text
stringlengths 198
630k
| id
stringlengths 47
47
| metadata
dict |
|---|---|---|
HISTORY HAS HAD ITS CHIPS
11:09 - 15 October 2002
This 5,500-year-old lump of stone is proof that the British love affair with blemish-free chips and crisps could be costing us our heritage.
It looks like an ordinary rock but it is, in fact, a rare ceremonial mace dating to 3500BC, which was dug up by a potato-harvesting machine.
According to leading West archaeologist Dr Keith Ray, it shows that layers of history dating to Neolithic times are being destroyed in the quest to grow bigger and better spuds.
The rare find, spotted by an eagleeyed agricultural worker, is all that remains of an ancient tribal burial site destroyed by a harvester at an unnamed farm in Herefordshire.
But Dr Ray believes it is the tip of the iceberg and experts rarely get to hear about the thousands of years of historical artefacts which are being destroyed by potato ploughs every day.
He predicts the obsession for blemish-free chips and crisps means the situation will only get worse.
More and more farmers are turning their fields over to the crop to ensure a plentiful supply of the nation's favourite vegetable.
Dr Ray, county archaeologist for Herefordshire, said: "Growing potatoes involves multiple processes using heavy machinery and digging deeper into the ground. It means you are reaching archaeology not reached in the past, ranging from neolithic landscapes to Bronze Age settlements, Iron Age hill forts to Roman towns.
"There are 6,000 years of history out there and people like me who are employed to look after it are getting increasingly agitated by this." The county is best known for its rolling pastures, apples and soft fruit.
But over the past three years, the percentage of agricultural land used for growing spuds has nearly tripled to more than five per cent.
It has become the fastest-growing crop in Herefordshire but Dr Ray believes this is only the start. He said the region's heritage was being threatened by a spud-growing explosion.
He said: "Our obsession with chips and crisps is sucking in everything that can be grown. In 2004, a new potato processing plant will open in the Midlands which will need an extra 380,000 tonnes of potatoes.
"The trouble is the supermarkets want perfect potatoes. They think the shopper will leave them on the shelf if they have the slightest blemish.
"Growing them in old arable land increases the risk of blight so they are always on the lookout for new pastures.
This is accelerating the destruction.
"Potatoes are being grown in fields which until now have been left to pasture." Archaeological sensitive sites such as hillsides and meadows which have been left virtually untouched are being dug up by half a metre.
Dr Ray is appealing for supermarkets and potato processors to call a halt to the march across virgin countryside. He said: "They need to get the message that slight blemishes will not stop people buying their products." Rob Burrow, of the Potato Council, confirmed Herefordshire farmers were growing more potatoes than a decade ago, adding: "Customers do demand clean potatoes free from blemishes."
Archaeology is new target for Ukraine's mafia gangs
HITMAN, enforcer, bag man... archaeologist. Experts in ancient antiquities have become the latest recruits to the notorious Eastern European crime families.
Mafia groups in the Ukraine are pursuing a lucrative sideline in archaeology, looting valuable artefacts to be sold on the black market, in addition to their traditional criminal enterprises such as selling drugs, prostitution and protection rackets.
Their latest target is Crimea, in the southern Ukraine, which is host to vast quantities of buried treasures from Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Bronze Age settlements.
Some of the mafia families have employed archaeologists to work directly for them, after making them an offer that they can’t refuse. Others wait patiently, vulture-like, for the experts to carry out their work before swooping on their finds.
Professor Viktor Myts, of the Crimean Institute for Archaeology in Simferopol, said: "It’s incredible. You can actually see them waiting, hovering in the distance. As soon as our teams pack up for the night the thieves come along and try to strip the site bare of everything."
In other cases, archaeologists employed by the mafia gangs move in on promising historical sites with diggers, floodlights, and armed guards to keep out concerned academics, rival gangs, and Ukraine’s under-funded police force.
Professor Vladimir Golenko, an expert in Classical archaeology in Simferopol, said: "In a way you can understand why some people do it. The economy here is very depressed, people need the money. But it’s very sad. We are in danger of losing a lot of our heritage.
"We are having to pick up the pieces after the criminals have robbed archaeological sites. "
A half-mile square section of the ancient Hellenic city of Olvia was recently cleared out by thieves looking for valuables to sell. Fortunately, experts have managed to salvage a number of priceless relics, including a huge hoard of Ancient Greek gold in Kerch .
However, the authorities are failing to stem the rising tide of valuables being smuggled out of the country.
Dr Neil Brodie, of Cambridge University’s McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, said: "The key to this is cutting off the demand for stolen items and insisting on proper records so we can trace where things have come from."
Since the fall of Communism in 1991, organised crime has flourished in Eastern and Central Europe, with some Ukrainian towns being dominated by the mafia.
Found: Earliest Roman plaque of London
Marker refers to "Londiniensium"
Friday, October 11, 2002 Posted: 1603 GMT
LONDON (Reuters) -- Archaeologists excavating an ancient site in London said on Friday they had unearthed the oldest known plaque inscribed with the city's Roman name.
"This is hugely important," Francis Grew, curator of archaeology at the Museum of London told reporters. "It is the first real monumental inscription with the word Londinium on it.
"It is also visually the most important inscription we have even found in London. The words are just as clear as people would have seen them 2,000 years ago," he added.
The Italian marble plaque, found in the Southwark area of London at the junction of three key Roman roads, is dedicated to the Roman emperors and the god Mars from London-based merchant Tiberinius Celerianus.
It refers to "Londiniensium" which Grew said could either be a variant of the more usual "Londinium" or, more likely, a reference to Tiberinius as being "of the people of Londinium."
Gary Brown of Pre-Construct Archaeology which is carrying out the major dig on the one hectare site on the southern banks of the River Thames said the plaque was found in a pit near the remains of two large Roman brick buildings.
"The buildings could have been trading guild houses or even villas. We just don't know yet," he said.
Helps establish the emergence of a merchant class
Grew said the plaque probably dated from between 50 and 150 AD and would have been placed prominently either on a building or in a shrine.
"The whole purpose of this was to advertise the importance of the man who by his name was from northern Gaul, probably in the Champagne region of Rheims, and who in Rome would have been treated as a yokel but who had made it in London," he said.
He said that in cities like the French river port of Lyon there was plentiful evidence from inscribed plaques of the important merchant classes.
But to date, despite much anecdotal evidence of the importance of London as a trading center, little actual physical evidence such as the Southwark plaque had been discovered.
"This is in part what makes it so important. It is clear evidence of the emergence of the merchant class in London," Grew said.
Brown, who is just six weeks into a 40-week dig on the site before it is covered by a housing development, said Southwark had been a bustling commercial center.
The site is on the river at the junction of Watling Street bringing people and goods up from the port of Dover and Stane Street coming up from the garrison town of Chichester to the south west.
As Southwark lies on the other side of the river from the walled Roman city of Londinium, there is another main road connecting Watling and Stane streets to the city proper.
"I can't stress how important this site is. We have already gone back to the pre-historic occupation of the site and we have found vast quantities of artifacts," Brown said.
"We have so far only dug 15 percent of the site and we have already found this plaque, so the potential for more staggering finds is there. Who knows what more we will find?"
Complete tomb unearthed at Inca citadel
14:35 14 October 02
NewScientist.com news service
The first complete burial site to be discovered at the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu since its discovery has been revealed. Peruvian archaeologists have found bronze pins, a stone pan and a clay pot buried along with the remains.
"Studies will confirm the sex and determine the age of the person who was buried, but the objects that were found around the body point to it having been a young woman," Fernando Astete, Machu Picchu's administrator told Reuters.
The citadel of Machu Picchu was built about 500 years ago. Its vegetation-covered ruins were rediscovered in 1911 by US archaeologist Hiram Bingham. Bingham's team found 172 tombs with human remains. But since then, archaeologists have found only bones. "It's only now that a complete burial site has been uncovered," Astete said.
Machu Picchu, which means Old Mountain, is about 1100 kilometres southeast of Lima and close to the city of Cuzco, which was the Inca capital from the 13th to 16th centuries. The citadel contains three distinct sections: agricultural, urban and religious. About 80 per cent of the human remains discovered so far are female.
The new burial site was found in a sector of the site used by the Incas as a viewing platform, said Astete. He expects further surprise discoveries from other as yet uninvestigated parts of the site. But geologists at Kyoto University, Japan, warned in 2001 that a landslide could split the ruins in two at any time.
This story is from NewScientist.com's news service - for more exclusive news and expert analysis every week subscribe to New Scientist print edition.
Shipwreck adventurer's fiction revealed as true after 270 years
British writer of a stirring adventure tale is unmasked as its real hero
Sunday October 13, 2002
An eighteenth-century adventure story involving slavery on a desert island, violent death and escape became the literary sensation of its day and has been pronounced by experts since as exciting stuff but utter fiction.
Now a British archaeologist has discovered the startling truth about Robert Drury and the story of his escape from Madagascar. The experts were wrong. His fantastic, graphic tale of torture, enslavement, battles between rival tribes and shipwreck was true and has opened an unexpected new window on a lost period of history.
Drury's captain and crewmates were indeed slaughtered by violent islanders, while he survived only after enduring years of slavery before escaping, a tale that Drury detailed in his 1729 book, Madagascar: or Robert Drury's Journal During 15 Years' Captivity on that Island.
The truth of Drury's encounter, which he called a plain, honest narrative of matters of fact', has been pieced together by British archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson, who last year uncovered the wreckage of the East India Company ship Degrave in which the young midshipman sailed to the island. On the same field trip, Pearson, of Sheffield University, dug up the remains of the village in which Drury was a captive.
It is a remarkable piece of detective work, in which Pearson - in keeping with the Boys' Own nature of his material - was himself captured by local people and freed only after complex negotiations. 'Today white people are suspected by locals of being head-hunters who want their brains to find cures for Aids,' said Pearson, whose account of his expeditions, In Search of the Red Slave, was published last week. 'Once we convinced them we were no such thing, they let us get on.'
Drury's original story was published several years after Daniel Defoe achieved widespread success with Robinson Crusoe, the fictionalised account of the adventures of the Fife sailor Alexander Selkirk. Selkirk's tale, though, was relatively benign. By contrast, Drury had a very different, far more violent story to tell, as Pearson outlines in the current issue of British Archaeology.
In 1703 Drury and his 180 shipmates were washed up on the southern shore of Madagascar after the Degrave was wrecked. They were captured by the warlike Tandroy people who still inhabit much of the island, conscripted into the local army, and ordered to join the Tandroys in battles with local tribes.
The captive crew decided to escape. They seized the Tandroys' king and held him hostage while they fled in the hope of finding a part of Madagascar more sympathetic to their plight. Pursued by 2,000 enraged warriors, the sailors headed eastwards but were eventually caught. Only a handful escaped. All except four boys were slaughtered. Drury was one of the four youngsters.
He was kept as a slave of the Tandroys in a village for eight years. Again he tried to escape, this time fleeing to the west. There he was recaptured, this time by the army of the neighbouring Sakalava people. Again he was enslaved, and released only when an English ship arrived. Drury returned home on it.
He later returned to Madagascar as, of all things, a slave trader, but spent his final years frequenting Old Tom's Coffee House in Birchin Lane, London, where he would tell of his adventures to anyone prepared to listen.
'We only learnt the truth about Drury a few years ago, when an American academic found proof of his birth and death, and of his record as a midshipman,' said Pearson. 'Before that, a lot of people thought he was merely a figment of an unnamed fiction writer's imagination.'
The fact that Drury was real did not mean his tale was true, of course, but Pearson was convinced. 'I'd become fascinated with his story, and when I joined an archaeological project in Madagascar I decided to prove Drury was telling the truth.'
After several trips to the area, Pearson has found the sites of both the ancient capital Fennoarevo, and of Mionjona, where Drury spent eight years as a slave to the Tandroy king's grandson.
'We have also found the site of the wreck of the Degrave,' said Pearson. 'Two iron cannon of the period lie on the reef and lobster divers report seeing several others and an anchor on the seabed.'
The discovery that Drury's adventures are largely true is intriguing for several reasons. Apart from validating a highly dramatic narrative, it shows the importance of maintaining good historical records and knowing how to explore them. It has shed critical light on how Madagascar was settled and ruled in a long-forgotten period of its history.
'It has also been an adventure into the formation of the modern world, understanding how the period around 1700 was the moment at which the world "went global", with London the beating heart at its centre,' adds Pearson.
Now the archaeologist is planning to arrange for the reprinting of Drury's book, which was last published in this country in the 1890s.
One mystery remains about the work remains, however. Who wrote it? While Drury obviously supplied the facts, it is unlikely that an unschooled sailor actually provided the prose. Pearson believes he has also found the answer to this puzzle.
'In its introduction we are told that Drury's manuscript was "put in a more agreeable method" by an anonymous editor. The text reveals that the editor was a Dissenter, a political commentator, and a verbose scribbler - almost certainly Defoe!'
Mystery wreck discovered in the Baltic Sea
UPI Science News
From the Science & Technology Desk
Published 10/8/2002 3:06 PM
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 8 (UPI)
The Royal Swedish Navy said Tuesday it has discovered an underwater mystery shipwreck with skulls littering its centuries-old wooden decks.
The sailing ship, which marine archaeologists think is more than 200 years old, was found standing upright on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The reason for why it sank is so far an enigma, because its hull and masts remain perfectly intact.
"We don't have any clues whatsoever right now on what made it sink. We don't have any hints whatsoever," marine archaeologist Bert Westenberg of the Swedish National Maritime Museum in Stockholm told United Press International.
The Swedish rescue ship HMS Belos was searching for a lost dredger in the middle of the Baltic Sea when a sonar sweep picked up signs of a wreck more than 300 feet down in early 2002. The crew then deployed a remote controlled robot Sjöugglan -- Swedish for "sea owl" -- to check out the murky sea floor.
Their TV monitors revealed a beautifully preserved 85-foot-long ship, with twin 65-foot-tall masts standing upright and a gilded seahorse on its prow -- a pony's head with human hands instead of front hooves clasped under its belly and instead of rear legs, a fish's tail.
"Everything's in mint condition," Westenberg said. "It must have went down very fast. Everything looked the way it did when it was sailing. Perhaps it met some bad weather, or it started leaking and then went down very fast."
In an unusual detail, skulls are lying on the ship's deck from at least two crewmen. Normally, casualties float away as their ships sink into the deep. "They could have been trapped," Westenberg speculated.
What appear to be gunports are visible on each side. No guns, however, are seen. "We're not sure they're gunports. They could be decorations to make this ship to look like a naval vessel, maybe to fool pirates and keep them away," Westenberg said.
Researchers at the Swedish National Maritime Museum said that judging by its rigging, the twin-masted vessel appears to be a snow brig, a type of fast sailing vessel from the 18th century. Westenberg said the low salinity of the Baltic Sea, coupled with its far-off, deep-down location, have helped preserve the ship.
"What a wonderful find. It's a great discovery," said marine archaeologist Kevin Crisman at Texas A&M University in College Station. "It's pretty rare to find 18th century wrecks with the masts still standing and the carvings still preserved. You get that in few parts of the world, and the Baltic's one of them."
The identity of the ship is a mystery, researchers said. The ship appears to be a naval or postal ship and is not any known Swedish vessel. It could be from Russia or elsewhere, Westernberg added. The researchers hope archive searches will reveal more about the ship's history.
"We haven't been able to go down and look in the cargo holds and see if there's any post that are late for delivery by several hundred years," Westenberg said.
At present, neither the Swedish National Maritime Museum nor the Royal Swedish Navy has the money for an investigation.
"I hope they can do more with it," Crisman said. "This is a magnificent find. A wreck like this offers a great window to life in the 18th century. We can research it in libraries, but there's no substitute for an actual ship like this."
(Reported by Charles Choi, UPI Science News, in New York)
Copyright © 2002 United Press International | <urn:uuid:7834c93f-6ad1-48d8-b86c-e63468d1679f> | {
"date": "2018-06-22T20:29:22",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864795.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20180622201448-20180622221448-00376.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9716001749038696,
"score": 2.859375,
"token_count": 4246,
"url": "http://archaeology.ws/2002-10-17.htm"
} |
A common virus that affects 50-70% of adults. If a woman acquires cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy, there is about a 15% chance that her infant will have infection and serious complications. Women who have had CMV infection and who are considering breastfeeding their prematurely born infant should check first with their child's doctor since there is a risk of transmitting the virus to the infant through breast milk. Prematurely born infants may not be able to fight off the CMV infection as do infants born at term. CMV infection is usually a mild infection in adults. Infants born to women who have had CMV long before they became pregnant are at low risk of having an infant with serious CMV infection. | <urn:uuid:2f752b52-9aba-4aab-b8c0-9d6efd875aa8> | {
"date": "2013-05-21T10:20:44",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2013-20",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9865432381629944,
"score": 3,
"token_count": 150,
"url": "http://www.childrensmn.org/Manuals/Glossary/A/025679.php"
} |
Howto:Creating 3D instruments
This tutorial describes the basic process of creating a 3D instrument for use in FlightGear. For now, we're assuming that you have created the actual 3d model to use and wish to include it in a cockpit and animate it. As an example, we will be animating the ITT gauge for the Fokker 50.
What you need
You will need:
- a text editor (even notepad will do, but one that does syntax highlighting might help you spot typos more easily; if you're on Windows, Notepad++ looks suitable.)
- your 3d modelling package
- and of course a copy of FlightGear
Creating the XML file
The first step is to create an XML file which will load the 3D model and animate it. There are no hard and fast rules about where these files should live or what they must be called, but we'll follow the fairly standard procedure of calling it itt.xml and placing it in the Models directory.
So, using your favourite text editor, create a file called itt.xml in the Aircraft/fokker50/Models directory (folder).
It should start like this (and please remember that case is ALWAYS important);
<?xml version="1.0"?> <PropertyList> </PropertyList>
Everything you will add to this file must go between the <PropertyList> tags.
Now, our file does nothing useful at this point. First of all, we want to tell FG to load the 3d model of our instrument. Add a section under <PropertyList> like this;
This is obviously the name of the 3d model file we wish to load. The model in question looks like this:
Adding an animation
See Howto:_Animate_models for the main article about this subject.
As you can see, the main item to animate is the temperature needle, and its name is "needle" (you can animate either AC3D "objects" or complete "groups"). We will want to use a "rotate" animation (for more details on available animation types, see "model-howto.html" which is provided with FG in the Docs directory.)
So, we add an <animation> section to our XML file.
<animation> <type>rotate</type> <object-name>needle</object-name>
Now, we need to specify a property which will determine the amount of rotation required; in other words, the property that provides the ITT value at any one time. To find the name of this property, we need to start FlightGear in the usual manner with the correct aircraft (fokker50 in this case). Once FG has started, open the property browser (file/browse internal properties). You will see the top level of the property tree. Click on "engines" and you will see a list of engines; click on the first one (engine) and you will see a long list of properties and their current values.
Now, we have a slight problem at this stage; the fokker50 was created before JSBSim could model turboprops, and so the ITT property is not available right now. For the purposes of this tutorial though, we'll just use the exhaust temperature instead; the process is what's important.
So, the next line in our XML file will specify the property to use;
Next we need to specify exactly how much that property moves the needle. There are several ways to do this, but we'll use a simple interpolation table since these are especially useful in more complicated situations. The ITT gauge is marked from 0 degC to 1200 degC; since we're having to use a value that's reported in degF for now, we'll just convert those two values. 0 degC is about 32 degF and 1200 degC is about 2192 degF. Two handy tips here; for Linux/unix users, the "units" program is truly invaluable; for everyone, google has a useful units converter; for example search for " 1200 degrees celsius in fahrenheit"
On to our table then.
<interpolation> <entry><ind>32</ind><dep>0</dep></entry> <entry><ind>2192</ind><dep>230</dep></entry> </interpolation>
The <ind> entries are the independent variables, or values read from the property tree; the <dep> entries are the dependent variables, or corresponding degrees the object will be rotated by. In this case I found that number by rotating the needle in AC3D from one end of the scale to the other and reading off the rotation value reported (see screenshot)
Having configured the type of animation, the controlling property, and specified the effect of that property, we need to describe an axis and centre for the animation.
In this case, the centre is easy, because the needle centre is at the origin of the 3d model. If you wanted the rotation centre to be somewhere else, you could use your modelling app to obtain these values.
<center> <x-m>0</x-m> <y-m>0</y-m> <z-m>0</z-m> </center>
The axis is also very simple in this case;
<axis> <x>-1</x> <y>0</y> <z>0</z> </axis>
The negative sign on the x axis means that the rotation will be clockwise when viewed from the -x direction (i.e. looking "forwards")
That concludes the rotation animation and so (as always) we need to add a suitable closing tag;
Our itt.xml file, as it stands, should now "work" in flightgear; that is, it will animate the needle object to display exhaust temperature on the first engine, in degC (despite the input property being in degF!)
However, the bottom half of the gauge contains a digital readout of the same information, and we haven't mentioned that yet. In order to only introduce one new aspect at a time, for the moment I am going to ignore the fact that our input property is in degF and simply display it using the digits; there are several ways we could display degC (or indeed any kind of value) instead, but those are probably best left to another tutorial.
Now, in order to give the illusion of a digital display, we are going to use a slightly less obvious technique than the simple rotation used for the needle. Our digits are going to come from this texture, freshly borrowed from another model in FlightGear (remember, this is open source software - don't reinvent the wheel unless it's absolutely necessary!).
Now, each "digit" in the 3d model is a separate rectangle, and each is mapped to the number zero on that texture. What we are going to do is use a "textranslate" animation to slide the texture along to the relevant number in each case. Here's the code for the first digit;
<!-- Digital Display --> <animation> <type>textranslate</type> <object-name>digit1</object-name> <property>engines/engine/egt_degf</property> <factor>0.0001</factor> <step>1000</step> <axis> <x>1</x> <y>0</y> <z>0</z> </axis> </animation>
As always, if you need more detailed explanations of any of these animations, remember to RTFM which in this case is the model-howto.html referred to previously.
Each subsequent digit is handled in the same way, though with the object-name, factor and step values modified accordingly.
For example, the next digit along, the "hundreds" digit;
<animation> <type>textranslate</type> <object-name>digit2</object-name> <property>engines/engine/egt_degf</property> <factor>0.001</factor> <step>100</step> <axis> <x>1</x> <y>0</y> <z>0</z> </axis> </animation>
And so on, for the remaining two. Now, your itt instrument should display the EGT in degC using the needle, and give a "digital" readout of the same in degF.
Level Of DetailTo prevent objects like this instrument being drawn when the aircraft is actually too far away for them to be seen anyway we use a Level Of Detail section (a "range" "animation".) Notice the
<!-- -->section; this is a comment, feel free to add them where you need a reminder of what's going on.
<!-- LoD --> <animation> <type>range</type> <min-m>0</min-m> <max-m>30</max-m> </animation>
Now, if you've managed to stay with us the whole way through, the file should look something like this one, which you can download and compare with. Media:itt.xml Notice that under each new opening xml tag (such as <animation>) the text is indented one more level. Sensible people(!) use one tab to indent each level, others try to use various numbers of spaces to indent; whatever you use, the single most important thing is to be consistent. Consistent indentation makes the file much easier to read.
Including the instrument in an aircraft
Now to the exciting bit, actually seeing the fruits of our labour in FlightGear! Including our itt.xml file in the fokker50 is actually an easy step. The "model" XML file controls the 3d model; this is often called aircraftname-model.xml and nearly always lives in the aircraftname/Models directory. However, FG is very flexible and in this case, the model XML file is fokker50/Models/fokker50.xml . To avoid confusion, it would be preferable for this to be called fokker50-model.xml, and if you're creating one from scratch, please use that convention.
If we open that file in a text editor, it should look quite familiar; you will recognise the way it specifies an ac3d file, and animates the various parts of it. However, we wish to include an instrument, and that is done very simply. Below the <offsets> section, add a section like this;
<!-- ITT Gauge --> <model> <path>Aircraft/fokker50/Models/itt.xml</path> <offsets> <x-m>-8.9088</x-m> <y-m>-0.0811</y-m> <z-m>-1.0722</z-m> <pitch-deg>-10</pitch-deg> </offsets> </model>
Those numbers can be easily obtained from your 3d modelling app; just open the aircraft model and place an object in the correct position, then use the distances here. The usual FG model coordinate system is used; x=back, y=right, z=up, from the pilot's perspective; the origin is the one in the 3d model (.ac file). The "pitch" entry is fairly obvious; pitch of zero is a completely vertical instrument, pitch of -90 is one tilted "top edge forwards" to lie flat.
Now, when you start FlightGear, you should see your fully-working instrument in all its glory, situated where it ought to be! If you need to move it later, it's trivial to tweak the numbers above to suit. | <urn:uuid:d7466953-b287-49a9-9b08-94254633915b> | {
"date": "2014-10-21T15:08:37",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-42",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507444493.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005724-00170-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8778905868530273,
"score": 3.03125,
"token_count": 2491,
"url": "http://wiki.flightgear.org/index.php?title=Creating_instruments_for_FG&oldid=29233"
} |
|Home > Longhorn_Info > legacy >|
hy is America’s oldest cattle breed attracting so much interest? The answer is revealed, in part, in the fascinating history of these genetically unique cattle.
The cattle of the world, regardless of their diverse body types and color patterns, originated from either Bos Indicus (the humped cattle of Asia) or the Bos Taurus (the wild cattle of Europe).Annals of history trace the movement of North African cattle accompanying the Moors to Spain and their evolution into many cattle types.On the voyages of Christopher Columbus, the Spanish first brought long-horned cattle to the Americas in 1494. Descendants of these ocean voyagers were the first cattle to populate the Americas.
Over the centuries, the survivors of those first cattle multiplied from isolated bands to literally millions! Thus evolved the Texas Longhorn, imported by Spanish explorers, refined by nature, and tested by time and the elements. Hard hooves and lethal horns equipped them for survival. Their spectacular color variations reflect pigmentation designs developed for ultraviolet protection.
The English, in colonizing North America, brought their native cattle in 1623. As they moved west, so did their cattle, pulling wagons and plows and providing milk. Meanwhile, Mexico, California, Texas and what was then the Louisiana Purchase were witnessing the evolution of the history-making Texas Longhorn breed of cattle.
Until the mid-1800’s, these big-horned, rugged range cattle multiplied without the help of man. Traits were genetically “fixed” through survival of the fittest, resulting in ecologically adapted bovine families with extremely good health, fertility, teeth, disease resistance, and soundness of body and limb.
In 1836, Ewing Young led an expedition from the Oregon Territory to California to buy Longhorns. In what may have been the first major American cattle drive, 830 head were trailed in 120 days nearly 900 miles in 1837 to Oregon.
By 1889, an estimated 10,000,000 head of Longhorns had been trailed north, west and east out of Texas. Converting wild cattle into cash was the ultimate struggle. Longhorns could walk amazing distances, living off the land, swimming rivers, surviving desert heat and winter snow. From this clash between men, animals and the environment grew the world-famous American cowboy.
In 1876, an estimated 1,000 head breeding herd was introduced into southern Alberta, Canada. By 1884, these cattle were estimated to have multiplied to 40,000 head including additional importation’s. In 1900, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the U.S. cattle population at 60,000,000 most of which contained a percentage of Texas Longhorn blood. In the late nineteenth century, cattle breeds from Europe and Asia became available increasing fat and tallow yields for the expanding tallow industry. The foundation stock of many of these introduced breeds were “bred-up” to purebreds in this country from a native Longhorn base. Because of the excellent growth and vitality resulting from the hybrid vigor (heterosis) of the Longhorn cross, this breeding process became so popular that pure Longhorn blood was nearly eliminated.
Another factor in the Longhorn’s near disappearance was the breed’s unique natural lean meat. Candles had been the world’s chief source of light for over 3000 years. Tallow, the main ingredient in candles, is obtained by rendering animal fat. Soaps, lubricants, and cooking also required tallow. “Hide-and-tallow” companies, as early beef processing plants were known, were a major industry in the early days of the industrial revolution. Prior to the advent of refrigeration, meat was essentially a by-product. The demand for tallow and hides was the driving force of the cattle business and genetics were selected for the heaviest tallow producing animals. The naturally lean Longhorn, with 80 percent less renderable tallow than the English breeds, came to be less in demand.
By 1930, most open range was fenced and southwestern cattle barons zeroed in on new breeds of “fat” cattle. The historic Texas Longhorn was the time tested choice of only a few serious cowmen.
The “Seven Families”
International Texas Longhorn Association
True Calving Ease
Investment and Recreational
Cattle of the Future!
In a test of 11 breeds conducted by the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Texas Longhorn sired steers graded USDA Choice 62%, a ratio of 104.2% compared to the all breed test average. Longhorn sired steers in this test had a 61.7% dressing percentage with an 81.8% ratio in fat thickness comparison. The Texas Longhorn sired steers had an average fat thickness of 0.36” as compared with an average of 0.44” for the other ten breed groups.
In scientific carcass evaluations, which will determine the future direction of the red meat industry, the Texas Longhorn’s competitive strength over all other breeds is unique, due to their nature-produced anatomy and physiology. Denver’s National Western Stock Show established the first and largest carcass evaluation in the world. In 1987, a Texas Longhorn cross, six steer entry placed Second in the heavyweight steer division. These steers averaged 0.41” back fat, after 105 days on feed. The steers weighed in at 1197 lbs. and had an average of 14 square inches of rib-eye, a cutability of 51.4% and Yield Grade 2. A prime-grade steer from this group was the highest indexing prime grade animal for two years in a row. The following year, Texas Longhorn crosses scored one First, two Seconds, and a Third against world class competition.
On the West Coast, First Place in the Group Carcass category of the 3rd Annual California Steer Futurity, California Polytechnic Institute, was won by Texas Longhorn crosses. Of a total of 240 steers, entered by 23 ranches, the Longhorn cross’s 108.8 index was the best recorded. The winning steers started on feed at an average weight of 678 lbs. and after 110 days, they finished at 1052 lbs. with a 3.40 lb. average daily gain. The average carcass weighed 639.6 lbs. with a 62% dress on a quality grade average of Choice-minus, Yield Grade 2. The back fat averaged 0.33” and the rib-eye area average was 11.50 square inches. The Longhorns also led the conversion rate with less feed required per pound of gain.
For More Information Please Contact:
International Texas Longhorn Association | <urn:uuid:598740db-3290-49ef-8817-625a4781c21e> | {
"date": "2016-05-03T20:09:36",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-18",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-18/segments/1461860121776.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160428161521-00068-ip-10-239-7-51.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9517688155174255,
"score": 3.375,
"token_count": 1409,
"url": "http://www.texaslonghorn.com/longhorn_info/index.cfm?con=legacy"
} |
Ah, the three-year-old. I often say, whoever said the two’s were terrible hadn’t yet spent time with a three year old. As I collaborate with teachers as they prepare for their spring parent teacher conferences, I’ve been hearing about how they are anticipating conversations with parents about challenges at home. They told me how parents are reporting how different the demands of their child had become, and how, in some cases, they didn’t know if they were doing the right or the wrong things at home!
What’s going on cognitively and emotionally with children at this age often leads to limit testing, “talking back”, regressive behaviors, and downright maddening temper tantrums. All of these behaviors are examples of children who are trying the best they can to gain some control of their world.
Being 3 means you have made some major developmental achievements. Gains in verbal language skills, the ability to make simple cause and effect relationships, the development of self-care (like toileting) and self-help skills (independent eating, dressing, simple chores) all combine to enable a three-year-old to feel mastery over his/her world. We keep telling them they are a “big boy/girl” and they have accumulated enough experiences to believe us!
However, at the same time, they still have little actual control of their world. We tell them when and what to eat, when to go to sleep, what to wear, who to play with, where to go, etc. In protest of all this management they try and gain some control of their experiences with negative behaviors.
Now they’ve got you! These power struggles are telling us they need ways to exert some control over their world. Small changes in your interactions with your child can lead to big outcomes. Think of choices you can give them where you are fine with either outcome that they choose. If the struggle is constantly over brushing their teeth, buy another tooth brush and say, “We are brushing our teeth now. Will you use the red or the green brush?” Let children choose between two outfits, sandwiches at lunch, etc. Always be okay with either answer. Repeated experiences of having choices throughout the day will add up for the child and lead to easier compliance in other issues where there is not a choice to be had.
In addition, three-year-olds have a complete inability to plan for the future or anticipate consequences. This is based on their lack of experiences, their inability to accurately match their emotional and physical reactions to their feelings, or to name them. If we realize that children experience all of the powerfulness of the full range of emotions that adults do, without the cognitive development, experiences, and memories that we have as adults, it can be easier for us to understand their struggles, and maybe even deal with them in a calmer way.
I hope your parent teacher conferences give you some insight into what is happening for your child at school and some advice for easier times at home. In the meantime, please know I am here to serve as a resource to parents and am happy to talk with you any time about your child at school and at home.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break. Although it shouldn’t be, I always find it surprising to return to school and discover the short time that is left in the school year – eight weeks until Summer Break! It is the appropriate time to reflect on the growth and development of the children over the course of the school year and to celebrate their achievements – otherwise known as Spring Conferences. Of course, it is also time to receive support from the staff as your child continues along their developmental path. Each unique stage of early childhood brings its own challenges to children and their parents alike.
Teachers spend lots of time preparing for their conferences with parents: reviewing their notes, work samples and assessments, as they create your narrative report. They are invested in painting a picture of where your child is developmentally. They consider your child’s overall cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development, as well as the goals that were jointly set at the Fall Conference. They look forward to the conference as an opportunity for parents and teachers to share important knowledge about the child.
I encourage you to prepare for your child’s conference as well, in order to get the most out of the experience. Getting into the following habits will also serve you well when you move onto your child’s next school and conference appointment times are limited.
First, think back on the goals that you set with the teacher at the beginning of the year. Do you feel your child has made progress? Do you feel the assessments that teachers use capture your child’s development? Do you have questions about those assessments? If you feel your child has met their goals, think about what you think the next-step goal is, and be prepared to ask the teacher about it.
If you have other specific questions, and you are not sure they will be covered in the conference, email your teacher ahead of time, and give her a “heads-up” on the topic you are wondering about. This will give her an opportunity to focus her observation of your child ahead of your conference. Don’t be afraid to bring a list of your questions with you and prioritize them so you can be sure your most important concerns are addressed first. The teacher may have questions for you as well, and will be especially interested if there is anything that is happening at home that could affect the child’s behavior at school.
At LPCNS, we are lucky that our cooperative model creates an atmosphere of partnership between teachers and parents. Your conference is an opportunity to build on that relationship as teachers and parents work together to support the individual development of each child. I hope you enjoy your Spring Conference!
As parents who have chosen a play-based nursery school, I can assume that you already value the role that play, and time to play, impacts development across all of the domains – cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically. Play is powerful. Play helps to build relationships, strengthens emotional signaling (the ability to discern the emotion of another by observation of their non-verbal cues), supports motor planning and sequencing, supports social problem solving, encourages ideation and creativity, and gives an avenue for emotional reflection. That all sounds important, right? Just as important is the context in which play happens. Erika Christakis, author of The Importance of Being Little writes, “When you look at how kids learn, they learn when something is meaningful to them, when they have a chance to learn through relationships – and that of course happens through play.”
I can also assume that time to play with your own child(ren) can be hard to come by, given all of the roles you take on as a parent. The physical caregiving, the ways that you communicate and model your family values, the thinking about and preparing you do for their education, all need your time and attention. Throw on top of that work in and out of the home, self-care, and being an available partner to your spouse/co-parent and time gets harder and harder to come by.
In addition to finding the time to play together, parents can find it tricky to know how to play with their children. Some parents, either by temperament or based on their own experiences as a child, are comfortable in dramatic pretend play scenarios, building elaborate block towers, and spending lots of time playing in the sand at the beach. Many parents feel more comfortable playing games with rules, facilitating art projects, and involving children in household chores, like cooking. Other parents enjoy spending time with their children reading books or participating in regular family time – like dinners together – and find playing with toys and games not as enjoyable. How do you like to play and interact with your child?
It can be helpful for parents to focus on the purpose of play, and one framework that defines the purpose of play is called Floortime. The first stage of that framework is “shared attention”. Shared attention promotes a way to play that supports a child’s regulation, which requires following the child’s lead and paying attention to their cues. What are cues? The verbal and non-verbal ways that children tell us that they are engaged in the play. For example, playing peek-a-boo with an infant, using affect, rhythm and anticipation to connect, is an example of shared attention. This shared attention leads to two-way interactions. Two way interactions, both with and without words, are the foundation of play, both between parent and child and between children as well.
When children have lots of experience in play of two-way interactions, they can practice social problem solving in play. It is important for children to practice problem solving in play with parents, caregivers and teachers before we expect them to be able to do so with each other. When problems come up in play, we want kids to solve them. They could be physical problems, such as how to access the blocks on the shelf when other kids have built block structures in front of the shelf or how to access the middle bar on the climber. They could be social or emotional problems, such as how to keep a pretend play scenario moving forward when different players have different ideas.
When problems occur, adults should wait, watch, and wonder aloud with the child. Adults can keep the child focused on the problem with affect and emotion. It can be so easy for adults to solve problems for children – to hand over the blocks that they can’t reach, to offer a solution for marrying the ideas in pretend play. However, it is essential that we don’t and that we do give children the opportunity to try out their own solutions and practice failing and trying again.
After social problem solving comes ideation which includes representational play with toys and symbolic play with emotional ideas. In pretend play, we want to support all emotions and themes and not restrict kids to only “nice” ideas and themes. Play is how children try to figure out the world.
Lastly, we come to emotional thinking, where a child is building bridges between ideas. It is in this stage where children can contemplate and answer the “w” questions – why, what, and when. But, you can’t get here without first spending time in shared attention, two-way interaction, social problem solving, and ideation. When you play with your child with a purpose you can feel confident you are supporting your child’s development.
It’s officially Spring - although it doesn’t quite feel like it yet. Parents and teachers alike are anticipating when we no longer have to keep track of hats and mittens and the time spent outside playing can be even longer. At staff meetings, we are planning for forcing seeds and planting the raised beds in the outdoor classroom. And of course, Spring Break is happily anticipated. It is also the time of year when we notice the actual physical growth of the children. We see that their faces don’t look the same as the one in their photos near their coat hook, that they are taller, stronger and faster than they were just a few months ago. It is also a time of regression and growth, a time that naturally leads to more power struggles, heightened emotions, and sometimes head-shaking confusion about the behavior of young children!
When kids are going through rapid periods of development, it is often uneven. We observe kids getting physically clumsy when they have an explosion of vocabulary or kids losing their ability to compromise with a friend when they are experiencing a leap in their cognitive growth. We observe noticeable regressions in their ability to regulate their emotions when they are asking for more independence; there is a tension within them. Am I a big kid? What are my responsibilities as a big kid? I want to be a big kid! No, I want you to take care of me!
At this point in the school year, kids feel confident in the routines of school and in their relationships with teachers and with each other. These are positive outcomes of repeated experiences at school with materials and activities (and each other) that are meeting kids at the “just right” developmental challenge; enough challenge to spur development, but not so much as to discourage effort. Teachers carefully plan and consider this “just right” challenge as they introduce new activities like playing across the street in the 2 day class, acting out a story in the 3 day class, sewing in the 4 day class, and less structured and defined dramatic play spaces in JK. They consider the supports kids require to rise to these new experiences and expect that there will be challenging behaviors and a need of a reminder of rules and expectations.
The same is true when parents introduce new expectations and experiences at home. It is natural that when parents observe new competencies in their child to expect more from them. For example, if your child shows the ability to sit and attend at group time at school or in dance class, you would like them to do so at the dinner table with grandparents. And sometimes, they will be able to do so. And sometimes they won’t. Maybe in the very same day! That is when parents can get frustrated and power struggles erupt. That doesn’t mean it isn’t appropriate to encourage children to practice new skills, it just means that we need a plan when they aren’t able to reach that new expectation.
When those big and messy emotions do emerge, both teachers and parents would do well to remember the following four S’s (from Dealing with Challenging Early Childhood Behaviors: Know the Neuroscience by Peg Oliveira, PhD):
1. Soothe: Start by dealing with the emotion, not the behavior. Try a breathing exercise (for the child as well as for you!) to calm the reactive lower brain.
2. Seen: Honor that the emotion is real by acknowledging and empathizing. State the obvious like, “It looks like it makes you really mad to have to share that ball.”
3. Safe: Make physical space for the child to safely have the emotion and time for the emotion to be fully experienced. Remind the child that emotions are acceptable, though some behaviors may not be, and that we all have them. Explain how some challenging behaviors aren’t allowed because they make it unsafe for all children, and that you are there to keep them safe.
4. Secure: Be there during the challenging behavior and corresponding emotions; and after. Remind them it will all be ok. Do not punish with disconnection or ignoring practices that shame the child. Help develop an internalized sense of connection and well-being.
It also may be helpful to remember that new challenging behaviors are often tied to periods of growth and development, and that on the other side is a more competent and regulated child!
Parents and teachers motivate and encourage young children to engage in positive behaviors and activities that support their growth in many ways. Verbal praise is one of them and can take different forms. “Good job!” is one way adults might acknowledge a child. “Your outfit is so cute!” is another. I would encourage parents to think about the ways that you they? offer verbal feedback to their child (and other children) and strive to do so in a way that is supportive to their development. That is, to use those opportunities to notice the efforts of the child, to be specific in our observations and feedback, and to not tie the positive action of the child to the emotional reaction of the adult.
This is not a sentiment that is unique to the Co-op or our philosophy. In fact, much research has been done on the effect of praise on performance, both with adults and children. In their chapter, entitled, “The Inverse Power of Praise” Bronson and Merryman, the authors of Nurture Shock,point to a number of studies that indicate praise needs to be specific and sincere in order to raise performance. “Praise is important, but not vacuous praise. It has to be based on a real thing – some skill or talent they have. Once children hear praise they interpret as meritless, they discount not just the insincere praise, but sincere praise as well.”
When teachers praise children at school, we try to connect it to something we know about the child, and something we may know that the child values about herself. We also try to use the language of “I notice” instead of “I like”. Examples include:
“I saw how you saw Jane crying and you went and got her a tissue. I notice the way you show that you care about your friends.”
“Lucy, you are working hard on being a builder. You figured out how to make the block building sturdy.”
“Joseph, I notice that you were carefully adding the white paint to the blue to make the shade you were looking for and you didn’t give up until you achieved your idea.”
“I noticed the way you said there could be two dogs that live in this house so Amy could play the game too.”
“Remember when you didn’t know how to zip up your coat? You kept practicing and now you can do it. I notice that you also help your classmates with their zippers.”
Bronson and Merryman also point out that “Excessive praise also distorts children’s motivation; they begin doing things merely to hear the praise, losing sight of intrinsic enjoyment. Scholars found consistent correlations between a liberal use of praise and students’ shorter task persistence, more eye-checking with the teacher, and inflected speech such that answers have the intonation of questions.”
In addition to the quality of our praise to task, I encourage us all to think about the praise we give to children around appearance. I recognize this as an area I need to remind myself about, because, well, they are just so darn cute! However, we all need to be reflective about the messages that we send. Is the same child always being praised in the coat room for her outfit? Or, instead do we say a sincere good morning and praise her on her attention to detail at the easel later? What messages do we send about what we value about children?
I know all of these things and everyday have to remind myself about how to make the verbal feedback I am offering to children meaningful and supportive. This is hard work as it is easy to fall back on the “good job”. But, it is work worth doing!
Most young children are naturally driven to engage in dramatic play. Dramatic play supports children’s development across all domains - cognitive, physical, emotional, and social. One way that teachers assess gains in social development in young children is to observe their dramatic play skills. Do they engages in role play with two or more kids? Can they only remain in play if only their own needs and ideas are always met? Are they able to negotiate with another child as to establishment of role (who is whom) or the action of play (what is happening)? Is the child able to direct the play and accept the direction of others? Do they follow the established roles and rules of dramatic play in order to keep the play going?
Dr. Peter Gray, a research professor of psychology at Boston College, writes, “Children everywhere are born with a strong drive to play with other children and such play is the means by which they acquire social skills and practice fairness and morality. Play, by definition, is voluntary, which means that players are always free to quit. If you can’t quit, it’s not play. All players know that, and so they know that to keep the game going, they must keep the other players happy. The power to quit is what makes play the most democratic of all activities. When players disagree about how to play, they must negotiate their differences and arrive at compromises. Each player must recognize the capacities and desires of the others, so as not to hurt or offend them in ways that will lead them to quit. Failure to do so would end the game and leave the offender alone, which is powerful punishment for not attending to the others’ wishes and needs. The most fundamental social skill is the ability to get into other people’s minds, to see the world from their point of view. Without that, you can’t have a happy marriage, or good friends, or co-operative work partners. Children practice that skill continuously in their social play.”
Practice is the key to helping children achieve the social goals of dramatic play. That is why teachers prioritize dramatic play spaces in the classroom. They follow the principles of emergent curriculum when choosing the themes of dramatic play (either through observation of children’s interests and/or voting as a group), and encourage dramatic play spilling over to other parts of the day: on the playground, in the outdoor classroom, even at snack time! Teachers actively engage in dramatic play. They take on roles, they model the give and take of the more sophisticated dramatic player, and sometimes model the resistance and confusion of the less sophisticated player as well. Moments like these, to practice the social skill “to see the world” from the point of view of others happen every day in the world of play at the Co-op.
Parents too can support the development of the social skills learned through dramatic play. If you aren’t already comfortable in engaging in this kind of play with your child, there are ways to help it become enjoyable for you. Start by watching how teachers engage on your assisting day and copy some of these techniques at home. Think about what interests you and your child share and what kind of engagement is already pleasurable. Do you both enjoy learning and talking about vehicles? Start engaging in dramatic play using toy trucks and trains, creating the world of the toys with your language and taking on the role of driver, repair person, etc. Is cooking together an activity you both enjoy? Enhance the experience by pretending to be the chef, the food critic, the grouchy customer. Your child will delight in your efforts and you will be supporting their development as a dramatic player and therefore their social skills. Good luck!
One of our goals is to create classroom communities that are built upon each child understanding that they are a valued member of their learning community and with that membership comes rights and responsibilities. We strive to impart and develop the ideals of respect for one another, for the classroom and its materials, and for the ideas and needs of peers.
Children learn to respect others when they themselves are respected as individuals with their own mindsets, desires, and needs. Teachers show this respect for their students by listening thoughtfully to their ideas, by engaging with them – side by side – as they construct new knowledge, and as they navigate and create relationships with each other. In addition, teachers model respectful relationships with their teaching partners and with the assisting parents in the classroom. Children begin to first show respect to the adults in the classroom – the teachers and parents – and then are able to start to show it to one another. This looks like children respecting the work of others (their block buildings and easel paintings), respecting the materials in the classroom because they belong to everyone, and thoughtfully listening to each other’s ideas at group time or “news” at snack.
Children learn to take care of one another when they themselves know that their needs will be taken care of. Children in our classrooms learn this when they watch teachers care for their classmates and are cared for by teachers. When we see a child seek out a toy that they hear a child is looking for, when we watch them move over and make room for another person at the playdough table, and when we see them find a family photo for a classmate that is missing their parent, we know that they are learning to take care of one another.
We support children being their best selves in the classroom, which positively impacts their own development and the experience of their classmates. Teachers begin to know and understand each child as an individual, what their interests are, what they want to learn, what challenges that readiness to learn, and what supports it. As we learn that information, we can apply it in our interactions with each child to help them reach their fullest potential. We observe children doing this for each other, too. It can be as simple as bringing a friend a bumpy cushion to sit on at group time. Or, to the slightly harder challenge of a child comprising their idea to continue the play interaction. Or, to the truly empathetic response of understanding that an accommodation made for another child is not one that you need and accepting that fair is not always equal at school. Or in life.
Sharing, modeling, and supporting these values with our students is foundational to creating the kind of moral classrooms that we aspire to and that support the social and emotional development of all of the children.
What a week we have had - as a city and as a nation. First, we experienced the violent loss of our district commander, Paul Bauer, an excellent man who in the past few weeks had reached out to our school to offer his support and guidance. Then on Valentine’s Day, another horrific school shooting that shocked even its inevitability and made each of us who both send our children to, and work in, schools feel insecure, worried and sad. All of our instincts are to protect the children in our care from these and other difficult subjects. We often even want to protect them from their own negative emotions that are directly tied to their individual experiences, like the illness or death of a loved one or an upcoming school transition or move. Parents ask me and their teachers, how do we balance preserving our child’s innocence with helping develop their coping skills?
During those conversations my experience, overwhelmingly, is just how much parents wish to protect children from these stressful, sometimes overwhelming and sad experiences. The desire to protect and to preserve the innocence of childhood for as long as possible is an admirable one. We all know that life is littered with stressful and sometimes very heartbreaking experiences, hopefully balanced with uplifting and joyful ones as well. Our efforts to avoid the first to preserve the second for children often leads parents to question just how much a child should know or even, what situations can they avoid exposing their child to.
Sadness, fear, and stress are all emotions that young children already experience. They might not always have the capacity to differentiate between or name them, but we know they do. Early childhood educators have the goal of helping children learn how to acknowledge and name their own emotions and we work towards that goal with quality children’s literature, modeling, and the use of visual representations like feeling check-in charts.
Parents are the center of their child’s universe, which is apparent to me everyday at school, as I watch a child reach back for one last hug at drop-off, beam with delight when announcing to me that it is their assisting day to spend with you, or eagerly run into your waiting arms at dismissal. It is also that knowledge that leads me to the following advice.
Set the tone with careful and calm explanation. Children will often know, long before they are told, that something is stressing their parents. Often, just the acknowledgment of the difficulty to be faced is a relief to the child. When talking with young children keep in mind their limited experiences. They may have never experienced a move, understood that sometimes people or pets become ill and die, that their nanny might not be with them forever. Clear explanations in a way they can understand are key. Simple explanation and only answering a question asked provides understanding and comfort to the child.
Acknowledge real emotions. Sharing the information of the difficult task at hand can often lead to both parents and children becoming sad, distressed or mad. It is important to acknowledge those emotions for yourself and for them. “I am also sad about leaving our house. We’ve had so many great times here.” “I know how much you love Megan. It’s hard to say goodbye to someone we care about.” Well-meaning messages of “You’ll love the new house with your own room and a yard” or “You’ll make friends with the new nanny” are helpful only after the child knows that you accept and are not scared of their negative emotions. It helps them be okay with them as well.
Lead by example. First, show your children that negative emotions as a response to real life stressors are an acceptable and reasonable response. Then, show them that they do not have to be overwhelming. Demonstrating coping skills and modeling how you help yourself feel better, is a great way to start. Also, it can be helpful to point out when you are doing a not-so-great job of it. “I’m sorry I got so mad when you wouldn’t clean up your toys. It’s important to me that we work together to keep the playroom clean. But, I also think I got too mad because I was worrying about Granny. Maybe we could have extra cuddle time tonight before bed.”
I hope this bit of advice can be helpful to you, either now or in the future. If there are specific scenarios you’d like to talk about, my door is always open.
In the introduction to her book, Nurturing Connection: What Parents Need to Know About Emotional Expression and Bonding, Rebecca Thompson writes: “It is about remembering that our children’s need for connection is a primary factor in most of their behavior. It is about recognizing that, in every parenting situation, we have choices about how we respond to our children and their behaviors. It is about seeing every parenting situation as an opportunity to create connection or disconnection. It is about looking at our everyday parenting situations and beginning to see how we can choose connection.” I was thinking of these words the other day as I was dismissing children at the end of the day.
It’s that time of year when parents are feeling connected to one another and look forward to the opportunities to chat with each other before and after school. This wonderful by-product of the way our school fosters community is a desired one. One of the things I truly enjoy about my job is the opportunity to see new friendships among families begin and deepen over time. Often, I am observing those conversations and connections at the dismissal door. But, it also means that sometimes the opportunity for a healthy reunion between the child and the parent is being missed.
Choosing connection, as Thompson calls it, means being mindful of taking those opportunities to truly be present during transition times. By doing so, it can ease the transition and support positive behaviors as the day moves forward. Being apart from parents and caregivers, away from home and in group settings requires a lot from children. At school, we are asking them to share teacher attention, take turns with materials, follow our schedule, and participate in activities that they may not be interested in. They are navigating the space, their relationships with one another, and being asked to contribute to the care of their classroom. All of these “asks” are happening at the same time they are without their most beloved people - their parents.
Often, the transition out of school reminds children how much they have missed you and how ready they are to see you again. Here lies the opportunity to choose and create connection. When you hear me say your child’s name I encourage you to pause the conversation, put your phone in your pocket, and be ready to greet your child. They are ready to greet you! Choose this opportunity for a face to face greeting, a hug, a smile, to say, “I’m happy to see you!”. Because, they are so happy to see you.
Thank you to everyone who made the auction event such a wonderful success! Beyond meeting our financial goals, is the community-building that happens between families and families and staff. The positive energy in the room was palpable. In addition to all who spent so many hours on the auction, many families are engaged right now in producing the yearbook, hosting school tours, preparing for the lottery and supporting our open house event. At the last board meeting, each member was engaged, offering ideas and support to one another. Believe or not, participating in the school in these ways have researched based positive impacts on students, families, schools and communities.
Long time educational researcher Joyce Epstein created a conceptual framework for defining family involvement in schools. Her framework assumes that the foundation for student achievement includes children who have parents to provide housing, health, nutrition, safety at the very least and also have parenting skills in parent-child interactions. Included in the basics of the framework are “home conditions to support study” and parents providing information to help schools know their child. Additionally, it has been found that ongoing communication between school-home and home-school, volunteering in the classrooms and for school events, and the school offering support with educational choices all has additional positive impacts. The highest level of parent involvement in schools is a model that leaves decision making to the membership through a board, PTA, etc. Sound familiar?
As I was reviewing this research, I was pleased to find that our school embodies all of the parts of Epstein’s framework for best practices of parent involvement in schools. There are many ways that I see the benefits for individual children, their families, and of course our overall school community. I observe children who are known, treasured, challenged, and engaged at school. I observe teachers who are supported to continually to grow in their profession and supported by parents and the school to do their very best teaching. I observe parents who grow in their understanding of themselves, their child, and what they want out of an educational community.
I have the pleasure of helping to run a school that thrives on the support of its parent community and I have each of you to thank for all you do that supports the mission of our school – to provide the very best early childhood educational experience for children, parents and teachers.
Choose groups to clone to: | <urn:uuid:56ab705c-4006-4965-bcd5-9042dde752a2> | {
"date": "2018-04-24T22:37:07",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125947421.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20180424221730-20180425001730-00576.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9737416505813599,
"score": 2.625,
"token_count": 7114,
"url": "https://www.lincolnparkcoop.org/page.cfm?p=502"
} |
More Slideshows from eMedicineHealth
Spider and Varicose Veins
What Is Autism?
Autism (also termed autism spectrum disorders or ASDs) is a wide range or spectrum of brain disorders that is usually noticed in young children that decreases the individual's ability to communicate and relate emotionally to others. This disability may range from mild to severe. Autism occurs about four to five times more often in boys than girls.
Signs of Autism
Autism, or autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), can develop at various ages. Some infants may show early signs of ASD while others may develop normally until ages 15 to 30 months when they start to regress (loose communication skills). Although the symptoms listed below may occur with ASDs, each one may also occur in children without ASDs at some point in time:
- Avoiding eye contact
- Avoiding physical contact
- Rocking, spinning, or other repeated movements
- Delayed speech development
- Repetitive speaking of words or short phrases
- Inability to cope with small changes in a daily routine
- Limited or no interactions with peers
Early Warning Signs: First Year
Early warning signs and symptoms of ASDs are recognizable. Infants (under the age of 1 year) with ASD may exhibit some or most of these behaviors:
- Will not make eye contact
- Will not respond to parent’s voice
- Will not babble (baby talk) or point by 1 year of age
- Will not respond to their name
- Will not smile or laugh in response to others behavior
Early Warning Signs: Second Year
As some ASD children reach age 2, they may regress or lose language skills; others may simply have no single words by about 16 months or no two-word phrases by 2 years. Other signs of ASD are lack of interest in any pretend games and ignoring or acting detached from whatever is of interest to others.
Additional Symptoms and Signs
Other ASD symptoms are physical problems such as poor coordination while running or climbing, poor hand control, constipation, and poor sleeping. Some children develop seizures.
How Is the Brain Affected By Autism?
ASD apparently affects the brain. Some children with ASD have larger than normal brains but findings are inconsistent. MRI scans of some ASD children show abnormal cortical responses and some show other abnormalities. Inconsistent findings have made diagnosis of ASD by MRI or CT scans currently not possible but future advances in brain studies may change our understanding of the brain’s role in ASD.
Early Screening for Autism
Because ASDs range from mild to severe disorders, many children are not diagnosed early so that treatments that may help the child may be delayed for years. Because ASDs usually begin early in children’s lives, many pediatric doctors screen children, especially those with any developmental delays at 9, 18 and 24 months of age. Older children are often screened if they seem to fall behind age-related developmental levels.
Diagnosis: Speech Problems
At the intervals mentioned in the previous slide, your baby's doctor will observe how the baby reacts to the parent's voice, smile, and other stimuli and may ask a few questions about the child's reactions. Other tests that determine hearing, speech development, and behaviors may be done to help distinguish ASD from other problems.
Diagnosis: Poor Social Skills
A major part of the diagnosis of ASD is determining social skills. Some features of many ASD children are their inability to look another person in the eye, even the eyes of their parents. ASD children often focus on objects and do so intently, virtually ignoring other people or other stimuli for long time periods. If children with ASDs do communicate, it is often robot-like without facial expressions or gestures.
Although there is no medical test for autism (ASDs), there are a number of questions that serve as screening tools that help to determine if the individual fits the criteria for ASD. In general, most clinicians now accept the three criteria listed below for diagnosis:
- Impairments in social interactions
- Impairments in communication
- A restricted and repetitive range of interests, behaviors, and activities
Some treatments, presented in following slides may improve the outcome of ASD.
Asperger's syndrome is very similar to ASD; however, there are no language or cognitive developmental delays and they are usually diagnosed in older children (age 3 years and older). The children may be normal or have superior intelligence but have difficulty in relating to people and making friends. They also tend to focus on specialized tasks.
Treatment: Behavior Programs
Treatment of ASD (and similar problems like Asperger's syndrome) is available. Behavioral therapy programs are available from several sources and they are designed to aid people in talking, communicating effectively, interacting with others, and avoiding negative or antisocial behaviors. The Autism Society maintains a Web site and offers a toll-free hotline (1-800-3-AUTISM/1-800-328-8476). This resource provides information and referral services to anyone who requests them.
Treatment involves the education of the child with ASD. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act authorized states to determine how to provide educational services to children younger than 3 years of age. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 requires free and appropriate public education for all children, regardless of the extent and severity of their handicaps while amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act of 1986 extended the requirement for free and appropriate education to children aged 3 to 5 years. Parents are advised to check with their individual school administrators to determine what programs best fit their child.
Although there is no medical treatment for ASDs, there are treatments for some ASD symptoms. You and your child's pediatrician need to discuss medical therapy before it is administered to be sure the benefits outweigh any risks. The medical agents commonly used are antipsychotic agents like risperidone or aripiprazole. Drugs such as methylphenidate, fluoxetine, antiseizure medications, and others may help specific symptoms. Close observation is required to monitor the child's response to any medication.
Treatment: Sensory Integration
As previously mentioned, children with ASD may be extremely sensitive to various sensory stimuli such as sounds, lights, textures, taste, and odors. Some children may become agitated by touching, hearing, or seeing specific things such as a bell, blinking lights, touching something cold, tasting certain foods, or smelling a specific odor like a disinfectant. Some children can be trained to adapt and thus improve behavior.
Autism and Assistive Technology
Technology has recently given some children with severe ASD symptoms (for example, ASD patients who are nonverbal) ways to communicate. The assistive technology may be a computer tablet, a computer, or even a phone app with programs especially designed to engage children with ASD (see attached reference).
Autism and Diet
A balanced diet, along with some vitamin supplementation, is advised by clinicians for children with ASDs. It is important to have a good diet as some patients show good improvement in symptoms when eating such a diet. Some ASD patients suffer from constipation and others may develop a habit of eating items like dirt or paper. A good diet may help reduce these ASD symptoms.
Beware of ASD "treatments" that are not proven or claim to "cure" ASDs. Do not start any therapy until it is discussed with the child's doctor or medical team because some treatments could be dangerous for your child. In addition to checking with medical personnel, there are national agencies such as the Autism Society of America that can help answer your treatment questions.
What Causes Autism?
Researchers still do not know exactly what causes ASDs. However, genetics may play a significant role because ASDs occurs more frequently in certain families and in patients with other genetic problems (fragile X syndrome or tuberous sclerosis). Researchers also suggest that some toxins or drugs may play a role. For example, valproic acid, thalidomide, and infection exposure during pregnancy increases ASD risk in the infant.
Vaccines Don't Cause Autism
There has never been any definitive link between childhood vaccines (or ANY vaccines) and ASD. None has been linked to thimerosol, a form of mercury previously but no longer used as a preservative in childhood vaccines. Children with ASDs should be vaccinated; it seems inappropriate to most medical caregivers to leave children open to potentially very harmful infections for no good reason.
Autism Among Siblings
ASDs have increased as a diagnosis over the years. Researchers are not sure if the increase is due to actual increases in patients or is due to better diagnostic methods. Also, the incidence of ASDs is higher in siblings of diagnosed ASD patients. Identical twins have the highest percentage of ASD occurrence, about a 75% chance that both will develop ASD if one twin has ASD. As previously mentioned, boys are about four to five times more likely to develop ASDs.
Accommodation in School
Remember, you can get help for your child with ASD. There are federal laws that spell out some of the help available in public schools. In addition, you can contact organizations that can help you approach and plan for both public and private sources that may help your child with the complex symptoms that can accompany ASDs.
Living With Autism
ASDs and similar problems like Asperger's syndrome do not necessarily mean your child cannot lead an independent and useful life. People with early treatment and mild-to-moderate symptoms can even graduate from college or graduate schools. Others with below-average abilities may still be able to do specialized jobs and live independently or in group homes. The key to ASD treatment is early recognition of the signs and symptoms of ASDs in infants and young children. | <urn:uuid:8a63ca5e-5df9-4ed0-a650-666e6fdc9e12> | {
"date": "2014-08-21T08:26:33",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500815756.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021335-00384-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9447930455207825,
"score": 3.84375,
"token_count": 2003,
"url": "http://www.emedicinehealth.com/slideshow_pictures_autism/article_em.htm"
} |
When we take up a loan, we will have to pay
extra money for using the loan. This extra money
is called interest.
There are several types of interest.
The lessons below will touch on:
Here, we will learn the basics behind these two types
of interest. Also, we will see how we can derive
the formulas for these interests
and see some examples on using them. | <urn:uuid:7fcb2151-dde4-4bb6-8842-c86465e76e6e> | {
"date": "2015-05-03T17:51:26",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-18",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1430448957257.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20150501025557-00041-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8710693717002869,
"score": 2.84375,
"token_count": 84,
"url": "http://www.mathexpression.com/interest-formulas.html"
} |
A Doppler assessment is used to detect any arterial or vascular insufficiencies in the body's circulation. A Doppler machine (similar to that used in detecting a baby’s heartbeat on pregnant women) is a hand held device which is used to amplify a received signal into an audible sound. By taking blood pressure readings in both arms & legs, and using the doppler that help us to 'listen' to the veins & arteries, we can then apply a mathematical formula to the readings that help us to determine how healthy the circulation is. There are numerous reasons why we should wish to carry out this task, and the results will very much determine what treatment is then offered. To get the most accurate result we would ask that patients arrive at the surgery in good time - so they are well rested, and their blood pressure is as stable as possible. This task is not to be rushed and that is why we allow approximately 40 minutes for this procedure.
The nurses will need access to your upper arms and lower legs so it would be helpful to wear loose fitting clothing that can be pulled up or down. Tights, stockings and socks will need to be removed but any dressings can remain in place. | <urn:uuid:6c56522c-6b78-4e41-b403-1f61fb065d04> | {
"date": "2018-06-22T09:01:16",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864387.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20180622084714-20180622104714-00216.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9608584642410278,
"score": 2.671875,
"token_count": 250,
"url": "http://southernhayhousesurgery.co.uk/tests-and-results.aspx?t=7"
} |
Devotion of Arjuna and Hanuman
Arjuna, being a normal devotee with little faith in Krishna, participated in the work of God (Kurukshetra war) since it was a Holy Mission that helps the society in establishing the justice in the world. Hanuman was a super devotee with immense faith in Rama and hence, participated in the war, which was a personal work of God. The ultimate aim of your service should be to please the God, be it the social work or His personal work. Such devotion is perfect as in the case of Hanuman. The war in Kurukshetra was for the social welfare in one angle and was the personal work of Arjuna only and not at all the personal work of God. Therefore, the participation of Arjuna in the war does not involve high faith and high devotion.
In the case of Hanuman, it involves immense faith and devotion. You may think that the war was personal work of Rama in one angle and killing Ravana is social welfare in another angle and therefore, Hanuman participated in the war. Rama removed the second angle when He told that He will go back without killing Ravana if he returns Sita and now, the war was confined to the first angle only. | <urn:uuid:1fc39714-80e0-4e63-93e3-078b327b3952> | {
"date": "2016-10-28T20:09:15",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-44",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988725470.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183845-00057-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.968080461025238,
"score": 3.03125,
"token_count": 263,
"url": "http://www.speakingtree.in/blog/devotion-of-arjuna-and-hanuman"
} |
Smarter Living: Chemical Index
Chlorpyrifos (trade name Dursban) is a pesticide developed from a World World II-era nerve gas and is toxic to the nervous system. Though banned for home use, it is still allowed for use on golf courses, to treat wood and in food production.
Exposure to chlorpyrifos can cause nausea, dizziness, confusion and breathing difficulties at low doses. Higher doses can result in respiratory paralysis or even death. Young children are particularly vulnerable to chlorpyrifos and other pesticides because their bodies and brains are still developing, and chemicals that interfere with the nervous system during development may cause long-term or permanent damage.
Where it is Found
In 2000 the EPA banned the use of chlorpyrifos for household use, but it is still commonly applied on golf courses, on treated wood and in agriculture (mostly on corn, and also on orchard and vegetable row crops). Because of its widespread agricultural use, people are still exposed to this toxic chemical through contaminated foods, drinking water and the air around farmland. California reported 29 cases of chlorpyrifos poisoning in 2007.
Buy organic when purchasing fruits and vegetables. Berries, stone fruits and leafy greens tend to carry the most pesticide residue.
Wash all produce thoroughly before you eat it.
Check the labels on any older pest control or gardening products in your household to make sure they do not contain chlorpyrifos (or Dursban, its trademarked name). If they do, contact your sanitation department for information on how to dispose of it as household hazardous waste, or check Earth911.org for information on hazardous waste disposal in your area.
Choosing organic produce can help, but the most effective way to protect the American public is to ban chlorpyrifos completely. Safer, less-toxic alternatives are already on the market, making the use of chlorpyrifos unnecessary. NRDC and other groups have petitioned EPA to properly protect public health and stop the use of this highly toxic pesticide. The EPA is now reviewing the safety of chlorpyrifos as well as a group of related neurotoxic chemicals called organophosphates.
U.S. EPA, Chlorpyrifos RED (PDF), July 2006
last revised 12/28/2011 | <urn:uuid:f10b0e97-ec41-47d7-ba34-4f8e97747c0b> | {
"date": "2014-10-01T10:18:32",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-41",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1412037663417.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20140930004103-00270-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9177525639533997,
"score": 3.15625,
"token_count": 482,
"url": "http://www.nrdc.org/living/chemicalindex/chlorpyrifos.asp"
} |
Table Of Content:
- Koplik Spots Definition
- Description of Koplik Spots Appearance
- Where Are Koplik Spots Found?
- Koplik Spots Causes
- Koplik Spots and Measles
- Koplik Spots and Rubella
- Maculopapular Rash and Koplik Spots
- Koplik Spots in Mouth
- Are Koplik Spots Contagious?
- Koplik Spots Diagnosis
- Koplik Spots Differential Diagnosis
- Are Koplik Spots Painful?
- Koplik Spots Treatment
- Koplik Spots Pictures
Are you suffering from grayish-white oral lesions? If you are, you may just be having Koplik Spots in your mouth. Read on to know what Koplik Spots are as well as its causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
Koplik Spots Definition
Medical researchers define Koplik Spots as tiny lesions with reddish borders that arise on the mucus membrane within the cheeks and the lips prior to the development of eruptions.
Description of Koplik Spots Appearance
These spots are tiny in size and grayish-white in color. The appearance of Koplik Spots is similar to sand grains, with a reddish border surrounding them.
Where Are Koplik Spots Found?
These are mostly found on the inner lining of the cheek, known as the Buccal Mucosa. These are especially found along the opposite edge of the lower molar teeth.
These lesions usually arise in clusters in the side opposite the premolars.
Koplik Spots Causes
These lesions mainly arise as a result of measles, that itself is caused by the Rubeola virus that is a member of the Paramyxoviridae family. An infection of the endothileal cells results in an Enanthem (Koplik Spots). These lesions are said to be a prodromic viral enanthem (mucus membrane eruption) of measles. The spots arise two days prior to the appearance of the measles rashes.
In some cases, Koplik spots are supposed to arise as a result of Parvovirus b19 infection. In such cases, purpuric eruptions are also found to arise along with these spots.
Koplik Spots and Measles
The spots are often found to appear in the mouth of children who are infected with measles. The presence of these spots indicates measles infection in most cases.
Measles is regarded to be one of the most contagious childhood disorders. The virus is spread through coughing, sneezing as well as direct contact with the secretions of individuals already infected with this condition. Generally, the virus can live outside the body for as long as two hours. It can remain active on surfaces contaminated by the touch of infected persons and in the air. Measles usually infect children aged between five and ten and also adults who have not yet been vaccinated. After exposure to an infected person, the virus incubates within the body for about 10 to 12 days. Mild symptoms like red eyes, conjunctivitis, photophobia (sensitivity to light), fever, runny nose and cough usually manifest after the incubation period. These are often followed by the development of Koplik spots on the buccal mucosa.
Koplik Spots and Rubella
Sometimes, Koplik’s spots look like Forschheimer spots. Forschheimer spots are a type of fleeting skin eruption (Exanthem) that appears as discrete red spots over the soft palate as seen in Rubella (a contagious viral disease that is milder in intensity than measles) in some cases just before the onset of skin rashes.
Maculopapular Rash and Koplik Spots
Some individuals are seen to suffer from both Koplik spots and Maculopapular rashes. This typically happens when a person suffers from a skin condition known as Blanching maculopapular rash. It gives rise to both temporary maculopapular rashes and white Koplik spots. Both types of rashes may also appear as a result of side-effects of certain medicines like Cefobid, Cefoperazone Sodium, Amoxicillin and other antibiotics.
Koplik Spots in Mouth
These spots arise in the mouth as a result of measles. In the early measles phase (Rubeola), individuals are seen to suffer from tiny little oral lesions. These are particularly found to originate on the Buccal Mucosa or the inner side of the cheek, opposite the first and second upper molars.
Are Koplik Spots Contagious?
As aforementioned, these lesions arise due to a measles infection caused by the Rubeola virus. This is an extremely contagious virus that is spread by sneezing and coughing. It spreads from person to person through direct touch or contact with the throat or nasal secretions of an infected person. These lesions are not known to spread from person to person as such. However, the lesions may appear in a healthy person after contracting measles from an infected individual.
Koplik Spots Diagnosis
The diagnosis of Koplik Spots is not different from that of measles. A blood test can confirm the presence of Rubeola virus and help make a proper diagnosis. Doctors should also take the detailed medical history of the patient into account. The travel and sexual history as well as that of vaccination are also taken into account. An experienced healthcare provider can also make the diagnosis by simple physical observation of the lesions. Laboratory tests are rarely of any practical use. Specific types of IgM antibodies are used in diagnostic procedures in developed nations with a low incidence of measles.
The diagnosis of these spots is mainly based on the appearance of rashes of the classic Rubeola maculopapular variety.
Koplik Spots Differential Diagnosis
These lesions are not usually difficult to diagnose. This is due to the fact that they are focal and mostly seen in kids. However, differential diagnosis should aim at distinguishing these spots from Cheek-biting keratosis and Large Fordyce’s granules.
Are Koplik Spots Painful?
These lesions are generally painless. However, this condition may be associated with pain in the muscles of the body due to its relation with measles. As aforesaid, in patients of Koplik Spots Rubeola (measles) is the most common causative factor.
Koplik Spots Treatment
There is no specific cure for this disorder. The treatment of these spots is usually similar to the cure of measles. Bed rest, humid conditions and use of Acetaminophen (Tylenol) can provide sufferers with relief from the discomforting symptoms. Vitamin A supplements may be required to treat some children.
Koplik spots disappear in a rapid manner, generally after 18 hours. In individuals suffering from measles infection, complications like Pneumonia, Bronchitis, Ear Infection and Encephalitis may occur. Those not suffering from complications can recover very fast.
These lesions are completely curable. If you or any child your family is suffering from these spots, get in touch with a medical provider as fast as possible. This will help in early cure and make a faster recovery possible.
Koplik Spots Pictures
Here are some Koplik Spots images that will give you a fair idea about the appearance of these rashes. You can use these Koplik Spots photos for reference.
Picture 3 – Koplik’s Spots | <urn:uuid:5abf7e12-8c9a-4b1a-8f5c-31b7fb36a6b4> | {
"date": "2018-06-22T10:51:33",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864391.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20180622104200-20180622124200-00576.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9377845525741577,
"score": 3.390625,
"token_count": 1596,
"url": "https://www.hxbenefit.com/kopliks-spots.html"
} |
CTE Introduction - Business
CTE Introduction (CTE Intro) is a required course for seventh grade students. Through CTE Intro, students participate in activity-centered lessons to utilize technology, develop beginning skills, and explore careers by expanding awareness. CTE Intro provides information regarding future classes and training related to each student’s career field of interest. Imagine creating a slide show utilizing specialized software applications.
Students do that in CTE Intro!
Click here to access CTE Intro - Business lesson plans and resources. | <urn:uuid:18e07273-4c16-4e4b-a318-a23f20f3cee6> | {
"date": "2014-11-24T17:54:57",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-49",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416400380948.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20141119123300-00064-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8524026274681091,
"score": 3.359375,
"token_count": 106,
"url": "http://www.schools.utah.gov/CTE/business/CTE-Introduction---Business.aspx"
} |
When a woman's labor is started before natural labor begins, it is called labor induction. Your healthcare provider might suggest labor induction for a medical reason, whether it is for your health or the health of your baby. This is called an indicated labor induction. Sometimes, a woman desires to have labor started for convenience or personal choice; this is an elective labor induction.
Is Elective labor Induction Ok?
Deciding to have your healthcare provider induce labor before it starts on its own might sound like a good idea. Maybe you want to plan the birth of your baby for a special date, with a specific care provider, or you have relatives coming to help with other children. Or, the closer you get to your due date, you just might be ready to have your baby!
Sometimes though, elective labor induction may not be good for your baby. There are risks when labor is induced before you are 39 weeks pregnant and if the cervix (the part of the uterus that opens to allow the baby to pass through) is not ready. You and your care provider will decide together, using guidelines, when and if elective labor induction is ok for you and your baby.
Your Due Date
A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks. Some women go into labor a little before or a little after 40 weeks, but delivery around this time assures your healthcare team that your baby is ready to come into the world. When you got pregnant, your due date was estimated, based on several things: | <urn:uuid:9fa7578d-893a-4fc8-905b-2ef9b1bd46fc> | {
"date": "2015-07-28T13:19:42",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-32",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042981921.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002301-00341-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9645654559135437,
"score": 2.703125,
"token_count": 305,
"url": "http://www.msha.com/services/womens/the_family_birth_center/chubby_cheeks/elective_labor_induction.aspx"
} |
Some teenagers seem to sleep a lot. As parents and grandparents, we can find this rather aggravating. But the fact is, as we get older, our sleep patterns may change, and our sleep can be less restful.1 Perhaps it’s a good idea to let young people sleep in peace while they still can.
Scientists say young adults require about nine hours of sleep a day, on average. If they get less than eight hours, they may have a harder time paying attention. Full-grown adults, on the other hand, need an average of seven and a half hours. Unfortunately, studies show about one-third of adults in Western societies get less than that on a regular basis.2
A recent study by the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich found a correlation between chronic lack of sleep and increased risk-seeking behavior. Scientists trace the link to the brain’s right prefrontal cortex, which is directly connected with higher risk-seeking behavior. The researchers theorize that when a person persistently does not get enough sleep, this area of the brain does not recover properly, which prompts behavioral changes. Interestingly, the researchers found that study subjects did not notice they engaged in riskier behaviors and therefore were not cognizant of this relationship with sleep patterns.3
The study’s authors observed that sound sleep, of the appropriate duration, is critical for good decision making — especially for political and economic leaders whose daily decisions impact the larger society.4 This advice is also worth pursuing in our own lives. In other words, avoid making important decisions when you haven’t been sleeping well.
As financial professionals, we are here to help guide you. We’ll give your retirement income goals our full attention; just give us a call to set up an appointment to discuss how we can help you create a retirement income strategy through the use of insurance products.
Although we often hear that everyone needs a full eight hours of sleep each night, the actual amount varies by individual — usually between seven and nine hours.5 Just one night of insufficient sleep can make us cranky and too tired for healthy activities — like engaging in exercise or preparing a nutritious meal.6
Over time, sleep deprivation can increase the risk of developing a variety of chronic health problems, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. It may make us more vulnerable to getting sick when exposed to a cold virus. Chronic lack of sleep also can make us more susceptible to experiencing depression and anxiety.7
Women are 40 percent more likely to suffer from insomnia or symptoms of insomnia compared to men, but the reasons for this are unclear. Some researchers hypothesize that women’s traditional role in society as caregivers could be a contributing factor. Furthermore, single parents who serve as both caregivers and financial providers are at higher risk of insomnia. Some scientists speculate the sleep circuitry for women could be different from men and, when combined with social roles as both worker and caregiver, this may result in a higher risk for sleep disorders.8
While the length and quality of sleep is a personal matter, it cumulatively has an impact on the economy. According to a study by RAND Europe, the United States loses approximately $411 billion a year due to workers who sleep less than six hours a night — which represents around 2.28 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. However, if those poor sleepers got one extra hour of sleep each night, the data suggests about $226.4 billion could be added back to the economy.9
Content prepared by Kara Stefan Communications.
1 National Sleep Foundation. “Aging and Sleep.” https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/aging-and-sleep. Accessed Dec. 29, 2017.
2 ScienceDaily. Aug. 28, 2017. “Chronic lack of sleep increases risk-seeking.” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170828102725.htm. Accessed Dec. 19, 2017.
5 William Kormos, M.D. Harvard Medical School. May 2016. “Ask the Doctor: The right amount of sleep.” https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/ask-the-doctor-right-amount-of-sleep. Accessed Dec. 19, 2017.
6 Julie Corliss. Harvard Medical School. July 2017. “The health hazards of insufficient sleep.” https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-hazards-of-insufficient-sleep. Accessed Dec. 19, 2017.
8 MedicalXpress. Dec. 18, 2017. “New guide aims to unmask unique challenges women face in getting healthy sleep.” https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-aims-unmask-unique-women-healthy.html. Accessed Dec. 19, 2017.
9 Sandee LaMotte. CNN. Sept. 27, 2017. “Sacrificing sleep? Here’s what it will do to your health.” http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/19/health/dangers-of-sleep-deprivation/index.html. Accessed Dec. 19, 2017.
We are an independent firm helping individuals create retirement strategies using a variety of insurance products to custom suit their needs and objectives. This material is intended to provide general information to help you understand basic retirement income strategies and should not be construed as financial advice.
The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions. If you are unable to access any of the news articles and sources through the links provided in this text, please contact us to request a copy of the desired reference. | <urn:uuid:02cc4c46-fe9a-4427-a9b6-3334da1de2c5> | {
"date": "2018-10-17T14:43:31",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583511175.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20181017132258-20181017153758-00056.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9310928583145142,
"score": 3.4375,
"token_count": 1219,
"url": "http://elevationcapitalstrategies.com/blog/how-losing-sleep-could-translate-to-a-loss-of-money/"
} |
5 Things You Need To Know (August 14, 2018)
1. Screen time does more than just affect our sleep.
A new study from the University of Toledo showed that blue light exposure is toxic to our eyes and can speed blindness. The study, which explains not just that blue light is bad for our eyes but exactly how it can lead to macular degeneration, will hopefully lead to new protective therapies. (University of Toledo News)
2. A jury awards $289 million in damages to a terminally ill man who says using the weed killer Roundup gave him cancer.
Dewayne Johnson, a former school district groundskeeper, believes repeated exposure to Roundup—the most widely used weed killer in the world—caused his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and a jury agrees. This is the first of thousands of cases awaiting trial against Monsanto, the company that produces Roundup, and it could set a historic precedent. (CNN)
3. The Human Cell Atlas Consortium is an organized community effort to identify every cell type in the human body for further research and disease prevention.
The leading scientist, MIT biology professor Aviv Regev, was part of a research team that discovered a sequencing technique that allowed scientists to gather information about cells at an unprecedented rate that, for the first time, seemed like it was fast enough to allow them to go through all of the cells in the human body. The Cell Atlas has raised $200 million in funding so far, which is certainly smaller than the $3 billion Human Genome Project, but the benefits could be just as effective. Early work is showing promise for improved treatment of cystic fibrosis, and there's potential for asthma, cancer, and much more. (NPR)
4. Yet another reason to seek treatment for depression when you need it.
According to a new study, when teens receive treatment for depression, their parents' mental health often improves too. It makes sense when you consider that depression affects entire families, and previous research has shown that the inverse is true as well: When parents seek treatment for depression, their kids tend to benefit. (NPR)
5. To call it cancer, or not to call it cancer?
It's a question the medical community is mulling over right now, and there's a strong case to remove the word "cancer" in low-risk conditions. Some non- or slow-growing cancers like papillary thyroid cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ, and localized prostate cancer may never cause harm if left undetected, so some experts argue that labeling the instance as cancer can do more harm than good: The high emotional distress from a cancer diagnosis, for example, motivates patients to pursue more aggressive, invasive treatment than what’s actually necessary. (BMJ) | <urn:uuid:c4de7cbb-3cf3-4a5b-8a0e-9905673895e0> | {
"date": "2018-11-21T04:13:14",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-47",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039747024.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20181121032129-20181121054129-00096.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9513212442398071,
"score": 2.578125,
"token_count": 568,
"url": "https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/blue-light-causes-blindness-big-win-against-roundup-for-cancer-and-more-wellness?mbg_ifs=0&mbg_p=a&mbg_ref=related"
} |
North Shore Community School’s curriculum is based on a national EIC model, using the Environment as an Integrated Context for learning opportunities for students and faculty alike. With EIC, there is an emphasis on connecting the students with nature through an integrated environmental curriculum.
The hands on exploration of the natural world at NSCS challenges students to take on small parts of a big question, namely: “What can we learn from the relationships between our community and the natural environment?”
This form of learning draws on children’s innate interest in nature and stories of other people. Students encounter frequent opportunities to become strategic thinkers, enthusiastic learners and effective problem solvers. North Shore students apply their growing knowledge base in math, science and writing skills to observe and research their questions. They demonstrate what they have learned to their peers and teachers using their observations – whether spoken, written, drawn, or created using a computer.
To enhance and develop a better understanding of various subject matters, experts from Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, the University of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are regularly invited to share their knowledge with students and teachers.
Learning at North Shore Community School is cooperative, child-centered, and active. The school’s curriculum is aligned with standards set by the Minnesota Department of Education. These standards can be found on the Minnesota Department of Education’s website.
- Math – Houghton Mifflin’s Math Expressions (K-5) & McGraw Hill’s Math Connects (6th grade)
- Reading – Scott Foresman’s Reading Street
- Social Studies – Houghton Mifflin curriculum & Roots in the Past Seeds for the Future
- Science – hands-on through Foss Science kits
In addition to the core curriculum, students also receive 90 minutes of physical education, 50 minutes of art instruction, 75-90 minutes of music instruction (depending on grade) and 60 minutes of environmental education each week. | <urn:uuid:3292f5a6-cd58-43f6-b428-bdcf3ab9323f> | {
"date": "2018-10-23T19:21:44",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583516892.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20181023174507-20181023200007-00416.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9293655157089233,
"score": 3.203125,
"token_count": 408,
"url": "https://northshorecommunityschool.org/curriculum/"
} |
Bats have underserved reputation 0
Toronto Wildlife Centre rescued more than 30 bats from extreme cold./Handout/QMI Agency
The little winged mammal, the bat needs a new public relations agent. In books, movies and even cartoons, bats have been portrayed as scary animals which are responsible for everthing from rabies to vampires.
However, their reputation in literature and popular culture is unfounded.
Bev Littke, Whitecourt and District Public Library assistant librarian, said the bat does a lot of helpful things and she hopes to change people’s perception.
On Saturday, Feb. 22 the Whitecourt and District Public Library is putting on a special presentation about bats to help get rid of that misconception.
Littke said she came up with idea after reading an article about bats in an October issue of the Western Producer.
“The article talked about a lot of the misconceptions people have about bats. For example, that bats carry rabies. Yes, some bats can have rabies but you are much more likely to get bitten by a dog that has rabies than a bat.”
There are a number of other misconceptions about bats as well. For example, Littke said bats will not suck a person’s blood or fly into a person’s hair.
“Bats don’t like to get tangled in anything let alone a person’s hair. Bats will actually do everything they can to avoid the possibility of getting tangled, including avoiding people.”
Out of the more than 1,000 types of bats in the world, only nine can be found in Canada.
“And none of those nine species are Vampire bats,” Littke said.
Vampire bats, the species of bat whose diet consists solely of blood, live in Central and South America.
Littke said all the species of bats that live in Canada are nocturnal insect eaters, including the most common bat in Alberta, the little brown bat.
The little brown bat’s diet consists entirely of insects, mostly mosquitoes.
A little known fact about the little brown bat, Littke said, is that it can eat up to its own body weight in insects every day.
Unfortunately for the little brown bat, its existence is being threatened by a disease called the white nose syndrome.
“Right now, scientists do not have a cure for the disease nor do they know how to prevent it. It is killing somewhere between 95 and 99 per cent of the individual bats it infects.”
Wind turbines are another challenge for the little brown bat.
“For some reason, probably the noise the wind turbines make, the bats are attracted to the turbines and they are being killed as they fly into the blades of the windmill.”
Littke said the wind turbine companies have been asked if they could shut off the turbines at dusk during the bats’ migration seasons.
As part of the special presentation on bats, Littke has arranged for a biologist from Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development to give people the true facts about bats.
After the presentation, Littke said people will get a chance to build their very own bat house to take home with them.
The presentation is open to people of any age but Littke encourages any children who want to attend the event to be accompanied by an adult.
This is because there will be some supervision needed when construction of the bat houses begins. Although the event is free, space is limited, so people who are interested in attending are asked to preregister by Friday, Feb. 14, by 5 p.m. either in person at the library or by telephone at 780-778-2900. | <urn:uuid:2ecf569d-5e65-46a8-a0c0-9781d1f1da4f> | {
"date": "2014-08-21T04:20:37",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500814701.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021334-00332-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9591244459152222,
"score": 2.90625,
"token_count": 775,
"url": "http://www.whitecourtstar.com/2014/02/10/bats-have-underserved-reputation"
} |
Workshop Suggestions for Teachers and Teachers-in-Training
The first round session Best Practices of Science Education: Higher Education taught by WVU biology professor Dr. Michelle Withers, is ideal for science educators in higher education. The second round session of Best Practices of Science Education: Secondary Education, also taught by Dr. Withers, is geared toward secondary science education students. Dr. Withers’ research involves investigating the best ways to effectively teach science using evidence-based strategies.
Educators are encouraged to attend the Citizen Science Plenary session, an interactive presentation hosted by the Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology (ECAST) Network. Members of the ECAST Network will present a participatory discussion on how citizens can be directly involved in science and technology policy making. The ECAST Network engages experts and citizens in assessing the implications of emerging developments in science and technology. | <urn:uuid:b0c19328-2b5d-4309-80bc-bb7a9370d50d> | {
"date": "2015-04-02T09:41:34",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-14",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427132827069.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323174707-00138-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9101669788360596,
"score": 2.984375,
"token_count": 182,
"url": "http://sciencesymposium.wvu.edu/school_teachers"
} |
Tsimshian Society and Culture
Wealth and Rank
Feasts and Potlatches
The purpose of both feast and potlatch was to announce a significant social event: the birth, marriage or death of a person of high rank, or inheritance and ascension to a title, such as the naming of a new chief. During a feast, only food was distributed; during a potlatch, objects of wealth were distributed as well. All members of the lineage hosting a potlatch would contribute to the wealth that was given away by their chief. The prestige accorded the host chief depended on the amount of wealth he displayed and gave away. In return, the host expected to get back more wealth than he disbursed at the next potlatch given by a rival chief.
Potlatch guests were important because they acted as witnesses to the event. The ascension of the new chief took place during the memorial potlatch, where coppers and other objects of wealth were prominently displayed.
The songs and dances performed during feasts and potlatches celebrated a family's crests and the history of their ancestors.
Tsimshian communities today continue to hold potlatches to mark important events such as the raising of a totem pole, the naming of children or a new house, or the marriage of an important person. | <urn:uuid:24c8af47-5155-4db1-8c0f-d0f9a99fee28> | {
"date": "2014-07-25T03:39:15",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-23",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997892806.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025812-00080-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9848200082778931,
"score": 3.828125,
"token_count": 274,
"url": "http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/tsimsian/weafe01e.shtml"
} |
11 October 2017 – Project FeederWatch celebrated its 30th anniversary last winter, thanks to dedicated participants who observe birds at their feeders. The information collected through this project over three decades allows scientists to measure important changes in North America’s winter bird populations over time. All are invited to join in this fun and easy activity, and help Project FeederWatch achieve even more!
Since Project FeederWatch began, more than 69,000 participants have counted more than 142 million birds and submitted over 2.5 million checklists. This wealth of information has allowed researchers at Bird Studies Canada and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to track impacts of climate change on bird communities, incidence of disease in wild birds, bird population declines and expansions, and other significant topics. Nearly 30 scientific papers have been published using data from Project FeederWatch.
Project FeederWatch also provides learning opportunities and enjoyment to its community of volunteers. Catherine Swan of Brantford, ON, wrote: “I have been doing FeederWatch since it began and have enjoyed every year. My whole family is now hooked on identifying birds and counting them. Thanks for the fun!” If you have a bird feeder or yard that attracts birds, why not pursue an interest in these fascinating animals while contributing to a valuable North America-wide project?
Through an annual registration of $35, participants fund Project FeederWatch – it’s free for Bird Studies Canada members. Canadian participants receive a subscription to BSC’s magazine BirdWatch Canada, a poster of common feeder birds, a calendar, last season’s results, and access to online data tools. Bird Studies Canada and Cornell Lab of Ornithology also share expert advice to help participants identify, understand, and look after feeder birds.
To join, visit www.birdscanada.org/feederwatch or contact the Canadian coordinator at 1-888-448-2473 or [email protected]. In the United States, call 1-866-989-2473.
Armstrong Bird Food and Wild Birds Unlimited are national sponsors of Project FeederWatch in Canada. The partnerships aim to inspire more Canadians to discover the fun of FeederWatch and the importance of Citizen Science.
Project FeederWatch is a joint research and education project of Bird Studies Canada and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. | <urn:uuid:d7dbc22c-cb22-42f5-b821-f0325e78b7b0> | {
"date": "2019-11-18T20:56:53",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-47",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496669847.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20191118205402-20191118233402-00456.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.901790201663971,
"score": 2.859375,
"token_count": 484,
"url": "http://www.drewmonkman.com/sightings/project-feederwatch-celebrates-30-years-of-fun-and-science/"
} |
The House of Dies Drear Teaching Plan
Learning activities related to the book by Virginia Hamilton that explore the Underground Railroad and abolitionists
- Grades: 3–5
About this book
Who Was Dries Dreer?
- Library books
- Partners or individuals
Explain to students that Dies Drear, the abolitionist mentioned in the selection, was an actual person who built and supervised a house that served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Suggest that students work individually or with a partner to find biographical information on Dies Drear.
Have students begin their research in the library, using computers, the card catalog, and encyclopedias. Ask them to use the following questions to direct their research: When did Dies Drear live? How did he become an abolitionist? What role did he play during the Civil War?
Invite volunteers to present the information they have found to the rest of the class.
Write a Poem
Students will write a poem about the Underground Railroad.
Remind students that a poem is a concise way to express an idea or feeling. A poem does not have to contain rhyme, but the poet selects words and phrases with care, also using rhythm and sound to evoke a meaning.
Explain that in expressive writing, writers express their feelings, thoughts, or personal reactions to an experience or idea. Although expressive writing takes many forms, it should be carefully composed so that it clearly expresses the writer's feelings. Remember that a poem:
- is written in lines of varying length.
- often uses figurative language.
Encourage students to consider writing their poem from a different viewpoint. For example, they might write the poem from the point of view of Dies Drear, Harriet Tubman, Thomas, Mr. Small, or one of the figures shown in “Painting the Past.” The writing can still be expressive because it will express a particular character's thoughts, feelings, or reactions.
Thomas Finds a Secret Passage
- Small groups and partners
Discuss what might happen if Thomas discovers that Dies Drear's house contains a secret passage.
Invite students to write a summary for a new chapter of the book, using vocabulary words to describe how Thomas discovers this passage.
Challenge students to create a floor plan of the house showing where the secret passage is located. Explain that a floor plan is like a map of the house. They will imagine they are looking down on one floor of the house from above. Encourage them to label important areas or features, show directions, and indicate the scale of the floor plan by giving a key or scale.
Write and Perform a Script
- Small groups
Students will turn The House of Dies Drear into a play.
Point out to students that in a play, all information must be transmitted through action or speech. Have the class work together to brainstorm several important scenes that they would like to dramatize.
Divide the class into groups and assign each group one of the scenes. Provide time for students to write dialogue and simple stage directions. Allow one rehearsal where all the scenes can be presented, to make sure the play version of The House of Dies Drear makes sense.
Invite groups to perform a portion of their script for one another or for another class. Students can use simple costumes and props.
Grade students on the quality of the information that they have presented in the dialogue and whether the translation of the narrative text includes most of the author's ideas. | <urn:uuid:fba77600-f636-4f29-ae5a-a0bf6d997f39> | {
"date": "2015-03-01T07:00:15",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-11",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462232.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00213-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9230912923812866,
"score": 3.90625,
"token_count": 723,
"url": "http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/house-dies-drear-teaching-plan"
} |
Abnormal termination occurs when requested by the
abort() function or when some signals are received. See also normal termination.
application binary interface
An interface between two independently compiled modules of a program. An Application Binary Interface document specifies a set of conventions such as the order and location of function arguments that compilers must adhere to in order to achieve interoperability between such modules.
asynchronous-safe [GNU Pth]
A function is asynchronous-safe, or asynchronous-signal safe, if it can be called safely and without side effects from within a signal handler context. That is, it must be able to be interrupted at any point and run linearly out of sequence without causing an inconsistent state. It must also function properly when global data might itself be in an inconsistent state. Some asynchronous-safe operations are listed here:
- Call the
signal()function to reinstall a signal handler
- Unconditionally modify a
volatile sig_atomic_tvariable (as modification to this type is atomic)
- Call the
_Exit()function to immediately terminate program execution
- Invoke an asynchronous-safe function, as specified by your implementation
Few functions are asynchronous-safe. If a function performs any other operations, it is probably not asynchronous-safe.
availability [IEEE Std 610.12 1990]
The degree to which a system or component is operational and accessible when required for use. Often expressed as a probability.
basic exception safety [Stroustrup 01], [Sutter 00]
The basic exception safety guarantee is a property of an operation such that, if the operation terminates by raising an exception, it preserves program state invariants and prevents resource leaks. See also exception safety, strong exception safety, and no-throw guarantee.
An expression constructed from the variables of a function that must be true for a thread to be allowed to continue execution.
Code that accesses shared data, and that would otherwise be protected from data races.
data race [ISO/IEC N3000]
The execution of a program contains a data race if it contains two conflicting actions in different threads, at least one of which is not atomic, and neither happens before the other. Any such data race results in undefined behavior.
A condition where one or more threads is unable to continue execution because it is blocked waiting for some thread (including itself) to satisfy some condition.
An attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users.
diagnostic message [ISO/IEC 14882-2014]
A diagnostic message is a message belonging to an implementation-defined subset of the implementation’s message output. A diagnostic message may indicate a constraint violation or a valid but questionable language construct. Messages typically include the file name and line number pointing to the offending code construct. In addition, implementations also often indicate the severity of the problem. Although the C++ Standard does not specify any such requirement, the most severe problems often cause implementations to fail to fully translate a translation unit. Diagnostics output in such cases are termed errors. Other problems may cause implementations simply to issue a warning message and continue translating the rest of the program. See error message and warning message.
error tolerance [IEEE Std 610.12 1990]
The ability of a system or component to continue normal operation despite the presence of erroneous inputs.
exception safety [Stroustrup 01]
An operation on an object is said to be exception safe if that operation leaves the object in a valid state when the operation is terminated by throwing an exception. See also basic exception safety, strong exception safety, and no-throw guarantee.
fail safe [IEEE Std 610.12 1990]
Pertaining to a system or component that automatically places itself in a safe operating mode in the event of a failure; for example, a traffic light that reverts to blinking red in all directions when normal operation fails.
fail soft [IEEE Std 610.12 1990]
Pertaining to a system or component that continues to provide partial operational capability in the event of certain failures; for example, a traffic light that continues to alternate between red and green if the yellow light fails.
A diagnostic message which causes an implementation not to perform the translation.
fault tolerance [IEEE Std 610.12 1990]
The ability of a system or component to continue normal operation despite the presence of hardware or software faults.
free store [ISO/IEC 14882-2003]
Storage managed by the C++ allocation and deallocation functions
::operator delete(void*), their array forms
::operator delete(void*), overloads of said functions on
std::nothrow_t, any user-defined replacements for said functions, as well as any such functions defined as a member of a class. Storage in the free store is distinct from storage managed by the C functions
freestanding implementation [ISO/IEC 14882-2003]
A freestanding implementation is one in which execution may take place without the benefit of an operating system, and has an implementation-defined set of libraries that includes certain language-support libraries. Also referred to as freestanding environment.
hosted implementation [ISO/IEC 14882-2003]
An implementation that is not freestanding. Program startup occurs at
main(), complex types are implemented, and all C++ standard library facilities are available. Also referred to as hosted environment.
ill-formed program [ISO/IEC 14882-2003]
A C++ program that is not well-formed, that is a program not constructed according to the syntax rules, diagnosable semantic rules, and the one-definition rule.
implementation [ISO/IEC 9899-1999]
Particular set of software, running in a particular translation environment under particular control options, that performs translation of programs for, and supports execution of functions in, a particular execution environment.
incomplete type [ISO/IEC 14882-2003]
A type that describes objects but lacks information needed to determine their sizes.
A pointer that is not a valid pointer.
Every operation or method invocation executes to completion without interruptions, even if it goes against safety.
locale-specific behavior [ISO/IEC 14882-2003]
Behavior that depends on local conventions of nationality, culture, and language that each implementation documents.
lvalue [ISO/IEC 9899-1999]
An lvalue is an expression with an object type or an incomplete type other than
void. The name lvalue comes originally from the assignment expression
E1 = E2 in which the left operand
E1 is required to be a (modifiable) lvalue. It is perhaps better considered as representing an object "locator value."
mitigation [Seacord 05a]
Mitigations are methods, techniques, processes, tools, or runtime libraries that can prevent or limit exploits against vulnerabilities.
normal termination [Open Group 08]
Normal termination occurs by a return from
main(), when requested with the
_Exit() functions; or when the last thread in the process terminates by returning from its start function, by calling the
pthread_exit() function, or through cancellation. See also abnormal termination.
no-throw guarantee [Sutter 00]
The no-throw guarantee is a property of an operation such that it is guaranteed to complete successfully without raising or propagating an exception. See also exception safety, basic exception safety, and strong exception safety.
one-definition rule (ODR) [ISO/IEC 14882-2014]
A fundamental C++ rule that states that no translation unit shall contain more than one definition of any variable, function, class type, enumeration type or template, and that every program shall contain exactly one definition of every non-inline function or variable. Some definitions may be duplicated in multiple translation units, subject to strict rules.
RAII (Resource Acquisition Is Initialization)
An acronym that stands for: Resource Acquisition Is Initialization. Holding a resource is a class invariant where the allocation of the resource (acquisition) is inseparable from the initialization of the object during its construction. Further, deallocation of the resource is performed during the destruction of the object. Thus, the resource is held when initialization completes and remains held until finalization begins, ensuring there are no resource leaks unless the object owning the resource is also leaked.
reentrant [Dowd 06]
A function is reentrant if multiple instances of the same function can run in the same address space concurrently without creating the potential for inconsistent states.
reliability [IEEE Std 610.12 1990]
The ability of a system or component to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time.
robustness [IEEE Std 610.12 1990]
The degree to which a system or component can function correctly in the presence of invalid inputs or stressful environmental conditions.
rvalue [ISO/IEC 9899-1999]
Value of an expression.
security flaw [Seacord 05a]
A security flaw is a software defect that poses a potential security risk.
security policy [Internet Society 00]
A set of rules and practices that specify or regulate how a system or organization provides security services to protect sensitive and critical system resources.
strong exception safety [Stroustrup 01], [Sutter 00]
The strong exception safety guarantee is a property of an operation such that, in addition to satisfying the basic exception safety guarantee, if the operation terminates by raising an exception it has no observable effects on program state. See also exception safety, basic exception safety, and no-throw guarantee.
trap representation [ISO/IEC 9899-1999]
Object representation that does not represent a value of the object type. Attempting to read the value of an object that has a trap representation other than by an expression that has a character type is undefined. Producing such a representation by a side effect that modifies all or any part of the object other than by an expression that has a character type is undefined.
A boundary between a trusted execution context (or trusted data source) in which all sub-execution contexts (or data sources) are trusted by the system and a nontrusted execution context (or nontrusted data sink).
undefined behavior [ISO/IEC 14882-2003]
Behavior, such as might arise upon use of an erroneous program construct or erroneous data, for which the C++ Standard imposes no requirements. Undefined behavior may also be expected when the C++ Standard omits the description of any explicit definition of behavior, or defines the behavior to be ill-formed, with no diagnostic required.
unspecified behavior [ISO/IEC 14882-2003]
Behavior, for a well-formed program construct and correct data, that depends on the implementation. The implementation is not required to document which behavior occurs.
unspecified value [ISO/IEC 9899-1999]
A valid value of the relevant type where the C++ Standard imposes no requirements on which value is chosen in any instance. An unspecified value cannot be a trap representation.
A pointer that refers to an element within an array or one past the last element of an array. For the purposes of this definition, a pointer to an object that is not an element of an array behaves the same as a pointer to the first element of an array of length one with the type of the object as its element type. (Cf 6.5.8p3)
For the purposes of this definition, an object can be considered to be an array of a certain number of bytes; that number is the size of the object, as produced by the
validation [IEC 61508-4]
Confirmation by examination and provision of objective evidence that the particular requirements for a specific intended use are fulfilled.
verification [IEC 61508-4]
Confirmation by examination and provision of objective evidence that the requirements have been fulfilled.
vulnerability [Seacord 05a]
A vulnerability is a set of conditions that allows an attacker to violate an explicit or implicit security policy. | <urn:uuid:2f7505a5-f798-4010-ab5c-702bee057d92> | {
"date": "2016-07-02T07:33:45",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00058-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8708887100219727,
"score": 2.796875,
"token_count": 2529,
"url": "https://www.securecoding.cert.org/confluence/display/cplusplus/BB.+Definitions"
} |
I know. You’re expecting a list of kid-friendly Disney adaptations of children’s books. But that’s not what you’re getting. These examples are a bit off the beaten path. They do an excellent job of showcasing not only the skill of the author whose work is being featured, but also the animator who is putting his or her skills to the test. We’ll begin with the video that inspired this particular trip down the YouTube rabbit hole:
Bluebird – Animated Short Based on Charles Bukowski’s Poem
This video takes a really interesting approach. The text of the poem is included in the note below the video, but never a word is spoken during the animation. There’s music and picture. That’s all, and it is more than enough. I recommend reading the poem through once first, then revisiting it after watching the whole thing.
Electric Literature – Single Sentence Animation
“Angel Lust” by Maggie Shipstead, Animated by Suneet Sethi
These videos are created as a collaborative effort between author and animator. The author chooses a favorite sentence from their work, and gives it over to the animator to be brought to life. These short videos are the result. There’s a whole lot more of the Single Sentence Animations on the Electric Literature YouTube channel.
These animations are simultaneously cool and creepy – but just a little bit. It’s a really neat concept, and it’s a good way of introducing older texts to a students who need more than words on the page. They’ve got lot more where this came from at poetryreincatnations.
Royal Shakespeare Company
The RSC has done a couple of interesting animation projects to supplement their work on the stage. The example above is from the Central Saint Martin’s project, where they worked with a class of MA Character Animation students on shorts inspired by Shakespeare’s plays. They also have a series of animations featuring Billy and his pig by the Brothers McLeod.
Ted-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
Not every video in the Lessons Worth Sharing series is related to literature or writing, but they’re all really interesting and informative. And the videos like this would be really useful tools in the classroom, especially when trying to bridge the gap between popular/contemporary literature and the classics. One of my favorite videos is one on fictional languages, like those spoken in Game of Thrones and Elvish.
Have you stumbled across any cool bookish animations on the internet? Let us know! Links are welcome in the comments. | <urn:uuid:7f9cf196-4388-41a3-8069-28a748f1b431> | {
"date": "2014-11-23T19:51:36",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-49",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416400379916.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20141119123259-00224-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.946903645992279,
"score": 2.640625,
"token_count": 544,
"url": "http://bookriot.com/2014/07/25/5-excellent-examples-animation-based-on-literature/"
} |
thrombocythemia and thrombocytosis
Platelets are made in your bone marrow along with other kinds of blood cells. They travel through your blood vessels and stick together (clot) to stop any bleeding that could happen if a blood vessel is damaged. Platelets also are called thrombocytes, because a clot also is called a thrombus.
A normal platelet count ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood.
OverviewThe term "thrombocythemia" is preferred when the cause of the high platelet count isn't known. The condition is then called primary or essential thrombocythemia.
This condition occurs when faulty cells in the bone marrow make too many platelets. Bone marrow is the sponge-like tissue inside the bones. It contains stem cells that develop into red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets. What causes the bone marrow to make too many platelets often isn't known.
With primary thrombocythemia, a high platelet count may occur alone or with other blood cell disorders. The platelet count can be as low as 500,000 platelets per microliter of blood or higher than 1 million platelets per microliter of blood. This condition isn't common.
When another disease or condition causes a high platelet count, the term "thrombocytosis" is preferred. This condition often is called secondary or reactive thrombocytosis.
In this condition, the platelet count usually is less than 1 million platelets per microliter of blood. Secondary thrombocytosis is more common than primary thrombocythemia.
Most people who have a high platelet count don't have signs or symptoms. Rarely, serious or life-threatening symptoms can develop, such as blood clots and bleeding. These symptoms mostly occur in people who have primary thrombocythemia.
OutlookPeople who have primary thrombocythemia but no signs or symptoms don't need treatment, as long as the condition remains stable. Other people who have this condition may need medicines or procedures to treat it. Most people who have primary thrombocythemia will live a normal life span.
Treatment and outlook for secondary thrombocytosis depend on its underlying cause.
What causes thrombocythemia and thrombocytosis?
Primary thrombocythemiaIn this condition, faulty stem cells in the bone marrow make too many platelets. What causes this to happen usually isn't known. When this process occurs without affecting other blood cells, it's called essential thrombocythemia.
A rare form of thrombocythemia is inherited, i.e., passed from parents to children.) In some cases, a genetic mutation may cause the condition.
In primary thrombocythemia, the platelets aren't normal. They may form blood clots, or, surprisingly, cause bleeding when they don't work properly.
Bleeding also can occur because of a condition that develops called von Willebrand disease. This condition affects the blood clotting process.
After many years, scarring of the bone marrow can occur.
Secondary thrombocytosisThis condition occurs when another disease, condition, or outside factor causes the platelet count to rise. For example, 35 percent of people who have high platelet counts also have cancer – mostly lung, gastrointestinal, breast, ovarian, and lymphoma. Sometimes a high platelet count is the first sign of cancer.
Unlike primary thrombocythemia, the platelets in secondary thrombocytosis usually are normal.
Conditions or factors that can cause a high platelet count are:
Who is at risk for thrombocythemia and thrombocytosis?
Primary thrombocythemiaThis condition isn't common. The exact number of people who have the condition isn't known. Some estimates suggest that 1 to 2.5 out of every 100,000 people have primary thrombocythemia. This number may be low, because most people who have the condition don't have symptoms. Therefore, they may not know they have it.
Primary thrombocythemia occurs mostly between the ages of 50 and 70, but it can occur at any age. For unknown reasons, a higher number of women around the age of 30 have primary thrombocythemia than men of the same age.
Secondary thrombocytosisYou may be at risk for secondary thrombocytosis if you have a disease, condition, or factor that can cause it.
This condition is more common than primary thrombocythemia. In two studies of people with high platelet levels, most people with platelet counts over 500,000 had secondary thrombocytosis.
Signs and symptoms of thrombocythemia and thrombocytosisMost people who have thrombocythemia or thrombocytosis have no signs or symptoms. These conditions often are discovered only after routine blood tests.
People who have primary thrombocythemia are more likely than those who have secondary thrombocytosis to have serious signs and symptoms.
Primary thrombocythemiaOften, people who have symptoms of primary thrombocythemia only have a mild form of the condition. The most common symptoms are linked to blood clots and bleeding. They are weakness, bleeding, headache, and numbness of the hands and feet.
In primary thrombocythemia, blood clots most often develop in the brain, hands, and feet. But they can happen anywhere in the body, including in the heart and intestines.
Blood clots in the brain cause symptoms in 25 percent of people who have this condition. Common symptoms are chronic (ongoing) headache and dizziness. In extreme cases, stroke may occur.
Blood clots in the tiny blood vessels of the hands and feet leave them numb and red. This may lead to an intense burning and throbbing pain felt mainly on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.
Other signs and symptoms of blood clots may include:
Blood clots aren't only linked to having thrombocythemia or thrombocytosis, but to other factors as well. Age (being older than 60), prior blood clots, diabetes, high blood pressure, and smoking also increase your risk for blood clots.
Bleeding most often occurs in people who have platelet counts higher than 1 million platelets per microliter of blood. Signs of bleeding include nosebleeds, bruising, bleeding from the mouth or gums, or blood in the stools.
Although bleeding usually is linked to having a low platelet count, it also can occur in people who have high platelet counts. Blood clots that develop in thrombocythemia or thrombocytosis may use up your body's platelets. This means that not enough platelets are left in your bloodstream to seal off any cuts and breaks in the blood vessels.
Another cause of bleeding in patients who have very high platelets counts is a condition called von Willebrand Disease. This condition affects the blood clotting process.
In rare cases of primary thrombocythemia (less than 2 percent), the faulty bone marrow cells will cause a form of leukemia (a cancer of the blood cells).
Secondary thrombocytosisPeople who have secondary thrombocytosis have a lower risk for bleeding and blood clots. This is because their platelets are generally normal (unlike in primary thrombocythemia) and their platelet counts aren't as high.
However, people who have this condition are at higher risk for blood clots and bleeding if they're on bed rest or have a severe disease of the arteries.
DiagnosisYour doctor will diagnose thrombocythemia or thrombocytosis based on your medical history, a physical exam, and test results. A hematologist also may be involved in your care. This is a doctor who treats people who have blood diseases.
Medical historyYour doctor may ask you about factors that can affect your platelets, such as:
Physical examYour doctor will do a physical exam to look for signs and symptoms of bleeding and blood clots. He or she also will check for signs of conditions that can cause secondary thrombocytosis, such as infection.
Primary thrombocythemia is diagnosed only after all other possible causes of a high platelet count are ruled out. For example, your doctor may order tests to check for early, undiagnosed cancer. If another disease, condition, or factor is causing a high platelet count, the diagnosis is secondary thrombocytosis.
Diagnostic testsYour doctor may order one or more of the following tests to help diagnose a high platelet count.
Complete blood count
A complete blood count (CBC) measures the levels of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in your blood. For this test, a small amount of blood is drawn from a blood vessel, usually in your arm.
If you have thrombocythemia or thrombocytosis, the test results will show that your platelet count is high.
A blood smear is used to check the condition of your platelets. For this test, a small amount of blood is drawn from a blood vessel, usually in your arm. Your doctor looks at the blood sample under a microscope.
Bone marrow tests
Bone marrow tests check whether your bone marrow is healthy. Blood cells, including platelets, are made in bone marrow. The two bone marrow tests are aspiration and biopsy.
Bone marrow aspiration may be done to find out whether your bone marrow is making too many platelets. For this test, your doctor removes a small amount of fluid bone marrow through a needle. He or she examines the sample under a microscope to check for faulty cells.
A bone marrow biopsy often is done right after an aspiration. For this test, your doctor removes a small amount of bone marrow tissue through a needle. He or she examines the tissue to check the number and types of cells in the bone marrow. With thrombocythemia and thrombocytosis, the bone marrow has a higher than normal number of the very large cells that make platelets.
Your doctor may order other blood tests to look for genetic factors that can cause a high platelet count.
Primary thrombocythemiaThis condition is considered less harmful today than in the past, and its outlook is often good. People who have no signs or symptoms don't need treatment, as long as the condition remains stable.
Taking aspirin may help people who are at risk for blood clots, because aspirin thins the blood. However, you should talk to your doctor about using aspirin, because it can cause bleeding. Doctors prescribe aspirin to most pregnant women who have primary thrombocythemia. This is because it doesn't have a high risk for side effects to the fetus.
Some people who have primary thrombocythemia may need medicines or medical procedures to lower their platelet counts.
Medicines to lower platelet counts
You may need medicines to lower your platelet count if you:
Currently, hydroxyurea plus aspirin is the standard treatment for people who have primary thrombocythemia and are at high risk for blood clots.
Anagrelide. This medicine has been used to treat thrombocythemia. However, it seems less effective than hydroxyurea. Anagrelide also has side effects such as fluid retention, palpitations, arrhythmias, heart failure, and headaches.
Interferon alfa. This medicine is effective at lowering platelet counts. However, 20 percent of patients can't handle its side effects. These include a flu-like feeling, decreased appetite, nausea (feeling sick to the stomach), diarrhea, seizures, irritability, and sleepiness.
Doctors may prescribe this medicine to pregnant women who have primary thrombocythemia. This is because it's safer for the fetus than hydroxyurea and anagrelide.
Plateletpheresis is a procedure used to rapidly lower your platelet count. This procedure is only used for emergencies. For example, if you're having a stroke due to primary thrombocythemia, you may need plateletpheresis.
During this procedure, an intravenous (IV) needle that's connected to a tube is placed in one of your blood vessels to remove blood. The blood goes through a machine that removes platelets from the blood. The remaining blood is then put back into you through an IV line in one of your blood vessels.
One or two procedures may be enough to reduce your platelet count to a safe level.
Secondary thrombocytosisSecondary thrombocytosis is treated by addressing the underlying condition that's causing it.
People who have this condition usually don't need platelet-lowering medicines or procedures. This is because their platelets are generally normal (unlike in primary thrombocythemia). Also, their platelet counts often aren't high enough to put them at risk for blood clots or bleeding.
PreventionYou can't prevent primary thrombocythemia. However, you can take steps to reduce your risk for blood clots and prevent related problems.
Age, prior blood clots, diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and smoking are all risk factors for blood clots. To reduce your risk, stop smoking and work to control the risk factors that you can.
It's not always possible to prevent conditions that lead to secondary thrombocytosis. But, if you have regular medical care, your doctor may find these conditions before you develop a high platelet count.
Living with thrombocythemia and thrombocytosisIf you have thrombocythemia or thrombocytosis, it's important to:
Medicines that thin the blood also may cause internal bleeding. Signs of internal bleeding include bruises, bloody or tarry-looking stools, pink or bloody urine, increased menstrual bleeding, bleeding gums, and nosebleeds. Contact your doctor right away if you have any of these signs.
Avoid over-the-counter pain medicines such as ibuprofen (except Tylenol®). These medicines may raise your risk for bleeding in the stomach or intestines and may limit the effect of aspirin. Be aware that cold and pain medicines and other over-the-counter remedies may contain ibuprofen.
Related category• HEALTH AND DISEASE
Source: U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Home • About • Copyright © The Worlds of David Darling • Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy • Contact | <urn:uuid:0dd72c7c-a985-465f-8751-b3daa743bf5c> | {
"date": "2016-09-01T03:37:51",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-36",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982958896.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200918-00110-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9397339224815369,
"score": 3.8125,
"token_count": 3147,
"url": "http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/T/thrombocythemia_and_thrombocytosis.html"
} |
A perceptual bias, the third person effect, has been observed where individuals believe themselves to differ from others regarding the perceived influence of media messages.
Given the frequency with which youth encounter prosmoking messages and the reported negative effects of these messages, it is of value to study whether youth perceive cigarette advertisements to influence themselves and their friends and peers.
This study examined the associations between exposure to social and information prosmoking environments, the perceived influence of cigarette advertisements on self, best friends, and other youth, and smoking susceptibility.
A sample of 571 seventh graders completed surveys on tobacco advertisements and promotions.
Using Student's-t, chi-square, ANOVA tests and proportional odds models, we found significant associations between perceived influence of cigarette advertisements and exposure to social and information prosmoking environments as well as smoking susceptibility.
These data suggest that youth be taught that everyone is vulnerable to the tobacco industry's strategies and be given skills to resist prosmoking advertising.
Mots-clés Pascal : Tabagisme, Cigarette, Communication information, Prévention, Education santé, Perception sociale, Evaluation, Etudiant, Homme, Californie, Etats Unis, Amérique du Nord, Amérique
Mots-clés Pascal anglais : Tobacco smoking, Cigarette, Information communication, Prevention, Health education, Social perception, Evaluation, Student, Human, California, United States, North America, America
Notice produite par :
Inist-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique
Cote : 99-0348798
Code Inist : 002B30A03C. Création : 14/12/1999. | <urn:uuid:d85d6bee-2797-4348-b95b-b1696207d0f1> | {
"date": "2017-01-19T22:05:53",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-04",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280746.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00514-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8207753896713257,
"score": 2.859375,
"token_count": 350,
"url": "http://www.bdsp.ehesp.fr/Base/192712/"
} |
Course descriptionAre you a parent whose child is struggling in French class? Do you teach your child at home? Do you want to help them with their French homework, but just don't know how? Perhaps you've tried, but the textbook is all Greek to you. Well, it's probably French, but if you don't speak the language you might not be able to tell the difference.
In my 25 years of teaching French as a second language, I have taught students in public schools, private schools, and homeschools. I have met many parents over the years who didn't know how to help their children with their French homework, or how to teach the language at home.
Homeschool French curriculum often teaches at a pace that is intended for older students and is too intensive for younger ones. The public school textbooks don't explain how the language works. They rely on the teacher to do that. But what if your child doesn't catch it in class? How can you help?
Learn French, In English has been designed for parents. Whether you want to help your children who are struggling in their out-of-the-home French class, or you want to include French in your homeschool curriculum, this course is for you. I will teach you, so that you can teach them in whatever manner is appropriate for their age, abilities and personality.
What you will find here is a sample unit that focuses on introductory vocabulary. Other units will focus on the structure of language--how the grammar works. All units will teach you how to build sentences for yourself (rather than simply learning how to repeat someone else's) and will provide opportunities to practise what you've learned.
The full program will adhere to the Curriculum Guidelines for the Province of Ontario, Canada, and is designed for parents who want to follow that path, but it would be suitable for anyone who wants to learn how to read, write, speak, and understand French.
I have been an Ontario Certified Teacher (Canada) since 1992, and have earned my Honours Specialist in French as a Second Language Qualification and a Master of Education degree with a concentration in Curriculum Studies. My favourite thing to do is to teach people how language works, so that they can use it more effectively. | <urn:uuid:ee24c419-5500-4aad-9fae-c0f8655c4294> | {
"date": "2018-07-21T09:35:10",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-30",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676592475.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20180721090529-20180721110529-00256.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9826371669769287,
"score": 3.078125,
"token_count": 464,
"url": "https://plaunt.thinkific.com/courses/learn-french-in-english"
} |
The island of Jabuka is an uninhabited volcanic island. Jabuka is actually a very large, steep, 97 meter high cliff in the shape of a pyramid. It can only be accessed from the southwestern side during favorable weather conditions.
Jabuka, with Brusnik, is the only Adriatic island built of volcanic rock. In 1985 the island was declared a geological monument of nature.
Due to the harsh climate, there are only two endemic species: black lizard and the plant Centaurea ("zecina"). Till some 50 years ago, the island was home to an endemic type of carnation, nowadays extinct. The surrounding waters are rich in fish.
Placed in deep waters, isolated from other islands and channels, Jabuka is exposed to strong winds.
Therefore, it takes a lot of knowledge and skills to sail here. When there were no motorboats, only the bravest, most enduring fishermen dared go to the island in order to provide for their families by catching large fish and trapping valued lobsters. The island is both a remarkable and frightening sight during nice weather in summer but in winter, when the winds blow causing large waves, Jabuka turns into a life-threatening adventure.
It is therefore not surprising that regatta Jabuka is the most respected offshore regatta, characterized by strong winds and exhausting sailing. | <urn:uuid:2c4c6963-3bad-4db9-a3af-7eb24391e3dd> | {
"date": "2018-06-24T09:10:04",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267866926.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20180624083011-20180624103011-00216.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9581475853919983,
"score": 2.6875,
"token_count": 275,
"url": "https://alternatura.hr/destinations/jabuka-island"
} |
NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope surveyed the universe twice during its 14-month mission, generating a wealth of data in the process. Now, by sifting through that data, WISE astronomers have unveiled one of the telescope's most impressive finds yet: 2.5 million supermassive black holes — about three times as many as have been detected by previous surveys — sprinkled throughout the cosmos.
But there's more. WISE has also turned up evidence of a never-before seen population of galaxies called "hot DOGs," short for "hot, dust-obscured galaxies". These objects are among the brightest, hottest and most powerful ever observed in the universe, and could represent a missing link in galaxy evolution
Black Hole Bonanza
"WISE has found a bonanza of black holes," said Jet Propulsion Laboratory astronomer Daniel Stern during a teleconference yesterday afternoon (which we live-blogged — check it out here for tons of pictures and Q&A summary), "more than had been found by any previous survey."
These aren't your run-of-the-mill black holes. These millions of newly identified cosmic entities are all believed to be quasars — yawning reaches of spacetime, millions to billions of times more massive than our sun, that have been caught feasting away on the gas and dust that surrounds them. The matter falling into a quasar causes it to grow tremendously hot; and while they are also very bright, obscuring dust makes it difficult to observe their visible light. That's where WISE comes in. These massively powerful black holes all but smolder in the infrared spectrum, and WISE's sensitive instrumentation picks up on it with ease.
The image featured up top is an artist's conception of what one of these quasars might look like. Below is an infrared view of the Universe as seen by WISE. The inset is a closeup of a tiny portion of the WISE sky that covers an area about three-times larger than the Moon. Quasar candidates have been circled in yellow:
Between WISE and NuSTAR (NASA's black-hole hunting Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) "we've got the black holes cornered," said Stern, lead author of the paper describing WISE's quasar observations. "WISE is finding them across the full sky, while NuSTAR is giving us an entirely new look at their high-energy X-ray light and learning what makes them tick."
"Hot DOGs" Could be Missing Link in Galaxy Evolution
Also announced yesterday: a small population of never-before-seen cosmic entities: around 1,000 blazing hot, dust-obscured galaxies — or "hot DOGs," for short.
"Hot dogs are much, much rarer" than the quasars discovered by Daniel Stern's team, explained WISE project scientist Peter Eisenhardt at yesterday's conference. Eisenhardt is first author on the first of two papers describing the newly discovered hot DOGs. Astronomer Jingwen Wu, lead author of the second study, was present for the announcement, as well.
According to Wu, hot DOGs are much brighter, hotter and more powerful than any galaxy we're used to seeing. The image featured here gives a WISE-eye view of the universe, with the 1000-or-so observable hot DOGs labeled in purple. The inset is a close-up of the region of sky containing the first hot DOG ever discovered (the red point circled in purple). According to Wu, each of these galaxies is capable of generating up to 100-trillion times as much energy as our sun:
"They may be hosting an extremely powerful supermassive black hole at their center which can heat the dust to high temperatures," explained Wu. "We may be seeing a rare phase of galactic evolution where dust and gas are heated and ejected by supermassive black holes. This may be a missing link of galaxy evolution."
Rutgers astrophysicist Rachel Somerville agrees with Wu. "We think we may be seeing these galaxies at a crucial transformational stage," she explained at yesterday's news briefing. Hot DOGs, she notes, could be what astronomers observe when two colliding spiral galaxies are in the process of transforming into an elliptical one. By that logic, explains Somerville, our own Milky Way could very well become a hot DOG, itself. Our galaxy is projected to collide with our cosmic neighbor, the spiral Andromeda galaxy, in about 2 billion years; and that collision, which Somerville says could resemble the simulation shown here, could make a hot DOG of us, yet:
That being said, most of the hot DOGs observed by WISE are about 10-billion light years from Earth. That means they they formed during the universe's infancy, when conditions may have been better suited for giving rise to this class of "hyper-luminous" galaxy — a fact that leaves Eisenhardt skeptical about our galaxy's chances of ever becoming a hot DOG:
"It does seem to me that the phenomena we're talking about here is much more common in the earlier stages of the Universe," he explains, "so while [the Milky Way] may become a hot DOG, I think it's a relatively unusal event today, based on the distribution of distances that we're finding." | <urn:uuid:659883be-739b-4982-ac2d-4390006e6430> | {
"date": "2015-07-01T06:56:04",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-27",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375094690.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031814-00096-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9572568535804749,
"score": 2.984375,
"token_count": 1106,
"url": "http://io9.com/5939195/nasa-discovers-25-million-supermassive-black-holes?tag=Nasa"
} |
Posted by admin | Posted in Analyze, Anastasis Academy, Art, Classroom Management, Create, Evaluate, Geography, Government, History, Inquiry, Internet Safety, Knowledge (remember), Language Arts, Math, Middle/High School, Music, Phonics, Primary Elementary, Science, Secondary Elementary, Social Studies, Teacher Resources, Understand (describe, explain), video, Video Tutorials, web tools, Web2.0, Websites | Posted on 06-02-2014
Tags: academy, analyze, assessment, close reading, create, edpuzzle, evaluate, flipped classroom, formative assessment, guided reading, inquiry, introduction, khan, learn zillion, learning, Math, National Geographic, numberphile, prompt, provocative set, reading, Science, TED, veritasium, video, video in the classroom, vihart, writing, youtube
What it is: EDpuzzle is a neat new educational site to help you better utilize video in your classroom for learning. You can find and crop video to use only what you need, add audio notes within the video or do some voice over work for a video, and you can embed questions throughout the video to track student understanding. EDpuzzle collects data as students watch and interact with the video. You can see if and when a student watched the video, and see the progress of all students through the answers to embedded questions.
How to use EDpuzzle in your classroom: What makes EDpuzzle great is the level of freedom given in cropping, sharing, and tracking video use in the classroom. EDpuzzle enhances the “flipped” classroom by allowing you to embed formative assessment directly into your videos. As students watch, you can check understanding and ensure active watching vs. passive watching. In a flipped scenario, this gives you the ability to completely tailor a lesson the next day based on the formative assessment results you get from homework. This is truly utilizing assessment to inform instruction (which is the point of assessment!).
EDpuzzle can be used in conjunction with videos that you have made for your students, or with videos that you find. I like using video to introduce students to a brand new topic or idea. Well-created video has the ability to quickly and succinctly help students dive into new learning and formulate new questions and lines of inquiry. For example, when Anastasis Jr. High started our last inquiry block about “How the World Works” and explored the topic of food and farming, they started by watching the documentary Food, Inc. This was a great way to launch their thinking and lines of questioning about where our food comes from. Out of that video, students chose different lines of inquiry to explore and research. EDpuzzle would be a good way for students to help others see where their line of inquiry started from. Students could grab the clip of the documentary that intrigued them, and embed audio to show their thought process as they watched. Sort of a Saved-by-the-Bell Zack Morris “Time out” moment where they can describe their line of thinking.
For primary teachers, EDpuzzle could be used as part of a guided reading center. YouTube has lots of great read-along videos. (You can also create your own based on class reading!) Use these videos along with EDpuzzle to check for comprehension. As the video plays, embed questions to check for understanding. Students can independently go through the guided reading (or Close reading) activity, while you work one-on-one with other reading groups. Rotate the reading groups throughout the week so that each student gets the opportunity to go through the EDpuzzle guided reading activity, and each group gets one-on-one time with you. This is a fantastic way to maximize your time and get valuable feedback from all student learning. EDpuzzle could also be used in this way as a science center (with a video pertaining to an experiment or new learning), a math center, etc. I love using center rotations because it ensures that I have time to work closely with each group.
For secondary students, use EDpuzzle is a great way to check for understanding. It is also a wonderful way for students to create and demonstrate understanding. EDpuzzle would be ideal for sub days. I always dreaded being away from the classroom because it was essentially a lost day. Even if the substitute did EXACTLY what I asked, I missed the opportunity to see my students work and think. EDpuzzle would give you the ability to “teach” remotely and embed the same questions and promptings you would give if you were live in the classroom. While you won’t get to hear all of the discussion, you will have some feedback to better understand how your students were thinking.
With documentary-type videos, EDpuzzle can be used to embed writing prompts. Record a prompt throughout the video so that students can pause and write out their reflections and thoughts. I find that good documentaries are often SO packed full of good things that by the end of the video, only the last 10 minutes get well-reflected on. The documentary Baraka would be an incredible video to do this with!
Have you seen Vi Hart’s YouTube channel? I am obsessed! I love the way that she goes through math in a casual stream-of-conscious type approach. Embed related practice math problems based on the topics that Vi is sharing in her videos. As students get those light-bulb moments of, “oh, that is how that works!” capitalize on the new understanding by giving them a place to put it into practice and try it out.
Do you record your students learning? EDpuzzle could be a fantastic way to record audio feedback to the videos that they upload. These can then be shared with parents and students for review.
Tips: Don’t have access to YouTube at school? No worries! You can still use EDpuzzle with your students. EDpuzzle lets you search for video by topic, or pull video from Khan Academy, Learn Zillion, National Geographic, TED, Veritasium, and Numberphile as well. LOTS of incredible learning just waiting to happen! | <urn:uuid:6d01ea96-bfcf-43e3-aa29-ef0599b17648> | {
"date": "2014-07-25T08:58:34",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-23",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997894140.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025814-00072-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9476622343063354,
"score": 3.078125,
"token_count": 1281,
"url": "http://ilearntechnology.com/?cat=204"
} |
UNESCO hosts international workshop to train policy-makers to address antisemitism in and through education
Antisemitism is a global human rights issue. Education is a powerful tool to address and prevent it. Based on this premise, UNESCO in partnership with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the World Jewish Congress (WJC) – hosted a two-day workshop to strengthen the capacity of policy-makers and education stakeholders to address contemporary antisemitism in and through education, in Paris, France 10 – 11 July 2019.
Following a first workshop (held on 21-22 May 2019 in Warsaw, Poland), the ‘International workshop on addressing antisemitism in and through education’ marked the second in its series and the first of its kind – that is with a global reach – to be hosted by a United Nations agency.
The workshop brought together government officials and education stakeholders from 27 countries across all UNESCO regions: with representatives from Afghanistan, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, France, Gambia, Germany, Grenada, Ireland, Latvia, Maldives, Mali, Mauretania, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uruguay and Zambia. This diversity in country and stakeholder representation underlines the global interest in confronting antisemitism, which statistics have proven to be on the rise worldwide and prevalent regardless of the presence of a Jewish community.
In his opening remarks, Alexander Leicht, Chief of the Section of Global Citizenship and Peace Education at UNESCO stated, “antisemitism is a complex phenomenon that has mutated over time and that often takes tacit and coded forms. Via social media, antisemitic messages can spread freely and anonymously, creating a situation in which open antisemitism has become increasingly mainstreamed and socially acceptable. Education is a powerful tool to address this concerning trend”.
Hence, UNESCO’s work and commitment to promoting education as a tool to build resilience of learners to antisemitic stereotypes, to raise awareness for the harmful effects of discriminatory rhetoric and to empower them to reject all forms of prejudice is fundamental.
Christie Edwards, Deputy Head of the ODIHR Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department, further underlined the important role of education in addressing antisemitism: ‘Education policymakers’ role in the fight against antisemitism cannot be understated. We hope that ODIHR and UNESCO’s efforts to strengthen the capacity of education to address antisemitism will encourage decisive action towards creating safer and more tolerant societies. A new generation of learners empowered to recognise and reject antisemitism in all its forms will be crucial to combating this prejudice.”
The workshop commenced with a session open to Permanent Delegations and invited guests, which included a round table discussion on “Why is it important to address antisemitism globally?”, with contributions from Malek Boutih, Ethics advisor at Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, Menachem Rosensaft, General Counsel of the World Jewish Congress, and Robert Williams, Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial.
Aimed at education policy-makers, notably those responsible for curriculum development and teacher training, the workshop sought to define key concepts related to Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and the prevention of violent extremism through education (PVE-E), as well as enhance the understanding of antisemitism, and reflect on the possible role of education in preventive efforts.
The two-day workshop introduced participants to educational approaches and practices that strengthen learners’ resiliency in the face of violent extremism in general and antisemitism in particular; as well as provide them with the opportunity to exchange ideas on implementation strategies at the sub-regional and country levels, commonalities and country-specific approaches. In this context, participants were presented with the UNESCO/OSCE guidelines for policymakers on “Addressing Antisemitism through Education” as well as with the website “AboutHolocaust.org”, a joint initiative by the World Jewish Congress and UNESCO to address Holocaust denial and distortion online.
In addition, as part of the workshop, participants visited the Memorial de la Shoah and attended an evening reception in the presence of Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, UNESCO Honorary Ambassadors and Special Envoys for Education about the History of Holocaust and Genocide Prevention. In the last session, participants had an opportunity to discuss the linkages between policy-making and educational practices toward addressing antisemitism through education at their national level, with a view to develop follow-up activities.
In an effort to reach more countries, it is envisioned that this series of international capacity building workshops will continue, with a third workshop in the near future.
UNESCO remains strongly committed to the prevention of antisemitism as part of the Organization’s global programmes on preventing violent extremism through education (PVE-E) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED). In this context, UNESCO promotes education systems that address antisemitism in and through education and build the resilience of young people to extremist ideologies and prejudice. In support of this goal, UNESCO builds the capacities of education policy-makers and teachers though guidelines, targeted trainings and the development of educational materials. For more information, get an overview of the policy guide’s main recommendations via this leaflet or access the full publication. | <urn:uuid:1fa18f9b-2e13-496b-9f03-f1167dc174f7> | {
"date": "2019-10-17T10:32:28",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986673538.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20191017095726-20191017123226-00456.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9249536991119385,
"score": 3.046875,
"token_count": 1136,
"url": "https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-hosts-international-workshop-train-policy-makers-address-antisemitism-and-through"
} |
While doing work on the National Geographic special “Sunken Treasures of the Nile” a significant archaeological find was made. Philippe Martinez discovered what we have been calling “Stela M” that contains the first description ever found of how the 1000 ton obelisks were moved. Philippe needed gigapixel detail documentation of the surface so that he could have a good record of the surface for later study. Unfortunately the Stela had fallen over from it’s original position and was facing the ground making a “head-on” photo impossible.
Due to the tilt of the Stela there was only a few feet of working space in front of the stela, it was impossible to get far enough away to shoot a traditional gigapixel image. To make matters worse thieves had stolen the images of Ramses and rolled boulders under the Stela making it even more difficult to access. Our solution was to take a 50 mm lens and take 100s of close up macro photos of the surface of the Stela, photogrammetrically calibrate them into a laser scan taken by Carlos Velazquez of Epic Scan and then re-project them onto the surface as a texture. This required getting the exact camera positions and rotations relative to the geometry and was achieved through some custom software written by xRez pal Simeon Basset and xRez Studio’s Greg Downing. The images were then blended together to create a gigapixel image that would be impossible to capture by other means.
View the following animation (full screen to see the details) to see how this texturing process was achieved. On the left side of the image you will see the camera position when the photograph was taken, in the middle you will see the resulting 21 megapixel photo, and on the right you will see the photo rendered as a projected texture.
This is a diagram showing the area of high resolution
This is the final interactive view. Use the “outline” button to turn the Egyptologists drawings on and off. | <urn:uuid:96b268c6-31b6-48fc-bbaa-0886435740b2> | {
"date": "2019-02-20T00:56:37",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247494125.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190220003821-20190220025821-00056.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9590597152709961,
"score": 3.375,
"token_count": 417,
"url": "http://www.xrez.com/blog/photogrammetric-gigapixel-images/"
} |
We all know that exercise makes us happy. Exercise releases endorphins in our brains, lifting our spirits and lightening our moods. And for most of us, being outside—soaking up the natural light, breathing in fresh air—also makes us happy. So what if you combine the two and exercise outside? Would you be twice as happy?
That’s what researchers at the University of Essex wanted to find out when they began their study on “green exercise.” (In this instance, green exercise refers to exercising outside, as opposed to exercising on equipment that doesn’t require electricity.) For the study, the researchers looked at ten years’ worth of data from previous studies, focusing on the type of activities people engaged in and the effect those activities had on their mental health. The researchers discovered that people who participated in outside activities—walking, gardening, farming, riding bicycles—saw greater positive effects from the exercise than did others. Any kind of natural environment, even parks in big cities, were enough to provide the mental benefits, but the biggest boost came from exercising near water.
Exercising outside makes you happier than exercising indoors. For the biggest mental boost, exercise near water. Photo By Joshua Schoorl/Courtesy Flickr
You don’t have to spend long outside to experience these benefits. The researchers concluded that just five minutes of outside activity is enough to improve your mood and self esteem. Exercising for longer than five minutes is obviously important for reaping the utmost health benefits, but it’s nice to know that a short walk around the block makes you feel better, especially when you might only have a short break at work.
One of the study’s researchers said he hopes the data can be used from a policy standpoint to increase our connection to nature, whether it’s earning more funding for public parks and better beach access to creating landscaping guidelines for schools.
Do you exercise outside or inside? | <urn:uuid:3de72efe-0120-4727-a7b8-2cec85a53677> | {
"date": "2016-02-07T01:28:18",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-07",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701148428.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193908-00217-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9687329530715942,
"score": 3.046875,
"token_count": 404,
"url": "http://www.motherearthliving.com/natural-health/exercising-outside-makes-you-happier.aspx"
} |
Cacama longirostris (Distant, 1881) is a cicada found in Mexico.
Cacama longirostris was formerly known as Proarna longirostris, but its name changed when it moved from the genus Cacama Distant, 1904 to the genus Proarna Stål, 1864.
Species: Cacama longirostris (Distant, 1881)
The image says Proarna longirostris, but the newest name of this cicada is Cacama longirostris.
Species description by W. L. Distant:
Closely allied to P. maura [now Cacama maura (Distant, 1881)], Dist., but differs by the greater amount of the ochraceous markings on the pro- and mesonotum, in having a large ochraceous spot on each lateral margin of the abdomen above, and a small spot of the same colour on each side of the anal appendage, in the much smaller black basal area to the tegmina, and the almost absence of the same to the wings. The body beneath, including the legs and opercula, is ochraceous, the abdomen having the lateral margins and anal appendage black. Its principal structural difference is the length of the rostrum, which reaches the apex of the first abdominal segment.
Long. 24 millim., exp. tegm. 71 millim.
- The illustration comes from Biologia Centrali-Americana. Insecta. Rhynchota. Hemiptera-Homoptera. Vol. 1. By W. L. Distant F.E.S. and The Rev. Canon W. W. Fowler, F.L.S. (1881-1905). Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
- Species name information comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha). | <urn:uuid:836e573e-49bc-4c6d-888b-4e9d38110051> | {
"date": "2019-05-27T04:41:48",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232260658.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20190527025527-20190527051527-00416.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.7643377184867859,
"score": 3.15625,
"token_count": 426,
"url": "https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/tag/c-longirostris/"
} |
The longer human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is present, the more likely the infected person will suffer a number of health difficulties. HIV makes the body more susceptible to other conditions that may be life-threatening. Some of the problems with long-term HIV infection can also come from side effects of anti-HIV drugs.
One long-term effect of having an HIV infection involves unusual fatty deposits in the body. Some HIV-sufferers experience odd changes in how their bodies process sugars and fat. Fat may accumulate in strange areas of the body or be lost in other areas. Called either lipoatrophy or lipoaccumulation, the loss or gain of body fat may change a patient’s appearance by adding stomach fat, making fatty lumps on the body or increasing fat in the neck, shoulders or face. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, fat may also be lost in the legs, face or arms.
Long-term HIV-sufferers may develop heart disease. The changes in processing fats and sugars may cause fatty accumulation in blood vessels, which causes high blood pressure and heart disease. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs states it is unsure whether the changes in fatty deposits resulting in heart disease are caused by the HIV infection or by the medications used to treat HIV.
The longer a person carries the HIV infection, the more likely he will be exposed to another infection that will take advantage of his compromised immune system. Conditions such as cancer or pneumonia may find their way into the body in its weakened condition.
Each bout with infection and treatment in a hospital takes a toll on the person, both mentally and physically. The body tends to become weaker and less able to fight off infection at the same time the person’s outlook and will to live lessens. Certified social worker Michael Shernoff states in "The Body" that the possibility of not being able to survive one of these bouts with an opportunistic infection means the person has less positive energy and less commitment to survive. | <urn:uuid:51d06bfb-a999-4a2f-8c0f-9270953cff91> | {
"date": "2017-05-28T06:46:24",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463609605.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170528062748-20170528082748-00116.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9368910193443298,
"score": 3.234375,
"token_count": 415,
"url": "http://www.livestrong.com/article/169538-what-are-the-long-term-effects-of-hiv/"
} |
The particle materials, "also known as" particulate matter "or PM, are a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Particulate pollution is made up of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfate), organic chemicals, metals, and soil particles or dust.
Particulate pollution is responsible for 42 000 premature deaths per year in France and many diseases (asthma, allergies, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer).
The coarsest (larger than 2.5 micrometers) fall fast enough, their residence time in the air is of the order of 1 day, while the finest can stay up to 1 week in suspension and travel thousands of kilometers. Once deposited, the particles can then be resuspended by the wind or in urban areas under the action of traffic.
Principle of detection
The P4000 uses laser diffraction technology (light scattering).
The principle is the following: when a laser beam passes through pure air, the beam is invisible. When the beam is visible, this is because the beam is diffracted onto particles along its path. If you look at the beam from the side and the more visible the beam is, the higher the particle density is.
Such a particle sensor uses a near-infrared source (laser diode). The sensor is an avalanche photodiode with amplifier. Infrared is used to avoid interference with the day light entering the chamber.
The dust density depends mainly on the air flow.
The laser and the sensor and the collimator lenses are placed in the upper position to prevent dust from depositing on the optical when the air flow source is turned off. (Note that a small heater warms the air in front of the sensor and the lighter hot air generates a constant flow).
The optimum angle between the source and sensor is the result of experiments.
Each particle which passes the laser beam diffracts a part of this beam to the sensor and the air flow being constant, the pulse width measured is used to classify the particles by size.
A running average of the quantities of particles by category is performed over a period of 30 seconds.
As large particles do not affect health, although present in the indoor environment (especially cloth fibers), particles larger than 10 micrometers are not counted.
The measurement is made according to the standard classification.
PM (particle matter) refers to the total weight of particles per volume of air. It is a vestige of the time when the available technology was not able to detect individual particles. For each particle size a typical mass is attributed to express the result on standardized unit in µg/m3.
Monitoring equipment such as the modern P4000 count the individual particles in three size classes that are correlated with PM10, PM2.5 and PM1. The hypothesis for the calculation of mass is that the particles are spherical which is not always the case.
The size of particles is directly linked to their potential danger to health. Environmental organizations are concerned that the particles have a diameter less than or equal to 10 micrometers because they are the particles that generally pass through the throat and nose and enter the lungs. Once inhaled, these particles can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects.
Particles are classified into four categories:
- PM 10, coarse inhalable particles such as those found near roadways and dusty industries, are less than 10 micrometers in diameter and include fine particles, very fine and ultrafine particles.
- PM 2.5, fine particles such as those found in smoke and haze, are less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter. These particles can be directly emitted from sources such as forest fires, or they can form when gases emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles react in the air. Diesel engines are the main source. They include very fine and ultrafine particles.
- PM 1, very fine particles (most hazardous for health) are less than or equal to 1 micron in diameter. They are virtually eliminated by precipitation and have time to accumulate in the air. They include ultrafine particles.
- PM 0.1, ultrafine particles with a diameter less than 0.1 micrometer, also called "nanoparticles". Their residence time is very short, ranging from minutes to hours.
PM2.5 and PM1 can descend into the deepest part (alveolar) of the lung where gas exchange occurs between air and blood. These are the most dangerous particles because the alveolar portion of the lungs has no effective means to eliminate them and if the particles are water soluble, they can pass into the bloodstream within minutes. If they are not soluble in water, they remain in the alveolar lung for a long time. Soluble elements may be of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) or residues of benzene classified as carcinogenic.
|PM10 (<10 µm)|
|P50* daily limit||50 µg/m³ (less than 35 times/year)
||50 µg/m³||150 µg/m³|
|Annual limit||30 µg/m³
||20 µg/m³||Cancelled in 2006|
|PM2.5 (<2.5 µm)|
|P50* daily limit||25 µg/m³|
|P98* daily limit||35 µg/m³|
|Annual limit||25 µg/m³ in 2010
20 µg/m³ in 2020
|10 µg/m³||15 µg/m³|
- RS485 Modbus digital output (see document for details on the protocol)
- Densities of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 expressed in µg/m3 and quantity per m²
- Measuring range 0-511 µg/m³
- Resolution 0.1µg/m³ and 1000 particles per m³
- Running average on 30 seconds
- The sensor cannot see particles below 0.5µm
- Power supply 24V DC or AC
- Operating Temperature: 0 to 45 °C
- Storage temperature: -30 to 60 °C
- Compatible with probe E4000 interface for EnOcean, LON or KNX
- 9 selectable BUS addresses
The more the sensor is exposed to dust the more it shall be serviced (cleaning lenses with a wet cotton swab). Do not use alcohol or solvents. Use only clean water.
This sensor does not have a reference beam to compare with the one exposed to dust using therefore cumulative sensor exposure to dust is used to determine preventive maintenance timing.
When cumulative exposure is exceeded, an LED indicates the need for cleaning.
After cleaning the lens, the counter will be reseted by pressing a button (more than 10 seconds). Acknowledgement is indicated by the switch-off of the LED.
|< 5 µg/m³||1000 days|
|< 10 µg/m³||500 days|
|< 25 µg/m³||200 days|
|< 50 µg/m³||100 days| | <urn:uuid:41c06191-5df6-48c3-aa2c-e31fdcf0749a> | {
"date": "2018-11-13T20:29:59",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-47",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039741491.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20181113194622-20181113215814-00002.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8996731042861938,
"score": 3.46875,
"token_count": 1515,
"url": "https://www.nano-sense.com/en/P4000/p4000-fine-particles-probe.html"
} |
We maintain a very good animal database based on research and the activities of those we encounter. Their habits, and the problems they bring with them are summarized here for you with details available on each.
The armadillo is considered a nuisance animal because of it’s characteristic burrowing and digging. They are active primarily from twilight through early morning hours in the warmer months and despite their cumbersome appearance, they are versatile. They can run, climb, burrow, and swim with surprising efficiency.
The Fox squirrel is the largest species of tree squirrels and the resident squirrel of central Texas. Most of these socially accepted day time rats owe their existence to humans. We supply the necessities of life food and shelter, prospering from the urban setting from its comical attempts at accessing bird feeders to a high reproduction rate, and aggressive determination to utilize attics for nesting makes the Fox squirrel a very common wildlife conflict for homeowners.
The opossum although looks like a big rat, is related to the kangaroo and the only marsupial in North America. The opossum has inhabited the earth for 60 million years, back in the time of the dinosaurs, One reason, for their continued survival is their ability to eat almost anything. The opossum is Mother Nature’s mobile garbage disposal and the longest surviving mammal on earth.
Raccoons have adapted to urban sprawl, from rural settings to the metropolitan landscape. The raccoon’s omnivorous and voracious appetite, relatively high reproduction rate, together with significant strength, results in this mammal becoming a common menace to homeowners.
The striped skunk is the most abundant of five species in Texas and often causes hysteria among some people with a mere sighting. They are rather slow-moving and deliberate, and have great confidence in defending themselves. Skunks typically will avoid human activity when given the chance, but usually as a last resort the skunk will release highly odorous oil based secretion to repel any conceived threat.
Rats & Mice
The roof rat is the smallest, of two non-native rodents, sharing our urban environment today. The roof rat is extremely compatible with human behavior and needs, resulting in them living in close proximity to man, by harboring in the landscape, under a deck or in the attic of a home. The omnivorous roof rat will feed on vegetable matter, including buds, seeds of ornamental plants, backyard fruit trees, bird feeders, pet food and compost bins. Roof rats cause millions of dollars of damage each year, from contamination of food products, spreading diseases, structural and automotive damage caused by their continual gnawing activities. | <urn:uuid:dd9426e4-709d-45f3-aabc-c42515ddd08d> | {
"date": "2017-06-25T01:42:51",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320386.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170625013851-20170625033851-00017.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9512165188789368,
"score": 2.859375,
"token_count": 542,
"url": "http://austinswildliferemoval.com/animal-database/"
} |
That’s what I told Sara Miller of Live Science in reference to a BBC story on the safety of popular cafe drinks.
The original story Sara was asking about is from a BBC investigation into the safety of ice, iced drinks and coffee shop environments.
Expert Tony Lewis said the levels found were “concerning”. “These should not be present at any level – never mind the significant numbers found,” he added.
Cleanliness of tables, trays and high chairs at the chains was also tested at 30 branches. Seven out of 10 samples of Costa ice were found to be contaminated with bacteria found in faeces.
What is concerning to the expert? Fecal coliform.
I was introduced to fecal coliform when investigating wash water and vegetables at Ontario (that’s in Canada) greenhouses 15 years ago. We were looking for analytical methods to provide some feedback to producers. We sampled the water for coliform and generic E. coli – and the veggies for generic E. coli and Salmonella. We had initially started looking for coliform and fecal coliform but some smart produce microbiologists suggested the indicator group wasn’t telling folks much.
Or as Mike Doyle and Marilyn Erickson wrote in Microbe in 2006, ‘the fecal coliform assay should at a minimum be redefined to specifically qualify that it is not a reliable indicator of either E. coli or the presence of fecal contamination.’
Makes for good headlines. Doesn’t tell folks anything about risk. Or feces. Might as well sample for covfefe.
Chapman also noted that he’d be more focused on what’s going on in the coffee shops. For example, do employees wash their hands regularly and after handling potentially contaminated foods and products? Do they sanitize the equipment properly? These behaviors could be more indicative of the overall health risks the beverages and foods pose to consumers, he said.
In addition, it’s unclear what type of testing the investigators used for the BBC report. Knowing these methods would provide more useful information, Chapman said. If investigators looked only for bacterial DNA, for example, you wouldn’t know if the bacteria were alive or dead.
“We eat dead bacteria all the time,” he added, referring to the fact that dead bacteria aren’t going to make you sick.
We eat live bacteria all the time – and it doesn’t cause illness. I meant to say we eat dead pathogens all the time.
And if you want poop in your iced coffee, make it from kopi luwak. | <urn:uuid:5760245b-bcf9-4af5-8f4e-361f67674527> | {
"date": "2017-11-21T08:08:34",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-47",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934806327.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20171121074123-20171121094123-00256.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9545570611953735,
"score": 2.53125,
"token_count": 554,
"url": "http://www.barfblog.com/tags/starbucks/"
} |
Pyorrhea is not a pretty sight. In the early stages gums are discolored and become a dark red instead of their fresh pinkish color. As the disease progresses gums recede, pockets form and bleeding occurs.
Advanced periodontal disease (Pyorrhea) can effect the whole body causing in some cases life threatening health issues like:
- Heart attack
- Problems controlling Diabetes
- Respiratory disease
- Pancreatic cancer
- Low birth rate babies
Gum disease starts as a progression in three stages with Pyorrhea being the most serious.
Gingivitis is the earliest stage and is reversible; gums become inflamed from plaque build up at the gumline. There may be bleeding during flossing and brushing.
Stage 2 is where you begin to see irreversible damage to supporting bone and tissue. Pockets may form below the gumline; food and plaque become trapped. At this stage there is still hope if treatment is received early enough to prevent more damage.
It is at the third and final stage where Advanced Periodontitis wreaks total havoc and destruction on the bones and supporting structures of the teeth. Teeth can shift, become loose or even fall out. Aggressive dental treatment may be too much, too little too late to save teeth.
Symptoms Of Gum Disease
The warning signs that you need to take immediate action are: | <urn:uuid:5e266a6b-ed77-4719-8a3f-3c73fdf249cb> | {
"date": "2014-04-24T00:55:52",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-15",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1398223204388.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20140423032004-00163-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9338802695274353,
"score": 3.296875,
"token_count": 286,
"url": "http://badbreath-cure.info/tag/teeth-rotting-below-gumline/"
} |
Physiotherapy has proven to be very helpful in assisting injured individuals to heal faster. However, apart from the procedures used by the physiotherapist, it is important to use a holistic approach to heal faster and completely. In addition to the procedures from physiotherapy, a good diet will also positively help you with quick and fast recovery. With the help of a healthy diet that is free of trans-fats and preservatives, your body will be able to digest the food better. That way all the essential nutrients needed will be assimilated by the body, leading to better healing time. Thereby, taking the right kinds of food, your body, particularly the injured parts, would be able to get the right nutrients needed to heal properly. So make it a note to conglomerate a good diet with the correct physiotherapy techniques, which will assist your body eventually to emerge stronger and healthier.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, appropriate eating habits would be helpful to rectify any malfunctions of your body’s make-up. Hence, by altering your dietary practices, you will be able to aid your body function more effectively and efficiently. Accordingly, here are a few essential foods to be taken in regaining strength after injuries and physiotherapy.
- Consume the foods rich in proteins after a physiotherapy session. Because the meal or snack containing rich in protein helps in rebuilding of muscle.
- Consume adequate fiber-rich foods to keep your digestive system in good condition. As the pain medications frequently cause constipation, which could be counteracted by eating 25-35 grams of fiber or drinking plenty of water each day.
- Consume a balanced diet containing carbs, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins. This will reduce the need of taking anti-inflammatory medications.
- Consume the foods rich in Omega-3 Fats, these types of fats are rich in flax oil and cold water fish. As these fats play a vital role in regulating the inflammatory response and may also help in decreasing muscle atrophy.
- Consume the foods rich in vitamin C such as citrus fruits, broccoli, kiwi and peppers. It is a water-soluble vitamin and plays a vital role in healing injuries by building new protein for skin, tendons, scar tissues and ligaments.
- Consume the foods rich in vitamin A such as sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, carrots, swiss chard, winter squash, and spinach. It promotes the formation of white blood cells to invade the infections and viruses present in the body. Thus, it increases the rate of healing and protect the injury.
- Consume the foods rich in Zinc such as nuts, seeds, oyster and chicken. It is known that every tissue in the body contains zinc and helps the body to use the fats and proteins in the food to promote healing of the affected/injured tissue. In addition to the healing process, zinc also keeps the immune system strong.
- Consume the foods rich in Vitamin E such as alfalfa sprouts, avocados, nuts, seeds and dark leafy green vegetables. It plays a vital role in cell repair and also helps in preventing internal scarring.
- Take enough fluids or water, i.e 6-8 glasses of water daily during or after physiotherapy.
- Cut back the alcohol, food containing sugar, fried and fatty foods. This will helps the patient to recover speedily from injury.
- Try to consume lots of colorful vegetables and fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, grapes, carrots, broccoli, and pineapple when injured. As they are rich with powerful anti-oxidants that help in knocking down the inflammation.
- Eat cautiously. Do not skip meals, take small amounts of food and avoid taking large amount at a time. | <urn:uuid:bb29cdc8-bec8-4e70-be1a-e318d7f7ce70> | {
"date": "2019-10-17T08:41:13",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986673250.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20191017073050-20191017100550-00016.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9473473429679871,
"score": 2.703125,
"token_count": 773,
"url": "https://blog.portea.com/physiotherapy/essential-food-for-regaining-strength-after-injuries-and-physiotherapy"
} |
Depurination is a chemical reaction of purine deoxyribonucleosides, deoxyadenosine and deoxyguanosine, and ribonucleosides, adenosine or guanosine, in which the β-N-glycosidic bond is hydrolytically cleaved releasing a nucleic base, adenine or guanine, respectively. The second product of depurination of deoxyribonucleosides and ribonucleosides is sugar, 2’-deoxyribose and ribose, respectively. More complex compounds containing nucleoside residues, nucleotides and nucleic acids, also suffer from depurination. Deoxyribonucleosides and their derivatives are substantially more prone to depurination than their corresponding ribonucleoside counterparts. Loss of pyrimidine bases (Cytosine and Thymine) occurs by a similar mechanism, but at a substantially lower rate.
When depurination occurs with DNA, it leads to the formation of apurinic site and results in an alteration of the structure. Studies estimate that as many as 5,000 purines are lost this way each day in a typical human cell. In cells, one of the main causes of depurination is the presence of endogenous metabolites undergoing chemical reactions. Apurinic sites in double-stranded DNA are efficiently repaired by portions of the base excision repair (BER) pathway. Depurinated bases in single-stranded DNA undergoing replication can lead to mutations, because in the absence of information from the complementary strand, BER can add an incorrect base at the apurinic site, resulting in either a transition or transversion mutation.
Depurination is known to play a major role in cancer initiation.
Hydrolytic depurination is one of the principal forms of damage to ancient DNA in fossil or subfossil material, since the base remains unrepaired. This results in both loss of information (the base sequence), and difficulties in recovery and in vitro replication of the damaged molecule by the polymerase chain reaction.
Chemistry of the reaction
Depurination is not uncommon because purine is a good leaving group via the 9N-nitrogen (see the structure of a purine). Furthermore, the anomeric carbon is especially reactive towards nucleophilic substitution (effectively making the carbon-oxygen bond shorter, stronger and more polar, while making the carbon-purine bond longer and weaker). This makes the bond especially susceptible to hydrolysis.
- Lindahl, T. (22 April 1993). "Instability and decay of the primary structure of DNA". Nature. 362 (6422): 709–715. doi:10.1038/362709a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 8469282.
- Carr, Steven M. (2009). "Depurination produces transversion mutations". www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved 2010-08-19. External link in
- Cavalieri, E.; Saeed, M.; Zahid, M.; Cassada, D.; Snow, D.; Miljkovic, M.; Rogan, E. (2012). "Mechanism of DNA depurination by carcinogens in relation to cancer initiation.". IUBMB Life. 64 (2): 169–179. doi:10.1002/iub.586.
- Le Proust, E. M.; Peck, B. J.; Spirin, K.; McCuen, Heather B.; Moore, B.; Namsaraev, E.; Caruthers, M. H. (2010). "Synthesis of high-quality libraries of long (150mer) oligonucleotides by a novel depurination controlled process.". Nucleic Acids Res. 38 (8): 2522–2540. doi:10.1093/nar/gkq163.
- Hartwell, Leland; Hood, Leroy; Goldberg, Michael L.; Reynolds, Ann E.; Silver, Lee M.; Veres, Ruth (2004). Genetics: From Genes to Genomes (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-291930-1. LCCN 2002012767. OCLC 50417228.
- Weinberg, Robert Allan (2006). The Biology of Cancer (1st ed.). Garland Science. ISBN 978-0-8153-4076-8. LCCN 2006001825. OCLC 63114199.
- Alberts, Bruce; Johnson, Alexander; Lewis, Julian; Raff, Martin; Roberts, Keith; Walter, Peter (2002). Molecular Biology of the Cell (4th ed.). New York, NY: Garland Science. ISBN 978-0-8153-3218-3. LCCN 2001054471. OCLC 48122761. | <urn:uuid:0512fada-cf54-478f-9754-ff94694503c0> | {
"date": "2016-08-28T06:08:01",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-36",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982932823.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200852-00070-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.7827771902084351,
"score": 3.75,
"token_count": 1043,
"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depurination"
} |
Language Instincts: The evolution of sexual signalsRoslyn | October 28, 2006
From October 28, 2006
This Thursday Al Uy from Syracuse University came to talk to the Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour group at Queen’s. Al spoke about his research on the ecology and evolution of visual signaling in birds.
Plumage colour in birds is known to be involved in conspecific communication, including the signaling of quality to potential mates. In many species, females can gain information about the condition or health of a certain male just by assessing the colour of his feathers. Sexual selection for honest signaling is often implicated in the evolution of brightly coloured plumage, much like the evolution of the peacock’s tail described in my last post.
Al Uy is interested in understanding how sexual selection might contribute to the speciation process, since changes in sexual signals can lead to reproductive isolation between two populations. He pointed out that this idea originated with Darwin, who noticed that often the only difference between closely related species is a sexually dimorphic trait such as male plumage colour. To understand why this might be, Al studies the plumage colour of small birds called the bearded manakins with an interesting mating system: the males gather at display sites called leks, where they clear an area of the forest floor and dance to attract females. There are several subspecies of bearded manakins, all with striking differences in male colouration (whereas the females are all plain and look alike). Here are two of the manakin subspecies Al works on (golden-collared and white-bearded males):
The signal function of manakin beards
Al began his talk by discussing his investigation of the signal function of colour in the golden-collared manakin, which formed the groundwork for his research in signal diversification. Al and his students have found that the yellow colour of the male ‘beard’ plumage functions as a signal of male quality that females assess during male dancing displays, since males with brighter yellow beards tend to be larger, have higher display rates, and obtain more matings than their dull-bearded counterparts.
Al also tested whether the brightness of the male plumage translated into conspicuousness from the point of view of the female manakins. He used a model that took account of avian perception, ambient light during male display, the reflectance of male plumage and the reflectance of the visual background during display (the dancing court). Consistent with the predictions of sexual selection theory, male conspicuousness as calculated by this model was related to male mating success. In other words, more conspicuous males obtained more matings. Unexpectedly, Al found that the darkness of the visual background was actually more important in explaining the variation in mating success than plumage reflectance, suggesting an important role of the visual habitat in shaping conspicuousness and the evolution of lekking. Al thinks that the lek mating system might have arisen from males becoming more competitive for the specific areas of the forest providing the best visual background for display. In the near future Al plans to test this idea by comparing the reflectance properties of the lek habitat with other areas in the forest.
Why are there so many beard colours?
The next part of Al’s talk focused on his main research interest: understanding what factors might promote the diversification of sexual signals like manakin beard colour. The basic hypothesis he is testing is that changes in the visual habitat can drive the diversification of visual signals. In order for plumage colour to be conspicuous (and therefore most effective as a signal) it needs to match the available light, contrast the background, and be tuned to the receptivity of the target individuals (females). Changes in any of these factors could have promoted the evolution of the four different male colour types found in the bearded manakins.
Al plans to test this hypothesis in several ways. First, he will examine whether or not the evolution of retinal physiology might be driving the diversification of male colour. He plans test this idea by comparing the abundance of retinal cones between the different manakin subspecies. If females from different subspecies have retinas that are optimally sensitive to the beard colours of their mates, then changes in female perception might be driving changes in male beard colour.
Al is also testing his ideas about colour diversification by studying a hybrid zone of golden-collared and white-bearded manakin populations. This is an area of Costa Rica where a river divides populations of the two manakin subspecies, although the yellow plumage trait (found in golden-collared manakins) extends slightly into the white-beaded population. One hypothesis Al is currently testing is whether this trait introgression has occurred because yellow plumage is intrinsically more attractive to the manakin females, although at this point he can only speculate as to why this might be. Al is testing this possibility by examining mate choice in the area where both yellow and white males are competing for the same mates.
The other question Al would like to answer is: what stops yellow males from sweeping further into the white population? It seems unlikely that the river is a physical barrier isolating these populations since birds are certainly capable of crossing it. Instead, Al is looking into the possibility that a change in the visual habitat on either side of the river is maintaining the separation between these two populations. In other words, white birds in succeed in their habitat (despite some introgression of yellow males) because white is the most conspicuous and best colour for displaying in that habitat.
Although Al’s talk was a bit long, it was enjoyed by the audience at Queen’s for telling a complete story without being overly technical, and some went so far as to claim it was the “best talk ever” (Dev Aiama). You can read more about Al Uy’s research here. | <urn:uuid:cab65fa8-985e-4daa-9ce0-54155bd1e260> | {
"date": "2017-04-24T07:26:01",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917119120.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031159-00645-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9595380425453186,
"score": 3.234375,
"token_count": 1213,
"url": "http://roslyndakin.com/archives/220"
} |
Neurons that have several dendrites and a single axon
Cholinergic synapses release the neurotransmitter
Glial cell that is found lining the ventricles and spinal canal
The brain and spinal cord comprise the ________ nervous system.
central nervous system (CNS)
The neurilemma of axons in the peripheral nervous system is formed by
________ neurons are the most common neuron in the CNS.
Cells responsible for information processing and transfer are the
EPSPs (excitatory postsynaptic potentials) occur when
sodium channels are opened.
IPSPs (inhibitory postsynaptic potentials)
result in local hyperpolarizations.
The sodium-potassium exchange pump
requires ATP to function.
Bundles of axons in the spinal cord are called
The part of the peripheral nervous system that brings information to the central nervous system is
The all-or-none principle states that
all stimuli great enough to bring the membrane to threshold will produce identical action potentials.
The ion needed to initiate the release of acetylcholine into the synaptic cleft is
________ neurons are rare, but occur in special sense organs.
Voluntary control of skeletal muscles is provided by the ________ nervous system.
Voltage-regulated channels can be found
in the membrane that covers axons.
The effect that a neurotransmitter has on the postsynaptic membrane depends on
the characteristics of the receptors.
Neurons in which dendritic and axonal processes are continuous and the soma lies off to one side are called
What happends during saltatory conduction?
action potentials occur at successive nodes along the length of the stimulated axon.
Where are Interneurons found?
found only in the central nervous system
Opening of sodium channels in the membrane of a neuron
________ neurons form the afferent division of the PNS.
Neurotransmitters are released from the
The axon is connected to the soma by the
Adrenergic synapses release the neurotransmitter
Most neurons lack centrioles.
Why do neurons do not regenerate?
The site of intercellular communication between neurons is the
The effect of a particular neurotransmitter is dependent upon the properties of the ________, not the ________.
Which type of synapse dominates the nervous system?
At the normal resting potential of a typical neuron, its ion exchange pump transports
3 intracellular sodium ions for 2 extracellular potassium ions
The myelin sheaths that surround the axons of some of the neurons in the CNS are formed by
Please allow access to your computer’s microphone to use Voice Recording.
We can’t access your microphone!
Click the icon above to update your browser permissions above and try again
Reload the page to try again!
Press Cmd-0 to reset your zoom
Press Ctrl-0 to reset your zoom
It looks like your browser might be zoomed in or out. Your browser needs to be zoomed to a normal size to record audio.
Your microphone is muted
For help fixing this issue, see this FAQ. | <urn:uuid:8f5ee984-a22b-4448-8d49-af42655b8348> | {
"date": "2015-04-21T08:45:29",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-18",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246641054.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045721-00286-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8338536620140076,
"score": 3.578125,
"token_count": 659,
"url": "https://quizlet.com/5544127/neural-tissue-flash-cards/"
} |
- THE MAGAZINE
Common sense may tell you that the various cleaning methods known collectively as low-moisture cleaning involve minimal amounts of moisture. And as long as there are carpets to clean it is a good bet that debates on moisture and cleaning methodology will maintain a steady presence on industry Bulletin Boards, at trade shows and in the pages of trade publications. Those debates, as entertaining and informative as they can be, will for now be left to others as we take a quick look at five methods of low-moisture cleaning, hopefully shedding some light on the processes for those unfamiliar with them.
The shampoo cleaning method can be thought of - though it is a bit of a stretch - as shampooing your hair without the shower. A shampoo is distributed to the carpet (hair), agitated with a mechanical brush (fingers), then extracted along with suspended soil by either a wet vacuum or through dry vacuuming.
When a non-foaming detergent is applied with a sprayer, agitation is accomplished with counter-rotating cylindrical brushes. Application through the shower or channel-fed brush is accompanied with uniform shampoo distribution using rotating brush action. Once the application and agitation are complete, the suspended soil is extracted along with the excess shampoo with wet vacuuming. Additional soil extraction is accomplished once the carpet is dry, and the remaining (and now dry) detergent residues are removed with dry vacuuming.
Dry-foam cleaning involves producing and distributing a dense foam to the carpet via a mechanical brush. The excess foam and suspended soil is then extracted using a wet vacuum that is typically incorporated into the same machine.
Dry foam begins life as a cleaning agent introduced into the machine. The properly diluted solution is aerated with mechanical agitation into this dense foam. Agitation, usually accomplished by rotary or cylindrical brushes, may take place during or immediately after the application of the foam. Once the appropriate dwell time has elapsed, the technician, using a wet vac, extracts the excess foam and suspended soils.
The mist-and-brush method works by agitating a non-foaming detergent into the carpet with a mechanical brush. Once dry, the carpet is dry-vacuumed and the detergent and suspended soil is removed.
The detergent is applied with a sprayer, after which a machine with counter-rotating cylindrical brushes is brought to bear. The carpet yarns are lifted up evenly, and the soils are suspended for removal by dry vacuuming.
The bonnet cleaning method, sometimes referred to as the absorbent pad method, is a low-moisture method in which a detergent solution is applied to the carpet, then extracted with a bonnet/absorbent pad attached to the drive block of a low-rpm rotary floor machine.
The drive block transmits a rotating motion to the bonnet, which is made of cotton, rayon or a combination of the two. During the agitation phase of soil extraction, the bonnet absorbs suspended soils. The rate of absorption needs to be monitored; once the bonnet accumulates a significant amount of soil, it must be either turned over or replaced (obviously, once both sides of the pad are soil-saturated, it is time for a fresh pad). When the carpet dries, dry vacuuming can result in further soil extraction as remaining detergents are extracted from the carpet.
The absorbent compound method uses a granular carrier. Once the carrier is uniformly distributed and dried it is removed, along with the suspended soils, through dry vacuuming.
The chemical action is accomplished using an absorbent compound (hence the name) consisting of a cellulose- or polymer-based carrier. The compound is mixed with an anionic or nonionic detergent with a pH range of 5 to 10. Application rates and dispersion methods vary.
The compound's temperature will approximate that of the ambient air in the room being cleaned. Distribution is generally accomplished with equipment incorporating two counter-rotating brushes, rotary-brush action or hand pile-brushing action.
Low-moisture cleaning continues to gain in both popularity and prestige. Those professionals looking to expand their cleaning repertoire might do well to investigate the various low-moisture methods available for them to add to their arsenal. | <urn:uuid:505436d1-34ea-4cee-ba30-d96e7e318050> | {
"date": "2014-03-08T13:45:22",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-10",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1393999654667/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305060734-00006-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9451696276664734,
"score": 2.625,
"token_count": 889,
"url": "http://www.icsmag.com/articles/low-moisture-cleaning-continues-to-make-gains"
} |
- In an organization with 10 computers, 1 printer, and 1 Ethernet 48 port switch the network administrator wants to implement a medium security mechanism which would avoid unauthorized systems to access the network. What would be the most viable solution?
Mac-based security can be configured on the switch.
- A user attempts to login to a web server with random password values for a valid username. The web server does not lock out the user in spite of repeated attempts. What is the vulnerability type the server is exposed to
Brute force attack
- You are network administrators who have been assigned to setup a DHCP server for an organization for providing IP addresses to multiple networks. How would you proceed?
The DHCP server can be setup on a Windows or Linux platform. Multiple scopes can be setup on the DHCP server corresponding to the IP address for the different networks. IP helper address needs to be configured on router for communication between the DHCP clients residing on different networks and the DHCP server.
- An internet perimeter Cisco router is being targeted for attacks originating with the source IP addresses as private IP addresses. If you are the network administrator how would you mitigate the threat
The router can be configure with a standard Access lists, configured as inbound to deny ip packets with source ip addresses as private ip addresses.
- You are the network admin of an organization which has multiple sites deployed using leased lines. OSPF is the routing protocol which is used on the leased lines for intranet communication. The sites are also configured for DSL based internet connection. The administrator forgot to include the default route configuration on the routers. What type of traffic would be prevented as a consequence of this action
Default routes are needed for routing internet packets. So internet bound traffic would be dropped.
- What route entry does the following signify?
Network destination: 192.168.1.1
Net mask: 255.255.255.255
It is a host entry for the host 192.168.1.1
- A network administrator incorrectly configures the static DNS server IP address on the clients TCP/IP adapter setting. The default gateway of the network which is the internet router has the correct DNS entry in it’s configuration. The clients IP address, subnet mask and the default gateway information is provided by the DHCP server on the router. Would the client be able to browse?
- In a company network the following types of traffic is initiated from the clients namely FTP, HTTP (browsing), Telnet, ping, Custom applications. All these traffic require internet access. What would be the best technique the network administrator can use for achieving the same? | <urn:uuid:c2ae55ea-be36-44b9-b122-4019597cf086> | {
"date": "2017-07-20T16:32:23",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-30",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549423269.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20170720161644-20170720181644-00616.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.919071614742279,
"score": 2.828125,
"token_count": 535,
"url": "http://pscnetorking.blogspot.com/2013/01/network-administrator-interview.html"
} |
The word “hysteria” conjures up an array of images, none of which probably include a nomadic uterus wandering aimlessly around the female body. Yet that is precisely what medical practitioners in the past believed was the cause behind this mysterious disorder. The very word “hysteria” comes from the Greek word hystera, meaning “womb,” and arises from medical misunderstandings of basic female anatomy.
Today, hysteria is regarded as a physical expression of a mental conflict and can affect anyone regardless of age or gender. Centuries ago, however, it was attributed only to women, and believed to be physiological (not psychological) in nature.
For instance, Plato believed that the womb—especially one which was barren—could become vexed and begin wandering throughout the body, blocking respiratory channels causing bizarre behavior. This belief was ubiquitous in ancient Greece. The physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia went so far as to consider the womb “an animal within an animal,” an organ that “moved of itself hither and thither in the flanks.” The uterus could move upwards, downwards, left or right. It could even collide with the liver or spleen. Depending on its direction, a wandering womb could cause all kinds of hell. One that traveled upwards might cause sluggishness, lack of strength, and vertigo in a patient; while a womb that moved downwards could cause a person to feel as if she were choking. So worrisome was the prospect of a wandering womb during this period, that some women wore amulets to protect themselves against it.
The womb continued to hold a mystical place in medical text for centuries, and was often used to explain away an array of female complaints. The 17th-century physician William Harvey, famed for his theories on the circulation of the blood around the heart, perpetuated the belief that women were slaves to their own biology. He described the uterus as “insatiable, ferocious, animal-like,” and drew parallels between “bitches in heat and hysterical women.” When a woman named Mary Glover accused her neighbor Elizabeth Jackson of cursing her in 1602, the physician Edward Jorden argued that the erratic behavior that drove Mary to make such an accusation was actually caused by noxious vapors in her womb, which he believed were slowly suffocating her. (The courts disagreed and Elizabeth Jackson was executed for witchcraft shortly thereafter.)
So what could be done for hysteria in the past?
Physicians prescribed all kinds of treatments for a wayward womb. These included sweet-smelling vaginal suppositories and fumigations used to tempt the uterus back to its rightful place. The Greek physician Atreaus wrote that the womb “delights…in fragrant smells and advances towards them; and it has an aversion to foetid smells, and flees from them.” Women were also advised to ingest disgusting substances—sometimes containing repulsive ingredients such as human or animal excrement—in order to coax the womb away from the lungs and heart. In some cases, physical force was used to correct the position of a wandering womb (see image, right). For the single woman suffering from hysteria, the cure was simple: marriage, followed by children. Lots and lots of children.
Today, wombs are no longer thought to wander; however, medicine still tends to pathologize the vagaries of the female reproductive system. Over the course of several thousand years, the womb has become less of a way to explain physician ailments, and more of a way to explain psychological disfunction—often being cited as the reason behind irrationality and mood swings in women. Has the ever-elusive hysteria brought on by roving uteri simply been replaced by the equally intangible yet mysterious PMS? I’ll let you decide.
You can now pre-order my book THE BUTCHERING ART by clicking here. THE BUTCHERING ART follows the story of Joseph Lister as he attempts to revolutionize the brutal world of Victorian surgery through antisepsis. Pre-orders are incredibly helpful to new authors. Info on how to order foreign editions coming soon. Your support is greatly appreciated.
1. Mark J Adair, “Plato’s View of the ‘Wandering Uterus,’” The Classical Journal 91:2 (1996), p. 153.
2. G. S. Rousseau, “‘A Strange Pathology:’ Hysteria in the Early Modern World, 1500-1800” in Hysteria Beyond Freud (1993), p.104. Originally qtd in Heather Meek, “Of Wandering Wombs and Wrongs of Women: Evolving Concepts of Hysteria in the Age of Reason,” English Studies in Canada 35:2-3 (June/September 2009), p.109.
3. Quoted in Matt Simon, “Fantastically Wrong: The Theory of the Wandering Wombs that Drove Women to Madness,” Wired (7 May 2014).
4. Robert K. Ritner, “A Uterine Amulet in the Oriental Institute Collection,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 45:3 (Jul. 1984), pp.209-221. For more on the fascinating subject of magical amulets, see Tom Blaen, Medical Jewels, Magical Gems: Precious Stones in Early Modern Britain (2012).
5. Rousseau, “A Strange Pathology,” p. 132.
6. Mary Lefkowitz, “Medical Notes: The Wandering Womb,” The New Yorker (26 February 1996). | <urn:uuid:4e98a437-cd41-4099-9ff0-754effde41a8> | {
"date": "2017-06-23T20:38:43",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320174.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170623202724-20170623222724-00257.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9565249681472778,
"score": 3.390625,
"token_count": 1185,
"url": "https://thechirurgeonsapprentice.com/tag/history/"
} |
"This is a much-needed testament and historical document from one of the great environmentalists of our time.” —Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor, Harvard University, on Lester Brown's memoir Breaking New Ground.
In 1543, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus published “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres,” in which he challenged the view that the sun revolved around the earth, arguing instead that the earth revolved around the sun. With his new model of the solar system, he began a wide-ranging debate among scientists, theologians, and others. His alternative to the earlier Ptolemaic model, which had the earth at the center of the universe, led to a revolution in thinking, to a new worldview.
Today we need a similar shift in our worldview, in how we think about the relationship between the earth and the economy. The issue now is not which celestial sphere revolves around the other but whether the environment is part of the economy or the economy is part of the environment. Economists see the environment as a subset of the economy. Ecologists, on the other hand, see the economy as a subset of the environment.
Like Ptolemy’s view of the solar system, the economists’ view is confusing efforts to understand our modern world. It has created an economy that is out of sync with the ecosystem on which it depends.
Economic theory and economic indicators do not explain how the economy is disrupting and destroying the earth’s natural systems. Economic theory does not explain why Arctic sea ice is melting. It does not explain why grasslands are turning into desert in northwestern China, why coral reefs are dying in the South Pacific, or why the Newfoundland cod fishery collapsed. Nor does it explain why we are in the early stages of the greatest extinction of plants and animals since the dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago. Yet economics is essential to measuring the cost to society of these excesses.
Evidence that the economy is in conflict with the earth’s natural systems can be seen in the daily news reports of collapsing fisheries, shrinking forests, eroding soils, deteriorating rangelands, expanding deserts, rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, falling water tables, rising temperatures, more destructive storms, melting glaciers, rising sea level, dying coral reefs, and disappearing species. These trends, which mark an increasingly stressed relationship between the economy and the earth’s ecosystem, are taking a growing economic toll. At some point, this could overwhelm the worldwide forces of progress, leading to economic decline.
These increasingly visible trends indicate that if the operation of the subsystem, the economy, is not compatible with the behavior of the larger system—the earth’s ecosystem—both will eventually suffer. Recent events in the economic and financial systems cause one to wonder if we’re beginning to see the effects of an economy outgrowing its natural base. The larger the economy becomes relative to the ecosystem, and the more it presses against the earth’s natural limits, the more destructive this incompatibility will be. The challenge for our generation is to reverse these trends before environmental deterioration leads to long-term economic decline, as it did for so many earlier civilizations.
An environmentally sustainable economy—an eco-economy—requires that the principles of ecology establish the framework for the formulation of economic policy and that economists and ecologists work together to fashion the new economy. Ecologists understand that all economic activity, indeed all life, depends on the earth’s ecosystem—the complex of individual species living together, interacting with each other and their physical habitat. These millions of species exist in an intricate balance, woven together by food chains, nutrient cycles, the hydrological cycle, and the climate system. Economists know how to translate goals into policy. Economists and ecologists working together can design and build an eco-economy, one that can sustain progress.
Just as recognition that the earth was not the center of the solar system set the stage for advances in astronomy, physics, and related sciences, so will recognition that the economy is not the center of our world create the conditions to sustain economic progress and improve the human condition. After Copernicus outlined his revolutionary theory, there were two very different worldviews. Those who retained the Ptolemaic view of the world saw one world, and those who accepted the Copernican view saw a quite different one. The same is true today of the disparate worldviews of economists and ecologists.
These differences between ecology and economics are fundamental. For example, ecologists worry about limits, while economists tend not to recognize any such constraints. Ecologists, taking their cue from nature, think in terms of cycles, while economists are more likely to think linearly, or curvilinearly. Economists have a great faith in the market, while ecologists often fail to appreciate the market adequately.
The gap between economists and ecologists in their perception of the world as the 21st century began could not have been wider. Economists looked at the unprecedented growth of the global economy and of international trade and investment and forecast a promising future with more of the same. They noted with justifiable pride the sevenfold expansion of the economy since 1950, which raised output from $6 trillion of goods and services to $43 trillion in 2000 and boosted living standards to levels not dreamed of before. Ecologists looked at this same growth and realized that it was the product of burning vast quantities of artificially cheap fossil fuels, a process that destabilizes the climate. They looked ahead to see more intense heat waves, more destructive storms, melting ice caps, and rising sea levels that would shrink the land area even as population continued to grow. While economists saw booming economic indicators, ecologists saw an economy that is altering the climate with unthinkable consequences.
Economists rely on the market to guide their decisionmaking. They respect the market because it can allocate resources with an efficiency that a central planner can never match (as the Soviets learned at great expense). Ecologists view the market with less reverence because they see a market that is not telling the truth. For example, when buying a gallon of gasoline, customers in effect pay to get the oil out of the ground, refine it into gasoline, and deliver it to the local service station. But they do not pay the health care costs of treating respiratory illness from air pollution or the costs of climate disruption.
We have created an economy that is in conflict with its support systems, one that is fast depleting the earth’s natural capital, moving the global economy onto an environmental path that will inevitably lead to economic decline. This economy cannot sustain economic progress; it cannot take us where we want to go. Just as Copernicus had to formulate a new astronomical worldview after several decades of celestial observations and mathematical calculations, we too must formulate a new economic worldview based on several decades of environmental observations and analyses. A stable relationship between the economy and the earth’s ecosystem is essential if economic progress is to be sustained.
Although the idea that economics must be integrated into ecology may seem radical to many, evidence is mounting that it is the only approach that reflects reality. When observations no longer support theory, it is time to change the theory—what science historian Thomas Kuhn calls a paradigm shift. If the economy is a subset of the earth’s ecosystem, the only formulation of economic policy that will succeed is one that respects the principles of ecology.
The good news is that economists are becoming more ecologically aware, recognizing the inherent dependence of the economy on the earth’s ecosystem. For example, some 2,500 economists—including eight Nobel laureates—have endorsed the introduction of a carbon tax to stabilize climate. More and more economists are looking for ways to get the market to tell the ecological truth.
The existing industrial economic model cannot sustain economic progress. In our shortsighted efforts to sustain the global economy, as currently structured, we are depleting the earth’s natural capital. We spend a lot of time worrying about our economic deficits, but it is the ecological deficits that threaten our long-term economic future. Economic deficits are what we borrow from each other; ecological deficits are what we take from future generations.
Adapted from Chapter 1, “The Economy and the Earth,” in Lester R. Brown, Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2001), available for free downloading and purchase at www.earth-policy.org/books/eco. | <urn:uuid:0402089d-8024-401d-9553-1f6ee4053037> | {
"date": "2013-12-07T20:45:36",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2013-48",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163055810/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204131735-00002-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9450382590293884,
"score": 3.265625,
"token_count": 1746,
"url": "http://www.earth-policy.org/book_bytes/2009/eech01_ss1"
} |
There are 832 names matching your criteria.
JABR m Arabic
Means "consolation, assistance" in Arabic.
JADA (2) m Biblical
Means "he knows" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, Jada is a son of Onam.
JAGDISH m Indian
Means "ruler of the world" from Sanskrit जगत (jagat)
"world" and ईश (isha)
JAGJIT m Punjabi
Means "conqueror of the world", composed of the Sanskrit elements जगत (jagat)
"world" and जित (jit)
JAIDEV m Indian
Means "divine victory" from Sanskrit जय (jaya)
"victory" and देव (deva)
JAIRUS m Biblical
From Ιαιρος (Iairos)
, the Greek form of JAIR
used in the New Testament, where it belongs to the father of a young girl brought back to life by Jesus
JANE f English
Medieval English form of Jehanne
, an Old French feminine form of Iohannes
JANICE f English
Elaborated form of JANE
, created by Paul Leicester Ford for his novel 'Janice Meredith' (1899).
JARMIL m Czech
Derived from the Slavic elements yaru
"fierce, energetic" and milu
JAROSŁAW m Polish
Means "fierce and glorious", derived from the Slavic elements yaru
"fierce, energetic" and slava
JASMINE f English, French
From the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowers which is used for making perfumes... [more]
JASWINDER f & m Punjabi
Means "Indra of the thunderbolt" from the name of the Hindu god INDRA
prefixed with Sanskrit jasu
, the name of his thunderbolt.
JAWAHIR f Arabic
Means "jewels" in Arabic, ultimately from Persian گوهر (gohar)
JAWDAT m & f Arabic
Means "goodness, excellence", derived from Arabic جاد (jada)
"to be excellent".
JAYENDRA m Indian
Means "lord of victory" from Sanskrit जय (jaya)
meaning "victory" combined with the name of the god INDRA
, used here to mean "lord".
JAYWANT m Indian Next Page >
Derived from Sanskrit jayavanta
meaning "possessing victory". | <urn:uuid:1fc65e95-ec55-4898-a265-b12c783eccee> | {
"date": "2016-02-10T18:02:49",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-07",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701159985.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193919-00257-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.765796422958374,
"score": 2.640625,
"token_count": 585,
"url": "http://www.behindthename.com/names/letter/j"
} |
Carolyn Vachani, RN, MSN, AOCN
Updated by: Elizabeth Prechtel-Dunphy, MSN, CRNP
The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Last Modified: February 12, 2015
The colon is the longest portion of the large intestine, also known as the large bowel. The large intestine is the last part of the digestive tract. It is a tube that is about 5 to 6 feet in length; the first 5 feet make up the colon, which then connects to about 6 inches of rectum, and finally ends with the anus. By the time food reaches the colon (about 3 to 8 hours after eating), the nutrients have been absorbed and the remainder is liquid waste product. The colon's function is to change this liquid waste into solid stool. The stool can spend anywhere from 10 hours to several days in the colon before being expelled through the anus. It has been suggested that the longer stool remains in the colon, the higher the risk for colon cancer, but this has not been proven.
Colon cancer is malignant tissue that grows in the wall of the colon. The majority of tumors begin when normal tissue in the colon wall forms an adenomatous polyp, or pre-cancerous growth projecting from the colon wall. As this polyp grows larger, the tumor is formed. This process can take many years, which allows time for early detection with screening tests.
Colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer, in both males and females, in the Western world. The incidence is highest in African Americans, who are also more likely to die of the disease. Certain factors put people at higher risk. It is estimated that in the United States in 2015 there will 93,090 new case and 49,700 deaths related to colon cancer. The risk of colon cancer rises substantially after age 50, but every year there are numerous cases reported in younger people. Individuals with a personal or family history of colon cancer, polyps, or inherited colon cancer syndromes (i.e., FAP and HNPCC), as well as patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, are all at higher risk and may require screening at an earlier age than the general population. A person with one first degree relative (parent, sibling or child) with colon cancer is 2 to 3 times as likely to develop the cancer as someone who does not have an affected relative.
However, this does not mean that people without a family history are not at risk. In fact, about 80% of new colon cancer cases are diagnosed in people who would not be identified as "high risk". Studies of colon cancer cases found that lifestyle factors may put a person at higher risk. These factors include: a diet high in fat and red meat but low in fruits and vegetables, high caloric intake, low levels of physical activity, and obesity. In addition, smoking and excessive alcohol intake may play a role in colon cancer development. Despite avoiding all of these factors, some people will still develop colon cancer. With screening and early detection, these patients can be effectively treated in a majority of the cases.
Given the things that put a person at higher risk, a low-fat diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in red meat, together with regular exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight, may aide in prevention. The term chemoprevention can be defined as 'the use of a chemical compound to prevent, inhibit, or reverse the formation of the cancer'. There are ongoing studies looking at vitamins A, E, D, and C, folic acid, calcium, selenium, aspirin, cox-2 inhibitors, statin medications (traditionally used to lower cholesterol) and hormone replacement therapy as potential chemopreventive agents that may prevent or reverse the formation of polyps and colon cancer. Thus far, these studies have been inconclusive, so no specific recommendations can be made for the general population. Some of these agents continue to be evaluated in clinical trials.
Some tumors and polyps may bleed intermittently, and this blood can be detected in stool samples by a test called fecal occult blood testing (FOBT). By itself, FOBT only finds about 24% of cancers. It is recommended by the American Cancer Society that FOBT be done annually, in conjunction with a flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years after age 50. This combination of tests detects about 76% of colon tumors. The sigmoidoscope is a slender, flexible tube that has the ability to view about 1/3 of the colon. If a polyp or tumor is detected with this test, the patient must be referred for a full colonoscopy to have the polyp removed and tested for cancer.
The colonoscope is similar to the sigmoidoscope, but is longer and thus can view the entire colon. If a polyp is found, the physician can remove it and send it to a pathology lab to determine if it is adenomatous (cancerous). As a screening method, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends that a colonoscopy be done every 10 years after age 50; alternatives include CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years or flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years. Patients with a family or personal history should have more frequent screenings; beginning at an earlier age than their relative was when he or she was diagnosed. Patients with a history of inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis, are also at increased risk and should have more frequent screening than the general public. No screening modality is perfect. For colonoscopy, the rate of missed lesions is 2-12%.
If a polyp is found on CT colonography, the person would need to have a colonoscopy to biopsy the polyp. The US Preventive Task Force does not recommend CT colonography for general screening. This test is not as good at finding flat polyps, and large flat polyps have a higher risk of developing into colon cancer. Up to 16% of people having their first CT colonography are found to have abnormalities outside the colon that require further testing. In identifying and investigating these abnormalities, there is potential for both benefit and harm. Potential harms arise from additional diagnostic testing and procedures for these lesions found incidentally, which may have no clinical significance. This additional testing also has the potential to burden the patient with additional time off work and costs.
Radiation exposure resulting from CT colonography is reported to be 10 mSv per examination. The harms of radiation at this dose are not certain, but one model predicts that 1 additional individual per 1000 would develop cancer in his or her lifetime at this level of exposure. There is growing research about increased cancer risk due to cumulative radiation exposure from the use of diagnostic and screening tests that involve radiation exposure. On the other hand, improvements in CT colonography technology and practice are lowering this radiation dose.
Patients should talk with their physicians about which screening method is best for them, and how often it should be performed.
Evidence that colonoscopy actually decreases colon cancer deaths is derived from cohort and case control studies (indirect evidence). For example, a study from Ontario, Canada comparing rates of colonoscopy found that for every 1% increase in colonoscopy screening there was a 3% decrease in death from colon cancer. Randomized trials are ongoing.
Despite the effectiveness of screening tests for colon cancer, one study found that only 44% of adults who are age 50 and older had undergone testing. Media focus has helped to raise public awareness of this cancer, but more education is needed.
Unfortunately, the early stages of colon cancer may not have any symptoms. This is why it is important to have screening tests done even though you may feel well. As the polyp grows into a tumor, it may bleed or obstruct the colon, causing symptoms. These symptoms include:
As you can see, these symptoms can also be caused by conditions other than cancer. If you experience these symptoms, you should be checked by a doctor.
Once colon cancer is found by the screening tests, further tests are needed to determine the extent of the tumor. The tests used to determine spread of the tumor are CT scans, MRIs, PET/CT scan and lab work. Positron Emission tomography (PET) provides a whole body evaluation and highlight active tumors in the body. Malignant tumors have an increased rate of glycolysis shown by an increase uptake of glucose tracer. PET/CT scan is used to evaluate potential resectable metastasis in the lung and liver. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level is a marker for colon cancer that is found in the blood and which is elevated in 95% of cases. With these tests, a stage is determined to help dictate the necessary treatment. The TNM staging system assesses the extent of the tumor, nodal involvement, and distant metastases.
After the tumor and lymph nodes are removed by a surgeon, they are examined by a pathologist, who determines how much of the colon wall and lymph nodes have been invaded by tumor. This is reported on your pathology report – you may want to ask for a copy of this report for your personal files.
Using the results from these tests and reports, a stage is determined, which is used to determine the necessary treatment. The TNM staging system assesses the extent of the Tumor, Nodal involvement, and distant Metastases. The stage tells how far the tumor has invaded into the colon wall, and if it has spread to other parts of the body, and is an important piece to deciding on further treatment.
The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) publishes the TNM staging system for colon cancer, which is as follows:
The TNM groupings are combined to give a stage of 0 through IVB. TNM Stage Groupings:
Because the staging system is relatively detailed, a more simplified way of understanding the stage groupings is:
Surgery is the most common treatment for colon cancer. If the cancer is limited to a polyp, the patient can undergo a polypectomy (removal of the polyp), or a local excision, where a small amount of surrounding tissue is also removed. If the tumor invades the bowel wall or surrounding tissues, the patient will require a partial resection (removal of the cancer and a portion of the bowel) and removal of local lymph nodes to determine if the cancer has spread into them. After the tumor is removed, the two ends of the remaining colon are reconnected, allowing normal bowel function. In some situations, it may not be possible to reconnect the colon, and a colostomy (an opening in the abdominal wall to allow passage of stool) is needed, which may be temporary or permanent.
Despite the fact that a majority of patients have the entire tumor removed by surgery, as many as 50 to 60% will develop a recurrence without further treatment. Chemotherapy is given to reduce this chance of recurrence, particularly when initiated within 4 week of surgery. There is some controversy over whether or not patients with stage II disease should receive chemotherapy. Studies have not consistently shown a benefit in treating these patients or have shown only a very small benefit. Many patients with stage II disease are followed closely, but receive no chemotherapy. Generally, patients with stage II disease who present with a bowel perforation or obstruction, or who have large or poorly differentiated tumors (determined by a pathologist looking at the tumor under a microscope), are considered at higher risk for recurrence and are treated with 6 months of fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin (LV), with or without oxaliplatin chemotherapy. Work is being done to further clarify who among the stage II group is high risk, which will be helpful to providers making treatment decisions. There are assays available to assess molecular and genetic markers in stage II patients, which can be helpful in treatment decisions.
Patients who present with stage III colon cancer are treated with a regimen of chemotherapy, including some combination of fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, and oxaliplatin for 6 months, resulting in improved survival rates when compared with surgery alone. The addition of other agents, including irinotecan and bevacizumab, in combination with 5-FU/LV has not been shown to benefit stage III patients. After completion of this therapy, they are monitored for recurrence of the disease. Capecitabine (Xeloda) is an oral form of fluorouracil, that is used frequently as a replacement for intravenous 5-FU.
Forty to fifty percent of patients have metastatic disease (cancer that has spread to other organs, also called stage IV) at the time of diagnosis, or have a recurrence of the disease after therapy. Unfortunately, with the exception of selected patients who have limited liver/lung metastases, stage IV disease is not considered cureable. Nevertheless, patients can have improved quality of life and longer survival with chemotherapy treatment. The standard therapy for patients with advanced disease is some combination of fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan (CPT-11 or Camptosar), oxaliplatin (Eloxitin), bevacizumab (Avastin), cetuximab (Erbitux), and capecitabine. Regimens adding either irinotecan or oxaliplatin to fluorouracil and leucovorin were found to be more effective than using the fluorouracil and leucovorin alone.
Targeted therapies are drug treatments that target a specific abnormality found in the cancer cells. The following are targeted therapies that are commonly used in the treatment of colon cancer.
Bevacizumab (Avastin) is a type of treatment called anti-angiogenic therapy. Tumors need nutrients to survive and are able to get these nutrients by growing new blood vessels. This medication works by attacking the new blood vessels the tumor has formed -- in other words, by cutting off its food source. Bevacizumab is used in combination with chemotherapy for patients with metastatic disease.
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is abnormally over expressed in many cancers (including those of the colon and rectum), so inhibition of EGFR can result in a decrease in tumor cell growth and decreased production of other factors responsible for metastasis (tumor spread). Panitumumab and cetuximab are monoclonal antibodies that exert cancer fighting properties by competitively inhibiting the binding of epidermal growth factor to EGFR, which prevents epidermal growth factor from working, and hence not allowing cancer growth to occur. These agents are generally used for patients who tumor type is deemed “KRAS wild-type”. This means that there is no mutation with the KRAS protein.
Treatment recommendations for patients with metastatic disease depend on whether the patient is appropriate for intensive therapy. Chemotherapy options for patients with metastatic disease depend on what treatment they initially received. Clinical trial participation may be recommended before standard therapy.
Colon cancer is not typically treated with radiation therapy. If the cancer has invaded another organ, or attached itself to the abdominal wall, radiation therapy may be a treatment option. One reason for the limited role of radiation is that it is a local treatment typically aimed at a "target." Once the colon cancer has been surgically resected, the "target" or high-risk area for disease recurrence is not very easy to define. Furthermore, if the cancer has spread to other organs, chemotherapy (rather than radiation therapy) is able to reach distant areas of spread of tumor cells.
Interventional radiologists are specialists who use radiology techniques, such as CT scan, to access areas of the body and treat diseases without traditional surgery. These techniques are sometimes called "minimally invasive". In some cases, these physicians are able to help patients with colon cancer that has metastasized to the liver or lung. The techniques currently being used by these specialists include: CT directed biopsies, chemoembolization, radiofrequency ablation and radioembolization. By entering a patient's blood vessels, the physician can thread a catheter all the way to the liver and give treatment directly to the tumor.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a local treatment that kills the tumor cells with heat, while sparing healthy liver tissue. When the tumor is too large or in a location not amenable to RFA, embolization may be used to cut off the blood supply to the tumor, deliver radiation to a tumor (called radioembolization), or combine this technique with chemotherapy to deliver the cancer drug directly to the tumor (called chemoembolization). These therapies are not considered curative, but can provide improved quality of life and extend survival.
Some patients may benefit from having an infusion pump inserted to infuse chemotherapy directly into the liver. IR physicians can also perform palliative procedures, such as inserting a stent to relieve an obstruction, treating certain types of pain, inserting central catheters or treating blood clots.
Once a patient has completed chemotherapy, they must be followed closely for recurrence. The guidelines for follow-up surveillance, written by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) are: physical exam (including digital rectal exam) every 3 months for 2 years, then every 6 months for 3 years; CEA level (if elevated preoperatively) checked every 3 months for 2 years, then every 6 months for 3 years; and colonoscopy in 1 year, with a repeat in 1 year if abnormal, or every 2-3 years if no polyps are found. Patients who are at high risk of developing colon cancer recurrence, a yearly CT scan is recommended.
Clinical trials have played and continue to play an important role in the treatment of colon cancer. In the past 20 years, considerable improvements have been made in colon cancer therapy, with overall survival rates increasing from 45 to 75 percent. The treatments we have today were refined through clinical trials, and many new avenues continue to be explored. Talk with your physician about current clinical trials for colon cancer in your area or use the OncoLink Clinical Trials Matching Service.
After treatment, talk with your oncology team about receiving a survivorship care plan, which can help you manage the transition to survivorship and learn about long-term concerns and life after cancer. You can create a survivorship care plan on OncoLink.
This article is meant to give you a better understanding of colon cancer. Use this knowledge when meeting with your physician, making treatment decisions, and continuing your search for information.
Colon Cancer Alliance - The Colon Cancer Alliance brings the voice of survivors to battle colorectal cancer through patient support, education, research and advocacy.
Fight Colorectal Cancer - Provides advocacy, education and support.
Chris 4 Life Colon Cancer Foundation - Provides education, support and funds research.
The Colon Club - Promotes education and awareness in interesting and out of the box ways.
American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons - Society for colon and rectal surgeons and other surgeons dedicated to the treatment of patients with diseases and disorders affecting the colon, rectum and anus.
Colon-Rectal.com - Physicians with decades of experience and specialized training in caring for these types of problems have contributed text and images to this website.
Abeloff, M., Armitage, J., Niederhuber, J., Kastan, M. & McKenna, G. (Eds.): Clinical Oncology (2004). Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA.
The American Cancer Society. Facts and Figures 2015. www.cancer.org
Baxter NN, Goldwasser MA, Paszat LF, Saskin R, Urbach DR, Rabeneck L. Association of colonoscopy and death from colorectal cancer. Ann Intern Med. 2009;150:1-8.
Benson, Al New Approaches to the Adjuvant Therapy of Colon Cancer. The Oncologist. 2006; 11(9): 973-980.
Biagi JJ, Raphael M, King WD, et al. The impact of time to adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) on survival in colorectal cancer (CRC): A systematic review and meta-analysis. Abstract #364. ASCO 2011 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. San Francisco, CA.
Blumberg, D. & Ramanathan, R. K. (Treatment of Colon and Rectal Cancer. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. 2002; 34(1): 15-26.
Brown, DB et al. Society of Interventional Radiology Position Statement on Chemoembolization of Hepatic Malignancies. J Vasc Interv Rad. 2006; 17 (2): 217-223.
DeGramont A, Van Cutsem E, Taberno J, et al. AVANT: Results from a randomized, three-arm multinational phase III study to investigate bevacizumab with either XELOX or FOLFOX4 versus FOLFOX4 alone as adjuvant treatment for colon cancer. Abstract#362. ASCO 2011 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. San Francisco, CA.
Haller, D, Cassidy J, Tabernero, J, et al. First efficacy findings from a randomized phase III trial of capecitabine + oxaliplatin vs. bolus 5-FU/LV for stage III colon cancer (NO16968): No impact of age on disease-free survival (DFS). Abstract#284. ASCO 2010 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Orlando, FL.
Lieberman, D. A. & Weiss, D. G. (2001) One-Time Screening for Colorectal Cancer with Combined Fecal Occult Blood Testing and Examination of the Distal Colon. New Eng J Med 2001;345(8): 555-560.
National Cancer Institute. General Information About Colon Cancer.
NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines: Colon Cancer (V.2.2015).
Pickhardt, PJ. "Colorectal Cancer Screening: Virtual Colonscopy vs Conventional Colonscopy: Virtual Colonscopy" Oral Presentation. ASCO 2011 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Jan 22, 2011. San Francisco, CA.
Rosenberg R, Maak M, Simon I, et al. Independent validation of a prognostic genomic profile (ColoPrint) for stage II colon cancer (CC) patients. Abstract #358. ASCO 2011 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. San Francisco, CA.
Siegel, R.L, Miller, K. D. & Jemal, A. (2015). Cancer Statistics, 2015. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 65(1). 5-29.
Society of Interventional Radiology: Patient information.
Van Cutsem E, Labianca R, Bodoky G, et al: Randomized phase III trial comparing biweekly infusional fluorouracil/leucovorin alone or with irinotecan in the adjuvant treatment of stage III colon cancer: PETACC-3. J Clin Oncol. 2009; 27: 3117.
Wilkes, G.M. (2011). Colon, Rectal & Anal Cancer. In Yarbro C.H, Wujcik, D. & Gobel, B.H. (Eds.). Cancer Nursing (pp. 1205-1237). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Ychou M, Raoul JL, Douillard JY, et al: A phase III randomised trial of LV5FU2 + irinotecan versus LV5FU2 alone in adjuvant high-risk colon cancer (FNCLCC Accord02/FFCD9802). Ann Onc 2009; 20:674. | <urn:uuid:e0e4b5ac-31a4-462e-a588-23cb1dcee080> | {
"date": "2016-07-25T20:22:17",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-30",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824345.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00246-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9298800826072693,
"score": 3.390625,
"token_count": 4996,
"url": "http://www.oncolink.org/types/article1.cfm?c=120&id=7336"
} |
In search of the Matese Falcon #15 - African Fish Eagle, Malta Falconry Centre
The African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer or – to distinguish it from the true fish eagles (Ichthyophaga), the African Sea Eagle – is a large species of eagle. It is the national bird of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Its closest relative appears to be the critically endangered Madagascar Fish-eagle. Like all sea-eagle species pairs, this one consists of a white-headed species (the African Fish Eagle) and a tan-headed one. These are an ancient lineage of sea-eagles, and as such have dark talons, beaks, and eyes. Both species have at least partially white tails even as juveniles.
The African Fish Eagle is a large bird, and the female, at 3.2-3.6 kg (7-8 lbs) is larger than the male, at 2-2.5 kg (4.4-5.5 lbs). Males usually have a wingspan of about 2 m (6 feet), while females have wingspans of 2.4 m (8 feet). The length is 63-75 cm (25-30 in). They are very distinctive in appearance with a mostly brown body and large, powerful, black wings. The head, breast, and tail of African Fish Eagles are snow white and the hook-shaped beak is mostly yellow with a black tip.
This species is still quite common near freshwater lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, although they can sometimes be found near the coast at the mouths of rivers or lagoons. As their name implies, African Fish Eagles are indigenous to Africa, ranging over most of continental Africa south of the southern-most edge of the Sahara Desert.
Breeding season for African Fish Eagles is during the dry season, when water levels are low. African Fish Eagles are believed to mate for life, and pairs will often maintain two or more nests, which they will frequently re-use. Because nests are re-used and built upon over the years the nests can grow to be quite large, some reaching 2m (six feet) across and 1.2 m (4 feet) deep. The nests are placed in a large tree and built mostly of sticks and other pieces of wood.
The female lays 1 to 3 eggs, which are primarily white with a few reddish speckles. Incubation is mostly done by the female, but the male will incubate when the female leaves to hunt. Incubation lasts for 42 to 45 days before the chicks hatch. The eggs will often hatch a few days apart, and the eldest chick will usually kill any younger chicks. Fledging lasts for 70 to 75 days, and after about 8 weeks the chick is capable of feeding itself and will usually begin to venture outside of the nest 2 weeks later.
The African Fish Eagle feeds mainly on fish, which, upon spying it from a perch in a tree, it will swoop down upon and snatch from the water with its large clawed talons and fly back to its perch to eat. Should the African Fish Eagles catch a fish over 1.8 kg (4 pounds) it will be too heavy to allow it to get lift, so it will instead drag the fish across the surface of the water until it reaches the shore. If it catches a fish that is too heavy to even allow the eagle to sustain flight, it will drop into the water and paddle to the nearest shore with its wings. It will also feed on waterfowl, small turtles, baby crocodiles, and carrion. | <urn:uuid:6ff44797-8fc6-4ee3-9134-06a0f131de47> | {
"date": "2016-02-07T09:54:35",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-07",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701148758.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193908-00170-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9583108425140381,
"score": 3.359375,
"token_count": 741,
"url": "https://www.flickr.com/photos/foxypar4/3196618504/?rb=1"
} |
From Our 2008 Archives
Low Vitamin D Tied to Depression in Older Adults
Latest Mental Health News
FRIDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) — Low levels of vitamin D and high levels of a hormone secreted by the parathyroid glands may increase the risk of depression in older adults, according to a new report.
The Dutch study, published in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, supports previous speculation by researchers that vitamin D, depression and other psychiatric illnesses are linked, according to background information in the article.
Underlying causes of vitamin D deficiency — such as less sun exposure due to decreased outdoor activity, different housing or clothing habits, and decreased vitamin intake — may be secondary to depression, but depression may also be the consequence of poor vitamin D status, the article's authors wrote. Moreover, poor vitamin D status causes an increase in serum parathyroid hormone levels.
Symptoms of depression often appear when the parathyroid glands are overactive, then disappear after the gland condition is treated.
Since both low vitamin D levels and high parathyroid hormone levels can be treated by increasing vitamin D or calcium in the diet and boosting exposure to sunlight, the findings could bring hope to depressed seniors, the researchers say. About 13 percent of older individuals have symptoms of depression.
Researchers at VU University Medical Center, in Amsterdam, found the vitamin D levels were 14 percent lower in test subjects diagnosed with major and minor depression compared with those non-depressed participants.
Parathyroid hormone thyroid levels were an average of 5 percent higher in those with minor depression and 33 percent higher in those with major depressive disorder than in those who were not depressed.
The researchers measured blood levels of vitamin D and parathyroid hormone among 1,282 community residents over the age of 65. They also assessed symptoms of depression, diagnosing 26 with a major depressive disorder, 169 with minor depression and 1,087 as not depressed.
Additional studies are needed to determine whether changes in levels of vitamin D and parathyroid hormone precede the onset of depression or follow it, the authors said.
— Kevin McKeever
SOURCE: JAMA, news release, May 5, 2008
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:1aff25ea-74bc-4a81-9ed9-92798c7cdafb> | {
"date": "2014-08-22T21:51:42",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500824562.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021344-00378-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9232723712921143,
"score": 2.640625,
"token_count": 460,
"url": "http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=89581"
} |
Back in Time
Ohio's Vanishing Covered Bridges
By Rickie Longfellow
The history of covered bridges can be traced as far back as 780 B.C. in ancient Babylon. In America the first covered bridge was built in Connecticut in 1804 by Theodore Burr. Named the Waterford Bridge, it spanned the Hudson River in New York and lasted for 105 years. The next two were built years later in 1851 and 1852 in Oregon City, Oregon, but were washed away by floodwaters in 1853. Before there were covered bridges there were ferries to transport horses, passengers and buggies to the other side of the rivers. Many of these were run by merchants holding the monopoly on the local economy with the fees from the ferries. This prompted taxpayers to build bridges that would be free to all travelers after a toll to help offset costs.
|The Chambers Road Covered Bridge is located in Delaware County, Ohio on Chambers Road (TR63). Built in 1883, the 73 foot long bridge crosses Big Walnut Creek.|
Early bridges were built for utility. The later ones were also built with appearance in mind. Although Connecticut boasts the first covered bridge in America, Pennsylvania is usually foremost in the minds of covered bridge lovers. At least 1,500 were built from 1820 to1900 and Pennsylvania has the largest number of covered bridges in the nation: 219 in 40 of its 67 counties. The longest covered bridge in history was built in 1814 in Lancaster County, Pa., at a distance of 5,960 feet more than a mile. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in 1832 by ice and high water.
Most of America's covered bridges were built between 1825 and 1875. By the 1870s, most bridges were covered at the time of construction. The original reason for the cover was to protect the bridge's trusses and decks from snow and rain, preventing decay and rot. The cover served other purposes also-it kept horses from being spooked by the waters underneath, it was a reprieve from weather to the weary traveler, and it was used for political rallies, religious meetings, a night's sleep for tramps, town meetings, poker parties, sweethearts' rendezvous, drunken revels, dances, and even rainy-day luncheons took place on the covered bridge. An uncovered bridge would last approximately 20 years but a covered one could last 100 years.
Floods washing away the bridges caused the need for redesigning them. Builders began to use a combination of iron and wood trusses. The invention of the automobile encouraged builders to use steel. But with World War I came a shortage of steel and the wood bridges again became the norm. Now they were being built with windows, laminated floors, asphalt surfaces and interior whitewashing.
|The McColly Covered Bridge was built in 1876. Located near Lewistown, Ohio on CR 13, the 125 foot long bridge crosses the Great Miami River.|
More than 12,000 covered bridges have dotted the American landscape, with approximately 3,500 in Ohio. However, today in central Ohio covered bridges are very hard to find. Recently, I went on assignment to photograph covered bridges. Spanning five counties in two weekends, I was disappointed to see that many of the bridges had vanished. Some have been moved to private land or parks, some are gone and I could not locate two of them. Very few of the existing ones are used anymore. One bridge's interior was covered with spray painted graffiti. In the countryside of remote Delaware County, the bridge was located in a sparsely populated area making it vulnerable to night vandals.
A trip to southern Fairfield County provided a glimpse of a 122-foot truss type covered bridges that had been build in 1883, and one hundred years later moved and partially rebuilt on private property. Several photographs proved useless due to the present day items blocking part of the bridge from the camera. Another bridge could not be located at all. Another was found at the Lancaster, Ohio, fairgrounds and another on the local college campus. Other bridges of scenic Fairfield County were found on private property or in public parks, however, a few are still used.
In Franklin County I found three bridges, one on private property and two on public property. I then went northwest into Union County where I found a beautiful 102-foot truss bridge built in 1873. Free of graffiti and spanning the Little Darby Creek, the bridge proved photogenic above the rushing waters of the creek. Further west I went into Logan County where I found the McColly Covered Bridge in Amish country. Another truss type bridge, the McColly, built in 1876, spans 125 feet over the Great Miami River. Located in a very remote part of the county, the bridge is in mint condition.
Ohio is second to Pennsylvania in remaining covered bridges. All over America concrete and steel have replaced instead of repaired the structures that are so vital to our historical past. Down from 3,500 to approximately 138, the historic covered bridge that Ohioans over the centuries have enjoyed is quickly disappearing.
|The Bigelow/Little Covered Bridge is located on Axe Handle Road in Union County, Ohio. With a length of 102 feet, the bridge crosses over the Little Darby Creek and was built in 1873.| | <urn:uuid:b10c2e94-2880-442b-897a-2882e73aa520> | {
"date": "2015-06-02T10:05:53",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1433195035572.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20150601214355-00106-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9803598523139954,
"score": 3,
"token_count": 1094,
"url": "https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back0804.cfm"
} |
Volvo Workshop Manuals
XC90 FWD L6-3.2L VIN 95 B6324S5 (2011)
Powertrain Management > Transmission Control Systems > Relays and Modules - Transmission and Drivetrain > Relays and Modules - Differential > Control Unit, Differential Lock > Component Information > Diagrams > Diagram Information and Instructions > Page 2927
Every component has a component designation that consists of two parts.
The first part is a type number that describes the type of component in question, for example 3/xx.
The second part of the designation is a serial number, e.g. x/2.
Together, this constitutes a component designation, e.g. 3/2.
At the end of the manual is a list of components, where, with the help of the component designation, you can read off the name of the component, for
List of type numbers
The list shows which type of component that respective type numbers refer to, for example, 3/x = switch, 6/x = electric motor, etc.
Driver information module
Electrical distribution rail/box
The systems are shown in non-active status. i.e. with "key removed" and when the doors, hatches and hood are closed.
B. Branching points
The wiring diagrams contain numbered junction points, e.g. 53/352.
This manual contains a section with a list of branching points. This list shows all the components that are connected to each branching point.
The location of the branching points is shown in the "Cable harness routing in vehicle" section.
Connectors provide a bridge between two cable harnesses and are described in the "Connectors" section.
D. Electrical distribution
Operation of the fuses and relays is shown in the "Electrical distribution" section.
E. Data communication
Today's cars are equipped with CAN, LIN & MOST networks that transmit information. Connections to these networks are not shown in their entirety on
A number of different abbreviations are used in the manual. These are explained in the section "Abbreviations".
|[PREV PAGE] [NEXT PAGE]| | <urn:uuid:c30f07e0-9a51-4769-9da3-16d8f0bac17d> | {
"date": "2019-04-22T06:10:54",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-18",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578544449.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20190422055611-20190422081611-00296.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8273309469223022,
"score": 2.734375,
"token_count": 460,
"url": "https://workshop-manuals.com/volvo/xc90_fwd/l6-3.2l_vin_95_b6324s5/powertrain_management/transmission_control_systems/relays_and_modules_transmission_and_drivetrain/relays_and_modules_differential/control_unit_differential_lock/component_information/diagrams/diagram_information_and_instructions/page_2927/"
} |
Want to contribute to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence? SETI@home lets you (well your computer actually) get into the act. Why, you could even be out having lunch, while your computer running a special screensaver, is contributing useful bits of data to the study. Launched in May of 1999, the program takes advantage of what is called "distributed-computing," which makes use of many separate computers each processing small "work units" which are then sent back to the SETI@home lab at UC Berkeley.
The program is parceling out data gleaned from the huge radio telescope at Arecibo, with the overall intention of detecting signals from outer space that appear to be coming from an intelligent source. Many were skeptical of how useful this group collaboration would be when it first began. But as of May 2002 there were over 3,725,900 signed-up participants whose computers had analyzed a staggering 983,487 years of computer processing time. According to one project director, the contributors are analyzing the same amount of data that it would cost them $300 million of supercomputers to otherwise obtain. While Seti@home is clearly a groundbreaking success in the field of "distributed-computing" one would hope that it might eventually yield an alien radio jingle as well. For more info check out this article(1) by Kamil Z. Skawinski. | <urn:uuid:6089b8e8-cb06-4037-9ed0-4512cded107a> | {
"date": "2017-02-20T01:57:43",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501170380.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104610-00144-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9439737796783447,
"score": 3.296875,
"token_count": 286,
"url": "http://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/spotlight-on-seti-home"
} |
< Entries Beginning With U >
U. S. Congressional Hearings on Northern Emigration
Start Year : 1879
End Year : 1880
So many African Americans [Exodusters] were moving to Nicodemus, Kansas, that the U. S. Congress held hearings to find out why. A Select Committee was appointed by the Senate on December 15, 1879, charged with finding out why African Americans were emigrating north, especially those going to Nicodemus. The committee interviewed 153 African Americans (none from Kentucky) from January 19, 1880 to February 23, 1880. The investigation had ten summary points, the first being that the exodus was not the work of Republican leaders from the North. For more see "Report and Testimony of Select Committee to Investigate the Causes of the Removal of the Negroes From the Southern States," U.S Senate, Executive Document no. 693, 46th Congress 2nd Session, GPO 1880. Available at the University of Kentucky Libraries, Storage.
Subjects: Migration North, Nicodemus, Exodusters [African Americans migrating West around Reconstruction Era]
Geographic Region: Nicodemus, Kansas
Underground Railroad Research Institute (UGRRI) at Georgetown College (KY)
Start Year : 2001
Established in 2001 at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY. "The UGRRI makes national and international efforts to preserve, interpret and commemorate Underground Railroad sites in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The resulting research highlighted the centrality and far-reaching effect of Kentucky's involvement in the American slave trade as well as creation of national and international Underground Railroad story. The Institute will join forces with individuals, public agencies and organizations conducting research locally, nationally and internationally, to broaden understanding of American diversity through creation of a more inclusive American history with a focus on the Colonial through the Progressive Era."
Subjects: Freedom, Genealogy, History, Underground Railroad: Conductors, Escapes, Organizations, Research
Geographic Region: Georgetown, Scott County, Kentucky
Underwood, Edward Ellsworth
Birth Year : 1864
Death Year : 1942
A physician, Underwood moved to Kentucky to become Assistant City Physician in Frankfort. He organized and was the first president of the Frankfort NAACP Chapter. He was the first African American to sit on the Board of Trustees at Kentucky State University. In 1898 he formed the State League of Republican Clubs in Kentucky and was its first president. He was also a Kentucky delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1904. Underwood is author of A brief history of the colored churches of Frankfort, Kentucky (1906) [full-text available in the Kentucky Digital Library], as well as several poems; and he was editor of the Blue Grass Bugle for 10 years. He was born in Ohio, the son of Harriet and Reverend Johnson P. Underwood, and the husband of Sarah Walker Underwood, according to his death certificate. For more see Who's Who in Colored America 1927.
See photo image of Dr. Edward E. Underwood at Kentucky Historical Society Digital Collections.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Authors, Education and Educators, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Poets, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Migration South, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
Geographic Region: Ohio / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky
An unidentified slave in Kentucky is said to have invented the hemp-brake machine. For more see African American Inventors, by O. R. Sullivan.
Geographic Region: Kentucky
Union Benevolent Society No.1 (Versailles, KY)
Start Year : 1876
The Union Benevolent Society No.1 in Versailles, KY, had existed for several years before it was approved by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on March 3, 1876. It was described as a society for Colored persons. The organization provided charity and and mutual relief for its members. The board members were Henry C. Brown, President; Henry Jackson, Vice President; H. P. Mason, Recording Secretary; and Nelson Hicks, Treasurer. The official name of the organization became "The Benevolent Society, No.1, of Versailles, Kentucky." For more see chapter 336 in Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Passed, Regular Session of the General Assembly, December 1875.
Subjects: Benevolent Societies
Geographic Region: Versailles, Woodford County, Kentucky
Union County (KY) Slaves, Free Blacks, Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870
Start Year : 1850
End Year : 1870
Union County, in western Kentucky, was formed in 1811 from a portion of Henderson County. It is bordered by three counties and the Ohio River. Morganfield, the county seat, was established in 1812 on land acquired from the heirs of Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Morgan. The 1820 Union County population was 383 [heads of households], according to the U.S. Federal Census, and the population increased to 9,686 by 1860, excluding the slaves. Below are the number of slave owners, slaves, free Blacks, and free Mulattoes for 1850-1870.
1850 Slave Schedule
- 484 slave owners
- 1,915 Black slaves
- 377 Mulatto slaves
- 13 free Blacks [5 with no last name, 5 Dickson, 1 Acliff, 2 Waller]
- 4 free Mulattoes [last names Acliff, Henson, Kirkendall, and Roberts]
1860 Slave Schedule
- 539 slave owners
- 2,893 Black slaves
- 180 Mulatto slaves
- 20 free Blacks
- 0 free Mulattoes
1870 U.S. Federal Census
- 2,001 Blacks
- 462 Mulattoes
- About 177 U.S. Colored Troops listed Union County, KY, as their birth location.
For more information, see Union County in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, edited by J. E. Kleber; Slavery On the Edge of Freedom, by J. M. Crate (thesis); Sturgis and Clay: showdown for desegregation in Kentucky education, by J. M. Trowbridge and J. Lemay; and Freedom on the Border, by C. Fosl and T. E. K'Meyer.
Subjects: Slave Owners, Slaves, Free Blacks, Free Mulattoes in Kentucky, 1850-1870 [by county N-Z]
Geographic Region: Union County, Kentucky
United Brothers of Friendship and Sisters of the Mysterious Ten
Start Year : 1861
The United Brothers of Friendship, originally a benevolent order established in 1861 in Louisville, KY, had both freemen and slave members. The organization later became a secret society with more than 60,000 members in various U.S. states, Liberia, Canada, and the West Indies. This membership included females referred to as the Sisters of the Mysterious Ten. For more see History of the United Brothers of Friendship and Sisters of the Mysterious Ten, by W. H. Gibson, Sr. (1897).
Subjects: Fraternal Organizations, Women's Groups and Organizations, Benevolent Societies
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Liberia, Africa / Canada / West Indies
United States v. Reese, et al, 92 U.S. 214
Start Year : 1875
This case was the first big test of voting rights under the 15th Amendment of 1870 that gave African American men the right to vote. In Kentucky, an African American man named William Garver had been denied voting rights in a municipal election, and the voting official was indicted. The indictment was based on the Enforcement Act of 1870, but the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Enforcement Act unconstitutional: Congress did not have the power to seek punishment for the denial of voting rights on any grounds and could only legislate against discrimination based on race. The decision allowed southern states to deny voting rights to African Americans due to poll taxes, literacy and other tests. The indictment of election officials and others was considered an error of the Circuit Courts of the United States (Kentucky). For more see United States v. Reese, 92 U.S. 214 (1875) [full text online at Justia.com].
Subjects: Voting Rights, Court Cases
Geographic Region: Kentucky
University of Louisville Basketball Team
Start Year : 1979
End Year : 1980
According to Billy Reed, former Executive Director for Communications at the Kentucky Commerce Cabinet, the 1979-1980 University of Louisville (U of L) men's basketball team was the first team to win a national basketball championship with an all-African American starting lineup since Texas Western defeated the University of Kentucky in 1966. The U of L starters were Darrell Griffith, Rodney McCray, Derek Smith, Wiley Brown, and Jerry Eaves. For more see the Kentucky Commerce Cabinet [renamed June 2008 to Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet] Press release dated 02/21/05, "Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch Represents Pinnacle of Proud African-American Athletic Tradition at U of L: Cards a Leader in Integrating Southern Sports."
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
University of Louisville Libraries: Documenting African American Life in Louisville
A library guide to manuscripts and other collections that focus on the African American experience in Louisville, KY. Available at the University of Louisville Libraries' University Archives and Records Center.
Subjects: Genealogy, History
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
University of Louisville Libraries' Special Collections
Special Collections in the Ekstrom Library at the University of Louisville (U of L) contains the departments of Photographic Archives and Rare Books. Included within the 1.5 million images and 75,000 rare books are considerable materials concerning African-American issues. See the Electronic Finding Aids to the University Archives and Records Center. Submitted by James Manasco, U of L Librarian.
Subjects: Genealogy, History, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Unnatural Causes: is inequality making us sick?
Start Year : 2008
Unnatural Causes is a PBS documentary that looks at socio-economics and racial inequalities in health. The four hour series has seven segments set in different racial/ethnic communities. The first hour-long segment focuses on Louisville, KY, with Dr. Adewale Troutman, Director of Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness. Dr. Troutman is also the founder of the Center for Health Equity in Louisville, the first center of its kind in the United States. The remaining six segments of the documentary run 30 minutes each. The documentary is available at the UK Libraries Audiovisual Services Department (call number AV-D6980) and at several other academic libraries in Kentucky. After the broadcast of the documentary, a town hall meeting was held in Louisville, KY, March 20, 2008, to discuss issues that the documentary raised. The Kentucky Educational Television (KET) produced a recording of the meeting, Unnatural Causes: a Louisville town hall meeting; it is available online. A discussion of the issues on a PBS local companion program, a special edition of Connections With Renee Shaw, Program #313, is also available online; it focuses on Louisville, Hazard and Perry County, and eastern and western Kentucky. For more see the KET website, Unnatural Causes.
Subjects: Medical Field, Health Care
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky / Eastern Kentucky / Western Kentucky
Unseld, Westley S. "Wes"
Birth Year : 1946
Wes Unseld was born in Louisville, KY, and attended Seneca High School, where he played on the basketball team that won two state tournaments. Unseld was also the 6' 7" center for the University of Louisville basketball team, for which he was a three year letter winner, two time All American, and three time All Conference player. He scored 1,686 points, had 1,551 rebounds and led the conference in rebounds for three years. He played 13 years in the NBA with the Baltimore Bullets [later the Washington Bullets, now the Washington Wizards] and retired as the NBA's 7th all time leading rebounder. From 1987-1994, Unseld was the head coach of the Washington Bullets, the second African American from Kentucky to become an NBA head coach [Bernie Bickerstaff was first and Dwane Casey was third]. In 1988, Wes Unseld was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. For more see Who's Who Among African Americans, 1977-2008; Basketball Biographies. 434 U.S. players, coaches and contributors to the game, 1891-1990, by M. Taragano; and "The 2004 Racial and gender report card: National Basketball Association" 05/02/2005, by Richard Lapchick [available online .pdf].
See photo image and video of Wes Unseld, and additional information by Chimsima Zuhri at the "Today in African American History" website.
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Baltimore, Maryland / Washington, D.C.
U.S. Census: Slave Schedules, Black or Mulatto, Colored
Start Year : 1850
End Year : 1890
African American slaves were first enumerated in the U.S. Federal Census in 1850 in a separate census called Slave Schedules. The 1850 Census was also the first in which all members of a household were listed by name; prior to 1850, only the heads of households were listed by name. As for slaves listed in the 1850 Slave Schedules, the vast majority are not listed by name but rather are numbered by age, sex, and color [Black or Mulatto] from the oldest to the youngest, all under the name of the slave owner. Also listed were the reported fugitive and manumitted (freed) slaves and the deaf, blind, insane, and idiotic slaves. A second slave census was taken in 1860. Kentucky was one of the 18 states included in the 1850 Slave Schedules and one of the 17 states in the 1860 Slave Schedules. African American slaves had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 or by the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865. Because Kentucky did not secede from the Union, Kentucky slaves were freed by the ratification of the 13th Amendment. In the 1870 and 1880 U.S. Federal Censuses, African Americans are included as Black or Mulatto. When the 1890 Census was taken, the term "Colored" was also used as a race descriptor for some African Americans, as well as for Chinese, Hawaiians, Japanese, Puerto Ricans, Swiss, Native Americans, and many others. As early as 1850, the term "Colored" had been used in the U.S. Federal Census and in the census of some individual states to describe free persons who were not White. Well beyond the year 1900, in the United States, the terms Black, Mulatto, and Colored were all used on birth, death, and military records, and on ship passenger lists. For more information about the race descriptors used in the early U.S. Census data, contact the U.S. Census Bureau; see Shades of Citizenship, by M. Nobles; Census and Identity, by D. I. Kertzer and D. Arel; and Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census, by M. J. Anderson.
Subjects: Slave Owners, Slaves, Free Blacks, Free Mulattoes in Kentucky, 1850-1870 [by county A-C], Slave Owners, Slaves, Free Blacks, Free Mulattoes in Kentucky, 1850-1870 [by county D-J], Slave Owners, Slaves, Free Blacks, Free Mulattoes in Kentucky, 1850-1870 [by county K-M], Slave Owners, Slaves, Free Blacks, Free Mulattoes in Kentucky, 1850-1870 [by county N-Z], Race Categories
Geographic Region: Kentucky / United States
Utterback, Everett Emory
Birth Year : 1906
Death Year : 1992
Everett Utterback was a social worker, an athlete, and an attorney in Pittsburgh, PA. He prepared legal contracts for Gus Greenlee, owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords baseball team (Negro League). Utterback prepared contracts with players such as Leroy Satchell Paige, and boxers such as John Henry Lewis, world light heavy weight champion 1935-1939. Everett Utterback was born in Mayfield, KY, the son of Monima and Eldridge Utterback. According to the 1910 U.S. Federal Census, the family of five lived on Second Street, and was supported by Eldridge who was brick mason. The family was still in Mayfield, KY in 1930, but without Everette who was attending the University of Pittsburgh on a track scholarship. In 1931, he was the first African American captain of the track team at the University of Pittsburgh. Utterback had competed in a 1929 Decathlon and came in second behind Barney Berlinger. In 1930 and 1931, he won the national championship in broad jump, and the ICA [Intercollegiate Athletics] broad jump championship. Also in 1931, Utterback won the Penn Relays Championship in the hop, skip, and jump. During his career, he won nine championships in the Penn Relays. He was a member of the IC4A indoor championship mile relay team. He set a number of track records. Utterback was also a graduate of Duquesne Law School [now Duquesne University School of Law] and retired as general counsel of the Pittsburgh Housing Authority. He had served as director of management of the housing authority with 5,900 units and 20,000 residents, and he was a social worker. He was a senior partner of Utterback, Brown and Harper, and was one of the lawyers working with the Pittsburgh NAACP to desegregate public facilities. Utterback was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, and was the first African American Lettermen of Distinction at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2006, he was recognized posthumously with a proclamation from the Allegheny County Council, and the Spirit of King Award from the Port Authority. For more see P. Jayes, "Memento recalls a different world," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/17/1983, p.14; see Everett Utterback in "Barney Berlinger leads Decathlon," The Bismarck Tribune, 04/26/1929, p.9; "Agency board institute is planned here," Altoona Mirror, 02/17/1950, p.1&4; see Everett Utterback in Urban Renewal in Selected Cities, Nov.4-Dec.31, 1957, U.S. GPO; see Everett Utterback in "Pitt to honor Olympic Champion John Woodruff, " The Courier [Pennsylvania], 05/11/1972, p.6; Who's Who Among Black Americans, 1977-1995; and contact the Allegheny County Council for the Proclamation to Everett Utterback dated January 12, 2006, Rich Fitzgerald, President.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Athletes, Athletics, Housing Authority, The Projects, Lawyers, Migration North, Track & Field, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
Geographic Region: Mayfield, Graves County, Kentucky / Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Uttingertown-Columbus (Lexington, KY)
Both towns were developed for African Americans after the Civil War. Uttingertown was created in 1869 when Samuel Uttinger divided his land to sell it in lots. In May 2005 the Union Benevolent Society (UBS) Lodge #28, located on Uttingertown Lane, was restored by the UK's Center for Historic Architecture and Preservation with a grant from the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission. Columbus was developed when Clarence H. Crimm divided his land and sold it in lots in 1893. The towns are located off Royster Road in Lexington. For more see Project Completed in Uttingertown, by the University of Kentucky Public Relations; and Historical Communities Near Lexington, by the Bluegrass Community and Technical College.
Subjects: Communities, Benevolent Societies
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky | <urn:uuid:a1d26e1c-c207-435d-b085-f418c0dea25b> | {
"date": "2013-12-08T14:17:58",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2013-48",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163065880/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204131745-00002-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9461168050765991,
"score": 3.296875,
"token_count": 4277,
"url": "http://nkaa.uky.edu/all.php/www.fisk.edu/www.fisk.edu/www.brandeis.edu/update/all.php?sort_by=U"
} |
Study shows desert dust impacts snowpack, plant life
It alters ecology of alpine landscapes, study finds
A new study by Colorado and Utah researchers indicates desert dust kicked up by human activity blows to the mountaintops, where it accelerates snowpack melt and interferes with the life cycle of plants.
Current mountain dust levels are generally five times greater than they were prior to the mid-19th century, due in large part to increased human activity in the deserts, according to the study.
This year, 12 dust storms have painted the mountain snowpack red and advanced the retreat of snow cover, likely by more than a month across Colorado. Under climate change, warming and drying of the desert Southwest is likely to result in greater dust accumulation in the mountains.
"It is striking how different the landscape looks as result of this desert-mountain interaction," said Chris Landry, director of the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, Silverton, Colo., who contributed to the study along with Tom Painter, an assistant professor of geography and director of the Snow Optics Laboratory at the University of Utah. "Visitors to the mountains arriving in late June will see little remaining snow, even though snow cover was extensive and deep in April, and the snow that remains will be barely distinguishable from the surrounding soils."
The dust's impact on snowpack has consequences for water users, the study says.
"Earlier snowmelt by desert dust depletes the natural water reservoirs of mountain snowpacks and in turn affects the delivery of water to urban and agricultural areas," Painter said.
The new research, published this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, now shows that this early snowmelt also affects the life cycles of alpine plants and that the dust effect on these plants differs from the effect of climate warming.
In an alpine basin in southwest Colorado's San Juan Mountains, the researchers simulated dust effects on snowmelt in experimental plots to measure dust's acceleration of snowmelt on the life cycles of alpine plants. The timing of snowmelt signals to mountain plants that it is time to start growing and flowering. When dust causes early snowmelt, plant growth does not necessarily begin soon after the snow is gone. Instead, plants delay their life cycle until air temperatures have warmed consistently above freezing.
"Climate warming could therefore have a greater effect on the timing of growth and flowering," said Heidi Steltzer, a Colorado State University researcher who led the study.
The study asserts that the transfer of desert dust to the mountains has environmental consequences for alpine plants, wildlife and people. Human use of desert landscapes is linked to the life cycles of mountain plants and changes the environmental cues that determine when alpine meadows will be in bloom, possibly increasing plants' sensitivity to climate warming.
"Desert dust alters the ecology of alpine landscapes from staggered to more synchronized plant growth. With increasing dust deposition from drying and warming in the deserts under global warming, the composition of alpine meadows could change as some species increase in abundance, while others are lost, possibly forever," Steltzer said.
- Should Meagan Grunwald get life without parole?
- Funeral services for President Boyd K. Packer...
- Photo gallery: Journey headlines 35th Stadium...
- President Boyd K. Packer, champion of...
- Photos: A photographic look at President Boyd...
- Doug Robinson: Utah's Glen Hanson has had an...
- President Packer's enduring legacy includes...
- Idaho's gay marriage ban remains in state...
- LDS Church donates to Utah Pride... 65
- My view: Move the prison for the sake... 42
- President Boyd K. Packer, champion of... 39
- Former Provo High teacher pleads guilty... 24
- Utah senators seeking support for... 16
- My view: Utah lawmakers can protect... 13
- Pig-shaped hot air balloon crashes in... 12
- Rubio, Christie planning sleepover with... 12 | <urn:uuid:a5efd8a1-18a0-4849-9987-3ab621238f17> | {
"date": "2015-07-06T13:39:54",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-27",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375098464.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031818-00256-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9300186038017273,
"score": 3.640625,
"token_count": 823,
"url": "http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705313732/Study-shows-desert-dust-impacts-snowpack-plant-life.html"
} |
okay, um i simplified the problem and got it down to 6a^6/6a^3. i know to cancel out the 6 but can't i simplify a^6/a^3 to a^2 ??????
Why do you think the answer is ?
When you multiply or divide two terms with the same base (in your example you are dividing two terms, both of base "a", so they are the same) you will ADD or SUBTRACT the powers of the base. For division, which ever had the higher power (numerator or denominator) will be where the positive base ends up. That is, if m > n,
if m < n, then | <urn:uuid:998f992c-00af-46aa-8ed5-298651c21441> | {
"date": "2014-07-10T12:15:54",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-23",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1404776416489.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20140707234016-00016-ip-10-180-212-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9425923824310303,
"score": 2.71875,
"token_count": 146,
"url": "http://mathhelpforum.com/algebra/99337-operations-exponents.html"
} |
Music Theory for Young Children, Book 1 (2nd Edition)
This series of books uses a fun and novel way to teach children the fundamentals of music theory. Games and stickers are used to introduce all of the essentials such as staves, clefs, note identification, time signatures, key signatures, note values, and rest values. This child-centered series uses clear and simple instructions, appealing illustrations, and a variety of self-motivating exercises, such as tracing, coloring, and pasting. Includes: Letter Names * Treble and Bass Clef * Time Names and Time Values * Line Notes and Space Notes * Treble Clef Notes * Bass Clef Notes * Assessment. | <urn:uuid:81ae3fab-ef11-42e9-930f-3a952841543d> | {
"date": "2019-03-19T00:17:51",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-13",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912201812.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20190318232014-20190319014014-00256.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8729653358459473,
"score": 3.328125,
"token_count": 139,
"url": "https://remenyi.com/products/music-theory-for-young-children-book-1-2nd-edition"
} |
Zombie bodyguards: How caterpillars enslave ants with sugar addiction (VIDEO)
Scientists previously believed that the life of a Japanese oakblue butterfly caterpillar resembled that of a queen bee or ant, due to its loyal ant servants. But a new paper, published in the journal Current Biology shows the Japanese species in a more ominous light.
A three-member team at Japan's Kobe University noticed that the ants who served a Japanese oakblue butterfly caterpillar did so on a constant basis, escaping their daily abilities and even their search for food. Previously scientists assumed that they stayed with the caterpillar in some sort of symbiotic relationship on their own volition, for the sake of benefiting from a sugary syrup-like secretion from the caterpillar.
However, a really free exchange would see lines of ants being pleased to serve the caterpillar for a couple of hours, getting its sugar, and moving on. However, the Japanese research showed that it was the same ants which constantly stood guard over the caterpillar.
Scientists discovered that the caterpillar controls its “bodyguards” with the help of both chemical and visual signals. The ants who sip its sugary secretions start taking cues from the movement of the caterpillar’s ‘tentacles’ and abide by its instructions.
Because the caterpillar has to secure its safe transformation into a butterfly, it wraps itself in a cocoon. During this period it needs protection from predators such as wasps and spiders. The strength of its pheromones leaves the vulnerable creature with an aggressive brigade of loyal bodyguards.
"There are glandular cells near the tentacles that could be secreting chemical signals," researcher Masaru Hojo told New Scientist. "It is possible that both visual and chemical signals are stimulating the ant aggression."
The team found that the hooked ants had lower levels of dopamine, a chemical that is responsible for movement and aggression in insects, than the ones which did not try out the sugary treat. After receiving a drug called reserpine which blocks the transport of dopamine the ants became less dependent on the caterpillar.
"We conclude that DNO secretions of lycaenid caterpillars can manipulate attendant ant behavior by altering dopaminergic regulation and increasing partner fidelity," Hojo and his colleagues wrote in their paper.
The secret ingredient in the caterpillar’s secretions has not yet been identified.
The findings, which inspired the Kobe researchers to study other fauna relationships considered to be symbiotic, could not be as destructive to the ants as it seems.
"The benefit for the caterpillar is obvious, but we do not know whether the benefit for the ants is as minimal as the authors argue," Martin Heil, a scientist at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute in Irapuato, Mexico told New Scientist. "If the liquid that the caterpillars secrete is sufficiently nutritious, then it might well be that the overall balance for the ants also is positive." | <urn:uuid:b04c4ea5-33d9-4b97-aff7-1668a166cb77> | {
"date": "2017-10-17T11:56:04",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187821088.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20171017110249-20171017130249-00656.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9600316882133484,
"score": 3.046875,
"token_count": 621,
"url": "https://www.rt.com/news/311490-japanese-caterpillar-zombie-ants/"
} |
The first of the congregations of nursing sisters, gardes malades , founded in France during the nineteenth century, whose object is to take care of both rich and poor patients in their own homes. This congregation was begun by Archbishop de Quélen of Paris in 1822 and was formally approved by Pope Pius IX in June, 1875. Its members nurse the poor gratuitously. Patients who can afford it pay for such service. The habit of the sisters is black; they wear a white cap with frilled border and a black veil. Besides the sixteen houses of the congregation in France, there are four in Ireland, one in England, two in the United states, and one in Belgium. The motherhouse is in Paris. The scope of the institute is expressed in the constitutions: "After the personal sanctification of its members, the principal aim of this pious society is the care of the sick in their own homes". Although these sisters had governmental approbation and complied with the fiscal laws in France they have suffered heavily by the recent religious persecution. Four large schools which had been started in behalf of miners' children and at the urgent request of the mining population of Northern France (Lille, Lens, etc.) were closed on the plea that they formed no part of the institute's approved charter. And with the schools were also suppressed attendance by the sisters on sick or wounded miners and a very interesting work called "la goutte de lait" , or "the drop of milk," a sort of dispensary wherein the sisters superintended the food of miners' infants.
A congregation founded at Arcis-sur-Aube, Frnnce, in 1840, by the Very Reverend Paul-Sébastien Millet, canon of the Cathedral of Troyes. The motherhouse was moved to Troyes in 1843 and the name of that place was added to the title of the congregation in order to distinguish it from other sisterhoods whose object is also to nurse the sick in their own homes. The members of this congregation make no distinction because of the creed or financial condition of their patients. The poor are nursed free. Those who can afford to make some recompense do so, the sisters accept what is given them, but are not allowed to beg. The approbation of the constitutions of the congregation was not given to the Holy See until the novices go to the motherhouse in France for three years. Vows are renewed annually for five years, then made for five years, and finally perpetual vows are taken. The habit is black with a small cape, a black veil, and white guimpe. A crucifix suspended by a purple ribbon is worn around the neck. There are 120 houses of these sisters in various countries, most of them in France, outside of which territory there are three in Belgium, four in Italy, one in Spain, three in England, one in the United States and 6 in Africa. The sisters number about 1000.
The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.
Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.
No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.
Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912
Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online | <urn:uuid:c1027591-314a-48a0-a95f-8c0e194fccca> | {
"date": "2014-09-30T22:09:16",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-41",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1412037663167.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20140930004103-00276-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9623685479164124,
"score": 2.671875,
"token_count": 977,
"url": "http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=2031"
} |
McGILL BIRD OBSERVATORY
to the McGill Bird Observatory weekly report.
Click here for a complete listing of our archives.
Banders-in-charge: Simon Duval, Gay Gruner, James Junda
Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS), Summer 2012
For the fourth year in a row, MBO's summer program followed the MAPS protocol. It is a breeding-season study, wherein banding takes place on a single day during each of seven consecutive ten-day periods falling within MBO's summer season of June 6 to July 31. The first five periods coincide with the “adult superperiod” (typically dominated by breeding adults) and the last two with the “young superperiod” (usually dominated by juveniles). To reduce overlap with our migration monitoring programs, we do not use our regular set of 16 nets; rather we use nine nets placed around the southern end of Stoneycroft Pond. In addition to operating mist nets, observers gather breeding bird evidence on all species heard or seen during each banding day.
This year we banded a record 184 individuals of 31 species, by far the highest total in our four years of operating the MAPS program (another 13 nestlings from nest boxes were banded - 9 Tree Swallows and 4 House Wrens - bringing the overall summer total to 197). However, this year's total was overwhelmingly influenced by a very sixth session on July 23, with 107 birds banded, including an unprecedented 56 Yellow Warblers. As always, most of the birds banded during the "young superperiod" were juveniles, but in this case, numbers were clearly inflated by early migrating Yellow Warblers, as even in the best of seasons there are not that many residents and offspring at MBO in summer. But even if these Yellow Warblers are assumed to be mostly migrants, the season total would still be higher than in either 2010 or 2011, and comparable to the 156 birds banded during MAPS in 2009.
Five of the ten most frequently banded species this year were also in the previous lists for 2009 through 2011: Song Sparrow, American Robin, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow Warbler and Black-capped Chickadee. Although Warbling Vireo has been present as a breeder each year, we had only previously banded 2 in summer, so the jump to 8 this year was a surprise, and brought the species into the top ten for the first time. Overshadowed by the wave of Yellow Warblers is the strong showing by Song Sparrow - a new summer record, well beyond the 20 banded during MAPS in 2009. The biggest drop compared to last year was Baltimore Oriole, which ranked fifth last year with 9 individuals last year, but this summer just a single individual was banded.
Five species were banded for the first time ever in summer: Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Thrasher, Chipping Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, and Purple Finch. The thrasher, sparrow, and cowbird are regular summer residents that have each been observed in 6 of 7 previous summers at MBO. The other two species are scarcer in summer, with the nuthatch previously recorded only once each in 2007 and 2008, and the finch just once in 2010. The count of species banded at MBO in summer now stands at 43.
This year we had 10 returns (birds banded in previous years) of five species: Common Yellowthroat, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-capped Chickadee, Veery, and Swamp Sparrow. In addition, we had 26 repeats (birds banded or last recaptured within the previous three months) of eight species: Song Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, Yellow Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Yellowthroat, Red-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo and Gray Catbird.
Over the seven sessions, 56 species were observed, slightly above average for the 4 years of MAPS. Of these, just 9 were recorded on each visit: Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, and Baltimore Oriole. Another 8 were observed during 6 of the 7 sessions: Downy Woodpecker, American Crow, House Wren, Gray Catbird, Swamp Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, and American Goldfinch. Collectively, these represent most of the common breeding birds at MBO.
Because the focus of MAPS is on recording data from captured birds and there is extra urgency in processing breeding adults quickly, there is somewhat less emphasis on observations than in other seasons. Nevertheless, the results reflect a fair degree of consistency between years, as eight of this year's top ten species were also in last year's top ten. Worth noting is that if the July 23 influx is removed, Yellow Warbler would tumble to sixth place for this summer. No species were observed for the first time in summer, so the cumulative total for the season remains 100.
The number of birds banded during MAPS is relatively modest compared to other programs at MBO, and between heat and mosquitoes, the conditions are often somewhat uncomfortable. However, part of the strength of MAPS is that it is a continent-wide program coordinated by the Institute for Bird Populations, allowing for local results to be part of a much bigger picture. Among other things, MAPS data can be used to model vital rates (i.e. reproduction and survival) for each species, at a variety of geographic scales. We therefore plan to continue with MAPS again next summer. For now though, we look forward to more migrants coming through MBO as part of the Fall Migration Monitoring Program.
© 2002- The Migration Research Foundation Inc. | <urn:uuid:072f4740-eeec-409f-91f9-27ed7421afd2> | {
"date": "2019-01-16T19:17:00",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-04",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583657557.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20190116175238-20190116201238-00296.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9599099159240723,
"score": 2.703125,
"token_count": 1225,
"url": "http://www.migrationresearch.org/mbo/12su01.html"
} |
The Australian Antarctic Data Centre produces various datasets derived from satellite-based estimates of sea ice concentration. These datasets are updated periodically, or by request.
Sea ice extent (maximum latitude of sea ice):
The AADC maintains a collection of general-use environmental data layers, covering physical and biological aspects of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. Matched layers are also provided for the Arctic. Typical uses for these data might include general modelling, regionalisation, and exploratory analyses.
Metadata on these layers can be found here. The netCDF files also include details about the source data. | <urn:uuid:d4cf7ba0-7af7-45a3-b7d5-ff4d7653a657> | {
"date": "2019-10-18T09:43:57",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986679439.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20191018081630-20191018105130-00416.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8677350878715515,
"score": 2.734375,
"token_count": 120,
"url": "https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/envi/"
} |
ATP hydrolysis in F1-ATPase
Why is F1Fo-ATP synthase so important?
F1Fo-ATP synthase, or ATP synthase for short, is one of the most abundant proteins in every organism. It is responsible for synthesizing the molecule adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP), the cells’ energy currency. ATP is depicted in Fig. 1 and used to power and sustain virtually all cellular processes needed to survive and reproduce. Even when at rest, the human body metabolizes more than half its body weight in ATP per day, this figure rising to many times the body weight under conditions of physical activity.
What do we know about F1Fo-ATP synthase?
Researchers have been trying to uncover the "secret" behind ATP synthase’s very efficient mode of operation for quite some time. Unfortunately, even after more than 30 years of study, we still don’t fully understand how F1Fo-ATPase really works. The protein consists of two coupled rotary molecular motors, called Fo and F1, respectively, the first one being membrane embedded and the latter one being solvent exposed.
One of the most important breakthroughs in the field was the determination of an atomic resolution X-ray crystal structure for the F1 part of ATP synthase. This allowed researchers, for the first time, to connect biochemical data to the three dimensional structure of the protein (Abrahams et al., Nature 370:621-628, 1994). The X-ray structure beautifully supported Paul Boyer’s "binding change mechanism" (Boyer, Bioch. Bioph. Acta 215-250, 1993) as the modus operandi for ATP synthase’s rotational catalytic cycle and lead to the 1997 Nobel Prize in chemistry for Boyer and Walker.
F1-ATPase in its simplest prokaryotic form (shown schematically in Fig. 2) consists of a hexameric assembly of alternating α and β subunits arranged in the shape of an orange. The central cavity of the hexamer is occupied by the central stalk formed by subunits γ, δ and ε. Due to a lack of high resolution structures for the Fo part of ATP synthase, much less is known about this subunit. It is currently thought that a transmembrane proton gradient drives rotation of the c-subunit ring of Fo which is then coupled to movement of the central stalk. The rotation of the latter eventually causes conformational changes in the catalytic sites located in F1 leading to the synthesis of ATP.
What are some of the missing pieces in our understanding of F1?
ATP synthase can be separated into its two constituent subunits F1 and Fo, which can then be studied individually. Solvated F1 is able to hydrolyze ATP and experiments pioneered by Noji et al. (Nature 386:299-302, 1997) have shown that ATP hydrolysis in F1 drives rotation of the central stalk. However, we don’t know if ATP hydrolysis itself or rather binding of ATP to the catalytic sites induces rotation. We would also like to know how the binding pockets cooperate during steady-state ATP hydrolysis to achieve their physiological catalysis rates. It has been suggested that ATP binding and product unbinding provide the main "power stroke" and that the actual catalytic step inside the binding pockets is equi-energetic, but, unfortunately, there is currently no consensus regarding this issue. In any case, since ATP in solution is a very stable molecule, the catalytic sites have to be able to lower the reaction barrier toward product formation considerably in order to cause efficient hydrolysis.
Computational Study of ATP hydrolysis in F1-ATPase
Our research focuses on investigating the ATP hydrolysis reaction and its interaction with the protein environment in the catalytic sites of F1-ATPase using computer simulations. To be able to study a chemical reaction inside the extended protein environment provided by the catalytic sites we employ combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) simulations to investigate both the βTP and βDP catalytic sites. Fig. 3 depicts the quantum mechanically treated region of the former. Quite surprisingly, our simulations show that there is a dramatic change in the reaction energetics in going from βTP (strongly endothermic) to βDP (approximately equi-energetic), despite the fact that the overall protein conformation is quite similar. In both βTP and βDP, the actual chemical reaction proceeds via a multi-center proton relay mechanism involving two water molecules. A careful study of the electrostatic interactions between the protein environment and the catalytic core region as well as several computational mutation studies identified the "arginine finger" residue αR373 as the most significant element involved in this change in energetics.
Several important conclusions can be drawn from our simulations: Efficient catalysis proceeds via a multi-center proton pathway and a major factor for ATPase’s efficiency is, therefore, the ability to provide the proper solvent environment by means of its catalytic binding pocket. Furthermore, the sidechain of the arginine finger residue αR373 is found to be a major element in signaling between catalytic sites to enforce cooperation since it controls the reaction barrier height as well as the reaction equilibrium of the ATP hydrolysis/synthesis reaction.
Zooming in on ATP hydrolysis in F1. Markus Dittrich and Klaus Schulten. Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, 37:441-444, 2005.
ATP hydrolysis in the bTP and bDP catalytic sites of F1-ATPase. Markus Dittrich, Shigehiko Hayashi, and Klaus Schulten. Biophysical Journal, 87:2954-2967, 2004.
On the mechanism of ATP hydrolysis in F1-ATPase. Markus Dittrich, Shigehiko Hayashi, and Klaus Schulten. Biophysical Journal, 85:2253-2266, 2003.
Other QM/MM projects
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0234938. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. | <urn:uuid:ffc4d1d4-49ed-4dfd-b327-6c2f202a05b7> | {
"date": "2013-05-24T01:43:35",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2013-20",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.915073037147522,
"score": 3.53125,
"token_count": 1351,
"url": "http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/atp_hydrolysis/"
} |
Yesterday, after rumors surfaced on the Science Insider blog that OPERA’s startling superluminal result had been traced to a faulty cable, the collaboration sent out a press release stating that they had uncovered two previously unaccounted-for errors, one in the interpolation used to synchronize the two clocks at the near and far sites, and one traced to a bad fiber optic cable in the GPS apparatus that had been delaying data. Unlike the rumors, which cited a specific 60 ns delay caused by the bad cable (suspiciously close to the neutrinos’ alleged lead over light), the collaboration themselves did not give any precise numbers for the error introduced by these two sources, although they did note that the two should have pushed the result in opposing directions, i.e. the cable would cause the neutrinos to appear faster, and the clock sync problem would cause the neutrinos to appear slower. Full and final judgement will have to wait until the collaboration publishes an update, and some may reserve their ultimate verdict for the results of independent tests by experiments like Fermilab’s MINOS, but the future looks bleak for the supposed superluminal result.
Not that this is much of a surprise. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and OPERA’s was certainly extraordinary. Scientists pored over the original paper as soon as it was published (we covered just one of the more than 100 follow-up papers, and one by the OPERA collaboration themselves), and most believed that at some point a systematic error just like this would eventually surface to explain the discrepancy. Astronomers in particular were skeptical based on an event that, coincidentally, occurred exactly 25 years ago today: the arrival of the neutrino pulse from Supernova 1987A.
SN1987A is the closest supernova ever observed in modern times and still the only one for which we have detected the associated neutrino pulse. It bloomed this night 25 years ago in the Large Magellanic Cloud, where it was spotted with the naked eye at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile by a telescope operator walking between the domes, as well as by New Zealand amateur astronomer Albert Jones; at the same time, three separate neutrino observatories (Kamiokande II, Baksan, and IMB) detected a sharp pulse of neutrinos at precisely 0735 UTC. All in all, 24 neutrinos were traced to SN1987A, a significant rise over the usual background rate.
This was a major triumph for the theory of core-collapse supernovae, which holds that an intense neutrino pulse is necessary to propel the outward-moving shock that creates the explosion, and that the majority of a supernova’s energy is actually carried by neutrinos rather than light. The magnitude of the neutrino flux and its timing relative to the arrival of the light matched well with theory, and it seemed like the core-collapse model had been wholly vindicated. The near-simultaneous arrival of the neutrinos and the light caused astronomers to doubt OPERA decades later, as, if the OPERA reported delay were scaled up across cosmic distances, the neutrinos should have arrived a full four years before the light.
However, there was more to come. SN1987A was one of the first supernovae for which we could uncover the progenitor, the original star that had exploded, because we had images of the region before the explosion. When the before and after were compared, astronomers traced the supernova to the star Sanduleak -69 202, and got a big surprise: the progenitor was a blue supergiant. At the time it was believed that only red supergiants could create core-collapse supernovae, yet here was clear evidence that this was not true. Since then, many models have been put forth to explain the event – for example, that the star was a binary system that had recently merged, or that it had an unusually low metallicity. As the remnant has evolved, it has presented even more surprises: the appearance of three nested rings of material that have been lighting up as the supernova ejecta collides with them, and the surprising difficulty in locating a remnant neutron star within the debris.
These days SN1987A seems almost quaint. The “A” at the end of its designation indicates that it was the first supernova detected in the year 1987; as of this writing 34 supernovae have already been officially confirmed in the year 2012 and hundreds more likely candidates detected, all much farther away than the Large Magellanic Cloud, and many more will be catalogued before the year is out. Just a few months ago scientists managed to capture supernova PTF11kly (later SN2011fe) within 23 hours of the initial detonation. The neutrino-powered core-collapse model SN1987A validated is an established theory and perhaps, these days, a bit boring; all the cutting-edge weirdness is happening in things like hypernovae and pair-production supernovae.
But SN1987A still reminds us of one important fact: sometimes you’re right, and sometimes you’re wrong. And coupled with OPERA’s mea culpa, it demonstrates the essential back-and-forth of science: extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, but if that evidence has been presented, we must change our ideas. The law of lightspeed is ingrained into the foundations of modern physics, a cornerstone of relativity and a conclusion supported by extensive theory, mathematics, and, most importantly, decades of rigorous observations. Scientists were right to be skeptical, and when it came down to it, OPERA’s results didn’t hold up. But when SN1987A proved that a blue supergiant could explode as a core-collapse supernova, astronomers had to go back to their models and change them to account for this possibility. Similarly, if OPERA’s result had held up under scrutiny and been confirmed by independent followups and replications of the experiment (and that is a big fat important if), then – and only then – we would be forced to go back to our whiteboards and have a good long think.
Instead OPERA combed through their potential errors and uncovered a much more mundane source, and admitted their result was wrong. The textbooks will remain un-rewritten, the dramatic headlines will go back in a drawer, and nervous undergrads in relativity class will breathe a sigh of relief. The universe is still the same amount of strange it was yesterday – that is to say, very, but not that strange. Not yet. | <urn:uuid:06bd13fa-1c51-4221-8d26-892ba87ec756> | {
"date": "2019-07-19T17:38:52",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-30",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195526324.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20190719161034-20190719183034-00296.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9655635952949524,
"score": 2.953125,
"token_count": 1375,
"url": "https://astrobites.org/2012/02/23/consider-neutrinos-sn1987a-and-opera/"
} |
Zurich hosts one of the world’s leading collections of its succulent plants, containing 5-6,000 species or up to a half of all known succulents. But what is this exotic and scientifically important collection doing in the city of bankers and insurance?
Urs Eggli, the scientist at the Zurich Succulent Plants Collectionexternal link, or “Sukki” as it is known locally, is standing in the Africa House – one of seven greenhouses on the site open to the public. He is pointing to what appears to be a large cactus. Except that it isn’t. It’s actually a succulent from the Spurge family.
“One has to look quite carefully to distinguish it from a true cactus,” Eggli told swissinfo.ch. “If you look at the spines for instance you will see that there are always two spines at the same place. If you compare with a cactus there will be several, perhaps 20 or so spines, in the same place.”
So we come straight to the thorny issue: every cactus is a succulent – a water-storing plant - but not every succulent is a cactus. Succulents are found in many plant families, including agaves and aloes. The difference between cacti and similar-looking succulents forms part of the collection’s current exhibition: Everything cacti?external link
The succulent collection is located on the Mythenquai - the Zurich lakeside area also known for the imposing buildings of certain consulting and insurance giants.
Its founding was “by historical chance”, Eggli said. In the 1920s, retiring professional cactus nursery owner Jakob Gasser offered to sell his private cacti collection – containing 1,516 plants - to the city of Zurich. It was eventually bought by a private individual and donated to the city.
In 1931 the collection was opened on the site of the former municipal gardens, with just one greenhouse. Since its inception, the Succulent Collection has been part of the municipal Office of Parks and Open Spaces, now known under the name of Grün Stadt Zürich. It was an immediate public success.
Now the site contains over 25,000 plants across almost 5,000 square metres, making it one of the world’s leading collections of its kind. Other displays worldwide are spread over larger areas, Eggli said.
“The thing which is different in Zurich is that we try to have a representative selection of succulents from all families and geographical regions. So we are not devoted primarily to African succulents or to the Arizona cactus,” he explained.
“Between 5-6,000 plant species being cultivated here, which are between a third and half of all known succulent plants, something which is quite exceptional.”
Botanists from all over the world visit or ask for expertise. A focal point is the collection’s herbarium, an extensive plant archive, which was founded in close cooperation with the International Organisation for Succulent Plant Study (IOS) in the 1950s. The herbarium, as well as the living collection of plants, now stands under the patronage of the Swiss Commission for Unesco.external link
In addition, up to 45,000 members of the public visit the collection every year. Particularly appreciated is the flowering season.
One of the big magnets is the Queen of the Night, or Selenicereus grandiflorus. Quite ugly for most of the year, it is transformed into a thing of beauty when its flowers open up, for a short time overnight, emitting the scent of vanilla and chocolate.
Creating such a collection from scratch would be an impossible feat today. Apart from not being able to match the sheer diversity and size of the plants – mostly only seedlings would be available today – there are strict rules on what can be brought into Switzerland under CITES,external link the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The trade agreement, aimed at achieving sustainable use of the world’s flora and fauna, has been signed by 180 nations worldwide, including Switzerland.
Many succulent plants are covered by the treaty. More recently the Rio biodiversity convention as well as the Nagoya protocolexternal link, regulating access and benefit sharing for natural resources, have come into force, adding even more restrictions to the complexities of international plant exchange.
So gone are the days when people simply went on expeditions and took what they wanted, Eggli said.
“Most of the material in botanical collections is being exchanged between likeminded institutions anyway. Our collection is exchanging seed lists with about 200 botanical institutions from all over the world,” Eggli explained. “There is virtually no need at all to go out into the field to gather plants.”
CITES also affects hobby collectors as well. Swiss Cactus Societyexternal link president Adrian Lüthy says there are both positive and negative aspects: on the one hand, you can see more plants in the field, but on the other, it’s sometimes not easy to get plants from abroad due to the paperwork.
It is practically impossible to legally export from Mexico, at least for private individuals, he added.
Running a large botanical collection, such as in Zurich, presents some challenges. Most of the succulents are relatively easy to cultivate – even so far away from their native, drier climates, Eggli said. But a lot of care is needed due to the sheer number of plants in the collection.
Another issue is that the collection’s infrastructure is outdated. “If it was completely newly built we would have automated greenhouses,” Eggli said. “In our case much of the infrastructure is still manually operated and controlled, so apart from watering, a lot of time is also needed for controlling all the equipment, to keep it running - and this time should better be devoted to the best possible care for the plants.”
During the period 2005-2011, plans were mooted to expand or even completely rebuild the site, but they have stalled for financial reasons, he said.
So what is the fascination of succulents and cacti, which, as Eggli observed, are back in fashion, if you look at florists and people’s homes?
The systematic botanist, who has been at the collection for almost 30 years, appreciates the diversity of succulents, which have evolved in parallel in so many plant families, under different conditions.
“It’s also perhaps the mixture of being horrible, prickly and ‘don’t touch me’ and, at the same time, having a certain regularity, attractiveness,” he continued. “So it’s these opposing elements mixed together.”
Swiss Cactus Society
The Swiss Cactus Society, which represents local groups of cactus enthusiasts across the country, has 700 members.
Its president, Adrian Lüthy, has also observed that succulents and cacti seem to be back in fashion. There are certainly more cactus fans in the country than members of the society, he says.
Members range from those with a few cacti at home to those with extensive private collections. Lüthy himself has 20 metres squared of greenhouses in which he breeds cacti hybrids. These hybrids and the beautiful flowers produced by cacti form part of their fascination, he says.
There are almost 1,900 species of cacti. “All are native to the New World, with one exception: the spaghetti cactus, which also occurs in Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka,” explained Urs Eggli.
Cacti and succulents can have attractive flowers and even produce fruit although often, such as in the case of the Cyphostemma, a member of the grape family, it is unpleasant. The juice interior of cactus stems can bitter and astringent, Eggli says.
It is hard to say why cacti have spines. One theory is that they deter hungry animals. But they might also offer a way to collect moisture by helping to condense early morning dew, or even offer shade to the plant.
The current exhibition “Everything cacti?”,external link that runs until January 10, 2016, explores the differences between cacti and succulents that look like cacti. This is the first time that the evolution of this plant diversity as a result of adverse living conditions has been covered in this way an exhibition in Switzerland. At the entrance stands a ‘watering can cactus’ where the volume of the 20 watering cans is equivalent to how much water a columnar cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) from the collection can hold – 200 litres. A huge family tree shows the relations between succulents. | <urn:uuid:ecebf291-985d-461b-a452-5f94dbfa9f44> | {
"date": "2017-04-29T11:39:40",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917123491.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031203-00237-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9600619077682495,
"score": 2.703125,
"token_count": 1888,
"url": "http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/zurich-succulent-plants-collection-_succulents---spiky--flowery--fascinating/41661552"
} |
The Art History Archive - Biography & Art
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Laurens Tadema was born in Dronryp, Holland on January 8th 1836, the son of Pieter Tadema and his wife Hinke. Pieter and Hinke were members of the Baptist Church, and from this puritanical background would come the work ethic which drove Tadema junior all his life. Shortly after his birth the family moved to the town of Leeuwarden, where in 1840 Tadema senior died.
In 1852 Lourens became a student at the Antwerp Academy, where he studied under a number of noted practitioners of the Romantic school. Born also at this time was his interest in the Ancient World and archeology, which became the driving force in his whole artistic career.
In 1862 Lourens visited London for the first time, where he saw and was impressed by the Elgin Marbles, as well as some ancient Egyptian artefacts. In 1863 he married Pauline Gressin de Boisgirard, and they honeymooned in Italy, that magnet for most aspiring artists of the time. Whilst in Italy Lourens Tadema visited a number of times, and was fascinated by the newly excavated ruins of Pompeii, and kept a photographic record of these visits.
On returning from Italy the young couple moved to Paris, where Tadema met the celebrated art dealer Gambert, who quickly realised the potential of his young Dutch friend. At around this time the painter produced a number of pictures featuring his charming young French wife as a model. Lourens and Pauline had three children, a son who died in infancy, and two daughters, Lourens, and Anna, who was herself to become a highly talented, and sadly undervalued watercolourist. In 1869 the unfortunate Pauline died. Also at around this time, helped by the connections of Gambert, Lourens Tadema’s paintings started to attract attention in London. This was followed by a move to London in 1870, probably motivated by the political instability on the Continent as well as progressing his career.
In London Lourens took pupils whist he established himself, and in 1871 he married his seventeen year old pupil Laura Epps, daughter of a prosperous doctor who was also an international merchant. This second marriage was enduring and happy, though childless, and Laura became stepmother to Anna and Laurens, fairly successfully as far as I am able to establish. Laura was herself an artist of talent, she was an intelligent woman, and her work was not derivative of that of her husband.
Around this time Lourens Tadema became Lawrence Alma-Tadema, a change which shrewdly moved his name forward in catalogues and exhibitions. He also became a naturalised British Subject. The artist started to become both commercially and critically successful, with John Ruskin one of the few dissenters.
The Tademas also became well known on the social circuit, shrewdly associating with the wealthy upper middle class society from which his major clients were drawn. In 1883 the family moved from Regents Park to the house in St John’s Wood formerly occupied by Tissot and his mistress Kathleen Newton. Here they held the famous ‘At Homes,’ which were to become a feature of London Society.
The Tademas loved music, which was a part of these evenings, and among the guests were Paderwski and Tchaikovsky. Other notable guests included the Prince of Wales and Tadema’s great friend Leighton, President of the Royal Academy. The house was much extended and featured a magnificent studio with a dome and gallery.
In 1899 Tadema was knighted in the special Birthday Honours List to celebrate the eightieth birthday of Queen Victoria. A banquet was held on 4th November in celebration of the knighthood of the popular painter. It was attended by a large number of fellow Academicians and friends, and a speech by the great man was received with acclamation.
In 1902 Tadema was created a member of the Order of Merit, the new honour in the direct gift of the sovereign King Edward VII. By 1905 the critical reputation of the artist had started to decline, and in 1909 Lady Alma-Tadema died.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema continued to paint, but his output decreased, and he died at the Spa in the German town of Weisbaden on 25th June 1912. He left a considerable sum of money to the Royal Academy.
Alma-Tadema painted pictures without deep-meaning or significance, essentially his work was decorative. His painting of metal objects was brilliant, but what really made him as a successful artist was his ability to paint marble, so popular in those times of nostalgia for ancient civilisations. His work tended to be frozen moments in time, and to be photographic in nature, rather like that of Tissot. He was also a distinguished and accomplished portrait painter. Among his most notable achievements are ‘This is our corner,’ of 1873 a touching evocation of his daughters as children, his self portrait in the Uffizi Gallery, and his portrait of George Henschel of 1879. In truth Alma-Tadema was a man of his time, and a highly successful entrepreneur-he gave the prosperous self-made picture buyers what they wanted.
Alma-Tadema has left behind a large number of beautiful decorative pictures. I visited the Exhibition at the Walker Gallery in 1997, and I was just amazed at the standard of the paintings, and of the impression they made together.
Paintings by Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Alma-Tadema was a sociable extrovert, highly popular with his peers, and the artistic soulmate of Lord Leighton. Superficially he was uncomplicated. He was an affectionate family man, and a devoted husband. He was a boisterous individual with a lively sense of humour, a liking for mechanical toys, and practical jokes. He was extremely ambitious, both socially and materially, and had a strong sentimental streak. He was very hardworking and focussed, one of the few overt signs of his puritanical Nonconformist upbringing.
I include here a description of Alma-Tadema from Julian Hawthorne’s book ‘Ships That Pass In The Night,’ which is set out below :
‘A rather short, broad, blond personage stood before us; a broad forehead, pale grey eyes with eyeglasses, a big humorous mouth barely hidden by a thin, short, yellow beard. His front face was unremarkable; but his profile was as fine as an antique cameo….The vitality and energy of his aspect and movements and the volume of his voice were stunning; but this was in the first element only; he was very much alive, but in general demeanour and speech there was a soft incisiveness, almost a subtlety, with a variety of intonation and emphasis, and expressive gestures, and intense earnestness now and then. But his great delighted laugh constantly recurred, resounding through the beautiful rooms….Withal he was civilised and fine to the bone, and his utmost boisterousness never struck a wrong note.’
Death & Reputation
By the time of his death, his artistic day had gone, and the avant garde held the man and his work in the utmost contempt; he was described in the 1920s as the worst painter of all time! Paintings for which Tadema had been paid large sums of money, sold at derisory prices, and in extreme cases were impossible to give-away. He still had some adherents, and some uses. Cecil B DeMille, Film Producer of Hollywood Epics, used Tadema’s paintings as an aid to the design of scenery for his films. The overall situation though was dire.
In the late 1960s the revival of interest in Victorian painting gained impetus, and a number of well attended exhibitions were held. But in the case of Alma-Tadema there was one single bizarre incident which acted as a catalyst in his posthumous artistic reformation. Alan Funt, host of the American version of the television show Candid Camera had accumulated a collection of Alma-Tadema pictures. The unfortunate Funt was robbed by his accountant, who subsequently committed suicide. In memorable words I heard him use in a radio interview, Funt said that he realised he had every accoutrement of a wealthy man except money. He was thus forced to sell his collection, at Sotheby’s in London in November 1973. From this sale the interest in Alma-Tadema was re-awakened. In 1960 the Newman Gallery firstly tried to sell, then give away, without success, one of his most celebrated works ‘The Finding of Moses,’ of 1904. The initial purchaser had paid £5250 for it on it’s completion! When the same picture was auctioned at Christies in New York in May 1995, it sold for £1.75 million.
More than eighty years after his death Lawrence Alma-Tadema was back in vogue.
Films such as D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916), Ben Hur (1926), and Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956), and Cleopatra (1934) were influenced by Alma-Tadema's work. Jessie J. Laskey, co-writer on De Mille's The Ten Commandments has described how the producer would customarily spread out prints of Alma-Tadema paintings to indicate to his set designers the look he wanted to achieve. | <urn:uuid:90c21892-3a11-430a-bbba-e42ca70273a7> | {
"date": "2014-11-29T06:01:49",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-49",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416931013466.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20141125155653-00124-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9891371130943298,
"score": 2.625,
"token_count": 2025,
"url": "http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/victorian/Lawrence-Alma-Tadema.html"
} |
NASA - Hubble Space Telescope patch.
Sept. 16, 2016
A lone source shines out brightly from the dark expanse of deep space, glowing softly against a picturesque backdrop of distant stars and colorful galaxies.
Captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), this scene shows PGC 83677, a lenticular galaxy — a galaxy type that sits between the more familiar elliptical and spiral varieties.
It reveals both the relatively calm outskirts and intriguing core of PGC 83677. Here, studies have uncovered signs of a monstrous black hole that is spewing out high-energy X-rays and ultraviolet light.
Hubble and the sunrise over Earth
For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope, visit:
Image, Video, Credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble; acknowledgements: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)/Text credit: ESA (European Space Agency)/NASA/Rob Garner.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch | <urn:uuid:1aa56298-7db3-4712-a8b4-e71e1040189b> | {
"date": "2017-12-17T19:22:26",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-51",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948597485.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20171217191117-20171217213117-00056.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.7462984919548035,
"score": 3.015625,
"token_count": 205,
"url": "http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.de/2016_09_11_archive.html"
} |
Ornamental Pomegranate Plant
Note: The image is for reference purpose only. See plant detail below
Pomegranate is an eye-catching, extremely long-lived plant that produces striking red flowers and the signature round fruit full of hundred of seed sacs. Whether you train it as a tree or leave it as a shrub, grow these in your home garden to add a stunning splash of color. ( 129 times booked in last 90 days )
| 8 inch Plastic Pot Free!! |
-High Quality 8 inch Plastic Pot with each plant.
-Offer Valid on orders with 3 or more Plants
|All India Delivery|
|100,000 Happy Customers|
Description for null
The pomegranate, botanical name Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree in the family Lythraceae that grows between 5 and 8 m tall.
|Common name||Flower colours||Bloom time||Height||Difficulty|
|Punica granatum ||Orange-red||June to September||2 ft to 10 ft||Moderately easy|
Planting and careHeat should be second on your pomegranate seed care list.These seeds will germinate at normal room temperature in about 30-40 days.Bring the soil temperature up a few degrees and you can cut this time in half.Try surrounding your plant with foil and placing it in direct sun until the seedlings sprout.
|Full sun, Partial sun||Loamy soil||Dry to medium||40 to 50 degrees C||Apply any organic fertilizer |
Caring for Ornamental Pomegranate Plant
- Pomegranates need full sun.
- Keep an eye on the weather report and if temps threaten to drop below 40 degrees F. (4 C.), move the plant indoors to a sunny window.
- Water the tree deeply about once a week, possibly more often during peak summer months. Fertilize the tree with half cup of 10-10-10.
Typical uses of null
Special features: Cottage gardens, wild gardens, meadows, prairies and naturalized areas. Good fresh cut or dried flower.
Ornamental use: The plant is used for ornamental purpose. It can be kept indoor in living room and terrace area.
Tag cloud : buy online plant ornamental pomegranate plant,buy plants online ornamental pomegranate plant,buy online plants ornamental pomegranate plant,buy plant online ornamental pomegranate plant,buy plants online india ornamental pomegranate plant,ornamental pomegranate plants buy online,online plant nursery ornamental pomegranate plant,ornamental pomegranate plant nursery,ornamental pomegrana | <urn:uuid:76a5fb82-73e9-4b04-8ead-db4c97c2a2f8> | {
"date": "2017-05-30T07:20:24",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463614615.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170530070611-20170530090611-00316.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.79950350522995,
"score": 2.75,
"token_count": 583,
"url": "https://nurserylive.com/shop/404/sanjay-nursery/ornamental-pomegranate-plant-plants-in-india"
} |
Smartphone blindness can occur when a person has been using their mobile phone while lying in bed. When one eye is prevented from seeing the screen by the pillow and the other eye is exposed to the bright screen, a temporary loss of pigment occurs in the light-adapted eye. When both eyes are then uncovered in the dark, the light-adapted eye is unable to see properly for up to 30 minutes. This new phenomena is causing some doctors to mistakenly think their patients have had a mini-stroke.
A study on thousands of teens in Southern California, USA, found that adolescents who stay up late are more likely to use alcohol and marijuana, further reinforcing the link between sleep disorders or insomnia and an increased risk of substance abuse.
While e-cigarettes are being promoted as safer alternatives to tobacco, they do not reduce the risk of oral disease. Studies by researchers from the University of California, USA, have found that toxic substances in e-cigarette vapours caused the death of 85 per cent of laboratory-grown oral skin cells.
Finnish studies have found that smoking in pregnancy carries a 38 per cent increased risk of having a child affected by schizophrenia. Children born to mothers with an underactive thyroid (caused by iodine deficiency) are also at increased risk for developing the mental illness.
With their amazing sense of smell, dogs are helping to detect abnormally low blood sugars in the breath of people with Type 1 diabetes. According to the charity Paws for Diabetics Inc, which trains diabetic alert dogs, they give their owners advance warning of an impending hypoglycaemic episode, allowing prompt treatment and averting a coma in the making. | <urn:uuid:7c193f4e-8e2b-4e77-8f63-0346c8ae89bb> | {
"date": "2018-04-26T16:56:22",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125948426.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20180426164149-20180426184149-00496.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.960159420967102,
"score": 2.984375,
"token_count": 335,
"url": "https://www.hopechannel.com/au/read/go-healthy-for-good-september-2016"
} |
Image credit: Teitz et al., 2018Researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that inhibiting an enzyme called cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) protects mice and rats from noise- or drug-induced hearing loss. The study, which will be published March 7 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that CDK2 inhibitors prevent the death of inner ear cells, which has the potential to save the hearing of millions of people around the world.
According to the World Health Organization, 360 million people worldwide, including 32 million children, suffer from hearing loss caused by congenital defects or other factors. These factors include infectious disease, use of certain medicines, or exposure to excessive noise. Yet, there are currently no FDA-approved drugs to prevent or treat hearing loss.
A team of researchers led by Dr. Jian Zuo screened over 4,000 drugs for their ability to protect cochlear cells from the chemotherapy agent cisplatin. Cisplatin is used to treat a variety of cancers but causes irreversible hearing loss in up to 70 percent of patients.
Zuo and colleagues identified multiple compounds that protected cochlear cells from cisplatin, several of which are already approved to treat other conditions. Three of the ten most effective compounds were inhibitors of an enzyme called CDK2. One of these CDK2 inhibitors, kenpaullone, was more effective than four other compounds that are currently in clinical trials for treating hearing loss.
Injecting kenpaullone into the middle ear protected both mice and rats from cisplatin-induced hearing loss. Moreover, kenpaullone also protected the hearing of mice to noise as loud as 100 dB. "Given that 100-dB noise is in the range of noise insults commonly experienced by people in our society, kenpaullone could have significant clinical application in treating noise-induced hearing loss," says Zuo.
In the case of cisplatin-induced hearing loss, kenpaullone appears to protect hair cells by preventing CDK2 from stimulating the production of toxic reactive oxygen species from the cells' mitochondria.
"The robust protection conferred by one-time local delivery of kenpaullone suggests that CDK2 inhibitors may transform the clinical prevention and treatment of cisplatin- and noise-induced hearing loss in patients," Zuo says. "Modifications of the treatment regimens, additional optimization of the delivery methods via the use of hydrogels, and structural modifications of the compounds via medicinal chemistry could ensure even better results with CDK2 inhibitors in treating hearing loss in humans."
Like this article? Click here to subscribe to free newsletters from Lab Manager | <urn:uuid:367ed365-08ba-4627-8a68-26a36dfa7735> | {
"date": "2019-12-07T08:55:38",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-51",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540497022.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20191207082632-20191207110632-00536.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9491462111473083,
"score": 3.40625,
"token_count": 557,
"url": "https://www.labmanager.com/news/2018/03/researchers-identify-new-drugs-that-could-help-prevent-hearing-loss"
} |
Principal Investigator: Subhash Dhawan, PhD
Office / Division / Lab: OBRR / DETTD / LMV
Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) causes AIDS, a disease that infects and kills certain immune system cells. The various symptoms of AIDS are due primarily to the ability of HIV to incapacitate the immune system.
The HIV protein called "Tat" is essential for the ability of the virus's genes to force infected cells to produce new copies of the virus. In this way, Tat plays a key role in the progression of HIV-1 infection.
The ability of Tat to regulate genes in the cells it infects makes this protein a potential target for a therapeutic vaccine. Therapeutic vaccines do not prevent disease; they are designed to treat a person who already has the disease.
Our research focuses on developing new therapies to reduce the progression of HIV infection, especially when conventional treatments fail to stimulate an effective immune response to the virus. This immune system failure can occur in two ways: 1) when varieties of HIV are already resistant to treatment; and 2) when mutations in the genetic makeup of HIV cause sensitive varieties of the virus to mutate and become resistant to AIDS drugs.
Over the past 20 years, researchers have learned a great deal about the molecular mechanisms that control HIV replication. However there has been little success in developing either an effective therapeutic vaccine to control HIV disease or tools to monitor the safety of such a vaccine after it is administered.
The goals of our research program are to 1) increase our understanding of how Tat regulates HIV replication; 2) evaluate the potential use of Tat as a therapeutic vaccine; and 3) develop simple yet highly sensitive tests that detect a variety of different infections transmitted by blood transfusions.
FDA evaluates the design and manufacturing of vaccines and other biologics to ensure that these products are safe and effective. This task includes chemical analyses of the products that enable Agency reviewers to fully understand their biochemical makeup.
Our research is important because it provides new knowledge that will enable FDA reviewers to evaluate the performance of diagnostic tests for existing and emerging pathogens, to determine post-vaccination safety, and to monitor how patients respond to drug therapy. Therefore, these studies have significant potential for improving public health.
The studies directly support FDA efforts to establish policies for the manufacture and use of certain biological products, to provide updated recommendations for the approval of vaccines, blood products, other biologic therapeutics, and to develop simple and economical, yet highly sensitive, laboratory-based tests to monitor the safety and effectiveness of these products.
Frequent travels to endemic disease areas and changing climate conditions continue to offer significant opportunities for the spread of deadly infections.
The public health threats associated with existing and emerging transfusion-transmitted infections warrant the development of simple diagnostic tests that can accurately and simultaneously detect multiple analytes in a single specimen.
Immunoassays and nucleic acid tests provide versatile tools for detecting analytes in biological fluids. These highly effective analytical techniques have been successfully used in a wide range of disciplines, such as monitoring antibody responses to vaccination, measuring viral load during drug therapy, and diagnosing various infections in clinical laboratories.
Emerging infectious diseases pose great threat to public health, including recipients of blood transfusions. Among many blood-borne emerging infections transmitted through transfusion of infected blood donated by apparently healthy and asymptomatic blood donors are dengue, malaria, variant CJD, and West Nile viruses (WNV). Dengue virus (DV) and WNV belong to the family of flaviviruses that can be transmitted to humans by mosquitoes and other non-human carriers, as well as by transfusion of blood or blood products, bone marrow, organ transplant, hemodialysis, and exposure to infected mucous membranes. The presence of these infectious agents in the blood supply could significantly impact the safety of blood and blood-derived biologics, especially in the case of treatments for hemophilia.
We have designed a quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay to detect HIV-1, dengue, and West Nile viruses with nucleotide sequences that are highly specific for each of these pathogens and with no cross-reactivity. The qRT-PCR can provide results with a much greater sensitivity than standard PCR and can quantify pathogens in the early phase of infection. This technique is also suitable for identifying candidate pathogens for effective anti-viral therapy.
Our laboratory has also shown that the induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an endogenous cell host factor, substantially inhibited infection of cells with HIV and other pathogens. The mechanism of action of HO-1 induction as a host defense factor is not clear. However, these preliminary results are highly encouraging, since they demonstrate activation of a natural host defense mechanism against these individual pathogens, as well as against multiple co-infections.
Currently, there are no vaccines for the prevention of WNV or DV infections and no effective drugs to treat these blood-borne diseases. Therefore, HO-1 induction might provide a useful strategy for minimizing emerging public health crises and maximizing economical therapeutic interventions.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2015 Aug 14;464(1):7-12
Hemin activation of innate cellular response blocks human immunodeficiency virus type-1-induced osteoclastogenesis.
Takeda K, Adhikari R, Yamada KM, Dhawan S
Virology 2015 Feb;476:372-6
Pathogenic prion protein fragment (PrP106-126) promotes human immunodeficiency virus type-1 infection in peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages.
Bacot SM, Feldman GM, Yamada KM, Dhawan S
Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2014 Nov;58(11):6558-71
Phenyl-1-Pyridin-2yl-ethanone-based iron chelators increase IkappaB-alpha expression, modulate CDK2 and CDK9 activities, and inhibit HIV-1 transcription.
Kumari N, Iordanskiy S, Kovalskyy D, Breuer D, Niu X, Lin X, Xu M, Gavrilenko K, Kashanchi F, Dhawan S, Nekhai S
Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2014 Oct 18;454(1):84-8
Non-coding RNAs and heme oxygenase-1 in vaccinia virus infection.
Meseda CA, Srinivasan K, Wise J, Catalano J, Yamada KM, Dhawan S
PLoS One 2014 Apr 9;9(4):e94402
Oversulfated chondroitin sulfate binds to chemokines and inhibits stromal cell-derived factor-1 mediated signaling in activated T cells.
Zhou ZH, Karnaukhova E, Rajabi M, Reeder K, Chen T, Dhawan S, Kozlowski S
Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2013 Jun 7;435(3):373-7
Heme oxygenase-1 induction alters chemokine regulation and ameliorates human immunodeficiency virus-type-1 infection in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages.
Zhou ZH, Kumari N, Nekhai S, Clouse KA, Wahl LM, Yamada KM, Dhawan S
Future Virol 2013 Mar;8(3):301-11
Role of cellular iron and oxygen in the regulation of HIV-1 infection
Nekhai S, Kumari N, Dhawan S
J Leukoc Biol 2010 May;87(5):915-24
Lipopolysaccharide suppresses HIV-1 replication in human monocytes by protein kinase C-dependent heme oxygenase-1 induction.
Devadas K, Hewlett IK, Dhawan S
Peptides 2007 Mar;28(3):496-504
Antibodies against a multiple-peptide conjugate comprising chemically modified human immunodeficiency virus type-1 functional Tat peptides inhibit infection.
Devadas K, Boykins RA, Hewlett IK, Wood OL, Clouse KA, Yamada KM, Dhawan S
Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2006 Sep;6(5):749-760
Signal amplification systems in immunoassays: implications for clinical diagnostics.
Peptides 2006 Apr;27(4):611-21
Selective side-chain modification of cysteine and arginine residues blocks pathogenic activity of HIV-1-Tat functional peptides.
Devadas K, Boykins RA, Hardegen NJ, Philp D, Kleinman HK, Osa EO, Wang J, Clouse KA, Wahl LM, Hewlett IK, Rappaport J, Yamada KM, Dhawan S
J Immunol 2006 Apr 1;176(7):4252-7
Hemin Activation Ameliorates HIV-1 Infection via Heme Oxygenase-1 Induction.
Devadas K, Dhawan S | <urn:uuid:96ee20f3-dad9-43d5-8a06-0037ed068ca5> | {
"date": "2016-10-01T03:18:28",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-40",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738662507.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173742-00282-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8727630376815796,
"score": 2.640625,
"token_count": 1896,
"url": "http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/ScienceResearch/BiologicsResearchAreas/ucm127090.htm"
} |
The work with genetically engineered organsims might rise questions about safety issues. Here we answer them.
- Would the materials used in your project and/or your final product pose:
- Risks to the safety and health of team members or others in the lab?
- Risks to the safety and health of the general public if released by design or accident?
- Risks to environmental quality if released by design or accident?
- Risks to security through malicious misuse by individuals, groups or states?
Our project doesn't raise any safety issues other than usual lab safety issues– whether for the researcher, the publicity or environment.
To assure this in first place, every participant took part in a general safety meeting in order to join the iGEM-Team. This meeting dealt with the common safety rules concerning good laboratory practice, working with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), including storage and disposal. We only worked with non-hazardous, non-pathogenic and organisms like E. coli lab strains (DH5 alpha or BL21). As general lab procedure, we wear a lab coat and single-use gloves. When working with e.g. liquid N2, we use goggles as well. When operating with dangerous compounds (as e. g. ethidiumbromide), we use nitrile gloves. Furthermore dangerous substances are stored and handled in designated rooms in order to assure the safety of the researchers.
For the protection of the public and the environment against hazardous substances, all GMO-contaminated waste is inactivated by autoclavation. Before leaving the laboratory, every researcher cleans and disinfects his/her hands. Moreover, we leave the windows closed and do not throw jeopardy stuff into the sink.
Our biobricks contain inducible promotors, regulators and reporter genes. None of them are able to cause illnesses or threaten humans in any other way. Most inserts are also derived from non-pathogenic, non-hazardous organisms. One promotor and one gene are dereived from genomic DNA from Ralstonia eutropha and Neisseria meningitidis. Here, we will only work with the DNA of these organsims. The amplified and cloned fragments again belong to the GMO safety class S1.
Strains or DNA derived from our project will not be used outside the lab. The watersamples to be tested are transported to the lab, so there is no risk of contaminating the environment with GMOs.
- If your response to any of the questions above is yes:
- Explain how you addressed these issues in project design and while conducting laboratory work.
- Describe and document safety, security, health and/or environmental issues as you submit your parts to the Registry.
None of our planned BioBricks raises any special safety issues as detailed above.
Under what biosafety provisions will / do you operate?
At the faculty of biology we have biosafety groups for each area of research. Since we work in the field of microbiology and synthetic biology PD Dr. Ralf Heermann and Prof. Dr. Heinrich Jung are the responsible commissioners for our team. Both checked the project thoroughly had no concerns about the safety of our project.
To ensure that we don't contaminate the environment with our kit we thought will handle the water samples only in the lab.
Before we started to work in our lab, Prof. Dr. Mascher gave us a biosyfety training. He told us about possible dangers in the lab and how to react in a case of emergency. During the lab inspection we learned, where the fire extinguishers and fire blankets are and how to use the emergency shower and the eye douche. For our own safety we usually do not work alone (or if so, e.g. to inoculate cultures, one of the instructors is informed). Furthermore we were told the general rules while working with GMOs. We keep the windows closed and autoclave contaminated waste. We wear labcoats and sometimes goggles. After leaving the lab, we wash and desinfect our hands. We learned how to handle, store and dispose our material and how to document our work properly.
Germany has signed and ratified the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol. This protocol ensures safe handling, use and transfer of genetically modified organisms. Furthermore, we have our own laws and guidelines for biosafety here. For example, all laboratories which are handling GMOs have a designated biosafety level, which is stated in a genetic engineering decree (Gentechnik Sicherheitsverordnung) and monitored by university officials.
The general safety rules are listed here (This file is derived from Göttingen University, but the rules are identical.)
- Do you have any other ideas how to deal with safety issues that could be useful for future iGEM competitions?
How could parts, devices and systems be made even safer through biosafety engineering?
To improve the safety while working with (hazardous) biobricks a new kind of biobrick backbone should be established. Every potentially pathogenic or hazardous biobrick should be cloned in a special backbone containing the sequences of the present backbones (ORI, resistance cassette,restriction sites ...) AND an inducible killing gene cassette. This killing cassette (e.g. ccdB in E. coli with an exchanged promotor or bak for eukaryotic cells) is induced by a normaly absent reagent that could easily be added in case of contamination. Adding this reagent would result in an expression of the killing gene, which leads to the death of the (pathogenic) cells containing the biobrick plasmid. | <urn:uuid:04ef39ab-7b48-43d9-8404-ac758f788920> | {
"date": "2014-09-03T04:31:51",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535924501.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909013107-00227-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9303616881370544,
"score": 2.6875,
"token_count": 1167,
"url": "http://2011.igem.org/Team:LMU-Munich/Safety"
} |
Bhubaneswar, Feb 20 (IANS) The pre-historic legacy of what is now the United States could be redefined thanks to an Indian-born scientist in a New York university who has identified fossils that may be as old as 400 million years through a technique that can benefit many other researchers.
"The techniques I developed and used for identifying fossils so old can also be used to help identify extinct species and enable scientists understand the natural and human causes behind crises in the biodiversity sphere and the collapse of ecosystem," Rituparna Bose, an adjunct assistant professor at the City University of New York," told IANS on the phone.
Bose, 33, who was born in Rourkela in Odisha, said she used geometric morphometrics - a relatively new method for measuring the shape of organisms - to study the very subtle differences between species and to better understand how they changed with time. Her work was centred on fossils that were found in Ohio and Michigan.
Today, classification of plant and animal species is usually based on visual assessment of external shape and size. In other words, organisms that look different from one another are grouped differently. Thus, scientists were finding it difficult to measure the subtle differences between species, especially where no genetic or behavioral data is available.
Part of her work was presented at the NAPC (North American Paleontological Convention) and published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, India, and in PalAontologische Zeitschrift, one of the oldest journals on fossil science.
"My research has been published in several acclaimed palaeontology journals and my dissertation was selected for the best thesis award by (prominent publisher) Springer in its 'Best of the Best Thesis' series," said Bose, the first Indian to serve on the editorial board of the Journal of the Geological Society. She is also a Fellow of the Society of Biology and the Royal Society of Entomology.
"Most importantly, I hope that my work can contribute to an understanding of the reasons behind loss of biodiversity and as a starting point for conservation," she added.
Her findings, which come at a time when 2011-2020 has been declared the UN Decade of Biodiversity, are based on studies she carried out at prominent US museums like the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Natural History and the Yale Peabody Museum.
Her work was funded by the Theodore Roosevelt Grant awarded by the American Museum of Natural History and the Dunbar-Schuchert Grant of Yale University.
Bose's birthplace Rourkela is one of the richest fossil sites in the Indian subcontinent. She grew up in Kolkata (then Calcutta), the capital of neighboring West Benga statel.
"India has a rich history of prehistoric fossils, and our methods could be used to uncover this legacy," said Bose, who also works with the (geology-focussed publisher) Wiley group and oversees the books published by the American Geophysical Union.
She has also been invited to serve on the editorial board of Cornell University's Bulletins of American Paleontology, the oldest paleontology journal in the Western hemisphere, for her work.
"The best way to differentiate between species is by sequencing their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). However, DNA could not be isolated from these prehistoric fossils. That is why we used mathematical methods to study the diversity and evolution of species," Arnab De, a co-worker and microbiologist, said on the phone.
(Jatindra Dash can be contacted at [email protected]) | <urn:uuid:43146fed-4fd0-4ca1-b8d7-546a5935a1b4> | {
"date": "2015-04-02T05:27:49",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-14",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131317541.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172157-00014-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9663691520690918,
"score": 3.578125,
"token_count": 744,
"url": "http://www.sify.com/news/india-born-scientist-identifies-400-mn-year-old-fossils-in-us-news-nri-ocupl9jijgd.html"
} |
Entrance Gate of the Castle of Brederode
Jacob Isaacksz. van Ruisdael, Dutch (active Haarlem and Amsterdam), 1628/29 - 1682
Social Tags [?]collection du maréchal de ségur [x] composition studies [x] vente du 9 avril 1793 [x]
[Add Your Own Tags]
The castle of Brederode stood about three miles from Haarlem and was a deeply evocative reminder of the recent war with Spain. This was not the first time the building had been damaged, as previous wars and invasions had left their marks, but this time the building was completely ruined. By 1650, it stood as a popular landmark for strollers and tourists in the countryside and was frequently reproduced in prints and guides. Typical of Ruisdael's Haarlem-period landscapes, the painting shows a monument outside the city rather than in it. | <urn:uuid:53e688b0-b73c-4b85-a536-4c1b493e262e> | {
"date": "2017-04-23T19:59:52",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917118743.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031158-00527-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9451858997344971,
"score": 2.6875,
"token_count": 193,
"url": "http://philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/102357.html?mulR=3046%7C13"
} |
Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms Affected by Gastrointestinal Diseases
To avoid some health problems, including gastrointestinal diseases that may be serious, one priority an individual can take is to avoid any vitamin D deficiency symptoms. A simple way to get vitamin D synthesized in your body is to have your skin exposed to vital sunlight for less than half an hour each day. Gastrointestinal diseases are abnormalities of the digestive system causing discomfort while dealing with the bowel system.
The main focus for vitamin D is to ensure each person has an accurate amount of calcium to utilize. It assists with the production of the hormones that secures calcium goes into bones and not into other tissues. The physician evaluating a patient diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency and osteoporosis needs to contemplate a possibility of a gastrointestinal etiology. On a similar note, when a patient with a gastrointestinal disorder needs his/her doctor check that patient for both bone disease and vitamin D deficiency.
Absorbing Vitamin D for Use
Symptoms arising from gastrointestinal disease and some kidney and liver conditions can be signals that there is a vitamin D deficiency. Those medical abnormalities could cause vitamin D in the digestive tract from being absorbed. This particular vitamin may also be obstructed from being converted to active form where it can be utilize by the body. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disease. An example of IBS is Crohn’s disease, which involves abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, or blood in the stool and fever occurring.
Individuals who are allergic to milk or are lactose intolerant obviously would be void of vitamin D coming from fortified milk.
Impact of Gastrointestinal Disorders
Gastrointestinal disease may impact calcium and/or vitamin D absorption. To form into active compounds, vitamin D must be metabolized another step after it enters the body. Liver diseases alter the way the first step in bioactivation takes place. Prescription medications such as phenytoin may also affect the first metabolic step and causing deficiency of the active metabolites. Another malabsorption of vitamin D has a requisite of only a tiny intestine, liver, and pancreas to provide the milieu (lipase and bile acids) that is needed for unhindered absorption. What can cause this particular problem are chronic pancreatic insufficiency, disorders of the biliary tract, partial gastrectomy, intrinsic small bowel disease, and surgical bypass procedures of the jejunum and ileum. There are other ways that individuals with vitamin D deficiency symptoms have trouble feeling better because of a gastrointestinal disorder.
As you probably can tell by now, patients with a possibility or already diagnosed with a gastrointestinal disease have the urgency to resolve it. Winter days will be filled with cloudy days for some people. Therefore, digesting food or pills to avoid vitamin D deficiency symptoms will be a nuisance for individuals who will digest them improperly. | <urn:uuid:07074bd9-7fea-4eb8-8907-21eb0eb3fda3> | {
"date": "2017-04-26T07:46:55",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917121165.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031201-00117-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8904066681861877,
"score": 2.84375,
"token_count": 590,
"url": "https://hubpages.com/health/Vitamin-D-Deficiency-Symptoms-Affected-by-Gastrointestinal-Diseases"
} |
49 pages | 8 1/2 x 11
In today's world the public faces many health threats from bioterrorism to the epidemic of obesity. It's thus important to have an effective public health system. This system depends significantly on the quality and preparedness of our public health workforce as well as the quality of public health education and training. In March, 2001 the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to examine the education of public health professionals and develop recommendations for how public health education, training, and research could be strengthened to meet the needs of future public health professionals to improve population-level health. As a result the Committee on Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century was formed; members can be seen in Appendix A.
Over the course of one year, the committee held five meetings; reviewed and analyzed key literature; and abstracted, analyzed, and synthesized data from catalogs, web sites, and survey responses of accredited schools of public health. Because numerous institutions and agencies play important roles in public health education, training, research, and leadership development, the report addresses its recommendations to schools of public health, degree-granting programs in public health, medical schools, schools of nursing, other professional schools (e.g., law), and local, state, and federal public health agencies. Conclusions and recommendations for each of these sectors are present in the report.
The report generated a lot of discussion, resulting in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asking the IOM to hold a workshop of interested people to foster joint discussion among the academic and practice communities. The workshop was held May 22, 2003 and over 100 representatives attended. Who Will Keep the Public Healthy?: Workshop Summary includes the workshop presentations, recommendations, workshop agendas, and more. | <urn:uuid:89fa0811-a273-402e-b32a-0de704548d17> | {
"date": "2014-08-30T02:24:07",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500833715.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021353-00470-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9493041634559631,
"score": 3.078125,
"token_count": 361,
"url": "http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10759"
} |
Pond plants can become a nuisance. Before planting them, you should have a good understanding of their mature size and growth habit as well as how aggressive or invasive they can be. The best pond plants offer floral or foliar interest, can be kept under control and help keep the pond water clean. A good balance of pond plants is also important. In a small- to medium-sized pond, there should be several marginal plants like papyrus and cattails, one floating plant like water lilies per 5 to 10 square feet of surface and a few dozen bunches of plants that stay below the surface.
Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) is a type of sedge that is native to Africa. It is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 and 10, but will survive winters in zone 8 if it is growing in standing water or if the roots are protected with mulch. The stems will be killed by frost but it will grow back when the weather warms. It can be grown along muddy pond shorelines or in water up to 1 foot deep, either in containers sunk in the mud at the bottom of the pond or planted directly in the soil. This pond plant tends to grow aggressively. Planting it in containers will control its spread. It is a large plant that grows to a height of 10 feet and width of 4 to 5 feet. “King Tut” (C. papyrus “King Tut”), a dwarf cultivar, is better for smaller ponds. It grows to a height and width of 5 feet. Sedges help keep pond water clean by absorbing excess nutrients and heavy metals from the water.
Cattails (Typha spp.) are one of the best marginal pond plants for water purification. They absorb large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus as well as cadmium, cobalt, lead and zinc. Common cattails (T. latifolia) can grow to a height of 9 feet, while bullrushes (T. lamina) grow to a height of 5 feet. Both of these species are aggressive pond plants that can spread and crowd out other plants. Planting them in large containers that are then sunk into the mud at the bottom of the pond will help control them and make it easier to remove them, if desired. Dwarf cattails (T. minima) grow to only about 2 feet tall, making them the best cattail for smaller ponds. They grow in up to 6 inches of water and are much less aggressive than the other two. All cattails are hardy in USDA zones 3 to 11.
Submerged Pond Plants
American wild celery (Vallisneria americana) and Canadian pondweed (Elodea canadensis syn. Anacharis canadensis) are pond plants that grow on the bottom of the pond in water that is 6 inches to 4 or 5 feet deep. Both of them are California native pond plants. American wild celery, known also as tape or eel grass, grows narrow, grass-blade type leaves, while Canadian pondweed, known also as waterweed, has branches with small oval-shaped leaves. They create oxygen and are two of the best submerged pond plants for cleaning the water through nutrient absorption. Canadian pondweed should be planted in ponds where its spread can be controlled, since it tends to be invasive.
Surface Pond Plants
Water poppies (Hydrocleys nymphoides) and lilies (Nymphaea spp.) are the best water surface pond plants for floral interest. They bloom from spring through fall and absorb excess nutrients from the water. Water poppies bloom in yellow, are hardy in USDA zones 9 to 11 and grow in water between 6 and 10 inches deep. Tropical lilies are hardy in USDA zones 10 to 12 and grow in water between 9 and 16 inches deep. Hardy water lilies are hardy in USDA zones 4 to 10 and grow in water between 1 and 4 feet deep.
- Washington State University Extension: Clean Water for Washington: Wetlands: Nature’s Water Purifiers
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Cyperus Papyrus
- Floridata: Cyperus Papyrus
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Cyperus Papyrus King Tut
- Clemson University Cooperative Extension: Horticulture: Common Cattail
- Floridata: Typha latifolia
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Typha latifolia
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Typha laxmannii
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Typha minima
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Hydrocleys nymphoides
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Nymphaea caerulea
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Nymphaea “Marliacea Chromatella”
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Elodea canadensis
- US Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Service: Plants Profile: Elodea canadensis Michx.: Canadian Waterweed
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: American Wild Celery
- US Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Service: Plants Profile: Vallisneria americana Michx.: American Eelgrass
- University of Minnesota: SULIS: Water Plant Selection, Implementation and Maintenance
- Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images | <urn:uuid:36f83664-242f-4527-b59c-7fd5705aa6ba> | {
"date": "2019-06-26T11:46:04",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560628000306.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20190626114215-20190626140215-00336.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9050068259239197,
"score": 3.421875,
"token_count": 1099,
"url": "https://homeguides.sfgate.com/pond-plants-papyrus-56587.html"
} |
1. Study the map extract 1:50,000 (UGANDA) KIBANGA series Y732, part of sheet 71/4, Edition 3 –USD, and answer the questions which follow:
(a) (i)State the grid reference for Namalinda secondary trigonometrical station.
(ii)Name the physical feature found at grid reference 843120
(b) (i)What is the bearing of Kikusa church (grid reference 949262) feom Kikaja convent (grid reference 908189)?
(ii)Calculate in square kilometers the area covered by the lake (excluding the swamps) between Eastings 80 and 90 and Northings 10 and 22
(c) (i)Reduce the area between Eastings 80 and 95 and Northings 10 and 25 by 50%. Draw a sketchmap of the area and on it, mark and label:
(ii)What is the new scale of the reduced sketchmap in (c) (i) above?
(d)Giving evidence from the map extract, describe the relationship between relief and vegetation in the area.
2. Study the photograph provided below and answer the questions which follow
(a) Draw a landscape sketch of the area shown in the photograph and o it, mark and label:
(i) relief features
(b)Describe the relationship between relief and landuse in the area shown in the photograph.
(c) Explain the problems faced by the people living in the area shown in the photograph
(d)Giving reasons for your answer, suggest one area in East Africa where this photograph could have ben taken.
3. (a)Distinguish between lateral and vertical earth movements
(b)Examine the relevance of the platetectonic theory in the understanding of the present day distribution of oceans and landmasses
4. Account for the occurrence of large-scale masswasting in the highlighland areas of East Africa
5. (a)What is meant by river capture?
(b)With reference to specific examples explain the conditions which have led to river capture
6. With reference to specific examples from East Africa, describe the landforms produced by wave deposition.
7. (a)Distinguish between Equatorial and semi-desert climates
(b)Describe the factors which led to the occurrence of semi-desert climate in East Africa
8. (a)What Is meant by an air mass?
(b)Describe the weather conditions associated with the meeting of air masses over the East African region.
9. (a)Account for the destruction of natural vegetation in East Africa
(b)What measures are being taken to ensure sustainable use of netural vegetation in East Africa?
To what extent has relief influenced soil profile development in East Africa?
- Next >> | <urn:uuid:0f5a8d8d-b63f-4ea0-98a8-c957dcc5a9ab> | {
"date": "2018-01-18T01:51:57",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-05",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084887054.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20180118012249-20180118032249-00256.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8928162455558777,
"score": 3.21875,
"token_count": 593,
"url": "http://revisenow.net/index.php/geography-u-a-c-e/year-2012"
} |
The Copyright Act of 1957 was established in order to protect the creativity of authors, musicians, performers and music producers by granting them exclusive rights for their creation. Since its inception, the Act has been amended 5 times in the following years – 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2012. The Copyright (Amendment) Act of 2012 is the most significant and applicable to all copyrighted works.
The reason for making amendments to the original Act of 1957 is to come in terms with the WIPO Copyright Treaty
(WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) that allowedfor the protection of the Music and Film Industry. Few important amendments to the Act in 2012 are digital copyright protection, penalties for evasion of protection procedures, liability of internet service provider, establishing statutory licenses for broadcasters, ensuring royalty rights for authors and music composers, special moral rights to performers, and exemption of copyrights for physically disabled to access any work. | <urn:uuid:05a60bc8-cadc-4112-8193-df88cbff6a48> | {
"date": "2017-11-21T19:00:22",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-47",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934806422.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20171121185236-20171121205236-00456.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9400190114974976,
"score": 3.5,
"token_count": 198,
"url": "http://www.mynyx.com/learning-center/copyright/copyright-acts-india/"
} |
Student books are divided into units that parallel the strands in the CCSS at grade level.
Format of Instruction
The books use the gradual release model—from teacher-led instruction to individual student work—in a four-part lesson format: Skill Introduction, Focused Instruction, Guided Practice, and Independent Practice.
Practice for Assessment-Type Items
A mix of question types, including those on Common Core assessments, is found in the unit reviews and Independent Practice sections.
In addition to lessons on reading comprehension skills, each book includes a full unit of writing and language standards for students to practice the writing process, learn how to answer open-ended questions, and apply grammar and usage conventions.
Close Reading of Rigorous Text
Much like Common Core standards and assessments, the books require students to find evidence from the text to support their answers.
A glossary in each student book includes terms that appear in boldface throughout the book. | <urn:uuid:1c484551-0e1d-437c-9742-273ad0a6052a> | {
"date": "2018-03-18T02:18:13",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-13",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257645413.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20180318013134-20180318033134-00056.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9143250584602356,
"score": 4.15625,
"token_count": 192,
"url": "http://store.jumpqbooks.com/filienlaargr2.html"
} |
When the confederated Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai tribes needed more information on historical events, cultural customs, or the Kootenai language, they did not look in a library or on the web; they asked Adeline Abraham Mathias. A member of the Ksanka band of Kootenai—or Ktunaxa—people, the elder lived her entire life on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Over the span of her lifetime (1910-2007), she witnessed how the influx of non-Indians profoundly altered her people’s homeland. The great-granddaughter of a Kootenai chief, Adeline Mathias was the recipient of cultural, spiritual, and historical knowledge, which she in turn passed along to the next generation of Kootenai people.
Atliyi “Adeline” Paul Abraham was born near Dayton, Montana, in 1910, the same year the fertile valleys of Flathead Indian Reservation were opened to homesteading. The arriving farmers transformed the diverse riparian habitat into a patchwork of fields and altered the course of rivers to suit their irrigation needs.
More profoundly, the newcomers brought different social and cultural ways that, over time, threatened the continuity of the Kootenai, Salish, and Kalispel (Pend d’Oreille) languages and way of life. In just three generations, the number of fluent Kootenai speakers fell to only a handful of individuals, one of whom was Adeline Mathias. Continue reading | <urn:uuid:24afe74e-df0e-4e80-80ae-5bc84c39eed3> | {
"date": "2018-01-21T00:44:44",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-05",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084889798.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20180121001412-20180121021412-00456.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9338959455490112,
"score": 2.84375,
"token_count": 322,
"url": "http://montanawomenshistory.org/tag/language-preservation/"
} |
represent the closest phylogenetic relative of vertebrates (Delsuc et al.
a colonial tunicate
, had over 60% positive with low copies of H.
2011) Evolutionary crossroads in developmental biology: the tunicates
2001) and pelagic tunicates
(Purcell & Madin, 1991), have the ability to make use of aggregation for reproductive purposes to maintain and/or increase their population density.
genome also contains clues to the source of introns, chunks of DNA that are sandwiched between protein-coding parts of genes.
Guinez R, Castilla JC (2001) An allometric tridimensional model of self-thinning for a gregarious tunicate
Styelins, broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides from the solitary tunicate
, Styela clava.
Finally, a 'perfect' square by Darryl Francis was reported in W88-80: rosetter overrule sequined eruptive tritical tunicate
elevates redeless, all in Web3, except for redeless in Web2.
This means they don't have the dry and membranous outside scales that tunicate
bulbs, such as onions and tulips, do.
There are no eyes at all on this predatory tunicate
(above), collected in Monterey Bay's two-mile- deep canyon.
Taxa included Polychaetea, Oligochaeta, Maxillopoda, Malacostraca, Bivalvia, and Other, which included rare items including invertebrate eggs, fiatworms, and tunicate
That "talking head" you just met is a strange creature called a predatory tunicate
Although Hewatt mentioned in the text that colonial tunicates
and sponges were generally common in some plots, he recorded in his tables only species that he claimed were the most common (the tunicate
Aplidium californicum and the sponge Lissodendoryx firma), suggesting that he ignored less common colonial organisms.
It houses some truly bizarre creatures, like the predatory tunicate
, an organism that appears to be little more than a gaping, translucent mouth.
Univacuolar refractile hemocytes from the tunicate
Ciona intestinalis are cytotoxic for mammalian erythrocytes in vitro. | <urn:uuid:78c90d8d-eb22-4c6b-a2c6-46b3c0bd2e4e> | {
"date": "2018-08-15T03:33:38",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-34",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209856.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815024253-20180815044253-00336.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.899157702922821,
"score": 3.46875,
"token_count": 488,
"url": "https://www.freethesaurus.com/tunicate"
} |
We've slung chunks of junk out in space and if we don't do something about it, we're sunk. Well, it may not be that bad, but space experts tell us that at least 10,000 four-inch-wide or larger pieces of orbiting debris beyond Earth's atmosphere pose a threat to spacecraft and satellites. As Jeff Zweerink explains on Creation Update, an accumulation of space objects over several decades has created a zone of dangerous, speeding debris. Jeff cites a New York Times article describing the junk as "dead satellites, spent rocket stages, a camera, a hand tool", and other assorted leftovers. Great. We've known about asteroid belts, but now we've got the junk belt to worry about. And this belt cracks a mean whip—try about 16,000 miles per hour.
With that many objects (a conservative estimate) the cleanup requires a Herculean effort, if it can be done at all. More significantly, however, scientists say that a chain reaction of collisions will occur and may have already started. It's like blasting a bowling ball from a cannon down a very long and wide lane and striking ten pins that in turn strike ten more and so on. Only the "pins" never slow down. All that space junk makes it increasingly difficult to launch a spacecraft through the projectile zone and to maintain expensive satellites; but it also places urgency on stargazing efforts. Yes, it's another one of those we-live-at-the-just-right-time arguments. Unobstructed views of the universe from ground-based instruments are fading fast, so scientists are fortunate to have generated a mountain of data within a narrow window of time. And that knowledge points conspicuously to the creative artistry of the God of the Bible. Even so, Earth's outer space is no place to be flirting around. Planes are safe, and hot-air balloon rides are cool, but space tourism might be risky. Recall the biblical admonition that "Lo, I am with you always." | <urn:uuid:5468fa1f-1005-49fb-ba6b-f500e5ad4780> | {
"date": "2014-10-25T07:00:39",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-42",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1414119647865.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20141024030047-00103-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.937438428401947,
"score": 2.921875,
"token_count": 413,
"url": "http://www.reasons.org/blogs/average-joes-corner/it-s-a-junkyard-out-there"
} |
When students are asked to make creative decisions and collaborate on
creative tasks, it is important for them to know what outcomes are expected
before they begin their work. Use a rubric to clearly outline the assignment
criteria. Be specific about time allowed for completion.
The teacher engages in role-play along with students, taking on a character
appropriate to the drama. Kathy uses in-role teaching during Critic
It is helpful to reinforce new vocabulary for students when they are
describing what they hear. Sometimes this means interpreting physical
representations as auditory descriptors. Gestures or facial expressions
may need a bit of clarification: Do you mean the music is getting
In the Musical Cues lesson, there were times when the Learner Teams
had trouble responding to Susannes questions about the music they
heard. It helped them focus their thinking when the questions were restated
in a simpler way. For example:
What is the difference between Zoes first theme and her
Just look at the music. What is different?
The second theme has more notes.
In order to sing the musical examples at the correct pitch in the Musical
Cues lesson, Susanne used a tuning fork before she began singing. | <urn:uuid:eb59687b-fff3-4fed-b5c2-1ce7beeb6e33> | {
"date": "2016-10-27T12:47:37",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-44",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721278.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00129-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9427726864814758,
"score": 3.078125,
"token_count": 254,
"url": "http://learner.org/workshops/artsineveryclassroom/p2popups/teacher.html"
} |
THREE ‘Hurrahs for World Press Freedom Day/ World Press Day’ today, May 3, so-proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the 26th UNESCO General Conference in 1991.
This was in response to a call by African Journalists in their landmark 1991 ‘Windhoek Declaration on Media Pluralism and Independence!’
The underlying and overriding objective of the General Assembly was to raise awareness of the importance of Freedom of the Press – and remind governments of their duty to uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined in Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In consequence whereof, the world celebrated on May 3 “the fundamental principles of Press Freedom; evaluate Press Freedom around the world; defend the Mass Media Fraternity from attacks on their independence – and pay tribute to Journalists who’ve lost their lives in the exercise of their chosen profession.”
To mark the day, UNESCO identifies a global theme relating to Press Freedom, including good governance; media coverage of terrorism; impunity and media role in post-conflict countries – overall highlighting media partnerships and the protection of journalists.
UNESCO also brings together media professionals, press freedom organisations and UN Agencies to assess the state of Press Freedom worldwide and discuss solutions to the challenges.
Furthermore, the Organisation May 3 by conferring the ‘UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize’ on a deserving individual, organisation or institution that’s made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of Press Freedom in the world – especially when that’s been achieved in the face of danger! Created in 1997, the Prize is awarded on the recommendation of an independent Jury of 14 news professionals.
Names are submitted by regional and international NGOs working for Press Freedom, as well as by UNESCO member-states. The Prize is named in honour of Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian Journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper, ‘El Espectador,’ in Bogotá, on December 17, 1986.
Reportedly, Cano’s writings had ‘offended’ Colombia’s powerful drug barons... Sheesh! Generally, Media Houses feature stories, interviews and in-depth reports on pressing issues related to Press Freedom, invariably based on the chosen Theme of the Year – and that year’s location for observing the event internationally.
The Year-2017 location is Jakarta, Indonesia – and the theme is ‘Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies.’ I found the themes down the years quite intriguing, and I take the liberty to share them with my esteemed readers herein below (with the year and location shown in brackets, beginning in 1998...): · ‘Press Freedom is a Cornerstone of Human Rights.’ *(London, England: 1998).* ·
‘Turbulent Eras: Generational Perspectives on Freedom of the Press. *(Bogotá, Colombia:1999).* · ‘Reporting the News in a Dangerous World: The Role of the Media in conflict settlement, reconciliation and peace-building
.’*(Genève, Switzerland: Year-2000).* · ‘Combatting racism and promoting diversity: The role of Free Press.’ *(Windhoek, Namibia: 2001. *Note: The event was held jointly with commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the 1991 Windhoek Declaration – and was marked by signing the African Charter on Broadcasting). · ‘Covering the War on Global Terrorism.’ *(Manila, Philippines: 2002).
*· ‘The Media and Armed Conflict.’ *(Kingston, Jamaica: 2003).*
· ‘*Who decides how much information?’ *(Belgrade, Serbia: 2004).* · ‘Media and Good Governance.’ *(Dakar, Senegal: 2005).* · ‘The media as drivers of change.’ *(Colombo, Sri Lanka).*
· ‘The UN and the Freedom of Press.’
*(Medellín, Colombia: 2007).* · ‘Celebrating the fundamental principles of Press Freedom.’ *(Maputo, Mozambique: 2008).* · *‘*Dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation.’ *(Doha, Qatar: 2009).*
· ‘Freedom of Information: The right to know.’ *(Brisbane, Australia: 2010).* · *‘*21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers.’ *(Washington-D.C., USA: 2011).* · ‘New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies.’ *(Tunis, Tunisia: 2012).
* · ‘Safe to Speak: Securing Freedom of Expression in all Media.’ *(San José, Costa Rica:2013).* · ‘Media Freedom for a Better Future: Shaping the post-2015 Development Agenda.’ *(Paris, France: 2014).* · ‘Let Journalism Thrive! Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality and Media Safety in the Digital Age.’ *(Riga, Latvia: 2015).
* · ‘Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms.’ *(Helsinki, Finland: 2016).* The 50-state US – selfstyled ‘Land of Freedom ands Home of the Brave’ – has hosted World Press Freedom Day celebrations at the international level only once in the last 19 years/times: Year- 2011 in Washington-DC.
But what they called the ‘Dark Continent for ages, the 54-state African Continent, has done so FOUR times out of 19: in Namibia (Year- 2001); Senegal (2005); Mozambique (2008) and Tunisia (2012)!
Besides, the World Press Freedom Day concept was Africa-born, vide the 1991 ‘Windhoek Declaration’ Seems the US can learn something from Africa, after all... Hurrah – and Cheers! | <urn:uuid:27dc4193-8f7e-4e77-bdfe-8d2310a726c8> | {
"date": "2017-09-24T14:18:27",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-39",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818690029.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20170924134120-20170924154120-00096.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8580524921417236,
"score": 2.65625,
"token_count": 1292,
"url": "http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/columnist/182-karl-lyimo/50339-three-hurrahs-for-world-press-freedom-day-an-african-concept"
} |
Good Science Careers: No Ph.D. Required
Rewarding jobs that can be had with a Bachelor's -- or less.
But what are the best launchpads for a biomedical career? Sure, a Ph.D. in molecular biology is one but a rewarding bioscience career can be had with less education. The focus here is on three such careers that many people find rewarding now and, as science advances, are likely to become even more so.
Clinical Medical Technologist: The desire to decrease medical tests' invasiveness and pressure to reduce the cost of health care are driving the development and use of blood, urine, tissue-sample, and DNA tests to replace equipment-intensive and more invasive diagnostics. Clinical medical technologists, traditionally called lab techs, conduct those tests. Contrary to conventional wisdom, most jobs as a clinical medical technologists are not particularly repetitive. In many labs, the technologists rotate across different tests, and the field is continually advancing so the techs receive frequent training on the latest generation of tests and computerized instruments as well as on how to communicate effectively with health care providers and patients. Most lab techs work in hospitals or for medical testing companies such as Quest or LabCorp, but some do forensic work, for example, for a police department or the FBI. A bachelor's degree is required to be a clinical laboratory technologist but just an associate degree qualifies you for a related position: clinical medical technician.
Genomic Analyst: Our 21,000 genes express proteins, which are combined in billions of ways. Statistics geeks called genomic analysts (or bioinformatics analyst, biostatistician, etc.) figure out what combination of proteins cause what condition and what intervention best helps. As important as that is, even more jobs may be created if society decides that such interventions should be used not only to cure disease but to enhance normal functioning-for example, allowing prospective parents to elect to ensure their child will have excellent rather than just normal intelligence. While a Ph.D. may open the most leaderly career doors, a master's in biostatistics or a related field should render you well employable.
Clinical Research Associate: After a new diagnostic tool or treatment has demonstrated efficacy and safety on computer models and on non-human animals, it's time for human trials. The person who coordinates those trials is a clinical research associate. That person may recruit patients, help ensure they comply with the protocol, and aggregate results. Oh yes, and they typically make a solid six-figure income.
Of course, before choosing a career, you need go beyond reading the more information. Do informational interviews and visit practitioners on-site. After that, if a career still seems appealing, you've likely found a well-suited, rewarding career. Congratulations! | <urn:uuid:30e12bdb-52c0-44c4-83bf-83efc6720f8d> | {
"date": "2014-09-22T00:12:47",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-41",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1410657136494.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20140914011216-00193-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9517573714256287,
"score": 2.640625,
"token_count": 574,
"url": "http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/09/26/biomedical-careers-no-ph-d-required/"
} |
What Does Meteor Size Have to Do with Crater Size?
This inquiry based field experiment will allow students to discover what causes meteors to make craters that are much larger than the meteor themselves. They will also find how meteors of different shapes and sizes will create varying craters. Students will use different objects and different mediums to create a variety of meteors and craters. Students will work together to discover answers to questions that they come up with.
Key concepts for this lab include: Craters are caused by meteors much smaller than themselves. Events happening naturally can be duplicated with similar results in a laboratory setting.
Vocabulary for this lesson includes: meteor, crater, impact
Context for Use
Resource Type: Activities:Field Activity:Field laboratories
Special Interest: Hazards, Field-Based Teaching and Learning
Grade Level: College Lower (13-14):Introductory Level, Middle (6-8), High School (9-12)
Earth System Topics: Solar System and Astronomy
Description and Teaching Materials
Once the class is at the site, tell students that they will be making observations of their objects and the area around them. We are trying to find some questions that students may have. Give students 7-10 minutes to make some observations using their materials and the area around them. Have them make at least 10 observations and write them in journals or in their notebooks. (The number of observations can vary depending on how often students have done observations. Remind them that it is always good to have a detailed description of what they did to find their answers. Once the time is up, re-convene and discuss what people found. One of the main topics that most students should find is the fact that crater size is always larger than meteor size. This is the main idea that I have had my students learn about. There are many other reasons that craters are the way they are. If students think of one of those and want to experiment, let them. There are no wrong questions that can be answered here.
Once groups find their question that they want to ask, they need to design an experiment. Make sure they know what a good experiment involves. (It might be a good idea to go through the scientific method with the class before introducing this lab, if the class does not have a good grasp on it already.) The experiments should start with the purpose, in this case, "We want to find out if meteor size has to do with crater size?" Remember, these can vary from your students a bit. Materials should be listed, as well as the procedure. (One thing I routinely mention to my students is that their procedure should be clear enough so someone can use their lab write-up and re-do the lab exactly as they did it.) A table should be made showing the results of the experiment. Most experiments are done with numerous trials and an average being found. Definitely do that here too. All good experiments show a chart of data found and graphs work well to visualize and compare data. A conclusion must be at the end of the experiment.
Teaching Notes and Tips
- If you are going to a large area, bring a whistle; it is good for getting the students' attention.
- Tell the administration where you are going and when.
- If you are going off school grounds make sure you have administrations permission.
- Same sex groups work well because there will be no "jobs for the girls and jobs for the boys".
- Try to get a variety of different materials to act as meteors. I like to use the different sports balls because they are easily accessible from P.E. Also, get some other objects (Meteors are never perfectly spherical).
- I have never done this experiment outside with my students creating the experiment. It has worked very well inside the classroom with marbles and small trays of sand.
- One thing that most students do not think about when doing experiments is keeping certain aspects set, like the force the meteor hits at or the distance. If they are looking solely at the size of the crater formed, the other variables must be set.
9-12.III.C.2-characteristics of planets | <urn:uuid:6c91b772-79c0-47ff-a88f-a4521c0ffb8a> | {
"date": "2016-08-30T11:06:08",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-36",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982976017.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200936-00130-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 5,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.957775354385376,
"score": 4.6875,
"token_count": 862,
"url": "https://serc.carleton.edu/sp/mnstep/activities/20182.html"
} |
|Pakistan Table of Contents
When Zia assumed power in mid-1977, Pakistan was out of the limelight and indeed was considered by some observers to be a political backwater. By the time of Zia's death in 1988, it had, because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, become an important actor occupying a central position in the world arena.
Although Zulifqar Ali Bhutto had tried to redirect Pakistan's regional orientation toward West Asia and Zia continued this trend, the nation's geostrategic interests dictated a concentration on South Asia. Pakistan's foreign policy was very much centered on India. Less than two years after Zia's assumption of power, Congress, led by Indira Gandhi, was voted out of office and replaced by the Janata Party, whose foreign minister was Atal Behari Vajpayee of the Jana Sangh, long seen as anti-Pakistan. Nonetheless, relations between Pakistan and India may have reached their most cordial level during the almost three years Janata was in power. Vajpayee visited Pakistan in February 1978. There were exchanges on many issues, and agreements were signed on trade, cultural exchanges, and communications--but not on such key issues as Kashmir and nuclear development.
The nuclear issue was of critical importance to both Pakistan and India. In 1974 India successfully tested a nuclear "device." Bhutto reacted strongly to this test and said Pakistan must develop its own "Islamic bomb." Zia thus inherited a pledge that for domestic reasons he could not discard, and he continued the development program. He asked India to agree to several steps to end this potential nuclear arms race on the subcontinent. One of these measures was the simultaneous signing of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The second step was a joint agreement for inspection of all nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Pakistan also proposed a pact between the two countries to allow for mutual inspection of sites. And, finally, Pakistan proposed a South Asian nuclear-free zone. It appeared that Zia was looking for a way to terminate the costly Pakistani program. But in order to sell this idea in Pakistan, he required some concessions from India. Termination would also get him out of difficulties the program was causing with the United States, including the curtailment of aid in 1979. These proposals were still on the table in the early 1990s, and were supplemented by then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's call for a roundtable discussion among Pakistan, India, the United States, Russia, and China on nuclear weapons in South Asia.
Not all relations within South Asia were negative. President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh proposed an organization for South Asian cooperation. Pakistan was at first reluctant, fearing Indian domination, but eventually agreed to join the group, along with Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was formally inaugurated at a summit meeting in Dhaka in 1985. There have been some positive steps toward cooperation, and regular rotating summits are held, although often with some delays.
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India (1984-89) came to Islamabad in 1988 to attend a SAARC summit, the first visit of an Indian prime minister since 1960, when Nehru visited to sign the Indus Waters Treaty. Zia stopped briefly in New Delhi in December 1985 and in February 1987 visited again, having invited himself to see a cricket match between the two countries. Zia's estimation was that he and Rajiv could meet quite cordially but could not agree on substantive issues.
Active and potential conflict continued to be a constant factor in Pakistan's relations with India. The dispute over the precise demarcation of the Line of Control in Kashmir at the Siachen Glacier heated up periodically and over time caused substantial casualties on both sides because of numerous small skirmishes and the extreme cold in the remote area. Also, in the 1986-87 winter the Indian army conducted Operation Brass Tacks, maneuvers close to the Pakistan border, and Pakistan mobilized its forces. However, the dangerous situation was defused, and no hostilities took place. India accused Pakistan of aiding Sikh insurgents in India's state of Punjab. Pakistan denied this accusation, but some people thought that Operation Brass Tacks might have been a means to strike at alleged bases in Pakistan's Punjab Province. Zia skillfully handled the diplomacy during the period of tension.
Zia continued the process, begun by Bhutto, of opening Pakistan to the West and drew on Pakistan's Islamic, trade, and military ties to the Middle East. Military ties included stationing Pakistani troops in Saudi Arabia and training missions in several other countries. Remittances from Pakistanis employed as migrant workers in the Middle East, especially in the Persian Gulf area, increased during the Zia years and became an important factor in Pakistan's foreign-exchange holdings.
Zia played a prominent role in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). A Pakistani was secretary general of the OIC, and Zia served on committees concerning the status of Jerusalem and the settlement of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), neither of which were successful. At the 1984 summit at Casablanca, he played a key role in the readmission of Egypt to the OIC and, in doing so, reminded his fellow heads of government that the organization was one for the entire Muslim community and not only for Arab states.
The United States under the administration of Jimmy Carter did not welcome the displacement of Bhutto by Zia; representative government, human rights, and nuclear nonproliferation were also of concern to Carter. The execution of Bhutto only added to the United States displeasure with Zia and Pakistan. In March 1979, Pakistan--and Iran--terminated their membership in CENTO.
A number of United States laws, amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, applied to Pakistan and its program of nuclear weapons development. The 1976 Symington Amendment stipulated that economic assistance be terminated to any country that imported uranium enrichment technology. The Glenn Amendment of 1977 similarly called for an end to aid to countries that imported reprocessing technology--Pakistan had from France. United States economic assistance, except for food aid, was terminated under the Symington Amendment in April 1979. In 1985 the Solarz Amendment was added to prohibit aid to countries that attempt to import nuclear commodities from the United States. In the same year, the Pressler Amendment was passed; referring specifically to Pakistan, it said that if that nation possessed a nuclear device, aid would be suspended. Many of these amendments could be waived if the president declared that it was in the national interests of the United States to continue assistance.
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, causing a sudden reversal of United States policy. Carter, who had described Pakistan as a "frontline state" in the Cold War, offered US$400 million in military and economic aid to Pakistan-- an amount that Zia spurned and contemptuously termed "peanuts." When the Ronald Reagan administration took office in January 1981, the level of assistance increased substantially. Presidential waivers for several of the amendments were required. The initial package from the United States was for US$3.2 billion over six years, equally divided between economic and military assistance. A separate arrangement was made for the purchase of forty F-16 fighter aircraft. In 1986 a follow-on program of assistance over a further period of six years was announced at a total of more than US$4 billion, of which 57 percent was economic aid and the rest military aid.
The Soviet Union, meanwhile, under its new leader, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, was reassessing its role in Afghanistan. Indirect "proximity" negotiations in Geneva under the auspices of the UN were going on between Afghanistan and Pakistan with the United States and the Soviet Union as observers. In April 1988, a series of agreements were signed among the United States, the Soviet Union, Pakistan, and Afghanistan that called for the withdrawal of Soviet forces by mid-February 1989. The withdrawal was completed on time.
Throughout the years of Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, relations between the United States and Pakistan were best characterized by close cooperation. Still, United States policy makers became increasingly concerned that Zia and his associates- -most notably, General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, then head of the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence--appeared to give preferential treatment to the Islamic fundamentalists, especially mujahidin leader Gulbaddin Hikmatyar. Other disagreements persisted, particularly over the failure of the Zia regime to convert to representative government. Documented Pakistani violations of human rights were another major issue; Pakistani involvement in narcotics trafficking was yet another. But the issue that after Zia's death led to another cutoff of aid was Pakistan's persistent drive toward nuclear development.
The event of the Zia period brought Pakistan to a leading position in world affairs. However, Pakistan's new visibility was closely connected to the supportive role it played for the anti- Soviet mujahidin in Afghanistan--and this deceased when the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan. In the 1990s, Pakistan faced some major domestic problems--mounting ethnic and sectarian strife as well as widespread civil disorder. Pakistan will need to address these problems as it strives to improve its international standing as a maturing democratic nation and one aspiring to be the industrial and technological leader of the Muslim world.
Source: U.S. Library of Congress | <urn:uuid:e932e0bf-4d1c-48e3-82e6-3df7c6220d9a> | {
"date": "2018-10-23T04:14:47",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583516003.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20181023023542-20181023045042-00336.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9753820300102234,
"score": 3.3125,
"token_count": 1930,
"url": "http://countrystudies.us/pakistan/22.htm"
} |
Chicago—Elementary schools are less likely to sell candy, ice cream, sugary drinks, cookies, cakes, and other unhealthy snacks when states or school districts have policies that limit the sale of such items, according to a study published today in JAMA Pediatrics. The study also found that more than three-quarters of the nation’s public elementary schools are located in a state and/or district that does not specifically limit sales of sugary drinks, candy, salty snacks, or high-fat milk.
The study, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through its national research program, Bridging the Gap, is the first to examine the association between state laws, school district policies, and the availability of unhealthy snack foods and drinks in U.S. elementary schools. Researchers assessed the types of foods and drinks offered in vending machines, à la carte lines, and stores in a nationwide sample of schools between 2008–09 and 2010–11.
“We found that states and districts can influence the types of snacks and drinks sold at school,” said lead author Jamie Chriqui, PhD, MHS, an investigator at Bridging the Gap. “These policies can go a long way in helping kids have healthy choices during the school day, but more states and districts need to get strong policies on the books to have a meaningful impact nationally.”
According to the study, state laws and school district policies that set nutritional guidelines for school snacks are generally working to reduce students’ access to junk foods—and policies at both levels reinforce each other.
- For example, 43.5 percent of schools sold candy, ice cream, cookies, and other sweets when there was no policy, compared with 32.2 percent of schools that sold them when both the state and district limited the sugar content of snack foods.
- Similarly, when states and districts limited the fat content of snack foods, ice cream was less available (10.3% with a policy vs. 21.3% with no policy) and so were cookies, cakes, and other high-fat baked goods (11.6% with a policy vs. 25.2% with no policy).
For sugar-sweetened beverages, district policies had more influence than state laws. Sugary drinks were less available when the district banned them (3.6% with a policy vs. 13.1% with no policy). When states banned sugary drinks, schools were not less likely to sell them. This was especially true in the South, where one-quarter of schools located in states that banned the sale of sugary drinks still sold them.
The authors noted that many states and districts lacked specific nutritional guidelines for school snacks and drinks:
- 78 percent of elementary schools were located in a district and state that did not limit the sodium content of snacks or prohibit high-fat milk.
- 77 percent of elementary schools were located in a district and state that did not prohibit the sale of candy.
- 75 percent of elementary schools were located in a district and state that did not prohibit the sale of all sugary drinks, including sports drinks, sodas, and other fruit drinks with added sugar.
- 58 percent of elementary schools were located in a district and state that did not limit the sugar content of snacks.
“Too many of our nation’s schools are still selling junk foods and sugary drinks to young children,” said Chriqui. “But the good news is that this is the first generation of children to be enrolled in school at a time when educators and policy-makers are focused on preventing childhood obesity—that’s why it’s so critical to enact or change policies that make schools healthier places for students.”
Currently the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is working to improve its rule on school snack foods and drinks. The findings from this study confirm the need for strong federal standards because so many states and districts do not have their own policies. This study also shows that state and district policies have the potential to help implement the federal guidelines—and if necessary, to go beyond those guidelines to ensure that all students have healthy choices at school.
“Right now, states and districts are very inconsistent when it comes to standards for school snacks and drinks, so it’s crucial for USDA to issue a strong final rule and to do it quickly,” said C. Tracy Orleans, PhD, senior scientist at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “But a strong federal rule is just the beginning, states and districts can—and should—take measures to exceed national standards to further improve the nutritional quality of school foods and drinks.”
The study, “Competitive food and beverage policy contributions at the elementary level,” examined the food policies at 1,485 elementary schools in 957 districts and 45 states and the beverage policies at 1,497 elementary schools in 962 districts and 45 states.
Christine Clayton | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | [email protected] | (609) 627-5937
About Bridging the Gap
Bridging the Gap is a nationally recognized research program dedicated to improving the understanding of how policies and environmental factors influence diet, physical activity and obesity among youth, as well as youth tobacco use. For more inEditformation, visit www.bridgingthegapresearch.org.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measureable, and timely change. For 40 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter www.rwjf.org/twitter or Facebook www.rwjf.org/facebook. | <urn:uuid:63bf2cdd-4174-4313-81c1-447d407c6513> | {
"date": "2014-11-24T18:14:34",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-49",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416400380948.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20141119123300-00064-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9612430334091187,
"score": 3.09375,
"token_count": 1273,
"url": "http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/newsroom-content/2013/06/states--school-districts-help-keep-junk-foods-and-sugary-drinks-.html?cid=xrs_rss-nr"
} |
The reality of Mathilde’s situation is that she is neither wealthy nor part of the social class of which she feels she is a deserving member, but Mathilde does everything in her power to make her life appear different from how it is. She lives in an illusory world where her actual life does not match the ideal life she has in her head—she believes that her beauty and charm make her worthy of greater things. The party is a triumph because for the first time, her appearance matches the reality of her life. She is prettier than the other women, sought after by the men, and generally admired and flattered by all. Her life, in the few short hours of the party, is as she feels it should be. However, beneath this rightness and seeming match of appearances and reality is the truth that her appearance took a great deal of scheming and work. The bliss of her evening was not achieved without angst, and the reality of her appearance is much different than it seems. Her wealth and class are simply illusions, and other people are easily deceived.
The deceptiveness of appearances is highlighted by Madame Forestier’s necklace, which appears to be made of diamonds but is actually nothing more than costume jewelry. The fact that it comes from Madame Forestier’s jewelry box gives it the illusion of richness and value; had Monsieur Loisel suggested that Mathilde wear fake jewels, she surely would have scoffed at the idea, just as she scoffed at his suggestion to wear flowers. Furthermore, the fact that Madame Forestier—in Mathilde’s view, the epitome of class and wealth—has a necklace made of fake jewels suggests that even the wealthiest members of society pretend to have more wealth than they actually have. Both women are ultimately deceived by appearances: Madame Forestier does not tell Mathilde that the diamonds are fake, and Mathilde does not tell Madame Forestier that she has replaced the necklace. The fact that the necklace changes—unnoticed—from worthless to precious suggests that true value is ultimately dependent on perception and that appearances can easily deceive.
Mathilde’s perception of herself as a martyr leads her to take unwise, self-serving actions. The Loisels live, appropriately, on the Rue des Martyrs, and Mathilde feels she must suffer through a life that is well beneath what she deserves. Unable to appreciate any aspect of her life, including her devoted husband, she is pained by her feeling that her beauty and charm are being wasted. When Mathilde loses the necklace and sacrifices the next ten years of her life to pay back the debts she incurred from buying a replacement, her feeling of being a martyr intensifies. She undertakes the hard work with grim determination, behaving more like a martyr than ever before. Her beauty is once again being wasted; this work eventually erases it completely. Her lot in life has gotten worse, and Mathilde continues to believe she has gotten less than she deserves, never acknowledging the fact that she is responsible for her own fate. Her belief in her martyrdom is, in a way, the only thing she has left. When Madame Forestier reveals that the necklace was worthless, Mathilde’s sacrifices also become worthless, and her status as a martyr—however dubious—is taken away entirely. At the end of the story, Mathilde is left with nothing.
Whereas Mathilde sees herself as a martyr but is actually very far from it, Monsieur Loisel himself is truly a martyr, constantly sacrificing his desires and, ultimately, his well-being for Mathilde’s sake. He gives up his desire for a gun so that Mathilde can buy a dress, and he uncomplainingly mortgages his future to replace the necklace Mathilde loses. Forced to sacrifice his happiness and years of his life to accommodate Mathilde’s selfish desires, he is the one who truly becomes a martyr.
Mathilde believes that objects have the power to change her life, but when she finally gets two of the objects she desires most, the dress and necklace, her happiness is fleeting at best. At the beginning of “The Necklace,” we get a laundry list of all the objects she does not have but that she feels she deserves. The beautiful objects in other women’s homes and absence of such objects in her own home make her feel like an outsider, fated to envy other women. The things she does have—a comfortable home, hot soup, a loving husband—she disdains. Mathilde effectively relinquishes control of her happiness to objects that she does not even possess, and her obsession with the trappings of the wealthy leads to her perpetual discontent. When she finally acquires the dress and necklace, those objects seem to have a transformative power. She is finally the woman she believes she was meant to be—happy, admired, and envied. She has gotten what she wanted, and her life has changed accordingly. However, when she loses the necklace, the dream dissolves instantly, and her life becomes even worse than before. In reality, the power does not lie with the objects but within herself.
In contrast to Mathilde, Madame Forestier infuses objects with little power. Her wealth enables her to purchase what she likes, but more important, it also affords her the vantage point to realize that these objects are not the most important things in the world. She seems casual about, and even careless with her possessions: when Mathilde brazenly requests to borrow her striking diamond necklace, she agrees. And later, when Mathilde informs her that the necklace in her possession is actually extremely valuable, she seems more rattled by the idea that Mathilde has sacrificed her life unnecessarily. The fact that Madame Forestier owned fake jewels in the first place suggests that she understands that objects are only as powerful as people perceive them to be. For her, fake jewels can be just as beautiful and striking as real diamonds if one sees them as such.
Throughout “The Necklace,” Mathilde covets everything that other people have and she does not. Whereas Monsieur Loisel happily looks forward to having hot soup for dinner, Mathilde thinks only of the grandness of other homes and lavish table settings that she does not own. When Monsieur Loisel obtains an invitation for a party, she covets a new dress so that she can look as beautiful as the other wives as well as jewelry so that she does not look poor in comparison to them. She is so covetous of Madame Forestier’s wealth that she cannot bear to visit her, but she overcomes her angst when she needs to borrow jewelry for the party; there, her coveting is briefly sated because she gets to take one of the ornaments home with her. After the party, she covets the fur coats the other women are wearing, which highlight the shabbiness of her own wraps. This endless coveting ultimately leads to Mathilde’s downfall and, along the way, yields only fleeting happiness. It is so persistent, however, that it takes on a life of its own—Mathilde’s coveting is as much a part of her life as breathing.
The necklace, beautiful but worthless, represents the power of perception and the split between appearances and reality. Mathilde borrows the necklace because she wants to give the appearance of being wealthy; Madame Forestier does not tell her up front that the necklace is fake, perhaps because she, too, wants to give the illusion of being wealthier than she actually is. Because Mathilde is so envious of Madame Forestier and believes her to be wealthy, she never doubts the necklace’s authenticity—she expects diamonds, so diamonds are what she perceives. She enters willingly and unknowingly into this deception, and her complete belief in her borrowed wealth allows her to convey an appearance of wealth to others. Because she believes herself rich for one night, she becomes rich in others’ eyes. The fact that the necklace is at the center of the deception that leads to Mathilde’s downfall suggests that only trouble can come from denying the reality of one’s situation. | <urn:uuid:aba0ca8c-f421-4144-84b8-272be088d3db> | {
"date": "2014-07-29T12:44:05",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-23",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510267330.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011747-00324-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.980629026889801,
"score": 2.59375,
"token_count": 1679,
"url": "http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-necklace/themes.html"
} |
by Jessica Lahey
Great news emerged this week for elementary- and middle-school teachers who make gains in their students test scores. While the teachers themselves may not be pulling down big salaries, their efforts result in increased earnings for their students. In a study that tracked 2.5 million students for over 20 years, researchers found that good teachers have a long-lasting positive effect on their students’ lives, including those higher salaries, lower teen-pregnancy rates, and higher college matriculation rates.
I’m a practical person. I understand that we spend billions of dollars educating our children and that the taxpayer deserves some assurance that the money is not being squandered. Accountability matters. I get it. Still, as a teacher, it’s hard not to feel a little bit wistful, perhaps even wince a little, reading this study.
It’s important to remember that its authors, Raj Chetty, John N. Freidman, and Jonah E. Rockoff, are all economists. Their study measures tangible, economic outcomes from what they call high versus low “value-added” teachers. This “value-added” approach, which is defined as “the average test-score gain for his or her students, adjusted for differences across classrooms in student characteristics such as prior scores,” may work for measuring such measurable outcomes as future earnings, but it misses so much of the point of education.
I asked my Uncle Michael, a professor of law and economics, what he thought of the study, and he compared the proponents of the study’s mathematical economic approach to education to acolytes of The Who’s Tommy, pinball wizards who “sought to isolate themselves from the world so as to improve their perception of a very narrow sliver of that world. The entire ‘assessment’ enterprise defiles education as that word once meant.”
He attempted to explain his feelings about the study in terms of mathematical equations – something to do with linear regression thinking and educational outcomes, but I got lost in the Y = a + bX + errors of it all.
Tim Ogburn, 5th grade teacher in California, phrases the debate a bit more simply: Why are we educating children?
His answer goes like this: Until fairly recently, teachers would have answered that they were educating children to become good Americans or good citizens, but now we seem to teach only to prepare elementary- and middle-school children for high paying jobs. When money figures into the goal, we lose so much along the way, such as curiosity, a love of learning for its own sake, and an awareness that many of the most worthwhile endeavors (both personally and socially) are not those with the highest monetary rewards.
To which I reply: Hear, hear. If economic gain is the measure of our success, we have lost sight our goals in education.
In order to round out the definition of “value” as defined by Chetty’s study, I conducted my own research project. Sure, my sample was smaller – about thirty versus Chetty’s 2.5 million, and the duration of my study was three days rather than 20 years…and of course there might just have been a wee bit of selection bias in my Facebook sampling. Oh, and I chose not to apply Uncle Michael’s formulas because they gave me a headache.
The goal of my study was to find out what some of the other, less measurable benefits of good teaching. I asked people to write in with examples of good teaching, teaching that has resulted in positive outcomes in their lives. Who were their “high value-added” teachers?
Sarah Pinneo, a writer from New Hampshire, recalled her third grade teacher, who took her aside one day and said, “You are going to be a writer. Here’s your portfolio. Every poem you finish, we’re going to save it in here.” Sarah’s first novel will be released on February first, and she still has that poetry portfolio.
Carol Blymire, a food writer and public relations executive in Washington, D.C, recalled her kindergarten teacher “who taught me that letters make words and words make sentences…and is the reason I love to write today.” She counts among her low value-added teachers, “Every other teacher reprimanded me for asking questions that came across as challenging them, even though it was really my way of wanting to know more and understand the bigger picture.”
My favorite example came from Dr. Jeffrey Fast, an English teacher in Massachusetts.
“One morning, when I was a senior, we were discussing Maxwell Anderson’s Winterset. While I can no longer remember exactly what I said, it was something about the interaction among the characters. Immediately after I spoke, [my teacher] responded by saying – for all to hear: ‘I like you!’ His response, of course, was coded language to identify and mark – for both me and my peers – something insightful. I felt enormously rewarded. That was the benchmark that I tried to replicate in dealing with literature ever afterwards. That was 50 years ago. He never knew that those three words catapulted me – to a Ph.D. and a career as an English teacher!”
While the studies of economists may add to the discussion about what makes teachers valuable in our lives, I believe that if we reduce teachers’ value to dollars and cents, we run the risk of becoming, in Oscar Wilde’s phrase, “the kind of people who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.” | <urn:uuid:7ce99d79-6371-47d2-bd91-9253298564ea> | {
"date": "2015-07-03T06:21:33",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-27",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375095775.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031815-00276-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9784136414527893,
"score": 2.609375,
"token_count": 1185,
"url": "http://blog.coreknowledge.org/2012/01/12/what-is-the-value-in-a-high-value-added-teacher/"
} |
Inside the XML Metabase of IIS 6by Mitch Tulloch, author of Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell and Windows Server Hacks
One of the under-the-hood changes in IIS 6 is that the metabase is now an XML file instead of the binary file (metabase.bin) of earlier IIS versions. This means the metabase is a plain-text file that can be edited using a simple text editor like Notepad, even while IIS is running.
Before you start hacking away at the metabase, however, you need to know your way around, and this article is designed to provide you with a bird's-eye view of how the metabase is organized. For a general overview of the changes in IIS 6 see my earlier article, Inside IIS 6.
The first thing you should know is that there are actually two XML files that make up the metabase:
- MetaBase.xml is the actual XML file that contains IIS configuration settings.
- MBSchema.xml is the schema that defines the XML elements of MetaBase.xml and enforces their data types.
Both of these files are found in %SystemRoot%\System32\Inetsrv and Administrators have Full Control permission to modify them. In fact, if edit-while-running is enabled (see Figure 1) then you can even edit MetaBase.xml while IIS is running, though you're actually editing an in-memory version of this file that is then flushed to disk within 5 minutes of any changes having been made (or immediately if the changes were made programmatically using ADSI).
Figure 1. Enabling edit-while-running on IIS 6.
In addition to these two metabase files, IIS 6 also maintains versioned copies of these files called history files. These files are stored in %%SystemRoot%\System32\Inetsrv\History and can be used to roll back changes to the metabase when something goes wrong. IIS maintains both major and minor versions of these history files, the major version number incrementing when IIS is restarted or its configuration saved to disk and the minor version incrementing when the metabase is edited by hand using Notepad. You may also find error files in this directory too, which usually occur when editing causes metabase corruption.
From a logical point of view, the structure of MetaBase.xml is that of a typical XML file with elements defined by tags (a pair of opening and closing tags defines a key). Here's a quick peek at the beginning of the metabase for a default installation of IIS (I've edited it a bit):
<?xml version ="1.0"?> <configuration xmlns="urn:microsoft-catalog:XML_Metabase_V61_0"> <MBProperty> <IIS_Global Location ="." BINSchemaTimeStamp="80c5de04ca57c401" ChangeNumber="635" HistoryMajorVersionNumber="26" SessionKey="49634b62980000004c0...8bc121" XMLSchemaTimeStamp="e046fa04ca57c401" > </IIS_Global> <Location ="/" AdminACL="49634462f0000000a4000...419891" > </IIS_ROOT> <IIsComputer Location ="/LM" EnableEditWhileRunning="1" EnableHistory="1" MaxBandwidth="4294967295" MaxHistoryFiles="10" > </IIsComputer>
Note that each key like
IIsComputer has an opening and closing tag, and the opening tag has various attributes like
EnableEditWhileRunning that have different values. Right away you can see that IIS creates a maximum of 10 history files before overwriting the oldest. The nice thing about the XML metabase is that it's in human readable form, more or less, so it's easy to work your way through it, figuring out what each section does.
One key to navigating the metabase is understanding location attributes, which indicate where a metabase key logically resides within the hierarchy of servers, services, sites, and directories that make up IIS. For example, examine the following short piece of metabase code:
<IIsWebVirtualDir Location ="/LM/W3SVC/1/ROOT" AccessFlags="AccessRead | AccessScript" AppFriendlyName="Default Application" AppIsolated="2" AppPoolId="DefaultAppPool" AppRoot="/LM/W3SVC/1/ROOT" Path="c:\inetpub\wwwroot" > </IIsWebVirtualDir>
This metabase key is named
IIsWebVirtualDir and its location attribute is
/LM/W3SVC/1/ROOT, which we can interpret to mean the home directory (ROOT) of the Default Web Site (1) of the World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3SVC) on the local machine (LM). Each metabase key has a unique location attribute like this to identify where in the metabase hierarchy the key resides.
This means you can view the logical structure of the metabase two ways:
A key structure, starting with
IIsComputerand so on. This is the way the metabase actually appears as you read through the XML.
A location hierarchy, starting with
/LMand so on. This is the way metabase properties are organized from an inheritance point of view, with directories inheriting properties of sites, which inherit properties of services, which inherit properties of servers.
Pages: 1, 2 | <urn:uuid:56117a42-2754-470d-becd-a9993f9e299e> | {
"date": "2014-11-24T17:40:22",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-49",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416400380948.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20141119123300-00064-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8505702614784241,
"score": 2.578125,
"token_count": 1178,
"url": "http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/windows/2004/07/13/iis_metabase.html"
} |
The Garden Conservancy saves and shares outstanding American gardens for the education and inspiration of the public. Preservation is at the vital core of our mission and our programs.
Below are some current examples of our garden preservation work. For a more complete list of gardens we have helped save or restore, see our Preservation Portfolio.
How We Began
In 1988, Frank and Anne Cabot toured Ruth Bancroft’s three-acre garden in Walnut Creek, California, with its extensive collection of rare and mature succulents and cacti, many in full flower and all thriving. During the visit, Mrs. Bancroft mentioned to them that there were no plans for the garden beyond her lifetime.
Afterwards, Anne asked Frank, “Why don’t you start a garden conservancy?” Within a year, his enthusiasm for her suggestion awakened a positive preservation force that became the Garden Conservancy.
Since 1989, we have helped save or restore more than eighty North American gardens. True to our mission, we help preserve gardens for the education and inspiration of the public. These gardens, from the smallest to the largest, manifest the artistic spirits of their creators and showcase the broad diversity of climate, soil condition, and garden styles found on this continent.Gardens connect people to nature, bringing beauty, spirituality, and solace into our daily lives. They provide spaces for communities to gather and for people to interact, and they bring our shared culture and history to life. As living works of art, they embody both the creative force of human artistry and the powerful beauty of nature.We welcome you to join us in the effort to preserve, share, and promote the vital role that gardens play in our culture and history, and, indeed, our quality of life. For a list of gardens we have helped save or restore, see our Preservation Portfolio.
- Our Philosophy
- By preserving gardens for future generations, the Garden Conservancy works within the broader realm of historic preservation and environmental conservation. Gardens are manmade, artful landscapes. As with all art, gardens enhance our experience and understanding of the larger world. Unlike much art, however, gardens are also living entities and connect us directly to nature.Our Preservation Department acts as an incubator and coach to help gardens achieve long-term existence. Some of the ways we help may include:
- Saving gardens through preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, or transition into sustainable public status
- Assisting gardens with guidance on vision, feasibility, management, and best practices
- Educating partners and the general public on development of internal infrastructure, fundraising, strategies for preservation, marketing, membership, volunteers, and empowering them with the knowledge and skills they need to reach their goals.
- Our Services
- The scale and scope of our work varies. Sometimes the Garden Conservancy’s help comes in the form of a series of phone calls and meetings. Other times our involvement is far more extensive.
The range of advice and assistance we provide includes:
Garden Stewardship, Planning, and Protection Measures
- Site assessments, master planning, and garden design
- Garden documentation, cultural landscape reports, and landmark status
- Maintenance plans and sustainability best practices
- Conservation easements Read more
Organizational Development Assistance
- Assessments and feasibility studies
- Mission and vision statements
- Management structure for a nonprofit organization
Communications and Marketing Consultation
- Web presence
- Visitor experience
- Strategic relationship development
Resource Development Guidance
- Nonprofit financial practices
- Fundraising strategies
- Membership and volunteer cultivation
What do these individual services add up to? How can they make a difference? Read more in What We Do.
- Our Partners
- The Garden Conservancy has a small core of staff members and an extensive, enthusiastic network of partners. Many of our partners are garden creators who wish to preserve and share their work with future generations. We also work closely with community groups, large and small organizations and agencies, and hundreds of volunteers.
Together with our partners—garden owners and organizations ranging from small "friends" groups to large national organizations—and hundreds of individual volunteers, we have helped save or restore more than eighty of America’s outstanding gardens. We also foster interaction and enable information sharing among gardens, including through regional networks such as the Garden Conservancy Northwest Network.
Frank Cabot, Garden Conservancy founder:
"EVERY PIECE OF GREEN WE SAVE IS IMPORTANT."
RUSSELL PAGE, THE EDUCATION OF A GARDENER:
"There are few gardens that can be left alone. A few years of neglect and only the skeleton of a garden is left."
RICHARD MOE, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION;
“Important gardens are an essential part of our irreplaceable heritage — as much a part of the historic preservation landscape as buildings, birth sites, and battlefields.”
A few personal perspectives | <urn:uuid:b6df5327-72fc-4d4a-b7c4-17c85ab3265e> | {
"date": "2017-02-24T04:01:24",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501171281.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104611-00108-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9175079464912415,
"score": 2.765625,
"token_count": 1036,
"url": "https://www.gardenconservancy.org/preservation?id2=124&showleftcolumntitle=1&showrightcolumntitle=1&showtoptitleleft=0&showtoptitleright=0"
} |
Leaves Warrensburg, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, at 7 o’clock A.M., arrives at Osceola, at 6 o’clock P.M.
Leaves Osceola, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, at 5 o’clock A.M., arrives at Warrensburg at 5 o’clock P.M., connecting with the evening trains going east and west on the Pacific Rail Road. This line has just been refitted with new four horse coaches, the best of horses, most careful drivers, and is now one of the best daily lines in the west. Landes & Johnston’s Osceola. Belcher & Cruce, Proprietors.
A new Express Line has started in connection with this line to carry all express matter except money. Office under Mings’ Hotel, at Warrensburg, 1873-
"a coal oil lamp exploded which started the second massive fire in Warrensburg’s short history. The Ming Hotel, located beside the Railroad on the East Side of Holden Street became a towering inferno. Three people burned to death in the flames and others barely escaped alive. Other buildings burned down beside the Hotel while Warrensburg business owners finally decided to create their buildings out of stone." 1873 Fire Kills 4 - Man Jumps with Umbrella Saved
This picture is of a stagecoach in Weston, Missouri.
Perhaps it came through Warrensburg, Missouri too.
The Butterfield Overland Mail — stitching the country together
Last updated on Wednesday, April 09, 2003
On a time line, the two and one-half year operation (1857-1861) of the Butterfield Overland Mail was but a flash in the history of transportation in the United States. But this short-lived operation captured and held the imagination of Americans because it stitched together the growing country from sea to sea.
Prior to 1857, there was no organized, commercial system of transportation west of the Mississippi River. Although many people had crossed the United States by land, the word “overland” had not come into the American vocabulary. On the historical scale, the Butterfield Overland Mail was symbolic of the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, which held that it was the duty and right of the United States to expand across the continent.
Adding to the national pride engendered by this symbolism, was unadulterated awe – still felt today – at the rapidity with which the endeavor got under way. The backing of the federal government was obtained, trails were laid out, stations were set up and manned, coaches and wagons were manufactured and put into operation, and the many obstacles of travel across long stretches of pure wilderness were surmounted.
Several names were associated with the enterprise, but the major credit goes to one man, New Yorker businessman and financier John Butterfield. After much political log-rolling by Congress, he obtained a $600,000 government contract to establish and run the Overland Mail Company from St. Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco, California. Butterfield had already proven his ability in organization and administration by erecting the first telegraph line between New York City and Buffalo. He had built and managed several passenger stagecoach lines and had constructed the first steam railroad and first street horse railway system in Utica, New York, a city of which he also became the mayor. The American Express Company owes its formation to Butterfield. Here was a man who was uniquely qualified to spearhead the first transcontinental stage line, stretching 2,800 miles from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast.
The building and the short life of the Butterfield Overland Mail were dictated by important events in history. The Mexican War from 1846 to 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 added territory that needed to be incorporated into this country.
Pony Express Map
Warrensburg Stage Line Connected to This.
Gold was discovered in California in 1848, and California became a state in 1850. The flood of gold-seekers heading for the Pacific Coast, along with the U.S. Mail, embarked from the East Coast and sailed to the Isthmus of Panama. Here passengers and cargo went ashore, crossed the mountainous strip of Panama, and took another ship up the West Coast of Central America, past Mexico, and thence to California.
Year-round operation of the Butterfield Overland Mail dictated the choice of a route through the milder climate of the southern tier of states and territories. This choice, by routing the trail through Texas, led to its short life as the Civil War commenced. Confederate sympathizers threatened violence to the line even before Texas seceded from the United States. Union troops were pulled out of the Southwest to engage in battle in the East. Some Indians further endangered the stage line by taking advantage of the lack of military strength in the area.
In 1861, operation of the twice-weekly mail and passenger service was effectively stopped. In establishing the service, Butterfield had said, “Remember boys, nothing on God’s earth must stop the United States mail!” And nothing did. During its two and one-half years of service, every eastbound and westbound stage arrived within the 25-day contract time. Sometimes the trips were reduced to 21 days. It was an unqualified success.
The beginning of the Butterfield Line was officially in St. Louis. However, since the railroad extended west a short distance from the Mississippi, passengers and mail traveled on the train as far as Tipton where they encountered the first of the Butterfield Overland’s stations and a new coach. This vehicle was described by a reporter, the only through passenger on the inaugural westbound journey, as “quite expensively built.” From Tipton, the route lay southwest through a corner of Arkansas, cutting diagonally across what was then Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), and across a broad expanse of Texas. A swing up the east side of the Pecos River found a favorable crossing point at Pope’s Camp, then it was north along the Rio Grande into La Mesilla. From there, the route ran westward on a line roughly paralleling present-day I-10. Stations were spaced from 15 to 20 miles apart. In the arid terrain of then-territorial New Mexico, the stations had to be spaced further apart, either at existing springs or where wells were successfully dug, until the way reached the Gila River and followed it into California. There it wound northward to San Francisco.
Even the road through settled country west of St. Louis and through California was rocky and rutted. By the time the Llano Estacado was reached, the passengers were riding in and on a “celerity wagon” which was set on leather straps rather than springs. Because stages traveled day and night, these wagons converted to a sleeping car at night. Each wagon had three seats, which folded down to make one bed which accommodated from four to ten persons.
In long stretches, the road on which these wagons traveled had only recently been hacked out of the wilderness by crews of surveyors, engineers, workers and teams of draft animals, supervised by Butterfield. Passengers reported that root snags and boulders were treacherous for the unwary.
Overall, though, the Butterfield Trail was an accomplishment to excite wonder and pride. John Butterfield had to build about 150 stations and corrals, dig wells and cisterns, grade fording sites, open new roads or improve old ones, establish supply bases and repair shops, purchase and distribute 1200 horses and 600 mules, procure several thousand tons of hay and fodder, build hundreds of coaches, and hire 750 to 800 men.
At river crossings, if there was a convenient passage, the wagons forded the river. At night the lanterns carried by the wagons were augmented by a man riding horseback, also carrying a lantern, who guided the drivers across the fords. Where the rivers were too deep or swift, there were ferries – rafts which were poled across. At the crossing of Red River – the boundary between Texas and the Indian Territory – the ferry business was run by a very prosperous Chickasaw Indian named Benjamin Franklin Colbert. The man owned 25 slaves, and used these road gangs not only to pole the ferry across the river, but to keep the roads leading in to Colbert’s Ferry in good condition.
The only through passenger on the first westbound stage was Waterman L. Ormsby, a correspondent for the New York Herald. His stories, mailed back to the paper and published in six issues, were later published as a book. Other passengers and some of the many employees of the Butterfield Overland Mail have left reports of conditions of travel along the way. All describe the stations as meant for utility not comfort. According to one passenger, the floors were “much like the ground outside, only not nearly so clean.”
Usually ten minutes were allowed for a stop at the stations, with only a few providing accommodations for feeding passengers. When the horses or mules had been changed, the stage was underway again. The wagons did stop morning, noon, and night for meals.
Almost everyone agreed the food was abominable. Ormsby said, “...the fare, though rough, is better than could be expected so far from civilized districts. It consists of bread, tea, and fried steaks of bacon, venison, antelope, or mule flesh – the latter tough enough. Milk, butter, vegetables were only met with towards the two ends of the trip.” He reported another meal of shortcake, coffee, dried beef and raw onions. Often there were not enough plates or tin cups to serve the passengers.
The fares for passengers were set at $100 from San Francisco east, but $200 from St. Louis or Memphis going west. This amount was to be paid in gold. The fare did not include meals which ranged from 75 cents to a dollar. The baggage allowance was 40 pounds per passenger, a figure that is echoed in the baggage allowance on international flights today.
Passengers were, in a way, a burden and the passenger traffic was never heavy. The Butterfield Overland Mail was meant to carry the U.S. Mail. In the month of July 1860, 6020 pieces of mail were carried from San Francisco. The service was so reliable that the British government sent official correspondence destined for British Columbia by the Butterfield Overland Mail.
To remove temptation from the outlaw element along the way, Butterfield refused to carry payrolls or other valuables. There were plenty of other dangers – stages overturned, untrained animals were used to pull the coaches. Some of the drivers and conductors got “on the job training.” Passengers had a difficult time sleeping the first week. After that, they seemed to settle in, and their biggest complaint was boredom.
Today, there are a few physical reminders of this undertaking. The building which houses La Posta restaurant in La Mesilla, south of Las Cruces, was used as a station. Foundations of the station at Fort Bowie in Arizona are extant. In some places that have not been paved over by highways, there are still traces of the trail.
It is in the memory of Americans that the Butterfield Overland Mail lives. The postmaster’s report said of it, “...with energy, skill and perseverance the vast wilderness was first penetrated by the mail stages of the United States and the two great oceans united by the longest and most important land route ever established in any country.” This may seem like hyperbole now. But at that time, his statement was not an exaggeration.
San Francisco Call, Volume 105, Number 138, 17 April 1909
Note Discovered at one time the nearest railroad station to Lawrence, Kansas and Iola, Kansas was Warrensburg, Missouri. | <urn:uuid:ac1dc4c3-1541-40bc-a075-8569951964ec> | {
"date": "2017-10-21T08:30:34",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187824675.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20171021081004-20171021101004-00756.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9761321544647217,
"score": 2.53125,
"token_count": 2476,
"url": "https://1973whsreunion.blogspot.com/2017/03/1869-stage-coaches-between-osceola-and.html"
} |
Credit: Simon Colmer / naturepl.com
Where to find bearded tooth fungus
Bearded tooth fungus is native to Europe, Asia and North America. In the UK it’s mostly found in beech woods in southern England, with the population stronghold in the New Forest, Hampshire. It grows on the deadwood of fallen trees and on the trunks and large branches of standing trees, especially old, veteran or ancient individuals. | <urn:uuid:1ce29c0c-92f3-49ef-9147-3bb5954c11ff> | {
"date": "2019-12-11T10:09:56",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-51",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540530452.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20191211074417-20191211102417-00376.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8882984519004822,
"score": 2.625,
"token_count": 89,
"url": "https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fungi-and-lichens/bearded-tooth/"
} |
Dartmouth Engineering Student Battles Fake Drug Trade in Africa
June 10, 2008
CONTACT: Catharine Lamm
Ashifi Gogo, Ph.D. candidate at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, recently completed the first trial of a cell phone-based drug authentication service in Ghana, West Africa. The trial was implemented by mPedigree (which is now Sproxil, Inc.)—an organization co-founded by Gogo to establish drug supply chain protection systems for the developing world. mPedigree aims to fight the production and sales of counterfeit drugs by initiating similar trials of this new technology in all 48 sub-Saharan African countries in the next ten years.
"The global scourge of counterfeit drugs is primarily evident in developing nations," said Gogo. In a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in seven African nations, described Gogo, over half the sampled anti-malarial drugs failed to dissolve appropriately. Drugs that don't dissolve well are of little therapeutic use.
"Revenue obtained from fake drug merchants helps fuel the grand counterfeit drug trade—projected by WHO to reach $75 billion globally in just two years," Gogo explained. "Even the recently introduced Artemisinin-based anti-malarials have been counterfeited on a large scale, with widely cited studies asserting that over half of such drugs in South East Asia are not genuine."
Preview of "If Symptoms Persist"—a 30 min. documentary on the fake drug trade in Ghana and beyond.
Fake drugs are not only ineffective but also can increase the resistance of pathogens to first-line medications and are responsible for numerous fatalities. For example, scientists have linked the development of drug-resistant malaria parasite strains to fake anti-malarials and sub-prescribed dosages. With over a million deaths annually attributed to malaria, the humanitarian impact of more effective treatment is enormous.
As another example, 75 Haitian children are known to have died from the toxic effects of ethylene glycol that had made its way into fake anti-fever pharmaceuticals. And although statistics like these are bad enough, most analysts believe that the vast majority of counterfeit drug-related deaths and impairments go unreported and unrecorded.
mPedigree's first step in the technology trial was to code a set of genuine pharmaceuticals individually. Patients then purchased the medication, located the verification code on the packaging, and sent that code as a text message to the indicated mPedigree contact number. The response, indicating the drug's authenticity, was immediate and free of charge.
This mPedigree initiative relies on the new cost-effective mobile technology that it helped develop.
"mPedigree operates a third-world-consumer-friendly cellular-based drug authentication service that provides assurance to the general public that they are not consuming fake medication," Gogo said. "Technology, when well chosen, can allow the general populace to augment anti-counterfeit efforts by regulators and law enforcement. Developing nations should be avid innovators and the heaviest users of mature, well-priced technology, in a bid to boost development and quality of life."
The Ghana trial was a complete success. Said Gogo, "For the first time in Ghana, any drug patron can directly verify the authenticity of drugs using non-specialized equipment and techniques."
Gogo now hopes to increase the scope of mPedigree technology rollouts to include other developing nations in South Asia and South America, focusing on at-risk essential drugs such as anti-malarials and HIV medication.
Meanwhile at Dartmouth, Gogo was admitted into the nation's first doctoral-level engineering Innovation Program. As an Innovation Program Fellow, he will gain the additional entrepreneurial training along with the theoretical and technical expertise he needs to keep his initiative growing and improving.
"Society needs more than technical skill from engineering graduates today," says Joe Helble, Professor and Dean of Engineering at Dartmouth. "We need graduates with the ability to apply those skills to solve society's most pressing problems in critical areas such as energy, communications, the environment, and medicine."
"One lesson already gained," said Gogo, "is the need to complement text-based authentication methods with voice solutions. Phone models vary in access ability, so a significant part of the general populace surveyed would appreciate an easy voice-based solution." | <urn:uuid:f0d3a1fc-c8ef-4d8a-be91-bec72d47776d> | {
"date": "2014-10-23T21:17:56",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-42",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413558067648.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017150107-00263-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9566416144371033,
"score": 2.640625,
"token_count": 885,
"url": "http://www.engineering.dartmouth.edu/news/dartmouth-engineering-student-battles-fake-drug-trade-in-africa/"
} |
The book includes a complete study on the Ancient Egyptian didactic literature. All representatives of the genre and its characteristics are considered. Special attention is paid to the main concepts used in didactic literature. The different states of mind which a man should achieve in life in order to reach immortality in the netherworld are gathered and discussed. The proper behavior in society according to the teachings is discussed. The book presents also а full translation of three didactic texts – The maxims of Ptahhotep, The teaching of Ani and The teaching of Amenemope. | <urn:uuid:7e0e4c4d-8b9f-4b87-be4c-11bdfe985239> | {
"date": "2018-06-22T20:24:30",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864795.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20180622201448-20180622221448-00376.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9360097646713257,
"score": 3.046875,
"token_count": 114,
"url": "https://egyptology-bg.org/publications/emil-buzov-the-path-of-life-sofia-2011/"
} |
Donald Trump’s Mother’s Day proclamation is straight out of “The Handmaid’s Tale” reported Quartz (source). The Handmaid’s Tale is a 1985 dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. Set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian theocracy that has overthrown the United States government, the novel explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain individualism and independence. While on fiction, America under Trump & his GOP backers, including the Right Wing Evangelicals, has ushered in many back-slide American women’s had gained in recent years, under the Left and Liberal America. Meanwhile, America’s most powerful economist, Yellen, said solution for slow growth of the US economy is more working women. If women worked at the same rate as men, the US economy would be 5% bigger, according to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who cited a 2012 study. This article on Yellen by CNN is presented towards the end of this blog post. Globally, UK’s top media & research house, in 2006, summarized the situation. This article is presented also toward the end of this blog post.
On women, From the Wikipedia.
The educational gender gap in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries has been reduced over the last 30 years. Younger women today are far more likely to have completed a tertiary qualification: in 19 of the 30 OECD countries, more than twice as many women aged 25 to 34 have completed tertiary education than have women aged 55 to 64. In 21 of 27 OECD countries with comparable data, the number of women graduating from university-level programmes is equal to or exceeds that of men. 15-year-old girls tend to show much higher expectations for their careers than boys of the same age. While women account for more than half of university graduates in several OECD countries, they receive only 30% of tertiary degrees granted in science and engineering fields, and women account for only 25% to 35% of researchers in most OECD countries.
In 1992, women earned 9 percent of the PhDs awarded in engineering, but only one percent of those women became professors. In 1995, 11 percent of professors in science and engineering were women. In relation, only 311 deans of engineering schools were women, which is less than 1 percent of the total. Even in psychology, a degree in which women earn the majority of PhDs, they hold a significant amount of fewer tenured positions, roughly 19 percent in 1994.
Women are underrepresented in government in most countries. In October 2013, the global average of women in national assemblies was 22%. Suffrage is the civil right to vote. Women’s suffrage in the United States was achieved gradually, first at state and local levels, starting in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and in 1920 women in the US received universal suffrage, with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Some Western countries were slow to allow women to vote; notably Switzerland, where women gained the right to vote in federal elections in 1971, and in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden women were granted the right to vote on local issues only in 1991, when the canton was forced to do so by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland; and Liechtenstein, in 1984, through a women’s suffrage referendum.
CNN reports (source)
America’s most powerful economist, Yellen, said solution for slow growth of the US economy: More working women
If women worked at the same rate as men, the US economy would be 5% bigger, according to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who cited a 2012 study.
“We, as a country, have reaped great benefits from the increasing role that women have played in the economy,” Yellen said Friday at Brown University, her alma mater, which is celebrating 125 years of admitting female students. “But evidence suggests that barriers to women’s continued progress remain.”
Yellen shed light on the legacy and challenges faced by women in the workforce.
Her chief point: America needs better policies to encourage more women to work full careers. Sustained careers could help narrow the gender wage gap and boost growth overall.
Women working full-time still earn about 17% less than men per week, Yellen said. Even when comparing men and women in the same job positions with similar backgrounds, the wage gap is 10%.
Yellen also warned that the US is falling behind other advanced economies in Europe. The rate of working women in the US economy — known as female labor force participation — ranks 17th out of 22 advanced nations.
What’s troubling is that female participation among those who could be working has declined since 2000. Participation of “prime age” women between 25 and 54 years old is at 74.7% today, down from its peak of 77.3% in 2000, though it did make progress last year.
Male participation is much higher at 88.8%.
Yellen argued that European economies are seeing more working women due to expanded parental leave policies, increased affordability of child care and more opportunities for part-time work.
Citing research, Yellen said if the US had such workplace policies as those in Europe, female participation could jump to 82% from 74.3%.
That would boost the economy, she argued.
“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back,” Yellen said, quoting Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani advocate for women’s education and Nobel Prize winner.
“WHY can’t a woman be more like a man?” mused Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady”. Future generations might ask why a man can’t be more like a woman. In rich countries, girls now do better at school than boys, more women are getting university degrees than men are and females are filling most new jobs. Arguably, women are now the most powerful engine of global growth.
In 1950 only one-third of American women of working age had a paid job. Today two-thirds do, and women make up almost half of America’s workforce (see chart 1). Since 1950 men’s employment rate has slid by 12 percentage points, to 77%. In fact, almost everywhere more women are employed and the percentage of men with jobs has fallen—although in some countries the feminisation of the workplace still has far to go: in Italy and Japan, women’s share of jobs is still 40% or less.
The Economist reports (source)
Women and the world economy
A guide to womenomics
The future of the world economy lies increasingly in female hands
The increase in female employment in developed countries has been aided by a big shift in the type of jobs on offer. Manufacturing work, traditionally a male preserve, has declined, while jobs in services have expanded. This has reduced the demand for manual labour and put the sexes on a more equal footing.
In the developing world, too, more women now have paid jobs. In the emerging East Asian economies, for every 100 men in the labour force there are now 83 women, higher even than the average in OECD countries. Women have been particularly important to the success of Asia’s export industries, typically accounting for 60-80% of jobs in many export sectors, such as textiles and clothing.
Of course, it is misleading to talk of women’s “entry” into the workforce. Besides formal employment, women have always worked in the home, looking after children, cleaning or cooking, but because this is unpaid, it is not counted in the official statistics. To some extent, the increase in female paid employment has meant fewer hours of unpaid housework. However, the value of housework has fallen by much less than the time spent on it, because of the increased productivity afforded by dishwashers, washing machines and so forth. Paid nannies and cleaners employed by working women now also do some work that used to belong in the non-market economy.
Nevertheless, most working women are still responsible for the bulk of chores in their homes. In developed economies, women produce just under 40% of official GDP. But if the worth of housework is added (valuing the hours worked at the average wage rates of a home help or a nanny) then women probably produce slightly more than half of total output.
The increase in female employment has also accounted for a big chunk of global growth in recent decades. GDP growth can come from three sources: employing more people; using more capital per worker; or an increase in the productivity of labour and capital due to new technology, say. Since 1970 women have filled two new jobs for every one taken by a man. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that the employment of extra women has not only added more to GDP than new jobs for men but has also chipped in more than either capital investment or increased productivity. Carve up the world’s economic growth a different way and another surprising conclusion emerges: over the past decade or so, the increased employment of women in developed economies has contributed much more to global growth than China has.
Women are becoming more important in the global marketplace not just as workers, but also as consumers, entrepreneurs, managers and investors. Women have traditionally done most of the household shopping, but now they have more money of their own to spend. Surveys suggest that women make perhaps 80% of consumers’ buying decisions—from health care and homes to furniture and food.
Kathy Matsui, chief strategist at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo, has devised a basket of 115 Japanese companies that should benefit from women’s rising purchasing power and changing lives as more of them go out to work. It includes industries such as financial services as well as online retailing, beauty, clothing and prepared foods. Over the past decade the value of shares in Goldman’s basket has risen by 96%, against the Tokyo stockmarket’s rise of 13%.
Women’s share of the workforce has a limit. In America it has already stalled. But there will still be a lot of scope for women to become more productive as they make better use of their qualifications. At school, girls consistently get better grades, and in most developed countries well over half of all university degrees are now being awarded to women. In America 140 women enrol in higher education each year for every 100 men; in Sweden the number is as high as 150. (There are, however, only 90 female Japanese students for every 100 males.)
In years to come better educated women will take more of the top jobs. At present, for example, in Britain more women than men train as doctors and lawyers, but relatively few are leading surgeons or partners in law firms. The main reason why women still get paid less on average than men is not that they are paid less for the same jobs but that they tend not to climb so far up the career ladder, or they choose lower-paid occupations, such as nursing and teaching. This pattern is likely to change.
The fairer and the fitter
Making better use of women’s skills is not just a matter of fairness. Plenty of studies suggest that it is good for business, too. Women account for only 7% of directors on the world’s corporate boards—15% in America, but less than 1% in Japan. Yet a study by Catalyst, a consultancy, found that American companies with more women in senior management jobs earned a higher return on equity than those with fewer women at the top. This might be because mixed teams of men and women are better than single-sex groups at solving problems and spotting external threats. Studies have also suggested that women are often better than men at building teams and communicating.
To make men feel even worse, researchers have also concluded that women make better investors than they do. A survey by Digital Look, a British financial website, found that women consistently earn higher returns than men. A survey of American investors by Merrill Lynch examined why women were better at investing. Women were less likely to “churn” their investments; and men tended to commit too much money to single, risky ideas. Overconfidence and overtrading are a recipe for poor investment returns.
Despite their gains, women remain perhaps the world’s most under-utilised resource. Many are still excluded from paid work; many do not make best use of their skills. Take Japan, where only 57% of women work, against 65% in America (see chart 2). Greater participation by women in the labour market could help to offset the effects of an ageing, shrinking population and hence support growth. Ms Matsui reckons that if Japan raised the share of working women to American levels, it would boost annual growth by 0.3 percentage points over 20 years.
The same argument applies to continental Europe. Less than 50% of Italian women and only 55-60% of German and French women have paid jobs. But Kevin Daly, of Goldman Sachs, points out that among women aged 25-29 the participation rate in the EU (ie, the proportion of women who are in jobs or looking for them) is the same as in America. Among 55- to 59-year-olds it is only 50%, well below America’s 66%. Over time, female employment in Europe will surely rise, to the benefit of its economies.
In poor countries too, the under-utilisation of women stunts economic growth. A study last year by the World Economic Forum found a clear correlation between sex equality (measured by economic participation, education, health and political empowerment) and GDP per head. Correlation does not prove the direction of causation. But other studies also suggest that inequality between the sexes harms long-term growth.
In particular, there is strong evidence that educating girls boosts prosperity. It is probably the single best investment that can be made in the developing world. Not only are better educated women more productive, but they raise healthier, better educated children. There is huge potential to raise income per head in developing countries, where fewer girls go to school than boys. More than two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults are women.
It is sometimes argued that it is shortsighted to get more women into paid employment. The more women go out to work, it is said, the fewer children there will be and the lower growth will be in the long run. Yet the facts suggest otherwise. Chart 3 shows that countries with high female labour participation rates, such as Sweden, tend to have higher fertility rates than Germany, Italy and Japan, where fewer women work. Indeed, the decline in fertility has been greatest in several countries where female employment is low.
It seems that if higher female labour participation is supported by the right policies, it need not reduce fertility. To make full use of their national pools of female talent, governments need to remove obstacles that make it hard for women to combine work with having children. This may mean offering parental leave and child care, allowing more flexible working hours, and reforming tax and social-security systems that create disincentives for women to work.
Countries in which more women have stayed at home, namely Germany, Japan and Italy, offer less support for working mothers. This means that fewer women take or look for jobs; but it also means lower birth rates because women postpone childbearing. Japan, for example, offers little support for working mothers: only 13% of children under three attend day-care centres, compared with 54% in America and 34% in Britain.
Despite the increased economic importance of women, they could become more important still: more of them could join the labour market and more could make full use of their skills and qualifications. This would provide a sounder base for long-term growth. It would help to finance rich countries’ welfare states as populations age and it would boost incomes in the developing world. However, if women are to get out and power the global economy, it is surely only fair that men should at last do more of the housework. | <urn:uuid:0bdd74d5-aa4d-4a95-82c6-2075c4331b1b> | {
"date": "2018-02-22T14:50:53",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891814124.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20180222140814-20180222160814-00256.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9718484282493591,
"score": 2.5625,
"token_count": 3345,
"url": "https://terencewritings.wordpress.com/2017/05/15/yellen-touts-americas-women-as-solution-to-solve-slow-growth-but-trump-wants-handmaids-tale/"
} |
The world of economics is a young and not well-explored terra incognita. There is an abundance of thesis topics for economics among which the student can select the most appealing one. It is possible to conduct a full-fledged investigation with the high practical value. Economics dissertations are among the most required ones, and writing one will surely bring you a decent reputation regardless of its potential difficulty.
Else below to get acquainted with 10 fascinating facts from the world of economics.
- The practice of full-life hiring in Japan. The system of full-life hiring in Japan, when the worker stays at the same company from the first day of hiring until the last was established starting with the last century when large economical conglomerates emerged out of small manufactures. Such a type of work became totally new, and there were no similar economical models neither in Europe nor in the US. The hiring became possible due to socio mental peculiarities of the nation and the philosophy of paternalism within the corporation that is adaptable to all spheres of Japanese society.Such model contributed greatly to the development of the country as the corporation does everything possible to satisfy the needs of the workers and the employees, in return, do everything for the prosperity of the company. Such methodology is beneficial for both company and state due to the economic growth of the country.
- Pigou taxation implementation. In order to deal with the growing rate of environmental pollution, most economists offer to implement a so-called Pigou Tax on harmful emissions. The aim of this tax is to lower the negative factors from industrial activity of the companies. To avoid high taxes, companies from the entire world will develop more rational and cost-effective businesses.The companies have issued the limit for emissions quantity, and if the companies manage to fit into the limit, they can sell the remaining quota to other companies increasing their profit. However, the methodology of short-term implementation is currently in development but has a great potential.
- The Big Mac index. The economic level of the world can be estimated in hamburger, and that is not a joke. London Economist journal in the 1980s has used the term The Big Mac index as the means of purchasing capability of the world currencies. The product served as perfect indexation means due to its universality and presence in almost any country in the world. Basically, in 2001, the price was 2.5USD, and in Switzerland, it cost 3.7USD, while in Malaysia the price was only 1.2USD. As a result, in Malaysia, you can buy more burgers per dollar than in previous two countries as the country has the lowest currency rate among all.
- Shock-therapy. This is one of the numerous economic theories that is based on implementing the radical economic theories in order to take the country out of the crisis. The topic seems rather effective in terms of putting into practice as the government takes the leading part in this procedure. There is no equal position regarding its efficiency, and there are numerous groups of both opponents and supporters of the theory.
- The religion does matter. It is surprising, yet true that economics is composed not only of numbers and formulas. In some cases, even a joke can undermine the state of affairs as it happened after caricature case in Denmark when a joking picture of Muhammad was published in the magazine. The Muslim population disliked such a dishonorable treatment of the prophet so much that they started to ignore the Danish products. After half a year of such silent treatment, the gross export level of Denmark reduced by 15.5%. Until public excuses were made, the government has lost 134 million euros. The experts consider that losses were even greater as the potential investments and service sectors were not taken under thorough examination.
- The alternate labor shops existed. In 1827, there was a first alternate labor shop established in Cincinnati by the anarchist Josiah Warren. It was possible to purchase goods with 7% markup, and that was much cheaper than buying from the competitors. The customers paid for goods not with money but with an equivalent of physical labor. The standard rate was 5 kg of grain per working hour. People could pay not only for goods but also for some special services in this manner.
- The US is the prison nation. It is sad to admit, but 2.5 million of American citizens inhabit the prison cells. The number is greater than the population of Dallas, Philadelphia, and even New Mexico State. It has got 25% of the world’s imprisoned population. People have to pay the taxes for maintaining the lives of the criminals, and each of the incarcerates costs 60 thousand dollars for a year of captivity. That is the yearly salary of an average teacher.
- Being old is extremely expensive. 53% of the US population is afraid to retire as, by rough calculations, they will have to prepare quarter millions of dollars for medical expenses with all extra payments and prescriptions. People start to save money at a very early age of 40-45 years.
- Africa can become top grain producer of the world. 60% of African soil is not used for growing crops, and that is the greatest chance to invest in the horticulture sector. This approach will eliminate the unemployment as such a branch of industry will generate 8 million jobs until 2020. With proper reforms, the country can transform into the world agriculture leader.
- Beijing breaks all standards. At the moment, China is the world leader in consumption of cement and iron ore – 53% and 48% of the world resources respectively. With such a tempo of growth, till the end of 2025, China will create near 50 thousand skyscrapers that are a rough equivalent of 10 New York Cities.
The given information is only a peak of a giant iceberg that waits for the conquerors who will reveal all the secrets and bring them to the scientific society.
- Jokn V. Van Sickle Professor of Economics, Wabash College. ECONOMICS. D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.
- Kenichi Ohno. The Economic Development of Japan The Path Traveled by Japan as a Developing Country. National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies 7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8677,
- Frederick Golooba-Mutebi. Africa Rising: The Rwanda Story. Perspectives. Issue 1 February 2014 20-
- Albert Keidel. China’s Economic Fluctuations Implications for Its Rural Economy. CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE
- San Vicente Portes, Luis & Atal, Vidya. (2014). The Big Mac Index: A Shortcut To Inflation And Exchange Rate Dynamics? Price Tracking And Predictive Properties. International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER). 13. 751. 10.19030/iber.v13i4.8683.
- Davies, J.C.H. & Kuipers, Giselinde & Lewis, Paul & Martin, Rod & Oring, Elliott & Raskin, Victor. (2008). The Muhammad cartoons and humor research: A collection of essays. Humor – International Journal of Humor Research. 21. 10.1515/HUMOR.2008.001. | <urn:uuid:72a9c0a9-41fb-4d78-a155-e7d5f7ed428c> | {
"date": "2018-10-23T07:51:44",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583516117.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20181023065305-20181023090805-00216.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9426420331001282,
"score": 2.703125,
"token_count": 1477,
"url": "http://bookofacts.info/blog/10-facts-economics-dissertations-interesting-professors.html"
} |
London, June 20 : Want to shed those extra pounds? Well, all you need to do is start eating a big breakfast, according to a new study.
The study, conducted by Dr Daniela Jakubowicz from Virginia Commonwealth University, found that women who eat half of their daily calories first thing in the morning lose more weight in the long term than those who start the day with a small breakfast.
For the study, researchers compared the 'big breakfast' diet with a strict low-carb weight-loss regime.
The study was conducted with 96 obese and physically inactive women.
The low-carb diet involved 1,085 calories a day - the majority of these coming from protein and fat.
Breakfast here was the smallest meal of the day - just 290 calories, with just seven grams of carbohydrates.
Jakubowicz's 'big breakfast' diet involved more calories - 1,240 - with a lower proportion of fat and more carbohydrates and protein.
Breakfast here was 610 calories, with 58 grams of carbohydrates, while lunch and dinner were 395 and 235 calories respectively.
After four months, the strict low-carb diet caused an average weight loss of 28 pounds; the big-breakfast version cut 23 pounds.
However, eight months later, the situation reversed, with the low-carb dieters putting an average of 18 of those pounds back on, while the big breakfasters continued to lose weight, on average 16.5 pounds each.
They lost a fifth of their total body weight on average, as compared to less than 5 percent for the low-carb dieters.
Jakubowicz reported that the big breakfasters said they felt less hungry, particularly in the mornings.
"Most weight loss studies have determined that a very low carbohydrate diet is not a good method to reduce weight," BBC quoted her, as saying.
"It exacerbates the craving for carbohydrates and slows metabolism - as a result, after a short period of weight loss, there is a quick return to obesity," she added.
Jakubowicz said that the bigger breakfast helped by making people feel fuller during the day, and was healthier, because it allowed more fibre and fruit to be included.
A spokesman for the British Nutrition Foundation said that there was evidence that a king-size breakfast could help dieters.
"Research shows that eating breakfast can actually help people control their weight," she said.
"This is probably because when we don't have breakfast we're more likely to get hungry before lunch and snack on foods that are high in fat and sugar, such as biscuits, doughnuts or pastries," she added.
The findings were presented at a San Francisco conference. | <urn:uuid:85d6e345-4c20-4da1-8693-3f75223e7187> | {
"date": "2017-05-24T09:19:42",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463607806.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20170524074252-20170524094252-00637.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.971714437007904,
"score": 2.609375,
"token_count": 552,
"url": "http://www.oneindia.com/2008/06/20/eat-king-size-breakfast-shed-extra-pounds-1213960200.html"
} |
Are Books All We Have Left?
A masterful encyclopedia sums up our history and culture but raises the question of where Jewishness lies today
The genealogical lists that fill the Bible are notoriously hard going; but if you want to reflect on the strangeness and singularity of Jewish history, a good place to start is the list of generations in Genesis 11. Here are the fathers and sons who bridge the centuries between Noah and Abraham—men with names like Arpachshad, Peleg, and Serug, which are strange to the eye and on the tongue. When the name of Abram first appears in the Bible, it is in this list of names, and for an instant the context manages to defamiliarize it. We peer into an alternate reality where the syllables of Abram sound as foreign, as primordial, as Arpachshad—a world where Abram is not yet Abraham, not yet the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
In these names, we can read in very concrete terms what it meant for the Jews to be a chosen people. There is only one reason why Abraham escaped the anonymity that encloses his ancestors and contemporaries. It is that, as we read in Genesis 12, God made him a gratuitous promise: “I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you.” In token of this covenant, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham just as, two generations later, he would change Jacob’s name to Israel, “for you have striven with God.” For centuries afterward, Jacob’s progeny would refer to themselves as b’nei Yisrael and am Yisrael, thus inscribing the name of God in their own name.
It is paradoxical, then, that in their new book, Jews and Words, the Israeli novelist Amos Oz and his historian daughter Fania Oz-Salzberger see in the name B’nei Yisrael the promise of a liberation from religion. Starting in the 19th century, they argue, Jews began to conceptualize Judaism as a religion, in parallel with Christianity and Islam. But historically speaking, the word and idea of “Judaism”—in Hebrew, yahadut—have shallow roots among the Jewish people. (In the Hebrew Encyclopedia, they point out, the word “Jew” has no entry: Look it up and you will be redirected to “The People of Israel.”)
To the Ozes, the word yahadut is an ahistorical coinage, now favored by the Orthodox of Israel as a “tool for correcting the infidels.” But if you replace “the Jews” and “Judaism” with the older term “children of Israel,” they argue, you can find your way to a more capacious and potentially more secular way of thinking about what it means to belong to the Jewish people. The Children of Israel are not all those who believe in a certain creed or practice a certain set of laws; they are all those who descend (biologically or, the Ozes would insist, by culture and tradition) from the patriarchs. To be a Jew is not to practice a faith, but to belong to a nation; and you can’t forfeit membership in the nation by losing the faith.
This linguistic argument recapitulates the basic thrust of Zionism, which was largely a secularizing movement. The Zionist project was to reconceive Jewish nationhood in secular political terms; the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine was, in a way, only the symbol or capstone of this more fundamental ideological work. Yet there was always a deep paradox in this mission, which surfaces, once again, in the question of names. The inevitable name for the Jewish state, of which Amos Oz has become one of the greatest novelists, is Israel: From b’nei Yisrael and am Yisrael come medinat Yisrael. Yet the name Israel bears within it the memory of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel, and of the divine covenant. Israel could not have become Israel without God. The question that faces millions of Jews today, and that the Ozes are canvassing in their passionate book, is whether Israel can remain Israel once God has disappeared.
The title of Jews and Words suggests the answer that Oz and Oz-Salzberger have to give. “What kept the Jews going,” they write, “were the books.” From earliest times, the Torah was at the heart of Jewish identity. But with the destruction of the Temple and the kingdom of Judea, in the first century CE, words and books became the very substance of Jewish practice and belief. You could no longer offer a sacrifice in Jerusalem, but you could study the Mishnah at the beit midrash—and after the Mishnah the Talmud, and Maimonides, and the Kabbalah, and so on down the centuries. For the Ozes, initiation into Jewishness meant instruction, most often carried out from father to son, in how to read texts. “The children were made to inherit not only a faith, not only a collective fate, not only the irreversible mark of circumcision, but also the formative stamp of a library.”
Today, most Jewish children are still circumcised—though it’s possible we’re about to undergo a sea change in public attitudes toward circumcision that will make it a much more difficult choice for Jewish parents. But not all Jews inherit the same faith—they are Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, secular, atheist, indifferent. And not all of us inherit the same fate; on the contrary, the fate of Jews in America, the pressures and possibilities we face, are very different from those facing Jews in Israel. Every day it is becoming easier to imagine how those differences may one day result in a serious breach between the world’s two major Jewish communities.
What that leaves is the library. Not the contents of the library, of course—Jews today grow up with a very different reading list than our ancestors had 300 or 2,000 years ago. What the Ozes are banking on is that the very idea of libraries, of reading and writing, of textuality, are enough to sustain a coherent Jewish identity. Much of Jews and Words is devoted to an affectionate exploration of Jewish feelings toward books, writing, and the intellect in general. In the Seder’s Four Sons and the dialectic of the Talmud, the Ozes see a Jewish respect for questioning and debate. In the anxiety Jewish parents famously feel for their children, they find the key to cultural transmission: “Jewish parenting had, perhaps still has, a unique academic edge. Being a parent meant performing some level of text-based teaching.” In the bar mitzvah boy’s speech, they find the Jewish pressure to contribute something new to tradition. All these qualities persist, they argue, in modern, secular Israel, helping to explain the country’s high-tech prowess: “We are talking habits, not chromosomes.”
But it doesn’t take long for the reader of Jews and Words to realize that, if the Ozes feel confident betting on literacy to sustain Jewish continuity, it is only because they have made a large covering bet, one that they don’t fully acknowledge: a bet on Hebrew—which is also to say, on the state of Israel. The words that the Jews have had in common have always been Hebrew words—in the Torah, the Talmud, the law codes and commentaries. Whether she wants to be or not, an atheist living in Tel Aviv is the heir to all these words: She can choose to read them, and even if she doesn’t, the language and literature that surround her draw on them. Jews can be Jews on the strength of words only if those words are Jewish words, and only Hebrew is an exclusively, unquestionably Jewish tongue. “We strongly believe,” the Ozes write, “that you cannot do ‘Judaism’ without gazing deeply into the eyes of Hebrew language and civilization.”
Thanks to Eliezer ben Yehuda and all the other early Zionists who resurrected Hebrew as a language of daily life, Israelis are born with an ineradicable link to the Jewish past. Oz and Oz-Salzberger are confident that this link, combined with Jewish habits of mind and education, is enough to sustain Jewish identity. What they are really arguing, then, is that it is possible to be an atheist Israeli and still be in a meaningful sense a Jew, a member of am Yisrael. This has natural implications for Israeli politics, which the Ozes are quick to voice: They resist the imposition of religion on the secular state, and they have no interest in the West Bank just because it used to be called Judea and Samaria. On both counts, they are heirs to a long Zionist tradition. Indeed, much of what is noblest and best about Zionism can be heard in the pages of Jews and Words.
But where does this leave American Jews? Our words are not, usually, Hebrew words; they are English, part of a global language with Anglo-Saxon and Christian origins. Can we, too, trust to language and intellect to make us genuine Jews, even if we neglect Hebrew and do not keep up Jewish observance and even disbelieve in God? Jews and Words itself is an ambiguous answer to this question. It is a brief for Hebrew written in English, a book by Israelis addressed to Americans. Does this mean that Oz and Oz-Salzberger recognize the validity of English as a Jewish language, or does it, on the contrary, mean that they are sending us a message in a bottle, asking us to come home? “As long as we still have our common words, we are a community,” they write hopefully near the end of the book. But do all Jews have words in common?
That is the question that seems to motivate the great new publishing project of which Jews and Words is a herald: the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, a monumental series published by Yale University Press with support from the Posen Foundation. The Ozes’ book is published in conjunction with the first installment of this 10-volume series, which when complete will offer an anthology or source book for all of Jewish history, starting with the biblical period and ending in the 21st century. And in keeping with the focus of the Posen Foundation, and its founder Felix Posen, the series defines Jewishness broadly, with an emphasis on secular cultural achievement. Here, if anywhere, is the “formative … library” the Ozes rely on to preserve Jewishness, designed specifically for the use of American Jews, and it immediately becomes a necessary item for any serious Jewish or general-interest library to own.
The Posen Library, under the general editorship of James Young, has launched with the publication of its chronologically last volume, Volume 10, which covers the years 1973-2005. Even a quick glance through the book, which has the dimensions of an encyclopedia, is enough to show how much labor—of editing, translation, acquiring permissions—went into making it, under the direction of the volume’s editors, Deborah Dash Moore and Nurith Gertz. Here are 250 pages of fiction (mostly in the form of brief excerpts from novels and stories), and 50 pages of poetry, and 100 pages of memoirs; here are bits of plays, YA novels, essays, new liturgical works, and recipes. If you can think of a Jewish writer, he or she is almost certainly here.
There is even room in the Posen for panels from graphic novels, in the section “Popular Culture,” and reproductions of paintings and sculptures, under the rubric “Visual Culture.” At the end of the book are lists of Jewish works in other media, which cannot be captured on the page, but which form part of the Posen’s imaginary canon: films, dances, classical and popular music. Within each section, items are sorted chronologically by year, even when this means splitting a contributor’s work: Thus we meet Philip Roth in 1986, with a section of The Counterlife, and again a hundred pages later in 1997, with a chunk of American Pastoral.
The first question any reader, or editor, would ask when confronted with a “library of Jewish culture and civilization” is what counts as a Jewish work. For earlier volumes of the series, that question won’t be so difficult: Presumably there will be a lot of scripture, Talmud, liturgy, and responsa in volumes still to come. For a book that covers the last three or four decades, a time when Jewish culture is more international and more fragmented than ever before, it is a more pointed challenge. One way the Posen Library answers it is through sheer size. There is room between these covers for just about everything that anyone might consider Jewish. That includes texts that deal directly and explicitly with Jewish issues—everything from Judy Blume’s Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself, which has traumatized generations of young readers (including me) with its Hitler-fantasies, to historian Anita Shapira’s essay on Zionist models of Jewishness, to poet Marcia Falk’s pantheistic rewriting of the Shema: “Hear, O Israel—The divine abounds everywhere and dwells in everything; the many are One.”
But it also includes many items whose Jewishness could not necessarily be discerned without knowing that their creators were Jewish. This is especially true in the “Visual Culture” section, where images that “read” immediately as Jewish—a blue star of David, by Michael David, labeled “A Jew in Germany,” or Joel Otterson’s “Unorthodox Menorah”—consort with others that have nothing evidently Jewish about them—such as Laurie Simmons’ uncanny doll-diorama “Café of the Inner Mind,” or Barbara Kruger’s famous poster, “your body is a battleground.”
The very first item in Volume 10 already begins to pose the problem of what counts as a Jewish text—a page-long excerpt from Saul Bellow’s novel Humboldt’s Gift. Bellow is the greatest American Jewish novelist, and it would not be hard to find passages from his work that deal explicitly with Jewishness; perhaps Volume 9 will feature excerpts from The Victim or Herzog. But the selection the editors make, from near the beginning of Humboldt’s Gift, does not contain any Jewish references. What it does feature is the narrator Charlie Citrine’s strong sense of attachment to the dead: “Out in Chicago Humboldt became one of my significant dead. I spent far too much time mooning about and communing with the dead.”
Is that, perhaps, what makes this a Jewish text—the sense that Jews, especially after the Holocaust, are defined by their tender obsession with the dead, with the past? But then, isn’t piety toward the dead part of every human culture? In this way, the Posen Library compels the reader to start asking what parts of his experience are informed or inflected by Jewishness. If it is not Jewish to mourn, is it at least possible to mourn Jewishly? If it is not Jewish to make images, is it Jewish to make images of dolls, as Simmons does—dolls that both violate and paradoxically obey the biblical injunction against making graven images?
Once again, as in Jews and Words, the Posen Library’s answers to these questions seem to divide along the imaginary border that separates, and joins, Israel and America. There are really two narratives being told in Volume 10, starting with the decision to begin the volume with 1973. That year, as the editors note in their introduction, marks a crucial moment in the history of the State of Israel—the Yom Kippur War, which heralded a number of social and political transformations. It also marks a crucial moment in American history, with the Watergate scandal and the end of the Vietnam War. But does it have any particular significance in American Jewish history? Is it even possible to write an American Jewish history on its own terms, with its own periodization and pivotal dates? Or do all Jews necessarily live by a historical calendar determined in Israel—just as, in Jews and Words, the continuity of Jewish life is assured by the language spoken in Israel?
Certainly, it is the American Jewish texts and works in the Posen Library that ignite the most anxiety about their Jewishness. When an Israeli poet like Erez Biton writes a love poem, there does not need to be anything thematically Jewish about it for it to count as part of Jewish literature, simply because it is written in Israel and in Hebrew:
How about what you’re doing right now, Yael?
To know something about her bed, about your bed, Yael,
To know her soft thoughts in the morning instant …
Whereas when an American Jewish poet writes a similarly universal poem, the question immediately arises: Is this a Jewish poem, or an American one, or simply the expression of a basic human experience, like Ira Sadoff’s “My Father Leaving”;
When I came back, he was gone.
My mother was in the bathroom
crying, my sister in her crib
restless but asleep. The sun
was shining in the bay window,
the grass had just been cut.
No one mentioned the other woman,
nights he spent in that stranger’s house.
It is not until the end of the poem, when Sadoff writes, “But I was thirteen/ and wishing I were a man,” that we find even an echo of a Jewish reference, in this case to the bar mitzvah ceremony. It is as though Sadoff himself wanted to mark the poem, however lightly, as a Jewish poem, to ensure its double citizenship in the canons of American and Jewish literature.
What the Posen Library represents, then—at least when it deals with the near-present—is a canon defined by anxiety about whether it constitutes a canon. A certain anxiety is, perhaps, implicit in the very idea of a “Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization.” The sheer completism of the project, the desire to get everything from recipes to choreography to novels to prayers between two covers, makes the reader think of the Posen Library in apocalyptic terms, as a kind of Noah’s Ark of Jewishness. Indeed, the making of anthologies is often the sign of a civilization in crisis: Think of a figure like the seventh-century Christian bishop Isidore of Seville, whose major work (aside from his bitter polemics against Judaism) was the Etymologiae, a 20-volume compendium of everything the Roman world knew about history, which served as a time capsule against encroaching barbarism.
Or, to use a more appropriate example, think of the Mishnah—a traditionally oral body of law that was written down around 200 CE in order to preserve it through an era of Jewish dispersion and decline. It is possible to see the Posen Library as a kind of secular Mishnah, an attempt to capture the core of Jewishness in a huge but finite number of pages. The difference is that while the rabbis knew what constituted that core—it was the Oral Law, the accumulated practice of centuries—the editors of the Posen Library cannot be so sure.
On the contrary, if there is one thing they are sure about, it is that contemporary Jewishness does not reside where it has always lived before, in religious law and practice. Only a small fraction of Volume 10 is made up of texts on religious subjects; the section on “Spiritual and Religious Culture” occupies just the last 100 of the book’s 1,100 pages. Here and elsewhere in the volume there are fascinating items on how Judaism itself is practiced today; one of the most illuminating things I’ve read on contemporary Orthodoxy is Haym Soloveitchik’s essay “Rapture and Reconstruction,” in which he describes the decline of traditional practice and the rise of text-based knowledge among the Orthodox. (There are also some fairly dreary, but historically significant, denominational mission statements.)
It will be interesting to see how, and whether, this emphasis on secular Jewish culture is maintained in the earlier volumes of the Posen Library. When it comes to the period 1973–2005, the emphasis is quite understandable, even if only in demographic terms. Today, more Jews define themselves as Jews through “culture and civilization” than through Orthodox practice. Yet a culture, like a song, is made up of words and a tune; you can write down the words, but without the tune, it is impossible to know how to perform it. Likewise, it is impossible for any collection of texts, even one as superlative as the Posen Library, to recreate the experience of Jewishness in our time.
Indeed, the structure of the book acknowledges this; for as much as it includes, it is conscious of excluding a hundred times more. An anthology that includes one page of Humboldt’s Gift is effectively an invitation to read all 500 pages of Humboldt’s Gift. So too with all the single poems by prolific poets, the one scene from five-act plays, the one essay by a major intellectual. Long as it is, Volume 10 of the Posen Library is a kind of ideal reading list, pointing the way to more Jewish reading and looking and thinking than any one person could manage in a lifetime.
And even if you read it all, you would still be missing the melody, what Lionel Trilling called “the culture’s hum and buzz of implication,” which is constituted by the whole experience of living in a certain place and time. For example, most Americans, including American Jews, would surely say that comedy is one of the most important forms of Jewish expression; yet the names of Woody Allen and Jerry Seinfeld don’t appear in the index to Volume 10. In other words, there is a permanent gap between text and life, text and practice.
This gap, too, is a very familiar part of Jewish history: It is the gap that the Gemara (literally, “completion”) tried to fill for the Mishnah, as the civilization that produced the oral law grew more distant and harder to comprehend. It is tempting, then, to imagine the legions of commentary that might grow up around the Posen Library. Future readers will have to gloss words and references, and point out omissions, and explain historical background, and draw comparisons to their new world—just as the Amoraim did for the Tannaim.
The difference, of course, is that the Talmud was fuelled by the deepest kind of religious commitment—the certainty that, in expanding and exploring the Torah, the rabbis were doing God’s will. The terms in which the Posen Library is conceived are almost the opposite of this. Here we are dealing with human artifacts, with a Jewishness that is not legal and precise but cultural and diffuse. Can such a Jewishness compel the attention, and sacrifice, needed to sustain it? The Ozes, and implicitly the editors of the Posen Library, say yes; the future of more than our books depends on the answer.
Like this article? Sign up for our Daily Digest to get Tablet Magazine’s new content in your inbox each morning.
Satirist and media gadfly Henryk Broder attacks his countrymen’s attitudes toward Israel and Jews | <urn:uuid:997453ad-7892-4b47-a68f-a2ff095b4d9b> | {
"date": "2014-11-27T04:38:12",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-49",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416931007797.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20141125155647-00204-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9561187624931335,
"score": 2.734375,
"token_count": 5004,
"url": "http://tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/122975/are-books-all-we-have-left"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.