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Shishir Murarka, MD, is an internal medicine physician and hospitalist at Banner Estrella Medical Center. His office can be reached at 623-327-7313.
Question: What are the symptoms of hypothyroidism and how is an inactive thyroid treated?
Answer: Many people have heard of the thyroid gland but may not know exactly where it is or what it does. The thyroid is a bowtie-shaped gland that wraps around the windpipe near the front lower portion of the neck. Its job is to produce several important hormones, which are responsible for making sure the body is functioning properly. For instance, the thyroid helps produce and regulate energy, controls body temperature and manages metabolism.
An inactive thyroid, a condition known as hypothyroidism, no longer produces enough hormones, which upsets the body’s chemical balance and functions. Hypothyroidism is most common in women, especially older women, and is often the result of heredity, autoimmune disease, radiation, certain medications or injury to the thyroid gland.
Symptoms are typically subtle early on, which can sometimes make it difficult to diagnose. However, if hypothyroidism isn’t treated, symptoms become more obvious and can include: fatigue, constipation, weight gain, increased cholesterol, muscle weakness, joint pain and stiffness, and depression, among many others.
Numerous health problems may arise if hypothyroidism is not addressed or well-managed. Heart problems, goiter, nerve damage, obesity, infertility, and mental health issues are among the potential health complications.
Once hypothyroidism is diagnosed, treatment is effective and safe. Oral medications that include a synthetic thyroid hormone, called levothyroxine, are taken daily for the rest of your life. Depending on how active your thyroid is, finding the right dose may take some time, but within a few months the body begins to regain its chemical balance.
If you experience unexplained symptoms, have a family history of hypothyroidism, or are concerned that your thyroid isn’t working properly, make an appointment with your physician to discuss your concerns.
Reviewed July 2010. | <urn:uuid:36b45b57-4119-4379-872c-1e20e58d99ee> | {
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You’ve probably heard the term ‘rude boy’ brandished around quite a bit. In modern society the rude boy wears a tracksuit, a flat peak cap and listens to dirty stinking Grime music. However, there was a time when a rude boy wouldn’t be seen dead in a tracksuit. The original rude boy inhabited a smart and slick appearance, listened to Reggae, Rock-Steady and Ska music and shared beliefs surrounding politics and culture.
Just like its Jamaican roots suggest the term ‘rude boy’ first came alight in 1950s Jamaica. It was a term that was commonly associated with adolescent criminals in the poorer sections of Jamaica, noticeably Kingston. Violence on the streets went hand in hand with the early rude boy, activities such as gate crashing rival sound systems became a familiar sight. The rude boy would aspire to dress in the latest street fashion which included razor sharp suits, thin ties and hats such as pork pies or trilbies. An image that was clearly inspired by American gangsters, Jazz musicians and Soul artists at the time; however it was the Jamaican sound of 60s Ska music that influenced the benchmark rude boy.
How Music Contributed
It was Ska music that helped to transform the negative connotations associated with the rude boy. Jamaican Ska musicians sought to speak to the youth about their violent tendencies and urged them to channel their culture’s attention towards a much more political motivation. The song ‘Message to You, Rudy’ by Dandy Livingstone in 1967 is a prime example of Ska musicians reaching out to the rude boy faction. This song would later be covered by British Ska group The Specials.
The origin of Ska music derived from Jamaican Reggae and Rocksteady, as well as being the hybrid child of Carribbean Mento, Calypso, American Jazz and Rhythm and Blues. However, music historians argue that Ska music takes up three noticeable periods: in the 1960s – Original Jamaican Ska music, in the late 70s – English 2 Tone Ska and in the 90′s the third wave of Ska – American Ska Punk.
It wasn’t only in Jamaica where the rude boy could be found. In 1960′s Britain, the influx of Jamaican migrants into urban city dwellings helped expose Britain to the rude boy. Yet, it was in the late 70′s where rude boy culture became truly embraced and found a home within Britain. The British streets smelt aromas they’d never smelt before, laid eyes on new fashion trends and were blessed with the sounds of authentic Jamaican Ska, Reggae and Rocksteady. It was this introduction that sparked the infusion of British styles with Jamaican heritage. Trilby hats were still donned upon the head of the rude boy but Dr Marten’s boots and Fred Perry polo shirts were now the staple attire and uniform of the white British rude boy.
Ska formed its second wave sound in the 2 Tone era. 2 Tone grabbed elements from original Ska, Punk Rock, Rocksteady and Reggae to create a faster tempo style of music. Ska now had more edge and bite, including a huge influence from brass instruments. Groups such as The Specials helped to pave the way for the new sound, and more importantly they managed to unite black and white people when tensions were high within smaller racist skinhead cultures.
Similar to Jamaican Ska musicians, The Specials resonated with the British youth, showing sympathy and highlighting issues such as unemployment and racism. The Specials single ‘Ghost Town’ being the most notorious example. Madness also began to make the Ska sound a lot more popular. Madness threw both Ska and the rude boy image into a wider public domain with hits such as ‘One Step Beyond’ and ‘Our House’.
Modern Day Rudie
Rude boys have come a long way from the streets of Kingston. You’ll now hear the likes of Dexter or Fatboy in Eastenders calling everyone and anyone a ‘rude boy’. The term was maintained by Hip Hop and Grime musicians, and although a different style of music, there’s still a running theme to the rude boy. It may have been diluted and slightly tainted from its founding roots but the rude boy is still regarded as a working class member of society, living in inner cities and sharing a huge passion for music.
Bruce Kensington enjoys writing about music culture, fashion and politics.
Don’t forget to enter our Monthly Giveaway for a chance to win a Vintage Gillette and More! For more info visit Monthly Giveaway
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What does It mean for the world if facial-recognition software gets really, really, really good? Computers can already reveal many secrets — our banking information, our shopping habits, our medical history. But what if, for instance, a computer could tell us whether someone may have autism? Or whether, from the same photos, whether someone is gay or straight?
Stanford Graduate School of Business researcher Michal Kosinski set out to answer the latter question in a controversial new study. Using a deep-learning algorithm, Kosinski and his colleagues inputted thousands of photos of white Americans who self-identified as either gay or straight, and tagged them accordingly. The software then learned physical commonalities — micro quantitative differences based on facial measurements — to distinguish gay from straight features.
His team found that the computer had astonishingly accurate “gaydar,” though it was slightly better at identifying gay men (81 percent accuracy) than lesbians (74 percent accuracy). Notably, the software outperformed human judges in the study by a wide margin.
Kosinski’s work was based on previous but controversial research that suggests that the hormonal balance in the womb influences sexual orientation as well as appearance. “Data suggests that [certain groups of] people share some facial characteristics that are so subtle as to be imperceptible to the human eye,” Kosinski says. The study, according to Kosinski, merely tested that theory using a respected algorithm developed by Oxford Vision Lab.
Predictably, rights groups, including GLAAD and Human Rights Campaign, were outraged by Kosinski’s study, simultaneously questioning his methods while suggesting that his program was a threat to members of the gay community.
Kosinski is known as both a researcher and a provocateur. He says that one of the goals for the study was to warn us of the dangers of artificial intelligence. He designed his research, he says, to goad us into taking privacy issues around machine learning more seriously. Could AI “out” people in any number of ways, making them targets of discrimination?
But for the sake of argument, let’s suppose that facial-recognition technology will keep improving, and that machines may someday be able to quickly detect a variety of characteristics — from homosexuality to autism — that the unaided human eye cannot. What would it mean for society if highly personal aspects of our lives were written on our faces?
The use of facial traits as a diagnostic tool, known as dysmorphology, is nothing new in medicine. Physicians have long used their eyes to help determine whether patients have genetic conditions such as CHARGE and Treacher Collins syndromes. Early on in medical school, for example, students learn the physical traits for Down syndrome (also known as trisomy 21) through textbooks and lecture slides.
I remember the first time I saw a baby with the condition, which appears in patients who have a third copy of chromosome 21, instead of the usual pair. The infant was born in a community hospital to a mother who had declined genetic screening. As he lay in his cot a few hours after birth, his up-slanted “palpebral fissures” (eyelid openings) and “short philtrum” (groove in the upper lip), among many other things, seemed subtle. It only took a glance from my attending, an experienced pediatrician, to know that the diagnosis was likely. (Later on, a test called a karyotype confirmed the presence of an extra chromosome.)
Could AI someday replace a professional human diagnostician? Just by looking at a subject, Angela Lin, a medical geneticist at Massachusetts General Hospital, can discern a craniofacial syndrome with a high degree of accuracy. She also uses objective methods — measuring the distance between eyes, lips, and nose, for example — for diagnostic confirmation. But this multifaceted technique is not always perfect. That’s why she believes facial recognition software could be useful in her work.
Lin stresses that facial recognition technology is just one of many diagnostic tools, and that in most cases it’s not a substitute for a trained clinical eye. She also worries about how widespread use of facial recognition software could be problematic: “The main barrier for me is privacy concerns. . . we want to be sure the initial image of the person is deleted.”
Even so, the field of dysmorphology is rapidly expanding as researchers develop new ways to use the science, augmented by machine learning and big data, to diagnose an increasing number of genetic conditions.
Autism, for one, may involve physical characteristics too subtle for the human eye to detect. A few months ago, an Australian group published a study that used facial-recognition technology to discern the likelihood of autism using 3-D images of children with and without the condition. As in Kosinski’s study, the computer “learned” the facial commonalities of those with autism and successfully used them as a predictive tool.
The lead study author, Diana Tan, a PhD candidate at University of Western Australia School of Psychological Sciences, warns that the technology has its limitations. A diagnosis of autism requires two distinct elements: identifying social and communication challenges, and behavioral analysis of repetitive behaviors and restrictive interests.
Some scientists believe the social-communication difficulties may be linked to elevated prenatal testosterone — known as the “extreme male brain” theory of autism. Facial masculinization may result from this excessive testosterone exposure, and the computer algorithm was good at picking it up, which could explain its ability to predict autism through a photo alone.
The facial recognition technology was less successful in tracking traits related to severity: that is, repetitive behaviors and restrictive interests. While the computer successfully identified children with autism whose behaviors were marked by lack of empathy, sensitivity, and other typically male traits (i.e. social-communication issues), it was less successful in diagnosing the children who predominantly exhibited restrictive and repetitive behaviors. This suggests that the latter aspects may not be related to hormone exposure and the its related physical changes.
“While [the study] supports the ‘hypermasculine brain theory’ of autism,” Tan says, “it’s not a perfect correlation.”
“In my view,” she says, “[our technique] should be complementary to existing behavioral and development assessments done by a trained doctor, and perhaps one day it could be done much earlier to help evaluate risk,” adding that 3-D prenatal ultrasounds may potentially provide additional data, allowing autism risk to be predicted before birth.
Regardless of the technology’s apparent shortcomings, companies have been quick to leverage big data and facial-recognition capabilities to assist diagnosticians. Boston-based FDNA has been developing technology for use in clinical settings over the last five years and released a mobile app for professionals called Face2Gene in 2014. In principle, it’s similar to the facial recognition software used in Tan’s and Kosinski’s studies, but — more than just study pure science — it’s intended to do what doctors like Lin spend decades learning: make diagnoses of genetic conditions based on facial characteristics.
Last year, the company teamed up on a study to use the app to help with autism diagnoses. The work has not yet been validated in the clinical setting, but it is already gaining adherents.
“We have over 10,000 doctors and geneticists in 120 countries using the technology,” says Jeffrey Daniels, FDNA’s marketing director. “As more people use it, the database expands, which improves its accuracy. And in cases where doctors input additional data” — for instance, information about short stature or cognitive delay, which often helps narrow down a diagnosis — “we can reach up to 88 percent diagnostic accuracy for some conditions.”
But many worry that pushing AI in this direction may come at a cost. When Apple presented the iPhone’s advanced facial-recognition technology just a stone’s throw from Kosinski’s Stanford lab earlier this month, the ACLU suggested that this could open up a privacy can of worms. “Face recognition is one of the more dangerous biometrics from a privacy standpoint,” wrote Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the ACLU, “because it can be leveraged for mass tracking across society.”
Information, he says, could be used by third-party developers for surveillance purposes. “There is a difference between a technology we control,” he adds, “and one that is applied to us as a power play.”
Apple, Amazon, and Google have all teamed up with the medical community to try to develop a host of diagnostic tools using the technology. At some point, these companies may know more about your health than you do. Questions abound: Who owns this information, and how will it be used?
Could someone use a smartphone snapshot, for example, to diagnose another person’s child at the playground? The Face2Gene app is currently limited to clinicians; while anyone can download it from the App Store on an iPhone, it can only be used after the user’s healthcare credentials are verified. “If the technology is widespread,” says Lin, “do I see people taking photos of others for diagnosis? That would be unusual, but people take photos of others all the time, so maybe it’s possible. I would obviously worry about the invasion of privacy and misuse if that happened.”
Humans are pre-wired to discriminate against others based on physical characteristics, and programmers could easily manipulate AI programming to mimic human bias. That’s what concerns Anjan Chatterjee, a neuroscientist who specializes in neuroesthetics, the study of what our brains find pleasing. He has found that, relying on baked-in prejudices, we often quickly infer character just from seeing a person’s face. In a paper slated for publication in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Chatterjee reports that a person’s appearance — and our interpretation of that appearance — can have broad ramifications in professional and personal settings. This conclusion has serious implications for artificial intelligence.
“We need to distinguish between classification and evaluation,” he says. “Classification would be, for instance, using it for identification purposes like fingerprint recognition. . . which was once a privacy concern but seems to have largely faded away. Using the technology for evaluation would include discerning someone’s sexual orientation or for medical diagnostics.” The latter raises serious ethical questions, he says. One day, for example, health insurance companies could use this information to adjust premiums based on a predisposition to a condition.
After considerable backlash from rights groups, Kosinski’s study, which had been approved by the Stanford research ethics board, underwent secondary ethical review by the editors of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The editors have since concluded that there was no ethical breach.
As the media frenzy around Kosinski’s work has died down over the last few weeks, he is gearing up next to explore whether the same technology can predict political preferences based on facial characteristics. But wouldn’t this just aggravate concerns about discrimination and privacy violations?
“I don’t think so,” he says. “This is the same argument made against our other study.” He then reveals his true goal: “In the long term, instead of fighting technology, which is just providing us with more accurate information, we need solutions to the consequences of having that information. . . like more tolerance and more equality in society,” he says. “The sooner we get down to fixing those things, the better we’ll be able to protect people from privacy or discrimination issues.”
In other words, instead of raging against the facial-recognition machines, we might try to sort through our inherent human biases instead. That’s a much more complex problem that no known algorithm can solve.Amitha Kalaichandran is a resident physician and a health journalist based in Ottawa, Canada. Follow her on Twitter @DrAmithaK. | <urn:uuid:dec852fd-8c0c-49ee-abd0-25fe0ebf5583> | {
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I remember Popular Mechanics as a boy growing up in the 1960s. One of the trademarks was a small font size. They also had wondrous plans, superb graphics and fine photos. Until I stumbled across an old issue, I had never considered it as a resource for playground research. At the turn of the last century, Popular Mechanics had started chronicling the playground world in the United States. Who knew?
Nearly 500 cities now have public playgrounds and about half of them receive municipal support. In 257 cities last year over $2,500,000 was spent on 1,543 playgrounds, and 4,132 attendants were hired.
Popular Mechanics – October 1913
“Providing play under intelligent direction,” was a primary motivator in the development of playgrounds as stated in the October 1913 issue of the magazine (see below). At the time, playgrounds were a relatively new phenomenon. The article comments on a governance shift moving responsibility for playgrounds from the oversight of private citizens to municipal governments.
The same article also relates the story of a New Orleans fly swatting contest. Nearly 4.5 million flies were dispatched in a two week period by 32 boys. Had Guinness been around surely they would have had a record on their hands.
Over the ensuing decades, the publication continued to print articles on do-it-yourself playgrounds, innovative playground design, and the latest trends occasionally going beyond America’s shores in search of examples and stories.
The October, 1924 issue featured a drawing of a revolving barrel worthy of inclusion in any lumberjack competition. It looks like a lot of fun but it’s not the type of equipment that would pass muster by today’s playground safety standards.
In the early 1930s, the magazine offered a do-it-yourself article for a backyard playground with a kid-powered mini Ferris wheel, a roller coaster simulation and a treadmill. In spite of what looks to be a lot of fun on paper, none of these apparently had the staying power to become part of the conventional playground canon.
In their September 1953 issue, Popular Mechanics published a one-page item entitled Junk-Yard Playground.
This photo taken in Copenhagen is an early example of an adventure playground. The concept of a space that is forever being tinkered with, a kinetic design and build studio for kids, went on to become popular in selected communities around the world. The build it approach fit right in with Popular Mechanic’s do-it-yourself focus.
Currently, adventure playgrounds are relatively few in number and in some instances under threat but the passion of their supporters is legendary. A recent example of citizen engagement that saved one adventure playground from possible destruction is in Irvine, California.
In 1956, the publication explored playgrounds with ‘imagination’. Primary examples of this new departure in playground design and equipment were drawn from California – specifically Oakland and San Francisco. It’s a time of experimentation, a time when designs embrace aesthetics and functionality.
Rounding out this PM retrospective is the ‘taking the hurt out of play’ piece from the September 1963 issue. It’s all about safety and reducing the risk of injury.
A half century of playground commentary starting nearly 100 years ago and many of the issues remain in play today. Around the world there is still inadequate space and resources being dedicated to playgrounds. Individuals, community groups and international organizations in North America and beyond are advocating to improve this situation. Design is ever evolving and will continue to bring to light new and imaginative structures and spaces. Witness this year’s inaugural Playable10 competition out of Atlanta. And of course there is the perennial debate around safety.
There are a few more gems left from my Popular Mechanics archival searches. There are some other publications that have printed interesting playground articles over the years too. Stay tuned to read more about them in a future post.
All images and all articles – Popular Mechanics.
If you’re a non-profit or not-for-profit group, feel free to hyperlink, excerpt, or reproduce the contents of this post. Please reference PlayGroundology. For commercial reproduction of this content, please consult the editor. | <urn:uuid:ca33feac-f59e-426b-8ad5-6817902cfc7c> | {
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Attention A T users. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps.
1. Please switch auto forms mode to off.
2. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc).
3. To enter and activate the submenu links, hit the down arrow.
You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links.
"Here a bag of trash is usually a bag of trash. Over there, who knows what's inside of it."
People respond to traumatic events in a number of ways. They may feel concern, anger, fear, or helplessness. These are all typical responses to a violent, malicious, or traumatic event. However, research shows that people who have been through trauma, loss, or hardship in the past may be even more likely than others to be affected by new, potentially traumatic events.
Traumatic events can cause a range of reactions. In response to new traumatic events, Veterans may:
Have general distress or see an increase in his or her PTSD symptoms
Become quick to anger, sleep poorly, or drink more heavily
Try to avoid all reminders or media about the incident, or shy away from social situations in general
Recent traumatic events may also trigger old memories among Veterans. When facing a new traumatic event some Veterans expect and/or prepare for the worst based on their past experiences. For example, Veterans may:
Become overly protective, vigilant, and guarded
Become preoccupied by danger
Feel a need to avoid being shocked by, or unprepared for, what may happen in the future
Research has looked at how Veterans react to terrorism. While some studies report that Veterans react similarly to civilians when acts of mass violence occur, other studies report that their negative reactions may last for a longer length of time than civilians. Some Veterans reported that they had more frequent:
Military and homecoming memories
Veterans with PTSD may be even more likely to see their PTSD symptoms get worse if they are exposed to reminders that are similar to their experiences in the military. For example:
When Veterans followed news closely they reported that media coverage of war brought back thoughts and feelings of their own military experiences.
Recent research found that individuals who repeatedly exposed themselves to disturbing images from television reports were at greater risk of developing PTSD over the next two to three years.
When PTSD symptoms got worse for some Veterans, it may have been related to how closely what they were seeing on the news reflected what they had gone through while serving.
Veteran gatherings or American symbols with high emotional value also could cause PTSD symptoms to recur or worsen.
How can Veterans cope when current events cause distress?
Below is a list of tips to manage distress for Veterans with or without PTSD. Use them to help you cope when traumatic events affect you.
To help yourself
Consider limiting your exposure to news on television. While media coverage may draw you in, increased viewing can raise stress levels. Watch yourself for signs of anger, rage, depression, worry, or other negative feelings. Take a time out from the news to let yourself recover from these feelings.
Keep up with daily schedules and routines. Try to include more pleasant activities in your day, even for brief periods of time.
Keep up with your body's needs for exercise, food, and sleep.
Feel what you feel. It is normal to feel a range of emotions. Having these feelings is to be expected. How you deal with them is most important.
Slow down. Give yourself time and space to deal with what has happened. Remember that people have their own pace for dealing with trauma, including you.
Count on feeling angry, but balance your actions with wisdom. Try to stay calm. Avoid reacting with sudden anger toward any group or persons.
Talk with someone close to you who might understand what you are going through.
If you do not feel like talking, writing in a journal may be helpful for dealing with intense feelings.
Do not avoid other Veterans even if they remind you of your military past. Seeking support along with other Veterans can be very helpful when stress is high. You can find other Veterans through the VA, Vet Centers, and Veteran's Service Organizations.
If you need help
Get help from your doctor or a mental health provider who is skilled in working with survivors of trauma if:
You are having any symptoms that are causing high levels of distress, problems in relationships, or problems at work.
You are abusing alcohol or drugs.
You cannot get relief using the tips listed above.
To help children in your life
If children hear about acts of violence, they look to adults to help them understand and cope with their feelings. Here are some ways you can help:
Try to respond when they ask questions.
Safety is a main concern for them. Comfort them and tell them in an age-appropriate way that adults are working hard to help those involved in the situation, and to make sure children will be safe everywhere.
Be a positive role model for them.
Show them how you have ways to deal with difficult events together as a family.
To help your community
Avoid blame as much as possible. Anger and blame toward others have been shown to increase Veterans' stress symptoms.
Try to change anger or thoughts of revenge into something positive. You could donate blood, give money to the Red Cross, volunteer, donate to a food bank, or give your support in some other way. Invite others to do the same.
Try to join together with others, show patience, and help others in times of hardship. | <urn:uuid:be81c7c3-fe04-4bc9-9610-46dfec57a15c> | {
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|This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to WikiFur style and standards.|
For specifics, check the and talk page. Consult the Furry Book of Style for editing help.
Despite their large size and weight (up to 2500 pounds, or 1134 kg), horses are generally thought of as gentle creatures; however their hooves can cause great damage by kicking or trampling.
The fur of a horse is mostly very short, forming an almost skintight covering, except on the head and back of the neck, which grows long into a formation called the mane; and the tail, which is specialised in horses for protecting the rear from flies: it has a bunch of long, very fine hairs which are swiped to disturb the flies. Horse tails are prized for their silk-like hairs.
The horse is largely a domestic animal, and has been bred for centuries. The species which produced the horse no longer exists in the wild, although some wild horse species exist.
Horses have been selectively bred to enhance various qualities, enabling them to fulfill various roles in their work for humans. Draft horses are bred for power, and are thus large and heavy; show horses are bred for grace and beauty; race horses, for speed.
Anthropomorphic horsesfurry artwork, anthro horses are often represented with hooved hands - either as full hooves that are somehow able to manipulate objects, or as more humanoid hands with hooflike nails.
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When you work on outlines of research papers, remember to keep citation styles in mind
Writing outlines could be easy to do, provided you have the right kind of professional advice to do so. There are so many intricacies that you need to keep a tab on that it could become quite a challenging thing for you to work on, if you are not careful. From citations to research methods, thesis statements to references…the list is just about never-ending! With our help, you can learn the basics of preparing an outline of research paper writing and go on to write a paper in the best possible way.
The example to help you learn better
Let us imagine that you are an English Literature student. You are working on the famous writer and poet William Shakespeare. You are asked to do a research paper on one of his best known works – King Lear. You realize that you have to work on the theme of retribution that finds a place in the play. Though you have read the play and understood the theme that is mentioned in the research question, you realize that writing outlines of research papers could be a lot more than you bargained for. What is the next course of action? You have only two paths to choose from. You could struggle on your own and finish it at the cost of losing sleep, patience, time and much more. The other option would be to give us a call and find more points. We are sure that you will be wise enough to choose the latter option!
Some points to help you with the outline
Please note that this is not the outline as such. These are points that will help you frame an outline that is just right for your paper.
1/- In the run up to your paper, make sure that you introduce the focal point of the research question. Since it is about retribution, you could bring in a suitable quote. Provide for the inclusion of this in the outline of research paper writing you do.
2/- Take some time to frame the thesis statement in an appropriate way. Since this is a research paper topic that is not very new, you need to take extra pains to ensure that your statement is well-structured.
3/- Your outline should provide for the Literature Review, at this stage. Here, you might have to cite works of researchers and writes. Learn how to cite research paper, books, critics and so on.
4/- As you go through the outline, it is prudent to avoid any wastage of time. In line with this bit of advice, remember that with the right research paper outline rubric, things could be easier.
5/- Your outline should also provide for the inclusion of the right methods that you will be adopting to research into the theme of retribution.
There are other aspects of preparing outlines of research papers that you need to be concerned with. If you are not too sure about this, we suggest that you get in touch with our writers. We can customize an outline to suit your paper. | <urn:uuid:d2843d5f-a9b4-4995-a1e6-e3b5fbc7d328> | {
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One Example of a Bach Chorale (YouTube)—Jesu Meine Freude:
Music theory can reveal the secrets of the universe. Look no further than Bach’s four-part harmonized chorales. Within each of these jewels is the secret that brilliant solutions hinge less on a right-wrong dichotomy, and more on intuitions that veer toward hundreds of fortunate choices and away from millions of less fortunate paths. At a time when our economic, political, and cultural values insist on a simple dichotomy, one side or the other, a right choice and a wrong choice, this kind of secret might provide valuable perspective! Such thoughts arise from teaching Bach chorales in a music theory class. Let me provide some context.
Bach’s four-part chorales are the models, the epitome, the Torah, what have you, of Western harmony. In composing an alto, tenor, and bass voice to the well known Lutheran hymns of his day, Bach’s expression and thirst for variety led him to create examples of virtually every type of chord and harmonic progression possible in tonal music. I kid you not. There are brief moments in these chorales that portend Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, and even Stravinsky and Schoenberg!
Every music theory student and serious composer analyzes these chorales and then writes their own. Alas, herein lies a problem and a key irony: Bach makes for a lousy model. Virtually none of his chorales match the prescribed textbook rules for proper chorale writing. The books say to avoid doubling the third of the chord. Bach doubles thirds constantly. The books say not to cross voices. Bach frequently crosses voices. The books outlaw parallel fifths and octaves. Albeit on very rare occasions, Bach even breaks these sacrosanct laws and composes parallel fifths.
But that is nothing compared to the more general difficulty that Bach’s chorales are so intensely chromatic. Bach uses chromaticism (think extra sharps and flats) to such an extent that powerful dissonance threatens to obliterate the clarity of the simple chorale tunes. There’s humor in that. Lutheran hymns strive for plainness and simplicity. They are a reaction to the excesses of Catholic contrapuntal music. But here was Bach, a devout Lutheran, making even the simple chorale tunes more complex than most of the Catholic composers that preceded him.
Teachers take pains to justify Bach’s excesses. In other words, one discovers reasons and purpose for all of Bach’s extreme actions. But that misses the point. Bach seems to go out of his way to break rules. His contemporaries complained about the complexity of his music. Even today we find it challenging, with many moments difficult to play and to hear.
Bach probably viewed principles of voice leading more as tendencies than rules. The purpose of these tendencies was to ensure that four voices maintain their independence as four separate melodies, while at the same time creating a clear progression of harmony as they proceed together through musical space. That procession is polyphony, the miracle invention of Western music, a special coding and coordination of two different auditory orders: the horizontal order of multiple melodies, and the vertical order of the notes of those multiple melodies sounding together to create chords. The progression of chords produces yet a third order of structure and intention that we call harmony. In Western music, harmony is what determines musical structure and intention.
Composing a chorale is a bit like four-dimensional checkers. The tendencies that ensure independence of the voices —that is, ensure a chorale sounds like four separate parts instead of three or two or one with accompaniment—provide interesting limitations on how individual voices may move. For instance, a choice to have the bass voice leap to a particular note might sound good for the bass itself, but in doing so, it might threaten the independence or clarity of the tenor, alto, or soprano voices. or even the integrity of the harmony itself when all voices are sounded together. So instead, the bass may have to move to another note to satisfy all of these concerns. But of course, changing one thing might have a negative impact on something else. Perhaps the previous note or a note in one of the other voices will need to be changed. Composing chorales involves working both forward and backward in time, constantly checking the interactions between all four voices for structural integrity. That is the craft and task part of chorale writing.
In composing chorales, one discovers there are safe choices and risky choices. Most of the textbook “rules” guide students to the safe choices, choices that ensure clarity and independence without having to discover unusual solutions, such as unexpected leaps, less stable doublings of notes of the chord, dissonances, or harmonic alterations. Even the safer paths, though, demand skill, because for every correct choice (that strengthens the chorale), there are hundreds of paths that lead to destruction (of the integrity of the chorale). Developing intuitions away from the plethora of choices that weaken the chorale and toward the dozens of choices that strengthen the music requires considerable practice.
The risky choices require much more imagination. They introduce elements of chaos and instability into the chorale that require other extreme choices to balance the whole. Not surprisingly, Bach does not choose to play it safe. Instead, he careens around the fringes of tonal coherence. His riskier choices require ever more imaginative responses in an intricate balancing act that erupts in surprise and a hypersensitive awareness of connections between the voices. Bach’s chorales expose possibilities within tonality that are not immediately obvious, all by pushing the system to its breaking point. If the conventional voice leading the textbooks advocate produces a dozen solutions, Bach’s unconventional tendencies expose hundreds of new choices. These choices bend the system and astonish the ear, but still work within the tonal framework, and ultimately support and strengthen its foundations. They revitalize the chorales with the excitement of discovering new possibilities and new beauty in tonality.
Today’s media headlines often boil down real difficult problems to a debate between only two choices or camps. Bach’s chorales teach that these might be false dichotomies. Most problems may not really be between two choices, but between numerous poor directions and fewer good ones. But the possible good choices are more numerous than we at first imagine. Some of the best are hidden. Like Bach, we might want to careen around the fringes to expose some of these hidden possibilities and see if we might find a way to balance what we’ve bent without breaking a system most people seem to agree is still filled with great beauty and potential. | <urn:uuid:3e01ea3a-b89f-4b96-a26e-24f7288fa68a> | {
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Introduction to a Painting: Edouard Manet's The Railway
Liz Tunick, Kress Interpretive Fellow, National Gallery of Art; Mary Morton, curator and head of the department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art; Kimberly Jones, associate curator, National Gallery of Art; Charlie Ritchie, associate curator, National Gallery of Art; Ann Hoenigswald, senior conservator, National Gallery of Art; Wil Scott, head of adult programs, National Gallery of Art Edouard Manet's iconic painting The Railway has intrigued and perplexed viewers ever since it was first publicly exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1874. The painting was given to the National Gallery of Art in 1956 and now hangs in the recently reinstalled West Building Galleries devoted to 19th-century French painting. Gallery Fellow Liz Tunick discusses the painting with National Gallery curators Mary Morton, Kimberly Jones, and Charlie Ritchie, paintings conservator Ann Hoenigswald, and educator Wil Scott. Their discussions explore and illuminate the artist's innovative techniques- such as his bold, varied brushwork- and the painting's historical context, noting the contemporary criticism it received for its modern subject matter and unrefined appearance.
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Ayurvedic perception of Amavata
Every disease is described in terms of imbalance of humours vata, pitta and kapha in human body, according to Ayurveda. Arthritis, one of the very prevalent diseases, is also described in such terms by this medical system and the arthritis ayurvedic treatment has proven to be very effective in many
Ayurveda states that arthritis is caused by accumulation of ama and aggravation of vata. While vata is associated with air, (one of the main elements of nature), ama denotes a toxic byproduct of improper digestion. `` It is very interesting to know how Ayurveda explains a disease like arthritis. According to ancient texts, the toxic substance gets circulated throughout the body and sometimes deposited in the joints. This situation combined with an imbalance in vata humour results in arthritis. In Ayurveda, this disease is called amavata, says Hitha Udayan, an Ayurvedic student.
Ayurvedic remedies mainly focus on controlling these two factors ama and vata, says Ranjith, another Ayurvedic student. The Ayurvedic therapies focus on digesting the toxic elements as well as reducing the vata. At the same time, therapies will also be conducted to help patients relieve pain and inflammation. Fasting, diet control, body massage with oil, etc will help reduce ama and the pain related to the disease. | <urn:uuid:95bcc293-d350-4ec9-b28d-354af80f54b3> | {
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Hyperloop Competition Winner Breaks Speed Record
SpaceX hyperloop pod contest winner creates a new speed record.
SpaceX, United States
Hyperloop technologies could revolutionize the way we travel in the future. Currently, numerous companies around the world are looking into this form of super-fast ground transport. The idea is that commuters will be able to travel from A to B in floating pods within low-pressure tubes or tunnels at speeds of up to approximately 700 miles per hour. The system would use magnetic levitation for propulsion.
One of the pioneers in the field of magnetically-propelled high-speed transport is South African-born billionaire Elon Musk. His Hyperloop concept is deliberately being open-sourced to encourage innovators around the world to further develop ideas.
In 2013, he published his “alpha paper” in which he theorized that aerodynamic aluminum capsules filled with passengers or cargo could be propelled through nearly airless tubes at speeds that come close to the speed of sound. He called this the “fifth mode of transportation”.
Open Innovation Contest
One way the development of Hyperloop transport is being supported is through Space X's Hyperloop Pod Challenge. This is an open innovation contest for student teams that first launched in 2015.
Participants are challenged to design and build the best high-speed pod they can. They are judged according to one criterion which is pods reaching maximum speeds under their own propulsion with successful deceleration, i.e., no crashing. Each pod also has to pass rigorous safety checks and testing inside a 26-foot long vacuum chamber and also a 150-foot log external test track.
Three teams made it to the final of the 2018 installment of the competition which was held on the 1.25-kilometer Hyperloop test track adjacent to SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
The 2018 winner was WARR Hyperloop, a team of engineering students from the Technical University of Munich. They also won the previous two Hyperloop open innovation competitions. This time around their pod reached a top speed of more than 290 miles per hour, which was a competition record and 50% faster than their winning entry for 2017.
In the short passage of time this open innovation contest has been around significant improvements in the technology have been witnessed. In the first year, WARR Hyperloop’s winning pod reached a top speed of 58 miles per hour. Also, in the previous two competitions, pods could be assisted down the test track with the help of a SpaceX-made vehicle called a "pusher". In 2018, the pods had to be self-propelled.
The winning team’s carbon fiber pod weighed 154 pounds (70 kilograms), was powered by a 50kW electric motor and featured pneumatic friction breaks. These allowed it to break to a complete stop within five seconds.
Based on the success of this and the previous Hyperloop open innovation contests, SpaceX will host another in 2019 to continue the advancement of hyperloop technology.
“This is really the first opportunity to create a new mode of transport,” said Musk at the 2018 finals. “That’s really what this competition is about: things that could radically transform cities and the way people get around.”
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Researchers Find Working With Horses Increases Emotional Intelligence in Humans
Source: University of Kentucky
“When nurses and doctors benefit from collaborating with horses then ultimately their patients also benefit.”
Researchers in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture
recently completed one of the first studies to explore how working with horses can develop emotional intelligence in humans. UK Center for Leadership Development researchers, Patricia Dyk and Lissa Pohl, collaborated with UK HealthCare nurse researchers, Carol Noriega, Janine Lindgreen and Robyn Cheung on the two-year study, titled “The Effectiveness of Equine Guided Leadership Education to Develop Emotional Intelligence
in Expert Nurses.”
“With Lexington being known as the Horse Capital of the World
, it is only fitting that the University of Kentucky is conducting pioneering research in the emerging field of equine assisted learning,” said Patricia Dyk, director of the Center for Leadership Development.
The project included a control group of 10 nurses from the Neuroscience Surgery Service Line and an intervention group consisting of 11 nurses from the Trauma and Acute Care Surgical Service Line at UK Chandler Hospital. At the start of the study and again six months later, both groups took the online assessment appraising emotional intelligence. Nurses in the intervention group participated in a one-day workshop that involved experiential learning with horses.
“Each exercise in the workshop was designed to develop the four emotional intelligence competency areas of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management,” said Lissa Pohl, research project manager and workshop facilitator.
Nurses from the intervention group filled out qualitative surveys immediately after their experience with the horses and again three months after the workshop.
The before and after survey results showed there was an increase in the scores of the intervention group in all four competency areas when compared to the control group. The researchers admitted, though, that the small number of participants in the study makes it difficult to conclude that working with the horses was the cause of the intervention group’s increase.
Marie-Claude Stockl was the co-facilitator for the workshop with the nurses. She owns the Horse Institute, and as such, facilitates equine-assisted learning workshops for corporate groups in central New York state.
“We are thrilled to get this research completed, because it builds the credibility of all organizations offering this type of learning experience,” she said.
According to Pohl, the initial results are encouraging and they lay the groundwork for subsequent studies of larger and more diverse populations of nurses.
“If horses can increase our ability to understand ourselves and others better, then the healthcare industry is a perfect place for studies like these,” she said. “When nurses and doctors benefit from collaborating with horses then ultimately their patients also benefit.” | <urn:uuid:f6a1054c-dfb2-45e7-b253-cff0f8fc6c33> | {
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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Additional Book Details
Former slave, impassioned abolitionist, brilliant writer, newspaper editor and eloquent orator whose speeches fired the abolitionist cause, Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) led an astounding life. Physical abuse, deprivation and tragedy plagued his early years, yet through sheer force of character he was able to overcome these obstacles to become a leading spokesman for his people.In this, the first and most frequently read of his three autobiographies, Douglass provides graphic descriptions of his childhood and horrifying experiences as a slave as well as a harrowing record of his dramatic escape to the North and eventual freedom.Published in 1845 to quell doubts about his origins — since few slaves of that period could write — the Narrative is admired today for its extraordinary passion, sensitive and vivid descriptions and storytelling power. It belongs in the library of anyone interested in African-American history and the life of one of the country's most courageous and influential champions of civil rights. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
|Sold By||Dover Publications|
|ISBNs||9780486110103, 0486110109, 9780486284996, 9780486110103|
|Number of Pages||96| | <urn:uuid:e6fe99af-d979-469c-bfc9-3c9f40242f45> | {
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Why natural laws cannot produce life
Can’t the origin of life from non-living matter be the result of natural laws? Atheists would tend to provide a ‘yes’ answer to this question. But Nancy Pearcey skillfully explains why natural laws cannot give rise to the vast amount of information contained in DNA (the language of life), in her book Total Truth:
“…In principle, laws of nature do not give rise to information. Why not? Because laws describe events that are regular, repeatable, and predictable. If you drop a pencil, it will fall. If you put paper into a flame, it will burn. If you mix salt in water, it will dissolve. That’s why the scientific method insists that experiments must be repeatable: Whenever you reproduce the same conditions, you should get the same results, or something is wrong with your experiment. The goal of science is to reduce those regular patterns to mathematical formulas. By contrast, the sequence of letters in a message is irregular and non repeating, which means it cannot be the result of any law-like process.”
“To illustrate the point, let’s invoke an imaginary Scrabble game… but this time when you organize the letters, you decide to follow a certain formula or rule (an analogy to laws of nature). For example, the formula might require that every time you have a D, it is followed by an E. And every time you have an E, it’s followed by a S, then an I, then a G, and an N. The result would be that every time you started with D, you would get DESIGN, DESIGN, DESIGN, over and over again. Obviously, if the letters in a real alphabet followed rules like that, you would be limited to spelling only a few words—and you could not convey very much information. The reason a real alphabet works so well is precisely that the letters do not follow rules or formulas or laws. If you know that a word begins with a T, you cannot predict what the next letter will be. With some minor exceptions (in English, q is always followed by u ), the letters can be combined and recombined in a vast number of different arrangements to form words and sentences.”
Natural laws only produce regular and repeating sequences, with low information content, such as the symbolic sequence below:
ABC ABC ABC ABC ABC ABC ABC
But, in order to store the vast information content needed to provide a set of biological instructions, genetic code must necessarily use irregular and non-repeating sequences. Below is an example of an irregular, non-repeating symbolic sequence which has much higher information content than the above symbolic sequence:
“In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”
Information scientist Henry Quastler put it best: “The creation of new information is habitually associated with conscious activity.” Whenever we trace information back to its source, invariably, we come back to a conscious mind. The irregular and non-repeating nature of the specified complexity in DNA means that it cannot have been accomplished by a law-like process.
At SETI (The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, which was originally a NASA program) the recognition of intelligent agency is regarded as lying within the scope of science. A long sequence of prime numbers in a radio wave from space, for example, is regarded by SETI as being a clear indicator of intelligent agency. This is because such a sequence is not the regular and repeating sort of sequence which occurs naturally.
In the primary text on the application of algorithmic information theory to the origin of life, titled Information Theory, Evolution, and the Origin of Life, physicist Hubert Yockey points out that it is mathematically impossible for natural laws to produce a DNA sequence because their information content is far too low:
“The laws of physics and chemistry are much like the rules of a game such as football. The referees see to it that these laws are obeyed but that does not predict the winner of the Super Bowl. There is not enough information in the rules of the game to make that prediction. That is why we play the game. [Mathematician Gregory] Chaitin (1985, 1987a) has examined the laws of physics by actually programming them. He finds the information content amazingly small.”
“The reason that there are principles of biology that cannot be derived from the laws of physics and chemistry lies simply in the fact that the genetic information content of the genome for constructing even the simplest organisms is much larger than the information content of these laws.”
And in a 2002 article for The Guardian titled How We Could Create Life, physicist Paul Davies makes a similar point to Yockey:
“Trying to make life by mixing chemicals in a test tube is like soldering switches and wires in an attempt to produce [Microsoft] Windows 98. It won’t work because it addresses the problem at the wrong conceptual level.” | <urn:uuid:99423a73-394b-4a8a-a0e2-8d884fa4a66f> | {
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Digestive disorders are abnormalities in the gastrointestinal tract (GI) also called the digestive system. The digestive system is made up of the esophagus, stomach, large and small intestines, liver, pancreas, and the gallbladder. Food is broken down into smaller bits (nutrients) by this system. This system as important at is it to the body might be experiencing some disorders that don’t hurt but are silently causing some serious damage. Here are 5 common digestive disorders you might have and not be aware of:
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
This refers to long-lasting inflammation in the digestive tract. There are two common types of disorder namely Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis which are autoimmune diseases, meaning they are abnormal immune system reactions. IBD causes irritation and swelling, leading to diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fever, and weight loss.
Irritable Bowel Syndrom (IBS)
This is common abdominal pain that occurs at least three times a month for three months in a row. People often confuse IBS with IBD as the symptoms can be constipation or diarrhea. More than 15 million Americans suffer from this digestive disorder and the cause is still not certain. Treatment may include eating smaller food portions and avoiding foods that cause the above-mentioned symptoms. | <urn:uuid:91035ac8-536e-4ceb-9350-75ec8cc78bfa> | {
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Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Blog Submitted by Dave Law, Executive Director, Joy Southfield Community Development Corporation, Detroit, MI
Lessons from HEY Detroit. Healthy Empowered Youth in Detroit (HEY Detroit) is a comprehensive program to curb childhood obesity being coordinated by Joy-Southfield Community Development Corporation, with support from Johnson & Johnson, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and numerous other partners. We recently completed our first family workshop program – Healthy Eating, Activity & Learning (HEAL). Here are some things we learned.
· Incentives help – we use progressive incentives for participants, proportionate to the number of workshop sessions attended (up to 6).
· “Hands-on” is where it’s at – conventional handouts are left behind. Example - youth enjoyed making food group “bead boxes” (like an abacus) and took them home to help track numbers of servings of different food types.
· Participants enjoy preparing & eating healthy meals and snacks
· Youth like physical activity, but if you want to get parents/caregivers involved, you need dancing music.
· We need to develop incentives for the survey completion, particularly the POST survey. Mchale Newport-Berra, Trish Hopkins & Susan Eiler did a great job of setting up our database, but we ended up with insufficient data to make significant conclusions about workshop effectiveness, something we plan to correct for our two summer workshops.
· In the absence of objective data, we received valuable feedback on how to improve the workshops. We also received a compelling letter from a participant, transcribed here:
May 3, 2011
To Whom It May Concern:
The class was so educational for me and my family. Each week we learn so many things about the nutrition value and how food can play important role in your family lifestyle. Last year, I was diagnose with an illness. This illness was due to poor eating habits that cause fat cells to form bad cells in your body. The doctor told me to lose weight and change my eating habits. The class taught us to exercise, cook healthier food, counting calories, how to make choices in a fast-food restaurant, to be more active with your family and how to teach your children that being fit is better than being a couch potato. I so happy to report me and my family are losing weight and we are much healthier then we once were. We would like to thank the class and it wonderful staff for their hard work and support. I feel it couldn’t have come at a better time in my life. A lot of families would benefit from this program and we hope it come every time for a family to learn and take advantage of this wonderful class. Thank you, so much, for the wonderful learning opportunity we experience in your class. Take care and may you be a blessing to anyone who don’t know about how to live a healthy lifestyle.
Mrs. D.W., HEAL Workshop participant, Winter/Spring 2011 | <urn:uuid:07232678-5495-46f3-91e4-c0cf3c439895> | {
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(Another possibly misleading headline)Latest research deflates the idea that the Universe cycles for eternityGurzadyan and Penrose argue that collisions between
supermassive black holes from before the Big Bang would generate spherically propagating gravitational waves that would, in turn, leave characteristic circles within the cosmic microwave background.
Most cosmologists believe that the Universe, and with it space and time, exploded into being some 13.7 billion years ago at the Big Bang, and that it has been expanding ever since. A crucial component of the standard cosmological model — needed to explain why the Universe is so uniform — is the idea that a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, the Universe underwent a brief period of extremely rapid expansion known as inflation.
Penrose, however, thinks that the Universe's great uniformity instead originates from before the Big Bang, from the tail end of a previous aeon that saw the Universe expand to become infinitely large and very smooth. That aeon in turn was born in a Big Bang that emerged from the end of a still earlier aeon, and so on, creating a potentially infinite cycle with no beginning and no end.
Now Gurzadyan and Penrose's idea is being challenged by three independent studies, all posted on the arXiv server within the past few days....
All three groups reproduced Gurzadyan's analysis of the WMAP data and all agree that the data do contain low-variance circles. Where they part company with the earlier work is in the significance that they attribute to these circles.
Things are getting curiouser and curiouser. | <urn:uuid:8e358d7c-b311-4914-9bb4-6089e25a4739> | {
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- Government and society
- Cultural life
A small emirate nestled between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Kuwait is situated in a section of one of the driest, least-hospitable deserts on earth. Its shore, however, includes Kuwait Bay, a deep harbour on the Persian Gulf. There, in the 18th century, Bedouin from the interior founded a trading post—the name “Kuwait” is derived from the Arabic diminutive of the Hindustani kūt (“fort”). Since the emirate’s ruling family, the Āl Ṣabāḥ, formally established a sheikhdom in 1756, the country’s fortunes have been linked to foreign commerce. In time and with accumulated wealth, the small fort grew to become Kuwait city, a modern metropolis mingling skyscrapers, apartment buildings, and mosques. Kuwait city has most of the country’s population, which makes Kuwait one of the world’s most urbanized countries.
The tiny country, which was a British protectorate from 1899 until 1961, drew world attention in 1990 when Iraqi forces invaded and attempted to annex it. A United Nations coalition led by the United States drove Iraq’s army out of Kuwait within days of launching an offensive in February 1991, but the retreating invaders looted the country and set fire to most of its oil wells (see Persian Gulf War). Kuwait has largely recovered from the effects of the war and again has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Its generally conservative government continues to provide generous material benefits for Kuwaiti citizens, and, though conservative elements in its society resisted such reforms as woman suffrage (women were not enfranchised until 2005), it has remained relatively stable. It has been called an “oasis” of peace and safety amid an otherwise turbulent region.
Kuwait is largely a desert, except for Al-Jahrāʾ oasis, at the western end of Kuwait Bay, and a few fertile patches in the southeastern and coastal areas. Kuwaiti territory includes nine offshore islands, the largest of which are the uninhabited Būbiyān and Al-Warbah. The island of Faylakah, which is located near the entrance of Kuwait Bay, has been populated since prehistoric times.
A territory of 2,200 square miles (5,700 square km) along the gulf was shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as a neutral zone until a political boundary was agreed on in 1969. Each of the two countries now administers half of the territory (called the Neutral, or Partitioned, Zone), but they continue to share equally the revenues from oil production in the entire area. Although the boundary with Saudi Arabia is defined, the border with Iraq remains in dispute.
The relief of Kuwait is generally flat or gently undulating, broken only by occasional low hills and shallow depressions. The elevations range from sea level in the east to 951 feet (290 metres) above sea level at Al-Shiqāyā peak, in the western corner of the country. The Al-Zawr Escarpment, one of the main topographic features, borders the northwestern shore of Kuwait Bay and rises to a maximum elevation of 475 feet (145 metres). Elsewhere in coastal areas, large patches of salty marshland have developed. Throughout the northern, western, and central sections of Kuwait, there are desert basins, which fill with water after winter rains; historically these basins formed important watering places, refuges for the camel herds of the Bedouin.
Kuwait has no permanent surface water, either in the form of standing bodies such as lakes or in the form of flows such as perennial rivers. Intermittent water courses (wadis) are localized and generally terminate in interior desert basins. Little precipitation is absorbed beyond the surface level, with most being lost to evaporation.
True soils scarcely exist naturally in Kuwait. Those that exist are of little agricultural productivity and are marked by an extremely low amount of organic matter. Eolian soils and other sedimentary deposits are common, and a high degree of salinity is found, particularly in basins and other locations where residual water pools. One of the environmental consequences of the Persian Gulf War was the widespread destruction of the desert’s rigid surface layer, which held underlying sand deposits in place; this has led to an increase in wind-borne sand and the creation of larger and more numerous sand dunes in the country.
The climate is desert, tempered somewhat in the coastal regions by the warm waters of the gulf. If there is enough rainfall, the desert turns green from mid-March to the end of April. But during the dry season, between April and September, the heat is severe—daytime temperatures ordinarily reach 111 °F (44 °C) and on occasion approach 130 °F (54 °C). The winter is more agreeable (frost can even occasionally occur in the interior, though never on the seacoast). Annual rainfall averages only from 1 to 7 inches (25 to 180 mm), chiefly between October and April, though cloudbursts can bring more than 2 inches (50 mm) of rain in a single day.
The frequent winds from the northwest are cool in winter and spring and hot in summer. Southeasterly winds, usually hot and damp, spring up between July and October; hot and dry south winds prevail in spring and early summer. The shamāl, a northwesterly wind common during June and July, causes dramatic sandstorms.
Plant and animal life
Except in the new green belt of Kuwait city and in a few desert oases such as Al-Jahrāʾ, where cultivation and irrigation are carried out, the vegetation consists of scrub and low bushes (and ephemeral grass in the spring). Halophytes (salt-loving plants) grow on the marshy stretches along the coast.
The harsh climate limits mammals to the occasional gazelle, fox, or civet. Among lizards are the rare and venomous sand viper (Cerastes vipera) and the monitor and vegetarian dab lizards (Uromastix spinipes).
Historically, there were several important class divisions in Kuwait. These divisions emerged during the period when the country was a trade entrepôt and were largely economic; thus, as the state became Kuwait’s primary employer after oil was discovered in the 1930s and these reserves were commercially developed in subsequent decades, this class structure became less pronounced. The one historically important class that remains politically important is the old merchant oligarchy, the Banū (Banī) ʿUtūb—of which the ruling family is a member.
Despite a government policy to reduce the number of foreign workers following the Iraqi invasion in 1990, Kuwaitis remain a minority in their own country. Nearly two-thirds of the population are expatriate workers, formerly from other Arab states but now largely from South and Southeast Asia. These nonnationals do not enjoy citizenship rights, economic or political, which are reserved for Kuwaiti citizens—defined as those able to prove Kuwaiti ancestry prior to 1920. Naturalization is strictly limited. Arabs—either Bedouin, sedentary, or descendants of immigrants from elsewhere in the region—constitute the largest ethnic group, and a small number of ethnic Persians have resided in the country for centuries.
The native and official language is Arabic, fluency in which is a requirement for naturalization. Kuwaitis speak a dialect of Gulf Arabic, and Modern Standard Arabic is taught in schools. English is the second language taught in public schools. Hindi, Urdu, Persian (Farsi), and other languages also are widely spoken among the foreign population.
Kuwaiti citizens are almost entirely Muslim, and a law passed in 1981 limits citizenship to Muslims. The majority are Sunni, but about one-third are Shīʿite. Both the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the Kuwaiti government’s subsequent discrimination against Shīʿites fostered a heightened sense of community among the country’s Shīʿite population in the 1980s and ’90s, and this led to political tension between the two groups.
The old town of Kuwait, although located in a harsh desert climate, opened onto an excellent sheltered harbour. Kuwait developed in the 18th and 19th centuries as a trading city, relying on the pearl banks of the gulf as well as on long-distance sea and caravan traffic. The old city—facing the sea and bounded landward from 1918 to 1954 by a mud wall, the gates of which led out into the desert—was compact, only 5 square miles (13 square km) in area; its typical dwelling was a courtyard house. After the discovery of oil in the 1930s and the petroleum industry’s rapid expansion after World War II, Kuwait city underwent a transformation. The ensuing urban explosion led to the destruction of the semicircular city wall (its gates were preserved as a reminder of the early years), and city planners formally laid out new suburbs. The government invested large portions of oil revenues in infrastructure and urban development, creating in the process a modern metropolis.
Kuwaitis are now scattered at a relatively low density throughout the urban area and surrounding suburbs. Non-Kuwaitis, largely excluded from the restricted suburbs, live at higher densities in the old city and in the suburbs of Ḥawallī and Al-Sālimiyyah, mostly in apartments.
Until the Iraqi invasion, Palestinians, some of them third-generation residents of Kuwait, were the largest single expatriate group, numbering perhaps 400,000. Popular Palestinian support for Iraq during the war and persistent Palestinian demands for political inclusion led the Kuwaiti government to deport most of them following the restoration of authority, and by early 1992 their number had fallen to 50,000. They have been largely replaced by Egyptians, Syrians, Iranians, and South Asians.
Life expectancy in Kuwait is high, with males living to about 75 years and females to 77. Although Kuwait’s birth rate is roughly equal to the world average, its low death rate has led to a high rate of natural increase. The leading cause of death is circulatory disease. The country is young, with roughly three-fifths of the population under the age of 21.
Virtually all of Kuwait’s wealth is derived directly or indirectly, by way of overseas investments, from petroleum extraction and processing. The most dramatic element of Kuwait’s economic development has been the steady and rapid expansion of its oil industry since the 1970s. By the mid-1980s Kuwait was refining four-fifths of its oil domestically and marketing some 250,000 barrels a day in its own European retail outlets under the name “Q8.” This oil income and the investment income it generated—the latter surpassed direct sales of oil revenues by the 1980s—gave Kuwait one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. However, both the Iraqi invasion (which nearly exhausted Kuwait’s overseas investment revenues) and the increasing volatility of the global oil market in the 1980s reduced this income substantially, but income levels rebounded when oil prices rose dramatically in the early 21st century. Other sectors of Kuwait’s economy are weak by comparison; agriculture, manufacturing, and trade each constitute only a small proportion of gross domestic product (GDP).
Agriculture and fishing
The possibilities of agricultural development are severely limited. Only a small amount of the land is arable, and, because of scarcity of water, soil deficiencies, and lack of workers trained in agricultural skills, only a portion of that land area is under actual cultivation. Agriculture’s contribution, therefore, is insignificant to the output of the economy.
Fish are plentiful in the Persian Gulf, and fishing in Kuwait was a leading industry before the discovery of oil. The United Fisheries of Kuwait continues the tradition today. Shrimp was one of the few commodities besides oil that Kuwait continued to export after World War II. Shrimp production, devastated by the environmental havoc wreaked in the gulf by the Persian Gulf War, had recovered by the mid-1990s.
Resources and power
Kuwait has nearly one-tenth of the world’s proven oil reserves. Kuwait’s proven recoverable reserves are thought to be enough to sustain current production levels for some 150 years, and, though the oil industry sustained severe damage during the Iraqi invasion, most of that was repaired by the mid-1990s. Kuwait also has considerable natural gas reserves, almost all in the form of associated gas—i.e., gas that is produced together with crude oil. There are no other important minerals. Naturally occurring fresh water is scarce; until desalination plants were built after World War II, water had to be imported.
The generation of electricity also has increased significantly as population and industry have grown. Production is concentrated in several large natural-gas–fired power stations, including one at Al-Shuwaykh and another at Al-Shuʿaybah.
In 1934 the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), the ownership of which was divided equally between what were then the British Petroleum Company and the Gulf Oil Corporation (of the United States), obtained a concession covering the whole territory except the Neutral Zone. Oil was struck in 1938, but World War II deferred development until 1946. Thereafter, progress was spectacular. In 1953 the American Independent Oil Company and the Getty Oil Company, which jointly held concessions for the Neutral Zone, struck oil in commercial quantities, and in 1955 oil was discovered in northern Kuwait. By 1976 Kuwait had achieved complete control of the KOC, with the former owners retaining the right to purchase at a discount. The government also achieved full ownership of the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), which it had formed in 1960 with private Kuwaiti investors. The KNPC, designed to serve as an integrated oil company, controlled the supply and distribution of petroleum products within the country and began marketing operations abroad. In 1980 the government founded the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation as an umbrella organization overseeing the KOC and the KNPC as well as the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, the Petrochemicals Industries Company, and the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.
The relatively low cost of oil production in Kuwait stems from certain unique advantages. Most important, there are a number of highly productive wells, the output of which can be varied at short notice, which thus eliminates the need for large numbers of storage tanks. Most of the storage tanks themselves are placed on a ridge set back a few miles from the seacoast at a height of some 300 feet (90 metres); this enables loading operations to be carried out by gravity rather than by pumps. There are also extensive refineries and bunkers for tankers. While retreating from Kuwait at the end of the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi forces set fire to more than 700 of the country’s 950 wells. By the fall of 1991, the fires, which had consumed about six million barrels of oil per day, had been extinguished, and production soon returned to preinvasion levels.
Massive volumes of natural gas are produced in association with crude oil. Although natural gas has great potential as a source of foreign exchange, it principally has been used for reinjection in oil fields to maintain pressure, generating electricity (notably for water distillation), and producing (as raw material) petrochemicals and fertilizers, some of which Kuwait exports in small quantities.
For fresh water in earlier days, people depended on a few artesian wells and on rainwater collected from the roofs of houses or from cisterns at ground level. Dhows piloted by Kuwaiti seamen also brought fresh water from the Shatt al-Arab near Al-Baṣrah, Iraq. With the rapid growth of population, however, the government of Kuwait built desalination plants at Kuwait city, Al-Shuʿaybah, and several other locations. Important sources of fresh water have been discovered at Al-Rawḍatayn and Al-Shiqāyā, but desalination still provides the great bulk of Kuwait’s daily consumption of potable water.
Manufacturing contributes roughly one-tenth of Kuwait’s GDP and consists almost entirely of refined petroleum products, petrochemicals, and fertilizers. Other, less-important manufactured products include clothing and apparel, fabricated metal products, industrial chemicals, and nonelectrical machinery.
The Central Bank of Kuwait (Bank al-Kuwayt al-Markazī) issues the national currency, the Kuwaiti dinar, and is the country’s main banking regulatory body. In addition to its central bank, Kuwait has specialized banks operating in the areas of savings and credit, industrial loans, and real estate. There are also commercial banks. No foreign banks may operate in Kuwait, with the exception of the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, based in Bahrain and owned equally by the two states. An Islamic bank—one bound by stringent religious laws governing financial transactions—has also been established. Before independence an officially sanctioned stock exchange operated, growing to become one of the largest in the world. The fall of the unofficial but wildly popular stock market, the Sūq al-Manākh, in 1982 sent the local economy into a mild recession. A resulting debt-settlement program supervised by the government was not completed until the early 21st century.
Petroleum and petroleum-derived products account for all but a very minor portion of Kuwait’s exports, with Asia and Europe being the most important markets. Kuwait’s imports—largely machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, and food—are principally from the United States, Japan, and countries of the European Union.
Kuwait has invested only marginally in local industry. As a result, nearly all employed Kuwaitis work for the state, largely in education (only a small fraction of these are in the oil industry). Almost one-third of the government’s revenues are spent on salaries. Tourism plays only a small role in the country’s economy. The Iraqi invasion further limited its importance, and the sector has been slow to recover.
Labour and taxation
In both the public and private sectors, Kuwait remains heavily dependent on foreign labour, despite repeated reforms aimed at reducing this dependency. By the late 1990s only one-fifth of the country’s workforce were Kuwaiti nationals; of that number, more than one-third were women. Trade unions are allowed, but numerous restrictions limit their establishment. Less than one-tenth of the country’s workforce belongs to a union.
Kuwait has no individual income tax. Much of the government’s revenue comes from oil as well as from taxes on foreign corporations and on the foreign interests of Kuwaiti companies.
Transportation and telecommunications
Although there are no railways in the country, Kuwait has a modern road system linking it with its neighbours, as well as a large international airport, Kuwait International Airport, which is located just south of the capital. Kuwait Airways Corporation, a state-owned enterprise, serves a number of international routes. The country’s port facilities and its fleet of oil tankers and general cargo ships have been expanded.
Regular telephone service was established in Kuwait only in the 1950s; since that time the country has made significant progress in telephone, cable, wireless communication, and Internet service. The country’s communication infrastructure was badly damaged during the Iraqi invasion, but the damage has largely been repaired, and the Kuwaiti government—through its Ministry of Communications—has further developed Kuwait’s communication grid by means of contracts with international telecommunications firms.
Government and society
Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative body. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1961, Kuwait has been governed by an emir from the Ṣabāḥ family. The emir rules through a Council of Ministers—consisting largely of members of his own family—that he himself appoints. Legislative power rests in the National Assembly (Majlis al-Ummah), whose 50 members are elected to four-year terms. This parliament, however, was suspended in 1976, in 1985, and again in 1999.
Kuwait’s legal system has several sources. Personal and civil law (roughly, family law and probate law) are based largely on Sharīʿah (Islamic law). Commercial and criminal law, while also influenced by Sharīʿah, borrows heavily from both European civil and common law as well as from the legal codes of the Ottoman Empire and from those of other Arab states, which are themselves heavily influenced by European law. There are several lower courts and a system of appeals courts. The emir sometimes acts as the final court of appeal.
In lieu of political parties, which are prohibited in Kuwait, several quasi-political organizations have representatives in the parliament. Voting is limited to natural-born Kuwaiti men who are at least 21 years old; servicemen and police are barred from voting. Under these qualifications, approximately one-tenth of the population forms the electorate. Beginning in the 1990s, attempts to extend suffrage to women increased. In 1999 the emir announced that he would allow women to vote in future elections; the franchise was officially granted in 2005, and in 2009 women were elected to parliament for the first time.
Kuwait’s military expenditure per capita is among the highest in the world. Such spending is largely a result of the hostile relationship with Iraq; after the Persian Gulf War, Kuwait undertook significant measures to modernize and increase its armed forces. U.S. troops have been stationed there since the early 1990s, and Kuwait also has defense agreements with other countries, including Russia, the United Kingdom, and France. Kuwaiti males are required to serve two years in the armed forces, although university students may receive exemptions for one year of that service.
Health and welfare
Kuwait has a comprehensive scheme of social welfare. The needy receive financial assistance; loans are provided to the handicapped to start businesses; the disabled can get treatment and training; and education is available for adult illiterates. The Ministry of Social Affairs offers a program that provides adequate, affordable housing, fully equipped with modern facilities, for citizens with limited incomes. Kuwait also has a comprehensive and highly developed subsidized national health-care system. In 1976 the government established Kuwait’s Reserve Fund for Future Generations, and it has set aside 10 percent of the state’s revenues annually for it. The government found it necessary, however, to tap into that fund during the Iraqi occupation.
Housing in Kuwait is heavily subsidized by the government, and—since the government has invested large amounts of money in development since the oil boom—housing standards are generally high. Traditional housing (mud-walled structures one to two stories tall) has largely given way to modern-style homes and apartment complexes in most parts of the country.
About four-fifths of the population is literate. General education in Kuwait is compulsory for native Kuwaitis between the ages of 6 and 14. It is entirely free and also includes school meals, books, uniforms, transportation, and medical attention. Non-Kuwaiti students typically attend private schools. Kuwait University was founded in 1964. The vast majority of its students are Kuwaitis, and about three-fifths are women. In 2001 the university began segregating by gender, a move that was called for by the National Assembly. Other institutions of higher learning include the College of Technological Studies. The American University of Kuwait was established in 2004. Several thousand students attend colleges and universities overseas, principally in the United States, Britain, and Egypt, usually on state scholarships.
1Excludes 15 cabinet ministers not elected to National Assembly serving ex officio.
|Official name||Dawlat al-Kuwayt (State of Kuwait)|
|Form of government||constitutional monarchy with one legislative house (National Assembly )|
|Head of state and government||Emir: Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah, assisted by Prime Minister: Sheikh Jabir al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah|
|Monetary unit||Kuwaiti dinar (KD)|
|Population||(2014 est.) 4,039,000|
|Total area (sq mi)||6,880|
|Total area (sq km)||17,818|
|Urban-rural population||Urban: (2012) 98.3%|
Rural: (2012) 1.7%
|Life expectancy at birth||Male: (2011) 76.4 years|
Female: (2011) 66.9 years
|Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate||Male: (2007) 95.2%|
Female: (2007) 93.1%
|GNI per capita (U.S.$)||(2011) 44,730| | <urn:uuid:d2f55cbc-120b-490b-b38d-f9c1065d72c0> | {
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Sneezing and eye discharge in cats are the most common characteristics of 'Feline Upper Respiratory Disease Complex'. This is the term used to describe a condition affecting the mouth, nasal passages, sinuses, upper airway, and sometimes the eyes in cats and kittens. There are multiple causes of feline upper respiratory complex, but 80-90% of the cases are caused by feline herpes-1 (also called feline rhinotracheitis virus) and calicivirus (pronounced kal-ee-chee). Other causes of sneezing in cats include Chlamydophila felisi (previously termed Chlamydia), feline reovirus, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Pasteurella spp., and mycoplasmas. Infections and symptoms by some of these agents may occur secondarily to an infection with rhinotracheitis virus or calicivirus.
How is feline upper respiratory disease complex spread?
Both feline rhinotracheitis virus and calicivirus are spread through contact with the discharge from the eyes and nose of an infected cat. This usually occurs through direct cat-to-cat contact. Sneezing may contaminate the environment. Food dishes, hands, bedding, etc., which have been contaminated with infected discharge, can transmit these viruses from one cat to another.
What are the symptoms of feline upper respiratory disease complex?
The symptoms of feline upper respiratory disease vary as to which virus, bacteria, etc., is the cause, the age of the animal, and other health factors. A summary of the symptoms as well as other characteristics of rhinotracheitis and calcivirus infections are summarized in the table below.
How is feline upper respiratory disease complex diagnosed?
The diagnosis of feline upper respiratory disease complex is made based on medical history (e.g., vaccination status and possibility of exposure to an infected cat), clinical signs, and through special laboratory tests to determine the exact cause of disease. These tests include polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, virus isolation, and fluorescent staining of cells taken from the conjunctiva. If a cat has recurrent episodes of disease, has signs of disease even though it was vaccinated, or the symptoms last longer than two weeks, the cat should be tested for feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus.
How are the sneezing and other signs of feline upper respiratory disease complex treated?
The treatment of cats with feline upper respiratory disease complex is basically the same, regardless of cause and includes:
Keeping the eyes and nasal passages clear through regular removal of discharge, increasing the humidity (e.g., placing a vaporizer in the room with the cat), and the possible use of a nasal decongestant prescribed by the veterinarian
Ensuring food and water intake - this may be difficult since the nasal symptoms may not allow the cat to smell the food, in which case he usually does not eat. These cats may need to be force fed.
Keeping the cat quiet and warm
Controlling secondary bacterial infections through the use of antibiotics
Treating any oral ulcers or eye lesions with appropriate medication
Because of the contagious nature of the disease, cats with upper respiratory disease are generally not hospitalized unless their symptoms are severe. In severe cases, fluid therapy, supplemental oxygen, or a tube placed in the stomach for feeding cats who will not eat may be necessary.
Chronic infections with feline herpes virus may be treated with lysine. Alpha interferon is also sometimes used in the management of chronic infections with either feline herpes virus or calicivirus.
What is the prognosis for cats with feline upper respiratory disease complex?
Most cats infected with feline rhinotracheitis virus or calicivirus will become chronic carriers of the virus. This means they will continue to be infected with the virus but not show any signs of the disease. In the case of rhinotracheitis (herpes-1), cats will often shed the virus in secretions from the eyes and nose after they have been stressed, e.g., boarding, moving, new addition to the household, nursing kittens, etc. Cats with calicivirus will shed the virus continually for years. Cats who have been vaccinated for calicivirus and then exposed to an infected cat may become infected with the 'wild' virus (the strain of virus that occurs naturally and can cause disease, not the vaccine strain), never show signs of disease, become carriers of the wild virus, and continue to shed the wild virus.
What is virulent systemic feline calicivirus?
A rare and more severe form of feline calicivirus called virulent systemic feline calicivirus (VS-FCV) has been identified in several outbreaks. These outbreaks occurred where large numbers of cats were housed together, such as in shelters. It affects young and adult cats and causes similar symptoms as typical calicivirus except after several days high fever, edema, and skin lesions develop. Vomiting, diarrhea and pneumonia can also occur. Up to 50-60% of affected cats die from this infection with VS-FCV. Traditional vaccines against calicivirus do not protect against this virulent strain. A killed vaccine has been developed and its use in shelter situations is still controversial.
How is feline upper respiratory disease complex prevented and controlled?
Vaccination is the primary way to prevent feline upper respiratory disease complex. There are several different types of vaccines available: a modified live injectable vaccine, a modified live vaccine that is administered into the nose, and an injectable killed vaccine.
The modified live injectable vaccine is often a combination product which includes rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia, another viral disease of cats. Combination vaccines may also include feline leukemia virus and Chlamydophila. Modified live injectable vaccines should be administered very carefully, so none of the vaccine gets into the eyes, nose, or mouth of the cat, otherwise the vaccine could induce clinical signs of disease.
The modified live intranasal vaccine is manufactured differently so it is safe to give in the nose, although, mild sneezing or nasal discharge could occur. The advantages of this vaccine are that it provides better and more rapid protection (within 2-4 days of giving the vaccine), can be given to very young kittens, and is effective even if maternal antibodies are present. It is recommended that this vaccine be used in limited situations in which there is a high but unavoidable risk of exposure.
The killed injectable vaccine often comes as a combination product. Some killed vaccines are licensed to be used in pregnant cats so the newborn kittens will be born with more protection. These vaccines are also used in debilitated or immunodeficient cats. Some are licensed for use in very young kittens.
Regardless of which vaccine is used, kittens need a series of vaccinations to become protected. Vaccination schedules should take into account the potential of exposure of the kittens to cats who have disease or may be carriers of the viruses.
Remember, vaccination is not 100% effective. Vaccinated cats can still become infected with the wild strain of virus, show mild signs of disease and become carriers of the virus.
Because vaccination is not 100% effective, and rhinotracheitis virus and calicivirus are wide spread, other control measures are often necessary in areas where cats are in close proximity, e.g., boarding facilities and catteries. Suggested control and prevention measures include:
Provide regular vaccinations
Admit only cats who are vaccinated
House cats individually
Separate known carriers or cats showing signs of disease, such as sneezing, from the other cats, and feed and clean their cages last.
Use pens, cages, litter boxes, and bowls that can be easily disinfected
Soak used items, e.g., bowls, in a 1:32 solution of bleach (1/2 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water) for several hours and then do not reuse for at least 24 hours
Have solid partitions between pens and provide an aisle between the fronts of the cages at least 4 feet wide
Design pens so dishes and litter can be removed from the pen without opening the door.
Wash and disinfect hands between handling cats, or use individual pairs of rubber gloves for each cat
If a cat is permanently removed from a pen or cage, disinfect the cage and allow it to remain empty 2 days before reusing it
Provide adequate ventilation and control humidity and temperature
Prepare food in a separate area away from the cats
Vaccinate female cats before breeding or during pregnancy (killed or inactivated vaccine only)
Attempt to keep animals as stress-free as possible
Do not breed female cats who had previous litters of kittens with respiratory disease
Separate pregnant cats from other cats starting at least three weeks before giving birth
Keep kittens separate from other cats until a week after their second vaccination (usually at 12 weeks)
- adapted from Gaskell, RM and Dawson, S. | <urn:uuid:958d5537-ea74-4988-bb69-363dba4e8e45> | {
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DEADLINE EXTENDED TO APRIL 29!
This summer, young people from across our state will come together to build a sustainable, secure food future for Ohio.
The population is growing. Concerns over food security and the future of the agriculture industry are growing.
Our Solution: Create a sustainable future today.
Create the workforce the future agriculture industry needs today by encouraging young people to think critically about the food and farm industry and the issues associated with providing safe and sustainable food and fiber.
That is exactly what our one of a kind science camp does: ExploreAg introduces students to the various careers in science, engineering and technology in the food and fiber industry and engages them in actively pursuing career paths that can help them become a part of the sustainable future of agriculture. ExploreAg is open to students from varied backgrounds, with diverse skills and interests, and provides them with an opportunity to explore and understand available career paths in the agriculture and food industries.
Our goal is that your student's time at ExploreAg will lead them to discover a passion they may not have considered yet.
The ExploreAg program is a week-long experience where high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors interact with and learn from internationally known teachers, scientists, and researchers. Students are hosted on campus at the Ohio State University, and are introduced to various aspects of agriculture both in the classroom and through diverse hands-on learning experiences, both on and off campus.
Subject areas include food science, precision agriculture, animal science, natural resources, management skills, technology, and agricultural business.
In addition to the classroom experience, scholars will participate in field experiences that highlight cutting-edge research, and introduce industry partners, to provide scholars with a glimpse of innovative careers in related fields.
ExploreAg offers two sessions:
June 10-15, 2018 OSU Main Campus (Columbus)
June 17-22, 2018 ATI Campus (Wooster) | <urn:uuid:24777a66-4448-4618-9d18-b47ff8372bf6> | {
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Lintel 24 from Yaxchilan depicts a night scene of royal bloodletting.
'Lintels 24 and 25, removed at Maudslay's request at the end of the nineteenth century, are on permanent display in the British Museum's Mexican Gallery. Lintel 26, the third in the series, is in the Museo Nacional de Antropología, in Mexico City.
The scene represents a bloodletting ritual performed by the king of Yaxchilán, Itsam Balam ('Shield Jaguar' 681-742), and his wife, Lady K'ab'al Xook (Itzamnaaj Bahlen III). The king holds a torch while his principal wife passes a thorn-studded rope through a hole in her tongue. Scrolls of blood can be seen around her mouth.
The first two glyphs in the text at the top of the lintel indicate the event and the date on which it took place, 24 October, AD 709 (5 Eb, 15 Mak in the maya calendar). The last glyph represents the Emblem Glyph (that is, the city name in Maya hierolglyphs) of Yaxchilán. The text on the left of the panel contains the name and titles of Lady K'ab'al Xook. The lintel has traces of blue, turquoise and red pigment.'
© image Justin Kerr | <urn:uuid:1a115169-9852-4e92-8fa3-c65427427618> | {
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This Science quiz is called 'Gravity' and it has been written by teachers to help you if you are studying the subject at middle school. Playing educational quizzes is a fabulous way to learn if you are in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade - aged 11 to 14.
It costs only $12.50 per month to play this quiz and over 3,500 others that help you with your school work. You can subscribe on the page at Join Us
What is gravity? Gravity is one of four physical forces in nature that shape the universe. These forces include strong nuclear forces, weak nuclear forces and electromagnetic forces. The force of gravity has an infinite range. It is the pull of two bodies of matter that brings them closer together. As an example, there is a gravitational pull between two magnets or a magnet and a metal surface. You can also look at humans and animals. The earth has a gravitational pull that pulls everything to the ground. Without it, instead of walking, we would all be floating around.
The bigger the object is the stronger the gravitational pull will be. As the Earth is much bigger than any object on it, (including people and animals), each object is attracted to the Earth’s surface by its gravitational pull.
Gravitational pull is the amount of force that is exerted by larger objects over smaller objects. As Sir Isaac Newton described, gravitational pull is the force that is proportional to the mass of two different objects.
Sir Isaac Newton is believed to be the first scientist to really study and do experiments with gravity and motion.
As the moon is smaller than the Earth, it has a smaller gravitational pull because it has less mass and less weight. Because of this, if you were to go to the moon, you would easily bounce up and down as you tried to walk. You would feel rather weightless. Even with its lesser gravitational pull, the moon’s gravity directly affects the Earth’s tides. The closer the moon is to the Earth will result in higher ocean tides. As the moon moves away from the Earth, the gravitational pull weakens and the ocean tides lower. Finally, if there was no gravitational pull between the Earth and the moon you wouldn’t even see the moon because it would simply float away from its orbit.
Weight deals primarily with gravity. This is because the amount that an object weighs is directly based on the amount of gravitational force or the gravity that is pulling the object down. The stronger the pull of gravity is, the more the object will weigh. The weaker the pull of gravity is, the less the object will weigh. | <urn:uuid:b5114b5b-fe0c-4955-a0ad-7dd7c3b8c1c2> | {
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The nervous system is a very complex and intricate system. Each part is so well intermingled and connected that there is very little room for error. There are 6 different structures of nervous systems, they include;
Central Nervous System: This is made up of the brain and spinal cord, and is essentially the main core of our body.
Peripheral Nervous System: This is the connecting nerves within our central nervous system.
Autonomic Nervous System: This part controls involuntary activity in humans and vertebrates; for example the action of the heart and glands, breathing, digestive properties, and reflex actions.
Sensory Nervous System: This is the part of the nervous system which is responsible for environmental control, the control of our 5 senses. | <urn:uuid:f9d8aef7-ce62-4377-955e-77f6911733cf> | {
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UC Berkeley Integrative Biologist, Rasmus Nielsen and his colleagues, published a fascinating study in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution looking at hundreds of human genomes and the relative diets. They were even able to include the genomes of 101 Europeans from 5,000 years ago, during the Bronze Age as well as Neanderthals and Denisovan genes. The authors compared all these genomes, they found that two particular regions of DNA were under intense selection over the past several thousand years and changed rapidly in response to evolutionary pressures.
These two regions encode for two enzymes, fatty acid desaturase 1 and 2, or FADS1 and 2 for short. The FADS enzymes are known to regulate the conversion of short-chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids into long-chain PUFAs. Those FADS genes of Europeans dating back to the Bronze Age underwent mutations to produce to convert long-chain PUFAs compared to Neanderthals and other ancient humans. This suggests they sustained a new diet higher in vegetables and grains, which give short-chain PUFAs but need to be converted to long-chain PUFAs. Meat, on the other hand, provides long-chain PUFAs.
The genomes of northern Europeans, including Inuits, have FADS genes that convert fewer long-chain PUFAs, likely because their diets are already high in animal fats. Southern Europeans are optimized for a high-plant diet, resulting in a lower intake of arachidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, but a higher intake of linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid. But people from other areas, such as Greenlander, have a biochemistry that is better able to process lots of meat fat.
Nielsen hypothesis that the observed gradient in FADS genes are the result of the agricultural revolution. The dawn of agriculture, approximately 10,000 years ago, farmers provided food which lead to diets rich in wheat and vegetables. Suddenly, the human diet had diets higher in short-chain PUFAs and those who could convert short-chain PUFAs into long-chain PUFAs more efficiently were more likely to survive, and so their FADS genes were passed on.
Nielsen also examined FADS variants in Neanderthal and Denisovan genes. 40,000 years ago, FADS genes were a selective target in these ancient humans just as they are now. This suggests that either FADS variants pre-date the divergence of modern humans and Neanderthals or modern humans and Neanderthals both inherited the genetic variants by introgression with another undetermined species.
The FADS genes have continued rapidly changing as humans found new environmental niches across the planet, a stark contrast to the genetics of lactose tolerance. Lactose tolerance, or persistence of the lactase gene, as we all know is stronger among Northern Europeans who relied less on the agricultural revolution and domestication — something we would expect to see more prevalent amongst Southerners… Implying there is little overlap between people with veggie-friendly FADS genes and people with genes for lactase persistence. | <urn:uuid:cfc84dc3-ba83-4d8a-a777-db727cdc0d09> | {
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UC San Francisco researchers, in collaboration with the unique Brazilian Biobank for Aging Studies (BBAS) at the University of São Paulo, have shown that the earliest stages of the brain degeneration associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are linked to neuropsychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depression, loss of appetite, and sleep disturbances.
The findings — published in their final version October 15, 2018 in the print edition of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease following preliminary online publication in September — could lead to earlier diagnosis of AD and prove a valuable biomarker in the development of therapies to slow the course of the disease, the authors say, but may also have broader implications for understanding the biological basis of psychiatric symptoms in older adults.
Though commonly associated with memory loss and dementia, Alzheimer’s disease is actually a progressive neurodegenerative condition that can be detected in a brain autopsy decades before these classic cognitive symptoms occur. A “Holy Grail” of Alzheimer’s research is to develop treatments that could be given in the disease’s earliest stages to protect brain tissue from further loss and to slow or prevent the eventual development of dementia. However, the development of such drugs will require a better understanding of the biology that drives the first stages of the disease and the ability to diagnose patients early enough to prevent extensive loss of neural tissue.
Many studies have identified correlations between neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances and an eventual Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and some have even proposed that these symptoms could be used as biomarkers for the disease in its earliest stages. But the relationship between the two has remained murky. In fact, some researchers have proposed that depression and other psychiatric conditions, or even the drugs used to treat these conditions, could themselves be triggers that lead to the onset of dementia decades later, much like occasional seizures can contribute to the development of chronic epilepsy.
Now members of the lab of Lea Grinberg, MD, PhD in the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences’ Memory and Aging Center, working with their Brazilian colleagues, have shown that psychiatric symptoms are tightly linked to the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s brain pathology. These results strongly suggest that neuropsychiatric conditions or treatments do not cause Alzheimer’s, but could be the earliest warning signs of the disease.
“The discovery that the biological basis for these symptoms is the early Alzheimer’s pathology itself was quite surprising,” Grinberg said. “It suggests these people with neuropsychiatric symptoms are not at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease — they already have it.”
The research took advantage of São Paulo’s unique century-old autopsy service, which is mandated in all deaths and conducts approximately 15,000 autopsies per year. In 2003, as part of her doctoral research, Grinberg co-founded the BBAS to collect brain tissue samples from these autopsies, and BBAS has since grown to become the largest such resource in the world.
Most postmortem brain studies of AD use relatively small “convenience samples” from older individuals who already show signs of memory loss or dementia. Because multiple brain pathologies can accumulate with age, it can be difficult to tightly link specific AD-related symptoms to brain abnormalities detected in these samples. Thanks to the BBAS collaboration, however, Grinberg’s team was able to avoid these potential pitfalls by drawing from a much larger population, selecting brains from younger and healthier individuals, and excluding tissue samples with multiple competing pathologies.
In the new study, lead author Alex Ehrenberg, a neuropathology research associate in the Grinberg lab, worked closely with Claudia Suemoto MD, PhD, and other colleagues from the University of São Paulo to study the brains of 1092 seemingly healthy adults over the age of 50 who closely represented the general population of São Paulo. The researchers excluded 637 brains that showed neurological signs of brain abnormalities not related to AD, leaving 455 brains with either no signs of degeneration or a range of AD-related pathology.
AD pathology is characterized by buildup of telltale neurofibrillary (NF) tangles and amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques, paralleled by the atrophy of brain tissue in associated regions. The disease nearly always progresses in the same fashion, with NF tangles first appearing in brainstem regions associated with sleep, appetite, and emotional processing, while Aβ plaques first appear in cortical regions and then spread to deeper parts of the brain.
Ehrenberg and colleagues classified each of the 455 brains using standard scales of AD progression based on NF tangle and Aβ plaque accumulation. They then used statistical algorithms to test for a relationship between AD stage and reported changes in the brain donor’s cognitive and emotional status prior to their death, based on interviews with informants — typically relatives and caretakers — who had been in at least weekly contact with the deceased in the six months before their deaths, a gold-standard approach for neuropathological studies of degenerative brain diseases such as AD.
Ehrenberg’s computational analysis of the results found that in individuals whose brainstems showed the very earliest stages of NF tangles but lacked memory changes, family members and caretakers reported increased rates of one or more neuropsychiatric symptoms including agitation, anxiety, appetite changes, depression, and sleep disturbances, but lacked any noticeable memory problems. The next stage of the disease, as NF buildup increased in the brainstem and began to spread to other brain regions, was associated with increased odds of agitation, while only in later stages, as NF buildup began to reach the brain’s outer cortex, did the individuals begin showing signs of the dementia-like delusions and the cognitive and memory decline typically associated with AD.
Tellingly, the researchers found no link between buildup of Aβ plaques and these neuropsychiatric symptoms. Alzheimer’s researchers have long debated whether Aβ plaques or NF tangles — made up of clumps of a protein called “tau” — play an earlier or more central role in driving neurodegeneration in AD, and the authors believe the new findings add additional support for focusing on developing tau-targeted treatments, particularly given disappointing results from many recent trials of A?-targeted AD therapies.
“These results could have major implications for Alzheimer’s drug trials focused on early degenerative changes, where people have been seeking tractable clinical outcomes to target in addition to early cognitive decline,” Ehrenberg said. He added that the findings will also be valuable as new technologies become available for detecting early stages of AD pathology in living patients – such as blood biopsies or PET brain imaging of tau — to aid the implementation of such novel biomarkers into clinical practice.
To Grinberg, the discovery that psychiatric symptoms such as depression or sleep disturbance in older adults may be linked to a specific biological phenomenon — namely accumulation of tau protein into NF tangles in the brainstem — is as exciting as the implications for Alzheimer’s disease itself.
“Because we generally don’t know the biological basis for most psychiatric conditions, we can’t do what we do for other diseases like diabetes or cancer — we can’t say, ‘You are having depression or sleep problems because of this disease in your brain, so let’s see if we can treat that disease,'” Grinberg said. “If we could use this new knowledge to find a way to reduce the burden of these conditions in aging adults it would be absolutely huge.” | <urn:uuid:169c7d3d-71b2-41f6-bde6-44d0261e4193> | {
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Question: Consider the similarities and differences between component base
Consider the similarities and differences between component based design and construction of computer hardware (such as personal computers) and design and construction of computer software. Can the “plug-compatible” nature of computer hardware ever be achieved with computer software? Does your answer depend on the type of software (for example, system or application software)? Do differences in the expected lifetime of computer hardware and software affect the applicability or desirability of component-based techniques?
Answer to relevant QuestionsConsider a project to replace the student advisement system at your school with one that employs modern features (for example, Web-based interfaces, instant reports of degree program progress, and automatic course ...1. Which of the development approaches described in this chapter seem best suited to the project? Why? Plan the first six weeks of the project under your chosen development approach.2. What role will components play in the ...How does the use of the Internet, intranets, and extranets by companies today support their business processes and activities?Refer to the real world example about responsibility and accountability for project failures in the chapter. Are these IT projects or business projects with a significant IT component? Who should be responsible for ensuring ...1. How do information technologies contribute to the business success of Sew What? Inc.? Give several examples from the case regarding the business value of information technology that demonstrate this conclusion.2. If you ...
Post your question | <urn:uuid:6d1fb049-ef45-43d4-87a4-30e79eb57165> | {
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Young Kids May Be Able to Unbuckle Car Seats
Survey of Parents Finds Some Kids May Be Unbuckling While Car Is in Motion
May 2, 2011 -- Children as young as 1 year old can unbuckle themselves from car safety seats, a new survey of parents finds.
"We found that children can unbuckle from their child car safety seats by their fourth birthday, and there is an alarming 43% who do so when the car is in motion," says researcher Lilia Reyes, MD, a clinical fellow in pediatric emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven. "It was reported as early as 12 months."
The findings are being presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver.
Child Car Seats: How Secure?
While working in the pediatric emergency room at Yale, Reyes encountered two different mothers who had minor car accidents. They told her it happened when they turned their heads around after discovering their kids had unbuckled themselves.
Trying to determine how frequently it happened, she and her colleagues from Yale surveyed 378 parents of young children. Among the other findings:
- 51% or about 191 families reported that at least one of their children had unbuckled their car seats. Of these, 75% were age 3 or younger. The youngest was 12 months old.
- Boys unbuckled more than girls; 59% of the kids who unbuckled were boys.
Parents were not asked if they were sure they had buckled correctly, Reyes tells WebMD. So there is a possibility the children weren't buckled in correctly. But parents do typically hear a click, like a seat safety belt, when the buckle latches, she says.
The problem, she says, is that while children may be able to physically unbuckle the seat, they are just beginning, at around age 3, to develop reasoning skills to appreciate the consequences of unbuckling.
Parents used seats of various types. They included the five-point harness, convertible seats, and booster seats, depending on their child's age and weight.
Are Car Seats Really Buckled?
''This study raises questions about how the child restraint was used," says Lorrie Walker, training manager and technical advisor for Safe Kids USA, an advocacy group.
"Federal motor vehicle safety standard 213 requires the buckle to release using between 9 and 14 pounds of pressure," she says. "It is often challenging for an adult to unbuckle the harness."
She wonders if the buckle was not adequately locked in some cases.
"A buckle may give the appearance of being buckled when it has not completely latched," she tells WebMD.
Among the mistakes many parents make when placing a child in a car seat she says, is to loosely attach the harness straps or place the straps in the wrong harness slots.
If these mistakes occur, she says, it makes it easy for a child to climb out.
The finding that a child as young as age 1 could unbuckle the seat is a surprise to Jennifer Stockburger, program manager of vehicle and child safety for Consumer Reports. She reviewed the findings for WebMD but was not involved in the study. | <urn:uuid:bf010e52-2673-4816-a6a6-269d9a7121ee> | {
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INVESTIGATE:Why did the United States invade Cuba? (Read each source below, then answer the questions in the notebook. Ask your teacher for an inquiry organizer worksheet to help you think about the ways that the sources support and contradict each other.)
READ: Miss Cuba Receives an Invitation
Head Note: Miss Columbia (sitting) says to “her fair neighbor,” Miss Cuba (standing): "Won’t you join the stars and be my forty-sixth?" By December 1898, the U.S. had defeated the Spanish and the Treaty of Paris gave the U.S. control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. In 1901, Cuba was under U.S. military rule, Cubans were drafting their constitution, and the role of the U.S. in Cuba was being debated in both countries. | <urn:uuid:bb9a8e96-0055-48c8-a914-bc307a95fd16> | {
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Animal Species:Verreaux's Tree Frog
Verreaux's Tree Frog shows a great variety of colours and patterns across its range, but there are two main forms, the lowland and the highland.
The lowland form of Verreaux's Tree Frog is usually brown with black and yellow sides, and the mountain form is usually bright green with brown stripes.
Verreaux's Tree Frog is found in southern Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
Verreaux's Tree Frog is highly adaptable, living in a variety of habitats from mountain forests to coastal heath and open grasslands, often breeding in water-filled ditches.
The male Verreaux's Tree Frogs can be heard calling in the winter when other frogs are quiet. The call is a whirring, chirping 'weep...weep...weep...weep', increasing and then decreasing in volume.
Female Verreaux's Tree Frogs lay their eggs in ponds, sticking them in clumps to underwater vegetation.
Mating and reproduction
Verreaux's Tree Frog is unusual because breeding seems to occur all year round. | <urn:uuid:f1b2be7d-60de-46e4-8512-decbef059d83> | {
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Genomic toggle switches autoimmune diseases into distinct clusters, investigators learn
Genomic switches can predispose an individual to one set of autoimmune disorders but protect the same person against another set of them, scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have found.
“Maybe we should stop considering all autoimmune diseases in one lumped category,” said Atul Butte, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics and of biomedical informatics and director of the Center for Pediatric Bioinformatics at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. “It looks as if there may be at least two different kinds.”
Pairs of autoimmune diseases have been linked in clinical practice, Butte said. People with type-1 diabetes are routinely screened for autoimmune thyroid disease, for which they are known to be at heightened risk. But no one has ever known why.
A study published online Dec. 24 in PLoS-Genetics provides a genetic basis for this clustering effect, while extending it to show how two such clusters tend to be mutually exclusive. Butte, who is the study’s senior author, and his colleagues looked at data from several large genome-wide association studies of single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs: tiny genomic variations that constitute the genetic underpinning for inter-individual human differences from eye color to nose shape to personality quirks.
The human genome can be thought of as a 3-billion-unit-long sequence, with each unit consisting of one of four different chemical residues. At almost every specific location along two different people’s genomes, the resident chemical unit is the same. But at about one or two out of every 1,000 positions, the first person’s genome may boast one variety of chemical unit, while the second’s hosts another type. This single-unit difference is a SNP (pronounced “snip”).
There are several million SNPs in the human genome, making for a gigantic number of possible different versions of a human being, said the study’s lead author, Marina Sirota, a fourth-year PhD student under Butte’s supervision in Stanford’s Biomedical Informatics Program. In so-called genome-wide association studies, SNPs linked to disease susceptibility are found by assessing genomes from two large groups of people, one composed of patients with, say, rheumatoid arthritis or heart disease and another of people without the condition. If, at a given SNP location, the frequency of one particular chemical unit is significantly greater or smaller among the diseased people than in the healthy ones, that SNP is presumed to lie close to or within a biologically important genomic region that increases or diminishes genetic susceptibility to the disease, Sirota said.
In the past few years the industrial-scale characterization of SNPs has been hugely enhanced by sophisticated electronic devices called gene chips, pioneered at Stanford about a decade ago. Gene chips can quickly scan an individual’s genome to identify the chemical unit occupying each of more than a million SNP locations.
“More than 400 genome-wide association studies have been published since gene-chip technology took off a few years ago,” said Butte. From these published studies, Sirota, Butte and their colleagues culled about a half-dozen that had been conducted on patients with or without autoimmune diseases including type-1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune thyroid disease and a spinal condition called ankylosing spondylitis. The investigators restricted their attention to SNPs that were examined in all the studies they were focusing on.
That worked out to 573 SNPs. Of those, the researchers found 15 SNPs for which having a particular chemical unit at that site predisposed an individual to several autoimmune diseases.
That wasn’t surprising, said Sirota. “We had started out looking for just such similarities. What was surprising was our finding that at nine locations generally associated with autoimmunity risk, where a particular chemical unit conferred a heightened risk of certain autoimmune diseases, but reduced risk of getting certain others.”
For instance, a particular chemical unit at a SNP site shown to predispose people to multiple sclerosis also rendered them, as a group, more likely to have autoimmune thyroid disease, while the alternative chemical unit at the same site predisposed them to rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Most intriguing of all, people predisposed to one pair of diseases were protected against the other.
The scenario is akin to switches controlling banks of Christmas-tree lights. In addition to a master on/off switch that determines whether electricity (a general predisposition to autoimmune disease) will flow through the circuit, a second set of toggle switches determines whether, say, red or blue lights (one versus another autoimmune-disease cluster) will be on.
“As more genomic information becomes available on increasingly advanced platforms, this sort of analysis can be done on more diseases, possibly hundreds of them. Plus, the original set of 573 common SNPs we were able to inspect will grow much larger. So we’ll be able to find more relationships like these,” Sirota said.
Butte said finding SNPs predisposing people to one or another cluster of autoimmune diseases may help catch the onset of a disease earlier. “And if a patient has a particular autoimmune disease, this might help us know what else to screen that patient for, or guess whether a drug that works well in a different autoimmune disorder could be useful in treating this patient.”
It might also help guide drug development, he added. “Several of these nine interesting SNPs we’ve found are located in or near genes that code for molecules found on cell surfaces, which makes them potentially easier targets for the drugs pharmaceutical researchers are best at producing.”
Other Stanford co-authors were PhD student Marc Schaub and associate professor Serafim Batzoglou, PhD, of the computer science department, and William Robinson, MD, PhD, assistant professor of immunology and rheumatology. The study was funded by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Library of Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation.
Stanford Medicine integrates research, medical education and health care at its three institutions - Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care (formerly Stanford Hospital & Clinics), and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford. For more information, please visit the Office of Communication & Public Affairs site at http://mednews.stanford.edu. | <urn:uuid:e33debd6-7995-4c07-b558-d2c5896b7775> | {
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- Medicine Information and Evidence for Policy > Medicines Policy
- Medicine Access and Rational Use > Rational Use
(2003; 199 pages)
Once a formulation and method of manufacture have been developed, the temptation is to proceed with this design even if stability and/or bioavailability testing show that it is suboptimal. Probably at least a year will have passed by the time bioavailability studies are completed and stability studies produce meaningful long term results, during which time rival manufacturers will have been developing their own products. So how can a manufacturer increase the probability that a particular formulation will be successful in terms of consistent quality and regulatory compliance? Answer by - conducting a thorough review of relevant scientific literature and by undertaking preformulation studies.
Systematic preformulation studies on the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and on pilot formulations attempt to predict the viability of various formulations and methods of manufacture.
So what exactly are preformulation studies?
Preformulation studies include studies of:
- The physicochemical properties of manufactured batches of the API, and an assessment of their relevance to the final formulation
- The chemical and physical stability of the API
- The impurity profiles of the API, including the typical content of synthetic by-products and degradation products
- Chemical compatibility of the active with potential excipients
These studies give clues as to how to achieve the desired performance of the finished product.
Even after developing a formulation and method of manufacture on these principles, it is still necessary to confirm stability and bioavailability, but there is a smaller probability that the formulation will fail. If two or three formulations are developed in parallel, there is an even greater probability that one will be successful. Whilst there are costs associated with preformulation studies, they significantly minimize the risks of failure and increase the likelihood of producing a high quality product.
Outcomes to be expected from preformulation studies
The expected outcomes are that the product:
• Will deliver the drug to the site of action at the intended concentration.
• Will meet product specifications, including limits for content of drug and impurities, and suitable physicochemical tests such as dissolution rate, particle size of suspensions etc.
• Will be consistent from one dosage unit to another (eg tablet to tablet), from batch to batch, and from one manufacturing site to another. That includes consistent bioavailability.
• Will be chemically and physically stable for a suitable time period under convenient storage conditions. That is it continues to meet specifications.
• Can be manufactured at a cost that is consistent with the price that will be paid.
• As far as is possible, will be acceptable to the patient in terms of convenience and palatability.
Some specific benefits of conducting preformulation studies
Setting specifications for the API
With relevant in vitro information to hand, a manufacturer is in a better position to establish appropriate specifications for batches of the API so as to ensure an optimum and consistent performance for successive batches of the finished product.
Minimising development costs
By optimising the formulation before commencing costly bioavailability and bioequivalence studies, fewer such studies need be conducted.
Avoiding failures during long-term stability
Failure after say 2 or 3 years of long-term stability testing can set back a registration program significantly. Sound predictions as to the chemical and physicochemical stability of the active, and compatibility with excipients, other actives and the container, can minimize such failures.
Minimizing the need for in vivo bioavailability/bioequivalence studies
FDA s groundbreaking - development of the Biopharmaceutical Classification System 23 has narrowed the range of products for which bioavailability/bioequivalence studies must be conducted. In particular, BCS class 1 drugs can now avoid (or obtain a waiver of) in vivo (bioequivalence) studies. In Australia (and probably in other countries too), a drug s BCS classification is taken into account when deciding whether or not a bioequivalence study is needed for a new product or a change to an existing product24.
Biopharmaceutical classification involves determining:
1 The solubility of the active itself in aqueous media of various pH, and
2 The ability of the active to cross the gut wall (gastrointestinal permeability).
The more recent advent of biorelevant dissolution media in an attempt to better predict in vivo dissolution rate has the potential to extend this waiver to BCS class 2 drugs. Dressman et al25,26developed a series of these media, with some success in predicting the in vivo behaviour of different formulations of BCS Class II drugs, and alteration of their bioavailability in the presence of food. With more development, these studies may provide a means of optimizing formulations of BCS Class 2 drugs without the need for bioavailability or bioequivalence studies. As defined by Dressman et al, biorelevant dissolution media are of biological tonicity, pH and content of lecithin (mimicking bile salts). They attempt to reproduce conditions in the human stomach or proximal intestine.
In addition, development of suitable assay procedures is critical at this stage, both to ensure that the results of assay, stability and bioavailability and bioequivalence testing are sound, and so as to ensure that results are credible at the later (and critically important) regulatory stage. For the purposes of quality control and stability testing, assays must be established for each active in the presence of the others, thus requiring additional validation for specificity. Validated and specific methodology is needed for assays of drugs in a biological fluid, usually plasma. The presence of more than one drug complicates assays, especially for bioavailability studies when multiple metabolites and sometimes degradation products are also present.
Preliminary stability studies involve chemical, physicochemical and, when necessary, microbiological tests.
Stability studies are sometimes thought of as concerning only chemical stability but the stability of physicochemical and microbiological characteristics are also important. These are some examples of non-chemical characteristics that can change on aging:
- Particle size of suspensions (often 'disproportionation', that is big particles get bigger and small particles get smaller)
- Polymorphic form of the active when the active is present in solid form, eg in tablets, capsules, and suspensions
- Dissolution rate of solid dosage forms
- Preservative efficacy of multidose suspensions, both sterile and non-sterile
Failure to control the first three of these may compromise the rate and extent of absorption of the active.
It probably goes without saying that in general stability is reduced at higher temperature. For some drugs, stability is also reduced at high humidity.
An issue that occasionally rears it head is the acceptability of various excipients in different regulatory jurisdictions. WHO s Manual for a Drug Regulatory Authority discusses internationally available lists of acceptable excipients for different routes of administration27. Many authorities are vague on this point, and it is probably less of an issue in countries that do not have a strong DRA. | <urn:uuid:289a2a97-6e83-4c85-a231-2844e59bc9d6> | {
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Self-reconfiguring robots are no longer science fiction. Researchers at MIT are rapidly innovating shape-shifting robotic systems. In the August 2014 issue of Circuit Cellar, MIT researcher Kyle Gilpin presents M-Blocks, which are 50-mm cubic modules capable of controlled self-reconfiguration.
The creation of autonomous machines capable of shape-shifting has been a long-running dream of scientists and engineers. Our enthusiasm for these self-reconfiguring robots is fueled by fantastic science fiction blockbusters, but it stems from the potential that self-reconfiguring robots have to revolutionize our interactions with the world around us.
Imagine the convenience of a universal toolkit that can produce even the most specialized tool on demand in a matter of minutes. Alternatively, consider a piece of furniture, or an entire room, that could change its configuration to suit the personal preferences of its occupant. Assembly lines could automatically adapt to new products, and construction scaffolding could build itself while workers sleep. At MIT’s Distributed Robotics Lab, we are working to make these dreams into reality through the development of the M-Blocks.
The M-Blocks are a set of 50-mm cubic modules capable of controlled self-reconfiguration. Each M-Block is an autonomous robot that can not only move independently, but can also magnetically bond with other M-Blocks to form larger reconfigurable systems. When part of a group, each module can climb over and around its neighbors. Our goal is that a set of M-Blocks, dispersed randomly across the ground, could locate one another and then independently move to coalesce into a macro-scale object, like a chair. The modules could then reconfigure themselves into a sphere and collectively roll to a new location. If, in the process, the collective encounters an obstacle (e.g., a set of stairs to be ascended), the sphere could morph into an amorphous collection in which the modules climb over one another to surmount the obstacle. Once they have reached their final destination, the modules could reassemble into a different object, like a desk.
The M-Blocks move and reconfigure by pivoting about their edges using an inertial actuator. The energy for this actuation comes from a 20,000-RPM flywheel contained within each module. Once the motor speed has stabilized, a servomotor-driven, self-tightening band brake decelerates the flywheel to a complete stop in 15 ms. All of the momentum that had been accumulated in the flywheel is transferred to the frame of the M-Block. Consequently, the module rolls forward from one face to the next, or if the flywheel velocity is high enough, it rapidly shoots across the ground or even jumps several body lengths through the air. (Refer to www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOqjFa4RskA to watch the cubes move.)
While the M-Blocks are capable of independent movement, their true potential is only realized when many modules operate as a group. Permanent magnets on the outside of each M-Block serve as un-gendered connectors. In particular, each of the 12 edges holds two cylindrical magnets that are captive, but free to rotate, in a semi-enclosing cage. These magnets are polarized through their radii, not through their long axes, so as they rotate, they can present either magnetic pole. The benefit of this arrangement is that as two modules are brought together, the magnets will automatically rotate to attract. Furthermore, as one and then two additional M-Blocks are added to form a 2 × 2 grid, the magnets will always rotate to realign and accommodate the additional modules.
The same cylindrical magnets that bond neighboring M-Blocks together form excellent pivot axes, about which the modules may roll over and around one another. We have shown that the modules can climb vertically over other modules, move horizontally while cantilevered from one side, traverse while suspended from above, and even jump over gaps. The permanent magnet connectors are completely passive, requiring no control and no planning. Because all of the active components of an M-Block are housed internally, the modules could be hermetically sealed, allowing them to operate in extreme environment where other robotic systems may fail.
While we have made significant progress, many exciting challenges remain. In the current generation of modules, there is only a single flywheel, and it is fixed to the module’s frame, so the modules can only move in one direction along a straight line. We are close to publishing a new design that enables the M-Blocks to move in three dimensions, makes the system more robust, and ensures that the modules’ movements are highly repeatable. We also hope to build new varieties of modules that contain cameras, grippers, and other specialized, task-specific tools. Finally, we are developing algorithms that will allow for the coordinated control of large ensembles of hundreds or thousands of modules. With this continued development, we are optimistic that the M-Blocks will be able to solve a variety of practical challenges that are, as of yet, largely untouched by robotics.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kyle Gilpin, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Distributed Robotics Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he is collaborating with Professor Daniela Rus and John Romanishin to develop the M-Blocks. Kyle works to improve communication and control in large distributed robotic systems. Before earning his PhD, Kyle spent two years working as a senior electrical engineer at a biomedical device start-up. In addition to working for MIT, he owns a contract design and consulting business, Crosscut Prototypes. His past projects include developing cellular and Wi-Fi devices, real-time image processing systems, reconfigurable sensor nodes, robots with compliant SMA actuators, integrated production test systems, and ultra-low-power sensors.
Circuit Cellar 289 (August 2014) is now available. | <urn:uuid:6551e9c4-a608-4514-9661-33a0ef9776e5> | {
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Material properties are rooted in the structure of materials. Nano-structural materials have different properties then their bulk counterparts such as electronic structure, morphology, and surface chemistry, which directly affects the chemical activity, electronic conductivity, thermal conductivity, bonding structure and surface energy. Currently, our focus is on
- Carbon based materials, graphenes, nanographites, carbon blacks.
- Nano metal oxide particles, V2O5 nano rods and TiO2 nanoparticles.
- Pt nanoparticles as catalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells.
Background:With the pressing environmental requirements on reducing automobile emissions, it is more urgent than ever to find an alternative propulsion system (automobiles) with less emission than internal combustion engines. Recently rising oil prices accelerate the demand for this effort/exploration, not only for emissions, but also for higher energy efficiency and the use of alternative energy. Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEFCs) are the best candidates for automobile propulsion due to their ultimate cleanness—zero emissions and high energy efficiency (i.e.>65%)--- and their use of alternative fuels (i.e. hydrogen and methanol). The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is the essential core device of PEFCs, where the electricity is produced through hydrogen oxidization at the anode and oxygen (from air) reduction at the cathode. Although recent R&D efforts in PEFCs have been devoted to durability, developing a high-performance, low-cost, and durable MEA is still the central interest, since the performance and cost are limited by the MEA.
The MEA structure, which consists of two porous composite catalyst layers bonded onto a Nafion membrane electrolyte, is schematically shown in Figure 1. A Nafion membrane is a perfluorosulfonated polymer electrolyte. The composite catalyst layer of the MEA structure consists of a recast Nafion ionomer network (shown as threads) and the precious Pt metal catalyst nanoparticles (shown as black dots) sitting on the surface of carbon aggregates (shown as spheres). The Nafion ionomer network functions not only as a binder, but also as the necessary proton transport pathway.
Our research focus on:
- developing high performance MEA with low cost and high durability,
- degradation (i.e. stability of Pt nanoparticles, degradation of carbon support, degradation of Nafion ionomer network in catalyst layers, etc.),
- high performance catalysts.
Li metal rechargeable electrode. Li ion battery safety, failure mechanism.
Supercapacitors are energy storage devices typically used for high power applications. They are classified broadly in to electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) and redox reactions based pseudocapacitors. Our research focused on the new carbon materials for EDLCs and some oxides such as V2O5 for pseudocapacitors.
Gas Physical Adsorption for Hydrogen/Carbon Dioxide Storage
Gas physical adsorption on a solid adsorbent is reversible, safe, and energy-efficient and is the most promising process for storing hydrogen gas when compared to the other options (e.g. alkali metals with water, etc.). The essential principle of gas physisorption is the attraction between a gas molecule adsorbate and a solid adsorbent surface through a van der Waals force, which is a long-range weak force made up of a Keesom force (i.e. electrostatic interactions between charges, dipoles, and quadruples), induction, and a London force. The gas physisorption process is also a consequence of balancing two types of energy:
- The binding energy between gas molecule adsorbates and a solid adsorbent.
- The translational kinetic energy of free gas molecules, which drives the molecules to keep moving.
This translational kinetic energy possessed by the free gas molecules given by equipartition of energy is also called thermal energy (The term thermal energy will be used hereafter). The binding energy depends on the van der Waals interaction between the gas molecule and the solid sorbent, while the thermal energy of the molecule solely depends on the temperature. Gas molecules adsorb on the surface of solid sorbents only when the binding energy is greater than the thermal energy.
Our focus is on enhancing the interaction of sorbate gas molecule and the sorbent surface using the carbon based sorbents (i.e. graphene and active carbons), and metal organic frameworks (MOFs) to achieve the extremely high hydrogen and carbon dioxide absorption. | <urn:uuid:d2d58d9c-8dec-4c72-b5d3-da80bee1d471> | {
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Interior Announces Funding for New Scientific Studies as Part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan
Research Designed to Fill Knowledge Gaps, Provide Land and Wildlife Managers with Tools to Adapt to Climate Change
WASHINGTON, DC—Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today that Interior’s eight regional Climate Science Centers are awarding nearly $7 million to universities and other partners for research as part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon pollution, move our economy toward clean energy sources and begin to prepare our communities for the impacts of climate change.
The 50-plus studies, conducted with Fiscal Year 2013 funding, will focus on how climate change will affect natural resources as well as management actions that can be taken to help offset such impacts. The research will help guide managers of parks, refuges and other cultural and natural resources to plan how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change. A full list of the projects is available here.
“Even as we take new steps to cut carbon pollution, we must also prepare for the impacts of a changing climate that are already being felt across the country,” said Secretary Jewell. “These new studies, and others that are ongoing, will help provide valuable, unbiased science that land managers and others need to identify tools and strategies to foster resilience in resources across landscapes in the face of climate change.”
Each of the Department of the Interior's eight Climate Science Centers (CSCs) worked with states, tribes, federal agencies, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs), universities supporting the CSCs, and other regional partners to identify the highest priority management challenges in need of scientific input, and to solicit and select research projects.
The studies will be undertaken by teams of scientists, including individuals from the universities that comprise each CSC, from Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and from other partners such as the states, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USDA Forest Service, Indian tribes, and the LCCs in each region.
“The Climate Science Center projects exemplify the research needed to safeguard our country’s natural and economic resources as the climate changes,” said Suzette Kimball, acting director of USGS. “The selected projects grew from many conversations about the kinds of answers resource managers need to effectively respond to climate change, combined with the wellspring of expertise from USGS and university scientists that provides access to the best science to respond to these needs.”
Research projects funded through today’s announcement include: determining species, habitats and ecosystems most vulnerable to climate change and ways to make them more resilient; projecting climate change effects on stream flow and fish in different parts of the country; building science-based models to help land managers in different regions better focus their efforts where they are most needed; informing coastal conservation and restoration in the northern Gulf of Mexico; and studying issues such as fire and climate change, sea-level rise, coastal change, and effects of drought on fish and wildlife. Several studies address the potential effects on resources of concern to Native Americans, some by using traditional ecological knowledge to advance adaptation planning.
Last week USGS announced that, for the first time, maps and summaries of historical and projected temperature and precipitation changes for the 21st century for the continental U.S. are accessible at a county-by-county level on a website developed by the USGS in collaboration with Oregon State University.
The eight Interior Climate Science Centers form a national network and are coordinated through the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, located at the headquarters of USGS. CSCs and LCCs have been created under Interior's strategy to address the impacts of climate change on America’s waters, land, and other natural and cultural resources. Together, Interior's CSCs and LCCs are assessing the impacts of climate change and other landscape-scale stressors that typically extend beyond the borders of any single national wildlife refuge, national park or Bureau of Land Management unit and will identify strategies to ensure that resources across landscapes are resilient in the face of climate change.
Full list of projects and map showing the consortiums of universities involved in each CSC.
Projects by regional Climate Science Center:
Pacific Islands CSC
North Central CSC
South Central CSC
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After a 2012 course correction, efforts by ’s International Space Station program to develop a new universal docking system standard for use aboard the 15-nation orbital science lab and future deep-space exploration vessels is on track for an operational debut by 2017.
Rivals in’s efforts to develop a U.S. commercial crew transportation capability — ’s CST-100, Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser and the Dragon — are in line to initiate and wring out the new universal NASA Docking System (NDS). NASA is targeting 2017 for the first ISS commercial crew missions and planning two U.S. segment docking ports equipped to accept the new, non-proprietary system.
Several years of station operations with the Boeing-inspired Soft Impact Mating Attenuation Concept (Simac), which has replaced NASA’s in-house International Low Impact Docking System (Ilids) design, are envisioned to help qualify the NDS international standard for the rigors of deep space.
“That is the driving force, a more simplified design that is lighter overall, less costly,” says Mike Suffredini, NASA’s ISS program manager. “We want to fly beyond low earth orbit one day, and one of the tenants of the space station is to wring out critical systems at station before we use them for deep space.”
The NDS goal is to accommodate dockings between spacecraft with masses ranging from 5 to 350 metric tons.
The project began with an international docking system standards discussion by ISS Multilateral Control Board representatives in 2009 to encourage greater global cooperation in space, while establishing a more robust rescue capability.
In taking the project lead, NASA’sturned to Ilids prototyping underway within the center’s engineering directorate since the mid-1980s. Ilids, intended to eliminate the need for the jarring post-contact thrusting that accompanied shuttle dockings, was adopted in the mid-1990s as part of NASA’s ultimately cancelled X-38 ISS crew rescue vehicle, then NASA’s Orion capsule under the also cancelled Constellation program. One Ilids unit was installed at the base of the Hubble Space Telescope by astronauts in 2009 during a final shuttle servicing mission to the observatory.
However, Ilids was dropped in favor of Simac as the new international standard for the ISS and the post-Constellation Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle in 2012 to address several concerns.
Those included the width of the outer soft contact ring in the Ilids system that constricted the post docking passageway, or tunnel connecting the two joined spacecraft and through which astronauts and cargo pass; as well as weight and cost considerations, Suffredini says.
The Russians pushed to retain the current 800-mm (31.5-in.) width afforded by the probe-and-drogue system used by the Soyuz and Progress capsules as well as the Russian-derived androgynous peripheral attach system (APAS) used by the shuttle to dock with the ISS. Engineers with NASA, the agency’s Jacobs Engineering Group support team and Boeing assessed options for narrowing the width of the Ilids soft contact ring to meet the Russians’ request.
Unable to do so, ISS managers turned to an alternative, Simac, proposed by Boeing.
“It was clear we were struggling with our Russian colleagues to agree on the inner diameter,” Suffredini says. “So, we went back and looked at our requirements again and realized we could build a different system that meets our requirement without building a light impact docking system.”
Ilids relied on a network of magnets and software controls as part of the soft capture ring to lower the initial impact loads that drive the latches and actuators of the older APAS hardware.
Spacecraft dockings unfold in two stages — soft capture and hard capture, which typically take 20 min. The first joins the two vehicles. The second draws them together to form an airtight seal.
Simac is an actuator-driven latching system that meets the international system’s low impact requirements. One of those was to join a pair of space vehicles as light as five metric tons each. Simac features two rather than six electronics boxes. The lower weight opens up the center of gravity, another concern for multiple vehicle docking operations.
However, Simac, which has reached the pre-preliminary design phase, will not eliminate all post-contact thrusting.
“We prefer not to do them [post-contact thrusting], but the spec does not prevent them. The early data says for nominal docking you will not have a need for that,” Suffredini says. “But as we explore the outer envelope of all the different conditions and modes, with the angles and contact conditions, we will have to see if some thrusting is required for certain occasions. That is certainly okay.”
Simac’s lower complexity helps to address the larger goal of creating a non-proprietary spec that will support production by multiple U.S. suppliers, while enabling it to be copied globally.
The NASA Docking System, as currently conceived, will require changes to the station’s two U.S. segment APAS-equipped docking ports. The ISS docking adapter (IDA), which is in production, will modify the APAS inner ring soft capture mechanism to accommodate commercial crew vehicles with Simac, Suffredini says.
The IDAs should be ready for station delivery in 2015, according to his estimates. The Simac docking hardware should be ready a year later, and NASA will likely provide the early production units to the winning commercial crew transportation initiative participants.
As far as Ilids, the development effort is being archived so that it could be available to the commercial sector, perhaps through a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA.
“If someone would like it for whatever reason, I’m sure we could work out a SAA,” Suffredini says. “We have no conversations like that going on right now.” | <urn:uuid:2e40cef5-77b9-4285-a9f2-5711401330c1> | {
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Republican Party candidate for President, Donald Trump, has claimed that the elections in the USA are or may be rigged. A “rigged” election means there is planned organized fraud. Voting fraud can take place if:
1) ballots are cast by persons not eligible,
2) ballots are not counted,
3) the counting is fraudulent,
4) potential voters are prevented from voting,
5) voting requirements are too restrictive or costly, such as with excessively long lines.
6) malfunction in voting equipment (hanging chads, electrical problems with voting machines).
7) Gerrymandering: voting districts manipulated to maximize the vote of a party.
In the USA, controversial election outcomes date back to the New York gubernatorial election of 1793. The US presidential election of 1876 was disputed.
In 1886 Henry George campaigned for mayor of New York City, where he polled second, more than Republican candidate Theodore Roosevelt. The election was won by the Tammany Hall candidate Abram Hewitt by what many of George's supporters believed was fraud. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_George>
Voting fraud has been alleged in the 1960 US presidential election, especially in Chicago. But according to an article in Slate, “Completed Dec. 9, the recount of 863 precincts showed that the original tally had undercounted Nixon's ... votes, but only by 943, far from the 4,500 needed to alter the results.” However, “some fraud clearly occurred in Cook County. At least three people were sent to jail for election-related crimes.” <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2000/10/was_nixon_robbed.html>
In the 2004 election between George W. Bush and John Kerry, there were claims of voter fraud for the victory by Bush <http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/2004votefraud_ohio.html>. But an article in Salon shows that some of the claims are lacking in evidence <http://www.salon.com/2006/06/03/kennedy_39/>.
The 2000 election vote for Bush v. Gore is controversial, but a study by CNN concludes that “Taken as a whole, the recount studies show Bush would have most likely won the Florida statewide hand recount of all undervotes. Undervotes are ballots that did not register a vote in the presidential race.” However, “Gore likely would have won a statewide recount of all undervotes and overvotes, which are ballots that included multiple votes for president and were thus not counted at all.” <http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/31/politics/bush-gore-2000-election-results-studies/>.
In the USA, systemic nation-wide voter fraud is unlikely because of the decentralized voting. But local voting fraud is clearly possible, especially since there is little assurance that the voter registrations are accurate and all votes are properly counted. Voting can be manipulated by not having enough locations, such as in low-income areas, as long lines discourage voting. If an ID is required, then the government should make it easy to obtain one. Voting machines that lack paper back-ups can make it impossible to verify that the programming is accurate.
The potential for voter fraud is inherent in mass voting. Outside the US there have been many cases of ballot fraud. A long list of controversial elections is at <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_controversial_elections>.
Mass democracy can become a sham when there is voting, but the candidacy and participation are limited. There have been dictators who have used sham elections for the pretext of getting political legitimacy, with absurd results of nearly 100% in favor.
The ultimate remedy is to replace mass democracy with voting that only takes place in neighborhood cells or groups small enough so that the counting of paper ballots can be witnessed. Small-group democracy, or cellular democracy, would best limit the voting to electing a neighborhood council, rather than the dozens of propositions and candidates a typical American voter is confronted with.
Thomas Jefferson called this system “Ward republic.” “The concept was inspired by the traditional practice in England and other feudal European countries to organize people below the county level into what were called ‘hundreds’, ... a geographic group of a few hundred individuals and their families.” <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_republic>.
So long as we suffer from mass democracy, significant voter fraud will remain a possibility, along with demagogs, special-interest influence, and corruption.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
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Flutrackers is an online platform that gather information about infectious diseases from journals, news sources and citizens around the world. It was started in 2006 by a diverse group of volunteers, initially interested in investigating seasonal influenza, novel influenza, and chikungunya. In later years, we expanded our range by including other health threats such as the Ebola and Zika viruses, and drug resistant bacteria.
The platform is essentially an early warning system. Its members track media reports and other information to monitor global health status, looking for variances in normal disease patterns and trends. They provide support for health institutions through a constant surveillance activity. Their volunteers use their knowledge and experience in disease tracking to determine which information and data is pertinent.
They live in many different countries and publish daily in Italian, Dutch, French, and English. Many – but not all – of them are health professionals. They are a grassroots charity and our common goal is to lessen mortality and morbidity.
Key in their mission to lessen suffering is their belief that public health and human rights are connected. Access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation (toilets) for all humans could greatly improve global public health and diminish the effects of many of the diseases that we follow.
As highlighted in their mission statement, they are dedicated to the public health of the world’s citizens by advancing policies, protocols, innovations, and practices that improve the health of vulnerable populations. They will enhance the health of communities by informing, educating, developing and maintaining integrated programs. Moreover, they recognize and stress the importance of the relationship between human rights and health status.
“Joining the Flutrackers forum was a key step in my career” says Stefano Prandoni, Flutrackers senior moderator and editor. “It allowed me to get in touch with an international and well-established community, whose reputation was based on a long-standing experience in epidemic surveillance, and whose documentation was meticulous and evidence-based”.
New pathogens appear, old ones reemerge or broaden their range. Such events cause emergencies that need to be tackled promptly. In order to fight such threats it is thus crucial to have efficient surveillance tools, especially in those countries where – due to weak governments and the lack of well-organized healthcare facilities – a failure or a delay in communicating the risk to global health institutions may increase the dangerousness of infectious diseases outbreaks.
Unfortunately, global health crisis like SARS or avian flu were followed by a growing tendency – even amongst healthcare professionals – to underestimate the risk posed by these phenomena. If the consequences of these events have not been as dramatic as we were expecting, it is just a matter of good luck. In absence of proper preparedness plans, we run the risk of being overwhelmed by future emergencies.
FluTrackers President and Editor-in-chief
FluTrackers Senior Moderator and Editor | <urn:uuid:068fd0a9-9490-4da0-930b-7c1819da9ad9> | {
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The US Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture’s (VIDA) Forestry Division has been providing services to private forest landowners, and to community groups involved with forestry projects, since 1998. In 2008 the Congress of the United States of America enacted the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act. This Act included an amendment to the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978. The amendment required each State and Territory to provide a Statewide Assessment of Forest Resources and a Statewide Forest Resources Strategy to the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA, by June 2010. The Forestry Division of the VI Department of Agriculture produced a 215-page document, the US Virgin Islands Forest Resources Assessment and Strategies, to meet this legal requirement.
This document outlines the status of the forests of the Virgin Islands, identifies goals for the Forestry Division, and outlines strategies needed to reach those goals. Most of these goals can be reached through the three primary programs undertaken by the Forestry Division, including: the Urban and Community Forestry Program; the Forest Stewardship Program; and the Forest Legacy Program. All of these forestry programs are funded by grants to the VI Department of Agriculture from the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and administered through the International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. These programs are described below:
URBAN & COMMUNITY FORESTRY PROGRAM
The forest ecosystem of the Virgin Islands can best be described as sub-tropical dry forest, but each individual island retains a unique combination of flora and associated fauna due to weather patterns, size, and topography. As tourism is the main economy of the Virgin Islands and there is no timber industry to speak of, forest resources serve the community through their aesthetic qualities - providing the distinctly ''tropical'' look that visitors to the islands seek. The Virgin Islands urban forests also provide precious shade for the community and often play a large role in food production as many tropical trees provide edible fruit. Urban trees significantly reduce pollution from vehicles by absorbing exhaust, absorbing heat from concrete areas, controlling and subduing noise, increasing property values, and cutting air conditioning costs. New research has shown that urban areas that have trees and other types of green space have lower crime rates, and such green spaces contribute to residents’ improved physical and mental health.
The Urban and Community Forestry Program of the Virgin Islands offers opportunities to provide and enhance the islands' urban forests. The main focus of the program for its eleven years of operation has been the provision of small grants to organizations interested in projects that improve the VI urban forest, through tree planting, tree preservation, educational workshops, and skills trainings. While funding these projects is an essential component of the Program, there is much potential for work in other areas, such as direct outreach and education, organization of tree planting efforts in communities, and working on a tree ordinance for the territory.
The work of the Urban & Community Forestry Program is coordinated by the Urban & Community Forestry (U&CF) Coordinator, who works for the Forestry Division, and overseen by the USVI Urban & Community Forestry (U&CF) Council, a not-for-profit organization of Territory residents who represent government agencies, environmental organizations, natural resource professionals, and other local organizations.
Each year, the Urban & Community Forestry (U&CF) Program announces the availability of grants for urban forestry projects. Organizations and agencies in the US Virgin Islands may apply for grants up to $20,000. Grants require a 1-to-1 match to the amount requested; however, matches may be met through in-kind donations and volunteer time. Grant awards will be made on a competitive basis. The deadline for application submissions are twice each year, on the first business Monday of May and the first business Monday of November. Grant proposals are due into the main office of the VI Department of Agriculture by 5:00 pm on these two days.
The U&CF Program is designed to encourage citizen involvement in urban and community forestry projects throughout the Territory. The Program seeks proposals for project funding from local government, nonprofit organizations, civic and/or educational organizations, including but not limited to schools, homeowners’ associations, service clubs, and environmental organizations. The U&CF Program is looking for projects in the following areas:
PLEASE NOTE: The U&CF Program does NOT fund strictly agricultural projects. Projects must have a major forestry component to be eligible for funding.
Every application submitted to the U&CF Program is evaluated by a team of natural resource professionals who provide a score for each proposal to the U&CF Council. The Council meets to decide which applications will be awarded funding. All applicants will receive a letter from the U&CF Coordinator within six weeks of receipt of their applications giving the results. If your project is awarded funding, the U&CF Coordinator will provide you with additional information to manage your project.
Urban & Community Forestry Coordinator
FOREST STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM
The Forest Stewardship Program has provided technical assistance to Territory forest landowners since 1998. By providing natural resource management plans and technical assistance to landowners, the program promotes wise use and active management of forest resources in the United States Virgin Islands. Guided by practical information about their properties, landowners are encouraged to implement practices that promote economic, social, and ecological benefits on their forested land. The program offers alternative management incentives for landowners to manage their forest resources for the long term. Landowners who actively manage their properties according to the Forest Stewardship Program management plan are offered a reduction in property taxes, as the government of the Virgin Islands recognizes the benefits of forested land and responsible resource use.
In 2000, the program organized the US Virgin Islands Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee (FSCC). This body of influential Territorial natural resource professionals meets quarterly to approve forest management plans and guide the work of the Forest Stewardship Program. More than 1,000 acres of forested lands on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John are now managed responsibly under the Forest Stewardship Program.
The Forest Stewardship Program works primarily with private landowners who have at least three acres of forested land and who agree to manage their forested land for a period of ten (10) years in accordance with the management plan developed by the Forest Stewardship Program Coordinator and the landowner, working together. The Forest Stewardship Program Coordinator meets with landowners, discusses their goals for the property, advises on other goals that are considered important to the process, and makes direct observations about the plant and animal species found on the property. The Coordinator presents the plan to the FSCC, whose members review the plan, make corrections/changes, and finally approve the plan. Once the plan is approved, the Forest Stewardship Pledge is signed by both the landowner(s) and the Territorial Forester. Participants in forest stewardship continue to have access to technical assistance, both from the Coordinator and other members of the FSCC, as needed. They also agree to allow the Coordinator to visit their properties on an annual basis, in order to determine that landowners are implementing the plan. These visits allow the Coordinator to approve tax exemptions on properties with active plans for the previous calendar year.
FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM
The Forest Legacy Program seeks to identify and preserve land in a forested state, either by outright purchase or by purchase of easements or deed restrictions that limit development on the land. By identifying landowners in priority areas who are willing to sell their property (or development rights), the program plans to preserve ecologically, historically, and culturally important forested land. Priority tracts of land were identified by the Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee (FSCC) after public meetings and discussions with natural resource professionals through an Assessment of Need (AON) process. In 2009 the FSCC members reviewed the AON and determined that it needed just minor editing to be useful for an additional five years. Priority areas identified through the Statewide Assessment of Forest Resources are now targeted for future Forest Legacy proposals. As always, approval from the President and Congress is required to purchase land under this program. Upon approval, the VI Department of Agriculture is authorized to perform all the duties necessary to purchase land and/or easements according to guidelines from USDA. The Department will then hold title to and manage the land for maximum public benefit. These lands will be considered 'working' forests, and will be managed as such.
At present, six priority areas for conservation under the Forest Legacy Program in the US Virgin Islands have been identified: on St. Croix, the northwestern corner and east end; on St. Thomas, the north shore and the west end; and on St. John, the east end and the south shore. The northwestern comer of St. Croix was chosen as the number one priority tract for Forest Legacy for the whole US Virgin Islands.
The FSCC works with landowners in the priority areas to identify properties that should be protected in perpetuity. It is a requirement that land purchased using federal funds must have a 25% local match to those funds. This match may be met through donations of land, donations of conservation easements, or cash.
Every year the Forest Stewardship Program Coordinator submits a proposal to the US Forest Service for funding to purchase lands in a priority area in the Territory. As this is a competitive process, funding is not available every year. So far, funds have been awarded to the US Virgin Islands in 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2010, for a total of nearly $3 million. The Program is also responsible for eliciting the donation of a 30-acre conservation easement on the island of St. Croix that is being managed by a partner, the Trust for Virgin Islands Lands, Inc.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS CONTACT: | <urn:uuid:6d7e03ad-c2d2-4ccc-a643-3c578c7bb35f> | {
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By Hank Rubin, Co-Founder, Institute for Collaborative Leadership*
Nearly every facet of education demands effective collaboration.
If we adopt the time-tested definition that "A collaboration is a purposeful relationship in which all parties strategically choose to cooperate in order to achieve shared or overlapping objectives" (first published in Collaboration Skills for Educators and Nonprofit Leaders,1998), then everything from teaching and learning, curricular planning, building management, parental engagement, school-community/school-business partnerships, board leadership, policy development, and school reform rises and falls on the capacity of education professionals to build and manage successful collaborative relationships.
One would expect that, as educators, we would understand collaboration deeply. But, as we look at the collaborations we need to lead schools, build curricula, strengthen instructional teams, engage parents and community, develop policy, transform failing schools, and build public support for successful schools, overwhelming evidence suggests: not so much!
You and I know people who are born with attributes that appear to make collaboration easy; like the teacher born with such a talent for empathy that students seem to connect with almost preternatural ease. But folks aren't born with the set of skills, the knowledge and strategic sensibilities, or the habits and intentional behaviors needed for ... | <urn:uuid:aca78f2e-e36f-4f7b-b287-01c600805197> | {
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Liao River geographical name
River, Liaoning province and Inner Mongolia autonomous region, China. The East Liao rises in the mountains of Jilin province and the West Liao in southeastern Inner Mongolia. They merge and flow southwest as the Liao to empty into the Gulf of Liaodong, after a course of 836 mi (1,345 km). The river's drainage basin occupies 83,000 sq mi (215,000 sq km). It is navigable by small boats for about 400 mi (645 km) from its mouth.
This entry comes from Encyclopædia Britannica Concise.
For the full entry on Liao River, visit Britannica.com.
Seen & Heard
What made you look up Liao River? Please tell us what you were reading, watching or discussing that led you here. | <urn:uuid:b9850d7b-7f74-439d-aa2e-930af4b04726> | {
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Wales is a beautiful land of hills, valleys, and ancient castles. It is a part of the United Kingdom. The other three parts of the United Kingdom are England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Wales is called Cymru in the Welsh language. Cardiff is the capital. English is the main language, but some people still speak Welsh. Most of the Welsh people are Protestant.
Wales borders England on the east and on the other three sides it is surrounded by water. Wales’s many mountains—including the highest one, Snowdon—were formed mostly from volcanic rock. There are fabulous cliffs and sandy beaches along the coast. The Severn, Wye, and Dee are the longest rivers. The climate is cool and wet. | <urn:uuid:70e87f80-32df-44e2-9296-0a57d172f534> | {
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As my previous questions have indicated, I am working on an air quality problem where I have a dataset of industrial emissions that consists of a location (long, lat), and an annual volume of emissions in pounds or tonnes.
The end result that I am looking for is a 'dispersion raster' that will provide an aggregate value of emission dispersion (see below) based on overlapping 11KM buffers, where the dispersion value of each buffer is aggregated wherever the buffers (2, up to 57!) overlap.
I am trying to understand how I can model the dispersion of emissions, from the emissions source, through a simple linear decay model where the dispersion at a point (away from the emissions source) is ((1-d)/(11000m)) (from Hystad 2011 - "Environmental Health Perspectives") where d = the distance to the emissions source in meters.
I envision creating a buffer around each emissions point (and have done so, see below) but do not know how to apply the above formula to the buffer. Once the buffer has that formula, thus providing a range of values that degrade to zero as you move from the emissions source, I would like to aggregate all the values (through the vertical or Z) of overlapping buffers.
For instance, the attached image provides a view of the emissions sources (red dots) and the buffers (the grey buffers are 'low values' and the red 'high'). How would I create buffers that decay from the emissions point by ((1-d)/(11000m))? Once these are created, how could I calculate the aggregate (i.e. the exposure from all the buffers that overlap a point) exposure value at a point, as represented by the blue dot.
This is hard to explain, so please ask questions! Thanks! | <urn:uuid:4735c1a5-5f1f-4cbf-9e64-c08ab545739f> | {
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Where Am I Going?
As students go through the K-12 experience, it is important for them to determine their individual strengths and realize passions. This insight will help guide their career choice and determine which postsecondary path would best. Our students have the opportunity to participate in this planning by following their Student Learning Plan.
Step 1: Discover Possibilities
Students can begin by asking:
What are my interests? What do I like to do? What do I aspire to be?
To help answer these questions, FCPS students have access to Naviance Student. This tool helps students discover their interests and learn about careers, career pathways, and career clusters. Students will be able to view specific job tasks and qualifications for careers along with an example of the high school Program of Study. To get started, these are the assessments that students can take: Career Interest Profiler and Career Cluster Finder. These resources allow students to reflect on results and explore interests. Students will learn more about themselves and their likes and dislikes, as well careers they may enjoy.
What am I good at? How do I determine my strengths? StrengthsExplorer is a research-based assessment that provides students with the opportunity to discover their natural talents. This assessment is also found in Naviance Student.
Step 2: Explore Opportunities
Check out career resources:
What are the Career Opportunities? What careers are needed within our society?
Some useful resources include:
- National Workforce Outlook - Bureau of Labor statistics provide the outlook on jobs and careers, along with earning potential.
- Local Workforce Outlook - Northern Virginia Local Workforce Research provides research on the labor market in the local Northern Virginia area, including forecasts and trends in growing industries, top hiring employers, educational and skill requirements, and average salaries.
Within Naviance Student, students can explore careers by searching Career Clusters; this is a way of grouping careers with common features and skills. Careers grouped into the same cluster typically require similar education and training. Exploring clusters can be a useful way to find a good career match, especially if you have general areas of interest but are not sure what specific careers match those interests. Career Clusters can also help you better understand how your coursework in school can prepare you for certain types of careers.
Explore RoadTrip Nation: Here students can begin a journey of self-discovery to help figure out who they are and what they love to do. It is possible to search by interest, theme, and by industry leaders. Check out RoadTrip playlists and online TV through Naviance Student.
Naviance Student provides career pathways and employment outlook for career clusters.
Step 3: Align Possibilities with Opportunities
Make informed decisions for the future:
Now that students understand their strengths and interests, discovered possibilities, and explored career opportunities, they are ready to plan for the future, and set a path toward a fulfilling life. Ready, set, go!
Note: The resources found within Naviance Student are supplemental to the services provided by FCPS staff members. | <urn:uuid:286d50df-bfd3-4f7c-817c-8bf6e22d9e3c> | {
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Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, JudithAug 9, 2016 by Israel Drazin Hardcover (Gefen)
Each of these books is named for a woman who is a major protagonist. Thus, many modern readers will want to think about the way the books and the Bible generally portray women. Drazin's commentary on each book will help the reader with this issue and with many other historical, literary, and theological issues in these fascinating books. There is something of earthiness and sexuality in each of the three books, shared with some of the other books of the Bible. Thus in a pivotal scene, Ruth approaches one evening her husband to be, Boaz, alone on the threshing floor in her most appealingly sexual attire and spends the night. Drazin shows the reader differences in commentarial views of what transpires. Most modern readers will have little doubt. The book of Esther involves a queen who loses her throne for her failure to appear naked, according to many sources, before a group of revelers assembled by the king. Esther is beautified with cosmetics, ointments, and finery for a year and then appears before the king to win his heart and libido and become the new queen. Judith, a widow without children, knows the ways of men and famously seduces Holofernes, a general intent on doing the Israelites ill, and cuts off his head.
“Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, and Judith” is part of a larger series that explores questions that have puzzled readers of the Bible for centuries. Rabbi Israel looks at why Ruth and Esther were included in the Jewish Bible while the Book of Judith, which has a more openly religious character than either Ruth or Esther, was not and only appears in the Jewish apocrypha.
Drazin’s has divided is book into three units, one on each of the three books and then each unit is further divided into chapters that give an overview of each book and explore key themes in greater detail. Looking at the book of Ruth, for example, we read the textual evidence that suggests that Ruth did not convert to Judaism, despite Rabbinic interpretation which identifies her as an early convert. “The book of Ruth not only does not indicate that Ruth converted, it states seven times that she remained a Moabite—including twice in the final chapter. In fact. Boaz calls her a Moabite when he speaks about marrying her.”
In his analysis of the Book of Esther Drazin identifies several inconsistencies in the story and shows its pagan origins. For example, the primary practices of Purim (feasting, drinking, and sending gifts) mimic the practices of King Ahasuerus. Furthermore, the author notes that Esther is a reticent heroine and that Mordechai’s valor that is praised at the story’s conclusion and Esther’s. Nowhere does it say that there is a requirement to read the Book of Esther.
Judith is included in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bible, while it is only included in the Protestant and Jewish apocrypha even though each of Judith’s sixteen chapters has references to God and prayer observances while Ruth and Esther, contain little or nothing about God or religion. Drazin gives us a review of the book’s plot and concludes by focusing on Judith’s heroism of Judith in defeating Holofernes and liberating the Judeans from foreign rule.
The rest of the book looks at why Judith was not included in the Jewish bible Drazin gives us several reasons that have been suggested in the past, many deal with Rabbinic Judaism’s discomfort with a strong female protagonist. However, he does not accept this and suggests that the real reason comes from Rabbinic Judaism’s dislike of a “proactive theology that denied a reliance on God”.
As a whole, we get new insights and a comparative analysis of three books with a female protagonist but I must say that I found what makes this book so interesting is that it introduces us to the Book of Judith. | <urn:uuid:5de87642-71c1-4b9c-a78d-96c3f45d5ed5> | {
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The Chamorros, the original inhabitants of Guam, did not use flags, nor was any Guamanian flag created while Guam was ruled by Spain (1521–1898). Guam came under U.S. administration following the Spanish-American War of 1898 and was formally given territorial status in 1950. The U.S. entry into World War I inspired Helen L. Paul, the wife of a U.S. naval officer stationed in Guam, to design a territorial flag. It resembled many U.S. state flags in that it had an emblem (also created by Paul) centred on a blue field. The emblem’s shape resembles the slingshot stones once used by the Chamorros for hunting and sport. The scene shows the Hagåtña (Agana) River mouth with a coconut palm in the foreground. Two Lovers’ Leap, the cliff in the background, recalls a traditional story. A form of outrigger canoe formerly in use completes the design.
This flag was officially adopted by the territorial government on July 4, 1917, and was reconfirmed on May 12, 1931. Japanese forces occupied Guam for nearly three years during World War II. In commemoration of the hardships endured during that period, a red border was added to the flag on February 9, 1948. | <urn:uuid:420eca5b-7632-4799-aba1-0fc32334d475> | {
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English Literature AS/A2 at Onslow St Audrey`s School
This course provides a thorough
grounding in the English Literature
of the last four centuries, an
excellent basis for further study or entry into a range of professions.
This course provides opportunities to discuss literature within
historical, social and cultural contexts. It develops an understanding
of the approaches and methods needed to analyse literary texts.
You will need a genuine interest in literature, secure writing skills,
an open mind and a willingness to enter into debate and discussion.
In the first year, you will study two narrative novels, a selection
of poetry from two named poets and produce two pieces of
coursework based on the genre of Tragedy.
In the second year you will study a minimum of three texts
including a post 1800 novel and poetry or drama 1300 – 1800.
These texts will be taken from two broad categories: either
elements of the gothic or elements of the pastoral. You will also
study critical approaches to literature and produce two pieces
of coursework on a choice of texts which will demonstrate
A passion for reading is essential when undertaking this course.
English GCSE A*-C*APS: 40 or above
How to apply
If you want to apply for this course, you will need to contact Onslow St Audrey`s School directly. | <urn:uuid:150295c7-5602-4b38-afc7-6147d8c14967> | {
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Discover the amazing ability of curcumin (turmeric) to
fight chronic disease
Discover the amazing ability of curcumin (turmeric) to fight chronic disease
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) For thousands of years, ancient cultures throughout Asia have been using turmeric, also known as curcumin, to spice up food — and today, curcumin is used throughout the world. But this relative of ginger is hardly just a flavor enhancer, as studies continue to show that curcumin contains powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, and even anti-cancer properties that render it a powerful, disease-fighting medicine in addition to being a culinary spice.
A mixture of natural resin and turmeric oil, curcumin and the science behind its effects on the body continue to captivate the attention of scientists who have unveiled quite a bit about its healing capacities. Though it has long been used in traditional medicine, scientists have only recently within the past several decades uncovered the specifics of how curcumin works in the body to prevent and treat disease.
Curcumin fights harmful bacteria, bad cholesterol, and disease-causing inflammation
A 1949 paper published in the journal Nature is one of the earliest known studies to identify curcumin’s powerful antibacterial properties. In it, the authors found that curcumin effectively targets Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella paratyphi, Trichophyton gypseum, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Later in the 1970s, researchers found that curcumin is also effective at keeping cholesterol levels in check, fighting diabetes, relieving disease-causing inflammation, and targeting health-destroying free radicals. And by the 1980s, it was discovered that curcumin is also a powerful remedy for preventing and treating cancer, as it regulates the expression of genes that contribute to tumorigenesis, cell survival, cell proliferation, invasion, and angiogenesis.
Curcumin improves cell communication throughout the body
The human body is composed of an intricate network of cells that communicate with one another to promote growth, fight disease, process nutrients, create hormones, and perform other vital functions. This is accomplished via signaling molecules present throughout the body that act as messengers for cells, constantly delivering crucial information back and forth between them.
And curcumin has been shown to directly influence many of these signaling molecules, including inflammatory molecules, transcription factors, enzymes, protein kinases, protein reductases, carrier proteins, cell survival proteins, drug resistance proteins, adhesion molecules, growth factors, receptors, cell cycle regulatory proteins, chemokines, DNA, RNA, and metal ions (http://cms.herbalgram.org/herbclip/449/021237-449.html).
When cells fail to communicate properly, all sorts of diseases can emerge. Diabetics, for instance, suffer from their condition because of a breakdown in pancreatic cell communication, which is responsible for producing insulin. And individuals with multiple sclerosis suffer from a failure of nerve cells to adequately send information from one section of the brain to another (http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/badcom/).
Supplementing with curcumin is a great way to help prevent a myriad of diseases
All in all, supplementing with curcumin is an excellent way to avoid diseases of all kinds. From ulcers and cardiovascular disease to gastrointestinal disorders and cancer, curcumin is an excellent source of health-promoting nourishment that offers multiple benefits. And best of all is the fact that curcumin is relatively inexpensive, even when purchased as a supplement in capsule form.
Sources for this article include: | <urn:uuid:314603c9-7b51-40a0-8b82-4a8a21797ba4> | {
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This tool was designed to calculate the risk associated with manual material handling tasks. The certified professional ergonomists at Humantech developed the htLiftCalc application, available on iTunes, to perform the NIOSH Lifting Equation whenever needed.
In 1991, NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) developed the NIOSH Lifting Equation to help identify physical stressors associated with manual material handling and lifting tasks. By some estimates, manual material handling is the biggest contributor to worker injury in the U.S. According to the 2012 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, overexertion injuries, which include injuries related to lifting, are the most disabling of all workplace injuries, accounting for $13.4 billion in direct costs. As a result, the NIOSH model has been widely used by industrial safety professionals since its creation.
The new app from Humantech is available in both metric and standard measurement. It can be used at the job site to evaluate both existing and proposed lifting conditions to determine the Recommended Weight Limit (RWL) for a specific job or task, and it can identify those jobs or tasks that might require ergonomic intervention. | <urn:uuid:c76e48d1-6b3a-4e27-a10c-5712c9cfd99b> | {
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Tips on lighting for studying and for night study.
You've been reading that new suspense thriller, which topped this month's bestsellers list, since morning. You're just unable to put it down even though your eyes are burning in protest! However, you still go on, because no matter what, the story is what you want to be reaching the end of. Many of us like to settle down comfortably in some favorite corner of the house and spend some time or a lot of time reading books or magazines we love. All of us have some reading and writing to do at some point of time in our lives. These two activities tend to put a strain on our eyes. Thus, what is needed is proper lighting to reduce the strain. Adequate desk lighting is a must for students or workers who slog for long hours at their desks. Here are a few pointers about study lights and night study lights and also tips for computer lighting.
- Lighting should be bright and must be focus on the area you are working in.
- Right-handed individuals should place the light on their left hand side and vice versa. This is to ensure that the shadow of the hand does not fall on the pages.
- You should sit upright and read with the material at a distance of about fourteen to eighteen inches away from the eyes.
- Ensure that you have adequate illumination for your studies. You can do this by placing reading lamps to ensure that light directly falls on the open pages.
- If you make use of floor lamps for reading, it should be placed at 40" to 49" away from the floor. A portable floor lamp is also a nice way of get light for reading purposes.
- Avoid using synthetic enamel paint on the walls of your study room. This will prevent the shining paint from having adverse effects on the health of your eyes.
- Needless to say, natural lighting is the best for study rooms because this lighting has positive impact on not just your eyes, but your feelings as well.
Night Study Lights
- For long nights of studying, one should choose glare-free task lighting.
- Recessed lighting increases the amount of lighting. It even provides illumination to the whole study room. You must ensure that the lighting is placed carefully so that it can highlight the complete workspace. This lighting is fixed over the head and shoulders, which helps to avoid blockage of required light.
- Using fluorescent bulbs is better than using incandescent bulbs. Fluorescent bulbs last longer, save electricity and are now available in a variety of colors. However, you better choose light colors, as they are the best for your eyes.
- Use halogen bulbs. Experts consider them to be the best when it comes to illuminating reading material.
- If you have a bright light staring right into your monitor, you will have difficulty viewing the images on the screen. In order to solve this problem, use light diffusers. This will allow you to perform desk tasks (writing, reading papers) without needing direct brightness on the computer screen. Alternatively, you could try placing rows of lights parallel to the user's line of sight. Try using operator adjustable task/desk lighting. In case diffusers or alternative lights are not available, remove the middle bulbs of 4-bulb fluorescent light fixtures. This will help you reduce the brightness of the light directed onto your monitor.
- If you find bright light in your field of view rather irritating, then, you can use blinds or drapes on windows. This will help you to eliminate bright light. Remember to adjust the blinds during the day to allow light into the room; just ensure that it does not fall directly into the your field of view. Also see to it that the lamps you use have glare shields or shades. You must adjust the line of sight from your eye to the light at an angle greater than 30 degrees. A simpler way of doing this would be by reorienting the work-station in such a way that bright lights from open windows are not directly in the field of view. The trick is to use indirect or shielded lighting where possible and to avoid intense or uneven lighting in your field of vision.
- In case you are experiencing high contrast between light and dark areas of the computer screen, horizontal work surface, and surrounding areas, you can try well-distributed diffused lights. This will ensure fewer hot spots and glare surfaces in your visual field. Using light, matte colors and finishes on walls and ceilings too can reduce dark shadows and contrast. This will reflect indirect lighting much better.
Follow these tips and you're sure to reduce that itchy and dry feeling in your eyes. Don't strain your eyes; they are much too precious to spoil. | <urn:uuid:6d57da83-58f4-41b6-9c8d-bb5a3e97fb03> | {
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A new study unveils NGC 604, the largest region of star formation in the nearby galaxy M33, in its first deep, high-resolution view in X-rays. This composite image from Chandra X-ray Observatory data (colored blue), combined with optical light data from the Hubble Space Telescope (red and green), shows a divided neighborhood where some 200 hot, young, massive stars reside.
Download the desktop: http://www.chandra.harvard.edu/resources/desktops_year.html?year=2009
Please note this is a moderated blog. No pornography, spam, profanity or discriminatory remarks are allowed. No personal attacks are allowed. Users should stay on topic to keep it relevant for the readers.
Read the privacy statement | <urn:uuid:f5a177e8-22f1-4e10-90a6-47505c6da8f4> | {
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The whale populations around Iceland are changing in both size and location, some of which is attributable to warming seas.
RÚV reports that Gísli Víkingsson, a specialist at the Marine Research Institute, has noticed some changes occurring amongst baleen whale stocks around Iceland. Over the past few decades, some stocks have grown, others have shrank, and others still have moved to other waters.
Fin whales and humpbacks have increased in number since 1987, when more exact counting of their numbers began. At the same time, blue whales have moved into more northern waters, which is attributable to warming sea temperatures further south.
Minke whales saw a population increase during the turn of the century, but their numbers have been declining since then. Gísli believes this is a direct result of declining stocks of fish minke whales like to eat, such as capelin. | <urn:uuid:ec52275a-a22f-4790-8a36-110e74b89304> | {
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A 2006 UN report entitled Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options."
found that 18 percent of global warming emissions come from raising cows, chickens, pigs, turkeys and other animals we eat. That's 40 percent more than all the world's cars, SUVs, airplanes, and other modes of fossil-based transportation, which combined account for 13 percent. For further comparison, every house, residential and office building in the world accounts for just 8 percent.
There's a trend in Europe called "Meat Reducers" where, along with recycling and not taking plastic bags, people are eating meat at least one day less a week. Become a "Meat Reducer." It is a simple thing everyone can do to lower their own carbon footprint. | <urn:uuid:ab653056-c93a-4068-9348-d44ad7fb4993> | {
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- Table View
- List View
The unique feature of this compact student's introduction is that it presents concepts in an order that closely follows a standard mathematics curriculum, rather than structure the book along features of the software. As a result, the book provides a brief introduction to those aspects of the Mathematica software program most useful to students. The second edition of this well loved book is completely rewritten for Mathematica 6 including coverage of the new dynamic interface elements, several hundred exercises and a new chapter on programming. This book can be used in a variety of courses, from precalculus to linear algebra. Used as a supplementary text it will aid in bridging the gap between the mathematics in the course and Mathematica. In addition to its course use, this book will serve as an excellent tutorial for those wishing to learn Mathematica and brush up on their mathematics at the same time.
Select your format based upon: 1) how you want to read your book, and 2) compatibility with your reading tool. To learn more about using Bookshare with your device, visit the Help Center.
Here is an overview of the specialized formats that Bookshare offers its members with links that go to the Help Center for more information.
- Bookshare Web Reader - a customized reading tool for Bookshare members offering all the features of DAISY with a single click of the "Read Now" link.
- DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) - a digital book file format. DAISY books from Bookshare are DAISY 3.0 text files that work with just about every type of access technology that reads text. Books that contain images will have the download option of ‘DAISY Text with Images’.
- BRF (Braille Refreshable Format) - digital Braille for use with refreshable Braille devices and Braille embossers.
- MP3 (Mpeg audio layer 3) - Provides audio only with no text. These books are created with a text-to-speech engine and spoken by Kendra, a high quality synthetic voice from Ivona. Any device that supports MP3 playback is compatible.
- DAISY Audio - Similar to the Daisy 3.0 option above; however, this option uses MP3 files created with our text-to-speech engine that utilizes Ivonas Kendra voice. This format will work with Daisy Audio compatible players such as Victor Reader Stream and Read2Go. | <urn:uuid:cd19b57d-33ed-46b2-b3b3-c80074340f6d> | {
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October 1, 2007
Nanotube forests grown on silicon chips for future computers, electronicsWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
The carpetlike growth of nanotubes has been shown to outperform conventional "thermal interface materials." Like those materials, the nanotube layer does not require elaborate clean-room environments, representing a possible low-cost manufacturing approach to keep future chips from overheating and reduce the size of cooling systems, said Placidus B. Amama, a postdoctoral research associate at the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park.
Researchers are trying to develop new types of thermal interface materials that conduct heat more efficiently than conventional materials, improving overall performance and helping to meet cooling needs of future chips that will produce more heat than current microprocessors. The materials, which are sandwiched between silicon chips and the metal heat sinks, fill gaps and irregularities between the chip and metal surfaces to enhance heat flow between the two.
The method developed by the Purdue researchers enables them to create a nanotube interface that conforms to a heat sink's uneven surface, conducting heat with less resistance than comparable interface materials currently in use by industry, said doctoral student Baratunde A. Cola.
Findings were detailed in a research paper that appeared in September's issue of the journal Nanotechnology. The paper was written by Amama; Cola; Timothy D. Sands, director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center and the Basil S. Turner Professor of Materials Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Xianfan Xu and Timothy S. Fisher, both professors of mechanical engineering.
Better thermal interface materials are needed either to test computer chips in manufacturing or to keep chips cooler during operation in commercial products.
"In a personal computer, laptop and portable electronics, the better your thermal interface material, the smaller the heat sink and overall chip-cooling systems have to be," Cola said.
Heat sinks are structures that usually contain an array of fins to increase surface contact with the air and improve heat dissipation, and a fan often also is used to blow air over the devices to cool chips.
Conventional thermal interface materials include greases, waxes and a foil made of a metal called indium. All of these materials, however, have drawbacks. The greases don't last many cycles of repeatedly testing chips on the assembly line. The indium foil doesn't make good enough contact for optimum heat transfer, Fisher said.
The Purdue researchers created templates from branching molecules called dendrimers, forming these templates on a silicon surface. Then, metal catalyst particles that are needed to grow the nanotubes were deposited inside cavities between the dendrimer branches. Heat was then applied to the silicon chip, burning away the polymer and leaving behind only the metal catalyst particles.
The engineers then placed the catalyst particle-laden silicon inside a chamber and exposed it to methane gas. Microwave energy was applied to break down the methane, which contains carbon. The catalyst particles prompted the nanotubes to assemble from carbon originating in the methane, and the tubes then grew vertically from the surface of the silicon chip.
"The dendrimer is a vehicle to deliver the cargo of catalyst particles, making it possible for us to seed the carbon nanotube growth right on the substrate," Amama said. "We are able to control the particle size - what ultimately determines the diameters of the tubes - and we also have control over the density, or the thickness of this forest of nanotubes. The density, quality and diameter are key parameters in controlling the heat-transfer properties."
The catalyst particles are made of "transition metals," such as iron, cobalt, nickel or palladium. Because the catalyst particles are about 10 nanometers in diameter, they allow the formation of tubes of similar diameter.
The branching dendrites are tipped with molecules called amines, which act as handles to stick to the silicon surface.
"This is important because for heat-transfer applications, you want the nanotubes to be well-anchored," Amama said.
Researchers usually produce carbon nanotubes separately and then attach them to the silicon chips or mix them with a polymer and then apply them as a paste.
"Our direct growth approach, however, addresses the critical heat-flow path, which is between the chip surface and the nanotubes themselves," Fisher said. "Without this direct connection, the thermal performance suffers greatly."
Because the dendrimers have a uniform composition and structure, the researchers were able to control the distribution and density of catalyst particles.
The research team also has been able to control the number of "defect sites" in the lattice of carbon atoms making up the tubes, creating tubes that are more flexible. This increased flexibility causes the nanotube forests to conform to the surface of the heat sink, making for better contact and improved heat conduction.
"The tubes bend like toothbrush bristles, and they stick into the gaps and make a lot of real contact," Cola said.
The carbon nanotubes were grown using a technique called microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition, a relatively inexpensive method for manufacturing a thermal-interface material made of carbon nanotubes, Fisher said.
"The plasma deposition approach allows us great flexibility in controlling the growth environment and has enabled us to grow carbon nanotube arrays over a broad range of substrate temperatures," Fisher said.
The research has been funded by NASA through the Institute for Nanoelectronics and Computing, based at Purdue's Discovery Park. Cola also received support through a fellowship from Intel Corp. and Purdue.
Writer: Emil Venere, (765) 494-4709, [email protected]
Sources: Timothy Fisher, (765) 494-5627, [email protected]
Timothy Sands, (765) 496-6105, [email protected]
Placidus B. Amama, (765) 496-7407, [email protected]
Baratunde A. Cola, (765) 496-8339, [email protected]
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; [email protected]
Mechanical engineering doctoral student Baratunde A. Cola, from left, looks through a view port in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition instrument while postdoctoral research fellow Placidus Amama adjusts settings. The two engineers recently have shown how to grow forests of tiny cylinders called carbon nanotubes onto the surfaces of computer chips to enhance the flow of heat at a critical point where the chips connect to cooling devices called heat sinks. The carpetlike growth of nanotubes has been shown to outperform conventional "thermal interface materials." The research is based at the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Discovery Park at Purdue. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)
A publication-quality photo is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2007/amama-chipcooling.jpg
Dendrimer-Assisted Controlled Growth of Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Thermal Interface Conductance
Placidus B Amama 1,4, Baratunde A Cola 1,2, Timothy D Sands 1,3, Xianfan Xu 1,2 and Timothy S Fisher 1,2 - 1 Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; 2 School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; 3 Schools of Materials Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with systematically varied diameter distributions and defect densities were reproducibly grown from a modified catalyst structure templated in an amine-terminated fourth-generation poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Thermal interface resistances of the vertically oriented MWCNT arrays as determined by a photoacoustic technique reveal a strong correlation with the quality as assessed by Raman spectroscopy. This study contributes not only to the development of an active catalyst via a wet chemical route for structure-controlled MWCNT growth, but also to the development of efficient and low-cost MWCNT-based thermal interface materials with thermal interface resistances £10 mm2 KW_1.
To the News Service home page | <urn:uuid:1210d1ca-0197-4c05-ba93-8e3af84cec5a> | {
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Evidence says some comets may have become asteroids
NASA NEWS RELEASE
Posted: September 5, 2005
Some asteroids that have comet-like orbits may actually be comets that have lost gases and other easily vaporized substances, according to a NASA research team.
The team will present its findings at the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences annual meeting in Cambridge, England, on Sept. 5.
"Several objects classified as asteroids have orbits that are dynamically similar to those of comets," said Dale Cruikshank, an astronomer at NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley and a member of the research team. These asteroids may be comets that have lost gases and other materials by repeated passages through the inner solar system, according to Cruikshank.
The team studied infrared light from 55 asteroids using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to "better understand possible links between asteroids and comets," according to the authors. In addition to co-author Cruikshank, Joshua Emery who also works at NASA Ames and is an employee of the SETI Institute, Mountain View, Calif. is the principal author; and Jeffrey Van Cleve of Ball Aerospace, Boulder, Colo., is the other co-author.
"The suggestion that some asteroids originated as comets has been made before, but the new Spitzer Space Telescope observations provide the first chance to really test this suggestion," Emery noted. "Most of the objects observed in our program appear to be typical asteroids, but a few have surface compositions and textures that are more similar to comets," Emery added.
"The infrared light we are studying gives us information about the composition and surface textures of solid bodies in the solar system." Cruikshank said.
The research team reports that some of the asteroids have very fine-grained surfaces. "We think this fine-graininess is a characteristic of comets," Cruikshank explained.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. | <urn:uuid:ed74c2d1-abec-4dd0-bb10-7a73c013bdd9> | {
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Dairy is scary! This is perhaps the most concise way to put it. Yet, so many people around the world, especially the United States, continue to consume massive amounts of dairy every day. Despite its mass acceptance, dairy is – surprise! – one of the most harmful foods you can eat. Intended for consumption by calves, the way milk is treated today leads to addictions, hurts bone density, and can lead to a variety of other serious health issues.
Just like humans produce milk when they need to feed their young, the same is true for cows. This means all of the milk we constantly get is thanks to a bunch of mother cows that have recently given birth. How do they continue giving birth? What happens to the babies? Well, let your imagination control how this cycle works, but sufficed to say it is not anything you want to talk about with your kids.
Cow’s milk contains a powerful opiate known as casomorphine. More specifically, milk gets its protein in the form of casein, which is broken down in the digestive system as casomorphine. These semantics will allow a proponent of big dairy to argue there are no harmful chemicals added to the milk. Though there may or may not be anything added, that does not change the fact it’s there. In other words, the more you drink milk the more your body will crave it.
Milk is highly acidic, which throws off the body chemistry and can cause a variety of issues. Among these issues is the fact milk actually robs the bones of calcium. Though milk does contain a fair share of calcium, an important nutrient, the acidity in the milk causes the body to fight back. Since the best way for the body to neutralize this acidity is with calcium, it actually robs calcium from the bones during this process. This is why the countries who consume the most cow’s milk have the highest reported instances of bone-related health issues.
Virtually all commercial milk is pasteurized and homogenized, which actually changes the milk on a chemical level. Pasteurization was originally developed as a way to prevent pathogens from growing, but it actually does much more than this, often destroying the nutrients found in milk. This robs the milk of nutritional value and can have detrimental effects on those drinking it. The homogenization process has a similar effect, spreading the natural fats into smaller molecules so the milk comes out as a uniform liquid. Unfortunately, these have unintended health consequences.
So, not only are you drinking something that is meant for a baby cow, but then you are modifying it even further. The effects have been linked to minor conditions such as acne and constipation to more major health challenges like sinusitis, heart disease, and even diabetes.
If you have cow’s milk in your house, go directly to your refrigerator and throw it away. Don’t even finish that harmful crap. It has done nothing but cause harm to your body, so get rid of it before you end up regretting your life decisions. Go ahead and buy yourself some almond milk or coconut milk instead. Or, just eat plenty of dark green, leafy vegetables. Either way, there are plenty of tricks out there to ensure
you get enough calcium.
Do you have other reasons not to drink milk? What do you use instead of cow’s milk? | <urn:uuid:14b54a68-7230-44ce-afb9-c99e861798f8> | {
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by Henry N. Williams
Not long ago, Elio said in this blog that predation, a major force in evolution, is somewhat neglected in microbiological circles. The full implications of predation are just beginning to be uncovered as more becomes known about the ecology, physiology, and genomics of predators against microbes and their interactions with their prey. The collective knowledge of how they influence each other will naturally feed curiosity of scientists regarding how some cellular characteristics evolved. Here, I address a new metabolic feature of a predatory bacterium that will certainly lend itself to evolutionary considerations.
Since the discovery of Bdellovibrio and Bdellovibrio-like organisms (BALOs), it has been known that these obligate predatory bacteria have an appetite for some but not all Gram-negative bacteria. Most BALOs can feed on E. coli but show no craving for the likes of the Flavobacteria. The reasons for the discriminatory taste are not known and could indeed be that the predators actually hunger for the Flavobacteria but these have attributes that enable them to resist the predators. Beyond these broad observations, little is known about the details of the BALOs nutritional preferences. Do specific nutrients confer advantages to these predators? Recent reports have only begun to scratch the surface of this important topic, which is what makes a report by Martinez and others particularly interesting.
B. bacteriovorus preying on P. putida accumulating PHA.A. Phase-contrast microscopy of B. bacteriovorus growing on P. putida for 24 h. Attack phase Bdellovibrios and extracellular mcl-PHA granules can be observed. White bar: 2 μm. B. B. bacteriovorus growing on a lawn of P. putida accumulating mcl-PHA after 48 h of incubation. C. Transmission EM showing B. bacteriovorus inside P. putida prey cells forming the bdelloplast (the structure of the prey converted upon BALO predation).
You may have heard that certain bacteria make a class of polymers called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) that are used as storage of carbon and energy. Some make these compounds in large amounts, which is of commercial interest, as they are biodegradable plastics. In some bacteria, PHAs undergoes a cycle of synthesis and degradation. PHAs contribute to fitness, survivability, and adaptation to various environmental stresses that allow PHA producing bacteria to successfully compete in soil, water, and the rhizosphere. The authors skillfully designed experiments using as prey Pseudomonas putida, a PHA producing strain and various mutants, to investigate the degradation of their medium chain length (mcl) PHA by Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. What advantages may the predator gain from this carbon and energy source?
When exposed to PHA-accumulating and non PHA-accumulating P. putida strains, Bdellovibrio’s appetite was clearly for the former. After 24 h incubation, the numbers of Bdellovibrio were 6-fold higher in the PHA making culture than in non-PHA mutants. Indeed some benefits such as increased ATP levels, did accrue to the predators during growth on the PHA producing cells. Analyses of the Bdellovibrio genome revealed the potential to convert fatty acids such as PHA monomers into acetyl-CoA, which enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle that leads to ATP production. Motility was also substantially greater than in predators grown on a PHA minus mutant. Since BALO survival is dependent on its motility, anything that diminishes their speed decreases the chances of locating and successfully attaching to and penetrating a prey cell. This makes a demand on the predator’s endurance, as its only source of food and energy is its prey. Thus, PHA enhancement of Bdellovibrio’s motility is likely to enhance its survival. It is apparent from these results that Bdellovibrio preying on PHA producing prey cells gains an ecological advantage in its predation and survival.
The findings that a specific advantage to Bdellovibrio can be traced to a specific compound found in some prey bacteria provides a new perspective on the role of metabolites in the predatory cycle. It is particularly important in that it opens the door for future investigations of other nutrients on BALO predation, which will ultimately lead to a greater understanding of the factors which influence the predator’s appetite. Over several decades now Jurkevitch and collaborators have made important contributions to advancing the body of knowledge on the BALOs. This reports ranks high among those contributions.
Henry Neal Williams is Professor at the School of the Environment, Florida A&M University. | <urn:uuid:c5f2f0de-2120-4566-87dd-dae305b2593f> | {
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"I am a special education teacher. A child with disabilities was the victim of bullies. The bullies faced consequences, including their parents being called.
Wouldn't you want to know who the bullies are? Do they live in your neighborhood? Do they live on your street? Do they ride the bus with your child? Do they attend the same classes?
Exactly what did the bullies do to your child? How long did the bullying go on? Who knew about it? When did they know? Whom did they tell?
What punishment did the bullies receive from the school? What steps has the school taken to ensure that your child will not experience bullying again?
Now, imagine that the school staff told you, "the consequences including their parents being called." Nothing more.
The bullying took place at school. As a parent, you have a right to know who bullied your child, what they did, who knew about it, how long it went on, how the school dealt with the bullies, what punishment, if any, was meted out, and what the school is doing to ensure that your child will be safe.
If the school refuses to provide this information, will you feel confident that school personnel will protect your child in the future? If you return your child to school, will you feel confident that your child will be safe?
How can bullies be viewed as "victims" because you as the parent need information and straight answers before you can have any confidence that your child will be safe at school?
If the school refused to provide this information and assurances that your child will be safe from bullies, would you lose trust in the school's willingness to protect your child?
Trust is fragile. Once trust is broken, it may never be regained.
Change the facts. Your child attends a summer camp. He was severely beaten up by another camper and hospitalized. Camp officials refused to release any information about the aggressor and what steps they took, if any.
Change facts again. Your child was assaulted at the local mall. The mall security were involved. Security did not notify you, nor did they call the police. You didn't know about the assault until your child walked in the door and told you.
As a parent, how would you feel about this? Would you be satisfied?
This perception may close to reality.
Students Have Limited Rights to Privacy
In a 2002 case about privacy of education records, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that students do not have a right to privacy when students grade papers. That case is Owasso Indep Sch. Dist. v. Falvo, parent and next friend of her minor children (you can read the decision on Findlaw.com)
Author Barbara Coloroso describes a deadly triad - bullies who terrorize, bullied kids who are afraid to tell, bystanders who watch, participate, or look away - and adults who dismiss the incidents as a "normal part of childhood."
This book describes three kinds of bullying; steps to take if your child is a bully; four abilities to protect your child; how to help a bullied child heal and effectively discipline the bully; and how to evaluate your school's anti-bullying policy.
Although the Bullying Prevention Handbook is described as "a guide for principals, teachers and counselors," it is recommended for parents as well. Concerned, informed parents are often a necessary catalyst for schools to implement effective violence-prevention programs. | <urn:uuid:771d3059-663e-4905-9b3a-3ae14b06c995> | {
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My friend Michelle (Once Upon a Homeschool) posted a precious picture on Facebook this morning.
It ignited our learning!
Doing the morning run through FB, I gasped in excitement. "That is sooo cute!"
"What's cute, mom? A little learner inquired.
"This ant hill!"
I had their attention. An ant hill!
Not three sentences into my explanation, the little learner ran to the art supplies and pulled out black construction paper.
"I want to make those!"
Tempted to linger at the computer and search for ways I could add to the learning, I logged out and followed the little learner on her ant trail. In the process, she had invited another learner into the fun and before I knew it, learning was on a different path for the day.
Didn't expect to learn about ants today.
Sitting on the floor with paper and crayons surrounding, we set out to create our unique versions of the activity. Each learner had a different idea about how best to create ANTonym Hill. One wanted a pocket on the side to store the ants. The other decided to draw the hill with a hidden pocket behind the hill opening so the ANTonym matches could march down into the ant hill and hide in the pocket. Genius!
I began thinking up antonyms. I came up with obvious ones: hot/cold, on/off, stop/go. However, I knew this game (or at least we made it into a game) had more potential--vocabulary development and spelling.
Back to the computer I jumped while littles colored ant hills and pockets. In one search I landed more antonyms than we could learn in one day. Together, as I read through all the possibilities, we picked out the ones we wanted for the game.
Excited, they ran to greet dad when he arrived home (with ant hills in hand!) Each pulled out the ANTonyms, explained their version of the game, and read the ants.
Not my plan for the day, but definitely productive!
As the sun rose on another day, learning continued.
- Observe an ant colony.
- Purchase an ant habitat and observe.
- Complete an ant unit study.
- Read about ants.
- Sing "The Ants Go Marching".
- Read an ant fable- The Ant and the Grasshopper by Amy Lowry Poole. | <urn:uuid:1e3d6ce0-2283-4e9c-8aae-eca8b820966f> | {
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Principles of Political Economy with some of their Applications to Social Philosophy
Book I, Chapter VII
On what depends the degree of Productiveness of Productive Agents
§1. We have concluded our general survey of the requisites of production. We have found that they may be reduced to three: labour, capital, and the materials and motive forces afforded by nature. Of these, labour and the raw material of the globe are primary and indispensable. Natural motive powers may be called in to the assistance of labour, and are a help, but not an essential, of production. The remaining requisite, capital, is itself the product of labour: its instrumentality in production is therefore, in reality, that of labour in an indirect shape. It does not the less require to be specified separately. A previous application of labour to produce the capital required for consumption during the work, is no less essential than the application of labour to the work itself. Of capital, again, one, and by far the largest, portion, conduces to production only by sustaining in existence the labour which produces: the remainder, namely the instruments and materials, contribute to it directly, in the same manner with natural agents, and the materials supplied by nature.
We now advance to the second great question in political economy; on what the degree of productiveness of these agents depends. For it is evident that their productive efficacy varies greatly at various times and places. With the same population and extent of territory, some countries have a much lager amount of production than others, and the same country at one time a greater amount than itself at another. Compare England either with a similar extent of territory in Russia, or with an equal population of Russians. Compare England now with England in the Middle Ages; Sicily, Northern Africa, or Syria at present, with the same countries at the time of their greatest prosperity, before the Roman Conquest. Some of the causes which contribute to this difference of productiveness are obvious; others not so much so. We proceed to specify several of them.
§2. The most evident cause of superior productiveness is what are called natural advantages. These are various. Fertility of soil is one of the principal. In this there are great varieties, from the deserts of Arabia to the alluvial plains of the Ganges, the Niger, and the Mississippi. A favourable climate is even more important than a rich soil. There are countries capable of being inhabited, but too cold to be compatible with agriculture. Their inhabitants cannot pass beyond the nomadic state; they must live, like the Laplanders, by the domestication of the rein-deer, if not by hunting or fishing, like the miserable Esquimaux. There are countries where oats will ripen, but not wheat, such as the North of Scotland; others where wheat can be grown, but from excess of moisture and want of sunshine, affords but a precious crop; as in parts of Ireland. With each advance towards the south, or, in the European temperate region, towards the east, some new branch of agriculture becomes first possible, then advantageous; the vine, maize, silk, figs, olives, rice, dates, successively present themselves, until we come to the sugar, coffee, cotton, spices, &c. of climates which also afford, of the more common agricultural products, and with only a slight degree of cultivation, two or even three harvests in a year. Nor is it in agriculture alone that differences of climate are important. Their influence is felt in many other branches of production: in the durability of all work which is exposed to the air; of buildings, for example. If the temples of Karnac and Luxor had not been injured by men, they might have subsisted in their original perfection almost for ever, for the inscriptions on some of them, though anterior to all authentic history, are fresher than is in our climate an inscription fifty years old: while at St. Petersburg, the most massive works, solidly executed in granite hardly a generation ago, are already, as travellers tell us, almost in a state to require reconstruction, from alternate exposure to summer heat and intense frost. The superiority of the woven fabrics of Southern Europe over those of England in the richness and clearness of many of their colours, is ascribed to the superior quality of the atmosphere, for which neither the knowledge of chemists nor the skill of dyers has been able to provide, in our hazy and damp climate, a complete equivalent.
Another part of the influence of climate consists in lessening the physical requirements of the producers. In hot regions, mankind can exist in comfort with less perfect housing, less clothing; fuel, that absolute necessary of life in cold climates, they can almost dispense with, except for industrial uses. They also require less aliment; as experience had proved, long before theory had accounted for it by ascertaining that most of what we consume as food is not required for the actual nutrition of the organs, but for keeping up the animal heat, and for supplying the necessary stimulus to the vital functions, which in hot climates is almost sufficiently supplied by air and sunshine. Much, therefore, of the labour elsewhere expended to procure the mere necessaries of life, not being required, more remains disposable for its higher uses and its enjoyments; if the character of the inhabitants does not rather induce them to use up these advantages in over-population, or in the indulgence of repose.
Among natural advantages, besides soil and climate, must be mentioned abundance of mineral productions, in convenient situations, and capable of being worked with moderate labour. Such are the coal-fields of Great Britain, which do so much to compensate its inhabitants for the disadvantages of climate; and the scarcely inferior resource possessed by this country and the United States, in a copious supply of an easily reduced iron ore, at no great depth below the earth's surface, and in close proximity to coal deposits available for working it. In mountain and hill districts, the abundance of natural water-power makes considerable amends for the usually inferior fertility of those regions. But perhaps a greater advantage than all these is a maritime situation, especially when accompanied with good natural harbours; and, next to it, great navigable rivers. These advantages consist indeed wholly in saving of cost of carriage. But few who have not considered the subject, have any adequate notion how great an extent of economical advantage this comprises; nor, without having considered the influence exercised on production by exchanges, and by what is called the division of labour, can it be fully estimated. So important is it, that it often does more than counterbalance sterility of soil, and almost every other natural inferiority; especially in that early stage of industry in which labour and science have not yet provided artificial means of communication capable of rivalling the natural. In the ancient world, and in the Middle Ages, the most prosperous communities were not those which had the largest territory, or the most fertile soil, but rather those which had been forced by natural sterility to make the utmost use of a convenient maritime situation; as Athens, Tyre, Marseilles, Venice, the free cities on the Baltic, and the like.
§3. So much for natural advantages; the value of which, cæteris paribus, is too obvious to be ever underrated. But experience testifies that natural advantages scarcely ever do for a community, no more than fortune and station do for an individual, anything like what it lies in their nature, or in their capacity, to do. Neither now nor in former ages have the nations possessing the best climate and soil, been either the richest or the most powerful; but (in so far as regards the mass of the people) generally among the poorest, though, in the midst of poverty, probably on the whole the most enjoying. Human life in those countries can be supported on so little, that the poor seldom suffer from anxiety, and in climates in which mere existence is a pleasure, the luxury which they prefer is that of repose. Energy, at the call of passion, they possess in abundance, but not that which is manifested in sustained and persevering labour: and as they seldom concern themselves enough about remote objects to establish good political institutions, the incentives to industry are further weakened by imperfect protection of its fruits. Successful production, like most other kinds of success, depends more on the qualities of the human agents, than on the circumstances in which they work: and it is difficulties, not facilities, that nourish bodily and mental energy. accordingly the tribes of mankind who have overrun and conquered others, and compelled them to labour for their benefit, have been mostly reared amidst hardship. They have either been bred in the forests of northern climates, or the deficiency of natural hardships has been supplied, as among the Greeks and Romans, by the artificial ones of a rigid military discipline. From the time when the circumstances of modern society permitted the discontinuance of that discipline, the South has no longer produced conquering nations; military vigour, as well as speculative thought and industrial energy, have all had their principal seats in the less favoured North.
As the second, therefore, of the causes of superior productiveness, we may rank the greater energy of labour. By this is not to be understood occasional, but regular and habitual energy. No one undergoes, without murmuring, a greater amount of occasional fatigue and hardship, or has his bodily powers, and such faculties of mind as he possesses, kept longer at their utmost stretch, than the North American Indian; yet his is indolence proverbial, whenever he has a brief respite from the pressure of present wants. Individuals, or nations, do not differ so much in the efforts they are able and willing to make under strong immediate incentives, as in their capacity of present exertion for a distant object; and in the thoroughness of their application to work on ordinary occasions.*26 Some amount of these qualities is a necessary condition of any great improvement among mankind. To civilize a savage, he must be inspired with new wants and desires, even if not of a very elevated kind, provided that their gratification can be a motive to steady and regular bodily and mental exertion. If the negroes of Jamaica and Demerara, after their emancipation, had contented themselves, as it was predicted they would do, with the necessaries of life, and abandoned all labour beyond the little which in a tropical climate, with a thin population and abundance of the richest land, is sufficient to support existence, they would have sunk into a condition more barbarous, though less unhappy, than their previous state of slavery. The motive which was most relied on for inducing them to work was their love of fine clothes and personal ornaments. No one will stand up for this taste as worthy of being cultivated, and in most societies its indulgence tends to impoverish rather than to enrich; but in the state of mind of the negroes it might have been the only incentive that could make them voluntarily undergo systematic labour, and so acquire or maintain habits of voluntary industry which may be converted to more valuable ends. In England, it is not the desire of wealth that needs to be taught, but the use of wealth, and appreciation of the objects of desire which wealth cannot purchase, or for attaining which it is not required. Every real improvement in the character of the English, whether it consist in giving them higher aspirations, or only a juster estimate of the value of their present objects of desire, must necessarily moderate the ardour of their devotion to the pursuit of wealth. There is no need, however, that it should diminish the strenuous and business-like application to the matter at hand, which is found in the best English workmen, and is their most valuable quality.*27
The desirable medium is one which mankind have not often known how to hit: when they labour, to do it with all their might, and especially with all their mind; but to devote to labour, for mere pecuniary gain, fewer hours in the day, fewer days in the year, and fewer years of life.
§4. The third element which determines the productiveness of the labour of a community, is the skill and knowledge therein existing; whether it be the skill and knowledge of the labourers themselves, or of those who direct their labour. No illustration is requisite to show how the efficacy of industry is promoted by the manual dexterity of those who perform mere routine processes; by the intelligence of those engaged in operations in which the mind has a considerable part; and by the amount of knowledge of natural powers and of the properties of objects, which is turned to the purposes of industry. That the productiveness of the labour of a people is limited by their knowledge of the arts of life, is self-evident; and that any progress in those arts, any improved application of the objects or powers of nature to industrial uses, enables the same quantity and intensity of labour to raise a greater produce.
One principal department of these improvements consists in the invention and use of tools and machinery. The manner in which these serve to increase production and to economize labour, needs not be specially detailed in a work like the present: it will be found explained and exemplified, in a manner at once scientific and popular, in Mr. Babbage's well-known Economy of Machinery and Manufactures. An entire chapter of Mr. Babbage's book is composed of instances of the efficacy of machinery in "exerting forces too great for human power, and executing operations too delicate for human touch." But to find examples of work which could not be performed at all by unassisted labour, we need not go so far. Without pumps, worked by steam-engines or otherwise, the water which collects in mines could not in many situations be got rid of at all, and the mines, after being worked to a little depth, must be abandoned: without ships or boats the sea could never have been crossed; without tools of some sort, trees could not be cut down, nor rocks excavated; a plough, or at least a hoe, is necessary to any tillage of the ground. Very simple and rude instruments, however, are sufficient to render literally possible most works hitherto executed by mankind; and subsequent inventions have chiefly served to enable the work to be performed in greater perfection, and, above all, with a greatly diminished quantity of labour: the labour thus saved becoming disposable for other employments.
The use of machinery is far from being the only mode in which the effects of knowledge in aiding production are exemplified. In agriculture and horticulture, machinery is only now beginning to show that it can do anything of importance, beyond the invention and progressive improvement of the plough and a few other simple instruments. The greatest agricultural inventions have consisted in the direct application of more judicious processes to the land itself, and to the plants growing on it; such as rotation of crops, to avoid the necessity of leaving the land for one season in every two or three; improved manures, to renovate its fertility when exhausted by cropping; ploughing and draining the subsoil as well as the surface; conversion of bogs and marshes into cultivable land; such modes of pruning, and of training and propping up plants and trees, as experience has shown to deserve the preference; in the case of the more expensive cultures, planting the roots or seeds further apart, and more completely pulverizing the soil in which they are placed, &c. In manufactures and commerce, some of the most important improvements consist in economizing time; in making the return follow more speedily upon the labour and outlay. There are others of which the advantage consists in economy of material.
§5. But the effects of the increased knowledge of a community in increasing its wealth, need the less illustration as they have become familiar to the most uneducated, from such conspicuous instances as railways and steam-ships. A thing not yet so well understood and recognised, is the economical value of the general diffusion of intelligence among the people. The number of persons fitted to direct and superintend any industrial enterprise, or even to execute any process which cannot be reduced almost to an affair of memory and routine, is always far short of the demand; as is evident from the enormous difference between the salaries paid to such persons, and the wages of ordinary labour. The deficiency of practical good sense, which renders the majority of the labouring class such bad calculators—which makes, for instance, their domestic economy so improvident, lax, and irregular—must disqualify them for any but a low grade of intelligent labour, and render their industry far less productive than with equal energy it otherwise might be. The importance, even in this limited aspect, of popular education, is well worthy of the attention of politicians, especially in England; since competent observers, accustomed to employ labourers of various nations, testify that in the workmen of other countries they often find great intelligence wholly apart from instruction, but that if an English labourer is anything but a hewer of wood and a drawer of water, he is indebted for it to education, which in his case is almost always self-education. Mr. Escher, of Zurich (an engineer and cotton manufacturer employing nearly two thousand working men of many different nations), in his evidence annexed to the Report of the Poor Law Commissioners, in 1840, on the training of pauper children, gives a character of English as contrasted with Continental workmen, which all persons of similar experience will, I believe, confirm.
"The Italians' quickness of perception is shown in rapidly comprehending any new descriptions of labour put into their hands, in a power of quickly comprehending the meaning of their employer, of adapting themselves to new circumstances, much beyond what any other classes have. The French workmen have the like natural characteristics, only in a somewhat lower degree. The English, Swiss, German, and Dutch workmen, we find, have all much slower natural comprehension. As workmen only, the preference is undoubtedly due to the English; because, as we find them, they are all trained to special branches, on which they have had comparatively superior training, and have concentrated all their thoughts. As men of business or of general usefulness, and as men with whom an employer would best like to be surrounded, I should, however, decidedly prefer the Saxons and the Swiss, but more especially the Saxons, because they have had a very careful general education, which has extended their capacities beyond any special employment, and rendered them fit to take up, after a short preparation, any employment to which they may be called. If I have an English workman engaged in the erection of a steam-engine, he will understand that, and nothing else; and for other circumstances or other branches of mechanics, however closely allied, he will be comparatively helpless to adapt himself to all the circumstances that may arise, to make arrangements for them, and give sound advice or write clear statements and letters on his work in the various related branches of mechanics."
On the connexion between mental cultivation and moral trustworthiness in the labouring class, the same witness says, "The better educated workmen, we find, are distinguished by superior moral habits in every respect. In the first place, they are entirely sober; they are discreet in their enjoyments, which are of a more rational and refined kind; they have a taste for much better society, which they approach respectfully, and consequently find much readier admittance to it; they cultivate music; they read; they enjoy the pleasures of scenery, and make parties for excursions into the country; they are economical, and their economy extends beyond their own purse to the stock of their master; they are, consequently, honest and trustworthy." And in answer to a question respecting the English workmen, "Whilst in respect to the work to which they have been specially trained they are the most skilful, they are in conduct the most disorderly, debauched, and unruly, and least respectable and trustworthy of any nation whatsoever whom we have employed; and in saying this, I express the experience of every manufacturer on the Continent to whom I have spoken, and especially of the English manufacturers, who make the loudest complaints. These characteristics of depravity do not apply to the English workmen who have received an education, but attach to the others in the degree in which they are in want of it. When the uneducated English workmen are released from the bonds of iron discipline in which they have been restrained by their employers in England, and are treated with the urbanity and friendly feeling which the more educated workmen on the Continent expect and receive from their employers, they, the English workmen, completely lose their balance: they do not understand their position, and after a certain time become totally unmanageable and useless."*28 This result of observation is borne out by experience in England itself. As soon as any idea of equality enters the mind of an uneducated English working man, his head is turned by it.*29 When he ceases to be servile, he becomes insolent.
The moral qualities of the labourers are fully as important to the efficiency and worth of their labour, as the intellectual. Independently of the effects of intemperance upon their bodily and mental faculties, and of flighty, unsteady habits upon the energy and continuity of their work (points so easily understood as not to require being insisted upon), it is well worthy of meditation, how much of the aggregate effect of their labour depends on their trustworthiness. All the labour now expended in watching that they fulfil their engagement, or in verifying that they have fulfilled it, is so much withdrawn from the real business of production, to be devoted to a subsidiary function rendered needful not by the necessity of things, but by the dishonesty of men. Nor are the greatest outward precautions more than very imperfectly efficacious, where, as is now almost invariably the case with hired labourers, the slightest relaxation of vigilance is an opportunity eagerly seized for eluding performance of their contract.*30 The advantage to mankind of being able to trust one another, penetrates into every crevice and cranny of human life: the economical is perhaps the smallest part of it, yet even this is incalculable. To consider only the most obvious part of the waste of wealth occasioned to society by human improbity; there is in all rich communities a predatory population, who live by pillaging or overreaching other people; their numbers cannot be authentically ascertained, but on the lowest estimate, in a country like England, it is very large. The support of these persons is a direct burthen on the national industry. The police, and the whole apparatus of punishment, and of criminal and partly of civil justice, are a second burthen rendered necessarity by the first. The exorbitantly-paid profession of lawyers, so far as their work is not created by defects in the law, of their own contriving, are required and supported principally by the dishonesty of mankind. As the standard of integrity in a community rises higher, all these expenses become less. But this positive saving would be far outweighed by the immense increase in the produce of all kinds of labour, and saving of time and expenditure, which would be obtained if the labourers honestly performed what they undertake; and by the increased spirit, the feeling of power and confidence, with which works of all sorts would be planned and carried on by those who felt that all whose aid was required would do their part faithfully according to their contracts. Conjoint action is possible just in proportion as human beings can rely on each other. There are countries in Europe, of first-rate industrial capabilities, where the most serious impediment to conducting business concerns on a large scale, is the rarity of persons who are supposed fit to be trusted with the receipt and expenditure of large sums of money. There are nations whose commodities are looked shily upon by merchants, because they cannot depend on finding the quality of the article conformable to that of the sample. Such short-sighted frauds are far from unexampled in English exports. Every one has heard of "devil's dust:" and among other instances given by Mr. Babbage, is one in which a branch of export trade was for a long time actually stopped by the forgeries and frauds which had occurred in it. On the other hand, the substantial advantage derived in business transactions from proved trustworthiness, is not less remarkably exemplified in the same work. "At one of our largest towns, sales and purchases on a very extensive scale are made daily in the course of business without any of the parties ever exchanging a written document." Spread over a year's transactions, how great a return, in saving of time, trouble, and expense, is brought in to the producers and dealers of such a town from their own integrity. "The influence of established character in producing confidence operated in a very remarkable manner at the time of the exclusion of British manufactures from the Continent during the last war. One of our largest establishments had been in the habit of doing extensive business with a house in the centre of Germany; but on the closing of the Continental ports against our manufactures, heavy penalties were inflicted on all those who contravened the Berlin and Milan decrees. The English manufacturer continued, nevertheless, to receive orders, with directions how to consign them, and appointments for the time and mode of payment, in letters, the handwriting of which was known to him, but which were never signed except by the Christian name of one of the firm, and even in some instances they were without any signature at all. These orders were executed, and in no instance was there the least irregularity in the payments."*31
§6. Among the secondary causes which determine the productiveness of productive agents, the most important is Security. By security I mean the completeness of the protection which society affords to its members. This consists of protection by the government, and protection against the government. The latter is the more important. Where a person known to possess anything worth taking away, can expect nothing but to have it torn from him, with every circumstance of tyrannical violence, by the agents of a rapacious government, it is not likely that many will exert themselves to produce much more than necessaries. This is the acknowledged explanation of the poverty of many fertile tracts of Asia, which were once prosperous and populous. From this to the degree of security enjoyed in the best governed parts of Europe, there are numerous gradations. In many provinces of France, before the Revolution, a vicious system of taxation on the land, and still more the absence of redress against the arbitrary exactions which were made under colour of the taxes, rendered it the interest of every cultivator to appear poor, and therefore to cultivate badly. The only insecurity which is altogether paralysing to the active energies of producers, is that arising from the government, or from persons invested with its authority. Against all other depredators there is a hope of defending oneself. Greece and the Greek colonies in the ancient world, Flanders and Italy in the Middle Ages, by no means enjoyed what any one with modern ideas would call security: the state of society was most unsettled and turbulent; person and property were exposed to a thousand dangers. But they were free countries; they were in general neither arbitrarily oppressed, nor systematically plundered by their governments. Against other enemies the individual energy which their institutions called forth, enabled them to make successful resistance: their labour, therefore, was eminently productive, and their riches, while they remained free, were constantly on the increase. The Roman despotism, putting an end to wars and internal conflicts throughout the empire, relieved the subject population from much of the former insecurity: but because it left them under the grinding yoke of its own rapacity, they became enervated and impoverished, until they were an easy prey to barbarous but free invaders. They would neither fight nor labour, because they were no longer suffered to enjoy that for which they fought and laboured.
Much of the security of person and property in modern nations is the effect of manners and opinion rather than of law. There are, or lately were, countries in Europe where the monarch was nominally absolute, but where, from the restraints imposed by established usage, no subject felt practically in the smallest danger of having his possessions arbitrarily seized or a contribution levied on them by the government. There must, however, be in such governments much petty plunder and other tyranny by subordinate agents, for which redress is not obtained, owing to the want of publicity which is the ordinary character of absolute governments. In England the people are tolerably well protected, both by institutions and manners, against the agents of government; but, for the security they enjoy against other evil-doers, they are very little indebted to their institutions. The laws cannot be said to afford protection to property, when they afford it only at such a cost as renders submission to injury in general the better calculation. The security of property in England is owing (except as regards open violence) to opinion, and the fear of exposure, much more than to the direct operation of the law and the courts of justice.
Independently of all imperfection in the bulwarks which society purposely throws round what it recognises as property, there are various other modes in which defective institutions impede the employment of the productive resources of a country to the best advantage. We shall have occasion for noticing many of these in the progress of our subject. It is sufficient here to remark, that the efficiency of industry may be expected to be great, in proportion as the fruits of industry are insured to the person exerting it: and that all social arrangements are conducive to useful exertion, according as they provide that the reward of every one for his labour shall be proportioned as much as possible to the benefit which it produces. All laws or usages which favour one class or sort of persons to the disadvantage of others; which chain up the efforts of any part of the community in pursuit of their own good, or stand between those efforts and their natural fruits—are (independently of all other grounds of condemnation) violations of the fundamental principles of economical policy; tending to make the aggregate productive powers of the community productive in a less degree than they would otherwise be.
Notes for this chapter
[From the 4th ed. (1857) a long passage was omitted at this point. This originally ran as follows:
"nn27"> "In this last quality the English, and perhaps the Anglo-Americans, appear at present to surpass every other people. This efficiency of labour is connected with their whole character; with their defects, as much as with their good qualities. The majority of Englishmen and Americans have no life but in their work; that alone stands between them and ennui. Either from original temperament, climate, or want of development, they are too deficient in senses to enjoy mere existence in repose; and scarcely any pleasure or amusement is pleasure or amusement to them. Except, therefore, those who are alive to some of the nobler interests of humanity (a small minority in all countries), they have little to distract their attention from work, or to divide the dominion over them with the one propensity which is the passion of those who have no other, and the satisfaction of which comprises all that they imagine of success in life—the desire of growing richer, and getting on in the world. This last characteristic belongs chiefly to those who are in a condition superior to day labourers; but the absence of any taste for amusement, or enjoyment of repose, is common to all classes. Whether from this or any other cause, the national steadiness and persistency of labour extends to the most improvident of the English working classes—those who never think of saving, or improving their condition. It has become the habit of the country; and life in England is more governed by habit, and less by personal inclination and will, than in any other country, except perhaps China or Japan. The effect is, that where hard labour is the thing required, there are no labourers like the English; though in natural intelligence, and even in manual dexterity, they have many superiors.
"Energy of labour, though not an unqualified good, nor one which it is desirable to nourish at the expense of other valuable attributes of human nature, is yet, in a certain measure, a necessary condition," &c.
In the 3rd ed. (1852) the characterisation had been made to apply to the English alone, and the passage began thus: "This last quality is the principal industrial excellence of the English people." After "a small minority in all countries," had been inserted "and particularly so in this;" and for "no labourers like the English" had been substituted "no better labourers than the English."]
The whole evidence of this intelligent and experienced employer of labour is deserving of attention; as well as much testimony on similar points by other witnesses, contained in the same volume.
[This comment was added in the 3rd ed. (1852).]
[This statement took the place in the 3rd ed. (1852) of the sentence: "Nor are the greatest outward precautions; comparable in efficacy to the monitor within."]
Some minor instances noticed by Mr. Babbage may be cited in further illustration of the waste occasioned to society through the inability of its members to trust one another.
"The cost to the purchaser is the price he pays for any article, added to the cost of verifying the fact of its having that degree of goodness for which he contracts. In some cases the goodness of the article is evident on mere inspection; and in those cases there is not much difference of price at different shops. The goodness of loaf sugar, for instance, can be discerned almost at a glance; and the consequence is that the price is so uniform, and the profit upon it so small, that no grocer is at all anxious to sell it; whilst on the other hand, tea, of which it is exceedingly difficult to judge, and which can be adulterated by mixture so as to deceive the skill even of a practised eye, has a great variety of different prices, and is that article which every grocer is most anxious to sell to his customers. The difficulty and expense of verification are in some instances so great, as to justify the deviation from well-established principles. Thus, it is a general maxim that Government can purchase any article at a cheaper rate than that at which they can manufacture it themselves. But it has, nevertheless, been considered more economical to build extensive flour-mills (such as those at Deptford), and to grind their own corn, than to verify each sack of purchased flour, and to employ persons in devising methods of detecting the new modes of adulteration which might be continually resorted to." A similar want of confidence might deprive a nation, such as the United States, of a large export trade in flour.
Again: "Some years since, a mode of preparing old clover and trefoil seeds by a process called doctoring became so prevalent as to excite the attention of the House of Commons. It appeared in evidence before a Committee, that the old seed of the white clover was doctored by first wetting it slightly, and then drying it by the fumes of burning sulphur; and that the red clover seed had its colour improved by shaking it in a sack with a small quantity of indigo; but this being detected after a time, the doctors then used a preparation of logwood, fined by a little copperas, and sometimes by verdigris; thus at once improving the appearance of the old seed, and diminishing, if not destroying, its vegetative power, already enfeebled by age. Supposing no injury had resulted to good seed so prepared, it was proved that, from the improved appearance, the market price would be enhanced by this process from five to twenty-five shillings a hundred-weight. But the greatest evil arose from the circumstances of these processes rendering old and worthless seed equal in appearance to the best. One witness had tried some doctored seed, and found that not above one grain in a hundred grew, and that those which did vegetate died away afterwards; whilst about eighty or ninety per cent of good seed usually grows. The seed so treated was sold to retail dealers in the country, who of course endeavoured to purchase at the cheapest rate, and from them it got into the hands of the farmers, neither of these classes being capable of distinguishing the fraudulent from the genuine seed. Many cultivators in consequence diminished their consumption of the articles, and others were obliged to pay a higher price to those who had skill to distinguish the mixed seed, and who had integrity and character to prevent them from dealing in it."
The same writer states that Irish flax, though in natural quality inferior to none, sells, or did lately sell, in the market at a penny to twopence per pound less than foreign or British flax; part of the difference arising from negligence in its preparation, but part from the cause mentioned in the evidence of Mr. Corry, many years Secretary to the Irish Linen Board: "The owners of the flax, who are almost always people in the lower classes of life, believe that they can best advance their own interests by imposing on the buyers. Flax being sold by weight, various expedients are used to increase it; and every expedient is injurious, particularly the damping of it; a very common practice, which makes the flax afterwards heat. The inside of every bundle (and the bundles all vary in bulk) is often full of pebbles, or dirt of various kinds, to increase the weight. In this state it is purchased and exported to Great Britain."
It was given in evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons that the lace trade at Nottingham had greatly fallen off, from the making of fraudulent and bad articles: that "a kind of lace called single-press was manufactured," (I still quote Mr. Babbage,) "which although good to the eye, became nearly spoiled in washing by the slipping of the threads; that not one person in a thousand could distinguish the difference between single-press and double-press lace; that even workmen and manufacturers were obliged to employ a magnifying-glass for that purpose; and that in another similar article, called warp-lace, such aid was essential."
Book I. Chapter VIII. Section 1
End of Notes
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It is possible to identify certain requirements that must be satisfied if a dispute is to be resolved successfully based on consensus or cooperation. Although they may vary slightly in the particular circumstances of each case, these requirements can be summarized as follows:
The parties should be free to participate in or withdraw from a process. They, rather than an outsider, should come to a decision about which path to pursue to resolve the dispute. In addition, the interested parties themselves, not outsiders, should set the agenda. They are then more likely to engage in the process openly rather than defensively, thus increasing the chances of resolving the conflict permanently. Following on from this is the requirement that both or all parties want to reach a settlement. Fundamental divisions based on clashing values, where parties are divided over a matter of principle (e.g. whether a coastal tourist complex should be built at all, rather than simply where it should be built) and remain entrenched in their positions, may be impossible to resolve through ADR.
Linked to the voluntariness requirement is the requirement of opportunity for mutual gain. As stated above, conflict resolution is a process by which two or more conflicting parties make themselves better off through cooperative action. If one or both believe that they can achieve a better outcome through unilateral action, they will not be willing participants in a process of cooperative conflict resolution. Fuller (1971) described this, in the context of mediation, as the need for Òsome strong internal pull towards cohesionÓ and Òan intermeshing of interests sufficient to make parties willing to collaborate in the mediational effortÓ.
In order to develop consensus, all interested parties should have an opportunity to participate in the process that creates the consensus. If an interested party is excluded from the process, it may feel it has no stake in the final result and consequently will not only refuse to support it but may even resort to the courts to fight it. It is therefore usually in everyoneÕs interests to include anyone in the process who could later challenge the settlement and thus prevent its implementation. Furthermore, when all affected parties are at the table, there is a better chance that all the relevant issues will be raised.
It is important, in working towards consensus, to identify interests rather than positions. Conflicting parties often engage in positional bargaining, sticking rigidly to their own positions without hearing or understanding the interests of the other parties. This creates confrontation and a barrier to consensus. It is therefore crucial to get down to the conflictÕs real issues and find areas of common interest between the parties which can open the way for agreement.
A common barrier to successful conflict resolution is a psychological phenomenon known as Òreactive devaluationÓ. This is when a concession or proposal made by a perceived adversary is received less favourably because of its source, just as a compromise that is suggested by the other side is valued less highly because it comes from the other side. An important part of a conflict resolution process is therefore the neutral development of possible solutions and options in an atmosphere without evaluation and judgement. A neutral third party can be a great asset to the process, as it can put forward ideas and suggestions from a neutral stance.
Not only must the issue be capable of resolution through modification of perceptions, attitudes and/or behaviour, but the parties themselves must also be capable of entering into and carrying out an agreement. The enforceability of negotiated agreements is covered in Section 5.2.2.
It can be very difficult, particularly in environmental/natural resource disputes, to decide who should be represented in the negotiations, especially when a decision is likely to have an effect on people far removed from the locality in space and/or time (for example, future generations). Where a large number of interests are involved, coordination of a collaborative dispute resolution process becomes more complicated, unwieldy and difficult to manage. It may also be difficult to build up trust between the parties where there are too many participants. Even if the key parties reach an agreement that they are pleased with but that fails to take into account the impacts on those interests that were not directly represented in the negotiation, further conflict is likely to result in the future.
To overcome these problems it may be necessary to have a system for recognizing groups as legitimate parties for inclusion in an ADR process, and for determining who shall represent them. However, caution is needed in order to strike the right balance between, on the one hand, facilitating the negotiations by barring participants and, on the other hand, ensuring adequate participation of interested parties.
Representatives of interest groups may need to be selected to participate in the process on behalf of the groups. However, when selecting appropriate representatives for large decentralized groups, there may be difficulties, since members may have different viewpoints that cannot be expressed by a single voice or representative. If the group does not have a binding process to select a representative, some factions may object to the final outcome. Among the questions that need to be answered are whether the representative of a small community group should have a voice that counts as much as a delegate from a group with thousands of members. This will usually depend on the nature of the conflict and the circumstances of the particular case.
Any agreement reached through cooperative conflict resolution needs to be applicable and enforceable in practice, indeed it may be critical to reaching agreement that the parties know it will be enforced. Assuming the agreement satisfies the requirements of the relevant contract law, it will be a legally enforceable contract. Ideally, the relationship of the parties will be such that failure to comply will result in a return to renegotiation rather than court action. However, in the absence of such a solution, the only recourse may be to seek enforcement of the agreement through a court, and provision may need to be made for this in the agreement itself.
Views differ as to whether ADR techniques are appropriate when parties are grossly unequal in sophistication or resources. Differences in power may arise from differences in strength of, for example, economic resources, information, advice or personality. In environmental cases, a relative balance of power between the parties occurs only in about 10 percent of conflicts, and almost invariably the representatives of environmental interests are at an economic disadvantage vis-^-vis, for example, powerful industrial interests.
If the power imbalance remains, then the less powerful party risks being overwhelmed by the more powerful one, since any settlement will be based on bargaining and will accept inequalities of wealth as an integral and legitimate component of the process. It has been argued that neutralizing the power imbalance by an independent third party, risks compromising the impartiality of the third party. On the other hand, there are situations in which the balance of power must be evened out before an effective agreement can be reached (e.g. where a state proposes granting a concession to a private company in an area traditionally occupied by indigenous people without recognizing the land rights of the indigenous people). This is for reasons of equity but also to ensure effective implementation of the agreement and avoid unwanted consequences such as violence.20 Power disparities can be minimized through awareness raising, capacity building, information dissemination, etc. to provide access to expertise (for example, legal or technical advice) to those to whom it is otherwise not available.
Sometimes, court action may better serve the interests of the disadvantaged party, as it can take inequalities into account, but this will only be the case where there is a question of protecting legal rights. Where legislation is an alternative, for example to decide on the siting of a locally objectionable project, it may not be any better for the weaker party, as legislatures often respond to the political power of lobbyists and interest groups. Negotiated rule-making may help to overcome this problem but may still require the provision of support (e.g. funding) to less powerful parties to enable their participation.
It is sometimes maintained that, where power is very unbalanced, the building of alliances to help strengthen the hand of the weaker group or working to strengthen equity through the legal structure may provide more lasting results than fostering a negotiation process that may yield Òcoerced harmonyÓ in which the weaker party ultimately loses.
In many conflicts involving environmental and natural resource issues, the parties will often not have adequate financial resources to fund conflict resolution efforts, such as the cost of appointing a mediator or experts, or simply for running the negotiation. Consideration should therefore be given to establishing funding mechanisms for conflict resolution as part of any ICAM initiative.21
In any conflict resolution process, consideration should be given to the requirement for the services of a neutral party to facilitate or mediate in the dispute. The following are some of the main factors that will need to be taken into account.
Number of parties. Mediation in general is best suited to disputes involving only two parties. Where there are many different interests competing for a scarce resource, for example, it is much more difficult to conduct straightforward mediation to decide on how to allocate the resource. However, such multiparty disputes over natural resources as arise in the context of ICAM can be resolved, and indeed already are resolved, through ÒmediativeÓ procedures, i.e. through consultation with parties whose interests and concerns are then taken into account by the decision-maker. Mediation can also be used as a first stage in multiparty disputes, to encourage parties to come together and help them to identify common interests.
Impartiality. The mediatorÕs impartiality is a fundamental aspect of their role in a negotiation. Any perceived favouritism may lead to the withdrawal of the party that feels prejudiced from the process, as well as undermining the integrity of any agreement subsequently reached. It is generally agreed that a mediator should ensure fairness in the way the process is conducted, but there is much debate as to whether the mediator is also responsible for ensuring that the final agreement is fair. This leads on to the question of accountability.22
Accountability. Opinions vary as to whether a mediator should take responsibility for the fairness of a settlement. Because the decision reached in a mediation is the voluntary product of the parties rather than the mediator, it is generally believed that the mediatorÕs responsibility should be limited to ensuring a fair process and that they are not accountable for the final decision. However, in the United States some states have enacted legislation on liability, requiring mediators to abide by rules established by federal associations. Failure to comply can lead to the cancellation of a mediatorÕs licence, certificate or registration, and violation of statutes or judicial decisions regarding proper mediation procedure can even lead to court action. When mediation is applied to environmental disputes, the question of accountability is more difficult. Decisions may have negative impacts on environmental quality and natural resources, as well as various interests (present and future) that were not represented in the negotiations. Some impacts may not even be known at the time the decision is made.
The guidelines for mediators in environmental disputes, which are laid down to make such mediators accountable, may involve, for example, licensing, certification or registration. The nature of the issues discussed above makes it important that such mediators possess substantive knowledge about the environmental/natural resource and regulatory issues at stake. Licensing agencies could be used to ensure a readily available source of experts and to sponsor publications and programmes to improve the quality of mediation services. Government linkages and support will usually be required to provide systems that deliver mediation and help to fund them.
Confidentiality. Conflicting parties are often more likely to enter a mediation process and participate effectively if they are ensured confidentiality. Issues to be decided in this respect may include: what should be confidential; who should be able to enforce confidentiality; and against whom confidentiality can be enforced.
20 See also Section 2.3.
21 See also Section 6.1.
22 See Susskind, 1981; and McCrory, 1981. | <urn:uuid:9b7e9d68-5048-4cf9-9f32-1b1fb09b299e> | {
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Altered Standards of Care
- What did we need to know to develop plans that provided an effective and fair medical response to a mass casualty event?
- Were there key principles that professionals had agreed upon that should inform our planning for mass casualty events?
- What were the critical issues that we needed to consider and address in planning for the provision of health and medical care in a mass casualty event?
The Altered Standards of Care document was an outgrowth of a meeting that AHRQ convened in August of 2004. The purpose of the meeting was to:
- Examine how current standards of care might need to be altered in response to a mass casualty event in order to save as many lives as possible.
- Identify planning, guidance, and tools that needed to be addressed to ensure an effective health and medical care response.
- Recommend specific actions that would begin to address the needs of all planners on this critical subject.
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To commemorate Black History Month in February, we’re sharing a playlist of Shakespeare Unlimited episodes about the African American experience, important global figures, and the history of Shakespeare performance in Africa and the Caribbean. The podcast is available on iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, and NPR One.
This podcast episode revisits the era when Jim Crow segregation was at its height, from a few years after the end of the Civil War to the 1940s and 1950s. The discussion ranges from landmark performances—Orson Welles’s Depression-era all-black Macbeth and Paul Robeson’s Othello— to powerful, though less familiar, stories from the Folger’s hometown of Washington, DC. It also draws in later questions about African Americans and Shakespeare, including the role of race in casting choices to this day.
This podcast episode examines some of the many ways—including, but not limited to, performance—that black Americans have encountered, responded to, taken ownership of, and sometimes turned away from Shakespeare’s words.
This podcast episode, which deals with race, Othello, and how the Elizabethans portrayed blackness onstage, offers a startling, new interpretation of Desdemona’s handkerchief that is changing the way scholars understand the play.
Othello is the story of a tragic murder and suicide involving a dark-skinned general and his aristocratic, white-skinned bride. Who should direct it? Who’s “allowed” to? What if a white director and the actor he’s cast as Othello simply do not see eye-to-eye on the play’s subtext, the Moor’s motivations, and what the audience is supposed to take away from the production?
That conflict is at the heart of a one-man show currently being performed around the country called American Moor. In it, a black actor – the play’s author, Keith Hamilton Cobb – stands on stage and addresses an invisible, white director who simply does not “get” Othello. Their disagreement allows for a searing exploration of the gulf between black and white Americans that some like to believe simply does not exist.
When the British came to colonize the African continent in the middle of the 1800s, they brought Shakespeare with them. But after the British left power, it was often Shakespeare who leaders in African countries summoned to push back against the colonial experience — using his words to promote unity, elevate native languages, and critique the politics of the time.
This podcast episode is about Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa. While Mandela was incarcerated on South Africa’s Robben Island, one of the other political prisoners managed to retain a copy of Shakespeare’s complete works, which was secretly circulated through the group. At that prisoner’s request, many of the others—including Mandela—signed their names next to their favorite passages.
Shakespeare and his plays are woven deeply into the culture of the Caribbean, both white and black. Even after centuries of British colonial rule came to an end, Shakespeare endured. | <urn:uuid:1be50160-dc7b-4ce4-b80a-52f346adf311> | {
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Daniel Waters (June 20, 1731–March 26, 1816) was an officer in the Continental Navy and in the United States Navy.
He was born on June 20, 1731, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and was one of the “minutemen” who engaged the British at the onset of the American Revolutionary War. Later placed in charge of a small gunboat during the siege of British troops in Boston, Waters was appointed by General George Washington to command the schooner Lee on January 20, 1776. He was soon actively engaged in the ensuing assault upon British communications, capturing one enemy vessel in February and another in May. Aided by Warren, Lee seized an armed troopship with 94 Scottish Highlander troops on board in early June. Later in the month, Waters and Lee shared with other vessels the capture of transports Howe and Annabella.
Again at the recommendation of Washington, Waters was appointed a captain in the Continental Navy on March 15, 1777, and given command of the frigate Fox. Shortly thereafter, Waters and Fox, along with Hancock, were forced to surrender to superior British forces off Halifax, Nova Scotia. Following an exchange in 1778, Waters made a cruise to the West Indies in the spring of 1779 in the Continental sloop General Gates. He then commanded the Massachusetts ship General Putnam in an ill-fated expedition against Castine, Maine, in which the American ships were destroyed in the mouth of the Penobscot River to prevent their capture .
Waters’ most famous exploit occurred on Christmas Day, 1779, when he led the Boston privateer Thorn in a successful, two-hour action against two enemy privateers of about equal armament, but more heavily manned. In the fierce fight, during which Governor William Tryon and Sir William Erskine were captured, Waters was wounded. John Adams was to write of this engagement: “There has not been a more memorable action this war.”
Waters’ last cruise was in the Massachusetts privateer Friendship, to which he was appointed in January 1781. Following the war, Waters retired to his farm in Malden, Massachusetts, where he died on March 26, 1816.
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Palaeolithic and neolithic cultures flourished in many
parts of Myanmar from about 20.000 years ago leaving behind much material
evidence as well as the wall painting of Padalin Cave in the Shan foothills
near Myirtha. A bronze culture later developed, well represented by the
Nyaunggan archaeological site near Monywa.
Transition to an urban civilization was made in the 2
nd century BC. A number of cities flourished, among them Wethali (Vaisali) of
the Rakhines, Thuwannabhumi (Suvannabhumi, "Land of Gold") of the Mons, and
Beikthano (Vishnu City), Hanlin and Thayekhittaya (Sriksetra, "Field of
Splendour") of the Pyus, a people whose language has become extinct but whose
architectural monuments - the Bawbawgyi, Payagyi and Payama pagoda of
Myanmar civilization achieved a high level of
development at Bagan from the middle of the 11th century to the end of the 13th
century. According to the chronicles, Bagan was founded in AD 107 by the
Thamoddarit and ruled by a line of 55 kings, but written evidences are
available only from Anawrahta (1044 - 1077) onwards. Anawrahta, the first
unifier of Myanmar. established Theravada Buddhism with the help of Buddhist
Missionary Shin Arahan and laid the foundation of Bagan's Greatness. A thriving
economy and the inspiration of Buddhism resulted in the great monuments of
Shwezigon, Ananda, Thatbinnyu, Gawdawpalin and a host of other pagodas, several
of than decorated with mural paintings on religious themes.
The decline of Bagan, brought about by a Mongol
invasion in 1287_ was followed by political confusion and the emergence of two
kingdoms: Inwa, founded by Thadominbya to 1365, and Hanthawady (Bago) founded
by Banya U in 1369. Nineteen kings ruled in Inwa from 1365 to 155'7 and I I
kings in Hanthawady from 1369 to 1538.From 1386 to 1422, there was war between
Inwa and Hanthawady.
Myanmar entered a new phase of greatness when the
kings of Toungoo moved their capital from 'loran goo to Bago and three of its
kings ruled there from 1538 to 1599.
Bayintnaung (1552-1581), known also as Lord of the
White Elephants and Conqueror of the Ten Directions, reunited the kingdom,
created the vast Hanthawady Empire and rebuilt Bago «n a magnificent scale.
The Inwa Kingdom
Following the break-up of the Hanthawady Empire,
Nyaungyan 11598-1606) established a new Myanmar kingdom, and ten kin-s reigned
in Inwa from 1598 to 1752. The most famous of the Inwa kings. Thalun
(1629-1648) built the Kaunghmudaw Pagoda near Sagaing. A rebellion which
started in Bago led to tile downfall of the kingdom in 1752.
The Konbaung Kin-rloni
In the tradition of Anawrahta and Bayintnaung,
Alaungpaya (1752-17611) reunited Myanmar and established the last Myanmar
dynasty of I I kings who ruled from 1752 to 1885. The kingdom had a number of
capitals, including Shwebo, Inwa and Amarapura, with the last capital,
Mandalay, being founded by Mindon ( 18521878) in 1859.
In 1785, the Rakhine kingdom whose capital was Mrauk -
U, Founded by (1430-1433) in 1430, and which had a line of 49 kings reigning
from 1430 to 1785, was made part of the Konbaung kingdom.
Myanmar fought three wars against the British and lost
Rakhinc and Taninthayi in 1826, Lower Myanmar in 1852 and its independence on I
British Colonial Rule
The British started to rule parts of Myanmar in 1826
and the whole country in 1886. Myanmar was first placed under a Chief
Commissioner, then a Lieutenant Governor in 1897. and then a Governor in 1923,
and ruled as part of British India until separation in 1937. In Myanmar itself,
the Shan States, the Kayah (Karenni) States and the hill areas were
administered separately from Myanmar Propcr.
An appointed advisory Council was established in 1897,
a partially elected leg, islative Council in 1923, and a bicameral legislature
with an elected House of Representatives in 1937.
Under British rule. an economic transformation took
place ,vilh the commercial production of rice and the development of Myanmar as
a major rice exporting country. British firms such as the Burmah Oil Company,
Steel Brothers, and the Bombay Burmah Trading Company. dominated the economy.
The Nationalist Movement
Armed resistance along traditional lines followed
British annexation in 1886. A modern nationalist movement began with the
founding of the Young Men's Buddhist Association [YMBA] in 1906 and developed
with the formation in 1920 of the General Council of Burmese Associations
[GCBA] which advocated constitutional advancement, and the staging of the
University Boycott of 19211 directed against the restrictive University Act.
The nationalist movement became more radical with the
peasant uprising led by Saya San in 1930 and the formation of the Dobama
Asiayon (We Myanmars Association) the same year. In 1938, the "Revolution of
(the Myanmar Year) 1300", which started with a strike in the Chauk -
Yenangyaung oilfields, brought the nationalist movement to a high level of
With the outbreak of World War II in Europe. Thakin
(later Bogyoke) Aung San of the Dobama Asiayon, making an effort to stage an
armed struggle, made contact with the Japanese Army. A group of young members
of the Dobama Asiayon, the Thirty Comrades. was given military training in
Hainan and the Burma Independence Army (BIA) was formed in Bangkok on 26
December 1942. The BIA advanced into Myanmar with the Japanese Army and forced
the withdrawal of the British in 1942.
The BIA, reorganized as the Burma Defence Army on 27
July 1942 joined other anti - fascist elements in the Anti - Fascist
Organization (AFO) in August 1944 and started an armed struggle against the
Japanese forces on 27 March 1945.
After the War, the AFO was reorganized as the Anti -
Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) with Bogyoke Aung San as President.
Demonstrating its political strength in a general strike in September 1946, the
AFPFL was admitted into the Governor's Executive Council with Bogyoke Aung San
as Deputy Chairman of the Council. In November 1946 the AFPFL called for
independence within one year and discussions with the British Government
resulted in the Aung San - Attlee Agreement of 27 January 1947 which provided
for the functioning of the Executive Council as an interim government and the
holding of elections for a Constituent Assembly.
On 12 February 1947 Bogyoke Aung San concluded the
historic Pinlone Agreement with Shan, Kachin and Chin leaders which laid the
foundations for the establishment of a united independent Myanmar. Although
Bogyoke Aung San and other national leaders were assassinated on 19 July 1947,
Myanmar regained independence on 4 January 1948.
By the Constitution of 1947 Myanmar was formed as a
quasi - federal Union, with Kachin, Kayah, Kayin and Shan States as constituent
states, and with a governmental system in which the cabinet was responsible to
a bicameral legislature made up of the Chamber of Deputies and Chamber of
The AFPFL dominated early post - independence
politics, but the country was much troubled by a widespread insurgency and the
intrusion of Kuomintang forces retreating from China. The AFPFL Government
attempted to follow a liberal socialist economic policy and launched the eight
- year Pyidawtha Plan in 1952 in order to realize a welfare state.
The Caretaker Government and Its Aftermath
Because of a split within the ruling AFPEL, the
Parliament appointed the Chief of Staff General Ne Win as head of a Caretaker
Government on 28 October 1958 and entrusted him with the task of holding fair
and free parliamentary elections.
During its tenure of office the Caretaker Government
brought about the end of feudal rule in the Shan and Kayah States and concluded
an agreement delimiting the boundary between Myanmar and China. It held
elections on 6 February 1960 and on 4 April 1960 handed over power to the
Pyidaungsu Party which had won the elections.
However, the political situation rapidly deteriorated
under the new government with a split developing within the Pyidaungsu Party,
dissatisfaction against the making of Buddhism the State religion, and the
development of a movement for the creation of a truly federal state.
A military coup on 2 March 1962 resulted in the
establishment of a Revolutionary Council which formed Security and
Administrative Committees down to the ward and village levels and attempted to
restore the security situation. Proclaiming a Gereral Amnesty on 1 April 1963,
it started negotiations with various insurgent groups and concluded an
agreement with the Kayin Revolutionary Council on 12 March 1964.
The Revolutionary Council, taking a socialist stand,
formed the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) as a nucleus party on 4 July
1962 and announced its philosophy in The Correlation of Man and His Environment
in January 1963. In line with its socialist stand, the Revolutionary Council
nationalized many economic enterprises and started on the First FourYear Plan
The BSPP, developing from a nucleus party to a
people's party, held its First Congress from 28 June to 11 July 1971. The
Congress decided on the drafting of a State Constitution and a Commission was
appointed in September 1971. The constitution which was drafted and submitted
to a popular referendum was adopted on 3 January 1974.
Elections were held and the Revolutionary Council handed over power to the BSPP
Government on 2 March 1974.
The Constitution of 1974, drawn up on socialist
principles, designated the BSPP as the leading party. Under the guidance of the
BSPP, the unicameral Pyithu Hluttaw, elected on universal suffrage, was the
supreme State organ, enacting laws and appointing the executive and the
judiciary. Three new States -Chin, Mon and Rakhine were created in addition to
the four existing ones.
The BSPP, which was the ruliganized on the principle
of democratic centralism from the Central Committee downto the level of the
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This is a guest post by Megan McGrane – physician’s assistant, health coach and autoimmune warrior.
Did you know that autoimmunity is one of the top ten causes of fatality in females under sixty-five years old? According to the National Institutes of Health, autoimmune disorders affect over twenty-three million people in the United States each year.
Autoimmune disorders include hundreds of medical conditions that are due to the body’s own immune system attacking its own organs. For example, thyroiditis is an attack on the thyroid gland, Crohn’s disease attacks the gastrointestinal system, multiple sclerosis attacks the nervous system, and lupus primarily attacks the kidneys.
One of the most frustrating things autoimmune conditions is that there is no curative treatment for them. Current therapies are often aimed at managing the symptoms alone.
By using food as medicine, autoimmune protocol (AIP) followers are able to reduce troublesome symptoms and heal underlying imbalances by decreasing inflammation and healing gut dysfunction. The diet focuses on a nutrient-dense intake and eliminates inflammatory and allergenic foods to support the body in cooling down the immune system (which is what’s going awry).
The take home point about AIP is that if you have an autoimmune issue, you most likely have a poorly functioning digestive tract. Because your gut is not in the best shape, byproducts of all of the things passing through your intestines are leaking through your gut barrier into your blood stream, causing your immune system to respond. This concept is fundamental to understanding why the AIP works in decreasing inflammation and immune system stimulation.
For more information on Celiac disease, an autoimmune condition, check out:
How To Follow The Autoimmune Protocol
Quick Start For AIP
So what CAN you eat? Well, you’re in luck. We’ve put together an awesome little graph that shows you the ins & outs of this paleo variation so you can stay on track and stay healthy!
|MEATS||Factory farmed meats, farm raised seafood||Beef, Bison, Chicken, Turkey, Boar, Wild Caught Fish, Game Meats|
|GRAINS||Oats, Rice, Millet, Quinoa (a pseudo grain), Wheat, all Gluten||None|
|LEGUMES||All Beans (not including string beans or snap peas), Soy/Edamame and Peanuts||Snap Peas, String Beans, Haricot Vert|
|VEGETABLES||Avoid Nightshades, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Onion, White Potatoes, Gogi Berries, and all pepper based spices like cayenne, nutmeg, paprika||Everything else! Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Leafy Greens, Broccoli Cauliflower, Cucumber, Beets, Squash, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes and many more|
|FRUIT||None||All fruits are permitted. *To keep daily fructose intake reasonable try to stick to a max of 2-3 pieces of fruit per day|
|DAIRY||Cheese, Yogurt, Ghee, Butter, Ice Cream, Half and Half||Coconut milk (without additives)|
|NUTS AND SEEDS||Almonds, Cacao, Coffee Cashews, Macadamias, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Chia Seeds, Sesame Seeds||None|
|FERMENTED FOODS||Fermented Soy products||Kombucha, Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Kefir made with water/coconut water|
|SUGAR AND SUGAR REPLACEMENT||All sugars! Sugar, HCFs, coconut sugar, date sugar, corn sugar, stevia, agave, molasses and limit honey and maple syrup||None|
|FATS||All Butter & ghee, all Margarines, Canola Oil & all other seed oils||Avocado, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Lard, Fat, Olive Oil|
|FOOD ADDITIVES||Carrageenan, Guar Gum, Aspartame, Benzoic acid, MSG, Sulfates/Sulfites, Nitrates/Nitrites||None|
|NSAIDS||Ibuprofen, Naprosyn, Naproxen sodium, ketorolac and others||None|
|ALCOHOL||Beer, Liquor, even sugar alcohols and extracts (like vanilla extract)||None (Sparkling water and Kombucha are great party-substitutes!)|
Here’s table in graphic form (you can save it and download it for quick reference).
Start with basic paleo principles
No gluten, no grains, no legumes, no dairy, no sugar, and no alcohol. You’ve got that down already. Gluten is inflammatory for the gut and should be removed from the diet of anyone with autoimmune disorders. Grains and legumes are removed to avoid anti-nutrients like phytic acid and inflammatory lectins. Sugar and alcohol are removed because they are highly inflammatory and do not bring any nutritional value or healing properties to the table.
If you need a refresher on Paleo, check out our Paleo 101 Starter Guide.
Avoid nightshade vegetables
Eggs are eliminated because the proteins and enzymes in eggs (and in the white in particular) are able to work their way through the gut lining during the digestion process. Although this can occur in healthy people as well, in those with autoimmune conditions, the egg particulate matter gets through the barrier of the gut lining easily and infiltrates the blood stream, causing immune system stimulation and reactivity.
Avoid all nuts and seeds
Nuts and seeds are high in anti-nutrients such as lectins and phytates. They are one of the most allergenic types of foods and can cause sensitivities in people struggling with autoimmunity. Additionally, the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids is suboptimal in most nuts and seeds. In fact, nuts contain a high amount of omega-6 fatty acids, which are pro-inflammatory.
Keep fruit to a minimum
Try to keep fruit to one to two servings per day. This keeps blood sugar levels stable and also helps you avoid taking in too much fructose, which can be irritating for the gut.
Avoid food additives like guar gum and carrageenan
These additives bring no health benefits and contribute to leaky gut. Other additive like nitrites are inflammatory for the body and can also be allergenic.
Avoid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications
Avoiding NSAIDs is about attempting to heal the gut lining, as this is critical in managing autoimmune disorders. This can be tricky because many medical regimens for autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, chronic pain syndromes, and acute bouts of thyroiditis use NSAIDs. Before removing these medications from your regimen, discuss this with your medical provider.
Where To Start
One key to AIP success is to focus on following the diet for a set period of time and to track your symptoms over a number of weeks. How long you choose to stay on the AIP is 100% up to you and should depend on how you feel following the diet. A strict elimination period of at least thirty to sixty days is recommended, but many people stay on the protocol for months until they start seeing the resolution of their autoimmune symptoms.
By setting a timeline for your elimination diet, you can focus on the healing aspect of the diet and stay motivated with an endpoint in sight.
Approaches to AIP
While AIP may help you to find out which foods you react to, the strict autoimmune protocol is not necessarily meant to be followed for life. Once you’ve completed the diet, have a focused reintroduction period to identify your food triggers and sensitivities.
For most people, adherence to a strict (and by strict I mean strict) paleo diet for three to four weeks, paired with a more mindful eating approach, will usually alleviate any ailments and help them become healthy again. You can find a list of paleo-approved foods right here to help you get started on this.
I like the 4R approach for avoiding and improving autoimmune-related diseases:
- Remove all toxins and gut irritants like alcohol, caffeine, drugs (over the counter, antibiotics, etc.), gluten, dairy, corn, soy, legumes, industrial seed oils, and sugar.
- Replace with healthy and healing foods like those found on the paleo diet, super foods like bone broth, and fermented foods.
- Repair with specific supplements such as L-glutamine, zinc, omega-3s, and vitamins A, C, D, and E.
- Restore with healthy bacteria and probiotics (25-100 billion units), digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and soluble fiber.
How To Reintroduce Foods
After removing some or all of these foods for three to four weeks, you can then start to reintroduce them very slowly and one at a time. On the first day of reintroduction, you may decide to include some dairy like cheese. After this first day of reintroduction, you’ll want to wait two to three days before reintroducing another food. This is because it can often take 24-72 hours for your body to have a response to what you have eaten.
Aside from some of the more obvious physical reactions, make sure to pay attention to things like your mood, energy, sleeping habits, digestion, headaches and sinuses, bloating, and cognitive function. It’s a great idea to use a journal throughout this process to record your results, measure progress, and to refer to later on.
The AIP can be a strict protocol to follow, but the rewards can pay off big time. Have you tried it before and had success? Let us know your experiences with AIP in the comments.
Photo credit: Caitlin Regan
Download Your FREE Paleo Starter Kit Today!
- 3-Day Paleo Diet Meal Plan
- Comprehensive Paleo Diet Shopping List
- 5 of Our Favorite Paleo Diet Recipes | <urn:uuid:1fcd15af-e387-4ecf-a4f0-4341e26970b3> | {
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Rubrique Mon Pays que J’aime, Mon Pays que Voici
Mireille Sylvain-David—–October 2014
Summary of a Sociological Study on the Haitians Living in the Miami Diaspora
and the Haitian in the Homeland.
From a sociological perspective, a community study of the behaviors of the Haitian
Diaspora in Miami versus the attitude of the Haitians living in Haiti was conducted
by Mireille Sylvain–David to find a link between the two groups and to underline
the contrast between them.
I Haitians in Miami
Not surprisingly, it was discovered that the Haitians in Miami have a very strong
cultural attach and a deep consciousness about the welfare of Haiti. In so far as it
could help, the culture served as a dynamic stimulus that very often kept the
community together in Miami. It was also noticed that Haitians in Miami are
focusing on being accepted in America. Since 1987, despites immigration problems,
language barriers, color prejudice and educational bias, many families have strived
to enter the American work force. Their children are now young professionals
scattered everywhere in the United States. This survival is certainly not just a fight
for the bare necessity, it is a historical miracle. Their cultural beliefs, religions,
traditions and norms have given them the incentive and the strength to start over in
a foreign country at a time when their country of origin could not and cannot
respond to their needs because of bad governance and lack of production for many
- Many Haitians in Miami are angry because of the poverty and the lack of
leadership in Haiti. They feel that they have the right to voice their opinions,
especially when a great part of the Haitian economy leans on their shoulders
in particular, and on the shoulders of the Haitian Diaspora, in general.
- Some Haitians in Miami suffering of nostalgia or urge to show their
countrymen in Haiti the fruits of their hard work in America traveled very
often to Haiti.
- According to certain people, there is a group of Haitians from Miami who
have the tendency to show off their newly learned skills and sturdy incomes.
They have often criticized the way of life of their friends in Haiti. Because of
this attitude, they have been labeled arrogant and even seen as bluffers by
many people in Haiti.
- Because repression and exploitation are almost overcome in Miami, Haitians
were able to seek for office and enter the political arena of Dade County.
Some of them have succeeded but there still is a long way to go and a lot to
learn about political ethnical power and group predominance in Miami which
is mostly dominated by the Cubans since the 60’s.
- On one hand, while some Haitians in Miami are fighting to be part of the
Miami political and social arena, they have in the midst of that survival never
been disconnected with Haiti. They have organized Haitian radio stations,
radio programs and television programs; they have formed cultural
organizations to keep their identity and their culture alive; they have opened
restaurants to promote Haitian food; they have literary and artistic productions
as the daily reminder of their interest for their motherland and their interaction
with their brothers.
- On the other hand, some Haitians in Miami feel completely at home in the
modernity of that city even though Miami has some negative aspects of a
southern town of the United States of America.
II Haitians in Haiti
Some Haitians in Haiti are showing a hate-love feeling for the Diaspora members,
even though they intensely need the assistance of the Haitian Diaspora in Miami or
- They pejoratively called the Haitian living aboard ‘DIASPO’: which means
outsiders, newly rich, rice and chicken eaters etc. Haitians in Haiti seemed to
play a trivial game that could easily be entitled: The Flying Money of the
Diaspora and the Graspers in the Motherland.
- Some Haitians living in Haiti even accused the Haitian Diaspora especially
the Miami Diaspora to cause disturbance in Haiti by voicing their opinions
- Instead of animating the dynamism to strengthen comprehension and share
skills to rebuild and think, some Haitians in Haiti are encouraging conflicts
between insiders and outsiders
- The leaders are not seriously addressing the issues to find a middle way to
reunite the two groups to do something sustainable like the Dominican
Republic, Israel and South Korea have done for their countries. A “Let’s get
Together” game could have been more productive to Haiti.
In the midst of globalization, the world sees Haiti as a failed state, but the most
important part is how we, Haitians see ourselves? Like in a puzzle, we could have
together learned to find the pieces and the tools that give a grasp to development.
Some members of the older political generations have left the country on a torn
carpet that needs to be restored or redone. We need to send to recycling the old
coats that we have been bearing for more than two centuries to “faire peau neuve.”
Haiti needs the Diaspora, and no Haitian Government can ignore the Diaspora. The
government has to notify the people that the Diaspora is ready to play a role in the
reconstruction of Haiti. The Government needs to trace a crossing path to develop
an engaging communicative approach between the two groups to create a dialogue.
There are valuable and knowledgeable people in Haiti who are like the Haitians in
the Diaspora willing to start the team work and create groups focused on nearly any
topic relevant to the welfare of the country. Bringing like-minded people together
is fundamental to education and development. This will give the two groups the
opportunity to share their expertise with one another. Together, they can give life
to each project that they plan to do. The people in Haiti know the crucial needs of
the masses while the people in the different Diasporas can offer the source
materials. The reality is that we, Haitians, are living everywhere in the globe but the
feeling of strong attraction and commitment to the country cannot be denied and our
love for Haiti is real no matter where we live on the planet. | <urn:uuid:73f07587-e4b3-4b1a-97cb-60ec5867e1f2> | {
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Living a Life that Matters
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a behavioral therapy about taking mindful and values-guided action. ACT is defined in terms of a philosophical framework and theoretical processes rather than as a specific technology. ACT is based on Relational Frame Theory (RFT) a post-Skinnerian account for human language and cognition that applies mindfulness, acceptance processes, and commitment and behavior change processes to create psychological flexibility. The aim of ACT is to increase psychological flexibility, that is, to contact the present moment fully as a conscious human being, and based on what the situation affords, changing or persisting in behavior in the service of chosen values.
If you want to learn more about ACT please click here
Dr. Luisa Canon, IEBI’s clinical director, uses ACT with children experiencing social and emotional challenges as well as adults and adolescents experiencing psychological pain as an inevitable part of the human experience (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, weigh management, smoking cessation, divorce, changes in life). The aim of this type of one-to-one training is to teach and promote effective behavior that is mindful and values-driven | <urn:uuid:ebfe5616-afe1-434c-b571-6b9e6cbeefc9> | {
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Language and culture are inextricably entwined, but the language used among Latino teens, both gang and non-gang affiliated, reflects not only a teen subculture, but gang, drug, and even penal institutional culture generating an intricate yet rich linguistic corpus.
Here, too, is unquestionably the topic for a separate study far beyond the scope of the current research. However, the brief sample listed below proposes to give only a flavor for the argot rather than a cross section of any depth.
Codeswitching from English to Spanish was used extensively by the principal interviewer as well as by the graduate assistants as a device to win confidence. It was also used by those interviewed as a natural and appropriate speech register frequently used among them in discourse.
For decades now, codeswitching has been perceived by the field of Linguistics as a legitimate language variety found among and used by the majority of second and third generation bilingual speakers all over the Spanish-speaking Southwest (Elias Olivares l976) (Hallcom, dissertation l981). However, there are still a few unwitting educators who do not recognize an individual's bilingual skill unless s/he speaks only one language at a time. Codeswitching, of course, is a universal phenomenon occurring all over the planet where two languages are in contact.
In addition to codeswitching, the cholos frequently used "maldiciones" or what Grimes long ago classified as "taboo language" (l978). Latino males, young and old alike, have long been culturally permitted to use taboo language intermittently as part of everyday discourse if they so chose. As a matter of fact, most Spanish speakers are socialized to expect a good healthy, outraged "cabron" or "no chinges" from the mouths of males without taking much exception to it. Heretofore, these same "maldiciones" have not been acceptable from females (Galindo 1993).
This type of cursing is a totally new phenomenon coming from women, especially young women and little girls at least as frequently as many taboo words are being used nowadays. In the past women who used such language were labelled "putas" or "cantineras"--whores and bar flies.
Today, however, when the community refers to "la choleria" or "Los Cholos," they mean both males and females, mostly gang-affiliated, but including those who are non-gang affiliated sporting the gang styles and cholo appearance. This consists of excessive make-up, strikingly harsh eye liner applied in two or three colors for the females and the cholo look for the boys described above. (See clothes section) An association with the car culture -- the low rider group is included and certainly profuse use of taboo expression.
Cholo language today is a distinct blend of barrio language, of Calo (a dialect of the entire Spanish speaking Southwest) (Cardozo-Freeman l984) as well as a more recent vernacular charged with expletives and many terms from the criminal and drug domain.
It must be stressed that not all of these terms are exclusively the argot of gangs. The wider Chicano community/Mexican-American community also uses many of the Calo terms and sometimes a respectable old grandmother chooses cautiously from Calo as well (Reyes 1988) (Hallcom 1981)( Sanchez l983).
Language choice, of course, is a matter of personal ideolect among the gang-affiliated as it is for everyone else, chosen in part for whomever the interlocutors are performing.
For example, on a number of occasions young men were reprimanded
by their contemporaries for using "taboo words" in front of older
women: namely the investigator and other older graduate
assistants. Most gang and non-gang affiliated youth refrained
from using "maldiciones" in front of older members of extended
family or in the presence of parents with only a few exceptions.
If the parent(s) had also been gang affiliated at one time,
language use was a bit freer and rougher in their presence as
compared to that used in front of non-gang affiliated parents.
chingao= (with the loss of voiced fricatives /d/ in the
Similarly, "mojado" becomes "mojao." Dropping the voiced fricative /d/ in the intervocalic position occurred throughout when speaking Spanish.
No chinges con migo= (don't mess/fuck with me) or "No chinges."
Chingasos (go to blows, a beating)
el mas chingon = the toughest, most macho (male)
la mas chingona = the toughest (female) or the top dog
Estar firme - to get down, or get yourself together,
although to get down for someone also means to go to the
ultimate for that person or for the gang. To have back-up
in a sense.
Expletives such as damm, hell, and shit were used frequently.
Pinche and Puto were used frequently as well, which have no real English counterpart.
La ruca,la loca=references to females.
Mi chava = my girlfriend; ol' lady was also used.
Una chavalona= a young good looking female.
Que hubole=What's happening
Camaradas=homeboys/ and girls
Hecho tiempo conmigo= Someone did time with me
"Come get some of this," accompanied by grabbing of the crotch-- was used by both males and females, although other males reprimanded their contemporaries for using the gesture in the presence of the interviewer
Hijole and Jesus Christ expletives appeared to carry equal weight and were used frequently
"Mamacita" was used often, spoken with a lecherous overtone sometimes derisively addressed to good looking females or female passers-by.
Esta mas loco que la fregada/que la madre/ que la chingada all meant "He's crazier than hell!"
Que se vaya a la madre=S/he can go to hell, but here the reference to the mother figure makes the matter far more serious than mere hell.
No me anden vacilando= Don't be pulling my leg, putting me on, messing with me.
an 8-ball = a quantity of cocaine
(a number of drug-related jargon words were used frequently)
mucho pedo=a big rucus, to make trouble
no esta limpio=he's not drug free
Que relaje= an embarrassment /also refers to males or females who squeal to the police on the camaradas/the bros/homegirls,
Que honda= greeting like "What's happening"
Seme va la onda= I lost it, I lose it, I go nuts;
Return to Table of Contents | <urn:uuid:c038fa11-014c-4e10-91aa-a8aaf493ac6d> | {
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Seventeenth Minnesota governor Adolph Olson (A.O.) Eberhart lived the classic American story of an immigrant who achieved success through hard work and ability.
Eberhart was born Olaf Adolf Olsson in Kil, Värmland, Sweden, on June 23, 1870. His parents were farmers in Sweden, but hard economic times led them to immigrate to the United States in 1881. They did not have enough money to move the entire family, so they left Adolph behind with his aunt and uncle, who wanted to adopt him. One year later, at age eleven, Adolph joined his parents in St. Peter, Minnesota, because he missed them. The next year, 1883, the family moved to Nebraska.
Adolph stayed in Nebraska for the next eight years, farming and getting an education where possible. In 1891, at age twenty-one, he left farming and returned to St. Peter to attend Gustavus Adolphus College.
Adolph studied there from 1891 to 1895. He had about a fourth grade education when he arrived at the college. Four years later, he graduated at the top of his class after completing both high school- and college-level courses on an accelerated schedule. While at Gustavus Adolphus College, he gave himself a new last name, Eberhart, so he would not be confused with the many other Olsons on campus.
He took his new name, Adolph Olson Eberhart, and his college degree to Mankato, where he studied law and set up his own private practice within a few years. In 1898, he married Adele Koke, who also lived in Mankato. They eventually had five children.
Eberhart had long been determined to improve the condition of public schools, especially in rural areas, and he saw politics as the best way to do it. Shortly after starting his law practice, he decided to run for office. He won his first race, securing a state senate seat in 1902. At age thirty-two, he was the youngest state senator in the 33rd legislative session.
Eberhart, a Republican, became lieutenant governor in 1907 under legendary Democratic governor John A. Johnson. After Johnson's untimely death in 1909, Eberhart took over as governor and subsequently won the office twice on his own merits. He served as governor of Minnesota from September 21, 1909, to January 5, 1915.
Eberhart was an efficient administrator and a skilled politician, but he was unable to earn a third full term as governor. Another defeat, this time in the 1916 US Senate primary, marked the end of his political career. After working as a real estate and insurance executive in Chicago, he retired to a rest home in Savage. He died on December 6, 1944.
Adolph Olson (A.O.) Eberhart's choice to enter Gustavus Adolphus College in 1891 changes the course of his life from that of a farmer to that of a lawyer, politician, and governor of Minnesota. | <urn:uuid:66c39ad1-2801-43ae-bac8-51ce272e67d8> | {
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Castor and Pollux
Third century AD Roman statuettes of Castor and Pollux, also known as The Twins, Dioscuri, or Gemini.
In Roman and Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux were sons of Leda, though each has different fathers; Pollux was the son of Zeus, while Castor was fathered by the king of Sparta. When Castor was killed, Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his immortality with his twin; both were transformed into a constellation, Gemini.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
March 15, 2011 | <urn:uuid:9f76fa26-a6fe-483a-af5f-18f63a8ca066> | {
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“What exactly is Blackness and what does it mean to be Black? Is Blackness a matter of biology or consciousness? Who determines who is Black and who is not—the state, the society, or the individual? Who is Black, who is not, and who cares?
In the U.S., historically a Black person has come to be defined as any person with any known Black ancestry. This definition has been… known as the one-drop rule, meaning that one, single solitary drop of Black blood is enough to render a person black…
-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pg. 4)
Traditionally, in America, if you were just a teeny-weeny bit Black, you’d always been considered black. This arbitrary color line was even codified by the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, an 1896 case brought by an octoroon light enough to pass who sued for the right to sit in the “White only” section of a segregated train traveling through the South.
Much to Homer Plessy’s chagrin, the court sided with the state of Louisiana, taking judicial notice of the “one-drop rule,” ruling that “a Negro or black is any person with any black ancestry.” In other words, you could be black without looking black.
The nation’s population has more mixed ancestry than ever nowadays, which is reflected in the latest census offering over a dozen race options to check off, as well as “Other,” if none of the above is to your liking.
This means that folks who only a generation ago would’ve been forced to identify themselves simply as Black, now feel much more freedom to avail themselves of an array of alternatives along the ethnic spectrum. (1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race is a collection of essays reflecting on racial identity by 60 introspective individuals who until relatively recently would’ve been labeled black in the eyes of the law.
The book breaks down the contributors by three categories: “Mixed Black,” “American Black” and “Diaspora Black.”
Although “Black” Kathleen Cross has a Black father and a White mother, she has resisted the invitations to join the “Multiracial Movement, which she sees as divisive. By contrast, Harlemite Jozen Cummings describes himself as “Mixed,” with parents who are Japanese, Puerto Rican and African-American.
Particularly fascinating are the two albinos participating in the project, Sean Gethers and Destiny Birdsong, who embrace being “Black” in spite of their white skin.
Edited by Yaba Blay, Ph.D.
with photography by Noelle Theard | <urn:uuid:25588eaa-81b8-474e-ac74-15a9d511b4df> | {
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Day 10, Wednesday, July 25, 2018
After lunch, I drove to Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site, which is about 25 miles east of Sheridan. Fort Phil Kearny was a short-lived US Army outpost set up along the Bozeman Trail, the wagon road that linked the Oregon Trail to the gold fields in present-day Montana. It was first constructed in 1866, and was tasked with protecting travelers who were heading northwest along the Bozeman Trail; there were about 400 troops stationed there. However, from the very beginning, the Native Americans in the area had a issue with the fort’s presence, and they ended up fighting several battles over control of the North Powder River in the area.
When the Army first envisioned the forts along the Bozeman Trail, the land was occupied by the Crow tribe, who believed that cooperating with the US Government was in their best interest; they accepted the forts on their land, which had been “granted” to them by the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty. However, dwindling herds of bison meant that the tribes were moving around more to seek food; the Lakota tribe took control of the area, decided to ignore the treaty boundaries, and were decidedly less accepting of the presence of the US Army.
The tribes had seen the devastation inflicted on the land and the natural resources by white settlers traveling on the Oregon and California Trails, and they were determined to protect this area, one of their last open hunting grounds, which was critical for their way of life. The Lakota, cooperating with the Northern Cheyenne and the Northern Arapaho tribes, launched a series of small scale attacks on troops, travelers, and civilian laborers working out of the forts. One such skirmish erupted further; the Fetterman Fight in 1866. However, as that battle was fought about three miles away from the fort, I will talk more about it in a later post; I visited the battle site the next day.
It costs $5 to visit; $3 if you are a Wyoming resident. When you visit, the Visitor’s Center has a brief film that goes over the details of the fort, the Fetterman Fight and the Wagon Box Fight that occurred in 1867. There is also a diorama of the layout of the original fort. There is a lot of imagination that goes into your visit; the original fort was burned in 1868 and the replica buildings have not been constructed. The fort site has had some excavations; a map and signs mark out where the original buildings were located. There is a rebuilt section of the fort wall, so you can try to imagine what it would have looked like. The cemetery down the hill also contains burials of some of the soldiers and civilians who were killed during the Army’s short occupation here.
Today it is a peaceful grassland, and it is still a sparsely populated area. I can only imagine how remote it was back in the 1860s; the fort was 236 miles from its nearest neighbor, Fort Laramie. That would have been an incredibly difficult journey on horseback or in a wagon trail even in the best weather, not to mention temperatures of 30 below zero during a harsh winter.
I saw magpies and pronghorn in the grass beyond the fort’s boundaries when I visited, and imagined what it would have been like when the area had large herds of bison. It was worth the visit to see the wildlife I did see!
After my wanders at the fort, I went back to camp for a nice nap! | <urn:uuid:970e97e1-3bab-4eaf-b25f-face70fefd27> | {
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The Rotator Cuff is the most common source of shoulder pain, weakness and dysfunction. While the Rotator Cuff can be injured in a fall, a motor vehicle accident or by other trauma, most of the time the Rotator Cuff becomes damaged there is no trauma involved, and a cause is never found. This is because the Rotator Cuff most often becomes injured simply by normal wear and tear, especially if overuse is involved. While older individuals are most commonly affected, young athletes and workers who overuse their shoulder are also susceptible to Rotator Cuff problems. In fact, Rotator Cuff injuries are so common that they could almost be considered part of the human condition. Rotator Cuff problems happen to all kinds of people, most of whom aren’t even sure how it happened.
Rotator Cuff pain can be felt on the front, back or outside of the shoulder. It is usually also felt on the outside of the upper arm and may even be “referred” down to the elbow, or sometimes as far down as the wrist. Rotator Cuff pain is usually worse at night, when lifting the arm, with sudden motion and when putting the arm behind the back (as when putting a hand into a back pocket, fastening a bra or reaching into the back seat of a car).
The shoulder is a ball and socket joint, which is designed to provide great mobility. If the deltoid muscle acted alone, every time the arm was raised, the deltoid would pull the humeral head up into the acromion (the bone on top of the shoulder that the deltoid is attached to). Instead of the arm elevating, the shoulder would just shrug. It is the Rotator Cuff’s job to stabilize the ball in the socket so that this doesn’t happen. The Rotator Cuff keeps the shoulder’s ball centered in its socket like a golf ball balanced on a tee. With the humeral head (the ball) centered in the glenoid socket, the deltoid can elevate the arm. The Rotator Cuff keeps the ball centered by pressing it into the socket so that it can’t slide up.
Many Rotator Cuff problems occur because the Rotator Cuff is a relatively small muscle-tendon unit, and the deltoid is a lot bigger and stronger. We tend to preferentially use the big muscles of our body and allow our smaller muscles, such as the Rotator Cuff, to weaken. In addition, the Rotator Cuff has a relatively poor blood supply and may not get enough oxygen to repair itself when over-used or damaged. For these reasons, the deltoid muscle maintains its strength better with aging and overuse. So if the Rotator Cuff isn’t taken care of, it degenerates and becomes weak, predisposing it to becoming damaged.
Physicians used to think that the problem was Rotator Cuff “Tendinitis”, which means inflammation of the Rotator Cuff. However, since shoulder surgeons started looking at injured Rotator Cuff Tendons under the microscope we now know that this is not correct. What really happens is that the Rotator Cuff degenerates, without inflammation. The technical name for this degeneration is Rotator Cuff “Tendinosis”. Tendinosis tissue is painful in and of itself. Older physicians may use the term “bursitis”, but this term is extremely inaccurate.
Rotator Cuff Tendinosis is most commonly an overuse injury. Overuse occurs when repetitive activity leads to tissue damage quicker than the body can heal it. Over time, repetitive trauma eventually leads to chronic tissue breakdown (tendinosis) and pain.
As the Rotator Cuff gets damaged it also becomes weaker. And as the Rotator Cuff becomes weaker it is less able to hold the humeral head down in the glenoid socket where it belongs. So when the arm is raised up in the presence of a weak Rotator Cuff, the humeral head gets pulled abnormally high by the large deltoid muscle. And as the humeral head rides high, the Rotator Cuff attached to the top of it contacts the bony acromion above it. This contact may further damage the Rotator Cuff, which further weakens it, and so on in a vicious cycle.
If the wear and tear goes on long enough the Rotator Cuff degeneration (tendinosis) progresses to a full-thickness Rotator Cuff Tear. Rotator Cuff Tears are a more advanced or chronic problem. In addition to pain, Rotator Cuff Tears are often associated with weakness.
Young people with Rotator Cuff problems may have underlying shoulder instability. Even if the shoulder has never dislocated (come out of the socket), the chronic stresses of overhead athletics or work can lead to ligament stretching / damage, which causes subtle shoulder instability. Once subtle shoulder instability is present, the Rotator Cuff has to work even harder to keep the humeral head centered in its socket. This predisposes to overuse injuries of the Rotator Cuff, degenerative tendinosis, pain, weakness and dysfunction.
There is a balance between the stresses applied to a shoulder and the Rotator Cuff’s strength that is used to absorb these applied stresses. When the stress applied exceeds what the Rotator Cuff has the strength to absorb, tissue damage occurs. To treat mild or moderate Rotator Cuff damage, either lower the stress or increase the Rotator Cuff’s strength so that it is able to absorb the applied stresses.
For example, if a shoulder hurts every time its arm is raised, pain can be avoided by not raising the arm up. If arm elevation is avoided for long enough the shoulder may not hurt so much. The problem is that the shoulder has a distinct “use it or lose it” quality, and avoiding arm elevation can lead to permanent shoulder stiffness.
The better treatment is to increase the strength and endurance of the Rotator Cuff and shoulder blade muscles. This cures most cases of shoulder pain. In many cases these specialized strengthening exercises are all that is necessary to cure the Rotator Cuff Tendinosis, especially if the problem is caught early. These exercises are taught by a therapist and performed using elastic resistance (big rubber bands, such as an Isotube), which work better than dumbbell weights.
A steroid injection into the shoulder is usually provided; injections into other areas of the body won’t help shoulder pain as much. The injection is not a long-term cure, but it can decrease pain, provide comfort at night to allow sleep, and allow the Rotator Cuff strengthening exercises to be performed without discomfort. Pain relief from an injection lasts an average of three months, although injections don’t help some people at all and others swear the injection cured them. As for other conditions, multiple injections into the same area can lead to tissue weakness and damage, and is discouraged.
A full course of specific strengthening exercises should usually be undertaken prior to considering surgery. In the absence of a full-thickness Rotator Cuff Tear, surgery should be reserved for failure of non-operative management. If three months of strengthening and an injection don’t lead to a decrease in pain, then the choice is to: 1) Accept the problem and live with it, 2) Continue strengthening, although if strengthening exercises haven’t helped after 2-3 months the odds are low that they will help in the future, 3) Undergo surgery.
There are a lot of misconceptions about the Rotator Cuff and its treatment. Many surgeons were taught that the Rotator Cuff gets injured because the bone above it, the acromion, has a hook or a bone spur that “impinges” against it when the shoulder is raised. This has led to the term “Impingement Syndrome” being commonly used to describe Rotator Cuff pain. Because of this, the most common shoulder surgery currently performed is the “Subacromial Decompression” or “Acromioplasty”, where bone from the acromion is removed to relieve this alleged impingement.
However, essentially all of the evidence gathered over the past 15-20 years states that the theory of “Impingement” is simply not true. As previously noted, it is now known that Rotator Cuff pain is caused by degeneration of the Rotator Cuff tendon, i.e. tendinosis. In the vast majority of cases, the “impingement” of the Rotator Cuff against the undersurface of the acromion (bone) is the resultof Rotator Cuff dysfunction, notthe cause. Any “hook” or “bone spur” present has been formed within a very important structure, the CA (Coraco-Acromial) ligament. The undersurface of the acromion and the CA ligament are, in the vast majority of individuals, normal structures designed to act as a “back-up system” to help elevate the shoulder after the Rotator Cuff naturally weakens and degenerates with age. Many MRI and cadaveric studies have shown that this “hook” or “bone spur” does not cause problems in the vast majority of patients. And not only is this “bone spur” removal often unnecessary, it often causes additional pain and stiffness, and potentially compromise future shoulder function. In fact, surgically removing the CA ligament, the structure that the hook forms inside of, can sometimes lead to permanently losing the ability to elevate the shoulder. It is usually preferable to leave the acromion bone intact. In addition, removing part of the acromion and the CA ligament (as done during a Subacromial Decompression or Acromioplasty) does nothing to remove the degenerative Rotator Cuff Tendinosis, which is usually the primary source of pain.
The simple truth is that the arthroscopic subacromial decompression, which removes the “bone spur” or “hook”, does not work that well. Many times appropriate strengthening exercises are not tried before surgery, so that “bone spur” or “hook” removal is often performed in cases where simple strengthening without any surgery would have cured the problem. After the surgery, a Rotator Cuff strengthening program is then used and the patient eventually feels better. But was it the surgery or the therapy that helped?
Good question: Dr. Kirkley conducted an excellent research study where she made sure that all of her patients had appropriate Rotator Cuff strengthening performed before surgery and then operated only on those patients who didn’t get better from the strengthening. The results? Only 47% of patients (less than half) got better following Subacromial Decompression (aka. Acromioplasty).1 A more recent study by Dr. Ketola showed that patients that had the subacromial decompression surgery plus strengthening did no better than those patients who had strengthening alone without surgery.2 So why have a surgery done to your shoulder that adds nothing (except the potential for complications) to the cure rate of simple Rotator Cuff and shoulder blade muscle strengthening alone?
But if Subacromial Decompression / Acromioplasty don’t work any better than Rotator Cuff and shoulder blade muscle strengthening alone, what surgery does? There is another arthroscopic procedure that simply removes the Rotator Cuff Tendinosis, the primary problem, without any of the “collateral damage” of an arthroscopic subacromial decompression. This newer procedure is called Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Debridement (ARCD) and is extremely effective. ARCD involves simply removing the unhealthy rotator cuff tissue, while leaving the normal structures alone. The acromion bone, “hook” or “bone spur” are not removed, unless there is a visible abnormality.
In two original research studies that I published.3,4 ARCD led to excellent or good results in 79-87% of patients that had already failed 3-6 months of Rotator Cuff and shoulder blade muscle strengthening. The complication rate was extremely low, and no patient was made worse. This is in contrast to the subacromial decompression, where permanent pain, stiffness, and even permanent loss of shoulder elevation may occur.
Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Debridement (ARCD) minimizes post-operative pain and complications. If a Rotator Cuff Tear is present, it is repaired arthroscopically. If the shoulder is unstable, it is stabilized arthroscopically.
There are no formal activity restrictions following ARCD, as long as no other shoulder procedures are performed. Keep the arthroscopy portals (stab wounds) clean and dry for 48 hours. Before 48 hours, bathing is fine; just keep the shoulder above water and don’t get the dressings wet. After 48 hours, the wounds can get wet in the shower, then blot them dry. Don’t submerge the wounds under water until the stitches are removed, which usually happens at the first post-operative visit 2 weeks after the surgery. The elbow, wrist, forearm and hand can all be moved early on, to prevent stiffness.
During Shoulder Arthroscopy, fluid is placed into the shoulder. This fluid will leak out over the first 2-3 days, and is not blood. After 2-3 days, the shoulder can be gently moved within the limits of pain. The same Rotator Cuff and shoulder blade muscle strengthening program used before surgery is usually restarted at roughly 2 weeks after surgery.
1) Kirkley A, Litchfield RB, Jackowski DM, Lo IK: The use of the impingement test as a predictor of outcome following subacromial decompression for rotator cuff tendinosis. Arthroscopy 18:8-15, 2002.
2) Ketola, S., J. Lehtinen, et al: Does arthroscopic acromioplasty provide any additional value in the treatment of shoulder impingement syndrome?: A two-year randomised controlled trial. J Bone Joint Surg Br 91: 1326-34, 2009.
3) Budoff JE, Nirschl RP, Guidi EJ: Debridement of Partial-Thickness Tears of the Rotator Cuff Without Acromioplasty: Long-Term Follow-up and Review of the Literature. J Bone Joint Surg 80A:733-748, 1998.
4) Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Debridement (Without Decompression) for Tendinosis, Budoff JE, Rodin DM, Ochiai D, Nirschl RP, Arthroscopy, Vol 21; 1081-9, 2005. | <urn:uuid:00114247-2447-482c-9b98-cf105e40092a> | {
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Started by NASA in 2006, the COTS program was designed to provide a foundation that private companies could build upon and develop systems for sending cargo up to the International Space Station (ISS). Out of the process emerged two companies who were given the task- Orbital Sciences Corp., or “Orbital” and Space Explorations Technologies or “SpaceX.” Following years of testing, development, some failures and many successes SpaceX came forward with a 158 foot tall booster it calls the Falcon 9. Burning the same propellants as the historic Saturn V moon rocket, RP-1 (a form of purified Kerosene) and liquid oxygen, the Falcon 9’s first stage sports nine engines and produces 854,000 pounds of thrust. The second stage has a single engine that also burns a combination of LOX and RP-1. That stage produces 93,000 pounds of thrust. Atop the stack is mounted the Dragon spacecraft, a capsule and service module combination that is designed to not only carry cargo, but to also one day carry astronauts. After a successful June 2010 test flight of the Falcon 9, SpaceX went on to pass NASA’s “COTS 1” milestone in December of that same year by orbiting and recovering a dragon capsule. The next two milestones were to orbit a Dragon spacecraft within about 7 miles of the ISS in “COTS 2” and to actually rendezvous with the ISS in “COTS 3.” SpaceX decided to save both time and money by combining both milestones into one mission “COTS 2/3” which is counting down tonight.
Perhaps the most important point for everyone to keep in mind here tonight is that above all tonight’s launch attempt is a test… period. Along with that sobering reminder two other facts hang over tonight’s effort like a lattice of doubt. First, due to rendezvous fuel constraints, the mission has an “instantaneous launch window” meaning that eve a delay of a single second in the terminal countdown will result in a scrub. Second is the fact that SpaceX has never before conducted a terminal countdown to a launch without a “hold” and a recycle. That combination has resulted in a large degree of pessimism among the press corps tonight- in fact, I suggested that we should start taking bets on a launch getting off without a scrub- there have been no takers.
Here in the press site the silence is deafening. Of course there is the ever present din of conversation, but missing is “the loop.” The constant chatter of the voices of the members of the launch team that was always openly broadcast by NASA during Shuttle launches. We’re not used to this silence, not used to this not knowing the details of what is happening as the countdown takes place. The cause of this silence is rooted in the nature of this new “commercial” space program. Private companies are exactly that- private, and as such most of what they do is protected by a proprietary firewall. In other words, they reserve the right to not have to tell the public a darned thing. Anything that does come out is also heavily censored by the company. This is simply how all private companies do business, no matter if it is the development of toothpaste or spacecraft- it is how a private firm survives in a competitive environment. We will simply have to get used to it. Largely, conflict here comes when hundreds of millions of tax dollars are being used to seed a program that needs wide public and Congressional support and the proprietary firewall is in use. Meanwhile all we have is “the voice of NASA” giving us sanitized updates on the countdown rather than live information. It is a throw-back to the 1960s when NASA’s Shorty Powers told the press all they “needed” to know. Finally at T-00:40:00 the loop comes alive. NASA and SpaceX have come to a compromise- a few blurbs of launch control conversation in the waning minutes of the count will give the feeling of how it used to be.
Thus the countdown clock keeps ticking tonight and as long as it keeps going the launch is still “GO.” Oddly, there is a lot more riding on tonight’s test as a result of those who fail to remember that this IS after all a test. COTS and its two providers are currently more than two years behind schedule, and the Congress has taken a high degree of notice. There are several failure scenarios that could take place tonight- some are easy to swallow and some could have deep consequences for SpaceX and COTS. In the event that there is a glitch in the count that causes a hold and thus expires the launch window, such a thing would be an easy delay to live with. Likewise, an ignition and on-the-pad shutdown also would be an easy glitch to live with. If, however, the booster needed to be aborted and thus destroyed in flight, raining kibbles and bits into the Atlantic Ocean, the results would devastating for SpaceX. Recent Congressional hearings have raised questions about the ability of these “commercial” operators to deliver in the manner that they have boasted. A few in Congress appear poised to, at worst, pull the plug on COTS or at least make funds harder to obtain unless some big successes are seen. Most of this appears to be based in the loss of the ideal of what rocket test flying is all about.
T-00:32:24 and outside of the press site the famous countdown clock ticks down with an amber glow in the haze of the night’s humidity, the historic Complex 39 launch pads sit inert in the darkness and in the grassy field where crowds normally gathered to watch America’s conquest of space, there is now no one- not one soul. The voice of NASA echoes hollow in the night, but the bleachers are empty- it’s actually spooky.
T-00:21:18 NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden comes in to meet with a crowd of “NASA Social” visitors who have been accumulating in the press building. They gather in the back of the room and chatter as they take photos. In less than four minutes, he is gone and the NASA Social folks disburse outdoors to watch the expected launch and feed the bugs for the next 20 minutes. The rest of us remain indoors writing and working.
T-00:08:14 NASA PAO reports that “The International Space Station is passing over Florida now.” A lot of us hustle outside and look up into the night’s sky, but we see nothing. Either the pass was too low to the horizon for us to see it, or PAO was late on their call. Six minutes later we head out to the field for the final countdown. Some find seats in the distant bleachers, but even there the rocket itself is below the tree-line and out of sight. A half dozen of us, however, find a spot where the trees have a low gap and the rocket itself is actually visible. Listening to the echo of the P.A. system we hear the count move toward zero, “This may actually go.” someone says. “Three, two,” NASA PAO counts, “one, zero…” There is a dim orange glow at the base of the Falcon 9, “and lift…” the voice tails off as the orange glow rapidly diminishes as does the launch window. “We have a cutoff” is the announcement followed by rapid checklists as the launch control team goes into the abort and safing procedures. The first report is that the flight computer was not “in start” but a later call says, “Abort, engine five chamber pressure high.” Later we are told that a fuel lean mixture caused the temp. in engine number five five to increase into the abort limit. The software did its job and shut down the booster on half a second before the hold-downs let go. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated in the post abort press conference, “We can’t blame the software people this time.”
We are done for the day, the instantaneous launch window has expired instantaneously. Yet the Falcon 9 is intact, it is in a safe condition, today’s test has found a glitch, the cause will be determined and fixed. That’s what test flights are for. | <urn:uuid:c46361d0-38c9-4445-87c0-f8b8e52c2dfb> | {
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Learn something new every day More Info... by email
A topic sentence opens a paragraph and states or suggests what the body of the paragraph will discuss. To maintain clarity, topic sentences must be specific and focused, giving a clear introduction to the analysis or description that follows. Topic sentences can also be used as transitional devices, helping the author move from the information in prior paragraphs to a new or extended point. Though topic sentences are not always required, they are frequently used in analytical and creative writing.
The topic sentence serves as the opening statement of a paragraph. Placing the main point in the first sentence allows the reader to quickly comprehend what the body will cover in detail. Using the topic sentence as a succinct statement of the body of the paragraph can also benefit the writer: In timed essay writing, one strategy is to sketch out the topic sentence of each paragraph before beginning the essay, as this allows the writer start writing with an existing plan for the order and flow of ideas he or she will present.
Specificity is important to the crafting of a good topic sentence. An opening line that is too broad may leave the reader confused as to which specific points are being discussed. For example, the sentence “Unwanted pets may end up at the shelter for many reasons, but there are few good solutions for them,” might be considered too broad, since it is unclear whether the paragraph will discuss the many reasons pets are at shelters, or the paucity of solutions to the problem. A more specific topic sentence, such as “Unwanted pets end up at shelters for many reasons, including illness, loss of family income, and neglect,” helps set up the body of the paragraph by briefly explaining what will be discussed.
In addition to providing specificity, topic sentences can also serve as a means of transition to a new statement. If a writer wishes to use the information from the previous paragraph to further a point, he or she might include an opening clause that references the relevant material. For instance, using the last example, the next paragraph about pets in shelters might begin, “With so many reasons why pets end up in the pound, it is easy to see why overcrowding at local shelters is a problem.” By referencing the last paragraph, the writer can then build on the knowledge already gained to lay out a new point or extend an existing argument.
Not all paragraphs use or require topic sentences. Paragraph that list steps or actions, such as in cooking recipes, often do not need a topic sentence for clarity. In creative writing, many professionals eschew this form of writing altogether, considering it too formal and restrictive for a natural flow of ideas. Nevertheless, they are often required in essays, term papers, and other forms of required writing exercises. In general, however, a topic sentence is best used when it helps clarify ideas or arguments for either the writer or the intended audience.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | <urn:uuid:6f81fffe-5db9-4668-ab6c-ae6b94ec043d> | {
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Germany, the son of a German father and an English mother, E. Elisabeth Finlayson, from Cheltenham. In 1910 he obtained his degree of Dr. Phil. for work carried out at Göttingen under the famous mathematician Felix Klein.
From the beginning of his career and throughout his life Freundlich was especially interested in Einstein's Theory of Relativity and in its astronomical applications, a subject on which he published several books and a number of papers (The Foundation of Einstein's Theory of Gravitation, Cambridge, 1920; The Theory of Relativity, London, 1924). In 1924 he created the Einstein Institute, with considerable financial support from German industrial and commercial circles, in the grounds of the Astrophysical Observatory, Potsdam, Germany. This first European solar tower telescope with its large spectrographs, in its whole scientific design and architectural style, was well ahead of its time (Das Turmteleskop der Einstein-Stiftung, Berlin, 1927). Freundlich's leadership of a lively and active team soon made the Einstein Tower a centre of modern astrophysics which attracted many visitors from abroad.
In 1926 and 1929 Freundlich organized two carefully planned and specially equipped solar eclipse expeditions, both to Sumatra. Their main purpose was to verify the gravitational light deflection predicted by Einstein's theory, at that time a task of fundamental importance. The expedition of 1929 was particularly successful: it gave for light deflection a result with one of the smallest mean errors ever obtained. (Abh. Preuss. Akad. Wiss., Nr. 1, 1931, Phys. Math. KI.). The observed deflection, however, exceeded the predicted one. This apparent tendency towards a slightly larger observed value was found also by other measurements of the light deflection and Freundlich carried out several special investigations in an attempt to clear up this discrepancy (Z. Astrophys., 6, 218, 1933).
In 1933, when the Nazis seized power, Freundlich, like many German scientists, left Germany for good, abandoning all he had so successfully created at Potsdam, and went to Istanbul. There he brought into being a new department of astronomy and wrote also the first textbook on astronomy to be published in Turkish. In 1936 he was appointed Professor in the University of Prague, building up there another astronomical department. Once again he had to leave when in 1939 the Nazis extended their power farther to the east. He was fortunate in obtaining an astronomical appointment in Scotland where he was to stay for the next twenty years.
Sir Peter Radford Scott Lang, for several decades Regius Professor of Mathematics in the University of St Andrews, had always hoped that one day a lectureship in astronomy would be founded at St Andrews. His daughter, Miss Edith Mary Valentine Scott Lang, made this possible by a bequest to the University and in 1939 Freundlich was appointed to the new lectureship. In 1951 a Chair of Astronomy was formally established, with which Sir Peter Scott Lang had expressed a wish that the name of Baron Napier of Merchiston should be associated. On January 1, 1951, Freundlich became the first Napier Professor of Astronomy in the University of St Andrews, a post which he held until his retirement in 1955.
When appointed to St Andrews he immediately began to build up a new department of astronomy; the initial observatory building had been completed as early as 1940. During the war the department was used mainly for lectures on navigation to personnel from neighbouring airfields and Freundlich published a booklet on air navigation (Air Navigation, Edinburgh, 1945). During his years in St Andrews, Freundlich was occupied chiefly with various problems in the field of stellar dynamics (Mon. Not. Roy. Astr. Soc., 107, 268, 1947), celestial mechanics (Celestial Mechanics, London, 1958; Cosmology, Chicago, 1951), and relativity (Mon. Not. Roy. Astr. Soc., 104, 40, 1944). In particular he published, with a number of collaborators, papers on the problem of the empirical confirmation of gravitational light deflection and of the relativistic red-shift of solar spectral lines which fascinated him all his days (Phil. Mag., 45, 303, 1954; Proc. Phys. Soc. Lond., 67A, 192, 1954; Ann. Astrophys., 19, 183, 1956; ibid., 19, 21S, 1956; ibid., 22, 727, 1959).
In addition to his lectures one of his main tasks was the setting up of a refracting telescope for St Andrews University. The year 1949 saw the completion of the 17-inch pilot model of a special Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, the optical design of which was due to Dr E H Linfoot of Cambridge (Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope of Dundee, Nature, Lond., 165, 703, 1950). The pilot instrument was given practical tests at the Mills Observatory, Dundee, and it was so successful that it was decided to build, partly in the Observatory's own workshop at St Andrews, a larger model of 37 inches (A New Telescope in Scotland, Sky & Telese., 12, 176, 1953). This was a major undertaking, but in Mr R L Waland, the chief mechanic of the Observatory's workshop, Freundlich found a very skilful optician and collaborator. Following his retirement in 1955, Freundlich held a temporary appointment in the University of St Andrews to enable him to continue with the telescope project. In 1957 he went to live in Wiesbaden, where he had had a new house built, but he continued to make frequent visits to St Andrews in his capacity of Director of the Observatory until his successor was appointed in 1959 (Nature, Lond., 184, 768, 1959). However, the telescope was far from complete by that time.
The laboratory of the Observatory was used at that time for an investigation into the technique of producing multicoated interferometer plates (Dr A H Jarrett) (Z. Astrophys., 34, 91, 1954). Such plates were used subsequently with very good results on several solar eclipse expeditions (1954, 1955, 1958), undertaken in collaboration with the Cambridge University Observatories, for observations of the emission lines of the solar corona. At the same time the successful nucleus of a geophysical group for observing night glow and for auroral studies came into being at the Observatory in St Andrews. Freundlich himself retained a keen interest in the measurement of relativistic light deflection. Through the kindness of the Astrophysical Observatory in Potsdam he arranged that the specially large Potsdam equipment, which he had used so successfully at the 1929 eclipse for the same purpose, should be used once more for an eclipse expedition in 1954 in which he himself took part. The arrangement was repeated in 1955. Unfortunately, bad weather prevented success on both occasions. In his later years Freundlich was intensely interested also in the question of whether there might exist an as yet unknown photon-photon reaction in radiation fields which, if existing, might influence the measurement of light deflection as well as that of the relativistic red shift of spectral lines (Nachr. Ges. Wiss. Göttingen, 1953, 95: Z. Astrophys., 58, 283, 1964).
In 1955 Freundlich had been appointed Professor Emeritus at St Andrews University at the age of seventy. At the age of seventy-four he made his last official visit to that University and finally settled in his home in Wiesbaden, but not in retirement: even there he remained active, lecturing as an Honorar-professor at the nearby University of Mainz.
Freundlich was unfailing in his kindness and helpfulness towards colleagues and friends, both in scientific and in personal matters. He was always prepared to organize new research facilities for his staff and to obtain all possible support for his collaborators even under difficult conditions. As one of his collaborators at St Andrews expressed it: 'problems, either academic or personal, were always of interest to him and I have never known him not to make time for a talk on almost any subject'. By nature he was of a kind and generous disposition and on several occasions he came to the assistance of genuinely impoverished students. This tall, distinguished man will long be remembered with affection by his staff and by the students of his era at St Andrews.
(See also complete Bibliography in Astronomische Nachrichten, 288, No. 5/6, 1965.).
(See also complete Bibliography in Astronomische Nachrichten, 288, No. 5/6, 1965.). | <urn:uuid:4b11514a-03f3-4a74-9353-d80df0881cfc> | {
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Biodiversity Series, Paper No. 4
S.R. Morton, J. Short and R.D. Barker, with an Appendix by G.F. Griffin and G. Pearce
Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, 1995
8. Foci of biological diversity in New South Wales
8.1. Darling Riverine Plains
Sheep grazing, cotton growing, tourism.
National Parks and Nature Reserves
Kinchega National Park, Macquarie Marshes National Park, Nearie Lake Nature Reserve, Narran Lake Nature Reserve.
Land degradation through over-grazing (Benson 1991; Pickard 1991; Pickard and Norris 1994; Wilcox and Cunningham 1994). Water quality in the rivers of the Region is declining rapidly, mainly as a result of removal of water for irrigation and from increased salinity caused chiefly by irrigation runoff (e.g. Helman and Estella 1983; Pressey and Harris 1988; Dendy and Coombe 1991; Richardson 1994; Sharley and Huggan 1994). Clearing for agriculture in marginal lands continues to be a problem (Benson 1991; Cambell 1994). Finally, control of vertebrate pests (Freudenberger 1993; Newsome 1994).
The plants Senecio behrianus (E) and Swainsona pyrophila (V) are reported from the lower Darling River (Bowen and Pressey 1993).
Species that are regionally endemic
Reptiles: : The worm-skink Anomalopus mackayi is largely confined to the Region, although it extends a little to the north-east (Cogger 1992). It is at risk because its habitat has been cleared for cropping or degraded by grazing (Cogger et al. 1993, pp. 76-77; Sadlier and Pressey 1994).
Fishes: Two-spined blackfish Gadopsis bispinosus, Murray jollytail Galaxias rostratus, Australian rainbowfish Melanotaenia fluviatilis, Macquarie perch Macquaria australasica, Murray cod Maccullochella peeli, and silver perch Bidyanus bidyanus are endemic to the Murray-Darling system (Lloyd et al. 1991).
Many populations of the 29 species of fishes within the Murray-Darling system have contracted markedly due to dramatic changes in the rivers (Lloyd et al. 1991; Richardson 1994).
Other significant populations
Mammals: Dickman et al. (1993) considered the greater long-eared bat Nyctophilus timoriensis and the yellow-bellied sheath-tail bat Saccolaimus flaviventris to be sparse and at risk because their tree-roosting behaviour exposed them to loss of habitat and predation by cats.
Birds: Freckled ducks Stictonetta naevosa breed in the Region (Blakers et al. 1984). Smith et al. (1994) considered many waterbirds to be of conservation concern because of alterations to their habitats, and considered that the plum-headed finch Neochmia modesta was of conservation concern in the Region.
Reptiles: Populations of the elapid snake Notechis scutatus and the python Morelia spilota variegata are declining in riverine habitats along the Murray-Darling system (Sadlier and Pressey 1994). Eastern populations of the elapid snake Echiopsis curta are confined to mallee areas of the Region, and may be at risk from clearing and grazing (Cogger et al. 1993, pp. 147-149; Sadlier and Pressey 1994).
Plants: Bowen and Pressey (1993) recorded the rare plants Echinochloa lacunaria, Acanthocladium dockeri, Leptorhynchos waitzia, Ipomoea diamantinensis, Ptychosperma anomalum, Swainsona adenophylla, S. laxa, and Solanum karsensis.
Information is primarily extracted from Wettin et al. (1993).
Darling Anabranch Lakes: A complex of wetlands comprising Mindona Lake, Little Lake, Travellers Lake, Popio Lake, Popilta Lake, Yeltow Lake, Nialia Lake, Nearie Lake, Milkengay Lake and associated lagoons located along the Great Anabranch of the lower Darling River. The dominant features of the Anabranch are the large overflow lakes which occur along its middle reaches. The lakes are shallow and none is permanent, although the largest retain water for up to five years. When not flooded many of the lakes are cropped. Water regulation in the Anabranch has had a significant effect on flows to Nearie Lake Nature Reserve, modifying the original flooding regime, which may have a significant impact on vegetation and fauna species.
Macquarie Marshes: Located on the lower Macquarie River near Warren, NSW. The wetland comprises a complex of braided swamps, channels and gilgai floodplain, inundated by flooding from the lower Macquarie River and its effluents and anabranches (Paijmans, 1981). Some flooding occurs in most years, but the Macquarie River is a regulated system, and the magnitude and frequency of flooding have been reduced. The vegetation consists of extensive areas of reeds and woodlands of river red gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis, with limited areas of lignum. Marginal areas have woodlands of coolibah E. microtheca and black box E. largiflorens. Following flooding, there is widespread breeding of many species of waterbirds involving 42 species (Brooker 1992). The Macquarie Marshes provide drought refuge when wetlands in other parts of the state, especially more inland areas, are dry; over 60 species have been recorded (Brooker 1992). They also provide habitat for a substantial fauna of reptiles that are either aquatic or strongly associated with water (Brooker and Wombey 1986). The nature reserve area is already listed as a Ramsar wetland, and the remainder of the marshes are proposed for listing.
Narran Lakes: Comprises lakes and wetlands associated with the Narran River west of Walgett, NSW. The wetland is the terminal drainage basin of the Narran River, and consists of overflow swamps through which flows the River to terminate in the large Lake. Flooding probably occurs in about one in two to five years, after which water may persist for up to two years. The overflow swamp is vegetated with dense lignum, together with river cooba Acacia stenophylla and coolibah along the river banks. Following flooding, there is a large influx of waterbirds to the area, and many species breed. Very large nesting colonies of straw-necked ibis Threskiornis spinicollis occupy the overflow swamp, and large concentrations of ducks occur the lake as water recedes (Lawler and Briggs 1991). As with other wetlands of this Region, the Narran Lakes provide potential waterbird drought refuge when wetlands in other areas of the inland are dry (Kingsford et al. 1990). Narran Lake has been proposed for nomination to the Ramsar Convention.
Talyawalka Anabranch and Teryawynia Creek: Comprises wetlands of the Talyawalka Anabranch of the Darling River, and its distributary Teryawynia Creek, located between Wilcannia and Menindee. It consists of a series of braided channels across the floodplain, interspersed by a series of intermittent wet and dry lakebeds. Most of the lakes are inundated by overflow from Teryawynia Creek, but several (Sayers, Gum, Boolaboolka, North and Ratcatchers Lakes) are inundated by overflow from the other lakes. The system supports large areas of black box. When inundated, these lakes provide habitat for large numbers of waterbirds. | <urn:uuid:ad590cfc-77d9-444c-b3a0-7663790aaaa2> | {
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I would like to request to solve the problem. The problem is:
1)Consider the pdf
f(x)= B xB-1 0<x<1
Use Monte Carlo method (MCM)to generate and print 10 observations from this distribution, with Beta(B)=.5. You will write a simple R code for any value of B. Generate but donot print 10,000 observations, compute their sample mena and compare it to the true mean(of the distribution above).
2)Same question as above for the so-called Weibull distribution, with h=1.5find first F -1.)You will write down a simple R code for any value of h.
f(x) = (3/h3 )x2 e(-x 3 /h2 ) 0<x<infinity | <urn:uuid:335ab1b0-220d-4356-b5f5-0bf0ac43af2e> | {
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Were you a jock, nerd, druggie, goth, or a plastic in high school? Students are often labeled by the crowd they hang with, or by their activities, or by their choice of fashion or music. Educational psychologist Bradford Brown has been studying adolescent social labels since the 1980s, and talks about how those terms have changed over time. For one thing, as schools get bigger, there are more labels.
We also know that crowd labels in middle school differ from those in high school. Early in middle school, kids call each other names like “the runaround crowd,” “the door crowd,” “the skip rope crowd”—a map of concrete activities that go on at recess. But, Brown said, by the time they’re in high school, they use their relatively more mature brains to map their social worlds in more abstract terms. The result are true crowd labels—“jocks,” “punks,” “brainiacs”—that don’t refer to actual individuals in the lunchrooms and hallways, but to categories that teenagers carry in their heads. Using a crowd label as a kind of mental shorthand explains why idiosyncratic ones might not happen that often—the more generic the name, the more usable it is. | <urn:uuid:46438805-46ed-4c41-96cc-92ec454c0e8d> | {
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Three realizations have finally awakened the financial world to the risks of global warming:
- If a climate catastrophe is to be avoided, a large percentage of existing fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned, making the companies who own them considerably less valuable;
- Falling demand for coal could reduce coal company profitability even to the point of bankruptcy; and
- Increasingly frequent extreme weather events threaten not only insurance companies but also real estate investors, municipal bondholders and other asset holders.
Vulnerable assets matter not only to the companies that own them but also to their debt and equity investors, the portfolios in which these financial assets are held, the companies that hold or manage these portfolios, and even the financial obligations of countries whose national economies might be significantly affected.
These climate-related risks are not well understood. Risk reporting is encouraged by numerous organizations, which companies can follow or choose to ignore. Efforts to unify these reporting frameworks have had only limited success – but what’s more important is whether disclosure is required or is voluntary.
The voluntary approach has been of little use to investors because of inconsistencies, non-comparability across companies and sectors, and the lack of explicit quantitative financial information. Consequently, most mainstream investors and asset managers say that such non-financial information plays little or no role in their investment decisions.
Some financial firms have tried to fill the disclosure gap with their own analyses. Major banking groups, ratings agencies, and investment advisory firms have issued reports, some based on “bottom-up” analyses starting with individual firms and asset classes, other using scenario-based macro-economic models. A good example combining these approaches is the Carbon Risk Valuation Tool developed by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. To assess individual energy companies’ climate risk, it combines policy scenarios with detailed company-level data on oil and gas reserves and their extraction costs. Although this tool is useful, Bloomberg acknowledges that the lack of specific company data limits its accuracy.
These organizations emphasize that their analyses are no substitute for better financial disclosure and are pushing for mandatory reporting. For example, a Mercer Advisory Services report “Investing in a Time of Climate Change” recommends that investors “Encourage mandatory company reporting on climate risk and related metrics; … encourage disclosure of climate/carbon exposure; ask companies with large carbon footprints for GHG-reduction plans (mitigation); … ask companies with large exposure to weather or resource risks for climate risk management plans (adaptation).”
There is increasing pressure on organizations to start providing to external stakeholders the kinds of information that they use for internal management purposes. Hundreds of firms that now apply an internal proxy “price on carbon” to guide investments decisions are being urged to disclose the results of such analyses. Nonetheless, a recent report by the International Federation of Accountants found that most disclosure still tends to be compliance-oriented, qualitative, and focused on historical financial statements.
Concerned that poorly understood climate risks could lead to financial market shocks, international officials have called for better disclosure. In a 2016 staff paper, the International Monetary Fund wrote: “In financial markets, increased disclosure of firms’ carbon footprints, prudential requirements for the insurance sector, and appropriate stress testing for climate risks will help ensure financial stability during the transition to a low-carbon economy. Analyses of how firms’ asset values could be impacted by de-carbonization are needed to efficiently allocate investments across carbon-intensive and other sectors.” The IMF pledged that its staff will work with member countries and other partners to support initiatives encouraging consistent climate-related disclosures, prudential requirements, and stress testing.
The Financial Stability Board of the G20 countries has created an international Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure, headed by Michael Bloomberg, who stated, “It’s critical that industries and investors understand the risks posed by climate change, but currently there is too little transparency about those risks.”
In 2014, the UN Environment Program initiated a large research program on Energy Transition Risk, which has produced a number of reports calling for more disclosure and risk analysis. These efforts have been backed by numerous national overseers: for example, by the Bank of England and by China’s State Council and Central Bank, among others.
In May 2015, the French government passed a law making climate risk reporting mandatory for institutional investors and commissioning a climate stress test for the finance sector. Many other countries also have laws requiring disclosure of environmental risks.
In the United States, disclosure and transparency form the foundation of securities regulation. Beyond strict accounting standards, the law requires firms to disclose any known trends or uncertainties that might have future material financial effects and any material information needed to prevent statements from misleading investors. Any information is material if a reasonable investor would consider it significant in making investment decisions.
For decades, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was urged unsuccessfully by investor groups and others to apply these disclosure rules to material financial risks stemming from environmental exposures. The SEC has resisted what it sees as “disclosure overload,” claiming inadequate internal resources and avoiding the hardening political divisions about climate change.
Since 2005, institutional investors led by Ceres, the United Nations Foundation, and members of the Investor Network on Climate Risk, have urged the SEC to require companies to disclose financial risks related to climate change. In 2007 a group of institutional investors and former New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo forced the issue by petitioning the SEC to require climate disclosures, and Cuomo separately investigated four electric utilities and a coal company operating in New York for misleading investors. In 2010 these actions tipped the SEC into promulgating an Interpretive Release reminding companies that they must disclose material financial information about their exposure to climate risks, whether physical, regulatory or marketplace.
However, the SEC has not followed up with enforcement. Of the tens of thousands of comment letters it has issued questioning companies’ financial statements, only a handful have concerned environmental or climate disclosures. Consequently, most companies are still responding with compliance-based, qualitative acknowledgements of potential risk and have taken refuge in future uncertainties to avoid more explicit quantitative statements of potential financial impacts, even when the company has intensively studied potential impacts under plausible future scenarios.
For example, the annual 10-K reports issued at the end of 2014 by Arch Coal and Alpha Natural Resources, two companies that declared bankruptcy in the following year, provided little guidance to investors of their serious exposure to climate risk. Alpha maintained that it was unable to estimate the financial impact of clean energy legislation or the Obama Administration’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Arch Coal reassured investors that coal was estimated to remain the dominant fuel for power generation and that, though subject to regulatory risks and competition from gas and renewables, it thought coal to be competitively priced.
In November 2015 Peabody Energy, another coal company, settled an investigation brought by the New York Attorney General that found the company had misled investors by not disclosing internal studies that showed substantially material financial impacts from climate change regulations. It agreed to make more complete disclosures.
Also in 2015, Robert Rubin, former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs and former Secretary of the Treasury, stated: “Investors should demand that companies disclose the impact that climate change could have of their business and assets, the value of their assets that could be stranded by climate change, and the costs they may someday incur to address their carbon emissions. … I believe that such disclosures should be considered material and mandated by the SEC, not just requested by investors.”
In October of 2015 a coalition of 35 senators and congressmen wrote to the Chair of the SEC requesting information about specific steps that it has taken to ensure compliance with its climate disclosure directive and what steps it intends to take in the future. Several investor groups have also written to the SEC requesting action.
This is an issue on which Wall Street and Main Street can unite. Adequate financial disclosure would not only protect investors and help allocate capital efficiently but would also pressure corporations to manage their exposure to climate risks more prudently. The SEC should step up to its responsibilities.
Image Credit: Shever on Flickr
For related content, see:
BACK TO NEWS | <urn:uuid:9730d6c9-5a7b-4e4b-98e0-14932a923d8c> | {
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I am so excited to share this printable Leap Year Coloring Book with you today!
My children and I have not talked much about Leap Year and why it occurs every 4 years, so I wanted to put together a mini unit study for them. This unit study isn’t going to be anything elaborate – just a one day event where we talk quite a bit about the need for a leap year.
Because we do quite a bit of learning one-room schoolhouse-style, I created a neat Leap Year coloring book that all of my children will work on. It’s quite adaptable, so it can be used with ages Preschool through Elementary ages.
Don’t worry – I’ll give you a few suggestions of how to use this with your own kiddos!
Leap Year Coloring Book
I searched a bit online, but couldn’t quite find what I was looking for: a printable informational book to add to our studies.
Because I have girls that love to color, a coloring book-type format is perfect!
Each page in this Leap Year coloring book includes a black and white image to color, while including information about the need for a leap year.
You’ll find each of the pages in this printable numbered in the top right hand corner so your children can easily put the pages in the correct order. Once they organize the pages, the information will read like a story in chronological order.
This printable set also includes a cover page and a back page in which your child must determine their age for the next couple of Leap Years!
Ideas for Using the Leap Year Coloring Book
This information book on Leap Year can be used by a variety of ages!
Here are a few ideas for using this printable with Preschoolers through Elementary Students:
→ Staple or 3-hole punch the pages to create a book.
→ For young learners, simply use as a coloring book as you read the pages and discuss Leap Year.
→ After coloring or decorating the pages, have the older learners use one of the sentences from each page as copywork. Younger learners can choose just one word from each page.
→ Use this booklet as a jumping off point for even more research:
………. What exactly did the Egyptians use for calendars?
………. Research the Julian and Gregorian calendars more in depth. Were the changes well received by the public?
………. What type of calendars are still in use today? Research the Jewish or Chinese calendars of today.
→ Use this booklet for memory work. Have your child choose a fact about Leap Year to memorize and then share with the family.
Note that this Leap Year coloring book is for personal use only. You may purchase this set for classroom use below.
Click the image to download Leap Year Coloring Book for Personal Use Only:
You may purchase the classroom use license below: | <urn:uuid:d52de44b-1fe4-455c-8bde-98b39d2b4b6d> | {
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Workbook pages 92 thru 97. Be sure to read before you highlight. Also, complete the assignment on page 97.
●2 The Nature of Soil
Before You Read
Think of the plants that grow where you live. Do you think
your area would be a good place to grow vegetables? Explain
why or why not on the lines below.
Formation of Soil
Soil science is called pedology. What is soil? Where does
it come from? As you read in the last section, weathering
slowly breaks rocks into smaller and smaller fragments.
A layer of weathered rock and mineral fragments covers
Earth’s surface. But these fragments don’t become good
quality soil until plants and animals live in them. Plants and
animals add organic matter, the remains of once living
organisms. Organic matter can include leaves, twigs, roots,
and dead worms and insects. Soil is a mixture of weathered
rock, decayed organic matter, mineral fragments, water,
What factors affect soil formation?
Soil can take thousands of years to form. In some places
soil is 60 m thick, but in other places it is only a few
centimeters thick. Five factors—climate, slope of the land,
types of rock, types of plants, and the amount of time that
rock has been weathering—affect soil formation. For
example, different types of soil develop in tropical areas
than in polar regions. Soils that form on steep slopes are
different from soils that develop on flat land.
92 Weathering and Soil
How does soil form?
Over time, soil can form from rock. Natural acids in
rainwater begin to weather the surface of rock. Water seeps
into cracks in the rock and freezes, causing the rock to
break apart. Then, plants start to root in the cracks. As the
roots of the plants grow, they continue breaking down the
rock. A thin layer of soil begins to form. Organisms like
grubs and worms live among the plant roots, adding organic
matter to the soil. As organic matter increases, the layer of
soil gets thicker. Over time, a rich layer of soil forms that
can support trees and plants with larger roots.
Composition of Soil
Soil is made up of rock and mineral fragments, organic
matter, air, and water. The rock and mineral fragments
come from rocks that have been weathered. Most of the
pieces of rock and mineral are small particles of sediment
such as sand, silt, and clay.
Where does organic matter come from?
Most of the organic matter in soil comes from plants.
Animals add organic matter to soil when they die. After
plant and animal material gets into the soil, bacteria and
fungi help it decay. The decayed organic matter turns into a
rich, dark-colored material in soil called humus
(HYEW mus). Humus is a source of nutrients for plants.
Animals are important in making good soil. As worms,
insects, and rodents, like mice, burrow in the soil, they mix
the humus with the fragments of rock. Good soil is made up
of equal amounts of humus and weathered rock material.
There are many small spaces between the sediment and
humus particles in soil that are filled with water or air. The
spaces in moist soil hold water that plants need to grow.
During a drought, the spaces in the soil are filled with air.
When water soaks into the ground, it moves into the pores.
If you’ve ever seen a deep hole, you’ve probably seen
different layers of soil. Most plant roots grow in the top
layer of soil. The top layer is usually darker than the layers
below it. The different layers of soil are called horizons. All
the horizons of a soil form a soil profile. Most soils have
three horizons that are referred to as A, B, and C horizons.
What is found in the A horizon?
The top layer of soil is called the A horizon. In a forest, the
A horizon might be covered with organic plant litter. Litter
consists of twigs, leaves, and other organic matter that will
become humus. Litter traps water and keeps the A horizon
moist. Litter also prevents erosion. When litter decays and
turns into humus, it provides nutrients for plant growth.
Another name for the A horizon is topsoil. Topsoil has more
humus and fewer rock and mineral fragments than other layers.
The A horizon is usually dark-colored and rich, or fertile.
What is found in the B horizon?
The layer below the A horizon is the B horizon, also
known as subsoil. The B horizon is lighter in color than the
A horizon because it contains less humus. As a result, the
B horizon is not as fertile. Sometimes material from the
A horizon moves down into the B horizon through a
process called leaching.
Leaching is the carrying away of minerals that have been
dissolved in water. Water seeps through the A horizon. The
water reacts with humus and carbon dioxide to form acid.
This acid dissolves some of the minerals in the A horizon.
The acid seeps deeper into the soil, carrying the minerals
into the B horizon. The figure below shows how leaching
occurring in forest soil.
94 Weathering and Soil
What is found in the C horizon?
The C horizon is the bottom horizon in a soil profile. It is
often the thickest soil horizon. The C horizon contains partly
weathered rock and little organic matter from plants and
animals. Leaching generally does not affect the C horizon.
At the bottom of the C horizon lies rock—the rock that
formed the soil above it. This rock is called the parent
material of the soil. Because the C horizon is nearest to the
parent material, it is most like the parent material.
What is soil structure?
Soil structures can be granular, platy, blocky, or prismatic.
Granular structures are common in surface soils with high
organic content that glues minerals together. Platy structures
are often found in subsurface soils that have been leached or
compacted by animals or machinery. Blocky structures are
common in soils with high clay content. Prismatic structures,
found in B horizons, are dense and difficult for plant roots
If you travel around the country and look at soils, you
will notice that they are not all the same. Some soils are
thick and red. Others soils are brown and rocky. The figure
below shows some of the different soil types in various areas
in the United States.
How does climate affect soil?
Different regions of Earth have different climates.
Different climates produce different types of soil. Deserts
are dry and have few plants. Because desert soil contains
little organic matter, desert soil is thin and light. On the
grasslands of the prairie, the soil contains plenty of organic
matter from grasses. Lots of organic matter gives prairie
soils thick, dark A horizons. Other regions, such as
temperate forests and tropical areas, have their own
particular types of soil.
What other factors affect soil type?
Parent material affects the kind of soil that develops
from it. Clay soils often form on parent rocks like basalt.
The minerals in basalt weather to form clay. If the parent
material is sandstone, it weathers into sand, producing
Plants Rock type also affects the types of plants that grow
in an area. Different rocks provide different nutrients that
plants need to grow. Soil pH controls many chemical and
biological activities in soil.
Soil development is affected by time. If rock has been
weathering for a short time, the sediment will be similar to
the parent material. If rock has been weathering for a long
time, the soil is less like the parent material.
The slope of the land is a factor in soil profiles. On
steep slopes, soils are poorly developed because sediment
does not have time to build up before it is carried downhill.
In bottomlands, sediment and water are plentiful. As shown
in the figure below, the soils of bottomlands and valleys are
usually thick, dark, and full of organic material.
No-till Farming In the past, farmers would till or plow their
fields one or more times each year. When the soil was
plowed, loose soil was turned over. Wind and water eroded
the loosened soil. In recent years, many farmers have begun
to practice no-till farming to reduce erosion. No-till farming
is a farming method in which the plant material left after
harvesting remains in the field to decay over the winter. When
it is time to plant again, the farmers plant their crop seed
without plowing the land or clearing away last year’s plants.
No-till farming leaves plant cover on the land all year, so
topsoil erosion by wind and water is greatly reduced. One
study showed that no-till farming leaves up to 80 percent of
the soil covered and protected by plants or plant remains.
Another benefit of no-till farming is that plant remains keep
weeds from growing in farm fields.
Contour Farming Soil erosion occurs more quickly on slopes
than on flat land. Farmers who plant crops on slopes take steps
to limit soil erosion on their land. They plant crops using
contour farming. Contour farming is planting crops along the
land’s natural contour, or slope shape. The figure below shows
an orchard planted along the natural contours of a slope. The
curving rows catch water that would otherwise flow downhill,
carrying a lot of topsoil with it. Contour farming helps prevent
water and sediment from flowing down the slope.
Terracing Where slopes are steep, farmers use terracing
(TER uh sing) to conserve water and prevent soil erosion.
Terracing is a method of farming in which steep-sided,
flat-topped areas are built into the sides of steep hills so
crops can be grown on the level areas. The flat-topped areas
that are planted with crops are like terraces of land. The
terraces reduce runoff of rainwater by creating flat areas and
short sections of sloping land. The terraces also help prevent
topsoil from eroding down the hill or mountainside.
How can erosion be reduced in exposed soil?
There is a variety of ways to control erosion on soil that
is exposed. During large construction projects, water may be
sprayed on exposed soil to weigh it down and prevent erosion
by wind. When the construction is complete, topsoil is
added to the land and trees and other vegetation are planted
to protect the soil. Soil removed at strip mines may also be
protected so that it can be put back in place when mining
stops. After mining is complete, vegetation may be planted
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Lake Michigan anglers can expect fewer large Chinook salmon in 2016
Volunteers with the Salmon Ambassadors program found that medium-sized Chinook salmon were relatively scarce last year.
Great Lakes salmon anglers often assume that large Chinook salmon are “four-year-old” fish that are nearing maturity, and that the largest fish they catch are four-year-olds. In fact, most Great Lakes Chinook salmon mature and die before reaching Age 4. Fast-growing fish are particularly likely to mature earlier, so the Age 4 Chinook salmon that anglers do catch usually are not their largest fish, either.
Even so, the length of a salmon can provide a rough idea of the fish’s age. Growth rates vary from year to year, but in recent years the majority of Lake Michigan Chinook salmon over 30 inches long have been Age 3 fish. Chinook salmon from 20 to 30 inches long are most likely Age 2 fish, and those under 20 inches long are typically Age 1 fish. Remember that these are rough approximations, though. There is considerable overlap in length among age groups.
For anglers, the size of the fish is more important than its age anyhow. Anglers might enjoy catching big fish, but normally medium-sized fish are much more abundant in catches. This is a good thing because many small fish die before they get the chance to grow to larger sizes. Very small fish tend to be less common in angler catches — not because they are less abundant, but because anglers use baits and fishing methods that are not geared toward catching the smallest fish.
In 2014, volunteers with the Salmon Ambassadors program found what we would expect in most fisheries. Medium-sized (20- to 30-inch) Chinook salmon were more abundant than larger (and most likely older) salmon. In 2015 they found something very different. Large (30-inch and above) Chinook salmon were more prevalent in 2015 catches than smaller fish (see graph).
It may be tempting to blame this lack of small fish on the 50% stocking reduction that was implemented in 2013. Indeed, the stocking cut was designed to reduce the number of salmon in Lake Michigan and ease predation on declining bait fish (alewife). However, the biggest drop was not of stocked fish, but of wild fish.
In fact, Salmon Ambassadors data show that 53 percent of wild fish caught in 2014 were 20 to 30 inches long and this dropped to 33 percent in 2015. This reduction in medium-sized (mostly Age 2) Chinook salmon could translate to a drop in catches of large Chinook salmon for the 2016 fishing season.
That is bad news for the fishery in the short term, but not necessarily in the long term. Fewer predators in the lake may give open water baitfish a chance to rebuild their populations.
The Salmon Ambassadors program is an angler science project led by Michigan Sea Grant and Michigan State University Extension, and funded in part by Detroit Area Steelheaders. Anglers who volunteer for the program share information on wild and stocked catches with one another—and with biologists.
Volunteers track the length of each Chinook salmon caught over the course of the fishing season and look for a clipped adipose fin that indicates a stocked fish. At the end of the season, volunteers complete a short survey and return their data sheets. Results from 2015 were released in March 2016.
Michigan Sea Grant helps to foster economic growth and protect Michigan’s coastal, Great Lakes resources through education, research and outreach. A collaborative effort of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University and its MSU Extension, Michigan Sea Grant is part of the NOAA-National Sea Grant network of 33 university-based programs. | <urn:uuid:c51f2400-f56a-481c-8973-b50313c1e111> | {
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The best headphones often block out any surrounding noise so you can zone out with your favorite tunes. But that same feature can be a lethal one for pedestrians, finds a new study revealing serious injuries linked with pedestrians wearing headphones has more than tripled in the past six years.
The reason: With these electronic earmuffs on pedestrians likely can't hear the trains or cars around them, the researchers said. In many of the cases the scientists studied, the cars or trains were sounding horns that the pedestrians couldn't hear, leading to fatalities in nearly three-quarters of cases.
"Everybody is aware of the risk of cell phones and texting in automobiles, but I see more and more teens distracted with the latest devices and headphones in their ears," lead study author Dr. Richard Lichenstein, an associate professor of pediatrics and director of pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said in a statement. "Unfortunately as we make more and more enticing devices, the risk of injury from distraction and blocking out other sounds increases."
Lichenstein and his colleagues reviewed past reports and databases published between 2004 and 2011 of pedestrian injuries or fatalities from crashes involving trains or motor vehicles. They specifically looked at those cases involving headphone use.
In total, they reviewed 116 accident cases in which injured pedestrians were documented to be using headphones, with 70 percent of these accidents resulting in death to the pedestrian. More than two-thirds of victims were male (68 percent) and under age 30 (67 percent). More than half of the moving vehicles involved in the accidents were trains (55 percent), and nearly one-third (29 percent) of the vehicles reported sounding some type of warning horn before to the crash.
The increased incidence of accidents over the years closely corresponded to documented rising popularity of auditory technologies with headphones, the researchers report this week in the journal Injury Prevention.
The researchers say the link between headphone use and injury may boil down to two factors, distraction and sensory deprivation. The distraction caused by the use of electronic devices has been coined "inattentional blindness," in which multiple stimuli divide the brain's mental resource allocation.
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People are buzzing about Sweden's recent transportation innovation. Released via an ad from the public transit agency Västtrafik, the clever message encourages more commuters to take the bus or train to get to work. That's right: Their big innovation is actually a return to what's familiar: The good old fashioned bus. But the agency is trying their best to make public transportation a tempting option; they're offering riders two weeks of free rides in an effort to tempt people to hang up their car keys.
Per their press release, Västtrafik hopes to gain over 5,000 new transit riders from this experiment alone. More than that, they're pretty certain these riders will stick to the buses, once they get used to their new commute.
What ignited this experiment? Like a lot of places, Sweden is known for its congested roads, especially during rush hour. Not only can traffic be exhausting and frustrating for us, but emissions from driving can have really harmful affects on the environment. As an entire country, Sweden aspires to be "climate neutral" by 2050. Getting people out of cars and onto the buses is just one part of the plan, but they're hopeful it'll catch on in a major way.
Here in the United States, we take an estimated 1.1 billion rides in our cars per day. People-especially those who live in rural or suburban areas-often use cars as part of their daily routines. For others, relying on public transit is key to get to work, run errands, and socialize. Following in Sweden's footsteps and getting more people excited about public transit gives the opportunity to majorly reduce our emissions and air pollution.
It's worth pointing out, too, that the more people who use public transit, the easier it is to advocate for longer run times, more route options, and even higher safety measures for riders.
Affordable and accessible public transportation, such as buses, can also be a lifeline for people who either do not drive, or cannot drive, due to age, illness, or financial barriers. Reliable public transit offers people autonomy, as well as helps the environment. And what could be better than that?
More from Green Matters
More From Green Matters
19-Year-Old Xiuhtezcatl Martinez Isn't Waiting For Permission to Solve the Climate Crisis: "The Time Is NOW"
“We are going way beyond activism," 19-year-old Xiuhtezcatl Martinez tells Green Matters.
"I want to have kids. And I just can’t justify bringing them into a world where I’m not fighting every single day to make direct change for future generations," Woodley tells Green Matters.
The company wants you to guess which city will get the plant-based meat first.
Greta Thunberg Tells Trevor Noah What She Thinks of the U.S.'s Attitude on Climate Change: "Where I Come From, It's a Fact"
Greta Thunberg has some observations about New York. | <urn:uuid:62c8ce1f-ed91-4b22-87b3-7393e8f2a818> | {
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“Anatomy and Function of the Brain” is a short tutorial. The site is composed of two pages. The first page is the tutorial site where the different anatomical lobes, or regions, of the brain are shown. Each lobe or region has a short paragraph about its function. The lobes of the brain included in the tutorial are the Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, and Temporal lobes. The regions of the brain included in the tutorial are: 1) Diencephalon, specifically the thalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus, 2) Limbic System, specifically the olfactory system, amygdala, and hippocampus, and 3) the Brainstem, specifically the midbrain, pons and medulla. The second page of the tutorial is a matching game where the student will match each lobe or region with its specific function. The target student population would be college general education students.
Type of Material:
Interactive tutorial - rollovers and click-and-drag matching (Flash)
This site could be assigned as a preview to the brain. Students could work through the site at their own pace. The site could also be used as a review of the anatomy and functions of the brain and brainstem.
Flash. Not tested on mobile, but Flash, in general may not work on mobile, especially Apple mobile products.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Students will be able to:
identify the different lobes of the brain
describe the functions of each lobe of the brain
describe the function and location of the diencephalon, including the thalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus
describe the function of the limbic system, including the olfactory system, amygdala, and hippocampus
describe the function of the brainstem, including the midbrain, pons and medulla
Target Student Population:
At least advanced high school biology knowledge - language is fairly sophisticated. Undergrad level seems appropriate.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Evaluation and Observation
The content covers the foundational material of neuroanatomy or neuroscience.
The content is current and up to date.
The site is short and will not overwhelm the learner.
Some of the pointers on diagrams are imprecise in their locations
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
The site is effective and the learner can learn a lot in a short amount of time
Interactivity is a nice way to engage the user in active learning
The matching exercise is an effective way for the learner to review the tutorial material
The site engages multiple senses through the use of diagrams and text
Learning objectives are not provided
The matching site does not provide feedback on why an answer was wrong
The matching section does not enable the user to match a function to a particular location, but to a text label. If the learning goal is to know the location of the structure, it would be useful to have this.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Easy to navigate the site.
Directions are clear and easy to follow.
The site is interactive - roll over object and there is a pointer to the object with a description | <urn:uuid:d1d4d662-a956-4755-a493-bbd266d82809> | {
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Conventional Pumping Stations
A typical design for a conventional wastewater pumping station is depicted in Figure 4. Such a wastewater pumping station may have the following components:
Capacities: Conventional pumping stations are used in almost any capacity contemplated. Small stations (smaller than 1- or 2-mgd) are frequently of the "packaged" type in which a steel structure containing the pumps is buried. For larger capacity stations, cast-in-place concrete structures are typically used.
Ease of Maintenance: Conventional dry well/wet well wastewater pumping stations are generally regarded by O&M personnel as requiring the least maintenance effort compared to other types.
Estimated Life Cycle Costs: For comparison with other types of pump stations, the annual O&M costs for conventional pumping stations were assigned a value of zero for this analysis. All O&M costs for other types of pumping stations are differentials above this value. Thus, the life cycle costs are the same as the construction costs presented in Table 1.
Submersible Pumping Stations
A typical submersible pumping station layout is shown in Figure 5. The design typically features a wet well with no mechanical screens although some agencies in the United States do provide grinders. A small building is provided to house the electrical and control systems. No on-site cranes are provided; instead truck-mounted cranes are used to remove the pumps for maintenance and then reinstall them. The construction costs associated with this design are shown in Table 2 and compared with the construction costs for a conventional wet well/dry well pump station.
Capacities: Generally speaking, most public agencies in the United States only use submersible pumping stations in relatively small capacities compared to conventional wastewater pumping stations. The largest submersible station among the 15 agencies contacted had a capacity of 30-mgd. Typically, those agencies that used submersible pumps extensively used them up to a maximum station capacity of about 5- to 15-mgd. Other agencies that are more accustomed to using conventional dry well pumps generally use submersible pumps in relatively small pumping station (in the range of 1- or 2-mgd and smaller).
O&M Aspects: All the O&M personnel at the agencies contacted or visited felt that it was easier to maintain a conventional dry well pump than a submersible wet pit pump in a wet well. Comparative maintenance costs were seen to be a function of the quality of the submersible pump used. If a low cost, poor quality submersible pump is installed, maintenance will be frequent and therefore difficult.
The O&M personnel's main reason for stating that it is much easier to maintain a dry pit pump is that with a dry pit pump, they can observe and inspect it and determine when mechanical failure may be imminent and repair it before the problem becomes too serious. This is impossible with submersible pumps that cannot routinely be observed and have to be removed from the wet well in order to do servicing. Consequently, there is a greater tendency to let the submersible pump run until it simply fails. Therefore, the cost of repair is usually very high.
Submersible pumps are quite variable in their requirements for frequency of maintenance. Some agencies have had to pull submersible pumps as frequently as every six months. Others have gone as long as six or seven years before having to pull the pumps for maintenance. The typical maintenance interval for high quality submersible pumps of reasonable size seems to be about every two years. Seal failure is the most common problem with submersible pumps. Less frequent failure items are broken or damaged power cables and motor winding failure.
It can take a crew of six to ten people to remove a submersible pump from a wet well, depending on how large the pump is, although agencies having personnel with extensive O&M experience in submersible pumps can use crews half this size. The average crew typically consists of the following personnel:
Most agencies have discovered that above a certain size of submersible pump (between 100 to 200 horsepower), the O&M costs become extremely high. Generally speaking, the agencies have discovered that
A majority of the agencies send out all their submersible pumps to private repair shops to be repaired. The most common failure items in submersible pumps are: replace bearings, replace seals, and rewind motors. It typically costs $4,000 to $8,000 to repair a submersible pump. It can cost as much as $27,000 to replace the rotor and stator on a 215 horsepower submersible pump.
Chapters 24 and 25 in Reference presents a detailed discussion of O&M aspects of wastewater pumping stations, especially submersible pump designs.
Pump and Motor Electrical Efficiencies: There are no gains in pump and motor efficiencies associated with the submersible pump design. In fact, the efficiency of this design in terms of electricity consumption, is usually less than that of the conventional pump system, although the efficiencies of submersible motors are improving in response to energy efficiency regulations (e.g., EPACT) as well as market demand. Table 3 is a comparison of the typical efficiencies of submersible pumps with those of a conventional dry well design at the present time.
Thus, the submersible pump motor is about 8 percent less efficient than a conventional dry well pump motor. Partially offsetting this is the fact that eliminating the vertical shafting in a dry well design improves system efficiency by zero to one percent. This leaves a net decrease in efficiency of about seven percent compared to the conventional dry well pump system.
Assuming a 50-horsepower motor operating continuously, this seven percent decrease in system efficiency indicates an increased electricity consumption of 23,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) per year. At a cost of 6¢ per kwh, this results in an increased electricity cost of $1,400 per year. It is likely that this value will decrease over the future as submersible motor efficiencies increase.
Projected Annual O&M Costs: Based on these investigations, the annual O&M costs of submersible stations will almost certainly be greater than those for conventional dry-well pumping stations. This average O&M cost for submersible stations will be approximately $5,500 per year per pump greater than for conventional dry well pumps. This figure was derived from the following assumptions and analysis:
Thus, the additional O&M cost for a submersible pump compared to a conventional dry well/wet well pump is shown in Table 3a.
Under these assumptions, it was concluded that using submersible pumps in a wet well will likely result in increased average O&M costs of about $5,500 per year per pump compared to dry pit pumps.
A tabulation of O&M costs for different values for the items in above table are presented in Table 4 to illustrate the possible magnitudes. These different values result primarily from different assumed repair intervals. The last column can be filled in by the reader to suit his particular situation in terms of pump quality and experience.
Estimated Life Cycle Costs: Table 5 summarizes the projected life cycle costs of various sizes of submersible pumping stations using different repair cycles or frequencies (i.e., different levels of pump quality). The present values of the annual O&M costs were determined assuming a period of 20 years at an interest rate of 7 percent.
Design Aspects: Those agencies in the United States that have utilized submersible raw sewage pumps extensively have developed several observations that should be considered. One agency reported that they do not allow submersible pumping station wet wells to be more than 30 feet deep. They have established this requirement because the power cables are very heavy and sometimes stretch. When they stretch, the cable insulation develops cracks. Hydrogen sulfide gas from the wet well then enters the cable and corrodes the power wires. When that happens, the power cable has to be replaced (it cannot be repaired). However, another agency has found that wet well depths up to 40 feet are acceptable.
It costs $15,000 to $20,000 to buy a replacement power cable for a 450-horsepower, 4,160-volt submersible pump. It costs $3,000 to $6,000 to buy a replacement power cable for a 50-horsepower, 480-volt submersible pump.
With most foreign manufacturers, spare power cables are not stocked in the United States (cables must be sent in from abroad). It can take four to six weeks to get replacement cables. It is easy to damage a power cable when removing or reinstalling a submersible pump. Turbulence in the wet well bends and stretches the cable, too. So, there is a need to minimize the power cable lengths.
A major problem that this same agency sometimes encountered with the submersible pumps is the discharge elbow in the wet well tearing loose from its anchor bolts. This did not happen very often, but when it happened, it required a major effort to repair. The wet wells are classified as confined spaces per OSHA regulations in the United States, so it can take up to an eight person crew to comply with all the confined space observation and supervision requirements and actually do work in the wet well. It is believed that the cause of this problem is
Most agencies prefer a maximum 1,200-rpm pump speed, if at all possible. For pumping heads greater than about 90 feet, 1,800-rpm pumps or tandem 1,200-rpm pumps are used.
Recommendations for Submersible Pumping Stations: It is suggested that a maximum pump size of 150 horsepower be permitted in a wet well arrangement. The experiences at the agencies investigated in the United States indicated that pumps larger than this tend to fail much more frequently, they also require quite large crew sizes to remove them from the wet wells, and maintenance costs in terms of labor effort and parts costs are very high. Higher quality pumps, obtainable from a limited number of manufacturers, may possibly be satisfactory in larger sizes.
There is a general feeling (supported by the experience, practice, and opinions at various agencies) that at some point in size (between 100 and 200 horsepower), increased repair and maintenance costs begin to offset the savings gained initially with the submersible pumps. There is, however, insufficient data to establish the exact point of diminishing returns. Ideally, manufacturers should be asked to provide lists of current installations of large submersible pumps. The owners and operators of those pumps could then be surveyed to define size, application, repair records, etc. The data thus gathered could be analyzed to see if there is a logical cutoff point for horsepower and speeds beyond which wet pit submersibles are not advisable as well as a second point beyond which submersibles should not be used even in dry pit applications.
It is suggested that the wet wells should be no more than 40 feet deep. It also is suggested that a maximum pump speed of 1,200 rpm be selected for pumps between 100 and 150 horsepower. For pumps less than 100 horsepower, 1,200 rpm should be the preferred maximum speed but up to 1,800 rpm may be acceptable if a suitable 1,200-rpm unit cannot be obtained.
About the Authors:
Bayard Bosserman, P.E., is principal engineer with Boyle Engineering Corp., Newport Beach, CA.
Paul Behnke, P.E., is manager of engineering and quality, Ingersoll-Dresser Pump Co., Taneytown, MD. | <urn:uuid:8c34d910-907c-4543-a969-d36670f16adc> | {
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Papaya plant cultivation is a easy process and it is a well-known in the world. Though it was originated in Costa Rica and southern Mexico, now it is cultivated several countries of the world. The papaya tree is about 16 to 33 feet in length. Papaya tree is generally unbranched tree. The leaves of the papaya tree are very large and have long stalk. Leaves are decorated in the upper part of the stem. Papaya tree produces flowers and fruits in almost all the seasons.
Papaya is one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world. The unripe fruit is green and ripe fruit is yellow in color. Papaya is rich in vitamins. Green papaya contains plenty of papain. Which works to cure worm infections, ulcers, skin lesions, problems of kidneys, and cancer.
Papaya Plant Cultivation Types:
On the basis of agronomic characteristics, some cultivable varieties of papaya are Cuban, Cartagena, Red, Hawaiian, Paraguanero etc.
Suitable Condition for Papaya Plant Cultivation:
Papaya grows well in the tropical warmer climate where the level of humidity and temperature is high. But it also grows in subtropical areas. Papaya tree cannot tolerate frost and heavy rainfall. 21° C to 23° C temperature is optimum for papaya tree cultivation.
Papaya tree grows in almost all types of soil except heavy clay soil. Loamy to the sandy loam soil is ideal for papaya plant cultivation.
The neutral to the near neutral soil is suitable for papaya plant cultivation. The ideal pH level is between 5.5 and 7.5.
Land which is free from waterlogging and is suitable for papaya plant cultivation. The land must be well-protected from strong winds.
Papaya Plant Cultivation Process:
Bed system is the best method for papaya plant cultivation. At first plow the land with a ladder. Make a drain in between two beds. The width of the drain should be 30 cm. Prepare the bed before pit preparation.
Papaya plant propagated through seeds. To raise seedlings at first, soak the selected seeds in water for several hours before sowing. The seed should be free from diseases and pests. Then sow seeds in 10 cm apart rows in seedbeds at 3-4 cm distance and 1.0-1.5 cm depth. You can also use polybag for seed sowing. 2-3 seeds should be sown in one polybag. After germination, keep only the best one seedlings in one polybag.
Number of Seedlings:
Generally, 7500 seedlings are required for per hectare.
Prepare pits of 60×60×45 cm at 2 m apart in the beds (2 × 2 m spacing). Mix fertilizer like cow-dung 15 kg, TSP 500g, gypsum 250g, boric acid 20 g, zinc sulfate 20 g are to be applied per pit with the soil of the pit. Fertilizer should be applied in the pit at least 10-15 days before implanting.
The Ideal Time for Seed Sowing:
There are two seasons of sowing seeds of the papaya plant. September-October and December-January are the ideal seasons for seed sowing. When seedlings are 40-50 days old, they are ready for transplanting.
Implant three seedlings in each pit at 30 cm distance in triangular form. Remove the polybag carefully without disturbing the ball. Implant the seedlings in the same depth as it was in the seedbed or in the polybag. If you want to follow monoecious method then implant only one seedling per pit.
Apply 450-500 g urea and 450-500g MP for per pit. Apply 50 g urea and 50 g MP through top dress method at an interval of one month. First, apply fertilizer after one month of transplanting of seedlings. A double dose of fertilizer should be applied when the plant starts flowering. In dry season must give irrigation using top dressing method.
Irrigation and Drainage:
In dry season frequent irrigation is needed for papaya plant. The interval of two irrigations varies based on soil type and weather condition. Give irrigation at an interval of 10-12 days in winter and 6-7 days in the summer season. Make sure that the drainage system is well enough that there is no waterlogging in the rainy season.
Keep the land always free from weed. Weed out the weeds with Hasua’ or lawn mower without loosening the soil especially in rainy season.
Removal of Extra Plants:
After teeming keep only the best female plant and remove other two trees from the pit. One male plant should be kept for every 10-15 female plants.
Generally, papaya plant bears 2-3 fruits per cluster. Keep only one fruit and thin out the extra fruits. In the 2nd year or flowering year when fruit-bearing is really high, the small fruits should be pruned out.
When tree bears more fruits, the upper part of the tree becomes very heavy. To balance the tree infix a strong pole for per tree and tie the tree with the pole. This pole also protects trees from the storm.
Disease & Pest Control:
Damping off and collar rot:
A serious disease of papaya due to the damp growing condition in seedbeds. It can cause severe damage in the rainy season. To control this disease treatment seed with Vitavax or Captan @ 2-3 g per kg of seed. To sterilize the seedbed spread a 6cm thick layer of sawdust or rice hull on it and burn it.
It is a disease of papaya fruit. Brown lesions appear on fruits due to the attack of this diseases. To control spray Knowin or Topsin @ 2 g/L 2-3 times at 10-15 days interval.
It sucks on leaves, fruits. For this the tree becomes weak. Apply Dimethoate 40EC (Perfecthion/ Taphgar) @ 2 ml/L 2-3 times at 15 days interval.
It a reason for root-knot in papaya. Apply Furadan 3G @ 5g per pit. Crop rotation is a prevention system for the nematode.
Nutrient Deficiency Problem:
Papaya highly needs vitamin B. B deficiency cause curling of leaves, secretion of latex from developing fruits and deformation of fruits. Apply boric acid @ 20 g/pit and spray boric acid @ 2 g/L 2-3 times at 10-15 days interval.
Due to S deficiency leaves turn yellow, the plants become weak and stunted growth becomes slow. To manage, spray Thiovit or Cumulas @ 2 g/L 2-3 times at 10-15 days interval.
Due to Zn deficiency tree color turns mixed of white-green. White net-like appearance may found on leaf venation. To cure of spray ZnO to leaves @ 2g/L 2-3 times at 10-15 days interval.
Collect fruits when the latex of the fruits become almost watery. If you want to sell it in the local market then collect the fruits when they are half ripe. Generally, you can collect the first fruits after 12-14 months of implanting. Harvest fruits in the morning.
To preserve dip the fruits in hot water at 550 C for 5 minutes. Then wrap each fruit separately with paper and preserve them in wooden boxes. Fill the boxes with straw, sawdust and other such soft material. It will protect the fruits from transportation injuries.
The fruits of papaya plant consumed as a vegetable and also as fruit. Without that the dry leaves used as raw material for medicine Papaya tree cultivation don’t require so much capital and easy to cultivate. You can also cultivate papaya tree in your courtyard. | <urn:uuid:bc8d7935-ca26-432b-9e3a-e5feba309322> | {
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In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed south aboard the Endurance to be the first to cross Antarctica. Shackleton's endeavor is legend, but few know the astonishing story of the Ross Sea party, the support crew he dispatched to the opposite side of the continent to build a vital lifeline of food and fuel depots.
When the Ross Sea ship, the Aurora, broke free of her moorings and disappeared in a gale in 1915, she left 10 men stranded on the continent with only the clothes on their backs and little hope of rescue. Against all odds, the men decided to go forward with their mission, sledging 1,700 miles in a record-setting two-year odyssey. They never imagined that their immense sacrifice was futile, for Shackleton never set foot on the continent, and the Endurance lay crushed at the bottom of the Weddell Sea.
Inexperienced and poorly equipped, the men of the Ross Sea party endured the unspeakable suffering of malnutrition, hypothermia, and extreme weather conditions with fortitude. With their personal journals and previously unpublished documents, Kelly Tyler-Lewis brings us close to these men in their best and bleakest times and revives for us their heroic, astounding story of survival in the most hostile environment on Earth.
"Gripping work." (Publishers Weekly)
Vous allez recevoir un e-mail avec les détails. Numéro de commande :
Pour accéder à ce livre audio, visitez votre Bibliothèque dans l'application ou sur le site web. | <urn:uuid:96a4960d-30ea-4efe-835c-dbd00bdd729b> | {
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Arts and Crafts: March (preschool-kindergarten)
|Published by: martinkasar (Karma: 48.07) on 13 August 2008 | Views: 8005|
Weather, lions and lambs, rainbows, St.Patrick's day, flowers, clowns & more
Each project includes: materials, directions and teacher tips
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Astronomers have suggested that the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua, the first ever observed in our Solar System, might be the shard of a destroyed planet.
That’s according to a paper on arXiv, picked up by New Scientist. Matija Cuk from the SETI Institute in California suggests that the unusual size and shape of the object may be a result of a violent origin.
“‘Oumuamua’s physical characteristics were unexpected, starting with a complete lack of cometary activity,” Cuk writes in the paper. “The most puzzling feature of ‘Oumuamua is its very elongated shape.”
That shape is similar to a cigar, with the object (thought to be an asteroid) being 10 times longer than it is wide. It’s 400 meters (1,300 feet) long, and spins on its axis once every 7.3 hours. We’ve never seen an object like this in our Solar System. It was first spotted in October 2017, and is now making its way away from our Sun, never to return.
To explain its unusual origin, Cuk says it could have been born from a planet 10 times the size of Earth getting too close to its star, probably a red dwarf. As a result, it would have been ripped apart and the debris could have been flung to a possible companion star before heading our way (Cuk suggests its origin system is a binary star system).
This helps to explain one puzzle. Namely, if this was born out of a regular collision between two asteroids in a young planetary system, you would not expect its elongated shape to have survived. This explanation provides a possible solution.
“The present hypothesis is based on the assumption that ‘Oumuamua is not a fluke but a typical representative of interstellar asteroids,” Cuk writes.
He adds that if future discoveries are similar “monolithic fragments”, then his idea “may warrant a closer look, with in-depth modeling of binary system dynamics and tidal disruptions being needed before we can determine if this hypothesis is tenable.”
‘Oumuamua is the subject of countless pieces of research and papers at the moment, with plenty of people having a stab at its origin and characteristics. We’ve heard everything from it being an alien spaceship to a chunk of dark matter to just a plain old asteroid.
Whether it was formed in a dramatic collision in another planetary system, well, we’ll have to wait and see. Astronomers are hoping to find more interstellar objects like this in the future, and if they have a similar appearance then we might be able to paint a better picture.
(H/T: New Scientist) | <urn:uuid:254af56b-908d-47c1-8ec9-1d03a4afb31b> | {
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On March 18, 1943, seventy-six B-17 bombers, accompanied by twenty-seven B-24 bombers, departed England for a daring daylight bombing mission against U-Boat pens in Vegesack, near Bremen, close to the North Sea coast of Germany.
A B-17F christened Duchess was the lead bomber on the mission with 21 year-old 2nd Lieutenant Jack Mathis as bombardier. Due to the mission being flown deep into German territory, Duchess, as the mission lead, was the only aircraft fitted with the top-secret Norden Bomb Sight. It was imperative that Lt. Mathis drop his bombs on target since all the other bombers in the massive raid would be following his lead. If he was unable to properly identify and mark the target, the entire mission could very well end in failure.
It was not merely chance that Jack and the crew of Duchess had been selected to lead this critical mission. They were among the most experienced in the 303rd Heavy Bombardment Group, with Jack considered one of the best bombardiers.
Just before reaching Vegesack, and minutes from dropping the bomb load, an anti-aircraft shell exploded near the front of Duchess, shattering the nose of the heavy bomber and sending shards of burning hot shrapnel into the bombardier and navigator compartment. The explosion threw Lt. Mathis backward to the rear of the compartment. His right arm was nearly severed at the elbow and a large hole was ripped into the right side of his abdomen. In shock, bleeding profusely and mortally wounded, Lt. Mathis bravely crawled back to his position and, with mere seconds to spare, put the target in the crosshairs and dropped the explosive payload with absolute precision. He then slumped over his bomb sight and died from his massive injuries.
Back at the headquarters of the 303rd, at RAF Station Molesworth, 25 year-old 1st Lieutenant Mark Mathis, also a bombardier, patiently waited for the Duchess to return. He had seen his younger brother off that morning and was looking forward to his return. The Commanding Officer of Jack’s Bomb Group had already approved a three-day pass for the brothers to spend some time together in London, a welcome relief from the nasty business of waging war.
Later that afternoon, when Mark finally caught sight of Duchess returning to base, his initial relief quickly turned to horror as he saw the bombardiers’s nose section completely destroyed. With tears welling up in his eyes, he cast his head downward. He instinctively knew Jack was gone.
Jack had enlisted in the Army in June of 1940 and had been assigned to an artillery unit at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In January of 1941 his older brother Mark had also enlisted in the Army and had been sent to Goodfellow Airfield near the family home in San Angelo, Texas, where he had been assigned to a ground crew in the 49th Training Squadron. Eager to serve with his brother and be closer to home, Jack requested a transfer to Goodfellow. The request was granted and he headed back to San Angelo to begin his duty as a clerical assistant while his older brother Mark tended the flight line.
2nd Lt. Jack Mathis
1st Lt. Mark Mathis
Immediately following the entry of the United States into World War II, both brothers requested transfers to the Army Air Force. Their requests were granted and they departed for flight training in January of 1942. During flight crew classification, the brothers were designated as bombardiers.
Due to differences in their flight training schedules, Jack graduated before Mark. In October of 1942 Jack departed for RAF Station Molesworth as the bombardier of the B-17 Duchess. Shortly thereafter, Mark was sent to North Africa as a bombardier of a B-24 Liberator. In March of 1943 Mark’s B-24 unit was transferred to England and, in yet another ironic twist of fate, the two brothers were again reunited. Over drinks at the Officer’s Club in Molesworth, on the evening of March 17, Jack persuaded his older brother to seek a transfer to his unit, the 303rd, known affectionately as “Hell’s Angels.” Mark agreed and, although the transfer would take several weeks, Jack asked his brother to accompany him on the next day’s mission, his seventeenth, to Vegesack. As fate would have it, the commanding officer of the Group refused to let Mark accompany his brother on the mission, attributing his decision to not wanting to fill out the required paperwork. Nevertheless, Mark saw his little brother off that morning, riding with him and the other officers to the flight line. As the engines revved to life and thick plumes of oily smoke filled the air, Jack gave his brother a smile and a wave from the nose cone of Duchess. It was to be the last time the two brothers saw each other alive.
After Jack’s tragic death, a devastated Mark requested to take his younger brother’s place as bombardier of Duchess, a request which was approved. When their required 25 missions were reached, the crew received orders back to the states to train new airmen. However, despite his great personal loss, Mark requested to stay with the 303rd in Molesworth and continue combat duty.
On May 13, 1943, Mark was bombardier on the B-17F FDR's Potato Peeler Kids. Their objective was to destroy the Krupp Submarine Works in Kiel, Germany. The valuable target was heavily defended by a ring of deadly anti-aircraft fire and over 100 Luftwaffe fighters. The bombing was a success but FDR was badly damaged in the process and began to lose altitude and drop out of formation. Other B-17s tried to protect the crippled bomber from enemy fighters but the damage was already too great. Somewhere over the North Sea, Mark Mathis and the rest of the FDR crew perished. In just under two months the two brothers had heroically given their lives in service to their country.
The story of the Mathis brothers is one of courage, honor, duty, and brotherly love. Their valiant sacrifice serves as a reminder to all of us that the freedom we enjoy is by no means free. It has been bought and paid for by brave American men and women, such as the Mathis brothers, who selflessly gave their lives in service to their country. May they rest in eternal peace and never be forgotten.
2nd Lieutenant Jack Mathis was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic actions over Vegesack, Germany, on March 18, 1943.
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HOMEWORK #3 NAME________________________
This homework assignment follows up on the first two in being devoted to close reading, but as you are learning more background context, there should be an increased opportunity to use what you know to view the passage you're reading in a broader context, and relate its phrases to issues that you know to be significant in the context of Classical China. The text below is from the Liji (Records of ritual), a late Classical text. It is part of a larger selection, which appears in online reading 1.8 (the parts here appear on pp. 4-5), and you should read the passage below closely in light of that context, the larger context of the reading on ritual, and the still larger contexts of the structure of Confucian thought (part of your reading for Thursday) and the culture of Classical China that we have been exploring. Write your comments on this sheet, as in the previous assignments. (Due Thursday, January 28.)
The archers, in advancing, retirement, and in all movements, were obliged to observe all the li. With minds thus correct and bodies thus upright they were to hold their bows skillfully and firmly. Only when they did so would one be able to say that their arrows would hit the mark. In this way, from the quality of their archery their true characters could be seen.
To regulate the archers' rhythm, music was performed. In the case of the Son of Heaven, it was "The Game Warden"; in the case of the patrician lords it was "The Fox's Head"; in the case of the high grandees it was "Plucking the Marsilea"; in the case of shi it was "Plucking the Artemisia" . . .
Therefore the Son of Heaven regulated his shooting by keeping in his mind appropriate appointments of his officers; the patrician lords' shooting was regulated by thoughts of timely audiences with the Son of Heaven; the high grandees regulated their shots with thoughts of following the rules of law; the shi regulated their shots with thoughts of fulfilling their duties. | <urn:uuid:a97c3c17-4d9d-4d12-b073-f138e7d01b78> | {
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The Messenger of Allah (s) says:
“A repentant person is like one who has no sin.”1
Allah, the Most High, sent us prophets in order to clarify the right path and explain what is lawful (halal), what is permitted for us to do, and what is forbidden (haram) and harmful which we should avoid, such as lying, murdering, gambling, stealing, being deceitful, being undutiful towards parents, and other forbidden acts. Also he instructed us on what is obligatory (wajib) for us to perform such as prayer, fasting, helping the poor, respecting Prophet Muhammad (s) and his holy progeny (Ahlul-Bait) (peace be upon them all) and so on.
Some people deliberately disobey Allah and His orders which are beneficial for mankind and the welfare of the society. They do the forbidden such as stealing another's property or oppressing people or doing harm to their parents, or giving up their duties which Allah made obligatory, like paying poor-rates (zakat) for the needy, not performing prayers, and behaving badly towards their parents.
For whoever stops doing an obligatory duty or commits a forbidden act, it is obligatory for him to repent, take responsibility for his action and ask forgiveness from Allah by regretting the mistake. If someone oppresses people or takes their property unlawfully, then that person should apologise to them and return their rights so that Allah is pleased with him.
Surely, Allah is Most-Merciful to His servants; therefore He accepts their repentance and forgives them if they regret for their evil deeds and want to make righteous people out of themselves again.
The Messenger Muhammad (s) says: Surely, Allah is Oft-Pardoning and Most-Merciful, Who forgives His servants' sins if they ask forgiveness and give them up, as if they had not committed any sin.
Thus, repentance purifies the self from sin as water purifies clothes from dirt.
Among the rights of Allah is to punish the disobedient and not accept their repentance but He is Most-Merciful with His servants and loves to help them by giving them opportunities to think and repent in order to set them on the right path towards reforming themselves and society.
Thus, repentance is “Giving up disobedience without repeating it again”
1. Disobedience is to commit forbidden acts and give up obligatory ones.
2. Repentance is to give up disobedience and refrain from repeating it.
3. Allah is Most-Merciful with His servants. He accepts their repentance and forgives them if they regret their misdeeds.
4. It is obligatory for a man to ask Allah for forgiveness and to do the obligatory acts and give up the forbidden ones, and to regret his evil deeds.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. | <urn:uuid:edd13832-911f-4d25-83bf-9abefc98a932> | {
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What are the benefits of electric vehicles? The answer to this question has many layers. Given that about 90 per cent of the Aussie population commutes less than 100km each day, it’s just right to conclude that electric cars are indeed viable and convenient in the land down under. According to BMW’s spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher, electric vehicles’ craze around the globe is growing and Australia is no exception.
“Electric vehicles have attracted a great deal of interest and awareness regarding the sustainability question in multiple countries around the world and 18,000 BMW I vehicles were delivered internationally in 2014,” Fletcher said.
There is a wide spectrum of benefits of electric vehicles, especially when compared to the typical internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. Some of the benefits of electrice vehicles include:
- Higher efficiency
- Lower operating costs
- Lower maintenance costs
- Reduced traffic noise
- Reduced Greenhouse gas emission
- Air quality improvements
- Enhanced comfort and convenience
- Feels like any other car when driving
- Less vibration while driving
- Exempted from stamp-duty
- Reduced registration fees
- Employment opportunities through locally produced electricity
We talked to Ian Hooper of ZEVA about the various benefits of electric vehicles. Compared to petrol-powered vehicles, electric vehicles have more advantages whether on a personal, national or global scale.
On a personal level, an electric car owner has numerous advantages and this could just explain the increase in electric vehicles sold in Australia. In 2014, 1130 EVs were sold in Australia out of which 321 were bought by private buyers. This number increased compared to 292 cars sold to private buyers in 2013. The costs of running an electric vehicle are much lower. The level of electricity used to power an EV operates using about a third as much for each kilometre as buying petrol for a similar vehicle. The car’s maintenance costs are also very low since the vehicle’s electric motor needs virtually no servicing over its lifespan. However, just like any other vehicle, some minor maintenance is required for various parts of the car such as brakes, tires and suspensions.
At the national level, EVs can really boost Australia’s energy security. Currently, Australia depends on other countries for its petroleum imports. Electric vehicles are viable and can easily be powered locally from the country’s energy sources, thus reducing over-dependence on external oil sources.
With zero drive-time emissions, electric vehicles are a bit friendlier to the environment as they reduce air pollution. In terms of pollution, Australia isn’t too bad compared to other countries around the world notably China where poor air quality poses serious health complications.
How will Electric Vehicles integrate into Australia’s existing car industry?
It is also worth noting that, compared to other countries like USA and Japan, Australia has not done much in encouraging its people to purchase electric vehicles. This is according to Peter Fadeyev, Nissan’s spokesman when he said, “Countries such as the USA and Japan are well ahead of Australia when it comes to providing the infrastructure and incentives to encourage people to buy electric vehicles and this situation needs to change in Australia.”
There are various hurdles that inhibit the adoption of EVs in Australia. The high initial price of EVs, lack of infrastructure like recharging stations and lack of government subsidies to help offset the high cost are some of the unique challenges faced by Australia.
When comparing Australia to other countries like Japan and USA, Fletcher states that, “The administrations of these international countries have supported the awareness of alternative fuel and low emission vehicles by providing tax relief and a range of incentives for potential owners. Unfortunately, that has not been the case in Australia.”
On the global scene, the heavy dependence on coal and gas fired stations to generate power has been the biggest handicap. Power from our wall sockets is generated from substances that emit huge levels of CO2 than burnt liquefied fossil fuel.
In most cases, global “green power” electricity strategies entail planting trees to help offset increased CO2 emissions. Though necessary, a long-term proposition is vital and manufacture of electric vehicles is one such plan. Electric vehicles enhance reduction of CO2 emissions which is often associated with climate change, which is this century’s greatest humanity challenge.
In Western Australia for instance, electricity is generated mainly from coal and charging EVs from regular power sockets would mean intensive CO2 emissions just like regular petrol-powered vehicles. However, with more efficient renewable energy introduction to the grid in future, and as Green power options like lithium-ion batteries and solar panels become more available, charging the vehicle will produce zero CO2 emissions.
Environmental Benefits of Electric Vehicles
There’s no doubt that electric vehicles using renewable energy have significantly reduced in overall the long-term greenhouse gas emissions. Combining ingenious electric vehicle technology, EVs deliver zero tailpipe emissions making them the most environmentally friendly sedans.
Even though the EV production and disposal is relatively small at the moment, the trend to use eco-friendly materials and production procedures of the cars will help plug into the future today. The findings of a paper released by the Department of Transport in 2012 revealed that within a span of three years of operation, an electric vehicle running on renewable energy could provide vast net benefits of electric vehicles in terms of the total lifecycle carbon emissions. This would save over 50 per cent given a 20 year average of a Victorian vehicle lifetime. The report further concluded that approximately 6 battery replacements would be necessary during a vehicle’s life before losing the greenhouse benefits to a petrol vehicle.
For instance, the Ford Focus Electric car is rated as the most fuel efficient car saving up to $9,000 in just 5 years. The Ford Focus doesn’t just reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also uses recycled materials to design it as well as bio based material to make its padding. Likewise, the Nissan LEAF’s partly uses green materials like plastic bags, water bottles, second-hand home appliances and old car parts to make the car’s interior and bodywork.
How Far Can Electric Cars Travel?
The Australian Electric Vehicle Association gives some pointers on this— based on how you drive and the existing conditions, your range is likely to vary. For instance, sustained high speeds, long mountain climbs, three passengers and luggage as well as strong headwinds are all situations that will reduce the car’s economy and consequently the range.
This is just the same way it happens with petrol vehicles. However, tailwinds and long descents will hugely enhance your range.
The ‘fuel’ economy of an electric car that uses a battery is usually quoted in watt-hours per kilometre (Wh/km). On average, a compact EV a fuel economy of 135 Wh/km. PHEVs on the other hand will first have a moderate electric-only range of 50 to 100 km, before the petrol engine can kick in. Because of the additional weight and complexity, the PHEV’s electric-only range will generally be poorer than that of a pure EV, but will still reserve a lot for most daily needs.
Below is a breakdown of the estimate range for the top 10 EVs on the market:
|Tesla Model S||500 km|
|BEV Electron||120 km|
|Nissan Leaf||170 km|
|Mitsubishi i-MiEV||99 km|
|Ford Focus Electric||122 km|
|Honda Fit||132 km|
|Chevrolet Spark||132 km|
|Kia Soul||148 km|
|BMW i3||160 km-300 km with range extender option that uses petrol|
|Holden Volt||87 km without petrol / 600 km with full charge and petrol generator|
Electric vehicle ranges are getting more innovative by the day as newer models keep hitting the market. The Nissan Leaf is a next-gen car that can deliver 300 km on a single charge. However since most Australian motorists drive about 35 – 70 km each day and EVs have an average range of approximately 100 – 150 km, electric vehicles are definitely a viable option for most drivers.
For longer distances, quick electric charge and swap-and-go battery exchange stations are becoming more readily available all across Australia. Tesla’s recent announcement to launch 16 high-powered supercharger stations from Melbourne to Brisbane by 2016, and 10 of which are poised for completion this year, electric car travel will certainly be fun, fast and convenient. | <urn:uuid:b3fccbfe-5254-4712-9bbd-c7f3a17e9871> | {
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This wonderful and typically American appellative refers to a prosperous group of ranchers, landowners and speculators whose intention it was to create the US state of Vermont, arising from territory whose ownership was disputed between New Hampshire and New York.
The Green Mountain Boys with their heavily armed employees defied the authority of the government of New York, during the years of the thirteen UK colonies. The gangs harassed and assaulted the pro-British colonists (of whom there were many more than is popularly supposed) in the state of New York, in one of the many bloody insurrections of early America. The movement was one of the few successes obtained by the independence-seeking colonists, before the American Revolution broke out which led to the Declaration of Independence.
When the Revolution came, which was inevitable, the Green Mountain Boys under their leader Ethan Allen re-directed their energetic attentions and helped the colonists capture the British-held Fort Ticonderoga on the freezing Lake Champlain (north New York State) in 1775, a year before the Signers signed. Cannon taken from the fort proved most useful in the subsequent colonial siege of British-occupied Boston in Massachusetts. | <urn:uuid:f7a6018e-b89f-4a22-a633-ebaa1764721a> | {
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Nairobi, 24 June 2014 – Recognizing the growing awareness of air pollution and its effects on health and climate change, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition has produced a new booklet Time to Act to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants. This new publication, launched today at the first UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, explains short-lived climate pollutants, including their nature, sources and effects, in easy to understand prose with highly informative graphics. It highlights their relevance to near term climate change, air pollution, public health, and food and energy security. It translates latest scientific findings, building on the first UNEP report Near-Term Climate Protection And Clean Air Benefits (2011) based on reviews by the Coalition’s Scientific Advisory Panel of environmental, economic, energy, policy and health experts of this critical issue.
As Time to Act explains, “Short-lived climate pollutants are everywhere in our lives. They are impacting the climate system and the quality of our air. It is time to act against these pollutants and deliver near term and multiple benefits for human well-being.”
"This new edition of 'Time to Act' is a much-needed publication," said Helena Molin Valdes, Head of the CCAC Secretariat. "It takes the complex science around short-lived climate pollutants and translates it into clear language without sacrificing accuracy. Recent scientific assessments coordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners of the Coalition have identified a number of “win-win” measures for near term climate protection and clean air benefits. Fast uptake of these cost-effective and readily available measures, which target emissions of SLCPs in key sectors, could bring rapid and multiple benefits for human well-being.”
SLCPs are agents that have a relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere - a few days to a few decades - but also a warming influence on climate as well as, in many cases, detrimental impacts on human health, agriculture and ecosystems. The CCAC has produced Time to Act as a resource for governments, NGOs and other public and private organizations to understand and explain the problem and help develop solutions.
“Large-scale implementation of these measures by 2030 would likely prevent 2.4 (0.7 -4.6) million premature deaths from outdoor air pollution annually and avoid annual crop yield losses of over 50 (30-35) million tons, which represents an increase of a up to 4% of the total annual global crop production. Implementation could also slow down the warming expected by 2050 by about 0.5°C - and by about 0.7°C in the Arctic by 2040 - and could have significant regional climate benefits in sensitive regions of the world, reducing disruption of rainfall patterns and slowing the melting of some glaciers. Action to reduce the climate impacts of HFCs, such as using hydrocarbon refrigerants in domestic refrigerators, freezers and small air conditioning units, could deliver additional near term climate change mitigation benefits.”
Time to Act is available in a colorful printed version, e-book and e-book app formats. The booklet’s explanatory graphics can also be downloaded separately for use in presentations and other communication materials.
The CCAC itself conducts a number of high impact initiatives aimed at catalyzing rapid action on short-lived climate pollutants where they appear, from transportation and energy production, to agriculture and municipal solid waste. The Coalition recently put an additional $10 million into expanding its initiative work.
The CCAC is a voluntary partnership of more than 90 governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, the environmental community, and other members of civil society. The Coalition is government-led and highly cooperative among multiple stakeholders.
For more information on the CCAC, please see www.unep.org/ccac or contact the CCAC Secretariat at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:4b8d86eb-d9d0-4732-b66a-71bcc244bce1> | {
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Carbon Monoxide is an odorless, tasteless, colorless gas which can build up in your home and become a very real health threat. It is produced when fuels are not burned completely. These fuels are commonplace in both the home and work environments. Carbon Monoxide is produced by any vehicle, motor, appliance, generator or power equipment that runs on fuel. These fuelsinclude: wood, coal, kerosene, home heating oil, diesel fuel, natural and propane gas, and charcoal. Anything that burns can produce carbon monoxide.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year there are over 170 reported deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning. Many people are aware of the dangers of leaving a car running in a closed garage, but more deaths occur from malfunctioning fuel powered appliances than car exhaust. These appliances are common in almost every household and include, gas ranges, oil burners, fireplaces – both gas and wood – hot water heaters, gas dryers, generators, room heaters and wood and coal stoves. Fatalities due to carbon monoxide poisoning rises in the winter months, during power outages and the use of gas powered generators or gas stoves are used for heat. Emergency rooms treat several thousand people suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning each year.
The key to avoiding carbon monoxide poisoning is prevention.
- Fuel supplied heating systems –gas, oil, wood, coal- should be checked and serviced once a year by a professional. Make sure when the heating system is serviced or inspected that special attention is given to exhaust venting systems such as chimneys and flues. The venting system also needs to be checked for corrosion, loose connections and disconnection of chimney parts. Wood and coal burning stoves and fireplaces should have their chimneys cleaned at least once a year.
- Even though the garage door may be open, never run any type of gas powered machinery or appliance in the garage. Generators, mowers, automobiles and fuel engine driven machines will exhaust carbon monoxide. Also, never use a camp stove or any portable stove, barbecue, etc in the garage, house or any enclosed space. Carbon monoxide can very easily creep into the house and build up in enclosed places quickly reaching poisonous levels and may be fatal.
- When appliances such as gas ranges and dryers are installed, always use a professional to do this. They will make sure it is installed to manufacturer’s specifications and meets all building code standards. This ensures they are operating properly and are not a source of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Another good preventative is installing Carbon Monoxide sensors. They should be installed in the hallway by bedrooms and on every level of the house. Be sure to purchase one that meets current safety standards and test the batteries twice a year. The average life span of a sensor is 2 years. Follow the manufacturer’s guideline for how often they need to be replaced.
If you suspect carbon monoxide in your home, you can check by using a badge or test kit. This is an inexpensive device which can be placed in a suspected area. The badge will change color within 15 minutes if carbon monoxide is detected. Even a slight change of color needs to be investigated immediately. If the badge does not change color it can be left in place for 60-90 days depending on what the manufacturer suggests.
Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning:
- Mental confusion
- Flue like symptoms that come on suddenly with no fever
- Shortness of breath
If you or your family have these symptoms and you suspect or have tested positive for levels of Carbon Monoxide, take immediate steps.
- Clear the house!
- Open the windows to ventilate and go to the emergency room!
Do not stay in the house or area as the undetectable gas can make a person very ill in a very short time, depending on the concentration. The symptoms can rapidly progress to unconsciousness and death. Awareness and prevention are the best way to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. | <urn:uuid:08f3e75b-085a-4481-8782-9645bad998d2> | {
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As summer winds down and schools begin to return to session, students are returning to the classroom and, for many, it’s their first year in a new school. If you are one of those students, you’re likely going to be in a different education environment than what you are used to.
But one of the most difficult things of being in a new environment is understanding what is expected of you. While that’s true of all areas of education, plagiarism is an issue that is both very important and, often times, confusing for students.
As such, it’s important to take time to understand the issue of plagiarism and what steps you can take to avoid running afoul of your school’s policies.
On that note, here’s some advice for students nervous about plagiarism to avoid being accused of it.
Read Your School and Class Policies
This one is straightforward. Read carefully your school’s policies on plagiarism and, if any of your class syllabi have plagiarism policies, read those as well. Understand thoroughly what your school and your instructors expect of you. Of particular interest is what citation format is desired (MLA, APA, etc.) and when citation is expected.
You can’t avoid breaking a rule if you aren’t aware of it so the first step is always to read and understand the rules around plagiarism thoroughly.
Adopt a Cleanroom for Your Writing
When writing for your classes, do not copy and paste text into your work without immediately citing it. Even if you intend to change or rewrite it later, those types of plans can be forgotten resulting in plagiarized text in your work.
Likewise, when paraphrasing, don’t look at or read from what you’re trying to summarize. Instead, hide it to ensure that you write it in your words rather than pulling from the source.
In short, every time text is copied and pasted, it should be done for a valid reason and followed with immediate citation, regardless of where in the project you are.
Make Every Effort
There’s a very large difference between failing to cite 100% perfectly and failing to cite at all. The first may hurt your grade on an assignment while the latter can land you in serious trouble with the school.
Sadly, some students, when confused by citation standards, just give up and don’t even try. They often pay a serious price.
It’s much better to do citation poorly/incompletely than it is to not do it at all. This is especially true if you study the corrections and learn for the next assignment.
Talk With Your Instructors
If you are confused about your citation or have a question about a specific case, ask your instructor or their assistants. Visit them during office hours or after class.
If you talk about your issues with them and get their advice, not only will you learn more about citation but you’ll have put them on alert that you are struggling in this area and trying.
Most schools use some form of plagiarism detection technology to check student work. It makes sense to check your own work before submitting it.
The reason to do this is to try and spot any mistakes you might have made that could send up red flags. While there shouldn’t be any if you use a cleanroom, it’s always possible that you might have used language that could match other sources and draw unwanted suspicion.
It’s worth a few seconds to check your own work just to be 100% sure.
All in all, plagiarism is fairly easy to avoid but it requires being proactive. This includes considering it at the start of the year, as you are writing and as you are going through your coursework.
Waiting until duplicate text has been found in your work is the worst time to start thinking about the issue as, by then, the damage has likely been done.
With plagiarism, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today, and do not reflect the opinions of WriteCheck | <urn:uuid:fd0665a9-6667-4837-b0d7-edf94860179b> | {
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