:fa9d2d8e-7c12-42c8-8d71-d8903190eb7c> | {
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As a boy, Joe like many kids of his age wanted to be a fighter pilot and at age 22 Joe was doing just that, storming through the skies of Germany with the 86th Fighter Bomber Squadron. It wasn’t long though before Joe was called upon to bigger things. Even before there was a space program he was planning for it, volunteering himself for experiments which would make even Bruce Banner wince with fear, most notably the human decelerator where he went from over 600 mph to zero in just a few feet, blistering his body and making his eyes bleed from the 41g he pulled in breaking.
Thankfully not all the experiments were as life threatening as the human decelerator. One of Joe’s early tests for example was investigating zero gravity which involved him swooping and diving in his plane with a golf ball attached to a piece of string “When the golf ball floated, that was zero gravity”. Some of course were far more grand in scale and with ‘Project Man High’ Joe took a balloon up to the dizzying heights of 96,000ft paving the way for the NASA’s human space flight program ‘Project Mercury’. Not bad for a 29 year old but his real challenge was still to come.
On Aug. 16, 1960, Joe, now Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger, rode a helium balloon to the edge of space, 102,800 feet (32 km) above the earth.
Wearing just a thin pressure suit and breathing supplemental oxygen, Joe jumped from his gondola into the 110-degree-below-zero, near-vacuum of space. Within seconds his body accelerated to 714 mph in the thin air, breaking the sound barrier. After free-falling for more than four and a half minutes, his descent finally began to slow due to the friction of the heavier air below. He felt his parachute open at 14,000 feet, and he floated gently down to the New Mexico desert floor.
Joe’s feat proved to scientists that astronauts would be able to survive the harshness of space with just a pressure suit and that man could eject from aircraft at extreme altitudes and survive if properly equipped.
More than four decades later, Joe’s two world records, the highest parachute jump, and the only man to break the sound barrier without a craft and live, still stand, and the retired colonel and Aviation Hall of Famer, now 75, still rides the sky above Altamonte Springs in Florida as often as he can. | <urn:uuid:0701bc7a-e751-4d95-8bf7-91c4f0c2f1fd> | {
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MIT professor’s book digs into the eclectic, textually linked reading choices of people in medieval London.
The glitter of gold may hold more than just beauty, or so says a team of MIT researchers that is working on ways to use tiny gold rods to fight cancer, deliver drugs and more.
But before gold nanorods can live up to their potential, scientists must figure out how to overcome one major difficulty: The surfaces of the tiny particles are coated with an uncooperative molecule (a byproduct of the synthesis process) that prevents researchers from creating nanorods with the features they want.
"The surface chemistry is really key to everything," said Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli, assistant professor of biological and mechanical engineering at MIT. "For all of these nifty applications to work, someone's got to sit down and do the dirty work of understanding the surface."
Hamad-Schifferli and her colleagues published two papers this month describing ways to manipulate the nanorods' surface, which could allow researchers to design nanorods with specific useful functions.
As their name implies, gold nanorods are tiny cylinders of gold, about 10 billionths of a meter wide and 40 billionths of a meter long.
They differ from traditional, spherical gold nanoparticles in one very important respect -- they can absorb infrared light. That means they can theoretically be activated by infrared laser without damaging surrounding cells, which do not absorb infrared light.
Before that can happen, scientists must figure out how to deal with an organic molecule known as CTAB that coats the outer surface of gold nanorods and tends to detach from and reattach itself to the surface. The molecule, a byproduct of the synthesis reaction that produces the nanorods, makes it difficult to attach other molecules for delivery, such as drugs or DNA.
The team's two recent papers describe how the CTAB influences heat dissipation and how to remove the CTAB and replace it with another organic molecule.
In the first paper, published online Aug. 12 in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, they found that a low concentration of the CTAB in the surrounding solution accelerates heat dissipation after the nanorod is hit with infrared light. When the concentration of CTAB is high, heat is dissipated more slowly.
That information could help scientists design nanorods that fight cancer agents by burning away tumor cells when activated with infrared light.
In the second paper, published online Aug. 22 in the journal Langmuir, the team demonstrated how to replace CTAB with a more useful molecule -- a sulfur-containing group known as a thiol. This molecule binds more strongly to the nanorod, so it doesn't detach and reattach like CTAB. In addition, other molecules, such as DNA, can be easily attached to the end of the thiol.
These surface chemistry studies are critical to lay the groundwork for development of gold nanorods, according to Hamad-Schifferli.
"People have dreamed up all of these cool applications for nanorods, but one of the biggest bottlenecks to making this a reality is this interface," she said.
In the future, Hamad-Schifferli and her colleagues hope to build gold nanorods that carry DNA designed for a specific function in the target cell. For example, the DNA could shut down production of a protein that is being overexpressed.
Lead author of the Langmuir paper is Andy Wijaya, a graduate student in chemical engineering.
Lead authors of the JPCC paper are Aaron Schmidt, a postdoctoral associate in mechanical engineering, and Joshua Alper, a graduate student in mechanical engineering. Other authors are Matteo Chiesa, a visiting scholar in the Technology and Development Program, Gang Chen, the Rohsenow Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Sarit Das, a visiting professor in mechanical engineering.
The work was funded by the Norwegian Research Council, the Ford-MIT Alliance and the National Science Foundation. | <urn:uuid:e7aca56d-5302-4ce0-8b6f-71018d022f59> | {
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People with dementia such as Alzheimers Disease may become verbally abusive or become aggressive to the point of physical violence. This usually occurs when the person feels misunderstood or provoked.
Prevention can include:
- Have a doctor check for a medical condition
- Avoid confrontation, distract them with a suggestion like – a nice cup of tea etc.
- Try to avoid putting the person in a situation which may produce anxiety, fear or disorientation
- Prepare the person by explaining what is going to happen or where you are going
- Try to use encouragement, praise and affection rather than criticism or frustration
- Ensure your own protection. Leave the room until the outburst is over.
Management may include:
- Make no attempt to restrain the person – stay out of reach
- Try to avoid making the situation worse by shouting or touching the person
- Try reacting with a calm voice or reassuring words
- Give the person time to settle down
- Seek professional help
- Expect to be upset.
Remember it is the illness and not the person that is causing the behaviour.
Reference: Harvard Health Letter Special Report, Commonwealth, Dept., of Health & Family Services, (The Carer Experience) | <urn:uuid:1c19cb62-4ccb-43f3-929f-5f631e88b780> | {
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I hold onto heredity. Genes must be present in order to be passed along.
This is true.
Randomness ignores heredity, claiming that changes come by chance.
Hmm, no, not really. The changes do come by chance, but the random mutation aspect of it does not ignore heredity at all. In fact, its an integral part of the process.
You see, we know random mutations happen. They are errors in the copying process. How do we know they happen? Because of genetic disorders and how they present. There are lots of them to chose from.
But let me show a little bit about how it works. Lets say we have a strand of DNA that looks like this....
There are a few ways we can get things to happen here. First, we can have a single letter change... for example the third letter somehow (randomly, by chance. As an error in the copying process) is changed to a T. Now, when that DNA strand codes for a protein, (or is part of the on / off sequencing of the coding), that random mutation gives a certain characteristic that is different than it would have been previously. (For the sake of understanding, lets say it is... fur pigmentation in a rabbit or something). If that particular difference makes a change that is beneficial to the individual (for our rabbit, if they live in the arctic, lets assume that maybe the fur is a bit more white than that of his neighbors), then that particular individual will be more likely to pass on its DNA (new and improved) to the next generation simply by being better adapted to survive in that particular environment. You've already agreed to heredity, so that's not up for discussion.
Another way it can happen is to have an ADDITIONAL letter added in. Maybe add a T in between the first 2 G's up there. In that respect, everything on down the line is going to be effected (pushed down one), and depending on where this addition is, this can have massive effects on the DNA sequence. If the addition is late in the DNA strand, the effects might be less noticeable than if it were early in the sequence pushing everything on down the line.
There are a few other ways that I can't remember off hand right now, but you get the point here. These random changes (errors in the copying process for whatever reason) can be either good, bad or completely benign to the organism. Do you see that now?
Which ignores natural selection, which claims that whis is is better than that which was.
Really? So with our rabbit in the previous example... if his random mutation gives him fur that is a bit more white than other individuals of his species... and he's living in the arctic; does that offer him it a better chance at survival? Of course it does. That one tiny copying error just happened to give the rabbit less fur pigmentation, and therefore an increased chance of survival over its neighbors. What is the deciding factor between passing the genes on or not? It's whether the rabbit gets killed (maybe by a wolf with good eyesight) before it mates. In the arctic, does a white rabbit or an off white rabbit have a better chance to pass on it's genes? The white rabbit does, obviously.
Now that one tiny error MIGHT have given the rabbit increased muscle length, or better vision, or better hearing.. or it might have made it slower, or darker in color, or decreased it's sense of smell. Natural selection determines whether or not it was beneficial simply by whether or not the new trait helps the individual live or die. That's it. It's as simple as that, really.
which ignores heredity which claims that the genes of a progeny must be passed by the parent.
which ignores randomness through the claim that what is has been passed by one who has it already
No, and no.
Evolution has taken these thrown them in the soup of the past, and said it is how we were made.
Because it offers the very best explanation as to how all life came to be. Not because we like it, or because it's super cool and all we want to do is mash any silly creationist nonsense. It's because it explains in great detail how all the facts fit together.
Really, its not a conspiracy against you. Even if evolution wasn't true, creationism or ID would still be utter bullshit. It just so happens that evolution IS true. It would be true regardless of what invisible sky man you or anyone else thinks exists.
Not scientific. Not rational, not logical.
You're absolutely wrong here. It's all 3. Very much all 3.
Faith. That is all evolution is.
No, it's not. Faith is belief in the absence of evidence. The evidence for evolution is overwhelming. You may claim what you like, but you're just wrong here. Evolution happens. Sorry. | <urn:uuid:3429a417-54e4-402a-be34-7b1a0c895976> | {
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Viticulture - n. : the cultivation or culture of grapes
Enology - n. :a science that deals with wine and wine making
The V&E Department combines the sciences of viticulture and enology in a single research and teaching unit that encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that impact grape growing and winemaking. For over one hundred years the University of California has maintained an active and productive program in research and education in viticulture and enology. The continuing excellence of the Department has enabled California growers and vintners to develop practices that have allowed the Golden State to achieve its potential and become a premier wine-producing region.
The Hilgard Project and the Future
The Hilgard Project:
Web-based, Automated Wine Fermentations at UC Davis Winery.
Scott Professor of Enology
And Chemical Engineering
The University of California is in the design and construction phases of a building complex that will be known as the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food (RMI). The generous gift of $20M by Robert and Margrit Mondavi and the matching funds from the State of California, will establish a unique centre that is home to the Departments of Viticulture and Enology and of Food Science (see: http://robertmondaviinstitute.ucdavis.edu/).
Some of the greatest limitations to small-scale research winemaking are irreprod... | <urn:uuid:e366b856-342d-4613-96bc-bf88cb641bdc> | {
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Viticulture - n. : the cultivation or culture of grapes
Enology - n. :a science that deals with wine and wine making
The V&E Department combines the sciences of viticulture and enology in a single research and teaching unit that encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that impact grape growing and winemaking. For over one hundred years the University of California has maintained an active and productive program in research and education in viticulture and enology. The continuing excellence of the Department has enabled California growers and vintners to develop practices that have allowed the Golden State to achieve its potential and become a premier wine-producing region.
The Rhone Rangers Scholarship
The Rhone Rangers is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the advancing the knowledge and understanding of traditional Rhone grape varieties and the wines produced from those grapes. The Rhone Rangers has adopted the French government's list of approved varieties allowed in the Cote du Rhone as the criteria for winery membership. Today, membership consists of over 125 wineries from California, Washington, and Virginia.
This scholarship is given with a preference to students interested in research involving Rhone grape varieties or Rhone wines produced in the USA. The Rhone Rangers desire to see a deserving student be supported during their studies at UCD. | <urn:uuid:99585d2e-0431-4c7d-afb8-ace8167e9265> | {
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Thu February 21, 2013
Pretty Picture: Mount Etna Boils Over; NASA Adds Color To Shot From Space
Sicily's Mount Etna has been blowing off steam, and lava, this week. NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite flew over it on Wednesday and took an image that "combines shortwave infrared, near infrared, and green light in the red, green, and blue channels."
The result: "Fresh lava," NASA says, "is bright red — the hot surface emits enough energy to saturate the instrument's shortwave infrared detectors. ... Snow is blue-green, because it absorbs shortwave infrared light, but reflects near infrared and green light. Clouds made of water droplets (not ice crystals) reflect all three wavelengths of light similarly, and are white. Forests and other vegetation reflect near infrared more strongly than shortwave infrared and green light, and appear green. Dark gray areas are lightly vegetated lava flows, 30 to 350 years old."
We think it's pretty.
(H/T to NPR.org's Wright Bryan.) | <urn:uuid:596b7ef9-4378-4797-9bc4-f9f3d27fa26d> | {
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December 3, 2012 | Politics and Leadership
The Dilma Effect: How Brazil’s Groundbreaking President is Inspiring Other Women to Run
By Maya Popa
“In Portuguese, the term presidente applies to both men and women, and presidenta to women only. When Dilma was elected, people asked her which term she preferred to use and she said presidenta, with the feminine ending.”
“Dilma,” it almost goes without saying, is Dilma Rousseff, voted into office in 2010 as the first woman to lead powerhouse Brazil, the world’s sixth largest economy. For the woman telling that anecdote, thirtysomething Veronica Marques of Rio, it illustrates one of Rousseff’s greatest accomplishments in office: Her ability to motivate other women to succeed, especially in public life. “For me, this simple gesture shows how having a woman as a presidenta can inspire other women not only to seek more space in the political arena, but also through their daily lives,” says Marques, an executive at ELAS, the Women's Social Investment Fund, a nonprofit that invests in women’s empowerment and education.
The Dilma Effect starts at the top: After promising in her inaugural speech “to open doors, so that in the future many other women can also be president,” Rousseff put together a cabinet with three times as many women as the previous administration, giving women nine of the 24 minister-level positions--including such key jobs as ministers of planning, social development and the environment.
And in this macho, macho country, thanks to Rousseff, more women are getting into politics than ever before. "Dilma took several high-profile media opportunities to encourage women to run in the last elections,” says Heather Arnet, CEO of the Women and Girls Foundation of Pennsylvania, which is partnering with ELAS to study the effect of governmental policies on the lives of Brazilian women. The result: A record 48 women sought the chance to head Brazil’s 26 states, a 60 percent increase over the previous contest.
But the fight for gender equality is hardly won. Although Brazil has a 30 percent rule—requiring that 30 percent of candidates for elective office be women—females hold only nine percent of positions in the lower house of parliament and only 36 percent of lawmaker, senior official and managerial jobs, according to a 2011 report by the World Economic Forum. “There is a long way to go to have more women in politics, but we are building step by step,” says Marques. “Maybe, in some years we will have at least 50 percent of women in political positions in Brazil.”
Politics, though, isn’t the only area where Brazilian women are breaking glass ceilings. Earlier this year Maria das Graças Silva Foster was named CEO of Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil--the first woman in the world to head a major oil-and-gas company. According to a recent survey, 80 percent of Brazilian women now aspire to top jobs (compared to 52 percent in the U.S), while 59 percent consider themselves “very ambitious” (compared to 36 percent in the U.S.) Arnet praises government-funded social programs for providing the right conditions for women to succeed: inexpensive, over-the-counter birth control, six months paid maternity leave, efforts to connect rural women to education and healthcare, and the bolsa familia program, compensation for poor women to keeping their children in school. "All of these policies and cultural practices together are creating an environment where women can be more economically sufficient and can take on increasing corporate and political leadership," says Arnet.
Marques, though, has the most personal take on her country’s leader: “When I see myself represented by a woman as presidenta, I see that things are changing. I see that our generation of women and the next generation of women will have more space in the political arena because of her. Achieving in the political arena is not simple. Brazil has to give us—the new generation of women—the space and the opportunity for it. We want to do it, we can do it, we will do it.”
SOLUTIONS FOR BRAZIL: Let’s Go Girls!
The Women and Girls Foundation of Pennsylvania, led by Heather Arnet, is partnering with Veronica Marques at ELAS, on a project called Vamos Meninas! (Let's Go Girls!) to "explore the role that Brazilian voting practices, economic policies, and policies regarding family planning and child care have in fostering a culture for female advancement."
In January 2013, Arnet and ELAS will visit Rio, Sao Paulo, Brasilia and other cities, to better understand the changes occurring in Brazil and their impact on women’s leadership. As Arnet explains: "Together we hope to capture stories of transformation that provide Americans insight into this emerging world economic leader, and inspiration to continue our own pursuit towards gender equity."
Explaining what seems an unlikely pairing, Arnet says that “Brazil and Pennsylvania, historically, have a surprising amount in common. We are both economies which used to rely mainly on coal mining. We are traditionally macho cultures where women stayed home, and had children, and men went to work in the factories. We have had significant racial and class segregation and gender segregation in the workplace. And yet look at Brazil now. From an economic revitalization perspective and gender leadership perspective things are changing in Brazil dynamically.”
A documentary about Vamos Meninas! will premiere on PBS station WQED/Pittsburgh later in 2013. Says Arnet, "We have a lot to learn from Brazil, its people and its leaders, regarding how to transform our culture and our economies for a new century."
Maya Catherine Popa is a writer for the Women in the World Foundation. She is currently completing a Master's in Creative Writing at Oxford University under a Clarendon Scholarship, as well as an MFA in Poetry from NYU. She co-leads a weekly writing workshop for veterans of Iraq & Afghanistan. Her writing appears in The Huffington Post, Locustpoint, and elsewhere. | <urn:uuid:2b443e8b-040a-46cb-ae95-c1d35cdbec4a> | {
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- S: (n) abscission, cutting off (the act of cutting something off)
- S: (n) cut, cutting, cutting off (the act of shortening something by chopping off the ends) "the barber gave him a good cut"
- S: (v) interrupt, disrupt, break up, cut off (make a break in) "We interrupt the program for the following messages"
- S: (v) cut, cut off (cease, stop) "cut the noise"; "We had to cut short the conversation"
- S: (v) cut off, chop off, lop off (remove by or as if by cutting) "cut off the ear"; "lop off the dead branch"
- S: (v) cut off, cut out (cut off and stop) "The bicyclist was cut out by the van"
- S: (v) chip, knap, cut off, break off (break a small piece off from) "chip the glass"; "chip a tooth"
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- S: (n) guard (the person who plays that position on a football team) "the left guard was injured on the play"
- S: (n) guard, safety, safety device (a device designed to prevent injury or accidents)
- S: (n) guard (a posture of defence in boxing or fencing) "keep your guard up"
- S: (n) guard (the person who plays the position of guard on a basketball team)
- S: (n) guard (a military unit serving to protect some place or person)
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- S: (n) guard duty, guard, sentry duty, sentry go (the duty of serving as a sentry) "he was on guard that night"
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- S: (n) guard (a position on a basketball team)
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- S: (v) guard, ward (watch over or shield from danger or harm; protect) "guard my possessions while I'm away"
- S: (v) defend, guard, hold (protect against a challenge or attack) "Hold that position behind the trees!"; "Hold the bridge against the enemy's attacks"
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SITUATED AT THE MOUTH of the Mississippi River
on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana and its people have long been influenced by the intersection of these two major water features. The physical geography of Louisiana can be examined in terms of its five natural regions: the Coastal Marsh; the Mississippi Flood Plain; the Red River Valley; the Terraces; and the Hills. Each has played an important role in the history of the state. The southernmost of these regions is the Coastal Marsh, which serves as a transitional area between land and sea. Characterized by fresh and saltmarsh vegetation as well as peat soils, this natural region serves to provide rich fishing grounds that support the second-largest seafood industry in the United States
today. Heading northward away from the coastal areas, rivers dominate not only the physical landscape but also the economic geography
of Louisiana. The Red and Mississippi rivers are distinguished as separate natural regions because of soil and drainage differences, however, they are inherently interconnected and provide an extensive waterway transportation system upon which the Louisiana economy has been built. Combined with five deepwater ports and proximity of the Gulf of Mexico, the river system of Louisiana serves as natural gateway for the exchange of not only goods produced in the state but much of the U.S. midwest as well. While the petrochemical and mineral resource industries are most often associated with the importance of waterway transportation today, the fertile flood plains of the Mississippi River have long been a source of agricultural wealth for the state by producing large quantities of cotton, soybeans, and rice. Rising above the river floodplains into the Terraces and Hills, the forest industry prevails because of the availability over 13 million acres (5.2 million hectares) of hardwood and pine forests. Natural resources alone do not provide all of the state’s economic foundations. Louisiana has also developed a strong tourism industry premised upon its unique cultural heritage. The idea of “cultural gumbo” is often used to describe the people of Louisiana, as they are like the famous gumbo dish created out of many separate ingredients that blend together to create a delightful experience. Throughout its history, the territory that now encompasses Louisiana has been governed under 10 different flags. Although originally claimed by Hernando de Soto for Spain
in the early 1540s, Louisiana remained largely ignored by Europeans until Robert de La Salle claimed the territory for France
in 1682. The first permanent settlement was finally established in 1714. Despite the strong French and Spanish presence in the territory, other Europeans, including Germans farmers, began to arrive, each adding their own influences to the Louisiana culture and landscape. With a military victory over France and Spain in 1763, Great Britain also laid claim to the portion of Louisiana east of the Mississippi River basin. While European nations struggled with each other for control of Louisiana, other cultural groups continued to arrive. The rich soils of the river lands fostered the growth of a plantation economy that depended upon the importation of African and Afro-Caribbean slaves who contributed to the formation of the culture in south Louisiana. This area was also settled by Creoles, the French-speaking Acadians who fled British control of Nova Scotia and made their way into south-central Louisiana and are today recognized by the name Cajuns. Even after the Louisiana Purchase
in 1803 and its incorporation into the United States in 1812, portions of Louisiana would be governed under a foreign flag. In 1810, a controversy arose between the United States and Spain over the control of portions of eastern Louisiana, resulting in the declaration of the shortlived independent Republic of West Florida. Finally, in 1861, Louisiana seceded from the Union and after only a six-week period as an independent republic joined the Confederacy and its efforts in the Civil War. After the conclusion of the war, Louisiana was readmitted to the Union in 1868. Despite the passage of over 130 years of continual U.S. control, the people of Louisiana have seldom forgotten their past and continue to draw upon it today to create a diverse cultural experience blended from a unique history and environment. | <urn:uuid:ef384db7-2e3a-4e85-a6f5-bc771cff68cd> | {
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The Mill is one of those few paintings that are significant not only because they are beautiful but because they have profoundly influenced the history of taste. As part of important eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collections, The Mill was well known to connoisseurs and artists who valued it as one of Rembrandt's greatest creations. The romantic aura of the scene, with the dramatic silhouette of the mill seen against the stormy sky, captured their imagination. Many stories and myths circulated about the painting, among them that this was a picture of Rembrandt's father's mill. The dark, threatening sky seemed to others to portend the severe financial difficulties that Rembrandt had in the mid-1650s. | <urn:uuid:9463868c-335b-46a3-8db3-7a0a2522c375> | {
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|The Surprising Appearance of Nanotubular Fullerene D5h(1)-C90|
The previously undetected fullerene D5h(1)-C90—with a distinct nanotubular shape—has been isolated as the major C90 isomer produced from Sm2O3-doped graphite rods and structurally identified by single-crystal x-ray diffraction. Fullerenes are well-defined molecules that consist of closed cages of carbon atoms and distinct inside and outside surfaces. They tend to form very small crystals; consequently, high-resolution data was collected using small-molecule crystallography at ALS Beamline 11.3.1. The discovery of nanotubular D5h(1)-C90, which is a fullerene with 90 carbon atoms and D5h symmetry, opens a bridge between molecular fullerenes and carbon nanotubes.
In recent years, the well-known solid allotropes diamond and graphite have been joined by new allotropes: fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. Diamond consists of four-coordinate carbon atoms with tetrahedral geometry, while the other allotropes involve three-coordinate carbon atoms. In graphite, these carbon atoms are arranged in hexagonal sheets that are stacked upon one another. Graphene is simply a single hexagonal graphitic sheet with a thickness of only one atom.
Carbon nanotubes can be conceived as hexagonal graphene sheets rolled into cylindrical shapes. These tubes may consist of a single wall of carbon atoms (single-walled carbon nanotubes) or may consist of multiple layers of tubes nested inside one another (multi-wall carbon nanotubes). Carbon nanotubes are produced as mixtures in which the individual tubes can vary in length, width, precise alignment of the component hexagons, and the chemical nature of the unique carbon atoms at the two ends of the tube. Graphene is likewise produced as sheets of varying size with generally less well-defined structures for those carbon atoms at the outer edges.
Fullerenes of varying sizes (from 60 to more than 500 carbon atoms) have also been observed, and individual molecules such as C60 and C70 have been isolated in pure form. Each fullerene is constructed of 12 pentagonal rings of carbon atoms and a number of hexagonal rings. For example, the prototypical C60, the most readily prepared fullerene, has 20 hexagonal rings in addition to the 12 pentagons.
Isolating higher fullerenes in an isomerically pure form is challenging, especially since the number of isomers increases as the size of the fullerene cage expands, as per the isolated pentagon rule (IPR). The IPR requires that each pentagon be surrounded by five hexagons to avoid strain-inducing pentagon–pentagon contact. There are 46 isomers of C90 that obey the IPR, but none of these isomers had previously been obtained in pure form. Indeed, in the absence of Sm2O3, no D5h(1)-C90 has ever been detected.
The oblong fullerene D5h(1)-C90 belongs to a set of nanotube-like fullerenes with the formula C60+10n, which have alternating D5h symmetry (when n is odd and the end caps are eclipsed) or D5d symmetry (when n is even and the end caps are staggered). The structure of D5h(1)-C90 (n = 3) is thus closely related to that of C70 (n = 1). However, within this family only C60, C70, and D5h(1)-C90 have been isolated in pure form and characterized crystallographically.
The isolation of D5h(1)-C90 provides a unique molecular model for carbon nanotubes that will allow scientists to explore the chemical and physical properties of a distinctly cylindrical fullerene. The armchair-style belts that are found at the waist of D5h(1)-C90 are a unique feature of this particular fullerene, but are the fundamental building block of carbon nanotubes.
Research conducted by H. Yang, A. Jiang, Z. Wang, and Z. Liu (Zhejiang University, P.R. China); H. Jin (Jiliang University, P.R. China); B.Q. Mercado, M.M. Olmstead, and A.L. Balch (University of California, Davis); and C.M. Beavers (Berkeley Lab).
Research funding: National Science Foundation and the Natural Science Foundation of China. Operation of the ALS is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences.
Publication about this research: H. Yang, C.M. Beavers, Z. Wang, A. Jiang, Z. Liu, H. Jin, B.Q. Mercado, M.M. Olmstead, and A.L. Balch, "Isolation of a small carbon nanotube: The surprising appearance of D5h(1)-C90," Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49, 886 (2010).
ALS Science Highlight #217 | <urn:uuid:2f9c3991-1432-4449-97f6-f09dea37f2f9> | {
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A study by Consumer Reports Magazine says eating rice once a day can drive up arsenic levels in your body by 44 percent. A second portion could lead to a 70 percent increase.
Researchers say the worrisome levels of inorganic arsenic are linked to lung and bladder cancer.
Nutritionists say what's important is to eat rice and rice-products in moderation.
"This doesn't mean people should stop eating rice,” said nutritionist Trish Kazacos, “or even quinoa or barley."
Consumer Reports indicated that it's important for young children and infants not to eat more than one serving of rice or rice products per day. | <urn:uuid:8b530fd9-0dc8-40d5-ba26-e03c966c123a> | {
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Luetzen, Memorial, Frank Ellmerich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
L tzen is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 14 km northeast of Wei enfels, and 18 km southwest of Leipzig.
The town was the scene of two famous battles:
The Battle of Lützen (1632) in the Thirty Years' War, in which Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden defeated Albrecht von Wallenstein. However, Gustavus Adolphus himself died on the battlefield, resulting in the battle being a Pyrrhic victory for Sweden. There is a statue in L tzen in his memory. Also, there is a stone, called Schwedenstein(Swedenstone), covered by a gothic-style monument on the spot on the battlefield where he died. Close to this there is a memorial church in his honour.
The Battle of L tzen (1813) in the Napoleonic Wars, in which Napoleon defeated combined Russian and Prussian forces in nearby Grossgoerschen.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaL tzen is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anha...
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaLützen is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anha...
Unterstand im südlichen Teil des Kuhrparks in Bad DürrenbergDie Stadt Bad Dürrenberg liegt an der Saa...
Südlicher Kuhrpark in Bad DürrenbergDie Stadt Bad Dürrenberg liegt an der Saale zwischen Leipzig, Mer...
Der Borlachturm mit Witzleben-Turm an der schönen Saale zu Bad Dürrenberg.Johann Gottfried Borlach (*...
Nova Eventis in Günthersdorf. HDR 6 x 3 Bilder (4 Portrait l 1 Zenith l 2 Nadir) l Photomatix l PTGui...
Sand-Design Weltmeisterschaft in Nova Eventis 1.Platz, rechts 3. Platz 4m Pole
Eine einsame Schleuse des alten Saale-Elster Kanals in Wüsteneutzsch.
Study tour to waterways in Bohemia and Saxony, april 2011.
Street around the settlement. Some properties are still undeveloped so that the settlement isn't comp...
Germany? Before the beginning there was Ginnungagap, an empty space of nothingness, filled with pure creative power. (Sort of like the inside of my head.)
And it ends with Ragnarok, the twilight of the Gods. In between is much fighting, betrayal and romance. Just as a good Godly story should be.
Heroes have their own graveyard called Valhalla. Unfortunately we cannot show you a panorama of it at this time, nor of the lovely Valkyries who are its escort service.
Hail Odin, wandering God wielding wisdom and wand! Hail Freya, hail Tyr, hail Thor!
But it is to the mighty Thor that the Hammering Man gives service.
Between the time of the Nordic old ones and that of modern Frankfort there may have been a T.Rex or two on the scene. At least some mastodons for sure came through for lunch, then fell into tar pits to become fossils for us to find.
And there we must leave you, O my most pure and holy children.
Text by Steve Smith. | <urn:uuid:b3cb01cf-a5ad-4c3f-80f5-c5d93395ffda> | {
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Fact Sheet: The Vegie Guide - March
Presenter: Stephen Ryan, 12/03/2011
SERIES 22 Episode 05
- Sweet Corn
The 17th March, St Patricks Day, is the day to plant Sweet Peas right across southern Australia. Simply rub the hard seed coat lightly on some sandpaper, soak them in water overnight and push them into the soil at the base of a support. By spring, your patch will be bursting with fragrance and colour, as well as attracting all those useful pollinating insects into the vegie plot.
Information contained in this fact sheet is a summary of material included in the program. If further information is required, please contact your local nursery or garden centre.
Copyright Restrictions: This fact sheet is for private and domestic information purposes only. It may not be copied, reproduced, sold or used for any other purpose without the express permission of the ABC. | <urn:uuid:e15d2a0f-e9bc-4eec-9ae8-3ee4b71f5374> | {
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Yoga has been recognized for some time as being effective in reducing high blood pressure, particularly the diastolic (lower) number, which is the most crucial. You can experience the relaxing effects of Yoga by committing to a short daily routine of breathing, exercise, and meditation.
Yoga techniques improve your body’s strength and flexibility, teach you how to relax mentally and physically, and show you how to better manage stress reactions such as muscle tension (most commonly in the face, stomach, neck, shoulders, and breath), rapid heart rate, constricted breathing, and anxiety.
The fastest and most effective way to reduce reaction to stress is to change your breath, and an immediate way to improve your breathing is to improve your posture. In Yoga, you learn to strengthen your back and stomach muscles so that you can sit and stand straighter; this releases pressure on your heart and lungs and allows you to breathe easier.
Yoga breathing exercises teach you how to breathe more deeply and rhythmically; this has many effects, both physical and mental. Your respiratory muscles become stronger, and more oxygen reaches your bloodstream. Regular practice of breathing exercises will give you greater concentration, willpower, and steadiness. You’ll feel calmer, too, as you breathe, because your mind can’t think about upsetting things when it is focused on the breath. You can learn to use the breathing techniques whenever you feel stressed, fatigued, or anxious for immediate relief.
Yoga exercise benefits your entire circulatory system, beginning with the production of blood, which takes place in the marrow of the long bones in the thighs. Improving circulation in the legs with daily Yoga stretching exercises helps to rejuvenate the blood. Yoga exercises stretch the body's major blood vessels, keeping them free-flowing and elastic; Yoga oxygenates the blood and pushes fresh nutrients to all peripheral vessels and capillaries. Improved circulation means that your brain will receive more oxygen, improving alertness, memory, and mood; vital organs receive a steady supply of the nutrients they need for optimal functioning.
Yoga relaxation and meditation training teach you how to relax at will, allowing your body to release muscle tension almost as it occurs. Meditation training shows you how to access your inner source of strength and personal power, creating a support system that builds confidence and self-esteem, helps you learn to enjoy the present-moment, and increases self-awareness.
The choice to practice Yoga will help you control your high blood pressure as it contributes to greater general health and well-being.
Courtesy of the American Yoga Association | <urn:uuid:5b4bab5c-3db9-4977-a845-2f8a8d20373e> | {
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CHART: MAKING GOOD CHOICES (UPPER ELEM/MIDDLE)
"It is important to make good choices. A good choice is one that has a good consequence. One important good choice you can make is the choice to be drug free. Look at the choices below. Fill in more good choices in the chart."
Already an abcteach Member?
LOG IN TO ACCESS THIS DOCUMENT... | <urn:uuid:ceeef568-f7e3-4450-89a1-cb622e3745bf> | {
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Freeway noise can be much louder than expected over 300m in some atmospheric conditions
Ovenden, Shaffer, Frenando. Impact of meteorological conditions on noise propagation from freeway corridors. J. Acous. Soc. Am. 126 (1), July 2009, 25-35.
This study combined field recordings and new acoustic modeling to describe the effects of wind shear and temperature differentials on the distance over which road noise exceeds regulatory limits. The particular concern here is whether reducing the height of barrier walls (which is sometimes allowed when quiet road surfaces are used) will lead to increased noise at a distance. This study could offer important additional information for use in recent US National Park Service efforts to understand the ways that road noise affects the "effective listening distance" of animals nearby. The results MAY also have applicability to some wind farm noise issues, though extrapolation from these results must be made with extreme caution.
The essence of this study's results is that sound may bounce off a layer boundary that is caused by wind shear or temperature layers at 30-50 meters high (a wind shear is a situation in which wind speed increases substantially with height, especially when there is a relatively sharp boundary between low and higher wind speeds). Most sound propagation models assume relative uniformity in the atmosphere; this study aimed to see how propagation differs from traditional models when the atmosphere is more varied. In some conditions, the researchers here found that while sound levels remain close to what traditional sound models would suggest at ranges of 200-300 meters, noise levels can actually increase at ranges of 300 meters and beyond, creating conditions in which regulatory limits are exceeded at these greater distances. In some conditions, increases occur in chaotic patterns at closer ranges, as well. The difference between traditonal sound models and the results here were as high as 15-20dB, and quite commonly occurred at 5-10dB.
While there is much interest in what may be causing reports of excessive noise from wind farms, and this work may inform these inquiries, it should be noted that the wind shears studied here may not apply to many industrial wind farms. Most notably, the hub heights of turbines may well be above the level of the wind shears addressed here (especially in problematic situations in which night time wind shears trigger turbines into action), so that the noise is not reflected downward in patterns similar to those of ground-based noise such as traffic. However, there clearly are some atmospheric conditions in which wind farm noise is higher than expected, sometimes at surprisingly large distances, so consideration of these effects would be a very useful topic for further study. It is quite possible that the turbine sound that does project down toward the ground during wind shear conditions is subject to the same factors that create chaotic and at times surprisingly high levels at larger distances; this could partially account for unusually high noise levels reported by some neighbors at certain times.
Exciting new models for assessing and visualizing extent of noise impacts in the ocean
Clark, Ellison, Southall, Hatch, Van Parijs, Frankel, Ponirakis. Acoustic masking in marine ecosystems: intuitions, analysis, and implication. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395: 201-222, 2009. [DOWNLOAD (pdf)]
This has to be one of the most exciting papers I've seen this year; reading it was downright joyous, especially in contrast to decidedly unsatisfying previous attempts to address cumulative impacts of ocean noise (mostly undertaken by large committees and resulting in vague and complex conceptual approaches that are nearly impossible to implement). By contrast, here we have, at last, a clear and strikingly rigorous approach to assessing the impacts of ocean noise sources on the communication of whales. As promised in the introduction, the authors "present an analytical paradigm to quantify changes in an animal's acoustic communication space" and "a metric to quantify the potential for communication masking." While of course, much uncertainty remains, both in some of the specific terms used in these metrics and in assessing the biological impact of reduced communication space, the tools provided here will open a vast and exceedingly useful new doorway for biologists and ocean managers.
Researchers will find much to work with in the suite of new metrics and relatively simple functions used to calculate them, including factors that reflect "ancient ambient" conditions as well as "present ambient" and "present noise sources", a more nuanced twist on signal-to-noise ration called the "recognition differential", acknowledgement of subtle biological inputs such as "signal processing gain", and "potential communication space" for a sender, and for a receiver hearing multiple other animal senders….this is just a hint of the power of these combined metrics, and surprisingly, most of the functions are really quite simple, though they do of course interact in complex ways. The present examples focus on the effects of low-frequency shipping noise on low-frequency communication by large whales, and incorporate differences in the specific frequency ranges used by the three species addressed; the model can easily be used to address mid- or high-frequency noise sources and higher frequency animal sounds such as those used for echolocation.
For the rest of us who are not designing new studies, though, the power of this approach is equally clear, and can readily inform both public awareness and policy-making. Extending the nascent idea of "communication space" (which has recently been introduced in terrestrial ecosystems by researchers at the National Park Service and Colorado State) into ocean habitats, we are presented with an intuitively obvious way to both imagine and assess the effects of ocean noise – measuring the area in which an animal can hear or be heard by others of its species. As its first application, this paper presents data from ongoing work at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary offshore from Boston Harbor. There, a network of hydrophones is collecting soundscape data that allows researchers to both pinpoint and track the locations of whales and ships, along with the actual received sound levels throughout an extended area. By plugging this data into their new equations, the researchers are able to, for the first time, quantify the effects of shipping noise on local populations of fin, humpback, and right whales.
The results are both fascinating and sobering. Thanks to slightly different frequency bands used by each species, and the lower source level of right whale calls, the impacts of shipping noise on these three species vary substantially. On the day used for this initial analysis, two ships passed through the region (an average of six ships has been noted here). On a low-traffic day with two ships, the Communication Space for humpbacks were reduced by an average of 11%, fins by 33%, and right whales by a staggering 84%. For most of the day (from 5am until 5pm), right whale Communication Space was diminished by 88-98%. While we do not know how this vastly shrunken communication range affected the whales, the authors note that "we do know that these whales counter-call and use these episodes of calling to find each other and to aggregate, so one immediate cost is the loss of opportunities to form social groups. Right whales form aggregations during mating and during feeding, so one likely cost is the loss of mating and feeding opportunities."
Back to the science-advancement side of things, the authors stress that this metric provides "a critical missing link to the major current dilemma of assessing noise impacts" that can, for the first time, "quantify biological cost within an ecological framework." They note that this model is a key step toward giving some practical form to the previous PCAD (Population Consequences of Acoustic Disturbance) model proposed by the National Research Council in 2005. There is still uncertainty in some key variables. Most strikingly, we don't know how far these species actually communicate; while we know they can be heard for tens to hundreds of kilometers, limited studies have only confirmed communication exchanges in the range of 20km, which is used in this model for now (if actual communication ranges are longer, as is entirely possible, then reductions in Communication Space would be much greater, especially for the fin and humpback whales). The authors note it was 1971 when Payne and Webb first raised the question of whether shipping might reduce long-range communication for some large whales, and that "that hypothesis was ignored for a quarter of a century." They conclude: "As the planet's dominant species, humans have choices to make. In the case of the ocean's acoustic ecological habitat, the choices we are making now have profound implications for the future of marine mammals. It is our opinion that the right choice cannot wait another 3 decades."
Summary of human and natural noise in the sea
John A. Hildebrand. Anthropogenic and natural sources of ambient noise in the ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395: 5-20, 2009. [DOWNLOAD]
This is a good current overview of the known sources of both human and natural sounds that contribute to the cumulative background ambient noise level of the seas. For each noise source, the author includes frequency bands and source levels, as well as a sense of how widespread the source is. Some lesser-considered noise sources are included, such as acoustic modems used to transmit data from industrial and scientific sites at sea. The key omissions are sources that are still relatively rare, though increasing in number: undersea mining and oil and gas subsea processing installations. Unlike a similar presentation to the IWC a few years ago, the author does not attempt the much harder challenge of calculating the total sound energy that each noise source contributes to the global ambient noise budget (that paper ruffled some feathers by suggesting that seismic surveys may contribute nearly as much as shipping; it is likely that there is not enough solid data to assess how much air gun sound actually moves from continental shelves and slopes into the ocean basins). The paper also includes a good basic summary of sound measurement systems, and is a good starting place for those wishing to get up to speed on the diversity of ocean noise sources.
The main take-away is familiar: at low frequencies, shipping is the dominant noise source (with some indications that seismic surveys are contributing more as they move to deeper water) and has impacts at ocean-basin scales; in mid-frequencies, sounds travel tens of kilometers, with wave and wind sounds dominant (with mid-frequency sonars from 300 ships, operating up to 10% of the time each, also significant); at high frequencies, sounds travel only tens to hundreds of meters, and the main source of noise is actually thermal noise of water molecules (with depth-sounder sonars on many to most ships also a factor).
Specific data that may be worth holding in mind includes source levels of two important low-frequency sounds. Pile driving (increasingly used for siting offshore wind turbines) can be close to 200dB at 100m, with repetition every 2 to 4 seconds; since this takes place in relatively shallow waters, the impact is fairly local despite being low-frequency. Shipping noise varies from 195dB re uPa2/Hz for fast-moving supertankers to 140dB for small fishing vessels and 150-180dB re 1uPa for small private motorboats. Also of note is that wind turbines, after installation, are relatively quiet: the highest tonal component yet measured is 151dB re 1uPa at 180Hz, and broadband low frequency noise at four different wind farms was just 100-120dB re 1uPa.
Parks and Sanctuaries: Collaborative noise management in protected areas
Leila T. Hatch, Kurt M. Fristrup. No barrier at the boundaries: implementing regional frameworks for noise management in protected areas. Mar Ecol Prog, Vol. 395: 223-244, 2009. [DOWNLOAD]
Yet another excellent and ground-breaking synthesis, this one highlighting the similar challenges and opportunities present in managing protected areas on land and in the sea. The authors, one of whom works for the National Park Service, and the other a National Marine Sanctuary, have both been active in focusing on the noise intrusions and impacts relevant to their respective jurisdictions. This paper addresses several important themes and calls for a more integrated and dynamic approach to managing the acoustic resources in protected areas.
It's well worth reading the entire paper, which includes many useful insights, ideas, and case studies, including cogent discussions of the various management challenges that need to be overcome (including different cultures and priorities within agencies that need to collaborate, and a natural resistance to bringing more detailed and expensive-to-collect data requirements into EIS processes that have been sufficient in the past). Here, I'll highlight a few of the key passages. This excerpt frames the impacts of noise in a concise and new way:
"Hearing extends animal awareness under all conditions, and is essential when vision is compromised."
"Noise presents at least 4 threats: diversion of attention and disruption of behavior, habituation or ‘learned deafness’, masking of important signals, and spurious physiological stimulation. These threats present several costs: compromised physiological function, diversion of time and energy, failure to detect important cues, impaired acoustical advertisement and communication, and reduced utilization of important habitats or resources. All of these costs have consequences for fitness."
"Terrestrial noise management is informed and encumbered by the history of community noise management. Historical noise studies and regulations focused on maximum tolerable conditions for humans, in terms of health effects or annoyance. The concept of preserving a high quality acoustic environment has been largely ignored until very recently….An enormous gulf separates the outstanding acoustical conditions that the NPS is required to protect and the noise exposures that result in health effects or high levels of annoyance." However, "In the marine realm, emerging noise management practices are not burdened by the history of community noise management….The broad mandate of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act provides a unique opportunity to create noise management practices and regulations that represent today’s best available science."
"Parks and sanctuaries should be afforded heightened levels of noise protection. Sanctuaries should become quiet refugia for species, as well as enhanced environments for the development of science and technology that promote the research and management objectives throughout the regions they occupy."
The authors note that current regulatory responses to noise are focused on the impacts of discrete sound sources on individual animals; they encourage a broader view that would take into account the ways that effects on species ripple through an ecosystem (e.g., effects on prey species will have an indirect but crucial impact on predators). They summarize several leading-edge computer models that are capable of ever more accurate and dynamic modeling of multiple sound sources and entire populations of animals in a region (though note that even these cannot yet take into account inter-relationships between species). There is also a time-scale limitation on most current impact analyses: the five-year span of most permits.
As examples of noise in protected areas, the authors discuss both data and management approaches taken in Grand Canyon National Park and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (in each case, the protected unit with the longest history of acoustic monitoring). In the Grand Canyon, aircraft are audible for a third or more of the day in the entire park: "If a visitor does not want to hear aircraft at Grand Canyon, they need to be in a busy parking lot or near one of the rapids on the Colorado River." In Stellwagen, low frequency noise in the shipping lanes "were >82 dB 50% of the day and as high as 110 dB 5% of the day."
The paper concludes with for elements of a "common ground" that these case studies suggest as cornerstones of a constructive forward motion in managing noise impacts:
- Investment in expanded and continued acoustic monitoring, especially for "evaluating which sanctuaries contain relatively quiet versus relatively noisy conditions."
- Development of new impact assessment tools, such as visual representations of acoustic data, and effective metrics with which to summarize and compare results. They stress that these metrics are most useful when they relate directly to "functional consequences" for animals that are easy for managers to interpret and for the public to understand (such as the newly emerging metric of reduced listening area). New modeling techniques offer several advantages, including "a rigorous framework for spatial interpolation, when acoustical monitoring data are sparsely distributed." The authors stress that the degree of uncertainty in the models' results needs to be emphasized, and that "in the face of considerable scientific uncertainty, the precautionary principle should be applied to ensure that areas of designated national importance fulfill their protective mandates."
- Enhanced interagency coordination. In particular, "Noise should be addressed by emerging regional management frameworks (i.e. The Gulf of Mexico Program, West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health, Northeast Regional Ocean Council), and during the design, implementation and evaluation of protected areas."
- Public engagement and education regarding the benefits of quieting natural areas.
Humpbacks avoid boat noise at nearly 5 miles
Sousa-Lima and Clark. Whale sound recording technology as a tool for assessing the effects of boat noise in a Brazilian marine park. Park Science 26:59-63. [DOWNLOAD]
Using an array of pop-up recorders, this study was able to track eleven individual singing humpback whales and monitor their movements in response to four separate approaches by a tourist boats in the Abrolhos Marine National Park off Brazil, in the main humpback breeding grounds in the southwest Atlantic. Nine of the eleven whales moved away from the boat; of these, four continued singing and five stopped singing (these did not resume singing for at least 20 minutes). Six of the nine began moving away while the boat was more than 4km (2.5mi) away; this distance was chosen as the onset of the "exposure" period, since it had been previously shown to be the median distance at which humpbacks respond to boats. In fact, the mean distance at which the nine whales began moving away was 7.5km (4.7mi); previous studies have suggested that 8km is the greatest distance at which humpbacks would exhibit avoidance, with some studies suggesting they would not move until boats were within 300 meters. The authors note that earlier studies suggesting whales would only move when boats are closer "could be a reflection of smaller sampling areas or specific close-range analytical designs, it could also be a bias toward less sensitive whales."
Earlier, the authors point out that other research had proposed that "individuals that are most sensitive to boat approaches would abandon preferred areas because of increased boat disturbance. Assuming this is true, only the individuals less sensitive to boat disturbances would remain in the area." This is a proposition that is gaining increasing credence within the research community (see Bejder et all 2009, below). The present authors continue, "The effect this selection for boat noise–habituated males could have on the population structure is unknown; it could affect female choice and consequently the distribution of breeding success among the males of this population."
Importantly, the authors note that "during the post-exposure period, singers were still moving away from the boat, which suggests a residual avoidance of the disturbance area."
Overview of new autonomous ocean noise recorders for use in small and large areas
Van Parijs SM, Clark CW, Sousa-Lima RS, Parks SE, Rankin S, Risch D, Van Opzeeland IC. Management and research applications of real-time and archival passive acoustic sensors over varying temporal and spatial scales. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395: 21-36, 2009. [DOWNLOAD]
Very good overview of the range of recent research using acoustic recorders, including both archival systems (deployed for weeks to years, with data downloaded periodically) and real-time systems (in which data is available on an ongoing basis remotely). Includes discussion of acoustic systems deployed in Brazil, Antarctica, the US, and Norway, as well as a series of studies using towed hydrophone arrays in the Pacific. The authors stress the importance of the different research designs and baseline information necessary to effectively study behavior that takes place on different scales, and suggest adaptation of long-standing terminology used in other fields to discuss relevant oceanic scales (synoptic scales for regional marine areas of >2000 km2, mesoscale as areas between 1 and ~2000 km2 in size and microscales as areas <1 km2).
The importance and the flexibility of these new technologies is well expressed in the paper's conclusion: "Archival and real-time passive acoustic arrays are now among the lowest cost approaches for mesoscale monitoring of marine areas and can be used to monitor vocal marine life in areas difficult to survey by traditional visual methods. Fixed autonomous passive acoustic arrays sample continuously for prolonged periods of time, allowing assessment of seasonal changes in distribution and acoustic behavior of individuals without introducing into the environment the types of disturbances generated by the presence of survey vessels or aircrafts. Unlike more traditional visual methods, passive acoustic technologies can survey in darkness and remain active during adverse weather conditions. Further, the ability to retrieve and redeploy archival ARUs provides a level of flexibility in data acquisition that is not available with other fixed long- term monitoring systems."
Whale watching boat noise and impacts on dolphins – including some key new findings on high levels of masking and sound peaks during frequent gear-shifting
Jensen, Bejder, Wahlberg, Aguilar Soto, Johnson, Madsen. Vessel noise effects on delphinid communication. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395:161-175, 2009. [DOWNLOAD]
This study was designed to determine how much the sounds of motorboats (whale watching or private recreation) reduce the communication ranges of dolphins and pilot whales. The researchers assessed natural background ambient noise in shallow (dolphin) and deep water (pilot whale) environments, as well as doing field measurements of the noise from two outboard motorboats, then deployed D-tags on pilot whales to assess received levels. The results reinforce some standard whale-watching guidelines, and highlighted some previously un-noticed impacts.
Engine noise at 5 knots and 50m (typical limits for whalewatching) did reduce communication ranges significantly: by 26% in dolphins and 58% in pilot whales (living in quieter deepwater habitats). Slower speeds of 2.5 knots produced virtually no masking noise, suggesting that at the closest ranges, slower speeds are important (the authors take special note of the need for research vessels using "close follow" techniques to be aware of this, so as not to change behavior by their presence). Speeds of 10 knots produced dramatic reductions in communication range, even at 100 and 200 meters, though the researchers note more uncertainty about these results.
In the tagging experiments, the pilot whales experienced often extreme masking noise levels within pilot whale whistle frequencies, up to 55dB above the levels that would begin to obscure communication; which the authors note that this "suggest(s) that vessel noise may be an important factor in determining range of communication signals in this deep-water environment with significant whale-watching and commercial marine traffic activities."
In addition, whale watching boats shift shift gears quite often in order to remain in proximity of the dolphins or whales they are observing (as often as 2 or 3 times a minute); this study found that gear shifting creates pulses of much louder sound (up to 200dB re 1 uPa peak-peak) containing a much broader range of frequencies, especially higher frequencies. Since such unpredictable bursts of sound tend to elicit more powerful short-term behavioral responses, "steps taken to lessen the erratic movement and number of gear shifts of vessels…would lessen the impact." Finally, the authors note that this study only addresses communications masking, and that, while not investigated here, some higher frequency noises created by cavitation (especially at higher speeds) "has the potential to impact foraging toothed whales by masking weak echoes from their echolocation signals."
Acknowledging differing underlying values as a key to breakthroughs in conservation conflicts
Raphael D. Sangarin and Larry B. Crowder. Breaking through the Crisis in Marine Conservation Management: Insights from the Philosophies of Ed Ricketts. Conservation Biology, Volume 23, No. 1, 24-30. [DOWNLOAD]
This short paper is well worth a read by all who have been frustrated by the lack of constructive progress in moving beyond contentious conflict in addressing environmental challenges. Here, two contemporary researchers (one with a focus on policy, and the other on marine conservation) sketch the three-part approach of Ed Ricketts, a mid-20th century marine ecologist (immortalized as "Doc" in Steinbeck's Cannery Row). In addition to his scientific work, Ricketts articulated an approach to science and policy that drew from Taoism, Buddhism, and his friendships with Steinbeck and Joseph Campbell. While the three aspects of Rickett's approach are far more philosophical than practical, they bear consideration in light of the seeming inability of the best intentions of both scientists and policy-makers to effectively turn the tide of ocean ecosystem collapse. At its heart, Ricketts' approach contains two key aspects. First, a clear and ongoing commitment to observing what is, rather than a focus on what should be – with a related emphasis on shifting relationships rather than facile attempts to assess simple cause and effect in what are always complex, holistic systems. Central to this approach is a conscious intent to avoid neatly preconceived ideas about who or what is to blame for the problem under consideration. Second, and most resonant for me, Ricketts emphasizes that most intractable conflicts over policy are, at root, reflective of differing underlying priorities, worldviews, or "sacred values." The key factor that drives "breakthroughs" is a shared commitment to be forthcoming about each party's underlying values. Sharing the diverse "core needs" is, in Ricketts' view, the foundation of a constructive search for mutually favorable solutions, rather than a mutually damaging fight to chip away at two widely different, predetermined positions. The authors suggest that today's rapidly expanding toolbox of monitoring technologies provides us opportunities to initiate the sorts of ongoing observations that underlay Ricketts' approach, and that developments over the last generation in policy and public engagement support an attempt to be more explicit about the underlying values that are too often unspoken as competing advocates argue their sides in a fight to "win" in policy decisions which have turned unwittingly into battles, thanks to a simplistic focus on particular causes and effects within systems that are spinning out of control due to countless inter-related factors. As in his time, it is not altogether obvious how to apply Ricketts' ideas in practice, but reading this brief overview of his thoughts, along with the context provided in relation to current attempts to define and enact Ecosystem Based Management in the oceans, is bound to spur some new perspectives among reflective policy players today.
Related: A key paper cited by Sangarin and Crowder is another short essay perspectives piece, which suggests that the repeated failure of worldwide fisheries management might be ameliorated by inverting the traditional "trophic pyramid" that places humans at the top, and instead using a model that puts humans at the bottom, or at the tipping point of a circle which explicitly includes consideration of three key factors: ethics, corporate responsibility, and social justice.
Bundy, Chuenpagdee, Jentoft, Mahon. If science is not the answer, what is? An alternative governance model for the world's fisheries. Front Ecol Environ 2008; 6(3): 152-155. [DOWNLOAD]
Moderate seismic survey noise linked to increase in blue whale calling
L. Di Lorio and C.W. Clark. Exposure to seismic survey alters blue whale acoustic communication. Biology Letters doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0651 [DOWNLOAD]
This study found that a seismic survey in wide bay at the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway caused blue whales feeding and socializing nearby to double or triple their call rates. The calls were near-range communication signals, rather than the long, loud songs that are heard over hundreds of miles. The research was meant to simply learn more about these social calls, but during the study, their recordings began to pick up the pulses from a seismic survey. “The whales made more calls on days when the testing was happening. It seems they are having to repeat themselves in order to not lose information,” said lead researcher Lucia Di Lorio. During the four days in which survey sounds were heard, the whales also increased their call rates when the sparkers were audible than when they were not, and tended to rapidly increase call rates when the sounds appeared.
The results were especially surprising, since the survey in question was using a much lower-power sound source (sparkers) than the airguns used in most surveys. The electronic sparkers top out at only 190dB, rather than the 230-240dB of airguns. Sparkers are slightly higher frequency as well, but still solidly centered in low-frequency bands of 30-450Hz, primarily 60-250Hz, very similar to airguns, and matching key blue whale communication frequencies.
The study notes that “Our results clearly show that blue whales change their calling behaviour in response to a low-medium power technology that is presumed to have minor environmental impact. In fact, the mean sound pressure impinging on the (study) area, and thus probably on the whales present there, was relatively low, 131 dB re 1 uPa (peak to peak, 30 – 500 Hz) with a mean sound exposure level (SEL) of 114 dB re 1 mPa2 s. The increase in calls was a contrast to some other studies, which have found call rates reduced near seismic surveys, perhaps in part due to animals moving away; in some cases, animals call louder or change the pitch of their calls to cope with noise intrusions. This is the first study to find a marked increase in call rates, or repeating themselves, which Di Lorio suspects may be due to the key role of this area in socializing and feeding (i.e., the communication is time- and place-dependent, and cannot easily be postponed until a quieter time).
The study concludes by noting that the St. Lawrence Estuary “is an important feeding area where blue whales acquire energy and also a place where this wide-roaming, highly dispersed population congregates to engage in social interactions. Reducing an individual’s ability to detect socially relevant signals could therefore affect biologically important processes. This study suggests careful reconsideration of the potential behavioural impacts of even low source level seismic survey sounds on large whales. This is particularly relevant when the species is at high risk of extinction as is the blue whale.”
UPDATE: A skeptical note received by email from a longtime correspondent: “To me, given a detectable new sound, mammals tend to decrease vocalization if it induces fear, or increase vocalization if it stimulates interest. How a sparker could block communications rather eludes me, but whales responding to a pulse—be it noncoherent noise stimulates noise, or actual whale talk directed at the pulse—comes to mind….Sperm whales in the GOM seemed to alter click patterns and perhaps anticipated a pulse once they got the beat. That was a casual observation by one of the acoustic team - always thought that would have been a great add-on study but we were already at overload working on acoustic tracking for tagging purposes. More at home, my grey parrot, who talks quite a bit, of course becomes completely silent when visitors ask ‘if he talks?’ - his reaction to seeing new people is silence. Now, if you go into another room and play classical music, the next question is ‘how do you stop him?’ I think there is a complexity to animal behavior and acoustic responses and the reasons blue whales would increase calls could be many.”
What do beaked whales hear?
Finneran, Houser, Base-Guthrie, Ewing, Lingenfelser. Auditory evoked potentials in a stranded Gervais' beaked whale (Mesophlodon europaeus). J.Acous.Soc.Am 126(1), July 2009. 484-490.
This study took place with a stranded beaked whale that was euthanized after three days in captivity; it was very ill (organ failure due to bacterial infection) throughout. Since beaked whales seem to be more affected by Naval mid-frequency active sonar, the study was designed to see whether beaked whale hearing is more sensitive than other closely related families of cetaceans. The results find a hearing sensitivity curve that is similar to those of dolphins and orcas, with no indication of greater hearing acuity. The highest frequency that could be heard was 80kHz (though this could be limited by hearing impairment in this individual, as one earlier study of this species found good sensitivity than at 80kHz , and did not test higher). Highest sensitivity was found at 40kHz (i.e. the animal can hear sounds at this frequency when they are relatively faint--higher and lower frequency sounds must be louder to be heard) No tests were done using frequencies below 20kHz; mid-frequency active sonar ranges from 2-10kHz.
Some breeding birds avoid areas within 500-800m of wind turbines
Pearce-Higgins, Stephen, Langston, Bainbridge, Bullman. The distribution of breeding birds around upland wind farms. Journal of Applied Ecology, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01715.x [DOWNLOAD]
This comprehensive survey of breeding birds in non-agricultural British uplands (moors and grassland) included weekly surveys during the breeding season at 12 different wind farm sites, along with comparable nearby landscapes without turbines. Half the wind farms were from the previous generation (WAY back in the '90s), with hub heights of 40m and less; the other half had hub heights of 60-70m. Of the twelve species that were observed often enough to provide good data, five seemed relatively unaffected by turbines (including kestrel, lapwing, grouse, skylark, and stonechat), while 7 species were less likely to nest within 500m of turbines, with smaller (i.e., not statistically significant) effects extending to 800m, or roughly half a mile. For six of the species (buzzard, hen harrier, plover, snipe, curlew, and wheatear), numbers were reduced by 39-52%.
The authors note that there is a pressing need for examination of the reasons for the depressed numbers: "we do not know whether our observations of avoidance of turbines reflect a behavioural displacement, the local population consequences of collision mortality or reduced productivity, or both. The distinction is important. If there is high mortality of birds breeding close to the turbines associated with collision (ed. note: or reduced productivity), then a wind farm may become a population sink if repeatedly colonized by naive birds. If, however, the birds simply avoid breeding close to the turbines, then…displaced birds may settle elsewhere with little cost." They also note that "Whether wind farms result in meaningful population-level effects at a regional and national scale depends both upon the mechanisms involved, and the overlap between bird distribution and wind farm development," and encourage new development to avoid high densities of open country species, until these factors can be more clearly understood.
They note the contrast between these findings and those of Devereux et al (2008), which "may suggest that species occupying remote semi-natural habitats are more sensitive to wind farm development than species occupying intensive production landscapes." (Ed. note: The earlier study looked at wintering birds in farmland, rather than breeding birds in uplands.)
Habituation often misused or wrongly assumed in impact assessments
Bejder, Samuels, Whitehead, Finn, Allen. Impact assessment research: use and misuse of habituation, sensitization and tolerance in describing wildlife responses to anthropogenic stimuli. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, Vol. 395:177-185, 2009. [DOWNLOAD]
This paper serves as an excellent review of an important line of reasoning that is skeptical of facile claims that animals readily habituate to human disturbances such as noise. While the paper may be seen by some as little more than a set of "what if" propositions designed to undermine the simple observation of animals not being affected by a disturbance (and in this way, proposing an extreme precautionary view that supposes the worst in situations where we do not have complete information), the underlying intent is more serious than this: when policy decisions are being made based on a simplistic assessment of the situation, then we should at least be aware of the limitations of our terms and our study designs. This paper adds clarity to these issues in important ways.
The authors distinguish between true habituation (which is a learning process that occurs over time) and tolerance (which can be measured instantaneously), and suggest that most impact studies are designed in ways that can only confirm tolerance, since they do not track the responses of individual animals over time. Further, they point out that even studies of tolerance can be easily distorted if the most sensitive animals leave at the first disturbance, leaving more tolerant individuals as the "study group." Another key – and often ignored – factor is that any behavioral response is influenced by many factors, not just the invasive human disruption being studied; for example, increased human noise may be one factor in an animal's decision about moving away, but this decision is also dependent on other key factors, such as the quality of the site where the animal current is (e.g. for feeding, mating, resting), the distance to and quality of other suitable sites, the relative risk of predation or density of competitors in other sites, and any investment the individual or group has made to the site (e.g., establishing a territory, gaining dominant status, or acquiring environmental information). It is commonly assumed that avoidance or lack of avoidance of a human sound source is a good indicator of whether that sound has a negative impact; the authors stress that this is an unwarranted and often incorrect assumption, and point out that the few studies that have assessed both behavioral responses and physiological measures (heart rate, stress hormones) have often found physiological markers of a negative response even when animals exhibited little or no behavioral reaction, i.e., when they appeared to tolerate the intrusion.
This paper serves as a good starting point for examining previous research that has raised similar questions about the design of behavioral response studies, and the use of these studies in making policy decisions (In particular, previous work by JA Gill and L Bejder). The core message here is that managers should be very cautious in assessing claims of habituation (since few studies truly are designed to prove habituation), and likewise that habituation or tolerance do not necessarily imply the lack of negative impacts on individuals or populations. As they conclude, "Most studies are restricted to monitoring short-term, observable, behavioral responses, (which) limits the scope of conclusions that can be drawn…The conclusion is likely to be specific only to the response variable that has been monitored…(while) animals may become habituated in one modality but not in another….The most effective course of action in impact studies would therefore be to complement behavioral assessment with monitoring of physical condition and physiological measures such as heart rate, body temperature and/or hormonal levels."
"Worst case" wind turbine noise can occur 30% of summer/fall nights
Clifford P. Schneider. Measuring background noise with an attended, mobile survey during nights with stable atmospheric conditions. Internoise 2009. [DOWNLOAD PAPER(pdf)]
This well-designed study, by a retired New York State Department of the Environment staffer, sheds light on several key questions surrounding standard noise assessments of wind farms. Most strikingly, it quantifies the extent of one of the key atmospheric components of excessive wind farm noise, finding that stable night time atmospheres may occur two-thirds of the time in the summer and fall, with wind high enough at turbine height to trigger them into action on 30% of nights, increasing to 40% in June and July. On these "worst case" nights, turbine noise is likely to be significantly louder than local background ambient noise from late evening until the beginning of the pre-dawn bird chorus. Schneider's study also included a brief but useful test of whether a quick but systematic mobile sound survey can be used instead of set of arbitrarily-chosen monitoring sites (addressing questions about whether arbitrary site selection accurately measures local averages) – he did 10-minute recordings at 21 sites, one every mile along two rural roads, and compared the results to 5 baseline sites chosen arbitrarily around the same town.
This study took place in the township of Cape Vincent, New York, which sits at the confluence of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, where two wind farm proposals would place 200 turbines in town, covering the majority of its land area. Local and state ordinances require sound to be within 5dB of average ambient noise levels; the wind developer's sound level report based their projected compliance on a day-night average of 45dBA. By contrast, Schneider's study focused in on the times when other wind farms have generated the most problematic noise impacts: nights when wind is low at ground level but high enough at hub height to trigger turbines to turn on. In these conditions, night-time background ambient sound levels are very very low, and turbine noise can dominate the nighttime soundscape. The results are striking, to say the least.
Night-time sound levels were at or below the lowest that the researcher's meters could record, 25dBA, for most of the late-night hours at 4 of the 5 locations, and under 30dB from 9pm-4:30am at three; one site received shore waves and dropped below 35dB for just a few hours in the middle of the night. Average readings along the mobile monitoring route (which was traversed over the course of three nights) were similar, and generally ranged from 25-32dB, with one site at 36dB. By contrast, measurements near a wind farm in the region, also measured at several (10) locations, showed the quietest times of night (L90) ranged from 35-43dB, and the average (LEQ) from 36-45dB. Bottom line: wind turbine sounds are likely to be 10-15dB louder than background ambient sound on these "worst case" nights in Cape Vincent.
But how often do such nights occur? In what is likely to be the section of the study with them farthest-reaching impact, the results suggest that turbines could be operating (hub height winds >4 m/s) on nights with very still, quite ground conditions (ground wind <1.5 m/s) for 42% of nights in June and July, and for a total of 30% of nights from June through October. This lines up well with the only other study that I know of that specifically addressed stable night air conditions, the van den Berg study that found such conditions occur about a third of the time in the Netherlands, with similar levels suspected in many temperate zones. Using New York State DEC standards for predicting human reaction to noise, which is based on increasing levels of industrial noise above background ambient, this study suggests that (counter to the developer's prediction that no residents will experience noise more than 5dB above ambient, i.e., loud enough to trigger complaints), the vast majority of households in town will find the noise "very noticeable" (9-14dB above ambient) on these nights, with 34% finding it "objectionable" (84 homes at 14-19db above ambient) and a further 19% finding it "very objectionable to intolerable" (48 homes at 19-25dB above ambient).
It is important to note that these levels of audibility and possibly objectionable sleep disruption will occur on a minority of nights; indeed, on an annual basis, probably around 15% of nights. And, on those nights, just a portion of the population will be affected. This perspective is part of what has led to our current acceptance of relatively small setbacks from homes (often 1000-1500 feet). Our social decisions about wind farm siting will need to grapple with the question of how much disturbance we consider acceptable – in this case, a third to half of the residents of Cape Vincent may be looking at troubling noise levels for a third to half of summer and autumn nights. To protect most residents from most of the noise intrusions (keeping noise levels to 5-10dB above ambient) would require setbacks of 1km or so, which would likely mean more like 30-50 turbines in Cape Vincent, rather than the planned 200.
Two other results are worth mentioning. As mentioned above, the systematic mobile sound assessments matched closely with those made at arbitrary locations, suggesting that either method is reliable. The author notes that the arbitrary locations that he chose were well away from buildings, while a systematic mobile survey with a random start avoids possible problems of subjectivity in site selection. He notes: "I could have increased the measures SPL (at the arbitrary locations) if I had located equipment closer to homes, barns, and roads, and if I had picked nights with moderate winds." Further, he notes that the attended metering used in the mobile survey allows identification and documentation of noise intrusions, some of which might be of interest in assessing either true ambient or noise conditions with turbines operating (i.e., a site with many cars passing will show elevated sound levels, compared to one with fewer; this increased noise could either lead to over-estimate of quiet times at these sites, or improperly suggest that turbines are the primary source elevating sound levels at a site.) Finally, this study's measurements of dBC (low frequency sound) found substantial variability at different sites, more variable than audible sound, including several sites where the difference between dBA and dBC approached 20dB; this suggests that later measurements with turbines operating may not necessarily suggest that the turbines are the source of such variability.
Animal listening area and alerting distance reduced substantially by moderate human noise
Barber, Crooks, Fristrup. The costs of chronic noise exposure for terrestrial organisms. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2010. [ARTICLE IN PRESS AVAILABLE HERE]
This is one of the most important and interesting papers published this year. It emerges from the partnership between the National Park Service's Natural Sounds Program and researchers at Colorado State University, who have been working together for several years to create metrics that are more useful for assessing the biological impacts of moderate human noise on wildlife. The assessments presented here, along with the paper's review of recent studies documenting changes in foraging, anti-predator behavior, reproductive success, density and community structure in response to noise, form the basis for a much more cogent assessment of noise impacts on wildlife.
The focus of this research is the ways that moderate increases in background noise can affect animals. The authors note that both air and road traffic in the US has tripled in recent decades; even in National Parks, noise is audible 25% of the time in more than half of sites assessed. Over 80% of US land area is close enough to roads for some low-frequency masking to occur, with passing trucks and motorcycles increasing the sound levels at 1km to 40dB(A).
One of the new proposed metrics is the effective "listening area." Changes in listening area has impacts involving both communication and what the authors term "adventitious" sounds (sound made largely by movement, which are important in predator/prey awareness). For predators, the listening area is the area over which they might hear the rustling of their prey, and for prey, it is the area in which they are alerted to approaching predators, whether wingbeats or footsteps; in each case, the most important sounds are those right at the edge of audibility. Social groups rely on hearing each other's alarm calls or songs inviting mating; reduced listening areas for these calls result in effectively reducing the number of individuals in any given communication network. Each animal has its own auditory acuity, so can hear at different distances; but for all animals, increasing background noise will reduce their natural listening area in predictable ways. The authors note analyses of transportation noise impacts often assert that a 3dB increase in noise – a barely perceptual change – has "negligible" effects, whereas in fact this increased noise reduces the listening area of animals by 30%. A 10dB increase in background noise (Ed. note: likely within a few hundred meters of a road or as a private plane passes nearby) reduces listening area by 90%.
Throughout, the authors stress the difficulties in separating noise-related effects of traffic from other related forces, such as habitat fragmentation or threat responses; there is also a fascinating short section citing studies showing behavioral changes in response to quiet recreation, sometimes even more dramatic than those caused by vehicles. Though only a few studies have directly addressed this ambiguity, many studies cited here provide strong indications that acoustic masking is a significant factor in behavioral changes near roads. Among the findings that caught my eye/ear:
- Masking affects not only audibility, but understanding: "thresholds for discrimination between calls of the same species were consistently higher than were detection thresholds for the same calls." Not surprising, but easy to forget: background sound often obscures the words being said, though we can still hear the voice.
- Bats that listen for ground movements of their prey hunt more in quiet areas than noisy ones; similarly insect-eating birds are more likely to avoid noisy areas than other birds.
Masking can also make it more difficult for animals to tell what direction a call (such as a mating call) is coming from
- Pronghorn antelope showed a marked shift in proportion of time spent foraging and in vigilance (looking around) when closer to roads: foraging dropped from 45% of the time to 35%, while vigilance increased from 40% to over 50%.
- Two key studies of increased vigilance in clearly noise-triggered contexts: Ground squirrels showed a marked increase in vigilance behavior when hearing squirrel alarm calls at a site in a wind farm than in a quiet site (including a slightly less "relaxed" non-vigilance baseline state), and a lab study with chaffinches found that the mean time spent pecking (eating) between times scanning the area decreased when noise was introduced.
The authors conclude by stressing: "Chronic noise exposure is widespread. Taken individually, many of the papers cited here offer suggestive but inconclusive evidence that masking is substantially altering many ecosystems. Taken collectively, the preponderance of evidence argues for immediate action to manage noise in protected natural areas….The costs of noise must be understood in relation to other anthropogenic forces, to ensure effective mitigation and efficient realization of environmental goals. Noise pollution exacerbates the problems posed by habitat fragmentation and wildlife responses to human presence; therefore, highly fragmented or heavily visited locations are priority candidates for noise management. Noise management might also offer a relatively rapid tool to improve the resilience of protected lands to some of the stresses imposed by climate change."
Bias in Military (or Conservation) Funded Ocean Noise Research
Wade, Whitehead, Weilgart. Conflict of interest in research on anthropogenic noise and marine mammals: Does funding bias conclusions? Marine Policy 34 (2010) 320-327.
(Ed. note: This lay summary includes more analysis and interpretation by AEI than we generally include; some of this commentary questions the conclusions of the paper, and some of it addresses the underlying controversies surrounding ocean noise issues. I have attempted to be clear about which statements are simple summations of the report's data and findings, and which are AEI's reflections or perspectives. It is a long read, but the issues that triggered this study are important ones. Though the clear-cut results reported here are difficult to take at face value, it is well worth considering the underlying forces that drive tensions between environmental groups and Navy/industry actions in the seas.)
In the United States, the US Navy funds about half of the research into the effects of ocean noise on wildlife. For many years, conservation groups have questioned whether this preponderance of funding is skewing research results, whether by constraining the types of questions being studied, or by leading researchers to downplay negative impacts of noise in order to continue receiving funding. This paper investigates the latter possibility, by comparing five recent reviews of the effects of ocean noise on wildlife, one funded by a leading environmental group, three that received substantial Navy funding, and two funded by organizations with no particular stake in the debate. The researchers compared the number of citations in each that showed an effect of noise, or not, or that showed both an effect and lack of effect. They also attempted to identify funding sources of the primary papers cited in each of these secondary reports, and to correlate the funding source with the same three parameters (noise shown to have an effect, noise causing no effect, or aspects of the primary research showing both effects and no effect).
Using both simple citation counts and G-test statistical analysis to test for a null hypothesis of random connection between funding sources and outcomes, the authors report a significant correlation between funding source and proportion of citations reporting "no effect" of noise. The five review papers certainly show a trend, though it appears to AEI that three papers that form the anchors of that trend each may be somewhat shaped by its original intention.
Reviews: Proportion of citations of each stance
The authors recognize that the one conservation-funded paper ("Oceans of Noise", WDCS) drew almost only on studies that did show an effect of noise, and re-analyzed the trend with that one excluded; a significant effect remained, though it was half as strong. However, one of the "independent" papers, a chapter in a book on the ocean environment (Hildebrand), was perhaps similarly constrained by its purpose; it was titled "Impacts of Anthropogenic Noise," and was not necessarily intended as a comprehensive assessment of what does and does not cause an effect. On the other end of the spectrum of the five surveys, the only Navy-funded survey that diverged notably from the other independent paper (from ICES), was the third National Research Council report, which addressed the difficulties in determining when repeated behavioral disruptions of a portion of a population accumulates to the point of becoming "biologically significant." Thus, this survey could be expected to include more papers that were exploring the edges of impacts, and so it is not surprising that to do so, more citations would appear that show no effect. Given these underlying intentions of the two reports showing the fewest "no effect" citations, and the one showing the most "no effect" citations, it appears that the five papers being compared are not quite on the same playing field. The other three papers (ICES and the first two NRC reports on noise and marine mammals) showed no marked differences in balance between citations, with the Navy-funded reports actually having a lower proportion of "no effect" papers and higher proportion of "effect" papers than the ICES survey.
Primary papers: funding sources and results reported
Turning to the primary papers, the situation is not muddied by the variable intentions of the reviews. Here, there is a clearer trend of increasing conclusions of "no effect" as funding moves from conservation to no-agenda to industry and military funding. Again, the 19 conservation-funded papers nearly all reported an effect, with just one showing both effect and no effect to separate questions being investigated. The 67 military-funded papers, by contrast, were far more likely (2.3 times as likely) to come to a no-effect conclusion than papers funded by other (non-conservation and non-industry) sources. However, and significantly, less than 30% of military-funded papers came to that conclusion, while about 50% did report an effect of noise, and 20% showed both effects and lack of effects. Likewise, in the first two NRC reviews, about 20% of citations showed "no effect," while over 60% showed an effect; even the most "extreme" review had more citations showing an effect than not.
Of special note is that the authors did not find any strong trend toward bias of results reported by independent, academic researchers receiving Navy funding for research studies - these studies showed a similar proportion of effect and no effect results as studies funded by neither the military nor conservation groups (though when comparing military-funded studies with all the others, including consevation-funded, a non-statisticially significant trend of 1.64 times more "no effect" findings was observed). As the authors stress in consideration of the possible bias of conservation-funded primary studies, conflicts of interest would be dangerous if scientists "orient(ed) their goals, methods, analysis or interpretation towards the perceived interests of the….community that funded them." The authors conclude that "much of the bias in military-funded research was in work carried out at military institutions, rather than in studies funded by the military but carried out at universities and other institutions." This seems to suggest that the concern about bias in funding alone is negligible, thus diffusing concerns that cash-strapped academic researchers are "cooking the books" to retain Navy funding. Research coming directly out of military offices is likely to remain less reliable as representing "the whole picture," as may research entirely funded by conservation groups. Still, by integrating and considering the full range of studies reported in all of these reviews, the public can get a pretty decent picture of current state of our understanding of the effects of ocean noise.
Of note, though, is that the proportion of "no effect" to "effect" findings is slightly lower in military-funded studies. In addition, military-funded studies are more likely to report BOTH effects and lack of effects in a single paper; this could indicate either a more careful assessment of the margins where effects are just noticeable, or a tendency to split the difference in order to either underplay the effects or accentuate the non-effects to assuage funders.
Overall, at both layers of analysis, it seems clear to AEI that the conservation-funded papers and survey report showed the most obvious "bias." However, this is not necessarily problematic (unless used as a baseline to suggest bias in others). As the authors note, "conservation groups do not fund research unless they have previously identified a potentially damaging effect," and since conservation groups' focus on precautionary approaches, and their mandate to "publicize activities that are potentially damaging to the environment" is quite transparent, it "should not be problematic unless threats are 'hyped' where there are none." (Note: while non-existent threats are rarely hyped by conservation groups, a more difficult question arises when moderate or minor threats are presented to the public as more dramatic than they may be.) The authors note that while these results could suggest that conservation funding may be considered problematic, "the argument can be made that their role as a preventative authority is necessary."
Indeed, while primary research and even survey reviews funded by the military are evidently not overly biased toward finding no effect (since in both cases, they include far more results showing effects than not), it also appears to AEI that in practical terms, the EIS's generated by the Navy and the mitigation measures imposed by regulators on both military and oil and gas activities are largely grounded in the belief – and regulatory determination – that any effects of these activities are "negligible," to use the formal term. Thus the focus of the conservation community on funding research and publishing overviews that emphasize credible studies outlining observed negative effects is understandable, given these groups' role in raising public awareness and balancing the singular interpretation of the more nuanced research by the military and industry. It might be more fruitful to explore ways that the "balance" of Navy-funded studies and reviews serve as a fig leaf for actions that nearly always presume no harm. Another key question not yet considered with the rigor brought to this study is whether Navy-funded research is oriented toward studies that, by the questions being asked, may be more likely to come up with "no effect" findings, as apparently the investigations that conservationists tend to fund ask questions that lean toward those that are likely to show an effect. Similarly, the questions being asked can color the perceived importance of changing our ways of using sound in the sea. For example, a study might seek to identify "recoverable thresholds" of exposure (the maximum sound can an animal experience, causing temporary hearing shifts, but with their hearing returning to normal after a few minutes or hours), while another study may be looking for "behavioral thresholds" (the sound exposure that triggers behavioral changes). Implicit in the first question is the thought that as long as the effect is not permanent, it's acceptable; conversely, the second question implies a desire to minimize disturbance of animals. Indeed, the first question seeks the maximum sound level we can feel comfortable imposing, while the second inquires as to the minimal sound that the animal might be affected by.
More to the point, though, many or most of the studies that do show effects are somewhat ambiguous (e.g., only a proportion of the population shows the effect, or the practical import of the change or effect is difficult or impossible to determine), while a finding of "no effect" is more clear-cut. It is not outlandish on the face of it for the Navy to say, as it does, that their actions are not likely to cause any major disruption of animal life: the only clear-cut evidence we have is that extremely loud sounds at very close range (tens of meters) can injure animals, while the rest of the research really is shades of grey. Nearly all of the controversy over military and oil and gas noise today boils down to differing interpretations of how important moderate behavioral changes are, and whether they should be avoided or not. And science is nearly incapable of shedding any definitive light on how important behavioral changes are, thus leaving the two sides largely reliant on their divergent faith: the Navy and oil industry's faith that the behavioral changes are transient and negligible, and environmentalists' faith that chronic behavioral disruption by human noise is bound to have negative consequences. Meanwhile, ethical questions about humanity's relationship to the natural world are outside the bounds of discussion on one side, and central to the whole discussion, on the other. In the end, studies like this – and indeed, reviews such as those considered here – are largely diligent exercises in quantifying an issue that has become, for all practical purposes, an exercise in divergent world views talking at and past each other.
Two Pinger Studies: Harbour Porpoise Bycatch Reduced, Common Dolphins Show Little Response
Palka, D.L., M.C. Rossman, A.S. VanAtten, and C.D. Orphanides. 2008. Effect of pingers on harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) bycatch in the US Northeast gillnet fishery. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 10(3):217-226.
Berrow, S., R. Cosgrove, R.H. Leeney, J. O'Brien, D. McGrath, J. Dalgard, and Y. Le Gall. 2008. Effect of acoustic deterrents on the behaviour of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 10(3):227-233.
Two studies of the use of pingers on gillnets came up with starkly different results for two key species of dolphins. The first, a long-term study of actual by-catch off the northeast coast of the US from 1999-2007, found that harbour porpoise bycatch was reduced 50-70% in fisheries that used pingers, with no bycatch at all in nets using 15cm mesh. Most importantly, there were no long-term increases in by-catch, which offers strong evidence that the porpoises are not habituating to the pinger sounds. However, the second study found that pingers that caused evasive responses in bottlenose dolphins had no effect on common dolphin behavior. A pinger source that allowed several types of signals to be tested also elicited no response in the common dolphins; the researchers conclude that “pinger, at their current state of development, may not provide a consistently effective deterrent signal for common dolphins.”
Treefrogs Call More when Human noise intrudes
Kaiser, K & JL Hammers (2009) The effect of anthropogenic noise on male advertisement call rate in the neotropical treefrog, Dendropsophus triangulum. Behaviour 146: 1053-1069.
This detailed study of treefrog calls in an Amazonian neotropical forest showed a near-doubling of call rates when frogs were exposed to recordings of a variety of human noises. Engine noise, music, and intermittent engine noise were all tested. Call rates increased by roughly 75% in the presence of motor noise and music, and nearly tripled when motor noise was presented intermittently. The response of this species of frog, to increase call rates, matched their response to increased presence of other frogs of this species; a chorus of treefrog calls produced the same change as the same volume of anthropogenic noise. While other species were not studied, the researchers note that their observations suggest that other chorusing frogs responded similarly to the anthropogenic noise, also increasing their call rates, while solitary-calling frogs ceased their calls during noise, and resumed when the noise stopped.
The researchers note that road construction and traffic are extending into ever more pristine habitats in neotropical forests worldwide. Unlike birds, frogs are considered incapable of short-term changes in call frequency (e.g., many birds have been shown to shift their calls to a higher pitch to be better heard in noisy urban environments); increasing call rates imposes a fairly substantial energetic cost on the calling males. The impact of increased noise on the effective call distance for males (or audibility distance for females), and the resultant difficulty of females to hear the calls was not studied, but is mentioned as another likely impact of increasing road noise in neotropical forests.
Reef Fish Hearing Measured
Parmenter, Colleye, Mann. Hearing ability in three clownfish species. Journal of Experimental Biology 212, 2023-2026 (2009)
Recent years have seen increasing interest in the question of whether and how reef fish may use sound for communication or orientation; however, while it was known that fish make sounds, their hearing capacities have not been widely measured. This study used AEP to measure the auditory response of clownfish to various frequencies of sound. Clownfish were found to detect sound from 75Hz to 1.8kHz, and to be most sensitive to sounds below 200Hz. It’s long been known that the sounds made by fish are closely related to their size, with lower frequency sounds made by larger fish. Interestingly, younger (i.e. smaller) fish have best hearing sensitivity at frequencies lower than the sounds they make, but close to the dominant frequencies of larger fish calls. It is suggested that this allows juvenile fish to hear and localize the position of adults, which may be useful as juveniles return to their home reefs.
Offshore wind farms: impact area on porpoises is small during operation, but potentially over 20km during construction
These two papers, from related research teams, assessed the impacts of construction and operation of wind farms in Europe on local populations of harbor porposeis and harbor seals.
Tougaard, Henriksen, Miller. Underwater noise from three types of offshore wind turbines: Estimation of impact zones for harbor porpoises and harbor seals. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125 (6), June 2009. 3766-3773.
Underwater noise was recorded from three different types of wind turbines in Denmark and Sweden. The authors note that virtually all airborne noise from the turbine blades is reflected off the surface of the water, while vibrations from the machinery are transmitted through the tower and into the foundation, from where it radiates out into the water column and seabed. In general, turbine noise was only measurable above ambient noise at frequencies below 500Hz, with total SPLs of 109-127db re 1uPa rms, measured at 14-20m from the turbines’ foundations. By comparing measured sound levels with audiograms of harbor seals and harbor porpoises, the researchers determined that the sounds were only slightly audible for the porpoises at ranges of 20-70m, whereas harbor seals may hear the sounds at ranges of 100m to several kilometers. As a bottom line, researchers suggest that behavioral changes are very unlikely in harbor porpoises except at very close ranges, while seals may have some behavioral reaction out to a few hundred meters. For both species, masking is predicted here to be low to non-existent (due to differences between vocalization frequency patterns and the predominantly low-frequency turbine noise), and the sound is too low to cause physical injury, no matter how close the animals are.
Tougaard, Carstensen, Teilmann, Skov, Rasmussun. Pile driving zone of responsiveness extends beyond 20km for harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena (L.)) (L). J.Acous.Soc.Am. 126(1), July 2009. 11-14.
This study took place during construction of an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Acoustic T-PODs were placed in the wind farm and in two locations outside the wind farm, at 7 and 20km away. During pile driving operations, which generate high-intensity impulsive sounds (235dB peak-peak), detections of harbour porpoises declined at all listening stations. (The baseline was detections during construction, but without pile driving activity taking place) The declines were not dramatic (within the 95% confidence bars in most cases, barely beyond them in some cases), but were consistently found. There was no clear difference in detection rates at 7 and 20km, which implies that the displacement effect extends well beyond 20km. The differences inside the wind farm were minimal when pile driving was occurring, though total detections were lower inside the farm than outside at all times, suggesting that animals inside the construction zone were individuals who were more acclimated or tolerant of the ongoing construction noise.
A Summary of Recent Studies of Wind Farm Noise Annoyance and Possible Health Effects
The take-away from these new reports appears to be that while significant proportions of the population are affected by moderate wind farm noise, neither increasing wind farm noise nor even annoyance to it lead inevitably to health effects. There is an entire separate body of research investigating various attitudinal aspects related to stress and health, which only muddy the waters as we try to interpret these direct studies on wind farm noise. Some studies indicate that attitudes toward a noise source can affect both annoyance and stress responses, and that a subjective sense of being threatened can likewise increase physiological responses to noise; however, once again, these correlations are far from universal, so they cannot be used to "explain away" either annoyance or health impacts that do take place, any more than annoyance can be used as a clear indication of eventual health effects.
There is far more gray than black and white in these reports. Still, they provide a concrete picture of annoyance and sleep deprivation increasing as turbine noise increases, along with a better sense of the proportion of affected neighbors who will experience these impacts at various distances and received sound levels. Clearly, 35-45dB is a range at which impacts on neighbors become far more widespread. The social question that will need to addressed is what proportion of nearby neighbors we will accept causing sleep deprivation or annoyance in: 10%? 20%? Where will we draw the line, beyond which we consider turbine placement too close?
Minnesota Dept of Health
Minnesota Department of Health, Environmental Health Division. Public Health Impacts of Wind Turbines. May 2009. [DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE]
This state agency report provides a good overview of the current state of knowledge regarding wind farm noise propagation, with particular attention given to possible low frequency noise impacts. The report makes no dramatic recommendations, though the data presented suggests that audible and low-frequency noise could affect neighbors within a half mile to mile. Among the key pieces of information contained in this report, gleaned from previous research studies:
- A reminder that the 2007 report on wind farms and human health from the National Academies of Science concluded that "noise produced by wind farms is generally not a major concern beyond a half mile" (i.e., under a half mile can be problematic).
- Some individuals have extraordinary sensitivity to low frequency sound, up to 25dB more sensitive than presumed (average) thresholds at some frequencies
- Some people can dismiss and ignore repetitive but low intensity noise, while for others, the signal will grow and become more apparent and unpleasant over time. These reactions may have little relationship to will or intent, and more to do with previous exposure history and personality.
- The difference, in dB, between soft (acceptable) and loud (annoying) noise is much less at low frequencies, due to the our perceptual compression of the full audible range.
- Compiled data from two recent Swedish studies (summarized below) suggest that wind farm noise levels of over 40dB(A) lead to annoyance in about half the population, while slightly lower sound levels of 35-40dB(A) leads to annoyance in about a quarter of the population.
- A surprising study from New Zealand found that over half of household 2-2.5km AND 5-9.5km from wind farms could hear them at times (fewer in between heard them); these wind farms were in mountainous terrain, which likely explains the great distances at which they could be heard.
- Two charts from a 2006 report by the UK Department of Transport and Industry suggest that low frequency noise (LFN) from wind turbines can be well above audible levels, and above the UK's night noise LFN criterion, at frequencies of 50-200Hz.
Summary of Three European Studies
Eja Pederson. Effects of wind turbine noise on humans. Third International Meeting on Wind Turbine Noise, Aalborg, Denmark, June 2009.
This review by one of the leading researchers of wind turbine noise, annoyance, and health, compiles data from three studies, two in Sweden and one in Holland. The results, while indicating clear thresholds for annoyance and sleep disruption at sound levels often experienced by wind farm neighbors, also illustrate the subtleties inherent in making generalizations based on ambiguous data. The author makes a key introductory point: that wind farms "often are placed in rural settings considered places with low exposure (to) environmental stressors….in such a setting, even when the levels are comparably low, (wind farm noise could) be perceived as a potential health risk."
The heart of the studies shows a correlation between increasing noise levels and annoyance. This effect was clearly stronger in the two flat, rural areas, than in a study that took place in a more suburban, rolling landscape that had more other noises present. A dramatic increase in proportion of people annoyed by turbine noise took place when the noise was over 40dB(A); here, 25-45% reported annoyance in rural settings, and 10% in the suburban area. At 35-40dB, annoyance ranged from 16-20% in rural settings but was only 5% in suburban; at 30-35dB, annoyance hovered around 10% in rural areas.
The studies showed no direct correlation between noise levels and health effects related to stress (including headaches, tiredness, tenseness, and irritability); this is not surprising, since at all noise levels, a majority of the population was not annoyed, so also not likely to be stressed. Among those experiencing annoyance, there was a correlation with stress effects, but it was far from universal (correlations generally in the 1.25 range).
Sleep disruption from any source was reported by 15-20% of rural respondents even at sound levels under 30db; some may interpret this as evidence of impact from wind turbines at very low sound levels, but it could as well be considered a baseline of sleep disturbance from non-wind farm causes. At sound levels of 30-40dB, 5-8% more rural residents reported sleep disruption, and as levels rose above 40dB, a total of 30-40% of rural residents reported being awakened.
More Insight into Noise Perception and Annoyance
Kerstin Persson Waye. Perception and environmental impact of wind turbine noise. Presentation at Inter-noise 2009.
This is another paper that re-analyzes results from the several previous studies, including the Swedish and Dutch ones cited above (Waye and Pederson were co-authors of one of these earlier studies), and adds several interesting and important points to the discussion.
First, she cites studies that suggest that the swishing nature of turbine noise is especially problematic, leading to a much higher correlation with annoyance than simple dB level measurements. Indeed, even at sound levels of only 35-40dB(A), when swishing was present, 45% of respondents reported being "rather" or "very" annoyed; over 20% were similarly annoyed at 30-35dB.
Waye delves too-briefly into studies addressing the connection between SEEING turbines and being annoyed by them. This is an especially difficult question, but she cites studies suggesting very high correlations between visibility and annoyance, much higher than the related correlation between visibility and audibility. This ties into other studies suggesting that those who don't like seeing turbines, also don't like hearing them; again, though, it's important to remember that even these strong correlations are not universal, and many who experience noise issues are content to see turbines, if they are far enough away to not create audible disruptions to their recreational, work, and sleep life.
In parsing the data from the three studies also addressed by Pederson, above, Waye adds two key pieces of information: first, all these wind farms consist of relatively small turbines, by current standards: 500-800kW. Second, our consideration of annoyance thresholds at various dB levels is greatly enhanced by also including a graph showing that, in addition to those annoyed at each sound level, another 40-70% of the population could HEAR the turbines, but did not report annoyance. For example, at 30-35dB, over half of rural residents reported hearing the turbines, while only 8-12% were annoyed; at 35-40dB (within most global regulatory limits), 85% heard them, while just under 20% were annoyed; and at 40-45dB (within common US regulatory limits), 95% heard them, while 45% were annoyed.
Finally, Waye addresses a commonly reported finding: that annoyance levels are higher for wind turbines than for noise from less dynamic industrial sources, such as factories. She cites a study that shows that annoyance when indoors is pretty much the same, but that outdoors in rural settings, annoyance is significantly higher at sound levels above 35dB (annoyance at the one suburban wind farm was nearly identical to that from factory noise, again suggesting that expectations in rural setting plays a key role). Waye suggests that in rural settings, recreational and "restorative" aspects of outdoor experiences are impinged upon by wind farm noise. A final fascinating tidbit in her paper is that people who move from cities to the country are significantly more sensitive to noise than people who had always lived in the country; that is, those who actively chose to relocate to the country are more attached to the quiet nature of the landscape, while those who grew up there are more accepting of changes. (Ed. note: As with so many statistics in these studies, though, this should not be over-emphasized; surely many long-time locals also struggle with noise impacts. Indeed, the difference in sensitivity to noise, while an interesting finding, is just 15%)
Low-Frequency Active Sonar Annual Report to NMFS
Annual Report No. 1: Operation of the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) Sonar Aboard the R/V Cory Chouest and USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS 23) Under the National Marine Fisheries Service Letters of Authorization of 15 August 2007. Department of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, September 2008. [DOWNLOAD (pdf)]
This report details the actual operations of the US Navy's two LFAS-equipped ships, from mid-August 2007 to mid-August 2008. Both ships remained close to the Asian Pacific coast, near China, the Philippines, and Japan. The Letter of Authorization issued by NMFS, allows the Navy to use LFAS for up to 432 hours per vessel each year. During this year, the Cory Chouest used the system for 25 days, totaling 71 hours of transmissions, and the Impeccable used it on 24 days for a total of 65 hours of transmissions. During these missions, both passive acoustic detection and an active "whale-finder" high frequency sonar were used to supplement visual marine mammal observers; no whales were heard via passive listening, one group of whales was spotted visually, and on 19 occasions, whales or turtles were spotted by the whale-finder sonar. Operations were suspended 43 times, including the 20 encounters just noted, and 23 times when the whale-finder sonar was not working correctly. Such shut-downs occur when whales may move within 1km of the ship; the whale-finder sonar reliably detects whales out to 2km away. Based on current population studies of whales in the region, the report estimates that LFAS operations injured no animals, and created possible behavioral reactions (received levels of 120dB or more) in less than 1% of most cetacean species, with no more than 3% of any species affected.
The report notes that the LFAS source transmitter send out sound in a full 360 degrees, at a source level of 215dB or less, using a variety of signal types at 100-500Hz. The document provides a good overview of the Navy's EIS process since it began in 1996, along with court challenges and rulings from 2002-2008.
Safety Thresholds for Ocean Noise Should Address Character of Signal, Not Just Loudness
Michael Stocker. The importance of incorporating signal characteristics in the evaluation of noise exposure impacts on marine life. Acoustical Society of America presentation, May 2009.
This paper is a literature review that presents evidence suggesting that our current reliance on simple amplitude (dB level) limits as the foundation of noise-exposure guideline for sonar and other ocean noise sources may not provide the assumed protection for animals. The author proposes several other characteristics of sound signals that may have biologically relevant effects that contribute significantly to possible injury or behavioral responses to human sound.
Current safety thresholds are largely based on hearing tests with captive dolphins. A striking graphic in this paper shows the wide variability in these lab-based results from one species, with reported hearing thresholds varying by up to 50dB. This could well be due to large individual variations in hearing health among captive dolphins; the author stresses as well that the simple sine-wave-based signals used in most hearing tests may not be especially relevant to cetacean hearing. He notes that predominant natural ocean noises (waves, rain, etc.) are relatively simple sine-like sounds, so that ocean species may in fact be adapted to NOT hear them as well as sounds important to communication or which are threats. He concludes his overview of existing hearing studies: "It is clear that animal hearing systems are not just 'auditory frequency bins' but include complex ways of discriminating the characteristic differences between biologically useful signals, 'safe sounds,' and 'pernicious sounds.'" He then cites studies from Holland that have used various non-sinusoid signals to determine discomfort levels, and associated "discomfort zones" related to various signal differences; and, studies indicating that signals with high "kurtosis" (variability in sound levels and harmonic content) produce greater physiological damage than similarly-loud sounds with low kurtosis.
The author concludes by noting that current regulations are based on simple lab auditory threshold tests that are favored because they are easily replicable, but which "only demonstrate the subject's sensitivity to the test signal and do not necessarily reflect the subject's auditory thresholds to the range of signals that they might encounter in their own habitat." He suggests that exposure criteria should be modified to reflect characteristics known to enhance behavioral responses or increase the risk of physiological injury; he proposes evaluation of the following signal characteristics:
- Rise time of impulse signals
- Periodicity of intermittent signals
- Kurtosis, evaluated three ways: FFT of spectral distribution, amplitude variability, and spectral variability.
Measuring Air Gun Propagation from New NSF Research Ship R/V Langseth
Tolstoy, Diebold, Doermann, Nooner, Webb, Bohnenstiehl, Crone, Holmes. Broadband calibration of the R/V Marcus G. Langseth four-string seismic sources. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosysytems, Vol. 10, Number 8. August 2009. [DOWNLOAD (pdf)]
This study marks the primary calibration of the new seismic survey vessel managed by Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) and often chartered by the National Science Foundation for academic surveys. The Langseth's air gun arrays are different than those on the previous vessel, the R/V Ewing, as it uses four identical 9-gun linear arrays of somewhat smaller air guns, rather than up to 20 separately towed and larger air guns. Tests were run in a deep water site and a shallow water site, since sound propagation varies considerably with depth. Sound levels were calculated using both 90% RMS (re 1uPa) and SEL (re:1uPa2s). The resulting exposure radii (safety zones to prevent exposure at the given level) are as follows:
|dB threshold RMS
|dB threshold SEL
Interestingly, actual received levels at distances over 3km at the deep site were below the slope of the statistical "line" the data created at closer ranges; thus the very distant exposure radii are likely over-estimates. As has been widely noted in recent years, sound energy was concentrated in the 10-300Hz range (120-150dB energy spectral density at 1km), but continued to have significant energy up to 1kHz (100-120db shallow, 90-110dB deep) and 20kHz (60-80dB shallow, 20-60 ESL deep). Of special note in this study is the further clarification that, contrary to previous assumptions, differences between RMS and SEL are not consistent, but rather vary greatly with water depth. Reverberations in shallow environments create a smaller difference (about 8dB) than in deep water (about 14dB).
Fin Whales Seem to Avoid Seismic Survey
Castellote, Clark, Esteban. Mediterranean fin whale migration movements altered by seismic exploration noise. Presentation at Acoustical Society of America, May 2009.
This study took place in the western Mediterranean, off the coasts of Spain, France, and northwestern Italy; its main purpose was to simply identify seasonal patterns of fin whales and better understand their migratory movements, using the now-common Cornell Marine Autonomous Recording Units (MARU), which are deployed for weeks or months, and then "pop up" for recovery. By chance, an medium-sized academic seismic survey took place in the vicinity of the recorders for ten days, from 8-17 December 2006, using 5 typical air guns and 4 small "sleeve" guns, totaling 1555 cubic inches. The resulting changes and in fin whale call rates strongly suggest that they shifted their migratory path, though given the limited "perspective" offered by two MARUs deployed near each other, and the fact that understanding of normal migratory pattern is limited, the study is not conclusive.
During the ten days before the survey began, whale calls were heard fairly regularly; during the first three days of the survey, it appears that whales vocalized more, while moving to a different position relative to the recorders. The call rate was most dramatically higher on the 2nd day of the survey: whale calls were heard for over 20 hours, rather than the 6-8 hours that was more typical before and after the survey (some non-survey days peaked at 12-14 hours). The researchers note a dramatic change in bearing (angle at which most of the calls came from) during this peak early in the survey, which was followed by a dramatic drop in calls, to zero on the 4th day of the survey, and continuing at zero or close to it for two weeks after the survey was completed; presumably the whales moved out of range of the recorders (the peak in call rates may represent more whales being temporarily closer as their route shifted). By the beginning of January, whale calls sporadically rose again to near the levels before the survey, and, by January 7th, became more consistent, and back to the bearing that had been noted before. The researchers cite a few other studies that have shown displacement or changed vocalizing patterns near surveys, to bolster their sense that this study should be added to that emerging body of research suggesting behavioral effects that are not fully accepted yet by the scientific and industrial communities.
Ocean Acidification Not Likely to Increase Ambient Background Noise
Reeder, Chiu. Ocean acidification and its impact on ocean noise level: An analysis using empirical and physical models of acoustic transmission loss. Presented at ASA October 2009 meeting.
Udovydchenkov, Duda. Ocean noise level change in response to ocean acidification. Presented at ASA October 2009.
These two papers take a closer look at the widely-noted ocean noise implications of increasing ocean acidification (a combination of factors related to global warming is triggering a steady increase in the ocean’s pH, which decreases sound absorption). When the acidification results were first released there was much speculation that shipping noise would propagate farther, resulting in cumulative ambient noise increases throughout the oceans. These two papers, presented at this fall’s Acoustical Society of America meeting, both come to the same conclusion: low frequency noise will not be significantly increased due to ocean acidification; rather, the primary changes will occur at mid-frequencies. This calms concerns about shipping noise, but may (over time) lead to slightly larger areas being impacted by mid-frequency active sonar, some acoustic harassment devices used by fish farms, noise from recreational boating, and other mid-frequency noise.
Rather than simply looking at the effects of sound absorption, both papers assessed the combined effects of many factors in sound propagation: seabed attenuation and boundary effects, waveguide physics, and the distribution of pH and absorption through different depths of water. The first paper looked at shallow water, a surface duct, and deep ocean, and found that the maximum change in noise transmission occurs at about 2kHz, with no significant change below 800Hz. The second paper notes that at low frequency, little sound is absorbed anyway, so pH-related absorption effects are much smaller than all the other effects, and that at high frequencies, sound does not propagate very far, also minimizing effects of decreased absorption; the authors note that effects can be sizable at middle frequencies. (Ed. note: for both papers, pre-conference abstracts do not quantify the mid-frequency effects; details will follow after the presentations and with later publication of results.)
Sleep "Arousal" and Awakening Could be Cause of Wind Farm Health Woes
Christopher Hanning. Sleep disturbance and wind turbine noise. June 2009 [DOWNLOAD REPORT]
(Ed. note: this is not a peer-reviewed paper; it was written for an anti-wind group in Swinford, UK. However, Dr. Hanning, unlike some other physicians wading into industrial wind noise issues, is not writing outside his area of expertise. He's a renowned sleep disturbance expert: his school hospital named their sleep lab after him.)
This report by a UK MD whose specialty is sleep disorders takes a comprehensive look at factors affecting sleep disturbance caused by nearby wind farms, and is highly recommended reading for anyone working to develop regulations at the local or state level. Hanning’s primary point is that external noise need not wake a sleeper to cause problems, and the repeated “arousals” can break the most restful periods of sleep. He notes that “The sleep, because it is broken, is unrefreshing, resulting in sleepiness, fatigue, headaches and poor memory and concentration.” These are precisely the symptoms often reported by people living near wind farms.
He stresses that arousals are also associated with “physiological changes, an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, which are thought to be responsible for the increase in cardiovascular risk. Arousals occur naturally during sleep and increase with age (Boselli 1998) which may make the elderly more vulnerable to wind turbine noise. Arousals may be caused by sound events as low as 32 dBA and awakenings with events of 42dBA (Muzet and Miedema 2005), well within the measured noise levels of current wind farms” and the levels permitted by most jurisdictions.
The report also summarizes other studies suggesting that night-time noise levels are often higher than sound models predict, as well as one that suggests that wind farms cause high levels of annoyance at lower sound levels than other common noise sources. He concludes that “While it may be possible to produce a reasonable acoustically based theoretical approach to calculating set back distances (Kamperman and James 2008b), it makes more sense to rely on recommendations from observations of the effects on real people at established wind farms.”
Some Birds Choose Noisy Areas For Nests
Francis, C.D., Ortega, C.P., and A. Cruz. 2009. Noise pollution changes avian communities and species interactions. Current Biology DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.052
A new study surveyed nesting birds in New Mexico woodlands with oil and gas compressors, and came up with a surprising result. While, as expected, most birds were more numerous in areas farther from the compressors, two species seemed to prefer these areas. Black-chinned hummingbirds and house finches had more than 90 percent of their nests at the noisy sites. The researchers dug a bit deeper, and found that nests in the quiet areas were more likely to be attacked by predators, with predator birds significantly less abundant around noisy sites. It is suggested that the noise may mask their calls or make it harder for them to find their prey.
Increase in Noise Levels Leads to More Annoyance Than Similar Noise in Steady State
Brown, Kamp. Response to a change in transport noise exposure: Competing explanations of change effects. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125 (2), February 2009
This literature review addresses an interesting question, and one that may be relevant to concerns about noise from wind farms. A long history of studies of human annoyance responses to traffic noise seems to suggest that a change in noise levels (for example, traffic noise increasing from 50dB to 60dB) triggers more annoyance than occurs when exposure is steady at the higher level (in this case, a steady 60dB). This paper reviews many proposed explanations for this affect; while no single explanation is identified as most likely, several common ones are shown to be unlikely, and a set of plausible explanations remains. Among the explanations that are rejected is the common assumption that the annoyance after an increase is transient, and over time will dissipate as people adapt to the new noise level; in fact, evidence suggests that annoyance remains for years after a change. Also of note is that the one study that looked closely at whether attitudes toward a noise source is related to annoyance after an increase in noise found that neither prior attitude nor changes in attitude could account for the increased annoyance. This paper, and its many citations, are highly recommended for anyone addressing community responses to new or increased noise sources.
Harbor Porpoise TTS, Behavioral Response at Moderate Noise Levels in Lab Tests
Lucke, Seibert, Lepper, Blanchet. Temporary shift in masked hearing thresholds in a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) after exposure to seismic airgun stimuli. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125 (6), June 2009.
Field researchers have observed for years that harbor porpoises appear more sensitive to noise than most other cetacean species, moving away from noise sources at greater distances than typically considered problematic (belugas and bowhead whale mothers are also more behaviorally sensitive to noise). This study was the first that measured harbor porpoise auditory sensitivity in the lab, using Auditory Evoked Potential measurements (brain-wave scanners that note auditory brain activity), and the results confirm that this species' avoidance behavior occurs at relatively low sound levels, and may be linked to a similarly low threshold of TTS (temporary hearing loss). The test animal was a wild-born ten-year old porpoise who has lived in captivity in Denmark for most of his life; the testing facility is open to the sea, so background noise (ranging roughly from 60-80dB pressure spectral density) is dominated by local shipping sounds. A single small (20 cubic inches) airgun was used as the sound source, gradually moving closer until a TTS was observed at one of the 3 tested hearing frequencies (4, 32, and 100kHz). The airgun source sound was, as is typical, loudest at low frequencies (max of 150dB SPL at 300Hz), but had significant energy at higher frequencies as well (100-110dB SPL from 2kHz to 5kHz), at the relatively close range used in this test (14-150m).
The key finding was that the airgun sounds caused TTS in the 4kHz hearing range at received levels of 165.5dB SEL (202.1dB peak to peak); perhaps more importantly, recovery was quite slow, with reduced sensitivity (i.e., sound had to be louder than normal to be heard) still measured at 29 hours post-exposure. Based on the pattern of recovery, the researchers estimate that the animal's hearing returned to normal at about 55 hours. Also striking was the clear avoidance of the airgun sounds exhibited by Eigil, the test animal. While there was no apparent avoidance during initial exposures at 145dB SEL (174dB peak to peak), at levels above this, he tried to move away, and eventually resisted being placed in the exposure station (a small part of the pool where he was constrained during the actual tests, and where received level from the airguns was highest). This avoidance of the testing location continued for the rest of the 4.5 months that the tests continued.
Current US regulatory measures, while still evolving, have zeroed in on a proposed TTS threshold of 198Db (SEL) for both single impulses and multiple impulses; this is based on earlier TTS studies of bottlenose dolphins and belugas. The authors of this paper point out that these "mid-frequency" cetaceans may well have different hearing sensitivity thresholds than "high-frequency cetaceans" such as the harbor porpoise; thus, this study provides new information that could inform regulatory thresholds for seismic surveys and pile-driving (during construction of wind farms, bridges, or piers) in harbor porpoise habitat. The US Navy, in estimating the numbers of animals that will be behaviorally affected by sonar training, has been singling harbor porpoises out as more sensitive to disruption, and assuming that any animal exposed to 120dB will potentially change its behavior to some degree.
SEL Metric Does Not Simplify TTS Assessment
Mooney, Nachtigall, Breese, Vlachos, Au. Predicting temporary threshold shifts in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): The effects of noise level and duration. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 125 (3), March 2009.
This study, from one of the leading researchers investigating Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS; temporary decline in hearing sensitivity) after exposure to loud noise in dolphins, calls into question one of the key advantages of the Sound Exposure Level metric. SEL measurements are designed to measure total sound exposure over a given period of time; simply stated, SEL remains constant when sound intensity increases while duration decreases (e.g., twice as loud for half as long should result in "equal energy", or the same SEL). The assumption was that SEL offered an "equal energy" metric that could allow biologists and ocean regulators to set a SEL threshold that would apply to many types of noise exposure. However, this study indicates that a given SEL dB level (arrived at via a mathematical equation combining sound energy from many noise pulses over time) did not seem to induce TTS in the single captive dolphin used in this study. As with other metrics, higher SELs were required to induce TTS with shorter duration sounds. By extension, the hypothesis that TTS is caused by a given level of sound energy (the "equal energy" hypothesis) is called into question. The relationship appears to be logarithmic, rather than linear. In this study, the sound source was short (20ms) digitally generated tone bursts.
Related: Mid-Frequency Sonar Must Be Very Loud/Close to Trigger TTS
Mooney, Nachtigall, Vlachos. Sonar-induced temporary hearing loss in dolphins. Biology Letters, doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0099
The same team more recently found the same difficulty with using SEL to predict TTS when using a recording of a US naval mid-frequency active sonar; short duration MFA "pings" had to be ramped up to a SEL of 214dB (equivalent to 203dB SPL rms) to induce a modest TTS of 6dB, which faded rapidly back to normal hearing levels in 20-40 minutes, a higher SEL than had induced TTS using longer duration sounds in the above study. This was the first hearing test on dolphins to use actual mid-frequency active sonar signals; previous studies had used sonar simulations or tones at similar frequencies. Ed. note: The usual caveats are in order here, as a long-time captive dolphin may not hear as well as his wild relatives; it is often assumed that captive dolphins are less sensitive both physiologically (hearing loss from living in noisy pens) and behaviorally (habituated to noise, and given food to remain in the test area), though the relative lack of clear studies on wild animals makes this assumption difficult to confirm.
Wind Turbines Do Not Seem to Displace Wintering Farmland Birds
Devereaux, Denny, Whittingham. Minimal effects of wind turbines on the distribution of wintering farmland birds. Journal of Applied Ecology 2008, 45, 1689-1694.
In what be the first study examining whether wind farms displace birds, this team studied bird distributions around two small wind farms in England (each had 8 2MW 60m hub-height turbines in two rows). Birds of four different functional groups (seed-eaters, corvids, gamebirds, and skylarks) were counted at five distances (multiples of 150m, out to 750m). After controlling for crop types and boundary effects, there was no overall significant difference in distribution by distance. One species was an exception to the overall findings: the largest and least maneuverable bird, the common pheasant, was more common as distance increased. Two other species not included in the overall study of functional groups were also less abundant within 150m: the mallard and the wood pigeon, also both less maneuverable than most of the other birds in the area (the authors note that counts were low enough for these that the pattern may have been skewed by a few large flocks). In some cases (skylarks and corvids), the data showed statistically significant increases in bird numbers closer to the turbines. The authors make a point of noting that this winter study needs to be complemented by similar investigations of distribution during the breeding season, when birds may be affected differently. This study did NOT study noise, but just the presence of the turbines.
Related: Compressor Station Noise Can Reduce Forest Bird Abundance
Bayne, Habib, Boutin. Impacts of Chronic Anthropogenic Noise form Energy-Sector Activity on Abundance of Songbirds in the Boreal Forest. Conservation Biology, Volume 22, No. 5, 1186-1193, 2008.
This study used an innovative study design to separate the effect of noise from the also-important effects of habitat disruption and edge effects caused by energy development. The authors compared bird distributions around (quiet) well pads and (constantly noise-producing) coalbed methane compressor stations in the forest of Alberta. They found that areas near well pads had a passerine density of 1.5 times higher than areas near compressor stations; one-third of the species studied showed this affect. The noise levels produced by the compressor stations is typically 75-95 dB(A) at the source, sometimes reaching 105dB(A) at large facilities; compressor noise is commonly heard at distances of well over 1km in the boreal forest; with 5000 compressor stations in boreal Alberta, the question of noise-related displacement is potentially significant. In addition to the overall tendency for passerines to be found in greater numbers near quiet energy installations than noisy ones (with three species especially affected), seven other species showed less dramatic but still noticeable differences, while eleven other species showed no difference. Red-eyed Vireos, White-throated sparrows, and Yellow-rumped warblers were particularly affected, with chickadees, jays, and wrens showing little effect.
Right Whales Experience Dramatic Variations in Noise During Annual Movements Along North American Coast
Parks, Urazghildiiev, Clark. Variability in ambient noise levels and call parameters of North Atlantic right whales in three habitat areas. J. Acous. Soc. Am. 125 (2), February 2009.
This study used pop-up recorders to examine ambient noise conditions and right whale calls in three of the species' annual habitats: The Bay of Fundy, Cape Cod Bay, and the coast of Georgia. While the variability of calls was subtle, there was some indication that louder call patterns were in response to the peak sound in an area, rather than the overall noise level. However, the seasonal variability of noise experienced by this population is the key finding here. Overall sound levels were highest during the summer season spent in the Bay of Fundy, and lowest in the winter off Georgia. Likewise, the percentage of time that the habitat was "loud" (ambient noise over 105dB re 1uPa in the 50-350Hz frequency range of right whale contact calls) varied dramatically: in the Bay of Fundy, it was loud 85-95% of the time, in Cape Cod Bay it was loud 53-63% of the time, and off Georgia it was loud only 20-30% of the time. While the quiet is surely appreciated during calving time in Georgia, the high proportion of noisy times in the Bay of Fundy could impede summer social interaction, perhaps including mating. The population of North Atlantic right whales is precarious, and slowly decreasing; the researchers conclude with the urgent observation that "Locating the mating grounds for right whales and quantifying the noise occurring in their breeding areas may be crucial in understanding how increases in ambient noise may limit the range of communication signals that are vital for successful reproduction."
Orcas Increase Volume of Calls in Synch With Increasing Boat Noise
Holt, Noren, V. Veirs, Emmons, S. Veirs. Speaking up: Killer whales (Orcinus orca) increase their call amplitude in response to vessel noise. J. Acous. Soc. Am. 125(1), January 2009.
This study found that Southern Resident killer whales, who are nearly always within earshot of boat traffic, increase their call amplitude by 1dB for every 1dB increase in background noise levels. Call amplitudes ranged from 133-174dB re 1uPa (mean 155dB), while background noise (measured in the 1-40kHz band) ranged from 98-123dB (mean 110dB), as nearby boat counts ranged from 1-46. Of course, source levels of calls vary, based on the type of call; still, there was a significant correlation between call source level and background noise for all call types. The detailed analysis was restricted to the one call type with the largest sample size. It appeared that call amplitude was relatively unaffected until background noise reached 105dB, though the researchers note a small sample size below that level, and suggest further investigation to see whether there is a threshold at some point. Above 105dB, calls increased 1dB for each 1dB of increased boat noise. Interestingly, they found no increase in duration of calls; an earlier study had found that calls were longer in noisy conditions. The researchers suggest that this difference may be due to differences in study design, or due to the fact that the current study site did not provide any "no boat noise" conditions (i.e., perhaps call duration increases at the first appearance of background noise, with call amplitude increasing with the noise).
Boats Reduce Foraging Time in Orcas
Lusseau, Bain, Williams, Smith. Vessel traffic disrupts the foraging behavior of southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca. Endangered Species Research, Vol. 6: 211-221, 2009.
This recent paper continues a line of research undertaken by this team throughout this decade, which investigates the ways that boat traffic changes orca behavior, with a special focus on foraging activity (a 2004 paper by these researchers suggests that reduced foraging is the most significant impact on an animals' energy budget; ie, the extra energy used in, e.g., avoidance is much less significant than the much larger decrease in energy received when foraging is reduced). As in their study of the northern orcas of BC, and in line with studies by others of delphinid species in other parts of the world, this study found that orcas around San Juan Island reduced their time spent foraging by about 21% when boats were within 400m (from 76% of the time to 60% of the time). They had hoped to identify behavior patterns when 100m, 400m, and 1000m or more from boats; unfortunately, in the San Juan Islands, boat traffic is nearly constant, and there were very few opportunities to observe orcas with boats more than 1000m away. In the end, the authors show a clear affect with boats within 100m and 400m, as well as an apparently smaller affect when boats were within 1000m. The authors note that it is possible that the 400m affect is mainly caused by boats not far beyond 100m (a study with finer spatial analysis would be needed to clarify this). Nonetheless, they show that the current whale watching standard of remaining 100m away is not sufficient to avoid disrupting the key foraging behaviors of orcas.
Related: Number of Vessels May Play Larger Role than Proximity of Vessels
Williams, Bain, Smith, Lusseau. Effects of vessels on behavior patterns of individual southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca. Endangered Species Research, Vol. 6: 199-209, 2009.
This companion paper by the same research team does not address foraging, but rather looks at overall behavioral effects of the same boat traffic measured in the above study. They find that behavioral changes such as swimming speed and directness of travel path changed slightly in response to boats, and in general, they found that changes were more correlated to the number of boats within 400 yards than by the proximity of the boats, whereas current whale watching standards address only how close each boat is, rather than total numbers of boats. They also note that, given the difficulties in finding clear patterns within this noisy environment, it may be hard for managers to feel that the data is solid enough to warrant additional protections. However, the authors conclude with the observation that it appears that this population is food-limited (many researchers consider declining salmon runs to be a primary factor in population stagnation and sometimes dips), and suggest that reducing the ambient noise levels would improve the whales' ability to find the limited food that remains in the region. Ed. note: This paper's focus on numbers of vessels corresponds well with the Holt paper directly above, which finds overall ambient noise is closely tied to the number of boats in the vicinity.
Soundscapes, Acoustic Daylight, and Fish Hearing
Richard Fay. Soundscapes and the sense of hearing in fishes. Integrative Zoology 2009; 4: 26-32.
This fascinating review offers a wide-ranging consideration of the implications of a simple observation: goldfish have an acute sense of hearing, though they do not vocalize or engage in any known sound communication. What are they listening to? Fay introduces several key lines of research into fish hearing, some dating from the 80s, and some from the past decade. His own research, along with that of several others, has demonstrated that fish can isolate multiple sound sources (though studies cited are limited to two distinct sounds, rather than much more complex mixes of sound). From there, Fay suggests that fishes' sensitivity to particle motion in water, via their lateral lines, provides them the ability to engage in what in human perception is termed "auditory scene analysis," or the perception of a complex environment by distinguishing the many sound sources and their motion through the soundscape. The most intriguing suggestion in the paper is less solidly fleshed out: that fish make use of reflections of ambient sound to build this "auditory scene." That is, ambient noise can act as "acoustic daylight," with subtle differences in the echoes of the overall ambient sound bouncing off specific objects being a source of perception (as light reflects off objects to create visual perception). Fay mentions one study in which goldfish were shown to be able to perceive a single point source of delayed (as if echoed) signal in a noise field; this was apparently done with artificial noise sources, though the researchers (and Fay) propose that it represents an ability of goldfish to perceive the fish bladder of another fish re-radiating ambient noise. This may well be true, though this (and one other related study that showed fish using echoes from self-produced sound) do not yet cross the chasm of showing that fish process complex acoustic scenes by using reflections of ambient noise. Yet the point of this review is not to "make a case" for these higher order perceptual abilities, but rather to open our minds to the likely fact that fish listen to much more than simply communication signals, which have been overlooked due to our "profound ignorance of the other possible sounds and sources that probably have biological significance to fish," and to suggest that "environmental soundscapes (are) most probably important sources of information." This more modest first step is clearly successful here, opening the way to future studies of the undoubtedly subtle and complex sensory world of fishes.
IUCN Report Highlights Noise Impact of Shipping in Mediterranean, Calls for MPAs to Provide "Acoustic Comfort"
Ameer Abdulla, Olof London (editors). 2008. Maritime traffic effects on biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea: Review of impacts, priority areas and mitigation measures. Malaga, Spain: IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation. 184 pp. [DOWNLOAD(pdf)] [WEBSITE]
This comprehensive look at Mediterranean shipping, from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, includes a long section in the early pages on noise impacts. Due to the concentration of shipping in the Mediterranean, ambient noise is 40dB higher than in relatively shipping-free seas such as the Sea of Cortez. Among the recommendations made in regards to noise are that "Much effort should be devoted to developing a legal framework within which underwater noise is recognized and regulated as a threat," and the advocacy of MPAs that are designed to provide acoustic protection to critical and productive habitats, where "noise levels should not be allowed to exceed ambient by more than a given value, including noise from sources located outside the MPA." In addition, the report stresses the importance of moving rapidly to develop regional hydrophone networks with which to monitor noise and develop current "noise budgets," as well as the need for expanded research with Auditory Brainstem Response techniques to examine hearing sensitivity and changes due to noise exposure, and analysis of stress hormones in response to noise. The authors of the report forge important new ground as they summarize:
"In addition to defining which impacts should be avoided or mitigated, we also need to draw up a model of 'acoustic comfort' that we should guarantee to animals, at least over sufficiently extensive protected areas. This is a novel concept. It means we should define the (near to) zero-impact noise level that a habitat should have for each type of marine life."
Yet Another Study Shows Dramatic Decrease in Dolphin Foraging Near Boats
Antonella Arcangeli and Robert Crosti. The short-term impact of dolphin-watching on the behaviour of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in western Australia. Journal of Marine Animals and Their Ecology. Vol 2, No. 1. 2009. [DOWNLOAD PAPER]
Over the past few years, a steady trickle of new studies have indicated that many species may decrease foraging activity in the presence of boats. In many situations, it can be difficult to have enough sightings without boats to create a data set large enough to have statistically significant results (e.g., orcas in the Pacific northwest, or dolphins in the Mediterranean). Also, the presence of the observation boat can confound results. This study took place in a bay near Bunbury, 200km south of Perth, western Australia, a location where these limitations could be overcome. The weather conditions in summer are generally calm, allowing excellent observing conditions, with the observation inflatable's motor often shut down; observations were only made in quite calm seas (Beaufort 2 or lower). A large local population of dolphins offered plenty of data, and the population is generally stable in place, engaging in a series of regular behaviors over relatively prolonged timeframes. Behavior "without" boats present was noted when no boats (other than the observation inflatable) were within 350m; behavior "with" boats present was noted when tour boats came within 150m. (Ed. note: it would be interesting to consider the data when tour boats were 150-350m distant, to assess whether the observed effects extend to greater distances). Over the course of 65 hours of observation by a single observer, 1028 3-minute behavioral samples were taken, 781 with no boat (average duration 69 min.), and 247 with a tour boat present (average duration 47 min.). As usual with such studies, several behavioral states were analyzed: Traveling, Socializing, Resting, Milling, Feeding, and Diving. All showed some change in the presence of boats, with Traveling, Milling, and Diving all increasing in the presence of boats, and Socializing, Feeding, and Resting decreasing. Of these, the most relevant to an animal's energy budget all were negatively affected: Traveling increased from 27% of the time to 46%, Resting decreased from 31% to 20%, and by far the largest energetic impact was seen in Feeding, which reduced from 20% of the time to just 7.6% of the time. This is the most dramatic decrease in feeding seen in such studies (others have tended to find a 25-35% decrease in foraging). This may indicate that the relatively localized population had plenty of time to eat when the boats were not present, and chose to either leave or play with the boats when they were present. The study did look at attraction/deterrence, finding that in in 20% of cases, dolphins moved closer to the boats, while in 28% of encounters, they moved away (about half the time, there was no spatial difference, though behaviors may still have changed). The Discussion section of this paper includes an unusually detailed comparison of the findings and the contexts of this and several similar studies, as well as consideration of the ways that in other settings, were human activity is more prevalent, these behavioral changes could have longer-term, population-level impacts.
Excellent Review of the Effects of Human-Generated Sound on Fish
Popper and Hastings. The effects of human-generated sound on fish. Integrative Zoology 2009; 4: 43-52
This recent review is a great place to get up to speed on the current state of our knowledge regarding the effects of human sound on fish. It begins by sketching a sense of the "natural" and 21st-century aquatic world's acoustic nature, and proceeds to review various possible physiological and behavioral effects of human sounds ranging from sonars to pile-driving, seismic surveys, shipping, and even research vessels themselves. The authors note that a significant challenge to improving our understanding of the behavioral effects of noise sources is our inability to observe wild fish over large enough areas (fish-finding sonars can only see fish out to a few hundred meters, not enough to observe possible avoidance of noise sources). As is usually the case with ocean noise issues, the concerns about noise and fish far exceed the ability of our limited data to discern possible effects. As the authors note, "Because of a striking paucity of well-designed and controlled experimental data, very little is actually known...Human-generated sounds, even from very high intensity sources, might have no effect in some cases or might result in effects that range from small and temporary shifts in behavior all the way to immediate death."
Following are some highlights of the 2008 Research Summaries;
see archive pages linked above for more entries
Pinger Study Illustrates Extreme Variability of Real-world Sound Propagation
Shapiro, Tougaard, Jorgensen, Kyne, Balle, Bernardez, Fjalling, Karlsen, Wahlberg. Transmission loss patterns from acoustic harassment and deterrent devices do not always follow geometrical spreading predictions. Marine Mammal Science, 25(1): 53067 (January 2009)
This study was designed to investigate why acoustic harassment devices, or pingers, on fishing nets do not always succeed in keeping dolphins away. The researchers did a series of recordings around pingers of several different styles, and found that the received sound levels did not simply increase as they came closer, but fluctuated dramatically; thus, animals approaching the nets may not have clear sense of how far away they are. While the results here are somewhat mixed for pingers (overall, the average sound level DOES go up as the animals approach, albeit mixed with large variations), the study offers a fascinating glimpse into the real-world factors that will often confound simple geometric or spherical-spreading models generally used to predict sound exposure levels around any sound source. The researchers suggest that many factors likely contribute to the variation: changes in directivity of the source, subtle differences in source level for each ping, and, most influentially, as a result of the constructive and destructive interference of direct, surface-reflected, and bottom-reflected sound waves.
Ed. note: This graph is a great picture of the degree of variation seen. Note a routine variation of 10-15dB, with some more dramatic shifts: at 400m, the sound shifted from around 127dB to over 150dB; and again, at just under 200m, from just above 130dB to over 160dB (around a general average at that distance of perhaps 150db). Given the increasing concern among biologists about behavioral disruptions triggered by noise, it is extremely important to acknowledge that real-world exposures can vary to this degree; many more animals respond behaviorally at 150dB and above, than down at 120-140dB.
Related: Beaked Whales Very Sensitive to Pingers; By-Catch Reduced to Zero over 11 Years
Carretta, Barlow, Enriquez. Acoustic pingers eliminate beaked whale bycatch in a gill net fishery. Marine Mammal Science, 24(4):956-961 (October 2008).
This study documents a dramatic shift in beaked whale bycatch by gill nets set for sharks and swordfish in the California Current. Over the first 6 years of data, 1990-1996, 33 beaked whales died in the nets; after installation of pingers in 1996, NO beaked whales were caught by the nets over the succeeding 11 years, though 260 cetaceans of 11 other species did drown in the nets. Ed. note: this result seems to dovetail well with observed reactions of beaked whales to other sounds; it appears they are especially sensitive to noise, perhaps at a wide range of frequencies.
Passive Acoustic Detection of Beaked Whales: Easy Within 1km, Nearly Impossible Beyond 4km
Zimmer, Harwood, Tyack, Johnson, Madsen. Passive acoustic detection of deep-diving beaked whales. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, November 2008, Volume 124, Issue 5, pp. 2823-2832.
Beaked whales spend very little time at the surface, with foraging dives that last an hour or more, including about 30 minutes of active echolocation at the feeding depth. Visual detection is very difficult, so the possibility of using Passive Acoustic Detection (PAD) is an attractive complement to visual spotting. However, these high-frequency clicks attenuate rapidly. According to this paper, acoustic modeling suggests that in "good conditions,"e.g. wind speed of 2 m/s, a hydrophone close to the surface should detect beaked whales with a high probability within .7km. At the other end of the detection range, no whales would be detected at distances greater than 4km, except in very low ambient noise or unusually good propagation conditions. The detection curve generated by the models, drops steeply as distance increases, with a relative leveling off that suggest roughly 50% detection when whales are 1.5-3.5km distant. Additionally, the researchers substituted some actual dive profile data obtained in D-Tag studies, and found that in these instances, detection probability may rise somewhat, with 80% detection being possible at distances of 1.5-2.5 km. Actual detection of real whales is complicated by the fact that the sound of the clicks is highly directional; only clicks directed nearly directly toward the receiver will be heard at the modeled distances, but echolocating whales do scan in many directions, so at least some clicks from any whale should be detected. Finally, the relatively quiet interval between deep foraging dives can be as long as 110 minutes, meaning that listening time should be roughly 140 minutes to have a high probability of detecting if beaked whales are present. This, in turn, suggests that a slow-moving vessel (such as gliders or drifting buoys) will be more successful than a fast-moving active sonar vessel. (That is, if detections are only going to occur within roughly 4km, the listening platform should not move out of a relatively similar area during the 2-hour-plus PAD session.) Ed. note: While it has still not been confirmed to all observers' satisfaction, there is some evidence that beaked whales affected by mid-frequency active sonar may well have been tens of km from sonar vessels. Thus, PAD may be useful for avoiding nearby exposure, but may not fully mitigate for effects that could occur at greater distances, including fleeing in ways that disrupt the whales' post-dive recovery and oxygen/nitrogen rebalancing.
Detailed Review of Sound Exposure Impacts on Puget Sound Orcas Released by NOAA
Marla Holt, Sound Exposure and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca): A Review of Current Knowledge and Data Gaps. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-89, February 2008. 77pp. [DOWNLOAD REPORT(pdf)]
This review includes summaries of most of the studies of ambient and shipping noise in the range of the southern resident orca pods of the Pacific Northwest. Topics covered include ambient sound patterns, shipping noise, whale watching noise, orca auditory capabilities and auditory effects of sound exposure, including masking and hearing loss, and behavioral changes in the presence of excess sound. An important section looks at the emerging concept of "zones of influence" of sound: the zones of audibility, response, masking, and hearing loss or injury. The report concludes with a section that assesses the likelihood of acoustic impacts and suggestions for future research.
The report is a treasure-trove of clear information on noise/sound impacts. Among the points that stood out in my reading are the following. Ambient noise is generally elevated at least 10-15dB by small boats, and 20-25dB by large ships (another study indicates increases more in the range of 50-70dB in the presence of various boats). The section on hearing sensitivity makes a point about captive animal testing that is rarely noted: when animals receive negative reinforcement for reporting a "false positive" (i.e. responding as if hearing a sound, when no sound was played), they may well become conditioned to be conservative in their response to faint sounds, and so the results can easily underestimate the hearing sensitivity of the species (for orcas, only two studies have been done on captive whales to assess hearing sensitivity curves). Tentative measurements of the critical ratios for orcas (tentative because, again, there are few test subjects) suggest that they are more affected by masking than many other toothed whales: to hear a target sound in noise, the target sound must be 20dB louder than ambient at 10kHz, and 20dB louder than the noise levels at 80kHz. There are some indications that orcas spend less time feeding and more time traveling or resting when boats are nearby (within 100m or 400m); likewise, they may travel in less direct paths in the presence of boats within 1000m (though interestingly, one study suggests that when there are many boats present, paths are more direct; perhaps there is little use in trying to avoid boats in this instance). An interesting study (based on models, not measured/observed results in the field) suggest that the presence of boats can significantly decrease the detection range for an orca echolocating on a salmon: boats at 400m decreased the detection range by roughly 35-90%, and boats at 100m decreased the detection range to as little as 0-20m, or 90-100%.
European Cetacean Society Workshop Addresses Offshore Wind Turbine Impacts on Marine Mammals
Evans, P.G., Ed. ASCOBANS/ECS Workshop: Offshore Wind Farms and Marine Mammals: Impacts and Methodologies for Assessing Impacts. ECS Special Publication Series No. 49, February 2008. 70pp. [DOWNLOAD REPORT]
Prospect of Widespread Offshore Development Requires Cumulative Impact Analysis
Simmonds, Dolman. All at sea: renewable energy production in the context of marine nature conservation.
This survey of potential conservation impacts of offshore wind development quotes several previous studies that address specific concerns. Madsen et al. (2006) comment that “if the very large offshore wind farms are realised... this could involve construction activities at several locations in the area [of the German Bight] simultaneously every summer for the next decade.”
Madsen, P.T., Wahlberg, M., Tougaard, J., Lucke, K. and Tyack, P. 2006. Wind turbine underwater noise and marine mammals: implications of current knowledge and data needs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser., 309: 279-295. Wahlberg and Westerberg (2005) concluded that fish behaviour could be affected at ranges of several kilometres. Wahlberg, M. and Westerberg, H. 2005. Hearing in fish and their reactions to sounds from offshore wind farms. Mar Ecol Prog Ser., 288: 295-309. Carstensen et al. (2007) commented that ‘given the extensive plans for expanding the offshore wind energy sector, it is important to know the effect of single wind farms and well as the cumulative affects of several wind farms within the range of each marine mammal species”. Indeed, it would make good sense to consider the cumulative impact of all new developments on
populations and yet, in our experience, this rarely seems to happen. Carstensen, J., Henriksen, O.D. and Teilmann, J. 2007. Impacts on harbour porpoises from offshore wind farm construction: acoustic monitoring of echolocation activity using porpoise detectors (T-PODs). Marine Ecology Progress Series 321: 295–308.
UK Offshore Development Scaling Rapidly to Much Larger Facilities
Prior, McMath. Marine mammals and noise form offshore renewable energy projects—UK developments.
This paper notes that offshore wind farm development in the UK has taken place in licensing "rounds," with rapid increases in the size of wind farms being built. Round 1 was an initial demonstration phase, with eleven projects permitted so far (and five in operation), each relatively small in scale (less than 30 turbines) and relatively short construction phases (as short as one month). Fifteen Round 2 projects have been proposed (with four approved so far); these are larger developments often including hundreds of turbines. Round 2 construction will likely take place over a number of seasons, so construction disturbance will be longer and the impacts could be different than those seen in Round 1. In addition, piles of up to 6 feet in diameter have been proposed to support larger turbines; this will lead to substantially increased noise during construction, with disturbance impacts extending over tens of kilometers. Proposals for Round 3 are currently undergoing Strategic Environmental Assessment; however, the proposed capacity of development may be as much as four times the eventual level built out under Rounds 1 and 2 combined. Concern over cumulative impacts may be prominent during the consenting process, particularly if construction operations on adjacent sites takes place concurrently, giving rise to the potential for longer term and geographically widespread increases in underwater noise.
Porpoises Numbers in Wind Farms Can Vary Dramatically
Teilmann, Tougaard, Carstensen. Effects from offshore wind farms on harbour porpoises in Denmark. Included in:
In a paper summarizing the results from acoustic monitoring at two Danish offshore wind farms, results clearly show a dramatic difference in harbour porpoise responses. At one wind farm, Horns Reef, porpoises numbers decreased modestly during construction (both inside the farm in in monitoring sites 10km away), and decreased a bit more during early start-up, when maintenance activity was highest, but rebounded to baseline (pre-construction) levels early in the first year of normal operations. However, at the Nysted wind farm, the decrease in porpoise numbers that likewise began during construction was not reversed during the first two years of operations: porpoises mostly avoid the wind farm (though numbers were slowly increasing by the end of the second year), while they returned to the areas 10km away once construction ended. The authors note two possible explanations for the different long-term impacts of the wind farms. The area around Horns Reef is an important harbour porpoise habitat, with a larger natural population density; it is possible that the "the porpoises around Nysted are not particularly interested in the area and will simply avoid it if disturbed." In addition, the area around Nysted is relatively sheltered, whereas Horns Reef has higher wind and waves, and thus a higher background natural ambient noise level, so that "the relative noise level from the turbines is higher and audible to the porpoises at greater distances at Nysted than at Horns Reef." The authors conclude that "it can be concluded that the same species may react differently to similar types of disturbance (wind farms) in different localities. This is an important conclusion for future monitoring programmes of wind farms and other offshore installations."
Orcas Avoid Mid-frequency Sonar Signals, but not LFAS; Herring Unaffected
Kvadsheim, Benders, Miller, Doksaeter, Knudsen, Tyack, Nordlund, Lam, Samarra, Kleivane, Godo. Herring (slid), killer whales (spekknogger) and sonar - the 3S-2006 cruise report with preliminary results. Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI). 30 April 2007
This paper reports preliminary results from an ambitious multi-national Controlled Exposure Experiment using acoustic D-tags, which allow researchers to record received sound levels while charting dive patterns. Six orcas were tagged, with 17 hours of data collected, with one animal exposed to LFAS signals, two to mid-frequency active sonar signals, and one used as a control, fewer samples than hoped. The whale exposed to LFAS signal did not change its behavior, nor did its companions. However, the group exposed to mid-frequency sonar signals ceased feeding and moved rapidly away; in addition, they exhibited an unusual dive pattern, diving roughly twice as deep (over 60m) as normal (20-45m), including a highly unusual reversal of their ascent (coming up to 15m from the surface, then retreating again to 60m). [Ed. note, not part of the report narrative, based on observation of included diagrams: Four other dives during the 35-minute sonar transmission were within the normal range of depth (the deep dive was the third of five dives during sonar transmission), with three longer than normal rest periods at the surface during the hour after sonar transmission ceased.] Received levels did not exceed 150dB re 1uPa. Looking at longer-term responses, while the experimental use of sonar in the herring trials did not seem to deter orcas from the general area, by contrast, no orcas were seen during three days of a planned Navy exercise in the area that included mid-frequency sonar use. The herring trials used bottom-mounted sensors to chart the mean depth of a school of herring as a sonar vessels passed nearby. Herring at shallow depths (25-50m) tended to show a minor downward reaction as the sonar source ship passed overhead, while herring located deeper, or in less dense schools, showed no detectable reaction; no horizontal avoidance was seen. While herring hearing curves suggest they should be able to clearly hear LFAS signals, but not mid-frequency signals, the responses were the same for all signals (including ship-only, no sonar), suggesting that the herring may have been responding to the sound of the ship, rather than the sonar signal; such reactions to ships have been seen for many fish species. A related trial using orca echolocation signals on the herring showed more of a response, suggesting that the herring could distinguish between the mid-frequency sonar and the orca sounds, but the three trials all produced slightly different response patterns, suggesting the need for further study.
Review of Possible Ways that Increasing Ocean Noise May Affect Marine Mammals
Peter L. Tyack. Implications for marine mammals of large-scale changes in the marine acoustic environment. Journal of Mammalogy, 89(3): 549-558, 2008. [DOWNLOAD PAPER(pdf)]
In this wide-ranging literature review, Peter Tyack of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute sketches the history of research into the effects of noise on marine life, with some references as well to effects seen in terrestrial creatures. He begins by noting that while acute disturbance of individuals attracts the most attention, the likely more profound effects of chronic disturbance on population vitality (success in foraging and mating) are much harder to discern. Several examples are presented of studies that documented both temporary and long-term abandonment of key habitat when loud noise was present (including gray whales abandoning a birthing lagoon for several years, then returning when the salt production facility was abandoned, and dolphins moving away from foraging habitat when shipping traffic is heavy).
Next, Tyack turns to a detailed examination of the question of whether global shipping may be dramatically decreasing the area within which whales can hear each other's calls, beginning with the thought that the unintentional consequences of increased shipping noise may be creating unexpected problems analogous to those created by the introduction of industrial-waste gasses into the atmosphere, which went unnoticed for decades. Following on models created in the 1970s, updated to take into account the hundred-fold increase in shipping noise since then, he notes that "the increase in ambient noise from shipping seems to have reduced the detectable range of low frequency whale calls from many hundreds of kilometers in the prepropeller ocean down to tens of kilometers in many settings today." (For example, the finback whale range shrank from at least 400km in the pre-engine ocean to 90km in the 1960s, down to 32km today.) He notes that, as populations of great whales fall, the separation between them may increase, with these increases in shipping noise compounding the challenge of finding mates or sharing information about active feeding grounds. However, he then goes on to point out that there is, so far, no clear evidence that the great whales do indeed communicate over long distances; clear responses to the calls of other whales have been seen only at ranges of 10km or less; the fact that a human acoustic sensor can detect a signal at 400km does not necessarily mean that the whales themselves rely on hearing signals at such distances. He suggests that acoustic tags may help to clarify whether distant, faint signals from conspecifics (whales of the same species) do in fact trigger any discernable reaction (calling in response, or moving toward the distant whale).
While noting that it may be impossible to design scientifically valid studies to uncover the possible cost of "lost opportunities" when communication is drowned out by shipping noise, an indirect way to get at this question is within reach of researchers: if animals alter their calls in noisy conditions, we can infer that the noise is disrupting their normal communication channels. And indeed, Tyack notes a long list of studies that show such changes, such as beluga whales and manatees increasing the volume of their calls in noisy conditions, and an apparently dramatic increase in the frequency (pitch) of right whale calls in sections of the ocean where low-frequency shipping noise is more intense. While noting that these and other studies "suggest that vessel noise clearly does interfere with communication in marine mammals," Tyack also notes that we do not know how costly these adaptations are, or what noise level would preclude such compensation. Also, he asks, "When does noise so degrade the usefulness of a habitat that animals leave? Can this level be predicted by the compensation behavior?" As of yet, these are unanswered, and difficult to answer, questions.
Finally, Tyack turns to research that show clear disturbance reactions to ocean noise, including killer whales staying 4km away from acoustic harassment signals near fish farms, dolphin numbers dropping to 8% of normal within 3.5 km of similar noise-makers on other fish farms (with those small numbers implying that the avoidance distance was far greater). He notes that the degree of displacement or behavioral response is not necessarily a direct indicator of the severity of impact, suggesting that "if an animal is in bad enough condition that the risk of altering behavior is high, then it may be less likely to show a disturbance response." For example, hungry animals will linger in a feeding area the longest. He also notes that some responses to noise may be caused by noise sources that resemble a predator's call (as in recent modeling Tyack has done that suggests beaked whale decompression sickness may result from a long series of near-surface dives as the whales flee sonar signals that they mistake for orca calls). He cites some compelling studies on terrestrial animals showing that repeated disturbance exacts high costs in reproductive success and overall health (including a study of geese that showed that when undisturbed, geese increased their body mass and had a 46% breeding success, whereas in nearby areas where farmers scared them off their fields, they did not gain mass and had a breeding success of only 17%).
To conclude, Tyack suggests that there are several lines of research that have so far received little attention, which could help to move key understanding of noise impacts forward, including: focusing on the most vulnerable animals as subject of study into the effects of disturbance, further study of the possibility that predator responses underlay key behavioral impacts (including fleeing, increased vigilance, and avoiding habitats), and following up on the recent theory of allostasis (behavioral changes that allow an animal to maintain equilibrium in the face of external environmental changes or stressors) as a way of understanding the costs and benefits of changing behavior in the face of noise.
Workshop Report: Encouraging Establishment of Noise-Free Zones in and Around Marine Protected Areas
Agardy, Aguilar, Canadas, Engel, Frantzis, Hatch, Hoyt, Kashner, LaBrecque, Martin, Notarbartolo di Sciara, Pavan, Servidio, Smith, Want, Weilgart, Wintle, Wright. 2007. A Global Scientific Workshop on Spatio-Temporal Management of Noise. Report of the Scientific Workshop. 44 pages. [DOWNLOAD(pdf)]
In June 2007, a workshop was held in the Canary Islands to consider the potentials for extending the management principles used in Marine Protected Areas to provide some protection from anthropogenic noise. Fundamental to the purpose and effectiveness of MPAs are "spatio-temporal restrictions" (STRs) of specific human activities: for example, excluding fishing, from a specific area (spatial restriction), or sometimes at times of special biological importance, such as spawning (temporal restriction). Few of today's MPAs are large enough to provide protection from "elevated levels of ensonification:" buffers of tens of kilometers would be necessary for protection from mid-frequency sound, and a hundred or more kilometers from low-frequency sound. Of today's 350 MPAs that include some cetacean habitat, 64 are large enough to provide some mid-frequency protection, 20 are large enough to provide at least some low-frequency protection (e.g. shipping), and only the 6 largest are probably sufficient to protect from shipping noise. (of course, shipping is not generally excluded from MPAs: this is merely a hint at the scale of noise STRs that would be useful.) The Workshop report includes several key sections:
- Descriptions of some existing attempts to provide STRs focused on noise: In 2003, Brazil established a large buffer zone around a small existing MPA, to exclude the sounds of seismic survey airguns from entering the MPA (the buffer was withdrawn by a court due to jurisdictional issues; attempts are underway to re-establish it). In the Canary Islands, a 50 nautical mile buffer zone has been established around the islands, in which active sonar is not allowed (there have been some subsequent strandings that raise questions whether this is large enough a buffer).
- Recommendations for MPA managers, centered on a framework for making management decisions regarding possible noise-related STRs.
- Recommendation that noise-producers provide more information, and longer lead times prior to operations near MPAs, to allow for analysis of effects of proposed noise. A far-reaching element of this is a call for use of "detectability curves" to reflect how easy it is to find various species of whales, and to insure that more effort is made to find hard-to-detect whales, rather than assuming that they are not present if none are found using standard observational techniques.
- Recommended measures that could reduce the noise impacts of the primary noise producing activities.
- Suggested MPAs or proposed MPAs where noise-oriented STRs could be introduced, as case studies for future MPA management protocols. These include the PELAGOS Sanctuary in the northwestern Mediterranean, off France, Italy, and Monaco, the Alborian Sea/Strait of Gibraltar, the Bay of Bengal, and East Asian waters off Japan, China, and the Philippines.
Ocean Fish Vary Widely in Startle Response to Noise
Kastelein, van der Heul, Verboom, Jennings, van der Veen, de Haan. Startle response of captive North Sea fish species to underwater tones between 0.1 and 64kHz. Marine Environmental Research 65 (2008) 369-377.
This study exposed eight marine fish species to pure tones ranging from 100Hz to 64kHz. The tests took place in specially designed quiet tanks; species were chosen in part due to their economic importance to fisheries. Some species did not respond to the sound at all, even at the highest dB levels that could be produced, while others exhibited very clear startle responses to a relatively narrow range of frequencies (generally 100-700Hz), at received levels of about 100dB (re 1uPa, rms) for the lowest frequencies, with the startle threshold increasing to the range of 160dB as frequency increased to 700Hz. Only one species responded to higher frequencies than this: Horse mackerel responses extended up to 2kHz. The species that did not startle at all were Atlantic cod, Pollack, Common eel, and Atlantic herring. Horse mackerel startled to the widest range of frequencies, with Sea bass also quite responsive; Thicklip mullet and Pout both startled to a narrower range of frequencies. Interestingly, for fish that have established audiograms, it appears that the startle response does not begin until the noise is 10-30dB above the hearing threshold; and, again, some fish showed no startle even at levels up to 45dB above their presumed hearing threshold. The researchers note that these results on captive fish to pure tones can not be reliably extrapolated to wild fish in varied contexts or to more complicated sounds, but suggest that the extreme variability seen here is an important consideration in more natural situations as well. They suggest further study using "sounds more similar to anthropogenic noise, to more complicated sounds, such as sweeps, and to the actual broad-band noise of, for instance, wind turbines and shipping..."
Related research: Some Fish Affected by Sound of Pingers
R.A. Kastelein et al. Effects of acoustic alarms, designed to reduce small cetacean bycatch in gillnet fisheries, on the behavior of North Sea fish species. Marine Environmental Research 64 (2007) 160180
Pingers are used in large fishing nets, to alert dolphins so they avoid entanglement and drowning. This study found that some pinger signals seem to affect he behavior of Sea bass, mullet, and herring (increased swimming speeds and/or movement toward or away from surface). The researchers note that "Pingers developed to reduce odontocete bycatch should not deter the fisheries’ target species from the gillnets, and should not deter target or non-target fish from ecologically important areas such as feeding and breeding grounds, or mask their communication sounds" | <urn:uuid:b43b2e5e-eaae-45a9-8329-a03fc6a9d612> | {
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UPDATE ON THIS STORY: As of this morning, a shift in the winds and an opening in the ice created a passageway for the trapped whales. As of 8:00 AM Quebec time, they were well on their way.
Two scouts sent to check on the killer whales around 8 a.m. local time found a passage of water had been created in Hudson Bay all of the way to the open sea – nearly 25 miles away — and the ice hole that the animals had been trapped in was empty, said Petah Inukpuk, mayor of Inukjuak, an Inuit village home to 1,800, in Quebec.
“They are free. They are no longer here. When there is a new moon, the water current is activated. It could have helped … completely trap them, but in this case it caused an open passage out to the open water,” he told NBC News, adding that they probably freed themselves overnight. “It was mother nature that helped them. … They are no longer icelocked.” [Source]
ORIGINAL STORY POSTED LAST NIGHT:
The famed orca, commonly known as the killer whale, has long captured the imagination of animal lovers the world over. From the whimsy of Free Willy, to the outrage of Japan’s brutal capture of orca pods, and certainly the horror of a trainer’s accidental death by an orca at Florida’s Sea World, this majestic beast (in truth, a dolphin, though the largest of the species) has inspired both terror and fascination.
Still on the endangered list in some parts of the world (a status currently being argued in Washington State’s Puget Sound), the survival and well-being of the killer whale is important to many from the perspective of wildlife and marine preservation. Which is why the news of a family pod of twelve killer whales (some stories say the number is eleven) trapped in the rapidly closing ice of the eastern top of the Hudson Bay in Quebec, a death sentence for the group, has created such an outpouring of concern.
CBC News covered the story:
Twelve orcas were spotted at the breathing hole at the eastern top of Hudson Bay by an Inukjuak hunter Tuesday. The federal government is sending a team of experts tomorrow to evaluate whether they can be saved.
Earlier Wednesday, Peter Inukpuk, mayor of the small Inuit village, called on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to send out an icebreaker to help the whales.
He conjectured that the pod, consisting of two adults and a number of younger whales, could be a single family. He said it’s clear that the whales are in trouble.
“It appears from time to time that they panic,” said Inukpuk. “Other times they are gone for a long time, probably looking for another open space, which they are not able to find.”
It is believed that should the icebreakers get there in time, they would be capable of opening up a route for the jeopardized orca family. But getting them there is expensive, and their assignments are encumbered by logistics: there are currently three commercial ships stuck in ice on Quebec’s Saint Lawrence River and it’s likely they will be considered the priority, dooming the pod to imminent death.
However, there are other methods of rescue that bear consideration. According to an article at WorldNews, sometimes the low-tech methods even work better:
Geoff Carroll, a wildlife biologist with the who helped release two California gray whales in a similar situation that made international headlines in 1988, said his experience in the effort known as “Operation Breakthrough” also showed the power of other methods.
“Our experience up here was that it seemed like the local knowledge and the low-tech approaches to working with the whales were the ones that worked best,” Carroll said. “It seemed like there were lots of high-tech efforts made to get those whales out and they kind of failed one after the other. What really worked was when we got local guys with chainsaws cutting one hole after another and we could kind of walk the whales out that way.”
While this event is tragic in its own right, the disturbing fact is that it’s not as rare as we’d like to think. The reason? Yep…global warming. Whale expert Christian Ramp, a researcher with the Mingan Island Cetacean Study of Quebec, says orcas are not an “ice-loving species,” more typically moving north in pursuit of prey during the summer months but retreating from colder waters long before the ice moves in. In this circumstance?
He said with climate change, it appears the animals are straying further and further north — and perhaps, staying too long.
“It seems the ice dynamics are changing very quickly,” said Ramp. “Suddenly a huge expanse of open water is clogged up, and they miss the chance to get to open water.
“The risk is that the hole freezes up, and they basically just drown.” […]
“Ice entrapment is the main cause of mortality in many species,” Ramp said.
Deborah Giles, a graduate student researcher at the University of California — Davis, agrees. She says clearly the biggest obstacle to the whales’ survival is if the hole ultimately closes; if they can keep it open, they have a fighting chance:
Giles said food would likely not yet be a problem because the larger orcas should be able to survive on their fat stores for several weeks. But survival is less certain for the smaller mammals, including one that appeared to be nursing.
While Mayor Peter Inukpuk believes the whales’ behavior indicates stress and panic, Giles thinks their leaping out of the water may also have other purposes:
She noted that the animals may not be in distress, as the adult males could be seen engaging in the normal behavior of “spyhopping” — or shooting straight out of the water. “It’s possible that they are doing that not necessarily to get a bigger breath as somebody had indicated but rather to look around,” Giles said, adding that killer whales can see equally well above water as below.
“It’s also possible that they coming up as often as there is (is) a way to keep that ice open,” she said. “They certainly, I would say, are smart enough to recognize that this is their breathing hole and they … don’t want to have that close up.” [Source]
While the number of whales in this trapped group may be in dispute and the reasons for their actions a matter of interpretation, what cannot be argued is why this event occurred and why the unfolding story is of global importance: simply put, climate change affects us all – animal, vegetable, mineral. As scientists and politicians continue to debate its solution, as Republicans here in this country dismiss and dispute even the reality of climate change despite the abundant proof of its inexorable expansion, it seems important to pay close attention to real-life examples of its impact. To watch, with our own eyes, how this phenomenon is affecting our environment and the living things in it. It’s one thing to sit in a comfortable office and deny climate change, it’s another to stand on the edge of a rapidly diminishing ice opening and watch a family of glorious orca whales panic in the face of their death. If that doesn’t inspire an urge to get up and do something to help change the trajectory of this environmental crisis…you might just be a Republican.
Watch the video below and if you’re so moved, click to The Nature Conservancy to find out how you can contribute to the preservation of our global oceans and their wildlife: | <urn:uuid:ded9d93f-fc96-49bc-8867-2eea4d9d9b8a> | {
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Not only does it have over 800 illustrations and photographs but it's jam packed, full of
information for your homeschool or any supplement to your children's learning. In my opinion it
would make a great "Summer project" book to keep the kiddos on their toes and help them learn
while having fun!
The World Of Science is broken down into 7 different sections covering topics entitled: Matter and Chemicals - Energy, Motion and Machines - Electricity and Magnetism - Light and Sound - Earth
and Life - Space and Time - and includes over 60 Science experiments.
The photographs and diagrams are just right to help you teach your budding scientists. My 3
scientists range in age from 6 years old to 10 years and the information is shared in such a way
that from my Kindergartner to my 5th grader, they were able to learn, understand, and enjoy
what we've done so far.
We've been studying the atmosphere, covered in the Earth and Life section. One of the things we learned about is the Greenhouse effect. The boys are looking forward to doing more and I have a feeling we'll have conquered all the experiments by the end of the summer. They love this type of learning and it sticks with them so much better than plain questions and answers!
The World Of Science is a wonderful addition to our homeschool curriculum. I highly recommend it. We are using it as a supplement to our main course and it covers enough topics that it would make a nice addition to any curriculum. It reads much like an encyclopedia, thorough yet made for children to easily understand.
The introduction begins with, "In the beginning God Created the Heavens and the Earth." It goes on to explain about the Scientific method, talks about Real science, various fields of science, and even an explanation as to why we should do science. I think every home could benefit by having such a well rounded resource.
We used a tin tray I had on hand with a plastic lid that attaches
recycled toilet paper/ or paper towel rolls for the seed cups
sand and soil from outside & seeds from the dollar store
(you could also use grass with roots or flowers from outside)
1. Place about 1 inch of sand in the bottom of container tray
2. Cut paper rolls down to 2 inches - 2 1/2 inches
3. Places cups in tray and push them down into the sand
4. Fill individual cups with soil
5. Use a finger to make a little hole to drop seeds into
6. Cover back up with the soil - Water them in well
7. Cover with plastic lid and set tray in indirect sunlight
(you don't want to fry your little plants but they do need light - a windowsill is a good spot)
Within just a few minutes the boys noticed that our little
greenhouse was beginning to fog up and collect condensation
on the plastic lid - before we've even sprouted our
little carrots - they're understanding the "greenhouse effect"
From other cool sites:
Check out a couple of really fun ways to make your own
greenhouses - grow some plants - and learn about the
What kind of Science are you doing in your homeschool? Do you have any fun ideas to share? | <urn:uuid:4c45010f-7418-4504-883f-40b5f792ea4a> | {
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In Situ Measurement and Equalization of Sound Reproduction Systems
The concept of frequency response is of basic importance to audio reproduction equipment. When analyzing electronic equipment, this characteristic is seldom a problem of measurement or interpretation. It is a problem, however, for acoustical transducers such as loudspeakers. Unlike electronic equipment which has both electrical input and output terminals, the loudspeaker has an electrical input terminal but an acoustical output. This acoustical output is further complicated by the fact that a room is always interposed between the loudspeaker and the acoustical measuring device. With the human as the ultimate evaluation instrument, various measurement and interpretation questions arise regarding frequency response, variations among listeners, and effect of program material. The major question, however, is just what the frequency response of a particular sound reproduction system should be. In order to answer these questions, several psychoacoustical experiments were devised, based upon a listener's ability to detect differences. These experiments and their results are described in detail as they relate to the following types of sound reproduction systems: 1) sound reinforcement systems, 2) studio monitoring systems, 3) home high-fidelity systems.
Click to purchase paper or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES!
This paper costs $20 for non-members, $5 for AES members and is free for E-Library subscribers. | <urn:uuid:7b2617cc-6307-4ec0-98f7-0e384c1e194d> | {
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Smart Phones Are Changing Real World Privacy Settings Thursday, May 10, 2012
TAU research finds that smart phone users develop new concepts of privacy in public spaces
With endless applications, high-speed wireless Internet access, and free messaging services, smart phones have revolutionized the way we communicate. But at what cost? According to researchers at Tel Aviv University, the smart phone is challenging traditional conceptions of privacy, especially in the public sphere.
Dr. Tali Hatuka of TAU's Department of Geography and Dr. Eran Toch of TAU's Department of Industrial Engineering have teamed to measure the impact of the smart phone phenomenon on privacy, behavioral codes, and the use of public space. Their early results indicate that although spaces such as city squares, parks, or transportation were once seen as public meeting points, smart phone users are more and more caught up in their technology-based communications devices than their immediate surroundings.
Smart phone users are 70 percent more likely than regular cellphone users to believe that their phones afford them a great deal of privacy, says Dr. Toch, who specializes in privacy and information systems. These users are more willing to reveal private issues in public spaces. They are also less concerned about bothering individuals who share those spaces, he says.
Inside a private bubble
Dr. Hatuka says that smart phones create the illusion of "private bubbles" around their users in public spaces. She also believes that the design of public spaces may need to change in response to this technology, not unlike the ways in which some public areas have been designated as "smoking" and "non-smoking." Dr. Toch also notes that smartphones and personal computing devices are becoming more "context-aware," adjusting themselves in terms of brightness and volume to the user's location and activity.
To examine how smart phones have impacted human interactions in public and private spaces, the researchers designed an in-depth survey. Nearly 150 participants, half smart phone users and half regular phone users, were questioned about how telephone use applied to their homes, public spaces, learning spaces, and transportation spaces.
While regular phone users continued to adhere to established social protocol in terms of phone use — postponing private conversations for private spaces and considering the appropriateness of cell phone use in public spaces — smart phone users adapted different social behaviors for public spaces. They were 50 percent less likely to be bothered by others using their phones in public spaces, and 20 percent less likely than regular phone users to believe that their private phone conversations were irritating to those around them, the researchers found.
Feeling lost without a phone
According to the researchers, smart phone users were also more closely "attached" to their mobile devices. When asked how they felt when they were without their phones, the majority of smart phone owners chose negative descriptors such as "lost," "tense," or "not updated." Regular phone users were far more likely to have positive associations to being without their phones, such as feeling free or quiet.
The next phase of the study will be a more in-depth analysis of how smart phone users incorporate this technology into their daily lives. It requires users to install an application that the researchers developed called Smart Spaces. The application is designed to track where the participants go over a three-week period and how they use their phones while there. This will give researchers a better idea of how smart phone users interact in both public and private spaces during the course of a typical day.
Dr. Hatuka and Dr. Toch believe that their complete findings can reveal clues about the future of public space and how it will be designed in order to meet the needs of those it serves. "We are entering a new phase of public and private spaces," says Dr. Hatuka, suggesting that physical spaces need to be redesigned as arenas which could enhance personal interaction.
For more technology news from Tel Aviv University, click here. | <urn:uuid:f7f57000-cde1-46a2-85e4-c634241b347f> | {
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The organic vegetable industry is flourishing due to consumers preference for organically grown produce over traditionally produced vegetables. As a result, an increase in the variety and selection of many vegetables in retail supermarkets and restaurants throughout many countries has occurred recently. With the new regulation (October 2000) requiring organic seed sources for organically labeled vegetables, many organic growers are searching for certified organic seed. Smaller seed companies have produced the majority of organically produced seed to date. The commercial seed sector is starting to provide a more diverse selection of cultivars, yet there are still many hybrids that are not yet available.
Organic farmers must use organic seed material if such seed are available. If not available, conventional seeds can be used. This request exists in all accredited standards for organic farming. In the EU-regulation on organic production methods, the derogation from the use of organic seed material will only exist until the end of 2003. After this date only organic seed material may be used according to the present formulation. Only a few countries in the EU have an organic seed production able to supply the market for organic seed material.
It takes many years to develop a well functioning market for organic seeds. It is therefore unlikely that the derogation for the use of organic seed material will not be extended, since a majority of countries in the EU will still have a need for conventional propagated seeds. However, it will be needed to have standards and control procedures ensuring that organic seeds will be used if available. This includes definitions of “availability”. There is a need in both EU and in accession countries to develop criteria for seeds health in organic seeds and other seeds not treated with fungicides and to implement inspection procedures to control that conventional seeds are only used when organic seeds are not available.
There are 251 different varieties of organic seed commercially available to organic farmers and growers, 98% of which are vegetable varieties and 1% are cereal varieties. There are no grasses or herbage legumes available. Of the major crops, only few of the varieties most commonly used by organic producers are currently available as organic seed.
In general view that organic seed was in short supply. Based on 1997 data, demand for organic cereal seed is likely to double, demand for vegetable seed will triple, and demand for grassland seed will increase 7 or 8 times. With the current trend in organic seed production, these demands will not be met at the end of the derogation period unless a massive increase in production takes place.
The problems associated with organic seed production could be broadly placed within three categories: 1) Marketing, 2) Technical and 3) Standards.
Many were only perceived problems (not actual ones) that could be overcome through education, training and discussion.
However, organic seed production must go ahead and that there are no real obstacles to cause delay.
Comments and recommendations for future actions
Press ahead with organic seed production.
More rigorous policing of the current derogation is required.
Make a rapid commitment not to extend the current derogation. Major improvements are required in organic variety testing to identify which varieties should be produced as organic seed.
Further work is required on pest, disease and weed problems specifically related to organic seed production. | <urn:uuid:d96d9677-5ae7-4922-a962-3be57b3d42cc> | {
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by Helen Leong
A life of hard work as a gardener in San Francisco leads Leong Quong to become a prize-winning flower grower in Milpitas, California.
Leong Quong was born on March 12, 1897 in China. He was the fourth child and one of seven brothers. They all lived in a small village called Dow Moon, Ha Jow region of China. He was considered well educated in those days. He learned to read and write in (Cantonese) Chinese. He was a very good student and told he would become a successful person.
Photo of Leong Quong provided by Helen Leong
Place of Origin
Place of Settlement | <urn:uuid:9ed66484-0051-4b2a-9377-a06cad70a003> | {
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Celebrate American Diabetes Alert Day
On Tuesday, March 24, the Administration on Aging (AoA) joins the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in its annual nationwide effort to educate the American public about the seriousness of diabetes and to encourage people of all ages to get tested for diabetes. Diabetes has become the greatest public health crisis of the next quarter century. To
address the burden of this disease, the ADA is issuing an urgent call-to-action for Americans to find out their risk for type 2 diabetes during the
21st annual American Diabetes Alert® Day. Nearly 6 million Americans have diabetes, but don’t even know it. Another 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes, placing them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
On American Diabetes Alert Day, the ADA encourages people who are overweight, physically inactive, and over the age of 45 years to take the Diabetes Risk Test. The Diabetes Risk Test requires users to answer simple questions about weight, age, family history and other potential risk factors for type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Risk Test will show users whether they are at low, moderate, or high risk for pre-diabetes or diabetes. The Diabetes Risk Test is available in English and Spanish by calling the Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or by visiting www.diabetes.org/alert.
Among the primary risk factors for type 2 diabetes are being overweight, sedentary, over the age of 45 and having a family history of diabetes. African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at an increased risk, as are women who have had babies weighing more than nine pounds at birth. Unfortunately, people with type 2 diabetes can live for years without realizing that they have the disease. While people with diabetes can exhibit noticeable symptoms, such as frequent urination, blurred vision and excessive thirst, most people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes do not show these overt warning signs at the time that they develop the disease. Often, type 2 diabetes only becomes evident when people develop one or more of its serious complications, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye damage, or nerve damage that can lead to amputations.
To obtain a copy of the Diabetes Risk Test or for more information about diabetes (in English or Spanish), please visit www.diabetes.org/alert or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).
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Obligation to Examine
The follower of any belief system has an obligation to examine whether what they suppose to be true, actually is true. Theologian and educator John Locke (1632 – 1704) once said that, “He that examines, and upon a fair examination embraces an error for a truth, has done his duty more than he who embraces the profession of the truth without having examined whether it be true or no.” Locke’s statement is based on the logical assumption that if someone really has given a fair examination to any supposition they will discover the truth (or at least come closer to it) and embrace it, replacing that which was erroneous or what might be called only half true.
It is not intelligent to say that something is believed, though it may be true, unless it has been thoroughly examined for its accuracy. Deviation from the truth usually happens very gradually and unless one has an inclination to give fair analysis to theological propositions, deviation from the truth in favor of opinions and creeds will take place. Nothing good comes from a lack of an honest examination regarding theological premise. However, many have placed a lack of scholastic review under the banner of faith. Some have even gone so far as to say that such intellectual examination is a bane to faith. In fact, those that do not fully pursue intellectual confirmation for what they suppose is true do not understand the nature of faith.
Religion should be passionate if it is to be believed, but that passion must always be bridled by that which is known and can be understood within the mental capacities of man or else it is of little use. John Caird (1820 – 1898) was a professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow. Professor Caird said that the way to elevate religion above subjective caprice and waywardness and to distinguish between that which is true and false in religion, we must appeal to an objective standard. That which enters the heart must first be discerned by the intelligence to be true. Caird said that, “Feeling is necessary in religion, but it is by the content or intelligent basis of a religion, and not by feeling, that its character and worth are to be determined.” Those that subscribe to the Bible as the objective standard referred to by Dr. Caird, are, if the Scriptures are understood and applied properly, on solid ground for advocating a system that is at least worthy of consideration.
The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 17 (vv. 1-13) depict what has come to be called the “Transfiguration.” Three of Christ’s disciples (Peter, James and John) are with Jesus on what was probably Mount Hermon. Christ is “transfigured,” (v. 2) before them and Moses and Elijah appear with Him. While this is taking place, a voice from a bright cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” It is important that the wording does not say, “Obey Him” or “Worship Him.” Blind, unknowing obedience or unwarranted worship is never advocated in the Bible. The word “hear” as used in Matthew 17:5 means to hear with the ear of the mind. This is a vitally important point. The message conveyed was that if people really thoughtfully considered what Christ had to say they would come to know that it was logical, common sense and practical.
“He that takes upon the opinions of any church in the lump, without examining them, has truly neither searched after nor found truth, but has only found those that he thinks have found the truth, and so receives what they say with an implicit faith (so called), and so pays them the homage that is due only to God,” says Locke. The truth is far too precious and scarce a commodity in the present world to treat its discovery with such a cavalier attitude. Those that follow Christ are to generate more answers than questions. That means being clear on why something is believed and being willing to share a well examined truth with a world that is desperately looking for reliable answers and solutions to its problems.
This column is the opinion of Dr. M. Hildon Guy, President of the University of Christian Studies and Seminary in Eagle River. He has earned doctorates in theology, counseling education and apologetics. (www.universityofcss.org) | <urn:uuid:904b7641-cfd9-421a-84a4-6a9f722ab281> | {
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So if corn-fed cows tend to be less healthy in life, does that mean their beef is less healthy for us to eat? Would eating grass-fed beef be healthier for us in more ways than we think? Well that's one topic to ponder, but this blog post isn't actually about that. I came here today to make a different point entirely.
Read that article again. Read this paragraph again:
Studies have shown that corn fed beef (this includes meat and dairy) has lower nutritional value. It often contains more total fat, saturated fat, calories, and cholesterol. At the same time, it has a decreased amount of essential nutrients, such as vitamin E, vitamin c, beta-carotene, and omega-3 fatty acids. Grass fed beef, on the other hand, is lower in fat and calories. It has been shown that grass fed beef can have as much as 1/3rd less fat than corn fed beef. Additionally, it also contains more omega-3 fatty acids, which are the "good" fats. Omega-3 accounts for 60% of the fat found in grass fed beef.
Now make a parallel comparison between cows and humans. Cows that eat an unnatural diet are fatter and unhealthier. Cows that eat the foods that they were intended to eat are healthier. Humans that eat unnatural diets are fatter and unhealthier. Humans that eat foods that they were intended to eat are healthier. Take it one step further and say that humans are supposed to eat meat. (I know there is some debate, but guess what, we wouldn't have been born with incisors if we weren't supposed to eat meat!) Therefore, healthy humans should eat healthy cows! That's actually a side note.
The point I'm trying to make here is that we should be eating what our bodies were intended to eat. All the crap that sits on grocery store shelves is NOT healthy, no matter what the "made with whole-grains" or "healthy choice" labels say. And I'm not just preaching to you all, I'm talking to myself too. You can argue until the cows come home that you can't afford or don't have time to eat healthy but guess what, you can and do. Do your homework, plan your meals, you will not break the bank by eating the right way. And the benefits you'll see and feel in your body will make it all worthwhile.
If you're new to this blog, you'll quickly realize that I truly believe that the reason this country is so sick is directly related to what we eat. Autoimmune disease is a combination of genetic predisposition plus environmental factors. Sure there are a ton of environmental factors that COULD be the trigger, but there are thousands, maybe even millions, of people out there healing themselves through diet. I am one of them. I'm living proof. Doctors and scientists are starting to catch up but sometimes I feel that they can't see past the end of their noses. I feel like the answer is staring at them in the face but for whatever reason they reject it. It's up to us to take control of our health. "Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food" - Hippocrates - see, this isn't a new concept! | <urn:uuid:b46ea837-14ac-4a98-aaad-77fa37999ce1> | {
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Over The Counter (OTC) Drug Abuse
Teens are abusing some over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, such as cough and cold remedies, to get high. Many of these products are widely available and can be purchased at supermarkets, drugstores, and convenience stores. Many OTC drugs that are intended to treat headaches, sinus pressure, or cold/flu symptoms contain the active ingredient dextromethorphan (DXM) and are the ones that teens are using to get high. When taken in high doses, DXM can produce a "high" feeling and can be extremely dangerous in excessive amounts.
Over-the-counter drug abuse also occurs with laxatives, diuretics, emetics, and diet pills, as teens try to achieve an idealized weight. Young people may start taking just a few diet pills but then graduate to full addiction and dependence. Ephedrine, caffeine, and phenylpropranolamine are just some of the dangerous and addictive substances found in diet pills. Herbal, sometimes referred to as "natural", weight loss products can be just as dangerous as diet pills. All of these substances act as stimulants to the central nervous system and much like speed, can have serious and potentially fatal side effects.
Is your teen using OTC drugs to get high?
A recent study found that six percent of 12th graders reported past year abuse of cough or cold medicines to get high. That amounts to about one in every 16 high school seniors.
Where do teens get them?
In many parts of the country, teens can easily buy OTC cough and cold remedies at any supermarket, drugstore, or convenience store where these products are sold. They can also get them from home, or order them over the Internet. And even if they do not order OTC drugs online, they can surf the Web to find information and videos on what drugs to try and mix together.
How do teens abuse OTC drugs?
Teens take large doses to get high, sometimes mixing these drugs with prescription drugs, street drugs, or alcohol. Some teens crush pills and snort them for an intensified effect.
Could your teen overdose on OTC drugs?
Yes. The point at which teens may overdose on OTC drugs varies depending on the amount of the drugs they took, over what time period, and if other drugs were mixed. Some OTC drugs are weak and cause minor distress, while others are very strong and can cause more serious problems or even death. If you suspect your teen has overdosed on OTC drugs, take them to the emergency room or call an ambulance immediately for proper care and treatment by a medical doctor.
Other drug and alcohol interactions
Mixing alcohol with certain medications can cause nausea and vomiting, headaches, drowsiness, fainting, and loss of coordination. It can put users at risk for internal bleeding, heart problems, and difficulties in breathing. Alcohol also can decrease the effectiveness of many needed medications or make them totally ineffective.
Some of these medications can be purchased over the counter - at a drugstore or grocery store - without a prescription, including herbal remedies and others you may never have suspected of reacting negatively with alcohol.
Before you or your teen take any prescription or OTC medication, carefully read the label, and/or consult with your family physician or local pharmacist. And never mix medications with alcohol. Parents should set clear rules and consistently enforce those rules against any underage drinking.
Think that drug abuse among teens is limited to illegal substances like marijuana and club drugs such as Ecstasy? Think again.
If you're like most parents, you're probably not aware that a number of over-the-counter (OTC) products can potentially be abused by teens looking to get high. But it's important to educate yourself about the potential abuse of consumer products found right in your home. It is important to know the facts about OTC product and medication abuse and make a habit of closely monitoring the use of certain household substances. Talk with preteens and teens about the proper use of all medications (including those that are available over the counter) and the health risks associated with their abuse.
One category of products sometimes abused by teenagers that few parents know about is OTC cough and cold remedies. The OTC cough and cold medications available in your local pharmacy, supermarket or convenience store are safe and effective when used as directed. But some youth are drawn to an ingredient found in nearly half of these medications called dextromethorphan, or DXM. When taken in excessive doses, dextromethorphan can produce a high or cause psychoactive effects.
What is dextromethorphan or DXM?
Dextromethorphan is a cough-suppressing ingredient in a variety of OTC cold and cough medications. It is found in more than 125 OTC products and comes in various forms, most commonly in cough suppressants in caplet or liquid form. Medications in brands such as Robitussin, Vicks, and Coricidin HBP, are among those that can be abused.
Why are teens abusing products that contain dextromethorphan?
Dextromethorphan is a safe and effective cough suppressant when used as indicated on the product label. However, when taken in doses that far exceed the amount recommended, the ingredient may produce feelings of euphoria that some seek to get "high." A teenager looking to get high or experiment with drugs may turn to OTC cough and cold preparations that contain dextromethorphan because they are readily available at home or the local drug store. Dextromethorphan can also be purchased in a bulk powder form on the Internet. Some Web sites encourage teenagers to abuse dextromethorphan and actually offer "recipes" for the best way to achieve a high.
What does dextromethorphan do?
Depending on the dose, DXM's effects vary. Misuse of the drug creates both depressant and mild hallucinogenic effects. Users report a set of distinct dose-dependent "plateaus" ranging from a mild stimulant effect with distorted visual perceptions at low does to a sense of complete dissociation from one's body. If a child consumes large doses of a product containing dextromethorphan, it may cause a number of adverse effects, including impaired judgment and mental performance, loss of coordination, dizziness, nausea, hot flashes, dissociation, and hallucinations.
Another major concern is the risk incurred when abusers get high and engage in activities requiring reasonable judgment and quick reactions, like driving or swimming. The effects induced by overdose of DXM can make these activities deadly.
What else can I do?
Talking with teens and staying in touch with their lives are the first steps to keeping them free from abusing consumer products and medications. Following are a few basic preventative steps that you can take to help your child understand the importance of using OTC medications responsibly and help discourage abuse of dextromethorphan.
• Talk to your child. Speak with your children often about the importance of carefully following directions on the labels of all OTC medications. Help them understand the dangers of abusing OTC cough and cold medications.
• Be mindful of the season. Your child can benefit from medicinal relief of cough, cold, and flu symptoms by taking OTC cough and cold preparations according to the instructions on the manufacturer's label. But be aware if your child is using cough and cold medications outside of cold and flu season or if he or she continues to self-medicate after symptoms have subsided.
• Check your home. Take a quick inventory of all consumer products kept in your home. Be aware of the products in your medicine cabinet, and ask questions if you notice that any products are used frequently or disappear.
• Monitor your child's Internet use. Unfortunately, there are Internet sources that sell dextromethorphan in a bulk powder form or encourage teens to share their experiences with abusing dextromethorphan. These individual sites are not regulated so it becomes increasingly imperative that you be aware of where your child is getting information on the Internet, what sites he/she is spending time on, or with whom he/she may be communicating. Ask them why they think the information that appears there is true or false. Do they think the source is credible? Ensure your child's Internet time is properly supervised. | <urn:uuid:fe0d8aa5-3568-41a1-9edd-312b3acc8001> | {
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Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Chalcedony is one of the cryptocrystalline varieties of the mineral quartz, having a waxy luster. It may be semitransparent or translucent and is usually white to gray, grayish-blue or some shade of brown, sometimes nearly black. Other shades have been given different names. A clear red chalcedony is known as carnelian or sard; a green variety colored by nickel oxide is called chrysoprase. Prase is a dull green. Plasma is a bright to emerald-green chalcedony that is sometimes found with small spots of jasper resembling blood drops; it has been referred to as blood stone or heliotrope. Chalcedony is one of the few minerals other than quartz that is found in geodes.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | <urn:uuid:e588db7b-ec20-4a2f-a0ec-63d57c6f1119> | {
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Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Pressure cooking is a method of cooking in a sealed vessel that does not permit air or liquids to escape below a preset pressure. Because water's boiling point increases as the pressure increases, the pressure built up inside the cooker allows the liquid in the pot to rise to a temperature higher than 100 °C (212 °F) before boiling. The higher temperature causes the food to cook faster. Cooking times can be reduced by a factor of three or four. For example, shredded cabbage is cooked in one minute, fresh green beans take about five, small to medium-sized potatoes (up to 200 g) may be ready in five minutes or so and a whole chicken takes no more than twenty-five minutes. It is often used to simulate the effects of long braising or simmering in shorter periods of time.
A safety valve releases steam when the pressure exceeds the safety limit for the cooker; usually the steam pressure lifts a weighted stopper allowing excess pressure to escape. There is usually a backup pressure release mechanism, in the form of a hole in the lid blocked by a plug of low melting-point alloy. If internal temperature (and hence pressure) gets too high, the metal plug will melt, resulting in a release of the pressure.
A pressure cooker is often used by mountain climbers to compensate for the low atmospheric pressure at high altitude. Without it, water boils off before reaching 100 °C, leaving the food improperly cooked, as described in Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle:
At the place where we slept water necessarily boiled, from the diminished pressure of the atmosphere, at a lower temperature than it does in a less lofty country; the case being the converse of that of a Papin's digester. Hence the potatoes, after remaining for some hours in the boiling water, were nearly as hard as ever. The pot was left on the fire all night, and next morning it was boiled again, but yet the potatoes were not cooked. I found out this, by overhearing my two companions discussing the cause, they had come to the simple conclusion, "that the cursed pot [which was a new one] did not choose to boil potatoes."
A larger scale version of a pressure cooker, used by laboratories and hospitals to sterilise biological waste materials, surgical instruments etc. is known as an autoclave.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | <urn:uuid:29e9ecff-b194-466f-ad08-ec4c1d3bcd21> | {
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The Convention recognized collective rights and deals, among other issues, with fundamental matters for indigenous peoples, like their rights over their territories, promotion of their culture and values, education in their own language, consultation and participation or the validity of their customary laws.
Despite the limited number of ratifications, Convention 169 is a key instrument because it has had a great influence in the drafting of regulations, policies and programmes relating to indigenous peoples, both in the international and in the national level, and also because its binding nature created specific obligations for the ratifying countries.
In the case of Spain, ratification of the Convention implies a relevant step in the process of supporting indigenous peoples, with consequences that go beyond the frame of international cooperation for development. Ratification gives rise to internal obligations, as national legislation needs to be adapted to the Convention. Pursuant to the principle of good faith in compliance with international treaties and obligations arising from the ILO Constitution, any State being party to a Convention is bound to adopt the necessary measures to make such Convention’s provisions effective. Thus, the Convention is transformed into an internal law which needs to be respected, promoted and guaranteed by all public institutions, and binding on all private actors, regardless of their purposes or activities.
The provisions of Convention 169 are reinforced by those of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Both instruments are clearly complementary, and provide a specific legal frame which needs to be taken into account when dealing with any actions having an impact on the lives and rights of indigenous peoples. Documents relating to the Convention can be accessed through the following links.
Text of the Convention.
Web page of Pro-169
Very useful materials can be found at PRO169’s web page. The following stand out: Practice Guide on Convention 169, “The rights of indigenous and tribal peoples in practice”; and the publication “Implementation of Convention 169 by national courts in Latin America” (both in Spanish). You can also request ILO to deliver a “Tool Box” regarding the Convention’s implementation. | <urn:uuid:706d5847-f8cd-4a87-ae08-50b441de7dd4> | {
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Restrictions of freedom
The reasons for involuntary internment
According to §6 of Act No. 576 on Healthcare, health-related services and on the amendment and supplementing of certain laws of 22 September 2004 (HHS), inpatient care can be provided without informed consent if:
- the person has a mental illness or symptoms of a mental defect AND
- poses a threat to him/herself or to his/her environment, OR
- there is a risk of serious deterioration of his/her state of health.
The procedure for involuntary internment
If a patient is admitted to hospital for inpatient care without his/her informed consent, the healthcare provider must notify a court covering the territory of the inpatient health care facility within 24 hours. The court then rules on the legitimacy of the reasons for taking the person into inpatient care. Until the Court has made a decision, only life-saving medical care or measures to protect the person’s surroundings are permitted (§9 (4)).
Duration of involuntary internment
As soon as the reasons for involuntary admission cease to exist, either the patient must be released or s/he (or his/her legal representative/tutor) must consent to the further provision of health care (§9 (5)). In the case of a person who is unable to consent, their legal representative must be notified before they are released.
There does not seem to be any mention of a set time limit after which the involuntary admission must be reviewed.
Last Updated: mercredi 14 mars 2012 | <urn:uuid:3ea8135e-52ca-4bb3-9b82-d0a9350e161a> | {
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Dementia in Parkinson's disease (PDD)
by Kurt Jellinger
While people with Parkinson’s disease have a higher risk of developing dementia than those without Parkinson’s disease, the majority will remain unaffected.
Parkinson’s disease is known as a movement disorder. The movement disorder is due to dopaminergic neurons mainly in the substantia nigra.
Motor symptoms always precede cognitive impairment by several years. Cognitive impairment is usually due to degenerative changes in limbic or neocortical structures, superimposed Alzheimer-type lesions and/or presence of cortical Lewy bodies, while degenerative lesions in subcortical neurotransmitter-specific loops are less important for the development of cognitive impairment.
Idiopathic parkinsonism plus dementia
Symptoms and course
Symptoms of dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease will vary from person to person. The most common are memory loss and the loss of the ability to reason and to carry out normal everyday tasks (planning, organising, solving problems). Patients may become obsessional, and there may be a loss of emotional control with sudden outbursts of anger or distress.
Medications may cause or aggravate visual hallucinations.
Language problems (slower speech, not word finding difficulties).
Symptoms often fluctuate so that the person will seem better or worse at different times. Gradually progressive, symptoms accumulate progressively.
Duration of the disease: 4-5 years. Parkinson’s disease plus dementia has shorter survival than Parkinson’s disease without dementia (average between 5 to 10 years).
With movement disorder, slowness in information processing (difficulty of communication) may lead to carer frustration.
Causes and risk factors
Abnormal aggregation of alpha synuclein in Lewy bodies. It is more than Lewy bodies accumulation (often associated with Alzheimer pathology).
Families with familial PD (Several chromosomes involved) There are inherited form of Parkinson’s disease associated with mutation on chromosomes xxx.
Parkinson’s disease is not RARE; however, only 10-30 % of the patients develop cognitive impairment / dementia. Prevalence 41:100,000
Care and treatment
The movement disorder is treated by compounds augmenting dopamine transmission (dopaminergic substances and DA agonists). Medication may cause or aggravate hallucinations and psychotic symptoms. Antidementive drugs like in AD.
European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA) Lizzie Graham EPDA Liaison/Project Manager 4 Golding Road Sevenoaks Kent TN13 3NJ United Kingdom Tel/Fax: +44 (0)1732 457683 [email protected] http://www.epda.eu.com/
Parkinson’s disease associations provide services for the movement disorders but have less information on the cognitive problems associated with the disorder.
Alzheimer Europe 145 Route de Thionville L- 2611 Luxembourg Tel: +352 / 29.79.70 Fax: +352 / 29.79.72 [email protected] www.alzheimer-europe.org
Last Updated: vendredi 09 octobre 2009 | <urn:uuid:345e7d3b-fa16-4a96-935d-812631ff0059> | {
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Senate Oil Savings’ Greatest Hits
The Best Provisions to Cut Our Consumption
SOURCE: AP/Mark Humphrey
Oil, oil, everywhere, but not a drop for fuel. This is the stark view of Gulf Coast residents who see a 24,500 square mile oil slick menacing their shores. The devastating BP oil disaster has clearly increased the urgency to dramatically reduce America’s oil consumption; and cutting our consumption would save consumers money, reduce foreign oil imports, help our economy, increase national security, and reduce global warming pollution.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated that oil use reduction (or “oil savings”) provisions would be a central element of the clean energy legislation he plans to bring to the Senate floor in mid July. And a number of other senators have introduced legislation that would either reduce oil use from many sources or focus on a specific sector. By selecting the best provisions from each bill it’s possible to craft a program that would reduce oil use by one-third or more by 2030.
There are three primary ways to reduce oil use: make cars much more fuel efficient, launch cleaner alternative fuels such as electricity for cars and natural gas for trucks, and invest in public transportation. CAP evaluated the major oil savings proposals in senators’ bills that address all three of these needs and chose the provisions with the most oil savings in each category (see chart (.xls)). These provisions could form the basis for an oil savings section of a comprehensive clean energy and global warming bill.
Proposed oil savings provisions that will make a difference
Establish an oil savings goal: Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-OR) National Oil Independence Program is in discussion draft form. It would establish a goal of reducing oil use by eight million barrels-per-day in 2030, which equals current imports from every major nation except Canada.
Improve fuel economy for cars and light trucks: Sen. Merkley’s plan would increase fuel economy requirements by 6 percent annually from 2017 to 2030. This would increase fuel economy standards to 44.8 miles-per-gallon for model year 2020, and to 60 MPG for model year 2025. These fuel economy standards are realistic. Sen. Merkley noted that “China will be requiring its vehicles to achieve 42.2 MPG by 2015."
President Barack Obama also ordered the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation to develop new fuel economy and greenhouse pollution standards for model years 2017 to 2021.
Begin fuel economy standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks: Fuel economy standards have never existed for these size trucks even though they’re gas guzzlers. Medium trucks get an average of 9.7 miles per gallon, while heavy trucks get 6.5 miles per gallon. Sen. Merkley’s plan would set the first standard for these vehicles of 15.8 MPG and 10.4 MPG, respectively, by 2030. This would save an estimated 400,000 barrels of oil per day. The Obama administration is also developing the first-ever fuel economy standards for these vehicles.
Establish a “fee bate” program to encourage the purchase of fuel-efficient cars: A “fee bate” program encourages drivers to buy more efficient vehicles by providing cash back for buying cars that are more fuel efficient than the average vehicle in that class. This program is paid for by levying a surcharge on vehicles that are below average in fuel economy in a particular class.
Two bills would establish a fee bate system to boost the purchase of high-efficiency cars. The Efficient Vehicle Leadership Act, S. 1620, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), and the Practical Energy and Climate Plan, S. 3464, sponsored by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), both have fee bate programs. Bingaman’s bill would provide $2,500 and $3,500 rebates for cars that are 50 percent and 75 percent more fuel efficient than the average car in their class. Sen. Lugar’s provision is very similar to S. 1620, which he has cosponsored.
Charge up the electric car industry: One way to dramatically reduce oil use is by developing, producing, and using cars completely or primarily powered by electric batteries rather than gasoline. These cars also produce less global warming and other pollution compared to conventional gasoline vehicles, and are cheaper to operate too. The Chevrolet Volt, which is the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or PHEV, should be available later this year, and it could get 230 MPG.
President Obama set a goal of 1 million PHEVs by 2015. Incentives for purchasing electric vehicles and creation of the infrastructure to recharge them are essential to meeting this goal. The Electric Vehicle Deployment Act, S. 3442, sponsored by Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Merkley, would establish a comprehensive program to boost electric vehicle use. In addition to providing incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles, it would also provide $800 million to five as yet unselected communities to deploy 700,000 electric vehicles by 2016.
Fill up more trucks and buses with natural gas: Electricity is an excellent alternative fuel for passenger vehicles, but unfortunately it won’t work for heavier trucks and buses. The large amounts of energy needed to power these weightier vehicles would require too many batteries that would add too much weight and take up too much space. Instead, natural gas—in the form of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, or compressed natural gas, or CNG—is an ideal alternative fuel for these vehicles. Because many of these vehicles are short haul, centrally fueled vehicles, only a limited number of natural gas refueling stations are necessary.
LNG or CNG produces one-quarter of the global warming pollution compared to oil-based fuels. And CAP analysis shows that by 2035 natural gas heavy trucks could reduce oil use by 1.2 million barrels per day, or 45 percent of the projected oil consumption of heavy trucks by 2035. These fuels are cheaper per mile compared to diesel fuel as well (if oil is more than $31 per barrel).
The NAT GAS Act, S. 1408, sponsored by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), would create incentives for trucking companies and bus fleets to purchase trucks and buses powered by natural gas. It would also provide incentives for investments in natural gas fueling infrastructure. Versions of this proposal are also included in the American Power Act discussion draft sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), as well as in the Merkley proposal.
Implement fuel-efficiency measures for off-road vehicles and other transportation: Off-road and construction vehicles, planes, trains, and boats all use oil-based fuels. Airplanes, for instance, consume about 15 percent of all finished petroleum products. The American Power Act and American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454, include very similar provisions to identify nonroad vehicles and engines that contribute to global warming pollution and provide cost effective solutions. Sen. Merkley’s plan, however, seems to have the most specific requirements.
Invest in more efficient transportation infrastructure: Investments in public transit, high-speed rail, and other low-oil infrastructure are essential to reducing oil use after tackling vehicles and fuels. Transportation for America estimates that the efficiency measures in its “‘Route to Reform’ could reduce oil consumption by more than a million barrels a day by 2030.”
The American Power Act, or APA, would invest $6 billion annually in “transportation infrastructure to increase efficiency and decrease oil consumption….[including] almost $2 billion for state and local projects that reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gases.” APA would fund other transit projects, too, and it would pay for these investments with revenue from the auction or sale of greenhouse gas pollution allowances.
Boost renewable fuel use: The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 includes a renewable fuel standard that requires the production of 22 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022, which would save over half a million barrels of oil daily. Nonetheless, the production of these cleaner fuels could easily fall short of this requirement. The Practical Energy and Climate bill would include advanced biofuels as part of a reverse auction established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that will create significant incentives to encourage low-cost innovation and commercial scale deployment of advanced biofuels to push these U.S.-based fuels from the laboratory to the road.
Paying for reduction programs
Admittedly, funding for these and other programs may be difficult to come by during this era of trillion-dollar deficits. Only the American Power Act’s provisions come with their own revenue-generating mechanism: the funds from auctioning pollution allowances to the largest carbon emitters under a carbon limitation program. CAP estimates that the funds from APA’s limit on carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants alone could generate $80 billion annually for investment in these and other clean energy technologies. Eliminating $45 billion worth of tax loopholes for big oil companies could also provide revenue to fund oil savings programs. These taxpayer handouts are unnecessary in an industry where the five largest companies made nearly a trillion dollars in profits in the past decade.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) noted that, “In all of the climate bills, there are significant revenues generated, so that is a possibility. But if we did an energy-only bill, we’re going to be struggling about how to provide revenues.” This means that setting a shrinking limit on global warming pollution, closing tax loopholes, or creating some other reliable revenue stream is essential for funding the programs to significantly reduce our oil use.
There’s a bipartisan theme to the oil savings measures listed here—the six different bills are sponsored by progressive and moderate Democrats and conservative Republicans. Taken together, they would jumpstart our nation’s effort to reduce our oil use while creating jobs and enhancing our national security. And the less oil we need, the less likely we are to search for it a mile deep below the surface where a BP-type blowout could devastate our health, economy, and environment.
The American people overwhelmingly support efforts to cut our oil addiction and slash global warming pollution. Now they’re looking to the Senate for action this summer as part of comprehensive clean energy and global warming pollution reduction legislation.
To speak with our experts on this topic, please contact:
Print: Katie Peters (economy, education, health care, gun-violence prevention)
202.741.6285 or [email protected]
Print: Anne Shoup (foreign policy and national security, energy, LGBT issues)
202.481.7146 or [email protected]
Print: Crystal Patterson (immigration)
202.478.6350 or [email protected]
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Radio: Madeline Meth
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Web: Andrea Peterson
202.481.8119 or [email protected] | <urn:uuid:e928ac2f-d605-401d-b6b3-17e1250fc464> | {
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backward and forward both run to need may they ,faster run to are computers If
A Turing machine is fine for reasoning about computers, but it's not
an ideal model for building them. Some more practical components of
reversible logic were introduced in the 1980s by Edward F. Fredkin
and Tommaso Toffoli, who were then working together at MIT. (Fredkin
is now at Carnegie Mellon University, Toffoli at Boston University.)
The components are logic gates, somewhat like AND and OR gates but
designed for reversibility.
In any reversible gate the number of inputs must equal the number of
outputs. Moreover, each possible set of inputs must yield a distinct
set of outputs. If this were not the case—that is, if two or
more input patterns had the same output—then the reverse
action of the gate would be ambiguous.
The devices now known as the Fredkin gate and the Toffoli gate
(see illustration on page 109) both have three inputs
and three outputs; and, as required for reversibility, each input
pattern maps to a unique output. In the Fredkin gate, one signal
controls whether the other two data lines pass straight through the
gate or else have their positions swapped. In the Toffoli gate, two
of the signals control the third; if the first two bits are both 1,
then the third bit is inverted.
Like the NOT gate, both the Fredkin and the Toffoli gates are their
own inverses: No matter what the values of the three input signals,
running them through two successive copies of the same gate will
return the signals to their original values. Both gates are also
computationally universal, meaning that a computer assembled from
multiple Fredkin or Toffoli gates (and no other components) could
simulate a Turing machine or any other device of equivalent
computational power. Thus the gates might be considered candidates
for a real reversible computer.
Of course logic gates are still just abstract devices; they have to
be given some physical implementation with transistors or other
kinds of hardware. Starting in the early 1990s, several groups have
been designing and building prototypes of reversible (or nearly
reversible) digital circuits. For example, at MIT a group including
Michael Frank and Thomas F. Knight, Jr., fabricated a series of
small but complete processor chips based on a reversible technology;
Frank continues this work at Florida State University. At the
University of Gent in Belgium, Alexis De Vos and his colleagues have
built several reversible adders and other circuits.
It's important to note that building a computer according to a
reversible logic diagram does not guarantee low-power operation.
Reversibility removes the thermodynamic floor at kT ln 2,
but the circuit must still be designed to attain that level of
energy savings. The current state of the art is far above the
theoretical floor; even the most efficient chips, reversible or not,
dissipate somewhere between 10,000 and 10 million times kT
ln 2 for each logical operation. Thus it will be some years before
reversible technology can be put to the ultimate test of challenging
the three-zeptojoule barrier. In the meantime, however, it turns out
that some concepts derived from reversible logic are already useful
in low-power circuits. One of these is charge recovery, which
attempts to recycle packets of electric charge rather than let them
drain to ground. Another is adiabatic switching, which avoids
wasteful current surges by closing switches only after voltages have
had a chance to equalize.
» Post Comment | <urn:uuid:53d5592b-4089-4273-9d8d-fc7396e4e75d> | {
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Joined: Oct. 2006
Ever hear of the Bacterial Flagellum? Upon electron microscope examination, it looks very much like a machine!
In fact, it bears a strong resemblance to an outboard motor, you know, the kind you see on the back of those small aluminum-fishing boats.
Any way, the Bacterial Flagellum is what scientists call an “irreducible complex system”. An irreducible complex system is made in such a way that if you take away any one part of the system, the system ceases to function. A good example of this is the common mousetrap. Take away any one part, and it ceases to function. In the case of irreducibly complex organisms, taking away any one part causes it to die.
Question #6 The theory of evolution says that less complex organisms evolved into more complex life forms. How could the Bacterial Flagellum have evolved from a lower life form? What is its' transitional fossil? | <urn:uuid:4bd9bc64-1499-49d0-b513-8236057bf840> | {
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Shallow Water Surface Drifters
In response to NOAA/COP funded research needs for high resolution Lagrangian analysis of Florida Bay interior basin flow fields, a shallow water drift buoy was designed and developed by AOML and RSMAS in Miami, Florida.
Primary design guidelines required a device capable of operating in water depths of one meter or less for up to a two week period. Small size was a factor both in minimizing windage at the surface and in aiding deployment and recovery efforts. The drifter would also require onboard GPS for accurate positioning. The need for a high-resolution record of the drifter’s track required GPS data to be logged onboard for post-recovery upload. However, in attempts to aid users in the drifter’s recovery, a subset of these data would need to be transmitted to the users during deployment; this is handled by an onboard ARGOS transmitter.
The hull is constructed of a 0.125 inch thick lexan, two-piece thermoformed shell in the general shape of a disc. The top is slightly domed and the bottom has molded fins in an attempt to couple the buoy to the water. Unfortunately, in the first Bay drift test the molded fins proved to be insufficient to keep windage to a minimum, so a "window shade" drogue has been incorporated with excellent results to improve coupling to the water (see Figure).
The drogue is constructed of two crossed, flexible PVC sheets and is approximately 0.75 meters long. The shape of the buoy was analyzed to insure that it would be self-righting if turned over by a wave. When deployed, the hull floats with the top of the dome approximately 3 cm above the waterline. The dimensions of the hull are 33 cm in diameter by 15 cm high and the weight ready for deployment is less than 5 kg.
To derive high-resolution currents, the position of the buoy must be determined frequently. A Motorola 12 channel GPS receiver is built into the electronics to collect this data. It computes 3 dimensional position information at pre-selected rates which are then stored in the buoy memory for later retrieval and subsequent data analysis. A relocation ARGOS satellite transmitter system is included in the electronics to recover the buoy at the end of each experiment. The ARGOS positions are used to get within the general vicinity of the buoy, and then a handheld ARGOS receiver on the boat is used to locate and retrieve the buoy. | <urn:uuid:cffe16d8-99e3-470d-a395-f0208cba5e10> | {
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A very popular species of sweet cherry. Large purplish-black cherry. Ripens early. (Pollinate with Bing or a different sweet cherry variety.) (zones 5–8)
Excellent for the home orchard, the Black Tartarian cherry tree produces fruit with a sweet, rich, full bodied flavor. Begins bearing fruit 3-4 years after planting and will bear long into old age. The best pollinator for dark sweet cherries.
An exceptionally productive, vigorous sweet cherry tree. It grows tall for a fruit tree maturing at 30' or more. The flowers are white, 1 1/4" in diameter borne in well distributed clusters of twos and threes. Foliage is a dark, waxy green. It bears early, ripening from mid-June to early July depending upon the location. Eventually one tree may produce 3–4 bushels of cherries. This tree prefers light, sandy soil, but will grow in other soils that are moist and well drained. If possible, plant on an elevated site with good air and soil drainage. It needs at least 6–8 hours of full sun daily and water during dry periods. The cherries should be left on the tree until mature. Sweet cherry trees require minimal pruning. Prune annually in late winter or early spring. (Pollinate with a different sweet cherry variety) (zones 5–8)
The cherries are eaten by a variety of birds and mammals. The leaves and branches are browsed.
This species was introduced from Russia to England in 1794 by Hugh Ronalds and named Ronald's Large Black Heart. It came to the United States in the early 1800s and has been popular ever since.
The standard grows to 30' and dwarf grows to 12' - 15' in height.
Standard spread grows to 30' and dwarf grows to a 12'-15' spread.
This tree requires moist, well drained soil and is not drought tolerant.
Simple, alternate, often obvate with a sharp tip, 5 1/2" long with teeth on the margin that are sharp and sometimes blunted. Thin, waxy and dark green color on top.
Heart shaped about 1" in diameter and usually purplish black, but occasionally red depending upon the site. Flesh is dark red, thick, tender, juicy and sweet with a smooth stone that separates easily. | <urn:uuid:14438061-3f69-4a8a-9c8c-507948ef8287> | {
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Sunday 19 May
Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus)
What’s the World’s Favourite Species?Find out here.
Marabou stork fact file
- Find out more
- Print factsheet
Marabou stork description
With its huge, ungainly stature, balding pink head and enormous wedge-shaped bill, it is easy to see why many consider the Marabou stork to be a somewhat ‘ugly’ bird (2) (3) (4) (5). In flight, it soars elegantly with large, dark grey wings spanning almost three metres from tip to tip, but on the ground it walks hunched on long, gangly legs (3) (6). A fleshy, inflatable, pink wattle dangles conspicuously below its bill, and a white collar rings the base of its nearly featherless, pink neck (2) (3) (4). The back and tail are dark grey, like the wings, while the underparts are off-white (2) (4) (6). Although the natural colour of the legs and feet is dark grey, the build up of excrement makes them appear almost white (2) (5). Unlike the adults, immature marabou storks have a woolly covering to the head, and a darker plumage (5) (7).
- Also known as
- Marabout d'Afrique. Top
- African Wildlife Foundation:
- BirdLife International:
- The act of incubating eggs, that is, keeping them warm so that development is possible.
- IUCN Red List (October, 2009)
- Alden, P., Estes, R., Schlitter, D. and McBride, B. (1996) Collins Field Guide to African Mammals. Harper Collins Publishers, London.
- Burnie, D. (2001) Animal. Dorling Kindersley, London.
- Burton, M. and Burton, R. (2002) International Wildlife Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish, New York.
- Smithsonian National Zoological Park (September, 2009)
- Liebenberg, L. (1990) A Field Guide to the Animal Tracks of Southern Africa. David Phillips Publishers, Cape Town.
- Newman, K. (2002) Newman's Birds of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
- BirdLife International (August, 2009)
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Marabou stork biology
Behaving more like a vulture than a stork, the marabou is a consummate scavenger, eating just about any animal it can find as carrion (2) (3) (5). Typically, it soars at height, scanning the ground for food, and often congregates around large carcasses with other scavengers such as vultures (2) (5) (6) (7). Furthermore, this species has taken full advantage of the encroachment of human settlements, frequenting dumps, slaughterhouses and fishing villages for discarded scraps (2) (3) (5). However, despite its slightly macabre reputation, the marabou does also take a variety of live prey including lizards, frogs, various insects, snakes, rats, mice and birds (5) (6) (8).
A gregarious bird, the marabou stork is often seen in groups, with up to 1,000 individuals gathering in close proximity to roost at night (8). It also congregates to breed during the dry season, with colonies ranging in size from 20 pairs up to several thousand, often along with other species. The male arrives first and establishes a territory, whereupon it greets all newcomers with hostility, whilst inflating its throat pouch. Eventually, a courting female will be accepted by the male, and the pair will set about building a stick nest, around 10 to 30 metres above the ground in trees or on cliffs-ledges, and sometimes on buildings in towns and villages (2) (4) (5) 8). When the nest is finished, the female lays a clutch of two to three eggs, which are incubated over 29 to 31 days. The chicks fledge when around 13 to 15 weeks old, but do not reach sexual maturity until at least four years of age (4) (5).Top
Marabou stork rangeTop
Marabou stork habitatTop
Marabou stork status
Classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1).Top
Marabou stork threats
Owing to its indiscriminate feeding habits and its willingness to scavenge around human activities, the marabou stork population is actually increasing through large parts of its wide range (3) (5). However, despite the fact that it is usually considered an unattractive target for hunters (5), this stork is known to be traded at traditional markets in Nigeria (8).Top
Marabou stork conservationTop
Find out more
To find out more about conservation in Africa, visit:
For more information on this and other bird species please see:
AuthenticationThis information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: [email protected]
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Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted. | <urn:uuid:697f1007-dae9-40b8-848f-0a0a0f3a5891> | {
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Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: October 1, 2000
Publication Date: N/A
Interpretive Summary: Sarcocystis neurona is a single-celled parasite of companion animals. It causes a fatal neurologic syndrome in horses in the U.S., called eqine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Its full life cycle is not known. Opossums are its reservoir (definitive) host and horses are considered aberrant hosts. Scientists at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and the Montana State University describe the ultrastructure of Sarcocysti neurona stages (schizonts) found in tissues of horses. These results will be of interest to biologists and parasitologists.
The ultrastructure events associated with nuclear division were studied in schizonts of Sarcocystis neurona. Merozoites developed by type 2 endopolygeny in which numerous merozoites began development internally and later budded at the schizont surface. The nuclear envelope remained intact during all nuclear divisions. The schizont nucleus enlarged to form numerous lobes, each of which contained an intranuclear spindle. Many spindles were formed before merozoite formation. Spindles were conical- shaped with the apex of the spindle located immediately beneath a pore in the nuclear envelope. Most spindle microtubles were discontinous, terminating at kinetochores on chromosomes, whereas a few microtubules were continuous extending between each pole of the nuclear spindle. Two centrioles, a Golgi complex and a plastid were closely associated with each pole of the nuclear spindle. Spindle microtubules shortened during spindle edivisions that occurred in early and intermediate schizonts prior to the formation of merozoite primoridia. The length of the spindle microtubules remained the same during the last spindle during merozoite formation. Separation of the chromosomes appeared to result from enlongation of each nuclear lobe which occurred simultaneously with elongation of the inner membrane complex and subpellicular microtubules surrounding the merozoite primordia. In schizonts, the plastid was disc-shaped, variable in size, and consisted of a granular core with ribosomes and small vesicles surrounded by 2-4 membranes. Plastids in merozoites were structurally similar to those in schizonts except that some of them were spheroidial in shape. | <urn:uuid:fb08d164-67b3-45ba-85f7-8b908666101d> | {
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Oxford Classical Texts
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Oxford Classical Texts (OCTs), or Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis, is a series of books published by Oxford University Press. It contains texts of ancient Greek and Latin literature, such as Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid, in the original language with a critical apparatus. Works of science and mathematics, such as Euclid's Elements, are generally not represented. Since the books are meant primarily for serious students of the classics, the prefaces and notes have traditionally been in Latin (so that the books are written in the classical languages from the title page to the index), and no translations or explanatory notes are included. Several recent volumes, beginning with Lloyd-Jones and Wilson's 1990 edition of Sophocles, have broken with tradition and feature introductions written in English (though the critical apparatus is still in Latin).
Oxoniensis is an abbreviation used to denote mainly a single volume of the series (fully: editio Oxoniensis), rarely the whole collection; correspondingly, Teubneriana is used with reference to the Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana, a series with the same aim as the OCTs. Those who want some help in reading the classics may prefer the Loeb Classical Library, which includes English translations, or the Collection Budé, which includes French translations. | <urn:uuid:80ddb777-1f95-484e-a670-cde716d1f036> | {
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HERE. Drawing just the top face allows a focus on the eyes, and the beginning of a school year is a good time to declare goals.
1. You can download my template with paper lines already on it HERE. Printing on cardstock will be the easiest to work with.
2. Start by drawing the eyes in pencil, just above the paper. Follow the rule that two eyes should always be one eye-width apart.
3. Draw the top of the head, almost touching the top of the paper.
4. Draw the rest of the face and fingers on the side. Student’s names go at the top and they are to finish the sentence “My goals for the 2012-2013 school year are...". All lines are traced with a thin marker. The art is colored in with pencil crayons. | <urn:uuid:811de952-4fc5-48ea-a399-f1a08bddbd75> | {
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The King Palm tree is native to Australia, but can be grown and cared for in any tropical or sub tropical area where the temperature does not drop below freezing. This popular landscaping palm is also known as the Alexander or Alexandra palm. The King Palm grows quickly and while it can start as an indoor plant, it will eventually need to be transplanted outside. A full-grown palm will reach a height of 20 to 30 feet. Growing and caring for a King Palm tree is easy with proper planting, watering and feeding.
The King Palm prefers sun and needs well-drained soil. This palm also reaches a height of 30 feet or more. Choose a spot where the full height of the plant will not interfere with power lines or other overhead obstructions. If the palm was purchased from a nursery or has been inside and is not used to full sun don’t plant it immediately in the sun. Place it outside in a shady spot and increase its exposure to sun slowly by an hour a day over several weeks time. Once it is acclimated to full sun plant it in the chosen spot.
Dig a hole that is twice as wide as the root ball, but only as deep as the root ball is. If the roots are planted too deep they will not be able to grow properly. Use a shovel and score the sides of the hole to loosen the dirt. This will help the roots penetrate through the soil in its new home. Mix the soil from the hole and the pot the tree came in with sand to create a mix of 2 parts soil, 1 part sand. This will ensure proper drainage. Do not add any fertilizer at this time. Wet the bottom of the hole and shovel in a thin layer of the soil mixture. This will help reduce the shock to the plant when it is placed in its new home.
Get the roots of the palm wet and place it in the center of the hole. Fill in the hole with the remaining soil and sand mixture. Add three inches of organic mulch around the palm tree. Water the plant thoroughly. Do not allow the soil around the new palm tree to dry out for the first two weeks. Water daily to ensure the ground stays wet. This helps the roots grow.
King Palm trees require regular fertilizer treatments to grow to their full height. Do not fertilize until the King Palm has grown a new spear. Use a continuous release fertilizer that will feed the plant for several months at a time. Fertilize during growing season only and place the fertilizer at least two feet away from the trunk. Continue to water the palm as needed during dry times to keep the soil moist. Do not water too much as this will damage the palm. If the leaves are turning yellow and falling off before they dry out the plant may be too wet. Check the moisture of the soil the day after watering and adjust the amount of water accordingly.
The King Palm will grow for many years when planted correctly and properly fed. | <urn:uuid:12c12c0d-773c-40da-b6cc-bccab13e1a29> | {
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American logistics spacecraft. Study 2005. Spacehab's Apex design provided a family of launcher-neutral maneuverable spacecraft that could be used for resupply of the ISS and return of payloads to earth.
The Apex design was available to both commercial and government markets. The Apex vehicles were available in three different configurations: one-, three-, and four-meter diameter spacecraft. The smallest Apex could carry up to 300 kilograms to LEO, with the larger two spacecraft carrying cargo of up to 1,300 and 6,000 kilogram, respectively. The largest Apex vehicle could be outfitted to carry crew. The first flight of the Apex was planned for 2007. The vehicle was designed to be launcher-neutral, with an open architecture capable of serving different markets.
More... - Chronology...
Associated Manufacturers and Agencies
Spacehab American manufacturer of spacecraft. Spacehab, Inc. , Houston, Houston, USA More...
Commercial Space Transportation 2006 - Commercial Space Transportation Developments and Concepts: Vehicles, Technologies and Spaceports, Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation, January 2006.
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Our government textbooks tell us that nobody in the ancient world had ever crossed the Atlantic before Columbus. But the voyage of the Mayflower only took 60 days. Are we honestly to believe that no one had ever previously taken the 60 day trip in all of human history? The great civilizations of ancient Egypt, Babylon, Sumer, Greece, Rome, and the sea-faring Phoenicians never wondered what was out West past 59 days sailing? (Image = Phoenician boat)
If we accept this improbability, we have to accept many more along with it, because the native American cultures of the “New World” and the Eurasian cultures of the “Old World” were already far too similar to have naturally evolved separately. For instance, compare the Peruvians and Egyptians. The number of complex comparisons between the two peoples far surpasses serendipity. Both cultures believed in an immaterial soul which reincarnates through multiple physical existences. They both worshipped the Sun, Moon, and Stars, and held amazing astronomical knowledge, much of which has just recently been rediscovered. Both peoples built amazing stone pyramids, often containing boulders too heavy for modern cranes to lift, quarried from miles away. Both cultures embalmed/mummified their dead. Peruvian and Egyptian royalty both wrapped children’s heads in the practice of “skull elongation” (like trepanning) to attain higher consciousness. They both divided the year into twelve months. Both peoples had a women’s order of vestal virgins vowed to celibacy, and violating their vows was punished on both continents by their being buried alive. Both cultures offered animal sacrifices and divined the future by examining the animal’s entrails. They both built huge arches and strewed the road with flowers for returning home triumphant warriors/heroes. At the beginning of each agricultural season during a big celebration, the Kings placed their hands to the plough and ploughed the first furrow. Are we to believe such incredibly specific practices developed completely independent of one another?
“When the Spanish missionaries first set foot upon the soil of America, in the fifteenth century, they were amazed to find the Cross was as devoutly worshipped by the red Indians as by themselves.” -Ignatius Donnelly, “Atlantis: The Antediluvian World”
Ancient symbols like the cross and the swastika already existed in the Americas long before the Europeans came. Egyptian symbols like the “Akeru” back to back lion gods hieroglyph are found in Olmec temples from ancient Mexico. We have also found Mayan art and glyphs in Egypt. Modern Mayans and tribal Egyptians both recognize the languages found in their countries as that of their ancestors and both can read much of it. We’ve discovered artwork 2-3000 years old clearly depicting negroes and caucasians in Central America. The establishment remains silent on all these issues.
The similarities between Old World European and American peoples are vast and difficult to accept as mere coincidence. The use of cement, bricks, arches and advanced masonry/architecture is found on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as roads, stone and suspension bridges; Metallurgy, ore mining of copper, tin, bronze, gold, silver, and iron; Sculpture, painting, engraving, agriculture, navigation, large sailing vessels, pottery, glasswork, and music; both Old and New Worlders fashioned the same weapons like bows and arrows, spears, swords, battle-axes, darts and slings; baptism, confession, penance all long existed on both continents.
“If we find on both sides of the Atlantic precisely the same arts, sciences, religious beliefs, habits, customs, and traditions, it is absurd to say that the peoples of the two continents arrived separately, by precisely the same steps, at precisely the same ends. When we consider the resemblance of the civilizations of the Mediterranean nations to one another, no man is silly enough to pretend that Rome, Greece, Egypt, Assyria, Phoenicia, each spontaneously and separately invented the arts, sciences, habits, and opinions in which they agreed; but we proceed to trace out the thread of descent or connection from one to another. Why should a rule of interpretation prevail, as between the two sides of the Atlantic, different from that which holds good as to the two sides of the Mediterranean Sea? If, in the one case, similarity of origin has unquestionably produced similarity of arts, customs, and condition, why, in the other, should not similarity of arts, customs, and condition prove similarity of origin? Is there any instance in the world of two peoples, without knowledge of or intercourse with each other, happening upon the same invention, whether that invention be an arrow-head or a steam-engine? If it required of mankind a lapse of at least six thousand years before it began anew the work of invention, and took up the thread of original thought where Atlantis dropped it, what probability is there of three or four separate nations all advancing at the same speed to precisely the same arts and opinions? The proposition is untenable. If, then, we prove that, on both sides of the Atlantic, civilizations were found substantially identical, we have demonstrated that they must have descended one from the other, or have radiated from some common source.” -Ignatius Donnelly, “Atlantis: The Antediluvian World”
Stubborn Egyptologists, Anthropologists and our government textbooks also claim that the ancient Egyptian, Sumerian, and Babylonian cultures all somehow started at the height of their civilization and rapidly devolved as their empires fell. This is standard accepted “fact” but how is it possible that such advanced cultures just magically appeared at the beginning of recorded history?
“The region of Mesopotamia (Sumeria), which seems to have suddenly appeared out of nowhere (according to Academia), had a high knowledge of astronomy, architecture, a pantheon of gods, agriculture, gourmet foods, and courts. It is considered to be the cradle of civilization. Mesopotamia, in the north, encompassed the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, which flowed from the Garden of Eden, in the Genesis stories. The places known as Atlantis, Dilmun, and Lemuria are mentioned in the records of Sumeria. This is an obvious indication that these societies or cities pre-dated the Sumerian era. Therefore, the Mesopotamian civilization did not suddenly appear out of nowhere. It was more likely a relocated ancient ‘Lost Civilization’” -James Arthur, “Mushrooms and Mankind” (37)
“One of the great mysteries that Egyptologists can never explain is this devolution, this retrograde. You look at the old kingdom, the pyramids, the type of hieroglyphs, the type of jewelry, the type of art produced, and then as it goes forward to the middle kingdom it devolves, it’s less advanced - to the new kingdom when they didn’t even build in granite or limestone anymore but in sandstone a much softer stone, easier to work with.” -Egyptologist Stephen Mehler, “Egypt and the Ancients.” Coast 2 Coast interview, August, 2004
Are we honestly to believe that advanced mathematics, medicine, astronomy, architecture, art, writing, and a complex spirituality were already fully developed from the very beginning of human civilization?
“How does a complex civilization spring full-blown into being? Look at a 1905 automobile and compare it to a modern one. There is no mistaking the process of ‘development.’ But in Egypt there are no parallels. Everything is right there at the start.” -John Anthony West, Egyptologist
“The ancient civilization of the land we call Egypt has been pronounced by archaeologists as flawless of its type from the very first. It reveals none of the painful steps from primeval beginnings passing through the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age, to that of Iron. It apparently burst upon the scene into exotic radiance, its perfected civilization accordingly having been described as a miracle. Science cannot admit any such miracle and another explanation must be forthcoming.” -Comyns Beaumont
“What we call ‘Egypt’ lasted longer than the later Hellenic, Roman, Byzantine, Medieval, Renaissance, Enlightenment, Industrial, and modern ages put together and multiplied by three. The manipulators of history, therefore, purposely concentrate our attention on the latter days, in order to prevent us delving back into Egypt's past. They do so, understandably, for they have everything to lose once humankind becomes reintroduced to the archive of knowledge and wisdom that was common to our ancestors.” -Michael Tsarion, “Astrotheology and Sidereal Mythology”
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The sun’s energy is an incredible bounty. The energy contained in solar rays make their way through our filtering atmosphere and is critical to life on this planet...
and is fundamental to human survival. It can also provide for our comfort.
The use of the sun’s power in solar energy design is usually identified in 2 contexts - Passive Solar - that which uses natural processes without mechanical equipment and additional electrical or gas energy to operate, and Active Solar - that which uses nature’s resources with the inclusion of mechanical equipment and hardware driven by electricity and gas.
All solar design starts from a simple base - Passive Solar First.
What can be achieved by using all of the natural resources available to meet specific needs? This is the basic question and tenet of Passive Solar applications whether it be applied to heating and cooling a building, lighting, heating water, cooking, etc. Passive solar applies both to buildings and equipment.
Sound fundamentals of good passive applications and integration can beneficial and are directly related to active solar equipment use and implementation:
by meeting needs with no mechanical equipment dependent on external energy incorporation,
in improving conditions which reduce the amount and size of equipment required to meet needs,
by improving the conditions for active solar equipment applications, and
in minimizing the commensurate costs that accompany the purchase and use of any equipment, solar or non-solar.
In short , Passive solar design and applications is the base which sets the conditions for effective active solar incorporation and use.
Passive and Active solar applications should be considered as elements of the same palette - sort of the one-two punch of living with the sun,
and the mutuality is undeniable. Both rely on the same design considerations of orientation, access to the sun, behavior of materials, and appropriate use of site resources, and vary only in the inclusion external energy of electricity and gas. Most active system guidelines even point out starting with passive considerations first.
Besides providing for direct meeting of needs, Passive Solar design is a primary basis for enhancing the quality of active solar systems. Passive solar actions can result in the reduction of quantity of equipment needed to meet a particular task. For example, daylight is an available resource to meet illumination needs. Good day lighting design of buildings uses that resource effectively, and reduces the need and cost of daytime artificial lighting and equipment.
The beginning point consideration is at the end use side of things whether using traditional equipment or using solar equipment. Considerable savings can be gained in applying natural energy actions to reduce the cost of both supplying equipment as well as running and maintaining it. Quite simply, the less work that needs to be accomplished by equipment, the less amount of equipment is needed, and the less it needs to run when used - this all translates to less cost for purchase of the equipment, and less on-going cost for running and maintaining. Passive solar applications mitigate the quantity of active solar equipment needed, and resulting the tandem of both is optimal. Information about the sun and how to use it effectively is common in both applications.
Traditionally, the term Passive Solar has been identified with heating and cooling of buildings, but it has a broader context and application. There is, of course passive solar heating and cooling of buildings. There is also passive solar water heating, solar cooking, natural lighting, passive solar heating of pools, and even passive solar devices which move things - equipment, air, etc. Even the process of direct conversion of sunlight to electricity can be considered a “passive” action since it occurs through the appropriate use and placement of materials and capitalizes on the behavior of the combinations created, without infusing man-made energy sources and machines to make it work.
Knowledge and understanding of natural processes is the heart of Passive Solar. Knowledge about the composition, attributes and behavior of sunlight and heat; the behavior of heat flow; the behavior and capacities of materials, both in nature and man-made; the sun’s annual, seasonal, and daily movement; diurnal and seasonal temperatures and conditions; human sensory response and comfort ; the patterns of nature and of people; and the physiology and psychology of the interaction between people and Nature, all are applied to effective solar application and utilization.
NATURE’S CONTRIBUTION - a gift that also keeps us on our toes
intense heat, cold) The conditions that nature provides, in the form of climate, is variable. Cold in the winter, hot in the summer, nice other times of the year. Arizona climate covers the entire spectrum with extremes at the desert and mountain locations. Simultaneously, nature also provides the tools for mitigation of the extreme conditions. Sunlight and materials for a warming system; breezes, water, earth, gravity, and materials for a cooling system. It is the application of these resources into a system that addresses conditions that makes passive, and active, solar so effective.
The sun’s available energy varies in amount and impact through the year. The amount and intensity of energy from the sun that impacts the earth is affected by the composition of the earth’s atmosphere, and the angle of the solar radiation waves. The more dense the atmosphere, whether by clouds or smog, the less solar energy reaches the ground. Additionally the more directly perpendicular the sun is to the earth’s surface, the more concentrated the energy is in a given area and the more intense its impact. The highest capitalization of solar radiation for heat is when surfaces are perpendicular to the sun, allowing the most density of radiation at a given point.
|We know the sun’s position every day of the year and the amount of radiation that position provides, both to the earth’s surface, as well as to various positions of building walls and/or equipment. A south facing wall, or piece of equipment gets more energy from the sun than any other position. An angle directly perpendicular to the sun gets more energy per square foot than one that is at an angle. The sun is less available in the winter (shorter days) than in the summer. There is less solar energy availability in the winter than the summer due to the sun’s position at an angle to the earth and therefore more atmosphere to penetrate.
We also know that cool air settles and warm air rises, and that this action occurs with fluids like water. We know about heat flow and capabilities of materials in their capacity to absorb, hold, and give up heat. We know how to let sunlight in, how to capture and create air movement for cooling, and prevent unwanted heat.
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN TUNE WITH NATURE
|Passive solar buildings are environmentally responsive and use nature’s elements in providing shelter and comfort to people in a manner that is healthy and minimally destructive of the environment; are non-depleting of natural resources; and use the building itself in the comfort creating process. They are characterized throughout the recent years with terms as “sustainable”, “renewability”, and “green”. Quite simply, these terms refer to the same thing - a nature incorporating , comfort generating, security providing environment in which the building composition itself is the “machinery” that creates protection, health and comfort, and incorporates appropriate solar equipment to attain higher degrees of performance.
|Arizona history is replete with examples of people living with the sun - both in using it as a resource as well as dealing with it’s negatives. Passive solar was integrated into Arizona architecture and buildings, both in private and public buildings. While incorrectly called Arizona’s first solar building, (there is no indication that this was a conscious effort since a number of cliff dwellings built in the same period by the same people do not show the same kind of solar application) the construction of Montezuma’s Castle does embody some solar principles of orientation, thermal mass, “overhangs” for summertime shading, and south facing winter courts
|Desert buildings used proper orientation, thick masonry walls, natural cross ventilation, indoor and outdoor living spaces, and natural and man-made shade for summer cooling, and south facing courts, and windows with tile floors which, when coupled with the thick masonry walls, provided for capture and storage of warmth during winter conditions. Higher elevations of Arizona utilized the similar principles with differing amounts of wall mass and windows for heating, and porches and cross ventilation for summer evening relaxation and sleeping.
|Arizona desert buildings, both private and public, used passive means of shading to provide respite from the intense sun. Passive solar equipment, in the form of water heaters, were prevalent in Arizona as well as Southern California. the historic Ellis-Shackleford House in Phoenix and the historic Tempe Bakery had direct gain solar hot water heaters.
PASSIVE SOLAR ENERGY - PRELUDE TO SOLAR EQUIPMENT CONSIDERATION
There are a number of passive energy fundamentals which can be considered in reducing the amount of equipment and/or its’ operation.
ORIENTATION - It’s a necessary thing...
Like all direct solar applications, capturing the sun as a resource is as simple as providing for its clear path to where it can do its work - be it heating water, cooking food, or warming a space. Orientation is a fundamental concept of solar use for passive, and active, systems -
|orientation of a solar device
||or orientation of a building
||or a solar cooker
| Orientation and a direct relationship with the sun is the first rule of solar energy use when trying to capitalize on its heat providing attributes. The sun’s traverses the sky every day -
In the winter it is a low and short path and in the summer a long and high path - and even though the sun’s location is constantly changing, it is a predictable path that can be used in incorporating the sun’s energy to meet needs, and to exclude when we want to minimize the same. Applied knowledge of both the sun’s movement, position at any given time, and time of the year, as well as impact in the form of radiation (solar incidence) , enables us to take advantage of these attributes to meet needs, and to make use of our buildings and our equipment more effective and efficient.
Proper orientation is critical to optimizing the solar resource. A properly oriented building can optimize solar gain for human comfort heating, and with proper shape and overhangs can minimize summertime overheating. Likewise, properly oriented solar equipment, be it a solar water heating panel or a photovoltaic electricity generating panel, will have optimum production and minimal negative impact. Using natural winter heating and minimizing summer heat impacts reduces the size of heating and air conditioning equipment as well as the energy, traditional or photovoltaic, needed to provide energy to these systems. Additionally, proper orientation allows for full benefit of the operation of electric solar panels and maximizing solar water heating operations.
| Proper building orientation also eases the integration of active solar equipment into the building form and shape, and mitigates the conflicts of solar installations contested in numerous subdivisions regulations.
Proper orientation with direct exposure to the south, is best for passive solar heating of building spaces as well as the operation of solar equipment (water heaters, pv panels, cookers, pool panels, etc.). slight adjustments to the east or west of south allow for earlier or later use of the sun's energy, or for mitigating it.
FORM - It’s a right thing
|Solar buildings employ a form and shape that is responsive to the elements of nature that impact upon it, as well as the solar equipment that is part of the passive/active solar approach. Elongated along the east west axis, an Arizona building optimizes the southern exposure for good wintertime direct heating, while minimizing the east and west exposures which are severely impacted negatively in the summer, especially in the Arizona desert areas. Good building form is also beneficial when it comes to integration of solar equipment. Instead of unsightly racks, collector panels can be blended into the building architecture, and seem as seamless as a skylight or clerestory window.
For this reason roof design is important re: slopes and orientations to the sun’s path. (slide 28) Equally important is the integration of passive solar strategies to building additions such as thermal chimneys to accelerate cross ventilation, cooling towers, and north facing clerestories which incorporate hot water and pv panels on their back sides.
LOCATION - It’s the effective thing
|Location of a building and the placement of the spaces within are a critical passive element in optimizing the use of natural resources for comfort, and proper placement also optimizes integrated solar equipment by minimizing piping runs and complex plumbing and electrical transfers. 90% of the winter sun’s energy is received at the earth’s surface between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. so open and continued exposure is important for natural heating. Habitable spaces that benefit from solar heating are best located on the south side of a building with support spaces (garage, storerooms, etc.) located to the perimeter and to the north side. In this way the sun can directly, or indirectly, provide it’s energy to warm the spaces which means less heating equipment.
Additionally, ancillary spaces located to the perimeter east and west sides provide a thermal barrier zone to the habitable spaces, thereby reducing the heating and cooling loads to an easily manageable level. Proper orientation and spatial design allows for optimum use of the sun for providing thermal comfort in both winter and summer, and reduces the amount of heating and cooling equipment, as well as the energy required to run it. Additionally, proper location can reduce the amount of solar equipment needed in a radiant floor system and/or for pv systems which provide power to air conditioning and heating machinery.
|Good location planning extends to the integration of solar equipment as a building component by reducing piping runs and the commensurate “line losses” , thereby allowing more of the solar heat captured in a water heating system to get to the storage and/or use point.
MATERIALS - It’s the smart thing:
All solar heating and cooling systems are based on the ability to gather and store solar energy within a material for a period of time. This is accomplished by using a material which will hold heat until it is needed for heating, or capturing heat that will be dispelled at a later time. Solar water heaters use water. Solar buildings use their own structure - floors, walls, even roofs. Of course, some materials are better for this purpose than others. Glass, wood, and insulation are not good holders of heat. More dense materials like earthen materials (adobe, stone, brick, etc) and man-made materials like concrete are very good. This attribute is called thermal mass.
Heating application of thermal mass is to select material(s) that will absorb heat from solar exposure during the day, hold that heat for a time during non-solar periods, then give it up as conditions warrant. The same action can be incorporated for building cooling. As an area heats up, heat can be absorbed into the thermal mass material in the walls, floor or ceiling, like a thermal sponge, then held until evening time where effective cooling practices using cross ventilation, night sky radiation and even whole house mechanical ventilation (remember - nighttime electricity rates are lower than daytime). This action is based upon fundamental principles of thermal transfer.
Nature is always seeking to even out things so if there is a “difference”, there is a natural action which moves to make every thing the same or to even out. In the case of heat transfer, heat migrates to cold, so in a building, hot walls will radiate into cold spaces, and conversely, hot, summertime spaces will have their heat migrate to cooler walls. An analogy that has been used is one of 2 buckets of water - 1 full and one empty. If they are placed at an equal height, and there is a connection between the 2, below the water line of the first, water will flow to the second until there is an equal amount in the second where all action will stop because a balance has
Passive solar buildings utilize the very fabric of the building as part of the comfort system for heating and cooling, and the addition of active solar system for running naturally heated or cooled water to through a thermal mass wall, floor, or roof structure enhances the performance of the system by the additional thermal mass capacity and heat capture/transfer attributes of the
WINDOWS - It’s the clear thing.
One of the major design considerations affecting a building’s energy consumption is the location and size of windows. Windows are the weakest point of the building envelope and usually the leakiest when it comes to energy, both in terms of losing heat in the winter, and gaining heat in the summer. A square foot of glass will lose 12 time more energy than a wood wall with insulation. As a rule, windows should be located primarily on the south side where they can be used as part of the heating system, as well as provide for natural lighting. That is the side where the sun is!. East and west sides of desert buildings should have minimal or no windows since these are the 2 worst exposures for early morning and late afternoon summer sun. East windows allow for early summer morning heat up and west windows allow for late afternoon negative impacts.
Solar windows should be sized in accordance with the heating and cooling performance of the building. Typical oversizing to have the “feel of the great outdoors” is not an optimal situation when it comes to solar design.
Clerestorey windows are a design tool for getting sunlight benefits (heating and lighting) to areas not able to be located at the south face. Clerestories also provide a mechanism for diffusing the direct impact of sunlight and moderating glare. Additionally, operable clerestorey windows are a good device for house ventilation cooling in the summer.
Reverse clerestories, those opening to the north can be a benefit in desert conditions . Facing north, they provide even natural light to interiors and their angled backs can be a perfect mounting structure and angle for solar equipment like photovoltaic and solar water heating panels.
THERMAL DECOMPRESSION - It’s the healthy thing
A building trying to maintain a comfortable internal temperature will always be in conflict with the temperatures adjacent to the exterior. Heat always moves to cold - in the winter , interior warmth is moving toward the exterior cold. In the summer, the external heat is trying to move to the interior coolness. In both situations, the greater the difference in temperature between inside and outside conditions, the faster the movement of heat and the greater the amount of heat moved, and the more equipment is required to mitigate conditions.
In temperate times when inside and outside are at or near the same temperatures, there is minimal movement and therefore minimal need for equipment. Add to this the fact that sudden and abrupt changes in temperature are not positive to the human body which has to react rapidly to changed conditions, and good passive site planning of thermal decompression is important for not only comfort, but for health.
Thermal decompression simply means that there is layering of vegetation, landscape features, and built elements that gradually temper the environment to a point where the temperatures adjacent to the building are much closer to its internal temperature. This decompression approach establishes a condition where the difference between the internal temperature and the temperature on the building skin are much closer, so less heat is gained (or lost) and less mitigating equipment, and commensurate energy, is required.
PASSIVE SOLAR APPLICATIONS - It’s first thing
Natural Lighting -
|The sunlight received by a building will provide more than sufficient illumination to meet daily needs. Use of day lighting is a passive solar application. The sun’s capacity to provide light, when integrated correctly in a building, means no need to use artificial lighting during the day, which means no energy used for those lights, which means no utility cost, except at night when the sun doesn’t shine. Solar building design incorporates day lighting strategies of letting light into all spaces either directly with proper window placement, clerestories and even skylights, or indirectly with light reflecting color choices, light shelves, and transparent and translucent walls. This glazing has dual benefit - while providing for illumination, it can also provide for wintertime heating. Good passive design then incorporates both attributes of sunlight - illumination and heating, and the building construction and finishes are used to capitalize on both. Light colored surfaces and transparent/translucent interior panels for “bouncing” or directing sunlight for illumination, and dark, thermal mass surfaces for absorbing the sun’s rays for heating. Multi-faceted and multi-applicable, day lighting design is an effective passive solar approach which has a direct impact on the building’s
However, addition of a solar electricity generation system (photovoltaics) allows for the capture of daytime sunlight and its transformation into electricity, which can then be stored and used in the night. Add to this the use of efficient fixtures and systems, and costs in both resources and dollars are further reduced.
Water Heating -
Batch or Integrated Collector/Storage (ICS) System
Simply water in a tank within a container and exposed directly to the sun. This is the basis of batch/ breadbox, systems which combine collection, heating, and storage of water into a single component. Direct heating of the storage tank or tanks, makes this system compact, simple, and effective. These units are called a passive systems because they do not rely on equipment to make them function. When hot water is removed, it is replaced by an equal amount of "new" water.
The "batch" approach has been used for quite some time and improvements in design have enhanced their effectiveness in increasing water heating capabilities. Newer systems use a number of small-diameter connected storage tanks connected to expose more of the water surface to the sunlight, heating the water at a faster rate. In some cases reflectors are integrated, bouncing more of the sun's rays onto the water tank, and when the sun falls, the reflectors, made of highly insulating material, fold over the glazing to insulate the tank. Some systems use evacuated glass tubes (like a thermos bottle) around the collector to keep heat loss to a minimum. Thermosyphon Systems.
|Hot water rises and cold water settles. This is because hot water is less dense than cold water due to its molecular "excitement" in being heated. In a typical water heater, colder water is at the bottom of a tank. When it is heated by the heating element or burner, it becomes less dense and rises to the top of the tank, while being replaced by cooler, settling water, which is, in turn heated, rises, etc.. This cycle is called a convective action. A thermosyphon solar water heating system incorporates natural convection to move fluid heated by the collector to a storage tank. In order to do this naturaly, the collector is located at some point below the storage storage tank. As the fluid at the bottom of the storage tank cools (more dense) it flows to the bottom of the collector where it is reheated making it rise back to the top of the storage tank. This process is continuous. As a result, thermosyphon systems do not need pumps and for that reason they are considered a passive system - that system that does not rely on equipment to make it function.
|Passive solar applications for heating and cooling a building mitigate expensive heating and cooling with conventional equipment driven by electricity and gas, and good passive design reduces the energy consumed and the allied cost of utility resources to maintain comfort.
There are basic elements of passive energy buildings which use the form and materials to provide comfort. Some of these are applicable to solar equipment design and use, even to the point where there is solar equipment which are passive in their operation - i.e. thermal energy flows in the system naturally. Solar water heating is one type of equipment that can be a passive solar piece of equipment. A “batch” water heater and a thermosiphon water heater can be considered passive solar equipment - since they do not rely on out side energy source to make them function. Of course, when talking about passive and active solar, optimum conditions and control occur best when these two are coupled.
Basics of passive applications are rooted in dealing with the sun (exposure to and capture of the sun’s energy when we want heat; protection from the sun when we want cooling), the materials used (for effective capture, storage, and use), and natural processes of physics for both). Every passive system for solar heating, whether it is heating water, or heating a building, requires exposure to the sunlight and trapping it - this is done by glazing - windows for a building and glass covers for solar panels. Every passive system is dependent upon materials which will absorb the sun’s heat, store a good quantity of it and easily distribute it. In a building, the effective material can be the structure itself, in the form of thermal mass.
Thermal mass is characterized by those dense materials like concrete and earthen materials, and also by an extremely good material - water. These materials can readily absorb solar radiation, hold its warmth, and easily and evenly give it up to adjacent spaces.
|Heat capture, storage and distribution follow a natural and predictable behavior. Sunlight heats the surfaces it strikes. The amount of heat held within the material depends on the material composition - straw is a terrible holder, concrete is a better holder. When sunlight is no longer available the material gives its’ captured heat to adjacent cooler conditions.
Generally there are 3 passive heating building concepts - Direct Gain, Indirect Gain and Isolated Gain These concepts have inherent within them cooling strategies and applications as well.
Direct Gain -
Simply stated, sunlight comes directly through windows into the space to be heated.
The building materials struck by the sunlight are thermal mass materials - concrete/tile floor, masonry walls, or even strategically placed containers of water.
Building windows act in exactly the same way as solar panel glazing - they let the sunlight (short wave radiation) in and inhibit heat (long wave radiation) from escape. Direct gain design system is always working, letting in not only direct sunlight but also the diffuse light of cloudy days, and the intense light of summer.
Like any system, optimization is the goal - so the building eaves and overhangs become a designed-in optimizing element - summertime conditions, when heating is not required, are mitigated by keeping the sunlight off of the windows via the overhang, while in the winter, the sun is much lower in the sky and can easily skirt under the building’s brow.
Heating is quite simple in this approach - sunlight, absorbed by the thermal mass materials, solid and/or liquid, is stored as heat. When the space cools in the evening, the heat migrates to the cooling spaces directly (radiation) or by air movement across the surface of the material (convection). For this approach, a careful consideration of the site, solar energy availability, and seasonal conditions, are all necessary to determine the appropriate amount of windows and thermal mass. Too many windows in an Arizona desert setting will result in a human cooker; too few windows in a Rim setting will result in not enough capture.
This system has worked effectively in Arizona designs, as well as that sunniest of place of Liverpool, England.
For effective cooling, such as the desert setting, Direct Gain Avoidance is the rule, BUT the thermal mass of the building can still be used in the cooling cycle. The materials, by nature of their thermal mass attribute, remain cool (or can be cooled during nighttime conditions - naturally by cross ventilation, or mechanical y by lowest cost energy driven fans). This coolness allows their absorption of unwanted heat in the building - acting as a sort of thermal sponge, moving heat away from people and holding to the evening, where cross ventilation or even whole house fans can dispose of the captured heat. Control of Direct Gain systems is done with the addition of movable insulation, either on the exterior or with interior blinds, and cross ventilation planning with placement of low wall vents on the cool side of the building, and high wall vents on the warm side of the building.
Indirect Gain -
Indirect gain is an “next step” of a Direct Gain system. Sunlight penetrates south facing windows, then strikes thermal mass located behind the window and between the sun and living space. There are basically three types of indirect gain systems, each defined by where the thermal mass is located. The three strategies are:
Thermal Wall and Plenum
Thermal Wall and Plenum -
South facing windows front a thermal mass wall of masonry, and/or water, placed directly behind to create a vertical plenum or chase. The sun side of the thermal wall is typically dark to capture more of the solar spectrum. This mass absorbs, stores and distributes heat while acting as a buffer to the interior spaces, and moderates temperature changes and provides for extended use of thermal gain well into the evening. Sunlight passes through the glass and converts to heat energy as it impacts the thermal mass and is absorbed, slowly saturating or moving through the mass until it radiates into the living space - the wall is a delayed action radiator.
At the same time the air trapped between the windows and the mass heats up, and the addition of vents at the top and bottom of the wall allow for direct passive heating. Warmed between the glass and the wall spills into the living space through the opened upper vent and since Nature abhors a vacuum, cooler room area enters the plenum through the bottom vent, and is heated by the sun warmed wall, rises, spills into the room and is replaced by cooler air again, and this natural convection process continues as long as there is sunlight. There are a number of examples of this application - the Trombe wall which uses masonry, earthen materials like, and water like Steve Baer’s water barrel. Variations in thermal mass wall materials vary from commercial water tubes to incorporation of stone.
The Baer barrel wall installation provides for optimizing the heating capabilities as well as cooling of the adjacent spaces with the addition of movable insulating panels. During Winter conditions, Insulating panels are moved to allow for solar access to heat the water barrels, then at night the insulating panels are raised to cover the glazing and the barrels radiate their warmth to the space. In the summer heat, the insulation is raised and the barrels, with their cool water, act as absorbers, pulling unwanted heat from the spaces. At nightfall, the insulation is lowered, and the barrels give up their stored heat to the exterior by radiation and convection. the water, now cooled, is ready to act as a cooling absorber the next day.
Sunspaces are a combination of Direct Gain and Thermal Wall systems, utilizing both approaches in tandem with a dedicated Direct Gain area (Sunspace) adjacent (fronting) the living space, with a Thermal Wall placed between the two. The Sunspace, has extensive south glazing and large daily fluctuations, while the adjacent living space is protected from these fluctuations by the Thermal Wall separating the spaces. Vents or operable doors and windows in the Thermal Wall allow warmed Sunspace heat to circulate to adjacent living spaces by natural convective actions during the day, and radiate the absorbed Sunspace heat to the living spaces in the evening. An additional usable area, Sunspaces are often used as solar greenhouses. Temperature control is best achieved with operable venting windows and cross ventilation.
Sunspaces - green houses:
Thermal Roof -
The thermal Roof approach places thermal mass on the roof rather than at a wall, and is very effective as both a passive heating and cooling strategy. The system is both a radiator and an absorber and replaces standard heating and cooling mechanical systems and the inherent ductwork distribution system. Using water as thermal mass, roof ponds are constructed directly on top of heat conducting ceilings of metal pans or metal decking so there is direct thermal transfer. Movable insulation is placed above the ponds to facilitate better retention of heat in the winter and to prevent absorption of external heat in the summer.
The operation is quite simple. During wintertime conditions, insulating panels are rolled or pivoted back, exposing water contained in UV inhibiting water beds to the sun. The ponds gather the sun’s warmth and at nightfall, the insulating panels are replaced to contain the gained heat and prevent loss to the cold night air. The heat stored in the bags, warms the supporting metal decking and the entire ceiling is a radiant ceiling throughout the cold winter night. The next morning, the insulating panels are removed when the sun appears and the cycle begins again.
Summer cooling is a reverse process. Ponds, covered during the daytime heat, remain cool and act in concert with the supporting metal ceilings as a thermal sponge absorbing interior heat generated from people, equipment, and infiltration from the outside. At night, panels are removed and the ponds throw off their gathered heat to the night sky by means of radiation, convections, and if wet down, by evaporation.
Roof pond heating and cooling is optimized when all living spaces except the bathrooms and high water use areas are covered by the system. In areas that generate humidity, like a shower, the metal ceilings will tend to “rain” due to the temperature difference of steam vapors and cool metal.
Roof ponds, like Harold Hay’s Skytherm system, have been designed and used in the hot climate of Arizona and New Mexico to the moderate temperatures of the California coast and even planned for the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Isolated Gain -
|This is basically an indirect system where solar collection for heating are isolated from the living spaces, and while the system functions independently, heating can be called for by simply opening some floor vents and letting the natural behavior of hot air rise through the spaces. The most common application of this approach is the convective loop. Much like a thermosiphon water heater, heat transfer material of air or water, is moved across a collector panel system facing the sun, and circulated into a tank surrounded by rock (water transfer system) or a rock bin (air transfer system) in a continuous operating loop. Natural thermosiphoning occurs when the collector is lower than the heat storage area which is usually located under the building.
A hybrid of this system can include moving heated water or air through a radiant floor system where the masonry floor itself acts as the thermal mass storage. This variation can also use cool water to create a “cool” floor by running house supply water, or water from an adjacent pool, through a floor system.
Cool Towers -
| Evaporative cooling systems which utilize gravity effect on dense, cooled air to drop and spill into living spaces. The system is comprised of wet cooler pads mounted high in an area which provides no obstructions to air movement, which comes into contact with the pads. The warm dry air contacting the wet pads, cool and becomes more dense and heavier and falls down the tower, usually positioned over or adjacent to a major living space. The falling cool air, spills into the living space, pushing warmer out at strategic venting areas. As the process continues, the cooler air ponds in the area, providing a cool environment in Az. desert conditions.
A variation to this system is the addition of a south facing thermal chimney to pull cool tower air through the house. Located at an opposite location from the cool tower, the thermal chimney provides an escape vent for interior warm air , which moves more quickly as it get heated and is driven out. This rapid venting has a drawing effect on the cool tower air and it is distributed more extensively through the building. The solar chimney can be set up to become a recirculating air heater during winter conditions.
Natural Cooling -
There are three sources of undesirable heat - direct summer sun solar gains through windows and glazing; heat transmission through the building envelope; and internal heat produced by people, their activities, and their equipment. Direct solar heat gain at windows and glazing can be easily controlled by shading the house - preventing the sun from reaching it (except for good day lighting and operation of solar equipment) and with external shading devices and vegetation as well as thermal insulating shutters. Heat transmission conditions can be nullified by setting up layers of thermal decompression with vegetation, built structure like porches, and water features. While there is not much that can be done to reduce natural heat production by people, equipment heat generation can be impacted by careful selection of energy efficient equipment and by good timing - do the laundry in the evening.
Use of the sun for food preparation is fun, energy saving, and saves money, both in the cooking operation, and in the cooling costs saved when the heat is taken out of the kitchen during the summer. A variety of cooking tools from box cookers to slat faced ovens are available - whether they be commercial products or hand built by the inspiring solar chef.
Passive Solar Energy has many faces and applications and an effective Passive solar building incorporates many of these elements. Natural processes and incorporation of building and site elements to provide for comfort as well as mitigation of untoward conditions are the hallmark of good passive design, and results in establishing a basis for reduction of equipment (solar and otherwise) for achieving comfort, and reduction of equipment purchase and operations costs. Passive solar energy is Direct,
This presentation was constructed by the Arizona Solar Energy Association for the Arizona Solar Center, Inc. under contract with the Arizona Dept. of Commerce Energy Office, funded by the Dept. of Energy Million Solar Roofs program. Materials and information were provided by a number of sources.
Financial support for this presentation has been provided by the Arizona Department of Commerce (Energy Office) and the U.S. Department of Energy through (DOE) Grant No. DE-FG51-01R021250. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Energy Office or U.S. DOE. The State of Arizona and U.S. DOE assume no liability for damages arising from errors, omissions or representations contained in this presentation. | <urn:uuid:18749c72-d97f-4add-a437-3b6a218805e9> | {
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Listen now 28 mins
In 1997 the newly elected Labour government was quick to take measures against teenage motherhood. In 1999 they published a seminal document which became hugely influential in shifting both the public's and policy makers' ideas of the 'problem' of teenage pregnancy. The report was underpinned by a drive to tackle social exclusion. The report's tone was set in its foreword where Tony Blair described youthful pregnancy as leading to 'shattered lives and blighted futures'. But teenage fertility was highest 4 decades ago in 1971 with 51 births per 1000 in women under 20. Since then the numbers have halved.
In this programme Miranda Sawyer hears from leading social scientists who argue that public policy has ignored evidence which shows that far from shattered lives and blighted futures, teenage mothers and their children can and do lead happy, healthy lives.
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Teaching Children About Money
Children with developmental disabilities benefit like their mainstream peers when they learn basic facts about money, spending and saving. Early lessons about how money works helps build a sense of confidence and control in getting what they really want.
When adults carried cash instead of credit cards and even when they wrote checks instead of using debit cards, children had many more opportunities to learn about money as they accompanied their parents around town. Store clerks learned to count back change when shoppers relied on cash, and coins were involved in almost every transaction.
During our present economic crisis, financial advisors are suggesting that adults use money instead of plastic so that we have a better way to estimate how much we have left to spend. We can also help our sons and daughters understand the limits of their income by working with real money ourselves.
Because many adults have stopped carrying cash and change, we may have to relearn better habits to protect money we carry from loss due to theft. Something that is helpful for children as well as adults is to check receipts every time we leave a checkstand, to catch mistakes made by the electronic register as well as to model responsible behavior for our children.
There are helpful money recognition and counting games that feature replicas of coins that are made of plastic or cardboard and do not feel like the real thing. Something that my children enjoyed when they were learning about bills was to fold them so that visually impaired people could recognize the difference between a single one, a five and a twenty. They also enjoyed using photocopies of real bills with faces of people in the family in place of the presidents.
Substituting real coins can often be done more economically than buying the replicas, but children often know or soon realize that real coins have value outside the classroom. Sometimes the feeling of change in their pockets or the sounds of coins jangling together make real coins irresistible. Providing your child with a simple wallet and showing them where to store bills and coins, IDs and pictures can help engage their interest, too.
At home, it is helpful to use real coins so that children attach that real value to money when they want something at the store a parent does not buy. It is also helpful to have a play store at home, where a child can buy an item for five pennies or a nickel, or give up a dime to receive change.
The concept of saving, borrowing and paying back money can be taught to children as they are learning the basic facts about money. Allowing your children to carry coins and then borrowing a few while paying for groceries or parcels can be exciting for them. Having a template of the coins that were in the pocket when you left home can help a child understand what coins need to be replaced when you pay them back at home. Many children will memorize the template after a few weeks or months without prompting.
Something that may be difficult for children to understand is how one coin can be worth twenty five of another coin, and the satisfaction of having a small sack of pennies cannot be matched. The same can be true for dollar bills and a twenty. This makes it easy for vulnerable children and teens to be cheated. Just as knowledge and training can increase a child's confidence, theft can create a sense of vulnerability and shame.
It is important to explain that some people are so tempted by the value of money, they do not resist the urge to take what is not theirs. We need to teach our children that they must resist that urge themselves, and that anything borrowed must be repaid by the person who had the lapse in judgment. It is important not to label any child as a thief, but instead to describe the behavior as theft. Children need to know that parents recognize their essential goodness no matter what their misbehavior may have been, and it sometimes helps to paint a multidimensional portrait of individuals who take what is not theirs. That being said, subtraction games can be played that feature sly animal puppets who take away objects we have already counted.
Teaching children about money at home presents opportunities their teachers may not have in the classroom. Wonderful books that are useful in explaining basics to children are available for parents and teachers who prefer to benefit from the research and experience of veteran teachers and financial advisors.
Browse at your local bookstore, public library or online retailer for books like Kumon - My First Book of Money - Counting Coins or Dollars and Cents, Teaching Math to People With Down Syndrome and Other Hands-On Learners: Basic Survival Skills - 2008, Can I Have Some Money? Max Gets It, or Raising Money Smart Kids: What They Need to Know about Money and How to Tell Them
Teaching Numeracy by Sue Buckley
Creative approaches to teaching and to differentiation by Sue Buckley
Number fun? You can count on it! by Emma Saunders
An update on Sam and the progress he has made in numeracy using Numicon by Wendy Uttley
Content copyright © 2013 by Pamela Wilson. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Pamela Wilson. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Pamela Wilson for details.
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Proverbs 8 - Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible
Christ, as Wisdom, calls to the sons of men.
The will of God is made known by the works of creation, and by the consciences of men, but more clearly by Moses and the prophets. The chief difficulty is to get men to attend to instruction. Yet attention to the words of Christ, will guide the most ignorant into saving knowledge of the truth. Where there is an understanding heart, and willingness to receive the truth in love, wisdom is valued above silver and gold. (Pr 8:12-21)
The nature and riches of Wisdom.
About this commentary:
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible is available in the Public Domain. | <urn:uuid:0291e1c4-73c5-4fcd-8889-a83f2cfd9bd8> | {
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| Risk Factors
The cerebellum is located in the lower part of the brain, towards the back. It plays a role in body movement, eye movement, and balance.
A cerebellar stroke occurs when the brain’s blood supply to this area is interrupted. Without oxygen and nutrients from blood, the brain tissue quickly dies. This results in the loss of certain functions. A
is a serious condition. It requires emergency care.
Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
There are two main types of stroke:
An ischemic stroke (more common) is caused by a sudden decrease in blood flow to a region of the brain, which may be due to:
- A clot that forms in another part of the body (eg, heart or neck) breaks off and blocks flow in a blood vessel supplying the brain (embolus)
- A clot that forms in an artery that supplies blood to the brain (thrombus)
- A tear in an artery supplying blood to the brain (arterial dissection)
A hemorrhagic stroke is caused by a burst blood vessel that results in bleeding in the brain.
Risk factors that you can control or treat include:
Certain conditions, like:
Medicines (eg, long-term use of
birth control pills
Lifestyle factors, such as
, physical inactivity, diet high in sodium
Risk factors you cannot control include:
History of stroke,
, or other type of cardiovascular disease
transient ischemic attack
(TIA)—With a TIA (“mini-stroke”), stroke symptoms often resolve within minutes. It may signal a very high risk of having a stroke in the future.
- Age: 60 or older
- Family members who have had a stroke
- Gender: males
- Race: Black, Asian, Hispanic
- Blood disorder that increases clotting
Symptoms of a cerebellar stroke come on suddenly and may include:
- Uncoordinated movements of the limbs or trunk (ataxia)
- Difficulty walking, including problems with balance
- Abnormal reflexes
- Vertigo (feeling of spinning or whirling when you are not moving)
- Nausea and vomiting
- Intense headache
- Speech problems (eg, slurred speech) and difficulty swallowing
- Problems sensing pain and temperature
- Problems with vision (eg, eyes move rapidly, difficulty controlling eye movement)
- Problems with eyes (eg, small pupil, droopy eyelid)
- Loss of consciousness
If you or someone you know has any of these symptoms,
right away. A stroke needs to be treated as soon as possible. Brain tissue dies quickly.
The doctor will make a diagnosis as quickly as possible so that you will be able to get the proper treatment. Tests may include:
—a type of x-ray that uses a computer to make pictures of the brain
- CT angiogram—a type of CT scan that evaluates blood vessels in the brain and/or neck
—a test that uses magnetic waves to make pictures of the brain
- MRA—a type of MRI scan that looks at blood vessels in the brain and/or neck
Heart function tests (eg,
—a test that uses sound waves to examine blood vessels
- Blood tests
- Kidney function tests
- Tests to check your ability to swallow
Immediate treatment is needed to:
- Dissolve a clot (for ischemic stroke)
- Stop bleeding (for hemorrhagic stroke)
For an ischemic stroke, the doctor may give medicines to:
- Dissolve clots and/or prevent new ones from forming
- Thin blood
- Control blood pressure
- Reduce brain swelling
- Treat an irregular heart rate
For a hemorrhagic stroke, the doctor may give medicines to:
- Work against any blood-thinning drugs you may regularly take
- Reduce how your brain reacts to bleeding
- Control blood pressure
For an ischemic stroke, the doctor may do surgery to:
For a hemorrhagic stroke, the doctor may:
Remove a piece of the skull to relieve pressure on the brain (
- Place a clip or a tiny coil in an aneurysm to stop it from bleeding
A rehabilitation program focuses on:
- Physical therapy—to regain as much movement as possible
- Occupational therapy—to assist in everyday tasks and self-care
- Speech therapy—to improve swallowing and speech challenges
Psychological therapy—to improve mood and decrease
To help reduce your chance of having a stroke, take the following steps:
that includes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and fish.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
If you drink
, drink only in moderation (1-2 drinks per day).
If you smoke,
- If you have a chronic condition, like high blood pressure or diabetes, get proper treatment.
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Punctuated equilibrium and molecular clocks?
Dr. Peter Gegenheimer
PGegen at UKans.nolospamare.edu
Fri Sep 4 18:37:39 EST 1998
On Wed, 2 Sep 1998 15:16:45, Johnjoe McFadden <j.mcfadden at surrey.ac.uk> wrote:
> Punctuated equilibrium and molecular clocks?
> The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis of Gould and Eldridge, in which
> evolution is proposed to go through long periods of stasis interspersed
> with bursts of rapid evolution, is of course related to the fossil
> record. However, periods of rapid evolution should also leave their
> trace in molecular clocks.
> Does the phylogenetic analysis of protein gene sequences suggest that
> their evolution has in some cases been episodic? I guess the evidence,
> if it existed, would come from comparison of sequence divergence of a
> protein like globin with a molecular clock sequence (e.g. ribosomal RNA)
> for the same group of species. Is their any evidence that over
> geological periods of time (measured by the clock sequence) the protein
> undergoes episodic bouts of evolution?
Punctuated equilibrium is almost certainly driven by large-scale genome and
chromosome rearrangements which will not be reflected in the sequences of
individual genes. Rather, it is the organization & spatial/temporal patterns of
gene expression which vary, driven perhaps by the relocation of epigeneitc
regulation (e.g. DNA methylation or protein binding). As you can see, this is
the hard-core McClintock line, and I think it will prove to be right.
Sequences of core enzymes, such as rRNA (the catalytic component of the
ribosome), cannot vary greatly over time without losing function. Sequences
involved in developmental regulation and external form of an organism can vary
| Dr. Peter Gegenheimer | Vox: 785-864-3939 FAX: 785-864-5321 |
| Molecular Biosciences | PGegen at UKans.edu |
| Ecol & Evol Biology | http://RNAworld.Bio.UKans.edu/ |
| | |
| University of Kansas | |
| 2045 Haworth Hall | "The sleep of reason produces |
| Lawrence KS 66045-2106 | monsters." Goya |
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Our planet has reached a staggering milestone: On October 31, 2011, the world population reached 7 billion people eking out a living. By the end of the century, it’ll top 10 billion.
Unsustainable human population growth and overconsumption are the root causes of environmental destruction. They’re driving species extinct, destroying wildlife habitat, and undermining the basic needs of all life at an unprecedented rate. It has to stop.
That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity has launched an ambitious new national campaign, 7 Billion and Counting.
And we need your help. By hosting and attending local events, handing out Endangered Species Condoms, writing letters to the editor and taking this discussion online, you can play an important role in highlighting the connection between unsustainable human population, overconsumption and the extinction of plants and animals around the globe.
We’re also giving you a way to understand this global crisis at a local level. Our new interactive map quickly shows which endangered species live where you do — and are threatened by the effects of unsustainable human population.
So take action today to speak out about 7 billion, watch our video ad that’s reaching more than a million people a day in New York City’s Times Square, and then sign up for Pop X, our monthly e-newsletter on population and the species extinction crisis.
The world’s human population has doubled since 1970 and shows no signs of letting up. After hitting a harrowing 7 billion people in October 2011, it has continued to skyrocket — and will do so for the rest of the century.
Our planet is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. Hundreds of plant and animal species are disappearing from our planet every day, never to return. In fact, scientists say species today are going extinct 1,000 to 10,000 times faster than normal. They’re going extinct because of us — people.
We’ve already witnessed the devastating effects of unsustainable human population growth on biodiversity: Species abundant in North America just two centuries ago — from the woodland bison of West Virginia and Arizona’s Merriam’s elk to the Rocky Mountain grasshopper and Puerto Rico’s Culebra parrot — have been wiped out by growing human numbers.
The Center for Biological Diversity is the world’s only environmental group working full-time to raise awareness about the link between booming human population growth and wildlife extinctions happening around the world.
In 2010, the Center — working through a network of more than 5,000 volunteers — gave away 350,000 Endangered Species Condoms. The colorfully packaged condoms are a lively way to get conversations started about how unsustainable population growth is crowding out other forms of life — and reducing the quality of our own.
Through our new 7 Billion and Counting campaign, we’re giving away 100,000 more condoms as a way to keep the conversation going about unsustainable human population.
Join our growing movement of people committed to elevating awareness of this ecological and human crisis.Get in-depth information on our resources page, join the discussion on Facebook and take action in our campaign to mobilize people on this critical issue.
Talking about population means talking about saving species around the planet, whether it’s polar bears, wolves, bluefin tuna, penguins or the Miami blue butterfly.
All of them — and all of us — are counting on you. | <urn:uuid:03470a6d-62fa-4790-ae3e-4e5459e0bd3e> | {
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Researchers Identify Enzyme Involved in Deadly Brain Tumors
One of the most common types of brain tumors in adults, glioblastoma multiforme, is one of the most devastating. Even with recent advances in surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, the aggressive and invasive tumors become resistant to treatment, and median survival of patients is only about 15 months. In a study published in Neuro-Oncology, researchers at Mayo Clinic identify an important association between the naturally occurring enzyme Kallikrein 6, also known as KLK6, and the malignant tumors.
"Our study of Kallikrein 6 showed that higher levels of this enzyme in the tumor are negatively associated with patient survival, and that the enzyme functions by promoting the survival of tumor cells," says senior author Isobel Scarisbrick, Ph.D., of Mayo Clinic's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
The findings introduce a new avenue for potential treatment of deadly glioblastomas: targeting the function of KLK6. The tumor cells became more susceptible to treatment when researchers blocked the receptors where the KLK6 enzyme can dock and initiate the survival signal.
Researchers looked at 60 samples of grade IV astrocytomas — also known at this stage as glioblastomas — as well as less aggressive grade III astrocytomas. They found the highest levels of KLK6 were present in the most severe grade IV tumors. Looking at the tumor samples, researchers found higher levels of KLK6 associated with shorter patient survival. Those with the highest levels lived 276 days, and those with lower levels lived 408 days.
"This suggests that the level of KLK6 in the tumor provides a prognosticator of patient survival," Dr. Scarisbrick says.
The group also investigated the mechanism of the enzyme to determine whether it plays a significant role in tumor growth. Researchers also found glioblastoma cells treated in a petri dish with KLK6 become resistant to radiation and chemotherapy treatment.
"Our results show that KLK6 functions like a hormone, activating a signaling cascade within the cell that promotes tumor cell survival," Dr. Scarisbrick says. "The higher the level of the enzyme, the more resistant the tumors are to conventional therapies."
The study is the latest step in Dr. Scarisbrick's investigations of KLK6 in nervous system cells known as astrocytes. Glioblastomas arise from astrocytes that have grown out of control. Her lab has shown that KLK6 also plays a role in the perseverance of inflammatory immune cells that occur in multiple sclerosis and in aberrant survival of T-lymphocyte leukemia cell lines.
"Our findings in glioma affirm KLK6 as part of a fundamental physiological mechanism that's relevant to multiple diseases and have important implications for understanding principles of tissue regeneration," she says. "Targeting KLK6 signaling may be a key to the development of treatments for pathologies in which it is necessary to intervene to regulate cell survival and tissue regeneration in a therapeutic fashion. Ultimately, we might be able to harness the power of KLK6 for the repair of damaged organs."
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The “Garden of Manitoba” is the term that has often been used to describe the region between the Souris River and the Turtle Mountains in which Boissevain and Morton municipality are located. Eons ago, as the Lake Souris glacier retreated northward it left behind a sand loam which is well suited to dry land type farming.
Sometime in the late 1500s, long after the glacier had receded, the first inhabitants of the area were the Assiniboine First Nation tribe. Their habitation has been documented by the many artifacts discovered in this area in recent years. The first white explorers arrived in 1738 and Alexander Henry (1806). The arrival of these explorers ultimately led to the further exploration and investigation of this region.
Between 1873 and 1875 the Boundary Commission marked the international boundary. The trail they made was followed by a trickle of settlers coming west from Ontario who were looking for good land, good water and wood. In 1881 the first of several parties from Britain arrived in the area, not waiting for the railroad which was slowly extended to Boissevain by 1885.
Originally called Cherry Creek, the name was changed in 1889 to Boissevain in honour of the Dutch financier Adolphe Boissevain whose banking firm introduced CPR shares for sale in Europe to increase the speed of the building of the railway. The motto on the Boissevain family crest now adopted by the town reads “No fear of the future nor regrets of the past”. Boissevain was incorparted as a town in 1906.
The rural area around Boissevain is called Morton Municipality. It took its name from an early settler, George Morton. He was an energetic entrepreneur who built a store and grain warehouse in the area, which were only two of his many business ventures. | <urn:uuid:7e7d082a-c7af-473c-8902-e2ea7523ad5d> | {
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Quiz: First Marking Period (through page 14)
|Name: _____________________________||Period: ___________________________|
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
Directions: Circle the correct answer.
1. Why does Melinda buy her lunch on her first day of school?
a) She has plenty of money.
b) So she can first see what is fashionable in what one brings for lunch.
c) Because she wants to stand in line next to a boy.
d) Her mother had not gone to the grocery store the day before.
2. How does Melinda get her potatoes and gravy on her blouse?
a) A basketball player bumps into her.
b) She trips on a girl's backpack.
c) The person next to her in line flips her plate onto her.
d) She trips over a blind boy's cane.
3. To what does the art teacher welcome...
This section contains 364 words|
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The history of the British Isles and its inhabitants, both human and canine, has long been entwined. Breed reveals the enduring and affectionate relationship between the British people and their dogs and explores the very beginnings of pedigree dog breeding in Britain.
This is a "self delivery" pack which has been designed specifically for National Science and Engineering Week 2013. The science behind fingeprints is well known! What is not so well known is the link between fingerprints and footprints. Right Angle Events have launched a new education pack called ‘Toes for Turf’ comprising at least 4 hours of fun teaching material linked to Key Stage 1-4 Mathematics.
We have designed a fantastic scheme especially for National Science & Engineering Week called "Toes For Turf". The science behind fingerprints is well known. What is not so well known is the science behind footprints or "feet prints". This activity enables students to take, classify and "lift" both fingerprints and foot prints. As the research on footprints is meagre, this scheme will allow students to make some discoveries about the correlation or otherwise between fingerprints and feet prints. | <urn:uuid:df6e1d50-b78b-4a68-9be7-24065dc94b27> | {
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An Outline for the Research of Specific Archaeological Sites
Formulated by Professor Martha Sharp Joukowsky
Center for Old World Archaeology and Art
This is a guide that students in Professor Joukowsky's classes use when completing site abstract-term papers.
Site Abstract-Term Paper
Select a site or wait for the site lottery and research it using the original excavation report(s), and write a site abstract-term paper that includes a paragraph on each section below represented with capital letters (these should provide you with a guide for the logical development of the report). This is to be a typewritten paper; the body is to be 4-9 pages in length. The "Harvard system" of in-text references is to be used, i.e., "Joukowsky (196245) states that there was ..."; footnotes are to be descriptive.
The purpose of this research is to allow you to choose a specific site of interest and explore it in depth, using original archaeological site reports as part of your analysis. Be sure you cover the earliest report on the site, the most important work on it, and the latest book or article on it. An indispensable technique in archaeology is to be able to analyze sometimes verbose and confused reports, to extract the facts and to be able to organize them succinctly. Write up the results of your research using the form below as a guide. If you have any questions call Martha Joukowsky
- Site name and location
- Name of country, nearest modern township and local name of the site
- Environmental description
- Historical background
- Discovery (who discovered the site and when)
- Excavation aims and purposes
- Reasons for excavation - goals of the project
- Statement of archaeological problems resolved through excavation
- Sponsoring institution(s) and name of the director(s)
- Dates when work was carried out
- Area and extent of work
- Specialist studies and analysis
- Artifact Studies
- What was found (synopsis of strata)
- Summary and synthesis of stratified cultural levels and assemblages; occupation levels and/or structures that relate to each; dates and periods of cultural levels, if possible. Mention how the dating of various levels was confirmed.
- Artifact range and variations
- Interpretation and conclusions
- Cultural connections with other sites (parallels with similar or dissimilar cultures). What does the site bring to our knowledge of the area?
- Cultural context and ideas the site represents, i.e., your subjective analysis of the remains--this is to give the site its meaning!
- Bibliography--An annotated bibliography is to be included; it should list the books and articles you have read with a brief comment on each, such as, "up-to-date article but terrible pictures." Thus the bibliography should include the list of works you found useful with a critical comment about each.
- Illustrations--The paper is to be amply illustrated with photocopies or your own original works. Don't forget to cross-reference the illustrations with the text. The sources for illustrations should be given on either the illustration itself, or in a listing. The selection of meaningful illustrations is important. | <urn:uuid:846916da-d7a6-46cd-9cd7-bfa4d18a9783> | {
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The incorrect use of vapor barriers is a serious issue in building design and construction. A vapor barrier is a Class I vapor control layer; it prevents the migration of water vapor past the point of its placement in an assembly. This can stop assemblies from getting wet (water vapor can’t get in past the vapor barrier), but it can also stop assemblies from drying (water vapor can’t get out past the vapor barrier).
The articles in this section discuss where and how to use vapor barriers effectively. Specific topics include the distinction between air barriers and vapor barriers, the critical importance of climate in wall design, and the different classes of vapor control layers in the International Building Code. | <urn:uuid:d8c5a1a6-a7f9-4335-a042-fc39906e617c> | {
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WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens.
The regulations are aimed at reducing the estimated 3,000 deaths a year from foodborne illness. Just since last summer, outbreaks of listeria in cheese and salmonella in peanut butter, mangoes and cantaloupe have been linked to more than 400 illnesses and as many as seven deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The actual number of those sickened is likely much higher.
The FDA’s proposed rules would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination, to include making sure workers’ hands are washed, irrigation water is clean, and that animals stay out of fields. Food manufacturers will have to submit food safety plans to the government to show they are keeping their operations clean.
Many responsible food companies and farmers are already following the steps that the FDA would now require them to take. But officials say the requirements could have saved lives and prevented illnesses in several of the large-scale outbreaks that have hit the country in recent years. | <urn:uuid:efc2bb2e-1e9d-4d67-8b12-d704561c14ca> | {
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The Federal Civil Service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
during the 1800's
May 4, 2005:
Beginning in 1867, with Confederation, a large number of civil servants arrived
in Ottawa from each of the new provinces.
In the early days government was small. The largest departments reflected the
priorities of the day -- Agriculture, Post Office, Customs and Excise.
Archibald Lampman, poet, worked in the Post Office Department.
There was an early Department of Finance (1867) but it was only involved in accounting
functions. There were no economists until the 1920's. The federal Income Tax was instituted
in 1917 as only a temporary measure. They'll probably be abolishing it soon.
When I first started working in the Department of Finance (for 30+ years), we
were located in the Confederation Building. Prior to that time, the building housed
the Department of Agriculture.
The Post Office Building was located at Confederation Square, across from the East
Photo Source: James Ballantyne collection, Library and Archives Canada
View across Rideau Canal locks to Sappers Bridge and Ottawa Post Office, 1903
Reference Number: PA-133655 (copy negative number)
The railway tracks shown in the photo are located between the locks and the Chateau
Laurier Hotel. I believe that it was built by J.R. Booth. It crossed the Ottawa River
and ran as far north as Maniwaki, Quebec.
May 8, 2005:
Geological Survey of Canada
Charles Smith would like to contact Francis McDermott who is a descendant of
Michael McDermott who was an early surveyor in the Bytown area.
The reason for my interest is that I have transcribed the 1845 Ottawa River Journal of Sir
William E. Logan, founder of the Geological Survey of Canada. Logan spent several days in
Bytown, and he refers to Michael McDermott, the provincial land surveyor in Bytown.
Perhaps Francis McDermott has an interest in these (limited!) comments.
No, Logan did not come to Ottawa at the time of Confederation. He lived in Montreal. In
1845, the Geological Survey (GSC) was based there. The capital of Canada was then in
Kingston. The Geological Survey moved to Ottawa in 1881, and it was located at the
corner of Sussex Drive and George Street. A Historic Sites and Monument plaque now
marks the site. The GSC moved to the Victoria Museum building in 1910. The GSC moved
to Booth Street in 1959, where it is now located. To jog your memory, Mount Logan in
the Yukon was later named after him.
Perhaps you remember the recent fuss about changing the name of Mount Logan to Mount Pierre
Thank you again.
July 20, 2005:
E-mail [email protected] (new e-mail address ... Al)
April 23, 2006:
Alexander Jeffrey Cambie and his wife Elizabeth Poston came from Quebec City. He
worked in the Department of Agriculture and was a member of the Civil Service Masonic Lodge (see link below, dated July 1, 2009).
January 29, 2008:
Denise Dufour is researching her grandfather, Georges Blanchard, who worked at
L’Imprimerie d’Ottawa, c. 1930. Printing services for the federal government have
been a combination of contracting out and in-house printing since Confederation.
I remember hearing a lot about "PP and S" around the kitchen table in the 1950's.
"PP and S" stood for "Public Printing and Stationery" as the printing agency was then
July 1, 2009:
I am the secretary of Civil Service Masonic Lodge in Ottawa and I have been researching our
The first meeting of Civil Service Lodge in Ottawa was held on November 14, 1865. Originally,
all members of our lodge were required to be civil servants, thus the origin of our name.
A history of our Lodge can be found at http://www.civilservicelodge.ca under Lodge History/Renowned Members.
Here is an excerpt of names of Worshipful Masters of the Civil Service Lodge, between 1861 and 1900,
as posted on our web site:
Civil Service Lodge No. 148 AF&AM
Names for search engine: Rowan, Hayden, Spink, Munro, Remon, Cambie, McLean, Walsh, Blyth, Coutlee,
Rogers, Cassels, Maingy, Campbell, Boardman, Blair, Roper, Macdonnell, Saunders, Harris,
Learoyd, Scott, Garrett.
January 15, 2010:
The Federal Government property known as the Experimental Farm, forms a major part of the Greenbelt which
surrounds the City of Ottawa.
Photo Source: Our Times, A Pictorial Memoir of Ottawa, page 105
August 10, 2010:
Photo Source: National Capital Region Heritage, page 138
The Langevin Block, Wellington Street and Elgin Street
designed by Thomas Fuller
For many decades, this building housed the Department of External Affairs
October 12, 2012:
If you are researching ancestors who were in the Ottawa area in the early part of the twentieth century, you
may find their names, date of birth, salary, Department and Branch in the Civil Service List of Canada.
These hard-cover volumes are available at the Library of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society:
Here are the entries from their catalogue today:
View 971 CSL 1917 Civil Service List 1917
View 971 CSL 1918 Civil Service List 1918 Liste Du Service Civil
View 971 CSL 1912 The Civil Service List of Canada, 1912
View 971 CSL 1913 The Civil Service List of Canada, 1913
View 971 CSL 1915 The Civil Service List of Canada, 1915
Search their catalogue for much more local history material.
E-mail Al Lewis
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June 01, 2008
The Heart of Fathering
By Steve Dennis
(LDS Life, June 2008)
The idea for a special day to honor fathers began in Spokane, Washington in 1909 as Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a Mother's Day sermon. Having been raised by her father, after her mother died, Sonora wanted to acknowledge his selfless sacrifice and courage. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in 1910. The observance of Father's Day grew and in1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June.
Nearly a century later, fatherhood has become both something to celebrate and a significant social concern. Today more than perhaps at any other time in history there are many absent fathers. Nearly one third of children in United States are born to an unwed mother where often there is little commitment or involvement on the part of the father. Research has shown that fatherless children are more likely to drop out of high school, run away from home, abuse alcohol and other drugs, become pregnant as teens, and engage in delinquency and crime. Furthermore, the rates of poverty are significantly higher for single-parent families-- most of which are headed by mothers.
While there are more absent fathers than ever before, there are also many nurturing and involved fathers. The rise in dual earner families and the loosening of gender roles have made fathering a hands-on activity that requires more than economic support and distant parenting. Protecting, feeding, playing, reading, comforting, bathing, clothing, correcting, empathizing, teaching, loving and supporting may all be part of family life for the involved dad. In fact, some may wonder if gender roles have become so blurred or similar that the distinct contributions of mothers and fathers have been diminished. In some settings, even the terms "mother" and "father" have fallen into disfavor because they are said to perpetuate gender discrimination. "Parent" is often the preferred term. Still, The Family: A Proclamation to the World makes it clear that "gender is an essential characteristic of individual, premortal, mortal, and eternal identify and purpose." It further states, "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. And these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obliged to help one another as equal partners."
While some of the gender differences between males and females are certainly cultural constructions others are divine and part of God's great plan. Children benefit from the complementary roles of mothers and fathers. Each makes unique contributions. Research indicates fathers contribute significantly to a child's school achievement, identity formation, self-esteem, and development of appropriate limits and boundaries. Of course, for a variety of reasons, a father or mother may not be present. In such circumstances, we simply do our best to surround our children with positive and caring role models and trust in the Lord.
Being a father is both a joyful and solemn responsibility that extends into eternity. It requires sacrifice and service. It results in heartache and happiness. But with an open heart and practice we can improve. Here are seven ways to be a better dad.
- Nurture the relationship with your wife. It will have payoffs for your children. The apostle Paul wrote, "husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church" (Ephesians 5:25). Research indicates that fathers who feel good about the relationship with their wife are more involved with their children. During times of martial stress, fathers tend to withdraw from their children.
- Protect your children. Children need protection from physical hazards and natural disasters, and more. Moral dangers abound on the Internet, television and throughout our society. Parents must be vigilant. Start by keeping your computer and television out of private spaces such as bedrooms. Like Captain Moroni, we must protect ours homes from the enemies of the family. His preparation included, "heaps of earth" "high timbers", and "watch towers". In an electronic age, our preparations and watchfulness will be different, but must be every bit as diligent.
- Provide for your children. This includes economic sustenance, but also much more. Provide emotional support. Provide opportunities for growth and learning. Provide occasions of excitement and energy, but also times of peace and solace. Give liberally of your time. Elder Neal A. Maxwell has said, "The vital transfer of spiritual power and responsibility to the rising generation seldom occurs when fathers are too busy for such blessings..." (Ensign, 1985,8).
- Be intentional in the creation of family routines and traditions. Routines and traditions develop unity, create expectations, and convey values. The stability and predictability they provide help children internalize values, develop self-confidence, and behave appropriately. Family Home Evening, scripture study, daily prayer, bedtime routines, reading together, playing together, vacations, dinnertime discussions, family councils, family walks or bike rides, gardening and on and on can all become regular routines or treasured traditions.
- Preside with love and compassion. As the spiritual leader in the home, call your family together for prayer, initiate family scripture reading, personal interviews, or family councils. Be anxiously engaged in the governance of your home and family, but never domineering. Preside in council and full partnership with your wife and create ample opportunities for choice among all family members. Providing children with choices helps them develop personal responsibility and commitment. Coercion or forceful approaches may result in compliance, but rarely cultivate the change of heart necessary for children internalize behavior and develop a love of truth and respect for parents.
- Participate actively in the breadth and depth of parenting. Play with your children, but do more. Learn about the development of children in general and your child in particular. Brigham Young advised parents to "study their [children's] dispositions and their temperaments, and deal with them accordingly" (JD 19:221). Prepare yourself and take part in the full range of parenting responsibilities. Elder M. Russell Ballard counseled, "On a day-to-day basis, fathers can and should help with the essential nurturing and bonding associated with feeding, playing, storytelling, loving, and all the rest of the activities that make up family life." (BYU Devotional, 19 August 2003)
- Teach and discipline with encouragement and tenderness. Fathering is more than entertaining or having fun with our children. Elder Dallin H. Oaks warned, "I believe many of us are overnourished on the entertainment junk food and undernourished on the bread of life." (Ensign, May 2001, 82). Fathers must actively teach children life skills, gospel principles, and secular knowledge. Enos recorded of his father that, "he was a just man-for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." He obviously respected the words of his father for he further wrote "I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart." (See Enos 1:1-3). Likewise, Lehi set high expectations and encouraged his sons even when they murmured against him. To Lamam he said, "O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!" And to Lemuel he encouraged, "be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!" (See 1 Nephi 2: 9-10). Though our efforts may not be immediate, teaching with tenderness and love is never in vain.
Fathers, view your awesome responsibility with a long term lens. In a very real sense we are not only parenting our children, but we are setting the foundation for generations to come. Each of our lives have been shaped by individuals long deceased. So too are we establishing the patterns of living that will influence our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to come. President Gordon B. Hinckley reminded us, "All that you have of body and mind will be transmitted through you to the generations yet to come, and it is so important, so everlastingly important, my brothers and sisters, that you do not become a weak link in that chain of your generations." (Regional conference, Oahu, Hawaii, 23 January 2000.) May the hearts of the fathers be turned to their children so in time the hearts of the children may be turned to God.
Steve Dennis is a member of the faculty in the Department of Home and Family at Brigham Young University - Idaho | <urn:uuid:f28139c8-a56d-4622-b775-d8f6dc753024> | {
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Madagascar is a truly unique place. As an island off the south-east coast of Africa, it has maintained a unique eco-system and habitat for wildlife – the most famous of which are the Lemurs. Its people come from southern Asia and from mainland Africa. This vibrant mix has produced colourful arts and handicrafts.
The island suffers periodic natural disasters through regular cyclones and now faces political turmoil. Through all this, the ordinary people of the island have to struggle to maintain a livelihood in one of the world’s poorest countries. They do this by using what natural resources are available – including fibre from the giant Palm Trees. The Raffia is the largest of the Palm trees, and has giant leaves from which the strong fibre is made.
We are working with a number of enterprises – supported by the European Union – that are involved in reforestation and the promotion of the local economy and protection of the habitat of wildlife. Local co-operatives hand-weave the fibre and create these colourful Summer Bags. | <urn:uuid:ac9d124d-f301-42dd-8f76-6295d7c5064f> | {
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We have seen that the grand disparity that was believed to exist between the way Nature works here on earth and in the heavens is not valid. The question remains, however, can we learn everything we need to know by investigating phenomena here on earth and extending that result to the Universe at large?
The answer must be no for the following reasons:
1) Who would have thought to look for a law of Universal gravitation without the precise measurements and detailed analysis of Brahe and Kepler? Cavendish's laboratory measurement of G was done in response to interpret results obtained for the solar system.
2) Even if someone would have used the Cavendish apparatus to map out the gravitational force between two bodies, independently of knowing Kepler's results, would we be able to infer a complete understanding of celestial motion?
No. We know Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation is
For example, there are certain aspects of Mercury's motion that can not be explained using the Newtonian form. The correct explanation of Mercury's orbital motion requires General Relativity. In fact, General Relativity predicts that the path of a beam of light will be bent in a gravitational field. This effect is too feeble to see in a lab on earth. It was first observed by starlight being bent near the disk of the sun in a solar eclipse.
3) If we consider then the solar system to be our laboratory, is that a big enough laboratory to establish all that could be known?
The answer to this must be no too. In the 20th century,
since Zwicky in the 1930's,
it is known that either the gravitational force deviates from Newtonian gravity at large distances, or that there is substantial dark matter in and between galaxies. The density of dark matter is so low that it has an imperceptible effect on small scale motions, like that in the solar system. The data seem to favor the existence of some very large amount of unknown, maybe even exotic ( Is this the new celestial matter ?) type of matter.
4) Is the galaxy large enough as a laboratory to pin down all the Laws of Nature?
This seems to require a negative answer as well. There are structures that encompass groups of galaxies, and the non isotropy of the cosmic background radiation is a pattern on an extremely large scale. We have also seen that the luminosity vs distance plot for supernovae (SNe1A) suggest that the universe is accelerating in its expansion. This was the discussion about "dark energy" or the cosmological constant. This effect is not seen until we look out to red shifts > 1, or about 6 billion light years.
Sometimes features of the world are not visible unless
we look on the large scale.
In fact, the most recent analysis from WMAP, using the angular spot size of the CMBR temperature fluctuations, fits a flat space scenario. Hence, ignoring local gravitational distortions of space-time the sum of angles in a triangle that covers most of the universe is 180 degrees!
5) If we could include the entire universe in our laboratory, would we have enough data to explain it all? | <urn:uuid:f9420df7-da98-4a38-b73a-49b3f5de5570> | {
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1. Because an understanding of the biosphere requires scientific analysis of biological and physical processes, graduates will demonstrate:
a. An understanding of the basic principles of biology, chemistry and the earth sciences.
b. An ability to evaluate and interpret scientific data.
c. A working knowledge of fundamental laboratory techniques.
2.Because sustainable human activities require an integration of scientific, economic, and social information, graduates will demonstrate:
a. An understanding of basic political processes at the local, national and global levels.
b. An evolving knowledge of sustainable economic practices.
c. An ability to integrate and communicate science and social science data with integrity and reason.
3. Because solutions to environmental challenges must incorporate human values and a deep respect for social equity, graduates will be able to articulate common rights and the dignity shared by all humanity.
4. Because environmental challenges do not acknowledge political or cultural boundaries, graduates will be able to recognize the major physical and cultural gradients around the globe.
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| American seismologist
in Hamilton, Ohio, Richter was educated at the University of Southern
California, Stanford, and the California Institute of Technology, where
he obtained his PhD in 1928. He worked for the Carnegie Institute (1927-36)
before being appointed to the staff of the California Institute of Technology.
He became professor of seismology there in 1952.
developed his scale to measure the strength of earthquakes in 1935.
Earlier scales had been developed by de Rossi in the 1880s and by Giuseppe Mercalli in 1902 but both used a descriptive scale defined in terms
of damage to buildings and the behavior and response of the population.
This restricted their use to the measurement of earthquakes in populated
areas and made the scales relative to the type of building techniques
and materials used.
scale is an absolute one, based on the amplitude of the waves produced
by the earthquake. He defined the magnitude of an earthquake as the
logarithm to the base 10 of the maximum amplitude of the waves, measured
in microns. This means that waves whose amplitudes differ by a factor
of 100 will differ by 2 points on the Richter scale. With Beno Gutenberg
he tried to convert the points on his scale into energy released. In
1956 they showed that magnitude 0 corresponds to about 1011 ergs (104
joules), while magnitude 9 equals 1024 ergs (1017 joules). A one unit
increase will mean about 30 times more energy being released. The strongest
earthquake so far recorded had a Richter-scale value of 8.6. In 1954
Richter and Gutenberg produced one of the basic textbooks on seismology,
Seismicity of the Earth. | <urn:uuid:9c93f2ab-ea18-4d47-b34e-b72b8adc5586> | {
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Are the Gospels Myth?CARL OLSON
So, are the four Gospels "myth"? Can they be trusted as historical records?
There are no firsthand testimonies to Caesar's having crossed the Rubicon (wherever it was). Caesar himself makes no mention in his memoirs of crossing any river. Four historians belonging to the next two or three generations do mention a Rubicon River, and claim that Caesar crossed it. They are: Velleius Paterculus (c.19 B.C. – c.A.D. 30); Plutarch (c.A.D. 46-120); Suetonius (75-160); and Appian (second century). All of these evidently depended on the one published eyewitness account, that of Asinius Pollio (76 B.C.-c. A.D. 4) which account has disappeared without a trace. No manuscript copies for any of these secondary sources is to be found earlier than several hundred years after their composition. (The Evangelical Quarterly 58, 319-336)
Merkley observed that those skeptics who either scoff at the historical reliability of the Gospels or reject them outright as "myth" do so without much, if any, regard for the nature of history in general and the contents of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in particular.
So, are the four Gospels "myth"? Can they be trusted as historical records? If Christianity is about "having faith," do such questions really matter? The latter question is, I hope, easy to answer: Yes, it obviously matters very much if the narratives and discourses recorded by the four evangelists are about real people and historical events. Pope Benedict XVI, in his book Jesus of Nazareth, offers this succinct explanation:
For it is of the very essence of biblical faith to be about real historical events. It does not tell stories symbolizing suprahistorical truths, but is based on history, history that took place here on this earth. The factum historum (historical fact) is not an interchangeable symbolic cipher for biblical faith, but the foundation on which it stands: Et incarnates est — when we say these words, we acknowledge God's actual entry into real history. (Jesus of Nazareth, xv)
Christianity, more than any other religion, is rooted in history and makes strong — even shocking — claims about historical events, most notably that God became man and dwelt among us. Of course, some Christians of a less-than-orthodox persuasion are content to discard large chunks of the Gospels as unnecessary (or even "offensive") or to interpret as "mythological" or "metaphorical" nearly each and every event and belief described therein. But such is not the belief of the Catholic Church (or of the Eastern Orthodox churches and most conservative Protestants). As the Catechism of the Catholic Church flatly states: "Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith" (CCC 463).
It is, ultimately, this distinctive sign — the conviction that Jesus of Nazareth was and is truly God and man — that is the focal point of attacks on the historical credibility of the Gospels and the New Testament. Over the past few centuries many historians and theologians have sought to uncover the "historical Jesus" and to peel away the many layers of what they believed were legend and theological accretion. Many abandoned hope that any historical (never mind theological) fact could be extracted from the Gospels.
There were many complex reasons for this state of affairs, one of them being the Enlightenment-era doctrine that purely scientific, objective history could not only be found, but was necessary. Empirical data became for many scholars — men such as Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Rene Descartes — the key to all scholarship, including the study of history. It became the accepted wisdom that supernatural or miraculous elements could not be considered scientific and truly historical and that they had to be rejected. Anything outside the realm of empirical data was liable to be labeled "myth" and "legend."
Fast-forward to our day. The results of this approach are all around us, both in the scholarly and popular realm. Not long ago, a young filmmaker named Brian Flemming produced a documentary titled The God Who Wasn't There. Its purpose, he explained in an interview, is to demonstrate that the "biblical Jesus" is a myth. Asked to summarize the evidence for this stance, Flemming explained:
It's more a matter of demonstrating a positive than a negative, and the positive is that early Christians appeared not to have believed in a historical Jesus. If the very first Christians appear to believe in a mythical Christ, and only later did "historical" details get added bit by bit, that is not consistent with the real man actually existing . . . I would say that he is a myth in the same way that many other characters people believed actually existed. Like William Tell is most likely a myth, according to many folklorists and many historians. Of course, [Jesus] is a very important myth. I think that he was invented a long time ago, and those stories have been passed on as if they are true. (David Ian Miller, "Finding My Religion," www.sfgate.com)
Here "myth" is synonymous with "fiction" or even "falsehood," reflecting the Enlightenment-era bias against anything bearing even trace amounts of the supernatural. "All I'm saying," remarked Flemming, "is that [Jesus] doesn't exist, and it would be a healthy thing for Christians to look at the Bible as a work of fiction from which they can take inspiration rather than, you know, the authoritative word of God."
Thus the Gospels, according to skeptics such as Flemming, are compilations of "nice stories" or "silly tales," just like stories about unicorns and the Easter Bunny. Some skeptics mock Christians for holding fearfully onto childish tales while the truly mature people (self-described by some as "brights") go about the business of making the world a better place. "Meanwhile, we should devote as much time to studying serious theology," stated well-known atheist Richard Dawkins in column in The Independent (Dec. 23, 1998), "as we devote to studying serious fairies and serious unicorns." Fellow God-basher Daniel Dennett, in his book Darwin's Dangerous Idea, wrote,
The kindly God who lovingly fashioned each and every one of us and sprinkled the sky with shining stars for our delight — that God is, like Santa Claus, a myth of childhood, not anything [that] a sane, undeluded adult could literally believe in. That God must either be turned into a symbol for something less concrete or abandoned altogether. (18)
Such rhetoric rests both on the assumption that the Gospels are fanciful myth and that the authors of the New Testament (and their readers) were clueless about the difference between historical events and fictional stories. There is an overbearing sense of chronological snobbery at work: We are smarter than people who lived 2,000 years ago. Yet the Second Epistle of Peter demonstrates a clear understanding of the difference between myth and verified historical events: "For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Pet. 1:16). The opening verses of Luke's Gospel indicate that the author undertook the task of writing about real people and events:
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. (Luke 1:1-4)
And the fourth Gospel concludes with similar remarks:
This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things which Jesus did: were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:24-25)
These quotations do not, of course, prove the historicity of the New Testament. Rather, they suggest that the authors, far from being knuckle-dragging simpletons, set about to write works depicting real people and events — especially since they believed the narratives they recounted had meaning only if they really did occur. As such, their historical content should be judged not against tales of unicorns and Easter bunnies, but against other first-century works of history and historical narrative.
The word gospel comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning "good news" and refers to the message of Christian belief in the person of Jesus Christ. There has been much scholarly debate about the genre of "gospel" and how it might relate to other forms of writings found in first-century Palestine and the larger ancient world. Obviously, they do contain biographical details, and some scholars have argued in recent years that the gospels are as biographical in nature as anything in the ancient Greco-Roman world.
"The majority of recent specialized studies," writes Evangelical biblical scholar Craig L. Blomberg in Making Sense of the New Testament, "has recognized that the closest parallels are found among the comparatively trustworthy histories and biographies of writers like the Jewish historian Josephus, and the Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides" (28). In his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Catholic theologian and biblical scholar Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis writes:
We must conclude, then, that the genre of the Gospel is not that of pure "history"; but neither is it that of myth, fairy tale, or legend. In fact, evangelion constitutes a genre all its own, a surprising novelty in the literature of the ancient world. Matthew does not seek to be "objective" in a scientific or legal sense. He is writing as one whose life has been drastically changed by the encounter with Jesus of Nazareth. Hence, he is proposing to his listeners an objective reality of history, but offered as kerygma, that is, as a proclamation that bears personal witness to the radical difference that reality has already made in his life. (Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word, Vol. II: Meditations on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, 44)
Many early Christian authors, such as Justin Martyr, referred to the Gospels as memoirs of the apostles. Blomberg has used the descriptive "theological biographies," which captures well the supernatural and human elements found within them.
Those supernatural elements — especially the miracles of Jesus and his claims to divinity — are, as we've noted, why skeptics call the Gospels "myth" while remaining unruffled about anything written about Julius Caesar and the Rubicon by Velleius Paterculus, Plutarch, Suetonius, and Appian. Yes, Suetonius did write in his account (Lives of the Twelve Caesars) about "an apparition of superhuman size and beauty . . . sitting on the river bank, playing a reed pipe" who persuaded Caesar to cross the river, but it has not seemed to undermine the belief that Caesar did indeed cross the Rubicon on January 11, 49 B.C. But, for the sake of argument, let's set aside the theological claims found in the New Testament and take a brief look at the sort of data a historian might examine in gauging the reliability and accuracy of an ancient manuscript.
First, there is the sheer number of ancient copies of the New Testament. There are close to 5,700 full or partial Greek New Testament manuscripts in existence. Most of these date from between the second to 16th century, with the oldest, known as Papyrus 52 (which contains John 18), dating from around A.D. 100-150. By comparison, the average work by a classical author — such as Tacitus (c. A.D. 56-c. 120), Pliny the Younger (A.D. 61-113), Livy (59 B.C.-A.D. 17), and Thucydides (460-395 B.C.) — has about 20 extant manuscripts, the earliest copy usually several centuries newer than the original. For example, the earliest copy of works by the prominent Roman historian Suetonius (A.D. 75-130) date to A.D. 950 — over 800 years after the original manuscripts had been written.
In addition to the thousands of Greek manuscripts, there are an additional 10,000 Latin manuscripts, and thousands of additional manuscripts in Syriac, Aramaic, and Coptic, for a total of about 24,000 full or partial manuscripts of the New Testament. And then there are the estimated one million quotes from the New Testament in the writings of the Church Fathers (A.D. 150-1300). Obviously, the more manuscripts that are available, the better scholars are able to assess accurately what the original manuscripts contained and to correct errors that may exist in various copies.
Closely related is the matter of dating. While debate continues as to the exact dating of the Gospels, few biblical scholars believe that any of the four works were written after the end of the first century. "Liberal New Testament scholars today," writes Blomberg, "tend to put Mark a few years one side or the other of A.D. 70, Matthew and Luke — Acts sometime in the 80s, and John in the 90s" (Making Sense of the New Testament, 25). Meanwhile, many conservative scholars date the synoptic Gospels (and Acts) in the 60s and John in the 90s. That means, simply, that there exist four accounts of key events in Jesus' life written within 30 to 60 years after his Crucifixion — and this within a culture that placed a strong emphasis on the role and place of an accurate oral tradition. Anyone who denies that Jesus existed or who claims that the Gospels are filled with historical errors or fabrications will, in good conscience, have to explain why they don't make the same assessment about the historical works of Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, Julius Caesar, Livy, Josephus, Tacitus, and other classical authors.
Secondly, historical details are found in the Gospels and the other books of the New Testament. These include numerous mentions of secular rulers and leaders (Caesar Augustus, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Felix, Archelaus, Agrippa, Gallio), as well as Jewish leaders (Caiaphas, Ananias) — the sort of names unlikely to be used inaccurately or even to show up in a "myth." Anglican scholar Paul Barnett, in Is The New Testament Reliable?, provides several pages' worth of intersections between biblical and non-biblical sources regarding historical events and persons. "Christian sources contribute, on an equal footing with non-Christian sources," he observes, "pieces of information that form part of the fabric of known history. In matters of historical detail, the Christian writers are as valuable to the historian as the non-Christian" (167).
Then there are the specifically Jewish details, including references to and descriptions of festivals, religious traditions, farming and fishing equipment, buildings, trades, social structures, and religious hierarchies. As numerous books and articles have shown in recent decades, the beliefs and ideas found in the Gospels accurately reflect a first-century Jewish context. All of this is important in responding to the claim that the Gospels were written by authors who used Greek and Egyptian myths to create a supernatural man-god out of the faint outline of a lowly Jewish carpenter.
Various modern archeological discoveries have validated specific details found in the Gospels:
Numerous other finds continue to demolish the notion that the Gospels are mythologies filled with fictional names and events.
Third, there are extra-biblical, ancient references to Jesus and early Christianity. Although the number of non-Christian Roman writings from the first half of the first century is quite small (just a few volumes), there are a couple of significant references.
Writing to the Emperor Trajan around A.D. 112, Pliny the Younger reported on the trials of certain Christians arrested by the Romans. He noted that those who are "really Christians" would never curse Christ:
They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. (Letters, Book 10, Letter 96)
The historian Tacitus, in his Annals — considered by historians to be one the finest works of ancient Roman history mentioned how the Emperor Nero, following the fire in Rome in A.D. 64, persecuted Christians in order to draw attention away from himself. The passage is noteworthy as an unfriendly source because although Tacitus thought Nero was appalling, he also despised the foreign and, to him, superstitious religion of Christianity:
Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. (Annals, 15:44)
Robert E. Van Voorst, author of Jesus Outside the New Testament, offers a detailed analysis of scholarly controversies about this passage, and then states, "Of all the Roman authors, Tacitus gives us the most precise information about Christ" (45). This includes Tacitus's understanding that "Christus" — not Paul or someone else — was the founder of the Christian movement. He notes that Christ was executed under Pilate during the reign of Tiberius, and that Judea was the source of the Christian movement. All of which further confirms the historical reliability of the Gospels.
As Pope Benedict XVI noted in his book on Jesus, there is much that is good about historical-critical and other scientific methods of studying Scripture. But these approaches have limits. "Neither the individual books of Holy Scripture nor the Scripture as a whole are simply a piece of literature" (Jesus of Nazareth, xx).
The Christian apologist should not be embarrassed to admit that he has a certain bias when it comes to reading and understanding the Gospels. He should point out that everyone has biases, and that the skeptic's bias against the supernatural and the miraculous shapes how he reads and understands history, especially the historical data found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Christian, in other words, should have no problem with an honest historical examination of the Gospels. But why do so many skeptics shy away from a candid examination of their philosophical biases? That is the question apologists should pose and demand (politely, of course) to be answered.
Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels by Craig A. Evans
The Gospels and the Jesus of History by Xavier Leon-Dufour, S.J.
"The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church," Pontifical Biblical Commission (March 18,1994; available online at www.ewtn.com)
Is the New Testament Reliable? by Paul Barnett
The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition by Paul Rhodes Eddy and Gregory A. Boyd
Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI
Making Sense of the New Testament: Three Crucial Questions by Craig L. Blomberg
Reinventing Jesus: How Contemporary Skeptics Miss the Real Jesus and Mislead Popular Culture by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel B. Wallace
Carl E. Olson. "Are the Gospels Myth?" This Rock vol. 19 no. 3 (March, 2008).
This article is reprinted with permission from Catholic Answers Magazine and the author, Carl E. Olson.
Subscribe to Catholic Answers Magazine here.
This Rock magazine is now Catholic Answers Magazine.THE AUTHORS
Copyright © 2008 Catholic Answers Magazine
Not all articles published on CERC are the objects of official Church teaching, but these are supplied to provide supplementary information. | <urn:uuid:7c192095-fb9a-4faf-9107-e1caf321cb56> | {
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This lecture is about ways of looking at DNA sequences in complete genomes and chromosomes, in terms of symmetry elements. There are two parts to this talk. In Part 1, I will discuss the fact that we simply have "Too Much Information" becoming available, and the problem will only get worse in the near future. There are ways of cataloging and organising the data, of course. I have found that the true diversity of genome sizes in Nature is often neglected, so we'll talk for a few minutes about the "C-value paradox", along with some possible ideas for WHY certain organisms have so much DNA.
I would like to think that one way of dealing with the explosion of sequence information, in terms of DNA sequences, is to think about it in biological terms, in particular in physical-chemical terms of structure and function of symmetry elements. For example, there are specific DNA sequences which "code" for a telomere, and different DNA sequences which are specific for centromeres. Specific DNA sequences, their structures, and biological functions will be discussed.
In Part 2, I will introduce "DNA Atlases", first having a look at base composition throughout sequenced chromosomes, and then looking at gene expression throughout the whole genome.
I have also made separate file, containing specific LEARNING OBJECTIVES for this lecture, as well as a "self-test quiz", which I recommend having a look at, BEFORE the lecture, if possible. I've incorporated the answers to questions 1 and 2 into PART 1 of the lecture notes.
Brevis esse laboro, Obscuro fio. - Horace
The information in GenBank is doubling every 10 months.
What are the implications of this?
A look at genome sequencing since 1994:
|YEAR||# GENOMES Sequenced|
Although the number of genomes being sequenced is increasing rapidly, one has to this into perspective - the organisms can be placed into four different classes:
|Organism group||Size (bp)||No. sequenced|
|viruses||~300 bp to ~350,000 bp||545|
|prokaryotes||~250,000 to ~15,000,000 bp||>100|
||~12,000,000 to ~600,000,000,000 bp||4|
|multi-celled eukaryotes||~20,000,000 to ~500,000,000,000 bp||3|
|Drosophila species||Genome Size |
(in base pairs)
|D. americana||~300,000,000 bp|
|D. arizonensis||~225,000,000 bp|
|D. eohydei (male)||~234,000,000 bp|
|D. eohydei (female)||~246,000,000 bp|
|D. funebris||~255,000,000 bp|
|D. hydei||~202,000,000 bp|
|D. melanogaster||~180,000,000 bp|
(~138,000,000 bp sequenced)
|D. miranda||~300,000,000 bp|
|D. nasutoides||~800,000,000 bp|
|D. neohydei||~192,000,000 bp|
|D. simulans||~127,500,000 bp|
|D. virilis||~345,000,000 bp|
In summary, the genome sizes of the Drosophila species that have been examined so far range from about 127 million bp to about 800 million bp. But of course at present we SUSPECT that they contain roughly the same number of genes, although it is possible (likely) that they contain duplicated regions (or perhaps even entire chromosomes; there is ample space to have an entire extra copy (or two or more) of the entire genome). In addition, they also contain various types of repeats, known as "selfish DNA".
Why does amoeba have more than 200x as much DNA as humans?
Think about it for a discussion in class. I have a possible explanation, although I'm not sure anyone really knows the answer to this, to be honest.
This brings us to the first question on the quiz:
Answers to the self-test quiz which you are supposed to do BEFORE the lecture:
1. The short answer - a very long time. About 2.4x1012 years.
That's about 160 times longer than the estimated age of the universe!
2. The piece of paper would be quite thick - it would reach outside the earth's
atmosphere and beyond the orbit of the planet Mars.
Today's lecture will cover:
Next Tuesday's lecture will cover:
One way of dealing with the problem of how to display so much sequence information is to have a look at the whole chromosome at once, smoothing over a large window. The entire bacterial chromosome is displayed as a circle, with different colours representing various parameters. First, as an introduction to atlases, we will look at base-composition. Then we will have a look at levels of expression of mRNA and proteins throghout the chromosome. As examples, I will use my very favourite organism, Escherichia coli K-12.
There are several things to notice in this plot. First, the concentration of the bases are not uniformly distributed throughout the genome, but there are "clumps" or clusters where specific bases are a bit more concentrated. Also, the G's (turquoise) clearly are seen to be favoured on one half of the chromosome, whilst the C's (magenta) are on the other strand. This shows up in the "GC-skew" lane as well (2nd circle from the middle). I have labelled the entire terminus region, which ranges from TerE (around 1.08 million bp (Mbp) to TerG (~2.38 Mbp) in Escherichia coli K-12. Finally, several genes corresponding to the darker bands (e.g., more biased nucleotide composition) are labelled.
The same pattern can be seen for the other three Escherichia coli chromosomes which have been sequenced (so far!), as shown in the table below.
Strain: K-12, isolate W3110
DDBJ NCBI tax
Strain: K-12, isolate MG1655
U. Wisconsin TIGR cmr NCBI tax NCBI entrez
Strain: O157:H7 (substrain EDL93)
U. Wisconsin NCBI tax NCBI entrez
Strain: O157:H7 (substrain RIMD 0509952)
Miyazaki, Japan NCBI tax NCBI entrez
||DNA Res. 8:11-22
In addition to showing overall global properties of the chromosome (such as replication origin and terminus), the base composition can also highlight regions different from the rest of the genome. For example, in the plasmid pO157, there are some regions which are much more AT rich (probably these came about as a result of horizontal gene transfer - we will discuss this again in the next lecture...)
Note that the "toxB" gene is much more AT rich than the average for the rest of the plasmid. This COULD be due to the fact that this gene came from an organism with a more AT rich genome, or (more likely in my opinion) it is more AT rich because it is important for this gene to vary in sequence (e.g., have a higher mutational frequencey).
Escherichia coli is probably the best characterised organism.
There are 4085 predicted genes in Escherichia coli strain K-12 isolate W3110.
There are 4289 predicted genes in Escherichia coli strain K-12 isolate MG1665.
There are 5283 predicted genes in Escherichia coli strain O157:H7 isolate EDL933 (enterohemorrhagic pathogen). There are about 5361 predicted genes in Escherichia coli strain O157:H7 substrain RIMD 0509952 (enterohemorrhagic pathogen).
Roughly 2600 genes have been found to be expressed in Escherichia coli strain K-12 cells, under standard laboratory growth conditions.
About 2100 spots can be seen on 2-D protein gels.
Very roughly 1000 different genes (only about 600 mRNA transcripts) are expressed at "detectable levels" in E. coli cells grown in LB media.
Only about 350 proteins exist at concentrations of > 100 copies per cell. (These make up 90% of the total protein in E.coli!)
Most (>90%) of the proteins are present in very low amounts (less than 100 copies per cell).
It has been known since the 1960's that genes closer to the replication origin are more highly expressed. However, it has only been in the past few years that technology has allowed the simultaneous monitoring of ALL the genes in Escherichia coli. There are 4397 annotated genes in the E. coli K-12 genome. Shown below is an "Atlas plot" of the E. coli K-12 genome, with the outer circle representing the concentration of proteins (roughly in number of molecules/cell) and mRNA (again, roughly number of molecules/cell). Under these conditions (e.g., cells grown to late log phase, in minimal media), there were 2005 genes expressed at detectable levels, and only 233 proteins have been found to exist in "abundant" conditions (e.g., very roughly more than 100 molecules per cell).
For E. coli K-12 cells, grown in minimal media to late log phase:
4397 annotated genes -> 2005 mRNAs expressed -> 233 abundant proteins
(note that these numbers will vary for different experimental conditions....)
In this picture, the outer lane represents the concentration of proteins (blue), the next lane the concentration of mRNA (green), and then the annotated genes.
The inner three circles represent different aspects of the DNA base composition throughout the genome. The innermost circle (turquoise/violet) is the bias of G's towards one strand or the other (that is, a look at the mono-nucleotide distribution of the 4 DNA bases). The next lane is the density of stretches of purine (or pyrimidine) stretches of 10 bp or longer. Note that in both cases purines tend to favour the leading strand of the replicore, whilst pyrimidine tracts are more likely to occur on the lagging strand. Finally, the next circle (turquoise/red) is simply the AT content of the genome, averaged over a 50,000 bp window. Note that the terminus is slightly more AT rich, whilst the rest of the genome is slightly GC rich. (The AT content scale ranges from 45% to 55%).
Link to more atlases for Escherichia coli genomes.
Link to the main "Genome Atlas" web page
Friday (6 April, 2001)
Link to a list of recent papers and talks on DNA structures.
Watson, James D. "A PASSION FOR DNA: Genes, Genomes, and Society", (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000). Amazon Barnes&Noble
Sinden, Richard R., "DNA: STRUCTURE and FUNCTION", (Academic Press, New York, 1994). Amazon Barnes&Noble
Calladine,C.R., Drew,H.R., "Understanding DNA: The Molecule and How It Works", (2nd edition, Academic Press, San Diego, 1997). Amazon Barnes&Noble
A List of more than a thousand books about DNA | <urn:uuid:4efde337-022b-4a51-bb2b-99949f551b28> | {
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Energy Industry Skill StandardsThe goal of the Energy Industry Skill Standards Project is to specify the critical work functions, key activities, performance indicators and knowledge, skills, and abilities an individual needs to succeed in certain energy-related occupations. The result of this project will support the development of new curriculum and the strengthening of existing curriculum in programs leading to certain careers in the energy industry.
Power Generation Skill StandardsThe Power Generation Skill Standards were made available by the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board for Industry Skill Panels. For more information or to download the complete manual, go to the Washington State Skill Standards Energy Industry Web site.
Wind Technician Skill StandardsSkills Standards for Wind Turbine Technicians (2009) | pdf
Skill Panel Publications
- Evaluating Industry Skill Panels: a Model Framework
(June 2008) | pdf
What is a skill panel?A skill panel is a group of skilled workers who have in-depth knowledge of the hands-on skills required to perform the job tasks in a technical position. The skills required to perform the job tasks are identified by the skill panel as the skill standards.
How are skill standards used?
- Industry: Recruiting, hiring, training and promoting employees
- Incumbent Workforce: Advancing careers and/or reentering the workforce
- Future Workforce/Students: Understanding and acquiring skills needed to attain high wage jobs
- Labor: Ensuring employees benefit from high paying career opportunities
- Government: Linking education reform initiatives, workforce training and economic development
- Educators and Trainers: Developing curriculum and teaching to the required skills sets
Have skill standards been developed for the energy industry?Yes, Walla Walla Community College developed skill standards with industry support for the following positions:
- Instrument/Control/Relay/Meter Technician
Skill Standards for the Energy Industry-2006 ProjectAlan Hardcastle, WSU Research Analyst
Skills Standards for Operators and MechanicsSkill Standards are the industry-defined skills, knowledge and abilities required for individuals to succeed in the workplace. The standards specify what students, job seekers and current employees must know and be able to do within a particular industry and occupation, including the required levels of performance.
The standards can be used by colleges, high schools and training organizations to make sure that their programs are up-to-date, to attract students to careers in the industry, and to ensure that students and workers get high quality training. The standards can also be used as the basis for awarding college credit for prior learning. Employers and Labor can use the results to better understand the foundational skills workers need to do their jobs effectively, to design or improve training programs, and as a precursor to existing programs like apprenticeship.
Who Participates? Employees are the ExpertsSkill standards are defined through focus groups of employees who actually work in the occupations being studied. The focus groups will consist of 12 front-line employees who represent similar kinds of occupations, from many different companies and energy sectors (hyrdo, thermal). The group may also contain managers or other knowledgeable persons with extensive, current knowledge about those occupations.
How Industry Can Contribute - Recruiting ParticipantsOur goal is to recruit 12 participants for each two-day focus group meeting: one group for operators, and one for mechanics. We need employers and labor partners to identify and support employees to participate in the meetings. It is imperative that we have an adequate number of knowledgeable employees from each occupation participate so the standards will be valid for the industry. Each 12-person focus group should have a roughly equal number of participants from each sector: Hydro and thermal. We also want employees from many different organizations to ensure that a range of work environments is represented.
Responding to Surveys: Written surveys will be used to supplement data collection from industry about foundation skills required for these occupations.
The ProcessThe focus group meeting will last two consecutive days. A facilitator with experience in developing skill standards leads the meeting. There is a set agenda, but the format is very interactive and discussion-based. Getting input from all participants about their work functions, activities, knowledge and skills is one key goal. Reaching agreement about the scope and content of the information is another. The process includes fast-paced and intensive discussions about work functions, activities and skills, but it is also a fun and rewarding experience for participants. Draft copies of the standards will be reviewed by industry before a final document is produced this summer.
Questions and ContactsBarbara Hins-Turner
Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy
600 Centralia College Blvd
Centralia WA 98531
(360) 736-9391, ext. 477 | <urn:uuid:c5a39c18-bff0-4b32-a7e2-9ad8bdb9f3dc> | {
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Delaware Bay — One
a 10,000-Mile-Long Chain
During May and early June, the shores of Delaware Bay resonate
with the cheerful chattering of more than 20 species of migratory
shorebirds. Delaware Bay provides an ecologically important
stepping-stone for the birds' spring pilgrimage to Arctic nesting
grounds.The Delaware Bay is the largest spring staging area
for shorebirds in eastern North America. A staging site is
an area with plentiful food where migrating birds gather to
replenish themselves before continuing on their journey. Staging
sites serve as a link in a chain connecting wintering areas
with breeding grounds, sites for which there are no alternatives.
Place cursor on map
to see the Southward Migration
Shorebirds begin to arrive in early May. The numbers of birds
soar upward during mid-month and usually peak between May 18
and 24 (in some years as late as May 28). They have traveled
from the coasts of Brazil, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego, from
desert beaches of Chile and Peru, and from mud flats in Suriname,
Venezuela, and the Guyanas. After several days of non-stop flight,
and having come as far as 10,000 miles, they reach the bay beaches
depleted of their energy reserves. Luckily, nature provides an
abundant food supply in this area at just this time of year:
the eggs of hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs that have
migrated to Delaware Bay beaches to spawn.
A Feast for Feathered
The shorebirds spend between two to three weeks gorging primarily
on fresh horseshoe crab eggs, although worms and small bivalves
are also plentiful. High in protein and fat, the eggs are an
energy-rich source of food. This high-calorie diet enables
the birds to nearly double or triple their body weight before
continuing on to Arctic nesting areas.
More Than a Million Mouths
Each spring, scientists from the Delaware and New Jersey Divisions
of Fish and Wildlife conduct weekly aerial surveys of migratory
shorebirds on Delaware Bay beaches. In May 2001, scientists
observed more than 775,000 shorebirds along beach habitat.
Ninety-five percent of these birds were represented by four
species: red knots, ruddy turnstones, semipalmated sandpipers,
and dunlins. Migratory shorebirds are also known to utilize
marshes and back-bay habitats. Thus, throughout their spring
migration, the actual number of shorebirds using Delaware Bay
as a staging ground may surpass one million. Click
here to meet a
few of these Delaware diners.
recent decline in the horseshoe crab population appears to
correlate with a decline in migrating shorebird populations. Click
here to learn more about the problems facing migratory shorebirds.
Click here to learn why horseshoe crabs are decreasing in abundance. | <urn:uuid:04ebbc42-3082-425f-9757-68642066de98> | {
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Child Honouring is a philosophy—a vision, an organizing principle, and a way of life—the children-first way of sustainability.
It starts with three givens:
The primacy of early years—early childhood is the gateway to humane being.
We face planetary degradation that is unprecedented in scope and scale—a state of emergency that most endangers the very young, and that requires a remedy of equal scale.
This crisis calls for a systemic response in detoxifying the environments that make up the world of the child.
Child Honouring is a children-first approach to healing communities and restoring ecosystems. It views how we regard and treat our young as the key to building a humane and sustainable world. It is a novel idea—organizing society around the priority needs of its youngest members.
The essence of the vision is expressed in A Covenant for Honouring Children and its underlying principles.
Its spirit is invitational—a call to imagine and create a diversity of child-friendly cultures. A child-honouring society would show love for its children, and thus for all of us, in every facet of its design and organization. | <urn:uuid:77bc4633-2d48-4f6c-9ae3-4bebc30946c5> | {
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It was Admiral Shi Lang (施琅) who conquered Taiwan for Qing China. His armada of war junks fought a decisive sea battle off the Pescadores on July 7, 1683.
Koxinga or Zheng Chengkong drove the Dutch out of Taiwan in 1662 and founded the house of Zheng that ruled the island and the Pescadores for closely to 20 years. But he and his son Zheng Jing (鄭經) did so not as Ming emperor.
The father finally had time to ask his daughter what was all about. “What did you made the horse to come seek me out and get me back home for?” he questioned her.
Serikos is the Greek word, which means silken in English. The adjective means “pertaining to the Seres,” the Asian people from whom the Greeks first obtained the soft texture.
Of the Hoklo population in Taiwan those hailing from Quanzhou (泉州) form the preponderant majority. In the county of Tongan (同安) under the jurisdiction of the prefecture of Quanzhou, a boy was born on the twenty-second day of the eighth moon on the Chinese lunar calendar while China had yet to be reunified by the Emperor Taizhu of the Song (宋太祖) Dynasty who reigned from 960 to 976 A.D.
There are usually three Buddha images in the main hall of a Buddhist temple in Taiwan. They include Sakyamuni or Gautama Siddhartha, Dipankara (Dipamkara in Pali) or Randeng fo (燃燈佛) in Chinese, and Maitreya (彌勒佛).
Gods of thunder in China's Taoist pantheon had to work together with Feng Shi (風師) or Feng Shen (風神), Gods or Goddesses of Wind.
The imperial orders of Xuanzhong (玄宗) were obeyed to the letter. Everybody at his court and palaces searched for anything that had an image of the dragon.
One of the dragons is said to have caused storm and flood by mistake. Legend has it that during the reign (627-650 A.D.) of the emperor Taizhong of the Tang Dynasty (唐太宗), a dragon king came from his undersea palace to visit Zhangan, the capital city, where he met a Taoist diviner who knew what he was and told him to go back to carry out the Jade Emperor's rainmaking order.
Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan early last month, leaving in its wake more than 600 people dead and a third of Taiwan under floodwaters and mudslides. | <urn:uuid:d63c37bc-e3f3-41d8-9d58-4291bf78fdf3> | {
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Following Seka Elementary School's lead in participating in activities linked to
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle,
Chopwell Primary School planned one of their Creative Curriculum Units around this theme.
The challenge was on and classes were competitive!
The brief was that each class needed to create goods to be sold at the Summer Fair to raise money for the Tohoku Appeal. However, all of the goods had to be made by reusing/recycling, therefore reducing the need for new materials.
Look at the Power Point showing what we got up to. Who knew that recycling could be so much fun?!
Reduce, reuse, recycle!.ppt
Our Japanese friends had sent us some special bottle top art kits. We frantically started to collect used bottle tops so that we could have a go at creating pieces of art. We collected so many bottle tops that each class created a large scale bottle art! | <urn:uuid:9d5dfcba-eb22-4b39-95db-2a287c62e01d> | {
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Haiti’s 1804 slave revolt freed it from French Imperial domination, so we forced them to pay reparations to French slave traffickers for most of the 19th century. President Thomas Jefferson refused to recognize Haiti as an independent nation, and this continued until the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1864.
In the early 20th century, America invaded Haiti and occupied it until 1934, making it a safe haven for U.S. corporate powers to exploit the population and siphon its wealth into their bank accounts. After troops withdrew, a series of brutal U.S. sponsored dictatorships oppressed the people, the most notable being the Duvalier father-and-son regime, and its murderous and ruthless Tonton Macoutes.
The only freely elected leader of Haiti was the former priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, elected in 1990 and removed in a U.S.-created coup in 1991, and reinstalled in 1994 by Clinton—serving two years but burdened with International Monetary Fund “structural agreements,” designed to destroy the public sector, typical of “free (forced) trade” requirements of the neo-liberal/Chicago School ideology. A former food-exporting country soon became 100 percent dependent on imported food as U.S. imports collapsed its agricultural class.
Aristide was re-elected in 2001, amid much intimidation and violence directed at his supporters by opposition groups and former Tonton Macoutes secret-police members, and he was again removed by Bush in 2004.
And earthquakes? Luck of the draw there. | <urn:uuid:dfd8edaa-af52-4cc3-af42-4c1a1088b6fe> | {
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By Steve Graham, Networx
Humidity doesn’t just make you uncomfortable. It also causes problems and health hazards at every level of the home. Here is a bottom-to-top summary of some of the dangers of high humidity, and some solutions for each problem.
Humid weather simply exacerbates moisture problems that are often a concern in crawl spaces and basements. Moisture from the ground works with moisture from the humid air to generate condensation on walls and other surfaces, and create muggy basement smells and atmospheres. In turn, this can translate to mold and mildew issues. To avoid these problems, it is important to take steps to minimize moisture below the main floor of the home.
If humidity is an issue in any season, foundation vents should be left open all year to help the foundation dry out as much as possible. On the other hand, close basement windows and doors to keep out humid summer weather.
If humidity is an issue for a basement, insulate basement walls and run a dehumidifier. Rigid foam insulation is one good option, as it is essentially waterproof. However, it must be covered with drywall or another fire barrier. Attach a humidistat to the dehumidifier to control the humidity levels.
Crawl spaces should be covered with polyethylene or other thick, solid vapor barrier to keep moisture from the ground from creating bigger problems. Crawl spaces with moisture barriers also should have one square foot of vent area for every 1,500 square feet of crawl space area, according to Michigan State University (MSU) researchers. Crawl spaces without moisture barriers should have one square foot of venting per 150 square feet of space.
Mechanical system problems
Humid weather can also leave condensation on water pipes and toilet tanks. Again, this condensation can also lead to mold and mildew problems. If the toilet tank regularly beads with condensation, consider installing waterproof insulation inside the tank. Also wrap insulation around water pipes to minimize condensation.
Moving up from the basement, the floor is the next likely victim of humidity problems. Mold and mildew can get into wood flooring or carpets, and may be hard to completely remove. It is best to avoid such problems by reducing humidity. Air conditioning systems reduce humidity while reducing the temperature, if they are installed correctly.
Mildewed carpet should be cleaned with an electric shampoo machine. If musty odors develop on carpet, either replace the entire carpet or have it professionally cleaned and dried off-site. Replace musty or damp padding.
If mildew develops on wood flooring, scrub it off with trisodium phosphate or quaternary disinfectants, then rinse and dry thoroughly, and add a mildew-resistant paint.
Humidity can also wreak havoc on clothes, food and other stored items. Dry foods can draw in moisture and quickly go stale if humidity exceeds 60 percent. Cans may rust and leak in humid weather. Damaged or swollen cans should be tossed out. If humidity is an issue, keep stored food in an air-conditioned space.
Reduce humidity damage to clothing with chemical absorbents or through proper ventilation. Use silica gel packets or other moisture-absorbing materials if you plan to tightly close all closet doors and trunks. The other option is to leave closet doors open and use fans to improve air circulation. Also separate clothes within each closet to allow airflow between items.
Humid air can also build up in walls, which can become soggy over time, and may even attract mold and mildew. Interior and exterior paint can also bubble and peel under extended humid conditions.
To minimize such problems, boost wall insulation and consider vapor-retardant paints. Also caulk or weather strip all gaps and cracks around the walls, baseboards, doors and windows. According to MSU researchers, such sealing work can minimize moisture problems in walls.
Finally, attics can get hot and uncomfortably damp in humid weather. Be sure to properly ventilate the attic. If the attic does not have a vapor barrier (which may not be a necessity in many cases), it should have one square foot of venting per 150 square feet of attic, according to MSU research. For areas with vapor barriers, one foot of venting per 300 square feet of attic is acceptable.
Humid weather can cause a variety of home problems and hazards, but they can all be prevented or remedied with some care and diligence. | <urn:uuid:33d0c723-da14-44b5-bc9d-09199af71506> | {
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Yesterday, The Washington Post reported that there is new advice for vulnerable coastal communities on how to adapt to risings seas: move away from the shore. The Post report explores the implications of sea-level rise for the Hampton Roads area, home to Norfolk Naval Station, cautioning that traditional methods of holding back the sea could fall short. “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the first manual on how not to hold [the sea] back, arguing that costly seawalls and dikes eventually fail because sea-level rise is unstoppable,” the report cited. “The federal Global Change Research Program estimates that the sea level will rise 14 to 17 inches in the next century around Hampton Roads.”
Instead of investing in massive (expensive) infrastructure projects to hold back the sea, the EPA hopes that its new report will encourage coastal communities to enact new city ordinances and development laws that prohibit new coastal construction, and devise incentives for already vulnerable commercial businesses and residents to move away from the shore. “The EPA report said governments have three options to deal with sea-level rise,” the Post reported:
They can stay on the well-worn path of building expensive protection and raising streets and buildings. They can beat an organized retreat from the shore, perhaps by offering financial incentives to people and organizations to move inland. Or they can allow people to do whatever they want for their waterfront properties but tell them in no uncertain terms that they are on their own when the waters rise.
Many people are not too worried about the long-term implications of sea-level rise, in part because of near-term challenges with the economy and other pressing priorities. Yet experts are hoping to impart a sense of urgency by educating people about the near- and long-term economic implications of failing to act, especially given the current political climate that demands policymakers to be better stewards of their constituents’ tax dollars. “Most people aren’t taking the threat of sea-level rise decades from now too seriously, but planners say it is worrisome when you consider what’s at stake — public roads, schools, bridges, tunnels, museums, police stations and housing developments that are built to last well beyond the average 30-year home mortgage,” according to the Post. “It could result in those things having a life span less than what we budgeted for,” John Carlock, deputy executive director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, told The Washington Post. “That part of it is trying to make wise use of taxpayer funds.”
In the near term, too, the economic effects of sea-level rise and more frequent storms are already being felt by many coastal communities. “Increased flooding was inevitable along the Atlantic coast because the number of federally declared storms has increased — up by 50 percent over 20 years, for instance, in New England,” the Post reported, citing a recent climate change report. “‘In New Hampshire alone, the costs associated with declared storm damages have increased nearly 15-fold and the state has suffered through four ‘100-year floods’ in the last decade,’” the report, Preparing for a Changing Climate: A Northeast-Focused Needs Assessment, warned. Even the near-term costs of adapting to sea-level rise by holding back the sea with dikes and walls, or literally elevating vulnerable neighborhoods, is quickly becoming too costly. “A few years ago the city spent $1.5 million to elevate some homes in the Larchmont area, knowing the water will probably crawl to their doorsteps again,” according to the Post. “If this keeps up, insurance rates will skyrocket as storms sweep the rising seas onto roads and inside people’s homes and businesses.”
In reading this report, one has to wonder how much this new thinking has permeated the decision-making at the Department of Defense now that policymakers there are beginning to integrate climate change into their strategic planning. After all, Norfolk Naval Station is not the only U.S. military base that will be vulnerable to an encroaching sea. Across the world, other critical U.S. naval and air force installations could be just as vulnerable, if not more. In assessing its bases and their vulnerability to climate change, the Department of Defense will have to ask the same critical questions that many coastal communities will being asking, especially given the same budgetary concerns: how will sea-level rise affect DOD’s coastal assets, and does it make sense to move back from the water’s edge?
This Week’s Events
Today at 10 AM, the Brookings Institution will host an event on The Future of Natural Gas.
Tuesday at 12:30 PM, ICLEI USA, local governments for sustainability, will explore sustainable development in their event, The Road to Rio+20.
Wednesday at 2 PM, CSIS will explore the Arctic Horizons.
Finally, on Thursday at 6:30 PM, head over to the Australian Embassy for a discussion on China’s Role in an Evolving Global Natural Gas Industry. | <urn:uuid:1b90a900-e55e-4111-89a9-d777a00cd685> | {
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The Iraqi women who toured the United States last month told us that they were amazed by how misinformed many Americans were about the lives of Iraqi women. Most Americans thought that before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi women were sitting at home oppressed, heavily veiled and secluded, and that thanks to the US invasion, they are now liberated. This is what the Bush administration would like us to believe, but after listening to our Iraqi friends many people now know better. To further shed light on the true status of Iraqi women, CODEPINK has released an in-depth report Iraqi Women Under Siege. We encourage you to download this report, read it and pass it on to others.
The report shows that from 1958 to the 1990s, Iraq provided more rights and freedoms for women and girls than most of its neighbors. Though Saddam Hussein's dictatorial government and 12 years of severe sanctions reduced these opportunities, Iraqi women were active in all aspects of their society. After the occupation, with the exception of women in Iraqi Kurdistan, women's daily lives have been reduced to a mere struggle for survival.
- Women walking on the streets face random violence, assault, kidnapping or death at the hands of suicide bombers, occupying forces, Iraqi police, radical religious groups, and local thugs.
- Women trying to raise families in the midst of this chaos find themselves beset by a lack of electricity and clean water, and a dearth of social services like decent schools and health care.
- Unemployment among women has skyrocketed. Of the 260,000 reconstruction contracts in Iraq, less than 1,000 have gone to female contractors. Before the occupation 70% of the public workforce, by far the largest employer in Iraq, were women.
- The constant violence has trapped women and their children -- particularly their daughters -- inside the homes. Fewer girls go to school and illiteracy among girls is on the rise.
- Though 25% of the seats in the National Assembly are reserved for women, the real power in Iraq is increasingly in the hands of Islamists determined to move Iraq from a secular society towards a theocracy. They are forcing women to wear veils and are trying to curtail women's rights in areas such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance.
But as we learned from our amazing delegation, Iraqi women are not mere victims, passively watching the destruction of their lives and the fabric of their communities. As delegate Nadje Al-Ali writes in our report,
"Despite the chaos and violence that restricts their activities and mobility, the women struggle on, meeting in each other's houses, establishing refuges where women can learn skills to make a living, providing free health care, legal advice and literacy and computer classes. Iraqi women also organize conferences, sit-ins and demonstrations to get their voices heard and to influence the political process."
CODEPINK will continue to support the efforts of Iraqi women, and to push for the withdrawal of foreign troops so that the Iraqi people can determine their own future. Our next major CODEPINK action to end the occupation and support Iraqi women will be a 24-hour Mother's Day vigil in front of the White House in Washington DC from May 13-14. Click here for details. Join actress Susan Sarandon, peace mom Cindy Sheehan, Nobel Prize winner Jody Williams, doctor/clown Patch Adams, as well as Iraqi and Iranian women, for an inspiring weekend that will include a performance of the historic antiwar play Lysistrata, an evening concert, antiwar films, activist trainings, an interfaith service, writing letters to Laura Bush, and a pink pajama party.
Whether or not you can join us, please consider making a donation to help us bring Iraqi and Iranian women, as well as US military families against the war, to speak at the DC vigil and to travel to communities throughout the US.
For the sake of our Iraqi sisters, let's educate ourselves, spread the truth and redouble our efforts to build a more peaceful world.
Sisters in solidarity,
Allison, Dana, Farida, Gael, Jodie, Medea, Nancy, Rae and Tiffany
P.S. Don't forget to forward this email to your friends and help spread the word! | <urn:uuid:4be9cc41-3f86-426f-8f46-3e82b6c85d11> | {
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Theseus is a database containing
analyses of case law relevant to children’s rights from the European Court
of Human Rights. It is available in English and in French and there are 303 cases, covering the period 23 July 1968 to
15 March 2012. There are many ways to retrieve cases, among which by
applicant, name, country, period, date, key words and so forth. Shortly, cases will be
retrievable by article number from the European Convention on Human Rights.
Some useful key words and phrases are: family life, private life, education,
protection of children, deportation, child born out of wedlock, child
Theseus was set up by the programme "Building Europe for and with children"
under the supervision of the Research Division of the European Court of Human Rights
(initial research: Kyriaki Patsianta),
and thanks to financial support from the Government of Finland.
information on these cases may be obtained by consulting
Hudoc, the database of the European Court of Human Rights.
To learn more about how the European Court of Human Rights functions on a
daily basis, and the challenges it faces, see
"The Conscience of Europe", a 15 minute video (15 minutes) available in
English, French or German. | <urn:uuid:d3686faf-a8b6-4e42-b86f-1c0eeb9436e2> | {
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Preserving the Audio Archive
The material on the LCAAJ audio tapes is unique. The field notes focus solely on selected linguistic features in the informant's responses and the tapes have not been transcribed, except for a selection included in the EYDES project. The wealth of information that the tapes contain thus resides solely on a fragile and aging medium.
The 5,755 hours of recording in the LCAAJ are stored on some 2,600 reels of tape produced in various countries between 1959 and 1972. The tapes were recorded at a variety of speeds under widely varying conditions. More than twenty different brands and sizes of tape stock have been used, including both acetate- and polyester-backed tape, and there are even thirteen hours of wire recordings. As is all too sadly known, acetate tape (used through the late 1960s) is a very impermanent medium for the recording of sound. Manufacturers' claims, and real-time experience indicate, that twenty years is the average functional life for such tapes. They begin to suffer edge curl, cracking and flaking, and binder decomposition, leading to loss of the recorded signal. The polyester tapes used since the late 1960s are also impermanent, suffering from sticky shed and other failures, and the tapes may stretch or break during playing or storage. Even before these problems set in, splice adhesives may leech to other portions of tapes of all types, and many tape types are subject to print through. Once deterioration begins, it cannot be stopped or reversed. The only solution is careful re-recording in such a way that as little as possible of the original sound is lost.
Since 1995 Columbia University Libraries has been gradually re-recording the tapes and creating digital copies. Support for this effort includes:
The preservation work consists of re-recording the original tapes onto new reel-to-reel tape, following nationally recognized preservation practices and guidelines, and the creation of digital use copies on CD. The preservation transfer is carried out at the Computer Music Center of the Columbia University Department of Music, a studio recognized nationally and internationally both for its advanced technical work and its care of archival sound collections.
- Support from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a two-year project (2000-2002) for staff and supplies to re-record 1,180 hours of the LCAAJ originals.
- Support from the New York State Conservation/Preservation Program for a two-year project (1999-2001) to purchase analog tape stock to be used in re-recording 1,200 hours of the LCAAJ originals.
- Donations (1996-2000) from the Atran Foundation, the David & Barbara B. Hirschhorn Foundation, the Morris J. & Betty Kaplun Foundation, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, and the Solow Foundation for staff and supplies.
The project adheres to the technical standards for audio preservation advocated by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections Associated Audio Archives Committee (ARSC-AAA), the Joint Technical Commission of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). As recommended by these organizations, the re-recording employs low noise, two-track polyester (1.5 mil) tape. The archival tape is recorded in real time at 15 inches per second (ips) to preserve maximum audio fidelity, with no splicing, with buffer-tape-pack at both ends, wound uniformly tails out (end out) onto slotless-hub 10 ½-inch metal reels. In order to keep the archival copies as true to the original recordings as possible, no manipulation of the original signal, such as noise reduction, filtering or other signal-processing techniques, is undertaken.
Each reel is "leadered" at the beginning with 30-60 seconds of blank tape. Following this leader is a 30-60 second test zone containing reference tones and azimuth tones, which in turn is followed by a second 30-60 seconds of "leader" tape (blank, no splicing). Paper or plastic leaders are not spliced on to the reels to fill the required lead time. No splices appear in the preservation master. The material being preserved follows the second leader in two-track double monophonic in one direction only.
The recording levels are monitored at all times by recording technicians to ensure the best possible signal-to-noise ratio on the final analog tape. All recording machines are calibrated and cleaned prior to each recording session. Equipment used for transfer meets standards established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), EIA (Electronic Industry Association) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).
For more information on this project, contact the Columbia University Libraries Preservation Division. | <urn:uuid:7d476759-f201-42fe-8893-f75c960e65c3> | {
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The 16th annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place the weekend of Friday, Feb. 15, through Monday, Feb. 18.
This activity engages citizen scientist volunteers to count birds in specific locations all across the United States and Canada on the third weekend of February each year. In 2012, this effort recorded 104,151 separate checklists, including 2,046 from Tennessee. Shelby County contributed more than 10 percent of the total, 256. And Memphis recorded 93 species, tops in the state.
The 2013 Great Backyard Bird Count, a joint project of the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, will incorporate two major changes. First, it will go global. Checklists can be submitted from anywhere in the world. Second, Great Backyard Bird Count data will be merged with eBird, the National Audubon Society and Cornell University's worldwide database of bird sightings. This will require participants to create an eBird account. To do so, go to BirdCount.org.
The bird count is fun and free. Just count all of the birds that you see and hear in one place (your yard, a park, schoolyard, your office) for at least 15 minutes any or every day Feb. 15-18. The information that you and thousands of others provide will help scientists to learn more about what is happening in our environment. To protect, we first must know.
The entire month of February is Backyard Bird Month at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The garden is sponsoring a contest of bird photographs taken in its Nature Garden during the month. On Feb. 16, Dick Preston and other members of the Memphis
Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithology Society will host a bird identification workshop at the Botanic Garden as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count weekend.
There will be a free "Lunch and Learn" brown bag lunch followed by a guided bird walk in the nature garden. Afterward, data collected during the bird walk will be entered into the bird count database.
The Botanic Garden will host "Celebrate Urban Birds Day" from 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 23. There will be crafts and games, and members of the local Ornithology Society will lead a bird walk. For more information, contact Charity Novick at 901-636-4119, or go to memphisbotanicgarden.com.
The 113th annual Christmas Bird Count was held at selected locations all around the globe between Dec. 15, 2012, and Jan. 5, 2013. The Memphis count on Dec. 17 had 34 observers who located 92 species. The Wapanocca (Ark.)/Shelby Forest (Tenn.) count on Dec. 29 had 24 observers locating 91 species, and the count at Arkabutla Lake on Jan. 5 enlisted 20 observers who found 110 species, a record for that count.
The greatest surprise of any local Christmas Bird Count came on the Wapanocca/Shelby Forest count when an ash-throated flycatcher was discovered in Shelby Forest State Park. Ash-throated flycatcher is a Western species rarely seen east of the Great Plains and an apparent first record for Shelby County.
Van Harris is a former president of the Memphis Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithology Society, a member of the Mississippi Ornithology Society and the Mississippi chapter of the National Audubon Society. Address questions to [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:20259ddc-9650-4ffc-8fb3-7d97d27475cb> | {
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Selecting, sizing transformers for commercial buildings
While commercial building designs change, their electrical loads remain fundamentally unchanged. Properly sizing and selecting transformers ensures that these loads are accommodated.
By Ralph Baeza, PE, LEED AP, TLC Engineering for Architecture, Miami
Transformers, along with other power distribution apparatus, remain a fundamental component in electrical systems distribution for commercial buildings. This article presents several useful design concepts for selecting and sizing transformers in the design of electrical systems for commercial buildings.
Transformers change voltage levels to supply electrical loads with the voltages they require. They supply the required incoming electrical service to the buildings. Transformer primary and secondary voltages can be 2,400; 4,160; 7,200; 12,470; and 13,200 for 15-kV Class, and 120, 208, 240, 277, and 480 for 600-V Class.
Transformers are located either outdoors or inside buildings in an electrical room or other areas as permitted by code. The electrical phase characteristics associated with the transformer’s primary side is 3-phase, 3-wire or Delta connected. The secondary is 3-phase, 4-wire or Wye connected.
There are different construction types for transformers used in commercial buildings. Our understanding of their general characteristics will allow the designer and end user to make the proper selection for the electrical system application. Following are some of the transformer types available in the industry along with a few of their characteristics:
Ventilated dry-type transformers are ventilated by air, use larger space for clearance, and use different insulating materials to augment the dielectric strength of the air. They contain an enclosure surrounding the windings for their mechanical protection and the safety of personnel. This type is the most common to be used in the building indoor electrical system distribution. See Table 1 for typical dry-type transformer ratings, dimensions, and weights.
Sealed dry-type transformers are similar to dry type in most of their characteristics. The difference is they contain an enclosed tank with nitrogen or other dielectric gas to protect the windings. They can be installed outdoors or indoors. They are useful in areas with a corrosive or dirty atmosphere.
Cast-coil transformers are constructed with the primary and secondary windings encapsulated in reinforced resin. They can be installed where moisture or airborne contaminants exist.
Nonventilated dry-type transformers are similar to the ventilated type but are totally enclosed. This type can be installed in areas with corrosive or dirty atmospheric conditions where it would be impossible to use a ventilated-type transformer.
Oil-filled transformers are constructed with the windings encased in an oil-tight tank filled with insulating mineral oil. It is good practice to regularly test this type of transformer in order to determine dielectric breakdown, which affects its useful life.
There are different ways in which transformers are installed and used as part of a commercial building electrical system. These application types include:
Indoor distribution transformers are used with panelboards and are separately mounted to supply the specific electrical load requirements in a system-specific application within the system distribution. Several transformer types rated higher than 600 V for oil insulated type, higher than 35,000 V for dry type, and other transformers rated higher than 600 V are required to be located in vault rooms, which must be built with fire-rated enclosures depending on the transformer type and applicable local authority requirements, when indoors. Transformers that are not over 600 V and are part of the indoor building electrical system distribution have both primary and secondary voltages below 600 V with the most common voltage level change from 480 V to 208 Y/120 V.
Pad-mounted transformers are installed outside and are considered the first option for supplying service entrance voltage to the building electrical system based on the project size and requirements. They typically have primary voltages higher than 600 V and secondary voltages lower than 600 V with compartments for the associated protective devices assembled in an integral tamper-resistant and weatherproof unit.
In addition, the size of the commercial facility will determine the appropriate approach for designing the electrical distribution system for the specific application. In this electrical system design, the transformer can be used as part of a substation, primary unit substation, secondary unit substation, or network configuration.
The electrical size of the transformer load is rated in kVA. This rating provides the associated power output delivered for a specific period by the loads connected to the transformer on the secondary side of the equipment. The loads, which are calculated as part of the building electrical system design phase, are shown in the construction documents’ respective equipment schedules in VA or kVA.
A general approach to determining transformer capacity and selecting the proper rating for the design application is to obtain the calculated design load from the respective electrical schedule and add 20% spare capacity for future load growth to be shown in the equipment schedule, unless otherwise directed by the facility based on design parameters. For example, the code-based demand load of a 208 Y/120 V, 3-phase, 4-wire panelboard is 42 kVA, which does do not include spare capacity for future growth. Therefore, the transformer size required for converting the system voltage from 480 V, 3-phase, 3-wire to 208 Y/120 V, 3-phase, 4-wire is:
Transformer size in kVA = 42 kVA x 1.25 = 52.5 kVA
Therefore, a 75 kVA transformer would be selected for this application out of the available standard ratings for a 480 V primary to 208 Y/120 V secondary. The most common building industry standard ratings are 3, 6, 9, 15, 30, 37.5, 45, 75, 112.5, 150, 225, 300, 500, 750, and 1,000 kVA.
The above simple calculation meets the intent to achieve the normal life expectancy of a transformer, which is based on the following basic conditions:
- The transformer is equal to or less than its rated kVA and rated voltage.
- The average temperature of the cooling air during a 24-hour period is 86 F.
- The temperature of the cooling air at no time exceeds 104 F.
Transformer selection starts with the kVA rating required to supply the loads connected in the electrical system. Another consideration for indoor distribution transformers is the type of load: linear or nonlinear. Linear loads include resistive heating and induction motors; nonlinear loads are produced by electronic equipment that contributes to the distortion of the electrical power signals by generating harmonics. The harmonics resulting from nonsinusoidal currents generate additional losses and heating of the transformer coils, which reduce the transformer life expectancy.
Indoor transformers for nonlinear loads can be selected with a K rating, which allows the transformer to withstand nonlinear conditions in the electrical system. K-rated transformers do not mitigate or eliminate harmonics. However, they do protect the transformer itself from damage caused by harmonics. For harmonic mitigation, K-rated transformers can be combined with harmonic filters or chokes. For linear load applications, transformers should be selected with lower core losses. Other factors that should be considered in selecting transformers are voltage ratings for both primary and secondary, voltage taps, efficiency, impedance value, type of cooling and temperature rise, voltage insulation class, basic impulse level, and sound level.
In the past two years, two large projects in Miami Dade County have been built: the Florida International University football stadium and Miami International Airport South Terminal. Both projects included dry-type 480 V, 3-phase to 208 Y/120V V step-down transformers (in NEMA 2 enclosures), ranging from 15 kVA to 112.5 kVA in the electrical system distribution design.
The 18,688-seat FIU football stadium was designed with about 12 transformers as part of the electrical system distribution in order to supply general-use receptacles, small motors, and other loads in the stadium building structure and the attached field house building. The MIA South Terminal expansion was designed with about 50 transformers with similar intent as the stadium’s but a more diverse group of loads for the 208 Y/120 V 3-phase, 4-wire system, which also included lighting loads, signage, telecommunication, security systems, and other loads part of this building project (Figure 1).
The installation of power transformers and transformer vaults must comply with the requirements of National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) article 450 and specific local authority having jurisdiction requirements. Some principles to consider for transformer installation include locating them in isolated rooms with proper ventilation, clearances, and accessibility. Otherwise, they can be installed on open walls or steel columns or above suspended ceilings.
In addition, there are other specific requirements based on the transformer type, such as weatherproof enclosures for dry-type transformers installed outdoors or a transformer vault room for oil-insulated transformers installed indoors. In addition, a good design and installation require the proper transformer feeder and overcurrent protection device size based on NEC articles 240, 250, 450, and applicable sections of Article 310 (Figure 2).
Transformers remain a fundamental component of electrical distribution systems. Equipment operation characteristics will continue to change. However, their operating principles will remain with the same. The industry trend is to continue building transformers with less core losses, and that comply with Energy Star efficiency requirements.
Baeza is a principal and senior electrical engineer at TLC Engineering for Architecture in Miami. He is a registered professional engineer with more than 29 years of experience in electrical engineering, project management, building design, and construction.
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Case Study Database
Get more exposure for your case study by uploading it to the Control Engineering case study database, where end-users can identify relevant solutions and explore what the experts are doing to effectively implement a variety of technology and productivity related projects.
These case studies provide examples of how knowledgeable solution providers have used technology, processes and people to create effective and successful implementations in real-world situations. Case studies can be completed by filling out a simple online form where you can outline the project title, abstract, and full story in 1500 words or less; upload photos, videos and a logo.
Click here to visit the Case Study Database and upload your case study. | <urn:uuid:ab3d394e-33e5-4599-96d0-95a4cbd365a8> | {
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The easiest way to avoid consuming too much sodium is to choose fresh, whole foods that are as close to their natural state as possible, says Steve G. Aldana, Ph.D., who is professor of health and human performance at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The reason: Although small amounts of sodium are naturally found in whole foods, they are infinitesimal compared to the amounts found in many processed foods. That doesn't mean you have to forgo convenience in the kitchen, however. Many canned vegetables are available in sodium-free or reduced-sodium versions.
Independent of sodium intake, fruit and vegetable consumption also has a positive effect on blood pressure. A diet that is rich in whole, unprocessed foods provides a healthy balance of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. "The closer we get to foods in their natural forms, the better," Aldana says.
Another mineral that plays a key role in a low-sodium diet is potassium. Found in substantial levels in root vegetables, leafy greens, and fruits, potassium helps balance the effects of sodium in the body. In fact, when the USDA lowered the dietary guidelines for sodium, it raised the recommendations for potassium-from 3,500 to 4,700mg per day, a figure most of us miss. (Average potassium intakes for women hover between 2,100 to 2,300mg, while men consume between 2,900 and 3,200mg.) In a review of 33 clinical trials, researchers from Tulane University Health Science Center in New Orleans found that increasing intake of potassium-rich foods may lower systolic blood pressure by an average of 3 points and diastolic by 2 points.
Some of us are physiologically sensitive to salt, and thus respond better and faster to a reduction in sodium intake. "Salt-sensitive people will experience a greater reduction in blood pressure than salt-resistant people," Linn says.
Researchers estimate that 10 to 25 percent of the population may be salt-sensitive. Among those with diagnosed hypertension, the number rises to 60 percent.
For now, there's no way to test for salt sensitivity; the best indication may be heredity. To learn more about a possible genetic connection to salt sensitivity, Di Rienzo tested more than 1,000 people from 52 ethnic groups and discovered a variation in a salt-regulating gene called cyp3a5. The gene was most common in natives of sub-Saharan Africa. As the distance from the equator increased, so did subjects' likelihood of a mutation in the gene that causes salt to be retained.
However, experts warn this discovery shouldn't provide license to load up on salt if you aren't sodium sensitive. "While certain traits may tip us off as to who faces the greatest risk from too much dietary sodium, it's difficult to predict who can get away with excess consumption," says Tedd Mitchell, M.D., medical director for the Cooper Wellness Program at the Aerobics Center in Dallas, Texas.
Other factors, such as age, also play a role. Systolic blood pressure rises an average of four points per decade of life naturally, so all adults should reduce the amount of sodium they consume as they age-regardless of sensitivity levels, Linn says. For people over 50, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend an upper limit of 1,500mg sodium per day. For those over 70, the daily limit drops to 1,200mg. Simply controlling for the natural rise in blood pressure that occurs over a lifetime could have far-reaching effects.
Sources: USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Peggy J. Noonan is a health and nutrition writer in Denver, Colorado. | <urn:uuid:e739b195-c911-4d86-a477-13f58597003f> | {
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Ask the Physical Therapist: Rotator Cuff Injuries
Michael S. comes to the physical therapist after seeing his orthopaedic physician. He has a script for physical therapy and has a diagnosis of Rotator Cuff Impingement.
Michael S: What is my Rotator Cuff and what does it do?
Physical Therapist (P.T.): The rotator cuff is a group of 4 small muscles in the shoulder. They are often referred to as the "SITS" muscles: Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, and Subscapularis Muscles (see Figures 1-4). The rotator cuff stabilizes the shoulder joint (refer to figure 1 and 4 and note where the humerus (arm bone), meets the scapula (shoulder blade.) In addition, the muscles assist in moving the arm in abduction (moving the arm sideways away from the body, and in external rotation (with elbow bent, at your side, forearm straight forward, and moving the hand outwards.
Michael S: How could I have injured my rotator cuff?
Physical Therapist (P.T.): First of all let’s take a look at the shoulder joint. It is a ball and socket joint, much like the hip. However, it moves much more freely than the hip. Because it has greater mobility than the hip, it is not as stable as the hip. The previous predisposes the shoulder for injury.
Injury to the rotator cuff can occur from the following:
- Trauma: Most likely occurs from either a forceful and sudden contraction of the rotator cuff, or from falling on an outstretched arm. Throwing has been shown to be one of the movements that most consistently produces rotator cuff tears.
- Overuse or Impingement: Occurs when the rotator cuff and one of the shoulder bursa are pinched underneath the front aspect of the scapula. This area is referred to as the coracoacromial arch (Fig.5.) There are different stages of impingement. They are based on the age of the patient and the severity of symptoms. Stage I usually occurs in individuals under age 25, and swelling is the most common symptom. Stage II usually occurs in patients 25 - 40 years old. The condition is now chronic, and thickening of the bursa, and fibrosis of the rotator cuff occur. In Stage III, there is degeneration, and often tears in the rotator cuff.
- Aging and Attrition (Wear and Tear): Aging causes progressive degeneration of the entire rotator cuff, decreasing its ability to adapt to stresses, and to heal after injuries.
Michael S: How does one determine that my rotator cuff is injured?
Physical Therapist (P.T.): First of all, most patients complain of pain in their shoulder area. An orthopaedic physician and physical therapist will notice abnormal shoulder movements and weakness. An MRI is an effective means to evaluate the shoulder.
Michael S: How do I treat my condition?
Physical Therapist (P.T.): Depending on what stage your impingement is, will determine the treatment. For all stages, some sort of rest is required. This means the patient needs to avoid any movements that aggravate their symptoms. Ice, heat, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and specific exercises may be recommended by a physical therapist. A physician may prescribe anti-inflammatories, and/ or local steroid injections. Surgery is indicated when all forms of conservative treatment fail (e.g. physical therapy.)
Donnatelli,Robert and Wooden, Michael. Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. Churchill Livingstone, Philadelphia, PA, 2001.
Hoppenfeld, Stanley. Physical Examination of the Spine and the Extremities. Appleton Century Crofts, East Norfolk, VA, 1976.
Netter, Frank. Atlas of Human Anatomy. Ciba-Geigy Corporation, Summit, NJ, 1989.
Sieg, Kay and Adams, Sandra. Illustrated Essentials of Musculoskeletal Anatomy. Megabooks, Gainesville, FL 1985. | <urn:uuid:04fb5a80-3977-4e1f-bbfc-ea82a9a5a1c1> | {
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Testing Your Soil for Healthier Crops
Jun 27, 2011
Read more about tips and tricks on how to test your soil for healthier crops.
Does your garden need a little help compared to your neighbor’s bountiful yard? The answer might be right under your feet: the pH of your soil. Few people realize that the pH of the soil affects plant growth. To help, we recommend visiting your local garden center. Most carry inexpensive kits for testing the pH of your soil. What’s pH, you ask? Simple: it’s the degree of acidity. A pH reading of 7 is considered to be neutral; below 7 means your soil is acidic and above 7 means it’s alkaline. Most plants thrive in a soil pH of around 6 to 7.5, but some are more sensitive than others. For example, lettuce barely grows once the pH is over 7, while tomatoes are significantly more adaptable, growing in a pH range of 5.5 to 7.5.
Make sure to test each bed separately, as conditions can vary significantly, even within a single garden. You’ll also want to test your water since many deep wells are alkaline heavy and city water can vary widely.
If your soil is too acidic, the most common remedy is lime. But use it sparingly, since overcorrection is a common problem and can take months to reverse. The best approach is to add very small amounts to the soil and retest in a few weeks.
If the soil’s pH is too alkaline, it generally means its lacking in organic matter. Start a compost pile; your garden will thank you! Or you can try adding sulfur, but again a light touch is necessary and retesting is key.
Once you’ve got your garden’s pH balanced, sit back and enjoy the results. You’ll be keeping up with the Joneses (or at least their tomatoes) in no time at all. | <urn:uuid:a8707e36-ebeb-4d4f-8c7d-3b6c0d9cf760> | {
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Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 20th, 2008
The goverment of Ukraine intends to introduce a threatened species, the European bison or wisent (Bison bonasus), into the exclusion zone around the stricken Chernobyl nuclear reactor.
The plan is to create a nature reserve where the bison can thrive in the absence of humans.
The minister in charge of Chernobyl, Volodomir Shandra, says there are clean areas within the 30-kilometre radius where the pilot scheme could work.
The wisent is the heaviest surviving land animal in Europe, a relic of the Pleistocene megafauna of Eurasia. A forest dwelling species, wisent were first scientifically described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758.
The last wild wisent in Poland was killed in 1919 and the last wild wisent in the world was killed by poachers in 1927 in the Western Caucasus. By that year fewer than 50 remained, all in zoos.
Schleich wisent replica.
Wisent were reintroduced successfully into the wild, beginning in 1951. They are found living free-ranging in forest preserves such as the Western Caucasus in Russia and the Białowieża Forest in Poland and Belarus.
Zoos in 30 countries house about 3000 wisents (as of 2000), all descended from only 12 individuals.
If the Chernobyl scheme is successful, tourists could be invited inside the exclusion zone to view these remarkable animals.
But will they glow? | <urn:uuid:d660099e-f63b-4c3e-8e68-0106444c436a> | {
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