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Design Days are here!
Maybe you already know about Design Days, but did you know that Energy Modeling was basically invented to determine the design day, and the design hour?
What is a Cooling Design Day and why is it important?
The Cooling Design Day is effectively the "worst case" day for your air conditioning loads. The "worst case" hour of this day determines equipment capacity, fan sizes, and subsequently duct sizes. This largely impacts first cost. The Design Hour also impacts peak KW demand which often has a huge impact on the utility bill.
When is the Design hour?
A common rule of thumb is that the design hour occurs during July at 15:00. The summer months are common but a peak in any month is possible especially in warmer climates where the solar angle fluctuates more than the ambient conditions.
I pulled up a random file and plotted the design loads. The "rule" for July doesn't hold. In fact, September shows a higher peak than July!
Why is my Cooling Design Day in December (or October, November, January etc)?
You are expecting a Cooling Design Day to occur sometime between June and August, but yet you simulate and find that December has your peak design. The model must be GIGO, right? Well, maybe, but the first thing you should consider is whether or not you are in Climate zones 1-3. In warmer climates, the solar angle can often influence the design day more than the ambient conditions because the solar angle fluctuates to a greater degree. At lower latitudes, the summer solar angle results in the sun hitting the roof, but in the winter the solar angle is lower and the sunlight enters the windows, producing a very high solar heat gain, which can easily offset the more temperate ambient conditions. It's common to have a cooling design day in the winter months, especially if you have a lot of southern facing fenestration (in the Northern hemisphere of course).
What are the predominate conditions that effect the design day?
Most people consider the dry bulb temperature to influence the design day the most. This is flawed thinking. Heat transfer (UA Delta T) is often only 10% of the peak design load. These are common factors and common "weight" of the total cooling load for a typical building.
- Solar Heat Gain (20-30% but can jump as high as 70% or more)
- Ventilation (20-30%)
- UAΔT Conduction (5-10%)
- People, Lights, and Plug Loads (25-35%)
- Fan heat (3-8%)
Here's a snapshot of a real model's peak cooling loads by category:
It should be noted that People, Lights, and Plug loads will typically have a consistent peak value in 12 month occupancy. Fan heat would be consistent as well. Thus, the typical variables that decide the cooling design are the Ambient and solar conditions, with the two largest factors being solar heat gain, and ventilation.
Do not forget that the ventilation load is based on the ENTHALPY - not just the dry bulb but the wet bulb. In temperate climates, the wet bulb can stay relatively constant and therefore the predominating factor is the solar heat gain, which is largely influenced by the angle and inclination of the sun. Thus, the direction of fenestration can align differently and cause a peak at virtually anytime.
My cooling design hour occurs at night. Why?
If your cooling design hour occurs at night and you don't have a clue why, it's likely that you have a terrible energy model. However, in some buildings, a peak cooling hour at night is possible most likely due to a variable in people, lights, and plug loads, which of course would also increase the ventilation load. | <urn:uuid:e7e38eff-97ec-4c89-bc76-83fbc3868e06> | {
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DENVER (CBS4)– Looking for a silver lining from last month’s historic and devastating floods that struck Colorado may be hard but scientists are using the disaster as a learning experience.
Floods are nothing new to Coloradans but this flooding was unlike any other.
“It doesn’t really compare to any others that I have been through,” said Colorado native JD Benedict.
Benedict was 18 years old when the South Platte River flooded through Denver in 1965.
“We were standing there, watching trailer houses float down the river,” he remembered.
That flood ripped through the streets of Denver leaving a path of destruction.
Colorado’s governor at the time spoke of the residents’ incredible resiliency.
“I can’t say how proud I am of the citizens of Colorado and how they’ve handled this thing,” said former Gov. John Love.
Still, flooding was nothing new then.
Photos CBS4 found at the Denver Public Library show Walsenburg underwater in 1886 and Cherry Creek running through West Denver in 1894.
Of all Colorado floods the Big Thompson River flood in 1976 was the state’s deadliest, killing 144 people.
“The events we’ve seen in the past, the Big Thompson Canyon flood and the Fort Collins flood back in 1997, those were all thunderstorms that blew up in a small area,” said Kelly Mahoney, a science at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “They all rained themselves out in a matter of six hours or less.”
The meteorological phenomenon that fed the moisture in the most recent flood was a stagnant pattern that stayed in place.
That storm dumped as much as 18 inches of rain along the Front Range over the course of seven consecutive days.
Kelly Mahoney said that they haven’t found any flood like it yet and many lessons will be learned.
“The way we always conceptualized extreme rainfall in this area is going to have to shift a little bit in order to really be prepared going forward,” said Mahoney.
CBS4’s Jim Benemann asked Mahoney if events like this could become more common.
“Even if the frequency doesn’t necessarily increase in this area,” said Mahoney, “the idea that we can continue to get as intense, if not more intense, events is certainly consistent with the theory.”
Scientists will study the 2013 floods for quite some time. Now they are focusing on accessing storm alerts from the National Weather Service for looking at emergency preparedness responses.
–Written for cbs4denver.com by Conor McCue
Colorado Floods: How To Help
The recent floods are impacting families and communities throughout Colorado, so CBS4 has compiled a list of ways you can support the local communities impacted by the floods. | <urn:uuid:e2f9e89b-7328-4d75-8a8f-33159742bd88> | {
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Latest photos on AncientFaces
No one from the Mikota community has shared photos. Here are new photos on AncientFaces:
Mikota Surname History
The family history of the Mikota last name is maintained by the AncientFaces community. Join the community by adding to to this genealogy of the Mikota:
- Mikota family history
- Mikota country of origin, nationality, & ethnicity
- Mikota last name meaning & etymology
- Mikota spelling & pronunciation
- genealogy and family tree
Mikota Country of Origin, Nationality, & Ethnicity
No one has submitted information on Mikota country of origin, nationality, or ethnicity. Add to this section
No content has been submitted about the Mikota country of origin. The following is speculative information about Mikota. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
The nationality of Mikota is often very difficult to determine in cases which regional boundaries change over time, making the nation of origin indeterminate. The original ethnicity of Mikota may be difficult to determine depending on whether the family name came in to being naturally and independently in different locales; for example, in the case of family names that are based on professions, which can crop up in multiple countries independently (such as the family name "Miller" which referred to the profession of working in a mill).
Mikota Meaning & Etymology
No one has submitted information on Mikota meaning and etymology. Add to this section
No content has been submitted about the meaning of Mikota. The following is speculative information about Mikota. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
The meaning of Mikota come may come from a profession, such as the name "Fisher" which was given to fishermen. Some of these trade-based surnames can be a profession in another language. Because of this it is essential to understand the ethnicity of a name, and the languages used by its family members. Many names like Mikota come from religious texts like the Bhagavadgītā, the Quran, the Bible, and so on. Commonly these family names relate to a religious expression such as "Grace of God".
Mikota Pronunciation & Spelling Variations
No one has added information on Mikota spellings or pronunciations. Add to this section
No content has been submitted about alternate spellings of Mikota. The following is speculative information about Mikota. You can submit your information by clicking Edit.
In times when literacy was uncommon, names such as Mikota were written down based on their pronunciation when people's names were written in court, church, and government records. This could have resulted in misspellings of Mikota. Researching misspellings and spelling variations of the Mikota last name are important to understanding the etymology of the name. Names like Mikota vary in how they're said and written as they travel across communities, family unions, and countries across time.
Last names similar to MikotaMikotacyzk Mikotaczyk Mikotaiczak Mikotaiczyck Mikotajcyk Mikotajczyk Mikotajewska Mikotajewski Mikotajezak Mikotajoiyk Mikotajosyk Mikotajuk Mikotajukk Mikotajunas Mikoteit Mikoth Mikotik Mikotina Mikotis Mikotoczak
Mikota Family Tree
Here are a few of the Mikota genealogies shared by AncientFaces users. Click here to see more Mikotas
- Walter Mikota 1919 - 2000
- Ellen D Mikota 1953 - 2001
- Caroline Mikota 1913 - 1979
- Verna B Mikota 1920 - 2003
- Steve Mikota 1914 - 1986
- John Mikota 1904 - 1973
- Cecelia Mikota 1914 - 2007
- Joseph Mikota 1909 - 1983
- Steve Mikota 1917 - 1988
- George Mikota 1908 - 1978 | <urn:uuid:b3ca94b1-c5d4-45f5-9df3-ac143cbc0552> | {
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At the Neenah Joint School District, we fundamentally believe that all students can learn. Students learn best from teachers that use research-based instructional strategies and assessment tools to inform instruction. We believe students must also be engaged in rigorous and relevant activities that are presented by an engaging and personable teacher. We believe that a school culture must manifest a pervasive attitude of "a passion for excellence for every student, in every classroom, and every day."
We believe a successful education formula consist of two variables. The art of education added to the science of education equals personal growth and self fulfillment for both a student and a teacher. We define the art of education as the personal connections between adults and students that is motivating, inspiring and supported with appreciation for each other. The science of education is knowing what students should learn, planning how they are going to learn and assessing their learning. | <urn:uuid:436a7fb1-5048-400e-a587-8ad092ba8401> | {
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PUERTO NUEVO HISTORY
History of Puerto Nuevo
In 1954 Rosa María Plasencia’s father came to live in what’s now the famous lobster village of Puerto Nuevo. He came because he’d heard there were lobsters there lots of them. There were. A year later Rosa María’s mother’s family came. The two young people met, fell in love, married and built a tiny house across the street from what is now the family restaurant, Puerto Nuevo II.
At that time there were only two or three families living on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific. Every day the men went out to sea in their pangas. Every afternoon their wives would scan the waters until they saw their husbands’ boats materialize on the horizon. Once a positive sighting was made, they’d rush to heat up beans and rice, pound out some fresh tortillas and put a kettle of lard on the fire. The men always came back ravenous, and when they unloaded their catch of lobsters, they’d slice a few in half, drop them into the bubbling lard and fry them up. There was no refrigeration back then, so the now-famous meal of fresh fried lobster, beans, rice and tortillas came into being purely out of necessity. The sea provided the lobsters. Beans and rice didn’t need to be refrigerated, and the tortillas could be made on the spot. Even to this day, Rosa María and her husband, Enrique Murillo eats mayonnaise with their lobster instead of melted butter. Why? Because that’s what was served when they were growing up, and they like it.
Occasionally some Americans would show up and ask the men to take them fishing in their pangas. When they came back in, they’d join the Mexicans in a big meal. As is typical still today at fish camps up and down Baja, no money ever changed hands. The Americans gave soda, ham, sandwiches, cookies, candy and whatever else they had to spare in return for the fine food. In about 1956, Rosa María’s father sent to Guadalajara for his brother and sister. They came and joined in the fishing and cooking. A few more families migrated to the area. One built a little stand next to the bus stop, where the welcoming arches are now. They sold sodas, snacks and burritos. Next to their stand was a billboard advertising New Port cigarettes. The Americans named the village after that sign, which, translated into Spanish is Puerto Nuevo!
Over the years more and more people came from central Mexico. Some were intent on making their way to the USA, but stayed to fish and serve lobsters to the ever-growing crowds of visitors. A political activist, Señora Rentería, helped the families in Puerto Nuevo to get a grant from the government so they could have additional land to build on. She succeeded in getting 17 plots of land assigned to the locals and in gratitude for this; they named the village’s main street after her. Restaurant Puerto Nuevo I founded by Rosa María’s aunt and stepfather was built on the first lot assigned. Puerto Nuevo II was built on the second lot, and got its name because of it. A third family built yet another restaurant. All of them charged about 50 cents for a lobster dinner back then. According to Enrique Murillo, people didn’t just order a dinner apiece. They came in large groups and ordered lobsters by the half or full dozen. They picked the live lobsters out themselves and watched, as they were sliced open and cooked in sizzling lard. Even though their husbands have passed on, all three ladies who helped found the first three restaurants are still alive today to witness their thriving village with its current total of 34 restaurants.
A major growth spurt occurred in Puerto Nuevo in the ‘70s when the Ortega family came to town and built four restaurants, which they publicized widely. The signs for all the Ortega’s are easily visible from the toll road and these days, three to four thousand people make the trip to Puerto Nuevo to enjoy lobster dinners each week. Some come after a shopping trip to Rosarito, others on their way to or from Ensenada, some come on their way to or from southern Baja, but most come just for the food. There are several upscale hotels nearby now. There are plenty of shops too, where visitors can buy souvenirs from their visit to Mexico’s most famous lobster village.
A few months ago, representatives from one of Mexico City’s most renowned restaurants, Hacienda de los Morales, came to visit Enrique Murillo and Rosa María Plasencia. This is a restaurant where presidents dine and governor’s daughters get married. The owners flew the Murillos to Mexico City and had Rosa María teach their chefs how to prepare lobster, rice, beans and even tortillas Puerto Nuevo style. They convinced her to pass on the secret recipe for her legendary smoked marlin with mushrooms and chipotle sauce. Hacienda de los Morales anticipated selling about 50 lobster dinners a day when they introduced them onto their menu, but at last check they were selling upwards of 80! That would indicate, it seems, that Puerto Nuevo has become famous, not just with locals and American tourists, but on a national level within Mexico. It’s a fame that’s well deserved and hard earned, just as Puerto Nuevo is a place not to be overlooked by travelers heading down the road to Ensenada.
Excerpt from The Baja Tourist Guide, October 2000 issue | <urn:uuid:aef1254a-7f00-43cd-91eb-e41e5e6341a3> | {
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The protests in Hong Kong which have reverberated around the world have had more impact on Taiwan than anywhere else.
The anxieties they triggered about Beijing's intentions toward Taiwan came to the boil in demonstrations in Taipei. On Sunday June 23, for example, a rally by around 5,000 mostly young people against Hong Kong's controversial extradition bill was followed by a much larger protest involving hundreds of thousands criticizing Chinese influence on Taiwan's media.
They urged the government to take action against the so-called "Red Media," a reference to local outlets purchased by business people with interests in China.
While the Red Media are at the front of the Taiwanese protesters' complaints, the extradition law is clearly not far behind. The fear that Beijing is tightening its grip on the former British colony exacerbates Taiwanese people's fears about their own futures -- and brings Taiwanese and Hong Kongers closer together.
The protests in Taiwan can be traced to the beginning of this year. On January 2, the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Message to the Compatriots in Taiwan, when China urged reunification, China's President Xi Jinping prepared his own Message to the Taiwanese, reiterating the call for unification and putting both Taiwan and the U.S. on high alert.
Xi avoided altogether the previous tacit understanding between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang under the so-called "1992 Consensus" that there was "one China but with two different interpretations." This so-called consensus supposedly left open whether sovereignty rested in the Republic of China (i.e. Taiwan) or the People's Republic of China and has been used by the Kuomintang as its cross-strait policy platform in past elections.
Instead, Xi emphasized that the principle of "one country, two systems," which already applies to Hong Kong, was the only option for Taiwan. Xi reiterated that "while Chinese do not fight Chinese," Beijing would not forgo the military option if it deemed it necessary.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen pre-empted Xi's message by delivering a strongly worded New Year speech, which clashed with his. She introduced the four "musts" as the crucial foundations determining whether cross-strait relations can develop positively. She demanded China acknowledge the existence of the Republic of China and handle cross-strait differences peacefully and on equal footing.
Tsai's defiance earned her a new nickname: La Tai Mei ("tough Taiwanese girl").
Hong Kong's protests against the bill, which would allow extraditions to mainland China, have had tremendous political and psychological impact on Taiwanese, especially younger people. Youngsters in Taiwan now think that, if one country, two systems is implemented in Taiwan, their freedom of expression and to assemble will be doomed as they think it is in Hong Kong.
Lam Wing-Kee, one of the five Hong Kong booksellers, who disappeared in 2015, only to turn up months later in Chinese custody to "confess" his supposed crime on television, told the crowd at the Taipei Anti-Red Media rally, "If Taiwan is ruled by the mainland in the future, every one of you might have to run for your lives just like me."
For those of us who live in or work in Taiwan, the link between Beijing's hardened stance on Taiwan and Hong Kong's extradition law proposal is quite obvious. Most Taiwanese, including those who vote for the KMT (now in opposition), enjoy the freedom and protection of rights that comes with the democratic system, and there is no desire to give that up.
With a presidential election due early next year, Taiwan's national identity, sovereignty and the extent to which political candidates plan to defend its democratic way of life are the center of debate.
Tsai has declared her views. The KMT, which has long leaned closer to Beijing, is still to make its official position clear, as the five presidential candidates in the party primaries have concentrated on economic issues.
However, they may yet be pushed to refocus on Beijing: a recent survey from Taiwan's Academia Sinica showed most respondents now value sovereignty over economic gains in cross-strait relations. This pro-independence spirit will, in my view, last long after the polls -- for as long as China continues to try to stifle Taiwan.
The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy's 2019 survey, due to be released this month, will echo last year's result, that the overwhelming majority of people -- 73% -- believe that even though democracy is imperfect, they thought it was still the best form of government to live under.
The Taiwanese government is amending legislation to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty and national security by outlawing "Chinese community surrogates" such as the Red Media, local political parties and civil society organizations that are spreading the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda and participating in official political events organized by the PRC.
In her most recent speech at Columbia University on July 13, during her stopover to visit Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Caribbean, Tsai reemphasized that the conviction of Taiwanese stands with the young people in Hong Kong, and the "one country, two systems" experience there demonstrated to the world that authoritarianism and democracy cannot coexist in one place.
If Xi sticks with his hard stance toward Hong Kong and Taiwan, it will only drive people in Hong Kong and Taiwan closer together and make it impossible for Beijing to fulfill its hopes of unification.
Ketty W. Chen is vice president of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. | <urn:uuid:66cec5da-f843-4603-9483-855c6f9c4734> | {
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A narrative or story that describes the activities of one or more persons, including information about goals, expectations, actions, and reactions.
The graphic depiction of a PERT or CPM chart.
In the cognitive-dimensions framework, extra information in means other than formal syntax. Examples include layout in programs and circuit diagrams and penciled annotations on music. See the text for more details.
The “S” in GOMS, selection rules are the rules people use to choose between multiple methods that accomplish the same goal. They typically depend on characteristics of the task or user’s personal preferences or knowledge.
One of the foundations of nearly all mathematics and formalism in computing is the manipulation of sets (unordered collections of things) and functions.
One can plan to descend a set of rapids in a canoe, and one can plan and replan as one goes along, but one cannot (successfully) plan the descent and then merely execute the actions. Suchman, in her 1986 book “Plans and situated actions”, analyzed action as necessarily improvisational. Actions are undertaken in response to the constantly changing physical and social environment. An important consequence of this is to make plans and planning a resource for action, and not simply as the determinant of action.
A mental model derived from a text that represents what the text is about.
Movement through a problem space by applying a known operator at every state, from a known start state to a known end state. (see problem solving for a contrasting type of behavior).
A taxonomy of three qualitatively distinct levels of cognitive control. An expert human operator may exhibit any or all levels of cognitive control, depending upon the situation. This is not to be confused with models that describe stages of acquiring expertise or skill.
an error that occurs during action planning or execution when an appropriate system goal was selected
A computational cognitive architecture developed by Allen Newel, John Laird, and Paul Rosenbloom in the early 1980s. It was used as the exemplar in Newell’s 1990 book Unified Theories of Cognition. It has undergone continual development from its inception in many universities and has also been commercialized for complex modeling in military simulations and intelligent agents for video games. Soar was one of the architectures reviewed in Pew & Mavor (1998). More information about this series of architectures can be found in Newell (1990).
A way of analyzing work that focuses on how work is organized and shared across people and supporting tools. It is an analytic phase of cognitive work analysis.
socially distributed cognition
This is the theoretical position that goal-directed group activity can be understood in computational terms.
socio-organizational Church-Turing hypothesis
The recognition that organizations perform, among other things an information-processing role, and the supposition that this means we are likely to see similar structural elements and processes in the physical and social aspects of the organizations as we do in electronic computers. See:http://www.hcibook.com/alan/topics/ecology/
The investigation of social structure, social relationships, and individual social action.
instrumentation of a system such that it automatically records and time-stamps user actions and system reactions
This is a computational process that determines activation values over a set of interassociated cognitive structures. The spread of activation from one cognitive structure to another is determined by weighting values on associations among chunks. Activation values indicate degree of relevance to ongoing cognitive processes.
any individual or organization with an interest in the process or product of an analysis or design project
In computing, this usually refers to the inner memory of a computer at a particular point of time, but more generally it is that in the present that encapsulates all that of the past that can effect things in the future.
state transition network (STN)
A representation of dynamic systems including states (usually as labeled circles or boxes) and arcs labeled by actions that form transitions between the states.
A collection of informal and formal analysis techniques that focus on the differences and relationships among discrete event phenomena (e.g., a key press, a project deadline) and more continuous status phenomena (e.g., the current mouse position, the weather, the current screen display) See:http://www.hcibook.com/alan/topics/status/
See state transition network.
a graphical event-by-event enactment of all or part of a scenario, developed to communicate or analyze a user interface design; the enactment may be at a high level (e.g., major screen changes) or at a detailed level (e.g., mouse selections), depending on the usability issue being explored
A way of analyzing work that focuses on different ways that a particular control task might be carried out. An analytic phase of cognitive work analysis.
A goal that must be accomplished in service of a higher-level goal. Goals are often expressed as a hierarchy of goals and several levels of subgoals. The lowest level of subgoals are accomplished through operators, which are decomposed no further.
Originated in the social psychology of George Herbert Mead and the sociological methodology of Herbert Blumer, this places emphasis on the individual in explanations of the transactions of people and society.
syndetic modeling framework
A framework that looks at the interactions among different kinds of models—in particular, models of system behavior and models of human activity. See Barnard, May, Duke, and Duce (2000). | <urn:uuid:b7f7876a-c267-4305-a959-15d6cff5b3ec> | {
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Community Dental Preventive Programs
COMMUNITY DENTAL PREVENTIVE PROGRAMS
The dental diseases and problems that pose the greatest burden to most communities are dental caries (tooth decay), periodontal (gum) diseases, oral cancer, and trauma. These can be largely prevented through a combination of community, professional, and individual strategies. Community preventive programs, particularly community water fluoridation and school-based dental sealant programs, have proven highly effective in reducing dental caries. The effectiveness of programs to prevent other oral health problems has not been demonstrated, but common sense and indirect evidence indicate that continued efforts to develop and implement such programs are warranted.
The first use of fluoride for caries prevention occurred in 1945 in the United States and Canada, when the fluoride concentration was adjusted in the drinking water supplies of four communities. This public health approach followed a long period of epidemiologic studies of the effects of naturally occurring fluoride in drinking water. Observation of dramatic declines in dental caries in the cities conducting the studies, compared to similar cities with low levels of fluoride in the water, led to fluoridation of water supplies in many other cities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recognized water fluoridation as one of the great public health achievements of the twentieth century, since it provides an inexpensive means of substantially improving oral health that benefits all residents of a community, without regard to their interest in, or ability to receive, dental care.
In spite of its well-documented effectiveness and safety, 100 million persons in the United States remained without fluoridated water at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Adoption of water fluoridation can require political processes that make institution of this public health measure difficult, and opponents often make unsubstantiated claims about adverse health effects of fluoridation in attempts to influence public opinion. These barriers present serious challenges to expanding fluoridation in the United States.
Fluoride prevents tooth decay by making tooth surfaces more resistant to the demineralization caused by the acids produced by bacteria in dental plaque as they metabolize carbohydrates. It also remineralizes the enamel surface of teeth weakened by the decay process, reversing the cavityproducing process. Through these effects on the surfaces of teeth, fluoride prevents dental caries in both children and adults. The success of fluoridation led to the development of other fluoride-containing products, most notably fluoride-containing dentifrices (toothpastes) and high strength gels for professional use. Promotion of regular use of fluoride dentifrices by their manufacturers and the dental profession through commercial advertising and health education in schools has proven to be another effective community intervention. By the year 2000, drinking of fluoridated water and the self-care habit of regular use of fluoride toothpaste by most persons had reduced dental caries markedly compared to levels that existed at the middle of the twentieth century.
Dental sealants are plastic coatings that can be professionally applied to pits and fissures, primarily on the chewing surfaces of molar (posterior) teeth, to protect them from dental caries. Without sealants, as much as 90 percent of all dental caries in schoolchildren occurs in pits and fissures. To be most effective, sealants should be placed on teeth soon after they erupt, but they can be applied across a wide age range. Community programs generally target vulnerable populations less likely to receive private dental care, such as children eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch programs (or from low-income families). These school-based programs select classes of schoolchildren at high risk and seek parental permission for referral to an off-site private practice or clinic, or for receipt of services provided in the school by dental professionals using portable equipment. School-based sealant delivery programs are strongly recommended on the basis of strong scientific evidence of their effectiveness in reducing caries on the chewing surfaces of permanent molars.
Other community dental-disease prevention and oral-health promotion efforts include those directed toward the public, practitioners, and policymakers to create a healthy environment, reduce risk factors, inform groups at risk, and improve knowledge and behaviors. There is evidence that comprehensive application of community approaches can reduce the use of tobacco,
The promotion of oral hygiene by manufacturers of toothbrushes and dentifrices is likely responsible for improvements in oral hygiene practices, including the current common practice of brushing teeth at least twice per day and the regular use of dental floss by many persons. The extent to which this has reduced periodontal diseases is not clear, but many people who attend to these daily practices are able to maintain their teeth for a lifetime.
Finally, the use of mouth guards and face guards while participating in contact sports is prudent practice, and is mandatory in many amateur sports and professional boxing. Examples of community-based interventions to prevent sportsrelated trauma include the development of rules and regulations; efforts to alert players, parents, and officials to the potential for injury; and better product designs.
WILLIAM R. MAAS
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1999). "Achievements in Public Health, 1900–1999: Fluoridation of Drinking Water to Prevent Dental Caries." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 48 (41):933–940.
—— (2001). "Strategies for Reducing Dental Caries, Oral and Pharyngeal Cancers, and Sports-Related Craniofacial Injuries—A Report on Recommendations of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services." Available at http://www.thecommuntyguide.org.
National Research Council (1993). Health Effects of Ingested Fluoride. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Tomar, S. L., and Asma, S. (2000). "Smoking-Attributable Periodontitis in the United States: Findings from NHANES III." Journal of Periodontology 71 (5): 743–751.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2000). "Community and Other Approaches to Promote Oral Health and Prevent Oral Disease." In Oral Health in America; A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. | <urn:uuid:d03d109d-06a8-4c8b-98fa-f09f3a3ae625> | {
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Evolutionists’ assumptions of a creation without a Creator should not go unchallenged. Mathematical probabilities alone disprove the mere existence of matter coming about by random chance. Even the existence of a universe containing biological life prohibits any possibility of countless intricate balances occurring by chance.
Yet, evolution ignores the overwhelming probabilities prohibiting the existence of this creation by random chance.
This article will focus only upon seven of the numerous, very specific conditions required in order for matter to exist in a form that is favorable to sustain life. Once we proceed beyond the rudimentary existence of matter, numerous other hurdles would still have to be accounted for.
Thus, this article will not begin to address such remaining factors as the orbits of the earth and moon, the precise tilt of the earth, issues of temperature, pressure, composition of the atmosphere and its filtration of radiation, the continuous water cycle and numerous other requirements for biological life to thrive.
The following seven requirements are usually expressed in highly technical terms. While diligent effort has been made to relay this information in more understandable terms, the concepts may be relatively complicated. Where a technical term appears, it is because no equivalent term exists that could be substituted without missing the point.
The sun is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. At the sun’s core, hydrogen is converted to helium through a nuclear reaction, releasing energy. In this process, when two protons collide, one of the protons changes into a neutron. The two bond together, forming a new particle, known as a deuteron, consisting of one proton and one neutron.
The instantaneous change of a proton into a neutron is possible because the mass of both particles are nearly the same. The particle of greater mass will generally transform into a particle of lesser mass by giving up a tiny percentage of its mass during the collision. A neutron is about one part in 1,000 greater in mass than a proton—nearly identical. Thus, the formation of deuterons in the sun’s core would never take place if the neutron mass was significantly greater or less than the proton. In short, deuterons would not form unless the relative mass of each particle was within 0.1 percent of the other.
Stars are able to produce nuclear energy through the formation of deuterons. Without this critical process, no star would produce enough sustained energy to support life on any planet orbiting around it. Deuterons are vital to sustaining the sun’s thermonuclear reaction, which provides sufficient energy to sustain life on earth.
The lifetime of a neutron, when outside of the nucleus, is about 15 minutes, in which it decays into a proton and an electron. If a neutron were only 0.998 of its actual size, free protons (particles that are not part of a nucleus) would then decay into neutrons—and atoms simply would not exist! In such a case, free protons would decay into neutrons, and—since the nucleus of a hydrogen atom is simply a free proton—hydrogen could not exist!
Thus, a relative mass change of even the slightest proportions between neutrons and protons would eliminate hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. Consider: Without hydrogen, water (H2O)—the basic solvent for all biological life—would not exist. In short, if the relative mass of protons vs. neutrons deviated beyond 0.001 percent—life could not exist!
Is it logical to believe that such mathematical precision could evolve over a long period of time? Or that it could come about instantaneously without forethought of planning?
Consider how such slim possibilities greatly undermine the assumptions that evolutionists merely take for granted.
Scientists have been able to measure and compare the relative proton and electron charge within atoms, and have established that these charges can only differ by less than one part in 1,000,000,000,000,000 (one quadrillion). Therefore, since the charge of the electron is of equal magnitude to the charge of the proton, atoms tend to maintain a neutral charge.
However, if one of these charged particles differed by only one part in 1,000,000,000 (one billion), then an atom would no longer be electrically neutral. If the proton charge were greater, atoms would be electrically positive. If the electron charge were greater, then atoms would become electrically negative. In such cases, atoms would no longer be neutral, but would possess a definite charge—positive or negative. Since like charges repel, in such a case there would be repulsion between atoms of elements—and solid matter could not exist!
The thin line of tolerance of this electrical charge is extremely intricate. What is the probability that the charge of these particles would be almost identical, if the universe occurred by chance—without any design from an intelligent mind?
The force that binds the particles of the atomic nucleus together is called the strong nuclear force. If the strong nuclear force were only about three percent stronger, then all the hydrogen in the universe would have long since been transformed into helium! Such an increased force would cause two protons to form a helium nucleus lacking a neutron (diproton). Since the strong nuclear force is not quite strong enough to bring about this reaction, we have hydrogen in abundance, so vital for an environment favorable for life—providing for water, and energy for the sun. Stars fueled exclusively by helium would be relatively short-lived, and may even explode during their formation process.
If the strong nuclear force were about five percent stronger, diprotons would form in the sun’s core, making the thermonuclear reactions many millions of times more efficient. This would cause its thermonuclear fuel to be used up in a short span of time, relatively speaking.
Now suppose the strong nuclear force was reduced to a hundredth of its normal strength—then what? Protons would repel each other in the nucleus. Hence, no elements could exist other than hydrogen, which has only one proton!
Now suppose that the strong nuclear force was reduced by one-third of its normal capacity. In such a case, there could exist a number of elements. All these elements, including carbon and oxygen, would be unstable, with relatively short lifetimes. If planets existed under such conditions, they would be extremely radioactive due to the continuous decay of unstable elements.
If the strong nuclear force were reduced by only five percent, then deuterons could not exist. Remember that deuterons are crucial for the sustained nuclear reaction of the sun. The strong nuclear force, as the other requirements thus covered, has to fall within a relatively narrow range in order for a favorably balanced universe to sustain life.
Again, what is the probability that the universe came into existence by random chance?
Stop and think about the careful creative forethought that has to precede even the existence of matter, since blind chance could never have come up with the exact combination of such infinite possibilities.
Concerning the universe, if the epsilon constant (factor pertaining to gravitational forces) deviated only slightly in one direction in relation to gravitational fine structure, all stars would be red dwarfs. (Dwarf stars—generally, white dwarfs—are the remaining cores of stars that have essentially completed their life cycles. After the remaining nuclear fuel is expended, these cores eventually become dark cinders.)
If the epsilon constant deviated in the other direction, all stars would intensify into blue giants—huge stars with energy levels of enormous intensity. As an example, of two stars in the neighborhood of our sun, Rigel, a blue giant, is over five times hotter than Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the later stages of its life cycle that will eventually collapse into a white dwarf.
Although the definition of these two forces is beyond the scope of this article, a summary of these definitions will serve to show how intricate these ranges truly are. The epsilon constant is defined as the fine structure constant to the twelfth power, multiplied by the electron/proton mass ratio to the fourth power. The value of the epsilon constant in the universe is expressed as 2.0e-39 (0.00000000000000000000000 0000000000000002). This is an extremely delicate force that has to be maintained without even the slightest deviation—else the universe could not exist in a stable condition. The value of the gravitational fine structure force is 5.9e-39. This force, relative to the epsilon constant, is equally critical for the stability of the universe. On a calibrated instrument one kilometer long, the tolerance of the range of this force could be no wider than one millimeter.
The pressures needed for life to exist on earth would become enormously complicated if our sun were a blue giant. The intensity of the radiation would be such that the earth would have to be removed far beyond Pluto’s current location in relation to the sun. Such an orbit would impose a host of unbalanced conditions hostile for biological life to continue. For example, in such an orbit, a year would exceed a decade!
On the other hand, if our sun were a red dwarf, the earth would have to be much closer to it than Mercury is currently located. Many of the same problems that have made Mercury hostile for life would exist on Earth—only much worse. At such a close distance, a red dwarf’s gravitational forces would virtually prevent the earth from rotating. The side facing it would overheat, while the dark side would lose most of its heat, resulting in a temperature differential that would quickly dissipate the gases in the atmosphere.
Scientists agree that neither a blue giant nor a red dwarf can support life on an orbiting planet. Yet, the exact balance of the epsilon constant relative to the gravitational fine structure force is required for biological life to exist. The slightest deviation in one direction or the other would cause all the stars in the universe to quickly develop into either blue giants or red dwarfs.
What are the chances that an un-designed, random universe would somehow “find” this thin, hairline range of tolerance and never deviate from such an intricate balance?
Consider the primordial expansion velocity, the speed at which the universe has to expand in order to escape the inward pull of the gravity of all the universe. The primordial escape velocity (essentially the cumulative gravitational force of the universe) is the opposite force, which is precisely equal to the primordial expansion velocity.
If the primordial expansion velocity had been only one part in a million greater than the primordial escape velocity, the universe would have expanded so rapidly that matter could not have formed together into galaxies!
On the other hand, if the primordial expansion velocity had been only one part in a million less than the primordial escape velocity, then the matter of the universe would have formed into black holes instead of galaxies. In such a case, there would be no stars radiating energy to supply heat and light.
What are the chances that these two intricate forces could balance each other with precisely equal values in an un-designed, random universe?
The cosmological constant is somewhat related to the primordial escape velocity. The expanding universe is inhibited by the cumulative force of gravity from all the galaxies. This force is analogous to the propulsion of a rocket, which must overcome earth’s gravity, which would otherwise hold it back. The force of gravity that inhibits the expansion of the universe is such that this force decreases as distance increases. Imagine such a force with opposite characteristics, in that it increases with distance, causing the universe to expand more rapidly. This opposite force is called the cosmological constant.
The value of the cosmological constant is very close to zero. To express the actual value of this constant, it would be written as less than 0.000000000000000000000000000000001 per square meter. Suppose this cosmological constant were to increase to the level of 0.0001 per square meter. In this case, a distortion of spacetime would take place over any distance more than a few kilometers. Under these conditions, one who traveled more than a few kilometers would not be able to return to his place of origin.
If the value of the cosmological constant were decreased from 0.0001 to only 0.0000000001, then the distortion of spacetime would not take effect until one traveled about one-tenth of the distance to the sun. Even with this “slightly improved” level, planets would not be able to have suitable orbits around stars. It is not necessary to understand the concept of spacetime, but rather to appreciate the precision of the cosmological constant in order for the universe to exist as we know it.
Scientists indicate that there would exist only a very few stars if a different cosmological constant permitted a different rate of expansion to occur. The optimum rate of expansion that did occur allowed for the formation of the maximum range of stars in all the myriads of galaxies. As mentioned in the previous section, a faster rate of expansion would have prevented the formation of stars. A slower rate would have caused matter to form into black holes instead of galaxies. (Black holes are theorized to be the result of the runaway collapse of very massive stars. Not even light can escape the crushing gravity of tiny black holes—usually only about five miles in diameter.)
The correct level of the cosmological constant incorporated 32 zeros in this minute number that approaches the value of zero. If the extremely delicate force only had less than 30 zeros, then the expansion of the universe would have been explosive, allowing no stars to form. Had this number been decreased to more than 34 zeros, then the expansion would have been overcome by gravity, resulting in an inevitable collapse of the universe. This very sensitive and intricate force had to stabilize at an optimal value very close to zero in order for the universe to form.
The probability is virtually nil that such an optimum value could have been established by random chance!
Again, do not worry if you do not fully grasp these technical concepts. Our goal is to help you appreciate how this could never have happened apart from the careful planning of a Creator and Designer.
The weak nuclear force allows a proton to change into a neutron at the optimum rate. If this force were only slightly smaller, then all of the hydrogen in the universe would have long since been changed into helium. As covered earlier, hydrogen is an essential part of the water molecule—and water is essential for all biological life.
Two types of thermonuclear reactions take place in any star in the production of energy. The first reaction (discussed in Requirement 1) involves the formation of a deuteron as two protons collide, producing one proton and one neutron bound together.
The second reaction occurs when a deuteron collides with a proton, producing a light helium nucleus with an emission of energy. Unless the weak nuclear force existed at the specified magnitude as occurs in the universe, deuterons would never form in the first reaction. The rate of transformation into deuterons is actually a very small percentage of the collisions involving two protons. Yet this restrained rate of reaction—caused by the strong nuclear force relative to the weak nuclear force—is what allows the sun’s thermonuclear reaction to be maintained at a favorable and sustainable rate.
If the value of this weak nuclear force were only slightly diminished, the energy-producing thermonuclear reactions of stars would simply cease! If this value were slightly increased, then the reactions would greatly intensify, burning up all available fuel in a relatively short time, by cosmic standards.
By being at an optimum level with respect to the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force allows the sustained reactions of the sun and stars to occur at a rate favorable for biological life!
Universe Analyzer, a software program popular on engineering campuses a few years back, helped in calculating the mathematical probability of an un-designed universe meeting the seven requirements for the existence of life. Some of the information in this article was condensed and summarized from this program.
This software demonstrated how remote the probabilities were for all of these requirements to be met purely by random chance. One demonstration featured a total of 2,129 separate universe models. These models give a realistic picture of what the chances would be, given various requirements being met by random chance. Below is the list as to how many requirements were met.
• Models meeting 1 of the 7 requirements—404
• Models meeting 2 of the 7 requirements—8
• Models meeting 3 of the 7 requirements—0
• Models meeting 4 of the 7 requirements—0
• Models meeting 5 of the 7 requirements—0
• Models meeting 6 of the 7 requirements—0
• Models meeting 7 of the 7 requirements—0
Notice that of the 2,129 separate universe models, only 404 met at least one requirement by random chance. (The only requirements for which the random number generation program were able to qualify were requirements 1, 3, 4 and 7.)
Of the 2,129 models, only eight met two of the necessary requirements. Not a single model was able to meet three or more. The program user could alter the parameters to differ from the forces and constants found in the universe and score a higher probability than the demonstration covered. The point is this: Given the constants, forces and other parameters in the known universe, the probability of these seven requirements being met by chance would be nil for millions upon millions of separate models conducted continually across time!
A few decades ago, Harlow Shapley, a noted astronomer, made an interesting admission that still defines the predicament that evolutionists have always faced: “We appear, therefore, to be rather helpless with regard to explaining the origin of the universe. But once it is set going, we can do a little better at interpretation” (The Evolution of Life, Vol. 1).
Once evolution is allowed the assumption of an orderly universe favorable for life, they “do a little better” in explaining how life might have evolved. However, the origin of such a universe can never be assumed—it simply could not have occurred without detailed, creative forethought.
There is an intelligent mind behind the origin of the universe. And this Personage unabashedly states that He had a purpose for doing so, proclaiming His power, authority and sovereignty to carry out His will. Isaiah 45:12 states, “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” Then, in verse 18, He continues, “For thus says the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He has established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.”
One method by which we can prove the existence of this Being is to recognize that any and all hypotheses for the existence of a creation without a Creator have been overwhelmingly flawed—in every case!
The One who brought the creation together asserts that He “stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in” (Isa. 40:22). Then, in verse 26, He declares, “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things, that brings out their host by number: He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one fails.” To those whose minds are receptive, God leaves no doubt as being the Author of the entire creation. Those who prefer alternate theories He leaves to their own devices—for now.
At a future time when God reveals Himself to the world in general, mankind will understand who this Creator is and why their minds were previously closed to accept and submit to His ways. Yet, those who seek to learn of Him now, and prove His existence, stand to gain more than just the understanding of the origin of the universe. That is only the starting point. It opens up possibilities so transcendent that it answers questions mankind has not yet begun to ask! | <urn:uuid:e4daeb1d-2724-4b97-a80f-03c17c5b4ea4> | {
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Just eight people own more wealth than half of the world, according to a new analysis that highlights the massive gap between the haves and the have-nots.
The eight richest people in the world, all men, together own about $426 billion, according to the report from the charity Oxfam.
On the opposite end of the spectrum: The poorest half of the world’s population, some 3.6 billion people, collectively own about $409 billion in wealth, said the report, the latest installment in a series of annual inequality reports.
“It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few,” said a statement from Oxfam executive director Winnie Byanyima.
“Across the world, people are being left behind,” added Byanyima. “Their wages are stagnating yet corporate bosses take home million dollar bonuses; their health and education services are cut while corporations and the super-rich dodge their taxes; their voices are ignored as governments sing to the tune of big business and a wealthy elite.”
The report said that its estimate of the bottom half’s wealth accounts for people who have negative wealth, or more debt than assets.
The poorest 10 percent of the global population collectively has $1.1 trillion more in debt than it does in assets. That figure gets subtracted from the rest of the bottom half of the world’s population, which collectively has $1.5 trillion in positive net wealth, or more assets than debt.
To be sure, some people with more debt than assets would not normally be described as “poor,” the report said.
“These people may be in debt but be income-rich, thanks to well-functioning credit markets (think of the indebted Harvard graduate),” the report explained. “A number of such cases will exist.”
“However, in terms of population, this group is insignificant at the aggregate global level,” the report said. “Across the world, the vast majority of people living in debt really are very poor.”
The report also said that, based on the rate at which the richest are accumulating wealth, the world may see its first trillionaire in just 25 years.
“To put this figure in perspective — you would need to spend $1 million every day for 2,738 years to spend $1 trillion,” the report said.
Last year, Oxfam estimated that 62 people owned as much wealth as the bottom half of the world’s population. But the organization said that “new and better data on the distribution of global wealth — particularly in India and China indicates that the poorest half of the world has less wealth than had been previously thought.”
“Had this new data been available last year, it would have shown that nine billionaires owned the same wealth as the poorest half of the planet, and not 62, as Oxfam calculated at the time.” | <urn:uuid:4dc8ad69-29b3-4737-a781-856c30f05847> | {
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7 essential life skills every child needs and how parents can encourage them
By Ellen Galinsky
Adapted from the author’s book Mind in the Making (HarperCollins)
We all want the best for our children, but how do we ensure that they not only survive but thrive–today and in the future?
For children to reach their full potential in school, the workforce and in life, we know, of course, that they need to acquire knowledge in many different areas. And they also need life skills so they make use of what they learn.
Others have talked about skills for the 21st century before, but eight years and interviews with and filming more than 75 of the leading researchers in child development and neuroscience have led me to new insights about which skills truly have short-term and long-term effects on children’s development–effects now and in the future.
I have concluded that there are seven essential life skills which are incredibly powerful in making children be all that they can be growing up and as adults. They involve what child development researchers call “executive functions” of the brain–the part of the brain that helps us “manage” our attention, our emotions and our behavior in order to reach our goals.
These skills weave together our social, emotional and intellectual capacities. They help us go beyond what we know–and tap our abilities to use all that we have learned in these different areas. It’s important to understand three essential points about these life skills: We as adults need them just as much as children do. In fact, we have to practice them ourselves to promote them in children. We can promote them through our daily activities with children. We don’t need expensive programs, materials or equipment. It’s never too late to help children learn these skills, no matter how old they are.
Overview of life skills
1 Focus and self-control. This skill allows children to achieve their goals in a world filled with distractions and information overload. It involves paying attention, remembering the rules, thinking flexibly and exercising self-control.
2 Perspective taking. This goes beyond empathy. It involves figuring out what others think and feel, and it forms the basis of children understanding their parents’ and teachers’ intentions. Children who can take others’ perspectives are much less likely to get involved in conflicts.
3 Communicating. It’s much more than the ability to speak, read and write. It’s the skill of determining what one wants to communicate and realizing how our communications will be understood by others. It’s a skill that teachers and employers feel is most lacking today.
4 Making connections. It’s the core of learning: what’s the same, what’s different. And the ability to make unusual connections is at the core of creativity. In a world where information is so accessible, people who can see these connections will be successful.
5 Critical thinking. It is essential for the ongoing search for valid, reliable knowledge to guide our beliefs, decisions and actions. It involves developing, testing and refining theories about “what causes what” to happen.
6 Taking on challenges. Life is full of stresses and challenges. Kids who are willing to take on a challenge (instead of avoiding it) will do better in school and in life.
7 Self-directed, engaged learning. We can realize our potential through learning. As the world changes, so can we–if we continue to learn for as long as we live.
How to encourage life skills
This article looks at just one of the seven skills and suggests ways parents can promote it with their children–now and in the future. Next month, on our Parenting page, we’ll talk about ways to encourage another skill. As you will see, helping children acquire these skills simply involves weaving them regularly into everyday activities in school and at home in playful and fun ways.
Ways to promote focus
Help infants and toddlers learn to bring themselves under control. This is a first step toward self control. You may notice that your child calms down when you carry her to a quiet place or when you use words to describe his feelings. When you follow kids’ own cues and use their strategies to calm down, you’re not imposing control. You’re helping them, even in infancy, learn to take the lead in managing themselves.
Encourage lemonade stands. This is my term for having a strong interest–so named because my daughter had a lemonade stand when she was six and seven. I saw the planning, work, stick-to-itiveness and passion it took to set up and maintain. Of course, not every child should go into the lemonade business. My point is by promoting children’s interests, we help them focus. Why do kids who are involved in the arts do well in school? Researchers have found links between the focus and motivation gained by pursuing the arts and academic achievement.
Play games that require kids to pay attention. Try the “I Spy” game, “red light, green light,” musical chairs and puzzles. Encourage games with rules that children have to remember.
Read stories in ways that encourage kids to listen, focus and remember. For example, ask preschoolers to listen to a line or two of a nursery rhyme or book and repeat it with you.
Ways to promote cognitive flexibility and self control
Choose computer games that require kids to think flexibly. Some researchers use computer games to promote these skills. In one, the children are given a joystick to move a cartoon cat around on a computer screen. At first the cat is surrounded by grass, but patches of mud begin to appear on the screen. The task is to keep the cat away from the mud, which requires a variety of skills.
Play games where kids can’t go on “automatic pilot.” You can start this with three-year-olds, but it’s best for children four and older. For example, there’s a “peg tapping” game: if you tap once, your child should tap twice or you tap twice, the child taps once. Or in a “Simon says” variation, do the opposite. Players do the opposite of what the leader says. If “Simon says stand up….” children are supposed to sit, and so forth.
‘Do you want one marshmallow now or two marshmallows later?’
In a famous research project that Dr. Walter Mischel, now at Columbia University, started in the 1960s, four year olds were asked whether they wanted one marshmallow now or two marshmallows later. Then the experimenter left the room. The children who wanted two marshmallows waited until the experimenter returned (15 minutes), but if they didn’t want to wait, they could ring a bell and bring her back. To watch a video of this experiment, go to www.mindinthemaking.org.
Sounds simple, but this study has had dramatic findings over time. As the children grew up, those who waited longer for their marshmallows were also able to pursue their academic and other goals more successfully–with less frustration and with less distraction.
As adults, the children who were able to wait longer achieved a higher educational level, were less likely to engage in bullying behavior and had less drug use. While the children who did not wait were in no way doomed, the study points to the significance of the life skills of focus and self control for children.
The children in this study used wonderful strategies to resist temptation. Some turned their back on the marshmallows or sat on their hands. Others sang songs to keep themselves distracted or shook their heads as if to say ”no, no, no.”
Dr. Mischel found that kids can be taught to use these and other techniques to help them manage frustration and delay gratification. The small things that parents can do make a big difference!
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At the 25th Annual SAS conference in LA last month, Tom Sito delivered the opening keynote entitled ‘Moving Innovation, A History of Computer Animation’. In it he examined the history of computer animation – which many of us think we know; Apple, Steve Jobs, Pixar, Dreamworks, Star Wars, Tron etc. Sito went beyond this and discussed the parallel history of computer graphical outputs which were largely militaristic in origin (much like the Internet and many other technological innovations) but became part of our more familiar history. This fascinating paper highlighted the many gaps in animation (and film) history.
We’ve spoken at length elsewhere about the reasons for some of these gaps (including time, money and attitudes to animation among many others) but this post isn’t about complaining about marginalisation, but more considering the extent to which we take much of our recent history, and developments for granted (and why).
Those of us who remember a largely pre-home computer (or VCR) age can still marvel at many of the digital effects, games and animations being create; though there are new generations who must assume it has always been as it is now. This is a history which Sito and others (including Cholodenko et al in 1991 and 2007) are trying to present and yet as Maureen Furniss suggested in her recent blog post – we don’t have any perfectly complete accounts in one place.
While I would argue that we shouldn’t necessarily strive for that, (it would be a very large book), we do need to keep in mind that there are sections of contemporary industry and theory which are being largely ignored. Is it the sheer pace of change versus the lack thereof in traditional publishing? How can we address these gaps? Do we need to increase the amount of digital publishing to keep pace with the visual media being developed or do we retain our selective process of research and gradually present what we can, knowing that there is too much to look at?
We also need to consider the preservation of history. We will want to be able to show the new students and scholars the origins of their subject but I think we need to be mindful of how to preserve the new technology and think about digital archives as well as traditional ones. This throws up so many more questions about the volume of information we have access to and this is where ‘taking it for granted’ comes in. Are we now at risk of digital overload and fatigue?
This post is not going to offer any solutions, this is all about questions to ponder as we go forward in our work, but to add another one…can the film and television (and indeed other humanities) scholars comment on how the digital is so pervasive that we don’t always notice it, and how are they addressing it?
I’ll end on a link to a digital effects show reel which I must say rather ruined much of what I see on TV…so I’ll ruin it for you too. I think it says a lot about the extent of our ‘invisible’ digital world…
Dr Nichola Dobson is based in Edinburgh, lecturing part time at Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh. Founding editor of Animation Studies from 2006 until 2011 and has recently established a new academic blog Animation Studies 2.0. She has published on both animation studies and television, most recently The A to Z of Animation and Cartoons (2010) and Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons (2009) for Scarecrow Press. She has published in anthologies on Crime Scene Investigation and Life on Mars as well as shorter works for the online journal FLOW. She is currently working on a book on TV animation with Paul Ward for Edinburgh University Press and a book on Scottish animator Norman McLaren. She began a new role as Vice President of the Society for Animation Studies in autumn 2011. | <urn:uuid:d6a2c46c-2cf0-4216-99ea-97f6ae71b8a6> | {
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The Bonda language, also known as Bondo or Remo, is a language spoken by the Bonda people of India.
The Bonda language belongs to the Southern subgroup of the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic language family. It is most closely related to the Gutob language.
- ^ a b Bonda at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
- ^ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Bondo". Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. | <urn:uuid:0ba3c25d-8984-46b8-ac62-684694df530a> | {
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Natural hazards pose major risks to people and property:
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are the result of physical processes:
The effects of, and responses to, a tectonic hazard vary between areas of contrasting levels of wealth:
Management can reduce the effects of a tectonic hazard:
Global atmospheric circulation helps to determine patterns of weather and climate:
Tropical storms (hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons) develop as a result of particular physical conditions:
Tropical storms have significant effects on people and the environment:
The UK is affected by a number of weather hazards:
Extreme weather events in the UK have impacts on human activity:
An example of a recent extreme weather event in the UK to illustrate:
• social, economic and environmental impacts
• how management strategies can reduce risk.
Evidence that weather is becoming more extreme in the UK.
Climate change is the result of natural and human factors, and has a range of effects:
Evidence for climate change from the beginning of the Quaternary period to the present day.
Possible causes of climate change:
• natural factors – orbital changes, volcanic activity and solar output
• human factors – use of fossil fuels, agriculture and deforestation.
Overview of the effects of climate change on people and the environment.
Managing climate change involves both mitigation (reducing causes) and adaptation (responding to change):
Managing climate change:
• mitigation – alternative energy production, carbon capture, planting trees, international agreements
• adaptation – change in agricultural systems, managing water supply, reducing risk from rising sea levels. | <urn:uuid:675b49b7-e7e4-4190-8d3c-ab62a413fd82> | {
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As humans we haven’t always been so nonchalant about how we treat the Earth. We’ve been reading The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales from Barefoot Books, enjoying seven tales and folklore stories about the symbiotic relationship between nature and people. Even if you the tales are just folklore, they do remind us that everything we do has a ripple effect.
To bring these stories to life and closer to our own understanding now, the book includes a craft idea for each story told. In the story The Magic Garden we read about how birds, thankful to have their lives spared, prepared the soil and planted seeds to grow a beautiful garden for everyone to enjoy. Along with the story, as a way to reward the birds in our neighbourhood, which in turn benefit the plants and trees around us and ultimately benefiting us, there were instructions on how to make an easy homemade bird feeder.
My kids loved making these in the backyard after school and their feeders dangle happily in our back bushes. You can invite your kids to make their own homemade bird feeders with these simple steps.
One large, open pinecone
Thread or string
Vegetable shortening or lard
A shallow dish
Note: Try going on a scavenger hunt to collect pinecones in the local park (you can add it to this printable scavenger hunt list we’ve created). If you cannot find older open pinecones, you can also use younger ones and coat the outside. We did both.
1.Using thread or string, tie a loop around the pinecones. This will be for hanging them on the trees when they’re done. I did this ahead of time as part of the craft prepration.
2.Using a small butter knife or spachula (or popsicle sticks if you have them), spread the lard over the pinecone, squishing it into the gaps and spaces.
3.With birdseed in a shallow dish, roll the pinecone around to cover it. Use your fingers to push the seeds into the lard to make them stick. Make sure to have a dish towel for fingers or else kids are bound to wipe their hands on their clothes.
4.Once you are happy with how your bird feeder looks, find the perfect branch to hang it on. These are fairly light so you can hang them on smaller branches that squirrels can’t climb on.
If you’re lucky, the birds will reward you with a visit and beautiful song. Enjoy!
Thanks to the folks at Barefoot Books for our review copy and for allowing us to share this craft idea from The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales. | <urn:uuid:16a8f71b-de53-40de-9093-2af6ed99502b> | {
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HowTo:Properly Name Your Child
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
edit What's in a name?
Congratulations. You're knocked up. Now what? For many parents, before you can decide on important issues such as whether your child will take tuba lessons or grow up to be a garbage worker, the issue of your child's name must be addressed. The child's name is the most important thing you as his or her parents can ever give. It'll be with them the rest of their lives. Forever. And ever. It is important to point out that your child has to live with whatever name you think sounds good. Your child will be the one getting his ass kicked at school because you named your son Topher and that'll be your daughter hanging off the pole on the center stage at the Lusty Lady Lucky Beaver Adult Night Club and Entertainment Centre because you named her Sparkle Gleem. So decide carefully.
Because of this, many parents feel a need to seek help from outside sources. The internet is full of websites devoted to baby naming. Some sites will tell you what names are popular. Others will tell you what a particular name means and a list of famous people who have had the name in the past.
Forget those. All you need now is this article.
| HowTo |
This article is part of Uncyclopedia's HowTo series.
See more HowTos
edit Popular Names
Each year, varying websites put out lists and lists of popular names. All this tells you is that by the time your infant hits kindergarten, there are going to be whole classes devoted to students named Jaylin or Jayden. This will, however, make your child's teacher's job easier. Instead of having to memorize the names and faces of thirty or more students, she'll now have 29 students named Jaylin and one child named Bob. Chances are, all she has to do is tell little Jaylin to come forward and help her with an assignment and next thing she knows, she's getting trampled to death by 29 Jaylins while poor Bob sits in his seat, crying his eyes out because deep down, he knew his mommy hates his guts because she named him something practical like Bob.
Still, some parents feel a need to follow trends. Whatever. Your child is going to grow up hating your guts when they're old enough to understand what it means to share the same name with 45 other students because you were too lazy to think of a different name. You've been warned. Consider sleeping with one eye open the rest of your life. Your precious Jaylin may try to smother you in your sleep.
Another name alleyway to be avoided is attaching the suffixes -en, -in, -lyn, -len, -on or -an to any random word to make a new name. The schools of America are teeming with poor children subjected to these stupid names because Mommy thought that Bricklyn is a cute name and Daddy always wanted a son named Baseballbatlen.
edit Not So Popular Names
You've now decided that the main stream, every third child born today will have this name isn't for you. Way to go. Nice work on stepping outside of the box. However, let's not get carried away and step too far outside the box. It's nice to have a child with a name that no one else has, but let's not go overboard. Names that are composed mostly of dashes and hyphens are to be avoided. Names that no one can pronounce are to be avoided. Names that look like you threw darts at a phone book and used letters stuck to the tips of the darts are to be avoided. You can make your child's name stand out, but for the love of God, don't make your child unique because you think it'll help his self esteem. It won't. Your child you named Beautiful Radience will wind up in therapy before her 5th birthday and will likely either grow up to be a lifetime member of the Mile High Club or will be asking if you want fries with that for the rest of her life.
A simple test to consider before picking a potential name is to think about the name. Then take the name and put them into these two sentences and see which one fits best:
- 1. Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States, (Insert your potential name choice here)
- 2. Ladies and Gentlemen, appearing tonight for one performance only, (Insert your potential name choice here), will be on the main stage of the Lusty Lady Lucky Beaver Adult Night Club and Entertainment Centre.
The choice is yours. Chances are, if you are already an employee at the Lusty Lady Lucky Beaver Adult Night Club and Entertainment Centre, you'll want your daughter to follow in your five inch spike plastic platform stripper shoes, so name appropriately. For the rest of the population who would prefer that we not see our daughters naked and on stage with dollar bills poking out of her lady parts, pick your child's name carefully.
edit I'm So Emotional
There are millions of possibilities out there for your child's future name. The world is full of words that would make perfect name for your spawn. A trend these days is naming your child after emotions, events and sports teams. Unless you want your child growing up as the dancer at the main stage of the Lusty Lady Lucky Beaver Adult Night Club and Entertainment Centre, I'd stay away from these names.
Examples include: Beautiful, Miracle, Lovely, Radiance, Happy, Justice, and Britney Spears.
edit Trendy With a Twist
Ok. So you've got your child's name all picked out. You still have 8 months and three weeks of your pregnancy to go before you sign that piece of paper legally burdening your child with the name that has taken you 9 months or longer to decide on. But then a thought hits you: How can I keep this original name but make it trendy?
The answer? Misspell it!
That's right. You heard me! Misspell your child's name. Christopher has morphed into Kristuphyr. A completely innocent name like Jason has been butchered into Jhayhsoune. The possibilities are endless when it comes to how stupid you want to look. Misspelling does not make you look cute, cool or hip. It makes you look like a moron because you couldn't properly spell Bob and instead, decided to spell it Opqlzdb. You will burn in hell. Your child will make sure of it once he graduates the first grade and realizes you don't spell his name Kohnnure (Connor).
edit Making a Point
So you've got your name. It's a good name, but you need something to spice it up a bit. How about throw in a few punctuation marks? Turn a boring name like Catherine into La'Cather-in-e and there you go. Your child now stands out and you look like the moron you really are. Punctuation marks belong in essays, not on a birth certificate.
edit I'm So Unoriginal
Never, never, never name your child the same as your last name. I've personally known people named Scotty Scott, Peter Peters and Bailey Bailey. Please. Get creative. The world is full of names. If you're that unoriginal that you have to resort to using your last name as a first name, you need to find the nearest bridge and jump to your death.
edit Biblical names
Thinking of naming your son Jedediah? Assuming your little girl would be happy with being named Jezebel? Absolutely convinced that Job is the right one for you? WELL DON'T! Would you place heavy weights on your toddler's shoulders? Would you want to see them bent and crumble under the weight of history? Do you really want to see them smite down heathens before they reach puberty? Save the little ones! Let them leave free of the biblical shackles!
And for the love of all things brown, stay away from the name Jesus.
So, now that you know how to name your child, you're all set.
On second thought, might want to ditch the idea of having children. Get a fern. They don't care what they're named. | <urn:uuid:df6e2c40-6787-4f75-8024-6e5d7e4074a6> | {
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Organic chemistry is the study of compounds that are based on carbon - organic compounds.
They usually contain carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds.
The exceptions - carbon monoxide, CO(g), carbon dioxide, CO2 (g), and hydrogen cyanide, HCN(g).
Molecules that contain only single carbon-carbon bonds are saturated - alkanes.
Molecules that contain double or triple carbon-carbon bonds are unsaturated - alkenes and alkynes.
Carbon’s unique bonding properties allow the formation of a variety of structures, including chains and rings of many shapes and sizes.
- Reactants and products of 10 steps of glycolysis pathway (Embden–Meyerhof pathway)
- Functions of the kidney in a human body | Parts of the kidney
- Anterior and posterior pituitary gland hormones and their functions
- 3 different types of carbohydrates: monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides
- 4 structures of proteins and their building blocks – 20 amino acids | <urn:uuid:a344dc7f-7f4f-4f3e-a95a-051eea3e94b5> | {
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A podiatrist is a doctor of podiatric medicine who specializes in diagnosing and treating foot, toe, and ankle problems, including skin and toenail issues to infections, sprains, fractures, sports injuries, deformities, disorders, and diseases.
Call a podiatrist when you experience any of the following issues:
- Persistent, chronic, increasing, or sudden pain in the feet, toes, or ankles
- Any change in the feet, toes, or ankles, such as swelling or the taking on of a bluish, reddish, or purplish color
- Signs of infection, including swelling, redness, tenderness, heat, red streaks, or discharge of pus
- Any infection that spreads to another area of the feet or toes
- Any change in the toenails or skin on the feet, including thickening nails, blisters, or severe cracking, scaling, or peeling
- Symptoms that do not go away or improve within two weeks of using an over-the-counter treatment on your own
Podiatrists provide the following medical services to patients to maintain healthy feet, toes, and lower legs: education on proper hygiene, care, and exercise; diagnoses and treatments for pain, deformities, injuries, diseases, and disorders; surgeries to correct problems; prescriptions for appropriate therapy and diagnostic procedures; prescribe and fit orthotics; and consult with other doctors or specialists to provide patients with a collaborative approach to health care. | <urn:uuid:1f55af5c-d459-47f5-ba87-5d6a0bbbff2e> | {
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In this writing conventions worksheet, students study the picture and add to the picture by drawing what they think is occurring within the scene. Students then write 3 telling sentences about their picture.
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Fermi/GBM Detects Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst in Decades
The Gamma-ray burst Monitor (GBM) onboard NASA’s Fermi satellite detected a very intense signal on 27 April from the brightest Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) in decades. Several other space-based instruments including Fermi’s main instrument, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), discovered this event simultaneously. The GRB lasted so long that a record number of telescopes on the ground were able to catch it while space-based observations were still ongoing. The event is labeled GRB 130427A, indicating its date of occurrence.
"On Saturday morning during breakfast, I was alerted by an automated message that the Fermi satellite had triggered on a GRB,” says Dr. Andreas von Kienlin, the burst advocate on duty on this historic day. "When the data were downlinked from the satellite and I saw them for the first time I couldn't believe my own eyes. This GRB was so incredibly bright that it saturated our detectors. The GRB community hasn't seen such a bright event in the last 30 years and it was the brightest that GBM ever detected". Thrilled by this detection, Andreas von Kienlin immediately submitted a notification to the scientific community encouraging further ground-based observations. "We can be exceptionally proud of the detection of this event as all 14 gamma-ray detectors and the power-supply of the GBM instrument were developed, built and tested here at MPE." says Andreas von Kienlin.
The GBM is a collaborative effort between the National Space Science and Technology Center in the U.S. and the MPE. Thanks to the very wide energy range covered by both the GBM and the LAT Fermi has measured the prompt emission spectrum of GRB130427A over an unprecedentedly large energy range (from ~8 keV to ~100 GeV).
Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) recorded one gamma ray with an energy of at least 94 billion electron volts (GeV), or some 35 billion times the energy of visible light, and about three times greater than the LAT's previous record. The GeV emission from the burst lasted for hours, and it remained detectable by the LAT for the better part of a day, setting another new record for the longest gamma-ray emission from a GRB.
The burst subsequently was detected in optical, infrared and radio wavelengths by ground-based observatories, based on the rapid accurate position information from NASA’s Swift satellite which also triggered on the event. Astronomers quickly learned that the GRB was located about 3.8 billion light-years away, which for these events is relatively close. “That this explosion, billions of light years away, was saturating our detectors shows how incredible violent the event was,” said Andreas von Kienlin.
Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's most luminous explosions. Astronomers think that the majority occur when massive stars run out of nuclear fuel and collapse under their own weight. As the stellar core collapses into a black hole, jets of material shoot outward at nearly the speed of light. These jets bore all the way through the collapsing star and continue into space, where they interact with gas previously expelled by the star and generate bright afterglows that fade with time. If the GRB is near enough, astronomers usually discover a supernova a week or so after the outburst happened. This GRB belongs to the closest 5 percent of bursts, so ground-based observatories are monitoring its location in hopes of finding an underlying supernova.
The Gamma-Ray Burst GRB 130427A is the subject of five papers published online on 21. November 2013. These highlight additional observations of the burst obtained by the trio of NASA satellites, Fermi, Swift and NuSTAR, working in concert with the ground-based robotic telescopes RAPTOR (see links), which captured never-before-seen details of the event that challenge current theoretical understanding of how gamma-ray bursts work.
The spectacular results from the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor show that our widely accepted picture of MeV gamma rays from internal shock waves is woefully inadequate.
The optical flash observed by the Rapid Telescope for Optical Response (RAPTOR) peaked when Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) detected a spike in GeV gamma rays reaching 95 GeV. This marks the first detailed look at the relationship between a burst’s optical light and its high-energy gamma rays. It was the common understanding that visible light for these flashes came from internal shocks, but this burst conclusively shows that it must come from the external shock, which produces the most energetic gamma-rays.
More puzzling is a single 32 GeV gamma ray, which was detected by Fermi LAT 9 hours after the burst's onset. A late arrival with this kind of energy raises questions about how well scientists really understand the physics of the external shock wave.
For a gamma-ray burst, GRB 130427A was relatively nearby. Its light traveled 3.8 billion years before arriving at Earth, about one-third of the travel time for light from typical bursts. Detailed observations by Swift and ground-based telescopes clearly show that GRB 130427A has properties more similar to typical distant bursts rather than to nearby ones.
The burst's extraordinary brightness enabled the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) to make the first detection of a burst afterglow in high-energy, or "hard," X-rays after more than a day. Taken together with Fermi LAT data, these observations challenge long-standing predictions. | <urn:uuid:8bbc5453-1ba5-46c5-a877-90456086c34c> | {
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Remote Control - Remote Helicopter - Gas Helicopter - Control Toys
Turbo Helicopter - Controlled Plane - Remote Car - Remote Truck
Radio Propagation And Remote Sensing Of The Environment
The emergence of microwave technology in the field of remote sensing creates a need to understand the mechanisms of radio propagation and the interaction between waves and surrounding media. Radio Propagation and Remote Sensing of the Environment describes the processes of radio propagation and analyzes the problems that enable estimation of media.
The book begins by exploring propagation processes and related phenomena including absorption, refraction, reflection, reflection, and scattering. This discussion demonstrates the relationship between radiowave parameters of amplitude, phrase, frequency, and polarization and media characteristics such as permittivity and shape. The volume presents equations that enable the estimation of the strength of various effects, as well as the detection of these effects against a background of various masking phenomena.
Biological Control In Plant Protection
There has been a large increase in the commercial use of integrated crop/pest management methods for pest and disease control on a wide range of crops throughout the world since the first edition of this book. The completely revised second edition of the bestselling Biological Control in Plant Protection: A Color Handbook continues the objective of providing a handbook with profiles and full-color photographs of as many examples of biological control organisms from as wide a global area as possible. It is designed to help readers anticipate and recognize specific problems of pest management and then resolve them using the natural enemies of pests-parasites, predators, and pathogens.
The authors first describe the impact of predator-prey relationships on host plant species in arable, orchard, and protected environments. The main sections of the book include profiles of pests, beneficial arthropods (insects and mites), and beneficial pathogens (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes), featuring a tabular pest identification guide. Descriptions of biocontrol organisms are divided into four sections: species characteristics, lifecycle, crop/pest associations, and influences of growing practices. The text is illustrated throughout with color photographs of the highest quality.
This revised edition helps readers more fully understand the concepts and practice of biological control and integrated pest management. All chapters have been updated and expanded, and more than 300 new photographs have been added. The second edition covers new beneficial organisms and pest profiles, and it includes a new chapter on the practical aspects and application of biological control. It also contains a new final chapter that puts biological control in perspective, discussing interactions that occur when using biocontrol for population management as well as some of the possible mechanisms of biocontrol.
Euro Models Articles
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What is the course about?
Learn to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create designs for print and experiment with a range of techniques that integrate vector and raster images and graphics. Photoshop and Illustrator are used together for illustration, packaging, and info graphics and the course will cover relevant art elements and design principles. The course is taught on Apple Macs but skills learnt can be applied to Windows PCs.
What previous students liked most about this course: .
“I liked the way that my tutor had incredibly impressive knowledge of the subject and was always ready to help. The atmosphere was always great. There was also plenty of new info to intake.”
“I feel much more confident in my everyday use of Photoshop and Illustrator. My colleagues at work have commented on the quality of my work.”
“I learnt skills for my job – interesting programs, nice people and Gita was a very good tutor.”
“The group atmosphere was really good and I like that we were using Macs”
“I liked that it was very practical and interactive. It gave a good initial overview of Photoshop and Illustrator functionalities.”
“Gita is a really good teacher. I learnt a lot and it was also fun!”
What will we cover?
- Fundamentals of Photoshop and Illustrator for print
- Design and illustration concepts, composition, colour, texture and pattern.
- Photoshop and Illustrator integration for design and illustration
- Planning simple folded materials such as cards, CD mailers and presentation folders
- Export and output for print
- Export images for web.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Use Photoshop and Illustrator for common tasks
- Identify the main differences between, and the uses for Photoshop and Illustrator
- Create designs and/or images using Photoshop and Illustrator
- Set up and indicate: bleed, crop and fold marks for folded materials
- Export and finished designs for print
- Export images for web.
What students have achieved on this course: .
“I feel a lot more confident in creating marketing material for work purposes. I use Illustrator on a daily basis now.” GH
“A much better understanding of Creative Suite Illustrator and Photoshop. Have achieved concentration, discipline, confidence and more technical skills.” MC
“I feel I am able to produce basic designs in both programs and I’m pretty certain that this knowledge will let me learn a lot of the more in-depth stuff on my own.” JN
“Very useful to give better directions to designers and to have ideas.” PBS
“I’m not afraid of using Illustrator anymore, and I now have the tools to practise both programs, Photoshop and Illustrator for my person projects.” CP
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
No previous knowledge of Adobe software or Apple Mac is necessary. However, students should have some knowledge of Mac or Windows systems and be confident using the keyboard and mouse in either a Word processing program or with creative software. Some awareness of design for print or any other art/design practice is also expected.
You may like to take advantage of the Mac for PC users courses Build runs each term.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information, and will be invited to take part in group discussion. You should be able to use numbers and be able to do simple measurements and calculations.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught with workshops, short lectures, practical exercises, tutorials and handouts and will be supported by the tutor and your peers when developing your course-work. Please note the Build uses Apple Mac computers in Digital arts, Graphics & Illustration and Photography.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
No books are necessary to take this course, but you should have a notepad for your written notes and visual ideas. It would be useful to bring a memory stick (or portable hard drive to back up our work – please note PC formatted hard drives can be read by Apple mac computers, but not written to.) CDs/DVDs are available.
If you would like to buy art materials for your personal use outside of the course, Build students receive 10% discount off everything* from Cass Art, the UK's leading art supplies retailer. Your tutor will advise you on what you should buy. You will need to show your enrolment receipt in-store to receive your discount. Visit the Charing Cross shop at 13 Charing Cross Road WC2H 0EP or find your local shop at www.cassart.co.uk. *Terms and conditions apply, visit www.cassart.co.uk/students.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
You can further develop your skills and interest in Graphic design through graphics, web design, InDesign, and Photoshop and Illustrator courses. You can further develop your skills and interest in Illustration through a range of courses at the Build in illustration, animation, cartooning and Life drawing.
You can download a PDF of all the Graphics and Illustration courses on offer at: http://bildutrapagaran.info/courses/Art_and_design/890, search on the web site or request a printed prospectus from the Build home page.
There is also a vast range of of practical and theoretical photography courses.
You can download a PDF of all the Photography courses on offer at: http://bildutrapagaran.info/courses/Photography.
General information and advice on courses at Build is available from the Student Centre and Library on Monday to Friday from 12:00 – 19:00.
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Etymology - The name means "before cereus" - after the Latin Prae.
This genus is comprised of two species that are widespread in South America and the island of Trindad. The plants are shrubby, sprawling, cylindrical stems with 7 or more ribs. Spines are needle-like and number between 7 and 20 and not especially thick or dense. Funnel-shaped flowers on a stout floral tube with scales, but no spines are white or greenish-white; nocturnal. Fruits are red and elongated - fleshy. | <urn:uuid:3a31bc44-5918-405c-8c4b-2aca7ea6d105> | {
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Greater Spear-nosed Bat, Phyllostomus hastatus
The greater spear-nosed bat (Phyllostomus hastatus) is a member of the Phyllostomidae family that can be found in central and South America. Its range stretches from Guatemala and Belize to Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, and northern Argentina in the south. It can also be found on Margarita Island in Venezuela and in Trinidad and Tobago. These bats prefer to reside in areas with abundant water, but they have been found in regions that are more arid and in open or forested areas.
The greater spear-nosed bat can reach an average body length between 3.9 and 5.1 inches, with a wingspan of 1.4 feet. Although it is considered a large bat in its range, it weighs an average of only 2.9 ounces. Its thick fur is typically dark brown in color with an orange shade on the underbelly. The species gets its common name from the protruding spear shaped nose, which is dark in color. Both females and males bear a throat sac, but this is more pronounced in males.
The greater spear-nosed bat typically forms groups between ten to one hundred individuals, and there are subgroups within these colonies. One alpha male can lead a harem group of up to thirty females, although the typical number of female individuals is eighteen. Any females or males that do not belong to a harem group, up to eighty percent of the colony, will form their own separate bachelor groups. These bats prefer to roost in caves, termite mounds, hollow trees, and thatched roofs.
McCracken and Bradbury, who have studied the greater spear-nosed bat and its social structures, have concluded that the most likely reason behind these social structures is for increased organization and safety while foraging. When one bat locates food, it will call to its roost mates alerting them to the find. This is supported by Wilkinson who noted similar behaviors in 1995.
The foraging areas of this bat depend on their social structure as well, with alpha males foraging closer to the roost and bachelor males flying as far as 5.5 miles for food. The greater-spear bat eats more fruit, insects, and pollen than vertebrates, which is not typical to members of its family.
There is no distinct mating season for the greater spear-nosed bat, as lactating females have been recorded year round. Although it is thought that this bat only mates once a year, the frequent occurrence of lactating females may mean that it is able to mate at least twice a year. Each birth only consists of one pup, and their reproduction rate is low.
The greater spear-nosed bat is known for being both beneficial and slightly harmful to humans. It eats insects that humans consider pests and helps pollinate crops, but it does cause some destruction to fruit crops like bananas. There are currently no major threats to this species of bat, although there is growing concern about habitat destruction. The greater spear-nosed bat appears on the IUCN Red List with a conservation status of “Least Concern”.
Image Caption: Greater Spear-nosed Bat, picture taken in La Selva, Costa Rica. Credit: Felineora/Wikipedia(CC BY 3.0) | <urn:uuid:6a1049f0-1be7-45a8-abbf-da63f68e71fc> | {
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Once the preserve of science fiction, increasingly sophisticated robotic devices are vying for a place side by side with humans in the real world.
At Italy's Sant'Anna university, a bionic arm commanded by the human brain or a limb extension that allows rescuers to lift rubble after earthquakes are just some of the futuristic innovations in the pipeline.
"The idea is to get robots out of factories where they have shown their worth and to transform them into household machines which can live together with humans," says Professor Paolo Dario, director of the college's bio-robotics department.
The university in the historic town of Pisa in Tuscany is a veritable factory of ideas.
Researchers here are working on projects ranging from a robot that can come to your door to collect your recycling to tomatoes that slow the effects of ageing and plants that survive underwater to help flood-prone regions of the world.
"You can innovate here. Whoever has a project gets help, ideas are not blocked. We are investing in individuals," the rector of Sant'Anna, Maria Chiara Carrozza, a professor of bio-robotics said in an interview.
The dustcart looks like the famous R2-D2 from Star Wars with its laser scanner and location sensors. The idea is that it can work through phone bookings to come to your street at a fixed time to collect your waste.
"We tested it for two months with 15 families living in one of the towns near here. Everything worked well but there are still some problems to sort out," said Pericle Salvini, a member of the team behind the project.
"First of all it is slow for security reasons and it sometimes blocks the traffic. Also it cannot legally be on the road since there is no type of insurance for this type of robot in case of an accident," he said.
Professor Dario also heads up a project entitled "The Robot Companions for Citizens" which is one of six contestants for a European Union prize of one billion euros ($1.2 billion) in funding spread out over a decade.
Marco Controzzi, who is working on a bionic arm, says it will operate by using electrodes attached to the skin or implanted in your head.
"It will move only according to your intentions," he said, adding that powering it would be easy as it can run on just two mobile phone batteries.
The exoskeleton or "body extender", a prototype costing a million euros, meanwhile, is a kind of armour weighing 160 kilos (353 pounds) which multiplies the strength of its human user by 20.
"The idea is to use this type of instrument for emergency workers in disasters like an earthquake," said engineer Marco Fontana. | <urn:uuid:ae26899d-d690-48df-ad4c-d5d2bab3e461> | {
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Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Confederated Tribes of the Colville ReservationHistory
The Colville reservation was established April 19, 1872 east of the Columbia River by the executive order signed by President Ulysses S. Grant. The boundaries were changed July 2, 1872. Chiefs Moses and Joseph bands moved onto the Reservation in the 1880's which caused anguish among Sapoils and Nespelems, the originals of the reservation. On May 23, 1891 Okanagons, Sinkisuses, Nez Perces, Colvilles and Seijextees agreed to sell 1.5 million acres, north half of res., to the United States for $1.5 million. However, was never ratified by the United States Senate. The North half of the reservation was opened to the public domain and opened for mineral entry by the act of February 20, 1896. The Confederated Tribes were not paid. July 1, 1898 the South half of the reservation was opened to mineral entry. December 1, 1905 350 out of about 551 Indians signed a McLaughin agreement giving United States all rights, title and interest to lands within the reservation in exchange the $1.5 million would be given to them which they hadn't received yet and still didn't get it. In an act of March 22, 1906 it provided allotment of 80 acres for each of the Indians belonging to the reservation. It was amended August 31, 1916 to reserve land for school, mills, cemeteries and missions. In the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 undiposed lands (818,000 acres) within the reservation were temporarily withdrawn from further disposition or sale by the Department of Interior order of September 19, 1934. Then the act of July 24, 1956 restored ownership to the Tribe. The 1.5 million acres and lands on the South half of the reservation that were never paid for were taken to the Claims Commission for a final judgement and they awarded the Tribe $3.5 million.
The Confederated Tribes of Colville are run by their business Council which derived its powers from their constitution and bylaws. The Council seeks sovereignty in tribal matters which the state and federal have been involved such as law enforcement and protection of water rights. | <urn:uuid:565e9d7b-6738-4112-8fcd-252a8699ef4c> | {
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Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2008 January 19
Explanation: The tantalizing Pleiades star cluster seems to lie just beyond the trees above a dark castle tower in this dramatic view of The World at Night. Recorded earlier this month, the starry sky also features bright star Aldebaran below the Pleiades and a small, faint, fuzzy cloud otherwise known as Comet Holmes near picture center at the top of the field. Starry Night Castle might be an appropriate name for the medieval castle ruin in the foreground. But its traditional name is Mörby Castle, found north of Stockholm, near lake Skedviken in Norrtälje, Sweden.
Authors & editors:
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U. | <urn:uuid:6b0e940a-0ec5-4016-a3f0-94976ad3e1c5> | {
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Essential oils as dietary supplements for dairy cattle
Published in Dairy Star August 2, 2008
Essential oils are not required by dairy animals, but rather are compounds that have an aroma or "essence". Some examples are allicin from garlic, thymol from thyme and oregano, capsaicin from hot peppers, eugenol from cloves, pinene from Juniper berries, limonene from dill, and cinnamonaldehyde from cinnamon, to mention a few common oils (see table). These compounds are usually an oily substance that is recovered by a steam distillation process. The most common and important activities of these compounds have been as antimicrobials and antiseptics. Medicinal properties of plants have been known for thousands of years. In recent years, many of the essential oils have been studied for these antimicrobial properties.
Essential oils are also being considered as a way to improve or alter rumen fermentation with a naturally occurring compounds rather than commercial additives or antibiotics. The objective in altering rumen fermentation is to reduce methane gas production and increase propionate and butyrate production, resulting in more efficient growth and reducing greenhouse gases. Like monensin, essential oils may affect the cell membranes of gram negative bacteria or others can act within the cell of gram positive bacteria.
Much of the research with essential oils has been done in-vitro in a controlled lab setting. The effects of oils seem to be diet and pH dependent with certain oils working better with a particular diet. There are limited data available from trials with lactating cows feeding essential oils. Whether or not the effects observed in-vitro carry over to a much larger and diverse ecosystem as a rumen is under investigation.
Tassoul and Shaver from the University of Wisconsin recently completed a trial with dairy cows pre-calving to 15 weeks into lactation. In this trial, 40 cows were used with 20 cows as control and 20 cows receiving 1.2 g of an essential oil product called CRINA. CRINA is a blend of several oils. There was not an observed benefit to the cows receiving the product prepartum. However, there was a benefit of increased fat corrected milk and dry matter intake the longer cows received the oils. It is unfortunate that the trial was discontinued after 100 days. It has been speculated that there is an adaptation time required for the oils in the rumen.
Two previous trials with lactating cows were run with the same CRINA product.<,/
The first trial was completed in 1997 involving 33 cows with older cows in mid-lactation. The supplemented cows showed increased milk production, increased components and increased fat corrected milk yields. Cows were fed a common 50:50 forage to concentrate diet with corn silage and alfalfa as the forage. Varga and co-workers at Penn State did a production field trial involving 170 cows fed a 42:58 forage to concentrate diet where corn silage made up over 2/3 of the forage and the diet contained a fair amount of by-products. Similar results were seen in this trial with cows receiving the essential oil blend producing more milk and more fat corrected milk. Components in milk were similar but slightly higher in the treatment cows.
Is the use of essential oils recommended or justified? At the current price of about six cents per cow per day and current feed prices, we could expect about a 4 or 5:1 return if we got similar results. However, there is still a limited amount of data with controlled studies to recommend which oil or combination of oils will work with different diets. We do not fully understand their actions and mechanisms or if there are any affects on the milk that could result in wrong or inappropriate use of essential oils. We will continue to watch for further research.
|Essential oils with antimicrobial activity, their main active components, and susceptible microorganisms.|
|Essential oil of||Name||Active components||Susceptible microorganisms||Reference|
|Allium sativum||Garlic||Allicin, diallyl sulfite||Enteropathogenic bacteria||Ross et al., 2001|
|Anethum graveolens||Dill||Limonene, carvone||Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria||Deans and Ritchie, 1987|
|Capsicum annum||Paprika||Capsaicin||Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria||Deans and Ritchie, 1987|
|Cinnamomum cassia||Cassia||Cinnamaldehyde||Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enteritidis||Ouattara et al., 1997; Mahmoud, 1994; Smith-Palmer et al., 1998|
|Juniperus oxycedrus||Juniper||Cadinene, pinene||Aeromonas sobria, Enterococcus fecalis, Staphylococcus aureus||Hammer et al., 1999|
|Melaleuca alternifolia||Tea tree||Terpinen-4-ol||Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria||Chao and Young, 2000; Cox et al., 2001|
|Origanum vulgare||Oregano||Carvacrol, thymol||Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria||Sivropoulou et al., 1996; Dorman and Deans, 2000|
|Pimpinella anisum||Anise||Anethol||Aeromonas hydrophila, Brevibacterium linens, Brochothrics thermosphacta||Deans and Ritchie, 1987|
|Rosmarinus officinalis||Rosemary||1,8-Cineole||Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni||Ouattara et al., 1997; Smith-Palmer et al., 1998|
|Syzygium aromaticum||Clove||Eugenol||Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enteritidis, Campylobacter jejuni||Ouattara et al., 1997; Smith-Palmer et al., 1998|
|Thymus vulgaris||Thyme||Thymol, carvacrol||Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus flavus||Juven et al., 1994; Ouattara et al., 1997; Mahmoud, 1994|
|Zingiber officinale||Ginger||Zingiberene, zingerone||Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria||Chao and Young, 2000|
|Calsamiglia et al., 2007, JDS 90:2580-2595.| | <urn:uuid:d4623f60-135b-45d8-b577-097683b12572> | {
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Click on an activity in the set below to see more info.
The Red Cabbage Acid TestView Full Activity
How to test for acids and bases? In this activity you and your child can make your own indicator from red cabbage!
Oobleck Science: Solid or Liquid?View Full Activity
Is it solid or liquid? Create oobleck and witness the amazingly weird oscillation between the two!
Make a Fistful of Slime!View Full Activity
Get your hands on a concoction that breaks the rules about what's a solid and what's a liquid.
Make a Homemade Lava Lamp!View Full Activity
A homemade lava lamp gives any room a retro flair. Find out how to make a homemade lava lamp, and learn some science too, with this educational activity.
Make Marbleized Paper!View Full Activity
Learn how to make marbleized paper with simple everyday ingredients in this fun activity! Your child will learn about oil and water while doing this project.
Make Colorful Crystals from CoalView Full Activity
In this activity, your kid will watch coal turn into crystals right before her very eyes, and learn some science along the way!
The set is continued below.
Layering Liquids: Explore Density ScienceView Full Activity
Teach your child some scientific basics as you explore the densities of various liquids in this fun experiment. | <urn:uuid:724aab26-598a-43cc-b378-fa4ec7e4f6e7> | {
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General Course Description and Objectives
This is an introductory survey course in oceanography, covering all the major disciplinary areas related to the study of the world ocean. These disciplinary areas include geology, chemistry, physics, and biology. When we look at these subjects in the context of the ocean they are quite interesting, and help us understand phenomena we hear a lot about, but may not completely understand. Many of these are especially important to us here in Hawaii. In this course you will be introduced to the areas of geological, physical, chemical, and biological oceanography, learn how oceanography concepts are applied to local as well as global environmental and marine-related issues, learn how many diverse areas of science integrate together, and be introduced to the methods scientists use to study the marine environment.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
Differentiate between the multi-disciplinary areas of oceanography.
Locate the major ocean basins on a world map and describe modern methods of exploring the ocean.
Explain the modern theory of plate tectonics and describe geological
phenomena in terms of plate tectonic theory.
Describe the structure of the seafloor from the continental margins to
the deep-ocean basins.
Explain the importance of oceanic sediments for understanding long-term
geological and climate phenomena on the Earth.
Identify the major chemical constituents of seawater and define salinity
as it is used in oceanography.
g. Define density and describe the density structure (layering) of the ocean.
Explain how heat, light, and sound are affected by the nature of water.
Describe the Coriolis Effect and how it influences the movement of air
and water masses in each hemisphere.
Describe the major climate zones and atmospheric circulation patterns on
Explain how major weather and climate systems (such as hurricanes and
El-Nino) are influenced by the ocean environment.
Explain the difference between oceanic surface currents and deep-ocean
circulation, and describe the processes that produce them.
Describe the surface-current circulation patterns in each ocean basin.
Explain how waves are generated in the open ocean and how they are
transformed into surf along the world’s coastlines.
Explain how Tsunami are generated and the properties of Tsunami.
Describe the processes by which coastlines are modified by geological and
Explain how the tidal patterns we observe are produced.
Describe how organisms are classified by the ecological role they play in
the oceanic environment.
Explain the major factors that influence the distribution and abundance
of marine organisms in the oceanic environment.
Describe energy flow, food webs, and trophic levels in the oceanic
Define primary productivity in the oceanic ecosystem, and describe the
factors that influence productivity in the ocean.
Describe the methods by which the major commercial fisheries harvest
their catches, along with the environmental and ecological problems associated
w. Explain the significance of exponential global population growth, and describe the ecological effects of such growth on the world’s environment. | <urn:uuid:8e495bf6-feb5-4ece-860b-23464e0d8ea2> | {
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Built from the wreckage of the League of Nations after World War II, the United Nations has a historical mission to prevent conflict and respond to disaster.
But its humanitarian mandate has been undermined by politics, corruption and impropriety. Calls for reform are growing louder, and the great powers pushing for change are hardly nonpartisan.
– – – – – – – – – –
Dogged by scandal
Dogged by its failure to prevent the bloodletting of Bosnia and Rwanda, beset by the still-unfolding oil-for-food scandal, and trying to shake an ongoing sex scandal that includes harassment charges against a high-level official and the abuse of refugee minors by peacekeepers, the United Nations has seen better days.
Now, the world’s largest humanitarian organization faces renewed calls from activists of all stripes for reform, resignations and more radical changes.
American conservatives are targeting Secretary General Kofi Annan and the illicit oil sales as emblematic of an institution that they say is “broken … corrupt … ineffective, and on top of that so unwilling to begin to contemplate the full implications of internal reform.”
A U.N. commission’s decision to not identify massacres in Darfur as genocide was described as “collusion” by one Lord Alton of Liverpool, a member of the British House of Lords.
He complained that China, a member of the U.N. Security Council, owned the “lion’s share” of the Sudanese oil industry, and that “access to the oil fields in the south seemed to matter more to the international community.”
In Washington, the Bush administration is keeping conservatives at heel, and has praised Annan’s actions as the oil-for-food imbroglio unfolds.
“Oil-for-Food: Questions & Answers”
Guardian (U.K.), February 4, 2005
“U.N. scandal back in spotlight after sex grope revelation”
Agence France-Presse, October 28, 2004
“The U.N. Sex Scandal”
The Weekly Standard, January 3-10, 2005
“Critics lash out at U.N., but Annan survives”
Christian Science Monitor, December 13, 2004
“United Nations faulted for ‘impotence’ and ‘collusion’ over Darfur”
Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi), February 1, 2005
“State Department commends Annan”
Associated Press, February 4, 2005
– – – – – – – – – –
Member nations faulted
Scott Ritter, former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, says the oil-for-food crisis is a “smokescreen” for a “cynical” attack on the U.N.
His words echo an editorial in the Nation that accuses critics of inflating the scandal, and overlooking America’s role in enabling illegal Iraqi oil sales.
This includes permissive enforcement of the Iraqi embargo by the U.S.-managed Maritime Interdiction Force, as reported by the Washington Post.
The Independent (U.K.) reported that the British government had also been implicated in the oil-for-food scandal, in a “damning” report that it had subverted the bidding process for Iraqi-oil trade inspectors in favor of a British company.
Samantha Power, author of “A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide,” has broadly criticized both the U.N. itself and its members for allowing national self-interest to trump the agency’s humanitarian mission.
“The Oil-For-Food ‘scandal’ is a cynical smokescreen”
The Independent (U.K.), December 12, 2004
“U.N. oil for food ‘Scandal'”
The Nation, November 18, 2004
“U.S. reportedly ignored illicit Saddam oil trade”
Washington Post, February 3, 2005
“Britain implicated in oil-for-food scandal, damning report says”
The Independent (U.K.), February 4, 2005
“Pulitzer Prize winner lectures on human rights”
Daily Mississippian, February 4, 2005
“Rwanda’s genocide: Looking back”
Samantha Power, testimony to U.S. House of Representatives, April 22, 2004
– – – – – – – – – –
Boosters of the United Nations remain hopeful for positive change.
Annan himself came into office with a reformist agenda, and said that he hopes to dedicate the remains of his term to pushing it through.
Whether he survives the oil-for-food crisis, which may widen to include his son Kojo, is an open question.
Inter Press Service reports that since taking office, Annan has been chipping away at the bureaucracy, hurrying the departure of entrenched — and sometimes scandal-tinged — department heads.
He also has appeased Washington by appointing George W. Bush’s outgoing Secretary of Agriculture to the leadership of UNICEF, the U.N. child-welfare agency.
“U.N. Scandal: Clean up this oily mess”
Philadelphia Inquirer, January 9, 2005
“U.N. enemies distort oil-for-food scandal”
Honolulu Advertiser, December 27, 2004
“U.N. assures no ‘mass firings’ of senior staff”
Inter Press Service, January 31, 2005
“Analysis: who is under suspicion?”
The Times (U.K.), February 4, 2005
– – – – – – – – – –
At the extremes of the debate, the rhetoric of U.N. boosters and bashers are at once pragmatic and radical.
Some American exceptionalists are calling for a total American withdrawal from the U.N. — and the expulsion of the agency’s headquarters from New York City.
But others, while remaining bitterly critical, presuppose America’s moral superiority, and maintain that reform is worthwhile so as to preserve a valuable instrument for U.S. policy.
Some reformists fear a drive to unseat Annan will eclipse his efforts and changing the institution.
In France, President Jacque Chirac has proposed a global tax to help fight AIDS and other humanitarian crises.
Challenged by robust exertions of America’s international dominance, and plagued by the failures of earlier its peacekeeping missions, the U.N. is considering adding teeth to its multinational charter by forming a new, stronger military arm for interventions.
“Get the U.N. out of the U.S.A.”
“Of what use is the United Nations?”
TownHall.com, January 10, 2005
“Diplomats: U.N. scandal may hinder reforms”
Fox News, December 10, 2004
“How realistic is a global tax?”
CNBC Money, January 29, 2005
“Challenging agenda for U.N. reform”
Asahi Sinbun (Japan), February 4, 2005
Last chance saloon for U.N.?”
BBC, December 1, 2004 | <urn:uuid:8a6914ae-3355-48e9-aee3-b0b6110527db> | {
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Fall and Winter Distribution of Mammals at the Kalamazoo Nature Center
Adams, Raymond J.
MetadataShow full item record
In this study the first problem was to find what mammals were present. There are lists of mammals for county, state, and regional levels, but these are not necessarily accurate for the fauna of any particular area within these levels. Mammals are generally restricted to a particular habitat which, therefore must be present for the mammal to occur. However, the presence of the habitat is no guarantee that the particular mammal will appear. Therefore, it is necessary to discover what species are present in each particular area. Once the species present are determined, the objective becomes one of learning their distribution. This work concentrates on the relationship of the mammals to the habitats and several ideas were analyzed in considering this relationship. | <urn:uuid:df97f249-9686-4f1d-990c-5869eee395ce> | {
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Library of Congress
U.S. ISSN Center
101 Independence Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 20540-4284
Tel.: (202) 707-6452
Fax: (202) 707-6333
9:30 am-5:00 pm
What's in a Name? | Calculating the Check Digit in an ISSN | Bar Codes for Serials
Serials are print or non-print publications issued in parts, usually bearing issue numbers and/or dates. A serial is expected to continue indefinitely. Serials include magazines, newspapers, annuals (such as reports, yearbooks, and directories), journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions of societies, and monographic series.
International Standard Serial Numbering
The various and constant changes to which serials are subject, combined with the large growth in the world's publishing output, prompted the development of a standard (ISO 3297-1975; ANSI Z39.9-1979) for the identification of serials: the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN).
A single ISSN uniquely identifies a title regardless of language or country in which published, without the burden of a complex bibliographic description. The ISSN itself has no significance other than the unique identification of a serial.
An ISSN is eight digits long. Always displayed this way: ISSN 1234-5679, the first seven digits serve as the title number and the eighth is a check digit which provides an efficient means for discovering transcription errors. The system used for calculating the check digit sometimes requires a check number of 10, in which case, to prevent a nine-digit ISSN, the roman numeral "X" is substituted.
For each serial with an ISSN there is a corresponding "key title"--a commonly acceptable form of the title established at the time of ISSN assignment. The title provides a benchmark which serves to regulate the assignment of ISSN: if the title of a serial changes, a new ISSN must be assigned.
Administration of the ISSN
The coordination of the ISSN is international, with registration initiated at the national level where serials are published. The U.S. ISSN Center within the Library of Congress serves the United States in the ISSN network. The ISSN International Centre located in Paris coordinates the network. The U.S. ISSN Center is responsible for registering and providing ISSN for serials published in the United States and for promoting use of the ISSN.
Advantages of Use
The ISSN should be as basic a part of a serial as the title. The advantages of using it are abundant and the more the number is used the more benefits will accrue.
- ISSN provides a useful and economical method of communication between publishers and suppliers, making trade distribution systems faster and more efficient.
- The ISSN results in accurate citing of serials by scholars, researchers, abstracters, and librarians.
- As a standard numeric identification code, the ISSN is eminently suitable for computer use in fulfilling the need for file update and linkage, retrieval, and transmittal of data.
- ISSN is used in libraries for identifying titles, ordering and checking in, and claiming serials.
- ISSN simplifies interlibrary loan systems and union catalog reporting and listing.
- The U.S. Postal Service uses the ISSN to regulate certain publications mailed at second-class and controlled circulation rates.
- The ISSN is an integral component of the journal article citation used to monitor payments to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
- All ISSN registrations are maintained in an international data base and are made available in the ISSN Register online. The ISSN portal and other products are described in a document maintained by the ISSN International Centre: ISSN products.
How to Obtain an ISSN
Instructions for U.S. publishers
The assignment of the ISSN is free in the U.S. and there is no charge associated with its use. (However, the Library of Congress incurs substantial costs to staff and maintain the U.S. ISSN Center. Additionally, the Library of Congress is assessed a considerable fee to belong to the ISSN Network.)
An ISSN application form may be completed online. Enter the required information and then email or fax the form (in the interests of conserving paper and bandwidth, please limit faxes or email attachments to no more than five pages), or mail the application by U.S. mail or private carrier. A suitable representation of the publication must accompany the application. For print serials a sample issue or photocopy of the title page, cover, or masthead should be provided. For electronic serials in a tangible form such as CD-ROM or floppy disk, an actual issue and printouts of title screens should be submitted. For online serials, provide an appropriate URL or e-mail actual issues or mock-ups which will accompany the application form to [email protected].
When requesting an ISSN for an already-published serial, send a sample issue or copy of the cover, title page, and masthead as appropriate to: Library of Congress, U.S. ISSN Center, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20540-4284.
Except for microform reproductions, separate ISSN are generally required for serials issued in different physical formats, (e.g., print, CD-ROM, online, etc.). Separate ISSN are also required for serials issued in different language, geographic, or audience editions. Please complete a separate application form for each edition or note the different editions in the "Additional information, comments, questions" section of the application form.
For prepublication requests, a mock-up or artist's conception of the same identifying parts of the publication should be sent, if possible. In these "v. 1, no. 1" cases, a follow-up sample issue or surrogate of the actual serial must be sent directly to the U.S. ISSN Center after publication has begun.
To fulfill its purpose, the ISSN should be displayed prominently on every issue, preferably in the top right corner of the cover. It is acceptable, however, for the number to appear elsewhere on the publication (usually in the masthead area). Various user groups--particularly the U.S. Postal Service--have specific printing regulations which must be adhered to.
If the serial has an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for the individual volumes within a series, in addition to the ISSN for the series as a whole, the two numbers should appear together, each with its own prefix. The ISSN should be printed right after the title of the series, both in books and in advertising pieces.
It is appropriate for both ISBN and ISSN to be assigned to certain other types of publications, most notably annuals and other directories or reference publications. The ISBN identifies the particular year or edition, the ISSN identifies the ongoing serial.
ISSN should appear on publisher's advertisements (both direct mail and space adds) and catalogs, on the serials themselves, and in all other places where details of books and serials normally appear.
Changes Affecting ISSN
Serials often undergo changes, many of which result in a change of title. When this occurs a new ISSN must be assigned. The earlier ISSN is not discarded, however, because it is a permanent attribute of the serial when it was issued under the earlier title. To avoid printing an incorrect ISSN, publishers must notify the U.S. ISSN Center in advance of a pending title change--especially one affecting the cover title (which is often the source for the key title). The notification will be treated as a request for a new ISSN and the procedure is the same as that for the original ISSN request. Other changes to a serial such as those of imprint and frequency do not affect the ISSN assignment.
Display and careful use of the ISSN will help in the world-wide effort to make the number achieve its intended role as a valuable means of identifying serials.
Last Updated: July 7, 2016 | <urn:uuid:99b8c810-5fcd-4d9f-aade-059bc0b3f01c> | {
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The book is a balanced biography of Abdus Salam, touching on his humble upbringing, ambitions, achievements, fame, virtues, and weaknesses. Throughout the book, however, the author does not hesitate to expand on any topic, no matter how remotely or how closely it may relate to Salam. In connection with Salam’s Pakistani–Indian lineage, for example, there is a short history of the Indian Subcontinent from the times it was a tributary to Cyrus the Great, to its invasion by Alexander the Great, to the reign of the Great Mughal, Akbar, and to the British Occupation. In discussing the division of the Subcontinent to the present-day India and Pakistan one learns about the El Niño-type political resonances around the world in the period from World War I to the aftermath of World War II, which precipitated the division. On learning that Salam belonged to the Ahmadi faith of Islam, one finds an account of Messianic beliefs in Christianity and Judaism, and of Mehdism in Islam, of how, when, and why Ahamadis of Pakistan were excommunicated by the mainstream Muslims and the legislation of the country, and how this severed Salam's ties with his homeland.
On the occasion of Salam’s arrival at St, Johns' college in 1947, one learns a good deal about the scholarly traditions of Cambridge and the major developments in physics from late 19th to mid 20th Century by geniuses such as Maxwell, Bohr, Schrödinger, Heisenberg, Dirac, and others. By 1958, Salam is a world-recognized theoretical physicist: A brief history of quantum physics, quantum electrodynamics and the early theories of particle physics is reviewed in Chapter 6. The chronology of the ideas that were popping up in the rapidly developing arena of elementary particles is narrated in Chapter 8.
Laymen may find difficult to follow the attempt to explain the physics of the 1960s by simple parables taken from the macro world. For specialists and historians of science, however, there is an ample account of the chronology of the events leading to 8-fold symmetry and quark theory.
While narrating Salam’s soft heart for isolated scientists of the developing countries and particularly those from the lands of Islam, the author expands on big science post World War II, the creation of IAEA, and Salam's UN connections. Cooperative Trieste of Italy embraces Salam's idea of ICTP, and within a quarter of century becomes a flourishing science city, by creating SISSA, ELETTRA, International Center for Genetic Engineering, and others.
Salam is anguished and disappointed with Islamic countries and their heads of state in not supporting scientific and technological developments to his satisfaction, neither individually, nor collaboratively. He receives 1978 Nobel Prize for physics, in recognition of his electroweak theory: Major contributions of 1950s through the 70s are elaborated.
Finally, the Cosmic Anger: Salam is bitter about his excommunication, about the indifference in both East and West to his lifelong yearning for a flourishing science in the lands of Islam, and about the unspoken humiliation that adheres to being a developing nation or to belonging to one.
The author’s extensive knowledge of history, literature, religions, linguistics, as well as the details of major discoveries in science at large, and in physics in particular, is admirable. Throughout the book he draws on this wealth of knowledge to advance a dialogue with the reader.
Students of physics may benefit from the book as a quick reference to people and ideas. The common reader may find parts of the book difficult to follow, particularly where the subtleties of field theories and subatomic physics are discussed. The book could be a valuable addition to the collections of public and science libraries. Particularly in Islamic communities, the book may stir up ambitions in youth to follow a career in science.
An astrophysicist by training (University of Chicago, PhD 1963), and a career educator and researcher, Yousef Sobouti is the former Professor of Physics of Shiraz University and the Founding President of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences–Zanjan, Iran (IASBS). As the name implies, IASBS is dedicated to excellence in teaching and research in basic sciences. Well aware of the role of science and technology in improving the quality of life, Sobouti has dedicated his lifelong efforts to various institutionalizations of science in general, and physics in particular, in his home country, Iran. | <urn:uuid:4c39b2ca-52dc-41ba-aede-ae35ad27130b> | {
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The spiral troughs of Mars' polar ice caps have been called the most enigmatic landforms in the solar system. The deep canyons spiraling out from Red Planet's North and South poles cover hundreds of miles. No other planet has such structures.
A new model of trough formation suggests that heating and cooling alone are sufficient to form the unusual patterns. Previous explanations had focused on alternate melting and refreezing cycles but also required wind or shifting ice caps.
"I applied specific parameters that were appropriate to Mars and out of that came spirals that were not just spirals, but spirals that had exactly the shape we see on Mars." said Jon Pelletier, an assistant professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson. "They had the right spacing, they had the right curvature, they had the right relationship to one another."
His report, "How do spiral troughs form on Mars?," is published in the April issue of the journal Geology. One of his computer simulations of the troughs graces the cover.
How the icy canyons formed in a spiral has puzzled scientists since the pattern was first spotted by the Viking spacecraft in 1976.
Pelletier, a geomorphologist who studies landforms on Earth such as sand dunes and river channels, has a fondness for natural patterns that are regularly spaced.
Spirals fit the bill, and while perusing a book on mathematical patterns in biology, he was struck by the spiral shape formed by slime molds. He wondered whether the mathematical equation that described how the slime mold grew could also be applied to geological processes.
"There's a recipe for getting spirals to form," he said. So he tried it out, using information that described the situation on Mars.
Temperatures on Mars are below freezing most of the year. During very brief periods during the summer, temperatures on the polar ice caps get just high enough to let the ice melt a bit, Pelletier said.
He proposes that during that time, cracks or nicks in the ice's surface that present a steep side toward the sun might melt a bit, deepening and widening the crack. Heat from the sun also diffuses through the ice.
Much as ice cubes evaporate inside a freezer, on Mars, the melting ice vaporizes rather than becoming liquid water.
The water vapor, when it hits the cold, shady side of the little canyon, condenses and refreezes. So the canyon expands and deepens because one side is heated occasionally while the other side always remains cold.
"The ambient temperatures on Mars are just right to create this form. And that's not true anywhere else in the solar system," he said. "The spirals are created because melting is focused in a particular place."
Pelletier said the differential melting and refreezing is the key to the formation of Mars' spiral troughs.
So he put mathematical descriptions of the heating and cooling cycles into the spiral-generating equation and ran computer simulations to predict what would occur over thousands of such cycles. He did not include wind or movement of polar ice caps in his model.
The computer made patterns that match what's seen on Mars, even down to the imperfections in the spirals.
"The model I have predicts the spacing between these things, how they're curved, and how they evolve over time to create spiral feature," he said.
"A lot of planetary sciences is about making educated guesses about the imagery that we see. We can't go there, we can't do do field experiments," he said. "The development of numerical models provides strong suggestions as to what's essential to create the form that we see," and allows scientists to test their assumptions, he said.
Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
~ TS Eliot | <urn:uuid:a281ae47-b9a2-4951-b0a0-41abcc40646c> | {
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The liver is a remarkable organ. One of the more outstanding features is its ability to regenerate following injury. The Greek poet Hesiod related the story of Prometheus who stole fire from Zeus. As a punishment, Zeus had him chained and sent an eagle to eat his immortal liver; but by night the liver regrew again every day.
Disease of the liver is uncommon is dogs; the most common being cancer. However, there are numerous diseases that affect the liver. Among these are infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, and fungi); certain drugs (such as those used to treat seizures); congenital malformation of the liver vascular bed; copper storage disease affects several breeds; and diseases of the heart, pancreas and red blood cells (anemia) can cause secondary liver disease.
One disease process that is poorly understood in dogs is cirrhosis. Copper storage disease, anticonvulsive drugs, infectious canine hepatitis (a virus) and chronic hepatitis (usually of unknown cause) have all been incriminated as causes of cirrhosis. It is unknown how many of these suspected agents can actually cause cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a picture of widespread scar tissue mixed with various-sized nodules of regenerated hepacytes (liver cells). With the remarkable regenerative capacity of the liver, it is a mystery why extensive scarring results in some instances when the liver undergoes widespread destruction.
The anatomy of the cirrhotic liver is the same in all affected dogs, regardless of cause. This observation suggests that there is a mechanism of action common to several different agents. This common pathway may have to do with unique anatomical features of the canine liver as opposed to the liver of man, for example.
My current studies at the University of Missouri are aimed at understanding the mechanism of cirrhosis formation in dogs. One area of investigation is the comparative microscopic anatomy of the normal canine liver. Along with studies of the normal is the need to examine numerous cirrhotic livers. The Liver Registry at the University of Missouri is a continuing study of canine liver disease.
The Liver Registry serves as a resource for consultation and diagnosis of disease. If you have questions about liver diseases in dogs please feel free to call me at (573) 882-7038. Cost of tissue examination is $15. If quantitative copper analysis is required there is an additional $15 charge. If you have tissue samples for examination they should be put in formalin fixative and mailed to:
Dr. Larry P. Thornburg
W211 Veterinary Medicine Building
University of Missouri
Columbia MO 65211 | <urn:uuid:8861c654-1cda-429e-b6c8-61a1ae4ee6fb> | {
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Chartbook on Disability in New York State, 1998 - 2000
Disability is a major public health problem in the United States. About one in seven Americans has a disabling condition that interferes with his or her life activities. Disabilities are disproportionately represented among minorities, the elderly, and lower socioeconomic populations. In New York State, as in the rest of the nation, the aging of the population and its accompanying burden of disease and disability have profound public health implications for the utilization of medical care and the need for supportive care. In this context, the measurement and surveillance of the indicators of disability are critical to monitoring the impact of this important public health issue.
Disability is usually assessed through self-report of difficulty or need for help in performing basic self-care activities. This profile reports results from the New York State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (NYS BRFSS) survey for the period 1998 to 2000. During this three-year period, the NYS BRFSS questionnaire, administered by the NYS Department of Health, included a special Disability Module, which permitted assessment of the disability status of the state's noninstitutionalized, civilian adult population through responses to six items on activity limitations and use of special equipment. Three comparison groups were formed based on responses and are used throughout the chartbook: 1) disability requiring assistance in daily activities; 2) disability, but no assistance required; and 3) no disability.
Demographic Characteristics by Disability Status
In comparison to the population who reported no disabilities, those with disabilities were proportionately older, had a lower level of educational attainment, reported lower annual household income, and were less likely to be employed. Additionally, those with a greater degree of disability, i.e., those requiring assistance in daily life activities, were comprised of a higher proportion of females and lower proportion of non-Hispanic whites than either those needing no assistance or those with no disabilities.
Prevalence of Disability
Overall, an estimated 22.5% of adult New Yorkers reported having a disability. Of this total, 5.8% were those requiring assistance in daily activities and 16.7% were those needing no assistance. In general, the prevalence of disability increased with age and decreased with reported levels of educational attainment and household income. Females with disabilities were twice as likely as males with disabilities to report the need for assistance in performing daily activities (7.6% vs. 3.8%, respectively).
Cause of Disability
Of those reporting disabilities, the most frequently identified cause of activity limitation among those aged 18-64 years was back or neck problems. Among those aged 65 years and older, the most frequently identified cause was arthritis or rheumatism.
Health Care Coverage, Access, and Utilization
Among working-age adults (aged 18-64 years), those with disabilities requiring assistance were more likely than the rest of the population to have some form of health care coverage. Coverage for persons with disabilities, however, was more likely to be under a public, government-funded plan. Although working-age adults with disabilities were as least as likely as, if not more likely than, the rest of the population to be insured, they were more likely to report this coverage as being inadequate; that is, they were more likely to report a time during the prior 12 months when they could not afford a needed doctor visit. Persons with disabilities, however, were more likely than those with no disabilities to have had a routine checkup during the previous year. Also, people aged 50 years and older with disabilities requiring assistance were generally more likely to have had recommended screening procedures for colorectal cancer, i.e., a blood stool test in the previous 12 months and a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy at some prior time. Moreover, women with disabilities were essentially as likely as the rest of the population to have had a recent (past 3 years) Pap smear and a recent age-appropriate clinical breast exam. Women aged 40-64 years with disabilities were also as likely as those without disabilities to have had a recent (past 12 months) mammogram. The subgroup of women aged 65 years and older and needing assistance, however, were less likely than those with no disabilities to report having had a mammogram in the prior 12 months. Persons with disabilities were as likely as the rest of the population to have had their blood cholesterol checked within the previous 2 years. People under the age of 65 years with disabilities requiring assistance were more likely than the rest of the population to report having gotten a flu shot within the previous 12 months. Moreover, among those aged 45-64 years, persons with disabilities requiring assistance were more likely than the rest of the population to have ever gotten a pneumonia vaccination. With regard to oral health, persons with disabilities were less likely than those with no disabilities to have had a dental visit within the previous 12 months.
In summary, these survey results suggest that, with exceptions among certain subgroups, health care coverage and utilization among the population of persons with disabilities may be generally no worse than that among the rest of the adult population. Compared to those with no disabilities, persons with disabilities were at least as likely to have reported having insurance coverage, getting routine physical checkups, undergoing recommended cancer screenings, and getting recommended vaccinations. Persons with disabilities were, however, more likely to report occasions in which their health coverage was not adequate to meet the costs of needed doctor visits.
Health Status and Quality of Life
Health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) information on the BRFSS consisted of both subjective ratings of health and perceptions of recent health. The rating items requested that respondents give their perceptions of emotional support, satisfaction with life, and self-rated health. HRQoL questions on recent health elicited information on respondents' estimates of impaired health days during the prior month by asking respondents to estimate the number of days in the past 30 that they had experienced a number of adverse health events.
Compared to those without disabilities, persons with disabilities were less likely to report getting sufficient emotional support and more likely to report being dissatisfied with life. Moreover, persons with disabilities were far more likely to rate their health status as fair or poor than were those with no disabilities. Over half (57.9%) of those requiring assistance reported fair or poor health, compared to only 6.7% of those with no disabilities.
When compared to the population with no disabilities, persons with disabilities were more likely to report more days of impaired health in the previous month on every measure, including poor physical health, poor mental health, activity limitation due to poor physical or mental health, activity-limiting pain, depressed mood, worry or anxiety, and insufficient rest or sleep. Persons with disabilities were also less likely to report days of feeling very healthy and full of energy. On all measures, the number of reported symptom days was directly related to the degree of disability (i.e., requiring no assistance [lesser degree] vs. needing assistance [greater degree]).
Chronic Health Conditions
Persons with disabilities are generally more likely than the rest of the population to be burdened with chronic health conditions. Conversely, chronic health conditions are the most common reason people have a disability. This report summarizes the prevalence of seven chronic health problems by disability status. When compared to those without disabilities, persons with disabilities, especially those needing assistance, were more likely to report arthritis. In addition, persons with disabilities were more likely to report having diabetes, asthma, hypertension, and high blood cholesterol. Persons with disabilities were also more likely to report a history of heart attack and stroke.
Health Risk Factors
Compared to those without disabilities, persons with disabilities under the age of 65 years were more likely to report being current smokers. The difference was especially notable among those aged 18-44 years, as an estimated 45.1% of those requiring assistance were current smokers compared to 26.4% of those with no disabilities. Persons with disabilities were also more likely to be overweight or obese (body mass index [BMI] of 25.0 or greater) than were those with no disabilities. The difference was again most evident in the 18-44 years age group, as 62.6% of those needing assistance reported being overweight or obese compared to 46.0% of those with no disabilities. In an assessment of obesity (BMI ≥ 30.0) alone, persons with disabilities, especially those needing assistance, were more likely than those without disabilities to be obese. In particular, among those aged 45-64 years, 41.4% of those needing assistance were obese compared to 17.0% of those without disabilities. Recent leisure-time exercise or physical activity also varied by disability status, as those needing assistance were more likely than the rest of the population to report getting no exercise in the previous month, regardless of age. There were essentially no differences by disability status, however, in the daily consumption of five or more servings of fruits and vegetables. | <urn:uuid:f629325c-e6a6-4138-9b69-620f54fcb007> | {
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In considering the general development and relations of The Grateful Dead, to which we must now turn, it is proper to inquire first of all as to its origin. Hitherto the existence of the story-theme as such has been taken well nigh for granted, though the discussion of variants in simple form necessitated some reference to the point of separation between the märchen and whatever beliefs or social customs lie beyond. Now that the tale has been followed through its various modifications and has been proved by a systematic study of its forms to be, if I may use the expression, a living organism, the debateable land outside can be entered with measurable security.
There can be no doubt that The Grateful Dead as a theme is based upon beliefs about the sacred duty of burial and upon the customs incident to withholding burial for the sake of revenge or recompense. To study these phenomena in detail is not necessary to the scheme of this book, but belongs rather to the province of primitive religion and law. It is sufficient for our purpose to show the nature and extent of such observances and beliefs for the sake of the light which they may throw on the genesis of the tale itself.
The belief that no obligation is more binding on man than that he pay proper respect to the dead is as old as civilization itself. Indeed, it probably antedates what
- See pp. 28 f. | <urn:uuid:425c5a63-ad6a-44e8-b12f-440827b6bdb9> | {
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Key: "S:" = Show Synset (semantic) relations, "W:" = Show Word (lexical) relations
Display options for sense: (gloss) "an example sentence"
- S: (n) bear (massive plantigrade carnivorous or omnivorous mammals with long shaggy coats and strong claws)
- S: (n) bear (an investor with a pessimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to fall and so sells now in order to buy later at a lower price)
- S: (v) bear (have) "bear a resemblance"; "bear a signature"
- S: (v) give birth, deliver, bear, birth, have (cause to be born) "My wife had twins yesterday!"
- S: (v) digest, endure, stick out, stomach, bear, stand, tolerate, support, brook, abide, suffer, put up (put up with something or somebody unpleasant) "I cannot bear his constant criticism"; "The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks"; "he learned to tolerate the heat"; "She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage"
- S: (v) bear (move while holding up or supporting) "Bear gifts"; "bear a heavy load"; "bear news"; "bearing orders"
- S: (v) bear, turn out (bring forth) "The apple tree bore delicious apples this year"; "The unidentified plant bore gorgeous flowers"
- S: (v) bear, take over, accept, assume (take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person) "I'll accept the charges"; "She agreed to bear the responsibility"
- S: (v) hold, bear, carry, contain (contain or hold; have within) "The jar carries wine"; "The canteen holds fresh water"; "This can contains water"
- S: (v) yield, pay, bear (bring in) "interest-bearing accounts"; "How much does this savings certificate pay annually?"
- S: (v) wear, bear (have on one's person) "He wore a red ribbon"; "bear a scar"
- S: (v) behave, acquit, bear, deport, conduct, comport, carry (behave in a certain manner) "She carried herself well"; "he bore himself with dignity"; "They conducted themselves well during these difficult times"
- S: (v) bear, hold (have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices) "She bears the title of Duchess"; "He held the governorship for almost a decade"
- S: (v) hold, carry, bear (support or hold in a certain manner) "She holds her head high"; "He carried himself upright"
- S: (v) have a bun in the oven, bear, carry, gestate, expect (be pregnant with) "She is bearing his child"; "The are expecting another child in January"; "I am carrying his child" | <urn:uuid:88e3a80c-2952-4bcf-8974-76da55f70ae9> | {
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NE.SS.1. Grade 3 (Community)
SS 3.1. Civics: Students will develop and apply the skills of civic responsibility to make informed decisions based upon knowledge of government at local, state, national and international levels.
SS 3.1.2. Students will understand the impact of individual and group decisions at a local level.
SS 3.1.2.a. Identify rights and responsibilities of citizens (e.g., voting, public service projects,) at the local level | <urn:uuid:921546ac-11f3-4fe7-8bb1-cf1922ec75e0> | {
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MnDOT Raising Awareness of the Zipper Merge Technique for Lane Closures
How many of us were taught to merge as soon as you safely can after you see the lane closure sign? Probably many of us have. It seems to make sense to get over sooner, rather than later and risk getting stuck in the closed lane, right? According to MnDOT's website merging later can be better.
The zipper merge driving technique acts just like the teeth on a zipper. Traffic uses both lanes of the road until the designated closure, then the cars alternate like the teeth on a zipper into the open lane. It appears there are many benefits of using the zipper merge. MnDOT quotes Sue Groth, the MnDOT traffic safety and technology director, saying "Raising awareness for motorists to use the zipper merge in construction zones will help reduce crashes, speeds and congestion." Of course there are times to not use the zipper merge, like when traffic is moving at highway speeds and there are no backups.
To learn more about the zipper merge technique and view a video on the topic, please visit http://www.dot.state.mn.us/zippermerge/. | <urn:uuid:21cf7025-28e1-483c-8429-6b828f1948dc> | {
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The price of food rations on board the International Space Station (ISS) has increased by nearly 50 percent over the past year due to inflation, a Russian official said on Thursday.
"Last year, the cosmonaut's daily ration in space cost about 11,000 rubles (250 euros), and today the cost is reaching 15,000 rubles," Viktor Dobrovolsky, director of the food institute that supplies space cosmonauts, told the Interfax news agency.
The increase is caused by price inflation on natural products used in making the rations and rising costs of required tests and analyses, he said.
Cosmonauts consume between 1.6 and 1.75 kilogrammes of food per day. The menu is repeated every eight days, Dobrovolsky said.
When in weightless conditions, cosmonauts generally consume moist and sticky products like buckwheat porridge, boiled eggs, pudding and ragout, since these foods stay on the forks and spoons without floating away.
Products that cause crumbs, like bread, are excluded since crumbs can scatter around the spaceship. Salt and pepper can only be used if salt is dissolved in water and pepper is mixed in vegetable oil. | <urn:uuid:72f5d5f7-3166-4996-8ea9-4f6bd625857a> | {
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Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol VI:Early Church Fathers Index Previous Next
Fragments of the Books on Arithmetic.
Fragments of the Books on Arithmetic.1
What is mathematics?
Aristotle thinks that all philosophy consisted of theory and practice,2 and divides the practical into ethical and political, and the theoretic again into the theological, the physical, and the mathematical. And thus very clearly and skilfully he shows that mathematics is (a branch of) philosophy.
The Chaldaeans were the originators of astronomy, and the Egyptians of geometry and arithmetic....
And whence did mathematics derive its name? Those of the Peripatetic school affirmed that in rhetoric and poetry, and in the popular music, any one may be an adept though he has gone through no process of study; but that in those pursuits properly called studies,3 none can have any real knowledge unless he has first become a student of them. Hence they supposed that the theory of these things was called Mathematics, from ma/qhma, study, science. And the followers of Pythagoras are said to have given this more distinctive name of mathematics to geometry, and arithmetic alone. For of old these had each its own separate name; and they had up till then no name common to both. And he (Archytas) gave them this name, because he found science4 in them, and that in a manner suitable to man's study.5 For they (the Pythagoreans) perceived that these studies dealt with things eternal and immutable and perfect,6 in which things alone they considered that science consisted. But the more recent philosophers have given a more extensive application to this name, so that, in their opinion, the mathematician deals not only with substances7 incorporeal, and falling simply within the province of the understanding,8 but also with that which touches upon corporeal and sensible matter. For he ought to be cognisant of9 the course of the stars, and their velocity, and their magnitudes, and forms, and distances. And, besides, he ought to investigate their dispositions to vision, examining into the causes, why they are not seen as of the same form and of the same size from every distance, retaining, indeed, as we know them to do, their dispositions relative to each other,10 but producing, at the same time, deceptive appearances, both in respect of order and position. And these are so, either as determined by the state of the heavens and the air, or as seen in reflecting and all polished surfaces and in transparent bodies, and in all similar kinds. In addition to this, they thought that the man ought to be versed in mechanics and geometry and dialectics. And still further, that he should engage himself with the causes of the harmonious combination of sounds, and with the composition of music; which things are bodies,11 or at least are to be ultimately referred to sensible matter.
What is mathematics?
Mathematics is a theoretic science12 of things apprehensible by perception and sensation for communication to others.13 And before this a certain person indulging in a joke, while hitting his mark, said that mathematics is that science to which Homer's description of Discord may be applied.-
"Small at her birth, but rising every hour,
While scarce the skies her horrid (mighty) head can bound,
She stalks on earth and shakes the world around."14
For it begins with a point and a line,15 and forthwith it takes heaven itself and all things within its compass.
How many divisions are there of mathematics?
Of the more notable and the earliest mathematics there are two principal divisions, viz., arithmetic and geometry. And of the mathematics which deals with things sensible there are six divisions, viz, computation (practical arithmetic), geodesy, optics, theoretical music, mechanics, and astronomy. But that neither the so-called tactics nor architecture,16 nor the popular music, nor physics, nor the art which is called equivocally the mechanical, constitutes, as some think, a branch of mathematics, we shall prove, as the discourse proceeds, clearly and systematically.
As to the circle having eight solids and six superficies and four angles.... What branches of arithmetic have closest affinity with each other? Computation and theoretical music have a closer affinity than others with arithmetic; for this department, being one also of quantity and ratio, approaches it in number and proportion.17 Optics and geodesy, again, are more in affinity with geometry. And mechanics and astrology are in general affinity with both.
As to mathematics having its principles18 in hypothesis and about hypothesis. Now, the term hypothesis is used in three ways, or indeed in many ways. For according to one usage of the term we have the dramatic revolution;19 and in this sense there are said to be hypotheses in the dramas of Euripides. According to a second meaning, we have the investigation of matters in the special in rhetoric; and in this sense the Sophists say that a hypothesis must be proposed. And, according to a third signification, the beginning of a proof is called a hypothesis, as being the begging of certain matters with a view to the establishment of another in question. Thus it is said that Democritus20 used a hypothesis, namely, that of atoms and a vacuum; and Asclepiades21 that of atoms22 and pores. Now, when applied to mathematics, the term hypothesis is to be taken in the third sense.
That Pythagoras was not the only one who duly honoured arithmetic, but that his best known disciples did so too, being wont to say that "all things fit number."23
That arithmetic has as its immediate end chiefly the theory of science,24 than which there is no end either greater or nobler. And its second end is to bring together in one all that is found in determinate substance.25
Who among the mathematicians has made any discovery?
Eudemus26 relates in his Astrologies that Oenopides27 found out the circle of the zodiac and the cycle28 of the great year. And Thales29 discovered the eclipse of the sun and its period in the tropics in its constant inequality. And Anaximander30 discovered that the earth is poised in space,31 and moves round the axis of the universe. And Anaximenes32 discovered that the moon has her light from the sun, and found out also the way in which she suffers eclipse. And the rest of the mathematicians have also made additions to these discoveries. We may instance the facts-that the fixed stars move round the axis passing through the poles, while the planets remove from each other33 round the perpendicular axis of the zodiac; and that the axis of the fixed stars and the planets is the side of a pentedecagon with four-and-twenty parts.
Next: Alexander of Cappadocia.
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© Saint Takla Haymanout Website: Coptic Orthodox Church - Alexandria, Egypt / URL: http://St-Takla.org / Contact us at | <urn:uuid:1cd9ab7f-9df3-44cf-8111-c06eaf8eafc6> | {
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A lot of the press surrounding the opioid epidemic has focused on providing marijuana as an alternative solution. While this idea is certainly to be considered with the sensationalism and controversy that marijuana brings to the media, other ideas and solutions have not been given as much attention. While acupuncture itself is not a cure to chronic pain, there is a lot of medical evidence that acupuncture can help in both pain and the mental aspects that create perpetuation of chronic pain in brain.
A recent while paper published by A.F. Fan et.al. in the Journal of Integrative Medicine (https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-4964(17)60378-9), the author lays out the framework of how acupuncture can be used to solve the opioid epidemic. One of the ways acupuncture is thought to work on pain is by stimulating the nerves that lower pain in our bodies. Our nervous system in it wisdom has created a break on pain. Regular acupuncture can put the brakes on this pain.
Another aspect of acupuncture healing is its ability to work on the parasympathetic nervous system. It is believed that acupuncture stimulates the parasympathetic, rest and digest, part of our bodies. This system helps to calm the effect stress has on our bodies. Stress magnifies pain in our bodies, so by reducing stress and the chemicals it produces in our bodies we can reduce pain.
Another fascinating aspect of acupuncture and pain is that acupuncture is thought to create direct changes in the brain thought the nervous system. Too much attention is often focused at the periphery when it comes to pain, but changes in our brain often perpetuate the chronic pain response. Techniques such have scalp acupuncture have shown emerging clinical evidence that acupuncture can create positive changes in different sensory and motor areas of the brain.
Acupuncture is certainly not a “cure all”. These biggest downside of acupuncture is that it often takes a commitment to a good amount of visits to create a lasting change in your body when you have a condition that has been become chronic. Despite what most have experienced in Western Medicine, the needles are extremely small and when inserted virtually pain free. Also, there are many different styles of acupuncture, so even if you have tried it before in the past and not been successful, it may be reasonable to try it again with another practitioner. Consider including acupuncture not only as another tool powerful at reducing pain circuits and energizing healing pathways in the body, but for personal and emotional self-care, as well.
Optimize Your Health, Simplify Your Life,
Dr Sharyl Truty MD
Dr Sharyl Truty MD is board certified in Family Practice and Sports Medicine and has completed a physicians course at UCLA Helms Acupuncture Training and Certification as well as acupuncture training in China. If you would like to schedule an appointment with Dr Sharyl Truty, please call 904.930.4774 and ask about the New Patient Special, 3 visits for $199, available at Balanced Physician Care. | <urn:uuid:34224acb-982c-48fd-bb18-5204a96f8d63> | {
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1. Steinbeck was going to name his story "Something That Happened." Instead, he named if Of Mice and Men. Which title do you think is more appropriate to the novel as a whole? Explain your answer.
2. In tragedies, the central character comes to a realization about his life or an understanding of life in general as a result of his suffering. Is this true of Of Mice and Men? Explain.
3. Explain Steinbeck's use of foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men.
4. Choose a ">symbol used by Steinbeck and explain its significance in the novel. | <urn:uuid:76a76ca9-3c53-4a77-9fa8-682917475412> | {
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Evolution Main Concepts
Natural selection, variation - what are the main concepts related to Evolution? Find out more and gain tips for your essays and coursework with our analysis here.
The differences between individuals in a population are called variation. The differences between members of the same species are called intra-specific variation. These differences may be in observable characteristics such as hair colour, or differences in behaviour, such as intelligence or temperament.
The differences may also be seen in the biochemical molecules found within the cells of the organism such as DNA, which will give rise to differences in the amino acid sequence of proteins.
Variation will also occur between members of different species. This is called inter-specific variation. The number of differences will tend to be smaller in closely related species and greater in species that are not closely related.
The environment, in which they are found, will also influence each individual.
There are some characteristics that have no distinct groups or categories, such as the height of a plant or man, or the mass of a person. There is a complete range of measurements between two extremes. These variations can be measured and the results then plotted in the form of a histogram. The feature is therefore quantitative. This histogram will have a characteristic bell- shaped curve known as a normal distribution curve. Continuous characteristics are controlled by a large number of genes. This is called polygenic inheritance.
With a large number of genes involved in determining the characteristic there can be a very large number of possible combinations of alleles during meiosis and this gives a very large number of different phenotypes. Environmental factors can also contribute to continuous variation. For example, plants may be genetically identical but could grow to different heights due to differences in soil mineral availability, or the light intensity in the growing region. Continuous variation is the product of the polygenes and the environment.
Some characteristics fit into very distinct forms or types e.g. biological sex blood group -there are no ‘in-between’ characteristics. This is called discontinuous variation.
The ABO blood group system gives rise to four different blood groups, A, B, AB and O. This is because the characteristic is controlled by one single gene that has three different alleles. The different combinations of alleles gives rise to the four different blood groups. Discontinuous characteristics are not measured, but the numbers falling into each group are counted. The data are then plotted as a bar chart showing the numbers of individuals in each group. The discontinuous characteristic is qualitative meaning it cannot be measured. Environmental factors have no, or very little effect, on discontinuous characteristics.
Causes of variation
There are two causes of variation – genetic and environmental. The genotype of the individual is the genes they possess, and which in particular which alleles, or forms of these genes, are present in the DNA. The genotype can vary as a result of mutations, crossing over and independent assortment during meiosis, the random pairing and mating of individuals and the random fusion of gametes. These variations can be passed from one generation to the next. Genetic variation is heritable. Examples would include eye colour, colour of the seed in peas and coat colour in cattle.
Environmental factors can affect the way that the alleles are expressed in the individual. There are a large number of factors that can affect characteristics such as temperature, food availability, light intensity, soil pH and rainfall. Some environmental factors can also cause genetic mutations, or can cause certain genes to actually be switched on or off. Environmental variation is not passed from one generation to the next. It is non-heritable.
In any environment there will always be competition for the available resources such as food, water, light, territory and nutrients. The population may also have to survive poor conditions such as drought, disease, heat and cold. These factors are called selective agents. Darwin observed that there are variations in each population, but a tendency for the population size to remain fairly constant, even though large numbers of offspring are produced. It is this variation in the population that allows some members to survive unfavourable conditions, or to compete for resources more successfully than others. All members of a species will have physiological, anatomical or behavioural adaptations enabling them to live in their chosen environment.
If the environment changes then the organisms living there may no longer be fully adapted, and this places a selection pressure on the population.
This is the pressure of competition to survive and have surviving offspring. The word ‘selection’ refers to the fact that some variants (the ‘fittest’) are better at doing this than others. Fitness in this case means reproductive success. Darwin proposed that members of a species that are most suitably adapted to the environment have a greater survival and reproduction rate than others that are less well adapted. This is his theory of natural selection. Over time natural selection causes changes in the frequency of different alleles in the gene pool of the population, and this is the basis of evolution.
This occurs when there has been an environmental change, which causes a selection pressure. In a mixed population of brown and white rabbits, the white rabbits would be at an advantage if there were a new Ice Age but are at a disadvantage in temperate climates, as predators easily see them. White rabbits may survive, reproduce and pass on the alleles for this characteristic to the next generation if a new Ice Age occurred.
This type of selection maintains the variety in the population but tends to select against the extremes, especially in a stable environment. In animal populations extremely large or extremely small individuals are less likely to reproduce so the alleles for this characteristic are not passed on. Extremely large and extremely small babies also have a lower survival rate.
This type of selection tends to favour the extremes. The middle of the range is selected against. This was seen in some of the species of Galapagos finches. During a drought those birds in the population with larger, stronger beaks could break open seeds and use these as a source of food. The birds with smaller, thinner beaks could retrieve small insects from cracks in plants as an additional food source. These options were not available to birds with the medium sized beaks and so these birds did not survive. Each extreme passed the alleles on for their beak type to their offspring this type of selection causes divergence – there are two distinct forms of the species. Although uncommon, this type of selection may be more likely to result in the formation of new species.
It is usual to define a species as a number of individuals that share similarities, and reproprodue fertile offspring. If a male horse mates with a female donkey then the offspring is called a mule. The mule is a sterile hybrid. For this reason the horse and the donkey are considered to be separate species. New species must evolve slowly over time from pre-existing species.
Evolution of a new species
There are three conditions that may lead to the development of a new species:
Isolation - Part of the population becomes cut off or isolated so it cannot breed with the rest of the population. In allopatric speciation rivers, mountains or roads physically separate the populations. In sympatric speciation the populations can be in the same place but do not interbreed due to different mating seasons or incompatible mating behavior, or genitalia.
Natural selection - a change in the environment causes certain individuals to not survive and this changes the frequency of certain alleles in the population.
Speciation – the genetic differences between the populations become greater with each generation and may cause them to be unable to breed together. | <urn:uuid:5343f6c2-b176-4cc4-950b-107542ef479d> | {
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1137 Acer platanoidesCommon Names: Norway maple Family: Aceraceae (maple Family)
Norway maple is a fast growing, wide-spreading deciduous tree with broad, lobed leaves. The leaves are 3-6 in (7.5-15 cm) long and about as wide, with five lobes, each ending in a pointed tip. In autumn they usually turn yellow, russet or reddish, but some years they may drop while still green. Norway maple often gets 80 ft (24 m) tall with a crown spread of 50 ft (15 m). As with all the maples, the hanging fruit is two samaras, joined together at the fat end, each containing a single seed. When ripe, they "helicopter to the ground, thus getting out from under the parent tree and (if all goes well) landing on bare mineral soil in a patch of sunlight.
There are dozens of selected cultivars in the trade. 'Crimson King' has purplish leaves; 'Drummondii', also called harlequin maple, has leaves strikingly adorned with wide, creamy white margins. Other cultivars have been selected for smaller mature size ('Red Pygmy' gets no more than 6 ft = 2 m tall), fast growth rate; golden, orange, red or purple autumn color; or narrow columnar habit. There are cultivars with speckled leaves; leaves that are irregular in shape; and leaves with three instead of five lobes.
Acer platanoides is native across northern Europe to Russia. It has become naturalized in parts of northeastern and northwestern North America.
CultureLight: Norway maple should be planted in full sun. Moisture: Water seedlings and young trees regularly. Once established, a Norway maple should do fine without supplemental watering in all but desert conditions. Hardiness: USDA Zones 3 - 7. Propagation: The species can be grown from seeds, planted as soon as they fall from the tree. Cultivars are grafted or bud-grafted onto seedlings.
Norway maple is a handsome and hearty tree, often used as a street tree. It is tolerant of limey soils and of urban conditions. These are relatively large trees that are best in larger lawns and parks. The deciduous Norway maple has a dense crown and provides near total shade in summer, but allows the warming sun through in the winter. They are popular in northeastern US landscapes, and often planted to shade suburban homes.
There are more than 150 species of maples, and quite a few of them are cultivated. Floridata has profiled six species. There are native maples in North Africa, Europe, Asia, and North and Central America. Some are mere shrubs, some huge trees, some are evergreen, and the American sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is a valuable lumber tree, as well as the source of maple syrup.
Norway maple can be invasive in the northeastern US, spreading into adjacent woodlands, shading out understory species and out-competing native tree species. Its cultivation is prohibited in some states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and red maple (A. rubrum) are alternatives to Norway maple that are native to North America.
Steve Christman 4/24/11; updated 6/12/11, 4/7/12 | <urn:uuid:d42a0275-638e-4d08-a67a-681ab13d477e> | {
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2009 - 2010 Undergraduate Research in Nutrition and Food Science
Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant among Americans. It can be found in products such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, and some medications. Research has shown that caffeine intake can increase alertness, improve mood, and enhance cognitive performance. Increased alertness and concentration allows for easier retention and understanding of material and can ultimately affect a college student's academic success.
Objective: Determine the relationship between caffeine consumption and a student's GPA.
Subjects and Methods: The relationship between caffeine consumption and grade point average (GPA) was examined in 209 undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky. Participants included 40 males (average age 21.57 ± 3.15 years) and 169 females (average age 20.04 ± 2.77 years). Subjects completed surveys regarding their caffeine consumption, frequency, study habits and grade point averages.
Results: The average cumulative grade point for female students was 3.36 ± 0.44, with an average grade point average of 3.38 ± 0.49 for the 2009 fall semester. The overall grade point for male students was 3.12 ± 0.45, with an average grade point average of 3.15 ± 0.44 for the 2009 fall semester. 88% of the students reported consuming caffeine on a regular basis and 48.3% reported consuming at least five to seven caffeine beverages per week. The most common sources of caffeine were coffee and caffeinated soda.
It was found that students who did consume caffeine (88.03% ± 0.33% Yes vs. 11.96% ± 0.25% No) had a higher grade point average than those students who did not. The results were also statistically significant (p= 0.04) and there was a direct relationship between caffeine consumptions a student's GPA. However, many students reported that they believed there was no correlation between their caffeine intake and their performance on an exam.
Conclusions: While caffeine was shown in this sample to have a positive effect on a student's overall GPA, college students would benefit from being more informed about caffeine's effects on the human body and potential side effects to over-use. | <urn:uuid:167f0954-fce3-4d0b-8cc0-23b1197b2fdc> | {
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“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle…” (Titus 1:1)
Did you ever wonder why Paul, an apostle, began his epistle to Titus by first referring to himself as a servant, the Bible word for a slave? Well, it helps to learn why the apostle opened two of his other epistles this way.
First, he identified himself as a servant to the Romans (Rom. 1:1) because Rome was the capital city of the Roman Empire, and the citizens of Rome were used to owning slaves, not being slaves. Paul himself had been born with all the rights and privileges of Roman citizenship (Acts 22:25-28), yet he was humbly willing to acknowledge that he was a servant of God. So in writing the saints in Rome, the apostle introduced himself as a servant to remind them that they too might be free citizens, but that “he that is called in the Lord…being free, is Christ’s servant” (I Cor. 7:22).
Paul also introduced himself as a servant to the Philippians, where two of the ladies were feuding (Phil. 4:2), and everyone in the church was taking sides. When they received Paul’s letter, they probably thought that he was going to take a side in their squabble and settle it in so doing. But rather than siding with either faction, he made it clear that he was writing to them “all” (1:1), praying for them “all” (1:4), thought highly of them “all” (1:7), longed after them “all” (1:8), rejoiced with them “all” (2:17), and wished them “all” well (4:23). His marked and repeated use of the word all in this epistle shows that he refused to take sides in their feud. Instead, he told them to get on the Lord’s side, saying,
“…be likeminded…being…of one mind…let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God…took upon Him the form of a servant…” (Phil. 2:2-7).
When two believers are not of one mind, the only way they can become of one mind is to let the mind of Christ govern their lives—the Christ who “took upon Him the form of a servant.” If you have a dispute with a brother in Christ, I can tell you whose side Paul would be on. He’d be on the side of whoever was willing to be the other one’s servant. Lowliness like that will solve any and all disputes, but it is high spiritual ground. But then, isn’t that what you have in mind when you sing “Lord plant my feet on higher ground?”
Finally, the reason Paul called himself a servant in addressing Titus was because Titus was an intimidating man (II Cor. 7:15). Spiritual leaders like that sometimes need to be reminded that the strongest leaders of men are nothing more than servants of God. Titus might have been a tough man, but that’s not what made him fit to pastor a church. His fitness was found in his willingness to be a servant of God and lead His people in serving Him by example, and not by force (cf. I Peter 5:3). I’ve heard horror stories of pastors who act like little Napoleons—and some of you have lived such horror stories. Men like that would do well to remember the humility Paul displayed when he referred to himself as a servant, and stop dominating the faith of God’s people (II Cor. 1:22), and “by love serve one another” instead (Gal. 5:13).
To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:
"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."
To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless. | <urn:uuid:3096361c-effe-40bf-91eb-1e36e97aab06> | {
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Attending Arts Events or Cultural Institutions
Number of Individuals Attending Arts Events or Cultural Institutions
The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2002 (SPPA) found that 39 percent of the adult population of the United States attended at least one of seven "benchmark" arts activities (jazz, classical music, opera, musical plays, plays, ballet, or art museums) in the twelve months prior to the survey. (This proportion excludes elementary, middle, and high school performances.) This translates to an estimated 81 million American adults who were exposed to at least one of these seven arts activities [National Endowment for the Arts Research Division, 2003. "Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2002". NEA Research Division Note #83, Washington, DC: National Endowment for the Arts].
When the list of arts-related activities is expanded to include four others (visiting historic sites, attending arts or crafts fairs, attending dance performances other than ballet, and reading "plays, poetry, novels, or short stories"), the overall rate of public participation increases to two out of three American adults (65%; 134 million) who participated in at least one of these eleven activities during the 12 months leading up to the 2002 SPPA study.
The highest level of attendance among the seven benchmark arts activities was for art museums and galleries, visited by slightly more than a quarter of all adults (26.5%, or about 54.3 million people) at least once during the previous 12 months.
Musical plays and non-musical plays ranked second and third, respectively, in terms of attendance. About one in six adults (17.1%; 35.1 million) went to at least one performance of a musical play. One in eight adults (12.3%; 25.2 million) went to a non-musical play.
About the same number of adults went to live classical music performances (11.6%; 23.8) as attended non-musical plays, while about one in nine saw a live jazz performance (10.8%; 22.2 million).
Roughly one in twenty-five American adults (3.9%; 8 million) went to the ballet, while about one in thirty (3.2%; 6.6 million) went to an opera.
The 2002 SPPA also included attendance data for four other arts and cultural activities, three of which had high levels of participation. Close to one third of U.S. adults (31.6% or 64.7 million people) visited a historic park/building/monument/neighborhood during the past year. About the same number attended arts festivals, art fairs, craft festivals, or craft fairs (33.4%; 68.4 million).
Also, just under half of adults (46.3%; 95.3 million) said that they had read plays, poetry, novels, or short stories in the past year. More specifically, 44.7% said that they had read a novel or short story within the past year, 12% had read poetry in the past 12 months, and 3.6% had read plays in the past year.
Finally, attendance at dance performances other than ballet (6.3%; 12.1 million) was about a third higher than the attendance at ballet performances (3.9%, 8 million).
Frequency of Attendance
In 2002, the average annual number of visits to each of the seven benchmark arts activities ranged from a high of 3.5 for art museums and galleries to a low of 1.7 for ballet. The average frequency of attendance at both live jazz concerts and classical music performances was slightly lower than at art museums/galleries -- 3.1 times in the past year. Attendees of non-musical plays and musical theater averaged 2.3 visits each per year. Rates of attendance were lowest for opera and ballet, at 2.0 and 1.7 visits per year, respectively.
So, not only did more American adults visit an art museum or gallery in 2002 (54.3 million), they also visited museums and galleries more frequently (3.5 times in the past 12 months) than they attended any of the other six arts activities. As a result, the total estimated attendance at art museums and galleries in the 12-month period leading up to the 2002 SPPA study was 190.6 million adults.
Conversely, not only did opera rank lowest among these seven arts activities in terms of total aficionados (6.6 million adults who attended in 2002), it ranked second lowest in frequency of attendance (2.0 visits in the past 12 months). So, the total estimated attendance at opera performances in the 12 months leading up to the 2002 SPPA study was 13.3 million adults.
Also worth noting is that while fewer individuals attended either jazz or classical music concerts in the past 12 months (22.2 and 23.8 million adults, respectively) than attended non-musical plays (25.2 million), they attended jazz and classical music events more frequently. As a result, the estimated total number of attendees at jazz and classical music concerts in 2002 (68.8 and 72.8 million adults, respectively) exceeded the total number of attendees at non-musical plays (58.7 million). The total number of attendees at musical plays in the 12-month period leading up to the 2002 SPPA study was 79.3 million adults.
With respect to other arts and cultural activities, the attendance rate for historic sites was the highest of all arts-related activities covered in the 2002 SPPA, at an average of 3.6 visits per year. With 64.7 million adults reporting having attended an historic site in 2002, the estimated total attendance at historic sites in the 12 months leading up to the 2002 SPPA study was 231 million, far larger than the total attendance for any other arts-related activity.
Although slightly more people reported visiting an art fair, art festival, craft fair, or craft festival in 2002 (68.4 million adults) than visited historic sites (64.7 million), the average frequency of attendance at such fairs was 2.4 visits per year (compared to 3.6 visits per year for historic sites). So, the total attendance at arts and craft fairs was about 164.1 million, larger than most other arts-related activities, but substantially lower than total attendance at historic sites.
The average annual number of visits to dance performances other than ballet was 2.0, resulting in an estimated total attendance of about 24.6 million in 2002.
Because of the widespread availability of the arts through various media (television, radio, audio and video recordings, etc.), Americans have many opportunities to participate in the arts through media, as well as through actual attendance at arts events. The most common form of arts participation through media in 2002 was watching programs about the visual arts on television, videotape, or DVD -- a pastime engaged in by a quarter of American adults (25%; 51 million). The least common form of mediated participation was listening to non-musical plays on the radio (2.1%, 4.3 million).
The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2002 also asked, for the first time, about Americans' use of the Internet to learn about, listen to, or discuss the arts. Internet usage was greatest for music-related topics and lowest for opera-related topics.
Altogether, an estimated 56 percent of American adults (115 million) participated in the arts through media (including the Internet) during the 12 months prior to the SPPA 2002.
Television, Videotape, and DVD
It is possible to view all seven benchmark arts activities either on television, videotape, or DVD. Mirroring the findings for participation through attendance, the highest rate of participation via TV, videotape, or DVD consisted of viewing programming about the visual arts (25% of American adults; 51 million).
This was followed by viewing classical music on TV, videotape, or DVD, an activity engaged in by 18.1% (37 million) of American adults. Slightly over one-sixth of adults reported viewing jazz music performances on TV, videotape, or DVD (16.4%; 33.5 million).
About one person in eight (12.6%; 25.7 million) reported viewing dance on TV, videotape or DVD. (It is important to note that the question asked in the 2002 SPPA about participation in dance through the media differed from the questions asked about participation in dance through attending performances, rendering these questions non-comparable. The media participation question asked, "With the exception of music videos, did you watch on television, a video (VCR) tape, or a video (DVD) disc dance such as ballet, modern, folk, or tap during the last 12 months?" The attendance questions asked specifically about attendance at ballet performances and about attendance at dance performances other than ballet.)
About one person in nine (11.7%; 24 million) reported watching a musical play on TV, videotape, or DVD, while about one in ten (9.4%; 19.2 million) watched non-musical plays in the 12-month period prior to the 2002 SPPA.
Nearly 6% of the adult population (11.9 million) viewed opera performances on TV, Videotape or DVD. While this was the smallest audience for an arts activity viewed through these media (among the seven benchmark activities covered by the SPPA), this was nearly twice the number of people who saw an opera performance in person (3.2% or 6.6 million people).
Nearly a quarter of American adults (23.9%; 48.9 million) reported listening to classical music on the radio in the 12-month period prior to the 2002 SPPA. About the same number reported listening to jazz music on the radio (23.5%; 48 million). In both cases, these proportions were higher than the comparable proportions of American adults who viewed classical and jazz music performances on TV, videotape or DVD (18.1% and 16.4%, respectively).
Opera does not follow the same pattern. About 5.7% of American adults listened to opera performances on the radio (11.7 million), and about the same proportion (5.8%; 11.9 million) viewed an opera performance on TV, videotape or DVD.
Participation via the radio drops off sharply for both musical plays and non-musical plays. In both cases, just over 2 percent of American adults (about 4.5 million people) listened on the radio, compared to about 10 percent of the population who viewed plays on TV, videotape or DVD.
Audio Recordings (Records, Tapes, and Compact Disc)
The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2002 (SPPA) asked respondents whether they had listened to jazz music, classical music, opera, and musical plays on records, tapes, or compact discs during the past year. The greatest percentage of "participation" through recordings was for classical music at 19.3% (39.5 million people). This is only slightly higher than the 18.1% who watched classical music on TV, videotape or DVD, although less than the percentage (23.9%) who reported listening to classical music on the radio.
About 17 percent of adults (35.2 million) reported listening to jazz via audio recordings during the 12 months prior to the 2002 SPPA. As was the case with classical music, slightly fewer people watched televised or taped jazz performances (16.4%, 33.5 million) than listened to jazz via audio recordings, while a larger proportion (23.5%; 48 million) reported listening to jazz on the radio.
For opera, about the same percentage of adults listened to recorded opera performances (5.5%) as listened to opera on the radio (5.7%), and viewed opera performances on television (5.8%).
Less than half as many American adults (4.3%; 8.8 million) listened to musical plays on records, tapes, or compact discs, as viewed musical plays (11.7%; 24 million) on TV, Videotape, or DVD. An even lower proportion (2.4%; 4.9 million) listened to musical plays on the radio.
About 12.4 percent (25.5 million) of adults said they listened to audio recordings of novels or poetry.
Respondents to the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2002 were asked to report on their use of the Internet in accessing arts-related material. About 13.1% (27 million) used the Internet to explore all types of music. Just over 9% (19 million) used the Internet to investigate literature. The third most popular topic of exploration was the visual arts (5.9%; 12.1 million), followed by plays (4.1%; 8.4 million), and opera (1.3%; 2.7 million).
In addition to involvement in arts and cultural activities as an audience member or consumer, an individual may also participate personally in the creation of artistic products or performances. The range of artistic activities an individual may engage in is quite wide. The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2002 includes information about nine kinds of involvement in the performing arts, four visual arts and crafts activities, and creative writing.
Specifically, information was gathered about whether an individual had personally engaged in each of the following activities within the past 12 months:
- Performed or rehearsed jazz music
- Played classical music
- Sang music from an opera
- Sang music from an operetta or musical theater
- Danced ballet
- Engaged in any other dancing, such as modern, folk, or tap
- Sang in or rehearsed for a public performance of a chorale, choir, glee club, or other type of vocal group
- Acted in or rehearsed for a public performance of a non-musical play
- Wrote or composed music
- Engaged in weaving, crocheting, quilting, needlework, or sewing
- Created pottery, ceramics, jewelry, leatherwork, or metalwork
- Made photographs, movies, or videotapes as an artistic activity
- Engaged in painting, drawing, sculpture, or printmaking
- Engaged in creative writing, such as stories, poems, or plays
The percentage of adults who personally engaged in artistic activities ranged from a low of 0.3% for ballet (0.6 million adults) to a high of 16% for needlework (about 32.7 million adults). Altogether, 44% of American adults (90 million) personally participated in at least one of these activities in the 12 months prior to the 2002 SPPA.
Personal Engagement in the Performing Arts
The most popular performing arts activity was participating in a choir or chorus. About one in every twenty adults (4.8%, 9.8 million) said that they had participated in a choir or chorus within the 12 months prior to the 2002 SPPA.
This is followed by the 4.2% (or 8.6 million adults) who performed dance (other than ballet, including modern, folk or tap). About half as many American adults performed in musical plays (2.4%; 4.9 million).
While composing music is a not a form of performance per se, it also falls within the realm of performing arts. Just over 2% of American adults (4.7 million) reported composing music. This was followed by performing classical music (1.8%; 3.7 million), participation in non-musical plays (1.4%; 2.9 million), and performing jazz music (1.3%; 2.7 million).
The lowest levels of personal engagement in performing arts activity are found with ballet and opera. Less than one percent of adults sang opera in their personal lives (0.7%; 1.4 million), while less than half of one percent danced ballet (0.3%; 0.6 million).
[It should be noted that type of music -- classical, jazz, folk, pop, rock, rap, etc. -- was not specified in either the question about composing music or the question about singing. Since the amount of training, the number of venues for performances, the experience required of singers, and so forth, varies considerably across genres, these figures should be interpreted with caution.]
Personal Engagement in the Visual Arts, Crafts, and Creative Writing
The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 2002 (SPPA) asked about personal engagement in four categories of visual arts and crafts activities: 1) painting/drawing; 2) pottery/jewelry; 3) weaving/sewing; and 4) photography. More American adults engaged in needle crafts than in any other arts-related activity (16%, 32.7 million adults). Taking photographic pictures (as an artistic activity) ranked second, involving 11.5% of adults (23.5 million), followed by painting/drawing at 8.6% (17.6 million), and creating pottery or jewelry at 6.9% (14.1 million).
A final area of arts-related activity investigated by the 2002 SPPA was creative writing (plays, poetry, novels, short stories). About one in fourteen adults (7%; 14.4 million) did some creative writing in the 12 months prior to the 2002 SPPA. | <urn:uuid:e2494151-dcf8-4e5b-aa7e-7acfa8fdf6a2> | {
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What’s in a name?
Adolf Schlieper was a German textile manufacturer who had gained some chemical experience working in the laboratory of Justus von Liebig, one of the leading chemists of the era. Schlieper had worked on uric acid, a white crystalline substance which had been isolated from urinary stones by Scheele almost a hundred years earlier. Uric acid is found in small amounts in the urine of all carnivores and is the major component in the excrement of birds, scaly reptiles, caterpillars, and by some quirk of evolution, Dalmation dogs.
Deposits of uric acid in joints cause the painful condition known as gout. Schlieper’s work on uric acid never amounted to very much. His main contribution to science was that he gave some of the chemicals he had been working with to another young German chemist, Adolf von Baeyer. His interest aroused, Baeyer began to carry out research on uric acid and its derivatives. Indeed, it was one of these derivatives which brought Baeyer lasting fame. Starting with uric acid, he prepared a brand new, white crystalline compound which he christened “barbituric acid.”
There are several theories as to why Baeyer chose this particular name. Some contend that the compound was named after a Munich waitress who had often provided the starting material required for the research. Others say that the discovery took place on St. Barbara’s day. Baeyer himself implied in his lectures that at the time he was in love with a Miss Barbara. (This of course does not negate the waitress story.) Although the origin of the name may be contentious, there is no doubt that Baeyer’s discovery of barbituric acid laid the foundation for the development of one of the most important classes of medicinal drugs, the barbiturates.
The importance of these compounds is based on the fact that they are central nervous system depressants and can induce effects ranging from mild sedation to deep sleep. Barbiturates are used in many prescription sleep medications and are also widely employed in surgical anesthesia. Von Baeyer never noted any sedative effect of barbituric acid. This is not surprising, because barbituric acid itself has absolutely no hypnotic properties. It was left up to Emil Fischer, Baeyer’s most famous student, to discover that a derivative of barbituric acid, known as barbital, could induce sleep. Almost fifty years after Baeyer’s first synthesis of barbituric acid, Fischer working with the physician Joseph von Mering, showed that a single injection of barbital in a dog caused the animal to fall asleep. In light of this effect, Fischer renamed the substance “Veronal,” after Verona in Italy, which he considered to be the most restful city in the world. | <urn:uuid:d1f041f5-760e-40ea-826b-01f78b509ed0> | {
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Since charities cover such a broad range of missions we’ve found it helpful to break them down into the 6 different types of charities. Most of these can then be broken down further into subgroups to help you find they specific type of charity you are looking for.
Who doesn't love animals? Well, these groups may all love animals but they don't all love each other. This particular type of charity can be broken down further into four distinct groups.
- Wildlife conservation organizations
- Pet and Animal Welfare Organizations
- Hunting & Fishing Conservation Groups
- Zoos and Aquariums
Environmental Charities focus on ways to promote preservation, appreciation, and sustainable development for the environment. The two primary subgroups for this type of charity are:
- Environmental Conservation & Protection
- Parks and Nature Centers
International NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) are typically charities that are headquartered in one country but work in other countries. In some cases they overlap with other types of charities.
- International Development NGOs
- Disaster Relief & Humanitarian NGOs
- Peace & Human Rights NGOs
- Conservation NGOs
- Child Sponsorship Organizations
Health charities cover everything from supporting and treating the sick and disabled, working on cures for deseases, and promoting public awareness of specific health risks.
- Disease & Disorder Charities
- Medical Services & Treatment
- Medical Research Charities
- Patient and Family Support Charities
Education charities serve students from every age group, pre-school to graduate school and beyond. Some serve as the educational institutions while focus on making education more accessible and effective.
- Private Elementary, Jr. High, and High Schools
- Universities and Colleges
- Scholarship and financial aid services
- School Reform and Experimental Education
- Support for students, teachers, and parents
These types of charities help preserve artistic and cultural heritage as well as celebrate the arts and our history.
- Museums & Art Galleries
- Performing Arts
- Libraries & Historical Societies
- Public Broadcasting and Media | <urn:uuid:55680026-0ad5-4db1-a124-a85d69443104> | {
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Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving a broken, damaged, or outdated structure. Renovations are typically either commercial or residential. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, or bringing something back to life and can apply in social contexts. For example, a community can be renovated if it is strengthened and revived
Many people renovate homes to create a new appearance for their home, or so another person can live in the residence. Builders often renovate homes because it is a stable source of income
Most builders focus on building new homes, so renovating is typically a part-time activity for such tradespeople. The processes and services required for renovations are quite specific and, once plans are signed off, building a new home is relatively predictable. Renovations usually require all of the sub-trades that are needed for the construction of a new building. During renovation projects, flexibility is often required from renovation companies to respond to unexpected issues that arise. Projects involving renovation require not just flexibility, but a plan that had been agreed upon by multiple parties. The planning process will involve feedback from financial investors of the project, and from the designer. Part of planning will also entail the collection of data for the completion of the project and then the project plan will be revised and given consent before continuing with renovations
Our Renovation service includes
This refers to renovation for the needs of private commerce, trade, and services. Examples include office buildings, “big box” stores, shopping centers and malls, warehouses, banks, theaters, casinos, resorts, golf courses, and larger residential structures such as high-rise hotels and condominiums.
Buildings and other Renovated items used for storage and product production, including chemical and power plants, steel mills, oil refineries and platforms, manufacturing plants, pipelines, and seaports. | <urn:uuid:30a034a8-3ebc-43e0-b8d7-03f7dc62f52b> | {
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A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, California collaborated with an international team to identify a system in the brain that naturally moderates the effects of stress. These revolutionary findings confirm the existence of a natural stress-damping network—known as the nociceptin system—as a potential target for therapies against anxiety disorders and other stress-related conditions. The study appears in the January 8, 2014 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
Marisa Roberto, associate professor in TSRI’s addiction research department, known as the Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders, has been researching nociceptin for years. In this new study she said, “We were able to demonstrate the ability of this nociceptin anti-stress system to prevent and even reverse some of the cellular effects of acute stress in an animal mode.”
The Nociceptin/NOP System Is Linked to Stress Response in the Amygdala
Nociceptin, which is produced naturally in the brain, is part of a family of peptides that structurally resemble opioid neurotransmitters. Interestingly, nociceptin doesn’t act at all like an opioid. Nociceptin (also known as orphanin)—which was first identified in 1995—binds to its own specific receptors called NOP receptors, but it doesn’t bind well to other opioid receptors. In an unexpected twist, the scientists who discovered nociceptin in the mid-1990s found that when nociceptin is injected into the brains of mice, it doesn’t kill pain like most opioid peptides—it makes pain worse.
The molecule was given the name “nociceptive” (noci- is the Latin root for "hurt") because of its pain-producing effect. However, subsequent studies demonstrated that by simultaneously activating the NOP receptor—which is a protein involved in the regulation of numerous brain activities—that nociceptin began acting as an anti-opioid. When combined with activation of NOP it had the ability to affect pain perception, and also block the rewarding properties of opioids such as morphine and heroin.
Subsequent studies in rodents found that nociceptin acts directly in the amygdala, a part of the brain that controls basic emotional responses to stress. The findings suggested that the nociceptin/NOP system operates automatically as part of a natural stress-damping feedback response.
Researchers around the world have been collaborating to break the code of how the anti-stress properties of the nociceptin/NOP system function. This new study is a breakthrough because it might offer a better way to treat stress-related conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as help with the stress of drug-withdrawal which often derails addicts in their effort to kick a habit.
Reducing the Stress Reaction via Nociceptin and the Central Amygdala
For the new study, Marisa Roberto and her collaborators honed in on the nociceptin/NOP system in the central amygdala. Roberto and her laboratory at TSRI used a novel technique to measure the electrical activity of stress-sensitive neurons in the central amygdala.
In a previous animal study from December 2011, Roberto and her colleagues demonstrated that a particular stress peptide produced in the amygdala, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), plays a key role in the transition from alcohol use to alcohol dependence. "This peptide," said Roberto, "drives craving for alcohol." Roberto and her colleagues also demonstrated that nociceptin, can both prevent and reverse some effects of alcohol and had anti-stress benefits.
The stress-blocking effect was especially pronounced in the stressed out rats—probably due to their stress-induced increase in NOP receptors. But that was not all. By varying the sequence in which the scientists introduced the two opposing peptides, the researchers established that it did not matter whether they introduced nociceptin before or after CRF had done its work: In either case, nociceptin counteracted CRF and drove GABA levels down. "No matter when CRF is added, nociceptin wins," said Roberto.
As part of their latest study, a research colleague, biologist Roberto Ciccocioppo and his laboratory at the University of Camerino in Italy, conducted a set of behavioral experiments showing that injections of nociceptin specifically into the rat central amygdala significantly reduced anxiety-like behaviors in the stressed out rats, but showed no behavioral effect in non-stressed rats. Roberto, concludes that “stress exposure leads to an over-activation of the nociceptin/NOP system in the central amygdala, which appears to be an adaptive feedback response designed to bring the brain back towards normalcy.”
In future studies, Marisa Roberto and her colleagues hope to determine whether this nociceptin/NOP feedback system somehow becomes dysfunctional in chronic stress conditions. “I suspect that chronic stress induces changes in amygdala neurons that can contribute to the development of some anxiety disorders,” said Roberto.
The Athlete’s Way
The Athlete’s Wayis dedicated to interpreting the latest scientific findings and identifying lifestyle choices, cognitive therapies—along with changes in daily habits of mindset and behavior—that can improve mood, performance, health, and reduce anxiety without necessarily having to take medications. Although pharmaceuticals have the ability to dramatically improve psychological and physical health, there are a wide range of drug-free options that can reduce chronic stress and help other psychological disorders for most of the population.
Everyone needs tools and an outlet to lower anxiety and improve healthy, loving social connections. Maintaining a broad social network and close-knit intimate bonds will always be one of the most effective ways to combat depression and anxiety. Aerobic exercise, meditation, yoga and lifting weights are also very effective ways to reduce stress and break the cycle of chronic anxiety. Getting through a tough workout also builds grit and resilience.
During mindfulness training—or a physical workout—you can deconstruct the elements of what causes you stress, let out aggression, and trigger neurobiological changes that reduce anxiety. During a meditative jog, bike ride, swim, elliptical ride, yoga session, or aggressive kick-boxing session... you can break the cycle of stress both psychologically and at a neural level.
These new findings from The Scripps Research Institute are very useful because they pinpoint the neurobiological roots of our natural anti-stress system. I have written numerous Psychology Today blog posts on cognitive therapies and mindfulness practices that can reduce anxiety and help with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Please see a list of additional reading at the end of this post for direct links to those PT blog posts if you’d like to learn more.
Roberto Ciccocioppo concluded, “Compounds that mimic nociceptin by activating NOP receptors—but, unlike nociceptin, could be taken in pill form—are under development by pharmaceutical companies. Some of these appear to be safe and well tolerated in lab animals and may soon be ready for initial tests in human patients.”
Buddhist monks who do compassion meditation, also known as loving-kindness meditation, have been shown to modulate their amygdala through their practice. Increasing compassion related activity in the amygdala through meditation may reduce stress and contribute to feelings of social connectedness to the joy and suffering of other sentient beings.
Many studies have shown that various types of meditation—including LKM (loving-kindness meditation)—can reshape your brain through neurogenesis and neuroplasticy. Practicing LKM is easy. All you have to do is take a few minutes everyday to sit quietly and systematically send loving and compassionate thoughts to: 1) Family and friends. 2) Someone with whom you have tension or a conflict. 3) Strangers around the world who are suffering. 4) Self-compassion, forgiveness and self-love to yourself.
Doing this simple 4-step loving-kindness practice along with other mindfulness meditation can literally rewire your brain by engaging neural connections linked to empathy and peace of mind. Although there is no specific research or empirical data on this yet, common sense would suggest that these meditative practices might directly improve the nociceptin/NOP stress-reducing feedback system in the central amygdala.
If you’d like to read more on this topic, check out my Psychology Today blog posts: | <urn:uuid:224924ff-6c86-434c-ad71-8843607b5696> | {
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In Norse Mythology, Freyja (sometimes anglicized as Freya or Freja), sister of Freyr and daughter of Njord (Njǫrđr), is a prototypical Norse fertility goddess. While there are some sources suggesting that she was called on to bring fruitfulness to fields or wombs, Freyja was more explicitly connected to the ideas of love, beauty, sex, and interpersonal attraction. This connection to the feminine begins at the etymological level, as her name itself means "lady" in Old Norse (cf. fru or Frau in Scandinavian and German).
Simultaneously, Freyja was also a goddess of war, death, and wealth. She was said to receive half of the dead lost in battle in her hall, whereas Odin would receive the other half. Finally, she was also credited with potent magical abilities and for introducing seiðr magic to the Aesir (a clan of Norse gods).
Given her various spheres of influence, it is not surprising that Freyja was one of the most popular goddesses in the Norse pantheon.
Freyja in a Norse Context
As a Norse deity, Freyja belonged to a complex religious, mythological and cosmological belief system shared by the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. This mythological tradition, of which the Scandinavian (and particularly Icelandic) sub-groups are best preserved, developed in the period from the first manifestations of religious and material culture in approximately 1000 B.C.E. until the Christianization of the area, a process that occurred primarily from 900-1200 C.E. The tales recorded within this mythological corpus tend to exemplify a unified cultural focus on physical prowess and military might.
Within this framework, Norse cosmology postulates three separate "clans" of deities: the Aesir, the Vanir, and the Jotun. The distinction between Aesir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war. In fact, the most significant divergence between the two groups is in their respective areas of influence, with the Aesir representing war and conquest, and the Vanir representing exploration, fertility and wealth. The Jotun, on the other hand, are seen as a generally malefic (though wise) race of giants who represented the primary adversaries of the Aesir and Vanir.
The primary role of Freyja, who was one of the most exalted of the Vanir, was as a goddess of love and sexual desire.
Freyja's considerable, multifaceted dossier of characteristics is summarized in Snorri Sturluson's thirteenth-century mythographic text, the Gylfaginning:
- Njördr in Nóatún begot afterward two children: the son was called Freyr, and the daughter Freyja; they were fair of face and mighty. ... Freyja is the most renowned of the goddesses; she has in heaven the dwelling called Fólkvangr ["People-field" or "Army-field"], and where so ever she rides to the strife, she has one-half of the kill, and Odin half ...
- Her hall Sessrúmnir ("Seats Roomy") is great and fair. When she goes forth, she drives her cats and sits in a chariot; she is most conformable to man's prayers, and from her name comes the name of honor, Frú, by which noblewomen are called. Songs of love are well-pleasing to her; it is good to call on her for furtherance in love.
Thus, Snorri's account can be seen to describe a complex, multi-modal character: one who is equally comfortable on the battlefield or in the bedroom. The same author's guide for skaldic poets (the Skáldskparmál) provides the following kennings (poetic allusions) for the goddess's name:
- How should one periphrase Freyja? Thus: by calling her Daughter of Njordr, Sister of Freyr, Wife of Odr, Mother of Hnoss, Possessor of the Slain, of the Gib-Cats, of Brisinga-men; Goddess of the Vanir, Lady of the Vanir, Goddess Beautiful in Tears, Goddess of Love.
The most peculiar of these names, "Goddess Beautiful in Tears," refers to the mythical tradition that, when upset, the goddess would weep tears of gold (which is perhaps an implicit nod to the traditional association between the Vanir and wealth). The other attributes introduced above (Freyja's sexual appetites, her associations with death and magic, and her stock of magical items) will be explored in more detail below.
Many tales of the goddess describe her as a being of profound sexual license. As Turville-Petre notes, "as a goddess of fertility and sensuality, Freyja was naturally associated, even identified with prolific and sensual beasts" (like cats, sows and others). On a similar note, Dubois makes the general case that the "exotic" Vanir were frequently depicted with "appetites akin to animals in rut."
Such descriptors seem apt, as Freyja's sexual desires were often the subject of myths, whether she was having congress with Óttar (a mortal youth), offering her body to four dwarves in exchange for a piece of jewelry (the oft-mentioned Brisingamen), or simply enjoying some erotic poetry.
Though likely an exaggeration, the Lokasenna goes the farthest in describing this aspect of the goddess's character:
- Loki spake:
- "Be silent, Freyja! | for fully I know thee,
- Sinless thou art not thyself;
- Of the gods and elves | who are gathered here,
- Each one as thy lover has lain."
Association with war
In the selection from the Gylfaginning quoted above, Snorri notes that "wherever she [Freyja] rides to battle, she gets half the slain." This same perspective is elaborated on in the Grímnismál section of the Poetic Edda, which describes the abodes of the gods:
- The ninth hall is Folkvang, where bright Freyja
- Decides where the warriors shall sit:
- Some of the fallen belong to her,
- And some belong to Odin.
These associations are further confirmed in the heroic "Egil's Saga," where Thorgerda (Þorgerðr), threatens to commit suicide in the wake of her brother's death, saying: "I shall not eat until I sup with Freyja." This can be interpreted as a conviction that she expected to pass to Freyja's hall upon her death.
In spite the mythic evidence above, it is possible that this association arose from a faulty identification between Freyja and Frigg (the wife of Odin), which is discussed in more detail below. Bellows, in a footnote to his translation of the Poetic Edda, avers that "Freyja [when interpreted in this warlike context] represents a confusion between two originally distinct divinities: the wife of Othin (Frigg) and the northern goddess of love. This passage appears to have in mind her attributes as Othin's wife. Snorri has this same confusion, but there is no reason why the Freyja who was Freyr's sister should share the slain with Othin." However, it is not necessary to totally dismiss the possibility of a goddess representing both fertility and militarism, as the Sumerian Inanna presents a valid counter-example.
Freyja and Magic
One of Freyja's most important characteristics (in both the mythical and religious spheres) is her well-documented affinity for the magical arts. Specifically, she is credited with introducing the shamanistic magical tradition know as seid to the Aesir (though Odin eventually became the greater master of this form). As suggested in the euhemeristic Ynglinga saga, "Njord's daughter Freya was priestess of the sacrifices, and first taught the Asaland people the magic art, as it was in use and fashion among the Vanaland people."
Additionally, many surviving tales of Freyja associate her with numerous enchanted possessions, including a cloak of robin feathers, which gave her the ability to change into a bird. Other sources depict her as the owner of a golden boar named Hildisvín (the Battle-Swine), and of a cat-drawn chariot. Finally, she is often associated with beautiful jewelry, loving such riches to such an extent that she named her daughters "Hnoss" and "Gersemi" (where both names literally mean "jewel").
Over and above the mythic tales introduced above (to catalogue the goddess's many characteristics), Freyja also figures into other accounts in the Norse corpus. One of her most frequent roles is as a target for the lust of giants.
In one instance, in the early mythic past, a giant builder appeared before the Aesir and offered to build a wall around their fortress at Asgard. His fee, which was payable only on the condition that he successfully built the wall without aid in a single winter, was that he would receive the sun, the moon, and the affections of Freyja. When it became apparent that the unnamed builder was actually going to succeed (largely due to the supernatural abilities of his magical steed), the Aesir found it necessary to resort to trickery to avoid paying his exorbitant wage. A similar situation is seen in the Poetic Edda's Thrymskvitha, where the giant Thrym boasts that he will not return Thor's stolen hammer without a promise of the beautiful goddess's hand in marriage:
- "I have hidden | Hlorrithi's hammer,
- Eight miles down | deep in the earth;
- And back again | shall no man bring it
- If Freyja I win not | to be my wife."
An account that provides an insight into an entirely different aspect of the goddess's character depicts her marriage to Odr, a traveler who rarely returns home to visit his heart-sick wife:
- Odr went away on long journeys, and Freyja weeps for him, and her tears are red gold. Freyja has many names, and this is the cause thereof: that she gave herself sundry names, when she went out among unknown peoples seeking Odr.
This passage is most intriguing for its suggestion of a possible connection between Odin and Odr. This theory is supported by the notable linguistic parallels between Odr and Odin, coupled with the facts that nothing (aside from these passages) is known of the mysterious Odr, and that Freyja and Frigg are often analogized.
Cult of Freyja
Throughout the history of the region, Freyja remained one of the most popular goddesses in the Norse pantheon. One yardstick of this prevalence is the quantity of toponyms (locales named in honour of the goddess), of which "between twenty and thirty" have been found "in Norway alone," while, "in Sweden, the place-names corresponding to the goddess are even more numerous and varied." Further, as she was associated with magic (as discussed above) and childbirth, it seems reasonable to assume that observance of her cult would have also taken place at a more individualized/less institutionalized level.
More notable still is that the classical sources (including Snorri's Prose Edda) acknowledge that Freyja possessed numerous names:
- Freyja has many names, and this is the cause thereof: that she gave herself sundry names, when she went out among unknown people seeking Odr: she is called Mardoll and Horn, Gefn, Syr.
A reasonable explanation for this phenomena is that Freyja presented a "syncresis-point" for the various local fertility goddesses throughout the region. In this way, the meaning of Freyja's name ("woman") becomes more understandable, as it can be seen more as a title than as an actual moniker. Intriguingly, the same toponymic evidence discussed above can also demonstrate that cults dedicated to Freyja's various pseudonyms (Mardoll, Horn, etc.) also existed.
Since rural Scandinavians remained dependent on the forces of nature throughout history, it is hardly shocking that fertility gods remained an important part of folk belief. For these reasons, Freyja retained elements of her role as a fertility goddess, even in the rural Sweden of the 19th century. In the province of Småland, there is an account of how she was associated with sheet lightning:
- I remember a Sunday in the 1880s, when some men were walking in the fields looking at the rye which was about to ripen. Then Måns in Karryd said: "Now Freyja is out watching if the rye is ripe" [...] When as a boy I was visiting the old Proud-Katrina, I was afraid of lightning like all boys in those days. When the sheet lightning flared in the nights, Katrina said: "Don't be afraid little child, it is only Freyja who is out making fire with steel and flintstone to see if the rye is ripe. She is kind to people and she is only doing it to be of service, she is not like Thor, he slays both people and livestock, when he is in the mood" [...] I later heard several old folks talk of the same thing in the same way.
Such beliefs were also common elsewhere in the Swedish countryside. In Värend, Freyja could arrive at Christmas night and she used to shake the apple trees for the sake of a good harvest. Consequently, people came to leave some apples in the trees for her sake. Likewise, it was dangerous to leave the plough outdoors, because if Freyja sat on it, it would no longer be of any use.
Toponyms (and Other Linguistic Traces) of Freyja
The Danish verb "fri" means "to propose." In Dutch, the verb "vrijen" is derived from "Freya" and means "to have sex/make love." The (obsolete) German verb "freien" means "looking for a bride." The derived noun "Freier" (suitor) is still used, though more often in its second meaning "client of a prostitute."
In Avestan, an ancient Indo-European language found in the Gathas, "frya" is used to mean "lover","beloved," and "friend." The Sanskrit word Priya- has approximately the same meaning.
Many farms in Norway have Frøy- as the first element in their names, and the most common are the name Frøyland (13 farms). However, whether Frøy- in these names are referring to the goddess Freyja (or the god Freyr) is questionable and uncertain. The first element in the name Frøyjuhof, in Udenes parish, are however most probably the genitive case of the name Freyja (the last element is hof 'temple', and a church was built on the farm in the Middle Ages, which indicates the spot as an old holy place). The same name, Frøyjuhof, also occur in the parishes of Hole and Stjørdal.
In the parish of Seim, in the county of Hordaland, Norway, lies the farm Ryland (Rýgjarland). The first element is the genitive case of rýgr 'lady' (identical with the meaning of the name Freyja, see above). Since the neighbouring farms have the names Hopland (Norse: Hofland 'temple land') and Totland (Norse: Þórsland 'Thor's land') it is possible that rýgr (lady) here refers to a goddess, which in that case would most probably be Freyja.
Several plants were named after Freyja, such as Freyja's tears and Freyja's hair (Polygala vulgaris), but after the introduction of Christianity, they were renamed after the Virgin Mary. This may suggests the Norse goddess's closest homologue in Christianity (though numerous differences between the two evidently exist).
Freyja might be considered the counterpart of Venus and Aphrodite, although she has a combination of attributes unknown throughout the mythologies of any other ancient Indo-European people. In fact, she might be regarded as closest to the Sumerian Inanna (or the Mesopotamian Ishtar) as being involved in both love and war.
Britt-Mari Näsström posits in her "Freyja: Great Goddess of the North" that there is a tenable connection between Freyja and the other Goddesses worshipped along the migration path of the Indo-Europeans. Some shared characteristics include concern with love, fertility (and sometimes war), and portrayal with either one or two cats or lions as companions. Some of these parallel figures would include: Durga, Ereshkegal, Sekhmet, Menhit, Bast, Anat, Asherah, Nana, Cybele, Rhea, and others. That the name Freyja translates to the deliberately ambiguous title of "Lady" (discussed above) infers that, like Odin, she wandered and bore more names than are perhaps remembered in the modern age.
Freyja and Frigg
- See also: Frigg
Given the similarities between Frigg and Freyja, with the former as the highest goddess of the Aesir and the latter as the highest goddess of the Vanir, it is perhaps unsurprising that scholars have debated a possible relationship between them. Specifically, many arguments have been made both for and against the idea that Frigg and Freyja are really the same goddess. Some arguments are based on linguistic analyses, others on the fact that Freyja is only mentioned in Northern German (and later Nordic) accounts, while still others center on specific mythic tales. However, both goddesses sometimes appear at the same time in the same text. This final fact would seem to imply that Frigg and Freyja were similar goddesses from different pantheons who, at initial contact, were syncretically conflated with each other, only to be distinguished again at a later date.
Some sources, both modern and historical, attribute the name of "Friday" to Frigg, a naming convention that is attested to in an Old English account:
- The sixth day they appointed
- to the shameless goddess
- called Venus
- and Fricg [Frigg] in Danish.
However, this association with Aphrodite/Venus may result from a confusion (or an identification) between Frigg and Freyja (who is more often affiliated with sexuality and romantic love). If this is true, it would be more logical to refer to it as Freyja's day.
Two other natural phenomena were also given the goddess's name: the constellation Orion, which was called Frigg's distaff or Freyja's distaff by Nordic astronomers, and the chemical element Vanadium, which is named after Freyja's alternative name "Vanadis" (goddess of the Vanir).
- ↑ Lindow, 6-8. Though some scholars have argued against the homogenizing effect of grouping these various traditions together under the rubric of Norse Mythology, the profoundly exploratory/nomadic nature of Viking society tends to overrule such objections. As Thomas DuBois cogently argues, “[w]hatever else we may say about the various peoples of the North during the Viking Age, then, we cannot claim that they were isolated from or ignorant of their neighbors…. As religion expresses the concerns and experiences of its human adherents, so it changes continually in response to cultural, economic, and environmental factors. Ideas and ideals passed between communities with frequency and regularity, leading to and interdependent and intercultural region with broad commonalities of religion and worldview” (27-28).
- ↑ More specifically, Georges Dumézil, one of the foremost authorities on the Norse tradition and a noted comparitivist, argues quite persuasively that the Aesir/Vanir distinction is a component of a larger triadic division (between ruler gods, warrior gods, and gods of agriculture and commerce) that is echoed among the Indo-European cosmologies (from Vedic India, through Rome and into the Germanic North). Further, he notes that this distinction conforms to patterns of social organization found in all of these societies. See Georges Dumézil's Gods of the Ancient Northmen (especially pgs. xi-xiii, 3-25) for more details.
- ↑ Lindow, 118.
- ↑ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning XXIV.. Prose Edda, Brodeur translation, 38.
- ↑ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskparmál XX, Brodeur 129.
- ↑ Turville-Petre, 176.
- ↑ DuBois, 54.
- ↑ Described in the Hyndluljod, paraphrased in Lindow, 127.
- ↑ See Sörla þáttr: "Now would Freyia buy the collar of them, and bade them in return for it silver and gold, and other good things. They said they lacked not money, yet that each of them would sell his share of the collar for this thing, and nought else---that she should lie a night by each of them: wherefore, whether she liked it better or worse, on such wise did she strike the bargain with them; and so the four nights being outworn, and all conditions fulfilled, they delivered the collar to Freyia; and she went home to her bower, and held her peace hereof, as if nought had befallen." Accessed online at: Northvegr.com: “Three Northern Love Stories and Other Tales.” Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ↑ An alternate translation for the phrase "songs of love" used in the Prose Edda (this translation seen in Lindow, 126). Apparently, this genre was sufficiently racy that it "was severely prohibited under the common law of Iceland" (Turville-Petre, 175).
- ↑ "Lokasenna" in the Poetic Edda, accessed online at Sacred-texts.com (pp. 161-162). Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ↑ "Grímnismál" in the Poetic Edda, accessed online at Sacred-texts.com (pp. 90-91). Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ↑ Egil's Saga LXXXI, accessed online at Northvegr.com. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ↑ "Grímnismál" in the Poetic Edda, accessed online at Sacred-texts.com (pp. 90 ff.) Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ↑ Turville-Petre, 177; Lindow, 127.
- ↑ Ynglinga saga (4), accessed online at Online Medieval and Classical Library. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ↑ She lends this garment to Loki in Þrymskviða (Thrymskvitha) and in Skáldskaparmál (Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál I, Brodeur 91). In both cases, Loki would have failed his mission without the aid of this magic device.
- ↑ Lindow, 173-174.
- ↑ Turville-Petre, 176.
- ↑ Turville-Petre, 176.
- ↑ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning XLII, Brodeur 53-54.
- ↑ "Thrymskvitha" in the Poetic Edda. Accessed online at Sacred-texts.com (p. 176). Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ↑ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning XXXV, Brodeur 46.
- ↑ Lindow, 127.
- ↑ DuBois, 68.
- ↑ Turville-Petre, 178.
- ↑ Turville-Petre, 178. Some of these include Freyjuhof and Freyjuvé, both of which can be translated as "Freyja's temple" or "Freyja's sanctuary."
- ↑ DuBois, 112.
- ↑ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning XXXV, Brodeur 46.
- ↑ Turville-Petre, 178.
- ↑ Turville-Petre, 178.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 Schön, Ebbe. (2004). Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och jättar i tro och tradition. Fält & Hässler, Värnamo. p. 227-228.
- ↑ The writer Johan Alfred Göth, cited in Schön, Ebbe. (2004). Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och jättar i tro och tradition. Fält & Hässler, Värnamo. p. 227-228. Writing in the original Swedish: Jag minns en söndag på 1880-talet, det var några gubbar ute och gick bland åkrarna och tittade på rågen som snart var mogen. Då sa Måns i Karryd: "Nu ä Fröa ute å sir ätter om råjen är mogen." [...] När jag som liten pojke satt hos den gamla Stolta-Katrina, var jag som alla dåtida barn mycket rädd för åskan. När kornblixtarna syntes om kvällarna, sade Katrina: "Du sa inte va rädd barn lella, dä ä bara Fröa som ä ute å slår ell med stål å flenta för å si etter om kornet ä moet. Ho ä snäll ve folk å gör dä bare för å hjälpa, ho gör inte som Tor, han slår ihjäl både folk å fä, när han lynna [...] Jag har sedan hört flera gamla tala om samma sak, på ungefär samma sätt. Translation provided by the Wikipedia editors.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 Schön, Ebbe. (2004). Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och jättar i tro och tradition. Fält & Hässler, Värnamo. p. 228.
- ↑ See the description of these deities in Powell's Classical Myth, 211-212.
- ↑ Davidson, 10; Grundy, Stephen, 56-67; Nasstrom, 68-77.
- ↑ Welsh, 75.
- ↑ See Encyclopedia Mythica: Origin of the names of the days for more information. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ↑ Turville-Petre, 189.
- ↑ See at Wikipedia for more details.
- Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis. Gods and Myths of Northern Europe. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1964. ISBN 0317530267
- DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. ISBN 0812217144
- Dumézil, Georges. Gods of the Ancient Northmen. Edited by Einar Haugen; Introduction by C. Scott Littleton and Udo Strutynski. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1973. ISBN 0520020448
- * Egil's Saga. Translated from the Icelandic by Rev. W. C. Green. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.C., 1893. Accessed online at Northvegr.org. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- Grundy, Stephen. "Freyja and Frigg" in Roles of the Northern Goddess. Edited by Hilda Ellis Davidson. London: Routlege, 1998. 56-67. ISBN 0415136113
- Lindow, John. Handbook of Norse mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. ISBN 1576072177
- Munch, P. A. Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes. In the revision of Magnus Olsen; translated from the Norwegian by Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt. New York: The American-Scandinavian foundation; London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1926.
- Nasstrom, Brit-Mari. "Freyja, A Goddess with Many Names" in The Concept of the Goddess. Edited by Sandra Billington and Miranda Green. London: Routlege, 1996. 68-77. ISBN 0415197899
- Orchard, Andy. Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. London: Cassell; New York: Distributed in the United States by Sterling Pub. Co., 2002. ISBN 0304363855
- The Poetic Edda. Translated and with notes by Henry Adams Bellows. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1936. 151-173. Accessed online at Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- Powell, Barry. Classical Myth: Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. ISBN 01371671408
- Schön, Ebbe. Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och jättar i tro och tradition. Värnamo: Fält & Hässler, 2004. ISBN 9189660412
- Simek, Rudolf. Dictionary of Northern Mythology, Translated by Angela Hall. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1993. ISBN 0859915131
- Sturlson, Snorri. The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson: Tales from Norse Mythology. Introduced by Sigurdur Nordal; Selected and translated by Jean I. Young. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1954. ISBN 0520012313
- Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. Translated from the Icelandic and with an introduction by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur. New York: American-Scandinavian foundation, 1916. Available online. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- Turville-Petre, Gabriel. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964. ISBN 0837174201
- Welsh, Lynda. Goddess of the North. York Beach: Weiser Books, 2001. ISBN 157863170X
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Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed. | <urn:uuid:be39b96d-63d6-4ec6-849c-4d27b494be6b> | {
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Capital Punishment is whereby a government punishes an offender by putting them to
death for a certain crime. Throughout history many arguments have been raised on
whether or not to abolish capital punishment. Some believe that capital punishment
should be abolished for various reasons such as, cruelty and discrimination. They also
believe that it does not deter crime. However, these arguments either haven't been proven
or aren't sufficient enough to abolish the death penalty. Also, there are many positive
outcomes that result from instituting the death penalty for example it serves as a;
deterrent from crime, for public safety, and a just punishment in many cases.
The many arguments that have been raised against capital punishment aren't adequate and
as a result they don't suffice as worthy reasons to abolish it. People have said that blacks
and the poor suffer excessively from the death penalty and as a result it should be
abolished. However, as William F. Buckley, Jr. says, " It is an argument against the
administration of justice, not against the penalty." Indeed any type of punishment can be
abused or unfairly administered. Another argument that has been brought against the
death penalty is the issue of cruelty. Though it may seem cruel to many, William F.
Buckley, Jr. opposes that idea by portraying the Constitution's definition of cruelty which
is, a particularly painful way of inflicting death, or a particularly undeserved death. The
death penalty doesn't relate to either of these qualifying criteria.
Various people have expressed their opinions that the death penalty doesn't deter crime. William F. Buckley, Jr. clarifies that there is no way that we can tell how many
murderers were deterred from the death penalty. Logically, the death penalty increases public safety through a form of incapacitation and deterrence. If potential criminals realize that they can be released... | <urn:uuid:952f2538-26d9-4355-b378-17b4a2bff573> | {
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What are judges for?
The first Catholic to become Lord Chief Justice of England was Charles Russell, in 1894, a man whose benignly Victorian image looked down on me almost every day of my teenage life. He was by a long way my Dublin secondary school’s most famous old boy from the days before Independence and his portrait hung in the school hall. I ate and drank with Russell for five years, often wondering what he was for and how on earth he had got to where he had from our common starting point in a Dublin suburb.
Russell’s reputation was made by his brilliant defence of the Irish Nationalist MP Charles Stewart Parnell before the Special Commission set up after publication in the Times of what we now know as the Pigott forgeries. (These were documents which quite wrongly linked Parnell to the murder in 1882 of two leading members of the British Administration in Ireland.) The Commission was a ruse devised to destroy Parnell’s reputation, and one into which I am sorry to say three judges allowed themselves to be cajoled. The Special Commission Act 1888 explicitly named the three who were assigned to the task: Sir James Hannen, President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the Court of Appeal; and Sir John Day and Sir Archibald Levin Smith, both from the High Court: ‘Unionists to a man,’ as Roy Jenkins describes them in his Life of Gladstone. But what were these judges thinking of, presiding over a tribunal to which none of the ordinary rules applied, set up for a manifestly political purpose – namely, to add a veneer of judicial legitimacy to a crude act of political power?
Of course this was not the last time that senior English judges were to be brought into extra-judicial contact with the Irish problem. (Regular press reports from Derry remind us of an ill-fated judicial investigation thirty years ago.) It seems at times that judges do not quite realise that their status and standing make them attractive fig-leaves behind which other persons, much less highly principled, can hide, fig-leaves which can then be cast off when no longer required. Like Hannen, Day and Levin Smith, Lords Parker and Widgery, for example, are now remembered as much for their reports on aspects of security practice in Northern Ireland as for anything they achieved as successive Lord Chief Justices. The memory is not a warm one.
This whole question of extra-curricular public service by judges – in public inquiries, commissions and so on – is one that has not been properly explored. Increasingly in recent years, judges have been asked to perform all manner of public duties way beyond the confines of the courtroom, sometimes suggesting new laws, sometimes enquiring into past tragedies, sometimes a combination of both. The costs and benefits of these activities from a public interest perspective have not been seriously addressed. It is in many ways reassuring to be able to call on the services of a senior and respected judge in this way. But is it wise to tie up senior judicial figures in inquiries that may take years to conclude and which are not guaranteed to produce any government response (or which produce only a partial government response) even when their reports emerge? Is it not the job of the Civil Service rather than the judiciary to produce policy options for ministers on proposed changes of the law, even where the catalyst for change is some catastrophe? Could public inquiries not be conducted by inspectors belonging to a pool of experts from which the right person could be drawn at the right time? Why prepare people for years for a particular task and then set them a whole series of quite different and unexpected challenges, for which it is possible that they are ill-equipped?
The arguments are finely balanced, with the value of getting a judicial imprimatur having to be weighed against the resource implications and the possible corrosive effect on respect for the senior judiciary which such inquiries might cumulatively entail. (The Americans are resolutely opposed to such extra-curricular judicial activity, though as we know their Supreme Court has come up with an ingenious new way of forfeiting public respect.)
Judges, it seems to me, should be particularly reluctant to accept any quasi-judicial function of an ongoing, statutory nature, particularly if it comes with the title of ‘commissioner’ (as with the Parnell Commission) or with the title of head of this or that ‘tribunal’ established by some new framework of law. This is especially so if such posts are not one-off calls to public duty but new positions requiring to be permanently filled on terms that are often effectively set by the executive for its own convenience.
That this is not a wholly theoretical question, or one of historical interest only, can be seen from the very recent enactment of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. This controversial Act provides for a whole series of powers aimed broadly at covert surveillance. The measure is awash with Orwellian functionaries – the Chief Surveillance Commissioner, the Assistant Surveillance Commissioners, the Intelligence Services Commissioner, the tribunal – all of whom share as their ostensible purpose the aim of protecting the public from abuse. But exactly how robust such oversight is, how clear the lines of authority, how real the level of review are matters of no little concern.
What makes this an issue of constitutional significance for the judges is the fact that the Act anticipates – indeed depends on – judges fulfilling these various roles. It will not be through the performance of the judicial function as we know it that their power will be exercised, however, but through procedures standing outside the legal process, with sharply truncated rules of engagement and with terms of appointment under the Act which are very different from those normally extended to judges on elevation to high office.
I can immediately see the advantage from the executive’s point of view of securing the benefits of the judge’s prestige, but where is the value in it from the judicial perspective? At the very least, before agreeing to take up such a post, the judge in question would be wise to insist that his or her status should not be deployed without the inconvenience to the government of the fair and open procedures which are indelibly associated with his office. To put it in a rather less refined way, the integrity of the English common law courts has historically been defined by their opposition to special courts such as those of the Star Chamber and the High Commission of the Stuart era. This is one reason the judges are held in high regard today.
But our contemporary judiciary are surely as ill-suited as their forbears were to participating in pseudo-courts set up with truncated judicial processes and designed in the main not to control but rather to legitimise the exercise of executive power. If this dirty work has to be done, there is no reason why the judges should regard themselves as duty bound to do it.
Now we read in the newspapers that not even the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act has satisfied the appetite of the security services and the police – who are reported to be demanding access as of right to every phone call, e-mail and Internet connection made in Britain. Inevitably we are told that this is to assist in the so-called ‘war against paedophiles, drug traffickers and organised criminal gangs’. But reciting the mantra of evil ones is not enough to justify the powers desired. No doubt the planners of this legislation are entirely confident that whatever limited niche they allot the judiciary, the judges will be more than happy to squeeze dutifully into it. They should be made to think again.
I like to think that if he were suddenly transposed to the present, Lord Russell of Killowen, with his experience of the Parnell Commission and his 19th-century Irish background, would take a very clear and negative view of such quasi-judicial frolics into the secret state. During his judicial career he did in fact have something important to say about another kind of matter for which he thought the judges ill-suited. His views are to be found set out in the well-known decision of Kruse v. Johnson (1898), and it has a strong contemporary ring. The case concerned the validity of bylaws promulgated by a local council. For years Victorian judges had become inured to scrutinising such laws very closely, and to striking them down if they were judged deserving of such a fate. But here what was at issue was a bylaw made by one of the ‘public representative bodies’ that had lately emerged as a consequence of the democratisation of local government. | <urn:uuid:2d160116-f797-4af1-a1b7-f58900f704ff> | {
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agriculture information management Applications
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Tree inventory - An inventory of the tree patrimony is the basis of a good tree management. Tree species identification, tree height, trunk circumference measurements and spatial localization of trees are primary needs for every Green City Service.
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Analysis tools - Trees can be evaluated through time by making evolution maps: improvement or deterioration of the health status of trees can be visualized. Statistical analysis, like tree species, health status distribution, etc. can be very useful in reports. Tree policy and management plan - A clear tree policy can result in a detailed management plan indicating concrete measures for every tree.
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Need help finding the right suppliers? Try XPRT Sourcing. Let the XPRTs do the work for you | <urn:uuid:a56755a6-65b8-4c4c-ab84-455cdf5be824> | {
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Marked out as something that did not belong,
An oddball with a number not a name;
A newborn whose hereditary was wrong,
And with ancestry that was not the same.
Who is it that must shoulder all the blame,
The father and his lustful, wandering eye
Or naïve child all swaddled up in shame?
A bastard in an unforgiving sky;
A stranger who is lost and yet who must comply.
This is a Spenserian stanza written about recent research, which found that Planet 9, a planet which resides within our own solar system, may in fact be an exoplanet, i.e. a planet which orbits a star other than our Sun. It is thought that our Sun, in its youth (approximately 4.5 billion years ago) stole Planet 9 from the orbit of its original star. At the moment it is unsure what Planet 9 looks like, but it is believed to be approximately ten times the mass of our Earth. This research challenges the very definition of an exoplanet, and realistically opens up the possibility of being able to send a space probe to investigate a planet that began its life outside of our solar system.
An audio version of the poem can be heard here. | <urn:uuid:a8cb55ef-6b07-435e-be1a-75e7c9909527> | {
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Conservation and Environment in Costa Rica: Monthly Updates
Conservation in Costa Rica - Monthly - Update January - February 2016
The year 2016 started with the ATBI project. This project has created more than 100 records of 17 species including nocturnal mammals, arachnids, fungi, dragonflies and reptiles organized in a detailed database which could be included in the future in a global database of organizations or countries who use the same methodology.
The project consists in carrying out intensive searches on the trails which include the groups mentioned above. A daytime and an evening session takes place during the month, volunteers participate actively showing staff members where are the individuals, writing data and taking pictures of the species that are necessary for a good identification.
The research project of cave bats that began in 2015 will continue throughout 2016. For this year we decided to expand the number of caves in research passing from four caverns to the total number of caves occupied by bats (which until now still uncertain).
We have bought a new harp trap. This trap makes the job easier as it has been develop to catch bats in places where there are big concentrations, mostly for Taponeada and Pozo Hediondo caves where populations are as big as twelve thousand bats, we require to apply this type of methods because it reduces the possibilities to hurt any specimen.
The harp trap consists in two metallic posts which support a double line of fishing strings. Strings are in most cases difficult two detect for bats, even when using echolocation (the sonar system). When bats try to fly throughout the lines they fell down in to a special bag which contains and keep save the invidious until we go to pick them out.
This project has been very successful until now, isn´t just because the opportunity to have a look form close of this amazing group of animals. Is a new world of discovering is a pile of information that we can use for education and most important, it means a new tool for conservation and management of the species.
Bird survey still standing since 2014. The idea is to identify the birds that live in different ecosystems of Barra Honda National Park, determining their population status, defining when the arrival and departure of migratory birds is.
This year we added the study of nocturnal birds, of which we have little knowledge for the protected area. We have already made a series of sessions in which we found 6 species of nocturnal birds. We expect that the number of species will grow significantly as the year progresses.
During the month of January, a survey was done to find the entrance of the cave known as "Chorotega". The volunteer Monja Bähler accompanied us during exploration. The reference that we had was that the cave is located in the highlands of Cerro Barra Honda, approximately 400 m southeast of the cave "La Cuevita" (used touristically for children).
After three hours of searching, we found the beautiful cave entrance, with an opening of 25 m long by 3 meters high bet on a wall of limestone that rises about 30 m above the plateau. The search resulted in the confirmation of the occupation of a population of bats that have not yet identified. Now we have the opportunity to start open studies with bats in this cave in cooperation with volunteers.
Camera traps came back seriously to create a better understanding of the terrestrial mammals in Barra Honda National Park. After four years of camera trapping studies to create records of the mammal fauna, mostly the endangered species, we did a little break to write this new project. What’s about?
Camera traps are monitoring the mammal activities during day time and night time 24/7. The idea is to compare the weather data and some specific aspects of the habitat with their ecological behavior. The more we now about mammals, the more we can do for their conservation, is why we want to keep studying their ecology for a few years.
Most people like this project because you are able to see the results very quick and because is always very exciting to observe what we caught in the pictures. But the most important thing is to know that we are doing this to create knowledge and help the Barra Honda fauna.
Clearing El Pozo Trail
El Pozo trail is an important way which goes directly to a primary forest spot. This trail works as a firebreak (a line in the forest without vegetation to stop the spread of fire) but also is so necessary for investigation, it has spring water and obviously many animals visit this place in search of this resource.
The Volunteers help last two weeks to clear the trail from leafs, branches, and small vegetation, now the trail looks in very good conditions.
Population status of the Butterflies from Barra Honda National Park
Butterflies are one of the must studied groups in Barra Honda National Park. At this moment we are comparing the weather data whit the butterfly’s activity in the Protected Area. The effect of climate change on butterfly populations is poorly known, in this way we are creating information for long terms species preservation, but it could be very use full for education.
Scarlet Macaw Project
In the return of the scarlet macaw project, we are focusing our efforts on defining the population size and the flaying patrons of the invidious. The first account of the year has been conducted during February 24. We divided the group in three sub groups, trying to cover the National Park in 360° to watch where the macaws are coming from, where they are going and how many they are.
In April we are going to start searching for macaw nest to study and count them in a better way. For the moment we have seen three macaws of a population estimated as 14 individuals, they are difficult to see but when they appear everyone becomes very happy, their amazing colors and their general aspect sum to the point that they are critically endangered, makes them very attractive for the people.
Maintenance is a very significant element in our job. We can’t keep doing conservation if our buildings are falling down. The first week of February was particularly windy, windy enough to stop working on field jobs because it was dangerous to receive a hit of a branch in our heads or worse. We use most of the job time of that week to work on buildings maintenance; as for example, laundry, office and kitchen clean up, put in order the work shop, watering the nursery garden, recycling and some other camp duties.
The rest of the weeks of January and February we did the camp duties at least once a week. The volunteers know how necessary is maintenance and they are agree to help in this issue, of course if ever we can go to do research after words.
This is a project which is just starting, after a long period of planning and developing the best way to do it we feel very proud to show the first results of this project during the year. Until now we have count a total of 85 monkeys of 6 howler monkey troops.
This project pretend to study the howler monkeys in long terms (about 10 years), with the idea of detect any fluctuation in the howler monkey population in the National Park. But also we want to study some aspects poorly known about their behavior, their home range and make projections for the future in 100 years too.
Volunteers feel very enthusiastic, mostly because monkeys are very friendly animals and very interesting at the same time. They seems to be many in Barra Honda, but we can’t tell how many yet, so the idea of create this information makes everyone be excited.
Eduardo Artavia –Biologist
Oscar Rosales - Camp Officer | <urn:uuid:07a71d78-dbb5-4d5f-996f-0146f0b924f4> | {
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Introduction: Custom Battery Values
When you put two battery holders in series, they add together to make one larger voltage. For instance, if you put a 4 x AA (6V) in series with another 4 x AA (6V) battery holder, then you are left with a combined value of 12V. If you were then to put a 2 x AA (3V) battery holder in series with both of those, it will add up to 15V.
Another quick tip is that you can bridge any of the battery compartments with a wire and decrease the value of the battery holder by 1.5V. For instance, bridge one of the compartment in a 2 x AA (6V) battery holder with a wire will convert it to a 4.5V battery holder.
You may be looking at my pictures and saying the values don't add up. Keep in mind that new batteries have slightly more voltage than they are rated for. When you put many in series, this surplus starts to add up significantly. For this reason, if an exact voltage is important in your circuit, always use a voltage regulator. If you decide to use a voltage regulator, make sure you have a power supply rated for a few volts more than the regulator, or you run the risk of under-powering it. | <urn:uuid:184dfb2f-de07-4233-a43d-c54ca673c4e5> | {
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Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Nietzsche on Art
By Aaron Ridley
Routledge – 2007 – 194 pages
Series: Routledge Philosophy GuideBooks
Nietzsche is one of the most important modern philosophers and his writings on the nature of art are amongst the most influential of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This GuideBook introduces and assesses:
This GuideBook will be essential reading for all students coming to Nietzsche for the first time.
'Ridley's views are always striking, and those expressed here are no exception. Entertainingly written and often surprising, Ridley's account recommends itself to everyone interested in Nietzsche.' – Kathleen Higgins, University of Texas, USA
Introduction 1. Redemption through Art: The Birth of Tragedy 2. Redemption through Science: Human, All Too Human 3. Art to the Rescue: The Gay Science 4. Philosophy as Art: Thus Spoke Zarathustra 5. The Art of Freedom: After Zarathustra Appendix: Nietzsche on Wagner | <urn:uuid:26b128ec-ec6d-4504-8aaa-b75cd9b3653c> | {
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I’m learning about cars through my 1974 VW Beetle. This is my initial report.
Condition when purchased
When I bought the car, it did not start. The battery was dead, and when we jump-started the car it would not run for very long. According to the owner the engine was fairly new, but had been sitting for close to 2 years. I had test driven so many of these cars that I could at least tell that the body was pretty solid. It had some minor rust spots but nothing major. Everything the owner had said was plausible. So I made a deal to have it towed to a garage, and base the price on what the mechanic’s inspection.
The mechanic confirmed almost everything the owner had said, with a couple exceptions. So we negotiated a price and then I had them fix those issues.
The mechanic gave me a summary of the issues to get the car running. I had them fix the minimum amount to get the car home.
The initial assessment:
- Bad battery (immediately replaced)
- Distributor and Ignition Coil
- Bad gas from sitting
- The ignition switch is very temperamental
For each part I replace, I plan to research and explain what it does. So I am learning about the car as I replace parts.
The Ignition Coil
An Ignition coil transforms the battery’s low voltage to a high voltage. This is required to create a spark for the spark plugs to ignite fuel. At it’s simplest form it’s an iron bar with 2 separate coils of wire wrapped around either end:
- The first, or primary wire is only wrapped around the iron a few hundred times
- The second, or secondary wire is wrapped around many thousands of turns more
When an electric current (from the battery) is passed to the primary, a magnetic field is generated. The field stores the energy and it builds up. When the current in the primary is interrupted, it transfers its energy to the secondary coil. This causes a spark to jump across the air gap between them.
As stated earlier, this spark is what is needed to ignite fuel in the engine’s cylinders. You might remember that an engine has more than one cylinder. That’s where the distributor comes in.
The Distributor transfers the high voltage from the coil to the correct cylinder. Since there is more than one cylinder in the car, it must “distribute” the voltage to the correct cylinder at the correct time.
This is done with a rotor system spinning inside the cap of the distributor. There is a contact inside for each cylinder. As the rotor spins past each contact, the electrical pulse is transferred to this contact. This transferred pulse is sent to the spark plug attached to the correct cylinder.
As you can imagine, the timing of this process is very critical. These parts will wear out because of the high voltage involved. Weird things start happening when the timing is off. When you get a tune-up, one of the things they will replace is the rotor and wires.
In modern cars they do not use distributors anymore to distribute the energy from the coil. Instead they use smaller coils – one for each spark plug or one coil for every 2 spark plugs.
I thought it was interesting that in cases where 1 coil serves 2 spark plugs, they use a technique called “wasted spark”. The coil generates 2 sparks per cycle to both cylinders. Yet, only one works to ignite fuel, the other is wasted since the cylinder isn’t ready.
How does gas go bad? It has to do with the complicated recipe used to make it. I’m going to gloss over the details, but it’s a somewhat interesting process. I recently watched an episode of Modern Marvels about gasoline. I would recommend you do anything else than watch a TV show about gasoline. But if you’re bored you might find it interesting.
If you store gas for too long, the mixture tends to break down. Some hydrocarbons evaporate out of the gas. Heat, oxygen, and humidity also influence the mixture. After time it starts to form solids called gum, which can start blocking the fuel lines.
- Modern Marvels Season 8, Episode 29 Gasoline – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxpa1ad8qkU
Getting rid of bad gas
It may not be enough to drive off the bad gas – the fuel has left deposits all throughout your system. Water may be present from heat changes and humidity. Water will separate from gasoline, and it’s bad for engines. For example. it can freeze in supply lines as low temperatures.
You could have the old gas flushed out of your system, but it is an expensive process.
A cheaper method is to use a fuel additive, such as a product called Seafoam. It will clean the fuel system of fuel deposits. It seems to have a solid fan base of people who swear by it. There are other brands that do the same thing, and I’m not interested in promoting one product. The term “fuel additive” is a vague term, there are other additives that have different benefits. So I’ll use the terms “fuel additive” and “Seafoam” interchangeably.
How do fuel additives work?
It is not easy finding how an additive like Seafoam works. I found some people who try to make a home-brewed version. I have no interest in making my own additive, but it was helpful to understand how it works.
The mixture of the additives are 3 basic ingredients:
- Pale Oil – a kind of mineral oil that assists in lubrication
- Naphtha – a liquid hydrocarbon mixture that assists with cleaning. It has a variety of uses, such as kerosene or to dilute heavy crude oil when shipping. I believe it helps clear gum and varnish by diluting them, and by making the gas burn a little hotter
- IPA (or Isopropyl alcohol). It’s a drying agent. It causes water in gasoline to become soluble, and will be consumed with the fuel when burned.
How to remove bad gas
This is the process required for cleaning my fuel system:
- Replace your fuel filter
- Add some fuel additive, such as Seafoam, and fill the tank with a high-octane gasoline
- Run through the tank
- Add more Seafoam, re-fill the tank with high-octane gas, and replace the fuel filter
- Run through the tank again
- Re-fill the tank with normal gas, and replace the fuel filter
Essentially you run through two tanks of fresh gas, replacing the fuel filter in between each tank.
- Seafoam – https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/15653/what-is-seafoam-what-does-it-do-how-do-you-use-it
- A discussion about Seafoam – https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/269397/1
- Homebrew Seafoam – http://hildstrom.com/projects/seafoam/
- Naphtha – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphtha
- IPA – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol
The function of a fuel filter is straight forward. It’s attached to your fuel line between the fuel tank and the engine. It keeps dirt and other large particles out of your engine.
The ignition switch
I’m living with it for now, but it is rather temperamental. While trying to start the car, I may need to wiggle the key, sit and wait, or recite poetry.
There is a chance that the real issue is that the car sat for so long. It may only need to be driven for a while and the ignition will work itself out fine. We will see. | <urn:uuid:5e1af9e3-899d-4596-89ef-7071d5402411> | {
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Criticism of POW Treatment
Criticism of POW Treatment
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International
Amnesty International urged the United States to ensure respect for the human rights of all people who have been or may be transferred from Afghanistan to a US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"The US is placing these people in a legal limbo. They deny that they are Prisoners of War (POWs), while at the same time failing to provide them with the most basic protections of any person deprived of their liberty," Amnesty International said. "The US has obligations under international law to ensure respect for the human rights of all persons in their custody -- including the duty to treat them humanely and ensure that they have recourse to fair proceedings, regardless of the nature of the crimes they are suspected of having committed."
Amnesty International considers that those who are held in Guantanamo, who are said to have been captured during the war in Afghanistan, are presumed to be POWs. If there is any dispute about their status, the US must allow a "competent tribunal" to decide, as required by Article 5 of the Third Geneva Convention. This is also the position held by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the most authoratitive interpreter of the Geneva Conventions.
"It is not the prerogative of the Secretary of Defense or any other US administration official to determine whether those held in Guantanamo are POWs", Amnesty International said. "An independent US court, following due process, is the appropriate organ to make this determination."
POWs are afforded specific rights. For example, they should be held in conditions "as favourable" as those of US soldiers; they are not required to divulge information beyond their name, rank, serial number and date-of-birth; they cannot be tried merely for having taken up arms against enemy combatants in the context of the conflict and they should be granted access to delegates of the ICRC. POWs, unless they are to be tried for war crimes or other criminal offences, must be repatriated at the end of "active hostilities".
Any detainee who is suspected of a crime, whether or not they are POWs, must be charged with a criminal offense and tried fairly or released. Denying POWs or other people protected by the Geneva Conventions a fair trial is a war crime. Amnesty International is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances.
The international safeguards governing the treatment of all detainees facing criminal charges include those of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the US is a party since 1992, and the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. These include the right to challenge the lawfulness of detention, to be brought before an independent tribunal, the right to silence, and access to legal counsel.
Amnesty International is also concerned about alleged ill-treatment of prisoners in transit and in Guantanamo, including reports that they were shackled, hooded and sedated during transfer, their beards were forcibly shaved, and that they are housed in small cages in Guantanamo that do not protect against the elements."Degrading treatment of prisoners is a flagrant violation of international law which cannot be justified under any circumstances," the organization stated.
You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main text is not altered in any way and both the header crediting Amnesty International and this footer remain intact. Only the list subscription message may be removed. | <urn:uuid:5526b189-67bb-4a84-b7d9-6cd08811d381> | {
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Manual of chemical sediment analysis using Coulometer and CHN Analyzers to measure carbon content, spectrometric analysis for biogenic silica, and radiochemistry to measure isotopes. Includes techniques,sample preparation, and safety procedures.
Site to obtain currently available geochemical reference materials, certificates for reference materials no longer available, reference materials in production, and order and processing information. Some documents in PDF format.
This report presents geochemical data generated during mineral and environmental assessments for the Bureau of Land Management in northern Nevada, northeastern California, southeastern Oregon, and southwestern Idaho, along with metadata and maps.
Instrument measures elemental abundance and isotopic ratios in samples as small as a few nanograms. Uses include geochronology, geological thermometry, and trace element geochemistry of geological and biological materials.
Maps and text (Word or PDF format) and database (Excel or HTML format) for bedrock, forest floor, and mineral soil sampling in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota to establish the background and baseline geochemistry and terrestrial mercury sources.
Overview of chemical analyses, tracer studies, gas geochemistry, stable isotopes analyses, organic chemistry, and thermometry capabilities at major USGS laboratories with links to technique, equipment, and contacts for each procedure.
Homepage for the Missouri District Water-Quality Data & Analysis Section with links to data networks, projects, data availability, mobile laboratories, sampling boat, quality assurance practices, and real-time water-quality data. | <urn:uuid:d2323894-f8de-4536-80a8-6601d3353cb1> | {
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indicating a progressive diminution of size. A continuous decrease from the larger Pliocene to the diminishing Quaternary area is inferred by this observer and explained by drying winds and by uplift of the eastern part of the plain, where the surface is now 2,000 feet above sea-level. Obruchef also describes the Quaternary Aralo-Caspian as the direct successor of the Pliocene sea, the decrease of area being ascribed to uplift on the east (1890, 25). Neither of these observers gives explicit recognition to the idea that the Quaternary sea resulted from the expansion of a smaller early-Quaternary sea, to which the waters had shrunk from their great
The Aralo-Caspian is marked by Konshin, in the article just referred to, as reaching, at the beginning of the Quaternary, eastward to the present ends of the Murg-ab and Tejen rivers, and southward to the base of the mountains at KizilArvat ; farther west it connected with the Caspian basin by the Balkhan gateway ; to the northwest it spread beyond the present Aral ; to the northeast it had a well-defined boundary south of the Ainu River. Here a higher northeastern part of the Kara-Kum, underlaid by Pliocene and older strata, breaks off in a dissected, south-facing escarpment, the Ungus, which Obruchef ascribes to a fault (1890, 25o), and along the base of which Konshin describes shorelines (1887, 238), probably contemporaneous with those at Krasnovodsk and Jebel. The floor of the depression south of the Ungus is stated by Lessar to be 44.6 meters below the Caspian (1889, 714). This escarpment and the shorelines along its base are features toward which future observation might well be directed, with the hope of deciphering the history of the sea in greater detail. If I understand Konshin's description, the dissection of the Pliocene strata in the escarpment must have taken place before the shorelines were made at its base. It might, therefore, here be possible to recognize the time interval that observations elsewhere lead us to suppose elapsed between extensions of the Pliocene and the Quaternary Aralo-Caspian Sea, and perhaps to decipher the presumably complicated history of the Quaternary sea itself.
In the late Quaternary, the sea was reduced to lower and lower levels, and the Caspian and the Aral were thus separated, except for a water passage or channel, the Usboi, which passes along the southeastern base of the Ust-urt and through the Balkhan gateway. There has been much discussion regarding the nature and origin of this channel. As it has the form of a river channel, and as the Amu is the only large river in the region, the Usboi has been repeatedly said to be the former course of the Amu. For example, Sievers (1873) describes the Usboi as a channel so well preserved that it seems to have been only lately abandoned ; it is about 65 feet deep, two-thirds of a mile wide, eroded in the unconsolidated deposits of the steppe or in the firmer Miocene beds on the border of the Ust-urt. The channel has many bends it often divides, so as to include islands, but there are no branch channels entering it. Other observers have noted that the gentle southwestward descent of the channel is broken by the sills of rapids at several points, from which it may be inferred that the stream by which the channel was eroded did not endure long. The Ainu being a large river not far distant, its former connection with the Usboi seems to have been assumed without waiting to trace an actual connection between | <urn:uuid:f10e32e3-2890-4ea8-88a3-6fac748cabfc> | {
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Listed threatened species and ecological communities
The EPBC Act provides for the listing of nationally threatened native species and ecological communities, native migratory species and marine species.
The EPBC Act protects Australia's native species and ecological communities by providing for:
- identification and listing of species and ecological communities as threatened
- development of conservation advice and recovery plans for listed species and ecological communities
- development of a register of critical habitat
- recognition of key threatening processes
- where appropriate, reducing the impacts of these processes through threat abatement plans
- About threatened species and ecological communities
- Migratory species
- list of species and ecological communities
Any person may nominate a native species, ecological community or threatening process for listing under any of the categories specified in the EPBC Act.
- Current nominations open for public comment
- How to nominate a native species, ecological community or threatening process for listing under the EPBC Act
- Flowchart - listing species, ecological communities and key threatening process
- How to nominate items for other EPBC Act lists
Protecting threatened species and ecological communities
Listed threatened species and ecological communities are recognised as a matter of national environmental significance. Consequently, any action that is likely to have a significant impact on listed threatened species and ecological communities under the EPBC Act must be referred to the Minister and undergo an environmental assessment and approval process.
- Assessment and approval process
- Protected matters search tool — use the tool to find species or ecological communities in your area of interest
- Significant impact guidelines — matters of national environmental significance
Protected species in Commonwealth areas
Under the EPBC Act, activities in Commonwealth areas that may result in killing, injuring, taking, trading, keeping or moving a member of a listed threatened species or ecological community, a member of a listed migratory species or a member of a listed marine species are illegal without a permit.
Whales and other cetaceans
Under the EPBC Act, all cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are protected in Australian waters. The Australian Whale Sanctuary includes all Commonwealth waters from the three nautical mile state waters limit out to the boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zone (i.e. out to 200 nautical miles and further in some places). It is an offence to injure, take, trade, keep, move, harass, chase, herd, tag, mark or brand a cetacean in the Australian Whale Sanctuary without a permit. | <urn:uuid:e34a01af-0758-45f7-bb80-0448f9fd1134> | {
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If you’d like to get a little more out of your long runs, try walking.
A recent study found that periodically walking during long runs doesn’t cost you any benefits to your heart health. Brief periods of walking may even save some wear and tear on your muscles. This is especially true for non-elite runners, the study says.
First-time marathoners, however, should know that a run/walk strategy does not necessarily reduce the stress load on your heart. In exceptional cases, the researchers say, recreational runners with less training are at higher risk for muscle injury, heart issues and, in extreme cases, sudden death following a marathon.
Researchers at Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Germany split 42 first-time marathon runners into two groups. One group completed the race by periodically walking for a minute or so. The other group ran all 26 miles.
Results show only about a seven-minute difference in their race times. Both groups achieved the same heart-healthy benefits.
Researchers say although a combined run/walk strategy did not reduce the load on the cardiovascular system, it did allow the group of non-elite runners to finish with less muscle discomfort and less exhaustion.
“Runners tend to beat themselves up if they stop and walk during a long-run,” Dr. Goldberg says. “But if your body is telling you to stop, it’s better for you to walk, give your muscles a break and then re-start.”
The research shows that you don’t necessarily sacrifice time for comfort, either.
“Stopping to walk is better than quitting,” Dr. Goldberg says. “When you quit, you’re not challenging yourself. Walking will allow you to go further in the end without over-stressing your body.”
Dr. Goldberg says that as long as you don’t let your heart rate completely drop during your run, you’ll still reap the cardiovascular benefits. She suggests walking for 30 seconds to one minute throughout your long run.
“Short breaks mimic what runners do during marathons when they stop of water,” she says. “If you stop for water, you should train that way, too. Otherwise you’ll have a hard time re-starting.” | <urn:uuid:0829b549-177d-45c9-9d19-676c3da741fe> | {
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I disagree a bit, declaring variables all together on one line does not make the code easier to read IMO.
If you put them each on their own line, you have the opportunity to initialise them (not doing this is often a major source of errors), and write a comment to say what the variable means (important if it is abbreviated), or provide info about valid ranges etc.
With variable names, I like to do this:
const float TaxRate = 0.07;
As you can see Words can be abbreviated a bit, use capitals for the first letter. Don't use underscores - it make the name too long.
As for type hungarian notation
, there are all kinds of personal preferences which probably don't match up between different people. For example I might use i for int, and p for pointer. I have gone away from that for basic types these days - my IDE tells me all sorts of info about variables. I still use p for pointer and C for class, and m_ for member variables.
With integer types, I use the stdint header which has types described by their sign and the number of bits used like uint8_t, int32_t, uint64_t instead of unsigned char, int and unsigned long (possibly unsigned long long) | <urn:uuid:3ae66356-e353-4864-ae3d-867404ac214d> | {
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Social Organization. Little is known about the relative status of women and men among the Bugle. Men meet outside their own homes for social purposes, whereas it is reported that women as a group do not do so. Men are dominant in the public arena, but evidence suggests that in the domestic arena men and women are equal partners in household decisions and that women (as well as men) own and control their own personal property, including crops and domestic animals. Social stratification does not exist, but some individuals (usually elder males) are more highly respected than others for their wisdom and decision-making abilities or for their control of special bodies of knowledge, such as traditional medicine.
Political Organization. Nothing is known about traditional forms of political organization among the Bugle. Political authority was probably kin-group based, as among the Ngawbe. During the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth, it is reported that the Bugle accepted the authority of the Ngawbe governors, but it should be noted that the system of governors was originally a system imposed upon the Ngawbe by outside authorities. Since about the early 1970s, the Bugle have allied themselves with the Ngawbe chief of Veraguas Province, particularly with reference to relations with the national government. Local civil authorities called corregidores, who are appointed by the national government, are responsible for keeping order and settling local disputes. Corregidores frequently appoint subalterns, called comisarios, whose responsibilities are to keep order in their own hamlets.
Social Control. Adultery and robbery are punishable offenses among the Bugle. Until about the middle of the twentieth century, wooden stocks (presumably of colonial origin) were used as the common form of punishment. In disputes between individuals or kin groups, the protagonists meet, along with other members of the community, and attempt to settle the quarrel, with the local comisario serving as arbitrator. If a satisfactory resolution is not achieved, a similar meeting will be held with the corregidor serving as arbitrator. Individual skills and accumulated respect are better determiners of success in disputes that are arbitrated by corregidores and comisarios than is the force of authority that is attached to these positions.
Conflict. At the national level, there has been a long-standing and continuing conflict between the national government and the Bugle and Ngawbe regarding legal recognition of their lands as a reserve. Disputes between kin groups may also occur over land. Conflicts between individuals arise for a variety of reasons, and others become involved, in alignment with their kin (see "Social Control"). | <urn:uuid:d32cff93-c3ee-4249-aa1a-34b01a9d87c0> | {
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Shashank likes strings in which consecutive characters are different. For example, he likes ABABA, while he doesn’t like ABAA. Given a string containing charactersand only, he wants to change it into a string he likes. To do this, he is allowed to delete the characters in the string.
Your task is to find the minimum number of required deletions.
The first line contains an integer
The next lines contain a string each.
For each test case, print the minimum number of deletions required.
length of string
5 AAAA BBBBB ABABABAB BABABA AAABBB
3 4 0 0 4
BBBBB B, 4 deletions
ABABABAB ABABABAB, 0 deletions
BABABA BABABA, 0 deletions
AAABBB AB, 4 deletions because to convert it to AB we need to delete 2 A’s and 2 B’s | <urn:uuid:3288653b-50a7-480b-b5a1-cddff093a861> | {
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In mainstream Australia, we have a strong and enviable set of institutions that includes a representative political process, a sound judicial system and a set of national social norms that are egalitarian and encourage innovation and dynamism. But the experience of Cape York Indigenous Australians with such institutions can sometimes be radically different from the mainstream, and can impose a high-level constraint on their opportunity to lead a rich and fulfilling life.
The only way to break the vicious cycle of disadvantage and dysfunction is to build capabilities through economic and social development based on engagement with the real economy. Two critical components that help this process in Cape York are welfare reform and land reform.
First, welfare reform. Indigenous Australians have largely not experienced the positive features of the mainstream welfare state: public health, education, infrastructure, a helping hand during short-term unemployment and other aspects that have underpinned the quality of life and the opportunities of generations of Australians. They have experienced only the income support that is payable to the permanently unemployed and marginalised.
Unlike earned income, the unearned income of passive welfare leads to a gammon economic relationship, where transactions between the provider and the recipient are not based on reciprocity. The recipient gets money but gives or does nothing in return. It is money for nothing. The structure of income support payments in Cape York have set up a poverty trap where perverse incentives encourage people towards welfare and away from real employment.
Apart from depriving people of a real income, unemployment has other, more serious, effects that cannot be ameliorated and indeed may be exacerbated by long-term income support. These effects include psychological harm, loss of work motivation, skill and self-confidence, an increase in sickness, and disruption of family and social life. Indeed, chronic unemployment of whole groups of people or geographic regions leads to social exclusion, loss of self-reliance and self-confidence, and damage to psychological and physical health.
In addition, it is chiefly by working that parents convey the message to their children that opportunity exists for the taking, ensuring that attitudes of defeat are not transmitted across generations. Incentives matter because they influence behaviour. They can be in the form of carrots (which pull) and sticks (which push).
The pushes in the system are towards: no work (through the continued provision of sit-down money through government allowances); make work (through the inadequacies of Community Development Employment Projects systems); or no study (through inadequate ABSTUDY payments).
It is critical that the perverse incentives are removed from the welfare system, to break the unemployment trap. Incentives are changed by getting the price right: people need to perceive greater benefits from working, entrepreneurial activity and investing in themselves (in their education, health and so on), than from staying on welfare.
Welfare payments instead should be structured to support and encourage earning or learning. Where they do not, other obligations must be attached to payment to benefit the community. This is a crucial point for the implementation of the overall reform agenda. It is almost certain that more external support will be required, at least in the short term, to build capabilities in communities. But if support is supplied without also redesigning incentives, further dysfunction caused by passivity and addiction will ensure that fundamental community transformation will not be achieved.
The challenge, then, is to ensure that policy is targeted at economic development and capability building in Indigenous Australia rather than simply letting Indigenous Australians fall into the poverty trap of welfare dependency.
Then there is land reform. There is no question that communal title is integral to Indigenous culture. It is a principle founded in the common law and that has been reflected in statutory law in this country for a long time. But it is equally true that transferable property rights are integral to development.
The challenge for the reform agenda is to reconcile these two apparently contradictory principles: communal ownership and transferable property rights. Long-term leases enabling Indigenous individuals and families to use and develop communal land are almost certainly a key component of this reconciliation. The challenge is to preserve the culture of communal tenure while enabling maximum individual and private economic use of the land.
Discuss in our Forums
See what other readers are saying about this article!
Click here to read & post comments.
24 posts so far. | <urn:uuid:3313ec74-660f-49cc-baac-f41431edfc2e> | {
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Capsaicin is an ingredient in many topical skin preparations used to relieve pain. Capsaicin is available as a cream, ointment, stick, pad, gel, liquid, or lotion. It is marketed under many brand names including Zostrix, Icy Hot Arthritis Therapy, Capsagel, and Arthricare for Women.
Here, 10 things you should know about capsaicin:
1 - Capsaicin is the active component of chili peppers.
Capsaicin is actually an irritant to humans, producing a burning sensation in any tissue it touches. Capsaicin works by depleting or interfering with substance P, a chemical involved in transmitting pain impulses to the brain. The properties of capsaicin make it an option for relieving pain associated with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetic neuropathy. Capsaicin is used to relieve muscle pain, joint pain, or nerve pain.
2 - Capsaicin is available over the counter.
You do not need a prescription for capsaicin from your doctor. You can find products containing capsaicin in your drugstore for over-the-counter purchase. You should follow the directions given by your doctor or the directions on the label (there are different dosages or strengths of capsaicin available). For pain relief, capsaicin is usually used 3 or 4 times a day. You should rub the capsaicin cream or gel into the painful area until no more cream is visible on the skin.
Wash hands thoroughly after applying capsaicin to other areas of the body. If the capsaicin was applied for hand pain, however, wash your hands after 30 minutes.
3 - Don't use extra doses of capsaicin.
Stick to the directions, but if you should inadvertently miss a dose, use it as soon as you remember -- unless it's close to the time of the next dose.
4 - Capsaicin has no known drug interactions.
Though there are no recognized drug interactions with capsaicin, ask your doctor to be sure that you can use capsaicin, and continue to take your current medications. It's important to inform your doctor about any products you are using.
5 - Capsaicin may cause a burning sensation.
You will likely experience a warm, burning, stinging sensation when you begin using capsaicin. The sensation, which is expected when beginning use, may actually continue for 2 to 4 weeks. The sensation should lessen the longer you use capsaicin. Reducing the number of daily doses of capsaicin will not reduce the sensation, but it may reduce the pain relief achieved.
6 - Arthritis pain relief is not immediate.
Even with regular use of capsaicin, arthritis pain relief will take some time. Pain relief from arthritis typically is evident 1 to 2 weeks after starting capsaicin. To prevent pain from returning, capsaicin must be continued. However, if pain is not better after using capsaicin for 3 or 4 weeks, talk to your doctor. It may not be worth it to continue.
7 - Capsaicin must be handled with care.
Be aware of what can happen if you get capsaicin in your eyes or on other sensitive body parts because of the burning sensation it causes. If capsaicin gets in your eyes, immediately flush your eyes with water. To rid other sensitive areas of capsaicin and the burning feeling, wash the areas with warm soapy water. Keep capsaicin out of reach of children.
8 - Some people should not use capsaicin.
There are warnings about using capsaicin under certain circumstances. Before using capsaicin, tell your doctor about:
- broken skin
- skin irritation
- previous allergic reactions to capsaicin, hot peppers, other drugs, dyes, foods, preservatives
- pregnancy or current attempts to become pregnant
Also, be aware that capsaicin should not be used by children under 2 years of age.
9 - Research supports use of capsaicin for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
A study from 1991 involved 70 osteoarthritis patients and 31 rheumatoid arthritis patients. Patients were instructed to apply 0.025% capsaicin or placebo to painful knees, four times a day. Results revealed that 80% of patients treated with capsaicin experienced pain reduction following two weeks of treatment.
10 - Research also supports the use of capsaicin for osteoarthritis of the hands.
Capsaicin 0.075% was evaluated for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in a 4-week study, published in 1992. All of the study participants had significant hand pain and applied capsaicin to their hands 4 times daily. It was found that capsaicin reduced tenderness and pain in osteoarthritis of the hand patients, but not rheumatoid arthritis patients when compared to placebo.
Capsaicin. Gold Standard. 1/1/2001.
Treatment of arthritis with topical capsaicin. Clinical Therapeutics. 1991 May-Jun;13(3):383-95.
Effect of topical capsaicin in the therapy of painful osteoarthritis of the hands. Journal of Rheumatology. 1992 Apr;19(4):604-7. | <urn:uuid:177abb02-a785-49c1-8270-7292aa42bd77> | {
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Who would not want to live a healthy life? Everyone will want to live a healthy life physically and spiritually. Towards healthy living can be done in many ways. One of them through our diet. According to experts, so the key is to eat a healthy balanced diet. In short, we can consume a variety of foods not only contain a lot of calories but rich in nutrients. Here are 10 tips that you can follow to get healthy food, but also still feels good on the tongue.
1. Nutrition Rich Food Consumption 40 types of nutrients to make your body healthy. And one type of food intake can not meet all of these types. Everyday food choices you should include carbohydrates and whole grains products other fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat, fish or other protein-containing foods. How much food should you need to eat depends of calories that your body needs.
2. Regularly eating. Skipping meals will only make hunger control is lost, even fact be the result of excessive hunger. When you feel hungry, it also means that you forget about the nutrients in your food. Eating snacks in between meals is the only way that can help you overcome hunger, but do not over-eat snack.
3. Consumption of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Survey shows that most people do not consume enough of these foods. Are you already eating 6-1 servings of rice or cereal, if 3 servings of this kind you eat include whole grains? What you are eating a diet consisting of 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables? If you include foods that do not enjoy it before, so from now on give yourself a chance to taste it.
4. Set Weight Balanced. Appropriate weight for you depends on many factors, including gender, height, age and heredity. Excess body weight makes your blood pressure rise, causing liver disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer or other diseases. But having a body too thin can also cause osteoporosis, menstrual imbalance and other health problems. So the balanced weight greatly affect health.
5. Make Changes In Bertahap.Tak ever 'super food' or a simple healthy diet, do not expect to immediately remove your eating habits overnight. Start is to make changes gradually to achieve positive results, and so healthy eating habits throughout life. For more convenience, if you do not like skim milk, try redah fat milk. In the end maybe you will also like nonfat milk.
6Kurangi, Not Limiting Portion Eating. Most people eat food to please yourself. If your favorite type of food high in fat, salt or sugar, the key to make it feasible. Check first the ingredients in your diet and change it if it is necessary. For adults who consume high-fat foods or dairy products filled in any of their food, actually eating too much fat. Make the list of nutrients in the food label to help balance your food choices.
7. Eating In Decent Size. If you maintain your portion sizes reasonable, it's easier to eat the foods you want so you stay healthy. What you know rekomondasi cook food served is 3 ounces. Medium-size fruit is one serving and a cup of pasta that balanced two servings, and 4 servings of ice cream.
8. Balance Your Food Choices Every Time. Not all food must be perfect. When you eat foods high in fat, salt or sugar, select the lowest ingredients. If you miss this food group in a day, fix the next day.
9. Knowing the difficulty of your diet program. Fix your eating habits, first identify what is wrong with your diet. Write down everything you eat in three days, then check the list and match it with these tips. What you eat too much butter, sauce, cream or salad? Rather than eliminate it altogether, better reduce your portions. What you feel satisfied by eating fruits and vegetables? If not, you may miss vital nutrients in food.
10. Remember, Food Not A Bad Habits. Select foods based on your total eating patterns, not based on 'good' or 'bad.' Do not feel guilty if you love foods such as pies, potato chips, chocolate or ice cream. Eat properly, and choose other foods to balance your nutrition and various others, which is good for your health. | <urn:uuid:0877c583-f903-4425-964c-db22015a94d9> | {
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EWWNP means Exploring Wild and Wonderful Number Patterns Created by Yourself! Investigate what happens if we create number patterns using some simple rules.
Find a great variety of ways of asking questions which make 8.
If you had any number of ordinary dice, what are the possible ways
of making their totals 6? What would the product of the dice be
While I'm sitting in front of the computer I also have a dice and it is showing a $5$. Rather like this:-
The arrangements usually sit quite well into a rectangular arrangement. So we might call this last one a $3$ by $5$ or a $5$ by $3$ arrangement. Squares are just special rectangles and so we could have a $4$ by $4$ :-
When we have the $3$ by $5$ we can count the dots and see that we have $23$ altogether. Now $3$ times $5$ IS NOT $23$. So we cannot write it as:- $3 x 5= 23$
So we (You) will have to invent another name instead of times and a sign to go with it. Perhaps (because it is convenient on the computer) you may choose "?" BUT you can choose anything that you like!
Now I can write:-
$3 ? 5 = 23$
and when I look at the $2$ by $2$ and the $4$ by $4$ I can write them as:-
$2 ? 2 = 5$ and $4 ? 4 = 25$
If you now look at a bigger arrangement that follows the same kind of pattern you'll find various ways of counting up the number of dots needed.
So let's look at this one $8 ? 4$
Count them up, calculate, or do whatever so that you find out how many there are altogether and we have:- $8 ? 4 = 53$. Invent some more questions of your own and work out the answers.
You probably would know the answer straight away or you'd be able to work it out from things that you knew before. When people learn multiplication tables they often write them out in a big table. So you could explore what happens if you try a similar idea with doing "?" instead of multipliation and make a ?Table instead of a TimesTable. | <urn:uuid:c0b5e0dc-50d7-4659-983a-b33f6d2c47be> | {
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Electoral versus popular vote
Students learn the workings of the Electoral College with this simple activity.
Students gain an understanding of how, in a presidential election, the winner of the popular vote might not be the winner of the electoral vote -- and, therefore, not win the election.
electoral vote, election, president, campaign
Materials needed [shop materials]
Tell students that you will be providing a snack for the entire class the next day. Give them the option of two equally desirable (and healthful!) snacks, and explain that they are going to vote for the snack you'll provide. Arrange students into groups of varying sizes, and assign one student to be the representative for each group. Have members of each group vote on the snack they want, and ask each group's representative to tally the votes and then cast one vote for the entire group. After the representatives have cast their votes and the snack has been determined, poll the entire class to learn their individual votes. Determine whether the popular vote and the "electoral vote" produced the same result.
Have students explain in a paragraph how it might be possible that the presidential candidate who gets the most votes might not be the election winner.
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Vegetables for Central Texas
Growing your own vegetables can be quite rewarding. It can also be very frustrating here in Central Texas. We have many
insect pests and problems with high heat and drought. Many vegetables can be grown in the cooler weather of fall, winter,
and spring. See my book,
Cool-Season Gardening in Central Texas
on Amazon for suggestions of how to grow cool
Vegetables to grow in cooler weather:
Kale, lettuce, greens, Chinese greens, radishes, and carrots--you can plant all these in the fall when the weather
starts to cool off probably toward the end of September. All of these are planted from seeds. You will find many more
varieties to try by buying them from seed catalogs rather than at your local stores.
Broccoli and cauliflower are planted in the fall or early spring. It is best to cover these crops with fabric row
cover both to give them more warmth during the winter and to prevent moths from laying their eggs on them. The dreaded
green caterpillars can be kept at bay with fabric row cover.
Root crops are also cool season vegetables. If you want to have large onions you have to plant them in the fall or
late winter. Garlic is also planted in the fall for a spring harvest. Potatoes must be planted in the spring no
later than Valentine's Day. Harvest around the time the kids get out of school
for the summer.
Click this link to see the steps to correctly plant
broccoli transplants into the garden.
Asparagus: Although asparagus is traditionally planted from late January to
early February, you must be patient, for you will not be picking any for two
years. The asparagus roots need time to get established. Keep in mind that
the wait is worth it; just remember how much asparagus costs at the food
store. If you are patient you will have all the asparagus you want at a
modest cost in time and money. Purchase good asparagus roots from a
reputable nursery and plant them in well-prepared soil. Water them as needed
and add fertilizer on a planned schedule. Shoots will emerge from the roots
during the spring. Let the shoots “fern out” and continue caring for them.
In the second spring following planting, you can begin cutting the larger
shoots. Let the shoots grow to about six to eight inches and carefully cut
them at the base. Enjoy. Once hot weather arrives, stop harvesting the
shoots and let the asparagus shoots fern out. The following fall you can
again cut newly emerging shoots, but don’t cut the existing ferns.
Beans: Various kinds of beans are planted in spring once the weather has warmed up, but before it gets very hot. Make succession
plantings so that you do not have all your beans mature at one time. Moderate fertilizer, ample water, and
vigilance in controlling spider mites is necessary. A second planting can be made in the fall for harvest just before the
Cantaloupes: Cantaloupes and watermelons make a great addition to the
garden, as they provide vitamin C In larger
amounts than most vegetables. A rich garden soil in full sun will help these to grow well as long as you provide
a deep, regular watering. Keep an eye out for pests, including pill bugs, which
enjoy eating them as much as we do. Pill
bugs will be on the bottom of the melons where they can hide from the sun. Raising the melons off the ground can help.
Okra: our beloved soup vegetable, okra thrives in the brutal summer heat of Central Texas. If you can find a spineless variety you will
have fewer unpleasant encounters with this vegetable while harvesting it.
Peppers: Both hot peppers and sweet peppers will grow better when there is ample rainfall. You can
plant them in the spring, and get a good harvest. Then they will slack off and not produce much until it
gets cooler in the fall. The fall harvest of peppers will probably be the best you will have all year round.
Summer squash: Don't limit yourself to just the yellow squashes, There are many delightful flavors and shapes to
explore. Peruse the pages of several seed catalogs and pick out some interesting squash
varieties to try this year. Squash plants need fertilizer and water at
appropriate intervals. If your squash suddenly wilts and dies, it probably
has been invaded by the dreaded squash borer.
Tomatoes: Considered the most popular vegetable grown in the United States, nothing
else in the gardening world gives
quite the thrill as growing a successful crop of tomatoes. It is a daunting task here, as there are many
disease and insect pests that will attack our beloved tomatoes. Plant in rich garden soil, fertilize
once a month, and water by drip irrigation. Keep an eye out for spider mites and leaf footed bugs,
two of the greatest foes of tomatoes. Treat them early or they will get out of hand quickly. A forceful
spray of water on the bottom of the leaves will help to destroy a light
spider mite infestation early in
the year. Later, you can try neem oil. This insecticide is natural (approved
for organic gardening) and also helps with some plant diseases (read the
label). You will
need to spray probably once a week. If all else fails, turn to a more powerful insecticide that can be used
within three days of harvest, and follow the directions carefully!
Step by step guide to planting broccoli transplants into
the garden bed:
though this is a step by step guide for planting broccoli, it also
applies to planting any transplant into the garden, even flowers.
Plant at the right time of the year. For cool season
broccoli, that means mid fall or early spring.
Plant only in well-prepared soil.
The soil in the photo shows a protective cover over
the soil made from plastic chicken wire. It is a great proctection to
prevent animals from digging in the garden. To insert a transplant, cut
a hole slightly larger than the rootball, then dig a hole for the
transplant. Set the soil dug out of the hole to one side.
Add a tablespoon of nitrogen fertilizer to the hole,
then mix well. I prefer ammonium sulfate.
Stir the nitrogen into the soil so it doesn't burn the roots.
Pour water to fill the hole.
Gently loosen plant from its container and examine it.
If the roots are winding around the plant, pull them apart.
Examine the leaves for insects or insect eggs and remove.
Put the plant in the wet hole and fill in around it
with the soil you set aside.
Water again to settle the plant and remove air pockets.
Cover cole crops with fabric row cover secured to
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COMMUNITY VOICE: The Epidemic of Widowhood
One Windows for Widows participant perfects her sewing skills.
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The economic participation of widows in developing nations is surprisingly low. While approximately 60% of women in the developing world are engaged in some form of paid labor, the statistic drops to 20% for widows. Widows suffer from a lack of empowerment, resources, and economic opportunity. As a result, they constitute a large percentage of the world's poor. Inspired by the life and struggles of my grandmother, who was a struggling widow in Egypt, I founded an organization that works against the emergent epidemic of widowhood.
Widows fall into the poverty gap for several reasons. First and foremost, they lack favorable inheritance rights. In many developing nations, the husband's brothers or sons become the primary beneficiaries of the estate. Often, widows don't even inherit ownership to their own homes or the land they farm. In fact, despite being 52% of the global population and physically farming two thirds of the world's crop, women own less than 1% of the world's land. Even worse, in some countries, the widow actually becomes part of the estate, meaning that she can be forcibly married to her husband's brother. In many cases, even if the law entitles a widow to inheritance, in practice she is denied the assets or forced to surrender them. Given so few rights to assets, widows' low economic engagement is far from surprising.
Widows also receive little governmental support. Often, developing countries do not provide social support to widows in the form of public pensions or social security. And those that do often fail to adjust for inflation or the cost of living. For example, in Egypt, the average widow's pension from the government is approximately $10.00 per month-only enough to purchase three simple street-fare meals.
Even when widows have a marketable skill set, three major factors make finding employment extremely difficult. In developing nations, the overall level of unemployment is often high. As such, limited job availability usually means nepotism is rampant, or individuals who do get hired tend to be severely under-employed. This limits job opportunities for widows. Second, the lack of daycare options leaves widows unable to seek employment because they must care for their children. Third, widows experience high levels of vulnerability in society at large. They report trepidation at leaving the house to commute to work, given their exposure to high risk situations such as rape. Widows seeking to participate in the economy must contend against all these daunting factors.
I was compelled to launch Windows for Widows after the death of my grandmother. Her life was rife with challenges, simple because she was widowed in her mid-30s in a small town in Alexandria, Egypt. Despite having assets awarded to her by her own father, upon his death his brothers forced my grandmother to surrender all that she owned--land, jewelry, and even household appliances--leaving her and her four young children with only a roof above their head and a paltry government pension. They fell into poverty almost overnight.
Her story inspired me to researching widows' rights in developing countries, and in doing so I discovered that it's common for widows in developing countries to face these predicaments. And yet, very little global attention or resources is allocated to helping widows. As a result, I decided to work with my friend Elaine Barsoom to create Windows for Widows and help widows extricate themselves from poverty.
Windows for Widows is attempting to break the vicious cycle of poverty by investing in and empowering widows, as well as other women who are heads of households, by creating economic opportunity. Windows for Widows' programs provide skills-based training programs and by enrolling widows in workfare employment programs. Widows with skills and business acumen progress into a micro-finance program to further promote their businesses. Our programs enable the widows to enter the workforce where no other economic opportunity exists. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that all of our widows achieve financial stability, self-sufficiency, and self-accountability.
To learn more about Windows for Widows, visit their Web site. | <urn:uuid:98054e95-344e-4160-9a44-a23fa6b9fc39> | {
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A focus on ‘techno-fix’ solutions to climate change like electric cars simply perpetuate current unsustainable practices and represent a failure of ambition, argue Nicola Spurling and Dan Welch.
In January David Cameron announced that his cabinet might trade in their limousines for electric cars. It was the latest in a stream of initiatives to promote the use of electric vehicles.
Is this a welcome case of political leaders ‘setting an example’? Or are these sorts of interventions more likely to perpetuate current patterns of private car use than challenge them?
The announcement is another example of the common ‘techno-fix’ approach to climate change – in which futuristic technologies resolve the problem while everyday life carries on as normal. Electric cars are especially alluring in this respect. Except that electric cars won’t simply replace fossil fuel driven cars. Firstly, their limited range means they only fulfil some of the functions of the conventional car. Secondly, as a recent OECD report suggests, they will only save carbon emissions in the context of a massively de-carbonised electricity supply system re-engineered to cope with increased demand.
Retaining private car use by substituting petrol for electric vehicles just reproduces the ‘predict and provide’ approaches of transport planning developed in the 70s and 80s – in which rising levels of demand are perpetuated, normalised and inadvertently encouraged. But if this is the case, then what alternative approaches to policy are there?
The work of the Sustainable Practices Research Group begins to address this challenge. Our starting point is that we largely consume resources as part of the practices that make up everyday life – like driving, cooking or doing the laundry. So rather than the obsession with perpetuating demand for the private car, how about investing more to substitute the practice of driving for a more sustainable one, such as cycling?
The recent TfL investment in ‘quietways’, cycle ‘superhighways’ and ‘mini Hollands’ is commendable here. The idea of ‘modal shift’ – or changing mode of transport – is not a new one: park and ride schemes or the London congestion charging scheme aim to do just that. But a social practice perspective casts the issue in a new light.
For example, many initiatives funded by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund have aimed to shift short trips (under five miles) from driving to walking and cycling. Although the objective is one of substitution, the interventions tend to focus just on ‘growing’ the practice of cycling. Seldom is the potential of ‘shrinking’ driving part of such initiatives. If the aim is modal shift, making one alternative easier and more attractive than the other makes sense: seeking to reduce demand for driving rather than catering for (assumed) increased demand.
Taking the debate a step further, why focus on trip length as the main characteristic of the journeys that we make? Rather, we could ask what everyday practices are served by these trips?
Picking up the kids from school, commuting or going shopping present very different forms of driving, most obviously, they require different amounts of space for passengers and goods. As such there is not just one, but rather multiple cycling alternatives. These might require a variety of bike accessories, and more broadly, secure storage, the skills to cycle in different kinds of traffic and with a range of loads (children, shopping) and workplace showers. Identifying the kinds of journeys helps us understand the suitable components of cycling that might encourage a shift from driving. Manchester’s Cycling Hub takes such an approach to commuter cycling. Close to the railway station, it also provides secure storage, showers, a bike shop offering servicing, and cycle skills training. Intervening to ensure the availability of multiple cycling alternatives is an opportunity for policy.
The focus on substitution challenges the need for the private car in a way that focussing on decarbonising driving does not. However, it still doesn’t question why and how the need to move around so much and so often has come to be as it is. Taking the example of shopping, having grown up in the 70s and 80s, it seems that owning a private car is the pre-requisite of provisioning a family home. Actually this ‘need’ is the outcome of a historical process which includes the development of out-of-town supermarkets and associated forms of land use, the rise of the car, the decline of high street shops and the gradual shift in shopping habits and routines.
Not only is the ‘need’ for the private car something that should be within the realm of policy intervention, the ‘need’ for current patterns of mobility per se should be there too. This is not as radical as it first appears. The planners of England’s ‘new towns’ in the 1950s and 1960s designed particular ideas of ‘the good life’ into their plans, including cycling infrastructures linking quiet housing areas each with its own facilities. This is a more ambitious approach to policy than seeking to respond to a spurious notion of ‘demand’, but an ambition more commensurate with the scale of the challenge of transition towards sustainability.
That ambition should encompass intervening in the conventions of practice and place which shape and govern our lives. Our categorisations of practice and place appear normal and ‘natural’ to us because of their long histories of co-evolution, institutionalization and standardisation. But they can be redesigned in new and innovative ways, which we argue, have implications for mobility.
The example of mobility reflects a more general tendency in sustainability policy of catering to an imagined future which simply extrapolates from the present. Not only does this represent a failure of ambition – to imagine a genuinely different future – it misunderstands social and technical change. Technological and social change mutually condition one another: social practices and technologies co-evolve.
The future is never a simple extrapolation of the present. A future in which electric vehicles replace the demand for the conventional car would be a future in which electrical vehicles (with shorter ranges, long charging times and a radically new electricity infrastructure) would themselves change the practices that underpin that demand. Approaching policy from the perspective of social practices, we suggest, offers novel ways to reconfigure patterns of consumption in more sustainable directions.
Focussing on driving, eating and the home, The Sustainable Practices Research Group Report: Interventions in Practice: Reframing Policy Approaches to Consumer Behaviour can be downloaded from: http://www.sprg.ac.uk/projects-fellowships/theoretical-development-and-integration/interventions-in-practice—sprg-report.
- This post originally appeared on the Talking Climate blog. | <urn:uuid:ddeb78bb-f5e8-4f6a-8ac8-08162716ca11> | {
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Free Skin Cancer Screening at WFUBMC
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Dermatologists from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the community will conduct a free skin cancer screening from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Thursday June 2 at the Medical Center’s dermatology clinic, ninth floor, Richard Janeway Clinical Sciences Tower.
Participants may receive a spot check or a full-body examination for skin cancer and ask questions about skin care products to protect them from overexposure to the sun. Free pamphlets will be given to all that attend.
“Anyone can develop skin cancer, but fortunately it can be cured if detected early,” said Phillip M. Williford, M.D., associate professor of dermatology and director of dermatologic surgery at Wake Forest Baptist. “We are seeing more cancers in young people, and that is due in large part to overexposure to the sun and tanning beds.”
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, with about 1 million new cases diagnosed annually. The most serious kind of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, kills more than 7,900 people annually.
The chances of eventually getting skin cancer are one in six. Risk factors include:
* Fair skin.
* A history of work outdoors or considerable sun exposure.
* A history of childhood sunburns.
* A family history of skin cancer.
* A greater-than-average number of moles.
* Unusually shaped or colored moles or skin growths.
The risk of developing skin cancer can be reduced by:
* Performing monthly self-examinations of the skin and getting yearly examinations by a dermatologist.
* Wearing hats and other protective clothing when outdoors.
* Applying sunscreen liberally about 20 minutes before sun exposure.
* Using a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15.
* Reapplying sunscreen frequently, at least every two hours if you remain outdoors.
* Avoiding direct sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest.
No appointment is needed for the screening, and parking is free. Contact Health On-Call at 336-716-2255 for more information.
Media Contacts: Lisa Long, [email protected], 336-716-4588, Shannon Koontz, [email protected], or Karen Richardson, [email protected], at 336-716-4587.
About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: Wake Forest Baptist is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University School of Medicine. It is licensed to operate 1,187 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.
Media Relations Contacts: | <urn:uuid:404991f8-946c-4dff-a345-e45682737741> | {
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Children who are being bullied often find it very difficult to tell anyone, because they believe things will get worse if the child doing the bullying finds out. They can feel ashamed and embarrassed about what is happening and this is what the bully relies on. They may feel they have done something to cause it or that they should be able to handle the problem themselves, (this is especially true with older children).
There are different forms of bullying:
Physical – any form of physical violence pushing, hitting, punching, kicking or intimidating behaviour, plus also theft or intentional damage to possessions.
Verbal - yelling abuse at another, name-calling, teasing, insulting someone, using verbal threats.
Emotional/psychological - spreading rumours, tormenting, social exclusion, disclosing another’s secrets to someone else.
Cyberbullying - when a person or a group of people uses the internet, mobile phones, online games or any other kind of digital technology to threaten, tease, upset or humiliate someone else. You can report any online abuse through the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) website.
Please also see our e-Safety page for more information about cyberbullying.
Children and young people can be bullied for any reason, but some include:
Racist: Bullying based on skin colour, religion, ethnicity or language.
Homophobic: Discrimination due to somebody’s sexuality and/or gender identity.
Sexual: Unwelcome sexual advances or remarks that are intended to cause offence, humiliation or intimidation.
Disability: The bullying of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
'Differences': Bullying based on other reasons such as the way someone looks or dresses, hobbies and interests, family set up or social behaviour.
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Thursday, July 12, 2012
In today’s schools, angry and even aggressive classroom behavior seems to be affecting all teachers equally; troubled and/or angry students are no longer a concern just for special education teachers. Being prepared for managing this challenging behavior is by far the best word of advice that any teacher can follow. When teachers are unprepared for, and easily influenced by, these kinds of behaviors, they often mirror the angry behavior. For instance, the child yells and the teacher yells louder. Mirroring the child’s distraught behavior is the surest way for finding ourselves immersed in a power struggle with the student. On this blog post, you will find some guidelines for a safe intervention, so that you are not caught up in confrontations and power struggles with students.
1. Do not take the angry behavior and/or hostile remarks personally. Students who fling foul language and threats at the teacher are trying to get a reaction from the teacher. Simply put, the child is doing his best to upset you. When you react angrily, you give control of the interaction to the student. I understand that this is easier said than done, so you have to make a conscious effort to keep your composure. A good rule of thumb is to focus on behavior rather than on words: calmly remind the student the behavior expectation that he should be following at that moment. State this once, if the child persists, you keep talking about actions or behavior. Avoid excessive and/or unproductive talking (dialogue that does not help in resolving the situation); the less everybody talks, the better.
2. If the student becomes loud, you deliberately lower your voice and speak slower; doing this usually helps in calming the child. In addition, avoid being sarcastic and using verbal put-downs such as labeling the student. For example, saying, “You are such as trouble maker!” or “You never listen to anyone!” Keep your interaction with the student positive and your messages free of damaging “contaminants.” By remaining positive and serene, you are modeling to the child the kind of behavior that you want from him. You do not need to tell the child that he needs to calm down; you will get a calmer behavior from the child by showing him how calmness and relaxation look (i.e., deep and regular breathing, low tone of voice, slow speech rate, small hand and arm gestures, a relaxed posture, and walking slowly). Your immediate goal while managing the difficult interaction should be having the child mirror your behavior and language, rather than you mirroring what the child does or says. You are the adult in the room; lead the child into a calm and relaxed state.
3. Change language that criticizes the child’s character or personality into language that criticizes the child’s actions or behavior. For example:
· You are so stubborn! - Your behavior is stubborn.
· Why are you this oppositional? - Why are you behaving in such an oppositional way?
This kind of language allows us to keep the discussion focused on actions and behavior. Why is this important? Character or personality is a fixed and stable trait; on the other hand, behavior is both changeable and controllable. Focusing on behavior allows us to present the issue to the child as an action that he can change and that he can control. Keep reminding the student that he is in control of his behavior, and that his behavior is his choice. An additional benefit of using choice language (e.g., “You can either work on your math workbook or sit in the back of the room until we can talk. It’s your choice”) is that, if the child remains oppositional, because it was a choice neither the teacher nor the student “loses face.” That is, you never imposed or demanded anything from the child, so, he cannot contradict you. From the child’s perspective, if he complies, he did it because he chose to, not because the teacher forced him to commit.
4. Do not force the issue, much less in front of the class or other students. Trying to force and/or to coerce the student is an angry strategy, with the only difference that, this time, the angry feelings are emanating from you. Similarly, force is a power strategy, and because of this, you are the one creating the power struggle. Chances are that the child is going to resist your power move, and even worse, other students may join the child in his struggle with such a powerful opponent: you. In a verbal confrontation, the student ends feeling stressed; the class ends feeling stress; and you end feeling stress, so, who wins? This is what experts in conflict management call a lose-lose solution to conflict. By setting up your classroom discipline with force and coercion, you are creating long-lasting feelings of mistrust in your students.
5. Be careful to not get drawn into arguments with the student. Make clear to the child that you are not going to argue. Instead, calmly repeat what you want the student to do using behavior specific dialogue. Directly tell the child that you are going to talk with him only when he is calm. If necessary, move away from the child. This simply technique will keep you poised.
6. If the child is losing self-control, he needs clear and specific directions about how you expect him to behave. Present your directives to the child using behavior specific language, for example, saying, “I need you to sit in the back of the room for five minutes so that you focus on cooling down.” Encourage the student to take some time and make clear that you will talk with him once he feels calmer. With this statement, you are influencing the child in believing that he is going to feel calmer; it is just a matter of time.
Related to this blog post…
Keeping the Peace: Managing Students in Conflict Using the Social Problem-Solving Approach- The printed edition of this book is now available on Amazon. (A preview is also avaiable.) | <urn:uuid:b38c4195-5df3-4f63-a918-5b053c3f96b1> | {
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UK scientists have created a “Drug that slashes the risk of colds killing asthmatics”, the Daily Express dramatically reported today.
This, and similar stories in the press about this “revolutionary treatment” for a very worrying scenario, should be viewed with a high degree of caution. The news is based solely on a press release, which gives some information about the findings of an early-stage clinical trial of a new, unlicensed asthma drug called SNG001. The press release describes research that was conducted in a total of 134 adults who had asthma and were suffering from the symptoms of the common cold. These asthmatic adults were given either SNG001 or an inactive treatment for two weeks.
Overall, SNG001 did not reduce the severity of asthma symptoms compared with the inactive “placebo” treatment. However, the researchers also looked only at people who had more severe asthma. They found that, for this group of people, SNG001 improved asthma symptoms and lung function over the two-week period compared with placebo. Although this group made up about half of the patients in the trial, only 10-20% of people in the UK population with asthma have severe asthma.
Limited conclusions can be drawn about the effects of this unlicensed drug at this stage. The study has not yet been fully published in a peer-reviewed journal and this means that full details are not yet available. SNG001 did not improve symptoms in all the participants who received the drug, only in those with more severe symptoms. Full publication of this trial, and further research in a larger group of people with asthma, will be needed to clarify whether this treatment is safe and effective. These findings do not alter the current treatment of asthma or respiratory infections.
Where did the story come from?
This story is based on a press release from Synairgen, a respiratory drug development company based at the University of Southampton. Synairgen has reported on the initial findings of a clinical trial involving a new asthma drug that they have been developing. The Synairgen website claims that the company raised £6 million to finance “two phase II proof of concept studies for its inhaled interferon beta programme” through the London Stock Exchange.
The study has not yet been published in a journal, so it has not been subjected to the peer-review process. As such, the findings reported should be treated with a high degree of caution. When reading stories in the press, it is always worth checking to see if they have quoted a peer-reviewed journal as the source of the research. To find out more about this and other tips on understanding health reporting, see How to read health news.
The Daily Mail and the Daily Express are premature in reporting the success of this new drug, and do not highlight the early stage of this research and the fact that the findings have not yet been formally published. The reports, which focus on the “life-threatening” nature of asthma, should be read in light of the fact that deaths from asthma are relatively rare. According to Asthma UK, 5.4 million people in the UK are being treated for the condition, and there were just 1,131 deaths from asthma in 2009. Also, the current study has only reported on the effects of the drug on outcomes such as symptoms of asthma and lung function, not on the risk of death.
What kind of research was this?
This phase II randomised controlled trial investigated whether the use of a new inhaled interferon beta drug (SNG001) could protect people with asthma against viral respiratory infections such as the common cold, which may worsen asthma symptoms.
Interferon is a drug that affects the body’s immune system. Injectable forms of interferon beta are currently licensed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Earlier laboratory research has discovered that cells lining the airways of people with asthma have weaker antiviral response to infection than similar cells in people without asthma. Researchers found that delivery of low levels of inhaled interferon beta could improve the antiviral response in the laboratory.
The earliest trial stage (phase I) for clinical trials is research conducted in a small group of people that looks at the safety of the drug and what is a safe dosage. Phase II clinical trials come next, looking at effectiveness and safety in a larger group of people with the condition, to see if it is worth taking the drug on to phase III trials. Phase III clinical trials are usually larger than phase II trials, and they are needed to show that the new drug is sufficiently effective and safe to be granted a licence to be sold to the public. If the results of the phase II trials are promising, SNG001 will still need to go through phase III trials to determine whether it can be licensed and used to treat patients outside of trials.
What did the research involve?
This phase II randomised controlled trial looked at 134 adults with mild-to-moderate to severe asthma, who had caught a cold. The researchers initially recruited 147 patients, but only 134 were confirmed to have a cold using a cold severity scale and laboratory identification of respiratory viruses on nasal and sputum samples. All patients were taking inhaled steroids, and all reported worsening asthma symptoms when they contracted the respiratory infection. Patients were randomised to receive either SNG001 or inactive placebo for 14 days.
Approximately half of the patients in the trial were reported to have “difficult-to-treat” asthma.
The researchers compared severity of the person’s asthma symptoms and the other asthma treatments required in the SNG001 and placebo groups. The results presented in the press release relate mainly to the first week of infection and treatment.
What were the basic results?
SNG001 did not improve asthma control (measured using the Asthma Control Questionnaire) in the overall treatment population compared with placebo, according to the Synairgen press release.
However, the researchers also carried out a “planned analysis” for the half of the trial population who had “difficult-to-treat” asthma. In these people who had “difficult-to-treat” asthma, SNG001 significantly improved asthma symptoms and lung function compared with placebo. The significant results for this “difficult to treat” category (who comprise 10-20% of people with asthma according to the press release) were as follows.
- SNG001 was reported to be well tolerated
- SNG001 prevented asthma symptoms from worsening during the first week of infection and treatment, as measured by the Asthma Control Questionnaire (p=0.004)
- 65% fewer patients taking SNG001 experienced moderate worsening of their asthma symptoms during the treatment period compared with those taking placebo (p=0.01)
- those taking SNG001 had less need to take inhaled bronchodilator medications (used to open the airways) on day five (p=0.02) and day six (p=0.01) than those taking placebo
- morning peak expiratory flow (the maximum amount of air breathed out as hard and fast as possible in a single breath) steadily improved in the SNG001 group across the treatment period, while in the placebo-treated patients there was an initial dip during the first week followed by an improvement (p=0.03)
How did the researchers interpret the results?
Professor Stephen Holgate CBE, leading international asthma specialist and founder of Synairgen, is quoted as saying: “This is a really promising breakthrough for the future treatment of asthma and one of the most exciting developments that I have seen in years.
“This is the first clinical study which appears to demonstrate that, by boosting the antiviral defences of the lungs of asthmatics rather than trying to inhibit rapidly evolving viruses, we can limit the adverse effects of viral infection significantly to prevent worsening of asthma symptoms in a high risk group of patients.
“Not only have we established the potential of SNG001 as a novel treatment for viral exacerbations in difficult to treat asthma but also a crucial link between viral infection, asthma symptoms and severity of disease.”
Limited conclusions can be drawn about this news story as it is based on a corporate press release. Full details of the research are not yet available and as the study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, it has not yet been subjected to an important quality-control process.
Despite the promising tone of the news stories and the press release, the trial’s primary endpoint (better control on the Asthma Control Questionnaire compared with placebo) was not achieved in the overall treatment population, according to the press release. Findings were only presented for the half of the patient population who were “difficult to treat” (precise patient number not given). This study has only tested the drug for two weeks in a small population group over a short period. The effects of repeated courses or longer-term use do not appear to have been studied yet. The effect of the drug on risk of death wasn’t reported in the press release, despite some papers suggesting that the drug can slash the risk of death from colds among asthmatics.
Full publication of this phase II trial is awaited. SNG001 – an inhaled beta interferon – is currently not licensed for use in asthma. Following on from this study, further phase III research in a larger group of people with asthma is likely to be needed to clarify whether this treatment is safe and effective, and to see who might gain most benefit from it. Positive results from such a study will be needed before this drug could be granted a licence for use in asthma patients.
These findings do not alter the current treatment of asthma or respiratory infections. | <urn:uuid:d12e50d4-c2c2-48a0-bc73-79128c4356bc> | {
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What is a firewall?
A firewall is the first line of defense when protecting private information. A firewall acts as a protective barrier between your computer and the internet, monitoring all incoming and/or outgoing traffic and allowing only the network traffic you permit. Firewalls come in the form of software, which nestles itself between your operating system and your network card. They also come in the form of hardware; for many home and small office users, it is a simple router device that sits between your computer's network jack and the wall connection. You can customize the level of protection the firewall gives you, setting it to filter information flow from specific domain names, addresses or types of network traffic.What does the firewall do?A firewall examines all traffic routed between the two networks to see if it meets certain criteria. If it does, it is routed between the networks, otherwise it is stopped. A firewall filters both inbound and outbound traffic. It can also manage public access to private networked resources such as host applications. It can be used to log all attempts to enter the private network and trigger alarms when hostile or unauthorized entry is attempted. Firewalls can filter packets based on their source and destination addresses and port numbers. This is known as address filtering. Firewalls can also filter specific types of network traffic. This is also known as protocol filtering because the decision to forward or reject traffic is dependant upon the protocol used, for example HTTP, ftp or telnet. Firewalls can also filter traffic by packet attribute or state.
Who needs a firewall?If you connect to the internet you want to protect yourself then you need a firewall set on your computer. Anyone who is responsible for a private network that is connected to a public network needs firewall protection. Furthermore, anyone who connects so much as a single computer to the Internet via modem should have personal firewall software.
What are the risks of not having a firewall?If your computer is automatically set to enable file sharing or to keep network ports open while you are online, you could be susceptible to a variety of attacks. If you don't have a firewall, which will monitor ports to stop unwanted traffic from slipping through, you have to know how to manually close ports and disable file sharing in order to control risky traffic from coming in to your computer.
How do I get a firewall?In Windows 7, Vista, and XP, software firewalls are built into the operating system. Earlier versions of Windows did not have firewalls built in. Macintosh computers running Mac OS X 10.2 and later are also equipped with a built-in firewall. You can purchase a third-party firewall package. There are a number to choose from, such as Zone Alarm, Norton Personal Firewall, Tiny, Black Ice Protection, and McAfee Personal Firewall. Many of these software companies offer free versions or trials of their commercial versions. Even home and small office broadband routers have rudimentary firewall capabilities built in. These tend to be simply port/protocol filters, although models with much finer control are available.
Copyright © 2016 Ball State University 2000 W. University Ave. Muncie, IN 47306
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On Halloween, we’ll carve our pumpkins, put them on display and then—throw them in the garbage. What a waste.
Lacing into the innocent Jack-o-lantern might make me a killjoy, but here’s the thing. The Halloween pumpkin, as it stands today, is an emblem of the problems of our global industrial food system that sucks up too many of the planet’s resources, feeds billions of us too much, leaves 1 in 8 humans chronically undernourished and lets one third of all food produced for human consumption go to waste.
Where I live, Jack-o-lanterns line the streets by the dozen, some houses displaying three, four, even five pumpkins. The morning after the pumpkins that aren’t smashed by late night marauders are thrown away.
But when we toss that pumpkin, we are wasting all the resources used to grow it—the irrigation water, any pesticides or fertilizers that treated the soil, and all the energy used to plant, harvest, transport, and then store it. When a pumpkin is sent to the landfill, it rots, emitting methane, an alarmingly potent greenhouse gas.
When we chuck our pumpkins, we are also wasting a good source of food. In many cuisines, pumpkin is a common ingredient. There’s Thai pumpkin curry, East African pumpkin stew, Japanese-style simmered pumpkin, chickpea and pumpkin tagine as well as soups and baked goods. The morning after Halloween, a friend of mine from Morocco, where she made pumpkin tagine, arrived at my door in shock because she had passed so many discarded pumpkins. To her, it was as if people had left freshly barbecued steaks to rot on their front porches.
But our food wastage is not just at Halloween. That we think it is okay to put a pumpkin in the garbage shows us how little we respect food and the land it comes from.
The stats bear this out. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 36 million tons of food end up in the landfill each year. It’s not just an American problem. People living in industrialized countries in North America and Europe each waste between 95 and 115 kg of food a year. And in higher income countries, the food that is thrown out is more likely to be suitable for human consumption when it is pitched. To highlight this problem on World Food Day earlier this month, staff at the Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome were invited to eat a vegetable soup, with croutons, made from food that the cafeteria would have otherwise thrown away.
Cook it! Peel it, chop it, steam or boil it and turn it into muffins, or pie, or biscuits or a curry or soup.
But if we were to value food, and the land it grows from—not to mention the hard work of our farmers that allows us to live surrounded by such bounty—then we likely wouldn’t waste it so freely anymore. We need to see food to be the miracle that it is: the sun’s energy transformed into something that tastes delicious and fuels our bodies. Such a realization would be a step towards a more sustainable food system that can feed us into the future. So too is reducing food waste.
There is a simple way to begin this mental shift towards respecting food: pay attention to where your food comes from, how it is grown, and cook a meal yourself, from scratch. Then eat the leftovers.
The solution is simple too when it comes to this year’s pumpkin. Cook it! Peel it, chop it, steam or boil it and turn it into muffins, or pie, or biscuits or a curry or soup. If you have too much orange flesh, then freeze it. While the pumpkin varieties that are grown for Jack-o-lanterns are fleshier and more watery than the smaller ones called pie pumpkins, they are nevertheless a good source of food. (If you find your pumpkin to have too much water after you cook the flesh, strain it in a sieve or cheesecloth.)
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Established in June 2009, the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) aims to address two fundamental issues: the origins, abundance, and distribution of hydrocarbons (including so-called fossil fuels) and the origins of life, for which carbon is the key element. The DCO has organized itself into four "directorates", each tasked with executing a different element of the DCO's ambitious research agenda. In October 2010, the Foundation supported the launch of the DCO's first directorate, on deep life. Funds from this two-year grant will provide support for the continuation and expansion of this directorate's research agenda. The overarching theme of the Deep Life Directorate is understanding microbial transformations in rock-hosted deep subsurface habitats. Over the next two years, researchers organized by the directorate plan to survey the extent and diversity of subsurface microbial communities, catalogue microbial activities relative to their environmental context, and identify relationships between deep subsurface microbial processes and carbon fluxes. Several innovative approaches are planned. For example, Deep Life researchers will lower incubation chambers filled with pre-characterized mineral substrates into boreholes and fracture systems and then observe and measure what ensues. In surface labs, researchers will examine cells that tolerate temperatures above 100 degrees centigrade and pressures approaching 20,000 atmospheres. | <urn:uuid:e21b0bc5-f28b-4b52-9e58-f3d80c55a7b2> | {
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I had to do this paper as part of independent research for BIOL 1004 (Biology II) at Carleton this summer. As I’ve handed it in (two days ago), I am posting it here as well.
Department of Biology
Introductory Biology II
Summer Term 2006
Ecological Impact of Gypsy Moth
Date Due: 20060720
“This paper is the sole work of the undersigned, does not contain unattributed material from any source and compiles with the Academic Regulations section 14.1-4 (Instructional Offences) of the Carleton University Calendar.†(Biology Department, 2006, p10).
Stanislav N. Vardomskiy
In North America, gypsy moth is a serious pest of agriculture and deciduous forests that causes significant economical and environmental damage.
Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is an insect native of Asia and Europe with very few natural predators in North America (Chaplin III, 2000). Asian and European races of Lymantria dispar differ by size, flight characteristics and host preferences. Asian gypsy moth is larger then it’s European counterpart and is known to prefer over 500 tree species. In addition, both genders of Asian gypsy moth are strong fliers, compared to only males of European gypsy moth (Humble and Stewart, 1994).
Until recently, most of attention to gypsy moth in North America centered around European gypsy moth, however in 1991 a race of Asian gypsy moth was discovered in Vancouver, BC and in the states of Washington, Oregon and Ohio (Humble and Stewart 1994 and APHIS 2003).
European Gypsy Moth
In late 1860s, Etienne Leopold Trouvelote, an amateur entomologist, imported a gypsy moth egg cluster from France in hopes of cross-breeding disease-resistant gypsy moth and local varieties. He cultured some of these eggs in the trees of his suburban Boston home, when some of the larvae escaped and infected nearby trees – first on his street, and soon in the neighborhood of Boston. (Leibhold, 2003)
Trouvelote realized the significance of escaped larvae, and notified local entomologiests, however for close to 20 years problem was largely ignored (Leibhold, 2003). Gradually more and more trees in the vicinity got infected.
First outbreak of moth occurred on his street in 1882, just as he left the country, but at the time very little was done. First attempt at containment and eradication of gypsy moth larvae was organized by Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture in 1889. At the time efforts consisted of manual removal of egg clusters, application of early insecticide, and burning of infected trees. A lot of money and effort was spent, however infestation continued to spread. Eradication methods in Massachusetts were abandoned by 1900 (Leibhold, 2003).
In Canada European gypsy moth is well established in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario and threatens parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (Humble and Stewart, 1994).
Asian Gypsy Moth
Asian race of gypsy moth was accidentally introduced to Vancouver in 1991, when larvae hatched on ships in harbor was blown ashore by the wind. Male moths were trapped, and application of insecticide Btk eradicated the problem. Currently egg masses are increasingly detected on the ships, and since 1991 infected ships have been banned from inshore areas during periods of egg hatch and larval development (Humble and Stewart, 1994).
Asian gypsy moth is not established in Canada, however egg masses have been intercepted in shipments as early as in 1911, and have been intercepted almost yearly since 1982 (Humble and Stewart, 1994). In United States individual infestations occurred in Washington and Oregon 1991 and in North Carolina in 1997. In 2000 Asian gypsy moth were again discovered in Portland, OR. In all cases infestations were eradicated through aggressive trapping and spraying (APHIS 2003).
Gypsy Moth Life Cycle
Life cycle of gypsy moths consists of four stages: eggs, larva, pupae and adult moths. Adult moths generally lay egg clusters on tree trunks and branches, however any sheltered location can be used. Egg clusters are laid in August and the embryos develop over the warm days of summer. In about a month larvae is fully formed, and ready to hatch, however, instead larvae shuts down metabolic activities, and goes into diapause, becoming insensitive to cold. In the spring, as the temperature increase, larvae inside the eggs becomes more and more active. In mid-May larvae chews through the egg shells, and emerges (Duvall, 2006)
Before commencing feeding, larvae spreads through the forest by a behavior called ballooning. The larvae climbs to the top of the tree on which it hatched, and proceeds to dangle in the air on a silk thread. At this point larvae is still very light, so when wind catches larvae and breaks the thread, larvae is carried on the wind. Silk thread and long body hairs slow larvae’s descent. Most larvae land within 100 meters of where whey hatched (Durvall 2006), however some travel as far as a kilometer away from the hatch site (Sharov 1997).
Once larvae lands, it proceeds to feed. Depending on sex, larvae will feed for five to six weeks. Females feed longer, in order to collect fat necessary for laying eggs. Approximately once a week larvae grow too big for it’s exoskeleton, and molts. Molts separate the larval periods into stages called instars. In the first three instars larvae feeds during the day, however by fourth instar they start to feed at night and hide during the day in order to avoid predators (Duvall 2006). Approximately 90% of total leaf mass will be consumed by larvae in the last two instars (Herms and Shutlar 2000).
In five or six weeks, larva grows to the size of 4 to 6 cm. By mid-June – early July, larva reaches maturity, and starts looking for a safe place to pupulate. Once a safe spot is found, larva sheds its’ skin, and it’s new skin hardens into a brown shell. In process larva can hide on vehicles and spread further during pupitation. Pupae is immobile during most of this stage, as its’ body is transformed into that of a winged insect. After one to two week pupation, adult moth breaks free of a pupal shell and emerges (Duvall, 2006).
Adult gypsy moth females are about 4 cm long, and are white with black stripe on their forewings. Females of European race can not fly, and will fall to the ground if disturbed, while Asian race females will fly away. Male gypsy moths are larger then females, have large feathery antennae, and a mottled grey and brown in color, giving them similarity to native moth species. Male gypsy moths search for females in late afternoons, that allows to distinguish them from native species that search for mates at night (Duvall, 2006).
In the adult stage gypsy moths can not feed, and have about 2 weeks in which to mate. Females release pheromones that assist males in finding them. Male searches for pheromone trace, and flies up wind until finds a suitable female. Once a male and female moths find each other and mate, female lays all her eggs in a single tear-dropped shape and camouflages them with it’s own yellowish hair. Depending on how well female larvae fed in the last two instars, female can lay between 50 and 1000 eggs (Duvall, 2006).
In the larval stage of the lifecycle, gypsy moth consumes tree foliage. European race is known to favor approximately 300 plant species, while Asian race is known to consume foliate of approximately 500 plant species (Humble and Stewart, 1994). During the first three instars, gypsy moths prefer foliage of a limited selection of trees (apple, aspen, birch, larch, oak, willow, alder, hazel, etc), however once larvae gets to approximately 2 cm in size (third instar), it starts to consume foliage of many more trees, such as spruce, pine, chestnut and hemlock (Ravlin and Stein 2001).
As majority of foliage is consumed by larvae in the last two instars, very wide variety of trees can be affected.
Ravlin and Stein did work on tree classification that permits to statistically analyze forest composition, and predict the defoliation effects of an infestation. Generally forests that have a high composition of ash, balsam and Fraser fir, juniper, maple, mulberry, red cedar or sycamore are significantly less affected then forests that primarily consist of oak and birch (Ravlin and Stein, 2001).
Approximately once every 5 to 10 years a very severe infestation, termed outbreak occurs. In case of gypsy moth, early theories postulated that in low density infestation small mammal predators, such as deer mice, regulate the population, keeping equilibrium. At some point natural population of predators drops because of random failure in some other food source, and moth population rapidly jumps to a higher equilibrium level. As the density of moth population increases, various pathogens rapidly infect the population, causing the collapse of the outbreak. Current theories suggest that this is only part of a story, and involve induce-defence hypothesis, that postulates that decrease in available foliage causes a decrease in moth population (Stone 2004) – in other words, moths consume all available food and starve out.
Furthermore, Jones demonstrated that while in the northeastern United States large population of the white-footed mice control outbreaks of gypsy moth, white-footed mice also spread Lyme disease, whereas small population of the mice decrease incidence of Lyme disease but allow gypsy moth to breed (Jones 1998). Relationships such as these make theoretic explanations of outbreaks extremely complicated.
Depending on the severity of infestation, up to 100% of the tree foliage can get destroyed. Normally a healthy tree would survive such an event, and generate a second generation of trees by end of July, however any strained tree would be further stressed. In turn, stressed trees are more susceptible to fungus and diseases, and do not grow as much as unaffected trees.
Establishment of gypsy moth in any new habitat can causes economical damage. Any lumber, tree nursery products or natural products leaving affected area could have trading restrictions applied to them. Affected forests grow slower, with higher incidence of tree death. As larvae eats leaves of fruit trees, blueberries, strawberries and other foodcrops, gypsy moth has potential to severely affect agriculture (BCgov 2006). Asian race of gypsy moths is less picky about their food, and consumes coniferous trees, such as larch (Humble and Stewart, 1994).
During outbreaks, gypsy moth caterpillars are considered to be a nuisance in residential areas of Eastern North America. In urban environments larvae can congregate on buildings, driveways and sidewalks, as they search for food. Caterpillar hairs, shed by larvae are allergens that cause hazards to human health. (BCgov 2006).
Containment and Control
Gypsy moth is an exotic invasive species in North America, and doesn’t have as many natural controls in North America as it does in Europe or Asia. In North America natural predators of gypsy moth include birds, insects, and small mammals (Herms & Shetlar, 2000) with most important being shrews (Sorex spp), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) (Leibhold 2003b) and white footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) (Jones 1998). As most small mammals are generalists, there is no strong correlation between abundance of moths and abundance of small mammals (Leibhold 2003b).
Presence of hair on larvae makes that moth lifestage unattractive to most birds, but a few species, such as yellow-billed (Coccyzus americanus) (MSU 1997) and black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) seem to enjoy eating larvae. Overall, in North America birds do not significantly contribute to the decline of gypsy moth population (Leibhold 2003b).
It is established that gypsy moth in North America can not be eradicated (Leibhold, 2003) so current efforts are concentrated on reduction of damage and on prevention of infestation (Diss 1998).
Damage reduction consists of silvicultural (change in tree planting and harvesting) control to make forests less habitable by the moth and minimize the damage, biological control to slow the growth of population and control outbreaks, killing the caterpillars and removal of egg masses (Diss 1998).
Prevention consists of inspection and quarantine of vehicles that might transport larvae (Humble and Stewart 1994), combined with monitoring for new infestations.
Mating pheromones of gypsy moth, disparlure ((7R,8S)-7,8-Epoxy-2-methyloctadecane and cis-7,8-Epoxy-2-methyloctadecane) were synthesized in 1970s, and since then many attempts were made to manage low-level infestations by disrupting mating habits. Disparlure was found to be effective only in low density infestations (Sharov et al. 2002), or as trap bait in order to check for presence of males (Humble and Stewart, 1994).
Over 20 species of insect predators and parasites have been released in wild in order to control population of gypsy moth (Leibhold 2003a) with various degrees of success.
Natural bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki is the base of a commercial available insecticide Btk that is commonly used against gypsy moth infestations (Humble and Stewart, 1994). Unfortunately Btk is extremely sensitive to timing, and is only effective for a few days after being spread. In that time slot it must be consumed by feeding larva in order for it to be effective (KC 2006). Statistics gathered by Washington State Department of Agriculture indicate that Btk based insecticides are fallible, and possibly produce effects that are not better then disparlure (WSDA 2005).
Gypsy moth is most susceptible to nucleopolyhedrosis virus (NPV), more commonly known as the “wiltâ€. Infection happens once the larvae consumes foliage that is contaminated with viral bodies. Once inside the larvae, NPV invades through the gut wall, and rapidly reproduces in internal tissues, disintegrating internal organs and eventually causing rapture. Once host raptures, viral oclusion bodies spread, and infect other individuals (Leibhold 2003c).
NPV particles persist in the soil, and in low density gypsy moth populations, however with fewer hosts to infect, NPV causes little mortality. During moth outbreaks, NPV rapidly propagates, and inflicts heavy casualties on the larvae population. NPV is the most common cause of the collapse of the outbreaks.
Research is being performed on development of NPV into a biological pesticide. Currently limited qualities of this material, referred to as “Gypchek†are available for control of the outbreaks, however it is costly to produce, as manufacturing process currently requires moth larvae (Leibhold 2003c).
While total eradication of gypsy moth in North America is currently not possible, containment measures consisting of infestation prevention and damage reduction are slowing down gypsy moth proliferation (Diss 1998). Leibhold indicates that only about 25% of the potential habitat of gypsy moth have in fact been infected so far (Leibhold 1992, Leibhold 2003).
APHIS 2003, Asian Gypsy Moth, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_phasiangm.html Accessed 20060620
Biology Department. 2006. Introductory Biology II BIOL 1004 Summer Term Laboratory Manual, Carleton University Press, Ottawa, Ontario
BCgov 2006 Gypsy Moth Government of British Columbia http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/gypsymoth.htm Accessed 20060617
Chaplin III, F. Stuart, Zavaleta, Erica S., Eviner, T. Valierie, et all. 2000. Consequences of Changing Biodiversity, Nature, vol 405 p234-242
Diss, Andrea, 1998. Containing Gypsy Moth, Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine,
http://www.wnrmag.com/stories/1998/aug98/gypsy.htm Accessed 20060619
Duvall, Matt. 2006 Gypsy Moth in Wisconsin – Lifecycle and Biology Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources http://www.uwex.edu/ces/gypsymoth/lifecycle.cfm Accessed 20060614
Herms, Daniel A., Shetlar, David J. 2000 Accessing Options for Managing Gypsy Moth Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Humble, L., Stewart, A.J. 1994 Forest Pest Leaflet: Gypsy Moth Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Burnaby, BC. http://www.pfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/bstore/catalog_e.pl?catalog=3456 Electronic version accessed on 20060619
Jones, C. G., Ostfeld, R. S., Richard, M. P., Schauber, E. M. & Wolff, J. O. 1998. Chain reactions linking acorns to gypsy moth outbreaks and Lyme disease risk. Science vol 279, p1023–1026
KC 2006 Pest Control Public Health, Seattle and King County http://www.metrokc.gov/health/env_hlth/gypsy.htm Accessed 20060613
Liebhold A.M., Halverson J.A. & Elmes G.A. 1992. Gypsy moth invasion in North
America: a quantitative analysis. J. Biogeog., 19, p513-520. Electronic Version
http://www.jstor.org/view/03050270/dm995533/99p0135v/0?currentResult=03050270%2bdm995533%2b99p0135v%2b0%2cEF01&searchUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fsearch%2FAdvancedResults%3Fhp%3D25%26si%3D1%26All%3DGypsy%2Bmoth%26Exact%3D%26One%3D%26None%3D%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26jt%3D%26ic%3D03050270%26ic%3D03050270%26node.Biological+Sciences%3D1%26node.Ecology%3D1 Accessed 20060615
Leibhold, Sandy. 2003 E. Leopold Trouvelot, Perpetrator of our Problem USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/morgantown/4557/gmoth/trouvelot/ Accessed 20060617
Leibhold, Sandy 2003a Gypsy Moth in North America USDA Forest Service
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/morgantown/4557/gmoth/ Accessed 20060620
Leibhold, Sandy 2003b Gypsy Moth Natural Enemies – Vertebrates USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/morgantown/4557/gmoth/natenem/mammals.html Accessed 20060619
Leibhold, Sandy 2003c Gypsy Moth Nucleopolyhedrosis Virus USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/morgantown/4557/gmoth/natenem/virus.html Accessed 20060619
MSU 1997 Natural Enemies of Gypsy Moth Michigan State University http://www.ent.msu.edu/gypsyed/docs/enemies.html Accessed 20060918
Ravlin, William F., Stein, Kenneth J. 2001 Feeding preferences of gypsy moth caterpillars Virginia Tech http://gypsymoth.ento.vt.edu/vagm/Feeding_prefs_Mason.html Accessed 20060619
Sharov, Alexei. 1997 Model of Slowing Gypsy Moth Spread Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech. http://www.gypsymoth.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/sts/barrier.html Accessed 20060619
Sharov Alexei A, Leonard D, Liebhold A M, Clemens NS. 2002. Evaluation of preventive treatments in low-density gypsy moth populations using pheromone traps. J. Econ Entomol. 2002 Dec 95(6) p1205-15.
Stone, Lewi. 2004. A Three-Player Solution, Nature, vol 430, p299-300
WSDA 2006 Gypsy Moth Facts – January 2006 Washington State Department of Agriculture http://agr.wa.gov/PlantsInsects/InsectPests/GypsyMoth/FactSheet/docs/FactSheet2006.pdf Accessed 20060620
WSDA 2005 Gypsy Moth Report – Summary Report 2005 Washington State Department of Agriculture
http://agr.wa.gov/PlantsInsects/InsectPests/GypsyMoth/SummaryReports/docs/2005GMSummaryReport.pdf Accessed 20060619 | <urn:uuid:2071564a-6284-435b-bf39-815bbc1be4fe> | {
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The SAT is one of the biggest tests of students' lives, and they may think they’re doing everything possible to earn a top score—but they may be wrong. There are many everyday habits that may be hurting, rather than helping, in SAT preparation. From the way students study to what they eat, there are many ways to fine tune SAT prep strategies. Below are a few things that may be inhibiting achieving the best possible SAT score.
Studying only while sedentary
Students who spend hours at a desk studying are depriving their brain of much needed stimulation through physical activity. Many studies show a positive association between physical activity and academic performance. While researchers have not determined the reason this happens, many experts point to an increased flow of blood and oxygen to the brain as well as higher levels of chemicals that help improve mood. So, students who dedicate all their time to studying in a chair should get out and go for a walk, play their favorite sport, or find another way to infuse physical activity into their routine.
Hiding a smartphone while studying
Students can access many options for SAT prep through their smartphones today. Though it may seem counterintuitive, if putting away their phones is part of their study plan, students could be losing out. SAT prep apps, such as the SAT Vocabulary app by Veritas Prep, can break up monotonous study routines. Additionally, the College Board, the company that publishes the SAT, releases a free, authentic SAT question daily through its website and students can have the question e-mailed directly to their inbox. By using their smartphones, students will be able to tackle SAT prep even on the go!
Concentrating on the clock
One of the biggest barriers to achieving a high SAT score is the lack of time during the exam. The majority of students would do much better if they weren't stressed and worried that they may not finish all of the questions on time. One strategy to overcome this problem is to put away the clock during SAT practice exams; then, if students do better when not timing themselves, then they know lack of time on the SAT is an issue. They can then use their remaining study time practicing time-saving techniques. They can also take comfort knowing that the more they practice, the faster they'll get.
Seeing the road instead of the destination
It’s easy to get caught up thinking about the actual test during SAT prep. But by concentrating on the actual exam—what it’s going to be like, how to manage time, and so on—students can forget about the end result: their SAT score. In any goal setting, it’s helpful to picture the end result. This kind of visualization might seem wishy-washy, but this strategy can help. Students should envision themselves achieving the score they want. To aid these efforts, students should write their SAT goal on a piece of paper then pick a place they see often, like a bathroom mirror or the family fridge, and post their goal there. This physical reminder will help students see their goal.
Not maximizing downtime
Students are busier than ever. Athletics, arts, social activities, and not to mention regular schoolwork all compete for time in a student’s schedule. But, there are small available windows in their day that students might forget to use, for example, before class, in between activities, or right before dinner. These pockets are a great time to learn SAT vocabulary. By committing to learning one or two words during breaks throughout the day, students will easily be able to memorize over 10 new terms, which will not only help them score higher on SAT Sentence Completions, but also in the SAT Passage-Based Reading, the SAT essay, as well as broaden their vocabulary for college and scholarship essays.
Eating an unbalanced diet
What students eat may seem like it has nothing to do with SAT prep, but that old adage of “you are what you eat” does have merit. Binging on fast food can affect energy levels, which can have adverse consequences on students’ study habits. Students should try eating more whole fruits, vegetables, and grains during SAT prep (and throughout life, of course). Foods rich in phytoestrogens, like soybeans and soy-based products, can also be beneficial. Soybeans have phytoestrogens, such as isoflavones, that have been linked to improved function of the frontal lobe, which is responsible for short-term memory, attention, and motivation. Students who eat healthily can see improved results in their academic performance as well as their overall well-being.
When trying to achieve the highest score possible on the SAT, every little bit helps. Being aware of some of the things that may be hurting SAT prep and what you can do about it may be just the strategies you need to earn a top score. | <urn:uuid:b90d531c-2894-401f-9cb1-0d6bdb0a5294> | {
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The study of K4-37, a planetary nebula never studied in detail before, allows us to trace back the mass loss history of its last stages as a star
The study makes use of data from Calar Alto and San Pedro Martir (Mexico) observatories
Planetary Nebulae (hereafter PNe) are the last evolutionary phase of stars with initial masses between 0.8 and 8 solar masses (Msun). They appear as a compact central star (the remains of the progenitor star) surrounded by a bright shell of expanding gas, produced during the previous red giant phase, when the star blew away its external layers. In a few tens of thousand years, PNe disperse in the interstellar medium. Although more than 3,500 PNe are known to date in the Milky Way, many of them lack appropriate observations to place them in the general context of PN evolution. The study of K4-37, one of these less observed PNe, gives new hints to this context.
“Almost 20 years ago, we obtained images of K4-37 with the CAFOS instrument mounted on the 2.2-m telescope at Calar Alto Observatory. These images were taken under poor sky conditions and showed a less attractive PN. New CAFOS images obtained in 2014 under much better sky conditions revealed interesting details of the object. Thus, we planned to investigate further this PN”, points out Luis Miranda, principal investigator of the K4-37 study at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC)
A multi-axis nebula with an old dusty shell
The new images taken at Calar Alto show that, besides its typical bipolar appearance with an equatorial torus and two bipolar lobes, K4-37 also exhibits distortions in the lobes. Moreover, the 3-dimensional reconstruction of the nebula reveals that the central torus and lobes are not perpendicular to each other, but they appear as such only due to their projection onto the sky.
“Our analysis shows the existence of three different axis in K4-37, indicating that it is not a simple bipolar, but a more complex object whose formation requires the action of several bipolar outflows along different directions. The estimated age of the nebula, about 10,000 years, implies that K4-37 is already in an advanced stage of PN evolution”, Luis Miranda (IAA-CSIC) emphasizes.
Researchers also managed to recover information on the progenitor star, which lies at around 45,700 light-years from us. By studying the abundances of some chemical elements in K4-37, which result from the nuclear reactions during the life of the star and are primarily related to its initial mass, they could infer that the progenitor star had an initial mass of 4 to 6 Msun. They could as well estimate for the optical nebula a size of about 2.3 x 0.8 light-years.
The analysis of infrared images of K4-37 available the WISE satellite archive revealed another surprising finding. “We found that the optical nebula is surrounded by a huge, dusty elliptical envelope, with a size of about 43 x 26 light-years and an age of about 430,000 years. If the age of the optical nebula approximately marks the time span since the central star entered the PN phase, the elliptical envelope should be ascribed to the previous red giant phase, during which strong mass loss occurs”, Luis Miranda (IAA-CSIC) points out.
These kind of dusty shells is observed in other evolved stars, as a result of the interaction between the gas blown away during the last evolutionary phases and the interstellar medium. Yet, it is the first time that such a structure has been detected in a very evolved PN like K4-37. In addition to its very large size, the elliptical shape of the envelope contradicts the spherical mass ejection that is expected in the red giant phase. The researchers suggest that the elliptical shape could be due to interaction with the interstellar magnetic field, or to the existence of a companion to the central star.
“There is a strong contrast between the simple shape of the elliptical envelope and the complex structure of the optical nebula. This suggests that fundamental changes in some properties of the central star have occurred just before or during the PN phase, which have created the different morphologies. Intriguingly enough, the central star of K4-37 still remains undetected although, given the complexity of this PN, a binary nature could be a good suggestion”, Luis Miranda concludes.
This research results from a collaboration between the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC, Spain), the Instituto de Astronomía-UNAM and the Sonora University (Mexico).
The German-Spanish Calar Alto Observatory is located at Sierra de los Filabres, north of Almería (Andalucía, Spain). It is jointly operated by the Instituto Max Planck de Astronomía in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC) in Granada, Spain. Calar Alto has three telescopes with apertures of 1.23m, 2.2m and 3.5m. A 1.5m aperture telescope, also located at the mountain, is operated under control of the Observatorio de Madrid.
COMMUNICATION – CALAR ALTO OBSERVATORY
prensa @ caha.es 958230532 | <urn:uuid:973f1e97-c0f7-402a-94a4-d49dcff8c32b> | {
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Governments struggle to find policies that will spur renewable-energy industries — without coddling them
Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, governments around the world have paid plenty of lip service to renewable energies such as wind and solar power. But only a few governments have been able to engineer policies that have begun to bring alternative energies into wider use.
Renewable fuels provided 18% of the world’s total electricity supply in 2004, according to figures from the International Energy Agency, a Paris-based intergovernmental organization.
Almost all of that, though, came from hydropower, a source with limited growth potential because of geographic constraints. The use of wind and solar power is growing, but they still generated only 1% of global electricity production in 2004, the latest year for which figures are available.
In Asia, the U.S. and Europe, governments have spent billions on research and development of renewable energies over the years, but finding effective policies to encourage their use has proved just as challenging as developing new technologies. Most governments have tried approaches like tax credits, subsidies and mandated targets for renewable-energy production. Although approaches differ, the overarching goal is the same: to spur companies to build large-scale renewable-energy plants, such as wind farms or solar installations, so that the costs of clean power come down enough to compete with fossil fuels like oil and coal.
A debate still rages over what kind of government intervention and level of subsidy is appropriate. “Regulators have to try to strike a delicate balance,” says Todd Allmendinger of Emerging Energy Research, a research and consulting firm with offices in Cambridge, Mass., and Barcelona, Spain. “They have to provide enough incentive for renewables to grow, but not so much that they coddle the industry and prevent it from becoming more efficient.”
Countries in Europe that have led in renewable adoption, including Denmark, Germany and Spain, have pursued unabashedly interventionist programs that require utility companies to buy electricity generated by clean energies at a premium price set by the government. This policy, known as “feed-in tariffs,” pushes the extra cost onto consumers in the form of higher energy prices.
In contrast, about two dozen U.S. states, Japan and the United Kingdom have preferred a more market-oriented approach, based on tax credits and “renewable portfolio standards,” or RPS. Under this approach, the government sets a target for the percentage of electricity that must come from renewable energy and lets utility companies decide how to meet it. Sometimes financial penalties are imposed if utilities don’t meet the targets. In the U.K., utilities that fall short of the targets can fulfill their obligations by buying certificates representing the amount of power they failed to produce from renewable sources. Those funds are then redistributed to companies that met the targets.
The Danish Success
One notable success with the more interventionist approach has been Denmark. Fifteen years ago the country mounted a push to expand the use of renewable fuels, which accounted for 25% of its electricity generation in 2004, up from 3% in 1992. It’s a considerable achievement for a country with no hydropower, the cheapest and most common way of making clean electricity.
“Denmark has what is probably the most ambitious support scheme for renewable-energy technologies ever seen,” says Jonathan Coony, who wrote a report on Denmark’s energy policies for the International Energy Agency and now works at the World Bank.
The Danes established a feed-in tariff that set an above-market rate for electricity made from wind and solar power and from biofuels like wood and straw. The system spurred a wave of investment, mainly in wind, because it gave companies the certainty to proceed with massive investments and construction.
The Danish government also established capital grants for companies that built wind turbines, kicking in 15% to 30% of project costs, and spent aggressively on research in wind power. And it required utilities to build plants that burn wood pellets and straw to generate electricity, with some of those plants also providing heat for nearby homes and offices.
All this has come at a cost: Consumers and businesses in Denmark pay a “public service obligation” or tax on every kilowatt-hour of electricity. According to an analysis by the IEA, the surcharge adds about 3% to the electricity bills of every household and 9% to the cost for businesses. However, higher electricity costs often are more politically palatable in Europe than in the U.S. “People don’t really notice the costs of feed-in tariffs in Europe because the cost of electricity [already] is so high,” says Robert Dixon, head of the energy-technology policy division of the IEA.
In 1999, the Danish government worried that its subsidies for renewable energies were too generous, says Steffen Nielsen, an energy-supply expert at the Danish Energy Authority. If the government set the price too high for electricity from renewable sources, the producers would have little incentive to refine or improve their technologies to be more cost-effective. “If you had a wind turbine in a good location, you were probably getting overcompensated,” says Mr. Nielsen.
A decision was made to shift from a fixed feed-in tariff to a formula in which renewable-energy producers would be paid a certain percentage above the market rate, a change that effectively scaled back support. “The policies have become more market-oriented over time,” says Mr. Nielsen.
Wavering in the U.S.
Japan has found some success with a slightly different mix of policies: It spent heavily on research and development in solar panels and gave grants and subsidies to promote their installation. As a result, Japan has the second-largest installed capacity of solar panels in the world, after Germany, which supports solar energy with feed-in tariffs for producers and with subsidies for the installation of panels. Also, in 2002, Japan passed a law that requires 1.35% of the electricity that utilities supply to the nation’s grid to be generated from renewable sources; those that don’t comply can buy credits from utilities that are meeting the targets.
In the U.S., the federal government instituted feed-in tariffs for wind, solar and other renewable-energy sources after the oil shocks of the 1970s. But implementation was left to the states, which in many cases wrote rules that severely watered down the effect of the federal legislation. Since 1992, federal support for renewable energy has come mostly from the production tax credit, which provides a tax benefit to companies for every kilowatt-hour of electricity a renewable-energy plant produces in its first 10 years of operation.
The policy has led to construction of numerous wind farms. But it has a major weakness: The tax credits periodically expire if not reauthorized, an element of unpredictability that hurts investment. Congress has let the credit expire several times since 1999, and each time construction of wind turbines has dropped as a result. In 2004, for instance, newly installed wind-power capacity in the U.S. dropped to 389 megawatts, from 1,687 MW in 2003, according to the American Wind Power Association. It then bounced back up to 2,431 MW in 2005. “It’s simple: no [production tax credit], no wind,” says Mr. Allmendinger of Emerging Energy Research.
At the state level in the U.S., renewable portfolio standards – targets for the percentage of electricity that must come from renewable energies – are the favored way to spur investment in renewables. “The states have really been the crucible for experimentation” with policies to encourage renewable energy in the U.S., says the IEA’s Mr. Dixon.
Texas triggered a burst of investment in wind power with a law passed in 1999 that requires a certain percentage of the electricity sold by utilities in the state to be generated from renewable sources. Those that don’t hit the target face financial penalties. But one downside of the Texas experience is that companies have invested almost exclusively in wind power because it’s the cheapest alternative – stunting the development of other promising energy sources, like solar power.
As governments continue to experiment with policy alternatives, the key is that whatever policies they employ must be predictable and reliable – not subject to constant buffeting by political winds – says Brandon Owens, associate director of global power for Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a research and consulting firm based in Cambridge, Mass.
“That’s the only way to provide market participants with the certainty required to take financial risks,” says Mr. Owens. “Investors need to be confident the rug isn’t going to get pulled out from under them in the future.”
By Leila Abboud
Staff Reporter in The Wall Street Journal’s Paris bureau
12 February 2007
|Wind Watch relies entirely
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Teacher's pest: how to deal with disruptive classmates
A boy in my daughter's Year One class annoys her constantly. He sits next to her at story time and bothers her. He chases her at playtime and tries to pull her hair and spoil her games. She says he is always naughty in class and never listens to the teacher. How can I help her deal with this situation?
Annoying or bad behaviour in children can occur for a variety of reasons. It is often linked to attention seeking, most commonly in children who do not get enough time and attention at home because their parents are too busy or distracted with other activities. These children can lack a good role model at home. Children who have difficulty concentrating for periods of time, including sitting on the carpet to listen to a story, could also have some sort of hyperactivity, either innate or food-related. With young boys, in particular, such behaviour can be merely down to a lack of maturity.
Whatever the reason for this boy's conduct, do not be shy about having a word with the teacher, especially if the situation is affecting your daughter's happiness at school. Ask the teacher to try to make sure that your daughter sits away from him on the carpet so she has an uninterrupted chance to listen to stories, discussions and instructions. In the classroom she is bound to have interaction with him, but sitting at a different table would reduce distractions. If things do not improve, discuss the possibility of talking to the boy's parents.
Your daughter's teacher will be aware of this boy's general behaviour in the classroom. However, the teacher may not have noticed this in relation to your daughter, as children can be very clever at disguising things. The teacher also may not have picked up on this boy's playtime antics. It is harder for teachers to keep track of playground behaviour, as they are not always on duty and children are not scrutinised quite so closely. Once made aware, the teacher will be able to observe the situation in the playground and let other members of staff know.
Of course, children do need to learn to become independent and sort out their own social problems. Schools usually try to teach socially acceptable behaviour. The good ones give children strategies for dealing with their peers when they are unfriendly or annoying and sometimes do role plays to practise these. However, in Year One most children have not yet learned how to defend themselves or cope with this type of behaviour. Those with older siblings have more experience and often cope better.
At home you could begin by giving your daughter some strategies to deal with this boy: one of the most effective is to walk away from the situation whenever possible. Encourage her to be assertive but not to retaliate physically, as this is likely to escalate the situation and get her into trouble. Help her practise phrases such as, 'Please leave me alone' or 'I don't like that. Don't do it again.' Also encourage her to tell a teacher if the boy continues to bother her.
Also, steer your daughter away from using the word 'naughty'. It is important not to label children at a young age, as it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We all have to learn to get on with, or at least tolerate, all kinds of people. However, as this situation is obviously not just a one-off and has been going on for some time, you should take positive action. The last thing you want is for this boy's immaturity to affect your daughter's learning or enjoyment of school.
Julie McGuire teaches at an international school in Hong Kong | <urn:uuid:5d0bbf93-f6c7-43f4-a884-55adb294fdf4> | {
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Humans communicating with other humans use a feedback loop that enables errors to be detected and fixed, increasing overall interaction success. We aim to enable robots to participate in this feedback loop so that they elicit additional information from the person when they are confused and use that information to resolve ambiguity and infer the person’s needs. This technology will enable robots to interact fluidly with untrained users who communicate with them using language and gestures. People from all walks of life can benefit from robotic help with physical tasks, ranging from assisting a disabled veteran in his home by fetching objects to a captain coordinating with a robotic assistant on a search-and-rescue mission.
Our latest paper defines a mathematical framework for an item-fetching domain that allows a robot to increase the speed and accuracy of its ability to interpret a person’s requests y reasoning about its own uncertainty as well as processing implicit information (implicatures). We formalize the item delivery domain as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP), and approximately solve this POMDP in real time. Our model improves speed and accuracy of fetching tasks by asking relevant clarifying questions only when necessary. To measure our model’s improvements, we conducted a real world user study with 16 participants. Our model is 2.17 seconds faster (25% faster) than state-of-the-art baseline, while being 2.1% more accurate.
You can see the system in action in this video: when the user is close to the robot, it is able to interpret the gesture and immediately selects the correct object without asking a question. However when the user is farther away, the pointing gesture is more ambiguous. The robot asks a targeted question. After the user answers the question, the robot selects the correct object. For more information, see our paper, which was accepted into ICRA 2017! | <urn:uuid:fabcdd6c-0cc6-4dde-b8a2-02d653250ef2> | {
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Attorney General Spotlights Felon Disenfranchisement
Attorney General Eric Holder has made an effort in recent months to elevate key civil rights issues, especially those issues affecting our nation’s broken criminal justice system. One unexpected issue the Attorney General has chosen to highlight is the crucial problem of felon disenfranchisement. Amidst a backdrop of increasing bipartisan support for sentencing reform on Capitol Hill, increased knowledge about the racial disparities of mandatory minimum sentences, new questions about capital punishment and other significant developments in the areas of criminal justice and civil rights, the issue of felon disenfranchisement is another moral challenge of our time—and one gaining bipartisan momentum.
Voting laws are determined on a state-by-state basis, and felons in each state are treated differently when it comes to the restoration of their voting rights. In 15 states, felons have their right to vote restored when they are released from prison, but in 35 states those rights are restricted to varying degrees. Nationally, an estimated 5.8 million Americans are denied their right to vote because of felony disenfranchisement laws—that’s one in 40 Americans of voting age. But among African Americans, that figure soars to 1 in every 13 adults–and in Florida, Kentucky and Virginia, one-in-five African Americans is disenfranchised by these policies. You can find more details on disenfranchised voters in your state here.
We should oppose these policies because we are concerned with both voting rights and criminal justice. From the standpoint of voting rights, U.S. law with regard to felon disenfranchisement (or the laws of some states, at least) are extreme. All Americans should be able to exercise their inalienable right to vote right; regardless of one’s past, once someone is out of prison they will inevitably take part in shaping our country’s future. Additionally, the racial disparities inherent in these policies are legacies of a criminal justice system that was used to advance racial inequality. Racial discrimination in voting is intolerable. Likewise, from the standpoint of criminal justice and public safety, disenfranchisement laws can contribute to recidivism. Such policies are detrimental to the imperative of reintegrating citizens back into their communities.
These policies are widespread, and remain politically popular, despite increasing opposition from Americans of various ideologies. That is why it is so noteworthy that the Attorney General is using his high-profile bully pulpit to speak out against these unjust state laws. His doing so has already had an impact. Alabama’s Republican governor announced that he is willing to consider reform on this issue in his state. Editorial boards across the country have called for a restoration of felon voting rights, while other newspapers have drawn attention to the issue. And for allies of the Democracy Restoration Act, a long-dormant federal bill that would restore voting rights to some felons, this key issue seems to be back in the conversation. The Reform Movement has long been committed to both voting rights and reform to our criminal justice system; these two related issues mean that we are particularly concerned about the ability of Americans, who have paid their debt to society, to exercise their right to vote. | <urn:uuid:643e55b7-c5eb-438e-8415-74bdecc1c217> | {
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Rethinking American Responses To The Holocaust
Yom Hashoah Lunch & Learn with USHMM Archivist and historian, Rebecca Erbelding.
Erbelding will share her research on the War Refugee Board, America's official response to the Holocaust, which is credited with saving tens of thousands of lives between 1944-1945. She'll discuss the myths surrounding what Americans knew and did about the Holocaust, as well as their work, from Raoul Wallenberg to a refugee camp in Oswego.
Cost: Free of charge and ALL are welcome!
Bring your lunch or pre-order from the Harvest Eatery: www.harvesteatery.org
Sponsor: Co-Sponsored by Jewish Community Center | <urn:uuid:2c14e97c-5fa2-4095-9e0e-3e00487c51b5> | {
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Arctic to be ice free within a decade
Findings from an Arctic expedition have claimed the area will be almost 'ice-free' during the summer within the next decade.
The Catlin Arctic Survey, completed earlier this year, provides the latest ice thickness record, drawn from the only survey capturing surface measurements conducted during winter and spring 2009.
The data collected by manual drilling and observations on a 450-kilometre route across the northern part of the Beaufort Sea, suggests the survey area is comprised almost exclusively of first-year ice.
This is a significant finding because the region has traditionally contained older, thicker multi-year ice.
Catlin Arctic Survey expedition leader, Pen Hadow, said: "This is the kind of scientific work we always wanted to support by getting to places in the Arctic which are otherwise nearly impossible to reach for research purposes.
"It's what modern exploration should be doing. Our on-the-ice techniques are helping scientists to understand better what is going on in this fragile ecosystem."
© Faversham House Ltd 2009. edie news articles may be copied or forwarded for individual use only. No other reproduction or distribution is permitted without prior written consent. | <urn:uuid:ea619fa9-2788-477a-825e-774d78e6a5e3> | {
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In his budget announcement, treasurer Joe Hockey has indicated that the government will increase the fuel excise in line with inflation twice each year.
The excise, currently 38.143 cents per litre, has been in place since John Howard’s Coalition government ditched indexation in 2001 to offset the price hike caused by the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST).
With no increase to the fuel excise in more than a decade, it is now about 39% lower than it would otherwise have been. Put another way, if petrol prices had been pegged to inflation since 2001, we would have been paying an average of about 205 cents per litre by 2013.
It is therefore not surprising that Australia now has some of the lowest petrol prices among the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In fact, only three OECD countries – Mexico, the United States and Canada – have lower petrol prices than Australia.
Meanwhile, petrol prices in Australia have been on an upward trend since 2002, because of rising international crude oil prices, although domestic fuel prices have risen much more slowly than the price of crude. Global crude oil prices have increased fourfold since 2002, while average petrol prices in Australia have not quite doubled, from 87 cents per litre in 2002 to 148 cents per litre in 2013.
Price increases in Australia have also been cushioned by the growing strength of the Australian dollar against the US dollar, the currency in which most of the world’s oil is traded. The value of the Aussie dollar increased from only 48 US cents in April 2001 – the lowest value ever recorded – to above parity in 2011, before dropping to 90-95 US cents, where it currently stands.
Australian motorists have had an easy ride
Given this analysis, one could argue that Australians have not been affected by petrol price increases as much as motorists in many other developed economies. So while reinstating fuel excise indexation would be an unpopular move, it would be a logical step for a government that is desperate to return the budget to surplus. But what can we expect in the future?
In its 2013 World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency forecast that oil prices would stand at US$128 a barrel by 2035. This prediction takes into consideration the increased supply of shale oil, without which the forecast price would be higher.
Other analysts disagree, arguing that the supply of shale oil will be big enough to bring long-term prices as low as US$80 a barrel by 2035.
Predicting future oil prices is a bit like trying to pick a Melbourne Cup winner a decade from now. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make some predictions about domestic fuel prices. If we assume that global oil prices will stay roughly the same for the rest of the decade, then Australian motorists will probably be still be paying more – partly because of the indexed fuel excise, but mainly because the Australian dollar is set to be worth less.
The Aussie dollar lost 13% of its value against the greenback over the past year (although it has recently recouped some of that). Deutsche Bank has predicted that its value will drop as low as 66 US cents before the end of 2015, because of falling commodity prices, declining mining investment, and reduced government spending.
Such a big drop in the value of the Australian dollar would have a much bigger effect on Australian petrol prices than any change to the fuel excise. If Deutsche Bank’s prediction comes true – and if crude oil prices stay roughly the same in the meantime – this would drive Australian petrol prices up by about 29% by the end of next year.
When coupled with an increase in fuel excise at a 3% annual inflation rate, this would mean that average petrol prices will move from their current level of 156 cents per litre to about 208 cents per litre by the end of 2015. But this will mainly be driven by the falling Aussie dollar, while the fuel excise indexation will only add a relatively small amount to the price. If the Australian dollar held firm against the greenback instead of dropping, fuel prices would only climb by 7 cents per litre.
Reintroducing fuel excise indexation will certainly add to the cost of petrol across Australia, and as such it will be politically unpopular. But it is not a major factor of petrol price movements, which will remain largely determined by global crude oil prices and currency fluctuations.
For Australian motorists, who have enjoyed more than a decade’s respite from fuel tax rises, a visit to the bowser is likely to get quite a lot more expensive. | <urn:uuid:127d8af0-568c-4064-b17d-00a1569e6738> | {
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Uses and meaning of CAPTCHA
It’s a very good question that's why we use captcha. But first of all, I would explain to you the term CAPTCHA. CAPTCHA is a short form of: 'Completely' 'Automated' 'Public' 'Turing-test to tell' 'Computers' and 'Humans' 'Apart'. CAPTCHA is a type of "Challenging-response Test" which separates the humans with computers. Captcha's are used to stop automated softwares from executing tasks which degrades the quality of a service, such as spamming , harvesting email addresses, filling out the forms, fake registrations and much more.
A server computer generates a simple test asking a user to solve it. The user types the letters or digits from a distorted image. The following image explains it in a better way.
It means Captchas are very important for the websites having forms. I am making a contact us page in my blog can I add captcha to it?
Yes sure, Captcha codes are provided for free by many websites and can be embedded easily in forms.
I embedded a captcha in my blog. It’s amazing. Well. Thanks for the help.
Wow, I didn't know that's what captcha means and how it works. I did the captcha job before without knowing how it works, your explanation about it is a valuable information that helps me to better understand it. Just want to say good job in explaining it in details. I can definitely say to myself that I am well informed now about Captcha. Kudos to you. | <urn:uuid:a4124b79-99e7-4c59-a5da-60c0306f610c> | {
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Cancer of the Uterus
- What is cancer of the uterus?
- Why should I be concerned about cancer of the uterus?
- Where can I learn more about cancer of the uterus?
Cancer is a disease in which certain body cells don't function right, divide very fast, and produce too much tissue that forms a tumor. Cancer of the uterus is cancer in the womb, the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a baby grows during a woman's pregnancy. There are different types of uterine cancers. Two types are endometrial cancer and uterine sarcomas. In the United States, endometrial cancer is a common cancer of the female reproductive system. This type of cancer happens when cancer begins in the tissue lining the uterus (endometrium). Uterine sarcomas occur when cancer grows in the muscles or other supporting tissues in the uterus. Uterine sarcomas account for only a small portion of cancers of the uterus.
Some women who get uterine cancer have certain risk factors, or things in their life that cause them to have a higher chance of getting this disease. But there are women who get uterine cancer who do not have any of these high risk factors. Uterine cancer usually occurs after menopause. But it may also occur around the time that menopause begins. Abnormal vaginal bleeding is the most common symptom of uterine cancer. Bleeding may start as a watery, blood-streaked flow that gradually contains more blood. Women should not assume that abnormal vaginal bleeding is part of menopause. If you have abnormal vaginal bleeding after menopause, talk with your health care provider.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the federal government's authority on uterine cancer. Contact them at 800-4-CANCER (800-422-6237) or go to the following web site: http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/wyntk/uterus.
For more information...
You can also find out more about cancer of the uterus by contacting the National Women's Health Information Center (800-994-9662) or the following organizations:
American Cancer Society
Internet Address: http://www.cancer.org | <urn:uuid:7c61e655-b171-41f7-b1fd-177077deed54> | {
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Diabetes in cats
Diabetes mellitus in cats is a chronic disease that affects carbohydrate metabolism due to either an insufficient insulin response or insulin resistance. Like diabetes in humans, it is characterized by chronically high blood glucose. Diabetes strikes 1 in 400 cats, though recent veterinary studies note that it has become increasingly common. Symptoms in cats are similar to those in humans. Diabetes in cats occurs more frequently than in dogs. 80-95% of diabetic cats experience something similar to type-2 diabetes, but are generally severely insulin-dependent by the time symptoms are diagnosed. The condition is treatable, and treated properly, the cat can experience a normal life expectancy. In type-2 cats, prompt effective treatment may lead to diabetic remission, in which the cat no longer needs injected insulin. Untreated, the condition leads to increasingly weak legs in cats, and eventually malnutrition, ketoacidosis and/or dehydration, and death.
Progression of untreated diabetes in cats is very similar to that in humans. Cats will generally show a gradual onset of the disease over a few weeks or months, and it may escape notice for even longer. The condition is rare in cats younger than seven years old.
The first outward symptoms are a sudden weight loss (or occasionally gain), accompanied by excessive drinking and urination; for example, cats can appear to develop an obsession with water and lurk around faucets or water bowls. Appetite is suddenly either ravenous (up to three-times normal) or absent. These symptoms arise from the body being unable to use glucose as an energy source.
In cats the back legs may become weak and the gait may become stilted or wobbly (peripheral neuropathy). A fasting glucose blood test (the same as used on the Atkins diet) will normally be suggestive of diabetes at this point. The same home blood test monitors used in humans are used on cats, usually by obtaining blood from the ear edges or paw pads. As the disease progresses, ketone bodies will be present in the urine, which can be detected with the same urine strips as in humans.
In the final stages, the cat starts wasting and the body will breaking down its own fat and muscle to survive. Lethargy or limpness, and acetone-smelling breath are acute symptoms of ketoacidosis and/or dehydration and is a medical emergency.
Untreated, diabetes leads to coma and then death.
Diabetes can be treated but is life-threatening if left alone. Early diagnosis and treatment by a qualified veterinarian can help in preventing nerve damage, and, in rare cases, lead to remission. Cats do best with long-lasting insulin and low carbohydrate diets. Because diabetes is a disease of carbohydrate metabolism, a move to a primarily protein and fat diet reduces the occurrence of hyperglycemia.
Diet is a critical component of treatment, and is in many cases effective on its own. For example, a recent mini-study showed that many diabetic cats stopped needing insulin after changing to a low carbohydrate diet. The rationale is that a low-carbohydrate diet reduces the amount of insulin needed and keeps the variation in blood sugar low and easier to predict. Also, fats and proteins are metabolized slower than carbohydrates, reducing dangerous blood-sugar peaks right after meals.
Recent recommended diets are trending towards a low carbohydrate diet for cats rather than the formerly-recommended high-fiber diet. Carbohydrate levels are highest in dry cat foods made out of grains (even the expensive "prescription" types) so cats are better off with a canned diet that is protein and fat focused. Both prescription canned foods made for diabetic cats and regular brand foods are effective. Owners should aim to supply no more than 10% of the daily energy requirement of cats with carbohydrates.
Oral medications like Glipizide that stimulate the pancreas, promoting insulin release (or in some cases, reduce glucose production), are less and less used in cats, and these drugs may be completely ineffective if the pancreas is not working. These drugs have also been shown in some studies to damage the pancreas further or to cause liver damage. Some owners are reluctant to switch from pills to insulin injections, but the fear is unjustified; the difference in cost and convenience is minor (most cats are easier to inject than to pill), and injections are more effective at treating the disease.
Humans with Type-1 diabetes are often treated with a "basal plus bolus" method, where a long-acting insulin is injected once or twice daily to provide a "basal" insulin level, then shorter-acting insulin is used just before mealtimes.
For cats, a "basal" method is usually employed instead—a single slow-acting dose, twice daily, attempts to keep the blood sugar within a recommended range for the entire day. With this method, it is important for the cat to avoid large meals or high-carbohydrate food, since they can seriously affect the blood sugar. Meals may also be timed to coincide with peak insulin activity. Once-daily doses are not recommended, since insulin usually metabolizes faster in cats than in humans or dogs. For example, an insulin brand that lasts 24 hours in people may only be effective for about 12 in a cat.
Cats (and dogs) may be treated with animal insulin (porcine-based is most similar to a dog's natural insulin, bovine-based for a cat), or with human synthetic insulin. The best choice of insulin brand and type varies from animal-to-animal and may require some trial-and-error. One of the popular human synthetic insulins, Humulin N /Novolin N/ NPH, is reasonable for dogs, but is usually a poor choice for cats, since cats metabolize insulin about twice as fast. The Lente and Ultralente versions were therefore very popular for feline use until summer 2005, when Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk both discontinued them.
Until the early 1990s, the most recommended type for pets was bovine/porcine-derived PZI, but that type was phased out over the 1990s and is now difficult to find in many countries. There are sources in the US and UK, and many vets are now starting to recommend them again for pets, but they have been discontinued by most manufacturers as of 2007-2008. A new synthetic PZI analogue called ProZinc is now available.
Caninsulin (known in the USA as Vetsulin), made by Intervet, is a brand of porcine-based insulin, which is approved for dogs and cats, and is available both through veterinarians and pharmacies with a veterinarian's prescription, depending on the country. Vetsulin was recently recalled due to inconsistent strength and is no longer used in the USA. According to the manufacturer's website, this insulin's action profile is long and flat in dogs, but in cats very similar to that of NPH insulin, and lowers blood sugar quickly, but for only about 6–8 hours.
Two new ultra-slow time-release synthetic human insulins became available in 2004 and 2005 for improving basal stability, generically known as insulin detemir (Levemir) and insulin glargine (Lantus). Studies at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia have had positive results with insulin glargine in cats. Follow-up research Roomp and Rand, Vet Intern Med 2008, 22 (3):791 shows that Levemir can be used with a similar protocol and that either insulin, on this protocol, can lead uncomplicated feline cases to remission, with the most success being in cats who start on these protocols as soon as possible after diagnosis.
Dosage and regulation
Cats may in some cases have their mealtimes strictly scheduled and planned to match with injection times, especially when on insulin with a pronounced peak action like Caninsulin/Vetsulin or Humulin N. In other cases where the pet free-feeds and normally eats little bits all day or night, it may be best to use a very slow-acting insulin to keep a constant level of blood glucose. Some veterinarians still use the outdated recommendation of using Humulin "N" or NPH insulin for cats, which is very fast-acting for most cats. The slower-acting Lente and Ultralente (Humulin L and Humulin U) insulins are being discontinued (as of 2005), so most cats are now using either the veterinary PZI insulins, or the new full-day analogs glargine (Lantus) and detemir (Levemir).
The goal at first is to regulate the cat's blood glucose, which may take a few weeks. This process is basically the same as in type-1 diabetic humans. The goal is to keep the blood glucose values in a comfortable range for the cat during the whole day, or most of it.
Typical obstacles to regulation include:
- Chronic overdose masked by Somogyi: A dose that is too high can easily cause a Somogyi rebound, which can look like a need for more insulin. This condition can continue for days or weeks, and it's very hard on the cat's metabolism.
- High-carbohydrate cat food: Many commercial foods (especially "light" foods) are very high in cereals and therefore carbohydrates. The extra carbohydrates will keep the cat's blood sugar high. In general, canned foods are lower in carbohydrates than dry ones, and canned "kitten" foods lower still. Recent studies show that cats' diabetes can be better regulated and even sometimes reversed with a low carbohydrate diet. When switching foods, it should be done gradually. Cats on a special diet for pancreatitis, chronic renal failure, or any other condition have more complex needs that must be managed by a medical professional.
- Inappropriate insulin: Different brands and types of insulin have idiosyncratic effects on different cats. With some dosages, the insulin may not be lasting long enough for the cat, or may not be the best choice. Testing blood sugar more frequently can determine if the insulin is keeping blood sugar down throughout all hours of the day. Some cats may require a different type of insulin if their current one is not working.
Blood sugar guidelines
Absolute numbers vary between pets, and with meter calibrations. Glucometers made for humans are generally accurate using feline blood except when reading lower ranges of blood glucose (<80 mg/dl–4.44 mmol/L). At this point the size difference in human and animal red blood cells can create inaccurate readings. The numbers below are as shown on a typical home glucometer. For general guidelines only, the levels to watch are approximately:
|<2.2||<40||Readings below this level are usually considered hypoglycemic when giving insulin, even if no symptoms of it are seen. Treat immediately|
|2.2-7.5||40-130||Non-diabetic range (usually unsafe to aim for when on insulin, unless your control is very good). These numbers, when not giving insulin, are very good news.|
|3.38-6.88||61-124||This is an average non-diabetic cat's level, but leaves little margin of safety for a diabetic on insulin. Don't aim for this range, but don't panic if you see it, either. If the number is not falling, it's healthy.|
|5||90||A commonly cited minimum safe value for the lowest blood sugar of the day|
||Commonly used target range for diabetics, for as much of the time as possible.|
|7.8||140||According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), threshold above which organ and pancreatic damage may begin in humans.|
|<13.33-15||240-270||Feline Renal threshold for glucose, when excess glucose from the kidneys spills into the urine and roughly when the cat begins to show diabetic symptoms. See Hyperglycemia for long-term effects of high blood glucose on cats.|
|16.7||300||Approximate maximum safe value for the highest blood sugar of the day, in cats, to avoid neuropathy and complications. Some cats can go on long-term at this level or higher, but there will be side effects eventually. Check for ketones.|
|>20||>360||Check for ketones frequently, be sure you are giving insulin. Cats are much more resilient than dogs or humans at these high levels; nevertheless, the blood sugar should be lowered. The cat can feel any of numerous ill effects both short and long-term, see hyperglycemia for details.|
The weak legs syndrome found in many diabetic cats is a form of neuropathy, which is caused by damage to the myelin sheath of the peripheral nerves due to glucose toxicity and cell starvation, which are in turn caused by chronic hyperglycemia. Most common in cats, the back legs become weaker until the cat displays a plantigrade stance, standing on its hocks instead of on its toes as normal. The cat may also have trouble walking and jumping, and may need to sit down after a few steps. Some[who?] recommend a specific form of vitamin B12 called methylcobalamin to heal the nerve damage. Neuropathy sometimes heals on its own within 6–10 weeks once blood sugar is regulated, but anecdotal evidence points to a faster and more complete recovery with methylcobalamin supplements.
Too much insulin may result in a contradictory increase of blood glucose. This "Somogyi effect" is often noted by cat owners who monitor their cat's blood glucose at home. Anytime the blood glucose level drops too far to hypoglycemia, the body may defensively dump glucose (converted from glycogen in the liver), as well as hormones epinephrine and cortisol, into the bloodstream. The glycogen raises the blood glucose, while the other hormones may make the cat insulin-resistant for a time. This phenomenon was first documented by a Dr. Michael Somogyi. If the body has no glycogen reserves, there will be no rebound effect and the cat will just be hypoglycemic.
Even a small overdose can trigger a rebound effect (A typical case is increasing bidaily dosage from 1 unit to 2, passing a correct dose of 1.5 units.)
An acute hypoglycemic episode (very low blood sugar) can happen to even careful pet owners, since cats' insulin requirements sometimes change without warning. The symptoms include depression/lethargy, confusion/dizziness, loss of excretory/bladder control, vomiting, and then loss of consciousness and/or seizures. Immediate treatment includes administering honey or corn syrup by rubbing on the gums of the cat (even if unconscious, but not if in seizures). Symptomatic hypoglycemia in cats is a medical emergency and the cat will require professional medical attention. The honey/corn syrup should continue to be administered on the way to the vet, as every minute without blood sugar causes brain damage.
A cat with hypoglycemia according to a blood glucose meter (<2.2 mmol/L or 40 mg/dL), but with no symptoms, should be fed as soon as possible. Hypoglycemic cats that refuse to eat can be force-fed honey or corn syrup until they stabilize.
Mild hypoglycemic episodes can go unnoticed, or leave evidence such as urine pools outside the litter box. In these cases the blood sugar will probably appear paradoxically high upon the next test hours later, since the cat's body will react to the low blood sugar by stimulating the liver to release stored glycogen.
Too little insulin over time can cause tissue starvation (as glucose can't reach the brain or body). In combination with dehydration, fasting, infection, or other body stresses, this can turn over a few hours into diabetic ketoacidosis, a medical emergency with a high fatality rate, that cannot be treated at home. Many undiagnosed diabetic cats first come to the vet in this state, since they haven't been receiving insulin. Symptoms include lethargy, acetone or fruity smell on breath, shortness of breath, high blood sugar, huge thirst drive. Emergency care includes fluid therapy, insulin, management of presenting symptoms and 24-hour hospitalization.
In most cases, it is possible to induce remission (a temporary or permanent freedom from insulin-dependence) in type-2 diabetic cats. This appears to be unique to cats. There is growing agreement among experts that a combination of a low-carbohydrate healthy diet, long-lasting insulin, and well-chosen dosage plans can in many cases partially heal a damaged pancreas and allow the cat's blood sugar to be controlled entirely by diet thereafter. (A low carbohydrate diet is usually required for the remainder of the cat's life.)
Remission is a realistic goal for treatment of type-2 diabetic cats (that is, 80–95% of all diabetic cats) who are properly regulated quickly. Chances of success are highest in the first few months after initial diagnosis, due to ongoing damage from glucose toxicity caused by hyperglycemia. This limited time window is a good reason to start with low carbohydrate diet and very slow-acting insulins, the most successful known combination, right away.
An explanation can be pieced together from recent studies in which diabetes in cats is perpetuated, if not always caused, by a combination of glucose toxicity and amyloidosis, such that the insulin-producing islets of the pancreas become clogged with amyloid deposits. Cats may present with type-2 (insulin-resistant) diabetes, at least at first, but hyperglycemia and amyloidosis, left untreated, will damage the pancreas over time and progress to insulin-dependent diabetes.
If blood sugar is well controlled over a period of 2–3 months, glucose toxicity and amyloidosis cease to attack newly generated tissue, and many cats are able to regenerate some of the damaged pancreatic beta cells and slowly resume insulin production.
Note that Glipizide and similar oral diabetic medicines designed for type-2 diabetic humans have been shown to increase amyloid production and amyloidosis, and therefore likely reduce likelihood of remission.
New research has shown that acromegaly might be a new leading cause for diabetes in cats, with prevalence ranging from 20-30% among diabetic cats. Testing the level of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the blood is the primary test for feline acromegly.
- Fat Cats Facing Diabetes Epidemic, The Guardian, August 7, 2007
- McCann TM, Simpson KE, Shaw DJ, Butt JA, Gunn-Moore DA (August 2007). "Feline diabetes mellitus in the UK: the prevalence within an insured cat population and a questionnaire-based putative risk factor analysis". J. Feline Med. Surg. 9 (4): 289–99. doi:10.1016/j.jfms.2007.02.001. PMID 17392005.
- Feline Diabetes is Nutrition Key, Vet Tech Blog, Feb 2006
- Diabetes in cats
- Canine and Feline Diabetes Mellitus: Nature or Nurture?, J. Rand et al.
- Understanding Feline Diabetes Mellitus, Rand, J.S. and Marshall, R, Waltham Focus Journal 2005, 15:3
- Insulin Glargine and a high protein-low carbohydrate diet are associated with high remission rates in newly diagnosed diabetic cats.
- Feline Diabetes, Remission, and protocols with various Insulins
- Feline Diabetes: Pathogenesis and Treatment. Rand, Marshall 2006
- Study Shows 'Catkins' Diet Helps Cats Beat Diabetes
- Frank GR, Anderson W, Pazak H, Hodgkins E, Ballam J, Laflamme D (2001). "Use of a High Protein Diet in the Management of Feline Diabetes Mellitus". Veterinary Therapeutics 2 (3): 238–46. PMID 19746667.
- Bennett N, Greco DS, Peterson ME, Kirk C, Mathes M, Fettman MJ (April 2006). "Comparison of a low carbohydrate-low fiber diet and a moderate carbohydrate-high fiber diet in the management of feline diabetes mellitus.". J. Feline Med. Surg. 8 (2): 73–84. doi:10.1016/j.jfms.2005.08.004. PMID 16275041.
- Dr. Lisa Pierson, Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
- Veterinary Partner-Insulin Alternatives
- Hoenig M, Hall G, Ferguson D, et al. (1 December 2000). "A feline model of experimentally induced islet amyloidosis". Am. J. Pathol. 157 (6): 2143–50. doi:10.1016/S0002-9440(10)64852-3. PMC 1885761. PMID 11106586.
- Wallace MS, Peterson ME, Nichols CE (October 1990). "Absorption kinetics of regular, isophane, and protamine zinc insulin in normal cats". Domest. Anim. Endocrinol. 7 (4): 509–15. doi:10.1016/0739-7240(90)90008-N. PMID 2261761.
- Goeders LA, Esposito LA, Peterson ME (January 1987). "Absorption kinetics of regular and isophane (NPH) insulin in the normal dog". Domest. Anim. Endocrinol. 4 (1): 43–50. doi:10.1016/0739-7240(87)90037-3. PMID 3333933.
- Moise NS, Reimers TJ (January 1983). "Insulin therapy in cats with diabetes mellitus". J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 182 (2): 158–64. PMID 6298164.
- J Feline Med Surg. 2009 Aug;11(8):668-82. Epub 2009 Jul 9. Intensive blood glucose control is safe and effective in diabetic cats using home monitoring and treatment with glargine. Roomp K, Rand J. Department of Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany.
- Tilly's Diabetes Homepage, K Roomp, Accessed 13 Jun 2010
- Diabetes Mellitus-Glucometers-Dr. William A. Schall-ACVIM-DVM 360 2009
- Treating Hypoglycemia-Gorbzilla.com
- VIN: Determination of Rate Natural Blood Glucose in Persian Cats, say "50-160mg/dl"
- Merck Veterinary Manual
- Dr. E. Hodgkins, 2004, says "around 60mg/dl (3.4 mmol/L)"
- organ damage threshold studies
- Merck Veterinary Manual
- Logical Approach to Weakness and Seizures-David B. Church-WSAVA 2009
- Delano Report on Methyl-B12 and Neuropathy
- Laurie Ulrich's story on Methylcobalamin and Neuropathy
- Somogyi Phenomenon at eMedicine
- Understanding Feline Diabetes Mellitus, Dr. J. Rand, University of Queensland
- Robertson RP (October 2004). "Chronic oxidative stress as a central mechanism for glucose toxicity in pancreatic islet beta cells in diabetes". J. Biol. Chem. 279 (41): 42351–4. doi:10.1074/jbc.R400019200. PMID 15258147.
- Islet Amyloid and Progression of Type-II Diabetes, Hayden, JOP
- Diabetes in Cats Informational Brochure from the Cornell Feline Health Center
- Diabetes In Cats
- Overview of symptoms and treatment
- Another general guide
- Notes from a Vet Convention speech by Dr. Greco
- Bagheera the Diabetic Cat a blog written from a diabetic cat named Bagheera's viewpoint
- Paws and Effect features comments from Belladonna, whose diabetes is treated with diet alone | <urn:uuid:71271f4e-bbe3-4976-9745-fc495dbefe11> | {
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Białystok is the largest city in the north-east part of Poland (294,000 citizens) and the capital of the Podlasie region. Due to historical conditions Białystok has become a place where people representing different cultures, religions and nationalities have lived together for ages. This situation shaped the specific character of the city. In Białystok we can find the largest concentration of Orthodox and Islam believers in Poland; it is also the center of Belarusian and Tatar communities. The coat of arms of Białystok itself depicts the Polish eagle and the Lithuanian Pogoń.
The heritage of Białystok is also the World’s heritage. In 1859 Eliezer Lewi Samenhof was born in this city. He was famous as Ludwik Zamenhof, a brilliant eye doctor and the creator of the universal Esperanto language. The Jewish community of Podlasie brought forth many outstanding personalities, including one of the Prime Ministers of Israel - Icchak Szamir. The Jewish community of Białystok was killed in World War II. | <urn:uuid:0e6efd77-5bc8-400c-94fe-147de4d6e977> | {
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"language_score": 0.9491771459579468,
"score": 2.703125,
"token_count": 239,
"url": "http://www.touristlink.com/poland/bialystok/overview.html"
} |
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