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Bibliographic record and links to related information available from the Library of Congress catalog.
Note: Contents data are machine generated based on pre-publication provided by the publisher. Contents may have variations from the printed book or be incomplete or contain other coding.
Contents List of Messages List of Tables and Figures Preface Acknowledgements Part I: Introduction and Theoretical Perspectives 1. Beyond Talk 3 2. Multimedia in Mobile Telephony 19 3. Mobile Multimedia in Action 29 Part II: Design Elements of Mobile Multimedia 4. Snapshots, Media, and Age-Old Practices 45 5. Sound in Mobile Multimedia 61 6. Gestures, Faces, and Bodies as Communicative Resources 75 Part III: Mobile Multimedia in Interaction 7. Designing Opening Messages 91 8. Replies, Responses, and Gestalt Modifications 105 9. How People Stop Messaging 121 Part IV: Society on the Phone 10. Society on the Small Screen 135 11. Friends and Acquaintances 145 12. From Small Discoveries to Stable Activities 157 Part V: Conclusions, Data, and Methods 13. Mobile Multimedia as Ordinary Activity 169 14. Data and Methods 181 Bibliography 193 Index 203
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication:
Information technology -- Social aspects.
Interpersonal communication -- Technological innovations -- Social aspects.
Cellular telephones -- Social aspects.
Mobile communication systems -- Social aspects. | <urn:uuid:834ddd34-3146-4a4f-b061-4f0a5159f8a9> | {
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The River Sidon:
The Book of Mormon only mentions one watercourse by name: the river Sidon. In addition to the river Sidon, the only other uses of the term “river” are references to rivers in a land far to the north of Zarahemla, a land of “many waters, rivers, and fountains” (the Colorado river delta in our model). In addition, if you travel “exceedingly great distances” within that land northward (North America in our model) you could come to “many rivers and large bodies of water”.
References to water in the northern lands appear to stand in stark contrast to the traditional Nephite and Lamanite lands where the text only mentions a single river named “Sidon”. Another reference to water in the southern lands is the “waters of Sebus” where competing Lamanite groups drove all their flocks for water despite significant risk to both the people and their animals. Also, a “fountain of pure water” existed in a valley and forest called “Mormon” which was in proximity to the City of Nephi.
Things we know about the river Sidon:
The river Sidon stands out prominently among these three references to water in the southern Nephite/Lamanite lands. In addition to references to the river itself, the “head of Sidon”(Alma 56:25) and the “waters of Sidon”(Alma 4:4, 43:40) are mentioned. In Alma 43:40, the term “waters of Sidon” seems to be used interchangeably with the term “river Sidon” which makes it unlikely that Mormon means anything different than the river Sidon when he uses the term waters of Sidon.
In contrast to the term “waters of Sidon”, the term “head of Sidon” seems to be a reference to a particular part of the watercourse. It seems likely that this is the upstream area where the river begins. Rivers get such beginnings from their respective drainage basins or from aquifer-fed springs, etc.. The head of the river Sidon bordered on a wilderness and was used as a point of reference when describing political borders between the Nephite and Lamanite lands (Alma 22:29, 50:11).
The river Sidon flowed past the city of Zarahemla (Alma 2:15), the valley of Gideon (Alma 6:7) and the land of Manti (Alma 43:22). The valley of Gideon was east of the river Sidon (Alma 6:7). An army crossed Sidon to get from the valley of Gideon to the city of Zarahemla (Alma 2:27). A hill named Amnihu was east of Sidon (Alma 2:15-17). A hill named Riplah and a valley to the south of Riplah were east of Sidon (Alma 43:31, 49:16). There was a valley near the bank of Sidon in a wilderness west of Sidon (Alma 43:27). The land of Melek was also located somewhere west of Sidon “in the borders by the wilderness” (Alma 8:3). You could get to the land of Manti from the land of Antionum by traveling past the head of Sidon (Alma 43:22). All or part of the “south wilderness” was east of the river Sidon (Alma 16:6-7). You could get to and cross the head of the river Sidon after travelling “round about in the wilderness” from Jershon (Alma 43:22).
The river Sidon was large enough to be an obstacle for troop movements but small enough that it was not a complete barrier to those movements (Alma 2:27, Alma 43). When bodies were disposed of in the river they would (immediately or perhaps later in a flood event) “go forth” and end up being buried in the depths of the sea (Alma 44:22). In one of the two cases where bodies were thrown into Sidon the text only specifies that “their bones have gone forth” and are buried in the depths of the sea. A battle that took place largely around the river Sidon resulted in a significant loss of agricultural crops (Alma 2-3).
The Rio San Ignacio:
The model we present identifies the Rio San Ignacio as the river Sidon from the Book of Mormon. The Rio San Ignacio is an aquifer-fed permanent river which currently supports the city of San Ignacio as well as large agricultural areas. The modern river is dammed just below the springs that feed it, creating a beautiful lake surrounded by roughly 50,000 date palm trees. A series of canals carries water from the river to areas where it is utilized. The modern Rio San Ignacio flows east-to-west for a short distance then trends strongly southwest but only reaches the Pacific ocean during floods that occur every several years. These flood events often washed away significant improvements that early Spanish missionaries built along the river in historic times.
The references to the river Sidon can all be explained using the modern Rio San Ignacio, but there are multiple interpretations that can account for all of the references. Since the modern river starts with a spring and terminates by sinking into the desert sands, the many references that refer to cardinal directions from the river may refer to places along the banks of the river or, alternatively, some may refer to places that are east or west of the entire watercourse. One primary example of this relates to the hills Riplah and Amnihu. The Rio San Ignacio starts by flowing from the east to the west and there are hills east of the springs that feed the river which might fit the descriptions of Riplah and Amnihu despite the fact that they are east of the whole watercourse and do not exist on an eastern bank of the river. An alternate interpretation (which is what we currently present in the model) is that along the southwest-flowing portion of the Rio San Ignacio there are hills on the southeastern bank of the river which fit the descriptions of Riplah and Amnihu.
In addition to this ambiguity, it is very possible that the modern Rio San Ignacio is significantly different in modern times than it was during Nephite times. There is significant evidence indicating that the Baja peninsula received a lot more rainfall and had much better soil conditions during Nephite times. In addition, very little is known about the prehistory of the aquifer system that currently feeds the Rio San Ignacio. Other aquifers in the southern portion of the peninsula have been known to dry up completely after an earthquake only to reappear decades later after another earthquake. It is possible that the river Sidon was the Rio San Ignacio but looked very different from what we see today.
The “head of Sidon” may refer to the modern springs, it may refer to other springs that no longer flow (possibly from the Sierra de la Giganta to the south), or it may refer to the drainage basin that feeds the Rio San Ignacio. This ambiguity makes it difficult to be certain of the precise location many of the geographical references in the text. As we continue to explore these possibilities, it appears that multiple models can be created that account for all of the textual references. Perhaps further research will give us an understanding that is more precise in the future.
A recent paper gives some insight regarding the ability of the Rio San Ignacio to support a significant population (http://www.sciencedirect.com/
“The ojo de agua of San Ignacio flows out of a small tributary to the arroyo, approximately three kilometers upstream and around the bend of the mesa from the town…Below the confluence, the long, sweet water lake begins, and stretches for a few kilometers downstream…Several springs flow from the bedrock beneath the reservoir and keep it filled year-round…the arroyo chooses different paths, flooding some huertas, leaving others only barren sand, and at times, filling completely, mesa to mesa…The huertas within the wide valley eye are grouped into several smaller communities, but included in the same irrigation systems (SIH09-SIH15; SIH18-SIH22). Water from these springs flows through five canals…(in 1824) The mission soil was fertile and would offer productive harvests. Irrigation water came from a small arroyo with dams and holding ponds in quantities more than sufficient to irrigate all of the areas in cultivation…the mission could support 2,000 souls”
We would note that by saying it could support 2000 souls as stated above, Father Troncoso was describing the population that could live in the mission itself. It was the practice of the Fathers to make their neophytes live in a closed community at the mission whenever possible and not let them exploit the subsistence patterns they were used to in the peninsula. One of many instances when this system failed is also quoted in the San Ignacio section of the paper mentioned above along with a list of crops that were successful at that location which matches up well with many Book of Mormon references:
“In 1778, Fray Jose Santolaria wrote that for many years he had to send his neophytes to the coast and to the mountains to gather food because of the locust plagues. At the mission, they cultivated wheat, corn, barley, beans, figs, dates, pomegranates, grapes, and vegetables.”
This demonstrates that the Rio San Ignacio is capable of significant agriculture and that there are food resources to be found in the mountains and nearby seas as well. | <urn:uuid:2fd95d8b-a38c-406e-8807-7e4c282eb9fd> | {
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When Roosevelt took power he had 3 main aims:
- Relief - to help improve the lives of people
- Recovery - to begin to rebuild US industry and trade
- Reform - to change conditions to ensure future progress
On the day of Roosevelt's insuguration he faced a banking crisis. His Emergency Banking Act closed the bancks for four days. Then he permanently shut down the weakest banks and explained that the banks that were left open were now secure. In Roosevelt's first Hundred Days he started "fireside chats" which were radio broadcasts when he would speak to the nation explaining his polices. He introduced many alphabetic agencies such as:
- AAA (Agriculture Adjustment Administration) - this helped farmers to destroy surplus production and compensating them for the loss. This meant prices could rise and farming would recover.
- FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) - this gave government grants to local government to provide emergency help for the destitute.
- CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) - created jobs for young men in useful environmental work
- NRA (National Recovery Administration) - negotiated with industry to establish agreements on pay and working conditions
- PWA (Public Works Administration) - used skilled unemployed workers on public construction projects
- TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) - was set up to regenerate the area constructing dams which would provide electricity and encourage industry to develop.
The New Deal was aimed at resolving the immediate economic crisis and its effects. By 1935… | <urn:uuid:c95d371a-3139-4850-b2ff-55421dab4651> | {
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Image via Wikipedia
Children with autism don’t think the same way as other children and parenting a child with autism can be very stressful. If you’ve just found out that your child has autism, here are some tips for how to cope:
- Learn all you can. The first step is to learn all you can about autism: what it is, how it will affect your child, and what you can do to help.
- Develop a strong social network to help support you. You’ll need someone who you can lean on for emotional support such as a close friend. You’ll also need people who can help if you’re in a pinch, preferably those who understand your child and his or her behaviors.
- Teach your family about autism. It’s important for you and your child that your family understand what autism is and how will affect your child. Children with autism often don’t understand social conventions, so they may something inappropriate, for example. Having your family understand will make things easier.
- Get a behavioral therapist if possible. One of the best ways for your child to learn is through a behavioral therapist. This aide will help teach your child what is proper behavior in a way that a child with autism can understand. The aide can also help give you advice on how to deal with certain situations.
- Learn about diet and medications. Another way you can possibly help your child is through dietary changes and medications. These may help lessen the severity of symptoms and help your child feel better. | <urn:uuid:eed01f37-c6a7-48ef-9ca3-1fb9d25ab0e4> | {
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SALISBURY BEACH, Mass. — On April 13, 1894, the schooner Jennie M. Carter smashed on the sands of Salisbury Beach, its crew gone while its cat remained curled up on the captain’s chair.
Sunk as the result of one of the worst storms of the 19th century, the broken bones of the 130-foot, three-masted vessel are now more visible, further exposed through the sand after the sea ravaged Salisbury’s shoreline during the weekend blizzard.
“You can usually see it when there’s a low, low tide, but after this storm it would be more visible,” said Cassie Adams, the hostess at Salisbury Beach’s Seaglass Restaurant. “The beach lost a lot of sand in this storm.”
Playing on Salisbury Beach as a child, Adams hadn’t been aware that the wooden stubble peeking up in the sand during very low tides was a 139-year-old sunken ship. “I never knew it was a shipwreck until someone told me about it,” Adams said. “Our patrons at the restaurant comment on it when it’s visible.”
Other local history buffs knew of the famed shipwreck and its lore, according to Salisbury Historical Society secretary Beverly Gulazian. When the Jennie Carter went down due to foul weather, she was carrying granite, Gulazian said, and after the ship was lost, its cargo was salvaged.
“The granite was off-loaded,” Gulazian said. “And it was used in a number of places around the area.”
The tale of the Jennie Carter and Salisbury’s other shipwrecks are also well chronicled by Salisbury historian Carolyn Sargent in her book, “Salisbury History.”
Built in Newton, Md., in 1874, the ill-fated, three-masted schooner was a 296-ton vessel with a 33-foot beam, drawing 9.8 feet of water, according to Sargent. But in April 1894, loaded with a cargo of stone, the Jennie Carter, her crew and Captain Wesley T. Ober ran into trouble 40 miles southwest of Highland Light on Cape Cod in the midst of “one of the worst storms in 30 years,” Sargent wrote.
Details for this story were provided by the Newburyport (Mass.) Daily News. | <urn:uuid:936fb07b-3ab4-4fd4-b521-50bb2b43b69d> | {
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Today, our world revolves around wireless networking.
Almost everything that we use in our day to day life at work is supported by wireless networking. What really is wireless networking?
Wireless networking means the technology which enables two or more computers to communicate with each other with the help of standard network protocols but without thenetwork cabling.
Any technology which performs this function can be referred to as wireless networking. However, the term is really used to refer to WLAN or wireless LANs. WLAN is a group of network components which are connected to the electromagnetic waves instead of the cables.
A wireless LAN is basically made of the network backbone which consists of devices like the data collection units, wireless cards, access points for wireless LAN, handheld laptops and computers and the software which will help manage the entire network. One access point can easily support a small group of network users and can function in a range of less than 100 feet. The access points can connect the wireless LANs to the wired LAN and can allow the wireless computer to access LAN resources like the internet connectivity and file servers.
Wireless networking hardware
Networking hardware generally refers to the equipment which helps the use of the computer network. This would normally include the routers, access points, gateways, hubs, switches, firewalls, ISDN adapters, modems, network bridges, networking cables and network interface cards. The most commonly used networking hardware today is Ethernet adapters which are copper based. However, today wireless networking has become quite popular due to the use of various handheld and portable devices.
A wireless distribution system is the system which enables the wireless interconnection of the access points to a network. Basically, it lets a wireless network to be expanded with the help of several access points without having to use a wired backbone in order to link them like the traditional method. The main advantage of this solution is that it preserves the MAC address across the links between various access points.
The access point could be either a remote, relay or main base station. The main base station is generally connected to a wired Ethernet. The relay base station helps relay the data between various remote base stations and wireless clients. The remote base station will accept the connections from various wireless clients and then passes them on to the main or relay stations.
All the base stations need to be configured to use the same radio channel and have to share the WPA or the WEP keys if they are being used. These can be configured to different service identifiers. Every base station must also be configured in order to forward to others in the same system.
WDS is also known as the repeater mode since it accepts and bridges the wireless clients at the same time unlike the traditional bridging. Wireless networking hardware enables us to remotely connect to a network without having to use cabling and allows handheld and portable devices to function smoothly. | <urn:uuid:2cda8944-ba03-43e2-a245-f24416a5e08d> | {
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Hang the Transit of Venus on your wall! Hubble-quality images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory are now available as metallic posters in the Space Weather Store.
| || |
SOLAR WIND: A medium-speed (~425 km/s) stream of solar wind is buffeting Earth's magnetic field. The solar wind is not blowing hard enough to ignite a full-fledged geomagnetic storm, but it is stirring up some beautiful auroras around the Arctic Circle. Check the realtime aurora gallery for latest images.
M-CLASS SOLAR FLARES: The magnetic canopy of big sunspot AR1618 is crackling with M-class solar flares. This image taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the extreme ultraviolet flash from one of them, an M1.6-class flare on Nov. 20th at 1928 UT:
This eruption, and another one like it about 7 hours earlier, might have propelled faint coronal mass ejections (CMEs) toward Earth. If so, the impacts would likely commence on Nov. 23rd, with a chance of high-latitude geomagnetic storms following their arrival. Stay tuned for updates. Aurora alerts: text, voice.
FAST-GROWING SUNSPOT (Updated Nov. 21): Only a few days ago, sunspot AR1618 was almost invisible. Now it is a behemoth more than 10 times wider than Earth. A movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the sunspot's development on Nov. 20-21:
As the sunspot evolves, so does its intense magnetic field--and this means strong flares are in the offing. Fast-changing magnetic fields on the sun have a tendency to reconnect and erupt. NOAA forecasters estimate a 70% chance of M-class flares and a 15% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. Because of the sunspot's nearly central location on the solar disk, any eruptions will likely be Earth-directed. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
INSIDE THE SHADOW OF THE MOON: On Nov. 13/14, the Moon passed directly i front of the sun. This arrangement, which produced a total eclipse, cast the shadow of the Moon directly down on northeast Australia. Using a wide-field camera, eclipse-chaser Alan Dyer photographed the shadow as it raced across the sky over Lakeland Downs, Queensland. Scan the images, then read Dyer's account of the shadow-transit below:
"This collage of wide-angle shots shows the motion of the Moon's conical shadow," he explains. "At top, you can see the bottom edge of the shadow just touching the Sun. This was second contact and the diamond ring effect that begins totality. The middle frame was taken near mid-eclipse and shows the bright horizon beyond the Moons shadow. However, the Sun is not centered on the shadow because we were located well north of the eclipse's center-line, where we had gone to escape nearby clouds. The bottom frame was taken at the end of totality as the first bit of sunlight bursts out from behind the Moon. Notice the sun sitting at the well-defined left edge of the Moon's shadow. The shadow moved off to the right."
People who have experienced total eclipses first-hand say the Moon's shadow is one of the most amazing aspects of the experience. Its arrival causes many birds to stop singing; a hush descends on the landscape as the sky darkens and the air temperature suddenly drops. The Moon's shadow lances more than a quarter million miles across the silent vacuum of space, and when it lands on Earth, it seems to bring a bit of otherworldly cold with it.
For more otherworldly images of the eclipse, browse the gallery:
Realtime Eclipse Photo Gallery
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
[previous years: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011] | <urn:uuid:e419acce-b7a7-4f8d-a0ca-a50385c1ebe3> | {
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The Production Mechanization (PM), an instrument to fullfill in a companies need of specific production capabilities within an industrial setting, focussed on mass fabrication is as old as the company itself.
Until WWII consumer products were manufactured mainly by hand. After WWII, living standards of an ever growing population did rise rapidly, which resulted in an increasing demand for consumer goods. Manual production within an industrial setting was no longer profitable.
Instead of manually manufactured goods, machines took over the work. These machines had to be desigend first and the designing process itself is an intriguing process.
The development of prototype machines was partly done behind the drawingboard and partly by real prototyping with custommade parts. The materials used were often produced conform high engineering standards. This method of designing however was expensive and timeconsuming.
One of the ways to simplify this process was to use ready built parts to be used within a modulair system.
The purpose is to design and construct mechanisms and machines. If one has constructed and tested such a mechanism it either can work or not. If not, the mechanism must be modified until it meets it’s requirements. This proces can be done rapidly with a modulair system only.
Development of the Variable Building System
Philips introduced in 1970 within retrospect to the historical background a modular system to the market. Ir Arie Kraan invented the VBS and it was commercialised by the Nederlandse Machinefabriek Alkmaar (until the early 1990’s owned by Philips) with the following characteristics:
- the range is intentionally limited to a few (internationally) preferred diameters: 6 - 10 - 15 - 25 - 40 en 60mm
- no fixed pitch, all components are infinitely adjustable
- all clamp elements are seperable
- designs can be made rigid and free from backlash
- suitable for both static and dynamic applications
- can be used in conjunction with all other equipment building systems, standard products and existing structures
- can be put together rapidly and it is easy to make changes or modifications any later date
The diameter range was initially limited to 15 en 25mm and the system was called Building System, but by 1976 it had been developed into a full grown system and was renamed into Philips Variable Building System.
It’s interesting to mention that there are definitely some similarities between the FAC system and the VBS. One important similarity is that both systems make infinitely adjustable clamping possible. VBS uses larges diameters and therefore the dimensions of a prototype is not limited to the tablescale.
In spite of these similarities, the VBS was an autonomic development, based on marketdemands of that time. The development was initiated by a small group of Philips engineers whose responsibility mainly was the mechanisation of the company. The VBS had at first place been developed for internal use, but became soon available to the market.
In present the Variable Building System is for sale at Spanpartner.
- interwview with ir. A. Kraan dd 15 april 2008
- about the Variable Building System, ir. A. Kraan dd 5 mei 2008
- vakantieleergang werktuig- en scheepsbouw 1964 - prof. ir. W. van der Hoek
- VBS catalog 1980 | <urn:uuid:78045f29-6699-4fe7-bd5e-5c25574a54dc> | {
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TASMANIA, island S. of Australia and Australian state; established as a penal colony in 1803. Jewish names appear in its early history. Solomon, reported to be in safe custody (1819); a land grant to Emanuel Levy (1820); the charter granted for the Bank of Van Diemen's Land with Judah and Joseph Solomon among the shareholders (1823); a letter of recommendation as a settler to A. Aaron (1824). A petition from Bernard Walford was granted for a Jewish burial ground (1828). Ikey Solomons, a famous convict, may have been the model for Fagin in Dickens' Oliver Twist. In 1837 there was a total of 132 Jews, of whom 124 were free. By 1854 the Tasmanian Jewish population was 435, of whom 259 were free. In 1847 it was arranged that all Jews in Hobart and Launceston prisons should have the privilege of attending synagogue and refraining from work on the Sabbath. Pass holders were permitted to be counted in a minyan, but they could not have honors bestowed on them. By 1891 the number of Jews had fallen to 84. Most of the early settlers were illiterate and stated their occupation as farmers. Some, however, rose to prominence. Samuel Benjamin, born in southern Tasmania in 1839, attained the position of an alderman of Hobart City in 1897; John William Israel, born in Launceston in 1850, became auditor-general in 1895 and was elected president of the Civil Servants' Association at its foundation in 1897.
With the arrival of Orthodox newcomers from England, and spurred on by the need to distribute charity, the community consecrated its first synagogue in Hobart on July 4, 1843. In March 1864 the Hebrew Proprietary School was permanently incorporated with the synagogue. The first bet din in the city dates from 1911. The Hobart synagogue is the oldest standing synagogue within the British Commonwealth outside of England. The Tasmanian Hebrew Benevolent Society was formed in 1847. The Hobart synagogue celebrated the 120th anniversary of the laying of its foundation stone in 1963. The community remained small and has been constantly reduced by intermarriage. The Launceston synagogue was consecrated in 1846, with D. Benjamin as its president. It flourished for some years, serving about 100 families, but eventually the Jewish population of the town dwindled, the trustees died, and the religious articles were removed to Hobart. The synagogue was closed down in 1871, but it was reopened in 1939.
Tasmania failed to benefit from the arrival of thousands of refugees in Australia during and after the Nazi period, and its Jewish population steadily declined during the first post-1945 decades. The number of declared Jews in Tasmania, according to successive Australian censuses, totaled 158 in 1954, 136 in 1961, and only 98 in 1971. Since the 1970s, however, the community has grown again, thanks to migration from the mainland and from overseas, and stood at 145 in 1981, 160 in 1986, 167 in 1996, and 180 in 2001. An Orthodox and Reform synagogue currently exist in Hobart, as well as an Orthodox synagogue in Launceston, and a Chabad House in Sandy Bay.
M. Gordon, Jews in Van Diemen's Land (1965); Australian Jewish Historical Society, Journal and Proceedings, 1 pt. 3 (1940), 72; 2 pt. 8 (1947), 413–8; 3 pt. 5 (1951), 209–37; 5 pt. 8 (1964), 428–33. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: H.L. Rubinstein, Australia I, index; W.D. Rubinstein, Australia II, index.
[Shmuel Gorr /
William D. Rubinstein (2nd ed.)]
Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:280dbc4c-0278-44a1-9a42-14a6465f0289> | {
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Following is a “Table of Analysis” of food products, from The Key to Rational Dietetics by Otto Carque. Chapter XV of that book includes these analyses and comments on them; the material is concise and applies today as much as at the time Mr. Carque published his fine book, a classic of its kind, more than three decades ago.
The amounts of organic salts in 1000 parts of water-free substance were calculated by Mr. Carque with the object of furnishing a means of comparing them on an equal basis with the respective amounts of total mineral matter contained in the solid material. Where no figures are given, no analysis is available. Very few analyses have been made to determine the contents of manganese, fluorine and iodine in foods. For this reason these elements do not appear in the tables. Some analyses of iodine in foods are given in Chapter X.
Analyses of mineral matter of different foods grown in different localities should be made frequently, in order to determine the variation of their mineral contents and the particular elements needed for improving both soil and food products. This is highly important, when we consider the fact that many plant diseases and insect pests are traceable to impoverished or wrongly fertilized soils.
The analyses presented in these tables were taken, Mr. Carque says, mostly from the following sources:
Dr. J. Koenig, Chemie der Menschlichen Nahrungs and Genussmittel (Chemistry of Human Foods and Food-Accessories).
Dr. E. Wolff, Aschen Analysen (Analyses of Mineral Matter in Foods).
Dr. Ragnar Berg, Die Nahrungs and Genussmittel, ihre Zusammensetzung and ihr Einfluss auf die Gesundheit mit besonderer Beruecksichtigung der Aschen Bestandteile (Foods, Their Comoposition and Influence Upon Health, with Special Reference to Their Contents of Mineral Matter).
Dr. Henry C. Sherman, Chemistry of Food and Nutrition.
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry, Bulletin No. 87, Chemical Composition of Some Tropical Fruits and their Products.
Wilson Popenoe, Manual of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits. Bulletins published by Professor E. P. Forbes of the Ohio Agri-cultural Experiment Station.
Comparatively few analyses of this kind have been made in this country. As early as 1904 Mr. Carque wrote to Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, then chief of the Bureau of Chemistry, a branch of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., and this was his reply:
“I regret to say that no one in this country has undertaken a complete analysis of all the mineral constituents of foods. An analysis usually relates to the nutritive value and general composition, but does not give, as a rule, the composition of ash.
“I think it is highly desirable that the composition of ash be carefully studied and hope that some chemist will take that matter up in the near future.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF FREQUENT SOIL ANALYSES
Mistakes in Soil Fertilization
The nutritive value of fruits and vegetables depends largely on the chemical composition of the soil and the kind of fertilizers that have been applied. In buying vegetables we seldom know where and in what kind of soil they have been grown. Only soil rich in the essential mineral elements can produce sound and wholesome vegetables, while the continuous application of manures and commercial fertilizers supplies an excess of nitrogen and phosphoric acid, causing a rank and rapid growth, which misleads the inexperienced consumers. Large-sized products generally suffer from a surplus of ammonia and from lack of alkaline bases. They have no keeping qualities and easily fall prey to bacteria and fungi and quick decay.
Vast sums are annually spent for various nitrogen compounds with no other result than the production of rankness in early growth, like that produced by a hotbed. The leaves and stalks become weak because, during the brief time of their abnormal and rapid growth, they cannot absorb from the soil a sufficient amount of such sub-stances as silicic acid, iron and lime. These are the elements which give to the plant the necessary firmness and power of resistance against injurious atmospheric influences and insect pests. Insects do not propagate very well on leaves and fruits rich in lime and iron, while the stalks of plants, stimulated in their growth by an excess of nitrogen, fail to acquire the necessary stiffness and strength and are always liable to be laid by heavy wind and rain.
What has been said in the preceding chapters about mineral elements, in their relation to the rational nutrition and normal growth of the animal and human body, may to a large extent be applied to the vegetable kingdom. Plants and trees often suffer from a deficiency or excess of certain elements in the soil. These conditions naturally cause poor crops and lowered stability of the plant protoplasm, making it susceptible to rapid disintegration and the attack of fungi. | <urn:uuid:78ad0990-dae0-470b-b570-817ed77d2863> | {
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The grace of the Obama presidency
On January 10, 2017 President of the United States Barack Obama gave his farewell address to the nation over which he has presided for the last eight years. This speech may not be remembered among Obamaâs greatest oratories, although it echoed with the yearnings of his most eloquent deliveries, perhaps none more so than its insistence on the capacity of America to deliver on its unfulfilled promise of assuring the equal dignity and worth of all its people â blacks and whites, slaves and free, men and women, immigrants and natives, gays and straights. The list is long. But rhetorical excellence was never the purpose of this speech. Instead, this speech had a single intent: to frame the historical interpretation within which the Obama presidency will be viewed. In this regard this may very well be the most significant of all of Obamaâs speeches.
Historians both now and in the future will measure the Obama presidency against two overarching criteria. As Americaâs first Black President, Obamaâs ascension to the presidency raises fundamental questions about the history of racism in America and how Obama has dealt with the racial anxieties which continue to bedevil the United States. Indeed, Obama instructs us that American racism is âa threat to our democracy [that is] as old as the nation itself. After my election there was talk of a post-racial America. Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and divisive force in our society.â
The election of Donald Trump to succeed Obama is, in fact, an affirmation of Obamaâs observation. Since 1960, no candidate for the American presidency has run a more racially divisive campaign. And 62 million Americans cast their votes in support of this campaign. For those dismayed by Trumpâs election, however, and as bitter a pill as this is to swallow, they need to be reminded that 70 million Americans constituting a convincing 54 per cent of the American electorate voted against Trump. Hence, whereas the peculiarities of the American electoral system has allowed a minority President to win the highest office in the land, it also underlines the truth of Obamaâs observation that âI have lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10, or 20, or 30 years ago. You can see it not just in statistics, but in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum.â
All American presidents, of course, would also be judged by how they have used the American presidency to change the direction of the nation. By this measurement the Obama presidency has been an enormous success. His predecessor, President George Bush, passed on to him the worst American economy in living memory, an American military engaged in two full-scale wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a country mired in debt and despair.
Obama is therefore rightfully triumphant when he proclaims; âIf I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse the Great Recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history, if I had told you we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iranâs nuclear weapons without firing a single shot, if I had told you we would secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million people, you might have said that our sights were set a little too high. But thatâs what we did.â
Yet the full measure of the Obama presidency goes beyond the racial and economic successes which are measurable. It is to be found instead within the grace with which he carried out his responsibilities. For no American president has been savaged and disrespected by his opponents anywhere near the levels of opprobrium directed at the Obamasâ occupation of the White House. It was unprecedented for a congressman to shout out during the State of the Union and accuse the President of lying. Never before had political commentators made the Presidentâs spouse the target of rampant sexist and racist dehumanization. But through it all, President Obama, Michelle Obama, and their daughters stayed above the fray. Never for a single instant did they sully the presidency, for as Michelle Obama said so well, âwhen they go low, we go high.â President Obama struck a similar chord in his farewell address, saying towards Michelle, âYou took on a role you didnât ask for,â and indeed, as a Black woman, was never meant for her, âand made it your own with grace and grit.â
It is that grace under fire which may indeed be the greatest legacy of the Obama presidency. | <urn:uuid:f778bc6b-dd70-408a-87c9-e3d746e6bdfc> | {
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Another week, another feathery dinosaur. Since the discovery of the fluffy Sinosauropteryx in 1996, paleontologists have discovered direct evidence of fuzz, feather-like bristles and complex plumage on over two dozen dinosaur genera. I love it, and I’m especially excited about a discovery announced today. In the latest issue of Science, University of Calgary paleontologist Darla Zelenitsky adds another enfluffled species to the dinosaurian ranks. Even better, the specimens raise hopes that many more dinosaurs might be preserved with their feathery coats intact.
Zelenitsky’s downy dinosaurs are not newly discovered species. Ornithomimus edmontonicus was initially described by famed bone hunter C.H. Sternberg in 1933, and it is one of the characteristic Late Cretaceous species found in Alberta, Canada’s fossil-rich Horseshoe Canyon Formation. In Sternberg’s time, these dinosaurs were thought to be scaly, but recent finds of so many feathery dinosaurs has raised the likeliehood that the “ostrich mimic” dinosaur was at least coated in some sort of dinofuzz.
The prediction of fluffy Ornithomimus came from the spread of feathers on the coelurosaur family tree. The Coelurosauria is a major dinosaur group that encompasses tyrannosaurs, compsognathids, ornithomimosaurs, alvarezsaurs, oviraptorosaurs, deinonychosaurs and birds. To date, evidence of feathers has been found in every coelurosaur lineage except one–the ornithomimosaurs. The spread of feathers hinted that some sort of plumage was present in the common ancestor of all coelurosaurs and therefore should have been inherited by the ornithomimosaurs, but, until now, no one had found direct evidence.
A trio of Ornithomimus skeletons have finally confirmed what paleontologists expected. Zelenitsky enthusiastically explained the details to me by phone earlier this week. In 1995, when Zelenitsky was a graduate student, paleontologists uncovered an articulated Ornithomimus with weird marks on its forearms. No one knew what they were. But in 2008 and 2009 a juvenile and an adult Ornithomimus turned up with preserved tufts of filamentous feathers. “When we found these specimens,” Zelenitsky said, “we made the link to the 1995 dinosaur.” All those strange marks on the arms of the previously discovered Ornithomimus, Zelenitsky and colleagues argue, are traces of longer, shafted feathers.
Even though paleontologists expected feathery Ornithomimus, the discovery was still a surprise. “I was in disbelief,” Zelenitsky said. “They’re the first feathered dinosaurs from the Americas, and the first ornithomimosaurs with feathers, as well. It was shocking to say the least.”
But there’s more to the find than simply adding another species of fluffy dinosaurs to the list. The fact that the adult and juvenile animals had different kinds of plumage adds new evidence that coelurosaurs changed their fluffy coats as they aged. “The one juvenile was completely covered in filamentous type feathers,” Zelenitsky said. What the adults looked like comes from the two other specimens. One adult skeleton, lacking forearms, preserves fuzzy feathers, and “the second adult had markings on the forearm.” Together, the specimens indicate that adult Ornithomimus were mostly covered in fuzz but developed more complex arm feathers by adulthood.
Sex is probably behind the plumage change. “We infer that because these wing feathers are not showing up until later in life, they were used for reproductive purposes,” Zelenitsky said. Perhaps adult Ornithomimus used flashy arm feathers to strut their stuff in front of potential mates. Then again, based upon the resting and brooding postures of other theropod dinosaurs, adult Ornithomimus could have used their proto-wings to cover their nests. We don’t know for sure, but the developmental change appears to be another example of dinosaurs undergoing significant changes as they approach sexual maturity. This discovery, and others like it, will undoubtedly play into the ongoing discussion about the role of sexual selection in dinosaur biology and evolution.
Best of all, the new study indicates that paleontologists may soon find more feathered dinosaurs in unexpected places. The Ornithomimus skeletons were found in prehistoric river deposits composed of sandstone. Since almost all feathered non-avian dinosaurs have been found in fine-grained sediment–such as those around Liaoning, China–paleontologists thought that coarser-grained sandstone deposits were too rough to record such fine details. Now we know better. “That’s the really exciting part of it,” Zelenitsky says. If traces of dinosaur feathers can be preserved in sandstone, the twist opens up the possibility that paleontologists might find fluff and feathers with a greater array of dinosaurs–including the tyrannosaurs, deinonychosaurs, therizinosaurs and other coelurosaurs of North America. The trick is recognizing the traces before they’re destroyed during excavation and preparation. Rock saws and airscribes can all too easily obliterate the delicate fossils. A word to researchers–keep your excavation tools sharp, and your eyes sharper.
Zelenitsky, D., Therrien, F., Erickson, G., DeBuhr, C., Kobayashi, Y., Eberth, D., Hadfield, F. 2012. Feathered non-avian dinosaurs from North American provide insight into wing origins. Science. 338, 510-514 | <urn:uuid:631e66c6-24f8-4306-9656-d1df2478d53b> | {
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Phraya Singhanatracha Memorial
Situated at the foot of Doi Kong Mu, this monument commemorates the first governor of Mae Hong Son. Phraya Singhanatracha is a Thai Yai native from Burma (Myanmar). He was regarded by the people as the governor of Khun Yuam Town, which was to the south of Mae Hong Son. Later, he was officially installed as the governor of Mae Hong Son by the King of Lanna in 1874.
Wat Hua Wiang
Opposite Wat Phra Non, Wat Kam Ko is a Burmese-style temple built in 1890. A special architectural feature is the cover over the passageway from the entrance arch to the chapel. It also stores text in Thai Yai script chronicling the Thai Yai history. | <urn:uuid:be0befdd-deaf-4f6a-9f72-b4bc5ef50669> | {
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Workbook for the CollegeBoard SAT I Essay by James P. Stobaugh is a free, 34-page download that will help your child prepare for the essay portion of the SAT. Even if your child is not considering college, he will benefit by working through this workbook. Topics include:
- An overview and background of the essay portion of the SAT.
- Writing an introduction.
- Body argument and evidence.
- Writing a conclusion.
- Rubrics for how the essay is scored.
- How to improve scores.
The essay workbook establishes the parts of the essay, explains their purposes, offers suggestions and pitfalls to avoid, offers forms and examples, and then asks the student to complete that part of the essay. For example, in the first portion of the workbook a sample question is provided, and having been provided with outlining tools, the student is asked to create his own outline.
The essay is the first part of the SAT. The person taking the test is given 25 minutes to write an essay in longhand that will support a point of view by providing a grammatically correct, reasoned answer. This is an exercise all of our students can benefit from!
Replete with examples and assignments, the essay workbook makes an excellent supplement to any high school writing program. | <urn:uuid:36932a2c-da1c-42e0-96f8-a4143ae83faa> | {
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The Evolution Deceit
He has only forbidden you carrion, blood and pork and what has been consecrated to other than Allah. But anyone who is forced to eat it – without desiring it or going to excess in it – commits no crime. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat al-Baqara, 173)
The wisdom behind Allah’s prohibition of blood emerged during the 20th century. By carrying vitamins, hormones, oxygen and substances such as protein, sugar and fat absorbed during digestion to the cells, blood makes it possible for life to survive. On the other hand, it also carries various toxins and waste products that need to be expelled from the body. One of the most important tasks performed by blood is to transport substances such as urea, uric acid, keratin and carbon dioxide that need to be removed from the body.
Therefore, in the event that significant quantities of blood are consumed, the level of products in the body that should be expelled will rise considerably. That will increase the levels of urea, harmful substances transported to the kidneys for expulsion from the body. This can impair brain functions and even result in coma. That is why, because of its very nature, there will always be harmful compounds in blood, even if taken from healthy animals. If it is taken from a sick animal, various parasites and germs will also be transmitted in it. In that event, the germs may multiply and spread throughout the body. And that is the real danger. If someone consumes blood, all the germs and waste products in it may spread through the body and lead to such diseases as kidney insufficiency or liver coma. In addition, most of the microbes carried in the blood may cause other diseases by damaging the lining of the stomach and the intestines. What is more, blood is not a sterile environment; to put it another way, it is ideal for germs to grow in. i Since microbes have excellent opportunities to feed in blood, it represents an ideal environment for them. When in equilibrium with the functions of the other fluids in the body and the immune system, blood does not support micro-organisms, and therefore disease. In a healthy individual, these micro-organisms live by making use of one another inside the body. When that environment is seriously impaired, when the internal equilibrium is damaged, in other words, they may turn into micro-organisms that cause disease when they find the appropriate surroundings.
For example, when the blood pH level (acid and alkali balance) is imbalanced because of poor nutrition or harmful chemicals, harmless microbes can change into ones that cause disease. If the body is to be healthy, the pH level of the blood should be around 7.3. Even small variations in that level may cause that balance to be impaired and cause micro-organisms to become more harmful in order to adapt to their surroundings. Blood being sterile may be compared to milk going off when left outside. Microbes already present in the blood exhibit harmful effects by adapting to their new environment. ii
In addition to all this, blood is not suitable for use as a food product. The level of digestible proteins such as albumin, globulin and fibrinogen is low; just 8 grams in 100 ml. of blood. The same applies to fats. In addition, blood contains a high level of hemoglobin, a complex protein that is very difficult to digest and is unacceptable to the stomach. When blood clots, the protein fibrinogen gives rise to a plate containing erythrocytes (red blood corpuscles) by turning into fibrin. Fibrin is one of the hardest proteins to digest, thus making blood even more difficult to digest. In conclusion, health experts agree that blood is unfit for human consumption in any form.
After saying: “Unlawful for you are carrion, blood and pork, and what has been consecrated to other than Allah, and animals which have been strangled, and animals which have been killed by a blow, and animals which have fallen to their death, and animals which have been gored, and animals which wild beasts have eaten – except those you are able to slaughter properly – and animals which have been sacrificed on altars, and deciding things by means of divining arrows – that is deviance….” Almighty Allah goes on to say…” But if anyone is forced by hunger, not intending any wrongdoing, Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (meaning that an exception can be made.) (Surat al-Ma’ida, 3) People of the time were unaware of the wisdom behind it, but were protected by abiding by Allah’s prohibition. Those who believe and trust in Allah and comply with His commandments and prohibitions will enjoy auspicious lives in terms of the Hereafter and also live under Allah’s protection and infinite mercy.
i http://www.explorepub.com/articles/enderlein1.html; Karl Windstosser, Polymorphic Symbionts as Potential Cofactors in Cancer Processes", Explore, Vol. 7, no. 6, 1997. | <urn:uuid:9e5d176a-ab82-4e07-9cdb-15cbb80380a2> | {
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Along with the fundamental requirement of two parents, yours truly acquired seven relatives of the aunt and uncle type. Actually, there were more than seven, but some died in childhood. Seven is more than some people have and less than other people have. What the “proper” amount should be is not known. All seven were somewhat younger than said parents, a couple by a decade or more, and all seven got married (one did so twice). There were fifteen people to be called aunts and uncles.
With one exception, a baby, nobody died for a very long time – all had marriages into the twenty-five year range before anything bad happened. While what exactly happened to the divorced one isn’t known, of the other fourteen, the last died about two years ago at somewhere around age ninety. The one before that wasn’t in the too distant past, either. At any rate, when that last one died, that was, of course, the last of a generation. The next generation was, naturally, “the cousins.”
One side of the family generated four cousins; the other side came up with only one. The age range, surprisingly, wound up as being rather similar to the previous generation: seven years younger to fourteen years younger. The one cousin on the paternal side was never met, although his mother (the aunt-in-law) tried to keep up some family contact. The last contact was nearly two decades ago, and then he couldn’t be found. Well, it seems there was a reason. It was learned today that he may have died.
The last one is alone. | <urn:uuid:62c0aec7-b4da-4224-96e0-d726e4933475> | {
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Due to their sociability, meerkats live in large colonies of up to 30 individuals; however, there is usually a single breeding pair. An important role that rotates among colony members is that of sentinel or guard duty. While the family is out foraging, one or more meerkats will take on the duty to keep an eye out for predators. If danger is spotted, the sentinel will alarm the group with a distinctive bark so that the others can hide in their burrows.
Another role which meerkats play is that of babysitter. In order for the breeding female to forage for food, young meerkats will look after the newest litter of pups. By doing so, the mother enhances her chances of staying well fed and healthy to continue to care for her offspring.
DIETPrimarily insects, but will also eat reptiles, birds, eggs and small rodents.
Print Wildlife Card | <urn:uuid:eb353eeb-0f5f-46d7-8096-7cf42b4fc7bb> | {
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Every two weeks, the lining of your intestine completely regenerates itself. That's why doctors believe intestines are the perfect organ to regrow. A medical breakthrough centered on this fact is helping children born with gastrointestinal defects.
At 18 weeks pregnant, Stacy was told that something was wrong with her son Nathan. He had a rare birth defect that left him with only a few inches of intestines, when a baby at his age would normally have around six to eight feet.
For Nathan, that meant a lifetime of being fed through a tube or getting a transplant. But Dr. Tracy Grikscheit of The Saban Research Institute said she hopes a discovery in her lab can change the prognosis.
"We've been able to show that we can make every part of the gastrointestinal tract. We can make esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon," Dr. Grikscheit said.
After children have surgery, doctors take leftover tissue and grow a new organ in the lab. Dr. Grikscheit said this eliminates the risk of rejection and a lifetime of medication.
"If we were able to make engineered intestine from your own cells, it would be part of you, grow with you. It would self repair," Dr. Grikscheit said.
It's a medical breakthrough that could have patients healing themselves.
Dr. Grikscheit has received a $3.4 million grant to fund her studies. The same approach has the potential to help adults who lose part of their colon to cancer or other bowel diseases. | <urn:uuid:161447ea-09e0-4891-8971-9ef0a1df688d> | {
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When fossil hunter Bernard Ngeneo came across the remains of this fossil, only the upper portion of the orbits were protruding from the ground. Excavation revealed one of the best preserved skulls of this time period, and one of the most striking early human fossils of any age.
KNM-ER 3733 represents a mature female of the early human species Homo erectus. The gender identification comes from a comparison of the anatomical features of her face with another cranium from Koobi Fora. KNM-ER 3883, and the KNM-WT 15000 male, found on the opposite side of Lake Turkana. The features of KNM-ER 3733 are markedly less robust. It's known to be an adult on the basis of the cranial sutures (which were fully closed), the extent of the wear on the teeth, and the eruption of the third molars before the individual's death. | <urn:uuid:02a2d197-49dc-458e-9c49-76b1dcb650c8> | {
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Like tree rings, these layered plates hold chemical clues to how the animals adapt to a changing world.
(From Smithsonian.com/ by Jennifer Holland)– Had he glanced over his shoulder just before the “great fish” swallowed him, biblical Jonah would have had an enviable view. Enviable, that is, if you’re Alex Werth, a landlocked biologist who studies the feeding anatomy of whales. “Ah, to be Jonah and watch baleen in action from a seat on a whale’s tongue,” he says.
Baleen is the apparatus toothless whales rely on to filter food from the sea. Hundreds of these flexible plates, made of the structural protein keratin, grow downward from a whale’s upper jaw, lined up like the slats of venetian blinds. Fitting the plates into the mouth requires a large upper jaw, giving baleen whales a sort of upside-down grin.
The feeding structure evolved stepwise some 30 million years ago when the oceans were full of toothed whales competing for limited food. Having developed a tool and taste for other kinds of prey, baleen whales—known collectively as mysticetes—eventually split off and diverged into 12 or more species including the blue whale, the largest animal ever to have lived, along with humpbacks, grays, and right whales. And, at least until American commercial whalers commenced heavy pursuit some 200 years ago, these relatively passive feeders gulping down little marine animals by the tonne did just fine.
“Baleen changed everything,” Werth says. “And yet our understanding of aspects of this anatomy is still tissue thin.” Many scientists concur that filter feeding found footing in the Oligocene (33.9 to 23 million years ago) as changes in Southern Ocean currents brought massive plankton blooms—a ready new food source. (Interestingly, the animals didn’t start out as giants. A new report published in May 2017 suggests that their gigantism came later, perhaps three million years ago, as prey became more tightly packed but patchier—the result of intense nutrient upwellings. This dining style favored whales that could both binge feed and were bulky enough to travel far between patches—baleen whales grew to meet the challenge.)
The estimated time of baleen whales’ arrival is where common ground among scientists ends. Few agree, Werth says, on the steps by which the filtration system evolved in whales, how intermediate forms fed (likely by suction, according to the latest fossil find), “or even how [baleen] works with the forces and flows of the sea.”
But while some of whales’ deep past continues to perplex, scientists today have discovered an unexpected source of clarity, a detailed treasure map hidden inside baleen. Information associated with keratin, either in the protein or alongside it, holds chemical timestamps and data on whales’ health, movements, and reproduction. “It’s as if these animals have been keeping a daily journal, and suddenly we can see what they’ve been writing,” says endocrinologist Kathleen Hunt of Northern Arizona University. And the narrative unfolding from the baleen could inform whale conservation in whole new ways.
Read the full story here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/history-toothless-whales-180964717/ | <urn:uuid:f41b90c9-ef46-4a52-b97d-9fc9a8bb3c7d> | {
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"We are gathered at the tomb of the apostle, whose sarcophagus, kept under the papal altar, was recently made the object of a careful scientific analysis. A tiny perforation was made in the sarcophagus, which had not been opened for many centuries, for a special probe that picked up traces of a valuable linen cloth dyed purple, laminated with pure gold and a blue-colored cloth with linen thread. It also detected grains of red incense and of substances containing protein and calcium. Moreover, very tiny fragments of bone, subjected to Carbon-14 dating by experts who were unaware of their origin, were determined to belong to a person who lived between the first and second centuries. This seems to confirm the unanimous and unopposed tradition that these are the mortal remains of the apostle Paul."
So for Paul, too – as also for the apostle Peter, whose tomb has already been identified with certainty beneath the main altar of the basilica of St. Peter at the Vatican – there is important confirmation that he is buried precisely where he has always been venerated: under the main altar of the Roman basilica dedicated to him. [Time and again, we see how modern science confirms what the ancients said.]
The archaeologists Fabrizio Bisconti and Barbara Mazzei provided all of the details of the discovery [of the fresco of St. Paul] in two extensive accounts in the newspaper of the Holy See. But one element is more striking than all the rest. And it concerns the reasons that led to depicting the apostle Paul as we see him in this fresco, and then in so many others that followed: with the appearance of a pensive philosopher, with the penetrating expression, the high forehead, the incipient baldness, the pointed beard.
Here is the evocative explanation given by Professor Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums and a great art historian, in presenting the exhibition on St. Paul:
"The problem was posed between the third and fourth centuries, when a Church that had become widespread and well structured made the great and brilliant wager that is at the basis of our entire artistic history. [very cool] It accepted and made its own the world of images, and accepted it in the forms in which the Greco-Roman stylistic and iconographic traditions had developed it. It was in this way is that Christ the Good Shepherd took on the appearance of Pheobus Apollo or Orpheus, and that Daniel in the lion’s den had the appearance of Hercules, the victorious nude athlete.
"But how could one represent Peter and Paul, the princes of the apostles, the pillars of the Church, the foundations of the hierarchy and doctrine? Someone got a good idea. He gave the first apostles the appearance of the first philosophers. So Paul, bald, bearded, with the serious and focused air of the intellectual, had the appearance of Plato or perhaps of Plotinus, while that of Aristotle was given to the pragmatic and worldly Peter, who has the task of guiding the professing and militant Church through the snares of the world."
If this is what happened, then the Church in the early centuries had no reservations about attributing to the apostles, and to Paul in particular, the title of philosopher, nor of handing down, studying, and proclaiming in its entirety his thought, which is certainly not easy to understand and accept.
The depiction of Paul the philosopher is an eloquent warning to those who today deny relevance to a pope theologian like Benedict XVI, a modern Father of the Church.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
More interesting news about St. Paul
This time by way of Father Z's excellent blog, What Does the Prayer Really Say? | <urn:uuid:f0ff99ba-100d-4f69-8088-39e0ea53852d> | {
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To see a complete materials list for all class projects, download this Class Materials
PDF.Learn how to knit socks with this video knitting class!
Learn how to knit fabulous socks in this informative, online knitting class taught by knitted sock expert, designer and shop owner Lisa Carnahan. Best of all, this knitting class will teach you the three most popular methods of making socks so that you can knit socks with the technique YOU like best!
Everything you need to know to get started is right here in one knitting class -- the materials needed, construction of a sock and the three most popular technique options for knitting socks. Plus, you'll get a unisex Stockinette stitch sock pattern with a heel flap and gusset shaping. The sock pattern has eight sizes so you can knit a pair for the entire family. You'll learn as you create, gaining knowledge about knitting methods that include working the sock on double pointed needles, two circular needles and one long circular needle.
Get acquainted with the right yarns to select, different notions that can be used, demonstrations of knitting in the round, constructing the cuff, leg, heel, foot and toe, casting on stitches. You will get expert advice on working the heel flap, explanations of short rows and shaping and finishing the toe.
This knitting class will be suitable for someone with basic knowledge of knitting, including casting on, the knit stitch and the purl stitch.
Annie's online classes include downloadable and printable class patterns in PDF format in addition to the online video content. You can view online classes at your convenience, 24/7, 365 days a year from any mobile device, both tablet and non-tablet (phones, iPod Touch, etc.) but classes are best viewed on tablets or computers. All Annie’s online classes and DVDs have closed captioning. | <urn:uuid:f7802ee4-3c7e-47c5-b51d-28ddc3f48090> | {
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Enlargement of the prostate gland, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or hypertrophy (BPH), is a simple and unfortunate consequence of aging. BPH affects most men over the age of 60, and is so common that it has been said that all men will have an enlarged prostate if they live long enough. Every year, approximately 2 million men in the U.S. are treated for BPH and 400,000 have some kind of surgical procedure.
This column will cover the coding guidelines related to BPH and transurethral procedures that are most often performed to alleviate severe signs and symptoms associated with this condition.
BPH is a nonmalignant enlargement of the prostate gland due to a slow continuous growth. The growth occurs over the years, and usually does not cause a problem until the outer layer of the gland stops expanding, causing the tissue to press inward and constrict the urethra. Though the prostate continues to grow during most of a man's life, the enlargement doesn't usually cause problems until late in life. More than 50 percent of men in their sixties and as many as 90 percent in their seventies and eighties have some symptoms of BPH.
Most patients with BPH have trouble voiding. The most common symptoms that cause the most frustration and loss of quality of life are waking at night to urinate, and a sudden, strong and frequent urge to urinate. Other symptoms include a weak stream, dribbling after finishing, the sensation of incomplete bladder emptying, and pain or burning while urinating. The size of the prostate does not always determine the severity of a patient's symptoms.
Urinary obstruction can cause serious problems over time, including urinary tract infections, bladder or kidney damage, bladder stones and incontinence. Usually, it is the symptoms of the obstruction that causes the patient to seek treatment.
In the past, the coding of BPH had been confusing due to the fact that urinary obstruction, a routine symptom of BPH, was coded separately. In this case, how did you sequence the BPH and the urinary obstruction? To alleviate confusion, a combination code was created. The fifth digit describes whether or not urinary obstruction and other lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are present.
The following codes are used to report BPH:
600.00 Hypertrophy (benign) of prostate WITHOUT urinary obstruction and other lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)
600. 01 Hypertrophy (benign) of prostate WITH urinary obstruction and other lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)
When reporting code 600.01, it is important to use additional codes from the list below to identify the LUTS associated with the BPH:
Incomplete bladder emptying (788.21)
Straining on urination (788.65)
Urinary frequency (788.41)
Urinary hesitancy (788.64)
Urinary incontinence (788.30-788.39)
Urinary obstruction (599.69)
Urinary retention (788.20)
Urinary urgency (788.63)
Weak urinary stream (788.62)
To code BPH correctly, first determine if symptoms are present. If they are present, assign 600.0 with a fifth digit of "1". Then code those symptoms in addition to the code for the BPH. If symptoms are not present, assign a fifth digit of "0."
According to Coding Clinic, if a patient presents with acute renal failure due to BPH and urinary obstruction, you should sequence the acute renal failure first, followed by code 600.01 and any documented LUTS.
Treatment of BPH
Treatment of BPH is usually reserved for men with bothersome symptoms. A digital rectal exam is often performed to check the size and firmness of the prostate. Often mild or moderate BPH may only require close monitoring. Drug therapy may be warranted, including alpha blockers or medications that inhibit testosterone. Most men find relief using drug therapy. If the patient is experiencing severe symptoms of urinary obstruction such as urinary retention, or if drug therapy fails, surgery may be necessary to prevent bladder or kidney damage. Surgery may also be warranted for those who have recurrent urinary tract infections and hematuria. The type of procedure performed is usually based on the severity of symptoms and the size and shape of the prostate gland.
The following transurethral procedures are commonly performed to relieve problematic symptoms. For the purposes of this article we will discuss only the ICD-9-CM procedure codes used to report these procedures:
60.21, Transurethral (ultrasound) guided laser induced prostatectomy (TULIP).
This procedure utilizes a laser to destroy prostatic tissue. Several small cuts are made in the bladder neck with the laser in order to reduce the prostate's pressure on the urethra, making urination easier. The entire prostate is treated. This code is also reported for visual laser assisted prostatectomy (VLAP).
60.29 Other transurethral prostatectomy.
Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is the most common and most effective surgical treatment for BPH, and remains the procedure of choice even though the majority of the other procedures listed here are less invasive. A TURP is performed by inserting a scope through the penis; the prostate is treated with sharp excision, curette or other technique one piece at a time. Treatment with electrovaporization or TEVAP does essentially the same thing as a TURP, but uses electrical current to destroy the prostate tissue. Other descriptive terms to look for are enucleation and excision.
60.95 Transurethral balloon dilation of the prostatic urethra.
This procedure is performed to reduce the narrowing of the prostatic urethra by dilating the urethra. A prostatic dilation cystoscope and a balloon are placed in the urethra. After the balloon is positioned correctly, it is inflated and the pressure is maintained for ten minutes. The balloon is then deflated and removed. Balloon dilatation of the prostate is effective in patients with mild obstruction.
60.96 Transurethral destruction of prostate tissue by microwave thermotherapy.
This code is used to report transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT). This procedure is used to treat symptomatic patients with mild to moderate BPH. After an endoscope is passed, a microwave thermotherapy stylet is inserted in the urethra and the diseased prostate is treated with electromagnetic radiation.
60.97 Other transurethral destruction of prostate tissue by other thermotherapy.
This code is used to report transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) of the prostate and radiofrequency thermotherapy. TUNA uses radiofrequency energy forthermal ablation to destroy prostatic tissue.
Cystoscopy is considered an inherent part of the procedures above and is not coded in addition to the primary procedure code.
Review the following Coding Clinics; 3Q 1992, p. 7, No. 5 1993, p. 9; 3Q 2002, p. 28; 3Q 2005 p. 20; and 4Q 2006, p. 93 for more information.
Test your knowledge on BPH and corresponding procedures with the following quiz:
1. A 70-year-old male is admitted with urinary retention. A TURP is performed and the diagnosis of benign nodular hyperplasia is made. Which of the following would be the appropriate diagnosis and procedure code(s) selection?
a. 600.01, 788.20, 60.29
b. 600.11, 788.20, 60.29
c. 600.00, 60.29
d. 600.10, 60.29
2. A patient presents with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) with urinary frequency and bladder neck obstruction. A TULIP procedure and dilation of the bladder neck is performed. Which of the following would be the appropriate diagnosis and procedure code(s) selection?
a. 600.01, 596.0, 788.41, 60.21, 57.92
b. 600.00, 596.0, 60.21, 57.92
c. 600.00, 788.41, 60.21, 57.92
d. 600.01, 596.0, 788.41, 60.21
3. A patient is seen in the clinic with symptoms of urinary retention and incomplete bladder emptying secondary to benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). The patient is evaluated and referred to a urologist for evaluation. Which of the following would be the appropriate diagnosis code(s) selection?
a. 600.01, 788.20, 788.21
b. 600.00, 788.20, 788.21
d. 600.01, 788.21
This month's column has been prepared by Cheryl D'Amato, RHIT, CCS, director of HIM, facility solutions, Ingenix, and Melinda Stegman, MBA, CCS, clinical technical editor, Ingenix (www.ingenix.com). Ingenix develops software and e-commerce solutions for managing coding, reimbursement, compliance and denial management in the health care marketplace.
Coding Clinic is published quarterly by the AHA.
CPT is a registered trademark of the AMA.
1. b: Code 600.11 is assigned to report the nodular hyperplasia with LUTS. Code 788.20 is assigned as a secondary diagnosis to report the symptom of urinary retention. A TURP was performed and reported with code 60.29.
2. a: 600.01 is assigned because lower urinary tract symptoms of the BPH are present. Secondary diagnosis codes 596.0 and 788.41 are assigned to report the bladder neck obstruction and the symptom of urinary frequency. Code 60.21 is reported for the TULIP procedure. Procedure code 57.92 is also reported for the dilation of the bladder neck. This procedure is not considered part of the TULIP but is a separate procedure.
3. a: If a patient with BPH has symptoms of urinary retention and incomplete bladder emptying, code 600.01 is assigned for the BPH with obstruction. Secondary diagnoses codes are also assigned identifying the associated lower urinary tract symptoms, urinary retention (788.20) and incomplete bladder emptying (788.21). | <urn:uuid:bab26239-413e-4d63-af3c-e5032c7c706d> | {
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Two of Facebook’s AI bots recently made the news for apparently developing a new language that their human overseers couldn’t understand. The bots had been instructed to trade with each other to swap bats, balls and books, using their conversational exchanges to improve their negotiation skills. However the researchers running the experiment forgot to specify that the exchanges had to take place in English, and the bots’ conversations quickly drifted into what looks like gobbledegook as they competed to get the best deal:
Bob: “I can can I I everything else.”
Alice: “Balls have zero to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to.”
Despite the bizarre appearance of these exchanges, they continued to make sense to the bots, who successfully completed some negotiations in this mode. Researchers think they may have effectively created a form of shorthand.
“[AI] Agents will drift off understandable language and invent codewords for themselves,” says Facebook researcher Dhruv Batra. According to other researchers at OpenAI, the phenomenon has been observed before in other multi-agent environments, where it is more efficient for bots to speak to each other in a kind of Morse code.
Facebook’s bots were eventually redirected to speak in English, as the company’s researchers are more interested in having bots that can talk to people. However the episode has shed interesting light on the more niche research area of leading machines to develop their own languages.
Allowing AIs to speak to one another in their own codes and languages could potentially bring benefits, such as improving the interoperability of software, apps and services. However the trade-off would be losing our human understanding of inter-machine communication. As Batra says, “There aren’t any bilingual speakers of AI and human languages.” Would the loss of transparency be worth it? | <urn:uuid:e1fa21e0-d1d1-441a-a61a-b9f7d0f2001e> | {
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Lesson 12 - Exceptions in C# .NET for the second time
We've already mentioned exceptions in our C# .NET course. In today's tutorial, we're going to look at them in further detail.
Determining the exception type
So far we used the
catch block without any parameters. However,
we're able to catch the exact exception that caused the error. We'll insert an
e variable parameter of the Exception type to the
catch block. The Exception class represents an exception
and all exceptions that are inherited from it. It contains the
Message property where the error message is stored. The
ToString() method returns this message with all of the other information about
the exception, e.g. the row number in which it occurred. By the way, this is how
Visual Studio analyzes unhandled exceptions, before providing us with the line
where the error occurred.
Let's try to catch the exception for when we divide by zero, and it print its Message and the ToString() result:
...End of the preview...
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Spring is an exciting time for food lovers. As the days get warmer and longer, and the world around us shifts from gray and bare to green and lush, we eagerly anticipate the opening day of our neighborhood farmers market or CSA (community supported agriculture). For at least half of the year, many of us do our food shopping at our indoor supermarket whose shelves are lined with more than 48,000 different foods and food products. Some of these foods are organic or local, many are conventionally grown and have traveled thousands of miles from farm to supermarket, and most come in packages with a lengthy list of hard-to-decipher ingredients.
The Joy of Farmers Markets
But the farmers market stands in stark contrast to the supermarket. Farmers markets transport us to an outdoor haven filled with an abundance of fresh, local, seasonal food, and an opportunity to connect with our food on a much more personal level. As we navigate the market, we discover which foods are native to our region and what foods we can produce easily in the climate we live. We also gain appreciation for, and enjoy food that is in season, despite the average supermarket telling us we can enjoy almost any fruit or vegetable year-round. And lastly, farmers markets offer a unique opportunity to meet and greet the hard-working farmers who are growing food for our families.
The demand for local food has never been greater, and the growth of farmers markets across the United States has been rapid over the last decade. In the mid-nineties, there were under 2000 farmers markets operating in the United States. Today, that number has more than tripled with over 6000 markets currently operating in addition to nearly 1000 winter markets, many of which can be found throughout cold regions of the nation. Not only do more people want to know the origins of what they eat, but they are realizing the positive impact of buying local food for our health, the planet, and the economy.
Local Foods are Superfoods
Asparagus and garlic scapes in the spring, freshly picked berries and tomatoes in the summer, and an abundance of greens grown from spring until fall are bursting with flavor and nutrition. A typical dinner travels 1700 miles from farm to plate, not only wasting valuable resources, but also resulting in nutrient losses in the food itself. On the other hand, fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmers market are picked at the peak of ripeness and travel only a short distance to the market where they are often sold the same day. More and more farmers are also becoming either certified organic or practicing organic farming methods—another benefit for our bodies and the planet—which means that you now have access to food that is both organic and local. And while you are boosting your health and that of the planet, buying directly from the farmer also helps support the local economy. In fact, farmers receive about 95 percent of what you pay for produce at the farmers market compared to only about 15 percent of what you would pay for the same local produce at your supermarket. Local foods are truly the best superfoods for our bodies and the planet. Buying local food benefits everyone.
Navigating the Market
If you decide that this is the year you will take advantage of the wonderful benefits of eating local, you may wonder where to start. Finding a local farm or market to buy your fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers is simple, and the following tips will help get you started:
1. Find a local market near you: Go to LocalHarvest.org and search for local markets by geographic region. You can also search Local Harvest for individual farms, locally owned grocery stores and co-ops, and restaurants that serve dishes produced from locally-sourced and sustainable ingredients. Plan to visit at least one or possibly two markets each week to stock up on the freshest plant-based ingredients. As you frequent the markets more often, you will find yourself making fewer trips to the supermarket, perhaps only monthly, to stock up on other staples like whole grains, nuts, seeds, and beans.
2. Join a CSA: Community supported agriculture is also known as “subscription farming.” Members support their local farmers by buying a subscription to a farm or collective of farms for a growing season. Members typically receive a weekly box or “share” of locally grown vegetables and/or fruits produced from the farm. You can search LocalHarvest.org to search for a CSA in your area. Also ask friends, neighbors, and coworkers for recommendations.
3. Recruit friends. Increase support for your local farmers market by asking friends to join you on your weekly market trips. If you are thinking about joining a CSA, consider splitting a share with a friend—to save money and waste—by dividing up the bounty of the season each week.
4. Be prepared. When shopping at a farmers market, be sure to bring your own reusable bags or baskets as well as cash. Most farmers accept cash only, and many markets now accept food stamps.
5. Do a walk through. When you arrive at the market, complete a walk-through before making any purchases. This will give you an opportunity to see what foods are available, compare prices, and even taste a few samples before buying.
6. Ask questions. Farmers are passionate about the food they produce. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about farming practices, how to prepare a certain fruit or vegetable, or if you simply don’t know what a food is or need a recipe idea. Farmers are more than eager to share information with their buyers. Many are also eager to open their farms to the public so they can see first-hand how food is grown.
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ne of the most difficult political problems independent African governments have faced since independence is that of developing national unity among people who are divided along ethnic, language and religious lines. In Kenya, like other African countries, the favoured group is often the ethnic or language group of the political elite. This has led to increasing ethnic tensions as those groups not favoured struggle to demand what they consider to be their fair share of government support.
In Kenya, critical accusations of irregularities during the December 2007 elections sparked widespread violence. The final estimate was over 1,500 people killed and as many as 800,000 displaced from their homes: the so-called IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons). These events took most Kenyans and the international community by surprise, not least because in the West the country has always been held up as a model of political stability in an increasingly unpredictable region. Yet this was not the first time that violence and displacement along 'tribal' lines has occurred in Kenya after elections and was a common feature of elections in the 1990s. However, the long-standing pattern of oversimplifying these conflicts to 'tribe' is particularly persistent in diverting attention from a structural analysis.
The underlying tension is linked to unresolved land grievances in the context of poor governance and socio-economic insecurity. This is not new and goes back to the uneven regional development during the colonial and post-colonial periods. That is why any attempt to return, relocate or initiate local integration processes, promoted as sustainable solutions for the IDPs and other victims, will not succeed in the absence of serious attempts to resolve land-related grievances. Long term solutions and programmes of resettlement will only be sustainable when they take into account the unresolved grievances of all parties of the current crisis as well as of those who were forced to move in earlier waves of displacement. However, key political and social issues that underpin the land question are complex in contemporary Kenya.
Kenya's social, political and economic problems can be attributed to three key factors; lack of preparation for independence on the part of Britain, corrupt successive governments that have diverted wealth from the public coffers into the ruling elite's own accounts, and a persistent tribalist/collectivist mindset within the populace that has frequently been evoked to bring about violent tensions.
An alien form of land tenure was introduced in the British East Africa Protectorate (as Kenya was initially named) from the time it was decided that the East Africa Protectorate would become a settlement colony. This land tenure system was similar to that existing in Britain and was introduced to motivate foreigners to settle in the colony and invest their financial resources without restraint. Settler land tenure was individual tenure and settler agriculture oriented towards cash crops, being on the most productive land. The indigenous land tenure system continued on the land not taken over by the British and was in the form of family tenure with indigenous agriculture being for subsistence. After independence, the majority of settler land was purchased by the government, which continued this practice of selling it for individual ownership and a significant proportion of this land was bought up by the new elites, those with the economic and political muscle and often associated with the Kenyatta dynasty. Individualised land tenure has, by its nature, created more people without rights to land and generated disputes over historical ownership.
The strains on the political system in the early years of independence provided an environment in which corruption became widely practised. Government officials, often frustrated by their inability to be effective, used their position to benefit themselves and members of their family. Corruption within Kenya and corrupting influences from without have impacted on the very social and economic foundation of Kenya.
A group of concerned Kenyans of multi-ethnic, non-partisan and professional backgrounds, united by a concern about the future of the country, was formed with the aim of helping to shift the Kenyan mindset away from a hard-line, narrow, political position based on tribal allegiances, to a more progressive and holistic one: 'Kenyan first and tribe second'. Citizen's Pathway has already initiated cultural visits to different tribal areas as a first step towards reconciliation and understanding.
In May 2008 the Lands Minister, Mr James Orengo, announced that all land leases granted before May 1909 long before Kenya became a British colony, would be cancelled and that the government would do an audit of all the land it owns before issuing new letters of allotment. Beginning to address this historical injustice is a welcome first step, which must proceed cautiously so as not to trigger an economic crisis.
There are still about 2,000 IDPs and the government seems to be failing in its attempt to encourage them to return to their respective areas. People fear continued political uncertainty and insecurity, not only about their immediate physical wellbeing, but also about the wider issues to do with rights, community reconciliation and sustainable access to the means of subsistence. Citizens Pathway is demonstrating that authentic dialogue among communities and negotiated settlements are possible. | <urn:uuid:9aeb5521-516a-4df6-986d-9eb8a1f131d7> | {
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New approach makes it easier to find novel drugs
Scientists have created a new way of screening compounds that is more sensitive than existing methods, opening up the possibility of finding new drugs for many diseases.
The researchers, from the Francis Crick Institute and University of Manchester, hope that their new technique will help to speed up drug development and find new uses for existing drugs and other compounds present in pharmaceutical libraries. Their findings are published in Nature Communications.
Discovering drugs from scratch is a lengthy and often unsuccessful process, so instead, pharmaceutical companies and academic laboratories carry out tests or 'screens' on thousands of existing compounds to see if any of them have an effect on a known target. Hits from these screens can be tested further to see if they could be used in the clinic.
Although incredibly useful for testing huge numbers of compounds against drug targets, traditional screening methods have a number of limitations. For instance, they are not very good at identifying compounds that only work when regulatory compounds are present. In the latest study the team developed a new way to screen for 'allosteric' compounds, which regulate the activity of enzymes.
Enzymes are large molecules that bind to smaller molecules, 'substrates', and convert them into useful products that cells need to survive. In cells and organisms, enzymes work within metabolic pathways, which are essential for the synthesis and decomposition of important metabolites and to generate energy.
However, these metabolic pathways need to supply exactly the right amount of products at a given time, so, sometimes, they need to be temporarily switched on or off depending on the amount of product that has been made. Allosteric compounds regulate enzyme activity by causing enzymes to bind to their substrates either more or less efficiently, or by slowing down or speeding up the rate of the reaction. Compounds that increase efficiency are known as allosteric activators, while those that reduce it are known as allosteric inhibitors.
When several allosteric compounds are present, they can either compete so that one has a dominant effect on enzyme activity or complement each other to create a larger effect. Traditional screening methods mix an individual compound with an enzyme and its substrates, so would not reveal effects that involve more than one allosteric compound. The new method, called CoSPI (compound screening in the presence of an inhibitor), involves screening enzymes and their substrates in the presence of a known allosteric inhibitor to see if any of the test compounds interacts with the inhibitor.
"Allosteric enzymes have important functions in all living things from bacteria to humans, and now we have an improved way of finding new drugs that could work by targeting them," says Luiz Carvalho, Group leader at the Francis Crick Institute.
To show the potential of CoSPI, the team took an enzyme present in tuberculosis (TB) bacteria that speeds up the first step in histidine synthesis- an amino acid essential for humans – and tested compounds on it in the presence of its substrates and a known allosteric inhibitor. They discovered an allosteric compound that successfully competes with the inhibitor, drastically increasing enzyme activity. Ultimately, compounds like this allosteric activator stop proper regulation of metabolic pathways, draining energy from bacteria until they die. Because humans don't have this enzyme – we get histidine from our diet – it is possible that these compounds could be used to kill TB bacteria without harming human cells, making it a possible new drug for TB and other types of bacterial infection.
"Our method allows us to find out early on how compounds interact to change enzyme activity," says Cesira de Chiara, researcher at the Francis Crick Institute. "We can find out more information in fewer experiments, which helps accelerate the drug discovery process."
The paper 'Uncoupling conformational states from activity in an allosteric enzyme' is published in Nature Communications.
Related Journal Article | <urn:uuid:d542cc70-41b4-4759-8c0e-334777677ae7> | {
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The Gendarmerie and the national police shared responsibility for internal security and sometimes played an oppressive role in the daily lives of citizens. Members of the Presidential Guard were accountable to virtually no one except the President. There was no effective civilian control of the security forces, whose members committed serious human rights abuses; however, there were fewer reported abuses than in previous years.
Approximately 85 percent of the country's population of 7.6 million were engaged in subsistence agriculture. More than 80 percent of export earnings came from mining, particularly bauxite, gold, and diamonds. Economic growth lagged in recent years following a period of modest growth between 1996 and 1999, which was attributable in part to substantial assistance from international financial institutions and bilateral donors. Since 1999 government collaboration with donors has been complicated by additional defense spending, widespread corruption, particularly at the port and customs offices, and limited transparency in the Government, which has blocked efforts at economic and fiscal reform.
The Government's human rights record remained poor; although there were improvements in several areas, serious problems remained. The Government's tight control of the electoral process, its refusal to create an independent electoral oversight mechanism, and its prohibition of nongovernmental broadcast media, effectively restricted citizens' right to change their government. There were three unlawful killings by security forces during the year, and there were no reports of disappearances. Civilian and military security forces beat and otherwise abused civilians. Members of the security forces committed abuses, often with impunity. Prison conditions were inhumane and life threatening. Arbitrary arrest and prolonged pretrial detention were problems. The Government maintained the executive branch's influence over the judicial system and the electoral process, and infringed on citizens' privacy rights. The Government restricted freedom of speech and of the press, although the private press criticized the Government freely. The Government restricted freedom of assembly and association and infringed on freedom of movement. Violence and societal discrimination against women, prostitution of young girls, female genital mutilation (FGM), ethnic discrimination and interethnic violence, child labor, and reports of trafficking of women and children continued.
Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of crossborder attacks by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels from Sierra Leone and armed attackers from Liberia.
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
In past years, security forces killed numerous persons, and there were reports of deaths in custody due to torture and abuse. There were three confirmed reports of security forces killing persons during the year. In July a military patrol shot a young man following a dispute; there were no reports of any arrests. In August a drunken gendarme shot and killed a young man in Conakry. The gendarme was arrested and jailed the following day, after the young man's family and neighbors protested. Gendarme officials also paid compensation to the family. In November army troops beat to death an individual in Kouroussa; there were no reports of any arrests.
There were no reports of student killings during the year. No action has been taken, nor is any likely to be, against the bodyguards of the prefect of Koundara who killed and injured students during the November 2001 protests.
Unlike in the previous year, there were no reported deaths in custody due to inhumane prison conditions and inadequate medical treatment (see Section 1.c.). No action was taken against prison officials who mistreated refugees in 2001. Guinean prisoners, acting on orders from prison officials, reportedly also killed a number of Sierra Leonean refugees in 2001.
No action was taken, nor is any likely to be, against the security forces in the following 2000 cases: The killing of six persons in Conakry in November and the case of a prisoner allegedly tortured to death. There was no investigation, nor is there likely to be, into the clashes between security forces, ruling party militants, and opposition party supporters during the 2000 municipal elections, which resulted in the deaths of eight persons and injuries to several others.
Between January and April 2001, the army crossed into northern Sierra Leone on a number of occasions in pursuit of RUF rebels and other attackers from Sierra Leone and Liberia. During these actions, security forces killed a number of civilians and destroyed numerous houses and other structures in RUF-occupied villages; however, no statistics were available. Since the May 2001 shelling of a group of RUF rebels at a disarmament site, which killed at least one civilian, there have been no reports of the Guinean military mounting crossborder operations into Sierra Leone or Liberia.
Government authorities continued to block efforts by human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to investigate political killings that took place in the 1970s under then-President Sekou Toure. Following visits during 2001 to Camp Boiro, where political prisoners were held during the Sekou Toure regime, human rights groups and NGOs suggested that an intentional lack of maintenance and upkeep was destroying evidence of the camp's former use. During 2001 the Government did not permit survivors of Camp Boiro to receive funds intended to transform the camp into a memorial; the group did not apply for funds during the year.
There were no crossborder attacks by RUF rebels or other attackers from Sierra Leone and Liberia during the year and no action was taken against those responsible for attacks in previous years.
Many victims of crime feared that they might never receive justice because of judicial corruption and at times resorted to exacting their own form of retribution through vigilante violence. Some suspected criminals, notably thieves and rapists, were beaten to death or burned by their victims or others after being soaked with a flammable liquid. In August 2001, two criminals reportedly were killed; there were no reports of any punishment for those who killed criminals.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. There also were no reports that refugees, Sierra Leonean citizens, or RUF rebels were abducted during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The Penal Code and the Constitution prohibit torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; however, both civilian and military security forces beat and otherwise abused civilians. There also were reports that security forces used torture and beatings to extract confessions and employed other forms of brutality, including holding prisoners incommunicado without charges under inhumane conditions. There were no reported judicial proceedings against officers suspected of committing abuses. Many citizens viewed the security forces as corrupt, ineffective, and even dangerous. Police ignored legal procedures and extorted money from citizens at roadblocks (see Section 2.d.).
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that, during the screening of Liberian refugees entering the country during July and August, young male refugees were stripped and searched for tattoos, scarification, or other signs of connection with dissident Guinean or RUF forces. Some of these young men were reported to have been detained in local jails in the Yomou area for up to 1 week, and there were unconfirmed reports that some were beaten and tortured. In June 2001, an NGO reported that army troops amputated the limbs of their RUF prisoners; however, there were no witnesses to confirm these reports, which the Government denied.
There continued to be reports of sexual assaults on refugees (see Section 2.d.). HRW reported that over a period of 3 days in August, soldiers gang raped three or four refugee women in the town of Yomou. The soldiers subsequently were arrested and imprisoned by their commanding officer. There also were reports that refugees were beaten, stripped, and searched at roadblocks while in detention (see Section 1.d.).
The Organisation Guinienne de Defense des Droits de L'Homme et du Cityoyen (OGDH) reported that in the spring in the town of Mandiana, a gendarme acting on his own tortured a citizen to extract information about a rifle stolen from the gendarme. The gendarme was arrested and imprisoned.
No action was taken against trainees responsible for the November 2001 beating of students in Kissidougo or the security forces who in November and December 2001 forcibly dispersed demonstrations and beat students.
No action was taken, nor is any likely to be, in the following cases from 2000: Security forces who shot, beat, and raped civilians, and pillaged personal property during the June elections; the soldiers, police, and civilian militia groups who detained, beat, and raped refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia in September; and the case of defendants in the Alpha Conde trial who reported that they were tortured, starved, and neglected during their detention.
Prison conditions were inhumane and life threatening. While officials provide a basic diet for prisoners, most inmates relied on supplemental assistance from families or friends to maintain their health. Guards often demanded bribes in exchange for allowing delivery of food to those incarcerated. Standards of sanitation remained poor, which have resulted in several dozen deaths due to malnutrition and disease in previous years; there were no confirmed reports of deaths during the year (see Section 1.a.). Some prisoners have reported sleeping on their knees because their cells were so small. Prisoners reported threats, beatings, and harassment by guards, and some reported being denied food and a place to lie down. The independent press, a local human rights organization, and a former prisoner reported in previous years that inmates routinely were beaten and subjected to other forms of abuse at the prison in Koundara in the north.
The OGDH determined that prisoners in at least one major prison in N'Zerekore had suffered more from neglect and lack of resources than from mistreatment. According to the OGDH, the N'Zerekore prison was a converted grain warehouse with no electricity or running water. Built in 1932 for 70 prisoners, it housed 120 in 2001. Although the Minister of Justice has criticized inhumane prison conditions during televised visits to prison facilities in 2001, no concrete action was taken to improve conditions by year's end.
There were credible reports from prisoners that female inmates were subject to harassment and sexual assault by guards. Men and women were housed separately, but juveniles generally were housed with adults. Pretrial detainees were not separated from convicted prisoners, and the prison system often was unable to track pretrial detainees after arrest. At times detainees remained in prison for up to 2 years without trial. Although the Government claimed that it did not have political prisoners, prisoners of political importance usually were held in the main prison in Conakry with the general prison population; however, they were housed in separate cells.
The Government permitted prison visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other local humanitarian and religious organizations, which offered medical care and food for those in severe need. A former prisoner reported that without this assistance, those who did not have families or friends would have starved to death.
The ICRC reported that it had been allowed regular access to all 33 official detention facilities in the country during the year due to a signed agreement with the Government. According to the ICRC, authorities were cooperative, and the ICRC has been encouraged by the response of the prison and security authorities to ICRC initiatives in improving prison facilities in Conakry and Kankan.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Security forces regularly used arbitrary arrest and detention, despite procedural provisions in the Penal Code designed to safeguard detainees. In practice administrative controls over the police were ineffective, and security forces rarely followed the Penal Code. The Code of Penal Procedure permits only the Gendarmerie to make arrests, but the army, the Presidential Guard (Red Berets), and the state police often detained persons as well.
The Penal Code requires that the Government issue a warrant before an arrest can be made and that detainees be charged before a magistrate within 72 hours; however, many detainees were incarcerated for longer periods before being charged. After being charged, the accused may be held until the conclusion of the case, including a period of appeal. The Constitution proscribes incommunicado detention; however, at times it occurred in practice. The law provides for access by attorneys to their clients, but authorities frequently did not respect this provision. Release on bail was at the discretion of the magistrate who had jurisdiction.
The Penal Code strictly forbids the detention of civilians at military camps; however, this provision largely was ignored.
There were no reports of politically motivated arrests prior to the June legislative elections; however, the OGDH reported that an undetermined number of opposition members were arrested in Dalaba on election day and later were released after paying a $50 fine (100,000 FG francs).
In September police detained three Union of Republican Forces (UFR) officials at their headquarters on suspicion of conspiracy against the Government. The three officials were released after a search of the building.
Authorities arrested journalists (see Section 2.a.).
Security forces frequently detained persons at roadblocks and extorted money from them (see Section 2.d.). The army and the Gendarmerie continued to detain refugees during the year. In September the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that 89 of the total refugee population of 180,000 were in detention throughout the country. In June 2001, authorities arrested 52 persons reportedly after refugees in the Telikoro camp attacked a group of gendarmes inside the camp. The protection office of the UNHCR reported that 33 persons remained in custody in the Kissidougou prison after being tried and convicted on a variety of charges. HRW confirmed that refugees died during the year while in detention because of poor prison conditions and abuse (see Sections 1.a., 1.c., and 2.d.).
There was no further information, nor is there likely to be, on the following incidents from 2000: The whereabouts of 3 of 5 refugees detained at the Guekedou refugee camp and the detention by the police of approximately 30 students who were protesting poor conditions in schools.
Bar Association attorneys, the independent press, and government sources described in past years a parallel and covert system of justice run by unidentified uniformed personnel who conducted midnight arrests, detained suspects, and used torture in secret prisons to obtain confessions before transferring detainees to prosecutors (see Section 1.c.). Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of specific incidents involving a parallel justice system. In previous years, a variety of witnesses, including former prisoners and those accused in the coup-plotting trial of Alpha Conde, had reported that the Government imprisoned for political reasons persons considered a threat to state security at the Kassa prison, allegedly located on an island off Conakry. The Government denied the existence of the Kassa Island prison and stated that prisoners identified as political detainees have been incarcerated for criminal acts and were housed in other prisons. There have been no new reports of the existence of the Kassa facility since 2000.
The Government does not practice forced exile, although several soldiers who fled the country in 1996 after a mutiny attempt remained in self-imposed exile, according to their families. There were credible reports that these soldiers were engaged in the armed attacks on the country in conjunction with RUF rebels from Sierra Leone and Liberian forces in 2001 and 2000 (see Section 1.a.).
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for the judiciary's independence; however, judicial authorities routinely deferred to executive authorities in politically sensitive cases. Magistrates were civil servants with no assurance of tenure. Because of corruption and nepotism in the judiciary, relatives of influential members of the Government often were, in effect, above the law. Judges often did not act independently, and their verdicts were subject to outside interference. Influential persons often intervened on behalf of their relatives to affect the disposition of a case.
The judiciary includes courts of first instance, the two Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court, which is the court of final appeal. A military tribunal prepares and adjudicates charges against accused military personnel, to whom the Penal Code does not apply. Civilians were not subject to military tribunals. The Government announced in 1996 the creation of a Discipline Council for dealing with civil servants who abuse their positions as government employees; however, the Council still had not prosecuted any cases by year's end.
The judicial system was plagued by numerous problems, including a shortage of qualified lawyers and magistrates and an outdated and restrictive penal code. The Penal Code provides for the presumption of innocence of accused persons, the independence of judges, the equality of citizens before the law, the right of the accused to counsel, and the right to appeal a judicial decision. Although in principle the Government was responsible for funding legal defense costs in serious criminal cases, in practice it rarely disbursed funds for this purpose. The attorney for the defense frequently received no payment. In 2000 the Minister of Justice introduced a system for tracking cases of pretrial detainees to follow up on those that did not reach the courts in a timely manner; however, a lack of information technology and training rendered the system ineffective. No improvements were made to this system during the year.
In January the Minister of Justice attempted to dissolve the Bar Association and arrest its president for not following the Ministry's recommendations. Negative publicity and pressure from President Conte forced the Minister to reverse his position.
The State Security Court is comprised of magistrates directly appointed by the President, and the verdict is open only to an appeal on a point of law, not for the reexamination of evidence. In 2000 the State Security Court tried presidential candidate Alpha Conde and his codefendants.
Alpha Conde was arrested with three others in 1998 and charged with the following: Illegal use of military force; undermining the authority of the state and the integrity of the national territory; use of violence against a state security officer; wrongful possession and transfer of foreign currency; and an illegal attempt to cross the border. In September 2000, Conde was found guilty and was sentenced to 5 years in prison in a flawed trial. Most of Conde's codefendants were found innocent and released, while all of the others were sentenced to time served. In May 2001, President Conte pardoned Conde. Conte previously was reported to have restored all of Conde's political and civil rights; however, Conde's right to vote and run for political office in the country have not been restored.
Many citizens wary of judicial corruption preferred to rely on traditional systems of justice at the village or urban neighborhood level. Litigants presented their civil cases before a village chief, a neighborhood leader, or a council of wise men. The dividing line between the formal and informal justice systems was vague, and authorities may refer a case from the formal to the traditional system to ensure compliance by all parties. Similarly if a case cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties in the traditional system, it may be referred to the formal system for adjudication. The traditional system discriminated against women in that evidence given by women carries less weight, in accordance with Islamic precepts and customary law (see Section 5).
There were no claims during the year that the Government held political prisoners. According to the Rally of the Guinean People party (RPG), approximately 20 party members were detained during 2001 by the prefecture authorities in Beyla, Kerouane, and Macenta on unspecified charges. All 20 were released in 2001.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution provides for the inviolability of the home, and judicial search warrants are required by law; however, police and paramilitary police often ignored legal procedures in the pursuit of criminals. Police and the military frequently detained persons at nighttime roadblocks for purposes of security but also to extort money or goods.
Security officials were believed widely to monitor the mail. Local businesses, including foreign companies, often complained of intimidation and harassment by public officials and authorities.
During the year, authorities relocated thousands of refugees from border areas to camps in the country's interior; the relocation was voluntary (see Section 2.d.).
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of expression, subject to certain limitations; however, despite government statements in support of free speech and a free press, the Government broadly restricted these rights. The Government prohibited talk or chants in public that it considered seditious, established defamation and slander as criminal offenses, and prohibited communications that insulted the President; incited violence, discrimination, or hatred; or disturbed the public peace. Sanctions included fines, revocation of press cards, imprisonment, and banishment.
In December a journalist was arrested and tried in Conakry for the defamation of a public official. The journalist was sentenced to 1-year imprisonment but subsequently was pardoned by President Conte.
In July 2001, police in Conakry closed the offices of the UFR, whose leader vocally opposed the Government's campaign to extend the President's term in office. The office reopened during 2001 and the UFR continued to function as an opponent of the administration.
The Government published an official newspaper, the daily Horoya, and operated the official television and radio (ORTG) stations. The state-owned media provided extensive and favorable coverage of the Government and ruling party, while providing little coverage of opposition party activities. For example, the Government and the PUP used the state-owned media to campaign for constitutional changes to allow a third term for President Conte (see Section 3). Journalists for the official press practiced self-censorship and avoided reporting on politically controversial issues. However, some younger broadcast journalists for the official press reported critically about the Government.
There was a vocal private press that criticized the President and the Government. For example, the weekly satirical newspaper Le Lynx published front-page cartoons lampooning the President and senior government officials. Seven private newspapers (Le Lynx, La Lance, L'Oeil, Le Democrat, L'Independant, La Nouvelle Tribune, and L'Observateur) were published weekly in Conakry, and up to 10 other publications appeared sporadically, although technical difficulties and high operating impeded regular publication. Le Lynx and La Lance, under the same management, had Internet web sites. One newspaper, L'Espoir, was affiliated with the governing political party, and several other newspapers were affiliated with opposition parties. Other newspapers offered news and criticism of both the Government and the opposition. However, because the literacy rate was only approximately 35 percent of the total population and the price of newspapers was beyond the reach of the average citizen, print media had a limited audience. Despite the limited reach of the print media, the Government still occasionally criticized and harassed print journalists.
In December the Government suspended three newspapers--Croisade, Diplomate, and Defi--for unspecified reasons.
The government-controlled press promoted ruling party candidates during the June legislative elections. Opposition parties were allowed 5 minutes on government television and radio per party per night during the final month leading up to the election.
Political tracts occasionally circulated in Conakry and other urban areas. Some tracts supported the Government, while others specifically criticized senior officials. Foreign publications, some of which criticized the Government, often were available.
In July an army officer detained the editor of the newspaper L'Aurore and then released him the following day.
The trial of the journalist arrested in July 2000 for publishing an article about the electric company Sogel still was pending at year's end, although he had been released.
The Government owned and operated all domestic broadcast media including radio, which was the most important source of information for the public. Although the law permits private electronic media, the Government never has approved license requests for private radio and television stations, on the grounds of national security and stability. Many citizens listened regularly to foreign-origin shortwave radio. The Government did not restrict access to or distribution of foreign television programming via satellite or cable; although relatively few citizens could afford these services.
The Government did not restrict access to the Internet. At year's end, there were four domestic service providers, three private and one affiliated with SOTELGUI, the joint venture telephone company (owned by the Government and a Malaysian telecommunications firm), which held a monopoly on international telephone lines. Storefront operations offering Internet access were common throughout downtown Conakry; however, a lack of reliable telephone lines restricted home access, even for the few who could afford it.
The Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research exercised limited control over academic freedom through its influence on faculty hiring and control over the curriculum. In general teachers were not subject to classroom censorship.
Police broke up student protests in Dubreka, Fria, Boke, Kamsar, Kindia, and Kankan during the year. In all of these cases, students had been protesting for better classroom conditions.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The law restricts freedom of assembly, and the Government exercises its power to restrict unwanted political activity. The Penal Code bans any meeting that has an ethnic or racial character or any gathering "whose nature threatens national unity." The Government requires 72-hour advance notification of public gatherings, otherwise the events are considered illegal.
The Government banned all street marches except funerals. The law permits local authorities to cancel a demonstration or meeting if they believed that it posed a threat to public order. They could hold event organizers criminally liable if violence or destruction of property ensued. In December 2000, the Governor of Conakry announced that written permission from his office was required for all public meetings of all associations, NGOs, groups, cooperatives, and political parties. Police and gendarmes dispersed several unauthorized demonstrations during the year, including several student protests and protests against price increases in Kamsar and Conakry (see Section 2.a.).
No action was taken against security forces who forcibly dispersed demonstrators in 2001.
No action was taken against security forces who killed six persons, including a university professor, who were meeting to plan a demonstration against the Government's policy in the forest region in late 2000.
The law provides for freedom of association; however, the Government restricted this right in practice. The Government imposed cumbersome requirements to obtain official recognition for public social, cultural, religious, or political associations. Most of the restrictions focused on political associations as opposed to nonpolitical associations. For example, political parties had to provide information on their founding members and produce internal statutes and political platforms consistent with the Constitution before the Government recognized them.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and permits religious communities to govern themselves without state interference, and the Government generally respected these rights in practice.
The government-sponsored National Islamic League (NIL) represented the country's Sunni Muslim majority, which comprised 85 percent of the population. The Government requires that all recognized Christian churches join the Association of Churches and Missions in order to benefit from certain government privileges, such as tax exemptions and energy subsidies. Missionary groups were required to make a declaration of their aims and activities to the Ministry of Interior or to the NIL.
Government support of the powerful, semi-official NIL led some non-Muslims to complain that the Government uses its influence to favor Muslims over non-Muslims, although non-Muslims were represented in the Cabinet, administrative bureaucracy, and the armed forces. The Government refrained from appointing non-Muslims to important administrative positions in certain parts of the country, in deference to the particularly strong social dominance of Islam in these regions.
Relations among the various religions generally were amicable; however, in some parts of the country, Islam's dominance was such that there was strong social pressure that discouraged non-Muslims from practicing their religion openly.
For a more detailed discussion see the 2002 International Religious Freedom Report.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to travel freely within the country and to change their place of residence and work; however, authorities at times infringed on these rights. The Government requires all citizens to carry national identification cards, which they must present on demand at security checkpoints. Police and security forces frequently detained persons, particularly late at night, at military roadblocks and extorted money from them. The private press and local NGOs reported that travelers often were pressured to pay bribes to allow passage. Government officials stated that a few rogue soldiers were corrupt; however, abuse at official checkpoints was systemic. Unlike in the previous year, the Government did not require armed escorts in the forest region due to the presence of Liberian dissidents in the border area.
The border with Liberia remained closed officially during the year; however, the Government continued to accept refugees. HRW reported that at some border crossings security forces were turning away young Liberian men who were suspected of being combatants in the conflict in northern Liberia. There also were confirmed reports that government soldiers at some border crossing points were cooperating with the Liberian dissident movement Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to screen refugees for forced recruitment (see Section 1.f.).
The border with Sierra Leone remained officially closed during the year. Local commercial and personal travel between the countries was permitted, and Sierra Leonean refugees residing in the country officially were allowed to return to Sierra Leone both on their own and under the auspices of UNHCR.
According to the Government, as of early in the year, there were 82,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) remaining in the country as a result of the 2000 and 2001 border attacks by RUF rebels from Sierra Leone and by Liberian forces.
The law provides for the granting of asylum and refugee status in accordance with the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The Government cooperated with the UNHCR, the World Food Program, other humanitarian organizations, and donor countries to assist refugees. The Government provides first asylum in accordance with U.N. and Organization of African Unity conventions. The UNHCR stated that as of September more than 150,000 Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees resided in the country. Of these refugees, 92,546 (50,895 Liberians and 41,641 Sierra Leoneans) were under UNHCR protection in camps, with the remainder living in Conakry or villages and towns in the forest region. As of July 17, 56,390 Sierra Leoneans had repatriated voluntarily since 2001.
Operations to move Liberian refugees away from the border began in August 2001 but were halted in July due to increasing arrivals of new Liberian refugees.
In the past, the Government generally was hospitable toward refugees; however, as crossborder raids by RUF rebels from Sierra Leone and by Liberian forces intensified in 2000 and 2001, the Government increasingly became less tolerant toward refugees. Unlike in the previous year, there were neither border crossings by the army into northern Sierra Leone nor by RUF rebels from Sierra Leone and Liberian forces into the country during the year.
There were some reports that refugees were forced to pay bribes to get past many of the checkpoints. Security forces continued to arrest suspected rebels at the border as they tried to enter the country. Security forces, searching for tattoos and other marks identifying rebels, searched and stripped refugees in public during the year (see Sections 1.c. and 1.d.).
While allegations surfaced during the year that U.N. employees sexually abused or exploited refugees, a subsequent investigation failed to corroborate any of the charges from the initial report. Nonetheless, U.N. officials reportedly took steps to increase security for refugees in the country.
There were reports from NGOs and UNHCR that the LURD forcibly recruited refugees at camps in Guinea. For example, on August 26, members of LURD entered Kouankan refugee camp and attempted to recruit 10 refugees to return to Liberia to fight against the Liberian Government. The LURD members eventually returned to Liberia with two refugees who they claimed were former combatants. Government authorities made no attempt to deny LURD combatants access to the Kouanka refugee camp.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The 1990 Constitution provides for a popularly elected President and National Assembly; however, the ability of citizens to exercise this provision effectively was restricted. The Government's tight control of the electoral process and lack of an independent electoral oversight mechanism called into serious doubt the ability of citizens to change their government peacefully.
From June through November 2001, the Government and ruling party campaigned to amend the Constitution's mandated limit of two 5-year presidential terms. This campaign included the use of government-controlled media and official events in order to create the impression that there was widespread popular support for the amendment. In November 2001, a nationwide referendum was held on constitutional changes to allow the President to run for an unlimited number of terms, and to extend the presidential term from 5 to 7 years. The Government reported 91 percent participation in the referendum, and more than 98 percent of the votes in favor of the changes; however, impartial observers stated that turnout appeared to be no more than 25 percent.
The Government continued to dominate the electoral process. The Government continued to refuse to establish an independent national election commission. The Government retained exclusive control of all registration and election procedures, including the casting and counting of votes. The Government controlled both the 1993 and the 1998 multiparty presidential elections and the multiparty legislative elections in 1995 and June, limiting the opposition to a subordinate role. There were approximately 46 legally recognized political parties; deputies of 5 different parties were represented in the National Assembly elected in June.
According to the Government's tabulation of results, President Conte was elected in 1998 to a second 5-year term, receiving 56 percent of the 2.7 million votes cast. The election was marred by violence and disruption of opposition campaigning before the polling, by civil unrest after the polling, by widespread irregularities that tended to favor the incumbent, and by the arrest and detention of major opposition candidates during the vote-counting process.
Opposition party officials charged that security forces arrested and detained more than 100 opposition pollwatchers on election day, manipulated voting procedures in some areas, and overlooked irregularities in voter registration and in ballot-counting procedures. Members of the armed forces were required to vote on the military installations to which they were posted and were subject to strong pressures to vote for President Conte.
Observers from various organizations, affiliated chiefly with developing countries, issued a statement that found no fault with the casting of ballots on election day; however, observers from European and other credible foreign organizations did not endorse that statement, which was issued before the election results were announced and that did not address registration, campaigning, and the counting of votes.
Legislative elections originally scheduled for 1999 were rescheduled for December 2001; however, they were postponed again due to logistical and timing problems and pressure from the international community. Members of the National Assembly met in April 2001 and conducted normal business; however, some observers have questioned the legality of the session as the members' terms expired in 2000. In June legislative elections were held, and observers judged the results to be questionable due to a lack of transparency and neutrality in the electoral process.
The President continued to hold the power to appoint the governors, prefects, and their deputies to administer regions and subregions respectively. Most of these officials were members of the PUP or of parties allied with it. Local governments generally had limited autonomy. Although they had some financial resources with which to fund local programs, most of their funds were controlled by the central Government.
There were 19 female deputies in the 114-member National Assembly elected on June 30. Three women held seats in the 26-member Cabinet: The Minister of Commerce; the Minister of Tourism; and the Minister of Social Affairs and Promotion of Women. There were few women at senior levels below minister, and there were no women in the senior ranks of the armed forces. Women played a minor role in the leadership of the major political parties.
The Cabinet and armed forces leadership included representatives of all major ethnic groups. However, a disproportionate number of senior military officers were Soussou, the President's ethnic group.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
There were a number of local NGOs primarily interested in human rights problems. Government officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their views; however, some local organizations alleged that government officials tried to intimidate them, and that they often met resistance when trying to investigate abuses or engage in civil education. Various government officials blocked private efforts to memorialize victims of the Sekou Toure regime that ruled the country from independence until 1984. Following a series of crossborder raids by rebels in 2001 and 2000, several NGOs suspended activities due to insecurity and instability in the border region. NGOs resumed operation in the forest region during the year, although most took extra precautions due to the ongoing conflict across the borders in both Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire.
A human rights office within the Ministry of Defense, the Office of International Humanitarian Rights, has conducted more than 100 human rights seminars since 1994 to teach military personnel about human rights recognized by international and regional agreements. Seminars were conducted by military and civilian trainers from the ICRC during the year under the auspices of this human rights office.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Disability, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution states that all persons are equal before the law regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, language, beliefs, political opinions, philosophy, or creed; however, the Government did not enforce these provisions uniformly.
Domestic violence against women was common, although estimates differed as to the extent of the problem. Wife beating is a criminal offense and constitutes grounds for divorce under civil law; however, police rarely intervened in domestic disputes. The social stigma attached to rape prevented most victims from reporting it. Marital rape goes unreported, because most women and men view it as the husband's right. Several local NGOs were working to increase public awareness of the nature of these crimes and to promote increased reporting. The Government did not pursue vigorously criminal investigations of alleged sexual crimes.
FGM was practiced widely in all regions and among all religious and ethnic groups. FGM is illegal under the Penal Code, and senior officials and both the official and private press have spoken against the practice; however, there have been no prosecutions. FGM was performed on girls and women between the ages of 4 and 70, but exact figures on this procedure were difficult to establish. The Coordinating Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting Women's and Children's Health (CPTAFE), a local NGO dedicated to eradicating FGM and ritual scarring, cited a recent decline in the percentage of women and girls subjected to FGM. CPTAFE estimated the figure to be between 65 and 75 percent; however, expert estimates varied between 65 and 90 percent. The lower figure, if accurate, would represent a decline over recent years due to education of the population by women's rights groups about the health risks associated with the practice. However, infibulation, the most dangerous form of FGM, still was performed in the forest region, but less frequently than in previous years. Despite diseases resulting from crude and unsanitary surgical instruments and deaths resulting from the practice, the tradition continued, seriously affecting many women's lives. FGM also increased the risk of HIV infection since unsterilized instruments were shared among participants.
The Government made efforts to educate health workers on the dangers of this procedure, and it supported the CPTAFE's efforts. The CPTAFE reported high rates of infant mortality and maternal mortality due to FGM. In 1997 the Government, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, initiated a 20-year program to eradicate FGM. As a result, government ministers, health officials, and the media have discussed FGM more frequently; however, there were no statistics evaluating the success of the program.
A growing number of men and women opposed FGM. Urban, educated families were opting increasingly to perform only a slight symbolic incision on a girl's genitals rather than the complete procedure. During the year, CPTAFE held large public ceremonies celebrating the "laying down of the excision knife" in which some traditional practitioners of FGM pledged to discontinue the practice; however, most of those who performed FGM opposed its eradication since the practice was lucrative.
There were reports that women were trafficked for the sex trade and illegal labor (see Section 6.f.).
Although the Government made regular statements in the media against sexual harassment, women working in the formal sector in urban areas complained of frequent sexual harassment.
The Constitution provides for equal treatment of men and women, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Women's Promotion worked to advance such equality; however, women faced discrimination throughout society. Women faced discrimination particularly in rural areas where opportunities were limited by custom and the demands of childrearing and subsistence farming. Women were not denied access to land, credit, or businesses, but inheritance laws favored male heirs over females. Government officials acknowledged that polygyny was a common practice. Divorce laws generally tended to favor men in awarding custody and dividing communal assets. Legal evidence given by women carried less weight than testimony by men (see Section 1.e.). The Government affirmed the principle of equal pay for equal work; however, in practice women received lower pay than men.
The Constitution provides that the Government has a particular obligation to protect and nurture the nation's youth, and the Government allocated a significant percentage of the budget to primary education; however, the Government did not spend the allocated funds. A Minister of Youth was charged by the President with defending women's and children's rights, and a permanent committee dedicated to defending the rights of the child, with members chosen from different ministries, NGOs, and other sectors, was established in 2000.
The Government provided free, compulsory primary school education for 6 years; however, enrollment rates were low due to school fees and lax enforcement of laws mandating school attendance. Approximately 51 percent of all eligible students were enrolled in primary school, including 66 percent of eligible boys compared with 37 percent of eligible girls. Girls often were taken out of school and sent to work to help pay for their brothers' education.
FGM was performed commonly on girls (see Section 5, Women).
The legal age for marriage is 21 years for men and 17 years for women; however, underage marriage was a problem. The CPTAFE, in conjunction with the Government, local journalists, and international NGOs, promoted an education campaign to discourage underage marriage. Although such marriages are prohibited by law, parents contract marriages for girls as young as 11 years of age in the forest region.
There were reports that girls were trafficked for prostitution and other labor (see Section 6.f.).
Persons with Disabilities
The Constitution provides that all persons are equal before the law. There are no special constitutional provisions for persons with disabilities. The Government has not mandated accessibility for persons with disabilities, and few persons with disabilities worked, although some developed opportunities in the informal sector in small family-run businesses.
The country's population was ethnically and regionally diverse. No single ethnic group constituted a majority nationwide. The largest ethnic groups were the Puhlar, also called Peuhl or Fulani (approximately 40 percent of the population), the Malinke (approximately 30 percent), and the Soussou (approximately 20 percent). Each group spoke a distinct primary language and was concentrated in a distinct region: The Soussou in lower Guinea; the Puhlar in middle Guinea; and the Malinke in upper Guinea.
While the Constitution and the Penal Code prohibit racial or ethnic discrimination, ethnic identification was strong. Mutual suspicion affected relations across ethnic lines, in and out of the Government. Widespread societal ethnic discrimination by members of all major ethnic groups was evident in private sector hiring patterns, in the ethnic segregation of urban neighborhoods, and in the relatively low levels of interethnic marriage. The proportion of public sector positions occupied by Soussous, particularly at senior levels, was perceived widely as exceeding their share of the national population.
The ruling PUP party, although generally supported by Soussous, has transcended ethnic boundaries more effectively than the major opposition parties, which have readily identifiable ethnic and regional bases; the UNR's main base was the Puhlar, while the RPG's main base was the Malinke. Soussou preeminence in the public sector and Malinke migration into the traditional homelands of smaller ethnic groups in the forest region have been major sources of political tensions that sometimes have erupted into violence.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution provides for the right of employees to form independent labor unions and prohibits discrimination based on union affiliation. The Government generally respected this right in practice. Approximately 160,000 workers were reported as unionized, although inadequate labor statistics make it difficult to estimate the exact percentage of workers in unions. Approximately 52,000 were government workers and thus automatically members of the government union. The rest were engaged in private, mixed, and informal sectors. The largest independent union, Union of Workers of Guinea (USTG), claimed 64,000 members, 18,000 of which were women.
The Labor Code states that all workers, except military and paramilitary personnel, have the right to create and participate in organizations that defend and develop their individual and collective rights as workers. The Labor Code requires elected worker representatives for any enterprise employing 25 or more salaried workers.
There were several trade unions and labor confederations; the National Confederation of Guinean Workers (CNTG) remained the largest confederation. CNTG was an umbrella organization for 16 individual unions of government employees, each of which was affiliated with a government ministry. The CNTG was funded indirectly by the Government, although dissident members sought to increase the Confederation's freedom from government control. Independent unions and confederations have gained popularity, such as the Free Union of Teachers and Researchers of Guinea, the Professional Union Federation for Education, and the National Organization for Free Trade Unions of Guinea.
The Code also prohibits antiunion discrimination. Union delegates represented individual and collective claims and grievances with management. However, at regional and prefecture levels, unionized labor faced strong opposition from government officials. Union officials were selected on the basis of nepotism and patronage; these individuals were not sensitized to the rights of workers, and often viewed unions as an enemy of the Government. As a result, union activities in the interior of the country faced harassment and interference from many governors and prefects. Union activities in Conakry faced less harassment and interference. Individual workers threatened with dismissal or other sanctions had the right to a hearing before management with a union representative present and, if necessary, to take the complaint to the Conakry Labor Court, which convened weekly to hear such cases. In the interior, civil courts heard labor cases.
The Government continued to pay the travel and lodging expenses of CNTG representatives to International Labor Organization (ILO) conferences. Other independent unions had to fund their own attendance at ILO conferences.
Unions affiliated freely with international labor groups such as the ILO.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Under the Labor Code, representative workers' unions or union groups may organize in the workplace and negotiate with employers or employer organizations. The law protects the right to bargain collectively concerning wages and salaries without government interference. Employers established rules and hours of work in consultation with union delegates.
The Labor Code grants salaried workers, including public sector civilian employees, the right to strike 10 days after their representative union makes known its intention to strike. It prohibits strikes in sectors providing "essential services," which includes hospitals, radio and television, army, police, communications, and transport services.
Strikes were sometimes met with intimidation from security forces and, as a result, often did not take place. In September 2001, the Government did not interfere with a weeklong strike called by the Bar Association protesting the threatened arrest of one of its members. The strike ended Following negotiations with government officials. In January the Independent Union of Guinean Teachers and Researchers and the Federation of Professional Educators called a strike, which was settled peacefully after the Government agreed to meet most of the unions' demands.
There were no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Bonded Labor
The Labor Code specifically forbids forced or bonded labor, including by children; however, there were reports that it occurred (see Section 6.f.).
The law prohibits the exploitation of vulnerable persons for unpaid or underpaid labor, which carries a penalty of 6 months to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of approximately $25 to $150 (36,400 to 218,400 GF francs). Submitting a vulnerable or dependent person to inhumane working or living conditions carries a sentence of 1 month to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of approximately $25 to $250 (36,400 to 364,000 GF francs).
The Government did not enforce these provisions of the law in practice.
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment
According to the Labor Code, the minimum age for employment is 16 years. Apprentices may start to work at 14 years of age. Workers and apprentices under the age of 18 were not permitted to work at night, for more than 10 consecutive hours, or on Sundays. The Labor Code also stipulates that the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs must maintain a list of occupations in which women and youth under the age of 18 cannot be employed. In practice enforcement by ministry inspectors was limited to large firms in the modern sector of the economy. Overall approximately 48 percent of children under age 15 were employed, accounting for approximately 20 percent of the total working population and 26 percent of agricultural workers. Child labor in factories was not prevalent because of the low level of manufacturing. Working children were found mostly in the informal sector areas of subsistence farming, and small-scale commerce and mining. Girls as young as age 14 engaged in prostitution (see Section 6.f.).
The Government has spoken out against child labor, but lacked the resources, enforcement mechanism, and the legislative will to combat the problem. As a result, child laborers did not have access to education or health care; they suffered from chronic malnutrition, traumatic stress, and depression.
Many young Muslim children sent to live with a Koranic master for instruction in Arabic, Islam, and the Koran worked for the teacher as payment. Children often were sent from rural areas to Conakry to live with family members while they attended school. However, if the host family was unwilling or unable to pay school fees, the children sold water or shined shoes on the streets, and the host family took the money in exchange for their room and board (see Section 6.f.).
The Government signed and ratified the ILO Convention 182 during the year. The worst forms of child labor were found in the artisanal mining sector where children hauled granite and sand for little or no money.
There were reports that forced and bonded child labor occurred (see Section 6.f.).
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The Labor Code allows the Government to set a minimum hourly wage; however, the Government has not exercised this provision nor does it promote a standard wage. Prevailing wages often were inadequate to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. There also were provisions in the code for overtime and night wages, which were fixed percentages of the regular wage.
The Labor Code mandates that regular work not to exceed 10-hour days or 48-hour weeks, and a period of at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week, usually on Sunday. Every salaried worker has the legal right to an annual paid vacation, accumulated at the rate of at least 2 workdays per month of work. In practice the authorities enforced these rules only in the relatively small modern urban sector.
The Labor Code contains provisions of a general nature regarding occupational safety and health, but the Government has not elaborated a set of practical workplace health and safety standards. Moreover, it has not issued any of the ministerial orders laying out the specific requirements for certain occupations and for certain methods of work that are called for in the Labor Code. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs was responsible for enforcing labor standards, and its inspectors were empowered to suspend work immediately in situations hazardous to health; however, enforcement efforts were sporadic. Labor inspectors acknowledged that they could not cover even Conakry, much less the entire country, with their small staff and meager budget.
Under the Labor Code, workers have the right to refuse to work under unsafe conditions without penalty. Nevertheless, many workers fear retaliation should they refuse to work under unsafe conditions. Employees in high-risk professions, such as night guards, drivers, and police, have protested poor working conditions without result. There were no reports of such protests during the year.
The law applies to all workers in the country, regardless of nationality; however, the law does not define whether it applies to persons working in the country illegally.
f. Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits trafficking in persons and carries a penalty of 5 to 10 years imprisonment and confiscation of any money or property received as a result of trafficking activities; however, some NGOs in the past reported that women and children were trafficked within the country, as well as internationally, for the sex trade and illegal labor. Trafficking in persons from rural areas to urban centers increasingly was recognized as a problem (see Section 6.c.). Accurate statistics are difficult to obtain, because victims do not report the crime for fear for their personal safety.
Several government agencies, particularly the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Promotion of Women and Children, were involved in antitrafficking efforts.
In February 2001, the Children's Protection Division and UNICEF reported that trafficking of children was a problem among the Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugee populations in the prefectures of Guekedou, Macenta, N'Zerekore, and Forecariah; girls were exploited for domestic labor, and boys were exploited as street sellers and agricultural workers. The International Rescue Committee and UNICEF reported that children living in foster families often did not receive adequate food, shelter and clothing, and were compelled to work in the streets, sometimes as prostitutes, for their subsistence.
There were no specific reports of trafficking in persons in the country this year. In July 2001, authorities arrested 51 Nigerians in Conakry for trafficking in persons. The authorities released 33 young girls, who were destined for Europe, to the Nigerian Embassy. The remaining 17 were adult males extradited back to Nigeria to be prosecuted for trafficking in persons.
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While I was preparing to write this article, my mind drifted to one of my college physics classes. During one particular lecture, the professor was explaining that absolute zero was the temperature at which there was absolutely no heat left in an object. Someone in the class asked if anything exists that is actually that cold. The professor explained that scientists had come close to producing absolute zero temperatures, but that actually achieving absolute zero was impossible. The reason that he gave was because there is heat in the mechanism that’s being used to measure the object’s temperature. He went on to explain that one of the fundamental laws of physics is that you can’t measure an object (temperature or otherwise) without effecting the object to at least some small degree.
The reason that I bring that up is because I have noticed lately that there seems to be a rather heated debate on various Web sites as to whether it is more appropriate to run the Windows Performance Monitor locally or remotely. There are good arguments on both sides of the issue, but the reason for the debate has to do with the little physics lesson that I just gave you. The Performance Monitor is designed to measure what’s going on inside of a computer. As the laws of physics dictate, you can not measure your computer’s performance without affecting it to some degree.
Both sides of the local / remote debate agree that the Performance Monitor’s results are skewed. The debate centers not around preventing the skewing, but rather on whether the results are less skewed when you run the Performance Monitor locally or remotely.
Before I Begin
Personally, I think that it would be short sighted for me to tell you that you should always run the Performance Monitor locally, or that you should always run it remotely. The reason why I say this is that the Performance Monitor is a complex tool that can do a lot of different jobs. Rather than me telling you to always run Performance Monitor locally or to always run Performance Monitor remotely, I think that it makes more sense to look at the debate at the task level rather than at the tool level. Of course, the Performance Monitor includes hundreds, if not thousands of counters. There is no way that I can write about all of them. I will therefore focus my attention on some of the more common performance monitoring tasks. The sections below focus on specific aspects of monitoring a system’s performance.
One of the most common Performance Monitoring tasks involves watching the computer’s CPU utilization. As you probably know, Windows sees each application or service as an independent process. Each process is made up of one or more threads. The threads are what the computer’s CPU actually executes.
If you stop and think about it, the Performance Monitor is an application. Like any other application, it must execute threads when it runs. Like it or not, drawing all of those cool graphs consumes some processing power, which makes it look like the CPU is working harder than it really is.
As I said in the beginning though, nobody debates the fact that the Performance Monitor produces skewed results. The question is are the results more accurate when you run the Performance Monitor locally or remotely. Going into this article, I suspected that the results were probably more accurate when you run the Performance Monitor remotely, because you are not consuming CPU cycles by drawing Performance Monitor charts. Rather than just telling you to run the Performance Monitor remotely when measuring CPU utilization though, I decided to put it to the test.
I decided to run the Performance Monitor for one minute and forty seconds against one of my servers. I performed the tests during a period of minimal activity at 10:30 on a Sunday night. Figure A shows the outcome of the test when it was run locally. Figure B shows the outcome of the same test run remotely.
Figure A: This was a CPU utilization test that was run locally
Figure B: This is the outcome when the CPU utilization test was run remotely
Granted, this test isn’t exactly scientific, because to gain truly accurate results, the test would have to be run over a long duration. Over the testing period though, both tests produced roughly the same number of spikes in activity. However, the spikes were a lot lower when the tests were run remotely. As such, the average CPU utilization was also lower. After seeing this, I tend to agree with my prediction that CPU utilization tests are probably more accurate when run remotely.
There are a whole lot of counters that can be used to measure hard disk utilization. I decided to use the %Disk Time counter for this test since it reflects the amount of time that the hard disk actually has to work. Going in my theory was that whether you run the Performance Monitor locally or remotely, probably doesn’t make much difference since the Performance Monitor doesn’t actually save data when you are passively monitoring disk usage.
I tested the hard disk activity in roughly the same way as I tested CPU usage. The tests were performed during a period of minimal activity, late at night. Figure C shows the results when the test was run locally. Figure D shows the results when the test was run remotely.
Figure C: This is the %Disk Time counter when run locally
Figure D: This is the %Disk Time counter when monitored remotely.
In the end, there were a couple of good spikes of disk activity when the test was run remotely, but I don’t think that the spikes were related to the Performance Monitor being run remotely. There was way too much time when the percentage of disk utilization was zero for me to believe that running the test remotely really makes a difference. Of course the only way to be sure would be to run the test over a long duration under controlled conditions.
When testing the system’s memory, I was initially inclined to look at the Pages / Sec counter. This counter monitors the frequency at which memory pages are read from or written to disk. However, the last test showed that there wasn’t much disk activity going on. I therefore decided to monitor the available bytes of memory instead.
Normally, the available bytes should remain fairly constant unless you are running a memory hungry application or you are opening or closing applications. Going in, my expectations were that there would be slightly less memory available when the test is run locally since the Performance Monitor application requires some memory. Figure E shows the test results when the test was run locally, and Figure F shows the results when the test was run remotely.
Figure E: This is the Available Bytes of memory as shown by the Performance Monitor when running locally
Figure F: This is the Available Bytes of memory as shown by the Performance Monitor when running remotely
When I actually ran the tests, the results were exactly what I expected. More memory is available to the system when you run the Performance Monitor remotely.
Network Usage Monitoring
The last test that I decided to perform was to see if there was a difference in the way that Performance Monitor reported network traffic usage based on whether Performance Monitor was being run locally or remotely. Going in, I am assuming that the Performance Monitor will show way more network traffic when run remotely. For the tests, I will be measuring the Network Interface performance object’s Bytes Total/Sec counter. The results are shown in Figures G and H.
Figure G: This is the server’s total volume of network traffic as reported with the Performance Monitor running locally
Figure H: This is the server’s total volume of network traffic as reported with the Performance Monitor running remotely
If you look at the graphs shown in Figures G and H, it would at first appear as though both test measured an identical amount of network traffic. However, if you look at the average, minimum, and maximum values, you can see that there was significantly more traffic when the test was run remotely.
The Performance Monitor isn’t perfect. Whether you choose to run the Performance Monitor locally or remotely, the results are going to be skewed to some degree. In my opinion though, the skewed results are usually not a big deal unless you are working on something that requires a high degree of precision. The reason why I say this is because your copy of Performance monitor produces results that are just as valid as anyone else’s. We are all working with the same limitations. Therefore, when you see documentation from Microsoft that tells you to look for specific Performance Monitor counter values to tell whether that aspect of the system is operating normally or not, you have to remember that Microsoft’s testing results are just as skewed as yours are. My point is that it really doesn’t even matter if the results are skewed, so long as everyone’s results are skewed in roughly the same way. Granted, everyone’s computers are configured differently, so not everyone’s Performance Monitor results are going to be skewed by exactly the same amounts, but that’s kind of what Performance Monitoring is all about; finding which values are normal for your system and at what threshold the counters represent a problem.
If I was pressed to make a recommendation though, I would suggest running the Performance Monitor remotely for measuring CPU, hard disk, and memory usage. However, I would recommend running the Performance Monitor locally if you are measuring anything network related. | <urn:uuid:1372246b-56ff-466d-82e0-97e2a8c59459> | {
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Scientists, identified as "conservation scientists" who presumably oppose human greenhouse gas emissions, have looked into their own lifestyles, as well as the lifestyles of other "conservation scientists," and found that they are preaching one thing while practicing another.
"Most" of these scientists, the British Telegraph reports, "have a carbon footprint which is virtually no different to anyone else." Those are the findings of a new study from Cambridge University published by researchers who were "were keen to find out whether being fully informed about global warming, plastic in the ocean or the environmental impact of eating meat, triggers more ethical behavior."
What they found was "conservation scientists," 300 of them, "still flew frequently — an average of nine flights a year — ate meat or fish approximately five times a week and rarely purchased carbon offsets for their own emissions."
"They were also less green in traveling to work than medics, and kept more dogs and cats. A recent study suggested pets are a hefty ecological burden. It takes more than two acres of grazing pasture to keep a medium-sized dog fed with meat, while the eco-footprint of a cat is similar to a Volkswagen Golf."
The study's lead author, Andrew Balmford, a professor of conservation science at Cambridge, said that "as conservationists we must do a great deal more to lead by example."
Do not be surprised by the duplicity. It's been noticed that the global warming alarmists who run their mouths the most are also running a lot of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. We can start with Leonardo DiCaprio, who earns a fabulous living playing a child's game — that is, he pretends to be someone else, a behavior that most of us outgrow as adults.
But he doesn't have to fake being a hypocrite. That's his real life. Type "leonardo dicaprio climate hypocrite" into a web search engine. The results flow like the exhaust from one of the jets he flies all over the world — he reportedly even made a two-day turnaround trip from France to New York so he could receive a "green" award — to lecture his inferiors about their greenhouse gas emissions. He also lays about on luxury yachts that have neither oars nor solar panels but internal-combustion engines that spew carbon dioxide.
"It can be estimated that DiCaprio has potentially emitted up to 418.4 tons of CO2 this year because of his globe-trotting. The average American emits 19 tons a year," the Daily Mail reported last year.
And, as has been said here before, he once "celebrated New Year's Eve on a yacht in the Sydney Harbor, then flew with his pals to Las Vegas to ring in the New Year a second time."
Yet DiCaprio deigns, quite eagerly, we'd say, to preach to the masses, even using the pulpit of the United Nations to badger everyday people about their carbon footprint.
There's also ubernag Al Gore, who, like DiCaprio, jets around the world to instruct the peasants on the proper way to live while spreading a massive carbon footprint on his own. And never forget his Tennessee mansion, which devours electricity at a rate that is "more than 21.3 times that of the U.S. household average," says the Daily Signal.
Put another way, in a single month last year, "Gore's home consumed more electricity than the average family uses in 34 months."
The list of climate hypocrites is actually extensive and must include Prince Charles, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, United Nations nabobs, and, well, just about every Westerner who hectors others about their carbon footprint. Some are bigger hypocrites than others, of course. But hypocrisy smells of corruption no matter who is oozing it. It's even worse when the lesson the hypocrites are trying to teach is useless. | <urn:uuid:5511c33a-2186-4212-bda5-dc6ac20dbe4c> | {
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|Sidney Poitier • Hubert Ingraham|
|Regions with significant populations|
| Bahamas (Approx. 262,000)
|Bahamian Dialect, Bahamian Creole, Haitian Creole, American English|
|Christianity, the Rastafari movement, Obeah|
|Related ethnic groups|
Afro-Bahamians or Bahamians of African descent are Bahamians whose ancestry is from the continent of Africa. Most are from West Africa. The first Africans in The Bahamas came from Bermuda. They were with the Eleutheran Adventurers as freed slaves looking for a new life.
Currently, Afro-Bahamians are the biggest ethnic group in the Bahamas. They are 85% of the country's people. They have a much higher standard of living than previous generations.
References and footnotes[change | edit source]
- "CIA - The World Factbook -- Bahamas, The". CIA. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bf.html. Retrieved 2010-04-02. | <urn:uuid:b8a3782b-842d-43f6-93fd-46a5b3cb0ebf> | {
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The focal mechanism shown below graphically portrays the orientation of the fault plane on which the earthquake occurred and the direction of relative motion on that plane. This information was automatically calculated from the first motion directions of the compressional (P) waves. If more than one mechanism exists for this earthquake, then any of the solutions fit the first-motion data equally well.
USGS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SEISMIC NETWORK P FIRST-MOTION FOCAL MECHANISM (double-couple source assumed) Event Date & Time : 05/26/2003 10:01:40 GMT = Mon May 26 3:01:40 PDT 2003 Location : 37.3102 N, 121.6788 W : (37 deg. 18.61 min. N, 121.deg. 40.73 min. W) Depth : 8.6 km. deep ( 5.4 miles) Magnitude : 3.6 MC # P First motions : 135 Strike uncertainty : 5 deg. Dip uncertainty : 13 deg. Rake uncertainty : 30 deg. | <urn:uuid:5813c5bd-e376-4a80-bf87-16b45e08a553> | {
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Brookhaven National Laboratory (Upton, NY) scientist Radoslav Adzic has developed transition metal nanostructures coated with a contiguous, conformal submonolayer-to-multilayer noble metal film and its related manufacturing method. The platinum/palladium (Pt/Pd) catalyst increases the fuel cell oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) which results in higher fuel cell power.
The manufacturing process, detailed in U.S. Patent Application 20100099012, involves the initial formation of suitably sized transition metal or alloy nanostructures which may be nanorods, nanobars, or nanowires. A monolayer of a non-noble metal is deposited onto the surface of the nanostructures by underpotential deposition. This is followed by the galvanic displacement of the non-noble metal by a second metal to yield a conformal coating of a monolayer of the second metal on the surface of the nanostructures. The replacement of atoms of the first metal by atoms of the second metal is an irreversible and spontaneous redox reaction which involves the replacement of a non noble metal by a more noble metal. The process can be controlled and repeated to obtain the desired film coverage. The resulting coated nanostructures provide heightened catalytic activity and can be used as high-performance electrodes in fuel cells.
While significant progress has been made towards understanding the complex kinetics of oxygen reduction, a detailed atomic-level understanding of the reaction pathways resulting in oxygen reduction on platinum (Pt) surfaces has not yet emerged. There is a need to develop an electrocatalyst which minimizes Pt loading while simultaneously maximizing the available catalytically active Pt surface area and improving oxidation reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics. The increase in the ORR rate attainable through incorporation of Pt/Pd nanorods in one or more electrodes will produce an increase in the overall energy conversion efficiency of the fuel cell. Consequently, for a given quantity of fuel, a larger amount of electrical energy will be produced when using Pt/Pd nanorod-based electrodes compared to conventional nanoparticle electrodes.
The electrocatalyst comprises a nanostructured core of a transition metal covered with a contiguous adlayer of a noble metal. The transition metal core preferentially comprises Pd which is covered with an adlayer of Pt. The transition metal nanostructures are preferentially shaped into nanobars, nanorods, or nanowires. The coated nanostructures are formed by a method comprising initially fabricating a substrate having a plurality of transition metal nanostructures. A continuous adlayer of a non-noble metal such as copper (Cu) is then formed on the surface of the nano structures by underpotential deposition (UPD). Immersing the nanostructures in a salt comprising a noble metal results in replacement of the non-noble metal by the noble metal. The method preferentially forms Pd nanobars, nanorods, or nanowires which are conformally coated with a thin layer of Pt atoms.
The manufacturing cycle depicted in FIG. 1 may be repeated any number of times to deposit additional layers of Pt onto the surface of the Pd nanorods to ensure complete coverage. Conversely, less than a monolayer of Cu may be deposited during UPD such that submonolayer coverages of Pt result. The "skin" of Pt atoms will form a continuous conformal coverage across the entire available smooth surface area. FIG. 1 shows a series of images illustrating the underpotential deposition of a Cu adlayer onto a Pd nanorod followed by the galvanic displacement of Cu atoms by Pt;
A transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image showing a plurality of Pt-coated Pd nanorods formed using the process described above is provided in FIG. 2A. An enlarged TEM image which shows a close-up of individual nanorods is provided in FIG. 2B.
FIG. 2A is a transmission electron microscopy image showing an aggregate of Pd nanorods, each of which is covered with an atomically thin layer of Pt.
FIG. 2B is an enlarged transmission electron microscopy image of a typical Pd nanorod covered with an atomically thin layer of Pt;
The Pt/Pd nanostructures which are preferably nanobars, nanorods, and nanowires may be used as the cathode in a fuel cell. There are many possible applications which may include hydrogen sensors, charge storage devices, applications which involve corrosive processes, as well as various other types of electrochemical or catalytic devices. | <urn:uuid:b03dcf3c-4861-4a58-ae15-b2d61dee1061> | {
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Wisconsin Gardener Segments tagged as Garden Basics
Join UW-Extension Soils Specialist Sherry Combs to learn how to test soil and how to compost properly.
Discover how to take slips, or cuttings, from plants in your garden to grow herbs indoors during the winter.
Tour horticulture professor Dennis Stimart's native woodland garden. Highlights include trillium, virginia bluebell, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, bloodroot and bellwort.
Enhance your landscape by giving it life and color during the long winter months. Dr. Ed Hasselkus introduces us to varieties of dwarf and full size conifers that do well in the Wisconsin climate.
Learn how to choose an ornamental crabapple tree. Dr. Ed Hasselkus explains the importance of fruiting qualities, disease resistance, shape and size.
Learn what the terms top dress, side dress and broadcast mean in reference to fertilizing your garden. UW-Extension's Soil Scientist Sherry Combs explains how you should add nutrients to your garden.
Learn about alternatives to a traditional manicured lawn from Neil Diboll of Prairie Nursery. Slow growing, draught resistant fine fescues are environmentally friendly and require little maintenance.
Narrow down the numerous choices of lilacs and choose the right one for your garden. Master Gardener Pat Connors offers tips to help you decide what will work best in your yard.
Choose your seeds for spring planting using online gardening websites. Master Gardener Doris Kissler reviews some of her favorite gardening sites.
Join UW-Madison Soil Scientist Wayne Kussow as he explores the best methods for keeping your soil and lawn healthy. | <urn:uuid:a12a0852-b90b-4116-abf4-38a650a5d521> | {
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In recent weeks, Syria has been a big topic in the United States. Syria has agreed to a Russian proposal to give up their chemical weapons. President Barack Obama tells people to remain cautious; however it is unclear how the deal will pan out. The al-Assad regime has agreed to give up the chemical weapons but it does not mean that America should not step in.
Following reports that the al-Assad government used chemical weapons to kill 1,300 people, including many women and children, President Barack Obama called for military action. President Obama called chemical weapons a "red line" that cannot be crossed. In a recent address to the nation, President Obama credited the use of chemical weapons as the reason for a potential strike.
Many people in the United States, however, are opposed to idea of engaging in another Middle Eastern war. People are opposed because the U.S. is just winding down from their own involvement with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even though the Obama administration has said that the maximum time frame for a campaign would be 90 days, people are wary because President Bush deployed troops to Iraq to find chemical weapons. And still almost 12 years later, the United States is still engaged in war in the Middle East.
A potential problem with U.S. involvement, however, is that Syria has a very good relationship with Russia. This could complicate things because if the United States were to respond to the al-Assad regime with military action, then there is a possibility that Russia could retaliate. If that happens then the whole conflict could be significantly worsened.
Many citizens are also wondering why the U.S. is trying to get involved now. The Syrian civil war has been going on for two years and the conflict has claimed more than 100,000 lives, many of those women and children. Why doesn't the use of conventional weapons warrant military action?
Whatever the answer to that question is, the fact remains that innocent people are still dying and no one is stepping in to help them.
Although there is a strong anti-war argument, there are also many reasons why we should get involved. For one, the use of chemical weapons warrants a military strike. Considering that the British Parliament recently voted against possible military action in Syria, Obama believes that it is the U.S.’s responsibility to intervene. The United States has always been the country that stands up for the littler countries. Since the Syrian people cannot defend themselves against their government, some else has to step in to help.
The United States needs to step up and be a country that others can model themselves after. If America deploys troops to Syria then other countries might follow.
But although arguments on both sides are strong, it looks as though a military strike as been averted, at least for the near future.
By: Alden Bedsole | <urn:uuid:fa106c76-cfbd-473f-a3fd-947a8ae7c207> | {
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Policy Makers Join the Call for the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation-Related Strokes to be Made a National Healthcare Priority
Urgent Need to Reduce the Devastating Personal and Economic Impact of these Severe Strokes
Brussels, Belgium – October 24, 2012 – Ahead of World Stroke Day 2012 (October 29), European Policy Makers have joined over 90 Medical and Patient Organisations, and more than 100,000 people, in supporting the Global Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Patient Charter and calling for National Governments and the World Health Organisation to act to make the prevention of AF-related strokes a priority. The Charter outlines ways to improve the diagnosis and management of AF which, if implemented, could stop thousands of preventable strokes from occurring each and every year.
Why Action is Needed Now?
This is an epidemic already in progress, in Europe alone ten million people are affected by AF – the most common sustained abnormal heart rhythm. However, an increasingly ageing population means that the number of Europeans affected is expected to rise to 25 to 30 million by 2050. This is very worrying because people with AF are five times more likely to experience a stroke than those without AF. Furthermore, these strokes are more severe than those that are unrelated to AF and therefore more costly in terms of impact on individuals and health and social services budgets.
"I think it is very important that National Ministries of Health throughout the 27 European Member States pay attention to the Global AF Patient Charter," said Member of the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee Dr Cristian Silviu Busoi. "The Charter recommendations could help governments achieve the aims of the European Heart Health Charter and the recently adopted United Nations target to reduce Non Communicable Disease mortality by 25% by the year 2025. This could limit the human trauma and substantial impact on health budgets caused by AF-related strokes. "
The financial burden placed on European countries by stroke is huge. In 2010, the estimated cost of stroke in Europe was €64 billion. Assuming that 15% of these strokes were caused by AF and that they are generally more severe, the cost of AF-related stroke could be at least €10 billion in 2010 alone.
The personal impact for AF-related stroke survivors and their families cannot be underestimated with more than a third of survivors returning home with some level of permanent disability. AF also increases the risk of medical complications following a stroke with survivors suffering more frequently from conditions such as pneumonia and accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
Strokes are Preventable: Prevent Them!
However, the majority of these strokes are preventable. Whilst there is no quick or easy solution, there are steps that can be taken to improve awareness, detection, diagnosis and management of AF to reduce the number of people whose lives are devastated every year.
"National governments should work together with Medical and Patient Organisations to make AF-related stroke prevention and care a national healthcare priority and put in place national stroke prevention plans," said Member of the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee Edite Estrela. "We should all do our best to increase access to education, early diagnosis of AF and appropriate management to prevent AF- related strokes."
A Worldwide Unified Voice
The Global AF Patient Charter is supported by over 90 Medical and Patient Organisations around the world. Its supporting campaign, Sign Against Stroke in Atrial Fibrillation, is calling for individuals around the world to sign their names on SignAgainstStroke.com to demonstrate their support for the Charter and ask National Governments to implement its recommendations to prevent AF-related strokes.
"I am so excited to see the rapidly increasing support for the Global AF Patient Charter," said Trudie Lobban MBE, Founder and Trustee, Arrhythmia Alliance, and Co-Founder and CEO, Atrial Fibrillation Association. "Over 100,000 policy makers, healthcare professionals, patients, their families and members of the general public have supported the Charter by signing their names at SignAgainstStroke.com. This is a demonstration of how important it is that AF-related stroke is prevented and with this support we can drive change."
About The Global AF Patient Charter and Sign Against Stroke Campaign
The Global AF Patient Charter has been developed by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from Patient Organisations, including AntiCoagulation Europe, Arrhythmia Alliance, Atrial Fibrillation Association, Irish Heart Foundation, StopAfib.org and Stroke Alliance for Europe, in collaboration with 39 founding Patient Organisations from 20 countries. A full listing of collaborating organisations is available on the website, www.signagainststroke.com.
People can learn about AF and stroke, read and sign the Charter, which is available in 22 languages, and hear what policy makers have to say on the Campaign website, www.signagainststroke.com. All signatures contribute to driving action to prevent AF-related strokes and improving future outcomes and quality of life of people diagnosed with AF.
Bayer HealthCare is proud to support the Global AF Patient Charter and Sign Against Stroke Campaign. | <urn:uuid:162e32ac-97d6-4062-89c7-091bcdeeae90> | {
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ERIC Number: ED184883
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1980-Apr
Reference Count: 0
Kinds of Knowledge in Algebra.
Solving equations in elementary algebra requires knowledge of the permitted operations, and knowledge of what operation to use at a given point in the solution process. While just these kinds of knowledge would be adequate for an ideal solver, human solvers appear to need and use other kinds of knowledge. First, many errors seem to indicate that single operations of algebra are often represented as collections of parts which may have independent status. Second, operations seem to be connected, often inappropriately, with a general scheme for symbol manipulation. Third, various kinds of knowledge are brought into play to detect errors. Evidence about the role of these kinds of knowledge, found in the solutions and comments of college students, is discussed, and some implications for instruction are considered. (Author/MK)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: National Inst. of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.; National Science Foundation, Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: International Business Machines Corp., Yorktown Heights, NY. Thomas J. Watson Research Center.
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Boston, MA, April 7-11, 1980). Not available in hard copy due to marginal legibility of original document. | <urn:uuid:96b1151a-60ca-4e1f-a893-268db3cf8b30> | {
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Brief SummaryRead full entry
Desert Sunflower-Geraea canescens
The desert sunflower bears yellow sunflower-like flowers on slender, hairy stems. It gets its name from the Greek gerios meaning, “old man,” referring to its white hairs on its fruits. It is native to western America, where it is a drought evasion plant that dies off after producing seeds. It blooms during the raining seasons, in February-May or October- November. They stay dormant and re-germinate during the short rains in the fall.
The flowers have between 10-12 bright yellow petals, steaming from the small yellow disc in the middle. The fruits inside the flower are a good source of protein for bees. | <urn:uuid:d7a78177-01c3-42ef-ac8e-f50a73daa199> | {
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Become Computer Savvy in Order to Write a Comprehensible Computer Essay
Few years back, writing an essay about computers might have been perceived fit only for the techno savvy people. But, today as computers are all around us, it will be a task which is assigned more and more often to all students. Information Technology, commonly known as IT is a compulsory subject in many of the national curriculums today. This is driven by the fact that computers have become indispensable to us and the need for everyone to be IT competent is no longer an option. Computer has become useful when working, studying or even spending leisure time. Therefore, when assigned to write a computer essay, many elements of the computer can be discussed to write a cohesive and informative essay.
Points of Importance
Before beginning the process of writing the essay, it is important to understand a few points.
• Essays on computers could be based on the technical aspects of a computer. It will be to the student’s advantage if he or she can impress the reader with some relevant technical information. However, it should be written with the targeted audience in mind. If you are writing for a layman, using technical jargon will not suffice.
• Another element to keep in mind is calibre of the knowledge in the essay topic you write. For example, if you are writing a communication essay and informing the readers on how the computer has made communication easier, thorough research should be conducted in order to inform the readers on the many ways in which a computer enables us to do so. Similarly, when writing on a computer and its important parts, research should be conducted sufficiently to gain better knowledge.
• The writer should also be considerate of how upto date the information included in to the essay. IT and ITC are very dynamic fields where information becomes obsolete quickly.
Ways to Write the Essay
• All about the Birth of Computers – A computer essay, can be written in a manner which you will provide information on how it was “born”. It is said that John V Atanasoff’s invention in 1942 set the path to the computer age. Many other people contributed to the invention of the computer. However, it was not until the Personal Computer was invented in 1974 that things started to go at a steady pace into the more developed computer.
• Advantages of Computers – There are many advantages to having a computer. These advantages can be addressed in this essay. These include the ability to communicate with someone easily, the ability to obtain information easily etc. Ability to handle large amounts of data and carry out data processing, analysis is another plus point. Computers have also contributed to vast developments in digital imaging and multimedia production work. You can also, include the disadvantages of the computer and write the essay as an advantages essay. Writing in an informative manner will enable you to educate the reader as well as yourself on the advantages and disadvantages of a computer.
• Describing a Computer – There are many different types of computers which students can describe in depth. They can also compare various types of computers and provide readers with an understanding of how each one functions. Here again, students should avoid strong technical jargon so as not to confuse the readers.
• Computers and the Internet – The internet is the result of combining computer technology with communication technology. If you have written the internet essay, you will know the dramatic changes which has been created in all areas of life as a result of the wide spread use of the internet.
If writing your computer essay, is too stressful and you need a break from it or assistance with it, coursework-writing.co.uk is your answer. We will provide you with a custom written essay paper which will be unique, original and free of plagiarism. | <urn:uuid:ab3e5b6b-d5c4-4dff-9644-557d239c81d5> | {
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U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Building Technologies Office – News
DOE Releases Report on Energy Savings Potential of Solid-State Lighting
January 27, 2012
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a report forecasting the energy savings potential of LED white-light sources compared with conventional white-light sources. Energy Savings Potential of Solid-State Lighting in General Illumination Applications compares the annual lighting energy consumption in the U.S. with and without the further market penetration of LED lighting. The energy savings potential is represented by the difference in energy consumption between the two scenarios.
The econometric model underlying the report relies on assumptions of efficacy, retail price, and operating life that are based on work conducted collaboratively by DOE and industry experts, including members of the Next Generation Lighting Industry Alliance.
- LED lighting is expected to represent 36 percent of lumen-hour sales on the general illumination market by 2020, and 74 percent by 2030.
- By 2030, the annual site energy savings from market penetration of LEDs will be approximately 300 terawatt-hours, or the equivalent annual electrical output of about 50 1,000-megawatt power plants. At today's energy prices, that equates to approximately $30 billion in savings in 2030 alone.
- Assuming the same mix of power stations, these savings would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 210 million metric tons of carbon in 2030. The total energy consumption for lighting would decrease by roughly 46 percent relative to a scenario with no additional LEDs on the market – enough electricity to completely power nearly 24 million homes.
For more information, go to www.ssl.energy.gov/tech_reports.html. | <urn:uuid:47f88a20-36fb-40e5-9802-8db329533735> | {
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The nanoparticles have been designed so the pressure in the blood vessels will push them through the space between the cells to get into the tumor tissue.
Photodynamic therapy uses molecules which, when irradiated with light, cause irreparable damage to cells by creating toxic forms of oxygen, called reactive oxygen species.
Most PDT works with individual light-sensitive molecules – but the new nanoparticles could each carry hundreds of molecules to a cancer site.
A number of different light-sensitive molecules – collectively known as photosensitisers – are used in PDT and each absorbs a very specific part of the light spectrum. The research team – from the University of Hull’s Department of Chemistry - placed one kind of photosensitiser inside each nanoparticle and another on the outside, which meant that far more reactive oxygen species could be created from the same amount of light. The findings are published in the current issue of Molecular Pharmaceutics.
The nanoparticles have also been designed to be the perfect size and shape to penetrate easily into the tumor, as lead researcher, Dr Ross Boyle, explains.
“Small cancer tumors get nutrients and oxygen by diffusion, but once tumors reach a certain size, they need to create blood vessels to continue growing, “ he says. “These new blood vessels, or neovasculature, are ‘leaky’ because the vessel walls are not as tightly knit as normal blood vessels. Our nanoparticles have been designed so the pressure in the blood vessels will push them through the space between the cells to get into the tumor tissue.”
The nanoparticles are made from a material that limits the leaching of its contents while in the bloodstream, but when activated with light, at the tumor, the toxic reactive oxygen species can diffuse freely out of the particles; meaning that damage is confined to the area of the cancer.
The researchers tested the nanoparticles on colon cancer cells, and while they were able to penetrate the cells, they also found that the nanoparticles could still be effective when near – rather than inside – the cancer cells.
“Some types of cancer cell are able to expel conventional drugs, so if we can make this kind of therapy work simply by getting the nanoparticles between the cancer cells, rather than inside them, it could be very beneficial,” says Dr Boyle.
If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks | <urn:uuid:654c596f-f725-408b-8ff1-4fef2482bbee> | {
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- Development & Aid
- Economy & Trade
- Human Rights
- Global Governance
- Civil Society
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
READING, United Kingdom, Mar 23 2018 (IPS) - Greenhouse gases are produced as a by-product of the use of fossil fuels to supply light and heat, produce food, manufacture products and transport people and goods. These gases congregate in the upper atmosphere and result in global warming through absorption of sunlight reflected from the earth’s surface. At the 21st meeting of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris, it was agreed to limit the average increase in global temperature to 2°C .
The easiest way of reducing energy consumption is to use it more efficiently. The most visible example of increased energy efficiency has been that of lighting where over a period of 30 years, the efficiency of light bulbs has increased by changing from incandescent filament lamps to compact fluorescent lamps and most recently light emitting diodes (LED). This measure has been successful because no change in usage is required and the most inefficient lamps (incandescent) can no longer be sold . The 80% increase in efficiency has resulted in a 10% electricity saving per household or 75 TWh across the European Union (EU). In addition the life of these lamps has increased by a factor of 10 from 1,000 hours to 10,000 hours thus saving energy on manufacture and reducing the amount of waste products.
The introduction of the energy label by most countries including the European Union , has not only enabled the purchaser to buy a product closest to their needs, but also to consider buying a product with reduced environmental impact.Whereas the initial application was to appliances such as fridges and freezers, further applications have included electric motors, fuel consumption of cars and energy consumption of buildings.
Rather unexpectedly, the energy label has also had a significant impact on manufacturers as they have decided to use the information on the label to market (and differentiate) their products.
For example the EU introduced in 2012 a label to characterise the properties of individual tyres . This label not only displays information about fuel efficiency, wet grip and audible noise emissions, but also the current noise limit of 72 dB and the future limit of 68 dB. This information has enabled some manufacturers to produce tyres today emitting only 68 dB. The beneficiaries of this labelling initiative are those who live alongside busy roads but who do not themselves benefit from passing traffic but only suffer the disturbance.
Decarbonising the heat supply is essential and a very efficient way is to concentrate the low grade heat present in the air, water or ground, Such systems called heat pumps can produce up to four units of heat for every unit of energy consumed and so can provide space and water heating for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes. The additional benefit is that heat pumps reduce the demand for fossil fuels, which are rapidly being depleted, and also reduce the carbon emissions associate with the burning of fossil fuels.
Since the first containers were shipped in 1956, globalisation of production has steadily increased with products manufactured in one country, then distributed and sold in other countriesworld wide. Current shipment of containers is 700 million units a year and each time a container is moved, energy is consumed on lifting (figure 2).
The possibility exists of recovering the inertial energy on lowering the container which can be stored on the crane for reuse when lifting the next container so the grid supply is then only required to make good the system losses . This can double the energy efficiency of the crane’s driveline, reduce the power demand of the Port and reduce the emissions associated with generating electricity
Increasing energy efficiency has generally multiple benefits which include not only saving energy, but also reducing carbon emissions and reducing the demand on hydrocarbon resources and electricity supplies. It therefore needs to be encouraged and relevant authorities should promote strategies and policies which will encourage their uptake.
21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) (2015)
Eco design directive 2009/125/EU
EU energy label framework directive 2010/30/EU
EU tyre label regulation2009/1222/EU
Public awareness initiatives for an energy sustainable Europe by R Mayer and R Bowie, 3rdIntConf on Energy Efficiency in Domestic Appliances, Turin (2003) p711 – 716
Sustainable use of energy in ports by R Mayer, C Knight, V Becerra and WHolderbaum, VI Port Cluster Innovation Congress, Valencia Port Foundation, (2015)
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and civil society on issues of development, globalisation, human rights and the environment
Copyright © 2018 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - Terms & Conditions
You have the Power to Make a Difference
Would you consider a $20.00 contribution today that will help to keep the IPS news wire active? Your contribution will make a huge difference. | <urn:uuid:2a4783f5-c940-4352-a72f-a08c9eb719df> | {
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Grierson-Gopalan syndrome (better known as burning feet syndrome). Consists of severe burning and aching of the feet, hyperaesthesia, pain, elevated skin temperature, and vasomotor changes of the feet, associated with excessive sweating and general body wasting. Ocular complications may include scotoma and amblyopia. Prevalent in women; onset between 20 and 40 years of age.
This can occur due to Hereditary factors or Mechanical factors such as mechanical compression of the peripheral nerves (as seen in tarsal tunnel syndrome) and in diseases such as hypothyroidism, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Studies have also related this condition to
Burning feet syndrome may occur as a result of mechanical compression of the peripheral nerves (as seen in tarsal tunnel syndrome) and in diseases such as hypothyroidism, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Nerve entrapment can occur at the level of the tarsal tunnel adjacent to the medial malleolus. Nerve entrapment due to sciatic mononeuropathy and spinal arteriovenous malformation can also cause burning feet.
Burning is usually limited to the soles of the feet but may ascend to involve the top of the ankles or lower legs. The arms and palms of the hands are spared. A few patients occasionally complain of pins and needles or tingling in the lower extremities. Symptoms show worsening at night with day time improvement. Patients with underlying psychiatric disorders may present with a myriad of psychosomatic.
signs and symptoms in association with burning feet. On examination, there is a paucity of objective signs. The overlying skin and blood vessels are normal in most, while in some patients there may be accompanying erythema of the feet with warm overlying skin as in erythromelalgia. There is no local tenderness over the affected parts.
If the condition is being caused by a disease i.e. Diabetes, Hyperthyroidism, Psychosomatic, etc than disease specific measures must be taken.
General treatment consists of wearing open and comfortable shoes, especially those with arch supports, and wearing cotton socks is helpful. Soaking the feet in cold water (not ice cold) for around 15 minutes can bring symptomatic temporary relief. Avoidance of feet exposure to heat should be advised. Certain creams and vitamin B supplements can help reduce burning feet.
In mechanical cases such as tarsal tunnel syndrome, conservative treatment with arch supports and wider shoes may successfully relieve discomfort. If burning feet is due to flat feet, orthotics may help restore the foots arch.
Review: Akileine Tired Foot Cream combines the effectiveness of a foot massage, the invigorating power of epaline and sweet clover, and the stress-relieving pleasure of aromatherapy. Relax and revitalize yourself as you soothe and relieve hot, painful, swollen feet after a long day of standing, walking, or wearing uncomfortable shoes.
5 Star rating
You may need a blood test, diabetes test and thyroid tests to rule out associated conditions.
A quick, Secure and Easy to use Foot Store | <urn:uuid:3b98f1ed-1f2e-4a06-865d-fc324af518ea> | {
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Whether supplies are goods or services: Unascertained (unallocated) goods: Definition of unallocated goods
Goods are said to be “unascertained” (or “unallocated”) if they remain an unidentifiable part of a larger stock of goods held by the supplier. Goods are “ascertained” (or “allocated”) if they are set apart and earmarked as belonging to, or reserved for, a specific customer. Where goods are sold but are never ascertained, title in the goods does not pass, making the supply one of services, not of goods. A typical example is where a trader pays for a certain amount of oil, or other commodity, which is part of a larger consignment, and although it may or may not be eventually removed from the rest of the consignment, it is an unidentifiable part of that consignment.
This must not be confused with forward contracts. These are contracts for the supply of goods at a future specified date. The goods have to be manufactured or acquired by the seller before the supply can be made but the important point is that they will ultimately be allocated or delivered to the buyer. The supply is a supply of goods. It is not a supply of services when the contract is made, followed by a supply of goods when title in them passes.
Gold and gold coins are unallocated if they remain as an unidentifiable part of a larger stock held by a supplier. The supply of unallocated gold or gold coins is a supply of a service for VAT purposes. For guidance on dealings in precious metals see VATSC76600. | <urn:uuid:b598849b-384e-447f-a317-ed19d2e2c31b> | {
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Ode to a Nightingale
Mortality Quotes Page 1
How we cite our quotes:
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last grey hairs,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies; (lines 23-26)
Death and age are the defining features of life, but the nightingale does not have to deal with them. (We don't find out until later that he thinks the nightingale is immortal). In this passage, the speaker is telling the bird how things are in the "real" world. His attitude is ridiculously pessimistic.
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call'd him soft names in many a musèd rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath; (lines 51-54)
As he stands in the dark forest, smelling the plants and so on, he thinks, "This would be a nice time to die." Huh?! He says that he has whispered soft poetic verses to death, as if it were a lover he were trying to woo. In these moments of peace, death seems like an "easeful" power to bring rest and relief.
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy!
Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain—
To thy high requiem become a sod. (55-60)
This is one of the poem's most intriguing passages, because we're not sure why birdsong would suddenly lead him to imagine his own death. Maybe it's just because he wants the nightingale to sing his funeral song, or "requiem." We don't think this is such a good reason to die, but, hey, to each his own. | <urn:uuid:6ff89633-1f95-4333-b5ea-226b8dbc454d> | {
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November 23, 2012
The new science of paleotempestology studies ocean sediment to uncover ancient hurricanes.
BOB HIRSHON (host):
Learning from ancient tempests. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
It’s hard for scientists to say whether the number and intensity of hurricanes nowadays is unusual, because instrument-based weather records go back only about 160 years. Now a new branch of study called paleotempestology looks for evidence of storms much older. At a meeting of the Geological Society of America, scientists described studies of a deep sinkhole on Florida’s panhandle that’s been undisturbed for at least 2500 years. By studying layers of ocean sand sediment deposited there by storm surge, they’ve come up with a detailed record of hurricane activity there over many centuries.
Other teams described paleotempestology studies along the mid-Atlantic coast and on the Black Sea in the Ukraine. The researchers hope to get a better handle on the cycles and underlying causes of destructive storms. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society. | <urn:uuid:b3899a57-f392-4cc3-91d4-3bec3bb3db00> | {
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Common Core State Standards
Today, just 1 in 4 Illinois high school students graduate ready for college or a career. We must get serious about what kids need to learn to succeed.
That is what the Common Core State Standards
(CCSS) are designed to do. CCSS is a set of voluntary K-12 standards in English language arts/literacy and mathematics developed by education experts, including members of the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and other education stakeholders. The Standards set clear expectations for what students should know and be able to do in key areas; reading, writing, speaking and listening, language and mathematics. Illinois is among 45 states and the District of Columbia that have adopted the Standards.
If implemented thoughtfully, with adequate supports and resources, IFT believes these new Standards will help improve education for all students.
In a 2013 Huffington Post
column, "(Un)Common Sense on the Common Core
", IFT President Dan Montgomery outlined the union’s support of the Standards, but cautioned against unfair consequences for both students and teachers if officials fail to “put the brakes on stakes.
” Put simply, if educators and schools are not allowed the time and resources needed to properly implement the Standards before assessing their effectiveness, then the results shouldn’t count.
IFT members echoed Montgomery's words, responding to the union's recent survey
about the CCSS awareness and preparedness. While 80 percent of the respondents said they are aware of their school or district's plan for CCSS implementation, just 51 percent rate their own readiness as "emerging" and nearly all respondents cite the need for more time for work, collaboration, professional development, and implementation related to CCSS. | <urn:uuid:eff14e41-308d-42d1-8865-9e0c224fde9c> | {
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Most students today are extremely comfortable with electronic devices, far more than any previous generation. They also have a wide variety of tablets, smartphones and personal computers from which to choose. As the devices proliferate and become more powerful, it is important that educators find ways to use them as tools for education. Education applications for mobile devices can be used in all facets of learning and at every stage, from the kindergartner dealing with the basics of arithmetic to the college student enrolled in a leadership course. Here is a list of some of the best education apps available today:
Communication is one of the core elements of leadership courses and language is the main tool of communication. With the Languages app on their tablet computer or smartphone, a student can download a dictionary for the language of their choice. It allows users to look up words or browse the whole dictionary if they choose. The app’s clean interface is displayed as a bookshelf with books representing each language. By tapping one of the books, the user can download that dictionary onto their device. The app is available for use on the iPhone, iPad and iPod.
Share Your Board
This app allows a user to take a picture of a whiteboard and save it as a PDF file. The app adjusts the picture to ensure that it is made clearer and more legible. This allows them to have a reference after meetings and sessions in the classroom. They are also able to share the PDF with their friends. Share Your Board is available for the Android operating system.
Education on how to collaborate on projects is an important part of leadership courses. Collaboration requires organization and apps like this one can help with many of the responsibilities that come with group-work, such as assigning tasks to group members. Trello allows deadlines to be set, tasks to be assigned and real-time collaboration within the group. It can be used to manage large and small projects and is as easy to use as a whiteboard and Post-It notes. Users can drag and drop cards and use keyboard shortcuts. Trello is available on Android and for the iPhone, iPad and iPod.
One of the big benefits of mobile devices is how easy they make note-taking, which is a big part of college life. Notability is a note-taking app that enables the user to write with a stylus or their finger and to draw. It also offers the ability to organize notes in categories and subfolders. Users can even spell-check their notes as well as highlight, underline and italicize. Users can use Notability to annotate PDF files and highlight important passages. It comes with built-in sharing functionality; it allows users to email a document as well as to send it to Dropbox in PDF or RTF format. Notability is available for the iPad.
Just as a leadership course can help a student’s career options in the future, being able to organize and streamline the process of learning is also important. Having these apps on an Android or iOS device can make college life less stressful. For one thing, they make it less necessary for a student to have their laptop with them all the time. While no app can guarantee a passing grade, these can certainly make the various tasks associated with learning easier.
Today’s feature contributor, Jenny Wadlow, is a freelance blogger. She has previously worked for Leading Teams; a company that strives for improving organisational performance by aligning teams and developing leaders. She loves music and enjoys going to concerts. | <urn:uuid:60dd83e3-8291-49d7-b9ab-609893914220> | {
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Child-murder; the killing of an infant before or after birth. According to the French Criminal Code the word is limited to the murder of the new-born infant. In English it has been used for the deprivation of life from the moment of conception up to the age of two or three years. Except under Hebrew and Christian law, the killing of very young children by their parents has almost invariably been either legally permitted or at least practised with impunity. Economic reasons more than any others had led to the killing of infants before or after birth and have continued to exert an unfortunate influence even down to our own day. In Oriental countries certain poetic and religious traditions were appealed to in justification of the custom of killing infants, but as a rule the economic basis for it is clear. In many countries it was the custom to get rid of many of the female infants because they were unproductive, and generally expensive, members of the family. Sometimes usage required large dowries to be given with them. In India infanticide continued to be practised until far into the nineteenth century, notwithstanding the efforts of the British Government to put an end to it. In Greece and Rome, even at the height of their culture, the custom of exposing infants obtained, and in China and Japan delicate or deformed children were abandoned, or even healthy females, where there were male children in the family. Missionaries have done much to break up the custom and many children have been saved by them in the last few generations to be reared in the light of Christianity. Christianity first opposed a formal and effectual barrier to infanticide. Immediately after the Emperor Constantine's conversion he enacted two laws (about A.D. 320) directed against child-murder which are still found in the Theodosian Code (lib. XI, tit. xxvii). The first, to remove temptation, provided funds out of the imperial treasury for parents over-burdened with children; the second accorded all the rights of property of exposed infants to those who had had the charity to save and nurture them.
In modern times even in Christian countries two causes have led to post-natal infanticide: one, the disgrace attendant upon illegitimacy; the other, an economic reason. Illegitimate children were sacrificed partly for the concealment of shame, but often to escape the burden of the child's support. The crime occurs most frequently where illegitimacy is most frequent and, according to statistics, is least common in Ireland. In countries where children are readily received without question into institutions, infanticide is rare. In France the law forbids inquiry into paternity, and arrangements are made for the state care of the children. In Russia even more liberal provision is made for the state care of any child whose parents cannot or will not care for it. The question of child-murder by mothers has always been a difficult legal problem. Under a statute of James I of England, the mother had to account for the death of her infant or be held responsible for it. In 1803 trials for infanticide were placed under the ordinary rules of evidence. The presumption now is that every new-born child found dead was born dead unless the contrary is proved. This rule of English law holds in the United States. Infanticide has been quite common in European countries during the nineteenth century for two sordid reasons: one was the neglect of infants in the process of what was known as baby-farming, the other was the desire to obtain insurance money. This abuse has been regulated in various ways, but baby-farming and child-insurance still seriously increase the death-rate among infants.
The murder of an infant before birth. This is more properly called foeticide. Among the ancient philosophers and medieval theologians there was considerable discussion as to when the human embryo could be said to possess human life. This is no longer a question among modern biologists. At the very moment of conception a human being comes into existence. At any time after this the deprivation of life in this living matter, if done deliberately, is murder. The laws of most States in the Union are so framed that conditions may not be deliberately created which would put the life of the foetus in danger, or which would bring about an abortion before the foetus is viable, unless it has been decided in a consultation of physicians that the lives of both mother and child are in danger and only one of them can be saved. The comparative safety of the Cæsarean section has also worked in the direction of safeguarding the life of the unborn child. The killing of a viable child because it is impossible to deliver it by the natural birth passages is now condemned by physicians all over the world. Craniotomy, that is, the crushing of the skull of a living child in order to facilitate its delivery, where great difficulty was encountered, was a common teaching in medical schools a generation ago, but the stand taken by the Church has had its effect in gradually bringing about a change of teaching and a recognition of the right of the child to life. Craniotomy on the living child is now never considered justifiable. When it is definitely known that the foetus is dead, crushing methods may be employed to extract it piecemeal, but this procedure is much more dangerous for the mother than Cæsarean section.
Many drugs are purchased by women with the idea that they will produce abortion without endangering the mother's life. No such drugs are known to modern medical science. There are drugs in the pharmacopia which produce abortions, but only by affecting the mother very seriously. Abortion sometimes occurs after the taking of certain drugs supposed to produce it; but the premature birth is not due to the drug, it is caused by other influences. Twenty percent of all pregnancies end in premature births. The unfortunate woman who has had recourse to the drug then imagines that she has committed infanticide, and in intention she has; but the actual event has not been the result of the drug, unless that drug was one of the poisonous kind known as "abortifacients" and abortion took place in the convulsion which followed. It is absolutely certain that no known drug will produce abortion without producing very serious effects upon the mother, and even gravely endangering her life.
BROUARDEL, L'Infanticide (Paris, 1907); TARDIEU, L'Infanticide (Paris, 1868); RYAN, Infanticide, its Prevalence, Prevention and History (Fothergill Gold Medal S. A.), (London, 1862); BOURDON, L'Infanticide dans les législations anciennes et modernes (Douai, 1896). All the standard works on medical jurisprudence have chapters on this subject.
APA citation. (1910). Infanticide. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08001b.htm
MLA citation. "Infanticide." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08001b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Douglas J. Potter. Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads. | <urn:uuid:2c97d22c-f9bb-41a0-a34b-54939157a758> | {
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Do you know when we start our preparation for the endgame? It’s a question I asked my students, both beginners and advanced alike last week. I received a plethora of answers but not one student gave me the answer I was looking for. To their shock, I told them that endgame preparation starts with move one! It may sound absurd, but think about it this way: What we have left on the board going into the endgame is a direct result of our actions during the opening and middle-game.
The opening is truly the foundation for the rest of your game. We position our pawns and pieces on squares that maximize our control of the board, specifically the center. We increase the activity of our material so we can start employing tactics and sound exchanges during the middle-game. Our goal is to enter the endgame with either more material or better placed material than our opponent. Having more material means just that, having a Queen, Rook and King versus a Rook and King. Better placed material means having a well positioned pawn majority and active King versus an equal number of poorly placed pawns and an inactive King.
Beginners have a tendency to not think about the endgame early on, rather playing for fast checkmates via big all or nothing attacks. If they can’t win employing the all or nothing brute force method, they end up with randomly placed pawns and pieces scattered about the board when the endgame arrives. If they’re playing an opponent with greater experience, that opponent will be able to use coordinated material to deliver mate or promote a pawn which will lead to mate. Therefore, we should consider the endgame from the start of the opening! Often in the endgames of the improving player, it’s all about the pawn.
Pawns really are the soul of chess! In the opening they initially control the board’s center. During the middle-game they can defend against opposition attacks. Because they are worth far less than the pieces in terms of relative value, pawns are a great deterrent when it comes to the opposition moving pieces to your side of the board. However, thinking solely in these terms can leave you in a terrible position going into the endgame. You always have to think about pawn structure, which I’ve discussed in earlier articles, every time you move a pawn. More specifically, you have to think about maintaining some pawns for use in the endgame, namely pawns that can work with one another by employing a sound pawn structure. By this (in the most basic of terms), I mean pawns that have fellow pawns on adjacent files to support them. In my chess classes, we start every game with the endgame in mind.
What I have my beginners do it to keep pawn moves to a minimum during the opening. The pawns that should be moved are only those that can control central squares. A beginner might think this means he or she could move the c, d, e and f pawns since each controls a central square. However, before taking on such a position with four pawns remember this, the more pawns you have lined up on the fourth (for white) or fifth (for black) ranks, the harder they’ll be to defend. You’ll have to use pieces to defend them and that limits the piece’s activity or scope. Two pawns should be your maximum in most opening positions. Always think about the endgame with each and every move you make. I teach my students to always connect their pawns which creates pawn chains. Pawn chains help keep your pawns protected and intact for the endgame. Lastly, I have my students always compare pawn majorities on the King-side and Queen-side.
Going into the middle-game, if you have a three to two pawn majority, you having three pawns and your opponent having two, on the Queen-side for example, try to maintain this majority. This can be a huge advantage in the endgame. If you have a passed pawn, one with no opposition pawns on adjacent files, and a Rook doing nothing to contribute to the game, put that rook behind the passed pawn. Always think about a potential endgame situation!
During the middle-game, beginners look for quick tactical strikes that involve pieces. Try punching holes in the opposition’s pawn structure instead, playing with the endgame in mind. If you cripple your opponent’s pawn structure, they’ll have a harder time in the endgame due to scattered and unsupported pawns.
When we castle, we generally have a neat row of pawns in front of our King. Beginners tend not to think of these pawns as valuable targets because they’re protected by the King (in the case of King-side castling). Removing one of those pawns (especially the g and h pawns) leaves the King exposed. Look for ways to break through that wall of pawns exposing the opposition King to attack!
Speaking of the King. Get your King into the endgame and waste no time doing it! Leaving your King dormant for just a move or two during the start of the endgame while your opponent activates his King immediately can lead to disaster. The King is often the best Sheppard for herding pawns to their promotion square. During the opening and middle-game, your King needs to be guarded, but this shouldn’t stop you from looking at your pawn structure as well as your opponent’s pawn structure and envisioning where you’d want your King to be. Always think towards the endgame.
During the middle-game, I have my students look at the board and ask themselves what remaining material will work best in the endgame. If they have a Rook, two Bishops and a Knight, they’ll consider which pieces would deliver mate with the least complications. In this case, the Rook and two Bishops would be the easiest for my students to use so they need to keep those pieces safe. Of course, you always want to try to hang on to most of your material but you have to engage in exchanges when playing chess if you hope to get anywhere. Therefore, use the piece least valuable to your endgame plans for the exchange. On the flip-side, I have students look at the opposition’s material and ask, which of opposition’s material would work best for their opponents to deliver mate. Those pieces then become their targets. Remember, in chess there are always two plans, yours and those of your opponent!
I highly recommend Bruce Pandolfini’s Endgame Course as critical reading for the endgame beginner. I use it as the core of my endgame training for beginners. The examples are clear and concise and the book covers all those “problem” endgame positions that crop up. Too often, the beginner with a bit of endgame knowledge will be derailed because he or she faces one of those “problem” positions. Bruce’s excellent text will keep you from getting caught in an awkward positional situation. I’ll be covering s few seemingly complicated Rook and pawn endgame positions in my next and last series of endgame articles. Until then, here’s a game to enjoy until next week! | <urn:uuid:20f6761b-61ae-4c56-b0e0-90ec42d486a8> | {
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Wildfire prevention is a responsibility we all share and it is important to understand safe fire practices so that everyone can enjoy Alberta's forests.
Wildfire is not an individual agency's concern – it is a community concern that requires everyone to become involved in solutions.
Everyone's involvement ensures that wildfire does not needlessly threaten our environment. To accomplish this, individuals need to be aware of the dangers of wildfire to themselves and their community.
To reduce the number of human-caused wildfires, Alberta's Forestry Division has an extensive wildfire prevention program that targets:
- Other Stakeholders
- Property Owners
- The General Public
The wildfire prevention program is based on the principals of the three-E’s, and these three principles play a vital role in wildfire prevention:
These three principles have an important role in reaching out to everyone to ensure that they understand the message being
conveyed. Each category has several guiding principles with the general message that all prevention programs need to capture
the public's interest.
Updated: Oct 18, 2017 | <urn:uuid:6fd59147-48f8-4bd2-a475-bd251f79fe56> | {
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Same sex accommodation
Privacy, dignity and same-sex accommodation
The NHS is committed to making sure that all patients receive high-quality care that is safe, effective and focused on their needs. The NHS Constitution states that all patients have the right to privacy and to be treated with dignity and respect. We believe that providing same-sex accommodation is an effective way of helping to achieve this goal and of giving all patients the best possible experience while they are in hospital.
Why is same-sex accommodation so important? It is clear from what patients tell us that being in mixed-sex accommodation can compromise their privacy and dignity at a time when they may already be feeling vulnerable. The most common concerns include physical exposure, being in an embarrassing or threatening situation, noise, and the possibility of other patients overhearing conversations about their condition.
What do we mean by mixed-sex and same-sex accommodation?
Mixed-sex accommodation is where men and women have to share sleeping areas or toilet and washing facilities. Same-sex accommodation is where specific sleeping areas and toilet and washing facilities are designated as either men-only or women-only.
Same-sex accommodation can be provided in:
• same-sex wards, where the whole ward is occupied by men or women only
• single rooms, or
• mixed wards, where men and women are in separate bays or rooms.
Toilet and washing facilities should be easily accessible and, ideally, either inside or next to the ward, bay or room. Patients should not need to go through sleeping areas or toilet and washing facilities used by the opposite sex to access their own.
Is mixed-sex accommodation ever acceptable?
Most people accept that in some situations there is no alternative to men and women sharing accommodation. This includes situations where patients need urgent, highly specialised or high-tech care. When making this decision, staff must make sure that it is in the interests of all patients affected, and work to move patients into same-sex accommodation as quickly as possible.
The same-sex accommodation programme
In January 2009, the Department of Health announced a package of measures designed to ‘all but eliminate mixed-sex accommodation’ by 2010. These include:
• dedicated funding to support improvements and adjustments to hospital accommodation
• providing information and guidance to hospital staff, patients and the public
• sending an improvement team to hospitals that need extra support, and
• introducing rigorous measures so that the Department can see how hospitals are progressing against the goal.
Click here for our Declaration on Same Sex Accommodation. | <urn:uuid:afe691dc-c0fb-493d-acf8-d0f5d2bc0ccb> | {
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With all the hype about bedbugs and stink bugs lately, you’d think they were the first pests to ever invade our homes. But what about that old standby, the cockroach? I’m guessing he may feel a little neglected with these competitors stealing all the attention. But they’re just a flash in the pan. Cockroaches have been with us for millennia, and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, they might outlive us: they can live three months without food, a month without water, and a month without a head. It takes 15 times as much radiation to kill a cockroach as it does to kill a human. They’re here to stay, so we might as well learn about them.
A delightful new book, An Illustrated Guide to Cockroaches, does its part to demystify our household companion. Here are a few pages from the book as a preview. Look and learn.
For more bug news, tune in to Science Friday this week, where we’ll be talking about a more beloved crawler, Charlotte the spider, and her creator E. B. White. | <urn:uuid:f12199b6-afa4-419d-8230-2c6e198dcc24> | {
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One of the most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics in the world is the Rotary Four-Way Test. It was created by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor in 1932 when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. Taylor looked for a way to save the struggling company mired in depression-caused financial difficulties. He drew up a 24-word code of ethics for all employees to follow in their business and professional lives. The Four-Way Test became the guide for sales, production, advertising and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this simple philosophy.
Herb Taylor became president of Rotary International in 1954-55. The Four-Way Test was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and has been translated into more than one hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. In English it reads:
Of the things we think, say or do:
- Is it the Truth?
- Is it Fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned? | <urn:uuid:abbf99d0-57a6-46c0-b0a8-00fdcbeab819> | {
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The Growing Linkages Between Migration and Microfinance
The Growing Linkages Between Migration and Microfinance
Over the past three decades the developing world has seen a revolution in access to credit. This has occurred largely through the expansion of microcredit—relatively small loans primarily accessible to poor households for the purposes of investment and microenterprise. Microcredit has expanded dramatically and consistently across the developing world: Today, an estimated 100 million people in more than 90 countries are actively borrowing from microfinance institutions (MFIs). The majority of these loans target women, those in rural areas, and the poor.
Migration typically has little place in discourses of microfinance, since what credit is expected to do is allow people to stay home. Most MFIs assert that microcredit loans are both used for and repaid through local microenterprise—and many have explicit policies requiring this. These policies and expectations relate to the way that microfinance is purported to reduce poverty—through allowing poor households a way to invest in income-generating activities at home.
Yet increasingly, there are threads of discourse linking migration and microfinance. MFIs (sometimes with the support of development institutions) are targeting migrant households for a variety of microfinance services, including loan products. These organizations, as well as some policymakers and academics, view microfinance institutions as ideal actors through which to empower migrant households.
Moreover, there is increasing recognition that migration and microfinance have already been interacting—in unexpected and sometimes problematic ways. Some households use microcredit as an advance on expected remittances from family members abroad; others use loans to finance the costs of migration. There is also evidence that migration is used as a coping mechanism to manage debt when microenterprises fail, pushing loan recipients abroad in search of better economic opportunity. These connections highlight that linking migration and microfinance has the potential to expand opportunities for migrants and their families, as well as generate or exacerbate vulnerabilities.
This article explores the connections between microcredit and migration, unpacking the suggestion that microcredit can support migration as a development strategy and exploring the questions that should be asked about this potential. Informed by a qualitative study conducted in a rural Cambodian community with strong links to Thailand, the article discusses how households are already using microcredit in coordination with migration, and addresses critical questions about who benefits from these linkages—and what vulnerabilities they might create for migrants.
Microfinance: Leveraging International Migration for Development?
The optimism around microfinance as a way to support migrants (and migration as a development strategy) centers on remittances—the earnings that migrants send back to their countries of origin.
Over the past decade, developing countries, including Cambodia, have seen a marked increase in remittances received from migrants abroad. Estimates from the World Bank suggest that the level of remittance flows to developing countries (upwards of $400 billion dollars in 2012) is almost as large as foreign direct investment and more than twice the size of aid flows to developing countries. This tremendous growth, coupled with the dominance of neoliberal ideas, has led to renewed policy interest around the idea of leveraging migration for development. As a result, policymakers, governments, and international institutions have invested in a variety of strategies aimed at putting remittances to work to generate sustainable development.
Microfinance institutions are perceived to be uniquely equipped to support remittance-led development programs. MFIs tend to be located in the same poor, rural areas where migration is common, and they are already providing financial services in those contexts. Thus they are primed to be providers of financial products aimed at migrant families.
The dominant way that MFIs are already engaging in remittance-led development is through money-transfer products. In much of the developing world, migrants remit money through informal networks, where they pay high fees and have little security in ensuring that money arrives at its intended destination. Where migrants can use microfinance institutions to transfer money home, the assumption is that this will be cheaper, easier, and more reliable, thus allowing migrants to retain more of their earnings.
Increasingly MFIs are interested in working with migrants in more substantial ways, specifically related to credit. Most MFIs are interested in continuing to expand their loan portfolios, tapping into new markets, and offering a wider range of products. Migrants—and the potential remittances they represent—offer a lucrative new market.
As a result, MFIs are now considering not only money-transfer services for migrants but also credit products specifically tailored for migrant households. Such programs have already been piloted in Latin America through the support of international development institutions, and are being considered elsewhere. In these kinds of migrant-targeted loan programs, remittances are viewed as a stable source of income, and are essentially treated as evidence of credit worthiness. MFIs can then both help migrants send money home and expect those remittances to be used as a means of repaying loans.
These kinds of migrant-targeted microcredit programs are relatively new and still quite rare. However, MFIs are already routinely connected with migration in ways that are less overt, often overlooked, and which raise critical questions about microcredit as a strategy of leveraging migration for development. Across the developing world, evidence suggests that at least some microfinance institutions routinely lend to households who either already have a family member working abroad or intend to send someone abroad shortly after receiving a loan. In both cases, loans which are ostensibly intended to be repaid through local enterprise are actually repaid via remittances. Taken as a group, these can be thought of as migra-loans—loans taken from microfinance institutions which are then used in tandem with strategies of international migration.
Migra-Loans: Migration and Microfinance in Cambodia
A study conducted by the author in Cambodia from 2008-10 inquired into the patterns and practices of migra-loans in more detail. Cambodia is a revealing case study to understand how the expanding microfinance sector has encountered (and perhaps shaped) patterns of international migration, as it is a country where both international migration and microfinance have grown dramatically over the past two decades.
Both microfinance and contemporary patterns of international migration can be traced back to the early 1990s, when Cambodia finally began to recover from the devastation left by the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-79), which resulted in an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million Cambodian deaths by execution, starvation, and disease.
The subsequent Vietnamese occupation lasted for the next decade, until a United Nations-backed transitional authority came to the country in 1991, ushering in organized democratic elections two years later. Most of the contemporary social and financial institutions, and many of the demographic patterns seen today in Cambodia, began during this period of newfound stability. Prior to this period, formal financial institutions were basically nonexistent—the Khmer Rouge even abolished money (as well as private property, markets, and health and education systems) during their brief rule.
Microfinance began in Cambodia in 1992, first as a small internationally supported project aimed at employment generation for demobilized soldiers. The contemporary (more commercial) models prevalent today evolved over time, but since the early 2000s microfinance has been truly explosive in its growth (see Table 1). Today, Cambodia is among the top five countries in terms of the total number of microfinance borrowers as a percentage of the population, and average MFI loan sizes exceed the level of gross national income (GNI) per capita, according to statistics from MIX Market, the Microfinance Information Exchange's platform for delivering microfinance information.
Alongside the expansion of formal credit, international migration has also grown in importance and scope. An estimated 250,000 Cambodians live and work in Thailand (the primary migration destination for Cambodians), a number that has increased significantly over the past decade. Most are migrating from marginalized rural areas—places where the recent growth of the Cambodian economy has not trickled down to substantively improve livelihoods.
Migrants leave for reasons of poverty, joblessness, environmental distress, a desire for mobility, or simply a lack of better options. In many communities, migration has become normative in such a way that young people coming of age grow up with eyes turned towards Thailand—visualizing their futures as necessarily involving work abroad.
The author's qualitative study (in a rural Cambodian community where migration to Thailand is common) highlighted how households use migration and microfinance in tandem. Some households explicitly used microfinance loans to finance the costs of migration; for others, migration was a coping strategy to manage shocks resulting in overindebtedness. Most commonly, microfinance loans were taken out by households receiving remittances or those who expected to. Here, remittances were seen as a steady means of repaying newly available low-cost loans, and were used for a variety of purposes, including home construction and the purchase of large consumer items, such as motorbikes. These migra-loans formed a kind of self-imposed savings strategy that ensured families were able to purchase or invest at home prior to having money in hand to do so.
It was both common and perceived as strategic to use microfinance loans in coordination with international migration. In contrast, loans were seen as risky where used for local microenterprise. Because it was difficult to make a consistent profit through local livelihood strategies, holding a loan was often seen as necessitating migration. A former migrant characterized the connections in this way: "The biggest problem is we can't make a living here… If we don't earn enough, our only choice is to borrow money from private banks, and then how can we pay it back? So we migrate." A non-migrant, non-borrower respondent put it more simply: "We can manage in the village if we're not in debt. If we are in debt though, there's no way."
The connections between microcredit and migration were seen by interview subjects as both empowering and problematic. For example, using loans as an advance on remittances was seen as an innovative strategy that creatively co-opted the goals and policies established by MFIs (purportedly oriented to locally sustainable microenterprise). Moreover, it both encouraged savings (in the words of one respondent, this kind of strategy "kept the beer money small"), and also boosted household consumption at times that were important for families.
However, these loans also often generated pressures for family members to remit more, spend less, or migrate, as the imperative to pay down debt was significantly more powerful than the desire to save. As a result, young people were often pressured at young ages to drop out of school and migrate to repay MFI debts.
Moreover, where migration failed in some way (for example, where migrants were deported, cheated out of salaries, or detained by police), household debt to MFIs could quickly become problematic, inspiring a range of alternative coping strategies that drew down household resources.
Migration and Microcredit Beyond Cambodia: Expanding Freedoms, or Exacerbating Vulnerabilities?
Recent observations suggest that links between migration and microfinance are present in other countries as well. In 2012, anthropologist David Stoll published an extensive ethnographic account of how microcredit has supported clandestine migration from Guatemala to the United States. Similar to the author's findings in Cambodia, Stoll's work highlights that households in Guatemala use microcredit in ways both unexpected and unintended by those promoting it, and that migra-loans generated new vulnerabilities and pressures for households holding them. Importantly, this relates not only to the need to repay debts, but also to the vulnerabilities inherent in migrants' positions in destination countries, particularly when they arrive without proper documentation.
A number of recent studies have hinted at similar patterns in other countries. For example geographer Amelia Duffy-Tumasz, through ethnographic work in Senegal, describes how households use microcredit as a cash advance on remittances from relatives living abroad. She suggests that microcredit in this context is not seen as a source of cheap credit for business expansion but rather a means of sustaining the household when remittance payments are uneven.
Marcus Taylor, a sociologist studying microfinance in Andhra Pradesh, India, also notes the prevalence of households using remittances to repay MFI loans, and argues that microcredit can also motivate migration, as households cope with debt burden and inability to repay loans through local livelihood strategies.
In addition, volunteers for Kiva—an online platform that began in 2005 and serves as a peer-to-peer lending middleman—have also documented in public blogs the connections between migration and microcredit. Meg Gray who worked in Nagarote, Nicaragua as a Kiva Fellow, wrote in her blog in November 2009 that occasionally MFIs even have clients sending remittances directly to loan officers with instructions to use the money to pay off family members' current loans. Rosalind Piggot, working in Tajikistan also as a Kiva Fellow, noted in June 2010 that during the worst of the recent financial crisis, only MFI borrowers with family members who remitted earnings from Russia could afford to make their monthly loan payments.
These studies and others suggest that microcredit, although aiming to be a stand-alone development strategy, may be seen by potential borrowers as most useful when used in coordination with migration, not as a replacement for migration. In other words, context matters. In areas characterized by poor infrastructure, lack of access to markets, and/or environmental insecurities, it is unlikely that credit alone (or remittances alone) will lead to profitable investment opportunities or sustainable locally driven development.
From a microfinance perspective, using migration in tandem with borrowing is arguably not problematic as long as loans are repaid. In fact, several loan officers in Cambodia interviewed by the author regarded migration as an ideal means of loan repayment—as it was far easier to earn money in Thailand than in poor rural areas of Cambodia. Clearly this problematizes the local development goals that MFIs often assert.
However migra-loans pose questions from the migrant's perspective: What happens when migration is the only (or best) secure means of repaying microcredit loans? Do debts often lead to distress migration? Where migrants are repaying loans via wage labor abroad, do jobs abroad offer protection, security, a minimum level of rights, and stability? Do migrants holding loans risk being deported, therefore curtailing their ability to successfully repay?
Since many MFIs are subsidized by development dollars, it seems particularly important to ask how these loans are promoting sustainable development, and how they might generate or exacerbate vulnerabilities among those they aim to serve.
Impacts of the Credit Revolution on Migration and Mobility
The expansion of access to credit through microfinance—now a multibillion-dollar sector—has resulted in profound shifts across the developing world. Yet while a wealth of research has sought to document the impacts of microcredit on poverty reduction, very little has explored the social impacts of the credit revolution—or specifically its impact on mobility.
The author's research highlighted that Cambodian migrant households largely saw newly available credit as a way to supplement migration—the most profitable and secure way of ensuring repayment. While this worked quite well in some cases, many Cambodians felt the effects of migration dependency: Long separation from family members; intense pressure to migrate to ensure their families' well-being; and trouble repaying debt when the migration strategy failed. Microfinance was seen as useful, but only to a certain extent. It was also regarded as potentially dangerous, creating financial risk as often as it mediated it. Most importantly, it rarely enabled what many migrants asserted they wanted—an ability to make a living at home.
Expanding access to credit can shift, shape, constrain, and generate migration opportunities. It can increase the potential for investment, or put migrants in risky situations. As a result, there is a need to further examine how expanding access to credit interacts with pre-existing migration patterns, and what safeguards should be put in place to ensure that programs aimed at using microfinance to leverage remittances do so in a way that supports and protects migrants.
Duffy-Tumasz, Amelia. 2009. Paying back comes first: why repayment means more than business in rural Senegal. Gender and Development 17(2):243-54.
Piggot, Rosalind. 2010. How Useful is Microfinance (Migration v. Microfinance). Hosted on Kiva Fellows Blog: Stories from the Field. June 28 2010. Available online.
Gray, Meg. 2009. Microfinance, Migration, and a Constant Stream of Remittances. Hosted on Kiva Fellows Blog: Stories from the Field. November 24, 2009. Available online.
O'Connell Davidson, Julia. 2013. Troubling freedom: migration, debt and modern slavery. Migration Studies 1(1): doi:10.1093/migration/mns002
Shaw, Judith. 2005. Ed. Remittances, Microfinance and Development: building the links. Brisbane: The Foundation for Development Cooperation.
Stoll, David. 2012. El Norte or Bust. How Migration Fever and Microcredit Produced a Financial Crash in a Latin American Town. Rowman & Littlefield.
Taylor, Marcus. 2011. Freedom from Poverty is Not for Free: Rural Development and the Microfinance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Agrarian Change 11(4):484-504.
USAID. 2008. Remittances and Microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean: Steps forward on a long road ahead. Microreport #118: USAID. | <urn:uuid:2f18517a-2551-42ff-bc26-e8532ced44d3> | {
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The about-face was clumsy and long overdue, but welcome. The Canadian government has finally admitted there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.
Some 55 countries — from Britain to Brunei — have banned the toxic material. In the United States, no one dares use asbestos because so many lawsuits have been filed against its producers and retailers. The Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian Environmental Law Association, Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Public Health Association and a long list of scientists have been urging Ottawa for years to prohibit the product, whose deadly fibres can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis and cancer of the larynx and ovary.
This summer, with an election approaching, the federal Conservatives quietly changed Health Canada’s website. It no longer says that chrysotile, one of the fibres used in asbestos, is less potent than others. (Chrysotile was mined in Quebec from 1879 to 2011.) Nor does it say asbestos is dangerous when inhaled in “significant quantities.” It simply says: “Asbestos, if inhaled, can cause cancer and other diseases.”
Health Minister Rona Ambrose downplayed the adjustment. She insisted, through an aide, that the government is reviewing all its web content to ensure it is clear and accurate.
But for victims and health advocates, the government’s “clarification” is a long-awaited reversal. For the rest of the electorate, it means an end to the spectacle of one prime minister after the next trolling for votes in rural Quebec by defending the asbestos industry. Stephen Harper was just the latest.
Regrettably, Ottawa stopped short of an outright ban on the use of asbestos in Canada. Although chrysotile is no longer mined here, products containing asbestos, such as pipes and brake pads, can be imported. Moreover, the government is not offering any financial support to school boards, public agencies or landlords seeking to remove the carcinogenic substance from their buildings. Once considered a “magic mineral” for its insulating and fireproofing properties, asbestos can be found in thousands of schools, workplaces and apartment buildings.
The use of asbestos has declined sharply since the 1970s. But it continues to sicken and kill Canadians. Every year an estimated 2.1 per 100,000 are diagnosed with mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer with a long latency period. The death toll continues to climb.
Providing accurate warnings is a useful first step. But what’s really needed is a total ban, coupled with a national asbestos removal program. | <urn:uuid:9b82e7dd-ab42-4d77-a8e3-fcc783f30c21> | {
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This week, Dr. Sydney Spiesel discusses circadian rhythms in relation to a treatment for arthritis and a link to bipolar disorder, a big hike in the price for the inhalers used to treat asthma, and whether the drug Imodium is safe for children.
Circadian rhythms and treating arthritis
Affliction: In common with many diseases caused or characterized by chronic inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis has symptoms that vary strikingly in the course of a day. Joint pain, morning stiffness, and functional disability are particularly bad in the early morning hours and least oppressive in the early evening. The difference can be measured objectively, with an average 27 percent increase in grip strength at 6 p.m. compared with 6 a.m., and a 28 percent reduction in pain at 6 p.m. compared with 8 a.m.
Question: Why should this be so? An exceptional paper by two European physicians has examined the effect on rheumatoid arthritis of circadian rhythms, which tell us when to sleep and when to wake up (and tells children at 4 in the afternoon that the witching hour has arrived).
New findings: Circadian rhythms affect, among other things, the production and release of two different hormones, cortisol and melatonin, which modulate the immune response and many aspects of inflammation. Melatonin, which peaks at night and plays a role in putting us to sleep, seems to increase the inflammatory products of activated immune cells. Cortisol, on the other hand, regulates these cells downward. At night, there's less cortisol, and the decrease results in a release of the things that cause inflammation (leakage of fluid into joint tissue, for instance, makes for morning stiffness). With less cortisol also comes less endorphin, the body's natural pain-blocker, so the pain of inflamed joints (and other pain) is felt more acutely in the night.
Implications: These observations about circadian effects suggest that there is a better time of day (or night) for giving anti-inflammatory treatments. Many of these drugs have harmful side effects, and time-targeted administration might improve both their efficacy and safety. One study showed that giving an oral steroid treatment to rheumatoid arthritis patients at 2 a.m. led to much better outcomes than treatment at 7:30 a.m. Since the effects of circadian rhythms are pervasive, many illnesses may similarly respond favorably to time-targeting.
Circadian rhythms and manic mice
Gene: Speaking of circadian rhythm, another recent paper (subscription required) by Kole Roybal, Coleen McClung, and a number of colleagues explores what happens when the "clock" gene goes mutant. This gene controls circadian rhythms and operates in most of our cells. The gene, or its near relatives, is active in cells of creatures as diverse as fruit flies, fungi, plants, and worms. In humans and other mammals, it does its most important work at a location in the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. That's where messages about ambient light levels, generated from the retina, interact with messages from the clock gene to keep us to our daily 24-hour schedule, changing body functions across day and night and regulating the release of hormones. (See above.)
Question: What happens when the function of the clock gene is badly disrupted? Certain variations in this gene have been associated with bipolar disorder in humans, especially its expression in manic behavior. And bipolar patients almost always have abnormal patterns of sleep, activity, appetite, and physiological functions.
New research: The Roybal team showed that abnormalities in the clock gene of mice lead to similar behavioral changes. Compared to littermates with normal clocks, mice with the gene mutation are hyperactive and sleep less. Bipolar people in a manic state have a propensity toward drug abuse; mice with a defective clock gene are more sensitive to the reward effects of cocaine. Finally, lithium alleviates both the symptoms of mania in humans and the effects of a bad clock gene in mice. One difference: The clock-mutant mice don't appear to cycle between mania and depression like bipolar people do.
Conclusion: It is increasingly clear that there is something very powerful about clock-gene functions, which control systems as diverse as immune response, perception of pain, and mental functioning. Who knows what else we can learn from a deeper understanding of our sleep and waking cycles.
The asthma inhaler dilemma: cost vs. chemicals
Chemical: CFCs are organic chemicals that were used for years as refrigerants, solvents, and aerosol propellants. They are nontoxic and nonflammable, and their great molecular stability preserved them as they leaked (or were sprayed) into the atmosphere. But as they floated higher into the stratosphere, they were exposed to high-energy ultraviolet light that attacked their stability. The CFC molecules broke down in the upper stratosphere and released chlorine. This catalyzed the breakdown of the ozone layer, which when intact protects us by filtering out the ultraviolet light that causes sunburn, cataracts, and skin cancer. As a result, CFC products have been largely phased out everywhere since 1987.
New ingredient: But CFCs continued to be used as a propellant for metered dose inhalers, the "puffers" used to treat wheezing disorders like asthma. In the United States alone, about 52 million inhalers containing albuterol (the most commonly used drug for asthma) have been issued annually. Now CFCs have been banned for this use as well and are being replaced by another propellant (HFA-134a). From a medical standpoint, there seems to be little difference in efficacy or safety. (Here's a fine new review of this topic—article purchase required.)
Price: But there is a major cost difference. When the patent for CFC-driven albuterol inhalers expired in 1989, the product went generic and the price dropped to an average of about $13.50 a unit. For some reason that escapes me, the same old medicine blown out of the can by the new propellant has been patented again—and the $13.50 product will be replaced by one that costs $39.50. The consequence will be that some patients paying out of pocket for medication will be driven to use cheaper but much less effective drugs to control their asthma, with potentially serious—or even deadly—effects.
Consequences: This makes me wonder about the balance of harms—what are the consequences of the CFCs dumped in the atmosphere by 52 million puffers compared with the asthmatics who will no longer able to pay for their medication? I don't know much about the contribution of asthma puffers to the atmospheric burden, but I have strong suspicions about the effects of the financial burden. The hike to $39.50 will cost about $1.35 billion more a year. That could mean less for daily necessities for some people without insurance, and less of other medications or care for some of the insured.
Giving Imodium to children
Treatment: Pediatricians have always been leery of loperamide (Imodium) as a diarrhea treatment for children. First, the medication works by slowing down the physical activity (peristalsis) of the bowel, which allows the liquid stool in the small intestine to travel through the colon more slowly. This gives the cellular "pumps" in the wall of the large intestine more opportunity to reabsorb the water in the liquid stool and convert in into solid material. However, it also means that in cases of infectious diarrhea where the "pumps" are working poorly, the diarrhea is really continuing; we just can't see it. That means the severity of a child's fluid loss might go unnoticed. The other problem is that bacterial toxins in the diarrheal fluid have more time to be absorbed by the body or cause damage to the intestinal wall, which is likely to make the child sicker.
New findings: A recent review examined loperamide's benefits and risks for children under the age of 12. The research team, led by Su-Ting Li of the University of California-Davis, put together the results of a number of studies of diarrhea that compared children treated with loperamide with children treated with placebo. When all of the results were pooled, they showed that loperamide somewhat shortened the course of diarrhea (by a little less than a day, on average). But about 1 percent of the loperamide-treated children experienced problems, ranging from lethargy to temporary paralysis of the bowel to death. The serious adverse effects occurred only in children younger than 3.
Conclusion: The authors urged (and I concur) that this medicine should not be used for children under 3, for dehydrated or malnourished children, or for those with bloody diarrhea or broader illnesses.
And also: Citing this paper allows me to pay tribute to the journal in which it was published: PLoS Medicine, one of several journals published by the Public Library of Science. This is a journal of fine quality founded by people who believe that all readers (you, me, and doctors in poor countries) should have free access to the journal's entire contents—not just the abstracts. Peer review is just as stringent as in traditional journals that charge for online viewing. The PLoS way is the way every medical and scientific journal should be published. I'd love to persuade colleagues to submit their work first to a Public Library of Science journal and to go the limited-access route only if they must.
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The Actual World
“Mount Thoreau” and the naming of things in the wilderness. | <urn:uuid:445f80d9-2446-449b-8c0c-40892e2d79e3> | {
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The American strategic plan was clear: Move up the Solomon Island chains to open a direct route to the Philippines, take the Philippines and then move out from there on to Tokyo.
In 1942, the U.S. Marines drove the Japanese out of the first Solomon island, Guadalcanal; in 1943, painfully, bloodily, the 37th Infantry Division pushed through the equally impenetrable jungles of New Georgia, sweeping what was left of the 15,000 defending Japanese into the sea. The next and final Solomon island was Bougainville, and there the tactics were dramatically altered though the strategic concept remained the same.
In early November 1943, the 3rd Marine Division and the 37th Infantry Division invaded Bougainville with an offensive-defensive mission. There was no thought of pushing across this 250-square-mile island and eliminating the 25,000 Japanese in a brutal, costly, slow action. Instead, the plan was to take only a small piece of Bougainville, perhaps six square miles, including the deepest, best port at Empress Augusta Bay. Within those six square miles, a major airfield would be built, from which American planes could range over the South Pacific as far forward as the Philippines, assuring security from the air for the convoys and task forces that would invade the Philippines in October 1944.
By November 13, the Marine and Army units had reached their 2-mile-deep objective against relatively moderate enemy ground resistance and airstrikes. During the next four months, the position was consolidated, the airfield was built, and the springboard to the Philippines was set. Fighting had been limited; it was obvious that the Japanese had assumed–and hoped–that the American troops would go after them in the jungle terrain, where the Japanese could inflict heavy casualties on the Americans as they hacked their way, yard by yard, through those jungles. By March 1944, the Japanese realized that the Americans were going to sit this one out, manning defensive lines. If they wanted to kill their enemy and, most important, take out the vital airfield, the Japanese would have to attack head-on.
The American perimeter was dotted with a number of hills and valleys. The famed Hill 700 was right in the center of the perimeter, towering above the entire area with a clear view of the airfield. Hill 700 was the linchpin of the American defenses, the key to holding the perimeter positions to its right and left and eventually the airfield. The 3rd Marine and 37th Infantry divisions were spread thinly along this two-mile perimeter, with forces in reserve that could be sent forward wherever the Japanese might break through. Patrols were sent out to find and fix Japanese troop concentrations. A few prisoners were taken, and several quickly confessed that the Japanese command had finally understood the U.S. defensive concept and tactical plan with Hill 700 as its heart.
On March 8, the inevitable massive Japanese attack began, and it did not wane until March 13, when Hill 700, which had been partially overrun by the Japanese, was retaken by 37th Division forces, who annihilated thousands of Japanese in the recapture phase.
At 6 a.m. on the 8th, the first artillery shell from the attacking Japanese hit in the 145th Infantry Regiment’s sector. The enemy began to carry the fight to the Americans.
The American beachhead was on a coastal plain lying at the foot of the towering Crown Prince Range, volcanic mountains held by the Japanese. The enemy also occupied the rest of Bougainville–giving them a white elephant compared to the Americans’ potent mouse. The two American divisions could not spread their perimeter beyond the nearest foothills overlooking the beachhead. The best they could do was to hang on to the lesser heights that dominated the airfield and to deny those hills to enemy artillery.
Hostile fire was coming from Japanese positions on Blue Ridge, Hills 1001, 1111, 500 and 501 and the Saua River valley. Fire from only a few pieces could hit the airfield from those positions, but those meager rounds hinted at the Japanese destructive potential if they could place their cannon on the hills that the 37th Division defended, mainly Hill 700.
At 7 a.m., the 2nd Battalion, 145th Infantry, received a few stray small-arms rounds, just enough to alert all positions and encourage the men to clean their M-1 rifles. Short-range patrols discovered that the enemy was assembling in front of the 2nd Battalion, and it was thought that the major attack would be against Hill 700.
Shells continued to fall–not only on the airstrip but also on the 145th, the 6th Field Artillery Battalion, the 54th Coast Artillery Battalion, and the 77th and 36th Seabees. Casualties were light, but the Americans were tense. The inaccuracy of the Japanese fire made even the least strategic American installation subject to those wild haymakers. Helmeted repairmen kept the airstrip in operation, filling up holes and smoothing out shell craters. Planes landed and took off with casual disdain. A few planes were destroyed, however, and the possibility of declaring the bomber strip off-limits was seriously considered.
At noon the last patrol was reported in by the 145th, and the combined guns of the 135th Field Artillery, the 6th Field Artillery, the 140th Field Artillery, the 136th Field Artillery, and two battalions of the Americal Division artillery were readied for area fire on the Japanese as they moved from assembly areas behind Hills 1111 and 1000 toward the American lines. The Japanese 3rd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, and the 13th Infantry (less one battalion) crowded toward Hill 700 to join the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, which had filtered in earlier. For two hours, thousands of rounds of American medium and heavy artillery blanketed the target zone. Later, a prisoner admitted that the Japanese 3rd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, was practically annihilated during this bombardment; he said the rest of the troops escaped a similar fate by moving close enough to American lines to get within that umbrella of safety. Anticipating this ruse, U.S. artillery observers had called for fire closer and closer to the 37th’s front lines.
Still, the enemy was in an excellent position. Once the Japanese closed in on the Americans, it was difficult for the U.S. artillery to reach an enemy hiding literally under the front lines. Mortars pounded away in the dark with unobserved results. The 136th Field Artillery alone expended 1,239 rounds that day. Those manning the observation posts yelled back that the enemy was scrambling up the hill after the artillery had subsided. Several booby traps and warning devices were exploded near the positions of Companies E and G, 145th Infantry, and the men in the perimeter holes replied with small arms and mortars. The enemy retaliated with rifles and knee mortars. Fog and rain made the darkness impenetrable.
During that night attack, a device cooked up by Staff Sgt. Otis Hawkins proved invaluable. As soon as the first Japanese started jimmying the barbed wire on the perimeter, Hawkins ordered mortar flares fired and wires pulled, setting off gallon buckets of oil ignited by phosphorus grenades. With help from this artificial lighting, Hawkins directed 600 rounds of 60mm mortar fire, and the riflemen picked off many Japanese who had counted on darkness and confusion to help them achieve their goal.
At the boundary between Companies E and G, an alert sentry killed two Japanese who had squirmed through the wire, and the 2nd Battalion, 145th, reported possible penetration at Hill 700. Under cover of heavy rain and darkness, using Bangalore torpedoes and dynamite to blast holes in the wire, and pushing one full battalion directly at the forward U.S. emplacements, the Japanese had shoved their foot in the door.
Holding fast, the hopelessly overwhelmed soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 145th Infantry, lived or died where they stood. The Japanese assaulted an isolated mortar observation post from Company E, situated on a knoll on the outer perimeter and affectionately dubbed ‘Company E Nose.’ The enemy managed to cut three of the four double aprons of protecting wire before a sergeant, investigating the noise, crawled out of his pillbox and discovered them. Just as the Japanese placed a Bangalore torpedo under the fourth double apron, the sergeant opened up with his Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and caught eight Japanese in the wire. Holding off additional Japanese with his BAR, he called in a 60mm mortar concentration, adjusted it in and around the wire, ducked back to his pillbox and then had a steady concentration dropped around–and often behind–his pillbox during the night. The sergeant and his men survived.
Not so fortunate were Sergeant William I. Carroll, Jr., Pfc John W. Cobb, Pfc Armando W. Rodriguez and Pfc Howard E. Ashley from Company G. Fighting desperately from their large emplacement, they were engulfed by Japanese who attacked them from all sides. Disregarding a possible escape route because they recognized the strategic importance of their assignment, they decided to stick it out, hoping for reinforcements.
The four soldiers fired rifles and threw hand grenades, and Rodriguez knifed an enemy soldier who got in close. His knife was later found in another dead Japanese soldier 100 yards away. One fanatical Japanese shoved a Bangalore torpedo next to the pillbox, and the explosion dazed the occupants. The Japanese then rushed the emplacement. Semiconscious, the four men fired at and wrestled with the enemy. The next day, when the bodies of the gallant Americans were recovered, 12 dead Japanese were found inside the pillbox. Probably many more of the hundreds of lifeless Japanese found around that position were killed by those four soldiers.
At dawn, elements of the Japanese 23rd Infantry, 6th Division, had occupied a portion of the north slope and two strategic positions on the crest of Hill 700, penetrating the American lines 50 yards deep and 70 yards wide. At 7 a.m., a forward observer sensed a new attack in the offing and told his battalion, ‘Pour it on as close to me as you can get.’ The artillery response melted the new Japanese attack. The enemy salient was further boxed in when the 145th lines were extended around the south slope of Hill 700.
At noon, elements of the 1st and 2nd battalions, 145th, counterattacked to regain the lost pillboxes. Some progress was made to the east of the penetration and on the south slope of Hill 700, but the Japanese dagger still cut into the American perimeter. Japanese artillery and mortar shells dropped on the suffering troops, and Japanese snipers pecked away. Enemy field artillery positions were spotted on Blue Ridge, and the 135th Field Artillery plastered them. Chemical mortars whammed their shells into the rear of enemy avenues of approach.
By 10 p.m. a few more pillboxes were recovered, but the Japanese repulsed attempts to recover the remaining positions on the commanding ground of Hill 700. The reverse slope was pitted with Japanese foxholes, and reinforcements kept pushing forward over the dead bodies of their comrades, clashing head-on with the attacking Americans.
Darkness discouraged much aggressiveness, but during the night the Japanese chattered and whistled as they replenished American sandbags and enlarged American foxholes, strengthening their own precarious positions. The 135th Field Artillery alone had expended 2,305 rounds during the day. That afternoon, two light tanks from the 754th Tank Battalion had tried to wipe out pockets of resistance with little success. During the day, the Americans had lost one officer and 28 enlisted men killed and four officers and 135 men wounded. Japanese losses were 511 killed.
The night of March 9 was ominously quiet, and the next morning the Americans pounded the Japanese, who seemed to gain strength with each hour of digging time and infiltration. A provisional battalion from the 251st Anti-Aircraft Artillery occupied a sector of the 145th’s line and with terrifying accuracy laid its 90mm anti-aircraft guns on point-blank targets in the hills. At 11:15 a.m. on the 10th, 36 American bombers showered targets marked by artillery smoke shells. The 135th, 140th and 136th field artillery and the 145th Infantry’s cannon company kept pounding away. At noon, Japanese troops were reported moving south along the Laruma River; the American artillery made short work of this fresh target.
At 5 p.m. the 1st and 2nd battalions, 145th Infantry attacked again, assuming that the Japanese resistance had been sufficiently softened. Using Bangalore torpedoes, bazookas and pole charges, the infantrymen strove for the enemy pillboxes on the crest of Hill 700. The main line of resistance was tenuously re-established with the exception of a 30- or 40-yard gap in the lines. Four pillboxes remained in Japanese possession. Ammunition supply was a knotty problem, and the men ran out of hand grenades in the middle of the attack. Japanese artillery and mortar shells dropped sporadically.
At 6 p.m., the 37th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop was brought south and east of Hill 700; it then advanced into ticklish positions in the Company G area. During the night, increased Japanese gibbering and scurrying in front of Cannon Hill was detected, and Lt. Col. Russell A. Ramsey’s 3rd Battalion on Cannon Hill reported that the Japanese had resorted to firecrackers and other ruses to draw fire. American casualties for that day were seven enlisted men killed, and seven officers and 123 enlisted men wounded. Three hundred and sixty-three Japanese were erased. The 129th and 148th infantry sectors had been relatively quiet, although patrols invariably ran into enemy squads and platoons.
During the afternoon of March 10, Brig. Gen. Charles F. Craig, the assistant division commander, visited the regimental and battalion commanders of the 145th Infantry on the south slope of Hill 700 to observe the situation for the division commander. It was late at night before he could return in a halftrack over the bullet-swept road down which he had come.
During that night, Staff Sgt. William A. Orick of the regimental intelligence section, with two men who had joined him, had a brush with the enemy on top of Hill 700; his companions were bayoneted and evacuated to the battalion aid station. Returning alone to the site of the struggle, Orick slipped a noose of telephone wire over the foot of a Japanese officer killed in the struggle and then pulled him from the crest of the hill. On his body were found plans for the attack on the beachhead, with maps and directions. That information was rushed to the Division G-2 section.
During the early morning hours of March 11, the enemy maneuvered forward and occupied an empty pillbox on the forward slope of Hill 700. With their reverse-slope positions in front of Hill 700 as a stepping stone, the Japanese launched a new assault at dawn. The 23rd Infantry of the Japanese 6th Division attacked along the front from Hill 700 to Cannon Ridge. They came on in waves, one whole battalion attacking on a platoon front. Brandishing their prized sabers, screeching ‘Chusuto!’ (‘Damn them!’), the enemy officers climbed up the slope and rushed forward in an admirable display of blind courage. The men screamed in reply, ‘Yaruzo!’ (‘Let’s do it!’) and then ‘Harimosu!’ (‘We will do it!’). As they closed with the Americans, their leaders cried, ‘San nen kire!’ or ‘Cut a thousand men!’
These battle cries sounded like so much whistling in the dark to the GIs. Mowed down by heavy fire from the dug-in infantry, the Japanese kept tumbling over the bodies of their comrades, unwaveringly advancing toward the spitting guns. The battles on Hill 700 and Cannon Hill were at such short range that infantry weapons alone had to repulse the assault waves. The attack on Cannon Hill came to an end and by 8 a.m. the dazed remnants of a Japanese battalion had withdrawn, leaving hundreds of dead comrades stacked up in front of the 145th’s line.
In the midst of the Japanese assault, Lieutenant Clinton S. McLaughlin, Company G’s commander, dashed from pillbox to pillbox in the heat of the battle, encouraging and directing his men; he stopped only occasionally to return the fire of a few persistent Japanese whose bullets tore his clothes to shreds, punctured his canteen, and painfully wounded him twice. When the Japanese had gotten to within a few feet of the platoon’s most forward position, McLaughlin jumped into the lead emplacement, which had already been outflanked by the enemy. Then he and Staff Sgt. John H. Kunkel, firing point-blank at the invaders, killed enough of them to dissipate the threat. The pile of bodies in front of their position numbered more than 185. Both McLaughlin and Kunkel were later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
On Hill 700, the enemy soldiers had succeeded in holding on to a part of their salient, and fresh Japanese troops kept thrusting forward, trying to occupy new positions and reinforce old ones. By this time, the 145th infantrymen were near physical exhaustion from the continuous three-day fight. Lieutenant Colonel Herb Radcliffe’s 2nd Battalion, 148th Infantry, having been alerted the night before, arrived in a rear area and prepared to assist the embattled 145th Infantry in its efforts to recapture the lost positions.
Retaking the enemy-held positions on Hill 700 was a daunting undertaking. The Americans had to assault the enemy-held pillboxes by crawling up a slope so steep that a foothold was difficult to secure and maintain. Add withering machine-gun fire, rifle fire and grenades, and the obstacles looked almost insurmountable. The Japanese guns swept all approaches. Their positions were only 25 yards from and overlooking the main supply road. Their guns on the crest of the hill covered the ridge itself with intense, accurate and deadly grazing fire. Approximately 100 yards to the rear of those ground-emplaced weapons, other machine guns in trees on the spur of the hill also swept the entire front. With the exception of a few scattered trees and a series of shallow trenches, little cover was available for troops moving up the slope.
Tanks and armored cars manned by the 37th Cavalry Reconnaissance drivers were the only safe means of moving casualties and supplies up and down the main supply road. Evacuation had been hazardous and backbreaking from the start. On the first day of the fight, litter-bearers hand-carried the wounded over a back mountain trail to the reserve area of the 1st Battalion, 145th. The route was long and painful, and the only alternative was the supply road.
On the 9th, ambulances had tried to run the gantlet and succeeded. Encouraged, a convoy of litter jeeps and ambulances from Collecting Companies A and B, 112th Medical Battalion, drove to the Company G motor pool, an area safe for motor vehicles. The route from there was dangerous, and Colonel Cecil B. Whitcomb, commander of the 145th Infantry, explained to the drivers that he would not order them to run this Japanese blockade.
Eight men went on their own anyway, and though they were under fire most of the trip, brought their casualties back safely. Drivers Bob Pittman and ‘Doc’ Davis were slightly nicked by mortar fragments. Private Joe Bernard of Company A had his ambulance ripped in the hood, the cab and finally the windshield by two Japanese snipers. The ambulance orderly was hit, and halftracks were called in. Seventeen halftracks thereafter made constant round-trips from the lines to the aid stations.
Against the obstacles of terrain, supply and determined Japanese resistance, the 2nd Battalion, 148th Infantry, prepared to go into action. Lieutenant Colonel Radcliffe and his five company commanders made a reconnaissance of the sector, and Radcliffe then presented his recommendations for an attack to Brig. Gen. Charles Craig, who was representing the division commander at the 2nd Battalion, 145th, command post.
The plans called for an immediate envelopment of the remaining enemy positions on Hill 700 by Company E. The plans were approved, and at 1:20 p.m. on the 11th the first Company E scout moved cautiously over the line of departure.
The lead squad of Company E’s right platoon crawled awkwardly up the precipitous slope. Led by Lieutenant Broadus McGinnis, 11 men of the squad went over the crest together. Eight men were killed instantly, mowed down by machine-gun fire from their front and flanks. Lieutenant McGinnis and three other men dived safely into a connecting trench on the enemy’s side of the hill and captured a pillbox by killing the three Japanese occupants.
From his vantage spot in the pillbox, McGinnis shouted instructions back to the rest of his platoon throughout the afternoon. At 4 p.m., as he peered out of the pillbox to determine enemy intentions, he was killed by a burst of machine-gun fire. Further advances were deemed suicidal, and at 7 p.m. Company E was ordered to cease the attack, reorganize, hold the ground it was able to occupy and supplement its defenses with one platoon of heavy machine guns from Company H.
Wire teams from Company G strung concertina wire in the gap between platoons, which was covered by fire from positions on the reverse slope of the hill. The rest of the battalion, meanwhile, had settled down for the night in the forward assembly area. The operations for the day, though unsuccessful in restoring the main line of resistance, did prevent further penetration by the Japanese.
At 8 a.m. the next morning, Companies E and F attacked again in a coordinated double envelopment, with Company G in reserve and Company H in general support. The two attacking companies edged slowly around the hill to the right and left, remaining in defilade as much as possible in order to avoid the Japanese machine guns that dominated the ridge in both directions. Then they dispersed along the steep slope. Using every means at their disposal, from smoke and fragmentation grenades to flamethrowers, rocket launchers and dynamite, the Americans began to make their way to the top of Hill 700 against undiminished Japanese resistance.
On the Company F side of the hill, a flamethrower team–Pfc Robert L.E. Cope and Pfc Herbert Born of 2nd Battalion Headquarters Company–crawled up to destroy an enemy pillbox from which machine-gun fire held up the advance of the company. The two soldiers had joined the regiment after the New Georgia campaign and were now seeing their first action. They worked forward, dragging the bulky equipment over terrain dangerously exposed to Japanese automatic-weapons fire until they were 10 yards from the pillbox. At that point, they suddenly rose up in full view of the Japanese and doused the emplacement with liquid fire, destroying it and killing its occupants. The pair then came back through the same hazardous area, recharged their flamethrower and returned to destroy another pillbox. They repeated the action a third and fourth time. Altogether, they crossed the exposed sector five times and knocked out four enemy positions.
The rocket launcher, or bazooka, had not yet been fired in action by the 148th. Staff Sergeants Jim L. Spencer and Lattie L. Graves told Lieutenant Oliver Draine that they would volunteer to take a crack at it. Preceding the company until they reached a shallow trench 20 yards from the nearest Japanese pillbox, they selected their target, and with much anticipation they launched their first rocket. Although this round completely missed the target, the men were so pleased with their partial success that they immediately reloaded the weapon, aimed more carefully and launched a second rocket. This time they scored a direct hit and demolished the pillbox. Now greatly encouraged, they concentrated their rocket fire on other Japanese positions, with Spencer holding the bazooka and Graves reloading it, yelling, ‘Make way for the artillery!’
Spencer and Graves dodged from one covered position to another, blasting away, either killing the occupants of the pillboxes or frightening them into flight. During the intervals between loading and firing the launcher, Graves blasted away with his M-1 rifle, and on one occasion killed three fleeing Japanese. Spencer and Graves fired the bazooka periodically for three hours.
Private First Class Jennings W. Crouch and Pfc William R. Andrick, armed with BARs, advanced with their platoon in the initial movement across the fire-swept ridge. Then, under withering Japanese fire, they ran toward enemy-occupied pillboxes on the rest of the hill. From their final position 15 yards from the pillboxes, they began their assault, firing their rifles from the hip as they advanced. Crouch had an eye shot out, among other wounds, and one .25-caliber bullet went through Andrick’s left wrist. Upon reaching the pillbox, they poured a steady stream of fire into the entrance until all the occupants were killed.
Over in the Company E sector, Pfc John E. Bussard was out for vengeance. Thirty-six years old, married and the father of three children, Bussard was draft exempt, but he had enlisted immediately after learning that a younger brother had been killed in action on New Guinea. Eventually he arrived overseas with but one idea–to avenge his brother. By March 10, he had killed one Japanese soldier, but having the ledger read one-for-one far from satisfied him.
In the unsuccessful afternoon attack on March 11, Bussard volunteered to climb the high slope to observe the enemy installations, although four others of his company had been killed and eight wounded in earlier attempts. Snaking his way inch by inch, he reached a large tree from which he could watch the Japanese. The enemy, well aware of his presence, kept him pinned down to prevent his return, and he was unable to report back to his commanding officer with his observations until an hour after sundown.
The next morning, when the attack was in danger of bogging down, Bussard again volunteered, this time to knock out with anti-tank grenades the installations he had approached the day before. Passing through intense fire, he gained the shelter of the same tree. He fired eight rounds, but was unable to observe the effect because he had to fire between bursts from enemy guns, pulling in his head and shoulders to escape the answering hail of bullets.
Since the results could not be determined, Bussard was summoned to his platoon’s command post, a mere dent in the side of the hill partially sheltered by a 3-foot boulder. Now it was decided to use a rocket launcher against the pillboxes, and again the irrepressible Bussard volunteered for the assignment. ‘I know my way up there better than anyone else,’ he stated convincingly.
Setting out a third time, now carrying a bazooka as well as his rifle, he reached the tree that had sheltered him twice before. Ammunition supply was a problem, but this was overcome by passing each round by hand along a continuous line extending up the side of the hill until the top man could toss the shell over the last 15 yards to Bussard. Twice the rocket fell short of his reach, and each time he had to risk enemy fire to recover it.
After six rounds Bussard was told to cease firing, again because of inability to observe the effect. He threw the launcher over the cliff and rushed to a hole 15 feet away where three members of his platoon had remained, pinned down, the entire night before. With these three men he waited to take part in the assault that they knew would follow, and during the next few minutes they were fired upon by Japanese in the trees to their left. Bussard was wounded in the shoulder, but he managed to return the fire, killing one of the Japanese.
Shortly before Company E attacked, six Japanese riflemen, with bayonets fixed, charged out of a position 20 yards away. All six were killed, two by Bussard himself. But his luck had run out and he was killed by their fire.
Although the effects of Bussard’s grenades and rockets could not be observed while he was using the weapons, two of his pillbox targets were later found to be demolished and 250 dead Japanese, many of them doubtless his victims, were counted in the 50-yard area immediately in front of the tree behind which he had taken up his position. His brother’s death had been avenged many times over, at the cost of his own life.
Meanwhile, Pfc Vernon D. Wilks, a BAR man from Company E, had reached a 1-foot depression protecting him from a machine gun 30 yards away. During the next two hours Wilks remained in the depression, firing more than 25 magazines of ammunition and using four different BARs, although two members of his company were killed and 11 wounded within a few yards of him.
By rising to a kneeling position between enemy bursts and firing well and fast before a Japanese machine gun was again directed at him, Wilks inflicted heavy casualties on the gun crew that was holding up his company. He also distracted the attention of another enemy machine-gun crew so that their effect against Company F was materially weakened.
By noon, Captain Richard J. Keller of Company E and Lieutenant Sidney S. Goodkin of Company F reported by radio to the battalion commander: ‘We believe we have got them. We are going over the top together.’ They personally led the assault, shouting defiance at the Japanese and encouragement to their own men.
Fifteen minutes after the charge commenced, Captain Keller was struck down by Japanese fire and seriously wounded in the chest, but Lieutenant Sam Hendricks, a University of Tennessee football player, assumed command with no interruption in the advance. Lieutenant Goodkin himself was leading his men despite painful arm burns he had suffered earlier. A smoke grenade had exploded in the middle of several incendiary grenades and ignited them. The fires had menaced two wounded men in the same hole, so Goodkin had tossed out the burning grenades one by one to safeguard his men, severely scorching his arms and hands.
The American troops stormed up the hill and over the crest. Staff Sergeant Jack Foust of Company E spotted an abandoned light machine gun, disengaged the weapon from its mount and, firing as he held it in his arms, killed a Japanese machine-gunner shooting from a tree at the troops leading the charge. On both sides of the hill the remaining emplacements of the enemy were being systematically wiped out. By 4 p.m., the 2nd Battalion had regained Hill 700, and the American lines were restored.
The few Japanese who had survived the onslaught would not give up. Mopping-up operations were repeatedly interrupted by sporadic fire from two pillboxes, each occupied by a lone rifleman who had apparently tunneled into the steep hill and could not be dislodged. But there was one trick left, and it remained for Sergeant Harold W. Lintemoot and Pfc Gerald E. Shaner of the 2nd Battalion Ammunition and Pioneer Platoon to pull it out of their bag.
Bringing demolition equipment to a point behind the crest of the hill, the pair prepared explosive charges, fastening six half-pound blocks of TNT to a board about four feet long and attaching a slow-burning fuse. In turn, Lintemoot and then Shaner scurried up to the pillboxes. The hill provided them cover until they were within 10 yards of the emplacement. Then they rushed over the remaining distance, placing the charges on top of the pillboxes and withdrawing to nearby positions that offered them protection from the flying debris. In seconds, the pillboxes were liquidated. No Japanese now contested the occupation of the hill.
The battle for Hill 700 was the bloodiest in which the 37th Infantry Division had yet participated, exceeding in carnage any single action of the New Georgia campaign. A great clearing stood on the reverse slope of Hill 700 where the enemy had made its attack up the hill. Fifteen hundred Japanese were buried in graves and foxholes on that side of the hill. When the battle had ended they were piled on top of one another in all types of grotesque positions, some completely unmarked except for clean bullet wounds in their chests or heads, others without legs or arms. Captured prisoners claimed that the four days of fighting had resulted in the virtual annihilation of the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the Japanese 23rd Infantry and the 13th Infantry, which had been pitted against this thin, narrow front of the 37th Infantry Division.
The battle at Hill 700 was the first defensive action of the 37th Division. Heretofore the division had been on the offensive. Its mission on Bougainville had been to set up a perimeter and defend the airfield. Japanese capture of the hill would have imperiled the whole installation at Empress Augusta Bay.
Japanese staff work during the battle had been good. They had correctly evaluated the importance of the hill and had cleverly approached it through the defiles in the mountains. They had performed magnificently in transporting supplies and ammunition over the mountains and through the jungles. They had hand-carried large guns and placed them on almost inaccessible mountains. They fought up a steep slope that would have been difficult to climb empty-handed. They attacked in force on a narrow front and took advantage of a dark, rainy night to penetrate a key section of the American lines. The Japanese took tremendous losses without wavering. They held their positions until exterminated. At no time in its campaigns in the Pacific did the 37th Division meet enemy soldiers equal to these in valor or ability. This was the real test of the fighting power of the division.
The defense of the hill was committed to the 145th Infantry. The point of the attack was within the sector of the 2nd Battalion, but the whole regiment was eventually engaged in the fight, with the entire division behind it in support. The artillery of the 37th Division and of the entire corps area had been placed so that it could be used in support of an action on any part of the perimeter. The Reconnaissance Troop took a place in the line. The 117th Engineers laid aside their picks and shovels and, taking up rifles, took the place of infantry. The 2nd Battalion of the 148th Infantry made the counterattack that cleaned off the ridge. Quartermaster troops, ordnance men and medics brought up supplies and ammunition and carried away the wounded. The MPs patrolled the roads and fought off the souvenir hunters. The straggler line was used not to keep the front troops from coming back but to keep the sightseers from going forward. The game was over.
This article was written by Stanley A. Frankel and originally appeared in the September 1997 issue of World War II. For more great articles be sure to pick up your copy of World War II. | <urn:uuid:47a52f6b-2144-4f61-8388-f749feb1af92> | {
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In c. 2074 BCE, king Shulgi organized a military reform in the Sumerian Empire, and the next year an administrative reform (seemingly introduced under the pretext of a state of emergency but soon made permanent) enrolled the larger part of the working population in quasi–servile labour crews and made overseer scribes accountable for the performance of their crews, calculated in abstract units worth 1/60 of a working day (12 minutes) and according to fixed norms. In the ensuing bookkeeping, all work and output therefore had to be calculated precisely and converted into these abstract units, which asked for multiplications and divisions en masse. Therefore, a place value system with base 60 was introduced for intermediate calculations. Its functioning presupposed the use of tables of multiplication, reciprocals and technical constants and the training for their use in schools; the implementation of a system whose basic idea was “in the air” for some centuries therefore asked for decisions made at the level of the state and implemented with great force. Then as in many later situations, only war provided the opportunity for such social willpower.
[Quoted from Yu. I. Manin, Mathematical knowledge: internal, social and cultural aspects. arXiv:math.HO/0703427, who quoted from Mathematics and War. Ed. by B. Booß–Bavnbek, J. Hoyrup. Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, 2003.] | <urn:uuid:180fb40f-32dd-4cd1-9770-3b1e47f8520e> | {
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Eko-Kids is a research-based, science education program based on the national 4-H Wildlife Habitat Education Program designed to improve environmental knowledge and behaviors in program participants.
Youth ages 10-18 and educators (formal and informal) and their learners.
Participants will gain:
- Research-based science knowledge related to wildlife and the environment, and
- Appreciation for and improve their understanding of human impacts on the environment.
Total Number of Modules or Session: 6
Total Number of Hours for Program Delivery: 6
- Educational Class
- Educational Video (online or DVD)
- Numbered Extension Publication
Dr. Leslie Burger, [email protected] | <urn:uuid:1ea23c04-760b-4f7a-b7c4-f4e7428a83f3> | {
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Articles by Month: March 2017
Most parents at some point or another question whether their child is properly developing.
“Is that normal?” we ask. “Should I be worried or call someone?”
The need for physical therapy is sometimes obvious, but not always. At FOCUS, our Fort Myers physical therapists for children know a parent’s instincts are usually right. We do offer free screenings to help determine whether we should proceed with an evaluation and possibly services.
Occupational therapists use proven clinical strategies to promote physical and mental well-being and health. A child’s “occupations” can include anything from activities of daily living (basic hygiene, getting dressed, eating, etc.) to education – and yes, playing.
For victims of childhood trauma, these functions may not come easily.
According to the American Society for the Positive Care of Children, approximately 1,825 children are abused or neglected in the U.S. every day. In all last year, there were 6.6 million children reportedly abused or neglected in the U.S. – and those are only the instances that were reported to state or local authorities. To us, these are not merely statistics. They are precious individuals who deserve to be surrounded by compassion and support. The proper response to their suffering is not to shy away from it. Rather, it demands action.
Childhood apraxia of speech may be effectively treated in part with sign language. That was the conclusion of a study by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine, who recommended further study and noted the effectiveness of early intervention of numerous pediatric therapies together.
There is a great deal of evidence to show that learning sign language is beneficial for all children – regardless of whether they have a speech delay. Researchers have found when children learn sign language:
- It improves the cognition in typically-developing children;
- It does not impair or prevent communication for children with disabilities;
- It can help both younger and older children develop important language skills.
A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics underscores the importance of early therapy intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Ample previous research shows the sooner children with autism are able to receive services – including behavior therapy (applied behavioral analysis/ ABA), speech therapy and occupational therapy – the better their overall outcomes. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all 18-and-24-month children be screened for autism because intensive early intervention has been found to improve:
- Language Ability
- Social Interaction
Welcome to the FOCUS blog! Our Fort Myers pediatric therapists are looking forward to sharing news, tips, research and inspiration.
We are approaching this as a way to connect with our families and the greater community. Feel free to share these blogs or contact us with questions, concerns or other feedback. If you have ideas for child therapy blog topics, we want to hear those too!
Our goal here is to touch on issues that are of great importance to many of our families. Often, FOCUS sees children and parents who are facing the same kinds of struggles or have similar questions. They are usually curious about a lot of the same things and they also share many similar interests. We encourage you to explore our new site, browse the various blog topics and reach out to us if you want to follow up on any specific topic or issue.
FOCUS is a full-service child therapy clinic offering speech, occupational, physical and (coming soon!) behavior therapy/ applied behavioral analysis. We are privileged to serve children with a wide range of developmental delays and disabilities in Southwest Florida. | <urn:uuid:fcfc7f49-8ca3-4928-b3d0-b536aa1b14dc> | {
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Use the following data to answer questions 1-3 (be sure to provide all calculations).
Year CD's Tennis Racquets CD's Tennis Racquets
2005 90 180 $18 $100
2006 100 190 $20 $110
Calculate the value of the price index for GDP for 2006 using 2005 as the base year. By what percent did prices increase?
Now calculate real GDP for 2005 and 2006 using 2006 prices. By what percent did real GDP grow?
Review the GDP information for the past few years from the Bureau of Economic Analysis's Website. Provide a brief summary of the GDP trends over that timeframe and discuss two or three events which may have caused these trends.
Be sure to show your work for each calculation.
Economics,Principles,Application and tools/ fifth Edition O'sullivan/sheffrin/Perez chapters 5-8
Please find the file attached.
As you know, BrainMass is not an assignment-completion service. This response is meant to assist you in tackling your questions and to help you learn the material needed to understand the problems.
GDP Trends in US
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Gross Domestic Product is used to measure the values of the economic activities of a country or an economy. It generally describes the change in the economy over a period of time. It also helps to identify the trends and growth in the production of goods and services in an economy by studying the past trends. The GDP includes the measurement of the value of all goods and ...
The response addresses the queries posted in 422 Words, APA | <urn:uuid:1d565c7e-b97e-49f0-9627-fbdfcac9bd55> | {
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Amerigo Vespucci carries a clear message: Vespucci contributed to knowledge. Nina Brown Baker contrasts Columbus, who sought riches and power, with Vespucci, who practiced tolerance and sought the truth. Columbus lost all, while Vespucci kept his wealth and gained honor.
American writer Baker acknowledged that she wrote with a purpose and that she liked writing biographies. Out of the twenty biographies that Baker wrote, twelve feature heroes from nations other than the United States because, through their lives, she could promote an understanding of other cultures. Her first biography, He Wouldn’t Be King (1941), celebrates Simón Bolívar. It won the Intra-American Award of the Society for the Americas. Her other biographies of foreign heroes include Juarez: Hero of Mexico (1942) and Bruce: King of Scots (1948). Baker’s biographies of Americans include Nickels and Dimes: The Story of F. W. Woolworth (1954) and Nellie Bly (1956), which was reissued in 1972.
Baker’s sixteenth biography, Amerigo Vespucci, exemplifies her method of writing. After reading from a number of authoritative sources, she made an outline of dates of significant events. In Amerigo Vespucci, the first event portrayed is Amerigo’s being alone at night so that he can study the constellations. Other events that show his eagerness to learn make up much of the biography. In old age, he reaps the benefits of his learning: Continents are named for him and the king appoints him pilot major. Through this position, he passes on his knowledge to people who continue to explore and to contribute to knowledge. | <urn:uuid:918243c2-88e7-49ae-8ee4-d046eecfccd1> | {
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Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes
(Perch-likes) > Mullidae
Etymology: Parupeneus: Latin, parum, parvum = small + Peneus, the name of a river.
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 10 - 80 m (Ref. 90102). Tropical; 30°N - 50°S
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9002)
Western Pacific: Japan to Western Australia, New Caledonia and northern New Zealand. Recently reported from Tonga (Ref. 53797).
Inhabits coastal reefs and estuaries (Ref. 9002); in Indonesia mainly found on deep reefs adjacent to strong currents (Ref. 90102). Juveniles found in small schools; adults singly or in small aggregations (Ref. 9002, 48636). May also be solitary. It is rare in the East Indian region, and found only in cool areas of upwelling; but is common in subtropical latitudes (Ref. 90102).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene, 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p. (Ref. 2334)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01202 (0.00722 - 0.02002), b=3.06 (2.92 - 3.20), based on LWR estimates for species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.5 ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100) . | <urn:uuid:48d86378-f90e-4ce0-80d2-e7f0beb94993> | {
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Illustration: Ron Rennells
Editor's note: This article first appeared in the January issue of Campus Safety Magazine.
Research indicates crimes involving the sexual abuse of minors are greatly underreported, and many organizations that serve youth aren't doing a very good job of addressing, let alone preventing, them. What can a campus do to keep its youth safe? To find out, Campus Safety spoke with Cordelia Anderson who operates her own prevention consultation business and is the immediate past president of the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation.
Campus Safety Magazine: What are the signs of child sexual abuse?
Anderson: There are often no visible signs, unless or until there is some type of bodily injury: a sexually transmitted disease or, with girls, a pregnancy. But very often there are no physical symptoms.
We encourage people to watch for too much attention [toward a child] from an adult in a position of authority or caring adult: expensive gifts, alone time, physical/emotional boundary issues.
We also may see in children sexually reactive behavior. They are suddenly saying or doing things that don't fit. They have been exposed to or taught something, and they are reacting. Sometimes there are shifts in their emotional state where they are more angry, depressed, anxious or fearful. They may go from really enjoying someone's company to really not wanting to be left alone with them.
CS: You say that the term "sexual predator" gets in the way of victims being able to recognize that what is happening to them is abuse. Please explain this.
Anderson: [The offender] is someone you know and trust, so very often they are showing [the child] what a child needs and deserves: attention, affection, making them feel very special, making it seem as though [the offender] cares about them and loves them. It often includes touch that begins perfectly appropriately and changes to something that begins to violate boundaries and then is sexually exploitive.
It may also include sexualized discussions that have nothing to do with education. It can include showing a child pornography in order to make them think that some of the things [the offender] wants them to do are OK or to arouse them.
Related Article: Vetting Campus Staff & Volunteers Who Work With Children
It could include getting the child to take photos of themselves, which can later be used for blackmail or silencing them. It can include alcohol or other drugs, including over-the-counter medication that makes a child less resistant.
It then often moves to threats or blaming the victim. 'You wanted this. You liked it before. This is our special secret. No one is going to believe you.'
CS: So this is how someone grooms a child. How does an offender groom the parents?
Anderson: Those who know how to do this know how to pick vulnerable children. Part of the grooming process is to test the kids to see how far [the offender] can manipulate them. They prey on your trust, and part of that is getting other adults [in a child's life] to totally trust them so they are beyond question.
For example, they may look for children who are particularly needy for male attention: children with single mothers, absent fathers. With special needs children they take a special interest in the child. The parents are so thankful for the attention to their child. They're so thankful that someone sees their child as special and has all these opportunities.
CS: Please give examples of what types of behaviors between an adult (or older child) and child are acceptable and what are not.
Anderson: Paying attention to a child's needs and complimenting them is appropriate. Private questions about sexuality, such as what color of underwear they have on are not. It is OK to spend time with a child, but giving expensive gifts or treating some children differently than others with sexualized affection and attention is not. Walking through a shower room is appropriate. Showering with a child is not. [It's also appropriate for there to be two adults monitoring the shower room since a significant portion of child sexual abuse is peer-to-peer.] Taking appropriate photos is OK but not nude photos taken by or for an adult in the position of authority.
For coaches, giving a massage for sore muscles that is healing, appropriate and in public can be OK but not if it moves to a more sexualized touch. | <urn:uuid:36aea62b-e0d7-4a55-ab84-0ac7b0f68b67> | {
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Tropical Storm Douglas - June 18-23, 1990
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on June 5th. The
system moved westward across the tropical Atlantic
and Caribbean sea with minimal development, entering the eastern north
Pacific ocean on the 16th. Slowly developing,
the system became organized enough to be considered a tropical
depression late on the 18th. The system initially moved
west-northwest south of a weak high pressure area. The system
became a tropical storm southwest of Acapulco while
turning to the northwest during the afternoon of the 19th.
Douglas' center came within 15 nautical miles of the Mexican
coast during the night of June 21st and began to weaken due to the
nearby mountainous terrain. Turning west-northwest,
Douglas continued to weaken and dissipated as a tropical cyclone during
the afternoon of the 24th. Below is the
storm, provided by the National Hurricane Center.
The storm total rainfall maps below were constructed using data from
the Comision Nacional del Agua,
the parent agency of Mexico's
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Ways to make sure your properties don't attract any occupants but humans this season.
By Hope Bowman
As temperatures drop, your residents will be looking to keep their spaces cozy and warm, and they probably aren’t thinking about how to keep pests out of their homes. But a variety of common pests will be looking to escape the cold just like the rest of us, in a process called “overwintering.”
Apartment buildings have an ample supply of food and hiding spots, which makes them the perfect target for overwintering pests. Insects can overwinter at any stage of development, from larva to adults, and their hibernation habits differ by species. Some actively feed and grow during the colder months, some breed, and others just lay low until the temperature rises again in the spring.
In any case, you almost certainly can expect a number of common pests to try to take up residence on your property as the weather changes, but a few important strategies can help you keep the heat in and the intruders out.
Let’s start with a look at a few of the most common cold-weather pests.
Rodents: A Serious Health Threat
Rodents are perhaps the most troubling of the pests that can infiltrate multifamily dwellings. More than just a nuisance, rats and mice are a serious health threat. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rodents can spread more than 35 diseases, some of which can be deadly. It doesn’t take an actual rodent bite for these diseases to spread to humans. Contact with food or surfaces contaminated by rodent feces, urine, or saliva, or simply contact with the pest itself, can be enough to transfer disease.
Beyond being a health concern, rodents also pose a safety hazard. They love to chew and often cause serious structural damage by gnawing on everything from wood and drywall to electrical wiring. The damage often happens completely out of sight, and by the time it’s discovered, the repair work needed can be expensive.
Unfortunately, rats and mice can be tricky to keep out. These nimble pests can compress their skeletons to squeeze through surprisingly small openings: A full-grown rat can fit through a hole the size of a quarter; a mouse, a hole the size of a dime. Once they get in, they can reproduce quickly, leading to an infestation behind walls, in crawlspaces and attic areas, or under the floorboards.
Some signs to look for that could indicate you have a rodent infestation:
1. Droppings: Rodent droppings can be found pretty much anywhere rodents go. Mouse droppings are about the size of a grain of rice; rat droppings, the size of a raisin. Both look like tiny pellets.
2. Urine trails: Rodents leave behind urine trails to communicate with one another. You may notice a distinct odor coming from areas of high rodent traffic.
3. Gnaw marks: Gnaw marks often can be found around corners and along baseboards where rodents travel most frequently. Residents may also find damaged food products.
4. Grease and rub marks: Look for yellow and brown discoloration along baseboards, another sign of rodent activity.
Depending on where it’s located, your building can be prone to a variety of pests that come and go with the seasons. Some of these, like Asian lady beetles, stink bugs, and cluster flies, don’t necessarily pose the same health and safety threats rodents do, but they’re a nuisance nonetheless. And they certainly will look for a warm place to overwinter as the temperature drops.
Asian lady beetles, commonly known as ladybugs, will gather in large numbers on the outside of light-colored buildings, often looking for the warmth of sunlight. As they gather, they find cracks, crevices, and holes to sneak inside.
Stink bugs also look to bask in the warm sunlight in colder months and can be found on walls of buildings where the sun hits. Stink bugs are not dangerous, but if they feel threatened, they’ll live up to their name.
Likewise, cluster flies can be found on the sunniest sides of a building. Slightly larger and darker than the common housefly, cluster flies can crawl through small openings around screens, doors, vents, and walls in search of an overwintering home in wall voids or enclosed ceiling areas.
Bigger Pest, Bigger Problem
When thinking about pest prevention, we tend to focus on the most common intruders, like insects and mice, but winter pests don’t always come in small packages. As the pest gets bigger, so do the potential problems.
Birds, raccoons, and squirrels can quickly cause a lot of damage in multifamily properties. Birds can carry numerous diseases, and their droppings corrode metal and deface outdoor walls. Squirrels love to seek shelter in roofs or attics, and once inside, they can cause an amazing amount of damage in a short amount of time. Raccoons are quite clever, able to open doors and latches. An uncapped chimney is a welcoming invitation to these nocturnal marauders.
It’s Cold Out There
Now that you know some of the most common pest threats during cold months, here are a few tips to keep them out of your buildings:
1. Mind the gaps. Inspect the interior and exterior of your building for holes or gaps. Inside, look behind furniture and in the corners and cabinets for any potential pest entryways. Seal any openings, gaps, or cracks with caulk or protective sealant to ensure a strong line of defense against pests that may be searching for a comfortable place to overwinter. Install tight-fitting door sweeps and weather stripping on doors and windows to close any gaps large enough for rodents or insects to squeeze through.
2. Take out the trash. Keep Dumpsters or trash cans as far away from your building as practical. Make sure they have lids, and have them cleaned regularly. Also make sure your community has routine garbage pickup so you avoid overflowing bins, which are an open buffet to many pests.
3. Don’t forget wood and leaf piles. If you keep wood or leaf piles on your property, be sure to maintain at least 20 feet between the piles and any buildings. These piles are warm, moist havens for pests, and the closer to your buildings they sit, the more likely you are to experience a pest problem.
4. Watch out for moisture. Check for leaks, specifically in bathrooms, attics, and basements. Water is as essential to life for pests as it is for humans. Moisture accumulation will attract a variety of pests and can damage property too.
5. Keep it clean. Don’t leave any food out in common areas. It sounds so simple, but it’s one of the most common reasons for pest problems. Crumbs and food stored in non-airtight containers can attract rodents from afar with promises of an easy meal. It’s important to keep common-area refrigerators and dishwashers clean as well. Odors alone can be a signal for pests to come dine.
Look at it from the pest’s point of view—wouldn’t you do anything you could to get inside a nice, warm space when it gets cold outside? You would, and so will they. So, keep these tips in mind and, in general, think like a pest. It’ll help you spot the signs of their presence and determine ways to keep the invaders out. When in doubt, call a pest-control professional for advice. | <urn:uuid:63236759-b184-44e8-a315-4efda03a598d> | {
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Researchers found the flavonoid apigenin – found in parsley, thyme and other plants and herbs – triggered the formation of human brain cells and strengthened their connections.
Lead author Stevens Rehen, of the D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and colleagues publish their findings in the journal Advances in Regenerative Biology.
The team says their findings suggest apigenin – also found in red pepper, chamomile and many other plants and herbs – shows promise as a treatment for numerous neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and schizophrenia.
Previous animal studies have shown that substances from the same flavonoid group as apigenin may benefit memory and learning, and other research has demonstrated that flavonoids have the potential to preserve and boost brain function.
For this latest study, Rehen and colleagues set out to gain a better understanding of how apigenin affects human brain cells or neurons.
Apigenin transformed human stem cells into neurons in 25 days
The team applied apigenin to human stem cells – cells that have the ability to develop into different cell types – in a laboratory dish.
They found that after 25 days, these stem cells transformed into neurons – an effect the researchers say was not seen in the absence of apigenin.
The team found apigenin-treated neurons (right) developed stronger synapses than untreated neurons (left).
Image credit: Rehen et al.
What is more, the researchers found that the connections that developed between the newly formed neurons – known as synapses – were stronger and more sophisticated. “Strong connections between neurons are crucial for good brain function, memory consolidation, and learning,” notes Rehen.
Further investigation revealed that apigenin boosts neuron formation and connections by binding to estrogen receptors (ERs), which influences the development, progression, function and plasticity of the nervous system.
While studies have shown the hormone estrogen may delay development of Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, depression and Parkinson’s, among other neurodegenerative conditions, Rehen and colleagues note the use of estrogen therapy is hampered by the risks of tumor growth and cardiovascular problems it poses.
However, the team says their findings suggest apigenin could offer a promising future treatment alternative for a number of neurodegenerative disorders.
“An alternative approach would be to mimic estrogenic-mediated positive effects by modulating specific ERs with other estrogenic compounds, such as some flavonoids classified as selective ER modulators (SERMs),” they explain.
In addition, Rehen says their study suggests the possibility of a simple brain-boosting strategy we can all adopt:
“[…] Flavonoids are present at high amounts in some foods and we can speculate that a diet rich in flavonoids may influence the formation of neurons and the way they communicate within the brain.” | <urn:uuid:ea34e2c7-ac07-4e70-97f5-ec744ab96ac7> | {
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Five microcredit programs innovate to break the cycle of poverty
Microcredit programs in developing countries now include other features such as connections to markets and savings accounts, as well as business development, health, and education services.
One of the best ways to encourage economic growth in poor areas is to provide affordable small loans to farmers and small-business owners. Called microcredit or microloans, these programs can inject capital into communities that lack the collateral required by conventional banks.
Today, Nourishing the Planet introduces five innovative microcredit programs that are encouraging economic growth in poor communities.
1. Farmer-to-farmer programs: Microcredit programs tend to be most sustainable when they promote cooperation between residents of a community. Encouraging farmer-to-farmer support can be an effective technique because it allows participants to be less reliant on outside financing and guidance.
Farmer-to-farmer programs in action: When Africa’s Sustainable Development Council (ASUDEC) connects farmers with microcredit loans, the recipients have several expectations placed upon them. ASUDEC requires farmers to not only pay back the loans, but also to offer equally affordable loans to their neighbors. This policy generates a ripple effect, helping communities increase their incomes and fund their own progress, rather than relying on ASUDEC. As the trust and cooperation between farmers builds, it “helps the poor transition from subsistence to entrepreneurship,” says ASUDEC’S Director, Dr. Salibo Some.
2. Integrated economic support: While gaining access to affordable lines of credit is an important step for poor farmers, it isn’t always enough to provide real financial stability. Some microcredit programs go beyond small loans and offer many services, such as connections to markets, supply regulation, and savings accounts.
Integrated economic support in action: BRAC, formerly Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, started its microfinance program in 1974 in Bangladesh, and now provides asset- and referral-free microloans to impoverished people in 16 countries. The largest development organization in the world, BRAC’s aim is to “use microfinance groups as a social platform to deliver scaled-up services in health, education, business development, and livelihood support.” They provide specialized loans ($50 to $700) and training for young women, and larger loans ($700 to 7,000) to existing small enterprises. All of these loans come with access to a range of services, including savings, technical assistance, and marketing. Over 99 percent of BRAC’s 7 million borrowers pay back their loans on time.
3. Training centers: Without the necessary knowledge and training, many farmers who receive microloans would struggle to increase their production and pay back loans. Most microcredit programs, therefore, link their loans with training and education on up-to-date techniques and practices.
Training centers in action: Ecova Mali was started in 2007 in order to provide grass-roots development in Mali. The two main thrusts of its program are providing farmers with training in sustainable agriculture and offering microfinancing (loans and grants) to help farmers start environmentally and socially responsible enterprises. It has a permanent training facility in Mali, where local experts teach fellow Malians new techniques, such as using natural fertilizers, aquaculture, and biogas, and explain why they are preferable to traditional methods. Once they receive the education, the farmers may be offered loans or grants to get started on their own eco-friendly, profitable farms.
4. Health information programs: The history of microcredit programs is not spotless. Financiers have occasionally preyed upon the poor, profiting substantially from microloans. And sometimes loans have proven to be ineffective at delivering immediate relief and aid. One tactic employed by some programs is to link loans directly with health information and care.
Health information programs in action: The Microcredit Summit Campaign was originally launched in 1997 in Washington, DC, as an international effort to bring access to credit to millions of the world’s poorest people, especially women. One important facet of its mission is to work with a network of trainers to reach “over half-a-million microfinance clients in 18 countries with life-saving health education lessons.” This is crucial to combat insufficient knowledge of nutrition, sanitation, HIV/AIDS, and many other health-related issues. The campaign is specifically trying to establish self-sustaining education systems through microloans, which are independent of donor support.
5. Individual investors: Sometimes NGOs and governments fail to provide services where and when they are needed. Dedicated individuals, however, can contribute immeasurably to their communities by utilizing and encouraging microfinancing and partnerships that build trust and cooperation.
Individual investors in action: Dinnah Kapiza, an agrodealer in Malawi, lost her husband in 1999, and she responded by taking a training course in business that came with a microloan. She used that money to start a new agro-dealership, Tisaiwale Trading, which sells agricultural supplies, such as seeds and tools, to roughly 3,000 nearby farmers in Malawi. Her business is flourishing, providing affordable supplies and technical training on how to best use them, and she is working to connect women’s groups to their own microcredit.
• Sign up to receive a weekly selection of practical and inspiring Change Agent articles by clicking here. | <urn:uuid:33148339-cd04-4582-9069-729074daa147> | {
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History and Fact Sheet
- The primary purpose of Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) San Francisco
is to facilitate the safe and efficient transit of vessel traffic in
the waterways of San Francisco Bay, its seaward approaches and
tributaries in an effort to prevent collisions, rammings, groundings
and the associated loss of life and damage to property and the
- The secondary purpose of VTS San Francisco is to provide
assistance to other Coast Guard units in the accomplishment of their
missions, such as search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, and aids
- VTS San Francisco is responsible for the safe movement of
approximately 133 miles of waterway from offshore to the ports of
Stockton and Sacramento. VTS San Francisco averages 250 vessel
movements a day.
BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
- Jan 1968 - HARP Formulated: The Harbor Advisory Radar
Project (HARP) was formulated in January 1968. The purpose of HARP was
to evaluate land based radar in maritime traffic control. San Francisco
was selected as the site of the first project, in early 1969, due to
the well developed Coast Guard communications system in the Bay Area,
the port traffic density was not high enough to require complex data
collection and the high occurrence of fog allowed a complete evaluation
of system benefits during low visibility. It was believed at that time
that the experience gained at San Francisco Bay would be applicable at
- Jan 1970 - HARP Operational: In January 1970, HARP became
operational. Located at Pier 45 Fishermans wharf in the Marine Exchange
lookout station, HARP worked on channel 18A VHF-FM. HARP was a
voluntary system of vessel movement reports. No Captain of the Port
authority was granted to direct vessel movements.
- Jan 1971 - Collision: On 18 January 1971 at 0141 in low
visibility, as the HARP watchstanders looked helplessly on, the Tankers
ARIZONA STANDARD and OREGON STANDARD collide near the Golden Gate
Bridge spilling 800,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay causing
extreme environmental damage and raising national publicity. This
collision resulted in the complete shutdown of port operations. The
cause of the accident, according to the NTSB was: (1) the failure of
the vessels to establish and maintain communications; (2) navigating a
narrow channel in dense fog; (3) failure of the OREGON STANDARD to make
timely radar contact; (4) Loss of radar contact by the ARIZONA STANDARD
and (5) negligence on the part of both masters. The NTSB recommended
that HARP be continued and that legislation be passed by congress
requiring the use of Bridge-to-Bridge radiotelephone.
- Aug 1971 - Bridge to Bridge Radiotelephone Act: In 1971
the Bridge to Bridge Radiotelephone Act was passed by Congress. This
act requires vessels to carry a radiotelephone on the navigation bridge
to be used to communicate movement intentions to the bridge of other
vessels. Implementing regulations by the Coast Guard and Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) designated VHF FM Channel 13 as the
- Sep 1971 - VTS Advisory Committee Established: In
September 1971 an advisory committee was established for the
establishment of VTS San Francisco. The purpose of this committee was
to establish traffic lanes in San Francisco Bay (the Traffic Separation
Scheme was adopted for use in March 1973), and to develop draft
regulations for the use of the traffic lanes. The committee consisted
of 10 members (tug/ferry operators and pilots/masters).
- Jul 1972 - Ports and Waterways Safety Act: In July 1972
the Ports and Waterways Safety Act was passed by Congress. This act
authorizes the Coast Guard to establish, operate and maintain vessel
traffic services for ports, harbors, and other waters subject to
congested vessel traffic.
- Aug 1972 - VTS San Francisco Established: In August 1972
VTS San Francisco was established and in May 1973 VTS San Francisco was
relocated atop Yerba Buena Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay.
The operating frequency of VTS was changed to VHF FM Channel 13.
- 1978 - Port and Tanker Safety Act: This act gave the
Coast Guard authority via the Secretary of Transportation to order any
vessel to operate or anchor in a manner to which the Coast Guard
directs if by reason of weather, visibility, sea conditions, port
congestion, or other hazardous circumstances such directive is
justified in the interest of safety.
- Nov 1978: At 0845 on 5 November 1978, in low visibility
near the Golden Gate Bridge, the M/V ORIENTAL FINANCIER and F/V KAISER
collide in San Francisco Bay with no loss of life (4 persons rescued
even though the F/V was totally destroyed). VTS did not have the F/V on
radar and the skipper reported that he was not listening to channel 13.
It was determined that VTS procedures were adequate at the time of this
- Nov 1980: On 2 November 1980, after VTS San Francisco took
navigational control of a charter F/V (lost in the fog), the F/V DORA
BELLA ran aground near Baker Beach vicinity Golden Gate Bridge, no loss
of life. However this incident established guidelines for navigational
control of vessels by VTS that are still in effect today (under no
circumstances does VTS take navigational control of a vessels
- May 1986: On 26 May 1986, the Tanker GOLDEN GATE, while
proceeding northbound offshore (7 miles NNW of Point Reyes), collided
with the F/V JACK Jr. resulting in the loss of three lives. This
accident resulted in VTS establishing the Offshore Vessel Movement
Reporting System (OVMRS). The OVMRS was the first of its kind in the
United States. The OVMRS is used to receive vessel movement information
(course, speed and ETA's to various reporting points) from vessels
transiting through an area bounded by a 38.7 nautical mile radius
around Mount Tamalpais. The information received from vessels is
broadcast on VHF channel 12 by VTS twice an hour on the quarter hour.
- 1990 - Oil Pollution Act (OPA 90): This Act required that
the Coast Guard specify certain vessels must participate in a VTS. The
Coast Guard begins process to establish VTS National Regulations which
became effective October 1994.
- Oct 1994 - VTS National Regulations: On 13 October 1994,
federal regulations made participation in the VTS mandatory for
power-driven vessels 40+ meters long while navigating, towing vessels
8+ meters long while towing, and vessels certificated to carry 50+
passengers for hire while engaged in trade.
- May 1995 - San Francisco Bay Regulated Navigation Areas:
On 3 May 1995, federal regulations went into effect establishing
regulated navigation areas within the San Francisco Bay Region. These
regulations, developed with input from the Harbor Safety Committee of
the San Francisco Bay Region, will increase navigation safety by
organizing traffic flow patterns; reducing meeting, crossing, and
overtaking situations in constricted channels; and by limiting vessels'
- 23 May 1997 - Commenced operations with new VTS Upgrade
System: VTS Upgrade System includes the installation of
state-of-the-art computer digitized radar displays shown on electronic
charts. The capabilities of the new system will automate many of the
controller's duties allowing more time for monitoring traffic.
VTS YEARLY PARTICIPANTS
|Type of Vessel
|U. S. Navy
|U. S. Coast Guard
|Tugs without Tow
|Tugs with Tow
* Deep Draft Statistics not recorded after 22 May 1997.
** 1997 Statistics as of 30 September 1997.
More statistics are forthcoming. Watch this space. | <urn:uuid:2b9e994a-67d7-430c-ac7f-0b03fd36a1ec> | {
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Newlines and other special characters in Unix filenames
Did you ever wonder why Unix allows newline characters in filenames? Did you ever run into the problem where filenames that start with "-" cause problems with commands like rm? Have you ever created a directory full of files whose names were entirely just strings of " " (space) characters of varying lengths?
Unix allows filenames to be any arbitrary sequence of bytes, except '\0' and '/'. Fixing Unix/Linux/POSIX Filenames, by David A. Wheeler, is an essay about why it shouldn't.
To be honest, when I first followed a link to that essay, I was expecting to disagree. After all, the extreme flexibility of Unix filenames is a feature, not a bug! Writing programs and doing experiments is so much easier when your operating system doesn't make arbitrary restrictions!
But after reading the whole thing, I'm convinced. At the very least, disallowing characters 0x01-0x1f in filenames is completely sane, and would solve all kinds of problems with Unix scripting. It would make programming easier.
- Restricting filenames: "Programs assume it, standards permit it,
operating systems already do it."
-- David A. Wheeler
But no, prohibiting files from being named "com1.txt" for historical reasons (which Windows does - try it!) is still not okay. | <urn:uuid:2189607f-5ca4-416e-a177-62f3b9ef3b5f> | {
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We, as programmers, are always on the lookout for new platforms to create software for - but have you ever thought about the possibility of programming your clothes?
"Intelligent textiles" is the general term for what you might call wearable computers. At the moment they are often fairly primitive devices at the level of a few LEDs that can be flashed in a pattern to create the latest fashion sensation - or just a geeky embarrassment depending on how well it is done and carried off.
Now two teams of researchers into intelligent textiles - yes there is such a topic for academic research - have created something that is moving in a more serious direction. They have developed the concept of interactive clothing whereby the body's physical and emotional state triggers the transfer of personalized memory back to the wearer.
The project, titled Wearable Absence, uses a system of wearable devices which incorporate adaptors and soft cabling systems with fashionable clothing designs. The prototype garments incorporate wireless devices and bio-sensing devices to retrieve objects from a database of image and sound, creating a narrative, or string of messages, from an 'absent' person.
The sensors record the wearer's temperature, heart rate, galvanic skin response (moisture) and rate of respiration. The data is sent via the Internet to a database which in turn sends back messages to the clothing. The messages, which evoke memories of an absent person, may take the form of voice recordings or songs broadcast from speakers sewn into a hood or shoulder seams, or scrolling text on a LED array woven into fabric, or video and photographic imagery.
To give an example, a person might be experiencing a certain emotional state such as stress, grief or despair. The bio-sensors would prompt the person's clothing to receive a range of messages such as photos, texts and sound recordings to provide comfort. The whole idea is to enhance human experience, with potential for the fields of health care and well-being.
Clearly, however, with some additional programming, an open API say, the possibility of developing apps for clothing that can access a remote database, provide information about the person's physical state and retrieve video and audio data is intriguing and might give new meaning to "there's an app for that".
For more information visit the websites of the two research teams: SubTela and WEARABLEABSENCE
For a more DIY approach see Fashioning Technology: A DIY Intro to Smart Crafting. | <urn:uuid:40ad2e70-1323-45ac-92a3-24dd6b6a9f68> | {
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This volume will prove of vital interest to those studying the use of renewable resources. Scientists, engineers, and inventors will find it a valuable review of ocean wave mechanics as well as an introduction to wave energy conversion. It presents physical and mathematical descriptions of the nine generic wave energy conversion techniques, along with their uses and performance characteristics.
Author Michael E. McCormick is the Corbin A. McNeill Professor of Naval Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy. In addition to his timely and significant coverage of possible environmental effects associated with wave energy conversion, he provides a separate treatment of several electro-mechanical energy conversion techniques. Many worked examples throughout the book will be particularly useful to readers with a limited mathematical background. Those interested in research and development will benefit from the extensive bibliography.
Reprint of the John Wiley, New York, 1981 edition.
|Availability||Usually ships in 24 to 48 hours|
|Author/Editor||Michael E. McCormick|
|Dimensions||6.14 x 9.21| | <urn:uuid:088859da-ad18-4327-9298-b9013efd4181> | {
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Scientists have come up with a brilliant way of making the process of taking blood or positioning cannulas easier. The new technique relies on the ability of blood haemoglobin to absorb near infrared light, and the surrounding tissue to reflect it. This creates a digital image of the blood vessels under the skin, allowing the precise positioning of the needle to draw blood or administer drugs.
The readout comes from a device that is easy to use and relatively cheap to maintain, with some portable devices costing as little as £40.
This new technology has been marketed by a number of companies, under the trade names “AccuVein”, “EasyVein”, “VeinViewer” and “Veinlite”. An Australian Red Cross study in 2014 showed that 53.4% of blood donors would be more likely to donate blood if devices such as “AcuVein” were used. And the vein visualisation technology was beneficial in 71.4% of cases where veins were not visible to the naked eye.
In the UK, “AccuVein” was licensed by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) for the NHS in 2014. Such devices can be used when taking blood or setting up IV lines for drug administration. Vein visualisation technology is particularly useful in obese, elderly and dark skinned patients where locating veins may be more difficult.
Tests have shown that it reduces anxiety, pain and delays in treatment, a trio of positive results for both patient and health professionals. | <urn:uuid:75d10454-f9ac-4fc7-99d3-0160c8d286de> | {
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The objective of the Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP) is to prevent adverse effects from, reduce, and ultimately eliminate pollution of the Arctic environment. ACAP addresses Arctic pollution sources and acts as a strengthening and supporting mechanism to encourage national actions to reduce emissions and other releases of pollutants that are relevant in the Arctic.
Cooperative actions make an important and significant contribution to the overall international effort to reduce environmental damage on a global level. ACAP develops concrete project proposals for approval as Arctic Council projects, taking into account the needs of indigenous populations in the Arctic. Project that are approved by ACAP obtain their funding from many diverse sources, including the Arctic Council Project Support Instrument (PSI)
ACAP 2015-2017 Work Plan Snapshot
ACAP works to address the impact of climate change through a number of practical projects on short lived climate forcers, like black carbon, in the transport and diesel generators sectors, as well as renewable fuel alternatives. By 2017, the project will publish a black carbon inventory, and develop outreach tools such as the Arctic Case Studies Platform. Improving the living conditions of indigenous peoples will be addressed through two projects, one developing community level assessment tools for black carbon reduction, and another to expand the Local Environmental Observer network (LEO) to the circumpolar region (CLEO). ACAP will continue to work to reduce releases of contaminants such as mercury, obsolete pesticides, dioxins and furans, PCBs and other hazardous waste.
ACAP meets twice a year to discuss priorities and projects identified in the work plan, including new projects within the ACAP mandate. ACAP contributes to cross-cutting initiatives of the Arctic Council. The ACAP Secretariat is house permanently at the Arctic Council Secretariat in Tromsø, Norway. Ulrik Westman (Sweden) is the current Chair of ACAP, supported by a Vice-Chair from the US.
Follow ACAP on twitter at @ACAP_Arctic | <urn:uuid:5a4e08cc-5f09-4c4d-aab9-99f0c61f55f4> | {
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(Bart removed the head of statue of their town founder. And he and his father were pursued by angry people, who cornered them finally.)
Folks: off the kid, man. Off him! Kill Bart! Kill Homer! Let's kill this guy!
Bart: Murderous mob, I beg you to spare our lives. At least until you've heard
the story of how we ended up...with the head of our beloved town founder.
I am wondering why Bart used 'murderous' and 'mob' to address the folks and asked them to forgive them.
'Mob' is prerogative word, isn't it. And so is 'murderous'.
Cambridge Dictionaries Online - Cambridge University Pressmob (CROWD)
1 [C] USUALLY DISAPPROVING
a large angry crowd, especially one which could easily become violent:
The angry mob outside the jail was/were ready to riot.
a lynch mob
Fifty people were killed in three days of mob violence.
2 [C] INFORMAL a group of people who are friends or who are similar in some way:
The usual mob were/was hanging out at the bar.
3 [S] INFORMAL an organization of criminals:
a New York mob leader
Thanks in advance!
BobK, thank you for your answer and correction. | <urn:uuid:efb17f18-614a-4377-9b88-f9624451501e> | {
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Machine language is a set of instructions that specifies the lowest level of computer operations, such as moving data around or adding two numbers. Luckily, modern programming languages hide this low-level complexity from programmers, allowing the programmers to work with a higher level language. A compiler is a program that translates the high level language into machine language.
Ann had always wondered about the intelligence of pigeons. They appeared nearly brainless as they paced her window sill, bobbing their heads. She could never believe that they were smart enough to comprise the core of the kingdom’s pigeon carrier communication network. However, it was not until the summer after her tenth birthday that Ann learned the frustration of working with these birds.
The true difficulty of working with pigeons consisted of trying to give orders. The pigeons only understood a simple set of ultra-low level instructions, called the Binary Instruction and Reference Directives Set (or BIRDS for short). This instruction set contained such commands as “Fly X meters” and “Turn Y degrees”. It completely lacked any high level concepts at all.
To make matters worse, a pigeon could only keep two values in its head at the same time -- one in each side of its brain. This led to complex sequences of instructions, such as: “Store the value 10 in X. Fly X meters.” Every value had to be moved into either the left half of the brain (X) or the right half (Y) before it could be used. Not only did you have to work with these low-level instruction, but you also had to worry about where to put the values for those instructions.
As a result, an instruction such as “Fly to Perth” became a series of 113 instructions measured in meters and degrees. Half of these instructions simply moved data into one of the available slots. A mistake in any one of the instructions could send the pigeon to the wrong city.
In order to form an efficient pigeon communications network, the kingdom's head pigeon master employed hundreds of skilled compilers. These compilers would work day and night translating scrawled instructions from the king's servants into precise BIRDS code. It was a job that took years of training and an obsessive attention to detail.
Thus, it greatly shocked both Ann and the castle’s pigeon master when King Fredrick insisted that Ann learn the skill. Shortly after Ann’s tenth birthday, King Fredrick commanded the pigeon master to spend the summer tutoring Ann in the art of compiling pigeon instructions by hand. Both Ann and the pigeon master assumed that they were being punished.
“I don't understand why I am doing this,” protested Ann after her father left. The pigeon master nodded in agreement, but he was wise enough not to question the king.
“Learning to compile pigeon instructions is an important skill,” commented the pigeon master. “Its value should not be underestimated. Pigeon code is at the heart of the kingdom's entire communication network. The network carries reports from all territories, messages from advisors, and the king’s own commands. You could say that the fate of the kingdom depends on the correct and efficient compilation of BIRDS instructions!” The pigeon master obviously felt passionate about his job.
“But it is so boring,” Ann objected. “Why can't you simply tell the pigeon to fly to Paris, retrieve a message, and come home.”
The pigeon master sighed. He had been over this already. “How does the pigeon know where Paris is? And how does it know what message to pick up? And how does it know how to get back? You have to tell the pigeon exactly what to do. Otherwise it will just look at you blankly and bob its head.”
“I am telling it 'Go to Paris.' That should be enough.” argued Ann.
“It would be enough IF the pigeon had some internal concept of 'going to paris'. But, most unfortunately, that is not one of the skills with which a pigeon is born.”
“Why not?” asked Ann.
The pigeon master looked shocked, as though he could not believe the question. “I do not get to control the knowledge with which pigeons are born,” he finally answered. “I only train the pigeons.”
“You could teach them about Paris,” Ann suggested. “I learned about Paris in school when I was five.”
“What if you wanted the pigeon to go to Atlantis? Or North Saskatoon? Should the pigeons memorize every possible path?” questioned the pigeon master.
“I guess that would be a little much,” agreed Ann. “Especially for birds that can only remember two things at a time. They do not seem up to that sort of challenge.”
“Exactly,” agreed the pigeon master. “The BIRDS code provides a minimal set of instructions that every pigeon knows. It is a building block that can be used to create arbitrarily more complex programs. However, the king and his advisors do not write in BIRDS code. They write in higher level concepts, such as 'Fly to Perth'. As compilers, our job is to transform these high level concepts into simple instructions that a pigeon can understand.”
He put the BIRDS manual in front of Ann and showed her how to translate a simple flight around the castle. Each seemingly simple instruction morphed into a list of agonizingly low-level details. Move this data here, then use it to compute this turn here. Ann struggled to keep the relevant context in her head.
Ann studied each of the BIRDS instructions, trying to memorize them all. The instructions themselves were simple. However, using them to efficiently perform a desired task was an art form.
After a few hours, the pigeon master told her that she was done for the day. As Ann stood up to leave, she thought of another question.
“Don't you ever wish that pigeons were smart enough to just understand what you mean to say?” she asked.
The pigeon master gave a long sigh. “Every single day,” he replied sadly. | <urn:uuid:baee09e3-825d-4b2c-bfcd-6b5aaa0c9ca1> | {
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Space Shuttle Images of Research Areas in Kansas.
STS040-080-064. Junction City and Manhattan, Kansas, U.S.A. June 1991. The agricultural lands of the Smoky Hill River Valley and the green grasslands of the Flint Hills region of central Kansas can be seen in this west-northwest-looking, low-oblique photograph.
Kansas River Valley and Manhattan, Kansas, U.S.A. October 1995
STS058-088-047. Emporia and John Redmond Reservoir, Kansas, U.S.A. October 1993. Emporia and silt-laden John Redmond Reservoir (lower left), part of which is included in the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge, are visible in this west-looking, low-oblique photograph. | <urn:uuid:e4928699-96ad-41ae-a176-fef0c7a8052a> | {
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Difference between revisions of "Anysia of Thessaloniki"
m (→Life: cleaned up the story to suit the original Greek Sinaxaristi not the english)
|Line 2:||Line 2:|
Anysia was born and lived in Thessaloniki during the
Anysia was born and lived in Thessaloniki during the -Maximian persectutions (284-305). She was the daughter of both rich, but very pious parents. After her parents' death, Anysia lived very and fulfilling his commandements. She took private vows of poverty and chastity and used her wealth to help the poor. the she was a [[pagan]] soldier. soldier arrested her and dragged her to temple to to . refused in , Christ. her he even more and the covered her face with a veilthe soldier ripped away to peer at her and drove a sword into her side .
Revision as of 23:34, December 22, 2008
Anysia was born and lived in Thessaloniki during the Diocletian-Maximian persectutions (284-305). She was the daughter of both rich, but very pious parents. After her parents' death, Anysia lived a very quiet and God pleasing life fulfilling his commandements. She was not overwhelmed by the wealth she inherited rather she took private vows of poverty and chastity and used her wealth to help the poor. Her fear of God became widespread even amongst the idolaters. One day as she was heading off to church she met a Roman pagan soldier. This soldier arrested her against her will and dragged her to a temple to worship to the sun god. Anysia refused and confessed her faith in the one and true God, Jesus Christ. The soldier was so enraged by her response that he abused her even more and started to blaspheme the name of God. Anysia unable to hear his blasphemy spat in his face and covered her face with a veil. Embaressed and angered by her actions, the soldier ripped the veil away from her face to peer at her and drove a sword into her side immediately killing her.
- As a doubly-shining lamp of truly mystical brightness
- do ye shine upon the Church like a high-towering beacon:
- thou with beams of martyr's glory, O Anysia;
- thou with rays of great ascetic deeds, O Melania.
- Now together ye are honoured by Christ your Bridegroom for your travails in His Name. | <urn:uuid:3be233a2-e721-42e3-ab02-b3b753407e7d> | {
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The unusual suspects
Extremophiles in the spotlight
Life, it seems, comes in all shapes and sizes. Discoveries made in the past few decades have revealed that living things can make a home just about anywhere on Earth. Extremophiles, organisms that love extreme environments, help to shape our thinking about what could survive in other parts of the universe.
- Thermophiles (extreme heat): The single-celled Pyrococcus furiosus, first found near a volcano in Italy, can withstand temperatures of 100°C. Its enzymes contain tungsten, which is unusual for biological molecules, and function optimally at this high heat.
- Halophiles (extreme saltiness): Wallemia ichthyophaga, the most halophilic fungus known to exist, cannot grow without salt. High levels of salt allow the fungus to grow much bigger and to thicken its cell walls.
- Radioresistant (extreme radiation): First discovered in a submarine hydrothermal vent, the microbe Thermococcus gammatolerans can rebuild its damaged chromosomes following exposure.
You may have noticed that these extremophiles are mostly bacteria (from the Archaea division). But animals can be extremophiles too. Arguably the hardiest is the tardigrade (also known as the ‘water bear’). It can cope with low or high pressure, hot or cold temperatures, very little water and huge amounts of radiation. It does this by going into a hibernation mode. In 2007 it became the first living organism to survive in the vacuum of space without any protection.
speciousreasons/Flickr CC BY NC
- PDF of The unusual suspects [PDF 90KB] | <urn:uuid:e7386e25-ff9e-4593-9943-02a5abdc68fd> | {
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It is not unusual for athletes to exhibit an “abnormal” ECG due to the effect of exercise training on the anatomy and autonomic control of the heart. Most of the changes are present in athletes who participate in endurance events; they are more common in males than in females, and in individuals of African decent (Corrado et al., 2009, 2010). Up to 80% of highly trained athletes show some evidence of ECG changes. Most of these changes can be considered physiologic adaptations to exercise training and do not necessarily indicate any pathology or concern. However, it is important to understand which ECG abnormalities may be physiologic and which are likely to be pathologic. A joint statement by the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation and the European Society of Cardiology provides the following guidelines (Corrado et al., 2010).
The most common training-induced ECG changes in athletes are sinus bradycardia, first-degree AV block, second-degree AV block (Mobitz type 1 only), incomplete RBBB (QRS duration <0.12 s), early repolarization, and isolated QRS voltage criteria for LVH. It is generally agreed that a high degree of endurance training increases parasympathetic tone and decreases sympathetic control of the heart. These changes are likely responsible for the high prevalence of sinus bradycardia, first-degree AV block, and Mobitz type 1 in athletes. However, more serious conditions, such as Mobitz 2 or third-degree AV block, as well as sick sinus syndrome, are indicative of pathologic changes that need medical attention.
Training-induced increases in wall thickness and chamber size are the likely causes of isolated QRS voltage criteria for LVH and for incomplete RBBB. The increased LV size causes higher QRS amplitude, and the increased RV size causes the conduction delay responsible for the incomplete RBBB. However, other criteria for LVH, such as a strain pattern or enlarged atrial size, are rarely present in athletes; and those changes are considered pathologic. Furthermore, a full RBBB or LBBB is not training induced and should also be considered pathological.
Early repolarization is present in 50% to 80% of highly trained athletes. It is characterized by a J point elevation of at least 0.1 mV (1 mm) from baseline, which is often associated with a slurring or notching of the terminal QRS complex. It is most often found in the left precordial leads. It is generally believed that autonomic influences induced by training cause early repolarization, since a slowing of the heart rate exaggerates the ST-segment elevation. However, ST-segment depression or ST-segment changes indicative of a strain pattern are not common and should be considered pathological. | <urn:uuid:8352e36f-0944-4653-b97e-bcb8db9c0257> | {
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Have you ever wondered why skin changes colors?
Why do moles have a different tint than other parts of the skin?
Are moles something you should be concerned about?
Melanocytes produce melanin, the pigment that gives skin its natural color. When skin is exposed to the sun, melanocytes produce more pigment, causing the skin to tan, or darken. Sometimes, clusters of melanocytes and surrounding tissue form noncancerous growths called moles. (A mole is also called a nevus, or the plural, nevi.)
Moles are very common. Most people have between 10 and 40 moles. Moles may be pink, tan, brown, or a color that is very close to the person’s normal skin tone.
People who have dark skin tend to have dark moles. Moles can be flat or raised and may darken during pregnancy or after sun exposure. Flat moles are called junctional nevi and raised moles are called compound nevi. They are usually round or oval and smaller than a pencil eraser. They may be present at birth or may appear later on—usually before age 40. They tend to fade away in older people. When moles are surgically removed, they normally do not return.
A halo nevus occurs when the skin surrounding a mole loses its pigmentation or color. This is benign and often the central mole and white ring will disappear with time. Halo nevi are most common in children and teenagers.
Most moles are harmless and do not require treatment. If you have moles, keep an inventory of their number and appearance. Change in size, shape or color of a mole is cause for medical evaluation. Moles that develop in adult life should also be evaluated.
Sun protection with appropriate clothing and sunscreen are the best way to avoid mole development.
Images courtesy of Gerald Goldberg, M.D.
This information is for general educational uses only. It may not apply to you and your specific medical needs. This information should not be used in place of a visit, call, consultation with or the advice of your Utah skin care specialist or health care professional. Communicate promptly with any health-related questions or concerns. | <urn:uuid:15237028-5d9a-4840-b5a4-57e6e0e030b7> | {
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Thanks to all 141 stations who took the time to work us on or around 7.190 ssb. The logs will soon be uploaded to LOTW and to the www.cooken.org
website where you can download and print your own handsome certificate.
Lots of civil war buffs out there!
John Clem, the "drummer boy of Chickamauga, was born in Newark, Ohio on Aug 13, 1851, When President Lincoln made a call for volunteers to join the Union Army to fight in the Civil War, Johnny ran away from home at age nine and tried to join the newly formed 3rd Ohio Infantry, in 1861. He was refused due to his young age, but he persisted and went to Michigan where he again tried to enlist , this time in the 22nd Michigan Infantry, where he was again refused. But his determination won over the officers who allowed him to join them as mascot and unofficial drummer boy. He was eventually allowed to enlist in 1863, at age 12.
Clem became famous for his actions at Chickamauga. For those actions, Clem was promoted to Sargent, and thus became the youngest NCO ever in the US Army history.
Clem went on to fight at Perryville, Murfreesboro, Kennesaw, and Atlanta, where he was wounded twice and was captured by the Conferate Army in 1863, reportedly with three bullet holes in his cap. The Confederte newspapers made fun of his youth and small size, saying it showed how depleted the Union Army was, for sending such a babe to fight. Clem was later exchanged for a Confedrate soldier and returned to the Union Army.
Clem was discharged from the Army in 1864, at age 13, and returned to school, graduating in 1870. Clem then reenlisted, and was granted the commission of 2nd Lieutenant, by President U.S. Grant, recognizing his fame and notoriety. Clem rose to the rank of Colonel, and Assistant Quartermaster General by 1906, and retired from the Army as Brigadier General in 1915.
Clem died in Texas in 1937, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
His home town of Newark, Ohio mounted a 6 ft bronze statue depicting the young Johnny Clem. Also a public school bears his name, and a WW I troop transport ship was named The John. L. Clem. | <urn:uuid:950ed8d3-15e4-4593-b3d8-ff407fca0a4b> | {
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Behind the buzz and beyond the hype:
Our Nanowerk-exclusive feature articles
Posted: Jun 07, 2011
A 'green' nanomaterial to remove organic impurities from waste water
(Nanowerk Spotlight) Water treatment is important for human consumption and environmental protection. Non-trivial purification of water involves removal of toxic ions, organic impurities, microbes and their by-products as well as scooping oil spills. The removal of organic contaminants from water is a major industrial concern. The contaminated water from industries usually contains considerable amounts of organic hydrocarbons such as BTEX (benzene toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene) prohibiting direct release into natural water bodies. The dissolved organic compounds cause bacterial growth, odor generation and biofouling bringing limitation on reuse (see: "The Challenge of Micropollutants in Aquatic Systems").
The challenging goal here is to detect, decompose and remove contaminants present usually in low concentrations (see: "Science and technology for water purification in the coming decades"). Towards this end, different types of sorbent materials have been developed to date, the most common being activated carbon. Though the use of activated carbon is still considered to be one of the best method, the disposal of adsorbed contaminants along with the adsorbent is a major concern. Thus, the decomposition of the adsorbed organic contaminants and regeneration of the adsorbent is a critical step to a cost-effective use of the porous adsorbents.
Fig.1: Green Synthesis of AuPDMS nanocomposite: (a) A highly compressible AuPDMS foam (b) The UV-visible spectra of the foam exhibit the characteristic peak at 534 nm (the increasing intensity in the order of nanoparticle loading AuPDMS-1 to AuPDMS-3) (c) The SEM image of AuPDMS foam with irregular and interconnected pores of size (2-20 µm) distributed all over the surface. (d) TEM image and ED pattern shows crystalline Au nanoparticles of 10-30 nm size. (Reprinted with permission from Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, R. Gupta et al., ChemSusChem, 4, (2011), DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201000410)
The synthesis is a single step room temperature process involving reduction of Au3+ ions from KAuCl4 precursor in PDMS matrix in presence of water, thus eliminating the need of external reducing and capping agents. It is essentially a green process (Fig. 1). The Au nanoparticle loading in the PDMS foam has been optimized (0.03 wt%) to attain a low density (~1.1 g/cm3), high compressiblity (~105%) as well as pore volume (~5.45 cm3/g), towards making it a high performance material.
The performance of AuPDMS nanocomposite has been tested against BTEX for comparison, where the sorbent capacity is found to be nearly six times higher compared to PDMS foam without Au nanoparticles (Fig.2a). The material is ideally suited for removal of organics and oil spills (Fig. 2) because of its high and fast swelling capacity with longer retentivity, as demonstrated for diesel oil on water.
Fig. 2: Removal of industrial organic pollutants (BTEX) and oil spills from water: (a) uptake curve for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene present in contaminated water for PDMS and AuPDMS foams. (b) Demonstration for removal of diesel oil in water. Diesel uptake capacity of AuPDMS is 125% of its weight and the uptake happens within minutes. (Reprinted with permission from Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, R. Gupta et al., ChemSusChem, 4, (2011), DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201000410)
The active role of Au nanoparticle surface for sulfur bonding has been exploited for effective removal of odorous sulfur containing molecules (Fig. 3). The AuPDMS foam has also been utilized for highly selective removal of an organic sulphide (thioanisole) from water with consistently good activity which is rarely found in literature (see: "Odor Control in Wastewater Treatment: The Removal of Thioanisole from WaterA Model Case Study by Pulse Radiolysis and Electron Beam Treatment"). The extraction of thioanisole from contaminated water was performed using AuPDMS foam by treating thioanisole contaminated water with the foam for set intervals of time. Between the intervals, the foam was heated for small interval in air at 300°C to remove the adsorbed thioanisole and regenerate the foam.
The concentration versus contact time plot followed the first order kinetics with rate constant estimated to be 0.15 hr-1. The reusability of AuPDMS foam was further tested by conducting several cycles of thioanisole removal. We have also addressed the efficiency and recoverability of material. Additionally, the AuPDMS foam can be recycled and reused repeatedly for many cycles by heating in air at 300°C.
Fig. 3: Removal of odorous molecules from contaminated water and odor scavenging from garlic extract: (a) Change in concentration of thioanisole on treatment with AuPDMS foam (b) different cycles of thioanisole removal by AuPDMS foam. Absorption spectra of (c) adsorbed garlic in PDMS foam exhibiting a broad feature around 258 nm (d) AuPDMS foam after garlic treatment shows no change. (Reprinted with permission from Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, R. Gupta et al., ChemSusChem, 4, (2011), DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201000410)
Its ability was also tested in eliminating odor from water that contained natural garlic extract as seen in Fig. 3c and 3d. Moreover,the garlic solution got deodorized almost completely on treatment with AuPDMS, which could be sensory analysed. Interestingly, with the plain PDMS foam (control), the malodor continued to emerge even after a month! The AuPDMS foam was observed to be acting as a odor scavenging system and may therefore be of interest for food packaging. The Au nanoparticle PDMS composite is indeed an attractive material for water based pollutants and odorous molecules. It can be moulded into any shape during or after synthesis and fitted into water channels or installed in water bodies for practical applications.
By Ritu Gupta and Giridhar U. Kulkarni, Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit and DST Unit on Nanoscience,
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, Bangalore 560064, India. Email: [email protected] & [email protected] . | <urn:uuid:5de879f5-5c20-4093-a602-8b4ac3d84517> | {
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Portable chillers are relatively small, movable, single pump machines that remove heat from a liquid through a cycle of compression, condensation, and evaporation. The chilled liquid is usually then piped as a coolant to a heat exchanger in order to cool a piece of equipment, a manufacturing process, or a stream of air. These self-contained chillers are useful in small and/or dedicated applications and have the ability to cool one or two machines at a time.
Portable liquid chillers, like all liquid chillers, cool liquids like water, oil, brine, alcohol, acid, gasoline and special coolant chemicals for industrial applications. Portable chillers tend to be smaller and more lightweight than traditional industrial chillers, and are often mounted on casters, allowing for easier mobility and transport. A typical cooling capacity range for them would be between 1/3 ton and 60 tons. The variety of applications for portable chillers includes cooling for lasers, MRI and PET scan machines, water jet pumps and tanks, plastic molding machines, bread processing and other processes in the machine tool, fabrication, medical, food, chemical, heat treat, filtration, welding, plastics, power generation and dry cleaning industries.
Portable chillers use vapor-compression refrigeration to provide their cooling effect. This involves piping a refrigerant through four major phases. First the refrigerant vapor is compressed using a gas compressor. Most portable chillers use a scroll-type compressor, because they having fewer moving parts and therefore tend to be more compact, cause less noise and vibration, and run more smoothly and reliably at low volumes than reciprocating compressors. Second, the hot, compressed refrigerant vapor enters a condenser, where it is cooled and condenses into a liquid. Portable chillers tend to employ either air- or water-cooled condensers, since they are more practical for a wider range of situations than evaporation-cooled condensers. Air-cooled condensers cool by circulating air around tubes containing the refrigerant, contributing to its condensation. These condensers are used in instances where water is unnecessary or unavailable. Water-cooled condensers circulate water around the tubes to cool and condense the refrigerant. Water-cooled condensers are more effective at cooling but are more complicated because they require a water source and an outlet for the heated water. Third, after the refrigerant has been condensed it goes through an expansion valve that reduces the pressure quickly and causes flash evaporation to occur, cooling the liquid significantly. Lastly, the refrigerant continues to evaporate as it moves through the evaporator and absorbs heat from whatever process it is cooling, until it is entirely vapor and again enters into the compressor to be recycled.
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In an age when much of the Bible is considered irrelevant, it may be the prophets of the Old Testament who are proclaimed least relevant of all. What significance could such obscure historical figures have for our modern world? At best, they are may be thought of as examples of moral uprightness and devotion. Emil Bock, on the other hand, asserts that they are very relevant indeed. – Bock shows that the true pulse of the spirit of the age was beating among the Israelite Hebrews of the final pre-Christian millennium. They were the brightly illuminated center of world history, a focus for all human life and endeavors. He paints a picture of the Old Testament prophets that shows them being guided from above by the Christ spirit as they prepared the way for his human incarnation. In a parallel analogy, he shows how the prophets can help prepare our own souls to meet Christ. | <urn:uuid:e75c583e-ae4d-4e3a-8a03-201c839ab558> | {
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This Winter, Average Temps in U.S. Northeast are "at Least 5 Degrees Above Normal"
Cornell University has just released some data from its Northeast Regional Climate Center, and what it reveals should surprise precisely no one who lives in the region: The winter of 2011-2012 has so far been one of the warmest and least-snowy on record.
The winter of 2001-02 registered at most stations as being warmer, and the warmest on record was 1931-32. Nonetheless, this winter is indeed abnormally hot and snow-free.
Art DeGaetano, a climatologist and professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the director of the Cornell-based NOAA Northeast Regional Climate Center, made the follow statement:
“So far, the 2011-12 winter has averaged warmer than normal, with temperatures in much of the Northeast averaging at least 5 degrees above normal. The 60-day average was within the top 20 warmest on record at all but one of the major airport stations in the region. This winter's prevailing storm path, combined with the warmer temperatures has kept significant snowfall at bay. Consequently, there is not a lot of snow on the ground, especially when compared to last year."This winter has been breaking heat records all over the place, offering more evidence yet that climate change is already taking its toll.
As Joe Romm points out in his post blasting the LA Times for failing to even mention global warming in an article about the record-hot summer, the ratios of record-breaking hot days far outnumber record-breaking cold days—comparing the two is a good way to chart climate change. | <urn:uuid:60969009-0d65-42a0-9236-23bdab49a47e> | {
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Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Tetraodontiformes
(Puffers and filefishes) > Ostraciidae
Etymology: Acanthostracion: Greek, akantha = thorn + Greek, ostrakon = shell (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; demersal; depth range 3 - 25 m (Ref. 5288), usually ? - 10 m (Ref. 86997). Subtropical
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 11227)
Eastern Atlantic: Azores, St. Helena and Ascension islands, Ghana, and Angola. Reported from Sao Tome Island (Ref. 34088).
Found over rocks, rubble and sand (Ref. 5288), mainly around islands (Ref. 11227).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Duron, M. and J.C. Quéro, 1990. Ostraciontidae. p. 1067-1068. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 11227)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5625 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.03631 (0.01740 - 0.07577), b=2.81 (2.62 - 3.00), based on LWR estimates for this Family-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 2.4 ±0.1 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec assumed to be > 10,000).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
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15 March 2012 An independent report has been published today advising the government how it could best tackle the problem of fuel poverty. …
15 March 2012
An independent report has been published today advising the government how it could best tackle the problem of fuel poverty.
The latest official fuel poverty figures show 4m households in England in fuel poverty, compared to 1.2m in 2004.
Professor John Hills of the London School of Economics started his research in March last year looking at the definition of fuel poverty, targets, and the effectiveness of different policy interventions.
An interim report was published in October last year, setting out initial thoughts and the final set of recommendations are published today.
- Professor Hills is clear that fuel poverty is currently measured in a way that is both flawed and unhelpful
- Professor Hills has proposed a new way to define fuel poverty, separating the extent of the issue (the number of people affected) from its depth (how badly people are affected)
- Professor Hills also shows how the impact of Government policies can be assessed against this new proposed definition, showing the positive impact current Government policies are having on tackling fuel poverty.
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey said:
“Fuel poverty is a serious national problem and this government remains committed to doing all it can to tackle it and make sure that the help available reaches those who need it most.
“We were right to commission this independent review because we want to make our policies as effective as possible, and improving fuel poverty measurement is a key part of this. I am grateful to Professor Hills and his team for the quality of their work, we will now study the report in detail ahead of consulting on an alternative definition for fuel poverty in the summer.”
Government is already tackling fuel poverty through a range of different schemes. Assistance with heating and insulation measures is currently provided through policies like Warm Front and the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target helping keep homes warmer and cosier through the year. There is also direct support with energy bills for low income and vulnerable households through the Warm Home Discount scheme.
In the future the Green Deal Energy Company Obligation will be one of the key policies in this area. As described in the recent consultation, part of this scheme will specifically be designed to provide “Affordable Warmth” to low income vulnerable households, through heating and insulation measures. The Energy Company Obligation will ensure that support for the fuel poor remains and continues to be targeted at those most in need. Government will announce the way forward on the Green Deal and ECO shortly.
Notes for editors
- John Hills’ Final report on fuel poverty
- John Hills’ Interim report on fuel poverty was published in October
- The latest fuel poverty stats
- For media enquiries on the report please contact LSE press office on 020 7955 7060 or at [email protected]
- Further information on Warm Front
- Further information on Warm Home Discount Scheme
- Further information on Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation | <urn:uuid:01b07ec6-538e-4a5b-ac0c-19cd6fe89ee2> | {
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ESDA which stands for Electrostatic detection apparatus, is a machine used within forensics for document examination. The machine allows the visulisation of indented writing wihout damaging the document.
The questioned document (usually a piece of paper) is put onto the bronze plate, then a thin film is placed over it. A corona (a highly charged wire)then passes over the film, giving it an electrostatic charge. The areas in which the paper is indented will have the greatest charge. Once the corona has passed over the film, the bronze plate is titled and photocopy toner powder (with small glass beads) is added. The toner then adds to the areas of greatest charge, and thus allows the indentation to now be seen. | <urn:uuid:257410c3-6273-4d92-a0bb-f31fcbd0aaa4> | {
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Central and southern Utah extending into western Colorado and parts of Arizona.
Frequents a variety of habitats — foothills, prairies, high meadows, and farmland.
Ventrals and chin markings frequently flecked with black. The first white ring is 1 – 4 scales wide at the middorsal line; body rings not expanded middorsally.
Often nocturnal, especially in warm weather. Because these snakes are often found in barnyards where they hunt mice, they have been erroneously accused of milking cows; hence the common name. These snakes are rarely seen as they often hide during the day under boards, rocks, logs and stumps.
Usually 2 to 17 eggs produced.
Snakes that happen upon a mouse nest filled with younce mice will often grasp one mouse with its jaws, and use thier body coils to pin other mice against the burrow walls. This allows them to eat the other mice at their leisure.
See what other animals are Native to Utah.
|Length:||14 to 54 inches|
|Wild Diet:||Snakes, lizards, mice, and occasionally birds and their eggs|
|USFWS Status:||Not Listed|
|CITES Status:||Not Listed| | <urn:uuid:bdab1d08-6816-47a0-a1bb-9eb67da7de63> | {
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Let’s imagine that the field of medicine is a vast forest that covers large areas of landscape. The trees of this forest represent all of the different things that make up the medical discipline. Some of the trees represent different hormones, receptors, genes, and cells that are found inside the human body; others make up nutrients, toxins, and lifestyle factors that affect human health; and yet others represent bacteria, fungi, worms, and other organisms that are a part of Homo sapiens sapiens’ environment.
Everyone who’s ever taken an interest in the arts and science of medicine has come across this forest on their journey through life. This includes health/nutrition scientists, nutritionists, physiotherapists, personal trainers, and all other health/fitness professionals. Upon arrival at the forest, most of these people go straight in and start wandering around. They walk on many different paths and explore the green space, and every now and then, they stop and have a look at the trees around them. Some become so fascinated by the colors, structure, and beauty of some of the trees they come across that they end up spending years – or sometimes even the rest of their life – gazing at those trees and examining their every detail.
Not everyone chooses this path though. A small number of the people who enter the forest choose a different route. They realise – perhaps because they talk to other travelers or stop and think about what they’re doing – that it’s virtually impossible to get an overview of what the whole forest looks like when they’re done on “the ground floor”, walking amidst large, bushy trees that obscure their visibility. They understand that they are only seeing some of the individual components of the forest; they don’t get to see the whole woodland. In other words, they recognize that if all they do is walk around on the forest floor, they’ll only see some pieces of a larger puzzle; they’ll never get too appreciate the whole puzzle in its complete form.
For that reason, they pull back and start looking for high ground. They ascend a mountain or climb a tall tree, and thereby attain a bird’s-eye view of the forest. From that position, they’re not able to make out how each of the individual components of the green space are put together or examine the details of every tree; however, they are able to see how the whole forest is structured. They get to see where streams of water are coming in, what types of trees that predominate in different parts of the area, and how the various elements of the forest are connected. In other words, they get to mentally design a map of the whole forest.
After they’ve taken some time to appreciate what the forest looks like from a bird’s-eye perspective, these people – who’ve climbed trees or walked up on mountain tops – typically go back down into the forest and venture into areas of it that they have decided, based on their top-down examination of the green space, that they are keen to explore. The difference between their situation now and before they were up on the high ground is that they now have a map in hand that helps them navigate the natural environment they find themselves in. Moreover, they know what the whole forest looks like. They appreciate the fact that the things they’re seeing when they are walking down on the forest floor are only parts of a larger structure.
Seeing medicine from a bird’s-eye view
The little story above perfectly describes the main limitation/problem with the conventional approach to medicine.
Students who study health-related subjects, such as nutrition and medicine, learn about the different cells and receptors that are involved in different diseases, how nutrients are digested and absorbed, what the molecular mechanisms of different diseases are, and how pathogens can make us sick. In other words, they learn a lot about some of the trees that make up the forest of medicine. However, they never get to see the whole forest. I should know, as I’ve studied both nutrition and sports science.
The same is true for people who don’t choose the route of academia, but rather encounter the forest of medicine via a different path. They typically walk straight in among the trees and stay down at the forest floor their whole life.
So, how can we get to see medicine from a bird’s-eye view? Climbing a tree in real life obviously won’t help much. What would help, though, is to take a step back and look at the field from an evolutionary/biological perspective. This perspective is in many ways analogous to the bird’s-eye perspective in the scenario discussed above, in the sense that it provides the viewer with an overview of something that is large and complex. Moreover, it provides the viewer with the knowledge he needs to design a map or model that helps him navigate the tumultuous landscape he’s seeing.
This perspective doesn’t allow for an examination of the details of each of the smaller components that make up the field of medicine; however, it does allow us to see what the whole field looks like: how it’s put together and how its constituents are connected. Assembling this knowledge is absolutely crucial for making sense of health and disease. Just like it’s good to have a map when you travel into a large forest, it’s really good to have a map when you set out to navigate through the field of medicine. When you have a map, you’re much less likely to travel in the wrong direction and get lost or confused.
I think the main reason there is so much confusion, disorder, and conflict in medicine and nutrition is that these fields – in their present form – lack a strong foundation. They haven’t got anything solid to stand on. I would argue that adding some evolutionary and biological theories and concepts to the foundations of these disciplines would help give them much better footing.
Finding high ground
If you’re knowledgeable about medical sciences and Darwinian medicine, you probably understand how everything I’ve talked about so far is applicable to real life. However, if you don’t, then no worries. In order to make things seem less abstract, I thought I’d finish with some examples that illustrate what I want to get across with today’s article.
Very recently, I put up an interview here on the blog with Begoña Ruiz Núñez, author of an excellent review paper on evolutionary health/nutrition entitled Lifestyle and nutritional imbalances associated with Western diseases: causes and consequences of chronic systemic low-grade inflammation in an evolutionary context. That paper can be used to illustrate what I mean by seeing the forest for the trees. Unlike many other researchers, the authors of that paper do see the forest for the trees. They acknowledge that clinical trials and meta-analyses only tell us so much. They understand that it’s impossible to make sense of health, nutrition, and medicine if you don’t possess knowledge about human evolution and biology. Moreover, they acknowledge that it’s the totality of exposures that matter. There is no single magic bullet, nutritional product, or drug that will bring us good health.
A lot of other people, including many scientists, don’t seem to understand that. Instead of finding high ground in order to see the whole forest, they focus on one or a few trees. Some only focus on the trees that represent different carbohydrates and make the case that the key to health and longevity is to eat virtually no sugar and starch; others stand looking at the trees that represent strength training and argue that lifting weights on a regular basis is more important than anything else when it comes to optimizing health and longevity; some only pay attention to a few trees that represent important receptors involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and spend their whole careers trying to develop drugs that manipulate these receptors; and yet others focus exclusively on the group of trees that represent vitamins and minerals and promote the idea that correcting micronutrient deficiencies should be the primary focus of nutritionists.
Many of these people obviously realise that the tree or trees they are looking at aren’t the only trees in their vicinity; however, since they are standing down on the forest floor, surrounded by large trees and bushes, they are incapable of seeing the whole forest – they only see small parts of it; hence, they can’t appreciate the totality of it.
A lot of health/fitness gurus, scientists, nutritionists, and health practitioners have specialized in just one thing, such as intermittent fasting, low-carbohydrate dieting, or sleep optimization. From the perspective of gaining followers and bringing attention to a specific facet of health/fitness, that’s a smart approach. I don’t have anything against that approach. There’s absolutely nothing wrong in focusing more on certain trees than others. That said, we should always remember that there are more trees out there and that every tree is just a small part of a larger ecosystem.
I don’t claim to have all the answers, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it’s extremely important to see the forest for the trees. If we don’t, we may quickly become lost, confused, and disoriented. | <urn:uuid:e837d5d3-d1f2-437b-ba23-ea85e5b3f364> | {
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"It's unlikely to be just Joe Schmo's house — it's probably an important person's house," Saturno said, explaining the home likely boasts a storied history.
The clock is ticking for archeologists to decipher the meaning behind the paintings since they have already begun to fade from exposure. But Saturno says it's astounding the murals even survived in the first place.
"We don't get a lot of this type of artwork; it's not commonly preserved in the New World," he explained.
The Mayan civilization, spanning from about 2000 B.C. to A.D. 250, gave rise to a series of cities in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and western El Salvador.
One of the Mesoamerican murals depicts a procession of colorful figures clad in a mix of traditional Maya and Spanish dress, with some figures possibly holding human hearts in their hands, archaeologist Jaroslaw Zralka told the magazine. | <urn:uuid:16b9356f-c0c9-4842-bf44-3edb1346b332> | {
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What Constitutes a Hung Parliament in Australian Politics
In the Australian political system, a parliament is considered ‘hung’ if no party or coalition or combination of parties has won enough seats to enable it to muster enough members to have a majority in the lower house. (The lower house is the House of Representatives in the federal parliament or the Legislative Assembly in state parliaments.)
A hung parliament can also occur when both major parties have an equal number of seats, so neither has a majority. (This situation last happened in 1961.)
In order to win government, a party must have the support of at least 76 members of the 150 lower house seats in the Australian House of Representatives. These Members of Parliament (MPs) must be prepared to vote for the government in the event of a motion of no confidence and/or to vote for it when it brings down its annual Budget.
In the case of a hung parliament, members of parliament in the lower house who don’t support one of the major parties — independent members or members affiliated with a minor party — are considered to hold the balance of power, in that they eventually decide which party can form government.
Hung parliaments are rare in the Australian parliament, as the voting system and single-member electorates are geared towards manufacturing a majority for one of the major parties. They occur in state parliaments more often than the federal parliament, mainly because the state lower houses have fewer seats than the House of Representatives. Hung parliaments are most likely in Tasmania, because its lower house has only 25 seats and the island state uses proportional representation, which always results in close outcomes.
Since the 1990s, hung parliaments (and, as a consequence, minority governments) have occurred in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales, and in Tasmania and the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), where proportional representation is used to elect the lower house. | <urn:uuid:a94c1054-4482-4fe3-873b-af00da6127df> | {
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William Pitt the Younger
The Right Honourable William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British politician during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He served as Prime Minister from 1783 to 1801, and again from 1804 until his death. He is known as William Pitt the Younger to distinguish him from his father, William Pitt the Elder, who also served as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
- What I have now offered is meant merely for the sake of my country, for the simple question is: will you change your Ministers and keep the Empire, or keep your Ministers and lose the Kingdom?
- William Cobbett, "Parliamentary History".
- Speech in the House of Commons, supporting a motion of censure on the government of Lord North, 15 March 1782.
- I feel, Sir, at this instant, how much I had been animated in my childhood by a recital of England's victories:—I was taught, Sir, by one whose memory I shall ever revere, that at the close of a war, far different indeed from this, she had dictated the terms of peace to submissive nations. This, in which I place something more than a common interest, was the memorable aera of England's glory. But that aera is past...the visions of her power and pre-eminence are passed away...Let us examine what is left, with a manly and determined courage...Let us feel our calamities—let us bear them too, like men.
- Speech in the House of Commons (21 February 1783), reprinted in W. S. Hathaway (ed.), The Speeches of William Pitt in the House of Commons. Volume I (London: 1817), pp. 31-32.
- I will repeat then, Sir, that it is not this treaty, it is the Earl of Shelburne alone whom the movers of this question are desirous to wound. This is the object which has raised this storm of faction; this is the aim of the unnatural coalition to which I have alluded. If, however, the baneful alliance is not already formed, if this ill-omened marriage is not already solemnized, I know a just and lawful impediment, and, in the name of the public safety, I here forbid the banns.
- John Almon and John Debrett, "Register of Parliament".
- Speech in the House of Commons, 21 February 1783. Referring to the Fox-North Coalition which was already agreed in outline.
- You may take from me, Sir, the privileges and emoluments of place, but you cannot, and you shall not, take from me those habitual and warm regards for the prosperity of Great Britain which constitute the honour, the happiness, the pride of my life, and which, I trust, death alone can extinguish.
- "The War Speeches of William Pitt", Oxford University Press, 1915, p. 7
- Speech in the House of Commons, 21 February 1783, on the peace treaty with the United States. Pitt, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer, knew the government would lose the vote and he would have to resign.
- Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
- I came up no backstairs...Little did I think to be ever charged in this House with being the tool and abettor of secret influence. The novelty of the imputation only renders it so much the more contemptible. This is the only answer I shall ever deign to make on the subject, and I wish the House to bear it in their mind, and judge of my future conduct by my present declaration: the integrity of my own heart, and the probity of all my public, as well as my private principles, shall always be my sources of action.
- Speech in the House of Commons (12 January 1784), quoted in Boyd Hilton, A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England. 1783-1846 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2008), p. 54.
- We must not count with certainty on a continuance of our present prosperity during such an interval [15 years]; but unquestionably there never was a time in the history of this country when, from the situation of Europe, we might more reasonably expect fifteen years of peace, than we may at the present moment.
- "The War Speeches of William Pitt", Oxford University Press, 1915, p. 16
- Speech in the House of Commons, 17 February 1792, introducing the Budget. His prediction was a vain hope.
- ...we have become rich in a variety of acquirements, favoured above measure in the gifts of Providence, unrivalled in commerce, pre-eminent in arts, foremost in the pursuits of philosophy and science, and established in all the blessings of civil society; we are in the possession of peace, of happiness, and of liberty; we are under the guidance of a mild and beneficent religion; and we are protected by impartial laws, and the purest administration of justice: we are living under a system of government which our own happy experience leads us to pronounce the best and wisest which has ever yet been framed; a system which has become the admiration of the world.
- Speech in the House of Commons (2 April 1792), reprinted in reprinted in W. S. Hathaway (ed.), The Speeches of William Pitt in the House of Commons. Volume I (London: 1817), p. 394.
- We learn with concern, that not only a spirit of tumult and disorder has shown itself in acts of insurrection, which required the interposition of a military force in support of the civil magistrate, but that the industry employed to excite discontent has appeared to proceed from a design to attempt, in concert with persons in foreign countries, the destruction of our happy constitution, and the subversion of all order of government.
- Address in Reply, 13 December 1792. Parl Hist xxx, 6.
- "The Great Melody", biography of Burke by Conor Cruise O'Brien, p. 493.
- We owe our present happiness and prosperity, which has never been equalled in the annals of mankind, to a mixture of monarchical government.
- "The War Speeches of William Pitt", Oxford University Press, 1915, p. 29
- Speech in the House of Commons, 1 February 1793.
- The amount of our danger, therefore, it would be impolitic to conceal from the people. It was the first duty of ministers to make it known, and after doing so, it should have been their study to provide against it, and to point out the means to the country by which it might be averted.
- "The War Speeches of William Pitt", Oxford University Press, 1915, p. 314
- Speech in the House of Commons, 18 July 1803, opposing a vote of censure on his successor Henry Addington.
- I return you many thanks for the honour you have done me; but Europe is not to be saved by any single man. England has saved herself by her exertions, and will, as I trust, save Europe by her example.
- "The War Speeches of William Pitt", Oxford University Press, 1915, p. 351
- Speech at the Guildhall, City of London, 9 November 1805. This was Pitt's last speech in public.
- Prostrate the beauteous ruin lies; and all
That shared its shelter perish in its fall.
- The Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin, No. xxxvi, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
- I think I could eat one of Bellamy's meat pies.
- Lord Rosebery wrote that this story was related to him by Benjamin Disraeli, who heard it as a young member of Parliament by a "grim old waiter of prehistoric reputation, who was supposed to possess a secret treasure of political tradition." According to Rosebery, "Disraeli mentioned the meat -- veal or pork I think, but I have forgotten." Reported in Rosebery, Pitt (London: Macmillan, 1891).
- Most accursed, wicked, barbarous, cruel, unnatural, unjust and diabolical.
- Speech in Parliament on the American Revolutionary War (February 26, 1781), reported in Hansard (Vol. 22), p. 487, Debate on Mr. Fox's Motion for a Committee.
- Not merely a chip of the old 'block', but the old block itself. | <urn:uuid:a406c7e4-d3cd-4d3d-a278-b60632c4f03b> | {
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We’ve been hearing for years now about how metamaterials will make invisibility cloaks possible, but so far no one has been able to make the materials in big enough pieces for them to be useful. A new printing method developed by John Rogers, a materials science professor at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will make it possible to print metamaterials in much larger pieces. The specific material Rogers is working with interacts with near-infrared light, bending it the “wrong” way and making nighttime invisibility cloaks a distinct possibility for the near future.
Rogers’ method involves molding a plastic stamp with a raised fishnet pattern on it. Alternating layers of the metamaterial ingredients are laid on the stamp, forming a mesh which is then transferred to a piece of glass or plastic. The resulting metamaterial sheets are only a few inches per side, but still many times larger than the previous iterations of similar materials. According to Rogers, his technique produces materials with even better optical properties than those made with traditional methods. By stringing together several stamps, huge sheets of metamaterials could be made – which means that within years, we could be sporting actual Cloaks of Invisibility. | <urn:uuid:7f529c80-4c90-4a76-beb4-d15495b7f906> | {
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Measuring distances and locations to assess specification adherence
A machine vision system for gauging calculates the distances between two or more points or geometrical locations on an object and determines whether these measurements meet specifications. If not, the vision system sends a fail signal to the machine controller, triggering a reject mechanism that ejects the object from the line.
In practice, a fixed-mount camera captures images of parts as they pass the camera’s field of view and the system uses software to calculate distances between various points in the image. Because many machine vision systems can measure object features to within 0.0254 millimeters, they address a number of applications traditionally handled by contact gauging.
- Different Types of Vision Systems
- Guidance Application
- In-Sight Vision Systems
- Machine Vision Applications
- Inspection Application | <urn:uuid:8db237a9-d98f-4bad-8cfe-9c35ad4de55c> | {
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Predationinteraction between organisms (animals) in which one organism captures and feeds upon another called the prey. The predator is usually the larger and stronger of the two. Predators are always either carnivores or omnivores. The prey might typically be a herbivore, but some predators feed on anything they can capture, including other predators.
This centipede crawled up under the eave of a shed to capture
and feed upon a predatory cane spider hunting there ()
Humans naturally think of large cats (lions, tigers) and large reptiles (crocodiles) as typical predators, or perhaps even snakes, many of which are predatory on small mammals. However, spiders, centipedes, most lizards and turtles, and frogs are also voracious predators.
Contrary to popular belief by some, predation is not typically a indiscriminate urge to kill other living beings. When hunger is not an issue for the animal, most predators will typically not seek to attack prey since the basic need is absent and it is a waste of energy to do so in that situation. For instance, a large predator fish like a shark that is well fed in an aquarium will typically ignore the smaller fish swimming around it while the prey fish take advantage of the fact that the big fish is apparently harmless and treat it as simply a big but equal inhabitant of their living space.
In addition, it has been observed that well fed predator animals in a lax captivity like as a pet or on a farm will usually differentiate individual prey animals who are familiar coinhabitants in the same human area as opposed to wild ones outside the area. This interaction can range from simply peaceful coexistant to close companionship. In contrast, the predator animal typically treats prey animals from outside the human's influence as fair game. This can be because of either cultivated affection for those individual animals and/or the humans have made clear to the predator that harming these particular animals will not be tolerated. A good example of this is that there are numerous instances of pet cats and pet mice living together in the same human residence without incident as companions. | <urn:uuid:831afd25-4b1e-4314-bdfd-5f8bcb2af2f8> | {
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October 31, 2011
Losing the lecture: Active learning takes place of write it down, memorize it learning
The traditional lecture format for college education is taking the backseat in some classes at Kansas State University. In its place is a new format called active learning.
The university's Robbie Bear, instructor, and Eva Horne, assistant professor, both in the Division of Biology, teach Principles of Biology, an introductory biology course designed to encourage students to be more proactive about their education while instructors guide them through the learning process.
"Active learning means that we are actively engaging students in the learning process," Bear said. "Instead of teaching them, we are coaching them in learning."
Both Bear and Horne believe that students retain and understand the information better if they are participating in hands-on activities and classroom discussions. They also believe that active learning prepares students for a changing job market by training them to think about concepts in different ways.
"One of the biggest problems with the traditional 'I say something, you write it down and memorize it' method is that is the only way that the student can relate to that piece of information," Horne said. "If you ask them a question about that information in some other way, they have no idea what you are talking about, even though it is the same idea."
Both Bear and Horne spent part of this summer at the National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology to learn more about integrating active learning into biology classrooms. The workshop provided the opportunity for college-level instructors to converse with each other and develop lesson plans that encourage students to understand the material from multiple approaches instead of memorizing facts.
"We don't want students to memorize a bunch of biological facts, and then be able to recite them back to us," Horne said. "We want students to think about it, understand the processes behind it, and be able to analyze things themselves. If you incorporate little assessments that get students to look at things from other viewpoints, when you ask them a question in a different way, they may be able to make those connections."
Principles of Biology is set up to provide students with a short 15-minute lecture, followed by hands-on activities, computer simulations and group lab exercises. Information is often presented in multiple ways to appeal to all four learning styles: visual, auditory, reading and kinesthetic.
"The current trend in higher education is stressing a 'minds-on' as well as a 'hands-on' approach," said Dave Rintoul, Principles of Biology coordinator and associate director of the Division of Biology. "Such active learning is crucially important for building fundamental conceptual understanding of material, the primary objective of introductory science courses."
A study published in Cell Biology Education--Life Sciences Education in 2008 assessed the effectiveness of Kansas State University's Principles of Biology course compared with other introductory biology courses. It found that student performance in subsequent university biology courses was higher among students who took the Principles of Biology class than for those who took another introductory biology course elsewhere.
"Presenting information in different ways allows them to have success in the future," Bear said. "They develop the ability to think in different ways. We are not just training students in biology; we are training them how to think critically using different modes."
Bear and Horne believe that if they can encourage students to think critically about biological concepts, then they will be able to adjust to the many changes that arise as the job market changes.
"The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. Therefore, universities are currently preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet, to use technologies that don't exist yet, and solve problems that we don't know about yet," Horne said. "That is why we teach students the way we do."
Both Bear and Horne have been named National Academies Education fellows for their work at the Summer Institute. Bear is also part of a peer review of teaching program, a university initiative to increase active learning across campus. | <urn:uuid:17a0bd65-9368-4462-9f6c-904d21765cfb> | {
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