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Hudson River Almanac May 28 - June 4, 2006
In late spring from the Adirondacks to the sea, reports of migration give way to a preponderance of observations of young creatures entering the world.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
5/28 - Jamaica Bay, New York Bight: I was birding with my son at the Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Queens. Although he is a novice birder and owns an inexpensive pair of binoculars, he managed to find a very unique bird on West Pond. He called my attention to 3 ducks that looked "very different" and asked me if I knew what they were. At first I thought they were odd-colored mallards. Then I recognized that he had spotted 3 fulvous whistling ducks. It was a life bird for both of us.
- Joe O'Connell, Joe O'Connell Jr.
6/1 - Jamaica Bay, New York Bight: There are at least 3 fulvous whistling ducks at the Refuge. I saw a group of 3 yesterday, and they've been recorded in the sightings log near the temporary visitors' center. One entry in the log recorded that a pair was mating. Is it possible that a pair will nest at Jamaica Bay?
- Phyllis Steller
[The fulvous whistling ducks have been at the refuge for about a week but it is unlikely that they would nest here. Although they have an extensive range, these ducks are far more common in South America than in the mainland U.S. They have only been recorded nesting in the U.S. once or twice, and these were well south of us. There is no telling how these birds got here. I like to think they are birds simply flying as they will; other refuge regulars suggest that they may be escaped pets. We had a black-bellied whistling duck at the refuge a few years ago that set off quite a debate about its origins. Those were never resolved, and the duck didn't have much to say about them. Their life history suggests they can be nest parasites. Theoretically, they could find some other duck nest, common enough at the refuge, and deposit an egg or two, consequently making them a refuge breeding bird. We'll have to keep our eye out for any "ugly ducklings" among the black ducks, mallards, and Canada geese. Dave Taft, refuge manager.]
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
5/28 - Croton River, HRM 34: The Boyz at the Bridge were gathered and speaking of the peculiar fish they've seen this spring. Big John asked me about a fish he'd caught "with the head of a catfish and the body of a rainbow trout." I finally deduced that it was a channel catfish. George Hatzmann allowed as how he'd caught one himself, in a bait net. They seem to be colonizing the lower reaches of the estuary, moving into brackish water. Another reported the catch of a butterfish, a species much less common in the estuary than it was three decades ago. But the prize, so far unidentified, is a series of almost a dozen that one of the fellows caught in deep water on small bits of worm. They looked like tomcod, but weren't; they had dots along the lateral line and were all about 8" long. My guess is fourbeard rockling, a species of cod, but that is as far as I'll go until a specimen comes out of Stanley's freezer for in-hand scrutiny. (To be continued.)
- Christopher Letts
5/29 - Sandy Hook, NJ: Well, the brant did it again. These small geese began straggling out of here a week ago (there were still a few hundred around the bay marshes on May 24). By today, Sandy Hook was brantless. As they do every year around Memorial Day, they had all departed on their journey to Arctic breeding grounds. So now we set our calendar watches for Columbus Day when they will return to their wintering grounds here, to charm us at night with their soothing "ronk" calls as we wade the backwaters casting plugs for striped bass.
- Dery Bennett
5/30 - Newcomb, HRM 302: It was a typical "July day," hazy, hot and humid, when the storm rolled in. We watched it come at us from across the lake. The trees started to whip, thunder rumbled, lightning blazed, hailstones fell (about the size of a finger tip), and it poured rain. The air temperature dropped about 20°F. in a matter of minutes. When it ended, we had over 2" of precipitation. Part of the road into the Goodnow Flow was washed out as was part of our walkway to the Adirondack Park Visitor Center. Lightning struck a tree 150' from Mike Tracy's house. Tonight, as it was getting dark, we had not one, not 2, but 5 (possibly 6) hummingbirds competing for one of our feeders. I've never seen that many in one place before. Briefly, 3 fed at the same time, something I had not seen here before. Usually one stakes out all the feeders and drives the others away. It is shaping up as a bumper crop hummer year.
- Ellen Rathbone
5/30 - Tivoli South Bay, HRM 98.5: We were sampling killifish in Tivoli South Bay. At low tide we saw a bumblebee moth (snowberry clearwing - Hemaris diffinis) puddling on the exposed mud. This is a large day-flying moth with extremely rapid wing beats and a bright yellow and black abdomen.
- Bob Schmidt, Alec Schmidt
5/30 - Hyde Park, HRM 82: I saw my first firefly of the season tonight while checking my field in Hyde Park for nesting turtles. The painted turtles have started nesting, but the Blanding's and box turtles haven't yet. The Blanding's turtles in LaGrange are feasting on salamander juveniles now, in a small vernal pool.
- Jude Holdsworth
5/31 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Bunchberry is blooming and I suspect the yellow Clintonia is, too - it had buds a couple of days ago. Mosquitos are out in full force now, competing with the blackflies for fresh flesh.
- Ellen Rathbone
5/31 - Stuyvesant to Catskill, HRM 127-113: Working from two small boats, a crew from DEC's Hudson River Fisheries Unit haul seined the shallows at a half dozen sites in spawning habitat for American shad and striped bass. It's a great way to experience the productivity and vitality of the estuary, wrestling with scores of striped bass, some in the 30 lb. range, as each is measured, tagged, and released. Many other fish are netted as well, and today the catch was especially varied. In addition to stripers and a disappointing 3 American shad, we collected many gizzard shad and common carp (including a mirror carp variant with only a few scattered scales), a single grass carp weighing 31 lb., 3 rudd (see 5/20 Almanac entry), plenty of white suckers, white and channel catfishes, a few smallmouth and largemouth bass, a walleye, and several large freshwater drum. Overhead we recorded at least 3 bald eagles and one of the pair of peregrine falcons nesting on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. The day's oddest observation was the behavior of a flock of about 40 northbound brant when they reached the power lines crossing high over the Hudson at Athens. Instead of passing under, the birds veered away and circled back to the south before flying up to the lines a second time, only to spook again. This pattern of approach and last minute avoidance went on for at least five minutes before the flock headed westward, gained altitude, and flew over a lower section of the power lines near the Athens shore. Members of the haul-seining crew told me that they frequently see brant exhibit this behavior at power lines and bridges crossing the river.
- Steve Stanne
[The Hudson River Fisheries Unit's Spawning Stock Survey collects American shad and striped bass on their spawning grounds from Newburgh to Catskill between early May and early June. A haul seine 500' long is set by boat in a half circle from one point on shore to another, and then pulled ashore by hand. Length, weight, and scale samples are taken before the fish are tagged and released. Data on age structure (the number of fish of each age) allows the Unit's biologists to assess the health of each year's spawning population.
5/31 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Glass eel season is over for this year. The newly-arrived American eels are no longer "glass," but tiny whippets of black. Not unlike Thoreau's regime at Walden Pond, there is nothing like a daily routine to the same place to help you appreciate the arrival of spring. When we began on March 15, the trail to the brook was a Spartan late-winter landscape. Now, 79 days later, we need hand shears to cut away the multiflora rose and carefully chosen steps to get over the knee-high poison ivy as we wend our way through the walls of green. From the March ice along the shore to today's great egrets, orioles, and the orange and yellow tulip tree flower petals drifting downstream, the change has been dramatic. As I hauled the net from the brook, I spotted a bald eagle feather on the gravelly shore where the brook enters the tidal Wappinger. These shallows are a very good foraging area.
- Tom Lake
5/31 - Eagle Nest 124, Westchester County: This new bald eagle nest, designated NY124, is now the southernmost on the tidewater Hudson. Pete Nye climbed the tree, a huge white pine, to the nest at least 115' off the ground. He found raccoon scat on a horizontal limb near the top, evidence of an earlier egg or chick predator. To prevent this from happening again, we applied a "predator guard" around the 12.5 ' circumference of the tree. This is a broad band of sheet metal fastened just above the ground, too slick for racoons, opossums and other predators to climb. There were two chicks: a female estimated to be about 7.5 weeks old, and a male about 6.5 weeks. Also in the nest were the remains of 2 huge white catfish, among the favorite foods of eaglets. Pete lowered the male chick down to us in a special bag. The female was too large to be lowered, so she was banded in the nest.
We took the male eaglet out of the bag and put a soft hood on his head to calm him. If raptors cannot see, they often remain still. This was not a true falconer's "hood" but rather a child's soft sock with the toe cut out. I held the eaglet, one hand around his huge yellow, sharp-taloned feet and the other applying gentle pressure to his chest to keep him in place. I could feel his rapid heartbeat against my palm. As I looked at his blinking eyes under the hood, I thought that if this eaglet meets with good fortune he will fledge in a month, spend the next four years learning to be an eagle, exploring and making contacts with other birds, and then eventually find a mate for life and for the next 30 years rear his own young.
We took a blood sample and measurements: the length of the hallux (rear) talon to verify gender, the length of the 8th primary feather to estimate age, and a few others - an impromptu physical. It was hot and humid on the forest floor; the eaglet panted, his tongue pulsed, he reached up and took my fingers in his beak and gave a small squeeze. It was time to return him to the nest in the tree top. Once back in place with the other nestling, in less than an hour life in the forest canopy would resume its normal pace.
- Steve Joule, Chris Desorbo, Pete Nye, Tom Lake
6/1 - Mohonk, HRM 78: Yesterday, I saw my first monarch butterfly sipping nectar on chive flowers at the Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center Butterfly Garden. Today, I found my first egg of the season on some milkweed, an early messenger of summer. Previously, the earliest date I ever found eggs was June 15. For years I would spend long hours searching for monarch eggs to have by the end of June. The growing caterpillars were an essential mystery for all to observe. I could find many by July 4th. In the past 10 years, however, that has changed. Monarchs are becoming fewer and some years it's July 22 before I find any caterpillars. So I rejoice in this year's early gift of butterfly and egg. Let's hope this species somehow overcomes the weather and human indifference that causes the changes in patterns and longevity of these wild things that inspire us.
- Betty Boomer
6/1 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 74.5: Last June I caught my first carp and was "hooked" (pun intended) on them. It was about 25 lb. and gave a good fight. I fish with doughballs made of flour and corn meal. I add canned corn at times as well as sugar, jello, oats and a few other ingredients. This afternoon I caught and released a huge carp and then returned in the evening to catch what appeared to be the same fish! It had to be over 35 lb. It was just under 3' long (my rod is 6' and the fish came up just short of the middle). Once again I removed the hook with pliers and pushed the fish back into the river. I think the Hudson is the greatest asset we have in this beautiful valley.
- Glen Heinsohn
6/1 - Town of Greenburgh, HRM 35: The patchy distribution of habitat in suburban Westchester led to an odd juxtaposition of bird species at the Highview Elementary School. On a playground heavily shaded by large oak trees a parent killdeer called loudly to warn its 2 chicks of our presence. Killdeer are birds of open spaces; they often nest on the flat gravel covered roofs of school buildings and forage on nearby ballfields. But as we watched, the killdeer chicks made quick forays into a thick woodland nearby, from which a wood thrush sang its lovely song.
- Steve Stanne, Jason Novak
6/2 - Wappinger Creek, HRM 67.5: Two pairs of Baltimore orioles, orange-black males and yellow-black females, added to the incredible late-spring color along the tidewater creek. Multiflora rose and dame's rocket added fragrance to the palette.
- Tom Lake
6/3 - Jamaica Bay, New York Bight: Horseshoe crabs and shorebirds had returned for their annual visit to Plum Beach. Females crawl unto shore with males clipped to their carapace. One female had at least 3 males attached. To watch the wonder of children at this New York City Audubon event is as exciting as seeing these prehistoric creatures. Shorebirds were feeding, fattening up for the last leg of their journey to breeding grounds far to the north. Oystercatchers seem to be increasing in numbers each year. Brant that were here two weeks ago have left for Baffin Bay where they breed. We will not see them again till the first week in October.
- Regina McCarthy
6/4 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Despite the endless rain, much is blooming: hawkweed and ox-eye daises are just starting, the Clintonia is out, as are blue-eyed grass, plantains, bird's-foot trefoil and cinquefoil.
- Ellen Rathbone
6/4 - Wappinger Falls, HRM 67.5: A female house finch was foraging while trying to keep a larger and very vocal cowbird fledgling fed. A pair of adult cowbirds lit near the fledgling and exchanged a few chirps. The fledgling then flew off with them, leaving the foster parent behind.
- Stephen M. Seymour
[Like the fulvous whistling duck, brown-headed cowbirds can be nest parasites. They sneak their eggs into other bird species' nests when the incubating parents are absent. The foster parents then incubate, hatch, feed, and fledge the cowbird young, often at the cost of their own. Tom Lake.]
6/4 - Eagle Nest NY62, Dutchess County: Day 63: By dawn the rain had stopped; in 24 hours 1.04" had fallen. The two adults were sharing a limb in the sanctuary pine 200 feet west of the nest. The eaglets jostled around playing with whatever was left from breakfast. With the two young now approaching adult size, the nest is becoming very crowded.
- Tom Lake | <urn:uuid:f3533e0e-af54-42c8-8ecd-81deb9144d3f> | {
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kottke.org posts about pimovie
Pi, God, and apartment supercomputers Jul 18 2005
The New Yorker recently ran a feature on how a couple of mathematicians helped The Met photograph a part of The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries. That same week, they ran from their extensive archives a 1992 profile of the same mathematicians, brothers David and Gregory Chudnovsky. The Chudnovskys were then engaged in calculating as many digits of pi as they could using a homemade supercomputer housed in their Manhattan apartment. There's some speculation that director Darren Aronfsky based his 1998 film, Pi, on the Chudnovskys and after reading the above article, there's little doubt that's exactly what he did:
They wonder whether the digits contain a hidden rule, an as yet unseen architecture, close to the mind of God. A subtle and fantastic order may appear in the digits of pi way out there somewhere; no one knows. No one has ever proved, for example, that pi does not turn into nothing but nines and zeros, spattered to infinity in some peculiar arrangement. If we were to explore the digits of pi far enough, they might resolve into a breathtaking numerical pattern, as knotty as "The Book of Kells," and it might mean something. It might be a small but interesting message from God, hidden in the crypt of the circle, awaiting notice by a mathematician.
The Chudnovsky article also reminds me of Contact by Carl Sagan in which pi is prominently featured as well.
According to Wolfram Research's Mathworld, the current world record for the calculation of digits in pi is 1241100000000 digits, held by Japanese computer scientists Kanada, Ushio and Kuroda. Kanada is named in the article as the Chudnovskys main competitor at the time.
(Oh, and as for patterns hidden in pi, we've already found one. It's called the circle. Just because humans discovered circles first and pi later shouldn't mean that the latter is derived from the former.) | <urn:uuid:d34fa334-0767-4289-b1bc-0392e180cdaf> | {
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Ancient Sheep Fold
The enclosure also provided protection from wolves and other animals of prey. The enclosure also contained the door of the sheepfold, an opening for the sheep to come in and go out. It was at this opening at the Shepherd would lie, in order for a thief or Wolf to come in he would have to climb over the Shepherd at the door. The Shepherd would also inspect each of a sheep as it passed under the rod at the door of the sheepfold. In the morning the shepherd would call his sheep and they would exit the fold because they knew his voice.
John 10:1 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber
In this beautiful figure reference is made to the place of shelter for the sheep where they might repose at night, and be safe from the attacks of wild beasts. The modern sheep-folds of Syria, which no doubt resemble those of ancient times, are low, flat opening into a court, which is surrounded by a stone wall, protected on the top by a layer of thorns. A door way carefully guarded forms the entrance. Sheep- folds are referred to in a number of passages. See Num, xxxii, 16, 24, 36; 1 Sam, xxiv, 3; 2 Chron. xxxii, 28; Psa. Ixxviii, 70. [Freeman, Manners and Customs of the Bible]
A simple improvised sheepfold. Such is sometimes made by the shepherd when he is a distance from his home, or especially when he may be in the territory of mountains. It is a temporary affair that can be taken down easily when it comes time to move on to another location. A fence is built of tangled thorn bushes or rude bowers. This is all the protection that is needed, as the shepherds often sleep with their flocks when the weather permits. Ezekiel mentions such a sheepfold when he predicts the future of Israel: "I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be" (Ezekiel 34:14). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
More permanent sheepfolds. Such shelters are usually built by the shepherd in a valley, or else on the sunny side of a hill where there is protection from cold winds. This fold is a low building with arches in front of it, and a wall forming an outdoor enclosure, joining the building. When the weather is mild, the sheep and goats are allowed to be in the enclosure during the night, but if the weather is stormy, or the evenings are cold, then the flock is shut up in the interior part of the fold, with its protection of roof and walls. The walls of the enclosure are about three feet wide at the bottom, and become narrower at the top. They are from four to six feet high. Large stones are used in constructing the outsides of the wall, and they are also placed on the top, and then the center is filled with smaller pieces of stone, of which there is much in the land. Sharp, thorn bushes are put on the top of this wall to protect the sheep from wild animals or robbers. There is a gate guarded by a watchman. JESUS made reference to the familiar sheepfold of Israel when He spoke those memorable words of His: "He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter [watchman] openeth. (John 10:1-3). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
LARGE NUMBER OF SHEEP IN PALESTINE From the days of Abraham down to modern times, sheep have abounded in the Holy Land. The Arabs of Bible lands have largely been dependent through the centuries upon sheep for their living. The Jews of Bible times were first shepherds and then farmers, but they never abandoned entirely their shepherd life. The large number of sheep in the land can be understood when it is realized that Job had fourteen thousand sheep (Job 42:12), and that King Solomon at the Temple's dedication, sacrificed one hundred and twenty thousand sheep (I Kings 8:63). Fat-tailed sheep the variety mostly in use. The fat tail provides reserve strength for the sheep, much like the hump does on a camel. There is energy in the tail. When the sheep is butchered, this fatty tail is quite valuable. People will buy the tail, or part of it, and use it for frying. That this variety of sheep was in use in ancient times is seen by references in the Pentateuch to the fat tail of the sheep. "Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards" (Exodus 29:22). "And the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards" (Leviticus 3:9). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
Intimate knowledge of the sheep. The shepherd is deeply interested in every single one of his flock. Some of them may be given pet names because of incidents connected with them. They are usually counted each evening as they enter the fold, but sometimes the shepherd dispenses with the counting, for he is able to feel the absence of anyone of his sheep. With one sheep gone, something is felt to be missing from the appearance of the entire flock. One shepherd in the Lebanon district was asked if he always counted his sheep each evening. He replied in the negative, and then was asked how then he knew if all his sheep were present. This was his reply: "Master, if you were to put a cloth over my eyes, and bring me any sheep and only let me put hands on its face, I could tell in a moment if it was mine or not." When H. R. P. Dickson visited the desert Arabs, he witnessed an event that revealed the amazing knowledge which some of them have of their sheep. One evening, shortly after dark, an Arab shepherd began to call out one by one the names of his fifty-one mother sheep, and was able to pick out each one's lamb, and restore it to its mother to suckle. To do this in the light would be a feat for many shepherds, but this was done in complete darkness, and in the midst of the noise coming from the ewes crying for their lambs, and the lambs crying for their mothers. But no Oriental shepherd ever had a more intimate knowledge of his sheep than JESUS our great Shepherd has of those who belong to His flock. He once said of Himself: "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep" (John 10:14). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
HANDLING AND GATHERING THE SHEEP Several flocks sometimes allowed to mix. More than one flock may be kept in the same fold, and often flocks are mixed while being watered at a well. For the time being, no attempt is made to separate them. Jacob saw such a mixture of flocks: "Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the East. And he looked, and behold, a well in the field, and lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it" (Genesis 29:1-3). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
The wild animals of Israel today include wolves, panthers, hyenas, and jackals. The lion has not lived in the land since the days of the Crusaders. The last bear was killed over half a century ago. David as a shepherd lad experienced the coming of a lion and of a bear against his flock, and by the LORD's help, he was able to slay both of them (I Samuel 17:3437). Amos tells of a shepherd attempting to rescue one of the flock from the lion's mouth: "As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear" (Amos 3:12). One experienced Syrian shepherd is reported to have followed a hyena to his lair and compelled the animal to give up his prey. He won his victory over the wild beast by himself howling in characteristic fashion, striking on rocks with his heavy staff, and flinging deadly stones with his slingshot. The sheep was then carried in his arms back to the fold. The faithful shepherd must be willing to risk his life for the sake of the flock, and perhaps give his life for them. As our Good Shepherd JESUS not only risked his life for us, He actually gave Himself on our behalf. He said: "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
Ability to separate the sheep. When it becomes necessary to separate several flocks of sheep, one shepherd after another will stand up and call out: "Tahhoo! Tahhoo!" or a similar call of his own choosing. The sheep lift up their heads, and after a general scramble, begin following each one his own shepherd. They are thoroughly familiar with their own shepherd's tone of voice. Strangers have often used the same call, but their attempts to get the sheep to follow them always fail. The words of JESUS are indeed true to Eastern shepherd life when he said: "The sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers" (John 10:4,5). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
Separating goats from sheep. At certain times it becomes necessary to separate the goats from the sheep, although they may be cared for by the same shepherd that cares for the sheep. They do not graze well together, and so it frequently becomes necessary to keep them apart from the sheep while they are grazing. Dr. John A. Broadus, when visiting Israel, reported seeing a shepherd leading his flock of white sheep and black goats all mingled together. When he turned into a valley, having led them across the Plain of Sharon, he turned around and faced his flock: "When a sheep came up, he tapped it with his long staff on the right side of the head, and it quickly moved off to his right; a goat he tapped on the other side, and it went to his left." This is the picture the Saviour had in mind when he spoke the solemn words: "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left" (Matthew 25:32-33). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]
Fold in Easton's Bible Dictionary
an enclosure for flocks to rest together (Isa. 13:20). Sheep-folds
are mentioned Num. 32:16, 24, 36; 2 Sam. 7:8; Zeph. 2:6; John 10:1,
etc. It was prophesied of the cities of Ammon (Ezek. 25:5), Aroer
(Isa. 17:2), and Judaea, that they would be folds or couching-places
for flocks. "Among the pots," of the Authorized Version (Ps. 68:13),
is rightly in the Revised Version, "among the sheepfolds."
The Bible Mentions a lot concerning "Fold"
- I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather
the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of
Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they
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Preeclampsia after Pregnancy
Postpartum preeclampsia is an unusual condition that happens when a lady has high blood pressure and excess protein in her urine soon after childbirth.
What is Preeclampsia after Pregnancy?
Most cases of postpartum preeclampsia develop within 48 hours of childbirth. Nevertheless, postpartum preeclampsia in some cases develops as much as 6 weeks after giving birth. This is called late postpartum preeclampsia.
Postpartum preeclampsia needs timely treatment. Left untreated, postpartum preeclampsia can lead to seizures and other major complications.
What is postpartum preeclampsia? Preeclampsia is a comparable condition that develops throughout pregnancy and usually solves with the birth of the baby.
Symptoms of Preeclampsia after Pregnancy
Postpartum preeclampsia can be challenging to find by yourself. Numerous women who experience postpartum preeclampsia show no signs or symptoms during pregnancy. Likewise, you might not think that anything is wrong when you’re concentrated on recuperating after childbirth and caring for a newborn.
Signs and symptoms of preeclampsia after pregnancy – which are usually just like those of preeclampsia that takes place during pregnancy– might consist of:
- Hypertension (hypertension)– 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or higher
- Excess protein in your urine (proteinuria).
- Severe headaches.
- Changes in vision, including temporary loss of vision, blurred vision or light level of sensitivity.
- Swelling of the face and limbs.
- Upper abdominal pain, usually under the ribs on the right side.
- Nausea or throwing up.
- Reduced urination.
- Sudden weight gain, typically more than 2 pounds (0.9 kilogram) a week.
If you have signs or symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia shortly after giving birth, call your healthcare supplier right away. Depending on the conditions, you may require immediate treatment.
The reasons for postpartum preeclampsia and preeclampsia that takes place during pregnancy aren’t well-understood. While preeclampsia is usually treated by giving birth, it’s believed that postpartum preeclampsia is set into movement throughout pregnancy however doesn’t cause symptoms until after delivery.
Minimal research study suggests that danger factors for preeclampsia after pregnancy might consist of:
- Hypertension throughout your latest pregnancy (hypertensive disease). You’re at enhanced threat of postpartum preeclampsia if you established high blood pressure after 20 weeks of pregnancy (gestational hypertension).
- Weight problems. The risk of postpartum preeclampsia is higher if you’re overweight.
- Household history. Having a first-degree relative– a parent or sibling– with a history of preeclampsia increases your danger of preeclampsia.
- Age. Women who are below 20 or older than 40 are at increased danger of preeclampsia.
- Having multiples. Having twins or more babies increases your danger of preeclampsia.
Recent research studies suggest that the dad’s genes may play a role in an enhanced threat of preeclampsia.
Issues of postpartum preeclampsia consist of:
- Postpartum eclampsia. Preeclampsia after pregnancy is basically postpartum preeclampsia plus seizures. Postpartum eclampsia can completely harm crucial organs, including your brain, liver and kidneys. Left neglected, postpartum eclampsia can cause coma. In many cases, the condition is fatal.
- Pulmonary edema. This deadly lung condition occurs when excess fluid develops in the lungs.
- Stroke. A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is disrupted or significantly lowered, denying brain tissue of oxygen and food. A stroke is a medical emergency situation.
- Thromboembolism. Thromboembolism is the blockage of a blood vessel by a blood clot that travels from another part of the body. This condition is likewise a medical emergency situation.
- HELLP syndrome. HELLP syndrome– which means hemolysis (the damage of red cell), elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count– can be dangerous.
Similar to preeclampsia, postpartum preeclampsia may also enhance your danger of future heart disease.
Preparing for your appointment
If you’ve just recently given birth and have any signs or symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia, contact your health care service provider right away.
Here’s some info to assist you prepare for your appointment, in addition to what to get out of your healthcare supplier.
What you can do
Before your consultation, you might want to:.
- Ask about pre-appointment restrictions. In many cases you’ll be seen instantly. If that’s not the case, ask whether you must restrict your activities while you await your consultation.
- Discover a loved one or pal who can join you for your appointment. Fear and anxiety might make it tough to concentrate on what your health care provider states. Take someone along who can help you keep in mind all the info.
- Write down concerns to ask your health care company. That method, you won’t forget anything crucial that you want to ask, and you can maximize your time with your health care supplier.
Below are some basic concerns to ask your health care supplier about postpartum preeclampsia.
How major is my condition?
What are the treatment choices?
What kinds of tests do I require?
Can I remain to do my normal activities?
How can I best handle other health conditions together with postpartum preeclampsia?
What signs or symptoms should trigger me to call you or go to the hospital?
In addition to the concerns you’ve prepared, don’t hesitate to ask other concerns throughout your consultation.
What to get out of your doctor
Your healthcare provider is likely to ask you a number of concerns, too. For instance:.
Have you had any unusual symptoms lately, such as blurred vision or headaches?
When did you first notice your signs or symptoms?
Do you generally have high blood pressure?
Did you experience preeclampsia or postpartum preeclampsia with any previous pregnancies?
Have you had other complications throughout a previous pregnancy?
Do you have other health conditions?
Do you have a history of headache or migraine headache?
Tests and diagnosis
If you’ve already been released from the healthcare facility after giving birth and your health care company suspects that you have postpartum preeclampsia, you might have to be readmitted to the medical facility.
Postpartum preeclampsia is generally identified with lab tests:.
Blood tests. These tests can figure out how well your liver and kidneys are functioning and whether your blood has a typical number of platelets– the cells that help blood clot.
Urinalysis. Your health care company might test a sample of your urine to see if it includes protein.
Treatments and drugs
Postpartum preeclampsia may be treated with medication, including:.
- Medication to lower hypertension. If your blood pressure is alarmingly high, your healthcare service provider may prescribe a medication to lower your high blood pressure (antihypertensive medication).
- Medication to avoid seizures. An anticonvulsive medication, such as magnesium sulfate, can assist avoid seizures. Magnesium sulfate is usually taken for 24 hours. After treatment with magnesium sulfate, your health care company will carefully monitor your high blood pressure, urination and other symptoms.
If you’re breast-feeding, it’s typically considered safe to breast-feed while taking these medications. Ask your health care company if you have any questions or you’re unsure.
Coping and assistance
The postpartum duration typically brings physical pain in addition to emotional ups and downs. If you’re detected with postpartum preeclampsia, you might need to stay in the health center longer than you planned or be readmitted to the hospital. This can trigger extra stress.
Lean on enjoyed ones and other close contacts for support. Likewise, deal with your health care service provider to figure out how you can securely manage your condition and your function as mom of a newborn. | <urn:uuid:c843b789-34a9-4ff4-9082-d64e9677dc93> | {
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Frequently Asked Questions
When was FortLaramie established and what years was it in operation?
1834 -1890. Fort Laramie was first established as a private fur trading post in 1834. Officially, this first Fort Laramie was named “Fort William” in honor of its founder William Sublette. Fort William was replaced in 1841 by the second Fort Laramie, which was named “Fort John” and also served as a private trading post. Fort John was purchased by the military in 1849 and officially was renamed “Fort Laramie.” Fort Laramie continued in operation until 1890 when it was abandoned.
Did Fort Laramie have a wall surrounding it?
Yes and No. The original posts Fort William (1834-1841) and Fort John (1841-1849) did have walls around them the former was made of cottonwood logs and the latter was an adobe walled post. These forts were very small and the walls were used as protection against the theft of property more than against attack by Native Americans. Fort Laramie (1849-1890) did not have a wall. The post was simply too large and lumber to scarce to build a wall of the length required. The early plan was to construct a stone wall around the fort but the idea was discarded after the cost estimate for construction was $50,000 (in 1850 that was a rather large chunk of change). The overriding factor was simply that it was not needed. The Northern Plains tribes simply avoided attacking a well-armed military posts. | <urn:uuid:0ec75ff9-e351-4a2c-975b-6a024ab92554> | {
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for Name of the Rose
One of the central issues upon which we will
focus in this course is the impact that modern science had upon
the world views of Western people. I have asked you to watch
Name of the Rose because it conveys quite well a sense
of how the medieval world was organized, at least in terms of
how knowledge was structured.
The idea that different epochs organized knowledge in different
ways may be a new one to you. Michel Foucault, a recent French
philosopher, coined the term episteme to describe the
structure of knowledge appropriate to an age. From this point
of view, we can say that the medieval episteme was very
different from that of our modern, or postmodern, world.
As you watch the film and then reflect upon it, I want you to
focus upon the structure of the medieval episteme. That
is, think about how the film presents knowledge as it was viewed
by the medievals. It may help you to think about what counts
as knowledge for modern folk who treat science as the paradigmatic
form of knowledge. What is it to believe in science? How are
truths established by science? What do the monks see as the source
of truths? How are their truths established?
In a sense, I am asking you to focus less on the particulars
of the story conveyed in this film than to think about the structure
of the world it presents to you. It is a world that is ruled
by very different assumptions than our world, so we need to work
at developing our sense of what those differences amount to.
Please come to class ready to discuss these issues. | <urn:uuid:27128a24-b420-47c0-911e-1003688d4bd6> | {
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Factory chimneys vie with the tower and spires of Worcester Cathedral. The main industry of Worcester, the model for Helstonleigh in Mrs Halliburton's Troubles, was glove-making. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, nearly half the country's gloves were made in and around the town (see "Spirit of Enterprise"). Source: Noake's Guide, frontispiece.
Introduction: Glove Manufacturing in Worcester
Mrs Henry Wood's father, Thomas Price, owned a glove manufactory in Worcester. In his memoir of Mrs Wood, her son Charles recalls his maternal grandfather's close involvement with Worcester Cathedral, and also the difficulties he encountered in his business life, in the wake of William Huskisson's free trade policies. "The immediate effect upon English glove manufacturers was disastrous," he writes. "Men of limited works and means were ruined and disappeared at once and for ever. Others, more wealthy, kept on, hoping against hope, only to disappear in their turn. Those who weathered the storm did so at immense sacrifices" (Memorials, 44). All this is well supported in histories of glove-making in Worcester, which show, for instance, that out of a thousand men on 10 January 1832, only 113 were fully employed, and of the rest 465 were partially employed on miniscule wages, so that the poorhouses were overflowing: "Worcester, the chief glove city outside London, continued to decline" (Smith 60). Price, one of those who hung on rather than abandon his workforce to unemployment, never recovered from the losses he incurred in these years. He managed to enjoy "that earthly blessing, an easy competency, to the last; but it was all very different from what had once been" (Charles Wood, Memorials, 45). This traumatic phase of her family history makes the background to Mrs Wood's fourth novel, Mrs Halliburton's Troubles (1862), in which she calls for principled behaviour both in the domestic and industrial spheres, and across classes.
The Heroine as Exemplar
Volume II (1862) of The Quiver, the volume in which Mrs Halliburton's Troubles was originally serialised. Note the subtitle.
Mrs Halliburton's Troubles was first published in the religious periodical, The Quiver, from 19 April to 6 December 1862, alongside items with titles like "He Giveth the Victory" and "Prayers," and was described by Charles Wood as teaching a "powerful ... lesson" (Memorials, 257). It was meant to, and it does so by following the fortunes and misfortunes of Jane Tait, the eldest daughter of a London clergyman, who marries a poor but aspirational schoolteacher, Edgar Halliburton. Jane had known from the start that their lives would not be easy, but had learnt from her father "[t]hat troubles, regarded rightly, only lead us nearer to God" (14). And this is indeed what she experiences. Though life is still a struggle, Edgar starts off well, becoming a Professor at King's College, London, and the couple are happy. But Edgar falls ill, resigns his position, and takes the family away from the busy city to the pleasant cathedral town of Helstonleigh, where he has a cousin and an old friend. He hopes to recover his health and start teaching again. Here, however, Jane is coldly rebuffed by the cousin, the worldly Julia Dare; Edgar himself dies before he can make provision for his family. Jane is left completely penniless, with their four children to support. She is almost at her wits' end, and feels as anyone in her position would, tossing and turning in bed and even weeping in front of the children. But she is resourceful, and soon proves to be both a strong woman and an exemplary mother. She starts by becoming a "gloveress" of a somewhat superior variety, and taking in lodgers.
The Glove Trade in the Narrative
Much is said here of the glove trade, as, for example, in this early passage, introducing the moment when Jane decides to enter it herself:
During the summer weather, whenever Jane had occasion to walk through Honey Fair, on her way to this shop, she would linger to admire the women at their open doors and windows, busy over their nice clean work. Rocking the cradle with one foot, or jogging the baby on their knees, to a tune of their own composing, their hands would be ever active at their employment. Some made the gloves; that is, seamed the fingers together and put in the thumbs, and these were called "makers." Some welted, or hemmed the gloves round at the edge of the wrist; these were called "welters." Some worked the three ornamental lines on the back; and these were called "pointers." Some of the work was done in what was called a patent machine, whereby the stitches were rendered perfectly equal. And some of the stouter gloves were stitched together, instead of being sewn: stitching so beautifully regular and neat, that a stranger would look at it in admiration. In short, there were, and are, different branches in the making and sewing of gloves, as there are in most trades. (97)
This cottage industry scenario sounds idyllic. There is nothing here either of the "ceaseless roar and mighty beat and dizzying whirl of machinery" in Mrs Gaskell's cotton mills in North and South (1855), where the fluff that flies off during carding "winds round the lungs and tightens them up" of girls like poor Bessy Higgins (498, 118); or of the fierce "morning to evening, seven to seven" toil at the furnace of the female nail-makers described by John Ruskin's Fors Clavigera (VII: 174) later on (1877) — although the nail-makers also work at home, and in Worcestershire, too. The gloveresses, it seems, can mix their labours pleasantly with their child-rearing duties, and the results of their specialised skills are also satisfying. No wonder it strikes Jane "that she might find employment at this work" (97). She soon embarks on it, doing the fine "French point" finishing at the back of the gloves.
However, Jane's eldest son William sees a different side of things when he goes to work for the glove manufacturer, Thomas Ashley. He sees how the skins are washed, treated with water and egg-yolk and trodden in a tub, dried, smoothed, softened, dyed, pared of any remaining flesh, smoothed again, rough cut, slit and shaped before being sent to the women for sewing, and then pulled, padded or rubbed to brightness, sorted, packed and labelled, and sent off: "A great deal, you see, before one pair of gloves can be turned out" (134). Before his father died, William had been a pupil at King's College school, and he finds it hard to give up his full-time studies and adjust to his new role, especially to the menial work he is given at first, which includes dusting Mr Ashley's desk very, very carefully, and using over-sized unmanageable shears to cut damaged skins into strips to make the equivalent of string. It is all a "hateful business" (134).
When William gets home after his first day, he cannot hide his misery. "Up he went to the garret, and flung himself down on the mattress, sobbing as if his heart would break." But this is only a cue for Mrs Wood's encouragement, a blend of Smilesian philosophy and religious prosletising. Jane, mastering her own sympathy, tells her son that his lot could be even worse: like the boys he has told her about at the factory, who are covered with black dye, he might be content with his lot. "But that could never be," he wails, before realising that, yes, the boys are cheerful enough, and seem to expect no more from life than what they have. "He saw the drift of the argument. 'Yes, mamma,' he acknowledged; 'I did not reflect. It would be worse if I were quite as they are.'" She continues by driving home her aspirational and Christian message:
William, we can only bear our difficulties, and make the best of them, trusting to surmount them in the end. You and I must both do this. Trust is different from hope. If we only hope, we may lose courage; but if we fully and freely trust, we cannot. Patience and perseverance, endurance and trust, they will in the end triumph; never fear. If I feared, William, I should go into the grave with despair. I never lose my trust. I never lose my conviction, firm and certain, that God is watching over me, that He is permitting these trials for some wise purpose, and that in His own good time we shall be brought through them. (135-36)
Two strands of Wood's thinking appear here. The predominant one comes from her unquestioning Christian faith, a faith that "never failed her," says her son Charles, explaining that his mother never so much as opened a "[s]ceptical book" (Memorials, 234). The other surely derives from Samuel Smiles's promotion of "diligent self-culture, self-discipline, and self-control," and the "honest and upright performance of individual duty" (v) in his immensely popular Self-Help of 1859. The two strands are easily woven together. William's next youngest brother, Frank, tells a friend's father, a surgeon impressed by his abilities and general attitude, "there's not a parable in the Bible mamma is fonder of reading to us than that of the ten talents" (205).
Jane herself leads the way in this respect. Her success in helping to educate her sons brings her a better source of income, as a tutor, enabling her to give up her glove-finishing. Soon she has some of the Helstonleigh College boys boarding with her. Now at last she is able to put more on the table than "bread and potatoes and a little milk" (83). As for William, he keeps his nose to the grindstone, studying the classics, and eventually French, in the evenings. And everything falls out just as his mother had prophesied. The boy proves his worth at the manufactory, is favoured by the fair-minded Thomas Ashley — based, perhaps, on Wood's father — eventually becoming his partner. After that he is even accepted as the Ashleys' son-in-law, having won not only the friendship of their fractious semi-invalid son Henry, but the love of their daughter Mary. In this way, William's honest efforts in the glove industry are crowned with position, wealth and love. Meanwhile, his brothers follow the same trajectory outside it. The cheerfully ambitious Frank rises to distinction as a barrister, and the more earnest Edgar ("Gar") becomes Vicar of nearby Deoffam.
Contrasting Families and Fates
As so often with this author, the point is emphasised all too obviously by comparing the Halliburtons with another family, whose background is morally lax. Julia Dare, the cousin who was so heartless when the Halliburtons arrived in Helstonleigh, had been acting out of fear of discovery. She and her lawyer husband have a nasty secret. They had denied her uncle's dying wish, that they should share his legacy with his nephew Edgar Halliburton. The Dares' eight children, with all their needs amply supplied except the need for good guidance, are even more unprincipled than their parents, producing the same kind of contrast between families that Wood makes between the virtuous Channings and the harum-scarum Yorkes in The Channings (1862) and its sequel, Roland Yorke (1869). In her rather simplistic scheme of things, the Dares too receive their just reward — or, rather, punishment. "The ways of Providence are wonderful!" Mr Ashley tells William, "what men call the chances of the world, are all God's dealings. Reflect on the circumstances favouring the Dares," he continues,
"reflect on your own drawbacks and disadvantages! They had wealth, position, a lucrative profession; everything, in fact, to help them on, that can be desired by a family in middle-class life; whilst you had poverty, obscurity, and toil to contend with. But now, look at what they are! Mr. Dare's money is dissipated; he is overwhelmed with embarrassment — I know it to be a fact, William; but this is for your ear alone. Folly, recklessness, irreligion, reign in his house; his daughters lost in pretentious vanity; his sons in something worse. In a few years they will have gone down — down. Yes," added Mr. Ashley, pointing with his finger to the floor of his counting-house, "down to the dogs. I can see it coming, as surely as that the sun is in the heavens. You and they will have exchanged positions, William; nay, you and yours, unless I am greatly mistaken, will be in a far higher position than they have ever occupied; for you will have secured the favour of God, and the approbation of all good men." (328-29)
Ashley is paternalistic in his dealings with William, but he sounds a bit like an Old Testament prophet here, and he is proved to be absolutely right.
The Dares provide the sensational side of the narrative. The younger generation's vices range from dishonesty and indolence to womanising and drinking, and the four brothers are constantly in trouble, the older ones always in debt. The police (represented by Sergeant Delves) are twice involved. On the first occasion, the third son, Cyril Dare, apprenticed to Mr Ashley alongside William, takes a cheque from his master's desk. This is hushed up. More melodramatic is the murder of the Dares' eldest son, Anthony. Suspicion falls on the next brother, Herbert, who had been arguing violently with him, and would not explain his whereabouts at the time of the murder because he had been with the wayward Quaker girl, Anna Lynn. This is the one occasion when Herbert tries to behave honourably. But he finally does explain, clearing himself at the last minute. Only at the very end of the narrative is the culprit's true identity revealed: the highly excitable Italian governess whom Herbert had led on, and then spurned, had mistaken Anthony for Herbert in the dark, and launched herself on him instead, with unforeseen consequences. The upshot of the scandal and court case is the ruin of the Dare family's reputation and finances.
Social Circumstances of the Glove Operatives
Fine gentlemen's gloves from an American catalogue of the early 20c. They were made in England — still a selling-point, and have the kind of French stitching on the back that Mrs Halliburton used in her glove-finishing days. Source: Smith 16.
The Dares' downfall presents an object lesson to any educated reader who might be living a life without faith or principles. Nothing, it seems can arrest this family's decline. But the increasingly wretched lot of the glove workers is presented quite differently, as a problem to be solved. Jane Halliburton herself had soon been disabused about the residents of Honey Fair. She had quickly learnt that they too fell short, in more ways than one. They were improvident, the women given to fripperies and the men to drink. Then, with the passing of the years and the running down of the glove industry, their standard of living deteriorated drastically.
Wood was fully aware of one possible approach to this situation — striking for better pay and working conditions. However, as a manufacturer's daughter herself, and a lifelong staunch conservative, she was not in favour of industrial action. She had very recently dealt with the issue at length in the sub-plot of A Life's Secret, which had started appearing in The Leisure Hour in the January of 1862, only a few months before Mrs Halliburton's Troubles opened in The Quiver. The two works overlapped for a short while. In A Life's Secret, the trade in question is the building trade, and here the author's anti-strike stance had caused such a furore that the editor of The Leisure Hour had had to add a note at the end of the first chapter of Part II:
It need scarcely be remarked, that Sam Shuck [the activist] and his followers represent only the ignorant and unprincipled section of those who engage in strikes. Working men are perfectly right in combining to seek the best terms they can get, both as to wages and time; provided there be no interference with the liberty either of masters or fellow-workmen. — Ed. L. H., February, 1862. (222)
So controversial was the serial that A Life's Secret was not issued in book form until 1867, with the same note included, and a preface by the author pointing to it, and declaring her sympathy with the men and their families (the note later disappeared: the 1904 Macmillan edition has omitted it). In Mrs Halliburton's Troubles, therefore, while sticking to her guns, Wood was careful to provide a viable alternative to a strike, something that would bring employers and employees closer rather than driving them apart.
First, she shows sensible Stephen Crouch telling the disgruntled glove operatives that in the present difficulties Mr Ashley has just paid another firm's operatives out of his own pocket. He is an honourable master. Then he appeals to their instinct for self-preservation: if they all pull out, they will simply suffer worse hardship. "The masters have good houses over their heads, and their bankers' books to supply their wants while they are waiting," explains Crouch, addressing the outspoken operative, Joe Fisher,
"and their orders are not so great that they need fear much pressure on that score. The London houses would dispatch a few extra orders to Paris and Grenoble, and the masters here might enjoy a nice little trip to the seaside while our senses were coming back to us. But where should we be? Out at elbows, out at pocket, out at heart; some starving, some in the workhouse. If you want to avoid those contingencies, Joe Fisher, you'll keep from strikes." (109)
These appeals work. The strike never materialises. Wood then focuses on her strong belief that action has to come from within: not in opposition to Ashley and others like him, but in self-improvement. Mrs Halliburton herself is the best example in this respect. But the men have not been raised to set their sights any higher. This is where William comes in. As he rises in the glove manufactory, he sees a very different picture of the workers' lives to the one that first charmed his mother:
The unpleasant social features of Honey Fair thus obtruded themselves on William Halliburton's notice; it was impossible that any one, passing much through Honey Fair, should not be struck with them. Could nothing be done to rescue the people from this degraded condition? — and a degraded one it was, compared with what it might have been. Young and inexperienced as he was, it was a question that sometimes rose to William's mind. Dirty homes, scolding mothers, ragged and pining children, rough and swearing husbands! Waste, discomfort, evil. The women laid the blame on the men: they reproached them with wasting their evenings and their money at the public-house. The men retorted upon the women, and said they had not a home "fit for a pig to come into." Meanwhile the money, whether earned by husband or wife, went. It went somehow, bringing apparently nothing to show for it, and the least possible return of good. Thus they struggled and squabbled on, their lives little better than one continued scene of scramble, discomfort, and toil. At a year's end they were not in the least bettered, not in the least raised, socially, morally, or physi- cally, from their condition at the year's commencement. Nothing had been achieved; except that they were one year nearer to the great barrier which separates time from eternity.
Ask them what they were toiling and struggling for. They did not know. What was their end, their aim? They had none. If they could only rub on, and keep body and soul together (as poor Caroline Mason was trying to do in her garret), it appeared to be all they cared for. They did not endeavour to lift up their hopes or their aspirations above that; they were willing so to go on until death should come. What a life! what an end!
Not unexpectedly, the upright and compassionate young William feels he would like to "in some way help them to attempt better things...." (254).
At first he feels there is little he can do: "He knew that any endeavour, whether on his part or on that of others, who might be far more experienced and capable than he, would be utterly fruitless, unless the incentive to exertion, to strive to do better, should be first born within themselves" (254). The author cannot resist speaking in her own voice here: "Ah, my friends! the aid of others may be looked upon as a great thing; but without self-struggle and self-help, little good will be effected" (254).
How are the men to be motivated, then? In a foreshadowing of the settlement idea of later decades, William institutes evening get-togethers at the house of the intelligent operative Robert East. William himself goes along regularly to encourage the men and lead discussions, providing books and such equipment as fossils and a microscope to open their eyes and minds — and keep them from the public house, the Horned Ram. And it works! Their aspirations are gradually raised. Much impressed, Mr Ashley offers to pay the rent on an unused Mormon meeting house for them (the occasion for some amusing banter on the issue of polygamy), and Honey Fair is gradually turned around:
Honey Fair! Could that be Honey Fair? Honey Fair used to be an unsightly, inodorous place, where mud, garbage, and children ran riot together: a species, in short, of capacious pigsty. But look at it now. The paths are well kept, the road is clean and cared for. Her Majesty's state coach-and-eight might drive down it, and the horses would not have to tread gingerly. The houses are the same; small and large bear evidence of care, of thrift, of a respectable class of inmates. The windows are no longer stuffed with rags, or the palings broken. And that little essay — the assembling at Robert East's, and William Halliburton — had led to the change. (449)
It is not just a matter of appearances: self-respect has come too, and with it a new appreciation of the value of education. The children are in school, men no longer frequent the Horned Ram, debt is no longer prevalent, and people share a sense that life in this world is but a preparation for the next. "In short, Honey Fair had been awakened, speaking from a moderate point of view, to enlightenment; to the social improvements of an advancing and a thinking age" (449).
Mrs Wood's unshakeable faith, expressed in a narrative tailor-made for The Quiver with a schematic plot and sometimes one-dimensional characters, seems to set her firmly in the past. Her constant theme that trials are sent to test us, and to prepare us for rewards in this world or the next, relates her work to Religious Tracts which had flourished mainly in the earlier part of the century. This is most noticeable when Jane's second child, her one daughter and namesake Janey, becomes consumptive like her father, and dies a holy death very much like his, in the tradition of Mrs Sherwood, whose "exquisite books" Wood so much admired (Roland Yorke, 410). The Leisure Hour, for which Wood was also writing during part of this time, was in fact published by the Religious Tract Society, which was now trying to broaden its appeal by secularising its output "at least superficially" for a new generation (Sutherland 530). As for the industrial parts of Mrs Halliburton's Troubles, these owe much to Wood's own Worcestershire memories, and more recently to Mrs Gaskell's industrial novels, Mary Barton (1848), as well as North and South.
Yet some aspects of Wood's work look ahead. At the end of North and South, for example, Mr. Thornton, not trusting in institutions as such, plans "one or two experiments" with the workforce (515). William's informal initiative gives these a shape, providing an early blueprint for the settlement movement of later decades. Settlements among the working classes would be promoted towards the end of the century in novels like All Sorts and Conditions of Men (1882) and The Alabaster Box (1900) by Walter Besant, and Robert Elsmere (1888) by Mrs Humphrey Ward. The spruced-up Honey Fair looks ahead too, to the efforts to improve the living conditions of factory and city workers in places like Port Sunlight on the Wirral, and to the whole Garden City movement. In view of its popularity, perhaps Mrs Halliburton's Troubles not only looked forward to future developments, but also helped to bring them closer.
It is remarkable that a novel written for a specifically religious organ like The Quiver should have become, after East Lynne and The Channings, Wood's third most successful work. The description of the glove industry certainly adds interest, as does the largely sympathetic delineation of the Quaker community: Anna Lynn's reputation is redeemed instead of being irrecoverably lost after her involvement with Herbert Dare. Central to the novel's appeal, however, is the power vested in Jane and other women characters. They are seen to determine the whole tone of the family, and indeed the whole course of its fortunes. Jane herself is in every way the head of the household, and her life is a model of Christian endurance, good management, and victory over hardship. Related to this focus on female power is a wealth of domestic detail, relayed with Wood's "very keen sense of wit and humour" (Charles Wood, "In Memoriam," 254). The exasperating conduct of the Dare children at the dinner table, the result of their having had their "every little whim and fancy" (221) indulged, is calculated to strike a chord in any parent. Successfully immersing her readers in the "troubles" of the Victorian workplace and home, this author suggests both their causes and solutions, not subtly, it is true, but often in ways that still resonate with us today.
Mrs Halliburton's Troubles, Wood's third most popular book, was in its 210th thousand by 1904. Source: back matter in Roland Yorke.
- Mrs Henry Wood's Writing Career
- Accessories and Jewellery in Victorian fashion (starting with gloves)
- Condition-of-England Novels
- North and South and Contemporary Attitudes towards Masters and Workers
- Quakers. The Society of Friends in Victorian Britain
- Writers of Religious Tracts and Victorian Novelists
- "To Interest and Amuse": Humour in Mrs Henry Wood's The Channings
Gaskell, Elizabeth. North and South. London: Penguin Popular Classics, 1994. Print.
Gloves (a sales catalogue). New York: W. W. Smith, 1912. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
Noake's Guide to Worcestershire. London: Longman, 1868. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
The Quiver, Vol. II (1862). Google Books (free Ebook). Web. 9 December 2013.
Ruskin, John. Works of John Ruskin, Vol. XXIX (Library Ed.) Ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn. London: George Allen, 1907. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
Smiles, Samuel. Self-Help, with Illustrations of Character and Conduct. Boston: Tiknor and Fields, 1866. Internet Archive. Web.97 December 2013.
Smith, Willard M. Gloves Past and Present. New York: Sherwood Press, 1917. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
"Spirit of Enterprise Exhibition — Glove Making." Worcester City Museums. Web. 9 December 2013.
Sutherland, John. The Longman Companion to Victorian Fiction. London: Longman, 1988. Print.
Wood, Charles W. Memorials of Mrs Henry Wood. London: Richard Bentley, 1894. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
_____. "Mrs Henry Wood: In Memoriam" The Argosy Vol. XLIII (January-June 1887). 251-70; 334-53; 422-42. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
Wood, Mrs Henry. The Channings. London: Richard Bentley, 1881. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
_____. A Life's Secret: A Story. Vol. I. London: C. W. Wood, 1867. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
_____. A Life's Secret: A Story. London and New York: Macmillan, 1904. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
_____. Mrs Halliburton's Troubles. London: Richard Bentley, 1890. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
_____. Roland Yorke. London: Macmillan, 1904. Internet Archive. Web. 9 December 2013.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus. It was first reported in Asia in February 2003, likely originating in China. Over the next few months, the illness spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia before the SARS global outbreak of 2003 was contained. No new outbreaks or cases have been reported since mid-2003.
SARS begins with a fever greater than 100.4°F (38.0°C). Other symptoms may include headache, an overall feeling of discomfort and body aches. Some people also have mild respiratory symptoms at the outset. Less than 20 percent of patients have diarrhea. After two to seven days, SARS patients may develop a dry cough. Many patients develop pneumonia.
SARS is spread by close person-to-person contact. The virus is transmitted most easily when patients cough or sneeze, creating respiratory droplets that can be propelled up to a distance of three feet. Virus droplets cause illness when they contaminate mucous membranes in the mouth, nose or eyes. There is no evidence of airborne transmission. However, the virus can be picked up from hard surfaces where droplets have been deposited, as it has been demonstrated to survive for several hours.1 The CDC urges caution, since epidemiological and laboratory evidence suggests a role of the environment in transmission, but no cases have been linked to transmission from dishes or eating utensils.
Most cases of SARS involved people who cared for or lived with someone with SARS, or had direct contact with infectious material (for example, respiratory secretions) from a person who had SARS. An infected person may continue to shed the virus for a significant time period (10 to 14 days) after acute respiratory symptoms and fever are gone, but the CDC says that there have been no cases attributed to shedding of virus particles by patients before symptoms were observed.
It is possible, although not documented, that SARS can be spread more broadly through the air or by other ways that are currently unknown.
Since SARS is primarily spread via close personal contact, attention to personal hygiene is key, including proper handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes. Standard infection control procedures and the use of personal protective devices should be considered when caring for a SARS patient; refer to information from the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control for more specific information related to the scope of the illness.2 3
For assistance with this topic or other food safety questions for your operation, please Contact Us.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER INFORMATION | <urn:uuid:fbe59e06-4bca-414b-a3ef-590c4669bb1a> | {
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- 08.18.11 |
- 6:30 am |
1947: Eight years after its founding, Hewlett-Packard incorporates. The tiny garage in Palo Alto, California, where the company originated is now regarded as the birthplace of Silicon Valley.
Plenty of rock bands have come out of garages, and Jobs and Wozniak noodled around in one with their goofy little computer, too, but Hewlett-Packard must be considered the mother of all garage productions.
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard met as engineering students at Stanford back in the early ’30s and cemented their lifelong friendship during a post-graduation camping trip. Packard went off to take a job with General Electric, while Hewlett went on to postgraduate studies. They were reunited by Stanford prof Fred Terman, who encouraged the two to “make a run for it.”
With a nut of $500 in cash [about $8,000 in today's money] borrowed from Terman, plus a used Sears, Roebuck drill press, Hewlett-Packard swung into action in the small shed behind Packard’s modest house at 367 Addison Ave. The company’s first product, released in 1938, was an audio oscillator used for testing sound equipment. When the Walt Disney Co. bought eight of them to develop the technically advanced movie Fantasia, HP was off and running.
Packard and Hewlett (and that’s the last time you’ll see the names in that order) made the partnership permanent Jan. 1, 1939. The formal name was determined by the gracious winner of a coin toss. Even though Packard won the toss, he apparently liked the way “Hewlett-Packard” sounded, so they went with that. He never had reason to regret the choice.
Hewlett-Packard’s rise as a tech powerhouse is a story that’s been told ad nauseam. The electronics products were first-rate and eagerly embraced. Want became need with the coming of World War II, and HP quickly grew, moving out of Packard’s garage in 1940.
But the company was innovative in another, perhaps less-known way, that’s equally important. Thanks to the humanistic sensibilities of Messrs. Hewlett and Packard, HP also demonstrated a new type of management technique, one that placed a premium on the workers and their happiness. This open-management style was the prototype for how many technology companies, particularly in Silicon Valley, would operate decades later.
Packard, especially, was interested in fostering a relaxed working atmosphere. In practicing “management by walking around,” he devised what became known as his 11 simple rules. He also practiced what he preached. Once, when an engineer defied his direct order to stop work on an oscilloscope that later became a commercial success, Packard had a special medal struck for the man, inscribed: “Extraordinary Contempt and Defiance Beyond the Usual Call of Engineering.”
HP further softened the hierarchy by establishing open cubicles and not putting doors on management offices. It also provided medical coverage to its employees at a time when that was not generally done.
Photo: The garage where Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard went to work on their first projects together is now a California Historic Landmark. (Courtesy ddebold/Flickr)
This article first appeared on Wired.com Aug. 18, 2008.
- HP to Launch TouchPad With Cloud-Storage Freebies
- Let’s Get Small: HP’s Tiny WebOS Smartphone
- HP Holds Navy Network ‘Hostage’ for $3.3 Billion
- Feb. 21, 1947: ‘Take a Polaroid’ Enters the English Language
- April 16, 1947: Ship Explosion Ignites 3-Day Rain of Fire and Death
- April 28, 1947: Kon-Tiki Sets Sail From Peru to Polynesia
- June 17, 1947: Pan Am Launches ‘Round-the-World Service
- June 24, 1947: They Came From … Outer Space?
- July 6, 1947: The AK-47, an All-Purpose Killer
- July 8, 1947: Roswell Incident Launches UFO Controversy
- Sept. 15, 1947: Association for Computing Machinery Gets Whirring
- Sept. 24, 1947: MJ-12 — We Are Not Alone … Or Are We?
- Oct. 3, 1947: Birth of Palomar’s ‘Giant Eye’
- Oct. 14, 1947: Yeager Machs the Sound Barrier
- Nov. 2, 1947: Spruce Goose … Or an Expensive Turkey?
- Dec. 23, 1947: Transistor Opens Door to Digital Future
- Aug. 18, 1868: Helium Discovered During Total Solar Eclipse
- August 18, 1990: B.F. Skinner Goes in a Box | <urn:uuid:cc1cd8e3-1eaf-49e5-b15e-1c019a8c2b8a> | {
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An Ultrathin, Anime-Inspired, Protein-Based Computer Memory Chip
It may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration for a new computer memory technology, but "Detective Conan" (otherwise known as "Case Closed") - a popular anime and manga series about a young detective who uses high-tech gadgets to help him solve cases - could have provided the creative spark that led to the development of a protein-based ultrathin memory. Using ferritin, a protein commonly found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes that facilitates iron storage, scientists from Japan's Nara Institute of Science and Technology came up with a way to build memory on thinner substrates, thus avoiding the need for energy-intensive, high-temperature processing (often in excess of 1,000°C).
In the past, thin materials such as glass and plastics had proved unsuitable for the production of computer memory since they had a low heat resistance. However, with the help of ferritin - which stores iron inside its hollow spherical structure - the researchers believe it will now be possible to use these thinner materials. The exact process involves the irradiation of ferritin-covered substrate with UV light, which destroys the protein and leaves behind metal deposits (which are contained in it). The end result was a memory chip measuring less than 1 micron in thickness. The scientists, all ardent otakus, hope to see the new chips incorporated into ultrathin displays, computers and, eventually, devices like eyeglasses (which the protagonist Jimmy Kudo sports in "Detective Conan"). "We are well on the way to developing computers built on thin films that can be integrated into eyeglass lenses or into clothing. Conan's eyeglasses are no longer a dream," said team leader Yukiharu Uraoka. Turns out all that obsessive manga-reading was good for something after all.
See also: ::Ask the EcoGeek: How Can I Make My Computer Efficient?, ::First Pictures of Suissa's Latest Computer: Enlighten
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Glines Canyon Dam
In the moment of crisis, the Wise build bridges, and the Foolish build Dams…
– Nigerian Proverb
It’s Earth Day, and I believe it’s important to not only celebrate the beauty and need to preserve our National Parks, but also to highlight the ways these parks are helping to reverse or combat some of the most serious problems facing the environment today. From the unexpected environmental gains elicited by the reintroduction of the wolves into Yellowstone, to the protection and preservation of Cryptobiotic soil colonies in Arches and Canyonlands, National Parks are at the forefront of both large and small scale efforts to prevent the wanton destruction of the natural world, which as a species we seem so determined to do.
“There is a delight in the hardy life of the open. There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm. The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value. Conservation means development as much as it does protection.”
– Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States
In recent years, on of the most important projects undertaken by any National Park, was the removal of the Glines Canyon Dam along the Elwha River in Olympic National Park. After a two decade long planning process, the dam removal along the Elwha began in 2011, and finished in 2014 with the removal of this dam, allowing the Elwha to flow freely again for the first time in almost a century. In the years since, there have been numerous examples of the dramatic positive impact this had on the environment of the Northern Olympic Peninsula, not the least of which was the return of critical spawning areas to numerous species of salmon and trout, which has helped reinvigorate flagging populations.
“We cherished it, and we respected it….We didn’t waste it, we used every bit of it….I may not see the abundance of fish come back in my lifetime, but I would like to see it come back for my grandchildren, my great grandchildren, and the rest of my people, the following generations to come. It was a gift from our Creator, it was our culture and heritage.”
– Ancestor Beatrice Charles of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
My research into dams and their highly negative impact on the environment started during the pre-production of my graduate thesis film New World Water, when I started to really look at the Colorado River. It became immediately apparent to me that there was something profoundly wrong with our management of this critical waterway, when one of the longest and most important rivers in the U.S. didn’t even reach the ocean. The idea that, in the name of creating untenable power and water systems for cities and farms in the desert where there should be no farms or cities, we would create dams that would so damage the natural world, and create lasting negative effects for the region and country as a whole, was simply mind-boggling. Dams are quite simply one of the most dangerous and damaging elements of our infrastructure, and are in many ways just as implicit in the environmental degradation of our planet as carbon emissions or non-biodegradable materials, or any other big ticket environmental cause, and yet few people really talk about it as a serious issue that needs our attention.
Human civilization has been changing the Earth’s environment for millennia, often to our detriment. Dams, deforestation and urbanization can alter water cycles and wind patterns, occasionally triggering droughts or even creating deserts.
– Jamais Cascio, author
Many of our country’s, and our planet’s, most amazing places have been lost because of the wanton damming of important rivers over the past two hundred years. Hetch Hetchy Valley, in Central California near Yosemite, was once considered a rival for the splendor of its more famous neighbor, and by many accounts even exceeded it, but the valley was buried under a lake that now sits behind the Hetch Hetchy Dam. The myriad slot canyons and Ancestral Puebloan artifact sites throughout the Glen Canyon area of the Colorado were similarly buried, and lost forever, when the Glen Canyon dam went up outside Page, Arizona. As sediment accumulates and water erodes the surrounding landscape, these once pristine examples of natural beauty are unlikely ever to return to their former glory, something I personally find heartbreaking.
All dams are ugly, but the Glen Canyon Dam is sinful ugly
– Edward Abbey, author of Desert Solitaire and The Monkey Wrench Gang
According to American Rivers, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of important watersheds across the country, there are almost 79,000 dams in the U.S. alone, many of which have become obsolete or in some cases are a danger to collapse of their own volition, which in itself could prove disastrous to communities downstream. Managed dam removal is something that we should prioritize in this country, as we transition to less damaging forms of energy. Through the restoration of critical waterways, we can stall or even reverse many of the issues facing the world today, including the depopulation of fisheries worldwide, the desertification of the American Southwest, and the loss of critical estuaries and natural habitats that are the life blood of healthy ecosystems.
Never give up; for even rivers someday wash dams away.
– Arthur Golden
I think that on this Earth Day, it’s important to look at those things which we can do to not only celebrate the natural world, but preserve it both for future generations and for ourselves. I hope everyone takes a chance today to think about these things, and find those parts of the natural world that are most important to you, and think about ways they can be preserved. | <urn:uuid:6d2c86ec-4084-4cda-8a76-a7918dec4902> | {
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Christian Beliefs about the world
Some christians believe that the world was created in 7 days as described in the book of Genesis, holy bible.
- It was created in 6 days.
- God made it out of nothing.
- All living things were made as seperate species from the begining.
- Men and women have a special place in creation.
- Adam and Eve were the first people and they disobeyed God.
Other christians believe that the Genesis story shouldn't be taken so literally because:
- It disagrees with scientific theories.
- Fossils prove that the whole "animals were created in their original forms" wrong.
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A labyrinth is an ancient circular diagram found in cultures around the world. Since antiquity, stories of the labyrinth—closely associated with the ancient sages of the Minotaur, Theseus and Ariadne, and Daedalus and Icarus—have caught the Western imagination. In fact, the labyrinth as an object of contemplation and meditation might be considered the "mandala" of the Western world.
In its classical form, this sacred diagram consists of a single circular path with no possibility of going astray (as in the church type of labyrinth, exemplified by the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral in France). In contrast, the modern labyrinth (more properly called a maze) is a system of misleading paths with a multitude of choices, some of which turn out to be dead ends—a metaphor for a difficult, confusing situation that may end in either good or ill fortune.
Taking an approach both reflective and playful, Helmut Jaskolski traces our fascination with this ambiguous ancient motif and shows, through stories ranging from myths and medieval tales to the labyrinthine fiction of Umberto Eco, that the labyrinth is a living symbol for our time. | <urn:uuid:7b50317c-3d61-416b-ab2c-32510070a907> | {
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SGA Memory Structure of the Oracle DB
SGA (System Global Area) is the fundamental component of an Oracle Instance and is one of two memory areas of an Oracle Server. This memory area contains several memory structures each of which is designated to a specific task required by the Oracle DB during its execution. SGA is dynamic and the allocation is done in granuels. The maximum size of the SGA is stored in the parameter named SGA_MAX_SIZE. The primary memory structures contained by SGA are:-
- Shared Pool - this memory structure is used to store most recently executed SQL or PL/SQL statements and most recently used data definitions. For storing these two different types of data, this memory structure is divided into two sub-structures which are Library Cache and Data Dictionary Cache. Library Cache is used to store the most recently executed SQL or PL/SQL statements whereas the Data Dictionary Cache is used to store the most recently executed data definitions. The maximum size of the Shared Pool is stored in the parameter named SHARED_POOL_SIZE.
- Database Buffer Cache - this memory structure is used to store the blocks of data recently obtained from the datafiles and it improves the performace to a great extent while fetching or updating the recent data. The size of this cache is stored in the parameter named DB_BLOCK_SIZE.
- Redo Log Buffer - this memory structure is used to store all the changes made to the database and it's primarily used for the data recovery purposes. The size of this memory structure is stored in the parameter named 'LOG_BUFFER'.
In addition, there are other memory structures as well including those which are used for lock and latch management, statistical data, etc.
SGA can support two other optional memory structures as well, but it needs to be configured for that. These additional memory structures are:-
- Large Pool - This memory structure is used to reduce the burden of the Shared Pool memory structure. This memory structure can be used as the Session memory for the Shared Server and as the temporary storage for the I/O involved in the server processes. This memory structure can also be used for the backup and restore operations or RMAN. This memory structure doesn't use LRU (Least Recently Used) list. The size of this memory structure is stored in the parameter named 'LARGE_POOL_SIZE'.
- Java Pool - As the name suggests, this optional memory structure is used Java is installed and used on the Oracle Server. Size of this memory structure is stored in the parameter named 'JAVA_POOL_SIZE'. | <urn:uuid:329de990-5595-41b2-980c-547fc13b266f> | {
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The Benefits of Iodine for Thyroid Health
Iodine is an essential mineral that the body needs for a healthy thyroid. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iodine is 150 mcg per day, which is about one sixth of a gram - a tiny speck! Although the amount of iodine we need is miniscule, it plays an important role in thyroid function which controls our metabolism, enzyme and protein breakdown. Having insufficient amounts of iodine in our daily diet can result in serious consequences such as tiredness, lack of energy, brain fog, poor sleep quality and weight gain from an underactive or poorly functioning thyroid.
You may wonder why anyone with a reasonably healthy diet may be lacking in iodine. In the 1920s, when iodine deficiency was first recognized, iodine was added to bread flour and salt to ensure that everyone got sufficient. Over time, iodizing flour was stopped. Nowadays, with an emphasis on a low sodium diet to reduce the risk of hypertension and stroke, many people are consciously avoiding salt. However, around 80% of our table salt is no longer iodized anyway, so Americans are unwittingly trending back towards iodine deficiency at an alarming rate without even being aware of the fact.
Some areas of the world, such as Midwest US, have soil that is naturally low in iodine. This means that the vegetables crops produced there are not the source of iodine that they are elsewhere. Such is the common problem of iodine deficiency, which causes goiters (enlarged thyroid glands) that the Midwest is commonly nicknamed the "goiter belt". Other reasons for a lack of iodine in the diet are that iodine may remain tightly bound in the soil particles; there is a general trend towards a reduction in salt intake or eating less seafood due to over fishing and ocean pollution.
In some cases too much iodine can also cause health problems (the recommended US upper safety limit is actually set at 1100 mcg per day, although the Japanese consume at least 25 times more). Fear of iodine toxicity, known as iodophobia, has made people wary of taking it, yet we cannot live without it.
Iodine Deficiency and Halogens
Another reason for iodine deficiency and a rise in hypothyroidism is that other halogens such as fluoride, chloride and bromide are replacing iodine in the body. Fluoride and chloride are commonly found in our drinking water. Bromide is present in soil and crop pesticides, as well as being a common ingredient in bakery products. These halogens compete with the iodine for absorption into the body and act as goitrogens by interfering with the uptake of iodine to the thyroid. Instead of being transported to the thyroid, the iodine binds to the fluoride, chloride or bromide particles and passes out of the body.
One quick way to self-test for iodine deficiency is to soak a cotton ball in red-tinged USP tincture of iodine. It is often found in the medicine cabinet for dabbing on cuts and sores. Dab the iodine onto an area of soft skin tissue, such as the inner arm or thigh, in a two-inch circle. If the stain is absorbed quickly (under 3-4 hours), your body is lacking iodine. If your iodine levels are roughly normal, the stain will disappear in around 6 hours.
A more accurate test can be provided by your healthcare provider, and you can then make the necessary adjustments to gradually increase your dietary intake of iodine. This may be through supplements such as L-Minerate 528, a liquid mineral vitamin supplement, or a diet, which includes more iodized salt, seafood and fish, seaweed, yoghurt and fortified milk. | <urn:uuid:b6bc9efe-ae3a-4c2f-885f-bc9351f50926> | {
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Channel 8 Weather man gives brief explanation of Santa Ana Winds
With the Santa Ana winds picking up, I thought I would check out some facts behind the winds.
Brief Explanation from the Weather Channel
If you live in Southern California--especially the Los Angeles, Orange, or Riverside counties, you have experienced the Santa Ana Winds.
The Weather Channel describes Santa Ana Winds this way:
"SANTA ANA WINDS
The hot, dry winds, generally from the east, that funnel through the Santa Ana river valley south of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains in southern California, including the Los Angeles basin...."
Next time you feel those hot, dry winds you might remember more about it. Remember, too, that the Santa Anas often bring some interesting birding our way. Bird in all weather as long as it is safe, and you will find some interesting and even rare birds. Have fun birding in Orange County in all kinds of weather!
External Links and Resources | <urn:uuid:5fea56ca-10c5-42fe-846f-dcc678e25824> | {
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When thinking about poverty in America, it’s important to keep in mind that not very far below the surface there is always the toxic undercurrent of race. So you get Rick Santorum telling Republican primary voters in Iowa, “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.” And you get Hillary Clinton, in her campaign against Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, bragging to USA Today about her support among “hard-working Americans, white Americans.”
Somehow this has to stop. One in every 15 Americans – and one in ten American children – are mired in the suffocating muck of deep poverty, which means they are trying to live on incomes of $11,000 a year or less for a family of four. An astonishing 45 million Americans are on food stamps.
And yet no one in high places thinks this is a problem serious enough to address with any sense of urgency. Very few seem willing to address it at all.
Which means it is up to the poor themselves and their advocates outside of government to bring this catastrophe to the attention of the wider public. This needs to be done loudly, dramatically, provocatively and relentlessly. Marches, sit-ins, camp-outs, camp-ins – all forms of direct action, including creative new ones – are needed if the current intolerable rates of poverty and joblessness are ever to be substantially reduced.
In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail in 1963, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explained why it was essential at times for people to resort to demonstrations and protests, why direct action was necessary rather than tactics that were less disruptive. The purpose of nonviolent direct action, he said, was to bring attention to important issues that the wider community was stubbornly unwilling to confront. The idea is to so dramatize the issue, said King, “that it can no longer be ignored.”
That is what’s needed with the burning issue of poverty in the United States. The nation’s top public officials have made it clear that they have no interest in coming up with solutions that are big enough and bold enough to end the interrelated crises of poverty and joblessness. Without dramatic new initiatives, the suffering will only continue.
Our view of poverty has been turned upside down in my lifetime. On a sunny spring day in 1964 Lyndon Johnson delivered the commencement address at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. More than 80,000 people were in attendance at the school’s athletic stadium and the address would come to be known as Johnson’s Great Society speech.
Johnson gave his audience a view of America’s ideals writ large. “For a century,” he said, “we labored to settle and to subdue a continent. For half a century, we called on unbounded invention and untiring industry to create an order of plenty for all of our people.
“The challenge of the next half century is whether we have the wisdom to use that wealth to enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization.”
He called upon Americans to build a society that was more than just rich and powerful. He envisioned a nation that demanded an end to poverty and racial injustice. He spoke movingly of a society in which the people would be more concerned with “the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods.”
What was really different about the speech was the way in which it was received. It was, as Johnson’s biographer Robert Dallek tells us, “a great hit.” The audience was aware of the importance of the new president’s landmark address and seemed fully in support of it. The speech was interrupted 29 times by applause.
Now, nearly half a century later, with the ranks of the poor surging and much of the nation hobbled economically, officeholders can barely find the courage to acknowledge that poverty even exists.
I had lunch with the great historian Howard Zinn back in 2009, just a few weeks before he died. Zinn felt that there was no reason ever to tolerate abuse and injustice, that there was always something that could be done. Among other things, we talked about the plight of ordinary people in an economy rigged to overwhelmingly benefit the rich and powerful. “If there is going to be change, real change,” Zinn said, “It will have to work its way from the bottom up, from the people themselves. That’s how change happens.”
I nodded in agreement. The labor movement, the civil rights movement, the women’s movement (and later the environmental and gay rights movements) were all developed by people without a lot of obvious power. They were loaded instead with energy and intelligence, and a fiery, unshakable commitment to their goals and ideals.
Frederick Douglass said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
With that in mind, it is time for the poor and the jobless and the underemployed to take matters into their own hands.
Bob Herbert is a senior fellow at Demos, a New York-based policy organization. He had an 18-year career at the The New York Times as an op-ed columnist, writing about politics, urban affairs and social trends in a twice-weekly column. This article first appeared on Demos’ blog Policyshop.net. | <urn:uuid:f74bf752-df64-4091-a88b-1d772da9b9e4> | {
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Diabetes: This May Someday Replace Needle Prick
But device is still a long way from use by people
By Serena Gordon
FRIDAY, July 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A new type of sensor for people with diabetes is being developed to measure sugar levels in the body using saliva instead of blood, researchers report.
Scientists at Brown University in Providence, R.I., created the sensor and successfully tested it using artificial saliva. It uses light, metal and a special enzyme that changes color when exposed to blood sugar.
"Everybody knows that diabetics have to prick their fingers to draw blood to check their blood sugar and then respond to that information. And they have to do that multiple times a day," said study co-author Tayhas Palmore, a professor of engineering, chemistry and medical science at Brown.
"We're looking for another possibility, and realized that saliva is another bodily fluid that could be measured," Palmore said.
This idea is a welcome one, said Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "People are always trying to come up with new ideas of how to measure blood sugar without pricking the fingers."
The sensor won't be available anytime soon, however. "The process of [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] approval will take a long time, and we have to see how accurate this device is in humans, especially humans who are eating and drinking, which will possibly contaminate the sample," Zonszein said.
Findings from the study, which received funding from the National Science Foundation, were published recently in the journal Nanophotonics.
To check their blood sugar -- or glucose -- levels, people with diabetes -- especially those who need insulin -- must prick one of their fingers to draw a drop of blood. The blood is put on a test strip that goes into a blood sugar meter. They are supposed to repeat this procedure four times a day, according to the American Diabetes Association.
The results of the blood sugar tests guide treatment, with diabetes patients often adjusting medication or insulin levels based on the test reading to maintain acceptable glucose levels.
The Brown researchers realized that saliva also contains glucose, though in much lower quantities. | <urn:uuid:7573a2a5-afaf-45d0-9373-33bb19e7e0af> | {
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Members of the Flat Earth Society claim to believe the Earth is flat (I say claim because, come on, really?). Walking around on the planet’s surface, it looks and feels flat so they deem all evidence to the contrary, such as satellite photos of Earth as a sphere, to be fabrications of a “round Earth conspiracy” orchestrated by NASA and other government agencies.
The belief that the Earth is flat has been described as the ultimate conspiracy theory. According to the Flat Earth Society’s leadership, its ranks have grown by 200 people (mostly Americans and Britons) per year since 2009. Judging by the exhaustive effort flat-earthers have invested in fleshing out the theory on their website, as well as the staunch defenses of their views they offer in media interviews and on Twitter, it would seem that these people genuinely believe the Earth is flat.
But in the 21st century, can they be serious? And if so, how is this psychologically possible?
First, a brief tour of the worldview of a flat-earther: While writing off buckets of concrete evidence that Earth is spherical dating back to the ancient Greeks, they readily accept a laundry list of propositions that some would call ludicrous. The leading flat-earther theory holds that Earth is a disc with the Arctic Circle in the center and Antarctica, a 150-foot-tall wall of ice, around the rim. NASA employees, they say, guard this ice wall to prevent people from climbing over and falling off the disc.
Earth’s day and night cycle is explained by positing that the sun and moon are spheres (go figure) measuring 32 miles (51 kilometers) that move in circles 3,000 miles (4,828 km) above the plane of the Earth. (Stars, they say, move in a plane 3,100 miles up.) Like spotlights, these celestial spheres illuminate different portions of the planet in a 24-hour cycle. Flat-earthers believe there must also be an invisible “antimoon” that obscures the moon during lunar eclipses.
Furthermore, Earth’s gravity is an illusion, they say. Objects do not accelerate downward; instead, the disc of Earth accelerates upward at 32 feet per second squared (9.8 meters per second squared), driven up by a mysterious force called dark energy. Currently, there is disagreement among flat-earthers about whether or not Einstein’s theory of relativity permits Earth to accelerate upward indefinitely without the planet eventually surpassing the speed of light. (Einstein’s laws apparently still hold in this alternate version of reality.)
As for what lies underneath the disc of Earth, this is unknown, but most flat-earthers believe it is composed of “rocks.”
Then, there’s the conspiracy theory: Flat-earthers believe photos of the globe are photoshopped. Yes, even the ones taken before Photoshop was invented. GPS devices are also rigged to make airplane pilots think they are flying in straight lines around a sphere when they are actually flying in circles above a disc. The motive for world governments’ concealment of the true shape of the Earth has not been ascertained, but flat-earthers believe it is probably financial somehow. “In a nutshell, it would logically cost much less to fake a space program than to actually have one, so those in on the Conspiracy profit from the funding NASA and other space agencies receive from the government,” according to the flat-earther website’s FAQ page. What the benefit was to the the ancient Greeks, Romans, etc. is anyone’s guess.
The theory follows from a mode of thought called the “Zetetic Method,” an alternative to the scientific method, developed by a 19th-century flat-earther, in which sensory observations reign supreme. In Zetetic astronomy, the perception that Earth is flat leads to the deduction that it must actually be flat; the antimoon, NASA conspiracy and all the rest of it are just rationalizations for how that might work in practice.
Those details make the flat-earthers’ theory so elaborately absurd it sounds like a joke, but many of its supporters genuinely consider it a more plausible model of astronomy than the one found in textbooks. In short, they aren’t kidding. At least, not on purpose.
Strangely, the Flat Earth Society thinks the evidence for global warming is strong, despite much of this evidence coming from satellite data gathered by NASA, the kingpin of the “round Earth conspiracy.” They also accept evolution and most other mainstream tenets of science. Keep in mind what I said about things making some kind of logical sense.
As inconceivable as their belief system seems, it doesn’t really surprise experts. Karen Douglas, a psychologist at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom who studies the psychology of conspiracy theories, says flat-earthers’ beliefs cohere with those of other conspiracy theorists she has studied.
Douglas says that all conspiracy theories share a basic thrust: They present an alternative theory about an important issue or event, and construct an often vague explanation for why someone is covering up that “true” version of events. One of the major points of appeal is that they explain a big event but often without going into details. Much of the power lies in the fact that they are vague.
The self-assured way in which conspiracy theorists stick to their story imbues that story with special appeal. After all, flat-earthers are more adamant that the Earth is flat than most people are that the Earth is spherical likely because the rest of us feel that we have nothing to prove. If you’re faced with a minority viewpoint that is put forth in an intelligent, seemingly well-informed way, they can be very influential. That is called “minority influence”.
In a recent study, political scientists at the University of Chicago, found that about half of Americans endorse at least one conspiracy theory, from the notion that the current president was actually born in Kenya to 9/11 was an inside job to the Moon landing conspiracy. Many people are willing to believe many ideas that are directly in contradiction to a dominant cultural narrative. They say that conspiratorial belief stems from a human tendency to perceive unseen forces at work, known as “magical thinking”.
However, flat-earthers don’t fit snugly in this general picture. Most conspiracy theorists adopt many fringe theories, even ones that contradict each other. Meanwhile, flat-earthers’ only hang-up is the shape of the Earth. If they were like other conspiracy theorists, they should be exhibiting a tendency toward a lot of magical thinking, such as believing in UFOs, ESP, ghosts, or other unseen, intentional forces. It doesn’t seem like they do, which makes them anomalous relative to most Americans who believe in other conspiracy theories. | <urn:uuid:0f1f4ec1-de2b-49f2-8f14-f3793caf73bb> | {
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After nearly a century of cooperative living, the utopian Amana colonists of Iowa begin using U.S. currency for the first time.
The wide-open spaces of the West have always appealed to visionary reformers attempting to start new societies. Among others, the Mormons in Utah, the Hutterites in South Dakota and Montana, and the Swedenborgians in California all moved West for the same reason: cheap land and freedom from interference. Most reformers moved west after the Civil War, when travel became easier and the threat of Indian resistance was declining.
As with the Mormons, the Amana colonial movement began in New York. Christian Metz, taking his cue from the writings of 18th century German mystics, established the group in 1842 on 5,000 acres near Buffalo, New York. Metz and his followers were similar to the Mormons in their rejection of the selfish individualism and dog-eat-dog competition of capitalism in favor of a more cooperative economic system. They isolated themselves from national and global markets and built a largely self-sufficient means of meeting their agricultural and material needs. Barter within the community helped them avoid using American currency.
The community's agricultural and craft operations grew so quickly that the members soon found they needed more land than was cheaply available in New York. Like many of other land-hungry Americans, they looked westward. In 1855, the first members began setting up a new colony in Iowa called Amana, purchasing 30,000 acres of contiguous land as a base for their agricultural and craft operations. Amana (located near modern-day Iowa City) flourished in the decades to come. By the turn of the century, the colonists had built seven largely self-sufficient villages with farms, stores, bakeries, woolen mills, wineries, furniture shops, and the other necessities of independent living.
The Amana community thrived for nearly 80 years, but its isolation from the rest of the world inevitably began to wane during the 20th century. In the early 1930s, the colony experienced severe economic problems, in part due to the Great Depression. The people voted to abandon their communal life in 1932, and they reorganized the colony on a capitalist basis with each member receiving stock in a new community corporation. The people of Amana began using American currency in January 1933.
Although it violated the original precepts of their founders, the decision to bring Amana into the national marketplace actually saved the community. Today, the Amana colony is the center of a thriving business empire of woolen mills, meat shops, bakeries, and wineries. Though its original vision is no longer the same, visitors to the colony will still find a communal society dedicated to preserving many elements of Old World life and craftsmanship. | <urn:uuid:f823a618-1f81-49c0-8c0b-5384666e4a9c> | {
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Date of this Version
Purple loosestrife is a noxious weed quickly invading Nebraska's wetlands. This publication describes the rearing and releasing of insects for biological control of the weed, as one part of an integrated management program. Purple loosestrife is a noxious perennial weed invading thousands of acres of wetlands and waterways in the Midwest. In Nebraska an estimated 18,000 acres are already infested by this plant, mostly along the main rivers and waterways. It has no natural enemies in North America, therefore it is very hard to prevent it from spreading. For years people have tried to eradicate it, especially in the Great Lakes region and northeastern United States. Now it is clear that this is impossible and we must find ways to live with this plant. The challenge in our state is to contain the weed and stop its spread. Bio-control agents can be an important component of an integrated approach to stop the expansion of purple loosestrife in Nebraska. They are especially valuable for those sites that are not easily accessible for other methods of control. At some sites loosestrife covers 95 percent of the wetland while growing under large trees, which prevents the use of other control methods, especially aerial application of selective herbicides. Control of such sites is limited to biocontrol agents and would benefit from the establishment of local insectariums for rearing and releasing biocontrol insects. Several insect species were introduced from Europe, where loosestrife originated. They include: root weevil (Hylobius sp.), two beetles (Galerucella pusilla and G. calmariensis), and two flower-feeding weevils (Nanophyes sp.). Based on the quarantine studies conducted by USDA, these insects are highly host specific to purple loosestrife, defoliating the plant as both adults and larvae. These insects, in combination with other plant species, act as natural competitors to keep loosestrife under control in Europe. | <urn:uuid:b6feaf1b-9920-4ed2-b657-d7f0bbcd2556> | {
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|Faction Overview||Strategic Overview||History|
When the Normans invaded England in 1066, a new invasion of Wales was started. They settled mostly in the south of Wales, but their hold was tenuous at best. While the Normans drove out the king of Gwynedd in the north, Welsh resistance was centred in the west. In the 12th century, the situation reversed. The lords of Gwynedd returned from exile in Ireland and drove out the Normans, but the Welsh were fighting a losing battle against Norman power in the south. Soon, the lords of the south were of little importance, while the princes of Gwynedd would become the dominant figures in Welsh politics.
The Welsh ways of warfare were very different from those of the Normans; they used hit-and-run raids to lower morale, attacking supplies and lone troops, relying mostly on their infamous longbows and javelins. There was only one answer to this: building impregnable castles all over Wales to cement Norman power. The Welsh Wars, as they are called, saw Llywelyn II, prince of Gwynedd, pitted against King Edward I.
At first, the Welsh were fighting quite successfully against the English, but when Llywelyn II was killed in a skirmish, the Welsh cause collapsed. The remaining Welsh freedom fighters were captured and executed for treason, and the land annexed by 1283. Nevertheless, the Welsh held on to their identity. The English adopted their weapon, the longbow, and for centuries to come the Welsh would find profession mostly in English — later British — armies, while eventually a line of Welsh-born nobles, the Tudors, would be dominant in England during the early 16th century.
- Age of Chivalry: Hegemony Wiki; Wales — A History | <urn:uuid:fccf6ce4-dc47-497f-99d4-1bf4a0a1676f> | {
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As a group, dinosaurs were certainly well-ornamented animals. Horns, spikes, crests, plates, sails, clubs and other strange structures marked the bodies of many dinosaurs, but figuring out why these dinosaurs had these structures in the first place has often been difficult to figure out. Numerous hypotheses for different structures have been proposed over the years. Were the horns of Triceratops used for defense, one-on-one combat between members of the species, or as a way to identify members of a group? Were the plates along the back of Stegosaurus just for display, or did they play some role in regulating body temperature? Were the crests of some hadrosaurs used as snorkels, or did they allow the dinosaurs to make low calls which resonated across the landscape?
Some of these ideas—such as the snorkeling hadrosaurs—have been abandoned over the years, but in many cases the strange features of dinosaurs remain mysterious. More than that, the reason such features might have evolved in the first place is often unclear, and as paleontologists Kevin Padian and Jack Horner point out in a new review of these structures published in the Journal of Zoology, no hypothesis can be taken as a default explanation for why a certain kind of structure evolved. Instead, the paleontologists propose, a new approach must me taken—one that explicitly views dinosaurs within their evolutionary context.
Figuring out the function and origin of a particular structure is a complicated process. Something like the horns of a Styracosaurus may have been used for both defense and social displays, for example, but even if the functions of the horns can be identified it does not mean that horns originally evolved for these reasons. Instead horns may have evolved due to one kind of evolutionary pressure and been co-opted for another at a different time, so there can be a disparity between why a structure evolved and what it ends up being used for. This is why understanding the evolutionary history of a particular lineage of dinosaurs is so important.
After looking at groups of dinosaurs famous for having strange structures—such as ankylosaurs and the horned dinosaurs—Horner and Padian identified only weak trends. The latest ankylosaurs were better armored than the earliest ankylosaurs, for example, but the patterns of armor varied so widely among the later forms that it seems as if display may have been more important than defense. If defense were the sole factor in determining the pattern of ankylosaur armor then it might be expected that different species would show very similar arrangements that were optimized for protection against predators, but the variation suggests that defense was not the sole factor shaping ankylosaur armor. Similarly, even though some horned dinosaurs almost certainly did lock horns in combat, there is no sign that horns evolved for this purpose—the dinosaurs' ability to joust with each other was the consequence of having horns evolved for another reason.
What Padian and Horner propose is that species recognition might have played a more important role in the evolution of strange structures than has otherwise been appreciated. Strange structures may have begun to evolve to allow members of a species to identify each other, particularly potential mates, and only later been co-opted for other uses. If this is correct, they predict, then the pattern of evolutionary change should not have a straightforward direction. If the armor of ankylosaurs had evolved solely for defense, for example, we would expect to see a straightforward evolutionary trajectory in which the protective function of the armor gets better and better over time with little variation. If species recognition was more important, however, the pattern would increasingly vary as it would only be important for species to differ from one another. Additionally, this hypothesis would be strengthened if several closely-related species were living in the same place at the same time and their structures showed divergence into new forms, making it easier to tell species apart.
According to Padian and Horner, the overall evolutionary pictures of many groups of dinosaurs is consistent with their hypothesis, but the paper focuses on proposing a new way of looking at the fossil record rather than providing flat answers. The reexamination of old material and the discovery of new fossils will be essential to testing their ideas, especially as more specimens of rare dinosaur species are uncovered. (Relatively few dinosaur species are well-represented enough to look at these patterns, especially among theropod dinosaurs.) Furthermore, it is still worthwhile to try to determine the function of structures in particular dinosaur species. If the mysteries of these structures can be unlocked and then viewed in the context of the dinosaur evolutionary tree then it may become possible to gain insight into how those structures originated and changed over time. This is not something that can be accomplished in a year or even a decade, but as we learn more about each dinosaur species we can gain a greater appreciation for the patterns which marked their evolution.
Padian, K., & Horner, J. (2010). The evolution of ‘bizarre structures’ in dinosaurs: biomechanics, sexual selection, social selection or species recognition? Journal of Zoology DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2010.00719.x | <urn:uuid:0fbd3646-c201-4e95-9262-278d98d7db94> | {
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According to CNN, there has been a significant amount of heat waves increasing due to global climate change. The number of heat waves hitting the Earth has been steadily growing over the past few years. There have been more incidences where people are becoming significantly ill with heat stroke. In many parts of the world, there are facing extreme heat and have absolutely no type of cooling resources to help them get through it. There are people of all ages dying from extreme heat. It is very important that people are more aware of the negative effects of extreme heat and what it could do to a human being. Human beings are dying every single year from heat stroke and other heat-related injuries. By keeping your home cool with the right type of resources, you can prevent you and your family from becoming a victim of heat stroke and or heat related injuries.
According to Medicine Net, some of the symptoms of heat stroke can include: confusion, agitation, disorientation, sweating and coma. There are also many other different types of heat stroke symptoms that may differ from everyone. The most important thing is to be able to identify when someone is experiencing a possible heat stroke. When the body reaches over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the body will be at risk for cellular damage causing heat stroke. It is very important to acknowledge when someone could be facing heat stroke to be able to help them immediately. Heat stroke at its worst can cause someone to lose their life if they are not saved at a reasonable time. Heat stroke can be prevented if preventive measures are taken ahead of time. It is very critical to make sure that homeowners are doing everything they can to keep their homes cool during these intense heat waves. If you wait until the last minute to get your home cool, it could be detrimental to the outcome of those sensitive to extreme heat.
One of the best ways to keep your home cool and save money at the same time it’s by running a well maintained efficient air conditioner. Sometimes, during extreme heat waves, running a fan and keeping your windows and doors open may not be good enough to keep your home cool. Many homes are not well equipped with energy-efficient windows and doors which will keep your home naturally cool. Many homes have windows and doors that allow intense heat to penetrate the home, forcing many people to utilize their air conditioners. For you to be able to save money running your air conditioner, it is critical that your air conditioner has regular maintenance for it to run smoothly. The less efficient your air conditioner is, the more it will cost you an energy costs in the long run. You can easily find your nearest professional by conducting an online search for: hvac repair metairie la.
Overall, keeping your home cool is the best way to prevent heat stroke from occurring. Also, for you to save money on cooling costs, you want to make sure that your air conditioner is in great shape. Getting your air conditioner regularly serviced will help it run more efficiently, especially when you need it the most. | <urn:uuid:20f8acc2-cc0d-4c8a-a3e5-a91b0f50e0ef> | {
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During a Gallic revolution against Rome, a Gallic army of some 80,000 men took shelter in the fortress town of Alesia, where they were besieged by some 50,000 Romans under Julius Caesar. (His army may also have included some non-combatants such as builders, wagon drivers, etc. that brought the total to 60,000 or 70,000.) Thus the Roman army was numerically inferior but qualitatively superior, having beaten the Gauls in a pitched battle at Gergovia.
Vercingetorix managed to send some cavalry through the Roman lines to seek help, (which was forthcoming), but otherwise did little to arrest the progress of the siege. Because of that fact, the Romans were able to complete a line of "circumvallation" fortifications between their lines and Alesia, and then another set of lines of "contravallation" between the OUTSIDE of their armies and the relieving forces.
One line of defense against the "mining" of a besieged city is "countermining." In this case, it would have consisted of constructing one or more trenches from Alesia perpendicular to the "circumvallation" fortifications. This would have allowed the Gauls to approach the Roman lines for hand-to-hand combat under the protection of their own trenches.
Would it have made sense for the Gauls to engage in an all-out war of attrition to disrupt the circumvallation process? They were no match for the Romans in open field, but might they have been more successful in a confined area, particularly in say, night attacks?
The purpose would NOT to break out, but to weaken the Romans vis a vis the relieving Gallic forces (of over 100,000), perhaps by trading casualties at a 2 to 1 ratio (40,000 Gauls for 20,000 Romans). And if they could set back the Romans' timetable so they could build only the inner wall but not the outer wall, might it have been worth it?
Given that the besieged Gauls were short of food other implications were 1) battlefield casualties would have meant fewer mouths to feed, and 2) the opportunity to capture some supplies from the Romans (most soldiers carried some of their own food).
Or was Vercingetorix's "better" option to wait for a battle on the "last day" before his besieged army ran out of food (as he did), even though he lost? | <urn:uuid:2679da99-d5e7-4a07-9026-1177f84d1b30> | {
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Over the past year we have sown 8000 Acacia seeds which are now planted out as tree seedlings. We have planted some for firewood more for construction poles and a large portion to enable us to erase our global footprint. The Acacia is a fast growing species and will help a little with deforestation, and also alleviate the hardship for women and children traveling long distances for firewood. We have also planted 1000 Moringa tree seeds, for research purposes.
The practice of planting trees is part of our village development programme, helping with soil improvement and water retention, and has the added benefit that the leaves absorb CO2 .
Traveling to Malawi necessitates travel by air which makes a significant contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.Carbon dioxide is, of course, also produced through the use of fossil fuels for other reasons, driving cars, travelling on public transport or heating and lighting homes.
Emissions vary from country to country. Here in Ireland, for example, each resident would need to plant about 15 trees, to absorb our annual carbon dioxide emissions. Planting trees won’t eliminate global warming. However, it will make a small but significant contribution to the global environment. And it will have an enormous impact on the lives of disadvantaged communities in Malawi.
It is possible, to estimate your emissions and take appropriate action.
For example, I am told that if I drive 12,000 miles a year in a 1.4 litre car this will produce 3.36 tonnes of CO2 a year, which can be offset by planting five trees.
A flight to Mzuzu from Dublin return, produces of 2 tonnes of CO2 , emission each. You can have a carbon neutral flight by planting 3 trees.
It is assumed that the tree will mature and have a lifespan of 80 years
At Wells for Zoe we believe that we can offset some of the effects we are all having on climate by planting much needed trees in Malawi and trading them for our guilty consciences.
It’s a win, win, win situation. Us, Malawi and the Environment
We are now in the process of producing Carbon Neutral luggage tags for flights.
You do the flying and we’ll do the planting.
You pay for the tree planting and we send you the tags and plant the trees.
The land is there, the seeds are there, the labour is there.
The cost: from €1.20 per tree planted, depending on species
Actions to reduce global warming
1. Use fossil fuels more efficiently.
2. Plant trees when you travel at roughly the following rate
• 1 tree every 2,000 miles (3200 km) by car
• 1 tree every 1300 miles (2000 km) by plane
• 1 tree every 100 gallons of gasoline
• 1 tree every 1000 kilowatt-hours of Electrical energy | <urn:uuid:5dc5d3f4-1ea4-45ca-8239-fc7935edac3b> | {
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Innovative Tool to Teach Science Used by 65 Schools
For many teachers and students, science is a challenging subject to teach or to learn but a new hands-on science kit program, supported by BMW Manufacturing Corp. and 15 other businesses, has prompted an innovative approach in elementary and middle school classrooms in 65 South Carolina schools.
It is called L.A.S.E.R. (Leadership Assistance for Science Education Reform), an integrated inquiry-based science kit program designed to help teachers instruct students more effectively. It also makes learning science more fun for students.
The program, sponsored by the National Science Resource Center at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and the National Science Foundation, began showing up in South Carolina schools in 1997.
Sixteen South Carolina companies, school districts and universities are funding sponsors for the project. BMW Manufacturing has been a funding sponsor since 2000 and has funded two, five-day training institutes to introduce the teaching tool to teachers, administrators, business representatives, colleges and universities.
And last year, BMW Manufacturing presented four $10,000 grants to South Carolina school districts to recognize their use of the hands-on approach to teaching science. Those school districts were Dorchester County School District Two, the School District of Newberry County, Orangeburg County School District Five and the Pee Dee Math-Science Hub, which includes 21 school districts.
“The hands-on activities offered to students through this project makes learning about science fun and relative. It helps children remember what they have learned and will keep them interested in science,” said Robert Hitt, BMW’s manager for media and public affairs.
“Science is an important educational element for South Carolina’s future work force. This partnership is just one tool to ensure that businesses and industries have a strong skilled pool from which to draw future employees.”
L.A.S.E.R. focuses on five components: curriculum, professional development, assessment, materials support, and administrative/ community support. Although the program’s focal point is science, it is integrated with reading, writing and math to make classes more interesting and engaging for students.
Under L.A.S.E.R., the state is divided into 13 regional centers or “hubs”. These hubs are funded by the S.C. Statewide Systemic Initiative, which is charged with improving math and science education in the state, local school district grants, and supplemental money from contributing partners.
In addition to BMW Manufacturing, other businesses providing support are: American Honda Foundation, Bayer Corporation, Carolina First Bank, Carolina Power & Light, Clemson University, College of Charleston, DuPont, Francis Marion University, Low Country Institute, Michelin North America, Precision Southeast Inc., Santee-Cooper Electric, South Carolina Department of Education, Winthrop University and the University of South Carolina Aiken.
Each hub consists of a resource center and a full-time resource director who trains teachers and ensures that the science kits are updated with exciting and up-to-date information and lesson plans. Teachers use the kits to create hands-on lesson plans that enable science to “come alive in the classroom,” as one area teacher said.
“Most teachers have wanted to teach science this way, but because of time constraints or lack of materials, it has been difficult,” fifth-grade teacher Brenda Morrison said. “This program provides the materials, the organization and the creative lesson plans to make it possible.”
Each science kit contains 15-30 activities related to a specific science topic. Included is a manual that relates the topic being discussed to practical, every day activities. Each activity builds on another so students’ learning progresses.
“Our kids love it,” said Mary Seamon, assistant superintendent for instruction at Spartanburg School District Three. “We are seeing improved scores and a stronger interest in science. We hope it carries over into course selection in high school, and later into college.”
For more information on Project L.A.S.E.R. contact your local hub director, or visit the project’s website at www.si.edu/nsrc/.
BMW Manufacturing Corp. is a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich, Germany. Its website address is www.bmwusfactory.com. In addition to the South Carolina manufacturing facility, BMW’s North American subsidiaries include sales, marketing and financial services operations in the United States, Canada and throughout Latin America; an information technology consulting and systems integration firm in South Carolina; a production facility in Mexico; and a design firm in California. | <urn:uuid:82672cc2-2ae1-4e27-a0d1-ef1fd05a82d7> | {
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The Unhappiest Country In The World
Moldovans are the unhappiest people in the world. That's according to data from the World Values Survey, whose researchers interviewed tens of thousands of people in over 60 countries during the last decade. Only 44% of people in Moldova said they were happy, the lowest proportion of all the countries surveyed. Is Moldova really such an unhappy place, and why?
These statistics from the World Values Survey are often quoted in a growing body of academic research into what causes happiness, and what implications there are for public policy. Often the answers to the “are you happy?” question are averaged with those to another, slightly different question – “are you satisfied with your life?” – to produce a broader measure called subjective well-being. Moldova comes out bottom on this count, too.
Source: World Values Surveys,
So what does cause happiness? Your instinctive response might be “money, of course” – and you'd be right, but only up to a point. A glance at the table shows that the unhappy countries are much poorer than the happy ones. But when you plot subjective well-being against a country's average income on a graph, you find there's a strong relationship up to a certain point – around $10,000 per year – but after that the relationship breaks down. Even more income doesn't make you even happier.
Of course, Moldova isn't anywhere near that point yet. But poverty can't be the whole story. There are countries even poorer than Moldova which are nonetheless much happier: Nigeria and Bangladesh, for example, have a lower average income than Moldova but their happiness rates are 81% and 85% respectively. Brazilians are only slightly better off than Moldovans, but 83% of them are happy. A whopping 93% of people in the Philippines consider themselves happy, despite income levels on a par with Moldova.
Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh and the Philippines are warm and sunny places, so might harsh Moldovan winters be at fault? That hardly seems plausible when you consider that the happiest place in the world is Iceland.
Could it be that language problems are to blame? Perhaps the word “happiness” translates differently in Bangladesh and the Philippines than it does in Moldova, leading people to apply different standards. This is a possibility, but the evidence is against it: French-speaking Swiss people are happier than French people, Italian speakers in Switzerland are happier than Italians, and Swiss who speak German are happier than Germans. This suggests that it's not something about what language they speak that makes Swiss people happy, but something about living in Switzerland.
Perhaps Moldovans were asked at a bad time. The data collected from different countries was not all gathered simultaneously, and that for Moldova came from a survey in 1995, arguably at the height of the difficulties caused by the transition from the Soviet era. But another, more comprehensive survey carried out in 2001 by a different organization suggests little has changed: Moldovans were slightly happier, 51% compared to 44%, but still came out bottom of the eight former Soviet states surveyed (Ukraine and Belarus were next most unhappy, at 53% and 60% respectively; Moldova seems to be the worst-hit victim of some kind of regional malaise).
It must be in political history where much of the answer lies, as all the other countries towards the bottom of the happiness list had also lived under communism. While it's easy to find examples of happy and poor countries, it's hard to find former communist states among them, Azerbaijan (78%) being the best candidate. The happiest states with a communist history, such as Poland (86%), the former East Germany (79%) and Hungary (78%), tend also to be the ones which have made the most economic progress.
Even then, they are less happy than other countries with similar income levels but without a communist past. As Ronald Inglehart and Hans-Dieter Klingemann, two of the leading academic researchers into the data on happiness, note: “Virtually all societies that experienced communist rule show relatively low levels of subjective well-being, even when compared with societies at a much lower economic level.”
Were people happier under communism? That's a difficult question to answer because only one survey of happiness was conducted in the Soviet Union. But the data from this survey suggests so. The Tambov region of Russia, the only part surveyed in the Soviet era, recorded 64% happiness in 1981 and only 47% in 1995. (The answers to the “satisfaction” question are even starker, down from 76% to 25% in the same period.) The only other country surveyed while under a communist regime was Hungary, 78% happy in 1981, dipping to 68% as communism ended in 1990 and back up to 78% by 1998. (“Satisfaction”, though, continued to decline: from 71% to 56% to 52%).
While inhabitants of both Hungary and Tambov were significantly unhappier in 1981 than those of other states with similar income levels, the ending of communism made them even less happy. It seems reasonable to think the same historical pattern of happiness will be true for Moldova.
So what is it about life after communism that causes such misery? The increase in poverty is an obvious reason: according to the United Nations Development Program, the incidence of poverty in Moldova increased from 2.1% to 40.6% between 1991 and 1993. But there are other reasons. Unemployment and lack of job security are strongly correlated with unhappiness, and both increased markedly with the end of communism.
Health is another strong contributor to happiness. (Although, interestingly, “self-reported” health – how healthy you think you are – is much more closely related to happiness than “objective” health, or how healthy a doctor thinks you are. Having a positive outlook on your health seems to be the biggest factor). The ending of communism took a toll on Moldovans' health. Again according to the UNDP, the general mortality rate increased from 9.7 persons per 1000 in 1990 to 12.2 in 1995, and the infant mortality rate from 19.0 in 1990 to 22.6 four years later. In 1994, 26,300 people were treated at Moldovan medical institutions, down from 69,500 in 1980, presumably because the escalating costs of medical treatment led to more illnesses going untreated rather than because there were fewer illnesses needing treatment.
As noted in a strategy paper issued by the British government, inequality also makes people unhappy – in Europe, at least; Americans say they don't mind it so much. Assuming Moldovans share the European cultural preference for more equal societies, the rapid increases in inequality that accompanied the transition from communism must have increased levels of unhappiness.
The same paper notes that the quality of a country's governance also affects happiness; in particular, there is evidence that the more democracy and political freedoms people enjoy, the happier they are. In theory, the increase in political freedom and democracy after communism should have made Moldovans happier, but in practice it is arguable that the overall quality of governance may not have improved or may even have deteriorated. Corruption of public officials is also strongly correlated with unhappiness. And there are exceptions to the freedom rule: China, although a highly authoritarian society, has relatively high levels of subjective well-being.
Finally, there is a strong relationship between how happy people are and how much control they feel they have over their lives. As Inglehart, Klingemann and Chris Welzel point out: “ In each of 148 national representative surveys, conducted in diverse societies ranging from Uganda to China, Iran, Brazil, Sweden and Poland, there is a strong correlation between people's perception of how much choice they have in shaping their lives, and their level of life satisfaction.” The lack of choice under communism may well explain why communist societies were more unhappy than others with similar incomes, but the uncertainties that accompanied the transition from communism may actually have led people to feel even less in control of their destinies.
At an individual level, there are other factors to be considered. Marriage has a big effect on an individual's happiness – equivalent to an increase of over $100,000 in annual income, according to one estimate. Religious people are slightly happier, as are those who exercise or play sport. But differences in marital status, income, job satisfaction, health and so on explain surprisingly little of the variations in people's levels of subjective well-being. A large amount of our propensity to be happy seems to be beyond our personal control, coded in our genetic inheritance.
A study of over 3,000 twins (Lykken and Tellegen, 1996) showed that identical twins report similar levels of happiness regardless of their life experiences, whereas non-identical twins – who shared a womb, but have different genes – do not. These studies suggest that around 45-50% of happiness is genetic. How happy your identical twin is, or even how happy your identical twin was ten years ago, is a much better predictor of your happiness than your income, education or social status. If you're prone to unhappiness – or happiness – you may simply have been born that way.
Genetic differences can't explain national differences, though: happiness levels within nations are known to have changed far more quickly than could possibly be explained by genes. It's implausible that there could be a disproportionate tendency to misery in the Moldovan gene pool.
And this is encouraging, because it suggests that whatever the precise combination of causes behind Moldova's bottom ranking in the happiness table, they are susceptible to change. Exactly why Moldova is so unhappy may still be mysterious, but the broad outlines of what's required are clear. With more wealth, health, good governance, freedom, democracy and equality, Moldovans can be happy too.
By Andrew Wright | <urn:uuid:ad16a940-0c11-42e0-8ff8-7cf399f0f869> | {
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A lifelong scuba diving obsession led Steven Schwankert to the tale of the HMS Poseidon and the startling discovery that the British submarine, which sank off the northeastern coast of China in the 1930s, had been raised by the Chinese in 1972.
That revelation lies at the heart of Schwankert's upcoming book, "The Real Poseidon Adventure: China's Secret Salvage of Britain's Lost Submarine" and an accompanying documentary film chronicling his search for answers about what became of the sunken vessel.
The seven-year transcontinental quest saw frustrations, triumphs and deeply emotional experiences, none more so than bringing together descendants of the Poseidon's crew and sharing with them new information about the submarine's fate.
"I only wish we'd been able to find more relatives. It feels like we've taken on this incredible responsibility of being custodians of this history," said the 42-year-old Schwankert, an American journalist and diving instructor who has lived in Beijing for more than a decade.
The Poseidon was barely two years old and among the most modern submarines in the British fleet when it arrived at a leased British naval base on Liugong Island, four kilometers (2.5 miles) offshore from the port of Weihai. While conducting exercises on June 9, 1931, the captain inadvertently turned into a Chinese cargo ship that had altered course in the same direction to avoid hitting the submarine, which was traveling on the surface.
Its hull shattered, the Poseidon sank within four minutes, coming to rest on the sea floor 30 meters (100 feet) below. Thirty men scrambled out of hatches before it went down, but 26 remained inside, eight in the watertight forward torpedo room.
In a daring move, the eight popped the hatch and attempted to surface using a Davis lung, an early forerunner of scuba gear that included a store of pure oxygen and a kind of canvas brake to prevent rising too quickly. Led by Petty Officer Patrick Willis, six of them made it to the surface, the first-ever such escape in the history of submarining.
That led to a shift in standard navy procedure from waiting for rescue to immediately seeking escape, along with the later development of escape chambers to allow surfacing without suffering from the bends caused by a too-rapid ascent.
The Poseidon tragedy received wide publicity at the time, in part because of the court martial of the captain, Lt. Cmdr. Bernard Galpin, who was found culpable. A feature film was made about the events. But the accident was afterward consigned to history, eclipsed by the ensuing drama of World War II and dogged by a stigma surrounding naval deaths during peacetime.
Schwankert and documentary makers Arthur and Luther Jones sought to fill in gaps in the story both at Weihai and Britain's naval archives. The book and film are fleshed out by discussions with descendants, two of whom later travel to the site of the sinking to lay a wreath and search for a memorial to the men who died.
It was in 2006, about a year into the project, that Schwankert first came across references online that the Chinese had raised the sub. He tracked down an account of the salvage operation in a 2002 Chinese naval magazine. | <urn:uuid:6482b035-e413-4ae1-b580-7c35a46c9674> | {
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how does the wretched dry geranium differ from the flowers in the forest?
1 Answer | Add Yours
The difference appears to be that in the forest there is strength and thriving growth, in comparison to the wilted potted plant found in the town.
The ‘wretched geranium’ is a comparison with Sylvia when she lived in the town before going to live wither grandmother, Mrs Tilley.
Sylvia thought often with wistful compassion of a wretched geranium that belonged to a town neighbor.
The flowers in the forest are not individualized: they form a part of the woodland, and it is only the trees which are distinguished by names –
Pines and oaks and maples
The only other plants identified is the huckleberry, where Mistress Moody, the cow, likes to hide, and the birch trees.
Join to answer this question
Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.Join eNotes | <urn:uuid:0fea474d-ef1a-499b-9595-f4dc8cf6d22a> | {
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Four years have passed since Typhoon Yolanda (Typhoon Haiyan) devastated the people of the Visayas and reconstruction efforts are well underway for the communities ravaged by the super typhoon. Now is the time to study the lessons learnt from the response to Typhoon Yolanda, or the lack of response. The entanglement of governance issues and the coordination of disaster response and preparedness efforts has drained the bureaucratic resource and political goodwill of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), a coordinating body which, amongst other portfolios, is chaired by the secretary of national defense.
As a country frequented by various natural disasters, the possibility of another major disaster in the Philippines is not a matter of where, but when. Although there are no short-term solutions to the array of challenges the Philippine government faces in terms of coping with climate change-affected disasters, forming a separate department for disaster preparedness and response is a first step forward to improve the county’s disaster resilience.
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The Philippines’ first institutionalized governmental response to disaster response and preparedness came during the Marcos era. Through Presidential Decree 1566, the National Disaster Coordinating Council under the president’s office was established as the highest policymaking body in responding to natural disasters. Fast forward two decades and decentralization movements had taken over the country. In 1991, the duties of disaster management and preparedness fell on the autonomous Local Governance Units, the lowest level of government in the Philippines. Though the National Disaster Coordinating Council was still an office under the president, its powers were severely diminished in the years following the decentralization movement. It wasn’t until 2009, almost four decades after the Marcos-era decree, that the National Disaster Coordinating Council was finally updated and replaced by Republic Act 10121, or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act. And through a consortium of disaster management plans, the NDRRMC mentioned above was born.
There is a growing political consensus that the NDRRMC is ineffective due to its mandate to act through cooperation. To take an example of the bureaucratic entanglement of the NDRRMC, RA 10121 establishes four thematic pillars in disaster risk reduction: disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster response, and disaster rehabilitation and recovery. The NDRRMC in turn would coordinate departmental responses according to the pillars assigned. For disaster prevention and mitigation, the DOST would coordinate members from the OCD, DENR and DPWH; for Disaster Preparedness, the DILG would coordinate and be advised by the PIA and OCD; for disaster response, the main task is performed by the DSWD along with members from OCD, DRRMC, DOH, DILG, DND and LGUs; and for disaster rehabilitation and recovery the effort would have to be spearheaded by the NEDA along with NHA, OCD, DPWH, DOH and DSWD.
To any casual observer, the wide array of acronyms looks like it was taken from a never-ending scrabble game. However the acronyms mask a stringent bureaucratic turf-war. Staffing the NDRRMC is often challenged by overlapping roles that take away from the day-to-day functions of the departments. The bureaucratic turf-war also finds an echo in resource allocation and the political prestige of the bureaucracy’s political masters.
Furthermore, responding to disasters is also a political minefield, and the failure to provide an adequate response would inherently lead to public and even international scrutiny. Take the then-mayor of Cagayan de Oro, Vincente Emano, whose failure to respond to Tropical Storm Sendong (Tropical Storm Washi) not only cost him his two-decade long mayoral seat, but also dethroned his political legacy in the region.
On the other hand, disaster preparedness measures are also gateways for pork-barrel politics. The winning of favors for local constituents — in this case, resources allocated for disaster response through the holding of political positions within the NDRRMC — helps to solidify votes and garner local support. The combination of political incentives, bureaucratic entanglement, and governance challenges have led to a brewing storm that had swept away thousands of lives and caused millions in damages.
Though there are no shortages of studies on lessons learned from the various responses to Typhoon Yolanda, the predominant issues point to governance challenges. Direct aid in food, infrastructure reconstruction, the relocation of citizens displaced by disasters, healthcare, and education are all funneled through governmental bodies. However, given the confusing situation on the ground in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, local bureaucrats from the Local Governance Units and provincial and national departmental officers lack a sense of the responsibilities they are tasked to perform through the NDRRMC.
In terms of disaster preparedness in the Philippines, the raison du jour is localized, decentralized contingency planning stemming from local governments. While there are many positive aspects to this, such as tailor-made contingency planning, it also separates low-income communities from other local governments. And as Typhoon Yolanda and other experiences have demonstrated, those most affected are from low-income communities with poor infrastructure and living near flood-zones.
Politically, there are also calls from the executive branch for updating, revising, and forming of a new department to address disaster prevention and management issues. There are currently eight related bills being discussed in the Philippine Congress. These bills range from the replacement of the current NDRMMC with a new cabinet department, the updating of the mandate of the NDRMMC to give the council more roles and functions, and the replacement of the current NDRMMC with an agency under the office of the president. While there is an ongoing effort and political interest to merge the bills, so far, none of these eight bills attest to the challenge of bureaucratic contestation and political patronization.
To move forward, it is imperative to ensure that the governance challenge is being adequately addressed. The coordination of departments and bureaucracies can only go so far. And at the moment, the only response to the various challenges addressed above is to centralize the coordinating council of the NDRRMC into an independent department with its own budget and staffing. The benefit of an independent department is to fast-track programs under one office, limit the number of political appointed positions and the various bureaucratic competitions, and provide a centralized policy directive for disaster prevention and response policies.
This being said however, given the political climate in the Philippines at the moment, a newly founded department is also a fresh breeding ground for political competition and the creation of “just-another-department.” The path forward is to build upon the experience in responding to Typhoon Yolanda and other major disasters and to create a department led by political actors with an entrepreneurial spirit. Such an individual can spread the lessons learned to all levels of government, including a newly formed department responsible for disaster response. Only then can the Philippines truly begin to consolidate and to build resilience toward disasters caused by rapidly changing climate systems.
Leo Lin is a graduate student at Waseda University, Japan. The opinions expressed in this piece are his own and do not reflect that of Waseda University or other institutions. | <urn:uuid:f4d23de6-8c75-41b9-aac7-06e3d3473489> | {
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Learn How to Change a Car Battery in a Few Simple Steps
You can learn how to change a car battery using a simple process. The most
important thing is to know how to handle the battery and the battery terminals
safely. Even more, changing your own car battery will help you become more
familiar with your battery electrical terminals and feel more confident when
the time comes to getting rid of terminal corrosion and servicing the battery.
This will help to keep your ignition and starting systems working properly.
For this task, you'll only need a few common tools and some
materials. Depending on your particular vehicle model, you might need
a couple of special tools as well to make sure that everything goes back
in place as it should. Once you have the necessary items, the procedure
will take you about an hour or less to complete.
What You Need:
- Car owner's manual
- Memory saver or 9V battery with jumper wires, if necessary
- Rag or plastic sheet
- Acid resistant gloves
- Standard screwdriver
- Six-point wrench set
- Battery cable puller, if necessary
- Warm water and baking soda solution, if necessary
- Soft brush, if necessary
- Battery post cleaning tool
- Treated felt washers
- Petroleum jelly
- Distilled water
Changing a Car Battery
1. Locate your car battery. Most vehicles store the battery under the hood,
behind the headlight on the driver’s side. Other models carry the battery
under the fender, a seat, or even inside the trunk or luggage compartment.
Consult your car owner’s manual if you need some help.
A couple of things to keep in mind:
- After disconnecting the battery, you may need a code to reactivate your stereo equipment. Consult your car owner's manual, if necessary.
- Disconnecting the battery may erase the information stored in your car computer's memory. So the computer will need some engine start-and-shut-off cycles to relearn its driving strategy.
To preserve the computer memory, you have two main options: You can use
a computer memory saver or a 9V battery and a couple of jumper wires. Before
you connect any of these devices, make sure to turn off all your car
When using a memory saver, follow the manufacturer instructions. If you want to
use a 9V battery, get a couple of jumper wires to connect the small battery to
your battery cables. To connect the jumper wires to the battery, you can buy
a 9V battery connector at your local electronic store. Keep in mind that you
need to respect polarity when connecting the jumper wires.
2. Lift and secure the hood open. Cover the fender and front of the
vehicle--around the battery--with a rag or plastic sheet. This will protect
the paint on your vehicle body from car battery acid and keep you from
accidentally shorting the battery as you disconnect it.
3. Put on your safety glasses and acid resistant gloves. Remove the
battery heat shield, if it has one, and set it aside along with its
mounting screws so you do not lose them. You may need a large, standard
screwdriver or wrench for this.
4. Loosen the bolt securing the battery negative (black) cable to the battery
post. To prevent rounding off the nut that holds the bolt to the cable
terminal, use a six-point wrench of the right size to loosen the nut while
holding the bolt's head in position with another wrench. If your battery has
side terminals, you will only need one wrench.
As you remove the battery cables, don't touch the positive and negative posts
at the same time with a wrench--or similar metal tool--or you'll create an
electrical short circuit that may damage sensitive electronic equipment in your
car. Also, keep in mind that batteries produce hydrogen, an invisible and
highly flammable gas. So a little spark may cause your battery to explode. By
removing the negative cable first, you reduce the chances of producing a spark
as you disconnect your car battery.
5. Once you've loosened the grip of the cable terminal on the battery post,
carefully pull the terminal off the post. If the terminal seems stuck,
slightly pry it open with a flat-head screwdriver and try again. Or better
yet, use a battery cable puller.
Car Computer Memory Saver
6. Secure the disconnected negative cable away from the battery post and
proceed to disconnect the positive terminal following the same procedure.
7. A hold down clamp secures the battery to the bottom tray. Loosen and remove
the screw on the hold down mechanism and set it aside.
8. Lift the car battery using the lifting strap attached to the battery, or
grab the battery with your gloved hands and lift it out of the engine
9. Thoroughly clean the battery tray of debris and battery acid using
a solution of warm water and baking soda to neutralize any acid residues
(use 8 ounces of water per tablespoon of baking soda). Apply the solution
with a soft brush and wipe the tray clean with old rags. You can also use
this solution along with a battery post cleaning tool to remove acid form
cable terminals, if necessary.
10. If you're reinstalling the same battery or a used one, thoroughly
clean the battery case, including the top cover and posts. Use the
same baking soda and warm water solution. Apply it with the soft
brush. And don't let the solution seep under the filler caps. Then
check the electrolyte level. The level should reach the bottom of the
filler rings. Top off the electrolyte with distilled water, if
11. Clean the battery terminals, using the baking soda and warm water
solution and a battery post cleaning tool, if necessary. Avoid using
a knife to remove corrosion from the terminals. You may end up
removing too much metal from the terminal and ruin it.
12. Install the new battery using the same procedure in the reverse order.
Before connecting the battery cables, you may want to install treated
felt washers on each battery post and apply a layer of petroleum jelly
to the cable terminals after connecting the terminals. This not only
inhibits corrosion buildup, but ensures that electrical and electronic
circuits have the proper voltage as you crank up the engine. You can
buy felt washers at any auto parts or department store.
13. Take your old battery to a recycling center for proper disposal, if you
want to get rid of it.
Vehicle Repair Manuals
What to Keep in Mind:
* After disconnecting the battery, your stereo equipment may need a reactivation code to work properly. Consult your car owner's manual, if necessary.
* Disconnecting the battery may erase the information stored in your car computer's memory. In this case, the computer will need a few engine start-and-shut-off cycles to relearn its driving strategy.
To preserve the computer memory, you have two main options: You can use a computer memory saver or a 9V battery and a couple of jumper wires.
Once you become familiar with the connections, related components, and how to
handle them safely, you can service the battery with confidence and check electrolyte level, inspect and clean the battery case and connections at regular intervals. This will not only extend your battery service life, but also help your car starting and ignition systems operate
When Installing a Battery
* Check electrolyte level
* Check the condition of the battery case
* Tighten the hold-down mechanism properly
* Remove corrosion from Cables and terminals
* Install a treated felt washer on each post
This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.
Questions & Answers
Could the person who installed my new car battery also have done something to cause the washer fluid for the windshield to stop coming out of the reservoir?
Not necessarily. Have an assistant operate the windshield washer pump as you regularly do, but pop the hood open and try to listen for the pump operating. If you can’t hear anything, probably the pump is bad. If you can hear it working and no fluid comes out, check the hoses and nozzles. See if one of them is disconnected, loose, damaged or if the nozzles are clogged. | <urn:uuid:b5a02e35-ea0b-44b5-97be-56efe8cb97f0> | {
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This has always put Arabs aback, made them vulnerable and eager to avoid uncalculated escalation.
An order well understood to mean, fill the main-topsail, after it has been aback, or the ship hove-to.
When he tried to come nearer her she laughed and thrust him aback.
A word used in veering for aback, alluding to the situation of the head-yards in paying off.
The midshipman went to sleep, and when he awoke he found the ship all aback.
This discovery knocked us all aback, and we were quite at a loss how to proceed.
“Throw it all aback,” he cut in as at last he caught my idea.
And there she saw a thing that struck her so aback with amazement, that every timid sense was mute.
Loose and set the topsail and topgallant-sail, and throw them aback!
His reply took me aback, until his sinister face broadened into a smile.
c.1200, from Old English on bæc "at or on the back;" see back (n.). Now surviving mainly in taken aback, originally a nautical expression in reference to a vessel's square sails when a sudden change of wind flattens them back against the masts and stops the forward motion of the ship (1754). The figurative sense is first recorded 1840. | <urn:uuid:c0f1a146-359d-4f83-9f76-a45812fa46dd> | {
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Summary: Learn about God’s basis for character, worship, relationships, and society.
This may be the most famous portion of the Old Testament to most people. Even today this portion of Exodus is in the news - recently the Supreme Court issued contradictory rulings one upholding one striking down the display of the Ten Commandments.
For many people, these commandments represent the basis for all behavior - and the basis for whether God is pleased or not of His people. The Ten Commandments are just the beginning, but from that framework, for the next 12 chapters - God speaks to Moses about character, behavior, society, and worship.
For the first time, God sets down expectations for the people. They might not have realized that when God brought them out of Egypt He was purchasing them as a people. Now He begins to reveal to them the kind of character that He expects them to live by.
The Commandments - verses 3 - 17 are broken up into three groups: verses 3 - 6 involve who God is and how to and how not to worship Him. Verses 7 - 11 involve how they were to relate to this God personally, and verses 12 - 17 involve how to relate to one another as family and society.
Verses 1 - 3
God is not saying "you owe me for saving you from Egypt" even though that is true. He is simply stating a fact - simply there are no other Gods "before" or "besides" the Lord. But they were coming from and going to a land filled with "other gods."
Interestingly, the Hebrew construction here suggests a covenant making or marriage ceremony. God is telling them that they must give their lives and allegiance to Him alone. It is true that there is only one God - but it will take time for them to really see and understand that. Right now - in their infancy, they need to know that no matter what they saw or will see about other gods - Yahweh is their one and only God.
So Commandment #1: I am your only God
Verses 4 - 6
God says "don’t make any physical representation or worship any likeness of me (in heaven) or anything I have created (on earth)." To do that would instantly demean the Lord who is completely over and above the creation. Today, of course, people worship the earth and the trees and all sorts of created things. The peoples back then made all kinds of idols - of frogs and cattle and women and all sorts of things. God is telling them not to do that - nor should they worship Yahweh in that way either.
This is important because by Chapter 32 they will do just that. God, it says, is jealous. God does not want to share you with anyone. It’s not that you have something that God needs and He is selfish - but He knows that He has something you need and wants to keep you from losing it by trying to find life from any other "god."
Verses 5-6 can be confusing - what He is saying is that what parents do, children will do - those who hate God will beget those that hate Him as well - but those that love God will see His love - not to the 3rd or 4th generation - but to the "thousandth" (which is what "thousands" can mean.) It’s amazing how far the love of God will go!
Verses 7 - 11 Relating to God
The third commandment involves taking the Lord’s name in vain.
1. Saying something false about God (a rendering for the Hebrew saw "vain")
2. Using the name of Yahweh to bring harm to others (cursing)
3. Taking upon yourself the name of God without really meaning it (like being a Christian in name only, but not in practice).
In order not to break this commandment, the Jews to this day will not pronounce the name Yahweh, and recorded it only as YHWH.
The fourth commandment - the Sabbath
Remembering something is more than just calling it to mind - you have to do something. In this case, it is remember what God did - rescuing the Israelites - by doing nothing. God did it all. It harkens back to the creation - where God created for six days then finished the work - rested. It foreshadows what Jesus did in creating new life for us:
Colossians 2:16-18 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath . 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. ESV
The Sabbath was twisted over the years by the Jews - instead of a celebration it turned into a way to please God by self discipline. | <urn:uuid:52f42ded-9fd0-49a9-b57d-0baf3f9a154e> | {
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Originally published on Fri May 24, 2013 6:01 am
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Good morning, I'm Renee Montagne.
Fracking may have met its match in Germany, where beer makers have lined up against it. Fracking, of course, is a way of bringing up natural gas by pumping water and chemicals into the ground. Germany's powerful beer industry is concerned fracking would pollute groundwater.
Half of Germany's 1,300 brewers have their own wells, and say the pure water is the essence of their famous beers. And if there's one thing Germans take seriously, it's beer.
It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | <urn:uuid:2e06cef5-b9e4-4291-a28f-9f04ec30d05c> | {
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Many people do not realize the importance of making time for themselves. While sacrificing and putting everyone else first, the stress stacks up and the overall health decreases. If you are trying to live a healthy lifestyle, vacationing can be just as important as eating well and exercising. Taking a vacation is good for your health and here is why:
When you are stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. Increased levels of cortisol can cause your insulin levels to remain high, which causes your blood sugar to drop and your cravings for sugary, fatty foods to go up. It is a vicious cycle. So when you take a vacation and can take a break from the every day stresses of life, your body is able to repair itself from some of the damage done by the stress.
Stress has a major impact on heart disease and high blood pressure. There have been long term studies that show vacationing can truly reduce the risk of heart disease and heart attack. Men who took a regular vacation were more than 32% less likely to die from a heart attack while women who did the same were 50% likely to die from a heart attack. (2010 Framingham Heart Study)
Chronic stress can affect the part of the brain that causes memory problems and inhibits goal oriented activities. If you are constantly working and never taking time off for vacation, you will find yourself feeling blocked and distracted with memory problems. A recent survey shows that almost 75% of people who take a regular vacation feel energized and ready to tackle tasks.
Prevention of Illness
Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body. Researchers in this field have found that stress and its adrenal dysfunction can alter change your immune system, making you more susceptible to various illnesses. When stress levels are high, the chances of getting infections or serious conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease are much higher. Some research shows that long-term stress may be a contributing factor to cancer.
Have you ever heard the term “vacation sex”? It is actually a thing! High cortisol levels associated with stress can cause a negative feedback loop in your brain along with lower levels of the sex hormones such as testosterone. This can contribute to a loss of libido. Surveys show that people who take regular vacations feel sexier with a greater romance in their relationships.
Neuroscientists have found that chronic exposure to stress can alter your brain structure which can contribute to depression and anxiety.
Research shows that women who do not take regular vacations were three times more likely to be depressed and anxious. This corroborates a survey that found people who take regular vacations reported feeling extremely happy with an overall feeling of well-being compared to those who did not vacation. And many reported these effects lasting beyond their actual vacation.
Taking a vacation with family or loved ones can help strengthen relationships. During a vacation, memories are made and bonds are forged closer together. A recent study uncovers a correlation between children who achieve academically and their summer family vacations. The family bond that is made during a vacation is priceless while memories are created that will last a lifetime.
Believe it or not, studies show that employees who are given more vacation time actually increase company productivity while even decreasing the number of sick days taken off. Companies with generous vacation packages enable a healthy quality of life for their employees. This translates to a better quality of work. Employees also report feeling more creative after taking a vacation. More than 70% of them reported feeling satisfied with their job.
Another reason why taking a vacation is good for your health is for improved sleep quality. When on vacation, the average person gets approximately an hour more of sleep which can carry over to when they come home.
Most overweight individuals admit to overeating in response to stress. Studies show that indulging more than normal on vacation is ok and individuals can still lose weight because they are less stressed (normal cortisol production) with normal glucose levels.
Lastly, a vacation is good for your health because it keeps you young. Chronic stress can literally speed up the aging process and contribute to many health problems. From a health coach perspective, our recommendation is to make yourself a priority and take a regular vacation if at all possible to contribute to overall good health. | <urn:uuid:cd2c9379-da1f-4f5f-b534-ca970e0b4b54> | {
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As of 2009 China’s planted forest covered more than 500,000 square kilometers (increasing tree cover from 12% to 18%) – the largest artificial forest in the world. However, of the 53,000 hectares planted that year, a quarter died and of the remaining many are dwarf trees, which lack the capacity to protect the soil. In 2008 winter storms destroyed 10% of the new forest stock, causing the World Bank to advise China to focus more on quality rather than quantity in its stock species
Yale University - in an extensive analysis of such “afforestation” efforts published last year in Earth Science Reviews, Beijing Forestry University scientist Shixiong Cao and five co-authors say that on-the-ground surveys have shown that, over time, as many as 85 percent of the plantings fail.
Writing in Nature in September, 2011 Jianchu Xu, senior scientist at the World Agroforestry Centre and a professor at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, echoed concerns about the dangers of planting maladapted tree species in China’s arid environments, noting that native perennial grasses, “with their extensive root systems would be better protectors of topsoil.”
“Plantation monocultures harbor little diversity; they provide almost no habitat for the country's many threatened forest species. Plantations generate less leaf litter and other organic inputs than native forests, so soil fauna and flora decrease... Afforestation in water-stressed regions might provide windbreaks, and tree plantations offer some carbon storage. But these benefits come at a high cost to other ecological functions.”
What could work? Going native. Beyond protecting what native ecosystems remain, some research suggests that simply preventing further abuse of degraded ecosystems can allow them to recover.
Chinese ecologist Jiang Gaoming has called for “nurturing the land by the land itself.” In a region of Inner Mongolia called the “Hunshandake sandy land,” his team of researchers has shown that native grasslands will restore themselves in as little as two years if fencing can be installed to eliminate livestock grazing and other human incursions.
One project underway in a region of Southwest China, under a partnership between Conservation International and China’s Center for Nature and Society, could serve as a better model. In a 100,000-square-mile region that includes ecosystems ranging from coniferous and broadleaf forests, to grasslands, wetlands and bamboo groves, the project has already restored more than 12,000 acres using native species.
In what could be a hopeful turn, China’s State Forestry Administration has indicated that it has gotten the message. The nation’s lead forestry agency has begun collaborating on projects aimed specifically at restoring native species. The agency is working with the Climate Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), whose members include Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, and the Rainforest Alliance.
One of the first of the proposed projects would reforest more than 10,000 acres of severely degraded former forest lands in five counties in Sichuan province, a mountainous region surrounding the upper reaches of the Yangtze and Daduhe Rivers. The area in general is classified by Chinese environmental agencies as a “biological hotspot” that includes — where it’s still intact — habitat for the giant panda.
Following new standards developed by CCBA, the project will primarily use native species, including Armand pine, China cedar, and local varieties of fir, spruce, poplar, and alder
Sahara Forest Project and the pan Africa Great Green Wall
There has been studies considering the implementation of a Sahara forest
UK Guardian - The building of a pan-African Great Green Wall (GGW) was approved by an international summit this week in the former German capital Bonn in 2011
It would be 15km wide, and up to 8,000km long – a living green wall of trees and bushes, full of birds and other animals. Imagine it just south of the Sahara, from Djibouti in the Horn of Africa in the east, all the way across the continent to Dakar, Senegal, in the west.
The GGW, as conceived by the 11 countries located along the southern border of the Sahara, and their international partners, is aimed at limiting the desertification of the Sahel zone. It will also be a catalyst for a multifaceted international economic and environmental programme.
The Sahel zone is the transition between the Sahara in the north and the African savannas in the south, and includes parts of Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.
The GGW initiative initially involved the planting of a 15km-wide forest belt across the continent, with a band of vegetation as continuous as possible, but rerouted if necessary to skirt around obstacles such as streams, rocky areas and mountains – or to link inhabited areas.
During the meeting in Bonn, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) confirmed its promise to allocate up to $115m to support the construction of the green wall. Other international development institutions also made investment pledges to support building the wall, of up to $3bn.
If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks | <urn:uuid:840bf3d7-061a-4390-a1d1-2a3e60021239> | {
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The Moon as seen by Cassini VIMS, processed by an amateur
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla
24-09-2009 13:17 CDT
One of the pieces of the Big Super Secret Moon Water Story that's all over the Web and will be the topic of a press briefing in under an hour is an observation of the Moon made by Cassini more than a decade ago during its flyby of Earth. As some of the earliest data captured by Cassini, it's been available to researchers and the public for a very long time. It wasn't from Cassini's cameras; it was from its imaging spectrometer, VIMS. One of my favorite amateur image processors, Gordan Ugarkovic, has played with these data and produced the following approximate true color image of the Moon. This image doesn't tell the water story -- it only tells what a human sitting on Cassini would see. The water story lies within the VIMS spectral data, some illustration of which will hopefully be released shortly.I put this image out there for the blogosphere to enjoy. I just beg you, if you include this image in anything you write about today's Moon announcement, please give credit where it's due, to the University of Arizona for the original data, and to Ugarkovic for his work with it.
I'll be watching the press briefing but will not be able to get a story posted right away, possibly not until tomorrow. Hopefully I'll make up for my tardiness with considered analysis of the results and a hypeless view of what they really mean!
Or read more blog entries about: | <urn:uuid:e7f93c6c-4acd-4999-9969-8dbdfca9e917> | {
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Like any other country, we have our specialties and considering the different mix of cultures, there is a huge variety of delicacies. Every region has its cuisine.Then there’s the fusion cooking. In the olden days, when Ayurveda was commonly practiced in every household, the food cooked in the house was with spices and vegetables specific to the season. Even today, a lot of households in India do cook according to the season.
Indian cuisine has been influenced by a 5000-year history of various groups and cultures interacting with the subcontinent, leading to the diversity of flavors and regional cuisines found in modern-day India.
Many recipes first emerged during the initial Vedic period, when India was still heavily forested and agriculture was complemented with game hunting and forest produce. In Vedic times, a normal diet consisted of fruit, vegetables, grain, dairy products, honey, and poultry and other sorts of meats. Over time, some segments of the population embraced vegetarianism. This was facilitated by the advent of Buddhism and an equitable climate permitting a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains to be grown throughout the year. A food classification system that categorized any item as saatvic, raajsic or taamsic developed in Ayurveda. A reference to the kind of food one is to eat is also discussed in the Bhagavad Gita . In this period eating beef became taboo, a belief still commonly held today.
During the Middle Ages, several North Indian dynasties were predominant, including the Gupta dynasty. Travelers who visited India brought with them new cooking methods and products such as tea and spices. Later, India saw the period of Central Asian and Afghan conquerors, which saw the emergence of the Mughlai cuisine many people now associate with India. This included the addition of several seasonings, such as saffron, and the practice of cooking in a sealed pot called a dum.
Most Americans believe that Indian food is spicy, its partly true. Most of the Indian recipes can be tweaked to one’s liking.
More about regional cuisine in the following posts. | <urn:uuid:fcc30189-2bb9-4114-8780-103f516f4cb9> | {
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Prostate cancer affects the walnut-sized prostate gland which is located just below a man's bladder in a place which is impossible to feel from outside the body. Although it is the most common cancer in American men, it is not the major cause of cancer-related death, and men are more likely to die with prostate cancer than of it.
Prostate cancer grows very slowly, and may pass through several stages over many years before it is even detected. It begins as a small malignant lesion on the prostate, which is usually undetectable by any means. (These lesions can be discovered on the prostates of men who have died by other means, such as in car accidents.) A person's cancer is classified according to a TMN system. T refers to tumor, and tumors are ranked by size. If prostate cancer has a T classification it means that there is a primary tumor within the prostate itself, which may be removed by surgery]. The N (node) classification is given when the cancer has metastasized into the lymph nodes near the prostate. The M (metastasis) classification is given when the cancer has metastasized out the immediate area into other organs of the body. Cancers which have metastasized are always more difficult to treat with success.
Symptoms of prostate cancer are difficulty with normal] urination and sometimes persistent] lower back pain, but as these can be caused by a number of conditions, should you experience them, you shouldn't jump to conclusions, but instead go to your doctor. The most common diagnostic test for prostate cancer is the digital rectal examination (DRE), and I'm sorry to have to report that the digital in this case refers to a finger, not a computer. It can't be very pleasant to have your rectum clinically probed by a physician's finger, but this is what the exam entails. Unfortunately, too, the technique is subjective, which means that different doctors may interpret DRE's results differently, so it helps to have a skilled and experienced physician perform the exam. Another common exam involves a blood test for prostate specific antigen (PSA); elevated levels of PSA indicate the possibility, but not the certainty, that you have prostate cancer. Other diagnostic tools are currently being developed. If tests point to the possibility of prostate cancer, the doctor may recommend having a biopsy using transrectal ultrasound, which can be performed without anaesthetic (!) using ultrasound to guide a special needle which will take tissue samples.
If prostate cancer is diagnosed early the primary treatment is often "watchful waiting" or "active surveillance", which involves regular DREs and PSA tests and perhaps also transrectal ultrasound. It may sound rather passive, but for many men it is the best option. The patient's quality of life is unaffected by this treatment. It's safe. And it obviates the need for potentially dangerous, debilitating, and expensive surgical, radiation, or chemotherapy treatments. And you should know that impotence and [urinary ncontinence may be the results of these drastic medical interventions. Not to mention the normal risks associated with anesthesia and a major surgical procedure.
The primary risk factor for prostate cancer is age. Over the age of 65, apparently 80% of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and by the age of 90, the proportion is more like 90%. In fact, the reason why the incidence of prostate cancer is higher today than a century ago is because of the aging population. It appears that black] men have more prostate cancer, at a younger age, and of a more aggressive type, than men of other races; white have less, followed in descending order by Hispanics, First Nations, and Asians. As they say in the medical profession, the reasons for this aren't well understood. A strong family history - if your father and brother have prostate cancer, for example - is an indicator of a higher risk. Finally, as with all cancers, smoking, lack of exercise, and a poor diet are all risk factors. A diet high in saturated fats may increase the production of testosterone, which speeds the development of the cancer cell], so eating less fat and more fruits, vegetables, and whole fibre will reduce your risk.
As the concern about prostate cancer has grown, and as the public becomes more interested in alternative treatments, a number of ideas have spread about "natural" treatments for prostate cancer. It's just common sense to eat well and exercise, and doctors tend to be leery of many "natural" treatements because they are not always tested in rigorous ways. An exception is saw palmetto, which has been widely tested and shows promise. One drawback of this herb, and many other such herbal products, is that it may suppress PSA levels in your blood, which can interfere with the effectiveness of the PSA test. That's why if you take saw palmetto or other herbal medicines, you should tell your doctor before having a PSA test.
Websites used to research this node, and which you should visit for more information, include | <urn:uuid:b9523d46-4e7f-479f-a608-5f5c66a32af3> | {
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1. A .5 Kg block rests on a horizontal fricionless surface. The block is pressed back against a spring having a constant of K =625 newtons per meter. The spring is compressed .1 meters. Then the block is released. Find the maximum distance the block travels up the frictionless incline if the angle on the incline is 30 degrees. 2. 3. I set up the PE, KE, and spring .5kxsquared added up equal total energy. For hight, i used 0, where the only stored energy would be the spring(.5kxsquared), PE and Ke here is 0. Than I put H as it's max height(where it would stop on the incline). I don't know what H is though, and can't solve for V. | <urn:uuid:8b742633-d0e0-4b31-80b1-fab2e2e31805> | {
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Vertical lines are not aligned or vertical banding appears. How can I correct this?
If your printouts contain misaligned vertical lines, you may need to align the print head. Your printer must be connected to a local port, not on a network, to use the Print Head Alignment utility.
Follow these steps:
1. Make sure the printer is on but not printing, and letter-size plain paper is loaded.
2. If you have an application running, access the printer settings dialog box as described in the Printer Basics manual. Or, with Windows, open the printer window in control panel. Right-click your Epson Stylus C80 Series printer icon in the Printers window. Select Properties (Document Defaults in Windows NT, Printing Preferences in Windows 2000).
3.Windows: Click the Utility tab.
Macintosh: Click the Utility button.
4. You see the Utility menu. Click the Print Head Alignment button.
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to print a vertical alignment test page.
6. Select the best line from the first group of lines on the printout, and then enter its number in box no. 1 on the screen. Select the line with the cleanest, straightest edges.
7. Select the best line for each of the other groups of lines, and enter its number in the appropriate box.
8. If you select a number other than 8 for any of the groups, click Realignment and follow the instructions on the screen to print another vertical alignment test page. Repeat steps 6 through 8 until number 8 is the best line for each of the groups. Then click Next to continue.
9. Follow the instructions on the screen to print a horizontal alignment test page. You see seven pairs of gray rectangles on the printout.
10. Select the pattern with the least white or black banding where the rectangles meet and enter the number on the screen.
11. Do one of the following:
If pattern number 4 is the best choice, your print head's horizontal alignment is correct. Click Finish.
If you enter any number but 4, click Realignment and follow the instructions to print another test page. Repeat steps 10 and 11 until pattern number 4 is the best choice. Then click Finish. | <urn:uuid:b840aaff-cccd-4198-9c4f-2ca1725f9170> | {
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What Do We See When We Look In The Mirror?
Professor Kang tells us that when it comes to housing segregation, we all are the enemy. He argues that this is the case because we have implicit biases that operate without our conscious awareness to negatively impact people of color in all sorts of housing decisions. Awareness of these biases, he argues, would serve as an important step in addressing housing inequities.What if every American understood the role that implicit bias plays in shaping our housing decisions? Would it bolster a moral urgency to eradicate residential segregation? Professor Kang seems to think so. I wish I shared his optimism.
Kang is hands-down the most successful translator of implicit social cognition research into the legal literature. So, it comes as no surprise that I agree with much of what he writes: Civil rights fatigue is real and widespread; therefore, arguments about historic injustice tend not to resonate as well as arguments about discrimination in the here and now. Likewise, while old-fashioned blatant racism still exists, discrimination today tends to come from a more nuanced and less explicit place. I also agree that implicit bias provides a partial explanation for the continued existence of residential segregation. It is an effective narrative because it explains discrimination in a world where most of us cannot imagine our families or friends using skin color to make a decision about whether to rent a condo or move into a new neighborhood. The problem, though, is that the causes and harms of housing segregation are simultaneously too complicated and too amorphous to spark a groundswell of moral urgency.
Let’s start with the causes of residential segregation. Implicit bias probably influences housing outcomes ranging from individual rental or loan applications to local zoning decisions. But how much responsibility can we assign to it for continued segregation relative to our long and sordid history first of formal discrimination and then of widespread informal, though explicit, racism? Probably not very much. The choice of where to live is a sticky one in two senses that are important here. First, where we live has a strong relationship to our access to basic services like education, transportation and medical care. It shapes our job options and dictates how frequently and in what capacity we come into contact with law enforcement. Our legacy of overt discrimination dictated where black Americans could live (and do continue to live) and we cannot pretend that the dissolution of formal inequality or the decades-long decreases in explicit racism will translate into rapid residential mobility.
Yet, even if we assumed that every American family had an equal ability to move to a less segregated neighborhood, the decision of where to reside is still sticky in the sense that our friends, families and most cherished memories often are strongly tied to the place where we live. These tend to be positive considerations; but in the context of residential mobility, they nonetheless act as constraining forces. We might choose to stay in a racially homogenous neighborhood even though we might not have chosen to live there in the first place had another option been open to us. In sum, then, the legacy of formal discrimination and the stickiness of residential decisions are likely much bigger drivers of modern segregation than is implicit racial bias. Professor Kang acknowledges that implicit racial bias is only part of the segregation puzzle, but my point is a slightly different one: implicit bias is a small enough factor in residential segregation that if people acknowledged the full force of its impact—and then responded in proportion to its harm—we still would have unacceptable levels of residential segregation.
Even the narrow slice of residential segregation that can be attributed to contemporary bias in housing choices probably is not significantly attributable to implicit bias in the strictest sense. Much of the persuasive force of implicit bias research is drawn from that fact that most people would not embrace the negative associations that are sparked automatically if we were consciously aware of them and could explicitly weigh their value. In the context of housing choices, do we have reason to believe that Americans would reject the negative mental associations that help to drive the kind of bias that contributes to housing segregation? I doubt it. Indeed, it would not shock me if many white Americans continue to believe, for example, that when a black family (or families) moves into their neighborhood that the price of their own house could fall. I’m not saying that most Americans embrace that the price should drop as a neighborhood becomes more integrated. Nor am I arguing that this perceived “fact” of a future price drop is justifiable. The point is that even if our implicit associations were made explicit, many Americans would not look in the mirror, denounce themselves for making such an association, and act in a consciously race-neutral manner. Thus, while increasing the salience of the implicit bias narrative could help Americans to understand that automatic associations influence our thoughts and actions without our conscious awareness, it would not do much to reduce residential segregation if the same people would act similarly on the basis of the same associations if they were made explicit.
This discussion of causation and responsibility misses a larger problem with the idea that increased salience of the implicit bias narrative would heighten our collective moral urgency. Specifically, I doubt that most Americans fully understand the harm of de facto racial segregation. We have a lot of problems that should spark a sense of moral urgency: teenagers are dying violent deaths in horrifying numbers in the streets of our major cities; veterans are receiving horrendous care from some of our nation’s veterans hospitals; marriage inequality persists in a number of states. And those are just the ripped from the headlines stories this week. Why should housing segregation deserve a chunk of our finite capacity for moral urgency?
The more serious harm, though, is connected with, but not wholly subsumed by racial considerations. It goes back to the reality that different neighborhoods receive sharply different public services; enjoy more or less access to jobs and entertainment; and suffer more or less crime and other forms of victimization. It is this broader issue of unequal access to opportunity and security that deserves our sense of moral urgency. While implicit racial bias is a helpful tool for understanding some part of why some families are plugged into the opportunity grid and others are not; unfortunately, the value of an implicit racial bias lens diminishes significantly when it comes to evaluating mechanisms for meaningful reform. Implicit bias is a helpful tool in explaining some portion of contemporary discrimination and awareness of its operation will have some positive effect—if awareness of implicit bias helped change the outcome in 0.5% of locational decisions nationally that otherwise would have furthered segregation, that would have a significant impact. Nevertheless, focusing on implicit bias almost certainly is not the shortest path to increasing our collective sense of moral urgency; or, more importantly, to eradicating the harms that are closely connected with residential segregation.
This last point is an important one both for discussions about remedying segregation specifically, and about unequal access to opportunity more broadly. Implicit racial bias is compelling and sexy as an academic idea, and its operation has pernicious real-world consequences. There is no doubt that widespread awareness of implicit racial bias would further the goal of equality across a broad range of social contexts, including and perhaps especially in the context of residential segregation. Nonetheless, we need to be very careful that its shimmer does not distract us from harm-specific substantive reforms that ultimately are more likely to bear fruit in terms of alleviating the worst of the ills associated with residential segregation. | <urn:uuid:39f1faec-6bb9-4d92-a793-81f4d80dc89d> | {
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Tech Prep education is a significant innovation in the education reform movement in the United States. Tech Prep was given major emphasis in the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 and was amended in the School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994.
Tech Prep education is a 4+2 , 3+2 or a 2+2 planned sequence of study in a technical field beginning as early as the ninth year of school. The sequence extends through two years of postsecondary occupational education or an apprenticeship program of at least two years following secondary instruction, and culminates in an associate degree or certificate.
Tech Prep is an important school-to-work transition strategy, helping all students make the connection between school and employment.
Elements of a Tech Prep Program
The Perkins law requires that Tech Prep programs have seven elements:
- an articulation agreement between secondary and postsecondary consortium participants;
- a 2+2 , 3+2 or a 4+2 design with a common core of proficiency in math, science, communication, and technology;
- a specifically developed Tech Prep curriculum;
- joint in-service training of secondary and postsecondary teachers to implement the Tech Prep curriculum effectively;
- training of counselors to recruit students and to ensure program completion and appropriate employment;
- equal access of special populations to the full range of Tech Prep programs;
- preparatory services such as recruitment, career and personal counseling, and occupational assessment.
States are required to give priority consideration to Tech Prep programs that do the following:
- Offer effective employment placement.
- Transfer to 4-year baccalaureate programs.
- Are developed in consultation with business, industry, labor unions, and institutions of higher education that award baccalaureate degrees.
- Address dropout prevention and re-entry and the needs of special populations.
Outcomes for Students
Student outcomes include the following:
- An associate degree or a 2-year certificate.
- Technical preparation in at least one field of engineering technology, applied science, mechanical, industrial, or practical art or trade, or agriculture, health, or business.
- Competence in math, science, and communication.
Tech Prep Success
Each state receives Federal funds to implement Tech Prep programs. There were approximately 1,029 Tech Prep consortia in 1995 but the number increases yearly. In 1995, 737,635 students in the United States were involved in Tech Prep.
During the past eight years (1991-98), eight Tech Prep consortia received the US Department of Education' s "Excellence in Tech Prep Award." Those eight are as follows"
- Tri-County Technical College and Partnership for Academic and Career Education (PACE) in Pendleton, South Carolina
- Portland Community College and Portland Area Vocational Technical Education Consortium (PAVTEC) in Portland, Oregon
- Indian River Community College and Quad County Tech Prep Consortium in Fort Pierce, Florida
- State Center Tech Prep Consortium (SCTPC) in Fresno, California
- Mississippi County Tech Prep Consortium in Osceola, Arkansas
- Miami Valley Tech Prep Consortium in Dayton, Ohio
- South King County Tech Prep Consortium, Auburn, Washington
- Danville Area Community College District 507 Tech Prep Consortium, Danville, Illinois
The Department also funded nine model Tech Prep sites:
- Consortium to Restructure Education through Academic and Technological Excellence (CREATE), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;
- Los Angeles Area Tech Prep Consortium, West Covina, California;
- Mt. Hood Regional Cooperative Consortium, Gresham, Oregon;
- Partnership for Academic and Career Education (PACE), Pendleton, South Carolina;
- Rhode Island Tech Prep Associate Degree Program, Warwick, Rhode Island;
- Richmond County Tech Prep, Hamlet, North Carolina;
- Seattle Tech Prep, Seattle, Washington;
- Southern Maryland Education Consortium in LaPlata, Maryland; and
- Center for Occupational Research and Development, Waco, Texas (includes sites in Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, New Mexico, Michigan, and Oregon).
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education
Division of Vocational Technical Education
E-mail: Chris Lyons | <urn:uuid:81af1eab-ec30-407a-8263-7283d00a01f4> | {
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Managing a small block of remnant native vegetation drives home some basic principles in natural resource management, and highlights the sort of trade-offs that must be made.
Lessons from a semi-urban, residential block also apply to other scales and environments.
The family home is on a small bush block on the outskirts of a city. We love the bush and bush-regeneration is a major objective for our block. So is bushfire prevention and safety. Often the two go hand in hand. Growing beneath a eucalypt over-story, feral olives and watsonia are our main weeds – they obliterate most things trying to grow below them. Clearing them reduces fire risk and gives natives an opportunity to flourish. Sounds like one of those fabled ‘win-win’ results.
Success comes as native seedlings emerge, but having to spot and skirt seedlings makes it harder to slash prior to summer, and some plants want to grow in passive fire-break areas where we don’t want anything apart from very low vegetation. The trade-offs are more time and effort in slashing or hand-weeding and, close to the house, fire-protection outweighs biodiversity.
Change can be slow.
Areas once covered by weeds are now supporting wattle seedlings, the occasional eucalypt, and native fan-flowers, while existing native grasses thrive. It has taken four or five years for seedlings to emerge. We hope other species will eventually appear as the new plants grow and alter their environment. A range of lag-times have to be factored into environmental management. Riparian managers, especially, understand this.
It can get worse first.
Not all change following the removal of major weeds is positive. There is now a wider range of weed species present, which are mostly annual. We hope that, with weeding, judicial spraying, and slashing before flowering, they will eventually be overtaken by more preferred species – but it can sometimes be ‘one step forward, two steps back’.
Removing weeds like feral olives also removes habitat that some native animals rely upon. We’ve learnt that blue wrens seem to love olives. As soon as we removed a thicket of young olives near the house, the wrens stopped calling and retreated to neighbouring blocks further down the valley. When I was about to fell a tall olive tree, a ring-tail possum appeared from its camouflaged drey to watch. It was close to the property boundary, so that weedy tree was allowed to remain. We hope that native regrowth will eventually provide better opportunities for the animals losing out through our weed removal program.
Some changes are reversible.
From their age and height, it is apparent that feral olives had previously been removed from part of the block, but been allowed to regrow. It is a good reminder that some changes in the environment are reversible, and some are not. Working in modified systems takes ongoing effort to support the changes we’ve elected to pursue. The fundamentals like weed control are not once-off events. We are lucky in not having any rabbits here to kill off the native seedlings.
Patches can’t be divorced from landscapes.
Our small block is on the side of a valley, and most neighbouring blocks are similarly mainly remnant eucalypt, with olives dominating the mid-story and a mixed understory of native and weed species. The odd block is mostly cleared, and slashed or grazed to contain fire risk. Foxes live in the valley.
The mosaic of management approaches means we are vigilant about the re-introduction of weeds we’re controlling, but thankful those differences mean fauna dis-advantaged by our efforts have a chance to retreat nearby. Fox control is beyond our individual means, and thankfully rabbit control is not needed, as pest control is a big challenge for individuals on small blocks in a semi-urban area. Some things can be managed at a ‘property’ scale, but others need neighbourhood (or ‘landscape’) approaches – necessitating a much greater degree of community engagement and social challenge.
One step at a time.
We didn’t have a grand plan when starting to clear the block of dominant weeds – just a need to reduce fire risk near the house and a desire to get some native re-growth. That worked, and over successive years we have progressively pushed the ‘weed-line’ further down the valley. Natural resource management is often like that – the most important step is the first one. You don’t have to hold-off trying to amass resources to beat a big problem in one go. Be content to whittle away at big challenges while operating within your capability, and accept the inherent compromises in return for some progress. Make a start – you never know where you’ll end up once you get going.
We won’t own the land for ever, and there is no guarantee future owners will have the same management goals as us. Weed re-infestation could easily occur. That’s a risk we’re happy to take. The satisfaction of seeing the block slowly becoming ‘more native’, while also reducing fire risk, makes the effort worthwhile. Our actions aren’t always motivated by rational, economic thinking alone.
In summary, the management lessons illustrated on the block are:
- Natural resource managers often have to make trade-offs.
- Change in resource condition may be slow – and things might get worse before they get better.
- Some changes are reversible, some are not. Ongoing commitment can be needed to maintain ‘improvements’.
- Patches can’t be divorced from landscapes – there are implications for both from the management of each.
- The best thing a manager can do, is to make a start – have a go and learn from that. | <urn:uuid:af26b420-fb53-444f-93b2-5ab5ddfc7b85> | {
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Decide which of these Subjects you wish to include. Use the 3 Day or 4 Day Weekly Planner as a reference. Don’t try to plan a year out! Plan for 12 weeks, see how it fits, and go from there. If you’d like to see a year at a glance there are yearly planners on the main Organization page. Resources for religious (or not) variations can be found on the Educational Philosophies page.
If it seems overwhelming, just pick 2 subjects. Work on integrating those into the rhythm of your day. Then add another if you feel like it. The foundation of a good education is READING GOOD BOOKS. Everything else is bonus. Some children really enjoy the structure of knowing what they will learn each day. They tend to be step-by-step learners. Others are much more free spirits. If you have one of the latter, observe and see when they are ready for something new. I call them “fire-hose learners….” When they decide to learn something, bring it on!
Make a Book of Centuries?
Include a Geography book?
Map Work? How often? How deep in detail? Pick one country to start.
For students at all levels, pick out several Fine Motor Skills activities (1-2x per week).
For those who want to learn, pick out books and activities for Letter Formation (1-2x per week).
For those who have mastered letter formation, start Copywork (1-2x per week).
Add Dictation once a week from around age 10, if desired.
Choose 3-4 Grammar Concepts to cover. Pick out activities and/or books. 1 concept a month is enough for younger students.
Choose 3 books to start. Make a habit of reading 1 chapter a day. Add more books as the year goes on.
Choose 1 Mythology book for the year. Read it slowly.
Choose 1 Shakespeare book. Read it during tea-time (or snack-time) once a week, and act out the voices!
If using Math of the Level, choose 3-4 concepts. Introduce them as suits your child.
Practice 5 problems each day reviewing concepts that are well known.
Choose other Activities and Art projects.
Choose 1 Living Science book.
Choose some Science Projects.
Choose 3-4 Drawing and Crafts projects. Allow plenty of free time for drawing and painting. | <urn:uuid:5fa04b55-dac6-4d87-8643-b5e721f577c7> | {
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Date: May 25, 1950
Creator: Acker, Loren W & Kleinknecht, Kenneth S
Description: A flight investigation in natural icing conditions was conducted to determine the effect of inlet ice formations on the performance of axial-flow turbojet engines. The results are presented for icing conditions ranging from a liquid-water content of 0.1 to 0.9 gram per cubic meter and water-droplet size from 10 to 27 microns at ambient-air temperature from 13 to 26 degrees F. The data show time histories of jet thrust, air flow, tail-pipe temperature, compressor efficiency, and icing parameters for each icing encounter. The effect of inlet-guide-vane icing was isolated and shown to account for approximately one-half the total reduction in performance caused by inlet icing.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department | <urn:uuid:e35fa0fc-a632-43be-889e-54834ef46666> | {
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"When the Best is Mediocre"
A report from the George W. Bush Institute, in Dallas, argues that even America’s top school districts are “mediocre” in student achievement compared with the performance of other industrialized countries.
The report, published in an online preview of the Winter 2012 issue of Education Next, argues that when average district achievement in mathematics or reading is compared with average achievement in those subjects for students in other industrialized countries, as measured on the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, even wealthier districts in areas like Beverly Hills, Calif., and Fairfax County, Va., fall in the middle of the pack or worse.
The report’s accompanying interactive website allows users to see how 13,636 school districts would rank in student achievement in comparison with the average student performance in 25 industrialized nations in math and reading. Fairfax County students, for example, rank in the 49th percentile in math, just below the 25-nation average.
It also breaks out comparisons of average student performance in Canada, Norway, and Singapore.
Vol. 31, Issue 06, Page 5Published in Print: October 5, 2011, as International Achievement | <urn:uuid:c9d3b392-89de-4bec-9973-0e6587fa4837> | {
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Treating Hirschsprung's disease
requires surgery to remove the affected bowel
and then join the healthy bowel segments. There are three different approaches, each with a high rate of success. The choice depends on the overall health of the child and the training and experience of the surgeon
Sometimes a single surgical procedure is recommended to remove the aganglionic segment
, then bring the healthy bowel down into the rectum
, and join it to the rectal wall
: this is called a "pull-through
. If an infant
is too small or a child is critically
ill, a temporary colostomy
may be necessary prior to the pull-through.
In a colostomy, the colon is brought out to the surface of the abdomen
so that stool contents can be discharged
into a special bag for disposal
Subsequent to the colostomy, the pull-through surgery can be planned. The colostomy opening can then closed at the time of the pull-through, or, in some cases, at a third operation after it is clear that the pull-through is working.
For most children with Hirschsprung's disease, there are no long-term complications
after successful surgery. A significant minority of children, though, are troubled with persistent constipation
), or persistent enterocolitis
Personal Note: Being affected with this disease, and not having had the surgery due to incorrect early diagnosis, I am inspired to say that living with this problem without surgery is very difficult. You may experince humiliation due to inability to control bowel movments, severe pain when having bowel movments, and constant illness due to the inability to remove toxins from the body. Please do not allow a child to grow up with this disease. | <urn:uuid:45bc42a5-ae7b-4850-b2b2-e926b1d0f47b> | {
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- Spreading services
- Delivery options
- Locally owned and operated
- Affordable prices
Topsoil Delivery Guys and Nutrients In Topsoil
Modern farming practices emphasize crop rotation to conserve limited topsoil. Farmers rotate crops; specifically allow fields to lay fallow, and plant nitrogen fixing plants to promote soil health. Many times farmers will also plow different materials into the topsoil to enrich the humus, and spread compost and manure on it to enrich the topsoil, thereby making the topsoil more nutritious and rich. Healthy topsoil has dark brown appearance and feels moist, and crumbly. Unhealthy topsoil will look gray and will feel the same all over.
Topsoil Delivery Guys explains there are four main nutrients in topsoil: Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. Ideally, all four should be present in topsoil to ensure that the topsoil is balanced and healthy. Each of these nutrients serves a vital role in helping plants to thrive.
Nutrients In Topsoil like Nitrogen
Nitrogen is the main nutrient which causes plants to grow and is needed to ensure the proper growth of leaves, branches, and stems. Weak, short, and the yellowing of leaves are signs that the topsoil might be lacking adequate nitrogen. However, too much nitrogen in the topsoil is just as detrimental to the plant and can cause, for example, excessive leaf length at the expense of shorter flowers.
Phosphorous is the nutrient responsible primarily with plant development. Deficiencies will be apparent through stunted roots while the leaves on the plants may appear green or purple.
Nutrients In Topsoil
Potassium is important for photosynthesis. In addition, it promotes flower and fruit development. The yellowing and eventual death of leaf tissue would be a pretty good sign that the topsoil is lacking potassium. The plant will also be more easily susceptible to diseases when lacking potassium.
Call Topsoil Delivery Guys today on 888-487-8118. | <urn:uuid:2e6bbc20-0c70-46b4-811d-c943ea70e992> | {
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It’s hard to tell fact from fiction when it comes to this particularly gruesome custom. Ritual sacrifice is described in the Bible, Greek mythology and the Norse sagas, and the Romans accused many of the people they conquered of engaging in ritual sacrifice, but the evidence was thin. A recent accumulation of archaeological findings from around the world shows that it was surprisingly common for people to ritually kill—and sometimes eat—other people.
9. We’ve already changed the climate for the rest of this century.
The mechanics of climate change aren’t that complex: we burn fossil fuels; a byproduct of that burning is carbon dioxide; it enters the atmosphere and traps heat, warming the surface of the planet. The consequences are already apparent: glaciers are melting faster than ever, flowers are blooming earlier (just ask Henry David Thoreau), and plants and animals are moving to more extreme latitudes and altitudes to keep cool.
Even more disturbing is the fact that carbon dioxide lingers in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. We have just begun to see the effects of human-induced climate change, and the predictions for what’s to come range from dire to catastrophic.
10. The universe is made of stuff we can barely begin to imagine.
Everything you probably think of when you think of the universe—planets, stars, galaxies, black holes, dust—makes up just 4 percent of whatever is out there. The rest comes in two flavors of “dark,” or unknown stuff: dark matter, at 23 percent of the universe, and dark energy, at a whopping 73 percent:
Scientists have some ideas about what dark matter might be—exotic and still hypothetical particles—but they have hardly a clue about dark energy. … University of Chicago cosmologist Michael S. Turner ranks dark energy as “the most profound mystery in all of science.”
The effort to solve it has mobilized a generation of astronomers in a rethinking of physics and cosmology to rival and perhaps surpass the revolution Galileo inaugurated on an autumn evening in Padua. … [Dark energy] has inspired us to ask, as if for the first time: What is this cosmos we call home?
But astronomers do know that, thanks to these dark parts, the universe is expanding. And not only expanding, but expanding faster and faster. Ultimately, everything in the universe will drift farther and farther apart until the universe is uniformly cold and desolate. The world will end in a whimper. | <urn:uuid:30c1fd14-1433-4412-9c43-5496f225cec5> | {
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When examining the causes for an event (such as a death) we can separate them into two categories: event causation and agent causation (prior physical events cause things to happen and free agents cause things to happen). It’s important to recognize that free agents alone have the freedom to act or respond without a prior physical causal event. Physical objects, like dominoes, cannot cause themselves to fall over; they require a prior event to cause them to fall. But you and I have the ability to cause the first domino to fall as a simple matter of choice (we don’t need a prior event to cause this action). You can’t blame a car for running over a victim; the car is simply a physical object subject to a series of physical processes, none of which can be held morally culpable. But we can blame thedriver of the car for driving the car over the victim. The driver is a free agent, and we recognize that his choices are just that: free choices. The driver is not like the car. His choice is not simply the result of a series of purely physical processes, like dominoes falling. He had the freedom to choose otherwise, and this is why we seek to arrest and prosecute him.
Our recognition of the moral culpability of the driver (rather than the car) is an admission that materialism (physicalism) fails to explain who we are as humans. Consider the following argument:
No Physical System is a Free Agent
Physical systems are either “determined” (one event necessarily following the other) or “random”
Therefore No Physical System Has Moral Responsibility
Moral responsibility requires moral freedom of choice
Human Beings DO Have Moral Responsibility
We recognize that each of us has the responsibility and choice to act morally, and indeed, we seek to hold each other legally accountable for each other’s free-will choices
Therefore, Human Beings Are NOT Simply Physical Systems
Our recognition of moral responsibility and our efforts to hold each other accountable are irrational and unwarranted if humans are merely physical systems
If we, as humans, are only physical systems (merely matter), we ought to stop trying to hold each other accountable for misbehavior. In fact, there can be no misbehavior if we are only physical brains and bodies; there can only be behavior. Our actions have no moral content at all unless we truly have the freedom to choose and the ability to break the bondage of physical event causation.
I finally learned what the “Twinkie defense” was by reading that post. It’s worth it for that reason alone.
This quote by JWW reminded me of a famous chapter in Theodore Dalrymple’s famous book “Life at the Bottom”, in which he explains the worldview of the lower classes in Britain. The chapter is called “The Knife Went In“, and it shows how people in the underclass describe their crimes in a way that completely minimizes their own free choices and their own responsibilities.
Take a look:
It is a mistake to suppose that all men, or at least all Englishmen, want to be free. On the contrary, if freedom entails responsibility, many of them want none of it. They would happily exchange their liberty for a modest (if illusory) security. Even those who claim to cherish their freedom are rather less enthusiastic about taking the consequences of their actions. The aim of untold millions is to be free to do exactly as they choose and for someone else to pay when things go wrong.
In the past few decades, a peculiar and distinctive psychology has emerged in England. Gone are the civility, sturdy independence, and admirable stoicism that carried the English through the war years. It has been replaced by a constant whine of excuses, complaint, and special pleading. The collapse of the British character has been as swift and complete as the collapse of British power.
Listening as I do every day to the accounts people give of their lives, I am struck by the very small part in them which they ascribe to their own efforts, choices, and actions. Implicitly, they disagree with Bacon’s famous dictum that “chiefly the mould of a man’s fortune is in his own hands.” Instead, they experience themselves as putty in the hands of fate.
It is instructive to listen to the language they use to describe their lives. The language of prisoners in particular teaches much about the dishonest fatalism with which people seek to explain themselves to others, especially when those others are in a position to help them in some way. As a doctor who sees patients in a prison once or twice a week, I am fascinated by prisoners’ use of the passive mood and other modes of speech that are supposed to indicate their helplessness. They describe themselves as the marionettes of happenstance.
Not long ago, a murderer entered my room in the prison shortly after his arrest to seek a prescription for the methadone to which he was addicted. I told him that I would prescribe a reducing dose, and that within a relatively short time my prescription would cease. I would not prescribe a maintenance dose for a man with a life sentence.
“Yes,” he said, “it’s just my luck to be here on this charge.”
Luck? He had already served a dozen prison sentences, many of them for violence, and on the night in question had carried a knife with him, which he must have known from experience that he was inclined to use. But it was the victim of the stabbing who was the real author of the killer’s action: if he hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have been stabbed.
My murderer was by no means alone in explaining his deed as due to circumstances beyond his control. As it happens, there are three stabbers (two of them unto death) at present in the prison who used precisely the same expression when describing to me what happened. “The knife went in,” they said when pressed to recover their allegedly lost memories of the deed.
The knife went in—unguided by human hand, apparently. That the long-hated victims were sought out, and the knives carried to the scene of the crimes, was as nothing compared with the willpower possessed by the inanimate knives themselves, which determined the unfortunate outcome.
I wonder how much the secularism and atheism of the Britain academics has now seeped down to the lower classes and caused them to view themselves as lumps of meat or animals, rather than responsible free agents. Britain is the country of Charles Darwin and the idea of unguided Darwinian evolution. If you believe that you are an animal who evolved by accident in an accidental universe, then you don’t believe in free will, moral choices or moral obligations. The funniest thing in the world to me is how atheists go about their lives helping themselves to moral language that is not grounded by their worldview. Like parrots who have been trained to talk about the stock market. There is no realm of objective moral values and duties on atheism, so why are they using moral language and making moral judgments? On their view right and wrong are just social customs and conventions that vary by time and place, and human actions are biologically determined anyway. There are no choices. There is no responsibility.
You can read the whole Dalrymple book for free online, and I’ve linked to all the chapters in this one post. | <urn:uuid:bf826c20-d527-4fa4-9f35-f8ba22a5a193> | {
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Oral & Oropharyngeal Cancers
Worldwide, over 550,000 new cases of Oral, Head and Neck cancer are diagnosed each year.
Oropharyngeal cancer is slightly different from oral cancer. Oropharyngeal cancers are related to HPV (Human papilloma virus) and usually occur in the tonsils or at the base of the tongue, while oral cancers are in the mouth and usually associated with tobacco use.
The Oral Cavity
The oral cavity incudes the lips, the inside lining of the lips and cheeks, the teeth, the gums, the front two-thirds of the tongue, the floor of the mouth below the tongue, and the bony roof of the mouth – also known as the hard palate.
Behind the wisdom teeth is considered the oropharynx, which is part of the throat just behind the mouth. It also includes the base of the tongue, the soft palate (back of the mouth), the tonsils, and the side and back wall of the throat.
Oral and Oropharyngeal cancers are sorted into 3 categories: Benign (non-cancerous), harmless growths that may develop into cancer, and cancerous tumors. This is why regular check-ups with your dental professional are key to your overall well-being.
The Team Involved
The treatment of head and neck cancers does not involve just your dental team, the assistance of many different professionals contributes is required. There may be surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, dentists, nutritionists, and speech therapists all involved in your treatment.
Oral cancers are found as late stage three and four diseases about 66% of the time.
It is very important for you to check yourself at home as well as visiting your dentist.
Call Virginia Oral & Facial Surgery to schedule your routine dental check up and oral cancer screening today!
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Springfield Museums Press Releases
A Hidden Treasure Revealed: Rare Tlingit War Helmet Discovered at Springfield Science Museum
Springfield Science Museum
December 18, 2013
Stored on a shelf for over 100 hundred years, a rare anthropological treasure was recently discovered in the Springfield Science Museum’s permanent collections. Museum Director David Stier, who has worked in museums collections for almost 30 years, describes the discovery as nothing less than “the find of a lifetime.”
The mystery began to unfold when Museum staffers began to select objects from the over 200,000 items in the Museum’s collections for a new display titled “People of the Northwest Coast.” Dr. Ellen Savulis, the Science Museum’s Curator of Anthropology, was intrigued by one of the items described in collections records as simply an “Aleutian hat.” The object was relatively large, ornately carved, and made from a single piece of dense wood. Although Dr. Savulis’ main area of expertise is Northeastern United States archaeology, she had the foresight to question whether hats made by the Unangax, the inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands, were typically made from such dense wood. Upon further investigation, Dr. Savulis found that the only type of wooden hat made in the treeless Aleutians is the hunting hat or visor, made from a thin plank of driftwood bent into a lopsided cone. None of this information matched the object she had in front of her.
Dr. Savulis suspected that she had a helmet of some kind, and enlisted the help of Steve Henrikson, Curator of Collections at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau. After hearing the description and an extensive viewing of artifact images, Mr. Henrikson responded enthusiastically, “This is a Tlingit war helmet, absolutely, no question!” He went on to say that “it’s very rare - there are less than 100 Tlingit war helmets in existence that we know of. I’ve been studying them for over 20 years and I’m sure I’ve seen most of them.”
Museum records show that the artifact was accepted into collections sometime after 1899, the year that the Springfield Science Museum (formerly the Museum of Natural History) moved into its own building at the Quadrangle. The source of the artifact was not known, and it carried the simple label “Aleutian hat.” Having limited experience with cultural materials, museum specialist Albertus Lovejoy Dakin accepted the accuracy of the object’s label and entered it as such in the collection records. Some 40 years later the artifact received a permanent museum collection number from museum director Leo D. Otis, who still had no reason to dispute the “Aleutian hat” claim. There the artifact remained in its spot in the permanent collections, carefully preserved and unheralded, waiting to be found.
According to Mr. Henrikson, we now know that the object is indeed a war helmet from the Tlingit people of southeast Alaska. The style of the carving and decoration on the helmet (probably the emblem of a clan) dates it to the mid-19th century or earlier. With the mass importation of firearms to the region in the mid-1800’s, this sort of body armor became relegated to ceremonial uses. Today, a few helmets are still brought out at ceremonial gatherings, such as potlatches, to commemorate prominent events and honor past clan elders. Because they are associated with combat, the helmets are not actually worn on the head during such peaceful gatherings, but are instead held in hand or perhaps held over the head of someone needing spiritual support.
Henrikson estimates that there are approximately 95 war helmets in existence today, mostly in large museum collections. Many of these were collected by Russian explorers on the battlefield following clashes with the Tlingit. The largest collection of Tlingit armor is at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology in St. Petersburg.
Beginning as protection for Tlingit warriors in battle, war helmets today serve the Tlingit as healing reminders of their rich and ancient history. A glimpse of this rich history can be seen starting Thursday, December 26, when the helmet will be placed on display for the first time since arriving in Springfield over a century ago. | <urn:uuid:2dae51b9-3c2d-4819-9043-37a4eaee1cda> | {
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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) at St. Luke's
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease makes it hard for you to breathe. Coughing up mucus is often the first sign of COPD. In healthy people, both the airways and air sacs of the lungs are springy and elastic. In COPD, the airways and air sacs lose their shape and do not work properly. Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of COPD. Quitting smoking is the best way to avoid developing COPD.
Two Types of COPD
Chronic bronchitis – an inflammation of the main airways in the lungs that continues for a long period or keeps coming back
Emphysema – Emphysema is a lung disease that keeps getting worse. Shortness of breath and decreasing ability to do physical activity are signs of emphysema.
COPD Signs and Symptoms
- Shortness of breath
- Tightness of the chest
- Exposure to pollution
- Family history
- Chest X-ray
- CT Scan
- Pulmonary Function Test
- Arterial Blood Gas Test
- Pulse Oximetry Test
- Sputum Culture
COPD Treatment and Care
Using an instrument that measures how much air can be exhaled, COPD can be measured and the right treatment recommended.
Stage 0 – This is the least severe level of COPD. Lung function is considered to be within normal levels, but the patient has coughing and excessive sputum. Treatment may simply be the elimination of possible risk factors.
Stage 1 – Considered to be a “mild,” stage 1 is when the patient can exhale at least 50 percent of the air in one second. Severe breathlessness is common, but the affect on the person's quality of life is small. This stage can be treated with inhaled medications.
Stage 2 – This is considered a “moderate” stage of COPD and has a big impact on quality of life. Lung function testing shows the patient having less than 50 percent of normal lung function. Moderate COPD can be treated with one or more bronchodilators or inhaled medications.
Stage 3 – Stage 3 of COPD is considered “severe” and lung function is less than 35 percent of what is normal. Quality of life is impacted greatly, and the disease may be life-threatening. Severe COPD can be treated with one or more bronchodilators, inhaled glucocorticosteroids, and other inhaled medications. Oxygen and mucus thinners also may be prescribed. | <urn:uuid:212f32f1-aaf7-4244-b6da-59473c4d407e> | {
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The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân, by M.M. Pickthall, at sacred-texts.com
9. at-Taubah: Repentance
1 Freedom from obligation (is proclaimed) from Allah and His messenger toward those of the idolaters with whom ye made a treaty.
2 Travel freely in the land four months, and know that ye cannot escape Allah and that Allah will confound the disbelievers (in His Guidance).
3 And a proclamation from Allah and His messenger to all men on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage that Allah is free from obligation to the idolaters, and (so is) His messenger. So, if ye repent, it will be better for you; but if ye are averse, then know that ye cannot escape Allah. Give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom to those who disbelieve,
4 Excepting those of the idolaters with whom ye (Muslims) have a treaty, and who have since abated nothing of your right nor have supported anyone against you. (As for these), fulfil their treaty to them till their term. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty (unto Him).
5 Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
6 And if anyone of the idolaters seeketh thy protection (O Muhammad), then protect him so that he may hear the Word of Allah, and afterward convey him to his place of safety. That is because they are a folk who know not.
7 How can there be a treaty with Allah and with His messenger for the idolaters save those with whom ye made a treaty at the Inviolable Place of Worship ? So long as they are true to you, be true to them. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty.
8 How (can there be any treaty for the others) when, if they have the upper hand of you, they regard not pact nor honour in respect of you ? They satisfy you with their mouths the while their hearts refuse. And most of them are wrongdoers.
9 They have purchased with the revelations of Allah a little gain, so they debar (men) from His way. Lo! evil is that which they are wont to do.
10 And they observe toward a believer neither pact nor honour. These are they who are transgressors.
11 But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then are they your brethren in religion. We detail Our revelations for a people who have knowledge.
12 And if they break their pledges after their treaty (hath been made with you) and assail your religion, then fight the heads of disbelief - Lo! they have no binding oaths - in order that they may desist.
13 Will ye not fight a folk who broke their solemn pledges, and purposed to drive out the messenger and did attack you first ? What! Fear ye them ? Now Allah hath more right that ye should fear Him, if ye are believers
14 Fight them! Allah will chastise them at your hands, and He will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He will heal the breasts of folk who are believers.
15 And He will remove the anger of their hearts. Allah relenteth toward whom He will. Allah is Knower, Wise.
16 Or deemed ye that ye would be left (in peace) when Allah yet knoweth not those of you who strive, choosing for familiar none save Allah and His messenger and the believers ? Allah is Informed of what ye do.
17 It is not for the idolaters to tend Allah's sanctuaries, bearing witness against themselves of disbelief. As for such, their works are vain and in the Fire they will abide.
18 He only shall tend Allah's sanctuaries who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due and feareth none save Allah. For such (only) is it possible that they can be of the rightly guided.
19 Count ye the slaking of a pilgrim's thirst and tendance of the Inviolable Place of Worship as (equal to the worth of) him who believeth in Allah and the Last Day, and striveth in the way of Allah ? They are not equal in the sight of Allah. Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
20 Those who believe, and have left their homes and striven with their wealth and their lives in Allah's way are of much greater worth in Allah's sight. These are they who are triumphant.
21 Their Lord giveth them good tidings of mercy from Him, and acceptance, and Gardens where enduring pleasure will be theirs;
22 There they will abide for ever. Lo! with Allah there is immense reward.
23 O ye who believe! Choose not your fathers nor your brethren for friends if they take pleasure in disbelief rather than faith. Whoso of you taketh them for friends, such are wrong-doers.
24 Say: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brethren, and your wives, and your tribe, and the wealth ye have acquired, and merchandise for which ye fear that there will no sale, and dwellings ye desire are dearer to you than Allah and His messenger and striving in His way: then wait till Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
25 Allah hath given you victory on many fields and on the day of Huneyn, when ye exulted in your multitude but it availed you naught, and the earth, vast as it is, was straitened for you; then ye turned back in flight;
26 Then Allah sent His peace of reassurance down upon His messenger and upon the believers, and sent down hosts ye could not see, and punished those who disbelieved. Such is the reward of disbelievers.
27 Then afterward Allah will relent toward whom He will; for Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
28 O ye who believe! The idolaters only are unclean. So let them not come near the Inviolable Place of Worship after this their year. If ye fear poverty (from the loss of their merchandise) Allah shall preserve you of His bounty if He will. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise.
29 Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low.
30 And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they!
31 They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One God. There is no God save Him. Be He Glorified from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him)!
32 Fain would they put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah disdaineth (aught) save that He shall perfect His light, however much the disbelievers are averse.
33 He it is Who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religion, however much the idolaters may be averse.
34 O ye who believe! Lo! many of the (Jewish) rabbis and the (Christian) monks devour the wealth of mankind wantonly and debar (men) from the way of Allah. They who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah, unto them give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom,
35 On the day when it will (all) be heated in the fire of hell, and their foreheads and their flanks and their backs will be branded therewith (and it will be said unto them): Here is that which ye hoarded for yourselves. Now taste of what ye used to hoard.
36 Lo! the number of the months with Allah is twelve months by Allah's ordinance in the day that He created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred: that is the right religion. So wrong not yourselves in them. And wage war on all of the idolaters as they are waging war on all of you. And know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).
37 Postponement (of a sacred month) is only an excess of disbelief whereby those who disbelieve are misled; they allow it one year and forbid it (another) year, that they may make up the number of the months which Allah hath hallowed, so that they allow that which Allah hath forbidden. The evil of their deeds is made fairseeming unto them. Allah guideth not the disbelieving folk.
38 O ye who believe! What aileth you that when it is said unto you: Go forth in the way of Allah, ye are bowed down to the ground with heaviness. Take ye pleasure in the life of the world rather than in the Hereafter ? The comfort of the life of the world is but little in the Hereafter.
39 If ye go not forth He will afflict you with a painful doom, and will choose instead of you a folk other than you. Ye cannot harm Him at all. Allah is Able to do all things.
40 If ye help him not, still Allah helped him when those who disbelieve drove him forth, the second of two; when they two were in the cave, when he said unto his comrade: Grieve not. Lo! Allah is with us. Then Allah caused His peace of reassurance to descend upon him and supported him with hosts ye cannot see, and made the word of those who disbelieved the nethermost, while Allah's Word it was that became the uppermost. Allah is Mighty, Wise.
41 Go forth, light-armed and heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah! That is best for you if ye but knew.
42 Had it been a near adventure and an easy journey they had followed thee, but the distance seemed too far for them. Yet will they swear by Allah (saying): If we had been able we would surely have set out with you. They destroy their souls, and Allah knoweth that they verily are liars.
43 Allah forgive thee (O Muhammad)! Wherefor didst thou grant them leave ere those who told the truth were manifest to thee and thou didst know the liars ?
44 Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day ask no leave of thee lest they should strive with their wealth and their lives. Allah is Aware of those who keep their duty (unto Him).
45 They alone ask leave of thee who believe not in Allah and the Last Day, and whose hearts feel doubt, so in their doubt they waver.
46 And if they had wished to go forth they would assuredly have made ready some equipment, but Allah was averse to their being sent forth and held them back and it was said (unto them): Sit ye with the sedentary!
47 Had they gone forth among you they had added to you naught save trouble and had hurried to and fro among you, seeking to cause sedition among you; and among you there are some who would have listened to them. Allah is Aware of evil- doers.
48 Aforetime they sought to cause sedition and raised difficulties for thee till the Truth came and the decree of Allah was made manifest, though they were loth.
49 Of them is he who saith: Grant me leave (to stay at home) and tempt me not. Surely it is into temptation that they (thus) have fallen. Lo! hell verily is all around the disbelievers.
50 If good befalleth thee (O Muhammad) it afflicteth them, and if calamity befalleth thee, they say: We took precaution, and they turn away well pleased.
51 Say: Naught befalleth us save that which Allah hath decreed for us. He is our Protecting Friend. In Allah let believers put their trust!
52 Say: Can ye await for us aught save one of two good things (death or victory in Allah's way) ? while we await for you that Allah will afflict you with a doom from Him or at our hands. Await then! Lo! We are awaiting with you.
53 Say: Pay (your contribution), willingly or unwillingly, it will not be accepted from you. Lo! ye were ever froward folk.
54 And naught preventeth that their contributions should be accepted from them save that they have disbelieved in Allah and in His messenger, and they come not to worship save as idlers, and pay not (their contribution) save reluctantly.
55 So let not their riches nor their children please thee (O Muhammad). Allah thereby intendeth but to punish them in the life of the world and that their souls shall pass away while they are disbelievers.
56 And they swear by Allah that they are in truth of you, when they are not of you, but they are folk who are afraid.
57 Had they but found a refuge, or caverns, or a place to enter, they surely had resorted thither swift as runaways.
58 And of them is he who defameth thee in the matter of the alms. If they are given thereof they are content, and if they are not given thereof, behold! they are enraged.
59 (How much more seemly) had they been content with that which Allah and His messenger had given them and had said: Allah sufficeth us. Allah will give us of His bounty, and (also) His messenger. Unto Allah we are suppliants.
60 The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarer; a duty imposed by Allah. Allah is Knower, Wise.
61 And of them are those who vex the Prophet and say: He is only a hearer. Say: A hearer of good for you, who believeth in Allah and is true to the believers, and a mercy for such of you as believe. Those who vex the messenger of Allah, for them there is a painful doom.
62 They swear by Allah to you (Muslims) to please you, but Allah, with His messenger, hath more right that they should please Him if they are believers.
63 Know they not that whoso opposeth Allah and His messenger, his verily is fire of hell, to abide therein ? That is the extreme abasement.
64 The hypocrites fear lest a surah should be revealed concerning them, proclaiming what is in their hearts. Say: Scoff (your fill)! Lo! Allah is disclosing what ye fear.
65 And if thou ask them (O Muhammad) they will say: We did but talk and jest. Say: Was it at Allah and His revelations and His messenger that ye did scoff ?
66 Make no excuse. Ye have disbelieved after your (confession of) belief. If We forgive a party of you, a party of you We shall punish because they have been guilty.
67 The hypocrites, both men and women, proceed one from another. They enjoin the wrong, and they forbid the right, and they withhold their hands (from spending for the cause of Allah). They forget Allah, so He hath forgotten them. Lo! the hypocrites, they are the transgressors.
68 Allah promiseth the hypocrites, both men and women, and the disbelievers fire of hell for their abode. It will suffice them. Allah curseth them, and theirs is lasting torment.
69 Even as those before you who were mightier than you in strength, and more affluent than you in wealth and children. They enjoyed their lot awhile, so ye enjoy your lot awhile even as those before you did enjoy their lot awhile. And ye prate even as they prated. Such are they whose works have perished in the world and the Hereafter. Such are they who are the losers.
70 Hath not the fame of those before them reached them - the folk of Noah, A'ad, Thamud, the folk of Abraham, the dwellers of Midian and the disasters (which befell them) ? Their messengers (from Allah) came unto them with proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty). So Allah surely wronged them not, but they did wrong themselves.
71 And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish worship and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allah and His messenger. As for these, Allah will have mercy on them. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise.
72 Allah promiseth to the believers, men and women, Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide - blessed dwellings in Gardens of Eden. And - greater (far)! - acceptance from Allah. That is the supreme triumph.
73 O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites! Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a hapless journey's end.
74 They swear by Allah that they said nothing (wrong), yet they did say the word of disbelief, and did disbelieve after their Surrender (to Allah). And they purposed that which they could not attain, and they sought revenge only that Allah by His messenger should enrich them of His bounty. If they repent it will be better for them; and if they turn away, Allah will afflict them with a painful doom in the world and the Hereafter, and they have no protecting friend nor helper in the earth.
75 And of them is he who made a covenant with Allah (saying): If He give us of His bounty we will give alms and become of the righteous.
76 Yet when He gave them of His bounty, they hoarded it and turned away, averse;
77 So He hath made the consequence (to be) hypocrisy in their hearts until the day when they shall meet Him, because they broke their word to Allah that they promised Him, and because they lied.
78 Know they not that Allah knoweth both their secret and the thought that they confide, and that Allah is the Knower of Things Hidden ?
79 Those who point at such of the believers as give the alms willingly and such as can find naught to give but their endeavours, and deride them - Allah (Himself) derideth them. Theirs will be a painful doom.
80 Ask forgiveness for them (O Muhammad), or ask not forgiveness for them; though thou ask forgiveness for them seventy times Allah will not forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
81 Those who were left behind rejoiced at sitting still behind the messenger of Allah, and were averse to striving with their wealth and their lives in Allah's way. And they said: Go not forth in the heat! Say: The fire of hell is more intense of heat, if they but understood.
82 Then let them laugh a little: they will weep much, as the reward of what they used to earn.
83 If Allah bring thee back (from the campaign) unto a party of them and they ask of thee leave to go out (to fight), then say unto them: Ye shall never more go out with me nor fight with me against a foe. Ye were content with sitting still the first time. So sit still, with the useless.
84 And never (O Muhammad) pray for one of them who dieth, nor stand by his grave. Lo! they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and they died while they were evil-doers.
85 Let not their wealth nor their children please thee! Allah purposeth only to punish them thereby in the world, and that their souls shall pass away while they are disbelievers.
86 And when a surah is revealed (which saith): Believe in Allah and strive along with His messenger, the men of wealth among them still ask leave of thee and say: Suffer us to be with those who sit (at home).
87 They are content that they should be with the useless and their hearts are sealed, so that they apprehend not.
88 But the messenger and those who believe with him strive with their wealth and their lives. Such are they for whom are the good things. Such are they who are the successful.
89 Allah hath made ready for them Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide. That is the supreme triumph.
90 And those among the wandering Arabs who had an excuse came in order that permission might be granted them. And those who lied to Allah and His messenger sat at home. A painful doom will fall on those of them who disbelieve.
91 Not unto the weak nor unto the sick nor unto those who can find naught to spend is any fault (to be imputed though they stay at home) if they are true to Allah and His messenger. Not unto the good is there any road (of blame). Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
92 Nor unto those whom, when they came to thee (asking) that thou shouldst mount them, thou didst tell: I cannot find whereon to mount you. They turned back with eyes flowing with tears, for sorrow that they could not find the means to spend.
93 The road (of blame) is only against those who ask for leave of thee (to stay at home) when they are rich. They are content to be with the useless. Allah hath sealed their hearts so that they know not.
94 They will make excuse to you (Muslims) when ye return unto them. Say: Make no excuse, for we shall not believe you. Allah hath told us tidings of you. Allah and His messenger will see your conduct, and then ye will be brought back unto Him Who knoweth the Invisible as well as the Visible, and He will tell you what ye used to do.
95 They will swear by Allah unto you, when ye return unto them, that ye may let them be. Let them be, for lo! they are unclean, and their abode is hell as the reward for what they used to earn.
96 They swear unto you, that ye may accept them. Though ye accept them. Allah verily accepteth not wrongdoing folk.
97 The wandering Arabs are more hard in disbelief and hypocrisy, and more likely to be ignorant of the limits which Allah hath revealed unto His messenger. And Allah is Knower, Wise.
98 And of the wandering Arabs there is he who taketh that which he expendeth (for the cause of Allah) as a loss, and awaiteth (evil) turns of fortune for you (that he may be rid of it). The evil turn of fortune will be theirs. Allah is Hearer, Knower.
99 And of the wandering Arabs there is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day, and taketh that which he expendeth and also the prayers of the messenger as acceptable offerings in the sight of Allah. Lo! verily it is an acceptable offering for them. Allah will bring them into His mercy. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
100 And the first to lead the way, of the Muhajirin and the Ansar, and those who followed them in goodness - Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him, and He hath made ready for them Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide for ever. That is the supreme triumph.
101 And among those around you of the wandering Arabs there are hypocrites, and among the townspeople of Al-Madinah (there are some who) persist in hypocrisy whom thou (O Muhammad) knowest not. We, We know them, and We shall chastise them twice; then they will be relegated to a painful doom.
102 And (there are) others who have acknowledged their faults. They mixed a righteous action with another that was bad. It may be that Allah will relent toward them. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
103 Take alms of their wealth, wherewith thou mayst purify them and mayst make them grow, and pray for them. Lo! thy prayer is an assuagement for them. Allah is Hearer, Knower.
104 Know they not that Allah is He Who accepteth repentance from His bondmen and taketh the alms, and that Allah is He Who is the Relenting, the Merciful.
105 And say (unto them): Act! Allah will behold your actions, and (so will) His messenger and the believers, and ye will be brought back to the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, and He will tell you what ye used to do.
106 And (there are) others who await Allah's decree, whether He will punish them or will forgive them. Allah is Knower, Wise.
107 And as for those who chose a place of worship out of opposition and disbelief, and in order to cause dissent among the believers, and as an outpost for those who warred against Allah and His messenger aforetime, they will surely swear: We purposed naught save good. Allah beareth witness that they verily are liars.
108 Never stand (to pray) there. A place of worship which was found upon duty (to Allah) from the first day is more worthy that thou shouldst stand (to pray) therein, wherein are men who love to purify themselves. Allah loveth the purifiers.
109 Is he who founded his building upon duty to Allah and His good pleasure better; or he who founded his building on the brink of a crumbling, overhanging precipice so that it toppled with him into the fire of hell ? Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
110 The building which they built will never cease to be a misgiving in their hearts unless their hearts be torn to pieces. Allah is Knower, Wise.
111 Lo! Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. Who fulfilleth His covenant better than Allah ? Rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph.
112 (Triumphant) are those who turn repentant (to Allah), those who serve (Him), those who praise (Him), those who fast, those who bow down, those who fall prostrate (in worship), those who enjoin the right and who forbid the wrong and those who keep the limits (ordained) of Allah - And give glad tidings to believers!
113 It is not for the Prophet, and those who believe, to pray for the forgiveness of idolaters even though they may be near of kin (to them) after it hath become clear that they are people of hell-fire.
114 The prayer of Abraham for the forgiveness of his father was only because of a promise he had promised him, but when it had become clear unto him that he (his father) was an enemy to Allah he (Abraham) disowned him. Lo! Abraham was soft of heart, long-suffering.
115 It was never Allah's (part) that He should send a folk astray after He had guided them until He had made clear unto them what they should avoid. Lo! Allah is Aware of all things.
116 Lo! Allah! Unto Him belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He quickeneth and He giveth death. And ye have, instead of Allah, no protecting friend nor helper.
117 Allah hath turned in mercy to the Prophet, and to the Muhajirin and the Ansar who followed him in the hour of hardship. After the hearts of a party of them had almost swerved aside, then turned He unto them in mercy. Lo! He is Full of Pity, Merciful for them.
118 And to the three also (did He turn in mercy) who were left behind, when the earth, vast as it is, was straitened for them, and their own souls were straitened for them till they bethought them that there is no refuge from Allah save toward Him. Then turned He unto them in mercy that they (too) might turn (repentant unto Him). Lo! Allah! He is the Relenting, the Merciful.
119 O ye who believe! Be careful of your duty to Allah, and be with the truthful.
120 It is not for the townsfolk of Al-Madinah and for those around them of the wandering Arabs so stay behind the messenger of Allah and prefer their lives to his life. That is because neither thirst nor toil nor hunger afflicteth them in the way of Allah, nor step they any step that angereth the disbelievers, nor gain they from the enemy a gain, but a good deed is recorded for them therefor. Lo! Allah loseth not the wages of the good.
121 Nor spend they any spending, small or great, nor do they cross a valley, but it is recorded for them, that Allah may repay them the best of what they used to do.
122 And the believers should not all go out to fight. Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they (who are left behind) may gain sound knowledge in religion, and that they may warn their folk when they return to them, so that they may beware.
123 O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).
124 And whenever a surah is revealed there are some of them who say: Which one of you hath thus increased in faith ? As for those who believe, it hath increased them in faith and they rejoice (therefor).
125 But as for those in whose hearts is disease, it only addeth wickedness to their wickedness, and they die while they are disbelievers.
126 See they not that they are tested once or twice in every year ? Still they turn not in repentance, neither pay they heed.
127 And whenever a surah is revealed, they look one at another (as who should say): Doth anybody see you ? Then they turn away. Allah turneth away their hearts because they are a folk who understand not.
128 There hath come unto you a messenger, (one) of yourselves, unto whom aught that ye are overburdened is grievous, full of concern for you, for the believers full of pity, merciful.
129 Now, if they turn away (O Muhammad) say: Allah sufficeth me. There is no God save Him. In Him have I put my trust, and He is Lord of the Tremendous Throne. | <urn:uuid:66872c4c-651b-4432-90f6-8802b015b691> | {
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It is fair to say that the struggle for power in the USSR between 1924 and 1929 was partially to do with the economic policy because the way in which different members of the Communist Party treated the economic policy depended how much support they got from fellow members of the Communist party. However, there were other factors involved such as a lack of democratic elections, the nature of leadership and fear of a divided party.
You could argue that the struggle for power was due to the differing economic policies, this is because different key players in the power struggle wanted different things. For example, the Bukharinite model wanted gradualism – to allow market forces to drive the economy forward and so letting the peasants gain wealth individually. He believed this would lead to a prosperous consumer market and heavy industry that is centrally controlled, planned economy run by a proletariat dictatorship. This would please the peasantry and results in political and economic growth as well as increased trade. Trotsky and his leftist model agreed that the party must recognise the role of the market forces during the gradual change to socialism. However, in 1926 he became increasingly critical of the gradualist approach and didn’t approve of peasants who had no obligation to sell if the market wasn’t right and therefore wanted a slightly more capitalist approach to the economic policy so that the government had greater control over produce. This created a power struggle because different people wanted different things and approached economic policy in certain ways and whilst Bukharin was trying to ensure the happiness of the public, Trotsky was trying to ensure the wealth and growth of the USSR as a trade nation. Although these two models were important in why there was a power struggle in those years it is not the most important reason.
Secondly, you could say it... [continues]
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A poster session at ASCO last week discussed a new MBC program - a database being collected of those with MBC to help learn more about them and find new treatment strategies.
"“Our goal is to understand the biology of metastatic breast cancer and find new treatment strategies,” Nikhil Wagle, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute told the ASCO Daily News during the “Cancer Prevention, Genetics, and Epidemiology” Poster Discussion Session on June 6. “One of the ways we can do this is by creating a database of clinical information that is linked to genomic information for patients with metastatic breast cancer and share that with the world so that lots of researchers can use it to make discoveries.”
To increase the volume of tumor samples from women with this disease, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Project was designed to capture information from the vast majority of metastatic breast cancer tumors that are not available for research, largely because most patients are cared for in community settings where genomics studies are not conducted."
I think this is a great idea. Those who wish to participate are sent a saliva collection kit so they can provide a DNA sample and then they release their medical records and tumor information. They study then looks at outliers - those who best responded to certain treatments. But I am sure there is much more. I did find a link to the project's website.
I am elated to learn of this. The metastatic community has almost been ignored in most research. And this is a great step in the right direction. | <urn:uuid:6fa4a19b-cc32-4170-bd62-f78a813ed07e> | {
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The Economics of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity
Summary and Keywords
Obesity is widely recognized as a chronic disease characterized by an elevated risk of adverse health conditions in association with excess body fat accumulation. Obesity prevalence reached epidemic proportions among adults in the developed world during the second half of the 20th century, and it has since become a major public health concern around the world, particularly among children and adolescents. The economics of childhood and adolescent obesity is a multi-faceted field of study that considers the numerous determinants, consequences, and interventions related to obesity in those populations.
The central economic framework for studying obesity is a life-cycle decision-making model of health investment. Health-promoting investments, such as nutritional food, healthcare, and physical activity, interact with genetic structure and risky health behaviors, such as unhealthy food consumption, to generate an accumulation or decumulation of excess body fat over time. Childhood and adolescence are the primary phases of physical and cognitive growth, so researchers study how obesity contributes to, and is affected by, the growth processes. The subdiscipline of behavioral economics offers an important complementary perspective on health investment decision processes, particularly for children and adolescents, because health investments and participation in risky health behaviors are not always undertaken rationally or consistently over time.
In addition to examining the proximate causes of obesity over the life cycle, economists study obesity’s economic context and resulting economic burden. For example, economists study how educational attainment, income, and labor market features, such as wage and work hours, affect childhood and adolescent obesity in a household. Once obesity has developed, its economic burden is typically measured in terms of excess healthcare costs associated with increased health risks due to higher obesity prevalence, such as earlier onset of, and more severe, diabetes. Obesity among children and adolescents can lead to even higher healthcare costs because of its early influence on the lifetime trajectory of health and its potential disruption of healthy development.
The formulation of effective policy responses to the obesity epidemic is informed by economic research. Economists evaluate whether steps to address childhood and adolescent obesity represent investments in health and well-being that yield private and social benefits, and they study whether existing market structures fail to appropriately motivate such investments. Potential policy interventions include taxation of, or restricting access to, obesogenic foods and other products, subsidization of educational programs about healthy foods and physical activity inside and outside of schools, ensuring health insurance coverage for obesity-related preventive and curative healthcare services, and investment in the development of new treatments and medical technologies.
A vast literature documents the trends, causes, and consequences of obesity in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Although widespread concern about obesity first arose in the United States and other developed countries, obesity now has meaningful effects on societies worldwide. Between 1980 and 2015, countries ranking high on a sociodemographic index of income, educational attainment, and fertility (SDI) marked the highest prevalence of obesity among children, but there was a 20% increase in obesity prevalence in low SDI countries, and the increase was even greater for middle-income countries (The GBD 2015 Obesity Collaborators, 2017). Because childhood obesity is associated with a greater lifetime risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease (Gregg & Shaw, 2017), disease burden and medical expenditures are expected to increase concomitantly.
The discipline of economics has contributed to the study of obesity along several dimensions. Economists conceptualize obesity in an economic framework, which acts as a guide when conducting theoretical and empirical analyses of household and individual-level behavior that relates to weight accumulation. Of particular importance is empirical research that identifies the causal influences of relevant existing and potential policies, and the economic framework of obesity can help inform discussion of policy design. Furthermore, economists contribute to understanding and accounting for medical and other costs associated with obesity.
Obesity in an Economic Framework
Economic analyses of obesity generally begin from the perspective of a utility-maximizing individual who invests material and time resources in health, leisure, and consumption. This approach follows the health capital model first described by Grossman (1972). In this framework, a forward-looking individual makes decisions about how time devoted to labor, leisure, and improving or maintaining health can be optimally allocated in current and future time periods. Investments are conceptualized as inputs in a health production function, the output of which is modeled as a capital stock, and health in turn yields services to the individual in the form of healthy time. This theoretical model sparks consideration of how the uses of time and other resources constitute direct investments in health through physical activity or other health-promoting activities, and how indirect investments are made in medical care, food, etc., that are purchased with labor earnings or wealth.
Economists studying obesity have adapted the health capital model to more specifically represent the process of weight gain. Instead of a capital stock of health, generally defined, the adaptations conceptualize body weight as a capital stock that decreases or increases in accordance with investment flows, such as food, exercise, and medical care. Although a capital stock (quantity) is an intuitive representation of weight, obesity is defined categorically. Among adults, obesity is measured as a body mass index (BMI) category, specifically defined as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. An adult with a BMI greater than 30 is considered obese, and increasingly severe obesity is defined by higher BMI cutoffs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). In part because children can have a healthy weight at varying BMI ranges across ages, for children and adolescents, obesity is defined as a BMI of at least the 95th percentile for a given age and sex (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Consistent with the observation that weight gain is a cumulative process across childhood, evidence suggests that obesity status often persists for children after they enter primary school (Millimet & Tchernis, 2015).
The capital investment structure of the health capital model illustrates the importance of dynamic effects in the weight accumulation process. One implication highlighted by economists, because of its relevance for policy recommendations, is that an individual will settle on a steady-state weight for fixed rates of health investment (Bishai, 2015; Chou, Rashad, & Grossman, 2008; Cutler, Glaeser, & Shapiro, 2003; Schroeter, Lusk, & Tyner, 2008). This contrasts with simpler models of weight gain that assume a constant relationship between health inputs, such as total calories consumed, and weight accumulation (Lin, Smith, Lee, & Hall, 2011).
An appeal of the health capital model as a starting point is its emphasis on the relationship between resource allocation decisions and weight gain, but it imperfectly represents those decisions because of relatively strong assumptions about rationality, information availability, and a forward-looking perspective. This raises issues when adults are studied, for example, regarding the actual extent of forward-looking behavior with respect to consumption decisions (Chavas, 2013; Courtemanche, Heutel, & McAlvanah, 2015; Ikeda, Kang, & Ohtake, 2010) or information availability about nutrient content (Bollinger, Leslie, & Sorensen, 2011; Ellison, Lusk, & Davis, 2014; Just & Payne, 2009; Loureiro, Yen, & Nayga, 2012). Theoretical departures from the health capital model often focus on adults, but lessons from the departures are a good starting point for modeling children and adolescents because the issues are exacerbated in the young subpopulation.
A subset of the literature on the economics of child and adolescent obesity, which can be viewed as operating more or less with the health capital model as a foundation or touchpoint, focuses on the behavioral, social, and economic causes of obesity. Research in this area can be motivated by a specific behavioral model, such as the health capital model, and then typically proceeds by studying the relationship between health-related behaviors and obesity within that context. Other less structural approaches use policy changes or other quasi-experiments to estimate the causal influences of policies and other treatments, broadly defined, on obesity outcomes. Although only a few research areas are offered as examples in this article, they tie back to these modeling and analysis approaches along many dimensions.
When is Policy Intervention Warranted?
Economic theory offers a compelling criterion that can be used when considering whether policy intervention is justified. Broadly defined, an activity or production process has an external effect, or externality, when it induces behavior change among nonparticipants for which they are not somehow compensated in a market transaction. A classic example is a factory that pollutes a river and does not compensate persons downstream who are forced to seek drinking water elsewhere, under the assumption that the river is not owned by the factory. Although externalities are not the only important considerations, notably with respect to children, they are generally useful and typically uncontroversial starting points for policy discussions among economists.
Bhattacharya and Sood (2011) questioned whether obese adults impose external costs on others, and they presented evidence that much of the cost of adult obesity should perhaps not be automatically a concern for policymakers. The key empirical question Bhattacharya and Sood asked is, do obese adults cause others to change their behavior in such a way that is uncompensated? They would presumably say “not evidently,” because, for example, some evidence suggests that obese workers earn a sufficiently low wage to compensate for their greater contribution to (group) health insurance costs (Bhattacharya & Bundorf, 2009). However, other evidence points to this effect’s being explained by weight discrimination or preferences for appearance among employers (Cawley, 2015). Bhattacharya and Sood (2011) also argued that public health insurance coverage of healthcare expenditures attributable to obesity similarly does not in itself represent an obesity externality, with the exception that higher payroll taxes used to finance the transfer likely cause deadweight loss in labor markets. For the most part, public insurance coverage is a lump-sum transfer from the well to the sick, consistent with other treatments covered by public health insurance. Microeconomic theory typically finds that such transfers do not reduce total societal welfare (Feldman, 2008), so the question of how large they should be involves political considerations that are outside the scope of economic analysis.
An important question is, to what extent does the availability of health insurance induce ex ante moral hazard, or in this case, behavior change that increases the risk of obesity because the covered individual expects healthcare costs will ultimately be paid by a third party? This is equivalent to asking whether obesity imposes external costs because ex ante moral hazard occurs when the presence of insurance affects the risk behavior of insurance participants, imposing additional costs divided across the insurance risk pool, and which are not otherwise compensated for. Bhattacharya and Sood (2011) cited evidence that health insurance does not impact obesity among adults—in other words, they found no evidence of ex ante moral hazard in this context, and some other evidence tends to support this finding. For example, Simon, Soni, and Cawley (2016) showed that state-level Medicaid expansions introduced by the Affordable Care Act had no impact on obesity or obesity-related behaviors, while at the same time they increased preventive care use.
Bhattacharya and Packalen (2012) nevertheless acknowledged evidence for Medicare-induced ex ante moral hazard, which arises if, knowing that Medicare will ultimately be available to pay for medical expenditures later in life, future Medicare recipients behave in a way that increases their obesity risk when young (Dave & Kaestner, 2009). Yet, Bhattacharya and Packalen estimated what they describe as the “innovation externality” of obesity, which has the opposite, and in their estimation, equivalent effect to Medicare-induced moral hazard. The innovation externality occurs when increased obesity prevalence spurs the (profit) reward for innovation in combating obesity through individual-level treatments, such as pharmaceuticals or other medical care. Although estimates of the innovation externality likely vary and can therefore have heterogeneous implications across populations and subpopulations, one can conclude that more attention to accounting for externalities in the context of obesity and related risky health behaviors is necessary to fully understand optimal obesity policy.
Much of the argument put forward by Bhattacharya and Sood (2011) refers to adults, so how should it be applied to children and adolescents? Although the same issues generally apply, the details of the discussion are markedly different. First, ex ante moral hazard is less likely to be a substantial concern for children and adolescents because they probably focus more on the immediate implications of their behavior rather than delayed health implications and healthcare costs. In terms of externalities, this leaves the question of whether obesity among children and adolescents implies other external effects on the rest of society.
Although Bhattacharya and Sood’s (2011) labor market discussion is relevant because obese children who become obese adults similarly bear the burden of health costs, questions about the broader long-term impact on society remain. For example, if an important justification for investment in public education is to increase average state or national productivity and economic growth, might a similar justification apply to addressing childhood obesity, either due to obesity’s impact on education, or due to its direct impact on productivity? Indeed, an area of substantial interest for economists studying obesity is the extent of its impact on educational attainment and the development of both cognitive and noncognitive skills that affect health and productivity (Black, Johnston, & Peeters, 2015; Heckman, 2006, 2007; Kaestner & Callison, 2011).
An arguably clearer example that illustrates how obesity-reduction policies can be justified in this context is the decreasing share of the population who meet weight requirements for military service. Cawley and Maclean (2012, 2013) found that the proportion of civilians who exceeded weight and fat standards for military academy admission and regular military enlistment had increased substantially in the late 20th century. The government’s military capability is a textbook example of a public good, and a decrease in the availability of labor for the production of military capability generally increases the cost of its provision through capital input substitution. This is perhaps one of the clearest examples of how obesity has a negative macroeconomic impact that could be mitigated through obesity-reduction policies, but other examples follow similar logic.
Perhaps most importantly, children and adolescents cannot reasonably be expected to make forward-looking, rational decisions informed by perfect information, forecasting across their entire lifetimes. Children can be viewed as having an extreme form of present-bias, a version of which is known as hyperbolic discounting, in comparison to adults (Cutler et al., 2003; Smith, Bogin, & Bishai, 2005). Present-bias has been shown to predict BMI (Courtemanche et al., 2015). Although parents are assumed to make some decisions on behalf of their children with respect to investment in education and health, policy interventions are nevertheless justifiable when parent and child incentives are misaligned, for example, with respect to a decision’s time horizon, and because parents do not have entirely altruistic preferences with respect to their children. Justifications for age restrictions on the purchase of tobacco products, which generally exclude minors altogether, can be framed in these terms.
Determinants of Child and Adolescent Obesity
One of the most important categories, if not the most important category, of factors contributing to obesity is unhealthy eating or overeating. Economists typically measure net calorie surplus (or deficit) as a proxy for healthy (unhealthy) eating, where unhealthy eating can be represented as calorie intake, net of calorie expenditure from metabolic processes and physical activity, that is either too high or too low for maintaining a healthy weight (Riera-Crichton & Tefft, 2013). In the absence of detailed information about the types of foods consumed and how they interact with other factors to produce weight, researchers consider the total impact of policies expected to influence child and adolescent obesity through their effects on net calorie surplus.
Food prices and other constraints on food availability can impact total food consumption and the relative consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods, which in turn has important implications for child and adolescent obesity. Notable examples of closely studied food categories are fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as fast food. As expected from the economic framework describing weight accumulation, studies often find that higher food prices can impact obesity, presumably through changes in food consumption patterns, and depending on how elastic the responses to price changes are (Grossman, Tekin, & Wada, 2014; Powell, 2009; Powell & Chaloupka, 2009). In addition, physical access to food, as constrained by its geographic distribution and availability, may affect food purchases, consumption, and obesity. Commonly studied examples of this are food deserts, or a lack of nearby supermarkets with fresh fruits and vegetables (Powell & Bao, 2009; Thomsen, Nayga, Alviola, & Rouse, 2016), fast food restaurants (Currie, DellaVigna, Moretti, & Pathania, 2010; Dunn, 2010; Lhila, 2011), and the availability of fast foods in schools (Anderson & Butcher, 2005).
If consumers lack information about available food products, or if their demand for specific food products can be influenced, food advertising can also change consumption patterns and impact obesity. Because advertising is often used to promote unhealthy food products, such as fast food (Chou et al., 2008; Grossman, Tekin, & Wada, 2012), restrictions on advertising for these products could have a beneficial impact on obesity prevalence, particularly among children and adolescents (Berning & McCullough, 2013; Silva, Higgins, & Hussein, 2015).
Policies designed to improve the population’s nutrition have generally been found to lower obesity prevalence among children and adolescents. Participation in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program generally reduces obesity risk for children (Baum, 2011; Burgstahler, Gundersen, & Garasky, 2012; Hofferth & Curtin, 2005; Kreider, Pepper, Gundersen, & Jolliffe, 2012; Millimet & Tchernis, 2013; Millimet, Tchernis, & Husain, 2010; Schmeiser, 2012), although the results are not uniform for all population subgroups (Millimet et al., 2010; Robinson & Zheng, 2011; Schanzenbach, 2009). Studies have identified a reduction in high-calorie or otherwise unhealthy foods in response to targeted food policies (Bauhoff, 2014; Fan & Jin, 2015).
Policies that have gained considerable momentum for their potential to combat obesity are those that restrict consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) through taxation or restrictions on SSB availability in schools (Brownell et al., 2009). Recent examples demonstrate the potential to increase SSB prices via taxation while also inducing a behavior response when demand is not perfectly inelastic (Cawley & Frisvold, 2017). Taxes on SSB could also reduce SSB purchases among vulnerable population subgroups, but more research is needed to understand the long-term consumption and obesity effects (Colchero, Popkin, Rivera, & Ng, 2016).
As with restrictions on tobacco product purchases that have affected adolescent tobacco consumption, restrictions on SSBs or other unhealthy foods have the potential to meaningfully impact obesity. An important difference, however, is the potential substitutability of relevant products when some, but not all, are targeted by obesity policies. Contributions from the economics literature have highlighted this issue, recommending comprehensive policies that account for substitution in the context of an SSB tax (Fletcher, Frisvold, & Tefft, 2010a, 2013) or food and beverage restrictions in schools (Fletcher, Frisvold, & Tefft, 2010b).
On the other side of the calorie-expenditure balance equation are exercise and other physical activities, which receive a great deal of attention in obesity research. Some research directly examines the relationship between physical activity and obesity: Dhar and Robinson (2016) found that being physically active reduces the likelihood of obesity among children. Beyond the overall association, some research has attempted to identify contextual factors related to physical activity and its subsequent obesity effects, including the built environment, with mixed results (Fan & Jin, 2014; Morales, Gordon-Larsen, & Guilkey, 2016; Sandy, Tchernis, Wilson, Liu, & Zhou, 2013).
Other studies consider the effects of policies designed to influence childhood physical activity, although there are relatively few in the economics literature. A pair of studies considered whether state minimum physical education requirements in schools impact reported physical activity, and they found evidence that stricter standards increase physically active time and, in some cases, reduce BMI among youth (Cawley, Frisvold, & Meyerhoefer, 2013; Cawley, Meyerhoefer, & Newhouse, 2007). These results highlight the importance of understanding the heterogeneous effects of policies related to obesity. Increased physical activity because of stricter requirements is found to complement other physical activity among boys, thus increasing the policy’s effectiveness for that population. However, the same set of policies is found to induce substitution away from other physical activity among girls, thus rendering it less effective (Cawley et al., 2013).
Overall, the study of policies related to combating obesity through changes in physical activity is less well developed in the economics literature. This is perhaps due to a relative lack of available data on detailed physical activity. Another possibility is that physical activity could have ambiguous effects on BMI, such as through building muscle in the place of body fat, or that effects occur over a longer term than is readily detectable. As a result, there is still much to be learned not only about how physical activity affects obesity, but also about how social and economic factors influence physical activity.
In addition to mechanisms directly related to net calorie surplus, broader categories of childhood and adolescent experiences are a useful as potential targets of policy intervention. Classen and Hokayem (2005) found that maternal obesity and other demographic characteristics are separately and similarly predictive of youth obesity status. This suggests that childhood experiences, such as the household environment, can affect the risk of childhood obesity, despite there also being evidence for a substantial genetic component in intergenerational obesity transmission (Classen & Thompson, 2016).
Several studies have considered the effects of parental employment, particularly maternal employment, on a variety of child outcomes, including childhood overweight and obesity. Parental employment can affect obesity through a variety of channels because employment uses time resources to generate labor income. If time spent preparing healthy food and monitoring food consumption, encouraging physical activity, or otherwise organizing the household to promote health is used instead to earn income, child health and obesity may worsen (Cawley & Liu, 2012; Courtemanche, 2009; Fertig, Glomm, & Tchernis, 2009; Fiese, Hammons, & Grigsby-Toussaint, 2012; Roy, Millimet, & Tchernis, 2012). At the same time, labor earnings can be used to purchase healthier food, medical care, and access to health-promoting activities, which could lessen the obesity risk for household members (Jo, 2014).
That these mechanisms are ultimately impactful is sometimes evident in the economics literature. Ruhm (2008) found evidence that maternal employment increases obesity risk among youths of higher socioeconomic status but no evidence that it affects the body weight of disadvantaged children. Chia (2008) reported that a mother’s returning to work after a child’s birth is associated with an increased risk of obesity. Although Chowhan and Stewart (2014) found that maternal employment affects youth behaviors expected to be related to obesity, they found no evidence for effects on obesity itself.
Some policies could affect a household’s wealth, or income earned from sources other than labor, so it is important to understand how changes in wealth separately impact obesity. Akee et al. (2013) found that cash transfers increase the BMI of children in the poorest households of a sample drawn from western North Carolina, with less of an impact in wealthier households. However, Cesarini et al. (2016) found the opposite effect on obesity among lottery winners in Sweden, specifically that increased wealth could reduce obesity risk. They noted that this result represents an outcome for an otherwise wealthy country with a strong safety net, so more research is needed to identify causal influences in other populations.
Understanding the effects of parental employment and income along several dimensions, including the number of hours worked, wage rate, other earnings, and the labor market participation of other household members, is important when considering the effects of policies like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), parental leave, and subsidized child care. The EITC is a broadly impactful federal and state policy that has been shown to induce substantial employment effects, and in turn, effects on health outcomes, including obesity. Economists not only have studied the effects of the policy itself, but also have used changes in the EITC as quasi-experiments for studying causal economic relationships of interest, including the effects of employment or income on obesity. McGranahan and Schanzenbach (2013) found that a more generous EITC increases purchases of healthy food products. There is mixed evidence on the obesity effects of the EITC among adults (Gomis-Porqueras, Mitnik, Peralta-Alva, & Schmeiser, 2011; Schmeiser, 2009), and there is less evidence of its effects among youth.
Subsidized child care is another policy with potentially nuanced effects on obesity because it combines the opportunity for additional labor earnings for parents with a different child-care environment (i.e., in a group setting) than when parents provide care directly. Herbst and Tekin (2012) reported an adverse impact of child-care subsidies on child BMI and that nonparental child-care centers serve as the channel for this effect. However, Mandal and Powell (2014) reported that center care and other regulated care settings are associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption. More research is needed to fully characterize the effects of child-care subsidies in various child care settings and among certain population subgroups.
School and Other Settings Outside the Home
Some national-level policies that affect nutrition in schools, such as the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, are discussed elsewhere in this article, but there also have been studies of direct incentives for children to improve food choices. The findings suggest that small incentives can lead to substantial, and perhaps persistent, changes in food choices during school (List & Samek, 2015), and the effect is strongest for the most vulnerable children (Just & Price, 2013). Providing students with information about healthy and unhealthy foods could also improve food choices, although in one experiment, positive impacts on healthy food consumption were negated by experimental advertising for unhealthy foods (Mora & Lopez-Valcarcel, 2017).
Aside from studies of nutrition-related policies and programs that were implemented in schools, there are relatively few studies of the overall impact of education on child and adolescent obesity in the economics literature. Frisvold and Lumeng (2011) compared full- to half-day attendance at Head Start, concluding that full-day attendance yields a lower obesity rate after 1 year. Also finding that school tends to improve outcomes related to obesity, Anderson et al. (2011) reported that similar age children who were in school longer, a determination made possible by birth-date cutoffs for school entrance, may have healthier weight outcomes among some population subgroups.
There is mixed evidence about whether peer effects are important in “transmitting” obesity, with much of the literature focused on how to separate causal factors from associations (Cohen-Cole & Fletcher, 2008). Renna et al. (2008) estimated that adolescents who have close friends also have a higher BMI, but they found a causal impact only for women. Yang and Huang (2014) showed evidence for asymmetric directional associations, where peer weight gain is associated with own weight gain, but peer weight loss is not similarly associated with own weight loss. Halliday and Kwak (2009) noted that the weight association between peers is particularly strong at the upper end of the BMI distribution, but they reiterate how difficult it is to identify causal relationships.
Although evidence on the relationship between obesity and other risky health behaviors among children and adolescents is relatively scarce in the economics literature, a notable body of work studies patterns of obesity and smoking. Overall, it suggests that obesity leads to smoking initiation or more smoking, in part to control appetite and weight gain, particularly among girls (Cawley, Dragone, & Von Hinke Kessler Scholder, 2016; Cawley, Markowitz, & Tauras, 2006; Rees & Sabia, 2010). Mellor (2011) similarly found that cigarette taxes increase BMI, but not obesity prevalence, among the children of mothers who smoke.
The Effects of Obesity on Selected Outcomes
Medical care plays a key role in the economic model of weight accumulation. Central to the model is that the demand for medical care is implied by the demand for good health because medical care is an important input in producing good health. Medical care expenditures related to obesity could be substantial, so economists work to account for costs that are specifically attributable to obesity (Finkelstein & Yang, 2011). For example, it is important that governments and insurers understand obesity-attributable costs, for example, by conducting economic evaluations, in order to weigh the benefits and costs of obesity-reduction policies.
The literature is mixed regarding the extent to which obesity among children and adolescents affects their medical care expenditures. Wright and Prosser (2014) discussed the variation in sampling and methods employed by researchers studying this association, and in their own analysis they found insignificant or marginal differences in healthcare costs between normal-weight and obese youth. They pointed out that an important challenge when studying medical care cost impacts is that costs caused by obesity may accumulate over a long period of time, so significant differences may only be detected after childhood.
Another obstacle to understanding how obesity impacts medical care is the lack of controlled experimental data, or even high event frequency epidemiological data like that available for acute illnesses. Economists therefore seek to identify causal relationships through quasi-experimental studies when such data are unavailable. In the context of obesity and medical care, Cawley and Meyerhoefer (2012) took an instrumental variables estimation approach for adults. They used the BMI of a respondent’s oldest biological child as an instrument for the respondent’s own obesity status, under the assumption that the instrument has a random component that is associated with medical care costs only through its association with own obesity. They found that among this adult subpopulation, obesity increases annual medical care costs by $2,741 (in 2015 dollars), while an association study using the same data would conclude that obesity is associated with a cost increase of only $656.
Similarly, Biener, Cawley, and Meyerhoefer (2017) used the BMI of a child’s biological mother as an instrument for that child’s obesity status, effectively reversing the above policy quasi-experiment. They found that, among children, obesity increases annual medical care costs by $1,354 (in 2013 dollars). Although this is a smaller increase than for adults, the increase alone represents more than the average total medical care costs among non-obese children. This pair of estimates, for adults and children, could be used in economic evaluations of policies that impact childhood obesity but that appropriately account for expected total medical care costs across a child’s lifetime.
These examples highlight important questions that will benefit from future research. To effectively design policies to lower healthcare costs among children, economists and other researchers can make substantial progress by identifying causal, long-term impacts of obesity on healthcare costs among nationally representative populations and important subpopulations. This could be made possible with new quasi-experimental approaches or high-dimensional longitudinal data containing important covariates that have not previously been accounted for.
Education stands at the center of the economic model of health capital, where health in early life can influence one’s ability to acquire education, and education in turn affects health through a variety of channels. More education is typically associated with higher earnings, and with higher earnings an individual can better invest in his or her health. In addition, more education can help individuals navigate interactions with the healthcare and health-insurance systems, or, more generally, better organize resources devoted to health investment.
The extent to which childhood obesity leads to worse education outcomes, or to which lower education levels impact obesity, has implications for policy design. Some mechanisms through which obesity may impact educational achievement include absenteeism or poor concentration due to ill health. In contrast to other illnesses that affect absenteeism and concentration, however, obesity can also affect a child’s socioemotional skill development, through discrimination or even bullying related to the stigma associated with obesity (Black & Kassenboehmer, 2017).
Economics research has considered the impact of obesity among children and adolescents on contemporaneous or lagged educational achievement, as well as on specific cognitive and noncognitive skills. When effects are identified, they have tended toward an adverse impact of obesity on education-related outcomes: grade point average, high school completion, and verbal skills among females (Cawley & Spiess, 2008; Okunade, Hussey, & Karakus, 2009; Sabia, 2007), verbal skills, social skills, motor skills, activities of daily living, and overall cognitive achievement among males (Black et al., 2015; Cawley & Spiess, 2008), overall reading proficiency (Gurley-Calvez & Higginbotham, 2010), and military academy admission (Cawley & Maclean, 2013).
Labor Market Outcomes
That obesity tends to adversely affect educational attainment is expected to translate into negative impacts on labor market participation and earnings when an obese individual enters the labor market. This based on the human capital model of individual utility maximization (Becker, 1962), which is closely related to the health capital model (Grossman, 1972). The human capital model describes investment in a theoretical capital stock of human capital through education, which yields services to an individual through higher productivity and earnings. When obesity is found to negatively impact educational outcomes, it is likely that labor market prospects will also worsen.
Several investigators have studied the relationship between adult obesity and labor market outcomes (Bhattacharya & Bundorf, 2009; Lindeboom, Lundborg, & van der Klaauw, 2010), and because youth obesity is correlated with adult obesity, labor market outcomes in adulthood will presumably also be related. Although longitudinal associations are more difficult to statistically establish, some studies have estimated the relationship. Allowing the impact of obesity to operate through education by not including measures of education in their estimation framework, Han, Norton, and Powell (2011) found that obesity among older adolescents is associated with adult wages that are lower by 3.5%. Amis, Hussey, and Okunade (2014) also showed that, more than 13 years later, adolescent obesity negatively impacts earnings for some population subgroups.
Amid the voluminous multidisciplinary literature on obesity, economics stands out by modeling obesity-related economic behavior and estimating causal relationships between policies and economic outcomes. Contributions from microeconomic theory include an investigation of utility-maximizing health investment, modified to study the determinants and consequences of excess weight accumulation over the life cycle. Applied econometricians, for their part, study quasi-experiments and use advanced statistical techniques to identify causal relationships, a useful strategy for studying real-world behavior when experimental approaches are not feasible.
Economists will surely continue their work to flesh out existing knowledge of policy-relevant obesity impacts, taking advantage of new quasi-experiments and data sets that contain additional information on determinants and other control variables. Although it is difficult when isolating causal effects, it is important that researchers present comprehensive evidence on policy effects simultaneously, so that the complex set of obesity’s causes and consequences can be effectively addressed by policymakers. For an extended discussion of upcoming research priorities in the economics of obesity, see Cawley (2015).
Some broad examples of ongoing, important research questions are: What are the long-term impacts of changes in the distribution of child and adolescent obesity on national income and medical care cost growth, two important economic outcome variables, when considering policy initiatives to combat obesity? Relatedly, what are the nonmonetary utility (or psychological) benefits and costs associated with obesity? In the specific context of childhood and adolescent obesity, how do we balance the immediate utility (enjoyment) children reap from their consumption of unhealthy foods or beverages against the long-term monetary and health costs sown by unhealthy weight gain? Starting with a comprehensive accounting for the external benefits and costs of obesity, and improving our understanding of the appropriate role of policy when children and adolescents have limited ability to make good long-term decisions, research in economics can help make headway in answering these questions.
An illustrative thought experiment is to imagine constructing a comprehensive set of policies to combat obesity that mirrors those currently in place for a comparable risky health behavior. The health effects of tobacco consumption are in some ways like those of unhealthy food consumption, with health risks generally occurring later in life. For children and adolescents, policymakers might be relatively more concerned about a lack of foresight about long-term health effects than they would be about externalities, a perspective that, for this population, would place obesity and tobacco policy more in line.
SSB taxes have been implemented in some jurisdictions, and economists and other researchers have begun to study their impacts. Setting aside concerns about substitution to other unhealthy beverage and food products, would an outright ban on the purchase of SSB by persons under age 18 or 21 be justifiable by analogy to similar bans on cigarettes or e-cigarettes? It potentially is, but economists and other researchers would likely be better equipped to explore such questions after conducting more comprehensive, integrated research. Such integration would involve some of the existing research strengths in economics, including modeling health capital investment and measuring causal impacts of obesity on economic variables, combined with knowledge from other disciplines, such as the psychological benefits and costs of unhealthy food consumption and obesity. Behavioral economics contributes directly to this intersection, so it will likely continue to be a relevant area of fruitful research. For example, there has been considerable research studying the effects of menu nutrition information on consumption behavior among the general population and adults, as discussed in this article, but less attention has been devoted to studying child and adolescent populations.
Finally, ongoing debates about the structure of the social safety net in the United States and other countries will likely continue for many years, with important implications for obesity policy. In the United States, how and to what extent health insurance coverage is delivered to the population will relate to how aggressively policymakers should combat obesity prevalence. Under discussion in countries across the developed world, substantial restructuring of the social safety net to feature a universal basic income would have important effects on children and adolescents living in families whose labor-market participation, labor-market earnings, and nonlabor income would substantially change. Economists and other health-policy researchers should continue to set their research agenda with an eye to these and other far-reaching social developments.
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Some grow up speaking one language at home with their family and another at school and with their friends. Being bilingual can help these people find jobs, communicate with a wider range of individuals, and, as one study found, may even improve their cognitive flexibility into old age.
The new study discovered this bilingual benefit by analyzing the brain activity of adults between the ages of 60 and 68 while they carrying out a task designed to test cognitive flexibility, which is the ability to adapt to unfamiliar circumstances. Some of the seniors were bilingual while others only spoke one language.
Another mixed group of bilingual and monolingual participants was also observed performing the same task, the only difference being that this group was made up of younger individuals.
Typically, our cognitive flexibility gradually becomes worse as people get older so obviously the younger participants completed the task quicker than the older group.
However, although there was no difference in how fast the task was performed between the bilingual individuals and those who only spoke a single language in the younger group, the seniors who were bilingual were able to carry out the task in less time than the monolingual seniors.
Moreover, the bilingual seniors also had to use less energy in their prefrontal cortex to complete the task leading researchers to believe that from years of going back and forth between different languages, it is easier for people to switch between various tasks as well.
“Together, these results suggest that lifelong bilingualism may exert its strongest benefits on the functioning of frontal brain regions in aging,” study author Brian T. Gold, Ph.D., at the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine was quoted as saying.
So the benefits of bilingualism on cognitive flexibility cannot be seen until a person reaches their senior years, but you can start learning another language right away in order to reap the rewards!
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15 Holiday Eating Tips that can Help your Child with Special Needs
The holiday season is here and that means kitchens across the world are firing up with delectable dishes and scrumptious sweets. Traditional family dishes and specialties that tend to be more vibrant in flavor and texture are often whipped up for everyone’s enjoyment. Some of these dishes may prove to be very difficult for children to eat because of picky-eating tendencies or oral tactile defensiveness.
In addition, it’s important to remember that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season can place additional stress on children and affect their ability to eat. Schedules are altered to take part in busy holiday traditions and to allow visits with family and friends both nearby and far away. Often, bright holiday lights and sounds flood the visual and auditory environment. The combined effect may put children on edge, increasing their difficulty with eating as their sensory systems become increasingly stressed, fatigued, and disorganized.
These challenges don’t have to add holiday stress. There are many strategies that parents can employ to help their children successfully try new foods. Here are
1. Be patient.
2. Stick to your regular routine as much as possible. Children who get off-schedule can often become overwhelmed and have a difficult time calming.
3. Minimize changes as much as possible. Try to include at least one food you are sure the child will eat that fits the holiday theme.
4. Prepare your child in advance. Discuss holiday plans and traditional holiday foods 2-4 weeks in advance.
5. Allow extra time at the table. Avoid rushing children to try new foods or forcing them to finish the food on their plate.
6. Avoid making holiday events or activities contingent on what they eat. (e.g. “If you eat this you can open a present or have a cookie”.)
7. Allow children to eat before the adults, as the dinner table may be too busy and loud for a child.
8. Try not to make children wait for the holiday mealtime. Keeping them on their normal eating schedule will help decrease the chances of them becoming cranky, upset, or frustrated.
9. Have children sit with the rest of the family at the main mealtime, but don’t expect them to eat much more than what they ate prior to joining the adults at the table.
10. Offer preferred foods when it’s their usual time to eat.
11. Place small amounts of new food on the child’s plate.
12. Use as many familiar eating utensils, plates, cups, placemats as possible to help decrease anxiety when trying new foods.
13. Limit sweets, which suppress appetite.
14. Encourage and praise children for trying new foods.
15. Have children assist with preparing the food to increase their interest in trying what they helped to make. Practice making holiday food prior to the holiday for familiarity.
A little patience and planning can make mealtime much easier every day, but it’s particularly important on special days when there’s a lot more going on for the child to contend with. Have a fantastic holiday season!
By Jason Ferrise, MOT/OTRL & Chris Purgatori, MOT/OTRL. Jason and Chris are Occupational Therapists at the Kaufman Children’s Center for Speech, Language, Sensory-Motor & Social Connections, Inc. | <urn:uuid:a18b42e4-9559-45a2-bf8d-5831498745af> | {
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Have you ever had a computer crash and all your data was lost?
Most likely your computer’s hard drive failed & this happens more frequently than we’d like and for all sorts of reasons. Another major risk to your data is fire, flood or theft. The following strategies will help you to protect and recover your data.
Although the software files for the programs that run on your computer is also data, you don’t need to back that up as it is easily recoverable from the installation disks you received when software is purchased.
The data that we will focus on is “user” data specifically, the data that you create from the software programs that run on your computer.
For example, if a word processor is used to create a document or a letter, the word processor provides functions to save this data. The data that is created and saved through the word processor is “user” data. Most programs will create and save data somewhere on the hard drive.
There are many kinds of user data that are usually stored on the hard drive, do you have some of these?
- letters you write in a word processors
- flyers / posters for your clubs
- business cards
- greeting cards you’ve made
- accounting data from a money management program
- picture files
- music files
- video files
- email and email addresess
This is not a complete list, but to give you an idea of what you might have created and could lose if your computer crashed or in a fire or theft. Most people do not pay enough attention to this basic fact about computer systems until it’s too late. Don’t let this happen to you!
Remember, the key is “prevention” and in order to prevent loss of valuable data you must be prepared, so let’s look at some basic backup plans.
Option 1: Save your data to CD or DVD disks
This is by far the cheapest option and a very good approach to securing user data, especially if you don’t have too much. All that is needed is a CD or DVD burner and some blank disks, which cost very little these days.
When using this option, make two copies so that one of the copies can be stored off site, to protect you against fire, flood & theft. Another reason is that a CD or DVD backup can also become corrupted & it’s better to have two or more copies.
Option 2: Use a memory stick (USB stick)
This will cost a bit more than option 1, but USB sticks are getting cheaper & cheaper all the time, and holding more data as well. One advantage is how small they are and easy to carry around. I bought a waterproof one when they first came out for my client’s data and was very glad I did so, as it went through the wash twice and still worked fine! (I did have other backups though & I still use that drive today!.)
Option 3: Consider having two internal hard drives, especially if you have a lot of user data, especially big pictures or music files.
Most home computers generally all come with only one internal hard drive, which stores both software and user data. This means that this one single hard drive is experiencing a lot of wear and tear. Every time a program is launched it’s being accessed. Every single function that the operating system invokes will likely hit the hard drive etc. This heavy wear and tear can eventually lead to physical failures.
Also, many viruses are designed to hit the operating system & if the user data is on the same physical drive as the operating system, then it can be severely impacted by viruses as well. The disadvantage of this method is that it doesn’t protect you from fire, flood or theft, etc, but it is probably the easiest way to automate backing up your files.
Option 4: Attach an external USB Hard Drive to the system
With the price of hard drives getting much cheaper, this is another really good option. By attaching an external USB hard drive to the system, special backup programs can be installed and scheduled to run over night. There are many cost effective backup programs available. Some will be built into your operating system and others are available free – search on the internet and you’ll find plenty of options. The advantage of the external drive is that your work is still physically separated from the main hard drive and can be taken off-site with you.
Option 5: Online backup service
The services are fairly inexpensive (typically about $5 a month), and the best ones won’t noticeably slow down your PC use or Web browsing (after the initial large upload, at least). They also encrypt your data before, during, and after it’s been sent to industrial-strength servers. There are no discs or USB drives to worry about, either. The service can start processing and uploading files automatically on a schedule or in the background when there are enough free cycles available.
How often should you make backups?
This really depends on what your data is. If you are only using your computer for emails and writing letters, perhaps once a week is sufficient. When you’re doing work for someone else, it’s wise to keep doing incremental backups as you go, every ten minutes, every hour perhaps. It’s a decision you need to make for your personal circumstances. I personally do my backups before I go away from my work area and every night. The main thing is, remember to DO IT!
- You need to backup your user data in case of computer crash or fire or theft
- Back-up frequently, as often as needed to make it easy to restore your work to where you were
- Use at least two different methods
- Keep one copy of your backup data away from the computer (prevent loss if fire or theft)
Hopefully this helped you become more aware of the importance of your data and the need to back it up.
The options presented here are the very same methods used by many highly experience data processing centers and can be easily adopted by the average computer user. The most important point to remember is that good planning for potential disasters is the best protection against loss of valuable user data. You may not think of it this way at first but the user data that you accumulate on your computer takes time to build up and acquire.
If you value your time then you’ll value your data. Your data has a lot of value. So why not take a few simple steps to protect it. | <urn:uuid:e48a47b2-2e94-473b-b95e-70966358b714> | {
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AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to millions of articles from top publications available through your library.
Contents Background Capital Flows and the Dollar The U.S. Balance of Payments The U.S. Net International Investment Position Implications
February 5, 2010
The U.S. merchandise trade deficit is a part of the overall U.S. balance of payments, a summary statement of all economic transactions between the residents of the United States and the rest of the world, during a given period of time. Some Members of Congress and other observers have grown concerned over the magnitude of the U.S. merchandise trade deficit and the associated increase in U.S. dollar-denominated assets owned by foreigners. The current slowdown in global economic activity has reduced global trade flows and, consequently, reduced the size of the U.S. trade deficit. This report provides an overview of the U.S. balance of payments, an explanation of the broader role of capital flows in the U.S. economy, an explanation of how the country finances its trade deficit or a trade surplus, and the implications for Congress and the country of the large inflows of capital from abroad. The major observations indicate that:
* Foreign official and private investors sharply increased their purchases of U.S. Treasury securities in 2008 in response to uncertainty associated with disruptions in global financial markets. During the same period, foreign private investors sharply reduced their purchases of U.S. corporate stocks and bonds compared with 2007.
* The inflow of capital from abroad supplements domestic sources of capital and likely allows the United States to maintain its current level of economic activity at interest rates that are below the level they likely would be without the capital inflows.
* Foreign official and private acquisitions of dollar-denominated assets likely will generate a stream of returns to overseas investors that would have stayed in the U.S. economy and supplemented other domestic sources of capital had the assets not been acquired by foreign investors.
By standard convention, the balance of payments accounts are based on a double-entry bookkeeping system. As a result, each transaction that is entered into the accounts as a credit must have a corresponding debit and vice versa. This means that a surplus or deficit in one part of the accounts necessarily will be offset by a deficit or surplus, respectively, in another account so that, overall, the accounts are in balance. This convention also means that a deficit in one account, such as the merchandise trade account, is not necessarily the same as a debt. (1) The trade deficit can become a debt equivalent depending on how the deficit is financed and the expectations of those who hold the offsetting dollar-denominated U.S. assets. The balance of payments accounts are divided into three main sections: the current account, which includes the exports and imports of goods and services and personal and government transfer payments; the capital account, which includes such capital transfers as international debt forgiveness; and the financial account, which includes official transactions in financial assets and private transactions in financial assets and direct investment in businesses and real estate.
When the basic structure of the balance of payments was established, merchandise trade transactions dominated the accounts. Financial transactions recorded in the capital accounts generally reflected the payments and receipts of funds that corresponded to the importing and exporting of goods and services. As a result, the capital accounts generally represented "accommodating" transactions, or financial transactions associated directly with the buying and selling of goods and services. During this early period, exchange rates between currencies were fixed, and private capital flows, such as foreign investment, were heavily regulated so that nearly all international flows of funds were associated with merchandise trade transactions and with some limited government transactions.
Since the 1970s, however, private capital flows have grown markedly as countries have liberalized their rules governing overseas investing and as nations have adopted a system of floating exchange rates, where the rates are set by market forces. Floating exchange rates have spurred demand for the dollar. The dollar also is sought for investment purposes as it has become a vehicle itself for investment and speculation. This means that the balance of payments record not only the accommodating flows of capital which correspond to imports and exports of goods and services, but also autonomous flows of capital that are induced by a broad range of economic factors that are unrelated directly to the trading of merchandise goods.
Capital Flows and the Dollar
Liberalized capital flows and floating exchange rates have greatly expanded the amount of autonomous capital flows between countries. These capital transactions are undertaken in response to commercial incentives or political considerations that are independent of the overall balance of payments or of particular accounts. As a result of these transactions, national economies have become more closely linked, the process some refer to as "globalization." The data in Table 1 provide selected indicators of the relative sizes of the various capital markets in various countries and regions and the relative importance of international foreign exchange markets. In 2008, these markets amounted to nearly $700 trillion, or more than 30 times the size of the U.S. economy. Worldwide, foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives, which are the most widely used hedges against movements in currencies, were valued at $486 trillion in 2008, 50% larger than the combined total of all public and private bonds, equities, and bank assets. For the United States, such derivatives total nearly three times as much as all U.S. bonds, equities, and bank assets.
Another aspect of capital mobility and capital inflows is the impact such capital flows have on the international exchange value of the dollar. Demand for U.S. assets, such as financial securities, translates into demand for the dollar, since U.S. securities are denominated in dollars. As demand for the dollar rises or falls according to overall demand for dollar-denominated assets, the value of the dollar changes. These exchange rate changes, in turn, have secondary effects on the prices of U.S. and foreign goods, which tend to alter the U.S. trade balance. At times, foreign governments have intervened in international capital markets to acquire the dollar directly or to acquire Treasury securities in order to strengthen the value of the dollar against particular currencies. In addition, various central banks moved aggressively following the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s to bolster their holdings of dollars in order to use the dollars to support their currencies should the need arise.
The dollar is also heavily traded in financial markets around the globe and, at times, plays the role of a global currency. Disruptions in this role have important implications for the United States and for the smooth functioning of the international financial system. During the decade preceding the current financial crisis, banks and other financial institutions expanded their global balance sheets from $10 trillion in 2000 to $34 trillion in 2007. These assets were comprised primarily of dollar-denominated claims on non-bank entities, including retail and corporate lending, loans to hedge funds, and holdings of structured finance products based on U.S. mortgages and other underlying assets. As the crisis unfolded, the short-term dollar funding markets served as a major conduit through which financial distress was transmitted across financial markets and national borders, according to analysts with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). (2) When these short-term dollar funding markets collapsed in the early stages of the crises, the U.S. Federal Reserve had to engage in extraordinary measures, including a vast system of currency swap arrangements with central banks around the world, to supply nearly $300 billion. After initially expanding the then-existing reciprocal currency arrangements (swap lines) with the European Central Bank, the … | <urn:uuid:be15e974-c12e-4688-a3e4-7a66b036b674> | {
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So much has been written about Anne Frank and her two years hidden in the Secret Annex during World War II, but little has been written about the woman who hid the family, Miep Gies. Anne Frank Remembered, by Miep Gies and Alison Leslie Gold, tells the story of the woman who not only helped the family to survive in hiding, but was also the person who discovered Anne’s diary after the family was arrested.
The book begins with Miep’s own desperate childhood in Vienna during World War I and how she was sent to the Netherlands with many other Viennesse children in order to live with families who could temporarily take care of them. Years later, Miep decides to stay in Amsterdam after accepting a secretarial job with a company who produced kits so women could make jellies and jams from the comfort of their home – her new boss was a man named Otto Frank. Her recollections of meeting his family, especially Anne, are charming and the long friendship she shared with the Frank family is vividly recalled.
The book follows the progression of World War II and the eventual occupation of the Netherlands. Even though this story is one that has been written about frequently, Miep’s first hand account of the lives of the Frank’s and their friends is an invaluable historical story. The co-author, Alison Leslie Gold, wanted to capture Ms. Gies and her husband’s own thoughts and remembrances – the first edition of the book was published when Ms. Gies was nearly 80 years old. She died this past January at the age of 100. | <urn:uuid:6c9d5acb-d86a-44d7-8330-da6f206a0feb> | {
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Plot a Signed or Vector-Valued Measure
Plot a signed measure or vector-valued measure.
## S3 method for class 'msr': plot(x, \dots, add=FALSE, how=c("image", "contour", "imagecontour"), do.plot=TRUE)
- The signed or vector measure to be plotted.
An object of class
- Extra arguments passed to
Smooth.pppto control the interpolation of the continuous density component of
x, or passed to
- Logical flag; if
TRUE, the graphics are added to the existing plot. If
FALSE(the default) a new plot is initialised.
- String indicating how to display the continuous density component.
- Logical value determining whether to actually perform the plotting.
The discrete atomic component of
x is then superimposed on this
image by plotting the atoms as circles (for positive mass)
or squares (for negative mass) by
To smooth both the discrete and continuous components,
Use the argument
clipwin to restrict the plot to a subset
of the full data.
- (Invisible) colour map (object of class
"colourmap") for the colour image.
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The Greenland shark, a big and slow-moving deep-ocean predator that prowls the frigid waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic, can claim the distinction of being the planet's longest-living vertebrate, with a lifespan perhaps reaching about 400 years.
Its extremely sluggish growth rate, about four-tenths of a inch (1 cm) per year, had already tipped off scientists that it lived a very long time, and research published on Thursday calculated the Greenland shark's lifespan for the first time.
Danish marine biologist Julius Nielsen said radiocarbon dating that analyzed the shark's eye lens found that the oldest of 28 sharks studied was likely about 392 years old, with 95 percent certainty of an age range between 272 and 512 years.
A two-meter-long Greenland shark female is seen in the waters off southwestern Greenland, in this undated handout picture from Julius Nielsen. Julius Nielsen/Handout via Reuters.
Females astoundingly did not reach sexual maturation until they were at least 134 years old, Nielsen said.
The Greenland shark, up to about 18 feet (5.5 meters) long, is among the largest carnivorous sharks.
Nielsen, a University of Copenhagen doctoral student who led the study published in the journal Science, said the findings should bring this shark much-deserved respect.
"This species is completely overlooked, and only a few scientists in the world are working with this species," Nielsen said.
"Our findings show that even though the uncertainty is great that they should be considered the oldest vertebrate animal in the world," Nielsen added.
Nielsen said the vertebrate with the longest-known lifespan until now was the bowhead whale, topping 200 years.
Greenland sharks have a plump elongated body, round nose, relatively small dorsal fin, sandpaper-like skin and gray or blackish-brown coloration. They are slow swimmers and are nearly blind, but are capable hunters, eating fish, marine mammals and carrion.
A Greenland shark swims near the surface after its release from the research vessel Sanna in northern Greenland, in this undated handout picture from Julius Nielsen. Julius Nielsen/Handout via Reuters.
They are known to be relatively abundant throughout the North Atlantic and Arctic, particularly from eastern Canada to western Russia. They occasionally are spotted by deep-sea robotic submarines at latitudes further south, such as in the Gulf of Mexico. They have been observed in depths down to 1.4 miles (2.2 km).
"They may widely inhabit the deep sea, potentially living anywhere water temperatures are below about 5 Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit)," said Australian Institute of Marine Science marine biologist Aaron MacNeil, who was not involved in the study.
MacNeil said the study did an admirable job of tackling a difficult matter but questioned an element of the dating analysis and said the estimate of a roughly 392-year-old shark "seems high to me." | <urn:uuid:6665b9b7-3ab3-4012-abd5-a3611990140b> | {
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PARIS – Twelve years ago, the European Space Agency launched a spacecraft with a very precious cargo — a robot laboratory designed to land on a comet and photograph, prod and sniff its surface.
The €1.3-billion ($1.5-billion) mission of robot lab Philae and its orbiting mothership, Rosetta, was to shed light on the solar system’s formation, and possibly the origins of life on Earth. While Rosetta will remain with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko until September, scientists on Feb. 12 bade farewell to Philae from which there has been no word for seven months.
These are some of Philae’s contributions to science.
The lander’s COSAC gas analyzer sniffed the dust kicked up by Philae’s comet ricochet, and identified 16 different carbon-containing organic compounds — found in all living things. Another instrument, Ptolemy, detected water vapor, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the comet’s hazy “coma,” as well as organic compounds such as formaldehyde.
Comets are believed to contain materials left over from the solar system’s formation some 4.6 billion years ago, and scientists see them as time capsules that may provide insights into Earth’s own origins. One theory is that comets smashed into our infant planet, providing it with precious water and the chemical building blocks for life.
Many had feared that Philae would land on a soft and fluffy surface, possibly even sink. Instead it bounced when its harpoons failed to fire.
This very rebound, though unintended, allowed scientists to compare the surface characteristics of the spot where Philae first touched down, dubbed Agilkia, and where it finally settled, Abydos.
The lander’s ROLIS camera captured a dark, nonreflective surface littered with pebbles and rocks ranging from a few centimeters across to 5 meters. There was much less water ice than expected.
While the surface at Agilkia was relatively soft, Philae’s MUPUS hammer failed to break the surface at Abydos, where it conducted its experiments.
Under a thin dust layer just a few centimeters thick, MUPUS slammed into super-dense mixture of compacted dust and ice.
The hardness of the surface was the “biggest surprise” of 67P, the German Aerospace Centre DLR, which hosts the lander control centre, has said.
In contrast, the CONSERT radar instrument found that inside, the 10-billion-ton comet was made of a very loosely compacted mix of dust and ice — so porous it would float on water on Earth. | <urn:uuid:602a7f3b-9752-4d12-99b7-23bc6beed250> | {
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A groundbreaking geological map of Australia
- A New Geological Map of the Commonwealth of Australia (Including New Guinea), Together with a Volume of "Explanatory Notes".
- EDGEWORTH DAVID, Sir T[anatt] W[illiam]
- [map] Commonwealth Council of Scientific and Industrial Research; [book] Australasian Medical Publishing Company,
- Publication place
- Publication date
- 1931 and 1932.
- 1600 by 1975mm. (63 by 77.75 inches).
Chromolithograph map in four sections, dissected and mounted on linen, [together with:] booklet 8vo (iv), 177, (1) pp., 11 tables, (of which nine are folding, one is full page and one is half page), plus ten figures, maps set into the text, original paper wrappers, ownership stamp of Lt. Colonel A. Delmé-Radcliffe D.S.O to upper cover, original green buckram slipcase, publisher's label pasted to upper cover.
First edition of Edgeworth David's comprehensive geological map of Australia.
The map is the final published work of Sir Edgeworth David (1858-1934), a Welsh Australian geologist and explorer. Edgeworth David was a formidable character, emigrating to Australia in 1882 after he was appointed Assistant Geological Surveyor at the New South Wales Department of Mines. After being made professor at the University of Sydney, he led an expedition which proved that coral atolls were built on a platform. By now a well respected geologist, he used his influence to raise money for Ernest Shackleton's 1907 expedition to the South Pole. He then joined Shackleton's team, even though he was about to turn fifty, and eventually led the successful expedition to the magnetic south pole while Shackleton's expedition was forced to turn back from their attempt to reach the geographic pole. During the First World War, he was involved in the creation of and then commissioned into the Australian Mining Corps.
David's great work had been in his mind since he came to Australia, and there was pressing contemporary need for greater geological data on the continent after the discovery of gold in Australia in 1851. David began work in 1922 by plotting data onto a 1921 base map. He compiled the results of other geological surveys alongside his own, as well as undertaking new expeditions.Although finished by 1928 and sent to England for corrections, Davis continued to correct it until it went to print in 1930. The map and accompanying text was intended to be the first part of David's monumental work 'The Geology of the Commonwealth of Australia' but unfortunately he died before he managed to complete the accompanying book. The work would eventually be published 1950 by the work's co-author Professor Browne in 1950.
The map features two inset maps of the Admiralty Islands and New Ireland plus another of Tasmania, there are also numerous geological cross sections to the overall edges of the maps. As well as the geological information the map also provides information railways, telegraph lines, cable routes, state boundaries, roads, tracks, lighthouses, and altitude.
Norman Abjorensen and James C. Docherty, Historical Dictionary of Australia, (Rowan & Littlefield: Sydney, 2014), p.124; National Library of Australia, Australia in Maps: Great Maps in Australia's History from the National Library's Collection, (NLA, 2007) 88. | <urn:uuid:a58c2186-3c32-4193-b190-73333f1cdabf> | {
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Colorado River flow expected to be down in 2012
A dry winter means there will be less water flowing in the lower Colorado River this summer.
“System wide total reservoir storage, as of April 4, was 63 percent of capacity,” said Doug Hendrix, external coordination manager for the Bureau of Reclamation's Yuma Area Office.
“This year has been a little bit drier year. The precipitation to date in the Upper Basin into the Upper Basin reservoirs has been about 79 percent of average.”
Another issue that means lower water levels was the very warm weather in March that prematurely melted an already small snowpack into the river's Upper Basin. Snow is the source of most of the river water flowing into the Lower Basin states of Arizona, Nevada and California.
Water levels in the river and lakes near Yuma may fluctuate slightly throughout the summer, Hendrix said. Blocks of water are released upriver periodically as water orders come in from entities such as the Yuma County Water Users Association and the Imperial Irrigation District, Hendrix explained.
“What we try to do is time the water deliveries to when they need the water down here. It wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to release a big block of water when it is not needed. We try to time it so it is put to its optimal use.”
“We keep a fairly consistent level in the staging reservoirs on the way down, but you will see some fluctuation in the river as we bring water down this far to Senator's Wash or Lake Martinez.”
Water users needn't worry about not having enough.
With precipitation at 110 percent of average in the areas that fed the river in the winter of 2010-2011, plenty of water remains stored in reservoirs to meet the needs of municipalities and farmers all the way down to the Yuma area, Hendrix said.
The lower Colorado River is no stranger to drought, as it has experienced such conditions for over a decade.
“We went through roughly 12 consecutive years of drought and last year was one year out of many that we had above-average precipitation levels,” Hendrix said.
“It helped recharge the system somewhat, but when you've had 11 years behind that which were consecutively drier than average, it is going to take some time to recharge the system.”
At current levels, and if drought conditions occur in the future, there is about three years worth of water left, Hendrix noted.
“If we continue to have below-average precipitation beyond 2017-2018, we could start going back to where we were two or three years ago when it was getting critically low. But because we had a fairly decent water year last year, we are not down around those shortage declaration levels.”
As there is no way to control Mother Nature, “we certainly hope for wet weather,” Hendrix said. “It is a lot easier to move water when we have it than trying to stretch water when we don't have it.”
Chris McDaniel can be reached at [email protected] or 539-6849. | <urn:uuid:ef4b01ef-3e93-4b02-a41d-13e48dfff085> | {
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Alaska and Canada share shorelines, watersheds, fish and an icefield. Why not science?
Allison Bidlack, Director of the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, said that’s just what scientists from both sides of the border are beginning to do.
“What I’m trying to do is make sure there’s a space for this to happen,” Bidlack said of the scientific collaboration. “We’re asking the same questions; we’re using some of the same methodology.”
Sari Saunders and Andy MacKinnon, both Research Ecologists with the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Coast Area, said working with Southeast Alaskan scientists strengthens their research and gives them more confidence in their findings and projections.
“It boosts the power of our scientific analysis,” Saunders said.
Working together, researchers have been able to put together a climate change map spanning six degrees of latitude along the Pacific coast.
“We’re starting to look at some of the more detailed changes that might occur with climate change,” Saunders said. “It could affect salmon habitat, aquaculture — all sorts of things.”
“Projections suggest maybe some … watersheds in north and southeast Alaska, which are snow and glacier dominated, will in the future be less dependent on snow and glaciers, and more like rain dominated systems,” MacKinnon said.
Fifty years in the future, in other words, Southeast Alaska’s weather may look a lot more like British Columbia’s.
“It’s not looking good for Eaglecrest (Ski Area) 50 years from now,” Bidlack said.
It’s not looking good for Vancouver ski resorts, either.
Climate change models indicate weather systems will start shifting east, toward inland mountains, and north, meaning more rain and less snow in future years.
Paul Hennon, a forest pathologist with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, has been collaborating with Canadian researchers on issues surrounding the widespread death of yellow cedar trees.
Climate change has led to less snow in Southeast, meaning the trees’ shallow roots are less insulated from late-season freezes. At a soil temperature of around 23 degrees, the roots freeze and the tree dies, he said.
“We’re not confined to looking at in a small space at a problem,” he said. “It’s a much broader area.”
Those six degrees of latitude have allowed researchers on each side to see how yellow cedar grows — and dies — in different habitats depending on latitude.
“It shifts up in elevation as you move south in latitude,” Hennon said.
They’re also researching how the forest changes after yellow cedar death.
“We’re realizing that the coastal temperate rainforest is a massive entity that doesn’t stop down at Ketchikan,” Hennon said. “It’s really giving us more confidence. Scientists just want more data.”
Soil scientist David D’Amore, the “historian” of the group of collaborating scientists, said the concept of a coastal temperate rainforest was developed about 25 years ago.
“They had the vision that this was a really important ecological area that we really needed to understand,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of terrestrial and aquatic activity … that’s why we have cruise ships.”
In Alaska, priorities focused on what could be managed, like the timber harvest. Recently, however, they’ve started looking at the Tongass National Forest more holistically. After all, timber harvests are affected by climate change when climate change causes yellow cedar death, for instance. Wetlands, watersheds, hydrology, snow: all impact the ecosystem as a whole.
“Now we can really look at it as a system,” D’Amore said. “It’s just been a real Renaissance in terms of how we are … approaching understanding the ecosystems that surround us, as well as what the challenges are.”
At first, most collaborative efforts focused on integrating existing research — but that’s easier said than done. The same study can be done slightly different ways, with slightly different measurements and parameters, which means the two pieces don’t quite fit together they way they could.
The Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center is helping to facilitate collaborative grant proposal writing and monthly transboundary webinars. Possibilities could also involve student exchanges, Bidlack said.
“It’s all one ecosystem,” Bidlack said. “It makes sense ecologically, but it’s challenging from a political boundary sense.”
It’s also challenging funding-wise; many grants end or begin at the border or fund, for example, only researchers from one side of the border.
Future research could involve not just the biophysical, but also the social and economic.
“I think everybody’s pretty excited about carrying on with the projects we’ve got right now,” MacKinnon said. “We’re wrapping up a couple of them and trying to look for new opportunities to work together in ways that would be mutually beneficial.” | <urn:uuid:8b62081f-e73f-4beb-9730-9acae49071ba> | {
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By Michael B. Sauter
Since textile workers in England were replaced by mechanized looms in the 19th century new technologies have been continuously taking the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of laborers. In the 20th century -- the age of machinery, robotics, and computers -- the United States has seen the loss of millions of factory jobs. Now, in the era of the Internet and further automation, a new generation of full-time workers is on the verge of losing their positions to technology. 24/7 Wall Street used information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the jobs that will lose the largest percentage of their current positions over the next decade.
Many jobs are in industries where technological advancement has already caused major reductions in the workforce. Now, further contraction is expected in those same industries as workers who were trained to oversee the machines are themselves replaced by new machines and software that manage the old machines. For example, more than 50,000 postal workers formerly assigned to oversee the mail sorting machines will lose their jobs as newer automated machines are implemented.
In addition, some of the world's newest industries, including semiconductors and computers, are already replacing major sections of employees because of further improvements. The components of semiconductors are now too small for humans to process, and automatic software updates for computer systems, both in the office and the factory, can now be done automatically, or from a central location.
Not just technology is causing job losses. Changing trends in personal preferences and business practices are also affecting people's livelihoods. Less people wear watches and use film-loaded cameras, and so hundreds of repair-persons in both fields will lose their jobs due to lack of demand. In some cases, these industries are essentially dying, losing 30 to 40 percent of their workforces in the process. The Postal Service and the publishing industry are being killed by the Internet. Soon, they will lose hundreds of thousands of additional jobs as they continue to shrink.
9. Watch Repairers
- Decline by 2018: -13.84%
- 2008 Employment: 3,200
- Median Annual Income: $37,180
Watch repairers, or horologists, build and repair wrist and pocket watches. There were just 3,200 horologists in the entire country last year. By 2018, that number will drop by an additional 400, or 13.84 percent. According to the BLS' Occupation Outlook Handbook: "Employment of watch repairers is expected to decline rapidly. The high cost of repairs will compel many consumers to replace their watches rather than have them fixed."
- Decline by 2018: -14.48%
- 2008 Employment: 7,400
- Median Annual Income: $37,600
Paperhangers primarily install, repair or replace wallpaper in homes, but they also work on billboards and signs. There were 7,400 paperhangers in 2008. By 2018, that number will decline 15 percent to 6,300. Like painters, paperhangers usually run their own businesses, often after first apprenticing with an expert. Paperhanger positions, according to the BLS, "should decline rapidly as many homeowners take advantage of easy application materials and resort to cheaper alternatives, such as painting." The BLS warns that hangers should expect "long periods of unemployment" as a result of reduced demand.
7. Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers
- Decline by 2018: -15.4%
- 2008 Employment: 4,600
- Median Annual Income: $37,180
As the digital camera continues its takeover of the photography industry, and film is increasingly a novelty, the livelihoods of camera repairers will be threatened. According to the BLS, "Employment is expected to drop more than 15 percent." While these individuals increasingly work with digital cameras as well, the bureau states that "technological improvements mean that most consumers prefer to replace broken cameras with newer models, even at the high end, saving on the high cost of repair." While the BLS adds that there are some opportunities for individuals working at warranty repair centers, this will not be enough to offset a net decline of nearly 700 jobs by 2018.
6. Computer Operators
- Decline by 2018: -18.1%
- 2008 Employment: 110,000
- Median Annual Income: $36,390
Computer operators work across a variety of businesses, in offices and factories. They are responsible for the regular upkeep of the computer systems at their business, updating software, maintaining logs, keeping them virus-free. It may be difficult to imagine that a job with the word computer in its title is also in danger of becoming outdated, but that is increasingly the case. The BLS states that "advances in technology are making many of the duties performed by these workers obsolete. The expanding use of software that automates computer operations gives companies the option of making systems more efficient, but greatly reduces the need for operators." As operators lose their jobs, software designers and manufacturers are becoming some of the fastest-growing jobs in the country. These are the people developing the software that will replace operators.
5. Desktop Publishers
- Decline by 2018: -22.54%
- 2008 Employment: 26,400
- Median Annual Income: $36,610
There may be no industry that has shown greater signs of decline in the past decade than the publishing industry. Desktop publishers are responsible for preparing material for physical printing. While some work for companies not in the publishing industry, the majority are either employed by newspapers and magazines or publishing houses. In addition, desktop publishers are reportedly losing positions in others industries, as well, because more general employees are being trained with the basic tools to do their own publishing when necessary. In addition, the BLS reports, "increased computer-processing capacity and the widespread availability of more elaborate desktop publishing software will make it easier and more affordable for non-printing professionals to use."
4. Drilling Machine Operators and Tenders
- Decline by 2018: -26.87%
- 2008 Employment: 33,000
- Median Annual Income: $33,130
Millions of factory jobs have been lost or moved overseas in the past few decades as the result of improvements in technology. No factory-based position is expected to decline more in the next 10 years than those that work with drilling and boring machines. Operators of these machines usually spend the day on the assembly line, overseeing the process of these machines, and making sure that there are no malfunctions. According to the BLS, "Many firms are adopting new technologies, such as computer-controlled machine tools and robots in order to improve quality, lower production costs and remain competitive. The switch to computer-controlled machinery requires the employment of computer control programmers and operators instead of machine setters, operators and tenders."
3. Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors and Processing Machine Operators
- Decline by 2018: -30.32%
- Current Employment: 179,900
- Median Annual Income: $53,080
The Internet has arguably hurt the postal service more than any other business. The drastic reduction in mail delivery has cost thousands of jobs in delivery and caused many post office closures around the country. Now, mail sorting jobs are set to disappear as a new automated system is implemented. Between 2008 and 2018, more than 54,500 jobs, or about 30 percent of current positions, are expected to vanish.
2. Semiconductor Processors
- Decline by 2018: -31.53%
- 2008 Employment: 31,600
- Median Annual Income: $33,130
Surprisingly, the relatively young semiconductor industry is set to shed much of its workforce. Approximately 10,000 jobs, or 31.53 percent of the total workforce, will be gone by 2018. Improvements in technology have made chip components increasingly tiny, essentially invisible to the naked eye. According to the BLS, "Because the components are so small, it is now impossible for humans to handle chips in production, since these chips are so sensitive to dust and other particles. As a result, there has been a decline in semiconductor processor employment for many years, despite a strong domestic industry. As technology advances, the decline in employment is expected to continue."
1. Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders
- Decline by 2018: -44.83%
- 2008 Employment: 16,000
- Median Annual Income: $22,970
The textile industry will lose more than 100,000 jobs between 2008 and 2018, partly because manufacturers are continuing to move production overseas for cheap labor, and partly because jobs are also being replaced domestically. The jobs that the BLS expects will be hit hardest are those of tending and operating machines that bleach and dye fabrics. "Technological developments, such as computer-aided marking and grading, computer-controlled cutters, semiautomatic sewing and pressing machines, and automated material-handling systems have increased output while reducing the need for some workers in larger firms." More than 7,000 positions, or 44.8 percent of the total workforce, will no longer exist eight years from now.
Stories from 24/7 Wall St. | <urn:uuid:cebcd56d-f1c2-4821-b08f-fd02354d3471> | {
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Where does our fresh water come from?
Understanding the circle of water: the hydrologic cycle
Where does our water come from? The hydrologic cycle, the system by which water is continuously cleaned and reused by the earth’s systems.
Most people appreciate the value of a cold glass of water or a dip in the pool on a hot summer day. Water is one of the most fundamental necessities to daily life, and one of the most abundant resources on the planet. However, most of the world’s water is salt water, while much of the remaining fresh water is frozen in ice sheets and glaciers. Overall, less than one percent of the world’s water is actually available for human consumption. Most of this water is found in rivers, lakes, and groundwater, although some of it is in the air around us. We know that we all use water, but where does our water come from?
The answer is the hydrologic cycle, the system by which water is continuously cleaned and reused by the earth’s systems. As with any cycle, there is no set starting point; however, there are a few main components that make up the cycle.
- Water is absorbed into the ground by infiltration. Some of the water may pass (percolate) through holes and small cracks. Vegetation can help increase the amount of water that is absorbed. Water absorbed into the soil can collect underground, forming groundwater.
- Water that is not absorbed by the soil will wash off the surface. Runoff can help refill our lakes, creeks, and wetlands (surface waters), but it also can carry pollutants and increase the potential for flooding.
- Through evapotranspiration, clean water vapor is released into the air directly by plants (transpiration) or by heat from the sun on the water’s surface (evaporation).
- Warm air can hold more water vapor than cool air, which is why we often have humid days in the summer and dry days in the winter. As warm moist air cools, it forms small water droplets—condensation—that may appear as clouds or fog.
- As water droplets condense they may form larger droplets that eventually become heavy enough to fall as rain or snow, called precipitation.
Basically, you can think of the hydrologic cycle as a big water purification system that operates world-wide and free of charge. Any water that enters the system can be recycled. For example, the water molecules in your glass once may have been drawn up by the roots of an oak tree, swallowed by a fish, or resided momentarily in a drop of dew.
Of course it isn’t always that simple—other components can affect the cycle. In a native woodland or prairie, much of the rainfall is absorbed in the ground or may be captured by trees and other vegetation. Runoff is usually minimal and contains relatively low amounts of pollutants such as dissolved chemicals or sediment.
However, in developed communities such as Minnetonka, transpiration and infiltration are often reduced because much of the original vegetation has been removed and the soil has been covered for the construction of buildings and paved surfaces. Accordingly, surface runoff is higher. However, there are ways to help reduce runoff and pollutants and help absorb water into the ground. Follow these five simple tips to help keep the hydrologic cycle functioning smoothly.
- Capture and absorb water into the soil with a rain garden or native vegetation. Trees and shrubs have extensive root systems that can help increase infiltration.
- Use proper watering practices when needed. Consider installing a rain barrel to re-use water from your roof.
- Fix or replace leaking plumbing or appliances. A dripping faucet wastes water and energy.
- Avoid using chemicals and fertilizers in your yard where possible and apply them properly when needed to avoid waste and runoff.
- Cover exposed soil, which tends to absorb less water and can add sediment and nutrients to surface runoff. | <urn:uuid:853a9a8b-fb89-4d6d-a89c-1e8151bca7dc> | {
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Struck by the legendary sniffing skills of man's best friend, scientists in the United States fitted a dog-inspired plastic nose to an explosives detector, and reported today it worked much better.
With the prosthetic nose, and programmed to take multiple "sniffs" of the air rather a single, long suction, the machine was 16 times more sensitive in detecting molecules in the air, the team reported in the journal Scientific Reports.
"By mimicking the way a dog sniffs, we can improve the performance of commercial trace vapour detection systems," study co-author Matthew Staymates of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, told AFP.
"Our findings suggest that the next generation of... detection systems may benefit from lessons learned from the canine."
This may improve detection of anything from explosives, narcotics, disease-causing pathogens, perhaps even cancer.
Staymates and a team read up on the workings of the canine "nose" when the dog is sniffing. The organ exhales and inhales about five times per second to collect odours, which are then analysed by some 300 million receptor cells.
The team then used a 3D printer to create the outer shell of a plastic "nose" fashioned after the snout of a Labrador retriever.
The prosthesis was fitted to a commercially-available explosives detector, which was also reprogrammed to inhale and exhale in quick succession, sniffing in essence, rather than non-stop suction.
With the alterations, the machine was 16 times better at detecting odours from a distance of four centimetres (1.6 inches), the team observed.
Though it seemed "counterintuitive," breathing out during sniffing actually drew odour-laden air towards the nostrils, the researchers found.
Dogs are widely used in explosives and drug detection, search and rescue operations and more recently also in cancer diagnosis.
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Types of Stress >>
Stress Response >>
Relaxation & Relaxation Response >>
Triggers & Symptoms >>
Strategies & Techniques >>
More About The S.M.A.R.T. Program >>
Test your knowledge >>
We know there is a relationship between exercise and mood.
Home > For Families > Education & Support > Child & Teen Services > SMART > Strategies And Techniques > Physical Activity
Why is physical activity a stress management issue?Exercise can possibly help the brain cope better with stress. Researchers aren't sure why, but there are quite a few ideas:
- Some studies show it might be that exercise increases norepinephrine concentration in the brain, which helps you deal with a stress response.
- Some researchers think that the benefit may also come from the intense focus and repetitive motion that is part of most physical activity (which could trigger a relaxation response).
- Some believe that exercise helps the biological functions in the body and mind work better together, and that this helps us respond better to stress.
- And some believe that exercise helps the immune system function better, so we are better protected from diseases associated with stress.
But does "why" really matter?
We do know that there is a relationship between exercise and mood. Walking, biking, tai chi, yoga, are just some examples of physical activities you can try to help you manage your stress.
For more information:
Physical Activity and Stress Management >>
Why Exercise is Wise >>
About Fitness >> | <urn:uuid:9f128138-44e1-4605-a3cb-2e3dd75664fd> | {
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Seventy years after Pearl Harbor, the wreck of the Arizona, the giant battleship sunk by Japanese warplanes, still leaks oil, evoking for some the tears of the thousand sailors who went down with their ship on that day of “infamy.”
On December 7, 1941 at dawn, Japan awakened the American “sleeping giant,” bombing the US Pacific Fleet anchored in Hawaii. In two hours, some 20 ships were sunk or damaged and 164 planes destroyed.
Denouncing “a date which will live in infamy,” president Franklin Roosevelt declared war on Japan, changing the course of World War II at a time when many of his countrymen had hoped to escape the conflict.
Of the 2,400 Americans who died at Pearl Harbor, nearly half, exactly 1,177, were killed in a matter of seconds aboard the Arizona, when a bomb detonated the ship’s munitions depot, igniting a conflagration that burned for three days.
Today, the wreck is still visible, one of its rusty turrets rising above the surface, flying an American flag. Every day, hundreds of visitors view it from a bridge-like memorial built over the wreck.
“It’s a huge piece of history. It’s very powerful,” said Gord Woodward, a Canadian tourist, as he looked down on the memorial on what is officially designated a war grave.
What never fails to impress tourists are the drops of oil that rise to the surface every 20 to 30 seconds.
“Some people call them black tears, as if the men were still crying inside the ship,” said a guide at the memorial.
Before the attack, the Arizona’s fuel tanks had been filled with 5,700 tons of fuel, ready to cast off in the event of war.
Part of its fuel tanks were destroyed by the explosion, but those in the rear were only punctured, explains Daniel Martinez, a historian attached to the memorial.
Since then, the ship has been leaking oil at a rate of 3.5 liters a day.
“We don’t really know how much oil is left in there,” he said, adding that “environmentally, it’s not causing a huge problem.”
Martinez, who has dived several times into the ship’s hull, said inside each of the ship’s six submerged levels floats a ribbon of oil one to three feet thick, rising gently toward the surface.
The wreck, he said, has become a reef attracting thousands of species of fish. “There are two sea turtles that live in there,” he told AFP.
The historian acknowledges that a slick could spread through the harbor if the wreck were to crack open, releasing its residual fuel.
“We’re very much aware of this possibility but it seems that the strength of the ship will prevent a massive escape of oil,” he said.
Studies have determined that the ship’s metal structure, built during World War I, could last another 600 to 800 years.
If worst comes to worst, the wreckage can be completely encircled with barriers within 30 minutes to contain the oil, he assured.
On Wednesday, a hundred survivors of the Japanese attack, including seven who were on board the Arizona, will parade in a commemorative ceremony at the naval base, which is still active.
As flags are lowered to half mast throughout the United States, a minute of silence will be observed at 7:55 am (1755 GMT), when the first bombs landed.
In the afternoon, the ashes of Vernon Olson, an Arizona survivor who died last year, will be released in the ship’s interior. Since 1941, about 30 former sailors have rejoined their comrades in this underwater grave. | <urn:uuid:874b04b8-579c-4e33-a545-33e3d2590b9a> | {
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"It's one of the greatest sights in nature, but the amazing thing is that, after going on for millions of years, it wasn't witnessed until the 1980s," he added.
How the right sperm ends up with the right egg is a complicated process that may rely on refined chemical pathways, he said. But scientists are still working on unraveling the exact details.
"To me, the really exciting thing is this huge, well-orchestrated symphony [is] going on, yet we still don't know how it works," Leggat said.
"We're only really just starting to understand corals and reefs in general, and something that's both exciting and worrying is that these reefs are threatened, that they may not be around in 50 years."
(Related: "Coral Reefs Vanishing Faster Than Rain Forests" [August 7, 2007].)
Night and Day
The new research also offers insights into the development of vision and the evolution of daily rhythms in animals.
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, director of marine science at the University of Queensland, said cryptochromes are closely linked to primitive proteins known as photolyases—which harness blue light to repair DNA damaged by ultraviolet radiation.
"[In the Precambrian era] there were very high doses of ultraviolet reaching the planet surface, so organisms probably had to retreat out of range of the UV" in addition, said Hoegh-Guldberg, who was also a co-author on the new research.
"One way to do that would be to go into the deeper layers of the ocean during the day and to rise during the night as levels dropped" by adapting the light-sensing properties of the photolyases, he added.
From there, it was "a very simple step to evolve cryptochromes to set your clock to do the right things at the right time," he said.
"The first creatures wouldn't have had eyes," Hoegh-Guldberg continued. "They would have been depending on cellular biochemistry to detect changes in light. So cryptochromes are, in a sense, the functional forerunners of eyes."
Cryptochromes are still present in humans and other mammals, as well as insects, he said. They play an important role in regulating the circadian system, a "body clock" attuned to Earth's 24-hour rhythms that regulates things like cycles of metabolism and alertness.
"[These proteins] are the Swiss timing mechanism of biology," Hoegh-Guldberg said.
In addition, the work shows the surprising level of sophistication of even the earliest animals.
"We think of corals as being very simple, but they're not," Leggat, of James Cook University, said. "They're actually incredibly complex—they have almost the same number of genes and proteins as humans.
"Many of these genes developed in deep time, in the earliest phases of organized life on the planet," he added. "They were preserved for hundreds of millions of years before being inherited by corals when they developed about 240 million years ago, and are still found today in modern animals and humans."
They are an indicator that corals and humans are in fact distant relatives, sharing a common ancestor way back."
Hoegh-Guldberg said the team would head back to the reef this spring to delve deeper into the secrets of cryptochromes.
"We've got all the smoking guns of this mechanism," he said. "The next step is to track down the way they drive things like reproduction. We fully expect to uncover other behavior that they are controlling."
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SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES | <urn:uuid:2279e55b-bd5b-412a-872e-033fefb61cb5> | {
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Several natural compounds made by and that protect Callophycus serratus, a red seaweed, against marine fungi also inhibit the malarial parasite Plasmodium but not Candida albicans, a yeast that is an opportunistic pathogen of humans, according to biologist Julia Kubanek of the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT), Atlanta, and her collaborators. Although the link between antifungal and antimalarial activity is not understood, these dualacting natural compounds might work via a common mechanism, she says. "Learning how other species avoid diseases may provide us with tools we can use to avoid or treat our own diseases."
Kubanek and her collaborators are analyzing natural compounds from more than 800 marine organisms that were collected near the Fiji Islands. Recently, they came to focus on the red seaweed C. serratus, which produces at least 28 distinct chemical compounds to block growth of the common marine fungal pathogen Lindra thalassiae. More than half- 18-of the antifungal compounds are bromophycolides, while the other 10 are callophycoic acids. The bromophycolides and callophycoic acids form the largest group of algal antifungal compounds reported to date.
These antifungal compounds are found in discrete patches along the surface of the seaweed, and at concentrations sufficient to inhibit fungi, according to Kubanek's colleague Facundo Fernandez at GIT. He and members of his lab group are using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) to analyze features of the surface chemistry of intact organisms. "We hypothesize that the patches are wound sites where the compounds are made or leak out to create a barrier against fungal invasion," Kubanek says. Details appeared online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on May 5, 2009.
Although none of the antifungal compounds kill C. albicans cells, three of the bromophycolides have antimalarial activity, possibly through a common mechanism of action such as interfering with cell cycle functions, according to Kubanek. Other bromophycolides show modest anti-HIV and anticancer activity, she points out.
Kubanek finds it surprising that this seaweed produces so many-namely, 28-structurally related antifungal chemicals. "These compounds may have other functions that we have not yet discovered," such as staving off predators or preventing fouling by spores and larvae of other microorganisms, she says. Alternatively, enzymes with low specificity may generate diverse bromophycolides and callophycoic acids. "Evolution is not perfect, and some enzymes do not synthesize the exact molecule every time."
From seaweed samples belonging to the same species, a population nicknamed "bushy" makes only bromophycolides, while another population makes only callophycoic acids, according to Kubanek. Findings of this sort could provide insights into seaweed and microbial ecology, she says.
The surface-associated bromophycolides and callophycoic acids are secondary metabolites that govern biological interactions among organisms sharing an ecosystem, according to Paul Jensen, a microbiologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. These secondary metabolites have "been the black box of microbial chemical ecology," he says. Now Kubanek and her collaborators "cracked open this box with the application of DESI-MS to directly determine the location and concentration of specific secondary metabolites on algal surfaces." Not only do the findings confirm that marine algae use antimicrobial defenses, he adds, but DESI-MS also provides an exciting new tool to explore questions in microbial chemical ecology.
Carol Potera is a freelance writer in Great Falls, Mont. | <urn:uuid:754be50c-1e09-445b-b6e8-a2da0d4f6cda> | {
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You first notice a bump — a tender, cherry red bruise. Over the next 12 hours, the center of this painful spot on your leg becomes dark violet in color. A day later this raised red bump ruptures and fluid oozes forth. I hope you are on the way to the hospital at this point, because flesh-eating bacteria might be running amok in your body.
These microbes have appeared in such films as the late-night scifi flick Cube Zero, in which a prisoner is sprayed with flesh-eating bacteria and melts before the audience's eyes. But does this horrifying bacteria act as quickly as depicted in movies? And more importantly, do the bacteria actually dine on your flesh?
Flesh-eating bacteria formally goes by the mildly less frighting name necrotizing fasciitis in medical circles. Necrotizing fasciitis occurs through a cascading series of events, with the bacteria Clostridium perfringens and Streptococcus pyogenes commonly initiating the infection. The bacteria often enter through an open wound, particularly when the wound is left exposed in a foreign environment like seawater or sewage.
These bacteria lurk in benign places — a 14-year-old in South Carolina contracted the illness in 2009 after removing rocks from the bottom of a local lake. He lost half of his palate, a portion of his nose, and several teeth as surgeons extracted flesh to prevent spreading of the bacteria. In another incident, the guitarist of the venerable thrash metal band Slayer contracted the disease from a spider bite in 2011.
In necrotizing fasciitis, the bacteria doesn't actually eat the flesh of your body. The bacteria sneaking their way into your body spur on the release of proteins, which have a toxic effect in increased quantities. Phospholipase A2 and antigens released by the bacteria enter the cells of your skin, fat, and the connective tissue covering your muscles and begin wreaking havoc. (Here's an image of a necrotizing fasciitis infection, but be forewarned that it's very graphic. Like, Krokodil graphic.)
Phospholipase A2 is often found in snake venom and bee stings. When excess Phospholipase A2 appears in the body, your cells respond by releasing arachidonic acid. The presence of additional arachidonic acid disrupts cells, causing inflammation and pain. Fortunately, the effects of Phospholipase A2 can act as a warning sign for those with necrotizing fasciitis, hopefully leading an individual to seek out treatment.
The antigens released are commonly a type of superantigen that causes non-specific activation of T-cells, or those cells that are the primary line of defense in your body's immune system. The over-activation of T-cells leads to the release of enormous quantities of cytokines (a small protein) at the infection site. The cytokines start a cell signalling cascade that begins the destruction of tissue cells in the region. The foreign bacteria causing necrotizing fasciitis do not eat your flesh, but they do something a little more sinister — these bacteria turn your flesh against you.
What happens should you contract necrotizing fasciitis? Patients must receive intravenous antibiotics immediately and a series of surgical operations to remove dead tissue. If the operations are unsuccessful and the necrotizing fasciitis is contained to an appendage, amputation of an infected arm or leg is the safest course. Patients with necrotizing fasciitis often undergo hyperbaric oxygen treatment, with the hope that the increased oxygen levels help the body heal.
Several hundred individuals contract necrotizing fasciitis in North America each year. Even with treatment, 25% of patients that contract necrotizing fasciitis die from complications of the disease. Years of skin grafts and pain management follow those who are lucky enough to survive.
Also, an even scarier type of necrotizing fasciitis, Fournier gangrene, targets the perineum, and more specifically, the groin and genitals. Modern cases are not common, but historical autopsies suggest that the Roman emperor Galerius and Herod the Great died of this malady. A 69-year-old Herod suffered from a combination of kidney failure and Fournier gangrene, degrading his flesh to the point that worms and maggots moved in and out of the affected areas freely. Fournier gangrene, when it appears in modern society, carries a 40% mortality rate.
The top image is a promotional photo for AMC's The Walking Dead. Images linked from the article: Late diagnosed necrotizing fasciitis as a cause of multiorgan dysfunction syndrome: A case report and the CDC. | <urn:uuid:ed27d932-3ad2-4bc3-b1d9-cbc17ec00ce3> | {
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There are different types of chocolate. Different forms and flavors of chocolate are produced by varying the quantities of the different ingredients.
- Unsweetened chocolate, also known as aka Chocolate, Baking Chocolate, Pure Chocolate, Bitter Chocolate, etc. Chocolate liquor that has been allowed to cool and harden. It is used for baking and to make other types of chocolate. Many bakers prefer this type of chocolate for baking because they have more control over the flavor and sweetness.
- Dark chocolate, is produced by adding fat and sugar to cocoa. It is chocolate with no milk or much less than milk chocolate. Dark chocolate can be eaten as is, or used in cooking, for which thicker, baking bars, usually with high cocoa percentages ranging from seventy percent to ninety-nine percent are sold. Dark is synonymous with semisweet, and extra dark with bittersweet, although the ratio of cocoa butter to solids may vary. We also called it “black chocolate”.
- Semisweet chocolate, it contains at least fifteen percent chocolate liquor, plus cocoa butter and sugar in varying amounts. Some people mistakenly refer to this as “bittersweet”.
- Bittersweet chocolate, it also known as aka Semisweet Chocolate, Dark Chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate liquor (or unsweetened chocolate) to which some sugar (less than a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla, and sometimes lecithin has been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable when baking. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are sometimes referred to as ‘couverture’. Many brands now print on the package the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate (as chocolate liquor and added cocoa butter). The higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the chocolate is.
- Milk chocolate, is solid chocolate made with milk in the form of milk powder, liquid milk, or condensed milk added. It contains at least ten percent chocolate liquor, plus cocoa butter and sugar in varying amounts, and at least twelve percent milk (milk, cream, milk powder, etc).
- White chocolate, is a confection based on sugar, milk, and cocoa butter without the cocoa solids. In some countries white chocolate cannot be called “chocolate” because of the low content of cocoa solids. It has a mild and pleasant flavor and can be used to make Chocolate Mousse, Panna Cotta and other desserts.
- Compound chocolate, is the technical term for a confection combining cocoa with vegetable fat, usually tropical fats and/or hydrogenated fats, as a replacement for cocoa butter. It is often used for candy bar coatings. In many countries it may not legally be called “chocolate”.
- Raw chocolate, is chocolate that has not been processed, heated, or mixed with other ingredients. It is sold in chocolate-growing countries, and to a much lesser extent in other countries, often promoted as healthy. | <urn:uuid:d2d0cb6f-68d7-4b79-a182-6dfcc9571363> | {
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Thousands of stars, a looming asteroid, a depiction of the ancient Egyptian deity of Osiris and...
Largest Meteorite Hunt in History Yields Treasure for UA
Thanks to the generosity of three professional meteorite hunters, the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory will own three samples of a rare kind of meteorite leftover from the earliest beginnings of the solar system.
To the untrained eye, the black, smooth-edged lump that is sitting under a glass cover looks similar to a piece of charcoal. But to scientists Dante Lauretta and Ed Beshore from the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, it is one of the most intriguing stones they have ever seen.
"This meteorite is the oldest rock you'll ever find on Earth. In fact, it formed 50 to 60 million years before the Earth even existed," said Lauretta, who is a professor of planetary science and principal investigator of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, which will send a spacecraft to return a sample from an asteroid in 2023.
On the morning of April 22, around 8 a.m., residents of Nevada and California looked up when a bright fireball streaked across the sky, followed by a boom that rattled windows all across the Sierra Nevada. Some later said the flash of light was so blinding it made them think of a nuclear explosion.
It turns out they weren't too far off: NASA later stated a meteorite that plunged deep into the Earth's atmosphere, scattering shrapnel across a remote, mountainous area near Sutter's Mill in California, blew up with about one-third of the energy of the Hiroshima bomb.
Professional meteorite hunters Michael Farmer, Greg Hupe and Robert Ward, who recovered several chunks of the meteorite, have donated samples to the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory for scientific study. They estimated the parent asteroid to be roughly van-sized and weighing as much as 10 (empty) semi-trucks, before it hit the atmosphere over Nevada and California.
"The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory has a long tradition of working with the commercial meteorite community for the benefit of planetary science," Lauretta said. "We are especially grateful to Michael, Greg and Robert for this contribution along with the many other valuable specimens they have donated to LPL over the years."
What makes these meteorites so special is where they come from and the fact that they were recovered only days after the spectacular fall, Lauretta said. About the size of a finger nail and weighing in at 1 gram each (approx. 1/30 of an ounce), the three meteorite fragments that will be cut from the collected specimens are a "huge" find for science, providing enough material for many studies on their origin and composition, which help scientists to better understand how the solar system came to be.
According to Lauretta, carbonaceous chondrites are rare finds that make up only about 5 percent of chondritic meteorites. Chondrites are basically rocky meteorites and represent the majority of meteorites discovered. Iron meteorites are also found, but only account for slightly more than 5 percent of all meteorites. When the cloud of gas and dust coalesced into the star, the planets and the asteroids that now make up our solar system, about 99 percent of that material ended up in the sun.
"Carbonaceous chondrites are similar in composition to the outer parts of the sun," Lauretta explained. "They are the most primitive and unaltered leftovers from the birth of our solar system."
"Freshly fallen meteorites are especially important to us because they are the least contaminated samples of asteroids that we can obtain here on Earth," Lauretta added. "This donation is an extraordinary opportunity because the OSIRIS-REx science team is already analyzing these kinds of meteorites in preparation for the sample return from an asteroid they will be visiting in 2019."
The Sutter's Mill specimen will allow the OSIRIS-REx team to test analytical techniques and inventory the organic materials in the meteorite that might otherwise be altered or erased by meteorites that have had long exposure to the Earth's atmosphere and water.
Robert Ward was the first to discover the area where the meteorite fragments hit the ground, a so-called strewn field measuring about 4 by 2 miles.
"It is the worst terrain to look for meteorites you could imagine," he said. "I crawled through poison oak, fighting mosquitoes and dodging rattlesnakes."
Only two days after the fireball, Ward was walking along an ATV trail with a landowner who was showing him the outline of the property, when he spotted a matchbox-sized chunk of black rock in the grass just inches from the tire track. It turned out to be the largest piece recovered so far and will remain in his private collection.
The samples donated to the UA include specimens collected before and after heavy rains drenching the strewn field. As soon as a meteorite hits the ground, the clock is ticking for meteorite hunters and scientists who study them.
"Being exposed to the elements alters their chemistry and contaminates them with earthly substances," said Dolores Hill, curator of meteorites for the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. "As soon as we get a hold of the samples, we try to minimize contact and exposure, and seal them in sterilized, clean containers, where they remain until further analysis."
Meteorite donor Michael Farmer said, "When we heard that the scientific community started begging for samples as soon as they learned we were going to donate pieces of this meteorite to the UA, we doubled the amount. These are invaluable ‘practice samples' if you will, especially with respect to the upcoming OSIRIS-REx mission."
His partner, Greg Hupe, remembered driving up and down the strewn field, which was already swarming with thousands and thousands of locals armed with aluminum foil, hoping to come across a piece of the meteor.
"Today is a very special day for since it's my birthday," Hupe said. "What better present could there be than this opportunity of giving back to the scientific community?"
Ward said this was the most exciting meteorite recovery so far, eclipsing any find he has ever made.
"It's not every day that you discover a carbonaceous chondrite only 48 hours after the fall. It's been an incredible experience and an honor to contribute to such an important mission as OSIRIS-REx."
Farmer said the Sutter's Mill meteorite "supersedes every meteorite I have ever worked on."
"It's just incredible to think that only a few days ago, this rock that you pick up from the ground was somewhere behind the moon," he said. "And then it came down at a speed anywhere between 20,000 and 30,000 miles per hour, and now it's sitting here on this table." | <urn:uuid:aea4a682-3643-4ade-bd56-b052187d558d> | {
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An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at MIT's Lincoln Lab have developed new radar technology that provides real-time video of what's going on behind solid walls. 'The researchers’ device is an unassuming array of antenna arranged into two rows — eight receiving elements on top, 13 transmitting ones below — and some computing equipment, all mounted onto a movable cart. But it has powerful implications for military operations, especially "urban combat situations," says Gregory Charvat, technical staff at Lincoln Lab and the leader of the project.' ... each time the waves hit the wall, the concrete blocks more than 99 percent of them from passing through. And that’s only half the battle: Once the waves bounce off any targets, they must pass back through the wall to reach the radar’s receivers — and again, 99 percent don’t make it. By the time it hits the receivers, the signal is reduced to about 0.0025 percent of its original strength. But according to Charvat, signal loss from the wall is not even the main challenge. "[Signal] amplifiers are cheap," he says. What has been difficult for through-wall radar systems is achieving the speed, resolution and range necessary to be useful in real time (PDF).'" | <urn:uuid:b353a6e3-289c-4504-aeef-b4134c88302f> | {
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A back-to-basics look at subnetting.
- By Bill Heldman
The advent of TCP/IP was such a good thing that it took the world by
storm. Everyone wanted to get in on the TCP/IP action. For a while the
protocol's acceptance was so popular that there was a fear we'd run out
of IP addresses. In the mid-1990's, there was a push to update TCP-IP
from version 4 (IPv4) to version 6 (IPv6—don't ask, no one knows
why there wasn't a version 5), an upgrade that would substantially increase
the number of allowable IP addresses. (Because IP v4 is predicated on
a 32-bit addressing scheme, there are 232 possible addresses. IPv6 uses
a 128-bit addressing scheme, so there are scads more addresses available-2128.)
The move to IPv6 has died down in the U.S., but it's gaining popularity
in other countries, especially in Asia. A large backbone that has been
developed worldwide utilizes IPv6, called the "6bone."
So, why didn't we run out of IP addresses? Two good reasons:
- The creators of TCP-IP set aside a reserved group of IP addresses
that could be used on private networks (i.e. not allowed out on the
Internet) as follows:
Class A: 10.0.0.1 - 10.255.255.254
Class B: 172.16.0.1 - 172.31.255.254
Class C: 192.168.0.1 - 192.168.255.254
- Protocols such as Network Address Translation (NAT), Classless Inter-Domain
Routing (CIDR) and Network Address Port Translation (NAPT) were developed
to allow bfor the translation of internal addresses to addresses that
could be used on the Internet. Today routers and firewalls can quickly
NAT addresses and allow for seamless interaction between users on a
private network using reserved IP network addresses and on the Internet
using standard IP addresses.
Suppose that your company, in the early days of TCP-IP went out and purchased
a couple of valid (non-private) Class C network address ranges. Each Class
C network can yield up to 256 addresses, so your company could theoretically
grow to 512 addresses (though there are a few limitations like the 0th
and the 255th addresses—i.e. 192.168.0.0 and 192.168.0.255). But
there are some intrinsic problems with this. First of all, since these
are public addresses, if you're not careful to set up some kind of security
it's possible for scurrilous Internet types to hack into your private
network. Secondly, what happens when your network outgrows those 512 addresses?
With the distinct lack of IPv4 networks available today (through www.iana.org)
you might be out of luck getting your hands on an entirely new Class C
So, using a private network range of addresses is a godsend. Easy to
implement, well-known and understood, easily NAT-ted through routers and
firewalls, a private network is the way to go.
That being said, which one do you pick: Class A, Class B or Class C?
Class C private numbers are fine for people who are experimenting with
subnetting and for small applications—training rooms or small companies,
for example. For companies that won't exceed more than 65,534 addresses,
a Class B private network is fine. However, most companies I've worked
for simply opt to get into the Class A 10.xxx.yyy.zzz network, lovingly
called "10-Dot". I think this is because 10-Dot addresses are easy to
work with and understand, or at least easier than 172.16.something-or-other.
Implementing a 10-Dot network gives you 4,294,967,296 addresses to use—less
the amount of 0th and 255th addresses you use in your subnetting. Most
companies won't ever use in excess of 4 million addresses, so 10-Dot is
a great choice, regardless of company size. As a result of this, lots
of companies are migrating to a 10-Dot internal network.
A side-benefit to the 10-Dot network: Because companies had to pay a
lot of money for their public addresses, they can save a few bucks by
not renewing them. Yes, your company will need a few public addresses
(such as for the DMZ and firewalls servers, routers, etc.), but those
should be available through your ISP.
Now, you've decided to implement a 10-Dot network in your company and
you convince your management that it's a good idea. How do you go about
getting this work done?
First you need to understand the idea of subnetting. It's a very
simple concept that gets taken to esoteric extremes. By manipulating the
subnet mask for a given range of addresses, you, in effect, isolate different
ranges of addresses from one another. I've written articles on the finer
aspects of subnetting, as have thousands of others, but for our purposes,
we really don't need to get fancy. A basic 10-Dot implementation doesn't
take a lot of effort. In this article we'll assume your company is small
and doesn't have layer upon layer of technical complexity. Design engineers
would be needed to assist in large 10-Dot rollouts.
Let's say that you work for a company of 500 people. You have five basic
divisions of people in your company:
All users reside in a single campus on two floors. The IDF on floor two
and an MDF on floor one are connected by fiber-optic cable. You have a
rack of switches in both the IDF and MDF.
Let's also assume that you have one entry point to the Internet, a router,
a Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) server, a couple
of DMZ servers and a few internal servers, including a Microsoft Exchange
server. You have a telephone switch that uses an IP address.
As a general rule of thumb, it's a good idea to logically separate servers
and other hardware from people. Additionally, good subnetting principles
call for the isolation of distinct people groups. So, given that information
and a 10-Dot schema, we might come up with the following subnets:
- Router, firewalls and DMZ internal NICs—10.0.1.zzz
- Switches in MDF and IDF and telephone switch—10.0.3.zzz
Getting Started With The 10-Dot Network and Subnetting
Note that you can simply refer to the number in the 3rd octet as
the subnet number for a given group of computers or people. Thus you'd
say servers are in the two, printers in the four and sales in the five
To effectively put things into place, you'd use a Class C 255.255.255.0
subnet mask. In fact, the key to the whole thing is the subnet mask. By
utilizing different numbers on the 3rd octet, coupled with a Class C mask,
you've effectively isolated your network to distinct groups, giving 254
(remember the 0th and 255th addresses) possible addresses for each subnet.
Therefore, as an example, the Sales group in the five subnet can hook
up 254 devices, whether those devices are user workstations or other gear.
Now for the sticky part. A router is required for subnetting to work.
If you don't have a router and you implement a simple scheme such as the
one above, the Sales group won't be able to communicate with the Marketing
group and vice-versa. (Alternatively, you can have Layer 3 switches. The
point is you have to have some sort of routing protocol in place to handle
subnetting.) The majority of difficulty you'll encounter when implementing
a 10-Dot scheme will be reconfiguring the router to handle the new subnets.
When considering a 10-Dot implementation of whatever size, there
are some things you'll want to keep in mind:
- You have to reconfigure DHCP scopes.
- You have to reconfigure printers, servers and other gear with static
- You may have to perform a manual IPCONFIG /Release and IPCONFIG /Renew
(or WINIPCFG release and renew) on each workstation involved in the
conversion, so they will pick up the new IP address.
- You'll have to manually change pplications, ODBC configurations and
other configuration files that have statically coded-in IP addresses.
(Applications in which the developers naively compiled in the static
address—stuff never changes, does it?—will have to recompile
- As needed, you'll have to check and reconfigure DNS and WINS servers,
to make sure that name-resolution continues to be available to hosts
on the network.
- You'll have to do some advance planning and work with ISPs and with
your firewall and DMZ servers to make sure Internet clients (e-mail
for example) can still get inside and that internal clients can still
hit the Web.
- You may have to consider a brand new VLAN design in your switches.
Here's where the whole thing can go wrong: lack of planning. 10-Dot subnetting
seems so simple that Admins don't take time to think through their migration.
Let's say that you have 25 Sales people that you decide to cut over on
Friday evening. How will you support those 25 so that they have complete
access to the other users in the building on Monday morning, even though
you have not yet migrated the others? The idea of maintaining parallel
IP addressing schemes always crops up in 10-Dot migrations.
Therefore, any admin considering a 10-Dot network should be sure to sit
down with stakeholders and other IT-savvy people to develop a project
plan that clearly denotes the steps and activities involved in such a
migration—even a small one. | <urn:uuid:840e445c-df19-4038-8fbb-e42704cc3e6b> | {
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By Rick Cook
A full test of a VOIP connection requires a trained technician and a suitcase full of equipment. Fortunately there are many basic tests you can perform yourself.
Many VOIP providers offer free tests or suites of tests for your VOIP connections. These tests are performed online via Web applications you access with your system.
Bandwidth is the most basic measure of voice quality on a VOIP system. It is a measure of the theoretical information carrying capacity of the line. If you don't have enough bandwidth you will suffer from dropped packets, poor voice quality and disconnects.
Related: Top Five Features for a VoIP Business Phone System...
Bandwidth is measured in kilobits per second. Each phone call on a VOIP line takes up a certain amount of bandwidth, depending on the codec used and other factors.
As a rule of thumb you should all 100 kbps per phone call. On multiline systems you can figure that roughly 10 percent of your people will be on their phones at any given time. That means allowing 100 kbps for every 10 employees with VOIP phones.
You can stretch this somewhat at the expense of voice quality by using a codec that compresses call. These are usually available from your service provider.
Also called Packet Delay Variation, jitter is the variation in packet throughput. In VOIP systems this is critical because the system has to size its packet buffer to allow for maximum jitter. The purpose is to feed packets to the phone in a steady, consistent stream. If there is too much jitter the result is packet loss and poor voice quality.
Mean Opinion Score
This is a rather subjective test developed by phone companies to rate voice quality on a scale of 1 to 5. Generally, a score of 3.5 or less indicates poor or unacceptable voice quality. A score of 4 to 4.5 indicates good voice quality.
The percentage of packets that get dropped in transmission. When more than about 5 percent of the packets are dropped, voice quality deteriorates.
Packet loss can result from a lack of bandwidth, congestion on the line as a result of defective cabling or firewalls or other equipment interfering with the call or other reasons. The simple bandwidth tests available online generally don't distinguish the causes, they only report the overall results. It will usually take a service call to determine exactly what is causing the packet loss.
Firewalls are frequent sources of problems with VOIP. The firewall has to pass the packets coming in with a minimum of delay. However some firewalls, especially older ones, have a problem doing this and the result can be delay and jitter on the line.
Generally the ports involved with VOIP will fall in the following ranges.
SIP (signaling) ports 5060 to 5160
RTP (voice) ports 10,000 to 20,000
T.38 (fax) ports 4000 to 4999
Note that any given firewall will only use a very few of these ports, but they will probably fall in these ranges. Most firewall tests will only check ports in these ranges.
Run The Tests Several Times
Remember that VOIP networks are not static. In fact they are highly dynamic environments with ever-changing conditions. This is especially true when there are multiple VOIP phones in the installation.
Remember too that other activity on the network not related to VOIP can have a major influence on the results. An employee uploading a large file, for example, can have a major impact on your VOIP system.
For that reason it's important to run tests multiple times and compare the results. You may want to average them to get a set of figures of merit.
While these tests can't be definitive (for that you need a service technician with special equipment and training) they can give you an idea of what's going on on your system and that's important in maintaining VOIP quality.
Rick Cook has been involved with computers since the days of punched cards and magnetic drum memories. He has written hundreds of articles on computers and related technology as well as a series of fantasy novels full of bad computer jokes. | <urn:uuid:df7713b8-e412-4f0f-aec0-7fc08fd93688> | {
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Social Reformer and Early Social Worker
Abigail "Abby" May Alcott (1800–1877) was an abolitionist, women's rights activist, pioneer social worker and one of the first paid social workers in the state of Massachusetts. Abigail was also the wife of transcendentalist philosopher and educator Bronson Alcott and mother of four daughters, including Civil War novelist Louisa May Alcott, providing the model for "Marmee" in Louisa May's novel, Little Women.
Abigail May was born October 8, 1800, the youngest child of Dorothy Sewall May and prominent Unitarian layman Joseph May. Abigail was given a largely informal education, though like the rest of her family, she was well-read. As a young adult she studied history, languages and science by her tutor Abigail Allyn in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
At nineteen, Amos Bronson Alcott sailed to Norfolk, Virginia, hoping to teach in the South, but could not find employment as a teacher. Reluctant to return home, he worked for five years as a peddler in Virginia and North Carolina. Among the Quakers of North Carolina he absorbed the doctrine of the "inner light," which became the central idea of his belief in each individual's direct relationship with God.
After returning home, from 1823 until 1828 Alcott served as an innovative schoolmaster in Cheshire and Bristol, Connecticut. His progressive approach attracted attention: a report in the Boston Recorder and Telegraph called his Cheshire school "the best common school in the State, perhaps in the United States." Alcott lost his position after parents objected to his methods.
In 1827 Samuel May, the Unitarian minister in Brooklyn, Connecticut, invited Alcott to visit. Greatly impressed, May arranged a position for him at the Charity Infant School in Boston the following year. Having met Alcott while staying with her brother in Brooklyn, Abigail May applied for the position of assistant in Alcott's new Boston school.
Marriage and Family
Abby May married Bronson Alcott on May 23, 1830. In early 1831 their first child Anna was born, and eighteen months later a second daughter, Louisa May, followed by Elizabeth in 1835 and Abigail May in 1840.
Based upon his experience teaching in Boston, Bronson Alcott wrote Observations on the Principles and Methods of Infant Instruction in 1830. Impressed by the pamphlet, wealthy Pennsylvania Quaker Reuben Haines hired Alcott to organize a progressive private school, and at the end of the year, the newlyweds moved to Germantown, Pennsylvania.
When his patron Haines died suddenly in 1831 the Germantown school was left without funding. Alcott kept it going for another year, then found another patron who helped him to establish a progressive school in Philadelphia. Here, as in Connecticut, parents questioned his methods and soon began to withdraw their children from the school.
In 1830 Bronson Alcott had been one of the founding members of the first Boston anti-slavery organization. Abby also regularly attended abolitionist meetings and her closest friend was Lydia Maria Child, an abolitionist and advocate of equal rights for women. Abby wrote in her journal, "Every woman with a feeling heart and thinking head is answerable to her God, if she do not plead the cause of the oppressed."
Bronson Alcott would become one of America's most influential reformers of education. He was also part of the Transcendentalist movement, which encouraged the perfection of the individual. As an educator, Bronson Alcott stressed the intellectual, physical, and emotional development of each child on his or her own terms, through dialogue between teacher and child.
In the fall of 1834, after Abby suffered a near-fatal miscarriage, the family moved back to Boston where Bronson Alcott opened his progressive School for Human Culture, commonly known as the Temple School. To assist him with teaching, he relied on two of the brightest women in Boston - Elizabeth Peabody and Margaret Fuller.
The Temple School classroom was elegant and airy - an innovation - and the curriculum stressed discussion, outdoor play and journals. When Alcott enrolled an African American girl in his school, insisting on a school policy of color blindness, parents began to withdraw their children. The school closed by 1840, and the Alcotts nearly went bankrupt. This ended his teaching career.
Although frequently frustrated by his inability to support his family, Abby believed in Bronson and his ideals even when it seemed the rest of the world did not. She wrote in her journal that she could never live without him: "I think I can as easily learn to live without breath."
In the spring of 1840, at the urging of Ralph Waldo Emerson and with financial help from Abby's father and brother, the Alcott family moved to a farm in Concord, Massachusetts. Alcott proposed to be a philosopher-farmer, making a living for his family entirely off the land. However, needing more money than this life provided, Alcott worked for others as a laborer. Abby and her daughters took in sewing.
During their last years in Boston, Abby had two disheartening pregnancies - first a stillborn child and then in 1839 the birth of a "fine boy, full grown, perfectly formed" who died after only a few minutes. Soon after they arrived in Concord she gave birth to their fourth and last daughter, Abigail May.
In 1841 Abby's father died, but Abby's small inheritance was not available because a lien against the estate had been filed by the Alcotts' creditors. The rest of the year was difficult, the debt from the failed schools growing and the family falling into poverty. Abby was disillusioned with her husband's philosophy.
In 1842 Emerson, hoping to bring Alcott "one moment of pure success," sponsored a trip to England for Bronson Alcott, where he could meet a group of his admirers with whom he had corresponded and who had embraced many of his educational ideas. These "Sacred Socialists" showed him their experimental school, "Alcott House," in Surrey.
After prolonged conversations Alcott and his English friends decided to establish a new Utopian community in America. After six months absence, Alcott returned to New England, bringing with him two of the Alcott House leaders, Henry Gardiner Wright and Charles Lane, and Lane's little son William.
The newcomers joined the Alcott household, creating dissension. Lane added new restrictions to the Alcotts' already strict vegetarian diet. Wright soon departed, claiming he was being pushed aside by Lane. Abby, feeling that Lane was taking over her home, fled Concord over Christmas. When she returned a new agreement was reached with Lane, allowing her the right of "approval to whatever is done."
Eager to put his Transcendentalist, pacifist and vegetarian principles into practice, Bronson Alcott joined Charles Lane in founding a communal farm. With funds provided by Lane and Abby's brother Samuel, they purchased a farm they called Fruitlands near Harvard, Massachusetts in May 1843.
The six Alcotts and two Lanes were joined by five adult recruits, some of them quite eccentric. They worked through the summer, plowing, planting, repairing the house, and taking time to philosophize. The needs of the many curious visitors imposed an extra burden on Abby, who complained that she was forced to work "like a galley slave."
Despite their work the soil was too poor to produce a sufficient harvest, there was no fruit, and during the harvest season Alcott and Lane left on a lecture tour. According to Louisa's account she, her mother, her sisters and William Lane hauled the grain inside to prevent it from being destroyed.
By the time snow began to fall, only the Alcotts and the Lanes remained. Alcott was torn between Lane's celibate ideal and the claims of his family. Abby grew increasingly suspicious of her husband's close relationship with Lane, and at her request, her brother Samuel did not pay the next installment on Fruitland's debts.
When Abby announced her intention to take the children and move out, Lane and his son left to join a Shaker community. Passing through a suicidal crisis, Bronson Alcott decided to choose his family over the dream of a utopia. Early in 1844 the family took refuge in the home of a compassionate neighboring farmer. The family remained in Harvard for a year, without work and deeply in debt.
In 1845 Abby's inheritance was finally made available, and with Emerson's help, the Alcotts bought an old house and moved back to Concord. At their new home, Hillside, Alcott farmed and formed a lasting friendship with Henry David Thoreau, frequently visiting the famous cabin at Walden Pond.
Abby and her daughters thrived in their new environment, and Louisa May started developing her writing skills. Her novel Little Women was based partly on the family's experience there. She used her family as models for the characters in the novel: Abby was the beloved Marmee, Louisa was Jo, Anna was Meg, Elizabeth was Beth and May was Amy.
Social Work and Women's Rights
The new Alcott home, however, proved expensive to maintain. It was rented and in 1848 the Alcotts moved back to Boston. There Abby found work to support her family as a "Missionary to the Poor," paid first by a circle of subscribers then by the Friendly Society of the South Congregational Unitarian Church.
Abby accepted a full-time job as a social worker for the city of Boston in 1848, one of the first in the state. Facing a torrent of impoverished immigrants, Abby Alcott concentrated on helping those whose lives could be turned around. She wrote: "We do a good work when we clothe the Poor, but a better one when we make the way easy for them to clothe themselves - the best when we so arrange Society as to have no Poor."
Between 1850 and 1852 Abby ran an employment agency to help young women find jobs in domestic service. As a woman serving women needing work, she joined the women's movement and sent a petition to the Massachusetts State Constitutional Convention on behalf of women's suffrage.
This period of activism ended in 1852 when the Alcotts sold their Hillside property to Nathaniel Hawthorne. The proceeds enabled Abby to retire from her demanding work, but she remained an active advocate for women's rights throughout the rest of her life.
Abby Alcott imbued strong values in her four daughters, and her strong and kind nature provided a stable and nurturing home. Louisa once wrote in her journal that Bronson was not the only philosopher in the family:
All the philosophy in our house is not in the study; a good deal is in the kitchen, where a fine old lady thinks high thoughts and does kind deeds while she cooks and scrubs.
With encouragement from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott began a career as a philosopher-conversationalist in the Boston area and on tours in upstate New York and Ohio. In 1853 Alcott was invited to lead a course of Conversations on Modern Life at the Harvard Divinity School, and finally achieved recognition for his ideas on education and transcendentalism.
In 1853 Abby Alcott authored a petition seeking a change in the state constitution to grant equal political rights to women. "On every principle of natural justice, as well as by the nature of our institution, she is as fully entitled as man to vote, and to be eligible to office," she wrote. Years later she declared, "I am seventy-three, but I mean to go to the polls before I die, even if my daughters have to carry me."
Abby's daughters did not have the chance to carry their mother to the polls, but they did carry on her dream. Although Louisa May Alcott was usually too busy earning a living to attend women's rights conventions, she lent her support by writing pieces for the events and articles for The Woman's Journal, the leading suffrage paper.
In 1857 the Alcotts moved back to Concord. After moving twenty-two times in thirty years, they found their most permanent home at Orchard House, where they lived from 1858 to 1877 with the Hawthornes and Emersons as neighbors. Daughter Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, the model for Beth in Little Women, died there of scarlet fever on March 14, 1858.
During the Civil War, Bronson Alcott served as Superintendent of Schools in Concord, and in 1879, thanks to the financial support of his admirers, he was able to achieve a lifelong dream at age eighty and founded the Concord School of Philosophy. One of the first summer schools for adults, it continued for nine years and drew people from all over the United States.
Louisa May Alcott, whose literary earnings finally brought financial security to the family, had written her two best-selling novels at Orchard House after spending time as a Civil War nurse: Little Women in 1868 and Little Men, the sequel inspired by her sister Anna's plight as a recent widow, in 1871.
For the remainder of their lives Bronson and Abigail lived primarily in Concord, where Bronson published his book, Concord Days in 1872.
Abigail May Alcott died in November 1877.
In 1882 Bronson Alcott suffered a paralyzing stroke, bringing an end to his career as a philosopher-conversationalist. He died in 1888 and was buried next to Abby in the family plot in Concord's Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Their unwed daughters Elizabeth and Louisa May, who died just two days after her father, were buried there as well. | <urn:uuid:373a3bf6-5772-494d-ad65-d9f6e78f58f5> | {
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I love sharing with children in Sunday school some of the fun facts about the Bible. Many children do not understand that the Bible is the actual word of God that He inspired men to write. Sharing things about the Bible and even some fun things that are in the Bible is a great way for children to learn about God. Here are 10 fun Bible facts that you can share with your Sunday school kids. It might even be fun to challenge the kids with a Bible verse that they can take home to their parents who can help them discover a fun fact for themselves.
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. (Genesis 5:27)
Two men in the Bible never died, they were Enoch and Elijah (Enoch was Methuselah’s Daddy)
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (Genesis 5:24)
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2 Kings 2:11)
The tallest man in the Bible was Goliath and he stood 9 ½ feet tall
And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (1 Samuel 17:4) [one cubit equals about 18 inches in today’s measure)
The giant, Goliath, was killed by a young boy named David with one stone.
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. (1 Samuel 17:33)
And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. (1 Samuel 17:48-50)
The word “Christian” only appears 3 times in the Bible
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. (Acts 11:26)
Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. (Acts 26:28)
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. (1 Peter 4:16)
There is a talking donkey in the Bible
Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” (Numbers 22:28 ESV)
There are 66 total books in the Bible and here is great way to remember it
Remember the numbers 3 and 9
There are 39 books in the Old Testament.
Multiply 3 X 9 and the answer is 27
There are 27 Books in the New Testament.
If you add 39 and 27 and the answer is 66
There are 66 books in the entire Bible.
The shortest verse in the Bible contains only 2 words
Jesus wept. (John 11:35)
The longest verse in the Bible contains 90 words
Then were the king’s scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language. (Esther 8:9)
The first book of the Bible talks about a serpent tempting Eve. Then at the end of the Bible we read about that serpent again.
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1)
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years (Revelation 20:2)
Other Sunday school lessons
The Holy Bible, King James Version
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” | <urn:uuid:20676994-8c5f-4719-9aad-9d186f801fc8> | {
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A.Word.A.Daywith Anu Garg
huzzah or huzza
MEANING:interjection: Used to express joy, applause, encouragement, etc.
noun: An instance of appreciation or applause.
verb tr., intr.: To cheer.
ETYMOLOGY:Of undetermined origin. Perhaps used originally as a sailor's hoisting cry. Earliest documented use: 1682.
USAGE:"Huzzah! The Royal Tournament is back!"
Lucy Mangan; I Love a Man in Uniform; The Guardian (London, UK); Jun 26, 2010.
"And the Democrats, at their convention will undoubtedly give John Kerry a big huzza and a temporary bump in the polls."
William Rusher; Kerry's Problem; The Gadsden Times (Alabama); Mar 27, 2004.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:Don't mistake pleasure for happiness. They're a different breed of dog. -Josh Billings, columnist and humorist (1818-1885)
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Text by Joshua Holland. Graphics and animation by Rob Pybus. This work was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and its Puffin Story Innovation Fund.
Last week, in Denmark, Malthe and Lærke Knudson had a baby girl they named Emma. That same day, the Robinsons—Dale and Beth—had a little baby in the United States. They called her Rachel.
Right now, they’re just two little babies keeping their parents awake at night. But Emma and Rachel were born in countries that have very different priorities, and that’s going to lead to pretty different futures.
It all boils down to this: Though Danes pay a lot more than Americans in taxes and government fees, they get a whole lot more back in social services.
As a result, Americans end up spending twice as much out-of-pocket for those social goods and services. Let’s see how that plays out over their two lives.
Early Childhood Education
In six months, Emma will probably enroll in preschool. By law, every 6-month-old Danish baby is guaranteed high-quality preschool, and parents can’t be charged more than a quarter of the cost of those services. Parents who can’t afford it? They don’t have to pay.
In the United States, kids from low-income families are often eligible for full-time Head Start programs. Even then, the program only has enough funding for a half-million slots nationwide. But the Robinsons make too much to qualify, so they’ll either have to park little Rachel with Dale’s mom, or one of them will have to get a second job to help cover the cost of daycare. That little luxury could set the Robinsons back as much as $22,000 a year.
It costs a lot to raise kids these days no matter where you live, but the Knudsons will enjoy a child benefit which starts at $225 a month. When Emma hits age seven, they’ll get $140 a month until she’s 17. That’s not a benefit just for poor people; everyone gets it!
Rachel, on the other hand, will have to start learning some cool tricks ASAP in order to get into a decent elementary school and prepare herself for a high school that will help her get into a good college.
Some American schools are world class, but others, often serving students from low-income families, can rank down there with those in developing countries.
That means the Robinsons may soon be shopping for a house in another school district—a notion that would never even occur to the Knudsons, because all of the public schools in Denmark are really good.
Emma and Rachel are both good students, and they’ll both go to college when they get older. In Denmark, almost every college student attends public colleges and universities, which don’t charge tuition.
Rachel will navigate a very different educational system. She’ll probably end up with a good deal of debt—in the US, 71 percent of the class of 2015 graduated with student-loan debt averaging around $35,000.
Fresh out of school, the young women enter the workforce. And again, they’ll have very different experiences.
If Rachel is lucky, she’ll get two weeks a year of paid vacation, but maybe not—the US is the only industrialized nation that does not require any amount of paid vacation. Emma, like most full-time workers in Denmark, is guaranteed five weeks of paid vacation time a year.
That doesn’t include the nine public holidays, which most employees get. And many Danes enjoy a sixth week of paid vacation during the holidays. And that’s how you relax like a Viking!
Danes and Americans have similar incomes, but Americans work a whopping 24 percent more hours per year. That means that Danes get to spend about an hour and a half more each day on leisure activities than Americans.
When Rachel loses her job she’ll qualify for unemployment benefits that cover about half of her income, usually up to half a year.
Emma will face a similar situation—hey, it happens to the best of us—but she’ll get up to 90 percent of what she was making, and she can collect that for up to two years and sometimes more!
Now, some people say those generous benefits create a culture of dependency and discourage people from looking for a job, but 73 percent of working-age Danes have a paid job, compared with 60 percent of Americans.
And Emma will always have access to an excellent public health-care system. In Denmark, everyone’s covered. Americans, on the other hand, spend two and a half times as much per person on health care as the Danes, but around one in eight are still uninsured.
Parental Leave and Gender Pay Disparity
Some day, Emma and Rachel will meet the right partner and have babies themselves. Emma won’t pay anything for delivering her baby, but Rachel will pay around $5,000 out-of-pocket for a normal delivery.
Rachel also lives in the only advanced economy that doesn’t mandate paid family leave. She can take some unpaid time, but for most women, there’s no guarantee that her job will be waiting for her.
One in four American women quit or are laid off when they have a baby, so they lose seniority and end up with an uneven work history. According to one study, each child lowers an American woman’s earnings by 6-8 percent.
Emma and her partner, on the other hand, will be able to divide a full year of paid parental leave between them. Many Danes work under union contracts that give them up to 100 percent of their salaries during that time, but if they don’t, the government will give them $630 per week while they’re on leave.
This is one reason why the gender pay gap is around three times bigger in the United States than it is in Denmark.
Emma and Rachel will watch their kids grow up, and then they’ll look to enjoy their golden years.
As an average American, Rachel will work two years longer than Emma. Emma’s pension will cover two-thirds of her pre-retirement income, while Rachel’s Social Security benefits will cover less than half of what she had earned.
Emma will have lived her life under the crushing burden of democratic socialism. That combination of state-funded education, health care, parental leave, and plenty of other benefits has made the citizens of Denmark the second happiest in the world. And Americans? Number 15. | <urn:uuid:cf12fe53-d616-4d2a-970f-906d939004ad> | {
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IOM Report-Rare Diseases and Orphan Products: Accelerating Research and Development
Rare diseases collectively affect millions of Americans of all ages. They often are serious and life altering; many are life threatening or fatal. Because each rare disease affects a relatively small population, however, it can be challenging to develop drugs and medical devices to prevent, diagnose, and treat these conditions. We still lack even a basic understanding of the cause or underlying molecular mechanisms of many rare diseases. To help in accelerating rare diseases research and product development, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with support from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to examine the opportunities for and obstacles in developing drugs and medical devices for treating rare diseases. | <urn:uuid:25d72e39-7284-4bd4-8747-25348683c644> | {
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The first American police car came into service in Akron, Ohio in 1899. The first arrest made with the first police car was an arrest for drunk and disorderly conduct. The Ford Model B was the police car of choice for much of the 1930s.Continue Reading
The popular police car model, the Ford Crown Victoria, became bulletproof after 2006. Most law enforcement agencies chose the Crown Victoria as the patrol vehicle of choice through the 1990s and the 2000s. In 2011, Ford discontinued the Crown Victoria in favor of a new generation Taurus platform.
Police cars contain a variety of law-enforcement equipment, including two-way radios for internal communication. Many agencies fit police vehicles with speed control devices that allow officers to monitor traffic speed and gather evidence for issuing traffic tickets. Lights and siren switches allow law enforcement officers to issue signals and directions by using lights and sounds. Some police agencies have varying audio signals.
The Azusa Police Department in California was the first to use a Chevrolet Camaro as a law enforcement car. While many police departments originally relied on motorcycles for a large portion of street policing, many departments made the move to cars as more and more law breakers drove cars. The police force in South Hampton, New Hampshire once used a Audi 4000 for street policing.Learn more about Car Makes & Models | <urn:uuid:333add73-1b0c-4dd4-a029-0d67e7665dd1> | {
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Saturday – April 16th from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Hajjar STEM Center
For Students Grades 5-8
This is an exciting opportunity for students to explore the resources of the newly-built Hajjar STEM Center at Dwight-Englewood. Workshop participants will put their Science, Technology, Engineering and Math skills to the test. Students will be presented with a challenge at the beginning of the workshop and will work in project teams to complete a STEM challenge based on a selected theme. Using the supplies provided, problem solving skills, and teamwork, the young scholars will create and present their innovative solutions. Registration for this program is open to students (Grades 5-8) who attend Dwight-Englewood School as well as public and private schools in our area. To complete the online registration form for the STEM Challenge workshop, click here.
Lead Workshop Facilitator: Trevor Shaw
President and Founder of Genesis Learning, Trevor Shaw has been helping schools to leverage the power of technology as a learning tool since 1992. Trevor has served as the Director of Technology for two high-performing Independent schools where he designed the technology infrastructure and championed the plans for integrating technology into the curriculum. He has also worked as a classroom English and technology teacher. He has consulted for dozens of other institutions and served on the Board of Education of an outstanding New Jersey school district. | <urn:uuid:60c2edcb-f096-4e80-94e0-2ecea0d18dbf> | {
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East Africa Food Crisis
In 2012, Oxfam continued to fight poverty and deep rooted injustice.
A new survey of people across 40 regions of Somalia by international agency Oxfam has found that water and food shortages are at critical levels and likely to deteriorate in parts of the country over the coming months, risking a prolonged humanitarian crisis well into next year.
One year since we announced our East Africa food crisis appeal, we bring you this incredible video capturing a Turkana community's delight as Oxfam builds them a borehole, bringing desperately needed fresh water to this village in Northern Kenya.
The 2011 drought across the Horn of Africa was, in some places, the worst to hit the region for 60 years. Three countries were hit by the drought: Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
EU Development Ministers, meeting today in Brussels, gave the green light to SHARE - a new European initiative to boost the prevention of hunger and famine in the Horn of Africa. <
Oxfam Ambassador and photographer Helena Christensen is back from Turkana, Northern Kenya -- one of the many regions in the Horn of Africa that have been affected by the severe drought that has put over 13 million people at risk.
As key governments and institutions from the region and the wider Islamic and Western world gather in London on 23 February 2012 to review their approach to the crisis in Somalia, this pape
The FSNAU has announced that the famine status in Somalia has ended.
From East Africa to Japan, from Ivory Coast to Pakistan, the year 2011 has been marked by tragic disasters and crises, which seriously hit the most vulnerable people. Oxfam has responded to these crises, with both emergency and long-term programs, and launched a new global campaign, GROW. | <urn:uuid:93fe0c5e-4e9c-4f70-866a-dc6e31f121a1> | {
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In its seventy years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has evolved from a malaria control program to an institution dedicated to improving health for all people across the world. The Fears of the Rich, The Needs of the Poor is a revealing account of the CDC's development by its former director, public health luminary William H. Foege.
Dr. Foege tells the stories of pivotal moments in public health, including the eradication of smallpox (made possible due in part to Foege's research) and the discovery of Legionnaires' disease, Reye syndrome, toxic shock syndrome, and HIV/AIDS. With good humor and optimism, he recounts the various crises he surmounted, from threats of terrorist attacks to contentious congressional hearings and funding cuts. Highlighting the people who made possible some of public health's biggest successes, Foege outlines the work required behind the scenes and describes the occasional tensions between professionals in the field and the politicians in charge of oversight.
In recent years, global public health initiatives have come from unanticipated sources. Giants in the field now include President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, who promote programs aimed at neglected diseases. Melinda and Bill Gates have invigorated the field through research and direct program support, especially in the area of vaccine-preventable diseases. And the Merck Mectizan program has dramatically reduced river blindness in Africa. Foege has been involved in all of these efforts, among others, and he brings to this book the knowledge and wisdom derived from a long and accomplished career. The Fears of the Rich, The Needs of the Poor is an inviting but unvarnished account of that career and offers a plethora of lessons for those interested in public health.
William H. Foege, MD, MPH, is emeritus presidential distinguished professor of international health at Emory University and an early consultant to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He is the author of House on Fire: The Fight to Eradicate Smallpox. In 2012, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Preface1. A Threat2. Security3. Lassa and Ebola4. A Short History of the CDC5. The Fears of the Rich and the Needs of the Poor6. Balancing Babies and the Marketplace7. Toxic Shock8. Serendipity and Unexpected Paths9. The Mysterious Deaths of Veterans10. An Unexpected Return to the CDC11. Disaster Relief12. Smallpox Claims Its Last Victims13. Coming into the United States14. Organizing for Success15. Vaccines16. Do No Harm17. Global Health18. Positive Politics19. Toxic Politics20. Reye Syndrome21. Comic Relief22. Reducing the Toll of Injuries23. Uncommon People24. AIDS25. Blind Spots26. On Budgets and BurglarsAcknowledgmentsAppendixReferencesIndex | <urn:uuid:0662afeb-e4d6-4c8a-a0fe-dd3a206e2b9d> | {
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Cause: Free Will…Effect: Fate
Fate: “a power thought to control all events and impossible to resist.” Free will: “the ability to act at ones own discretion.” The question is do they go hand in hand? Does one affect the other? Fate is decided far before birth, and free will represents the decisions made throughout life depending on surrounding circumstances. But, the decisions made affect the final outcome, therefore free will determines fate. On the contrary though, fate does not change so then free will choices are dictated by ultimate fate. Everything in life happens for a reason, may it be the choices made or the destiny fulfilled. Along the way though many people offer advice that affect choices made, was it fate that they gave their input? Is it free will to take or not to take that advice? Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey demonstrates that despite warning, characters often use their free will to make choices that in the end actually fulfill their fate. Primarily Aegisthus’s refusal to acknowledge the gods warning, serves as the first example of mankind using her own free will to bring her destiny to fruition. Hermes tells Aegisthus not to sleep with Clytemnestra and not to kill Agamemnon, but he does so anyway, and so Orestes kills Aegisthus as revenge. Aegisthus received warning from the gods, they told him “far in advance…’don’t murder the man… don’t court his wife… revenge will come from Orestes’” (Homer 1.45-48) and the predicted outcome came true –Aegisthus was killed. The Gods warned Aegisthus of what his fate held, and in utilizing his free will he chose to ignore this advice and his fate became reality. It is “with [each characters] own reckless ways...their pains [are compounded] beyond their proper share” (Homer 1.39-40); meaning that committing reckless actions will result in possible calamitous outcomes. Aegisthus chose to kill Agamemnon, he chose to court Clytemnestra, he chose to ignore the... | <urn:uuid:294fb28a-4a02-418e-8c38-f72595792bab> | {
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By Ganesh Ram on May 11, 2008
The community feature of Project WebSynergy
has been semantically
enabled. This is a preview version of that.
This is taking the first step towards Web3.0 enablement.
So whats the Semantic Web ??
The semantic web is an evolving extension of the world wide web, in which web content can be expressed not only in a natural language but also in a format that can be read and used by machines for processing the information. It is w3c recommendation.
As a human when we write and read a blob of text, we know what it means but a machine reading a bunch of characters has no idea as to what it means.
For the machine to be as intelligent as humans to decipher similar information from the text, there has to be some kind of information that the machine has to be provided with. This "extra" information is traditionally provided as meta-data in the form of tags, microformats or some other means. A much more structured and scientific way of applying metadata to a blurb of text is via what is called an ontology.
The community feature of Project WebSynergy allows you to add blog entries, wiki pages and message boards.
Refer to my blog on how to create a community in Project WebSynergy.
For an idea of what a Semantic Community Portal is, see here.
In a Project WebSynergy community, when the user creates a blog entry or a wiki page, he/she can optionally associate it with an ontology element (which acts as the metadata).
When the user views the blog entry, the other semantically related blog entries and wiki pages are displayed. The search for the related entires is not a key word search, but a semantic search done by the reasoner. The semantic reasoner infers the related ontology elements and we can see the blog entries and wiki pages for which the related ontology elements have been applied to.
An example of the Semantic Community Portal is shown in the screen-casts. | <urn:uuid:62f00fdb-8f7d-48bd-8fc1-3fc15d35cbfe> | {
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If you have ever had a puppy
or a kitten
or taken in a stray animal, you have likely had a run-in with intestinal worms. Intestinal worms are just one type of parasites that very frequently take up residence in the gastrointestinal tracts of dogs and cats.
While there are lots of internal parasites – including multiple varieties of some of those highlighted below – for now we'll be focusing specifically on some of the more common "worms" – including one that actually isn't a worm at all!
One that we’ll leave out of these blogs is heartworm, mainly because there are already a few other blogs devoted to it. You can check them out here (http://www.gopetplan.com/blogpost/petplan-pet-insurance-advises-pet-parents-to-take-heart-during-heartworm-awareness-month) and here (http://www.gopetplan.com/blogpost/take-heart-petplan-pet-insurance-advises-pet-parents-to-protect-their-best-friends-from-heartworm).
A few of the more common types of intestinal parasites are:
- Whipworm: Slender, whip-shaped, parasitic nematode worms that often infest the intestine of animals, resulting in diarrhea which can be severe and sometimes bloody.
- Tapeworm: Flat, ribbon-like parasites that live in the intestines of humans and animals. One of the most common indicators of infection are tiny rice-like dried worm segments found on a pet’s bedding.
- Roundworm: Among the most common of the intestinal parasites found in dogs and cats. Only roundworms and tapeworm s are visible to the naked eye in infected pets’ droppings.
- Hookworm: Named for their hooked mouthparts, which fasten to the intestinal walls of the host. They drink the host’s blood, resulting in anemia. Hookworms can also cause gastrointestinal signs like vomiting and diarrhea.
- Ringworm: Actually not a worm at all, ringworm is a skin and scalp disease caused by several different kinds of fungi. Ringworm can cause patches of scaly skin in pets and people.
We’ll look more closely at roundworm, hookworm and ringworm in future blogs, because unfortunately, they pose a risk for people, as well as pets.
Roundworms and hookworms are most commonly seen in puppies and kittens, who typically acquire these parasites from their mothers in utero, via nursing, or soon after birth from their surrounding environment. Studies have shown that nearly 100% of puppies and kittens have had a parasite exposure at a very young age. Adult dogs are not immune to parasites either, and can be exposed to them by coming into contact with a contaminated environment.
Whipworms cannot be transmitted in utero or via nursing – instead, infection is caused by ingestion of eggs from a contaminated environment. Tapeworms, which have a complex lifecycle, are transmitted through the ingestion of an intermediate host, such as a flea.
Symptoms of intestinal parasites are typically related to gastrointestinal signs, with diarrhea being the most common. Heavily infested pets can also have vomiting and weight loss, and heavy hookworm infections can cause life-threatening anemia in young animals. Infected animals also tend to have dull coats and potbellies.
Testing for intestinal parasites involves looking for parasite eggs in fecal samples, but there can be a high rate of false negative tests depending on the freshness of the sample, the parasite load and the method used to look for eggs. Because of the risk of a false negative test, routine deworming is the standard of care for all dogs and cats. Puppies should be dewormed every two weeks beginning at two weeks of age through eight weeks of age, and the same goes for kittens beginning at four weeks of age.
Adult pets should have a yearly screening fecal test, as well as a year-round monthly preventative (which can be accomplished by using a heartworm preventative). Unfortunately there are many “home remedies” that I frequently hear about, such as garlic and diatomaceous earth, which are not effective against intestinal parasites. The good news is that most dewormers and heartworm preventatives are safe, inexpensive and highly effective.
Another vital way to prevent the spread of parasites is too keep your home and yard clean! Picking up immediately after your dog goes to the bathroom helps to prevent the contamination of your surroundings, and can help keep infections at bay. | <urn:uuid:a5f575dc-350a-4a90-89a2-cae965e70e83> | {
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Ancient Egypt for kids - The Ancient Egyptian Religion
The history of ancient Egypt and how the ancient Egyptians worshipped their gods and the Egyptian Religion
The Egyptian Religion
Discover interesting facts and information about the Ancient Egyptian Religion. Enter the ancient world of Egypt and learn about how the ancient Egyptians worshipped their gods and goddesses and the Egyptian Religion, temples, statues, ceremonies and rituals. Learn about their religious beliefs, the creation myths, their cults and how they worshipped their many gods and goddesses. Ancient Egyptian religion was preoccupied with death and preparing for the event including protection such as the Book of the Dead. The most famous gods of Egypt were the creator sun god Ra, the jackal headed Anubis the god of the dead and Osiris, the god of the death.
The Egyptian Religion - The worship of many gods (a polytheistic religion)
The religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians was based on the huge number of gods and goddesses. The worship of many divinities and deities is called a polytheistic religion. The worship of one god was called monotheism. The ancient Egyptians developed a clever way to enable the people of Egypt to be able to recognise and identify their gods and goddesses at a glance. Each god was represented in a consistent but highly stylized fashion with symbolic colors and symbols that told a visual story.
Ancient Egyptian Religion
Ancient Egyptian Symbols
The Egyptian Religion - Alien Concepts
The religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians were totally different to those of modern civilisations with totally alien concepts.
- There was no single god, the Egyptian religion allowed for an unlimited number of gods
- There were different versions of the Creation myth, which featured different gods
- There was not a single ‘Holy Book’, such as the Bible or the Koran
- The Egyptians believed that the dead would need to travel through the Underworld which was a land of great dangers
- The famous 'Book of the Dead' was a 'guide to the underworld' consisting of a collection of protective spells
- The ancient Egyptians believed that preserving the body in death by the process of mummification was essential to keep the soul alive and for eternal life
- Additional facts and information are detailed in the Concept of the soul, the Ka and Ba.
The Egyptian Religion - Syncretism
As the culture of the ancient Egyptians developed many of their ancient gods were subsumed (meaning absorbed) into new gods. The practice of creating new deities by combining them with old deities is called 'syncretism', meaning the fusion of religious beliefs and practices to form a new system.
The Egyptian Religion - Creation Myth and Cults
Over 2000 gods and goddesses were worshipped in the ancient Egyptian religion, but most of these were local gods. The most famous gods of Egypt had political backing leading to large followings and cult centers. Priests in different regions in Egypt vied for position, there were cults in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, before the country was unified. The Egyptian Priests evolved a Creation myths in an attempt to explain how some of the major Egyptian Gods and Goddesses came into being and religious explanations of the nature and beginnings of the universe and the creation of mankind.
The Egyptian Religion - The Cults
There were several famous religious cults that provided the base of ancient Egyptian religion. The names of the cults indicated the number of major gods worshipped in the cult and the location of the cult center. The major cults of ancient Egyptian religion were the Ennead of Heliopolis, the Ogdoad of Hermopolis, the Triad of Thebes and the Triad of Memphis.
- The term 'Ennead of Heliopolis' is applied to the nine most important gods associated with a major cult center based at the ancient Egyptian city of 'On', renamed Heliopolis by the Greeks
- The word 'Ennead' means a company of nine gods
- The names of the famous nine gods in the Ennead of Heliopolis were Atum, Geb, Isis, Nephthys, Nut, Osiris, Set, Shu and Tefnut.
The Egyptian Religion - The Ogdoad of Hermopolis Cult
The Ogdoad of Hermopolis (Khmunu) consisted of 4 pairs of aquatic gods represented by frogs and the goddesses represented by snakes or cobras.
- The word 'Ogdoad' means eight
- The names of the gods and goddesses in the Ogdoad of Hermopolis were Amun and Amaunet, Heh and Hehet, Kek and Keket, and Nun and Naunet
The Egyptian Religious Cults - The Triad of Thebes
Other groups of gods that featured in Egyptian religion consisted of three gods (called triads). The Triad of Thebes consisted of Amun, his consort Mut, the mother goddess and her son, Khonsu. For additional information refer to the Triads of Egyptian Gods
The Egyptian Religious Cults - The Triad of Memphis
The The Triad of Memphis centred around the cult of the god Ptah, his wife Sekhmet, lioness of war and their son Nefertem. The theology of Heliopolis was based upon sun worship, whereas that of Memphis was based upon earth worship of Ptah.
The Egyptian Religious Cults - The Elephantine Triad
Elephantine is situated at Aswan standing at the border between Egypt and Nubia and was the cult center for the three gods Khnum, Satet the war goddess of the flood or inundation and their daughter Anuket, the goddess of the cataracts.
The Egyptian Religion - Preoccupied with Death
The Ancient Egyptian religion was preoccupied with death and preparing for the event. Their preoccupation with death, the supernatural, magic charms and magic spells permeated to all levels of society. Priests chanted prayers or spells to cure ailments and ward off danger, illness and evil spirits. The death rituals and the spells known only by the priests made them extremely powerful.
Interesting Information and Facts about the Egyptian Religion
The comprehensive Fact Sheet details many fascinating pieces of interesting information, history, mythology and legends about ancient Egyptian religion. The article on Egyptian symbols and signs will also prove useful.
Facts about Egyptian Religion
Egyptian Religion Fact 1:
The ancient Egyptians did not worship many animals, the depiction of a god or goddess as an animal was a identification device to convey the symbols and attributes of the deity
|Egyptian Religion Fact 2:||The crowns and headdresses worn by the gods were all symbolic and had different meanings. The different types of crowns and headdresses identified the wearer, the status, the cult location and the identity of the god or goddess |
|Egyptian Religion Fact 3:||Some animals were seen as sacred as the Ancient Egyptians believed that the Spirit of a God resided in these animals|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 4:|
Temples were believed to be the dwelling place of the gods and goddesses. Only priests, priestesses and the Pharaoh or queen, were allowed inside the temples
|Egyptian Religion Fact 5:||Gods and goddesses were offered various gifts, which were accepted by the temple priests who offered prayers on behalf of the donor|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 6:|
The statues of the gods and goddesses were believed to be living embodiments of the deities. Prayers were offered to the statues of the together with physical items such as food and drink
|Egyptian Religion Fact 7:||The statues of the Egyptian Religion were washed with Lotus scented water, oiled and adorned with make-up, jewelry and clothes |
|Egyptian Religion Fact 8:||The gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt were believed to have the same emotions and feelings as humans, they married and had families. They wore the same style of clothes as mortals but in the finest of materials. They also required nourishment. |
|Egyptian Religion Fact 9:||The priests of Egypt evolved a family trees of the gods to explain their relationships|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 10:||In Egyptian Religion items carried by, or surrounding the gods and goddesses were all highly symbolic and many related to the stories told in the creation myths. Refer to articles on the Symbols of ancient Egypt.|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 11:||Divine Kingship - In Egyptian Religion the Kings and queens of Egypt were believed to be living Gods. Pharaohs believed that they became gods in the afterlife|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 12:||The Pyramids were believed to be resurrection vehicles - a 'Stargate' leading to heaven and eternal life.|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 13:||Obelisks were believed to act as magical protection to religious monuments such as temples and tombs.|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 14:||All Egyptians provided for their afterlives according to their earthly means|
Facts about Egyptian Religion
Ancient Egyptian Religion
- Interesting information and Facts about ancient Egyptian Religion
- The symbolism of ancient Pictures of the Egyptians
- Creation myths, cults, history and Art styles associated with Egyptian Religion
- Facts and information about the ancient Egyptian Religion for schools, research and kids
- Facts and info about Egyptian Religion for kids, schools and homework help
Facts about Egyptian Religion
|Egyptian Religion Fact 15:||According to Egyptian Religion the Underworld, called Duat, was a land of terrifying dangers through which every soul would need to pass through after death|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 16:||Mummification: It was the religious belief that preserving the body in death was important to keep the soul alive. In the process of mummification the brain and the internal organs, except the heart, were removed. |
|Egyptian Religion Fact 17:||It was the religious belief that a physical body was essential for an eternal life for the deceased, without which the soul had no place to dwell and remain restless forever|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 18:||The Book of the Dead was a work commissioned by an ancient scribe called Ani. The Book of the Dead was like a guidebook to perils of the Underworld which contained spells and instructions which according to Egyptian Religion would ensure safe passage through the dangers. |
|Egyptian Religion Fact 19:||Funeral prayers and spells were chanted to Egyptian Gods and a papyrus scroll of the Book of the Dead was buried with the Ancient Egyptians |
|Egyptian Religion Fact 20:||Anubis , the Jackal-headed God of the Dead, would lead the dead in the Underworld to the Hall of Two Truths|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 21:||The 'Declaration of Innocence' was important part of Egyptian Religion and declarations were made to Osiris and the 42 judges of the court consisting of a series of denials about their life on earth such as "I have not killed, I have not robbed and I have not lied" |
|Egyptian Religion Fact 22:||In the Hall of the Two Truths the heart was weighed against the feather of truth and fate would be decided - entrance into the perfect afterlife or to be sent to the Devourer of the Dead |
|Egyptian Religion Fact 23:||The Afterlife was the equivalent to paradise where a perfect existence would be enjoyed|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 24:||Protective spells were cast and amulets containing magic spells played an important role in religious beliefs and burial rituals.|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 25:||There was a divergence from the religious beliefs during the transient Armana period during the reign of Akhenaten, the heretic Pharaoh and the father of Tutankhamen who ruled Egypt 1351 BC -1337 BC. Armana was the site of a city entirely built under the instructions of Akhenaten and a whole new religion developed during this period, to the fury of the old priests of the old Egyptian Religion|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 26:||Akhenaten instigated radical changes to the Egyptian Religion and how people worshipped. He drastically changed Ancient Egypt from a polytheistic religion, with many gods, to monotheism (the worship of one god). The new, sole god was called the Aten. The role of the priest in the new Egyptian Religion was decreased as only the Pharaoh and his chief wife Nefertiti were allowed to directly worship the Aten.|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 27:||The new religion lasted for just 17 years and, on the death of Akhenaten, the old Egyptian Religion with its beliefs in many gods and goddesses were re-established.|
|Egyptian Religion Fact 28:||The religion of the Ancient Egyptians survived for over 3000 years|
Facts about Egyptian Religion
The Egyptian Religion - Depictions of the Gods and Goddesses
The appearance of some of the gods and goddesses in the ancient Egyptian religion closely resembled humans. However, many of the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt were perceived as 'human hybrids'. Depictions of these gods took on the form and characteristics of animals such as the crocodile, cat, jackal, cobra, scarab beetle, ram or falcon. The bodies of these gods and goddesses were human but their heads adopted the appearance of animals and birds. Images of the gods and goddesses worshipped in Egyptian Religion are found in ancient Egyptian Gods Art, in Hieroglyphics, artefacts, statues, tombs and relics. | <urn:uuid:8500aea2-ffe4-4ff3-b562-59d02b738bb1> | {
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Description from Flora of China
Herbs annual, covered with stellate hairs. Stems decumbent, ascending, or erect. Leaves alternate, petiolate; leaf blade flattened, lanceolate to ovate, margin entire. Flowers unisexual (plants monoecious). Male flowers sessile, several glomerulate in axils of upper branches and forming a spike; bracts and bractlets absent; perianth segments 3-5, obovate or elliptic, membranous, densely stellate pubescent abaxially, without appendages; disk absent; stamens 2-5; filaments linear; anthers broadly oblong; ovary rudimentary. Female flowers inserted on petiole of bract; bracts green, elliptic, midvein abaxially prominent; bractlets absent; perianth segments 3 or 4, membranous, without appendages, enlarged in fruit; ovary ovoid; style short; stigmas 2. Fruit a utricle, compressed, ellipsoid or ovoid, glabrous or wrinkled, usually with a crestlike appendage. Seed vertical; embryo semi-annular; radicle inferior; perisperm copious.
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Shaping Your Teen’s Character Part 1: Understanding Contemporary Teens
As adapted from materials from Gary Chapman
As a child enters the teen years, they are searching for independence and to establish self-identity. They desire answers to the questions of, “Who am I, and can I make it in this thing called life?” They are stepping out of their life as a kid and starting to view life through a new set of lenses. No longer a kid, yet not quite an adult. Two forces seem to emerge at this point – to separate and strengthen. Parents can lose their focus if they get too caught up in the dynamics unaware.
- Teens have a tendency to separate. As teens try and stretch away from being a “kid,” they will often take steps to separate from those things that they accepted before. Things they use to enjoy, places they went, who they spent time with, or ways they accepted your affection may all seem to no longer be well received. As parents, we can personalize this and feel that our teen is rejecting us . . . but it’s wiser to see that our teen is trying to establish their self-identity as a young adult and may attempt that by avoiding the things they did as kids. Some of this separating behavior is normal, but some can be destructive. Teens that reject all authority and advice can find hurt in substance abuse, extreme risk taking, and promiscuous relationships. Parents are wise to consider if their teen’s push for separateness is destructive or merely different. If their behaviors and interests are simply different from ours but not destructive, consider letting them develop rather than fighting them.
- Teen have a tendency to strengthen. Stretching away from something also implies that teens are stretching toward something else. The need for social time with peer groups increases as teens try and establish their self-identities. Being around other teens is attractive as they can receive continuous feedback on who they think they are and who they want to be. The need to be connected and accepted is huge, and peer groups help fill that need. Being away from home is an opportunity to strengthen their independence. Again, parents can internalize this and feel as though their kids don’t want to be with them anymore. But it’s helpful to remember that like baby birds learning to fly, teens are just trying to figure out how to step out into life.
A piece of this stretching process will also challenge parents to learn to speak a new dialect of love for their kids through actions, words, items purchased for them, how time is spent, how physical touch is expressed, etc. Some teens will like things exactly the same as when they were little. But most are growing into wanting to hear or be shown a new way of appreciation or affirmation. Frustrations can occur when a child is looking for something new and parents keep speaking the same language.
A parent’s love is the key to helping their teen transition into adulthood. They want and need our love as much as they need and want independence. The two are strongly connected. Sometimes as our teen is expressing their desire for personal space, emotional space, social friend space, intellectual space, values and religious space, and the ever popular fashion space…it can take a LOT of love to tolerate those growing pains. Your teen needs to increase independence in an effort to mature and prepare to step into adulthood. This can be a painful process for the parent and the teen. It is a wonderful thing if parents can encourage their independence while helping them realize independence is not the end goal. It’s wiser and more principled to also grow in responsibility and understanding the importance of wise counsel.
Gary Chapman summarizes this concept as follows:
“As a loving parent encourages teenage independence, so parental love means teaching the teen to be responsible for his own behavior. Independence without responsibility is the road to low self-esteem, meaningless activity, and eventually boredom and depression. We do not gain self-worth from being independent. Our worth comes from being responsible. Independence and responsibility pave the road to mature adulthood. The teenager who learns to be responsible for his own actions while developing his independence and self-identity will have good self-worth, accomplish worthwhile objectives, and will make a meaningful contribution to the world around him. Teenagers who do not learn responsibility will be troubled teenagers and eventually troublesome adults.”1
To view the entire resource, Shaping Your Teen’s Character, please click here.
- Gary Chapman, The Five Love Languages of Teenagers (Chicago: Northfield Publishing, 2000). | <urn:uuid:fe439794-02a4-4438-ac58-3ec3c17a6358> | {
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Lemon tetra information:
Scientific name: Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis
Common name: Lemon tetra
Max. size: 3.8 cm / 1.5 inches
pH range: 5.5 – 8.0
dH range: 25
Temperature range: 23 – 28°C / 73.5 – 82.5°F
The Lemon tetra is a popular aquarium fish, but more difficult to breed in captivity compared to its famous relative the Neon tetra. The Lemon tetra is endemic to a river in Brazil and can be found nowhere else in the world. The Lemon tetra is a peaceful fish and will work well in a peaceful community aquarium with other species of similar size. The aquarium should be planted, the water should be slightly acidic and the water hardiness should be soft to medium. Since the wild Lemon tetras inhabit a tropical river, the water temperature in the aquarium should not be allowed to drop below 23° C (73.5° F). The Lemon tetras have a quite pale, yellowish colouration that will look more striking if you use a dark substrate in the aquarium.
Lemon tetra habitat and range:
The Lemon tetra is and benthopelagic freshwater species endemic to the Tapajós River basin. The Tapajós River runs through a hot and humid part of Brazil before it empties into the famous Amazon River about 500 miles above Pará. The Tapajós River is roughly 1200 miles long. This habitat is tropical and the water temperature stays between 23 and 28° C (73.5 – 82.5° F).
Lemon tetra description:
The largest scientifically measured male Lemon tetra was 3.8 centimetres (1.5 inches) long, while the largest female was 3.6 centimetres (1.4 inches). A lot of aquarists have however kept larger specimens, up to at least 6 centimetres (2.4 inches). The max published weight is 1.4 grams for males and 1.2 grams for females.
The body of the Lemon tetra looks like most other members of the genus Hyphessorbrycon – compressed and medium tall. The body is translucent with a slight yellowish tinge and you can see a shimmering lateral stripe that runs from the gill cover to the beginning of the caudal fin. The front fins feature a bright yellow coloration while the end and edge of the dorsal fin, as well as the back rays on the anal fin, are black. The upper part of the eyes has a characteristic strong red colour.
Lemon tetra setup:
Always get at least five Lemon tetras, preferably more, since Lemon tetras that are kept in too small groups will become shy and stressed. A large group of Lemon tetras is much more entertaining since they will boldly swim around in the middle and top part of the water column. A small group of Lemon tetras (or even worse – a single Lemon tetra) will typically spend its time hiding or sitting at the bottom. The stress from being alone will also make the fish more prone to illness. The recommended minimum aquarium size is 60 centimetres (24 inches). You can house the Lemon tetras with other peaceful fish species of similar size, provided of course that they like the same water temperature and chemistry as the Lemon tetras.
Try to mimic the natural Lemon tetra habitat when you set up your aquarium. A densely planted aquarium with at least one large area open for swimming will be greatly appreciated by your Lemon tetras. If you want to make the Lemon tetras look more colourful, you can use a dark substrate in the aquarium since the contrast effect will enhance the fish colouration.
Lemon tetra care:
The water in the aquarium should be clear and regular water changes are of course necessary to keep the water quality up. Lemon tetras can adapt to a pH from 5.5 to 8.0, but acidic water is recommended. Keeping the pH around 6.0 is ideal. The water should be soft to medium hard and the dH should not exceed 25. Since the Lemon tetra is native to a tropical river, the water temperature in the aquarium should be kept between 23 and 28° C (73.5 – 82.5° F).
Lemon tetra feeding:
The wild Lemon tetras are omnivore and will of instance eat plant matter, worms and crustaceans. Keeping your Lemon tetras on a varied diet is recommended. They are usually happy eaters in captivity and will accept a wide range of food types. You can use a high quality tropical flake as a convenient base, and add treats in the form of live, freeze-dried or frozen meaty foods like worms. Lemon tetras will also like boiled vegetables, e.g. zucchini.
Lemon tetra breeding:
The wild Lemon tetra is a prolific species with a minimum population doubling time below 15 months. The Lemon tetra can however be tricky to breed in captivity, especially compared to its more productive relatives like the Neon tetra. Professional Lemon tetra breeders will usually combine several females with one male to increase the chance of success, since female Lemon tetras sometimes have trouble releasing their eggs.
During the spawning, the female Lemon tetra will release her eggs among fine leafed plants. Including such plant species in the aquarium set up is therefore very important if you want to breed Lemon tetras. The fertilized eggs will hatch after approximately 24 hours. The fry is very sensitive during the first few days, but if you manage to keep them alive during this critical period they will usually become very hard and a lot of them will reach adulthood (if they are kept in an aquarium without predators). Since the Lemon tetra is an egg-scattering species that do not engage in any form of parental care, the adult fish will not hesitate to eat their own eggs and fry. If you want to ensure a high fry survival, you must therefore set up a separate breeding aquarium from which the parent fish can be removed, or let them spawn in a densely planted aquarium with fine leafed plants that will provide the Lemon tetra fry with a lot of good hiding spots. Even in a densely planted aquarium, a lot of eggs and fry will however be eaten.
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Neon Tetra Fish - An introduction to Neon tetras.
Neon Tetra - An indepth article about Neon Tetras, their breeding and the dreaded Neon Tetra Disease.
Swordtail Characins - Corynopoma riisei. And how to breed them. | <urn:uuid:417e6360-ba13-40f3-a739-e8e59a01914d> | {
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Wind and Clouds
Submitted by SusanAfter discussing how the wind moves the clouds. Let your children have cloud races by blowing into straws (wind) to move cotton balls or pompoms (clouds)
Submitted by an Unknown FriendPut a piece of wax paper on your table (tape it down) Then put a couple of drops of water on the paper. Let your children use straws to blow the water around the paper. You can also make a start and finish line and have your children have water blowing races.
Windy Weather Catch
Submitted by FeliciaBlow a light object (scarf, tissue, etc) into the air with a blow drier and then have your children catch them.
Hide From The Sun
Submitted by LoriPlay flashlight tag with only the sun is the flashlight and the "sunlight" hits is it.
What Does the Cloud Look Like
Submitted by AmyTalk to your children about how people often see different things in clouds. Then fold a colored piece of paper in half. Put a few drops of white paint in the crease and then have your children press down on the paper. Ask them what they think the "cloud" looks like. This activity goes well with the book "It Looks Like Spilled Milk"
These Preschool Ideas Found At:Everything Preschool >> Themes >> Weather >> Games | <urn:uuid:b4263221-8aa2-46d6-b9b7-c934682ab6a9> | {
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