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Those military campaigns known uniformly in the military history of the Old West as “the Indian Wars” were a sad, violent chapter in American life.
Arguably the “whites” won and the “Indians” lost in all of those wars — but of course there were no winners or losers, simply those who were killed on both sides and those who survived on both sides. To say the Indian Wars represented the ultimate clash of opposing cultures, i.e., white Europeans and tribal Native Americans, would be to overly simplify the groups, civilizations, and individuals involved with westward expansion. In reality, there were ongoing battles among all the Indian tribes who were “here” before European settlement came, and never any unified Native American culture — just as there were very diverse European cultures and ethnic groups involved in the battles. Click on any of the article links below to read about the Indian Wars that ravaged the West during the 19th Century. | <urn:uuid:ba36b470-baca-41d8-bd64-289f905a7ab1> | {
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Though football has been a popular game in the US, baseball is slowly changing this. Baseball is no longer considered a game for old folks.
Many people think that the game is better than football due to its history, timing, minimal injury risk, and more games.
Even though most fans are convinced about baseball being better than football, those who would like to engage in sports find it hard to choose between the two.
It is, however, crucial to understand how baseball differs from football and find out which is better so that you can enjoy playing.
We not only give you compelling reasons as to why baseball is better than football but also share the similarities between the two games. Read on to learn more!
How do the two games compare?
Both football and baseball are famous games around the globe. Though they differ in many ways, the two games have some similarities. For instance, you can play either of the games at any age.
Baseball and football have professional leagues. In baseball, the league is known as Major League Baseball (MLB), while the one for football is called the National Football league (NFL).
Football and baseball have a tournament system that comprises of the best team with the highest record.
In this playoff system, the best teams have to compete against each other until only two teams remain. The remaining two teams then proceed at the championship level.
Both baseball and football are considered team sports. Each player is assigned a particular position and is expected to perform a specific role. The two games also involve throwing a ball to other players.
When we look at their differences, we see that the games have different timings. While baseball is played during spring, football takes place in the fall.
The amount of contact in the two games also distinguishes them. While football includes the use of pads, baseball does not. Pads change how much contact players are allowed to have.
If you focus on the number of players in each game, you will see that this is another distinguishing factor. Football has eleven players, while baseball has only nine players in a team.
How these two games are played is also not the same. In football, you can either kick or throw the ball. Baseball, on the other hand, only allows throwing the ball.
For you to enjoy playing either of these games, you have to follow the strict rules set. In football, a referee ensures that every player adheres to the set rules.
Baseball does not have referees but rather umpires. Referees have to keep on running around the field, issuing penalties to players who don’t stick to the rules.
Umpires remain in one position looking at the movement of the ball. Despite the similarities in the two games, the number of people who choose to follow baseball is more than those who prefer football.
Why do most people prefer baseball over football?
- No clock
Time is a crucial factor in most of the games. MLB games take around 3 hours, while NFL games go for 3 hours and 12 minutes.
Football games are longer than baseball games because the clock has to stop after every play. Most of the non-action items slow down a football game.
In baseball, the clock does not keep on stopping and starting since this game involves a continuous action.
- Varying levels
For you to qualify as a professional football player, you must have a certain level of education. Most football players have at least attended college.
This is a bit different from baseball since you can join the game immediately after high school. Baseball offers different opportunities to play.
You can be part of the Dominican, independent or international league. If you want to start pursuing your dream from a tender age, then baseball gives you that chance.
- Injury risks
Both football and baseball have risks, but playing football can lead to more severe health complications compared to baseball. Some of the baseball players face ligament injuries that need surgery.
You can quickly go back to the game after some time. Football is risky since you may get constant blows to your head, leading to a condition known as CTE.
Players who experience this have to live with brain problems for the rest of their lives. Baseball is, therefore, safer to play compared to football.
- More games
Though football is entertaining, the regularity of playing the game is less than that of baseball. Teams in this game only play once a week. Baseball players have to play every day throughout the season.
MLB teams have to play more than 160 games while minor baseball leagues play 140 games. In the championship football level, players only play around 20 games.
If you prefer playing, you will find baseball more engaging compared to football.
Baseball is one of the oldest games that has existed since the 1830s. Some of the oldest baseball stars such as Babe Ruth and Kirk Gibson are still considered legends today.
Though football also has a history, baseball has both a legacy and history.
- There is no concept of ‘I’ in the team
In football, only a few players are recognized, but in baseball, any player could be the hero of the day. That is why you get to hear of some few star players in football.
Baseball gives every player a chance to shine since there is no ‘I’ in the team.
- In-person experience
We mentioned earlier that football is played during the cold weather. The experience is not the best due to the cold.
Baseball is, however, played during summer or spring. You would, therefore, have more fun playing or watching baseball when the weather is more conducive.
From the discussion, it is evident that baseball is a better game than football. We cannot eve exhaust the reasons why we think baseball is superior.
Playing or watching baseball is more entertaining, engaging, and safer than football. | <urn:uuid:1a455059-1584-4491-9cca-118269ef5a79> | {
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[4/3/2016 1:30 update
Tom comments that the drawing shows a "square hyperbola", also known as a "rectangular hyperbola". This is a hyperbola with the relation xy = 1. This is useful in creating a model economy. We can assign one axis to represent money, the second axis to represent transactions. Assuming every transaction can be represented by money, the sum of all transactions multiplied by the sum of all money values will form a square hyperbola if every-possible-combination-that-forms-the-same-constant-value is plotted. This gives us the "GDP Object".
The GDP Object will be useful in writing a SIM style of spreadsheet model that avoids iteration but yields similar results. This results in easier to understand equations. (I hope!)
(This concept and the enabling equations have not yet passed peer review.)]]
[4/2/2016 10:00 AM update
"The GDP Object" may not be the best way to characterize the nature of GDP.
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) can be related to at least three different concepts:
1) A measure of economic activity. It can be considered as the sum of all transactions with a price value. Here, GDP is a defined measurement. If government expenditures are also known, an average tax rate can be calculated.
2) A theoretical limit. Money supplied by government can be taxed every time it is received. If only one issue is made, money disappears from the private sector and returns to government. Eventually, the entire issue is recovered. Limit GDP is the maximum possible GDP if the tax rate is known.
3) A PERIOD theoretical limit. The theoretical limit can be divided into time periods. Each time period will have a different GDP limit based on a period common tax rate and rate for parallel money collectors, and a period-unique beginning money supply.
A characterization of GDP as an "object" nears becoming misdirection. Perhaps we should characterize GDP as a "limiture" (where we combine the words "limit" and "measure"), giving GDP an unique characterization.]
This is for Tom. It is quick and dirty. I am bogged down with detail in another attempt to present the same material.
|Figure 1. The GDP Object is the value on the GDP curve at any point in money-transaction space.|
GDP can be considered a limit defined by G and T as in
GDP = G/T
where T is a dimensionless pure number. G is money and GDP is money. GDP is constant when G and T are defined. Now GDP is an object.
Find GDP for a period
We can use T with a time period dimension to find the GDP expansion for that period. We can count on T being less than one because it takes an infinite time period with infinite transactions to find the GDP limit by series expansion.
If we assume that we have TWO taxing authorities, one authority can be government using the assigned tax rate FOR A PERIOD. The second authority will be assigned a tax rate that captures the remainder of the potential GDP FOR A PERIOD. The remaining GDP potentially available for capture is GDP*(1-T) .
This gives us two equations that capture the entire GDP expansion to limit.
Convert into a series of annual events
We can convert GDP to annual events (AGDP) by considering every step is a division between two taxing authorities. The primary authority will receive the Annual Tax (AT) share and the second authority (savers) will receive the remainder (AR). Write this in two equations.
(1) AGDP*Tr = AT
(2) AGDP*(1-Tr)*Rr = AR
where Rr is the Remainder "tax" rate.
Notice that the sequence of events is important here. Tax is removed from GDP before a remainder can be calculated.
We know that the sum of the two tax divisions is the original injection by government (G):
(3) AT + AR = G
Substitute 1 and 2 into 3 to get
(4) AGDP*Tr + AGDP*(1-Tr)*Rr = G
Simplify 5 to get
(5) AGDP*( Tr + (1-Tr)*Rr) = G
Now we can define parameter Rr just as we defined the government tax rate. AGDP is constant for the period just as GDP is the constant GDP Object. Once we know AGDP, we can find wealth and every other term as you did using Linear System Analysis.
We can next add wealth to the next period by assuming that wealth is also all spent to create a new GDP Object. It now becomes repetition to complete the table for as many years as desired.
At this point, I think we may be in correlation with Linear System Analysis
Does this make sense now? | <urn:uuid:b46bd46b-8bdf-4991-80e6-670a329a7ce7> | {
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What is Micro Discectomy?
The procedure of microdiscectomy is usually performed for lumbar herniated disc which is compressing the traversing spinal nerve root. As compared to lower back pain, leg pain is more effectively treated with this surgery. A leg pain is caused by the compression on the root nerve that can take several weeks for the nerve root to get away with weakness or to heal completely. The surgical procedure of microdiscectomy provides immediate relief from the leg pain.
When is Micro Discectomy used?
Conditions such as loss of bladder and bowel function require immediate surgery. In most cases, disc ruptures slowly resolves without performing any surgical procedure. The purpose of performing microdiscectomy is to eliminate or decrease the pain that has not improved after a reasonable time. It is important to know that microdiscectomy is very helpful in relieving leg pain or buttocks pain but it cannot effectively treat back pain.
Who should consider Micro Disectomy ?
Micro Discectomy is primarily suggested for those patients who are experiencing leg pain from the last 4-6 weeks and they also have tried other conservative treatments that include epidural steroid injections, oral steroids, physical therapy and NSAID’s. These conservative surgeries were failed to provide any relief from the pain. This surgery should be immediately performed in order to get maximum benefit. Another important factor is the amount of disability and the level of pain that a patient is going through. Immediate surgery is required when there are severe symptoms.
Procedure of Micro Discectomy
The surgical procedure of microdiscectomy is performed on outpatient basis by making small incision of about 1 to 1 ½ inch in the midline of the lower back.
- The first step is to lift the back muscles from the bony arch of the spine known as lamina. These muscles are not cut rather they are moved out of the way as the back muscles run vertically.
- The spine is then entered by the surgeon by removing a membrane over the nerve roots. Operating microscope or operating glasses are then used for visualizing the nerve root.
- In order to gain access to the nerve root and also to ease pain over the nerve, removal of the small part of the inside facet joint is done.
- Then the surgeon smoothly moves the nerve root to the side and also removes the disc material from below the nerve root.
The procedure of microdiscectomy does not affect the mechanical structure of the lower spine of the patient.
Success Rate of Micro Discectomy
The surgical procedure of microdiscectomy is effective in providing about 85-95% relieve from pain in the legs and buttocks. A patient feels immediate relief from pain but in some particular cases, it can take 6-8 weeks to heal the nerve down. The success rate is seldom 100% when a nerve has been pinched for a long period of time. The success rate is so rare in this case as there is generally mild tingling, pain or weakness which is quite tolerable.
Recovery from Micro Discectomy Surgery
Patients who have undergone this surgery experiences significant relief from pain and also can return to their daily routine activities in two weeks. | <urn:uuid:1928cda5-f520-421b-b8dd-a457a1e73cb5> | {
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For two torturous years, Mandi Latzke didn’t tell anyone about the sexual assault she endured at age 12. During those long months of silence, she lived with anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When her parents, with the aid of a therapist, finally managed to discover the truth, Latzke was so worn down by her silence and the accompanying mental illness that she spent two months in an intensive residential treatment program.
Though she’d finally opened up to her parents, Latzke still wanted to keep her mental illness a secret.
“The stigma is so real,” she said. “In high school, when I was being treated for my mental illness, I made my parents tell my friends I was out with mono. I didn’t want anyone to know what was going on. I felt so ashamed.”
Today, Latzke has shed the shame. She is an “In Our Own Voice” speaker for NAMI Minnesota, and a mentor for young people working to take charge of their mental health. And this month, an interview with her and her mother, Marie Brace, about their personal experiences with mental illness will be projected on a big screen as a key part of “Mental Health: Mind Matters,” the Science Museum of Minnesota’s new exhibit, which premiered here and will eventually make its way to museums across the United States and Canada.
All of this openness is a big jump for Latzke, 29, but it feels like the right thing to do.
“The more we talk about mental illness and the more we’re open about it, the stigma will get smaller and smaller,” she said. “Before we know it, it will be normal for people to talk about mental illness and so much easier for them to get the help they need. That’s the goal, anyhow. And that’s why we’re telling our story.”
That encouragement to speak up — to make conversations about mental health as common and comfortable as conversations about physical health — is at the core of “Mental Health: Mind Matters,” said Cari Dwyer, Science Museum of Minnesota project leader.
The overarching message of the exhibit, Dwyer said, is: “Mental illness can affect anyone at any time, and it’s treatable. It affects all of us. It’s OK to talk about it. It’s important to talk about it. It affects people of all ages, genders and cultures. There is nobody it doesn’t touch.”
It’s estimated that one in 6 adults in the United States lives with a mental illness. The fact that so many people have been diagnosed with mental illness yet so few feel comfortable talking about it is frustrating for Latzke. She believes that culturally driven silence and shame is part of why she kept her trauma secret for so long.
“We can talk openly about cancer and diabetes and heart issues and brain tumors,” Latzke said, “but for some reason we can’t talk about depression and anxiety and bipolar and all these different mental illnesses that are just as real and just as hard to live with. I hope this exhibit will do something to help change that.”
‘Mind Matters’ in Minnesota
“Mental Health: Mind Matters” has its origins in Scandinavia, where the exhibit was created in Finland before eventually touring in Paris and Lisbon. Science Museum leadership heard about the award-winning show at an annual science museum conference and felt it would be a perfect match for the museum, with its strong history of creating and supporting traveling exhibits based on topical issues.
Staff strongly supported the idea. “There was a lot of talk about, ‘We did a powerful exhibit about race. We can figure out a compelling exhibit that’s engaging and gets people talking about mental health,’” Dwyer said. Initially, there was talk around the museum about replicating the European exhibit, but, Dwyer added, “that morphed into negotiating an agreement for leasing rights to tour an updated version of ‘Mental Health: Mind Matters’ in North America.”
The decision to go ahead with the “Mental Health: Mind Matters” update was based on success. The museum’s now 10-year-old “Race: Are We So Different?” exhibit is a notably successful example of a topical science museum show that’s still touring nationwide. So far 4 million people in more than 50 museums have visited the exhibit, said Kim Ramsden, Science Museum of Minnesota director of communications.
While the European version of “Mind Matters” was remarkable, it also was starting to show its age, Dwyer said: “In touring exhibits, some stuff holds up, some stuff doesn’t.” With the repairs also came an opportunity to reconfigure the show for a North American audience.
Americanizing “Mind Matters” started out simple, but quickly became more complex.
“The exhibit was offered in French, English and Spanish when it toured Europe,” Dwyer said. “The English had been too obviously translated. I didn’t quite hit our voice. So we revised the copy, and while we were doing that, we thought, ‘Why don’t we get advice from folks here like NAMI and other providers?’ They agreed to help us, and we asked, ‘While we are revising this, are there things we could include to update the information and add additional context?’ ”
The exhibit is organized into sections that include the history and treatment of mental illnesses, healthy expressions of emotion and building empathy. Each section includes interactive elements that bring visitors into the experience of living with mental illness and educates them about common misperceptions of mental illness and formerly accepted standards of care. Many elements offer an opportunity to step inside the shoes of a person living with mental illness.
In the “depression theater,” for instance, visitors enter the home of a man with major depression. They hear his voice, and the voices of his family members as they discuss the significant impact his illness has on their lives. Another exhibit element brings visitors inside the brain of a woman with schizophrenia, where they experience what it is like to live with auditory hallucinations.
The person who created this interactive element, Dwyer said, “was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager. She developed the auditory hallucination recordings to help first-responders better understand how to help people who hear voices.”
Dwyer said that during the nearly yearlong development process of the North American version of “Mental Health: Mind Matters,” Science Museum staff pretested many the exhibit’s interactive elements with members of the public.
“While we were doing testing, we told participants that these elements were for a new exhibit on mental heath,” Dwyer said. “The response was overwhelmingly positive. “We’d say, ‘This is going to be in a mental health exhibit,’ and people would say, ‘You’re doing an exhibit on mental health? That’s amazing. Tell me more.’ ”
Staff also set up a table at a monthly “Social Science” nights, a mixer event aimed at a young-adult audience.
“We brought these big pieces of paper and markers and we asked people at the event if they wanted to make a short statement about raising awareness about mental health,” Dwyer said. “I was amazed at the reaction. People really wanted to share their stories. Mental illness impacts so many people. Everybody has something to say.”
Enthusiastic public response is to be expected because as a culture we have reached a turning point in our attitudes about mental health, said Thomas Joseph, M.D., chief medical officer for PrairieCare Medical Group, a comprehensive mental-health practice providing inpatient and outpatient services for patients of all ages at nine Minnesota locations. PrairieCare is the “Mental Health: Mind Matters” presenting sponsor.
“When we heard that the Science Museum had involvement in this exhibit, we were eager to be able to partner with them to expand the discussion around psychiatric illness, decreasing stigma and increasing access to treatment,” Joseph said. “By providing a venue at such a trusted institution and being able to allow discussion of this topic, we will hopefully provide education to the community about decreasing stigma against people with psychiatric illness.”
The European version of “Mental Health: Mind Matters” featured interviews with individuals who talked about the experience of living with various forms of mental illness.
“The interviews were compelling,” Dwyer said. “We thought they were important for helping visitors understand more about life with mental illness and how people with these diagnoses can do amazing things. But they were filmed in French or Finnish, so we decided to create our own content, something that would better speak to an American audience.”
Dwyer and her staff reached out to local advocacy organizations, including NAMI Minnesota. With the endorsement of Executive Director Sue Abderholden, NAMI sent word to their members, asking if they would be interested in telling their stories about life with mental illness for a new Science Museum exhibit. That’s how Latzke and Brace got involved.
“When I saw NAMI’s email, I immediately wanted to participate,” Brace said. “But I had one condition. I said, ‘I’d be interested in telling my story if I can do it with my daughter.’”
The importance of being honest
It hasn’t always been easy for Brace and Latzke to tell their stories. Brace, who was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when she was a young mother struggling with mysterious health problems, always unconditionally supported her daughter in her own struggle with mental illness, but kept both of their diagnoses quiet for years in fear that they’d face discrimination.
Though she’s successfully kept her anxiety and depression at bay for years with the help of medication and therapy, Brace worried that other people would judge her if they knew she had been diagnosed with a mental illness. She hid this part of her life from friends and co-workers, keeping a key part of herself from public view.
Then, about five years ago, Brace was at a work conference when she heard a talk about “Make It OK,” Health Partners’ public health campaign emphasizing the benefits of open conversation about mental illness.
“It wasn’t until I heard that program about how important it is to tell other people about mental illness that I decided, ‘I can do that. I’m doing great. I have such a great story to tell about how I discovered my mental illness and how I manage it,’” Brace recalled. “I decided that my message would be anti stigma.”
When Brace got home from the conference, she Googled “Make It OK” and learned about NAMI. After some discussion, she and Latzke decided to get involved.
“I became committed to the idea of being open,” Brace said. “Suddenly, I became all about talking about it. Mental illness will never be something you can talk about, unless people are willing to step forward. And if people don’t feel comfortable talking, they’ll have a hard time getting better. It has to start somewhere. It might as well be me.”
Latzke had been quietly mentoring a girl who was struggling with a mental illness diagnosis that felt similar to her own. When her mentee died by suicide, Latzke decided that her silence had to end.
“When she lost her battle with mental illness, I was like, ‘I need to get out of this silence and secrecy,’ ” Latzke said. “I wanted to talk to high school students and tell them that things can get better.” She signed up for the “In Our Own Voices” speakers’ bureau with that goal in mind: “I went through this at a very young age. I can relate more to high school kids and what they are going through.”
Today, Latzke said that, with the help of “medication, a hospital stay and intense therapy,” she has made it to a good place with her mental health. Her commitment to open communication is freeing — and gives her an inner strength and confidence that she hadn’t felt for many years.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be completely recovered,” Latzke said. “There are times where I can go two years and not be on meds and not have to go to therapy, and one day I’ll wake up and realize I have to go to my doctor and get back on my meds. At first that was reality was hard to live with. I didn’t want to admit I needed to go back and get help, but my mom is my on-call therapist. She always says, ‘It’s OK. You’re going to get better.’ Being able to talk about it makes it that much easier.” | <urn:uuid:e6d19dd8-3282-45ca-8286-c7cf6165e88b> | {
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The main concentration camp of Mauthausen was located in Upper Austria and therefore has the highest number and concentration of sub-camps and places related to the Nazi instruments of oppression. The first sub-camp of Mauthausen was begun in December 1939, just 5 km from the main camp in Langenstein (Gusen I concentration camp), further sub-camps were later established for armament production and other forms of forced labour. Furthermore, there were several work commandos working in the immediate area around the camps, such as felling wood in Königswiesen.
The Sub-camps of Mauthausen Concentration (in chronological order)
- Gusen I
Peak number of registered prisoners: 12.000, Quarry and armaments, Founded: 1940
Peak number of prisoners: 20, Sawmill, Founded: 1942
Peak number of prisoners: 3091, Building works and armaments, Founded: 1942
Peak number of prisoners: 300, Road building, Founded: 1942
Peak number of prisoners: 1013, Power plant construction, Founded: 1943
Peak number of prisoners: 130, Power plant and road construction, Founded: 1943
Peak number of prisoners: 18.509, Shaft construction, Founded: 1943
- Linz I
Peak number of prisoners: 790, Construction, Founded: 1943
Peak number of prisoners: 1500, Construction and armaments, Founded: 1943
Peak number of prisoners: 400, Power plant and road construction, Founded: 1943
- Gusen II
Peak number of registered prisoners: 12.500, Shaft construction and armaments, Founded: 1944
- Gusen III
Peak number of registered prisoners: 274, Brickworks, Founded: 1944
- Lenzing (Women's Camp)
Peak number of prisoners: 577, Rayon factory, Founded: 1944
- Linz II
Peak number of prisoners: 285, Shaft construction, Founded: 1944
- Linz III
Peak number of prisoners: 5600, Steel industry, Founded: 1944
- Mauthausen Tent Camp
Peak number of prisoners: 10000, Incoming prisoner camp, Founded: 1944
Peak number of prisoners: 1500, Construction works and armaments, Founded: 1944
Peak number of prisoners: 2000, Bunker construction, Founded: 1945
Peak number of prisoners: 120, Construction, Founded: 1945
Peak number of prisoners: 15.000, Collection camp for Jews, Founded: 1945
- Mauthausen Ship Camp
Peak number of prisoners: 740, Incoming prisoner camp, Founded: 1945
- The Euthanasia centre Schloss Hartheim was also in Upper Austria. It was there that between Easter 1940 and summer 1941 more than 18,000 people with disabilities and mental illness were murdered. After the euthanasia programme was stopped, the facilities at Schloss Hartheim were used to murder the physically weak concentration camp prisoners from Mauthausen and Dachau. More than 8,000 people fell victim to this policy.
Furthermore, several sub-camps of Mauthausen could be found in what is today Bavaria, Germany
- Passau I
Peak number of prisoners: 80, Construction, Founded: 1942
- Passau II
Peak number of prisoners: 333, Armaments, Founded: 1944
- Mauthausen Committee Dipoldsau/Weyer an der Enns
The Weyer-Dipoldsau was founded in 1988 and 2001 by Hans Haas, Konrad Rumetshofer and Adolf Brunnthaler. The group maintains the memorial in Dipoldsau and organises memorial events each May. The aim of the organisation is to work with local high school and educational organisations to find a future-orientated form of commemoration. The group works together with the Weyer parish and the cultural organisation FRIKULUM (Peace-Culture-Environment).
- Memorial and Contemporary History Museum Ebensee
The Concentration Camp Memorial and Contemporary History Museum Ebensee organisation was founded in 1988. Three employees and one alternative service volunteer work at the site. The organisation is responsible for facilitating school visits to the site, maintaining the site and contact to survivors, as well as for the content of the permanent exhibition.
The contemporary history museum is open all year round 10am-5pm in the centre of the village and also houses the archive of the memorial with photograph archive, documents and database of victims and survivors.
- Mauthausen Committee Steyr
The Steyr Mauthausen Committee was founded in the memorial year 1988. The group is made up of people who live in Steyr and are dedicated to the maintenance of the memorial site, organising the annual commemorative events and researching the Jewish history of the area (including publishing two books: "Forgotten traces" and "Traces of Escape") and the former concentration camp. They also have links to former forced labourers and survivors. Research results are used in schools. The group is also engaged in work to combat far-right extremism and attempts to combat attempts to trivialise Nazi crimes. The committee meets on a monthly basis.
- Memorial Committee Gusen
The Memorial Committee Gusen Initiative has been working since 1984 together with surviving prisoners of the Gusen concentration camp and the political districts of St. Georgen/Gusen and Langenstein.
- Organisation Weyer/Innviertel Memorial
The group was founded in 2000 as a result of research conducted by the writer Ludwig Laher who wrote about the largely ignored story of Weyer and the resulting court cases in his novel Herzfleischentartung (Haymon 2001). The local community in St. Panteleon unveiled a memorial for the Weyer victims in 2000. There are currently around 30 members who maintain the site, offer tours and organise local memorial events each year.
- Perspektive Mauthausen
The group is a non-party political, anti-fascist activist group with the aim of contributing to to the development of Mauthausen as a place of memory and remembrance. An important cooperation partner is the Austrian Mauthausen Committee.
- Organisation for Contemporary History/Braunau Contemporary History Week
The contemporary history organisation was found in Braunau-am-Inn in 1993 with the intention of promoting an awareness of history through their events and educational activities, together with organisations with similar aims and objectives.
- Education and Memorial Centre Schloss Hartheim
Founded in 1995 as a cooperation between the Upper Austrian Charities Organisation, the owner of Schloss Hartheim and the Hartheim Institute. The aim was to create an appropriate memorial on the site of the Nazi Euthanasia centre and to transform the former castle and hospital into a place of learning and reflection. The centre also intends to be a place for the discussion of modern-day biological and medical ethical debates.
- Arge Schlier
The ARGE Schlier seeks to make the maintain, document and make accessible the remaining structures of the former Nazi armament factory "Schlier" in Zipf, Upper Austria and the sub-camp Redl-Zipf located nearby.
- Organisation Ketani
The organisation KETANI (Ketani translates as cooperation) is involved with issues relating to the Roma and Sinti in Austria, particularly maintaining the culture and languages and campaigning for the improvement of social, economic and legal situation of the Roma and Sinti in Austria. | <urn:uuid:2a4de95d-72e1-447d-bdf2-76a084c86baa> | {
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British nurseries in Dubai follow the Early Year Foundation System (EYFS). This curriculum is different from other teaching methods. It does not follow any planned guidelines or pre-structured teaching method. The philosophy behind this curriculum is that every child has inimitable capabilities that are supposed to be identified and groomed by the facilitators. In order to do this, the teachers design vivacious activities that stimulate the kids to learn and develop through playful manner. As a parent, you can also contribute a large amount in the development of your child.
Here are the twelve great educational tips for kids and parents shared by Mosaic Nursery, one of the best British Nurseries in Dubai. By following these tips you may witness a gigantic difference in learning and development of your child.
1. Read With Your Child
Good reading skill is an asset of a child. At Mosaic Nursery in Dubai, we have a reading and a storytelling session, where a teacher tells the kids different stories, discusses the characters in the story and asks kids to interpret the story through pictures.
Tip: Toddlers love to hear bedtime stories. Even the same story can keep them occupied for many days. Get some good story books and show them the importance of books and reading. They learn from repetition of the same story. Try to build a character sketch in their mind. Ask them questions. Teach them a moral.
2. Make Math Fun
The Rudimentary math skills that kids learn during their early childhood years set the basis of their entire academic career. At Mosaic Nursery, kids learn simple math concepts and its application with fun-filled activities.
Tip: You can make geometry interesting by involving your child to cut different shapes of snacks. This way they can easily recognize different shapes.
Take them to the grocery store; compare the prices of different candies. This way they can learn the sense of money.
Give them pebbles of different colors and ask them to sort them. This will teach them different patterns and their relationship.
Teach them measurement. You can do this by taking three different sizes of glasses and put rice in it. Ask them to arrange these glasses according to their sizes. They will learn the concept of measurement as well as the concept of big or small.
3. Cognitive Skills
The environment in Mosaic Nursery is stimulating to develop the cognitive skills of kids.
Tips: As a parent, you can improve the cognitive skills of your kid at home by incorporating few activities in your daily routine to improve their memory, attentiveness, and observation.
Ask questions from the daily routine. Which dress do you want to wear? What do you want to eat? Why we need to stay quiet when someone is saying his prayers. These kinds of questions let them use their cognitive skills
4. Creative Thinking
At Mosaic Nursery JLT Dubai, the display boards are brimming with the drawing and painting of kids to encourage their creative thinking.
Tips: As a parent, you should always encourage your kid’s creative thinking and never ever discourage it. You can paint with your kid to promote the creative abilities of your toddler.
5. Make Science Interesting
At Mosaic Nursery, the teacher design fun-filled experiments to make science more interesting for kids.
Tips: At home, teach them the concept of floating and sinking by asking them to put their plastic toys in the water.
In the kitchen, perform baking soda and vinegar experiment with them and make it more exciting by adding “Tang”.
Teach them about animals by taking them to the zoo.
6. Build Gross Motor skills:
The teachers at Mosaic Nursery plan activities that promote gross motor skills of kids.
Tips: To improve their balance and strength simply ask the kid to clean up the toys from the room. Promote games that include jumping and climbing.
Put a nursery rhyme and ask them to perform on the rhyme.
7. Communication Skills:
The teacher in Mosaic Nursery, focus on effective communication skills of children.
Tips:At home, you can encourage your child to speak slowly and pronounce a word properly. Refrain from interrupt your child when he tries to complete a sentence.
Play games like Show and Tell, storytelling etc.
At Mosaic Nursery, the curriculum is multilingual.
Tips:Don’t worry; your child won’t get confused if you both speak two different languages at home. The child has the capability to grasp as many languages as he is exposed to. He can even learn third language that is used in school as a way of communication.
9. Social Studies:
Mosaic Nursery covers all aspects of a child’s development and learning. The kids learn about the world and the countries. The kids belong to different backgrounds so here they learn how to get along with each other with love and care. Teachers resolve conflicts between the kids and teach them the concept of sharing, caring and loving unconditionally.
Tips:You can take your kids to your relatives or to the neighborhood to teach them about community.
You can ask your kid to help you in cleaning the house and tell them it’s our duty to keep our city/ country clean.
When you take the child to the neighborhood park, teach him to wait for his turn on the swing.
10. Enhance Sensory Learning:
The activities at Mosaic Nursery are designed to stimulate the child’s senses.
Tips:At home, you can do simple activities to stimulate the senses like (Sense of touch) ask her to bring cold water from the dispenser versus stay away from “Hot” water, (Sense of smell) Good smell of Chicken nuggets or bad smell of garbage, (Sense of sight) see flowers in the garden, (Sense of hear) hear the sound of car horn and (Sense of taste) lemon versus the taste of chocolate.
11. Get Involved:
Whether it is parents-teacher meeting, an open day or sports day; participate in all the functions. Show that you care for your kid. The teachers don’t get annoyed if you ask relevant questions.
12. Make your child independent:
Expect more from your child. Ask him for small help to pass things, help in cleaning the messy toys, throw the wrapper in the dustbin etc. Don’t make him totally dependent on yourself.
A toddler is full of brimming energy which should be utilized in a productive manner; their curious minds should be diverted towards creative thinking and exposure. This is the best time when they learn new languages and acquire new skills. As wonderful and easy it sounds, we can understand how challenging it is to capitalize the high energy level of a toddler. Hope this article is beneficial for you and gives you educational tips for your tot! | <urn:uuid:05c3a43d-731a-41e8-888c-c57f742ab820> | {
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Know how Artificial Intelligence will Create more Jobs in Future
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is gaining a lot of traction in recent times. This is mainly because it has broken the bottleneck of human efficiency, reduced repetitive work, and enhanced work efficiency. As a result, almost every industry in the world is planning to leverage AI or has already implemented it in their business.
However, implementing AI can also lead to the elimination of a lot of human jobs. In fact, in areas such as medical diagnosis, speech translation, and accounting, AI has outperformed humans in every way imaginable. Thus, there is this underlying fear that AI will one day take over most of the jobs in the world.
According to accountancy firm PwC, over 7 million jobs will be displaced by AI between 2017 and 2037. However, it will also lead to the generation of 7.2 million jobs, which is a net gain of 200,000 jobs.
15 reasons why AI will create more jobs than it takes
- The Demand for man-machine Hybrid Teams: The future of employment will depend on how well humans and AI blend to create augmented hybrid teams. An AI has strengths such as speed, accuracy, computation, etc. A human has strengths such as empathy, judgment, cognition, etc. This role will combine these strengths of both AI and humans to generate better business outcomes. Last year’s Accenture report estimated that new applications of AI-human collaboration could boost employment by 10% by 2020.
- Worldwide Employment: Companies that effectively implement AI can generate more money for their businesses. This, in turn, leads to higher employee wages, better technology tools, and greater efficiency. With such success, companies can actually spread their reach across the world. As a result, they will require a global workforce, which again generates huge employment opportunities.
- AI’s Role in Marketing and Sales: AI has already started playing a substantial role in marketing and sales. Through the development of smart databases, AI can help in building effective, large-scale sales forces. Tools such as Zendesk and Salesforce, are using AI to develop insights that can help companies in recruiting the right sales teams for their business.
- AI will help Companies Scale up: If AI and machine learning algorithms can wisely use large amounts of big data, it will help companies perform better. It will also increase the employee retention rate and help in new customer acquisition. This will create new job opportunities as companies begin to scale up and grow, and benefit the industry as a whole.
- AI will Create new Job Positions: A recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report estimated that nearly 50% of the full-time workforce of companies will shrink over the next few years. Although AI will eliminate jobs, it will create a demand for new job positions. For AI to function properly, humans will be needed to check work, improve it and manage it. The WEF indicated that the new positions will require additional skills for managing the interface between technology and humans.
- AI Maintenance Jobs: AI is helping businesses operate more efficiently especially in areas such as customer service, automation, etc. Some companies even integrate AI in all their crucial systems. As AI gets implemented in every industry, the demand for an AI maintenance workforce is going to skyrocket. Companies would need large amounts of AI developers and engineers to maintain their systems.
- AI in Robotics: The area of robotics will see massive growth in the next few years. AI-based robots such as stationary robots, non-humanoid land robots, and fully automated aerial drones, are gaining significant business interest from companies globally. This increased demand is bound to open a lot of job roles for AI robotics engineers.
- AI Facilitator Roles: AI’s increased adoption in companies will see a demand for AI facilitators who will provide businesses with the flexibility to compile their own AI environments. This role will involve the creation of automated environments as well as build systems such as virtual assistants. The AI-based environments will help employees work better without compromising on security, governance, data control and compliance.
- AI in Healthcare: Healthcare is one area where there is a lot of scope for AI applications. PwC estimates that it would be one of the biggest winners from AI, where job opportunities could increase by nearly 1 million. In the near future, AI-powered healthcare will be available at a scale and on-demand for everyone. Hence, the requirement for AI-assisted healthcare technician jobs will see an upward surge.
- AI in the Gaming Industry: The gaming industry is one area where AI applications are immense. Right from game design and development to in-game operations and maintenance, AI plays an indispensable role that is reaping huge rewards for gaming companies. With virtual reality games becoming highly popular, companies are bound to invest a lot of money on AI-based systems. Thus, AI developer jobs in gaming will be in high demand.
- AI in Automated Transportation: AI is already playing a major role in the automated transportation sector. Companies like Uber and Google are investing millions of dollars into AI-driven self-driving cars and trucks. As this mode of transportation picks up in the future, it is going to create plenty of vacancies for AI and machine learning engineers.
- AI in Financial Services: Financial Services companies such as banks require AI engineers to develop systems that can identify and mitigate fraud. They are also using machine learning based anomaly detection models to monitor transaction requests and identify suspicious activity. Apart from security, AI is being increasingly used in financial marketing. Financial companies are developing systems that can orchestrate customer journeys on their most preferred channels and at the right time. Thus, in the Financial Services sector, the AI job scenario is highly positive.
- AI in Education: PwC’s recent report revealed that the education sector is poised to get almost 200,000 extra jobs. The education industry is slowly shifting towards e-learning. Concepts such as smart content, personalized learning, and other data-driven operations depend heavily on AI. An eSchool News study indicated that the application of AI in education will be increased by 47.5% by 2021. For facilitating such growth, the industry will need to hire plenty of AI and machine learning experts.
- AI in the Entertainment Industry: AI and machine learning have seen massive potential in the entertainment industry. Streaming service companies such as Spotify, Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu are already using AI technology in their business model. By identifying the online behavior of consumers, AI algorithms help in recommending media which suits the consumer’s preferences. This is just one of the umpteen use cases that AI offers in this industry. The industry will therefore definitely hire a huge AI workforce to fulfill all their requirements.
- AI and Digital Assistants: Digital assistants such as the Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa, and Bixby are getting smarter by the year. Global IT behemoths such as Google, Samsung, and Amazon are pouring billions of dollars into making digital assistants perform complex tasks. These tasks include learning about our daily routines, speech recognition, etc. According to Zion market research, by 2025, the global intelligent virtual assistant market will reach $19.6 billion. This estimate purely indicates that a large amount of AI jobs will get generated in this industry.
To explore a career in Artificial Intelligence, Please check our Artificial Intelligence Course | <urn:uuid:ea4a4cf0-b192-4c69-87c3-dd694dd0b7e1> | {
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Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts
The 1925 Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) was intended to govern disputes among businesses. Today, however, it is invoked more often in consumer/business disputes. Arbitration clauses, which require contractual disputes to be handled by private arbiters rather than courts and juries, are now buried in form contracts for consumer products and services as diverse as credit cards, nursing home care, employment contracts, and website purchases. Often, these contracts bar consumers from collective action or class action suits. Under a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the FAA applies to such consumer/business contracts; affected consumers must take their claims to the arbitration forum, not the courts. So, too, the FAA preempts state laws granting consumers private rights to act individually or as classes in the courts.
Studies reveal that arbitration clauses have become pervasive over the past 10 years – especially since the 2011 Supreme Court decision in Concepcion. In the consumer financial space alone, for example, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that “hundreds of millions” of consumers use financial products or services subject to arbitration agreements, such as credit cards, checking accounts, prepaid cards, and payday loans.
Arbitration Clauses Injure Consumers
Arbitration clauses seriously harm many consumers. Yet it is nearly impossible to avoid signing them, if a person wants or needs to use the internet, phone, credit cards, loans, medical or long-term care services, and so on. Some reasons forced arbitration harms consumers are:
- Consumers are denied court hearings and jury trials
- Case outcomes are usually kept private. This means neither the general public nor other, similarly-injured consumers will learn about them.
- Business entities are “repeat players.” They may appear repeatedly before the same arbitration company, or even the same individual. Systemic biases favor them — for example, the arbiter might fear losing lucrative income by ruling against the entity, or may be swayed by ongoing, friendly relationships with company representatives.
- Individual arbitrations can be very costly to consumers, who may be forced to act pro se in small-dollar, single-case injuries.
- Unjust Enrichment? When a corporate wrong-doer faces a handful of individual arbitrations rather than a public class action, the business retains virtually all the financial gains from its wrong-doing. Only few injured consumers recover anything at all.
Lately, many state and federal government representatives, judges, politicians, and interest groups have been speaking up about arbitration. Some have publicly pulled away from upholding universal “forced arbitration.”
Many federal agencies have issued actual or proposed rules for the entities they regulate, “chipping away” at the universal prevalence of arbitration. These include:
- Congress explicitly required the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) to study arbitration issues in the consumer financial space, and authorized the Bureau to issue rules based on its findings, if in the “public interest and for the protection of consumers.”
- The CFPB has proposed a new rule preserving consumer financial class actions and requiring that financial providers regularly report arbitration-related documents and information. (The 13,000 public comments from all sides related to the proposed rule make for interesting reading!)
- The Department of Education’s March, 2016 proposal would require schools that receive federal funding to issue contracts permitting class actions in court.
- Recent military lending rules for short-term, small-dollar loans (payday loans, car title loans) bar mandatory arbitration.
- The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rule requires broker/dealers agreements not to bar class actions in court.
- The DHHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services propose restricting mandatory arbitration as to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
- The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) interprets Section 7 of its founding Act as protecting collective worker activity, and thus as barring arbitration clauses that prevent class actions.
- The Department of Labor’s “fiduciary rule,” which requires financial advisors to act disinterestedly in a client’s “best interest,” requires arbitration clauses not to bar court class actions.
Politicians, Research, and Polls:
Bloomberg BNA’s Class Action Litigation Report of August 12, 2016 suggests the “current political moment” may mark a political and legal “mood” more hostile to arbitration clauses and class-action bans. One factor encompasses changes in the Supreme Court composition, as well as Circuit court splits on forced arbitration. Another is growing public awareness of how these clauses impact consumers, spurred by a lengthy New York Times series of articles in November 2015, a congressionally mandated study of consumer financial arbitration recently issued by the CFPB, and rules issued or proposed by agencies limiting forced arbitration. As evidence, a national poll cited by pro-consumer blog “ourfinancialsecurity.org” shows Republicans as well as Democrats favor class action rights against financial providers by a margin of 3 to 1; many Senators and House members, state attorneys general, state legislators, law professors and scholars, The Military Coalition, and numerous consumer groups support restrictions on mandatory arbitration.
An Uncertain Future
Individual arbitration clauses are now on the radar of many attorneys, judges, politicians, regulators, journalists, and consumers. It is too soon to tell whether the new or proposed regulations and rules preserving court trials and permitting class actions for consumers will be upheld or overturned.
There is a very imminent possibility that another arbitration-related case will reach the Supreme Court. When Scalia’s vacant seat is filled, what will the Court decide? To uphold Concepcion’s interpretation of the FAA on stare decicis grounds? Or, instead, to backstop the new agency rules?
The CFPB’s proposed rule is especially important because of the tremendous number of contracts it might alter and its degree of controversy. It would provide consumers the right to file class actions in the courts and permit the Bureau greater information about the “black box” of arbitration. Industry players will likely challenge the new rule. We believe the rule stands on firm ground, because, among other things, the CFPB conducted its study and rule-making activities subject to an explicit Congressional mandate in the Dodd-Frank Act, and took a middle-ground position by preserving class actions in court without disturbing mandatory arbitration for individual claims.
Arbitration will continue to be a hot button political and legal topic in the months and years to come. We will continue to monitor and report on any changes in the world of arbitration—good or bad—that may impact consumers and consumer advocates. | <urn:uuid:0c71561d-2e30-4b09-af1e-af88dcab3ec9> | {
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Play a Role in Global Warming Research
If you own a computer, you can make a difference
- Roger Di Silvestro
- Apr 01, 2005
THE LARGEST EXPERIMENT ever conducted to forecast the global climate of the 21st century is headquartered at England's Oxford University, and you can play a crucial role in it.
Called climateprediction.net, the experiment links thousands of computers across the world into a system that can test various climate models thousands of times, refining the data and models that scientists are using to predict global warming. Nearly 100,000 people from some150 nations have participated. "Our experiment shows that increased levels of greenhouse gases could have a much greater impact on climate than previously thought," says David Stainforth of the Oxford Physics Department, quoted by CNN.
Indeed, the study indicates that greenhouse gases could raise global temperatures by as much as 20 degrees F by the end of the century, almost twice the increase predicted by the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This drastic increase is likely to occur even if carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas responsible for global warming, were limited to 560 parts per million in the atmosphere, which is twice the concentration prior to the Industrial Revolution. Without major cuts in greenhouse gas production, that level is likely to be reached by 2050.
Climateprediction.net allows researchers to solve a key modeling problem—lack of computer power. Volunteers visit the project website to download free software that runs in the background when their computers are turned on but not working to capacity. The project has run more than 5 million model years of climate simulations this way.
You can participate by going to www.climateprediction.net and following instructions on the home page. The software you download will not affect other tasks on your computer, according to the website, but does allow you to watch predicted weather patterns evolve. Data from your computer are sent to Oxford via the Internet, and the project website enables you to see summaries of your results. | <urn:uuid:50de57db-2755-4096-b9d5-6616ff98d356> | {
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Amyloidosis (am-uh-loi-DO-sis) is a rare disease that occurs when a substance called amyloid builds up in your organs. Amyloid is an abnormal protein that is usually produced in your bone marrow and can be deposited in any tissue or organ. Amyloidosis can affect different organs in different people, and there are different types of amyloid. Amyloidosis frequently affects the heart, kidneys, liver, spleen, nervous system and digestive tract. Severe amyloidosis can lead to life-threatening organ failure.
The aggregates form protofilaments that associate into amyloid fibrils. In all types of amyloidosis, glycosaminoglycan moieties of proteoglycans and serum amyloid P (SAP) protein interact with the amyloid fibrils or deposits, promoting fibril formation and stability in tissue . Organ dysfunction results from disruption of tissue architecture by amyloid deposits. However, increasing evidence indicating that amyloidogenic precursor proteins or precursor aggregates have direct cytotoxic effects that also contribute to disease manifestations is emerging.
Amyloidosis is rare, the diagnosis is often delayed or the condition goes undiagnosed. Therefore, it is difficult to know exactly how many people are affected by this disease. However, researchers estimate that between 1,500 and 2,500 people develop AL amyloidosis each year in the United States. Hereditary and AA amyloidosis are much less common. | <urn:uuid:2494d8e3-1dac-4f83-8c8e-d84b2687e1f3> | {
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To test this idea, 5 and 6 year-old children were read stories that had a moral. As the story was read, children were either asked to recall surface details (e.g., "was Jocko sad?"), asked to explain an event (e.g., "why was Jocko sad"), or were simply told the lesson (e.g., "Jocko was sad because…"). Afterwards, the children were asked what the moral of the story was, and if they could name other stories with similar moral lessons. Children who were asked to explain the events of the story were better able to extract the story's moral. In the second study, the children asked to explain the story were also better able to apply the lessons to a real life example.
These two studies suggest that children can extract moral lessons from stories at much earlier ages than previously thought, but that they may need a little help. A key insight is that parents may be able to aid their children by asking questions about the story that direct their attention to important plot points, such as character motivation. Although more research is necessary to understand why these kinds of questions help children, these studies highlight the importance of interactive learning and provide promising evidence that storybooks may be more educational than previously thought.
Walker, C. M., & Lombrozo, T. (2017). Explaining the moral of the story. Cognition, 167, 266-281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2016.11.007
Post by Joseph Hoyda.
* For a copy of the original article, please contact R. Mar (see profile for e-mail). | <urn:uuid:49120cf7-3039-4f56-a29b-9c1cd0da28ed> | {
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February 4, 2013 | in Blog, Flu (Influenza), News
If your child has flu-like symptoms and he or she is younger than 5 years old or has any chronic medical conditions, contact a health care provider as soon as possible. Your child’s provider may want to prescribe antiviral medications to make your child’s symptoms less severe and help him or her feel better faster. On December 21, 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the approved use of Tamiflu to treat children as young as 2 weeks old who have shown symptoms of flu for no longer than two days. Tamiflu is the only product approved to treat flu infection in children younger than 1 year old.
Follow these special instructions when caring for children and infants with the flu:
Do not give aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) to children or teenagers who have the flu. Giving aspirin to children with the flu can cause a rare but serious illness called Reye’s syndrome. Read ingredient labels on over-the-counter medications carefully to ensure they do not contain aspirin. To safely treat children under 2, use a suction bulb to help clear mucus and a cool-mist humidifier to make breathing easier. Do not give children younger than 4 over-the-counter cold medicines without consulting a health care provider.
Give children and teens 5 years and older cold medicines with acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®, Nuprin®), to relieve symptoms.
January 28, 2013 | in Blog, Flu (Influenza), News
Your respiratory illness might be the flu if you have fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu and have respiratory symptoms without a fever. Flu viruses usually cause the most illness during the colder months of the year. However, influenza can also occur outside of the typical flu season. In addition, other viruses can also cause respiratory illness similar to the flu. So, it is impossible to tell for sure if you have the flu based on symptoms alone. If your doctor needs to know for sure whether you have the flu, there are laboratory tests that can be done.
January 21, 2013 | in Blog, Flu (Influenza), News
The first and most important step is to get a flu vaccination each year. If you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, you should still try to. With very few exceptions, everyone 6 months of age and older should get an annual flu vaccine as soon as vaccines are available. Vaccination is especially important for people at high risk to decrease their likelihood of getting sick and possibly having serious illness. People at high risk of serious flu complications include young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions (like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease), and people 65 years and older.
At this point flu vaccine may be harder to find now than it was earlier in the season. You may need to contact more than one provider (pharmacy, health department, or doctor) to find available vaccine. San Francisco residents can contact The SF Department of Public Health at: www.sfcdcp.org/flu. To find a clinic near you, visit www.flu.gov. | <urn:uuid:79eb9896-a456-4241-89f5-56f85f5b59d3> | {
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The nearly two-thirds victory of Measure E supporters in early November won't change that dynamic.
Take a deep breath: The debate will continue for years to come, not "months" as surmised in one news article about the vote.
A key element of the debate right now is what the "voter mandate" means.
Was it an approval of a significant composting and energy-generation operation in a low-profile facility that would be partially below grade (with trucks and heavy equipment and their back-up beeps)?
Or is it a mandate only to allow "more study" of whether the 10 acres at issue, directly adjacent to the city's wastewater-treatment plant on the southeast side, could be used for a combination composting and anaerobic digestion facility that would generate electricity.
The digesters would convert yard waste and plant materials mixed with sludge from the adjacent Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, at the end of Embarcadero Road, into methane-gas-generated electricity. The plant, built in 1970, deals with sewage from Palo Alto, Stanford, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Mountain View and East Palo Alto.
The sewage sludge presently is incinerated and reduced to ash, which concentrates the components, including some heavy metals, to a degree that the ash becomes classified as hazardous waste, requiring transportation to a hazardous-waste-treatment facility north of Las Vegas. In the late 1970s, it was discovered that the ash pile had in it more gold and silver than the average small gold mine, and the city leased rights to "mine" it (using a complex chemical-extraction process).
It seemed ironic that well-to-do Palo Alto had a gold/silver-laden pile of sewage-ash. But the mini-gold/silver rush is now over. The silver was mainly from the Kodak film-processing operation in Palo Alto's Stanford Research Park, and the gold was mainly from the coating of computer components. Kodak shut down its plant, much of the computer-component manufacturing left town (or the country) and methods improved to recapture the gold before it hit the sewers.
As for the new "mandate," the "more study" interpretation should be a cinch. Palo Alto has a tradition of "more study." It goes back at least as far as the decades-long debate over the baylands. It's one thing that the community and city government -- and school district, too, for that matter -- truly excel at doing.
What's missing in this vote (as is usual in any this-or-that election) is a base of accurate, complete information on which the struggling voter or city official (or journalist) can rely. It is the nature of campaigns to generate oversimplified slogans, and cast aspersions on the opposing side. "Aspersions" is a fancy term for slinging mud and calling names, using guilt by innuendo or guilt by association with campaign contributors.
But hey, as a voter being asked to make a judgment on a complex matter, don't BOTH SIDES owe me some measure of truth-telling? Or must we continue the tradition of being fed deceptive, misleading half-truths engineered to evoke a gut-level emotional response rather than a cool intellectual judgment? The local campaign was a pale reflection of the crisis at the national and state levels, a polarization that poisons trust and undermines the political process.
No wonder our democracy is in trouble. The voter turnout was below 30 percent of Palo Alto registered voters, much less if one counted those eligible to vote who aren't registered.
It wasn't as if efforts weren't made to find a collaborative solution, a different site for a composting/power generation operation that wouldn't require taking even 10 acres of dedicated parkland away from the hundreds of acres of baylands park and preserves. But a special panel of citizens -- including Measure E opponent Emily Renzel -- failed to find an acceptable alternative site.
Renzel and longtime friend and mentor Enid Pearson, both former City Council members, opposed any undedication with the same dedication they have each shown for decades in preserving the baylands and slowing growth. Part of their concern was that undedicating the 10 acres would set a precedent for some other project deemed worthy enough to sacrifice dedicated land elsewhere.
Some history may help explain their tenacity.
Dedicating parklands was a hard-fought battle in the early 1960s, when City Council members showed a receptiveness to ideas to use city parks and open spaces for building projects. Pearson and others pleaded with the council to dedicate parks. After being rebuffed, somewhat rudely, Pearson and other "residentialists" mounted an initiative-petition effort that resulted in the city's park-dedication ordinance of 1965 -- still in effect as a powerful deterrent.
The election swept Pearson onto the City Council, along with former state Senator Byron Sher, creating a deeply split council comprised of six "residentialists" vs. seven "establishment" candidates that severely crippled local government. The situation led to a bitter all-council election in 1967, scars of which still linger.
Today both Pearson and Renzel have preserves named for them, Pearson in the lower foothills and Renzel in the baylands. But they haven't forgotten those hard and angry days of yore. And they seem convinced that any compromise will weaken the dedication policy by creating a "camel's nose" exception. The concern seems to be that giving a inch will lead to losing a mile someday.
But in this case, other issues came into play. In addition to having to truck hazardous waste to Nevada at a cost of about $300,000 a year, there is the cost of natural gas used to incinerate the sludge, and its "greenhouse gas" emissions, reported as more than $200,000. If anaerobic digestion could produce methane gas to power generators, it could supply the power needs of the entire treatment plant plus some homes and businesses, perhaps.
A proposed private school, the Girls Middle School, was relocated recently from a site near the treatment plant to west of Highway 101 due to concerns about potential health risks to the students and about several hundred parents calling the city to report every smell from the plant.
No one is sure yet about precisely how much savings or electricity could result. Thus the need for "more study."
And during the study time opponents to Measure E will also be at work studying potential rear-guard actions to prevent anything from happening, so the land would go back to parkland in 10 years.
Note: Former Weekly Editor Jay Thorwaldson can be e-mailed at [email protected] and [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:bb33bfc6-8ceb-4f3b-9308-40d931b015a7> | {
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History of Patna
Patna an ancient and historical city was founded in the 6th century BC by Ajatshatru, a Magadha king, who first built a small fort in Pataligram on the banks of the holy river Ganga which later developed into the present day Patna.Patna has witnessed different phases of Indian history from ancient Mauryan days to Sultanate era and also saw the arrival of English East India Company. It became a hub of nationalism during struggle for freedom during Quit India Movement of 1942.
How the City Got Its Name ?
Patna received its current name during the reign of Sher Shah Suri. It is believed that the name of the city Patna is derived from the name of Hindu goddess Patan Devi. The other theories are that as Patna is situated near the confluence of four rivers, it has been a major port over the years, hence the name is derived from “pattan” which means port in Sanskrit.Another popular belief is that Patna is the short form of its earlier name Pataliputra.Pataliputra has been an intrinsic part of ancient India’s two great empires - the Mauryas and the Guptas. Patna remained capital of the Magadha Empire for over 1000 years (600BCE to 600CE). It is counted amongst the oldest imperial metropolis capital city of the world. Over the years the capital city was renamed by the reigning kings and thus Patna was known by many names-Pataligram, Palibothra, Kusumpura, Pataliputra, Pushpapura, Azeemabad.
Patna during ancient periods of history
The Haryanka dynasty (684BCE -424BCE) had his capital in Rajagriha. This dynasty was overthrown by the Nanda dynasty, which ruled for over a 100 years. They were followed by the Mauryan dynasty. It was Ajatshatru, a Magadha king (491-461 BCE) who moved the capital from Rajagriha to Pataliputra the present day Patna. As the Mauryan empire grew to its glory, Pataliputra became a significant centre of power in the Indian subcontinent.Between 6th century BC and 5th century AD, Pataliputra was the dominant place for political fortunes of the whole north India. Pataliputra was considered a centre for learning and fine arts. Under emperor Ashoka’s reign, Patna emerged as an important capital of the Indian subcontinent. It was he who transformed the city with stone constructions.After the Mauryan period, the Gupta dynasty took over the empire and it used Patna as its capital for its expanding kingdom. After the decline of Gupta empire Patna /Pataliputra lost its prominence as the political capital of India.
Patna during medieval periods of history
In the mid 12th century Patna became a part of the Delhi Sultanate, but by then it had lost its prominence as the learning and arts centre of India. During the reign of Sher Shah Suri in the 16th century, the city returned to its former glory, which can be experienced in the present day Patna. One of the first mosques in Patna was built by Alauddin Hussani Shah, the ruler of Bengal in the year 1489. It is known as Begu Hajjam's mosque as it was later renovated by a barber in the year 1646. The Nawabs of Bengal took over Patna after the end of the Mughal era.In the 17th century, Patna was popular for international trade. It is a birth place of Guru Gobind Singh, the last Sikh guru . Gurudwara Har Mandir Sahib is considered as one of the most important Takts in Sikhism.
Patna during British rule
The British took over Patna and found it to be an ideal regional capital.The old city was extended by the British and was called Bankipore. In 1620 they established a factory in Patna for the purchase and storage of calico and silk. During the British rule, Patna was a prominent commercial and trading hub in the eastern Indian subcontinent. It started regaining its lost splendor as a prominent learning and art centre of India.Patna was also home to two of the important freedom struggle movements, namely the Champaran movement against the Indigo plantation and the Quit India Movement in 1942.Patna has continued to be the capital of Bihar state after independence in 1947. However Bihar state was partitioned in the year 2000 and Jharkhand with capital Ranchi was formed as a separate state.
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On a planet of nearly 7 billion people, 5 billion use mobile phones — and of those mobile phone subscribers about 70 percent are in emerging economies, according to U.N. estimates.
It’s no wonder health organizations are looking to the massive medium as a means to inform the public on health news, and in particular help populations that don’t have easy access to medical treatment.
The use of mobile phones for medical purposes, known as mHealth, has been around for a decade and new projects are launching all the time.
For example, pregnant women in countries such as India and South Africa who can’t visit doctors regularly now can register their due dates and receive SMS — or text — messages with information that matches up with their babies’ development, such as what food they should be eating.
In Bangladesh, parents can receive alerts telling them when to bring their children into clinics for vaccinations.
In the United States, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced a new initiative to text-message tips and health information to motivate people to quit smoking.
But despite the promising implications for health, there are still some challenges to overcome — as those involved in the effort can attest.
“The challenge is people have cell phones, but so many components come into play” from people heeding the text messages to making sure the messages have value for them, said Patty Mechael, executive director of the U.N. Foundation’s mHealth Alliance. “What’s relevant for Bangladesh might not be for Africa or Brazil.”
For a long time, she said, research focused on the computer science side and whether the user liked it, not whether users were getting healthy results. What’s missing is evidence around what works and what doesn’t, she added.
So organizations are investing in more and more in research to understand the behaviors that they are trying to change as well as working out processes to adapt messages to different contexts — not only from country to country, but within a certain country as well, said Mechael. Those processes involve both cultural and language adaptation, and testing.
In August, the Lancet published an article on a cluster randomized trial that showed text-messaging health care workers in Kenya increased the number of patients who received correct malaria treatments.
But more research is needed, and in order to scale up successful pilot projects, governments will need to be on board.
More questions revolve around whether applications can be used across all mobile devices, and how to charge cell phones in areas where electricity is spotty or nonexistent.
Josh Nesbit, CEO of Medic Mobile, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, said in the absence of readily available electricity, there are some alternative fixes. A device used in Tanzania and some other countries allows bicyclists to charge their phones while they ride. Also, small, individualized solar panels can be purchased for little money and shared in the community to charge phones.
On the big question of whether people will actually use the text-messages, Nesbit said studies are underway. His company maps out a behavior chain gauging people’s access to phones and cell towers, and what incentives are in place for people to use them, such as credits and other payments.
But when it comes down to it, the system has to deliver for the user to be motivated to use it, he said.
Despite all of the challenges, there is progress, especially in the area of collecting health information. “Health is very data-driven, so a lot of the decisions being made within programs rely heavily on the data that’s being collected” on PDAs — or palmtop computers — and now with smart phones, said Mechael. Instead of taking a year to collect the information, it arrives much faster by phone and can keep pace with changing medical needs, she said. | <urn:uuid:15851840-fb03-4031-8620-ab354860eeed> | {
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Airspeed Oxford Mk.I T1287 of No.4 Air Observer School flew into Shalloch on Minnoch on the 10th October 1941
|Edward O’Grady||Sergeant||Observer (u/t)||Killed|
|Thomas Norman McConnell||Leading Aircraftman||Observer (u/t)||Killed|
On the 10th October 1941 Oxford T1287 was being used for a training flight from RAF West Freugh near to Stranraer. There were two trainee Observers onboard the aircraft with a staff pilot flying the aircraft. West Freugh lies to the south west of the mountains of Dumfries & Galloway and it was into one of those that mountains that the aircraft crashed.
Shalloch on Minnoch is at the northern end of a range known as the Awful Hand, and just into South Ayrshire, which rises to between 2,000 and 2,800 feet above sea level. It was while flying at just over 2,000 feet that the aircraft struck the western spur of Shalloch on Minnoch a few hundred feet below the summit.
The three crew of the aircraft were killed in the crash, their bodies being recovered by personnel from RAF West Freugh. Sergeant O’Grady was buried at Stonykirk. | <urn:uuid:16a0e9eb-c33b-4872-ad3c-d3be0f136198> | {
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How do we accomplish the physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual growth of our children?
According to Charlotte Mason in Volume 6 of Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschooling Series, called “Philosophy of Education” in chapter 4:
Knowledge Appeals to and Nourishes the Mind
“If knowledge means so much to us, “What is knowledge?” the reader asks. We can give only a negative answer. Knowledge is not instruction, information, scholarship, a well-stored memory. It is passed, like the light of a torch, from mind to mind, and the flame can be kindled at original minds only. Thought, we know, breeds thought; it is as vital thought touches our minds that our ideas are vitalized, and out of our ideas comes our conduct of life.
The case for reform hardly needs demonstration, but now we begin to see the way of reform. The direct and immediate impact of great minds upon his own mind is necessary to the education of a child. Most of us can get into touch with original minds chiefly through books; and if we want to know how far a school provides intellectual sustenance for its scholars, we may ask to see the list of books in reading during the current term. If the list be short, the scholar will not get enough mind-stuff; if the books are not various, his will not be an all-round development; if they are not original, but compiled at second hand, he will find no material in them for his intellectual growth. Again, if they are too easy and too direct, if they tell him straight away what he is to think, he will read, but he will not appropriate.
Just as a man has to eat a good dinner in order that his physical energies may be stimulated to select and secrete that small portion which is vital to him, so must the intellectual energies be stimulated to extract what the individual needs by a generous supply, and also by a way of presentation that is not obvious. We have the highest authority for the indirect method of teaching proper to literature, and especially to poetry. The parables of Christ remain dark sayings; but what is there more precious in the world’s store of knowledge?”
In other words, when we introduce our children to great thoughts and ideas, they proceed to think great thoughts themselves. They make connections when they see something that reminds them of another thing that they learned or experienced. Thought breeds thought.
We need to present “vital” thoughts to our children, thoughts that challenge, inspire, excite, and spark imagination. Ideas and thoughts are to the mind as food is to the body. Our mind feeds on thoughts. We need to give our children good mind food. And then the thoughts that come from those ideas will cause growth. | <urn:uuid:ba9892c8-68dd-41ed-bad9-2d74f1bf2bd4> | {
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India grabbed headlines in April 2015 when the Modi government pledged to achieve universal energy access, aka Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), in four years. It was and remains a world-leading commitment, and coupled with a 175 GW target for new clean power generation by 2022 (including 40 GW of grid-tied rooftop solar), it triggered a wave of new investment and market growth.
Yet it was primarily a vision of access from grid extension, and a closer look at progress to date reveals that more than just a national goal will be required to successfully achieve SDG7. India’s energy ministry has said that all villages will be electrified by the end of this year, and all homes in those villages by 2019. But the government definition of “electrified” is a controversial one — only 10 percent of homes must receive electricity for a village to count as electrified.
Questions have already emerged publicly over whether India will meet the 175 GW goal. And doubts persist about India’s ability to truly meet 100 percent, reliable energy access by 2019.
The issue, according to a recent Power for All survey of companies, is that a national target is not enough. While seen as a factor in the growth of decentralized renewable energy (DRE) solutions and achieving access, the survey showed that the number one national policy priority identified by DRE practitioners—by a significant margin—was setting a specific off-grid or decentralized renewable energy penetration target (and timeline); second was a rural electrification strategy; and third a national electrification policy that incorporates DRE.
One survey respondent explained that DRE penetration targets “communicate a clear action and commitment from the government and allow for relatively accurate forecasting of future growth potential.”
A recent example is that of Rwanda. In 2013 the country had only a few off-grid solar companies operating in it, with few households or businesses benefiting from distributed solutions. It was not until the government announced a specific DRE target of reaching 22 percent of the population with off-grid solutions by 2018, and adopted supportive policy measures, that DRE companies including Mobisol and BBOXX, as well as investors and the international community, stepped up their interest—and stepped into the country. The latest off-grid solar market sales report shows continuing upward growth in Rwanda’s distributed solar market, with a 53 percent increase in sales during the first half of 2016 alone.
Given that 250 million people in India lack energy access—making it the the world’s largest potential market for DRE—bolstering India’s high profile targets with specific targets for DRE penetration in rural markets would turbo-charge investment. Indeed, integrated planning that brings together grid and non-grid targets is key, particularly in the case of mini-grid developers.
As another survey respondent explained: “For mini-grids the key policy risk is grid integration. Hence a recognition that mini-grids are part of the national strategy rather than a bet against it is key.”
This is a critical point. India’s focus on a grid-dominated future has dampened investor interest in mini-grids. Why, investors ask, would I back a solution that will be obsolete once the grid arrives? Of course, this erroneous view makes the assumption—an assumption that is far from guaranteed with bankrupt utilities already struggling—that the grid will arrive and be reliable even if or when it does. Not to mention that decentralized solutions can be fed into a grid if the system is designed properly, as seen in more developed markets.
A target announced last year of 10,000 mini-grids in five years bodes well for India and is a commendable first step, as are state-level policies for mini-grids, but it’s still too early to know their impact. Moreover, while 40 GW has been carved out for rooftop solar, it is grid-tied only and mostly commercial and industrial rooftop in urban markets, while there has been no such carve out for distributed rooftop solar for rural India.
And this leads to the final observation: that “rural” is a broad term, and in places like India it has little meaning. India after all is a federalist system with 29 states that have considerable autonomy. Each of them has its own geography and resource profile, and each will need its own DRE policy. So while national access targets are good, and specific national DRE penetration targets are better, the best (and most important) target for DRE-led rural electrification—at least for some countries with federalist systems such as India and Nigeria—will need to come at the sub-national level.
"In India there is a tendency to fall into the trap of just liaising with the central government ministries when the real 'power' to act on power lies with the states," says Kartikeya Singh, deputy director US-India Policy Studies at Center for Strategic and International Studies. | <urn:uuid:ada9926a-028c-4003-8643-d19344d5f175> | {
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Our exposure to sun is constant on daily basis. About 90 % of people are aware of what kind of damages ultraviolet radiation(UVR) does to our skin, but only 10 % know how it is damaging to our eyes. Also use of Plano sunglasses is done sporadically and 1 in 4 people never wears sunglasses at all. There are three types of ultraviolet light. UV-A, UV-B, UV-C which of them are separated by their wavelength. Most of UV-C (200nm-290nm) radiation is absorbed in the atmosphere. UV-B (290nm-315nm) is absorbed by DNA which causes cell damage "B" represents for sunburn. UV-A(315nm-380nm) is associated with aging of skin and also retina damage since retinal pigment absorbs ultraviolet radiation in 380nm to 780nm, partly in blue end of the visible light spectrum. Amazingly 80 % of lifetime ultraviolet radiation exposure happens by 18 years of age, according to the World HEalth Organization(WHO). Among the damages of ultraviolet radiation to the eyes, the most common ones are development of pterygium and cataracts. Because the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation does not show up immediately, in fact is delayed by years and decades, educating and motivating patients on use and wear of sunglasses can be challenging. The direct exposure is only part of radiation source. The light reflected from surfaces such as fresh snow and body of water can reflect as high as 85% of UV-B. When purchasing a pair of sunglasses, you need to discuss if the lenses have both 100% UV-A and UV-B protection and should not judge by the shade of darkness to presume the optimal coverage. Some contact lenses also have UVR protection. It is our duty as eye are providers to educate and provide the optimal UV protection to the patients. Ask us on different options. | <urn:uuid:65666310-368a-4e8f-90b5-b3732dad657f> | {
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One of the most important finding during the course of a comprehensive vision examination is the visual field. This is where we measure the patient’s peripheral vision, one eye at a time. The information from the visual fields could indicate eye disease such as glaucoma or even detached retina. More importantly, it could give us information regarding possible tumors or aneurysms within the brain. I actually had a patient who complained of headaches and blurred vision when she came in. Her visual fields showed a defect in each eye. The patient happened to have an aneurysm in the brain. It actually ruptured during the operation. The surgeon was able to save her life even though the patient lost vision in one of her eyes. If the finding of the visual field defect went undetected and the surgery didn’t occur when it did, the patient would have very likely died. | <urn:uuid:b5791050-dec2-4cb4-83a0-a1d23ab7b6bf> | {
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A study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, entitled How Does Women Working Affect Social Security Replacement Rates?, has determined that the rise of women in the workplace has placed downward pressure on the amount of pre-retirement income required from Social Security. The study found that the amount of such income replaced by Social Security is dependent on the labor force activity of married couples as a unit, as opposed to treating everyone as an individual. Couples with non-working spouses receive replacement income from the worker’s benefits, replacing up to 60 percent of a couple’s pre-retirement income.
On the other end, couples where both spouses work and earn identical wages receive the same replacement rate as an individual worker (about 40 percent). In the middle, as the wages of the lower earning spouse rise, replacement rates fall. Additionally, as more women go to work, replacement rates fall dramatically.
Social Security replacement rates fell from 47 percent for workers born in the Depression Era to 42 percent for Early Baby Boomers. Once Generation X retires, rates are predicted to fall another five percentage points. The rising age of full retirement has also contributed to falling replacement rates, which is good news for the Social Security fund; but not so good for households who rely on Social Security as a primary source of retirement income. | <urn:uuid:4360edef-c450-4852-be59-f8323f8f6408> | {
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The purpose of this module is to explore what is often referred to in the media as ‘New India’
Where in the world is India?
How do we view India in the UK?
India is a vast peninsular in Southern Asia extending into the Indian Ocean and lying between latitudes 8”4’ and 37”6’ north and longitudes 68”7’ and 97”25’ east. It is part of an area often referred to as ‘The Sub-continent’.India’s land borders are in the north with Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, and China. To the west, east and south it is surrounded by seas: The Arabian Sea and The Bay of Bengal both of which are part of the Indian Ocean.
India has an area of 3.3 million square km. The area of the UK is 250,000 square km. The name India comes from the River Indus which is now entirely within Pakistan. The Hindi word for India is Bharat.
Work - It has been estimated that UK firms created about 100,000 jobs in India between 2002 and 2007
Food - Indian cuisine can be found all round the world, especially in the UK. Most Indian restaurants serve food from North India. The UK spends £2 billion a year on curry. It is estimated that in Scotland 50,000 curries are eaten every night
Skills - In the Rhonda Valley in South Wales 73% of the GPs are from South Asia
Wonder - The Taj Mahal in Agra is one of the ‘new’ Seven Wonders of the World
Music - Bhangra are rhythms, which originated in the Punjab region of India and are now being used by popular international singers like Craig David and Missy Elliot
Key facts: India rising
Chicken Tikka Masala
You may have seen the highly successful actor, writer and Essex-born comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar and star of The Kumars At No 42 on the TV.
Sanjeev Bhaskar first came to public attention in a previous comedy called ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ playing a character called ‘Mr Everything Comes from India’.
‘Mr Everything Comes from India’ insists that just about everything comes from India or was invented by Indians.
Have a go at the Everything Comes from India quiz.
You are a journalist and you have been commissioned to write an article about ‘New India’ for a British newspaper.
India is experiencing spectacular changes. Its economy is growing by about 8% a year and it is already the fourth biggest in the world. The earnings of its 311 billionaires jumped by 71% in 2006! At the same time 35% of people live on less than US$1 a day, and the gap between rich and poor is growing.
But the hype is everywhere and people are calling this new global power ‘New India’ – and your job is to get to grips with what it is all about.
Read Dear journalist to find out more.
Before heading off to India, you need to organise a survey to find out how much your readers already know.
Open the New India survey. This lists three closed (yes/no) questions and three open (full sentence) questions. Use them to interview five people. You might like to also include some of your own questions in this survey. You will need the World map in question one.
Make news out of your survey results by summing up what everyone said.
Use sentences like these:
Out of five people questioned (number) knew where India was located
The majority of interviewees didn’t know how big India is
The most interesting comment I heard was…
The most positive quote was…
As a result of the survey what do you want to explore when you arrive in India?
Who do you need to interview and what images are needed?
By placing a booking, you are permitting us to store and use your (and any other attendees) details in order to fulfil the booking.
We will not use your details for marketing purposes without your explicit consent.
You must be a member holding a valid Society membership to view the content you are trying to access. Please login to continue.
Join us today, Society membership is open to anyone with a passion for geography
Cookies on the RGS website | <urn:uuid:b8d93018-af13-4b93-b0ee-ed3c6083ad3f> | {
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Children with special educational needs will be encouraged in all aspects of Science appropriate to their ability. Teachers will plan tasks to match their ability and additional support may be given by a support teacher to enable pupils to progress and demonstrate achievement.
Provision will be made for pupils who need to use –
Means of communication other than speech, including computers.
Non-sighted methods of reading.
Aids to allow access to practical activities within and beyond school | <urn:uuid:3142953e-6719-42ad-a01a-f3db3722a671> | {
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A new study warns that taking a popular type of blood pressure medication may put some people at risk of developing a dangerous bowel condition that, in some cases, can result in a medical emergency. The risk is greatest in the elderly, though researchers aren’t sure what the underlying cause of this link is at this point in time.
The risk was linked with a type of hypertension drug called a calcium channel blocker, which lowers blood pressure by preventing calcium from entering blood vessel wall and heart cells. This is one of multiple types of high blood pressure medication, other examples including ACE-inhibitors and beta blockers.
A new study out of Imperial College London looked at all three types of hypertension drugs to evaluate how effective each type is, as well as the side effects from all three. Such information is vital in light of the huge number of adults who suffer from high blood pressure, a known and serious risk factor for future cardiovascular disease.
The team used genetic analyses to focus on genes that mimicked the effects of these different hypertension drugs, enabling them to get around the otherwise long and tricky clinical trials that would make these assessments. Using this method, the researchers found that a class of calcium channel blockers called non-dihydropyridine may increase one’s risk of developing a bowel condition called diverticulosis.
This condition causes small pouches (bulges, essentially) to form in the lining of the intestines. In some cases, one of these pouches may burst or become infected, resulting in a life-threatening emergency. According to the study, around 65-percent of adults over the age of 85 are at risk of this condition, though it can also develop in younger adults. There’s no cure for the disease, which in some cases may be lifelong.
There’s no guarantee that taking this type of hypertension drug will lead to the development of the disease and patients are warned to continue taking their medication. Uncontrolled high blood pressure comes with many known and serious dangers, including increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack, eye disease, and more. In light of the findings, additional studies into the potential risk are warranted. | <urn:uuid:992bad7f-6d2a-4b5a-809f-04af83a65796> | {
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An ailing Sumatran rhino named Iman has died, marking the extinction of the critically endangered species in Malaysia.
The Associated Press reports that Iman, believed to be 25 years old, died of natural causes on Saturday “due to shock in her system.” She had been taken into captivity and transported to the Borneo Rhino Alliance in 2014, and experts soon discovered that she was suffering from uterine tumors. Augustine Tuuga, director of the Wildlife Department in eastern Sabah state on Borneo, said in a statement that the growing tumors had started to put pressure on Iman’s bladder, causing her pain. Still, Tuuga noted, the rhino’s death had come earlier than expected.
“You were ... the sweetest soul, who brought so much joy and hope to all of us,” the Borneo Rhino Alliance wrote in a Facebook post. “We are in so much pain right now, but we are thankful that you are no longer in pain.”
Iman was the last Sumatran rhino in Malaysia. The only male Sumatran rhino in the country, Tam, died in May.
Sumatran rhinos are the smallest of all rhino species—and the hairiest, “with fringed ears and reddish-brown skin,” notes the International Rhino Foundation. The species once existed across Asia, but its populations have been decimated by poaching and habitat loss. “The species is likely now the most endangered large mammal on Earth, with declines of more than 70 percent in the past 20 years,” according to the International Rhino Foundation. Less than 80 Sumatran rhinos are alive today, clustered into three isolated populations on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, along with a few individuals in Indonesian Borneo.
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Iman was rescued in 2014. She was the last Sumatran rhino found in the jungles of Malaysia. BORA, the Borneo Rhino Alliance, is in a race against time to save her species. Find out more at - www.borneorhinoalliance.org #BORA #SumatranRhino #CriticallyEndangered #Rhino #Extinction #OperationSumatranRhino #Wildlife #Conservation #Nature #Sabah #Malaysia #Borneo #MissionCritical
Because Sumatran rhino are so small and so fragmented, breeding among them is infrequent, according to IUCN. Females are prone to developing tumors and cysts on their reproductive organs if they age without producing offspring, which can make it difficult for breeding programs to propagate the species. Conservationists had hoped that Tam and Iman would mate naturally, but his sperm quality was poor and her uterine tumors prevented conception.
Genetic material from both rhinos has been preserved, and experts hope that the rhinos' cells will one day be converted into viable embryos and implanted in surrogate mothers. In recent years, reproductive technologies have offered new avenues for the conservation of other rare rhino species. In April, for instance, Zoo Miami welcomed a baby greater one-horned rhino that had been conceived through induced ovulation and artificial insemination. In September, scientists announced that they had used IVF procedures to create two embryos of the northern white rhino, another critically endangered species.
Whether similar methods can be successfully used for Sumatran rhinos remains to be seen. A recent attempt to produce an embryo using Tam’s sperm and Iman’s egg cell failed.
“There is limited knowledge about Sumatran rhino reproductive physiology and converting cells in a laboratory into viable embryos is complex,” notes Susie Ellis, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation. “Still, there is hope for the survival of Sumatran rhinos.”
Rhino experts from around the world, in conjunction with the government of Indonesia, are also working to relocate Sumatran rhinos from the wild to managed breeding facilities. At the moment, conservationists say, this is the only way to ensure that the species does not disappear completely. “Our goal is to quickly and safely increase rhino numbers,” explains the International Rhino Foundation, “creating a source population from which animals can someday be reintroduced into the wild.” | <urn:uuid:0fece76b-8234-4ca9-86cb-443f3bf9e2a4> | {
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What is GCSE Art all about?
It’s about having an adventurous and enquiring approach to art and design and developing the skills to express it. You will have the choice to develop an understanding of past or contemporary art and design and be able to produce a personal response embracing a range of ideas. You will have the opportunity to experiment with a range of materials and techniques of your choice. You will learn how to be more skilful in all methods of creating artwork including drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking and any other medium you may choose to work with. No form of art work is compulsory. This course is an opportunity for students to develop their own artistic practice based on their own interests and skills with the support of their teacher in enable them to develop and improve their skills.
Key Subject Aims
This specification aims to develop:
- Creative and imaginative ability and the practical skills for engaging with responding to the work of existing artists, designers and crafts people (Researching artists).
- Investigating and experimenting with a range of media and techniques in order to develop ideas for their own art work (Experimenting with materials and techniques).
- Developing and improving practical observations skills to improve the quality of all art work including drawing, painting, printmaking and ceramics and any other chosen medium (learning how to produce successful realistic images)
- Designing and planning personal outcomes in response to their research (planning for their own final pieces).
- Personal attributes including self-confidence, resilience, perseverance, self-discipline and commitment.
After GCSE Art & Design you may decide to go onto one of the many sixth form centres offering a variety of advanced courses in Art and Design based subjects. Career opportunities are many and varied including advertising, photography, marketing, graphic design, interior design, fashion design, industrial design, computer graphics, photo journalism, set designer, illustrator, textiles, printing, sculpture, film maker, commercial work, teaching, costumier and painter.
At the end of the course, you will be marked on the following TWO units, ASSESSMENT will carry the following weighting of marks: Personal Portfolio = 60% Ten hour test = 40%
- Unit 1. Personal Portfolio (coursework) – This unit will be supported by the work journal, which contains evidence of the development of your ideas, including references to the work of other artists, showing understanding of meanings, contexts, and the ability to make skilled judgements using an appropriate visual/verbal form and a final piece.
- Unit 2. Externally Set Assignment (Exam) – 10 Hour Test. You will be given a period of time to enable you to prepare your ideas in support of your exam piece, in your work journal with support from your teacher.
In Year 10 students can opt to take one of three Art and Design courses available at the college. These are:
Documentary photography: The use of a range of photography materials, tools and techniques such as compositions, proximity to the subject, focal points and the involvement of the photographer with the scene being documented.
Photo-journalism: The use of a range of photo-journalism materials, tools and techniques such as manipulation of images for artistic effect through depth of field, shutter speed, focal points and viewpoints.
Studio photography: The use of a range of studio photography materials, tools and techniques such as lighting and the use of light, props, posing and the arrangement of objects.
Location photography: The use of a range of location photography materials, tools and techniques such as lighting and light metering and developing site-specific shoot plans.
Experimental imagery: use of experimental imagery materials, Photoshop or other digital editing software or manual manipulation.
Please note that students are not restricted to use only two from the list above, they are able to use any other mediums they wish to in addition.
Art, Craft and Design
The GCSE in Art, Craft and Design is a broad and flexible course that requires students to develop an appreciation of the creative process through a practical response, using a variety of two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, materials, techniques and processes. Students should explore critically how artists, craftspeople and designers from diverse cultures, times and societies have arrived at solutions and communicated meaning using the formal elements. Students should use this knowledge when developing new ideas, recording observations and creating outcomes which fully realise their personal intentions.
Areas of study
Work must demonstrate integrated knowledge, understanding and skills. Students undertaking the Art, Craft and Design title are required to create work associated with areas of study chosen from at least one from Art (above) and one from photography. The Photography areas of study are listed below:
- The use of the photographic process to provide a narrative of events and/or situations.
- The use of a range of documentary photography materials, tools and techniques such as compositional, proximity to the subject, focal points and the involvement of the photographer with the scene being documented.
- The use of the photographic process to record events as they happen to support the written word.
- The use of a range of photo-journalism materials, tools and techniques such as manipulation of images for artistic effect through depth of field, shutter speed, focal points and viewpoints.
- The use of a formal studio setting to control the environment for a variety of subject matters such as portraiture and still life.
- The use of a range of studio photography materials, tools and techniques such as lighting and the use of light, props, posing and the arrangement of objects.
- The use of subject matter found or placed to manipulate the formal elements within an existing environment.
- The use of a range of location photography materials, tools and techniques such as lighting and light metering, developing site-specific shoot plans.
- The control of light and photographic processes to create non-traditional photographic outcomes.
- The use of a range of experimental imagery materials, tools and techniques such as analogue and digital photography, manual manipulation and digital and non-digital processes and outcomes.
- The creation and presentation of photographic artwork for a site-specific space to control and transform viewer perception.
- The use of a range of installation imagery materials, tools and techniques such as location, projection, film, sound, scale and interactivity.
Moving image: film, video and animation
- The recording and use of moving image to communicate a visual narrative
- The use of a range of moving image materials, tools and techniques such as storyboards, scripts, digital, non-digital mixed media methods
Graphic Communication introduces students to a visual way of conveying information, ideas and emotions, using a range of graphic media, processes, techniques and elements such as colour, icons, images, typography and photographs. Students should conduct primary and secondary investigations during their design development, and explore traditional and/or new technologies. They should also consider the use of signs and symbols, and the balance between aesthetic and commercial considerations. Students will also understand that Graphic Design practitioners may work within a small team environment or work as freelance practitioners. They may be responsible for a particular aspect of the Design or Production process or for the entire design cycle. They will need good communication skills in order to liaise with clients and to promote themselves as graphic designers.
Knowledge, understanding and skills in Graphic Communication
Students are required to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills outlined on page 7 when undertaking work in Graphic Communication. All knowledge, understanding and skills will be assessed in both components. There are many skills, techniques, materials, processes and concepts that are essential to all areas of study in Graphic Communication. In addition to any specialist requirements listed under the chosen area(s) of study, students should develop a practical knowledge and understanding of:
- The use of formal elements and visual communication through a variety of approaches
- The use of observational skill to record from sources and communicate ideas
- Graphic materials and techniques such as traditional and digital graphics, printing and web-based technologies
- Properties of colour and light such as hue, tint, saturation and tone
- The effects and creative potential of combining and manipulating different two-dimensional and three-dimensional materials and media
- The use of digital and/or non-digital applications.
Areas of study
Work must demonstrate integrated knowledge, understanding and skills. Work is not limited to one area of study and students could develop work in at least one of the following areas of study.
- The use of advertising to convey information for clients and audiences that promotes corporate identity.
- The use of traditional graphic media and current technology.
- The use of communication through graphics to develop solutions for worldwide identity.
- The exploration of traditional and digital graphic media in both two- and three-dimensions.
Design for print
- The use of design-based solutions in media for use in creating visual and written material for public distribution.
- Developing solutions in both traditional print and digital technology.
- The use of illustration and narrative to communicate factual, fictional and/or technical ideas for a particular purpose or audience.
- The use of a range of illustration materials, tools and techniques such as digital applications, wet and dry processes and drawing, painting and printing techniques.
Interactive design (including web, app and game)
- The use of interactive technology such as web-based, mobile and other personal devices, television and games to communicate with and engage audiences.
- The use of a range of interactive design materials, tools and techniques such as two- and three-dimensional graphics, digital applications and time-based media.
- The use of traditional and non-traditional media to communicate ideas for a range of purposes and audiences.
- The combination of a range of multi-media materials, tools and techniques such as motion graphics, lens-based and digital video, animation and recording in screen-based technology.
- The functional design of 3D material to protect, promote and communicate brand identity for a range of products and purposes.
- The use of a range of package design materials, tools and techniques such as traditional and non-traditional graphic media and construction processes and materials.
- The development of signage, which is both specific and worldwide in its application.
- The use of digital and non-digital methods of making symbols and signs.
- The arrangement and manipulation of type traditional and non-traditional to communicate ideas and create visual interest.
- The use of a range of typographic materials, tools, techniques and elements such as letter forms, fonts and typefaces, digital and non-digital methods.
Prior to starting the course in September you will be given research to undertake during the summer vacation. This will form the basis of all work produced in the first year of the course. The second summer break will be spent researching work for the final year.
There will be visits throughout the course to local and national art galleries to view ground breaking art and design from between the 13th and 21st Century first hand in both Year 10 and 11 as well as workshop activities from established artists and designers to learn techniques not usually available in school to enhance student’s knowledge, skills and inspiration. | <urn:uuid:41f1eebd-8c73-4476-8f5d-dfb11bdd6ee2> | {
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Future astronauts could turn their pee into nutrients and raw materials for 3D printers with the aid of some industrious microbes, new research suggests.
Harnessing the talents of the tiny beasts in this way could help humanity extend its footprint out into the solar system, study team members said.
"If astronauts are going to make journeys that span several years, we'll need to find a way to reuse and recycle everything they bring with them," study leader Mark Blenner, of Clemson University in South Carolina, said in a statement. "Atom economy will become really important." [How Will a Human Mars Base Work? NASA's Vision in Images]
Blenner and his team have been investigating the recycling talents of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. The researchers found that Y. lipolytica can get the nitrogen it needs from the urea in untreated urine. The microbes can also source their carbon from carbon dioxide (CO2), which could theoretically come from astronauts' exhaled breath or the Martian atmosphere (which is about 95 percent CO2), study team members said. (The yeasts do need help — in the form of algae — to use the carbon in CO2, however.)
One Y. lipolytica strain generates omega-3 fatty acids — nutrients that help keep our brains, eyes and hearts healthy. Omega-3 pills don't have a long shelf life, so having yeast cells churn them out aboard spacecraft could be a big help to astronauts, said Blenner, who reported his team's findings and progress Tuesday (Aug. 22) at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C.
"Having a biological system that astronauts can awaken from a dormant state to start producing what they need, when they need it, is the motivation for our project," he said in the same statement.
A different strain of Y. lipolytica has been genetically engineered to produce polyester — a type of plastic that could serve as "feedstock" for 3D printers. Two 3D printers are already aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and NASA officials have repeatedly said that such technology will likely play a large role in crewed missions to Mars and other distant destinations.
Blenner and his colleagues are trying to increase the amount and varieties of polyester the yeast churn out, the researchers said.
If all this talk of human waste and reuse seems a little gross to you, keep in mind that NASA astronauts aboard the ISS already drink their (recycled) urine. And remember what fictional astronaut Mark Watney used to fertilize his potatoes in "The Martian." | <urn:uuid:c88cd664-2582-4856-b8a8-366f06a62cef> | {
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Progressive supranuclear palsy, also known as PSP, is a disorder of the brain that gets worse over time (progressive neurodegenerative disorder). Many progressive supranuclear palsy symptoms are similar to Parkinson’s disease. These include rigidity, slowness of movement, cognitive (thinking) problems, difficulty speaking, and difficulty swallowing. While people with Parkinson’s disease can have an unsteady gait and “freeze,” these symptoms are much more prominent in people with progressive supranuclear palsy. Likewise, people with PSP have a particular eye problem called supranuclear gaze palsy, which causes PSP patients to have difficulty moving their eyes in certain directions.
Despite the similarities between PSP and Parkinson’s disease, there are no treatments for progressive supranuclear palsy as they are for Parkinson’s disease. Drugs like levodopa help reduce tremors and rigidity in people with Parkinson’s, but they have been largely ineffective in people with PSP. Some PSP patients may benefit from drugs like levodopa, but most experience severe visual hallucinations or other side effects, which causes them to stop the medication. Because there are so few treatments, patients with progressive supranuclear palsy rely on supportive care measures such as occupational and physical therapy, nutritional support, and palliative care.
To address this critical need, researchers are testing mesenchymal stem cells for their ability to treat progressive supranuclear palsy. Dr. Margherita Canesi and her colleagues selected five patients with progressive supranuclear palsy. Her research team used bone marrow from healthy volunteers to select healthy mesenchymal stem cells. The researchers then infused the mesenchymal stem cells into patients in a single infusion.
While patients with PSP normally deteriorate rapidly, the patients who received a single stem cell treatment remained stable for at least six months after treatment. Some patients still maintained function at the end of the study (12 months). All patients tolerated the treatment well, there were no major side effects. While the study was small, it suggests that stem cell treatment was able to change the natural course of the disease. Based on these encouraging results, the authors have set their sights on a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 study to further test mesenchymal stem cell treatments in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy. We look forward to their results with great enthusiasm.
Reference: Canesi, M. et al. (2016). Finding a new therapeutic approach for no-option Parkinsonisms: mesenchymal stromal cells for progressive supranuclear palsy. Journal of Translational Medicine. 14, Article number: 127 (2016). | <urn:uuid:afc0bbd2-1bba-442a-9677-dda6b1670bfe> | {
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Proverbs 1:1-5 (KJB) “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:”
The book is a collection of wise sayings which mirrors divine wisdom. Wisdom is the major theme of the book: the blessedness, the need, and examples of wisdom are contained in Proverbs. Without question, God’s Spirit moved Solomon to so write the words contained in Proverbs for our learning. Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, wrote these proverbs under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit during the first part of his reign. It should be recalled that it was the first portion of Solomon’s reign when he walked with God and was a godly, wise man. Later, as he disregarded God’s clear commandments for a king of Israel that he drifted far from God.
1 Kings 11:4 (KJB) For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
Solomon wrote three significant works in the Bible. The first as a young man Solomon wrote the Song of Solomon. When Solomon wrote the Song of Solomon, he was describing the love affair that existed between himself and his one true love. The one true love was possibly the wife of his youth and the one person who captivated him when he was right with God. This book also describes what it is like or a picture of Jesus Christ and His bride the church.
When Solomon became a little older, this is when he wrote the Proverbs which was written his son Rehoboam to prepare him to become King.
When Solomon was older, he got away from the Lord and became involved in idol worship and because of that, he became backslidden and then before he died he came back to the Lord, and The wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes to show how empty life is if you’re not in the will of God. That’s why in the Book of Ecclesiastes there is a dark cloud over it. The keyword in the Book of Ecclesiastes is vanity. Everything was vain, and that is because Solomon was describing what it was like when you received everything you wanted but lost the Lord.
Proverbs 1:1 (KJV) “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;” Verse one tells us that Solomon wrote this book. Solomon was writing this book to his son and in the second verse, we see the context of the book. Proverbs 1:2 (KJV) “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;” Solomon wanted to help his son get close to the Lord and stay there.
Here is a couple of things that Solomon wanted his son to know.
- Proverbs 1:2 (KJV) “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;” The English word wisdom is found here for the first of fifty-three times in the book. Notice the word know. What Solomon was saying is if you want wisdom you better get ready to work at it. Wisdom does not come naturally if you want wisdom you’re going to have to work at it. Wisdom is nothing more or less than the mind of Christ and just because we want it doesn’t mean God is going to give it to us. We will never find out the will of God if we never read the Bible. God does not bless laziness He blesses hard work.
- Proverbs 1:2 (KJV) “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;” The second purpose of Proverbs is to perceive the importance of understanding. The word is found almost as often as that of wisdom in Proverbs. Throughout the book, the concepts of wisdom and understanding are often used together. Though they are related, they are not identical. Wisdom comes from understanding. The former is built upon the last. Thus, a necessary conclusion to the gaining of wisdom is first obtaining an understanding of the issues of life. The word perceive is talking about spiritual discernment. To perceive the words of understanding or to spiritually discern the mind of Christ means that our opinion doesn’t mean a thing. We need to forget what we know and be willing to learn from God’s Word.
- Proverbs 1:3 (KJV) “To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;” The reason why we have so many fools running around is that they are not willing to receive, they are not prepared to accept the truth. If you try to show a fool what the Bible says they will just shove it aside because they don’t care. If the Bible is Wisdom someone who is willing to push it aside is a fool. Not Philosophy of the Bible but reading the Bible is where you will find wisdom. Why read books about the Bible when we have God’s Word?
In verses, 4-5 Solomon is going to show us three kinds of people that will benefit from what he is going to tell us in this book. Proverbs 1:4-5 (KJV) “To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.”
- The first person who will benefit is the simple person. Simple means seducible. Some people are led into sin because they don’t know any better. The simple person is not hard-hearted, but they are thick headed.
- The young person or specifically the young person or the teenager and is pointing to somebody who is teachable.
- The wise person is the person who has a desire in their heart to do something for the Lord. They want to do right.
The Book of Proverbs was either written to you or about you. You’re either simple, teachable, wise, or you’re a rebel and a fool. It is written to the people who want help and about the individuals who can hurt you.
13 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
Proverbs 1:3 KJV | <urn:uuid:3b2eedae-4949-4381-82a2-e6ce4b671fea> | {
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Break & Cover Crops
The main break crops grown in Ireland are beans and oilseed rape;
- Beans provide a useful break crop for wheat or seed crops. They produce their own nitrogen and also leave residual nitrogen for the following crop
- Oilseed rape acts as a break crop from the Take-all fungus which adversely affects wheat. Yield of wheat sown after sowing rape can increase by 0.5-1.5 t/ha depending on the incidence of take all during the growing season
- Potential for minor crops as break crops (PDF,4MB)
- Spelt Wheat: Food Potential (PDF)
- Indigenous supply of plant based protein (PDF)
The CROPQUEST desk study project was undertaken to identify new crops/products/markets that can facilitate sustainable, viable crop production on Irish arable farms. The current lack of rotation and limited cropping options combine to threaten future viability and production sustainability, as the increasing level of monoculture leads to reduced yields and higher costs over time. Non-cereal crops currently account for just 9.6% of the arable area. New CAP reform proposals may make rotation obligatory. This study has four elements:
- A comprehensive review of possible broad-acre cropping options, with focus on immediate need for break-crops.
- Identification and evaluation of crop/market options. This methodology included literature review, industry engagement and SWOT analysis to develop a database of crop/product options.
- Economic assessment of the value to Irish agriculture.
For more information click here Cropquest | <urn:uuid:fbafe00d-e2b1-4fe7-8f90-cab8ff0f2c52> | {
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One often comes across the term blockchain technology, but most have little info or clue about what it is actually about.
The term is often used in reference to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The technology is a vital component of cryptocurrencies, and without the blockchain technology, it would be impossible for the digital currencies to exist.
How blockchain evolved
The ingenious invention is the work of Satoshi Nakamoto, and a group of people. The blockchain technology has led to the development of a new phase of the internet that is primarily devised for the digital currency or the bitcoin, which is also referred to as the digital gold.
However, the revolutionary technology is now finding other potential uses on the internet.
If one looks back into the history of the blockchain technology, it was a hash tree and known as a Merkle tree. It was Patented by Ralph Merkle, and the data structure was used to verify data between a peer-to-peer network of computers systems and to ensure that no fake data was sent.
The purpose behind it was to maintain the integrity of data shared between computers.
How Does Blockchain technology Work?
Blockchain technology keeps a record of all data exchanges, and every verified data is added as a “block.”
A distributed system is used to verify each transaction that takes place across a peer-to-peer network, and once the transaction has been signed and verified, it gets added to the blockchain and thus cannot be altered.
The cryptographic keys give the unique identity that’s required and these can be Private Key and Public Key. The cryptographic keys define a digital signature and allow one the power of authorizing various actions related to cryptocurrencies.
It is essential to keep both Private Key and Public Key safe. Every transaction gets a unique ID number that is announced to a peer-to-peer network of nodes.
The anonymity of cryptocurrencies is required because the public key is just a randomized set of numbers and letters.
Thus the public key does not tell the real identity of the person behind, and one can generate as many key pairs as they want for their multiple cryptocurrency wallets.
The private key cryptography works as a powerful tool for authentication requirements.
It also safeguards a person from getting exposed to hackers as there is no sharing of personal information. A distributed network of authorization reduces the risk of central corruption and commits to the transaction network’s security.
Authorizing transactions is the core of the blockchain’s protocol that sets and applies the rules. The blockchain technology is indeed a new and powerful way for interactions in the digital world and thus a backbone for a transaction layer for the Internet.
However, like any other technology, the Blockchain technology too has some downsides. To begin with, it has a steep learning curve especially for those without any technical background.
Still, the increasing use and popularity of the technology is compelling many businesses to move the Blockchain into the mainstream and make it more approachable. | <urn:uuid:ce4c1d5b-f250-460a-ac3b-c078b1abd1b0> | {
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Rene Descartes was a central figure in the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. In his Discourse on Method he outlined the contrast between mathematics and experimental sciences, and the extent to which each one can achieve certainty. Drawing on his own work in geometry, optics, astronomy and physiology, Descartes developed the hypothetical method that characterizes modern science, and this soon came to replace the traditional techniques derived from Aristotle. Many of Descartes' most radical ideas such as the disparity between our perceptions and the realities that cause them have been highly influential in the development of modern philosophy.
Product code: ADCJO
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Dimensions: 19.8cm x 12.9cm
Publish date: 25/01/1973
Help our customers make the best choices by telling everyone what you think about this product.
There are currently no customer reviews for this product. Why not be the first? | <urn:uuid:0cda6e7c-e3cb-4d2a-91ba-29d08ae0911f> | {
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Written expression is a crucial part of communication and critical thinking. For high school students, developing strong writing skills not only helps their high school grades but also prepares them for their academic and professional futures. Whether writing essays, taking notes or applying for scholarships, high school students must learn to develop their ideas and proofread their written work before sharing it.
Grammar and Punctuation
Clarity in writing is crucial to how the reader receives the text. Therefore, high school students must employ proper grammar and punctuation in their writing. A student will write an essay assignment differently than an e-mail to a friend because the audience for each text is distinct. Understanding audience and learning to adjust to the needs of the reader is an important aspect of written expression. To create professional and mature writing, students must learn to proofread their work before submitting it, whether in the classroom or for scholarship or job applications.
Note-taking is an important form of written expression for both high school and college students. Marquette University states that "writing ideas down preserves them so that you can reflect upon them later." Note-taking also prepares students for exams, helps them interpret written and oral material, and helps plan and organize essays and projects. Sweet Briar College states that key note-taking skills include identifying main points, sub-points and supporting details, and structuring the written material into a logical format. Prioritizing and organizing are essential to written expression at any level.
High school students should learn to expand, explain and develop their ideas through their writing. Marquette University states that "writing stimulates you to extend a line of thought beyond your first impressions or gut responses." This process can deepen students' critical thinking skills, challenge their assumptions and strengthen their overall writing. Examples of written development include providing specific examples, identifying the relationship between two seemingly unrelated ideas or events, and analyzing the causes and effects of an issue.
For many high school students, strengthening their writing skills prepares them to apply for and succeed in college and university courses. For example, students must write an essay for the SAT exam, and they must compose a personal statement as a part of their college applications. The better they do on the written portions, the higher their chances of admission to a good college or university. Once in college, students will have to employ their written expression skills on assignments ranging from lab reports to research papers. Therefore, creating a strong foundation of writing skills in high school prepares them for success after graduation. | <urn:uuid:a35ce19a-8429-4419-95d1-a39c26735208> | {
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Research has shown that by investing in quality early childhood education, children have better education, health and employment throughout their lives. They are also more likely to have stronger mental health and increased wellbeing and are less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system.
Quality early learning programs lay the foundations for essential skills and ensure children are ready for school and can thrive.
Evidence suggests quality early childhood education programs put students ahead at the start of primary school, and this has increasingly larger impacts as they move through the education system.
There is more than 50 years of research from around the world on the impact high quality early childhood education can have on children, society and the economy.
From research commissioned by The Front Project, we know our Australian system is working - but it could be better. To fully understand how, we need to know more about the Australian context. Alongside others, The Front Project collaborates with experts in the sector to demonstrate the immediate and long-term benefits of early childhood education in Australia and strives to find how we might drive positive change within the system. | <urn:uuid:50ff9eac-3cf6-4436-8b5e-03726b114ca9> | {
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8 Autism Symptoms Every Parent Should Know
More than 3 million people in America are affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with prevalence on the rise in recent years. While the symptoms of this group of brain development disorders vary, these are signs that a person may be on the autism spectrum.
Trouble with verbal communication
“While babies hit language milestones at various times, if there is a delay beyond certain ages, it’s important to seek a professional evaluation,” says Paul Wang, MD, senior vice president and head of medical research at Autism Speaks. Potential autism symptoms include no babbling or no back-and-forth gestures like pointing or waving by 12 months; no words by 16 months; or no meaningful, two-word phrases by 24 months. Here are 12 things you should never say to the parent of a child on the autistic spectrum.
Challenges with social reciprocity
“Healthy children show their connections with other people by sharing a smile, a hug, or a knowing look,” says Dr. Wang. If you’re not seeing big smiles or other joyful expressions by six months of age, it could be a potential part of autism symptoms. Similarly, if your baby is not mimicking sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months, it’s advisable to seek an evaluation. Eye contact might also be difficult for people with ASD, which affects their ability to read and interpret other people’s facial expressions. “Many children with autism have a hard time relating to others, so they may seem more interested in objects than people,” says Dana Wattenberg Khani, MEd, senior consultant and autism expert for Autism Friendly Spaces, which partners with organizations to make them more accommodating to people with diverse needs. For example, if you show your child a photo of a ball, or give him a ball, he may be more focused on those than on making eye contact with Mom or Dad. He also may prefer to play alone because of difficulties relating to other people. Learn about the simple eye test that could help diagnose autism earlier.
Loss of speech or social skills
According to research, regression is very common among children with ASD. “Any child who is sick or upset might show a couple of days of decreased language and communication, but if the loss of skills lasts more than a few days, it’s important to seek out an expert to figure out why,” suggests Dr. Wang. “Studies have suggested that about one-third of children with autism experience some kind of regression, but most of these children do not have typical development to begin with,” former autism researcher Jennifer Richler wrote on slate.com. “Instead, they have early delays and lose some of the skills they had attained.”
“Hand-flapping, rocking, jumping and twirling, arranging and rearranging objects, and repeating sounds, words, or phrases,” are all common repetitive behaviors characteristic of ASD, according to Autism Speaks. Learn which vitamins to take during pregnancy to lower your child’s risk of autism.
Children with ASD can become fixated on order when it may not seem to have a purpose. During play, they may spend hours lining up their toys and sorting them by color or size instead of playing with them. “Many children with autism gravitate toward trains,” notes Khani. “They have wheels that go around and around, they move along a structured track, they run on a predictable schedule, and they have numbers or letters assigned to them.” Routines may be unreasonably important, as well. “We all get a little uncomfortable if we have to vary from our usual way of doing things, but if they really have a meltdown, that’s a sign of a problem,” Tristram H. Smith, PhD, a professor of neurodevelopmental and behavioral pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, told attn.com. In a young child, this may result in tantrum-like behavior. As children get older, autism symptoms might reveal themselves in repetitive behaviors like pacing or wringing their hands together when they get anxious about a schedule change.
Strong preoccupations or obsessions
Extreme interest in and deep knowledge of an unusual subject matter can also be autism symptoms, according to Autism Speaks. They offer examples like an obsession with fans, vacuum cleaners, or toilets and expertise in astronomy or Thomas the Tank Engine. Older children and adults with autism may develop a preoccupation with numbers, symbols, dates, or science topics.
Taking things literally
People on the autism spectrum often have trouble inferring or understanding abstract concepts and idioms. “When I taught second grade, I asked a child to toss me a paper clip,” recalls Khani. “Suddenly, there was a paper clip bouncing off my head when he threw it at me.” Similarly, if you tell a child to “take a seat,” he may ask where he should take it. Learn how to tell the difference between autism and ADHD.
“It’s common for people on the spectrum to also be diagnosed with other disorders,” notes Khani. According to Autism Speaks, diagnoses that often accompany ASD include gastrointestinal disorders, seizure disorders, sleep dysfunction, sensory processing problems, and pica (the tendency to eat things that aren’t food). Don’t fall for these 13 myths about the autism spectrum most people still believe. | <urn:uuid:643208ae-64a7-4d91-a0f0-1ff2725d5a27> | {
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He and his fellow plotters were fanatical amateurs, obsessed by their beliefs, caught up in a sinister world of intrigue, treachery and betrayal, full of spies, double agents and informers controlled by King James’s veteran chief minister, the shrewdly manipulative Earl of Salisbury.
The heady Elizabethan days that followed the defeat of the Spanish Armada had gone. A new century brought England a new king, James I, imported from Scotland. His experiences had created a suspicious nature, and under his rule the atmosphere in England darkened. Among other concerns, he and his men were preoccupied by the threat to national security posed by Catholic conspiracy. Two recent plots against the king had been ruthlessly terminated by torture and scaffold.
Conspirators such as Robert Catesby, Tom Winter and Jack Wright were known suspects, already under surveillance. Soon Guy Fawke’s name also reached Salisbury’s ear. Salisbury, a fervant Protestant, almost certainly saw the proposed Gunpowder Plot as an opportunity to discredit the Catholic cause. Guy Fawkes was soon to become a doomed man.
In the lobby of the House of Commons at the Palace of Westminster hangs an entry from the Commons Journal for 5 November 1605:
‘This last Night the Upper House of Parliament was searched by Sir Thomas Knevett; and one Johnson, Servant to Mr Thomas Percy, was there apprehended; who had placed 36 Barrels of Gunpowder in the Vault under the House with a purpose to blow the King and the whole company, when they should there assemble. Afterwards, divers other Gentlemen were discovered to be part of the plot.’
Johnson was the name given to his captors by Guy Fawkes, the most notorious member of the gang of fanatical Catholics who had conceived the Gunpowder Plot, a spectacular plan by even modern terrorist standards. However, Fawkes and his fellow conspirators were not a highly trained assassination squad, but idealistic amateurs enraged by James I’s failure to respect their religion.
The Powder Treason, as it was then called, had little chance of success, soon coming to the attention of Sir Robert Cecil, the king’s Chief Minister, who cunningly waited and then pounced at the crucial moment. Fawkes was imprisoned at the Tower of London and the outraged king authorised torture in order to extract a confession to enable the other plotters to be captured. ‘The gentler tortures are first to be used unto him and so by degrees to the worst – and so God speed your good work,’ commanded the vengeful monarch, who interrogated Fawkes himself.
As Guy Fawkes began his sojourn in the Tower of London, the rest of the plotters gathered in the Midlands. Urged on by Catesby, they were, amazingly, still determined to press ahead with an armed uprising. When that proved futile they fled, for a last desperate stand, to Holbeach House in Staffordshire, owned by Stephen Lyttelton, one of their rapidly diminishing group of supporters.
Catesby and his bedraggled, exhausted companions arrived there late on 7 November. Unwisely, they attempted to dry gunpowder in front of a fire! The inevitable explosion happened, injuring Catesby and Ambrose Rookwood and blinding John Grant. Ironically, those who wanted to blow up Parliament only succeeded in injuring themselves.
The following morning Holbeach House was besieged by Sir Richard Walsh, High Sheriff of Worcestershire, and a large posse of heavily-armed men. The Wright brothers and Thomas Percy were short and killed. Catesby, badly wounded, crawled into the house and was later found dead, clutching a picture of the Virgin Mary. Winter, Rookwood and John Grant were captured. Other arrests followed.
Fawkes, meanwhile, suffered the excruciating agony of being manacled and hung by the wrists for many hours from the wall of a gloomy subterranean torture chamber beneath the White Tower, before being returned to his cramped cell in the Bloody Tower. The tormented Fawkes endured the pain of the manacles, but his resistance was broken after he was brutally stretched on the rack. Finally, on 31 January 1606, Fawkes was dragged through the streets to Old Palace Yard at Westminster, and he was hanged, drawn and quartered outside the very place he had tried to destroy.
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As a printer by trade, he was able to read accounts of the latest scientific discoveries and became an inventor. Scott de Martinville was interested in recording the sound of human speech in a way similar to that achieved by the then new technology of photography for light and image. He hoped for a form of stenography that could record the whole of a conversation without any omissions. His earliest interest was in an improved form of stenography and he was the author of several papers on shorthand and a history of the subject (1849).
From 1853 he became fascinated in a mechanical means of transcribing vocal sounds. While proofreading some engravings for a physics textbook he came across drawings of auditory anatomy. He sought to mimic the working in a mechanical device, substituting an elastic membrane for the tympanum, a series of levers for the ossicle, which moved a stylus he proposed would press on a paper, wood, or glass surface covered in lampblack. On 26 January 1857, he delivered his design in a sealed envelope to the French Academy. On 25 March 1857, he received French patent #17,897/31,470 for the phonautograph.
The phonautograph used a horn to collect sound, attached to a diaphragm which vibrated a stiff bristle which inscribed an image on a lamp black coated, hand-cranked cylinder. Scott built several devices with the help of acoustic instrument maker Rudolph Koenig. Unlike Edison‘s later invention of 1877, the phonograph, the phonautograph only created visual images of the sound and did not have the ability to play back its recordings. Scott de Martinville’s device was used only for scientific investigations of sound waves.
Scott de Martinville managed to sell several phonautographs to scientific laboratories for use in the investigation of sound. It proved useful in the study of vowel sounds and was used by Franciscus Donders, Heinrich Schneebeli and Rene Marage. It also initiated further research into tools able to image sound such as Koenig’s manometric flame. He was not, however, able to profit from his invention and spent the remainder of his life as a librarian and bookseller at 9 Rue Vivienne in Paris.
Scott de Martinville also became interested in the relationship between linguistics, people’s names and their character and published a paper on the subject (1857).
Direct tracings of the vibrations of sound-producing objects such as tuning forks had been made by English physician Thomas Young in 1807, but the first known device for recording airborne speech, music and other sounds is the phonautograph, patented in 1857 by French typesetter and inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville. In this device, sound waves travelling through the air vibrated a parchment diaphragm which was linked to a bristle, and the bristle traced a line through a thin coating of soot on a sheet of paper wrapped around a rotating cylinder. The sound vibrations were recorded as undulations or other irregularities in the traced line. Scott’s phonautograph was intended purely for the visual study and analysis of the tracings. Reproduction of the recorded sound was not possible with the original phonautograph.
In 2008, phonautograph recordings made by Scott were played back as sound by American audio historians, who used optical scanning and computer processing to convert the traced waveforms into digital audio files. These recordings, made circa 1860, include fragments of two French songs and a recitation in Italian. This was made possible by the wonderful work of FirstSounds.Org detailed below.
Au Clair de la Lune – By the Light of the Moon (April 9, 1860) [#36]
Scott recorded the French folksong “Au Clair de la Lune” on April 9, 1860, and deposited the results with the Académie des Sciences in 1861. It remains the earliest clearly recognizable record of the human voice yet recovered. The words have been a matter of controversy, but the latest playback—unveiled in May 2010—establishes them as “Au clair de la lune, mon ami Pierrot, prête moi—,” rather than “Au clair de la lune, Pierrot répondit,” as originally announced. The latest work also reveals that Scott had allowed the cylinder to slow down—possibly to a complete stop—between the words “Pierrot” and “prête,” perhaps indicating a pause to check how much unrecorded space was left on the sheet.
Listen here to the Recording :
These wonderful people since 2008 have been bringing to life the worlds oldest recordings – here is some basic info about them and what they do
David Giovannoni tracks some of his activities on his website.
Many good people have collaborated with us over the years. Sincere thanks to all.
Further Reading & Research
Contact them :
Press inqueries: [email protected]
General information: [email protected] | <urn:uuid:86263f87-4245-46cf-968b-0ee61f61c550> | {
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The smile on children faces stimulates a freshness and peace in the hearts of parents. Every parent wants to see their kids and teens to grow in front of their eyes healthy. The responsibility of the parents is that to take care of their children to the fullest. Digital Parenting is said to be the major element in children lives. Today we have to adopt modern parenting techniques to avoid any kinds of vulnerabilities from kids, preteens and from teen’s lives. But when it comes to the challenges parents are facing to set an effective parenting control, parents are the ones who have to figure out what really is going on in their children lives. On the other hand, parents are unaware of the activities children do and what sort of nightmares they may face in their lives due to the modern technological world.
Why is Modern tech-world dangerous for kids and teens?
The tech-world is too dangerous for kids and teens since the invention of the cell phone devices and their ability to connect with the cyberspace. This has put our kids and teens into real danger. Now they can talk to anyone online and do such type activities which parents most of the time don’t have clue. On the other hand, the communication tools running through the internet on mobile phone also has increased the vulnerabilities for the young generation who has obsessed with the online world connected to the internet. Now young kids and teens can do such activities that are not fully protected and they encounter with the several forms of online dangers without having prior information.
Teen’s activities on cell phones: The after effects & solutions
Having mobile phone devices in their hand’s teens usually love to do text messages to their friends via the local network of the smartphone or they use instant messaging apps such as Facebook, Tinder, Line, Vine, Yahoo, Whatsapp, SnapChat, Instagram and plenty of other social media apps and websites. Teens can use these online platforms totally free of cost without spending a single penny. Texting often ends with sexting having the online or real-life relationship with the opposite gender, that could be dangerous and they face serious consequences. Sexting has indulged in the modern young youth who are in the relationship with anyone online. They start spending too much time on sexting and lose their health, mental freshness due to lack of sleep and plenty of other issues. Parents can use text messages spy on kids and teens phone and can view text messages logs and get to know whom teens are actually talking to.
Calls local network and through messengers
Calls are one of the major factors on mobile phones; teens are the ones that do calls by using the local cell phone network and they also do free calls by using the instant messaging apps. They usually make friends online and they get exchanged the mobile phone number and then do regular chit chat and calls on the phones. Teens may get encountered with the stalkers that may harm teens emotionally, physically and sexually. Parents can protect teens through spy on calls or call recorder that enable users to record the lives calls and then save it over the internet. On other hand, parents can record listen all the calls happen through instant messaging apps by using the TOS Spy 360 live surround listening to record lives calls and surround conversations by connecting with the MIC of the target phone device.
Chatting with the online friends is a very common activity for kids and teens they do chats conversations one on one or in groups all day long. Reluctantly, they encountered with the different types of online users such as cyber bullies, sexual online predators and even with the child abusers. These type of evil peoples always in the search of teens and kids and they bullied them online and sexual predators make them friends and then meet the teen in real life to do the fun and even rape them in real life. Parents can avoid these evils by tracking the teens and kids cell phone device by using the mobile phone tracking app. They just need to use the IM’s social media and view the IM’s logs and chat conversations of teens that enable parents to know if there is something wrong.
Shared media files
Sharing media files is also one of the major dangerous activity teens doing online on different social media multiple platforms. They share their semi-nude photos and videos with their online friends that may embarrass them by spreading such a private photos on the digital media apps and websites. Parents can use TOS spy 360 live screen sharing of the mobile surveillance software. It empowers parents to broadcast the smartphone screen of teens on the TOS web portal and the activities can be seen with real-time and parents can do immediate action if something happening so foolish by the teens and kids.
The digital phones allow young users visit the websites on the cell phone browser. They may visit entertaining websites, but there are possible chances for young teens to get their hands on the pornographic material incidentally or willingly. But in both of the cases, they may get obsessed with the carnal content and finally got plenty of health issues such as depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders and weak memory and pay attention to the particular subject. Parents can get their hands on all the visited websites and apps on their phones by using the browsing history of the smartphone spy
program. The user will be able to use all the visited websites and bookmarked websites and then save it over the internet. They can also control the kids and teens device remotely by using the remote phone controller of the best cell phone monitoring spyware. It allows parents to view the installed apps remotely, to block the internet if teens are getting access to the carnal content, block incoming and outgoing calls and even block the text messages remotely.
Real life hidden activities and the solution
Teens and kids also believe having hidden whereabouts to spend time with their friends without telling their parents. Finally, they may get used to of substance abuse and plenty of others activities that can put them in real danger. Parents can track live mobile location of kids and teens hidden whereabouts
and the nature of the activities they do secretly.
Therefore, parents can also use such monitoring tool that works secretly and dig out all the rabbit holes. They can use phone spy app on the teen’s device to record the surrounding sounds and conversations by using the MIC bug. They can also use the spyvidcam bug that allows parents to make short videos of the surrounding and parents will get to know what teens are really doing in the whereabouts secretly. On the other hand camera bug of the cell phone tracking program allow parents to capture images and photos of the surrounds to know the location of the teens.
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The superb discount offer for the shortest time spam so gets your hands on the best discount offer of all time the TOS surveillance software has ever offered to the customers. Don’t miss the golden opportunity before it gets expired. TOS is making its contribution on the Black Friday to offer you such a handsome mega discount offer. It enables all the parents to get the best monitoring program for phones. Parents will be able to protect kids and teens to the fullest. Ultimately parents will celebrate up-coming Christmas with kids and teens having a satisfaction in a heart that they have fulfilled their responsibility to the fullest.
Being parents it’s your moral and spiritual duty to safeguard your teens and kids from all online and real-life vulnerabilities. Be a proud parent, rather feelings being guilty and helpless. TOS is always, therefore, you to guide you in the right direction that how to guard your kids and teens and how even a non-tech savvy parents avoid cyber nightmares from their children lives. | <urn:uuid:6733c974-284c-4136-bd12-c227074c7d59> | {
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Precision medicine uses an individual’s unique clinical, molecular and lifestyle information to guide disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention for cancer, inherited diseases and other complex disorders. This overview introduces precision medicine, outlines its applications and illustrates the collaboration needed across the healthcare ecosystem to advance this revolutionary shift in the practice of medicine.
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Introduction to precision medicine
While understanding a patient’s unique molecular profile to diagnose or treat disease is often the focus of precision medicine, it has also been described as a paradigm shift, from a one-size-fits-all approach to targeted therapeutics. Underlying this shift is a series of critical handoffs, starting with profiling large populations to better understand human genetic variations and identify disease biomarkers. From there, translational research bridges the gap from research and development (R&D) to the clinic, paving the way for the development of molecular diagnostics and targeted therapeutics.
The availability of increasing amounts of data from population studies, coupled with the acceleration of technology and increased testing accuracy, is enabling researchers to discover novel biomarkers and better understand diseases at the molecular level. This will ultimately enable delivery of targeted therapeutics to stratified patient populations for optimal benefits. When molecular diagnostics and targeted therapeutics reach the clinic, the outcome is precision medicine.
Precision medicine vs. personalized medicine
Healthcare providers have been practicing some form of precision medicine for decades. Any family medicine physician would say their approach is highly personalized. Beyond the physical exam, doctors typically consider family history, lifestyle and environmental changes before prescribing a medication or treatment plan.
The term personalized medicine first came into use in the late 1990s, referring to the goal of developing uniquely tailored medications for each individual. The scientific and health community’s newfound fascination with personalized medicine paralleled the rise of genomics. When the Human Genome Project was completed in 2000, it was thought that genetic markers would be able to clearly distinguish between patients who responded to medicine and those who did not.
In 2011, the National Research Council published “Toward Precision Medicine,” a report summarizing the need to pair genomics information with insights on lifestyle and environment to better understand, treat and prevent disease. The report cautioned that the word personalized could be misinterpreted to imply that medicine was being developed uniquely for an individual. Within a few years, the term precision medicine gained significant traction in the scientific community.
Outside the research community and scientific literature, precision medicine made its mainstream debut when former President Barack Obama launched the All of Us research initiative in 2016. The National Institutes of Health allocated $130 million towards a public initiative to build a national, large-scale research cohort of one million or more people living in the United States. According to the website, “All of Us will serve as a national research resource to inform thousands of studies, covering a wide variety of health conditions.” This study promised to bring in data on each individual’s lifestyle as well as environmental and biological makeup to better understand how each factor can influence health and disease.
“The All of Us Research Program is an opportunity for individuals from all walks of life to be represented in research and pioneer the next era of medicine. The time is now to transform how we conduct research—with participants as partners—to shed new light on how to stay healthy and manage disease in more personalized ways. This is what we can accomplish through All of Us.”
—Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director, National Institutes of Health
While All of Us is still one of the largest population studies underway today, globally scientists and health professionals are gathering tremendous amounts of data to characterize specific subsets of patients.
For example, health systems are collecting samples from localized patient populations to compare the data with other subsets of the larger population. The idea is to stratify a population into increasingly narrow sub-populations that share a common profile, depending on genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. Ultimately, those profiles would correlate with precise treatments.
In the end, initiatives such as All of Us are making health more personalized and precise. Health will be personalized in that physicians will continue to consider all information available about their patients. It will be precise because providers will increasingly look to information from molecular data to determine specific genetic mutations and identify appropriate interventions at a molecular level. A more accurate description of this approach may be precision health.
In the words of Stephanie Devaney, deputy director of the All of Us research program: “What really matters is that people understand why we need research and what efforts like All of Us aim to do. The terms we use matter less than the outcomes that result from our national focus on this area of science.”
Applications of Precision medicine
Precision medicine has been adopted across a range of fields (see table below), most notably in cancer research and inherited diseases, for both diagnosis and treatment using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. Precision medicine also holds promise to improve the overall health of populations and bring down the total cost of care through the application of pharmacogenomics, which uses patient data to inform effective, safe medication plans for patients. It may be decades before the scientific community is able to collect and leverage the explosion of information available to us. We are creating a fertile ground for discovery, and we are in the early stages of translating that research into improved outcomes for patients.
Examples of applications of Precision Medicine.
Field of study
Reproductive health including Inherited disease
Precision medicine ecosystem
A convergence of technological advancements and rising demand from healthcare providers is accelerating investment in precision medicine.
The healthcare community approaches precision medicine with a shared goal:
- Develop more effective medicines that will improve patient outcomes
- Lower costs associated with trial-and-error or ineffective treatments
For these goals to become a reality, however, key stakeholders must work together to overcome fundamental challenges.
- Government and payers: Much of precision medicine is being driven by governments and the health insurance industry, including the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare and private payers. These groups are hyper-focused on using precision medicine to drive down the costs of healthcare. To do so, they first need to provide the policy and regulatory structure to facilitate the move from translational research into the clinic. For example, one key area for ongoing research is in accumulating data to justify health outcomes and establish a proven path to reimbursement.
- Research institutions: Academic researchers are working hand-in-hand with providers in hospital settings to bring precision medicine out of the lab and into the clinic. Researchers are focused on foundational discovery, including the study of disease mechanisms, and early stage development of diagnosis and treatment strategies. They also educate scientists and medical professionals, and study the ethical, legal and business of healthcare.
- Clinical providers: Providers in health systems hope to implement precision medicine at scale to help them deliver value-based care and improve population health. Before recommending genetic testing and targeted treatments, physicians must understand the clinical and economic value. This ensures costs to patients are reasonable and will provide actionable results. In addition, providers face the significant hurdle of interpreting and implementing data at the point-of-care. For clinicians to make decisions guided by patients’ genetic information, that data must be available within in their existing workflow, and that means within electronic health records.
- Pharmaceutical and biotech companies: As pharmaceutical companies face increasing pressure to demonstrate the return on their R&D, they’re shifting to precision-based research. This includes finding the right patients for clinical trial enrollment and co-developing diagnostics and therapeutics. With drug pricing under fire, the industry is also adapting to a trend in value-based payment models that tie reimbursement to outcomes in an effort to reduce costs. Unlike flat, one-time payments, pay-for-performance deals reward pharmaceutical and biotech companies with payments on a yearly basis as long as their therapies continue to show effectiveness.
- Diagnostic labs and services: For clinicians, accuracy, consistency and data interoperability, are primary concerns. Standardized technology is needed to connect results within and across a network of labs and help the ecosystem keep up with the rapidly expanding field. Diagnostic labs and services provide specialization and reliability of results. Privacy is also a concern for laboratories managing patient data, including genetic information that can be used to potentially identify patients.
Precision medicine case studies
Thermo Fisher Scientific is committed to leveraging its industry-leading capabilities, expertise and global scale to advance precision medicine. Thermo Fisher is actively collaborating with industry, academia and government leaders to enable cost-effective, scalable solutions that will lead to better patient outcomes and prevent disease. The following case studies are examples of those collaborations.
Population profiling: Pharmacogenomics center of excellence with the University of Pittsburgh medical center
Health systems such as the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) are leading the way in implementing precision diagnostics across patient populations to improve outcomes and lower costs.
Together with UPMC, Thermo Fisher launched the Pharmacogenomics (PGx) Center of Excellence, combining the organizations’ experience and technology to demonstrate that targeted testing can be deployed clinically at population scale using precision testing platforms.
To achieve this aim, the center launched a preemptive, panel-based study that will screen up to 150,000 patients in Western Pennsylvania to discover and validate medication response predictors. The center is also focused on overcoming clinical implementation barriers by showing the clinical and economic utility of widespread pharmacogenomics testing.
Translational research: Blood atlas profiling pilot
Liquid biopsy is gaining traction in cancer research as a complementary or alternative technique for cancer detection, analysis and recurrence monitoring. It is less invasive, faster and more cost-effective than traditional solid tissue biopsy. While liquid biopsy can be used for any fluid containing genetic material, the sample is usually blood.
In 2016, as part of Former Vice President Joe Biden’s national Cancer Moonshot Project, Thermo Fisher joined the Blood Profiling Atlas pilot, an initiative bringing together regulatory and government agencies, providers, academics and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate the development of safe and effective blood profiling diagnostics.
By creating an open database for liquid biopsies, the project is helping labs quickly process samples and providing physicians with actionable data – including circulating tumor DNA (ct-DNA) data generated using Thermo Fisher’s next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms – to better understand cancer.
Molecular diagnostics: Collaboration with Novartis and Pfizer for non-small cell lung cancer companion diagnostic
Traditionally, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are screened for cancer using a sequenced approach, but new panel-based diagnostics look at multiple genes at the same time.
Oncomine Dx Target Test is FDA approved to simultaneously report 23 genes clinically associated with NSCLC. Of those 23, three contain markers that are approved for use as a CDx for specific targeted therapies. It has also been adopted for use by several national reference laboratories, including LabCorp's Diagnostics and Covance businesses, Quest Diagnostics, Cancer Genetics, Inc., and NeoGenomics Laboratories.
Since receiving FDA approval, Oncomine Dx Target Test has received positive reimbursement decisions from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and from the country's largest commercial health insurers, including CIGNA, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – making the test available to more than 160 million lives in the United States.
Targeted therapeutics: Collaboration with Novartis for first-ever FDA-approved CAR-T cell therapy
Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps the body’s own immune system detect and destroy cancer cells. Chimeric antigen receptor T, or CAR-T, cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that collects T cells from a patient’s blood and reprograms them in a lab to produce receptors that recognize specific proteins on tumor cells. Working in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, Novartis used Thermo Fisher’s Cell Therapy Systems (CTS™) Dynabeads™ technology to develop Kymriah, the first FDA-approved CAR-T cell therapy. The magnetic beads isolate, activate and expand T cells that have been genetically engineered to find and attack cancerous cells. Once the cells are reprogrammed, they are injected back into the patient’s body as a “living therapy” to fight cancer. Kymriah is approved to treat children and young adults with refractory or relapsing acute lymphomatic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the blood or bone marrow that represents more than a quarter of all pediatric cancers. A Phase II multinational clinical trial for the therapy achieved an 83 percent overall remission rate within the first three months of infusion, with 75 percent of participants remaining cancer-free six months after remission.
Groundbreaking advances in precision medicine promise to change how we approach diseases such as cancer, but the availability of new diagnostics and treatments doesn’t guarantee access to all patients.
To make precision medicine more accessible, healthcare leaders are collaborating with the FDA to create a regulatory framework that allows clinically valid tests to be adopted rapidly in clinical settings.
But the biggest challenge standing in the way of widespread adoption is the need to establish clinical utility and forge proven pathways to reimbursement.
Precision medicine treatments can come with a higher price tag than traditional therapies and, when one calculates the cost of each individual test, the companion diagnostics approved to match patients with precision therapies are often more expensive than conventional screening. Looking through the lens of value-based care, however, precision medicine has the potential to lower costs overall by reducing the need for additional testing and enabling physicians to prescribe more effective therapies as a first course of treatment. By replacing a trial-and-error based approach with a targeted approach that has been proven to improve patient outcomes, providers are making the economic case for precision medicine.
Increased access to precision medicine will also require more widespread participation in clinical trials to accelerate the availability of new targeted therapies. Large-scale studies are not feasible with traditional, one-sample, one-biomarker testing.
Further, as the industry moves toward developing drugs in smaller, even individualized batches - drug manufacturing is becoming more complex. To make the process more affordable and accessible to more people, biotech and pharmaceutical companies are starting to collaborate and share resources, expanding the total infrastructure working to speed up drug development.
Lastly, clinicians will need specialized training to increase their comfort level working with new precision medicine tests. Most cancer patients in the United States are treated in community hospitals that typically don’t have the advanced genomic sequencing capabilities of larger medical research centers. Companies such as Thermo Fisher are working to make precision medicine more accessible by developing new technologies that are easier to use and, ideally, more cost-effective, outside of major medical centers.
Precision medicine beyond genomics
As precision medicine advances, researchers are realizing that genetic sequencing alone does not complete an individual’s molecular profile. In the past, a researcher would look at one component in the body at a time to determine how it is contributing to a disease. Today, new technologies and analytical capabilities such as mass spectrometry are enabling researchers to analyze additional information such as protein levels and RNA expression to inform earlier, more specific disease diagnosis. This emerging field of “multi-omics” research includes:
- Proteomics: Used to understand the functions of individual proteins and how changes in protein abundance affect complex biological systems.
- Metabolomics: Looks at the complete set of small molecule metabolites in an organism.
- Transcriptomics: Examines the complete set of RNA transcripts produced by the genome using high-throughput methods such as microarray analysis.
- Lipidomics: Studies the pathways and networks of cellular lipids in biological systems.
The rise of multi-omics, combined with a wealth of data coming out of new precision medicine tests, creates a growing data analysis challenge across the industry. Clinicians need help interpreting the mountain of data that’s now available and making it actionable at the point of care. While an abundance of data creates new dimensions for researchers to consider, it also makes possible the discovery of new biomarkers that can propel precision medicine from the lab to the clinic. | <urn:uuid:6a3f7f90-60b7-49f7-bd9d-0fa697ddfa64> | {
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When your baby first enters this world, her cries filled the room as your mind is overwhelmed with joy. When the doctors place her on your skin for the very first time, you knew you would always be in love with your little human. You vowed right then and there that you would always protect her.
Your nurse then comes in, saying it is time for her first bath. Stop right there! You shouldn’t give your baby his/her first bath until at least 8 hours after s/he is born. In fact, the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends waiting a full 24 hours before bathing your newborn.
Confused? Read on to find out why you should wait!
Good Ol’ Vernix
When your baby is born, the doctor will first wipe away the blood and amniotic fluid. You will find that your baby is covered in a white cheese-like substance, called vernix. It is not dirt. Vernix is composed of your baby’s skin cells that were shed off in the early stages of development. At birth, your baby is exposed to bacteria such as Group B Strep and E.coli which can cause a serious infection. Vernix contains protein that can make it act as a natural antibacterial moisturizer. You could even rub this natural moisturizer into your baby’s skin.
Bathing a baby too early can cause a dip in their blood sugar levels. This is because, when a baby is born, their body is trying to adapt to their new surroundings. Inside your womb, your little one’s blood sugar was regulated through the placenta. While bathing, your baby releases stress hormones which cause a baby’s blood sugar level to drop. This can make your baby really tired and thus, they would be too sleepy to breastfeed. Without that dose of healthy milk and colostrum, your baby’s blood sugar levels can drop even further, leading to a possible neurological injury.
Adjusting to the Temperature
When your little one was inside you, it got used to your internal body temperature - 98.4 degrees. In the outside world, the temperature is just 70 degrees making it quite uncomfortable for your baby. This is why it is better for the baby to lay in the comfort of their mother’s bare skin. By bathing a baby too soon, the baby could be under the risk of developing hypothermia. Also, if the baby is too cold, their blood sugar levels may drop
Babies who have a skin-to-skin bond with their mothers during the first few minutes after birth have better blood sugar levels and temperature control. This skin-to-skin bonding between mom and baby can also help make breastfeeding come naturally to them. You may have already heard about how it is important to ensure that you breastfeed your baby within their first hour. This is so that they learn how to latch on easier. While in the womb, they had to keep sucking, inhaling and swallowing the amniotic fluid which acts as a source of oxygen and vital nutrients. When they come out, they would quickly start learning how to breathe the air and may forget the sucking and swallowing technique. This is the main reason why you should breastfeed within an hour before they forget. | <urn:uuid:b033a5da-8e40-40cd-abff-1d8f66c7b433> | {
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Supernovas are some of the most energetic and powerful events in the observable Universe. Briefly outshining entire galaxies, they are the final, dying outbursts of stars several times more massive than our Sun. And while we know supernovas are responsible for creating the heavy elements necessary for everything from planets to people to power tools, scientists have long struggled to determine the mechanics behind the sudden collapse and subsequent explosion of massive stars.
Now, thanks to NASA’s NuSTAR mission, we have our first solid clues to what happens before a star goes “boom.”
The image above shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (or Cas A for short) with NuSTAR data in blue and observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory in red, green, and yellow. It’s the shockwave left over from the explosion of a star about 15 to 25 times more massive than our Sun over 330 years ago*, and it glows in various wavelengths of light depending on the temperatures and types of elements present.
Previous observations with Chandra revealed x-ray emissions from expanding shells and filaments of hot iron-rich gas in Cas A, but they couldn’t peer deep enough to get a better idea of what’s inside the structure. It wasn’t until NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array — that’s NuSTAR to those in the know — turned its x-ray vision on Cas A that the missing puzzle pieces could be found.
And they’re made of radioactive titanium.
Many models have been made (using millions of hours of supercomputer time) to try to explain core-collapse supernovas. One of the leading ones has the star ripped apart by powerful jets firing from its poles — something that’s associated with even more powerful (but focused) gamma-ray bursts. But it didn’t appear that jets were the cause with Cas A, which doesn’t exhibit elemental remains within its jet structures… and besides, the models relying on jets alone didn’t always result in a full-blown supernova.
As it turns out, the presence of asymmetric clumps of radioactive titanium deep within the shells of Cas A, revealed in high-energy x-rays by NuSTAR, point to a surprisingly different process at play: a “sloshing” of material within the progenitor star that kickstarts a shockwave, ultimately tearing it apart.
Watch an animation of how this process occurs:
The sloshing, which occurs over a time span of a mere couple hundred milliseconds — literally in the blink of an eye — is likened to boiling water on a stove. When the bubbles break through the surface, the steam erupts.
Only in this case the eruption leads to the insanely powerful detonation of an entire star, blasting a shockwave of high-energy particles into the interstellar medium and scattering a periodic tableful of heavy elements into the galaxy.
In the case of Cas A, titanium-44 was ejected, in clumps that echo the shape of the original sloshing asymmetry. NuSTAR was able to image and map the titanium, which glows in x-ray because of its radioactivity (and not because it’s heated by expanding shockwaves, like other lighter elements visible to Chandra.)
“Until we had NuSTAR we couldn’t really see down into the core of the explosion,” said Caltech astronomer Brian Grefenstette during a NASA teleconference on Feb. 19.
“Previously, it was hard to interpret what was going on in Cas A because the material that we could see only glows in X-rays when it’s heated up. Now that we can see the radioactive material, which glows in X-rays no matter what, we are getting a more complete picture of what was going on at the core of the explosion.”
– Brian Grefenstette, lead author, Caltech
Okay, so great, you say. NASA’s NuSTAR has found the glow of titanium in the leftovers of a blown-up star, Chandra saw some iron, and we know it sloshed and ‘boiled’ a fraction of a second before it exploded. So what?
“Now you should care about this,” said astronomer Robert Kirshner of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “Supernovae make the chemical elements, so if you bought an American car, it wasn’t made in Detroit two years ago; the iron atoms in that steel were manufactured in an ancient supernova explosion that took place five billion years ago. And NuSTAR shows that the titanium that’s in your Uncle Jack’s replacement hip were made in that explosion too.
“We’re all stardust, and NuSTAR is showing us where we came from. Including our replacement parts. So you should care about this… and so should your Uncle Jack.”
And it’s not just core-collapse supernovas that NuSTAR will be able to investigate. Other types of supernovas will be scrutinized too — in the case of SN2014J, a Type Ia that was spotted in M82 in January, even right after they occur.
“We know that those are a type of white dwarf star that detonates,” NuSTAR principal investigator Fiona Harrison responded to Universe Today during the teleconference. “This is very exciting news… NuSTAR has been looking at [SN2014J] for weeks, and we hope to be able to say something about that explosion as well.”
One of the most valuable achievements of the recent NuSTAR findings is having a new set of observed constraints to place on future models of core-collapse supernovas… which will help provide answers — and likely new questions — about how stars explode, even hundreds or thousands of years after they do.
“NuSTAR is pioneering science, and you have to expect that when you get new results, it’ll open up as many questions as you answer,” said Kirshner.
Launched in June of 2012, NuSTAR is the first focusing hard X-ray telescope to orbit Earth and the first telescope capable of producing maps of radioactive elements in supernova remnants.
*As Cas A resides 11,000 light-years from Earth, the actual date of the supernova would be about 11,330 years ago. Give or take a few. | <urn:uuid:87fbd601-ea0f-499c-bd07-58e8ff7cf2ff> | {
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Eye Disorders & Treatments
Click a letter below to learn more about the types of eye disorders we treat.
Accommodative Excess refers to the tendency to focus closer in than the page being read, ie the individual will focus as if the book is closer than it really is.
This is commonly found in cases of Convergence Insufficiency, where the individual has difficulty aiming the eyes at near at the same place on the page, by overfocusing the eyes are able to be brought together to the one point.
Accommodative Excess however reduces visual stamina and can affect binocular vision.
In school aged children this is of concern as it both reduces visual efficiency but also delays ability to shift focus between distance and near tasks.
It is common in these cases for symptoms of headaches and/or sore eyes to be reported.
In cases of Accommodative Excess, there is often the report of transient blur in the distance when looking up after doing near tasks such as reading.
The risk factor is myopia (shortsightedness) being induced later in life, often in the teenage years, should accommodative excess be allowed to continue.
Treatment is the use of a Therapuetic spectacle lens prescription, this usually prescribed as a multifocal lens. The concept being to utilise the bottom section of the lens to improve near binocular vision levels whilst still allowing clear distance vision through the top of the lens, this being especially important at school and university.
Also in some cases Vision Therapy may be indicated to retrain the visual system to operate in a more efficient manner.
Accommodative Insufficiency refers to a reduced level of focus stamina required for accurate near binocular vision.
This is often associated with a Convergence Excess, reduced levels of accommodation often requiring the individual to aim the eyes closer in than the page they are reading in an effort to increase focus strength.
Insufficient accommodation usually results from either delayed vision development in children, or in situations of visual stress in adolescents and adults.
Treatment for accommodative insufficiency is best addressed by use of Therapuetic Spectacle lenses. These are generally prescribed in a multifocal form to allow improved near vision accuracy whilst not disturbing distance vision, this being especially important in school children so they may shift focus with ease and clarity between board and page in class.
Accommodative Insufficiency can reduce visual attention levels and visual memory abilities as the child is required to direct more attention to keeping clear vision, thereby reducing available concentration required for processing the visual information.
Often stamina and ability to concentrate in class or at work is affected, and the individual finds it difficult to keep focus on the page, often looking away or daydreaming. It is common to find these individuals having to re-read sentences over again for comprehension.
The Behavioural Optometrist is able to accurately assess levels of accommodation and prescribe appropriate treatment should this be required.
Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is poor vision in an eye that failed to develop normal vision during early childhood.
It affects around 2 to 3 percent of people. Someone with amblyopia usually has good vision in one eye, although it is possible for amblyopia to develop in both eyes.
Any condition that impedes the normal development of vision in an eye can cause amblyopia, however the two most likely causes are:
- Strabismus (misaligned or crossed eyes) – A misaligned or crossed eye will eventually turn-off to avoid double vision occurring. This will prevent vision from developing normally and amblyopia will result.
- Unequal Focusing – Amblyopia can occur in an eye that has poorer focusing than the other eye due to refractive error. This can be difficult to detect as there is no visible symptom like in the case of a crossed eye.
- Non-refractive Amblyopia – May occur in the absence of poor focusing or an eye turn yet one or both of the eyes may have blurred vision. This is commonly associated with some form of congenital developmental delay, or may be associated with an eye injury or brain injury.
Amblyopia may also develop in an eye that has become cloudy in the areas of tissue that are normally clear. An example of that is Cataracts.
Where a child has high levels of long sightedness, shortsightedness or astigmatism, amblyopia may develop in both eyes.
Because amblyopia is not easily detectable in infants, a routine eye examination by an optometrist is recommended for all small children. The earlier amblyopia is diagnosed, the more effective the treatment will be.
Ideally, treatment for amblyopia should begin in infancy or early childhood.
Amblyopia is treated by wearing glasses to improve the vision in the poor eye, thus allowing the vision to develop normally. In some cases the good eye may be blurred with the use of glasses or a patch to encourage the poorer eye to work. Vision Therapy is often very effective in the treatment of amblyopia, this involves a customised program of activities conducted both in-office and at home in order to stimulate the visual system and enhance binocular vision ability.
Success in treating amblyopia depends on how severe it is and how early it’s detected. Early detection and treatment of amblyopia will mostly result in improved vision.
Anisometropia is a significant imbalance in refractive error between the eyes.
That is one of the eyes requires a significantly stronger corrective prescription in order to see clearly.
This is commonly found in Refractive Amblyopia, ie where one of the eyes is either not used fully compared to the other eye due to an excessively high prescription, or where one of the eyes appears initially to not function correctly.
Treatment for anisometropia is usually the corrective spectacle prescription to give maximal visual acuity for each eye. This is important to reduce the risk of Amblyopia in cases of untreated anisometropia. Vision Therapy may be useful in treating the effects of anisometropia.
Astigmatism results when the shape of the cornea (the clear section of the eye covering the iris) is not spherical; in other words, when the cornea is shaped more like the back of a dessert spoon rather than the back of a soup spoon. It may also exist, although less commonly, because of an irregular shaped lens within the eye.
Astigmatism is not a disease; it is merely a variation in the shape of the cornea or lens and is very common. It should be noted that in cases of continual progression of astigmatism, there is a need to exclude Keratoconus, which is a disease of the collagen fibres of the cornea, often genetic, that allows progression of a cone shaped cornea. This is best measured using a Corneal Topographer, which is available at Vision West, and treated using Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lenses.
Moderate to large amounts of astigmatism will cause images to appear misshapen and blurry at any distance.
The usual way of correcting astigmatism is by wearing glasses or contact lenses. Most long sighted, short sighted and presbyopic people will also have small amounts of astigmatism which the optometrist will account for in a spectacle correction.
In children it is possible to measure a type of astigmatism that is actually secondary to focusing conditions, ie the eye shape may be correct but astigmatism is measured. This is best treated using behavioural optometry techniques including therapeutic spectacles and/or Vision Therapy.
There also exists lenticular astigmatism where the lens shape is irregular, again causing distortion of incident light.
Incorporates all aspects of primary vision care. Behavioural Optometrists examine all age ranges of patients from infants, school aged children through to adults of all ages.
Behavioural optometry incorporates regular vision care with vision development assessments. That is, there are many children who can see but do so inefficiently and, even though able to read an eye chart, the effort required cannot be readily sustained, affecting not only vision development but also ability to concentrate and listen in the classroom.
Sometimes referred to as Developmental Optometry, this term can be limiting in its definition as it implies to many people that Behavioural Optometrists will only see children.
Nothing could be further from the truth, the term Behavioural Optometry is therefore more accurate as it infers that Visual Efficiency or Visual Processing issues can influence a person’s behaviour, be it headaches, sore eyes, blurred vision, trouble concentrating in the classroom or office, blur after working on the computer, watery eyes, eyestrain, red/sore eyes etc… and this regardless of a person’s age.
A cataract is a cloudiness that develops in the normally clear lens in the eye. The effects of cataracts can best be explained as similar to looking through a misty window. Over time a cataract will become denser and denser until it occludes vision altogether.
There are several causes of cataracts, the most common being associated with ageing (Age Related Cataracts). Although cataracts don’t usually start to affect most Australians until they are in their 60’s or 70’s, an earlier onset of cataracts can be attributed to smoking, excessive exposure to sunlight, diabetes, and the long term use of some medications (Secondary Cataracts). Cataracts may also develop after an eye injury (Traumatic Cataracts) and in rare cases babies are born with cataracts or develop them in early childhood (Congenital Cataracts).
As cataracts usually develop slowly over a long period of time, most people only become aware they have them following a routine visit to the optometrist or ophthalmologist. Someone with cataracts may need to have several prescription updates over a shorter than normal period of time.
Common symptoms of cataracts are:
- Cloudy or blurred vision at any viewing distance
- Glare sensitivity
- Haloes around lights at night time
- Colours looked washed-out
Cataracts are treated by way of a surgical procedure performed by an ophthalmologist in a hospital or day surgery. Sophisticated equipment assists the ophthalmologist to perform suture-less surgery that removes the cataract portion of the lens, which is then replaced with an artificial prosthetic lens.
Prior to the surgery, measurements are taken and calculations are made to ascertain the type of prosthesis that will be used to deliver as close as possible to clear distance vision without the need for glasses. Some pre existing conditions such as astigmatism may not be fully corrected during the surgery and glasses may still need to be prescribed. In most cases reading glasses will be needed after cataract surgery, and in many cases multifocal spectacles are still the ideal option for practicality.
Convergence Excess occurs where the natural posture of the eyes is closer in than required for near vision tasks.
Convergence excess means the individual, when they look to near vision tasks, has a natural tendency to aim the eyes closer in than the position they are trying to aim at.
For example someone reading would ideally aim and focus the eyes together on the words on the page, in cases of convergence excess there is usually the situation where the eyes meet to aim at a point closer in than the page.
Often individuals can be noted to work closer to the page when this occurs.
This excess of vergence is commonly associated with an Accommodative Insufficiency. The eyes are aimed closer in than desired in an attempt to compensate for reduced focus stamina or focus ability.
This leads to a mismatch between vergence and focus, thus affecting binocular vision accuracy.
Management of convergence excess requires therapeutic spectacle prescription lenses to enhance the focus efficiency thus reducing the need to pull the eyes closer in.
This is a therapeutic treatment that requires monitoring over time to ensure the excessive demand is reduced to within a normal range of focus and convergence.
Usually over time prescriptions can be reduced and wearing time reduced.
Without effective management, myopia (shortsightedness) can often result in later years, such as in high school.
Convergence Insufficiency is a reduced ability to bring the eyes together for near vision tasks.
In order to read and focus at near, the visual system is required to make a single clear image by bringing the eyes closer together, this usually being stimulated when a person looks down and close. If this does not occur then a blurred double image would be the result, or the brain would switch one eye off to cope, this is termed Suppression or Amblyopia.
In many cases the reduced ability to bring the eyes together for near vision tasks is related to focus insufficiency. That is, many children have reduced convergence being linked to inefficient focus for near vision affecting awareness of where to aim the eyes, this due to developmental delay in their focus stamina.
In cases of focus issues being linked to the convergence insufficiency, therapeutic spectacle lenses are often all that is required to improve both the focus delay and convergence ability.
These Therapeutic spectacle prescriptions are most commonly dispensed in multifocal form, so that assistance may be given for near vision without disturbing distance vision. This is necessary in a classroom situation for children or office situation for an adult so as to allow smooth transition of focus between distance and near tasks.
Usually single vision lenses, although beneficial for near, become problematic in the distance as the individual is then looking through a prescription they do not require when trying to look at the blackboard. So benefit at near can be negated by the distance blur, leading to further eyestrain and compliance issues.
In cases of convergence insufficiency which are more related to the ability of the visual system to turn the eyes inward then a program of Vision Therapy may be required to retrain the eye muscles to converge. This is usually due to a developmental delay in the flexibility, co-ordination and integration of the eye muscles that move the eyes in whichever direction we are to be looking.
In more longterm cases of convergence insufficiency, it is common to find an Exotropia also being present, where one eye fixates and the other remains slightly divergent, ie an outward eye turn.
Often a combination of Vision Therapy and Therapeutic Spectacle Prescriptions are required to manage cases of Convergence Insufficiency.
Diplopia (Double Vision)
Diplopia or double vision can be the most frustrating of all eye conditions. The most common form of diplopia (binocular diplopia) arises when the eyes are misaligned and the symptoms may be constant or intermittent.
The affects of binocular diplopia will cause images to appear vertically, horizontally or diagonally double due to misalignment or imbalance in the actions of each of the eye muscles that control movement of each eyeball.
Examination is required to exclude pathology as a possible reason for loss of binocular vision.
In many cases the onset of diplopia can be due to age as the loss of accuracy and flexibility in the muscles may be one of the reasons for double vision.
Other reasons for diplopia include head injuries or secondary to other illnesses, so examination is very important if double vision is noticed either binocularly or even if just in one eye, ie monocular diplopia.
Divergence Insufficiency is associated with an Esotropia. In this case the inward eye turn is greater at distance than at near.
Management involves a program of Vision Therapy and may also require spectacles to try and control the deviation, ie to assist the eyes in working together and looking straight.
Esotropia is an inward eye turn of the eyes when looking at distance, near or both. The eyes adopt what is more commonly known as a ‘cross-eyed’ appearance.
This may be congenital from birth or acquired in the early years of life, often prior to commencement of primary school.
Most commonly seen in association with an Accommodative dysfunction, the esotropic child will usually have a high degree of Hyperopia (longsightedness) associated. As the individual focuses excessively to control the hyperopia, eventually when control is lost on or both the eyes may turn inwards.
This is sometimes constant but more commonly intermittent, ie occurs when looking in certain directions or when tired or when viewing new things such as when starting pre-school.
In an Accommodative Esotropia, treatment often only requires early intervention with full time spectacle wear. If the eyes are kept in the straight position by the spectacle correction then chances of Amblyopia are reduced, but not eliminated altogether.
It is common for spectacle prescriptions in the early stages of treatment to increase rapidly, this can be alarming for the parents but it is necessary to keep the prescription at its optimal correction to allow the best chance of binocular vision later in life.
Commonly a prescription will increase during childhood often to moderate or even reduce later in the teenage years.
The most common observation by parents of children with an accommodative esotropia is that they may have not noticed, or only rarely noticed, the eye turn in their child prior to getting spectacles. Yet since having the glasses they have noted the eye turn increase when the spectacles are taken off, reassurance is given that this is a normal occurrence.
As the visual system utilises the spectacle correction to keep the eyes straight until later in life often the eye turn will increase without the spectacles. This does not mean the spectacles are ‘ruining’ your child’s eyes, rather it is a confirmation that without adequate spectacle correction the eye turn may be even greater or the incidence of Amblyopia far more likely.
Vision Therapy is commonly required to help train the child to use their eyes together in a more efficient manner.
Exotropia is a divergent or outward eye turn that may be present at distance or near or both.
This may or may not have in association with it a Convergence Insufficiency.
Often present from the early stages of development, the outward eye turn is usually intermittent and may benefit from management by spectacles or Vision Therapy or a combination of both.
As in all cases of Strabismus early intervention and management is essential in order to reduce risk of compensatory measures by the brain such as Amblyopia.
Glaucoma describes damage to the optic nerve and retina that is most commonly caused by a higher than normal build-up of pressure in the eye.
It is essential for the eyes to maintain a constant and firm shape for light to focus accurately within them. The body does this by pumping a clear fluid called aqueous into the eye, which also provides the eye with essential nutrients from the blood. The aqueous drains in and out of the eye against a resistance which sustains a pressure that is higher than air but lower than blood pressure.
Damage through higher than normal pressure can result if there is a blockage in the circulation or drainage of aqueous fluid.
Damage may also be caused by poor blood supply to the optic nerve fibres, a weakness in the structure of the nerve, or a problem in the health of the nerve fibres.
During a routine eye examination your optometrist will test for glaucoma by measuring the pressure within the eye as well as examining the optic nerve at the back of the eye. If any abnormality is detected or if there is a family history of glaucoma, your optometrist will perform a visual field check to further rule out the possibility of glaucoma. A visual field allows the optometrist to assess for loss of sensitivity to light or even a loss of sight in parts of the retina, this usually commencing in the peripheral vision in glaucoma.
As the peripheral vision is often the first to be affected by elevated eye pressure, there is generally no symptoms for an individual in the early stages of the most common form of glaucoma, which is why monitoring of intraocular pressure is very important, generally being checked every two years in persons over 40 years of age, or annually if there exists a family history of glaucoma or if previous tests have been suspicious.
Should an elevated eye pressure or visual field loss be detected the optometrist will refer to an Ophthalmologist for treatment.
Glaucoma is controlled most commonly by the use of eye drops which help to maintain an acceptable pressure in the eye. More acute forms of glaucoma may be treated by laser surgery.
As the name suggests, people that are longsighted generally cope better with long distance vision than near vision. However, being long-sighted doesn’t mean your long distance vision will always be clear and near vision always blurry, this will depend on the amount of hyperopia and your age.
Hyperopia results when light focuses beyond the retina at the back of the eye. The most likely causes are the length of the eye being too short, and generally in children when there exists a delay in the focus system stamina being developed.
About 25% of Australians are Hyperopic. It is normal for a child to have a low level of longsightedness up to the end of the primary school years.
The symptoms for low and moderate amounts of hyperopia are blurred or strained vision at near, however hyperopia is sometimes confused for presbyopia (age related near vision loss). Higher degrees of hyperopia will cause vision to blur in all viewing areas.
The eyes near focusing mechanism (accommodation) may neutralise the blurring affects of hyperopia in younger aged people. For this reason, hyperopia is commonly not detected during routine vision screenings at schools etc. A comprehensive eye examination by an optometrist will detect hyperopia, and more specifically the Behavioural Optometrist will fully assess age appropriate focus stamina and near binocular vision levels that can be affected by the longsightedness.
Hyperopia is commonly corrected by wearing glasses fitted with convex or plus lenses or by wearing contact lenses.
A progressive condition where the cornea becomes more oval shaped, eventually forming a corneal cone distortion over time. The cause of this condition is not fully understood however is often hereditary and is believed to have a link with persons who eye rub excessively due to allergies or itchy eyes.
Keratoconic persons are usually not able to see clearly through spectacles due to the distortion in the cornea and are best managed by fitting of Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lenses, often requiring a specific type of hard lens to accommodate the irregular shape of the eye.
The fitting of these hard lenses not only improves visual acuity but also has been shown to reduce progression of the cone formation in keratoconic eyes. Soft contact lenses cannot usually achieve similar levels of visual acuity due to the fact they ‘wrap’ over the cone shape of the eye and therefore distort vision in the same way as spectacles.
Experimental medical treatments incorporating use of specific eye drops to try and reduce progression of keratoconus are currently undergoing research and trials in Australia.
Progression beyond fitment of contact lenses is not common, however in cases where this occurs referral to an Ophthalmologist for consideration of corneal grafts is a worst case scenario.
Macula degeneration mostly occurs as a person ages but can occur in two different forms and for different reasons. There is the dry form which involves spots on the retina appearing known as drusen, these spots are debris that build up on the retina with age and can reduce vision. In the wet form new blood vessels form at the macula and cause haemorrhaging and scarring again reducing vision. There are many contributing factors to macula degeneration risk, these include excessive UV exposure, smoking, poor diet and ageing. It is recommended that sunglasses be worn to protect the macula and that our diets should include a healthy dose of antioxidants and omega 3 such as we can find in leafy green vegetables and fish.
The terms short, or near sightedness, are used when the condition myopia exists, which is the ability to have clear vision close-up but not in the distance.
Around 20 -25 percent of Australians are myopic.
People with low amounts of myopia may only need to wear glasses when driving at night and at the movies, while higher amounts of myopia may require glasses to be worn even when reading.
Myopia occurs when light focuses short of the retina at the back of the eye. This is usually because the eye is too long.
People with moderate or low amounts of myopia will find themselves removing their glasses to read once they acquire presbyopia in their mid forties.
Myopia is corrected by wearing glasses fitted with concave or minus lenses, contact lenses or by undertaking refractive surgery.
The most common type of myopia (physiological myopia) develops in childhood and generally continues to increase until the eye is fully grown. The number people in the population with this type of myopia have dramatically increased around the world over the last 50 years and as a result, several new theories on why eyes become myopic are now being debated.
For myopic children, generally multifocal spectacles are fitted to best allow distance and near visual accuracy in the classroom ie so that the distance prescription does not excessively strain the child’s eyes when reading.
In the early stages of myopia or for low to moderate myopia it is possible to undergo Orthokeratology contact lens fitting, which involves wearing contact lenses at night to allow vision unaided during the day.
Some research suggests that Orthokeratology may reduce progression of myopia. This has also been thought to be true, to a lesser extent, with daytime Rigid gas permeable contact lenses.
Other forms of hard and soft contact lenses can be fitted to allow clear vision during the day.
Non-refractive Esotropia is where the inward eye turn exists but is not associated with a high degree of longsightedness. In these cases Vision Therapy would again be recommended to attempt to retrain the co-ordination of the eyes.
In some extreme cases of high degrees of eye turn that are not treatable by either spectacles nor Vision Therapy, then referral to a Paediatric Ophthalmologist may be indicated to assess suitability for corrective eye muscle surgery.
It is recommended that in these cases that post surgery Vision Therapy is conducted by a Behavioural Optometrist in order to teach the child how to reuse their ‘new’ visual system.
Orthokeratology more commonly referred to as ‘Ortho-K’, the use of contact lenses to reshape the cornea (front surface of the eyes) in order to reduce levels of myopia and astigmatism. The lenses are worn in the evening whilst sleeping and allow clear vision for the next day once removed upon waking.
Presbyopia (age related near vision loss)
Presbyopia develops during middle age causing vision to blur at near. The effects of presbyopia are usually felt around 44 years of age, but that will vary depending on whether there are other pre existing eye conditions and what visual demands the eyes are normally under each day.
Although the onset of presbyopia is relatively slow, once the effects are noticed it can seem as if the condition has suddenly developed and this occasionally creates anxiety. What has actually happened is the protein fibres in the lenses of the eyes have changed over time, making them harder and less elastic, such that the lens cannot as readily change shape when required to alter focus between varying distances. This change reduces the amount of near focussing that was once achievable. Everyone will eventually experience presbyopia.
The most common way presbyopia is corrected is by wearing glasses.
As modern visual demands such as using a computer require more than one focusing point in a pair of glasses, single vision lenses are no longer the best option for correcting presbyopia. Extended focus lenses, which provide a full reading prescription in the bottom half of the lenses and a weakened prescription at the top (for viewing a monitor), provide a preferred solution.
Another option for people with presbyopia is to use progressive addition lenses (PALs), otherwise known as Multifocals. They provide distance, intermediate and near vision in one set of lenses. PALs may be the perfect solution for someone that requires a distance prescription also, or for people with good distance vision but have a constant requirement for clear distant and near vision throughout their working day.
PALs may not be the most appropriate option for someone using a computer for extended periods of time; this is because, in a workplace monitors often sit too high for viewing comfortably through the intermediate or near sections of the progressive addition lens. In this situation the only way to achieve clear vision for all situations would be to have two pairs of glasses; one fitted with PALs for general use and another with extended focus lenses which could be left by the computer.
Contact lenses may also provide a solution for someone with presbyopia. Although there are contact lenses available for correcting Presbyopia, there is a trade off in clarity of vision when using them. Another option is using contact lenses to correct distance vision in one eye and near vision in the other (mono vision).
Correcting the effects of presbyopia through refractive eye surgery is also possible, however the outcome and options are similar to those presented with contact lenses. For this reason, surgery is rarely prescribed as a typical option for people with presbyopia.
Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lenses
Otherwise known as Hard contact lenses, these are generally safer and healthier to wear than soft contact lenses due to the increased oxygen flow to the eye and the superior materials they are made of.
Although commonly people are hesitant (due to the fear of the word ‘hard’ thinking this implies discomfort) to pursue fitting of hard lenses when recommended to them, the end result is usually healthier eyes and more stable vision that can be maintained for longer wearing times than many soft lens options.
Well maintained hard contact lenses will not usually show long term effects on the cornea as opposed to the higher risks of contamination associated with many types of soft contact lenses.
Strabismus is the term used to describe an eye turn. Please see further specific information under the headings Exotropia and Esotropia.
Suppression is where one eye is used in preference to the weaker eye, ie the brain may constantly or intermittently shut down visual input from one eye in situations where binocular vision cannot be readily achieved. This commonly is found in conditions of Amblyopia, Strabismus (Esotropia or Exotropia), Anisometropia.
Therapeutic spectacle lenses are most often used by school aged children, university students or people working in offices that are measured to have a degree of visual stress or inefficiency.
These lenses are not to be confused with compensating lenses which are typically what people think of when they think ‘glasses’.
That is, compensating lenses reduce blur whereas therapeutic spectacle lenses are used to reduce symptoms such as sore eyes or headaches or intermittent blur that may result from visual inefficiency conditions such as convergence excess, convergence insufficiency, accommodative excess or accommodative insufficiency.
The most effect means of prescribing involves a type of multifocal lens, this allowing the therapeutic benefit at near to be achieved whilst not interrupting a person’s distance vision. It is important that children usually be prescribed this type of lens to best function in the classroom.
Vision Therapy involves the use of lenses, prisms and activities to improve visual efficiency and Visual Processing skills including eye teaming, focus and visualisation skills.
Vision Therapy is also prescribed to enhance and improve awareness/ability of both Visual Efficiency and Visual Processing skills.
Most Learning Difficulty children have both a Visual Efficiency and Visual Processing issue, in isolation treatment of one condition is not always successful.
The treatment involves a complete initial optometric assessment to evaluate an individual’s vision and ocular health status. Following this, if recommended, further assessment to ascertain whether Vision Therapy may be beneficial is conducted.
Vision Therapy, the optometric modality of developing and enhancing visual abilities and remediating vision dysfunction, has a firm foundation in vision science.
At Vision West, following initial optometric assessment, if Vision Therapy is deemed suitable, then a customised one-on-one program is designed for the patient.
This Vision Therapy program typically involves attending on a weekly basis for approximately forty five minutes with our Accredited ACBO Vision Therapist for in-office sessions. These are combined with home based activities that are done for twenty minutes per day.
The aim of the Vision Therapy program is to enhance both the visual efficiency skills such as focusing and eye movements/eye teaming/binocular vision as well as the ability to accurately and rapidly process visual information and retain this information in one’s visual memory for later correct recall.
The Vision Therapy program will usually span over a three to four month period.
Refers to the ability and stamina of the visual system regarding focus, eye movements and binocular vision levels. In cases of reduced visual efficiency the result may be headaches, sore eyes, blurred vision or difficulty in concentrating. Best treated using therapeutic spectacles, and in some cases, enhanced using Vision Therapy.
Visual Information Processing
The ability to process incoming visual information. This refers to a person’s ability to give meaning to what is being seen, such as comprehending what is being read from the page, or what is occurring around us in one’s environment.
Reduced visual perceptual skills can affect learning in terms of visual memory, visual recall and visual attention.
Visual Information Processing skills can be enhanced by the use of Vision Therapy.
Also known as Visual Information Processing, is the ability to give meaning to what is being seen. Good visual perception means being able to quickly and accurately process and analyse what is being seen, and store it in visual memory for later recall. This is important in being able to decide what appropriate action is required to interact with the environment and circumstances to which an individual is exposed. For example, in the classroom when reading and writing it is important to be able to quickly and accurately decode, comprehend and remember written material whilst still being able to listen to the teacher.
Individuals with reduced visual information processing ability often require Vision Therapy to improve visual perceptual skills, i.e. the ability to rapidly and accurately process visual information received with each eye movement, and to then store this information in correct sequence for later accurate recall. | <urn:uuid:1e420b93-225c-4e74-8513-dd84d3f613c3> | {
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In the last of our four part series with Dmitry Kashanin, we look at the work that has been done since Cellix took on the challenge of working with impedance. Many people are aware of the Coulter Counter, the first medical device to take measurements with impedance. But it was a simple blood cell counter. How has impedance technology changed since then?
“Obviously a Coulter Counter is just a very primitive impedance measurement device. It was primarily used for counting cells and particles, not identifying one cell from another. It typically used a low frequency impedance measurement and just measured if a cell passed the electrode.
Now you can measure several frequencies at a time. This is purely due to developments in the electronics that make it capable of multiprocessing. FPGA technology has allowed us to process several signals at a time meaning we can use two, four or six different frequencies if we want to and probe different properties of the cells.
"In the last 2 years we have increased the throughput of our tech by a factor of 10. As far as we are aware, no other groups have made these kinds of developments."
Also, as a result of being able to go to higher frequencies of excitation, you can shrink down the size of the device and measure smaller things. Now we can measure down to bacteria in 30 micron channels with 20 micron electrodes.
Another big innovation in impedance is learning how to control the position and orientation of cells passing through the microfluidic channel. We’re applying this in several different applications now to measure cells and debris more precisely.
I think our biggest contribution to the development of modern impedance is the speed. We now have cells running at m/s through the measurement channel. We can analyse very close to the whole cytometry at 10,000 cells/s. A few years ago this was only available at flow rates around 10-100 cells/s. We developed this high speed impedance in the last few years solely through better electronics.
Additionally, our sorting capability itself is not trivial. We have developed droplet sorting which requires electrical charging on chip to be integrated into the whole impedance detection system. It is common to charge cells in sorting, but our developments to downsize and make the tech work on a chip was a big achievement for us!
In the last 2 years we have increased the throughput of our tech by a factor of 10. As far as we are aware, no other groups have made these kinds of developments. We usually see a flow rate of 30-50 microlitre/min in other groups but we’re sitting at 300-500 microlitre/min.
In terms of clinical application, throughput was the big limiting factor. You need an exceptionally high flow of cells per second to be able to work with the amount of cellular material that might make a difference to a patient. At Cellix, we are now coming to a point where we are starting to directly compete with flow cytometry. Of course it’s not as advanced in terms of labelling receptors but there are many other applications, for example, viability testing, where you don’t need such precision but you do need the throughput.
I think our progress is really important. Even 2 years ago, I was not sure that it would be possible. I knew in theory what throughput should have been possible but getting there was another thing! It’s something we’ve achieved that we think is going to make a big difference.
It really feels now that our future goals for impedance cytometry is more in applications. We are looking for applications that could utilise the technology, putting it into devices and integrating it into systems. It can be easily multiplexed, it’s electronics based, it’s robust technology that can have a lot of different uses. Also, it’s just smaller and you don’t need a high precision setup of optics and lasers. It’s just a chip with electronics and fluidics. Before long it’ll be a handheld device.”
Questions? Want to know more? Contact or follow us on our Twitter and LinkedIn and keep up to date with our latest advancements. | <urn:uuid:a523be95-4ab4-4d46-b42d-9e75f0575dd7> | {
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Even if the risk of a certain disease is relatively low, it's important to get your child immunized. Why? Because a low risk of disease isn't no risk — which means that an unvaccinated baby still has a shot at getting sick.
Which Diseases Still Pose Risks?
The only disease that has been completely wiped out in the world is smallpox (which is why smallpox is the only vaccine that is no longer needed). The rest of the diseases that children are immunized against still make appearances and in some cases are still prevalent, so they may pose a risk to anyone who isn't fully vaccinated.
In fact, experts frequently say that the preventable diseases that are so uncommon in the U.S. are only a plane ride away. That's because outbreaks in this country often begin when an unvaccinated person travels to a country where the diseases circulate more widely, and where diseases like polio, diphtheria or measles still occur. The traveler then picks up the disease, and brings it home — a dangerous souvenir that can then be passed around to anyone who isn't vaccinated or hasn't yet been fully vaccinated (including those who are at greater risk for disease, such as infants and pregnant women). Foreign visitors can also bring diseases into the country, so the importance of vaccines is still high, even for low-risk diseases.
Another good reason to immunize your baby fully: If enough parents stop immunizing their children, diseases that have been under control for years can actually make comebacks, causing outbreaks.
Examples of Outbreaks
Lapsing rates of immunizations are the reason why outbreaks begin — both in this country and abroad. It has happened in our time, and can happen again if children fail to be vaccinated. Case in point:
- Pertussis (whooping cough) is a common (endemic) disease in the United States, with peaks in reported disease every few years and frequent outbreaks. In 2012, the most recent peak year, states reported 48,277 cases of pertussis — and many more cases go unreported, The DTaP vaccine (for babies) and Tdap vaccine (for adolescents and adults) can prevent this highly contagious disease from spreading.
- In 2015, the United States experienced a large, multi-state measles outbreak linked to an amusement park in California. The outbreak likely started from a traveler who became infected overseas with measles, then visited the amusement park while infectious; however, no source was identified. The outbreak resulted in 147 cases.
- The U.S. experienced 23 measles outbreaks in 2014, including one large outbreak of 383 cases, occurring primarily among unvaccinated Amish communities in Ohio. Many of the cases in the U.S. in 2014 were associated with cases brought in from the Philippines, which experienced a large measles outbreak.
- In 2016 a series of mumps outbreaks began with over 6,000 cases reported from 150 outbreaks in 32 jurisdictions. Half of the outbreaks occurred at universities. | <urn:uuid:13f2430d-3f29-4aaf-9fd0-d4b5d5743c7c> | {
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What Hiking Does To The Brain Is Pretty Amazing
Written by , in Section Featured Articles
The great outdoors might just be greater than you think. There are plenty of us who love to spend as many hours of the day outdoors as we can, and hiking is obviously quite healthy for the body, but few of us ever give a lot of thought to how hiking could benefit our mental health as well. It turns out that hiking might just be your ticket to a brand-new brain, whether you’re passionate about the outdoors, or just force yourself to take a stroll around your local park.
Recent studies about the effects of hiking and nature have been directed at understanding just how this recreational activity affects both the physiological and mental aspects of our brains. One of the main reasons for this glut of research is because we’re spending so much less time outdoors, overall. The average American child now spends half as much time outside as compared to only 20 years ago. HALF. Only 6% of children will play outside on their own in a typical week. Conversely, kids are now spending almost 8 hours per day watching television, playing video games, or using a computer, tablet, or phone for recreational purposes. That number actually jumps up to 10 hours if you count doing two things at once! Overall, Americans now spend 93% of their time inside a building or vehicle.
So, what does this mean for human beings? Well, unless we get a little more proactive about embracing fresh air and dirt under our feet, the prognosis is pretty grim. The bright side is, as with all great medicine, when it comes to the outdoors, a little goes a long way.
Nature Really Does Clear Your Head
According to a study published last July in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a 90-minute walk through a natural environment had a huge positive impact on participants. In a survey taken afterwards, those people who took the natural walk showed far lower levels of brooding, or obsessive worry. The control group who spent that 90 minutes walking through a city reported no such difference. Not only that, but the scientists went a step further and did brain scans of the subjects.
They found that there was decreased blood flow to the subgenual prefrontal cortex. What in the world does that mean? Well, increased blood flow to this region of the brain is associated with bad moods. Everything from feeling sad about something, to worrying, to major depression seem to be tied to this brain region. Hiking deactivates it.
Unplugging Makes You More Creative
Psychologists Ruth Ann Atchley and David L. Strayer found in their 2012 study that after a four-day-long hike in the wilderness, with no access to technology, participants scored a whopping 50% higher on a test known as RAT, or Remote Associates Test. It’s a simple way of measuring the creative potential in people. A series of three words are given, for instance, “same, tennis, and head.” The test-taker has to find a fourth word that connects the first three. In this case, the answer is “match.” A 50% increase is a huge leap up in performance by research standards. Problem-solving skills like this are thought to originate in the same area of the brain that we also use for selective attention and threat detection, meaning our ability to think creatively is being overwhelmed by the constant stimulus of digital, indoor living.
Hiking Boosts Your Focus
We mentioned selective attention in the previous section but this is bigger than that. Anyone who has ADHD or has raised a child who has been diagnosed with the disorder can tell you, it’s a daily struggle to maintain grades, work performance, even relationships with friends and family. Medication can help alleviate the symptoms, but often ADHD persists into adulthood and that daily habit of popping stimulants can take its toll on your health and your wallet. Well, what about a good hike? A 2004 study came to the pretty obvious conclusion that getting outdoors and doing something active can reduce the symptoms of ADHD. More than that, it can do so for anyone, regardless of age, health, or other characteristics that can change the effect of medication.
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A New Sustainable City In The Egyptian Western Desert: Gardens’ City
Free (open access)
321 - 332
S. Abouelfadl, K. Ouda, A. Atia, N. Al-Amir, M. Ali, S. Mahmoud, H. Said & A. Ahmed
There are newly discovered areas in the Egyptian western desert, which were believed to be part of the Great Sand Sea. These areas are able to be developed. Water is available near ground surface in the area; the new Farafra Oasis lies in these areas. This paper discusses a general master plan of the Gardens’ City, as a future city in new Farafra Oasis. The aim of the paper is to achieve sustainability in the city during the planning stage. The city is planned for 117,000 inhabitants, with a final target of settling 1 million inhabitants in the oasis. Palm, olive and wheat are economical bases in the oasis and limestone and shale/clay soil form local building materials there. The White Desert forms a beautiful touristic site near the oasis. The industrial economy is based mainly on agriculture in addition to other local resources. The city plan includes a field to generate renewable energy from the sun and wind, which are available on the site. Algae will be planted there to produce biofuel. The city will be sustainable from different sides, especially energy. Keywords: sustainable city, city planning, Gardens’ City, renewable energy, Egyptian western desert, new Farafra Oasis, sustainable planning.
sustainable city, city planning, Gardens’ City, renewable energy,Egyptian western desert, new Farafra Oasis, sustainable planning. | <urn:uuid:de98fdd4-2b09-4f97-969a-67b0ccf46872> | {
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Promise of Redemption
Israelites don’t listen because their spirits were crushed by cruel bondage
Eighty year old Moshe resists God’s command to speak to Pharaoh pleading that his lack of self-confidence (speech impediment) makes him ineffective
His 83 year- old brother Aharon is sent along to do the talking
Genealogy of Moshe and Aharon
Aharon turns a staff into a crocodile for Pharaoh, who remains unimpressed, because his Egyptian wizards, magicians and sorcerers are able to create the illusion of converting staffs into snakes (which are then swallowed by the crocodile
The first seven plagues (each believed to have lasted a week):
Water turns into blood
Invasion of frogs
Infestation of lice(gnats, fleas) causing severe itching
Swarms of harmful creatures (mixture of beetles or of wild animals)
Epidemic of fatal animal disease
Hail of ice and fire mixture
The “Names” of God
The Parsha opens with God identifying Himself to Moshe as “I Am Y-H-V-H” and informing him that “I revealed Myself to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov as El Shaddai, and did not allow them to know Me by my name Y-H-V-H”. God introduced his communication to Avraham and Yaakov with the identifying statement “I am El Shaddai”.
The Tetragrammaton Name (which may not be pronounced) —yud and hay and vav and hay—denotes God’s utter transcendence (Kuzari) and His creative forces that do and will continue to constantly sustain the universe (Aryeh Kaplan).The name was known to the Patriarchs, but not its inner significance including God as a fulfiller of His promises. The Patriarchs were given assurances that a new nation would be born from them, but they did not live to see the fulfillment of these promises.
The nature of Man’s relationship with God changed over time. The Patriarchs’ faith was pure and unquestioning. They never asked for nor had any need for public miracles to prove God. But for the skeptical Israelites in Egypt it was essential to define and to demonstrate God’s Essence--His Existence, His Involvement and His Omnipotence.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that one needs God’s assistance to become truly and totally dedicated to Him “…it is only through the revelation of Y-H-V-H—a name which represents God as He transcends all limits—is it possible for a person to become truly committed to God, beyond the limits of his own personal agenda.”
The Purpose of the Plagues
As the confrontation between God and Pharaoh begins in earnest, there is the need for this series of devastating events to…
• Punish the Egyptian pantheon
• Demonstrate God’s infinite power and constant presence
• Educate both the Israelites and the Egyptians about God’s Control of Nature
Abraham Shalom Yahudah (1877-1951), a Biblical scholar who studied the language of the Torah and its relation to Egyptian society (cited by Rabbi B.S. Jacobson) provides archaeological evidence to support the thesis that the plagues were a “provocative punishment of the Egyptian pantheon”.
The Nile was the foundation of the Egyptian society (its agricultural economy was dependent upon irrigation) and, as such, was venerated as a major deity. Moreover, Pharaoh viewed himself as a deity (“the son of god, his own bones and flesh”).Turning the Nile into blood not only crippled the economy, but also demonstrated the failure of the Egyptian deity in the presence of God, the Creator and Master of the universe.
Frogs were considered to have life-giving powers in Egyptian mythology. The image of woman with a frog head represented the fertility goddess whose function it was to protect midwives. Pharaoh had ordered the midwives to kill Israelite male babies. The frog/Egyptian deity that was a symbol of fertility and blessing turns into a widespread, dreadful affliction emerging from the Nile. God turns loose the “life-giving” frogs to become a destructive force.
Unlike the first two plagues, Pharaoh’s magicians were unable to reproduce plague number three(lice), exclaiming to Pharaoh that “This is the finger of God”. This idiomatic expression connotes total helplessness in the face of an invisible dreaded enemy and is derived from a myth in which a particular Egyptian deity thwarted the plans of an enemy by dressing up as a hog, sneaking up on the enemy and scratching out one of his eyes with his finger without the victim realizing what happened. Vermin were prevalent in Egypt but Priests shaved their entire bodies to protect against contamination. Now, however, all precautions failed and these religious leaders were reduced to the same status as commoners. They were appalled by their inability to remain protected and realized that their so-called special status would not save them from the dreaded plagues.They were filled with dread as they suffered through the subsequent plagues like everyone else.
In addition to punishing Pharaoh and his people for their cruelty to the Israelites, the plagues fulfilled the Divine promise that “…against all of the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.”
Abravanel thinks that the plagues served to undermine the fundamental religious beliefs of the Egyptians…
The first group of three plagues was designed to establish God as the Prime Cause and Creator of the Universe
The second set was to demonstrate His involvement in worldly events and His role as Protector of Israel
The third set was to show His Omnipotence and the inability of any force to succeed against Him.
Structure of the Ten Plagues
Rabbi Günter Plaut sees the plagues as “a rising tide designed both to punish and to instruct” in a pattern of increasing intensity. It …
Starts with inconvenience and nuisance (scarce drinking water and the stench of dead fish when the Nile turned to blood; frogs running wild)
Ratchets up to bodily discomfort and attacks on person and property
Culminates in the most horrible…
• Terror of darkness (solitary confinement)
• Death of the firstborn
Rabbi Plaut further notes that the ten plagues can be divided into five groups of two each:
Nile River-related (blood and frogs)
Vermin and insects
Pestilence and boils (each similar to one another and aimed at attacks on person)
Hail and locust (both directed at crops)
Darkness and death
More familiar to us is the division in the Midrash that is cited in the Haggadah: “Rabbi Yehudah would list the initials of the plague in acrostic abbreviation:
The tenth plague is in a class by itself; it is the climactic event that leads to Israel’s liberation. The punishment of the firstborn is the Meeda C’neged Meeda payback for the cruel treatment of the Israelites, God’s “firstborn” (“Israel is my son; my firstborn…let my son go so that he may serve me…I will slay thy son, thy firstborn”).
The plagues have a framework. Moshe announced plagues number one, four and seven (the first of each grouping) to Pharaoh in the morning on the banks of the Nile River. (Pharaoh exalted himself as master of the Nile Deity. Some suggest he was there to inspect the Nile River to determine its level and the quality of the water, since the Nile was so critical to Egypt’s agricultural economy.)The first two plagues in each unit came with a warning, unlike the third one which did not.
Did Pharaoh Have Free Choice?
When God selected Moshe and Aharon to demand of Pharaoh that he free the Israelites, He told them “I will harden (akshe) Pharaoh’s heart [i.e., make him obstinate], that I may multiply My signs and marvels in the land of Egypt”. This Divine assertion may be the Torah’s way of telling us that at some point in the future-- after his multiple refusals to free the Israelites, despite the enormous pain that will have been inflicted on him-- Pharaoh’s harshness will have been so deeply ingrained that he will be emotionally unable to change his behavior. This real life personality dynamic is euphemistically communicated by the phrase “I [God] will harden his heart” because personality changes derive from God and how He created our psychological makeup.
After each of the first five plagues, Pharaoh elects to remain resolute in his refusal to free the Israelites. It is only starting with plague six that the text states that it was God who “hardened Pharaoh’s heart”. The more one behaves improperly, the greater concentration of Evil builds within to a point where one no longer has the ability to change for the better (i.e., the choice of how to act no longer exists). Rambam maintains that free will and t’shuva can be taken from those whose sins are grave enough. This was Pharaoh’s situation that he brought upon himself by his own behavior. [Note: Did Hitler have the ability to repent?]
Sforno (Italy, 1475–1550) presents an alternative view, arguing that ironically the hardening of the heart is the only means to ensure and enhance free will: Had Pharaoh's heart not been hardened, he would have let the Israelites go, but only because he was forced to because he could not bear the suffering of the plagues. So God gave him the inner strength and courage to enable him to endure the plagues and to not be coerced into letting the Israelites go. God wanted Pharaoh to choose, of his own free will, to sincerely repent; to submit to the Divine Will and to acknowledge His Greatness and Goodness.
Building on this concept, Rabbi David Fohrman focuses our attention on the various Hebrew words that are employed in the text to communicate Pharaoh’s resistance or change of mind. The root word kavayd means hard/heavy and communicates heavy-with-stubbornness (negative connotation).It appears in the plague narrative ten times—five referring to the plagues themselves and five describing Pharaoh’s heart. It is never described as an emotion directed by God.
The root word chazak means strong/strength and communicates courage (positive). During the first five plagues Pharaoh had enough internal fortitude and strength to, on his own, defy God and His wishes that the Israelites be set free to worship Him in the wilderness. So the Torah states that he, Pharaoh, “hardened his heart” (i.e., withstood God on his own). But once his confidence faltered under the cumulative hardship of the plagues the Torah states that it was God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart i.e., gave him the additional courage to continue in his defiance of God even as his resistance weakened.
The plagues had as one of their purposes to teach Pharaoh that seemingly independent forces of Nature were controlled by God. The goal was for Pharaoh to choose, not react to external stimuli. He needed to conclude on his own (and not because he was being beaten into submission) that God is the Almighty Who Controls Nature. Finally, after the seventh plague of hail when the fire deity was encapsulated within ice deity (an alliance between polar opposites that could only be created by a Supreme God) Pharaoh realizes and then admits that “I am guilty this time. God is in the right and I and my people are in the wrong”.
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With the development of industry, various materials with high strength, high hardness, high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance are increasingly used in the metalworking industry. Such as high-strength steel, large hard gear, copper sleeve parts, etc.
(1) many varieties of small and medium batch parts
When numerically controlled machine tools complete small batches and single pieces, it is optional to shorten the process time.
(2) parts with high precision requirements
The numerical control machine tool has good rigidity, high manufacturing precision, accurate tool setting and convenient size compensation, so it can complete parts with high size precision requirements.
(3) parts with small surface roughness value
The surface roughness depends on the cutting speed and the feed speed when the material of the workpiece and the cutter, the precision allowance and the cutter angle are fixed. The same linear velocity can be used for end surfaces and excircles with different diameters to ensure that the surface roughness values are small and consistent. For surfaces with different surface roughness, the surface with small roughness shall be given a small feed speed, while the surface with large roughness shall be given a larger feed speed.
Any curve can be approximated by straight line or arc. CNC machine tools have arc interpolation function and can be used for various complicated parts.
These are the types of workpieces that are suitable to be completed on numerical control machine tools. In actual cutting, it is necessary to continuously combine workpieces, working conditions, tools, equipment, etc. to obtain the appropriate process of workpieces. | <urn:uuid:ce746aa6-357a-4605-91bd-2897531d9c79> | {
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post - mail
‘post’ and ‘mail’ as nouns
The public service by which letters and parcels are collected and delivered is usually called the post in British English and the mail in American English. Mail is also sometimes used in British English, for example in the name Royal Mail.
Winners will be notified by post.
Your reply must have been lost in the mail.
British speakers usually refer to letters and parcels delivered to them as their post. American speakers refer to these letters and parcels as their mail. Mail is also sometimes used in British English, especially in phrases such as junk mail and direct mail.
Has the post arrived yet?
I would never open someone else's mail.
In both British and American English, mail is used to mean ‘email’.
I switched on my laptop to check my mail.
Did you get that mail I sent you this morning?
In both British and American English, post is used to refer to a comment or message that someone puts on a website.
I read his latest post on his blog.
Don't use ‘post’ or ‘mail’ to refer to the amount of money that you pay to send a letter or parcel. In both British and American English, this money is called postage.
Send £1.50 extra for postage and packing.
‘post’ and ‘mail’ as verbs
British speakers talk about posting a letter or parcel. Americans usually say that they mail it.
The letter had already been posted.
She mailed the picture to a friend.
In both British and American English, you can say that someone mails something to mean that they send it by email.
I'll mail it to you as an attachment.
He mailed to cancel the meeting.
In both British and American English, you can say that someone posts on or posts something on the internet or on a website, to mean that they put a message, comment, or item there.
She regularly posts on a music blog.
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The vast array of castings in bronze and leaded brass taken from the palace of the Oba of Benin in 1897 have been dispersed throughout Europe, the United States, and elsewhere. The interest generated by these artworks, along with the ivory carvings and coral regalia, has been a major factor in the development of Benin studies. The sculpture from Benin has come to represent the achievements of the Edo Kingdom of Benin in museums around the world. Within Africa they have been utilized in the construction of national and pan-national identities to reaffirm links to the autonomy of a precolonial past.
In 1938, ground was being dug to construct a house in the Wunmonijie Compound, now immediately behind the palace in Ife, but formerly within the palace wall. The workers found two groups of castings. Most were of life-size heads, two were smaller than life size and wore crowns. In addition, there was the upper part of a figure that closely resembles that of a king (Ooni) found in 1957 at Ita Yemoo. Their portrait-like naturalism astounded the Western art world despite the fact that the German explorer and ethnographer Leo Frobenius had called attention to the artistry of these figures as early as 1910, when he discovered a crowned metal head and a score of terracotta sculptures. It was no more considered in 1938 than in 1910 that these could really be the work of African sculptors unless they had worked under a European master. Soon after World war II, William Fagg argued persuasively that these were indeed objects made by the Africans before Europeans first landed on the Guinea Coast.
The head was cast from a wax original over a clay core. The top of the head was cut back on the wax before casting to make it fit an existing crown. Holes were provided in the neck to allow it to be attached either to a column or more likely to a wooden body. It is not clear how such heads were used. Perhaps they carried the crown and other emblems of office of a dead ruler in a second burial ceremony to show that, though the incumbent had died, the office continued, or they may have been used in annual rites of purification or renewal for the ruler and his people. | <urn:uuid:e5598ad9-3e35-49c2-8b9f-f1ebc1696f72> | {
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Medium: Hand Carved Wood Dimensions (in): 18" x 4" x 75" Dimensions (cm): 45.72 x 10.16 x 190.5 Region: Ivory Coast Tribe: Nafana Tribe Approximate Age: 55 years (1963) Availability: In Stock Item Number: M006 Condition: Excellent Certificate of Authenticity Provided
Vividly painted in traditional colors, this mask exemplifies the vitality and grandeur of Nafana artistry. The Nafana are a Senufo-related group who, according to the oral traditions, migrated east sometime in the 17th century in search of fabled gold deposits, eventually settling in a region that now borders the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Their strategic location along the trade routes extending between the Asante kingdom in the southern forest zone and the Saharan cultures of the northern desert led to an uninterrupted and prosperous exchange of goods, ideas, and institutions. This colorful history is reflected in the annual performance of the Bedu masquerade, for which the mask was created.
The Bedu masquerade is an artistic phenomenon of the 20th century. It was introduced in the 1920’s by Nafana artists to replace a more ancient masking cult called Sakarabounhou. The positive nature of the Bedu and the ease with which it can be understood have allowed it to transcend both ethnic and religious barriers. Since its introduction, the Bedu Masquerade has been adopted by multiple ethnic groups in the east central Ivory Coast and neighboring Ghana, among them the Kulango and Degha.
Furthermore, while Bedu is controlled by persons of traditional African religious belief, it is accepted and even practiced by some Muslims, demonstrating that Islam and traditional Africa are not always incompatible.
Bedu masqueraders perform for annual month-long ceremonies called Zaurau as well as at funerals for important elders. During these festivals, which usually occurs in late November and December, Bedu masks are used to address issues of human survival, including fertility, healing, and protection of the village from both natural and social crisis. Each night of the festival, the masks emerge from the forest and enter the dance arena in male/female pairs clad in long raffia gowns. While male Bedu masks have been described as having horns, and female masks have a round, disc-like superstructure.
The male/female dualism is nevertheless important, both in the mask’s symbolism and in the performance. The Bedu performance helps to “stress the importance of community and praise the traditional roles of men and women and the virtue of strong families, while serving to reassert time-honored Nafana values in a new and embattled political and social climate.”
At York’s Shona Gallery, we always put our clients first. We have the most rapid fulfillment services of all online art websites. The majority of items will ship within 6 hours of ordering from Monday-Saturday. Depending on the shipping method you choose and where you are located in the United States, you should receive your item within 5 days.
We also ship worldwide. Purchase the item of your choice and we will contact you shortly after with details on shipping and applicable taxes. | <urn:uuid:6d4af034-037a-4967-976e-52da26de05fa> | {
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Sharks are majestic creatures that have, unfortunately, received a bad reputation. The Shark Sense VR exhibit was designed to challenge visitors to aquariums to see the world from a shark’s perspective and discover just how incredible these animals are.
Based on the principles of experiential learning – the understanding that we are all able to better grasp concepts, learn and retain information when we experience things first hand – the experience is designed as an immersive virtual reality game.
Users use the VR headset to dive into the shark’s underwater world and navigate by moving the custom-built shark head from left to right using the handle-bars. As they hunt their prey in the 3D underwater virtual reality environment they learn about a shark’s highly developed sense of hearing, smell, sight and touch.
Directional audio cues mimic the shark’s sense of hearing, while a fan generating air flow alludes to the sense of smell sharks have. Vibrations in the handle-bars of the virtual reality exhibit mimic the electromagnetic field sharks detect when they are close to their prey.
The custom-built table for the exhibit also lights up as visitor progress through the experience, allowing for multiple people to participate in the learning experience.
The experience is aimed at children over the age of 7 years, but adults enjoy the experience as well. The Shark Sense VR exhibit is also designed for inclusivity being wheelchair friendly and featuring audio-visual redundancy.
One of the biggest problems was that VR headset means “one at a time”, i.e. not ideal in high traffic museums. However, VR offers great opportunities for immersive learning. We devised a solution to let secondary users participate in the experience in an ambient way following the primary user’s journey on the table. We also designed a robust kiosk. Users are made to sit down, which not only solves the safety issue of users getting dizzy and potentially falling on their heads, it also allows access to wheel chair users.
The design process
Designing a kiosk for VR provided many interaction design problems. There is the physical interaction with the kiosk including handlebars, controls and ambient messaging for secondary users. On the other side, we have the internal user journey of the virtual environment.
In the design process we put together functional demos every two weeks which would be tested. Many cardboard prototypes of the handlebar mechanic were designed and tested. We interviewed school children about usability and experience, and their retention of key learning messages.
The product has been used by ten thousands of people at Frost Science Museum and is a major attraction to the museum.
“So far, the feedback we have been receiving on the VR shark senses exhibit has been wonderful. It is very different from anything else on offer, anywhere in the world, and this, together with the immersive user experience with its amazing attention to detail, has really impressed everyone who has used it,” says Save Our Seas Shark Education Centre manager, Eleanor Hutchings | <urn:uuid:8a88280e-2274-4375-a539-215b98abaa7f> | {
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Forward Auction - Forward Auctions are sales oriented auctions, where Auctioneers are trying to sell their products or services. In a forward auction, the buyer bids on the seller's item and the prices of the item increases by a fixed increment amount during the auction and in a forward Auction the highest bid price during the Auction is the one which wins. For example, when a Bank or a Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) hold an auction to sell a property or an asset - it will use Forward Auction mechanism.
Reverse Auction - Reverse Auctions are Purchase oriented auctions, where Auctioneers are trying to purchase products or services. In a reverse auction, the seller bids on the Buyer's item and the prices of the item decreases by a fixed decrement amount during the auction. In a Reverse Auction the lowest bid price during the Auction is the one which wins. For example, if a bank (or any organization) wants to buy computer systems or even transportation services, it can hold a reverse auction to procure goods and services at the best possible price. | <urn:uuid:25357d7c-180f-42a5-b5ed-68c62ae8202d> | {
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The SSK makes a decrease that slants to the left and is often paired with knit-two-together knit (K2TOG), which is a right-slanting decrease. It is an easy technique to learn. The basics of this stitch are also used in several other stitches as well.
Slip, slip, knit (abbreviated ssk) results in a left-slanting decrease. The slip, slip, knit decrease is the mirror image of knit 2 stitches together (k2tog): It slants to the left.. Do the same with the next stitch. Insert the LH needle into the front loops of these stitches (left to right).
On the purl side of the work, the decrease is called slip, slip, purl (ssp). In the same way as ssk, slip the 2 stitches on at a time as if to knit to the right needle. Purl them together through the back loops (see the FAQ on purling through the back loops for detail).
"Slip Slip Knit", or SSK, is a term often found in knitting patterns.. Remember––
Learn to knit, by mastering the slip slip knit, also known as the ssk, in our how-to. Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats available. | <urn:uuid:95dc4179-27d2-4b1c-a167-380b33b08b06> | {
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Climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5 degree Celsius and increase further with 2 degrees Celsius. –UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report: Global Warming
…the evidence of human-caused climate change is overwhelming and continues to strengthen, that the impacts of climate change are intensifying across the country, and that climate-related threats to Americans’ physical, social, and economic well-being are rising. –National Climate Assessment
Those two quotes come from two reports released at the end of 2018, one from the United Nations and the other from US federal agencies. The first lays out the implications of a global rise in temperature and the paths to address it while the other paints a picture of the current and future impacts of climate change across the United States.
These reports echo what Columbans have observed and encountered for decades: climate change is happening and its effects are incredibly far-reaching.
The United States is the world’s largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, the main cause of human-caused climate change. This has international implications. Columbans across the world know that climate change knows no borders. The effects often hit the most vulnerable, and the people who have contributed to it the least, the hardest.
Unfortunately, the current presdiential administration has chosen to take a backseat in both domestic and international climate action. Domestically, the administration has systematically repealed or weakened over 80 environmental safeguards including ones aimed at lowering emissions and eliminating toxic chemicals in air and water. In the first year of his term, President Trump also announced his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.
The legislators of the current 116th Congress, however, have begun to take back the reins on climate action.
At the beginning of 2019, the conversation around climate action seemed to flip like a switch. Political discourse seemed to shift from debating the very existence of human-caused climate change to acknowledging both its existence and its negative impacts, and even debating appropriate solutions!
The release of the ‘Green New Deal’ captured the imagination of both the public and Congress. Introduced as a resolution in the House and Senate, this wide-ranging policy platform calls for a national, economy-wide 10-year mobilization to tackle climate change. While the platform does not propose specific policy solutions, it opened the door to conversations on just how deep our response to climate change needs to be.
Congressional committees have also taken up the mantle of climate action. Committees in both houses of Congress have now held dozens of hearings on the contributions to and impacts of climate change. On topics such as renewable energy opportunities, national security, international climate impacts, and energy technology, these hearings have provided a platform for scientists, frontline communities, and communities of faith to directly urge Congress to act.
The House of Representatives also established a new ‘Select Committee on the Climate Crisis’, chaired by Representative Kathy Castor (FL-14), to focus specifically on climate action. While this committee cannot consider legislation, it is an important sign of the new Congress’ commitment to placing this issue at the center of national policy-making.
In order to fully, equitably, and promptly address climate change, we need deep, cross-sector solutions. We must apply a lens of climate action to almost every area of policy-making. As Congress is starting to talk about and propose climate solutions in a more intentional way, we must make sure such solutions uphold our faith values of justice, dignity, sustainability, and stewardship.
One such proposal is the "Climate Action Now Act" (H.R. 9). H.R. 9 was passed by the House of Representatives in March of 2019. The bill would recommit the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement and require the president to submit to Congress a plan detailing how the U.S. will reach its emissions reduction targets.
As a global crisis, climate change requires a global solution. H.R. 9 would ensure the United States is actively contributing to the international community’s efforts. We have a moral responsibility to ensure vulnerable communities around the world are not subject to the worst impacts of climate change. Unfortantely, the Senate has not taken up consideration of this bill.
Another positive step forward was the introduction in November of 2019 into the House of Representatives of the "100% Clean Economy Act of 2019" (H.R. 5221).
The world’s annual carbon emissions need to drop by nearly half by 2030 and to net zero by 2050 to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (compared to preindustrial levels). However, the 2018 UNIPCC report projects that annual global carbon emissions are on track to stay the same or increase, not decrease, by 2030. This bill provides a comprehensive plan that moves all sectors of our economy toward a clean energy economy by achieving net-zero carbon pollution by 2050.
This bill has been "referred to committee," an important step on its way to beginning considered for a vote by the entire House of Representatives.
2020 is the second and final year of the 116th Congress. As the entire world becomes more aware of the urgency of addressing climate change, the United States has a moral responsibility to take bold action towards a sustainable future. As people of faith, we have an obligation and an opportunity this year to urge our Members of Congress to take bold and decisive action for the future of life on Earth.
Copyright © 2020 Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Washington, D.C. | <urn:uuid:33424c62-1988-4f0e-829f-6999662c2a93> | {
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EVENTS | VIEW CALENDAR
MIT cancer biologists target cisplatin resistance
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—For nearly three decades, chemotherapy drug cisplatin has been a key component in doctors' arsenals as a first line of defense against tumors, especially those of the lung, ovary and testes.
While cisplatin is often effective when first given, it has a major drawback: Tumors can become resistant to the drug and start growing again.
A team of MIT cancer biologists have shown how that resistance arises, a finding that could help researchers design new drugs that overcome cisplatin resistance. The team, led by Tyler Jacks, director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, reported the results in the April 15 issue of the journal Genes & Development.
Cisplatin and other platinum-based cancer drugs destroy tumor cells by binding to DNA strands, interfering with DNA replication. That activates the cell's DNA repair mechanisms, but if the damage is too extensive to be repaired, the cell undergoes programmed suicide.
Eventually, cancer cells learn to fight back. The new study shows that tumor cells treated with cisplatin ramp up their DNA repair pathways, allowing them to evade cell death, says Trudy Oliver, a postdoctoral fellow in Jacks' lab and lead author of the paper.
According to Oliver, the significance of the discovery is that it is one of the first autochthonous mouse tumor models of acquired cisplatin resistance.
"Cisplatin is a standard chemotherapy drug used to treat many types of human cancer, including lung, ovarian, head and neck, testicular and bladder cancer," she says. "It functions by binding DNA and forming lesions, or adducts, that inhibit the ability of the cell to replicate. "
A major limitation to its successful use is that tumors commonly acquire resistance to cisplatin after repeated doses.
Oliver points out that many previous studies investigating the mechanisms of cisplatin resistance have used cell lines or xenograft models, which cannot recapitulate the complexity of the in vivo context.
"We have used endogenous lung tumors that are initiated by the expression of an oncogene and the loss of a tumor suppressor gene—Kras and p53, respectively—that occur in human cancer," she notes. "Like human cancer, the mice have lung tumors that acquire resistance to cisplatin after repeated dosing. Using this in vivo model, we show that resistant tumors acquire the ability to rapidly repair the toxic lesion, and we identify genes involved in DNA damage repair that are more highly expressed in these tumors."
Previous studies had suggested several possible mechanisms for resistance development, including enhancement of DNA repair pathways, detoxification of the drug, and changes in how the drug is imported into or exported out of the cell. However, those studies were done in cancer cells grown in the lab, not in living animals.
"Many mechanisms have been identified but it's not clear what happens in vivo because the in vivo environment is so much more complicated than in cell lines," says Oliver.
"We also show that the p53-p21 tumor suppressor pathway is not required for a significant therapeutic benefit of cisplatin," Oliver points out. "The role of p53 in human cancer has been controversial—some studies suggesting its loss contributes to resistance, others to its sensitivity. In this context, we find that loss of p53 activity contributes to poor prognosis, but does not prevent therapeutic benefit. "
Finally, the researchers show that chronic cisplatin treatment can actually promote tumor progression.
"This demonstrates that detrimental effects can occur after repeated treatment with agents whose mechanism of action is DNA damage," Oliver says. " It highlights the need for additional therapies whose function is not based on DNA damage."
To do this, Oliver and her colleagues set out to study cisplatin resistance in mice with a mutation in a gene called Kras, which leads the animals to develop lung cancer. About 30 percent of human lung cancer patients have mutations in Kras. Some of the mice also had defective versions of the tumor suppressor gene p53, which is mutated in about half of human lung cancers.
The researchers found that cisplatin was effective against lung tumors in both sets of mice, though it was more potent in mice that still had functional p53. In those mice, tumors actually shrank, while the drug only slowed tumor growth in mice with defective p53. Those results are consistent with findings in human patients.
After four doses of cisplatin, mice with normal p53 developed resistance to the drug, and tumors started growing faster. To figure out why, the researchers analyzed which genes were being transcribed more as resistance developed, and identified several that are involved in DNA repair pathways.
One gene that particularly caught the researchers' attention is PIDD (p53-induced protein with a death domain), which is turned on by p53 and has been implicated in programmed cell death, though its exact function is not known. When PIDD levels are artificially increased in human lung cancer cells, they become more resistant to cisplatin.
"The genes we identified that are altered in cisplatin-resistant tumors have been shown to play a role in multiple DNA repair pathways," Oliver says. "It is not yet clear which repair pathways are the most important, but given that some of these pathways are already targetable by current drugs, such as Parp inhibitors and Chk kinase inhibitors, this may provide rationale for testing combination therapies with cisplatin and these agents, which may improve efficacy and/or inhibit resistance."
Oliver says researchers are pursuing the mechanism of action of particular genes involved in cisplatin–resistance in these tumors, such as PIDD, which we demonstrated can promote cisplatin-resistance in human lung tumor cell lines.
Oliver is now studying tumors in which the PIDD gene has been knocked out, to see if its absence hinders drug resistance.
"It is likely that PIDD is just one of many genes, in many pathways, involved in the drug resistance process," says Oliver. "It's not a simple phenomenon."
Moving forward, Oliver said the team would like to be able to target particular genes and pathways in tumors in vivo and show that this can be therapeutically beneficial in combination with cisplatin.
"The characterization of this model also makes it possible to identify additional signaling pathways important in cisplatin-resistance, because we identified heterogeneity in tumor response, suggesting that tumors can find multiple ways to avoid cisplatin response," she concludes. | <urn:uuid:19f90bf4-6cfd-4832-a9d0-f1900bd7c441> | {
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developed in partnership with Andrew Fuller, (clinical psychologist and student wellbeing specialist), has been developed to help parents understand, recognise and manage bullying and cyberbullying behaviours.
The cybersafety and social media module
developed in partnership with Susan McLean (cybersafety expert), has been developed to help parents address standards of behaviour in the context of cybersafety and social media.
The Young and Well CRC has just released a report entitled ‘Enhancing parents’ knowledge and practice of online safety’.
New research from the Young and Well CRC, led by the University of Western Sydney and supported by Google Australia, reveals that young people are aware of the risks of being online – but they could show their parents a thing or two.
Perhaps reassuringly for parents, the report shows that young people:
make good use of the online security controls and privacy settings that are available
are particularly savvy about how to stay safe when using social networking sites
are influenced by their parents when it comes to being smart, safe, respectful and resilient online.
PARENTS who buy into their children’s online disputes can continue the tirade long after their children have made up, warn bullying experts.
Judi Fallon, manager of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s eSmart program, said parents can exacerbate cyber bullying problems between schoolchildren.
Ms Fallon said the problem could start at school, then continue at home on social media sites, where parents often became involved. ”Kids being kids, they can end up friends the next day, but the parents continue on with it,” she said.
Although the Pew Report is US in origin, it is a useful tool to gauge how teenagers and parents use and view the internet and their online privacy.
81% of parents of online teens say they are concerned about how much information advertisers can learn about their child’s online behavior, with some 46% being “very” concerned.
72% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child interacts online with people they do not know, with some 53% of parents being “very” concerned.
69% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child’s online activity might affect their future academic or employment opportunities, with some 44% being “very” concerned about that.
69% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child manages his or her reputation online, with some 49% being “very” concerned about that.
Some of these expressions of concern are particularly acute for the parents of younger teens; 63% of parents of teens ages 12-13 say they are “very” concerned about their child’s interactions with people they do not know online and 57% say they are “very” concerned about how their child manages his or her reputation online.
YouTube can be a fantastic resource for adults and children alike, but there can be issues with content and comments. On the back of this, YouTube has developed a support site for parents which includes:
Yomego, the social media agency recently posted a piece on parents posting their child’s photos to Facebook. The main issue they cite is that we are all worried about our online privacy, but some of us are posting photos of young children – who have no say or even knowledge that their image is being published to an unknown audience. Read the article here. | <urn:uuid:a4aa9c00-985e-4f6c-bd91-198fe714cd7f> | {
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In This Posting, I suggested a way of using a Discreet Fourier Transform, which I suspect may be in use in sound compression techniques such as MP3, with the exception of the fact that I think MP3 uses sampling intervals of 1152 samples, while in theory I was suggesting 1024.
What I was suggesting, was that if the sampling intervals overlap by 50%, Because they only use the odd-numbered coefficients, each of them would analyze a unit vector, as part of a phase-vector diagram, which would have been 90 degrees out of phase with the previous. And every second sampling interval would also have a base vector, which is 180 degrees out of phase with the earlier one.
If the aim was, to preserve the phase-position of the sampled sound correctly, it might seem that all we need to do, is to preserve the sign of each coefficient, so that when the sampling intervals are reconstructed as overlapping, a wave will result, that has the correct phase angle, between being a ‘cosine’ and a ‘sine’ wave.
But there would be yet another problem with that, specifically in sound compression, if the codec is using customary psychoacoustic models.
By its nature, such a scheme would produce amplitudes which, in addition to requiring a sign bit to store, would be substantially different between even-numbered and odd-numbered sampling intervals, not because of time-based changes in the signal, but because they are orthogonal unit vectors.
An assumption that several sound compression schemes also make, is that If the amplitude of a certain frequency component was at say 100% at t=-1, Then at t=0 that same frequency component has an inherited ‘audibility threshold’ of maybe 80%, ? Thus, if the later frequency coefficient does exceed 80%, it will be deemed inaudible and suppressed. Hence, an entire ‘skirt’ of audibility thresholds tends to get stored, for all the coefficients, which not only surrounds peak amplitudes with slopes, but which additionally decays from one frame to the next.
Hence, even if our frames were intended to complement each other as being orthogonal, practical algorithms will nonetheless treat them as having the same meaning, but consecutive in time. And then, if one or the other is simply suppressed, our phase accuracy is gone again.
This thought was also the main reason for which I had suggested, that the current and the previous sampling interval should have their coefficients blended, to arrive at the coefficient for the current frame. And the blending method which I would have suggested, was not a linear summation, but to find the square root, of the sums, of the squares of the two coefficients.
As soon as anybody has done that, they have computed the absolute amplitude, and have destroyed all phase-information.
But there is an observation about surround-sound which comes as comforting for this subject. Methods that exist today, to decode stereo into 5.1 surround, only require phase-accuracy to within 90 degrees, as far as I know, to work properly. This would be due to the industrious way in which Pro Logic 1 and 2 were designed.
And so one type of information which could be added back in to the frequency coefficients, would be of whether the cosine and the sine function are each positive or negative, with respect to the origin of each frame. This will result in sound reproduction which is actually 45 degrees out of phase, from how it started, yet possessing 4 possible phase positions, that correspond to the 4 quadrants of the sine and cosine functions.
And this could even be encoded, simply by giving the coefficient a single sign-bit, with respect to each frame.
And this could cause some perception oddity when the weaker coefficients are played back, with an inaccurate phase position with respect to the dominant coefficients. Yet, a system is plausible, that at least states a phase position, for the stronger, dominant frequency components.
What I could also add, is that in a case where Coefficient 1 had an amplitude of 100%, and the audibility threshold of Coefficient 2 followed as being at 80%, their computation does not always require that these values be represented in decibels.
Obviously, in order for any psychoacoustic model to work, the initial research needs to reveal relationships in decibels. But if we can at least assume that Coefficient 2 was always a set number of decibels lower than Coefficient 1, even at odd numbers of decibels, this relationship can be converted into a fraction, which can be applied to amplitude units, instead of to decibel values.
And, if we are given a signed 16-bit amplitude, and would wish to multiply it by a fraction, which has also been prepared as an unsigned 15-bit value expressing values from 0 to 99%, then to perform an integer multiplication between these two will yield a 32-bit integer. Because we have right-shifted the value of one of our two integers, from the sense in which they usually express +32767 … -32768, we do have the option of next ignoring the least-significant word from our product, and using only the most-significant 16-bit word, to result in a fractional multiplication.
The same can be done with 8-bit integers.
Further, if we did not want our hypothetical scheme to introduce a constant 45 degree phase-shift, there would be a way to get rid of that, which would add some complexity at the encoding level.
For each pair of sampling intervals, it could be determined rather easily, which of thee two was the even-numbered, and which was the odd-numbered. Then, we could find whether the absolute of the sine or the absolute of the cosine component was greater, and record that as 1 bit. Finally, we would determine whether the given component was negative or not, and record that as another bit.
(Edit 05/23/2016 : ) Further, there is no need to encode both frames in MPEG-2, where one frame is stored in their place, as derived from both sampling intervals. Hence, the default pattern would be shortened to
[ (0,0), (1,0) ] .
(Edit 12/31/2016 : The default pattern would be shortened to [ (0,0), (0,1) ] .
When playing back the frames, the second granule of each could follow from the first, by default, in the following pattern:
+cos -> -sin
-sin -> -cos
-cos -> +sin
+sin -> +cos
We would need access to the sine-counterpart, of the IDCT, to play this back.
End of Edit . )
But then we should also ask ourselves, what has truly been gained. A phase-position that lines up with an assumed cosine or an assumed sine vector, should be remembered as only being lined up, with the origin of each sampling window. But the exact timing of each sampling window is arbitrary, with respect to the input signal. There is really no reason to assume any exact correspondence, since the source of the signal is typically from somewhere else, than the provider of the codec.
And so in my opinion, to have all the reproduced waves consistently 45 degrees out of phase, only puts them that way, with respect to a sampling window whose timing is unknown. According to Pro Logic, Surround-Sound decoding, what should really matter, is whether two waves belonging to the same stream, are in-phase with each other, or out-of-phase, to whatever degree of accuracy can be achieved.
( This last concept, actually contradicts being able to reconstruct a waveform accurately, because a constant phase-shift is inconsistent with a constant time-delay, over a range of frequencies. When a complex waveform is actually time-shifted, so as to keep its shape, then this conversely implies different phase-shifts for its frequency components. ) | <urn:uuid:7fbe532d-0b8a-4870-b2be-145c245c9ae5> | {
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Country: Peru is a country
on the West coast of South America, located on the Pacific
Ocean. Its neighbouring countries are Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia
and Chile. Peru is primarily known as the home of the Inca
Empire. The Spaniards came in 1572, and they ruled over the
country up until 1821. Peru boasts a variety of landscapes.
For example, there are tropical rainforests, the coastal zone
and The Sierra, the area between the coast and the jungle.
40% of the population live in this latter area. The River
Amazon has its source in the Peruvian Andes towards northern
Peru numbers (2009) 29,546,963 inhabitants, of which
45% are Native Indians. Spanish is the official language.
Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion with 81% of the
population being adherents. | <urn:uuid:4fd6e0c3-9b9e-4df4-9731-a8163d40fb99> | {
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Losing weight is a modern obsession. As we become more in-tune with our bodies and what is good – and not good – for us, change becomes essential. Finding out if you are healthy weight or not can be tough. For years, the Body Mass Index (BMI) was the go-to solution to see if we were in proportion with our body weight.
Using a formula that calculates your body height with your weight, you can quickly learn how “healthy” you are under BMI grounds. However, please note that BMI is probably not the one-size-fits-all tool that we had once assumed. Let’s take a look at the BMI, why it was such a useful force for good and why, today, you might do well to look at BMI in a different light.
Why Should I Measure BMI?
Many people use BMI to determine their ideal weight. For example, according to conventional use for BMI, staying within 18.5-24.9 indicates a healthy weight. If you fall outside of either 18.5 (underweight) or 25 (overweight) then according to your BMI, change needs to happen.
Is 18.5-24.9 REALLY Ideal?
I recommend that you look to measure your BMI more intelligently. Many people will look to use this number to help determine every part of their lifestyle, but it’s vital to note that there are some serious limitations in the way that BMI operates. BMI use in weight loss is not always the most valuable metric. BMI alone is not enough.
Limitations of the Body Mass Index
Muscle Mass is Not Fat Mass.
One of the most common reasons why you need to take a look at BMI with a skeptical view is that BMI does not take into account the importance of fat and muscle. Naturally, this means that someone who has more muscle may be in the wrong category. It also means that you might be in an ideal BMI range, but have too much fat and not enough muscle.
It’s an often used example, but super athletes in the past like Michael Jordan would have been in the wrong BMI count. They would have been ‘overweight’ as the average person is not cut to shreds with muscle and physical power.
Fat Distribution Matters
Not all fat is created equal. Many poeple with a “normal” BMI still carry a dangerous amount of belly fat. We all know someone with skinny arms and legs but a round belly. Belly fat is among the most dangerous fats and is far more important to deal with than other type.
So, Is BMI Useful For Weight Loss?
BMI is useful in that it’s quick, easy, free and gives you a broad guideline. However, for the reasons we mentioned until now, it is by no means a catch-all solution. Context is key, and knowing your BMI alone is not enough.
Other Ways To Track Weight Loss
Numbers on a scale have just as many limitations as the BMI – different people are built differently and the numbers can’t tell you that. For example, I’m built like a bird and am actually overweight at 115 lbs. My husband, who has a big frame, is underweight at 175 lbs. So here are some other things to consider:
Energy level. Being over or underweight is a stressor, so energy level can be a great indicator of your body’s overall health.
Strength. If you feel strong in your body then you’re doing something right. This doesn’t have anything to do with how much you bench press, it has to do with how well your body holds up to your everyday stressors.
Tone. If you can see changes in your muscles when you use them, then you’re doing something right.
Weight Distribution. Very few of us are lucky enough to have our weight distributed evenly over our whole bodies. Most of us have a place that fat collects (think belly, hips, thighs, butt). Use your problem area as a benchmark for weight loss. If that area is becoming more proportional to the rest of you, you’re doing great.
Fit of Clothing. I know that if I go through a sedentary period and then start working out again or re-connect with my focus on health, the first thing I notice is that my clothes fit better. This happens before the numbers on the scale change (and sometimes I gain weight at first but my clothes fit better). This matters.
BMI is great as a tracking tool or a rough guideline, but there are so many more important factors in weight loss that this shouldn’t be your only guide.
Missing out on sleep can do a lot more than leave you feeling drowsy the next day. Sleep deprivation can be detrimental to both your mental and physical health. Lack of sleep affects your judgment, coordination, and reaction times the next morning, but over time people who are sleep deprived become more and more at risk for certain health conditions and illnesses. ● Memory loss and brain fog, even Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia ● High blood pressure ● Weakened immune system ● Delayed reflexes, impaired coordination ● Mood swings, depression, anxiety, and paranoia ● High blood sugar ● Weight gain ● Low testosterone, decreased libido ● Inflammation ● Heart disease
How Much Sleep Do You Need?
The amount of sleep a person needs depends on their age. Children need the most sleep. Newborns need as many as 14 to 17 hours of rest a day. Up until five years, young children need no less than 10 hours of sleep each and every night. Young kids from six up to 13 years old should get about nine to 11 hours of sleep, while adolescents 14 to 17 need eight to 10 hours of quality shut-eye. Generally, adults should get about seven to nine hours of sleep, especially busy parents who want to keep up with their kids. When it comes to sleep, it’s not all about quantity — quality plays a big role, as well. Even if a person stays in bed a good nine hours each night, if they are tossing, turning, and waking up throughout the night they will still wake up feeling sick and disoriented. These helpful tips promote better sleep for optimal performance the next day and beyond. What’s more: all of the tips are both budget-friendly and easy to execute.
Curate Coziness in Your Bedroom
While some rooms in the house can have several different functions, your bedroom should only be for rest and relaxation. Find new areas of your home for working, eating or watching television. When you designate the bedroom as a space for rest, you create a soothing atmosphere. Walking across the threshold, the brain and body recognize that they are in an environment for rest and they begin their nightly reboot. Decluttering or rearranging what you already have can make it more inviting.
Invest in high-quality linens, pillows, and blankets for the most comfortable bed imaginable. People with anxiety and sleep disorders like periodic limb movements should also look into adding a weighted blanket into the repertoire. Weighted blankets provide a sense of comfort and reduce levels of cortisol in the body, making it easier to feel relaxed and eventually drift to sleep.
Better Sleep With Magnesium
The average adult doesn’t need supplements as long as they eat a varied and healthy diet. However, one nutrient a lot of us could use more of is magnesium. Studies suggest about half of adult men and women in the United States are not getting enough magnesium in their diet. Magnesium is vital when it comes to regulating the body’s many functions. Healthy levels of magnesium contribute to heart and bone health, protect metabolism, stabilize mood, reduce stress, and promote better sleep.
While the best way to balance magnesium levels is through a healthy diet, there is also research indicating that supplemental magnesium can improve overall sleep quality. You should always double-check with a doctor before incorporating supplements into your diet, but magnesium is generally considered safe for consumption. Some people even drink magnesium before bed as a way to wind the brain and body down for a restful night’s sleep.
Sleep deprivation can lead to physical and mental health conditions including a heightened risk of depression, heart disease, and dementia. To get better sleep, make your room a sanctuary where the brain and body can unwind and relax. For those who have trouble relaxing, a soothing magnesium drink can correct an imbalance that contributes to insomnia. With a few extra budget-friendly steps, you can tackle sleep deprivation and get the rest your body needs.
Heart health is one of those things that we all know we should be taking care of, but don’t necessarily think about day to day until that horrible moment in the doctor’s office when you find out something is already wrong. That is not the best moment to be unprepared for. Maintaining natural heart health should be a priority for everyone, but deserves extra attention if there is heart disease in your family or if you have any contributing risk factors such as metabolic syndrome, MTHFR mutation, overweight, pre-diabetes or diabetes, or have an inflammatory disease. The great news is that a good plan for natural heart health is also a good plan for human health and will help you to become and stay healthy and vital in general and keep you feeling great into your later years. If you’re not sure about your heart disease risk, your Framingham Risk Score is the best way to find out how you stack up.
Key Elements for Heart Health:
At least 20 active minutes every day this doesn’t have to be exercise, but you have to be moving! We’re all desk jockeys, so it’s important to remember that your body isn’t built for that. Lately I’m into doing these fabulous retro-90s 8 minute workout series – partly for the greatness of the workout and partly for the ridiculousness of the spandex. I’ll put the “8 minute Abs” right here, but have no fear. There are also 8 minute buns, legs, arms, and even 8 minute stretch. Each one is just as awesome as the last. You’ll totally thank me for this:
Something that gets your heart rate up three times a week for 45+ minutes. If you’re a gym person, that’s awesome but I prefer to get outside and walk, jog, swim, dance, bike, kayak, toss a frisbee around, or generally do something fun. Besides taking care of my heart health gives me an excuse to do something fun three times a week! I get to legitimately put “dance” or “hike” or “kayak” on my calendar without guilt.
Natural Heart Health Diet
Balanced meals and snacks with higher protein, moderate carbohydrates and moderate fat. I like the zone diet which is 40/30/30, meaning 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% good fats. The Mediterranean diet is also proven for heart health – this one focuses on lots of healthy veggies and fruits, good fats and proteins from nuts and olives and moderate lean meats and fish. Make sure fats are balanced between saturated (solid at room temp like meat and butter fat) and unsaturated (liquid at room temp). Also minimize your sugar intake as much as possible.
Paleo and primal diet is great for so many reasons and it’s very popular right now, but it actually isn’t the best choice for your heart simply because the emphasis on protein, which usually ends up being meat protein, is higher than the average person needs. If you’re an athlete, paleo is awesome but if you’re just kind of a normal person then this amount of animal protein can be more risky for your heart. It’s a great diet, just not perfect for this.
High fiber! This independently reduces the risk of death from heart causes as well as from cancer. At least 30 grams per day from your fruits, veggies and whole grains.
Ditch the processed foods – whole foods are the only way to go.
Reduce your total calorie intake. In developed countries, we tend to chronically overeat – for most people 2500 calories is enough, and for many it’s too much. Reduced calorie diets reduce the risk of death from all causes and are considered an “anti-aging” therapy.
Fish oil improves heart health, reduces inflammation, stabilizes mood and reduces your risk of death from all causes. No worries if you’re not into fish, there are plenty of vegetarian options to supplement the essential omega-3 oils that we’re looking for. Flax, hemp or mixed seed oils are great. The emphasis should be on a mixed spectrum of beneficial fats but especially EPA and DHA.
There is a prescription fish oil but studies haven’t shown any difference between it and the over the counter fish oils.
1500 to 2500 mg omega-3 per day, 5 days per week (I’m a huge fan of weekends off vitamins).
Magnesium relaxes smooth, skeletal and cardiac muscle and helps improve blood flow to heart muscle and can help those who suffer from chest pains and anxiety.
For natural heart health Magnesium Taurate is best if the heart muscle is weak and Magnesium Glycinate is best if there is a high-stress component. Here’s more detail about magnesium.
Support Your Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide is the main molecule that your body uses to help open your blood vessels to allow smooth, easy blood flow when you need it. It is one of the most important things your body does to keep circulation going to the areas that need it. This makes it hugely important for your heart health.
The amino acid arginine is one of the main building block for nitric oxide, so 1000 mg of arginine on an empty stomach twice a day will help to open up those blood vessels – it’s great to take before a workout. For even greater results use sustained release arginine (Perfusia) which opens blood vessels and increases blood flow dramatically. The biggest issue with arginine supplements is that arginine is also the preferred food of the herpes virus and can cause outbreaks if you’ve already got the virus.
If arginine isn’t an option for you then boosting your nitric oxide can happen through lots and lots of dark green leafy veggies – especially beet greens, and also beets, beet juice or concentrated beet crystals in general. In fact because of this effect beets are the new performance enhancers for elite athletes because they help them legally boost circulation in key moments.
Because it’s just that easy to reduce stress. Ha! I wish. Still, reducing stress is very important – the most common time for heart attacks is Monday morning at 8 a.m. – no joke.
Working over 45 hours a week is not reducing your stress (just a hint and a reminder to myself too.)
Reducing your stress will boost your natural heart health. Just take it from this frog. Also – the frog is from visboo and the quote was added by Amanda Hurt. At least I think that’s how it all went down – so near as I can follow the interwebs.
Lose Weight if You Need To
Extra pounds mean extra stress on your heart, circulatory system, metabolism, hormones and antioxidants. In fact, for every pound of fat you lose your body can eliminate a MILE of blood vessels. Obviously losing a mile of unnecessary blood vessels is probably going to help with natural heart health.
Losing even 10 pounds can help lower your cholesterol between 7 and 10%.
Maintaining healthy body weight also reduces risk of death from other conditions such as diabetes, stroke, heart failure and some cancers.
An Aspirin A Day?
81 mg baby aspirin has been suggested for primary prevention of heart attack and stroke and more recently some cancers. It is still suggested by many doctors as an early therapy for heart disease and even many of the major health organizations.
By any means necessary. Having high blood pressure is one of the biggest risk factors and everything we’ve talked about so far will help. If it isn’t enough, then try supplements or talk with your doctor about pharmaceuticals.
Even if you don’t like the idea of taking a prescription (it’s not natural after all), it’s still better to use a prescription short-term while you work on other things that might raise your blood pressure (like MTHFR, weight, stress levels, poor sleep, chronic dehydration) than it is to leave it elevated. Once things are under control you can quit the medication.
If your doctor gives you a blank look when you ask them about MTHFR testing, which happens sadly often, then a great way to do it is to order a 23andme test kit to test your own genes (you also get to find out what percentage neanderthal you are, which is pretty awesome). The awesome folks over at 23andMe got slapped by the FDA for coming too close to giving health advice, so now you have to run your results from the full test through the methylation analysis at Genetic Genie. Then the real fun begins! MTHFR is ridiculously complicated, so it can help to work with someone but start here to find out the right dose of methylated folic acid for you (this is the active form that you can’t make if you don’t methylate properly).
Hang Out With Some Trees
Just because this is the best thing ever, I have to mention it every chance I get.
Natural heart health is essentially the same as natural human health so start today. You don’t have to do everything all at once and suddenly be the amazing vice-free human, just make small steps forward and keep at them. If it takes you a year to change your diet, then it takes you a year. Just as long as you keep it changed that was a year well spent. None of this has to happen overnight unless you’ve just been lucky enough to survive a heart attack, in which case you do have to do everything at once to make sure number 2 doesn’t get you. For most people though, change can be gradual and easy. Make sure you are working with a physician if you have high blood pressure, abnormal blood clotting, a strong family history of heart disease, or are having chest pains (and it’s kind of a good idea in general).
Clearly this is an important issue and everyone tosses around the word antioxidant like they know what’s going on, but what is an antioxidant really? To start, let’s look at the basics – like what is oxidation?
What is an antioxidant? It’s what stops this from happening. The apple browning is oxidation at work.
What is Oxidation?
If you’re taking ANTI-oxidants, then it seems safe to assume that oxidation is bad, right? Actually oxidation is an absolutely normal part of life – it happens constantly as a byproduct of using oxygen for so many functions in our body. Each and every cell in your body maintains a delicate balance between reactive oxygen species (free radicals) which cause oxidation and the antioxidants which neutralize oxidation. In the process of metabolizing oxygen, a tiny percentage of the cells and molecules involved will suffer some damage and become free radicals. When asking what is an antioxidant, we need to first know what a free radical is and why it’s important to neutralize them.
What is a Free Radical? Essentially it’s an Electron Thief.
Free radicals and other reactive oxygen species are by-products of many reactions in your cells including your most vital energy producer called “oxidative phosphorylation.” As you may have guessed by the word “oxidative” in the title, this reaction uses these reactive oxygen molecules to create the most potent energy source for your cells. In addition to normal metabolism, free radicals can also be created by some disease processes and by your immune cells to help kill invading bacteria and viruses. Free radicals are substances that are missing a critical molecule (an electron, to be precise) so they are always looking to steal electrons from other things. Problems arise when they start stealing electrons from things like DNA, thereby creating the seed for disease.
What is an Antioxidant and How Does It Help?
Very simply, antioxidants are electron donors. They can replace the electrons on your cells that are stolen by free radicals or donate electrons to help neutralize free radicals. They are the Mother Theresa of your internal world – always giving, giving, giving. As a part of the grand design (what I like to call the Great Mystery) there are literally thousands of different antioxidants in natural foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts and legumes. Antioxidants include the usual vitamins – vitamin A, C, E, D and K but also all of the flavenoids, pigments, and complex molecules that come from whole foods. Remarkably, different antioxidants seem to have an affinity for different tissues of your body so the bigger variety, the better.
What Happens If You Don’t Have Enough Antioxidants?
When this system gets out of balance is when we start to see harmful changes that can lead to disease. For example, when LDL (“bad” cholesterol) becomes oxidized, meaning a free radical stole one of it’s electrons, then it starts to form plaques in our arteries, which can lead to atherosclerosis and heart disease. LDL itself doesn’t do anything to form plaque, but when a free radical steals an electron from it then it begins to cause harm. Oxidative stress is also thought to be a factor in diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Lou Gherig’s disease, and Huntington’s as well as chronic fatigue syndrome and potentially even the genetic damage that can cause a cell to become cancerous. Not only that, but oxidative stress is thought to be one of the major factors in aging, or at least that is one theory.
In general your body keeps balance really well – you have lots of overlapping systems to counteract this oxidative stress. In a natural diet you get lots of antioxidants from the plant-based foods you eat, so that’s one more layer of protection. The system becomes overwhelmed when your diet starts to get over-processed or when the stressor pile up including: toxins, alcohol, tobacco, mental and emotional stress, sleep deprivation and chronic infections. Taking a look at the real world, it’s easy to see we’re all exposed to toxins constantly – after all, we all breathe dirty air and drink polluted water. Most people drink some alcohol or come in contact with tobacco occasionally and I don’t know anyone with a perfectly clean diet (myself included). Also, realistically, I don’t know any living human who doesn’t have a high level of mental and emotional stress – that seems to be a condition of modern life. This is when lifestyle changes and possibly antioxidants can help to maintain that balance.
Antioxidants to the Rescue?
It is clear that balance needs to be maintained, but it isn’t totally clear how to best maintain that balance – simply because it has to be a balance. Too much of a good thing, in this case, can cause harm too. Essentially, when there are too many antioxidants floating around, we get the opposite to oxidative stress, which is “reductive stress” (nothing is ever simple with our bodies – nothing.) So that means that there are all kinds of molecules with extra electrons floating around and nothing to do with them, so they start giving them to other molecules that are better off without them. Keep in mind this is the ridiculously oversimplified version of this problem, but it’s the easiest way to make it understandable.
To Take Antioxidants or Not To Take Antioxidants?
Step one is always diet. Add in colorful fruits and veggies with each meal and take out some of the processed foods and you’ve got a great start to regulating your oxidative balance. You’ll get plenty of vitamin C and flavenoids from citrus fruits, vitamin E from whole grains and nuts and Vitamin A from liver, cod liver oils and fatty fish and beta carotene from carrots and orange veggies. Orange and red veggies also provide the potent antioxidants lycopene and lutein. Dark berries and fruits like blueberries, pomegranate, raspberries and black cherries are rich in flavenoids and dark green leafy veggies pack and antioxidant punch. For many people a good diet is enough. Take a look at the antioxidant infographic for specifics:
We’ve answered the question what is an antioxidant and the best news of the day is… THEY COME FROM COFFEE!!! 🙂 Thanks to the infographics design team at graphs.net
Antioxidants can be helpful to take as a supplement when you have specific conditions or know you’re exposed to undue levels of toxins, stress, or have some other factor coming into play like a chronic virus, sleep deprivation or a genetic tendency towards some illness. In this case the best strategy is to take a variety of antioxidants, either in a combination product or in a concentrated fruit and berry extract or both. Always boosting dietary sources is the best strategy, and if that is not feasible in your life then the next best idea is to diversify in the form of a supplement that has many different types of antioxidants in it. Now, the next time you’re at a dinner party, you can answer everyone’s question What is an Antioxidant? Wait, is that not how dinner parties go? 🙂
Don’t you wish you could just hit the button for a bad habit reset? I do. Especially right after the holiday season when I feel like I’ve eaten my weight in butter and “treats” (which are clearly not “treats” when you eat them constantly). Sometimes it’s other habits or life areas that are struggling. It could be that work hasn’t been going well, it could be that a relationship is rocky, it could be that I’m cultivating all kinds of bad habits I don’t need. Whatever the reason, it’s nice to know that there is a reset button out there. You heard me right, there is a way to hit the reset button – thank God for small miracles.
Hitting the reset button means taking a break from normal, but unfortunately life is full of obligations, so we can’t always up and fly to Tahiti, no matter how much we might need it. What this means, is that we need a way to do it ourselves, at home, using things we have on hand and it needs to actually help us to break cycles.
The best reset I’ve ever found is a fast. I know that’s not what anyone wanted to hear because “fasting” is right up there with “Chinese water torture” for lots of people, but those people probably haven’t tried it. I’ll talk more about quick fasts in another upcoming post, because they are also one of my favorite life hacks, but in this case we’re looking at something different. This is a little bit longer. I’m not talking about Messiah-style 40 days, I’m talking about 3-5 days that are all about you.
Here’s how you do a fast for a bad habit reset:
Choose the right time. Just a hint, if there is a massive deadline in the middle of it, it’s probably not the right time. Pick a time where you can actually focus on getting in touch with you, getting to know your body, and taking out the trash in every sense of the words.
Make a little space in your life. There isn’t any problem working during a fast, but if you can it’s nice to reduce your schedule to half days or to take a day or two off during your fast to give you a little bit of time for extra sleep, self care and cleaning house (which I always want to do when I’m fasting – I think it’s an external mirror for what is going on internally).
Choose Your Type of Fast. During the fast you can either do all water plus the miracle drink (if you haven’t heard me talk about it before I’ll go over that in the next step), or you can mix freshly juiced veggies and fruits in. I find that the all water and miracle drink is actually a little easier for me because the veggie juice pushes my body to detoxify too quickly. Typically if this is the first fast you’re trying, then stick to 3 days and keep it simple. If you’ve fasted before and know your body can handle being really pushed to detox then maybe add in the veggie juices. If you choose to use veggie juices make sure they are actually juiced by you or right in front of you (not bought pre-packaged) and that you get 3-4 cups of the veggie juice throughout the day. Also make sure they’re mostly veggie with just a touch of fruit or carrot for taste, but that the bulk is good green veggie.
Make Sure You Get Enough Water! This is probably the most important thing, because without the water it’s hard for your body to clean house internally! 8-10 glasses per day is a minimum. When I’m fasting I set a timer every hour and alternate between the miracle drink one hour and water the next.
Drink the Miracle Drink. People laugh when I call it the miracle drink, but it’s because they haven’t tried it. This is such a great detoxifier and energy boost.
1 tbsp raw organic apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s is my favorite),
honey to taste (no more than 1 tbsp please)
8-16 oz hot or cold water depending on how strong a flavor you like. During a fast have this 3-4 times during the day to help your liver keep moving.
Support Your System. If you have any icky feelings while you’re detoxing – this could be headache, grouchiness, mild sick feeling, bad breath, brain fog or a slightly hungover feeling – the do a little extra detox. Anything that makes you sweat will help, so saunas, steam rooms, hot yoga, or hot baths are great. Naps work well too. In general make sure you’re giving yourself extra time for sleep
Be Ready for Emotional Detox Too. Your body isn’t just taking this chance to get rid of the physical junk and bad habits. There is emotional junk in there that needs to come out, and better out than in. I love to journal so I use that as a tool to help process whatever comes up, but use whatever tools you like.
Restart Your Life With Consciousness and Intention. This means that you should take some of this time to think about what you actually want in your life. You’re resetting for a reason here. What do you want emotionally? What do you want professionally? How do you want to take care of your body? What sort of food plan would you like? This is a great time to break bad health habits and restart with a clean slate.
Simple Foods For Your Reentry Meal. The first meal you eat to break your fast should be simple and clean foods – preferably heavy on fruits and veggies, light on lean meats and even lighter (or not at all) on grains. If you need a grain, choose something that is a cleaner grain like rice or quinoa. You can eat as much of this fruit and veggie meal as you want, but make sure you’re not just jumping out of a fast into a large pizza because that’s not exactly the reset we’re looking for.
Surprisingly, no. It’s almost shockingly not-hard. Almost everyone I’ve done this with is hungry the first day, and then pretty fine for the rest of it. Occasionally I’ll have someone who is a really fast detoxifier and by day three they feel kind of icky, but most people are just fine. There’s a lot of nostalgia about food because let’s face it – part of eating is the joy of eating that has nothing to do with physically needing food. But seriously, if you can get through day 1 with it’s hunger then you’re good to go.
Is Fasting Safe for Anybody?
If you have insulin dependent diabetes or severe hypoglycemia then it is necessary that you talk to your doctor and possibly even have in-home supervision while you fast because it can be dangerous if your blood sugars fall too low. Also it’s not a good idea for pregnant or nursing mothers because the demands on your body are already considerable – we don’t need to ask it to do more right now. Also if you have a chronic condition then it’s best policy to talk with your doctor about it.
What Results Will You See?
Fasting is tremendous for your body – it’s essentially a break from the hard work of metabolism. You can expect:
Weight loss – 5 to 10 pounds is normal in 3 days.
Energy – nobody believes me, but usually your energy is awesome during a fast. Better than normal.
Good sleep – everyone thinks the hunger will keep them up. Never seems to happen.
Mental perspective – it’s a lot easier to see the bad habits you’ve gotten yourself into when you’ve got a little distance from them. Even if that distance is just a couple of days that are different.
Losing Those Food Cravings – 3 days is plenty of time for the food cravings to just fall off. Your body doesn’t actually want to live on sugar, but if you’ve been living on sugar then you don’t know that.
Spiritual benefits – fasting has been used by most faiths in most cultures globally to bring spiritual clarity and discipline. I’m not an expert on this by any means, but I’m guessing all of those people aren’t wrong.
Anti-aging – you may not be able to tell in the moment, but by fasting you’re actually slowing down your aging process. Awesome.
Short fasts of 3-5 days are a great way to clean house, lose weight, and one of the easiest bad habit resets in the book. After a fast – especially if you can make it through 3 days – most people have lost their sugar and starch cravings and loosened up their bad habits. I suggest doing 2-4 per year to help keep you healthy, happy and vital. And did I mention that it’s strongly anti-aging and actually slows the aging process? The research is entirely clear on this point. Regular fasting both extends life and slows aging. Yet another great reason to hit the bad habit reset button!
The last post talked a lot about healthy-living strategies for Alzheimer’s prevention, but it’s also important to know about the best Alzheimer’s supplements – especially when there are so many products to choose from. There is a limited body of research for natural supplements in Alzheimer’s disease, but some of the strategies are promising, and could often be used alongside conventional drugs for memory loss and dementia.
Ketogenic diet, Coconut Oil and MCTs
Perhaps the best known alternative therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, these three therapies are just different ways of skinning the same cat. The theory behind this therapy is that while your body can use many fuel sources, your brain is limited to glucose, or sugar, as a fuel. In order for your cells, including your brain cells to use sugar they have to be able to respond effectively to insulin signaling. If your diet has always been a little higher in sugars or starches, or if you have a genetic tendency towards blood sugar abnormalities including diabetes then you may not have good insulin signaling. The first sign of this is usually something called metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the first step along the path towards both diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
Coconut oil or MCT oil – one of the best supplements for Alzheimer’s disease. Photo by Aravind Sivaraj.
In good news, even if your insulin signaling isn’t so good, there is a back-door to brain fuel, which allows you to bypass both glucose and insulin. This back-door is called ketones. Ketones are made when your body breaks down fats for fuel instead of sugar and they can feed your brain even when glucose can’t. Ketogenic diets have been used to help children with epilepsy that is uncontrolled by drugs alone to reduce their seizure frequency and evidence with Alzheimer’s suggests that this could potentially be a good diet for neuroprotection in general. Ketogenic diets generally have a 4:1or 3:1 ratio of good dietary fats: proteins and carbohydrates (including starches and sugar) combined. There are urine test strips, called keto-strips, that you can use to test your urine to see if your body is in ketosis. Obviously this isn’t the easiest diet to maintain long-term so using fats that are more ketogenic, like coconut oil or MCT, can help.
Coconut oil is unique in that it contains a high proportion of a type of fat called medium chain triglycerides, or MCTs. Most of the fats that we eat in our diet are made of long-chain triglycerides, but the shorter MCTs are more efficient for your body to convert into ketones, and so are more able to fuel your brain if glucose isn’t working. If a full ketogenic diet is too difficult then using raw coconut oil, or the extracted MCTs from coconut oil can help boost your brain power. In fact, five tablespoons of coconut oil or MCT oil spread out through the day is one of the best Alzheimer’s disease supplements that we know of. In fact a pilot study published recently in theJournal of Alzheimer’s Diseaseindicated that neurons treated with amyloid-beta (which induces the changes of Alzhimer’s disease) were actually protected by the addition of coconut oil.
Antioxidants – Some of the Best Alzheimer’s Supplements Around
One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is extensive oxidative stress throughout the brain and neurological system. This includes the typical free radical formation, as well as protein and lipid oxidation (which means free radicals steal electrons from proteins and fats), DNA oxidation (scary thought – stealing electrons from your genes), and neuron death. Many antioxidants have been studied (here, here, here and many other places too) to help prevent or reverse this type of damage including:
We should all age so well. The best Alzheimer’s supplements for this Female Buddhist lay rununciant at en:Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia (January 2005). Photo by Peter Rimar.
CoQ10 – This substance acts as an antioxidant and also stimulates energy production at a cellular level. Not only that, it helps protect your heart.
Vitamin E – especially the gamma-tocopherol form, which is more fat soluble and crosses into the brain more effectively.
Ferulic acid – this is a phenolic compound found in flax seeds, coffee beans, apples, artichokes, peanuts, fennel and other plants. It is a strong anti-oxidant and in animal studies has shown direct effects against breast and liver cancer.
Polyphenols – including quercetin (from many foods) and resveratrol (from red grapes or red wine). These are good anti-inflammatories and anti-oxidants.
Alpha-lipoic acid – this fat-soluble (so brain-friendly) antioxidant will also help to lower blood sugars so that makes it one of the best Alzheimer’s supplements out there. It’s a double-whammy.
N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) – this amino acids helps your body to recycle glutathione, which is your master antioxidant. It also helps to break up mucus and congestion, which can also be helpful in an elderly population.
EGCG – this is the most-researched antioxidant from green tea and has shown benefits to brain health, heart health and aging generally.
Curcumin – this strong anti-inflammatory from turmeric has shown a tremendous preventative effect in Alzheimer’s disease and helps to protect your brain from oxidative damage as well as inflammatory changes.
Melatonin – this is your natural sleep hormone, which has the added bonus of helping Alzheimer’s patients to sleep more soundly – which is usually one of the worst issues for both caregivers and patients in late-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
The research evidence shows that each one alone has significant benefits, but that combining a variety of different antioxidants is the best strategy for Alzheimer’s disease. My favorite combination of supplements to start with would be alpha-lipoic acid 600 mg per day (take this one with food because the blood sugar drop on an empty stomach can be significant), CoQ10 400 IUs, and an antioxidant combo with vitamin A, E, and C in it at the minimum but look for some of the others as well. Also a cup or two of green tea daily and melatonin, 3-20 mg at night for sleep. Of course you should talk with your doctor before starting this or any other suggestion.
Magnesium for Alzheimer’s Disease
Magnesium levels in the brain help to increase the density and plasticity of brain synapses. This means your brain cells can connect to each other more frequently and with more flexibility – changing more effectively as you learn new skills. Unfortunately keeping magnesium levels high in the brain, or even in the body, can be a challenge with modern diets – here is my recent post on Magnesium in general. There are a couple of types of magnesium that might help with this:
Magnesium threonate – has been shown to be effective in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s. It improved brain levels of magnesium and prevented and reversed cognitive defects as well as synaptic loss. This form of magnesium is taken orally so the dose is limited by bowel tolerance because any magnesium that you take orally will cause loose stools if the dose is higher than your body can absorb at one time.
Magnesium Oil – this form of magnesium, which is usually magnesium chloride, is applied topically so there is no trouble with the bowel tolerance issue. There aren’t any research studies specifically about topical magnesium in Alzheimer’s disease, but logically this could be a good addition to the magnesium threonate to help restore magnesium in the brain and body. Magnesium oil can be applied several times per day and allows magnesium to absorb directly through the skin. Use caution on cuts or scrapes (or newly shaved skin) because it burns like salt water would.
Huperzine A – Best Alzheimer’s Supplement mimicking drug activity
Huperzine A, which is an Alzheimer’s drug in China, is sold over the counter in the US as a nutritional supplement. It is a plant sourced compound that has strong acetylcholinesterase inhibiting activity in the brain – just like the most common class of drug used to treat Alzheimers, which are cholinesterase inhibitors. This includes the drugs Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne, Cognex and Namenda. Huperzine A has also shown neuroprotective effects as well as the surprising ability to reduce iron levels in the brain – and this may also be beneficial in Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s Disease is debilitating and tragic, but there is so much we can do to both prevent it as well as to slow down the progression. The products that I consider to be the best supplements for Alzheimer’s is not a complete list of everything out there, but they are the supplements that I feel have the most credible research behind them. As a starting place the lifestyle steps in the prevention article should be priority one, followed by the addition of useful supplements including coconut oil, a mix of antioxidants, magnesium and huperzine A. Above all, it is helpful to work with a practitioner who can help to guide you in these times and make sure any supplements or nutritional changes you make will work well with any pharmaceutical medicines you are taking.
Learning to prevent Alzheimer’s is a topic near and dear to my heart, simply because I have seen exactly how destructive it can be to both those who are struggling with it and to their family. There is a common misconception that Alzheimer’s will neatly eat away at your memory and leave other things intact, but it actually degrades your brain globally destroying memory, personality, skills and social functions. Alzheimer’s destroys everything about the person in a slow, systematic downhill slide. It’s horrible for the person who is struggling and equally hard for their loved ones. Nobody knows exactly what causes Alzheimer’s disease, but there are clearly both genetic and lifestyle components. The great news is that there are many steps you can take to keep your brain healthy and sharp into old age. There is no guarantee that you will be protected, but certainly you can reduce your risk.
Normal brain (left) vs. Alzheimer’s brain (right). Notice the similarities between these pictures and the alcoholic brain pictures below.
Proven Measures to Prevent Alzheimer’s: The Seven Foundations of Good Health.
1. Active body
Physical exercise reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s dementia by 50% – that is a dramatic difference. Also, if cognitive decline has already started then getting more exercise can slow to progress of the condition.
Aim for 30 minutes of activity that increases your heart rate (or aerobic activity) 5 times per week.
Building strong muscles helps maintain brain health as well. Adding 2-3 sessions of resistance exercise like lifting weights not only increases muscle mass but also makes your brain healthier.
Exercises or activities that increase balance and coordination such as tai-chi, yoga, qi gong, or even stand up paddle boarding can help your brain to develop new connections, strengthen your body and even prevent head injury, which is also a contributor to Alzheimer’s and other forms of memory loss.
2. Active Mind
It makes sense that exercising the brain will help to keep it stronger and more active as you age.
Learn something new, take up a new hobby, or try strategy games, puzzles, riddles or memory games.
Do the same old thing in a different way – take a new driving route to the grocery store, try writing with the other hand or rearrange your kitchen. Doing something a new way pushes your brain to create new neural pathways.
3. Active Social Life
Research shows that the more connected you are to your social group and to other people, the more likely it is that you will do well on test of memory and cognition.
It is easier with age to become more socially isolated so take care to cultivate and maintain healthy friendships and relationships.
If you are in a position with a recent move or transition out of the work force and don’t have great social connections then it is time to build some. Volunteer, take night classes, join a club or social group, visit a community or senior center, get out and about, or get a small part time fun job.
4. Healthy Diet
Alzheimer’s is highly linked to heart disease so adopting a heart-healthy diet will also help you to prevent Alzheimer’s long term. It is also highly linked to diabetes, so managing healthy blood sugars in key in keeping your brain functioning at its best.
Eat plenty of good quality fats and oils like olive oil, grass fed butter, fish oil, coconut oil and avocados. Decrease the amount of fatty or processed meats, shortening, and especially trans fats.
Increase the amount of vegetables and fruits that you eat every day especially the darkly or richly pigmented veggies and fruits like blueberries, pomegranate, beets, carrots, raspberries, elderberry, and blackberry.
Minimize the candy, cookies, sweets and also breads in the diet. Alzheimer’s is closely related to diabetes and involves an insulin-resistance within the brain itself so it is important that you maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
Eat small amounts regularly – for brain health, 4-5 small meals daily is better than 2-3 larger ones.
A daily cup of green tea has also been shown to reduce your risk and promote brain health.
5. Healthy Sleep
Sleep can be a struggle with age so it is important to create a good sleep environment. Make sure to use good sleep hygiene with a totally dark room, no background noise and a regular sleep schedule.
Use melatonin if you have difficulty falling asleep or sleep lightly. Melatonin by itself has shown great benefit in protecting the health and function of the brain so this could be a double-whammy. Also in a senior population melatonin at high dose, like 20 mg nightly, is safe and possibly advisable because research is showing benefits with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
The average person needs 8 hours of sleep to peak creativity and productivity.
6. Healthy Stress Levels
Every life has challenges, but worrying has never actually solved any of them.
Undue levels of stress create changes in your body that then change your mental functioning.
Breathe – stress reduces the amount of oxygen in your brain, so deep belly breathing for a few minutes a couple of times a day can help to re-oxygenate and re-energize your brain.
7. Stop With the Self-Harm.
Avoiding some of the major triggers of Alzheimer’s disease will obviously keep you protected longer.
Quit smoking – smoking has been shown to lead to earlier onset of dementia.
Drink in moderation – excessive alcohol also speeds up the onset of memory loss and dementia, some of which is entirely alcohol related.
Normal brain vs. an alcoholic’s brain. Notice any similarities to the Alzheimer’s brain pictures? Drinking only in moderation helps you prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Protect your noggin – head injury is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s and protecting your head can help your brain to stay sharp.
As the US population ages the rates of Alzheimer’s disease are rising. Protect your brain and adopt an anti-Alzheimer’s lifestyle. It is literally never too late to make positive change – even if it’s walking around the block every day. There is always something you can do to change your health and well being and to change your disease risk – you can delay or even prevent Alzheimer’s even if you have a family history of the disease. Look to future posts to talk about some of the supplements and specific activities that can be helpful for Alzheimer’s disease.
Right – so one thing you’ll notice about supplements is that everyone is pretty convinced that their product is the best. THE BEST! Except that it’s a little harder to believe when every product you see claims the same thing. You would think something like magnesium, which is a mineral, would be pretty straight forward. Naturally, that is not the case at all. Nothing is straight forward about it and sadly, there is no easy answer as to what is the best kind of magnesium, other than to answer what is the best kind of magnesium for you.
What Is Magnesium Anyway?
Magnesium (Mg) is a mineral that is involved in almost every process in your body from muscle relaxation and proper muscle movement to hormone processing. Clinically it is used to treat muscle cramps, restless leg syndrome, high blood pressure, constipation and chronic stress. Magnesium is pretty much everywhere – it’s the fourth most abundant element in the earth as a whole and the ninth in the universe as a whole. Magnesium is also highly water soluble and is the third most common element dissolved in sea water. Generally, the composition of sea water and the composition of our bodies internal mineral balance is reasonably similar (although sea water is significantly higher in sodium) and as humans we function best when we have a rich supply of magnesium in our system. Magnesium is the center of the chlorophyll molecule in plants, so any dark green plant is a rich source. Magnesium is central to all of our energy-forming reactions in every cell in the human body and there are over 300 enzyme pathways in humans that are dependent on magnesium to run.
Magnesium crystals – this is probably not the best kind of magnesium for you. 🙂 Picture by Warut Roonguthui in wikimedia commons.
Historically magnesium would have been a larger part of the human diet – partially as a mineral dissolved in spring water (which city water is not likely to have) and partly because the average human diet would have had a higher proportion of green vegetables.
How Do I Find The Best Kind of Magnesium For ME?
Magnesium can’t just be by itself as a molecule – it needs to be bound to something else to be stable, so the biggest difference in different magnesium products comes not from the magnesium itself (which is all the same) but from the molecule it’s bonded to. The most common bonding agents I’ve seen are oxide, citrate, glycinate, sulphate or amino acid chelate. There are two things to look for about the molecule it’s bonded to: size, and function. There is the secondary consideration of absorption.
The size of the molecule matters because most people don’t want to take a tablespoon of something, they usually want to take a reasonably small amount – like maybe the amount that will fit into one or two capsules. Magnesium itself is a very small molecule, but if it’s bonded to something large and floppy then you get a very small amount of magnesium, mixed in with a pretty large amount of something else. So magnesium by weight is higher if it’s bonded to an extremely small molecule (like oxygen in Mg oxide) than if it’s bonded to a large molecule like glycine (in Mg glycinate) or an amino acid (in magnesium amino acid chelate). Citrate and sulphate molecules are somewhat in the middle for size.
The function of the additional molecule is also something to consider. Oxygen is obviously useful to body tissues, as are amino acids but some amino acids have functions that may enhance one particular effect of the magnesium that you might be looking for clinically. We’ll go over different forms of magnesium individually.
Absorption is a separate concern. Magnesium itself is reasonably poorly absorbed (35% absorbed in the worst case scenario and 45% absorbed in the best). Generally if you are magnesium depleted then your body will absorb any magnesium better than it would otherwise. Calcium and magnesium compete for absorption, so if you take calcium and magnesium together they will both compete with each other (meaning you will absorb less of each). Also high or low protein intake can reduce magnesium intake as well as phytates from some vegetables. Generally if you’re taking a magnesium supplement it’s best on an empty stomach. Magnesium also absorbs well through the skin (potentially far better than through the digestive tract) , so epsom salts baths (magnesium sulphate) and magnesium lotions, gels or oils (usually magnesium chloride) can be a great way to increase your body stores. Topical forms can be best if you’re using magnesium for it’s muscle relaxation and calming properties.
Orally magnesium citrate is the best absorbed form (but it’s bonded to a big molecule so there is a smaller amount of magnesium by weight). Mg oxide is the most poorly absorbed form but has the highest Mg per weight, so actually you may get more elemental magnesium out of the same dose of Mg oxide vs. another magnesium, simply because of the size. The other forms of magnesium are somewhere in the middle in terms of absorption.
What Are The Benefits of Different Types of Magnesium?
Magnesium Oxide (MgO) is simply bonded to oxygen, which is obviously also something your body needs so there is nothing unnecessary in the product. The oxygen is useable by your body but will not strongly affect the way you feel taking the Mg. This is the least absorbed form, but also has one of the highest percentages of elemental magnesium per dose so it still may be the highest absorbed dose per mg. This is a great general purpose magnesium if really Mg is all you need. It makes a simple muscle relaxer, nerve tonic and laxative if you take a high dose.
This is one of the most common forms of Mg on the commercial market. This is Mg bonded to citric acid, which increases the rate of absorption. Citrate is a larger molecule than the simple oxygen of oxide, so there is less magnesium by weight than in the oxide form. This is the most commonly used form in laxative preparations.
Magnesium Glycinate and Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate
In this form, Mg is bonded to the amino acid glycine. Glycine is a large molecule so there is less magnesium by weight, but the glycine itself is a relaxing neurotransmitter and so enhances magnesium’s natural relaxation properties. This could be the best form if you’re using it for mental calm and relaxation. Magnesium amino acid chelate is usually bonded to a variety of amino acids, which are all larger molecules. In this form there is less magnesium by weight but the individual amino acids could all be beneficial for different things. Every formula is different so if you need both Mg and a particular amino acid, then this could be the way to go.
This is a less common form, and is typically taken for cardiac conditions and heart function in general. Magnesium helps the heart muscle relax, as well as the blood vessels that feed the heart to open and deliver more blood to the heart tissue itself. Taurine is an amino acid that is known to feed cardiac muscle and enhance the quality of contractions of the heart so if you’re taking Mg for heart function this is probably the best form for you. Again, taurine is a larger molecule so there is a lower Mg by weight.
Magnesium Sulphate and Magnesium Chloride
These forms are both typically used topically, although there are some oral preparations as well. Mg sulphate is best known as epsom salts. If you’ve taken this internally you know it tastes horrible and has a very strong laxative effect, but when used in a bath or soak it is extremely relaxing to the muscles and can ease aches and pains. Epsom salts baths can also help to lower high blood pressure and reduce stress levels. Magnesium chloride is more common in the lotion, gel and oil preparations that can be used topically for muscle cramps and relaxation.
Sea water is high in Magnesium chloride. This is the sea in the straight of Gibraltar.
Generally magnesium is one of those universally necessary elements that needs to be in your body for proper function, no matter what. Great dietary sources include coffee, tea, chocolate, spices, nuts, and of course green vegetables with chlorophyll. Good body stores of magnesium will improve your health, mood and general functioning so finding the best kind of magnesium for you is tremendously important.
Oil cleansing is one of those things I’d heard people talking about for years before I actually worked up the nerve to try it. Let’s face it, smearing oil on your skin to clean it just seems counter-intuitive. Several years ago, in a fit of boredom, I decided to give it a whirl and I’ve never looked back. After oil cleansing my skin literally felt softer than it has ever felt. Soft and smooth and it looked kind of dewy – you can’t buy that. It was an amazing transformation after oil cleansing just once so for all you skeptics out there who have used every product imaginable and are utterly jaded on the whole “miraculous difference” thing – just wait until you’re having a bored day, and slather up!
Why Does Oil Cleansing Work?
The basic idea behind oil cleansing is that oil is natural to your skin, where soap isn’t. Oil naturally travels deep into your pores, because it’s pretty much what is meant to be in there, where water stays outside because oil and water don’t mix, and they’re already filled with oil. So if your pores are filled with oil (which seems bad) but then you’re adding it on topically (supposed to be good) then what is the real story? Essentially we’re pulling out the gross, dirty oil from your pores and replacing it with oils that are beneficial to your skin and clean so that your skin can stay smooth and soft and lovely. This is great for acne-prone skin, dry skin or combination skin and it’s amazing for anti-aging because it keeps your skin hydrated and nourished.
What Oil Should I Use?
This is where it gets fun because you get to play kitchen chemist. First, let’s start with the base:
Oil Cleansing Base:50% Castor Oil 50% Jojoba
This base has the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties of the castor oil as well as the stability of jojoba oil. It also penetrates deeply into pores because the castor oils ha very small molecules and the jojoba is the most molecularly similar to your skin’s natural sebum. This base by itself is a great mixture and if you’re just starting out and not sure you’ll like it, it’s a great place to start. You can always add things to the mix later on.
Great add-ins for Dry Skin
Kukui nut oil – high in essential fatty acids, readily absorbed into the skin to nourish the deeper layers. Argan oil – rare, high in vitamin E which absorbs quickly and adds a level of luxury. Baobab oil – light, rich in vitamins A, E and F which absorbs quickly and is specifically used for hydrating and protecting dry skin. Sea Buckthorn OIl – exceptionally rich and healing for deeply dry, chapped skin. A small amount goes a long way.
Add-ins for Oily or Blemished Skin
Meadowfoam Seed OIl – healing and nourishing and high in natural salycilates, which reduce inflammation.Hazelnut Oil – highly suited for oily skin because it has astringent properties and helps to reduce excessive oil production.
Meadowfoam – of course this beauty would help your skin.
Great additions for Anti-Aging
Pomegranate Seed Oil – it isn’t hard to imagine that this is highly prized for skin care and nourishes the skin while it provides antioxidant benefits. Promotes skin regeneration. Rosehip Seed Oil – one of my favorites this is the predominant oil for wrinkled and aging skin.Black Seed Oil – highly nutritive and restoring to the skin. A little goes a long way.
Beautiful rosehip seed oil. My favorite. Mountain Rose Herbs is a great source for all of these exotic goodies.
So How Do I Oil Cleanse?
This is the best part:
Get a headband to pull your hair back because stray hair gets oily really quickly.
Put a dime sized amount of your oil mix in your palm and use the fingertips of your other hand to gently massage it into your face – don’t forget your lips, under your jaw line and your decollete, those are highly visible areas that often have the same problems as your facial skin, and your lips will just love the moisture. Use gentle upward strokes or light taps to encourage collagen production because god knows we all want more collagen.
Leave the oil on your skin for five to ten minutes if you have some time, or you can skip straight to washing it off if you’re in a hurry.
Run a washcloth under super hot water and wring it out then put it over your whole face and use the heat to dissolve and liquify the oil. Don’t scrub, just use the heat to almost steam the oil off your face and wipe up what is left with the still hot washcloth.
Marvel at the beauty of your newly lovely skin. Seriously, it’s amazing.
Use a tiny amount of an oil based moisturizer – I love MiraCell Skin Relief and Support (for a premade product) but you can also make a lighter skin oil and use a few drops as a moisturizer. We’ll talk about that in a separate post.
Miracell – a nice moisturizer after oil cleansing.
The only part about this that I don’t absolutely love is the washcloths – simply because it’s hard to get the oil out of them. The best trick I’ve found is soaking them in a bowl with baking soda in the water to dissolve the oil before you put them in the washing machine. In general it shortens the lives of wash cloths, but so spectacularly worth it for such lovely skin.
This is a totally different approach to skin care that has entirely changed the way I view soaps, and not for the better. I source all of my carrier oils from Mountain Rose Herbs and keep them in the fridge to prolong their shelf life. I mix up small batches (usually just an ounce at a time) of the facial cleansing oil, and then also end up using it as an after-shower moisturizer because it feels amazing. Typically I use about 80-90% carrier oil, almost always a larger portion of rosehip oil because I’m pretty sure it’s addictive, and then experiment here and there. I love changing it up a little bit and am always trying new combinations. I have added essential oils before, but I honestly like the simple oils better by themselves. I hope you love oil cleansing as much as I do – let me know what you think!
The folks at the Diabetes Council were kind enough to make an audio version of this article, read by Holly Houston (sadly I can’t claim that lovely voice). If you prefer to listen, rather than read then here it is!
The Benefits of Being Sick: Plain Old Written Version 😉
This is such a difficult topic because our culture likes to make things all “bad” or all “good” but the truth is, there are many social benefits of being sick and sometimes it’s hard to get well if you’re not willing to really look that whole concept in the face. For the most part, nobody actually wants to be sick. There are some rare exceptions with psychological diseases, but at the end of the day most people want to be healthy, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t benefit in some way – usually some entirely unconscious way – from being sick. When there are benefits of being sick, sometimes they can become an obstacle to truly getting better – simply because somewhere in your subconscious mind you aren’t ready to let go of whatever it is you’re getting out of being ill. It’s easy to generate a lot of judgement about this and to immediately recoil from the idea that people might have unknown motives even for suffering, but the fact of the matter is that your brain is more highly evolved than you can possibly imagine. If your brain finds a way to get what it wants, it isn’t necessarily going to stop and ask for permission from your rational mind – it’s just going to go ahead and get what it wants and give your rational, thinking self a nice story (I’m sick – I have to stay in bed) to hold on to. Never underestimate the power of the human brain, and certainly don’t fall for the illusion that “you” – the part of you that you hear thinking in your head and that makes up all sorts of reasons why things happen – are actually the one in control.
Illness is a huge, multifactoral beast. Sure, there are plenty of colds and flus and simple things that you get because there is some kind of germ or bug going around. Although when you really look at them, even the simple things might not be so simple. Why is it that some people go down with a particular flu and some don’t? Sure there are lots of arguments about immunity and previous contact with that virus. No question those things matter, but what about the convenient fact that often the people who get sick are the ones who really need to take a break? Or the ones who haven’t let themselves rest? Sure – their system is weakened from overwork, that is probably true, but it might also be true that being sick is a socially acceptable reason to stop, to rest, to take a break, to not be at work, and to actually give your body the sleep it’s been missing. When you get into complex or long-term illness it’s a whole different animal.
I want to say here that I am NOT trying to imply that people are fabricating illness in any way – absolutely not. When you get sick you actually get sick and for people who are chronically ill, they’re actually ill and not because they want to be. Still, if you don’t look at the benefits of being sick then sometimes that can become a barrier to becoming well, simply because your body isn’t willing to give up the benefits if you haven’t changed your life to incorporate them naturally. Let me start with an example – this is a pretend client that is based on literally hundreds of real clients I’ve seen in the same position:
“I’ve always been healthy and I was a really energetic person – I was always able to go above and beyond for everybody. I worked in a corporate setting and was in a high stress job but I really loved it, I loved the challenge and the business. Everything was great, but when I had my second child it felt like everything suddenly shifted. That child is a little more demanding than the first was and generally needs more of me and I just started to feel drained. Now I’m on a leave of absence from work and I really don’t know if I’ll be able to go back because I feel worn out. My joints hurt, I’ve become sensitive to so many different foods it feels like I can hardly eat without something disagreeing with me. My sleep has suffered but all I want is more sleep. I can get up to fix breakfast for the kids but that just wears me out and I have to spend the next few hours resting or watching TV or trying to recharge. I feel pitiful – just getting up to make breakfast shouldn’t be all I have in me for the day.”
I can’t begin to tell you how often I’ve heard variations of that same story. I was an uber-achiever until this thing happened and now I can’t keep up at all. I am forced to rest, to hold back, be home with my children, to not work, to constantly recuperate. No doubt this person is actually exhausted and actually has physical dysfunction – possibly autoimmune disease or mixed hormone failure. Absolutely. In reality those things are happening and need to be addressed. But what about possible benefits?
Primary Gain – The Benefits of Being Sick
Primary gain is a concept in medicine that looks at exactly this idea – that being sick does come with some advantages, even mixed in with all the obvious disadvantages, and that those advantages are a factor in healing. Primary gain deals mostly with the psychological benefits of being sick, which are typically entirely unconscious. These are the psychological perks of being ill that nobody actually notices or talks about, but that you may have a hard time giving up. Examples of primary gain might include:
If you’re not performing the way you think you should, being sick can reduce some of the feelings of guilt and inadequacy.
If you deeply believe that doing things for yourself is “selfish” or have a negative judgement about it then sometimes being sick is the only acceptable reason to allow yourself to care for yourself appropriately.
Being sick might actually encourage your partner to be more supportive, more caring or more nurturing.
Being sick is a valid reason to not do things that you might not want to (but probably think you should).
Being sick is a legitimate reason take breaks.
Being sick is a real reason to stay home more with the kids.
These are big obvious examples – but there are thousands of tiny gains that can be individual to each person and aren’t always obvious to them or to anyone around them (these are kind of obvious – but the best examples I could come up with this morning). Often in the healing process if we don’t address this issue, then healing gets stalled out as soon as we run into this wall. If we took the above example patient and re-balanced her hormones and addressed autoimmunity, chances are we’d get her to a great place right up until she started taking on too much again, because that’s her basic nature. She’d pick up all of her old obligations and no doubt over-perform to make up for feeling guilty about being sick and inevitably land in a crumpled heap on the office floor despairing because she relapsed. I’ve seen it over and over and over again. People charge right back into the old way of being without examining what it was that their body was trying to tell them with the illness. What was the benefit of being sick and how can they keep that without the sickness?
Of course it’s easy to talk about, but in real life this comes down to some incredibly hard transformations and evolutions as a human. Maybe it means letting go of the deeply ingrained belief that you only have worth based on what you produce. Or the feeling that your job is to take care of others (only others – anything you do for yourself is “selfish”). Maybe it means confronting ideas from your faith about how good people suffer, or how suffering is a penance. Maybe it means sitting down with your partner and having the tough conversation about ways to change your circumstances so you can stay home with your children more. It could mean looking at your life and seeing if you’re still on the path you want to be, or if you really wanted to be an artist but your family thought that was a soft option. These issues are at the core of who we are, who were were taught to be, and are always the biggest, scariest and most challenging to actually work though.
Secondary Gain – The External Benefits of Being Sick
Secondary gain is the idea that there are also real benefits of illness that come from the outside – from society. These are far easier to see and to deal with and include things like:
Avoiding military duty
Financial gain (disability, family support)
Avoiding jail (insanity plea, etc…)
Again, although these are more obvious, more tangible benefits, they are still largely unconscious. Your brain is tricksy and doesn’t let you see some of the subtle motivators.
There are No Benefits to Being Sick – This is The Worst!
I know – there are people reading this who are deeply and personally offended because they feel so crappy and have been struggling for so long to get better. I know that, and here’s the thing – it is 100% true. Being sick sucks in so many ways, but that doesn’t mean it has to be all black or all white – there are almost always shades of grey and sometimes looking at the grey areas can help you to examine your life more deeply, even if it ultimately doesn’t change the course of the illness at all. Here’s an exercise. No matter how horrible you feel you can probably think of three good things that come out of being sick – even if you’re really reaching.
The Benefits of Being Sick Exercise:
1. Write down at least three benefits you get from being sick. These can be big things (like my partner is nicer and more supportive) or little things (someone else cleans the toilet). At least three but list as many as you can think of.
2. List three things you’ve learned about yourself and what your body needs directly because of being sick:
3. If you were suddenly 100% healthy, what would be the hardest for you to change?
4. What are some ways you can keep the benefits of being sick but let go of the sickness? You don’t have to have concrete answers, but start the thought process.
Remember none of this is about judgement or right and wrong answers, it’s about learning something about you as a human and discovering a little more of what you need to be your happiest most functional self. Sometimes illness is the greatest teacher and you can choose to take the opportunity to grow from it. There are some benefits of being sick, but there are also ways to structure your life so that you have those benefits without actually having the sickness and finding them may help you on the path to healing. | <urn:uuid:2707959f-8cec-48ff-82b4-f4b4a71d272e> | {
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After recently buying a basic financial calculator from Ebay I noticed it had an “MU” key. Read on to find out what it does.
MU stands for Mark Up, which is for calculating Gross Margin used in business environments. There are different methods of calculating this, depending on the model of the calculator.
Below some examples that work with my calculator:
Mark Up with a Given Discount
Enter 100 then press the divide key, then enter 15 then press the MU key, which displays 117.65 (15% of this total equates to 17.65)
I want to get $100 for a product. If I offer a 20% discount what do I need to put on the price tag?
Enter 100, then /, 20, then MU and you should get $125. Put this on the price tag, offer a 20% discount and you will get $100 for your product.
Enter 125 (selling price) then press the minus key, then enter 100 (seller’s costs) then press the MU key, which displays 25 (25% Gross margin)
If I bought a widget for $130 and sold it for $150 what is my profit in percent?
Enter 150 – 130 MU and you should get 15.38%.
You can also use the MU key to calculate the percentage change.
The calculation is:
[new] – [old] MU
Percentage change examples:
What percentage increase is 150 increasing to 170?
Enter 170 – 150 MU and you should get 13.33%
What percentage is from 180 to 130?
Enter 130-180 MU and you should get -27.78%
From https://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?101131-What-is-the-concept-of-Mark-Up-(MU)-button-in-a-calculator, viewed 30-June-2017. There was a reference to Wiki but there was no link. | <urn:uuid:b8f0d9b2-22e6-4f16-84ff-53d7c172ba0e> | {
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Fire Ecology is the study of fire dependence, the adaptation of plants and animals to wildfires, and fire effects on ecosystems.
No matter how intently one studies the hundred little dramas of the woods and meadows, one can never learn all the salient facts about any of them.
― Aldo Leopold
High Park Fire
The High Park fire is burning in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and the Pawnee National Grassland in north central Colorado. Thick timber and large stands of Mountain Pine Beetle-devoured trees provide the fuel.
|NASA satellite image of the High Park Fire. June 10, 2012|
Fire and Life
|Lodgepole Pine Cone|
The Lodgepole Pine depends on fire to germinate, establish, and reproduce. Lodgepoles produce resin-coated, serotinous pine cones.
The resins seal the scales of the cones protecting the seeds inside. Lodgepole seeds often remain sealed for decades.
Eventually a passing fire provides enough heat to melt the resin. The cone scales open up to release their seeds to the forest floor. Without wildland fires, Lodgepole seeds would likely never be released.
The heat from the fire does not penetrate the soil more than a few centimeters. This affords the seeds the required nutrients to quickly germinate and to give life to a new generation.
- Aldo Leopold (1887 – 1948). American author, scientist, ecologist, forester, and environmentalist. Wikipedia.
- Fire Ecology. Wikipedia.
- Lodgepole Pine. Wikipedia.
- Mountain Pine Beetle. Wikipedia.
- Serotiny. Wikipedia.
- Tinker Lab for Forest and Fire Ecology. University of Wyoming.
- Wildfire. Wikipedia.
- Yellowstone Fires: Ecological Blessings In Disguise by Liane Hansen for NPR. | <urn:uuid:01576ac3-2071-4c97-bd55-311e031bac8e> | {
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Depression stalks LGBT youth in India. LGBT suicides are one of the leading causes of death among teens and young adults in India.
According to the World Bank, the estimated health cost of Homophobia in India is more than a whopping $712 million which is 71,20,00,000 Indian Rupees.
Studies show that LGBT people show higher levels of anxiety, depression and suicidal feelings than heterosexual men and women. Poor levels of mental health among the community is due to experiences of homophobic discrimination and bullying.
Other disorders, problems predominant in the homosexual community:
- Drug abuse
- Alcohol Misuse
- Human trafficking
The alarming factors and numbers inspired FSOG to bring up the topic of depression and mental instability to help you understand what the real world scenario is for the LGBTQ community.
Why does this happen?
- Reluctance to disclose sexuality.
- Danger of violence in public places.
- Hostility or rejection from family and friends.
- Rejection by most religions.
- Harassment from neighbours and the society.
- Casual homophobic comments on an everyday basis.
- No protection against discrimination at work.
- Negative portrayal of gay people in the media.
Effects on your mental health-
- Difficulty accepting their sexual orientation, which leads to conflicts, denial, alcohol abuse and isolation.
- Many try to keep their sexuality a secret through leading a double life.
- Low self-esteem increases the risk of self-harm and suicide attempts.
- Damages relationships due to lack of support from families.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression from long-term effects of bullying.
How to Cope with Depression?
- Talk! – You should talk to someone who you feel secure with; be it with your parents, your friends, a confidante, or us!
- Join self-help groups.
- Stay away from people who lower down your self-esteem, intentionally.
- If you feel suicidal, go to a doctor for help.
- Try to keep up with social activities.
- Excercise as much as you can to keep negative thoughts away.
- Socialise with positive people.
- Practice mind calming techniques like- yoga.
- Eat healthy, mood-boosting diet- Don’t skip meals, Cut down on sugar and carbs.
- GET IN TOUCH: FSOG is here to help. Write to us at [email protected] | <urn:uuid:a91586ce-f6e2-4935-862e-b7f6c29a684b> | {
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AIMS OF CURRICULUM:
Home Cooking Skills aim to give students the opportunity to learn a critical life skill and encourages them to share this with as many people as possible. We aim to arm the student with sensible, practical knowledge they can take into the world and actually use. Whether having a party, cooking for family, future children or making lunch, they will be fending for themselves, saving money, using skills every day for the rest of their life.
PURPOSE OF STUDY:
To enable students to develop their knowledge and essential skills they need to cook simple, nutritious, affordable food. These are invaluable skills that our students will have the opportunity to learn when they follow course.
We will provide opportunities for the students to learn as man ‘new skills’ to use in the kitchen as possible. Once a skill is mastered students will be capable to use it again and again in lots of recipes, as skills are really transferable.
Skills will include:
- Health and safety
- Hygienic food preparation,
- Knife skills
- Knife safety
KS3 WHAT DO THEY STUDY?
Focus on giving students the skills to prepare delicious and nutritious home cooked food, using fresh ingredients as well as an understanding of the value of passing on / sharing cooking knowledge.
KS4 WHAT DO THEY STUDY?
Develops the students ability to ‘Plan and Prepare’ a series of nutritious home cooked meals for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner and helps them how to cook economically.
Jamie Oliver Home Cooking Skills
Level 1 BTEC Contributes to Foundation Learning Provision
Level 2 BTEC Equivalent to half a GCSE.
Teacher: Mrs B Carroll | <urn:uuid:769cbbe7-1991-4ff0-8745-ed604c565fc2> | {
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|Guess this vegetable|
While the concept of eating "nose to tail" on an animal is pretty trendy among restaurants, fewer consider eating root to fruit on plants. Or in this case, this is a vegetable that many Americans treat as common, when in fact, they eat only the most rarified part of the plant.
Although just about the whole plant is edible (the leaves make delicious braised greens), most people are restricted to considering at the florets, the unopened flowers of the plant. I've seen people trim off the florets, and discard the rest of the stem — all the while bemoaning how expensive vegetables are.
In time, the florets open up into pretty yellow flowers. The flowers, of course, are just as edible. But also, like any flowers, they are the reproductive parts of the plants, and can be visited by pollinators.
And after pollination, voila! The broccoli fruit:
The bowl above, of course, is the product of harvesting the pods (which are usually reserved primarily for the seeds), but it makes for an interesting vegetable, if it a little stringy. | <urn:uuid:a6dd124e-5a80-4f0d-a6ab-348fd5d790a6> | {
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Michael Perryman was the scientific leader of ESA’s Hipparcos space astrometry mission, and with Lennart Lindegren from Sweden, one of the two originators of the Gaia mission. Michael is currently Bohdan Paczynski Visiting Fellow at the School of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton and Adjunct Professor in the School of Physics, University College Dublin. Here he shares his ringside view of the launch.
19 December 2013: Today, at 06:12 local time here in French Guiana, the Gaia satellite was delivered into orbit, on its way to its surveying location, the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2. So began the latest and most revolutionary journey in the history of the measurement of the positions of the stars. Placed in orbit by the 1812th launch of the vast Russian Soyuz programme (their 6th from French Guiana), Gaia marks the 40th launch for ESA, and the 25th scientific satellite lofted by Arianespace. To wish it well on its historic journey were a representation of Gaia scientists, ESA project managers and engineers headed by ESA’s Director of Science Alvaro Gimenez, industrial leaders, national delegates to ESA, and senior representatives from numerous other fields of the increasingly ambitious European space programme.
Gaia first appeared as a proposal for consideration in ESA’s space programme in 1993, hot on the heels of ESA’s revolutionary Hipparcos star-mapping mission launched in 1989. Seven years of careful study led to its acceptance by ESA’s Science Programme Committee in 2000, with a target launch date of 2012. Maintaining such an aggressive schedule, for such an ambitious mission at the forefront of so many areas of space technology, is almost unheard of. Managed by ESA, with manufacture, integration and testing contracted to the mission’s prime contractor, Astrium Toulouse, the Gaia industrial consortium comprised 47 European and three US industrial partners. It will map the stars at unprecedented and almost incomprehensible levels of accuracy. The largest instrument built in silicon carbide, Gaia also comprises the largest billion-pixel CCD focal plane ever conceived.
Shipped out from Europe in August, the launch countdown started at t-11 hours. At t-30 min, all systems were go, and weather conditions were perfect. As dawn broke over the Atlantic coast of French Guiana, just outside Kourou, the final 10 second countdown began. Silence fell over the assembled spectators as lights began to flicker amongst the trees on the horizon, then the sky lit up, the ground rumbled beneath us, and the colossal Soyuz powered into the sky. Hidden for a few moments by a thin layer of cloud, Soyuz appeared majestically seconds later, carrying its celestial surveyor in an awesome display of terrifying power. At 170km altitude the upper stage continued to carry Gaia almost vertically upwards. At 38 min after lift-off, no longer visible but with its tell-tale vapour trail streaked across the sky, the launcher orientated the satellite in the direction of L2, before successfully releasing Gaia, now racing away from Earth. Already under the control of ESA’s space operations centre ESOC, in Germany, and just 77 minutes after launch, the next most critical phase of the satellite’s pioneering odyssey, was successfully executed – the deployment of the colossal 10m diameter solar array and sunshield.
It was a perfect injection into the transfer to L2. It will still be a 20-day journey to the isolated expanse of L2, where Gaia will be ‘parked’. From that location, a lengthy process of payload commissioning will precede the 5-year operational phase. Gaia’s goal: to revolutionise the understanding of our Galaxy, and the stars within it.
The most crucial and spectacular step in the execution of all space missions has been passed. After more than a decade of intense dedication, colossal effort, and vast ingenuity, the make-or-break moment of every space mission was decided, in Gaia’s favour, within just a few short minutes. As Arianespace Chairman and CEO, Stéphane Israel, described it “Gaia is a technological marvel, which should make Europe proud of its space industry”. | <urn:uuid:67431742-1e7e-4a3d-b253-9aad74834fe3> | {
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The Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education project has been following 3,000 children between the ages of three and 14 since 1996 to try to discover what factors lead to success.
While the report talks about preschool learning environments it also highlights HLE, the home learning environment. It’s important to note one of the findings from the study is how much of an influence we are on our children’s learning regardless of background, class or social standing.
This study and its many outcomes underlined yet again the need for each of us to have a plan, albeit fluid, for our families when it comes to raising our children. Whatever circumstance you find yourself in we need to do more than pay lip service to what we do with our children. Less whatever and more focus.
It’s not about spending lots of money but using what you’ve got creatively including social networks, spaces and facilities. It’s not about they should be homeschooled or should be in preschool but what will work best for our family and our child(ren). It’s not about is my child better than your child but are they developing typically and what type of support is best for them
Most importantly, this journey will go down blind alleys.It’s not the end. We just need a different direction.
5 things from the report
The duration of attendance [of preschool] is important with longer duration being linked to better intellectual development and improved independence, concentration and sociability.
Full-time attendance led to no better gains for children than part-time.
Children who had longer hours (greater than 2,000) in group care under the age of two years had higher levels of ‘pro-social’ behaviour but a slightly increased ‘risk’ of ‘anti-social’ behaviour at 5 years old. These effects were most strongly related to extensive group care in the first year of life (see Melhuish, 2010 in Sylva et al., 2010)
The quality of the early years Home Learning Environment (where parents are actively engaged
in learning activities with children) promoted intellectual and social development in all children.
What parents do is more important than who they are (Melhuish et al., 2001) pg 5
What can we do?
Start your plan: Conversations with your friends, spouse and family about raising children and start the process of deciding what’s best for your new family or unit.
Read: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with a friend or join a book group. Having executable steps and accountability will make your plan more likely to succeed especially in the early difficult days of transition. Also with the framework you feel less like floundering around in a sea of newness.
Seek out people and groups like you and network via playgroups, preschools, mother’s groups, church groups. We need people who build us up, comfort and challenge us to the next step. We need to be that friend to them as we raise our children.
Prepare a family mission statement. Learn about this effective tool and try it.
Keep up with educational ideas, playful activities and beware of shiny new and popular. Always asking the question,’ Is this right for my child?’ Seek other opinions and form your own.
What activity have you done recently with your child? Would love to hear in the comments
If you enjoyed this article, get the Play Activities Newsletter. ( It’s free!) | <urn:uuid:bdd87926-9f9d-4d77-a6d3-822a38cffef6> | {
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Many parents who wish to ensure a bright future for their children delve into occupational therapy and for a good reason. Contrary to common belief, treatment is not only for distressed adults. Kids can take advantage of this type of therapeutic intervention to help set the pace towards self-reliance and future success.
If you think about it, occupational therapists can fill various vital roles in the lives of children whom they treat. They can be your child’s friend, fan and mentor. That said, it is often unclear to parents how their children can benefit from such services.
What exactly can an occupational therapist do for your child?
A range of toys can be seen in the office or workbag of an occupational therapist. These toys define the ages and capabilities of their patient. For instance, a child might handle tossing and observing a ball throughout one session with his therapist while another might play with a visual puzzle. The ball exercise is most likely to improve gross motor abilities while the puzzle is utilised to handle visual processing and cognitive skills.
Toys hold a distinction in occupational therapy for children because they permit children to enhance their capabilities without even realising it. The therapist provides a toy during each session under the pretext of having fun which makes it more engaging for children. Their patients can then jump in and benefit from the activity without any reservation. As a result, an occupational therapist can make significant strides in a child’s development which would otherwise be inaccessible to other people.
Improves social interaction
Children with a developmental problem frequently struggle to facilitate any form of social interaction. It is, therefore, the job of an occupational therapist to examine these challenges and introduce “tweaks” in the way of social exercises for improvement. Social lessons usually are based upon interactions with friends and member of the family, so they happen either in the house or school.
Sessions suggested to boost a child’s social capability may need a concept as comfy as a specific discussion, or something more complicated, such as strengthening proper behaviour in the kid’s class. Similar to play sessions, work focusing on social skills is included naturally into the kid’s life so that the client can act and respond as regular as possible to the methods being taught.
Teach invaluable life skills to children
Kids who are physically or otherwise handicapped have to discover self-reliance and self-care in distinct techniques. In this area, their professional treatment sessions are based in the house or a simulated environment. Self-care exercises may include the intro of basic hygiene such as brushing teeth and utilising antiperspirant and everyday basics such as feeding and dressing oneself.
To make sure the kid’s maximum self-reliance, a therapist should initially analyse correctly what children can do on their own. Only then can they identify areas of weaknesses which they can then work. Due to each kid’s unique situations, self-care exercises almost always vary from one patient to another. | <urn:uuid:45d9a85e-ccf4-45dd-b4bf-31443d45ef60> | {
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The talk about probable future rising oil prices and the recent debate about water charges in Ireland might give reason for some to plan for long term sustainability issues; such as reducing energy use and water use.
But there is another reason to be interested in a simple pump free systems – there are less things which can go wrong and therefor less potential maintenance issues long term. If you are interested in this approach, Architects need to design their house buildings so that the collected rain water always runs downhill; by gravity
Zero pumping and zero electricity rain water harvesting systems should therefore be considered for your new home if this is the way you are thinking. When designing your new home here are a few rules for your architect that I would suggest.
Rule 1: For zero energy systems, indoor rainwater storage tanks need to be located on a level below the rain water leaf filter and above the toilet cisterns. Generally these tanks are fitted into purpose built cupboards inside the building in order to support the large weight of the water.
The tanks in their cupboards also need to be clustered and located near to the toilets as well as being near or next to the outside rainwater down pipes.
Rule 2: Cluster all of the upstairs toilets and wet rooms to be together and adjacent to each other. Do not locate these rooms to be separate from each other in far off corners of the house. Where possible keep all the toilets and the rainwater storage tanks that will be using and storing the gravity rain water in one section of the house.
Rule 3: Do not separate the rainwater down pipe, the rainwater storage tanks or the toilets from each other. Door openings, windows and corridors between any of these elements will frustrate the purpose of gravity based systems. If pumps for rainwater are to be avoided, make sure that none of these obstacles occur. Long horizontal rain water pipe runs on the outside or the inside wall of buildings are also not desirable.
Rule 4. Where possible, keep the ground floor toilets and the utility room below the upstairs toilets also. The clothes washing machine could use the rain water also. | <urn:uuid:dca59f64-b87a-46b8-acde-57fb0c18b3d0> | {
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About Social Bookmarking
When the Second World War began, Britain was faced
with the need to increase home food production and the area of land
under cultivation had to be increased significantly. The Minister
of Agriculture and Fisheries set up County War Agricultural Executive
Committees (County War Ags) to oversee this increased food production.
They had powers to direct what was grown, to take possession of
land, to terminate tenancies, to inspect property, and to organise
mobile groups of farm workers. One of the first tasks was to direct
a ploughing-up campaign with large expanses of grassland being prepared
for cultivation and instructions given as to what should be planted.
To assist in this campaign, a preliminary farm survey was started
in June 1940 and farms were classified A, B, or C depending on
their productive state (ie. the physical condition of the land)
and the managerial efficiency (or otherwise) of the farmer (in extreme
cases land was taken over by the local Committee). The "War Ag" instructed
farmers to plough part of their land and plant alternative crops,
as can be seen in the extracts below.
Having reached their initial goals the Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries then started a 2nd survey to be used in forward planning,
which like Domesday would provide a "permanent and comprehensive
record of the conditions on the farms of England and Wales".
The National Farm Survey undertaken by district committees consisting
of experienced farmers, and was begun in early 1941 and completed
by the end of 1943. Every farm and holding of five acres or more
was surveyed in addition to the information already gathered in
a census return of farms completed by the farmers on June 4th 1941,
which had included crop acreage, livestock numbers, information
on rents and their length of occupancy.
The records created by the inspectors for each farm included information
on the conditions of tenure and occupation, and the general state
of the farm including its fertility, adequacy of equipment, water
and electricity supplies, weeds or pest infestations, and general
management, and a map showing the fields and boundaries for each farm
was also produced.
View the National Archives National
Farm Survey Leaflet
for further information.
Using the Farm Survey Information
The farm survey records for Malhamdale held at the National Archives, were photographed and the information transcribed into tables, making it easier to display and read. The tables for each farm are arranged by the Township the farm lies in, and links to all the farm details are on the relevant Township page.
This page offers three ways to access the data:
1. By Township - If known, this can be found by
selecting the relevant area on the Township map below. This will open a page for that township
where each individual farm is listed along with links to the survey data and relevant map.
Each township was given
a code and each farm a suffix number, for example Dykelands Farm (1), situated in the
township of Scosthrop (474) has a code 474-1, and the survey maps indicate
the fields belonging to a particular farm using that identification and a colour code.
2. By Location - The right hand Survey Areas locator shows the coverage of the individual survey maps and you can browse the actual map by selecting the area. (Note : the map windows can be resized.)
3. By Farm Name - To search for a known farm, at the bottom of the page you will find an Aphabetical List of Farms surveyed, with links to the relevant Township page where further details can be found.
Select the area to view the Township page and find
individual farm details.
Select an area to view the relevant survey map (re-sizeable)
|Malham, Mallam, Malum, Maulm, Mawm, Malam, Mallum, Moor, Moore, More, Kirkby, Kirby, Mallamdale, Mallumdale, Malhamdale, Malham-Dale, Kirkby-in-Malham-Dale, Kirkby-Malham-Dale, Kirby-in-Malham-Dale, Kirby-Malham-Dale, Hanlith, Hanlyth, Scosthrop, Scosthorpe, Skosthrop, Airton, Ayrton, Airtown, Calton, Carlton, Craven, Yorkshire, Otterburn, Otter Burn, Bellbusk, Bell Busk, Conistone, Family, Genealogy, Geneology, Buildings, People, Maps, Census, Scawthorpe, Scothorpe,
Cold, Coniston Cold, Bordley, Bordly, Boardly, Boardley, Winterburn, Winter Burn, History, Local, ancestors, ancestry, Scorthorp, Wills, Tax, Eshton, Asheton
KirkbyMalham.info is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. External links are generally indicated by the symbol. | <urn:uuid:a4eeae1b-453c-4fe9-af86-f2f192cecf36> | {
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Usage:This is a lactam anesthetic, the duration of action is 3 times than procaine.
The product is an amide anesthetic. In clinical anesthetics, occocaine is the most effective, the most toxic and the longest maintenance. The anesthetic strength of injection is 15 times that of procaine and 15 times of its toxicity. The effect was slower, about 15min, but the duration of action was 3 times that of procaine. The local irritation is small and the penetrating power is strong. It is used for topical anesthesia, infiltration anesthesia or epidural anesthesia.Dibucaine hydrochloride is a local anesthetic of the amide type now generally used for surface anesthesia. It is one of the most potent and toxic of the long-acting local anesthetics and its parenteral use is restricted. The drug blocks both the initiation and conduction of nerve impulses by decreasing the neuronal membrane's permeability to sodium ions. This reversibly stabilizes the membrane and inhibits depolarization, resulting in the failure of a propagated action potential and subsequent conduction blockade.
In combination sodium dibucaine hydrochloride is administered to dogs to induce rapid, humane, painless euthanasia. The euthanasia solution is toxic to wildlife. Euthanized animals must be properly disposed of by deep burial, incineration or other method in compliance with state and local laws. | <urn:uuid:5c7fc728-1579-4d64-b062-f2f1db08f0aa> | {
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Magic of Physics
Mysterious Physical Ideas.. Science Practices Magic.. In a Scientific Way !
Magic experiments, with clear scientific physical explanation. The show where is presented containing a number of live exciting applied physical experiments with the possibility of participation some of the audience.
The goal linking physics concepts to everyday life, to facilitate understanding of physics and enjoy away from the theoretical traditional methods, and focus on some of the mysterious ideas that are related to physics and its impact on the environment and health, and to stimulate teachers, students and all those interested to look for similar ideas or new.
With "Magic of Physics" shows, you can watch and share all the ideas and experiments, but don't try it at home, except with a supervision of parents or science teachers. By "Magic of Physics" you can discover and explore:
- The effect of a Mentos in a Diet Pepsi Cola
- How to stand on an egg
- The way to put an egg in a bottle
- How to hold a fire
- The effect of 200 degree celcuis below zero freezing banana
- How to break a glass of wine by a sound effect
- The magic of fire dancer
- How to change your voice
And many other physical ideas, that couldn't found in your school labratory and curriculum. So, teachers, students and all interested people in scientific domains can use "Magic of Physics" ideas in teaching, educational processes, science fairs and parties. | <urn:uuid:94061003-80af-441b-a616-5b59b827c693> | {
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Whether you choose to breast or bottle feed your baby, you will need to start a hygiene routine from the day they are born - and that means sterilising everything that goes into their mouth.
Milk is not just an ideal food for baby - unfortunately it's also one of the best environments for bacteria to grow, so you need to take special care to make sure that germs are not introduced to your baby during feeds.
The number one rule to protect your baby and your family from germs is to wash your hands regularly and thoroughly. This is the best way to avoid germs being transmitted from you to your baby, as a high majority of germs are transmitted via hands. Encourage all other members of the family and visitors to wash their hands regularly, especially before touching your baby. This should be a priority for everyone.
Wash your hands:
If you have chosen to breastfeed your baby, you may need to express your milk with a breast-pump and store your milk using milk containers or bags. You may also use some breast shields during breastfeeding.
Milk is an ideal environment for bacteria to grow and milk residue can accumulate on your equipment.
To avoid this, you must thoroughly wash all breastfeeding equipment and milk storage containers, then you must sterilise everything.
Dismantle breastpumps, wash them well after use, then you can submerge all non-metallic parts in a Milton Sterilising Solution. If the breastpump includes any plastic connection tubing, this should also be sterilised along with the funnel.
Never put expressed milk into anything that has not been sterilised. If you use milk containers always sterilise them first including the screw top before filling them with freshly expressed milk. Write the date and time on each bottle then transfer immediately to the fridge or the freezer.
You can store breast milk in a sterilised container:
If you have frozen your milk, defrost it in the fridge before giving it to your baby. Once it is defrosted, you must use it straight away. Never re-freeze milk once it is thawed.
If you have chosen to bottle feed your baby, you must thoroughly wash and sterilise all the baby bottle components before and after each use.
Ensure that all milk residues are removed from bottles and teats before you sterilise, otherwise the bottles won’t be fully sterile and bacteria could remain in the teat. Remember that milk is the ideal environment for bacteria to grow which is why special care must be taken when washing baby bottles.
Once you have sterilised baby bottles, don’t leave them out for long periods of time on work surfaces before using them. As they stay out, bacteria will slowly contaminate them again. You can either leave them in a Milton Sterilising Solution, or in a closed Milton Combi Steriliser for 24 hours, or in your fridge (with the lid and teat on) at a minimum of 4°C temperature.
Tip: when you purchase your feeding equipment, try to select a shape of baby bottles that looks simple and easy to clean.
Because infant formula can sometimes contain bacteria, it is important to make up each feed as your baby needs it, using boiled water (temperature 70°C or above). The hot water will ensure that any harmful bacteria get killed. Always remember to let the feed cool before giving it to baby.
Do not keep the feed in the fridge because bacteria can still survive and multiply. Always throw away any unused formula or breast milk after the feed.
To protect your baby from germs, it is important to ensure that you clean and disinfect your home regularly. Babies tend to touch and put everything in their mouth, and their mouths may even come into contact with the floor.
Whether you are only going away for the weekend or you are planning a holiday abroad, travelling with a little baby is not always easy. Plan well ahead for everything that you will need to bring along for your baby.
When travelling, take with you some Milton Sterilising Tablets and the Milton Solo Travel Steriliser. They are ideal to pop in your bag and don’t take up much space. They will allow you to sterilise all baby’s feeding equipment during your stay.
When you are outside your home, you will be faced with many areas which may not be very clean. Take with you some cleaning and disinfecting wipes to clean the hot spots in public places which may not be very clean, such as public toilets, baby changing facilities and high chairs. | <urn:uuid:034ad269-4c52-4c6f-a6d3-4351d44b8e88> | {
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Nebraska: Omaha Reservation
About the Omaha: The Omaha originally lived in the Ohio River Valley along with ancestors of the Kansa, Osage, Ponca, and Quapaw Indians. Eventually, the tribes separated, and most of them moved further west. The Omaha people arrived in Nebraska around 1700. They lived in earth lodges and relied on crops and buffalo for food.
History of the Reservation: In 1780, the Omaha tribal population was estimated at 2800 members. However, after exposure to white settlers and traders, their numbers had sharply declined by 1802 to a mere 300 people. In 1855, the Omaha were forced to relinquish extensive hunting grounds in exchange for a reservation. However, in 1865, the government sold half of the Omaha’s reservation to the Winnebago tribe, and the Omaha now live on the remaining half of their original reservation. The Omaha originally had its settlements along Missouri river in eastern Nebraska.
Life on the Reservation: Farming, tribal and federal governments, a casino, and a resort provide some jobs to Omaha residents. The Tribe’s efforts to establish economic activity have not guaranteed economic security for all tribal members, and more than one-quarter of Omaha tribal members live below the poverty line.
Omaha on the map: Northeastern Nebraska | <urn:uuid:1f6d3826-55d2-4387-9b8f-143e0f8c3992> | {
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Factory produced small reactors must be designed with transportation in mind. The design of the Babcock & Wilcox mPower reactor core is highly suggestive of the transportation considerations which the designers of factory manufactured reactors have in mind. In the case of the Babcock and Wilcox mPower core (illustrated to left) the core and the primary coolant loop appear designed to be shipped as a single unit. The mPower core unit appears to be intinded for shipment by rail. Width is the most significant limitation of rail transportation. A typical rail load cannot be a lot more than 9 feet wide under most circumstances. The mPower measures 75' by 15' (23m by 4.5m). That may not seem very wide but it is clear that moving the mPower core by rail is going to offer some challenges. In fact the 4.5 meeter wide package may not be the shipping unit at all. The Westinghouse SMR, a competing design measures 11.5' in diameter, and 81 feet long. The mPower steam generator is reoirtedly 3.6 metres in diameter and 22 m high. Thus the mPower steam generator unit diameter is only a few inches greater than the SMR unit diameter. Pictures of the mPower suggest that is is wider at the bottom, and the extra width can probably be accounted for by a pressure vessel slipped over the core. Thus it would appear that the mPower pressure vessel may not be shipped as a part of the core unit.
How can Westinghouse slip a reactor that is almost twice as powerful as the mPower into a core package that is similar in size. The answer is that Westinghouse uses a few tricks. For example the steam generators could be placed outside the core package, and the Westinghouse core package may not include the steam generators. The SMR containment vessel has s outer diameter: 32 ft. We are thus well beyond the rail transport point with a 32' diameter pressure vessel. The Westinghouse SMR appears to be an evolutionarily development from the earlier Westinghouse IRES SMR.
The question thus arrises how much labor will the factory manufactured Light Water SMR actually save in comparison to full size LWRs? The Westinghouse AP-1000 is constructed from factory built modules, and the B&W mPower may require more manufacturing labor input per MW of rated output than the AP-1000. Ditto for the Westinghouse SMR. Thus it would appear that Light Water SMR may not have a cost advantage over standard size LWRs, and although they may have a decreased construction time, they will still require a couple of years to construct. But since the AP-1000 is designed for manufacture within three years, this does not seem like a lot.
We have seen in the paper, A Small Mobile Molten Salt Reactor (SM-MSR) For Underdeveloped Countries and Remote Locations, that 100 MWe MSRs can be made to be easily transported by breaking down the loads into core structure and graphite components. Core assembly could be easily acomplished in a day, during the time while the underground core chamer is being dug and lined with a prefavricated concrete liner. At that point the core can be lowered into its underground chamber. Other trucked in modules for example a reactor salt cleaning moduuel, which could be housed underground, and turbine and generator moduels.
If we abandon the requirement that factory manufactured reactors be delivered by truck or rail we can focus on the economic benefits of delivery of factory manufactured reactors by barge or ship. Factory manufactured reactors Factory production can shift from moduels to major components, and indeed whole reactors. Research by Professors Larry Townsend and Larry Miller of the University of Tennessee and Professor Andy Kadak of MIT has focused on barge transportation of factory manufactured nuclear units. Professor Townsend's ANS interview is probably more approachable to the average reader than the DoE report, DESIGN AND LAYOUT CONCEPTS FOR COMPACT, FACTORY-PRODUCED, TRANSPORTABLE, GENERATION IV REACTOR SYSTEMS. The most detailed account in this study focuses on the Westinghouse IRIS SMR. The choice of the IRIS lead to a discovery, as Professor Townsend acknowledged,
Initially, we considered transport by barge, truck, or rail. But for the IRIS reactor, because of the large size of the reactor vessel itself, it quickly became clear that we were limited to barge transport. So, we de- cided to focus strictly on barge transport. The other two groups—the liquid-metal and gas reactors—focused on truck and rail transport.The IRIS as designed by Westinghouse turned out to not be barge transportable on the entire Mississippi/Ohio River system although adjustments can be made:
Note that the 100m (328 ft) length of the plant is less than the 400 ft capacity (length) of the locks on the Mississippi/Ohio River system for barge transport. However, the 40m (144 ft) width of the plant exceeds the 110 ft width limitation for barge traffic through the Mississippi/Ohio River locks. The excess width in the plant layout arises from the width of the Westinghouse reactor building specifications. The actual width of the reactor containment and balance of plant is less than this 110ft width limitation. Therefore, barge transport is still possible if the "buildings" are redesigned or are constructed after barge arrival at the plant site.Thus barge transport is possible for 300 MWe LWRs. Since MSRs and their potential generating systems are both lighter and more compact the barge transportation of MSRs of up to 500 MWe and even greater generating capacity is a reasonable possibility. It may not be desirable to transport complete MSR generating units by barge if the reactor core is to be located underground. The underground core component would be lowered into place and then connected to above ground components. Still if the reactor arrived onsite with in only two barge carried component loads, the actual final assembly could be performed in a few weeks at most. Considering the potential barge accesible reactor locations on the Mississippi River system, the Great Lakes, and the North American Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific coats, a factory intended to produce barge transportable reactors should not suffer from transportation problems for its products.
We have seen that both highway and rail transport of reactor units and reactor modulare components will create problems for reactor mobilitry. At the same time it appears possible to truck transport core units for MSRs of up to 100 MWe. The SM MSR modules could be locally delivered by barge or ship, and then moved to their final locations by truck or by rail. Thus the cost savings potential of factory manufacture of reactors is an open possibility | <urn:uuid:a793776b-710f-432d-8d01-9773fd94d8aa> | {
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- Beginner is an introductory class for students who are new to Yoga, or has practiced Yoga irregularly. This class focuses on poses to stretch and strengthen the legs, back, and shoulders. Emphasis is given to the basic alignment of the standing poses.
- Vinyasa Yoga will prepare students for a vigorous flow style of yoga (Vinyasa) that synchronizes breath with movement. It will offer a balance of strength, flexibility, and endurance to challenge the fitness enthusiast. The course will begin with instruction on the alignment of the poses and move toward linking all the poses together in a continuous flow by the end of the session.
- Hatha Yoga is based on Iyengar style forcussing on alignment with the use of props . It includes gentle stretches and breathing as well as basic asanas (postures) designed to systematically increase the range of motion of every major joint and increase energy. This class is ideal for students with chronic symptoms such as muscle/joint pain, stiffness, weakness, or fatigue.
- Intermediate focuses on refining the standing poses, balance, inversions, back bends, and the shoulder stand. It is recommended that students complete Beginners Yoga or has been practicing Yoga for over one year on a regular basis.
- Yin Yoga forcus on | <urn:uuid:e0328081-2e2e-4cb0-9576-e156679a94a9> | {
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Atoklimpen is a large hill rising high above the surrounding landscapes. It is part of the Sami cultural environment and provides an insight into how the nomadic Sami reindeer herding practice has effected the landscape over the centuries. It reflects the cultural heritage of the Sami and the conditions for survival in a mountain environment. You can join one of the arranged guided trips on wednesdays in July and August, or if you are a group book a guide from Country Council Administration (Länsstyrelsen). Make your requests at Hemavan Tärnaby Tourist Office.
A beautiful trail that winds its way from the Atostugan cabin up to the summit of Atoklimpen (1006 m). Passing through birchwood, the trail splits at the tree-line, heading up east to the summit or continuing south to the cultural heritage reserve. Close to the summit is a small tarn: the perfect spot for taking a break. All running water is drinkable.
The curiously formed Atoklimpen hill (Aatoklimpoe in Sami) used to be regarded by the Sami as a very holy mountain. The mountain has many geological and botanical features that are worth seeing. The word “Ato”, in “Aatoklimpoe”, means “that there” in Sami. The mountain was deemed so holy by the Sami that it could not be referred to directly by name. There have been numerous places of sacrifice here.
Lenght: 7 km return trip
Elevation change: 400 m
Level of difficulty: Red (3 km/hour varied terrain, sometimes steep)
A PLACE OF SACRIFICE
A modern place of sacrifice will be found 10 metres below the summit of the first steep hill out towards the mountain. The stone slab here is in the form of a large hemisphere. The idea is to drop a coin or two into the chinks of the stone for good luck. It may be wise not to risk the fearsome accidents said to await those who remove a sacrificial offering! Atoklimpen hill consists of a volcanic rock type, peridotite, which has converted to serpentine stone, asbestos, talc and soapstone. A hike up to the ridge and onto the actual cairn at the summit offers a strong possibility of finding a variety of fine stones.
The rock slabs of the cliff have been softly rounded by the inland ice and preserved by the weathered surface - “elephant hide” as it is nicknamed - of the rocks. The rock is red-coloured by algae in several places. These red algae are typical of peridotite mountains like Atoklimpen hill. They are therefore called Routeke in the Sami language, meaning red-coloured mountain. The Atoklimpen hill is also very interesting from the botanical standpoint. This is because of the special bedrock, which contains several unusual and poisonous metals and is strongly basic. The alpine catchfly, a plant resembling the sticky catchfly, is common among the weathered gravel. This is a sign that there is copper in the rock, see also the heading Copper mine below. A guest book in a metal box is kept at the cairn marking the summit.
THE REINDEER ROUNDING-UP AND SORTING GROUND AND WOODEN FENCE
A few hundred metres from the Atostugan cottage down towards Risbäcken brook lies an ancient reindeer rounding-up and sorting ground. The Sami used to collect their reindeer together here in order to separate them from those belonging to other families within the Sami community, or to brand the calves which had been born during the summer. The wooden fence has collapsed so that the posts have fallen outwards in their original order. Accordingly the division into a larger field and several smaller ones can be clearly seen. The rounding-up procedure was for the animals to be guided into the larger field. One by one as they were captured and branded they were herded into the smaller fields. The earliest rounding-up
enclosure was erected in the 1890s. Prior to that, when the reindeer were tended in the old-fashioned way, individual reindeer would be separated out at the grazing-ground or on a neck of land while the herd was resting.
On the mountain there is a Sami grave, that of Soejvengeelle, the Shadow-man. The shadow-man seems to have been so nicknamed from the fact that he was as tall as his own shadow. The grave is under a grave-slab and is much-mentioned in local tradition, not merely as a grave but also as a cult centre. An archaeological dig in 1950 revealed a 30-40 year-old male, 160 cm tall, lying directly on the ground in an ackja (a type of Laplander’s sledge).
Three km to the northeast of the summit of Atoklimpen hill, alongside the brook from lake Autjejaure, the pit of an old coppe
During the summer there are guided tours to Atoklimpen, book the tour at Hemavan Tärnaby Tourist Office | <urn:uuid:f2aafee1-b36d-4e2b-bf31-77b74e8c66c8> | {
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Finely crushed recycled glass for pool industrialand environmental filtration that provides outstanding water clarity and quality a direct replacement for sand or zeolite in both freshwater and saltwater pools. I also added new resource sections to the sea glass pages.
Sanding Glass Edges Flemingmotorsports Info
Sanding Glass Graceacampbell Com
Solid Ziricote Wood Hourglass With Smooth Spindles Justhourglasses
It is defined by size being finer than gravel and coarser than siltsand can also refer to a textural class of soil or soil type.
How to sand glass smooth. Tempered glass or toughened glass is glass that has been heat treated to make it stronger more resistant to heat and break in a way to prevent injury. Ie a soil containing more than 85 percent sand sized particles by mass. Pottery barn has sea glass vases this year for a hefty price 6350.
Sand is a loose fragmented naturally occurring material consisting of very small particles of decomposed rocks corals or shells. October 9 2009 updated the look of several pages. The composition of sand varies depending on the local rock sources and conditions but the most common.
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. Smooth traduzione del vocabolo e dei suoi composti e discussioni del forum. Glass is a non crystalline amorphous solid that is often transparent and has widespread practical technological and decorative uses in for example window panes tableware and optoelectronicsthe most familiar and historically the oldest types of manufactured glass are silicate glasses based on the chemical compound silica silicon dioxide or quartz the primary constituent of sand.
Sand is used to provide bulk strength and other properties to construction materials like asphalt and concrete. How to use sand in a sentence. April 16 2010 added my colorsyntaxpl script to the software section colorsyntaxhtml.
Fulgurite is the varietal name given to fused quartz si0 2 which has been fused by the action of lightning striking the earth and locally melting the sandthe best known fulgurites are found in quartz sands where the fulgurites take the form of tubes sometimes exceeding a half inch or more in diameter. Sand definition is a loose granular material that results from the disintegration of rocks consists of particles smaller than gravel but coarser than silt and is used in mortar glass abrasives and foundry molds. Tempered glass is used in front doors shower stalls fireplace.
Frosty sandblasted sea glass accessories are hot this season in decor. Ill be migrating all pages to this new format over the next few weeks. How to temper glass.
Glass pack universal water filtration media. I have been a long time fan of sea glass ever since i made the sea glass mosaic tray and discovered the multitude of sea glass projects that can be made.
Amazon Com Large Fashion Colorful Sand Glass Sandglass Hourglass
Glass Beach Is Filled With Smooth Sea Glass Other Treasures
Wet Sanding Gives Your Projects A Scratch Free Finish Make | <urn:uuid:62d12caa-7ff7-4bff-8cbc-5a956c0828fb> | {
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The implementation of the Agricultural Census, plays a decisively role for the characterization of the country's agriculture, namely in what concerns to production structures, rural population and agricultural production methods. This knowledge is crucial for taking decisions in different areas such as economic, regional, social and even business policies. It is assumed, moreover, as the only source of comprehensive agricultural information - collects data on all farms - so you get results at a very detailed geographic level such as Parish or Municipality. This data is of great interest to users such as enterprises, regional institutions, universities, scientific research. Moreover the fact that the data allow the establishment of a sampling basis (selection of representative sets of farm sector and certain realities that constitute the samples of these surveys) for the agricultural sampling surveys carried out in the next 10 years, ie until agricultural census to the next.
The implementation of the Agricultural Census allows meeting the statistics needs at a national and international (FAO - United Nations Food and Agriculture and the EU - European Union) level. EU legislation applies to all Member States, ensuring the existence of the same general framework (conceptual and methodological) for the different EU countries, which gives results comparable and harmonized.
The agricultural census is mandatory in view of the existing Community rules seek to respond to national and international statistical requirements, including: | <urn:uuid:929735ed-8e04-4d6a-b0fd-2b23eb442c1a> | {
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At Tuolumne Grove Trailhead in Yosemite the massive trees are the largest living organisms on the planet, known as the giant sequoia. While slightly shorter than its cousin, the redwood, and younger than the bristlecone pine, the giant sequoia is by far the heaviest (6,100 tons) and largest living thing, past or present, on Earth.
The Native Americans named these trees Wawona, which to them sounded like the hoof of an owl. The owl was considered the guardian spirit, the deity of these trees. The literal meaning of Wawona, translated from Miwok, is “big trees.”
Today there are some 75 groves scattered along the western slope of the Sierra. They exist in a band 260 miles long and only 15 miles wide, at elevations between 4000 and 7000 feet.
How Did They Get Here?
The distribution of the giant sequoias presents an unsolved mystery. How did they get to their present locations? Did they migrate through low mountain passes into favorable drainages before the Sierra became an impassable barrier about 3 million years ago? Were their seeds carried by wind or animals to distant favorable locations? Or are these groves remnants of a once vast forest that covered most of the west? Many scientists favor the first theory — that sequoias spread slowly through separate mountain passes to their present locations. Fossil evidence for this scenario is inconclusive and the exact answer may never be known. However, recent pollen studies have shed some light on the sequoias’ history, indicating that over the last 5,000 years the groves have actually increased in size.
John Muir searched unsuccessfuly for evidence to substantiate his theory that the scattered groves were once part of a vast giant sequoia forest. | <urn:uuid:822e390b-c2ac-4433-86b3-c0636275dd99> | {
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SwineHealth News for January 2, 2020
A Microbiology Professor with the University of Guelph suggests, by taking action to promote a healthy microbial population in the gut of the pig, pork producers have an opportunity to take greater advantage of the natural ability of the animal to defend against disease.
The microbiome, the microbial population contained in the gut, plays a key role in digestion and in disease resistance.
"The Gut Microbiome, and Why You Should Care About It" will be among the topics discussed as part of a Swine Innovation Porc session set for January 7th, in conjunction with the Banff Pork Seminar.
Dr. Emma Allen-Vercoe, a Professor of Microbiology with the University of Guelph and a Tier-1 Canada Research Chair, says by enhancing the health of the microbiome, livestock producers have an opportunity to improve the health and productivity of their herds, reduce their need for medical intervention and improve profitability.
Clip-Dr. Emma Allen-Vercoe-University of Guelph:
One of the areas that I'm really most interested in when it comes to pork production is trying to understand the difficulties for farmers that are farming these animals in situations where they have to be kept very very clean in order to keep them healthy.
One of the reasons you need to keep them so clean is because their microbiomes, their gut microbiomes in particular, have been depleted through many generations of antimicrobial use, the way that they are housed, the way that they are fed, which is very different from the natural situation.
So the idea here is that, if we were to provide these microbes back to the animals, then they would once again become more resistant naturally to the sorts of infections that right now are the scourge of farming.
That would allow these animals to be a lot more healthy generally and to hopefully require less medical interventions for infections or what have you.
Dr. Allen-Vercoe acknowledges, while we don't yet fully understand what distinguishes between a healthy and an unhealthy microbiome we do know that, if you have a very high diversity microbiome, in other words if you have lots of different species present in the gut, that generally means you have a very healthy gut.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
*SwineHealth News is produced in association with Farmscape.Ca and is a presentation of Wonderworks Canada Inc. | <urn:uuid:1b0f7f30-d565-417c-8d08-636dd43179e7> | {
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Track 0 is building a resource library reflecting the many studies, reports and initiatives at all levels of society – from countries, to cities and communities, and from economists to business leaders – on the unifying goal of phasing out emissions to zero. The resource centre is under construction and currently offers the following tools and information sources, divided by category:
Possible Elements of a 2015 Legal Agreement on Climate Change-IDDRI >>
A paper by Erik Haites, Farhana Yamin, and Niklas Hohne setting out how a legal agreement between countries may be reached through the UNFCCC negotiations by 2015, with a commitment to the scientific case to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Elders have asked world leaders coming to the Summit to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 >>
An article by The Elders, an eminent group of former world leaders, calling on today’s leaders to set about agreeing to policy by 2015 that sets a carbon neutral goal for 2050.
Next decade is critical to stay below 2°C or 1.5°C- Climate Analytics-ECOFYS >>
In order to prevent dangerous climate change and limit warming to below 2°C, both Annex I and Non-Annex I countries need to both significantly increase the level of current action to reduce emissions ahead of 2020 and commit to deeper cuts in emissions than currently pledged post 2020.
Latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change >>
The “debate” about climate change has ended. AR5, one of the largest scientific reports ever undertaken, analyzed over 20,00 peer-reviewed research papers submitted by scientists from nearly every country on Earth. The overwhelming evidence now proves that our planet is heating up, the seas are becoming more acidic, and the polar ice is melting — all at rates faster than originally predicted — and this is due primarily to the burning of fossil fuels.
The Consensus for Action >>
Developed out of Stanford University and UC Berkeley, Consensus for Action is a joint statement by over 1300 scientists in 60 countries addressed to policymakers to take urgent action to address global climate change.
Low Carbon Economy
Roadmap 2050 – Architecture 2030 >>
Urban areas are responsible for over 70% of global energy consumption and CO2 emissions, mostly from buildings. By 2030, a staggering 82 billion square meters (900 billion square feet), an area roughly equal to 60% of the total building stock of the world, will be built and rebuilt in urban areas worldwide. This projection provides an unprecedented opportunity to reduce fossil fuel CO2 emissions by setting the entire global Building Sector on a path to peak emissions quickly, and completely phase out CO2 emissions by about 2050.
The Global Commission on the Climate and Economy >>
Chaired by former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón, the Commission is a major new international initiative to analyse and communicate the economic benefits and costs of acting on climate change. It comprises former heads of government and finance ministers and leaders in the fields of economics and business.
The New Climate Economy Report >>
Rapid technological progress, a large rise in trade, and major structural changes have transformed the global economy in the last 25 years. Developing countries now account for more than two-fifths of world GDP. Poverty dropped at the fastest rate ever in the last decade. However, since the Great Recession of 2008–09, countries at all income levels have struggled to achieve fast, equitable growth in output, jobs and opportunities. Vigorous and deliberate reforms are needed to sustain broad-based long-term prosperity.
Keeping it Fair
The Elders position on climate change >>
The Elders believe that 2014 is a critical year for action on climate change. As we rapidly approach the tipping point beyond which climate change may become irreversible, we risk inflicting one of the greatest injustices in human history, denying future generations their right to a livable, sustainable planet. If we fail to act now, the whole of humanity stands to lose.
Mary Robinson Foundation Climate Justice Declaration >>
Issued by the global High Level Advisory Committee to the Climate Justice Dialogue, which includes former presidents and other leaders from the fields of politics, science, business, civil society and academia, the Declaration on Climate Justice calls on world leaders to take bold action on climate change and create a future that is fair for all.
Actions on Track
World Future Council Report: How to achieve 100% renewable energy >>
The policy handbook carefully analyzes case studies to identify drivers, barriers as well as facilitating factors for 100% renewable energy penetration. The foal is to derive policy recommendations and to enable their transfer to other jurisdictions around the world in 4 major categories — Cities & Communities, Regions & States, National Governments, Island Governments.
2015 International Agreement
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) >>
The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. Today, it has near-universal membership with 195 countries that have ratified the Convention, called Parties to the Convention. The Conference of Parties in 2015 (COP21) seeks to achieve a landmark agreement between nations on multilateral action to address the climate crisis.
UN Kyoto Protocol >>
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”
UN Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) >>
The Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) is a subsidiary body that was established in December 2011. The mandate of the ADP is to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties, which is to be completed no later than 2015 in order for it to be adopted at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and for it to come into effect and be implemented from 2020.
We Mean Business Coalition >>
We Mean BusIness is a coalition of organizations working with thousands of the world’s most influential businesses and investors. These businesses recognize that the transition to a low carbon economy is the only way to secure sustainable economic growth and prosperity for all. To accelerate this transition, we have formed a common platform to amplify the business voice, catalyze bold climate action by all and promote smart policy frameworks.
Ahead of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Climate Summit at the United Nations to spur climate action and facilitate a global climate agreement in 2015, nearly 350 global institutional investors representing over $24 trillion in assets have called on government leaders to provide stable, reliable and economically meaningful carbon pricing that helps redirect investment commensurate with the scale of the climate change challenge, as well as develop plans to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels.
This report takes a first step in helping financial institutions create more robust GHG inventories, by discussing objectives, options, and challenges for financial institutions and stakeholders to consider when creating and evaluating a GHG emissions inventory.
Climate Protection as a World Citizen Movement, Special Report by WBGU, September 2014 >>
The German federal government set up WBGU as an independent, scientific advisory body in 1992 in the run-up to the Rio Earth Summit. The special report calls for compliance with the 2°C guard rail with agreement for all social actors to make their specific contributions towards decarbonization.
Climate Action Tracker September 2014 Policy Briefing >>
Policy briefing by PIK, Climate Analytics, and Ecofys that describes the need for near-zero emissions by 2050 in order to have a high likelihood (>85% chance) of staying below the threshold of 2°C in global temperature rise. | <urn:uuid:a475882b-7984-4bcd-9ed1-796ccd557532> | {
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The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 3. Liturgical Colour: White.
In other years: St Mark the Evangelist
He was a cousin of Barnabas and accompanied the apostle Paul on his first missionary journey; later he followed him to Rome. He was a disciple of Peter, and his gospel is told from Peter’s point of view. He is credited with founding the Church in Alexandria. His body was stolen from Alexandria in 828 (though some say that the wrong bones were stolen) and taken to Venice, which adopted him as its patron saint. See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia
Other saints: Bl. Robert Anderton (1560 - 1586) and William Marsden (-1586)
Isle of Wight
Robert Anderton (c. 1560- 1586) was born in either Lancashire or the Isle of Wight or, according to some, the Isle of Man. He graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1578. Shortly after he went abroad and converted to Roman Catholicism. He entered the English College at Rheims in 1580 and there met William Marsden, a Lancashireman. The two were ordained priest together.
After ordination they set sail for England, but were caught in a storm. They prayed that they would be allowed to die on land rather than at sea. Driven ashore on the Isle of Wight by the storm, they were immediately arrested by the authorities. In court at Winchester, they pleaded that they had not violated the law by landing in England, since their landing had been involuntary. They defended their faith and the Pope and acknowledged that they had come to exercise their ministry and reconcile people to God and the Church. This led to their being taken to London, where they were asked to take the Oath of Supremacy, acknowledging Elizabeth as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. They acknowledged the queen as their lawful queen in all secular affairs but refused to swear the Oath. As this was a treasonable offence under the Second Act of Supremacy, they were condemned to death, were returned to the Isle of Wight near the place where they had landed, and were hung, drawn and quartered on 25 April 1586.
They were beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.
About the author of the Second Reading in today's Office of Readings:
Second Reading: Saint Justin, Martyr (- 165)
Justin was born at the beginning of the second century in Nablus, in Samaria, of a pagan Greek family. He was an earnest seeker after truth, and studied many systems of philosophy before being led, through Platonism, to Christianity. While remaining a layman, he accepted the duty of making the truth known, and travelled from place to place proclaiming the gospel. In 151 he travelled from Ephesus to Rome, where he opened a school of philosophy and wrote defences and expositions of Christianity, which have survived to this day and are the earliest known writings of their kind. In the persecution of 165, in the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, he was denounced as a Christian, arrested and beheaded.
Justin treats the Greek philosophy that he studied as mostly true, but incomplete. In contrast to the Hebrew tendency to view God as making revelations to them and to no-one else, he follows the parable of the Sower, and sees God as sowing the seed of wisdom throughout the world, to grow wherever the soil would receive it.
Liturgical colour: white
White is the colour of heaven. Liturgically, it is used to celebrate feasts of the Lord; Christmas and Easter, the great seasons of the Lord; and the saints. Not that you will always see white in church, because if something more splendid, such as gold, is available, that can and should be used instead. We are, after all, celebrating.
In the earliest centuries all vestments were white – the white of baptismal purity and of the robes worn by the armies of the redeemed in the Apocalypse, washed white in the blood of the Lamb. As the Church grew secure enough to be able to plan her liturgy, she began to use colour so that our sense of sight could deepen our experience of the mysteries of salvation, just as incense recruits our sense of smell and music that of hearing. Over the centuries various schemes of colour for feasts and seasons were worked out, and it is only as late as the 19th century that they were harmonized into their present form.
|Mid-morning reading (Terce)||(1 Corinthians 15:3-5) ©|
Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; he was buried; and he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures. He appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve.
|Noon reading (Sext)||Ephesians 2:4-6 ©|
God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.
|Afternoon reading (None)||Romans 6:4 ©|
When we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life. | <urn:uuid:8dfe5167-25c0-4d2d-9615-bbaebf495359> | {
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An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose.
Often they are research organisations (research institutions) created to do research on specific topics. An institute can also be a professional body, or one involved in adult education, see Mechanics' Institutes.
In some countries institutes can be part of a university or other institutions of higher education, either as a group of departments or an autonomous educational institution without a traditional university status such as a "university Institute". (See Institute of Technology)
The word "institute" comes from a Latin word institutum meaning "facility" or "habit"; from instituere meaning "build", "create", "raise" or "educate".
United Kingdom and Isle of Man
In the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man the term "institute" is a protected word and companies or other organizations may only use the word if they are "organisations which are carrying out research at the highest level or to professional bodies of the highest standing". Furthermore, if a company is carrying on a business under a different name to the company name, that business name must comply with the Business Names Act. Use of the title "institute" requires approval from the Secretary of State. Failure to seek approval is a criminal offence.
Courses & Training
- Chair (Polish academic department)
- Higher education
- Private foundation
- Policy institute
- Research institute
- Some Institutes for Advanced Study | <urn:uuid:5efc0921-915f-4e01-952f-f1404d5127d1> | {
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|Please ask about problems and questions regarding this tutorial on answers.ros.org. Don't forget to include in your question the link to this page, the versions of your OS & ROS, and also add appropriate tags.|
Running ROS across multiple machinesDescription: This tutorial explains how to start a ROS system using two machines. It explains the use of ROS_MASTER_URI to configure multiple machines to use a single master.
Tutorial Level: INTERMEDIATE
Next Tutorial: Defining Custom Messages
ROS is designed with distributed computing in mind. A well-written node makes no assumptions about where in the network it runs, allowing computation to be relocated at run-time to match the available resources (there are exceptions; for example, a driver node that communicate with a piece of hardware must run on the machine to which the hardware is physically connected). Deploying a ROS system across multiple machines is easy. Keep the following things in mind:
- You only need one master. Select one machine to run it on.
All nodes must be configured to use the same master, via ROS_MASTER_URI.
There must be complete, bi-directional connectivity between all pairs of machines, on all ports (see ROS/NetworkSetup).
Each machine must advertise itself by a name that all other machines can resolve (see ROS/NetworkSetup).
Talker / listener across two machines
Say we want to run a talker / listener system across two machines, named marvin and hal. These are the machines' hostnames, which means that these are the names by which you would address them when. E.g., to login to marvin, you would do:
Same goes for hal.
Start the master
We need to select one machine to run the master; we'll go with hal. The first step is start the master:
ssh hal roscore
Start the listener
Now we'll start a listener on hal, configuring ROS_MASTER_URI so that we use the master that was just started:
ssh hal export ROS_MASTER_URI=http://hal:11311 rosrun rospy_tutorials listener.py
Start the talker
Next we'll start a talker on marvin, also configuring ROS_MASTER_URI so that the master on hal is used:
ssh marvin export ROS_MASTER_URI=http://hal:11311 rosrun rospy_tutorials talker.py
Voila: you should now see the listener on hal receiving messages from the talker on marvin.
Note that the sequence of talker / listener startup doesn't matter; the nodes can be started in any order. The only requirement is that you start the master before starting any nodes.
Variation: connecting in the other direction
Now let's try it in the other direction. Leaving the master running on hal, kill the talker and listener, then bring them up on opposite machines.
First a listener on marvin:
ssh marvin export ROS_MASTER_URI=http://hal:11311 rosrun rospy_tutorials listener.py
Now a talker on hal:
ssh hal export ROS_MASTER_URI=http://hal:11311 rosrun rospy_tutorials talker.py
For testing you can use the rostopic tool on all machines which are connected to the core.
You get a list of all available topics. If you are not connected to a core there is an error.
In wireless networks it is sometimes necessary to check if there is a connection and messages still come. For short tests it is handy to print out the messages.
rostopic echo /topic_name
When something goes wrong
If something in the above sequence didn't work, the cause is likely in your network configuration. See ROS/NetworkSetup and ROS/Troubleshooting for configuration requirements and troubleshooting tips.
One common trap is the missing define of ROS_IP on the machine, where talker.py is running.
check it with: echo $ROS_IP
If you dont't define ROS_IP, then rostopic info will show indeed the proper connections of publisher and listener, but rostopic echo will be empty. You will see no TX-traffic on LAN, on machine with talker. First, after defining ROS_IP with proper IP-address ( export ROS_PI=machine_ip_addr) you will see trafic on LAN and the listener.py will show received data. | <urn:uuid:b6a9453e-2a27-4734-bd57-f5026bb84770> | {
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Velavadar National Park or commonly referred as Blackbuck National Park, as the name clearly expresses, is a renowned national park for the eminent number of blackbucks present there. The grassland ecosystem there, particular of its kind, makes it the most suitable to be deemed a National Park. It stretches over an area of 34.08 square km, chiefly located in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. The park was established in 1976 in Bhal region of Saurashastra. The park embraces about over 140 species of birds, 14 species of mammals, 95 species of flowering plants, and many reptiles.
According to history provided, the park had been a grazing ground for the kingdom’s cattle under the reign of Maharaja Krishnakumar Sinhji. The park was meant to satisfy the passion for hunting of the great king. Blackbuck, considered sacred in Hindu mythology has been assigned various names such as – kaliyar, Krishna mruga, Krishna sara and saranga. Eventually hunting became more of an everyday practice discarding all the rules associated with it. Hence it was declared as a sanctuary in 1969 with the final avowal of the grassland as a national park in 1976.
Flora & Fauna
Though the park is a vast stretch of plain grassland mainly, the habitat provided to animals here is equally adorable. The park extends between two rivers, little away from the Gulf of Cambay, thus producing the fertile soil. The grassland here can be precisely compared to the Savannah grasslands carpeted with dry thorny scrub with grasses growing up to the heights of 30-40 cm.
Velavadar is home to blackbucks, blue bulls (nilgai), wolves, hyenas, foxes, jungle cats, jackals, wild pigs, hares, rodents.
A perfect treat to the birdwatchers, Velavadar National Park caters to the pleasures of bird watching enthusiasts with the enchanting views of several grassland birds’ like- harriers, larks, wheatears, bushchats, sandgrouse, francolins and quails. Sarus and demoiselle cranes, the spot billed duck, painted and white storks, and the white ibis are among the most spotted species. Species like Red Wattled Lapwing do make occasional appearances. The red-necked falcon, painted francolin, rain and quail and flocks have a good probability to be encountered. The oriental prantincole can be sighted frequently while the little bustard quail makes sporadic appearances. The dainty Lesser Florican, punctual in its approach, is spotted only at the time of winters.
Therefore Velavadar National Park seems to be a fair deal to enjoy some of the rare and exclusive moments such as wolves drinking from water holes between dawn and dusk, the lesser florican males marking their territory and their efforts to begin courtship with their females and much more.
Velavedar National Park has semi-arid climate.
Summers (March- mid June)
Summers are hot and dry with temperature ranging from 23°C to 44°C.
Monsoons (July- October)
Average rainfall in this area is around 25 inches with temperature ranging from 18°C- 32°C.
Winters (November- February)
Winters are cold with temperature ranging from 5°C to 28°C. Mornings and evenings are extremely cold especially in December and January and visitors are advised to carry heavy woolen clothing.
Ideal time to observe Wildlife and Photography
The period between monsoon and winter (mid-June to March) is the ideal time to visit the place. Bird watching enthusiasts should visit the park between December and March, when you can find various species of migratory birds here.
Velavadar National park is most famous for the blackbucks- the elegant Indian antelope and one of the fastest mammals. There exists about 1,000 species of these blackbucks here, which certainly raises the chances of seeing any one of the species.
It is also the most popular for the harrier roost, which is both appreciated and certified as one of the largest harrier roost by the international harrier expert- Roger Clarke of UK. Harriers usually arrive at the park during winters. Some of the famous species available here are – Pale Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Montague Harrier, and the Hen Harrier.
The largest antelope of India, nilgai or blue bull, can also be easily spotted leaping over the plains of Velavadar. | <urn:uuid:02b5bb0c-0727-44bd-ba17-a434004ab0ba> | {
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Off-Grid Energy Australia uses a variety of battery technologies from leading Australian and International suppliers – that are created specially for house battery storage applications. Even the smallest solar panel technique can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as considerably as 50 trees! The inverters have a ten-year warranty and the solar panels have a 25-year warranty. The large utility-scale version of Tesla’s battery energy storage systems is known as the Powerpack. Years ahead of the historic election, nonetheless, the Million Solar Roofs Initiative (MSRI) was established in 1997. For this reason, it is encouraged that panels be placed on roofs that are facing south.
For a modest quantity of dollars, a homeowner, constructing owner or utility can store electricity generated by way of solar or wind for later use, when required, day or evening, rain or shine. In this short article I will give a fast tutorial of Solar Electric Power and how it may fully remove your electric bill. The sun’s rays will be coming from the south in the course of the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere given that the Earth’s axis is at a 23.5º angle.
Whilst their Gigafactories” will allow Tesla to meet its goal of decreasing the expense of batteries for their electric cars by at least 30 percent, the massive income prospective when the Gigafactories” are completely operational truly lies with the sale of battery power storage systems that store electricity for later use. The Grand Ridge project attributes an array of lithium-iron-phosphate batteries manufactured by China’s BYD. But this is true only if your panels are installed facing south, which is the only suggested system for suitable installation.
If you are not in the ideal location for effective solar energy generation you still will be in a position to take benefit of …Read More | <urn:uuid:c97cef6a-d41f-4439-94e1-d4f9b440e4c2> | {
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This Is Why Mother Octopuses Grimly Starve Themselves to Death
Clever and strange, octopuses are fascinating creatures with incredible problem-solving skills and breathtaking camouflage
That’s because they’re semelparous, which means they reproduce just once before they die. With female octopuses, once she’s laid her eggs, that’s it.
In fact, the mother even stops feeding – she’ll stay and watch over her eggs until they hatch, slowly starving to death. In captivity, towards the end, sometimes she’ll tear off her own skin, and eat the tips of her own tentacles.
Now, scientists have figured figured out why this grim scenario happens. It has to do with the optic gland between the octopus’s eyes; a gland similar to the pituitary gland in humans.
In 1977, researchers removed this gland and found that the octopus’ mothering instincts disappeared. She abandoned her eggs, started feeding again, and went on to live a much longer life.
The maturation of the reproductive organs appears to be driven by secretions from the optic gland. These same secretions, it seems, inactivate the digestive and salivary glands, which leads to the octopus starving to death.
In new research, neurobiologists from the University of Chicago used genetic sequencing tools to describe the precise molecular signals produced by the optic gland of a female California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) after reproducing.
They also described four distinct phases of maternal behaviour that they were able to link to these signals, explaining how the optic gland drives her death.
“We’re bringing cephalopod research into the 21st century, and what better way to do that than have this unveiling of an organ that has historically fascinated cephalopod biologists for a long, long time,” said neurobiologist Z. Yan Wang.
“These behaviours are so distinct and so stereotyped when you actually see them. It’s really exciting because it’s the first time we can pinpoint any molecular mechanism to such dramatic behaviours, which to me is the entire purpose of studying neuroscience.”
The first phase is a mature, non-mated female, who is active and an agile and aggressive hunter, spending a lot of time out of her dens.
In the second phase, just after brooding, she will watch over her eggs, stroking them and blowing water over the clutch. She won’t actively go out and hunt, but she may snare the occasional unlucky crab that ventures too close. This lasts around 3 to 4 days.
In the third phase, she stops eating entirely, growing more listless. This lasts 8 to 10 days.
Finally, in the fourth phase, she grows agitated. The researchers observed the octopuses slamming themselves against their tanks, grooming themselves ragged, tangling their tentacles and growing pale and emaciated, before dying shortly after the eggs had hatched.
The researchers collected the optic glands from octopuses in each of these four stages, and sequenced the RNA to find out exactly what was occurring.
Before mating, the octopuses produced high levels of neuropeptides, small protein-like molecules that have been linked to feeding behaviour in many animals. After mating, neuropeptide production plummeted.
After mating, the octopuses showed an uptick in the production of catecholamines, steroids that regulate cholesterol metabolism and insulin-like factors – the first time the optic gland has been linked to a function that doesn’t have something to do with reproduction.
The finding suggests that the optic gland doesn’t produce just a single hormone to regulate reproduction, but uses multiple signalling pathways, possibly to keep the mother octopus watching over her precious eggs.
How these pathways occur is still a puzzle to be unravelled – whether the neurotransmitters that kick in after mating target reproductive tissues that promote maternal instincts, or shut down the digestive functions to keep her closer to her eggs is unknown.
“Before when we only knew about the optic gland, it felt like watching the trailer to a movie,” Wang said. “You get the gist of what’s going on, but now we’re beginning to learn about the main characters, what their roles are and a little bit more about the backstory.”
What’s also is unknown is why male octopuses tend to die shortly after mating as well, even though they don’t have the same parental obligation to care for the eggs. So, there are still plenty of mysteries to be unravelled when it comes to our tentacled friends. | <urn:uuid:659bb46e-7546-4234-9be3-3af70358a1c9> | {
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To appreciate the secret of Rome’s success, we need to go back to the third century BC and the time of Hannibal’s invasion of Italy. Now Hannibal is a problem to the modern Romanist who attributes Rome’s success to its military prowess, because whenever Rome came up against a really first class general, Rome tended to lose. When Hannibal invaded Italy, Hannibal always won, at the battle of the Trebia, at Lake Trasimene, and above all, at Canae.
Yet as the historian Polybius remarked, the big surprise was the remarkable fidelity of the allies to Rome (III, 90). Hannibal rather expected that once he began winning victories, the allies would all come to support him. Certainly this prove true to a certain extent in the south with the Greek cities, but in central Italy, around Rome, most of the allies, despite Hannibal’s victories, remained loyal to Rome. Why?
Clearly something had already happened that made laid the Roman package so attractive so that the Latin towns preferred the Roman way of life to the Carthaginian way of life. What was this package? I believe that what I like to call Roman package came about a century before, in the year 339 BC.
The preceding couple of years had been among the most traumatic for Rome. Rome at this time was still only a local power, busy trying to impose its superiority over the warlike hill tribes to the south, the Samnites in the heartlands of the Apennines. Then unexpectedly the Latins, the group of tribes immediately to their south, rebelled. There was a Latin league that bound them together, and Rome considered itself to be at the head of the league. The other cities felt otherwise, and rebelled. Roman had to make peace with the Samnites, bringing the first Samnite war to an end, and then spend two or three years dealing with the Latins. When eventually, city by city, they managed to impose their control over the Latins, they were determined that this would never happen again.
If they were to expand in Italy, they could only do so if they could rely on their allies. How to make the Latin cities firm allies?
Livy described the scene in the Senate, when the victorious consul, Lucius Furius Camillus addressed the Senate and asked whether they wanted to create a permanent peace or live with the threat of permanent war? Did they want to exercise cruelty or forgiveness? The answer he said lay in forgiveness: they should be generous to the defeated Latins and bind them to Rome by giving them Roman citizenship.
Not everyone agreed. There was a feeling that the different towns should be treated differently, and as a result, some were offered full citizenship, but others were offered only half citizenship: they could become citizens of Rome but without the vote (sine suffragio). From this a package emerged, subsequently to be known as Latin rights, which formed these secret of Rome’s success.
The details of this drama no doubt owe much to Livy’s imagination, but the concept was one of the most far sighted political decisions of all time: to make your defeated enemies, citizens of your own state. For the cities that had been conquered, and which now became Roman, there were many benefits. There was of course the downside, in that the allies were required to provide soldiers for the Roman army. However this was not as big a disadvantage as it might appear, for in the normal course of events, small towns were often at war with their neighbours: the chieftains needed to demonstrate their prowess, and thus many of the citizens would expect to be called upon regularly to fight. The Roman demand that they should provide soldiers for the Roman army was probably no more arduous, and possibly considerably less arduous, than the demands that would have been made upon them by their own rulers had they remained independent.
The other restriction that Rome made was that they should not have their own foreign policy: Rome regulated their relations with outsiders and with their neighbours. This was a blessing in disguise, for it meant that they had the inestimable benefit of peace: once they became part of the Roman world, they would not be allowed to fight their neighbours, while Rome with any luck would keep external enemies at bay. And thus they flourished.
But the real heart of the package came in the form of three rights or ius (plural iures) that formed the backbone of Rome’s relations with her allies. These I believe formed the centrepiece of Rome’s success.
There was the Ius commercium, the commercial right, which meant that they could have free trade with the rest of the Roman world.
Second was the Ius migrationis, the Right of Migration, that if they wished to migrate to another town, they could do so and be accepted as citizens.
And finally there was the Ius connubii, the Right of Marriage, which meant that they could marry anyone within the Roman world. This is a right that is generally overlooked, but I do wonder whether it was more important and long lasting than is generally realised. And I do wonder whether it formed the origin of the new attitude to marriage, the belief that you could choose your own wife, that I have laid down as being the essence of civilisation.
These three rights form I believe the centrepiece of Rome’s success. They may seem innocuous enough to us, but in the world of kinship societies and the feudalism of gift exchange, they were revolutionary ideas. Hitherto, if you were unhappy with your lot, if you had fallen out with your family, or were displeased with your position in society, there was little that you could do about it. Now everything had changed. You could migrate to another city, even to Rome. You could take up another trade and trade with the anyone within the Roman world. There is a lot of talk today about globalisation, and the benefits of free trade, but here in 339 BC, the Romans had invented globalisation. (And incidentally, this gives a clue to why Rome is often so disliked: those who dislike globalisation, dislike the Romans. Those who believe that free trade is a good thing, will appreciate the Romans.) And above all there was the right to marry anyone it you chose within the Roman world: and it is your choice who you marry, and not your mothers and not the tribe’s.
There is a further implication that is not generally recognized. The conventional belief is that part of Rome’s success was that it made allies of the ruling classes in each city. The three Latin rights do not look like this to me. They do not appear to be benefits to the ruling class, so much as to benefit the middle classes, the tradesmen, the younger sons who would not inherit, to those who wish to seek fame and fortune outside the family and kinship embrace. In other words, I think the real secret of Rome success is that they appealed to the middle classes: there was a wide swathe in the middle of society who felt they would be better off under the Romans than they would be in the traditional state where they would be constantly squeezed out by those at the top and would not have the opportunities to expand and grow and flourish that they clearly did under Roman rule. True, the Romans took great care to appeal to the rulers and the ruling classes, but I believe that it was the middle classes who saw the benefits of the flatter sort of society produced by the market economy: it is what I call the farmer — miller – baker — hot dog seller nexus who are the people who really benefited from the Roman package.
On to: Hannibal | <urn:uuid:e058480b-ef94-4006-83ec-892e4e2c63d9> | {
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By Sue Brooks, M.A., L.P.C.
I have a hope that someday people will come to understand anger.
Anger is an emotion, with a message.
Anger is not any behavior that may follow it – rapid heart rate, bulging eyes, pouting, punching someone or punching a wall, or taking a time out. Rage, hostility, violence, aggression, bullying, conflict, hate, attack, assault, and abuse may all be associated with anger, coming either before or after the feeling of anger, but they are not the emotion of anger. As such we need to be specific with the words we use in order to convey the message we want to convey.
Years ago emotions were categorized into positive emotions (joy, happiness, generosity) and negative emotions (fear, anger, jealousy), and the positive ones were supposedly experienced on one side of the brain and negative ones on the other side. With the advent of neurological brain research, it was discovered that the “negative” emotion of anger was actually experienced on the same side of the brain as the “positive” emotions. As a result, experts now conceptualize emotions as approach emotions and avoidant emotions (Harmon-Jones, 2009, 2006). For example, when we feel joy or generosity, we are drawn to one another. When we experience fear, we are being given the message that something is not right, to be cautious and keep our distance.
Anger, simply put, tells us that our needs are not getting met, and if we can use it purposefully and wisely, anger can draw us together to problem-solve our needs. Focused, righteous anger addresses universal human needs and continues to fuel civil rights, women’s rights, and gender equality groups, to name a few.
On the other hand, many of us unfortunately learn and believe that anger is a variety of impulsive reactions such as throwing a temper tantrum, screaming, cussing, punching and pouting. As such, we can’t and don't give ourselves the chance to ever come together.
Also unfortunately, anger does not tell us if our needs are reasonable or not. I may think I need another piece of chocolate cake but my neighbor’s need for food and shelter after a hurricane is unquestionably more crucial. Likewise for fear. Feeling fearful in a dark, unlit parking lot at midnight may be prudent, but feeling fearful near the front door of a public building at high noon may not be.
The Dalai Lama often discusses anger as being destructive. I wonder if ancient languages had more words for anger than our current languages, like Northern American indigenous people who have 50 different words for snow.
Maybe, since our modern vocabulary does have a list of precise words, like rage, hostility, attack and aggression, we can use them, instead of just using the word anger as a catchall. In doing so, maybe we can get more of our needs met.
Sue Brooks, M.A., L.P.C.
Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology, Licensed Professional Counselor | <urn:uuid:b3bb7ad9-94ba-4c4c-91a2-94d81079fdbb> | {
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Due to Kremlin secrecy, poor reporting out of Russia, and a Western media inclined to report aggressive Russian behavior, it’s hard to say objectively whether or not a Russian military build-up is taking place in the Arctic. That’s where satellite imagery comes in handy.
For centuries, sea ice and forbidding conditions made Russia’s north coast all but impassable to foreigners. The Russian Empire worried about threats on its western, eastern, and southern fronts, but the northern front never really seemed vulnerable. The harsh climate was essentially its first line of defense in the Arctic. During the Cold War, however, the Arctic became a frozen battleground between the Soviet Union and the West. On both sides of the Arctic, militarization ensued. The Americans and Canadians built the Distant Early Warning Line across Alaska, Canada, and even into Greenland. This series of radars was meant to warn of any incoming incursions from the north.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, demilitarization of the Arctic ensued, particularly in the Soviet Union. This development was not by choice: dreadful economic circumstances forced Russia to stop maintaining many of its military installations in the Arctic. The New Siberian Islands were one such place where Russia closed down its research station and a naval base for the Northern Fleet, which had been in operation from 1933-1993.
A new century, a new dawn for the New Siberian Islands
After a twenty year hiatus, the Russian military is back in action on these forbidding islands at 75°N. Located off the coast of the Sakha Republic in the Russian Far East, the New Siberian Islands are near potential oil and gas reserves and straddle the Northern Sea Route. It’s therefore unsurprising that Russia seeks to remilitarize these strategically located islands. Paul Josephson writes in his captivating book published last year, The Conquest of the Russian Arctic, that in a speech made in 2012, President Vladimir Putin referenced Stalin’s “legacy of building military industry in the 1930s with his instructions for ‘developing the Navy, first and foremost in the Arctic areas and in Russia’s Far East with the aim of protecting the Russian Federation’s strategic interests.'”
In September 2013, The Barents Observer reported that Russia had begun delivering new personnel and equipment to the old military site on Kotelny Island, the largest of the New Siberian Islands. Photographs from the Russian military of soldiers raising the tricolor over the barren tundra proved their point. In December 2013, The Aviationist explained, “Currently, an air traffic control service is present, along with accomodation, own water supply, a power station and heating. The airfield is not to be a minor one, since it will be able to accomodate landings of planes as large as Il-76 cargos.” Nine months later basically marked the ribbon-cutting ceremony. In September 2014, Russia Today reported that Russia officially reopened a military base on Kotelny Island after it had been closed for over twenty years.
Still, due to a number of factors including Kremlin secrecy, poor reporting out of Russia, and a Western media that is inclined to report aggressive Russian behavior, it’s hard to say objectively whether or not a Russian military build-up is taking place in the Arctic. That’s where satellite imagery comes in handy. Since it shows phenomena on a larger scale than flags simply being raised, it can help reveal whether or not Russia is in fact building bases and increasing the amount of military infrastructure in its Arctic region. In Ukraine, for instance, satellite imagery was able to detect convoys of Russian vehicles opening up a new front.
Leveraging new capabilities in Arctic remote sensing to observe Russian activities
On the whole, useful satellite imagery in the Arctic is hard to obtain. The long periods of winter darkness make it all but impossible for the majority of satellites, which have sun-synchronous orbits (meaning they take images of the earth when it is lit by the sun), to produce useful data in the Arctic year-round. Moreover, even when the sun is shining, the thick clouds and storms prevalent in Arctic weather systems can obscure satellite imagery.
But in the past two years, the availability of useful satellite imagery of the Arctic has improved dramatically thanks to the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. Launched by NASA and NOAA in October 2011, SNPP can acquire data in a range of wavelengths, including the visible spectrum in its Day-Night Band (DNB). All of this imagery is available for the public to download. I’ve written about the wonders of the DNB before, which collects images of the earth at night. Anthropogenic lights from features like cities, gas flares, military bases, and ships all show up in stunning clarity in DNB nighttime imagery.
SNPP passes over the North Pole every 101 minutes. That means it regularly flies over various parts of the Arctic from its orbit 824 kilometers above Earth. The high rate of frequency enables capabilities like ship tracking in the Arctic, as documented by researchers in a new paper published in Remote Sensing. In the image below provided courtesy of William Straka, a scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies and the paper’s lead author, a nuclear icebreaker believed to be 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory), is seen making its way southeast. Straka had been tracking the ship for several days and watched it travel to Kotelny Island, where it possibly dropped off some material before leaving again (the actual cargo delivery was not visible in the satellite imagery, as it may have occurred while the satellite was not overhead).
Night light images around Kotelny Island, just to the northeast of the area in the images Straka provided, reveal even more activity, as the time-series image at the very top of this post shows. The animated GIF includes an image taken approximately every 24 hours over the span of six days in late October and early November 2014. (Images before October 30 and after November 5 were too cloudy to make out anything in sharp detail.) In the above animated GIF, it’s possible to see the bright lights emanating from the new base for the Northern Fleet on the northeast corner of the island along with a number of ships moving in the waters just offshore. What appears to be 50 Let Pobedy sails around the islands before seeming to head north. Interestingly, some astronomical phenomena are visible, too: the aurora borealis also makes an appearance on October 31 and each image is subsequently brighter than the previous as the moon grows fuller each night.
For comparison’s sake, we can see that in July 2013, a couple of months before the Barents Observer reported on the military activity at Kotelny Island, no lights were visible. By contrast, an image taken over the same area in October 2014 shows a bevy of lights both on and offshore.
Russia is militarizing, but it is not alone
What are we to make of these satellite images? First, they simply show light. Remote sensing is all about indirect measurement and analysis. Since we’re not on the ground, we can’t say for certain that these lights are from military activities. But they may be a good proxy for them. This inference is validated by the news articles reporting on the uptick in military infrastructure and activity on the New Siberian Islands since September 2013.
Second, more analysis of satellite imagery across the Russian Arctic in places like the Kola Peninsula, Wrangel Island, and Cape Schmidt is needed to determine whether a full-scale, region-wide military build-up is really taking place. Until then, all we can say for now from this short analysis of satellite imagery is that Russia is installing a lot of resources on Kotelny Island.
Third, while Russia may be increasing the number of bases and personnel in its Arctic regions, it is not alone. The United States, Canada, Norway, and Denmark are all enhancing their northern military capabilities albeit to varying degrees. Rob Huebert, a political science professor at the University of Calgary, argued in the Canadian newspaper The National Post: “The militaries of most Arctic states are taking on new and expanded roles in the region that go beyond their traditional responsibilities, which may create friction in the region.” He even believes that the Arctic Council should begin talking about militarization, which is currently barred from the discussion table.
What satellite imagery doesn’t show
Lastly, what the satellite imagery doesn’t show are the actual sources of the lights. One of those sources may be a small onion-domed house of worship, of all things. Earlier this month, the Russian Military published a story on its website concerning a new Russian Orthodox chapel on Kotelny Island, which was opened just in time for Orthodox Christmas on January 7. Northern Fleet servicemen on the island can now worship at this small chapel. Priests from Tiksi, a settlement on the Russian mainland not far from the New Siberian Islands, will visit from time to time.
Soldiers and priests in the Russian Arctic? That’s one big difference between contemporary Russia and the atheist Soviet Union. | <urn:uuid:e58a6848-e22a-46ba-b52d-469180efeac1> | {
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A workplace that promotes a healthy environment is essential for the well-being of the employees. Healthier employees tend to be more productive and every company wants workers who are vigilant and productive.
Having a workforce that is energetic and willing to go the extra mile, will certainly improve the overall performance of the company. So, it is indispensible that a healthy environment be developed at the workplace. This article mentions some of the ways through which a workplace can be made into a healthier place to work.
1. Walk more
Sitting has become a curse for our generation. According to a study, much of the American population sits for approximately nine hours a day, which is disastrous to the health. A study conducted by the Harvard Medical School showed that being physically inactive is the reason for the 9% of premature deaths, about 7% of type to 2 diabetes cases and 6% of heart disease cases.
Our workplaces today are a harbour for diseases because of the fact that physical activity is not encouraged. In every workplace, the employees should be given breaks at regular intervals, in which they should perform some sort of physical activity such as jogging, stretching or as simple as walking. By employing this method, a clear difference can be seen in the performance of the employees.
2. Encourage mood-enhancing activities
It is important to allow the employees to enjoy their work instead of making them do their work forcefully. A little time to relax should be given, in which the employees can talk to their friends or family, surf the internet or go for some refreshments. It is not necessary to give them an hour-long break but only ten minutes will do the trick. This will induce positive emotions that will result in better work performance. This will also help improve their cognitive functions, which will have a positive effect on the mental health.
3. Give importance to ergonomics
Paying attention to ergonomics is very important because you can get various diseases if you sit in an awkward position of extended periods. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome affects about 6 million people each year. This disease is mainly caused by sitting in an inappropriate position for extended periods. There are several tips that you can follow to avoid such diseases. Some of them are mentioned below:
• The monitor should be at eye level
• Your chair should be adjusted so that your feet can touch the ground easily and the desk is about the elbow level.
• Your back should be straight and supported firmly by the chair’s backrest.
4. Eating healthier food
Every health expert agrees that munching on those unhealthy snacks during work hours can be devastating to health. Snacks full of oil combined with nine hours of physical inactivity are a recipe for disaster. The population of the overweight people are increasing at an incredible due to the consumptions of unhealthy food. It does not matter how busy you are, you must always opt for the healthy snacks. Low calorie options such as salads can be great as they are filling while containing fewer calories.
All of this suggests that healthier workplaces are actually the better workplaces and will definitely create better results! | <urn:uuid:e8a5993f-df4e-44dd-b630-f98ba56c83ec> | {
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Clavicular fractures are common fractures usually resulting from direct trauma. The middle third of the bone is injured 80 % of the time. Adjacent vessels and nerves are often injured as well. These injuries commonly result from seatbelt use in a frontal collision.
|A||AP radiograph of the left clavicle. There is an acute mid-clavicular fracture.|
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10% of the population of North America have asthma. That’s an astounding number of people. Luckily, the prevalence of asthma means that a lot of information is available for dealing with the symptoms of this disease. Read on for tips on how to prevent flare up and keep yourself healthy.
If you are out of shape, a solid exercise regimen can help improve your asthma symptoms. The fact is that under-exerting ourselves can lead the body to exhaustion more easily. By pushing your boundaries, you tone functions vital to your body’s general balance, making your body less likely to go haywire.
A good tip that can help you if you suffer from asthma is to make sure you have some kind of emergency plan in place. You never know when your asthma is going to flare up. When this happens, you should have some kind of emergency plan to act on so that you don’t waste any time.
Beware of certain medications like aspirin and penicillin if you suffer from asthma. These medications can actually worsen your asthma symptoms or trigger an attacks. Try to use substitutions such as paracetamol when you have a headache, or you are in pain, and be sure to ask your doctor what medications are safer to take.
When dealing with asthma, you should limit your contact with animals. Many people who have asthma also have an allergy to pets. Even if you do not have an allergy to pets, pets can carry trigger substances, such as dirt, in their fur. These substances could cause an attack without you being allergic to pets.
Avoid being around smoke and fumes. Smoke, including cigarette smoke and vehicle exhaust, contain small particles of dust and chemicals, which can irritate the bronchial linings. This irritation is dangerous for asthmatics, as it can interfere with breathing in an already compromised system. Breathing in cigarette smoke especially can trigger an asthma attack.
Use the right medication to control your asthma. Have you noticed that you can only prevent your asthma attack by using your inhaler more than twice a week? Do you have to refill your prescription several times a year? It might be a sign to visit your doctor and ask for a different medication to control your symptoms better.
Avoid eating foods that make you gassy or bloated. The added fullness of your abdomen will put extra pressure on your abdomen. This makes it even harder than usual for your diaphragm to expand and contract while breathing. While bloating will probably not trigger a full-on attack, it will interfere with your breathing.
Shower or bathe each evening before going to bed to remove any allergens that can trigger an asthma attack. Sleeping with allergens on your skin or hair can not only cause an attack, but may make you even more sensitive to specific triggers over time.
It is important to learn what triggers your asthma and how to deal with the effects. Knowledge is the key to dealing with this condition, and hopefully we’ve given you some great advice to help you on the path to controlling your symptoms. Asthma can strike anywhere so pass this advice on to those who may need it. | <urn:uuid:1117ccbb-9eb4-4680-86ed-1d158d566435> | {
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Scientists developed Graphene Hologram 3D without glasses
Three-dimensional holographic images and floating displays outside a screen have long been a favourite of science fiction movies such as Star Wars and the holographic maps in Avatar, But in real life, we’ve struggled to achieve the same effect without the use of annoying 3D glasses.
The success of James Cameron’s 3D movie Avatar caused a tremendous worldwide interest in flexible, high-definition and floating display devices, In fact, the dream of optically displaying a 3D object has been constantly driving the revolution of display technologies over the past decade.
Now scientists from the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia have used a graphene-based material to create a full-colour, pop-up, 3D floating display – visible from a wide angle with the naked eye.
They start work depend on a paper, published in October 2014 show how our technology realises wide viewing-angle and full-color floating 3D display in graphene-based materials. Ultimately this will help to transform wearable displaying devices into floating 3D displays.
A graphene-enabled floating display is based on the principle of holography invented by Dennis Gabor, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971. The idea of optical holography provides a revolutionary method for recording and displaying both 3D amplitude and phase of an optical wave that comes from an object of interest.
Holograms work by bending light off the screen in a carefully controlled way so that, instead of bouncing directly back into your eye, it makes it appear as though it’s projected off a separate display. The Swinburne researchers were able to create the floating 3D display by tweaking the refractive index – the measure of how much light bends as it passes through a medium – of graphene oxide. This allowed them to create tiny, nanoscale pixels that make up floating 3D images, visible to the naked eye.
“If you can change the refractive index you can create lots of optical effects,” said Gu in a press release. “Our technique can be leveraged to achieve a compact and versatile optical components for controlling light. We can create the wide angle display necessary for mobile phones and tablets.”
Importantly, the process doesn’t involve any heating or change in temperature and instead relies on a rapidly pulsing laser beam to reduce the graphene oxide, which causes the change in the way the light bends.
“Our technique enables the reconstructed floating 3D object to be vividly and naturally viewed in a wide angle up to 52 degrees,” write the authors. This is an order of magnitude greater than researchers have managed to achieve with 3D holographic displays based on liquid crystal phase modulators, which are limited to a few degrees of visibility.
So far the researchers have only been able to get graphene to display images up to 1 centimetre, but the explain over at The Conversation that this will be easy to scale up. Over in the UK, researchers are also making progress when it comes to creating real-time holograms.
“It is projected that graphene 3D display at tens of centimetre scale, perfect for the wearable displaying devices, will be available within five years. This new generation floating 3D display technology also has potential applications for military devices, entertainment, remote education and medical diagnosis,” they write. | <urn:uuid:6805dedc-45f6-4557-a78e-33c5bf0e15ef> | {
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Just shy of two years ago, this column explored the heightened importance of open government when public health is at risk. Multiple examples showed the government was not sharing timely information with the public, or even other branches of government, on issues such as clean drinking water and chronic wasting disease.
Some progress may be on the horizon, however. A bipartisan group of legislators has introduced a bill, AB 700, which would require the state Department of Natural Resources to notify counties within seven days when a water discharge permit-holder has violated groundwater quality standards. It also directs the department to create a notification system for other interested parties, such as residents, regarding the same violations.
Known as the Water Pollution Notification Act, the bill aims to prevent what happened in La Crosse in 2016. Then, La Crosse County health officials worked in vain for months to get information from the DNR about potential groundwater pollution from a local concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO). It turned out that pollution had been ongoing for years.
The bill’s co-author, Rep. Jill Billings, D-La Crosse, worked with county and DNR officials to draft the bill.
“The intent of this legislation is not to go after farmers,” Billings told Wisconsin Public Radio. It merely ensures that people who live near problem wells be notified “so that they can test their wells and make sure that they have clean water.”
This makes sense, and it is in keeping with the ideal of maximum transparency. As one county official expressed, “We make decisions based upon the best information that we have available at any point. So there cannot be a decision made to notify the public if we’re not aware of a problem.”
The bill is not limited to farm contamination; it would require disclosure of contaminants from industrial or other sources as well. The bill is co-authored by Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, whose district has experienced groundwater pollution from a class of contaminants called PFAS, and who has criticized withholding information about groundwater pollution.
Sadly, not everyone agrees that sharing information about groundwater contamination is a good idea. Officials in Lafayette County were roundly criticized in November for proposing to prosecute media and discipline board members who report results from a three-county groundwater study in a manner not favored by county officials. While that sweeping proposal did not pass, a scaled-back version received approval from a county committee, and some county officials still supported releasing results only to local media.
Scientists working on the study pushed back against the county proposal.
“We are public employees and our work is public work,” said state geologist Ken Bradbury. “We cannot choose to release some data to some parties and not to others.”
That’s the spirit. Information about clean drinking water and clean air is of fundamental importance to the public. That alone is reason for proper communication about testing results, instead of trying to withhold studies that taxpayers are funding.
We hope policymakers resolve in 2020 to bring additional transparency to matters of public health.
Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. Christa Westerberg, an attorney at Pines Bach law firm in Madison, is the group’s co-vice president. | <urn:uuid:d274fee0-90e9-4db4-9964-8d2d0cf0beef> | {
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Beagles are fantastic family pets and can bring yourself and your children years of joy and love. Owning a Beagle, however, also includes several commitments. One of the most important commitments you can make to your Beagle is financial. Though Beagles are generally a very healthy breed, they do have certain eye disorders that are pretty common to these types of dogs. These conditions can be costly and dangerous if not taken care of quickly, the best lash extensions and any Beagle owner must be ready to take the steps necessary to treat these disorders if they arise.
Retinal atrophy, glaucoma, and cataracts are probably all eye disorders you have heard of before. These are commonly found in many different breeds of dog, not just the Beagle. These conditions can be extremely serious and will eventually cause partial or complete blindness.
A condition that is more common in Beagles than in other breeds is nicititans gland prolapse, casually referred to as “cherry eye”. Cherry eye occurs when the inner eyelid (a transparent lid that shields the eye from debris) becomes infected and turns red. This will be a very unpleasant appearance, hence the name “cherry eye”. This condition is specific to animals that have a protruding nicititans gland, which is the scientific name for this transparent inner eyelid, often called the “third eyelid”.
When animals have this protruding gland, like the Beagle, it is more exposed to bacteria and will often become infected far more easily than for an animal on which it does not stick out. Scientists do not know the reason for a protruding nicititans gland, but it is assumed to be a hereditary flaw as opposed to having some sort of biological reason for being different.
In the past, in order to treat the cherry eye disorder, veterinarians would remove the nicititans gland entirely. This process would cause a persistent and recurring dry eye condition which can be difficult to manage and extremely uncomfortable for the Beagle. More recently, veterinarians have begun to replace the gland with tissue from the other eye or reconstructing what is left of the original gland after removal.
Llmsuis another common Beagle ailment. Distichiasis is, simply put, an ingrown the best lash extensions. While it sounds harmless, it can become very painful and infected easily. Distichiasis is not normal and is usually caused by eyelashes growing in the wrong place on the eyelid. At times this condition is actually nondestructive and does not require extensive treatment. In these cases, veterinary eye drops will usually help clear up any irritation that flares up. If these ingrown eyelashes become infected, however, the Beagle must undergo surgery in which the eyelashes are removed by burning or freezing them off.a
This article was written by John Jackson and has been contributed For more information on the Beagle, please visit our page the best lash extensions | <urn:uuid:94adbc92-be30-4590-8cfc-faa95a2f29ba> | {
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The much hyped, first-ever World Humanitarian Summit has come and gone. Convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, 9000 participants from 173 countries assembled in Istanbul on 23-24 May 2016. They included 55 heads of state and government, and hundreds of civil society, NGO, academic, and private sector organizations.
Issuing a call to ‘stand-up for humanity’, the Summit’s conclusions range from commitments to provide leadership to prevent and end conflict, uphold norms that safeguard humanity, leave no one behind, move from delivering aid to ending need, and expand ‘investment in humanity’.
A special session on global health, moderated by the former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, addressed crisis-related health challenges. These include the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases that cause public health emergencies; the desperate health needs of people forcibly displaced by conflicts such as in Syria or trying to cope with disasters; and the increasing violence against health workers, facilities, and patients.
The full webcast of the session can be seen at http://goo.gl/QZgCJx. The high-level panel from around the world emphasised that health is a basic and fundamental human right that is always a top concern expressed by crisis-affected people. But it is also often the most unmet need. The consequences are devastating, and particularly evident in protracted crises: unhealthy communities cannot cope nor recover effectively or become resilient to further crises.
A shifting global landscape is escalating the risks to global health security. The risk drivers include demographic and climatic / environmental factors, as well as urbanization and forced population movements.
Respect for health workers, facilities, and patients are central to the ongoing provision of life-saving health services to crisis-affected populations. The distinctive nature of health action during emergencies must be upheld in accord with established humanitarian principles and medical ethics. Meanwhile, it is of grave concern that attacks on healthcare and denial of access have become such a frequent feature of today’ armed conflicts.
The determinants of health are broadly multisectoral and so must be the response to crisis-related health needs. Additionally, the health sector, with its underpinning sciences and its evidence based practices can be pivotal in bridging the relief-development nexus. The universally-acknowledged moral dimension to health can help build the confidence and trust that may help with peace-building.
Meanwhile, current modalities are not always meeting the health needs of people during both acute and protracted crises in a consistent and predictable manner. Recognising also that threats to health are at an all-time high, do not respect national boundaries, and can create serious and wider humanitarian consequences, as shown by the experiences with avian influenza, Ebola, and Zika, the session urged that health should be put at the centre of collective humanitarian action through concrete individual and joint actions. Accordingly, five key areas are identified for a global undertaking on health in crisis settings.
First, we must use all our extensive knowledge and capacities to enable all crisis-affected people to gain access to an essential health package. This must be based on already well-known norms, standards, and guidelines, and be adaptable to local needs and circumstances. The gaps in provision for children and in the reproductive and sexual health needs of women must be corrected; and, psychosocial support as well as services for the elderly, chronically ill and those with non-communicable diseases and disabilities should not be overlooked.
Second, we must ensure better health outcomes and accountability in emergencies. This requires strong emergency health response capabilities at community and national levels, supported by predictable co-operation arrangements at regional and global levels to deploy surge assistance when local capacities are overwhelmed. Building–up strong national health systems are an imperative, and emergency responses should not undermine them. The multisectoral response to health crises must include improved collaboration among health, humanitarian, and development partners, as well as greater inclusion of local actors. Human resource gaps need to be plugged through scaled-up quality training and leadership development. Accountability for health outcomes needs standardized indicators and context-specific targets, applied with consistency, and the greater use of independent needs assessments and evaluations.
Third, we must better prepare for, and respond more effectively to infectious hazards and outbreaks. This calls for long-term investment in the core capacities required under the International Health Regulations, and their underpinning national public health systems. Engaging with communities to promote healthy behaviours and boosting their resilience, as well as correcting misinformation and misconceptions is vital. Our global health security depends on the timely, transparent and efficient coordination with which we tackle public health emergencies of national and international importance.
Fourth, we must do much more to prevent attacks and protect healthcare delivery. Attacks on healthcare and denial of access is a violation of international humanitarian law. They must be better documented and impunity ended by developing and implementing robust national legislation and policies, as well as recourse to international mechanisms when necessary. Continuous advocacy is warranted with all parties engaged in armed conflict. Communities and their leaders could also help with designing best practices that prevent and halt violence against or denial of healthcare.
Fifth, flexible and equitable multi-year resourcing is essential to secure health in crises. This includes enhanced national budgetary and donor contributions alongside mechanisms such as health insurance schemes, pandemic insurance, and expanded social safety nets. A greater proportion of funding should flow directly to local actors where feasible. There must be equity in service provision between refugees/internally displaced and affected host/national populations A multi-hazard approach, longer term investments in basic public health and service delivery functions, and private sector collaborations can all help to plug critical gaps on a sustainable basis.
The Summit recognised the special role of emergency health work: if we fail in health, we fail in the overall humanitarian endeavor. And without addressing the health needs of crisis-affected people, the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be fully realised.
Some 55 entities – representing a wider group of approximately 350 stakeholders – governments, international bodies, NGOs, civil society, and private sector – have indicated their alignment to the global undertaking on health in crisis settings, through some 72 commitments.
Will they be delivered, and will that transform health by reducing the burden of avoidable and preventable death, disease, and disability that adds to the burdens on the tens of millions of people caught up in new, recurrent, or unending crises?
The road from Istanbul will be long and difficult, requiring optimism and perseverance in equal measure. The bandwagon is already moving on to New York for the forthcoming UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants. In between, we must learn from experiences such as the atrocity in Nice and the prolonged pain of Aleppo that how we journey is going to be as important as getting to the destination.
This post already appeared on E-International Relations “Flesh and Blood” and is reposted here with permission. | <urn:uuid:caa19950-1ec4-45a9-806b-1faa98463cf4> | {
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