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- See also Maps
Even on Earth within historical time (back to roughly 10,000 BCE = 12,000 years ago, see en:Ely in en:Cambridgeshire which has such a long documented history), some non-obvious considerations apply to specifications of blocks of spacetime. But certainly a key requirement is that coordinates of a particular place on the Earth ought to be as stable as its rocks and strata, so that a 'location' on the Earth's surface has its usual meaning.
Here are some of the non-obvious considerations of a terrestrial coordinate system going back 12,000 years and useful in en:geology and en:geography, en:paleontology and en:biology, en:ecology and en:climate, en:archaeology and en:history, while still being absolutely unambiguous about what time and place means in the present:
- Absolute blocks of time are often represented inexactly, e.g. "February 8, 2003" can represent one of thirty-nine different ranges of time, one in each en:time zone. In any project that crosses time zone borders, as this one does, you have said NOTHING if you have not implied or added the time zone. A default of UTC (Greenwich Mean Time) is the only sane standard when this is ambiguous, which makes many articles that assume PST or EST simply wrong. This must be part of the standard.
- Relative blocks of time, e.g. 'that week', 'a day earlier', etc., are unambiguous and actually better referents, if an absolute frame has been established. But those informal characterizations should be tagged to note that "that week means -7 days from reference", "a day earlier means -1 days from reference". This would be pretty easy to do automatically and sum up things that happened on a given day (which we do manually at this point with great effort. (This is the equivalent of tagging 'he', 'they', etc. as referring to a reference name - again relatively simple to do automatically and sum up all the things a given person did or said).
- Many calendars (e.g. en:Chinese calendar, en:Islamic calendar, en:Persian calendar) are still in use in the world. Others tend to alter the year but accept the en:Gregorian calendar for the "date". But in the Islamic calendar, for instance, "13 December 1979" is "24 Muharram 1400 A.H.". Chinese and Islamic calendars use lunar months, which is more reliable than Julian/Gregorian dating, so the phase of the moon is actually a better reference in most cases if poor records exist.
- Earth en:latitude and en:longitude are relative to the date, due to en:polar drift and en:continental drift - so a latitude/longitude pair far in the past is not necessarily the same place without some compensation. A complete solution to this problem would be able to accomodate this all the way back to the single continent en:Pangea which was once all land on Earth, and has split to become today's continents.
- Earth en:ecoregions are the most basic reference for living things, and a scientific and standard map of them now exists. Their borders determine most of what one would want to say about en:biology or en:climate, so it is better to organize this information around them, than around say national borders, which is a poor way to organize data about en:physical geography or en:ecology. This should be part of the system as early as possible, so that the ranges of animals can be specified in terms of ecoregions rather than countries or gross physical features.
If you know of an existing DTD that actually does this correctly and solves the problems of en:history and en:geography above, by all means dig it up and let's talk about it, and improve it here. But it appears at present that the Wikipedia already has problems that we should solve before we get into the issues of a Wikipediatlas.
- which problems ?
I agree. I looked up this "polar drift" (or "Chandler's Wobble"). It looks like it's not really a problem unless you want to know your location accurate to 1m. I really can't see any problems here that need fixing. -- Tim Starling
- As noted on the Maps page, HEML (Historical Event Markup Language) may be useful for this application.
- The Open GIS Consortium (OGC) has several standards that are
related to this topic, such as coordinate systems and WWW mapping services, with some reference implementations available.
- There is a a project on SourceForge that is working on space time analysis. | <urn:uuid:7edfbfad-f7e3-4e90-a121-c6199baa0977> | {
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We are all different, but we all have similarities, even children with special needs. This book was written to raise awareness of the importance of all children. The story points out our similarities. We have pets, families, and a places we call home. All children are important. This book is a short fictional story written from the perspective of a young girl with special needs. Included with the story, step-by-step drawing instructions of illustrations from the story are printed in the back. These instructions are easy to follow for children or parents assisting their children. Instruction begins with one line or shape and continues adding one line and shape at a time. Each new addition is printed in a different color to help the student visually locate the new line. With such precise instruction, learners quickly learn how to self guide their way through the other lessons. Best of all, we learn to value all individuals. | <urn:uuid:15491a0d-17e0-4b0a-9552-c6009700ef3e> | {
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Dev Deepawali (Varanasi)
|Dev Deepawali (Varanasi)|
|Significance||Tripura Purnima or worship of Lord Shiva|
|Celebrations||Gods descent to the Ganga ghats at Varanasi and aarti for the Ganga River|
|Date||Full Moon day of the Kartik month in the Hindu calendar|
|2015 date||November 25|
The Dev Deepavali ("the Diwali of the Gods" or "Festival of Lights of the Gods") is the festival of Kartik Poornima celebrated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. It falls on the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartika (November - December) and takes place fifteen days after Diwali. The steps of all the ghats on the riverfront of the Ganges River, from Ravidas Ghat at the southern end to Rajghat, are lit with more than a million earthen lamps (diyas) in honour of Ganga, the Ganges, and its presiding goddess. The gods are believed to descend to Earth to bathe in the Ganges on this day. The festival is also observed as Tripura Purnima Snan. The tradition of lighting the lamps on the Dev Deepawali festival day was first started at the Panchganga Ghat in 1985.
During Dev Deepawali, houses are decorated with oil lamps and colored designs on their front doors. Firecrackers are burnt at night, processions of decorated deities are taken out into the streets of Varanasi, and oil lamps are set afloat on the river.
The main rituals performed by devotees consist of kartik snan (taking a holy bath in the Ganges during Kartika) and deepdan (offering of oil lighted lamps) to Ganga in the evening. The Ganga aarti is also performed in the evening.
The 5 day festivals starts on Prabodhini Ekadashi (11th lunar day of Kartika) and concludes on Kartik Poornima. Besides a religious role, the festival is also the occasion when the martyrs are remembered at the ghats by worshipping Ganga and lighting lamps watching the aarti. This is organized by Ganga Seva Nidhi when wreaths are placed at Amar Jawan Jyoti at Dashashwamedh Ghat and also at the adjoining Rajendra Prasad Ghat by police officials of the Varanasi District, 39 Gorkha Training Centre, 95 CRPF battalion, 4 Air Force Selection Board and 7 UP battalion of NCC (naval), Benares Hindu University (BHU). The traditional last post is also performed by all the three armed forces (Army, Navy and Air force), followed by a closing ceremony, where sky lamps are lit. Patriotic songs, hymns, and bhajans are sung and the Bhagirath Shourya Samman awards are presented.
The festival is a major tourist attraction, and the sight of a million lamps (both floating and fixed) lighting the ghats and river in vivid colors have often been described by visitors and tourists as a breathtaking sight. On the night of the festival, thousands of devotees from the holy city of Varanasi, surrounding villages, and across the country gather in the evening on the ghats of the Ganges to watch the aarti. The local government makes several intensive security arrangements to ensure order during the festival.
Apart from the aarti at the Dashameshwar Ghat, all buildings and houses are lit with earthen lamps. Nearly 100,000 pilgrims visit the riverfront to watch the river aglitter with lamps. The aarti is performed by 21 young Brahmin priests and 24 girls. The rituals involve chanting hymns, rhythmic drum beating, conch shell blowing, and brazier burning.
Boat rides (in boats of all sizes) along the riverfront in the evening are popular among tourists, when all the ghats are lit with lamps and aarti is being performed.
Ganga Mahotsav is a tourist-centric festival in Varanasi, which is celebrated over five days every year, starting from Prabodhani Ekadashi to Kartik Poornima during the months of October and November. It showcases the rich cultural heritage of Varanasi. With its message of faith and culture, the festival features popular cultural programs, classical music, a country boat race, a daily shilp mela (arts and crafts fair), sculpture displays, and martial arts. On the final day (Poornima), which coincides with the traditional Dev Deepawali (light festival of the Gods), the ghats on the Ganga River glitter with more than a million lit-up earthen lamps.
- http://www.varanasi.org.in/dev-diwali. Missing or empty
|title=(help) Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Tourism" defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- "Fairs and festivals". National Informatics Center. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- "Varanasi gearing up to celebrate Dev Deepawali". The Times of India. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- "Ghats dazzle on Dev Deepawali". Times of India. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- Dwivedi, Dr. Bhojraj (2006). Religious Basis of Hindu Beliefs. Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. p. 171. ISBN 9788128812392. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- Publishing, DK (2008). India: People, Place, Culture, History. Penguin. p. 114. ISBN 9780756649524. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- "Events finalised for Dev Deepawali". Times of India. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- Bruyn, Pippa de (2010). Frommer's India. John Wiley & Sons. p. 469. ISBN 9780470556108. Retrieved 7 November 2012. | <urn:uuid:a844acf8-d346-4193-9c84-e6cf59bf9160> | {
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"The Front"ÃÂand The Crucible The statement that will be compared in this essay will be, number one, that Heckie Brown is an innocent victim. A companion statement from The Crucible is that like Heckie, John Proctor is also an innocent victim. While two men lived in very different time periods, they are very similar, as unjust acts occurred in 1692 Salem and 1952 America. In this comparison essay, I will explain why these unjustly acts were committed as well as the differences and similarities in the two stories.
John Proctor was a good man who made a mistake. His wife had taken ill for quite some time, he became a little anxious and made a mistake with his servant, Abigail, who had been in love with him. After his wife caught them, Abigail was fired and her reputation grew worse. She then got involved with Tituba and the whole witchcraft thing, and when Proctor came to see them, she confessed her love for him that had been getting stronger.
He wisely told her that it was over and that it wasn't going to happen again. When Abigail found out that if she accused people of witchcraft , they presumably would be found guilty or forced to sign an untrue confession, she jumped at the opportunity to have Mrs.
Proctor killed or out of the way. Like the good and loving husband John was, he stood up and told the truth about how his wife was not a witch. While fighting for his wife, he got himself caught in the witchcraft ordeal and was forced to choose between his name, which includes his wife, kids, and dignity or an unjust death. He was prepared to sign the false confession, but he knew he just couldn't do it. John gave up his life for a true belief and eventually put an end to the witchcraft problem.
Heckie Brown was a successful and well know actor. He was very likable and comical in person as well as on television. Much like in The Crucible, there was a pursuit to find communists or communist sympathizers. Instead of being sent to court right away from any random accusation, those who were to have been thought of as being a communist were tracked by writings, friends, etc.and if those accused were still thought of were black listed. A black list was a list of actors, writers, directors ,authors ,etc who were thought of as being communists or communist sympathizers who would not be able to work. Instead of being in court in front of people as a public affair, those responsible of this black list denied it's existence. Heckie Brown, as stated earlier, was very well liked.
He unfortunately made a mistake similar to John Proctor. Heckie was also a bit anxious and he had a relation with a woman who he didn't know was a communist. People found out and became suspicious of Heckie, he agreed to cooperate and name names or do whatever they asked of him as long as he could get work. After being dropped and rejected from numerous places, he got a job that paid nothing near a man of his popularity would make, he was promised 300$ and after the job was done the man only gave him 250$. Heckie went downhill from here and never worked again, because it wasn't possible. One night, Heckie Brown jumped out of a hotel window and committed suicide.
Heckie, like John didn't want to have to live a lie, something he didn't believe in. So he did something he believed to be right and took his life. Eventually the black list was gone.
These two stories were very similar. The worlds of 1692 and 1952 seem very close. Both ages had unjust persecutors, random accusations, a hero, and a problem. The main and most significant difference was, in "The Front"ÃÂ, Hackie Brown committed suicide and in The Crucible, John Proctor was put to death by unjust judges. He was fighting for what was right and let those judges take his life rather than give up his dignity and his beliefs. Heckie Brown didn't kill himself, the black list did. His job, friends, fame and most of all his name were stolen from him. Like John Proctor, Heckie Brown what was right and died for it. Maybe our society can learn from these terrible events that took place years apart, but the same mistakes that the people of 1692 made, the people of 1952 repeated. | <urn:uuid:69cf5708-48e3-4f50-902b-cea93703719a> | {
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Watching this resources will notify you when proposed changes or new versions are created so you can keep track of improvements that have been made.
Favoriting this resource allows you to save it in the “My Resources” tab of your account. There, you can easily access this resource later when you’re ready to customize it or assign it to your students.
The price elasticity of demand (PED) captures how price-sensitive consumers are for a given product or service by measuring the responsiveness of quantity demanded to changes in the good's own price.
This is in contrast to measuring the responsiveness of the good's demand to a change in price for some other good (a complement or substitute), which is called the cross-price elasticity of demand.
The own-price elasticity of demand is often simply called the price elasticity.
The following formula is used to calculate the own-price elasticity of demand:
The formula above usually yields a negative value because of the inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded .
However, economists often disregard the negative sign and report the elasticity as an absolute value.
For example, if the price of a good increases by 5 percent and the quantity demanded decreases by 5 percent, then the elasticity at the initial price and quantity is -5%/5% = -1.
This number is likely to be reported simply as 1.
There are a few other important points to note about the coefficient value provided by this formula.
First, the elasticity coefficient is a pure number, meaning that it does not have units of measurement associated with it.
Second, the coefficient value can range from zero to negative infinity.
Finally, the result provided by the formula will be accurate only when the changes in price and quantity are small.
The result will be less accurate when the changes are large.
Since PED is based off of percent changes, the starting nominal quantity and price matter.
At low prices and high quantities, the PED is therefore more inelastic.
For example, a drop in the price of $1 from a starting price of $100 is a 1% drop, but if the starting price is $10, it is a 10% drop.
Similarly, at high prices and low quantities, PED is more elastic .
Assign this as a reading to your class
Assign just this concept, or entire chapters to your class for free. You will be able to see and track your students' reading progress.
When changes in price and quantity are large., When the formula for the demand function is known and when elasticity is relatively high, When the formula for the demand function is known and when elasticity is relatively low, and When changes in price and quantity are small. | <urn:uuid:577ff4c0-b269-4d47-a5c8-47f3c216b046> | {
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|Edward A. Crane|
|The Second French Empire (1905) D. Appleton & Co.|
|Dr. Edward Crane was a writer and editor who, during the American
Civil War assisted Dr.
Thomas Evans.. Evans was noted for his exhibit of hospital tents, railroad
hospital cars, surgical instruments, etc. He had already seen first-hand
the gruesome results of modern warfare during the Crimean War and the French-Italian
conflict of 1859, and his visit to Grant’s headquarters allowed him to
study a subject close to his heart: "provisions made for the care of the
sick and wounded." That, and the two months he spent in Philadelphia afterwards
gathering information about the latest developments in hygiene, led to
a book detailing the work of the sanitary commission (a volunteer citizens’
association that supplemented the work of the Army Medical Bureau). It
was followed by another book, Sanitary Institutions during the Austro-Prussian-Italian
Conflict of 1866. Both would impress important readers in Europe, and would,
despite resistance from bureaucracies, lead to changes in the treatment
of wounded soldiers.
With the help of Dr. Edward Crane, his friend and literary editor, Evans
assembled, at his own expense, the various inventions that had saved tens
of thousands of lives during the Civil War, and had them shipped to the
Paris Exposition. The Grand Prix d’Honneur was presented by the emperor,
and Evans himself received a special prize for his design of a light, well-ventilated
"flying ambulance." One ranking physician from the French Army wrote that
the various articles of the exhibition "all bear the stamp of the enlightened
patriotism and the importance which the Americans attach to the preservation
of human life and the alleviation of the inevitable evils of war." Evams
wrote The Fall of the Second French Empire
|Indians of the Enchanted Desert Southwest Indian history
Navajo & Hopi Indians (Little/Brown, 1925)
Leo Crane was the Indian Agent at Keams Canyon for the Hopi and Navajo Tribes, starting in 1911. He then served as the agent for the Pueblo Tribes of New Mexico, and was later transferred to the Crow Creek Reservation, Sou th Dakota. He also worked at the Colorado River Tribes Agency. In the 1950's he worked as guide and ranger at the Boulder Canyon Dam. He authored two books on the southwest: Indians of the Enchanted Desert and Desert Drums: The Pueb lo Indians of New Mexico, 1540-1928.
|F. Marion Crawford - (August 2, 1854 – April 9, 1909)|
Orsino 1907 G & D ~ 446 pages (1st. 1891, MACMILLAN AND CO.)
Full Books e-Edition
Cecilia ~ 1902 A story of modern Rome
(1854-1909)was one of the most famous authors in the English-speaking
world at the time of his death in 1909. He wrote over forty novels. Many
of them were the types of disposable romances popular at the time, but
he also wrote some stories of the horror and occult. These are generally
the ones for which he is now remembered. He was the son of the famous American
sculptor Thomas Crawford. His mother, Louise Ward, was a sister of Julia
Ward Howe, who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Both
his parents belonged to prominent Boston families, buth chose to live in
Italy. FMC was born and grew up in Italy, setting of many of his
books. He attended St Paul's School in NH, Harvard, Heidelberg University
in Germany, and the University of Rome, in his native Italy. He was cultured,
cosmopolitan, widely travelled and rich. Much to the horror of his Boston
relations, he became a Roman Catholic. Beginning with his novel Mr Isaacs
(1882), a big success, he produced some forty books: while it was running
through the press Crawford began a more carefully composed novel, "Dr.
Claudius" (1883), which more than repeated the success of "Mr. Isaacs".
His third novel, "A Roman Singer", ran serially in the "Atlantic
Monthly" and was published in 1884. It was this third novel which opened
out to Crawford his true field, the description of Italian life and character
with its many cosmopolitan, and especially its American and English,
affiliations. He was the author of some forty novels and one play,
"Francesca da Rimini", and his publications commanded a larger sale than
those of any contemporary writer of fiction in England or in the
United States: "Zoroaster" (1885); "A Tale of a Lonely Parish" (1886);
"Saracinesca" (1887); "Marzio's Crucifix" (1887); "Paul Patoff" (1887);
"Greifenstein" (1889); "Sant'
Ilario" (1889); "A Cigarette Maker's Romance" (1890); "The Witch of
Prague" (1891); "Don Orsino" (1892); "Pietro Ghisleri" (1893); "The Ralstons"
(1895); "Corleone" (1897); "Via Crucis" (1899); "In the Palace of
the King" (1900); "Marietta, A Maid of Venice" (1901); "The Heart
of Rome" (1903); "Whosoever Shall Offend" (1904); "Soprano, A Portrait"
(1905); "Fair Margaret" (1905); "The Primadonna" (1907); and "The Diva's
Crawford did not confine his attention to fiction. History, biography,
and description are represented in his: "Constantinople" (1895);
"Ave, Roma Immortalis" (1898); "The Rulers of the South" (1900) -- renamed
"Sicily, Calabria and Malta" (1904); "The Life of Pope Leo XIII" (1904);
and "Gleanings From Venetian History" (1905). In 1904 he published
an essay entitled "The Novel: What it is", in which he gives his views
upon the art of which he was a master. He was unquestionably America's
most successful and widely read Victorian writer. His early death, and
the marked change in tastes following World War I, meant that he was more
or less forgotten after 1920 or so. American letters in the XX Century
were dominated by left-wing ethnic modernists, interested in the "wretched
refuse of the teaming shore". They had no use for this genteel brahmin,
with his polished tales of Upper Class American expatriates in Venice and
Constantinople, his romantic religious interests, his princely villa in
Sorrento (near Naples, where he died in 1909.)
|John Carey Cremony 1815 – August 24, 1879|
|Life Among the Apaches ~ 1868 ~San Francisco: A. Roman
and Company ~ 322 pages
A first-hand account of John C. Cremony's personal adventures with Apache indians in the latter part of the 19th century, in particular the Chiricahua Apaches. Although this effort's original purpose was to induce more effective military suppression of the Apaches (it was first published in 1868), it has all of the fast-paced action and excitement of a novel and the authenticity of an ethnographic and historical document. It is informative about Apache beliefs, tribal life, and fighting tactics.
Alternate Online Edition in PDF: http://www.pdflibrary.com/Samples/AMERICAN_INDIANS/1582183864.pdf
Cremony: Interpreter to the U.S. Boundary Commission, Under the
Hon. John R. Bartlett, in 1849, '50, and '51, and late major of Californian
Volunteer Cavalry, Operating in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Western
Arkansas. Cremony wrote absorbing eyewitness descriptions of pre-reservation
Apache life and culture, in particular the Chiricahua Apaches. Through
his years in the military, Cremony fought in the war with Mexico and participated
in many Indian campaigns in the southwest deserts. In 1848 he served as
Spanish interpreter for the U. S. Boundary Commission where he learned
to speak Apache and subsequently wrote a glossary and grammar of the language.
Although he wrote this book with the intent to encourage more effective
military suppression of the intimidating Apaches, this historical document
has all of the fast-paced action and excitement of a Wild West novel. Of
particular note are his accounts of the life of Mangas Coloradas -- a man
far more important to history than Cremony. An important classic of general
and Native American history.
Cremony's book inspired many a Hollywood screenwriter, and for years his words have been taken as gospel. Scholars have since shown that Cremony was habitually inflating his own importance and his knowledge of Apache ways and history. Of particular note are his highly fictionalized accounts of the life of Mangas Coloradas -- a man far more important to history than Cremony. But this work remains an extremely telling document of a time and place -- and all the strange attitudes that made up "white" perceptions. It is a refreshingly open and objective look at the Apache culture before the reservations. Cremony wrote the first dictionary of the Apache language and earned their grudging respect. He shows admiration for their amazing courage, endurance, and skills of warfare and survival. But, since this was written a century before the political correctness Victorianism we now are censored by, Cremony is able to share his concerns about their interesting work ethic (it is dishonorable for a man to work besides hunting and stealing) and their cruelty. Cremony makes some polite comments about the extreme attractiveness of some of the Apache women which suggests, at a minimum, an emotional involvement -- which adds a touching romantic side to this well written account.
Major John C. Cremony was a Boston newspaperman who enrolled in the Massachusetts Volunteers in 1846, serving as a lieutenant. He served as a Spanish language interpreter for the U.S. Boundary Commission which laid out the Mexican and United States Border between 1849-1852. He went on to serve as Captain in Company B, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry a unit of California Volunteers, with the California Column in New Mexico Territory. He eventually achieved the rank of Major in 1864 and commanded the 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers until 1866. He was the first editor of San Francisco's Weekly Sunday Times newspaper.
Despite fighting them, Cremony was an admirer of the Apache people,
and was the author of Life Among the Apaches, published in 1869.
A first-hand balanced perspective on the Native American tribe. He was
the first white man to become fluent in the Apache language, learning it
in his role as an interpreter, and publishing the first written compilation
of their language as a glossary for the army
|Freeman Wills Croft June 1, 1879 Dublin - April 11, 1957 Worthing|
Prop Syndicate 1922
Online eText: http://www.bookrags.com/books/ptprp/
The Pit Prop Syndicate Chapters
Online eText Edition: http://www.blackmask.com/olbooks/pitpropdex.htm
Series: Many tites featuring Inspector Joseph French, of Scotland Yard, in London, England: 1925-1957
"One of the Humdrum School. Features plodding, methodical Insp. French. Complex, mechanical plots written by a civil and railway engineer, and it shows."
|Ruth Cross 1887-1981|
|The Golden Cocoon 1924 AL Burt (1st Harper & Brothers 1924)
"Full of thrilling scenes and romance. The highs and lows, poverty and plenty and the hights and depths of human emotion" "The Golden Cocoon paints a grim picture of life in the cottonfields and an even grimmer one of the faculty at the University of Texas, "a backwash of incompetents whom life had rejected."
This routine Warner Brothers melodrama was based on the novel by Ruth Cross. Country girl Molly Shannon (Helene Chadwick) wins a college scholarship which was offered by Judge Gregory Cochran (Huntley Gordon). While attending the school, she falls in love with one of the professors, Renfro (Richard Tucker), but on the eve of their wedding, he deserts her. She wanders miserably through the night until she passes out in front of a notorious road house. Before she is taken in, she is seen by Bancroft (Frank Campeau), a politician. Molly's ordeal comes back to haunt her much later, after she and Cochran marry. Bancroft wants to use Molly's presence at the road house to stop Cochran from running for office. To save her husband, Molly disappears and pretends to have committed suicide. Just before the election, Renfro shows up and finds Molly. He is shot in a struggle -- but before he dies, he insists that Molly is completely innocent of any wrongdoing. Cochran's career is saved and he and Molly are reunited. ~ All Movie Guide
|Mattie Ruth Cross (1887-1981), novelist, the oldest of four children of Dr. Walter D. and Willie Alta (Cole) Cross, was born in Sylvan, Texas, on December 25, 1887. After moving around the South while her father, a former high school principal, finished his medical education, Ruth returned with her family to Sylvan, in rural Lamar County, where she attended local schools. Strongly influenced by her mother, a music teacher versed in Greek and Latin, Ruth excelled in her studies and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas. She had enrolled in college in 1904 and worked her way through by teaching in small Texas and Oklahoma towns. When an eye malady impaired Ruth's vision, her mother traveled to Austin to assist with her coursework. After her mother died, Ruth depended upon friends to read and take notes for her. She was awarded a B.A. in creative writing in 1911 and then taught in Longview, emphasizing oral work in her Latin and German classes in order to spare her eyes. Writing fiction, however, remained her first ambition. After studying for a summer at the University of Chicago, she subsidized her creative efforts with stints as a housekeeper, travel companion, interior decorator, and real-estate broker in New York, Nevada, and California. Undeterred by almost a decade of rejection, she began selling her "cotton field" tales to Holland's magazine. Her literary career then bloomed quickly. In 1922 Louis B. Mayer based a movie on her short story "A Question of Honor." Two years later Harper published her first novel, The Golden Cocoon, which was greeted by favorable reviews and printed in five editions. After paying Cross $25,000 for the movie rights, Warner Brothers in 1925 filmed this saga of a farm girl from the Black Hills who survives heartbreak as the governor's mistress and then leaves her glamorous life in Austin to struggle as a writer in New York City. Flushed with the additional success of a one-act play on the Keith vaudeville circuit, Ruth Cross in 1924 married George W. Palmer, a horticulturist and financier. Together they bought and renovated Edendale, a forty-acre farm estate outside Winsted, Connecticut, home to fellow Texas writers Dorothy Scarborough,qv Annie Laurie Williams, and Maurice Crain. Over the next two decades, Cross published five novels: The Unknown Goddess (1926), Enchantment (1930), The Big Road (1931), Soldier of Good Fortune (1936), and Back Door to Happiness (1937). She also wrote two works of nonfiction, Eden on a Country Hill (1938) and Wake Up and Garden (1942), and numerous stories and articles for magazines. Always enthusiastic about her fruits and flowers, she contributed to Heinz's "Magazine of the Air" on WABC radio and broadcast an original program called "Your Garden and Home." Just before her husband's death in 1947, Cross sold Edendale. She lived for a few years in New York City and then moved to Winnfield, Louisiana, her mother's hometown, to be near the families of her sister and brother. In 1975 she donated her papers to Northwestern State University at Natchitoches, which a year later published her final book, The Beautiful and the Doomed. Although her first novel established Cross as a writer of note, her subsequent books did not live up to its promise. Drawing on memories of her childhood, she set many of her tales in "Law's Chapel," a fictional counterpart of Sylvan, and critics commended her realism and local color in both The Golden Cocoon and The Big Road. When her characters left Texas for Broadway and the big cities, however, her "riotous imagination" tinged the plot with melodrama in such books as Enchantment. But even when Cross was out of the critical eye, she continued to write; at the age of eighty-eight she was planning a novel about her psychic experiences. She died in Winnfield on September 30, 1981.|
|Wilbur F. Crummer (45th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer).|
|With Grant at Fort Donelson, Shilo and Vicksburg;
And an Appreciation of General U.S. Grant. Oak Park, Il: E.C. Crummer and
Company, 1915. Flyleaf inscription: “To Edgar Rice Burroughs, compliments
of the author Wilbur R. Crummer, Oak Park, Ils, June 20, 1917.”
"…….All around us lay the dead and dying, amid the groans and cries of the wounded. Our surgeons came up quickly, and, taking possession of a farmhouse, converted it into a hospital, and we began to carry ours and the enemy's wounded to the surgeons. There they lay, the blue and the gray intermingled; the same rich, young American blood flowing out in little rivulets of crimson; each thinking he was in the right………The blue and the gray took their turn before the surgeon's knife…….with no anesthetic to soothe the agony, but, gritting their teeth, they bore the pain of the knife and saw, while arms and legs were being severed from their bodies. There was just one case that was no exception……..He was a fine looking officer and colonel of some Louisiana regiment of the Confederate army. He had been shot through the leg and was making a great ado about it. Dr. Kittoe, of our regiment, examined it and said it must be amputated; the poor fellow cried and howled: "Oh I never can go home to my wife on one leg……." "Well," said the gruff old surgeon, "that, or not go home at all," The colonel final said yes, and in a few minutes he was in a condition (if he got well) to wear a wooden leg when he went home."
|Wilbur Crummer: 45th Illinois Infantry
William Crummer was a native a Galena, Illinois, and an Union enlisted man during the Civil War.In 1915, he published his book, With Grant at Donelson, Shiloh and Vicksburg.
|Edward Cummings 1894-1962|
|Marmaduke of Tennessee ~ A.C. McClurg and Co: Chicago - 1914
"The Coward" March 1904 ~ McClure's Magazine with illustrations by George Gibbs.
|Almost certain not THE e.e. cummings BUT...
Edward Cummings ??(doubtful that e.e. is the same Cummings) was born into the family of a Unitarian minister in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1894, near the turn of the century; yet a child, he started writing romantically colored poems. Having completed five years at Harvard where Greek and English literature had been his specialities, he moved to New York and spent several months seriously at work as a cubist painter. In the early days* of the First World War he went to France to join an American ambulance corps. A month or two in Paris taught him to speak fluent French; partly because of the fact he could easily communicate to the French and seemed to know more than officers of his rank were allowed to, he found himself imprisoned on suspicion of being a spy at the end of 1917. Out of his experience in World War I came his first book, The Enormous Room, a classic among war books, illustrated by his own drawings. Cummings’ whole career is marked by creative surprise. Throughout his life he was interested in a variety of literary and art forms. Examples extend to plays, a ballet, and a collection of pictures, done in charcoal, ink, oil, pencil, and water color. He painted all of his life, and once referred to himself as “an author of pictures, a draftsman of words”.Nevertheless, when he died in 1962, Cummings was called by the critics as, “next to Robert Frost, the most popular contemporary poet in the nation”. Today many of his most enthusiastic admirers are among the young.
|Alice Turner Curtis|
|Grandpa's Little Girls
The Little Maid of Ticonderoga by Alice Turner Curtis. Hardback, 1920 216 pages
Little Maid of Narragansett Bay 1915
A Little Maid of Old Connecticut
A Little Maid of Maryland
A Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony
Little Maid of Mohawk Valley
Yankee Girl at Fort Sumter
Online eText: http://manybooks.net/titles/curtisaletext04ykgfs10.html
|James Oliver Curwood|
|A Gentleman of Courage G&D 1924
Back to God's Country 1920.
Thirteen short stories of adventure in the Canadian Northwest & Arctic Circle. The title story is an amazing hero-tale easily comparable to Jack
London -- for the hero is a Great Dane brought to the Frazer River by a Chinese gold prospector, & the dog, Wapi, fought against unbeatable odds to defend the honor of a woman he had decided was his mistress. "The Match" & a few others are Mounties tales. "The Case of Beauvois" is a macabre tale of murder. "The Mouse" is about just such a pet kept in a sourdough's pocket. All these stories set in "the white wilderness of moaning storm" are simply outstanding.
God's Country and the Woman
The Ancient Highway
The Black Hunter New York: Cosmopolitan Book Co. 1926. First Edition.
Arthur E. Becher dj art and illustrations. Adventurous novel of 18th Century Quebec
The Courage of Marge O'Doone
The Danger Trail
The Flaming Forest Grosset & Dunlap 1921.
dustwrapper art shows a brooding portrait of wilderness tragedy. This was the third of Curwood's brilliant trilogy, preceded by River's End and The Valley of Silent Men, adventure-filled tales of the Canadian Mounties. About a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman, abducted by a band of outlaws, was originally published by Rinehart & Company in 1921.
The Golden Snare
New York: Grosset and Dunlap. (1921). Photo-play Edition.
Illustrated with scenes from the First National picture starring Lewis Stone and Ruth Renick.
The Grizzly King
A Romance of the Wild. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1918, 1925 Doubleday Page frontispiece by Frank B. Hoffman, showing the great bear Thor's encounter with a procupine. The tale of the Rockies & of a bear & its hunter, Langdon. Something of a companion-piece to Kazan.
The Hunted Woman
The River's End
The Valley of Silent Men
1920 Farrar & Rinehart 1st edition A Mountie from his deathbed confesses to a crime in order to protect the actual killer -- then recovers & must face the possibility he may hang. The resulting struggle for life & honor provides one of the great classic adventures of the Royal Mounted Police in the Canadian Northwest & the far-frozen North
Oliver Curwood lived most of his life in Owosso, Michigan,
where he was born on June 12, 1878. His first novel was The Courage
of Captain Plum (1908) and he published one or two novels each year
thereafter, until his death on August 13, 1927. Owosso residents honor
his name to this day, & Curwood Castle is the town's main tourist attraction.
The Castle, shown in the center illustration (2-b), was built in 1922,
in which decade Curwood became one of America's best selling & most
highly paid authors. This was the decade of his lasting classics The Valley
of Silent Men (1920) & The Flaming Forest (1921). Would that every
worthy writer could earn a castle for their labors! He & his wife Ethel
were outdoors fanatics and active conservationists. She assisted uncredited
on several of his manuscripts & wrote a substantial portion of Green
Timber (1930) unfinished at the time of her husband's death. Green Timber
was a tale of settlers in the wilderness of his native Michigan, but the
majority of his books were about the far north of Canada. These were rough
& tumble adventures, of which readers in the Lower 48 could not get
enough. Curwood loved Canada & made many wilderness excursions
into the most rugged regions, even wintering among Inuits under the harshest
conditions. Today most Americans are pretty ignorant of Canada's grand
history, but in Curwood's heyday American children were as apt to play
at being red-coated Mounties as they were at being cowboys --and the Romance
of the frozen North was closely identified with this thrilling American
Curwood Appearances in Magazines and Newspapers
Why I Write Nature Stories
Thor, Lord of the Jungles (Selig Polyscope Co., Nov. 1, 1913)
The screenplay/story is attributed to popular writer James Oliver Curwood. It is described elsewhere as an early 'jungle movie' but there doesn't appear to be any extant copy or plot summary. None of Curwood's published works that would fit the description, though perhaps the story might have been published in a magazine -- then again, perhaps it was a direct-to-screenplay work, as Curwood seems to have been involved in writing for early films. Interestingly the Selig company had its headquarters in Chicago, and the first Tarzan movie (1918) was filmed at the Selig Zoo Park in California. Possibly "Thor..." might have been an early attempt to cash in on the popularity of Tarzan of the Apes.
Click for full images
|General George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876)|
|My Life on the Plains - 1881 Sheldon & Co.
Online eText Edition: http://www.kancoll.org/books/custerg/
Custer's Chapter 1 Intro:
"It is but a few years ago that every schoolboy, supposed to possess the rudiments of a knowledge of the geography of the United States, could give the boundaries and a general description of the Great American Desert. As to the boundary the knowledge seemed to be quite explicit: on the north bounded by the Upper Missouri, on the east by the Lower Missouri and Mississippi, on the south by Texas, and on the west by the Rocky Mountains. . . . "
George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876): Flamboyant in life, George Armstrong Custer has remained one of the best-known figures in American history and popular mythology long after his death at the hands of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio, and spent much of his childhood with a half-sister in Monroe, Michigan. Immediately after high school he enrolled in West Point, where he utterly failed to distinguish himself in any positive way. Several days after graduating last in his class, he failed in his duty as officer of the guard to stop a fight between two cadets. He was court-martialed and saved from punishment only by the huge need for officers with the outbreak of the Civil War. Custer did unexpectedly well in the Civil War. He fought in the First Battle of Bull Run, and served with panache and distinction in the Virginia and Gettysburg campaigns. Although his units suffered enormously high casualty rates -- even by the standards of the bloody Civil War -- his fearless aggression in battle earned him the respect of his commanding generals and increasingly put him in the public eye. His cavalry units played a critical role in forcing the retreat of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's forces; in gratitude, General Philip Sheridan purchased and made a gift of the Appomatox surrender table to Custer and his wife, Elizabeth Bacon Custer. In July of 1866 Custer was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Seventh Cavalry. The next year he led the cavalry in a muddled campaign against the Southern Cheyenne. In late 1867 Custer was court-martialed and suspended from duty for a year for being absent from duty during the campaign. Custer maintained that he was simply being made a scapegoat for a failed campaign, and his old friend General Phil Sheridan agreed, calling Custer back to duty in 1868. In the eyes of the army, Custer redeemed himself by his November 1868 attack on Black Kettle's band on the banks of the Washita River. Custer was sent to the Northern Plains in 1873, where he soon participated in a few small skirmishes with the Lakota in the Yellowstone area. The following year, he lead a 1,200 person expedition to the Black Hills, whose possession the United States had guaranteed the Lakota just six years before. In 1876, Custer was scheduled to lead part of the anti-Lakota expedition, along with Generals John Gibbon and George Crook. He almost didn't make it, however, because his March testimony about Indian Service corruption so infuriated President Ulysses S. Grant that he relieved Custer of his command and replaced him with General Alfred Terry. Popular disgust, however, forced Grant to reverse his decision. Custer went West to meet his destiny. The original United States plan for defeating the Lakota called for the three forces under the command of Crook, Gibbon, and Custer to trap the bulk of the Lakota and Cheyenne population between them and deal them a crushing defeat. Custer, however, advanced much more quickly than he had been ordered to do, and neared what he thought was a large Indian village on the morning of June 25, 1876. Custer's rapid advance had put him far ahead of Gibbon's slower-moving infantry brigades, and unbeknownst to him, General Crook's forces had been turned back by Crazy Horse and his band at Rosebud Creek. On the verge of what seemed to him a certain and glorious victory for both the United States and himself, Custer ordered an immediate attack on the Indian village. Contemptuous of Indian military prowess, he split his forces into three parts to ensure that fewer Indians would escape. The attack was one the greatest fiascos of the United States Army, as thousands of Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors forced Custer's unit back onto a long, dusty ridge parallel to the Little Bighorn, surrounded them, and killed all 210 of them. Custer's blunders cost him his life but gained him everlasting fame. His defeat at the Little Bighorn made the life of what would have been an obscure 19th century military figure into the subject of countless songs, books and paintings. His widow, Elizabeth Bacon Custer, did what she could to further his reputation, writing laudatory accounts of his life that portrayed him as not only a military genius but also a refined and cultivated man, a patron of the arts, and a budding statesman. Countless paintings of "Custer's Last Stand" were made, including one mass-distributed by the Anheuser-Busch brewing company. All of these paintings -- as did the misnomer "the Custer massacre" -- depicted Custer as a gallant victim, surrounded by bloodthirsty savages intent upon his annihilation. Forgotten were the facts that he had started the battle by attacking the Indian village, and that most of Indians present were forced to surrender within a year of their greatest battlefield triumph.
George Custer Homepage
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The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Text, ERB Images and Tarzan® are ©Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.-
All Rights Reserved.
All Original Work ©1996-2011/2014 by Bill Hillman and/or Contributing Authors/Owners
No part of this web site may be reproduced without permission from the respective owners. | <urn:uuid:7f856353-0c5a-4ae9-8eb3-6a00ebb559cc> | {
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Good news for fish lovers: a British study of several thousand pregnant women has found that the amount of fish they ate had very little effect on the amount of mercury in their blood. In fact, their diet appeared to be responsible for less than 20% of the mercury detected in their blood.
The study suggests that far less mercury comes from what people choose to eat than had previously been thought. In addition, such toxic chemicals pose a greater threat to developing children than they do to adults.
Concerns of possible toxicity from mercury in fish are what prompted the FDA to recommend in 2004 that pregnant women and young children limit their fish consumption to 12 ounces (2 meals) or fewer of fish or shellfish that are low in mercury per week, recommendations that still stand today. But the current study suggests that these guidelines may need to be reviewed.
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) — also known as Children of the 90s — is a long-term health research project studying residents of the City of Bristol and the surrounding area, about 120 miles west of London. More than 14,000 women enrolled while pregnant in 1991 and 1992, and the health and development of their children has been followed in great detail ever since.
The mercury portion of the study looked at nearly 4,500 women who had filled out detailed dietary questionnaires and also gave a blood sample while pregnant that was tested for its mercury content. The researchers sought to determine how much eating seafood (fish and shellfish) contributes to blood mercury levels during pregnancy and also how much other foods and drinks contribute. Information was collected on 103 separate food and drink items including white fish, oily fish and shellfish.
By comparing an individual's intake of specific food items to the amount of mercury found in their blood samples, the researchers were able to determine how much each food was contributing to the amount of mercury in the women's blood. The three fish items together (white fish, oily fish and shellfish) accounted for 7% of total blood mercury. The entire 103 food items surveyed accounted for 16.6% percent. Herbal tea was an unexpected dietary source of blood mercury, the highest after oily fish and white fish.
A slightly different statistical analysis changed the findings only a little: fish responsible for 8.75% of blood mercury, diet as a whole responsible for 19.8%.
Where is the rest of the mercury in the blood coming from? That's not clear. People are exposed to mercury from many other sources including dental fillings and as an air and water pollutant.
Mercury waste enters the environment from incineration, the burning of fossil fuels and from some fungicides and pesticides. Some also may come from smoking cigarettes. But little seems to enter our bodies from what we eat and drink.
The authors conclude that advice to pregnant women to limit seafood intake is unlikely to reduce their blood mercury level substantially.
Many studies have suggested that eating fish is good for the health, helping, for example, the heart and the brain. While much interest has focused on the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, it's still not clear what exactly in fish is responsible, just that eating fish and good health seem to go hand in hand.
But the threat of mercury contamination has made some people reluctant to eat any fish at all, particularly pregnant women. Which is a shame, because many varieties of fish and seafood are very low in mercury. It's mostly the larger fish at the top end of the food chain (shark, swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel) that are high in mercury. | <urn:uuid:8fa2e6bc-c57a-4ce6-b66d-724648e82b3b> | {
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Heavy ion collisions allow us to recreate the density and temperature that existed at the very beginning of the universe, before the universe was 10-6 s old, in a laboratory environment. Studying the resulting hot dense matter, which we call a quark gluon plasma (QGP), allows us to both better understand the evolution of the universe and one of the four fundamental forces of nature, the strong force. The strong force, which is more properly called Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), is the force that binds protons and all other hadrons together.
I will take a brief moment to remind everyone about some QCD basics before discussing the quark gluon plasma. QCD is one piece of the Standard Model, the theory that describes all subatomic particle interactions outside of gravity. QCD is carried by particles that physicists gave the tongue-in-cheek label of gluons. The only subatomic particles that can interact with gluons are quarks, of which there are 6: up, down, strange, charm, bottom and top. Each quark contains a QCD charge, which we call color. The anti-quarks have an anti-color charge, while gluons carry both color and anti-color charge. What does this mean? This means that gluons can interact with each other! This makes QCD calculations quite complicated.
There are two aspects to QCD that are important to understand with respect to the quark gluon plasma: quark confinement and asymptotic freedom. At the temperatures and densities that we observe outside of heavy ion collisions, QCD keeps quarks confined within their parent hadrons. This means we have never observed a bare quark! At extremely high energies, the QCD field strength lowers until the quarks no longer feel the force, which we call asymptotic freedom. In a very dense medium, such as what we create in heavy ion collisions it easier for quark-antiquark pairs to pop into existence than it is for these pairs to do so in a vacuum. These quark anti-quark pairs lower the QCD field strength, which lowers the energy needed for the quarks to be free.
So returning to the original question. What is a QGP? The QGP is a medium so dense and hot that the quarks and gluons within it are no longer confined to their original hadrons. But in order to discuss the properties of a medium, it needs to be in local thermalization. The concept of temperature only has meaning when thermalization has occurred because temperature is a bulk matter quantity. How hot is it? The QGP is hotter than 175 MeV, or 400,000,000 times the temperature of the surface of the sun!
What does it mean for the quarks to be deconfined? Originally, physicists tried to model the QGP as a weakly-coupled gas, but those models failed. The idea was that the deconfined quarks would behave similar to an ideal gas. Physicists have achieved reasonable success in modeling the QGP as an ideal fluid, in fact the most perfect liquid known to man . The fact that this model fits the data better means that even though the quarks are not confined within hadrons, they still interact with each other. This model of QGP is sometimes called sQGP, where the s stands for strongly coupled.
Next I will discuss some key QGP signatures and how we are looking for them at ALICE. | <urn:uuid:e4e6d010-b14d-4637-b276-746219ce07a5> | {
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From time to time, these GEITP pages focus on the evolution of modern human, including the Great Diaspora (i.e. several waves of Homo sapiens originating in southeast Africa and migrating to Asia and Europe, along with some ‘back-migrations’). As humans moved to a new ecological niche, the new environment (plants, food, weather) affected their genomes; hence, gene-environment interactions. The topic of the attached article comprises the ~10 million ethnic Mongolians that currently inhabit a wide geographical range — which includes present-day Mongolia, northern China, southern Russia, and other neighboring countries. It has been suggested that the first permanent settlers of North America had migrated from Mongolia perhaps 24,000-22,000 years ago (when the warming climate, at that time, had decreased the amount of ice to allow passage).
Mongolians also played a pivotal role in shaping the culture and genetic make-up of modern Eurasia through rapid expansion of the Mongolian Empire around 1,000 years ago. Genghis Khan and his successors spread the Mongolian Empire across Asia and Eastern Europe in the 13th century (yes, there was a lot of ‘admixture’ hanky-panky going on), controlling the largest contiguous empire (16% of Earth’s total land-mass) in the history of the world (the attached article shows a nice map of this). Whereas the historical aspects of the Mongolian Empire are well documented, little is known about the genetic architecture (refers to the underlying genetic basis of a each and every trait and its variational properties due to segration of each gene’s alleles) within today’s Mongolian populations, nor is it known how those populations have influenced (or have been influenced by) the genetics of other peoples from the region and the world.
Authors [see attached article] generated a new genetic variation reference panel by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of 175 ethnic Mongolians — representing six tribes. The catalogued variation in the panel shows strong population stratification (refers to differences in allelic frequencies between a study population, and a control population, due to systematic differences in ancestry — rather than association of genes with disease) among these tribes, which is correlated with the diverse demographic histories in the region. Incorporating these results with the 1000 Genomes Project panel identifies derived alleles that are shared between Finns and Mongolians/Siberians, suggesting that substantial gene flow between northern Eurasian populations has occurred in the past ~1200 years. Furthermore, authors point out that North, East, and Southeast Asian populations are more aligned with each other — than these groups are with South Asian and Oceanian populations.
Nat Genet Dec 2o18; 50: 1696–1704 | <urn:uuid:edfaedce-56c2-4930-a973-f620a9d39b57> | {
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Your Mac comes with a set amount of physical memory applications can use. Your running programs, open files, and other data your Mac is actively working with are stored in this physical memory. But that’s a simplification—applications can also use “virtual memory”, which your Mac can compress and temporarily store on disk.
There’s no official way to disable virtual memory on a modern Mac, although this was possible in the days before Mac OS X—now named macOS—was released. While it may be possible to hack your system to prevent your Mac from storing virtual memory on disk, you shouldn’t do this.
What Is Virtual Memory?
While your Mac only has a limited amount of physical memory, it exposes a larger area of available virtual memory to running programs. For example, even if you have a Mac with 8 GB of RAM, every 32-bit process on your Mac is given 4 GB of available address space it can use. Every 64-bit process is given about 18 exabytes—that’s 18 billion gigabytes—of space it can work with.
Applications are free to use as much memory as they want within these limitations. When your physical memory fills up, macOS automatically “pages out” data that isn’t actively being used, storing it on your Mac’s internal drive. When the data is needed again, it’s transferred back to RAM. This is slower than simply keeping the data in RAM all the time, but it allows for the system to transparently just “keep working”. If Macs couldn’t store virtual memory data on disk, you’d see messages asking you to close a program to continue.
Modern versions of macOS actually go through even more trouble to avoid paging out data to the disk, compressing data stored in memory as much as possible before paging it out.
Where Is It Stored?
Virtual memory data is stored in the
/private/var/vm directory on your Mac’s internal storage if it has been paged to disk. The data is stored in one or more files named “swapfile” and ending with a number.
Most UNIX-like operating systems use a separate partition for the swap file, permanently allocating part of your storage to swap space. Apple’s macOS does not do this. Instead, it stores the swapfile files on your system storage drive. If applications don’t need additional virtual memory, these files won’t use much space. If applications need more virtual memory, these files will grow in size as needed—and then shrink back down when they don’t need be large anymore.
This directory also contains the “sleepimage” file, which stores the contents of your Mac’s RAM on disk when it hibernates. This allows the Mac to save its state—including all your open applications and files—while shutting down and not using any power.
To view the contents of this directory and see how much space these files are currently using on disk, you can open a Terminal window and run the following command. (To open a Terminal window, press Command+Space to open Spotlight search, type “Terminal”, and press Enter.)
ls -lh /private/var/vm
In the screenshot below, we can see that each of these files is 1 GB in size on my Mac.
Why You Shouldn’t Disable Virtual Memory
You really shouldn’t try to disable this feature. The macOS operating system and running applications expect it to be enabled. In fact, Apple’s official documentation says “Both OS X and iOS include a fully-integrated virtual memory system that you cannot turn off; it is always on.”
However, it is technically possible to disable the backing store—that is, those swapfiles on disk—on macOS. This involves disabling System Integrity Protection before telling your Mac not to run the dynamic_pager system daemon and then deleting the swapfiles. We won’t provide the relevant commands for doing this here, as we don’t recommend anyone do this.
The macOS operating system and the applications running on it expect the virtual memory system to work properly. If your physical memory fills up and the Mac operating system can’t page data out to disk, one of two bad things will happen: Either you’ll see a prompt telling you to quit one or more applications to continue, or applications will crash and you may experience general system instability.
Yes, even if you have 16 GB or more of RAM, it may sometimes fill up—especially if you run demanding professional applications like video, audio, or image editors that need to store a lot of data in memory. Leave it alone.
Don’t Worry About Disk Space, or Your SSD
There are two reasons why people might want to disable the virtual memory feature and remove the swapfile files from disk.
First, you may be concerned about disk space usage. You may want to get rid of these files to free up some space. Well, we wouldn’t worry about it. These files don’t waste a large amount of space on disk. If your Mac doesn’t need much virtual memory, they’ll be tiny. On our MacBook Air with only 4 GB of RAM, we noticed a swapfile file using about 1 GB of space—that’s it.
If they are using a lot of space, that’s because the programs you have open need it. Try closing demanding programs—or even rebooting—and the swapfile files should shrink and stop using space. Your Mac only uses disk space when necessary, so you aren’t losing anything.
If the virtual memory files are always very large, that’s a sign you need more RAM in your Mac, not that you need to disable the virtual memory feature. (You can see how much physical memory your Mac has by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac and reading what it says next to “Memory”.)
The other concern is wear of your Mac’s internal solid-state drive. Many people are worried that excess writes to a solid-state drive could reduce its lifespan and cause problems. This is true in theory, but in practice, this concern is generally overblown, and left over from the days when SSDs had far less longevity. Modern SSDs should last a good long time, even with features like this enabled. macOS won’t quickly wear down your SSD just because you leave a default system feature enabled—in fact, something else in your Mac will probably die before your SSD.
In other words, don’t worry about it. Leave virtual memory be and allow your Mac to work as it was designed to. | <urn:uuid:bdbc880a-3031-440f-bf1f-0e3cec02b0e8> | {
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Also known as stewardship, it is one of two cross-cutting building blocks of all health systems: it provides the oversight and guidance for developing an efficient and effective prison health system.
To ensure that detainees have access to healthcare of an appropriate standard, good leadership and governance require both political and technical action to provide prison health policies and strategies, legal regulatory frameworks, organizational and administrative structures. It also requires partnership-building - developing formalized and effective links with public health services and non-governmental agencies - and inter-ministerial coordination.
This building block ensures that appropriate regulations and standard operating procedures are properly enforced. It focusses on system-design and health outcomes and allows accountability, with close monitoring of the health system performance and service delivery.
In 2015 the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the “Nelson Mandela Rules”), were updated for the first time since 1957. Substantive revisions were made to include up-to-date guidance to meet current international standards in detention, notably in healthcare. The Nelson Mandela Rules, along with other relevant international “soft law” instruments such as The United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (“Bangkok Rules”) and The United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (“Havana Rules”), provide an effective framework that all nations should strive to apply in the delivery healthcare in places of detention.
Unfortunately, at times the operational reality in places of detention does not meet these standards: the observed gaps in healthcare service delivery can potentially compromise the health of detainees, of staff and of the public, and create barriers to rehabilitation and reintegration. It is therefore critical for both detention administrators and healthcare professionals to reflect on the various aspects of these key instruments to identify both opportunities and challenges in translating internationally accepted minimum standards into current operational and clinical practice in places of detention, as part of the recommended “whole-of-government approach” to prison healthcare.
Health Management Information System (HMIS) is the second cross-cutting building block of a health system. It provides the basis for understanding needs and serves as a starting point for planning, management and decision-making in health facilities and organizations.
HMIS should produce regular reports on health statistics and can support the development of health surveillance systems and response capacity.
Drug dependence is a public health concern as it affects not only individuals, but also their families, friends, co-workers and communities. It generates crime, violence, social, cultural and economic problems and health consequences, especially mental health, and the rapid spread of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, most common cause of mortality among drug users. Various studies have indicated that globally, the percentage of people in prison with drug problems, ranges from 40 to 80 percent amongst offenders entering prison and is on the increase.
Prison health authorities, public health officials, policy-makers in governments need a functioning health management information system and accurate data that can ensure the collection, compilation, analysis, dissemination and use of reliable and timely health information.
Prison health data – ideally integrated into the national reporting system - is necessary to establish priorities, draft budgets, and design cost-effective health interventions, both on a regular basis and during public health emergencies.
HMIS involves three domains of health information: on health determinants, on health systems performance and on health status (morbidity, mortality) and inequalities within the prison population.
More than 714 000 women and girls are held in penal institutions throughout the world, representing an estimated 2% to 9% of the global prison population. In Asian and Pacific countries, women and girls constitute an average of 7% of the total population, having increased at four times the rate of the general population since 2000 . These women - often imprisoned with their children - have specific needs that should be met during their detention, as described in the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (“Bangkok rules”) released in 2010 . They aim to highlight the specific needs of this group, to underline their rights and to set the minimum standards that States should meet in their respective detention systems.
Other vulnerable group of prisoners who, for whatever reason, face an increased risk to their safety, security, dignity or well-being as a result of imprisonment, also require attention, specific consideration and protection. Such groups include juveniles, the mentally ill or developmentally disabled, LGBTI people, members of ethnic, political or religious communities, persons with specific legal, administrative or political status, foreigners, the elderly, the physically disabled or chronically ill, etc.
These vulnerable prisoners deserve specific programs which consider special health care needs, corresponding to their individual health assessment and background, in order to ensure their wellbeing during their incarceration.
3.World Female Imprisonment List 2017 – World Prison Brief.
4.The Bangkok Rules 2011 – United Nations Office on Drug and Crime.
About 275 million people worldwide - roughly 5,6 percent of the global adult population - used an illicit drug in 2016 (UNODC World Drug Report, 2018). Approximatively 11 percent of people who use illicit drugs suffer from a drug use disorder including drug dependence. Only one out of 6 people in need of drug dependence treatment has access to treatment programs. Drug dependence is a public health problem which affects not only individuals but also their families, friends, co-workers and communities. It generates crime, violence, social, cultural and economic problems and health consequences, especially mental health, and the rapid spread of infectious diseases like HIV / AIDS and hepatitis, which are the most common cause of mortality in drug users.
Various studies have indicated that globally, the percentage of people in prison who have a drug problem ranges from 40 to 80 percent amongst offenders entering prison, and that this proportion is increasing. Because it is a chronic disease, essential treatment services need to be accessible at different levels of health systems including in prisons, with linkages to community services. Without continuity of care, risks of relapse into drug use are very high after release, which increases their risk of returning to prison. Treatment as an alternative to imprisonment must be voluntary and human-rights compliant.
Finally, the imprisonment of drug users without other alternative measures contributes to prison overcrowding, which creates challenges to the authorities in terms of security, space, water, sanitation, food, healthcare but also the spread of drug use.
High numbers of people with severe mental health disorders enter detention facilities all over the world. In many cases, adults with mental illness enter detention with a history of chronic health problems, unemployment, homelessness, financial instability, drug use and other high–risk behaviors.
Mental health care within places of detention including referral to external mental health services, is usually inadequate, and where it exists, it is often solely focused on psychiatric care. The mental health needs of different groups of detainees such as women, children and young people, older prisoners, prisoners from minority ethnic or cultural groups and foreign detainees, may not be properly addressed or may even be undetected. Furthermore, as conditions in detention facilities are not conducive to good mental health, all detainees are at risk of experiencing a decline in their mental state. Also, detention may result in treatment interruption for mentally ill people requiring regular medication, resulting in a rapid deterioration of their psychological state. Finally, detention systems may fail to ensure the continuity of medical care for detainees transferred from one place to another or released into the community.
Health services working with the criminal justice system should endeavour to prevent people with mental health problems from receiving prison sentences, and to divert them instead for treatment in either community– or hospital-based services. Once in prison, access to comprehensive psychosocial services is required to address all the detainees’ needs.
Prisons and places of detention pose particular threats for transmission of contagious diseases. Potential factors that could amplify contagious diseases in prisons and places of detention include: overcrowding, poor personal hygiene; poor food handling and hygiene; inadequate nutrition; inadequate ventilation; inadequate daylight in the cells; limited facilities for diagnosis, treatment and medical isolation; and lack of qualified health personnel in prisons. Additionally, people in prisons and places of detention often come from groups at higher risk for certain infectious diseases (e.g. Tuberculosis, HIV / AIDS, hepatitis) than the general population; their prevalence is therefore generally higher in prisons than in the surrounding community.
Prisons are confined environments for prisoners but not for contagious diseases, that can spill-over into the community through contact with prison staff and visiting community members, and after release.
Effective prevention and control of communicable diseases in prisons not only improve the health and quality of life of detainees, but is also an essential public health measure to protect the general population.
As stated in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - a milestone document in the history of human rights - “The recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”.
Although there is no universal definition of what dignity is, it is understood to include the right to health and to autonomy, and to living conditions in which every person can develop a sense of being respected and safe. However, lack of respect for human dignity, discrimination against vulnerable groups including detainees, and inequalities that put people at increased risk of disease are critical challenges faced by today’s society.
Prisoners are vulnerable to ill health because of their background, their environment, and their behaviour both outside and inside prisons. Another factor that contributes to prisoners’ vulnerability is that they are entirely dependent on the prison staff of for all aspects of their daily lives as well as for their health, protection and safety.
Regardless of circumstances, the goal of healthcare professionals working in the places of detention must remain to ensure the welfare and dignity of the patient. They can and should protect prisoners at risk of violations, and take action in the face of breaches of their rights by using professional ethics and standards to support their action. There is a considerable body of international “soft law” that has implications for prison health care, such as the United Nations General Assembly resolutions and the World Medical Association declarations. | <urn:uuid:970ad1e8-7402-4d3f-98ec-ed487c93d733> | {
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After the death of a young black man by a Milwaukee police officer, riots, looting and fires followed. In one instance, as a gas station burned, people watching chanted, “Black power!” Local news reported that the 23-year-old suspect was not only armed but that he also defied orders to drop his gun. The Milwaukee police chief refused to identify the officer involved, but did say that he was “black.” At one time, such a fact would suggest that racism and police brutality were not at play.
But as the death of Freddie Gray — a black man who died after being transported in a Baltimore police van — shows us, not necessarily. Of the six officers involved in Gray’s arrest and van transportation and who were prosecuted, three were black. In fact, just weeks before the death of Freddie Gray, a White House task force praised the Baltimore Police Department, as well as its black chief, for “implementing national best practices for policies and training” and “use of force” reforms.
In Baltimore, at the time of Gray’s death, the No. 1 and No. 2 heads of the Police Department were black, and most of the command staff and rank-and-file officers are people of color. The mayor of Baltimore is also black, as are the majority of city council and the state attorney who brought the charges. Four of six officers were tried, and in each case the state failed to obtain convictions. This led to the decision to drop charges against the remaining two officers, and plans for the retrial of one of the four. Zero for six.
As to Milwaukee, a city with a population of approximately 600,000, it is 40 percent black and 37 percent non-Hispanic white. Yet of its 146 homicides last year, 84 percent of the victims were black — and most of those were killed by other blacks. The nearly 150 murders constitute a 50 percent increase over the number of homicides just five years earlier.
The point, of course, is that killers of blacks are overwhelmingly other blacks. At 13 percent of the population, blacks commit nearly half of the nation’s homicides, and almost always the victim is black. Old people tend not to kill. Nor do women and the very young. This means 3 percent of the population, black men from 15 to 44 years old, commit nearly half of the country’s homicides.
The focus on the number of blacks killed by police kicked into high gear after the death of Ferguson’s Michael Brown. Never mind Brown did not, as his friend at the scene initially told the police, have his hands up while supposedly telling the cop, “Don’t shoot.” Both the Ferguson grand jury and the U.S. Department of Justice found that many witnesses observed otherwise, and that forensic evidence showed that Brown charged the officer and attempted to wrestle the cop’s gun away from him.
Facts don’t matter.
It doesn’t matter that over the last 47 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control, there has been an almost 75 percent (SET ITAL) decline (END ITAL) in the number of blacks killed by cops. It doesn’t matter that, compared with blacks, twice as many whites are killed by cops. It doesn’t matter that, according to economist John Lott, black teens commit murder at nine times the rate of white teens. Cable news reporters seem oblivious to rates of offending. It’s as if they believe that at 13 percent of the population, blacks should commit 13 percent of the crime — or “institutional racism” must be at play. This is as silly as assuming that since non-Hispanic whites are 62 percent of the population, they should comprise 62 percent of the NBA.
The reason the Democrats beat the drum of “racism” is simple — votes. In the case of the media, it must be ratings. But it’s also something else. Our major media are run by large corporations: What’s the upside for them in criticizing those who believe that racism remains a major problem in America? Telling blacks to calm down, examine the facts, that they are not victims, that racism is no longer a major problem in America and that the real problem is the breakdown of the black family — this is not a recipe for profits. It is an invitation for protests by “activists.”
Larry Elder is a best-selling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visitwww.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on Twitter @larryelder. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2016 LAURENCE A. ELDER
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
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The soccer ball has evolved pretty rapidly in the past 50 years. Most of us grew up with the soccer ball known as the “Buckminster Ball, or Buckyball,” made by the American architect and designer Richard Buckminster Fuller in the 1960s.
Although soccer has been around since medieval times, the evolution of the ball itself is fun to track according to the history of the World Cup, beginning with the inaugural Cup in 1930. In the 1930 finals, both Argentina and Uruguay had a preferred ball, so Argentina’s was used during the first half and Uruguay’s was used in the the second. (Interestingly, Argentina was leading at halftime, but Uruguay won the match.)
The leather used in soccer balls in the first half of the 20th century was thick, and tended to absorb water, which increased the ball’s weight. That made it downright dangerous for headers–imagine trying to head a medicine ball. The heavy leather laces were also painful during headers. And inside those leather balls were rubber bladders; you unstitched the leather laces to insert them. (Check out this cool New York Times graphic, which shows what’s inside the balls.) The leather became thinner and less dangerous over the first five World Cups, and the sewing pattern moved toward a standard of sorts: strips of leather arranged at 90-degree angles to each other.
By the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, an 18-strip ball was the standard; it resembled today’s volleyballs more than it did soccer balls. But it marked a major development toward making soccer balls more spherical and thus more predictable. When balls had those enormous, clunky panels, like basketballs, they often acted bizarrely. (In the 1934 World Cup, a striker scored when the ball unexpectedly swerved into the goal. According to FIFA, the striker was unable to replicate this shot the next day, even after 20 attempts.) And up through 1966, the soccer balls were all leather-colored–understandable, since they were made of leather. They were various shades of brown, tan, and yellow.
Buckminster Fuller changed all that with the 1970 World Cup, also the first time Adidas manufactured the official ball. (Adidas has made every World Cup ball since.) Fuller’s ball, the classic black-and-white, contained 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons rather than the by-then-standard strips. (This pattern became so iconic that a similar-looking molecule was eventually created and named after Fuller.) The new design, with many more and smaller panels, made the ball even closer to a true sphere than the volleyball-like shape it was before, allowing for superior ball control. That let players begin (intentionally) curving their kicks, because the shape allowed for a predictable path through the air. Plus, it looked like no other ball–even now, when that shape hasn’t been in use for a decade, those hexagons and pentagons scream, “soccer.”
The first fully synthetic ball was used in 1986, at the Mexico World Cup, but Fuller’s basic design–despite the cream-colored design of the 2002 ball, it was still a Fuller-esque pattern–wasn’t replaced until 2006, with the +Teamgeist. The major development here was the reduction of the number of panels, thanks to new ways of joining the panels together. (Stitching, the classic method, is bulky and causes changes in elevation between the section where the panels are joined together and the middles of the panels.) For the 2006 ball, Adidas used thermal bonding rather than stitching, which reduces that elevation difference, again making things more spherical. New interiors of the ball–natural bladders, knitted fabrics, and foam–put less pressure on the outer synthetic material to hold the round shape, so the name of the game became minimizing the exterior material. That meant thinner material, thermal bonding, and fewer panels–which in turn means fewer seams.
This year’s ball, the Brazuca, has a rougher surface and only six large panels. Adidas claims the Brazuca is more aerodynamic and easier to control than any former ball. It also doesn’t look quite like any other ball in history: Its large panels are shaped a bit like the outstretched fingers on a hand, and those panels overlap in symmetrical but also wavy and casual ways. The seams on the ball are bright green, orange, and blue, and become a beautiful blur when the ball’s kicked around. You can learn more about the Brazuca here. | <urn:uuid:01ee7fd0-d452-4ba9-a1e0-9dd546434108> | {
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How to drive strange cars
Read, play and learn how to drive strange cars in Ulf Nilsson’s and Sarah Sheppard’s imaginative picture book. Turn the wheel, put your foot down, toot and crank up, turn the sirens on and drive! At the same time you learn what different kinds of vehicle look like and what they are called. Playful and fun and almost real in the minds of enquiring little children.
How do you flatten asphalt with a steamroller? And what do you need to think about when you are driving a digger?
Find out how exciting it can be driving a big mining truck down dark tunnels or how hard it is to start an old-fashioned car with a crank handle. Let your own imagination run riot!
Press, roll, drop down, fold out, stop, tip the bucket and put on all the lights! Just live the actions, with the help of the fun-filled text and unusual pictures. For all little children who are interested in playing and pretending to drive big strange cars!
You can also read: "Let’s look for strange cars" with even more facts about vehicles and about the town’s animals and plants. | <urn:uuid:b6acc246-6e64-40b4-8988-416a512d834a> | {
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Relieve Depression with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.
“People at risk for depression are dealing with a lot of negative thoughts, feelings and beliefs about themselves and this can easily slide into a depressive relapse. MBCT helps them to recognize that’s happening, engage with it in a different way and respond to it with equanimity and compassion.” – Willem Kuyken
Clinically diagnosed depression is the most common mental illness, affecting over 6% of the population. Major depression can be quite debilitating. Depression can be difficult to treat and is usually treated with anti-depressive medication. But, of patients treated initially with drugs only about a third attained remission of the depression. After repeated and varied treatments including drugs, therapy, exercise etc. only about two thirds of patients attained remission. But, drugs often have troubling side effects and can lose effectiveness over time. In addition, many patients who achieve remission have relapses and recurrences of the depression. Even after remission some symptoms of depression may still be present (residual symptoms).
Being depressed and not responding to treatment or relapsing is a terribly difficult situation. The patients are suffering and nothing appears to work to relieve their intense depression. Suicide becomes a real possibility. So, it is imperative that other treatments be identified that can relieve the suffering. Mindfulness training is an alternative treatment for depression. It has been shown to be an effective treatment for depression and its recurrence and even in the cases where drugs fail.
The most commonly used mindfulness technique for the treatment of depression is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie and exacerbate psychological symptoms. MBCT has been shown to be as effective as antidepressant drugs in relieving the symptoms of depression and preventing depression reoccurrence and relapse. In addition, it appears to be effective as either a supplement to or a replacement for these drugs.
In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in patients with depression: current perspectives.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6018485/ ), MacKenzie and colleagues review the published research literature on the application of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to the treatment of depression. They find that the published research makes a very strong case that MBCT is a safe and effective treatment for depression, reducing depression when present and preventing relapse when in remission. The literature also finds that MBCT appears to act on depression by heightening mindfulness, increasing self-compassion and positive emotions and by reducing repetitive negative thoughts (rumination) and cognitive and emotional reactivity.
MBCT, however, classically requires a certified trained therapist. This produces costs that many clients can’t afford. In addition, the participants must be available to attend multiple sessions at particular scheduled times that may or may not be compatible with their busy schedules. As a result, on-line mindfulness training programs and workbook programs have been developed. These have tremendous advantages in decreasing costs and making training schedules much more flexible. MacKenzie and colleagues report that the research demonstrates that MBCT, delivered either over the web or via study-at-home workbooks is also a safe and effective treatment for depression.
The review suggests that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has a wide variety of positive psychological effects on the participant that work to counter and prevent depression and that MBCT is effective delivered either by a trained therapist or over the web or via study-at-home workbooks.
So, relieve depression with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
“MBCT therapists teach clients how to break away from negative thought patterns that can cause a downward spiral into a depressed state so they will be able to fight off depression before it takes hold.” – Psychology Today
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies
This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch
MacKenzie, M. B., Abbott, K. A., & Kocovski, N. L. (2018). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in patients with depression: current perspectives. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 14, 1599–1605. http://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S160761
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was developed to prevent relapse in individuals with depressive disorders. This widely used intervention has garnered considerable attention and a comprehensive review of current trends is warranted. As such, this review provides an overview of efficacy, mechanisms of action, and concludes with a discussion of dissemination. Results provided strong support for the efficacy of MBCT despite some methodological shortcomings in the reviewed literature. With respect to mechanisms of action, specific elements, such as mindfulness, repetitive negative thinking, self-compassion and affect, and cognitive reactivity have emerged as important mechanisms of change. Finally, despite a lack of widespread MBCT availability outside urban areas, research has shown that self-help variations are promising. Combined with findings that teacher competence may not be a significant predictor of treatment outcome, there are important implications for dissemination. Taken together, this review shows that while MBCT is an effective treatment for depression, continued research in the areas of efficacy, mechanisms of action, and dissemination are recommended. | <urn:uuid:ce1de6e5-2e4e-47ee-8d8b-48f0b0b231ed> | {
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The Technology Teacher
International Technology and Engineering Educators Association
The article analyzes a design assessment-based activity, in which students are asked to evaluate an existing technology through a Consumer Reports-style approach. According to H. Petroski, the exposure of students to several design examples is important to start learning the basic elements needed in the design process. It claims that the activity will enable students to sharpen their knowledge in several areas including identifying design constraints and criteria, training via study of open designs, and practicing engineering design methods for optimization. It suggests that these are important skills for creating the student's capacity to undertake bigger design activities.
Kelley, T. R.(2010). Design assessment: Consumer Reports style. The Technology Teacher, 69(8), 12-16 | <urn:uuid:1e8197c9-b414-4d67-ad86-3f6bbecfc7f9> | {
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As the United States gained independence, a full fifth of the country's population was African American. The experiences of these men and women have been largely ignored in the accounts of the colonies' glorious quest for freedom. In this compact volume, Gary B. Nash reorients our understanding of early America, and reveals the perilous choices of the founding fathers that shaped the nation's future. Nash tells of revolutionary fervor arousing a struggle for freedom that spiraled into the largest slave rebellion in American history, as blacks fled servitude to fight for the British, who promised freedom in exchange for military service. The Revolutionary Army never matched the British offer, and most histories of the period have ignored this remarkable story.
Nash argues that the unusual convergence of factors immediately after the Revolutionary War created a unique opportunity to dismantle slavery. The failure to do so was paid for in the 1860s with the lives of 600,000 Americans killed in the Civil War. "The Forgotten Fifth" is a powerful story of the nation's multiple, and painful, paths to freedom. 2006 hardcover, 236 pages. | <urn:uuid:519df7f0-1440-43b7-95f1-eace48b25134> | {
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Mandatory DNA collection is fast becoming routine in the American criminal justice system. In many jurisdictions, just being arrested can mean having to submit a genetic sample to the national database. Federal law enforcement and 26 states now permit various forms of pre-conviction DNA sampling and more states are poised to follow suit.
The state of Washington still waits until conviction before taking genetic samples. There, the Legislature’s resistance to expanded “DNA typing” has traditionally come from self-described civil libertarians like Democratic Rep. Jeannie Darneille. In recent years, Darneille killed two bills that would have allowed sampling at arrest.
But this year, Darneille surprised other civil libertarians when she sponsored a bill that would allow police to sample DNA as soon as they arrest someone for certain serious felonies. Darneille says she changed her mind after hearing about a serial rapist in Tacoma who might have been caught earlier if his DNA had been sampled at arrest.
“Let’s say the person goes in for that auto theft and they aren’t actually convicted of that, but they’ve committed these prior offenses, and they’re going to commit more,” Darneille says. “There’s a chance that we could stop them from doing those additional crimes in the future.”
Building The Database
Collecting DNA samples after an arrest — rather than after a conviction — would likely double the number of genetic samples processed at Washington State Patrol crime labs like the one forensic scientist Natasha Pranger works in.
Like most states, Washington has gradually widened its mandatory DNA sampling — first, it was sex offenders, then convicts in general. Pranger says improved technology has made it possible to handle the growing volume.
“The program started in 1990 and everything was blood samples,” she says. “We do not want to have to store all those blood samples in freezers — because that’s where they were stored.”
These days, samples come in on a paper card with dried smears of white gunk Q-tipped out of somebody’s mouth. Pranger scans then punches the cards with a machine the size of a laser printer. The machines that do the actual DNA analysis are no bigger than an old photocopier.
Once that’s done, the DNA markers are uploaded to the FBI’s national database and the card goes into a file cabinet.
An Intrusive Thing?
Pranger’s own DNA is also in the system, along with the DNA of each lab employee, frequent visitors and even janitors. They’re all on file in case of cross-contamination so, around the lab, having your DNA in the database is no big deal. That’s also the attitude of law enforcement.
Dan Satterberg, prosecuting attorney for King County, testified in January in favor of pre-conviction sampling.
“This is not an intrusive thing,” he told a state legislative committee. “I don’t know that a person has any more expectation of privacy in the DNA profile than they do in the whorls and loops and arches and ridges of your fingerprints.”
But ACLU legislative director Shankar Narayan says, “DNA goes far beyond mere identification. It’s actually a catalog of an individual’s most private biological information.”
To be clear, that biological information is not going into the FBI’s database, known as CODIS. Those computers get only a tiny sampling of genetic information, usually consisting of 13 markers. The most you can do with a computer search is match one sample to another, determine the person’s sex and sometimes point to possible relatives. For anything more detailed, you have to go back to the biological samples ‑‑ the white gunk in the file cabinets. Still, Narayan says, when it comes to government databases, you have to worry about “mission creep” — the possibility that down the road the information could be used for something it wasn’t originally intended for.
“If they are really serious about this being just about the 13 markers, then the biological sample should be destroyed once those 13 markers are uploaded,” he says.
The Supreme Court has yet to make a definitive ruling on the issue. Some legal scholars say it qualifies as a search under the Fourth Amendment, and police should be required to get a warrant before they get out the cotton swabs. But others wonder whether it might be better just to put everybody in the database and be done with it.
“I’m very torn about whether that’s the solution,” says Erin Murphy, a DNA specialist at New York University Law School. “I prefer it … [to] the road of mindless expansion that we seem to be on now. I think that if everyone were in it, it would be far more likely we would have better quality control and we would have better oversight and we would have better information about how the database is actually used.
“On the flip side, you know, it would be a massive shift in the relationship between the people of this country and their government.”
For now, the growth of the national database is being limited by the states’ lack of money.
Just last year, Maine passed a bill expanding the collection of DNA, but the law was never implemented; the Legislature just couldn’t figure out how to pay for it.
And in Washington, Darneille’s bill allowing DNA typing at arrest is on hold for now, as the Legislature struggles with a billion-dollar-plus revenue shortfall. But the budget woes won’t last forever, and Darneille and other advocates promise to keep trying to expand the number of states that take DNA at arrest. | <urn:uuid:60b6ade8-94e8-4a84-b194-fb6714ecc194> | {
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Tongass National Forest
Few places in the world have karst terrain developed to the extent that it has in southeast Alaska. Karst is topography characterized by caves, sinkholes, and underground streams. About 700 square miles of karst topography exists on Prince of Wales Island. These have formed from limestone and marble bedrock dissolved by our abundant rainfall. The karst ecosystem is one of the most productive ecosystems for both plant and animal communities in southeast Alaska.
Caves are valuable for a variety of reasons, from recreational to scientific. The features and contents of caves are extremely fragile. Caves are, essentially, nonrenewable resources.
Cave exploration and development is only just beginning. Currently, the Thorne Bay Ranger District has developed the El Capitan Cave Trail (#775) and the Cavern Lake Cave Trail/Viewing Deck (#777).
775 El Capitan Cave Access Trail
Trail is approximately 1,300 feet in length, and climbs about 300 feet from the parking lot to the cave entrance. Considered to be a "more difficult" hiking opportunity, and features a combination of tread types which include gravel, boardwalk, wooden stairways, and natural tread. A gate has been installed inside the cave about 150 feet from the mouth to protect the cave resource and ensure the safety of visitors. Even the first 150 feet of the cave contains uneven footing and other hazards. Proceed with caution! The Thorne Bay District will also be conducting guided walks into the cave throughout the summer. Please contact the Thorne Bay District for more information on accessing this cave.
777 Cavern Lake Cave Trail and Viewing Deck
A short trail approximately 250 feet in length. Access is off road #27. The trail leads to a viewing deck which provides excellent views of the mouth of Cavern Lake Cave and the stream gushing from the cavern. Don't go in: the cavern is considered very hazardous, with potential for injury or drowning. But you can enjoy the site from outside.
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Transport Layer Security (TLS) and its predecessor, the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), are cryptographic protocols designed to provide communications security over a computer network. The protocols use X.509 certificates and hence public key (asymmetric) cryptography to authenticate the counterpart with whom they communicate, and to exchange a symmetric key for payload encryption. The protocol provides data/message confidentiality (encryption), integrity (through message authentication code checks) and host verification (through certificate path validation). DTLS (Datagram Transport Layer Security) that is based on TLS but datagram oriented instead of stream oriented.
It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the Erlang programming language, the concepts of OTP, and has a basic understanding of SSL/TLS/DTLS. | <urn:uuid:01f0a849-d0ef-45d2-81ea-74a23accff47> | {
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Replace Glogster Posters with Free QR Code Posters
0 comment(s) so far...
December 28, 2011 By: Harry G. Tuttle
Many educators like Glogster since students can put in links to videos, music, and pictures instead of just text. As a free alternative, students can create a QR poster as their learning poster. Their poster can be a regular one-page word processing document.
The students type in their project title and their name. They can use their favorite font, font size and color. They can even change the background color (Format ->page -> background in Open Office).
They decide on the content for their poster. If they are doing a country report, they may have links showing a map of where the country is, its geography, and its major cities. The students can shorten the links using bit.ly and then use a QR generator such as Create QR code to put all of these links in the same QR code. They can select a small 100 x 100 or 150 x 150 so they can put numerous QR codes on the same page. They can label this QR as country info and list under it location, geography, and cities. The student can include a picture in under the Creative Commons license. They can find three news articles talking about some of the current issues in the country, shorten these links and put them in one QR code. They may label this QR as current events. They may want to list the actual events under that QR code. They can find some songs and art of the country, shorten these links and put in another QR code which they label as Arts and again indicate the exact topics in that QR code. They repeat this process for any other topics such as economy, neighbors, tourist sites both for people within the country and for visitors, or literacy.
They can word process their evaluation of how the country has changed (for the better or for the worse) in the last fifty years and what they think will happen to this country in the next fifty years.
They can email it to you, post it on a class wiki, physically post it in a country gallery in the room, and email it to parents and relatives. If you have a country gallery in your room, students groups can compare and contrast the countries within a continent and then compare and contrast countries among the continents.
Which type posters will your students use to show their learning?
Harry Grover Tuttle is a technology integration teacher and a district wide coordinator of technology at Onondaga Community College. He is also the author of several books on formative assessment. | <urn:uuid:6eac7c61-c230-419e-8663-1517a5b1d984> | {
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1. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.
4. An electrical device used to introduce reactance into a circuit.
11. Avatar of Vishnu.
15. A unit of length of thread or yarn.
16. Undo the ties of.
17. Used in combination.
18. Electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field.
19. Extract the essence of something by boiling it.
20. Sorghums of dry regions of Asia and North Africa.
21. A rechargeable battery with a nickel cathode and a cadmium anode.
23. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.
25. With no effort to conceal.
26. Equipped with or connected by gears or having gears engaged.
28. A member of an agricultural people of southern India.
30. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.
31. The basic unit of money in Finland.
35. Speaking a Slavic language.
38. A soft gray ductile metallic element used in alloys.
41. Warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings.
42. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.
46. A woolen cap of Scottish origin.
47. A rapid bustling commotion.
48. Being one more than one.
49. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.
52. Read anew.
54. God of love and erotic desire.
56. By bad luck.
57. Of or relating to the enteron.
59. The sixth month of the civil year.
61. North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
62. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium.
64. Sole genus of the family Naiadaceae.
66. A resin used in adhesives and paints.
70. A cushion on a throne for a prince in India.
72. An anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as guilt about surviving or reliving the trauma in dreams or numbness and lack of involvement with reality or recurrent thoughts and images.
75. The cry made by sheep.
76. The first event in a series.
79. Being four more than fifty.
80. Having the shape of a ring.
82. A workplace for the conduct of scientific research.
83. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.
84. City in western Colombia.
85. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.
1. A loud resonant repeating noise.
2. The lofty nest of a bird of prey (such as a hawk or eagle).
3. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.
4. A hinged vertical airfoil mounted at the tail of an aircraft and used to make horizontal course changes.
5. The compass point midway between northeast and east.
6. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).
7. United States singer and film actor (1904-1977).
8. Genus of tropical plants with creeping rootstocks and small umbellate flowers.
9. The cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one.
10. A rare heavy polyvalent metallic element that resembles manganese chemically and is used in some alloys.
11. Long pinkish sour leafstalks usually eaten cooked and sweetened.
12. A sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure.
13. Common black European thrush.
14. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.
22. An anti-TNF compound (trade name Arava) that is given orally.
24. Fallow deer.
27. Small family of usually tropical butterflies.
29. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element.
32. Fishtail palm of India to Malay Peninsula.
33. An industrial city in southern Poland on the Vistula.
34. The segment of the public that is easily influenced by mass media (chiefly British).
36. Filled with a great quantity.
37. Terminate before completion, as of a computer process, a mission, etc..
39. A small cake leavened with yeast.
40. A Russian river.
43. A person who has lied or who lies repeatedly.
44. East Indian tree bearing a profusion of intense vermilion velvet-textured blooms and yielding a yellow dye.
45. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.
50. A family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in southeastern Asia.
51. A flourish added after or under your signature (originally to protect against forgery).
53. Suggestive of the supernatural.
55. Any of various rotating shafts that serve as axes for larger rotating parts.
58. Goods (or wreckage) on the sea bed that is attached to a buoy so that it can be recovered.
60. The branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively.
63. An area in which something acts or operates or has power or control.
65. An ancient upright stone slab bearing markings.
67. The habitation of wild animals.
68. (Polynesian) An alcoholic drink made from the aromatic roots of the kava shrub.
69. Living quarters at a college or university where students live.
71. A small wooded hollow.
73. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.
74. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.
77. Dish baked in pastry-lined pan often with a pastry top.
78. Being one more than nine.
81. (Sumerian) Goddess personifying earth. | <urn:uuid:4d233b86-77d4-4cc5-9d50-5befabff0b55> | {
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Sometimes it is tricky to find adequate/appropriate provision for some Special Needs children, including Autism, Aspergers, ADHD, Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome, severe Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Speech and Language difficulties, Specific Learning difficulties. Please visit my new website, Enjoy My Day, for sharing challenges and good ideas. I especially welcome teachers who want to support these children.
Children do need academic attainment, but it is more important to develop social development and emotional stability. Please look up Daniel Seigel and his books for how Neuroscience explains what benefits out children.
Children manage life when we help them acquire awareness, honesty and responsibility to prepare them for adult life.
There is support available for parents who prefer a holistic approach to learning or Home Education.
Bill Lucas and Guy Claxton are educationalists who talk about the 7 Cs in Educating Ruby: Confidence, Curiosity, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Commitment, Craftmanship. I would include Connection and Calm. | <urn:uuid:19e5855b-fa9f-40e3-bb0a-b35a23a29043> | {
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Carbonaceous chondrite meteorites contain vital clues to the evolution of carbon compounds in our solar system preceding the origin of life.
Adapted from an Arizona State University press release
Scientists have conducted an organic analysis of the Tagish Lake meteorite, a rare, carbon-rich meteorite classified as a carbonaceous chondrite. The meteorite fell on a frozen Canadian lake in January 2000, and is the most pristine carbonaceous chondrite specimen ever studied.
The analysis suggests there can be a different outcome for the evolution of organic chemicals in space than from what has been observed in other carbonaceous meteorites. This difference could be due to the possibility that the Tagish Lake meteorite contains carbon molecules that may have accumulated during the formation and development of the solar system.
Carbonaceous chondrite meteorites contain vital clues to the evolution of carbon compounds in our solar system. For example, the Murchison meteorite, a carbonaceous chondrite found in Australia in 1969, contains numerous amino acids and a variety of other organic compounds that are the building blocks for life. Many scientists now believe that such meteorites could have seeded the Earth with the ingredients necessary for life to arise.
A team headed by chemist Sandra Pizzarello, a research scientist at Arizona State University, conducted the organic analysis of the Tagish Lake meteorite. 4.5 grams were taken from the sealed interior of the meteorite, and while the organic compounds found in the meteorite have some similarities to other known carbonaceous chondrites, there are also clear differences - most notably the near-absence of amino acids.
"The chemistry here is different from that we have seen in any other meteorite," says Pizzarello. "It's simple when compared with Murchison, and probably represents a separate line of chemical evolution. However, it still includes compounds that are identical to biomolecules."
In an article published in the August 24 issue of the online journal Science Express, the team notes that the chemistry of the Tagish Lake meteorite appears to have preserved organics that accumulated or developed in the early history of the Solar System. This includes molecular bubbles of carbon (fullerenes or "buckyballs") containing the noble gases helium and argon in a ratio similar to the gas and dust cloud that formed the planets. Thus, the meteorite perhaps reflects an early stage of evolution of complex carbon compounds in space.
The Science paper notes that many of the organic compounds found in the Tagish Lake sample have also been found in other meteorites, but that the distribution of compounds is different, particularly for the amino acids and carboxylic acids.
"We found some compounds identical to some in Murchison that show the same - interstellar connection - in their abundance of deuterium (heavy hydrogen), while some others differ from Murchison in amounts and variety," says Pizzarello, meaning that for some groups of organic molecules, only the simplest species were found in Tagish Lake, as opposed to a broader distribution of species found in Murchison. "Overall, Tagish Lake represents a simpler, more unaltered stage than we have seen before."
Other members of the research team include Yongsong Huang from the Department of Geological Sciences at Brown University; Luann Becker from the Institute for Crustal Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara; Robert J. Poreda from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester; George Cooper from the NASA Ames Research Center; and Ronald A. Nieman and Michael Williams, both also from ASU.
"Some people have been disappointed that we found virtually no amino acids, but scientifically this is very exciting," Pizzarello said. "This meteorite shows the complexity of the history of organic compounds in space - it seems to have had a distinct evolution."
Pizzarello notes that while the meteorites like Tagish Lake may lack amino acids, they still could have contributed the molecular precursors of biomolecules that are necessary for the origin of life.
Louis Allamandola, astrochemist with the NASA Ames Research Center and NAI member, says the absence of amino acids and other simple organic molecules could mean the meteorite was exposed to high heat or energy levels during its travels through space.
"The main signature of the meteorite is that of sooty, cross polymerized aromatic material -- probably much like the black soot from a diesel engine or sooty candle flame," says Allamandola. "From an organic chemical point of view, this is the kind of material you get when you heat any organic material above about 400 degrees Celsius (752 degrees Fahrenheit). So, all this means is that this particular rock had a different history from that of the Murchison meteorite. It had a rougher go on its transit from deep space to Earth."
Carbonaceous chondrite meteorites generally show little evidence of being shaped by high temperatures. Even entry into our atmosphere does not heat their interiors to any great degree, as their porous texture tends to bleed away heat. But Allamandola says it wouldn't come as a surprise if the meteorite had been heated or energetically processed before entering the Earth's atmosphere - the vast reaches of space contain many different levels of radiation, temperatures, densities, and environments.
"There are at least two ways to look at it," says Allamandola. "Either carbon goes through some sort of process to form amino acids, and this meteorite therefore represents an early window on the evolution of carbonaceous chondrites before the amino acids develop. Or, the rock might have been so energetically processed that the amino acids were destroyed."
"Basically," Allamandola says, "this draws attention to the fact that only very few meteorites have been studied in any detail, and that we really don't know what most of them contain. It's a tough game." | <urn:uuid:799b4de9-78b6-443d-93be-2921035b705e> | {
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|Scientific Name:||Piliocolobus preussi|
|Species Authority:||Matschie, 1900|
Procolobus badius ssp. preussi (Maatschie, 1900)
Procolobus preussi (Matschie, 1900)
|Taxonomic Source(s):||Mittermeier, R.A., Rylands, A.B. and Wilson D.E. 2013. Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Volume 3 Primates. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.|
|Taxonomic Notes:||Modern taxonomic arrangements of the colobus monkeys either divide the red colobus and the Olive Colobus into two genera, Piliocolobus and Procolobus, respectively (e.g., Kingdon 1997, Groves 2005), or consider them to belong to one genus, Procolobus, with two subgenera (Procolobus for the Olive Colobus and Piliocolubus for the red colobus) (Grubb et al. 2003 [followed in the 2008 IUCN Red List], Grubb et al. 2013). The arrangement of using two separate genera in Groves (2001, 2005, 2007) is followed here.
Here treated as a distinct species from P. pennantii following Kingdon and Butynski (2013); this species has, in the past, also been considered a subspecies of P. badius.
This is an updated assessment to reflect the change in genus name.
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Critically Endangered A2cd ver 3.1|
|Assessor(s):||Oates, J.F., Struhsaker, T., Morgan, B., Linder, J. & Ting, N.|
|Reviewer(s):||Mittermeier, R.A. & Rylands, A.B. (Primate Red List Authority)|
Listed as Critically Endangered as this species is estimated to have undergone a decline of more than 80% over the past three generations (ca. 30 years), due to high levels of hunting and habitat loss. It is now confined mainly to Korup National Park.
|Previously published Red List assessments:|
|Range Description:||P. preussi is present in southeastern Nigeria in the Cross River National Park (Oban Division) extending into the adjacent Korup National Park and surrounds in southwestern Cameroon; they also occur in Ebo Forest just north of the Sanaga River (Grubb et al. 2000, Dowsett-Lemaire and Dowsett 2001), and at least until fairly recently still persisted in Makombe forest to the north of Ebo where the were heard in 2003 (B. Morgan pers. comm.).|
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
|Population:||Between 10,000 and 15,000 P. preussi may be present in Korup National Park, the stronghold for the taxon (Oates 1996). Edwards (1992) estimated group densities in northeastern Korup at 0.52-0.56 groups/km², which is not too dissimilar from more recent estimates by J. Linder (pers. comm.) in the same area (0.46 grps/sq. km). No absolute density is available for southern Korup, but J. Linder (pers. comm.) encountered 12 groups in 243 km walked.|
|Current Population Trend:||Decreasing|
|Habitat and Ecology:||An inhabitant of lowland and mid-altitude moist forest up to 1,400 m (Butynski and Kingdon 2013). Edwards (1992) recorded group sizes of 20-64 animals for P. preussi, similar to those recorded by J. Linder (pers. comm.).|
|Major Threat(s):||The major threat to this species is hunting (e.g., Dowsett-Lemaire and Dowsett 2001) and habitat degradation. P. preussi made up a relatively large proportion of the total primate offtake in Korup National Park, especially in the northeast (22% of carcasses) (J. Linder pers. comm.).|
|Conservation Actions:||This taxon is listed on Appendix II of CITES and on Class B of the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. P. preussi is present in Korup National Park (1,260 km²) and its perimeter in Cameroon, with a small number residing in the adjacent Oban division of Cross River National Park (Nigeria). It is also recorded from Ebo Wildlife Reserve, just north of the Sanaga River, which has been proposed as a new national park.|
|Citation:||Oates, J.F., Struhsaker, T., Morgan, B., Linder, J. & Ting, N. 2016. Piliocolobus preussi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41026A92632162.Downloaded on 29 September 2016.|
|Feedback:||If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided| | <urn:uuid:9d7e99c4-de6c-43d1-ac81-7408ad035c53> | {
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A major objective of research in genomics is to identify mutations that cause genetic diseases. However, doing so does not necessarily directly enable researchers to discover and develop drugs to treat these diseases.
Two examples of genetic diseases whose causes were identified decades ago, without directly enabling the development of any disease-modifying drug, are sickle cell disease (SCD) (also known as sickle cell anemia) and cystic fibrosis (CF).
Sickle cell disease
The causative mutation of SCD was identified by protein researchers, decades before the era of genomics. Vernon M. Ingram, Ph.D. showed in 1957 that a glutamic acid to valine mutation at position 6 of the β-chain of hemoglobin was the sole abnormality in SCD. For this discovery, Dr. Ingram has been called The Father of Molecular Medicine. Dr. Ingram’s work was made possible by a 1949 study by Linus Pauling and his colleagues, which showed that SCD hemoglobin had a different electrophoretic mobility than normal hemoglobin. Thus the sickle cell trait was likely to be due to a mutation in the β-hemoglobin gene that changed its amino acid composition, as confirmed by Dr. Ingram.
Yet to this day, although SCD (which occurs in individuals who are homozygous for the sickle-cell mutation) can be managed by various treatments (such as hydroxyurea and blood transfusions and bone marrow transplants) that can result in survival into one’s fifties, there is no mechanism-based therapy for this disease. Thus the identification of the causative mutation of SCD has not led to any treatments.
The reason why discovery and development of drugs for SCD has been so very difficult is that the mutation that causes this disease affects an intracellular protein, hemoglobin, which is neither a receptor nor an enzyme. Unlike secreted proteins such as insulin, it is not possible to develop protein drugs to replace missing or defective hemoglobin. It is also not possible to replace the missing function of normal hemoglobin by treatment with a small molecule drug.
Diseases such as SCD–in which the function of an essential intracellular protein is defective or missing–have often been cited as candidates for gene therapy.
However, as we discussed in our October 11, 2012 and our November 8, 2012 Biopharmconsortium Blog articles, it is only this past fall that the first gene therapy was approved for marketing in a regulated market. As we discussed in the first of these articles, gene therapy has a history going back to at least the early 1970s. However, gene therapy has displayed the characteristics of a premature technology. Several notable failures, including some that caused the deaths of patients, put a severe damper on the gene therapy field. Only recently–between around 2003 and 2012–have researchers been developing more advanced gene therapy technologies and conducting clinical studies, with some success. Entrepreneurs have also been building gene therapy specialty companies to commercialize this research.
As also we discussed in our October 11, 2012 article, among the many companies that are developing gene therapies, bluebird bio (Cambridge, MA) has been singled our for special attention lately. Among the diseases being targeted by bluebird bio are SCD, and beta-thalassemias, which are also genetic diseases that affect hemoglobin. bluebird bio is in Phase 1/2 trials for its beta-thalassemia therapy, and in Phase 1 for its SCD program.
CF causes a number of symptoms, which affect the skin, the lungs and sinuses, and the digestive, endocrine, and reproductive systems. Notably, people with CF accumulate thick, sticky mucus in the lungs, resulting in clogging of the airways due to mucus build-up. This leads to inflammation and bacterial infections. Ultimately, lung transplantation is often necessary as the disease worsens. With proper management, patients can live into their late 30s or 40s.
The affected gene in CF and the most common mutation that causes the disease (called ΔF508 or F508del) were identified by Francis S Collins, M.D., Ph.D. (then at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Departments of Internal Medicine and Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI) and his colleagues in 1989. Dr. Collins was subsequently the leader of the publicly-funded Human Genome Project and is now the Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
The gene that is affected in cystic fibrosis encodes a protein known as the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). CFTR regulates the movement of chloride and sodium ions across epithelial membranes, including the epithelia of lung alveoli. CF is an autosomal recessive disease, which is most common in Caucasians; one in 2000–3000 newborns in the European Union is found to be affected by CF. ΔF508 is a deletion of three nucleotides that causes the loss of the amino acid phenylalanine at position 508 of the CFTR protein. The ΔF508 mutation accounts for approximately two-thirds of CF cases worldwide and 90% of cases in the United States. However, there are over 1500 other mutations that can cause CF.
Ion channels constitute an important class of drug targets, which are targeted by numerous currently marketed drugs, e.g., calcium channel blockers such as amlodipine (Pfizer’s Norvasc; generics) and diltiazem (Valeant’s Cardizem; generics). These compounds were mainly developed empirically by traditional pharmacology before knowing anything about the molecular nature of their targets. However, discovery of novel ion channel modulators via modern molecular methods has proven to be challenging, mainly because of the difficulty in developing assays suitable for drug screening. In addition, development of suitable assays for assaying chloride channel function has lagged behind the development of assays for the function of cation channels (e.g., sodium and calcium channels).
Moreover the most common CFTR mutation that causes CF, ΔF508, results in defective cellular processing, and the mutant CTFR protein is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum. In the case of some other mutant forms of CTFR (accounting for perhaps 5% of CF patients), the mutant proteins reach the cell membrane, but are ineffective in chloride-channel function.
Given these difficulties, researchers first attempted to develop gene therapies for CF. Genzyme (a Sanofi company since 2011) has been a leader in developing gene therapy for CF, and has been conducting research in this area since the 1990s. However, as with most gene therapies, development of treatments capable of reaching the market has been elusive.
Genzyme is still researching gene therapies for CF, as are others. An academic group in the U.K., known as the U.K. Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium is working to develop CF gene therapies, using Genzyme’s nonviral cationic lipid vector GL67 (Genzyme lipid 67) as the delivery vehicle. GL67 is the current “gold-standard” for in vivo lung gene transfer. Recently, the Consortium received funding from the U.K. Medical Research Council and National Institute of Health Research to continue its Phase 2B trial of its CF gene therapy product,GL67A/pGM169. This is a combination of GL67 and plasmid DNA expressing CFTR (pGM169).
Very recently, R&D on disease-modifying small-molecule drugs for CF has begun to bear fruit. In January 2012, the FDA approved the first such drug, ivacaftor (Vertex’ Kalydeco.) In July 2012, Vertex received European approval for this drug. Ivacaftor only works in patients with the G551D (Gly551Asp) mutation in CFTR, which only accounts for around 4% of CF patients. Vertex and other companies–including Genzyme–are working on development of other small-molecule disease-modifying drugs with the potential to treat greater numbers of CF patients.
We shall discuss the new wave of disease-modifying CF drugs, including ivacaftor, in a later post on this blog.
SCD and CF are two examples of cases in which the identification of the genetic or molecular cause of a disease did not directly lead to new treatments. In the case of SCD, even though over 55 years have elapsed since the identification of the genetic cause of the disease, no therapy had yet emerged from this discovery. In the case of CF, it took over two decades from the identification of the molecular cause of the disease to the approval of the first disease-modifying drug.
Many other cases in which molecular targets involved in disease have been identified also lack disease-modifying treatments because the targets are “undruggable”. This especially applies to protein-protein interactions (PPIs). However, PPIs have assumed increasing strategic importance in drug discovery and development in recent years, and researchers and companies have been developing new technologies and strategies to discover developable drugs that address PPIs.
Back in the early 2000s, researchers and commentators hailed the sequencing of the human genome as heralding a new era in drug discovery and development. However, the “industrialized biology” approach that grew out of the genomics of that era gave very few successes in terms of drug development. Now–a decade later–we have next-generation sequencing and are approaching the “$1000 genome.” Once again, at least some commentators are expecting immediate breakthroughs in therapeutic development to come out of these breakthroughs in sequencing technology. Others, such as CFTR gene discoverer Francis Collins, believe that we can “speed the development of genetic advances into treatments” by more rapidly weeding out “what turn out to be..nonviable compounds.”
However, in the case of CF there were barriers to drug discovery, such as limited understanding of disease biology and difficulties in assay development, that were the true causes of lack of progress in developing disease-modifying genes. Moreover, once they had good assays, researchers needed to come up with effective strategies to develop small-molecule drugs for CF. In the case of SCD, because of the nature of the target, only gene therapy–with its manifold difficulties–had any hope of addressing the disease. In the case of PPIs, there was the need to discover new breakthrough strategies to address these “undruggable” targets.
Thus, despite breakthroughs in sequencing technologies, determining of disease-related sequences is likely to only be the first step in effective discovery of disease-modifying drugs. And there may continue to be a considerable time lag between sequence determination and drug development.
As the producers of this blog, and as consultants to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, Haberman Associates would like to hear from you. If you are in a biotech or pharmaceutical company, and would like a 15-20-minute, no-obligation telephone discussion of issues raised by this or other blog articles, or an initial one-to-one consultation on an issue that is key to your company’s success, please contact us by phone or e-mail. We also welcome your comments on this or any other article on this blog. | <urn:uuid:73f5c25e-6743-4aa7-95c0-1df818e87b73> | {
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This site was labelled as an insular dun by Feachem (1963, 180) but listed in RCAHMS Inventory (1980 No. 239) as a crannog. Dun Anlaimh is located 26m from the E shore of the N end of Loch Cinneachan. The site is accessed by a substantial stone causeway, 28m in length, comprised mainly of large blocks of stone. The causeway has two defensive features: a 25 degree bend at its midpoint and a rocking stone which tilts under pressure. The water surrounding the islet is 1 - 1.5 m in depth, with the deeper water to the W. The surrounding lochbed is heavily silted to a depth of at least 2m obscuring the bottom of the islet and any potential exposed timers.
The island is a stone covered mound roughly oval in shape and measuring 28 by 35m at its base. The site is composed of 80% medium sized stone and 20% large boulders. The upper platform is also oval in plan, measuring 15m x 19.5m; it stands 2.2m above the surrounding loch bed. The slight remains of a perimeter wall can be seen in the N and S, just below the edge of the upper platform. A mass of stone tumble lies across most sections this wall indicating that it may be an early feature of the site.
The summit of the islet is crowned by the remains of three conjoined subrectangular buildings. All three are dry-stone structures which have rounded corners and are aligned with their long axis N-S, parallel to the closest shore. Building A measures 3.8m by 5.9m internally, and has walls which average between 1.2 m and 2 m in thickness. This building is accessed by a door 1m wide, situated towards the north end of the rear of the structure, away from the near shore. Building B is located just to the north of ,and shares its south wall with, building A. This building measures 3m by 5m and has walls varying between 1.5m and 1.8m in thickness. The building is accessed by a splayed doorway located in its NW corner, also to the rear of the structure. Building C measures 1.5m by 3m internally and shares its east wall with A and B. This structure is entered through its south end. No other submerged features or timbers were found.
A Reconstruction of Dun Anlaimh Crannog | <urn:uuid:4a8c38d3-a3f4-434b-bbc2-4c2a63cb97d6> | {
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Skip to comments.Quantum Entanglement
Posted on 02/23/2006 7:15:29 PM PST by strategofr
These pages explain quantum entanglement by way of colourful pictures, helpful analogies, and absolutely no math.
To understand quantum entanglement, several ideas and words must be explained, especially the idea of a photon. The photon is a key concept in physics, and so critical to entanglement that its behaviours must be fully understood. But before delving into the details of photons, let's take a look at the world of the very tiny, beginning with waves and atoms.
What is a Wave?
Tossing a pebble into a pond creates ripples that travel from where the pebble landed to the edge of the pond. The ripples are also called waves. Another way to make waves is with a long rope. If you swing your arm up and down while holding the rope (as in Figure 2.1), you can see waves start from your hand and disappear off the end; moving the rope faster makes more waves.
Waves in rope
Figure 2.1. Making Vertical Waves. Image copyright © National Science Foundation, 2000.
Waves have three important properties: frequency, amplitude, and wavelength. Frequency
This is the number of waves that happen over time. Figure 2.2 compares two frequencies:
Waves frequency Figure 2.2. Wave Frequency. Amplitude
This is the height of a wave. Figure 2.3 compares two amplitudes:
Wave amplitude Figure 2.3. Wave Amplitude. Wavelength
This is the distance between the top of one wave to the top of the next. Figure 2.4 compares two wavelengths:
Wave length Figure 2.4. Wave Length. Experiment
You can play with frequency and amplitude using your voice. When you talk, your throat vibrates which causes waves of sound to travel through the air around you. (This is just like how waves travel across the pond, except instead of the wave travelling across water, it goes through air.) Try this:
1. Place two fingers against your throat. 2. Start humming a single note. 3. Change the pitch of your hums (from ohhhh to eeeee). 4. Change how loud you hum.
You can feel the different vibrations: slower (lower, less frequent) waves, and faster (higher, more frequent) waves. The louder you hum, the larger the amplitude; likewise quiet hums have smaller amplitudes. A loud hum gives off more energy (and needs more energy), which causes a stronger vibration in your arm. Interference
When two waves interact with one another at the same space and time, they create an interference pattern. Figure 2.5 shows two waves interacting. Where they meet, the regular pattern of circles is disrupted because waves have constructive and destructive behaviour.
Figure 2.5. Interference Pattern. Image copyright © Museum Victoria, 2003. Constructive Waves
When the top (crest) of one wave meets the crest of another, they make a higher wave. Similarly, when the bottom (trough) of a wave meets the trough of another, they make a deeper trough. Figure 2.6 shows how constructive waves can merge together.
Figure 2.6. Constructive Waves. Destructive Waves
When the trough of one wave meets the crest of another, or vice-versa, they cancel each other out. That is, the troughs are made more shallow and the crests are lowered. If the crests are as tall as the troughs are as deep, then the waves can cancel each other out completely. Figure 2.7 shows how destructive waves can merge together.
Figure 2.7. Destructive Waves. Waves and Light
Before 1801, scientists thought that light travelled through space as tiny particles. In 1801, Thomas Young elegantly demonstrated his double slit experiment. The experiment showed that light also behaves like waves, because it interferes with itself. The role light plays with other particles is crucial to understanding how quantum entanglement works. And those particles are found within the realm of the atom ...
What is an Atom?
The atom was once thought to be the basic building block from which all else was created. It is the smallest particle of an element that still has the characteristics of that element. Helium atoms, for example, are used to fill balloons because they are lighter than air. One helium atom will rise up through the air, but because it is so tiny, many are needed to conquer the Earth's gravity. Today, physicists know that atoms are made from even smaller parts called elementary particles. Figure 3.1 represents a typical atom:
Figure 3.1. Model of an Atom. Image copyright © 2003 HowStuffWorks.com Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons
The nucleus, at the centre of an atom, is made up of elementary particles called protons and neutrons. Travelling around the nucleus, in a variety of ways, are electrons. An Electron Orbital Path is the space through which electrons travel as they tour the nucleus. Each Electron Orbital Path has a limit to the number of electrons allowed on it. Figure 3.1 shows blurry electrons because both their position and precise momentum can never be known at the same time (this is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle). These paths are known as shells.
The shell an electron follows depends on its energy. All the electrons in a specific shell have exactly the same amount of energy. To move from one shell to another, an electron must either gain or release a fixed amount of energy. A fancy way to say this is: electrons are restricted to quantized orbits. These shells are not necessarily fixed in size, but defined in terms of probability. Although there is a chance that an electron could be thousands of kilometres away, it is more likely to be close to the nucleus around which it travels.
Although useful to picture electrons orbiting a nucleus as planets encircle the Sun, it is not entirely accurate.
The next section illustrates these concepts with a race analogy. Electron Orbital Race
Imagine a race with the following rules:
1. runners on their track must run single file, without passing; 2. runners must remain on their track while they have the same physical fitness; 3. a runner that gets a boost of energy must jump to an outer track; 4. a runner that loses energy must jump to an inner track; and 5. there are many tracks, shown simplified in Figure 3.2.
Figure 3.2. Atom Analogy.
In this analogy, a runner gains energy by eating fruit. When this happens, the runner instantly obtains a new level of fitness, and must jump to a new track according to the rules. Runners can never be moderately fit, or somewhat lazy, but always lose or gain specific amounts (discrete units) of fitness. Quantum Leap
The word quanta means discrete units. It is analagous to the difference between a ladder and a slide; you can stand anywhere on a slide, but only on the rungs of a ladder. Now substitute the words track and runner with shell and electron. The word quantized describes the small, discrete, leaps that electrons make from shell to shell, as though ascending or descending a ladder.
The act of an electron jumping between two shells is called a quantum leap. Force Carrier
Electrons do not eat apples to make a quantum leap (their mouths are too small). They do, however, revolve around the nucleus as close as possible because it uses less energy; this is known as their ground state. If an electron gets extra energy, it must leap to a higher shell. After a short period of time, it will spontaneously release the extra energy, and leap back to its former shell. Just as a runner eats fruit for more energy, electrons get energy from a force carrier to make quantum leaps.
What is a Photon?
A photon is a force carrier particle. Elementary particles (electrons, protons, neutrons, and such) can only interact using force carriers. In the race analogy, photons are like fruit; they are responsible for electromagnetic interactions. Electromagnetic Interaction
Electromagnetic means having both electrical and magnetic properties. When physicists talk about interaction, it typically refers to the exchange of energy via photons. Keep in mind that visible light is only a small range of frequencies where photons exist.
Electromagnetic interaction between particles has three forms: forces within atoms, forces between atoms, and electromagnetic fields and waves. Forces Within Atoms.
This force causes the electrons to bind with an atom's nucleus (the positive nucleus attracts negative electrons, similar to the attraction between north and south poles of magnets). Forces Between Atoms.
The friction when tires roll, the pressure of squishing your thumb and forefinger together, and a chair holding you up occur because of changes in energy. The energy changes because electrons, or atoms, reposition themselves as material is deformed upon contacting itself or another material. Electromagnetic Fields and Waves.
This interaction is responsible for electric or magnetic fields, and electromagnetic waves that travel (light, x-rays, microwaves, and such). All these forms of waves are basically the same, differing only by wavelength. Quantized Behaviour
An electromagnetic wave must carry one or more whole units of energy (never arbitrary amounts). The units of energy carried are called quanta. Thus a single photon is an electromagnetic wave carrying one quantum of energy. Since it is a wave, it has a frequency; a higher frequency means a more energetic photon. Let's revisit the rope analogy to explore this concept.
Imagine making waves in a long strand of rope by swinging your arm up and down. The faster you move your arm, the more waves move along the rope. You have to work harder to make more waves, which means you have to put more energy into the rope. Since a photon behaves like a wave, when it has a high frequency it must have lots of energy! However, unlike the rope, a photon can only take on certain fixed frequencies. This is like being allowed to make 20 waves in the rope each second, or 30 waves, or 40 waves, but never 25, 37, or 42. The energy you put into the rope must be in quantized units.
Electrons will only absorb or emit photons of specific frequencies to perform a quantum leap. From the race analogy, this is similar to saying that runners are so picky that they will only eat fruit of a precise, fixed weight (for example, an apple weighing 140 grams is edible, but 142 grams is not).
Now that we know the role photons play, and how selective they are about their energy levels, the two remaining items we need to understand are spin and polarization. Both are tricky properties that play a role in quantum entanglement. Spin
There are two types of spin covered in this section: particle spin and photon spin. Particles
All particles have a property known as spin. The following describes the spin of typical particles, excluding photons. Once the notion of spin has been highlighted, the property of spin as it relates to photons will be addressed.
Although there is no exact classical analogy, it helps to picture spin in terms of a globe. Figure 4.1 shows a tiny globe that you can imagine rotating around its axis as it travels through space. (But note that particles do not actually rotate like a globe.)
Spin analogy using a planet
Figure 4.1. Particle Spin Metaphor. Image copyright © NASA, 1972 from Apollo 17 - The Blue Marble.
The concept of spin can be clarified by showing an experiment that detects this property. Figure 4.2 shows the behaviour of a particle when passing between two magnets.
Detecting particle spin. Figure 4.2. Particle Spin Detection.
In the above figure, a particle is shot from the Emitter like an arrow from a crossbow. When the particle passes through the influence of the two magnets (the S and N rectangles), it will change course depending on its spin. If the particle is spinning up, it will deflect along the high path to the detector; if spinning down, it will travel the low path. This behaviour is caused by the particle's intrinsic angular momentum, which is a fancy term for spin.
The spin of a photon has slightly different behaviour than other particles. Photons
A photon's axis and its direction of motion are directly linked, making it impossible to change one without changing the other, much like a gyroscope. In all cases, a photon's axis must be 90 degrees to its motion. Since photons travel at light speed, their spin is limited to two states: clockwise or counter-clockwise. These states correspond to left-handed and right-handed photons.
The last property of photons that we need to explore, polarization, is related to spin. Polarization
Polarization is the direction that photons oscillate. In physics, oscillate means to vary between alternate extremes, often within a set time limit. For a photon, its polarization is the orientation of its axis, which in turn is linked to its direction of motion. The following sections explore the idea of how photons and waves are related to polarization. Polarized Waves
In Figure 4.3, a rope is being swung haphazardly, which makes not only horizontal and vertical waves, but all types in between. Note how the rope's length physically limits the size of waves that can be created.
Making rope waves.
Figure 4.3. Making Random Waves. Image copyright © National Science Foundation, 2000.
The size of light waves is different from rope in that it is restricted by the waves' frequency, and consequently their energy. The direction of light waves, like the rope, has no restriction; most light (from the sun or incandescent bulbs) travels randomly, similar to the rope movement in Figure 4.3. Passing light through a specially constructed material will filter out photons that do not have a specific polarization.
Figure 4.4 continues the rope analogy to illustrate the concept of filtering waves. When the same haphazard motion from Figure 4.3 is used to whip waves through a picket fence, only vertical waves will pass through the slit. Consequently, someone watching from the other side of the fence will only see vertical waves in the rope.
Making rope waves.
Figure 4.4. Making Polarized Waves. Image copyright © National Science Foundation, 2000.
Imagine placing a second fence after the first whose slats are horizontal. When waves try to pass through the first fence, only vertical ones succeed. The second fence, being horizontal, blocks all vertical waves. The result is that someone watching from the other side of the fences will see no waves in the rope. By using two fences with slits rotated 90 degrees to one another, all the rope waves are elimiated.
The same effect happens with photons, which can be demonstrated by a simple experiment. Experiment 1
To see the effect of polarization on light, try these simple steps:
1. Find two polarized sunglasses. 2. Hold one pair horizontally. 3. Hold one pair vertically. 4. Press a horizontal lens against a vertical lens. 5. Look through the pressed lenses.
As shown in Figure 4.5, the outer lens will block all vertically aligned photons, while the inside lens blocks the horizontal ones. The result is that no light completes the journey beyond the second lens.
In practice, some light may make it through. This could be due to flawed polarizing material in the lenses, or because the lenses are not exactly 90 degrees (perpendicular) to each other.
Two polarized sunglasses rotated at 90 degrees.
Figure 4.5. Polarized Lenses Blocking Light. Image copyright © Sierra Trading Post, 2004. Experiment 2
Polarization is not as simple as the previous experiment would lead you to believe. For example, place a third lens between the two lenses in the first experiment. Now rotate the third lens and watch what happens. Colorado University has an in depth explanation of polarization.
Whatever happened to one particle would thus immediately affect the other particle, wherever in the universe it may be. Einstein called this "Spooky action at a distance."
Amir D. Aczel, Entanglement, The Greatest Mystery In Physics. The Theory
When a photon (usually polarized laser light) passes through matter, it will be absorbed by an electron. Eventually, and spontaneously, the electron will return to its ground state by emitting the photon. Certain crystal structures increase the likelihood that the photon will split into two photons, both of them with longer wavelengths than the original. Keep in mind that a longer wavelength means a lower frequency, and thus less energy. The total energy of the two photons must equal the energy of the photon originally fired from the laser (conservation of energy).
When the original photon splits into two photons, the resulting photon pair is considered entangled.
The process of using certain crystals to split incoming photons into pairs of photons is called parametric down-conversion.
Normally the photons exit the crystal such that one is aligned in a horizontally polarized light cone, the other aligned vertically. By adjusting the experiment, the horizontal and vertical light cones can be made to overlap. Even though the polarization of the individual photons is unknown, the nature of quantum mechanics predicts they differ.
To illustrate, if an entangled photon meets a vertical polarizing filter (analagous to the fence in Figure 4.4), the photon may or may not pass through. If it does, then its entangled partner will not because the instant that the first photon's polarization is known, the second photon's polarization will be the exact opposite.
It is this instant communication between the entangled photons to indicate each other's polarization that lies at the very heart of quantum entanglement. This is the "spooky action at a distance" that Einstein believed was theoretically implausible. The Practice
Experiments have shown that Einstein may have been wrong: entangled photons seem to communicate instantaneously. Figure 5.1 illustrates how to create entangled photons.
Parametric down-conversion. Figure 5.1. Photon Entangler Device. Image copyright © European Space Agency
1. An ultraviolet laser sends a single photon through Beta Barium Borate. 2. As the photon travels through the crystal, there is a chance it will split. 3. If it splits, the photon will exit from the Beta Barium Borate as two photons. 4. The resulting photon pair are entangled.
An ultraviolet laser is used because the laser light has a high frequency. A high frequency implies a greater chance of splitting into two entangled photons. The Result
Figure 5.2 is an enhanced photograph of a photon that has split into an entangled pair.
Entangled photons. Figure 5.2. Entangled Photons.
This section describes some of the strange behaviours seen in experiments. Double-slit Experiments
Figure 6.1 illustrates what happens when a source of light shines through two tiny slits onto a screen. The detector screen illuminates a wave-like pattern caused by light interfering with itself. This is how waves are expected to behave.
Light Wave Experiment. Figure 6.1. Experiment 1 - Light Waves.
Since photons are also particles, we can transmit them one at a time. Figure 6.2 shows the result of many solitary photons being fired at the detector.
Light Particle Experiment. Figure 6.2. Experiment 2 - Light Particles.
The interference pattern still appears; but if photons are fired alone, then with what do they interfere? Quantum theory tells us that each photon interferes with itself. If true, then it implies that we cannot know through which slit the photon travels; the photon seems to have travelled both slits simultaneously!
Trying to detect which slit the photons travel puts this quantum weirdness in the spotlight, so to speak.
For example, we can polarize the light before it goes through the slits. Like rippling a rope through a picket fence to permit only vertical waves (see Figure 4.4), polarizing allows us to limit the type of light waves that make it through the slits to the detector.
When we put a polarizing filter around one of the two slits, the interference pattern disappears. The result is shown in Figure 6.3.
Polarized Light Experiment. Figure 6.3. Experiment 3 - Polarized Light Waves.
Whenever we can detect, or deduce, through which slit a photon has travelled, the interference pattern instantly disappears. An interference pattern only appears when the photon's path is unknown.
It gets weirder.
Even if we examine the photon's trail after it passes the double-slits (but before it reaches the detector), the interference pattern disappears. And it disappears regardless of whether the examination uses a direct or indirect measurement of the photon.
But what if we used two photons that are inextricably linked (through entanglement), to perform the experiment? Entanglement Experiments
I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there.
Richard Feynman, Letter to Armando Garcia. Parametric Down-conversion
We have already seen how to create entangled photons through a process called spontaneous parametric down-conversion:
Parametric down-conversion. Figure 6.4. Photon Entangler Device. Image copyright © European Space Agency
To review, the laser in Figure 6.4 fires a high-energy beam into a special type of crystal. Every once in a while one of the photons from the beam will split into two less energetic photons. These two entangled photons will have opposite polarizations and travel in two different directions, resulting in two streams of polarized light.
The previous double-slit experiments detected interference patterns by shining a single light source through two slits (Figure 6.1 and Figure 6.2). The next experiment uses two streams of entangled photons. Quantum Eraser
Figure 6.5 shows a Bell-state quantum eraser, named after John Bell. It illustrates the application of the following steps:
1. a laser fires photons into a Beta Barium Borate (BBO) crystal; 2. the crystal entangles some of the photons; and then 3. entangled photons travel to two different detectors: A and B.
Placed between the crystal and detector B is a double-slit, like in the previous experiments. Immediately in front of detector A is a polarizing filter that can be rotated. Figure 4.5 showed an experiment using sunglasses to see the effects of rotating a polarizer. Those same effects apply here.
Quantum Eraser. Figure 6.5. Experiment 4 - Bell-state Quantum Eraser.
The Bell-state quantum eraser has one more feature: each slit is covered by a substance that changes the polarization of a photon. Consequently, the left-hand slit will receive photons with a counter-clockwise polarization, and the right-hand slit will pass photons with a clockwise polarization.
Note: Polarization does not affect interference patterns.
Initially, neither detector shows an interference pattern. Since we control the polarization of photons passing through the slits and we know the polarization accepted by each slit, we can deduce which way the photons travelled (counter-clockwise through the left; clockwise through the right). Thus no interference patterns are detected.
However, if we rotate the polarizing filter in front of detector A so that the polarizations of the photons that hit the detector are the same (that is, we can no longer distinguish between clockwise and counter-clockwise polarizations), then the interference pattern appears at both detectors!
How do the photons arriving at detector B know that the polarizations have been "erased" at detector A? Conclusion
Quantum Theory is continually being challenged and tested; physicists are finding new ways to explain the world of the tiny. Each passing year brilliant minds add to, or subtract from, the pool of knowledge about quantum behaviour.
Unlike the static nature of the web pages presented here, quantum physics is ever changing. Physicists are confronted with problems that will take many iterations, many years, to solve. Scores of theories will be presented, some of them merely tweaking, while others radically alter, our perceptions of quantum nature.
Whatever we observe in the future, it promises to be exciting!
(Actually, I think this is pretty good. Go to website for illustrations.)
Here's where the "explanation "lost" me.
The discussion went from "behaves like a wave" to it is a wave. Not buying it. If it can be both, there needs to me an explanation for that; analogous or otherwise...
I will read thru again tomorrow....going to go read about Cantor's levels of infinity...for awhile now....thanks.
Rather heady stuff to say the least. I'll stick with the cat in the hat.
LOOSELY: All matter consists of waves. Everything is quantized. Everything exists at a certain state/energy level. For very tiny things (electrons, protons, photons, etc.), the allowed energy levels are easily distinguished because these levels are clearly separated by energy zones that are forbidden (you can only stand on the run of a step in a staircase and not the rise). As we consider larger and larger objects, the permitted states run closer together (rise becomes smaller and smaller) to the point that they seem to run together into one smooth continuum of allowed states. This creates the illusion of no quantization for macroscopic objects, which is described by Newtonian Mechanics (which may be considered a subset of Quantum Mechanics).
Waves have wavelength and particles have mass. De Broglie related the two qualities in a simple equation. So, they are related and experiments using the relation do work!
Bump for homeschool physics...
It is neither a wave nor a particle; it is a photon. There are measurements that give "wave-like" results; when performing one of these, the photon has all the properties of a wave. There are other experiments that give "particle-like" resluts; when performing of these other expemints, the photon has all the prpoerties of a particle.
Photon is a photon is a photon. (If you prefer Rand to Stein, delete the first two words of the previous sentence.) Wave and particle are our descriptions of experimental results, not descriptions of photons.
Seems to me a prime candidate for the Science ping list!
I bow to your better judgment!
Not "better." Just my judgment. I worry about "ping fatigue," so I try not to ping for everything that comes along.
Agreed. My public school had a lame physics class for senior level students. We had to go elsewhere for an AP physics class.
Hey, wait just a minute! She can't be a physicist--where's the pocket protector??? For that matter, I don't see space for a pocket in that suit.
I'm guessing you're Canadian or English?
For a long time, I had 2 housemates from Oxford and one from Toronto. I hold them partially responsible for my linguistic schizophrenia (and my affinity for "The Black Adder").
Seems like I got the web address wrong:
definitely worth a wave. | <urn:uuid:13cd0544-1b33-4daa-9949-0d3c6b265cd4> | {
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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has released the first in a series of reports from a two-year life-cycle performance study of both concrete and asphalt pavements by the Concrete Sustainability Hub, its research team. The final report is expected to be released Aug. 31, 2011.
The goal is to benchmark how the nation's roads are performing and to build a model to quantify the carbon emissions associated with pavement material selection over a 50-year lifetime.
Researchers are analyzing three roads in California to determine how those pavements operate under varying levels of traffic. “One issue is understanding how fuel consumption varies on different pavements, with emphasis on what a degraded infrastructure means for fuel consumption,” says co-director John Ochsendorf, an associate professor for MIT's departments of architecture and civil and environmental engineering.
During the first year of the analysis, researchers discovered that:For high-volume roads, the use phase of the life-cycle can account for up to 85% of carbon emissions.There's potential for significant fuel-efficiency savings for vehicles on concrete pavements over asphalt, which could lead to substantially lower life-cycle carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.Varying scheduled maintenance work and lane closures can reduce CO2 emissions for concrete pavements over the life of the road. | <urn:uuid:f2235d3e-1400-4835-beb7-caacc40ffbc9> | {
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Music therapy is an established health care practice that uses music-based practices to help improve your overall well-being. Medical music therapy can enhance your quality of life, increase self-awareness, and prevent or manage a range of physical and emotional symptoms through the use of live music and interactions
with your music therapist.
Board-certified music therapists address physical, emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual needs of people of all ages. Music therapists use the characteristics and elements of music to:
- Reduce pain, anxiety, agitation and stress.
- Decrease confusion.
- Improve communication, self-expression and coping skills.
- Enhance quality of life and spiritual comfort.
- Increase sense of control.
- Provide socialization and stimulation.
- Increase relaxation and overall wellness.
- Elevate mood.
- Improve perception of treatment.
What can music therapy do
for patients and families?
Music therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for people with cancer. Research suggests that music therapy can reduce anxiety, decrease the perception of pain and improve quality of life.
As part of the integrative medicine team at Markey Cancer Center, our goal is to use music therapy to improve patient well-being and increase opportunities for patient- and family-centered care.
Although music therapy is not entertainment, many patients and families perceive music therapy as an uplifting experience. In fact, music therapy is usually very enjoyable for recipients.
What kind of music is
used in music therapy?
Since everyone’s experiences with music are different, there is no set musical format used in music therapy. At Markey, we provide music our patients prefer, and it is primarily provided live.
Our music therapist’s repertoire includes songs from various genres including country, gospel, rock, jazz, folk, musicals, bluegrass and more.
What happens in a music
Music therapy is typically provided in the patient’s room, where the music therapist will sing and play guitar or other instruments.
Patients and families are encouraged to engage in music making, or they may choose to just listen. No musical experience is required to participate in music therapy.
Music is provided as part of other therapy treatments or as a therapy treatment on its own. Music alone is the therapy in many instances, such as a hymn providing spiritual comfort, a favorite song as distraction from pain or when music is used to calm agitation.
Other times music is used within therapy, such as discussing song lyrics, reminiscing about memories elicited by songs or playing an instrument to enhance physical rehabilitation.
In most cases, music functions both ways within any given session, as the music and the therapist work together to meet the patient’s needs.
Common music therapy techniques include:
- Lyric analysis
- Instrument playing
- Patient singing
- Guided imagery/visualization
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Life review
If you are interested in more information on music therapy services, contact Jennifer Peyton at [email protected]. If you are interested in receiving music therapy services, contact your Markey physician, social worker or nurse. | <urn:uuid:196aea80-5a12-45e5-a087-7c624540511d> | {
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With the rise of China as a global power triggering increasing demand for people with knowledge of Chinese language and culture, Keekok Lee's new book is undoubtedly a timely and more than welcome addition to the existing literature.
Unlike most publications in this area, which are intended for a specialist audience, this book will provide readers with an informative yet light-hearted read. It is a time machine that will take you on a sightseeing journey into China's past to visit its "scenic spots" of historical and cultural interest.
At first sight, it might be surprising that a book on Chinese language and culture should be entitled Warp and Weft. This is actually a clever yet appropriate metaphor. It is across the warp of continuous use of Chinese script that the weft of Chinese culture has been interwoven and carried down through the ages.
This book comprises three parts, with the first two setting the scene by providing introductory and background information to help readers understand the third.
As the book is intended for non-specialists, it begins by demonstrating how "linguistic excavation", which is used in this book to tell fascinating stories about the culture and history underlying Chinese words, can be useful in digging out the origins of modern English words such as beef and hocus-pocus.
Lee also compares charades and solutions in Chinese, English and French to demonstrate the deconstruction of Chinese characters, so that readers have an idea of where the stories about Chinese words in the text stem from.
The second part presents a linguistic and historical account of the Chinese language by focusing on the six well-known principles of character formation and use.
According to these principles, Chinese characters can be grouped into six categories, some of which are frequently referred to in the book.
As Lee's linguistic excavation relies more on various archaic forms of Chinese script than modern Chinese writing, she has also helpfully included a brief account of archaic Chinese writing and reforms of its writing system through the ages.
The third part is the meaty portion of the book, which comprises a number of sections focusing on various themes, including surviving and living, rites and rituals, kith and kin, male and female, leisure and pleasure, and war and peace, with each section telling fascinating tales about Chinese characters and words associated with a particular theme.
The text also includes a table and three maps summarising its historical and archaeological information, in addition to a very brief bibliography for readers who wish to explore Chinese language and culture more seriously.
The contents as outlined above are presented in a lucid style. Lee is also very informal and reader-friendly in her jottings, so much so that the book gives the impression that sometimes she will gladly wander off-topic.
While this informal style is certainly appropriate for a book intended to provide a pleasurable read, it is also less surprising to spot in it than in a more formal and serious academic work as many as 18 errors and typos of various kinds relating to encyclopaedic knowledge, the phonetic transcription of Chinese words, as well as mistakes in English spelling and grammar.
For example, Xi'an and Changsha, which are capitals of Shaanxi and Hunan provinces respectively, become parts of Henan province in this book; the Chinese measuring unit for distance, li (500 metres), is glossed as "roughly a kilometre or two-thirds of a mile"; and when Lee says "to some up" instead of "to sum up", is it likely that she is using a "phonetic loan"?
Nevertheless, just as a flaw cannot mar a jade, such slips of the keystroke will not cast a shadow over the informative and entertaining values of this book. As such, I am happy to recommend it to anyone who is interested in or curious about Chinese language and culture - you do not have to know Chinese script to enjoy this book, although even a native Chinese speaker like me finds it both informative and enjoyable to read.
Warp and Weft: Chinese Language and Culture
By Keekok Lee. Eloquent Books, 312pp, £17.52. ISBN 9781606932476. Published 24 October 2008 | <urn:uuid:56c5be38-12c4-4104-ac00-488b9ea0e957> | {
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Sleep patterns affect weight loss
Managing sleep and stress levels can help in the battle against obesity, according to scientists in the US.
People getting too little or too much sleep were less likely to lose weight in a six month study of 472 obese people.
Their report in the International Journal of Obesity showed that lower stress levels also predicted greater weight loss.
A UK sleep expert said people need to "eat less, move more and sleep well".
Approximately a quarter of adults in the UK are thought to be clinically obese, which means they have a Body Mass Index greater than 30.
Nearly 500 obese patients were recruited for the first part of a clinical trial by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in the US.
For six months they had to eat 500 fewer calories per day, exercise most days and attend group sessions.Weight loss
The authors report that "sleep time predicted success in the weight loss programme".
People with lower stress levels at the start also lost more weight.
The researchers added: "These results suggest that early evaluation of sleep and stress levels in long-term weight management studies could potentially identify which participants might benefit from additional counselling."
Dr Neil Stanley, from the British Sleep Society, said the sleep community had been aware of this for a while, but was glad that obesity experts were taking notice.
"We've always had the eat less move more mantra. But there is a growing body of evidence that we also need to sleep well", he said.
"It's also true that if you're stressed, then you're less likely to behave, you'll sit at home feeling sorry for yourself, probably eating a chocolate bar."
Dr David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: "It's a great idea to find predictors of who will respond to therapy, if this is a genuine one." | <urn:uuid:a5da7934-4d5d-414e-b302-dd5bde728bd9> | {
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Polar ecosystem, complex of living organisms in polar regions such as polar barrens and tundra.
Polar barrens and tundra are found at high latitudes on land surfaces not covered by perpetual ice and snow. These areas lying beyond the tree line comprise more than 10 percent of the Earth’s land surface. Most are in the Arctic and subarctic, as little land area in the Antarctic is ever free of snow and ice (seefigure). The Arctic can be divided into the Low Arctic and High Arctic, according to various environmental and biological characteristics. Tundras are most common in the Low Arctic, and polar barrens are dominant in the High Arctic.
The Russian term “tundra” is derived from the Finnish word tunturi, meaning treeless heights. Tundra is now used in a general sense to describe any cold-climate landscape having vegetation without trees, which includes both mountainous areas (alpine tundra) and areas in the Arctic, subarctic, and Antarctic. In a more restricted sense, tundra denotes a special type of vegetation association. The tundra zones of the polar regions are distinct from the polar barrens, which are sparsely vegetated. (For more information on Arctic and Antarctic lands, see the articles Arctic and Antarctica.)
Origin of the flora and fauna of the polar regions
The Arctic and subarctic regions
Compared with other biomes, the tundra biome is relatively young, having its origin in the Pleistocene (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago). Individual plant and animal species of the tundra, however, probably first appeared in the late Miocene (13.8 million to 5.3 million years ago) or early Pliocene (5.3 million to 3.6 million years ago). Coniferous forests were present on Ellesmere Island and in northern Greenland, the northernmost land areas, in the mid-Pliocene (3.6 million years ago). Most paleoecologists believe that tundra flora evolved from plants of the coniferous forests and alpine areas as continents drifted into higher and cooler latitudes during the Miocene (23 million to 5.3 million years ago).
The Antarctic region
Antarctica has been isolated from other continental landmasses by broad expanses of ocean since early in the Paleogene Period, about 60 to 40 million years ago. Prior to its separation it existed, along with Australia, South America, peninsular India, and Africa, as part of the landmass known as Gondwanaland. This long separation has impeded the establishment and development of land-based flora and fauna in the Antarctic. Other significant factors that have hampered terrestrial biotic evolution are the harsh climate, the ice cover that completely engulfed the continent during the Pleistocene glaciations, and the present limited number of ice-free land areas, which are restricted primarily to the coastal fringes and nunataks (mountain peaks surrounded by the ice cap). As a consequence, the terrestrial flora and fauna of Antarctica are few. The Antarctic Peninsula, which extends to 63° S, is the location of virtually all floral development of the Antarctic.
The Antarctic, however, encompasses not only the continent itself but also those islands lying within the Antarctic Convergence, where northward-flowing cold surface waters meet warmer subantarctic waters. Most Antarctic islands, because of their position beyond the seasonal pack ice, are under much stronger maritime influence than comparable Arctic islands. The flora and fauna of these islands are poorly developed, largely because of their isolation from potential sources of terrestrial biota. South Georgia, the largest of these islands, lies 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) east of Tierra del Fuego at 54° to 55° S and encompasses an area of 3,756 square kilometres (1,450 square miles). Heavy precipitation and high mountains account for perennial snow cover at higher elevations and extensive glaciers. Nevertheless, near sea level where soil formation has been possible, a unique Antarctic tundra vegetation has developed, dominated by tussock-forming grasses and mosses. Only 26 species of vascular plants are present, and there are no native land mammals, although reindeer introduced by Norwegian whalers in the early 1900s have established feral populations. Grazing by reindeer has altered plant communities by reduction or local elimination of the most preferred species.
Characteristics of polar environments—the climate, substrates, elevation above sea level, slope, exposure, and proximity to other landmasses—determine the complex of plant and animal life present in the polar regions. It is the interplay of these factors during summer that determines whether temperatures are warm enough and moisture is sufficient to allow plants to grow. The High Arctic is distinguished from the Low Arctic based on ecological criteria, which include a shorter growing season, cooler summers, and a marked reduction in species of flora and fauna.
The southern limit of the tundra zone in the Northern Hemisphere may extend from 55° N at the southern tip of Hudson Bay in Canada along the northern Bering Sea coast of Alaska and the Russian Far East to above 70° N on the lower Mackenzie River of Canada, along the Khatanga River of central Siberia, and across northern Scandinavia. This limit generally coincides with the isoline of annual net solar radiation of 75 to 80 kilojoules per square centimetre, which closely parallels the 10° C (50° F) July isotherm. However, local variation in this boundary occurs in North America and Eurasia where influences of mountain ranges or warm ocean currents allow forests to penetrate northward to areas with as little as 67 kilojoules per square centimetre of radiation.
Daily summer temperatures may average only 2° to 5° C (35° to 41° F) in typical tundra and polar barrens, and the plant growth season is usually less than 100 days. Although summers are brief at high latitudes, the days of summer are long. At latitudes above the Arctic Circle (66°33′ N) for at least a portion of the summer the Sun is above the horizon for 24 hours each day. This constant sunlight enables plants to optimize photosynthesis without the usual nighttime cost of respiration.
Total annual precipitation is low in the tundra and polar barrens, generally ranging between 100 and 1,000 millimetres (4 to 40 inches) per year. Precipitation is usually greatest near the coasts and at high altitudes. For example, in Greenland and Antarctica and at higher elevations on the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, permanent ice caps form. The low precipitation characteristic of tundra regions is comparable to that of deserts at lower latitudes; however, these regions are unlike true deserts in that the low temperatures in both winter and summer limit evaporation. Thus, a greater portion of the limited moisture from snowmelt and summer rains is available for plant growth. In addition, most tundra and polar barrens are underlain by soils that are permanently frozen (permafrost) except for a thin surface zone (active layer) that thaws each summer. The permafrost limits drainage and retains moisture for plant growth within the active layer. This can result in wetland formation, as occurs in level areas of the coastal plains of the Arctic, which contain extensive wetlands that are home to aquatic vegetation, invertebrate fauna, waterfowl, and shorebirds.
Circulation of air masses around the Earth transports industrial pollutants from temperate regions into the Arctic and Antarctic. Pollutants are becoming concentrated in these regions, and concern is growing over the possible consequences for life at high latitudes. Thinning of the ozone layer in the polar regions resulting from the industrial release of chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere may have long-term consequences for plant and animal life. Ultraviolet radiation, previously intercepted by the ozone layer, is detrimental to most life because it inhibits photosynthesis and increases mutation rates in DNA and damages epidermal tissues in plants and animals.
Biota of tundra and polar barrens
Biota of the Arctic
A transition zone exists at the northern limit of trees where coniferous forest interdigitates with treeless tundra vegetation. In North America, white and black spruce (Picea glauca and P. mariana) interface with tundra, whereas in Siberia and northern Europe larch (Larix) is the primary tree line species. Cottonwoods (Populus species) often penetrate the tundra landscape in the Low Arctic along major rivers. Major vegetation types of the Low Arctic include low-shrub tundra, dominated by species of willow (Salix) and dwarf birch (Betula); tall-shrub tundra, dominated by species of willow, shrub birch, and alder (Alnus); and combinations of sedges and dwarf shrubs, such as species of Labrador tea (Ledum), blueberry and cranberry (Vaccinium), crowberry (Empetrum), and Arctic heather (Cassiope), in wetter sites. Cushion plants (Dryas and Saxifraga species) are common on windswept uplands. Lichens and mosses are important components of the ground cover in some areas. In the Low Arctic, most land surfaces are fully vegetated, with the exception of rock outcrops, dry ridge tops, river gravel bars, and scree slopes (those slopes that have an accumulation of rocky debris at the angle of repose).
The vegetation of the High Arctic is less rich than that of the Low Arctic, containing only about half the vascular plant species found in the Low Arctic. For example, more than 600 species of plants are found in the Low Arctic of North America, but in the extreme High Arctic of northern Ellesmere Island and Greenland—north of 83° N—fewer than 100 species of vascular plants grow. The shorter growing season, cooler summers, and drier conditions, as well as the distance of these landmasses from continental flora, account for this difference. More than 40 percent of vascular plant species of the Arctic are circumpolar in distribution. Mosses increase in importance in High Arctic plant communities, and shrub species decrease markedly, with only a few prostrate willows, dwarf birch, and other dwarf shrubs remaining. Prostrate willows, however, remain important components of plant communities that retain some winter snow cover, even in the northernmost land areas. Sedge-moss meadows occur on limited wet sites in valley bottoms watered by melting snows. Upland sites are drier and have a more sparse ground cover that merges into polar desert at higher elevations or where insufficient moisture is available for plant growth. Grasses, occasional prostrate willows, and mat-forming dryas occur in patches in the uplands and are the dominant vegetation in the polar barrens.
The true polar desert generally occurs on coastal areas fringing the Arctic Ocean and on areas of a few hundred metres elevation in the extreme High Arctic where soils have not developed and the frost-free period and soil moisture are insufficient for most plant growth. The occasional plants growing there often become established in frost cracks that capture blowing snow and finer windblown soil material. Plants adapted to these conditions include species of the Arctic poppy (Papaver), some rushes (Juncus), small saxifrages (Saxifraga), and a few other rosette-forming herbaceous species. The Arctic poppy and a few of the other flowering herbs adapted to the High Arctic have flowers that are solartropic (turning in response to the Sun). Their parabolic-shaped blossoms track daily movements of the Sun, thereby concentrating solar heat on the developing ovary, warming pollinating insects that land there, and speeding the growth of embryonic seeds.
Arctic ecosystems lack the diversity and richness of species that characterize temperate and tropical ecosystems. Animal as well as plant species decline in number with increasing latitude in both polar regions. Vertebrate species of the Arctic tundra and polar barrens are limited to mammals and birds; no amphibians or reptiles occur there. About 20 species of mammals and more than 100 species of birds are present throughout the Arctic. Most are circumpolar in their distribution as single species or closely related species; for example, the caribou of North America and the domestic and wild reindeer of Eurasia belong to the same species, Rangifer tarandus, whereas the lemmings of the Eurasian Arctic are a closely related but distinct species from those of northern North America and Greenland. This similarity in Arctic mammalian fauna is a result of the lower sea levels of the Pleistocene glaciations, when a broad land connection, known as the Bering Land Bridge, connected present-day Alaska and Siberia.
Some Arctic mammalian fauna—primarily herbivores such as caribou and reindeer, muskox (Ovibos moschatus; see photograph), and Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus; see photograph), and species of Arctic hare (Lepus) and collared and brown lemmings (Dicrostonyx and Lemmus)—rarely occur outside the Arctic and are adapted to life in this environment. Other fauna such as species of ground squirrel (Spermophilus), vole (Microtus), shrew (family Soricidae), and red fox (Vulpes), as well as ermine (Mustela erminea), wolverine (Gulo gulo; see photograph), wolf (Canis lupus), and brown bear (Ursus arctos; see photograph) are common to other ecosystems but are distributed widely throughout the Arctic. A few other typical temperate species have penetrated northward into the Low Arctic where suitable habitat is available. The moose (Alces alces) and snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) in North America are examples, and their movement into the Low Arctic may be a consequence of a warming climate and an increase of willows and other shrubs, especially in riparian habitats. Where mountain ranges in boreal forest regions continue into the Arctic—as they do in northwestern North America and Siberia—species of mountain sheep (Ovis) and marmots (Marmota), typical of the alpine zone, have extended their distribution into the Arctic.
On land areas of the extreme High Arctic, above 80° N, which include only parts of Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere islands in the Canadian Arctic, northernmost Greenland, northern portions of Svalbard, and Franz Josef Land, only a few mammal species are able to maintain viable populations. In the Canadian High Arctic the musk ox, Peary caribou, Arctic hare, and collared lemming are the only mammalian herbivores, and their predators, the wolf, Arctic fox, wolverine, and ermine, are also present. In northern Greenland these same species are found, with caribou and possibly the wolverine being absent in historical times. Only caribou and the Arctic fox are native to Svalbard, and only the Arctic fox is present on Franz Josef Land. In all these High Arctic areas the polar bear (Ursus maritimus; see photograph), a creature of the sea ice that preys largely on seals, may occasionally be found on land, where females den to bear young or where they graze (rarely) the vegetation or prey on land mammals or nesting birds.
Terrestrial avian fauna of the Arctic includes only a few resident species, among them the ptarmigan (Lagopus species), snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca), gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), and raven (Corvus corax); the remainingspecies are present in the Arctic only in summer to breed and rear young, migrating to temperate, tropical, or maritime areas of more southern latitudes during winter. Although the ability to fly has allowed birds to occupy isolated and insular habitats within the Arctic that have been largely inaccessible to mammals, their distribution throughout the Arctic has been tied closely to the location of their wintering areas and annual migration routes. These migration routes, especially those of shorebirds and waterfowl, often follow the coastlines of continents; however, some species cross extensive bodies of water. Nevertheless, the North Atlantic Ocean offers a partial barrier to the circumpolar mixing of species, and thus there is greater similarity between the avian fauna of the Arctic of western North America and eastern Eurasia than there is among the species of the Arctic areas of Europe, eastern North America, and Greenland.
Shorebirds, waterfowl, and passerine species of the family Fringillidae (finches, buntings, and sparrows) are the most abundant species nesting in the Arctic. Wet sedge meadows often associated with lake margins, estuaries, and seacoasts are favoured nesting habitats of shorebirds and waterfowl. Nesting densities of passerine species are highest in shrub communities at the southern margins of the tundra and in riparian habitats; they decline rapidly in the High Arctic. Only the redpoll (Acanthis species) and snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) among this group extend their range to the northernmost land areas.
In addition to resident species, raptorial birds that commonly nest in the Arctic include the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus; see photograph), rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus), short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), and, in mountainous terrain, the golden eagle (Aguila chrysaetos; see photograph) in North America and the white-tailed eagle (Italiacetus albicilla) in Greenland and Eurasia. The jaegers (Stercorarius species), which spend the major part of their lives at sea during most of the year, nest in tundra and polar barrens and prey on lemmings and eggs and nestlings of other birds during the breeding season. Marine birds of the Procellariidae (fulmars), Laridae (gulls and terns), and Alcidae (puffins, murres, dovkies, and auklets) that are dependent on a marine food base often nest colonially on coastal cliffs in the Arctic. These nesting colonies are usually found adjacent to upwelling currents in the sea where invertebrates and fish that the birds feed on are most abundant. In the High Arctic, upwelling currents result in open water areas within the pack ice called polynya; these enable seabirds to feed and nest at latitudes above 75° N.
Biota of Antarctica
The flora of Antarctica consists mainly of soil and freshwater algae, lichens, mosses, fungi, and only two native species of vascular plants. The terrestrial fauna consists of a few invertebrate species of protozoans, rotifers, nematodes, tardigrades, collembola (primitive wingless insects), and a species of mite. These life-forms are restricted mainly to moist beds of moss. The diversity of marine mammals and birds in the coastal areas and associated pack ice is dependent on marine food chains in the adjacent seas.
In Antarctica unique endolithic (stone-dwelling) forms of life (cyanobacteria) occur within and just below the surface of porous rocks. These cyanobacteria can be found in dry valleys of southern Victoria Land, where they are adapted to remain dormant for extended periods until rare occasions when melting snow provides the moisture necessary for life processes. Although this is an extreme cold-desert environment, similar forms of life occur within rocks in hot deserts. (For information on the biota of the Antarctic islands see above Origin of the flora and fauna of the polar regions: The Antarctic region.)
Development and structure of populations and communities
The low species diversity of both plants and animals in polar regions contributes to the lack of complexity that characterizes Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems. The short summer season during which plants can grow and insects and other invertebrates can be active contributes to the lower productivity and relative simplicity of these ecosystems. In addition, the cooler temperatures limit the rate at which soil nutrients essential for plant growth are released through decomposition of organic material, breakdown of the parent rock, and fixation of nitrogen by soil microbes.
A consequence of ecosystem simplicity is a lack of stability. Animals tend to undergo wide population fluctuations in the tundra and polar barrens. These fluctuations are stimulated by periodic extremes of weather and imbalances in herbivore-plant and predator-prey relationships. Each species plays a much more dominant role in the trophic dynamics of ecosystems in the Arctic than do species in the highly complex temperate and tropical ecosystems. The extreme abundance of lemmings during the peak of their population cycle (as many as 200 per hectare) is accompanied by high reproductive success and rapid increase of their predators—Arctic foxes, ermines, snowy owls, and other species. Conversely, when lemming numbers are low (fewer than 1 per hectare) breeding among their predators ceases and predator populations plummet.
In the High Arctic, animal populations live close to their biological limitations. Peary caribou or musk oxen may be so affected by periods of extreme weather that they become locally extinct. Reestablishment of the species may not occur until favourable conditions allow adjacent populations to build up, an event that may take decades. Indeed, in northernmost Greenland, although caribou have not been present in recent history, antlers and bones indicate their periodic presence at least 7,000 years ago.
Snow plays an important role in determining the characteristics and distribution of plant and animal communities in tundra and polar barrens. Winters are long, and the limited snow that falls usually accumulates without melting throughout the entire season. The snow cover, however, is not stable. The strong winds that characterize these treeless landscapes redistribute the snow, removing it from landscape convexities and depositing it as drifts in concavities, in patches of shrubs, or leeward of ridge tops and boulders. The wind also compacts snow, increasing its density, thus enabling animals to move more easily over its surface while hampering their ability to dig through to find food below. Snow, therefore, influences the location, food selection, and energy expenditure of large herbivores that must move across the winter landscape to feed. Areas of deeper snow cover appeal to small rodents who feed and construct winter nests at the ground’s surface under the insulating layer of snow.
The pattern of distribution of snow on the tundra and polar barrens is also a major determinant in the distribution of vegetation. Most plants require snow cover to protect them from the extreme cold and drying conditions of winter. Areas in which the snow cover has been blown away are the first to initiate plant growth in summer, whereas those in which snowbanks are slow to melt support only those plants adapted to the shorter snow-free season. The winter accumulation of snow, however, is often the primary source of moisture for the summer growth of plants. Consequently, windy exposures with little snow cover often suffer summer drought that limits plant growth, whereas snow-bed plant communities are well watered throughout summer.
In the Low Arctic, vegetation covers 80 to 100 percent of the land area. The rapid growth of vascular plants under the continuous daylight of the brief Arctic summer is the basis for the relatively high productivity of these plant communities at such high altitudes. Because all aboveground productivity of plants is close to ground level in the tundra in contrast to forest biomes, it is readily available to vertebrate herbivores. As a consequence large concentrations of caribou and geese graze locally in the Low Arctic in summer but migrate out of the Arctic to winter when the quality of forage declines and its availability is limited by the wind-packed snow cover. Although tundra systems experience a burst of plant and animal productivity during the brief Arctic summer, only a few animal species remain active in the Arctic throughout the long winter. Herbivores are dependent on plant production of the previous summer, and carnivores depend on their herbivore prey. Total annual productivity in the tundra and polar barrens is several orders of magnitude less than it is in most temperate or tropical ecosystems. (For further information on productivity see biosphere: The organism and the environment: Resources of the biosphere: The flow of energy.)
Vertebrate herbivory may result in changes in tundra vegetation through selective feeding on preferred plant species, trampling, and recycling of soil nutrients through excretion. Where caribou, musk oxen, lemmings, and geese concentrate their grazing activity they may actually increase production of tundra vegetation. This results from removal of much of the annual vegetative growth, exposing the underlying new growth of plants to the rays of the sun and the soil to increased heating, and from speeding up the recycling of organic material through digestion and excretion that releases nutrients to the soil. | <urn:uuid:34188fe7-8e6d-4496-96d3-74afad145bcb> | {
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Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
Print version ISSN 0037-8682
SILVA, Karine Fedrigo; PRATA, Aluízio and CUNHA, Daniel Ferreira da. Frequency of metabolic syndrome and the food intake patterns in adults living in a rural area of Brazil. Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. [online]. 2011, vol.44, n.4, pp. 425-429. ISSN 0037-8682. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0037-86822011000400005.
INTRODUCTION: Metabolic syndrome (MetS), a risk factor for atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, is related to an inadequate food intake pattern. Its incidence is increasing among Brazilian adults, including those living in rural areas. Our aim was not only to describe the frequency of MetS in adults with or without MetS but also to compare their food intake pattern as assessed by the healthy eating index (HEI) and serum albumin and C reactive protein (CRP) levels. METHODS: Men and women (n = 246) living in a small village in Brazil were included. MetS was characterized according to the adult treatment panel (ATP III) criteria. Groups were compared by chi-square, student t or Mann-Whitney tests. RESULTS: MetS was diagnosed in 15.4% of the cases. The MetS group showed higher CRP (1.8±1.2 vs. 1.0±0.9 mg/dl) and lower albumin (4.3±0.3 vs. 4.4±0.3 g/dl) serum levels compared to the control group. Additionally, the MetS group showed lower scores (median[range]) in the HEI compared to the control group (53.5[31.2-78.1] vs 58[29.7-89.5], respectively). The MetS group also had decreased scores for total fat and daily variety of food intake. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that adults with MetS displayed chronic mild inflammation and a poorer food intake pattern than the control group.
Keywords : Metabolic syndrome; Diet Quality; Healthy eating index; Inflammation. | <urn:uuid:336f7808-1f75-4e04-aa5a-31bdcddd58dc> | {
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All About The Quran
- by Yusuf Estes
The Quran is a Divine Miracle of Literature [Prophesy - Science - Warnings
- Wisdom - Truths]...and it has been Preserved 100% In the Original Language
- for over 1,400 years!
Humanity has received Divine Guidance only through two channels:
The Word of Almighty God ("Allah") in [scriptures, Torah, Psalms, Injil & Quran, etc.]
The Prophets inspired by the Allah to communicate His Will to mankind.
These two things have always been going together, hand in hand.
More important though, there were at that time, tens of thousands of his companions ("sahabi" in Arabic) who memorized the complete Quran from the instruction of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Even the prophet himself (peace be upon him) used to recite it with angel Gabriel once a year and in the last year of his life he recited it two times just before the month in which he died.
Next, the leader who came after the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) (Abu Bakr) entrusted the collection of the Quran to be written in one volume by one of the Prophet's scribe, Zaid Ibn Thabit. He kept it till his death. Then the next leader, Umar and after him to his daughter, Hafsa who had been one of the wives of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Then from the original text which now resides in Topkope Museum, in Istanbul, Turkey, the next leader, Uthman prepared several other exact duplications and sent them to various Muslim territories such as; Uzbekistan and Turkey and other places. These scriptures are still in museums there and one has found its way to a museum in England as well. All of them are exactly the same. Today many of the Muslims from these areas are still memorizing the Quran.
The Quran was so meticulously preserved because it is the Book of Guidance for all of humanity for all times. That is why it does not address just the Arabs, in whose language it was revealed. In fact Arabs today do not comprise more than 13% of the Today of Muslims in the world today.
The Quran speaks to "mankind"
Quran speaks to all of mankind on a general basis without regard to race, tribe, color, social position, financial condition or genealogy.
Allah the Almighty says:
"O Mankind! What has seduced you from your Lord so Generous?"
[Noble Quran 82:6]
The Practical Teachings of the Quran
Teachings of Quran are established by the example of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the good Muslims throughout the ages have endeavored to emulate his teachings both in thought and conduct.
The distinctive approach of the Quran is that its instructions are aimed at the general welfare of the mankind and are based on the possibilities within his reach.
The Quran is Wisdom Conclusive.
It neither condemns nor tortures the flesh nor does it neglect the soul.
It does not humanize God, nor does it deify man.
Everything is carefully placed where it belongs in the total scheme of creation.
Yet it obviously is not written in human style (chronological order). Those who would claim that the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the author of the Quran are claiming something that is humanly impossible.
How could any person of the 7th century utter such scientific truths as those found in the Quran?
Could he describe the evolution of the embryo inside the uterus so accurately as we find it now recorded in modern science?
[See: Dr. Keith Moore's book - on embryology]
Secondly, is it logical to believe that Muhammad (peace be upon him) who up to the age of forty was marked only for his honesty and integrity, began all of a sudden the authorship of a book matchless in literary merit and the equivalent of which the whole legion of the Arab poets and orators of the highest caliber could not produce?
And lastly, is it justified to say that Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was known as "Al-Ameen" (trustworthy) in his society and who is still admired by the non-Muslim scholars for his honesty, would lie about receiving the Quran (which forbids lying) from the Angel Gabriel and then still be able to establish the best human society on the face of the earth, based on truth?
Surely, any sincere and unbiased searcher of truth must come to the conclusion that the Quran is the revealed Book of Almighty Allah.
Readers can easily see how the modern world is coming closer to reality regarding the truth of the Quran.
We appeal to all open minded scholars to study the Quran in the light of the aforementioned points.
We invite all to challenge the validity and accuracy of the sciences known to man today and keep in mind that this is the
We are sure that any such attempt will convince the reader that the Quran could never have been written by any human being ever. | <urn:uuid:5138ecb3-35b7-49b2-b1a3-453fd50e253b> | {
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This simple article will teach you how easy it truly is for the normal Joe Bloggs to run a secure Linux web server from anywhere. This is useful for home servers where multimedia is streamed across the house and to send things to work/school.
Linux web server software is something that a lot of us require but do not quite know how to set up. This guide will go through a couple of simple, effective and secure ways to set up your server whether it's for testing or a scalable hosting environment. I will assume that you are using a Linux distribution with an APT repository (such as Debian and Ubuntu.) You may have to substitute some commands if your Linux distribution uses another method of installation.
Apache2 - Web Server
Many shared hosting companies use Apache2 because of its stability and security and it is the most favoured open-source web server daemon. If you are installing this on a home server to only be accessed from other home computers ensure that port 80 is blocked on your wireless router or modem so that others cannot pick you up as a web server when scanning for IP addresses.
In order to install it you can use the APT repository for your distribution and can usually just type as root or with root permissions: apt-get install apache2
This should start Apache2 installing with the default settings which are suitable for most home servers and it will also activate your web server. Once it is installed you should be able to point your web browser towards http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1 and see a message informing you that your web server has been set up successfully, by default your web root directory is /var/www
There may be a problem with accessing this directory as your normal user so you may want to chown the directory to your own user.
PHP - Hypertext Preprocessor
This involves a bit more donkey work and terminal magic but has the advantage of setting up the PHP scripting language on your server as well if you need to use it. Follow the instructions above and test that it works then we will need to install some other programs.
The first thing you will need to install is PHP, version 5 is the current version so that is the one we are going to install, if you have programs that only work with version 4 change the number accordingly. In order to install PHP and get Apache2 to recognise that it is there and use it we are going to install 2 programs, php5 and libapache2-mod-php5. Install them as you did above by typing: apt-get install php5 libapache2-mod-php5 into your terminal with root access or sudo.
In order to test that PHP is set up properly create a PHP page by using the following command in the terminal
echo "<?php phpinfo(); ?>" > /var/www/test.php
The command will create a PHP page in your web directory (/var/www) which will have the PHP info of the server inside it, if you now go to http://localhost/test.php you should see all of your information.
MySQL is an Open Source database application that on its own will do very little for your server but alongside PHP you can use the database to store and manipulate data. A lot of text-based games on the internet are made using PHP and MySQL as well as a lot of interesting and useful applications.
The package you are after is usually called "mysql-server" and if you have APT you may install it using this command in the terminal: apt-get install mysql-server
After you have put the command into the terminal it may ask for some details from you, mainly your MySQL root password, make this a strong password and not the same as any of the users on your machine. Finally we are going to install two programs to allow PHP to communicate with the MySQL database: apt-get install libapache2-mod-auth-mysql php5-mysql
If your terminal does not recognise the commands I have given at all then your Linux distribution does not use APT and may use RPM or another method of package distribution, for this you will have to read up on the commands that your package manager uses and create the installation lines yourself using your manager, if you can't figure out how to do this please feel free to comment below with your Linux distribution and I will create and comment back with the commands you need to use.
If your terminal recognises apt (apt-get -v brings information back) and does not recognise the package names it means your Linux distribution has called them something different, you may need to check with others using your distribution to find out what the packages are called.
You should hopefully now have a simple web server running with Apache2 and optionally PHP and MySQL, it may require a computer restart before Apache2, PHP and MySQL play along nicely with each other.
By default Apache2 will install itself as a service and start up at every boot, if you do not want this behavior to occur, try to run:
update-rc.d apache2 remove | <urn:uuid:99ad068f-0b1f-4a2a-a975-1aa99979d423> | {
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The Brandywine School was a style of illustration — as well as an artists colony in Wilmington, Delaware and in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, near Brandywine River — both founded by artist Howard Pyle (1853–1911) at the end of the 19th century. The works produced there were widely published in adventure novels, magazines, and romances in the early 20th Century.
Pyle, one of the foremost illustrators in America at the time, began teaching art classes at Drexel University in 1895. However, he was dissatisfied with the confines of formal art education, and beginning in 1898, he began teaching students during the summers at the Turner Mill in Chadds Ford. The mill, alongside the Brandywine, provided views of a scenic landscape to inspire the artists. In 1900, Pyle left Drexel and opened his own school attached to his personal art studio. The school and studio, which are still standing, are located a short walk from the Brandywine Park, a stretch of riverside park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Of the 500 students who applied to attend Pyle's school in its first year, only twelve were accepted.
It was through the absorption of Pyle's particular style and teaching that the tradition known as the "Brandywine School" emerged. Pyle continued to operate the school until 1910, during which time he was mentor to such successful artists as N. C. Wyeth, Frank E. Schoonover, Stanley M. Arthurs, William James Aylward, Thornton Oakley, Violet Oakley, Clifford Ashley, Anna Whelan Betts, Ethel Franklin Betts, Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle, Jessie Willcox Smith, Olive Rush, Philip R. Goodwin, Allen Tupper True, and Harvey Dunn. In all, 75 artists were trained by Pyle during the ten years he ran his school in Wilmington.
The Brandywine School continued on in Pyle's students even after his death in 1911. Several of his students, inspired by Pyle's example, taught the next generation of the school's students.
In 1905, Wilmington philanthropist Samuel Bancroft constructed a set of buildings to house and provide studios for four of Pyle's most successful students: Wyeth, Schoonover, Dunn, and Ashley. Schoonover remained in his studio for the next 63 years, and in 1942 he used it to open his own school, where he taught artists such as Ellen du Pont Wheelwright. After Pyle's death, Arthurs purchased the Pyle studio and continued the school from 1912-1950. Wyeth stayed in his Wilmington studio for a time before moving to Chadds Ford, where he taught his own children, including artist Andrew Wyeth.
- A Summer Idyll: Landscapes from the Brandywine Valley Archived September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- Austin, Vera (1976). "National Register of Historic Places nomination form" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- Schoonover, John R.; Jean Athan (1978). "Frank E. Schoonover Studios" (PDF). NRHP Nomination Form. National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved October 24, 2014. | <urn:uuid:edee7df6-d82a-4235-b495-65e1a368aa52> | {
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The tail of an unexploded Japanese balloon bomb protrudes above the mossy forest floor near Lumby, British Columbia. This photograph is courtesy of Infonews.ca, which published a story about the bomb on October 10, 2014.
On November 3, 1944, the Imperial Japanese Army attacked North America, and they did it from three Honshu beachheads. It was on that date that the first of some 9,000 balloons, fitted with incendiary and high explosive bombs on a three-day timer, were lofted into the recently-discovered jet stream. The innovative form of aggression spread dangerous explosives across a huge swath of North American territory, from Alaska to Mexico, from the Pacific Coast to Detroit, Michigan. Fewer than 250 of these balloons have been accounted for, although an estimated 1,ooo balloons may have made it across the Pacific. While most of the 9,000 probably failed to reach American shores, those that made the crossing and went undiscovered might still pose risks to the unsuspecting.
Foresters working near Lumby, British Columbia, made the most recent discovery of unexploded Japanese bombs in October of last year. Hikers and people who work in wild places should be wary of undiscovered explosives from these balloons.
When Japanese balloon bombs, known as Fu-Go to their makers, first began to arrive in America, authorities mistakenly thought that the devices were being launched from submarines surfacing near our coasts or that they had been built in Prisoner-of-War camps along the coast. Continue reading
Posted in Balloons, Conflicts, Education, Geology, Hanford, Hanford Atomic Energy Reservation, History, Japan, Washington, World War II
Tagged Alaska, Archie Mitchell, Asotin, Atom Bomb, Ballast, Balloon envelopes, Balloons, Biological Warfare, Bly, Bombs, Bonneville Dam, British Columbia, California, Canada, Central Washington, Cold Creek, Debris, Detroit, Diatoms, Eastern Washington, Education, Elsie Mitchell, Ephrata, Forams, Foresters, Fossils, Fu-Go, Geologists, Geology, Hanford Reservation, Hawaii, Hiking, Hill Williams, History, Honshu, Hydrogen, Imperial Japanese Army, Infonews.ca, Intelligence, Jet Stream, Lt. Col. Franklin Matthias, Lumby, Manhattan Project, Mexico, Michigan, Montana, Moxee, Mulberry, North America, Northwest Territories, Oregon, Pacific, Pacific Coast, Planes, Plutonium, Port Angeles, Prisoner-of-War, Prosser, Reactor, San Pedro, Sand, Satus Pass, Scientists, Second World War, Silk, Spokane, Submarines, Sunday School, Tokyo, Toppenish, Walla Walla, Washington, World War II, Wyoming, Yukon
Although the rock I sat on was in direct sunlight, a brisk upriver wind kept me cool. The papers on my lap rattled in the breeze and the pages of the black-bound reference book chattered, but I was gazing out across a tiny inlet where the river’s water formed an eddy. It was the color and texture of desert-baked glass, slipping smoothly past me, drawn by the rush of the current beyond the boulder point. Across the river a sheer cliff of basalt loomed over me, soaring upward to a rugged crest far above.
It was the summer of 1977. I was studying Russian.
I developed this habit of disappearing when I had a day off work. I would wait for the heat to build until it was well over ninety degrees. Then I would borrow my dad’s gold 1970 Ford Maverick (a color that was marketed as Freudian Gilt) and I would head out. I kept the window cranked down for the natural air conditioning–the only type the car afforded. Higher speed meant better relief from the heat, but I was drawn to the old Corfu Road where I had to slow down. The dust that filtered through the open window was another price I paid.
I don’t know what drew me to this place the first time I went there. I had driven the entire length of the Corfu Road, turned left at Beverly and headed south through Sentinel Gap. I remember stopping on side roads that led to the river bank, but there the river was impounded by Wanapum Dam. Farther on I tried again, where the reservoir behind Priest Rapids Dam kept the current in check. I was just exploring.
I purposely avoided anyplace with people. I had my books and papers on the seat beside me with a couple of bottles of soda and some sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper. I was working on the complexity of the adjectival endings Russian uses, and I knew Continue reading
Posted in Archaeology, Books, Columbia Basin, Columbia River, Crab Creek, Death, Education, Family History, History, Native Americans, Washington
Tagged Aeroflot, Armenia, Austria, Beverly, British Columbia, California, Christianity, CIA, College, Columbia River, Corfu, Crab Creek, Culture, Czechoslovakia, Eastern Europe, Eastern Washington, Education, Europe, Family, Figure Two Ranch, Ford Maverick, France, History, Joel Palmer, Kiev, LA, Leningrad, Literature, Moscow, Native Americans, Nature, Novosibirsk, Prague, Priest Rapids Dam, Russia, Samarkand, Sentinel Gap, Siberia, Soviet Union, Spokane, Tashkent, Theater, Ural Mountains, Uzbekistan, Vilnius, Volga River, Wanapum Dam, Wanapum Indians, Washington, Washington State
The railroad tracks at Corfu, looking west. The photograph probably dates from around 1934
I did a Google search for Ben Hutchinson recently, and found out that he’s a sports figure of some repute in Europe. This must be a mistake, or I’m way out of touch with sports…which, come to think of it, I am! The man I’m thinking of passed on years ago.
I was a small boy when I first heard about Ben Hutchinson. My family liked to pile into a pickup or a station wagon and take a drive down what we called the Old Corfu Road, or in grandiose moments, the Old Corfu Highway. Along the way we would pass by the rear of the old Danielson Ranch near the banks of Crab Creek. My dad’s abandoned Model T truck was visible as a hunk of rusted machinery sticking up out of the sagebrush. Continue reading
Posted in Columbia Basin, Crab Creek, Education, Family History, Genealogy and Family History, History, Saddle Mountain, Washington
Tagged Adams County, Ben Hutchinson, Big Bend Country, British Columbia, California, Cape Horn, Columbia Plateau, Corfu, Cow Creek, Crab Creek, Dakotas, Douglas County, Ephrata, Fort Colville, Fraser River, George Lucas, Grant County, Grant County Historical Society, Hutchinson Lake, Illinois, Iowa, Kamloops, Kansas, Las Vegas, Lind, Marengo, Moses Lake, Mullan Road, Native Americans, New Mexico, Nez Perces, Northern Idaho, Oakesdale, Old Corfu Highway, Oregon, Oregon Trail, Paha, Palouse, Panama, Pleasant Valley Cemetery, R. J. Neergaard, Railroads, Ritzville, Robert M. Hutchinson, Saddle Mountain, Sam Hutchinson, San Francisco, San Jose, Sheep Springs, Spokane, St. Louis's College, St. Mary's College, Sunnyside, Victoria, Walla Walla, Washington, Yakima, Yakima County
Lower Crab Creek provided water. In Eastern Washington, that was a godsend. Temperatures on the Columbia Plateau routinely soar to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summertime, and rain is scarce. Cleaning irrigation ditches with a shovel west of Othello as a boy, many were the prayers I sent for even one scanty cloud to shield me from the overbearing sun.
The Sinkiuse Indians who lived there before me probably shared my distaste for the relentless sun. But they didn’t have the benefit of a well of cold water I could retire to, an air conditioner that cooled the house when I took a break. They were stuck with the weather the way it was: hot in the summertime, cold in the winter. They took a more basic approach to living on the Columbia Plateau: they stuck close to water, or if that weren’t possible, they found the shortest route from one water hole to the next.
Over centuries of migration and travel, humans developed routes that guided them along the most direct lines of travel from one pool or stream of potable water to the next. Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Archaeology, Books, Columbia Basin, Computer, Crab Creek, Family History, Hiking, History, Horses, Ice Age flood, Native Americans, Railroads, Saddle Mountain, Washington, World War II
Tagged Andrew Jackson Splawn, Anthropology, Archaeology, Astor Company, Ben Hutchinson, Beverly, Bridge, British Columbia, Bunchgrass, Burke Museum, Canada, Cariboo Trail, Celilo Falls, Central Washington, Cheat Grass, Chief Joseph, Chief Moses, Chinese, Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, Columbia Plateau, Columbia River, Colville Reservation, Corfu, Corfu Slide, Corfu Switchback, Cow Creek, Coyote Rapids, Crab Creek, Culture, Desert, Eastern Washington, Ellensburg, Environment, Family, Family History, Ferry, Frenchman Hill, Grand Coulee, Highway 26, History, Horses, Hutchinson's Hill, Ice Age, Ice Cave, Immigration, Indians, Kamiakin, Low Gap, Manashtash Ridge, Milwaukee Road, Missoula Flood, Model T, Moses Lake, Mount Adams, Nature, Nez Perce, Okanogan, Oregon, Othello, Perkins Murders, Plateau Indians, Quincy, Railroads, Ranchers, Rattlesnake Springs, Ross Cox, Rustlers, Saddle Gap, Saddle Mountain, Sagebrush, Sam Hutchinson, Seattle, Second World War, Sheriff, Similkameen, Sinkiuse, Taunton, Trails, Vantage, Wahluke, Wanapum, Warden, Washington, Washington State, Washington State Archives, Wenatchee, White Bluffs, World War II, Yakima, Yakima County, Yakima River
My son investigates the sandstone banks that have weathered out of the basalt cliffs on Saddle Mountain.
Rust coats the rails where electric trolleys once pulled passenger trains along Saddle Mountain.
My son enters the upper end of Column Crevice on Saddle Mountain.
This sportive predator was dashing to and fro across the ridge for quite a while.
It’s difficult to capture the scale of this landscape.
As the rest of the mountainside slumped into the flood, this point seems to have resisted.
My grandfather first climbed to the cliffs on Saddle Mountain in the 1920s. He was not the first visitor to a high ledge where soft sandstone is sandwiched between layers of black basalt. Names were carved into the soft rock, dated, gouged deeper on subsequent visits. My father, whose first visit to the cliffs must have been when he was a youngster in the 1920s, introduced the site to his children. Our first visits were made by motor vehicles. Rough trails still exist that can be followed by a truck with high suspension…not that I recommend the method of access. You miss so much when you’re trapped in metal.
My favorite route to the cliffs followed the Milwaukee Road tracks for a mile or so, then veered up the fenceline separating private cultivated land from the BLM sections. After you leave the railroad tracks you start a relentless climb, like going on foot up a mile-long stairway. First you traverse massive slopes of yellow clay, silt that precipitated out of the flood when the waters struck the mountain, slowed and diverted to the east and the west. These banks are composed of countless thin layers. In some places you can find petrified bones, usually blackened vertebrae of fish or small animals. We also found turtle shells and I keep a broken bison bone in my classroom, orange and yellow and imperfectly petrified. Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Archaeology, Biology, Columbia Basin, Crab Creek, Family History, Hiking, History, Ice Age flood, Native Americans, Natural Disaster, Philosophy, Railroads, Saddle Mountain, Science, Speculative History
Tagged Andrew Jackson Splawn, Anthropology, Ben Hutchinson, Bison, British Columbia, Canada, Cariboo, Cavalry, Chief Joseph, Chief Moses, Columbia River, Corfu, Coyote, Coyote Rapids, Crab Creek, Crab Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Custer, Desert, Eastern Washington, Education, Environment, Family, Family History, Flood, Fort Okanaga, Fossils, Frenchman Hill, Geology, Golden Eagle, Hanford Reservation, History, Hudsons Bay Company, Ice Age, Ka-Mi-Akin, Low Gap, Milwaukee Road, Native Americans, Nature, Nez Perce, Oregon, Petrified Wood, Railroads, Rattlesnake Springs, Saddle Mountain, Sam Hutchinson, Sincayuse Indians, Smyrna, Taunton, Trails, Trident Missiles, Wagon Roads, Wanapum Dam, Washington, Washington State, White Bluffs, World War II, Yakima, Yakima County, Yakima Firing Range | <urn:uuid:d0c4704d-06d4-4293-9698-f6e101e1ff77> | {
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One of the most often encountered and yet least understood of the fairies which inhabit the same everyday world as humans is the Gremlin. Folklorists have shown little enthusiasm for documenting the Gremlin, possibly due to its contemporary nature. They are sufficiently well known, however, to be found in standard references. Webster, for example, defines them as “impish foot high gnomes reported by airmen as interfering with and disordering equipment such as motors, instruments, machine guns”. The Dictionary of Folklore defines them as “any airborne supernatural being (spirit, demon, imp) whose function is to cause pilots and air-crew (especially military) trouble and inconvenience”. A more general description is found in the Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were, where they are defined as spirits associated with tools and machinery.
In early stories concerning these creatures, they were depicted as craftsmen, rather like the Dwarfs. The “Shoemaker Elves”, who used the tools and technology of the time to help poor artisans were probably Gremlins. Contemporary myths, on the other hand, generally portray their destructive side, presenting them more as imps or devils. Unlike devils, however, they are not wholly malign and in fact were once considered helpful to man.
This was particularly true for craftsmen and inventors, who found that the Wee Mechanics have the ability to make tools work more efficiently and are credited with assisting in the invention of the steam engine and helping Ben Franklin in his studies of lightning. It is believed that they turned against man, or at least became disillusioned, when denied recognition for their contributions.
The first notice of Gremlins, as such, took place amongst aviators. This is not surprising as malfunctions in an aircraft often have disastrous results, and unexplained problems become a matter of some discourse. The first obvious reference to them was in the British newspaper “The Spectator” which wrote that “the old Royal Naval Air Service in 1917 and the newly constituted Royal Air Force in 1918 appear to have detected the existence of a horde of mysterious and malicious sprites whose whole purpose in life was…to bring about as many as possible of the inexplicable mishaps which, in those days as now, trouble an airman’s life.”
The word ‘Gremlin’ is claimed by Brew’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable to have been first coined by a Squadron of Bomber Command serving on the North West Frontier in India in 1939. This squadron began to have numerous difficulties with its aircraft, the cause of which was duly placed on a mischievous fairy with an intimate knowledge of aerial sabotage, called the Gremlin. The word probably formed by analogy with Goblin. Of course, there are competing versions of how the word came about. The Dictionary of Folklore, for example, supposes that it may be related to an obsolete Old English transitive verb ‘gremian’ meaning to vex. Yet another version involves the relation of the word to a popular been of the time, called Fremlins.
There have been numerous published descriptions of the physical appearance of Gremlins. Those most commonly encountered by airmen during the second world war were considered to be between six and eighteen inches tall, and either blue or green in color. Some writers maintain that they have horns, like incipient devils, others that these are merely large ears which are covered by a rudimentary growth of hair. Their feet were reported to be large, and may have some special kind of suction grip which enables them to walk in safety all over aircraft (2). Although they are considered to be true Fairies, they are differentiated by the fact that Gremlins have no trouble handling and working with metals like iron, which fairies find deadly.
Their character can be described as mischievous, by which they resemble hobgoblins. Usually, they confine themselves to causing minor annoyances and only occasionally serious trouble. The latter still with a sense of mischief and never out of evil malice. Typically, World War II Gremlins would sit on an aircraft’s wing, fiddling with the aileron (American Gremlins were sometimes called Yehudis, because they are always fiddling) or blow dust into the fuel pipes. The time and place they would manifest themselves was predictable only by its unpredictability.
Gremlins are very sophisticated technologically, and implicitly understand even the most complicated equipment. No known instrument is beyond their intellectual capacity to master. They may also possess a sense of telepathy as they seem to know what a pilot is going to do before he does. The range of their activities are limitless, and besides their mechanical tricks they have been known to produce the appearance of the ground in a completely unexpected place out of a cloud. Navigators claim they are capable of moving mountains, island, and under extreme conditions even reshuffle the stars, although this more accurately represents the state of confusion they can produce in an aviator’s mind rather than a talent for earth moving.
During World War II, the existence of Gremlins was recognized by such authorizes as the British Air Ministry – where they were studied on the Ministry’s behalf by the well known Gremlorist, Pilot Officer Percy Prune, who wrote up their exploits in a service manual. This was the first official document to take Gremlins seriously and to propose ways to either placate them or distract them sufficiently to accomplish the mission without major mishap.
After the war, the lore of the Gremlins tended to die out. It is not generally known that this was a result of a subtle censorship, motivated by issues of national security, in the early 1950s, the world was in the grip of cold war paranoia. Special Air Force investigations were set up to study unusual phenomena which could not be scientifically explained. The most widely known of these secret studies was “Project Blue Book”, the special study of Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFO’s. Much less well known and even more highly classified was “Project Green Book”, which collected and analyzed cases of ACU’s or Anomalies, Cause Unknown. Orders were circulated through the upper echelons of the military pilot community that speaking of “Gremlins” or “Gremlin Effect” was unprofessional and to be strongly discouraged. In the Strategic Air Command it was banned by a direct order from Gen. Curtis Lemay himself, who is quoted as saying, “SAC does not have Gremlins. Period.”
The history and background of the Gremlin can be considered similar to that of other Fairey races or “little people”. The average person has little to fear from Gremlins or Gremlin Effect if they follow ordinary common sense and take care in dealing with machinery that all necessary precautions have been attended to. It is believed that Gremlins can sense, and are attracted by signs of arrogance or over confidence, and these should be avoided if at all possible. In addition it should not be overlooked that Gremlins can be helpful as well. It may be that an embarrassing and inconvenient Gremlin-inspired accident may prevent a catastrophic one later.
Ref: 1) Time Magazine, Sept 14, 1942
2) Edwards, Gillian: Hobgoblin and Sweet Puck. Geoffrey Bles pub.
3) Lyall, Gavin (ed.) The War in the Air: The RAF in World War II, William Morrow & Co.
This article was originally published in Gremlin Trouble book #2 copyright 1995
by E.T. Bryan | <urn:uuid:83a90fad-b65b-4ea8-b3d9-b291a8dad3e7> | {
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Is it possible to donate blood after having hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is one of the viruses that cause hepatitis, which is an inflammation of the liver that also can be caused by medication, drugs, alcohol, or actual physical injury to the liver. One of the ways people become infected with the hepatitis B virus is through blood.
People who have been infected with hepatitis B at some point may carry the virus without even knowing it. They can pass hepatitis B to others through blood or sexual contact. Because of this, a person who has tested positive for hepatitis B at any point in his or her lifetime isn't allowed to donate blood.
It's not just hepatitis B that affects eligibility to donate blood. Other types of viral hepatitis, HIV, and some other infections can affect that person's ability to give blood.
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: June 2013
* Names have been changed to protect user privacy.
|American Medical Association (AMA) The AMA has made a commitment to medicine by making doctors more accessible to their patients. Contact the AMA at: American Medical Association|
515 N. State St.
Chicago, IL 60610
|American Association of Blood Banks This site of the American Association of Blood Banks describes blood banking and transfusions.|
|Blood Types Blood might look the same and do the same job, but tiny cell markers mean one person's body can reject another person's blood. Find out how blood types work in this article for teens.|
|Hepatitis Hepatitis, an infectious liver disease, is more contagious than HIV, and just like HIV, there is no cure. Find out how to protect yourself.|
|Blood Transfusions About 5 million people a year get blood transfusions in the United States. This article explains why people need them and who donates the blood used.|
|Donating Blood There's a 97% chance that someone you know will need a blood transfusion. Blood donors — especially donors with certain blood types — are always in demand. Find out what's involved in this article for teens.|
|Blood Without blood, our organs couldn't get the oxygen and nutrients they need, we couldn't keep warm or cool off, we couldn't fight infections, and we couldn't get rid of our own waste products. Find out about the mysterious, life-sustaining fluid called blood.|
|Hepatitis B (HBV) Hepatitis B can move from one person to another through blood and other bodily fluids. For this reason, people usually get it through unprotected sex or by sharing needles.|
What to expect when coming to Akron Children's
For healthcare providers and nurses
Residency & Fellowships, Medical Students, Nursing and Allied Health
For prospective employees and career-seekers
Our online community that provides inspirational stories and helpful information. | <urn:uuid:72c3638e-044e-4735-82f5-047f4a8f306b> | {
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Gliese 667C keeps getting more interesting. In the past we’ve looked at studies of this star in a triple system just 22 light years away, work that had identified three planets around the star. As one of these was in the habitable zone, this small red dwarf (about a third of the Sun’s mass) quickly engaged the interest of those thinking in terms of astrobiology. Now we get news that GJ 667C may actually host up to seven planets, with three evidently in the habitable zone.
I would say Mikko Tuomi (University of Hertfordshire, UK) is guilty of a bit of understatement. He’s quoted in this ESO news release thusly:
“We knew that the star had three planets from previous studies, so we wanted to see whether there were any more. By adding some new observations and revisiting existing data we were able to confirm these three and confidently reveal several more. Finding three low-mass planets in the star’s habitable zone is very exciting!”
Exciting indeed — we’ve never found three super-Earths within the same star’s habitable zone, in this case a realm closer to the parent star than the planet Mercury in our system. The work drew on data from the UVES spectrograph on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (Chile), as well as the Carnegie Planet Finder Spectrograph at the Magellan II site in Chile, the HIRES spectrograph on the 10-meter Keck instrument on Mauna Kea, and previous data from the HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) on the ESO 3.6-meter instrument in Chile.
What we wind up with after a thorough analysis of the radial velocity data for GJ 667C are five signals described by ESO as ‘very confident,’ with a sixth signal that is tentative and a seventh that is more tentative still. From the paper:
– – Up to seven periodic signals are detected in the Doppler measurements of GJ 667C data, being the last (seventh) signal very close to our detection threshold.
— The significance of the signals is not affected by correlations with activity indices and we could not identify any strong wavelength dependence with any of them.
— The first six signals are strongly present in subsamples of the data. Only the seventh signal is unconfirmed using half of the data only. Our analysis indicates that any of the six stronger signals would had been robustly spotted with half the available data if each had been orbiting alone around the host star.
A Densely Packed Habitable Zone
The habitable zone here is found to lie between 0.095–0.126 AU and 0.241–0.251 AU. Two planets exist on the star-side of the habitable zone, three within it, and the last two further out in the system. The assumption here, echoed by ESO, is that all five of the inner planets including the three in the habitable zone are tidally locked, with one side in permanent sunlight and the other in darkness. The skies above one of the habitable zone planets could present an interesting view indeed, as the ESO artist’s impression below conveys.
I want to look more closely at the author’s conclusions on the three habitable zone planets, starting with planet c, which is closer to the inner edge of the HZ than the Earth is in our system. Global climate here would depend upon the properties of the atmosphere:
If the atmosphere is thin, then the heat absorbed at the sub-stellar point cannot be easily transported to the dark side or the poles. The surface temperature would be a strong function of the zenith angle of the host star GJ 667C. For thicker atmospheres, heat redistribution becomes more significant. With a rotation period of ∼ 28 days, the planet is likely to have Hadley cells that extend to the poles (at least if Titan, with a similar rotation period, is a guide), and hence jet streams and deserts would be unlikely. The location of land masses is also important. Should land be concentrated near the sub-stellar point, then silicate weathering is more effective, and cools the planet by drawing down CO2 (Edson et al. 2012)….
The authors describe planet f as ‘a prime candidate for habitability’:
It likely absorbs less energy than the Earth, and hence habitability requires more greenhouse gases, like CO2 or CH4. Therefore a habitable version of this planet has to have a thicker atmosphere than the Earth, and we can assume a relatively uniform surface temperature. Another possibility is an “eyeball” world in which the planet is synchronously rotating and ice-covered except for open ocean at the sub-stellar point (Pierrehumbert 2011).
And finally, about planet e, which receives:
…only a third the radiation the Earth does, and lies close to the maximum greenhouse limit. We therefore expect a habitable version of this planet to have > 2 bars of CO2. The planet might not be tidally locked, and may have an obliquity that evolves significantly due to perturbations from other planets. From this perspective planet e might be the most Earth-like, experiencing a day-night cycle and seasons.
Image: This diagram shows the system of planets around the star Gliese 667C. A record-breaking three planets in this system are super-Earths lying in the zone around the star where liquid water could exist, making them possible candidates for the presence of life. This is the first system found with a fully packed habitable zone. The relative approximate sizes of the planets and the parent star are shown to scale, but not their relative separations. Credit: ESO.
Nature of the Super-Earths
As to the composition of the super-Earths around GJ 667C, the authors note the ‘packed configuration’ of the system, with all planets inside 0.5 AU, and go on to say:
…the planets either formed at larger orbital distances and migrated in (e.g. Lin et al. 1996), or additional dust and ice flowed inward during the protoplanetary disk phase and accumulated into the planets Hansen & Murray (2012, 2013). The large masses disfavor the first scenario, and we therefore assume that the planets formed from material that condensed beyond the snow-line and are volatile rich. If not gaseous, these planets contain substantial water content, which is a primary requirement for life (and negates the dry-world HZ discussed above). In conclusion, these planets could be terrestrial-like with significant water content and hence are potentially habitable.
Is GJ 667C the first among many M-dwarf systems containing several potentially habitable worlds each? The authors speculate that this is the case, and if that is so, then we may ultimately learn that life is more common on worlds around these small red dwarfs than around any other class of star. It’s a notion worth thinking about, given that M-dwarfs make up perhaps as much as 80 percent of the stellar population.
It’s worth mentioning that this study includes a reanalysis of earlier data that underlines the growing power of our archived observations to inform new work. Thus Guillem Anglada-Escudé (University of Göttingen), who worked with Tuomi on this project: “These new results highlight how valuable it can be to re-analyse data in this way and combine results from different teams on different telescopes.” The new tools of digital storage and analysis mean that we are gathering data at a clip far beyond what we can exhaustively analyze, meaning that surprises may await in numerous datasets when weighed against hints from new studies.
The paper is Anglada-Escudé et al., “A dynamically-packed planetary system around GJ 667C with three super-Earths in its habitable zone”, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. | <urn:uuid:6d2256a5-b921-4fa1-8d30-59a501a9c17d> | {
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Wide-viewing Envisat tracks 'son of B-15' iceberg's odyssey around Antarctica
A new Envisat viewing mode means that icebergs can be routinely tracked on their long trek around Antarctica, with regularly updated images of polar regions now available to highlight ice movements.
The Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument on ESA's Envisat can see through the polar storms and winter darkness that keep Antarctica hidden from optical satellite sensors. ASAR works in a variety of different modes: its latest, operational since February, is called Global Monitoring Mode (GMM). "With this innovative mode, ESA provides for the first time the capability to image the full Earth with SAR data on a regular basis. As a priority, GMM data are acquired over polar areas, and then over the other continents”, explained José Achache, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes.
"GMM has an image swath of 400 km and a resolution of 1 km," said Eric Guyader, an ESA Young Graduate Trainee who has used GMM to create Antarctic mosaics. “Advantages of GMM data are good radiometry and small volume (few Mbytes), therefore GMM products are being made available via the Internet in near-real time (about three hours after acquisition) to all ESA-registered researchers working in relevant areas.”
GMM's wider coverage makes putting together such a continental-scale mosaic a comparatively simple task: it takes about 200 GMM images to complete it, and Envisat acquires 14 new Antarctic images a day, so the mosaic can be updated as frequently as required.
Higher-resolution Antarctic satellite mosaics have been produced, but they require a lot more effort to produce – Guyader compares them to "putting together a jigsaw" – because they typically require at least ten times more larger-sized images and cannot be updated so routinely.
"The significance of this new GMM mode is that it provides big-picture views of polar regions which we couldn’t obtain routinely from SAR before," commented Mark Drinkwater of ESA's Ice/Ocean Unit. "By zooming out like this on a frequent basis, it highlights where are the most dynamic sites that show promise for closer examination – we can then zoom in with higher-resolution ASAR modes or perform interferometry to quantify changes in the ice, such as measuring the velocity of flowing ice streams.”
"One kilometre resolution may not sound like a lot, but it is remarkable how much it shows – particularly the icebergs. We can obtain a picture record of the size of icebergs as they first calve off ice shelves and then regularly track them in the GMM data. And if we know where they are we can identify the radar altimetry data acquisitions from Envisat, or our forthcoming CryoSat mission, to potentially measure their elevation above the water.”
"Large tabular icebergs act as enormous drifting reservoirs of fresh water. By repeatedly measuring their size and elevation we can estimate their melt rate as they drift into warmer waters. These point sources of fresh water can have a significant impact on the characteristics of local water masses and currents. By better characterising where and when icebergs melt we can add useful detail about sources of fresh water input to ocean models.”
"Additionally, by following icebergs with regular GMM images we have the potential to learn more about local currents across a range of depths; the larger a given berg the more likely it is to be influenced by deeper currents, because a significant fraction of its cross section and mass is hidden below the waterline", added Drinkwater.
The product might also be useful in practical terms as an aid to shipping. For example, on the Antarctic coast in the middle of lower half of the mosaic is McMurdo Sound in the Ross Sea, location of United States and New Zealand polar bases. In recent years the difficulty and cost of resupplying these bases has increased due to smaller bergs breaking off from the massive bottle-shaped B-15A iceberg, seen pointing straight down.
Across from B-15A is seen the floating Drygalski Ice Tongue - itself fated to become an iceberg at some point - these two ice features appearing like gates closing across the Sound.
Over on the right of the image, off the Amery Ice Shelf, can be seen a solitary iceberg called B-15D (though through the process of mosaicing, its motion makes it look like multiple icebergs in the April-May 2004 mosaic). Like B-15A, this iceberg was originally part of the massive B-15 iceberg that broke off the Ross Ice Shelf (at the image base) back in April 2000 and subsequently broke up into multiple pieces.
By any terms, B-15D itself is a massive iceberg, 50-km long and 12-km wide. Since the year 2000 prevailing currents have carried it a quarter of the way around Antarctica. In the course of a month the GMM imagery shows it moving 300 km anticlockwise (westwards), giving it an average velocity of 10 km per day.
The sea-ice cover which wraps around the entire Antarctic continent is currently advancing as the southern hemisphere winter bites. Although GMM is not optimised for ice margin detection, the northward sea-ice extent is highlighted by the radar contrast between ice and open water. This backscatter difference between ice and water surfaces can disappear in some locations where the water surface is made choppy by wind from Antarctic storms.
ASAR does not acquire image data directly over the poles, so there is a gap in coverage, but land surface features of interest are also detectable in GMM mode, as seen here in the mosaic. Mountainous volcanoes (nunataks) poking through the ice sheet can be seen on the relatively darker Western Antarctic portion of the continent, connected to the Antarctic Peninsula, highlighted by heightened radar backscatter from their bare rock and also highly deformed ice flowing around their peaks.
West Antarctica shows up darker because it experiences higher precipitation and snow accumulation, and deeper layers of fresh snow return less of a radar signal than the more layered snow found elsewhere.
"By contrast the plateau on the eastern side of Antarctica is a desert," Drinkwater explained. "Wind tends to blow existing snow around rather than large quantities of fresh snowfall. Just to the bottom right of the centre circle can be seen distinctive patterns of undulating topography and 'megadunes' - vast fields of elongated dunes formed by drifting snow. These dunes can range up to about 10 metres in height and 10 kilometres from peak to peak and form under the action of the winds which accelerate downslope from the South Pole."
Over on the other side of the world, GMM images of the Arctic have begun to be used operationally by ICEMON. This is a consortium providing sea ice, oceanographic and meteorological services to high-latitudes users as part of ESA and the European Commission's joint Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative, intended to give Europe an independent global environmental monitoring capability.
Envisat results to be revealed
Launched in March 2002, ESA's Envisat satellite is the most powerful means ever created of monitoring the state of our world and the impact of human activities upon it. Envisat carries ten sophisticated optical and radar instruments to observe and monitor the Earth’s land, atmosphere, oceans and ice caps, maintaining continuity with the Agency’s ERS missions started in 1991.
After two and a half years in orbit, more than 700 scientists from 50 countries are about to meet at a special Symposium in Salzburg in Austria to review and discuss early results from the satellites, and present their own research activities based on Envisat data.
The Symposium will address almost all fields of Earth science, including atmosphere, coastal studies, radar and interferometry, winds and waves, vegetation and agriculture, landslides, natural risks, gas mapping, ocean colour, oil spills and ice.
There are to be over 650 papers, selected by peer review. Presentations will include results from Envisat on the Prestige oil spill, fires in Portugal in 2003, the Elbe flooding in 2002, the evolution of the Antarctic ozone hole since the launch of Envisat, the Bam earthquake and pollution in Europe.
Numerous demonstrations are planned during the week in the ESA Exhibit area. An industrial consortium exhibit on GMES is also planned. | <urn:uuid:c487e4b6-7d6e-471e-a39d-3641da9f939b> | {
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Yesterday I wanted to write a new post about the snow because it was snowing yesterday and after the snow stopped, I came to write the post which it's Title was "it's snowing" but I didn't write it because Najma tell me that's not wise to tell them it's snowing while it's not because it was snowing and now it's not so write it was snowing instead of it's snowing!. Because it's snowing mean that is happening now while it's not. And (the sow fall) in the past and it was snowing mean there were sow in the past SO that is right. I change my mind after this long lesson about snow in past and present....And today the Time came to write the post, so which title I will chose
It's snowing or it was snowing.....he he
and because what was happened yesterday mean that's happened before and we write it in the past and yesterday was a snow day so I chose (it was snowing)....And because the snow stop now and it's will not be nice to write it was snowing and stop writing because the snow stop and I can't go and play so I chose (the snow) like a title. Because
It was snowing and now it's not I didn't write it's snowing because it's snowing mean that is happening now while it's not. And (the sow fall) in the past and it was snowing mean there was sow in the past and that is right. I don't see the different between "it is snowing" and it was snowing" because the important thing that there was a snow "or it is snow?"..At last they have the same word "snow" and that what let me feel better yesterday...
Did you read it all???? X-( if you didn't try to do this now and that's time I can tell you thank you for your patient | <urn:uuid:d078579c-b9aa-4ecb-8d07-a2291446c0b9> | {
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While it may still feel like summer, fall is quickly approaching. Organizing your autumn garden to-do list now will help you plan for all the things you want to accomplish before Old Man Winter shows his frosty face. Focus on clean-up and cover-up when coming up with your projects.
Here are some suggestions for things to do:
- Remove spent blooms and foliage – This will help prevent diseases and pests from overwintering in your garden. If you detect that a problem has already developed be sure to remove the affected debris from the area.
- Dig up bulbs and tender plants – If they cannot survive the cold temperatures, dig them up and move them indoors. Let your bulbs dry out on newspaper for a couple of days before putting them in paper bags to store in a cool, dry area.
- Mulch, mulch, mulch – Your summer mulch has started to decompose. Add a fresh layer of mulch to your beds now to keep weeds at bay. Replenish with another layer before harsh weather sets in to give you a thick protective covering for plants and soil.
- Rake up fallen leaves – Mulch the leaves with your lawn mower and spread them onto your beds or add the leaves to your compost pile.
- Continue watering trees and shrubs – Keep giving them deep soakings until right before the first frost. They need to build up moisture for the long winter months.
- Cut back perennials – Remove the dead portion of the plants to eliminate pests and mulch. Divide plants that have outgrown their spot in the garden.
- Till up beds – If your plants are all done for the season, remove the plant debris and till up your beds. When your vegetable garden has finished producing, till the plants into the soil.
- Add compost to beds – While tilling up your flower beds and garden, work some compost into the soil to help next spring.
- Maintain compost pile – Make sure your bins are ready to withstand the winter weather and that your pile has been amended so it will continue to decompose. Cover the compost pile to keep it from getting too much rain and developing mold.
- Cover future flower beds – If you have an area you want to plant in the spring, till it up now, add organic materials and cover it with either a thick layer of mulch or plastic to discourage emergent growth.
- Hold off on trimming trees – Wait until your trees are dormant before you cut them back to avoid having any new growth appear before the first frost.
Clean Garden Tools
While you are in the cleaning mood, don’t forget to clean your gardening tools before you store them for the winter. After washing them with soap and water, you may want to wipe them lightly with vegetable oil or WD40 to help keep them from corroding. Nothing beats a shiny new spade to work with in the spring!
Be Ready for Old Man Winter
You’ll always be able to find a DIY project to do, which is why organizing your fall garden projects makes sense. It will help cut down on the workload in the spring. Be ready for Old Man Winter this year. Your garden will thank you for it.
Our expert staff is always on hand to help you with your fall clean-up and maintenance projects. From rakes and shovels to wheel barrows and mulch, if you have any questions about what to choose, pricing or how-to’s, don’t hesitate to contact us. Stop by our store — we’re open seven days a week. Check out our blog, Fall Checklist Part1- Garden Clean-up and Winterization for more helpful tips on getting ready for that lovely season we call winter. | <urn:uuid:9e6eb1b9-c772-455a-ace4-e6ef094f1cc9> | {
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This article focus to analysis How Pediatric Dermatology can help a Patient. Pediatric dermatology is the region of medical science dealing with the skin, nails, and hair of children. In this area, the dermatologist will have especially strong skills and knowledge in working with children. In pediatric dermatology, the crucial goal is to recover the condition of a person’s hair, skin, or nails. Though, when dealing with children, it is also significant to be compassionate and willing to work with the person through all of their concerns. Here also briefly explain Rash Treatment, Acne and Teens in terms of Pediatric Dermatology. | <urn:uuid:2c959d59-cec4-4ad7-a6ac-caf4feb699e4> | {
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The joy of X (kcd)Posted: January 13, 2012
xkcd is a fantastic webcomic written and illustrated by a very interesting guy called Randall Munroe. As he puts it, it’s a “webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” (Note the Oxford comma!) The comics are out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and cover a wide range of topics.
From a teacher’s point of view, they can be quite abstract and cover adult content, but the sheer breadth and delight of the comics are amazing. Take the one that is currently on the site “Game AIs”:
If you can’t find a way to integrate this diagram into a discussion on complexity, computer science, programming, artificial intelligence or games – you may not be trying hard enough. And xkcd is full of this kind of stuff. Giant scale diagrams from the smallest particles to the Universe. Ways of thinking about different amounts of radiation.
Beautiful little stories about flying ferrets who save people lost at sea.
You may have to be a little cautious on occasion, because some of it is quite adult, but choosing some images from this site for teaching, which Randall allows under most circumstances, can bring a lesson to life. If you haven’t seen it before, grab a comfortable chair, sit down and have a good read. There’s something here for most people who teach in or anywhere near the sciences. | <urn:uuid:6387b777-bb95-470b-b41e-db0abe254344> | {
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You probably got the most colony growth in section 1 of each plate that grew any bacteria. The number of colonies in each of the four sections of the plates likely decreased from section 1 to 4. This is because each time you swabbed a section of the plate, there were fewer bacterial cells remaining on your cotton swab. So by the time you swabbed section 4, there were only a few cells left to get onto the plate and grow into colonies. Why do microbiologists swab petri plates this way? Because they want to grow individual colonies separated by space from other nearby colonies. By examining the shape and color of these individual colonies, they can tell certain things about the bacteria, such as what type they are, whether they're normal or mutated, etc. | <urn:uuid:e0c533a1-9396-44de-8c1a-7c20fcf29331> | {
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UK based charity is helping people all over the world recover or retains their eyesight whether it’s from cataracts or physical injury Sightsavers has been successful in caring for those who are losing their sense of sight. Their primary goal is to solve all preventable causes of blindness and offer proper support for those who cannot have their sight restored, but still need to retain some independence.
Sightsavers has found that with thirty-nine million blind people across the world around eighty percent of those people could have prevented their blindness with proper care that would have been low-cost. Sightsavers has successfully treated two-hundred million people over the course of sixty years performing seven-million operations to save patients sight.
Each year one hundred-fifty thousand primary care workers are trained every year form volunteers and specialists to cataracts surgeons that work towards a common goal in over thirty countries. People in remote areas are also considered along with the poorest of the poor as they need aid more than anyone else. Health teams are sent to these areas to do eye exams in order to diagnose and treat people in larger numbers and help as many as possible.
When holding these exams patients are checked for cataracts (cloudy pupils) and trachoma, a condition which causes the eyelids to turn inward making eyelashes scratch the eye and can be painful for those afflicted. These health teams are able to diagnose patients during their eye exams and quickly get those in need to a hospital where they are able to get the procedures they need to retain or save their eyesight.
In Africa, community volunteers are trained by Sightsavers partners to distribute medication, Mectizan which protects against river blindness resulting from being bitten by black flies. Those volunteers are taught how to properly determine dosage and keep a record of how much is administered to who. The last part of volunteer training involves spread information about eye care to their community. | <urn:uuid:c1a33844-7e5f-498e-9b72-505499ec3925> | {
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|NEWS||Improving and Protecting the Health, Well-Being
and Self-Reliance of All Montanans.
|FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 03, 2014
Jon Ebelt, Public Information Officer, DPHHS, (406) 444-0936
Montana has made tremendous progress in reducing tobacco use
By Steven Helgerson, MD, MPH
State Medical Officer
Montana health advocates are celebrating the enormous progress that has been made in reducing tobacco use over the past five decades, but also calling on all Montanans to take strong action to win the fight against what continues to be the nation's number one cause of preventable death. More than 1,000 Americans, including 3 to 4 Montanans die prematurely every day as a result of tobacco-related disease.
The first Surgeon General's report, issued 50 years ago, alerted Americans to the deadly consequences of smoking and was a historic turning point in the nation's fight against tobacco.
Since that time, Montana has made remarkable progress, cutting smoking rates by more than half and protecting Montanans from harmful secondhand smoke. Montanans went from smoking more than 120 packs of cigarettes per person per year in 1955 to approximately 45 packs per person per year in 2012, a decrease by almost two-thirds in total consumption.
Smoking among students has also decreased significantly due to several important evidence-based prevention strategies, such as the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act, cigarette tax increases, media campaigns denormalizing tobacco use, and community-based prevention programs. In 1999, 35 percent of Montana high school students smoked. In 2013, the still-too-high percent was down to 15.
But Montanans' battle against tobacco is far from over. The tobacco industry still spends an estimated $27 million per year to market its deadly and addictive products in our state, often in ways that appeal to kids. As a result, 700 more kids in Montana become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 1,400 lives and costs the state $277 million in health care costs.
Public health and medical organizations are calling for bold action by all levels of government to achieve three goals: 1) Reduce smoking rates to less than 10 percent within 10 years; 2) protect all Americans from secondhand smoke within five years; and 3) ultimately eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco.
What can Montanans do to achieve these goals?
- They can quit tobacco, with the help of the Montana Tobacco Quit Line.
- Almost three-fourths of Montana school districts are comprehensive tobacco free. Remaining districts can become Comprehensive Tobacco Free Schools of Excellence.
- Owners and managers of apartment buildings can adopt smokefree policies in their buildings, to protect their residents from the deadly effect of secondhand smoke.
The Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program is available to assist and educate on any of these topics. Please visit our website at www.tobaccofree.mt.gov.
Our country has made tremendous progress in reducing smoking. Montana should be the first state in the nation to reduce the smoking rate not just to under 10 percent but to less than 5 percent. This achievement would stop tobacco from continuing to addict, maim and kill Montanans. It would also yield enormous cost savings. Resources not spent on preventable disease and death could instead be used to enhance in many ways the lives of Montanans.
Remember, if you would like help quitting tobacco, the Montana Tobacco Quit Line is there for you. Over 70,000 Montanans have called into the Quit Line since 2004. Benefits include a FREE personalized quit plan; FREE coaching calls, FREE educational materials, and enrolled callers may be eligible for up to 8 weeks of FREE nicotine replacement therapy or discounted cessation medications. People can call the Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-794-8669) or visit www.QuitNowMontana.com to enroll for these FREE services.
Steven Helgerson, MD, MPH, is the State Medical Officer for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. | <urn:uuid:9041f62b-61e1-4b17-bdc5-73b7c06a3cb3> | {
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The General Court has finally handed down the judgment in the Greek Lignite (brown coal) case. This is a long-running case resulting from a complaint (dating from 2003) concerning the exploitation of lignite in Greece. As it happens, lignite is the most abundant fuel in Greece, and access to lignite is essential for the production of (relatively) cheap electricity. Greek lignite reserves amount to approximately 4 million tonnes of which about half can be exploited by DEI, the Greek Public Power Company. No such rights have been assigned for the remaining 50% of the lignite reserves, and DEI operates all power plants in Greece that use lignite. The Commission found the exclusive rights for lignite contrary to Article 106(1) in connection with 102 TFEU in what is a broad and teleological reading of the Court’s jurisprudence in this field. The General Court, however, has a rather different reading of this case law, resulting in annulment of the Commission Decision.
Because Greece has liberalised its electricity market, all companies intending to supply electricity to the Greek wholesale market must hand in daily price-quantity offers. By examining these offers along with the forecast demand for electricity, the network operator determines the amount of electricity needed to meet demand. This electricity is then fed into the grid. Renewable electricity receives first priority, following which conventional electricity producers get to feed their electricity into the grid, with the cheapest offer coming first and the rest following in the order of their ascending prices. The price-quantity offer quoted by the last production unit to feed into the grid will determine the market price. In these circumstances, having access to lignite as a fuel for electricity production is required for the production of cheap electricity, which in turn is required to ensure that this electricity will actually be sold on the market.
On the basis of the above, the Commission came to the conclusion that there are two separate but neighbouring markets. One for the supply of lignite, and one for the wholesale of electricity. According to the Commission, DEI is dominant in both. 97% of all lignite extracted in Greece was used by DEI, whereas 85% of the electricity sold on the wholesale market was produced by DEI and imports represented only 7% of the electricity sold on the market. According to the Commission, the granting and maintenance of quasi-monopolistic rights to lignite exploitation to DEI has created an inequality of opportunity between electricity producers intending to supply the Greek market. This led the Commission to find that the Greek authorities […] ‘by granting and maintaining quasi-monopolistic rights in favour of the public undertaking which is the applicant over the exploitation of lignite, [have] guaranteed the applicant privileged access to the most attractive combustible which existed in Greece for the purposes of producing electricity. [Greece] thus gave that undertaking the possibility of maintaining a dominant position on the wholesale electricity market in a situation of quasi-monopoly, excluding or hindering any new entrants. Consequently, it allowed the applicant to protect its quasi-monopolistic position on the market despite the liberalisation of the wholesale electricity market and thus maintained and reinforced its dominant position on that market’ (quoted in para. 30 of the judgment).
True as this description of the failed liberalisation of Greece’s electricity market may be, it also highlights the fundamental problem in all Article 106(1) case law. That fundamental problem follows from the fact that Article 106(1) needs to be applied in connection with another provision in the Treaties. In view of the fact that Article 106(1) concerns exclusive and special rights, the obvious candidate would be Article 102 TFEU, as an exclusive right translates into a statutory monopoly and thus dominance. Applying Article 106 in connection with 102 TFEU thus requires finding a causal connection between the state measure (the granting of an exclusive right) and the actions of the undertaking. And it is this relation between the state actions and the actions of the undertaking that is so controversial and has resulted in what is referred to as the automatic abuse doctrine. Even more fundamentally, implicit in the existence of a causal connection is the existence in the first place of abusive actions on the part of the undertaking. This problem is eloquently summarised by the Court in paras. 85 and 86:
In that respect, the difference, in this case, focuses primarily on the question whether the Commission had to identify an actual or potential abuse of the dominant position by the applicant, or whether it was sufficient for it to establish that the State measures in question distorted competition by creating an inequality of opportunities between economic operators, in favour of the applicant. On this point, the parties draw differing conclusions from the case-law of the Court of Justice interpreting Article [106(1) TFEU] in conjunction with Article [102 TFEU]
It should first be noted that the prohibitions laid down by Article [106(1) TFEU] are addressed to Member States, whereas Article [102 TFEU] is addressed to undertakings, prohibiting them from abusing a dominant position. In the case of the combined application of those two provisions, infringement of Article [106(1) TFEU] by a Member State cannot be established unless the State measure is contrary to Article [102 TFEU]. The question therefore arises as to the extent to which an abuse, even if only potential, of the dominant position by an undertaking must be identified, that abuse having a link with the State measure.
It is at this point in the judgment that everyone’s burning desire to clarify the law becomes clear. Of course the non-granting of lignite exploitation rights to competitors of DEI cannot be attributed to DEI as it is a pure state measure. In the framework of the paragraphs set out above, DEI has not done anything apart from combusting lignite and selling the electricity. This can hardly be called abusive behaviour subject to Article 102 TFEU, as the Commission itself in fact argues in paragraph 92.
At the same time, anyone with an interest in liberalising markets, e.g. the complainant and the Commission, cannot be blamed for trying to ‘clarify’ the law so that this unsatisfying situation is brought within the scope of EU competition law. This allows the General Court to explain the Court’s case law on this issue. Firstly, it explains Raso and MOTOE because of the conflict of interest that results from putting a public undertaking in the position where it is active on a market and also controls access to that market by third parties (paras. 96, 97). Of course there is a good chance that the power to control market access will be abused to protect the market activities of the public undertaking. Secondly, the General Court explains Höfner and Elser and Job Centre on the basis of the manifest inability to meet demand doctrine. This holds that blocking access to a market, by means of enforcing an exclusive right, where the undertaking is unable to meet demand violates Article 106(1) in connection with 102 TFEU. Finally, Merci Convenzionali is explained as the simple ‘blatant abuse’ doctrine that it is. The statutory monopoly in this case resulted in what is quite simply the worst nightmare for any consumer (para. 102). The conclusion is that merely being in an advantageous position is not enough, there needs to be actual abuse on the part of the public undertaking, following from an abusive exercise of the exclusive right or a direct consequence of that right (para. 103). The Commission, however, argues that EU competition law seeks to bring about equal conditions of competition, leading to the conclusion that just maintaining inequality in the conditions of competition suffices for a violation of Article 106(1) in connection with 102 TFEU. The General Court, however, finds that the Commission has relied on those formulations in isolation without taking into account their context (para. 104).
This, in turn, forces the General Court to clarify GB-Inno-BM, Connect Austria, France v. Commission and – a personal favourite – Dusseldorp. GB-Inno-BM and France v. Commission are again, though implicitly, explained using the conflict of interests doctrine (paras. 109 and 113). Connect Austria is clarified as a case where the grant by the Austrian authorities – at a possibly reduced price – of a mobile telecoms licence to the public undertaking could lead that undertaking to abuse resulting from the ability to pass on the reduced prices to its customers (para. 111). Dusseldorp, finally, is explained as a case where the exclusive right enabled the public undertaking to abuse its dominant position (para. 117).
This explanation by the General Court does very little to actually bring light to the Court’s gnomic case law. As the General Court has noted itself in the first sentence of para. 117, the public undertaking in Dusseldorp was not engaged in any abusive behaviour. It was just doing its job adequately (not manifestly unable to meet demand) and the abuse, the restriction of outlets, was the result of the Ministry’s refusal to grant an export permit to Dusseldorp. Replace ‘export permit’ with ‘exploitation permit’ and the analogy with Greek Lignite is clear. I’m left with similar feelings of confusion reading the General Court’s explanation of Connect Austria. Here the Court found it sufficient that the grant of the licence at a possibly reduced price would enable the public undertaking to outcompete others. Doesn’t the grant of a license at differentiated prices to the public undertaking and its competitors have similar (albeit less far-reaching) effects to not granting such a licence to competitors at all? Again, replace ‘more expensive licence’ with ‘no licence at all’ and the analogy with Greek Lignite is apparent. In all three cases the state and the state alone uses its authority concerning inputs (lignite, the ability to export and a telecoms licence) to the effect that the public undertaking is protected from too much competition. The take-home message would be that the Commission had better use the freedom of establishment or free movement of capital to open up this market.
In light of the continuing ‘clear obscurity’ of Article 106 TFEU, the Commission should appeal, so that the Court itself can clarify its own case law. Whether the Commission will actually do so probably depends on politics, as much as the Greek decision not to grant exploitation licences to competitors of DEI is undoubtedly motivated by the political desire to protect a national champion. Here we have the Commissioner responsible for competition pursuing a political agenda to liberalise markets, using competition law where the legislative process is insufficient. At the same time, he will have to agree with the Commissioner responsible for Economic and monetary affairs and the Euro (Olli Rehn), who will be pleased to see that DEI’s shares were up by 6.6%; a nice example of failed competition law resulting in economic growth. That may well be what both the Greek government and Olli Rehn are looking for. Whether it’s also to the liking of the Energy and Competition Commissioners is yet to be seen. | <urn:uuid:422b47a0-5303-486b-b79a-6aa7b11c2d3b> | {
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Autism Language Program
Two-way Observational Learning
Many children with autism have difficulty learning in a general classroom, due to the distractions, face-to-face interactions, and standard pacing. Two-way Observational Learning introduces an innovative way to use video to teach children with autism essential concepts and ideas. Observational learning typically involves student with autism viewing a prerecorded video where a model teaches specific behaviors and concepts.
In the ALP at Boston Children's Hospital, we have pioneered the use of a two-way observational environment where there is a "live" connection between the learner, who appears on a TV monitor in one room, and an instructor, who appears on a separate TV monitor in another room.
This controlled setting:
- focuses a child's attention to what is happening on the TV screen
- provides the familiar television environment that children with autism enjoy
- provides real-time face-to-face interaction through the TV screen
- takes advantage of video techniques such as highlighting and zooming
- reduces the pressure of face-to-face interactions in the same room
- allows familiar people to interact during the two-way experience
Learners watch the instructor on the monitor while the instructor delivers well-planned instructional activities. The instructor can also monitor the child's performance and give real-time guidance, feedback and reinforcement to ensure that the task is learned correctly.
It is important to note that this setting requires cameras, appropriate recording equipment and flat screen television panels. | <urn:uuid:8a90e824-fd91-4807-9c6c-b200a8f74b21> | {
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Built correctly, a greenhouse can offer a wonderful haven for your plants where you can enjoy growing all manner of plants to your heart’s content.However, get it wrong and you’ll have a disaster on your hands, not to mention all the money you wasted on the construction.
- The good news is that you don’t have to spend a huge amount of money on a greenhouse.
- You can build one yourself for a reasonable price and just a few hours of labor on your part.
If you’re ready to gather your supplies and get to work, here are 10 helpful steps you can use to build your own DIY greenhouse at home.
Step #1 – Consider Your Climate and Choose a DesignBefore you even get started on your DIY greenhouse, your first step should be considering your climate and choosing the design of your greenhouse.
A design that works well in a humid, tropical climate may not work well in a cooler climate that experiences cold wind and snowy winters.
- Your climate will affect the level of protection your greenhouse needs, which is important for controlling the inside environment of your greenhouse.
- Consider the climate problems you are facing and choose a greenhouse design that will help you to overcome these problems. For example, if you live in a humid, tropical climate, venting and bug protection is important.
- In cold temperate climates, keeping plants warm during the cold winters is important.
- Bug netting can keep out bugs and extra thick plastic can help keep plants warm.
- Spend some time researching your climate and the best greenhouse construction for your climate and your growing needs.
Step #2 – Gather MaterialsThe next step to take is to gather the materials needed to construct your DIY greenhouse.
If you don’t have all the materials, you may need to purchase them. However, you may be able to freecycle, recycle and scrounge up some of the supplies to help save some money.
While every greenhouse will vary, here is a look at some of the common materials needed for a simple greenhouse design.
- PVC plumbing pipe (schedule 40 works well)
- Steel fence posts or re-bar, 8ft
- Clear plastic sheeting – thickness can vary, depending on climate
- 2x4x16 – cut into 2x2s
- 1x6x8’ pt to rip into 1x3s
- 2x4 studs
- Drywall Screws
- Nylon wire ties
Step #3 – Start By Constructing the EndsOnce you have all your supplies on hand, then you’re ready to start the construction process.
- You’ll want to begin by constructing the ends of your greenhouse.
- The end frames need to be sturdy or your entire greenhouse will be weak.
- It’s easy to begin the ends in a garage or other work area.
- Decide on height of your greenhouse, making sure you have a fairly high peak, especially if you live in an area that gets heavy rain or a lot of snow.
- A higher peak will make your greenhouse less susceptible to collapse.
To construct the ends, use a piece of PVC pipe to create the arch you want for the greenhouse.
- Attach the pipe to a piece of 1x4, creating the first outline of the greenhouse.
- Using a screw to attach the pipe will allow the pipe to naturally adjust and align.
- If you’re working on the door end of the greenhouse, build the rest of the end frame around the door size you plan to use.
- Three feet wide is fine, but you can choose a wider door if you want.
- 1x4 lumber can be used to reinforce the frame, although 2x4s will offer a sturdier frame if you get a lot of snow.
Step #4 – Add Plastic to the EndsAfter constructing well reinforced greenhouse ends, you’ll need to add plastic sheeting to the ends before constructing the rest of the greenhouse.
- Greenhouse plastic is available, although you can use other types of plastic if you have it on hand.
- Cut the plastic to fit your ends, stapling it to the front first.
- After it’s stapled to the front, you can fold it over and then begin stapling to the frame on the back as well.
- Any excess can easily be folded together.
- Excess can be trimmed off and on the door end, you’ll want to cut out the door opening, but leave enough plastic to fold the plastic over to the door frame.
Step #5 – Place Ends and Reinforce with Steel PostsNow you’re ready to place the ends of your greenhouse up on the greenhouse site. Tough steel fence posts help to reinforce the ends and keep them in place, which is especially handy if your area gests a lot of wind. Install fence posts, making sure they are plumb. Then, rope, wire ties or wire can be used to attach the end frames to your fence posts.
Step #6 – Add Intermediate Ribs and SecureThe next step is to begin adding the intermediate ribs to your greenhouse. It’s a good idea to have these ribs every three feet, or closer together if you need a stronger greenhouse. Before you begin adding them, use a piece of string to line up your stakes to add the ribs. Steep rebar pins can be used to help secure these ribs. Install the PVC pipe on the rebar pins to secure them. Tougher, larger pipe can be used as well if you’re worried about a stronger structure.
Step #7 – Reinforce the Top of the FrameThe ribs aren’t enough to keep the top of the frame reinforced, so you’ll want to reinforce it down each size with 1x2s or2x4s.
- The ridge of the greenhouse needs to be reinforced as well.
- This can easily be done with a length of PVC pipe.
- This will help keep your greenhouse from sagging if you end up with heavy rain or snow on the greenhouse.
- Screws and rope can be used along pipe intersections to keep them together.
- The extra work and money for the ridge pole can keep your greenhouse from collapsing later.
- You can also add some 1x2s on the sides to offer further reinforcement to the overall structure.
Step #8 – Measure and Cut Plastic CoveringAfter you’re satisfied with the sturdiness of your frame, you’re ready to measure and cut your plastic greenhouse covering. Make sure that you cut out plastic that offers a bit extra in every direction. It’s better to cut it too big than too small. It’s important to know the dimensions of your greenhouse, before making the cut to ensure you cut your plastic in the right size.
Step #9 – Secure Plastic to 2x2sOn the ends, you’ll want to use 2x2x15’ boards in the center of the plastic, which will be used to help hold the plastic in place. Attach plastic to the boards and then roll the board at least one turn, then secure the plastic to the wood. This offers some weight to the bottom and offers a great way to make your connection secure
Step #10 – Position Plastic and Fasten to GreenhouseYou’re ready to position the plastic over the greenhouse frame.
- You’ll probably need a second pair of hands to help you get the plastic over the greenhouse.
- Make sure the plastic is even on each side.
- Then, make sure you roll the edges under on the ends, securing them to the rest of the greenhouse frame.
- This can be done with staples or you can use screw battens, which may be a bit stronger and easier to take apart if you need to.
To ensure you don’t have any gaps around the bottom, you can use some mulch or soil and rake it around the greenhouse.
- To keep out animals, add some stepping stones, blocks, rocks or bricks on top of the mulch or soil around the edges.
- To add some extra security for your plastic, you can also add some poly pipe clips, which keeps the wind from grabbing the plastic and ripping it off your greenhouse.
This article was written by Whitney Segura, founder of Mini Greenhouse Kits, follow him online on Twitter @GardeningFun.
He is a member of the following organizations, companies, associations, and special interest groups;
Southern Nursery and Landscaping Association: Member Since 2012
Hobby Greenhouse Association: Member Since 2011
Follow this Author:
- Twitter.com - http://www.twitter.com/GardeningFun
- Facebook.com - http://www.facebook.com/whitneysegura
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- Email: [email protected]
- Google Talk: [email protected]
- Skype: WhitneySegura | <urn:uuid:26acaab7-4c3b-48aa-a42c-1982e7a61145> | {
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Beginning teachers must adjust to the pace of the school day, the demands of record
keeping, complex issues of classroom management, multiple learning styles, and high-stakes
accountability. We’ve gathered the following resources to ease your way as a beginning
These resources will assist you as you face the challenges of becoming accomplished teachers.
- Achievement Gap
- Classroom Management
- Diversity and Culturally Responsive Teaching
- Instructional Strategies
- Lesson Planning
- Parent Communication
You can also visit Western's Hunter Library for a list of resources by program. | <urn:uuid:68d36f93-044f-4d77-8633-676f76965992> | {
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As science continues to search the cosmos for evidence of intelligent extraterrestrials and, at the very least, for habitable planets that might harbor even non-intelligent life, one scientist is raising another eye-opening question: Was there a time in the far distant past when an advanced civilization actually lived on one of the planets of our solar system, long before earthlings evolved?
Pennsylvania State University astrophysicist Jason T. Wright suggests that ancient aliens may have lived on nearby planets hundreds of millions of years ago, before vanishing without a trace.
In a new scientific paper, “Prior Indigenous Technological Species,” published in Cornell University’s research archive, ArXiv, on April 24, Wright speculates:
One of the primary open questions of astrobiology is whether there is extant or extinct life elsewhere in the solar system. Implicit in much of this work is that we are looking for microbial or, at best, unintelligent life, even though technological artifacts might be much easier to find.
But if a prior technological, perhaps spacefaring, species ever arose in the solar system, it might have produced artifacts or other technosignatures that have survived to present day.
Here, I discuss the origins and possible locations for technosignatures of such a prior indigenous technological species, which might have arisen on ancient Earth or another body, such as a pre-greenhouse Venus or a wet Mars.
HuffPost asked Wright how far back in time he thinks aliens might have lived in our solar system and if some of them may still be lingering out there.
“It seems pretty clear there aren’t any now. That’s become more clear as we’ve explored the solar system robotically. In terms of large, intelligent, technological civilizations, that seems pretty case closed,” he said in an interview Friday.
While Wright pays tribute to the imaginations that created tales of Martians and moon dwellers in his paper, he remained cautiously open-minded about what’s possible in time and space. “While the applications of this idea in science fiction are usually fanciful, it is unclear to what degree the existence of such species in reality is allowed or disallowed by evidence,” he wrote.
In the interview, he said he thinks it’s interesting to wonder if there could have been a previous species on Earth that used technology like we do and if there’s any room in the geological or fossil record for that, or have we completely foreclosed it?
“My guess is that we can rule out big swaths of the Earth’s history. The farther back you go, the harder it is to rule something like that out. If they’re very old, there may not be any traces. Things don’t last long. If you put something in orbit around the sun, it’ll be subject to collisions with asteroids and meteors.
“So, anything, including planetary surfaces in the solar system, just gets constantly hit with these things. When you’re on the surfaces of objects, like asteroids or moons or planets, those surfaces can also completely turn over, given enough time.”
NASA defines astrobiology as “the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe. This multidisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our solar system and habitable planets outside our solar system.”
Wright told HuffPost of two important ingredients in looking for signs of life somewhere in space.
“In the field of astrobiology, we talk about what are called biosignatures. If you look at a planet or a moon that has life on it, how would you know? What is the signature ― the signal ― that says this is life and not a completely sterile object? So, that’s a biosignature.
“A technosignature is the same idea but not for any life ― it’s for the technology that’s been engineered and constructed and designed by life. For instance, a radio transmitter would be one of our most obvious technosignatures. And we build large structures. The Empire State Building is a technosignature.”
According to Wright, it’s important to keep searching. | <urn:uuid:0599b073-d39f-4311-b667-99db21cccdb9> | {
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Across the land on Valentine's Day, lovers and partners exchange gifts. They're not alone. Many animals give gifts, too, and in some ways they're not so very different from us.
After all, from a certain perspective, a box of chocolates is just another term for "materials beyond the obligatory gametes that are transferred from one sex to another during courtship or mating."
That definition comes from "The Evolution of Animal Nuptial Gifts," a review of animal gift-giving written by Tufts University biologists Sara Lewis and Adam South, who are among the few researchers to study the behaviors.
Compared to courtship-related features like flashy ornamentation and wild dances, gift-giving gets short scientific shrift, though not for lack of importance. "There are just so many different kinds of things that males give to females while they're mating," said Lewis. "Nuptial gifts have evolved in so many different lineages. The big mystery is, what's going on here?"
From firefly spermatophores to bowerbird dens to the love darts of snails, Wired takes a Valentine's Day tour of gift-giving in the animal kingdom.Below:
The mating of land snails, so magnificently memorialized in Microcosmos, is a slow and beautiful process, though not without a certain amount of conflict.
As with many animal species, it benefits a snail — not a male or female, as they're hermaphroditic and play both roles during mating, but any snail — to be picky about the sperm with which they're fertilized. Snails are thus able to reject the sperm of certain mates, while letting others through. Conversely, it benefits the sperm-providing male to find a way of encouraging the sperm's passage against a partner's disinclination.
Evolution's solution: Snail love darts, the formal term for calcium-shelled harpoons that land snails fire into each others' skin during mating. Inside the darts are chemical cocktails that manipulate a partner's hormones, making it harder for them to reject sperm. Each dart-using species has its own particular shape and style of dart, several of which can be seen below.
One might argue that a hormone-manipulating injection isn't exactly a gift, but Lewis chalks that up to "the complexities of the English language. If you look up definitions of a gift, it's voluntarily given, but it doesn't need to be voluntarily received. We've all received gifts we didn't want."
Drab in plumage, male bowerbirds rely on another type of ornamentation to woo mates: They build complex pavilions, something like avian honeymoon suites but with bones, pebbles and shells instead of rose petals strewn across the floor.
Females, which breed only once per year, tour their neighborhoods, inspecting the males' creations and choosing the most talented architects for mating. Sex occurs inside the pavilion, with females then leaving to build their own nests.
What exactly impresses the lady bowerbirds? Scientists aren't sure, but some think that the males' creations, technically known as gessos, are literally hypnotizing.
Image: L.A. Kelley/Science
A Spider's Sweet Nothings
Among the best-studied of gift-giving animals are Paratrechalea ornata, a spider species found along rivers and streams in much of South America. Male P. ornata present females with silk-wrapped prey parcels; the larger the gift, the better their chances of mating, and the longer they spend copulating. For the male, this is doubly beneficial: Time she spends mating with him is time that isn't spent mating with his competitors.
It's even been suggested that the gifts might remind females of egg sacs, exploiting her maternal instincts — softening her up, so to speak, by making her think about babies.
Image: Male and female P. ornata. (Maria J. Albo/Animal Behaviour)
"Pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism by females affects male and female reproductive success in profoundly different ways," write biologists from Denmark's Aarhus University in one of the great understatements of scientific literature.
It's indeed better not to die before mating. To this end, male nursery-web spiders, driven by the reproductive imperative but wary of cannibalistic females, present them with silk-wrapped food bundles, then fall over and pretend to be dead. Once she's started to eat, the male comes to life and initiates copulation.
Image: Female (left) and male (right) in the face-to-face position grasping the gift. (Maria J. Albo/BMC Evolutionary Biology)
A Firefly's Pasta Dinner
Males of many species produce what are called spermatophores, or gelatinous packets that contain both sperm and nutrients for their mates. Those made by fireflies are especially elegant.
"Nobody had any idea that fireflies were giving a nuptial gift. They're just really beautiful," said Lewis of her discovery. "They look like rotini."
Spermatophores are especially important for fireflies, which don't feed as adults. For females, they're a lone source of nutrition, and become more important as a breeding season progresses. This eventually flips the script on mating dynamics, creating one of the few examples where males rather than females are in high demand.
"Females are forced to rely on the male gifts for feeding eggs at the end of their lives," said Lewis. "They get to be very desperately seeking males. At the end of a season, you'll see a male fly across a field, and whereas females are normally unresponsive, the whole field will light up. They're down there in the grass, looking for males."
Among Eurasian jays, a common member of the bird family that includes crows, ravens and blue jays, males give gifts of food to their mates. Like many humans, they're no longer trying to impress potential lovers, but strengthening the bonds between lifetime partners.
Scientists have taken advantage of this gift-giving habit, using it to test whether males truly know what's on their mates' minds. Indeed they do. That ability, part of what scientists call a theory of mind, was once thought unique to humans.
Salamander Gift Delivery
It's not only insects that produce spermatophores. So do many salamanders. Sometimes females eat them while mating (above); at other times they're left at the bottom of vernal pools, where they're an easy-to-spot sign of salamander activity, for females to pick up later.
The Gift of Poison
Flying in daytime and spectacularly conspicuous to predators, six-spot burnet moths have evolved to release cyanide when injured. It's an effective but costly defense: Cyanide isn't easy to produce, requiring intensive nutrient and energy investments.
During mating, male six-spots make a gift of cyanide, transferring it to females for use in their own defense. Females also transfer cyanide into their eggs, bequeathing larvae with an helpfully poisonous inheritance.
Image: BerndH/Wikimedia Commons
To attract partners, male scorpionflies produce pheromone- and nutrient-laden spitballs on which females feed as they mate. Some males, however, run out of spit. "They actually offer females a dead insect instead," said Lewis. "A lot of times they'll re-use the same insect, again and again. By the end, it's been sucked dry."
These males enjoy less reproductive success than their more prodigious brethren, Lewis said.
Image: Scorpionflies mating. (Daryl Gwynne/University of Toronto)
In many species of squid, sperm is transferred in complex spermatophores that function like harpoons. Exactly how the spermatophores are delivered is a matter of debate: Some biologists think they're contained inside the penis, but others aren't so sure. Squid are notoriously difficult to study in their deep marine habitats.
At least for hooked squid, some of the mystery is known. Males are literally covered in the spermatophores (above) which lodge in female skin, slowly working their way in (below) before releasing their payload.
In a few cases, spermatophores from restaurant-cooked squid have been known to implant in the mouths of diners.
Images: Hoving et al./The Biological Bulletin
Given the ubiquity of nuptial gift-giving among animals, one would expect to find examples in mammals. Instead it proves to be rare, with humans unique in giving gifts. Even in chimpanzees, our closest living relative, nuptial gift-giving doesn't seem to exist, though there does seem to be a long-term relationship between food provisioning and sex.
According to Lewis, the absence of mammalian nuptial gift-giving doesn't necessarily mean it's not there. The phenomenon has received relatively little attention from researchers. "It's definitely possible that we just haven't looked hard enough," she said.
It's Good to Be Generous
Spermatophores are made for female consumption by males of many cricket species, but the quality of these gifts varies widely.
Some contain sperm-protecting compounds and few nutrients. They're easy to make, allowing males to breed several times per night over the course of their three-week lives, but offering little benefit to females
Other spermatophores are highly nutritious, but they're also difficult to produce. Males who do mate just once or twice before dying. Why opt for such a resource-intensive strategy? These spermatophores also contain compounds that encourage females to lay more eggs and discourage her from mating with other males.
Research on crickets shows that ladies prefer the expensive gift.
Image: A spermatophore-carrying female bushcricket. (Photo: Jay McCartney) | <urn:uuid:4e1fb54a-2437-47b2-ad70-858d965c15da> | {
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For science this year, in addition to co-op classes and similar enrichment, the older kids used Read and Understand Science. I liked that it left room for experiments and other addons but also required writing with each assignment. For example, Robin had to distinguish between compounds and mixtures in a recipe that he wrote himself.
I first heard about the Let’s Read and Find Out series from my homeschooling mentor but didn’t truly pay attention until we were looking for some new books. Finch has been obsessed with weather since he was 3 and so we are always on the lookout for something we may not have seen before. The books are informative and age appropriate and I think they’re great for the K-3 set. My kids wanted to read and hear these again and again.
History was mostly through our co-op but we did listen to The Story of the World on CD. I know many secular homeschoolers have beef with SOTW. I decided to go with what was most popular and it was perfectly adequate for my needs as a beginning homeschooler who didn’t want to be overwhelmed.
The kids really enjoy art and I wish we’d had more time to do it regularly during the school year. We used The Usborne Art Treasury. We have a ton of art supplies at home, so most of the time, I just opened the book and chose a project based on what we already had. This is another book that would make a great spine as it’s very simple. There is a short bio and sample of the work of each artist across two pages. The next two pages show the project to be completed in the style of the artist. I think the favorite was blowing paint across watercolor paper to create a landscape. Cool, eh? | <urn:uuid:fa522671-184b-4480-8e6e-15d071385924> | {
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A credit card that works only when it hears its owner's voice has been developed by scientists.
Researchers hope that the device, which comes with a built-in voice recognition chip and microphone, will became an important weapon in the battle against credit card fraud.
Even if thieves know a card's password and personal identification number, they will still have to copy the owner's voice with a high degree of accuracy.
The prototype card was created by scientists at Beepcard, Santa Monica, California. The first version is three times as thick as a normal credit card. But the researchers believe smaller chips will allow the card to slim down to a more conventional size, New Scientist reports today.
The card is thought to be the first attempt to pack a voice recognition chip, a microphone, loudspeaker and battery into a credit card.
To use the card, the owner first presses a button on the surface, prompting a the instruction: "Say your password'.
If the password is correct and spoken by the right person, the card emits an identification signal which is processed by a computer connected to the internet.
Beepcard hopes to make the card capable of 10 transactions per day for two years before its non-replaceable battery runs out.
Visa already offers voice recognition security on some telephone transactions, but has not yet explored the idea of building voice authentication into a card.
• A new era of electronic banking was launched yesterday with the first demonstration of "quantum cryptography" - which ensures secret messages cannot be cracked by the highest of high-tech hackers. An Austrian bank transferred 3,000 euros using technology developed at Vienna University. | <urn:uuid:48eddbef-4992-4a58-8fef-13d5dc716bfa> | {
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Troubleshoot not booting to hard drive
There can be numerous possible causes of this issue. The cause can be software, or a hardware issue.
Use this troubleshooter with the Software Troubleshooter to determine the cause and fix of this issue.
To determine what is causing the issue, try the following (Some steps may not apply to your situation. Just skip those that don't apply) Click on the hyperlink for instructions for that step.
- Boot to the BIOS and set it to the default settings.
- Are you getting the message No Disk in drive during bootup. See this page for assistance.
- Check to see if the hard drive is being seen by the BIOS. If it is not being seen, it is either not being seen by the BIOS, Motherboard is bad, IDE cable is bad, or the drive is bad. Use the Hard Drive Troubleshooter.
- Try running CHKDSK /r
- If the BIOS does see the hard drive but will not boot to it, use the Hard Drive Troubleshooter to make sure the drive is connected correctly.
- Computer will not come on - After system been off for awhile, it will not work
- The bios may have a feature that allows you to boot to a USB device. If this is turned on and you do not have a bootable USB device connected, the system will appear to be hanging on boot up. The system is trying to boot to the USB device but since the USB device is not bootable, it will hang there. It will eventually time out and continue to boot to windows. If you do not have a bootable USB device, go into the BIOS and disable this feature. The location is different depending on the bios. Some have it under Integrated devices under USB Emulation. You set the emulation to no boot. See the manual of your system for the specific information on your bios. Click here for more information.
- Speakers cause no boot - Causes of no boot from speakers
- Run diagnostics on your hard drive. (See the manufacturer of your hard drive for the utility)
- Set the BIOS to boot to the floppy first. See if it will boot to a bootable floppy. Here is a file to download to make a bootable floppy. If you are not able to boot to a floppy, use the Floppy Drive Troubleshooter.
- Set the BIOS to boot to the CD-ROM drive (insert a bootable CD, such as the windows CD) If you are not able to boot to the CD, use the CD-ROM Troubleshooter.
If you can't boot to normal mode, try Safe mode
- If you can get into safe mode, it may be software. You may want to try the Software Troubleshooter before going any farther on this page. If the software troubleshooter doesn't help or you can't get to safe mode, continue the steps on this page.
Try copying NTLDR file from Windows CD to drive C (Windows XP)
Try copying the NTDETECT.COM file from Windows CD to Drive C (Windows XP)
- This could be a software issue or a hardware issue. You can try the software troubleshooter to see if it is software. If it doesn't fix the issue you can try the steps below. (the software troubleshooter does have some drastic steps that you may not want to do till you try the steps below to rule out hardware before doing the drastic steps (i.e. you may want to do the steps on this page before erasing the operating system))
- Open the system and disconnect all PCI cards (modem, sound card so forth), disconnect IDE or SATA cables, disconnect floppy cable, disconnect power to all drives (CD-ROM, hard drive, Floppy), if system has more than one stick of memory and can run with only one stick, remove second stick and reseat the first one.
- Check to see if anything looks burned or charred. You might have had a power surge. (Surge protectors are designed to protect the system from this but the system can still be harmed even with a surge protector installed)
- Take a look at the capacitors on the motherboard. If they are swollen, bulging, or leaking, it can cause the issue you are having. (click here for information on the capacitors)
- Run diagnostics on your motherboard and memory. Set the diagnostics to run at least 20 passes on the memory. It will take hours to run that many passes on the memory but memory can pass the diagnostics on the first few passes but fail as a load is put on the memory. Click here to download memory diagnostics. For motherboard diagnostics, see the motherboard manufacturer for them.
- You can also use the Hardware Troubleshooter
If after doing the above steps and the problem goes away when the hard drive is removed and the diagnostics pass on the hard drive, you may have a software issue. Be sure to follow the Software Troubleshooter. | <urn:uuid:194a350a-9630-4703-a471-9e875aad214a> | {
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Ice-Albedo Feedback: How Melting Ice Causes More Ice to Melt
The sea ice that floats on the Arctic Ocean is covered with snow all winter. The snow-covered ice is bright white so it absorbs very little of the solar energy that gets to it. And during the Arctic winter, very little solar energy gets to it anyway. The Sun stays low on the horizon, days are short, and above the Arctic Circle there is at least one day of winter when the Sun does not make an appearance at all.
Summer is warmer than winter but it becomes even warmer as the ice changes and melts. How does this happen? As summer approaches, the Sun climbs higher in the sky each day and the weather gets a little warmer. Warmer temperatures melt the snow, exposing the bare sea ice. Pools of melt water form on the ice and cracks called leads break the ice into pieces like a puzzle. The exposed ice is darker in color than the snow. The pools and cracks are also darker. And where the ice has melted, dark ocean water is exposed. Because all these changes make the surface darker, the albedo is lower, more solar energy is absorbed, and less is reflected. Holding onto the energy causes more ice to melt, which, in turn, lowers the albedo, causes more energy to be absorbed and more warming.
This is a normal seasonal process, called a positive feedback. However it is changing as Earth’s climate changes.
Because Earth’s temperature is climbing as more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, the snow on top of the ice melts earlier in the spring. A little later each autumn, temperatures drop to the chilly levels needed for sea ice to again form. There is more time during the summer for the compounding cycle of melting ice, lowering albedo, trapping of more solar energy, and more ice melt. And there is less time in the winter for ice to reform.
This process of a little warming causing more warming is called the ice-albedo feedback. The ice-albedo feedback can turn a small climate change into a big climate change. The sea ice is melting rapidly in the Arctic Ocean. According to climate models that pace of ice melt will speed up even more, so much that that there may be no more summer sea ice within the next few decades. | <urn:uuid:9f5b3b05-f1a8-4d6e-a3e6-b3b698c7d830> | {
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Glory to you, O Shiva! Glory to you, O Omkaara! May Brahma, Vishnu and the assembly of other gods, including the great Lord Shiva, relieve me of my afflictions!
As many know, Hindu God Shiva comes in many different forms. One such popular form is that of Shiva as Harihara, an important integration between Hindu God Shiva and Hindu God Vishnu. The worship of Shiva as Harihara is an important form as it reiterates to devotees that worship of Shiva, Vishnu, or any of the prominent Hindu Gods is but the worship of every prominent Hindu God, one and the same. When one worships Shiva, one also worships Vishnu, and all the other important deities collectively in the spirit of divine oneness. All followers of Hinduism are all looking for one thing, the divine. When one comes to fully realize this concept, they understand that we are all worshiping the same inherent thing, dharma, just from different approaches. Both Vishnavites and Shaivities worship Harihara as a form of the one supreme god.
There is often much debate within Hinduism as to the inherent importance of Shiva and Vishnu. Vishnavites believe that Vishnu is the supreme god, while Shaivities believe Shiva to be the ultimate being. Conversely others believe that both are equal, manifesting different aspects of the same Supreme Being. In many cases, however, even if one is preferred over the other, much respect is allotted to the other.
“Shiva and Vishnu are one and the same entity. They are essentially one and the same. They are the names given to the different aspects of the all-pervading Supreme Soul or the Absolute. ‘Sivasya hridayam vishnur-vishnoscha hridayam sivah—Vishnu is the heart of Siva and likewise Siva is the heart of Vishnu’.” | <urn:uuid:72d11365-60ec-43ac-b6a0-2ec25b5f0ecb> | {
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Most Active Stories
Fri November 16, 2012
East German Political Prisoners Made Some Of Its Products, IKEA Admits
News outlets in German and Sweden have been reporting for the past year that some of the products made in past decades for Swedish furniture giant IKEA were produced by political prisoners in Cold War-era East Germany.
Today, IKEA conceded that the reports are true and that some of its "representatives" were aware of what was happening.
"We are deeply sorry that this could happen," Jeanette Skjelmose, head of sustainability at IKEA of Sweden, told the Aftonbladet newspaper, according to English-language The Local.
After the news reports, IKEA asked auditors Ernst & Young to investigate.
Today, the company said that:
"The investigation indicates that political and criminal prisoners were involved in parts of the component or furniture production units that supplied to IKEA 25-30 years ago. The investigation also shows that there were IKEA Group representatives who at the time were aware of the possible use of political prisoners in the former GDR production. Even though the IKEA Group took steps to secure that prisoners were not used in production, it is now clear that these measures were not effective enough."
IKEA adds that it has, "in consultation with the organisation Union of the association of the victims of communist despotism, ('UOKG' in Germany), decided to make a financial contribution to their scientific research project on forced labour in the former GDR."
Aftonbladet reports the prisoners were paid about 40 East German marks a month for their work and that at the time a "normal monthly salary" in East Germany was around 1,000 East German marks. "Today many of the prisoners think IKEA should compensate them" for the work, the newspaper adds.
An earlier post about IKEA: "Women Erased From IKEA's Saudi Catalog; Company Apologizes." | <urn:uuid:a0f7343f-0dae-4497-ba96-d5887439b3ab> | {
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What are Metallic Oils?
Metallic oils are essences extracted from a metal. They are not colloidal suspensions, nor are they simply energetic tinctures. They are not related to Monoatomic or ORMES state elements. Truly, these are essential oils, derived from a metal.
These oils are the essential oil of the metal. An essential oil is a highly complex concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing organic volatile aromatic compounds, and we find that the characteristics of metallic oils, matches the definition of an essential oil.
With metallic oils being so similar to plant essential oils, we find that their chemical composition is also very similar. All essential oils have a unique chemical profile that makes them who they are.
This chemical profile is what gives the essential oil its unique fragrance, taste, and medicinal qualities. The compounds comprised in an essential oil – alcohols, aldehydes, terpens, ethers, ketone, and so on – are what make the essential oil beneficial for our bodies.
How are they made?
Intuitively, extracting an essential oil from a metal doesn’t make much sense. There isn’t any moisture found within it. You can press, steam, and distill them all day and never recover a drop.
It isn’t in the traditional ways that we can find oil within a metal, but more so in the methods that alchemy has made known to us. To understand their methods, we must understand their beliefs.
Alchemists believed that everything in life has a Soul, including metals. This Soul is equated with the universal consciousness that pervades all.
Through their laboratory experiments on nature, alchemists came to understand that the Soul of an object is always expressed as an oil. Since metals too were believed to have a Soul, then it came as no surprise to the alchemist that you could produce an oil from a metal.
In the past, alchemists spoke of their laboratory works in a spiritual manner, passing on their processes by relating them to religious texts or mythologies. But today the process by which a metallic oil can be extracted would be understood as a catalytic conversion reaction.
This is essentially using a metal to grab on to other elements suspended in solution, and passing them along to create new compounds. This passing along by the metal causes these natural elements of oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon to arrange themselves into structured geometries, creating organic compounds – the same compounds found in plant essences.
In the extraction of metallic oils, the metal is only used as a catalyst, and is left out of the end product. The metallic essence is considered to be organic in nature, consisting of only oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen. This classifies metallic essences as therapeutic grade oils that are safe for internal or external use.
How do they work?
There are three main ways by which metallic oils work on the individual.
1) the Phenols found within the essence circulate through the system and cleanse the receptor sites of each cell. Cell receptors are made to receive stimuli from extracellular molecules, which stimulate the cell to function in particular ways and generate the overall health, equilibrium, or distress of the body. Cell receptor sites will stay clogged unless cleansed by particular compounds, in this case phenols. With receptor sites cleared, the body’s cells can now receive new information that will introduce fresh functions for how the cells should respond to the environment that your intelligence and consciousness set for them.
2) Sesquiterpenes enter the nucleus and remove faulty or mutated genetic sequences that may be causing the body stress. On their way to the nucleus, these compounds also oxygenate the blood and create an alkaline system at PH 7.35. Oxygen boosts metabolism and regeneration, while the alkaline state reduces inflammation and kills healthy habitat for disease.
3) Monoterpenes restore cellular memory to its most optimum state. In this way, the natural rhythms of the body harmonize. Hormone production is balanced reducing physical and mental stress, sleep cycles are moderated which help set the stage for increased mental faculties to flourish and evolve, and dissonance is gently released so that the mind, body, and personal experience find balance with one another.
The most important aspect to the chemistry of an essential oil is that it exists only as a packet of probability. Each body has its own unique internal chemical environment that determines how other substance will react when in their presence.
It is the mind that creates this setting and determines how essential oils will function in the body. This means that oils will have different results depending on the frame of mind you hold yourself in when using them.
To get the best results with a metallic oil, it is recommended that the user read the content associated with the oil in use. This will move the mind to contemplate the thoughts that best set the stage for the organic essence to heal your body on a cellular level and gently transform your experience.
What results can be expected?
Because metallic oils are working on the cellular level, it should not be expected to experience physical sensations when working with an essence. Metallic essences attune the entire system – body and mind – in a gentle manner, from the inside out, so that transitions, healing, and growth come silently into your experience.
Each body is unique, which makes each oils expression unique to the individual. This means that it can be possible to feel the oil, in whatever way that might be for you. It is of value to pay close attention to your thoughts, moods, dreams, appetite, social interactions, conversations, and media consumption while working with an essence.
If you are consciously tracking your reality, you may begin to notice how your moods are shifting to be more positive or less stressed. Increased energy or dream activity may also result. Finding yourself in new opportunities or experiences can also be witnessed.
Reading the material associated with the oil in use will help to pinpoint in what areas you might expect to see changes occur – physically, mentally, or emotionally.
In some scenarios there is what is referred to as the initial detox phase when incorporating spiritual medicines. If toxins are present in the body, the oils presence will want to push them out. Sometimes this detox is noticeable as increased sweating or a change in stool, but usually this passes without any major notice to change.
Mental and emotional detox can also begin to occur. This may look like unhealthy relationships or attachments drifting away from your experience. Whether it is attachment to a person, a feeling, an object, or any other perceived experience, using a metallic oil will influence your moods and mentality to change, so that you begin to let go of the things that may hold down your fullest potentials from being expressed.
These shifts occur due to the balancing of the body’s hormones, influenced by the presence of these organic compounds. Balanced hormonal function also means harmonized mental and emotional outputs. These actions help sustain a state of awareness in the individual which some might consider as the awakened state.
If there are attachments, views, or biases keeping the individual from experiencing this state, then the mental-emotional detox will gentle remove these veils of perception.
And, It only takes a little to solicit these transitions in your experience. For example, within every drop there are enough of the medicinal constituents to coat every single cell 5,000x with the cleansing, beneficial agents of the oil. This translates as only small amounts needed to gain the benefits that these oils have to share.
Metallic oils work best when 1-10 drops are diluted into a drink of your choice and then ingested. Any fluid works, tea, wine, coffee, juice, etc. Your main interest when working with an essence is to get the oil in to you so that it can begin to work its magic.
Meditating on the content and correspondences associated to each particular essence can help to deepen the transitions of body and spirit that the oil can encourage. Contemplating the lessons contained in every vial will bring great insight, guidance, and support to your unique path.
Oil of Gold
4ml dram vial with dropper (± 200 drops) - $75.
Each vial lasts between 1-3 months depending on daily usage.
Suggested dose is 1-5 drops daily. Traditionally taken in a shot of wine or in a solution of your choice (tea, juice, coffee, water, etc.). It is absolutely necessary that this oil is diluted. For serious physical ailments 10-20 drops daily is recommended.
Due to the artistically crafted nature of our products, no order can be promised to ship within 7 days. If expedited shipping is needed, please contact us to negotiate the arrangements. We do our best to get our oils to you as quickly as possible. Thank you for understanding.
Avery is the lead Alchemist at Kymia Arts and routinely shares information on general alchemy topics as well as our methods and products.
All content on this site is for informational or research purposes only. The statements on this site have not been evaluated by the FDA and these products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please consult a qualified natural physician prior to use, especially if pregnant, nursing, or taking prescription drugs. | <urn:uuid:8e72a6d6-b54f-4721-85a8-517b0450b926> | {
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National Constitution Center Exhibit
I remembered after class about an interesting poll type exhibit experience similar to the one Simon mentions in Chapter 3 that I participated in. This one was at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, in their temporary exhibit “Spies, Traitors, and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America” this summer. The exhibit was about the acts of terror that have taken place in the US and how prejudice and fear can disrupt the balance of keeping the public safe and safeguarding civil liberties. The exhibit was interesting and yet difficult to walk through at times due to some of the sensitive objects that were displayed such as Ku Klux Klan clothing.
There were several warnings posted before this section and directly next to this exhibit, and several others, was a touch screen called an Interactive Polling Station, developed by the Gallup Organization. These stations allow visitors to express their opinions by answering questions raised throughout the exhibit about how the nation has responded to these events.
Some of these questions included: Should the government have the authority to deport people suspected of supporting hostile groups?; Is violence by individuals ever justified to bring about social change?; Should the FBI be allowed to investigate groups opposed to the U.S. government?
After answering the question you can see the percentages of how other visitors answered. You can also see the results of Gallup polls from the past asking the same questions.
Unfortunately I was in the exhibit alone the entire time so I couldn’t really gauge how other people reacted to it, nor see if they would have participated with the Interactive Polling Station. Therefore, it wasn’t quite as real as the examples from the book and class where you could look up and know that 40% of the room answered differently, but it was still an interesting experience.
Here is the link at the National Constitution Center website if anyone is interested – | <urn:uuid:69b4317a-7a43-44cd-8dfd-cef1f3e00791> | {
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EAGLE SPRING. Eagle Spring is at the northern edge of the Eagle Mountains and eight miles southwest of Allamoore in southeastern Hudspeth County (at 30°59' N, 105°06' W). The spring was well-known to nineteenth-century travelers. In 1849 Capt. Robert S. Neighbors called the spring Puerto de la Cola del Águila, or Haven of the Eagle Tail. A year later Lt. S. G. French noted of the spring, "The water did not run, but merely oozed out of the ground, and was collected in numerous holes dug for that purpose." And in 1867 Maj. Edward Meyer described the spring as "a limited supply of not very good water." More important than the quality of its water was its strategic location. From 1854 to 1882 stagecoaches and wagon trains using the San Antonio-El Paso Mail stopped at Eagle Spring for water. The spring was also popular with the Mescalero Apaches. In 1854 they stole the livestock of a wagon train camped at the springs, and in 1857 one wagon train passed the spring without stopping "on account of Indians whose regular stopping place it is reputed to be." In 1862, during the Civil War, the Eagle Spring site was occupied by Union army troops, and in 1879 and 1880 a cavalry outpost was established there as part of the final campaign against the Mescalero chief Victorio. A historical marker and the ruins of the stage station stand about half a mile north of the spring. The surrounding flat to rolling terrain with local escarpments is surfaced by deep, fine sandy loams that support hardwood forest, brush, and grasses. In 1972 the discharge from Eagle Spring was less than half a pint of fresh water per second. In 1976 the discharge of about a third of a pint per second disappeared into gravel about fifty yards downstream.
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All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 related to Copyright and “Fair Use” for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law.
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If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Handbook of Texas Online, "Eagle Spring," accessed March 25, 2017, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rpe01.
Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. | <urn:uuid:31734192-ccf7-40f9-9df3-de3044e02104> | {
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Renewable Energy (Communication)
According to the Commission, Member States can reach their target for the development of renewable energy by 2020. To this end, the Commission calls for a “greater convergence” of national support schemes in the EU and an increased cooperation among Member States and with third countries. Moreover, networks should be further developed, interconnected at cross-border level and modernised.
The Commission is right in calling upon Member States to reinforce international co-operations so as to ensure that the development of renewable energy is carried out cost-efficiently where there is the best possible energy yield. Both the national and cross-border development of energy infrastructure is absolutely indispensable for an efficient energy supply. | <urn:uuid:db9586ff-1a78-4fda-b9b7-c3a048c7cfa1> | {
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FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Colorado has issued few fines against oil and gas companies that violate rules under a state law that prohibits any energy company from being fined more than $1,000 for a single violation per day.
The total fine is capped at $10,000, but the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission that regulates the industry can increase that amount if it deems the violation to be reckless, but that rarely happens.
According to a study by the Fort Collins Coloradoan ( http://tinyurl.com/cry48md), state regulators have issued more than 3,800 violation notices since 1996, but only about 270 of them have resulted in fines so far.
Of the fines the state has levied in the past 17 years, 112 have been for $2,000 or less.
The average oil and gas fine is about $22,000 since 1996. Only 12 fines have been $100,000 or higher, nearly all of which were levied for violations in the Piceance Basin of Rio Blanco and Garfield counties, the highest of which were related to serious groundwater contamination. Three of the fines were levied for violations in far eastern Colorado. None were levied in Northern Colorado counties.
Colorado lawmakers are trying to increase the maximum fine from $1,000 to $15,000 per day a violation exists. They also want to impose a minimum $5,000 fine for a serious oil and gas violation that has a significant impact on public health and the environment.
In 2011, toxic hydrogen sulfide gas was found in 78 oil wells surrounding the northern Weld County town of Grover. The company operating the wells, Noble Energy, waited nearly eight months to make a required report about the hydrogen sulfide to the state. Just a few breaths of hydrogen sulfide in high concentrations can be fatal, but in lower concentrations the gas can cause vomiting, dizziness and eye damage.
Instead of being fined, Noble, which did not respond to requests for comment, was rewarded for cooperating with the commission, which required the company to create a $50,000 hydrogen sulfide awareness program.
Todd Hartman, spokesman for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission that regulates the industry, said in some cases it is better to make companies spend money to increase public awareness of state regulations and also use it to train regulators.
“Noble and the (commission) mutually agreed a better use of a $50,000 penalty was to develop an industry awareness and first-responder training program. We think this is an important outcome and will bring great public benefit,” commission spokesman Todd Hartman said.
Lobbyists for the industry said oil and gas regulations must work to both protect the environment and the business climate by encouraging best practices without being punitive.
Colorado Oil & Gas Association spokesman Doug Flanders said the industry supports more than 100,000 Colorado workers.
Often regulators claim a company’s well-plugging or financial assurance bond instead of imposing a fine, or settles with a company for dramatically reduced fines, sometimes cutting six-figure penalties by tens of thousands of dollars.
In November, an oil company operating in Weld and Adams counties called Texas Tea LLC was fined $170,000, but the company and the state commission settled on a $110,000 fine for 49 violation notices since 1999, according to the Coloradoan.
The commission then ordered Texas Tea to pay $40,000 of that, suspending the remaining $70,000 for as long as the company remained compliant with state regulations. Texas Tea has since failed to comply with state orders, and the matter is scheduled to be heard before the commission in May.
A company spokesman could not be located for comment.
Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan, http://www.coloradoan.com | <urn:uuid:c2825568-43a4-44ec-b7f3-31555e344ff2> | {
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(Blessed) Bishop (May 10) (16th century) Born at Bologna in Italy, and afterwards Cardinal Archbishop of that city, who by his skill in negotiations between the Holy See and Christian princes rendered great services to the Church, and by his successful Episcopate did much good to souls. In his old age he resigned all his dignities to perfect his sanctity by becoming a Carthusian monk. He passed away May 10, A.D; 1443.
- Monks of Ramsgate. “Nicholas Albergati”. , 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 25 March 2016. Web. 6 December 2016. <> | <urn:uuid:52dd91c3-975b-4f2a-ac4c-daebb7314a3f> | {
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What are your first impressions of Charlie? Explain your thinking.
Look at the ink blot. What does it make you think of? Record your answers.
What is the purpose of the operation?
Make some predictions: If the operation is a success, how might Charlie's life change?
Dr. Strauss tells Charlie to write about how he feels and what he thinks. What evidence shows that Charlie is already making progress?
What are your first impressions of Charlie's friends at the factory? Use evidence to support your thinking.
If the operation is successful, how might Charlie's relationships at the factory change?
Look at the last half of this entry- starting at line 215. Write a journal entry detailing the same event from the point of view of Joe Carp or Frank Riley. Your entry should be at least 5 lines.
What does Charlie's treatment of Algernon reveal about his character?
This entry begins with, "I feel sick inside," and ends with, "I'm ashamed."
Write a 1 sentence summary detailing what happened on this day. Next, explain why Charlie feels ashamed.
How is Charlie's second experience with the Rorschach test different from his first experience?
List some negative outcomes of Charlie's increased intelligence.
Story Structure: What do the length and language of this report reveal about Charlie's intelligence?
Stop at line 640 - Why does Charlie defend the dishwasher?
After you finish the journal entry - What has Charlie decided to do with his new intelligence? What affected his decision?
Analyzing Story Elements, Characterization, Conflicts and Themes: Flowers for Algernon - by Daniel Keyes | <urn:uuid:e9e9f9e9-8d09-49c7-b2fa-2d55b8fb9e68> | {
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By Dr. Karen Burgess
What is constipation?
Constipated animals experience infrequent or difficult defecation with stools being unusually hard or dry. Some pets with constipation may appear to have diarrhea. In actuality it is merely fecal liquid that is escaping around the fecal obstruction. In severe cases of constipation pets may experience loss of appetite, lethargy, abdominal discomfort, and vomiting. Ultimately sepsis or infection of the blood can develop and create a life threatening situation.
What are potential causes of constipation?
- Dietery related (insufficient fiber intake, ingestion of abnormal substances such as hair, bones, foreign material, lack of water consumption)
- Environmental related (changes in daily routine, hospital stay, moving, change in litterbox, dirty litterbox, lack of exercise)
- Medical related (aging or debilitation, masses or lesions involving the rectum or anus, spinal disease, numerous other metabolic, hormonal, or systemic diseases)
- Idiopathic constipation is diagnosed when all other causes are ruled out.
What is involved with treatment for constipation?
If your pet’s constipation is severe, a hospital stay, fluid therapy, enemas, or manual removal of the stool all may be required. Injectable pain medication and/or sedation are often required as the condition can be quite painful. In cases of chronic recurrent constipation surgical removal of the large intestine may be indicated.
How are pets with constipation treated at home?
Potential at home constipation treatments (consult with veterinarian prior)
- High fiber diets (i.e. Hills W/D, Purina OM)-these increase water retention in the intestine which then softens the stool.
- Brushing long-haired animals frequently to remove excess hair.
- Maintaining a clean litterbox for cats and exercising dogs 30-60 minutes after eating.
- Always having fresh water available.
- Fiber supplementation-All-Bran cereal (Kellog’s, etc) 1-5 TBSP daily with food, canned pumpkin pie filling 1-5 TBSP daily with food, Metamucil, Fiberall 1-5 TBSP daily with food, Laxatone, Kat-A-Lax 1-5 ml by mouth daily
- DO NOT administer enemas at home to your pet unless specifically directed by your veterinarian. Some products can be toxic to cats and the wall of the rectum/colon can be unintentionally torn or damaged during improper administration.
Photo Credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/49109678@N04/7601284682/”>Christian Lambert Photography</a> via <a href=”http://compfight.com”>Compfight</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/”>cc</a> | <urn:uuid:cdca7346-befe-4db9-b190-51323027b3f6> | {
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Interactive Fiction: Instructions
What, no graphics?
In interactive fiction, the story unfolds -- via text -- in response to short commands that you type.
02 Feb 2001; by Dennis G. Jerz
Type simple imperative statements (commands) to tell the program what you want to do.
>look (describe area)
>n (go north)
>i (for inventory -- list all the things you are carrying)
>put lime in coconut
>show flower to Ariel
>tell Othello about handkerchief
>Juliet, drop the dagger
You will not be allowed to do everything you ask, but the author/programmer has tried to predict what you will try to do. If you are stuck, just ask yourself what you would do if you were really in the situation the text describes.
- Take everything that isn't nailed down.
- Examine things that are mentioned in the room description. (If the computer says it doesn't know an object, you might try a synonym, or you might conclude the object is unimportant.)
- Open, search, or enter objects.
- Type "long" to instruct the computer to print out
room descriptions each time you enter a room (this saves you from having
to type "look").
The following commands are among the most important found in IF.
>look (redisplays a full description of your surroundings)
Games will frequently embed important clues in the text that results from the above commands. Some sneaky authors may hide important information until you try something like the following:
>look under [object]
Other, less frequently implemented commands include:
>listen to [object]
Use shortcuts such as "l" for "look", "x [object]" for "examine [object]", and "g" for "repeat last command".
Typically, one moves by referring to compass directions.
You can also go in and out of things...
>get into bed
...or move in other, special ways:
>push teacart north
* Try to take and/or examine every object you encounter.
* If you encounter an object such as a "wide-brimmed cowboy hat," you can usually just refer to it as "hat".
Try interacting with objects:
>inventory (or just "i") (lists what you're carrying)
>turn on light
>set dial to 10
>push red button
>drink strawberry phosphate
>put two red disks in upper slot
>take all vegetables but the carrot
NPCs (non-player characters) are computer-controlled supporting actors. In most IF, the NPCs are pretty passive -- they tend to do their own thing until you trigger them to action. Watch what they do and pay attention to what they say -- the author wants you to be able to figure out what you're supposed to do, so there will be clues somewhere.
>throw axe at dwarf
>give book to librarian
Conversation in IF is quite crude. Few NPCs will be able to understand natural-language questions such as "Ask Claudius what happened to my father." or "Macbeth, I think the trees are moving." You will have much better luck with the following, simplified syntax:
>ask Claudius about father
>tell Macbeth about trees
>show handkerchief to Othello
>give coin to apothecary
You can also issue simple commands, asking the NPCs to do some of the same things that you yourself can do.
>Kate, kiss me
>Falstaff, give me the bottle
>nurse, tell me about Romeo
To save a game, type "save".
To restore a previously saved game, type "restore". (Note: don't type "load" by accident, even though "load" is the common phrasing today, the interface for the game was written before that term was common.)
To show room descriptions every time you enter a room, type "long". To show only the descriptions of new rooms, type "brief".
* * * End * * * | <urn:uuid:45bd505f-a775-4dbd-8edf-6cd632d122c2> | {
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It is widely assumed that over the coming decades, increased energy efficiency will help the world meet its energy needs and reduce carbon emissions. That may be true, but recent research suggests that energy intensity—a widely used way of measuring efficiency—isn't the right metric.
Energy intensity is a simple ratio: energy use per dollar of GDP. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the energy intensity of the U.S. economy declined by 1.6 percent per year from 1985 to 2004, suggesting that we're doing more with less energy.
Energy companies have embraced this idea. BP asserts:
Energy per unit of income as measured by GDP continues to fall, and at an accelerating rate. This is true in our outlook to 2030 not only for the global average, but for almost all of the key countries and regions. The combination of energy efficiency gains and a long-term structural shift towards less energy intensive activities as economies develop underpins this trend.
Similarly, ExxonMobil's Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040 projects that economic output will increase by 80 percent while OECD energy demand remains flat, because "[g]lobal energy demand does not rise as dramatically as economic growth as a result of declining energy intensity."
That sounds pretty good, and to a certain extent it’s true. Numerous changes in the U.S. economy have gradually made it more energy efficient since the 1970s, and it is widely observed that the world's most developed economies are more energy efficient than developing economies. However, it's far from certain that developing economies will achieve enough wealth to attain First World levels of energy efficiency, as agencies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assert, or that the historical trend of improving energy efficiency will persist into the future, as many other observers, like Credit Suisse, assume. If these assumptions don't pan out, we could encounter a climate and energy supply catastrophe much sooner than imagined in official scenarios.
First, the very structure of the energy intensity ratio is problematic. As the U.S. Energy Information Administration notes, it "overstates the extent to which energy efficiency improvements have occurred in the economy. …” For one thing, when the economy is growing faster than energy consumption—when the GDP denominator is growing faster than the energy numerator—energy intensity falls. But in a recession, GDP tends to fall faster than energy consumption, and so the energy intensity ratio rises. This would be true even if there were no change in energy efficiency.
Indeed, the Paris-based International Energy Agency notes in its World Energy Outlook 2012 that in 2009 and 2010, global energy intensity actually increased due to economic contraction, lower energy prices (which boosted energy consumption), and colder or hotter weather in certain regions. "The production of a huge number of goods, the mixing of the transport of freight and people, and the variety of housing and climates makes an aggregate energy intensity number based on Gross Domestic Product, a number that disguises rather than illuminates," the Energy Information Administration says.
Energy intensity is also affected by population size, travel patterns, natural resource endowments, changing activity within the economy like shifting from steel production to electronics, technological improvements like using robots, and off-shoring of energy-intensive industries like manufacturing to other parts of the globe. For the past several decades, the United States and Europe have obtained increasing amounts of their manufactured goods from Asia as they transitioned to service-oriented economies, hiding some of the actual energy they consume. This has led to accusations that industrialized countries have "cheated" on their decarbonization claims by substituting imports for domestic production in energy intensive industries. There may be something to those claims.
Disentangling the embedded energy of imports from broader economic data is notoriously difficult, but Tao Wang, a postdoctoral economist from Princeton at the Environmental Defense Fund, has attempted to quantify the effect of international trade on the carbon emissions of the industrial sector only. After discounting technological improvements, overall growth in the size of the economy, and other factors, Wang finds 20 percent of the reduction in U.S. industrial CO2 emissions since 1998 came from trade (i.e., outsourcing).
Carbon emissions are not a direct measure of energy consumption (although they are closely related), nor are industrial emissions a direct proxy for the broader economy. But there is a much larger body of research on the trajectory of carbon emissions than there is on energy intensity, and some of it suggests that the trade effect is much larger on an economy-wide basis. For example, the amount of China's greenhouse gas emissions that resulted from exports were estimated at 23 percent for 2004 by researchers at the at the Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research in England, and at 33 percent for 2005 by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Recognizing the flaws of simple energy intensity ratios, the U.S. Energy Information Administration has developed several new indexes to measure the real energy efficiency of the economy. One of them, the "economy-wide energy intensity index," attempts to measure the energy needed to perform a particular activity, but measures it in energy terms to avoid the pitfalls of GDP. (As Robert F. Kennedy quipped in 1968, GDP “measures everything … except that which makes life worthwhile.”) By the Energy Information Administration’s index, the aggregate intensity of transportation, industrial activity, residential and commercial buildings, and electricity generation across the whole U.S. economy fell by only 0.56 per year—one-third the rate of the simple measure.U.S. Energy Intensity, 1950-2010. Source: Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy/2013 Economic Report of the President
Second, the rate of decline in energy intensity has slowed considerably in recent years, from 1.2 percent per year on average between 1980 and 2000, to only 0.5 percent per year between 2000 and 2010, according to the International Energy Agency. The agency attributes most of the slowdown to the global shift of energy-intensive activity to the developing countries of Asia, where coal is still king in power generation.
In its World Energy Outlook reports, the International Energy Agency has repeatedly urged the world to adopt policies that accelerate improvements in energy efficiency. In its 2012 report, it graphically illustrated what energy demand would look like under multiple scenarios and what it would take to limit global atmospheric carbon concentrations to 450 parts per million—the concentration generally agreed to limit the average global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels and avoid the worst outcomes of global warming.
The International Energy Agency’s New Policies Scenario assumes a 16 percent reduction in energy intensity by 2015 in China, new fuel-economy standards in the United States, a 20 percent reduction in Europe's energy demand by 2020, and a 10 percent reduction in Japanese electricity demand by 2030. But the International Energy Agency admits that even with the 1.8 percent per year reduction in global energy intensity through 2035 outlined in its optimistic New Policies Scenario, the world would hit the international 2-degree target by 2017. To delay that intersection by just five years, the reduction in global energy intensity would need to be 2.4 percent per year—a rate that has never been attained—and achieved through an additional $11.8 trillion investment in efficient end-use technologies.
Unfortunately, even the International Energy Agency’s New Policies Scenario might be out of reach.
For example, it is far from certain (or even likely) that China will develop its substantial shale gas resources and drastically cut its coal demand after 2015. According to a 2008 analysis by researchers at the Universities of California at Berkeley and San Diego, the IPCC estimate of China's CO2 emissions rising by 2.5 to 5 percent between 2004 and 2010 was far too low; the region's emissions were actually set to grow by at least 11 percent. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, China's coal consumption has surged for 12 consecutive years, and it now burns almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined.
Things aren't much better in the United States, which has been expected to help lead the way on global energy efficiency improvement. A congressional package of tax credits and grants designed to cut the power demand of buildings and factories faces an uphill climb against intransigent GOP lawmakers determined to block any increase in federal spending. Meanwhile, hopes for a binding global agreement to take action on climate change are all but dead, while carbon emissions and energy consumption are projected to keep rising up, up and away in all status-quo scenarios.
But perhaps a kind of progress is under way. President Obama's 2008 "Plan to Make America a Global Energy Leader" declared his intent to "[d]ramatically improve energy efficiency to reduce energy intensity of our economy by 50 percent by 2030." By contrast, the just-released 2013 Economic Report of the President recognizes the deficiencies of simple energy intensity, highlights the Energy Information Administration’s new Economy-Wide Energy Intensity Index as a better way of measuring energy efficiency, and expresses a commitment to achieve better energy efficiency and switch to zero-emissions energy sources like wind and solar.
The European Environment Agency, however, still uses the energy intensity metric and claims that it shows a "decoupling between energy consumption and economic growth" which "is likely to alleviate the environmental pressures of energy production and consumption." Such blithe assertions cannot be the basis for sound climate and energy policy. It's time to leave the squishy energy intensity metric in the dust. As Wang remarked, "Lower energy intensity is not the only way to solve the climate change problem." Real improvements on climate and energy can't be obtained by offshoring dirty industries to the rest of the world. Only an economy that runs efficiently on clean energy will suffice. | <urn:uuid:cde18e81-a883-49cf-a1a1-e2c8393cb9e4> | {
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Squares on a window, circle on an orange, rectangle on a notebook…shapes are everywhere! Your little learners will match the shape arms and legs to the correct shape on the bear!
This printable shape matching activity features bear pieces with a lot of different and colorful images, to make sure your kids stay interested and have a lot of fun practicing as well!
Shapes included: circle, oval, rectangle, square, triangle, rhombus, trapezoid, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, heart, star, semi circle and crescent.
This printable PDF includes 7 pages of 14 x 5 shape bear pieces.
TO PREP: Print out the bear pieces. Print them on cardstock or laminate for extra durability. Cut them out.
TO PLAY: Let your kids match shape arms and legs to the correct shape on the bear. Have fun! | <urn:uuid:39ad9954-c0c8-4954-ba32-baaf542739bc> | {
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The Four Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann
The Yellow Book of Lecan
There were four cities in which the Tuatha Dé Danann learnt wisdom and magic, for wisdom and magic and deviltry were of service to them. These are the names of the cities: Failias and Findias, Goirias and Murias. From Failias was brought the Lia Fail, which is at Tara, and which used to cry out under each king who assumed the sovereignty of Ireland. From Gorias was brought the sword which belonged to Nuada. From Findias was brought the spear of Lug. And from Murias was brought the caldron of the Dagda.
Four wizards were in these cities. Fessus was in Faihias, Esrus was in Gorias, Uscias was in Findias, and Semias was in Murias. From them the Tuatha Dé Danann learnt wisdom and knowledge. No battle was niaintained against the spear of Lug or against him who had it in his hand. No-one escaped from the sword of Nuada after lie had been wounded by it, and when it was drawn from its warlike scabbard, no-one could resist against him who had it in his hand. Never went an assembly of guests away unsatisfied from the caldron of the Dagda. And the Lia Fail, which is at Tara, never spoke except under a king of Ireland.
Some of the historians, indeed, say that the Tuatha Dé Danann came to Ireland in a cloud of mist. But this is not so; for they came in a great fleet of ships, and after arriving in Ireland, they burnt all of their vessels. And from the cloud of mist that arose from them, some said that they came in a cloud of mist. This, however, is not true; for these are the two reasons why they burnt their boats: that the race of the Fomorians might not find them in order to prey upon them, and that Lug might not come in order to contend against Nuada for the sovereignty. Concerning them, the antiquary composed this lay:
“The Tuatha Dé Danann of the precious jewels,
Where did they find learning?
They came upon perfect wisdom
In druidism (and) in deviltry.
Fair Iardanel, a prophet of excellence,
Son of Nemed, son of Agnoman,
Had as a foolish offspring the active Beothach,
Who was a hero of cleaving, full of wonders.
The children of Beothach, —-long-lived their fame-—
The host of valiant heroes came,
After sorrow and after great sadness,
To Lochlann with all of their slips.
Four cities,-—just their renown-—
They held in sway with great strength.
On this account they passionately made competition
For learning their genuine wisdom.
Failias and bright Gorias,
Findias (and) Murias of great prowess,
From whichi battles were won outside,
(Were) the names of the chief cities.
Morfis and noble Erus,
Uscias and Semiath, ever-fierce,
To name them,—-a discourse of need--
(These were) the names of the sages of nehle wisdom.
Morfis (was) the poet of Failias itself,
In Gorias (was) Esrus of keen desires),
Semiath (was) in Murias, the fortress of pinnacles,
(And) Uscias (was) the fair seer of Findias.
Four presents (were fetched) with them hither,
By the nobles of the Tuatha DO Danann:
A sword, a stone, a caldron of worth,
(And) a spear for the death of great champions.
From Failias (came) hither the Lia Fail,
Which shouted under the kings of Ireland.
The sword in the hand of the nimble Lug
From Gorias (it was procured), -— a choice of vast riches.
From far-away Findias over the sea
Was brought the deadly spear of Nuada.
From Murias (was conveyed) a huge and mighty treasure,
The caldron of the Dagda of lofty deeds.
The King of Heaven, the King of feeble men,
May he protect me, the King of royal parts,
The Being in whom is the endurance of spectres,
And the strength of the gentle race.”
Tuatha Dé Danann.
The End. Amen.
Vernam Hull. "The Four Jeweles of the Tuatha Dé Danann." ZCP. vol. XVIII. NY: G.E. Stechert Co. 1930.
Back to Irish Texts | <urn:uuid:81dddf01-fcc5-44f6-adda-606435cd46b3> | {
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Holocaust Seminar | L4277
This course is unique because it is interdisciplinary, integrating legal philosophy and political philosophy with history, theology, as well as the arts to uncover the foundation of the Holocaust in the 1930s-1945. We shall examine how religion intersected with culture and political power to create the foundation for the final solution and how what has occurred may in fact be occurring again. We do not use a casebook, rather we draw from philosophical writings, novels, plays and historical works. Additionally the course uses film to further explore the issues that are foundational to genocide. There may also be an opportunity to go to DC to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and we join together in a freedom Passover. There is a final project and no exams. We also use reflection memos to document thought and feelings evoked by this course.
Credit Hours: 3
ULW: This course does not fulfill the Upper Level Writing requirement. (ULW) | <urn:uuid:cfb81122-4f8c-42a0-8e47-c97a1e96018a> | {
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© Krista Schlyer
The oil that bled into the Gulf of Mexico for months last year and caused the death of thousands of animals continues to impact coastal communities and natural habitats. But at press time, Congress has yet to pass legislation that would ensure safer oil- and gas-drilling operations in water of any depth.
“If the explosion of an oil rig that leaves 11 people dead and results in the worst oil spill in our country’s history, devastating Gulf of Mexico communities and wildlife, does not move the Senate to act, what will it take?” asks Defenders’ executive vice president Jamie Rappaport Clark.
The oil slick from BP’s Deepwater Horizon blowout covered thousands of square miles, with at least 650 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline from Louisiana to Florida impacted by oil. The hemorrhage dwarfed the 12 million gallons spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident—which is still being felt by wildlife in Prince William Sound more than two decades later.
Defenders is calling for safer drilling operations but also wants legislation that provides for a faster and better spill response, lifts the existing liability cap for oil companies and secures funding for restoration efforts in the Gulf. “The continued impacts of this disaster evident in our coastal waters and along the shoreline prove that current oil spill oversight, response capacity and safety standards are simply not sufficient to protect our environment or our coastal communities,” adds Clark. “Unless the Senate passes this legislation, the clock is ticking until the next offshore oil disaster.”
Defenders and other conservation groups also filed a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act in October against oil giant BP for harming endangered and threatened wildlife. At least 27 imperiled animal species inhabit the Gulf region, including five species of endangered sea turtles, four species of endangered whales and Florida manatees. The lawsuit is calling for the court to mandate that BP provide the resources necessary to help species recover from the disaster.
More than 50 percent of the total discharge of oil from the Deepwater Horizon blowout remains in the Gulf ecosystem, much of it in coastal and marine sediments, experts say. Apart from the immediate impacts on wildlife of exposure to oil and chemical dispersants, scientists are concerned about the long-term effects on reproduction for future generations and the potential domino effects through the Gulf’s food chain. | <urn:uuid:48350327-19ab-49ff-b5e8-de4247741d4b> | {
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Cellular fate is controlled by multiple molecular pathways. The best studied is apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death used by all multicellular organisms to eliminate cells that are damaged, no longer needed or which might become a threat to the organism. This process is often deregulated in cancer cells allowing them to survive and proliferate when otherwise they should be eliminated.
Dysfunctional apoptosis can cause or accelerate cancer development, but also underlies resistance to common cancer treatment approaches such as chemotherapy. Members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins are critical regulators of apoptosis with some members promoting cell survival and others promoting cell death. Recently, a new class of drugs called “BH3 mimetics” have been developed to target some Bcl-2 pro-survival proteins, and these are showing significant promise in clinical trials for the treatment of cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Our ultimate goal is to develop drugs that will be used to treat cancer patients. Complementary projects in the lab focus on autophagy, a cell survival process that has significant cross-talk with apoptosis. Similar approaches will be used to understand the molecular details of authophagy regulation, how it influences apoptosis, and its role in cancer development and treatment. | <urn:uuid:7ce1acec-22b0-44d1-8c20-d7c94beea439> | {
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Dec 1, 2016
For those of you who've witnessed it, giving levodopa to a patient with idiopathic Parkinson Disease is almost a miracle to watch. Unlike practically every other condition afflicting the nervous system, the unmistakable unrest of PD essentially surrenders to this tiny tablet. But what did we use before levodopa? In this week's episode of BrainWaves, we recount the history (and serendipity) behind the development of this miracle drug. BrainWaves podcasts and online content are intended for medical education only and should not be used to guide medical decision making in routine clinical practice. REFERENCES 1. Parkinson J. An essay on the shaking palsy. 1817. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2002;14:223-36; discussion 222. 2. Glatstein M, Alabdulrazzaq F and Scolnik D. Belladonna Alkaloid Intoxication: The 10-Year Experience of a Large Tertiary Care Pediatric Hospital. Am J Ther. 2016;23:e74-7. 3. Koranyi EK. A preamble on parkinsonism. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 1999;24:296-9. 4. Bucy P and Case T. Tremor: Physiologic mechanism and abolition by surgical means. Arch Neurol Psych. 1939;41:721-746. 5. Walter BL, Abosch A and Vitek JL. From Neuroscience to Neurology: Molecular Medicine, and the Therapeutic Transformation of Neurology 2004. 6. Hornykiewicz O. A brief history of levodopa. Journal of neurology. 2010;257:S249-52. 7. Tolosa E, Marti MJ, Valldeoriola F and Molinuevo JL. History of levodopa and dopamine agonists in Parkinson's disease treatment. Neurology. 1998;50:S2-10; discussion S44-8. 8. Birkmayer W and Hornykiewicz O. [The L-3,4-dioxyphenylalanine (DOPA)-effect in Parkinson-akinesia]. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 1961;73:787-8. 9. Cotzias GC, Van Woert MH and Schiffer LM. Aromatic amino acids and modification of parkinsonism. The New England journal of medicine. 1967;276:374-9. 10. Willis AW, Schootman M, Kung N, Wang XY, Perlmutter JS and Racette BA. Disparities in deep brain stimulation surgery among insured elders with Parkinson disease. Neurology. 2014;82:163-71. | <urn:uuid:bc9b4b51-af2f-4a2e-bbeb-36b57bd3877e> | {
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Originally published August 2 2012
BPA tooth fillings linked to behavior disorders in children
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) Researchers have found a link between dental fillings made using bisphenol A, otherwise known as BPA, and behavior and emotional problems in children.
Scientists from New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Mass., say the effects generally show up a few years later and they were generally small but were nonetheless measurable.
The study's lead researcher was quick to note that her team did not measure levels of BPA in particular, and did not know if any other chemicals were possibly leaking from the fillings.
"It's a controversial topic in dental research, how much really does leach (from fillings)... and whether or not that would have an effect," said study lead Nancy Maserejian. "It's generally assumed that the amounts leached are tiny."
Maserejian went onto say that fillings made using the substance are starting to become more popular, in part because they are the same color as teeth - as opposed to earlier, silver-colored amalgam fillings, Reuters reported.
FDA wouldn't ban chemical's use in food packaging
According to the Web site "Facts About BPA," the substance is "the key component used to make epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastic, which are used to make consumer goods that make our lives safer and more convenient."
In addition, "BPA helps to make epoxy resins durable and to make clear polycarbonate plastic strong, lightweight and resistant to heat and shattering," the site noted.
Other reports described BPA as a chemical substance that is also found in some food packaging and canned goods. A 2011 study linked prenatal exposure to BPA with hyperactivity and anxiety in girls specifically, though overall its effects are not clear.
In March, the Food and Drug Administration announced it had rejected a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) asking the agency to ban BPA in food-contact materials.
"The Food and Drug Administration's assessment is that the scientific evidence at this time does not suggest that the very low levels of human exposure to BPA through the diet are unsafe," the agency said on its Web site.
For the tooth study, Maserejian and her team examined data on 534 children, ages six to ten, who had cavities and were then randomly chosen to receive amalgam fillings or one of two different so-called composite fillings. BPA was used in the manufacturing of one of those composite fillings.
Five years later, parents and their children answered a number of questions regarding depression and anxiety, including attitudes at school and behavior overall.
Differences in behavior barely noticeable
The team found that kids who had multiple fillings containing BPA, and who'd had those fillings for quite a while - regularly posted scores of two to six points worse on a 100-point behavioral measurement scale than those children with no such fillings or who'd only had one for a short time.
The study found that behavioral problems were especially frequent among children who had those fillings on chewing surfaces, according to the team's report in the journal Pediatrics. The findings are consistent with the assumption that some fillings could break down over time and thus leach chemicals that could cause harm.
Maserjian said it could be the fillings tested contained residual BPA used in making them, though it isn't supposed to be a main ingredient. But whether or not that's true, and whether the small amounts of chemicals could have affected brain development, is all hypothetical.
"We didn't measure BPA, and we don't know whether BPA was in (the fillings)," she told Reuters. "There are other chemicals used in these composites, and BPA isn't directly used in them. We don't really know what the health effects of these other chemicals are."
To find out, she added, more research will be needed, but in the meantime, she advised parents not to worry too much just yet. That's largely because the difference in behavior between kids with the different types of fillings was small enough "they would not be noticeable for most children."
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml | <urn:uuid:d276631c-0a87-44cb-81ce-1ec5d86b11b8> | {
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Gender pay gap is all in the mind ... and very real
Men who hold traditional views about the role of women in society—women should stay at home, working mothers increase juvenile delinquency, men should work outside the home while women should care for home and family—make more money than men who don’t. This is according to a new study published in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology. Men with more traditional gender role attitudes earned roughly $8,500 more annually than those with less traditional, more egalitarian attitudes.
Women with more traditional views, however, made an average of $1,500 less than women with more egalitarian beliefs. Study results held true even when researchers controlled for factors such as job complexity, hours worked, education, occupation, and number of children. The study authors say the wage gap between men and women is about more than economics—it’s about psychology. “Our country’s policies have been leaning toward gender equality for decades now,” says researcher Timothy Judge. “But, according to our study, traditional gender role views continue to work against this goal.”
Other findings from the study include:
> People whose parents both worked outside the home had less traditional views on gender roles.
> Married, religious couples held more traditional gender role views.
> Younger people held less traditional views but became more traditional over time.
Researchers hope others will follow their work with studies on the relationship between happiness and job attitudes among people with specific gender-role views to show that more money doesn’t necessarily make people happy. | <urn:uuid:27494a1c-997b-49d3-9643-5a6482d9e4f5> | {
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It's not too late to curb infections and save effective antibiotics, CDC chief says.
The overuse of antibiotics has caused three kinds of bacteria — one that causes life-threatening diarrhea, one that causes bloodstream infections and one that transmits sexually — to become urgent threats to human health in the United States, federal health officials say in a landmark report out Monday.
The report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the first to categorize the threats posed by such germs in order of immediate importance, from "urgent," to "serious," to "concerning." It is also the first to quantify the toll of such so-called superbugs, saying they cause at least 2 million infections and 23,000 deaths each year.
"It's not too late" for the nation to respond, rein in the infections and keep antibiotics working by reserving them for when they are truly needed, but several steps must be taken right away, CDC Director Tom Frieden said Monday. "If we are not careful and we don't take urgent action, the medicine cabinet may be empty for patients with life-threatening infections in the coming months and years."
On the urgent list:
• Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), bacteria that cause 9,000 infections in hospitals and other health-care facilities each year. The CDC says nearly half of hospital patients who get CRE bloodstream infections die from them. It's a "nightmare infection," Frieden says.
• Drug-resistant gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection that now resists several antibiotics that used to cure it. CDC estimates 30% of the 800,000 U.S. cases each year fit that description.
• Clostridium difficile (C. diff), a serious diarrhea-causing infection that is not highly resistant to antibiotics but does thrive when antibiotics are over-used. The bacteria cause 250,000 infections and 14,000 deaths each year.
The list of serious infections includes 11 kinds of drug-resistant bacteria and one fungus (Candida); the list of infections that cause concern includes three additional kinds of bacteria. The bugs were categorized based on their health impact, economic impact, how common they are, how common they could become, how easily they spread, how well they still respond to medication and how difficult they are to prevent.
The gist of the problem is that the more often these bugs encounter antibiotics, the more likely they are to adapt in ways that make the drugs less effective — and, eventually, useless.
With the new numbers and urgent tone, "the CDC is signaling that this is a major, major public health threat," says Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy in Washington. It puts the threat in terms the public and lawmakers can grasp and "is long overdue," he says.
The CDC says there are several ways to get a handle on the problem, but the most important is to "change the way antibiotics are used," by cutting unneeded use in humans and animals and using the right antibiotics in the right way when they are needed.
Other steps include preventing infections in the first place with tools such as vaccines, safe food handling, hand-washing and infection-control plans in hospitals and other health care settings; better tracking of resistant infections and developing new antibiotics and tests for drug resistance.
Those are all important steps, but even more should be done, says Helen Boucher, an infectious disease specialist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, and a board member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. That includes giving companies more financial incentives to develop antibiotics, giving the Food and Drug Administration more power to quickly approve and then limit the use of new antibiotics and making sure all hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities follow best practices for using antibiotics, she says: "We want to make sure we use the right antibiotic in the right patient in the right dose at the right time."
Some hospital systems and states require health care facilities to have formal antibiotic use plans, but most do not, Boucher says.
Patients and family members can do their part by asking about the medicines they are prescribed and questioning infection control in hospitals and other health care facilities, says Michael Bell, deputy director of CDC's division of health care quality promotion. "If you are not comfortable asking questions, force yourself anyway ... ask, 'What are you doing to make sure my mom doesn't get an antibiotic-resistant infection?' "
The report also says limiting antibiotic use in animals raised for food is important. But it does not contain enough specific advice for those who might reduce that threat, including veterinarians, the food industry and the FDA, says Caroline Smith DeWaal, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington.
"For every antibiotic prescribed to a human, about three antibiotics are used in animals," DeWaal says. She notes that the equation does not include antibiotics only used in animals. "If animals are fed too many antibiotics, it can end up in our food, it can end up in our water and it can end up in our environment."
The CDC is working with the FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture on food and animal-borne threats and has contributed to training programs for veterinarians, the report says. In 2012, the FDA asked food producers to stop putting antibiotics in animal feed to promote growth, but the guidelines do not have the force of law. | <urn:uuid:a7e4c189-71b5-4beb-95eb-94e67a193cc2> | {
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- Tree of the Spring Equinox (Aprox. March 20)
- Latin name: ulex europaeus
- Celtic name: ‘O’ – Onn
- Folk or Common names: Broom, Frey, Furze, Fyrs, Gorst, Goss, Prickly Broom, Ruffet, and Whin.
- Parts Used: Flowers
- Herbal usage: A decoction made with the flowers thereof hath been found effectual against the jaundice, as also to provoke urine, and cleanse the kidneys from gravel or stone ingendered in them. In parts of the UK, it was once cultivated and cut down to provide burnable fuel for bakers’ ovens. The ashes left after it has been set on fire yield a generous amount of alkali and have been used as a type of primitive soap for washing purposes after first being mixed with clay and rolled into balls. The golden flowers yield an excellent natural yellow dye.
- Magical History & Associations: Furze is a thorny shrub with bright yellow flowers that is associated with the Spring Equinox. This herb is a symbol of the young sun at the spring equinox and royalty. Furze is associated with the astrological sign of Aries, the planet of Mars, the element of Fire, and is a masculine herb. Furze is associated with Jupiter, Thor, Onn, and also with the Gallic ash-grove Goddess On-niona. The color for Furze is dun, and its bird is the cormorant.
- Magickal usage: Furze is a druid Sacred tree, whose flowers are associated with the Spring Equinox. Furze is a symbol of fertility and has the magickal uses of Protection and Money. Furze is a good herb to use as a proctectant against evil. In Wales hedges of the prickly Gorse are used to protect the home against dark fairies, who cannot penetrate the hedge. Furze wood and blooms can be burned for protection and also for preparation for conflict of any sort. There are two school of thought about giving Furze flowers as a gift. On one had the gift is supposed to be good luck, but on the other hand if you give them to someone that you love it means: Anger. There is an old rhyme about Furze that refers to its all-year-round flowering habits:”When Gorse is out of bloom, Kissing is out of season.”
Furze is also used in money spells; it attracts gold. | <urn:uuid:1c958616-9040-42b9-9fd8-8d9afa8e5164> | {
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"The body's hazardous waste disposal service"
As long as we are healthy, there are hardly any reasons for thinking about the lymphatic system. We only become aware of it when it is impaired – as in the case of lymphoedema, for example.
Lymphoedema occurs when the lymph fluid cannot flow towards the heart properly and accumulates in the tissues – it can be compared with a sort of traffic jam. The arms and legs swell up and oedema forms, i.e. chronic swelling.
The lymphatic system can be compared with "hazardous waste disposal", because it transports waste products out of the body. These include, for example, proteins, metabolic breakdown products, inflammatory products or fat from the abdominal cavity. The lymphatic system runs alongside the blood vessels and covers our entire body like a net.
Every day it transports up to four litres of purified lymph back into the blood circulation. Lymphoedema can develop if lymphatic drainage is interrupted or impaired.
There are so many different treatment options available today that you can lead an almost perfectly normal life, even with lymphoedema.
Learn how lymphoedema develops
The ideal compression garment for treating oedema
Tips and tricks for a healthy way of life | <urn:uuid:9c0230ab-4ab6-4009-ada1-88da56804eae> | {
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Published on Oct 20, 2011
Kokeshi Dolls originated in North-East Japan as wooden toys for children. They began being produced towards the end of the Edo period (1603~1868) by woodwork artisans, called Kiji-shi, who normally made bowls, trays and other tableware by using a lathe. They began to make small dolls in the winter to sell to visitors who came to bathe in the many hot springs near their villages, which was believed to be a cure for the demands of a strenuous agricultural lifestyle.
The popularity of Kokeshi dolls began to spread to other areas, so woodworkers from other hot spring resorts imitated those skills and made their own Kokeshi dolls to sell as souvenirs. They then gradually established their own Kokeshi style. Kokeshi dolls that are made today can be classified........ | <urn:uuid:44919875-1501-4dc9-a83d-e31ed06d861b> | {
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I want to pick up where I left off on the last video, at the fifth interval. From C to G sharp we have an interval with two names. It is either called an augmented fifth or a minor sixth. Most often it will be referred to as a minor sixth, although there are times you can call it an augmented fifth. What it is called has to do with chords and how they are put together, but that is a subject for another day.
The next interval going up the scale is between the C and the A. That is the major sixth interval. Up to the A sharp we come to the minor seventh interval. The minor seventh is an important interval because it makes up the dominant seventh chord. What is the dominant seventh? Well, in the key of C, the G chord makes up the dominant note (the fifth note of the key). It wants to push the ear back to the root, C. A G major triad, played with an added minor seventh interval pushes the ear even harder back to the C. Back in the C major scale, the C to A sharp interval creates a C Dominate 7 chord. So in the key of F, where the C is the dominate note, adding that A sharp note, that minor seventh, to the C major triad will push your ear back to the F.
The final interval is the major seventh. In the case of our C major scale, that is a B. The major seventh is a pretty jazzy sounding chord, if that is what you are going for. Of course, after the major seventh you come back to the root note at the octave.
Now I want you to do a simple exercise. Play each of the intervals so you can see how the interval sounds. Really pay attention to difference in pitch when you go from say, root to third and root to fifth, or root to second. The purpose of this exercise is to train your ear. Let's say you take a simple melody like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. If you learn to hear intervals, then you'll be able to identify that first spread as a perfect fifth, the second as a second above that perfect fifth. Now, not only can you play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by ear, but you can play it in any key you want!
Now let's try a few intervals on a less simple scale. We'll use A major. If we play A to B, we know it is a major second. Not just because we know the scale, and how intervals relate to that scale, but because we know how the major second sounds. If we play A to A#, we know it is a minor second because we know how the minor second sounds.
This type of ear training takes time. It doesn't come quickly, but if you make it a part of your daily practice routine, you will be surprised what you begin to hear when you listen to music. You may even begin to find yourself predicting where a melody will go, because you understand the inner workings of music.
If you haven't yet seen part one then check out part one of Intervals and Octaves here. | <urn:uuid:ca27c2b3-ec40-4817-aed6-a0c10659fc02> | {
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Day of Silence 2018
On Thursday, April 26th, the Landmark High School observed the Day of Silence 2018. We are one of thousands of schools all over the country who participate. The purpose behind it is to acknowledge the silencing many people feel by not being able to express themselves as individuals. The movement is run nationally by GLSEN and is designed to help us honor the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) people who have been silenced by those who do not or have not accepted them. Showing our support is especially important now, as rates of bullying and harassment increase for students who identify as LGBTQ, and these students are four times more likely to attempt suicide.
Being silenced can mean many things. The most common instance of silencing behavior on our campus is when a student says aloud in a common place on campus, "That’s so gay," or a similar comment that is derogatory toward LGBTQ people. The effect of this kind of statement on a person who either is LGBTQ or has family and friends who are is that this person is not a safe to be around, and school in general may not be safe. Further, if this conversation happens within earshot of a faculty member who does nothing to stop it, its effects on the student are compounded and the student feels more isolated.
Landmark Fosters Acceptance
As bullying has become an issue of national concern, we feel proud that Landmark has steadily worked to create a community that strives for acceptance, not just tolerance. Many of our students know what it is like to be left out or mistreated in the classroom, and can understand what it can feel like to be ostracized in a community. We hope that events like the Day of Silence will give needed attention to the struggles of the LGBTQ community, as well as provide a moment to be aware of and grateful for Landmark's supportive environment.
The Day of Silence was a voluntary event. Students who chose to take part wore stickers that indicated whether they were "participants" or "supporters". Participants took a vow of silence for the day. As one student said, "it was mentally exhausting not to speak for a whole day." Another student said, "it was challenging not to be able to be a part of the conversation when I felt that I had something important to say." It was clear from the responses of many participants that the experience hit home for many students who have never felt pesonally silenced.
Capping off a Meaningful Day
Students gathered in the cafeteria for the last half of the day to share their observations from the day and hear a speaker, Jess Keith, who talked about his experience coming out as a gay man. He is now married and he and his husband recently adopted a little girl, Jasmine. The second speaker was sophomore Nicole Talbot, who spoke about being a transgender teen and her advocacy work with Gender Cool and Freedom for All Massachusetts.
For more information on Landmark School's Day of Silence please contact faculty member Jennifer Moy, [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:f092a374-4497-4596-ae70-3849d593cc4b> | {
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Fort Foster State Historic Park [FL]
Fort Foster was one of the original Seminole War forts constructed in Florida during the early 1800s. Today a replica wood-picket-style fort has been constructed on the original site. Park rangers provide tours, and explain the Fort operations and living conditions, as well as telling the history of the Seminole Wars in Florida. The interpretive center contains exhibits about the fort, the Seminoles, and the Second Seminole War.
The park offers exhibits, tours, and occasional living history events. | <urn:uuid:abbfa847-9d9e-4b22-8914-8496a14c34e3> | {
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A long-standing U.S. ban on the practice was struck down.
Dozens of countries have enacted laws against female genital cutting, a procedure in which parts of young girls’ genitalia are surgically altered or removed for nonmedical reasons.
For more than 20 years, the United States was one of them. That changed last month when a federal judge in Michigan struck down the long-standing U.S. ban on the practice, which is sometimes called female genital mutilation, or female circumcision.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman said the cutting of young girls’ genitals is a local criminal matter that must be regulated by the states, not by Congress.
“As despicable as this practice may be, it is essentially a criminal assault,” Friedman wrote. Female genital mutilation “is not part of a larger market and it has no demonstrated effect on interstate commerce. The Commerce Clause does not permit Congress to regulate a crime of this nature.”
For now, that leaves states to decide whether to criminalize this procedure, which is typically performed on girls age 15 and younger for social, cultural or religious reasons. Twenty-seven U.S. states currently ban female genital cutting.
Reasons for the practice vary. Some social groups view it as a rite of passage into womanhood, or a means of controlling women’s sexuality. Others consider it a way of making women more clean, or as a prerequisite for marriage.
While it is common in several countries in Africa, as well as certain places in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, some instances have also been reported in the United States. In the Michigan case, the lead defendant was a local doctor accused of performing female genital mutilation on nine girls between the ages of 8 and 13.
The federal ban that was struck down included a prohibition on “vacation cutting,” in which girls are transported to other countries for the purpose of having their genitals cut.
The painful procedure provides no health benefits but can cause lingering problems, including complications in childbirth, painful sexual intercourse and urinary infections. The practice is broadly condemned by the United Nations and the World Health Organization, which call it a violation of women’s rights.
Yet both organizations say the practice remains a pressing issue worldwide, both due to rising populations in countries where it occurs and increased emigration from those areas to other parts of the world.
As a countermeasure, all other states should join the states that already have banned this practice. Doing so would send a clear message in support of women’s rights, while ensuring that a strong legal deterrent remains in place against a practice that can cause irreversible damage to women and girls. | <urn:uuid:cdbcc860-b2a1-4bb3-9d01-5f7a2583ad4e> | {
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Treaty of Viterbo
The Treaty of Viterbo (or the Treaties of Viterbo) was a pair of agreements made by Charles I of Sicily with Baldwin II of Constantinople and William II Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, on 24 and 27 May 1267, which transferred much of the rights to the defunct Latin Empire from Baldwin to Charles.
The recapture of Constantinople by the Greeks in 1261 had sent Baldwin, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, always impoverished, to seek aid in Western Europe for a crusade to recapture the throne of the Latin Empire for him. For some time, he had expected aid from Manfred of Sicily, who hoped (like his father, Emperor Frederick II) that a crusade might put him in better standing with the Papacy; but Manfred was ousted from Sicily in 1266 by Charles, acting for Pope Clement IV, severely discomfiting Baldwin. Baldwin was residing at the Papal court in Viterbo in 1267 when Clement arranged to reconcile the Emperor and the newly seated King. As the principal vassal of what remained of Baldwin's empire, William was keen to gain an overlord who might be the giver rather than the recipient of subsidy, and who could help defend the Principality against the Despotate of Epirus, which had worsted him in 1259 at the Battle of Pelagonia. His chancellor, Leonardo of Veruli, was sent to Viterbo to negotiate the treaty.
The War of the Euboeote Succession (an inheritance dispute between William and the Lombard lords, or "terciers", of Euboea, backed by Venice) and his defeat at Pelagonia had left William's principality exhausted in resources. To obtain the aid of Charles, he was willing to cede Charles the Principality in return for life tenure there. The proposed marriage of William's elder daughter Isabelle with the Byzantine emperor's son Andronikos was to be broken off, and she was to marry Charles' son Philip. Furthermore, Charles would have the reversion of the principality should the couple have no issue, disinheriting Isabelle. William, somewhat reluctantly, agreed to these terms.
The embarrassment of Baldwin, both political and financial, was quite severe, and Charles took advantage of it. Charles was to be confirmed in possession of Corfu and some cities in Albania, once the dowry of Helena of Epirus, and was to be given suzerainty over the Principality of Achaea and Baldwin's rights upon the Aegean islands, excepting Lesbos, Chios, Samos and Kos.
For his part, Charles was to raise and maintain for a year an army of two thousand knights to conquer Constantinople; he would also receive a third of any territory his army reclaimed for the Emperor, other than the city of Constantinople. Finally, a marriage pact with a reversionary clause was agreed upon, like that made with William. Philip of Courtenay, son and heir of Baldwin, was to marry Beatrice of Sicily, second daughter of Charles. The rights of Philip to the Latin Empire would revert to Charles should he die without issue. The agreement was sealed on May 27, 1267.
The treaty placed a heavy burden on Baldwin in forcing him to surrender his rights over Achaea (to which the Duchy of Athens was also subject), as it represented the richest part of his empire still in Frankish hands. Nonetheless, the growing power of Charles represented Baldwin's best chance to recover Constantinople, although had the crusade gone forth as planned, he would probably have found himself more ruled than ruler in the presence of Angevin arms. In the event, the launch of the Eighth Crusade delayed any expedition against Constantinople, and Michael VIII Palaeologus, by keeping afoot the project of unifying Greek and Latin Churches, had it put off until 1280. Baldwin had died in 1273, shortly after the nuptials of Philip and Beatrice.
At the eleventh hour, the Sicilian Vespers put an end to all plans for the long-delayed crusade by burning the invasion fleet in Messina harbor. The subsequent war sapped the energy of the Angevins, and Constantinople remained safely beyond their grasp.
The major practical effect of the treaty was to move Achaea into the Angevin orbit, a process accelerated in later years by Charles. Already invested in Albania, the Angevins would now be players in the politics of Frankish Greece until 1387. Unfortunately for them, the succession they had hoped to secure through the marriage pacts and reversionary clauses of the treaty would not go uncontested. When Charles' son Philip of Sicily died in 1271, having had no children by Isabelle, Charles duly claimed Achaea by reversion. However Isabelle, her younger sister, and their heirs would challenge the Angevins for the possession of the principality until 1383.
- Kenneth Meyer Setton, The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571: The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries p.104
- Riley-Smith, Jonathan (2005) . The Crusades: A History (2 ed.). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. pp. 222–223. ISBN 0-8264-7270-2.
- Runciman, Steven (1958). The Sicilian Vespers. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43774-1. | <urn:uuid:3a862e67-2b4b-4668-81d8-76802bb35da3> | {
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Introduction to farsightedness:
When parents take their child for an eye exam for any reason, they are likely to hear that their child has hyperopia. What does this mean? What should be done about it?
What is farsightedness?
Rays of light that enter the eye are supposed to be focused by the cornea and the lens to land on the retina so that we can see clearly. In some children, the focal point is somewhere behind the retina. This situation is called farsightedness, or hyperopia.
A child may be farsighted because the eye is shorter than average, because the lens or cornea bends light less than average, or because the lens is farther backward in the eye than average. Farsightedness, like nearsightedness and astigmatism, is a type of refractive error.
Usually, farsighted children can see distant objects clearly, but closer objects may appear blurred. Children are often able to accommodate for this with extra work of the eyes. Then, near vision is still clear; it just takes more work.
Who gets farsightedness?
Most babies are born farsighted. As the eyeball lengthens with growth, the farsightedness decreases until normal vision is achieved. That is why young children often leave the eye doctor with a diagnosis of developmental hyperopia, or hyperopia appropriate for age.
Hyperopia beyond that which is appropriate for age often runs in families.
What are the symptoms of farsightedness?
With mild hyperopia, there may be no symptoms. The child is able to accommodate for the farsightedness without much effort, and is comfortable with both near and far vision.
The greater the degree of farsightedness, the more work that is required to accommodate for it. This may result in discomfort or mild headaches with prolonged reading or close work. Eye rubbing and inflamed eyelids are common. Sometimes lack of interest in reading is the only symptom.
When hyperopia is even worse, near vision is blurry even with effort.
Is farsightedness contagious?
How long does farsightedness last?
How is farsightedness diagnosed?
The degree of farsightedness can be measured accurately at any age, without cooperation from the child. The eyes often need to be dilated for the examination.
In older children, farsightedness is sometimes measured by placing different strength lenses in front of the eye, and asking which one allows them to see better. A convex lens may make vision clearer for someone with farsightedness. Even if the vision is already clear, some farsighted children prefer the convex lenses because the work of near vision is reduced.
How is farsightedness treated?
Most farsighted children do not need glasses or contact lenses. Those with significant symptoms, however, can benefit from convex lenses.
How can farsightedness be prevented?
Farsightedness, like other refractive errors, is difficult to prevent. Years of poor vision or extra eye work can be prevented by vision screening. In addition, children whose families have a history of significant farsightedness or other refractive error should have a formal eye exam at an early age.
Related A-to-Z Information:
Last reviewed: January 12, 2009 | <urn:uuid:d198b0eb-aae4-4dd5-a9b2-2f6beddb5445> | {
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Famed photographer Ansel Adams once said that people too often look at photographs instead of into them. But the photos exhibited in “Through the Lens: Photographing African American Life” at the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University provoke an inquiry of what the subject was feeling and thinking at that point in time.
A 153-year-old photo of Barnabas Root is part of an exhibit featuring photos of and by African Americans at the Amistad Research Center. (Photo from the Amistad Research Center)
In the very first case of the exhibit, patrons meet an adolescent by the name of Barnabas Root. Taken on Jan. 2, 1860, the portrait shows a well-dressed Root staring blankly into the unfamiliar box that would capture his image for years beyond those that he would live.
At the time, Root was a student at the Mendi Mission School in Sierra Leone. The process used to create his portrait is known as a daguerreotype and is named after its French inventor, Louis Daguerre.
The photo of Root is one of many in Amistad’s exhibit, which showcases the daily lives of African Americans as they lived in front of and behind the camera. Subjects range from early portraiture (like that of Root) to civil rights, entertainment, photojournalism and advertising.
“There are an estimated quarter-million photographs housed within different records throughout our collection,” says Chris Harter, Amistad’s director of library and reference services. “This exhibit gives people the opportunity to learn about the photographers and the photographs they took.”
Photographers highlighted include Carl Van Vechten, Louise Jefferson, Arnold de Mille, Marion Palfi, Christopher Porche West, Arthur Bedou and Florestine Perrault Collins.
“Through the Lens” will be on display at Amistad through Sept. 27. The center, located in Tilton Hall on the Tulane University uptown campus, is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
An exhibition checklist is available on the website. | <urn:uuid:8cdf3ea5-6b00-425d-8110-3f21471e1122> | {
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We have an exciting opportunity for a masters or honours student to examine how fire influences the ecology of flying insects in the Otway Ranges.
Flying insects (e.g. butterflies, moths, beetles, flies) are an important part of forest ecosystems. They contribute to ecosystem function through services such as pollination, provide a large food resource for vertebrate fauna, and are interesting in their own right.
This project is part of a larger study examining fire impacts on fauna, with all fieldwork and project costs covered.
If you are interested please contact Alan York.
Fire Ecology and Biodiversity at UniMelb
Bushfire Behaviour and Management at UniMelb
Quantitative & Applied Ecology Group at UniMelb
Integrated Forest Ecosystem Research at UniMelb | <urn:uuid:cddab57c-b756-424a-acc7-da970dc8c210> | {
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In the latest in a series of relevant and interesting guest blogs, an atmospheric science professor brings us his thoughts on climate change and global warming.
Cliff Mass, a longtime friend and professor of atmospheric science at the University of Washington, writes a number of thoughtful, interesting stories and blogs.
This is a recent blog on the debate of fairly constant global temperatures over the last decade or so. Cliff raises some important points including that global climate change/warming is not a straight line and that climate models are not perfect and can be "tuned."
About 5 years ago, I wrote about a study that predicted an almost 50 percent increase in future warming by tuning what we have to estimate, namely the wildcard of particles and clouds in a future climate. I wrote in 2009:
Finally, a note on the results from an MIT study in Part 5 of my Global Warming/Change series:
The MIT Joint Program on Science and Policy of Global Change shows a 50 percent probability of a global temperature rise of about 10 degree with "no policy change" by 2100, which was quite a bit higher than their previous study and quite a bit higher than most other studies and projections.
Since this is so much higher than other estimates, I looked at the global climate model used as part of the study and found that the very important climate element of cloud was according to the MIT group atmospheric dynamics component. The atmospheric model's climate sensitivity can be changed by varying the cloud feedback.
Clouds and aerosols/haze/pollution are still a bit of a “wild card” in the model simulations. How and which (high, middle, low) clouds will change and increase or decrease in a warming climate is an area of research by many scientists.
Varying the cloud feedback of atmospheric models will certainly change model projection results so it would be very helpful for further discussion from the MIT group of how much they feel their results and projections are due to increasing CO2, and how much due to varying the cloud feedback.
Without knowing in detail how they treat the cloud feedback issue and how they treat the inherent uncertainty of the cloud-aerosol issue, I guess I would reserve judgement and acceptance of the results showing a 50 percent chance of global warming of +5 C. In any event changes in precipitation, ice and snow patterns may be more important than a focus on just global temperature. It's really about global change not just "warming" or "climate" alone.
Please read Cliff's important blog:
The media mentions it frequently and global warming skeptics talk of little else: the fact that global atmospheric temperatures have not gone up significantly during the past 10-15 years.
Does this disprove the idea that the planet will warm due to increased CO2 and other greenhouse gases? Are the global climate models mistaken? Who are telling the truth: the skeptics or climate scientists?
My take on all this is that a decade of near-constant temperature does not show a fatal flaw in climate science, but it does reveal poor communication and occasional overhyping by climate scientists. And some cynical games by skeptics.
So what is all the debate about? Here is a plot of global temperature from the NASA Goddard website, showing the annual mean and 5-year running mean temperatures from 1880 to now (actually it shows the difference...or anomaly...from the average for 1951 to 1980). Error bars indicated by the green brackets.
Global temperatures fell to about 1910, rose to roughly 1940, leveled off for forty years, rose rapidly from 1980 to roughly 2000 and then have been nearly constant for the past 15 years. The level period during recent years is the "pause" that everyone is debating about.
The fact that temperatures level off for a several years...even a decade or more...is not surprising or exceptional, even if the earth is generally warming due to greenhouse gas increases. The atmosphere/ocean/cryosphere (ice) system has a number of modes of natural variability--in other words temperatures will vary WITHOUT any "cause" or external forcing. One example you all know about: El Nino/La Nina, which causes variations over a period of typically about 7 years. But there are others. Over the Pacific basin, there is the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, with a period of about 60 years, while the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) has a period of about 70 years. And there are others.
According to most estimates, the forcing (greenhouse gas warming) by humans on the radiation coming into and out of the planet only became appreciable around 1970, and even today natural variability is as large or larger than the human-caused warming signal. So when natural variability is pushing the atmosphere towards cooling, it can balance the global warming signal, resulting in little change. Or even temporary cooling.
There is another possible contributor to the recent leveling: the huge increase in particles (aerosols) in the atmosphere associated with the big increase in coal burning and petroleum usage in China. Such particles can cause cooling both directly (by reflecting solar radiation to space) and indirectly (by changing the number of cloud droplets).
- Satellite measurement of particles in the atmosphere
Particles from China and other sources could result in cooling that can offset greenhouse-gas warming produced by CO2 from burning fossil fuels. But quite honestly, we don't have a good handle on the amount of such particles and their impacts, both direct and indirect. We have good reason to believe that such particles result in cooling though.
Some recent articles have speculated that some of the greenhouse gas warming is going into the deep oceans and thus unavailable to heat the atmosphere. A lot of uncertainty in that hypothesis.
Some of you might ask, quite reasonably, is it possible that some of the warming during the late 20th century was not due to anthropogenic (human-caused) greenhouse warming but was the result of natural variability? This is surely possible. In fact, a colleague of mine at the UW, K. K. Tung, and his associates have written a paper suggesting that some of the recent warming was due a natural mode of variability (the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation, see graph below). And an increasing number of studies have suggested that part of the loss of Arctic sea ice was caused by changes in atmospheric circulation, not greenhouse gas warming. So folks, one really has to be careful here.
- Research by Tung and Zhou suggest that the AMO internal variability (red line) could explain some of the rapid warm up in the late 20th century and the climate pause of the last decade. It also implies that warming could be delayed a few decades.
So it is quite possible that the recent pause in warming could be traced to some combination of natural variability and particles from China and elsewhere. And that some of the warming that led to the pause may have been of natural origin. You don't see this well covered in the popular media.
A pause in the warming is good, but there is no reason to expect it to last more than a few decades. Cooling from natural variability will be replaced by warming as the natural cycle moves to a warming phase. And China will eventually have to clean up its act as it has become clear that the smoke and particles are making life miserable and unhealthy for the Chinese. And just as important: mankind's forcing of global warming will increase as the levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gases increase in the atmosphere. And they will increase, particularly with all the cheap/abundant gas and oil from fracking (see graphic). Emissions and concentrations of greenhouse gases will continue to rise during this century.
To put it another way, add a relatively constant level of natural variability to an increasing human-caused global warming signal, and eventually global warming will win.
Many skeptics refuse to acknowledge the basic ideas outlined above and are fixated on the "pause" or the origins of past temperature variations. That is not the real issue here. The issue is that human-caused global warming will eventually dominate....and that will happen during the second half of the century.
But, let's face it, some of those believing in the serious nature of global warming have also been confusing the public. How many times have you seen global warming advocates crow about a single record warm year, heat wave, or a season with less ice in the arctic as clear proof of global warming? Quite often. But such transient or brief events could well be mainly the result of natural variability.
Atmospheric scientists should know about natural variability and must be more careful in claiming that short-period extremes mean anything. And you can see the gamesmanship when they keep quiet about unusual cold periods.
Climate scientists are their own worst enemies when they show the average (or ensembles) of climate models (see below). Each climate model simulation HAS natural variability (see example below), but when you average them this variability is smoothed out, leaving a steady rise in temperature due to greenhouse gas forcing.
But such a steady rise will never occur in the real world, a real world in which lots of natural variability exists. So it looks like climate scientists have it all wrong when a period of no warming or cooling occurs for a short period. Talk about shooting oneself in the foot!
- A collection of climate forecasts using global climate models are not identical due to differing natural variability in each.
And there is another issue. Most climate models have been "tuned" or calibrated to match the variations in 20th century climate.
All climate models have "knobs" or the ability to change key parameters that are not well understood (like the impacts of particles in the atmosphere), and these knobs are often adjusted to match the known variation and structures of the atmosphere during the historical period with observations.
The trouble is that one can overtune and actually degrade the model's ability to predict the future by doing this. For example, if a particular model did not get the cooling in the mid-20th century correctly, perhaps because it did not have the phasing of natural variability correct, a "tuning" to make it do better might change the model in a way the undermines its ability to forecast correctly in the 21st century.
Such matters need to be talked about more. Fortunately, as we learn more about the atmosphere, the need for tuning has declined, but it is still an issue.
Anyway, this climate business is complicated stuff with a lot of subtleties, and folks on both "sides" have been presenting material that could be deceiving.
But the bottom line is still clear: the human-induced warming signal will increase during this century to a point that its significance and importance will be undeniable. But the magnitude of this change is still uncertain. | <urn:uuid:88dfb8f2-3795-4316-8356-99965698b98f> | {
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(RxWiki News) A cluster of salmonella infections, mostly affecting young children, that began in 2005 appears to be associated with contact with live chickens purchased through a mail-order hatchery.
A study into the multi-state salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 316 was traced to the hatchery after isolated samples were collected from the facility.
"Always cook all meat thoroughly, and wash hands immediately after handling."
Nicholas H. Gaffga, MD, MPH, an author of the study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of STD Prevention/Epidemiolgy and Surveillance, found that while interventions at the western U.S. hatchery reduced infections, they were not completely eliminated.
New infections were identified years after efforts to control the outbreak began.
CDC officials worked with public health officials and animal health agencies to conduct the investigation, which included patient interviews, environmental testing and efforts to trace the outbreak to prevent additional infections of rare strain salmonella Montevideo between 2004 and 2011.
More than 300 cases were identified in 42 states. The average age of infected patients was 4 years old. Researchers interviewed about half of those sickened or their caregivers. Nearly a quarter of those interviewed had been hospitalized, and more than half reported bloody diarrhea.
Of 159 patients with available information, 77 percent reported having contact with chicks. The mail-order hatchery was identified as a source of the young poultry in 81 percent of cases.
The outbreak strain was then identified at the hatchery following sampling.
Researchers said the continuing infections despite efforts to control the outbreak demonstrates the difficulty in eliminating salmonella transmission from live chickens.
The study was recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. | <urn:uuid:5bbcff00-a795-4342-b79d-2d9ee9aae41d> | {
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Word Origin & History
O.E. feower, from P.Gmc. *petwor- (cf. O.S. fiwar, O.Fris. fiuwer, Frank. fitter-, Du. and Ger. vier, O.N. fjorir, Dan. fire, Sw. fyra), from PIE *qwetwor (cf. Skt. catvarah, Avestan čathwaro, Pers. čatvar, Gk. tessares, L. quattuor, Oscan petora, O.C.S. četyre, Lith. keturi, O.Ir. cethir,
Welsh petguar). The phonetic evolution of the Germanic forms has not been fully explained. Slang four-eyes "person who wears glasses" first recorded 1874. Four-flusher is 1904, from verb four-flush "to bluff a poker hand, claim a flush with only four cards in the suit" (1896). Four-letter word first attested 1934; four-letter man, however, is recorded from 1923 (as a euphemism for a shit). A four-in-hand (1793) was a carriage with four horses driven by one person; in the sense of "loosely tied necktie" it is attested from 1892. To study The History of the Four Kings (1760, cf. Fr. Livres des Quatre Rois) contains euphemistic slang phrase for "a pack of cards" from the time when card-playing was considered a wicked pastime for students. Slang 4-1-1 is from the telephone number called to get customer information. | <urn:uuid:87f2bb45-d526-4b2f-81d8-71cf6984366e> | {
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Approximately 50% of the population when exposed to Poison Ivy will have a reaction. And annually it is estimated that between 25-45 million Americans have to seek medical treatment after poison ivy exposure. So here are a few facts about poison ivy and a few fictions that we can hopefully clear up for you.
FACT: You can use a barrier cream such as Ivy Block prior to hiking/working outdoors to prevent getting poison ivy.
FICTION: The rash from poison ivy spreads from the blisters of the original rash. This is just simply not true. When you expose yourself to poison ivy on your skin it creates an internal reaction that then produces a rash externally. The reaction internally can take longer time to appear externally depending on how thick the outer layer of skin is on certain portions of the body. So washing your rash in bleach(as some people recommend), or telling people to not touch the blisters will NOT prevent the rash from further appearing in other areas of the body.
FACT: The phrase “Leaves of Three leave them be” is very truthful. Here are a few pictures of Poison Ivy and Poison Oak.
FICTION:You cannot get poison ivy in the winter. You can unfortunately get poison ivy from any portion of the plan that carries sap. So when you see a vine without leaves in the winter do not touch it or you can easily get a nice rash. Here are a few pictures of other portions of the plant other than the leaf structure.
My final fact is this, your rash will go away without medical treatment. This can take 1-3 weeks. However, often if you will obtain a prescription for either topical or oral steroids you will typically relieve the awful symptoms that go with the rash. It will not change the course of the illness. But it may change the course of how you feel!
If you need a quick visit for a prescription for your poison ivy, try our easy and convenient option of video chat calls through E-Visit. Just click HERE to sign up.
As always, I hope you stay happy and healthy.
Carolyn Clark, NP-C | <urn:uuid:5fb7b0b9-736d-4af6-9bff-7974ed0ceefd> | {
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Ed-Tech Math Program Boosts Elementary Student Achievement, Study Says
By guest blogger Michelle R. Davis
A game-based, blended learning math instruction program increased California elementary students' math scores significantly on state tests compared with students not using the program, a new study has found.
The evaluation of Spatial-Temporal Math, or ST Math, which uses an animated penguin named JiJi to guide children through mathematics lessons, found that students using the program improved their scores on the California Standards Test, or CST, in a statistically meaningful way. The independent, non-profit research organization WestEd, which conducted the study, looked by grade at 209 2nd through 5th grades which fully implemented the program—more than 19,980 students in 129 California public and charter schools.
WestEd defined grades as "fully implementing" ST Math if 85 percent of students had logged in to the program during the school year and at least 50 percent of the grade-level material in the program was covered by the students.The study, released earlier this month, also looked at a wider group of grade levels "provided" with ST Math, but not necessarily fully implementing it. That group included 463 grades spanning 2nd through 5th grade. Even in that larger group, researchers found improvements—though smaller—on the CST compared to control grades not provided with the program.
Andrew R. Coulson, the chief strategist at the MIND Research Institute, which created ST Math, said he hoped the study "helps show how publishers and districts can look at efficacy in a cost-effective way, and hold the content accountable."
Researchers gauged ST Math's impact across grades 2 through 5, finding an overall "effect size" of .42, when it came to California state test scores during the 2010-11 school year. The federal Institute of Education Sciences' What Works Clearinghouse, describes 0.25 as a "substantively important" effect size in research. The study also looked at student achievement by individual grades, finding, for example, that students in 5th grades fully implementing ST Math scored an average of 17.5 points higher on the CST than students in 5th grades not using the program.
Also, the grades fully implementing the program had a larger proportion of students in the advanced and proficient math categories on the California state test than the grades not using ST Math, an effect size of .47. For example, 2nd grades that fully implemented the program had students considered advanced or proficient at an average rate of 8 percentage points higher than 2nd grades not using the program. Those trends were consistent across the grades generally, except for in the 4th grade, where the research found no statistically significant differences in any outcomes for students. That may be because a smaller number of 4th grades fit the study criteria here, said John Rice, a senior research associate at WestEd and a co-author of the study.
Diane J. Briars, the president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, noted that the study underscores the importance of faithful execution of such programs, since it looks at grades which fully implemented the program and grades that were just provided with access to the program.
"One of the big takeaways is that the effect you get is also a function of the quality of the implementation," she said.
WestEd eliminated from the study pool grades that had a significant number of students already performing at a high level in math, instead focusing on schools with more proficient or lower performing students, Rice said. ST Math preferred to focus on lower performing schools, and including grades with disproportionately higher performing students could have skewed the results differently, by showing less of an impact by the program, he said.
The study authors were also careful to say that the improvements could not be wholly attributed to the ST Math program, since schools that volunteered to implement the program may have already had an emphasis on mathematics.
Briars said that though the study gauged the effect of a technology-based intervention, she noted that non-tech interventions have had similar levels of impact on student achievement. "What we really want to learn are the features that make programs effective and how they're supporting student learning so we can continue to improve both the technology tools and the non-technology tools we have," she said.
Some aspects of the ST Math program make it particularly effective, Coulson said, including an effort to provide informative feedback to students when they get a problem wrong as well as when they answer correctly. In addition, the program is highly visual, using virtual manipulatives to introduce math concepts instead of relying on math vocabulary students may not yet have yet learned.Coulson said the study could be helpful to other programs using technology with students. Currently 800,000 students in 40 states are using ST Math, the company said.
"We're not overflowing with proof points for large-scale, credible, rigorous programs that show ed-tech working," he said. "We're hoping this can be...an example of the kind of methodology that can be applied to lots of education programs."
- How I Blended My Math Class
- Educators, Researchers Look for Lessons in Blended Learning Algebra Program
For more ed-tech news follow @EWmdavis on Twitter
Photo credit: MIND Research Institute | <urn:uuid:a8403b85-3bf5-4045-a9d8-0457672424d6> | {
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self-determination - In politics, the right of a people to assert its own national identity or form of government without outside influence. “The public liked it because it accorded with the democratic tradition of self-determination.”
homestead - A family home or farm with buildings and land sufficient for survival. “…they broadened their appeal…by urging free government homesteads for settlers.
vigilante - Concerning groups that claim to punish crime and maintain order without legal authority to do so. “…violence was only partly discouraged by rough vigilante justice.”
sanctuary - A place of refuge or protection, where people are safe from punishment by the law. “…scores of…runaway slaves…were spirited…to the free-soil sanctuary of Canada.”
fugitive - A person who flees from danger or prosecution. “…southerners were demanding a new and more stringent fugitive-slave law.”
topography - The precise surface features and details of a place – for example, rivers, bridges, hills – in relation to one another. “The good Lord had decreed – through climate, topography, and geography – that a plantation economy…could not profitably exist in the Mexican Cession territory….”
mundane - Belonging to this world, as opposed to the spiritual world. “…Christian legislators must obey God’s moral law as well as mundane human law.”
statecraft - The art of government leadership. “The Whigs…missed a splendid opportunity to capitalize on their record in statecraft.”
isthmian - Concerning a narrow strip of land connecting two larger bodies of land. “…neither America nor Britain would fortify or secure exclusive control over any future isthmian waterway.”
filibustering - Referring to adventurers who conduct a private war against a foreign country. “During 1850 – 1851 two ‘filibustering’ expeditions descended upon Cuba.”
consulate - The office of a foreign official, usually not the ambassador, appointed to look after his or her country’s interests or citizens in a particular place. “...an angry mob sacked Spain’s consulate in New Orleans.”
cloak-and-dagger - Concerning the activities of spies or undercover agents, especially involving elaborate deceptions. “And incredible cloak-and-dagger episode followed.”
leak - To accidentally or deliberately disclose information supposed to be kept secret. “The secret Ostend Manifesto quickly leaked out.”
booster - One who promotes a person or enterprise, especially in a highly enthusiastic way. “An ardent booster for the West, he longed to…stretch a line of settlements across the continent.”
truce - A temporary suspension of warfare by agreement of the hostile parties. “This bold step Douglas was prepared to take, even at the risk of shattering the uneasy truce patched up by the Great Compromise of 1850.”
You just finished Chapter 19: Renewing the Sectional Struggle, 1848-1854. Nice work!
Tip: Use ← → keys to navigate! | <urn:uuid:c5f2496b-e9ff-4bb3-b016-5b497a84c9b7> | {
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Honoring The Games, And The Past, With Poetry
In the days of the ancient Greeks, poetry and sport went hand in hand at athletic festivals like the Olympics. Poets sang the praises of athletic champions and, at some festivals, even competed in official events, reciting or playing the lyre. Here at NPR, we're reviving that tradition with our own Poetry Games.
From the far reaches of the globe, we've invited poets to compose original works celebrating athletes and athletics. Each morning next week, we'll introduce a new poem on Morning Edition, and then you, the audience, will judge who should win the victor's laurel crown.
To learn more about this ancient tradition linking the poetic and the athletic, we talked with Tony Perrottet, author of The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games. "The ancient Greeks very much sought perfection in the body and the intellect," Perrottet tells NPR's Renee Montagne. "They saw it totally connected."
"At the Olympic Games," Perrottet continues, "the athletes ... would hire the greatest poets of the day to write victory odes. At the same time, all the poets of the Greek world would descend on the Olympic Games, and they would set up stalls or stand on soap boxes and just orate their new work, knowing that the finest minds in the Greek world were in one spot."
But the Olympic audience was a tough crowd — Perrottet cites one famous incident in 384 B.C. when tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse brought actors to the games to recite his poetry, and it didn't go over well: "The enraged crowd actually went and beat him up and trashed his tent," Perrottet says.
Fast-forward to the late 19th century, when Baron Pierre de Coubertin revived the games in 1896. "He was a great fan of the ancient Greeks, obviously, and he ... saw that perfection in mind and body went hand in hand," Perrottet says.
At the Stockholm Games in 1912, Coubertin got music, painting architecture and poetry — both lyric and epic — included on the Olympic roster. Coubertin even anonymously entered his own poem called "Ode to Sport" which won the gold medal that year:
"O Sport, you are Beauty! ... O Sport, you are Justice! ... O Sport, you are Happiness! The body trembles in bliss upon hearing your call ... "
"It's very inspiring stuff. ... You can imagine the athletes on the edges of their seats," Perrottet laughs.
As poetry began coming in from around the globe, translation became an issue — and quality did, too. "That was the death knell for Olympic poetry," Perrottet says. "The officials started sending letters among themselves, and they speculated that perhaps, in the words of one official, 'There are not enough artists who have connection with the world of sport.' "
The poetry portion of the games was dropped after the 1948 London Games.
Poets have long grappled with the ephemeral nature of worldly glory. The Greeks' idea was to try to "win fame in this life and thus gain a level of immortality," Perrottet says. Most of the poems that were read at the Games — both in the days of the Greeks and in the 20th century — have since been lost. So Perrottet suggests NPR kick off the Poetry Games with a quote from Homer's Illiad:
"I too shall lie in the dust when I am dead," Achilles says. "But now let me win noble renown."
Poetry Games theme music composed by Colin Wambsgans and performed by Matthew Barbier.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
And, you know, once upon a time the Olympics were not just about the body, but also the mind. Poets were celebrated at the games. And here at MORNING EDITION, we're renewing that tradition with our own poetry games.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MONTAGNE: From the far reaches of the globe, we've invited poets to compose an original poem celebrating the games. Each morning next week, we'll hear their work when you will judge at npr.org which poet will win the gold.
But first, to learn more about this ancient tradition linking the poetic and the athletic, we spoke with Tony Perrottet. He's the author of "The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games."
TONY PERROTTET: Oh, hi, there.
MONTAGNE: Let's start with the history, because it turns out that poetry goes clear back to the original games.
PERROTTET: Oh, it's a great tradition. It's very hard to imagine now, but the ancient Greeks very much sought perfection in the body and the intellect. They saw it totally connected. The Olympic Games, the athletes, you know, they were not Philistines at all. They would hire the greatest poets of the day to write victory odes.
At the same time, all the poets of the Greek world would descend on the Olympic Games and they would set up stalls or stand on soap boxes and just sort of orate their new work, knowing that the finest minds of the Greek world were in one spot.
MONTAGNE: And how would they respond if the poetry, say, wasn't great?
PERROTTET: They were very harsh critics. There was one famous incident in 384 B.C. when Dionysius of Syracuse brought actors to the games to recite his poetry, and it turned out to be doggerel. So, the enraged crowd actually went and beat him up and trashed his tent. And at some festivals, in fact, verse recital was an official event as well as playing the lyre and choral dancing.
MONTAGNE: And certainly another little known episode in the history of the Greek games is the recreation of the literary side of the games back in the early 20th century.
PERROTTET: Yeah. It's an entirely forgotten episode. What happened was Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the guy who basically revived the games in 1896, he was a great fan of the ancient Greeks, obviously, and he as well saw that perfection in mind and body went hand in hand. And it took him a while to get going. It was only until the Stockholm Games in 1912, that he finally got poetry, as well as music, painting and architecture on to the Olympic roster.
So they were medal winning competitions.
MONTAGNE: Like you could get a gold.
MONTAGNE: Or a silver or a bronze, right?
PERROTTET: Yes. And they were, like, they extended the poetry to have lyric and epic poetry as well. So, you know, it was handing out medals left, right and center. And in fact, in 1912 Pierre de Coubertin himself entered anonymously and strangely enough, he won the gold.
He poem called "Ode to Sport": O Sport, you are Beauty. O Sport, you are Justice. O Sport, you are Happiness. The body trembles in bliss upon hearing your call. So it's very inspiring stuff. You can imagine the athletes on the edges of their seats.
MONTAGNE: Right. Although maybe it lost something...
PERROTTET: In the translation.
MONTAGNE: In the translation.
PERROTTET: And that did become an issue as they started to get poems coming from Finland and places like that, but it was really the quality of it, I think, that was the death knell for Olympic poetry. The officials started sending letters amongst themselves and they speculated that perhaps, in the words of one official, there are not enough artists who have connection with the world of sport.
MONTAGNE: And so in 1952...
PERROTTET: Yes. It was quietly dropped. After the London games in '48, yeah. You know, so poetry is long thought of the idea that worldly glory is a passing thing. And the Greeks were aware of this as well, so their whole idea is to try and win fame in this life and thus gain a little immortality. And winning the Olympic Games was a version of that.
My suggestion is that since so many of the ancient Greek poems have been lost, as well as the 20th century ones, a nice quote might be from Homer's "Iliad." We have Achilles who ponders the vagaries of celebrity and that's: I too shall lie in the dust when I am dead, but now let me win noble renown.
MONTAGNE: Tony Perrottet, thank you very much for joining us.
PERROTTET: Well, thanks so much for having me.
MONTAGNE: Tony Perrottet is the author of "The Naked Olympics." Be sure to listen all next week for MORNING EDITION's own poetry games. Five great poets from around the world - you get to judge who gets the gold at npr.org.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:
You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio. | <urn:uuid:a342fa4d-542a-4365-bb01-f3accb7c29cc> | {
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Now that I’ve written the dovetail post, it has occurred to me that I may have jumped the gun a little bit. The dovetail is an incredible, beautiful joint, but it’s just one of many. So for this post, I’m going to zoom out and break down the basics of traditional joinery. After all, joinery does define a timber frame.
A joint is the area where two separate pieces connect. In timber framing, there are many different types of joints and connections. A frame can be completely constructed using traditional joinery, or a frame can be constructed using joints that are reinforced with steel plates and steel ties that are capable of carrying particularly heavy structural loads. Let’s start with traditional joinery.
The traditional way to join one timber to another is by making cuts in the wood so the two beams can fit together like puzzle pieces. Female and male cuts are made in the timber. The male cuts of timber are inserted into the female cuts to create a connection. The connection is held secure with hardwood pegs that are hammered into the joint.
A Mortise is the female part of a joint. It is a notch, hole, or cut in a piece of wood into which a Tenon is inserted.
A Tenon is the male part of a joint. It is the cut end of a timber that fits into a mortise.
Hardwood pegs are used to further fasten mortise and tenon connections.
Timbers that are connected using mortise and tenon cuts with hardwood pegs are traditionally joined. The geometry of the joints carries structural loads and the hardwood pegs hold the joints secure. Traditional framing requires no nails, steel, or any metals. The way the wood is connected creates a secure, strong frame that can stand for hundreds of years.
At Vermont Timber Works, pride is taken in all parts of the timber framing process. There are experts in the shop, and in the office, who have been in the framing business for over 20 years, so they know a thing or two about crafting strong and beautiful timber connections.
Thanks for stopping by our timber framer’s blog! If you like this post, or have any timber work questions, we encourage you to get in contact, ask as expert, or share your thoughts in the comment section below! | <urn:uuid:c97f27f4-7b15-4ad3-9c13-60523d49eef2> | {
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Dish with the Destruction of Troy
Master Francesco di Piero, Italian (Castel Durante and Venice), active 1540 - 1560
Francesco di Piero had workshops in both Castel Durante and Venice; the inscription on this dish documents that it was made in the latter city. The composition is adapted from a large fresco showing the battle of Constantine executed by Giulio Romano in the Vatican. The use of Romano's fresco is curious since the fall of Troy didn't involve this kind of battle. It is possible that the female figure being abducted by a horseman is intended to be Helen of Troy.
Maiolica is an Italian term used to describe a tin-glazed ceramic that reached the height of its popularity during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Fairly inexpensive, maiolica wares were suitable for everyday use, frequently taking the form of pharmacy jars, vases, and dishes.
Maiolica was born of a desire to emulate porcelain, a delicate and translucent form of pottery that until the eighteenth century only the Chinese knew how to make. The technique was a complicated multi-step process. First, the clay was collected, strained, and dried to a plastic consistency. Then it was shaped into the desired wares, by wheel, mold, or hand and fired in a kiln. Once fired, the ceramic was covered with an opaque white glaze containing tin, an expensive metal imported into Italy from England or the Low Countries (present-day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). The porous ceramic absorbed this glaze immediately, leaving a powdery white coating on the surface. It was then painted using pigments made from ground metals suspended in water. The most common pigments were made from metallic oxides: copper made green, iron made orange, manganese made purple, cobalt made blue, antimony made yellow, and tin made white. Again the ceramic absorbed the water in the paint, leaving the pigments on the surface and making it nearly impossible to correct any errors or change the composition. When the painting was completed, some vessels were coated with a shiny lead glaze, and then all were fired again at a slightly lower temperature.
* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit. | <urn:uuid:024697f6-5df5-4888-897a-74c9a0ef636a> | {
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"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609539493.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005219-00131-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9763976335525513,
"score": 3.203125,
"token_count": 495,
"url": "http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/47886.html?mulR=27219%7C1"
} |
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