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The meter is the basic unit of length in the International System (SI). It is defined since 1983 as the distance light travels in vacuum in 1/299792458 second.
- before 1791 : the lengths were measured in reference to humans (the thumb, foot, fathom) as every human being is different, it often took as reference the King, was a strong symbol of monarchy.
- 1668 : the meter is equal to 38 inches of Prussia (John Wilkins)
- 1675 : the meter is equal to the length of a pendulum that swings with a half-period of one second
- 1791 : Academy of Sciences defines
meter meridianwhich was based on the circumference of the earth, and worth 1 /20 000 000 a meridian.
- 1799 : Creating a yardstick
platinumfrom the meter M and became the reference.
- 1889 : the International Bureau of Weights and Measures redefined the meter as the distance between two points on a bar of an alloy of platinum and iridium. This bar is always kept at the Pavillon de Breteuil in Sèvres (like the mass, the calculation of the second or UTC)
- 1960 : The 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) redefined the meter as 1 650 763.73 wavelengths of orange radiation emitted by the isotope 86 of krypton4.
- 1983 : Following the discovery of relativity, the speed of light is fixed at 299,792,458 m /s and the meter is redefined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1 /299792458 second. This is the most accurate definition for the second unit is the International System (SI) measured with the lowest uncertainty. | <urn:uuid:ad0969a5-aed3-4f09-be72-afb8b72adbca> | {
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Kenya in 1994Article Free Pass
A republic and member of the Commonwealth, Kenya is in eastern Africa, on the Indian Ocean. Area: 582,646 sq km (224,961 sq mi), including 11,230 sq km of inland water. Pop. (1994 est.): 27,450,000. Cap.: Nairobi. Monetary unit: Kenya shilling, with (Oct. 7, 1994) a free rate of 44.47 shillings to U.S. $1 (70.72 shillings = £1 sterling). President in 1994, Daniel arap Moi.
In November 1993 leading donor organizations lifted the boycott on aid to Kenya that they had imposed in order to force Pres. Daniel arap Moi to introduce a more democratic form of government. Their action was taken primarily in response to the efforts of Kenya’s finance minister, Musalia Mudavadi, and the governor of the nation’s central bank, Micah Cheserem, to root out corruption and to free trade from stultifying restrictions. This expression of goodwill was threatened in January 1994, however, when some prominent members of the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) began a campaign of vilification against Richard Leakey (see BIOGRAPHIES), head of the national wildlife service, and called for his resignation.
On a happier note, in January the government was able to reschedule $500 million of its debt to the Paris Club of creditor countries. This meant that Kenya’s debt-servicing bill would be limited in 1994 to $240 million, equal to about 25% of the projected export earnings. In March Mudavadi also announced a further relaxation of exchange controls, which, he hoped, would encourage both local and overseas investors. Exporters were to be allowed to retain all export proceeds in foreign currency instead of only 50%, as had previously been the case. In May the currency was made fully convertible for nearly all transactions, the only area then remaining subject to controls being investment in stocks and government securities by foreigners.
These measures were a singular triumph for Mudavadi, who had fought hard against the opposition of some senior party members who feared that the relaxation of controls would undermine their powers. Moreover, his policy had the backing of President Moi, who stated in a speech read on his behalf at a conference in May that frank consultation between the government and the private sector was essential to economic progress and that it was important that those two groups, as well as the donor agencies, look upon their activities as a cooperative enterprise. The conference, he added, was one of a series of steps being taken by the government to make Kenya a more attractive area for foreign investment.
Mudavadi’s path was not entirely smooth. On April 6 it was announced that the amount by which senior officials of the central bank and of the local exchange bank had successfully defrauded the central bank in 1993 was $210 million. Although action had already been taken in 1993 when the fraud was discovered, the report of the independent audit of the exchange bank was not made public, thereby encouraging the belief that senior politicians in KANU had benefited from the bank’s dealings. The extent of the fraud only served to enhance the prevailing cynicism about the conduct of government. Donor agencies, while accepting the measures taken by the government, remained concerned that with inflation at 50% and with government expenditure scarcely under control, Mudavadi might be unable to maintain his objectives.
The majority of Kenyans relied on more immediate criteria by which to judge the government’s performance, and drought, accompanied by food shortages, did little to increase their confidence. In March the government said it intended to distribute 126,385 bags of famine-relief food. The Eastern and Rift Valley provinces would be the main beneficiaries, but other provinces would also receive help.
With the death of Oginga Odinga (see OBITUARIES) on January 20, Kenya lost not only its first vice president but also a courageous and outspoken statesman.
This updates the article Kenya, history of.
Do you know anything more about this topic that you’d like to share? | <urn:uuid:1dd3eeed-1b16-4625-889b-e62d1581b871> | {
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Children’s Literature: Developmental and Literary Perspectives
Children’s books are an important bridge between adults and the world of children. In this course, we will ask questions such as: What are the purposes of literature for children? What makes a children’s book developmentally appropriate for a child of a particular age? What is important to children as they read or listen? How do children become readers? How can children’s books portray the uniqueness of a particular culture or subculture, allowing those within to see their experience reflected in books and those outside to gain insight into the lives of others? To what extent can books transcend the particularities of a given period and place? Course readings include writings about child development, works about children’s literature, and, most centrally, children’s books themselves—picture books, fairy tales, and novels for children. Class emphasis will be on books for children up to the age of about 12. Among our children’s book authors will be Margaret Wise Brown, C. S. Lewis, Katherine Paterson, Maurice Sendak, Mildred Taylor, E. B. White, and Vera B. Williams. Many different kinds of conference projects are appropriate for this course. In past years, for example, students have worked with children (and their books) in fieldwork and service-learning settings, written original work for children (sometimes illustrating it, as well), traced a theme in children’s books, explored children’s books that illuminate particular racial or ethnic experiences, or examined books that capture the challenge of various disabilities. Open to sophomores and above. Background in psychology is required. | <urn:uuid:982cfaf5-def4-4e8d-9fab-5e46992fd30b> | {
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Venus may be named for the goddess of love, but she’s a savage planet. The surface temperature reaches around 500°C (over 900°F), the atmosphere is as dense as deep ocean and the planet is permanently covered in cloud.
If humans could breathe the sulphur-laden air, it would stink of rotten eggs. We would know little of this without the Mariner 2 spacecraft, which took off from Cape Canaveral this day in 1962, and came within 35,000 kilometres (21,700 miles) of Venus on Earth's first interplanetary mission. We are toasting the spacecraft, whose last transmission was received on 3rd January 1963 and remains in heliocentric orbit, with a Cherry Marnier but you may prefer a fruity Venus in Furs or even a Venus Cocktail.
Just after 10am on 27th August 1883, the magma chamber below the volcanic island of Krakatau, in what is today Indonesia, exploded, with over 25 times the power of the biggest nuclear explosions in human history.
The sea rushed in, sucking ships towards it, and then the 850m peak collapsed, sending tidal waves at least 30 meters (100 feet) high rushing towards the coast, obliterating villages and killing at least 36,000 people. The noise of the explosion was audible over at least a third of the globe. On an island off the coast of Africa, so far away that the sound took four hours to reach there, it sounded like the "roar of heavy guns"; in Alice Springs, Australia.
So much ash was thrown up in the sky that temperatures were disrupted for five whole years, and there were pumice islands in the sea for many months. In honour of this dramatic event, and in the hope that we don't get another one for a long time, we are drinking a much-maligned but really rather fabulous 1960s favourite, the Harvey Wallbanger. | <urn:uuid:5b31071a-1471-4f25-a43f-937dfd13dd3d> | {
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Modern Foreign Languages – curriculum information
Wheeler Primary School believes that the learning of a foreign language provides a valuable social and cultural experience for our pupils. Learning another language enables the children to develop their communication and literacy skills alongside raising their awareness of our multi-lingual and multi-cultural world. At Wheeler Primary School we are learning Spanish and the sessions are delivered in both KS1 and KS2.
The aims of learning a MFL
The National Curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.
- Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say.
- Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.
- Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
By the end of each Key Stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand skills which are specified in the National Curriculum.
The delivery of Spanish within the school will be very practical, giving the children a vast range of opportunities to explore and develop their communication skills.
Within their lessons, children will be taught to:
* Listen attentively to spoken language and show understanding by joining in and responding.
* Explore the patterns and sounds of language through songs and rhymes.
* Engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others.
* Speak in sentences using familiar vocabulary.
The children will also be involved in reading and writing activities but the main focus will be developing their speaking ability in Spanish.
I think the best thing about being a Wheeler pupil is that all of the staff listen and care about you
Everyone cares for each other and that every teacher adds a little bit of fun into every lesson
The staff are really encouraging. They always help us to be the best we can be
The best thing is having someone to go to when your upset
Being at Wheeler is like being part of a family and that makes learning fun
The teachers are so supportive they help and guide you all the way through the year
Throughout my time at Wheeler, I have been given so many opportunities to experience and learn new things | <urn:uuid:6d78e46e-1f7a-4cb2-a470-8f13f32a4700> | {
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Teeth cleanings are an integral part to long term oral health. Even if you brushed and flossed every day, there are still things that can only be fixed with the use of professional dental equipment. By visiting your pediatric dentist, or in this case, Dr. Dan, you will be able to get a full cleaning to stop plaque and bacteria before they spread.
The Teeth Cleaning Process
A teeth cleaning is a simple and painless experience that goes a long way in the health of your teeth. A teeth cleaning is also where most of the diagnosing occurs. This is where the staff checks for any concerns over any gum disease or any other concerns.
This is where the teeth cleaning process begins. Your dentist or the dental hygienist will look at your jaw and ask a couple questions about whether or not you feel any discomfort or pain on a daily basis. We will then use a small mirror to check inside your mouth to look at all your teeth and gums to ensure that everything is healthy and looking good!
Plaque and Tartar Removal
Once the dentist or dental hygienist finishes checking around, they will begin cleaning up the teeth by using a dental tool called a scaler to remove the plaque and tartar on your teeth. This process allows us to remove any problem areas on the teeth that you can’t fix when you brush or floss. This happens when plaque builds up and develops to the point where brushing can’t get it off. The scraper will allow us to remove this build up before they form into cavities or anything worse.
After the plaque is removed the team will then use a special electric toothbrush along with a gritty, abrasive toothpaste that helps scrub the teeth for any remaining or lingering bacteria or tartar. This will also help smooth out the teeth which makes it harder for bacteria to collect and form plaque.
After the cleaning and polishing are complete, we will then apply a special fluoride varnish to your teeth. This fluoride will help give extra strength to your teeth’s enamel and help protect them until the next dental check up is scheduled. The process is quick and easy and because we use the varnish, once it comes in contact with saliva it hardens, allowing patients the opportunity to eat and drink immediately after the cleaning.
And then we’re done! The point of these cleanings is to give that extra layer of care that is needed for the long term health of the teeth. For those who brush and floss every day, they still need to visit the pediatric dentist. At these offices we have the expensive and effective tools and equipment that will help
Teeth Cleanings at Showtime Smiles Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry
Teeth cleanings are a relatively routine procedure for many people. If you have been listening to your dentist, then you should have been receiving these cleanings twice a year for the entirety of your life.
Well at Showtime Smiles Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry we make teeth cleanings extremely fun. At our office, we provide a movie theatre experience for our patients, complete with the darkened lights, comfortable chairs and a 240” inch screen.
Our pediatric dentist, Dr. Dan is definitely a character and one that all the kids and parents love. He is serious about providing the best care, but more importantly wants everyone to have a good time. Working with him is always a pleasure for patients as they almost feel like they are working with a friend or a fun uncle. | <urn:uuid:a38c0006-41bc-47eb-8042-3e48cd6c69e3> | {
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World Geography Questions and Answers PDF! World Geography is a very important topic for aspirants who are preparing for UPSC, State PCS and other government exams. World Geography mainly consists of Physical and Political Geography. In this article, we will provide you with "World Geography Questions and Answers PDF in Hindi & English".
World Geography Questions and Answers
- How much per cent of the land area of the earth does the continent of Africa occupy?
Answer: 20 per cent of the land area of the earth
- Of all the continents on the Earth, which continent is the most tropical?
- Africa is separated from Europe and Asia by which waterbodies?
Answer: Europe - Mediterranean Sea; Asia - The Red Sea
- Which is the highest peak in Africa?
Answer: Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 metres above sea level)
- Which lake in Africa is the source of river Nile?
Answer: Lake Victoria (Largest lake of Africa)
- On which rivers are the Dams viz. Kariba Dam, Aswan Dam, Kainji Dam situated?
Answer: Kariba Dam on the River Zambezi; Aswan Dam on the River Nile; Kainji Dam on the River Niger
- Which country of Africa is often referred to as the 'Gigantic Zoo' because of its vast variety of wildlife?
Answer: Democratic Republic of Congo
- Which river of Africa passes from / crosses the Equator twice?
Answer: River Congo
- The country of Nigeria is named after which important river?
Answer: River Niger
- Egyptian farmer is called?
- In which year, the Suez Canal was opened for voyages?
- The plateau region of South Africa is covered with grasses called 'the veld'. What is the meaning of Veld?
Answer: Veld means 'field' in the Dutch language
- What was the policy of complete segregation of the non-white people in every sphere of life - political, economic and social in South Africa known as?
Answer: Policy was known as Apartheid
- Which is the fourth largest continent of the Earth?
Answer: South America
- Which landmasses are combined known as Latin America?
Answer: South America, Central America, Mexico and the West Indies
- Name the two landlocked countries of South America?
Answer: Bolivia; Paraguay
- Which are the physical divisions of South America?
Answer: The Western Coastal Strip; The Western Mountains; The Central Plains; The Eastern Highlands
- Name the second highest mountain system of the world after the Himalayas.
Answer: The Andes
- Which is the highest active volcano in the world?
Answer: Cotopaxi in Ecuador
- Name the palm tree of Brazil which yields wax.
- Name the largest bird of prey found in South America.
- Name the two most ancient types of mammals found in South America.
Answer: Ant-eater and Armadillos
- Which grass is grown in South America which maintains the soil fertility and also its consumption fattens the cattle quickly?
- Name the three mixed races of South America.
Mestizos (People of mixed Indian and European blood)
Mulatos (People of mixed European and Black blood)
Zambo (People of mixed Black and Indian blood)
- From which redwood tree Brazil got its present name?
- Which country of South America is known as the homeland of rubber?
- In Brazil, coffee is generally grown on very large plantations which are called as?
- Which are the border countries of Argentina?
Answer: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
- Australia alongwith New Zealand and the nearby neighbouring islands is collectively known as?
- Which is the only country in the world which covers the entire continent?
- The Central lowland of Australia is spread from?
Answer: the Gulf of Carpentaria in the North to the southern shores of Australia
- Which is the highest peak of Australia?
Answer: Mt. Kosciusko
- Which are the primary physical divisions of Australia?
Answer: Western Plateau, The Central Lowland, The Eastern Highland
- Which varieties of Eucalyptus are very valuable for their timber?
Answer: Jarrah and Karri
- The temperate grasslands found in the region of Murray-Darling basin are known as?
- What is the distinct characteristic of Marsupial mammals found mainly in Australia and its neighbouring islands?
Answer: Pouch like fold of skin near stomach to carry young ones
- Name the only transcontinental railway of Australia which runs between Sydney and Perth.
Answer: Trans-Australian Railway
- The major roads in Australia are known as?
Answer: Commonwealth Highways
- Who designed the city of Canberra?
Answer: Walter Burley
- Which are the other names of Antartica?
Answer: White Continent ; A Continent for Science
- Where has India established the permanent base camp in Antarctica for conducting scientific studies?
Answer: Dakshin Gangotri
- Which range of Antartica divides the continent into almost two equal parts?
Answer: Queen Maud Range
- Name the only live volcano on Antartica.
Answer: Mount Erebus
- Which are the major physical divisions of North America?
Answer: The Canadian Shield , The Appalachian Mountains or Eastern Highlands , The Central Plains , The Western Cordilleras
- Niagara Falls is located between which two lakes?
Answer: Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
- Which is the highest mountain peak of the Western Cordilleras in North America?
Answer: Mt. Mckinley in Alaska (6187 metres above sea level)
- Which is the largest intermontane plateau of North America?
Answer: The Great Basin
- Where is the geyser Old Faithful located in North America?
Answer: Yellow Stone National Park
- When and where was the first oil well drilled in the United States?
Answer: Year-1859, in Western Pennsylvania
- Where is the world's largest railway junction?
- Which city of The United States is known as the automobile hub and is the chief production centre for the automobile industry?
- Lumbering is the most important occupation in which country of North America?
- Name the two transcontinental railway in Canada.
Answer: The Canadian Pacific Railways - Runs from St John in New Brunswick to Vancouver ;
The Canadian National Railways - From Halifax in Nova Scotia to Prince Rupert in British Columbia
- The Continent of Europe is separated from Asia by?
Answer: The Ural Mountains, The Caucasus Mountains, The Caspian Sea
- Which countries are collectively known as The Scandinavia?
Answer: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark
- Where are the seat of the Pope and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic church?
Answer: Vatican City
- Which two islands are included in the British Isles?
Islands of Ireland (Comprises of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic) ;
Great Britain (Scotland, Wales, England)
- The Northern Part of the North-Western Highlands of Europe is known as?
Answer: Fenno-Scandian Shield
- Which is the highest peak of the Alps?
Answer: Mont Blanc
- Which is the only fibre crop of Europe which is used for making linen?
- The Rhine, The Weser, The Elbe and The Danube are important rivers of Germany.
Which of the above-mentioned river flows southward?
Answer: The Danube
- Which is the richest and the biggest coal-producing area of Europe?
Answer: The Ruhr (Germany)
- Which canal connects the North Sea and the Baltic sea?
Answer: Kiel Canal
- How many times zone are there in Russia?
- Which is the highest mountain peak in Russia?
Answer: Mt Elbrus
- Which is the longest railway in the world?
Answer: The Trans-Siberian Railway
- Moscow is a port of 5 seas. Name them.
Answer: The Caspian Sea, The Black Sea, The Baltic Sea, Lake Ladoga, The Arctic Ocean
- Where is the deepest lake in the world located?
Answer: Lake Baikal is in Siberia
- Which plateau is known as the 'Roof of the World'?
Answer: Pamir Plateau
- Mention the physical divisions of the Asia.
Answer: The Northern Lowlands, The Central, MountainsThe Southern Plateau, The Great River Valleys, The Island Groups
- Where are the passes viz Khyber pass and Bolan pass located?
Answer: Khyber pass in the Hindu Kush; Bolan pass in the Kirthar
- What is Mt Everest known as in Nepalese?
- Which is the highest peak of Bhutan?
Answer: Gangkhar Puensum
- Which is the largest sandy beach in the world?
Answer: Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
- Which is the longest river of Sri Lanka?
Answer: Mahaveli Ganga
- Which are the main islands of Indonesia?
Answer: Borneo, Sumatra, Irian Jaya, Celebes, Java, Madura, Bali
- Which is the world's largest plateau?
Answer: Plateau of Tibet (Average height 4000m)
- Which are the four large islands of Japan?
Answer: Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku
- Japan is called 'Nippon'. What does it mean?
Answer: The land of the rising sun
- Which is the largest city of China?
Check other links also:
Prep Smart. Score Better. Go Gradeup. | <urn:uuid:2e9d0911-67e6-4d32-ab2d-629cf1e9eb45> | {
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Plant nutrients consist of macro and micronutrients which are generally considered by agronomists for increasing and sustaining crop yields.
However, there are non-essential elements, that under certain agroclimatic conditions, enhance plant growth by promoting several physiological processes.
Although not considered essential, these elements are said to be functional nutrients.
At times they are so important that they can be regarded agronomically essential to sustainable crop production.
Members of the grass family accumulate large amounts of Silicon and as far as they are concerned, Silicon is such an element.
The amount of Silicon that is present in most plants is very significant. It is comparable to the levels of calcium, magnesium and even phosphorus. Grasses tends to contain silicon at levels higher than any other nutrients.
Plants with severe deficiency in silicon are much weaker as compared to normal plants. The symptoms of silicon deficiency includes slower growth and development, as well as reproduction. It is also more susceptible to toxic metals, as well as attacks by viruses, diseases and insects.
Silicon is deposited as silica in the cell walls, giving structural rigidity and strength. This allows plants to better resist damage or attack that involves tissue penetration.
Since most fungal diseases require initial penetration of the outer epidermis, strengthening this protective layer will logically provide better resistance to various diseases.
Silicon accumulator crops include rice, sugarcane, maize, barley and wheat.
2. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 22(12), 1853-1903 (1999)
3. J.Chen, R.D.Caldwell, C.A.Robinson, R.Steinkamp, Let’s Put the Si back into Soil, 2001
4. JF Ma, N Yamaji, Silicon Uptake and Accumulation in higher plants, Trends in Plant Science, Vol.11 No.8 | <urn:uuid:1f3f7c6d-266a-4784-b1c9-663a22dc5491> | {
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In the first case-based class of medical school, students are asked to answer a virtual patient’s question about the development of the fetus. These students are smart and they know all about betaHcG and are anxious to showcase their knowledge of the menstrual cycle with fluctuating levels of various hormones (FSH, progesterone, etc.). Yet one question brings confusion, “How pregnant is this women?” The related question, “When does pregnancy start?” leaves the students flummoxed. Is it at conception? But how do you know when that happens? Or does implantation make more sense? It’s a great example of how detailed facts need the larger context.
The usual dating is gestational age, based on the first day of your last menstrual period. However, you can also date a pregnancy with embryological age, starting at conception.
How you date a pregnancy can depend on your perspective. My very general guideline:
- Pregnant woman is the focus = gestational age (e.g. obstetricians) 1
- Focus on embryological/fetal development = embryological age (e.g. developmental biologist) 2
But why are there two types of dates? We might need a bit of a primer on the menstrual cycle and how it relates to pregnancy.
This graphic is intentionally simple, removing all the hormones and other fun stuff. You’ll note that it says approximately day 14 and day 28. In textbooks, we often see that women have 28 day cycles and everything has a nice schedule. However, women are not textbooks and sometimes have shorter or longer cycles and/or have ovulation at slightly different times. Therefore, knowing when fertilization and conception happen can be a bit tricky. An obvious marker is the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP). Why the first day? Well, another variable is the length of menses but everyone has a first day so to be consistent, that is the marker used.
We generally use gestational age when discussing pregnancy. So when someone says that they are 8 weeks pregnant, they mean it has been 8 weeks since the first day of the LMP (last menstrual period).
But that means that the first two weeks of pregnancy has nothing happening. If you are concerned about development, you don’t start counting at week 3 but start at the time of fertilization, two weeks later. Therefore, the embryological age is generally two weeks later.
But remember, we have essentially picked gestational age as the convention for discussing pregnancy dates. If there are markers in development to suggest that the embryological age is different (for example, the fetus is 12 weeks, not 13 weeks), the gestational age is often reported to the mother. In our example, the dating would be changed to 14 weeks.
Due to the difference in these dates, we see confusion beyond medical students thinking about this for the first time. It was recently reported that Arizona had changed its abortion law to be the most restrictive – but it hadn’t. It had just joined other states in making the limit 20 weeks gestational age. Remember, this is the accepted convention for pregnancy dating – but many articles picked up on that initial two weeks of nothingness in gestational age and confused it with embryological age. Was this an example of details without understanding of the greater context? | <urn:uuid:79d4f6fa-d067-4e3b-a6fd-cd7df1d3294a> | {
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The Thrill of It All
Language of Dance & the Mechanics of Theatre
Forced Entertainment’s new show struggles to reconcile the conflict between performer and performance, using movement and sound to reveal the rusted mechanics of theatre.
Dance and theatre have a dynamic relationship. Early methods of storytelling incorporated dance as a way to express meaning and it has continued to occupy an important position in the theatrical tradition. Though dance is commonly used as a means to propel narrative and demonstrate emotions, the potential of dance within a theatrical piece is extensive. There is, for instance, a vast difference between the use of movement in the theatre of Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874 – 1940) and the role of dance and movement in the variety show format and in musical theatre. In Meyerhold’s performances, the three dimensional bodies of the actors were integrated with two dimensional sets to develop a unity between actor and set. His production of The Magnanimous Cuckold (1922) is arguably the best demonstration of this process, where Lyubov Popova (1889 – 1924) designed a machine-like structure, complete with moving parts and the actors’ performances moved in unison with the rhythms of the machine, created a pulsating whole. Although both demonstrate a type of dance or movement theatre, this use of movement is entirely different from the sort of movement that occurs within musical theatre, where dance and music are utilised under strict choreography to advance narrative and create atmosphere. Dance offers enormous flexibility in its various guises: it is representative of story, demonstrative of character and it is also, in the more abstract sense, a study into the nature of physicality, with reference to the body and its mechanics.
British theatre company, Forced Entertainment (founded 1984) manipulate these roles of dance and movement within theatre in their new show, The Thrill of It All. The production endeavours to use movement in a way that incorporates both the surface glamour of vaudevillian dance with the underlying reality of the process. It employs the variety show format but this quickly disintegrates to reveal the mechanics of theatre and the struggle of the performers in creating performance. The Thrill of It All was created though Forced Entertainment’s distinctive collaborative process and is framed and focused by Artistic Director, Tim Etchells, while Kate McIntosh worked as choreographic advisor for the piece. McIntosh is a New Zealand-born artist trained in dance and she is conscious that “dance and theatre trainings give very different perspectives on how to structure an experience and navigate meaning.” She believes that “a more in-depth research of physicality, which can come with a dance perspective, is certainly rich for developing the whole area of what is ‘unsaid’ in theatre.” Dance and movement in theatre can offer a more visceral experience than theatre based solely on text and have always been important to Forced Entertainment’s work, but The Thrill of It All demonstrates a shift in the way they emphasize movement in performance. McIntosh comments: “The performers’ physicality is one way that I can connect to a human presence escaping the more artificial layers.” The movement in the production is laboured and the exertions of the dancers reveal the humanity beneath the façade of performance.
McIntosh worked with the performers to develop the choreography but was reticent to create any real formal movement patterns for them. The choreography remains loose and skeletal with the intention of allowing the dancers freedom within the structure of the dance: “Any detectable ‘choreography’ should seem like the bones of an old shipwreck poking through the sand – half remembered dance routines that they once knew well, but which have decomposed to the bare essentials.” McIntosh explains the organic nature of the process: “Almost all of the movements I taught the group were moves I’d seen individuals create during previous improvisations.” The benefit of working this way means that the dances in the show are more than simple entertainments, or a means of advancing the story. They are demonstrations of the very process of telling a story and what this means for the performer. The performers in The Thrill of It All are visibly wearied by the physicality of the movement and the audience observe their struggle with the process. McIntosh remarks that “the performers’ relation to their own physicality is the richest element that the dance movement brings to the show.” The dancers are sweating and out of breath and the dances break down; they are human beings and the audience sees the effort required by them to fit into the mould of the show. This concept is revealing of the mechanics behind the theatre and plays with the idea of a struggle that arises between performer and performance.
The production is presented in a vaudevillian format, with nine performers in prescribed costumes; the men wear grubby white tuxedos and black wigs and the women are clothed in sequin dresses with straggly blonde wigs. These comical outfits provide a context within which the audience anticipate certain formulas and assume certain expectations from these performers. By clarifying the situation in such a way and by using a distinctive form of theatre such as the variety show, Forced Entertainment can deviate from the expected and disintegrate the production effectively. The audience knows what should be happening so when it doesn’t they immediately understand that there is something amiss.
Conflict plays a big role within the movement of the piece. The performers attempt to usurp one another and assert their position within the show. Whilst the dance pieces do operate as “numbers” in the sense of traditional musical theatre they also present an opportunity to shift the understanding of the physicality. They are not polished items but contain “a lot of human error, private enthusiasms and argumentative interactions woven into them as well.” The dances often descend into fighting and the performers manipulate the traditional expectations of dancing, “mis-using” it and exploiting it for independent agendas (such as attacking another performer). The audience observe the dances on a number of levels: on the one hand they are simple vaudevillian acts to music but they are also a means to advance the plot and a demonstration of the characters. Performers use the dances to battle for ownership of the stage and in doing so reveal much about their individual struggles for identity within these “choreographed” moves and within the cast.
To this end, Forced Entertainment also adopts voice distortion in the production. Through the use of treated-microphones, the men acquire the same deep, sonorous voice and, likewise, the women speak with a high-pitched, shrill voice. When all the performers sound the same, they are required to work harder to define themselves. This, along with the dressing of the performers in identical costumes, has the effect of increasing the level of tension and conflict. The performers have to fight harder to establish an individual presence on the stage and to assert their unique identity. The exaggeration of the gender divide with the voices also works to take the performers to the level of the grotesque, the more-than human and operates as a kind of mask. McIntosh asserts: “The voices, the wigs and the uniformity of the costumes all work to present an artificiality, which is a key part of the show.” Beneath the mask of performance the audience is offered glimpses of the characters that make up the performers. A struggle exists between the “show” and the process of creating the show, between the performers and their performance and also between the spoken narratives and the unspoken narratives.
As the show unravels the spectacle of theatre is revealed and examined. The title of the production is demonstrative of the tongue-in-cheek exposure that Forced Entertainment articulates in the piece. The audience is invited to experience the “thrill of it all” and instead becomes privy to the break-down of the set pieces and the disintegration of the theatre. The glamour of the variety show decays and cracks to reveal the reality beneath the bright surface, the relentless demands on the performers and the human existence beneath the show. As the choreography crumbles, so too does the text, with jokes ending in confusion and sentimental stories resolved in arguments. This is indeed “forced entertainment.” | <urn:uuid:1a50744a-cabc-438a-833b-13bc02e1b1a6> | {
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Science has provided vast amounts of information about the human body, but sleep, an activity that consumes roughly 30 percent of an individual’s lifetime, remains a relative mystery. However, for the past several decades, scientists have been looking closely at how and why people sleep. Estimates that 70 million Americans suffer from some type of sleep disorder has driven much of the research. Today, the rapidly expanding field of sleep science draws highly trained professionals from many fields who are searching for explanations about the nature of sleep, and solutions for people who can't seem to get enough of it.
Much of what scientists understand about sleep and its role in cognitive abilities, physical performance and overall health and immunity has been learned through doctors treating people who lose those benefits from sleep disorders. After graduating from medical school, doctors can opt to focus on sleep medicine as a specialty. They attend sleep science programs and study more than 80 sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleepwalking, narcolepsy and sleep apnea, a disorder that affects breathing during sleep. Their general medical training allows them to diagnose and treat sleep disorders according to each patient's individual health history and needs. Sleep specialists typically oversee treatment programs within hospitals, although some launch private practices and sleep clinics. Salaries for sleep medicine specialists range from $200,000 to $300,000, depending on location and experience.
Behavioral Sleep Medicine
Sleep behavioral medicine specialists treat the psychological and emotional aspects of sleep disorders. The American Psychological Association began touting behavioral sleep medicine as a practice opportunity for clinical psychologists in 2007. According to the APA, psychology plays a natural role in sleep medicine because psychological problems often trigger sleep disorders. Psychology’s emphasis on communication, evaluation and behavior modification has succeeded in treating sleep deprived patients. Certification in sleep behavioral medicine requires a doctoral degree in psychology or a health-related discipline. Candidates must also pass the American Board of Sleep Medicine certification exam. Some sleep behavioral specialists work in hospitals and independent clinics collaborating with medical sleep specialists; others incorporate treatment into individual practices. Salaries start at $60,000 to $80,000, and behavioral sleep specialists who pursue research grants can earn $130,000 annually.
Sleep scientists who choose academic careers divide their time between teaching and research. Stanford, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania are just a few of the schools throughout the country that have sleep research programs that explore sleep from different angles. Neurologists study the intricacies of brain function and chemistry during sleep and collaborate with psychiatrists who examine brain activity in relation to dreaming and consciousness. Biochemists study sleep's effect at a cellular level, which assists pathologists looking at how sleep deprivation affects the onset of diseases such as diabetes. Careers in the academic arena of sleep science require years of study pursuing doctoral degrees, but there are opportunities. Harvard alone receives more than $20 million a year for sleep research. Medical researchers earn median incomes of $76,000, and jobs are expected to increase by 36 percent by 2020.
One entry point into the field of sleep science is as a neurodiagnostic and sleep science technologist who performs tests on sleeping patients that measure brain activity, heart and nerve functions and breathing. Sleep technologists work in hospital and independent sleep centers. They generate reports used to diagnose and treat patients. They also gather patient data for sleep research. Many community colleges offer associate degrees in sleep technology that qualify graduates for certification, a requirement for many jobs. However, the University of North Carolina has launched a bachelor's degree program that may set a new educational standard for sleep technologist training. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for a medical technologist with a bachelor’s degree is $44,650.
- Harvard University: Harvard Medical School: What is Sleep?
- Blogspot: Doctor's Salaries: Sleep Medicine Physician Salaries
- American Psychological Association: Postgrad Growth Area: Behavioral Sleep Medicine
- Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine: What is Behavioral Sleep Medicine and Why Is It Needed?
- University of Wisconsin: Center for Sleep and Consciousness
- Harvard University: Faculty Research
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
- University of North Carolina Medical School: Neurodiagnostics and Sleep Science
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Medical Scientists
- Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images | <urn:uuid:e1bb508b-42ae-4e2e-96c1-3eacea3105e7> | {
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Title: Assessing urban forest effects and values, New York City's urban forest
Author: Nowak, David J.; Hoehn, Robert E., III; Crane, Daniel E.; Stevens, Jack C.; Walton, Jeffrey T.
Source: Resour. Bull. NRS-9. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 22 p.
Description: An analysis of trees in New York City reveals that this city has about 5.2 million trees with canopies that cover 20.9 percent of the area. The most common tree species are tree of heaven, black cherry, and sweetgum. The urban forest currently stores about 1.35 million tons of carbon valued at $24.9 million. In addition, these trees remove about 42,300 tons of carbon per year ($779,000 per year) and about 2,202 tons of air pollution per year ($10.6 million per year). The structural, or compensatory, value is estimated at $5.2 billion. Information on the structure and functions of the urban forest can be used to improve and augment support for urban forest management programs and to integrate urban forests within plans to improve environmental quality in the New York City area.
Keywords: urban forestry, ecosystem services, air pollution removal, carbon sequestration, tree value
View or Print this Publication (1.2 MB)
- We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
- This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
- This publication may be available in hard copy. Check the Northern Research Station web site to request a printed copy of this publication.
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Nowak, David J.; Hoehn, Robert E., III; Crane, Daniel E.; Stevens, Jack C.; Walton, Jeffrey T. 2007. Assessing urban forest effects and values, New York City''s urban forest. Resour. Bull. NRS-9. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 22 p.
Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility | <urn:uuid:eb6c55a4-39d8-4dc2-9a8d-4f3503b058af> | {
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Fostering a Positive Self-Image
What is self-image?
Self-image is the personal view, or mental picture, that we have of ourselves. Self-image is an internal dictionary that describes the characteristics of the self, including intelligent, beautiful, ugly, talented, selfish, and kind. These characteristics form a collective representation of our assets and liabilities as we see them.
How is self-image developed?
Self-image is a product of learning. Early childhood influences, such as parents and caregivers, significantly influence our self-image. They are mirrors reflecting back to us an image of ourselves. Our experiences with others such as teachers, friends, and family add to the image in the mirror. Relationships reinforce what we think and feel about ourselves.
The image we see in the mirror may be a real or distorted view of who we really are. Based on this view, we develop either a positive or a negative self-image. The strengths and weaknesses we have internalized affect how we act today. We continually take in information and evaluate ourselves in multiple domains such as physical appearance (How do I look?), performance (How am I doing?), and relationships (How important am I?). With a positive self-image, we recognize and own our assets and potentials while being realistic about our liabilities and limitations. With a negative self-image, we focus on our faults and weaknesses, distorting failure and imperfections.
Self-image is important because how we think about ourselves affects how we feel about ourselves and how we interact with others and the world around us. . A positive self-image can enhance our physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Conversely, a negative self-image can decrease our satisfaction and ability to function in these areas.
How can we create a positive self-image?
Self-image is not permanently fixed. Part of our self-image is dynamic and changing. We can learn to develop a healthier and more accurate view of ourselves, thus challenging the distortions in the mirror. Self-image change is a process occurring over a lifetime. A healthy self-image starts with learning to accept and love ourselves. It also means being accepted and loved by others.
Specific steps to foster a positive self-image
- Take a self-image inventory
- Make a list of your positive qualities
- Ask significant others to describe your positive qualities
- Define personal goals and objectives that are reasonable and measurable
- Confront thinking distortions
- Identify and explore the impact of childhood labels
- Refrain from comparing yourself to others
- Develop your strengths
- Learn to love yourself
- Give positive affirmations
- Remember that you are unique
- Remember how far you have come
What is body-image?
Body-image is part of self-image. Our body-image includes more than what we look like or how others see us. It also refers to how we think, feel, and react to our own self-perceived physical attributes. Body-image development is affected by cultural images and the influence of family, peers, and others. A positive body-image contributes to enhanced psychological adjustment (less depression, positive self worth, life satisfaction, less interpersonal anxiety, fewer eating disorders). Distortions in our thinking contribute to a negative body-image.
How can we enhance our body-image?
Body image is not fixed. Our body experiences change as we grow older, and each stage in our life is associated with body-image markers. Maintaining a positive body-image is a lifelong process.
Changing negative body-image means more than changing our body. It means changing how we think, feel, and react to our body. Weight management and surgery are two ways to alter the body. Learning to have a positive relationship with an imperfect body increases the ability to lose weight. Surgery can be a catalyst for changing how we see ourselves. Extensive outside remodeling, however, also requires extensive inside changes in body-image.
Specific steps to enhance body-image:
- Explore your personal body-image with its strengths and limitations
- Confront thinking distortions related to your body
- Challenge misleading assumptions about body appearance
- Accept and love who you are
- Be comfortable with your body
- Have positive experiences with your body
- Be a friend to your body with positive affirmations
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Building Self-Esteem: A Self-Help Guide. Accessed 11/5/2013.
- Canevello A, Crocker J. Interpersonal goals, others' regard for the self, and self-esteem: The paradoxical consequences of self-image and compassionate goals. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 2011;41(4):422-434 Accessed via lilt.ilstu.edu. Accessed 11/5/2013.
© Copyright 1995-2013 The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. All rights reserved.
Can't find the health information you’re looking for?
This information is provided by the Cleveland Clinic and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or health care provider. Please consult your health care provider for advice about a specific medical condition. This document was last reviewed on: 11/4/2013...#12942 | <urn:uuid:39d526ff-1e86-47dc-a6f6-b55201e502cb> | {
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The world is a dangerous place. The natural
habitats of birds are quite dangerous but birds living in the
wild have developed instincts through evolution within their environments
to help them to survive many of these dangers. In the captive
environment, there are many different dangers than those possibly
faced in the wild. The problem is that birds have not completely
adapted to their new captive environments and it is up to us to
help to protect them. There will be new postings to this page
on a regular basis until I can no longer think of dangerous things
(that's a long time).
RACCOONS Raccoons are very common in most
parts of North America and many other parts of the world and can
be extremely dangerous to birds housed in outdoor aviaries/caging.
Often several individuals will work together to terrify a bird
or birds in an aviary until one of the raccoons is able to grab
a toe or wingtip. Once this happens, the hapless bird is then
literally eaten through the wire. "Lucky" birds might
survive an attack missing a leg or a wing. Please do not think
that it is impossible for a raccoon to get to your outdoor cages.
Please build "raccoon-proof" cages/aviaries for any
birds housed outdoors.
ROPE Rope made from three or four intertwined
strands can be very
dangerous, even potentially lethal,
to pet birds. I personally know of four larger psittacines (three
macaws and one Eclectus Parrot that were playing with rope toys
and were able to open the stands, insert their heads between these
strands, and strangle themselves. I do not recommend rope toys for pet psittacines
OPEN TOILETS An open toilet can be very dangerous
to pet birds. Imagine seeing a drowned bird floating in a toilet.
Unfortunately, I have seen this and it was
not a pretty sight! It only took one incident for me to become
obsessive about keeping toilet lids closed.
Many people already know that
avocado can be lethal to parrots if consumed. It is not known
if it is just the flesh of the avocado and/or the pit that is
the dangerous part. I was not sure if I believed this to be true
until I saw the results of eating avocado with my own eyes several
years ago. My neighbor and I had donated a pair of African Greys
to another young man who was in our neighborhood. He loved these
birds and cared for them well. One morning he appeared on my front
porch, sobbing, with the dead male Grey and two dead Grey babies.
He hadn't even known that the birds had laid eggs nor that they
had chicks. He also had the very ill female in a small cage. I
asked him to bring me their food tray as it looked like a toxin
to me. Indeed, there was a large partially eaten avocado in the
middle of the food dish. There were scraping marks on the pit
that had been made by the birds' beaks. My young friend had given
them the avocado because he had a tree in his yard and the birds
had been consuming more food recently (feeding the chicks, of
course). Our avian veterinarian could not save the female bird
either so this was the sad end to the neighborhood breeding project!
CEILING FANS An operating ceiling fan can be extremely
dangerous to a flighted bird. When moving, the whirring blades
can be difficult to see and a bird can fly right
into the blades with serious injury or death resulting. Do not
put a bird that is capable of flying loose in a room with a
operating ceiling fan.
For the same reason that ceiling
fans are dangerous, swinging doors can cause great harm to birds.
A bird will often try to follow its owner as the owner leaves
the room. Even a bird that has clipped wings
will sometimes leap off its perch after and owner or walk along
the floor behind its owner. A bird does not understand the danger
of a swinging door can be hit or crushed as the door swings back.
I do not recommend that birds be kept in an area where there is
a swinging door.
THE SLEEPING HUMAN
BODY One of the leading causes of death
of small pet birds is the human body rolling over and crushing
the defenseless small bird while the person is sleeping.
This is a tragic way to lose your little pet.
PLEASE don't EVER sleep
with your pet bird; not even a nap. Never. Ever.
& HEATING SYSTEMS Fumes from burning Teflon
are toxic to birds! This can kill VERY rapidly.
NEVER BURN A PAN THAT IS COATED WITH TEFLON
OR OTHER NON-STICK SURFACES!
I have also heard of cases whereby a new central heating system
has emitted fumes that have killed birds. Do not accept the manufacturer's assurances that
it is safe for your birds!
I know of another case of a new
pizza stone that emitted fumes the first time it was used and
that killed a young Moluccan Cockatoo.
SELF - CLEANING
OVENS Even if the manufacturer states that
there is no teflon
in the product, the fumes from self-cleaning ovens can sometimes
be toxic or fatal to birds. To be safe, I recommend removing birds
when an oven is being cleaned
and for birds to remain out of the area for twenty-four hours.
If a bird has unclipped wings,
it can easily fly into a glass window, seriously injuring or killing
itself. I know of several cases where birds have been left partially
paralyzed as a result of such accidents. If you have large glass
windows in your home where a bird has flying access, I would recommend
clipping the bird's wings.
Never allow your
bird to chew on metal of unknown composition. Stainless steel,
aluminum, and cage bars and paint in modern bird cages is safe.
If a bird has heavy metal poisoning from ingesting heavy metals
such as lead and zine, the feces will often appear t be very dark
green or black and "tarry". This is known as melena.
and is an indication of digested blood in the gut tract.
Other symptoms of heavy
metal poisoning include lethargy, trouble standing and/or
flying, respiratory distress, vomiting, and loss of appetite.
Seeing a tarry stool from your bird is an indication that the
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The Evolution (NOT!) Times
|Published by Evidence for God from Science||
Volume 3, Number 1 September, 2002
Human Descent Descends to New Depths
Modern humans hands down winners over Neanderthals
Another critical anatomical difference has been found between Neanderthals and contemporary ancient humans. Wesley Niewoehner, an anthropologist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque has built 3D digital maps of the surfaces of the metacarpals, the bones that make up the palm of the hand, from Neanderthals and ancient humans. The shapes of the ends of the metacarpals reflect the kind of grip these creatures had. Niewhoehner's maps suggest that the smaller, slimmer hands of early modern humans were better suited to oblique grips - used when holding a complex tool with a handle, such as a hammer. Neanderthals, by comparison, were limited to grips as one has when holding a stone or baseball. Such a grip would have been powerful (you wouldn't want to shake hands with a Neanderthal), but not very dexterous. The anatomy of the Neanderthals would have prevented them from engaging in fine motor skills, such as carving and painting. The more sophisticated use of tools by early modern humans would have given them a great survival advantage over Neanderthals, possibly leading to the extinction of the Neanderthals.
Clarke, T. 2001. Relics: Early modern humans won hand over fist. Nature.
Another blow to multiregional evolutionary theory
The multiregional evolutionary theory claims that humans are descended from multiple hominid forms (Neanderthals, Homo erectus, etc.). Recently, proponents of this theory have claimed that fossils show that an archaic Homo erectus from Java shared key features with living Asians and early modern humans in Australia. Their conclusion was that Asian H. erectus passed on some of its Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA to modern Australians and Asians (Science, 12 January 2001, p. 293). A recent genetic analysis of Asians, however, explodes this theory. The study, examining more than 1000 Asian men, determined that all of these men came from one source, between 35,000 and 89,000 years ago. The study is so convincing that some multiregional evolutionists have now dropped this theory. At the annual meeting of physical anthropologists in Kansas City, Missouri, one self-described "dedicated multiregionalist," Vince Sarich of the University of California, Berkeley, admitted:
Gibbons, A. 2001. Modern Men Trace Ancestry to African Migrants. Science
Chirality still a problem for origin of life
Origin of life researchers are attempting to look for weak forces that might explain how life consists of left-handed A group of 20 different kinds of small molecules that link together in long chains to form proteins. Often referred to as the "building blocks" of proteins.amino acids and right handed sugars. Some of the "classic" mechanisms, such as circularly-polarized light from supernovae and other explosive astronomical events, have now been eliminated:
"And researchers have shown that such [circularly-polarized] light can skew chemical reactions toward producing one particular chiral molecule at the expense of its twin. But supernovae and other astronomical sources would generate both the left and right spinning forms equally and so would be unlikely to produce an imbalance in organic molecules."
Even these problems ignore the more fundamental problem of high radiation levels that would be produced by these astronomical sources that are incompatible with living organisms or even complex organic chemicals.
The weak nuclear force is the only fundamental force that is chiral in nature, producing particles that spin in one direction upon radioactive decay. Therefore, researchers are trying to find conditions that might influence the percentage of left and right enantiomers of A group of 20 different kinds of small molecules that link together in long chains to form proteins. Often referred to as the "building blocks" of proteins.amino acids formed during prebiotic conditions.
Recent experiments, using crystals, demonstrated chirality. At first glance, these experiments would seem to offer a naturalistic mechanism for chirality in living organisms. However, sources of positrons are not found in nature, so one would not have any kind of mechanisms for producing left-handed molecules, such as A group of 20 different kinds of small molecules that link together in long chains to form proteins. Often referred to as the "building blocks" of proteins.amino acids. In addition, the formation of crystals in a solution of salt is not the same as formation of enantiomers during the synthesis of chiral compounds, such as A group of 20 different kinds of small molecules that link together in long chains to form proteins. Often referred to as the "building blocks" of proteins.amino acids. The author of the original article readily admits, "Whether this is involved in the generation of chirality in A group of 20 different kinds of small molecules that link together in long chains to form proteins. Often referred to as the "building blocks" of proteins.amino acids is pure speculation."
Service, R.F. 1999. CHEMISTRY: Does Life's Handedness Come From Within? Science 286: 1282-1283.
Natural selection's most famous example, the peppered moth, based upon bad science
The "evolution" of the peppered moth, Biston betularia,
whose story is recounted in almost every textbook on evolution, now
appears to be based upon spurious data. According to the standard account,
only one version of Biston existed before the mid-19th century: a
white variety, peppered with black spots. During the Industrial Revolution
its numbers plummeted because it became easy prey for birds as it rested
on the pollution-blackened trunks of trees. In its place a mutant,
pitch-black form of the peppered moth began to thrive, as it could rest on
tree trunks without fear of being eaten. Precisely as predicted by
Darwin's theory of natural selection, this more fit mutant moth rapidly
outnumbered the white version, reaching 100 per cent levels in some
industrial areas. However, during the 1950's, naturalists discovered a
resurgence of the white variety, thought to be the result of the Clean Air
Acts. Scientists soon discovered that the white variety flourished
again well before the return of pollution-free trees, while the black type
continued to thrive in areas unaffected by industry. In addition,
experiments showed that neither variety of moth chooses resting places
best suited to its camouflage. Despite 40 years of effort, scientists have
seen only two moths ever resting on tree trunks - they never have
landed consistently on tree trunks, but hide under branches! It looks like
the evolution textbooks will have to be rewritten. Evolutionist Richard
Dawkins dismissed the new data, saying that, "nothing momentous hangs
on these experiments."
Wanted: Origin of Life Explanation
We will pay you $1.35 million for an explanation based upon scientific REALITY.
Just include the following in your answer:
Conditions of "life"
Having a harmful of bad effect.Deleterious A permanent structural alteration in DNA, consisting of either a substitution, insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases.mutation rate too high for humans
A recent study examined the A permanent structural alteration in DNA, consisting of either a substitution, insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases.mutation rate for humans. Using "conservative assumptions" the authors found that the overall A permanent structural alteration in DNA, consisting of either a substitution, insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases.mutation rates was 4.2 Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations per person per generation, with a Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious rate of 1.6. When using more realistic assumptions the overall A permanent structural alteration in DNA, consisting of either a substitution, insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases.mutation rate for humans become 6.7 with a Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious rate of 3.1. Such a high rate should have resulted in extinction of our species long ago. They stated in their conclusion:
"The Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious A permanent structural alteration in DNA, consisting of either a substitution, insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases.mutation rate appears to be so high in humans and our close relatives that it is doubtful that such species, which have low reproductive rates, could survive if Relating to a permanent structural alteration in DNA, consisting of either a substitution, insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases.mutational effects on fitness were to combine in a multiplicative way."
The authors must rely upon a rare association of Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations, termed synergistic epistasis to explain why the numerous hypothesized Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations have not overwhelmed our All the DNA contained in an organism or a cell, which includes both the chromosomes within the nucleus and the DNA in mitochondria.genome. Instead of postulating the obvious (that the human All the DNA contained in an organism or a cell, which includes both the chromosomes within the nucleus and the DNA in mitochondria.genome is not as old as evolution would teach), evolutionists again are relying upon the improbable to retain the evolutionary paradigm.
Crow, J.F. 1999. The odds of losing at genetic roulette. Nature
The Adequacy of the Fossil Record: The Gaps are Real!
The Adequacy of the Fossil Record
Evolutionists have used the excuse that the fossil record is not
complete enough to be an accurate representation of the history of life on
the Earth. A recent book, The Adequacy of the Fossil Record
(Donovan, S.K. and C.R.C. Paul, eds. 1998. The Adequacy of the Fossil
Record. Wiley, Chichester, UK), examined the fossil record in terms of
its completeness, bias (over and under representation of certain species
and groups of organisms), and stratigraphic range (its completeness for a
species over the entire history of its existence). Their conclusions were
that the fossil record is surprisingly complete, with about 10% of all
species that have ever lived being represented. There are some biases and
stratigraphic incompleteness in the fossil record, but these problems can
be estimated mathematically from the available data. There are many
examples of stratigraphic gaps in the fossil record, with these gaps being
the rule rather than the exception. In the past, it has been assumed that
the gaps represent incompleteness of the fossil record. The authors
suggest the "heretical" view that stratigraphic data should be
used to test the phylogenetic relationships between species rather than
assume that the relationships exist and that the fossil record is
Molecular clock says eutherian mammals diverged 130 million years ago - fossils indicate 65 million years ago
The molecular clock hypothesis suggests that certain orders of eutherian mammals diverge as early as 129 million years ago (Kumar, S. and S.B. Hedges. 1998. Nature 392: 917). However, the current study indicates quite clearly (from many thousands of fossils) that nearly all the placental mammalian orders appeared suddenly at the time of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, 65 million years ago. Researchers analyzed the quality of the fossil record during the late Cretaceous period, and found that there were large numbers of fossils that make it extremely unlikely that eutherian mammals existed before that time. According to Dr. Foote:
Foote, M. J.P. Hunter, C.M. Janis, and J.J. Sepkoski, Jr. 1999. Evolutionary and preservational constraints on origins of biologic groups: divergence times of eutherian mammals. Science 283: 1310-1314.
Species sorting = species extinction
Punctuated equilibrium is dependent upon the accumulation of Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations within a large population that gets "sorted" into an isolated small population that interbreeds the new Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations. A new study destroys this idea. Instead of becoming a new species, populations that suffer drastic reductions in numbers are characterized by decreased genetic variability and an accumulation of detrimental Functional and physical units of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.genes. This happens because normally Possessing two different forms of a particular gene, one inherited from each parent.heterozygous (containing 2 different Variant forms of a gene at a particular locus, or location, on a chromosome.alleles of each gene) individuals become Possessing two identical forms of a particular gene, one inherited from each parent.homozygous, due to inbreeding. As a result, detrimental, non-expressed, A genetic disorder that appears only in patients who have received two copies of a mutant gene, one from each parent.recessive Functional and physical units of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.genes become Possessing two identical forms of a particular gene, one inherited from each parent.homozygous and, therefore, are expressed, resulting in a less fit population. The study examined the effect of a 35-year population decline of greater prairie chickens on their fitness and fertility. The results showed that population decline and isolation of the prairie chicken led to decreased genetic variability, reduced egg viability (from near 100% to less than 80%), and a decline of fertility rates (from 93% to 74%). Only after human intervention (which brought in genetically diverse individuals from other areas) did the population begin to recover. This study calls into serious question the punctuated equilibrium concept of species sorting. (Soul�, M.E. and L.S. Mills. 1998. No need to isolate genetics. Science 282: 1658 and Wetermeirer, R.L., J.D. Brawn, S.A. Simpson, T.L. Esker, R.W. Jansen, J.W. Walk, E.L. Kershner, J.L. Bouzat, and K.N. Paige. 1998. Tracking the long-term decline and recovery of an isolated population. Science 282: 1695.)
One of the problems in the theories of human evolution has been the huge difference between the brain capacity of our genus (Homo) and the genus of our supposed ancestors (Australopithecus). A recent discovery of a large Australopithecine skull was anticipated to lessen the gap between the two genera. However, a recent study, using computerized tomography technology has determined that the new skull (Stw 505) has a brain capacity no larger than the size of the largest published value. However, in doing the measurements and checking their validity, the group determined that nearly all of the brain capacities of Australopithecine skulls is inflated. In reality, many Australopithecine skulls have brain capacities no larger than those of chimpanzees. Thus, there exists a huge difference between the brain capacity of the oldest Homo specimen and the largest Australopithecine skull. (Dean Falk. 1998. Hominid brain evolution: looks can be deceiving. Science 280: 1714 and Conroy, G.C., G.W. Weber, H. Seidler, P.V. Tobias, A. Kane, and B. Brunsden. 1998. Endocranial capacity in an early hominid cranium from Sterkfontein, South Africa. Science 280: 1730-1731.)
Birds Did Not Evolve From Theropod Dinosaurs!
Birds are Not Dinosaurs?
The results of the recent study show that the hands of the theropod dinosaurs are derived from digits I, II, and III, whereas the wings of birds, although they look alike in terms of structure, are derived from digits II, III, and IV. If birds were descended from the theropod dinosaurs, we would expect homologous structures to be derived from comparable regions. One could propose that bird wings were originally derived from digits I, II, and III, but later developed another fourth digit, while the first digit regressed. However, there is no fossil evidence that this ever happened (and would be extremely unlikely, since the bird wing was fully developed, even in Archaeopteryx).
The really difficult problem for the evolutionists is that the supposed link between the dinosaurs and birds is now all but gone. There are no bird-like thecodonts from which Archaeopteryx could have descended (another missing link!). Therefore, the much-touted link between dinosaurs and birds has just evaporated. For the complete story, see the article in the science section.
Other Problems with the Birds are Dinosaurs Theory
There are other problems with the "birds are dinosaurs" theory. The theropod forelimb is much smaller (relative to body size) than that of Archaeopteryx. The small "proto-wing" of the theropods is not very convincing, especially considering the rather hefty weight of these dinosaurs. The vast majority of the theropods lack the semilunate wrist bone, and have a large number of other wrist elements which have no homology to the bones of Archaeopteryx. In addition, in almost all theropods, nerve V1 exits the braincase out the side, along with several other nerves, whereas in birds, it exits out the front of the braincase, though its own hole. There is also the minor problem that the theropods appeared after the appearance of Archaeopteryx.
Coordinated Stasis - What (or Who) is Coordinating it?
A new theory of evolution (or lack thereof) has developed from recent studies of the fossil record. Previous studies have indicated species arose and remained unchanged for millions of years before becoming extinct or followed by the appearance of new species. This observation led to the theory of punctuated equilibrium. A recent report furthers this idea with the concept of "coordinated stasis," where entire communities of species remain unchanged for millions of years. These periods can be followed by periods when "upwards of 60% of species seem to be replaced over a period of a few hundred thousand years."
Neandertals are not our ancestors!
"Neanderthals were not our ancestors" - a quote from the authors of the recently published article, "Neandertal Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA Sequences and the Origin of Modern Humans" by Matthias Krings, Anne Stone, Ralf W. Schmitz, Heike Krainitzki, Mark Stoneking, and Svante P��bo.
Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny fraud rediscovered
The idea that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" (no longer
taught as a paradigm of evolution) has recently been shown to be a fraud
by its originator, Ernst Haekel. Haekel's drawings, depicting embryos at
similar stages of development, bear little resemblance to the actual
Lucy kicked out of the human family tree
The recent discovery of one of the most complete skeletons of an australopithecine since "Lucy" has cast serious doubts on the current theories of human origins. The 2.6 million year old fossil of Australopithecus africanus is indisputably arboreal, although its 3.2 million year old ancestor, "Lucy" (Australopithecus afarensis), was bipedal. In addition, James Shreeve states, "the only two known partial skeletons of Homo Habilis, the earliest member of our genus, also have more apelike body proportions." In the April 1996 annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Dr. Lee Berger stated, "One might say we are kicking Lucy out of the family tree."
- Richard Hinchliffe. 1997. EVOLUTION: The Forward March of the Bird-Dinosaurs Halted? Science 278: 596.
- A. C. Burke and A. Feduccia. October 24, 1997. Developmental Patterns and the Identification of Homologies in the Avian Hand. Science 278: 666.
- Richard A. Kerr. October 24, 1997. Does Evolutionary History Take Million-Year Breaks? Science 278: 576.
- Elizabeth Pennisi. September 5, 1997. Haeckel's Embryos: Fraud Rediscovered. Science 277: 1435.
- M. Krings, A. Stone, R. W. Schmitz, H. Krainitzki, M. Stoneking, and S. P��bo. July 11, 1997. Neandertal Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA Sequences and the Origin of Modern Humans. Cell 90: 19-30.
- Kerr, R.A. 1997. Climate-Evolution Link Weakens. Science 276: 1968.
- Sharp, P.M.. 1997. In search of molecular darwinism. Nature 385: 111-112.
- Shreeve, J. 1996. New skeleton gives path from trees to ground an odd turn. Science 272: 654.
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The types of radiation referred to in last week´s column (alpha, beta, gamma and neutron) are called ionizing radiation because of what they do to living tissue or other matter.
A gamma ray or one of the particles (alpha, beta, neutron) has enough energy to strike atoms at the cellular level and remove an electron from an atom. When this happens the atom changes chemically and can react with other atoms in a way to damage a living cell. If this happens to enough atoms in enough cells, there will be symptoms of damage such as burns and hemorrhaging.
Because alpha and beta particles are so easily stopped they usually do not present a danger to humans. However, they can be dangerous if the emitting substance is inhaled or ingested. If the material lodges in the body, the particles are stopped by the tissue´s cells and damage can be continuous.
On the other hand, scientists can take advantage of this fact to treat such problems as an overactive thyroid gland. Radioactive iodine can be injected into the patient. The iodine naturally travels to the thyroid gland and lodges there. While there, the radioactive emissions destroy cells in the gland and reduce hormone production. The iodine quickly decays to a stable state, loses its radioactive properties and is eliminated by the body.
Cancer is caused by radiation when the nuclear particles or rays damage the DNA of a cell and then, when the cell divides, the damaging change is passed on. Sometimes the change does no harm because the body naturally deals with it. At other times, the signals get scrambled and cancers and tumors grow.
The more radiation an element emits during a certain time, the more radioactive it is and the more dangerous. Scientists have developed several ways to measure radiation and turn it into meaningful numbers for comparing levels or amounts.
The rem is the most common unit used and is short for "Roentgen equivalent man." It is a way to measure radiation in terms of possible biological damage. Because most natural radiation emitters can only be measured in fractions of a rem, the millirem is a commonly seen unit of measure. It take one thousand millirems to equal one rem.
"Everyday all humans are subjected to radiation from naturally occurring radioactive materials. This is referred to as background radiation because it is everywhere and there is no way to escape it. The background radiation level for the United States varies from less than 100 to more than 200 millirems per year depending on where you live. Background in southern N.M. is about 190 millirems per year because of the mountains with their uranium and the high altitude.
Flying from coast to coast in a jet will give you a one-time dose of three to five millirems of exposure from cosmic radiation. Living in a brick house instead of a frame house will give you an additional 50 millirems of radiation per year. A visit to Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was exploded, will give you less than one millirem. Finally, living in Kerala, India will give you an average annual dosage of 1,300 millirems per year because of the radioactive sands in the area.
(NOTE: Follow this link to information on updated estimates on average radiation exposure in the U.S.)
Go to part 1 | <urn:uuid:89b29c4c-9e2c-4d64-b6d2-1108325a4a78> | {
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This practice is extremely harmful to trees. Firstly, it involves the sudden removal of a large proportion of the tree’s foliage which temporarily starves the tree of needed energy.
To compensate for the loss, the tree will promote the growth of new buds, usually from just below the stub. Homeowners may feel that this new growth represents healthy regrowth, but this is not the case. The new buds
are structurally weak and superficially anchored to the larger branch. Although very quick to grow, they can easily break in windy conditions. Thus, the original purpose of topping (pruning potentially hazardous limbs
or controlling upward growth) is defeated.
Secondly, bark that is suddenly exposed to large amounts of sunlight and heat can become scalded. This can lead to damage and often death of the limb. This again creates a potential
Thirdly, topping wounds close slowly and sometimes not at all. Insects and pathogens can therefore gain access to the tree for extended periods of time. This is a major concern if Dutch
elm disease has been spotted in the region.
Finally, topped trees are unattractive and can often contribute to a lowering of property values. | <urn:uuid:d624e7d5-17db-4b8b-9c45-392ced2ec41e> | {
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Thinking and Linking by Joanne Jacobs
From This Week in Education, a young Superman recites Tennyson’s The Eagle.
Like a class in abstract art…so easy a child could do it. Outside of mama’s pride, is their a point here?
Yes, there is a point.
It demonstrates that curriculum can be taught in different ways at different levels.
What is the appropriate age to teach Socrates’ analogy of The Cave?
The answer is, any age, but in different ways.
The Pigman is not an 8th grade book. Huck Finn in not an 11th grade book.
Nobody is too young for Tennyson. Nor too old (except maybe for James Joyce.)
The idea of what is age appropriate is a barrier–and an excuse.
Who was it, Mortimer Adler? I forget exactly who said that anything can be taught at any age if modified appropriately. (Somebody, please help me out with this.)
You can agree or disagree. It’s a theory.
But I, for one, embrace it.
When my 7th graders say they’re unable to memorize poetry, I think I’ll have this video at the ready.
No, I think it’s more than parental pride.
And you know what? Little Superman will probably never forget these lines.
And now he know more Tennyson than I do.
I think the poem is also more than just memorized syllables to little Superman. Notice how he’s doing hand motions to help illustrate the poem. He was probably taught these motions to help him remember the words, but they also help add meaning. Little Superman knows more Tennyson than I do, also. I’m more impressed by this than by some eight-year-old scoring eleventy-billion points in the latest Tony Hawk video game.
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If you’re like most Americans, you likely can’t count the number of times you’ve vowed to lose weight, increase your income, find love, or otherwise improve your life. And yet fewer and fewer people opt to make resolutions each year. While countless Americans are expected to make resolutions in 2019, fewer than 10% are expected to reach their goals. Of course, just like asking Santa for a pony or the glitziest bauble at Tiffany’s is a waste of a wish for most, many New Year’s resolutions tend to be extreme or complicated ventures that will never actually materialize. Fortunately, dreams of healthy smiles can be achievable resolutions for all with the right outlook and effort. But what are some simple but effective resolutions you can make and achieve to have a healthier smile in the new year?
Brush, Floss, and Rinse
Everyone knows the importance of brushing their teeth, but brushing alone just isn’t enough. Flossing is also important and yet, only 30% of Americans floss daily. Brushing removes stains, debris, and plaque from enamel and gums, but it doesn’t get in between teeth. The only way to do that safely at home is with dental floss. So brush twice and floss once daily. And when you’re done, rinse with a sugar-free, alcohol-free mouthwash or rinse to ensure the mouth is clean and help keep bacteria at bay.
Reduce the Sugar and Improve the Diet
Poor nutrition can weaken the immune system and lead to all sorts of oral health issues including gum disease. This is especially the case when it comes to heavy snacking and processed sugar addictions. Adjusting your diet to include plenty of natural fruits and vegetables can significantly reduce bacteria-causing decay in the mouth while promoting extra saliva and enzymes needed for healthy smiles. You can still have an occasional treat, but focusing on more healthy food options helps achieve healthy smiles and bodies.
Toss the Tobacco
Smoking has declined over 20% since 2005, but almost 38 million Americans still smoke cigarettes. And 16 million of those smokers live with some type of smoking-related disease or condition. Smokers have twice the risk of developing gum disease, and since that progresses so quickly, many long-term smokers end up with advanced stages of the condition and loose or missing teeth before they finally decide to quit. The best thing to do is not start smoking at all. But if you do smoke, decide to quit once and for all. It really can be a matter of life or death.
Visit Your Moorestown Dentist
You could change all the above issues and dental concerns can still arise. The good news is that a single visit to your Moorestown dentist can diagnose the issues, begin necessary treatment to correct or reverse the problems, clean your mouth while you’re there, and even sign off on a good bill of health for the upcoming year. Give us a call when you’re ready to regain control of your health and ring in the New Year with a healthier smile. | <urn:uuid:0f73bdfe-f001-4262-bb75-9bff9b492193> | {
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Looks at education in Germany during the Nazi period, particularly at the elite Adolf Hitler schools and the selection process, regime and curriculum there, with the aim of creating future leaders. Looks at the criteria for selecting likely youngsters from general schools and the Hitler Youth, the tough selection tests they went through and the emphasis on obedience and physical prowess or courage. Also at how they were encouraged to fight, the process of eradicating any "weaknesses" such as empathy or sympathy, and the boys' eagerness to both take part in the War and die for their country. Looks at teacher training and the curriculum in all schools, including the teaching of anti-Semitism and race theories. Includes interviews with those who were children at the time, many of whom attended an Adolf Hitler School, and archive footage. | <urn:uuid:54e76d00-219d-421b-a52e-fa5e3e005f68> | {
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For early hominid hunters, there was no greater prize than an elephant. Kill just one of those, and a tribe could eat well for days. But when the elephants suddenly disappeared, something remarkable happened: Our hominid ancestors became more intelligent.
Homo erectus was particularly fond of eating elephants, and it isn't hard to see why. Elephants are slow moving, which makes them easy to kill, and their massive size provides a large number of people with bountiful food. As a bonus, elephant meat has just the right fat-to-protein ratio to sustain humans long-term, and unlike other animals that ratio remains consistent throughout the entire year. Like the bison for 19th century American settlers, they were the perfect meat.
And, like the bison, the elephant supply didn't last forever, though it did take more than a few decades to wipe out the population. Elephants were once common in the Middle East, which hundreds of thousands of years ago was the territory of Homo erectus. At one site recently excavated by archaeologists at Tel Aviv University, elephants accounted for 60% of all animal-derived calories. But by 400,000 years, elephants had completely disappeared from the region.
That date is intriguing, because it lines right up with the recent discovery in Israel's Qesem cave of a shockingly modern human tooth that dates back to 400,000 years ago. The researchers say the two events are likely linked — the loss of the elephants made the situation untenable for Homo erectus, and any hominids that wanted to survive there had to become better adapted to hunting and eating smaller, more agile prey.
These later, more modern hominids might have evolved from or simply replaced Homo erectus, but either way, the loss of elephants is key. This lines up with the disappearance of elephants from hominid archaeological sites in Africa. There, elephants lasted a bit longer, only disappearing from the human archaeological record 200,000 years ago - just when modern humans emerged in Africa. Although elephants of course survive today, we stopped hunting them long ago.
The behavior of early Homo sapiens is similar to that observed in the Israeli cave. There's evidence of more sophisticated blade technology and the sustained use of fire, as well as more complex behaviors like food sharing. The presence of elephants, it seems, had allowed our evolutionary ancestors to coast, so to speak, and without such a ridiculously easy food source, hominids both in Africa and the Middle East had to adapt very quickly to survive.
This new finding offers some corroboration for the still controversial discovery of that 400,000 year old tooth, though we still don't know what the full implications of that tooth might be. If the tooth belonged to an incredibly ancient member of Homo sapiens, it could rewrite our evolutionary history. Alternatively - and perhaps most likely, at least based on the current balance of evidence - it represents a previously unknown hominid species that since went extinct. Either way, it appears we all have elephants, or the lack thereof, to thank for our smarts. | <urn:uuid:64d1425b-40e5-4912-86c2-e10e7c40f9e3> | {
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This is a 2017 study conducted by Dr. Kameshwar Prasad, Head of Neurology, AIIMS New Delhi. It established a direct correlation between cellphone radiation and brain cancer. According to this research, pregnant women and children were especially vulnerable to the hazardous effects of radiation. Also, cellphone use was associated with a decrease in semen quality and fertility levels. This study issued an advisory to pregnant women to minimize their cellphone usage.
The Times of India, dated March 06, 2017 (New Delhi edition).
In this research published by the National Center for Biotech Information, US scientists evaluated the health hazards of EMF exposure on reproductive health, focusing on the spontaneous abortions and congenital malformations. This study concluded that an adverse effect during the early fetal development by EMF of cell phones could conceivably result in fetal death. It concluded that on the basis of available data, the use of cell phones during pregnancy can lead to spontaneous abortions and fetal abnormalities.
National Center for Biotechnology Information, USA.
This Kaiser Permanente study appearing in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine determined that women with higher MF exposure during pregnancy had a more than threefold risk of asthma in their offspring compared with mothers whose exposure to radiation was low.
"Pregnancy is a critical developmental stage that is among those periods that are most vulnerable to the environmental exposures. These findings indicate that electromagnetic fields, from microwave ovens to countless wireless devices, could be contributing to the childhood obesity risk," said Dr. De-Kun Li, a perinatal epidemiologist with the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., and the lead author of the study.
According to Dr. De-Kun Li, EMF exposure during pregnancy could impact the fetal development, including endocrine and metabolic systems, predisposing the offspring to higher risk of obesity.
Researchers also found that low to medium exposure to electromagnetic field (EMF) was associated with about 50 percent increase in obesity risk in children while a high EMF exposure lead to an increase in obesity rates by about 84 percent.
The developing embryo, fetus and babies are more susceptible to environmental toxins of all kinds. The babies/;;; whose mothers had sustained exposure to EMF radiation had an increased risk of Leukemia, behavioural problems and hyperactivity around the age of school entry. This study recommended common sense measures to limit exposure to radiation during pregnancy, especially with respect to laptop computers, mobile phones, and other sources of EMF. | <urn:uuid:fbe275b9-2097-4ce8-a763-8facfc41237c> | {
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With filibuster reform bubbling its way up the agenda (since, let's face it, the next Republican Senate will effectively eliminate the filibuster no matter what), I thought I'd look at the question of whether current Senate dysfunction is driven by the increasing population gap between small states and large states. I took a weighted sum of the population of the largest 10% of states, and compared it to the same figure for the smallest 10% of states. For example, there were 13 states during the initial 1790 Census. So I took 100% of the population of the largest state and added it to 30% of the population of the second-largest state. Then I did the same with the two smallest states, and divided the first number by the second. If this ratio goes up, it means that the large states are growing faster than the smaller states, and that the large states' underrepresentation is getting worse.
When the colonies ratified the Constitution, Virginia and Pennsylvania had roughly twelve times the population of Delaware and Rhode Island. The large states continued to grow faster through the pre-Civil War era. Most of this growth occurred in the Northeast and Midwest. During post-Civil War reconstruction, Republicans aggressively granted statehood to prairie and mountain west states to expand their political coalition, causing the ratio to spike in 1890 with the addition of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. In the second half of the 20th century, three major events reshuffle. The addition of Alaska and Hawaii to the Union; modern air conditioning making the Sun Belt a more attractive place to live; and the decline of industrial employment in the Northeast and Midwest. Today, the large states are more underrepresented than they have been at any time in the country's history, except moments where new (usually small) states were added to the union. But the large states aren't that much more underrepresented than they were in, say, 1950.
Let's look at a slightly different number, the percentage of the U.S. population living in those large states.
This paints a much clearer picture. The large states constitute a larger and larger share of the country's population. And the situation has gotten steadily worse since 1970. It's possible that by the end of the next decade, 40% of the country's population will be represented by 10% of the members of the U.S. Senate. That is not a recipe for political sustainability. But once again, current underrepresentation is only modestly worse than it was during much of the 20th century.
In conclusion, underrepresentation of large states is bad, and it's getting worse. But because it's not dramatically worse than it's been in recent times, it is hard to say that large-state underrepresentation is the root cause of the Senate's current dysfunction. Instead, we have to look to the fact that partisan alignment now mirrors ideological alignment (which was not true in the era of Dixiecrats and liberal Northeastern Republicans), and to the decay of Senate norms that prevented the minority party from using procedural gimmicks to obstruct the majority at each and every turn. | <urn:uuid:9072db9f-dfcc-4129-885a-f3873dbcb5ed> | {
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Mechanical Proof of the Second Law of Thermodynamics Based on Volume Entropy.
In a previous work (M. Campisi. Stud. Hist. Phil. M. P. 36 (2005) 275-290) we have addressed the mechanical foundations of equilibrium thermodynamics on the basis of the Generalized Helmholtz Theorem. It was found that the volume entropy provides a good mechanical analogue of thermodynamic entropy because it satisfies the heat theorem and it is an adiabatic invariant. This property explains the ``equal'' sign in Clausius principle ($S_f \geq S_i$) in a purely mechanical way and suggests that the volume entropy might explain the ``larger than'' sign (i.e. the Law of Entropy Increase) if non adiabatic transformations were considered. Based on the principles of microscopic (quantum or classical) mechanics here we prove that, provided the initial equilibrium satisfy the natural condition of decreasing ordering of probabilities, the expectation value of the volume entropy cannot decrease for arbitrary transformations performed by some external sources of work on a insulated system. This can be regarded as a rigorous quantum mechanical proof of the Second Law. We discuss how this result relates to the Minimal Work Principle and improves over previous attempts. The natural evolution of entropy is towards larger values because the natural state of matter is at positive temperature. Actually the Law of Entropy Decrease holds in artificially prepared negative temperature systems.
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
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Actions (login required) | <urn:uuid:4646211a-0773-49ee-a623-787c675d4ba7> | {
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Glass, ceramic and cement industry uses technologies and gas in different processes, starting from raw materials melting units, to homogenization and refining after melting, up to cutting and polishing of final products.
Oxy-fuel technologies can be used to boost up production of Glass or Cement and to extend Glass melting furnace life. Large amounts of nitrogen and hydrogen which create a continuous protective and inert gas are used during the float glass production process. Acetylene is used to produce carbon lubricants on containers forming moulds. Hydrogen flames to polishing glasses and argon to improve glazing thermal insulation are some of the technologies SOL propose to their customers.
Ceramic fries, suitable for glazing and decoration of ceramic tiles, are melted into furnaces equipped with SOLmet systems to reduce environmental impacts of production and to heat-up at the right temperature raw materials.
Some of the proposed technologies are:
SOLmet burners specifically developed by SOL’s combustion technologies specialists, exploits the injection of “flat flame” to boost glass furnace production, by guarantee the best safety and efficiency standards and avoiding direct molten glass burning. Over-oxygenation of combustion air can remove cement furnace bottleneck and can allow utilization of low-quality fuels.
Specialized SOLmet application using oxygen lances are designed to supply the oxygen necessary to extend furnace life up to several months before refurbishing. This is a tailor-made solution, designed specifically for your furnace.
Onsite Production Technologies
HydroSOL, NitroSOL and OxySOL to make available medium to large quantities of hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen by producing it at the customer sit. This helps in reducing the transport cost of the gases and reduces the total cost.
Carbon Black layers:
Acetylene fed SOLmet burners are used to produce carbon black layers by injecting acetylene and low- oxygen flame into glass containers moulds.
Cryo-cooling of special concrete can keep constant the water content from concrete production site up to utilization site
Use of oxygen to revamp the basins in the water treatment solution (ECOJET) helps in increasing the dissolved oxygen content. This leads to better treatment and reduction BOD and COD content in water.
Solutions with use of Ozone for deodorization and advanced water treatment is also provided by SOL through technological partners. | <urn:uuid:09c14b4c-829b-427b-8ad2-3225b0613f57> | {
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November 29th, 2006
As it turned out, the truth lies in the middle, a possibility that was first proposed by Wright and Douglas in 1903 and popularized by George Bernard Shaw in the preface to his play The Doctor's Dilemma:
"[…] Sir Almroth Wright, following up on Metchnikoff's most suggestive biological romances, discovered that the white corpuscles or phagocytes […] do their work only when we butter the disease germs appetizingly for them with a natural sauce which Sir Almroth named opsonin […]".
Amoeba-like phagocytes are our first line of defense against microbes that enter e.g. the lungs during breathing or the skin when you fall and scratch your knee. Phagocytes can swallow microbes whole and store them in intracellular bags called phagosomes where the prey is slowly digested.
If an infection persists other cells of the immune system will mount a second line of defense and begin to secrete molecules that potently stimulate the ability of phagocytes to do their work. And among these stimulants are the humoralists' antibodies.
Following their discovery by Behring and Kisato in 1890, antibodies were found to be globular proteins comprising different classes, the most important of which is referred to as immunoglobulin G, or IgG. Our immune system produces billions of different IgG antibodies, each of which can avidly bind to another foreign molecule.
IgGs have two domains. One domain binds foreign invaders, while the other is recognized by specific receptors on the surface of phagocytes. IgG thus enhances the recognition of microbes by phagocytes and potently accelerates their engulfment. Following Sir Almroth Wright's suggestion, IgG and other phagocytosis-stimulating "sauces" are still referred to as opsonins.
In addition to "buttering" germs for phagocytosis, antibodies prevent disease by neutralizing bacterial toxins, a function that is crucial for example in the body's defense against diphtheria. Another trick up the sleeve of the immune system is the ability of phagocytes to produce their own toxins to kill microbial intruders, a process strongly enhanced when microbes are covered with antibodies.
In a paper appearing in the November 28, 2006 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences we are now describing yet another aspect of IgG's ability to promote the destruction of foreign particles. When IgG binds to receptors on phagocytes, a signal is transmitted to the cytoplasm that activates the merger of phagosomes with lysosomes, vesicles that carry enzymes required for killing and digestion of phagocytosed germs. We speculate that IgG-induced activation of the lysosome/phagosome targeting pathway is particularly important in the defense against intracellular pathogens, a group of germs that cause disease by growing inside phagocytes.
The project was led by postdoctoral fellow Vishal Trivedi with help from Shao Chong Zhang, Adam B. Castoreno, Walter Stockinger and Eugenie Shieh from Harvard/MCB and Jatin M. Vyas and Eva-Maria Frickel from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Whitehead Institute. | <urn:uuid:c63860ba-ad35-4b85-9a01-46dac075850d> | {
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Constitution Square Historic Site
- Arts, Entertainment, Attractions
- Wedding Services
- Reunion Venues
Constitution Square Historic Site was the birthplace of Kentucky's statehood. In 1776, Kentucky was still part of the frontier and a county of Virginia. The Wilderness Road, blazed by Daniel Boone, led pioneers through the Cumberland Gap and into Central Kentucky. Danville's prominent location on the Wilderness Road caused it to become a crossroad for early settlers, and a center of political activity.
By 1785, Danville was chosen as Kentucky's first seat of government, and a meetinghouse, courthouse and jail were built to administer the growing territory. Still bound to Virginia laws, though, several Danville citizens formed the political club that recognized the need for a convention to discuss statehood. Between 1784-1792, ten constitutional conventions took place at the courthouse of Constitution Square. In 1790, Kentucky delegates accepted Virginia's terms for separation from the state. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state in the union, and Isaac Shelby, a Revolutionary War hero, was named the first Governor of the Commonwealth.
A bronze statue depicting the state seal is the centerpiece in a circle of plaques dedicated to each Kentucky governor. The state insignia depicts two friends embracing, representing the motto ''United We Stand, Divided We Fall.''
- Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | <urn:uuid:fce92f73-0cc6-49a7-a587-5149355e5559> | {
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The Moon rising above the Pacific at 22:06 UTC, 4 March 2005, just three minutes before the point of closest approach during Rosetta's first Earth fly-by.
This image was recorded by Navigation Camera 1 at 12:47 UTC with an integration time of 0.02 second.
Stunning image taken by the CIVA imaging instrument on Rosetta's Philae lander just 4 minutes before closest approach at a distance of some 1000 km from Mars.
A portion of the spacecraft and one of its solar arrays are visible in nice detail. Beneath, the Mawrth Vallis region is visible on the planet’s disk. Mawrth Vallis is particularly relevant as it is one of the areas on the Martian surface where the OMEGA instrument on board ESA's Mars Express detected the presence of hydrated clay minerals - a sign that water may have flown abundantly on that region in the very early history of Mars.
The first true-colour image generated using the OSIRIS orange (red), green and blue colour filters. The image was acquired on 24 February 2007 at 19:28 CET from a distance of about 240 000 km; image resolution is about 5 km/pixel.
This picture of the Moon was taken by Rosetta’s navigation camera (NAVCAM) right after the comet chaser’s closest approach to our planet. The picture was taken at 00:10 CET on 14 November 2007, as Rosetta’s second Earth swing-by concluded, while the spacecraft was flying at a height of about 6250 km from the surface.
Asteroid Steins seen from a distance of 800 km, taken by the OSIRIS imaging system from two different perspectives. The effective diameter of the asteroid is 5 km, approximately as predicted. At the top of the asteroid (as shown in this image), a large crater, approximately 1.5-km in size, can be seen. Scientists were amazed that the asteroid survived the impact that was responsible for the crater.
Anaglyph image of Steins, taken around the time of Rosetta's closest approach to Steins on 5 September 2008.
Image of the Earth acquired with the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera from a distance of 633 000 km on 12 November 2009 at 13:28 CET.
The resolution is 12 km/pixel.
The image is part of a sequence of images taken every hour through one full rotation (24 hours).
Three images with an orange, green, and blue filter were combined to create this one. The illuminated crescent is centered roughly around the South Pole (South at the bottom of the image). The outline of Antarctica is visible under the clouds that form the striking south-polar vortex. Pack ice in front of the coastline with its strong spectacular reflection is the cause for the very bright spots on the image.
During its third and final flyby of Earth on 13 November 2009, Rosetta imaged this anticyclone over the South Pacific.
The image was taken by Rosetta’s camera at 05:48 GMT and this false-colour composite was generated from the orange, green and blue filters.
The closest approach was at exactly 07:45:40 GMT, as Rosetta passed just south of the Indonesian island of Java, at an altitude of 2481 km.
Rosetta previously visited Earth in March 2005 and November 2007, and Mars in February 2007. Each planetary flyby gave Rosetta a gravity ‘kick’ to place it on the correct trajectory to reach comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in May 2014.
Rosetta will make the most detailed study of a comet ever attempted. It will release its Philae lander to analyse the surface, and will escort the comet on its journey through the inner Solar System, measuring the increase in activity as the icy surface is warmed up by the Sun.
Lutetia at Closest approach.
At a distance of 36000km the OSIRIS Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) took this image catching the planet Saturn in the background.
Zoom in on a possible landslide and boulders at the highest resolution. | <urn:uuid:b321b4b2-cb81-4346-bda5-14cf4d68a614> | {
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There are two remaining stereotypes that I’d like to address. First, that the Indians from San Joaquin County area were nothing special.
It is remarkable enough that the ancestors of the Native people from what is now San Joaquin County settled this area perhaps thirteen thousand years ago and developed lifeways suited to a new and changing . . . → Read More: Stereotypes of Native People in San Joaquin County, Part 3
American educators and the mainstream media have depicted the Native peoples of California—especially in the Central Valley—as passive, weak, and disinclined to defend their homelands. Americans tend to put the warrior Indians of the Great Plains on a pedestal, even though their cultures developed after Europeans reintroduced the horse to the New World. California Indians had . . . → Read More: Stereotypes of Native People in San Joaquin County, Part 2 | <urn:uuid:a21c165e-99c4-4a15-aaab-a097b539ee15> | {
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6 Things In Your Home That Can Cause Cancer
Could you be using, or even consuming, cancer-causing chemicals?
Consumer health groups have studied many household products and warned that they contain carcinogens, or ingredients known to cause cancer.
Here are the prime products to send packing, along with safer replacements to substitute:
Pots, pans, and other cookware made with a nonstick coating (Teflon) have been controversial for many years. The main chemical in nonstick coatings is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is known to cause cancer.
The question has been whether enough PFOA gets into the human body from pans to pose a risk. Some experts believe that PFOA and as many as 15 other chemicals can be released when cooking with these coatings, particularly at high heat. Other concerns involve whether the chemicals can get into food once the surface becomes scratched and nicked over time.
The EPA has called on manufacturers to phase out PFOA, but it hasn’t happened yet.
The takeaway: Don’t use nonstick pans to cook foods over 300 degrees, and toss them when the coating gets scratched.
Safer substitute: Glass, cast iron, copper, and ceramic or porcelain-coated pans are all safe. There are also lines of nonstick cookware made with other surface coatings (often ceramic, titanium, or both) that are PFOA-free.
Your makeup bag and medicine cabinet may be hazardous to your health, containing chemicals that are known carcinogens. Philip Landrigan, dean of Global Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, advises avoiding the “dirty dozen” toxic chemicals in skin care listed in National Geographic’s Green Guide, including:
- Coal tar
- Petroleum distillates
According to Landrigan, chemicals belonging to a class called phthalates are among the biggest culprits in beauty products because they mimic the action of our natural hormones. Phthalates such as dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and diethyl phthalate (DEP) are used in beauty products as “plasticizers,” to harden nail polish, help hair spray adhere to the hair, and fix scent in perfumes. Phthalates are also found in the flexible plastic bottles in which shampoo, lotion, and other beauty products are stored, and they can leach into the contents.
Another of the worst offenders is lipstick, which may contain lead, known to cause numerous health problems, including cancer. In response to a public health effort by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the FDA recently conducted two separate investigations testing lipsticks for lead, and the results were pretty scary. Lead was detected in every single one of the lipsticks tested, and not in small amounts. The first FDA test revealed lead levels up to 3.06 ppm (parts per million), and the second test found lead levels up to 7.19 ppm.
Lastly, be aware that beauty labels are not always honest. In one recent study, keratin-based hair straighteners labeled “formaldehyde-free” were found to contain formaldehyde. While the levels found were fairly low, stylists are at risk because of repeated exposure.
Safer substitute: The generic term “fragrance” can cover a lot of chemical additives; choose fragrance-free products or fragrances made from botanical ingredients. Natural skin care and beauty companies sell natural and organic skin care lines that list their ingredients transparently and are free of phthalates, heavy metals such as lead, and other toxic chemicals.
BPA, or bisphenol A, has been in the headlines endlessly the past couple of years, but that doesn’t mean we know what to do about it, since the news has been both alarmist and confusing. Here’s the lowdown: BPA is a phthalate and a synthetic estrogen linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and heart disease.
In 2010, the President’s Cancer Panel recommended that consumers not use water bottles and other containers made with BPA and urged that the ingredient be removed from commercial production, but that has happened in only a handful of states. Still, BPA-free bottles are now manufactured by all of the major bottle manufacturers, and BPA-free bottles are fast becoming the norm, at least where they are available.
Unfortunately, BPA has been much slower to phase out in other products, such as the lining of cans. Because BPA can react with the metal of the cans, and cans are heated as they’re sterilized, canned food is “high risk” for BPA.
Another ingredient used to make plastics more pliable is diethylhexyl adipate (DEHA), which is also classified as a possible carcinogen. DEHA is in almost all plastic wraps and has properties similar to phthalates, like BPA. Unlike BPA, it has yet to be phased out of most products.
Heating plastic does make it more likely that any chemicals contained in it will be released into food, so do not microwave food in any plastic container, and don’t cover bowls and other containers with plastic wrap when heating.
Safer substitute: Look for “BPA-free” on labels. Use metal water bottles when you’re out, a filtered water pitcher when you’re home. Or get a built-in filter attachment for your faucet. Microwave food in glass or ceramic containers.
Garden & Lawn Chemicals
Several common ingredients in pesticides and weed killers have been linked with cancer and Parkinson’s. A 2009 study found a higher incidence of brain cancer in children whose parents had extensive prior exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, either at home or at work.
The researchers identified the pesticides and herbicides classified by the EPA as probable or possible human carcinogens (including chlordane, heptachlor, tetrachlorvinphos, carbaryl, propoxur, lindane, dichlorvos, phosmet, and permethrin) as the likely toxins responsible the children’s cancer.
Parkinson’s is also being studied for links to pesticide exposure. One study found that people diagnosed with Parkinson’s are more than twice as likely to report pesticide exposure than people… | <urn:uuid:4a34e355-5a6a-41c8-a051-2b1ad5b892bf> | {
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Posted by Joe R. Ellis on 2013-09-02 08:54:48
|Canadian River water is rapidly disapearing duue to increased population, big business, and lack of concern and understanding by the general public.|
Lake Meridith, north of Amarillo Texas a once premier Walleye and Bass factory is almost devoid of fish. This large reservoir was at one time more than 100 feet deep. It is now at 28 feet and dropping. There is tlk that this dam could be removed in the future. Amarillo used and misused the water until it is gone forever and now draws their water from wells. The under ground aquifer now drops at 4 feet per year.
One hundred miles up river is Ute Reservoir (my home lake). Twenty feet low at this time it will soon lose a great amount of water to a 560 million water project that will pipe this liquid to the cities of Clovis and Portales New Mexico. Large dairies, increased crop growth to feed cattle and grow corn for Ethenol, increasing population and a huge air base are the culprit. Their water supply at this time is also an aquifer, dropping 3 feet a year it has less than 50 feet left.
Fifty miles up river is Conchas Dam . Built in the 1940s as a WPA project the once proud and beautiful lake over 100 feet deep now sit at 50 feet. Due to climate change and lack of snow in the mountains water hass only came into the lake twice in four years. The only savior to the lake at this time is that the level is to low to draw irrigation water from but evaporation still takes it's toll. A plan by the irrigation company in conjunction with the Corps of Engineers to dredge the out take and install pumps for further irrigation could take more water in the future.
In this part of the west it is like the auctioners last call, "Water, Going, Going, Gone.
Post a Followup: | <urn:uuid:670aaefc-15e2-4a34-ba51-13bf07bf7eef> | {
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> Hatto von Aquitanien wrote: >> Virgil wrote: >> >> >>>If the technicalities of set theory were as easy to learn as Russell >>>seems to think it ought to be then everyone would learn it in grade >>>school. In fact, it, like many specialities, usually takes years of >>>study for one to become really good at it. >> >> >> A good number of people can master concepts of mathematics sufficiently >> to solve difficult problems in, say, fluid mechanics without much grasp >> of set >> theory. That makes me wonder if set theory really is fundamental to >> mathematics. I ask what it is that underlies the pragmatic application >> of >> sophisticated mathematics. What are the intuitive assumptions these >> people >> have made, and how are they manipulating ideas? I believe what I'm >> asking is, what are the anthropological foundations of mathematics? > > I have (tried) working in fluid dynamics for a number of years, and > certainly some sort of naive set theory is indispensible.
I believe that it is vital to have an understanding of sets to the extent of knowing what a Ven diagram is, as well as what intersections, unions, complements, etc., are. But do I really need
1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+1=4,... or even 1,2,3,... seems more useful to me.
> I already > indicated this in another post where I talked about problems in showing > which differential equations have unique solutions and which don't. > Basically anything beyond numerical simulations or solving simple > laminar flows requires sophisticated techniques that involve objects > much more abstract than the real numbers (namely things like measure > spaces and Besov spaces and things like that). A good example is the > result of Caffarelli, Kohn and Nirenberg which looks at the maximal > possible Hausdorff dimension of the set of singularities in the solution > to the Navier-Stokes equation.
Does any of that involve transfinite induction? -- Nil conscire sibi | <urn:uuid:47db77ab-013b-490b-add5-68a0f053e0c5> | {
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By: Ahmad Al-Tayar
Daily expenses in Ramadan have become one of the greatest economic challenges faced by Yemeni families each year. Families are used to spending in Ramadan double the amounts they spend during other months. Moreover, although Ramadan is still several days away, more than 3 million families are already growing concerned about their upcoming daily expenditure, especially given Yemen’s sluggish economic growth.
According to economic experts, Yemeni families spend more than YR 400 billion every Ramadan, averaging YR 120.000 per family. Economics expert Ali Fadhl Taha stated that the heightened spending levels can be attributed to increased consumption of Ramadan-related goods, including meat, fruit, nuts and sweets. Ramadan habits and traditions involving holiday eating are spread down family lines, and these traditions keeps families buying a wide range of goods at high prices every year. Experts have noted that people of low income are struggling to keep up with the expenses of Ramadan. “Families in Yemen inherited harmful habits of extreme consumption of comestibles during Ramadan, which seriously increases financial burdens on Yemeni families,” added experts. Moreover, families start preparing for Ramadan during the month of Sha’aban, as they are aware that Ramadan requires a variety of goods. These traditions, transplanted from generation to generation, are difficult to eradicate.
Families usually admit to the high level of expenses during Ramadan, declaring that they can overcome it through savings and social integration. A survey taken on the Ramadan spending by family clearly shows the effects of Ramadan expenditures. “The level of spending increases by 35% during Ramadan, and 15% of families are forced to sell pieces of furniture to cover the expenses,” noted the survey. Furthermore, 46% of families depend on the bonuses they receive before Ramadan and 46% of families begin saving prior to Ramadan in order to prepare for the month.
The survey further noted that YR 60.000 is not enough to make sufficient preparations for Ramadan, especially for those families in lower income brackets, such as teachers. Teacher Fadhl Al-Shahari says he starts worrying about Ramadan very early, as he knows that there are significant expenses he will need to make for his family.
The suffering is almost limited to those who have low income, for whom Ramadan’s high prices provide the greatest burden. Mohammed Taha says that although the prices are not increasing, they are still financially disastrous to those of low income.
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SPRINGFIELD – The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is taking the lead in educating Illinois residents to practice safe cooking habits to prevent home fire tragedies. Unattended cooking continues to be a top cause of home fires and injuries since 1990. Since 2011, cooking fires have ranked second as the cause of home fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
“While the numbers are decreasing, it continues to be our commitment to remind residents about the potential dangers of leaving cooking unattended,” said State Fire Marshal Larry Matkaitis. “With working parents, more underage children and teens are cooking their own meals, which could present some dangers if children are not well trained to follow basic safety tips.”
According to statistics from the National Fire Incident Reporting System, more than 5,200 cooking related fires were reported in Illinois between 2010 and 2012. Those fires resulted in the death of 40 civilians, 337 injuries and a total dollar loss of close to $78 million.
In 2011, an estimated 156,300 home fires linked to cooking were reported in the U.S. Those fires caused 470 deaths, 5,390 injuries and about $1.0 billion in direct property damage.
OSFM recommends the following safety tips to avoid cooking fires:
• Stay in the kitchen while you are cooking, frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you have to leave the kitchen for a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• Remain in the home while simmering, baking, roasting or boiling food.
• For a safer cooking time, use a timer if necessary.
• Keep anything that can catch fire away from your stovetop, such as oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains. Wear short sleeves or tight fitting clothes while cooking to prevent burns.
• Keep a lid nearby when you are cooking to smother small grease fires, then turn off the stovetop and leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
In case of a cooking fire:
• Get out of the house, and stay out.
• Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number after getting out of the house.
• For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
For more information about cooking safety tips please visit www.sfm.illinois.gov or www.nfpa.org. | <urn:uuid:ffb3cd86-46a9-4864-8545-064f3b5afb64> | {
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Water scarcity is a top global risk
By KIMBERLY DAVIS
“A single processed pizza uses 300 gallons of water,” stated Sandra Postel of National Geographic at the April 25 Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) Green Festival.
This small, but compelling and relatable example captured the theme of the festival, We are all downstream. The diverse group of students and guests in attendance also visited the booths of participating vendors and employers that are active in the “green space”, and many watched a screening of the important recent film about marine pollution, Plastic Oceans.
“Clearly, we need to figure out how we can live happy, healthy, productive lives, while shrinking our water footprint, just as we are doing with our carbon footprint,” Postel added.
A crisis of the world’s own making
The World Economic Forum is sounding the alarm – water crises are the top global risk over the next decade. Competition for this essential and highly localized resource is aggravating geopolitical conflict in already stressed environments.
While this unsustainable use of water has been clear for some time, climate change is accelerating the water scarcity challenge. Watershed equilibrium is shifting, due to the increase in precipitation as rain, instead of being stored as snow and released during spring melts. In addition, there are fewer but more intense storms. Rainfall patterns are shifting geographically, and areas affected by drought spawn mega-fires that further alter runoff and watersheds. Meanwhile, the pressure is on to pump groundwater to meet domestic, agricultural, and industrial needs, in some areas to the point of depletion.
Because one tenth of the world’s population still lacks access to clean water, countries around the world are facing increased challenges in water supply planning for both volume and purity, clearly a critical issue for public health and safety.
But it is not viable policy to only increase supply to meet increased demand; the demand side of water use must also be managed.
Currents of change
In this context, it is encouraging to see many leaders, professionals, and consumers working on water planning, across disciplines and across the globe. Just as agriculture is seeking to produce “more crop per drop”, businesses are increasingly applying the principle of water use efficiency, up and down the supply chain. Once one acknowledges the supply chain risks posed by water scarcity, there is clearly a business case for investing in water efficiency.
Companies are figuring out how to work with nature to return water to the area it was taken from, not just moving it further and further downstream.
And most importantly, they are better calibrating the use of water to the true needs of the supply chain, leaving the rest to sustain the natural environmental water cycle. Of course, more remains to be done to create an economy that is truly circular when it comes to water, and the involvement of many stakeholders to address these challenges is key.
There are also a variety of public sector initiatives to try to improve the availability and quality of water. The heartening images of children playing in a shallow stream showcased an important, though short-term, binational U.S. – Mexico border project to restore some of the minimal flow of the Colorado River, reported Postel. The border region is one of the most water-scarce regions in the Western Hemisphere, and such cooperative and collaborative initiatives will be vital to ensuring there is enough of this precious finite resource to share.
- Annandale Hosts Annual Green Festival – a recap article from NVCC
- Thirst for Power: Energy, Water, and Human Survival – 2016 book by Michael E. Webber that discusses the long-term sustainability of energy and water
- Change the Course – a U.S. initiative to restore water in ecosystems
- Quiz from the U.S. Geological Survey on how much water it takes to produce common goods
- Infographic on water usage for different foods
- Lessons from the Development of Binational and Civil Society Cooperation on Water Management at the U.S.-Mexico Border – Mexico Institute
- Water: The Other U.S.-Mexico Border Issue – Stratfor
Kimberly Davis applies compliance and policy solutions in environmental and urban infrastructure planning. With a background in water, wastewater, and stormwater, Kimberly’s focus has been in renewable energy since 2007, and she is President of a consulting firm. Kimberly is a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, TX, and received a Masters in Urban Planning from New York University.
Photos courtesy of Janine Finnell unless otherwise noted.
Leaders in Energy is building a community of engaged leaders to create a sustainable energy system, economy, and world. The three main pillars of engagement are green jobs, impactful leadership, and actionable solutions for sustainable communities. More information is available at https://www.lercpa.org and in the Leaders in Energy Research, Communication, Policies & Analysis (LERCPA) LinkedIn group. | <urn:uuid:d9e9aa82-a78e-405e-b347-e3a8e860b40b> | {
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Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of female infertility.
A woman's ovaries have follicles, which are tiny, fluid-filled sacs that hold the eggs. When an egg is mature, the follicle releases the egg so it can travel to the uterus for fertilization. In women with PCOS, immature follicles bunch together to form large cysts or lumps. The eggs mature within the bunched follicles, but the follicles don't break open to release them.
As a result, women with PCOS often don't have menstrual periods, or they only have periods on occasion. Because the eggs are not released, most women with PCOS have trouble getting pregnant. Researchers estimate that 5–10 percent of women in the United States have PCOS.
Here are the most common signs and symptoms of PCOS in teens or adult women:
- Abnormal menstrual cycles
- No periods
- Irregular periods
- Heavy or prolonged bleeding
- Painful periods
- Inability to get pregnant
- Facial hair (more than is normal for the ethnic group)
- Waist measurement greater than 35 inches, or waist bigger than hips (apple shape)
- Acanthosis nigricans: darker patches of skin in neck folds, armpits, folds in waistline, or groin
What Causes PCOS?
No one knows the exact cause of PCOS, but studies are looking at whether it is caused by genetics.
Also, because many women with PCOS also have diabetes, studies are examining the relationship between PCOS and the body's ability to produce insulin. There is a lot of evidence that high levels of insulin contribute to increased production of androgen, which worsens the symptoms of PCOS.
In addition, the medication Valproate, (used to treat seizures) may cause or worsen the symptoms of PCOS.
How is PCOS Diagnosed?
Diagnosing PCOS involves several steps.
Your doctor will take a detailed medical history about your menstrual cycle and reproductive history, including information about birth control you use and any pregnancies you have had.
You also will receive a pelvic and physical exam. During a pelvic exam, your doctor checks for swelling of cysts on your ovary. If cysts are found, your doctor may perform a vaginal ultrasound, or a screening to examine the cysts and the endometrium (lining of the uterus).
If your doctor suspects you have PCOS, he or she may recommend blood tests to measure hormone levels. Women with PCOS can have high levels of hormones such as testosterone.
Your doctor may check your insulin and glucose levels, to look for diabetes or insulin resistance (inefficient use of insulin in the body). Many women with PCOS have these conditions. Your doctor may also check your levels of cholesterol and triglycerides since they are often abnormal in women with PCOS. Once your doctor makes a diagnosis, you will work together to decide how to best treat and manage your condition.
How Does PCOS Affect Fertility and Pregnancy?
PCOS can negatively affect fertility since it can prevent ovulation. Some women with PCOS have menstrual periods, but do not ovulate.
A woman with PCOS may take fertility drugs, such as Clomid, or inject fertility medications to induce ovulation. Women can also take insulin-sensitizing medications or steroids (to lower androgen levels) to help ovulation take place. Some research also shows that taking low doses of aspirin, which helps prevent blood clotting in the uterine lining and improves blood flow, can improve chances of pregnancy.
There appears to be a higher rate of miscarriage in women with PCOS. The reason for this is being studied. Increased levels of leuteinizing hormone, which aids in secretion of progesterone, may play a role.
Increased levels of insulin and glucose may cause problems with development of the embryo. Insulin resistance and late ovulation (after day 16 of the menstrual cycle) also may reduce egg quality, which can lead to miscarriage.
The best way to prevent miscarriage in women with PCOS is to normalize hormone levels to improve ovulation, and normalize blood glucose and androgen levels. Recently, more doctors are prescribing the drug metformin to help with this.
Since PCOS causes high glucose levels, it can be helpful for pregnant women with PCOS to have earlier screenings for gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes occurs when a woman's ability to process glucose is impaired. The mother's high blood glucose levels can lead to a large baby, immature lungs, and problems for the mother and child at delivery. A carefully balanced diet and/or insulin injections are generally used to manage gestational diabetes.
Some doctors allow pregnant women with PCOS to continue taking metformin in pregnancy, while others won't prescribe it to women trying to conceive. There is no evidence that it causes birth defects, but the long-term effects on the baby are not known. Women and their doctors should discuss the risks and benefits of medications. Women taking medication usually are monitored more closely. After pregnancy, many women with PCOS develop normal menstrual cycles and find it easier to become pregnant again.
Does PCOS Put Women at Risk for Other Conditions?
Women with PCOS can be at an increased risk for developing several other conditions.
Irregular menstrual periods and the absence of ovulation cause women to produce estrogen, but not progesterone. Without progesterone, which causes the endometrium to shed each month as a menstrual period, the endometrium may grow too much and undergo cell changes. This is a pre-cancerous condition called endometrial hyperplasia.
If the thickened endometrium is not treated, over a long period of time it may turn into endometrial cancer. PCOS also is linked to other diseases that occur later in life, such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Depression or mood swings also are common in women with PCOS. Although more research is needed to find out about this link, there are studies linking depression to diabetes. Therefore, in PCOS, depression may be related to insulin resistance. It also could be a result of the hormonal imbalances and the cosmetic symptoms of the condition. Acne, hair loss, and other symptoms of PCOS can lead to poor self-esteem. Infertility and miscarriages also can be very stressful. Medications that restore the balance to hormone levels or antidepressants can help these feelings.
How is PCOS Treated?
Because there is no cure for PCOS, it needs to be managed to prevent further problems.
There are many medications to control the symptoms of PCOS. Doctors most commonly prescribe birth control pills for this purpose. Birth control pills regulate menstruation, reduce androgen levels, and help to clear acne. Your doctor will talk to you about whether a birth control pill is right for you and which kind to take.
Other drugs can help with cosmetic problems. There also are drugs available to control blood pressure and cholesterol. Progestins and insulin-sensitizing medications can be taken to induce a menstrual period and restore normal cycles. Eating a balanced diet low in carbohydrates and maintaining a healthy weight can help lessen the symptoms of PCOS. Regular exercise helps weight loss and also aids the body in reducing blood glucose levels and using insulin more efficiently.
Although it is not recommended as the first course of treatment, surgery called ovarian drilling is available to treat PCOS. A very small incision is made above or below the navel, and a small instrument called a laparoscope that acts like a telescope is inserted into the abdomen. During laparoscopy, the doctor then can make punctures in the ovary with a small needle carrying an electric current to destroy a small portion of the ovary. The surgery can produce an improvement in hormone levels and ovulation, although the improvement may only last a matter of months. | <urn:uuid:3b762257-b977-4ed6-8684-d85a79cb3f15> | {
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Daily Dose of D
Here in the "True North," Getting Enough Vitamin D -- the Sunshine Vitamin -- Is Especially Important for People With HIV
Besides making it harder to get out and get active, that lack of sunlight during winter can have health impacts, including lower levels of vitamin D -- which the body produces in response to sunlight. You've likely heard news stories in the past few years about research into the sunshine vitamin's role in health. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to many medical conditions, but what does all this research mean for people with HIV living in Canada? While there is much left to learn, researchers are finding that people with HIV need to make sure they are getting enough vitamin D.
Classified as a vitamin through the happenstance of history, vitamin D is actually a hormone, meaning that it acts as a chemical messenger in the body and is important for regulating many chemical activities in cells. We know for sure that it is involved in bone health. It also helps with the absorption of the bone-building minerals calcium and phosphorus from the intestines.
Clues for where else vitamin D may act in the body come from where receptors for the vitamin are located. Based on the location of those receptors, vitamin D may be involved in muscle, brain and liver function. Those receptors are also found on immune cells, such as CD4 cells and macrophages, leading researchers to speculate that vitamin D may play a role in immunity.
The body can produce vitamin D in a multi-step pathway that starts in the skin, where heat from sunrays kicks off the process. The liver and the kidneys work next, transforming intermediate forms, called vitamin D2 and vitamin D3, into the active form of the vitamin, calcitriol. Blood tests vary in what form of vitamin D they measure. The most common test measures total vitamin D2 and D3.
There is debate over ideal blood levels of vitamin D. Based on studies of bone health and blood levels of calcium and parathyroid hormone, the American Endocrine Society suggests that the results of vitamin D blood tests be interpreted in this way:
According to a 2009 Statistics Canada study, about one-third of Canadians had sufficient levels of vitamin D. The same study indicated that one in 10 people were deficient. (Note that the study used an older, lower cut-off of less than 37.5 nmol/l to define deficiency.)
Not being exposed to enough sun or wearing sunscreen (which blocks the formation of vitamin D in the skin) can lead to inadequate levels of vitamin D. Other factors that can put people at risk for deficiency include obesity (having a BMI higher than 30), older age and health conditions such as liver and kidney damage or inflammation of the intestines (Crohn's disease, for example).
Less D With HIV?
Scientists are beginning to think that HIV, perhaps through its associated ongoing inflammation, might also change how well the body can produce vitamin D. There is no clear evidence that vitamin D deficiency is more common in people living with HIV than in HIV-negative people. However, in a recent large cohort study of people with HIV in Europe, Argentina and Israel, only one in 10 (11 percent) had vitamin D levels above 75 nmol/l.
In the trial, most (82 percent) of the people were taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). This is of note because some anti-HIV drugs may affect vitamin D levels. Efavirenz (Sustiva and in Atripla) and AZT (Retrovir/zidovudine, also in Combivir and Trizivir) have been linked to vitamin D deficiency.
Protease inhibitors (PIs), on the other hand, particularly darunavir (Prezista), have been associated with higher levels of vitamin D. Hal Huff, ND, head supervisor of the Naturopathic HIV/AIDS Clinic at the Sherbourne Health Centre in Toronto, is involved in the Canadian HIV Vascular Study, which is looking at the relationships between anti-HIV drugs, cardiovascular disease and metabolic problems. In the study, he says, "participants with the highest vitamin D status were more likely to be on PI-based ART rather than on a non-nuke such as efavirenz."
The study did not find a connection between efavirenz and low vitamin D levels; in fact, Dr. Huff says that vitamin D levels in the efavirenz group were relatively high, even in comparison with the general Canadian population. This would make it difficult to see a link between choice of anti-HIV drug and vitamin D levels.
Certain other medications that people with HIV commonly take may also affect vitamin D levels, including:
If you are taking any of these drugs or herbs, talk to your doctor about vitamin D.
Over the past few years, there have been reports linking vitamin D deficiency to various health conditions. In HIV-negative people, low levels of vitamin D have been linked to some types of cancer -- most notably colon cancer, but possibly also prostate and breast cancers. In HIV-positive people, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke, have been linked to low levels of the vitamin.
Dr. Huff and the other researchers with the Canadian HIV Vascular Study did not find a link between low vitamin D status and thickness of the carotid artery in the neck -- a sign of cardiovascular disease -- though this might have been because the group had relatively high levels of the vitamin.
They did note a possible link with high blood pressure; however, this does not mean that low vitamin D levels cause high blood pressure. "In our study, as in others, individuals with higher vitamin D status are less likely to be overweight," says Dr. Huff. "And, of course, being overweight increases the risk of elevated blood pressure."
Dr. Huff's comments highlight a weakness with much of the current research into vitamin D. The studies so far have shown a link between two factors, such as low vitamin D levels and cancer, but they cannot prove that low levels cause cancer. More rigorous studies are needed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship, and researchers are undertaking such studies to provide firm evidence.
Finally, Dr. Huff adds that the results of the study may not apply to everyone: "It is important to keep in mind that our study population was composed predominantly of white middle-aged HIV-positive men. For instance, they do not speak to the potential problem of vitamin D deficiency in HIV infection among women, Aboriginal [people], persons with dark skin or the elderly."
There is one area where experts are confident that vitamin D plays a role: bone health. A lack of the vitamin can result in soft bones (osteomalacia) and brittle bones (osteoporosis). Also, several studies have shown that elderly people who take vitamin D plus calcium have stronger bones and fewer broken bones. Vitamin D is needed by the body to properly use calcium, so the two micronutrients should be taken together (they are often sold in a combined pill).
This article was provided by Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange. It is a part of the publication The Positive Side. Visit CATIE's Web site to find out more about their activities, publications and services.
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Back in 2011, David Cameron announced that he was going to change the way government did business. No more hiding information away, making it difficult for people to retrieve. Instead, in an article published in the Telegraph, Cameron highlighted the importance of transparency at the heart of government. Information, said Cameron, “lets people hold the powerful to account” and, as a result, there needed to be more transparency about the workings of government. As Francis Maude, then Minister for the Cabinet Office, underlined, the “ambition [was] to make the UK the most transparent and accountable Government in the world“.
With such high words about the importance of transparency at the heart of government, it seems somewhat surprising (well, not that surprising) that Cameron’s government has launched a review into the Freedom of Information Act, a review that seems pretty loaded to produce a particular outcome: a curtailing of the power of the Act (which is saying something given its current limitations). So much for people holding the powerful to account.
The problem is that Cameron always had a particular narrow definition of government transparency. In his 2011 Telegraph article, he makes it pretty clear what he means by transparency: publicly accessible datasets. Releasing datasets is fine, indeed it’s a much welcome move. Their release certainly offers a degree of transparency. But it is a limited degree of transparency. Datasets alone can only tell you so much, they offer a very superficial form of transparency: transparency without context. Datasets do no negate FoI, they make FoI even more important.
At the recent Radical Librarians Collective (RLC) gathering in Huddersfield we talked about conducting research and the importance of FoI in helping to extract information from public bodies. The Act is a valuable tool for activists, enabling them to obtain information that can help to reinforce their case. It’s something that I have found an effective tool as part of my involvement in Voices for the Library – obtaining valuable information about the delivery of public library services throughout the UK.
Whilst the Act is limited at present, it does offer an opportunity to obtain information that can, just maybe, instigate change. Further restrictions to the Act will significantly limit its effectiveness and, further, make the kind of research discussed at the RLC gathering virtually impossible, not to mention creating difficulties for activists more generally. As Cameron himself said, “information is power”. Without access to the kind of information held by public bodies, we do not have power and without power we cannot instigate change.
But what of the review? Well, the figures involved in the review process should cause alarm for those concerned with transparent governance. Jack Straw, for example, is a known critic of the Act previously arguing that there needed to be substantial changes to the Act due to the impact it was having on government. Another figure on the panel, Michael Howard, was the subject of a number of freedom of information requests in 2005 that led to 500 pages of internal files being released relating to “controversial issues” he dealt with as home secretary in the 1990s. It seems hard to believe that he will be a great fan of the Act. And yet another member of the panel, Lord Carlile of Berriew, is not a particular fan of government transparency. The peer argued in 2013 that The Guardian’s publication of “stolen state secrets” was a “criminal” act.
With such figures involved in the review, it seems clear that at the very least the Act will be significantly watered down. This is not a surprise, it took years to make such an Act a reality and it’s not for nothing that the United Kingdom is known as one of the most secretive states in the Western world (we do, after all, retain an Official Secrets Act). Indeed, it transpired a couple of weeks ago that the Ministry of Justice is consulting on the introduction of Tribunal fees – which will very likely have the same effect as the introduction of tribunal fees elsewhere (ie people won’t take decisions to tribunals, which of course means that the government and public bodies are likely to get away with withholding information).
Given the attack on a vital piece of legislation that plays a vital role in giving people the information they require to hold the government to account, what can be done to put pressure on the government and ensure that at the very least the Act survives in its current form (it certainly needs extending, but that seems highly unlikely at present – if not impossible under a Tory government)? I’d highly recommend checking out this blog post by Paul Gibbons, a consultant and trainer in information rights and information management. I’d also urge you to support the Campaign for Freedom of Information as much as you possibly can. I was very privileged to be invited to their recent 30th anniversary celebrations and hearing about the work they have done and continue to do was incredibly inspiring. But they need support to carry that work forward, so if you can support the Campaign (either through donations or amplifying their work on social media) please do so. Do also see their “Stop FoI Restrictions” page. They deserve all the support they can get for their tireless efforts to ensure that we all have access to information from the state.
Transparency at the heart of government should be a concern of every citizen, but I believe that information professionals have a particular obligation to ensure that not only is the Act not watered down, but that we also work to strengthen it. Information is power. With a weakened Freedom of Information Act, our power is severely curtailed. | <urn:uuid:ec89dbf6-0f93-45f5-bfec-053c089f81ed> | {
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“This has been a Sabbath to me,” confessed Surgeon George T. Stevens to his wife, Harriet, in a letter written Thursday evening, August 4, 1864. “No day since the campaign commenced last May has seemed like Sabbath before, but this has been more than usually a day of rest and a day of solemnity with us.”
Stevens, serving with the 77th New York Infantry of the VI Corps, was camped in Maryland at the time. The unit had been sent there in response to Jubal Early’s offensive that culminated in Confederate repulse at Fort Stevens. The Union soldiers now enjoyed their bloodless respite away from an Army of the Potomac that had been locked in continual combat from the Wilderness to Petersburg. Tragedy managed to still strike along the Monocacy River valley, repercussions from a unique wound sustained nearly three months earlier at the Bloody Angle. Major William Ellis, a friend of the New York surgeon, had been found dead in his tent from no noticeable cause.
William Ellis was born on July 17, 1842 in Brantford, West Canada—present-day Ontario. His father, Alexander Ellis, died in 1854, leaving William to provide for his mother Catharine. The next year, at the age of fifteen, William enlisted into the “Prince of Wales” 100th Regiment and was soon promoted color sergeant in the 22nd Royal Regiment. When the Civil War broke out William bought his discharge from the British army and traveled to his mother’s home in Buffalo, New York. There he enlisted into the 49th New York Infantry in the summer of 1861.
His previous military service warranted the nineteen year old a position as second lieutenant. Sergeant Alexander H. McKelvy recalled, “I do not know whether [Ellis] raised any men or not, but there was a camp rumor afloat among the men that he had taken some sort of leave from one of Her Majesty’s rifle regiments in Canada in order to see service in the war between the states.” The next year Ellis received promotions to captain in January and major in December. His experience and pompous attitude impressed his comrades. Surgeon Stevens referred to him as “the dashing, impetuous young fellow who used to ride his horse so furiously.”
McKelvy commented on Ellis’s exploits inside and outside of the encampment, “It was his great delight to break loose from the monotonous round of camp life and go on a scouting trip beyond the lines in pursuit of adventure and pleasure, for it was rumored that he was not averse to the charms of the fair sex. He was always well mounted and… he rode a powerful black horse, fleet of foot, and able to extricate his dare evil master from any difficulty he might plunge into.”
Ellis became a popular figure in camp. His various exploits inevitably produced frequent gossip. “It is said that Major Ellis who had just returned from a visit to Canada was also married in his absence,” wrote a member of the 49th in March 1863. Later testimony would suggest it was just a rumor.
The major was certainly active on the courtship scene, however. Scott Valentine, a contributing editor of Military Images, profiled William Ellis in the magazine’s Spring 2014 issue. Valentine owns a carte-de-viste of Ellis, upon the reverse side of which the flirtatious major had signed, “I kiss your hand.”
The New York major also won the approval of his commanders and fellow officers, serving at the head of the regiment several times when his superiors went on medical or personal furlough. A newspaper correspondent with the 49th claimed that Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, commanding the VI Corps, had declared shortly before his untimely death that Ellis “was the best fighting officer in his corps.” Massachusetts captain Mason Whiting Tyler also believed that Ellis “was one of the best officers in our corps.”
Sedgwick’s death on May 9, 1864, and the Wilderness wounding of Brig. Gen. George Washington Getty, at the helm of the division to which the 49th belonged, stressed the VI Corps’ high command during the Overland campaign. Brigadier General Horatio Gouverneur Wright took over the corps, promoting Brig. Gen. David Allen Russell to lead his 1st Division. Brigadier General Thomas Hewson Neill also moved up to take command of Getty’s 2nd Division, leaving his 3rd Brigade under the leadership of Col. Daniel Davidson Bidwell, the original commander of the 49th New York. Lieutenant Colonel George Washington Johnson now led that unit.
During the infamous morning of May 12th, Bidwell sent his former regiment and the 77th New York Infantry to support Oliver Edwards’s brigade, who in turn had advanced to assist the II Corps as their determined assault against the Spotsylvania “mule-shoe salient” bogged down. Together the New York regiments hit the northwest face of the salient, just above where Col. Emory Upton had centered his attack two days before. Stephen Dodson Ramseur’s North Carolinians provided their immediate adversaries but Nathaniel Harris’s Mississippians and Abner Perrin’s Alabamians, reinforcements from A.P. Hill’s Confederate Third Corps, soon threw their weight into the combat. The New Yorkers clung to their position just outside of the Confederate earthworks, dubbed the “Bloody Angle.” Surgeon Stevens recalled after the war:
A breastwork of logs separated the combatants. Our men would reach over this partition and discharge their muskets in the face of the enemy, and in return would receive the fire of the rebels at the same close range. Finally, the men began to use their muskets as clubs and then rails were used. The men were willing thus to fight from behind the breastworks, but to rise up and attempt a charge in the face of an enemy so near at hand and so strong in numbers required unusual bravery. Yet they did charge and they drove the rebels back and held the angle themselves.
Occasional charges and countercharges did little to break the locked stalemate. The Canadian major was wounded in an unusual manner at some point during this chaotic phase. Sergeant George Norton Galloway, of the 95th Pennsylvania Infantry, wrote that “during one of the several attempts to get the men to cross the works and drive off the enemy,” Ellis “excited our admiration” as he mounted the parapet in advance of the brigade, before he “was shot though the arm and body with a ramrod.”
Sergeant Alexander H. McKelvy afterward recalled that Ellis was wounded “while leading the regiment in a daring charge on the enemy’s works. He was hit with one of the iron ramrods, used by the infantry in those days, which some excited Confederate had neglected to remove from his rifle barrel before firing. This rammer passed through the major’s left arm and bruised his chest severely.”
The New Yorker’s gallant action before his wounding was noticed by the recently-promoted Brig. Gen. Emory Upton, who had already made a name for himself at Spotsylvania. Even though Ellis was not even part of his brigade, Upton singled him out as well as Maj. Henry P. Truefitt, 119th Pennsylvania, who was killed at the Bloody Angle, when writing the May 12th section of his Overland campaign report. Upton wrote that the pair, “by their gallant conduct excited the admiration of all… the country can ill afford to lose two such officers.”
Ellis was evacuated to a hospital in Fredericksburg where Surgeon Stevens examined the injury and found the ramrod “passed through the left arm and then bruised the side near and a little below the heart.” The major “suffered fearfully from the effects of the bruise in the side,” and the surgeon afterward claimed, “I supposed at the time that his heart was injured.” Surgeon William Warren Potter, a friend of Ellis’s serving with the 57th New York Infantry, however, saw the major and noted that his wound “is not reported as dangerous.
After being stabilized, Ellis was sent onward to Washington to continue his recuperation. Soon thereafter he received a thirty day furlough and returned to Buffalo to recover, arriving at the city on May 25th. “It is to be hoped that he will recover from his injuries while among friends,” the Buffalo Daily Courier expressed. “He is able to be about,” wrote the Buffalo Evening Post, “and anticipates a speedy cure.” Isaac A. Verplank, a prominent local judge, later testified that he hosted William at his home frequently during his medical leave and that the soldier’s painful wounds produced occasional spasms.
Only partially recovered from his injury, Ellis departed from home on June 17th to rejoin his unit. In his absence the Army of the Potomac had fought from Spotsylvania to Petersburg, via the North Anna, Totopotomoy, and Cold Harbor. Rejoining the VI Corps, Ellis received assignment as inspector general on Brig. Gen. David A. Russell’s 1st Division staff. Hospital Steward John Newton Henry noted that Ellis returned earlier than the rest of the Overland campaign casualties, writing on the 29th, “None of our wounded officers have returned but Major Ellis.”
Surgeon Stevens afterward wrote in August that Ellis’s change to a supposedly less taxing assignment nevertheless resulted in the officer performing “a great deal of labor as provost marshal and in many other capacities.” He further elaborated after the war:
Returning to his command before he had fully recovered, he was advised by medical officers not to attempt any severe duty. But being detailed to the staff of General Russell, commanding the First division, he at once resumed active military duties. On these recent marches, the major, weary of inaction, had taken command of a body of men who acted as additional provost-guard to the division. In this position he had exhibited his usual energy, though it was thought by some he executed his duties with too great severity. Ever since receiving his wound, he had complained of severe neuralgic pain in the region of the heart.
Other friends in the army, like William Potter, however noted at the beginning of July that Ellis “was, as usual, looking well.” A week later Potter visited the 49th New York and took supper with Bidwell. Ellis called on him while the surgeon was there and the two snuck away to view a carriage that Ellis has captured from either a local resident or Confederate wagon train and stashed away in the woods. While admiring the prize, orders came to Russell’s headquarters to prepare to leave for Maryland to repulse Jubal Early’s offensive. “Ellis was in great glee over the prospect, and flew around to make preparations for the transfer of the troops to their new field;” recalled Potter, “so I hastily bade him good-bye, but never saw him afterwards.”
This is part one in a three-part series. The next two articles will appear tomorrow and Thursday.
George T. Stevens to “My Darling Hattie,” August 4, 1864, Wiley Sword Collection, Pamplin Historical Park.
John M. Priest, ed. Turn Them Out to Die Like a Mule: The Civil War Letters of John N. Henry, 49th New York, 1861-1865 (Leesburg, VA: Gauley Mount Press), 1995, 204.
“Sergeant Alexander H. McKelvy’s Report of His Capture by the Confederates, September 17, 1863,” Frederick D. Bidwell, ed. History of the Forty-ninth New York Volunteers (Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon Company, 1916), 105. Stevens, August 4, 1864, PHP.
“Sergeant Alexander H. McKelvy’s Report of His Capture by the Confederates, September 17, 1863,” 105.
John N. Henry to “My Dear Wife,” March 16, 1863, Priest, Turn Them Out to Die Like a Mule, 177-178.
Scott Valentine, “A Conspicuous Target: Major William Ellis, 49th New York Infantry, at the Bloody Angle,” Military Images, Volume 32, Number 2 (Spring 2014), 52.
“From the Forty-ninth Regiment,” Buffalo Daily Courier, May 17, 1864. Mason W. Tyler to parents, August 4, 1864, William S. Tyler, ed. Recollections of the Civil War with Many Original Diary Entries and Letters Written from the Sear of War, and with Annotated References (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912), 262.
George T. Stevens, Three Years in the Sixth Corps: A Concisce Narrative of Events in the Army of the Potomac, from from 1861 to the Close of the Rebellion, April, 1865 (Albany, NY: S.R. Gray, 1866), 334.
G. Norton Galloway, “Hand-to-hand Fighting at Spotsylvania,” The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 34, Number 2 (New York: The Century Co., June 1887), 306.
A.H. McKelvy, “Forty-ninth New York Volunteers,” New York Monuments Commission for the Battlefields of Gettysburg and Chattanooga, ed. Final Report on the Battlefield of Gettysburg, Volume 1 (Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon Company, 1902), 390.
Emory Upton to Henry R. Dalton, September 1, 1864, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume 36, Part 1 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1891), 669.
Stevens, August 4, 1864, PHP. William W. Potter, “Three Years with the Army of the Potomac—A Personal Military History,” Buffalo Medical Journal, Volume 68, Number 1 (August, 1912), 15.
“Personal,” Buffalo Daily Courier, May 27, 1864. “Home Again,” Buffalo Evening Post, May 26, 1864. Isaac A. Verplank, Statement, June 28, 1865, William Ellis Pension, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Record Group 15, National Archives.
John N. Henry to “My Dear Wife,” March 16, 1863, Priest, Turn Them Out to Die Like a Mule, 374.
“Gone to the Front,” Buffalo Evening Post, June 23, 1864. Stevens, August 4, 1864, PHP.
Stevens, Three Years in the Sixth Corps, 334.
William W. Potter, “Three Years with the Army of the Potomac—A Personal Military History,” Buffalo Medical Journal, Volume 68, Number 2 (September, 1912), 83-84. | <urn:uuid:755da0fb-512a-4506-a53c-f561883988fc> | {
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- Lawn & Garden >
- Growing a Bamboo Garden
Growing a Bamboo Garden
Bamboo provides a quick-growing evergreen screen and adds glorious character with delicate leaves and substantial culms or canes, but research and commitment are needed to maintain the right plant for your yard.
Clumping and Running Bamboo
Bamboo is a member of the grass family, with more than 200 species available in the U.S. and 1,300 worldwide. Its leaves can range from over 55 inches long to merely a few inches in length. Its culms, or trunks, can be black, green with yellow stripes, or yellow with green stripes, and vary from the size of a thin wire to about 14 inches in diameter.
At its most basic level, bamboo divides itself into two categories: clumpers and runners. The underground root structure, rhizome, determines its classification. Some plants are even a mixture of the two. A clumper’s rhizome typically runs a short distance before sending up new culms. The distance it travels is determined by its genus. Clumping bamboos are usually tropical plants that don’t like temperatures dipping into the 40s. Unlike clumpers, runners are temperate plants whose rhizomes “run” far and wide. Running bamboo can send root offshoots some distance before sending up a culm, which is why they are sometimes called invasive or hard to manage.
Bamboo Requires Research
Bamboo’s shortcomings are usually the fault of the gardener, says Adam Turtle, a bamboo consultant who operates Earth Advocates Research Farm in Summertown, TN, a wholesale nursery specializing in landscape-grade bamboos. Those who plan to add bamboo to their landscape or garden should become informed before they purchase and plant to avoid unwanted consequences.
Bamboo is not for the lazy, the beginner gardener, or anyone who doesn’t wish to do homework, says Turtle. He suggests that gardeners considering bamboo for their yards consult the American Bamboo Society for information. Bamboo varieties range in size from groundcover to soaring plants several stories high. Even more confusing, what might work in the north-central U.S. would not be happy in the southeast, says Ted Meredith, a bamboo enthusiast and author of Bamboo for Gardens by Timber Press.
Gardeners must be prepared to cultivate and maintain their bamboo. Problems arise when the home gardener does not understand the variety he or she has planted. Bamboo with deeper-growing rhizomes or high maintenance requirements may have runners that spread and become difficult to control or eliminate.
While some bamboos prefer shade, others like sun. Some are hardy to 20 below while others cannot tolerate frost. Most cannot tolerate drying winds. As a grass, bamboo appreciates garden soil that contains organic matter and is well irrigated. A pH of 6 to 6.5 is preferred. It will not tolerate wet feet or saturated soils.
Deer won’t bother bamboo, which is a plus. Bamboo’s only true pest is the bamboo mite, which is more of a problem in the western U.S., where it’s dry, than on the east coast, according to Meredith. Bamboo mites can be difficult to control, so it’s best to avoid the problem by isolating and inspecting all new bamboo purchased. While the mites won’t kill the plant, they will leave a pattern of yellow damage on both sides of the leaf that can look like variegation.
Bamboo exhibits pretty amazing growth habits. “If you want an affirmation of growth in the spring, it’s a pretty dramatic expression,” Meredith says. A bamboo culm will attain about 90 percent of its height in 30 days, he says, and that applies equally to three-foot or three-story plants. Meredith has seen a culm grow 14 inches in a single day!
Once the bamboo culm attains its full height, side branches appear first, followed by leaves. Keep bamboo clipped to the height you desire. Meredith maintains his front-yard bamboo hedge at eight feet to block noise and wind.
Since most of the bamboo grown in the U.S. tends to be running bamboos, it’s important to put down barriers. For a privacy screen, Meredith suggests creating a barrier of 60 mil high-density polyethylene buried 24 inches into the ground along the fence line. It’s important to check barrier health each year to avoid penetration and escaping rhizomes.
Another way to limit growth is to trim the rhizomes yearly. Some of the most desirable bamboos have the shallowest rhizomes and are the easiest to control, Meredith says. In late summer or early winter, a gardener can walk the perimeter of the bamboo area and spade about six inches down. When a rhizome is encountered, it can be cut off and removed, stopping the expansion.
Turtle advises pruning the perimeter rhizomes twice a year or annually if you live north of I-40, the major west-east highway that runs from Barstow, CA to Wilmington, NC. He also suggests digging a trench along the perimeter and filling it with sand to mark the area for future pruning and make it easier to accomplish. Groundcover that doesn’t get more than boot-top high can be mowed to ground.
Another way to control bamboo is to pot it. Meredith notes that the gardener should be aware that the plant’s rapid growth may require frequent repotting so it does not get potbound.
Bamboo Products and Applications
Bamboo is very versatile and has many uses worldwide, as flooring, fencing, woven mats and blinds, or food with tender shoots that can be boiled and eaten.
When used for fencing, people must be careful. Bamboo is very dense, hard, and holds its edge, says Adam Turtle, a bamboo consultant who operates Earth Advocates Research Farm in Summertown, TN. “Work with it, not against it,” he suggests. Splitting bamboo lengthwise takes almost no effort, but widthwise cuts are very difficult.
Use bamboo culms to stake tomatoes and beans. Bamboo leaves, which can contain up to 22% protein, are fed to cattle in some parts of the world.
Bamboo is becoming popular as a flooring material because it is a green or environmentally responsible product. The crop matures quickly, regenerates without having to be replanted, and requires little fertilization or pest control. It can be dried and laminated into solid boards that are then milled into standard strip-flooring profiles. Bamboo wears and ages much like oak and maple flooring. | <urn:uuid:844c2dad-ba2f-4097-8f73-94e2bad93b8b> | {
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By Richard Cohen, Chief Author, The Almanac of American Politics
As the November election approaches, forecasts of the outcome in the House have evolved. No doubt, the uncertainties will continue. But little attention has been given to the implications of the growing possibility that the House majority could be razor-thin, for one party or the other. That, in turn, could result in a chaotic handling of the House’s customary first decision and vote—the selection of the Speaker.
Given statements that have been made by renegade Democrats and Republicans—including both incumbents and prospective freshmen in each party—who oppose their party’s current leadership, there is a real risk that when the 116th Congress convenes next January nobody will receive the requisite majority for Speaker from those present and voting, as required by House rules.
Already, some junior House Democrats have demanded the ouster of Nancy Pelosi as their party leader. On the other side of the aisle, some Freedom Caucus Republicans have warned that they again will refuse to go along with the GOP Conference’s selection of their party leader. As election campaigns intensify, the number of rebels more likely will grow rather than shrink—especially among those who have had no stake in earlier leadership choices. That could force a multi-ballot House contest for the first time since 1923, when nine ballots were required to select the Speaker. (More below on that little-known conflict.)
In addition, there were two instances prior to the Civil War in which deadlocks in selecting the Speaker, which resulted from conflicts over slavery, required three weeks (and 63 ballots) to resolve in 1849 and two months (and 133 ballots) in 1855. Those separate battles were settled by creative use of House procedures and control by plurality rule, rather than a majority.
So, what would happen next January if—hypothetically—one party has 220 members of the 435 who have taken the oath of office, but three of them stubbornly object to their party’s formal nominee for Speaker? The short answer is that nobody knows. Given the speculative nature of this scenario, including the impossibility of knowing prior to November who will be casting votes and what will be the partisan margin, serious maneuvering would not start until the days immediately following the election.
It’s worth noting that a five-seat House majority (i.e., 222 seats) for one party or the other would require a Democratic gain in November of 17 to 27 seats from the most recent partisan control of each seat; that is in the range of many current assessments.
House history and precedents offer some clue to the internal challenges and how they might be resolved. In a word, the usually routine selection of the next Speaker could become a mess. Almost certainly, the in-fighting would produce a media spectacle that might further erode confidence in the legislative process and democratic governance. For example, multiple House members could step forward as candidates for Speaker. All sorts of promises might result, with deals that are both public and private. Under the Constitution, the Speaker is not required to be a House Member, though an outsider has never been seriously considered.
In some recent cases, the Speaker has barely prevailed, as the result of defections in his own party. John Boehner received 216 votes in January 2015, with 25 Republicans voting for a medley of 10 other candidates. In 1997, Newt Gingrich received 216 votes as 4 GOP members voted for other candidates; six other Republicans either voted present or did not vote. In each case, at least 227 Republicans had been elected and the winner for Speaker received a majority of those voting—though not a majority of all House members. So, the controversy was resolved within the party in control.
There have been other cases in which the House majority was exceedingly thin. In 2001, when 221 Republican had been elected, they remained unified. Speaker Dennis Hastert, accordingly, won another term without controversy. In 1930, 218 Republicans were elected. But the deaths of GOP members and subsequent special elections prior to the December 1931 vote for Speaker resulted in the victory of Democrat John Nance Garner, who got 218 votes. (Prior to the ratification in 1933 of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which moved the convening of Congress to the January following the election, a newly-elected Congress did not take office for more than a year.)
In a closely divided House, uncertainty would result if members of the majority party voted for somebody other than that party’s nominee for Speaker. “If no candidate receives the requisite majority, the roll call is repeated until a Speaker is elected,” according to a May 2017 report by the Congressional Research Service. “Members may continue to vote for any individual, and no restrictions, such as eliminating minority candidates or prohibiting new candidates from being named, are imposed.”
Following the 1922 election, in which 225 Republicans were elected, a bloc of roughly two dozen self-styled Progressives within the GOP demanded changes in House rules and other procedural reforms. Frederick Gillett of Massachusetts, who had been Speaker the previous four years, agreed to the changes after three days of negotiations and he won another term.
(There were numerous notable aspects to the 1922 election—including the mid-term loss of 75 House GOP seats, the Teapot Dome scandals that undermined support for President Warren Harding, and the only time in U.S. history when the House—under GOP control in 1921—refused to order a reapportionment to reflect the results of the decennial Census. As it turned out, Harding died in August 1923 and was succeeded by Calvin Coolidge. Both Coolidge and Gillett started their political careers in western Massachusetts towns a few miles apart, though Gillett was 20 years older. The low-profile Gillett gave up the Speakership to run successfully in 1924 for the Senate, where he served one term before retiring.)
Contested elections for Speaker can raise the prospect of rewards, or possibly punishment, for the party mavericks. Following the 2015 conflict, for example, Boehner stripped two Republican dissidents from their seats on the House Rules Committee.
Dissidents arguably have enhanced leverage when the two major parties are more closely divided. In an extreme case, members of the minority party might have influence if they can create a coalition with majority-party rebels, especially if they can find ideological common ground; such outcomes occasionally have resulted in state legislatures. For a hypothetical showdown next January, the prospective rebels—in either party—could be centrists or from the policy fringes.
In a 2015 article in The Washington Post, two academicians wrote that the rebels in 1923 held the balance of power in the House. “The Republican Old Guard had to swallow a lot to make this deal, but they had no choice — the alternatives were an unorganized House or a House organized along Democratic/Progressive lines,” wrote Jeffrey Jenkins and Charles Stewart, who are professors of political science respectively at the University of Virginia and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jenkins and Stewart authored a related book, Fighting for the Speakership, which was published in 2012. They analyzed how changes in the organization of politics and parties have affected the selection and power of the House Speaker. In a paper that they wrote for a meeting of political scientists in 2001, they encouraged greater “understanding how House members tried to impose stability on a process that seems ripe for instability and gridlock.”
With the increase in congressional instability and gridlock since 2001, it’s been uncertain whether and how the internal dysfunction might intensify. In ways that can only be guessed for now, that perfect storm might hit Capitol Hill in November. The outcome might have unpredictable consequences, such as blowing away the current party leaders in the House and uprooting the leadership dominance of legislation that has grown entrenched in recent years.
Richard E. Cohen is Chief Author of The Almanac of American Politics. For more insights, including profiles of all Members of Congress and the governors, order your copy of the Almanac from www.thealmanacofamericanpolitics.com. | <urn:uuid:a635e2e3-2124-44ec-ac34-ed7376f7b6fe> | {
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By Elizabeth Schlatter
"Those persons who are in pursuit of wealth would do well to plant coffee, for it is the same as money."
The story of Hawai'i’s coffee industry and the role played by newcomers to the island is now told in a living history museum run by the Kona Historical Society.
The museum had been a coffee farm owned by a family named Uchida, who were among the wave of Japanese immigrants arriving in turn-of-the-century Hawaii to find a better life working on the sugar cane plantations.
For many, life on the plantation was not what they expected. Unhappy with working conditions and their economic prospects, they fled to the remote region of Kona for a new occupation, coffee growing.
The Uchidas owned and operated a coffee farm on Kona from 1913 until 1994, when they sold it to the historical society. "We felt compelled to preserve something of the history and culture that had once dominated the district both culturally and economically, while there were still enough people, material culture, and architecture to do it,” project director Sheree Chase says. “If we had waited even ten years it would have been too late.”
Coffee had been introduced to Hawai'i in 1825 when Chief Boki, Governor of O'ahu, brought Brazilian coffee plants to his island. Sugar cane was still the major crop, but by the 1850s, with the encouragement of the government, coffee had become the second largest agricultural industry. With its favorable geography, the Kona district of Hawai'i outpaced the others. Protected by the slopes of nearby volcanoes, the region's mild climate and well-drained soil proved fertile land for coffee cultivation.
When he visited the region in 1866, Samuel Clemens wrote in Letters from the Sandwich Islands, "The ride through the district of Kona to Kealakekua Bay took us through the famous coffee and orange section. I think the Kona coffee has a richer flavor than any other, be it grown where it may and call it what you please.”
Demand grew, and so did the need for labor. Most of the farms owned by haoles (caucasians) hired native Hawaiians, but the availability of cheap foreign labor induced farmers to employ Chinese, Portuguese, and Japanese immigrants.
"They, all in the camp, heard so much about Kona,” said Yosoto Egami, talking about his father, Kuyutaro Egami, who left his job on a sugar plantation to become a coffee farmer. “. . .one thing is they want to get away from plantation because they want to be boss of their own. They don't want to be tied down at the plantation."
As large coffee plantations became less profitable, haole planters in Kona divided up their farms and leased the sections to tenant farmers. In 1910 more than four hundred Japanese families lived in Kona and earned their living there. Daisaku Uchida, like Kuyutaro Egami, came to Hawai'i during the turn-of-the-century immigration. He worked on a sugar plantation for three years before moving to Kona, where he held several different jobs, including picking coffee. In 1913 he took over the lease of a coffee farm from a Japanese friend and moved with his bride of a year, Shima Maruo, to the farm. They eventually had five children who grew to adulthood.
The arrival of Japanese women, many who came to Hawai'i as "picture brides," stabilized the Japanese community. Chase says, "Before women arrived in numbers men spent hard earned money on gambling, drinking, and prostitutes. With women came civility, religion, children, community foundation blocks. . ." The wives restored traditional customs and religious practices.
"Large families meant many hands," Chase says. "Children started working as soon as they could walk. Everyone had responsibilities which changed over the years. The average size family was ten to fourteen people." In order for the children to help with the harvest, schools had a "coffee vacation" from August to November instead of a summer vacation.
The remote location of the Kona district and the language barrier led to an insularity among the first generation, or issei, and a clinging to old-world customs. "Because the majority of folks who came to Hawai'i came before or during the Meji Restoration,”Chase says, referring to the industrial revolution in Japan, “the Japanese in Hawai'i have maintained language and different traditions and customs no longer followed in Japan today."
The second generation, the nisei, continued some traditions such as arranged marriages, the practice of Buddhism and Shinto, and the forming of kumaias, mutual support associations. They also, however, integrated their lives with mainstream American culture. As children they joined Boy Scout troops and 4-H clubs; at school they played basketball and competed in track and field.
Coffee farming was neither an easy nor a lucrative profession. According to Chase, "For the issei, they stuck with it because they were stuck with it. Limited skills, language barriers, and scarce resources prevented them from leaving. The older nisei who stayed with the lifestyle stayed because they liked the life, or they too had limited opportunities."
World War II radically altered the issei and nisei’s lives. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese community was placed under surveillance by the military, and some people, mostly issei, were sent to detention camps on the mainland. But thousands of nisei voluntarily served the U.S. military, primarily in the 100th Infantry Battalion. The battalion merged with the 42nd Regimental Combat Team and became the most decorated unit for its size and length of service.
Returning from World War II, the nisei gained more economic and political power in Hawai'i and ended the haole's reign over the coffee industry. Although the 1940s produced meager coffee profits, the early 1950s experienced a boom, due in part to increased productivity and to a freeze in Brazil that destroyed that country's crops.
Decreasing prices and subsequent decreasing production nearly collapsed the Kona coffee industry in the 1960s and 1970s; in the 1980s an improved economic climate and the trend toward gourmet coffees helped the industry rebound. It continues to thrive today.
Contemporary Kona coffee production is quite different from the practices of the earliest Kona farmers. Chase says, "With the passing of the nisei generation and the increase in new development as old farms are being bulldozed, a way of life that once defined Kona was disappearing before our eyes."
To preserve a piece of Kona’s heritage, the historical society bought the Uchida farm and restored it as it might have appeared between 1925 and 1945. The farm currently offers two tours a week to groups of fifteen; over the next few years it hopes to offer ten a week.
Visitors start at the Historical Society with an orientation video then walk through the exhibition "The Kona Coffee Story: Along the Hawaii Belt Road." Developed and donated by the Japanese-American National Museum of Los Angeles, the multimedia exhibition presents the Kona coffee industry's history, its varied immigrant heritage, and its impact on the district.
A five-minute drive takes visitors to the farm, which includes a six-room house built in 1925, six acres of land, and a donkey, otherwise referred to as the "kona nightingale" for its contribution to farming. According to Chase, approximately 30 percent of the artifacts are original to the site. The rest are typical of the period and were donated by the nisei community.
While explaining the history of the farm, a guide takes the visitors through the coffee orchard, past an interpreter dressed as a farmer from the 1940s picking coffee cherries from a tree. The farmer explains coffee growing practices at the farm, on which the historical society currently grows coffee beans and macadamia nuts.
In accordance with Japanese custom, visitors take off their shoes before entering the front room of the family home. An actor portraying Daisaku Uchida sits on the floor reading a Japanese language paper. Uchida talks with the audience about his farm, his family, and his way of life, up to the day of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Visitors also see the children's study, which contains a typewriter, schoolbooks, newspapers, Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck catalogs, dolls, toys, and Buddhist and Shinto shrines. The guide explains how the issei stressed education as the key to success, but that the demands of farming sometimes forced children to leave school prematurely. For the second generation, the focus became maintaining ethnic identity. Some nisei went to Japanese language schools which taught the children language and traditions from their parents' homeland.
Another room on the tour belonged to the Uchida's eldest son Masao and his bride Masako, whose marriage was arranged by their parents. Masao raised his family on the farm and grew coffee until the sale to the historical society in 1994. In the sewing room, his wife and daughters had a sideline as seamstresses, making clothes for the family and for sale.
Passing through the sleeping room, visitors enter the kitchen, where they are greeted by an interpreter portraying a farm wife. She explains how the family grew much of its own food and describes the meals--generally rice, miso soup, tofu, vegetables, and of course, plenty of coffee. American foods such as cake and bread entered their diet when the children went to public school, and poi was introduced through interaction with the native Hawaiian population.
Outside of the house stands a chicken coop and a furo, a Japanese bath house built in the early 1940s. Visitors end their tour by walking through a coffee processing and drying facility where another interpreter describes the processing of beans and the economics of coffee farming.
"We understood that people learn in a variety of ways. We wanted people to have a number of approaches to choose from,” Chase says. “We wanted it to be fun, entertaining as well as educational."
To reconstruct the family history, Chase conducted two hundred hours of interviews with Uchida family members and with people who grew up on similar farms such as Yosoto Egami. Since few issei are still alive, the memories of the nisei generation is crucial to the history of Kona. "They have a very clear recollection of their growing up years. In their own adult lives they carry on many of the traditions, foodways, religion, language, etc. So we still have a large but shrinking number of folks who lived the immigrant lifestyle."
Daisaku Uchida's youngest daughter, Fusae, has been an important source of information. As a volunteer, she documents, conserves, and catalogs artifacts, and acts as a liaison between the historical society and the Japanese community.
Chase hopes visitors leave the historical society with "an understanding of daily life on a Japanese coffee farm in Kona during the early twentieth century and all that it entails." The Uchida story, like that of similar Japanese immigrants, is an important part of America's rich immigrant history, cultural diversity, and agricultural heritage.
When asked how Shima and Daisaku Uchida might feel today knowing their farm was being preserved, Chase responded, "They would think we were nuts! But I think they would feel honored as well."
A view of the inside of the Kona Historical Farm is online at www.konahistorical.org . | <urn:uuid:0d01722b-fae0-4102-a1cd-3bb7f24a2228> | {
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TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Placing dam-like structures in Chicago waterways would be an almost foolproof method of preventing Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan, while a less pricey electric barrier system also has solid prospects for shielding the Great Lakes from the invasive fish, according to a scientific analysis released Wednesday.
While other studies have weighed the pros and cons of different proposals for stopping the carp, this one went further by rating their likelihood of success.
The report was designed to help policymakers choose an effective plan that wouldn't take too long to carry out. It determined that other methods under consideration, such as using strobe lights and water cannons to frighten the carp away, might also be helpful but would be less likely to succeed.
The study was conducted by scientists with the University of Notre Dame, the U.S. Forest Service and Resources for the Future, an independent research institution. Their conclusions were based on a survey of experts in fisheries management, aquatic nuisance species and other relevant topics.
They were asked to rate the likelihood for success of a variety of strategies for shutting down what's considered the most direct route to the Great Lakes for Asian carp: a network of rivers and canals around Chicago that link Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River watershed.
"An important finding of this study is that knowledgeable experts identified clear differences in the likely effectiveness of some Asian carp prevention technologies as opposed to others," said John Rothlisberger, a Forest Service aquatic ecologists and one of the report's writers. "Physical separation stands out from the rest as having the least associated uncertainty and the highest probability of preventing the introduction of Asian carp into Lake Michigan."
Bighead and silver carp, which gobble huge amounts of plankton on which many native species also subsist, were imported from Asia in the 1970s and have infested the Mississippi and its tributaries. Scientists say if they overrun the Great Lakes, they could upend the ecosystem and damage a $7 billion fishing industry.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this month presented eight options for fortifying the Chicago waterways to prevent Asian carp and other invaders from migrating between the two giant watersheds. The alternatives included walling them off with physical structures, which could cost more than $15 billon and take 25 years to accomplish, and other methods, including deploying electric barriers in addition to an existing one in a canal 37 miles from Lake Michigan.
But critics say the Corps' timetable is too slow and could allow the carp to reach the lake before the work is done.
Authors of the new report, which is being published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, said it offers one way to speed things up. By assigning expected performance ratings to 17 possible strategies based on expert opinion, it offers resource managers a basis for moving forward without waiting for time-consuming field tests, said Marion Wittmann, a Notre Dame post-doctoral researcher and the report's lead author.
"Asian carp are so close to Lake Michigan, we don't have much time right now," Wittmann said.
The study found that physical separation could prevent 95 to 100 percent of Asian carp introductions into Lake Michigan. The experts acknowledged the possibility that catastrophic flooding could overwhelm the barriers or that the carp could reach the lake through other means, such as an angler dumping a bait bucket containing young carp that were mistaken for other species, Wittmann said.
The experts concluded that the electric barrier could prevent 85 to 95 percent of carp introductions.
Other deterrent methods that were considered ranged from depleting oxygen or boosting carbon dioxide levels in parts of the waterways to spreading chemicals to blocking fish passages with nets. The report said some could have high failure rates, although it said a combination of noisemaking devices, bubbles and strobe lights could be 75 percent to 95 percent effective.
Follow John Flesher on Twitter at --http://twitter.com/JohnFlesher | <urn:uuid:58f5eb2d-831f-4954-8111-c5f98836d8ec> | {
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According to a recent report, about 16 percent of the asked jurors think they were not supposed to go online at all whilst serving on a jury. By the way, mentioning Internet usage related to work, do you have a Computer, Email and Internet policy?
Professor Cheryl Thomas from the University College London (UCL) Faculty of Laws carried out the research believing it would help giving evidence of understanding of the rules of contempt among the jurors in England and Wales. The questioned ones were juries from Crown Courts.
About five percent of the asked people shared that in their opinion there were no restrictions on the Internet sites they may open while on a trial and two percent said they thought they could use Internet only in order to get some information connected to the current case.
Only one percent shared they used the Internet in order to find information about the convicted ones or some of the other people involved in the crime. Some even mentioned they searched at Streetview because they wanted to see the exact location of the place where the crime had happened.
Professor Thomas said: “These findings show that the vast majority of jurors understand and follow the rules on how jurors can use new media during trial, but the message is not getting through and is confusing to a significant minority.”
In his opinion, this research could be helpful to juries from the whole country, as most of the respondents had approved it.
On the other hand, 82 per cent of them shared that they needed more information on how to lead their deliberations. | <urn:uuid:09209c8e-6315-4ace-b764-93d917b3efe9> | {
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In the 1980s, the village of Soumousso in Burkina Faso helped launch one of the most powerful weapons against malaria: insecticide-treated bed nets, which had early field trials there and went on to save millions of lives. But as mosquitoes developed resistance to widely used insecticides, the nets lost some of their power. Now, researchers are hoping the village can help make history again by testing a new countermeasure: a genetically modified (GM) fungus that kills malaria-carrying mosquitoes. In tests in a 600-square-meter structure in Soumousso called the MosquitoSphere—built like greenhouse but with mosquito netting instead of glass—the fungus eliminated 99% of the mosquitoes within a month, scientists report in the magazine Science.
The fungus also has clear advantages, however: It spares insects other than mosquitoes, and because it doesn’t survive long in sunlight, it’s unlikely to spread outside the building interiors where it would be applied. Fungi naturally infect a variety of insects, consuming the host’s tissues in order to reproduce, and they have been used for decades to control a wide variety of crop pests….Researchers have tested dozens of different fungal strains against disease-carrying mosquitoes, but none was effective enough to pass muster. So researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) in College Park and the Research Institute of Health Sciences & Centre Muraz in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, endowed a strain called M. pingshaense with a gene for a toxin isolated from spider venom that turns on when it contacts hemolymph, the insect version of blood. In the lab, the team showed its creation could kill mosquitoes faster and that just one or two spores could cause a lethal infection.
Burkina Faso was a promising place for a field test: Unlike many countries in Africa, it has an established system to evaluate and approve the use of GM organisms. It also has one of the highest rates of malaria in the world, and insecticide-resistant mosquitoes are widespread. For those and other reasons, the U.S. National Institutes of Health funded the MosquitoSphere, which is specifically designed to test GM organisms.
Excerpts fromGretchen Vogel Fungus with a venom gene could be new mosquito killer, Science, May 31, 2019 | <urn:uuid:d2426812-0cc3-4580-806e-eab6f4340eb6> | {
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David Copperfield is one of Charles Dickens' most famous books and David one of the best loved boy characters in English literature. Charles Dickens published David Copperfield in 1849-50. David is more or less an autobiography of Charles Dicken' own life. More or less meaning that in most cases he does not use actual names, but makes up the scenery and
names of the people. And the basic depiction of Savid's early life in particular is built around Dicjens' experience as a boy. Dickens published David Copperfield in 1849. Thus the clothing styles can be assumed to have been those of the 1840s. As David aged in the book, clothing of the 1830s may be correctly used for David as a boy. Thus David can be correctly shown wearing a skelrton suit. They were, however, going out of style in the 1830s, at least by the late-30s.
Charles Dickens published David Copperfield in 1849-50. David is more or less an autobiography of Charles Dicken' own life. More or less meaning that in most cases he does
not use actual names, but makes up the scenery and
names of the people. The events and general meaning, however, remain the same. To create such an atmosphere and still have it retain the same essential elements of a true autobiography is an act of shear genius. And the basic depiction of Savid's early life in particular is built around Dicjens' experience as a boy.
Charles Dickens is regarded by many as the greatest novelist in the English language. He is especially notable for the wonderfully diverse chracters he created. Among them are some of the most famous boy characters in literary history. Oliver Twist was in fact the first boy character to be the main character of a novel. Dickens authored 15 major novels and
numerous short stories and articles. Oliver David, and Pip are the best known, but many other boys and girls populate his novels. The most memorable are those wounded and in some cases destroyed by poverty, in pat because of his boyhood experiences. The epitat on his tombstone in Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey reads: "He was a sympathiser to the poor,
the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world".
The book is divided into two basic parts: 1)David
as a boy, and 2) David as a young man. David's father dies 6 months before he is born. David and his mother are very close until she marries Mr. Murdstone, who is a cold, mean man who dominates the relationship between David and his mother. Before any of that happens, David spends a few weeks with Peggoty at her brother Dan's house. David meets to kids,
Little Em'ly and Ham. When David's mother dies in still childbirth, his step-father appretices him off to London to work where he meets Wilkins Micawber, who let's David stay with him. He turns out to be a fraud, but does so in such a weird way that it's hard not to like him. Micawber is in great financial trouble, and is always "expecting something to turn up". Micawber is later arrested and sent to debtors prison. David's last stop in his youth is Dover, where he lives with his fathers sister, Betswet Trotwood, who lives with crazy cousin Mr. Dick. David takes to Mr. Dick right off, and he is finally happy. He is sent to live with the Wickfield family, which includes old Mr. Wickfield who is a well off, but alcoholic, businessman; his daughter Agnes who is David's age, and the clerk, Uriah Heep. By the time David graduates from school, Agnes has fallen in love with David (although he doesn't know it yet). Mr. Wickfield has fallen under the influence of the evil Uriah Heep, and Heep has hired Mr. Micawber. David returns to London to become a writer where David meets up with Steerforth whom he once knew in school. The two soon become fast friends. Together, they attend an opera where David is introduced to Dora who will eventually become his bride. The rest of the book deals with David as a young man and how the villian of the book, Uriah Heep, is finally exposed.
Dickens published David Copperfield in 1849. Thus the clothing styles can be assumed to have been those of the 1840s. As David aged in the book, clothing of the 1830s may be correctly used for David as a boy. Thus David can be correctly shown wearing a skelrton suit. They were, however, going out of style in the 1830s, at least by the late-30s. Other clothing items like tunics might be accuate, at least for well-to-do boys going to school. Boys of all ages wore long pants, even fashionably dressed boys from affluent familirs. Headwear might be peaked caps with military styling. Boys also wore suits with vests. The jackets were cut short. Often the jackets did not match the pants. And vests were contrasting. The most definitive source for the proper fashions would of course be the illustrations in the original published version.
There have been several theatrical, movie, and television productions of David Copperfield.
The English 1999 production was an excellent, faithful production with faitful costuming.
Navigate the HBC literary pages' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the main Main English literary page]
[Our William] [Jennings] [Peter Pan]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home] | <urn:uuid:96a7c7f9-1097-4b50-b14d-117e5ba60cf9> | {
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Dwellings of several stories fill the rock alcoves that tower 2,000 feet above Montezuma Valley. There are approximately 600 dwellings discovered within Mesa Verde dating from about A.D. 550 to 1300. The Ancestral Pueblo people crafted their dwellings of sandstone, wooden beams, and mortar.
The structures range in size from one-room storage units to villages of more than 150 rooms.
The Ancestral Pueblo people subsisted by growing crops on nearby mesas, mostly corn. Water for farming was provided by summer rains, winter snowfall, and seeps and springs nearby. The men hunted as well. The women are famous for their beautiful baskets.
All photos here are of Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde. To visit here, we had to have a guided tour.
This dwelling was constructed in the early to mid 1200s. There are about 130 rooms and 8 kivas. It is believed to have been home for about 60 to 80 people.
This photo and the one below were taken at a distance.
Yes, we did climb up this ladder! Here is our intrepid guide Denise.
view from across the canyon (See the ladder? just below the dwellings on the right)
Mesa Verde (means Green Table) is located in the high plateau country of southwestern Colorado. The park itself lies atop a high mesa that rises from the canyon cut by the Mancos River.
a few facts:
∎ The park was created in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.
∎ Mesa Verde National Park encompasses 52,122 acres (81 square miles).
∎ Elevation on Mesa Verde varies between 6,000 and 8,500 feet.
∎ Mesa Verde is also recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This link will take you to a world wide list.
∎ The climate is semi-arid.
∎ Spruce Tree House was built into a natural alcove measuring 216 feet (66 meters) at its greatest width and 89 feet (27 meters) at its greatest depth.
∎ National Park website
∎ National Geographic
∎ National Park information about Spruce Tree House
∎ Maps of Mesa Verde @ Desert USA
∎ travelog- a family visits Mesa Verde @ Abingdon Outdoors
∎ maps and information about North American deserts @ Desert USA with links
Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun! This week our letter is "D." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!
photos by me © 2007 all rights reserved | <urn:uuid:24605e61-61aa-419c-93a7-385e2e7f6a18> | {
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Historic Stanley Park: From British Enclave to Urban Oasis
9:30 am - 12:00 pm
As part of Heritage Week 2016: “Distinctive Destinations: Experience Historic Places”, Historian Maurice Guibord leads a walking tour and illustrated lecture on Stanley Park. After centuries of use by local First Nations, Stanley Park was transformed into an ode to British gardens, where Vancouver’s settler population could feel at home. On this walking tour, we’ll explore elements of its early First Nations history along with some of the sites that launched the park as a British enclave including the statues of poet Robert Burns and Governor General Lord Stanley, the water fountain dedicated to Queen Victoria, Shakespeare’s monument in his own rose garden, and more! From there we’ll enjoy the comfort of the Vancouver Rowing Club with warm beverages, a short introduction to the history of the Club from General Manager Keith Jolly and an illustrated talk on other aspects of the park’s fascinating history. Visit www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org for more details. | <urn:uuid:716bdd2f-f030-42d4-bfff-23642e7c65b5> | {
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August 29, 2012 - Medical officials are warning people about a new strain of Swine Flu that has infected more than 200 people in nine states. It's called H3N2. So far there haven't been any cases in Florida or Georgia but officials say it is a threat to anyone in contact with pigs. It spreads through the cough or sneeze of a pig. Anyone who is around pigs for any reason should remember to wash their hands before and after having contact with the animals. However, you don't have to stop eating pork. The virus cannot be contracted through food.
Also, if you can't get through your day without a coffee break or two, here's good news for you, Harvard researchers say the evidence is fairly strong for coffee preventing Type II Diabetes and Parkinson's because of its antioxidants. Increased coffee consumption is also associated with longer life. Research finds that the greatest overall benefits appear to be in people who drink coffee at moderate levels which is equivalent to two to three cups a day.
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:a68ceba2-0b17-4299-b04d-c540e7e1e26e> | {
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2010's Top Equine Reproduction Studies (AAEP 2010)
The science of equine reproduction enjoyed many significant advancements in 2010, and these were discussed during the popular Kester News Hour session of the American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Dec. 6-10 in Baltimore, Md. Margo L. Macpherson, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACT, associate professor and section chief in Reproduction at the University of Florida, and past president of the American College of Theriogenologists, presented the top published stories in this area during the convention.
In a study Macpherson termed "attention-getting," researchers inserted tiny colored fluorescent beads into mares' oviducts, then performed uterine lavage one and two days later, to assess whether the oviducts were patent (open, or allowing the beads to pass along the oviduct to the uterus). Beads were only recovered from 40% of mares, suggesting blockage of one or both oviducts was present in the other 60% of mares (which averaged 8 years of age compared to 4 years for the patent mares).
"While this isn't a first line of defense for the barren mare, this novel approach could provide answers for mares with long-standing, unexplained infertility," Macpherson comented. "Similar studies have also shown that oviductal flushing can sometimes resolve obstruction and result in future pregnancy."
- Arnold,C.E. & Love,C.C. Laparoscopic evaluation of oviductal patency in the standing mare. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 86 (2010).
"Work from several investigators in the past five years has suggested that clinical diagnosis of a uterine infection can vary depending on the organism involved," said Macpherson. In other words, different bacteria cause different levels of inflammation in the uterus (endometritis), causing veterinarians to diagnose them differently. She described an Animal Reproduction Science (ARS) study in which researchers reported that Streptococcus zooepidemicus bacteria caused significantly more inflammation than Escherichia coli in susceptible mares (those that tend to get uterine inflammation/infection more easily than others).
Also, resistant mares (those that do not get uterine infections as easily) did not have any bacteria recovered from their uteri, meaning they were able to clear the infection on their own. However, their susceptible counterparts yielded Strep after infection with that bacterium, but generally did not have E. coli cultured even after infection with that bacterium.
Researchers in two more studies (in Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, JEVS, and ARS) also evaluated uterine infections; both reinforced the findings of more positive culture results with Streptococcus compared to E. coli. Also, endometrial biopsy samples were found to be better for cytology and culture testing than guarded swab samples.
"All uterine infections are not created equally," said Macpherson. "E. coli infections may be more insidious in nature and require more aggressive diagnostic procedures to detect."
In a related study, researchers from Colorado State University validated a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for detecting bacteria in the uterus. This is a "highly sensitive tool" that identified bacteria in 33% of mares with endometritis, whereas standard culture identified bacteria in only 22% of cases.
"PCR has great potential as an adjunct tool for mares with a long-standing history of infertility," Macpherson commented. Also, she added, "Preliminary data from a PCR test used to detect fungal DNA from uterine samples shows great promise for difficult-to-detect fungal organisms."
- Eaton,S.L., Raz,T., Chirino-Trejo,M., Bergermann,J. & Card,C. Comparison of endometrial inflammation following intrauterine inoculation with genital strains of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus or Escherichia coli in the mare. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 101-102 (2010).
- Nielsen,J.M.l. et al. Diagnosis of Endometritis in the Mare Based on Bacteriological and Cytological Examinations of the Endometrium: Comparison of Results Obtained by Swabs and Biopsies. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 30, 27-30 (2010).
- Burleson,M.D., LeBlanc,M., Riddle,W.T. & Hendricks,K.E.M. Endometrial microbial isolates are associated with different ultrasonographic and endometrial cytology findings in Thoroughbred mares. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 103 (2010). AAEP 2010
- Ferris,R.A., Veir,J.K., Lappin,M.R. & McCue,P.M. Development and clinical application of a broad range 16S quantitative PCR assay for detection of bacteria in the uterus of the mare. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 98-100 (2010).
One group of researchers researched treating placentitis (placental infection/inflammation, a leading cause of foal loss). Veterinarians treated mares with clinical signs of induced placentitis using a combination of trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, pentoxifylline, and altrenogest at standard doses. Treatment continued from the onset of clinical signs until foals were born or aborted.
According to Macpherson, 83% of the treated mares delivered live foals compared to zero control mares. Ten of 12 live foals of treated mares had no bacteria in their bloodstreams, whereas all of the aborted foals had bacteria in at least one of the following locations: Blood, stomach contents, and/or chest fluids.
"The workers attributed the rapid and aggressive treatment, within 96 hours of infection, to the successful delivery of live foals in treated mares," said Macpherson.
Another group of researchers tested several drugs against induced placentitis, using antibiotics alone (such as trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole) or in combination with immunomodulators (in this case, immune system boosters) such as the corticosteroid dexamethasone, aspirin, and progestins (synthetic hormones similar to progesterone). Treatment was initiated with onset of clinical signs (within 48 hours of infection), and two-thirds of the mares delivered viable foals regardless of which treatment they received.
"These findings beg the question of whether drug choice is the determining factor in successful treatment of bacterial placentitis, or (if it is) early detection of disease and rapid initiation of treatment," Macpherson said. She also noted that treated mares delivered about 10 days earlier than healthy mares, suggesting that accelerated foal maturation occurred with the disease.
Lastly, she discussed an Australian study in ARS which mares were classified as being at "high-risk" of placentitis if they had less than a 50% live foal rate within the last three years. High-risk mares were monitored with ultrasound and visual observation starting at five months of gestation, and treated with antibiotics and altrenogest if they showed any signs of placentitis. More persistent cases also got anti-inflammatory medications.
With this treatment protocol, more than 80% of high-risk mares delivered live foals, compared to only about 25% before the study.
"Monitor mares at risk for premature delivery to ensure prompt diagnosis," recommended Macpherson. "Initiate treatment early, treat aggressively and for the duration of pregnancy. To ensure continued reproductive health for the mare, she should also be treated in the postpartum period--clean those mares up!"
Another mare management study (in Theriogenology) involved evaluating the effects of Regu-Mate (altrenogest, a progesterone hormone product). "Many of us use Regu-Mate, liberally at times, for support of pregnancy," Macpherson said.
Researchers found no difference in pregnancy rates with Regu-Mate, but they did find that older mares (which had smaller embryos at all time points) that were given the product had significantly larger embryos from Days 30-45 of gestation compared to older mares that didn't get Regu-Mate. Also, some mares then produced more equine chorionic gonadotropin hormone (which also helps support pregnancy).
"Early treatment (no later than Days 5-6) of pregnant mares, particularly aged ones, with altrenogest may have a positive effect on embryo and placental development," Macpherson noted.
- Bailey,C.S. et al. Treatment efficacy of trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, pentoxifylline and altrenogest in experimentally induced equine placentitis. Theriogenology 74, 402-412 (2010).
- Christiansen, D.L. et al. Evidenced-based medicine approach to develop efficacious therapies for late-gestation mares presenting with uterine infections using an experimentally-induced placentitis model. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 345-346 (2010).
- Carrick,J.B., Begg,A.P., Perkins,N.R., O'Meira,A.O. & O'Meara,D.O. Ultrasonographic monitoring and treatment of pregnant mares at risk for placentitis. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 331-333 (2010).
- Willmann,C., Schuler,G.,Hoffman,B.,Parvizi,N., Aurich,C. Effects of age and altrenogest treatment on conceptus development and secretion of LH, progesterone and eCG in early-pregnant mares. Theriogenology, 2011 Feb;75(3):421-8.
Macpherson also reported that an injectable, sustained-release deslorelin product (for managing estrus in mares, using the same primary ingredient as the product Ovuplant, which has been off the market for some time) gained Food and Drug Administration approval in the week before the convention, and was expected to be available by January 18, 2011. The product, called SucroMate, is being distributed by Bioniche Life Sciences.
Broodmares and Financial Return
In the financial arena, Macpherson reported that the general economic downturn has not spared the Florida horse production industry, which saw a "staggering drop in Thoroughbred production" of nearly a 30% reduction in foal crops from 2009 to 2010.
"I am guessing that few of us in this room are prepared to give up breeding mares, racing horses, or being equine veterinarians," she commented. "Instead, we need to make better decisions about what we do and how we do it. A first start is evaluating our breeding practices."
In that vein, Macpherson described a recent production data study in Equine Veterinary Journal (EVJ) where researchers evaluated mare value and productivity, with an eye toward helping breeders maximize returns and mare productivity.
Most mares' foaling dates tend to drift later in the year with subsequent seasons, often resulting in a missed or barren season, she noted. Of the 1,176 mares in the study, 63% failed to produce a registered foal every season within the seven-year study period. For those mares, the average time to a barren season was 3.4 years.
Factors including increasing mare age, foaling after April 1, requiring multiple breedings in a season, and producing fewer foals in previous years were associated with reduced foal production during the study. Additionally, the researchers found that a mare must produce a live foal in at least six out of seven years to recoup the breeder's investment in her, and that higher-value mares yield better financial gains.
"Mares are long-term investments," concluded the study authors. "Improving our understanding of mare, stallion, and management factors that affect the likelihood of producing a live foal is critical to ensuring a positive financial return."
Also, Macpherson reported that breeding earlier in the year yielded higher pregnancy rates, and that early breeding was especially important for maiden and barren mares. Foal heat breeding was also effective in reproductively healthy mares in one study, but not in another.
On the stallion side of things, some stallions were found to be more fertile than others in one study, and reinforcement breeding was again found to improve pregnancy rates when used in a natural cover program. Later covers in the day were associated with decreased pregnancy rates, as was the presence of neutrophils (a type of immune cell) in the dismount sample (possibly indicating uterine inflammation in the mare). Tranquilizers given to mares also had a detrimental effect (whether that was because mares were not ready for breeding or because of a pharmacologic effect of the tranquilizer drug was not clear).
"The majority of factors associated with variation of fertility in this study, both positive and negative, were attributable to the mare," said Macpherson.
- Bosh,K.A., Powell,D., Shelton,B. & Zent,W. Reproductive performance measures among Thoroughbred mares in central Kentucky, during the 2004 mating season. Equine Veterinary Journal 41, 883-888 (2009).
- Bosh,K.A., Powell,D., Neibergs,J.S., Shelton,B. & Zent,W. Impact of reproductive efficiency over time and mare financial value on economic returns among Thoroughbred mares in central Kentucky. Equine Veterinary Journal 41, 889-894 (2009).
- McDowell, K.J., Little,T.V. & Baker,C.B. Models to predict reproductive success in horses. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 126-127 (2010).
- Blanchard,T.L. et al. Some Factors Associated With Fertility of Thoroughbred Stallions. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 30, 407-418 (2010). http://www.j-evs.com/article/S0737-0806(10)00225-X/abstract
Stallion Vocalizations for Teasing?
Could farm managers tease mares to assess estrus by simply playing tape recordings of stallion vocalizations? The results of a recent study confirm the effectiveness of this practice, which could be used by some breeding farms.
Researchers on an ARS study played taped stallion vocalizations to broodmares and were thereby able to identify estrous behavior. The effectiveness of this practice was improved when the mares were also presented with stallion scent, with a successful estrus detection rate of over 80%.
"This tactic might provide a less threatening environment for mares, which could be especially important for maiden or timid mares or on small farms with no stallions," Macpherson added. "Further, if physical finding of the reproductive tract were combined with behavioral responses, as is typical in practice, one would expect the sensitivity of this tool to be even better."
- Janson,K.M. & Mcdonnell,S.M. Estrus detection in mares using contextually congruent stallion vocalization playback with and without stallion scent. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 123-125 (2010).
Stallion semen is generally centrifuged, or spun at high speeds, during processing for extending/shipment so sperm are concentrated. However, this procedure can crush some sperm depending on the technique used, so researchers often evaluate techniques to reduce this sperm loss, such as by using a cushion medium in the tube.
Macpherson discussed one study in which researchers modified cushioned centrifugation procedures to use less cushion medium (1 mL instead of 3.5) and larger sperm samples (3 billion instead of 1), and found that sperm recovery rates were still higher than 90% regardless of cushion volume or sperm number. Sperm characteristics were also unaffected even after cooling for 24 hours.
"More sperm and less cushion means less tubes to process, which can increase efficiency and reduce costs," explained Macpherson.
Another study she was "particularly excited about" looked at increasing the concentrations of sperm in cooled, shipped semen from 25 million sperm per milliliter of shipped semen to 250 million sperm/mL. No negative impact on sperm characteristics was noted with this protocol.
"So we can ship more sperm, perhaps even up to 20 billion sperm," Macpherson noted. "This could be useful for providing more sperm for traditional artificial insemination (AI) or for low-dose AI. The one qualifier for both of these studies is that these protocol changes have not been tested for fertility."
- Bliss,S.B. et al. Effect of sperm number and cushion volume during centrifugation on the quality and recovery rate of stallion sperm. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 220-221 (2010).
- Voge,J.L. et al. Cooled storage of semen at high or low sperm concentrations: effects on sperm motility, membrane integrity, and chromatin quality. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 210-211 (2010).
Contagious Equine Metritis
Macpherson also discussed a study of contagious equine metritis (CEM), a highly contagious bacterial infection that causes acute endometritis in mares and subsequently impacts fertility. The disease caused significant consternation recently in the U.S. breeding industry (see "CEM Investigation: 23 Positive Stallions"). For this study, researchers evaluated whether mixing antibiotics with semen extender would prevent transmission of the bacterium that causes CEM, Taylorella equigenitalis, from infected stallions to mares. They found that growth of the bacterium was "significantly inhibited" by the antibiotics and that mares bred with this semen did not become ill, whereas all mares bred with raw (not extended), infected semen developed CEM.
"The risk of transmission of CEM can be significantly reduced by mixing semen with extenders containing antibiotics," summarized Macpherson.
- Klein,C. et al. Antibiotic-containing semen extender reduces the risk of transmission of CEM. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 222-223 (2010).
"Exciting advances in embryo biopsy techniques for diagnosing genetic diseases were revealed in 2010," said Macpherson. In humans, she added, this technique is commonly used to screen for genetic disease before implanting embryos created by in vitro fertilization.
Texas A&M University researchers have found good success with biopsying equine embryos that were 6-8 days old, then transferring the embryos into mares or freezing them for later use. Fresh, shipped embryos still yielded better than 75% pregnancy rates.
Diseases detected from the biopsied cells included hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP) and hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia, and embryo sex was also determined.
"This laboratory is working hard to perfect gene amplification procedures to allow for diagnosis of additional diseases," Macpherson said. (For more information, see "Assisted Reproduction in Horses: Practical Usage (AAEP 2010).")
Another study, this one from the University of Kentucky, also looked at vitrification (freezing) of biopsied embryos.
"In this groundbreaking study, transfer of frozen/thawed embryos subjected to biopsy resulted in a 75% pregnancy rate at day 14," reported Macpherson. "Three live foals were born from these biopsied embryos, including the first reported live foal following these procedures. Successful embryo biopsy for pre-implantation genetic diagnosis of equine diseases may revolutionize the way we manage genetic diseases in horses."
- Choi,Y.H. et al. Viability of equine embryos after puncture of the capsule and biopsy for preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Reproduction REP-10 (2010).
- Troedssen,M.H.T. et al. Transfer success of biopsied and vitrified equine embryos. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 295-296 (2010).
- Seidel,G.E., Cullingford,E.L., Stokes,J.E., Carnevale,E.M. & McCue,P.M. Pregnancy rates after vitrification, warming and transfer of equine embryos. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 299-300 (2010).
- Brosnahan,M.M.,Brooks,S.A.,Antczak,D.F. Equine clinical genomics: A clinician's primer. Equine Veterinary Journal 42, 658-670 (2010).
- Alvarenga,M.A., Melo,C.M., Magalhaes,L.C.O. & Papa,F.O. A new method to concentrate equine sperm. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 186-187 (2010).
- Brinkerhoff,J.M. et al. Influence of mare age, pre-breeding mare status, breeding method, and stallion on first cycle pregnancy rates on a large commercial breeding farm. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 159 (2010).
- Diaw M. et al. Characteristics of endometrial culture and biopsy samples taken immediately postpartum from normal mares compared with those from mares with induced placentitis. Anim Reprod. Sci. 121S, 369-370 (2010).
- Esteller-Vico,A., Liu,I.K., Brosnan,R.J. & Steffey,E.P. Uterine vascular elastosis and its effect on uterine blood flow in cyclic mares. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 87-88 (2010).
- Hayden,S.S. et al. Low-dose deep-horn insemination: a comparison of transrectally guided and hysteroscopic techniques. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 155 (2010).
- Kotoyori,Y. et al. Transrectal 3-dimensional ultrasound examination of the equine fetus during the first half of gestation. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 327-328 (2010).
- Ryan,P. et al. Use of bioluminescence imaging technology and lux-modified bacteria to determine pathogen progression during uterine infections in the pregnant mare and rate of clearance post partum. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 341-342 (2010).
- Schnobrich,M.R., Riddle,W.T., LeBlanc,M. & Stromberg,A.J. The effect of manual twin elimination on live foal rate in Thoroughbred mares. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 324-325 (2010).
- Sheerin,P.C., Howard,C.E., LeBlanc,M. & Stromberg,A.J. Effects of operator, treatment and mare age on the live foal rate of mares after manual twin reduction. Animal Reproduction Science 121, 312-313 (2010).
About the Author
Christy West has a BS in Equine Science from the University of Kentucky, and an MS in Agricultural Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
POLL: Complementary Therapies | <urn:uuid:eb345f40-642f-499b-8b65-8c07368567ac> | {
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1. image - noun
· an iconic mental representation; "her imagination forced images upon her too awful to contemplate"
2. image - noun
· (Jungian psychology) a personal facade that one presents to the world; "a public image is as fragile as Humpty Dumpty"
3. image - noun
· a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface; "they showed us the pictures of their wedding"; "a movie is a series of images projected so rapidly that the eye integrates them"
4. image - noun
· a standard or typical example; "he is the prototype of good breeding"; "he provided America with an image of the good father"
5. image - noun
· language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense
6. image - noun
· someone who closely resembles a famous person (especially an actor); "he could be Gingrich's double"; "she's the very image of her mother"
7. image - noun
· (mathematics) the set of values of the dependent variable for which a function is defined; "the image of f(x) = x^2 is the set of all non-negative real numbers if the domain of the function is the set of all real numbers"
8. image - noun
· the general impression that something (a person or organization or product) presents to the public; "although her popular image was contrived it served to inspire music and pageantry"; "the company tried to project an altruistic image"
9. image - noun
· a representation of a person (especially in the form of sculpture); "the coin bears an effigy of Lincoln"; "the emperor's tomb had his image carved in stone"
10. image - verb
· render visible, as by means of MRI
11. image - verb
· imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind; "I can't see him on horseback!"; "I can see what will happen"; "I can see a risk in this strategy"
The only site you need for word puzzles, home work, anagrams and scrabble games. The best site for two word anagram solutions.
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2013 Summer Survival Guide: Hidden Toxins
Christopher Gavigan on how to avoid harmful exposure
When we want to learn where hidden toxins lie, we go straight to our Eco Expert, Honest Company co-founder Christopher Gavigan. We asked what to look out for this summer, and he told us about five ways kids might be exposed to toxins at this time of year—and offered tips for how to avoid them.
1. Playing in the grass. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that nearly 70 million pounds of active pesticide ingredients are applied to lawns and gardens each year. Use natural, non-toxic methods to care for your lawn, and be sure to ask about what’s been applied at parks or any public places you frequent.
2. Drinking from the hose. It’s a classic thirst-quencher, but hose water can contain a cocktail of heavy metals and toxic chemicals, according to new testing from from HealthyStuff.org. Skip hose water (even for your veggie garden) unless the label says the hose is drinking water safe and you’ve tested the water for lead.
3. Wearing sunscreen. Many sunscreens contain potentially toxic ingredients. Avoid PABA, oxybenzone, nanoparticles, parabens, and phthalates (and check out Honest Co.'s blog post about infant sunscreen safety).
4. Using bug spray. Yes, you want to protect your kid from Lyme Disease and West Nile. But bug sprays can contain some seriously toxic chemicals. Avoid products containing DEET, permethrin, and synthetic fragrances.
5. Grilling meat. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carcinogenic compounds that form in meat cooked at high temperatures. Reduce exposure by trimming excess fat; grilling in low, indirect heat (or pre-cooking meat in your oven and finishing it on the grill); removing charring from cooked meet; and keeping the grill clean. | <urn:uuid:7888b103-6743-47b7-b6bc-5b9595ca8e15> | {
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Help is at hand for Muslims with health conditions who are fasting during the month of Ramadan.
As the weather gets even hotter, Bucks County Council has issued health advice for those preparing to observe the religious tradition.
Ramadan sees many members of the Muslim community fasting during daylight hours for 30 days starting on Sunday June 29.
It is common to have one meal just before sunrise and an evening meal after sunset during this time.
Council chiefs have warned that during fasting, the body continues to lose water in the usual way which is not being replaced by drinking - and this can lead to dehydration.
When Ramadan falls in summertime, the days are that much longer and the weather warmer, and the danger of dehydration is greater.
Dehydration will make a person feel unwell, disorientated or confused, and can lead to fainting or collapse.
If someone is suffering these symptoms, they should stop fasting and have a drink of water or other fluid.
The Muslim Council of Britain has confirmed that breaking the fast in such circumstances is allowable under Islamic law.
There is also a warning to anyone fasting that they should drink sufficiently before the fast begins.
Individuals who are less fit and healthy are at greater risk of dehydration – this includes older people and those with poorly-controlled medical conditions such as low or high blood pressure or diabetes and those who are receiving dialysis treatment - these individuals, their families and their communities need to be extra vigilant.
Bucks director of public health Jane O’Grady said: “When Ramadan falls in the summer months it’s really important to take extra care to drink enough before the fast to keep your fluid levels up during the day and avoid dehydration.
“Do watch out for more vulnerable members of the community, especially if the weather is very warm, to make sure that they stay healthy during the holy month.” | <urn:uuid:8aee9aba-001f-476f-aeb1-9890dfd9c0bd> | {
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Text Object Model
This section contains information about the programming elements used with the Text Object Model (TOM).
The TOM defines a substantial set of text manipulation interfaces. Text solutions such as Microsoft Word and rich edit controls support the TOM feature set. TOM was greatly influenced by WordBasic (the programming language used for Word) and it is easy to use from Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). This compatibility has several advantages:
- Code can migrate fairly easily from one solution to another.
- One language can be used to share text information between different text engines.
- It reduces the need for documentation and code compared to the separate low-level Component Object Model (COM) and VBA interfaces.
However, it can be less efficient for C/C++ purposes than the use of more general lower level COM interfaces.
TOM is a straightforward set of interfaces to implement for its primary text solutions, Word and rich edit controls. However, for applications that place minor emphasis on text, it is better to provide TOM interfaces by transferring the text to an edit control that supports TOM. Since rich edit controls ship with Microsoft operating systems, they are the standard means of obtaining TOM functionality.
|About Text Object Model||
The top-level Text Object Model (TOM) object is defined by the ITextDocument interface, which has methods for creating and retrieving objects lower in the object hierarchy.
|Using The Text Object Model||
The code samples in this document show various aspects of using the Text Object Model (TOM).
The ITextDocument interface is the TOM top-level interface, which retrieves the active selection and range objects for any story in the document—whether active or not. It enables the application to:
When to Implement
Applications typically do not implement the ITextDocument interface. Microsoft text solutions, such as rich edit controls, implement ITextDocument as part of their TOM implementation.
When to Use
Applications can retrieve an ITextDocument pointer from a rich edit control. To do this, send an EM_GETOLEINTERFACE message to retrieve an IRichEditOle object from a rich edit control. Then, call the object's IUnknown::QueryInterface method to retrieve an ITextDocument pointer.
The ITextRange objects are powerful editing and data-binding tools that allow a program to select text in a story and then examine or change that text.
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Despite their wide occurrence, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis are considered neglected diseases by the World Health Organization. The epidemiology of these diseases and microsporidiosis in humans in developing countries is poorly understood. The high concentration of pathogens in raw sewage makes the characterization of the transmission of these pathogens simple through the genotype and subtype analysis of a small number of samples.
The distribution of genotypes and subtypes of Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi in 386 samples of combined sewer systems from Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuhan and the sewer system in Qingdao in China was determined using PCR-sequencing tools. Eimeria spp. were also genotyped to assess the contribution of domestic animals to Cryptosporidium spp., G. duodenalis, and E. bieneusi in wastewater. The high occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. (56.2%), G. duodenalis (82.6%), E. bieneusi (87.6%), and Eimeria/Cyclospora (80.3%) made the source attribution possible. As expected, several human-pathogenic species/genotypes, including Cryptosporidium hominis, Cryptosporidium meleagridis, G. duodenalis sub-assemblage A-II, and E. bieneusi genotype D, were the dominant parasites in wastewater. In addition to humans, the common presence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Eimeria spp. from rodents indicated that rodents might have contributed to the occurrence of E. bieneusi genotype D in samples. Likewise, the finding of Eimeria spp. and Cryptosporidium baileyi from birds indicated that C. meleagridis might be of both human and bird origins.
The distribution of Cryptosporidium species, G. duodenalis genotypes and subtypes, and E. bieneusi genotypes in urban wastewater indicates that anthroponotic transmission appeared to be important in epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, and microsporidiosis in the study areas. The finding of different distributions of subtypes between Shanghai and Wuhan was indicative of possible differences in the source of C. hominis among different areas in China.
Citation: Li N, Xiao L, Wang L, Zhao S, Zhao X, et al. (2012) Molecular Surveillance of Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi by Genotyping and Subtyping Parasites in Wastewater. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 6(9): e1809. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001809
Editor: Judd L. Walson, University of Washington, United States of America
Received: April 16, 2012; Accepted: July 25, 2012; Published: September 6, 2012
This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.
Funding: This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31110103901, 41001316); the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Project) (2011CB200903); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China; Open Funding Projects of the State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology at the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute and State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and microsporidia infections are significant causes of diarrhea in humans worldwide , . Despite their wide occurrence, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis are considered neglected diseases by the World Health Organization, largely due to a lack of studies in developing countries . In addition to infecting humans, these parasites are found in a wide range of animals including domestic and wild animals. Humans can acquire Cryptosporidium infections through several transmission routes, such as direct contact with infected persons (anthroponotic transmission) or animals (zoonotic transmission) and ingestion of contaminated water or food . Although the epidemiology of Giardia and microsporidia is less clear, potential sources of infections can be identified by comparing the distribution of genotypes of each parasite among different hosts , .
The host-adaptive nature of different species/genotypes of these parasites helps us understand the potential infection sources and transmission routes of the disease. Among the over 70 species and genotype of Cryptosporidium, five species are responsible for most human infections, including C. hominis infecting humans, C. parvum infecting ruminants, C. meleagridis infecting birds, C. felis infecting cats, and C. canis infecting dogs . In contrast, giardiasis in humans and most other mammals is caused by Giardia duodenalis (also known as Giardia lamblia or Giardia intestinalis) . Giardia duodenalis has at least eight genotypes, assemblages A-H. Among them, assemblages A and B infect humans and a broad range of other hosts, including livestock, cats, dogs, and wild mammals. Within the assemblage A, there are three major subtypes groups (sub-assemblages), A-I, A-II and A-III, with A-I mainly infecting most animals, A-II mainly infecting humans, and A-III mainly infecting wild ruminants. Assemblages C-H appear generally to be mostly restricted to companion animals, livestock, rodents, and seals . Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common microsporidian species infecting humans, domestic animals, wild mammals, and birds , . Enterocytozoon bieneusi forms several phylogenetic groups of genotypes, with group 1 infecting humans and most animals and groups 2–5 infecting different animals , . Groups 2–5 represent host-adapted genotypes that have no major public health significance , . Therefore, using both an understanding of the host-specificity of various pathogen species/subtypes and describing the most common pathogen species/subtypes in wastewater can shed light into the potential infections sources and transmission routes of diseases. For example, a common occurrence of the human-specific C. hominis rather than potentially zoonotic C. parvum would indicate that anthroponotic transmission is important in cryptosporidiosis transmission.
The monitoring of raw wastewater for pathogens has been used in surveillance of a few bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens in urban communities –. The identification of pathogens in human specimens is still the standard method for the elucidation of disease transmission. However, because of the low prevalence of most pathogens, the screening of a large number of specimens is frequently needed, which is time-consuming and expensive. In contrast, the high concentration of pathogens in raw sewage facilities the detection of these pathogens via the analysis of a small number of samples and can provide a quick overall picture of the disease transmission at the community level, although some zoonotic pathogens in wastewater may also come from domestic animals. Therefore, this approach is especially useful for emerging infectious pathogens, such as E. coli O157:H7 and H5N1. Because some emerging infectious diseases are also endemic in urban communities in addition to causing large-scale outbreaks of illnesses, simple detection of the pathogens in raw wastewater is not enough for molecular surveillance of the pathogens. For these endemic pathogens, molecular epidemiologic tracking (subtyping) is frequently needed to assess the endemic transmission at the community level and to identify the occurrence of outbreaks, which are characterized by the presence of one or a few subtypes at high frequency.
In two U.S. studies, genotyping and subtyping parasites in raw wastewater was used as a rapid and cost-effective tool for characterizing the transmission of cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis in an urban community , . In one study, promising results were obtained in molecular surveillance of an outbreak strain of C. hominis in urban wastewater . Our previous study on species and subtype distribution of Cryptosporidium spp. in domestic wastewater in Shanghai, China suggested that anthroponotic transmission might play an important role in cryptosporidiosis epidemiology, and the dominant C. hominis subtypes in this region were different from those in other countries . The objectives of this study were to identify the species/genotype distribution of Cryptosporidium spp., G. duodenalis, and E. bieneusi in domestic wastewater in four large cities in China, to assess endemic transmission of cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis and microsporidiosis based on the species or genotype identified and our knowledge on their host sources and geographic distribution, and to determine whether the unique subtypes of C. hominis identified in Shanghai also existed in other areas in China. Because domestic animals may contribute to parasite occurrence in urban wastewater, Eimeria spp., which commonly infect domestic mammals and birds and have strong host specificity, were also analyzed to facilitate the animal source attribution of Cryptosporidium, G. duodenalis, and E. bieneusi genotypes found in wastewater.
Materials and Methods
Wastewater sample collection and processing
A total of 386 raw wastewater samples were collected from four cities in China from 2006 to 2009, including 90 from four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Shanghai (December 2006 to April 2007), 87 from five WWTPs in Nanjing (July 2007 to May 2009), 109 from five WWTPs in Qingdao (April–July 2008), and 100 from five WWTPs in Wuhan (April–July 2008). All WWTPs in each city were located at areas with high population density. The four cities were selected based on the following criteria: (1) different population densities, with 3,631 people/km2 in Shanghai, which is the highest in mainland China, and 815 to 890 people/km2 in the other three cities; (2) different pet densities, with the highest in Shanghai; (3) different conditions of the sewage system, with the best in Shanghai and more antique in Qingdao. Qingdao has separate storm water and domestic wastewater systems, and the other three cities use combined sewer systems in the inner city areas. Grab samples of 500 to 1,000 ml of raw wastewater were collected at the input of WWTPs. Cysts, oocysts and spores of parasites in samples were concentrated by centrifugation at 6,000×g for 10 min. Samples were stored in 2.5% potassium dichromate solution at 4°C prior to DNA extraction.
After washing the samples twice in distilled water, genomic DNA was extracted from 0.5 ml of concentrate using a FastDNA SPIN Kit for Soil (BIO 101, Carlsbad, CA) and eluted in 100 µl of reagent-grade water as described previously . DNA was stored at −80°C until analyzed by PCR. DNA from each sample was analyzed at least five times for each genetic target using 2 µl of the extraction DNA in PCR. Following analysis with a nested PCR described below, secondary PCR products were detected by gel electrophoresis in 1.5% agarose.
Cryptosporidium detection, genotyping and subtyping
A ~830-bp fragment of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene was amplified by nested PCR as previously described . Cryptosporidium species and genotypes were differentiated by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the secondary PCR products using restriction enzymes SspI and VspI . Cryptosporidium muris and C. andersoni were further differentiated by RFLP analysis using restriction enzymes DdeI . To identify C. parvum, C. hominis and C. cuniculus subtypes, a ~850-bp fragment of the 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene was amplified by nested PCR . The secondary PCR products were sequenced using the secondary PCR primers and an intermediary sequencing primer (5′-GAGATATATCTTGTTGCG-3′). The established subtype nomenclature was used to classify gp60 subtypes.
Giardia duodenalis detection, genotyping and subtyping
To detect G. duodenalis, a 530-bp fragment of the triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) gene was amplified by nested PCR . Genotypes and subtypes of G. duodenalis were determined by sequence analysis of the secondary PCR products.
Enterocytozoon bieneusi detection and genotyping
To detect E. bieneusi, a ~392-bp fragment of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) was amplified by nested PCR . Genotypes of E. bieneusi were determined by sequence analysis of the secondary PCR products, and named according to the established nomenclature .
Detection and identification of Eimeria spp. and Cyclospora cayetanensis
To detect Eimeria spp. and Cyclospora spp., a 294-bp fragment of the SSU rRNA gene was amplified by nested PCR . The differentiation of Eimeria and Cyclospora species were done by sequence analysis of the secondary PCR products.
DNA sequencing and data analysis
After being purified using the Montage PCR filters (Millipore, Bedford, MA), the secondary PCR products were sequenced directly with the secondary PCR primers using an ABI BigDye Terminator v. 3.1 cycle sequencing kit (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA) and the manufacturer-suggested procedures. Sequences were read on an ABI3130 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems). To confirm the accuracy of the sequence and to detect multiple genotypes and subtypes in a sample, all positive PCR products from each sample were sequenced, except for C. muris-positive samples in Qingdao, which was identified mostly by SspI and DdeI RFLP analysis, and for Eimeria/Cyclospora-postive samples, for which only one PCR product per sample was sequenced. The nucleotide sequences of Cryptosporidium spp., G. duodenalis, E. bieneusi, and Eimeria/Cyclospora spp. were aligned with reference sequences downloaded from the GenBank using ClustalX (ftp://ftp-igbmc.u-strasbg.fr/pub/ClustalX) to determine their genotype or subtype identity. Each pathogen genotype or subtype was presented as the number of positive samples or PCR products, with its frequency calculated based on the total number of samples analyzed in each area.
The genotypes of Enterocytozoon bieneusi obtained were compared to known E. bieneusi genotypes by phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequences. After eliminating sequences with ambiguous positions, 579 E. bieneusi ITS sequences were obtained from wastewater samples, representing 23 genotypes. They were used in a neighbour-joining analysis together with reference sequences downloaded from the GenBank, using 500 replicates in bootstrap assessment of the robustness of clusters. Likewise, 298 clean SSU rRNA sequences of Eimeria/Cyclospora representing 39 genotypes were assigned to host groups based on their phylogenetic positions in a similarly constructed neighbour-joining tree with reference sequences from known animal hosts.
Nucleotide sequence accession numbers
Unique nucleotide sequences generated from the study were deposited in GenBank under accession numbers JQ863254-JQ863307.
Cryptosporidium species/genotypes in wastewater
Based on PCR analysis of the SSU rRNA gene, 63 of 90 (70.0%) wastewater samples from Shanghai, 32 of 87 (36.8%) samples from Nanjing, 75 of 109 (68.8%) samples from Qingdao, and 47 of 100 (47.0%) samples from Wuhan were positive for Cryptosporidium spp. RFLP analysis and DNA sequencing of PCR products revealed the presence of 14 species/genotypes of Cryptosporidium in these samples: C. hominis, C. parvum, C. andersoni, C. canis, C. suis, C. cuniculus, C. meleagridis, C. baileyi, C. muris, pig genotype II, Avian genotype III, rat genotype I, rat genotype IV, and a new genotype (Table 1).
Table 1. Cryptosporidium species and genotypes in wastewater samples from four cities in China during 2006–2009.doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001809.t001
Among the five major human-pathogenic Cryptosporidium species (C. hominis, C. parvum, C. meleagridis, C. canis, and C. felis), both the human-specific C. hominis and bird-adapted C. meleagridis were found in samples from all four cities. The occurrence of C. hominis was more common than C. meleagridis in Shanghai (59 versus seven), Nanjing (six versus two), and Wuhan (19 versus six). The only exception was Qingdao where C. hominis was found in only one sample while C. meleagridis was found in seven samples (Table 1). Similar to the common existence of C. meleagridis (22 samples), other species from birds, such as C. baileyi was also detected in 15 samples from the four cities studied. Cryptosporidium parvum, which is a common parasite of cattle, was found only in one sample in Shanghai and two samples in Qingdao. The rare occurrence of C. parvum was consistent with the frequency of other species infecting cattle, such as C. andersoni (found in four samples only). Cryptosporidium canis, commonly found dogs, was only seen in one sample each in Qingdao and Wuhan, where the common species in cats, C. felis, was not detected in any of the samples.
Surprisingly, C. muris and other Cryptosporidium genotypes infecting rodents were the most commonly detected species/genotypes in Qingdao, being found in 70 samples, or 93.3% of all Cryptosporidium-positive samples. Within C. muris from Qingdao, the detection in 12 samples was confirmed by DNA sequencing and the other 58 diagnosed by RFLP analysis with restriction enzymes SspI and DdeI (Table 1). Although these species/genotypes were also found at a high frequency in Nanjing (19 samples, or 59.4% of Cryptosporidium-positive samples), they were less commonly seen in Wuhan (13 or 27.7% Cryptosporidium-positive samples), and were only rarely seen in Shanghai (two samples, or 3.2% Cryptosporidium-positive samples) (Table 1).
The partial SSU rRNA gene sequence of a novel genotype in this study (FJ153238) was identical to that isolated from a patient in the United Kingdom (HM191258) . A recently identified zoonotic species, C. cuniculus , which was responsible for a waterborne outbreak in the United Kingdom in 2008 , was also found in five samples in this study. The concurrent presence of multiple Cryptosporidium species/genotypes was seen in many samples: two species/genotypes in 44 samples, three species/genotypes in 13 samples, and four species/genotypes in six samples.
Cryptosporidium hominis, C. parvum and C. cuniculus gp60 subtypes
Samples positive for C. hominis, C. parvum or C. cuniculus were subtyped by sequence analysis of the gp60 gene. For C. hominis-positive samples, 47 of 59 samples in Shanghai, four of six samples in Nanjing, one sample in Qingdao, and 10 of 19 samples in Wuhan were successfully subtyped. Altogether, there were 12 subtypes in five subtype families in the 62 C. hominis-positive wastewater samples: Ia (three subtypes in seven samples), Ib (three subtypes in 30 samples), Id (two subtypes in six samples), Ie (two subtypes in 18 samples), and If (two subtypes in five samples) (Table 1). Although Ib subtypes were commonly detected in Shanghai samples (30/48 C. hominis-positive samples subtyped successfully), only one sample in Nanjing was positive for one of the Ib subtypes (IbA19G2). In contrast, the Ie subtype IeA12G3T3 that previously thought to be unique to Shanghai, was found in 11 samples in the other three cities. Of the five C. cuniculus-positive samples in Nanjing and Wuhan, only one was successfully subtyped as VaA31 (Table 1). Two of the three C. parvum-positive samples were subtyped as IIdA19G1 (Table 1). Concurrent presence of two subtypes was found in five samples, including IbA19G2 and IbA21G2 in one sample from Shanghai, and IdA16 and IeA12G3T3 in one sample from Wuhan. Except for samples from Qingdao, all C. meleagridis-positive samples were also analyzed by gp60 PCR. Only four of the seven samples from Shanghai and one of the six samples from Wuhan produced the expected gp60 PCR products, all of which belonged to C. hominis subtypes indicating the concurrent presence of C. hominis.
Giardia duodenalis genotypes and subtypes
The PCR analysis of tpi gene identified a high occurrence of G. duodenalis in the four cities studied, with positive rates of 67.8% (59/87) in Nanjing, 69.0% (69/100) in Wuhan, 94.5% (85/90) in Shanghai and 97.2% in Qingdao (106/109). All of them belonged to two known genotypes of G. duodenalis (assemblages A and B) of humans. The prevalent genotype was assemblage A, which was detected in 76.1% (243 of 319) G. duodenalis-positive samples, including 51 samples in Shanghai, 38 samples in Nanjing, 97 samples in Qingdao, and 57 samples in Wuhan (Table 2). Assemblage B was found in 59 samples, but in 53 of them it was in concurrence with assemblage A (Table 2). In 27 samples, the presence of mixed genotypes was identified by the occurrence different assemblages in different replicates of analysis while in the remaining 36 samples the presence of mixed genotypes was demonstrated by underlying peaks in DNA sequencing trace files. All samples containing assemblage A had the A2 subtype. Sixteen assemblage B subtypes were found in this study, only one of which was identical to a sequence reported before (GenBank No. L02116).
Table 2. Giardia duodenalis assemblages and genotypes in wastewater samples of four cities in China during 2006–2009.doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001809.t002
Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotypes
Enterocytozoon bieneusi was detected in more than 90% of samples in Shanghai, Qingdao and Wuhan, with prevalence lower in Nanjing (62.1% or 54/87 samples). In the 338 E. bieneusi-positive samples, a total of 23 ITS genotypes were seen in 579 sequences obtained (Table 3). Genotype D was the most prevalent, being found in 279 of 338 (82.5%) E. bieneusi-positive samples or 469 of 592 (79.2%) sequences.
Table 3. Enterocytozoon bieneusi ITS genotypes in wastewater samples of four cities in China during 2006–2009a.doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001809.t003
Two new groups of E. bieneusi genotypes were found in this study. A new group named 1i consisted of five genotypes seen in 33 sequences and formed a cluster sister to the previously designed subgroup 1 h . This cluster was within the large group (group 1) of ITS sequences originated from humans and animals , , . The other new group was named as group 6 in this study and consisted of two genotypes seen in five sequences (Fig. 1). In addition, we also found two new genotypes belonged to the so called Outliers group from dogs ; one was seen in five sequences and the other one in one sequence. Consistent with the high prevalence of E. bieneusi, 34 samples had concurrent presence of two genotypes.
Figure 1. Phylogenetic relationship of Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotype groups.
The relationship of new E. bieneusi genotype groups (1i and 6) identified in this study to established E. bieneusi genotype groups was inferred by a neighbor-joining analysis of nucleotide sequences of the ITS, based on Kimura 2-parameter distances. Some sequences generated in the study are italicized, while the remaining 538 sequences in Groups 1a–1g and one sequence in Group 3 are not shown (see Table 3). Several unique ITS sequences from AIDS patients in a recent Nigerian study are designed as Group 7.doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001809.g001
Eimeria spp. and Cyclospora cayetanensis
Among 386 samples analyzed, 310 samples (80.3%) were positive for Eimeria spp. or Cyclospora spp. The majority of the PCR products were from Eimeria spp., such as Eimeria alabamensis and its relative from cattle (167 samples), E. acervulina, E. tenella and their relatives from chicken (six samples), E. nieschulzi, E. falciformis, E. separata and their relatives from rodents (95 samples), E. flavecens from rabbits (one sample), and E. arnyi relatives from snakes (four samples). Cyclospora spp. were detected in 13 wastewater samples; in two samples, the sequence obtained had minor differences from C. cayetanensis. Nine Eimeria spp. of unknown animal sources were also found in 13 sequences from 13 samples in this study (Table 4).
The transmission of Cryptosporidium, G. duodenalis and E. bieneusi in humans in China is poorly understood. There are only three studies that have genotyped and subtyped Cryptosporidium spp. in humans. All five specimens collected from diarrheic children in Tianjin had C. hominis . Nine specimens were positive for C. hominis and one for C. felis in a small study of out-patients in Henan Province . In a study conducted in in-patients in three pediatric hospitals in Shanghai, C. hominis was identified in 92, C. meleagridis in 6, C. felis in 2, and C. canis in 2 cases, but the majority of C. hominis-positive patients (74/92) were from a hospital-associated outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, which had made less samples available for the examination of transmission dynamics in the general population. Likewise, there are only three small-scale studies of G. duodenalis genotypes in humans in China. In one study in Anhui Province, assemblages A and B were each found in four patients . In another study in Hebei Province, sub-assemblage A-II was found in three patients . In a recent study in Henan Province, sub-assemblages A-I and A-II and assemblage B were was found in eight, four and six patients, respectively . In the only study on E. bieneusi infection in China, genotypes I and J and four novel genotypes were found in nine diarrheic children in Jilin Province .
Data generated in this study suggest that anthroponotic transmission is important in the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in the study areas. This was supported by the common finding of C. hominis in the wastewater samples in Shanghai and Wuhan, where 93.7% and 40.4% of Cryptosporidium-positive samples had C. hominis, respectively. The proportion of samples positive for C. hominis was lower than Nanjing, where 18.8% had C. hominis. In contrast, only one sample from Qingdao was positive for C. hominis. In Nanjing and Qingdao, the occurrence of C. hominis was probably more common than the data suggested, as C. muris and other genotypes from rodents in the wastewater distribution system were the dominant Cryptosporidium spp. in samples from the two cities, which could have masked the concurrent presence of C. hominis. It is known that minor populations of other species or genotypes in specimens are frequently under-detected with Cryptosporidium genus-specific primers . The higher occurrence of C. muris in samples from Nanjing and Qingdao could be the result of higher number of rodents in the wastewater distribution system. Therefore, the distribution of Cryptosporidium species in these cities may be affected by human populations in the city as well as rodents in the sewer system.
In agreement with this conclusion, other human-pathogenic species that are traditionally associated with zoonotic transmission of cryptosporidiosis were mostly detected in wastewater samples from the four cities at low frequencies. Thus, C. felis was not found in any samples, and C. parvum, C. canis, and C. cuniculus were each found in only 2–5 samples. The only exception was C. meleagridis, which was found in all four cities studied and in 22 of 210 (10.1%) Cryptosporidium-positive wastewater samples (Table 1). The isolated detection of C. parvum, C. canis, and C. cuniculus was probably largely the result of Cryptosporidium contamination from domestic animals, as rodents, dogs and rabbits are known hosts of these Cryptosporidium species, respectively, in addition to humans. Likewise, pet birds and other domestic birds like chickens and pigeons might have also contributed to the relative high occurrence of C. meleagridis, as the more common avian Cryptosporidium species, C. baileyi, was also found in 15 of the 217 (6.9%) Cryptosporidium-positive samples. Nevertheless, the higher occurrence of C. meleagridis than C. baileyi in wastewater samples indicated that some of the C. meleagridis probably originated from humans. In a recent study conducted in in-patients in three hospitals in Shanghai, C. meleagridis was detected in 6 of 28 (21.4%) sporadic cases of cryptosporidiosis . Although some of the C. meleagridis could have been transmitted anthroponotically, we could not rule out the possibility that some zoonotic transmission of C. meleagridis may be occurring in the study areas. Previously, anthroponotic transmission has been identified as a major route in cryptosporidiosis epidemiology in most other developing countries .
There could be some differences in the transmission of C. hominis among the cities studied, at least between Shanghai and Wuhan. In Shanghai, 29 of the 47 (61.7%) C. hominis-positive samples subtyped had three unique subtypes (IbA19G2, IbA20G2, and IbA21G2) of the Ib subtype family. In Wuhan, however, none of the Ib subtypes were found in any of the 10 C. hominis-positive samples subtyped. There are not enough C. hominis-positive samples from Nanjing and Qingdao to infer C. hominis transmission, although IbA19G2 was found in one of the three C. hominis-positive samples from Nanjing. Interestingly, the Ie subtype IeA12G3T3 that was previously thought to be unique in Shanghai was found in all other cities studied, and was the dominant C. hominis subtype in Wuhan, being found in 9/10 C. hominis-positive samples.
Anthroponotic transmission is probably also important in the epidemiology of giardiasis in China. The majority (296 of 319 or 92.8%) of samples genotyped and subtyped had the G. duodenalis sub-assemblage A-II. The predominance of sub-assemblage A-II, a parasite mainly found in humans, and the absence of sub-assemblage A-I, a parasite more often found in animals , suggests that zoonotic transmission might not play an important role in giardiasis transmission in the study cities. In some samples, several subtypes of assemblage B, which infects humans, ruminants, dogs and other mammals, were also found. Like the sub-assemblage A-II, humans are the likely source for these parasites. This was supported by the absence of animal-specific assemblages of G. duodenalis, such as C and D, which are common in dogs, E, which is common in livestock, F, which is common in cats, and G. which is common in rodents . The absence of assemblage G was surprising considering the common presence of rodents in wastewater in cities studied and the high prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. of rodents (Table 1). This was possibly because rodents were more commonly infected with G. muris than G. duodenalis assemblage G , . The primers used in this study are largely G. duodenalis-specific, thus have a poor sensitivity in detecting G. muris. Only a single target was used in genotyping and subtyping G. duodenalis, which could be problematic for assemblage B, as it has been shown to exhibit heterozygosity at some genetic loci.
The transmission of E. bieneusi in China is less clear. The majority of E. bieneusi found in this study belonged to Group 1 , . Parasites in this group infect both humans and animals. Within this group, genotype D was the dominant one, being found in 279/338 (82.5%) E. bieneusi-positive samples. The known hosts for genotype D include humans, cattle, pigs, dogs, and some wild mammals. In this study, the contribution of these animals to genotype D was probably limited, as host-adapted E. bieneusi genotypes of cattle (BEB6 of group 2), pigs (EbpD of 1e), and wild mammals (groups 3–5) were not found or only found in one sample each (Table 3). The only host-adapted genotypes found in wastewater samples were the called outlier genotype from dogs and two novel genogroups (group 1i and group 6). As they were mostly found in samples from Qingdao, rodents were the likely sources for the two new genogroups. We also cannot rule out the contribution of rodents to genotype D and other minor genotypes in group 1 found in wastewater, as these genotypes generally lack host specificity.
Genotyping data from Eimeria spp. and Cyclospora spp. generated from wastewater samples mostly support the interpretations on transmission of human-pathogenic protists and attribution of contamination sources. As Eimeria spp. and Cyclospora form host-specific clusters in phylogenetic analysis of the SSU rRNA sequences, they serve as good markers for contamination source attribution. Thus, the contribution of birds to C. meleagridis in wastewater was supported by the occasional finding of Eimeria spp. from chickens and other birds. The latter were probably from pet birds, which are known to be infected with C. meleagridis in China . Likewise, the common occurrence of Eimeria spp. from rodents (seen in 97 samples) was also in agreement with the occurrence of C. muris in wastewater samples, especially those from Qingdao and Nanjing. The only discrepancy was the common occurrence of E. alabamensis (AF291427) or E. alabamensis-like sequences in 167 wastewater samples. Although E. alabamensis is a known parasite of cattle, C. parvum, C. andersoni, G. duodenalis assemblage E, and E. bieneusi group 2, all of which are common parasites of cattle, were largely absent in wastewater samples in this study. Whether the E. alabamensis sequence seen in this study was from cattle is still uncertain, as there are two very different SSU rRNA sequences of E. alabamensis in the GenBank (AF291427 and AY876926), with AY876926 forming a cluster with other bovine and ovine Eimeria spp. while AF291427 (the type seen in wastewater samples) was alone by itself in a different part of the phylogenetic tree.
In summary, results of this study indicated that molecular surveillance of enteric parasites in wastewater can be used to assess of the characteristics of endemic transmission of pathogens. The data acquired have shown a common occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp., G. duodenalis and E. bieneusi in urban communities in China, although traditional epidemiologic studies are few and routine surveillance of these pathogens is non-existent. These data have also shown a major role of anthroponotic transmission in the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, and microsporidiosis in four cities in China. They have also led to the identification of the occurrence of several rare parasites in China, including a new Cryptosporidium genotype recently seen in a patient in the United Kingdom , the newly identified human pathogen C. cuniculus, which was responsible for a recent waterborne outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in the United Kingdom , and C. cayetanensis, which was only recently identified in humans in China , . Thus, genotyping and subtyping enteric parasites in wastewater can be an effective and economical supplement to conventional surveillance and epidemiologic tools. For example, giving the complexity of C. hominis population in wastewater in Shanghai , the finding of only two major subtypes from C. hominis in 86 of 3,245 in-patient in a pediatric hospital in Shanghai has led to the recent identification of a hospital-associated outbreak of cryptosporidiosis . Nevertheless, caution should be exercised when interpreting transmission routes and dynamics using data from molecular surveillance of pathogens in urban wastewater. When some species are shed in larger numbers or longer durations than others, molecular techniques that can detect minor species should be adopted to avoid the misinterpretation of the data. More studies of wastewater samples from other areas are needed to validate the utility of the molecular surveillance system, perhaps in concurrence with case-control or longitudinal studies in humans.
The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Conceived and designed the experiments: LX YF. Performed the experiments: NL LW XZ LD MG. Analyzed the data: NL LW LL. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: SZ LL. Wrote the paper: NL LX YF.
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- 43. Akinbo FO, Okaka CE, Omoregie R, Dearen T, Leon ET, et al. (2012) Molecular epidemiologic characterization of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in HIV-infected persons in Benin City, Nigeria. Am J Trop Med Hyg 86: 441–445. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0548 | <urn:uuid:37bf8767-704a-4e06-93a5-07ee385bad36> | {
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Kids are usually fascinated by animals. Maybe it's because they look so cute...but it's no coincidence that lots of kids toys are stuffed animals.
So many course books for young beginners learning English start with "Talking about myself" and the alphabet. "What's your name" is a mouthful for a 6-year-old beginner. The alphabet is abstract and unexciting. But you might find you get your pupils' attention with a safari park of stuffed toys! Through teaching animal vocabulary children can learn their first syllables in English. Develop with:
What are their names?
How old are they?
What colour are they?
How many are there?
Are they big or small?
What do they like to eat?
Where do they live?
With preschool children
Play listening games to introduce animal vocabulary. (See preschool games book for ideas, for sale here). Play miming games using sounds and actions. Play guessing games. Pay musical games where kids mime the animal you name when you stop the music. Hide animals about the classroom. Children search and touch the one you name. Sort animals into groups of colours, sizes, those that eat grass, those that eat other animals, those that live in the cold, those that live in the heat...those that are pets, those that are dangerous. Have an animal tea party. Or make a library scene.
For older children
Teach adjectives with animals and play Find the Pairs Memory Games in small groups with animals and adjectives. (It's a big brown bear. It's a long thin snake.) Do an animal quiz. Team one have 30 seconds to describe an animal to team two, (or mime it for beginners). Team two try to name the animal. If team two is successful, both teams get a point.
There's a cute animal skit in my book of plays and skits for children.
And see this blog for more ideas on animals and making a giant safari park | <urn:uuid:85aef953-9eed-4d2d-9786-65ea3c08a107> | {
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Recent research has focused on how a person can work toward a happier life.
Martin Seligman and his associates at the University of Pennsylvania base Positive Psychology on years of research into what makes people happy. They have concluded that happiness is an internal experience based on staying true to one’s genuine or authentic self. When people are able to function well in the world using their strongest abilities (they call these abilities our “signature strengths”), they have a chance to achieve authentic happiness. They have identified twenty-four signature strengths found in cultures across the world. The first step is to identify your own personal strengths. From there, you can explore ways to incorporate these strengths into your life so that your best abilities can be expressed in whatever you do in your daily life. When you can stay true to the best in yourself, you can achieve an authentically happy life.
The following are the twenty-four signature strengths identified in the Positive Psychology approach. Identify the two or three that fit you best. To work toward authentic happiness, try to see how you can incorporate these strengths into your daily life experiences.
1. Curiosity / Interest in the World. Curiosity suggests being open to experience and flexibility in dealing with ideas that do not fit your preconceived notions about the world. Curious people not only tolerate ambiguity well, but they seek it out and are attracted by it. Curiosity implies an active involvement in learning about new information, not just a passive interest in new things, and it is the opposite of being bored.
2. Love of Learning. This strength refers to the strong enjoyment of learning new things, and it implies that you seek out learning wherever you can find it – through reading, taking classes, going to museums. You love learning even when there are no external incentives for you to do so.
3. Judgment / Critical Thinking / Open-Mindedness. This trait refers to thinking things through based on solid evidence. You examine all sides of an issue before coming to a conclusion, and you are able to change your mind in the face of new information. The opposite of this strength is seeking out information only if it conforms to what you already believe.
4. Ingenuity / Originality / Practical Intelligence / Street Smarts. This attribute refers to an ability to find novel ways of achieving your goals, as long as they are appropriate. It means finding new and creative ways to get what you want, and not going through conventional routes to get there.
5. Social, Personal and Emotional Intelligence. People with social intelligence are those who are able to read the moods, needs and motives of other people and can respond appropriately to others. It does not refer just to being introspective – it also implies being able to engage in socially skilled behavior. Personal intelligence means being tuned into your own feelings. You are able to put yourself into situations that bring out your best abilities, such as a job where you do what you do best.
6. Perspective. This strength is similar to wisdom. It implies that others draw on your experience to help them solve problems and gain perspective for themselves. It means having a way of defining the world that makes sense to you and other people.
7. Valor and Bravery. This trait pertains to having the courage to face difficult situations or stand for your beliefs in the face of opposition or challenge. This is not mere boldness or rashness. It refers to the ability to face danger, despite fear, without the loss of dignity.
8. Perseverance / Industry / Diligence. Perseverance means being able to finish what you start with a positive attitude. You do what you say you’ll do. It does not refer to obsessively pursuing unattainable goals or perfectionism. Rather, it implies flexibility and a realistic approach to finishing projects.
9. Integrity / Genuineness / Honesty. You live your life with genuineness and authenticity. You are down to earth and let others see your true self. This is more than just telling the truth. It means showing the world who you really are without pretense.
10. Kindness and Generosity. This strength involves doing good deeds for others, taking their interests as seriously as your own and acknowledging the worth of other people. Empathy and sympathy are related to this trait.
11. Loving and Allowing Yourself to Be Loved. This trait implies an ability to form close and intimate relations with other people, and to choose people who feel the same way toward you. While some people can show love to others, this trait also implies the ability to let others love you in return.
12. Citizenship / Duty / Teamwork / Loyalty. You are a loyal, dedicated member of groups and can always be counted on to do your share. You are able to put the interests of the group above your own, respecting the authority of the group.
13. Fairness and Equity. This trait involves an ability to treat people equally and fairly regardless of your own personal biases. It implies that you are able to give everyone a fair chance and that you are guided by principles of morality.
14. Leadership. A good leader is effective at organizing the activities of people, getting the group’s work done while maintaining good relations between group members. This person maintains a humane approach when dealing with group members, as well as in coordinating activities between groups.
15. Self-Control. This characteristic involves the ability to hold your impulses and needs in check when appropriate. It implies expertise in regulating your
emotions when things go bad, as well as maintaining a positive attitude when faced with difficult situations.
16. Prudence / Discretion / Caution. This strength implies an ability to be careful. You avoid saying things you might later regret. You are more aware of long-term goals and their consequences rather than going for short-term gain.
17. Humility and Modesty. Humble people do not seek the spotlight, and they let their accomplishments speak for themselves. You do not define yourself as special, realizing that your life victories and defeats are unimportant in the grand scheme of things. You are unpretentious and others recognize, and admire, you for this quality.
18. Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. You are elevated by beauty, excellence, and skill in all domains. You are able to appreciate the awe and wonder of life all around you – in nature, art, science, and little, everyday things.
19. Gratitude. You are aware of what is good in the world and you don’t take these things for granted. You appreciate the good in people and their accomplishments, as well as in nature. You take the time to count your blessings, and you show this in your actions.
20. Hope / Optimism / Future-Mindedness. You have a goal-directed life based on your expectation that you will achieve the best for yourself in the future. Your optimism helps guide you in planning and working hard to achieve your goals.
21. Spirituality / Sense of Purpose / Faith / Religiosity. You have strong beliefs in your attachment to something larger than you are. You search for your place in the universe, and these beliefs both mold your actions and serve as a source of comfort for you. You feel that your life has purpose and meaning.
22. Forgiveness and Mercy. This strength refers to your ability to forgive those who have done you wrong. You are guided by mercy rather than revenge, and you always give people a second chance. Your way of dealing with others is to be kind and generous rather than avoidant or retaliatory.
23. Playfulness and Humor. You enjoy laughing and bringing lightness and fun to other people. You are able to mix work and play, and you, and others, appreciate your ability to lift others out of seriousness and into humor.
24. Zest / Passion / Enthusiasm. You are true to your spirit. You approach life with passion and energy and you can enthusiastically throw yourself into activities. You feel inspired by the mere act of living life to the fullest.
Are you the happiest version of yourself?
If not, we can help. Schedule a free consultation to discuss how our team of experienced therapists can make a difference for you. | <urn:uuid:e84a1254-9675-48ee-b285-b2ff30903c45> | {
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This section describes the two primitives for creating buffers.
get-buffer-create creates a buffer if it finds no existing buffer
with the specified name;
generate-new-buffer always creates a new
buffer and gives it a unique name.
Other functions you can use to create buffers include
with-output-to-temp-buffer (see Temporary Displays) and
create-file-buffer (see Visiting Files). Starting a
subprocess can also create a buffer (see Processes).
This function returns a buffer named buffer-or-name. The buffer returned does not become the current buffer—this function does not change which buffer is current.
buffer-or-name must be either a string or an existing buffer. If
it is a string and a live buffer with that name already exists,
get-buffer-create returns that buffer. If no such buffer exists,
it creates a new buffer. If buffer-or-name is a buffer instead of
a string, it is returned as given, even if it is dead.
(get-buffer-create "foo") ⇒ #<buffer foo>
The major mode for a newly created buffer is set to Fundamental mode.
(The default value of the variable
major-mode is handled at a higher
level; see Auto Major Mode.) If the name begins with a space, the
buffer initially disables undo information recording (see Undo).
This function returns a newly created, empty buffer, but does not make
it current. The name of the buffer is generated by passing name
to the function
generate-new-buffer-name (see Buffer Names). Thus, if there is no buffer named name, then that is
the name of the new buffer; if that name is in use, a suffix of the
form ‘<n>’, where n is an integer, is appended to
An error is signaled if name is not a string.
(generate-new-buffer "bar") ⇒ #<buffer bar>
(generate-new-buffer "bar") ⇒ #<buffer bar<2>>
(generate-new-buffer "bar") ⇒ #<buffer bar<3>>
The major mode for the new buffer is set to Fundamental mode. The default
value of the variable
major-mode is handled at a higher level.
See Auto Major Mode. | <urn:uuid:993d970e-45b3-4a8a-afb2-51499fd70242> | {
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Sorting the Sources
The source list can be sorted by clicking on the heading in each column (#(Number), Type, or Data). Click the heading twice to change the sort order to descending, rather than ascending. The little triangle in the column heading, pointing up or down, tells you the direction of the sort.
Sorting your sources by type lets you group like kinds of sources together, making it easier to find a source record when you're attempting to cite something.
One of the features in the new Source Tools pop-up menu is the ability to search for unused (or unlinked) source records. A list of unused sources will be shown, along with a button to delete all unused sources.
Another new feature is the ability to create a source usage report: a list of the sources used in your family file -- sources that are cited. This report, which is opened directly in your word processor, or saved as a text file, includes a list of sources used in your family file (great for finding out which sources are not used) and a list of person and family records that cite the source records. | <urn:uuid:c7799e89-026e-4db6-be88-436b71d27bbb> | {
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Guest Blogger: Julie Salvano from Rhythm Babies
As an advocate for unstructured creative play, and a provider of structured music classes for children, I sometimes find myself at odds with how to explain what activities are best in early childhood. At one end of the spectrum, I’ve researched structured activities that develop a child’s “ear,” teach them how to keep the beat in music, and show how body movement seems to connect these goals into reality. On the other hand I’ve read articles, attended conferences, bought books, and watched just about every documentary on early childhood development and they all explain that young children in over structured, regimented academic learning environments actually do worse later in life. As a result they may be less creative, develop anxiety disorders, learning disorders, and a distain for learning.
I remember loving art projects as a child. In fact I remember one day in preschool I got to happily bring my dad to school for one. My father told me we should color and paste our house in our own way instead of copying the picture displayed in front of the room. At the end of our project, I peered around at the other pictures and realized I left class with a picture that looked nothing like the rest of them. I was super proud of that house. I thought my dad was special and kept a secret that no one else knew. Being original is so much better than copying something that already exists.
A report released in 2015 called “Reading in Kindergarten: Little to Gain and Much to Lose” highlighted that the pressure put on students to read in prekindergarten and kindergartener is actually harming children, not advancing them in life. Learning skills sooner in life does not equal better. There is no supported neurological evidence that states children will be smarter or better off doing so.
How do you know the difference between a good extra-curricular activity that enriches a toddler or child, and one that is too structured? How do you know as a parent that you’re giving your child a great head start in life, full of knowledge and skills, while also making sure you’re not leaving them in an environment that will put them behind other children intellectually and emotionally?
Like most things in life, it starts with proper balance. Picking one to two extracurricular activities in a week is more than enough. Are the activities results based? Chuck them. Your three year old shouldn’t be racking their brain to name all the states on a map. It just isn’t necessary or beneficial at this age. Memorizing facts is not learning. Learning is training the mind how to think and proper learning in early childhood also doubles as a way to develop emotional intelligence.
I believe in arts related activities for young children. I also believe heavily in nature, reading (when not forced), singing, drawing, blocks, and a host of other things. The difference in these activities is that there is no room for right or wrong answers. The child is creating their environment, learning at their own pace, and exploring different ways of doing things. This is how learning develops naturally. This is why I recommend anything from art classes, nature walks, to music classes that focus on an open ended readiness program. I do not teach any kind of technique to children, nor do I teach them the nuts and bolts of reading music notes. I simply show them tactile, aural, and visual ways to experience the music and learn things on their own. I let them play, dance, or do whatever their heart desires while maintaining order and still progressing to the end of class.
While growth is at its peak at five and under, brains are developing and they are figuring out connections in the world around them. Playing is better than memorizing. Being original is better than copying. Imagining and leaving room to explore is better than telling a child this is right, and this is wrong. The only way to learn is to question, and the only way to question is to explore. Let your children explore; it’s what they are meant to do.
About the Author:
Julie’s love of children started with her internship at Walt Disney World, where she worked in the Magic Kingdom while enrolled in business entertainment courses at Disney University. After her internship, she moved to the Philadelphia area and went on the job hunt. In 2010, Julie started teaching child development/music classes. After two years of teaching classes for another company, she realized she had a natural ability for implementing creative new lesson plans to capture the children’s attention and enhance their learning experience. In 2012 Julie started her own traveling music company called Rhythm Babies. Since then Rhythm Babies has been growing quickly with daycares, preschools, and caregiver/baby music classes across the Philadelphia metropolitan area. In 2015 it was named “Best Music Program” in Philadelphia Family Magazine. | <urn:uuid:5a21224e-3bd5-47aa-bbc1-18b93a57209f> | {
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Federal Elected Offices and Judges
Colorado has seven representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives elected from seven single member Congressional Districts to two year terms, and two Senators elected at large to six years terms (2004 and 2008 are Senatorial election years in Colorado). Colorado elects a slate of Presidential nine electors to the candidate receiving a plurality of the at large, statewide popular vote in each Presidential election year every four years (2008 is a Presidential election year). All of these races are partisan.
All Congressional Districts in Colorado include at least one full county, and at least parts of more than one county. Congressional districts are drawn by the state legislature subject to court review, and to court imposition of districts if the legislature cannot agree on a plan.
Colorado is home to the United Stated District Court for the District of Colorado, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado and is one of the states in the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit which conducts most of its business in Denver. 10th Circuit and District Court Judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate. The District Court also has magistrates with most of the powers of a judge, appointed by the judicial branch.
State Offices and Appellate Courts
The Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected on a single ticket statewide to four year terms. The Secretary of State, Attorney General, and State Treasurer are also elected statewide to four year terms. These partisan elections were last held in 2006.
The State Board of Education has seven members (one from each Congressional District) who are elected to staggered six year terms in partisan elections in even numbered years (the 1st and 3rd CD in 2008, the 5th and 6th in 2010, and the 2nd,
4th and 7th in 2012).
The University of Colorado Board of Regents has nine members (one from each Congressional District and two at large) who are elected to staggered six year terms in partisan elections in even numbered years (The 2nd, 6th and 7th in 2008, an at large, the 1st and the 4th in 2010, and an at large, the 3rd and the 5th in 2012).
There are 35 state senators who are elected from single member districts in partisan elections to four years terms, with elections staggered so that roughly half face election in each even numbered year.
There are 65 state representatives who are elected from single member districts in partisan elections in each even numbered year to two years terms.
State legislative districts are drawn by a blue ribbon commission, rather than by state legislators.
The state supreme court with seven non-partisan appointed judges, and the state court of appeals which also has non-partisan appointed judges, serve the entire state. They are subject to staggered "retain or do not retain" elections in even numbered years.
County and Judicial District Offices and Courts
There are 64 counties in Colorado, including the two consolidated city and county governments. A statutory structure governs 60 of the counties, providing for an elected board of county commissioners, clerk and recorder, treasurer, assessor, sheriff, surveyor and coroner although two (Arapahoe and El Paso) have five county commissioners instead of the usual three, and some counties dispense with an elected surveyor. Pitkin and Weld counties are home rule counties (each with five elected commissioners and an appointed county surveyor), and Denver and Broomfield have unique and different City and County governments. County officers have four year terms. Most, if not all, counties which are not also cities, elect members of the board of county commissioners at large.
There is a district court in each of the twenty-two judicial districts in the state (although operationally, litigants deal with district courts only in the part of the district court in and for a particular county), and each county is in exactly one judicial district (the judicial district that consists of Denver divides the jurisdiction of the district court between a district court, a probate court and a juvenile court). Each county also has its own county court. These judges are subject to staggered "retain or do not retain" elections in even numbered years.
There is a district attorney elected at large on a partisan basis to a four year term in each judicial district. The next election for district attorneys (they are not staggered) will be in 2008.
Regional Transporation District
The Regional Transportation District, which includes all or part of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson and Weld counties has a fifteen member, non-partisan elected board of directors (whose districts are denoted by letters), who serve staggered four year terms and are elected in even numbered years. Eleven of the board districts include parts of more than one county.
There are 270 active municipalities in Colorado. They come in several types, ranked below from most powerful to least powerful.
* Consolidated City and County Governments: 2 (Denver and Broomfield)
* Home Rule Municipalities: 87
* Territorial Charter Municipality: 1 (Georgetown)
* Statutory Cities: 13 (Brush, Centennial, Cripple Creek, Federal Heights, Florence, Idaho Springs, Las Animas, Leadville, Ouray, Rocky Ford, Salida, Victor, Walsenberg)
* Statutory Towns: 167
Generally, the cutoff for town status is that the municipality have fewer than 2,000 residents as of the last census.
Ten of the 87 active home rule municipalities are in two or more counties, including two Aurora (Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas) and Littleton (Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson), which are in three counties. They are: Arvada (Adams, Jefferson), Aurora, Brighton (Adams, Weld), Central City (Clear Creek, Gilpin), Littleton, Longmont (Boulder, Weld), Northglen (Adams, Weld), Thornton (Adams, Weld), Westminster (Adams, Jefferson), and Windsor (Larimer, Weld).
Ten of the 167 statutory towns are in two counties. They are Basalt (Eagle, Pitkin), Berthoud (Larimer, Weld), Bennett (Adams, Arapahoe), Bow Mar (Arapahoe, Jefferson), Center (Rio Grande, Saguache), Erie (Boulder, Weld), Green Mountain Falls (El Paso, Teller), Johnstown (Larimer, Weld), Lochbuie (Adams, Weld), and Superior (Boulder, Jefferson).
Italics above denote municipalities that are in the greater Denver-Boulder area.
The vast majority of municipalities have a municipal court (sometimes "of record" and sometimes "not of record"), although a few small and less active municipalities may lack of municipal court. Many municipal courts share judges with county courts and municipal courts, so there are fewer municipal court judges than there are municipal courts. Almost all municipal court judges outside Denver are part-time employees.
Municipalities with council members elected by districts or wards draw their own districts subject to legal requirements.
The default structure of a statutory city is to have a strong elected mayor, an elected clerk, and an elected city treasurer (all elected at large), and to elect two members of the city council per ward, all for two year terms. A council-manager form of statutory city is also authorized with a council member at large replacing the mayor, and executive power lodged in an appointed city manager, with a mayor as the chair of the city council elected internally by the council.
The default structure of a statutory town is to have a major and six trustees elected for two years terms at large. Terms can be changes to four year staggered terms (by ordiance), and the number of trustees can be reduced from six to four (and back again) by public vote, and towns may choose by ordinance to elect or appoint a town clerk, a treasurer and a town attorney. The Mayor is largely a first among equals. In practice, many towns elect a clerk, but other officers are usually appointed.
There are 178 public school districts organized under state law that cover all of Colorado, each of which provide K-12 educational services. Each district run by a non-partisan elected five to seven member board of directors, elected to staggered four year terms in odd numbered years (except for a small number of districts that use six year terms). The default rule is for all directors to be elected at large, but some districts, including Denver, elect some or all of the directors from five to seven single member, equal population director districts, sometimes with no at large directors, and sometimes with one or two at large directors. School districts with director districts draw their own districuts subject to legal requirements.
Enrollments vary greatly. Two districts have more than 50,000 students. About 107 districts have less than 1,000 students (including 11 with fewer than 100 students). There are 73 with 1,000 to 49,999 students (the data overstates the total by four because it conflates four junior college districts separate from the state governmental Colorado Community College System with K-12 districts). Most, but not all, of the smaller districts are rural.
Some counties have just one school district. El Paso and Weld counties each have more than a dozen school districts. There are 59 multi-county school districts that are not within a single municipality (possibly including some of the four junior college districts).
Colorado engaged in immense consolidation of school districts from 1952, when it had 1,352 school districts, to 1962 when it had 312 school districts, to 1972 when it had 187 school districts. Since then the number of school districts went down by seven and then went up by two. A significant share of the declines post-1972 arose from community colleges joining the state system. So, the basic school district structure in the state has been stable for about 36 years.
There are a number of special district governments in Colorado with their own elected officials, generally non-partisan ones. All but a handful are in only one county or in only in municipality or both. There are 1,414 special districts in Colorado by the federal government's 2002 count (see also here), but that includes many governmental bodies with no elected officials. Special districts that can have elected officials that existed in the state in 2002 included:
* Ambulance Districts
* Conservation Districts (83)
* Drainage Districts (36) (# may include ground water management and irrigation)
* Fire Protection Districts (250)
* Ground Water Management Districts
* Health Services Districts
* Irrigation Districts
* Junior College Districts (4)
* Metropolitan Districts
* Park and Recreation Districts (65)
* Rural Transportation Authorities (e.g. Pikes Peak RTA and Baptist Road RTA both near Colorado Springs, and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority).
* Water Conservancy Districts
* Water and Sanitation Districts (111) | <urn:uuid:6f4e7463-8cb4-4d0e-9f27-fb8cbaddf3f1> | {
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Energy drinks are a $12.5 billion dollar industry in the United States, and while the sale of soda continues to decrease, energy drink sales grew by 6.7 percent in 2013. Consumption is increasing among middle school and high school students, especially boys.
The increase is driven by powerful marketing machines that target advertising to teens and young adults in ways that didn’t exist 10 years ago — game systems, downloaded apps on personal phones, reading devices and social media. They also target traditional methods, such as TV, magazines and sports sponsorship, especially motor sports and extreme sports.
A recent study conducted in Canada involving more than 8,000 public high school students showed an alarming correlation; young people who drank energy drinks a few times a month were more likely to participate in substance abuse and risk seeking.
Most kids know energy drinks aren’t healthy. They know the drinks are full of empty calories and loaded with caffeine; a central nervous system stimulant. Yet, they drink them because as one freshman explained, “People think drinking them is cool, especially boys.”
Caffeine has stronger effects on young people than adults. It can cause rapid heart rate, transient hypertension, and headache. Young adults are mixing these drinks with alcohol or drugs and driving, and it has becoming a significant health problem.
To address this potential new “gateway drug,” parents need to talk with their children early on — well before middle school.
Share your opinion on energy drinks and health habits on a regular basis, when you still have your children’s attention and are influential. Teach them to respect their body. The best way to embed these values is to model them in your home and in the choices you make. Sprinkle in a few short but poignant news stories to demonstrate your point.
As they get older, talk to them about marketing and how it influences trends, especially in their age group. Make a game out of identifying the silliest or most clever advertising — use the old cigarette ads from the 70s as an example. Then look at the ads for drinks today, but beware — many have sexual amd violent themes. This would make for a very interesting high school project.
Talking about energy drinks is just the beginning. Tickle your children with little bits of information when they can’t escape, like in the car, on the bus, or better yet, while walking in the park. Listen carefully because they will share less and less as they get older, but often what is shared is important.
And what if you missed that influential window of opportunity? Be blunt. Be a parent. Set limits.
April Mitsch, M.S., R.D.
Instructor in Pediatrics
Feeding and Swallowing Disorders Clinic
OHSU Institute on Development and Disability
OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital
- “Medicines in my Home: Caffeine and Your Body,” Food and Drug Administration
- “Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks for Children and Adolescents: Are They Appropriate?” American Academy of Pediatrics
- “Energy “Drinks” and Supplements: Investigations of Adverse Event Reports,” Food and Drug Adminstration
- “Eating to Boost Energy,” Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics | <urn:uuid:4a2a4715-d8a0-496c-929a-bbdf86750248> | {
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 22 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists studying "runaway" stars tossed out of our galaxy at great velocities say they've confirmed the same thing can happen to planets.
The first runaway star was discovered seven years ago, heading out of the Milky Way at 1.5 million mph, and new research says planets must be doing the same thing -- at speeds up to 30 million mph, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics reported Thursday.
"These warp-speed planets would be some of the fastest objects in our galaxy," astrophysicist Avi Loeb said. "If you lived on one of them, you'd be in for a wild ride from the center of the galaxy to the universe at large."
So-called hypervelocity planets are produced in the same way as hypervelocity stars, researchers said.
A double-star system wanders too close to the supermassive black hole at the galactic center, where strong gravitational forces rip the stars from each other, sending one away at high speed while the other is captured into orbit around the black hole.
The researchers modeled what would happen if each star had an orbiting planet or two and found the star ejected outward could carry its planets along for the ride, while a star captured by the black hole could have its planets torn away and flung into interstellar space at tremendous speeds.
"Other than subatomic particles, I don't know of anything leaving our galaxy as fast as these runaway planets," study lead author Idan Ginsburg of Dartmouth College said. | <urn:uuid:9fdeba7f-09d3-474b-909e-74ea71c314ba> | {
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The Basics on Genetically Modified Foods
What foods are genetically modified? Are they safe? Here are the basics:
Q: How can I tell if foods in the grocery store have genetically modified ingredients?
A: Usually you can't be certain. However, some makers of organic foods label their products as being free of genetically modified ingredients.
Q: What foods are most likely to have genetically modified ingredients?
A: Cooking oils -- mostly corn and soy -- and boxed, bagged and other processed foods, such as cereals and snacks, probably have some GM ingredients. That's because they usually contain high-fructose corn syrup or other corn or soy products.
Free from genetic engineering: uncooked, unprocessed meats and fish, and fresh fruits and vegetables, with the exception of Rainbow brand papaya and some squash. Ditto for dairy products, except processed cheeses.
Q: Are there any health risks from genetically modified foods?
A: Proponents of GM foods say there have been no reports of those foods making people sick. But some health, environmental and consumer groups urging government regulation and labeling of these foods say gene-swapping can introduce allergens or toxins. They say there is no system to monitor such illnesses.
Q: What are the benefits of genetically modified crops?
A: So far, there aren't any benefits to consumers in terms of better-tasting, more nutritious or cheaper foods, although researchers say that could come within several years. Most GM changes to corn and soybeans have allowed farmers to cut down on chemicals used to kill weeds and pests, boosting crop yields and cutting costs and potential harm to the environment.
Q: Why are Europeans and others more suspicious than Americans when it comes to GM foods?
A: Europeans lost trust in their governments over the meat supply. First they were told repeatedly that they were not at risk from the human form of mad cow disease. Then, concerns were reignited in 1999 when the European Commission said dangerous levels of cancer-causing dioxin were widespread in meat from animals raised on farms near industrial polluters.
Q: How long have GM processed foods been available in the United States?
A: The first product, the now-defunct Flavr Savr tomato, was sold from 1994-97. Processed foods containing GM corn and soy ingredients began appearing late in the 1995 growing season.
Source: Associated Press | <urn:uuid:c37b2355-99d0-494a-b3cb-f2f96fcb4b70> | {
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China's first resupply craft, Tianzhou-1, has been deorbited under orders from ground controllers.
Following a set of braking maneuvers, the robotic cargo ship plunged into Earth's atmosphere and burned up late Friday (Sept. 22) Beijing time, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.
Tianzhou-1 launched on April 20 and docked with China's orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab two days later.
Over the past five months, Tianzhou-1 and Tiangong-2 accomplished a trio of refueling sequences: One on April 27, a second on June 15 and a final one on Sept. 16, Xinhua reported.
Tiangong-2 was unoccupied during these activities.
Chinese space officials view the refueling and docking activities as a prelude to the country's building of a larger space station in the mid- 2020s.
Leonard David is author of "Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet," published by National Geographic. The book is a companion to the National Geographic Channel series "Mars." A longtime writer for Space.com, David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. This version of this story was posted on Space.com. | <urn:uuid:20f3ed25-52ac-4b33-ac3a-0ed982730326> | {
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Viticulture - n. : the cultivation or culture of grapes
Enology - n. :a science that deals with wine and wine making
The V&E Department combines the sciences of viticulture and enology in a single research and teaching unit that encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that impact grape growing and winemaking. For over one hundred years the University of California has maintained an active and productive program in research and education in viticulture and enology. The continuing excellence of the Department has enabled California growers and vintners to develop practices that have allowed the Golden State to achieve its potential and become a premier wine-producing region.
Eugene W. Hilgard
Publications of Professor Eugene W. Hilgard in the Bulletin of the California Agriculture Experiment Station
Eugene Hilgard must have been an amazing scientist and person, but sadly most descriptions of him classify him only as "soil scientist". He published a significant book, Soils, towards the end of his career, but he was a member of the National Academy of Science and the first Professor of Agriculture in (and later Director of) the University's Experiment Station when it was at Berkeley. Although Hilgard Hall on the Berkeley campus houses the Soils Department today, nothing honors his contributions to the foundations of the grape and wine industry of California. Below (Marked with an *), are the title... | <urn:uuid:b158a203-f10f-4233-baf0-aa586422600d> | {
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A padrone (from the Italian padroni for “patrons” or “bosses”) was a middleman in the labor trade, helping poor immigrants obtain transportation to North America, jobs upon arrival, and basic needs in an alien society. Though most often associated with Italian immigration during the 19th century, the labor middleman was common in many ethnic groups from colonial times, especially in arranging contracts for indentured servitude. With industry largely unregulated before World War I (1914–18), it was easy for labor bosses to take advantage of poor, uneducated immigrants. In organizing labor gangs to fill contracts negotiated with railroads and other companies, padrones did provide jobs and often advanced money for transportation or other essentials, but they also charged fees for every transaction and sometimes required their clients to purchase goods from their own stores. It has been estimated that more than half the Italian labor in large U.S. cities during the late 19th and early 20th century worked under the padrone system.
As progressive legislation was passed and immigrants in the wave of new immigration found more family, friends, and social contacts to assist them upon arrival, the role of the padrone changed from labor boss to economic adviser. Often well connected to economic and political leaders, the padrone was frequently able to help clients qualify for mortgages or improve their chances of moving up the business ladder. As Italians and other new immigrants became increasingly assimilated into American society after World War II (1939–45), the role of the European padrone declined. Labor brokers continued to play a significant role in the lives of poorer immigrants, especially those from Mexico, Central America, and Asia, though the modern padrone was seldom as well connected to the community as he had been early in the 20th century. | <urn:uuid:3e958b32-6da6-48ef-a5b4-0e3feb944c56> | {
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Definition of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, dermatosparaxis type
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, dermatosparaxis type: A genetic disorder characterized by extremely fragile and sagging skin caused by mutation in the ADAMTS2 gene. People with this form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have soft, doughy skin that is very fragile and bruises easily. The skin sags and wrinkles, and extra (redundant) folds of skin may be present as children get older. Joints are very loose, which can delay the development of motor skills such as sitting, standing, and walking. Infants with the condition are born with a soft out-pouching called a hernia around the belly-button. Other symptoms include a small chin, a blue tinge to the part of the eyeball that is usually white (the sclera), and mild overgrowth of body hair.
The ADAMTS2 gene makes an enzyme that helps process procollagen, a protein used to assemble collagen that provide structure and strength to connective tissue throughout the body. Mutations in the ADAMTS2 gene completely inactivate the enzyme made by the gene. As a result, procollagen is not processed, and collagen molecules cannot be assembled properly. These defects weaken connective tissue, particularly in the skin, causing the signs and symptoms of the condition.
This type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. It was formerly called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type VIIC.Source: MedTerms™ Medical Dictionary
Last Editorial Review: 6/14/2012
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Skin Problems and Treatments Resources
- Symptoms of a Severe Allergic Reaction
- Breast Cancer Treatment Options
- Is Your Body Ready for Pregnancy? | <urn:uuid:02f05cc9-3729-41b1-8fbe-5c7e47409283> | {
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Canada thistle is a perennial forb that reproduces by seeds and rhizomes which send up new shoots every 8 to 12 inches. Canada thistle is not just another pretty flower. Severe infestations can reduce wheat yields up to 65% and corn yields by 35%. Canada thistle reduces the carrying capacity of a pasture because cattle avoid the prickly, thistle infested areas.
Found in north central parts of Kansas, Canada thistle is spreading. To avoid infestations in Pratt County, plant weed free seed, use weed free livestock feed, and be sure equipment is cleaned before leaving infested fields. Attention should be paid to any feed or seed imported from northern or northwestern states.
Cultivating a Canada thistle patch will break up the root system and quickly compound the problem unless you intensively cultivate for a whole season.
There are no biological controls approved for use in Canada thistle at this time. Numerous herbicides are available to control and eradicate Canada thistle.
Recommended herbicides are available at the Pratt County Noxious Weed Department on a cost-share basis. | <urn:uuid:1b3f3237-2fcb-4ccc-9b34-a1ad7e8cfb79> | {
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Highways are very much an every-driver-for-themselves kind of place. While we hope the majority of people will do whatever they can to avoid accidents and not take silly risks, ultimately every individual has to watch out for their own hides.
But what if getting on the highway also meant joining a wireless mesh network consisting of all the cars around you? Cars could become a self-organizing entity, avoiding collisions and minimizing traffic congestion. The cars themselves would be smart enough to cooperate with each other.
"You can imagine in the future, you could enter the highway, mesh with five or six other vehicles around you and you caravan together," said Dan Rabinovitsj, senior VP of chipmaker Qualcomm Atheros's networking business unit. "You're essentially making sure you're not just keeping proper distance from the front and back, which a number of vehicles do today, but literally in 360 degrees. And of course passing along messages: there's a policeman up ahead, there's an accident up ahead, or there's a stoplight. All of these things are starting to intersect."
Rabinovitsj was speaking today as part of a Consumer Electronics Show panel on next-generation wireless technologies. The self-organizing cars he envisions aren't something on the market today, and there's no public timeline for when it might come to market. But cars, like everything else, are getting smarter, and the technology that could make what Rabinovitsj described possible is already being developed.
The 802.11p standard allowing data exchange between moving vehicles in the 5.9GHz band and a Department of Transportation project called dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) both play a role, Rabinovitsj said. "There's a huge amount of work that needs to be done, and anything to do with vehicle safety will require years of testing and such," he said. "But there's a considerable amount of work getting done right now. And all of the chipsets that we've developed have this enhanced DSRC capability, so we're basically ready to go. We can enable that functionality."
It will be complicated, noted Fanny Mlinarsky, founder and CTO of wireless testing firm octoScope. "DSRC itself is not a mesh. It's a broadcast, so it only reaches vehicles within range," she said. "Meshing requires a lot more sophistication. There's a routing aspect to it, relaying messages to other nodes. DSRC is much simpler."
The CES panelists were speaking in speculative tones, but that doesn't mean car manufacturers aren't already working on this. About 18 months ago, Ford Motor Company CTO and VP of Research Paul Mascarenas described a project to build a mesh network for cars.
An August 2011 article by Kevin Fitchard on Connected Planet said Ford was exploring the idea of a "constantly morphing mobile mesh network that helped drivers avoid accidents, identify traffic jams miles before they encounter them, and even act as a relay point for Internet access."
"What Ford envisions, Mascarenas said, is a high-powered, heavily encrypted Wi-Fi that establishes point-to-point connections between cars within a half-mile radius, "Fitchard wrote. "Those connections could be used to communicate vital information between vehicles, either triggering alerts to the driver or interpreted by the vehicle’s computer. An intelligent car slamming on its brakes could communicate to all of the vehicles behind it that it’s coming to rapid halt, giving the driver that much more warning that he too needs to hit the brakes."
Mesh networking, in which each connected device can route traffic to other devices on the network, is a hot research topic for businesses, Rabinovitsj said. Connected cars may be just one of many interesting applications to be developed using mesh networks in the coming years.
"Mesh has become an extremely important part of the enterprise on the Wi-Fi side, and a lot of our customers are innovating around this," he said. | <urn:uuid:c3d14b5f-5121-4d37-9652-c05e77b9d429> | {
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The objective behind the concept of computer security really changes quite a bit depending on the use of the computer. Computer security may include the protection of information that is unique from corruption or theft, for instance. This can enforce unique conditions on computers along with most system requirements that are normal. There are a number of distinct strategies that are typical that can be taken in regards to enhancing computer security, including the following:
OS mechanisms or executing the operating system which is capable of creating and imposing rules that avoid having to trust programs on the PC.
– Utilizing hardware strategies that allow subversion to be resisted and make computer programs more dependable.
– Executing the accessibility to some computer to ensure that those who are granted access to utilize it will not compromise computer security.
– Implementing programming mechanisms that can create and enforce rules for computer programs that are particular, permitting computer security without needing individual programs to execute it to be imposed.
Typically, the computer security apparatus that are put into place are reliant upon the application uses the computer is created for. As the amount of protection or privacy needed will change significantly distinct computer systems require different amounts of security. Computer systems under government control, by way of example, need a much greater level of security than computers. The degree of essential computer security along with what forms of security are executed, will change significantly too.
Implementing computer security may contain creating or utilizing protected operating systems, though much of the science associated with this form of security was developed several decades past. Security architecture involves describing how specific security countermeasures and controls are placed to protect the information technology, and is another alternative. Firewalls are an example of security supposed to shield computers from hazards that travel via the web or peer to peer connections. Chain of trust techniques is techniques that are used to ensure that all applications on a computer are certified as bona fide directly from the designers of the system. Access control is employed to make sure the separation of privileges, ensuring that only specified people have the right abilities on a computer system.
There are also cryptographic techniques which transform information into something which is supposed to be indecipherable by anyone but authorized men. Information can also be procured for computer security purposes using backup files which allow significant files to be shielded by creating copies should they become corrupted or destroyed.
Essentially, the main focus of the computer security field of information technology would be to protect the data included within them, the integrity of computers, and any tips that will need limited access. Some degree of computer security is required by anyone who owns a computer, including student computers in a university setting, computers owned and managed by the authorities, and also the laptop which you use to check your e-mail at night. | <urn:uuid:18530e89-629b-469c-a1cc-842d27773d77> | {
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What if we didn’t use ten numbers across for our Sieve of Eratosthenes?
For example, 36 × 38 = 1368. We could make a Sieve of Eratosthenes writing 36 numbers across the grid and 38 numbers down. The last number on the grid would be 1368, and we could find all the prime numbers less than 1369 (which is 17²) by crossing out all the multiples of the prime numbers that appear on the top row. The trouble is that 36 numbers across makes a very big grid. Crossing out multiples of 2, 3, 5, and 7 will be very quick, but crossing out all the multiples of 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, and 31 will not be so fun.
Grids that make use of the fact that (n-1)(n+1) = n²-1 can always give us a perfect rectangle and we will only need to cross out the multiples of the prime numbers in the top row to find ALL the prime numbers in any (n-1)×(n+1) list of numbers.
Here’s a 7 × 9 grid:
Since it was 7 across, it was very easy to cross out all the multiples of 7. The multiples of 2 and 3 weren’t too difficult to find either, but the pattern for the multiples of 5 was not quite as nice. Fortunately, it is easy to spot those multiples, no matter how big a number they are.
Still, the first prime number on the second row is 11, so we should be able to go almost up to 11² = 121 on our grid:
I couldn’t fit 120 on the grid without ruining the rectangle, but here’s a grid using 12 numbers across. Since 12 × 14 = 168 which is one less than 13², we can find all the prime numbers in the list simply by crossing out the multiples of the prime numbers in the top row.
But the next number, 13, is only one number more than 12, and all of its multiples are staring at me making me feel very uncomfortable. It will be very easy to cross out all of the multiples of 13. That means we can extend the list of numbers to one less than the next prime number squared, which is 289 – 1 = 288. This time we get a perfect rectangle because 288 is also a multiple of 12:
All of the circled numbers in the top row and every number that has not been crossed out below the top row are prime numbers.
Someone long ago figured out that if we make the grid six numbers across, all the prime numbers except 2 and 3 will appear in the same two columns, no matter how long the grid is:
Every prime number greater than 3 is either one less or one more than a multiple of 6.
Since we always cross out the multiples of 2 anyway, what would happen if we didn’t include them in the grid at all?
Here is a grid with ten numbers across, but only odd numbers are included. Because 5 is a factor of 10, it is very easy to cross out all of the 5’s. Also, since 9 is one less than 10 and 11 is one more than 10, it is also easy to cross out all the multiples of 3 and 11. Crossing out the 7’s and the 19’s wasn’t too bad, either, but the 13’s and 17’s were not as fun.
In my next post, I will share my favorite size of grid and the method I use to find all of the prime numbers on it. No prime numbers get circled in my method.
Some of the numbers in the grids had several lines through them.
If we made the 36 × 38 grid I mentioned at the beginning of the post, how many lines would 1368 have going through it? After all, 1368 has 24 factors. What do you think?
Only three lines. One each for its prime factors, 2, 3 and 19.
Here’s more about the number 1368:
- 1368 is a composite number.
- Prime factorization: 1368 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 19, which can be written 1368 = 2³ × 3² × 19
- 1368 has at least one exponent greater than 1 in its prime factorization so √1368 can be simplified. Taking the factor pair from the factor pair table below with the largest square number factor, we get √1368 = (√36)(√38) = 6√38
- The exponents in the prime factorization are 3, 2, and 1. Adding one to each exponent and multiplying we get (3 + 1)(2 + 1)(1 + 1) = 4 × 3 × 2 = 24. Therefore 1368 has exactly 24 factors.
- The factors of 1368 are outlined with their factor pair partners in the graphic below.
Here’s one of the MANY possible factor trees for 1368: | <urn:uuid:34632fd5-b207-441d-9f1a-ea03da1dd123> | {
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Earlier I studied the historic events during Uranus in Aries (in the first degree) and I found few Historic Events, except for the invention of the first accelerator. There were no nuclear plants in those days. That is a new situation.
A week ago I watched Professor Brian Cox about the Second Law of Thermodynamics related to the universe. If I understood him well, he said:
- entropy increases
- from order to disorder
- past will change
- future won't return to past
That is the arrow of time. Everything must eventually end. And when it ends, we can't get things back as they used to be. Change is all around.
Picture this: a piece of ice falling of a gletscher will never get out of the water again and manage to stick to that wall like before. (The idea about the universe is, that in the end there will be nothing left but a minuscule dark spot.)
That is what happens with history and the positions of planets, too. Nothing is the same as it was before.
When Uranus was named 'Uranus' (a few years after Herschel spotted the planet), there was shortage of food in Europe (because of dust of the vulcano Laki). The French Revolution followed, a few years later than the outburst of Laki. There was no Uranus-Pluto or Uranus at Aries Point. And there was no nuclear plant.
That is what crossed my mind... | <urn:uuid:23edeecc-a4e0-4dbc-a0e1-99e8c030e553> | {
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible
Into the book of the wars of the Lord the story of this chapter must be brought, but it looks as sad and uncomfortable as any article in all that history for there is nothing in it that looks in the least bright or pleasant but the pious zeal of Israel against the wickedness of the men of Gibeah, which made it on their side a just and holy war but otherwise the obstinacy of the Benjamites in protecting their criminals, which was the foundation of the war, the vast loss which the Israelites sustained in carrying on the war, and (though the righteous cause was victorious at last) the issuing of the war in the almost utter extirpation of the tribe of Benjamin, make it, from first to last, melancholy. And yet this happened soon after the glorious settlement of Israel in the land of promise, upon which one would have expected every thing to be prosperous and serene. In this chapter we have, I. The Levite's cause heard in a general convention of the tribes, Judges 20:1-7. II. A unanimous resolve to avenge his quarrel upon the men of Gibeah, Judges 20:8-11. III. The Benjamites appearing in defence of the criminals, Judges 20:12-17. IV. The defeat of Israel in the first and second day's battle, Judges 20:18-25. V. Their humbling themselves before God upon that occasion, Judges 20:26-28. VI. The total rout they gave the Benjamites in the third engagement, by a stratagem, by which they were all cut off, except 600 men, Judges 20:29-48. And all this the effect of the indignities done to one poor Levite and his wife so little do those that do iniquity consider what will be the end thereof.
1Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh. 2And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. 3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness? 4And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. 5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead. 6 And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel. 7 Behold, ye are all children of Israel give here your advice and counsel. 8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. 9 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah we will go up by lot against it 10 And we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel. 11So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
Here is, I. A general meeting of all the congregation of Israel to examine the matter concerning the Levite's concubine, and to consider what was to be done upon it, Judges 20:1,2. It does not appear that they were summoned by the authority of any one common head, but they came together by the consent and agreement, as it were, of one common heart, fired with a holy zeal for the honour of God and Israel. 1. The place of their meeting was Mizpeh they gathered together unto the Lord there, for Mizpeh was so very near to Shiloh that their encampment might very well be supposed to reach from Mizpeh to Shiloh. Shiloh was a small town, and therefore, when there was a general meeting of the people to represent themselves before God, they chose Mizpeh for their head-quarters, which was the next adjoining city of note, perhaps because they were not willing to give that trouble to Shiloh which so great an assembly would occasion, it being the resident of the priests that attended the tabernacle. 2. The persons that met were all Israel, from Dan (the city very lately so called, Judges 18:29) in the north to Beersheba in the south, with the land of Gilead (that is, the tribes on the other side Jordan), all as one man, so unanimous were they in their concern for the public good. Here was an assembly of the people of God, not a convocation of the Levites and priests, though a Levite was the person principally concerned in the cause, but an assembly of the people, to whom the Levite referred himself with an Appello populum--I appeal to the people. The people of God were 400,000 footmen that drew the sword, that is, were armed and disciplined, and fit for service, and some of them perhaps such as had known the wars of Canaan, Judges 3:1. In this assembly of all Israel, the chief (or corners) of the people (for rulers are the corner-stones of the people, that keep all together) presented themselves as the representatives of the rest. They rendered themselves at their respective posts, at the head of the thousands and hundreds, the fifties and tens, over which they presided for so much order and government, we may suppose, at least, they had among them, though they had no general or commander-in-chief. So that here was, (1.) A general congress of the states for counsel. The chief of the people presented themselves, to lead and direct in this affair. (2.) A general rendezvous of the militia for action, all that drew sword and were men of war (Judges 20:17), not hirelings nor pressed men, but the best freeholders, that went at their own charge. Israel were above 600,000 when they came into Canaan, and we have reason to think they were at this time much increased, rather than diminished but then all between twenty and sixty were military men, now we may suppose more than the one half exempted from bearing arms to cultivate the land so that these were as the trained bands. The militia of the two tribes and a half were 40,000 (Joshua 4:13), but the tribes were many more.
II. Notice given to the tribe of Benjamin of this meeting (Judges 20:3): They heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpeh. Probably they had a legal summons sent them to appear with their brethren, that the cause might be fairly debated, before any resolutions were taken up upon it, and so the mischiefs that followed would have been happily prevented but the notice they had of this meeting rather hardened and exasperated them than awakened them to think of the things that belonged to their peace and honour.
III. A solemn examination of the crime charged upon the men of Gibeah. A very horrid representation of it had been made by the report of the messengers that were sent to call them together, but it was fit it should be more closely enquired into, because such things are often made worse than really they were a committee therefore was appointed to examine the witnesses (upon oath, no doubt) and to report the matter. It is only the testimony of the Levite himself that is here recorded, but it is probable his servant, and the old man, were examined, and gave in their testimony, for that more than one were examined appears by the original (Judges 20:3), which is, Tell you us and the law was that none should be put to death, much less so many, upon the testimony of one witness only. The Levite gives a particular account of the matter: that he came into Gibeah only as a traveller to lodge there, not giving the least shadow of suspicion that he designed them any ill turn (Judges 20:4), and that the men of Gibeah, even those that were of substance among them, that should have been a protection to the stranger within their gates, riotously set upon the house where he lodged, and thought to slay him he could not, for shame relate the demand which they, without shame, made, Judges 19:22. They declared their sin as Sodom, even the sin of Sodom, but his modesty would not suffer him to repeat it it was sufficient to say they would have slain him, for he would rather have been slain than have submitted to their villany and, if they had got him into their hands, they would have abused him to death, witness what they had done to his concubine: They have forced her that she is dead, Judges 20:5. And, to excite in his countrymen an indignation at this wickedness, he had sent pieces of the mangled body to all the tribes, which had fetched them together to bear their testimony against the lewdness and folly committed in Israel, Judges 20:6. All lewdness is folly, but especially lewdness in Israel. For those to defile their own bodies who have the honourable seal of the covenant in their flesh, for those to defy the divine vengeance to whom it is so clearly revealed from heaven--Nabal is their name, and folly is with them. He concludes his declaration with an appeal to the judgment of the court (Judges 20:7): You are all children of Israel, and therefore you know law and judgment, Esther 1:13. "You are a holy people to God, and have a dread of every thing which will dishonour God and defile the land you are of the same community, members of the same body, and therefore likely to feel from the distempers of it you are children of Israel, that ought to take particular care of the Levites, God's tribe, among you, and therefore give your advice and counsel what is to be done."
IV. The resolution they came to hereupon, which was that, being now together, they would not disperse till they had seen vengeance taken upon this wicked city, which was the reproach and scandal of their nation. Observe, 1. Their zeal against the lewdness that was committed. They would not return to their houses, how much soever their families and their affairs at home wanted them, till they had vindicated the honour of God and Israel, and recovered with their swords, if it could not be had otherwise, that satisfaction for the crime which the justice of the nation called for, Judges 20:8. By this they showed themselves children of Israel indeed, that they preferred the public interest before their private concerns. 2. Their prudence in sending out a considerable body of their forces to fetch provisions for the rest, Judges 20:9,10. One of ten, and he chosen by lot, 40,000 in all, must go to their respective countries, whence they came, to fetch bread and other necessaries for the subsistence of this great army for when they came from home they took with them provisions only for a journey to Mizpeh, not for an encampment (which might prove long) before Gibeah. This was to prevent their scattering to forage for themselves, for, if they had done this, it would have been hard to get them all together again, especially all in so good a mind. Note, When there appears in people a pious zeal for any good work it is best to strike while the iron is hot, for such zeal is apt to cool quickly if the prosecution of the work be delayed. Let it never be said that we left that good work to be done to-morrow which we could as well have done to-day. 3. Their unanimity in these counsels, and the execution of them. The resolution was voted, Nemine contradicente--Without a dissenting voice (Judges 20:8) it was one and all and, when it was put in execution, they were knit together as one man, Judges 20:11. This was their glory and strength, that the several tribes had no separate interests when the common good was concerned.
12And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? 13Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel: 14But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. 15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. 16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded every one could sling stones at a hair breadth, and not miss. 17 And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
Here is, I. The fair and just demand which the tribes of Israel, now encamped, sent to the tribe of Benjamin, to deliver up the malefactors of Gibeah to justice, Judges 20:12,13. If the tribe of Benjamin had come up, as they ought to have done, to the assembly, and agreed with them in their resolution, there would have been none to deal with but the men of Gibeah only, but they, by their absence, taking part with the criminals, application must be made to them all. The Israelites were zealous against the wickedness that was committed, yet they were discreet in their zeal, and did not think it would justify them in falling upon the whole tribe of Benjamin unless they, by refusing to give up the criminals, and protecting them against justice, should make themselves guilty, ex post facto--as accessaries after the fact. They desire them to consider how great the wickedness was that was committed (Judges 20:12), and that it was done among them: and how necessary it was therefore that they should either punish the malefactors with death themselves, according to the law of Moses, or deliver them up to the general assembly, to be so much the more publicly and solemnly punished, that evil might be put away from Israel, the national guilt removed, the infection stopped by cutting off the gangrened part, and national judgments prevented for the sin was so very like that of the Sodomites that they might justly fear, if they did not punish it, God would rain hail from heaven upon them, as he did, not only upon Sodom, but the neighbouring cities. If the Israelites had not made this reasonable demand, they would have had much more reason to lament the following desolations of Benjamin. All methods of accommodation must be used before we go to war or go to law. The demand was like that of Joab's to Abel, 2 Samuel 20:20,21. "Only deliver up the traitor, and we will lay down our arms." On these terms, and no other, God will be at peace with us, that we part with our sins, that we mortify and crucify our lusts, and then all shall be well his anger will be turned away.
II. The wretched obstinacy and perverseness of the men of Benjamin, who seem to have been as unanimous and zealous in their resolutions to stand by the criminals as the rest of the tribes were to punish them, so little sense had they of their honour, duty, and interest. 1. They were so prodigiously vile as to patronise the wickedness that was committed: They would not hearken to the voice of their brethren (Judges 20:13), either because those of that tribe were generally more vicious and debauched at this time than the rest of the tribes, and therefore would not bear to have that punished in others of which they knew themselves guilty (some of the most fruitful and pleasant parts of Canaan fell to the lot of this tribe their land, like that of Sodom, was as the garden of the Lord, which perhaps helped to make the inhabitants, like the men of Sodom, wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly, Genesis 13:10,13), or because (as bishop Patrick suggests) they took it ill that the other tribes should meddle with their concerns they would not do that which they knew was their duty because they were reminded of it by their brethren, by whom they scorned to be taught and controlled. If there were any wise men among them that would have complied with the demand made, yet they were overpowered by the majority, who thus made the crime of the men of Gibeah their own. Thus we have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness if we say A confederacy with those that have, and make ourselves guilty of other men's sins by countenancing and defending them. It seems there is no cause so bad but it will find some patrons, some advocates, to appear for it but woe be to those by whom such offences come. Those will have a great deal to answer for that obstruct the course of necessary justice, and strengthen the hands of the wicked, by saying, O wicked man! thou shalt not die.
2. They were so prodigiously vain and presumptuous as to make head against the united force of all Israel. Never, surely, were men so wretchedly infatuated as they were when they took up arms in opposition, (1.) To so good a cause as Israel had. How could they expect to prosper when they fought against justice, and consequently against the just God himself, against those that had the high priest and the divine oracle on their side, and so acted in downright rebellion against the sacred and supreme authority of the nation. (2.) To so great a force as Israel had. The disproportion of their numbers was much greater than that, Luke 14:31,32, where he that had but 10,000 durst not meet him that came against him with 20,000, and therefore desired conditions of peace. There the enemy was but two to one, here above fifteen to one yet they despised conditions of peace. All the forces they could bring into the field were but 26,000 men, besides 700 men of Gibeah (Judges 20:15) yet with these they will dare to face 400,000 men of Israel, Judges 20:17. Thus sinners are infatuated to their own ruin, and provoke him to jealousy who is infinitely stronger than they, 1 Corinthians 10:22. But it should seem they depended upon the skill of their men to make up what was wanting in numbers, especially a regiment of slingers, 700 men, who, though left-handed, were so dexterous at slinging stones that they would not be a hair's breadth beside their mark, Judges 20:16. But these good marksmen were very much out in their aim when they espoused this bad cause. Benjamin signifies the son of the right hand, yet we find his posterity left-handed.
18 And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first. 19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. 20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. 21And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men. 22And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day. 23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.) 24And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. 25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men all these drew the sword.
We have here the defeat of the men of Israel in their first and second battle with the Benjamites.
I. Before their first engagement they asked counsel of God concerning the order of their battle and were directed, and yet they were sorely beaten. They did not think it was proper to ask of God whether they should go up at all against Benjamin (the case was plain enough, the men of Gibeah must be punished for their wickedness, and Israel must inflict the punishment or it will not be done), but "Who shall go first?" (Judges 20:18), that is, "Who shall be general of our army?" for, which soever tribe was appointed to go first, the prince of that tribe must be looked upon as commander-in-chief of the whole body. For, if they had meant it of the order of their march only, it would have been proper to ask, "Who shall go next?" and then, "Who next?" But, if they know that Judah must go first, they know they must all observe the orders of the prince of that tribe. This honour was done to Judah because our Lord Jesus was to spring from that tribe, who was in all things to have the pre-eminence. The tribe that went up first had the most honourable post, but withal the most dangerous, and probably lost most in the engagement. Who would strive for precedency that sees the peril of it? Yet though Judah, that strong and valiant tribe, goes up first, and all the tribes of Israel attend them, little Benjamin (so he is called, Psalm 68:27), is too hard for them all. The whole army lays siege to Gibeah, Judges 20:19. The Benjamites advance to raise the siege, and the army prepares to give them a warm reception, Judges 20:20. But between the Benjamites that attacked them in the front with incredible fury, and the men of Gibeah that sallied out upon their rear, they were put into confusion and lost 22,000 men, Judges 20:21. Here were no prisoners taken, for there was no quarter given, but all put to the sword.
II. Before their second engagement they again asked counsel of God, and more solemnly than before for they wept before the Lord until evening (Judges 20:23), lamenting the loss of so many brave men, especially as it was a token of God's displeasure and would give occasion to the Benjamites to triumph in the success of their wickedness. Also at this time they did not ask who should go up first, but whether they should go up at all. The intimate a reason why they should scruple to do it, especially now that Providence had frowned upon them, because Benjamin was their brother, and a readiness to lay down their arms if God should so order them. God bade them go up he allowed the attempt, for, though Benjamin was their brother, he was a gangrened member of their body and must be cut off. Upon this they encouraged themselves, perhaps more in their own strength than in the divine commission, and made a second attempt upon the forces of the rebels, in the same place where the former battle was fought (Judges 20:22), with the hope of retrieving their credit upon the same spot of ground where they had lost it, which they would not superstitiously change, as if there were any thing unlucky in the place. But they were this second time repulsed, with the loss of 18,000 men, Judges 20:25. The former day's loss and this amounted to 40,000, which was just a tenth part of the whole army, and the same number that they had drawn out by lot to fetch victuals, Judges 20:10. They decimated themselves for that service, and now God again decimated them for the slaughter. But what shall we say to these things, that so just and honourable a cause should thus be put to the worst once and again? Were they not fighting God's battle against sin? Had they not his commission? What, and yet miscarry thus! 1. God's judgments are a great deep, and his way is in the sea. Clouds and darkness are often round about him, but judgment and justice are always the habitation of his throne. We may be sure of the righteousness, when we cannot see the reasons, of God's proceedings. 2. God would hereby show them, and us in them, that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, that we are not to confide in numbers, which perhaps the Israelites did with too much assurance. We must never lay the weight on an arm of flesh, which only the Rock of ages will bear. 3. God designed hereby to correct Israel for their sins. They did well to show such a zeal against the wickedness of Gibeah: but were there not with them, even with them, sins against the Lord their God? Those must be made to know their own iniquity that are forward in condemning the iniquity of others. Some think it was a rebuke to them for not witnessing against the idolatry of Micah and the Danites, by which their religion was corrupted, as they now did against the lewdness of Gibeah and the Benjamites, by which the public peace was disturbed, though God had particularly ordered them to levy war upon idolaters, Deuteronomy 13:12-18, &c. 4. God would hereby teach us not to think it strange if a good cause should suffer defeat fore a while, nor to judge of the merits of it by the success of it. The interest of grace in the heart, and of religion in the world, may be foiled, and suffer great loss, and seem to be quite run down, but judgment will be brought forth to victory at last. Vincimur in præ lio, sed non in bello--We are foiled in a battle, but not in the whole campaign. Right may fall, but it shall arise.
26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 27 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand. 29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah. 30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. 31And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 32And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways. 33And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah. 34And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them. 35 And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drew the sword. 36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah. 37 And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. 38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city. 39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle. 40 But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven. 41And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them. 42Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness but the battle overtook them and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them. 43 Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising. 44And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men all these were men of valour. 45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them. 46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword all these were men of valour. 47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months. 48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.
We have here a full account of the complete victory which the Israelites obtained over the Benjamites in the third engagement: the righteous cause was victorious at last, when the managers of it amended what had been amiss for, when a good cause suffers, it is for want of good management. Observe then how the victory was obtained, and how it was pursued.
I. How the victory was obtained. Two things they had trusted too much to in the former engagements--the goodness of their cause and the superiority of their numbers. It was true that they had both right and strength on their side, which were great advantages but they depended too much upon them, to the neglect of those duties to which now, this third time, when they see their error, they apply themselves.
1. They were previously so confident of the goodness of their cause that they thought it needless to address themselves to God for his presence and blessing. They took it for granted that God would bless them, nay, perhaps they concluded that he owed them his favour, and could not in justice withhold it, since it was in defence of virtue that they appeared and took up arms. But God having shown them that he was under no obligation to prosper their enterprise, that he neither needed them nor was tied to them, that they were more indebted to him for the honour of being ministers of his justice than he to them for the service, now they became humble petitioners for success. Before they only consulted God's oracle, Who shall go up first? And, Shall we go up? But now they implored his favour, fasted and prayed, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings (Judges 20:26), to make an atonement for sin and an acknowledgment of their dependence upon God, and as an expression of their desire towards him. We cannot expect the presence of God with us, unless we thus seek it in the way he has appointed. And when they were in this frame, and thus sought the Lord, then he not only ordered them to go up against the Benjamites the third time, but gave them a promise of victory: Tomorrow I will deliver them into thy hand, Judges 20:28.
2. They were previously so confident of the greatness of their strength that they thought it needless to use any art, to lay any ambush, or form a stratagem, not doubting but to conquer purely by a strong hand but now they saw it was requisite to use some policy, as if they had an enemy to deal with them that had been superior in number accordingly, they set liers in wait (Judges 20:29), and gained their point, as their fathers did before Ai (Joshua 8:1-35), stratagems of that kind being most likely to take effect after a previous defeat, which has flushed the enemy, and made the pretended flight the less suspected. The management of this artifice is here very largely described. The assurance God had given them of success in this day's action, instead of making them remiss and presumptuous, set all heads and hands on work for the effecting of what God had promised.
(1.) Observe the method they took. The body of the army faced the city of Gibeah, as they had done before, advancing towards the gates, Judges 20:30. The Benjamites, the body of whose army was now quartered at Gibeah, sallied out upon them, and charged them with great bravery. The besiegers gave back, retired with precipitation, as if their hearts failed them upon the sight of the Benjamites, which they were willing to believe, proudly imagining that by their former success they had made themselves very formidable. Some loss the Israelites sustained in this counterfeit flight, about thirty men being cut off in their rear, Judges 20:31,39. But, when the Benjamites were all drawn out of the city, the ambush seized the city (Judges 20:37), gave a signal to the body of the army (Judges 20:38,40), which immediately turned upon them (Judges 20:41), and, it should seem, another considerable party that was posted at Baal-tamar came upon them at the same time (Judges 20:33) so that the Benjamites were quite surrounded, which put them into the greatest consternation that could be. A sense of guilt now disheartened them, and the higher their hopes had been raised the more grievous was this confusion. At first the battle was sore (Judges 20:34), the Benjamites fought with fury but, when they saw what a snare they were drawn into, they thought one pair of heels (as we say) was worth two pair of hands, and they made the best of their way towards the wilderness (Judges 20:42) but in vain: the battle overtook them, and, to complete their distress, those who came out of the cities of Israel, that waited to see the event of the battle, joined with their pursuers, and helped to cut them off. Every man's hand was against them.
(2.) Observe in this story, [1.] That the Benjamites, in the beginning of the battle, were confident that the day was their own: They are smitten down before us, Judges 20:32,39. Sometimes God suffers wicked men to be lifted up in successes and hopes, that their fall may be the sorer. See how short their joy is, and their triumphing but for a moment. Let not him that girdeth on the harness boast, except he has reason to boast in God. [2.] Evil was near them and they did not know it, Judges 20:34. But (Judges 20:41) they saw, when it was too late to prevent it, that evil had come upon them. What evils may at any time be near us we cannot tell, but the less they are feared the heavier they fall. Sinners will not be persuaded to see evil near them, but how dreadful will it be when it comes and there is no escaping! 1 Thessalonians 5:3. [3.] Though the men of Israel played their parts so well in this engagement, yet the victory is ascribed to God (Judges 20:35): The Lord smote Benjamin before Israel. The battle was his, and so was the success. [4.] They trode down the men of Benjamin with ease when God fought against them, Judges 20:43. It is an easy thing to trample upon those who have made God their enemy. See Malachi 4:3.
II. How the victory was prosecuted and improved in a military execution done upon these sinners against their own souls. 1. Gibeah itself, that nest of lewdness, was destroyed in the first place. The ambush that entered the city by surprise drew themselves along, that is, dispersed themselves into the several parts of it, which they might easily do, now that all the men of war had sallied out and very presumptuously left it defenceless and they smote all they found, even women and children, with the sword (Judges 20:37), and set fire to the city, Judges 20:40. Sin brings ruin upon cities. 2. The army in the field was quite routed and cut off: 18,000 men of valour lay dead upon the spot, Judges 20:44. 3. Those that escaped from the field were pursued, and cut off in their flight, to the number of 7000, Judges 20:45. It is to no purpose to think of out-running divine vengeance. Evil pursues sinners, and it will overtake them. 4. Even those that tarried at home were involved in the ruin. They let their sword devour for ever, not considering that it would be bitterness in the latter end, as Abner pleads long after, when he was at the head of an army of Benjamites, probably with an eye to this very story, 2 Samuel 2:25,26. They put to the sword all that breathed, and set fire to all the cities, Judges 20:48. So that of all the tribe of Benjamin, for aught that appears, there remained none alive but 600 men that took shelter in the rock Rimmon, and lay close there four months, Judges 20:47. Now, (1.) It is difficult to justify this severity as it was Israel's act. The whole tribe of Benjamin was culpable but must they therefore be treated as devoted Canaanites? That it was done in the heat of war, that this was the way of prosecuting victories which the sword of Israel had been accustomed to, that the Israelites were extremely exasperated against the Benjamites for the slaughter they had made among them in the two former engagements, will go but a little way to excuse the cruelty of this execution. It is true they had sworn that whosoever did not come up to Mizpeh should be put to death, Judges 21:5. But that, if it was a justifiable oath, yet extended only to the men of war the rest were not expected to come. Yet, (2.) It is easy to justify the hand of God in it. Benjamin had sinner against him, and God had threatened that, if they forgot him, they should perish as the nations that were before them perished (Deuteronomy 8:20), who were all in this manner cut off. (3.) It is easy likewise to improve it for warning against the beginnings of sin: they are like the letting forth of water, therefore leave it off before it be meddled with, for we know not what will be in the end thereof. The eternal ruin of souls will be worse, and more fearful, than all these desolations of a tribe. This affair of Gibeah is twice spoken of by the prophet Hosea as the beginning of the corruption of Israel and a pattern to all that followed (Hosea 9:9): They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah and (Hosea 10:9), Thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah and it is added that the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not (that is, did not at first) overtake them.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used a mechanism on its robotic arm to dig up five scoopfuls of material from a patch of dusty sand called "Rocknest," producing the five bite-mark pits visible in this image from the rover's left Navigation Camera (Navcam). Each of the pits is about 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide.
The fifth scoopful at Rocknest -- leaving the upper middle bite mark -- was collected during the mission's 93rd Martian day, or sol (Nov. 9, 2012). This image was taken later that same sol. A sample from that fifth scoop was analyzed over the next two sols by Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite of instruments inside the rover. A second sample from the same scoopful of material was delivered to SAM for analysis on Sol 96 (Nov. 12). No further scooping of soil samples is planned at Rocknest.
The first Rocknest scoop was collected during Sol 61 (Oct. 7). Fine sand and dust from that scoopful and two subsequent ones were used for scrubbing the inside surfaces of chambers in the sample-handling mechanism on the arm. Samples from scoops three, four and five were analyzed by the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument inside the rover.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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by John Gagnon
An Engine of Change
A bumpy ride in the bush in an off-road vehicle has paved the way for the industrial readiness of engineering students nationwide.
It's called the Mini-Baja, and Bill Shapton, professor emeritus, has been a driving force behind this vehicle-design competition, which is sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
Shapton's involvement was so pivotal that today he is called "the father of Mini-Baja."
The program, which now has students building and operating an all-terrain vehicle, helped transform engineering education.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were several collegiate automotive competitions. However, they all emphasized design at the expense of dirty hands. Shapton says, "Everybody designed vehicles. No one built them. They were missing a huge part of the industrial process."
Student interest in engineering was lagging, in part, Shapton believed, because universities were shedding that practical experience. "Mechanical engineering programs became very math-oriented and theoretical in the sixties and seventies as we entered the space program," he said. "Many universities dropped most of the labs and hands-on activity."
In response, Shapton, then at the University of Cincinnati, co-organized a series of competitions to design and build what he called "Recreational-Ecological Vehicles."
His aim: to familiarize students with how things are done in industry. Thus, the effort: duplicate the industrial model—design it, build it, test it, and compete with it.
The competitions began in 1973 and were held at Michigan Tech's Keweenaw Research Center. There were some potholes early on: two vehicles caught fire, a third ended up in the drink. (Those circumstances prompted Shapton to include the student competitors on his homeowner's policy.) But it was affordable; Briggs & Stratton donated free engines. That, plus the fun of it all, made the program popular among students. And, Shapton says, "It looked great on their résumé."
Meanwhile, Shapton lobbied the SAE Board of Directors to sponsor its own competitions. He was serving on the Student Activity Committee when the SAE launched its first collegiate design competitions, Mini-Baja and Formula SAE, in 1976.
Tech has participated in Mini-Baja (now simply Baja SAE) every year since, hosted it twice, and won it once. Shapton himself came to Tech in 1979 and co-advised University Mini-Baja teams in the 1980s.
The inaugural Mini-Baja began with six schools. Now there are three regional Baja SAE competitions held annually in the US involving 3,300 students each year. "It grew fast," Shapton recalls, and it trained generations of students to translate classroom concepts to real-world engineering. "It had a huge effect on academics," says Shapton.
The Mini-Baja so appealed to students that faculty were almost forced to get involved. Because SAE programs required students to build a vehicle, Senior Design expanded from a term project to a yearlong learning experience. At Tech, the competition has grown to four years of Enterprise, the Blizzard Baja SAE.
Mini-Baja and the ensuing SAE design competitions—Formula, Supermileage, Aero Design, and the Clean Snowmobile Challenge—have changed the lives of student engineers and their faculty advisors "in a major way," Shapton says, and the effort has paid off in graduates that are better prepared for the workplace.
The SAE has also benefited; since the competitions began, he says, student membership in the society "has skyrocketed."
Speaking is a man with extensive connections with the workaday world. Shapton has twice taken sabbaticals to work in industry. In one, he was involved in the development of the first industrial robots. In another, he helped develop groundbreaking tests for the measurement of vehicular noise and vibration. He also has been instrumental in educating automobile draftsmen to become design engineers.
He has served on eight committees at SAE and has received four of the organization's awards. In 1989, Shapton was awarded the SAE Medal of Honor, largely for his involvement in Baja.
He also has received the SAE's Excellence in Engineering Education Award for his efforts to bring engineering activities to public schools.
And, for his contributions, overall, to education, industry, and the society, Shapton was named an SAE Fellow in 2010.
John Leinonen, a former president of SAE, nominated Shapton to be an SAE Fellow. He says Shapton's role in launching the Baja program was complemented by his stature in industry, his passion for teaching, and his concern for students.
William Predebon, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering–Engineering Mechanics, also nominated Shapton for SAE Fellow. He says Shapton receives "enormous respect" from students and colleagues and "esteem" from alumni. The fellowship, Predebon says, "is overdue."
Shapton is modest about his pioneering role. It was circumstances—languishing interest in engineering and a decline in hands-on education—not vision, he says, that prompted his efforts. He's just happy it's all worked out so well.
"Students like the competition part," Shapton says. "Unfortunately, just one team can win, so it's largely a no-win game." But, he adds, "It makes life a lot more interesting."
The bottom line: all the student engineers, from the winners on down, leave with something far more valuable than a trophy, says Shapton. "They have acquired the tools to actually design and build something." | <urn:uuid:30fa0683-e05c-4fde-8e28-c8edc1fe0fa2> | {
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It is without a doubt that the condom is the most affordable and effective means of preventing pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases around the world. It is for this reason that numerous groups concerned about the practice of safe sex and contraception are encouraging the use of condoms among sexually active teenagers and adults. For many years now, this campaign on contraceptive use has been intensely and widely promoted in countries with bloated human population and increasing cases of HIV infection.
It is unfortunate, though, that not all people agree on the use of this contraceptive due to their different religious beliefs. Various religions exist in the world today and each has its own set of practices and ideologies. When it concerns the use of condoms as contraception in family planning programs and as a method of preventing the spread of sexually infectious diseases, the views of each religion also differ. This issue has been hotly debated among the conservative religious groups and the liberated cause oriented organizations.
Organizations worldwide advocating condom use to avert the spread of HIV/AIDS have put the blame on religious groups that totally object to the use of contraception for failing to help save the lives of millions of infected people. For many years now, they continue to appeal to religious leaders to consider condom use, in particular, as a vital approach in preventing the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV.
AIDS has stricken millions of people around the world today and the number of HIV infected people is on the rise. Health experts believe the condom is one effective way of preventing its spread to people not yet infected especially when used on a consistent basis.
It is important to note that apart from government leaders in countries with a high rate of HIV cases, religious leaders also have a big role to play in the prevention and reduction of HIV infections. They are vital educators and counselors in the various aspects of people’s lives including the HIV/AIDS issue.
Here, we will share with you the different religions of the world and their stance on condom use in this modern age.
The Catholic Church founded in Jerusalem is considered the oldest religious institution being the original branch of Christianity. It promotes the teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth based on the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, John and Luke.
To the Catholic Church, marriage is a sacred relationship. Both husband and wife are urged to remain faithful towards each other throughout their lifetime and avoid extramarital relationships at all cost. It is also necessary among Catholics not to engage in sex before marriage as a sign of respect for their religion. The church’s catechism is that all sex acts must be done only to unite a couple and allow them to have children.
But since the olden days, the church’s position on the use of condom and other contraception as a form of family planning and even as a way to prevent the transmission of disease has always been a big no. The Catholic Church’s stand has always been unbending despite claims by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the U.S. that condom usage lowers the risk of HIV/AIDS infection by 10,000 times against not using any protection at all. But to the church, it is a sin to use such contraceptive and based on official teaching, unless users confess their sin of using condoms and do penance, they won’t achieve salvation. For the Roman Catholic Church, only the natural family planning method and abstinence is acceptable.
Many Catholics remain conservative in their views on condoms even until today. They believe that the condom prevents the conception of life which is very sacred. To them, only God can end life.
The Roman Catholic Church’s traditional ban on birth control was stated in the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae of Pope Paul VI. The late Pope John Paul II, for his part, was also known for his strong opposition on the use of condoms as a form of contraception and method of preventing disease. He was highly criticized for his stance but he stood by it until the end.
But then again, many people who have high hopes and strong faith believe things can change for the better. And the change they have been longing for has somehow become a reality when the new Pope Benedict XVI, after his election, expressed interest in looking into the possibility of allowing the use of condoms as a means of averting the spread of disease notably HIV/AIDS. The Pope’s health minister is said to be instrumental in this change of position.
The National Catholic Reporter pointed out that the Vatican document will allow the use of condoms in an effort to prevent the spread of HIV only inside marriage and the family and not outside of it. Specifically, condom use will be sanctioned in a marriage where one spouse is infected with HIV/AIDS and the other is not.
Earlier, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI asked his office to prepare a document on this issue. The document was approved by the consultors of the Council for Health Pastoral Care and reviewed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Cause oriented groups supporting the worldwide drive to prevent AIDS have long been urging the Vatican to modify its stand on condoms. They partly blame the Catholic hierarchy for blocking attempts to save millions of lives because of the condom ban. Even the head of the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS program had personally talked with the Vatican people to find out if any change could be carried out regarding the issue.
In Latin America which is dominated by the Catholic faith, not all countries follow the ideology of Catholicism. One example is Brazil which is 85 percent Catholic. The country actively promotes and distributes condoms in an effort to help curb the rate of HIV infection.
Protestants number about 800 million spread in many parts of the world. They are among the approximately 1.9 billion Christians. Protestants and Christians are more open to the use of artificial birth control which is a big contrast to the belief of the Roman Catholic Church.
Before the coming of the 20th century, practically all branches of Christianity were opposed to contraception. However, many have changed their positions on this highly sensitive issue. It was the Anglican Communion in 1930 that first issued a Protestant statement allowing birth control among people who consider it their a moral obligation to limit their children or avoid parenthood. The statement issued at the Seventh Lambert Conference also permitted the use of contraceptives if people have a moral and valid reason to avoid complete abstinence.
In the Philippines, the Council of Christian Bishops of the Philippines (CCBP) is an example of protestant groups approving the use of condom and other birth control devices in family planning and combating the spread of infectious diseases. The group is comprised of protestant religious leaders and has 20,000 churches around the country. CCBP president Bishop Fred Magbanua said they are prolife and they support any policy that will allow couples to plan well for their family. He pointed out that no life is taken away here as no fertilization actually takes place when condoms are used. Contraceptives, according to this protestant group, do not stop life at all.
Other Protestant denominations have made statements on their position concerning contraceptives. The Church of England believes contraception is not a sin and does not go against God’s purpose. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America also allows its followers to use contraceptives if a married couple does not intend to have children.
As for the United Methodist Church, it respects a couple’s right to control conception based on their situations. It has issued a Resolution on Responsible Parenthood urging parents and the community to make sure that every child is delivered into the world with good health.
The Presbyterian Church in the U.S. also backs the use of contraceptives which it considers a part of basic health care. In fact, it has come out with a resolution that endorses insurance coverage for contraceptives.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Orthodox Church in its early days was against contraceptives. Today, though, it accepts contraception when used within a Christian marriage, with the blessing of a spiritual father and when the marriage does not exclude children.
Hinduism is one of the oldest major religions in the world and the third largest after Christianity and Islam having an estimated one billion followers. Majority of Hindu followers are in India and Nepal numbering about 905 million. Other Hindu devotees are spread in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and Canada.
In Hinduism, marriage is a sacred relationship that extends beyond life on earth. It is believed that this relationship continues through seven or more lives during which the couple help each other progress spiritually. This martial bond is considered a relationship of the souls and is both a duty or dharma and a sacrament or samskara. Although polygamy was normal in the ancient Hindu society, Hindus today are required to be strictly monogamous.
Hinduism, as in other religions, does not totally approve of condom usage. Hinduism is the dominant religion in India practiced by more than 80 percent of the population. Religion is said to be a way of life in this Asian country. However, with a high rate of HIV cases in India today, the use of condoms has been intensely promoted to prevent disease transmission. Many Indians, despite their strong religious beliefs, have accepted the contraceptive being an important tool in fighting HIV infection.
Around 650 million condoms are sold each year in India making it among the three biggest markets together with China and Japan. Today, India has the highest number of HIV-infected people, about 3.86 million and remains among the countries with the biggest population worldwide. This is the reason why 80 percent of the country’s five-year HIV/AIDS prevention program is focused on the widespread promotion of condom use.
Reports confirm that the HIV epidemic in India mostly covers sex workers and drug users. By the middle of 1990s, more than 25 percent of sex workers in many Indian cities had been found HIV positive. Surveys have actually shown that despite widespread public information dissemination, many women learned about the vital role of condoms only after they were infected. Many women especially in the rural areas are uneducated about condom use as a way of protecting themselves against sexually transmitted diseases notably HIV.
Buddhism is the world’s fourth largest religion with an estimated 350 million followers. Known as Buddha Dharma, it spans more than just religion but the total existence of Buddhists. It focuses on the teachings of Gautama Buddha on spiritual enlightenment in the form of religious practices and meditation.
Like in other religions, Buddhism believes in the sanctity of life, marriage and family. It differs only in the concept of marriage not being a religious obligation but rather a social convention aimed at promoting the well being and happiness of humans.
There exist no specific regulations concerning marriage in Buddhism. However, Buddha puts emphasis on fidelity and loyalty as crucial in keeping a happy marriage. Another important advice for a married person is to refrain from sexual misconduct and extramarital relationships.
Life, according to the Buddhist scriptures, starts at the time of conception. But with the use of family planning methods, no life is being taken away as conception or pregnancy is actually prevented. The use of contraceptives in Buddhism, therefore, is based on moral grounds and should not be misinterpreted as an approval to be promiscuous or engage in any form of sexual misconduct. Buddhism values life, human beings and moral judgment.
Buddhists are conservative people especially the monks but they are very considerate of their followers who are suffering from sickness or any type of crisis. Condom use to them is actually frowned upon but religious leaders who understand the importance of preventing the epidemic of HIV has somehow accepted the role of the condom.
An example is the head of the Buddhist Monks Network in Northern Thailand who supports the use of condoms if only to prevent the spread of HIV. Thailand is a prominent Buddhist country in Southeast Asia with 95 percent of its population believers of Buddhism.
Venerable Phrakru Wichian understands the sufferings of people infected with HIV/AIDS in his community and he urges HIV positive people to use condoms to avoid re-infection. Undaunted by a negative reaction from other religious leaders, he believes that it’s vital to use condoms on certain occasions because modern life carries a lot of risk. In fact, the Thai monk began a program on this subject back in 1995 that aims to encourage people to apply spiritual knowledge through contemplation in order to better respond to the disease.
Hundreds of Buddhist temples and thousands of monks abound in Thailand. Chiang Mai City alone is already home to 300 temples and 7,000 monks who serve as teachers, healers and counselors providing emotional support to people. Wichian, however, pointed out the importance of meditative practices to cope with HIV.
Islam literally means submission or total submission to God or Allah. With nearly two billion Muslims in the world, Islam is considered the second largest religion. It focuses on the practice of the five pillars or duties of Islam which every Muslim should follow all his life.
Islam follows strictly the teachings of Allah based on their holy book the Qur’an. The Qur’an puts emphasis on self-discipline in all aspects of life including sexuality and marriage. While married couples should remain faithful, unmarried people should remain chaste, according to Islamic teachings.
But since HIV/AIDS has become so widespread these days, many Islamic religious groups have accepted the use of condoms notably in preventing the transmission of diseases. A unique example is the Islamic Medical Association of Uganda (IMAU) which played a vital role in convincing the country’s Muslim religious leaders on the importance of condoms to avert the spread of the AIDS epidemic. It started a program incorporating condom education and distribution. Uganda in South Africa has achieved great progress in its battle against HIV/AIDS and one important factor attributed to this is condom use but only to infected persons.
The group integrates the main Islam principles into its program including prayer to teach infected Muslims that a strong faith in Allah will guide and help them avoid temptations and the dreaded AIDS disease. It also believes that condoms when used in legal marriage do not go against the teachings of Islam. Using them outside of marriage is, however, unacceptable.
Earlier, the imams or the Muslim religious teachers had condemned condom use as it was against their faith. They were not open in discussing it and were even involved in campaigns banning the advertisements of condoms.
Not all Islamic religious leaders, however, have accepted the use of condoms. Some believe that condoms, when used in family planning especially in spacing children and as a protection against infectious diseases, are acceptable. This position, though, should not be misinterpreted as a go signal for other Muslims to engage in casual or illicit sex.
In Indonesia, home of the world’s biggest Muslim population, Islamic religious leaders are divided in their stand on the fight against HIV. The Indonesian Mujahiddin Council is totally against the condom campaign of the government stressing that the disease should rather be dealt with by strictly adhering to the Islamic sharia law and punishing the violators including the infidels and those who engage in premarital sex.
For its part, the Islamic Defenders Front, a group engaged in morality drives against nightclubs and bars during the holy month of Ramadan, neither opposes or supports the condom drive.
An Islamic studies lecturer at the Muhammadiyah University in Surabaya, East Java, favors the campaign if only to battle the HIV/AIDS problem. He pointed out that there are verses in the Qu’ran calling for humans to take good care of their health. Other religious organizations have committed to actively take part in Indonesia’s anti-AIDS drive.
An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Indonesians are infected with HIV and some 90 million of condoms are sold annually in the country. Reports say that half of all new HIV cases are aged between 15 and 24.
In summary, it is worth noting that religion could be an effective way of battling the AIDS problem of the world. This is apart from the extensive information dissemination programs being initiated by many cause oriented groups worldwide.
Various studies have shown that campaigns toward the prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS notably among the younger generation could reap positive results if religious beliefs and practices are incorporated. Religion is believed to have a strong influence on the behavior of people including their sexual activities.
A specific example is a study done in Guyana, a country in the Caribbean with the second highest rate of HIV infection in the world and the third highest occurrence of HIV/AIDS in the region. The UNICEF-sponsored research in Guyana looked into the knowledge and attitudes of young people towards HIV/AIDS and sexual behavior and found that educating young people about religion lessened the likelihood of them engaging in sexual intercourse. The authors of the study stated in the March 2007 issue of the International Journal of STD and AIDS that spiritual inspiration could truly address some of society’s great problems especially in a country with strong faith-based beliefs.
With all these views considered, it remains uncertain if all religions will favor the use of condoms in the future. But if they only open up to the reality that millions of people are dying from sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS in many parts of the world, there’s still some hope that they could bend their stand a bit and help save lives. Let’s pray then that this will take place. | <urn:uuid:7c5a2a0c-798b-4fde-814c-9b9e6941f660> | {
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Comprehensive Assessment and Intervention Using the DIR/Floortime Model
The DIR®/Floortime™ model provides a developmental, interdisciplinary framework for constructing a comprehensive assessment and intervention program for children with autism spectrum disorders (infancy–adolescence) and other related neurological and sensory challenges. This program emphasizes the importance of relating, communicating, and thinking for the whole child within the context of human relationships. Video examples, case studies, and parent interviews provide further insight into the model’s application.
You will be able to:
- describe the main components of the DIR®/Floortime™ model, including theory and practice
- describe how the DIR®/Floortime™ model provides insight and strategies for assessing and treating each child’s individual learning needs
- identify and classify the stages of functional emotional development
- examine the relationship between affect, sensory processing, and communication
- discuss the importance of collaboration with the child’s family in all aspects of assessment and intervention | <urn:uuid:0df966e1-1a01-4da3-83b0-28b17b62f322> | {
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While many people would agree that a good fitness regime helps keep fatigue, weight-gain and stress at bay, it may just not be good enough. Choosing and following a good and healthy diet can help you there. Even with a hectic lifestyle, one can minimise the risks by choosing the right food to eat. But is choosing the right food enough? No. Along with the right type of food, we must also learn how to eat it the right way. The following 10 yoga-inspired tips should help:
1. See what you are eating
Observe your present diet. What is it that you eat most of? Are you consuming too many calories in your diet and don't have enough time to burn them off?
2. Choose green leafy vegetables
They are a rich source of proteins, iron, calcium and fiber. Green leafy vegetables are easy to prepare and quite appetising too.
3. Know when to drink water
Drinking plenty of water helps detoxify the body as well as gives you a glowing skin. Although, we should avoid drinking water during meals as it slows down the digestion process.
4. Include enough proteins in your diet
Proteins are vital for the body. Broccoli, soybeans, lentils, asparagus, spinach and low-fat dairy are some commonly found protein rich foods.
5. Chew your food
The more you chew your food, the easier it becomes for your stomach to digest it and the more calories you burn moving those jaws.
6. Keep away from fast food and soft drinks
Fast food is addictive and loaded with unhealthy trans-fats. Carbonated soft drinks have a high sugar content, which may lead to obesity, diabetes and dental caries.
7. Cook at home
Instead of ordering pizza from the joint around the corner, stay home and make that dish, adding health tweaks (feta instead of mozzarella cheese) along the way.
8. Focus on your food
Most of us have our food while distracted and don’t keep count on how much we eat. Though your stomach might be full, your busy brain tells you to eat more.
9. Never skip your breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it prepares the body for the whole day ahead. Eat a wholesome dish before you step out of the house.
10. Digest your food better
Sitting in Vajrasna (adamintine pose) for a few minutes after having food helps with digestion. This particular yogic posture enhances blood circulation in the lower abdomen.
A balanced diet helps keep the body fit and active. Yoga combined with good food habits can make you become more energetic, dedicated and focused person in all spheres of life. Remember, what you eat is what you become. So choose wise and eat better! | <urn:uuid:91e914e6-1858-497d-ba23-fafdf8467b30> | {
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The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) began its daily global imaging campaign four years ago, on March 9, 1999. Since that time, slightly more than 2 full Martian years have elapsed, and MOC has obtained a complete daily record of the red planet's ever-changing weather patterns. Observing Mars every day over many years is critical to understanding how to forecast weather that may occur in the future, and MOC is the only U.S. instrument slated to orbit Mars until late 2006 that can provide this information. For example, the MOC team has found that many weather events repeat from one year to the next. Such knowledge is useful in considering where future spacecraft might land on Mars--a site that is known to experience a dust storm each year during the period a lander or rover will be operational might not be a good place to land.
The six views of Mars shown here are a composite of the 24 daily global images acquired by MOC on February 14, 2003. At this time, it was the middle of summer in the northern hemisphere, and the middle of winter in the south. Taken together, the six views show the entire planet, its albedo (bright and dark) features, polar frosts, and cloud patterns. Water-ice clouds dominate the martian atmosphere over the tropical and sub-tropical latitudes, while orographically-generated (i.e. those associated with high-standing topography) water-ice clouds hang over each of the large volcanoes of the Tharsis and Elysium regions (see top-left, top-center, bottom-right).
In the north polar region, the residual water-ice cap is fully exposed. In the southern hemisphere, the winter-time seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap can be seen, extending from the south pole (which is in darkness and not seen in these images) northward to 50°S latitude. In the deep Hellas Basin (an ancient, giant impact scar seen as the bright elliptical feature at the bottom of the bottom-center image), the winter-time cap extends northward to 31°S because the lower elevation permits carbon dioxide to freeze at slightly higher temperatures than at the high elevations elsewhere in the southern hemisphere.
When these pictures were taken on February 14, 2003, dust storm activity was at a minimum and isolated to early morning hours around the edges of the north polar cap. Within a day, however, dust storm activity began to pick up in both hemispheres--as was expected from previous MOC images at this time of year in 1999 and 2001--and dust storms remained active through the rest of February and March. | <urn:uuid:65f7ee4d-332c-4014-9e24-0b5303947c41> | {
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Your daughter was sick last night and you didn’t get much sleep. Tony’s car was rear-ended on the way to the office. Vivian has to finish a report by noon. Bart just found out his wife is pregnant.
In a normal meeting we hear none of this, yet such issues are often foremost in everyone’s minds. We might discuss the new advertising campaign, next month’s budget, or the status of a project, but no one knows what is really going on with the others in the room. And by ignoring these undertones, we prevent ourselves from being fully present with each other.
As managers spend more and more time in increasingly unproductive meetings, it is becoming critical that we create environments for more productive conversations. The check-in process is a quality tool for good communication that can create such an environment. Although the mechanics are extremely simple and require little time, the check-in process can dramatically increase the effectiveness of any meeting.
THE CHECK-IN PROCESS
- Sit in a circle so everyone can see each other’s face. Agree on the time you’d like to devote to the activity.
- Take two or three minutes to “center.” Sit comfortably, in silence, breathing deeply and letting your eyes soften (or close if you prefer) while you become aware of the thoughts in your mind. You can play some music to create a common sound environment.
- Someone volunteers to start the process. The speaker may hold a talking stick, a stone, or some other object that physically symbolizes the “right to speak.”
- The speaker takes some time to say whatever he or she wants, with no constraints. If the speaker does not want to speak, he or she can just say “I pass,” reserving the right to speak at the end of the circle or to not speak at all.
- While the speaker is holding the talking object, no one interrupts or responds to his or her statements. Someone may, however, choose to say something related to what has already been said, when it is their turn.
- When the speaker is done, he or she says, “I’m in.”
- The speaker passes the talking object to the person on his or her left. The process is repeated until everyone has had a chance to speak.
The check-out follows the same process. The only difference is that each person finishes by saying, “I’m out.”
The purpose of this process is to bring concerns and issues into the open so there are no unspoken thoughts or distractions from the meeting. The check-in is an invitation to be fully present — not just present with the “official story,” but with whatever is on our minds. We are legitimately allowed into the meeting with our whole array of concerns and interests (see “The Check-In Process”).
Empathic listening is an integral part of the check-in process. Empathic listening implies adopting an open, non-judgmental stance toward the speaker and positioning ourselves in his/her situation. It means asking ourselves questions such as, “What is going on with me that encourages me to pay attention to some things and disregard others?” “How is my attitude filtering out thoughts and feelings?”, “How is the speaker expressing his or her truth?” “What does this truth reveal about his or her mental models?”, “What does my reaction reveal about my mental models?”
Benefits of the Process
Any time we go into a meeting, we approach it with expectations — about what the agenda is, who will say what, how the process will evolve, etc. These expectations bias our listening, so we pay selective attention to what fits our ideas and ignore what doesn’t. If we don’t put a check on this bias, we will end up in a situation where each person talks and listens to his or her own projection of who the other person is. The conversation becomes a hall of mirrors where everybody interacts with their own self-fulfilling expectations.
It is only when we speak from our hearts that we become fuller than the frozen models and presuppositions that others hold about us. It is only when we begin to listen without judgment that we open the door for a deeper understanding and dialogue.
The check-in process opens up that space for understanding and fuller communication by allowing us to bring concerns into the group. Once we acknowledge that something is on our mind, it is much easier to focus on the meeting. When we repress our concerns, we might place them out of sight, but we also place them out of control. When we express our concerns, we can actively choose to let them rest or deal with them openly. That brings our mind fully to the present experience.
For example, in one check-in, one member of the group shared that she was under a lot of stress and felt that her other commitments were more important than the meeting. At the end of the check-in, the group discussed whether it was really necessary for her to participate. Through this conversation, she understood much better why she was there and decided to stay — in spite of the group’s permission for her to leave.
In another check-in, several people said that they did not understand the purpose of the meeting and why they had been invited. At the end of the check-in, the leader explained what he believed was the objective of the meeting and the group discussed whether it made sense to continue. They agreed that there were some critical players missing and decided to postpone the meeting until those members could attend. Afterward, the leader commented that without the check-in process they would probably have wasted three hours in the meeting, without anybody understanding why they were there.
The check-in process can also be helpful for the many people who have trouble speaking in groups. For them, the process provides an opportunity to express themselves. Having their voice heard right from the start reduces any anxiety they might feel and can help them become more comfortable participating in the meeting. As one participant explained, “After you check in, the first time you talk is not really the first time but the second. You’ve already broken the ice.”
Nothing encourages people to share their views more than the knowledge that they will be listened to with empathy. We jump in and out of tasks so frantically that we often have little time left to create the field of appreciation that enables full self-expression. This type of listening can extend beyond the check-in process. Once people begin listening to each other with empathy, they simply can’t go back to their ordinary meeting style. The empathy remains even as they advocate for their views, inquire into other views, and make decisions together.
One manager who tried the check-in process was shocked to see some people break down and cry as they spoke. “It’s really sad to realize how much pain and suffering there is in organizations today,” he commented later. “And the saddest thing is that no one has ever asked these people, ‘Tell me about you. Tell me what’s on your mind.’ Pain and suffering are not popular topics, but they are pervasive in corporate life. Dealing with them is a necessary step in the healing process that can lead to the creation of a learning organization.
The meeting is over. You are unhappy with the outcome. Vivian is upset because the meeting ran over; she will not finish her report. Bart can only think about his pregnant wife. Everybody rushes to the next meeting, hoping it won’t be as bad as this one. Later, at the water cooler or after hours over drinks, they speak their minds. In fact, that is where the real issues come out. How can we bring that reflection and processing time into the meeting, where the participants can benefit from it?
Once people begin listening to each other with empathy, they simply can’t go back to their ordinary meeting style.
The check-out process can improve the quality of meetings by bringing closure. At the end of most meetings, everyone rushes out in order to get to their next meeting. Who has the time to reflect on the process? Or to check that there is a common understanding of the situation and that the commitments are clear? Even if the final two minutes in the agenda are reserved for concluding remarks, that time is usually spent on a summary blanket statement. No space is made to include individual perspectives, to reflect on what worked or what didn’t work for each participant, or to know where each person stands. There may be issues needing further consideration, or doubts requiring further inquiry. There may be the need to talk some more.
The check-out process allows each person to say what they want, and be appreciated and celebrated by the group. They might ponder the process, consider the content, ask questions, or even make requests for further conversations.
• • •
The Native American people had a simple rule for their check-ins and check-outs (they called them “council rounds”): be brief, and speak from the heart. How would our business meetings change if we took a little time to bring ourselves fully into them? What if meetings began with everyone’s mind as present as their body? What if they finished with a note of reflection and appreciation for the time shared?
What if, in your next meeting, you shared this article with your colleagues, asked them to take a few seconds to breathe and become aware of their thoughts, and, well, you know how the process goes. . .
Fred Kofman is the co-founder and president of Axialent. He was an assistant professor of accounting and management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and worked at the Organizational Learning Center. | <urn:uuid:997ce9b1-ea5d-4622-a81e-a1bae37fa497> | {
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According to the American Lung Association, nearly half a million smokers die annually from tobacco-related diseases. Despite these statistics, underage smoking remains a serious problem in the United States.
According to the American Lung Association, each day more than 4,000 individuals under the age of 18 try their first cigarettes. The tobacco industry pinpoints its marketing efforts towards children in an effort to replace those who die each year from lung cancer and other illnesses caused by smoking.
The Family First Aid organisation states that numerous reasons for underage smoking exist, including having a parent who smokes, peer pressure and low self-esteem. According to Nestor Lopez-Duran, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, teens who view movies in which celebrities are seen smoking, are at an increased risk to developing the habit.
Organizations such as Teens Against Tobacco Use, a service of the American Lung Association with chapters around the country, are helpful in educating minors on the dangers of smoking. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also is targeting the problem of underage smoking with a recent regulation banning flavoured tobacco. It reports that this type of tobacco is more likely to encourage minors to start smoking. | <urn:uuid:289e2922-fe2c-4678-8076-1858e7509534> | {
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To conserve native plants, wildlife habitat, wetlands, and water bodies.
Create and commit to implementing a long-term (at least 10-year) management plan for existing or recently restored on-site native habitats, water bodies, or wetlands and their buffers, and create a guaranteed funding source for management.
Involve a qualified biologist or a professional from a natural resources agency or natural resources consulting firm in writing the management plan and conducting or evaluating the ongoing management.
The plan must include biological objectives consistent with habitat or water resource conservation, and it must identify the following:
- procedures and personnel for maintaining the conservation areas;
- estimated implementation costs and funding sources; and
- any threats that the project poses for habitat or water resources within conservation areas (e.g., introduction of exotic species, intrusion of residents in habitat areas) and measures to substantially reduce those threats.
The project does not meet the requirements if it has negative effects on habitat for species identified in endangered species acts or habitat flagged for conservation in Option 1 of SLL Credit Site Design for Habitat or Wetland and Water Body Conservation.
Ask questions, share tips, and get notified of new forum posts by joining LEEDuser, a tool developed by BuildingGreen and supported by USGBC! | <urn:uuid:11265575-5009-4aa2-bc62-5397f8a97c5e> | {
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SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, NOIDA
USE OF LEGAL DATABASE INTERIM
Antara Rastogi, Rhea Matthai
BBA LLB Batch:2013-18
What it is ?
Why it is?
What it is not?
Where to go with it?
WHAT IS MEANT BY OPEN SOURCE?
Open source refers to a computer
program in which the source code
is available to the general public
and/or modification from its original design.
The license shall not restrict any party from
selling or giving away the software as a
component of an aggregate software
containing programs from
several different sources. The license shall
not require a royalty or other fee for such
In general, open source projects,
products, or initiatives are those that
exchange, collaborative participation, rapid
prototyping, transparency, and community
WHAT IS AN OPEN SOURCE
Open-source software (OSS) is a
computer software with its source
code made available and licensed with
a license in which the copyright holder
provides the rights to study, change
and distribute the software to anyone
and for any purpose. Open-source
software is very often developed in a
public, collaborative manner.
Must have “source code”
Intergrityof the Author‟s
No Discrimination Against
Person or Groups
No Discrimination of Fields
ADVANTAGES OF OSS
The license does not restrict the party from selling or
giving away the software. The license does not require
a royalty or other fee for such sale.
Lesser hardware costs:
The hardware power consumption is lesser for OSS
compared to other servers like windows. Hence a
cheaper and a older hardware could be used to get the
No vendor lock in:
open source software give its users more freedom and
we can affectively address some of the disadvantages
like lack of portability and expensive license fee vendor
OSS use high end technology like common information
model and web based enterprise management this
would result in efficient administration.
The support for OSS is freely available and can be
accesed though online communities.
Not totally free;
Though the software is free, we will incur
maintenance and installation charges in
addition to profession advise and support.
Not easy to install:
Not all open source soft wares is easy to
install and setup although its becoming
more useful all the time.
Not easy to use for end users:
Many people who activate the open source
community are developers not end users
of the software so it may not be helpful to
the advantage person looking for basic
OPEN SOURCE LICENSING
A license demarcates the rights and obligations that a licensor grants to a licensee. Open
source licenses grant licensees the right to copy, modify and redistribute source code or
content. These licenses may also impose obligations.
TYPES OF LICENSES AVAILABLE
CLOSED SOURCE: When source code is not open but kept a secret.
eg. Proprietary Software like Adobe Acrobat
Reader, MacAfee, Apple Software
OPEN SOURCE: a type of license for computer software and other
products that allows the source code, blueprint or design to be used,
and/or shared under defined terms and conditions
eg. Mozilla, Open Office.org, Wikimedia
Copyrights are used to protect computer
software but everyone is not using copyrights to
have rights in software. Some are using
copyrights so that no one else may have any
rights in that software; there is a new word for
it: they „copyleft‟ it. Before a software may be
copylefted, its source code must be disclosed. A
disclosed source software can be copylefted or
"Copyleft licenses" require licensee to license
specific developments (if they are not restricted
to internal use) to anyone under the original
license. This ensures that everyone who profits
from open-source software will offer their
developments to the developer community.
Inventions, discoveries and technologies widen scientific horizons
but also pose new challenges for the legal world. Information
Technology—brought about by Computers, Internet, and
Cyberspace—has also posed new problems in jurisprudence. These
problems have arisen in all areas of law. The law (statutory or
otherwise) providing answers to these problems or dealing with
Information Technology are sometimes loosely referred to as
'Computer Laws' or 'Information Technology Laws' or simply 'Cyber
Laws'. Intellectual property rights (IPR) are important aspect of
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
'What is worth copying is prima facie worth protecting' is the
genesis of intellectual property rights. These rights refer to the
property that is a creation of the mind: inventions, literary and
artistic works, symbols, names, images, and designs used in
Industrial property . 15
SOURCES OF LEGITIMACY OF OSS
Licensing and each individual license may consist of a
valid, specialized application of contractual norms, either in a
stand-alone framework or representing the enforceable
allocation and re-distribution of property law entitlements in
Licensing as a system of information governance may be a
custom or norm that has been effectively adopted as law and
that should justify enforcement of any particular license
licensing as private governance may operate effectively as a
system of private ordering of social arrangements.
THE OPEN SOURCE LICENSE AS A
SPECIALIZED SOFTWARE LICENSE
The open source model is ultimately a specialized application of the general
purpose conventional software license.
First, both “open source” and “closed source” licenses derive their legal
legitimacy from the copyright owners‟ claims to own and control all aspects
of computer program codes that are used by individual end users or
developers. Second, both forms of license assert comprehensive
statements of the scope of the users‟ rights and obligations with respect
both to the code and to the copyright in the code and limit the users‟ rights
only to those granted in the license itself, rather than to any rights supplied
by the Copyright Act or other law. A software license, whether open or
closed source, is a soup-to-nuts statement of the scope of legitimate
behavior by a user or consumer of that software with respect to both the
artifact itself, the information contained in that artifact, and the
copyright, if any, that applies to that information
DIGITAL MILLENIUM COPYRIGHT ACT
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act provides civil remedies and
the possibility of criminal penalties for two related acts. First, the
act of “overcoming” a “technological measure” that “effectively
controls access” to a copyrighted work is prohibited under
Sec1201(a)(1)(A).21 of „circumvent a technological measure‟
means to unscramble a scrambled work, to decrypt an encrypted
work, or otherwise to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair
a technological measure, without the authority of the copyright
owner.” 22 “A technological measure „effectively controls access to
a work‟ if the measure, in the ordinary course of its
operation, requires the application of information, or a process or a
treatment, with the authority of the copyright owner, to gain
access to the work.”
FREE SOFTWARE, GNU AND GPL
Richard Stallman of MIT propounded with the help of lawyers, drafted
the General public licence (GPL). It contains a condition that copylefts
software. Most of the software under the GNU Project are under GPL.
Software, under a GPL licence, is also known as GPLed software.
GPLed software can be integrated with similar GPLed software but not
with any proprietary programmes. However an LGPL (earlier known as
Library and now Lesser General Public License) can be integrated with
almost any kind of software including proprietary software. The GPL
does not require you to release modified version. You are free to make
modifications and use them privately, without ever releasing them.
This applies to organizations (including companies), too; an
organization can make a modified version and use it internally without
ever releasing it outside the organization. But if you release the
modified version to the public in some way,
then the GPL requires you to make the modified source code available
to the programme's users. Thus, the GPL gives permission to release
the modified programme in certain ways and not in other ways; but
the decision, whether to
release it or not, is up to you.
LEGITIMACY OF OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
Open‐source software development is a production model that exploits the
distributed intelligence of participants in Internet communities. This model
is efficient because of two related reasons: it avoids the inefficiencies of a
strong intellectual property regime and it implements concurrently design
and testing of software modules. The hazard of open source is that projects
can ‘fork’ into competing versions. However, open‐source communities
consist of governance structures that constitutionally minimize this danger.
Because open source works in a distributed environment, it presents an
opportunity for developing countries to participate in frontier innovation.
Linus Torwald wrote in a autobiographical book ‘Just for Fun: the Story of an Accidental
‘The GPL and open source model allows for the creation of the best technology. … It also
prevents the hoarding of technology and ensures that anyone with interest won’t be excluded
from its development.’
So open source would rather use the legal weapon of copyright as an invitation to join in the
fun, rather than as a weapon against others. It’s still the same old mantra: Make Love, Not
War, except on a slightly more abstract level.
So many people still believe that the only good software available is that which is found on a
shelf in a store. Everything you do in one way, shape, or form is being influenced by open
mechanisms. One day soon, as far as software is concerned, it will be open.
Open source software offers various advantages like the ability to
reduce costs and development time, or to avoid being dependent on
a single vendor. It is therefore to be expected that more and more
companies and institutions will start using open source software.
There is however some risks associated with doing so.
It's important to mention that an immediate switch from proprietary
software development to Open Source development would not be a
wise decision. The changes in concept are massive, and
prematurely adopting this model would likely impact negatively on
the economy in the short term. Rather, gradual adoption to Open
Source development is recommended. It is therefore recommended
to carefully study the license agreement and to make an
assessment of the risks associated with these conditions.
One should always check whether the own application is clearly
separated from software under the GPL. And of course compliance
with the license conditions need to be checked. With a careful
application of the license conditions, it is possible to benefit most
from using open source software while minimizing the risk.
Madison, M. J. (2005). The legitimacy of open source and other
software licenses. University of Pittsburgh School of Law Working Paper
Von Hippel, E., & Von Krogh, G. (2003). Open source software and the
“private-collective” innovation model: Issues for organization
science. Organization science, 14(2), 209-223. | <urn:uuid:14a70eee-8765-4052-8b46-f240c220cf7e> | {
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These are just two of the ways protected areas — in their many forms including national parks, marine reserves and community conserved areas — support human life. Not only are they key to securing our water and food supplies, they also reduce the impact of disasters and help us recover from them.
Healthy forests stabilise soils, helping to prevent landslides and avalanches, wetlands and river basins purify water and reduce flooding, while mangroves and coral reefs protect coastlines from storms. All these ‘services’ help sustain the wellbeing and livelihoods of millions of people around the world.
The IUCN World Parks Congress, taking place in November, will showcase the many ways in which we can safeguard ecosystems – our life support. It will highlight the successes and challenges of various approaches, be they government legislation, economic incentives or community-led initiatives. | <urn:uuid:9559a192-e8f7-40cd-bf86-142adbb6b336> | {
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By Lauren Carlsen | The Nation | November 17, 2017
The bus pulls into a dusty vacant lot off the road. A red tarp has been strung over a few rows of folding chairs. Although there’s still a morning chill, the sun will soon be fierce in the eastern Guatemalan village of Casillas. Small groups of locals wait nervously as 30 women file off the bus, among them four Nobel Peace Prize winners.
It’s an unusual day, even for a place that propelled itself to fame by standing up to the world’s largest silver mine. Amalia Lemus, an indigenous Xinca organizer with the Diocese Council for the Defense of Nature (CODIDENA), tells the crowd assembled later in the local basketball court, “It’s a privilege that the Nobel women are here with us.” Turning toward the table where the luminaries sit beneath a large banner with their names and faces, she adds, “We’ve never had a visit of this magnitude.”
That’s the idea. Women peace-prize laureates founded the Nobel Women’s Initiative in 2006 to bring the limelight to local women-led movements in places like this, where under-the-radar conflicts kill more people than formal wars. In late October, the Nobel laureates traveled through Honduras and Guatemala with a group of women activists and journalists to look at the vital but perilous intersection of women, land and peace. For eight days, we listened to the stories of women like Amalia who have dedicated their lives to stopping land grabs and destruction from mining companies, hydroelectric plants, monoculture plantations, and other megaprojects.
“Land will continue to be the most serious problem in Guatemala and the rest of Central America in the coming years, and it causes the most conflict throughout Latin America,” laureate Rigoberta Menchú explained. Menchú was awarded the peace prize in 1992, in the midst of war in Guatemala. The biggest difference between the violence of the past and the violence today, she said—20 years after the peace accords—is that today’s resistance is nonviolent.
The offensive against indigenous lands and territory, however, is not. Honduran and Guatemalan women describe assassinations, imprisonment, threats, and beatings from companies and the state forces they work with. Faced with a new wave of intense pressure from transnational corporations, they’ve joined, and in many cases led, the defense of their communities from some of the most powerful economic interests in world. After being declared “Open for Business” following the 2009 coup d’état, Honduras is now the most dangerous place in the world for environmental activists, with more than 120 land defenders assassinated since 2010. Community displacement and disruption, along with compromised justice systems, have given these two nations some of the highest homicide rates, and especially femicide rates, in the world. The wholesale granting of private mining concessions—307 at last count in Guatemala, and some 35 percent of Honduran national territory—sows conflict between corporations and local communities for generations to come.
It’s not just a question of whose land it is, but of two conflicting ways of living. The Nobel women point out that what might seem local is really universal. “Your sacrifice, your struggle, is not just for people here in Santa Rosa, not just for people in Guatemala, not just for Latin America—it’s for all human beings,” declared Tawakkol Karman of Yemen, co-recipient of the Nobel in 2011. “People around the world suffer from these corrupt companies that destroy our earth and cause climate change. They’re stealing your future and the future for all human beings.”
To read the full article, click here. | <urn:uuid:a866e5ab-5924-4a16-9e3f-825e135135d4> | {
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Nuclear Politics, Silence, and Activism
The discussions in the Atomic Age II Symposium highlighted both the undemocratic nature of nuclear politics and the courage of those who fight against it. One of the speakers, Jeff Patterson, pointed out three characteristics of nuclear industry: cover-up, secrecy, and minimization [of negative consequences]. Across nations including the US and Japan, nuclear power not only threatens health of all beings, but also principles of democratic governing. The presentations and discussions, one way or another, spoke to the governmental manipulation of access to information and control of pubic opinions. At the same time, the symposium presented hope for democracy through the existence of activists and scholars who protest the use of nuclear energy and weapons. As the Fukushima disaster has shown in Japan, protests led by antinuclear activists can be catalytic to social and political changes. Each activist in the symposium, connected through the networks of concerned individuals around the world, represented the power of activism working towards positive changes.
Nuclear politics threaten democracy. Governmental efforts to promote nuclear energy often involve top-down directives and well funded policy instruments. In Japan, one of these efforts was manifested as a list of organizations and individuals that the government kept under their surveillance. The government has been exerting pressure on the media not to report activities of those on the list by stating, “It is problematic to report on groups that loudly propound antinuclear agenda.” (My News Japan, 12/29/11) The list of names included that of professor Koide, the keynote speaker of the symposium. In his talk, he argued that the ultimate purpose of the Japanese government for nuclear energy lies in their capacity for nuclear armament. He reminded us that military strength is still the most important factor in becoming a world power – how archaic and medieval!-. It is not coincidence that the world’s top five military spenders are members of the UN Security Council. The sixth largest, he added, is Japan despite its constitution that prohibits involvement in war. As Koide noted, most Japanese citizens believe that the nation has relinquished its armed capabilities since the Second World War and is committed to peace. In spite of the popular belief, the professor argued, the real reason for the Japanese government to accumulate 45 tons of plutonium, equivalent of approximately 4,500 bombs dropped in Hiroshima, is its potential for nuclear armament.
The decades of nuclear promotions and propaganda have left the Japanese populace silent on the issue. A photo taken in Futaba town in Fukushima by Koide showed a banner reading “affluent livelihood with the correct understanding of nuclear power.” The focus on economic interests often overrides health and environmental concerns, and creates a social environment in which voices of opposition do not easily surface. After 3.11, mothers of small children find it difficult to speak their concerns in neighborhoods, schools, and even at home. Those who dare to speak their worries for radiation risk being labeled “shinkeishitsu,” a marker for an overly-worried neurotic person, a stigma often reserved for women, and are often prevented from being taken seriously. Due to the uncertainty created by conflicting information and the government “campaign” for nuclear safety, people in Japan are confused and resigned. Many find “no choice” but to silently bear the pain of living in the contaminated land, and are falling into the state of denial.
In the midst of the oppressing reality, antinuclear activists represent the courage of those who challenge the powerful and hope for a democratic and peaceful world. Ruiko Muto, a presenter in the symposium, is one of the women who dare to speak up from Fukushima. She has been labeled “kini shisugiru hito”, overly concerned with radiation. She is under the surveillance of the police force whose cars patrol twice a day her remote residence on the slope of a mountain. Yet, she continues to speak and take actions. She came to Chicago because she wanted to “let people in the world know” what really happened in Fukushima. She believes in the power of women in Japan. “In the midst of the history in which women have received considerable discrimination, I believe that women still have the power. The qualities that Japanese women possess include the power to recreate a different society.” Along with her colleagues, Muto is one courageous woman who dares to protest against the powerful institutions.
The symposium underlined the undemocratic nature of nuclear politics and the courage of those who speak against it. In the concluding speech, Norma Field reminded us that those who are interested in and oppose nuclear power are in the minority. Antinuclear activists around the world painfully know what this means in their day-to-day existence. The thoughts reminded me of Mahatma Gandhi’s words.
Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the Truth, for being correct, for being you. Never apologize for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you are right and you know it, speak your mind. Even if you are a minority of one, the Truth is still the Truth.
Despite being a minority, the symposium drew a full of concerned people from all over the world. In the near future, we may find ourselves no longer in the minority. The conference itself represented hope, community, and courage of those who speak their minds. | <urn:uuid:490ae6c5-11c8-4849-a0df-731b36bf5c7d> | {
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What we’re going to do here is have a look at some of the formulas already in place in your templates to get familiar with their structure, and then put together a simple formula by combining functions through the ribbon options. Let’s get going.
1 Take a look
Open the Mortgage Loan Calculator template, then tap a formula cell. Notice the colour of the selected cells and how it matches up to parts of the formula at the top.
2 Close it down
You’ll also see that brackets, operators and functions (like IF or SUM) are just plain text. Tap the red cross to the right to cancel (or the tick saves any changes).
3 Start a formula
Find an empty cell up at the top-left and tap it. Now tap the ‘fx’ button to the left of the formula bar – this drops in an ‘=’ and brings up the function options below.
4 Get info
Scroll past your recent functions at the top
to see the full list below. Tap the ‘i’ beside a function to see what it does – this is a great way to learn new functions.
5 Add a function
Tap a function to add it and you’ll see a formula template ready for you. Tap the first argument to begin. Since we’ve gone for an IF, we’ll start with a logic test.
6 Select and type
If you now tap other cells, their references will be added to your formula. You can use the keyboard switcher above your Delete key to input characters, numbers and operators.
7 Quick add
If you want to input another function inside your formula, start typing it and you can quickly add it from the drop-down that appears. Finish up your formula and tap the tick.
8 Ribbon tools
You can also find functions by tapping the categories that appear in your Formulas ribbon at the top of the interface. Quick sums and recent functions are over to the left.
9 Convert to value
To the right of the Formulas ribbon, past the More category (‘…’), there’s a calculator icon. Tap that with a formula selected and you’ll convert it into a regular value.
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While we can live with only one kidney, it is an essential organ; if your kidneys fail, you will die very quickly without medical intervention. It is a good thing that nature gave us two of them. Having two kidneys allows them to function as backups to one another. It also means that you have excess capacity; if you need to clear a lot of fluid from the body quickly, each kidney can pick up part of the extra load, whereas people with only one kidney can run into trouble under such a physical stress. Also, if an individual develops a kidney stone, the other kidney can continue to function while the stone is passed. If there was only one kidney, stones, which are not uncommon, could kill you.
Another reason for the existence of two kidneys is the body's tendency toward symmetry. When the internal organs are developing, many of them follow a mirror-reflection pattern, which is how we get two eyes, two arms, two legs, and so on. The controlling mechanism that establishes the kidneys is part of the same system that creates symmetry on other areas of the body.
Despite being able to live with one kidney, our bodies function much better with two. Having two kidneys is most likely due to having a reserve in case something goes wrong in our bodies, such as injuries or too many toxins. As the kidneys job to help filter, it is very important that if a problem occurs there is a back up. It also is important for if we have a buildup of certain minerals that our kidneys can filter is easier by having two or to be able to have one kidney take over the work if one of them has a problem. Kidneys are in a place in our bodies that is much less protected than, for example our heart. Our heart has the rib cage around it to protect it. The kidneys are in a vulnerable position and therefore more likely to be injured. Thus having two kidneys is a great thing to have, despite people being able to live just fine with one.
We’ve answered 333,912 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question | <urn:uuid:ab10b851-71e8-46ef-85c7-bdd6d622b4d0> | {
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Food storage is an essential part of preventing wastage and proper storage of foods can ensure that you get the best value for your money. While some foods shouldn’t be stored together, others require a specific temperature to stay at their optimum best. Pay attention to how you store these five foods and you can save much more than money.
Ripen Avocados Next To Bananas
Since avocados can be pricey, it’s important to store them correctly. If your avocados are under-ripe, store them next to bananas. The gasses released from the bananas promote ripening.
If you need to extend the life of an avocado, store it in the refrigerator. It will slow the ripening process significantly. You can also store a cut avocado with the seed intact in an airtight container along with a sliver of a onion.
Tomatoes Hate The Fridge
A freshly picked garden tomato is undeniably delicious, but too much time in the fridge can make it mushy and bland-tasting.
Tomatoes can be stored in the fridge for two or three days but once you cut into it any unused tomato or any fruit and veggie should be placed back in the fridge to slow down the growth of harmful bacteria. However, tomatoes kept at room temperature have more flavour. So, if you can, store them on the countertop.
Separate Your Apples and Oranges
Apples and oranges are fruits that shouldn’t be stored together. Sometimes, we can’t just all get along. Fruits give off a gas called ethylene, the ripening agent that will lead to faster spoilage of the produce around it.
Store apples in the fridge if you want to extend their shelf life. Oranges stored in the fridge (away from apples) should be placed in a mesh bag so that air can circulate around them. Plastic bags will only make oranges become moldy.
Break The Bananas
Banana hooks may show off bananas in their best light but the problem is, they will all ripen the same time, which means you’re either eating bananas for two days straight or thrashing the ones that have become Rotten.
The best solution to this is to break up the bunch. Keep some in the fruit bowl on the counter to ripen and store others bananas in the refrigerator to delay the ripening process. If you have lots of spotted bananas, use them in banana bread or toss them in the freezer to make banana “ice cream.”
Separate Onions and Potatoes
Fried potatoes and onions are a delicious combination but they should never be stored together before you cook them as the onions will cause the potatoes to go bad. It’s best to store items like potatoes and squash in an open-air wicker basket in a cool, dark place to preserve freshness.
They can also be stored in paper bags, but be sure they are in a container where moisture or condensation can’t build up, which would make them soften and go bad faster. Garlic can be stored with onions without a fear of ripening or spoilage. Just store them in a well-ventilated space, and keep the paper-like skin of the garlic intact until use. | <urn:uuid:0035ae07-9fbd-4bf7-abee-411a2b77e033> | {
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Janeth, 35, lost her three-month-old baby to malaria five years ago. Her daughters’ death was a big blow to Janeth who had previously had a miscarriage due to malaria when she was two months pregnant.
The 35-year-old mother of four normally joins the rest of the world to mark the World’s Malaria Day on April 25 every year in memory of her beloved departed daughter.
A staunch Catholic, Janeth has for five consecutive years been marking Malaria Day by attending morning mass at her local church to pray for her daughter. She also shares her story with others through the media whenever possible as a way of educating others, especially women on the effects of malaria and how to prevent it.
“I do not want what happened to me to happen to others. I pray for a day when the world will be free from malaria,” she says.
Despite efforts by governments around the world to combat the disease, malaria remains a major health problem affecting poor nations such as Tanzania.
Although studies indicate that that the number of deaths caused by malaria in the country has gone down from 26 percent to 85 percent today, a lot still needs to be done to improve the situation.
Approximately 40% of the world’s population today, especially people living in developing countries, are at risk of malaria. The disease causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least one million deaths annually. Ninety percent of the deaths occur in Africa south of the Sahara.
It is estimated that between 16 and 18 million cases of malaria occur each year countrywide, resulting in over 100,000 deaths. Seventy percent of the deaths occur among under-five children. Malaria accounts for 30 percent of the national disease burden, 43 percent of under–five outpatient attendance, 35 percent of under–five hospital admissions and 37 percent of under–five hospital deaths.
The majority of the deaths in tropical Africa occur in areas of stable transmission of falciparum malaria. In these areas, the most vulnerable groups are under-five children whose immunity is still weak, and pregnant women whose immunity to the disease is temporarily impaired as a result of the pregnancy. It is a major cause of maternal anemia, abortion, neonatal deaths and low birth weight.
US John Hopkins University’s Director of projects in Tanzania, Waziri Nyoni, says they have started a country-wide door to door campaign, especially in rural areas aimed at reducing the number of malaria deaths by educating people on the symptoms, treatment and prevention of malaria.
According to Nyoni, the campaign has already registered positive results since most people now, especially those in remote areas are getting treatment of malaria at the right time unlike in previous years where some people died of malaria due to delayed treatment.
Michael Ngatunga, United Against Malaria’s Coordinator says in line with the World Malaria Day theme “Sustain Gains, Save Lives : Invest in Malaria” ,the disease can be prevented and treated through simple tools like using mosquito nets, effective medicine and safe in door residual spraying.
Ngatunga says Tanzania has made great strides in malaria control. In October last year, his office completed the universal coverage campaign that set out to cover every sleeping space with a long lasting insecticide treated net. Investment in malaria control has created unprecedented momentum and yielded remarkable returns in the past few years.
“In the last two years more than 26.4 million nets have been distributed free of charge to Tanzanians. Other malaria interventions are being rapidly scaled up across the country and the continued and expanded engagement of private contributors which will play a critical role in ensuring the long term success of the fight against malaria,” says Ngatunga.
In Africa, malaria deaths have been cut by one third within the last decade in 35 out of 53 countries affected by malaria. Malaria cases have been reduced by 50 percents in the same time period. In countries where access to malaria control intervention has improved most significantly, child mortality rates have fallen by approximately 20 percent.
However, these gains are fragile and will be reversed unless malaria continues to be a priority for global, regional, and national decision-makers and donors.
Despite the current economic climate, development aids need to continue flowing to national malaria control programs to ensure widespread population across to life-saving and cost effective interventions.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Centre for Communication programmes in collaboration with the National Malaria Program and the United Against Malaria Project has built support by empowering the private sector in Tanzania to be committed and take action against malaria.
“United Against Malaria safe program provides corporations with education, prevention and advocacy tools to protect their employees and local communities from malaria.
In turn, the private companies will help the government and the most at risk populations to achieve a better health, lower health care costs, greater productivity and higher standard of living and economic development,” Ngatunga noted.
A new report released by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM), of which United Against Malaria is a partner, shows that the global community has made remarkable gains in the fight against malaria, increasing hope that reaching near zero deaths is an achievable goal in sight by 2015.
A Decade of partnership and international efforts to combat malaria have reduced deaths by more than one third, saving 1.1 million lives in sub-Saharan Africa in the past ten years. Due to increased access to intervention tools and treatment options, particularly insecticide-treated mosquito nets, 11 countries in Africa have cut malaria cases or deaths by 50 percent or more, reversing the deadly grip the disease has had on the continent – where over 90 percent of all malaria deaths occur. | <urn:uuid:535d2bbf-ed59-4f28-ad2f-3278d7302aa1> | {
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These are two tools for community management of water distribution points or sanitation systems, by which we mean management by communities of residents of a village or neighbourhood, which was presented in more general terms in file C5.
Management committees are the oldest type of structures and often the most widely used.
Users associations are a more recent form of community management which may be more complicated but which represent a longer-term, safer and more official solution that can be used in national or regional water and sanitation planning, expansion and access control programmes. The goal of this file is to explain in concrete terms how to set up and run these systems, which have quite a few points in common.
This system is used in all situations where the communities want to take an active role and involve the local population in managing infrastructure, often out of necessity, because there are no public programmes for water service or sanitation. It concerns both rural and urban areas (on the outskirts of urban areas for the most part).
First because it is a good idea to encourage communities to become involved in managing, monitoring and checking infrastructures that are absolutely necessary for proper living conditions.
Secondly because the public sector is often lacking, either because there is a lack of commitment at the political level, because decentralisation has not taken place or because the organisation and resources are lacking.
Lastly because this type of management can help encourage public bodies or small private operators to take over operations later on.
There are currently two main structures for community management, the first one being more flexible and more commonly used, while the second is more official and more structured. And although they are similar in many ways, they have specific characteristics as a result of different aims or situations.
They were initially created for installing hydraulic structures (wells, pumps, drills, etc.) ; they now exist for sanitation systems (latrines, water works for collecting and treating wastewater) although this is less common, or even for creating other types of projects and systems such as developing garden produce farming. To simplify things, only water associations and committees will be discussed here because the characteristics remain virtually unchanged for whatever type of service or project is concerned.
Their Constitution :
Committees are made up of a limited number of active members (often there are a dozen but there can be fewer) elected by a general assembly made up of all the users ; it is then divided into a board of directors and technical commissions.
The board of directors is made up of at least a president and a treasurer. The president’s role is to make sure the water source is managed well. The treasurer or treasurers are responsible for finances and accounting. There may be other members of the board of directors – a secretary responsible for, among other things, administrative management of the committee, representatives of the technical commissions, of the local government, other organisations and women, as their representation should be strengthened. The board of directors is the executive body ; it guarantees the proper functioning of the technical commissions and ensures that the water source is managed and maintained well.
The other members, in addition to participating in debates and voting on decisions to be made or the budget proposed by the president and the treasurer, are taken from the various technical committees. There are generally four of these : finance, maintenance, health/hygiene related to water and making good use of surpluses.
Each of the commissions carries out the measures that the committee has decided upon for its field, under the supervision of the board of directors. In order to fulfil their role, the members should receive training appropriate for their commission.
The selection of board members should be done in such a way that the committee is seen as legitimate and is representative of the entire population, including the least fortunate among the community. Ideally, they should be truly representative of the population and well-known amongst them, and then can be elected by them. However, it is not absolutely necessary to hold elections because while that is the most democratic method, they are often complex to organize and sometimes do not correspond to the local culture and its criteria for legitimacy. “Legitimate” members may be leading members of the community or religious leaders or simply local residents who have received training or those who are most involved in management of the water source. They are elected during the general assembly at which time only residents who are present can vote.
How they work :
The members of the board must draft rules and regulations that determine the frequency of their meetings (often monthly with special meetings held when the president feels it necessary) and the role of each commission. The secretary is in charge of keeping the minutes that summarize any decisions made during meetings and writing reports about activity between meetings.
The finance commission is charged with drawing up a draft budget, keeping the account books and if possible, in order to avoid problems, opening a bank account (often difficult if the committee does not have an official status). This commission identifies future expenses and plans the finances in order to be able to pay for them. Its goal is to keep balanced accounts.
The maintenance commission is in charge of keeping the equipment in good working condition ; the training that its members receive should allow them to note any problems and deal with them accordingly, most often by calling on a private service provider with whom the committee signs a maintenance contract. The commission does not have to do the maintenance itself, it must however need to make sure that it gets done.
The health and hygiene commission is in charge of making sure that regulations are respected and they may also work with the local population to raise awareness about hygiene issues and health problems related to water. Its members may be trained in health and hygiene education (see files No. … to … )
Lastly, the Surpluses commission proposes plans for using surpluses of either water or money. That can take the form of additional investments or for example developing a vegetable growing activity that will bring in revenue.
The committee also has to pay the person or people in charge of the standpipes (people in charge of distributing water who also serve as guardians of the site).
The committee’s responsibility to the population is to collect the income resulting from the sale of water or any exceptional charges (fines, gifts, legacy, etc.) and then also to promote the water source among the local population. For that they will need to set up awareness raising and education programmes for water and hygiene issues.
With the idea of providing a good service, it is important to make sure that the population is kept up to date on the committee’s activities and that they are consulted so that their expectations and needs can be met ; otherwise, residents may lose interest and stop going to the water source and go back to their old habits.
As far as internal workings go, the association needs to train its members, using trainings given by local professional organisations or NGOs, and also by sharing with other members knowledge that they themselves have.
Paying for water
The way the price of water is determined is up to the Committee. This may be difficult especially when people are not used to paying for water. But if water from a new facility is free, it will be impossible to finance its operation or to save the funds necessary to maintain or develop it.
There are several methods of collecting. Of course, one possibility is to pay regular dues, perhaps monthly or at certain periods such as harvest time or at a holiday or festival. Most often these dues are paid with money but payment can be made in millet or other cereals. However more and more often prices are set by bucket (the rate may vary depending on the location of the village and the equipment involved or the local revenue). The fees are generally collected by the person in charge of the water source, who has a very difficult role because he, or she, must not give in to the temptation to collect additional favours or provide credit without the approval of the committee. These two methods of payment may be used together. A 15 litre bucket of water from a standpipe is generally sold in Africa for around 10 francs CFA (or about one euro cent).
This description is the ideal, but in actual fact management committees are not always so well managed – meetings may be irregular, with no minutes or reports, the account books are not kept properly, members are not elected. Here, the absence of an official status for the committees means that they are not forced to function according to strict rules.
Management committees then are often in charge of managing the day-to-day workings, selling water, collecting fees and paying salaries and small expenses as they arise, rather than being responsible for the “management” of the resource in the long term.
All too often, the organisations or NGOs that finance water capture or sanitation facilities are too easily reassured with seeing that in the programme that residents provide a management committee is included, but they do not check how they are really going to be constituted. And because they often don’t have the time or the possibility at the end of their programme, they also fail to follow up on the proper functioning of the Committee a few years after it is created.
For larger installations (for example, those that concern at least 1500 people) and when the context allows, it is better to create a “water users association”.
A water users association is a tool for more serious, effective management that still helps to bring about reforms that are desperately needed but unfortunately all too uncommon regarding decentralisation ; in some countries in recent years the intention is to transfer water source management from the state or regional level to a local level, generally by groups of villages.
They are an interesting interim alternative for harmonious water management when the facility cannot yet be taken over by a municipality.
They provide an official status with legal recognition that allows for greater transparency and more effective management of water sources.
Their Constitution :
An association is composed of a general assembly, a steering committee and possibly a board. The constitution of these different components may vary by country.
For example in Benin, for every public water source (or standpipe) in the network there is a Water Source committee made up of representatives decided upon in the assembly by the users of each standpipe (the water source committee is in charge of maintenance at the standpipe and sanitation on the site. It recruits and monitors the water seller in charge of the standpipe. The water source committee has a fund out of which it pays the person in charge of the standpipe a percentage of the water sales).
All the representatives of all the public water source committees in the network make up the WUA general assembly. This assembly elects a steering committee to manage the network that should include at least five members – a president, a secretary, a treasurer, a development association representative and a women’s representative. There does not have to be a board in addition.
(If there is a single water source or if there is only one standpipe, only one structure is needed ; in this case it fulfils the role of water source committee and steering committee.)
In Senegal, every water source has a delegate to represent it in the steering committee, as does every town, every association (women’s, sporting, cultural associations, etc.) and every economic group (herders, vegetable growers, businesses). The steering committee is then divided into four commissions (the same as for the management committees, fulfilling the same roles) and there are four commission presidents as well as a secretary general and a “cosignatory” (representative of the general assembly, who must sign documents alongside the president in order for them to be valid). The president is by default the president of the finance commission.
How they work :
In the case of Senegal for example, the board and the commissions work the same as for a management committee, with the difference that they are the ones to execute the decisions made by the general assembly, under the management of the steering committee and the co-signatory.
The WUA can choose to manage the facilities themselves or to delegate that responsibility.
In Niger, in the Ministry of Hydraulic Works and the Environment’s “proposals for a sector-base policy”, the responsibilities are divided between the users association which is in charge of monitoring and following up on the services and a private operator or an executive body (steering committee) that is in charge of operations.
There is a clear distinction between management and operation (entrusted to an employee if there is direct operation, to a farmer if the operation is delegated) which has the advantage compared to traditional management committees of separating the two functions.
In Benin, the WUA’s general assembly selects the type of operation, sets the price of water and approves the budget estimate, proposed by the committee director. The assembly decides on proposals for replacing and expanding facilities.
More specifically, in 1996 Benin adopted a decree concerning the modes of constitution, the organisation and the functioning of Water Users Associations. This decree is based on the following points :
- The signature, upon the installation of the facilities, of a cession and operating agreement between the site owner (currently the State, but in the future the local governments) and the WUA. In this agreement the WUA receives the use of the water capture structure, which remains the property of the State (local government), along with the ownership of the pumping facilities and the distribution works. The WUA is responsible for managing the facilities and sells water by volume to ensure that the facilities can be replaced and expanded.
- the signature of a contract with an operator by which the WUA entrusts the operation of the facility and the distribution service to one or more employees if the Association operates the facility directly or to a farmer if the operation is delegated ; this person’s tasks and responsibilities are laid down in the contract.
- the signature of a maintenance contract with a private company specialising in the sector who is approved by the Hydraulic Works Department
- participation by users in the initial investment and their involvement in the management of the facilities (approval of a draft budget, setting the price of water, replacing and expanding the facility) including awareness-raising campaigns if necessary.
- Preservation of the state’s role in water resource management, definition of the operating conditions, controlling financial management for operations, follow-up and support for the WUA.
Paying for water
The methods are more or less the same as for management committees (see above) but are generally more secure. There is one important difference which is that it is the State or the local government and not the WUA that sets the price of water, although the WUA’s proposal is taken into consideration.
This organisation model responds to criticisms that have been made concerning the way some management committees work (lack of transparency, continuity and control of management, a real lack of legitimacy for the structure that represents users). This type of system is now being used more widely, but its expansion is slowed by the fact that there is a lack of decentralisation of power from the States to the local communities in many countries.
Several precautions should be taken :
1) There is a serious temptation, especially in villages with very limited resources, for the person entrusted with the money from fees or water sales, even if they are a major figure in the village, to “borrow” or to lend that money, especially if it is a large sum, to individuals or to groups in the village for other projects, becoming a sort of bank, which themselves are often lacking.
Example : in Guidiguir (Niger), the population asked the members of the management committee to distribute the fund’s savings. With the extreme poverty in the village, the committee members gradually gave in to the increasingly insistent demands and then no stopped giving users that connection to the results. Consequently, they were not able to correctly maintain and repair the facilities, which became unusable.
For that reason, there absolutely must be self-monitoring measures within the committee to combat misappropriation or misuse of funds :
- at the very least, a cash box should be stored in a secure place and regularly checked by someone other than the person who is responsible for it,
- opening a bank account that requires dual signature, where possible.
2) To reduce the pressure that some may put on the treasurer or the members of the committee and because the savings intended to replace and expand facilities are often not understood, it is important to provide education about the project and how it works for the entire population.
3) There should be training for several members of the Committee and in particular for the treasurer about management and simple, transparent accounting.
4) Limiting the number of members and the length of their terms is one measure that is often taken, on the condition that members are well trained, competent and give regular accounts of their actions to the population.
5) Particular care needs to be taken when drafting the rules and regulations. In addition to a fair division of the responsibilities and rights of each party, it must include gradual sanctions for failure to pay in order to prevent people from not paying.
- Both tools are flexible – especially the management committees – although some skills are to be hoped for, no particular skills are required since members are to be trained for their position.
- They make it possible to increase community well-being, in particular by ensuring improved hygiene at the water sources, and encouraging economic development (improved health, creation of jobs such as the person responsible for the water point, mechanics and maintenance and training personnel).
- They result in programmes that meet the real needs of the population at lower costs.
- WUAs have the advantage of being recognised by the State and enjoy an official status, which imposes certain restrictions intended to ensure their transparent functioning and their sustainability, thereby increasing their legitimacy and making it possible for the association to sign contracts with the state or local authorities.
- These tools may not necessarily be used well everywhere because they are particularly adapted to an area where there is a homogenous demand : it is best if the purchasing power, conditions and customs in the community where there will be a WUA or a management committee are relatively homogenous and the members should need roughly the same amount of water.
- Committees sometimes are not transparent and lack legitimacy.
- Both tools are temporary. They most often are in response to a lack of state services but the aim in the long term is for them to become a public organisation that manages the facility directly or delegates its management to a local, private, professional operator,
- Problems collecting and keeping throughout all seasons the funds that are necessary for operations, maintenance and expansion of the service and for them to remain the beneficiary owner and pay personnel well.
- Many committees and WUAs do not involve enough women and many are made up more of community figureheads rather than people who are competent and motivated.
- There are very few WUAs that include special representation for the poorest people to be served.
Creation of new structures that bring together several management committees or users associations within a region
Experiences in different regions have shown that management committees and users associations that are too small sometimes have trouble accomplishing their goals, because they do not have enough resources, be they financial, technical or management related.
It is often difficult in these situations to set up an adequate pricing system that will make it possible to maintain the facilities or to convince the population to pay fees that are high enough to repair and replace equipment. It is also hard to save this money, keeping it in a safe while there are no immediate expenses for the water source but many other more immediate needs in the village ; to establish contracts with reliable local artisans for maintenance ; to provide quality training ; to have access to a trained technician if necessary ; to rigorously monitor quality and finally to remain informed and establish a structure from which to debate and contract with the public authorities, craftsmen and businesses.
Therefore people think more often or indeed are forced to pool the resources of various management committees or users associations within a village, district or region.
This pooling can take different forms, either flexible or more official, ranging from creating a simple coordinating team with leaders from some or all of the management committees in the village or the region (for example only from the management committees or users associations for water sources or from all of the water source facilities)
to creating local federations with these same committees or associations or even organisations similar to unions including different towns even including simply grouping several management committees into a users association.
This combination of management structures makes it possible to increase the resources ; to have a single, competent contact who is effective in their role as the hinge between users, local authorities and local private operators ; to make sure that repair funds are brought in and kept securely ; to more easily put out calls for tender and to simplify maintenance and sustainability of the facilities.
The cost of forming and running a management committee or a WUA, excluding operating costs for the water source, is almost nothing as most of their members are volunteers.
At almost no cost then, these tools do make it possible to realise large savings compared to a more traditional method of management and those savings are passed on to the population.
- In order to remain on good terms with local authorities, it is suggested that at least one place be reserved in the management committee for a member of the town council, as is generally done in WUAs.
- Do not cut corners or try to save money on training.
- The role of women is very important as they are the most directly concerned by water supply ; they should be closely involved in management of the water source, even if that means setting a quota for the number of positions they hold in the management committee or the users association.
- Keeping updated records or a log of the various actions that the commission takes is recommended – an account book for the finance commission, a maintenance log for the maintenance commission, etc. These records can be helpful in making the actions of the committee or the association more transparent and they also serve as reference documents for those responsible for the various commissions in the future.
- The management committees should take careful note of various details and data, including those related to equipment malfunctions and breakdowns, and keep them in the appropriate files so that they constitute a database that can be provided to the competent authorities, providing the best follow-up and maintenance for facilities in an entire region and constituting a source of advice on good maintenance practices.
- The price of water should be set at a fair and reasonable rate, better based on volume rather than a flat fee in order to be fair and prevent people wasting water, thereby ensuring the sustainability of the facility.
- It may be appropriate to provide compensation for the members of the management committee or user association steering committee when they invest time and are very involved.
In order to ensure that the management systems function over the long term, three things should be kept in mind :
- Develop information and training campaigns to raise awareness among the populations as to the benefits for their life hygiene of getting water from water sources managed by the committee or the association.
- Guaranteeing a certain level of quality in the service.
With that aim in mind, the average distance that residents should have to travel to reach the closest source of water is considered to be “far” if it is greater than 120 m in urban areas and 250 m in villages. Similarly, residents should not have to wait more than 20 minutes to get water.
- Lastly, the price of water makes a difference to users – their water expenses should be reasonable and economically acceptable. Most international organisations judge that that expense should not exceed 3% of their revenue, a level quickly exceeded for the very poor.
See file C7 –“Examples of successful experiences of community management in the CARITAS network”
- PSEau and Gret : 9-page publication in French “Technical and financial management of sites” making use of the experiences in Senegal as to how management committees and users associations work. Available online at :
- ISF, AFVP and PSEau : Example of rules and regulations of a management committee in Ouro Sogui, Senegal. This example is also in the appendix A4 to an 84-page report noted below (Matam Valley). Available online at :
- Kynarou : Franco-Indian site that discusses the three year community action programme for water access and sanitation in 15 poor villages and 4 schools in the Tamil Nadu state in India (2008-2011). Available online at :
- ISF (Ingénieurs sans frontières, Engineers without borders), AFVP (Association française des volontaires du progrès, French association of volunteers for progress) and PSEau (Programme SolidaritéEau, Water Solidarity Programme) ; “Community management of secondary water capture centres in the Matam Valley”, 84 page report relating the interesting results of a pilot programme, the most interesting portions are pages 11 to 14, 39 to 45 and Appendices A4 (rules and regulations) to A6 which give examples of contracts signed.
- Water Channel Video, 11 minute video in French “Water, source of life : cooperation that counts” shows with various projects (wells, dams, finding water tables, toilets, etc.) led by the European Union’s Water Facility how vitally important community management is for these projects to be successful. Available online at :
- YouTube video, 9 minutes in English “Golahalli - Integrated water and sanitation management in a village in Karnataka” slideshow of the various water and sanitation projects carried out in a village in the Kolar district of India thanks to the work of a management committee and training. Available online at :
- 15 minute video in English “Women’s role in technical community water management (Timor Leste)” explaining the roles and responsibilities of women in community management in Timor. Available online at :
- Water Channel Video : “The AFRIDEV Handpump : Community management” interesting 22 minute video in English explaining in great detail how to set up an Afridev type hand pump as well as the importance of involving village communities in the project to ensure its sustainability :
- Daily Motion Video : short 2 minute slideshow on the training for Management Committees for Solar Equipment used in solar drinking water collection systems in the Kindibo village
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- There were 114,642 births to New Jersey residents in 2002, a decline from 115,769 in 2001.
- The crude birth rate was 13.3 per 1,000 population.
- Births to teens 12-19 years old decreased to 6.5 percent of births.
- The birth rate for females aged 15-17 years decreased to 14.7 per 1,000 population.
- The age group with the highest birth rate (113.2 per 1,000) continued to be women aged 30-34 years.
- More than half of births were to women aged 30 years and over.
- The median age of first-time mothers rose slightly to 27.8 years.
- For the first time, half of Hispanic births were to mothers of Central or South American origin.
- The percentage of mothers who were unmarried continued its rise and was nearly 30 percent.
- More than 65 percent of non-Hispanic black women and women under the age of 25 who gave birth were unmarried.
- Nearly three-quarters of mothers received prenatal care in the first
trimester of pregnancy.
- Four percent of infants were part of a twin delivery.
- Over 55 percent of twins, triplets, and quadruplets were delivered prematurely.
- Fifteen percent of births to non-Hispanic black mothers were premature (<37 weeks of gestation).
- Nearly 8 percent of infants were of low birth weight (< 2,500 grams).
- Among non-Hispanic black mothers, the low birth weight rate was 13.2 percent.
- More than half of twins, triplets, and quadruplets were of low birth weight.
- The cesarean delivery rate rose to 30 percent of all live births.
- The rate of vaginal birth after a previous cesarean fell below half of its 1996 peak rate.
- Labor was stimulated in 28.0 percent of deliveries and induced in 18.3 percent.
- There were 74,009 deaths of New Jersey residents in 2002.
- For the first time since 1998, some of the rankings of the ten leading causes of death changed. Unintentional injuries overtook diabetes as the fifth leading cause of death, making diabetes the sixth, and septicemia overtook influenza and pneumonia as the seventh leading cause of death, making influenza and pneumonia the eighth leading cause of death.
- The age-adjusted death rate was 808.8 per 100,000 standard population, representing a 2.8 percent decrease from 2001.
- Life expectancy for New Jersey residents born in 2002 was 78.1 years.
- The age-adjusted death rate for males was 38 percent higher than
for females and the rate for blacks was 31 percent higher than that
- Heart disease, cancer, and stroke remained the three leading causes
of death and accounted for 60 percent of all deaths.
- Unintentional injury remained the leading cause of death of persons under age 44 and was the third leading cause of death among all males.
- Cancer remained the leading cause of death of persons aged 45-64.
- Lung cancer alone caused more deaths than stroke, the third leading cause of death.
- There were 1,781 deaths related to drugs, alcohol, and/or firearms.
- For the first time, one-quarter of decedents were cremated.
Infant and Fetal Deaths
- The infant mortality rate decreased nearly 11 percent between 2001 and 2002 to 5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, despite the increase in the rate nationally.
- The fetal death rate was 6.8 per 1,000 live births plus fetal deaths.
- The non-Hispanic black infant and fetal mortality rates remained at three times the rates for non-Hispanic whites and twice the rates for Hispanics.
- Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight remained the leading cause of infant deaths.
- The cause of death was unspecified in 28.5 percent of fetal deaths.
Marriages and Divorces
- There were 51,473 marriages in New Jersey in 2002.
- The marriage rate was 6.0 per 1,000 population.
- There were 29,191 divorces in 2002 and the rate was 3.4 per 1,000 population.
- The number of marriages decreased 5.6 percent from 2001, while the number of divorces increased 2.4 percent.
- The median age at marriage increased for both brides and grooms.
- For the first time, more than a quarter of brides were previously divorced.
- June was the most popular month for marriages in 2002, followed by September and August.
- Cape May County continued to have the highest ratio of marriages to population. | <urn:uuid:7bbe30f5-33ff-427a-adbb-078d358ad408> | {
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THURSDAY, Jan. 17 (HealthDay News) -- The spirochete, Borrelia miyamotoi, may be an underrecognized cause of meningoencephalitis, according to a case study published in the Jan. 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Joseph L. Gugliotta, M.D., of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J., and colleagues report the case of a B. miyamotoi infection-associated meningoencephalitis which developed in an immunocompromised patient.
According to the report, an 80-year-old woman who lived on a farm in New Jersey, who had been treated twice for Lyme Disease and was immunocompromised due to treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, developed progressive cognitive decline over a four-month period. She was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with meningoencephalitis. Although Koch's postulates were not met, the woman's illness was posited to be caused by infection with the spirochete B. miyamotoi as the organism was directly detected in cerebrospinal fluid using both microscopy and polymerase chain reaction assay. Following treatment with antibiotics, the patient's physical and mental conditions improved.
"In older persons, changes in mental status are often attributed to dementia or the aging process. Exposure of such persons to diverse microbial agents, including those thought to be nonpathogenic, such as B. miyamotoi, may represent possibilities for pathologic processes to occur," the authors write. "Immunocompromise in older patients should always prompt a more rigorous laboratory analysis, because such persons may serve as sentinels for poorly recognized or novel pathogens."
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Letter to the Editor | <urn:uuid:3ad1ab24-4ce2-4c49-92a0-d0281984fb0a> | {
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Making Australian cities truly resilient to extreme events is being held back by archaic planning. The majority of buildings don’t fall under new sustainability and resilience regulations, meaning private initiatives have to pick up the slack. It might sound trivial, but more resilient buildings could have prevented losses during events such as Queensland’s devastating 2011 floods.
Recently the journal Urban Policy and Research published a remarkable issue. It featured opinion pieces on the state of Australian cities and their future by Anthony Albanese (MP), Greg Hunt (Environment Minister), Scott Ludlum (Senator) and Kirsty Kelly (CEO, Planning Institute of Australia).
They stated that Australian cities need to become more sustainable, more liveable, and more resilient over the coming decades.
The broader discussion on the strength of Australian cities to date is constructive and points in the right direction. But the proposals on the table have two latent defects. One is an unwillingness to tackle the issue of “grandfathering” existing buildings into new regulation. The other is an over-reliance on collaboration between government, businesses and citizen groups.
The problem of grandfathering
Around the globe the traditional approach to strengthening cities is by introducing new regulation. In Australia this is evidenced by the ratcheting up of the National Construction Code. There is however a major problem that new regulations cannot address.
Existing buildings are normally exempted from new regulations. This process is referred to as grandfathering. Existing buildings make up the majority of buildings in a city (about 98%), and they are replaced very slowly (about 1% year). Grandfathering in effect allows for the maintenance of weak links in achieving truly sustainable, liveable and resilient cities.
This problem of grandfathering has been picked-up by, among others, the Australian Resilience Taskforce. It claims that much financial harm and possibly even casualties could have been prevented from the Queensland floods (2010/2011) if only existing buildings had been more resilient (read: if they had complied with current-day building regulation).
Similar issues come to the fore in discussions about the devastation caused by hurricane Sandy that hit New York in 2012.
Overcoming the weak link
All over the world citizen groups, businesses and governments seek to overcome this weak link in urban sustainability, liveability and resilience. In Australia they are particularly active in doing so. Below are some of the most impressive efforts.
In 2010, owners of Sydney-based apartment units came together. They wanted to install solar panels on their existing strata-buildings to reduce their electricity bills, but Australian law stood in their way for doing so.
They started Green Strata and brought their problem to the attention of the City of Sydney. The City provided them with a small grant. This has helped Green Strata to grow out to an internationally recognised organisation that provides a wealth of information to strata-owners.
They have shown that strata-buildings can save more than 80% of their communal energy consumption, which significantly reduces the energy bill as well as carbon emissions.
In 2003, Green Star was launched by leaders in the construction industry. They wanted to show their buildings outperform others in terms of sustainability.
To give insight into the relative performance of a building they developed a labelling scheme. For instance, a six-star rated building shows that it outperforms a three-star one. Now, building tenants are willing to pay higher rents for buildings with positive labels, especially for commercial buildings.
Green Star has achieved considerable success in improving the sustainability of new commercial buildings in Australia, with 7.2 million square metres already labelled. Green Star is now moving into the market for existing buildings.
In terms of government, the City of Sydney started the Better Buildings Partnership in 2011, seeking to reduce the carbon emissions of Sydney’s 14 major property owners’ existing buildings. Together these produce about 25% of Sydney’s emissions, mostly due to energy inefficiency.
As a result of being informed on energy efficiency by the City of Sydney and by sharing information among each other, these 14 property owners have saved $25 million on their energy bills, and reduced emission of up to 70%.
Strong cities through collaboration?
In the above examples, and in many others, “collaboration” is the key-word in how citizen groups, businesses and governments seek to address the weak link in urban sustainability, liveability and resilience. But is collaboration enough?
First, they are often small innovations in a predominantly conservative industry. Action is needed to scale up these initiatives.
Second, they are isolated pockets of sustainability, liveability and resilience. Linking them could make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Regulation and coordination may be required.
Here I see a role for government unaddressed in Australia’s National Urban Policy. Government should support and link local collaborations, draw lessons from these and communicate those, and replicate best practices throughout the nation.
Yet, to achieve truly strong cities we need to stop grandfathering existing buildings and make them subject to current-day regulations. The collaborations show that the future-proofing of existing buildings saves costs.
When disaster strikes, it may save lives as well. | <urn:uuid:84b63e5f-e4b0-40c7-8b43-13ff944b2f62> | {
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July 11, 2013
Initially used for nonferrous cutting operations, plasma developed into a useful means for cutting 2-D sheet and plate steel when the water-injected plasma process was developed in the late 1960s. As technology developments improved the edge quality, cutting speed, consumable parts life, and long-term operating cost, it became competitive with other thermal cutting processes. In recent years, improved control technology has enabled plasma to be a contender in the realm of 3-D cutting, making it an option for tube, pipe, and profiles.
From its infancy in the 1960s, plasma cutting has progressed to become widely used in both machine-based and hand-held applications. Over the years technology improvements have led to better edge quality, faster cutting speed, longer consumable parts life, and lower long-term operating cost. These improvements have been applied primarily to CNC machines that cut flat sheet and plate into precision components for a variety of industries.
Technology developments also have opened the door to 3-D cutting. Virtually all of the technology applied to 2-D cutting can be applied to tube and pipe for industries such as construction and energy. While cut quality and overall plasma system performance are just as important for tube and pipe as they are for sheet and plate, the intricacies of 3-D cutting require newer and better motion control technology. These motion control capabilities were developed for the steel construction industry and come in many forms—robots, conventional CNC tables equipped with rotary axes, portable pipe cutting and beveling machines for field use, and CNC machines designed specifically for tube and pipe.
Plasma cutting comes in two types: air plasma, which is the basic option, and high-definition, which uses gas mixtures to assist the cutting process.
Air Plasma Systems. In use since the mid-1980s, air plasma systems were developed primarily for hand-held cutting applications. Over time the major manufacturers have improved these portable cutting systems to the point that, equipped with a machine-mountable torch, they are highly productive cutting tools for many shop-based and field-based cutting.
Inverter technology has reduced power supply size, and at the same time power supplies have improved in reliability, duty cycle, operating cost, cut quality, and cut speed. A typical 85-amp air plasma system can pierce ¾-in. plate in 1.4 seconds, has a duty cycle of at least 60 percent, and operates on a variety of input voltages (200 to 600 V, single- or three-phase). A typical weight is 75 pounds, so they are both robust enough for day-in, day-out shop work and portable enough for field work. Many have quick-change torches, so they can be changed from machine-mounted to manually operated in a matter of seconds. The drawback is that air plasma cutting systems can create some edge hardening on many steels because of the nitrogen content in ambient air.
Typical uses of air plasma systems in tube and pipe fabrication are:
High-Definition Plasma Systems. These are designed for shop use in mechanized applications only. These systems are meant for 100 percent duty cycle in shops that need high productivity and accurate, metallurgically pure cuts. Because high-definition plasma systems use oxygen as the plasma gas with compressed air as the shield gas, the cut edge has minimal chemical- or heat-affected zones, maintaining the structural integrity of the base material. Cut quality on low-carbon steels is similar to that on high-strength steels (HSS), and can be fine-tuned by adjusting the power to match the material type and thickness; for example, 30 amps for thin materials, 400 amps for piercing and cutting 2-in.-thick steel, and 800 amps to cut 6.25-in.-thick stainless steel or aluminum.
High-definition plasma systems have been in widespread use for flat plate cutting applications for nearly 20 years, yet recent developments have resulted in better plasma-to-CNC machine integration. This improved communication between the motion control device (whether robot, CNC cutting machine, or specialized tube cutting machine) simplifies the operator’s task, using PC-based control and CAM software to set gas flows, torch height, cut speeds, piercing technique, and other parameters. Further, hole quality with many of these integrated systems has improved to the point that bolt-quality holes can be made that meet many construction industry specifications for roundness and smoothness. In many cases, the taper is minimal, eliminating the need for separate drilling or punching operations.
Typical shop uses for high-definition plasma systems for tube and pipe fabrication include:
TPJ - The Tube & Pipe Journal® became the first magazine dedicated to serving the metal tube and pipe industry in 1990. Today, it remains the only North American publication devoted to this industry and it has become the most trusted source of information for tube and pipe professionals. Subscriptions are free to qualified tube and pipe professionals in North America. | <urn:uuid:7e6af844-adca-4dd8-a9bd-ae36915ebc4c> | {
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An oration delivered by Henry George
in the California Theatre, San Francisco,
on the celebration of the 4th of July, 1877.]
The American Republic:
Its Dangers and Possibilities
It is the declaration of
the same equal rights of all human beings
to the enjoyment of the bounty of the Creator—
to light and to air, to water and to land.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen;
IT is under circumstances that inspire gratitude and renew patriotism that we celebrate the completion by the American Republic of the first year of her second century. How much that year has held of the possibilities of dire calamity it may be too soon to speak. But for the deliverance let us give thanks. Through the web woven by passion and prejudice has run the woof of a beneficent purpose. Through clash of plans and conflict of parties; through gateways hung with cloud and by paths we knew not of, have we come to this good estate!
As, when the long struggle was over, the men of the Revolution turned to pour forth their thanks to Him in whose hands are the nations, so let us turn to-day. Last year was the Centennial; but this year, if we read the times aright, marks the era, and with 1877 will the historian, in future ages, close the grand division of our history that records the long, sad strife of which slavery was the cause. Most gracious of our national anniversaries is that we keep. Never before has the great Declaration rung through the land as to-day. For the first time have its words neither fallen on the ears of a slave nor been flung back by a bayonet-guarded State House!
For year after year, while they who won our independence faded away; for year after year, while their sons grew old, and in their turn taught us to light the altar fires of the Republic, at every recurring anniversary of the nation’s birth, the unexpressed thought of an inherited curse that was sowing the land with dragon’s teeth, checked the pride and gave to the rejoicings of the thoughtful a sombre background, and between thunder of gun and voice of trumpet, the black shadow of a great wrong mocked in silence the burning words that protested to the world the inalienable rights of man. To this there came an end. In the deadly close of civil war, when all fierce and wicked passions were loosed, while the earth shook with the tread of fratricidal armies, and the heavens were red with the blaze of burning homes, amid the groans of dying men and the cry of stricken women, the great curse passed away. But still the shadow. Could we boast a Union in which State Governments were maintained by extra-State force, or glory in a republic whose forms were mocked in virtual provinces?
But all this is of the past. The long strife is over. The cancer has been cut out. And may we not also say to day that the wound of the knife has healed? To day we celebrate the nation’s birth, more truly one people than for years and years. Again in soul as in form, the many are one. Over palmetto as over pine floats the flag that typifies the glory of our common past, the promise of our common future—the flag that rose above the blood-stained snow at Valley Forge, that crossed with Washington the icy Delaware—the flag that Marion bore, that Paul Jones nailed to the mast, that Lafayette saluted! Over our undivided heritage of a continent it floats today, with the free will of a united people—under its folds no slave, and in its blue no star save that of a free and sovereign State.
And, as in city and town and hamlet, today, has been read once more the declaration of a nation’s birth, again, I believe me, in the hearts of their people, has Adams signed with Jefferson and Rutledge with Livingston, pledging to the Republic one and indivisible, life and fortune and sacred honour!
Beside me on this platform, around me in this audience, sit men who have borne arms against each other in civil strife, again united under the folds of that flag. Men of the South and men of the North, do I not speak what is in your hearts, do I not give voice to your hope and your trust, when I say that the Union is again restored in spirit as in form—not a union of conquerors and conquered, but the union of a people—one in soul as one in blood; one in destiny as one in heritage!
Let our dead strifes bury their dead, while we cherish the feeling that makes us one. Let us spare no myrrh nor frankincense nor costly spices as we feed the sacred fire. It is not a vain thing these flags, these decorations, these miles of marching men. Stronger than armies, more potent than treasure is the sentiment of nationality they typify and inculcate!
Yet to more than the sentiment of nationality is this day sacred. It marks more than the birth of a nation—it marks a step in the progress of the race. More than national independence, more than national union, speaks out in that grand document to which we have just listened; it is the declaration of the fundamental principle of liberty—of a truth that has in it power to renovate the world.
It is meet that on this day the flags of all nations should mingle above our processions and wreathe our halls. For this is the festival of her to whom under all skies eyes have turned and hands been lifted—of her who has had in all lands her lovers and her martyrs—of her who shall yet unite the nations and bid the war drums cease! It is the festival of Liberty!
And in keeping this clay to Liberty we honour all her sacred days—those glorious days on which she has stepped forward, those sad days on which she has been stricken down by open foes, or fallen wounded in the house of her friends. Far back stretches the lineage of the Republic at whose birth Liberty was invoked—from every land have been gathered the gleams of light that unite in her beacon fire. It is kindled of the progress of mankind; it witnesses to heaven the aspirations of the ages; it shall light the nations to yet nobler heights!
Let us keep this day as the day sacred to Union and to Liberty should be kept. Let us draw closer the cords of our common brotherhood and renew our fathers’ vows. Let it be honoured as John Adams predicted it would be honoured—with clangour of bells and roar of guns, with music and processions and assemblage of the people, with every mark of respect and rejoicing—that its memories of glory may entwine themselves with the earliest recollections of our children, that even the thoughtless may catch something of its inspiration!
Yet it is not enough that with all the marks of veneration we keep these holidays. It is possible to cherish the form and lose the spirit.
No matter how bright the lights behind, their usefulness is but to illumine the path before. Whatever be the causes of that enormous difference—almost a difference in kind—between the stationary and the progressive races, here is its unfailing indication—the one look to the past, the other to the future. The moment we believe that all wisdom was concentrated in our ancestors, that moment the petrifaction of China is upon us. For life is growth, and growth is change, and political progress consists in getting rid of institutions we have outgrown. Aristocracy, feudality, monarchy, slavery—all the things against which human progress has been a slow and painful struggle—were, doubtless, in their times relatively if not absolutely beneficial, as have been in later times things we may have to cast away. The maxim commended to us by him who must ever remain the greatest citizen of the Republic—”Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” embodies a truth which goes to the very core of philosophy, which must everywhere and at all times be true. Ever and ever we sail an unknown sea. Old shapes of menace fade but to give place to others. Even new rocks lurk; ever in new guise the syrens sing!
As through the million-voiced plaudits of to-day we hear again the words that when first spoken were ominous of cord and gibbet, and amid a nation’s rejoicing our pulses quicken as imagination pictures the bridge of Lexington, the slender earthworks of Bunker Hill, the charge of tattered Continentals, or the swift night-ride of Marion’s men, let us not think that our own times are commonplace, and make no call for the patriotism that, as it wells up in our hearts, we feel would have been strong to dare and do had we lived then.
How momentous our own times may be the future alone can tell. We are yet laying the foundations of empire, while stronger run the currents of change and mightier are the forces that marshal and meet.
Let us turn to the past, not in the belief that the great men of the past conquered for us a heritage that we have but to enjoy, but that we may catch their heroic spirit to guide and nerve us in the exigencies of the present; that we may pass it on to our children, to carry them through the dangers of the future.
Now, as a hundred years ago, the Republic has need of that spirits-of the noble sensitiveness that is jealous for Freedom; of the generous indignation that weighs our consideration of expediency against the sacrifice of one iota of popular right; of the quick sympathy that made an attack on the liberties of one colony felt in all; of the patient patriotism that worked and waited, never flagging, never tiring, seeking not recognition nor applause, looking only to the ultimate end and to the common good; of the devotion to a high ideal which led men to risk for it all things sweet and all things dear!
We shall best honour the men of the Revolution by invoking the spirit that animated them; we shall best perpetuate their memories by looking in the face whatever threatens the perpetuity of their work. Whether a century hence they shall be regarded as visionaries or as men who gave a new life to mankind, depends upon us.
For let us not disguise it—republican government is yet but an experiment. That it has worked well so far, determines nothing. That republican institutions would work well under the social conditions of the youth of the Republic—cheap land, high wages and little distinction between rich and poor—there was never any doubt, for they were working well before. Our Revolution was not a revolution in the full sense of the term, as was that great outburst of the spirit of freedom that followed it in France. The colonies but separated from Great Britain, and became an independent nation without essential change in the institutions under which they had grown up. The doubt about republican institutions is as to whether they will work when population becomes dense, wages low, and a great gulf separates rich and poor.
Can we speak of it as a doubt? Nothing in political philosophy can be clearer than that under such conditions republican government must break down.
This is not to say that these forms must be abandoned. We might and probably would go on holding our elections for years and years after our government had become essentially despotic. It was centuries after Caesar ere the absolute master of the Roman world pretended to rule other than by authority of a Senate that trembled before him. It was not till the thirteenth century that English kings dropped the formal claim of what was once the essence of their title—the choice of the people; and to this day the coronation ceremonies of European monarchs retain traces of the free election of their leader by equal warriors.
But forms are nothing when substance has gone. And our forms are those from which the substance may most easily go. Extremes meet, and a republican government, based on universal suffrage and theoretical equality, is of all governments that which may most easily become a despotism of the worst kind. For there, despotism advances in the name of the people. The single source of power once secured, everything is secured. There is no unfranchised class to whom appeal may be made; no privileged orders, who in defending their own rights may defend those of all. No bulwark remains to stay the flood, no eminence to rise above it.
And where there is universal suffrage, just as the disparity of condition increases, so does it become easy to seize the source of power, for the greater is the proportion of power in the hands of those who feel no direct interest in the conduct of the government, nay, who, made bitter by hardships, may even look upon profligate government with the sort of satisfaction we may imagine the proletarians and slaves of Rome to have felt as they saw a Caligula or Nero raging among the rich patricians.
Given a community with republican institutions, in which one class is too rich to be shorn of their luxuries, no matter how public affairs are administered, and another so poor that any little share of the public plunder, even though it be but a few dollars on election day, will seem more than any abstract consideration, and power must pass into the hands of jobbers who will sell it, as the pretorian legions sold the Roman purple, while the people will be forced to reimburse the purchase money with costs and profits. If to the pecuniary temptation involved in the ordinary conduct of government are added those that come from the granting of subsidies, the disposition of public lands and the regulation of prices by means of a protective tariff, the process will be the swifter.
Even the accidents of hereditary succession or of selection by lot (the plan of some of the ancient republics) may sometimes place the wise and just in power, but in a corrupt republic the tendency is always to give power to the worst. Honesty and patriotism are weighted and unscrupulousness commands success. The best gravitate to the bottom, the worst float to the top; and the vile can only be ousted by the viler. And as a corrupt government always tends to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, the fundamental cause of corruption is steadily aggravated, while as national character must gradually assimilate to the qualities that command power and consequently respect, that demoralisation of opinion goes on which in the long panorama of history we may see over and over again, transmuting races of freemen into races of slaves.
As in England, in the last century, where Parliament was but a close corporation of the aristocracy, a corrupt oligarchy, where it is clearly fenced off from the masses, may exist without much effect on national character; because, in that case, power is associated in the popular mind with other things than corruption; but where there are no hereditary distinctions, and men are habitually seen to raise themselves by corrupt qualities from the lowest places to wealth and power, tolerance of these qualities finally becomes admiration. A corrupt democratic government must finally corrupt the people, and when a people become corrupt, there is no resurrection. The life has gone, only the carcass remains; and it is left but for the ploughshares of fate to bury it out of sight.
Secure in her strength and position from external dangers, with the cause gone that threatened her unity, the Republic begins to count the years of her second century with a future, to all outward seeming, secure. But may we not see already closing round her the insidious perils from which, since her birth, destruction has been predicted? Clearly, to him who will look, are we passing from the conditions under which republican government is easy, into those under which it becomes endangered, if not dangerous. While the possessor of a single million is ceasing to be noticeable in the throng of millionaires, and larger private fortunes are mounting towards hundreds of millions, we are all over the country becoming familiar with widespread poverty in its hardest aspects—not the poverty that nourishes the rugged virtues, but poverty of the kind that dispirits and embrutes.
And as we see the gulf widening between rich and poor, may we not as plainly see the symptoms of political deterioration that in a republican government ‘must always accompany it? Social distinctions are sharpest in our great cities, and in our great cities is not republican government becoming a reproach? May we not see in these cities that the worst social influences are become the most potent political factors; that corrupt rings notoriously rule; that offices are virtually purchased—and, most ominous of all, may we not plainly see the growth of a sentiment that looks on all this as natural, if not perfectly legitimate; that either doubts the existence of an honest man in public place, or thinks of him as a fool too weak to seize his opportunity? Has not the primary system, which is simply republicanism applied to party management, already broken down in our great cities, and are not parties in their despair already calling for what in general government would be oligarchies and dictatorships?
We talk about the problem of municipal government! It is not the problem of municipal government that we have to solve, but the problem of republican government.
These great cities are but the type of our development. They are growing not merely with the growth of the country, but faster than the growth of the country. There are children here to-day who in all human probability will see San Francisco a city as large as London, and will count through the country New Yorks by the score!
Fellow-citizens, the wind does not blow north or south because the weather-cocks turn that way. The complaints of political demoralisation that come from every quarter are not because bad men have been elected to office or corrupt men have taken to engineering parties. If bad men are elected to office, if corrupt men rule parties, is it not because the conditions are such as to give them the advantage over good and pure men? Fellow-citizens, it is not the glamour of success that makes the men whose work we celebrate to-day loom up through the mists of a century like giants. They were giants—some of them so great, that with all our eulogies we do not yet appreciate them, and their full fame must wait for yet another century.
But the reason why such intellectual greatness gathered around the cradle of the Republic and guided her early steps, was not that men were greater in that day, but that the people chose their best. You will hardly find a man of that time, of high character and talent, who was not in some way in the public service. This certainly cannot be said now. And it is because power is concentrating, as it must concentrate as our institutions deteriorate. If one of those men were to come back to-day and were spoken of for high position—say for the United States Senate—instead of Jefferson’s three questions, the knowing ones would ask: “Has he money to make the fight?”
“Are the corporations for him?” “Can he put up the primaries?” No less a man than Benjamin Franklin—a man whose fame as a statesman and philosopher is yet growing—a man whom the French Academy, the most splendid intellectual assemblage in Europe, applauded as the modern Solon—represented the city of Philadelphia in the provincial Assembly for ten years, until, as their best man, he was sent to defend the colony in London. Are there not to-day cities in the land, which even a Benjamin Franklin could not represent in a State Assembly unless he put around his neck the collar of a corporation or took his orders from a local ring?
You will think of many things in this connection to which it is not necessary for me to allude. We all see them. Though we may not speak it openly, the general faith in republican institutions is narrowing and weakening—it is no longer that defiant, jubilant, boastful belief in republicanism as the source of all national blessings and the cure for all human woes that it once was. We begin to realise that corruption may cost as much as a royal family, and that the vaunted ballot, under certain conditions, may bring forth ruling classes of the worst kind, while we already see developing around us social evils that we once associated only with effete monarchies. Can we talk so proudly of welcoming the oppressed of all nations when thousands vainly seek for work at the lowest wages? Can we expect him, who must sup on charity, to rejoice that he cannot be taxed without being represented; or congratulate him who seeks shelter in a station-house that, as a citizen of the Republic, he is the peer of the monarchs of earth?
Is there any tendency to improvement?
Fellow-citizens, we have hitherto had an advantage over older nations, which we can hardly overestimate. It has been our public domain, our background of unfenced land, that made our social conditions better than those of Europe; that relieved the labour market and maintained wages; that kept open a door of escape from the increasing pressure in older sections, and acting and reacting in many ways on our national character, gave it freedom and independence, elasticity and hope.
But with a folly for which coming generations may curse us, we have wasted it away. Worse than the Norman conqueror, we have repeated the sin of the sin—swollen Henry VIII; and already we hear in the “tramp” of the sturdy vagrant of the sixteenth century, the predecessor of the English pauper of this. We have done to the future the unutterable wrong that English rule and English law did to Ireland, and already we begin to hear of rack-rents and evictions. We have repeated the crime that filled Italy with a servile population in place of the hardy farmers who had carried her eagles to victory after victory—the crime that ate out the heart of the Mistress of the World, and buried the glories of ancient civilisation in the darkness of medieval night. Instead of guarding the public domain as the most precious of our heritages; instead of preserving it for our poorer classes of to-day and for the uncounted millions who must follow us, we have made it the reward of corruption, greed, fraud and perjury. Go out in this fair land to-day and you may see great estates tilled by Chinamen, while citizens of the Republic carry their blankets through dusty roads begging for work; you may ride for miles and miles through fertile land and see no sign of human life save the ghastly chimney of an evicted settler or the miserable shanty of a poverty-stricken renter. Cross the bay, and you will see the loveliest piece of mountain scenery around this great city, though destitute of habitation, walled in with a high board fence, that none but the owner of 20,000 acres of land may look upon its beauties. Pass over these broad acres which lie as they lay ere man was born on this earth, and under penalty of fine and imprisonment you must confine yourself to the road, purchased of him with poll taxes of four dollars a head wrung from men packing their blankets in search of work at a dollar a day.
Fellow-citizens, the public domain fit for homes is almost gone, and at the rate we are parting with the rest, it is certain that by the time children now in our public schools come of age, the pre-emption law and the homestead law will remain on our statute books only to remind them of their squandered birthright. Then the influences that are at work to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, and make dependence the lot of the many, will have free play.
How potent are these influences! Though in form everything seems tending to republican equality, a new power has entered the world that; under present social adjustments, is working with irresistible force to subject the many to the few. The tendency of all modern machinery is to give capital an overpowering advantage and make labour helpless. Our boys cannot learn trades, because there are few to learn. The journeyman who, with his kit of tools, could make a living anywhere, is being replaced by the operative who performs but one part of a process, and must work with tools he can never hope to own, and who consequently must take but a bare living, while all the enormous increase of wealth which results from the economy of production must go to increase great fortunes.
The undercurrents of the times seem to sweep us back again to the old conditions from which we dreamed we had escaped. The development of the artisan and commercial classes gradually broke down feudalism after it had become so complete that men thought of heaven as organised on a feudal basis, and ranked the first and second persons of the Trinity as Suzerain and Tenant-in-Chief. But now the development of manufacture and exchange has reached a point which threatens to compel every worker to seek a master, as the insecurity which followed the final break up of the Roman Empire compelled every freeman to seek a lord. Nothing seems exempt from this tendency. Even errands are run by a corporation, and one company carries carpet-sacks, while another drives the hack. It is the old guilds of the middle ages over again, only that instead of all being equal, one is master and the others serve. And where one is master and the others serve, the one will control the others, even in such matters as votes.
In our constitution is a clause prohibiting the granting of titles of nobility. In the light of the present it seems a good deal like the device of the man who, leaving a big hole for the cat, sought to keep the kitten out by blocking up the little hole. Could titles add anything to the power of the aristocracy that is here growing up? Six hundred liveried retainers followed the great Earl of Warwick to Parliament; but in this young State there is already a simple citizen who could discharge anyone of thousands of men from their employment, who controls 2200 miles of railroad and telegraph, and millions of acres of land, and has the power of levying toll on traffic and travel over an area twice that of the original thirteen States. Warwick was a king-maker. Would it add to the real power of our simple citizen were we to dub him an earl?
Look at the social conditions, which are growing up here in California. Land monopolised; water monopolised; a race of cheap workers crowding in, whose effect upon our own labouring classes is precisely that of slavery; all the avenues of trade and travel under one control, all wealth and power tending more and more to concentrate in a few hands. What sort of a republic will this be in a few years longer if these things go on? The idea would be ridiculous, were it not too sad.
Fellow-citizens, I am talking of things not men. Most irrational would be any enmity towards individuals. How few are there of us, who under similar circumstances would not do just what those we speak of as monopolists have done. To put a saddle on our back is to invite the booted and spurred to ride. It is not men who are to blame but the system. And who is to blame for the system, but the whole people? If the lion will suffer his teeth to be pulled and his claws to be pared, he must expect every cur to tease him.
But, fellow-citizens, while it is true that a republican government worth the name cannot exist under the social conditions into which we are passing; it is also true that under a really republican government such conditions could not be.
I do not mean to say we have not had enough government; I mean to say that we have had too much. It is a truth that cannot be too clearly kept in mind that the best government is that which governs least, and that the more a republican government undertakes to do, the less republican it becomes. Unhealthy social conditions are but the result of interferences with natural rights.
There is nothing in the condition of things (it were a libel on the Creator to say so), which condemns one class to toil and want while another lives in wasteful luxury. There is enough and to spare for us all. But if one is permitted to ignore the rights of others by taking more than his share, the others must get less; a difference is created which constantly tends to become greater, and a greedy scramble ensues in which more is wasted than is used.
If you will trace out the laws of the production of wealth and see how enormous are the forces now wasted, it you will follow the laws of its distribution, and see how, by human laws, one set of men are enabled to appropriate a greater or less part of the earnings of the others; if you will think how this robbery of labour degrades the labourer and makes him unable to drive a fair bargain, and how it diminishes production, you will begin to see that there is no necessity for poverty, and that the growing disparity of social conditions proceeds from laws which deny the equal rights of men.
Fellow-citizens, we have just listened again to the Declaration, not merely of national independence, but of the rights of man.
Great was Magna Charta—a beacon of light through centuries of darkness, a bulwark of the oppressed through ages of wrong, a firm rock for Liberty’s feet, as she still strove onward!
But all charters and bills of right, all muniments and titles of Liberty, are included in that simple statement of self-evident truth that is the heart and soul of the Declaration: “That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
In these simple words breathes not only the spirit of Magna Charta, but the spirit which seeks its inspiration in the eternal facts of nature—through them speak not only Stephen Langton and John Hampton, but Vat Tyler and the Mad Priest of Kent.
The assertion of the equal rights of all men to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is the assertion of the right of each to the fullest, freest exercise of all his faculties, limited only by the equal right of every other. It includes freedom of person and security of earnings, freedom of trade and capital, freedom of conscience and speech and the press. It is the declaration of the same equal rights of all human beings to the enjoyment of the bounty of the Creator—to light and to air, to water and to land. It asserts these rights as inalienable—as the direct grant of the Creator to each human being, of which he can be rightfully deprived neither by kings nor congresses, neither by parchments nor prescriptions—neither by the compacts of past generations nor by majority votes.
This simple yet all-embracing statement bears the stamp royal of primary truth—it includes all partial truths and co-ordinates with all other truths. This perfect liberty, which, by giving each his rights, secures the rights of all—is order, for violence is the infringement of right; it is justice, for injustice is the denial of right; it is equality, for one cannot have more than his right, without another having less. It is reverence towards God, for irreverence is the denial of His order; it is love towards man, for it accords to others all that we ask for ourselves. It is the message that the angels sang over Bethlehem in Judea—it is the political expression of the Golden Rule!
Like all men who build on truth, the men of the Revolution builded better than they knew. The Declaration of Independence was ahead of their time; it is in advance of our time; it means more than perhaps even he saw whose pen traced it—man of the future that he was and still is! But it has in it the generative power of truth; it has grown and still must grow.
They tore from the draft of the Declaration the page in which Jefferson branded the execrable crime of slavery. But in vain! In those all-embracing words that page was still there, and though it has taken a century, they are, in this respect, vindicated at last, and human flesh and blood can no longer be bought and sold.
It is for us to vindicate them further. Slavery is not dead, though its grossest form be gone. What is the difference, whether my body is legally held by another, or whether he legally holds that by which alone I can live. Hunger is as cruel as the lash. The essence of slavery consists in taking from a man all the fruits of his labour except a bare living, and of how many thousands miscalled free is this the lot? Where wealth most abounds there are classes with whom the average plantation negro would have lost in comfort by exchanging. English villeins of the fourteenth century were better off than English agricultural labourers of the nineteenth. There is slavery and slavery! “The widow,” says Carlyle, “is gathering nettles for her children’s dinner; a perfumed seigneur, delicately lounging in the Ceil de Boeuf, has an alchemy whereby he will extract from her the third nettle, and call it rent!”
Fellow-citizens, let us not be deluded by names. What is the use of a republic if labour must stand with its hat off begging for leave to work, if “tramps” must throng the highways and children grow up in squalid tenement houses? Political institutions are but means to an end the freedom and happiness of the individual; and just so far as they fail in that, call them what you will, they are condemned.
Our conditions are changing. The laws which impel nations to seek a larger measure of liberty, or else take from them what they have, are working silently but with irresistible force. If we would perpetuate the Republic, we must come up to the spirit of the Declaration, and fully recognise the equal rights of all men. We must free labour from its burdens and trade from its fetters; we must cease to make government an excuse for enriching the few at the expense of the many, and confine it to necessary functions. We must cease to permit the monopolisation of land and water by non-users, and apply the just rule, “No seat reserved unless occupied.” We must cease the cruel wrong which, by first denying their natural rights, reduces labourers to the wages of competition, and then, under pretence of asserting the rights of another race, compels them to a competition that will not merely force them to a standard of comfort unworthy the citizen of a free republic, but ultimately deprives them of their equal right to live.
Here is the test: whatever conduces to their equal and inalienable rights to men is good—let us preserve it. Whatever denies or interferes with those equal rights is bad—let us sweep it away. If we thus make our institutions consistent with their theory, all difficulties must vanish. We will not merely have a republic, but social conditions consistent with a republic. If we will not do this, we surrender the Republic, either to be torn by the volcanic forces that already shake the ground beneath the standing armies of Europe, or to rot by slow degrees, and in its turn undergo the fate of all its predecessors.
Liberty is not a new invention that, once secured, can never be lost. Freedom is the natural state of man. “Who is your lord?” shouted the envoys of Charles the Simple to the Northmen who had penetrated into the heart of France. “We have no lord; we are all free men!” was their answer; and so in their time of vigour would have answered every people that ever made a figure in the world. But at some point in the development of every people freedom has been lost, because as fresh gains were made, or new forces developed, they were turned to the advantage of a few.
Wealth in itself is a good, not an evil; but wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, corrupts on one side, and degrades on the other. No chain is stronger than its weakest link, and the ultimate condition of any people must be the condition of its lowest class. If the low are not brought up, the high must be brought down. In the long run, no nation can be freer than its most oppressed, richer than its poorest, wiser than its most ignorant. This is the fiat of the eternal justice that rules the world. It stands forth on every page of history. It is what the Sphinx says to us as she sitteth in desert sand, while the winged bulls of Nineveh bear her witness! It is written in the undecipherable hieroglyphics or Yucatan; in the brick mounds of Babylon; in the prostrate columns of Persiopolis; in the salt-sown plain of Carthage. It speaks to us from the shattered relics of Grecian art; from the mighty ruins of the Coliseum! Down through the centuries comes a warning voice from the great Republic of the ancient world to the great Republic of the new. In three Latin words Pliny sums up the genesis of the causes that ate out the heart of the mightiest power that the world ever saw, and overwhelmed a widespread civilisation: “Great estates ruined Italy!”
Let us heed the warning by laying the foundations of the Republic upon the work of the equal, inalienable rights of all. So shall dangers disappear, and forces that now threaten turn to work our bidding; so shall wealth increase, and knowledge grow, and vice, and crime and misery vanish away.
They who look upon Liberty as having accomplished her mission, when she has abolished hereditary privileges and given men the ballot, who think of her as having no further relations to the every-day affairs of life, have not seen her real grandeur—to them the poets who have sung of her must seem rhapsodists, and her martyrs fools! As the sun is the lord of life, as well as of light; as his beams not merely pierce the clouds, but support all growth, supply all motion, and call forth from what would otherwise be a cold and inert mass, all the infinite diversities of being and beauty, so is liberty to mankind. It is not for an abstraction that men have toiled and died; that in every age the witnesses of liberty have stood forth, and the martyrs of liberty have suffered. It was for more than this that matrons handed the Queen Anne musket from its rest, and that maids bid their lovers go to death!
We speak of liberty as one thing, and of virtue, wealth, knowledge, invention, national strength and national independence as other things. But, of all these, Liberty is the source, the mother, the necessary condition. She is to virtue what light is to colour, to wealth what sunshine is to grain; to knowledge what eyes are to the sight. She is the genius of invention, the brawn of national strength, the spirit of national independence! Where Liberty rises, there virtue grows, wealth increases, knowledge expands, invention multiplies human powers, and in strength and spirit the freer nation rises among her neighbours as Saul amid his brethren-taller and fairer. Where Liberty sinks, there virtue fades, wealth diminishes, knowledge is forgotten, invention ceases, and empires once mighty in arms and arts become a helpless prey to freer barbarians!
Only in broken gleams and partial light has the sun of Liberty yet beamed among men, yet all progress hath she called forth.
Liberty came to a race of slaves crouching under Egyptian whips, and led them forth from the House of Bondage. She hardened them in the desert and made of them a race of conquerors. The free spirit of the Mosaic law took their thinkers up to heights where they beheld the unity of God, and inspired their poets with strains that yet phrase the highest exaltations of thought. Liberty dawned on the Phenician coast, and ships passed the Pillars of Hercules to plough the unknown sea. She broke in partial light on Greece, and marble grew to shapes of ideal beauty, words became the instruments of subtlest thought, and against the scanty militia of free cities the countless hosts of the Great King broke like surges against a rock. She cast her beams on the four-acre farms of Italian husbandmen, and born of her strength a power came forth that conquered the world! She glinted from shields of German warriors, and Augustus wept his legions. Out of the night that followed her eclipse, her slanting rays fell again on free cities, and a lost learning revived, modern civilisation began, a new world was unveiled; and as Liberty grew so grew art, wealth, power, knowledge and refinement. In the history of every nation we may read the same truth. It was the strength born of Magna Charta that won Crecy and Agincourt. It was the revival of Liberty from the despotism of the Tudors that glorified the Elizabethan age. It was the spirit that brought a crowned tyrant to the block that planted here the seed of a mighty tree. It was the energy of ancient freedom that, the moment it had gained unity, made Spain the mightiest power of the world, only to fall to the lowest depth of weakness when tyranny succeeded liberty. See, in France, all intellectual vigour dying under the tyranny of the seventeenth century to revive in splendour as Liberty awoke in the eighteenth, and on the enfranchisement of the French peasants in the great revolution, basing the wonderful strength that has in our time laughed at disaster.
What Liberty shall do for the nation that fully accepts and loyally cherishes her, the wondrous inventions, which are the marked features of this century, give us but a hint. Just as the condition of the working classes is improved, do we gain in productive power. Wherever labour is best paid and has most leisure, comfort, and refinement, there invention is most active and most generally utilised. Short-sighted are they who think the reduction of working hours would reduce the production of wealth. Human muscles are one of the tiniest of forces; but for the human mind the resistless powers of nature work. To enfranchise labour, to give it leisure and comfort and independence, is to substitute in production mind for muscle. When this is fully done, the power that we now exert over matter will be as nothing to that we shall have.
It has been said that, from the very increase of our numbers, the American Union must in time necessarily break up. I do not believe it. Even now, while the memories of a civil war are fresh, I do not think any part of our people regret that this continent is not bisected by an imaginary line, separating two jealous nations, two great standing armies. If we respect the equal rights of all, if we reduce the operation of our national Government to the purposes for which it is alone fitted, the preservation of the common peace, the maintenance of the common security and the promotion of the common convenience, there can be no sectional interest adverse to unity, and the blessings of the bond that makes us a nation must become more apparent as years roll on.
So far from this Union necessarily falling to pieces from its own weight, it may, if we but hold fast to justice, not merely embrace a continent, but prove in the future capable of a wider extension than we have yet dreamed.
The crazy king, the brutal ministers, the rotten Parliament, the combination of tyranny, folly, corruption and arrogance that sundered the Anglo-Saxon race, is gone, but stronger and stronger grows the influence of the deathless minds that make our common language classic. The republic of Anglo-Saxon literature extends wherever the tongue of Shakespeare is spoken. The great actors who from time to time walk this stage, find their audiences over half the globe; it is to one people that our poets sing; it is one mind that responds to the thought of our thinkers. The old bitternesses are passing away. With us the hatreds, born of two wars, are beginning to soften and die out, while Englishmen, who this year honour us in honouring the citizen whom we have twice deemed worthy of our foremost place, are beginning to look upon our Revolution as the vindication of their own liberties.
A hundred years have passed since the fast friend of American liberty—the great Earl Chatham—rose to make his last appeal for the preservation, on the basis of justice, of that English-speaking empire, in which he saw the grandest possibility of the future. Is it too soon to hope that the future may hold the realisation of his vision in a nobler form than even he imagined, and that it may be the mission of this Republic to unite all the nations of English speech, whether they grow beneath the Northern Star or Southern Cross, in a league which, by insuring justice, promoting peace, and liberating commerce, will be the forerunner of a world-wide federation that will make war the possibility of a past age, and turn to works of usefulness the enormous forces now dedicated to destruction.
And she to whom on this day our hearts turn, our ancient ally, our generous friend—thank God we can say, our sister Republic of France! It was not alone the cold calculations of kingcraft that when our need was direst, helped us with money and supplies, with armies and fleets. The grand idea of the equal rights of man was stirring in France, her pulses were throbbing with the new life that was soon to shake the thrones of Europe as with an earthquake, and French sympathy went out where Liberty made her stand. “They are a generous people,” wrote Franklin, “they do not like to hear of advantages in return for their aid. They desire the glory of helping us.” France has that glory, and more. Let her column Vendome fall, and the memory of the butchers of mankind fade away; the great things that France has done for freedom will make her honoured of the nations, while, with increasing and increasing meaning, rings through the ages the cry with which she turned to the thunder-burst of Valmy: “Live the people!”
Beset by difficulties from which we are happily exempt—on the one side those who dream of bringing back the middle ages, on the other the red spectre; compelled, or in fancy compelled, by the legacy of old hates to maintain that nightmare of prosperity and deadly foe of freedom a large standing army—France has yet steadily made progress. Italy is one; the great Germanic race at last have unity; as out of a trance, life stirs in Spain; Russia moves as she marches. May it not be France’s to again show Europe the way?
Fellow-citizens: If I have sought rather to appeal to thought than to flatter vanity, it is not that I do not see the greatness and feel the love of my country. Drawing my first breath almost within the shadow of Independence Hall, the cherished traditions of the Republic entwine themselves with my earliest recollections, and her flag symbolises to me all that I hold dear on earth. But for the very love I bear her, for the very memories I cherish, I would not dare come before you on this day and ignore the dangers I see in her path.
If I have not dwelt on her material greatness or pictured her future growth, it is because there rises before me a higher ideal of what this Republic may be than can be expressed in material symbols—an ideal so glorious that, beside it, all that we now pride ourselves on seems mean and pitiful. That ideal is not satisfied with a republic where, with all the enormous gains in productive power, labour is ground down to a bare living and must think the chance to work a favour; it is not satisfied with a republic where prisons are crowded and almshouses are built and families are housed in tiers. It is not satisfied with a republic where one tenant for a day can warn his cotenants off more of the surface of this rolling sphere than he is using or can use, or compel them to pay him for the bounty of their common Creator; it is not satisfied with a republic where the fear of poverty on the one hand and the sight of great wealth on the other makes the lives of so many such a pitiful straining, keeps eyes to the ground that might be turned to the stars, and substitutes the worship of the Golden Calf for that of the Living God!
It hopes for a republic where all shall have plenty, where each may sit under his vine and fig tree, with none to vex him or make him afraid; where with want shall gradually disappear vice and crime; where men shall cease to spend their lives in a struggle to live, or in heaping up things they cannot take away; where talent shall be greater than wealth and character greater than talent, and where each may find free scope to develop body, mind and soul. Is this the dream of dreamers? One brought to the world the message that it might be reality. But they crucified him between two thieves.
Not till it accepts that message can the world have peace. Look over the history of the past. What is it but a record of the woes inflicted by man on man, of wrong producing wrong, and crime fresh crime? It must be so till justice is acknowledged and liberty is law.
Some things have we done, but not all. In the words with which an eminent Frenchman closes the history of that great revolution that followed ours: “Liberty is not yet here; but she will come!” Fellow-citizens, let us follow the star that rose above the cradle of the Republic; let us try our laws by the test of the Declaration. Let us show to the nations our faith in Liberty, nor fear she will lead us astray.
Who is Liberty that we should doubt her; that we should set bounds to her, and say, “Thus far shall thou come and no further!” Is she not peace? is she not prosperity? is she not progress? nay, is she not the goal towards which all progress strives?
Not here; but yet she cometh! Saints have seen her in their visions; seers have seen her in their trance. To heroes has she spoken, and their hearts were strong; to martyrs and the flames were cool!
She is not here, but yet she cometh. Lo! her feet are on the mountains—the call of her clarions ring on every breeze; the banners of her dawning fret the sky! Who will hear her as she calleth; who will bid her come and welcome? Who will turn to her? who will speak for her? who will stand for her while she yet hath need? | <urn:uuid:cdd26fb3-8632-40f7-94a7-3882a9179d7c> | {
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Why Is Tobacco Still The Leading Preventable Cause Of Death?
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
And I'm Renee Montagne.
Fifty years after the landmark surgeon general's report that smoking causes cancer, former U.S. surgeons general are emphasizing that the key in the fight against tobacco is kids. They gathered for a youth tobacco summit in New Orleans yesterday.
NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: Former Surgeon General Regina Benjamin says no one wanted to believe Dr. Luther Terry back in 1964 when he said smoking led to disease and premature death.
REGINA BENJAMIN: Just like today, it was a lot of controversy. They released it on a Saturday, because they didn't want it to affect the stock market.
ELLIOTT: Still, it was big news.
(SOUNDBITE OF NBC NEWS BROADCAST)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Here is NBC News correspondent Frank McGee.
FRANK MCGEE: This book containing 387 carefully worded pages is a federal government report. It's title: "Smoking and Health."
ELLIOTT: Every surgeon general since has issued a report detailing tobacco's toll on society, and much has changed. Cigarette packs have warnings. You can't smoke in most public spaces, and there are restrictions on the way tobacco products are made and sold. Smoking rates have dropped from nearly half the American public to just about 18 percent of adults. There's no dispute that nicotine is addictive and tobacco is deadly.
So why is tobacco still the leading preventable cause of death, killing 1,200 people a day? Benjamin says it's because for every smoker who dies, there are two so-called replacement smokers trying a cigarette for the first time and getting hooked.
BENJAMIN: Ninety percent of all smokers start before age of 18, 99 percent before the age of 26. So if can just get our next generation to not take that first cigarette before the age of 26, they have less than 1 percent chance of every starting. And we can make that generation tobacco-free.
ELLIOTT: So, the key, she says, is stopping the next generation from ever taking that first puff. Dr. Benjamin is now an endowed chair of public health sciences at Xavier University in New Orleans. She invited all the living surgeons general to join her on campus to focus on youth smoking.
Dr. Antonia Novello was surgeon general in the early '90s.
ANTONIA NOVELLO: It's the only legal product that utilized, as it says, it will cause you death. So we have to get that message into their heads.
ELLIOTT: Experts say the best messenger is their peers.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (Rapping) Too many youth and young adults be dying. I don't mess with that tobacco. Oh, no. It ain't cool. Did you know three million students smoke in high school?
ELLIOTT: This anti-tobacco video by Florida middle-schools is the winner of a contest sponsored by Benjamin, when she was surgeon general. For the Xavier summit, she recruited teen advocates to sign what she calls TobaccNO pledge, inspired the video.
DESHANDA SMARR: I pledge to be tobacco-free for those who passed away, because they wasn't strong enough to fight against tobacco.
ELLIOTT: Deshanda Smarr is a 16-year old high school student from Atlanta. She says smoking is a problem for kids her age.
SMARR: A lot of youth say it's because of stress, but they're too young to stress. I don't think that's the reason. I actually believe it's because they see other people do it, especially adults.
ELLIOTT: College freshman Darrien Skinner of San Marcos, Texas thinks the nation's policy needs to change.
DARRIEN SKINNER: We all know that tobacco is bad. So why does it still exist in society? Why is it still here today? Why isn't the government stepping in and changing it?
DAVID SATCHER: Well, ultimately, I think that's the direction we're moving in.
ELLIOTT: Dr. David Satcher was the 16th U.S. surgeon general.
SATCHER: You could argue that we shouldn't have to do that, that if we do our jobs in public health, that people will just stop smoking.
ELLIOTT: The former surgeons general have mixed opinions on whether tobacco should ever be outlawed, a controversial topic in a society that values personal choice.
Debbie Elliott, NPR News, New Orleans.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. | <urn:uuid:03020086-45df-44bf-bc38-a29208e90698> | {
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Medical Content Created by the Faculty of the
Harvard Medical School
Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography is an x-ray test that can help show whether there is a blockage in the liver or the bile ducts that drain it. Since the liver and its drainage system do not normally show up on x-rays, the doctor doing the x-ray needs to inject a special dye directly into the drainage system of the liver. This dye, which is visible on x-rays, should then spread out to fill the whole drainage system. If it does not, that means there is a blockage. This type of blockage might result from a gallstone or a cancer in the liver. | <urn:uuid:7b7b627e-f068-4987-965a-adc46c7c2b99> | {
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With more than 400 different species available, the oak tree belongs to the genus Quercus. Although native to the northern hemisphere, it can also be found in the Americas and tropical Asia. Its leaves are arranged spirally. It produces beautiful flowers called catkins, specifically during spring. It bears a fruit, which is commonly referred to as an acorn. In addition to these basic details, it is also nice to know something about oak tree diameter.
The Diameter of an Oak Tree
A fully-grown oak tree can have a trunk with a diameter of up to 9.5 feet or 2.8 meters. Meanwhile, the circumference of its trunk can be as huge as 32 feet or approximately more than 9 meters. In terms of height, this kind of tree grows at an average of 100 feet or close to 30 meters. The diameter of its canopy can spread from 85 feet to 135 feet or from 25 meters to 40 meters.
Additional Facts and Other Interesting Details
The wood of an oak tree is known for its various pleasant features including its hardness and great strength. Furthermore, it is highly resistant against fungal attack as well as insects, thanks to the presence of tannin. When quarter-sawn, it features grain markings that are highly attractive.
The oak tree also has a very rich cultural significance. It symbolizes endurance and strength. For this reason, it has been selected as the national tree of various countries like Germany, England and Estonia. The same also goes for other progressive nations such as Wales, the United States as well as France. In the United States, the white oak has been chosen as the state tree of places like Maryland, Illinois and Connecticut. Georgia, New Jersey and Prince Edward Island are other states that consider the oak tree significant.
It is very important to take care of an oak tree because it can succumb to various kinds of pests and diseases. For instance, the water mould called Phytophthora ramorum has the capacity to kill this kind of tree within weeks. Additionally, the fungus Ceratocystis fagacearum can lead to a lethal disease referred to as oak wilt. Some insects can also harm this kind of tree such as the gypsy moth, gall wasp and wood-boring beetles.
The acorns as well as the leaves of oak trees are harmful to horses, especially when ingested in large amounts. The tannic acid is a toxin that can cause gastroenteritis and kidney damage. Horses that succumb to this kind of poisoning experience different kinds of symptoms including constipation, depression and lack of appetite. It is also possible for them to have colic, blood in urine as well as diarrhea. | <urn:uuid:9fe24207-8ec7-4df1-b516-dfa20a933a17> | {
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